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FORMER BRITISH WORLD CUP DELEGATES WED
Four years after the news of their triadic relationship broke, the famous war veterans wed in a simple ceremony on the grounds at Flint Manor.
Hermione Granger was resplendent in an understated champagne wedding dress as both Marcus Flint and Percy Weasley wore traditional black dress robes. (Image below)
The story continues on page A3 for full details of their special day, along with additional images.
Hermione smiled as she remembered the newest article posted by the same newspaper from Quebec that started Hermione’s relationship with her husbands. She still couldn't believe how many people were interested in their love lives, but she knew that sooner or later, the kneazle would be out of the bag; she just needed to make sure her husbands knew first.
Pushing the article about their wedding back to its box inside her mind, Hermione took a sip of her favourite ginger lemon tea and looked at her itinerary for the day. Hermione and her husbands were on the last stop of their tour of the original thirteen colonies in the United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They arrived here the day before and planned to spend the rest of the week here before heading back to England to ring in the new year with their extended family.
When Hermione first suggested that the three of them spend Christmas away from home, Percy had initially baulked at the idea, and Marcus looked intrigued at the idea, but she was persistent. And her husbands couldn’t argue when she reminded them that they’d been married over a year and still hadn’t had a honeymoon.
Percy had tried to argue that they’d had one, but before she could say something, Marcus pointed out that overnight at a hotel in London doesn’t count.
Once Percy agreed, the two men left their wife to do what she does best. Plan. And plan she did. Over the past few weeks, the three of them made their way from Savannah, Georgia, up to New Hampshire to ski the White Mountains. In her research, she found all that went on in Philadelphia during Christmastime, and when she explained what she found to her husbands, they all agreed to spend Christmas in The City of Brotherly Love.
“What is the plan for today?”
Hermione smiled as she turned to face her redheaded husband.
“Good morning, Percy. Well, the Peddler's Village opens at ten this morning, but they close at four since it’s Christmas Eve. We have tickets for Independence Hall at ten, so I figured we could go see the Liberty Bell first, then Independence Hall, and then we could drive out to the village and finish our day there. We can talk to the front desk to see if they have recommendations for getting dinner somewhere, or we can order in.”
“That sounds good to me,” Percy said as he picked up one of the mugs of coffee Hermione had placed under stasis for him and Marcus that were sitting next to her tea.
“Do we have any plans for tomorrow?” Marcus asked as he joined his wife and husband.
Hermione leaned into the kiss he pressed against her cheek. “No, I didn’t plan anything for tomorrow as most places are closed. I wouldn’t be against going for a walk, though.”
“That works,” Marcus agreed.
“Since you’re both up, we can go ahead and eat as I ordered breakfast earlier when I ordered your coffees,” Hermione explained as she stood up and moved over to the table in their room.
Someone’s stomach growled behind her.
Marcus laughed, “Looks like Percy is ready to eat.”
“You can't be far behind him,” Hermione teased. “Come here, you two.”
The trio dug into their breakfast before getting ready for the day. Hermione knew their hotel wasn't far from the Bell or the hall, but driving would save them time in getting to the village outside of town.
When they started their trip, Hermione did most of the driving, but Marcus’s confidence in his driving abilities increased, and the duo shared the responsibility more equally. She had been a bit surprised when Marcus showed more interest in driving than Percy, but he joked that he would leave the driving to his father and youngest brother.
Nearing the Liberty Bell, Hermione directed Marcus to where they could park.
They arrived before opening, but a small line was forming to see the cracked bell.
As was her nature, Hermione had read up on both the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, so she was quietly explaining what she’d learned to her husbands.
A voice stopped her when the trio were only a few people back from the Bell. “Ma’am?”
Hermione turned to face the little boy who had spoken. She smiled. “Yes?”
“You’re not from here. How do you know so much?”
The scandalised voice of the little boy’s mother rang out over the crowd. “Billy! That's not how we word things!”
Hermione laughed. “It's okay; I know he doesn't mean any harm.” She turned back to Billy. “Yes, you're right. We're not from here, but I love to read. Just ask my… friends. The redhead loves to read almost as much as I do.”
The little boy leaned closer. “What about the big guy?” His whisper wasn't as quiet as Billy thought it was, so Marcus heard him. The twitch in his lips gave the big guy away.
Hermione whispered back just as quietly. “Don't let his size fool you. He loves to read, too.”
Percy had to turn away from Marcus to hide his laughter, not that he needed to, as Marcus was openingly chuckling.
“When you read, you can learn so many fascinating things.”
“Like what?”
“That the bell you see here is not the original bell. Not long after the original arrived here from England, it cracked, so it was melted down and remade here.”
Little Billy stared up at her. “Really?”
