This story is for the Quidditch League Round 3.
CHASER 2: The Choliya of Uttarakhand; write about a character who is superstitious. The superstition must be a key element of the story and influential in the character's life.
Bonus Prompts: (color) lapis lazuli and (emotion) happiness
Word Count: 1854 before the author's note.
"If Molly and Ginny don't stop, I'm going to give you guys a smashed tea set!" Hermione growled at Harry as he entered her office. She had just received yet another reminder that on no account should the tea set be pink.
Harry chuckled as he sat across from her. "Molly is the most superstitious woman I have ever met. And evidently, it was passed on to Ginny."
Hermione shook her head as she looked at him. "What brought you to my office today?" She decided dropping the subject was in both their best interests.
Harry rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Well, you see, Ginny sent me. She seemed to think you would take it better coming from me."
"Take what better coming from you?" Hermione asked calmly. She just knew it had something to do with their wedding. Ginny had been hounding her about every little detail since Harry had proposed three months previously, and their wedding wasn't for another six months! When Ginny had asked her to be the maid of honor, she had accepted, thinking it would be fun. Boy had she been wrong.
Harry mumbled something and looked at the wall.
"Harry James Potter, what does Ginny want me to do now?" Hermione asked, frustrated with the demands the wedding was taking, especially because most of the time it was something utterly ridiculous.
"She wants us to take dancing lessons, specifically the Traditional Grand March. Evidently, we may not be happy or will divorce, or some shite like that if we don't dance well at the wedding," Harry explained quickly.
Hermione fell back in her chair. "Dancing lessons? How does a dance signify happiness?" She started giggling. This was just ridiculous.
"It will be you, me, Ginny, and Ron. So, you may want to wear steel-toed boots, seeing as Ron has no dancing skills whatsoever," Harry joked.
Hermione groaned, "When will these dancing lessons be?"
Harry grinned. "They start this weekend, for the next six weeks. The instructor will decide if we need more work before adding more classes."
"Ok, fine. If you end up unhappily married, it will not be my fault, Harry Potter. But this is making me never want to get married," Hermione warned.
"Don't worry, if you ever decide to get married, you could always elope," Harry stood and walked out of her office.
Hermione shook her head and got back to work.
HPHPHP
Ginny was frantic. She hadn't found her something blue yet. She had her something old, Aunt Muriel's goblin-made tiara. She had always dreamed of wearing that as a little girl. Her something new was her dress and her underclothes. She hated that her dress would only be worn the once since it was absolute perfection, at least in her opinion.
Her something borrowed was her mother's wedding veil. It was already made to attach behind the tiara so the jealous spirits that her mother spoke of would be warded off. The jealous spirits were out to steal her and Harry's happiness. She was glad to have her mother's veil.
Now she just needed her something blue. It seemed almost odd that so much of her future happiness hinged on odd little things like this. Could it be that her mother was wrong about these superstitions? After the life that Harry had lived, though, it may be smart to have all the backing of the gods behind her.
She was searching in every shop in Diagon Alley looking for that perfect something blue. If she didn't find anything here, she would just Apparate to Hogsmeade. She entered a small jewelry shop that was off one of the side streets of the alley. It didn't look promising to her, but she may get lucky.
A bell dinged when she opened the door, and a wizened old witch stood behind the counter. "Welcome to Runes and Rods, my dear. What can I help you with today?"
"Oh, I'm getting married in five months, and I need my something blue. I can't seem to find anything that is perfect for the day, you know?" Ginny explained as she walked to the counter. Under the glass display were pieces of stone, some in simple settings for jewelry, others, just lying on black velvet.
"Something blue, you say. I have some fine sapphires in this case. Or were you looking for something a little more earthy?" the witch asked, walking down the display case.
Ginny followed, looking down at the stones. A lovely darkly colored one caught her eye. It was dark blue with glints of gold in it, oval-shaped and absolutely perfect. "What about that?" she asked, pointing to the stone.
"Ah, this, this is lapis lazuli. It is said to give wisdom and truth to the wearer. What does this remind you of?" the witch asked, holding the small stone out to Ginny.
Ginny picked it up and turned it over in her hand, looking at it closely. "It reminds me of a cloudless night sky, with all the stars ablaze."
"Precisely, these are said to come from the heavens!" the witch said excitedly. "This stone is a sign of royalty and the gods. You were drawn to it. The gods have smiled on your wedding. They will give you wisdom during times of worry with your future husband."
