Thank you for reading so far. Here's chapter 10.
Disclaimer: Same as in the previous chapters.
Thankies: As usual, to Fauzia, José, my Livejournal friends and all my readers and reviewers :)
Please read and review. All comments (on plot, characterization, spelling, you name it) are very welcome and appreciated. I accept both signed and anonymous reviews.
I hope you enjoy reading. :)Anna.
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-Chapter 10: Wedding day-
The wedding day had finally arrived. The people of the Burrow had been up and about since very early; the wedding would start at noon, and there were many little details to be dealt with until then.
It was almost eleven-thirty. Harry, Ron, Fred and George were in the garden, finishing up the decorations. Bill was in his room with Remus and Charlie, getting dressed. Arthur was in the sitting room with Mr and Mrs Delacour, keeping them company while Fleur and Gabrielle were upstairs, getting ready with the help of Hermione, Ginny and Molly – who had joined them after putting the finishing touches on the wedding buffet and casting a Conservation Charm to keep everything at top condition until lunchtime.
Eventually, the groom came downstairs, accompanied by his brother and his best man. As usual, he greeted Mr Delacour and kissed Mme Delacour's hand. She forced a smile; she was still against this wedding.
Arthur looked at his eldest son with pride, but also an indistinct bit of sorrow. After Greyback's attack, the young man's face had become almost unrecognisable. It was, of course, a small price to pay, when others had been so much more unfortunate. His gaze travelled to Remus – what if he had no scars? The torture Greyback had put him through was worse than anything Bill would ever suffer.
After Greyback's attack, Bill had asked for Remus to take Charlie's place as his best man. They had got quite close since Bill had returned to Britain, even though they weren't exactly best friends. But since he had been bitten, Bill had sought his support more than anybody else's. This had been to the benefit of both of them; in his attempt to cheer up and encourage Bill, Remus had found some confidence in himself as well. As for Bill, he was happy to know someone with similar experiences was there to guide him.
A while later, the decoration team entered the sitting room.
"Everything's ready," Fred announced. "Would you like to take a look, Mr Groom?"
"No, it's OK, I trust you. Maybe Mum would like to take a look, though."
"I'll go tell her to come down, then."
"No!" Bill grasped Fred by the arm. "Are you out of your mind? Fleur will throw a fit if you go into that room. She doesn't want any men to see her in her wedding dress before the ceremony. She thinks it's bad luck."
Mme Delacour muttered something inaudible under her breath.
"Then I'll just knock and yell," the boy said with a grin and started hopping up the stairs. George, Ron and Harry followed him, heading to their rooms to get dressed.
-----
"All right, dear... So, what do you think?"
Molly stepped aside, allowing Fleur, who was sitting in a stool in front of the vanity, to look at her reflection in the mirror. The girl's beautiful characteristics were enhanced by Molly's make-up work, which was subtle yet enough to bring out her Veela charms.
"C'est magnifique," Fleur whispered. "Thank you."
"Hey, hey," Molly said with a smile. "Don't cry now." She pulled out her wand and dried Fleur's teary eyes with a spell.
"Thank you," the girl repeated. "For everytheeng. I know I must 'ave been a little difficult to deal with. But you are so nice. You did so much about this wedding. The preparations, the dresses, so much work..." She swallowed down a sob, then continued. "And you even took my mozer's place today... helping me prepare myself..."
"If you'd rather have her, she must be downstairs -"
"No!" Fleur seized Molly's robe. "I do not want 'er 'ere. She will bring us bad luck. She does not want this wedding." The girl let out a sigh. "I would razer she had not come at all."
"But she is your mother."
"And yet, she has not been 'alf as supportive as you have." Fleur's gaze absent-mindedly turned to the mirror. "We always argued, like mozer and daughter, but theengs only got worse over ze years. First, it was my decision to participate in the Triwizard Tournament, then when I wanted to move 'ere and work in the bank... 'You were not born to be a bank employee!', she had said."
Molly had sat on the bed and was listening to her carefully, along with Hermione, Ginny and Gabrielle. She had heard Fleur ranting about these things before, but there was a different quality in her words now. It was like a confession.
"Do you know what she thought of Bill?" Fleur continued. "She thought 'e was too poor for me. And she did not like him not being French, eizer. But she was nice to him, because 'e was good-looking and educated and a gentleman. She could overlook 'is money status because of that. But when 'e was not good-looking anymore, he suddenly was not good enough for me."
