CHAPTER 2

Reunions, Weddings, and... Love?

"She's been, err, frantic about the wedding."
"Frantic? That woman is bloody mad!"

Tick Tock Tick Tock Harry paced back and forth in front of the fireplace. Every minute seemed to be an hour. Where could they be? At 2:59, Harry stopped in front of the fireplace and stared at with such intensity that if someone had seen him, they would have surely thought him to be mad.

The clock struck 3. The only sound heard in the entire house was the loud snoring of Vernon Dursley. Harry's heart fell, they weren't coming after all. He turned to climb back up the stairs.

Suddenly, he heard a thump from the fireplace. He quickly turned around and saw a tall red head sprawled on the living room floor with a certain bushy haired girl standing next to him. For the second time that night, Harry smiled.

"Harry!" Hermione squealed as she gave him a huge squeeze. "It's been so long! We've missed you!"

"Good to see you, mate," Ron said as he stood up. "Oy, Hermione, give poor Harry a chance to breathe, don't want to kill him right now! That's Fleur's job."

"Sorry, Harry," Hermione said apologetically as she let go of him.

"It's all right," Harry said after taking a breath of air. "What do you mean that's Fleur's job?"

"She's been, err, frantic about the wedding," Hermione filled in while Ron shook his head disbelievingly.

"Frantic? That woman is bloody mad!" Ron corrected.

"Mad, or not, she can't be worse than the Dursleys. It will be nice to go to the burrow and get away from them," Harry hinted. Getting the hint, Hermione and Ron helped Harry drag his bag to the fireplace.

"Here, we brought floo powder." Ron pulled out a small pouch from under his cloak. Harry took a pinch and threw it into the fireplace. Suddenly, emerald green flames erupted. Taking his bag, Harry stepped in and shouted "The Burrow!" Seconds later, he began to spin. Not wanting to be sick, he closed his eyes and didn't watch different wizarding houses fly by. Finally, Harry landed on the floor by the fireplace of a bustling house. A few seconds later, Ron and Hermione joined him.

"Harry, dear!" Mrs. Weasley said as she pulled him into a big hug. As she let him go, other members of the Weasley family approached him as well.

"Harry, dear!" Fred squealed, imitating his mother.

"Lovely to have you back with us, darling!" George added, shaking Harry's hand vigorously.

"Couldn't be happier, old chap!" Fred said, taking Harry's hand from George and shaking it again.

"Won…" George began.

"That's enough, boys!" Mr. Weasley interjected. "Welcome back, Harry."

"It's great to see you guys too. Thank you for everything!" Harry said when he finally had a chance to speak. He looked around, for the first time all summer, he felt like he was at home. He noticed that one person hadn't spoken yet. Her red hair sparkled in the moonlight coming through the window. Realizing that Harry was staring at her, Ginny Weasley hurriedly started tidying things up. Harry gave her a sad smile. It was for her safety. I love her and I don't want her to get hurt.

"Come on, Harry," Ron whispered in his ear. "You better get some sleep before Fleur wakes you up at blood five o'clock in the morning."

"Ronald Weasley!" Mrs. Weasley reprimanded.

"Sorry, Mum. But you know it's true."

"She's just…anxious."

"Anyway, I think now is a good time for everyone to sleep. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow," interrupted Mr. Weasley.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione climbed the stairs. At Ginny's room, Hermione wished the other two good night and went to bed. Ron and Harry continued up the stairs to Ron's bedroom under the attic. As they entered, Harry was engulfed in a sea of orange. He watched as people rode on broomsticks on several posters and Ron's bedspread, all wearing orange Quidditch robes. The words Chuddley Cannons was imprinted on each poster and the bedspread as well. One thing Harry had missed most about the wizarding world was the sport of Quidditch. He was glad to be back.

"Harrrrrrry!" Harry looked around in the forest. Who was calling his name? "Harry!" The voice seemed to be getting louder. "Harry!!!" The voice seemed mad. He felt himself being shaken. He opened his eyes and saw a blurry figure standing above him. He reached for his glasses and put them on. The blurry figure came into focus. It was Hermione. He looked around and saw that Ron looked annoyed.

"Bloody hell, Hermione! It's 5 in the morning!" Ron said groggily.

"Go tell your to-be-sister-in-law," Hermione sighed annoyed.

