An Unfortunate Miracle: Part III

Chapter Thirteen

Promises

Author's Note: Here's an extremely long chapter to make up for the three-month wait. Sorry! I have no excuse other that that my muse was on vacation until after I saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Awesome movie, right? My favorite parts were the part at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, and the part where Harry drinks the Felix Felicis and he acts all drunk/high. Hehehe. I need to see it again.

I love Luna Lovegood! She is AWESOME! My third favorite character! I gave George's 'veela cousins' line to Fred, for obvious reasons.

Kaylin helped me come up with the Valley girl idea. Hi Kaylin! (waves enthusiastically)

To explain the disclaimer, I wrote it after my "Now That We're Men" fan video on YouTube was taken down. I had put a disclaimer in the description and at the end of the video, but apparently that doesn't matter. I'm really mad about it because it was the best video I've done. Ugh.

wendystwin: (ESF hides under her bed) Well, this is insanely long. Hopefully that will make up for me not writing what you want me to. Wuv you! Cuddle!

sunshine'n'sarcasm: I like the eccentric reviews. LOL. They make me smile.

DaniLionFace: Rifle? I better get a bulletproof vest too.

FoxyGirl0413: I hope you like this chapter. It has a tree that bursts into flames. Did that confuse you? (evil laugh)

Easy Button: "Working for blood traitors who routinely mock the Dark Lord" was very funny. It made me laugh. Also, you reviewed on my birthday, so you get extra points. LOL.

Folfette Dreamwalker: Aw, thank you! You're so sweet! And hey, if you wrote fan fiction about your internationally famous book series, would you admit it? LOL. But you can't say there aren't some extreme fan fiction clichés in the epilogue.

Disclaimer: Since the legal idiots of the world don't care whether we write disclaimers or not, I own it all. That's right, I am J. K. Rowling, and you are all my mindless drones! BOW TO ME!!! (But, seriously, I only own my plot. I don't own Pokémon cards, Ghost of the Robot's "Angel", or the Lion King.)

Lee hammered on the door. "Aren't you guys ready yet?"

"Almost!" Kailee called.

"You can come in if you want, Lee," I said.

"You could just curl it and wear it down," Kailee said as Lee came in. "George likes it down, doesn't he?"

"Yeah," Lee said, drawing up a chair and sitting on it backwards, "do that, and he won't be able to keep his hands off you." I gave him a look, and he snickered. "Sorry." He grinned at us. "You girls look smashing."

I grinned. "Thanks, Lee." That morning, Aunt Becky had dragged me to Diagon Alley after I told her I would be wearing the same dark green dress robes I'd bought two Christmases ago. I finally accepted the fourteen-galleon, full-length silver dress robes after Aunt Becky agreed that they would be an early Christmas present. Lee, Kailee, and I had gathered at my apartment at two o'clock. Lee changed in the bathroom while Kailee and I did the same in my bedroom. Kailee's dress robes were reddish-orange, and the brown witch hat she wore was adorned with a large flower that matched the color of her robes perfectly.

"Go ahead and curl it," I said to Kailee. She began curling my hair with her wand, and I eyed her in the mirror. "So, Kailee, anyone in particular you're hoping to dance with?"

She glared at me. Much to her displeasure, I'd recently taken to teasing her about her very obvious crush on Fred (which she vehemently denied). "Shove it, Wolfe, or my hand will slip and turn your hair green."

I giggled, and Lee looked interested. "Does our Kailee fancy someone?"

"You mean you haven't noticed the way she looks at Fred?"

Kailee poked my head with hers wand, and I watched in shock as one of the bits of my hair that she'd already curled turned lime green. My mouth fell open, and Lee broke down laughing. "Kailee!" I complained, touching it.

"Sorry," she said insincerely, "my wand slipped." I glared at her. "I've told you a million times, I don't fancy Fred."

"So you turn my hair green?" I asked indignantly.

"It wasn't all of it, and it'll wear off in a couple days."

"A couple days? Oh, stop it," I said to Lee, who was still laughing.

Kailee brandished her wand. "Now sit still and be quiet, or I'll turn one purple."

At five past three, we arrived at the Burrow. My hair was properly curled, though the one curl on the right side of my head was still green, as Kailee refused to turn it back (and I was admittedly beginning to like it that way). We appeared amongst other arriving wizards and witches, forming a line to a huge white marquee in the orchard. Fred, George, Ron, and a chubby redheaded boy (who I thought might be a Weasley cousin) were standing at the marquee entrance, clutching what I guessed were seating charts.

George spotted me as we approached the marquee and grinned at me. I returned his smile.

