Chapter 7

Ottery St. Catchpole, England

The Weasley house was a frenzy of excitement as people began gathering together on the day of Bill and Fleur's wedding.

The Weasley family, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill . . . still with massive scarring, Charlie, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginevra . . . Percy wasn't coming . . . were standing in front of the landing where the ceremony would be held along with Fleur, her mother, and little sister Gabrielle for some wedding photos. Hermione and Harry stood back by the house, watching with amusement as the photographer rushed back and forth, trying to arrange them all into the most attractive position.

For once, Fred and George were behaving themselves, looking rather stately in their blue suits with the gold ties that perfectly matched the bridesmaid's dresses. The other two Weasley brothers wore the same suits with the same white and pink roses pinned to their lapels. Ginny, whom Harry couldn't keep his eyes off of, looked rather irritated to be in such a frilly gown, as beautiful as the floor-length, spaghetti strap pale gold dress made her look. Gabrielle was dressed in the exact same gown, both wore matching gold sandals and had small gold tiaras in their hair. They carried small bouquets of white and pink roses, tied together with enormous pink bows edged with gold.

Mr. Weasley wore robes of navy lined with gold trim, while his wife wore a matronly looking navy gown with gold lace at the neck, sleeves, and hem. Mrs. Delacour looked stunning in her more risqué off-the-shoulder blue dress with a slit up the side and gold flowers in her hair.

Bill wore a pristine white suit with a gold tie and gold shoes, looking better than he had in weeks. Fleur, by far, was the most gorgeous. She wore a white wedding gown with a corset-style bodice, laced up the back with gold ribbons and embroidered in a fleur-de-lys pattern with thin gold thread. The skirt was made of tiered white gauze, floating out around her like a cloud and back behind her to make a train. Tiny pearls circled in gold were dotted all over the gauze. Fleur wore the goblin-made gold tiara given to her by Bill's family, and draped over it was an elbow-length gauze veil edged in gold.

"That's going to make a beautiful picture," Hermione commented with a slightly sad tone.

"She sure does . . . oh, yes, they do," Harry blundered, spilling his glass of wine on himself as he realized Hermione wasn't talking about Ginny.

Hermione giggled and drew her wand to clean the red stain off of Harry's black and white dress robes. She herself was wearing a dark blue satin floor-length gown with an empire waist and slightly puffed sleeves. The overdress of the gown was a bronze-colored lace, which looked gorgeous over the blue. There was a beautiful five-inch wide dark blue ribbon around the waist, embroidered in bronze and gold threads and edged in bronze and dark blue beads.

"You know, Hermione," Harry said hesitantly, "you look rather beautiful too."

Hermione laughed. "Not as pretty as Ginny or Fleur though?"

Harry smiled back. "I think you're just as pretty as they are."

"If only Ron thought so," Hermione said grumpily, watching Ron try and edge his way closer to Fleur.

Harry shook his head. "Ron's just a prat, you know that."

Hermione said nothing. They watched in silence as the pictures were finished and Ron came up to them.

"We're done now," he told his two friends.

"Who decided to take the pictures before the actual wedding?" Hermione asked, a bit coldly.

"Fleur did," Ron told her. "She wanted the pictures done right away, in case it gets windy or rains. She wanted to look perfect."

Hermione rolled her eyes. Harry stifled a snicker.

"So is the ceremony going to begin?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, you two should take your seats," Ron said, glancing at the sullen-faced Hermione with a questioning look. "We're all going to just go ahead and stand up there, Fleur's not going to do the 'walk down the aisle' thing. We're just going to wait until everyone's in place and then begin."

Harry nodded and nudged Hermione. "Shall we go sit then?" he asked.

Hermione nodded and followed Harry to a couple of chairs beside Remus Lupin and Rubeus Hagrid. Ron went on up to stand beside his brother, who was talking in a low voice to the Ministry official who was to conduct the wedding. Fleur was standing next to Bill, talking to her mother and Mrs. Weasley. Hagrid waved at Harry around Lupin and Harry smiled back, then it was time for the ceremony to begin.

"We have gathered here today to witness the marriage between a witch and a wizard," the Ministry official began. "Bill Arthur Weasley, will you turn and face Fleur Helene Cecile Delacour, your intended wife, and take her right hand with yours?"

Bill did as he was asked. Fleur shot him a stunning smile which he returned in kind.

"Fleur, do you take this man to be your husband?"

"I do," Fleur said clearly, her eyes glowing with happiness.

"Bill, do you take this woman to be your wife?"

"With all my heart," Bill said, a tear trickling down his scarred cheek.

"Do you promise to love each other, care for each other, raise your children together, help one another through all of the good and bad life will give?"

"We do," Bill and Fleur said in unison.

"The rings, if you will," the Ministry official said to Charlie, who was best man. Charlie took the gold bands from his pocket and handed them to the man, who held them up for the guests to see.

"I cast upon these rings the bond of wedlock, the sacred state of marriage and partnership. May you, Bill, and you, Fleur, remain true to your vows throughout your lives."

He handed Fleur's ring to Bill, and Bill's ring to Fleur.

Bill slid the ring onto Fleur's slender finger. "With this ring, I consecrate my vows to you, Fleur, and bind myself to you, heart and soul."

Tears glistened in Fleur's eyes as she slid Bill's ring onto his finger. "With this ring, I consecrate my vows to you, Bill, and bind myself to you, heart and soul."

They clasped both be-ringed hands together and kissed each other deeply, then faced the official. "With the consecration of the marriage bond, I now officially name you husband and wife," he said, touching the tip of his wand to their clasped hands. A gold thread shot out of the end of the wand and circled around the newlyweds three times, then disappeared.

"May I present Bill and Fleur Weasley," the Ministry official said as the couple turned to face the audience, who began to clap ecstatically.

A young woman watching from the trees to the left of the wedding shifted in her place, wondering when the whole thing was going to be over. Deciding that it wouldn't be for a while, the woman strode away to find a place to conjure up something safe to sleep in.