"This wasn't your fault, Harry," Hermione said with worried eyes.

"So they chose one house out of the whole of England to blow up, one family to kill, and it just had to be the house I was at twelve hours ago?" He said sarcastically.

"Well that does seem a bit suspicious I suppose…" she muttered before scuttling off.

"She means you couldn't have prevented it," Ginny whispered in his ear.

"They didn't do anything! They just happened to know me!"

"Harry, they clothed you, fed, you, housed you, put you through school," she reasoned.

"I… Dumbledore fed me, housed me, put me through school and he he's dead. Sirius: dead. Ginny… I… What about you?" He asked with pleading eyes.

"Harry snap out of it. If Voldemort comes after us, we'll be able to hold him off!"

"That's what Dumbledore said…"

"Dumbledore had battled Voldemort dozens of times!"

"And he was killed by someone he trusted!"

"Harry, is there anyone that you think is remotely suspicious that the Weasleys trust?" Ginny asked, and Harry knew she was being sincere.

"Percy," Harry answered.

"We had a family meeting a few nights ago. We decided that since Percy has been away from home so long, he might have been brainwashed or put under the Imperius curse, so he is to be treated with extreme caution. Even if it tears mum apart, she agrees," Ginny said with a grin, even though he remained with his head in his hands, unable to see it.

"Harry will you please look at me?" She asked, sounding very upset.

He raised his head to see her worried eyes.

"Ginny… I…"

"Harry, just promise me – you won't do anything… stupid, that you'll stay clear of him for as long as you can. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you," she said, sounding like she would burst into tears at any moment.

"I promise," he whispered. She gave him a small smile and checked her watch.

"Ah blast I'm going to be late!" She exclaimed. He gave her a questioning look. "Can't see the bride for a week before… remember? Fleur went shopping with her mum for an hour… we have to get home soon… Well… to your home…"

"My home is your home," Harry said stubbornly.

"And mine is yours," she replied, then paused for a moment, as if fighting some internal battle with herself.

Finally, she lent down, kissed his cheek and whispered "Bye, Harry," then sped off to the fireplace to floo back to Grimmauld place.

Which confused Harry very much.

"Girls are weird…" He said after a few moments.

"Tell me about it, mate," Ron said, taking a seat next to him.

"You really are my best mate, Ron," Harry said with a grin.

"You're mine too, Harry. Why this sudden display of affection?" He asked.

"You always know what to say… well to me… not so much Hermione… Besides, I don't have any family left…" Harry said, looking down.

"What about that walrus of a cousin?" Ron asked, looking pained.

"I suppose…"

"Do you want to get in touch with him?"

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "No. I doubt he'd want to hear from me,"

"You're so like your father, Harry," Remus said, coming up behind them.

"Hello, Professor Lupin," Harry said.

"Hello, Harry, Ron. How are you?"

"Holding up, sir, holding up," Ron said, putting an arm on Harry's shoulder.

"I'm sorry about your aunt an uncle, Harry. I truly am. If there's anything we can do for you, don't hesitate to ask!" He said, then left, leaving the two boys to their thoughts.

After a prolonged period of silence, a thought struck Harry.

"Ron?"

"Yah mate?"

"Who did Lupin mean when he said 'we'?"

"Tonks. They're living together now," he muttered. "Lupes is staying there instead of the Burrow."

"Lupes?" Harry asked.

"That's what Bill calls him…" Ron trailed off.

"What's happening in the order?" Harry asked tiredly.

"Don't say the 'O' word!" Ron warned in a deathly dangerous quiet tone. Harry gave him a questioning look. "Public place," Ron warned. Harry nodded.

"Come on boys. Let's get out of here," Arthur said, and the boys sighed and took their place in the line for the fireplace.

Over the next couple of days, Bill seemed to get more and more nervous and took to pacing around the living room.

It was the night before the wedding when Bill finally stopped pacing and sat on the couch in front of the fire, not saying a word.

"Thank goodness you're here, Remus. Just talk some sense into him… Please?" Molly pleaded.

"You got it Molly," he said.

"Bill…" Remus said quietly, making his way over to the man.

Bill's head snapped up. "Oh hello Lupes," he said with a very forced smile.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, sitting down.

"Fine," he lied.

