* ~ The Eighth Year Universe Series ~ *
PART FOUR
Brave New World
Chapter 79: I Think I Want to Marry You
A/N: The chapter title is from the song:
Marry You by Bruno Mars.
"Happy Valentines Day!"
Daphne sighed and looked up at Lilly, who had just stepped out of the fireplace into the drawing-room, "You know that I don't do Valentines Day."
"Oh, come on!" A voice from behind said.
Daphne turned to look at Tracey's portrait.
"You can't shun Valentines Day forever just because I died that day," Tracey said.
"See?" Lilly pointed out, "Not healthy."
"What's not healthy is you being here at 7.30 am," Daphne said, turning back to Lilly, "What gives?"
"I just wanted to give you some chocolate," Lilly said, putting a Honeydukes hamper down on the table, "Because I know how much you hate Valentines Day."
Daphne smiled, "That's cute, thanks, Lil."
Lilly smiled back, "Don't sweat it. Wanna hear the cheesiest chat up line I can think of since it's Valentines Day?"
Daphne snorted, "Go for it."
"Did it hurt? When you fell from heaven?" Lilly asked with an amused grin.
"Did you just call me Satan?" Daphne countered with a frown.
"That is the best response to that question I've ever heard," Lilly chortled as she stepped back into the fire, "Gotta go, have a good day!"
Daphne was clock-watching. It was Monday, and it was almost lunchtime. She was planning on enjoying every minute of her one hour paid break because she and Bill were having the slowest, more boring day ever. Bill had said that January and February were their slowest months, but she hadn't thought that it would be this bad.
It was at precisely 1.02 pm that the day began to get interesting. There was a bang as the door was pushed open, then a grinning redhead barged into their office.
"Hey! Cheer up, guys, aren't you meant to be saving the world?"
Daphne grinned up at her, "Suse! How are you doing? I haven't seen you since Christmas!"
"I've been busy, travelling, you know?" Susan said. She shrugged off her bag and perched herself on Bill's desk, "But I need to have a super important chat with my best girl."
"Right, well, I'll take that as my cue to leave then," Bill said, pushing himself to his feet.
"No, you won't," Susan said, placing her hand on his chest and shoving him back into his chair, "You will stay right there for this super important chat because it's your brother that I'm marrying on Saturday."
"Marrying?" Daphne asked, her eyes widening, "On Saturday?"
Bill made a face, "You're marrying Percy? Percy. Percy is getting married…someone is marrying Percy?"
"Shh!" Daphne exclaimed, whacking him around the head, "What do you mean you're getting married on Saturday?"
"Don't freak out; it'll be fine," Susan said cheerfully, "But we need witnesses, and you are my oldest friend."
Daphne just stared at Susan in disbelief.
"And Perce said that you were his least judgmental brother and therefore his favourite, so he asked if you would be our second witness," Susan added for Bill's benefit.
Bill shrugged, "Yeah, I can do that. Marriage is over-rated, though."
"He also said that you would say that and told me to ignore you because you're going through a self-pitying phase due to your recent divorce from your hot French model wife," Susan added.
At this, Bill grinned and leant back in his chair, "I really like the man that Percy has become."
"Me too," Susan said, winking at the eldest Weasley and turning to Daphne, "Right, my love, have you picked your jaw up from the floor? Will you be a witness?"
Daphne didn't say anything.
"Witness Daphne, it's simple. You just need to pick up a quill and sign a piece of paper," Susan said slowly.
At this, Daphne frowned, her eyes snapped up to meet Susan's, "Hey! Don't be a condescending cow about it. I'm just wrapping my head around the fact that it's Monday and you're getting married on Saturday. I know what a witness is, and I'll be one, even if you are a crazy bitch."
Susan grinned and hugged her friend, "I love you too. Wear what you want, it's not a fancy thing, okay? I need you guys at Gretna Green for 4 pm on Saturday for the ceremony. Everyone else is coming to the after-party at Bones Manor."
"I thought Bones Manor was a ruin," Daphne said.
"It is, but the house elves have maintained the grounds," Susan said eagerly, "It's going to be great, I'm talking fire pits and endless alcohol, it's going to be the biggest party of the year, but it's just our friend group and the Weasley's, no point making a big deal of it after all is there?"
"No, of course not, it's only your bloody wedding," Daphne muttered sarcastically.
"You're my oldest friend Daphne, and I love you, but sometimes you are such a pureblood, aristocratic old wench," Susan said with a fond grin. She leant forward and kissed Daphne on the cheek, "See you on Saturday, make sure you get a sitter cause no kids, kay? I love Teddy and all, but there's no place for a baby at a Bones party. Au revoir!"
Without another word, she blew out of the office.
Daphne leant back against her desk and frowned, then looked at Bill, "I…Bill, I just…I can't process this."
"Yeah," Bill said, looking at Daphne in amusement, "She has kind of broken you hasn't she. Are you a robot?" he added, waving his hand in front of her face.
Daphne swiped it away irritably, "Who tells someone they are getting married with less than a weeks' notice?"
"Susan and Perce apparently," Bill replied nonchalantly.
"Why are you so calm about this?" Daphne asked, looking at her boss in disbelief.
"Meh, we're Weasley's," Bill said with a grin, "We're kind of prone to flights of fancy and shotgun marriages. I mean, my parents had a shotgun wedding because my Mum fell pregnant with me when she was like 19, and I just had to wrap my head around Charlie dating a 19-year-old, remember? Let alone the fact she's my best friends, little sister. I don't think anything could surprise me anymore…."
