It was a beautiful summer's day and a large group of people was assembled in a courtyard in London. The people were wearing gowns and suits of the nicest kind, which suggested that they were there for a formal affair of some sort. Surrounding the guests were gorgeous flowers around which butterflies and bees fluttered and buzzed happily. Thirty feet in front of the first row of seats was a fountain spraying water into the air in a graceful arc; a few feet closer to the attendants was an altar draped in flowers.
On the right of the aisle facing the altar sat a family of five, all with vivid red hair, some looking gloomier than others. The boy to the far right, who appeared to be the youngest, sat hunched in his chair, looking grumpy. A few rows behind the Weasleys sat a boy with untidy black hair and glasses and a girl with brown hair that was put up in a half-pony and fell gracefully in curls. Her hair had only once before been sleek; that, too, was for a formal occassion. Mrs. Weasley had told Harry and Hermione that it was okay for them to sit with the family, but both Harry and Hermione felt out-of-place sitting with the Weasleys.
Harry felt completely awkward being at Ron's brother's wedding altogether, for it meant that he would have to see Ginny with whom he had broken up a mere couple of weeks previously. He was not sure that he would be able to see her there, all dressed up, and resist the urge to kiss her. It had broken his heart to say goodbye to her at Dumbledore's funeral, and seeing her again so soon was going to be even harder. Harry looked at the friend sitting next to him and noticed that she was staring at something in front of her. Turning his head, Harry saw what she was looking at and smiled. He knew that Hermione and Ron had finally started to realize that they had feelings for each other and had seen Ron comforting her at Dumbledore's funeral. Harry briefly wondered what would happen between his two best friends during the reception, but had no time to reflect any further, for all the guests rose as one as the music began to play and the wedding party started to make its procession toward the altar.
Harry reluctantly turned toward the back of the garden knowing what he would see; sure enough, there was Ginny walking behind Gabrielle Delacour, Fleur's little sister, dressed in a beautiful gold gown with her hair done the same way as Hermione's. Harry's heart clenched tightly as he saw Ginny walking towards him, pointedly staring straight ahead of her so, Harry was sure, she could avoid his gaze. Harry closed his eyes as Ginny walked past him, and he felt a gentle touch on his shoulder which he knew to be Hermione's silent comfort. Harry opened his eyes as he heard "Here Comes the Bride" begin to play and saw Fleur, dressed in a long white gown which seemed to bring out the veela side in her, walking toward Bill, who showed no signs of having been attacked by a werewolf a few weeks ago, and the altar. As Fleur approached her groom the wedding guests turned to face the altar and sat down. Harry looked at Ron and noticed him looking dazed; apparently Hermione had seen Ron's face too, for she was scowling.
"That was a really nice ceremony, don't you think, Harry?" Hermione said when Bill and Fleur had departed to the reception.
"Harry?"
"Wha – oh, yeah," Harry answered, tearing his eyes away from Ginny who had approached her family.
"Shall we go to the Weasleys?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah, I guess," Harry said reluctantly. Going over to the Weasleys would mean he would have to see Ginny. It was not that he did not want to see Ginny; he just knew that it would hurt more if he had to talk to her. Ron, however, saved him the pain of greeting Ginny by walking over to where Harry and Hermione were sitting.
"Hi," Ron said.
"Hello," Hermione said a little stiffly. Ron did not seem to notice the hardness in her voice.
"Great wedding," Harry said, smiling at his best friend.
"Yeah," Ron said a little too dejectedly. Hermione frowned.
"Fleur looked very pretty, didn't she, Ron," Hermione said, smirking.
"So did Ginny," Harry said, a sad note in his voice.
"Harry, when this war is over, and Ginny is alive, you will be glad that you broke up with her and you can get back together," Hermione said sympathetically.
"Yeah, I know. But it's still really hard to see her here all dressed up and everything," Harry said, sitting down. Ron and Hermione followed suit.
"I just hope that it isn't all for nothing," Harry said seriously.
"What do you mean?" Ron asked.
