"What," said Angie, as she took George's face in her hand and used her right thumb to gently stroke the place where his left ear had once been, "am I going to do with you, Georgie, love?" Her brand-new husband was swaying and tears glistened on his cheeks, painting the evidence of his delight that he was now forever bonded to the witch who he had begun to fall in love with on their very first day of school.
"Chocolate helped us," said Hermione, opening her bag and taking out a small box of truffles which she offered to George and then Angelina, who whispered her thanks before they both popped the treats into their mouths and then leaned together again to resume kissing. At least George had stopped crying, Hermione noted, silently thanking Bill for having helped her and Fred when they were in the same situation. Although, she pondered, her and Fred had had to work to suppress their lust; Ange and George seemed to be experiencing more romantic feelings through their own newly-forming bond.
"Firewhisky helps me," came a soft, laughing voice from behind Fred, and Lauren quietly passed Hermione the hip flask which Henry had gifted her before they left the reserve. "I keep it in my handbag now for portkey emergencies, but this probably counts too," she smiled.
"Molly will be so proud," Hermione laughed, as George took a big gulp and watched with a grin as the flask refilled.
"Thank you," said Angelina again, smiling at George as he used the whisky to fortify himself, and then taking a turn. The bonding magic was engulfing them both and all they wanted to do was to gaze into each other's eyes. But there were people to greet, and lunch and a party to be had, and while Molly, Arthur and Phil had clearly got wind of the fact that the newlyweds needed a few moments to themselves, they weren't going to be able to hold the well-wishers off forever. Ginny and Alicia were still with them, and they – and Elliot – were temporarily holding court at the back of the wedding area.
"Impressive," Fred remarked, indicating that he meant the refilled bottle rather than the kissing couple, and Charlie laughed.
"I've linked it to our bottle at home," he said, cheerfully. "Modified a spell that we use on the reserve to ensure that we can get refills of medicines out into the field quickly if we need them." He nodded to Lauren's flask. "That'll keep refilling until she has finished the bottle!"
"I bloody love magic," Lauren said, beaming. "And I love grandparents," she said, watching Elliot giggling as Phil tickled him. She and Charlie had nipped around the edge of the chairs so that they could take Elliot from Phil, but the two of them had looked very happy together, so Charlie and Lauren had decided to check on the newlyweds instead.
"We ought to get up and say hi to everyone," George said, having regained some control over his emotions. He turned to thank Hermione and Lauren, and that act caused the two of them to breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that he was more in control. He turned to Angelina next. "Are you ready, love?"
"As long as you don't leave my side," Angelina replied, linking her fingers with his and holding his hand firmly.
"Never," he whispered, and was going in for another kiss when his twin intervened.
"Mum!" said Fred, as loudly as ever. "We're ready, I think!"
Molly bustled over quickly, showering George and Angelina with kisses and then making way for Arthur and Phil to do the same before organising the entire wedding party into a receiving line so they could greet their guests as they were finally allowed out of the wedding area and back to the main part of the beach.
Lauren and Charlie discreetly stepped to one side, finding a nearby bench to sit on in case Elliot got bored of the crowds and wanted to join them, and Lauren's jaw dropped as the change in seating arrangements caught her attention. As soon as everyone had stood from their chairs in the wedding area and moved to stand in the line which would take them to greet George and Ange, two or three of Phil's staff had discretely raised their wands, causing each chair to rise in turn and then move itself to a different part of the cove, where a series of tables were set for people to sit and eat at later.
"There's an order to it," she said, almost as if she was dictating field notes to a tape recorder. "Like it has pre-set instructions…"
"It's layered magic," she heard Fleur's voice explain from next to her, and Lauren turned to smile as the French witch joined them on the bench. "You are right; the furniture is already charmed, so that it will behave in certain ordered ways, and the witch or wizard just needs to add a little direction." She shrugged a little, not sure how else to explain.
"It's marvellous," Lauren breathed. She still sometimes had to pinch herself, especially when she saw things like this happen in front of her eyes. She turned to Charlie, smiled, and then took his hand. She didn't think she would ever completely get used to this awe-inspiring, magical world that she found herself in.
Back in the receiving line, all was going well. Molly had pulled Kingsley in between Arthur and herself, and he was enjoying the opportunity to catch up with old friends. Lee, however, was very surprised to see what happened when he and Verity reached the Minister. Having met Kingsley a few times over the past few weeks during their work on the marriage law, Lee was preparing to introduce his friend and colleague to him, but when Kingsley spotted Verity, he pulled her straight to him in a hug.
"I thought that was you I spied back there, pumpkin," he said. "It's lovely to see you, sweetheart."
"It's good to see you too, Kings," she said.
Kingsley pulled back but kept hold of Verity's arms, looking between her and Lee. "And also lovely to see you with this fine young wizard, if I may say…"
"Oh no," said Verity, but Lee butted in before she could finish telling Kingsley that they weren't officially an item.
"Thank you, Sir," Lee said, offering his own hand to Kingsley.