"Excellent, some veela cousins," I heard Fred say. He then pushed past the three middle-aged witches at the front of the line and said to a pair of French girls, "Here – permettez-moi to assister vous." They giggled and let him escort them inside.

While the Weasley boy I didn't know (I guessed he might be Harry in disguise) took the three witches, and Ron took the white-haired, shy-looking wizard ahead of us, George came straight to me. "Ivy, darling, you look simply ravishing," he said, grabbing my hand and kissing it dramatically.

I blushed. "Thanks. You look good too."

He frowned slightly and touched my hair. "Did you know a bit of your hair is green?"

I gave Kailee a look. "Kailee doesn't like to be teased," I said simply. Kailee gave an innocent smile.

He offered me his arm, clearly trying to hide a smile. "Well, come on, beautiful, I'll show you where you're sitting." I rolled my eyes, but grinned and took his arm. Inside, the marquee held many rows of golden chairs, with a long purple carpet going up the middle. White and gold flowers were wrapped around the support poles of the marquee, and there were a large number of gold balloons tied together at the front where Bill and Fleur would later be standing.

"New dress?" George asked as he led me into the marquee.

I nodded. "Aunt Becky bought it for me this morning. It was fourteen galleons, but she insisted on it."

"I'm glad she did. Right here," he said, stopping at the last chair in the first row. "I convinced Mum to sit you with me. Barny, Hermione, and Ron are right behind us, and Lee and Kailee are on their right. Barny is Harry, by the way," he said quietly. "Polyjuice Potion. We got some hair from a Muggle boy in the village."

There was a sudden crash, and everyone turned to the back. Hagrid was getting up from a pile of golden chair pieces, apologizing loudly.

I giggled. "Poor Hagrid."

"Dad'll fix it," he said as his father hurried over to Hagrid. He turned back to me and touched my green hair again. "So what were you teasing Kailee about?"

I smirked. "Oh, this and that. Kailee might hurt me if I tell, even though she totally denies it. But you should be able to get it out of Lee."

He laughed. I realized he was still somewhat focused on my robes. He caressed my cheek. "Blimey, you're beautiful."

I blushed again and opened my mouth to reply, but someone else interrupted.

"Fred!" a woman barked, and I jumped. "Are you bothering that girl?"

An elderly woman wearing a large, pink feathered hat was heading toward us, escorted by Ron, who looked like he'd rather be anywhere else. George scowled and his hand dropped from my face. He then plastered on a fake smile and turned.

"I'm not Fred, Auntie, I'm George," he said innocently.

She glared. "It doesn't matter which one you are, you shouldn't be bothering her!"

"I wasn't aware that telling a girl she's beautiful would be considered a bother." She opened her mouth, but he ignored her. "I don't think she'll get too offended, she's my girlfriend."

The woman looked me over. "So this is that Muggle-born?" she asked. "The one who started Hogwarts late?"

I smiled, hoping she wouldn't ask about Dumbledore's reasoning. "Uh, yeah, that's me."

She gave me what could only be described as an appraising scowl. "American." She said it like it was some kind of unfortunate disease. "Your teeth are crooked." I lost my smile and gaped at her in shock. She turned to George. "And you, boy, your ears are lopsided."

Fred suddenly appeared with Lee and Kailee. "Auntie Muriel!" he exclaimed happily. "How've you been? Seen any dungbombs? I've misplaced a few."

She gave him a rather frightening glare. "Show me to my seat, Ronald!" she barked, making Ron jump. "And make sure it's far from those heathens!"

"What an old hag," George growled as Muriel followed Ron to a chair near the center aisle, muttering something about being a hundred and seven.

"What'd she say?" Fred asked.

"My teeth are crooked, and George's ears are lopsided." I scoffed, still a bit angry at the way she'd called me American. "Really, your hair's short enough that you can tell it's not even there."

Fred sighed. "She insults everyone."

"I still say setting off that dungbomb under her chair that Christmas was the best idea we ever had," said George, and his twin nodded in agreement.

"Why's that?" Kailee asked.

"She never came back."

George looked at his watch. "It'll be starting soon." He looked at Fred. "We'd better make sure there aren't anymore guests to seat." Fred nodded, and George kissed my cheek before following him out of the marquee.

Lee, Kailee, and I sat in our seats. I admired the decorations at the front of the marquee for a few moments before Kailee poked me in the back. I turned around, and she gestured at Lee, smirking. He was staring open-mouthed at the veela cousins on the other side of the marquee. I giggled to myself. Then there was a small commotion from said veela cousins, and I saw Harry ('Barny') walking down the center aisle, escorting a guy with dark hair, thick bushy eyebrows, a duck-footed gait –

With sudden realization at who this was, I quickly turned to face Kailee and Lee. "Ohmigod, is that Viktor Krum?" I demanded.

