I own very little and this is not my characters. I have 5 in the can so this should be a quick update. Please let me know what you think
Chapter 1
Ron and George was window shopping for gifts for Ginny and Harry's upcoming wedding. "I don't know what I am supposed to do; I have never been a best man before! And Harry is muggle raised, is there any tradition in the muggle world that is done?" George scrunches up his face in thought when an almost visible light pops over his head. George looks to his little brother "There is one as a matter of fact, I heard about it a few summers ago, Lee Jordon's cousin in America got married a few summers ago. He was told that he was too young to attend but it was called a bachelor party!" Ron looks sidelong to his brother "Sounds ominous, what happens at a bachelor party?" "Well from what I remember; a group of Harry's male friends get together to eat dinner, make gentle fun of the groom to be and give him gag gifts, to warn harry away from the institution of marriage and how he will be missed as a singe man and what he will miss out on once he gets married." Ron grimaces "Sounds sort of dodgy, it is our sister that is marrying him and she will kill is both if the wedding doesn't go off with out a hitch." George punched Ron in the arm and says "To tell you the truth, that is why in general the brides family isn't invited to this little shindig but you are the best man, come on Ronnie-kins, it will be fun, I'll take care of the entertainment. You have to find where to hold the party, I would recommend Neville's, and work on the guest list. Does that sound good to you little bro?" Ron nods reluctantly.
A few days later, Ron goes over to the Lupin house, as Remus lived in the muggle world for many years and he is still not sure whether or not George was pulling his leg about the party idea. When Ron gets Remus alone for tea he says "what have you heard about bachelor parties?" Remus makes a careful swallow of his tea to keep himself from spraying the tea all over the table. He sets the cup gently in the table and in a guarded tone asks "did either you or Harry read about the one that Sirius threw for James?" Ron look puzzled for a moment "Umm no, so it is a tradition of the best man to throw one huh? What was that one like?" Remus slips in to instructor mode "The tradition of a bachelor party or "Stag Night" was one of the few things that wizards did first before it transferred over to the non-magical people- as early as the 5th century B.C, Spartan soldiers held a dinner in their friend's honor and made toasts on his behalf. The nature of this night has changed over the years but with most ancient traditions there are rules and protocols that must be observed to preserve the spirit of this hallowed event. The first rule of Stag Night is what happens at Stag Night stays at Stag Night. The second rule of Stag Night is that it is your job to make sure that the groom can make an ass out of himself or a boob if you care to hex him to make him grow breasts on his head and make him wear a bra on his as a ceremonial thing, wish I had a picture of James. That reminds me, no photographs!
So, what goes on at a stag night? It can be any number of things in the modern day; a dinner with male friends with fun little prank gifts and hexes, that I am sure that George would be only too glad to sell to you and speeches of those who have made the leap before and of single friends saying the he will be missed. It can be a pub crawl in a foreign city with the odd strip club tossed in for flavour. Or it can be an outing with male friends that the prospective groom would enjoy. Really, it can be any thing"
Ron looks relieved "that is pretty much what George told me about what went on there. I'm going to ask Neville to use a room in his manor for the party. And George says that he will take care of the invitations, booze and entertainment, what ever that means" Remus gives Ron a non-committal nod and lets Ron know that he will get in touch with George to offer help and advice.
Ron sends an owl to Neville for a good time for him to come over to the manor to discuss some things, George asks to tag along. At the appointed time they apparate to the front gate and trek up to the front door that is answered by a well attired house elf with the deepest voice they have ever heard from a house elf "young master will see you in the parlor, walk this way." The elf walks at a brisk and efficient pace without a glance back. He opens a door that leads to a room that is painted a light green with matching regency furniture. Neville stands as they enter. "Why Ron, it has been too long since I have seen you last, refresh me." Ron scuffs his boots and looks down, "it was at your grand-mothers funeral, and sorry I couldn't stay for the whole thing". Neville stands still for a moment and then reaches out and shakes George's hand "How is business George? I heard you won the bid on that defense contract, wish I had gotten in on the ground floor like some people. Did I hear that you might be expanding your services to the continent?" George with a wink and a grin replies "I'm not sure yet but I will let you know." Neville sits back down in his seat and pours George and himself tea. Makes it to his preference and takes a biscuit from the tray. So, what can I do for you? Ron says "Mate, I would like to ask you for a favor" Neville leans further back in his chair and places the cup of tea down "of course, if it is in my power to grant. Ron grabs a chocolate biscuit and says "I was wondering if we could use one of your rooms for Harry's Stag Night." Neville leans forward and puts his hands on his knees and smiles "why didn't you just say so in the first place?" Neville stands and says "follow me to the den, this is no place to discuss such things" as he walks to an adjacent room with dark oak paneling, squashy leather chairs a fire place and a full wet bar. "What's your pleasure gents, single malt, whiskey on the rocks, care for a cigar? " Neville calls over his shoulder. "No just the thing, Longbottom vintage laid by my great-grand father!" He pours three fingers in each and hands a glass to each of them. Neville and George take an experimental sip and Ron empties his glass "do I taste a hint of tobacco?" asks George. Neville nods, "it is how the Longbottom's first made our fortune." "Wait a tick, how do you know about Stag Night and I don't?" asks Ron. Neville smiles "my father was one of Harry's father's groomsmen." I asked Gran about it and she said that there are some things that are just not discussed in polite company. She looked like she had just sucked on a whole lemon and she muttered darkly "He didn't leave his room for a whole day after wards"
"I was at that age where I thought that most if the things not discussed in polite were the most interesting. I went to my Great Uncle Algie who had the dubious honor the year before to give me "the facts of life" talk. I got the gist from him and wanted to go to one ever since" Ron looked at Neville "what have you heard about Bachelor parties?" George, sitting next to Ron puts his finger to his lips and taps the side of his nose; Neville gives a slight nod and a quick wink and asks "what do you have in mind?" Ron furrows his brow "from what I heard, men who are not the prospective brides family; drink a bit, tell funny stories about the groom to be and give him some gag gifts." Neville carefully purses his lips and gives a slow nod "that is about what I heard as well, how many people do you think will be attending?" Ron waves his hand "dunno, twenty-five or thirty?" Neville replies "that will not be a problem, what date are you thinking?" George cuts in "we are working with some schedules, the date isn't set in stone." Neville stands up from his chair "relax Ron, enjoy the brandy, I'm going to borrow your brother to look over my calendar in my office to see when my own schedule looks like." Neville and George exit the room and go all the way to the end of the hallway to go into a room decorated similar to his den but with a desk and a large window overlooking the landscape outside. Neville bursts out laughing "I almost hurt myself holding that in, Merlin's beard! Why does Ron have the official version of what goes on during stag night? What do you really have in mind?" George grins back at him "Ron can't keep a secret to save his life, and I want to give Harry a proper send off. To tell the truth, I could use another head to help with the planning and logistics, my usual one is… gone." George looks to the ground for a moment. Neville looks sympathetic for a moment and then brightens "I know the perfect person! Brilliant, can keep a secret and was the smartest witch in her class!" George raises his eyebrows "you're not talking about Hermione, are you?" Neville grins "nope, close though, Luna Lovegood!