"Try to understand her, dear," Molly said softly. "She's just worried about you, afraid you might regret it."
"She is just a stuck-up, self-important..." She paused mid-sentence and turned around. "What was the other name you called 'er, Ginny?"
Ginny couldn't hold back a grin. "You heard that?"
"I heard everytheeng."
"'Spiteful hag'."
"Yes!" Fleur said, a triumphant finger slashing in the air as she turned back to the mirror and opened the lid of her jewelry case. "A stuck-up, self-important and spiteful 'ag."
"All right, don't be bitter now," Molly said. "You'll regret it."
"I will not."
"Just don't think about her right now, all right? Here, let me brush your hair."
She walked over to Fleur and undid the hasty bun she had made to keep her hair off the girl's face while she would apply the make up, then started to brush the long, silvery-white hair. The other three girls continued with their own routines; Hermione was brushing Gabrielle's hair, while Ginny dragged a stool near the vanity and started applying some lip-gloss on her lips.
"MU-UM!" Fred's voice then came from the hallway, accompanied by a loud knock on the door. "We're done with the garden!"
"I'll go take a look and be right back," Molly said. This bedroom faced the other side of the lot, so she couldn't see from the bedroom window. She left the girls continue on their own for a minute, while she left to inspect the garden with Fred.
A moment of silence passed. It was Ginny who broke it.
"Fleur?"
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry I didn't like you at first. You really are a good girl after all."
Fleur smiled. "Thank you. You too."
-----
Not much later, the first guests started arriving. By noon, almost everyone was there, seated in the rows of chairs the boys had earlier placed on either side of the wide, cobbled path leading to the front door, facing the large, flower-decorated arc. Bill, dressed in his grey coat, took his place in front of the arc, holding a bouquet of flowers, radiant with joy. Remus was standing beside him, and Arthur, who would perform the ceremony, on the other side of the arc, facing the guests. It was a tradition that the wedding ceremony should be performed by someone who was close to the bride and the groom and was happily married himself.
Fleur, Gabrielle and Mr Delacour waited in the living room, while Ginny watched from the window, keeping an eye on the time. When she decided the timing was right for Fleur to be fashionably late, she gestured for them to come over and opened the door.
She and Gabrielle stood by either side of the door, and Fleur walked outside, holding arms with her father. She looked breathtaking in the wedding dress Molly had made for her. It was long and white, embroidered all over with a flowery pattern. Aunt Muriel's tiara, now elegantly placed on Fleur's head, glinted under the summer sun, making her look like a princess.
With slow steps, she made her way to the arc, her father beside her, Ginny and Gabrielle following from behind as they held the long train of the wedding dress. Once she was near Bill, Mr Delacour let go of her arm. He gave her a kiss on the forehead, shook Bill's hand and walked back to sit in the chair kept for him beside Mme Delacour.
Bill kissed Fleur's hand and gave her the bouquet, as the two girls placed the train by Fleur's side and took their positions to either side of the arc. Remus then walked to take his position, one step behind the couple. Everything was ready for Arthur to start his speech.
"Dear friends, we are gathered here today to celebrate one of life's greatest moments, to give recognition to the worth and beauty of love, and to add our best wishes to the words which shall unite William and Fleur in marriage."
Remus stepped forward, took Bill's left hand and Fleur's right hand and joined them, then stepped back again.
"Should there be anyone who has cause why this couple should not be united in marriage, they must speak now or forever hold their peace," Arthur continued. He saw Fleur give a tiny flinch upon hearing these words, but it seemed that nobody else noticed.
After a pause, he spoke again. "It has been said, and proven, that there is no magic stronger than love, no power capable to destroy the bond between two people who love each other. For us, who live in a world of war, the sight of these two young people who, driven by their love for each other, aspire to spend their lives together, can only be a source of reassurance that hope still exists, that the fight is not lost yet. And we wish that this power will keep them united for the rest of their lives."
Bill and Fleur stepped under the arc. Arthur and Remus simultaneously raised their wands and targeted the top of the arc. Two jets of white light left their wands and hit it, and a rain of petals started falling on Bill's and Fleur's heads.
"William, do you take Fleur to be your wife?"
"I do."
"Do you promise to love her, comfort her and honour her, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, so long as you both shall live?"
"I do."
"Fleur, do you take William to be your husband?"
"I do."
"Do you promise to love him, comfort him and honour him, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, so long as you both shall live?"
"I do."
"Please raise your hands."