Kailee gasped. "Where?!" She spotted 'Barny' showing Krum where to sit. "Ohmigod, it is!"

Lee rolled his eyes. "Girls!"

I snorted. "I've heard he's a bit stupid."

Kailee looked horrified. "Stupid?!" she repeated in shock. "He's a genius! One of the best Seekers in the world!"

I laughed as 'Barny', Ron, and Hermione sat near Lee. "Seekers don't really do it for me. No offense, Barny." He shrugged like it was no big deal.

"Yeah, it's Beaters you like, right, Ivy?"

Fred and George had appeared in their seats beside me. I smirked. "That's right, Fred. I also like pranksters with one ear."

George laughed and put an arm around my shoulders. "Ah, darling," he said, "we were made for each other!" I giggled and leaned into him.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were walking up the aisle, smiling and waving. Mrs. Weasley was in a set of amethyst robes and matching hat that looked brand-new. Bill and Charlie, the best man, were soon standing up at the front, in dress robes with white roses on their chests. Fred wolf-whistled at them, and there was giggling from a number of girls. Then music swelled, and everyone turned in their seats to face the entrance.

Everyone sighed at the sight of Fleur, escorted by her father, coming up the aisle. Fleur was wearing a simple white dress. Her veela side, instead of making her look more beautiful than everyone else, seemed to make everyone look prettier than usual. Ginny and Gabrielle were wearing lovely gold bridesmaid dresses. Fleur reached Bill and looped her arm through his. They smiled at each other before turning to face the front, and for a moment, Bill looked more handsome than he had since he'd met Fenrir Greyback.

"Ladies and gentlemen," began a singsong voice. I was surprised to see the same wizard that had led Dumbledore's funeral. Oh, yeah, Rowling, that's original, I thought jokingly. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of two faithful souls..."

"Yes, my tiara sets off the whole thing nicely," I heard Muriel say in a loud whisper. "But I must say, Ginevra's dress is far too low cut."

I saw Ginny turn and wink at Harry, before facing front again. I smiled. They were so going to get married. My grin widened. I wonder if I'll marry George?

The thought hadn't crossed my mind again after the first time, right after George had lost his ear. I looked at George at the same time he looked at me. I blushed a little, and George smiled and winked at me. He squeezed my hand as he turned back to Bill and Fleur, who were now exchanging vows.

I let my thoughts wander. It seemed rather soon to be thinking about marriage, as we'd only been dating about two months. I loved him, and I knew he loved me, but we were comfortable with what we had, I supposed.

But if he asked me...? I smiled slightly, glancing at George. If he asked, I'd say yes, of course. It had very little to do with the fact that we were in a war and could die any day, though that was, admittedly, part of it. I'd never imagined Fred or George as the type to settle down. I'd always imagined the two of them at the age of a hundred, gallivanting about in wheelchairs, pranking other elderly people.

That was before I'd met them, of course. Fred certainly didn't seem the type to settle down at nineteen, as he was always flirting with Kailee and every other pretty girl who came into the shop. As for George, the only flirting I could remember him doing was with me.

Ivy Weasley, I thought, then smirked. It sounded silly, like I was trying to come up with an internet alias.

George's grip on my hand tightened slightly, and I returned my attention to the ceremony. "Do you, William Arthur," the little wizard was saying, "take Fleur Isabelle to be your wife?"

Bill grinned happily at Fleur. "I do," he said.

Mrs. Weasley and Madame Delacour were both crying quietly nearby. It also sounded like Hagrid was blowing his nose, too.

"And do you, Fleur Isabelle, take William Arthur to be your husband?"

"I do."

"Then I declare you bonded for life."

As they kissed, the wizard waved his wand over their heads and a shower of silver stars spiraled down around them. George dropped my hand suddenly as he and Fred led the following applause, and the gold balloons burst. Birds of paradise and small gold bells flew and floated around, singing and chiming.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" said the wizard. "If you would please stand up!"

I quickly stood up. I watched with amazement as the golden chairs rose into the air and the walls of the marquee disappeared. Then a pool of molten gold spread from the middle of the tent to form a dance floor. The chairs gathered around small, white-clothed tables and floated back to the ground with them. A bandstand appeared at the front of the tent, which a gold-jacketed band hurried toward. Waiters appeared everywhere, carrying silver trays of pumpkin juice, butterbeer, and firewhisky, or piles of little cakes and sandwiches.

It might've been the most impressive thing I'd ever seen.

"Sweet!" I exclaimed, looking around at everything, grinning.

George laughed, wrapping an arm around me. "Let's get a table before they're all taken."

