A/N: Thank you all for the great comments, suggestions and theories! Keep them coming - they sometimes inspire me to write something totally different than what I had planned ;)

Charm93: Uhhh... That sounds right up my alley :D I'll have to go and search for it ;) If you find it please tell me the title ;)

mandancie: Yeah I am actually dreading writing that conversation (shouting) when the goblins visit Dumbles... It's going to get loud and ugly...

JasminSky: Yes! The poor lady will be stressed out for the next few weeks or even months. Who knows what else she will find once she starts digging in the Ministry records...

ThePhoenixandtheDragon: I'm not sure if Umbitch will even make an appearance... but maybe she will since in canon she sent the dementors to Harry right about now... We'll see ;) New Years is actually one of the only times we are kind of patriotic in Austria.

Guest: I have heard about people using Siri on their iphone to read and write but of course it makes sense that there would have been a software before apple ;) I'm not sure if Fawkes will come by but your idea had me laughing a good while ;)

Mephistopheles: He should, shouldn't he? But I guess watching your carefully laid plans of 20 years or longer fall apart is hard on anyone - especially on a control freak like our esteemed headmaster ;)

mizzrazz72: Of course he has ;) Especially with some of the laws he pushed through...

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling - I just played a bit in her universe.

Thanks to miu-sama95 for prereading, betaing and helping with the storyline ;)

Chapter 37: Torn Patience & Bonding Ceremony

Words: 3447

Saturday morning dawned bright and early in the Burrow, the master bedroom to be exact. Since it was Saturday Arthur, the head of the family, didn't have to go to work and since Hogwarts had finished last Friday the younger kids were all home.

For Molly that meant many headaches from the twins antics and a hoarse voice from screaming at them for those antics. But her children were her biggest treasures so she didn't mind. It also meant that her little one, her only girl was home as well.

The biggest plus side was though, that her three biggest boys would arrive for breakfast today. That was why she was up this early. She was making her famed Weasley family breakfast. She quietly hummed as she mixed the batter and thought about all of her children.

Bill, who was working for the goblins, was much to her chagrin still a bachelor but she had seen him eye the French champion when they watched the third task. Maybe she could ask Harry to play matchmaker with her.

Charlie had also made a respectable man out of himself. Although she wasn't particularly fond of it, he was great at his job. Because of the Tournament they had been able to have a bit of quiet time together while he tended to the dragons at Hogwarts.

It had always been near impossible to get one on one time with her children and she had relished in the few hours she had got to spend with Charlie alone. Still she also needed to find a partner for him. Although with Charlie she wasn't completely sure what gender that partner would have. Not that she minded either way.

Next was Percy. He had always been her shining star. Although now she was a bit worried about him. Ever since he had started working at the Ministry he had been distancing himself from his family.

He dropped by less and less and he had missed the last two family dinners on Sunday. But that may be because of him having to take on the responsibility of the elder Mr. Crouch. Hopefully he would come today. She missed him.

Then there were the twins. There was no reason to think about them each alone because they were two parts of one. They were so much like her brothers it scared her sometimes.

But beneath all their jokes they were actually very earnest boys with a formidable sense of right and wrong. She knew that although she ranted at them because of their experiments she would never be able to keep them from pranking and joking around. They weren't born on April first for no reason.

That left only her youngest two she thought while flipping a pancake and stirred the pot of baked beans. Ron loved those two dishes the most.

Thinking of Ron led her to thinking of his relationship with Harry. She was so happy for them. And not just because Ron was currently the only one of her children in a relationship.

They were genuinely happy together and she had always seen Harry as a part of their family. She was sure that although they were still rather young their love would hold forever. They had been through so much together, she would bet her kitchen on it.

That only left her baby, Ginny. She was their only girl and such a sweet and gentle one at that. Although or maybe because she had grown up with six older brothers she was just as headstrong as her mother. Molly had almost lost her two years ago but her baby had come back stronger than anyone could have imagined.

Only this past week since coming home she had been worried again. Ginny had been bitter and angry but refused to talk about it. She had been stomping around the house, unwilling to help anyone with chores and had generally been a pain in the butt. Molly had let it pass but now she was at her wit's end since her girl refused to open up. She was hoping that Bill would manage to get through to her. They had always had a special connection.

Just as she thought about them the floo flared and Bill stepped into the kitchen.

"Bill!" She exclaimed happily and gathered her eldest in one of her famous hugs.