"I'm pregnant."
"What?!"
Daphne grinned, "Thought you said nothing could surprise you anymore?"
"I meant within my family," Bill said, his eyes had about popped out of his head.
"I am your family. I'm married to Harry," Daphne reminded him.
"Yeah, but…well, okay fair point, but…you're not actually pregnant, are you?"
"No," Daphne laughed, "Just wanted to make a point."
"Well, don't do it again, please," Bill said, resting his hand on his heart, "I'm not a young man anymore, and I can't lose my best trainee Curse Breaker for the best part of a year because she wants to have a baby. You have a Teddy. That's enough for you for now, right?"
"Yeah," Daphne laughed, "But in all seriousness, what are we going to do about this shotgun wedding?"
Bill shrugged and smiled, "Play along and hope it lasts longer than the last Weasley shotgun wedding."
Daphne frowned, "The last Weasley shotgun wedding…oh, your wedding," she realised.
Bill rolled his eyes, "You're a bit slow on the uptake today."
"Still wrapping my head around the fact that one of my oldest friends is getting married in less than a week," Daphne said with a shake of her head, "Oh sweet Salazar, how am I going to get a sitter? I'm going to have to beg Andromeda, or my Dad and Narcissa…."
"Are they together yet?" Bill asked curiously.
"No, he just lives with her and shags her," Daphne said with a disgusted face, "It's horrible, honestly."
"Be a Slytherin and use your disgust to make him feel bad, then ask him to babysit on Saturday then," Bill suggested.
Daphne's eyes lit up, "Bill! If it wasn't for the fact that I'm happily married, I could kiss you right now!"
Bill snorted, "I've had enough of young blondes, thanks," he joked as he got to his feet and accepted the lunchtime post.
Daphne chuckled at those words and began to sort through the letters he had thrown her way, hoping one of them actually had a good case for them.
"Harry! Do you have any plans on Saturday?"
"No! Why?"
"We're going to a wedding!"
"Cool!" Harry called, giving her a thumbs up from the porch of his snake cabin. She was standing in the back doorway, having just put Teddy to bed.
He had gotten home late that night, so he had gone straight to the cabin to feed Dave.
"Cool?" Daphne questioned as she walked across the wet grass and drew her cloak around herself.
"Yeah, cool," Harry said, frowning at her, "Is that not an okay response to give?"
"Well, most people would ask whose wedding we are attending," Daphne pointed out.
"Oh, I just figured it was someone from the bank or something," Harry shrugged. He locked the door on the cabin, "Do we have a sitter?"
"Yeah, I bribed my Dad into taking Teddy overnight," Daphne replied offhandedly.
"You bribed – actually do you know what, I'm not going to ask," Harry decided halfway through the question.
"Yeah, you don't want to know," Daphne said with a shake of her head, "And it's not someone from the bank; it's Percy and Susan."
"What?" Harry asked in disbelief, stopping in the middle of the lawn.
"Yeah."
"Percy and Susan are getting married on Saturday?"
"Yup."
"This Saturday?"
"Uh-huh," Daphne said, shivering a little, "Could we maybe talk about this someone other than the lawn, by the way?"
"Oh, yeah, sorry," Harry said sheepishly, dashing towards the warmth of the house.
Once they were in the entrance hall, Daphne locked the backdoor, and they headed towards the kitchen together. This was a 'need a cup of tea' kind of conversation after all.
"I found out at lunchtime today because Suse asked Bill and me to be the witnesses," Daphne said, "It will just be the four of us at Gretna then they are having a party with and I quote, fire pits and endless booze, in the gardens of Bones Manor."
"Well," Harry said as he considered this, "Fair play to them. They did make a joke about just grabbing the family and getting married at Gretna at Christmas time, but I didn't put much stock in it."
"Neither did I," Daphne admitted, "But they were obviously serious."
"And if nothing else, we know it's going to be one hell of a party," Harry said, grinning at Daphne as he handed her a cup of tea.
"You better not relapse," Daphne warned him.
"I won't," Harry promised, "I'll do what I've been doing for the last couple of months."
"Stick to beer, no spirits?" Daphne guessed.
Harry nodded, "And if you think I'm having too many, you kick my arse and tell me to stop before Neville does."
"Deal," Daphne agreed.
"So…and I regret asking already, how did you bribe your Dad into watching Teddy?"
Daphne made a face, "You're gonna wish you hadn't asked."
"Morning, chaps! Shall we have a race this morning so we can all get fit for the impromptu wedding on Saturday?"
"Oh, don't start. Hermione was banging on about it for hours last night," Draco said with a roll of his eyes as they all left the locker room together, "We got an invite through the post, and she was all, Draco! How can someone give us less than a week to prepare for a wedding?! I don't quite understand what the problem is; we didn't have any plans anyway!"
"That's because, no matter how effeminate you might be, you just don't get girls," Neville joked.
"I am not!"
"You kinda are, you take longer on your hair than Hermione, and that's saying something because have you seen her hair?" Theo remarked.
"And I'm the effeminate one?" Draco asked in disbelief.
Harry snorted, "The truth is that this is Hermione we're talking about; she's a control freak. She plans everything in her life down to a tee. I mean, she didn't just plan out how to study for her own exams at school. She planned how Ron and I should study too. She can't handle short notice; you know what she's like."
"It's mad though isn't it?" Theo piped up, "Susan marrying Percy?"