Fred, George, Kailee, Lee, and I grabbed one of the last empty tables. Fred quickly spotted the pair of veela girls from earlier chatting at the edge of the dance floor, and excused himself. Kailee watched him go, glaring.

I smirked. "Wow, jealous much?"

She turned her glare on me, pulling her wand out threateningly. "How would you like the rest of your hair to be green?"

I just laughed. The band began to play a waltz, and I watched as Bill and Fleur began their first dance. Soon Mr. Weasley and Madame Delacour joined them, followed by Mrs. Weasley and Monsieur Delacour. Then Luna, alone and wearing bright yellow robes and a large sunflower in her hair to match, strode onto the floor and began turning in slow circles, her eyes closed and waving her arms.

Lee snorted, and I glared at him. "Oh, leave her be."

I saw Hermione and Ron dancing, and smiled slightly at that. Then I spotted Fred leading one of the veela girls onto the dance floor. I looked at Kailee and saw that she'd noticed too, and was watching them dance with poorly disguised disappointment. Instead of teasing her (I didn't want all my hair to be green), I looked around and spotted Krum sitting a few tables away with 'Barny'.

"Why don't you ask Krum to dance?" I suggested.

Kailee looked absolutely horrified. "Don't be ridiculous!"

"Come on, maybe you'll make Fred jealous!"

She glared at me. "Don't be daft."

"He's just a Quidditch player – "

"He's not just a Quidditch player, he's an internationally – "

I rolled my eyes. "Blah, blah, blah!" I interrupted, and George laughed. "Please, he's a human being. Just go ask."

I grabbed a goblet of butterbeer from a passing waiter as her face began turning red. "I – I couldn't – "

I laughed. "Hufflepuff, through and through. Do it."

"Look, he's getting up," said Lee, gesturing at 'Barny' and Krum's table.

"No, I – "

Lee stood up, pulled Kailee out of her chair, and shoved her in the direction of Krum. She shrieked as she nearly collided with a waiter carrying a large tray full of firewhisky goblets. She looked back, before swallowing visibly and heading for Krum. She spoke with him briefly, her face beet red, and then he smiled and offered her his arm. She took it, smiling nervously, and they headed onto the floor. I grinned.

Lee stood up, also smiling, and said to George, "I'm going to go steal your sister for a dance." Without waiting for a response, he headed for Ginny, who had joined Luna.

"Wait, what?" he said worriedly, twisting around to look at Ginny. He glared, looking every bit the protective older brother, as he watched Lee put one hand on Ginny's waist.

I smirked, touching his shoulder. "Relax. Ginny is so totally going to end up with Harry."

He looked at me. "You think so?"

"Of course."

He spotted Harry leaning against a golden pillar and munching on a sandwich, watching Ginny dance with Lee.

Two more songs were played, and George and I just sat and talked for a while about random things, and laughing about Kailee's obvious crush on Fred. She stayed with Krum for all three of the first dances, and when she rejoined George and I, it was time for the cutting of the cake, and she seemed to be in a much better mood.

The cake was a typical wedding cake decorated with gold icing, except instead of a miniature bride and groom on top (or as I had expected from the Wizarding world, two-inch tall replicas of Bill and Fleur), it was topped with two model phoenixes that, when Bill and Fleur cut into the cake, took flight. There were also bottles of champagne that floated by themselves through the eating crowd.

As soon as I had swallowed my last bite of my piece of cake, George grabbed my hand. "Come have a dance, love," he said, grinning.

I blushed, licking icing from my lips. "George..." I began nervously, but he interrupted.

"Don't worry," he said, dragging me onto the dance floor. He stayed right on the edge, away from all the other dancing couples. I had a sudden image of Fred and Angelina dancing wildly in the Great Hall at the Yule Ball. As if he knew what I was thinking (though he couldn't, as I hadn't been there), he repeated, "Don't worry," and pulled me close, swaying gently to the music.

I let him lead me around, and I spent much of the time being focused on not tripping over his – or my own – feet. "See?" he said after a few moments. "You're not as bad as you said you were."

I cringed as I stepped on his foot. "Sorry."

He smiled. "It's fine." He leaned close and kissed my cheek. "I love you," he whispered in my ear.

I giggled. "I love you too."

The song ended then, and there was a few moments of light applause before the band started the next song. Lee and Ginny appeared.

"Can I steal my dear cousin for a dance?" Lee asked, grinning.

"Only if I can have my sister."

"Deal."

Before Ginny or I could protest at being traded like a pair of Pokémon cards, George was dancing away with Ginny, and I was stumbling over Lee's feet.

"So," said Lee as we danced. "When do you reckon you and George are getting married?"