"Now," the older wizard said to Lee. "You take very good care of her, you hear. She's very special to me, you know?"
"I didn't know, actually," Lee replied, raising his eyebrows at Verity. "She's quite a dark horse, you know…" There was a smile behind his glance and, Verity thought, something of a challenge. But she liked that about Lee. He wasn't put off by her need to keep a few things to herself.
"Well, if that's the case, there's good reason for it," Kingsley said, still looking fondly at Verity. "But I've always hoped that, one day, my Verity would find a wizard who was worthy of hearing her story…" He looked up, seeing that a traffic jam of people was forming, and pulled a regretful face, knowing that the young pair needed to move on. Leaning in between them, wanting Lee to hear his words as well, he spoke softly into Verity's ear. "My offer still stands, you know. It's the very least I can do. You just let me know when you're ready."
"I will," she said, squeezing his hand as the two of them moved to greet Fred and Hermione. Verity leaned into Hermione, surprising her with a long hug that was an excuse to compose herself.
"Are you OK?" Hermione whispered into her ear.
"Good," Verity replied. "Fucking hormones!"
Hermione gave her another squeeze and Verity hugged back before nodding and standing upright again.
"Alright there, sexy?" she said to Lee, the edge in her voice letting him know that she had re-composed herself. He also got the clear message that the conversation with Kingsley was off the table as a discussion topic, at least for now.
"Shall we find a table?" said Lee, offering his arm, and Verity took it.
"Oh," said Bill to Hermione, who had come up behind them. "For a moment there, I thought she was talking to me!"
Hermione shook her head. "Not unless you want to fight Lee. They're not together just yet, but the twins aren't taking any more bets. They reckon it's just days now…"
"I don't think you need to wait for your lad, if that's why you're sitting here," Bill said, as he and Fleur left the receiving line and joined Charlie and Lauren on the bench. "Mum's not going to give him up that easily! We could get a good table before the crowds arrive, if you like?"
"That's a good idea," Charlie said, standing from the bench and offering his hand to Lauren. She smiled as she took it. As much as she relished her own capability and strength, not to mention the fact that she had raised their child alone for more than two years, she did enjoy the old-fashioned touches of chivalry that Arthur had instilled in his boys. She knew she would never have been attracted to Charlie if he hadn't also had a strong sense of justice where women and their rights were concerned, but he and most of his brothers, she mused, seemed to embody a good combination of modern thinking and gentlemanly conduct towards the women they loved.
Bill had done the sums, and remarked they needed a table for eight. "Mum and Dad will be on the top table, with the twins and Ange and Mione. Ginny and Harry will be there because she's a bridesmaid, so we should get enough seats for Percy and Ron as well."
"Not for Ron," Fleur said, shaking her head. "He's escorting Alicia for the day, so that neither of them have to sit alone." She had been happy when she had heard that bit of information from Alicia when they were getting the bridesmaids dresses ready. No-one wanted to have to sit by themselves at a wedding.
"Not Luna?" Bill asked.
Charlie shrugged. "They're not a couple, not really, according to Hermione," he said, "and it looks like Luna came with her Dad anyway, as they're such old friends of the family." He nodded towards the blonde wizard, who was waiting in line with his daughter. "But I'm sure we'll all swap seats as soon as we've eaten anyway…"
"May I offer you a drink?" The cheerful voice came from behind them, and Charlie turned and took four champagne glasses from the tray that Gemma offered and handed them out, not thinking that Fleur might not want to drink alcohol. She took the glass from him graciously and then turned to Bill, a question on her face.
"Can we transfigure this without anyone seeing, do you think?"
"Oh fuck, love, I didn't think," said Charlie. "Sorry."
"No," laughed Fleur, "it is not a problem at all. Most important is I don't want anyone else to know right now."
The three of them launched into a conversation about which spell would be the best to use for their purposes. As they debated, Lauren turned and touched the waitress on the arm.
"Excuse me," she said, very quietly. "My friend doesn't want to drink today, but she doesn't want anyone to know that. Can you help?"
"Of course," Gemma replied. "I'll be right back with some sparkling apple juice in a champagne glass and you can tell her that I'll make sure I keep a non-alcoholic option in a wine glass on my tray. I'll be very discreet," she promised.
"Thank you so much," said Lauren, giving the older woman a grateful smile.
"Pleasure," said Gemma. "I was just the same. Nice to keep it to yourselves for a while. Your boy's gorgeous, by the way. Charmed everyone upstairs, he did." She nodded her head towards Phil's house. "Now, shall I take that one when I come back," she asked, flicking her eyes towards the glass in front of Fleur, "or will you just have an extra one?"
"Extra, I think," Lauren said, with a grin. "I'm catching up on all the wine I missed while I was pregnant!"
"You do that," Gemma laughed. "Be right back."
"OK, sorted," Lauren said, turning back to Fleur and interrupting the debate that the two wizards were still having under their breath. "I've ordered you some apple juice, and I'll drink that one when I'm done." Fleur smiled, while Bill and Charlie's eyes widened. "Not everything has to be done by magic, you know. Muggles manage to muddle along quite nicely in many respects," she teased.
