Thank you so much to my new followers and those who've also taken the time to favourite! And THANK YOU to Chuu112, PJO-Blue-cookies, auerlia, MoonFairy00 and PeterPanIsMyBoo who have made me so happy with your reviews!

A special thank you to auerlia who's been with this story from the beginning, even before I'd made it much better than it was before and started to update again from chapter 5 in November! By the way, I partly can't believe I've written so much in the past two months, even when I feel bad for not having written more!

Chapter Twenty-Seven

'Are you sure we have to keep looking?' I'm so tired of looking at dresses for the Lennox reception that I'm physically wilting. I'm pretty sure they all look the same anyway. As soon as we went to get James and Abigail, the latter decided to drag me out to a shop in order to get me over whatever had transpired between the two of us, and to give Teddy and James a chance to have a man-to-man discussion about it as well.

Teddy and James protested this, looking at each other as if they'd rather be confronted with six boggarts and a sphinx than have thatparticular conversation, but Abigail insisted and so Teddy reluctantly let me go on the grounds that Abigail swore I needed dresses for weddings. So here we are, in the fourth shop of the past two hours, looking at yet more dresses.

At least Abigail would rather floo all the way around England, Scotland and Wales to find the shops than stay in one for more than half an hour to avoid journalists, which means we're on the last one she says we need to try.

'Yes! And we're not just looking for ball gowns either! We need to get the perfect dress for you and Lily to wear to my wedding! You won't be bridesmaids by the way, but you'll walk down with us as future sisters-in-law...' She trails off as she feels the fabric on a dark green dress, and frowns slightly as she continues. 'Well, sort of sister-in-... something for you, but still.'

'But...' I reply, leaning against a rail for much needed support and resting my head on the top. 'You know Albus has a fiancée too right?' Abigail gives me an odd look when I say this, and ends up rolling her eyes before moving on to pull the next dress out to see.

'Albus has a fiancée who doesn't like me, that's what he has. One he doesn't even know if he likes now he's actually with her. I swear he wouldn't want to be if it wasn't for this law. Feel sorry for him reall- OOH! This one!'

The rail moves suddenly and I have to catch my balance to avoid falling on my face as she detaches the seventh 'perfect' dress from the rail and waves it in front of my face. Looking it over... I have to say it's quite nice. Red and completely strapless with a ball gown type size to the skirts and a plain but fitted looking bodice on top.

'Ooh, that is nice!' It really is, very simple but elegant and lovely. 'You'd look good in it! And I thought they were in love with each other?'

'Not for me silly! For you, you newt!' Abigail throws the dress to me and I have to step back so that it lands in my arms and not on the floor or the rail. 'And psh, he might have been in love with who he thought she was, but he was never around her in any relationship sort of way... We had to get out of there and come this morning instead of last night when the fiend woke us up at six to complain that Al didn't like her idea of a lime green wedding dress - and I quote, to match his eyes. His eyes? Not lime green, I tell you!'

'For me? But...' Its lovely, but a little old perhaps with the hint of a sweetheart neckline and the small waist. 'And that's bad, yes... But-'

'Try it on at least,' she tells me in a dismissive tone, smiling as she continues to search for other dresses. I look at it more closely, the fabric slipping through my fingers as I hold it to me, imagining an entrance in a dress like that. 'Besides, if you want to get one up on Dominique or Teddy's fake ex-' She breaks off, flicking her eyes up at me as she realises she's mentioned the truth about Victorie and Teddy's relationship.

'How... How much of that conversation did you hear earlier?' I ask her suspiciously, and she busies herself even more over the dresses. One on another rail catches my eye and I nab it before an eagle eyed witch who spotted it from across the shop. She glares at me and I give her a sheepish look, to which she responds by a double take and then proceeding to slap the wizard beside her wildly whilst pointing towards us.