My face burned red, and I stumbled over his feet again. "What – what makes you think – ?"

Lee snickered. "You seriously haven't thought about it?"

"So what if I have?"

"So you have!"

"I didn't – " I closed my eyes briefly, sighing. "Look, we've only been dating two months. Isn't that a bit soon to be thinking about marriage?"

Lee shrugged. "Maybe. But there is a war on."

Before I could reply, the song ended and George appeared behind me, slipping his arm around my waist. "I'll be taking my girl back now," he said to Lee brightly. Without waiting for a response, he scooped me up.

"George!" I gasped, startled, and wrapped my arms around his neck. People stared as he carried me through the crowd to the other side of the dance floor. "George, you're insane," I told him as he set me back on my feet.

He grinned and pulled me close. "I know."

I laughed. "So was there a reason you did that?"

"I just want to keep you all to myself," he teased. I blushed, and he smirked. "You're sexy when you blush," he whispered in my ear.

I blushed even more, though I tried not to, and poked him in the chest. "You're teasing me, stop it."

"Not teasing you, darling." His thumb brushed over my cheekbone.

"You are too, my face gets all blotchy when I blush."

"Well, it's a sexy sort of blotchy."

I rolled my eyes, and I bumped into someone. "Oh, sorry," I said, glancing back. It was Luna Lovegood. "Ooh, hi, Luna!" I said brightly, turning to face her.

She smiled slightly and stopped dancing. "Oh, hello, Ivy," she said vaguely. "Hello, George."

"Hi," George said, unenthusiastically. I elbowed him.

"I love your sunflower, Luna, it's very pretty."

She beamed. "Thank you. Daddy suggested it; sun colors are supposed to be lucky at a wedding, you know."

I nodded in agreement, smirking. "Yeah, I think luck is better than purity these days."

George snorted with laughter, and to my surprise, Luna giggled as well. "Yes, I think so," she agreed. "You both look rather smart. Did Scott not come with you, Ivy? I haven't seen him."

"He's in America," I said carefully. "He'll be safer there until the war's over."

Luna nodded. "Oh, yes, I suppose so. I hope he'll be all right. He was the only Slytherin who was ever nice to me. He said hello when we passed in the corridors."

I smiled, trying not to laugh out loud. Scott didn't seem the type to go out of his way to be nice to Luna Lovegood. Was it possible that he had a crush on her? "Ah, well, that's Scott. He doesn't like to conform."

Luna smiled. "That's true. I suppose he and I have that in common."

George snickered, and I stepped on his foot. I was trying very hard not to laugh myself. The idea of my little brother dating Luna was getting funnier and funnier.

"I'm sorry, I'm keeping you from dancing. I do feel like dancing myself," she said dreamily, swaying back and forth. Then she danced away, arms waving above her head again.

As soon as she was gone, I started laughing. "Oh my God, I love Luna!"

George laughed. "She is great, isn't she?"

I snickered. "Scott thinks so, apparently."

"What?"

"He's obviously got a crush on her. How many Slytherins say hello to Loony Lovegood in the halls?"

"Good point," said George, grinning. He pulled me against his chest and resumed dancing with me. "You're sure he wasn't just trying to be nice?"

I shook my head. "I know my brother. He wouldn't go out of his way to be nice to Luna, of all people. He may be an unusual Slytherin, but he's still a Slytherin."

"That's true." He looked at something over my shoulder. "Take a look at Kailee."

I looked. She was drinking firewhisky at the table we'd left her at, staring off into the orchard and glaring at nothing. I sighed, scanning the other tables and the dance floor. "What happened to Fred?" I asked when I didn't see him.

"I saw him take a couple of veela girls out into the orchard. They're probably...well, you know."

"I should probably go talk to her. Can you keep yourself occupied for a while?"

George laughed. "I suppose I could suffer for a while without you." He kissed my cheek and wandered off, and I made my way over to Kailee.

"Y'know," I told her as I sat beside her, "if you tell him you fancy him, he probably wouldn't go make out with other girls."

She hit me really hard in the arm. "I don't fancy Fred!"

"Whatever," I said, rubbing my throbbing arm. "When are you going to admit it?"

"Never," she muttered, sitting back and crossing her arms over her chest, "because it's not true."

I giggled. "That's what you say."

She whipped out her wand and pointed it threateningly at my hair. "I can still turn the rest of your hair green."

I shrugged and pulled the one green curl in front of my eyes. "I don't mind. The color's starting to grow on me." She scowled. "You're getting too worked up. Just tell him you think he's hot and – "

"What? I don't think he's hot!"

"Yes you do!" I giggled again. "Maybe he really likes you, but he doesn't think you like him, so he's snogging other girls."