"Nah, makes a lot of sense actually," Neville said as they began to run, "Susan is impulsive, and although he goes along with her a lot of the time, Percy knows how to reign her in when she needs it. That's the kind of guy she needs, someone who can be the spontaneous person she wants him to be but stop her from going too far. If Percy is okay with the idea of marriage, then that means it's not a totally out-there idea for them. They will have actually discussed it."
"Wow, that was deep for a Tuesday morning, bro," Theo said.
"Well, he dated her. He would understand her mental state more than we do," Harry pointed out.
"Exactly," Draco piped up, "Fancy telling Hermione all of that, Nev?"
"Not really," Neville said, shooting Draco a grin, "I think you need her to give you hell every once in a while. It brings you down a peg or two."
Harry snorted at that, "Nice one, Nev."
"Arsehole," Draco muttered, glaring in Neville's general direction while Theo sniggered.
"Ladies! Pick up the pace and quit gossiping!" Sumner barked from the centre of the pitch.
"Yes, sir!"
"So, the hot topic is the shotgun wedding, am I right?" Lilly asked Hermione as she sat in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place.
"Well, obviously," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes, "Draco told me to shut up about it. He said it's their wedding, their choice. It doesn't matter if you approve or not, Hermione."
"Well, he's not wrong," Lilly said. She glanced pointedly at her friend, "It doesn't matter if you approve or not."
"I know, but I just can't wrap my head around it," Hermione said with a shake of her head, "How can anyone plan a wedding in a week? I've had months, and I've only planned 20% of my wedding!"
"Not everyone is a control freak like you, no offence, but you did just tell me how much of your wedding you had planned with a percentage," Lilly said with a small smile.
Hermione made a face, "Yeah, well, I like statistics."
"I know, you're a nerd, that's why we're friends," Lilly chuckled, "But really with weddings, it's not all about the perfect dress, the perfect venue, etc. It's about loving the person you're marrying."
"I know, but-"
"There are no buts," Lilly interjected, "They seemed like a mismatched couple at first but look at them now. There is no denying that they are good for each other. They obviously want to get married, and they are obviously in love."
"Well, yes, they must be, but it is a little bit about the perfect dress and all of that," Hermione said honestly, "I mean, love is the most important part obviously, but appearances do come into it a little."
Lilly raised an eyebrow at her, "Hermione Granger, so shallow."
Hermione made a face, "Come on. You wouldn't get married in a red dress, would you?" Hermione pointed out, "The white dress, a nice meal for your guests, a good party, you know? Appearances."
Lilly grinned and shook her head in amusement, "I can't believe my ears. Hermione Granger is a closet pureblood. You are a closet Slytherin, aristocratic pureblood!"
"What?" Hermione barked, "I am not a closet pureblood!"
"Oh, you kinda are though," Lilly teased, "Appearances matter, I'm Hermione, and I want to wear a white dress and have a big, white, perfect wedding! The Nott blood in you is showing, Mione. You are a total closet Slytherin, no wonder you get on so well with Draco's mother."
"Wow, now that is just offensive," Hermione said, crossing her arms over her chest but struggling not to laugh.
Lilly grinned, "Admit that I have a point."
"A very, very vague one," Hermione admitted grudgingly, "But it's more of a cultural thing than a pureblood thing. My parents are pretty well off. I grew up in a big house with regular skiing holidays."
"Lucky you," Lilly snorted, "The closest I got to a skiing holiday was watching the Winter Olympics on the telly, which is why I think Draco is an entitled eejit. That's why you two don't actually encounter that many cultural differences in the scheme of things, you know? You have a different blood status but the same class."
A scoff sounded from the doorway at these words, "Class? That implies Hermione has class."
"Funny," Hermione said, sending a glare Draco's way.
"She has more class than you," Lilly said, raising an eyebrow at Draco, "And more balls. Did you get around to telling her about how you were crying in my hospital wing last week?"
"I wasn't crying," Draco muttered irritably, "My eyes were watering in pain."
Hermione raised an eyebrow at her fiancé, "No, you didn't tell me about that."
"He got bitten by a plimpy on a training exercise, and he cried," Lilly said, grinning at Hermione.
"A plimpy?" Hermione asked, hiding her grin behind her wine glass.
"I hate working with you," Draco said, glaring at Lilly.
Lilly just raised her glass and clinked it against Hermione's, "Touche," she said, winking at Draco while Hermione giggled at the exchange.
Draco rolled his eyes, "I'm going to Theo's," he said, disappearing through the side door into Theo's kitchen.
"Are you sure about this?" Daphne asked as she popped a hair grip into her mouth.
"Letting you loose with my hair or getting married?" Susan joked.
Luna smiled from Susan's other side, "I think she's concerned by how quickly you decided to marry Percy."
"I think you're right there, Luna," Susan said with a chuckle, "And I'm sure Daphne. I knew Hermione would be sceptical, but I didn't expect it from you. We were in Divination together. I figured you were with me here; the universe has a plan."
"The universe does have a plan, and I do believe in fate," Daphne said honestly, "I'm not sceptical. I was just surprised because of how quickly it was happening."
"Why wait when you love someone?" Luna asked in her usual dreamy way.
Susan smiled broadly, "Exactly."
Luna cocked her head at Susan, "I think you need more glitter."
"Then give me more glitter, I trust you," Susan said, smiling fondly at the younger woman as she glamoured her up.
Daphne put the final flower in Susan's hair then wrapped her arms around her friend's neck, hugging her tightly, "And I trust your heart. If this feels right to you, then I'm happy for you, Susie."
