Disclaimer: The only place I own Harry Potter (or the characters and settings of his magical world) is in my dreams. They all actually belong to J.K. Rowling, as if you didn't know.
Ginny Weasley had once again shut herself up in her bedroom off the third floor landing of the Burrow. She had been arguing with Fleur as she had done so many times already this summer, and had run upstairs to hide out for a bit, as she didn't want people seeing her cry. For, as much as she knew Fleur would make Bill happy, she couldn't help feeling dislike for the haughtiness and disdain with which Fleur seemed to treat her especially.
Now that Fleur's parents and sister had arrived, Ginny was stuck doing all the extra house-work while her mother kept them all entertained and helped them with the wedding-planning. Not that she would rather be doing that than chores, as Molly Weasley often got to bed late, got up cranky, and seemed perpetually cross these days. But that didn't mean Ginny enjoyed being the one who had to work like a house-elf for nearly no recognition.
Ginny supposed that Fleur's sister Gabrielle wasn't quite so bad, but as they didn't speak the same language, it made getting on with each other much more difficult. And when not in the company of the Delacour parents, Gabrielle could most often be seen fawning over Harry Potter, who had come to stay at the Burrow until after the wedding.
Harry. Where to start? He had basically dumped her the day of Dumbledore's funeral. Why did he always have to be so noble and, well, stupid? She had liked him from the moment she laid eyes on him, and knew deep-down that their fleeting relationship had probably been too good to last. Still, she couldn't help but feel regret and sadness for the things she had never told him, and all the time that may have been wasted before the end of the school term. And thinking about him now just gave her another reason to cry.
She was just beginning to sob silently as she wallowed in thoughts of Harry going off and quitting school (and Ron and Hermione going with him) leaving her at a changed Hogwarts all by herself; when suddenly there was a tapping at the window. She looked up through watery eyes and saw a large snowy owl perched on the flowerbox, standing among what were once flourishing begonias, but which had died mysteriously when some strange liquid of Fred and George's had fallen into them when the twins had taken to experimenting on the roof.
Ginny got off the bed and ran to the window, wiping her eyes on the way.
"Hedwig!" she said, brightening, as she opened the screen.
But a second look told her that this was, in fact, most definitely not Hedwig. The beautiful fowl nudged a large pearly white envelope into her hands and then took off with a soft hoot. Ginny stared for a moment at the front of the iridescent letter addressed to Mlle. Ginevra M. Weasley, before tentatively turning it over to find that it had been sealed in silver wax with the Delacour coat of arms. She trembled in anger as she slid a finger under the envelope's fold and broke the seal. Ginny could not believe the nerve Fleur had in sending this to her. It had just better be an apology, she thought as she glared at the letter. But before she could do anything else, the envelope leapt from her hands and sang shrilly,
"My seester soon-to-be,
Please leesten carefully
To what I say:
Our families will unite;
New futures shining bright
With love's reconciling light
On my wedding day"
All sung quite operatically and to the tune of "God Save the Queen." Ginny barely had time for the disbelief to register before she realized there was more…
"Hear what I now propose:
You are ze one I chose
To stand weeth me.
Now zat our fates are tied
'Ow I would fill weeth pride –
I'd be ze 'appiest bride
If my maid you'll be"
And with a small flutter and a delicate "poof," the envelope dissolved in a mist of silver dust, leaving a string of pearls magically suspended in front of her at eye level until she reached out and plucked them from the air with a small smile. Ginny didn't know why Fleur had ever bothered to make fun of Celestina Warbeck, as she was not much of a singer or songwriter herself. And she was so aggravating! But also slightly amusing. A singing Howler? And since Ginny was, after all, a kind person, who only wanted to see her brother happy, she would of course accept, and officially become the second bridesmaid for Fleur's wedding.
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The days passed, full of frantic preparations, and tiffs between different family members. But Ginny had at least managed to find some spare moments here and there to spend with Harry, Ron and Hermione. She could tell that they were all putting on a brave face for her and she tried everything in her power to be cheerful every time she was with them, but what remained unspoken was the simple fact that after the wedding was over, Ginny did not know when she would be seeing any of them again.
She had been looking for a way to spend some time with Harry alone before the wedding, but there was so much to do and so little time, that it was nearly impossible. As it was, the one time she was able to catch him after a meal as he volunteered to help her clean away the dishes, they were interrupted so many times, (once by Fred and George trying to get Ron to prove he could finally Apparate accurately by Apparating directly into the kitchen sink) that all they managed was small talk, and Ginny felt that they would never get the chance to really talk about where things had left off at the end of school.