"Really? I was drawn to it. It called out to me. Do you think I should keep it like it is or have it set?" Ginny asked, truly curious about the properties of the stone.
"I can have it set in a simple bracelet, that way it will not clash with any wedding décor, but you have your something blue, my dear. You can pick it up next week," the witch explained walking to the register and writing information down on a piece of parchment. "It will be seven sickles and two knuts."
Ginny gave the appropriate amount of money to the witch and asked, "What's your name? I'm Ginny Weasley."
"You are the young lady who is marrying Harry Potter! It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Glorious Pennyweather. I know, my mother had odd ideas about names. You should meet my brother, his name is Amadeus," Glorious laughed.
Ginny grinned at the witch and nodded. "I will return next week. I need to get going to dancing lessons. Maybe I can convince Harry to return with me for you to meet him. I'm so glad I found this place!"
She walked out of the store and Apparated back to the Burrow to share the wonderful news of her find with her mother.
HPHPHP
Molly Weasley was frantic. It was bright and sunny, rather than rainy as she had hoped. Rain on a wedding was cleansing and brought fertility. It rained on her wedding day all those years ago. She had even requested that Harry and Ginny choose a date in the rainy season of late October or early November. It was the first Sunday in November. A day to remember as a happy day if the rain would only come!
She ran through the house, towards Ginny's room. This would be the last time she would wake her daughter in her room. Even though Molly was happy for her daughter, she was also sad to be seemingly losing another child in her house.
Over the years, the Burrow had grown emptier and emptier. Sure, there were still parties and Sunday dinners, but it wasn't the same as having all her children under one roof. She was happy that her daughter was marrying a good and honorable man. Harry Potter was more of a son to her than anything at this point, and she knew in her heart of hearts that she wasn't really losing her daughter but gaining a son. Still, the sadness warred with the happiness in her heart.
"Ginny darling, it's time to wake up," she called through the door to her daughter's room.
The door swung open, and Ginny stood there, holding her lapis lazuli bracelet in her hands rather than risk bad luck by wearing it before the wedding. Molly knew that Ginny hadn't allowed it out of her sight since retrieving it from Runes and Rods a few months before.
"Good morning, mum! I'm getting married today! Oh, I'm so happy!" Ginny stopped speaking when she noticed her mum's downcast face. "What's wrong?"
"It's not raining! I wanted it to rain, and it is bloody sunny. Rain is cleansing on a wedding day! It rained on mine, you know. And we ended up having seven children, the most in any pureblood family for generations! I want the same for you," Molly complained.
"Oh mum, Harry and I are only planning on two or three children. We don't need rain because we have everything else. You have the veil, right? You said something about warding off happiness stealers," Ginny asked worriedly.
"Yes! Oh, yes, get dressed and meet me downstairs for breakfast. Everyone should be here soon to get ready for the wedding, and you can't see Harry before the ceremony. That is the worst kind of luck."
Ginny nodded and closed her door to get dressed for breakfast. Molly walked back down the stairs to find that Harry and Hermione had already arrived.
HPHPHP
Harry twirled his wife around the dance floor as the song ended. They were finally married after everything that had happened in the last few years. The odds had not been in his favor. But he'd done it. He was the happiest he had ever been, surrounded by friends and family, and married to the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
He led Ginny off the dance floor with a smile when the song ended.
"Thank you! I'm so thirsty!" Ginny proclaimed through a grin. "Will you go get me something to drink, husband of mine?"
"Anything for you, wife of mine." Harry returned the grin and led her to a chair at the same table that Hermione and Ron were sitting at.
Harry returned with a drink for himself and Ginny and noticed the laughter bubbling up at the table. His two best friends and wife were laughing uncontrollably.
"What in the world is so funny?" he asked as he sat in the chair next to Ginny's and placed the glass in front of her.
Hermione stopped laughing long enough to explain, "I was telling Ginny that I appreciated the dance lessons but to never make me go through that torture again. My feet haven't been the same. Ron still hasn't learned to keep off my toes."
"Hey, I tried! I just can't seem to get the step right, and you won't let me lead. It isn't completely my fault," Ron exclaimed as he pointed at Hermione.
Ginny reached over and gripped his knee under the table, "I'm just glad this wedding is over. Trying to keep up with all the superstitions my mum was throwing at me was exhausting."
Harry looked at Ginny. "You mean you don't believe in all those superstitions?"
"Not anymore. We make our own happiness."