“Yes,” Hermione told him.
“Huh,” the mother mused. “Even I didn't know that. Thank you.”
Her son didn't miss a beat. “You need to read more, Mom.”
Instead of being embarrassed, the child's mother smiled. “I guess I do.”
“Would you mind taking a photo for us?”
“Not at all. If you could do the same for Billy and me?”
“Of course.”
Photos taken, Hermione stepped aside to take a few moments to actually look at the Bell.
“It's impressive,” she murmured as she joined Marcus and Percy. “I knew its dimensions before getting here, but to see it in person is very different.”
“We’re glad it lived up to your expectations.”
Checking her watch, Hermione nudged her husbands in the direction of Independence Hall.
“We’ve got time before our reservation time, but the tickets say to get there early so we can get through security.”
“Do you think we’ll have any issues with our wands?”
Hermione thought about Percy’s question before replying, “No, I wouldn't think so since there's no metal in them.”
Once they arrived, they queued into the security line. As they waited, Hermione asked, “What's been your favourite part of our trip so far?”
Marcus didn't hesitate in his response. “Skiing in New Hampshire.”
Percy took a little longer in his response, but Hermione wasn't surprised by his response either. “The National Mall.”
“Of course, the nerd picks the museums,” Marcus teased.
Hermione smacked his chest. “Shush you. The same could be said for the jock.”
Marcus laughed. “True. What was your favourite part?”
“Honestly, I've enjoyed our whole trip, but if I had to pick one place, Savannah. It's gorgeous there.”
Following the people in front of them, the trio continued to discuss the various parts of their trip, including their plans for after Christmas.
Hermione knew Molly wasn't thrilled that they wouldn't be at the Burrow for the holiday, but she hoped to make it up on New Year's Eve. Marcus’ parents were more than happy to wait until New Year's Day as they loved spending time with their son and his partners no matter what day it was.
At the beginning of their trip, Hermione and her husbands met up with her parents in Savannah and spent a couple of days with them to celebrate the holiday early.
“It was nice seeing your parents again,” Marcus said before stepping towards the security person.
Once the trio was through the checkpoint, Hermione responded to Marcus. “It was. I don't get to see them nearly as much as I'd like, but being on opposite sides of the world will do that for you.”
“Any thoughts on visiting them during the summer?” Percy asked as they stepped aside to wait for their tour to begin.
“It's always a possibility. Let's get through the holidays first.”
“Granger-Flint,” a voice called.
After a moment, Hermione held up her hand.
“Great! We're waiting on two more parties. We’ll get started in five minutes either way,” the woman explained.
Even over a year later, Hermione was still getting used to their surname. Before getting married, the trio discussed their options: they could go with all three names, choose two, or just go with one. It was Percy who made the decision for them. He said that he wasn't worried about the Weasley name because his brothers were already carrying on the name, and he thought they should use both Hermione and Marcus’s last names since they were the last of their lines.
Both Hermione and Marcus appreciated Percy’s thoughtful approach, but Marcus baulked when Hermione suggested using their names alphabetically. When she asked why, his response was, “Ladies first.”
Hermione had looked at her redheaded fiancé, who shrugged in response, both of them knowing that there was no point in arguing with the large wizard.
“How much reading did you do for here?”
She shook her head to clear her thoughts, and in response to Percy’s teasing, she poked his shoulder before saying, “Enough, but don't worry, I'll leave the tour to the professionals.”
And she did, until Noami, the tour guide, asked a question, “Who is responsible for reigniting the desire to save what was then called the State House?”
Hermione waited for others to reply before raising her hand.
“Yes? In the back.”
“It was the Marquis de Lafayette,” Hermione answered.
“Correct! The Marquis de Lafayette fought alongside the colonists, and when he returned here nearly fifty years later, he couldn't let the building continue to deteriorate.”
“Couldn't let it go, could you?”
Hermione poked Percy’s side. “Shush. I waited for others to answer first.”
“Ignore him; he's just mad he didn't know,” Marcus snickered.
“Quiet.” She poked Marcus in the side, too.
They did fall silent and returned their attention to their guide. Since Hermione answered Noami’s first question, other guests joined in, allowing Hermione, Marcus, and Percy to listen.
“Thank you all for coming,” Noami said as she wrapped up the tour. “You’re welcome to continue to look around here, but please don't touch anything. The exit is through there.”
Hermione turned to the two men. “Do either of you want to continue looking around here, or are you ready to make our way to the village?”
Naomi stepped forward. “I'm sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to thank you for coming and also for answering my first question. Sometimes, it can be hard to get people to interact with me, but I feel like when they do, they learn better.”
“I'm glad it helped,” Hermione replied. “Thank you for the tour. We thoroughly enjoyed it.”