One bright spot amongst all the work and worry was that Ginny's O.W.L.s had come in. She had failed History of Magic and Divination, though she ultimately had earned a total of seven O.W.L.s, including managing three "Outstanding" marks in Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, and Defense Against the Dark Arts, which she knew was better than Harry or Ron. She showed Hermione first, as she was the most academically-minded and the one most likely to genuinely congratulate her, instead of grudgingly giving her a sarcastic "Cheers to you" like Ron, or bragging to any one who would listen, like her mother.
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As the wedding day approached, guests arrived and tempers flared.
The wedding was to take place in the Burrow's back garden, just beyond the orchard. The Weasley's were silently happy that it was customary for the bride's family to take care of expenses, of course, else they would surely have had to go into debt. As it turned out, Fleur's family was rather more affluent than most, and was even friends with some French dignitaries, including the French Minister of Magic, himself. Most of the guests from Fleur's side were staying at Muggle hotels in the town of Ottery St. Catchpole, which was the village nearby. Some were choosing to Floo in or Apparate on the morning of the wedding, and most of the guests coming to see Bill were staying on the Weasley's front lawn in tents they'd brought themselves. Bill's friends were hardy, earthy types, and didn't really seem to mind.
Ginny's entire family had soon arrived, including Percy; her grandfather on her mother's side, Hylas Prewett and his sister (and Ginny's great-aunt), Muriel; Arthur's oldest brother, Martin; and quite an assortment of first and second cousins. And as the morning of the wedding came around, all the Weasley family was scrambling at the last minute to make sure everything was going smoothly. Well, except, perhaps, for Fred and George who were their usual mischief-making selves. But Ginny had been forbidden to join them until after the wedding was over, and her mother had even managed to make her promise not to tell Fred and George about her idea to bewitch the garden gnomes to throw dungbombs at the newlyweds instead of rice or confetti.
At last the big moment arrived. The guests were seated and the wedding party had just finished getting ready inside the house. Ginny and Gabrielle walked down the aisle first, accompanied by two of Bill's closest friends from his Hogwarts days, Donovan Kiteprice and Cassius Zimms. She and Gabrielle were wearing matching dress robes of pale, shimmering gold which were rather lower cut in the front than Ginny was used to, but elegant, and made with layers of light, flowing silk. They both wore a small string of pearls, and had wreaths of baby's breath woven into their hair, and they were each carrying a bouquet of white roses with several tiny glowing fairies dancing amongst the blooms.
They waited silently, expectantly at the front as Bill came down the aisle, walking slowly with the wooden cane he'd been using since he'd been attacked by the werewolf, Fenrir Greyback. It was obvious to Ginny that a few of Bill's friends and most of Fleur's guests had not seen Bill until this moment, and they shifted uncomfortably at the sight of his dragging limp and deeply scarred face. Some of the cuts were still shiny and raw and looked as though they would never properly heal. Madam Pomfrey, as well as the Healers at St. Mungo's, had confirmed that Bill would eventually regain full use of all of his limbs, but the scarring on his face would likely remain, and the barely-concealed revulsion on the faces of some of those in attendance gave Ginny a fair idea of just how much her brother's life had changed since the attack. She lifted her chin defiantly as he came to stop in front of them. He saw her looking at him and gave her a lopsided grin. Ginny smiled back, though it pained her to know that his own smile would never be the same.
She looked out over the guests, and saw her mother positively sobbing in the first row, though she expected nothing less. She saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione sitting two rows behind her mother, in the seats closest to the aisle. Hermione was crying as well. Ginny knew that Hermione secretly always cried at weddings, but Ron was looking decidedly pleased with himself, as this was his and Hermione's first public appearance together as an official couple since they had finally started dating once school let out for the holidays. Ginny suddenly thought, If they could date each other in the face of the dangerous task of finding and fighting Voldemort, why can't Harry and I? Ginny sighed. It had all come full circle. She was back to thinking about Harry. But she didn't have time to ruminate any more on the subject as Fleur had begun to glide gracefully down the aisle in pristine white robes embroidered with sparkling stars and moons, her silky sheet of silvery mane coiled half-up in big, immaculate curls under a gleaming tiara that Ginny knew belonged to her own Great-Auntie Muriel. And trailing behind her on the petal-strewn ground was a long, old-fashioned train being carried by low-flying fairies. Overall, Ginny had to admit that Fleur was the most gorgeous bride she had ever seen. Apparently, several of the wizards present thought so too, as they stared and even began to rise from their seats until being restrained by wives, mothers, and girlfriends, as was the case with Ron and Hermione.
