Chapter Three: Maid of Honor

All characters belong to JK Rowling. I just have a hard time letting them go.

Authors note: When I was writing the Missing Pieces I ended up messing up the ages of the Potter kids. So in this story as in it's prequel, James is the oldest, Albus is the middle and Lily is the youngest. Please don't be mad, I just really don't want to change it. That's just the way the characters grew as I was writing! thanks! Remember to review!

" Damn it."

" What's wrong now?"

Rose Weasley frowned at her reflection staring back at her from the floor length mirror adorning all four walls of the dressing room she felt slightly trapped in. She tugged at the satin folds tightly wound around her torso and couldn't help the muffled growl that slipped from between her lips.

" Are you sure you want me to wear this?"

The woman that answered her sounded more than amused. " Of course I'm sure. What's wrong with it?"

" It's very tight."

Bree Vindley laughed again, shaking a head full of onyx colored hair about a pair of relaxed shoulders. " That's the design Rosie."

Another huff came from behind the closed glass doors. " Oh for the love of god Rose! Get your butt out here so I can see for myself! Are you falling out of it or something? Doesn't it fit? I had your measurements. I can't see it not fitting you now unless you've been to your grandmothers in the last twenty four hours!"

The door opened slightly, but only revealing a bob of flaming crimson hair framing an angry face. " It's revealing Bree!"

" Of course it is!" Bree grinned, uncrossing her long legs and standing up from the chair she had been more than comfortable in. Her hand wound about the door frame and she yanked on it. Rose's grip was tighter. Bree shook her head again at the pityful look her friend was shooting her. " Rose Weasley, this is my wedding and as my maid of honor you have to obey everything I demand of you. Let me remind you I could have put you in something awfully tacky, with frills and bows and crinlan and more fills. You should be thanking your lucky stars right about now."

Rose went to open her mouth, to moan again no less, but Bree was apparently not done. " So let go of the door and come out here so I can see what needs to be altered. I swear, come your wedding I'll remember to put you through this much torment."

She gave up. What could she do. Rose supposed she was lucky in a sense. Bree was right. Her friend could have very well have put her in some atrocity to humanity, instead of a piece of satin that was sure to bring her as much attention as the bride was to gain upon entrance. Rose sighed and released the door from her death grip.

Bree more than happy with herself, stood back and let the woman slowly walk out from behind the swinging glass. " Perfect." The air emitted from her lungs in a gush of what could have only been awe.

Rose fidgeted again, the cool air pumping from the air conditioner over her head, sending small goosebumps across the skin of her exposed back.

" Well turn around!"

She made one small turn for her friend, coming about only to see a smile blossom even more so on her lips. " Well you've at least got to give me credit for the color hun. I thought I would never find anything to match your hair."

Rose blew at the thick straight bang sitting across her forehead. " Don't worry Bree. I'm going to make sure all the credit is given to you for this."

" Oh come on Rosie!"

Two warm hands wound about her bare shoulders and pushed her solidly toward another mirror. Rose squirmed, feeling the soft material brush against her sun bitten skin as she moved.

" I know green was maybe the obvious choice because of your eyes...well the easy choice really, but red suits you just fine surprisingly. And the wedding is in the fall thank the lord so I wont have to try and put you in something pink or yellow." Bree laughed again. " Can you imagine? Now look..."

Her friend twisted Rose's body around so they were face to face. " Why not show off you assets Rose? You back is sleek and beautiful, so I thought why not go backless! And the material hugs you perfectly, and please remember there is nothing wrong with showing off your curves hun. I know the pencil shape maybe a little hard to walk in at first, but once you make it down the aisle, without falling I might add, I really don't care what you do with it after that..." Another sheepish grin. " I think this dress may just be the solution to that dry spell you've been going through hun."

Rose swallowed a laugh. " Which means I have you to thank if I get laid?"

Bree grinned." Exactly!"

The laughter was easy to follow. He had bartered with the retail clerk of the boutique for maybe ten minutes before he assured the irritating woman that he would turn about if he seen anything white and flowy draped about his fiance's body.

" Bree?"

The laughter died away slowly. " Al?"

" I've been ordered to be blind for the next few minutes. Are you in your wedding dress? The lady out front promised me death of unnatural means if I took a peek."

" Come in Al. You can tell my father what your bride to be has me sucked up in."

" Your father has no say in what you're to wear to my wedding!"

Albus took in the scene when he managed to make it through the winding halls of the many dressing rooms he was now lost in. His cheeks immediatley flushed red.

" See?! Even Al thinks it's too much!"

" Albus Severus Potter, if you want a wedding at all you had better tell your cousin how pretty she looks! If I left it up to Rose she'd trot down the aisle in a damn quidditch uniform!"

Albus laughed along with his cousin, still pulling at the dress she so obviously was wishing to trade for a pair of jeans and a tshirt. " Still remember that transfiguration spell Rosie?"

Bree pouted, flicking them both pleading glares. " And that's another thing! Please, oh please, put the wands away for the ceremony at least! All I need is my grandparents having simontaneous heart attacks because one of you decided to set live, dancing fireworks off in the church, let alone change out of that dress while your walking down the damn aisle!"

" I think the stress is getting to her." Rose joked.

Al grinned. " Live dancing fireworks? Darling you should sit down."

Bree growled at them both, before looking to her fiance, a spark of nastiness settled in a pair of charcoal colored eyes. " And what did you do today dear? I thought your mother said something to me about you had wedding business to tend to."