"I was talking to Hermione. You know what 'Fine' stands for?" Remus asked.

"No. What?"

"Freaked out, insecure, neurotic and emotional."

"Huh?"

"It's from some muggle movie,"

"Oh."

"Bill…" Remus said, turning to look at him.

Bill, too, turned. Suddenly, he began to cry as he ran a finger over his scars.

"How can I possibly provide for her? How can she love me? How could we ever make a family? How could sh-"

"William, snap out of it!" Remus snapped. "Fleur loves you! She stuck it through with you, and tomorrow, you're going to get married to her. I know you love her, you know you love her, and she knows you love her. She loves you even with your 'furry little problem', and that is true love! You can lead a normal life! Certainly, you will become a little more wild at full moon, but Fleur has her time of the month, too, right?" This made Bill laugh. "William, you're not a werewolf. You enjoy rare steak, but you will never transform. You will become angry occasionally, but you will never need to take wolfsbane. As for a family? You're going to be a great father, William," Remus smiled.

"You're the only one that calls me that…" he said, holding his hands in his lap. "And… thanks. For everything. I'm glad you're officiating the ceremony," he grinned.

"I'm honoured that you asked it of me. Now go get some rest. You're going to need it… especially for the honeymoon," Remus said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. The two men laughed and stood.

"Thanks again," Bill said, embracing Remus in a friendly man hug.

"Go to bed!" Remus laughed, pushing a much happier Bill up the stairs.

The day of the wedding came around much too early for the boys.

"Ron! Harry!" They heard Arthur yell. "Get up! You only have two hours left!"

"Two hours!" Ron groaned. "That's ages!"

"Get up, Ronald! We have to decorate, see the guests in. Stuff like that. Get UP! Get dressed! The girls will be here soon!" Arthur said. He obviously knew his sons far to well, for at that point, Ron threw himself out of bed and out the door to the bathroom. Harry and Arthur merely chuckled at him, knowing full well why Ron had done an army roll out of bed. Harry distinctly heard Arthur mutter "new record". Harry chuckled at his love-sick friend.

Meanwhile, the girls had been up for a minimum of four hours already. Hermione and Ginny had been up for six, Gabrielle and Fleur's best friend Suzette had been up for seven, and Fleur, eight.

"I cannot!" Fleur said, falling in a heap.

"Ne soyez pas idiot!" Gabrielle scolded.

"Je ne suis pas. Je suis raisonnable. Je pourrais ne jamais être une bonne épouse"

"What?" Ginny asked Hermione outside the door.

"Fleur doesn't think she could be a proper wife. Whereas Gabrielle thinks she's being silly," Hermione explained.

"I didn't know you spoke French!" Ginny said, alarmed.

"Then why did you ask me what was going on?"

"It was rhetorical!"

"Of course. Ginny you're going to be the sister in law! You have to get in there!"

"What? Why me?" Ginny said, looking alarmed again.

"Because you know everything there is to know about Bill. You just have to tell her why she's in love with him so she can't run!" Hermione rushed, pushing her in.

"Vous aimez cet homme ainsi pas…" Gabrielle reasoned.

"Fleur…" Ginny stammered, seeing her soon-to-be-sister-in-law on the floor, Gabrielle patting her back.

"Yes, sorry, Ginny… I just… uhh…"

"You don't know whether you love Bill," Ginny said, sitting next to her.

"Uh… I… I…"

"You're afraid to be in love with him," Ginny nodded.

"But… he… I…"

"But you can't imagine your life without him," Ginny agreed.

"And.. uhh…"

"Good stuff doesn't feel as good when he's not there, but even bad stuff isn't as bad when he is," Ginny again finished.

"Yes," Fleur said breathlessly. "'Ow do you know?"

"I feel the same way about Harry," she said simply.

"Ginny you are fifteen!"

"So what? Ron and Hermione fell in love when they were eleven," she shrugged. All three girls laughed, knowing it was true. In the short time they'd spent together, Ron and Hermione had become increasingly red and breathless. Outside, Hermione blushed.