'How much?' She tries to fake a cough but with a narrowing of my eyes she gives up. 'Maybe... Maybe all of it? Definitely enough to know that James didn't tell me the whole story when he let it all slip... and enough to know that I'm glad I'm not the one who broke the secret...' She says, her voice becoming much higher towards the end before she ducks out of sight. I reply with a non-distinct murmuring about traitors and hear a giggle come from the skirts of two massive grey gowns.

I don't have to wait long before she resurfaces across the room, and I glare daggers at her playfully which she catches before she gets caught up in the selection of bridesmaids dresses. When I asked her why she was getting married so suddenly without telling people, especially as we'd seen each other the other day, she'd laughed and told me that the best plans are ones you never make so they'd decided to have a runaway wedding just with the family involved.

I just have enough time to decide to definitely try on the red dress with gold embroidery as well as the strapless one when she rushes over with a triumphant but worried look on her face, holding a couple of matching silvery dresses along with the others she's picked for herself.

'Found them! Now! If we want to get out of here before the paps appear, we better get going. Teddy gave me free rein when it came to prices on your stuff, so we'll get them and return the one you don't want.' She says this with a pointed look and a nod over to the witch from before who is now on a muggle mobile phone to someone. Judging by her expressions and waving, she's trying to get that person to apparate over to see.

I have literally never shopped like that before - by having someone stare at me, or indeed by having to buy the dresses in order to try them on because I have no time to do so in the shop - but the mention of paparazzi has me placing both of my dresses on the shop counter alongside Abigail's purchases as the matching shoes fly over from the shelves to be priced. When the total comes to well over two hundred galleons though, I have to pause and try to convince Abigail not to spend so much.

I lose the battle spectacularly, in such a way that the witch behind the counter loses her own battle... The one not to burst out laughing.


'And then she tried to put one of them back because they were too expensive! Too expensive! What kind of gold digger is she meant to be if she's not making you shell out for stuff? I mean, Jennie - you know Jennie, my friend from Ravenclaw? Yeah, she's got a part time job there its her parents shop and she couldn't stop laughing as she was putting it all into bags!' Abigail tells Teddy when we return, rolling her eyes at him.

'Gold-?' I ask.

'Oh yeah, apparently you're a gold digger too now,' James tells me in a matter of fact tone from his position on the sofa, reading a book on animagi.

Makes sense.

'Makes sense.' Teddy replies just as I think the same, and rolls his eyes at me with a little smile to let me know how silly he thinks the whole thing is.

'And she said she'll wear a dress she's already got to the dinner and hen party tonight! I mean really! Allowing her to reuse a dress? What kind of possessive werewolf are you that you'd let her do such a thing?' She continues, shaking her head before she bursts out laughing.

'Possessive werewolf?' Since when did that one come about then?

James responds by shaking his head and muttering about how the Daily Prophet has too much time on their hands all whilst not moving his eyes from his book.

'You know your mum writes for them don't you?' Abigail asks him, ruining the tone in her voice by the smirk on her face.

James' hand gesture in response has her laughing and me gasping, scandalised, as she rolls her eyes again and heads over to kiss him. This finally breaks his concentration from the book and not in a pleasant way.

'You know, if I wanted to see you two snog quite so much, I would get a time turner and go back to third year.' The words are out of my mouth before I know it, and receive a meow from James as everyone snaps their heads over to look at me.

Teddy just starts a slow clap which Abigail joins, leaving James and me still a little stunned until he bursts out laughing.

'Ooh, place learned young'un, place learned.' He tells me, grinning.

I try to brush this off by looking down, but this makes them laugh even more. Its then that I feel I'm forgetting something, but I can't work out what...

'Wait... weren't we meant to be-?' I rush across the room to the mantelpiece in order to check our list of things to do this week, and dread passes through me when I realise we're meant to be at Jack Eliot's wedding right now. 'We're missing one!' I announce, turning to Teddy with my eyes wide, feeling horrified that I was shopping instead of attending someone's wedding - one of Teddy's friends.

Teddy's eyes grow comically wide and he runs across the room to join me, standing so he can peer over my shoulder to see the list. When he does, he searches for Tuesday and laughs in relief when he does.