Harry and Ron entered the kitchen and were immediately greeted by the sight of people bustling all over the place. Mrs. Weasley breathlessly ordered them to eat some toast and then go help Fred and George set up the back yard for the next day's wedding. So, after eating a hurried breakfast, Ron and Harry went outside. The sight that met their eyes caused them to roar with laughter. Fred and George were having a "duel", turning each other into toys. Their fun was spoiled by the arrival of Mrs. Weasley.

"FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY!!! THERE ARE LESS THAN 24 HOURS LEFT UNTIL YOUR BROTHER'S WEDDING AND HERE YOU ARE TURINING EACH OTHER INTO GOD-KNOWS-WHAT? STOP FOOLING AROUND THIS INSTANT AND GET TO WORK!!!" Mrs. Weasley yelled furiously. Fred and George cowered in front of her rage.

"Yes, Mum," they said meekly.

When she left them, Harry, Ron, Fred, and George began to set up the chairs for the wedding. Three hours later, they went inside for a snack.

"The dress is vay too tight…now it is vay too loose, Molly," Fleur whined. "Ouch!" Mrs. Weasley had poked her with a pin, "accidentally."

Ginny and Hermione were helping Fleur's sister, Gabrielle, with her flower girl dress. She wasn't too happy either.

Harry and the others got a quick bite to eat and headed back outside. "Let's play Quidditch for a while and then we can go back to work," suggested Fred. Everyone agreed and so they played, Ron and Harry versus Fred and George. The game was over within 5 minutes because Harry had caught the snitch. They went back to decorating the back yard.

At 12, everyone stampeded into the house for lunch. As they all sat down for Mrs. Weasley's hastily made yet delicious food, Harry noticed that Bill was comforting a sobbing Fleur. "What wrong with her?" he asked Ron, who was sitting next to him. Ron, whose mouth was already full with food, shrugged.

As Harry climbed into bed, well past midnight, he thought about the day. It had been very busy, but he had had fun with the Weasleys. His mind wandered to the Dursleys. They must have been surprised to see him gone, but probably ecstatic to have him off of their hands. He then remembered Ginny. He had caught her glancing at him all through dinner. He knew that she was sad that they had broken up and he was too, but Harry knew that it was the right thing to do. Soon after, Ron's snoring reminded Harry how late it was and he went to sleep.

The next day dawned bright and cloudless. Harry and Ron got out of bed quickly and put on their suits. They then hurried downstairs to have breakfast. Fleur and Bill were upstairs getting ready as well as Hermione and Ginny. The rest of the family was having breakfast.

"Come on, you two," urged Mrs. Weasley. "We have to be ready for the guests." As everyone was eating breakfast, Bill appeared at the kitchen door. Mrs. Weasley burst into tears. "My baby! He's all grown up!" After she calmed down, Mrs. Weasley ordered Gabrielle to take breakfast up to Fleur because the bride and groom weren't allowed to see each other until the wedding.

Soon after, Fleur's parents arrived. They were every bit as annoying as Fleur and Gabrielle, if not more. "Zeze are ze decorations? Back home, we would have a grander wedding! Fleur! How thin you look! Have zeze people been starving you?" Everyone in the Weasley family rolled their eyes. They got back to work as the Delacour family reunion continued.

Harry and Ron were sent outside to greet the guests along with Mr. Weasley and Mr. Delacour. By 11 o'clock, nearly every seat was filled. There were only a few stragglers still entering. An old man wearing a pointed wizard's hat and a cloak that was too big for him paused at the entrance to talk to Mr. Weasley. Suddenly, he noticed Harry. "Is…Is that…Harry Pppotter?" Harry was used to it by now. Besides the people who he knew, everyone had been shocked to see the-boy-who-lived at the wedding. Harry escorted the old man to one of the few remaining seats. After a brief conversation with him, Harry returned to his station.

As he looked around, he recognized quite a few aurors. "So, your dad got this whole place protected by aurors?"

"Yeah, they didn't want to risk anything today," replied Ron absentmindedly. Noticing that Ron was acting a bit distracted, Harry turned to see what Ron was looking at. At the entrance to The Burrow, Harry saw two young women. One was wearing a creamy dress, her curly hair up in a bun with a few strands framing her face. The other was in a pale blue dress that made her look larger than life; her hair fell loosely around her shoulders. They were talking to each other and laughing as if they had no cares in the world. Suddenly, they looked up and noticed the two boys staring at them.

"Hi Harry, Ron!" called Hermione as she and Ginny walked toward them. Harry thought that the girls looked like delicate dolls; in fact, they were pretty enough to be angels.