Susan grinned, "Thank you for not being a judgmental pain in the arse."
"Never," Daphne said, smiling brightly at her friend, "Now, if you had asked Hermione to be a witness on the other hand…."
Susan laughed, "No, no, no. I like Hermione, but I would never be stupid enough to ask her to be a witness. I know she disapproves, but it's hardly a surprise, is it? Hermione and I are big enough to admit that we are two very different people."
"But it doesn't stop you from being friends," Luna said, adding the finishing touches to Susan's face, "Hermione is quite judgy, but she's lovely too."
"It's no wonder she and Draco are such a good fit," Daphne chuckled as she conjured up a mirror, "So what do you think, Suse?"
Susan grinned at her reflection. She was wearing a knee-length white off the shoulder dress with a lace-trimmed skirt, and Daphne had just weaved white flowers into her hair. Luna had spent the last thirty minutes doing her make-up, and it looked incredible. She had white and silver glitter around her eyes, with real gemstones sparkling in the fresh morning sunlight.
"You look beautiful, Suse," Daphne said, glancing at the time, "But we better hurry up because we need to meet Percy and Bill in five minutes."
Susan nodded. She kissed Luna on the cheek, "See you at the party soon, Luna. Thank you so much for the make-up."
Luna pushed herself to her feet with a natural smile, "Anytime. Good luck!"
"Hey Bill, thanks for – why is Charlie here?"
"Because he insisted on having a chat with you before you got married," Bill said. He rolled his eyes, "He's trying to take the moral high ground."
Percy sighed, "Guys, if this is an intervention, there is no need-"
"You're marrying someone you barely know-"
"We've been together since she was in her eighth year Charlie," Percy cut in, "We've travelled together and lived together. This isn't some spontaneous thing. It's something that we both want. I don't expect you to understand that-"
"Why don't you expect me to understand that?" Charlie asked irritably.
"Well, you can't exactly take the moral high ground here," Bill pointed out, "You're dating a fetus."
"Oh, and Percy is so much better?" Charlie asked in disbelief, "He's marrying one!"
"Yeah, that really didn't help your argument," Bill said, biting back an amused grin, "What is it with us Weasley men and younger women? What's wrong with women our own age?"
Percy chuckled, "Look, I didn't start dating Susan because she was young and hot. I started dating her because the moment I met her, I felt like we had a connection. She's smart, she's far more mature than she acts, and she has the same lust for adventure that I developed after Fred's death. Both of us have been changed by loss, and we both believe that life is too short to be wasted. I love her, and I know that this is right."
Bill smiled and patted Percy on the back, "Our little Percy, the prick of a prefect, has grown up, Char."
Charlie laughed and patted Percy on the back harder, "I'm so proud, Billy."
Percy rolled his eyes, "Shut up."
Charlie grinned, "I'll see you at the after-party, alright? And I'm sorry for interfering, but I wanted to make sure that you were sure of this."
"You were being a good big brother, in your own psychotic way," Percy said with a smile, "I get it."
Bill chuckled and nudged Charlie out of the way, "Off you pop, Charlie. Percy only wants his favourite brother to be the witness at his wedding."
"His favourite brother?" Charlie asked, looking around the garden, "I don't see a clone of Percy anywhere."
The other two Weasley's laughed as Charlie dashed out of the room and left them in peace.
"I've been trying not to judge. I mean, how can I? I rushed into marriage with someone way younger than me," Bill said, putting his arm around his brother's shoulders as they headed towards the chapel, "But what you said to Char back there…it made me realise something for real, Perce."
Percy frowned at him, "What's that then?"
"I knew that Fred's death changed you," Bill said, his voice rough as he spoke about something he had tried to forget about, "It changed all of us, but I knew it changed you more than the rest of us. You thought that we wished it was you instead of him, and I can tell you that not once did any of us think that."
"I know that now Bill," Percy said quietly.
"Just let me finish," Bill said softly, "I figured it had made you have a nervous breakdown, hence the bounty hunter thing. But I can see what it was now, and it made you appreciate life and how short it can be. That's not a bad thing, Perce and…loving someone with all that you have, loving them with a passion like that, even if it's not forever…it can only be a good thing."
Percy smiled up at his eldest brother, "Thanks, Bill," he said genuinely.
Bill just grinned and dropped his arm from his shoulder when he saw Susan and Daphne waiting for them at the door, "Go get her tiger," he joked.
The actual wedding was very short and formal. It was clear that Susan and Percy wanted to be married but cared very little about the actual ceremony. They gave their vows to each other, and they exchanged rings.
Daphne was intrigued to see the colour of their union. She and Harry had been enveloped by a golden glow when they had gotten married, and Sadie and Theo's had been silver, but she knew that both of those colours were relatively rare.
When their bond was formed and their marriage linked, they kissed and were enveloped in a red glow.
"Red," Daphne whispered, "That's interesting."
"What's red, desire?" Bill whispered back.
"Desire, strength and passionate love," Daphne answered.
"They'll either ace marriage or crash and burn, basically?" Bill asked.
"Basically, yeah," Daphne said, a smile slipping onto her face, "But I've got faith in them."
Bill smiled too, "Me too."
Percy drew back, grinning at Susan. She held up her bouquet and said, "Alright! Party time!"
Daphne laughed as she and Bill followed them out of the chapel. From there, they apparated back to Bones Manor, where the rest of the guests were gathered. Considering that it was a wedding party, there weren't many people there, but the gardens of Bones Manor were just as grand as Susan had described.