She stared at me. "What on earth makes you think that?"

"He flirts with you all the time at work!"

She scowled some more. "He flirts with every female-shaped thing he sees!"

"Maybe, but he flirts with you the most."

She rolled her eyes. "He does not. Anyway, it doesn't matter, because I don't fancy him."

"Whatever you say, m'dear."

I spotted George over her shoulder, and I snickered. "What?" she asked.

"George. He's dancing with Bill."

She looked over at them. Bill was letting George waltz around with him. "Freak."

"Miss Wolfe?"

I turned. It was the strangest-looking wizard I'd ever seen. He was a bit cross-eyed with hair that looked like white cotton candy. He wore a tasseled cap and robes in the same bright yellow color as Luna. He also wore a weird triangular symbol, hung from his neck on a gold chain. "Yeah?"

He smiled slightly. "My name is Xenophilius Lovegood. My Luna has just pointed you out to me. She tells me you know the art of Magical Music."

I stared. So this was Luna's father. Then I remembered: Luna once mentioned her father had written a story about it for the Quibbler. "Oh, yeah."

"If it isn't too much trouble, I was wondering if you could give me a demonstration? My Luna was quite excited when she told me about your ability. She'd never met anyone who practiced the art."

I tried not to stare at him in surprise. I'd never thought of the Magical Music as an 'art'. "I guess. I don't have my flute with me, but I can do it singing, even though it's not as good."

I grabbed Kailee's goblet of firewhisky and set it in front of me. I started singing, "She comes home to me after a hard night's work, falls in my arms and sleeps like a bird. But startled, wakes up, like she don't know me. Cocks back her fist like she's goin' to slug me. Like, 'Who are you anyway, what are you doin' to me?'" While I sang, the goblet floated two feet up in the air, hovered, and then settled back on the tabletop. Mr. Lovegood applauded.

"Very impressive, Miss Wolfe!" he exclaimed. "I wonder, would you consent to an interview for an article to featured in an upcoming issue of the Quibbler? Such talent is elusive to many wizards, so I would be very interested in taking an in-depth look at the art."

I could tell Kailee was trying not to laugh. But I couldn't see what it could hurt. "Sure," I nodded.

"Excellent, Miss Wolfe, excellent. I'll send you an owl soon to arrange an interview. Thank you very much, Miss Wolfe."

He made to stand up, but Kailee suddenly stopped him. "Mr. Lovegood?" she said. "What's that symbol you're wearing?"

"This, my dear?" asked Lovegood, touching the symbol on his chest. I looked at it closer. It was a triangle with a circle inside, with a vertical line going through the circle and triangle. "This is the sign of the Deathly Hallows."

I felt all the color drain from my face. Kailee looked just as surprised as I felt. She knew the title of the seventh book. "Deathly Hallows, sir?" I repeated.

"Yes," he nodded. "Do you know of them?" We shook our heads. "I'm not surprised. Few wizards believe. Are you familiar with 'The Tale of the Three Brothers'?"

"It's a fairy tale," said Kailee. I looked at her. "Three brothers cheat Death," she explained, "and Death pretends to reward them by giving them each a prize. One gets an unbeatable wand made of elder, one gets a stone that brings back the dead, and the last gets Death's cloak, an Invisibility Cloak."

"Precisely," said Lovegood. "Those are the Deathly Hallows. The Elder Wand," he traced the vertical line on the sign, "the Resurrection Stone," he traced the circle, "and the Cloak of Invisibility," he traced the triangle.

"But I'm pretty sure me mum never mentioned 'Deathly Hallows' when she told me the story."

"As you said, it is a fairy tale. However, we believers recognize that if the three objects, the Hallows, are united, the possessor will become the master of Death."

"They'd make you immortal?" I asked.

Lovegood nodded. "Yes."

"So you think they exist?"

"Of course."

"So if the story is true, then the three brothers must have lived. Who were they?"

Lovegood smiled excitedly. "A very good question, Miss Wolfe. The brothers in the story are Antioch, Cadmus, and Ignotus Peverell."

The name struck a familiar chord in my mind. "Peverell..."

He raised his eyebrows. "You know the name?"

"I dunno," I said distantly. "It sounds familiar."

"Perhaps you've been to Godric's Hollow?" I frowned at him. "Many generations of Peverells are buried there."

"I haven't," I said, "but – "

"Lovegood!"

All three of us looked around. A rather drunk-looking uncle of Ron's was standing a few tables away, gripping the shoulder of his son, who looked to be about Ginny's age. The poor kid seemed to want to be anywhere else.

"Ge' over here, will ya? M'son wants to be a journalist, thought ya could give 'im some pointers!"