"Ron, it's not nice to stare," Ginny giggled as Ron shut his wide-open mouth and tried to stammer out a reply. He was saved the effort when Mrs. Weasley called for the girls to go to their positions. They waved good-bye and followed Mrs. Weasley.

The organ started playing, signaling the start of the wedding. A hush fell upon the guests. One by one the ring bearer, the flower girls, and the others walked through the center aisle. Finally, Fleur and her father started towards the front. Fleur looked like a goddess. She was wearing a stunning white wedding gown and was smiling as if there was no one else there except the guy she loved, Bill Weasley. It seemed as if she was floating rather than walking because of her happiness. Everyone forgot how annoying Fleur was and just started to be happy because when someone looks so innocent and happy, you just can't help but be happy with him or her.

"Do you Bill Weasley take Fleur Delacour as your wife?"

"I do."

"And do you Fleur Delacour take Bill Weasley as you husband?"

"I do."

Everyone clapped. Ron was apparently so excited that he kissed Hermione, who was standing next to him.

"Ron!" Hermione said breathlessly. Ron turned as red as his flaming hair.

"I…I…I'm sorry…I don't know what came over me," he stammered, looking embarrassed.

Before Hermione had a chance to reply, Mr. Weasley tapped his glass for attention. After a brief speech, he concluded with a toast to the newly wed couple. As everyone was eating lunch the sound of fireworks was heard.

"For our big brother," Fred started, his voice magnified by the sonorous charm.

"May you have an amazing," George added, his voice magnified as well.

"Spectacular"

"Jovial"

Mr. Weasley coughed loudly.

"And lovely life!" they chimed in together. All the guests stood and clapped while Fleur wiped a few tears from her eyes.

"What zweet brotherz you have!" said happily to Bill.

After the applause died down, everyone went back to conversing. Ron stood next to Harry as they ate. Hermione and Ginny stood opposite them. Harry and Ginny noticed the awkward glances Ron and Hermione were giving each other and had to look away to stop themselves from bursting into laughter. Finally, Harry said to Ginny, "Ginny, let's go for a walk!"

Ginny looked puzzled for a second but then caught on to the plan and followed Harry. After walking a few feet away, they both started laughing.

"Those two are the most oblivious people I have ever met," Harry said in between laughs.

"Yes, they are! They should just give each other a chance like we did," Ginny added before realizing what she had said. After that, they walked on in silence. Suddenly, Ginny stopped and turned to face Harry. "Harry, I can't do this anymore!" she said as she wrapped her hands around him and gave him a kiss. She could feel him tense up, become confused and then finally give in.

Harry pulled apart, "Ginny, I'm doing this to protect you. Voldemort isn't going to leave you alone once he finds out that you are my girlfriend. He'll use you to try to get to me. I can't let that happen! Why don't you understand? Trust me, it hurts me just as much as it hurts you."

"Harry, you don't have to be brave and heroic all the time. We can do this together. I'll always be with you and we'll take care of each other. When we are together, Voldemort won't be able to get to either of us."

"Ginny, we are nothing compared to him. He is more powerful than us and can kill us both in a flash. I don't want you to die!"

"I don't want you to die either. And if he can kill me, then he can kill you too. If I'm going to have to live without you, I might as well die anyway. Harry…I love you!"

Harry looked at Ginny, shocked. "I don't know when it happened, it just did. I couldn't stop myself. You don't have any say in love." Ginny continued.

"Ginny, I…I love you too," Harry whispered before pulling her into a deep kiss.

This time, it was Ginny who pulled apart. "So, can we be together?"

Harry shook his head, "I love you and that's why I'm trying to protect you."

"Harry, I'm already near the top of Voldemort's "To-Kill" list, just for being the sister of your best friend. How much worse can it be your girlfriend?"

"Ginny…"

"He'll just kill me sooner. But if I'm to die anyway, I want to spend the last moments of my life with you."

Why was she so stubborn? Why didn't she understand? "I need to think about this. Until Hermione, Ron, and I make any more plans, we can be together. Okay?"

Ginny responded with a hug. She had her own plan ready anyway.

Suddenly, Harry looked up. "Did you hear that?" he whispered to Ginny.

"Hear what?" Ginny asked sounding frightened.

"Footsteps… Quick! Back to the wedding!" Harry ordered. They ran back to the wedding. As they walked through the gate, Harry turned and saw a tall man in a black cloak apparate. It probably wasn't anything to worry about…

How wrong he was….