A/N: Another update. You know you love me! Don't own, don't sue. Read and review, please! This is NOT the last chapter.

Chapter 7

"Dennis… are you… sure about this?"

"Bloody hell, sis," Dennis panted, walking slowly towards the car, his arm slung around his twin's shoulders. "I've told you a million times- nothing is going to keep me from the wedding. Now you sure as hell better be a fast driver or we're never going to make it in time."

Verity's mouth twisted into a grin. "I've missed you a lot, Dennis."

"I missed you, too," he told her, smiling sideways at her. "I wanted to be there to walk you down the aisle like Dad would've done, if he was alive."

"Yeah," she said, helping him into the passenger seat of the car. She closed the door for him before going around the car to the driver's side. "Buckle up, Den. This is not going to be pretty."

"You look bloody gorgeous," Rose hissed admiringly. Annemarie, Rose, and Verity were in the bridal dressing room, preparing Verity for her wedding. Verity grinned and sucked in a slow, rattling breath. She hadn't seen Albus since that morning (damn tradition) and her nerves were frazzled. She eyed herself in the full length mirror, admiring her friends' work. Her normally straight red hair was curled and pulled back softly into a ponytail, her bangs falling into her blue eyes. She was wearing very little makeup- Annemarie and Rose had insisted that she didn't need any more than that. She had on light blue eyeshadow that matched her eyes as well as black mascara. Her wedding dress was pure white and simple, with very little frills. The front had a modest v-neck while the back dipped daringly to three inches above the base of her spine, a criss-crossing pattern filling the space in between.

"You'll be fine," Annemarie told her knowingly. "Nothing is going to go wrong. I promise."

Those words struck a horrible bell inside her head as her recently manicured hands balled into fists. She turned her eyes towards her cousin, whispering, "Don't make promises that you can't keep."

"Nothing will go wrong, Ver," Annemarie told her firmly. "Not because I promise. But because everything will be okay. For once in our lives, nothing will go wrong. Everything will work out. No one will need to have their arse saved and we won't have to hex anyone's arse into next year. Believe me- you deserve it."

Verity hugged her cousin gratefully, the nervous flutters in her stomach disappearing. "So that's why I keep you around."

Dennis and James met the three girls in the narthex of the church- Verity and Albus had opted for a Catholic wedding. "You looked beautiful, sis," Dennis choked out, his blue eyes shining.

"My little bro's going to have a coronary when he sees you," James smiled. "He might jump you in front of the altar."

"I think my cousin has more taste than that," Rose said, disgusted. James merely shook his head knowingly and linked arms with Annemarie.

"Let's go take our places," he said, taking Annemarie and Rose with him as he left. He turned his head back to Verity at the last possible moment, remind her, "Two minutes."

As soon as they were gone, Dennis crushed his twin to him in a bone-crushing hug. "Dennis," she laughed, "I'm only getting married; I'm not moving or anything."

"Do I even have to tell you what's so wrong about what you just said?" he chuckled, raising a red eyebrow at her. "You and Albus… are going to be the happiest married couple I'll ever see. I can guarantee it."

"I'm glad you're here, bro," she whispered, grinning at her brother massively. "It wouldn't have been the same without you to walk me down the aisle."

"I know, sis," he said. "I know. Why do you think I made sure I was here?"

"Can I tell you something?" James asked, pressing his lips to the back of Annemarie's hand.

"Sure," she muttered faintly, blushing pink under his intense gaze.

"I was in my sixth year when Albus and Verity were in their fourth year. Albus and Verity were already dating and so were Dennis and Rose. It seemed everyone had someone but me. I suppose my rants about it were driving them rather insane, because near the end of the year, Ver nearly burst a capillary yelling at me to get a girlfriend. So, in my seventh year, I did."

Her mouth was pressed into a thin line, a pained expression on her face. "James," she whispered faintly, sounding as though she were in pain, "why are you telling me this?"

"Shh," he replied, reaching out to tuck a lock her of red hair behind her ear. "You'll see." He took a deep breath before resuming his story. "I started dating Susan. She was smart, beautiful, talented- everything I could wish for- or so I thought. I thought I was in love with her, Annemarie. But I found her cheating on me with a sixth year Hufflepuff. A sixth year. She broke my heart."

"James," she said softly, her fingers trailing down his cheek softly now.

"But you," he said, the light and love reappearing in his hazel eyes once more. "You're smarter than her, more talented than her, and- ruddy hell- you're so much more beautiful than her. And I know you'd never cheat on me. And I also know this- I am in love with you."

Annemarie felt her heart stop beating as she wondered if she had heard him correctly. "Wha?" Brilliant, Annemarie, she thought. Annemarie comes up with another brilliant and witty response. With vocabulary like that, I should be able to converse with… oh, I don't know… a rock, perhaps?

"I love you," James repeated, a worried look appearing in his hazel eyes.

Annemarie tended to think things through logically before coming to a conclusion, but her mind seemed to be incapable of cooperating at the moment. It felt so right to say the words, and she knew it was right. "I love you, too."

"Are you ready?" Albus mouthed to Verity in front of the entire congregation. She smiled and nodded as the priest read through the final parts of the matrimonial rite. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she mouthed back, her smile radiant.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the priest said, beaming at the happy couple. "You may now kiss the bride."

"It's about time," Albus said hungrily, drawing her into a sweet kiss. And that was that. As their friends and family watched, Dennis, James, Rose, and Annemarie, together silently cast the magical spell that was required to complete a magical wedding- with the four of them as witnessed, Albus and Verity were now bonded for life- through blood, life, and love. They were irrevocably made one- husband and wife, lover and lover, friend and friend. If anyone were to try to undo that bond, well- it was just impossible.