'Oh yeah, that's been moved back. Jack got flu - not Black Cat, but almost as bad. Got a letter when you were out about it - written by his mum, so no chance of infection don't worry - saying its going to be moved back at least two weeks so no need to worry.'

James bursts out laughing from across the room again, and I turn to look at him in confusion.

'Your face! And your face! Oh, you were like we're missing one!Oh Merlin!' He gasps in between each word, laughing outright again at the end.

'James...' I say in the most menacing voice I can muster in the situation, being embarrassed. 'Iwilltake back your wedding present if you keep this up.' Teddy grins beside me as James goes silent in an instant and Abigail's eyes grow wide.

'I'll stop! I'll stop!' He announces, getting up from the sofa and running from the room, into the kitchen from the sounds of things.

'You know we haven't got them anything right?' Teddy whispers, and I look up at him to my right.

'I know... But they don't...' I smirk and Teddy mutters about how he's marrying an evil one before tugging me into his arms and tickling my sides until I'm laughing too much to breathe and Abigail is looking at us like we're crazy.


After lunch, which is whipped up quickly and efficiently by James - shocking me entirely as I didn't know he could cook at all - we spend a while talking over the plans for their wedding. Sitting on the sofas in the lounge, Teddy with an arm around my shoulders, and the pair of them in the same position as they tell us all about it.

By the time we've found out how every time they tried to book a venue it got mobbed by questions by newspapers until they both decided they couldn't plan that far in advance and keep the details a secret, they decided to go to Godric's Hollow to get married in the little Church there.

Apparently the vicar there is lovely and still recognised the name from when he was a boy and a young James Potter senior used to live nearby him, until he and his wife perished in a terrible fire. It was seemingly the best way to keep the ceremony a secret, as he'd promised them no leaking of plans to anyone, and it would be a lovely thing for Harry to see them married at such a venue.

'-Dad doesn't know yet of course, but he'll have to when the time comes!' James finishes, stretching as he speaks so that his voice becomes more strained as his back audibly clicks, the result of a potentially catastrophic fall during a Quidditch match in my second year and his fourth.

'He'll love it.' Teddy replies simply, giving my shoulder a squeeze and grinning at the man he calls his younger brother.

'Hope so!' James replies as Abigail yawns slightly and reaches up to push his sleeve back and pull his watch in front of her face.

'Oh my Godric James! It's five!' She sits up suddenly, staring at him in shock and slight accusation.

'Oh my Godric! What'll we do? Time is still turning?' He asks her in mock shock as she continues to stare at him. Abigail glares at him.

'You knowwe have to be at the dinner in an hour!'

'I... We, what?' He asks, leaping up and half running from the room. 'The shower's mine!'

Abigail follows him, calling after him about how long she needs to do her hair. I listen out and just about get to hear that he needs to do his too, so they'll have to share the mirror.

Teddy scoffs beside me and I look up so see him settle back into the sofa and laugh at them before he looks down at me and widens his eyes as he tries not to continue chuckling.

'He spends almost as long on his hair as she does.' He tells me, reaching his free arm over to take a lock of my mid-blonde hair between his fingers and tilts his head. 'Speaking of which... How long does it take you to do yours?' He asks, looking into my eyes. Must. Resist. Urge. To. Giggle.

'I don't really do anything with it, so no time at all I guess...' I say, annoyingly breathless. Teddy smiles slightly more when I say this.

'You really do just find me attractive, don't you?' He asks, his face coming closer to mine. I narrow my eyes at him and push him away to get up and grab the bag by my feet containing the dresses and shoes.

'Shut up Ted. I'll see you in half an hour when I'm ready to go.' I say, knowing it won't take that long but determined not to come back down until I can look him in the eye again. I half run up the stairs in the wake of his chuckle, and hide in my room, leaning against the door until I can hear his footsteps on the stairs and know he's going to his own room.

When I hear this, I can't help but do a little excited dance before I head over to grab the little black velvet dress I brought with me along with the chunky heels from yesterday which I'll get Teddy to change the colour of to match before we leave.


