Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any related material. All materials in this story are copyrighted by people that are a hell of a lot better off than I am. The first song in this chapter is "It Takes Two" from the Broadway production of Hairspray. The second song in the chapter is "Under the Covers" by the Spill Canvas. I can, in no way possible, take credit for either of these songs. They were created by those who are far more talented than I.
Author's Note: Well, kids... Here's the first Epilogue! It is another fairly short one, but I think it is pretty effing good. (I might be wrong, however.) I hope you enjoy! Thanks for all of the support!
International Delight
Epilogue One: The Children
"I now present to you Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Wood!" Cheers exploded through the crowd outside of my cottage, and a huge smile plastered over my face. I turned back to Oliver once again, and he kissed me deeply.
Once he pulled away, he whispered, "Katie, I love you."
"I love you, too, Oliver. So so much..." I replied, and our lips found their way to one another once again. Heat began to build within me, but we broke away from one another when someone cleared their throat.
I finally realized that the recessional music was playing, and I smiled gratefully at Ginny and Krystal. Oliver and I locked hands, and we walked down the aisle and into our reception tent. We were immediately met by a rush of warm air, which was a nice contrast to the cool Scottish air that permeated through the air on this Friday the Thirteenth in September.
Oliver pulled me into a tight embrace, and we swayed on the spot as people poured into the tent. A bulb flashed as Oliver kissed the top of my head, and I grinned at our friend Lee Jordan, whom had graciously agreed to take off from his advertising stint in Japan long enough to photograph our wedding. He swatted a floating candle away from his head as Marci and John approached us.
Oliver released me to receive an emotional hug from his father. Both men had tears on their faces, and I couldn't stop the tear that fell when Marci embraced me. His parents eventually switched places with one another, and John placed a kiss on my cheek as he hugged me to him closely.
"We're proud to have you in our family, Katie," he whispered, and I choked up once again.
"I'm proud, as is Alex," I croaked, "to be part of your family, Mr. Wood."
"Nonsense, Mrs. Wood," he replied as he wiped the tears from my face. John held my face in between his two hands, in the way that only a father could get away with, and he said, "The honor is all ours."
Marci and John moved away from us and were quickly replaced by Marion and Terrance. As Marion enveloped me and whispered, "Congratulations!", Terrance gripped Oliver's hand tightly and exclaimed, "You had better keep her happy, young man. Otherwise, I will be forced to tear you limb from limb. Do you understand?"
Oliver nodded grimly as I laughed. "Terrance," I chided, "that is quite uncalled for. I can assure you of that."
"Katie, you're like a daughter," he replied, "and I won't stand for any other man to hurt you."
Terrance hugged me as Marion congratulated Oliver. "Terrance, I'm confident in saying that Oliver won't hurt me."
The old man nodded and with a smile, he and his wife moved away from us. Krystal and Zachary Norton approached us next. I smiled as their entwined fingers and found myself being glad that I had been quite incorrect about Zach's intentions. He was sincere in his relationship with my sister, and he treated her like a princess.
The stream of people seemed to be never ending, and it seemed that those I really wished to see were hanging back near the end of the line. I shook ever more hands and smiled at more well wishers before I finally caught a glimpse of multiple heads of red hair that proved that the Weasleys were close, along with my son. As the Weasley clan approached, I was relieved to see that they were the only people remaining in what had been a monumental line.
Molly was the first to rush forward. She hugged and kissed my face multiple times as tears flowed freely. "Oh, Katie," she moaned. "I'm so happy for you!"
"Thanks, Molly," I replied as the woman whom had treated me as one of her own heaved a huge sob.
"Just remember, Katie, even if you are officially Mrs. Katie Wood, you and Alex will always be a part of the Weasley family!"
I nodded, and she moved on to my husband. "Oliver!" She cried, and I grinned.
"Mommy!" Alex cried as he busted his way through Bill and Fleur's legs. Fleur shrieked as she clutched to baby Giselle. 'Sorry,' I mouthed as Alex latched onto my legs. She shrugged with a smile, and I reached down for my son.
Alex jumped into my arms as Bill, Fleur, Ronny and Giselle approached. "Eet was beautiful, Katie!" Fleur cried as Bill clapped Oliver on the back and mock whispered, "I told you to get out while you still could!"