"Hello, mum."

As if she had conjured them as on Charlie and Percy stepped into the house after obviously apparating into the gardens.

"Charlie! Percy! It's so good to have you all here!"

"Hi mum!" They chorused and let themselves be smothered in hugs and kisses by her. All the noise attracted not only Arthur but also – surprisingly – the twins.

"Good morning, boys!" Arthur greeted them happily. "How have you all been?"

"Bill!" Fred exclaimed, only for his twin to take over.

"Charlie!"

"And Percy!"

"Fancy…"

"… Seeing …"

"… You here!"

Everyone present just rolled their eyes at the twin speak before the newcomers hugged them as well.

"Bill why don't you get your sister?" Molly asked her eldest instead of calling her youngest down herself. Maybe he could get her to open up.

"Charlie would you get Ron, dear?"

"Sure, mum!" They both agreed and made their way upstairs.

While Charlie trudged up the stairs to the top floor Bill stopped on the first floor and knocked on the door decorated with a Holyhead Harpies poster.

"Yes?" Came Ginny's muffled voice from inside.

Bill cracked the door open and stuck his head inside.

"Surprise!"

"Bill!" The girl exclaimed and threw herself off the bed and into her eldest brother's arms. Before the man even had a chance to react he had an armful of a sobbing girl clinging to him.

"Shhhh… It's okay." Bill tried to soothe her. "Whatever it is we will work it out." He began rubbing her back and maneuvered them both so they were sitting on her bed; his back to the headboard and her in his lap.

It took Bill a good ten minutes of mindless assurances to calm his sister down enough for her to talk.

"Are you ready to tell me what is going on?"

"It's just so awful, Bill! Nobody understands!"

"What is awful?"

"Them. Together!" Ginny said with such contempt in her voice it surprised Bill.

"Who?"

"Ron and Harry!"

"What about them?" Bill asked confused.

"They are together!"

"I know. I saw them. Are you not happy for your brother?"

"NO! Harry should have been mine!" And she burst into tears again.

"Oh Ginny… I thought you were over that." Bill murmured while he pulled his baby sister closer to his chest.

"I love him! He should have taken me to the ball!"

"I'm so sorry, Gin. I know it must be hard for you to accept that but Harry is happy with Ron. He would have never been happy with you."

"That's not true! I would have made him happy!" She sobbed.

Bill sighed and gave up for the moment. He was sure that if they took any longer their mother was sure to come upstairs herself.

"Alright, Ginny. Calm down, please. We need to go down before mum comes up here. I promise you we'll find a solution for this after breakfast."

"How?! They are disgustingly happy together."

"We'll work something out, I promise. But for now I need you to put your game face on, girl. We will go down there enjoy the family breakfast and smile before we come back here and find a solution. Can you do that for me?"

Ginny took a deep breath and got herself under control again before looking Bill straight in the eye.

"Alright. Let's do this."

"That's my girl!"

Bill, always the gentleman, opened the door before he led Ginny down to the kitchen. The girl's eyes were red and puffy but still she looked as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Of course none of the Weasley men noticed this but Molly had been keeping a close eye on Ginny and Bill when they came downstairs.

Without breaking her momentum she ushered them to their seats before waving her wand to float the dishes to the table.

"It smells amazing, mum. I've been looking forward to this the whole week." Charlie confessed while loading his plate with a bit of everything.

His statement was met with mutters and grunts of agreement from everyone else. For a while it was quiet all around the table except for the scraping of cutlery over plates and the quiet sounds of eating.

Ginny tried to concentrate on her food and just her food. But it was hard. Ronald, the traitor, was sitting right opposite her. And although he was eating like a pig as usual he still had this silly little smile on his face that just mocked her. She would love to wipe it off of it. But she restrained herself. Bill had promised to help her. He promised and Bill never broke his promises.

She was proud of how good she was holding up and nearly patted herself on the shoulder when it all went to hell. It was all Charlie's fault. Why did he have to be so nosy and ask about Harry sodding Potter?!

"So Ron! How's Harry doing?"

"He's fine. We met him when we were in Diagon Alley last week." Ron said with a grin.

"We?" Percy asked curiously.

"The twins, Gin and I were there for some ice cream when we bumped into him."

The twins nodded in confirmation but Ginny just glowered at her brothers.

How could he!? He stole her love from her! Harry was hers. They would be the perfect family together. They would get together next year and then once Ginny had graduated they would marry. Of course Harry would be an auror and she would stay at home with their three children.