There were several huge stone-built fire pits. There was a pop-up free bar, and the whole garden was filled with several smaller, walled secluded gardens. Ivy grew up the walls, there were hidden doorways behind vines, and the whole place had a very cool, fairy-tale vibe about it.
The moment they apparated into the garden, Susan and Percy were swamped with people, making it easy for Daphne to seek out Harry and Bill to slip away somewhere.
"And just like that, she's a Weasley," Daphne joked, slipping her hand into Harry's.
"Another one," Harry joked.
Daphne laughed, "This place is cool, isn't it? I haven't been here since I was a really little kid."
Harry nodded, his eyes falling thoughtfully on the newlyweds.
"Where are the others?" Daphne asked, drawing him out of his thoughts.
"Oh, Sadie and Theo are running late because Theo was having trouble resizing Sadie's dress apparently," Harry said. He grinned at his wife, "Draco and Hermione heard the argument through the wall. I believe the words, 'I'M NOT THAT FAT YET' were roared rather loudly."
"Ouch," Daphne grimaced.
Harry chuckled, "Neville and Lilly were looking at some old creepy greenhouse they discovered earlier, and Draco and Hermione just went to get drinks."
"Speak of the devil," Daphne said as Draco appeared with a tray of firewhiskeys and one bottle of beer, "Where the hell is Neville?"
"Still at the greenhouse," Harry replied, grabbing the beer from the tray.
"Hey Daphne," Hermione said brightly when she appeared behind her fiancé, "How was the ceremony?"
"Short and sweet," Daphne replied, "Ooh, is that for me?" she added, grabbing a cocktail from the tray.
"The other one is Lilly's, if she ever resurfaces," Hermione said, putting the tray down on a nearby table and picking up a wine glass.
"Oh, there they are," Harry said, gesturing over Draco's shoulder.
They glanced behind them and saw the couple approaching, talking animatedly.
"I know! Three species!" Lilly was saying excitedly.
"And two of them cross-pollinated!" Neville was brimming with excitement.
"What has you two so excited?" Draco asked dryly.
"Venomous tentacula," Neville and Lilly replied in unison.
"Ugh, don't talk about them," Another voice said as Theo walked towards them with his arm in Sadie's, "My finger still throbs at the very thought."
"That's because you're an idiot," Lilly said matter of factly, "And you look great, Sadie! You're glowing!"
"Yeah," Draco said, looking at Sadie, "You're so…uh…."
"Fat?" Sadie said defensively.
"I was going to say pregnant," Draco said.
Harry shook his head in disbelief, "And I'm the clueless one apparently," he muttered.
Hermione cut in before Sadie could start crying, "Theo, we got you a whiskey and Sade, we got you an elderflower wine."
"Thanks, Hermione," Sadie said, picking the glass up.
"Oh, is the cocktail for me? Thanks, Mione," Lilly said, picking up the last glass and handing Neville his firewhiskey.
"We're not going to stay long since I'm pregnant and boring," Sadie said as she suppressed a yawn, "I might, if he's on his best behaviour, let Theo stay out a bit later."
"Don't be daft Sade, I'll go home with you as soon as you want to," Theo said, putting his hand on her lower back.
Sadie raised an eyebrow at him, "It's because we fought earlier, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Theo admitted sheepishly.
The others just laughed at this then beckoned Susan and Percy over, "Ah, it's the newlyweds!"
"Welcome to married life, bro," Theo said, raising a glass at Percy.
"Just don't do what we did," Sadie remarked dryly.
"Don't worry, no twins in the foreseeable future," Susan chuckled, "But we had better be super careful because they do run in the family," she added.
"They do," Percy agreed, a sad smile gracing his face.
Susan glanced at him apologetically, then turned back to her friends, "Anyway, guys, enjoy the food and the free bar!"
"We will!" Theo promised her.
And they did. Sadie and Theo, as predicted, didn't last long. Molly and Arthur didn't stay for very long either, and next to go were Ginny and Blaise because they had left Blanche to babysit Hope. Not long after that, Ron left because it was his weekend with Freddie.
As the stragglers all drank together on bench seats around the biggest firepit, the subject of Lara came up between Bill and Charlie.
"Hey, did you meet up with Lara yet?"
Daphne's ears picked up on that, and she moved closer, "Ooh, so you and Lara are going on a date then?"
"No, I'm helping her move back to the wizarding world, and we're friends," Bill said, shooting Daphne a knowing look, "And I knew exactly what you were doing that whole time, you know? You would never have given me a case to pursue unless you had thoroughly researched it first, so you knew that Emery had magical heritage, and you knew that Lara was my childhood sweetheart."
Daphne grinned, "Guilty, but it did get you out of your rut, didn't it?"
"It did brother, she's got a point," Charlie said, nudging him in the ribs.
Bill smirked, "Maybe it did, but unlike you, Charlie, I have learned a thing or two from the Slytherins that I've dated."
"You've dated Slytherins?" Daphne asked in disbelief.
"Oh yeah, course I have," Bill replied with a mischievous grin, "I could have been one, actually. Everyone knows I'm ambitious after all, don't they?"
"You were a hat stall," Daphne realised, "Of course you were a hat stall, that makes sense. I always knew there was a reason why you were the only Weasley I liked," she shot Charlie a grin.
Astoria chuckled by his side, "Polite Daph."
"I'm not even surprised anymore," Charlie said as he swigged his beer, "Bill is everyone's favourite."