I'm a little nervous when I realise its time to head down. I'm the last, having waited and listened for everyone else to descend before I join them.

This isn't a move in order to get them to all watch in awe as I make a grand entrance or anything... But rather because I'm so nervous about how silly I might look.

I have no idea what the others might be wearing, and I don't want to be too dressed up or completely under-dressed either. I fiddle with the necklace Teddy gave me for a few more seconds until I hear a knock on my door and realise I'd been staring into space for a while.

'Come in?' I call, managing to stop my voice from shaking. I mean, its silly to be nervous, at least around the people who'll be there, as I kind of know them all... I just wish Lily was there so I'd have someone other than Teddy to talk to.

When the door opens and the man himself pokes his head in, I near laugh at his choice of platinum blonde hair.

'Why is your hair like that?' I ask him, forgetting my nervousness to stand up and cross the distance to the door, grabbing my little bag on the way. As I follow him into the hallway and close the door behind me, he just grins.

Its only when we start down the stairs that he answers.

'Its just a small reminder that my Nan was a Black to begin with.' When I frown at him slightly in confusion, he chuckles. 'Nan's sister is Narcissa Malfoy, my mum's cousin Draco's mum. Scorpius is my second cousin once removed, and his dad Draco is my second cousin basically. We're family!' He says this as he takes my hand and pulls me to the side at the bottom of the stairs before I can head down the hallway into the lounge to join James and Abigail.

'I didn't know that!' I tell him, grinning. Its really quite a sweet gesture really, and hopefully it'll stop anyone from commenting on his dubious relations or anything to do with actions in the war.

'Yup!' He tells me happily. 'I used to see little Scorpius every so often when he was growing up, so I don't want anything bad to happen at dinner or afterwards, you know?'

'I do,' I reply, grinning up at him. I reach up on my tip toes and plant a soft kiss on his lips. 'Quite lovely of you, I must say!'

'Well if changing my hair colour gets me kisses, I'll do it more often!' He says, leaning down again with a cheeky look on his face. I giggle and duck out of his arms, walking quickly down the hall with a bounce in my step even as the butterflies return to my stomach. Looking back, I give him a questioning look.

'Oh, was I supposed to be following instead of watching?' He asks innocently, which I don't believe for a second. He catches my bag just before it hits him in the face, snatching it out of the air and tipping his head right back to laugh. I turn into the lounge and shake my head at the pair looking at me from beside the fireplace, trying to do my best impression of a long suffering spouse.

Abigail giggles and James grins back at me, rolling his eyes. Both James and Teddy are wearing smart trousers, shirts, and in James' case a jacket whilst Teddy opted for a smart jumper. Where ever the night is taking us, I'm guessing some sort of club will be involved though, judging by Abigail's tight dark green dress and sky-high heels.

I stop in the middle of the room and look down nervously, smoothing the fitted skirt a little, and she seems to understand because she gasps and pulls out her wand. Within a few moments I feel my dress change shape and look into the mirror to see it is now a deep red wine colour, the heels to match. My make-up hasn't changed, with a smoke eye and deep pink lips, but my dress has become a little tighter, the front still modest but the back, as I turn to look, is a little lower down my back.

'Minor changes, major reward!' She tells me happily.

I'm still checking my reflection when Teddy comes into the room. I watch him in confusion in the mirror as he makes a strangled kind of choking noise and his eyes widen as they fall on me. Before I can ask him whats wrong, Abigail laughs at him and pulls me over to the floo, calling out our destination as she throws the powder into the flames.

I just manage to hear Teddy ask James why I'm dressed like that before we vanish.


'A toast! To Scorpius and Rose! May they be happy in this peaceful world!'

'To Scorpius and Rose!' We call, repeating the toast and drinking to their happiness and impending wedding.

The couple are a testament to the marriage law. Perhaps they would have had more difficulty navigating this merging of two old rivalled wizarding families if they weren't given the ability to do so with this. They would surely have had the same problems they had when they first got together.