"Fleur, if that's the way you feel about Bill, you can't just let him go! He's one of my favourite brothers! He taught me how to ride a broom, play Quidditch, push myself on the swings, play exploding snap, get Fred and George back for their pranks… One day he's going to be a great father, and you're going to be a great mother. But more importantly, you're in love, and you can both see it, we can all see it, people on the street can see it, hell, Ron can see it, and he can't even see his own when she waltzes around with a hot Bulgarian Quidditch star!" Again, all three girls laughed at a scarlet Hermione's expense.

"Thank you, Ginny," Fleur said through tears.

"You're welcome," Ginny smiled. "Fleur?"

"Yes?"
"I… what are you borrowing?"

"Your great Aunt Muriel's tiara," she answered.

"Fleur, mum gave you that tiara!"

"She did not!" Ginny only nodded. "What will I…"

"I have a simple silver necklace, if you'd like to borrow it…" Ginny said, looking at her feet.

"Thank you, zat would be lovely…"

And once again, for reasons unbeknownst to anyone else, the beautiful part veela and one of the famed Weasley women were in each others arms, crying.

Hermione jogged to their room to retrieve the necklace while Ginny and Fleur apologized for being so stubborn.

Before she could return, however, Molly strode in to find her daughter and Fleur gossiping about nothing in particular, finally accepting one another.

"Come on girls," she grinned. "Time to get to the Burrow."

So they all went downstairs to floo into the kitchen.

Fleur was quickly rushed outside, blindfolded, into her tent. The next hour an a half would be hard. The time frame wouldn't permit more than one person to be in the tent for an hour, or until things were ready.

Suzette opted to sit with Fleur first, while the rest quickly went into decorating.

The moment Ron and Hermione saw each other, Ron dropped the vase of flowers he held, and Hermione turned a deep scarlet. They muttered their greetings, while Harry and Ginny fought to control their laughter, while hiding their embarrassment.

"I'll take Hermione," Ginny muttered. Harry nodded, dragging Ron in the other direction.

"Silencio!" Hermione said, pointing her wand at herself. She then screamed, muted. After a complicated wand movement, she was back to her normal voice, ignoring the people around her who asked how she had managed to un-silence herself.

"Cool," Ginny muttered.

"What?" Hermione said, anxious for a change of subject.

"You un-silenced yourself!"

Hermione glared. "It wasn't that hard! I just figured that if I put a clockwise flick onto the silencing spell wand motion it would work…" she trailed off. Ginny obviously didn't understand. "Forget it."

An hour later, right on schedule, the garden was ready, and the bridesmaids and groomsmen traipsed back to the tents to get ready.

Fleur was looking sickly green by the time they had arrived. Instead of having only two bridesmaids, Bill had opted for a large wedding so his whole family could take part. Fleur was very happy with this, and wanted to include her Beuxbatons friends.

Odette, Monique and Melody had all gone to school with Fleur. Marguerite was Fleur's cousin, Gabrielle was her sister, and Suzette was her maid of honour.

Fleur paced around without shoes on. Hermione sympathized with her, and conjured a potion for her to take to get rid of some nerves.

"Ginny?" Fleur called.

"Yeah?" Ginny answered from the mirror, applying mascara.

"Would you 'elp me when you are finished?" She asked.

"Sure…" she answered, then quickly finished her make-up and headed over to Fleur.

"Sit," Ginny ordered, pointing to the seat in front of Fleur's mirro. Fleur did as she was bid. Ginny picked up Fleur's veil, which was attached to the tiara. Ginny then pulled her necklace out of her pocket and placed it on Fleur's chest. The women gasped.

Certainly, the necklace was simple, but it was beautiful. Instead of pink or gold, Fleur opted for a silver wedding, so all of her jewellery was silver, as well as the bridesmaids' dresses.

The necklace had a small diamond in it, and it set off the entire outfit. Fleur, in all her veela-ness, had never looked so beautiful.

Suddenly, Molly told them the ceremony was about to start. Fleur swallowed. Hermione conjured some more potion for her, and she took it. She pulled on her shoes, grabbed her bouquet and stood.

"I am about to get married," she announced, looking faint.

"You're about to get married!" Fleur's mother said.

Suzette whispered something in her ear, and she giggled. "Let's go," she ordered.

The Ceremony was beautiful. The audience filed in and it began.

Bill stood at the front with Lupin and Charlie, who was his best man.

Molly and Arthur came down the aisle and separated to their sides.

Harry and Hermione (who were honorary Weasleys) came after them.

