Chapter 1
Luna Lovegood looked into the mirror on the landing of the Second floor of the Burrow. Today was Ginny and Harry's wedding and she was to be a bridesmaid with Hermione and Ffleur. Her dress was pale silver. It was beautifully elegant, she decided. She was grateful Ginny didn't force her to wear heels; it would have been rather difficult to walk along the grass.
The house was buzzing with activity and preparations. Suddenly there were footsteps from upstairs. They moved around a bit, stopped, and then began to descend the stairs. Luna looked towards the mouth of the stairs as one of the older Weasley boys came into view wearing black shorts and a white t-shirt with a dragon on it. His feet were bare. It certainly wasn't Percy, Luna thought. Percy was far too uptight to wear anything like that. Bill was with Ffleur, holding her hair back as she dealt with her morning sickness. So, she decided that this must be Charlie, the Rogue Weasley who lived in Romania working with dragons.
"You still have some shaving foam, you know. It's right there, above your lip," she said brightly with a smile as she pointed to her own lip as a demonstration.
Charlie wiped the foam off of his face.
"Thanks," He replied, smiling in return. "So, you're one of the bridesmaids?"
"Yes, I suppose that the tradition of bridesmaids having matching dresses rather makes it obvious, as well as more difficult to blend in."
"Right," he said with a devilish half smile. "I just figured you were because you look like the kind of girl my sister would be friends with."
"And what kind of girl might that be?" Luna questioned, tilting her head to one side with curiosity.
"Ah you know, different, out of the ordinary, the kind of girl who's a thousand kinds of trouble. You see, I taught my sister just how awesome those kinds of people are and now, you see, she's hooked."
"So, I'm the kind of person you're sister's friends with because that's the kind of person you'd be friends with?" Luna smiled at the look of surprise on his face.
"Err, yeah, I suppose so. I mean most of my friends don't wear dresses, but that'd be strange seeing as most of my friends are either dragons or of the male variety. Actually, I do have one friend who wears dresses…"
"And who might that be?"
Charlie grinned, inhaled so he could reply, but was cut off before he could get a word in.
"CHARLIE!" Mrs Weasley bellowed from bellow.
"I'll tell you later," He winked before galloping downstairs. Luna laughed as she heard Mrs Weasley's shrieks due to her son not being dressed for the occasion. She could just about hear him defending himself, saying his suit was ready but didn't want to get it dirty just yet and so refused to wear it until just before the ceremony started.
Charlie Weasley was by far the most eccentric Weasley Luna had the good fortune to meet, and that was saying something. She turned to look in the mirror one last time to make sure everything was in place before going to Ginny's room on the first floor.
When she walked in she saw Ginny in her wedding dress. It was difficult not to see her, she was so beautiful. Her hair was down, mostly, with some parts of it pinned up. Her dress was white and simple, but still beautiful. Ginny Weasley liked things to be simpler. The skirt of the dress flowed like waves of the ocean around her legs, ending just above her knees. A piece of lace was tied around her waist with a bow done at the back, courtesy of Hermione. Her shoulders were bare. The top of the dress looked like a corset, only not as tight and revealing. It was white with some silver beads which dotted it. Ginny looked at Luna, smiling.
"Why are you blushing?" Ginny asked.
"I'm not; I don't think I am - am I blushing, Hermione?"
Hermione turned to Luna and grinned.
"Luna, you're definitely pink in the cheeks."
"Oh, well I suppose it's only natural."
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked. She always liked to hear Luna's replies, they were always so strange. Sometimes she seemed as though she were dreaming but it was just the way Luna was. It was endearing.
"Well, I just met your brother, Charlie, for the first time. Isn't it normal to be like this after talking to someone for the first time?"
"Oh, Charlie has that effect on people quite often, especially when it comes to girls!" Ginny explained.
"Yes, I can see why I suppose. Is it the rugged look?"
Ginny's demeanour changed slightly, stress hinted in her eyes.
"Rugged? The ceremony is in 45 minutes! That bloody idiot is supposed to be spick and span! Is he in his suit yet?"
"Not yet, but I just heard him tell Mrs Weasley that he'll change shortly before the ceremony, don't worry."
"He'd better; I'll kill him if he doesn't."
Ginny turned to Hermione.
"Are you sure you don't want Ron walking down the aisle with you behind me?"
"I'm sure. He should be up there with Harry, to keep him grounded. I'm fine walking with George, don't worry."
"Ok, is everything ok with you guys?"
"Yes," Hermione replied hesitantly.
"No it's not, you want space from him. It's only natural, don't worry, everyone needs space once in a while."
Hermione smiled sadly.
"How could you possibly know that?" She asked.
"I have a tendency to notice things other people don't, for example I notice that Ginny's putting up a front, she's actually terrified of today. In a good way though," She added as Ginny glared daggers at her. Luna only smiled at her friend. "You are terrified but you're also excited, nervous and extremely happy. A mixture of emotions which is, once again, natural."
"Luna?" Ginny asked.
"Yes?" Luna replied with a smile.
"Be careful with Charlie, he's a bit of a player."
"What's a 'player'?" Luna tilted her head slightly to one side as she often did when thinking about something that made her confused.
"A player is more or less a lady's man," Hermione answered. "Someone who flirts with lots of different girls. Ginny's right, Luna, don't get sucked into him. He tried it on me when I first met him at Bill and Ffleur's wedding."
"Ok," Luna smiled. "But I don't think you're entirely correct. Men are often like that when younger until they meet someone. Men aren't like women, for obvious reasons and for less obvious reasons. Women often feel that they have been in love more than once and when they find someone new who they really fall in love with, someone they can't live without, they say it feels different than all the other times. This is because all the other times they think they're in love because their brains tell them it is love. We trick ourselves into believing we're in love. However the real love is felt from the heart, which is why it feels different. Men don't mess around with believing they're in love or with tricking themselves. When they're in love they know it, they don't feel they need to pretend when they're not in love which is why we often feel they're being horrible a lot of the time. They're honest, not horrible. Women should realise that, I think."
"Ok Loony Lovegood, great speech. Do you know where Ffleur is?" Ginny asked as she smiled at her friend's strange ways.
"Oh yes, she's just finishing up her morning sickness, she shouldn't be long now."
"How do you know she won't be long?"
"She told me just yesterday it usually finishes at around 10:45am at the latest."
"Oh."
"Would you like me to get you a drink or some food?" Luna asked.
"Some water would be great, thanks. I hate not being able to leave my room. Why couldn't Harry just sleep outside in a tent?"
Luna left the room and went down the rickety stairs and into the kitchen. Leaning against the sink Luna saw Charlie, who was talking to George. Charlie looked out of the corner of his eye when he noticed the air shift in the room. After working with dragons for so long he was able to sense minor changes in the air. It was a valuable skill because some of the more dangerous dragons could kill you in a second if you weren't careful. When he looked he saw the bridesmaid he had met on the landing. Her long, wavy blond hair cascaded down her back. The silver of her dress made her stand out even more. She walked with grace without seeming to try.
"Earth to Charlie, hello?" He heard George. Charlie tore his eyes away from the girl to continue his conversation with George.
"Sorry, could I just get to the tap?" He heard a silky voice ask seconds later. He turned again to see the girl standing just two feet away from him.
"Sure thing," He said as he moved from the sink closer to George. He felt a nudge in the small of his back from George which made him smirk.
"Charlie Weasley you get up those stairs right now and get dressed!" Came the booming voice of Mrs Weasley from the doorway. Charlie jumped in surprise before smirking at his mother, grabbing an apple and running upstairs. He would have to talk to that girl again later, he thought.
