Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K.R.

Author's notes: Many thanks to Shygui, who betaed this chapter.

Chapters 21 to 23, 01/04/18

22

Was it really July already? Was today really his wedding day? Harry reached up with his right hand and pinched himself into his left forearm - hard.

Ouch, that hurt. So, it was real. Not dreaming, then. However, the unrealistic feeling stayed as he looked out of the window of what was supposed to become his and Daphne's future bedroom at The Coach House. His eyes wandered about the walled-in and well-kept kitchen garden that spread around the house.

The Coach House was attached to the main house and surrounded by the enclosed patio at the front and the walled-in garden at the back: a virtual prison, albeit a beautiful and rather luxurious one.

He turned around and looked at the room. During one of the few "dates" he and Daphne had had under the watchful eyes of her mother to get to know each other, Daphne had told him that The Coach House needed to be refurbished. She'd asked him for his favourite colours and preferences. He had had no opinion to offer; after all, what did he know about interior design? He only knew that he didn't want to live in a house as bland and artificial as Privet Drive number four.

His bride had good taste, he had to admit. The room had the same cosy feel as the Gryffindor dorms, though she'd chosen a deep burgundy red for the hangings on the dark four poster bed and the curtains, and the cords and tassels that held back the curtains were a silvery grey.

The door opened, and Bill Weasley entered the room. 'Are you ready?' he asked.

Harry grimaced. 'As ready as I'll ever be, and that means not ready at all.' He walked to the wardrobe and pulled the hanger with his wedding robes from it. They also were Daphne's choice, as everything else was. However, he could live with the colour: a deep midnight blue. He shrugged into the robes and adjusted his matching tie. 'Ready.'

Bill stepped towards him and put a hand on his shoulder. 'I'm honoured that you asked me to be your best man, Harry. I know how much you'll miss Ron today.'

Harry shrugged. 'There's no way an owl would've reached him and Hermione in time. Besides that, you know how important it is for Hermione to find her parents. The last seven years have always been about me and my problems. I couldn't come between Hermione and her parents, I'd never forgive myself for that.'

Bill squeezed his shoulder. 'You're a good friend. You know that Ron and Hermione wouldn't have minded.'

Harry only nodded in response. Yeah, they'd have stopped looking for Hermione's parents and returned to England in a heartbeat, had he asked them. However, there was no denying that he was relieved that they weren't here at the moment.

He loved his best friends dearly, but he had no illusions about their faults. They'd have driven him up the walls: Ron would've resented him making Ginny unhappy, and Hermione would've wanted to analyse his feelings about his forced marriage over and over again, while she researched every source known to her for a way to help him escape his fate.

No, it was a relief they weren't here today. This way, he'd have time to adjust to his new life before he had to deal with them.

Aloud he said, 'If I can't have Ron with me, I'm glad that you agreed to be my best man, Bill. I've always wanted a big brother like you, and believe me, today I need one, or I'll be running for the hills.'

Bill's face became hard. 'I imagine. The way you are treated by the head of this family…' His voice trailed off, and he gave Harry's shoulder another squeeze. 'You know that you'll always be a honorary Weasley, little brother.'

Harry reached up and put his hand on Bill's. 'I know. You have no idea how much that means to me. And in case I forget later, I want to thank you and Fleur for everything you've done for me over the last few weeks.'

Bill patted him on the back, and then led Harry out of the room.

The Weasleys had been great to him during the last four weeks. After the signing of the marriage agreement and his last encounter with Ginny he had decided to leave The Burrow. Mr and Mrs Weasley, however, didn't want to hear anything of that. They had not only insisted that he'd stay with them until the wedding, they'd also taken on the role of the parents of the groom as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Mrs Weasley had even gone so far to invite the Greengrasses to dinner one night. Despite the awkwardness of his betrothal, the evening had been a success, thanks to Mrs Weasley and Mrs Greengrass' determination to make everything seem normal. Ginny had not been there, while George, Bill and Fleur, and even Percy and his girlfriend had been in attendance and supported him.

Fleur had been great. She and Daphne had hit it off at once, and Fleur had welcomed his bride-to-be into the family as her honorary sister-in-law. Had she done that to spite Ginny? Probably; she and Ginny still didn't get along.

