Katie's point of view

The wedding ceremony was stunning. There were twinkling lights and a string quartet, and Oliver's cousin looked amazing in a designer wedding gown. When Mrs. Wood introduced me to her, she was so bubbly and kind. I hope I'm that happy on my wedding day.

When the ceremony ended, a cocktail hour began in the gardens, though there wasn't much food to go around. As a result, Oliver and I filled up on champagne with empty stomachs, which was the ultimate poor decision.

As we waited for dinner, I finished my third glass of champagne and watched a group of drunk groomsmen toss coins into a koi pond. Oliver had been cornered by a group of fans who insisted on taking photos with him. I snorted as I watched a young girl grab Oliver's tie and pull him closer for a photo. He looked so uncomfortable, I felt it was time to save him.

I made my way across the gardens to the tent, where dinner appeared nearly ready. I approached the small group that had surrounded Oliver outside the tent and maneuvered my way through them.

"Katie!" Oliver exclaimed as he saw me. He pulled himself away from a pissed off brunette and took my hand. "Sorry everyone," he added to the remaining fans. "Must get going."

I led Oliver past the bride and groom, who were still posing for photos, and past Mr. and Mrs. Wood, who had seemed to be watching Oliver's impromptu fan meet and greet with pride and joy. "Thank you," Oliver sighed as we reached a quiet portion of the gardens. "Does it ever end?"

"It'll end when you suddenly become ugly and bad at quidditch," I said.

"Nevermind. That'll never happen."

I rolled my eyes and released Oliver's hand so that I could turn to peek at the tent. "How much longer are we supposed to wait? It'll be breakfast time before dinner is ready."

Oliver dug around in his pocket for a moment before he brandished a handful of brightly wrapped candies. I stared at him suspiciously.

"What?" he said. "They're just chocolates."

"Did you get them from the twins?"

"Yeah, they gave them to me last time we- Oh."

I shook my head and laughed at him. "Ol, it's been years. You still don't know better than to accept food from the Weasleys?"

"You're right." Oliver pocketed the candy again. "My fans would've been devastated if I'd turned into a canary tonight."

Oliver's point of view

It felt like years before we were sitting down to dinner. By that point, Katie and I had both consumed several glasses of champagne and Katie was dramatically declaring that she was famished.

"So what'd you think of the ceremony?" she asked. She'd already finished her own plate and was picking food off of mine.

"It was fine," I shrugged. "Quite exciting when that Niffler tried to steal the bride's ring."

"Where'd that even come from?"

"I think Nifflers like to hide out in gardens, maybe."

"Where'd you hear that?"

"I have no idea."

Katie snorted.

I glanced around, trying to avoid eye contact with the others at our table. My parents were next to me, discussing plans for remodeling the house. Across from us, two girls were whispering and giggling while another couple seemed to be bickering. The bride and groom were seated at their table, looking cozy. I suddenly felt very relieved I hadn't had to come to this wedding by myself.

"I thought the ceremony was lovely," Katie said, reaching for a potato from my plate with her fork. I pushed the plate closer to her so she could reach. "I hope my wedding is this nice." She let out a drunken cackle. "If I even have a wedding."

Our conversation was interrupted by music and I felt relieved that we wouldn't have to continue it. I was out of things to say when it came to Katie's upcoming wedding, and it seemed the champagne was getting to her head. Obviously I didn't want her to get married, but it seemed she couldn't break things off with Chris.

"Finally!" Katie exclaimed, shoveling a final bite of food into her mouth. "Let's dance!"

I hated dancing. As coordinated as I was on a broomstick, moving my feet to any sort of rhythm didn't come naturally to me. But there was no way Katie would let me sit and mind my own business, so I followed her begrudgingly toward the crowd, where others had started dancing.

We danced for several songs before the music shifted to something slow and romantic. Katie eyed me for a moment, her expression appearing both amused and hesitant.

"What?" I asked.

"Are you going to ask me to dance?"

I wrapped an arm around her waist and yanked her closer. "I didn't know I had to ask."

"I was just making sure you didn't want to dance with one of them."

"Who?"

Katie snorted and draped her arms around my neck. "Ol, that same group of girls has been hovering near us since we got here."

I looked up and spotted a group of young women standing nearby. Their eyes widened when they saw me staring, and one flipped her hair. "Merlin," I muttered. "What is with them?"

"We're at a wedding, Ol. The ultimate setting for romance. Everyone here is desperate for it."

"You don't seem too desperate."

"My relationship is hanging by a thread," Katie said, managing a dry laugh. "The last thing I want is to be thinking about romance."

Personally, I found it hard not to think about it when Katie was wearing that dress.

I could feel the group of women's stares burning a hole into my head, so I pressed a hand into Katie's lower back. The satin of her dress was smooth and she smelled like vanilla. She rested her head against my shoulder.

"Thanks for coming with me," I said.

"Thanks for keeping me distracted this weekend."

"You'll figure it all out, you know. With Chris."

I could feel her sigh against me. "I don't want to think about him. Not right now."

Fair enough. If Katie didn't want to discuss him, I certainly wasn't going to press the issue. I selfishly would rather have all her attention, even just for the evening.

"By the way," Katie said, grinning up at me. "I forgot to tell you, you look really nice tonight."

"Just tonight?"

She sighed. "I was trying to give you a compliment. Can you not act like a wanker, just this once?"

"OK, OK, don't get your underwear in a bunch."

"I'm not wearing any."

This woman will be the death of me.

The couple next to us heard Katie and stopped dancing to stare at us with horrified expressions. Katie and I both erupted into a fit of laughter. "I'm only joking!" she called after the couple as they shifted toward the other side of the dance floor.

"Er, excuse me?" a voice said over the music. Katie and I both turned to face a man who was facing us, his hands shoved casually in his pockets. "Would you care if I cut in?"

Yes. I'd care very much. Katie smiled at me and released her grip on me.

"I suppose one dance couldn't hurt," she said, taking a step back. She squeezed my hand and I decided this wasn't the time for jealousy. If I'd already accepted the fact that Katie was going to marry Chris, I could accept the notion that other men wanted to dance with her. She wasn't mine to control.

I returned to our dinner table and sat quietly, determined to avert my eyes from Katie and that other bloke. I began going over quidditch plays in my mind to remain distracted. We did have an important match next week and my focus should be on more than my miserable love life. We were in second place, meaning we'd be in the playoffs if we kept winning.

Just as I was thinking about passing strategy, Katie reappeared, standing in front of me. I looked up at her and she grinned, raising an unopened bottle of champagne. "Look," she said proudly. "I nicked it from the wait staff." She reached for my hand and pulled me up. "Let's go forget about all our problems."