"You sound like Mum when the twins came of age," Bill joked. "You don't have to whip out your wands for everything!"
The four of them laughed loudly and clinked glasses, toasting each other. Fleur discreetly set her full glass down in front of Lauren, smiling at Gemma when she returned with a new glass for Fleur.
"This looks like a good party table. May we join?" Percy's voice held a note of amusement.
"Absolutely," Bill said. "We saved you seats."
"Well, and you look like you're planning to have a good time!" Percy said to Lauren, seeing that she now had two glasses of champagne in front of her.
"I'm starting as I mean to go on," she said, raising her glass to him and Penny in turn.
"Lovely wedding," said Penny, and the others nodded.
"The happy couple can't seem to tear themselves apart," said Charlie.
"Again," laughed Bill.
"Was this how Fred and Hermione were then?" Lauren asked, and the others laughed.
"Hmmmm, how can I put this discreetly?" Bill said, but the smile on his face gave away the fact that he had no intention of being discreet. He leaned towards Lauren, very happy to share this between family, but not wanting to gossip loudly enough that other guests could hear. "Fred and Hermione's bond was pure lust. They couldn't keep their hands off each other. Hence the sex bingo."
Charlie's voice was a whisper in Lauren's ear. "They hadn't been physically together before they married," he elaborated, "but they had apparently fancied each other for years. Whereas these two," he waved his hand towards the wedding party, "have been an item for a few years, so their relationship is well consummated by now."
Fleur finished the explanation. "So that, and George's current emotional state seems to have led to their bond being all about romantic love, at least in its first stages," she said.
"Amazing," said Lauren. "I mean, amazing that the magic draws upon what's there." She took another sip of champagne, still wondering how it all worked and feeling humbled by the magical world that surrounded her. All four of them laughed as they watched the wedding party approach their own table, having now greeted everybody, and saw Fred making a meal of helping George to his seat, as if he was unable to make decisions for himself.
"Good job you didn't have to do that for me," Bill remarked to Charlie, who laughed.
"And at least you know that I'll be sensible if I ever need to call on you," Charlie replied, taking Lauren's hand in his own and giving it a squeeze. He still needed to open a conversation about weddings with Lauren, but the time hadn't yet been right. He had already committed to her, and she to him, but he wanted to find out how she would feel about marriage; whether it was something that she wanted or not.
Lauren had no idea what was running through his thoughts, but she had realised the implications of Bill and Charlie's words, and that the Weasley brothers had so far all stood with each other on their wedding days. "So will you and Ron be best man for each other?" Lauren asked Percy.
"Oh, I don't think so," Percy said, giving her a half-smile as he shook his head. "I've always intended to ask Ron to be my best man, and I'm planning to take him out soon and talk to him, but he and Harry are far too tight for there to be room for me when it's his turn." He leaned towards her. "Probably for the best; I'm not much for funny speeches; I'd probably put them all to sleep!"
Lauren tipped her head to one side, not sure how to respond. And then a vision crossed her mind and she leaned closer to him, not wanting Charlie to hear her words. "Well," she said, "I'm not sure that I ever want to get married, but if I ever do, I'll need someone to escort me down the aisle. And not one of these tall buggers who will make me look even titchier," she confided, indicating Bill, the twins and Ron in turn. "So perhaps you would do me that honour?"
Percy simply nodded; a bit overcome by the idea and the gesture. "I'd love to," he whispered.
"Also," Lauren said, her eyes flashing with humour as she sought a way of ensuring that the moment wouldn't turn maudlin, "it will be the job of my escort to explain to all and sundry throughout the day that I am not being given away because I am not property; I am merely seeking the love and company of a brother to walk beside me."
Percy put his hand on his chest, smiling now. "It will be my pleasure to prepare an argument worthy of presentation to the Wizengamot!"
"So, Percy, you two next?" Bill had leaned forward, having missed the exchange between Percy and Lauren.
Penny and Percy looked at each other. "I think so, probably," said Penny. "Though we need to talk with Ginny and Harry and see what they want to do. Theirs will be the wedding of the year, and we'd like something quieter and more family-focused, so we need to sort dates with them. It would be nice to either get in before the end of the summer or wait til the spring though," she said.
"Although we may not have the luxury of waiting," Percy added, pulling a face.
"Oh?" Bill turned to his brother with one raised eyebrow and a smile, wondering if perhaps he wasn't the only Weasley who would be adding a grandchild to the family.
"Nothing like that," Penny replied, seeing exactly where Bill's mind was going.
"No," said Percy, wrinkling his nose. "Now isn't really the time, but things aren't really going quite as Kingsley wants them to. His plans are going well, but," he lowered his voice, not wanting to be overheard and have his words spoiling George's wedding day, "the Wizengamot are making it more difficult than we thought. As you know, there are only five days left now until the ball, which is the date of their ultimatum, and I honestly don't know if we're going to manage to convince them in time. We could end up with a marriage law after all…"