Its a shame really, that they're both Gryffindors and yet people still looked at the last wizarding war and saw his father and grandparents for what they were then. I mean, Narcissa Malfoy saved Harry Potter in the forest when he could have died, and Draco is a very respected and kind wizard now, his wife Astoria being more pure of heart than I think many could say. After all, I think she was younger than the others when the Last Battle took place and turned against the bad parts of Slytherin to look more favourably upon muggles and muggle-borns alike.

'What's wrong?' Teddy whispers during the next toast, one given to the couple by the groom's father. We're at an exclusive restaurant in London. One which catered to both magical and muggle patrons alike, although the muggle ones had no idea the large group taking up the long table in the middle was capable of the types of things they could only read about in books or watch in films.

'I don't know,' I reply under my breath, although I know he can hear me well enough. 'I just can't shake the feeling that I've just worked something out...'

'What sort of thing?' He asks in a normal voice as everyone drinks to them again.

'I don't know... Nothing really, I'm sure it's just one of those feelings you know?' I reply, and he gives me a little frown but shrugs in response. I shake my head to clear my jumbled thoughts and go back to listening happily to the stories which spring up around us about Rose's childhood.

Its the end of the meal, and we've spent at least two hours here. I can see other people leaving their table, the one across from us and I realise they're the second family to dine and leave during our long meal. This is largely due to the long discussions we've been having... Or rather the others have been having.

Don't get me wrong, Teddy and I have been joining in as well, I mean I know some of these people from school and then there're the Potters, but its hard for anyone to keep a conversation between a couple of people for long as each topic becomes swept up by anyone who hears it.

There are many witches and wizards here who I've never met or have only heard about, and Teddy spent the first ten minutes or so pointing each one out and telling me who they were in relation to Rose and/or Scorpius. Even then, I've forgotten half their names in the time since he did so, which I felt guilty about until Rose's Uncle George asked a witch across from me what her name was, looked down the rows, and winked as if he knew just how I was feeling.

Aunty Angelina, as she told me to call her, laughed and told him he knew full well who Katie was because they'd played together on the Gryffindor team for years. I know he was doing it for my benefit, but it put me at ease enough to joke along with the two witches about how silly he was.

Soon enough after the toasts are done its time to go. It turns out the hen and stag dos are merging at least for an hour or two at first to go to a magical club and then split if we want to.

We're about to head into the back room after saying goodbye to the older witches and wizards who head out the front of the restaurant in order to pay and then find a safe quiet spot to apparate home. Not all of the cousins are going, so there are only about ten of us getting ready to move onto what Albus has rather ominously named the final stage.

'Why aren't more people going?' I ask Teddy as he pulls my chair out and bows with a hand out to help me rise. This makes me laugh a bit and a muggle couple on a table next to us grin.

'I know a few of them have weddings in the morning, and a couple have last minute stuff to attend to... One has work, and two have their honeymoon.' He tells me, leaning down to speak quietly for some reason.

When we reach the small room we flooed into, we all file in and I realise there are all couples. James and Abigail, Albus and a disgruntled looking Daphne, Rose and Scorpius of course, Louis and his fiancée Naomie, and finally Teddy and myself.

'Right! Well now that that's over and done with! LET'S PARTY!' Scorpius yells as soon as the door shuts, and he gets a few happy yells in response as Rose grins at him.

'And no one forget that you're calling out The Griffin-Door, and I'll have no complaining about themed clubs, its just a name people!' Rose calls over the top of some groans from various members of the group, aka Teddy and Albus.

I give his side a squeeze and Teddy mumbles about how its not even that good a club in my ear.

'Well I've never been to one, so shh! I'm excited!' I tell him as the first couple of people step into the floo. Teddy pulls me closer into his side and I look up at him to see he's smiling down at me.

'I think you'll like it, just stick with me and don't drink anything Rose gives you and we'll both get out alive.' He whispers loudly.

'Oi!' Rose replies, her glare dissolving into laughter after a moment or two. He's right though, if you can help it, don't. I'm notorious for picking the worst tasting drinks in the world.'