Ron ruined everything. He took her love, her man, her future. He took everything from her and now he was laughing about it all. She just knew that he was laughing at her because he had snatched Harry from her.

Now she had nothing to live for anymore. Just because of her egoistic brother! She would make him pay. She would hurt him as much as he had hurt her.

Completely catching them all off guard Ginny jumped up from her seat threw herself across the table and attacked Ron with a blood curdling scream.

Her momentum threw them both to the floor where she began punching and scratching her brother as much as she could.

Everybody was so shocked it took them all a moment to spring into action but once they did it got loud and chaotic.

Charlie and Fred, who had been sitting next to Ron, tried to pry Ginny off of him but she was a lot stronger than she looked. Ron for once made the right decision and simply shielded himself instead of outright defending himself.

In the end it took Charlie and Bill together to get Ginny off Ron and restrain her which said something since one was a dragon handler and the other a curse breaker. Although they held her back she still tried to get to Ron while screaming bloody murder at him.

The twins helped their little brother to his feet and looked him over while the eldest pulled Ginny into the living room.

"Are you…"

"… Alright, Ronnekins?" They asked.

"Yeah… Guess so…" Ron said a little shaken.

"You are bleeding." Percy commented. "Sit down, I'll get some flannels." He quickly vanished into the downstairs bathroom only to return a moment later with a wet cloth and bandages.

They could still hear their sister screaming in the room next door but decided to ignore it for the moment. That was until the sound stopped abruptly and it was eerie quiet in the house.

They all looked over to the living room door when it was opened by a frazzled Bill who leaned heavily against the doorframe before he started to talk.

"We are taking Ginny to St. Mungo's. Dad had to knock her out."

"He WHAT!?" They all exclaimed.

"She wouldn't stop screaming and she was starting to hit us as well when we wouldn't let her go." Bill explained. He was – just as the others – completely shocked by what had happened.

"Ginny wouldn't calm down and grew more and more agitated and then Dad shot a stunner at her to knock her out. Mum wants her to be checked out by the healers because something is not right."

"We are coming with you!" The twins said together and Percy nodded as well.

"It's my fault – whatever it is, so I'll come as well." Ron agreed.

Minutes later the whole Weasley clan made their way to the hospital, all of them worried about their youngest.

Harry couldn't explain why but he was nervous. It was not him getting married but his Dad and Papa. They weren't even getting married – they were renewing their bond. That was something completely different.

The ceremony was being held in their beautiful gardens at Snake Pit Manor. It would be a small ceremony with Lucius and himself as witnesses, Narcissa as the binder and Sirius as the only guest. He was also only a guest because he kind of lived in their manor at the moment. Draco, although he was Severus godson, would not be present because he was staying with Blaise Zabini in Italy at the moment.

Harry knew that his Papa had secretly done a lot of planning together with Narcissa to make it extra special for his Dad. Especially since he had a lot to make up for. If Harry counted correctly Marvolo had fifteen years of anniversary and birthday presents to make up for. His Dad had already done so by gifting Marvolo with his castle. A brilliant way to get out of looking for presents if you asked Harry.

Harry was pulled out of his nervous, jumbled thoughts by the bathroom door opening and his Dad stepped into the bedroom.

They were in the master bedroom where Severus had changed into his bonding robes while Marvolo was getting ready in another part of the castle as per tradition.

When he saw his son staring, open mouthed at him he couldn't hide his amusement.

"What? Something wrong, Harry?"

"Erm… No… You look good." Harry stuttered. "Amazing, actually."

"Thank you. You don't look bad either."

His Dad wore color! That in itself was still a bit shocking to Harry. But to see him in red was unbelievable. It was not Gryffindor red and had nothing to do with Hogwarts.

Harry had learned that traditional bonding ceremonies were quite different to muggle weddings.

For one the female or submissive of the pair wore bright red robes to symbolize joy, passion, and love while the male or dominant would wear green for fertility and harmony.

Harry found it funny that they would look like a Christmas tree on their wedding day.

The bonder would wear white while the witnesses would wear blue representing knowledge, stability, trust and loyalty. They were all emotions they wished for the bonded couple.

Surprisingly bonding ceremonies were held outside where all magic came from – earth – and to be able to connect better with mother magic they would all be barefoot and without their wands.