“Good. If you need anything else, please let me know.”
“We will.”
Once they were alone again, Hermione repeated her earlier question.
“I looked around quite a bit while she was talking, so I'm ready,” Marcus replied. “But if either of you want to stay, we can.”
“I'm good,” Percy said.
“Me too. Let's head to the village. We can get something to eat when we get there as there is food available,” Hermione explained as they made their way out of the building and towards their rental.
It took them about an hour and a half to get to the Peddler’s Village, but when they arrived, she knew it had been worth the wait.
They found a café, and after a little bit of a wait, they dug into a tasty meal.
While they were there, Hermione studied the village map to see where she wanted to visit, as she had a few gifts left to purchase.
Once they were done, they headed out into the village, going their separate ways as both men said they had gifts they needed to find, too. They all agreed to meet back by the café a little after three.
Slipping away from her husbands, Hermione followed the route she had mapped earlier. She wasn't worried about either Marcus or Percy as both were much more comfortable in the Muggle world now than they were when they first started dating five and a half years ago.
As she returned to their meeting point, she casually glanced at items from vendors when an adorable stocking caught her attention.
She grinned. It was perfect.
Hermione hadn't told her husbands that she had brought along their stockings for tomorrow morning, and she was looking forward to seeing their faces in the morning.
Once the stocking was purchased, she continued on her way back to the café.
They had decided just to order in tonight when they got back to their hotel room, but she enjoyed the food from the café so much she was tempted to see if they could order something to go.
When she arrived back at the café, it seemed like her husbands had the same idea.
“You both read my mind,” she said by way of greeting. “We have a microwave in our room, so we can heat up whatever we get when we want to eat.”
“What would you like?”
“A bowl of that delicious-smelling chicken noodle soup if they still have some.”
“Why don't you two head to the car, and I'll take care of this,” Percy offered.
“Thank you. I'm exhausted, and my feet hurt,” Hermione told him.
“A perfect time to go back to the car and rest. Just no peeking in my bags.”
Marcus looked scandalised. “As if we would.”
“You've done it before,” Percy pointed out.
“In my defence, I was left on my own. Hermione’s with me now.”
Shaking her head, Hermione nudged her burly husband along. “Come on, you. Let's go warm up the car.”
They hadn't been in the car all that long when Percy joined them—takeout containers in hand.
The journey back to the hotel was quiet and seemed to fly by for Hermione, who jolted awake as Marcus turned into the parking lot for their hotel.
Hermione enjoyed her soup before she readied herself for the evening and snuggled between her husbands on the sofa—a Christmas movie playing on the television.
The following day, as usual, Hermione was up before either of her husbands. She made quick work of what she brought with her from home, along with the gifts she’d bought for them.
She was just finishing up when Marcus joined her from the bedroom. Percy wasn't far behind.
“Happy Christmas, my love,” Marcus murmured into her curly hair.
Hermione reached for Percy’s hand. “Happy Christmas to both of you.”
Percy squeezed her hand before asking, “Hermione? Did you really have our stockings with you this whole time?”
“Of course, we can't have Christmas without stockings.”
“Hermione?”
She turned to Marcus, noticing the confusion in his voice. She smiled. “Yes?”
“Why is there a fourth stocking?”
“Well, there are four of us,” she paused before adding, “or rather, there will be four of us next year.
She summoned the new stocking and handed it to Marcus. “Here, look at what’s inside.”
Percy moved to stand on Marcus’s other side as he reached into the stocking. He pulled out two things: a photograph and a piece of plastic.
Marcus stared in awe at the photo clutched in his hands as Percy snatched the plastic from Marcus.
“You’re pregnant?”
She smiled. “I am.”
Percy moved to gather her in his arms. “This is brilliant news! Now I know why you said to wait until after the holidays about visiting your parents.
“Exactly,” Hermione laughed, “They’ll be here for when the baby comes.”
A sniffle pulled Hermione and Percy’s attention away from each other and towards their third.
“Marcus? Are you okay?”
“I'm going to be a dad?” He looked up at Percy before his eyes settled on Hermione. “We’re going to be parents?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
He pulled both of them close and buried his face in Percy’s hair. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, one of you two got me pregnant.”
“Thank you for listening to our hair-brained scheme all those years ago. I never would have thought that our fake dating would lead us to this all these years later.”
Hermione reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. “You better start believing it as Baby Granger-Flint will be here in six months.”
MEET THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE GRANGER-FLINT CLAN
As we previously reported, less than two years after they were married, Hermione Granger-Flint gave birth to the trio’s first child, Olivia Granger-Flint. (Image above)
Turn to page A4 for the full exclusive, including additional images of the proud parents and their little girl.