Advent Gift!Fic for: Princi
Character: Gabrielle
Word Count: 517
The Wedding
Gabrielle gazed longingly at the man stood at the altar. He was smiling broadly in her direction, only he wasn't looking at her, he was looking at his bride.
He should be with me, not her, she thought to herself sadly. Did the moment they share during The Triwizard Tournament mean nothing to him? Because, to her, it meant everything.
She would give absolutely anything for him to look at her like, just once.
Her heart shattered into tiny little pieces as he declared his love for the redhead before the entire congregation. The words he spoke would run around and around in her mind for years to come: "I love you with all my heart, Ginevra Weasley."
Gabrielle wiped the tears from her eyes as they were declared husband and wife.
Fortunately, everyone around her who noticed she was crying would just assume they tears of happiness for the newlyweds. And it was with that small, comforting, reassuring thought that she allowed the tears to flow thick and fast.
The new husband and wife joined hands and walked up the aisle passing Gabrielle. She clapped her hands in congratulations along with the rest of the congregation whilst keeping her head bowed. Even though he wouldn't notice, Gabrielle didn't want him to see her tear stained face.
"You love him, don't you?" a dreamy voice asked from next to her as the wedding guests started to filter out of the tent.
Gabrielle lifted her head to and saw the familiar figure of Luna Lovegood. They had only met a few times: a brief encounter during The Triwizard Tournament, and again at her sister's wedding, and most recently at a memorial service for the fallen shortly after the end of the war.
"I don't know what you mean," Gabrielle whispered.
"You can deny it all you like, but it is written all over your face," Luna told her, sitting down in the recently vacated chair next to her. "The hurt in your eyes, which don't sparkle as much as they did the last time we met. You have a smile that doesn't quite reach your eyes. And your posture, which is very good by the way, is slightly stiff. You seem to wish you could be anywhere but here."
"Is it really that obvious?" Gabrielle sighed.
"To some, maybe," Luna answered. "But, today, to all the guests, I don't think so."
"Good," Gabrielle whispered. "It was having bad enough watching him marry her. The last thing I want is awkward questions about why I am not happy for them."
"It'll be okay, you know," Luna said, taking Gabrielle's hand in her own. "One day, your feelings for Harry Potter will be nothing but a distant memory."
"I doubt it," Gabrielle answered, recalling how he had saved her life.
"Trust me, they will," Luna promised. "Now, let's go the reception. I hear there's a fantastic spread."
Luna rose to her feet and offered Gabrielle her hand. She looked at it briefly before smiling and taking it, hoping that Luna was right and her feelings for Harry would soon dissipate.