"Well, he's not my favourite," Astoria said, slipping her hand into Charlie's.
Daphne rolled her eyes at the exchange and looked at Bill, "So you knew all along?"
"Of course I did," Bill replied smoothly.
"Yeah, that's why he asked Sumner to bring me along," Harry said from Daphne's other side.
Bill shot the younger man a warning look, but Harry being Harry, didn't notice.
"Sorry, what?" Daphne asked, turning to look at her husband.
"Yeah, Bill and Sumner go way back, so he asked Sumner to bring me along," Harry said, digging the hole even deeper for Bill, "He thought it would be a laugh, serve you right for dragging him to see his ex."
"Harry," Bill groaned, "What are you telling her that for?"
"Oh," Harry's face fell, "Shit, I wasn't meant to tell her that was I?"
"No, you bloody idiot, you weren't," Bill said with a shake of his head.
Charlie guffawed, "Oh, this could be good cause I reckon Daphne could kick your arse into next week, easy."
At this, Daphne grinned, "I take it back, Charlie, you're my favourite."
Charlie laughed loudly.
Daphne crossed her arms and looked over at Bill, "I can't believe you got one over on me."
Bill grinned and winked at her, "Never judge a book by its cover Daphne."
"I'm still not happy about the fact you set me up, though," She added.
"Yeah, well, we can fight that out at the office on Monday," Bill said as he got to his feet,
"Woah, you're going already?" Charlie asked his brother.
"Yeah, it's after midnight, Char," Bill said, throwing his coat on, "I've got Vic tomorrow, got to be fresh for a day of tower building and blanket fort making."
"You're such a good dad; it's sickening," Harry said with a shake of his head.
"Shut up; you're a ridiculously good dad. It's annoying how cute it is sometimes," Daphne said, slapping him around the back of the head.
Bill laughed and bowed out before anyone else could try and stop him.
"He loves that kid," Charlie said, smiling fondly at his brothers retreating form.
"She is a pretty awesome kid, to be fair," Daphne said, glancing around the fire pit at the remaining guests. They were down to herself and Harry, Charlie and Astoria, George and Angelina, Draco and Hermione, Neville and Lilly, and the newlyweds themselves.
Up until that point, they had all been sitting around the fire talking or dancing to whatever song the wizarding radio was playing. But Daphne decided that it was time to make things a little more interesting. She got to her feet and said, "Alright, time for a good old round of truth or shots!"
Hermione groaned, "I'm going to die."
"Yes, but of embarrassment or alcohol poisoning?" Draco teased.
Susan laughed, "Yes! Truth or shots! I haven't played that in ages!"
"I brought the pack of questions, just in case," Daphne said with an amused chuckle as she took them out of her handbag, "I'll spell them so that one card flies to each person around the fire in turn."
She cast a spell on the cards, and the deck floated away from her, landing on the nearest table.
The first card floated from the top of the deck towards Susan, who reached up and caught it deftly.
"Remember, tell the truth, and if you can't, take a shot. If you tell a lie, you get hexed," Daphne said, reminding people like Charlie, who probably hadn't played this since his school days, of the rules.
Susan laughed as she read the card, "Alright, so my question is, "Have you ever been handcuffed? If so, by who and in what circumstances?"
Percy chortled knowingly at that, which made the others listen with interest to her answer, "Yes, I have been handcuffed. Percy and I may have indulged in the really obvious bounty hunter role play once…or twice."
"Oh come on, enough of us are married to Aurors here to accept that," Daphne said, grinning at Harry, "I mean, who hasn't, right?"
Hermione's cheeks flushed, and Draco smirked, giving away their answer to that question.
At that point, a card floated into Percy's hand, and he snorted when he read it, "I have, 'What personality trait do you try and hide when you want to impress someone?' and the answer is my entire nerdy personality. Most of you know what I used to be like, and the truth is that I'm still that person, minus the smarminess, underneath the whole bounty hunter act."
"He acts tough, but once the leather is off, he's just a nerd reading a book about plants in a bath," Susan said, nudging her husband in the side.
"Sounds familiar," Lilly said, shooting Neville a grin.
Neville just grinned sheepishly.
Another card flew out of the deck, and this time it headed for Charlie.
Charlie grinned and said, "So my card says, 'Who in this room do you think could actually get away with murder?' and that is an easy one. The answer is 100%, Daphne Potter."
Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, "Me?"
"Yep," Charlie said, leaning back to survey her, "You work with cursed objects, you could make it look like an accident, and you're married to future Head Auror Harry Potter, who could make it all go away because his love for you is stronger than his moral compass."
Daphne scoffed, "He'd hardly cover up a murder for me, Charlie."
Harry grimaced, "Weeeeellll…."
Daphne's eyes widened, "You'd cover up a murder for me?"
"I'd do pretty much anything for you, so…yeah," Harry said, meeting her eye.
"That's so romantic," Daphne said softly.
"Since when is covering up murder for someone romantic?" George asked incredulously. He looked at Angelina and shook his head, "Thank Godric, you're not a Slytherin."
Harry laughed at that as a card landed in Astoria's hand. She glanced down at it warily and turned slightly red, "Well, the card says, 'What is something you have tried sexually and will never try again?' and since there is no way I'm answering that, I'll take a shot."
"Ooh, our first forfeit!" Daphne teased her sister, "Susie, you're the bride. Pick Astoria's poison."
"If she's anything like her big sis, it's got to be tequila," Susan said, flicking her wrist in the direction of the bar.