The happy couple said their vows, and before Ginny knew it, the ceremony had ended, leaving her to think she should have been paying more attention on her brother's special day. But there was so much to think about and Ginny had to go and get changed to start preparing for the reception right away.
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The reception was held in a big white tent just on the other side of the back garden, closer to the house so people could come and go more easily. By the time the reception had started, half the guests had left. But those who had stayed had come prepared to forget all their problems with a little music, dancing, and elderflower wine.
The first dance, of course, belonged to the bride and her father, and everyone watched enraptured as Fleur and her handsome father swirled around the dance floor. Ginny's mother and Bill stood to one side, as Bill couldn't really dance in his current condition. Soon the party was in full sway, some of the guests becoming rowdier as the night went on, filled with the joviality that too much Firewhiskey brings. Ginny noticed that Fleur had danced a song with the French Minister and that one of the members of his entourage had even asked a blushing Molly Weasley for a dance. Ginny occupied herself for most of the night with serving pumpkin juice, Gillywater and Butterbeer to those attendees who were still underage. But she managed to pass the task to Hermione when Harry came over during a slow song to ask her to dance. She was exhausted, but it had been so long since she'd really been close to Harry that she readily complied.
Harry led her to the center of the dance floor and they settled into a smooth rocking rhythm as they held each other for what Ginny was sure would be the last time. She looked into Harry's emerald eyes and felt her heart break all over again. This was really it. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when Harry gave her a look that plainly said "Don't say anything, let's just enjoy this while it last." Ginny sighed. She knew he was right, and she didn't really know what she would have said anyway. She leaned in and kissed the corner of his mouth briefly before resting her head on his shoulder as they danced. She wished this moment would never end, and as one large, wet tear seeped from the corner of her eye onto Harry's shoulder, she snapped her head up and looked at him. He had just stiffened and squeezed her. Tightly.
But then she heard it too. A disturbance had started at the far end of the tent. For a moment she thought it was some raucous partiers who had gotten a little out of hand. Then her stomach dropped as the crowd parted some to reveal what she immediately recognized as Death Eaters.
"Death Eaters? At the wedding?" Ginny whispered frantically to Harry.
Harry didn't answer. He had gone quite still.
"But how did they find –"
Ginny was cut off by a silencing look from Harry.
He pulled her by the hand, and they sneaked off the dance floor. It was apparent that not everyone had noticed, as the music was still blaring and some couples were still swaying happily to the beat. Harry dragged her behind a table covered in Bill and Fleur's wedding gifts, where they ducked down quietly so Harry could plan his next move.
"Do you think they're after you?" asked Ginny nervously.
"I wouldn't be surprised," said Harry almost too calmly.
"What are you going to –"
But again Ginny was cut off with Harry's quiet "shh."
She realized that the disruption was getting louder as the people started murmuring to each other and stopped dancing, exiting the dance floor as quickly as possible. Harry whipped out his wand, preparing to stand and walk out into the open, when there was a brilliant green flash and several people screamed. The music stopped. Ginny peeked her head around the corner of the table, but couldn't see what was going on since her line of vision was blocked by the dress robes of the crowd that had left the dance floor. Again there was a flash of bright green light and this time, Ginny followed the other spectators' shocked eyes to the ceiling of the tent which now had a smoking hole right in the center. Ginny and Harry stood up together to get a better look, and as they did, one Death Eater turned completely in their direction. The others soon followed suit. Harry raised his wand to fight back, but the Death Eaters just cackled manically and each Apparated away with a loud "pop."
Harry let his wand arm fall to his side. He turned and looked at Ginny quizzically.
"But I thought they'd –"
"I know! I don't know, either!" said Ginny in a whispered exclamation.
Harry walked out into the center of the empty dance floor with Ginny right behind him. She pressed herself as close to his back as she could comfortably get. When they were directly beneath the burnt opening in the top of the tent, Harry flung an arm out to stop her from getting any closer. As they looked out through the rip and into the blackness of the night sky, there, among the silvery stars, was the unmistakable green glow of the Dark Mark. The Death Eaters had killed.