Chapter 5

Early the next morning, Gabby awoke to several raised voices outside the hotel room door. Harry was not in bed, so she had to assume he was outside participating in the heated debate. Straining her ears, she could make out several sentences:

"…I know what I saw, man. Doug was beat up last night on the ground. When the police…"

"Look Geoff, it was dark. You misunderstood…"

"Harry, do not tell me what I didn't see!"

"Keep your voice down! Your cousin is still sleeping-"

"No, she is not." Harry, Charlie and Geoff turned to find Gabby standing in the doorway, looking annoyed. "And she would've been sleeping if you guys weren't being so loud. What the hell is going on?"

Charlie looked between Geoff and Harry, looking uneasy, "Don't worry, sis. Geoff is just a bit high strung and was just leaving, right?" Charlie attempted to grab Geoff's arm but was shrugged off. Geoff's eyes never left Gabby.

"Gabby, what the hell?"

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Gabby checked herself to see if she was exposing herself. No, her robe was closed.

"What the hell happened to your face? You had bruises and a busted lip!" Geoff's eyes widen in shock. "How did you fix that in less than 6 hours?"

Gabby closed her eyes, swearing silently. "Geoff, it wasn't that bad last night."

Geoff stepped closer, getting more bewildered and angrier by the minute. "Not that bad? Girl, we all saw you. Your face was completely jacked up. I've been in fights before. That would have taken several days to heal! What the hell is going? I want to know NOW!" With the last word shouted, Charlie shoved Geoff into the couple's hotel room with Harry closely behind him.

"Do you mind keep your voice down?!" Gabby hissed. "Stop bringing attention to this!"

"Stop bringing attention to this? Me? Gabby, I know you are keeping something from me. I hear for the first time you were married and almost got killed several times. I only hear about you living in England months after you left. I barely know anything about the guy you are about to get married to except that he is a cop and apparently has enough money for to throw two weddings. I wouldn't have said shit, not a word. I would've let it all go. But to see your face miraculously healed less than a couple of hours after we find the sonnabitch on the ground with broken limbs who also makes a miraculous healing before the police take him away, HELL NO!" Geoff heaved, looking at all three before him.

"Whatever you guys are keeping from me, I have a right to know. Gabby is a sister to me. Between us, I am the older brother and I have a right to know what my younger sister is up against!" Gabby looked to Charlie and Harry. Charlie closed his eyes, shrugged, and looked at the couple. "It's not my story to tell."

Gabby gave him a look to say, Don't say another word. She looked at Harry who looked annoyed and exhausted. But his eyes conveyed one message, It's up to you. Gabby looked back at her older cousin. She and Geoff were very close in age – only a year apart. They had spent many years playing together, experiencing the ups and downs of life together. It wasn't until she had started law school and met Doug that they began to shift apart. She stared into her cousin's eyes and tried to determine whether the bonds they had still remained. Whether she could still trust him.

"Geoff, remember that time when you and I took my dad's car and accidently crashed it? And how we called every favor we had to get your mechanic friend to fix the damage before my dad got home that day? And how we managed to pull it off without a hitch and no one ever knew we had ever done it?"

Geoff's eyes soften at the memory. "I do. Bonnie and Clyde."

Gabby smiled softly. "If I tell you, I'm going to need Clyde in this all the way. Forever and ever."

The tall man enclosed his younger cousin in his arms. "Clyde was just waiting for Bonnie to come back. She was the one who went off into the sunset. Nothing's changed here." Gabby nodded and made her decision. "Sweetie, can you take care of the door? Bro, can you call Mom and tell her not to expect us for awhile. We are bringing Geoff in." Geoff was startled at how quickly Charlie moved to the phone or how Harry oddly waved his hand at the door.

"Harry, what are you doing, man?"

"Just making sure no one can hear us from outside."

"And just how did you do that by waving your hand?"

Harry didn't answer. He simply looked at Gabby looking to see how she wanted to handle the rest. While Charlie made the phone call, Gabby had gone into the bathroom to change her clothes. She returned to the room in a pair of shorts and t-shirt. "Why don't we have breakfast, huh?' She led the men to the dining room table and had everyone sat down.

Geoff's eyebrows furrowed. "Aren't you going to call room service?"

Gabby ignore his comment. "What would you like to eat, Geoff?"

"Pancakes and sausages."

"Charlie?"

"French toast, topped with strawberries please."

"Oh that sounds good. Harry, I'll have the same. But bacon the side and cup of tea please."