However, he hadn't had much time to think about the changes in his life. The day after the signing of the marriage agreement he'd made an appointment with Healer Payne. As a result, he'd spent the next days in a hospital room at the Hotel Dieu Magique in Paris, where Healer Petite had prodded at him until he had determined how to brew the potion.

They'd reached the small gate in the wall that surrounded the kitchen garden and stepped out into the park. The terrace of the main house was to their right. In front of them, a lush lawn sloped down to the lake. The white pavillon on the island in the middle of the lake was decorated with an abundance of pink and white roses. A row of chairs was set up around the pavillon. That was where the wedding would take place.

Harry and Bill walked down the gravelled path that led alongside the western boundary of the park to the lake.

'Harry, wait,' a female voice called behind them.

They turned around. Ginny stepped down the few steps from the terrace and walked towards them. Bill frowned, but said nothing as his sister came closer.

Harry gulped. His heart missed a beat and then jumped right in his throat. He licked his lips and walked a few steps towards her.

'May I have a word with you, Harry?' she asked as she reached him, and put her hand on his arm. She wore traditional teal coloured robes, and her gleaming hair was held back with silver combes. The sunlight strew fiery reflexes on it.

'Of course,' he said. He looked at Bill. 'Excuse us for a moment.'

The frown hadn't left Bill's face. He gave a sharp look from Harry to Ginny. His gaze lingered on Ginny, and the frown deepened. He opened his mouth as if to say something.

Ginny glowered back.

Bill shut his mouth with an audible snap. 'Alright. Two minutes.' He turned around and walked down the path until he was outside of hearing distance.

'I'm sorry, Harry,' Ginny said. Tears were in her eyes.

Harry moved forward and raised his arms to comfort her, but halted in his steps. He had no right to comfort her, not anymore. His arms dropped down by his side, and he slumped. 'No, Ginny, it is I who has to be sorry. I dragged you into my mess and hurt you, yet again. It's better if you don't see me anymore.'

'No!' Her reply was quiet, but determined. Her eyes blazed into his. 'I don't want to lose you, Harry! Yes, you have to marry her, but why does that have to change things between us? She has to know that you don't love her, and she knows that you were with me, so she can't expect that you're faithful to her.'

He blinked and took a step back. Her hand slid from his arm. 'Are you suggesting…'

'Yes.' She stepped closer, invaded his personal space. Her hand came up and played with the lapel of his robes. 'You only have to say the word, Harry.'

He closed his eyes, inhaled her sweet fragrance, and gulped again. It would be so easy, wouldn't it? He could have everything - his health, a family, and Ginny. But at which price? Did she have an idea to what a life she condemned herself, always in the background, never openly by his side? That wasn't the way he'd dreamed their life together to be. She deserved better.

He stepped back and loosened her hand from his lapel with his. He pressed her hand for a brief moment and let it go. 'No, Ginny, I can't do that. It wouldn't be right, for either of you. You deserve better than that, and Daphne -. Well, I have reason to believe that she doesn't like this marriage anymore than I do. Nevertheless, she agreed to marry me, and in doing so she's saving my life. While I don't think I will ever love her, I at least owe her to treat her decently.'

Ginny gave him a last, hard stare, then turned on the spot and walked away.

His eyes followed her until she vanished into the house. The ache in his chest was unbearable. His shoulders slumped, and he let out a sigh. He turned around and stumbled down the path until he reached Bill.

Bill caught him in his arms. "Careful, there, Harry. You don't want to dirty your nice robes by falling headlong on the path.'

Harry quirked his mouth into something he hoped looked like a smile. 'No, of course not.'

Bill wasn't deceived. He put an arm around Harry's shoulder and hugged him. 'I know you're heartbroken, little brother. However, you'll learn to live with that, just as you learned to live with all the other losses you've suffered. You are strong, Harry, you can do it again.'

'Yeah, of course.' He had to tell that himself a dozen times a day, and maybe it would become true one day. He took a deep breath and straightened. 'Come on, Bill. Let's get this show on the road.'

t.b.c.