After them came Andy with Monique.

Next were Fred with Odette.

George and Melody followed.

Etienne and his sister Marguerite came next.

Gabrielle waltzed down on Ron's arm.

Ginny walked down, throwing flowers, and was thus unable to go down with anyone.

Suzette (as the maid of honor) walked down alone, though she was followed by Mad-eye Moody, who had taught Bill everything he knew about curses.

Then the music changed, and Fleur came in with her father. The audience stood.

Harry tried to watch as Bill and Fleur said their vows. Molly and Fleur's mother were crying. Ron and Hermione kept shooting glances at each other, though Harry could scarcely take his eyes off Ginny. Her silver bridesmaids dress glinted in the sunlight. Her hair was pulled into an elegant bun. Her makeup was perfect. It was all Harry could do to tear his eyes from her as the ceremony ended, Fleur and Bill were legally married, Molly and Fleur's mother dissolved in tears, and the newlyweds sped down the aisle. Fleur then remembered she had to throw the bouquet, then tossed it over her shoulder. A few women made a lunge for it, though it landed in Hermione's hand. She turned scarlet again, shot a nervous glance at Ron, then went to congratulate the happy couple.

Ginny was still laughing at Hermione when Harry approached her.

"Hey!" he said.

"Hey Harry…" she said through her laughter.

Since it had been a midday ceremony, everyone had to fend for themselves for the next few hours until the reception. People were drifting off everywhere. Ron and Hermione made their way over. Both were able to keep their embarrassment from showing too much.

"Who wants to go down to the muggle restaurant?" Harry asked.

"Sure! Just let us go get changed first," Hermione said. She grabbed Ginny and the pair of them made their way up to Ginny's room at the Burrow.

"Ron stop imagining Hermione changing," Harry teased.

Ron's ears went red. "I wasn't!" he defended.

"Sure!" Harry said sarcastically. Ron thumped him on the arm as the two friends made their own way up to Ron's room.

"You know, guys," Harry said through a mouthful of steak and kidney pie. "We've never really said what we wanted to do after Hogwarts, and the war's over."

"Harry chew your food," Ginny said with a grin. "I'd like to be an Auror."

"Me, too! Sounds like great fun," Ron agreed after swallowing a large mouthful or mashed potato.

"Hermione?" Harry asked.

"I guess I like the look of healers…"

"That'd be great! When Ron, Ginny and I become famous Aurors like Moody, you'd be able to fix us up!"

"You're going to be an auror, too?" Hermione said, looking a little sad.

"Yeah…"

"Now I feel left out…"

"Do both!" Ron laughed. Hermione raised her eyebrows at him. "Well you're certainly capable!"

Hermione smiled. "Thank you. That was a lovely thing to say." Their eyes met.

Ginny, noticing the tension, spoke up. "How about we go shopping, eh?"

"Okay," Harry said, almost falling out of his seat. Ron and Hermione snapped back, then they too bailed from the booth.

For two hours, the four teens wandered around the small town's shops, occasionally making the occasional purchase.

At three, the girls announced that they had to go.

"The reception doesn't start until seven!" Ron protested.

"I know! It'll take us at least twenty minutes to get back! We'll be cutting it very fine…"

"You need four hours?"

"You think all this takes ten minutes?" Ginny asked, doing a seductive pose.

"Ginny, I love you, but you're my sister. Let's not go there…" Ron said. Hermione laughed and rolled her eyes.

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed Harry on his cheek. She then raised herself another couple of inches, whispered something in Ron's ear that turned him scarlet, then kissed his cheek, too. She then sped off.

Ginny kissed Harry's cheek, then she looked up at Ron.

Harry picked her up so she could reach, and she kissed his cheek.

"See you boys later!" She said, before chasing after Hermione.

"Blimey…" Ron muttered.

"Ron, what have we said about picturing Hermione changing?" Harry teased. Ron thumped him on the arm again.

"Come on mate. Let's do some more shopping…"

"You're not turning into a girl on me, are you?" Ron asked with a pained expression on his face.

"It's Hermione's birthday in less than a month," Harry grinned, and Ron threw himself into the nearest shop. Harry grinned as Ron was desperately searching for something appropriate. Harry finally took pity on him and dragged him from the tobacconist and into a bookstore.