This was absurd. Who had decided that she needed to go through this complete and utter humiliation? Who deemed this entire ritual necessary? She wanted names and she wanted them now. Someone was going to have to pay for this. It was like she was in some sort of practical joke gone mad. The twins. Had to be their fault. They had to be behind this…
"Oooh! Ginny, dear, this one is absolutely perfect!" Molly cooed from somewhere behind a mess of white chiffon and satin.
Waddling over in a ruffle of frilly skirts to see what monstrosity her mother had picked out this time, Ginny tried her best not to look completely exasperated.
"Mum! That's got more frills than Aunt Muriel's drapes!" That was putting it lightly. It didn't even hint at the hideous bow that was taking up most of the dress.
"Oh, you just need to see it on. The hanger can't do it justice, dear. Now, off you go; Back into the dressing room." Her mother shooed her backwards and Ginny nearly tripped over the too many layers of skirts that were attached to the trainwreck she was wearing.
"Mental. Absobloodylutely mental…" She muttered to herself. That's when she heard stifled snickers from behind yet another dress rack. "Oh, don't you even start, you two." She warned, sending a glare over to Tonks and Hermione who were trying their best to hide their amusement at the sight before them. "Not helpful. Any of you. Harry and I are just going to elope and be done with it all." She hissed, hoping her mother wouldn't hear.
"Ginevra Weasley you mention eloping one more time…" She heard her mother chide in her all too familiar business voice.
"It was just a suggestion, Mum." She tried to save herself.
"Well let's just knock that idea right on the head, hmm?" Mrs. Weasley was too invested in this wedding to let it happen in some secret place. "Now, hurry up with that one, I've got two more here."
Ginny groaned and tripped her way into the dressing room, maneuvering quite awkwardly in her gown. Female though she might be, this girl was just not made to be able to move easily in dresses and heels. She was much better suited to her Quidditch robes and trainers. At least they were flat and didn't take up half the room with their frilly girlieness.
They'd been at this for nearly four hours and her feet hurt, her back hurt and she was fairly certain she was going to start bleeding on the pretty white dresses if the underwire in the corseted tops didn't quit poking into her. Using her wand to help her out of the latest disaster she let out a deep breath and waited a minute before she attempted the next dress. Her red hair was wild around her flushed face and she caught sight of herself in the mirror and couldn't help but let out a small sarcastic laugh. This was absolutely ridiculous. What was she even doing in this room? She wasn't the girl who tried on dresses. She was the girl who mocked those other girls. And yet, somehow upon announcing her engagement, there was some sort of whirlwind of dresses and lace and floral arrangements and caterers and reception halls and a whole other assortment of things that Ginny could hardly keep track of. It was beginning to get out of hand and there needed to be an end to it at some point.
"Tell me again…" She murmured to Hermione as the brunette was straightening out the gown and making sure it was zipped all the way.
"You love your mother and she's done more than her fair share of raising boys over the years. She needs a daughter to have an absurdly nice wedding so that she can plan it and be involved." Hermione explained calmly.
"Right. That." Ginny sighed taking a look in the mirror and rolling her eyes. "M'not allowed to kill her right?" She asked, holding up the skirt of the dress between two fingers and grimacing.
"No. You're not. Now hush up before she hears you and finds something with more lace and bows for you to put on." Tonks laughed and gave her mate a shove towards where Molly was eyeing some particularly heinous dresses.
"Oooh! I think I like this one best so far!" Molly said with a nod, spinning her daughter in a circle so she could admire the dress properly. "Just a bit of alterations and it should be perfect!" She murmured mostly to herself.
"I can't breathe in this one." Ginny said with a sigh. "Mum, listen. I need a break. Twenty minutes. Please? Chiffon and satin and lace and I…we don't mix and…twenty minutes…less. I swear." She was practically in her knees and begging.
"Oh, fine. Go. But we need to find a dress today, Ginevra. There's still a lot to be done and believe me, you'll want to have this taken care of." Molly warned, helping her daughter free herself of the white garment from hell.
"Yes, yes, I know. I'm going to browse the shop while I break. See? Multi-tasking and all that stuff you tried to instill in me." Ginny said with only a slight bit of cheek in her voice. Molly simply rolled her eyes and went off to look at veils.
Once she was back in a proper pair of pants and a T-shirt, Ginny was in a much more agreeable mood. "Hermione, you ought to try on a dress or two. M'sure Mum can find one that will just look smashing on you."
Hermione shot her friend a warning look, raising a single eyebrow. "You say one word and I will not hesitate to owl Muriel and tell her what she's missing out on." Hermione threatened.
The grin slipped right off Ginny's face and she gave a look of betrayal. "You wouldn't…"
"Wouldn't I?" Hermione asked, the corners of her mouth pulling up into a smile. Tonks simply laughed and took each girl by the arm, leading them through the maze of a store grinning.
"Wotcher you two." She said, playing mediator. "We ought to at least pretend like we're looking."
"We've been in this store for hours. I've a feeling that Mum isn't going to let us out til we've found the…" Ginny broke off as she caught sight of one of the manikins being magically dressed in a simple looking gown that held no lace or obscene bows of any sort. "Perfect dress." She said softly.
"Miss?" Hermione called to the closest saleswoman as soon as she caught sight of what Ginny was mesmerized by. "We'd like to try that one, for her please?" This was exactly why Hermione was the maid of honor.
The salesgirl nodded and ducked into the back to grab Ginny's size, who was still staring at the manikin.
"I'm not imagining, right?" She asked, vaguely to no one in particular.
"Nope. Not imagining. That dress is…Merlin." Tonks said in the same vague voice as her friend. Only Hermione seemed to be still connected to reality and she was the one to take the dress from the salesgirl when it was brought out. She tore Ginny away from gaping at the manikin and helped her into the dressing room.
Ginny emerged five minutes later, fully dressed and a dopey sort of grin on her face. The dress fit perfectly. It didn't even need to be hemmed. It was tightly fit around the middle, but not uncomfortably so. It was strapless with a sort of A-line skirt, flaring out with a slight train in the back. There was an elegant embroidery in the fabric and it was lightly beaded, but not overly so. It seemed to glitter on her and when she moved, she almost floated on the ground.
"Oh, Gin…" Hermione breathed, beaming at her friend.
"That's it." Tonks said nodding, looking over to Molly to gauge her reaction.
Molly was quiet for a long moment before bursting out into tears and rushing towards her daughter. "MY BABY GIRL IS GETTING MARRIED!" She wailed as she pulled Ginny into a vice-like hug, cutting off any oxygen to Ginny's brain.
"Mum…crushing…lung." Ginny managed to squeak out. After another moment, her mother released her, tears still streaming down her face.
"This is it. This is…This is it." Molly repeated, beaming despite the tears on her face.
"This is it." Ginny said once more for herself. She glanced over her shoulder at one of the mirrors and watched as her reflection nodded. "This is it…"