"Well, I did it to save her, but Voldemort's bound to know that she was my girlfriend. I mean, between Malfoy and Snape, he has to know that there is someone out there besides you two that I would do anything to keep alive. He's already used her as bait; now there's even more of a reason." Harry buried his head in his hands and sighed.
Before Ron or Hermione could respond to what Harry had said, Ginny came over.
"We have to go guys." Harry had looked up at the sound of Ginny's voice.
"Hi, Ginny," Harry said in an oddly restricted voice.
"Hi, Harry," Ginny said in a voice just as constricted as Harry's.
"Let's go," Hermione said, breaking the silence as Harry and Ginny continued to stare at each other through equally sad eyes.
"Yeah," Ron said, grabbing his little sister's hand and moving her toward their parents.
"Are you alright?" Hermione asked Harry concernedly.
"Yeah, let's just go." And he led Hermione to the back of the garden where the Weasleys were waiting for them.
Ten minutes later the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione got out of the magical enhanced car outside of the Burrow. They walked around to the back of the house where there was a large tent sent up for the reception. There were already people there who had apparated directly from the ceremony. Bill and Fleur were already seated at the wedding party table along with Charlie who had not driven in the car with his family. Ginny walked to the head table and took her place as a bridesmaid, as did Mr. and Mrs. Weasley as the parents of the groom. Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, and Harry were all placed at the same table and together found the one at which they were supposed to be seated.
When all of the guests were settled at their tables, Charlie, the best man, tapped his spoon on his glass to get everyone's attention. When all eyes were upon him, Charlie raised his glass and said,
"To Bill and Fleur, may you live many happy years together."
The guests simultaneously raised their glasses and muttered, "To Bill and Fleur."
After all of the guests finished eating and the tables were magically cleared off, Charlie again stood up and said,
"And now it is time for Bill and Fleur to dance for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley."
Bill and Fleur stood up and walked onto the dance floor, Fleur's long blonde hair blowing gracefully in the wind. Music began to play, and the bride and groom began to dance. Around the dance floor, all eyes were focused on the couple dancing, except four – two pairs of eyes staring at one another listening to the words.
We were strangers,
Starting out on a journey
Never dreaming
What we'd have to go through
Now here we are,
And I'm suddenly standing,
At the beginning with you
Ron stood up from his chair and held his hand out to Hermione. She tentatively took it and let him lead her onto the dance floor. Slowly, the two began to sway to the music, hearts beating faster than when they were seconds from death.
"Are you sure we should be dancing?" Hermione asked Ron. "This is your brother's wedding song."
No one told me
I was going to find you,
Unexpected
What you did to my heart,
When I lost hope
You were there to remind me
This is the start
And life is a road
And I wanna keep going
Love is a river
I wanna keep flowing
Life is a road
Now and forever
Wonderful journey
I'll be there when the world stops turning
I'll be there when the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you
We were strangers
On a crazy adventure
Never dreaming
How our dreams would come true
Now here we stand unafraid of the future
At the beginning with you
I knew there was somebody somewhere
That made love in the dark
Now I know my dream will live on
I've been waiting so long
Nothings gonna tear us apart
Life is a road and I wanna keep going
Love is a river I wanna keep going on
Starting out on a journey
Life is a road and I wanna keep going
Love is a river I wanna keep flowing
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you
"He won't mind, Hermione. I'm sure of it."
As Bill spun his new wife around the dance floor, he spotted one other couple dancing alongside them. Smiling to himself that Ron had finally come to terms with his feelings for Hermione, Bill led Fleur to the opposite side of the floor, giving Ron and Hermione some space.
"You know, I think Bill chose this song more for us than him and Fleur," Ron said, seeing his brother's smile as he danced away.
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.
"Well, I guess he knew my feelings before I did and this song was his way of getting me to act on them," Ron said, looking down at Hermione.
"Did it work?" Hermione asked quietly, looking into Ron's eyes.
"Yes. I think it did." And Ron kissed Hermione full on the mouth.
7