When it comes to our turn to floo over there, I call out the name of the club carefully, and we step out of the floo after a whirling ride through the fireplaces of London. It appears to be the entrance hall of the club, with the stairs in front of us, quiet except for when someone leaves the doors above when you can hear the music blaring.

'-sorry,' the lady at the front desk is telling an obviously upset Rose. 'We thought the booking was for next Thursday, and we have no free tables I'm afraid. You could go in-'

'Gimme a sec,' Teddy whispers into my ear before taking his arms from around me and stepping forwards, his hair turning bright blue as he does so. As soon as the witch behind the desk sees him, she changes her demeanor completely and seems to forget all about her conversation with Rose, turning to him with a smile.

'Hello Mr Lupin! How can we help?' She practically simpers, and Teddy's hand shoots out behind him to take my hand and pull me forwards.

'Well,' He says, as her eyes snap to me and seem to grow round as she takes in my hair, face, and outfit in that order. 'You see Amelie and I are Rose's guests, so I think maybe we should be going if you don't have any tables left for us?' He asks this all in the nicest tone, completely casual and smiling.

'Oh! You-you-you're together?' She asks, eyes wide, stuttering over her words as she waves a feathery showgirl over to us frantically. Within moments we're swept up the staircase, and I'm still a little unsure what's happened.

'Thankyouthankyouthankyou,' Rose tells Teddy, hugging him around the middle as we ascend.


'Care to dance?' Teddy yells in my ear to ask me, standing up from the booth and holding out his hand to me. I accept it with a giggle that is half laughter and half the thrill of the club. He pulls me into his arms to grin down at me before dropping a deep kiss on my lips and pulling me in the direction of the dance floor.

'What about my bag?' I shout at him when we get to a point where we have to stand close to each other to inch around some people milling around the edge.

'What about it?' He replies, taking it off me and slotting it into his pocket with a couple of shoves. He pulls me forward again and starts to dance in time to the music.

I try to join in but feel a little silly what with the people around us dancing quite so... sexily I suppose. Teddy bursts out laughing, probably from the look of worry on my face, and grabs one of my hands, spinning me into him and then dipping me quite spectacularly under his arm so that as I lose balance my leg comes up and my head tips almost to the floor.

When I come up, with little to no effort being shown in his face considering he literally lifts me back up, there are a few claps and whoops from around us and I can't help but laugh along with him.

We dance for a while, sometimes copying interesting dance moves from other people on the dance floor, like my particular favourite the running man, or his which is the chicken, sometimes doing the twist which is always fun, and every so often mixing it up with a little salsa. Which is really great because I get dipped and spun a lot to make up for the fact that I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing.

Of course, when The Weird Sisters come on, we spin around like crazy elves, swoop down from cliffs like hippogriffs and act like angry specters. By this point I've forgotten I'm meant to be embarrassed with my dancing, and as Teddy picks me up and spins me around, I don't even think about the horror I usually feel when my stomach drops out as I spin, I just think about how much fun we're having.

'We were obviously dancing brilliantly!' Teddy announces as we stand by the bar after a photographer from the club ran over to get a picture of us together. We're waiting for the barman to serve us, not having found the others on our way over. I laugh at him, and he grins at me triumphantly.

'Wouldn't bother, we've been here for ten minutes!' James yells as he comes over to us, pointing in the direction of the others in our group, three people down the bar from us.

'Are they being serious?' Teddy asks, taking in the crowded bar. 'We're never going to get a drink at this rate!' He's about to push through the crowd to join the group when Rose yells triumphantly and judging by the laughter on the face of the barman in front of her, he appreciates how long she's waited to be served and how lovely she's being to him now she is.

'Looks like Rose has it covered,' I call over the music to them, being pulled away by Abigail and Naomie towards the toilets, the two of them laughing excitedly.

When I look back, just before they're swallowed by the crowd, I see Teddy, James and Louis grinning after us.

Hope you all like this chapter! Its gone through a few little changes, but the next chapter is coming tomorrow!