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It's a strange concept, marriage.

With a family as large as mine, I've been surrounded by a fair few in my lifetime, and I've learned that it's not one thing that forms a marriage, it's a thousand little things.

Over the years I've watched my Uncle Harry surrender to my Aunt Ginny in the heat of an argument, giving up in order to try and resolve the situation, I've watched my cousin Victoire forgive Teddy time and time again when he comes home late from work, says something that upsets her or forgets an important date.

I've seen Albus shape his entire wedding around one of my beautiful best friends Alice, wanting to take a step down from the attention of the press and give her her moment to shine. I've seen my parents, best friends since they were eleven, solidify their friendship within their marriage.

My cousin Fred was his wife's biggest cheerleader, going to every single Quidditch game she played in, but also being the only person in the entire world she'd confide in and cry to about the pressures of the media and being in the limelight. My cousin Roxy's husband Danny had stood by her side through every hardship, and she'd returned the favour when his beloved Nana had passed away last year.

And my Grandma Molly and Grandpa Arthur were the definition of endless compassion and love, in more ways than just within their marriage. They were the creators of my crazy, close-knit family; every partner one of us brought home was welcomed into the family with loving arms, to the point where some of the in-laws showed up at the Burrow without their other half, and of course every single one of them received a Weasley jumper every Christmas.

I mean, when I thought about it, I always thought of it as a kind of a lifelong contract, allowing one person to annoy you for the rest of your lives. And I could already think of someone who'd been doing that for the past thirteen years of my life.

As I felt a light jab on my forearm, I turned my head slightly to the left to see that Roxy had nudged me gently and was smiling at me reassuringly. Across the room, I saw Alice's blonde head nod as she mouthed her support: You've got this.

I breathed in shakily, feeling my throat tighten as a result. As I stood up, putting both hands on the table in front of me and pushing off it, I fought the feeling of bile rising in my body. Oh Merlin, what if I forgot what I was going to say? What would I do if no one laughed at my jokes? I tried to ignore my palms becoming clammy, and smiled at the crowded room. Half of the room was full of people I loved, and the other half was full of blonde strangers I hardly knew. In fact, I hadn't met most of them before they'd turned up this afternoon.

But all of these people had one thing in common at present: they were all looking up at me expectantly, as I was about to deliver one of the most important yet nerve-wracking speeches of my life. To my right sat Scorpius, looking ridiculously attractive, even more so than usual. I'd always told him that grey looked amazing with the silvery eyes he'd inherited from the Malfoys.

"I'd just like to apologise in advance for not being the best here at public speaking. Anyone that's known us for long enough can testify that Scorpius was always more of a chatterbox than I was – just ask our old Hogwarts Professors." I paused as they laughed, taking a deep breath in to reassure myself. You've got this, Rose. "And if you think you see me looking down at this piece of paper at any point during this, I'm not actually looking down at my notes – I'm taking a look at the massive glass of champagne I will down once I've finished this speech."

This time I couldn't help but smile as I heard the familiar genuine laughter of the Weasley brood; thank goodness my family took up such a large percentage of the reception tent.

"I've been fortunate enough to call Scorpius my best friend since we were eleven years old and my father warned me not to become "too friendly" with the Malfoy boy and "make sure I beat him in every test."" Scorpius smiled up at me, shaking his head at what he knew was coming next. "Though some of you are wondering how we got past that we eventually met, it's worth taking into consideration that Draco told Scorpius to stay away from "the little redheaded dwarf who would no doubt punch him in the face in third year", just like my mother did to him. I did in fact hit Scorpius in third year, though not because I hated him but because he took the last piece of treacle tart at dinner"

Laughter echoed throughout the room, and I could see both Mum and Draco exchanging grins at one another; my friendship with Scorpius had brought them closer together, Dad and him could even go for a drink without killing one another.

As I began talking about our time at Hogwarts, I could see that a large majority of my family members were all watching me with tears in their eyes; tears of pride I assume. They had always supported my every decision, even though it had taken some time for some of them to feel comfortable about my relationship with Scorpius, they'd become friends with him themselves.

Or perhaps those tears I was seeing in my family's eyes were tears of pity; after all, this was the wedding of the man I was in love with. To another woman.

… okay, maybe I should start from the beginning.