“If you’re in doubt, dear brother, why don’t you just take another read of that book you and Charlie didn’t want Mum to see?”

This time, Bill couldn’t stop his cheeks blazing. Not even bothering to feign innocence, he hissed in a low whisper, “Where did you find that?”

He had to find out if it was her. He couldn’t just let an opportunity like this go by, even if it was impossible that Fleur could have just appeared here, out of the blue, in his new place of work.

In hindsight, Bill should have realised that the Leaky Cauldron probably wasn’t the most romantic of locations to suggest for a first date. In fact, he’d realised this as soon as the words had left his lips, but he hadn’t been thinking straight and it had been the first place to spring to mind.

Merlin, how long had he been asleep? He wasn’t just late. No, late was showing up ten minutes after the time you arranged to meet, where a chorus of ‘I’m sorry’ and a quick kiss would more than suffice as an adequate apology. Half an hour late? Well, that was an entirely different story altogether. An entire hour and a half?

Not the threat of full scale war that beckoned in the future, not even You Know Who himself could flood Bill’s feelings of happiness at this moment in time. He had Fleur now, and he was going to have her forever. If that wasn’t happiness, then Bill didn’t know what was.

‘I ‘ave discussed it with Bill, and we agreed zat since we are planning to live in England after ze wedding, we should ‘ave ze actual ceremony in France!’

‘Well, you obviously have it all worked out then, don’t you?’ Molly retorted, pushing off her husband’s attempt at a comforting arm round her shoulders. ‘And I suppose we’ll all be expected to traipse all the way over to France in the middle of this War for a wedding?’

‘If you want to see your son get married, zen yes!’ Fleur replied furiously, pushing her hair away from her face.