Astoria groaned as a shot of tequila drifted towards her, "I hate you, Susan, because I am like my big sister, too much sometimes."
Daphne smiled apologetically at her, "Sorry, Tori, the game is the game so drink up!"
Astoria made a face as she knocked back the shot of tequila, "Ugh, disgusting."
Charlie chuckled and patted her on the back, "It's cute how much of a lightweight you are," he teased, earning himself a slap around the head.
Daphne laughed at her sister's expense as a card floated into her hands. She read it then laughed, "Well, my card says, 'If you had to play matchmaker, which two friends would you set up?' which I find pretty fitting because I basically set up Astoria and Charlie. Oh, and Bill and Lara are totally going to rekindle their love, and I set that one up too."
"You also kind of set up Draco and I," Hermione pointed out with a smile, "You're pretty good at it."
"You kinda are," Harry agreed.
"Maybe I'll make a career out of it," Daphne joked as a card landed in Harry's hand.
Harry looked down at the card nervously and breathed a sigh of relief when he realised that it wasn't sexual, "My question is, 'Who in this group has the worst ex?' which is an interesting one."
"Well, it's not me. My ex was boring," Percy said, smiling at Susan, "I've moved up in the world."
"And I kind of didn't date before Percy, so it's not me," Susan said in amusement, "I mean Neville has to be in the running though, doesn't he?"
"Yeah, Hannah kind of went a bit pyscho in the end," Neville agreed.
"A bit?" Lilly asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
Harry nodded, "Oh yeah, Neville is definitely in the running, but honestly, I reckon it's got to be Daphne."
Daphne frowned, "What?"
"I mean, your ex is Draco," Harry elaborated, "So yeah, it's definitely you."
Draco rolled his eyes, "Fuck you, Potter."
"I'd really rather not Malfoy," Harry said, smirking at him, "You ought to go ask Theo if that's what you're after."
Hermione snorted, "It's cute how you two revert to surnames when you bicker, you know."
"Especially since Draco hasn't been a Malfoy for ages," Daphne added, sharing an amused look with Hermione.
Hermione chuckled and looked over at Neville as a card floated into his hand, "Oh good Godric, why do I always get the sexual questions?" he muttered with a shake of his head.
Lilly raised an eyebrow at him, "Go on."
"My card says, 'If you could have a threesome with two people in this room, who would you choose?' and I'm seriously thinking about taking a shot, so I don't have to answer it," Neville said as the colour rose in his cheeks.
"Oh, come on, Neville, don't let the side down!" Harry exclaimed, "Only Tori has forfeited so far, and that's to be expected from a Slytherin."
"Hey!" Astoria objected.
"He has a point, though," Charlie said, nudging her in the ribs.
"Yeah, come on, Longbottom, just answer the question. I'm sure your missus won't get too pissed off," George piped up.
"As long as I'm one of the people," Lilly said, looking pointedly at him.
"Well, obviously you are," Neville said with a roll of his eyes, "It's the other one I'm less willing to confess about."
"Implying you know the answer already, so you've already thought about it," Daphne said, raising an eyebrow at him, "It's Harry, isn't it?"
"What?" Harry and Neville asked with identical disbelief and disgust.
"No," Neville said as he made a face, "No offence Harry, I love you, man, but I don't ever want to shag you."
"Absolutely no offence taken," Harry said, making the same face.
"So who is it then?" Draco asked, "You've said enough now. You're not getting away with a forfeit."
Neville grimaced, "My answer is Lilly and Hermione."
Hermione's eyes widened, "What?"
"Well, it makes sense," Harry said, grinning at Neville's discomfort, "Lilly and Hermione are similar, and everyone knows that Neville had a massive crush on her in school."
"I did not know that," Draco said, glaring at Neville, "But I do know lots of dark curses, so back off Longbottom."
Lilly shook her head in disbelief and caught Hermione's eye, "Hit him, please."
Hermione obliged and hit Draco around the back of the head, "It's a hypothetical question, idiot."
"I love you too, honey," Draco muttered, rubbing the spot where she had hit him.
Lilly leant across Hermione and lowered her voice, "Stop being an over-protective idiot, or I'll tell everyone about the plimpy incident."
Hermione sniggered as Lilly grabbed the card that had floated over her way. She looked down at it and chuckled, "Oh, here we go. Right, well, my question is, 'What is the craziest thing that you have done while drunk?' and before I answer, I need to give you all a bit of background. You have to remember that I'm a Muggle-born from a really shitty part of London, right? So this happened when I was about 16, in-between sixth and seventh year."
"Yeah, we don't need your life story Moon," Draco said, smirking at her, "Just your embarrassing tale, so get on with it."
Lilly stuck her tongue out at him, "Shut it, Black. Right well, that summer, I was out camping with my friends, and the police showed up and drunk me thought it would be a good idea to…flash the police officer."
A bout of laughter went around the friend group at these words.
"You flashed a muggle police officer?" Neville asked, crying with laughter.
"Guess you always had a thing for law enforcement Lil," Susan said, winking at her friend.
"Yeah, yeah, very funny," Lilly said, shaking her head and nudging Hermione as a card hovered in front of her face.
Hermione grabbed the card and muttered, "At least I didn't get that question because my answer would have been shagged Harry Potter."
Lilly giggled at this, and Hermione glanced down at her card, "Oh no…."
Harry grinned wickedly, "Go on…."
Hermione grimaced, "My question is, Have you ever had a threesome?"