"Certainly!" Mr. Lovegood brightly, either not noticing or not caring about the man's obvious drunkenness. "If you'll excuse me, ladies."

He left, and as soon as he was out of hearing range, Kailee scoffed. "Ridiculous."

"Kailee," I said, "do you know of any Peverells?"

She shook her head. "Either the name's died out, or he's making it up." She drank some of her firewhisky.

"No, Kailee, I know I've heard the name before, I just don't know where."

She leaned closer. "Was it...y'know...mentioned?"

"I think so. Maybe only once." I sighed. "But the Deathly Hallows are definitely important. I mean, they're the title of the book."

"But it's so unlikely they really exist. The wand, maybe, but the stone and the cloak – I mean, you can't bring back the dead. And the Invisibility Cloak would be useless by now."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, in the story, the third brother passed the Invisibility Cloak on to his son when he was tired of eluding death. He was really old. Invisibility cloaks don't last that long."

I stared at her. "How long are they supposed to last?"

She shrugged. "Twenty, maybe thirty years. The charms wear off, they get ripped... What?"

I was gaping at her. "I – Harry's Invisibility Cloak."

"What about it?"

"Kailee, it was owned by his dad. James had it at school, in the seventies. And it's always worked for Harry."

She shook her head. "If it was the Cloak, then Harry's parents wouldn't have died. They'd have been invisible to Death."

My mouth fell open. "They didn't have it..." I whispered.

"What?"

"Dumbledore had it."

"Why did Dumbledore have it?"

"I don't know! He gave it to Harry at Christmas his first year, with a note. 'Your father left this in my possession before he died. It was time it was returned to you.'" Kailee stared at me, clearly trying to decide whether or not to say something. "What?"

She sighed. "Well, the reason I asked Lovegood about it was that Viktor mentioned it while we were dancing. He said it was Grindelwald's sign. I told him who Lovegood was, and that no one takes him seriously, but – "

"What are you ladies whispering about?"

We both gasped and leapt apart; we'd been unconsciously leaning toward each other as we whispered. George was standing behind us.

"Nothing," Kailee said quickly.

George raised an eyebrow. "Nothing you'd be interested in, sweetie," I told him. "Girl stuff."

"All right, then," he said, though he still looked suspicious. "Care for another dance, love?" he asked, holding out his hand.

My face was burning as I took his hand. "Okay." I looked at Kailee. "We'll talk later."

She nodded. "All right."

I followed George out onto the dance floor. He pulled me close, swaying gently to the slow waltz the band was playing. "You reminded me a bit of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, the way you and Kailee were whispering." I looked up at him, a bit surprised. He was grinning. "Not plotting anything, are you, love?"

"No," I said quickly, trying not to think about how our topic of conversation was likely to be discussed by the Golden Trio at some point during Deathly Hallows. "We really were just talking about girl things."

He seemed to be convinced. "All right then."

I rested my head on his shoulder as we danced in silence for a while. The sun had nearly set, casting an orange glow over the wedding guests. As it got darker, golden lanterns appeared on the canopy above, and moths fluttered around.

"I was thinking of letting my hair grow out," George said casually.

I looked up at him. "Really?"

He nodded. "What do you think?"

"Hmm. Only if you're not doing it just to hide your lack of ear. 'Cause personally, I think you look just as handsome with one or two or seventeen ears."

George laughed. "Seventeen ears, eh? Why have you been picturing me with seventeen ears?"

I giggled. "I have not, I was just trying to make a point."

He kissed my cheek. "Point made, love. And I'm not trying to hide it, I just want a change."

"If you want to, go for it." I grinned at him. "You'd look pretty sexy with longer hair."

He grinned. "Yeah?"

"Sexier, really," I said, resting my head on his chest and closing my eyes in contentment.

He chuckled, playing with the ends of my hair. The curling spell had begun to wear off. "Perhaps we could follow Fred's example and find a quiet place where you can tell me just how sexy I am," he suggested.

I pulled away slightly and smiled at him. "Sounds good to me, I'm getting a bit tired of dancing."

He looked surprised that I had agreed so easily, then grinned. He took my hand and led me off the dance floor, away from the celebrating guests, into the dark trees that surrounded the orchard.

Some time later (I wasn't exactly too worried about keeping track of time), George and I were situated comfortably at the base of a tree. We weren't too far away from the party; music and laughter drifted to our hiding spot. Fred and Fleur's cousins were nowhere to be seen (probably on the other side of the orchard, George said). George insisted that I sit in his lap, to keep my robes from getting dirty. I doubt that was the real reason, though, because we were doing quite a bit of making out.