Bill and Fleur turned to face each other. They brought their joined hands up to neck level and let go of each other's fingers. Remus dug inside his pockets and retrieved one simple, golden ring from each one, then stepped near the couple.
"May these rings keep your hands united when life forces them apart," he said and simultaneously slipped one ring to Fleur's right hand and one to Bill's left hand. He then stepped back again.
Bill and Fleur brought their hands together. The moment the rings met, they began glowing in a white light, which slowly grew to engulf their entire bodies. It shone for a few seconds and vanished; along with it, the petals stopped falling from the arc.
"As of this moment, you are named husband and wife," Arthur finished the ceremony. "You may kiss."
Fleur didn't need to be asked twice to oblige. With a grin of ecstatic happiness, she wrapped her arms around Bill's neck and kissed him. The young man found himself surprised at her impatience, but that didn't mean he minded.
Everyone started to applaud the newly-wedded couple. Fred and George let out loud whistles, which made Hermione, who was sitting in front of them, frown and cover her ears.
"The bouquet!" someone yelled.
That was the cue for Fleur to let go of Bill and turn to the crowd. The single ladies were already gathering up in the middle of the path; even Hermione and Ginny were pushed forward, by the laughing Weasley twins.
Fleur looked at the women thoughtfully, biting her lip, and tilted her head as if looking for something. Then, suddenly, her lips curled to a mischievous smile. Instead of turning her back to the crowd, she weighed the bouquet in her hand, then aimed and threw it. It landed square on Tonks's hands.
Tonks looked at Fleur with a big smile, which Fleur returned. The blond girl then took a glance at Remus; the whistling and applauding that had followed had made a slight blush creep up to his cheeks. A group of blond girls, all cousins of Fleur's, retreated towards the back of the garden, highly annoyed.
"You did it on purpose, it won't work," Bill whispered teasingly in his wife's ear.
"Oh, it will," Fleur reassured him. "I will personally look to it."
-----
Afterwards, the Weasleys, with Molly in charge, went to set the tables for the wedding feast. The rest of the guests formed a line before the newlyweds, to congratulate them and offer their best wishes.
"Congratulations!"
"All the best!"
"Tous mes vœux de bonheur !"
When the line reached its end, the guests went to serve themselves from Molly's delicious food, while Fleur took a moment to lean on Bill's shoulder and watch the summer picture. The sun, which had graced the wedding with its presence, made everything look bright and peaceful.
Then, Fleur noticed her parents standing near the front door. Mr Delacour had his arm wrapped around Mme Delacour's shoulders. The woman was staring at Fleur and Bill with a very stern expression.
Bill leaned closer to his wife and planted a kiss on her cheek. "It's bad luck to hold a grudge," he whispered in her ear.
Fleur sighed and pondered that for a minute. Then, she took her husband's hand, silently pleading with him to stand by her side, and went to make peace with her mother.
-----
After the dinner, Arthur's old record player was brought outside to provide with some music. Charlie had undertaken the role of the disk-jockey, choosing between his parents' old records, several records of mainstream music provided by his friends and Fleur's collection of French ballads. He was currently playing songs of the past decade, and a number of both young and older people were grooving to the disco-like rhythms.
Harry, Hermione and the youngest of the Weasleys had retreated, after a lengthy dose of dancing. They were currently gathered around the remains of the wedding cake and the other desserts, and tasting a little bit of everything while chatting pleasantly about light-hearted subjects like music and food.
Ginny was very happy to see Harry relaxed for a change. Since he had come to the Burrow, he spent his time either focused on studying, practising with Ron and Hermione – and her, sometimes – or worrying about what was to come. Not that she blamed him; the whole wizarding world was at stake, and it seemed that it was up to him to make things right. Anybody would have been overwhelmed.
However, he needed an outlet. And, obviously, the wedding had come at the right time to take his mind off Voldemort and the war for a bit. In fact, she mused, it had come at the right time to take everyone's mind off the war for a bit. It was nice to see everyone enjoying themselves: Bill catching up on the news of his old classmates; Fleur giggling with her cousins; a number of Order members discussing loudly while having a drink; some of the younger children playing tag in the back of the garden; a few couples dancing, now that Charlie had put on a mellow song.
"D'you wanna dance, Hermione?" Ron asked casually at some point.
"Sure."
Speaking of couples, she thought and grinned, then watched as Ron took Hermione's hand and they joined the other couples. Funnily enough, Fred and George didn't start to make 'cute' noises at the sight of their youngest brother asking a girl to dance. Then again, that was probably because that would stop him from dancing with Hermione, thus depriving themselves of the pleasure of poking fun at him about it for the next two weeks.