Bondings were all about natural magic. If you were not powerful enough you actually had to go through a special training to be able to channel your magic for the bonding. That was also a reason why there were fewer bondings and more marriages in the magical world at the moment.

"…ry! Harry!"

"Hm? What?" Harry asked when he was pulled out of his thoughts.

"Where were you, Snitch? You looked a bit lost there."

"I was… thinking about everything I learned about traditional bondings."

"Ahhh… I see. Still surprised I'm in red, right?" Severus concluded amused.

"Nooo…" Harry blushed to the tips of his ears.

"It's alright, son. I understand it's confusing at first."

"No, not confusing. Just different than the muggle world."

"You'll get used to it."

"I'm sure I will. But let's not think about my lack of education. This is your day and everything should be about you."

"You know I'm not that kind of person."

Before Harry could come up with a reply there was a knock on the door and Sirius stuck his head into the room.

"It's time, you two. Nice looks, Sniv-... Severus! You look quite good in the lion's dress." Sirius told them with a smirk before quickly vanishing so the Potions Master couldn't hex him.

Harry and his Dad could hear him laughing all the way down the hall.

"Are you ready, Dad?"

"I've been ready seventeen years ago, Snitch." Severus told his son. "Let's do this."

Together they walked down and towards the back door where a tray was waiting for them. There were four wands lying on it already and they both simply added theirs before stepping outside.

Narcissa and Marvolo had done quite some work on their gardens. There were flowers everywhere but instead of looking girly the arrangements looked classy and sophisticated. The sides of the pathway were lined with them and at the end of it was an old Victorian metal archway under which the others were waiting.

Harry led his father down the path towards his other father enjoying the adoring look his Papa sent his Dad. If he had looked closer he would have also seen the passion and want in his Papa's eyes.

Once they reached the arch Harry took his Papa's hand in his right and his Dad's in his left before squeezing them and joining them together. Once his first part was done he stepped to the side and took his place next to his Dad.

Narcissa started the ceremony by invoking the magic all around them.

"We call mother magic here today to bless the bonding of these two souls." Harry could feel the magic pulsing all around them.

"We know mother magic has blessed this union once before but war has kept them apart thus their wish for another blessing."

The magic all around them got stronger and denser and Harry could feel it tickling his toes. A golden band formed over the clasped hand of his fathers.

"Do you, Marvolo Cadmus take Severus to be thee bonded, to cherish and love, to support and encourage, to share magic with and fertility until the end of time?"

"I so do swear." Marvolo intoned and a green band joined the golden one.

"Do you, Severus take Marvolo to be thee bonded, to cherish and love, to support and encourage, to share magic with and fertility until the end of time?"

"I so do swear." Severus replied and a red band curled around their hands.

The magic around them was growing so thick that Harry thought he could almost see it glimmer in the corners of his eyes.

Now was the witnesses' part which was far more important in the wizarding world than in the muggle one.

"Lucius and Harry, please step forward." Narcissa bade them.

They both stepped forward and faced the only lady present.

"Are you willing to wish this union well, Lucius?"

"Under mother magic's guide I so do swear. I wish them health and power, tranquility and understanding. I so do wish." Lucius swore and a midnight blue band wrapped around the others.

"In your mother's stead are you willing to wish this union well?" Narcissa asked Harry.

"Under mother magic's guide and in my mother's stead I so do swear. I wish them knowledge and peace, integrity and softness, I so do wish." Harry intoned and pushed some magic into his words. He focused his magic and another bright blue band joined the others.

"By mother magic's blessing and the witnesses wished you shall be bound together till death and beyond the living realms. You shall share joy and sorrow, luck and misfortune. You shall be faced with hardships and master them together and enjoy the peace afterwards." Narcissa chanted while calling the earth's magic to herself.

Once there was enough of it present she pushed it into the clasped hands of Marvolo and Severus.

"By mother magic you are now bonded for life. You may kiss to seal the bond."

Severus and Marvolo leaned forwards until their lips joined and pure wild magic swirled around them. The bands around their hands melted into their skin and the pure magic dissipated, leaving pure gold wedding bands formed of infinity loops behind.

TBC

So you all like the idea of Amelia and Sirius. I'm not sure if I'll be able to incooporate something in this story but maybe I'll do some side stories.

Also I had an idea for another fic. I won't start it until this one is done but would you all maybe want to read a little teaser? I had to write down a bit otherwise I wouldn't have been able to write this chapter ;)

First posted on: 21. January 2018

Next update planned: 04. February 2018