"Ivy?" George muttered suddenly. We had been there for at least an hour, if not more, and it was very dark.

"Hmm?" I said distractedly, pressing kisses along his neck. He groaned lightly as I undid a couple buttons of his robes and slipped my fingers inside, along his collarbone. His hand was creeping up my thigh, and I suddenly wished I was wearing that damnable skirt instead of dress robes.

"I – uh – would you – ah!"

I giggled at his reaction as I shifted a bit in his lap in order to get better access into his robes. "Enjoying yourself?" I snickered. I needn't have even asked; I could feel his 'enjoyment' rather well.

"Little minx," he breathed, hugging me closer.

I giggled again, touching his cheek gently. "Sorry, sweetie, what were you trying to say?"

"Huh?"

I smiled slightly. "You were going to say something?"

"Oh," he muttered. "Yeah. Right. Do – do you want to marry me?"

Startled by the sudden question, I just looked at him, blushing a bit. I wondered if he'd thought about marrying me, like I had thought about marrying him. I had no idea what to say. We were only nineteen, were we really ready to get married?

"Uh – I – George, are you – ?"

"No!" he exclaimed. I raised my eyebrows, and he quickly backpedaled. "Er – I mean, not yet. E–eventually." I couldn't see his face very well in the dark, but I imagined his ears, if not his whole face, had gone very red. "I – You're the only one I'll ever want to – to marry."

I grinned broadly, my face still burning. Oh, that's so romantic! I thought giddily, trying not to giggle like some sort of ditzy Valley girl. I hugged him and kissed his cheek. "Me too," I said quietly. "Marrying you, I mean. I love you."

He sighed, sounding almost relieved. "I love you, too." I closed my eyes as he kissed my shoulder, and I tangled my fingers in his hair. The more I thought about marrying George, the less crazy it sounded. He wanted to marry me! Two years ago, I couldn't have imagined being married to anyone, let alone someone who, at the time, I thought was just a book character. But now, here I was, promising to marry George Weasley, while dozens of people celebrated Bill and Fleur's wedding.

As soon as I remembered the party, I immediately realized how quiet it was. I could no longer hear the celebrating guests, or the music. I pulled away from George and turned to look behind me, in the direction of the party. "George," I said anxiously, "why is it so – ?"

There was a scream, followed by a couple more. I fell off George's lap in my haste to get off him and get my wand out of my sleeve at the same time. I quickly got to my feet, not worrying about the state of my robes or my hair. I could hear panicked voices and more screams, accompanied by cracks of Apparition and the sound of flying spells.

I started to run towards the chaos, but I had barely taken two steps when George caught my arm. I spun to face him. "George, what – ?"

"Please don't – "

I tried to pull away from him, but his grip only tightened. "George, come on, we have to – "

"Get out of here, Ivy, please!" I gaped at him. "You – You're not – I can't loose you, I – "

He grabbed both my arms suddenly and pulled me down to my knees. A stray spell flew over our heads, hit the tree we'd been sitting against, and the branch it hit burst into flames. I ducked my head as sparks and pieces of bark rained down. Shocked, I looked back at George, who was kneeling before me and watching me with wide eyes. Now, in the light from the fire, I could properly see the terrified expression on his face. Terrified.

"George?" I asked, now starting to get scared myself. I had never seen him look so frightened, not even when he tried to convince me not to be one of the Harrys.

"I want to know you're safe," he said firmly.

My heart was pounding, and I couldn't think straight. I could only think how Fred and George weren't supposed to be scared. They were supposed to laugh in the face of danger, like Simba. And Voldemort was supposed to finally die from choking on his tongue after eating a Ton Tongue Toffee, while the twins stood by laughing, like Ellie had theorized at the premiere. And I was the reason he was so scared, he was worried about me.

"I – "

"Please, Ivy," he pleaded desperately, "please!"

I flung my arms around George's neck and kissed his cheek briefly. Then I pulled away and stroked his cheek. "Be – be careful."

He covered my hand with his own, looking relieved. "Always," he promised.

I let my hand fall away as I got to my feet quickly, and George stood as well. Leaves were falling from the burning tree. Before I could change my mind, I gripped my wand tightly and turned on the spot, Disapparating away from George and the Burrow.

Author's Note: This is my favorite chapter so far. It makes me laugh at various points. Hehehe.

I found a really cool song. "Simi Valley", by Mary Carves the Chicken. Simi Valley = Ivy's hometown. Yay! It's on iTunes.

Not sure about when chapter fourteen will be out. Fourteen and fifteen both just need endings, and then they'll be done. I really want to get to chapter sixteen, so I hope it won't take too long. Anyway, please push the pretty button below and review!