The four teenagers continued with their conversation. A while later, Tonks came near them.
"Is there any fruit cake left? Or you ate it all?"
"Help yourself," George said, showing her the plate where a quarter of a fruit cake was left.
Tonks walked over to the table and with awkward, graceless movements, cut a large piece of cake for herself, filling the table with crumbs. "D'you mind if I sit with you?"
"Sure not," Fred said.
She sat down on Hermione's chair and started eating. "I love your mother's fruit cake."
"Who doesn't?" George said with a grin.
"Tonks..." Harry began. "I wanted to ask you something."
She looked up at him, munching a big mouthful of cake. "Mmhmm?"
"How does one go to visit Azkaban?"
She shook her head tiredly and swallowed. "The safety measures have been intensified since the latest Death Eater attack. You need an authorisation signed by the Head of the Auror office, stating clearly the reasons why you want to visit Azkaban. And, of course, there's the whole problem of getting there."
"Is it hard?"
"It's a long way, and you can only go by broom. The usual route is with Apparition to Sunderland, and then flying to the island. Why do you want to visit Azkaban?"
"I want to see Mundungus."
"Ah..." Tonks nodded, remembering that time in Hogsmeade, when Harry caught Mundungus with the stolen objects from Sirius's house.
"How do I get an authorisation?"
"You've got to send a request letter, introducing yourself and explaining what you need it for. Or, you could go ask for it in person, but you should be prepared that you might have to wait for hours until you're admitted in the Head's office. In any case, though, I'd wait until turning seventeen if I were you."
"Do you think the Head will grant me an authorisation if I ask for one?"
"I don't know," she said honestly. "He's strict about it, and I don't blame him. But I think he'd grant you one. I mean, you're not just anybody."
Harry nodded. After Scrimgeour's insistent attempts to get him by the Ministry's side, Harry had no trouble seeing anyone in the Ministry rushing to grant his requests. His eyes searched Ron and Hermione – they needed to hear that information. He quickly spotted them, dancing to the slow rhythm, holding close to each other, their faces inches apart.
On second thought... it could wait.
-----
Hestia's attention had been slowly slipping from the conversation she was having with Remus, Kingsley, Sturgis, Stuart and Prudence. The presence of Firewhisky in the table had urged them into a conversation on the finest brands of Firewhisky, a topic she didn't have the slightest interest in.
She glanced around the yard and spotted a little girl with long, silvery-blond hair sitting on the grass and fiddling with some weeds. She recognised her; it was Fleur's sister, the second bridesmaid.
The girl looked lonely, and Hestia felt for her. She loved children. So she left the others to talk and walked over to the girl.
"Hi," she greeted, kneeling near the girl.
The girl looked up at her, looking reserved. "'i."
"You are Fleur's sister, right?"
The girl nodded.
"What's your name?"
"Gabrielle."
"Why don't you go play with the other children, Gabrielle?" Hestia asked, pointing at the group of children in the back of the garden.
Gabrielle shook her head.
"What do you want to do?"
"I want to seet wiz zem," she said and pointed somewhere behind Hestia.
Hestia turned around. Gabrielle was showing her a small group of teenagers – some of the Weasley kids and Harry Potter. She figured the girl probably wanted Ginny's company.
"Let me take you to them, OK?" she said and held out her hand.
Gabrielle timidly took it and let Hestia help her approach the kids.
-----
"...all month avoiding us." Harry was now telling the twins and Ginny about Dudley and the rest of his stay with Ron and Hermione in Privet Drive. "Not that we cared about his company, of course..."
"Harry..." he heard a voice behind him.
He turned around and recognised Hestia Jones, one of the Order members who had come to pick him up two summers ago from Privet Drive. She was holding Gabrielle Delacour by the hand.
"Gabrielle wants to say hi," Hestia explained with a smile.
"Hi, Gabrielle!" Harry said pleasantly. "How have you been?"
Gabrielle shifted in position and gave him a timid smile, her fair cheeks reddening a little. "Fine," she said, her voice barely audible.
Harry was strongly reminded of Ginny, and the way she used to be tongue-tied around him a few years ago. It was endearing.
"Come here," he said. The girl left Hestia's hand and slowly walked up to him, and he patted her shoulder. "Look how big you've become!" he said. "And how beautiful, too!"
She blushed even more. "Zank you."