Knowing what Gabby meant, Harry nodded and pulled out his wand. Within seconds, a spread of food was on the table, with everyone's order appeared in front of them. Geoff's eyes widen to unrealistic sizes, shifting from the food to the others sitting around him. For several moments, no one uttered a word. As his eyes began to return to his sockets, Geoff eyed his food carefully.

"Why don't you try it?" Gabby said softly. "Harry's a great cook."

"On the stove and off." Harry joked. Geoff picked up his fork and took a mouthful of the buttery pancakes. He shook his head. "Well damn. If you made me food like this all the time, I'd marry you too." All of them laughed, clearly happy about Geoff's quiet acceptance.

"Now, I'm going to eat this as you explain to me just exactly what happened." Over the next several hours, Gabby and Harry explained what and who Harry was back in England and the need for secrecy. For most of the explanation, Geoff remained silent, taking in the information. As the couple finished, Geoff simply shook his head again. "So I have a wizard for a cousin-in-law. This has to be the wildest moment of my life. You sure can pick 'em, Gabby."

Gabby rolled her eyes. "Anyway! I need you to keep this a secret. No one in the family can know about this. Harry is not here to solve anyone's problems."

"What are you going to do about your face? A lot of people saw you last night."

"I'll just say I'm wearing makeup to cover it up."

"What about Bianca? Did she see you last night?"

Charlie, Harry and Gabby shared a look. The ladies were supposed to venture into Boston for a spa afternoon. No makeup could be worn during a facial. "I don't think she was out after our fight last night. Did you guys see her?"

The three men shook their heads. "Let's just assume that she didn't. If she brings something up, we cross that bridge then." The rest of the morning was filled with pleasant conversation until there was a knocking at the door. Charlie opened it to find Gabby's parents and the Weasleys looking anxious.

"Is everything okay in here?" Diane asked as they walked into the room.

"Everything is fine, Mom." Gabby said with a smile.

"Yeah, auntie." Geoff said with a grin. "I'm in the 'in' now."

Gabby felt a sense of relief after the Geoff situation. It just made it a bit easier to deal with the wedding and family with someone else to share the load. Not soon after the Peters, the Weasleys and the soon-to-be married couple finished laying down the ground rules of what the next forty-eight hours would be like, the front desk called and announced that some family members had just arrived. Diane went into mother of the bride mode and began barking instructions.

"Gabby and Hermione, grab Bianca and meet me downstairs in five minutes. We need to get to Boston as soon as possible. Guys, you need to go take care of the tux situation and be sure to be back by five. Rehearsal dinner is starting promptly at seven. Family members who are participating in the wedding have already been alerted and should be coming by the handful throughout the day. However, it doesn't mean that we have to be here to greet them. That's what the hotel staff is for. Alright, people! Chop chop!"

As the ladies made their way out the door, Harry discreetly whispered in his fiancé's ear. "Be careful, love. Keep your cell on you, will you?"

She nodded. Anything to keep the tremulous smile on his face from turning into a frown. Gabby gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. "I'll see you soon, handsome. Keep the men in check, okay? Now that Geoff knows, they are going to goad you into doing things like a picking favored horse on a racetrack."

Harry chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind." As she walked out the door, Harry returned his attention to his best mate and his future in laws, he said, "All right! What is the tuxedo situation?"

They all looked at him deadpanned. "I thought you knew," Charlie answered.

Bullocks.

Finding Bianca wasn't as easy as Diane had made it out to be. Hermione and Gabby couldn't find her in her room nor in the lobby. "I believe I saw someone like that in the gardens," a bellhop answered. Hermione looked at Gabby for any trepidation in going out the gardens but Gabby held her head high. "Don't look at me like that, Mione. I'm getting married out there tomorrow. I can't be afraid of it because of one incident."

The sun shone high in the sky, giving such warmth that it was slightly muggy. The two women searched through the gardens and eventually found the younger cousin not far from where Gabby had encountered Doug. She stared at the high hedges with such intensity that it confused Gabby. What's up with her? "Bianca," Gabby called. "We are about to leave for Boston. Aren't you coming?"

The only indication that Bianca had heard Gabby was the nodding of her head. It would take her several seconds before she would turn around and face the two ladies. Eyebrows raised, Gabby asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Bianca simply shook her head. Still believing that Bianca was afraid of her since their last encounter, Gabby closed the gap between them and clasped the girl's shoulders. "Look, I'm getting married tomorrow and I can't be having issues with my little sister. So, let's just leave everything from last night in the past, okay?"

