Best Man's Speech
Contrary to Harry's expectations, the wedding had gone off without a hitch. Everyone had been there on time, Mrs. Weasley had sniffled quietly into a handkerchief and Ginny had looked so radiant that he was still surprised that he had managed to say "I do" without stuttering. Ron had had to discreetly kick him though, snapping him out of his open-mouthed reverie at seeing his almost-wife.
Now that the official part was over, they were at the reception, celebrating with their friends and family and enormous quantities of food and booze.
Harry looked up at the chime of a knife on glass. Ron was standing up, calling for silence so that he, the best man, could toast the happy couple.
"Well everybody," he began, "most of you know that I've known Ginny forever, obviously, and Harry almost as long, ever since I sat in his compartment on the train to our first year at school. So obviously I have an enormous stock of embarrassing stories I could tell you about the two of them."
Harry dropped his head into his hands, quietly groaning.
His wife – and how fantastic was it that he could call her that now? He still couldn't quite believe it – patted his shoulder soothingly.
"Don't worry," she whispered into his ear, "I can kill him if it's too bad. Or, we're married now, we can do it together."
He peeked through his fingers to see Ginny still smiling beatifically at Ron. He sat up straighter. "Their wedding is next, bet you anything. We can get him back then."
Meanwhile Ron had gone on with his speech, mentioning such delightful anecdotes as Ginny putting her elbow into the butter dish when she was eleven and Harry repeating the mishap when he was eighteen and distracted by her stretching one morning in the Burrow.
"But, seeing as Harry's my best friend and I'd quite like Ginny to not murder or bat-bogey-hex me I'm going to keep this speech nice and friendly."
The guests were laughing and clapping. Harry took one look at Ron's grin and the gleam in his eyes and knew there was worse to come.
"Ginny has been in love with Harry basically forever but Harry took a while to notice exactly what he was feeling. First inkling I had was when he laid one right on her at the party after we won the Quidditch Cup for Gryffindor. So as you see Harry kept his feelings to himself right until they got together – afterwards, though, he got so moony-eyed over her that I could barely get any sense out of him. And that's gross, Potter! My little sister!"
More scattered laughter from the guests. Harry was resigned to his fate by now.
"No, it's fine," Ron went on, "Who am I kidding, I wouldn't have been happy if the groom had been anyone else – and neither would Ginny! That has always been pretty obvious. In fact, when she was eleven, she sent him a singing Valentine. I have never seen Harrys face turn quite that shade of scarlet before or after.
And because I am sure my lovely little sister would love to relive her first ever grand romantic gesture I give you: The Famous Weasley Boys!"
Flinging his arms wide, Ron gestured to his brothers. Bill, Charlie, Percy, George and Ron all convened in front of the bridal party's table and passed around the sheet music George had conjured up.
Ginny hid her face in his shoulder. "Let's disapparate, Harry," she murmured. "Let's just start our honeymoon early. This isn't fair, you've never done anything this embarrassing."
"But it was so cute. In hindsight. And look, they've obviously put some thought into this. Surely Quidditch Hero Ginny Weasley can endure a little fun from her brothers?" he asked impishly.
"And how much do you want to bet that the thought-process involved a bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey?"
Harry quickly suppressed his laughter, but it had already infected Ginny and she sat back, smiling and slightly mollified.
As it turned out, none of The Famous Weasley Boys could carry a tune particularly well, but they sang with a great deal of enthusiasm. They were slightly off-pitch and Percy lagged behind the tune, but it was recognizably "Eyes as green as a fresh-pickled toad".
"His eyes are as green as a fresh-pickled toad," they warbled,
"His hair is as dark as a blackboard,
I wish he was mine, he's really divine,
The hero who conquered the Dark Lord."
They trailed off, paused for a beat, and then looked extremely pleased with themselves.
For a second, there was silence, but then Ginny started laughing, great guwaffing laughs that shook her whole body. Harry joined in, thinking back to the absurdity of the moment back in his second year at Hogwarts.
Angelina Johnson wolf-whistled at George and then the rest of the guests started applauding wildly. Ron pointed his wand at his throat and muttered "Sonorus!"
"Thank you, thank you ladies and gentlemen, that was the first ever – and probably last, thank god – performance by The Famous Weasley Boys."
The clapping was ebbing off and Ron put his voice back to normal.
"All I can say is: although I can't speak to Harry's divinity, he is undoubtedly Ginny's now, and I couldn't be happier for them. I wish them all the best for their future together. Let's toast the happy couple!"
As everyone raised their glasses, Ginny shuffled sideways until she was sitting in Harry's lap. He started winding her hair around his finger, playing with the bright locks.
"I remember coming up with that together with Luna," she said softly. "It does have that ring to it, doesn't it? And hey, it worked. It took a while, but it so worked. Admit it, you were retroactively enormously charmed by that in fifth year. You're all mine now." She grinned at him.
"Yes I am," he answered, looking around the room at Ron and Hermione and Luna and all their gathered loved ones. "And I couldn't be happier."