Not knowing what else to do or tell her – he hardly had any experience with little children – he looked over at the twins and Ginny. Fred quickly jumped to his rescue. "Some cake, Gabrielle?"
The girl nodded, and he swiftly served her some of the wedding cake. "Eat this, and then we will play something, OK?"
She nodded again, grabbed the plate and sat on the spare chair beside Harry.
-----
Tonks was returning from the toilet, when she heard a cheerful voice call her.
"Tonks! Come over 'ere!"
Fleur was waving at her from where she was sitting with a bunch of other young girls. Tonks shrugged and went to join them, watching her every step and waving her arms for balance. Walking on a cobbled path was never easy for her, especially when wearing heels. Damn these weddings and the formalwear they required.
She arrived near Fleur, who had just conjured a chair for her.
"Sit 'ere," Fleur invited her. "Girls," she then addressed the others, "I want you to meet my best friend 'ere in Britain. This is Tonks. Tonks, these are Danièle, Françoise, Jacinthe, Pauline and Claire. They are my cousins from my mozer's side."
Even without that last comment, Tonks would have easily figured it out. They all had the same, silvery-blond hair, sparkling eyes in light colours, and a rare beauty. It was a little unnerving.
"Interesting 'air," Françoise said, with an undertone of sarcasm.
Tonks automatically reached up to brush her long, sky-blue hair. "Well, yeah... normally is black, but I've found black doesn't suit me that much."
"Eet looks good with your dress," Pauline said earnestly; the colour really complimented Tonks's turquoise dress. "'Ow did you do eet? Potion, or spell?"
"Actually," Fleur interjected, "she is a Metamorphmagus."
The girls met the news with varying degrees of interest. Pauline in particular seemed fascinated; she started showering Tonks with questions. Tonks was used to that kind of treatment, and generally had no problem with it, but she noticed the slightly snide looks Danièle, Françoise and Jacinthe were giving her and decided to limit herself to very short answers.
"You are ze one Fleur threw ze bouquet to," Danièle noted at some point.
Tonks flinched, realising that was probably the reason of the coldness with which the girl had greeted her. "Yes."
"'Aving problem finding a man?"
"Danièle ! Ne sois pas aussi indiscrète !" Claire scolded her cousin.
(Danièle! Don't be so indiscreet!)
"Well – um..." Tonks awkwardly looked from one girl to the other. Even without speaking French, she could tell that Claire had been trying to hold Danièle back and make her feel comfortable, but Tonks couldn't help but wonder whether it would be a better idea to just leave the cousins on their own and go find some other company. She didn't like to feel she was imposing.
Fleur, though, quickly took charge, grasping her friend's hand so that she wouldn't think of fleeing. "Not at all," she answered the question Danièle had posed. "She has got 'erself a very nice man. There 'e is." She discreetly pointed at Remus, who was still sitting with the other Order members.
"Oh, 'e was ze best man!" Pauline noted.
"Yes!" Fleur confirmed.
"Vewy charming," Claire commented.
Tonks blinked, wondering where was the age comment, and Fleur caught the question in her friend's expression. "All the women in our family have married men several years older zan them," she explained in a whisper.
Tonks rolled her eyes in jest. "Couldn't you have told Remus that a few months ago?"
Fleur burst into giggles.
-----
The party went on for hours. It was around five-thirty when all the guests were gone.
"So I guess it's time for us to go home too, right?" Bill said, putting his arm around Fleur's waist.
"But, Bill, look at this mess! We should stay and 'elp your mozer clean up..."
"No, no, no!" Molly said quickly. "It's time for you to go home. And I mean, your home."
The couple grinned.
"Have you left anything in the room, Bill?" Charlie asked.
"Just a few clothes. Leave them there. Oh, and kids?" he addressed Harry, Ron and Hermione. "I've left most of my books in the bookcase in my room. Feel free to take anything you need."
"Thanks," Harry said.
"So, we're leaving. Thanks for everything, mum. You outdid yourself here."
"It was my pleasure, dear," she said and hugged him, then moved over to Fleur. "Take good care of my son, you hear?"
"Of course, Madame Molly," she said.
The two women hugged. Then, Bill and Fleur waved goodbye to everyone and Disapparated to London.
"Time to clean up," Molly then said. "Harry, Ron, Vanish the chairs. Arthur and Charlie will have to take the arc away. As for you, girls... I'll need some help with the dishes."
With that, everyone got to work.
-End of chapter 10-