Bianca looked deeply into her cousin's eyes before giving a small smile and a nod. The rest of the trip into Boston was uneventful. Diane went for the full package – manicure, pedicures, massages and facials. As they were getting their backs pounded, Gabby called out, "Mom, did I ever mention how wonderful you are?

"Not recently sweetie. Doesn't hurt to keep hearing it," Diane groaned out as her masseuse molded her shoulders.

Gabby smiled into her face pillow. "You are the absolute best mommy in the world," she said muffled. The ladies remained quiet for a few minutes more until Bianca said out loud, "I wonder what would happen if I told everyone?"

Diane turned her head to face her niece who had her face turned to the wall. "What are you talking about, dear?" Gabby and Hermione also turned to see what she meant. For several moments, Bianca said not a word and it was thought that perhaps they had imagined her saying anything. But the youngest woman turned her head to the rest of the party and said, "No one did ever find me last night. Forgot all about me. I'm in the room next door remember? I heard everything this morning. I wonder what the world would say about this. I mean I could keep quiet if you want me to, Gabby."

Gabby felt the blood rush from her face and she imagined her mother and friend looked the same. Bianca looked like the cat that ate the canary. Gabby rose from her table and said to the four masseuses, "Could you leave us for a couple of minutes?" She waited until the door closed behind the last masseuse before she rose from her table and walked over to Bianca's. Bianca still hadn't move from the massage table and watched her cousin kneel down to her eye level. Gabby studied her cousin's face and said softly, "If you told anyone, B, it would be the end of everything. As much as I love you as my little sister, I couldn't be around you anymore. Because I couldn't trust you. It was bad enough that you were eavesdropping but it's the fact that you would bring it up like this and probably use it against me to get your way. Let me tell you now it wouldn't work because we can make you forget. Everything if we desired. Even your name."

Bianca looked around alarmed but the solemn looks on the other women verified Gabby's words.

"Bianca, we can talk about everything later but I need your absolute promise never to speak of this to another person outside of us. Swear it?"

Bianca dejectedly nodded her head. "I promise, Gabby."

"Thank you," said Gabby and she gave the girl a kiss on her forehead. She went to the door and ushered the masseuses back into the room. The rest of the day was a quiet affair with very few jokes cracked and a quiet ride back to the Estates. As Gabby parked the car, she looked to the ladies in her car and said tiredly, "Ladies, we've been way too quiet today. The guys are gonna look at us and know something happened. So let's deal with this now." She reached behind her and took her cousin's hand. "I know you feel that you are being left out and that's probably why you snuck around. I get it. You've always hated being the youngest one between the four of us. But we need to trust each other. This wasn't a burden I wanted to put on you but you now have it. It's going to be hard to keep this secret but it's very important you do, sweetie. You can't be seen as a liability to the wizarding world, okay?"

Hermione turned to the now tearful girl. "Bianca, I'm not trying to steal your cousin. Far from it. I want to be included just as much as you do. I know that you wanted certain roles but there is a place I can never take from you. And that's your place as Gabby's little sister. Please let us be friends. This wedding needs the both of us!" she said with a slight smile.

Bianca returned the smile back to everyone and quickly wiped her eyes. "I'm really sorry everyone. It was just so crazy yesterday and I saw something in the garden last night that I wanted to ask you about but you were just telling Geoff everything so it finally just clicked. I didn't mean to sound threatening Gabby, honestly. I just want to be part of your life."

"Silly girl," Gabby laughed, ruffling her hair. "You have never been apart from my life since the day you were born! Did you forget how changed your diapers?"

"Hey!" Bianca choked. "You swore you would never speak of those days again!" The ladies joined in the laugh that effectively dissipated the tension from earlier.

Diane looked at her watch, "The hotel is probably buzzing with family members now. Let's go meet them. Hermione, I apologize to you in advance for their butchering your name."

Hermione chuckled. "Wouldn't be the first time!"

The ladies joined the men in the foyer, greeting their significant others. Harry especially clutched his bride. "I missed you today. Did you have a good time?"

Gabby nodded but whispered, "Someone else knows about our life back at home."

Harry looked puzzled and then put it together. "How did she…?"

"The connecting door. Didn't muffle that one."

The groom looked at the bride concerned. "Is everything okay?"

She smiled. "Of course. She's my little sister. She'll be fine." Gabby took Harry's hand and led him away from the foyer and into the restaurant. "Come on, Uncle Ben has been asking who is the idiot who taking his niece away from him?"

Harry smirked. "I love family reunions, don't you?"

"You got one day to back out if you are intimidated, handsome."

"And miss all the fun? You must be joking!"