"Bill," I scolded, and I laughed along with the others. They moved on, and we were greeted by the twins and their significant others. A few hilarious moments later, they had moved on, and we were faced with the sight of an exuberant Ginny and Aidan.
"Katie, oh Godric, that was beautiful! I cried so much when Alex gave you away," Ginny cried as she embraced both Alex and I tightly. Aidan nodded in agreement and added, "You two are absolutely perfect for one another! I have never seen such a great pair, except for maybe Ginny and myself."
Oliver and I laughed before sending the pair away. Lee approached. "This wedding really is fantastic, you two." We smiled, and he went on, "Would you like to get family photos now, or would you like to dance first?"
"Dance!" Oliver cried quickly, and Alex began to wiggle semi-violently in my arms. I let him down as I looked at Oliver with an upturned eyebrow. "What?" He defended, "I have a good song for you!"
I rolled my eyes as he pulled me toward the dance floor. "Ladies and gentlemen," our DJ called, "Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Wood!" Our guests clapped and cheered politely as Oliver spun me in a circle. I smiled at him, and his brown eyes sparkled mischievously.
He tucked me into his arms, and we swayed as the music started. However, my jaw dropped, and I pulled away from his as I heard the first two lines. "They say it's a mans world, well that cannot be denied," a teenage voice crooned.
Oliver laughed and pulled me back as the song continued. "But what good's a man's world without a woman by his side? And so I will wait until the moment you decide."
He dipped me, and I smiled at him warmly. Perhaps he wasn't as much of a pig as I had thought. He pulled me back into his arms and kissed me as the song continued.
"That I'm your man
And you're my girl
That I'm the sea
And you're the pearl
Its takes two, baby
It takes two."
Marci and John joined us on the dance floor at this point. Marion and Terrance weren't far behind, and I smiled when I saw Molly twirling about with Alex in her arms. More Weasleys flowed onto the floor, and I actually giggled as Phil Montgomery pulled his protesting wife onto the floor.
"A king ain't a king
Without the power behind the throne
A prince is a pauper
Without a chick to call his own
So please, darling, choose me
I don't wanna rule alone
Tell me,
I'm your king
And you're my queen
That no one else can come between
It takes two, baby
It takes two."
"Oliver," I whispered before placed a chaste kiss on his lips, "you're sweet."
"Anything for you, doll." I smiled.
The song continued on behind us, and I found myself lost in the chocolaty depths of Oliver's eyes. We shared another kiss, and I couldn't believe how lucky I was to have him. We broke apart as the singer crooned one last, "It takes two."
"Oliver," I giggled, "where in the world did you find that song?"
He smiled brightly. "Believe it or not, Krystal isn't the only one who enjoys seeing stuff on Broadway. That song was in a musical that Mom, Dad and I saw last Christmas. It was called Hairspray."
"I'm afraid mine for you is simply a song Krystal played for me a couple of weeks ago," I replied as soft music filled the air.
He pulled me tight once again as we swayed. "I'm sure it is beautiful."
"It isn't half as beautiful as you."
He chuckled. "You're sweet."
"Anything," I began to mock, "for you, doll." He smiled wider.
"I'm bottling up your soft, dream-like scent
In my head for the ride home
I've been searching with bruised limbs
For ways to get me going
For ways to get my going
To give me confidence to stand
And observe the world
To give me confidence to stand."
Tears dripped down my face and into his jacket as the soft, romantic music continued to play. Oliver was so perfect, and I couldn't believe that he was mine for the rest of time. I probably didn't deserve such a wonderful husband, but I would always thank my lucky stars (and Charlie) for him. Oliver lifted my face and kissed the tears away.
"If I could sleep forever
Would you still be in my dreams
If I could sleep forever
Would you still be in my dreams (my dreams)
If I could sleep forever (if I could sleep forever)
Would you still be in my dreams (would you still be in my dreams)
If I could sleep forever (if I could sleep forever)
Would you still be in my dreams (would you still be in my dreams)
Under the covers
Under the covers
Under the covers
Under the covers."
"Excuse me," a slow and steady, yet demanding voice called from beside us, "Mr. and Mrs. Wood, I need a word."