Albus froze awkwardly before both woman. Rose, who was now once more struggling with the zipper on the dress she was confined to didn't notice. Bree however, was smiling sweetly, her hands placed on her hips, a challenge in her eyes.

" Something about you had to floo all the way to the states?"

" The states?" Rose narrowed her eyes against the tangly piece of metal that just didnt seem to want to let her out of her soft prison. " I suppose you went to buy your lovely fiance here another piece of gold for her finger did you?"

" No. I think your mother was going on about visiting someone...but who I have no idea."

" Bree." Albus quipped through clentched teeth. He grinned quickly when he noticed Rose rising from her battle with the dress, her eyes solid on his, her shoulders squared, her face vacant of any emotion but panic.

" Albus."

" Now Rosie..."

"Albus!"

Al stepped back, his hands flying up in his defense. " Bree if you want that dress to see the wedding you had better restrain my cousin here."

" You invited him to the wedding??" Rose squeeked, her cheeks had gone from stark white, to blood red. Her hands were stretched toward the man before her, now backed up against the farthest wall from her. " Albus!? You invited him to the wedding?!"

Bree was grinning too hard. " Okay Rose. Back off sweety. I do want to get married in a few weeks and he's kind of a big part of the ceremony."

" I can't believe you did this!"

" Merlin Rose, he's my best mate! Has been for years!"

" You barely ever see him Al!" Rose ran a trembling hand through her hair. " He barely ever visits! And you want him at the wedding? I mean how did you even get him to agree?!"

Albus must have turned green. He must have blinked with one eye and not the other. He wondered if he twitched. Either way, the damn woman caught it.

" You didn't?!"

" Rosie..."

Bree was already between the two cousins, doing her best to protect the dress still stuck on her friend and save her fiance's crucial organ for pro-creation from castration.

" Damn it Albus! You have James! You don't need him!"

" He's my best mate Rose!!"

" Best mate my ass Albus Potter!"

" Okay! Okay!" Bree shouted over both voices, trying to match the one that was throwing out well thought out insults and bashing when it came to the man she had only ever met on two occasions. " Okay! Rose in your corner. Albus in yours."

" You know I'm the maid of honor." Rose snarled as she backed off from her flesh and blood.

" Get over it!" Albus barked back, his patience wearing thin when it came to Rose and her sore spot. " He is!"

" Albus." Bree snapped.

" I am over it!" Rose spat, tearing at the skirt that wouldnt let her take a running sprint at her cousin. " I would just rather not be in his damn presence!"

" Well get used to it cuz!" Albus ignored Bree's warning glower. " I asked him. He agreed and he's going to be at the wedding. Hell, no time like the present! He's going to be at the party next weekend! He's going to be at the rehearsal dinner! He's going to walk you down the bloody aisle!"

Rose slumped against a nearby stool, her arms crossing across her constricted chest, her breathing coming in heaves.

Bree smacked her fiance neatly in the head.

" What?!"

" Honestly Albus!"

" What?!"

" Rose, I need you to take off the dress now please." Bree approached her friend slowly. " I can't sew pieces of material back together if you shred the life from them."

" Sorry Bree." She got to her feet just as slowly, the fire draining out of her as she did. " I think it's fixable."

" Merlin Rose, what are you going to do? Never see the guy again?" Albus was back on his feet again too. A silent apology floated between both cousins. He smiled weakly when she shrugged as a response. " He wasn't sure you know. Wanted to know if you knew...almost like he was wondering if it was going to be safe for him."

Rose couldn't help the smirk that crossed her mouth as Bree helped her force the zipper down. " And what did you tell him?"

" I lied of course." Albus grimaced at the memory than slumped back against the wall, shoving his hands in his pockets. " Told him you were looking forward to seeing him."

" Oh."

" I think it pissed him off."

An odd feeling spooked her insides so she quickly ducked into the dressing room and closed the doors behind her, before the feeling had a chance to twitch at her mouth. She pulled at the gown again, pulling it over her head and staring blankly at herself once more mirrored back at her.

" Either way it's going to be a crazy few weeks." Bree was chiming away again, this time Rose was sure it was from the lap of her cousin. " This will just add a little more crazy to the mix."

" Nothing wrong with crazy." Albus mumbled, his mouth too busy to speak his words coherantly.

Bree giggled.

Rose wondered when her hips had filled out? She wondered when her legs had shot up, and when she had lost the freckles across her shoulders. She couldn't help notice her bloody chest...and she wondered why she had stopped taping them down? Why hadn't she kept her hair long? Why had she chopped it off?

" Rose pass me out that dress! God only knows what you're doing to it."

She did promptly, giving her time to tear her eyes away from the stranger who was looking out at her from the mirror. How many years had it been since she had seen him? The years scrolled by in her memory. Six? Seven? No. It couldn't be that long.

Rose leaned against one of the mirrors, staring once more at the woman she had somehow grown into. She took another deep breath. Seven years was a long time. If Scorpius Malfoy was okay with seeing her again, than she was fine with seeing him again. They weren't teenagers anymore. She snuck another glance at herself.

Fine. She could do this. Be the bigger person. Walk right up to him and...Rose smirked.

Punch him! Turn his precious hair orange! No, slap him! Make him eat dirt! Maybe a good kick to the...

She shook her head violently. No, she was going to shake his hand. Make nice, be polite, watch her through the next few weeks with a bloody smile on her face...

Rose closed her eyes, blocking out her relfection.

They definitley weren't teenagers anymore but for a very small moment, Rose wished they were.

Okay so this chapter was short, but it's all leading up to something believe me. Anyway, next chapter should be up soon. Review if you like.

Breeva