I turned to see the Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, standing next to us. A think manila envelope was held in his equally as thick hands, and my heart thumped in my chest. What in the world could have happened that required the Minister to bring business to a wedding where he was a guest? Minister Shacklebolt led us to a fairly secluded table, and we all sat about it.
"Minister Shacklebolt," Oliver began.
The Minister corrected him. "You may call me Kingsley, Oliver. We fought the same war."
Oliver nodded, and with tight lips, he asked, "Kingsley, what is it that you need?"
Kingsley motioned to me before saying, "I heard that you were having some problems convincing Seamus Finnegan to sign over his parental rights to Alex." I nodded, and he held up the envelope. "I pursued Mr. Finnegan personally when I found out that he had not had the papers signed this morning. I have in here the adoption papers for one Alexander James Wood."
Oliver grasped my hand firmly, and my eyes began to water. I had been fighting with Seamus for months to sign the adoption papers. Even though Seamus had never had anything to do with Alex, he was the father named on the birth certificate, therefore he had parental rights. He had asked me how he could sign over parental rights for a child that was not his. He refused to sign the papers.
"Also," Kingsley began, "I have the adoption papers for..."
My head had whipped around before he could even finish his sentence. I quickly found Molly standing with her hands on Alex's and Leslie's shoulders. She was smiling widely, and my mind flashed back to the day that I had asked Molly if Oliver and I could adopt Leslie.
"Molly," I started as a cool breeze blew my lilac colored skirt around my calves. We were sitting on the back porch of the Burrow swinging and sipping hot tea, "I already know that what I'm going to ask you is huge."
I paused, and she smiled kindly. "It is perfectly fine, Katie. I'm not going to scold you."
"Well," I began with an air of uncertainty, "it is just that ever since Charlie visited me, I have had a lot of different feelings spinning around inside of me."
"That is perfectly understandable, Katie."
"Well, Molly, it's just that Charlie mentioned that he didn't even consider me until he knew that I would accept and love Leslie as my own. . ." I trailed off.
"You want to adopt her, Katie?" I looked into my tea sheepishly, and Molly continued, "Charlie told me that you might want to some day. I won't stop you, Katie, but I'll only allow it if Leslie wants to."
A huge smile broke over my face as Kingsley said, "I am proud to inform you that your adoption has cleared for Miss Leslie Jane Weasley-Wood." I quickly jumped from my seat and ran to where Molly stood with my two children. I hugged her quickly before dropping down to hug Leslie and Alex tightly.
"Mommy," Alex began with his own level of uncertainty, "is Oliver my daddy, now?" I nodded to him, and he seemed to chew on this information a bit. A huge smile exploded onto his face, and he pulled from my grip. He ran to Oliver as he cried, "Daddy!" My son spilled into my husband's lap, and they both laughed as they hugged.
I turned warm and loving eyes on Leslie. Her eyes were burning bright, and a small quivery smile graced her full lips. "Les, I would like to be the first to welcome you to the Wood family. I also want you to know that I am so fantastically proud o have you as a daughter."
"Katie," she began in a questioning tone, "do I have to call you and Oliver. . ."
I cut her off. "Baby, you can call us whatever you wish to call us. You don't have to call us Mom and Dad if you don't want to."
Leslie cocked her head to the side. "I was going to ask if I have to call you guys Katie and Oliver because I would rather just call you Mom and Dad. I understand that you aren't my real parents, but I think Daddy would want it this way."
Molly beamed down at us, and I nodded to the young girl; my daughter. I stood up and began to pull her over to Oliver and Alex. Upon arrival, Alex was changed to my arms, and Oliver raised Leslie up. He kissed her cheek as Lee approached and asked, "May I have the pleasure of getting the first photo of the Wood family?"
Oliver shifter Leslie to his left hip, I shifted Alex to my right hip, and Oliver and I placed our free arms around each other's waists. Lee snapped the photo as we smiled proudly. It was the only photo that he had available for us before we left for our honeymoon.
As Oliver and I laid entwined in a tangle of nude limbs later that night, we stared at the photo together. He kissed my cheek and mumbled, "We're going to be the perfect family, Katie."
"Oliver, we're already the perfect family," I corrected.
He smiled as he began to kiss my neck. "You're right," he muttered before flicking the lights out.
I giggled. "I love you, Oliver Ryan Wood."