Susan raised an eyebrow at her, "And have you? Because if your answer was no, you wouldn't have said 'oh no' when you read the card."
Hermione's cheeks flushed as she looked over at Draco. He shook his head, then she said, "I'm going to say no."
Harry snorted, "What does that mean? You hesitated but then said no?"
"I had to think about it," Hermione muttered.
"You'd know if you've had a threesome or not," Lilly chortled, "It's not the kind of thing you tend to forget about."
"Or need to think about," Bill snorted.
"Unless…" Susan's eyes widened, "No way!"
"What?" Hermione asked nervously.
"Unless you have had sex with other people before, but it wasn't a threesome," Susan said, eyeing Hermione with interest.
Harry grinned wickedly, "Well, there's an easy way to get to the bottom of it, isn't there? She gets hexed if she lies."
"Harry," Hermione groaned.
"How many other people?" Harry asked.
"Three," Hermione muttered.
"Draco was one of them, I guess?" Harry questioned.
"Obviously," Hermione said, glaring at her friend.
"Were the other two people Theo and Sadie by any chance?" Harry asked.
Hermione looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her whole, "Yes."
Neville whistled, "Well, you really are a foursome, aren't you?"
"She is having Theo's twins, yeah?" Percy joked.
Draco snorted, "Yes, I'm not getting the blame for that one."
Daphne smirked.
"You knew then?" Susan sniggered.
"Oh, I've known for ages," Daphne said smugly, "Didn't take much to wheedle it out of her."
"And you didn't tell me?" Harry asked in disbelief.
"I was sworn to secrecy, sorry babe," Daphne said slyly.
"I just can't quite believe it," Susan said, smirking at Hermione, "Hermione Granger," she tutted and shook her head.
"It's always the good girls," Charlie said, shooting Astoria a knowing look.
"That is enough about that," Daphne said, making a face and thrusting a card at Draco, "Let's move on, shall we?"
Draco looked down at his card. He could have rolled his eyes at the question he had been given. He sighed and said, "My card says, 'What is the stupidest thing you have done in front of a crowd?' which is a dick question because the answer is obviously hugging Lord Voldemort."
Those who had witnessed the exchange couldn't help but laugh at this, Neville more than most, "Oh, that was good."
"It had to be the most awkward hug ever," George chortled.
"Thanks, guys," Draco said dryly, "One of the most traumatising moments in my life, but I'm glad it gives you all a good laugh."
"Draco, they didn't mean it like that," Harry began to say.
However, before he could finish, Draco got to his feet and stalked off. Hermione looked apologetically at them, "Sorry, I'll go and stroke his bruised ego. You know Draco, he gets melancholy when he gets drunk."
Daphne nodded, "Yeah, go and give him a kiss to cheer him up. He'll get over it soon enough," she joked.
Hermione smiled, "I will. You guys finish your game," she added, jogging off after Draco.
The next person to be asked was Angelina. She looked down at her card and cringed, "Well, my card asks if I have ever lied to get out of having sex with my partner and the answer is yes."
"What?" George asked in mock disbelief, placing his hand upon his heart.
"When you had me trial those love bite chocolates, I said they had a side effect of a really bad headache," Angelina said, cringing once more, "Because I just really wasn't in the mood."
"What?" George asked again, "Angie! I didn't put those into production because of that!"
"Sorry!" Angelina said apologetically while the others laughed.
George was still shaking his head as his card floated into his hand, "Ooh, my card asks what my guilty pleasure is, and I've got to be honest with you guys, I love a hot bubble bath with scented candles."
This revelation got a huge laugh, and the game carried on in that vein. As they got through the cards, the questions got far more revealing, so more and more people chose shots over having to tell the truth. As such, by the time Draco and Hermione returned a good half an hour later, everyone had given up on the game, and very few people could be considered as sober anymore.
It was at this point that Harry questioned Draco on the 'foursome'.
"So," Harry said, he thought it was subtle, Draco really didn't.
"Don't."
"Come on!" Harry said, "You've got to explain how that foursome works."
"It's not a foursome; it's not a recurring thing," Draco muttered. He sipped his firewhiskey, "It was a one-time thing after graduation."
"In my house!"
"I'm sure it's seen worse," Draco snorted.
"Seriously though, how did it work?"
Draco raised an eyebrow at him, "You're really curious, aren't you?"
"Yeah," Harry admitted sheepishly.
"Fine," Draco chuckled, "You want to know, that's fine. But don't complain once I've told you."
"Deal," Harry said quickly.
"I shagged Hermione. Theo shagged Sadie," Draco said with a shrug, "The only difference was that we were all naked, and Hermione and Sadie were snogging."
"Okay. I'm officially jealous," Harry said, glancing inadvertently at Daphne.
Draco snorted, "The ice queen would never go for it. She doesn't share."
"Lilly wouldn't go for it anyway," Harry mused.
Draco chuckled, "Wouldn't be so sure about that. Charlie was right earlier; it is the quiet ones you need to watch out for."
Harry cursed himself for asking Draco about it because now he was curious. And that was what he ended up discussing with Neville as they sat around the firepit, sometime around 2 am.
"Nev."
"Harry," Neville whispered.
Harry asked, "Do you think our other halves would ever go for the foursome thing?"
Neville snorted, "I wondered how long it would take you to ask about that."
"Do you, though?" Harry asked him curiously.
"Nah," Neville said with a shake of his head, "Lil is too shy, and Daphne is too sophisticated."
"Yeah, but Sadie and Hermione did it," Harry said with a shake of his head, "I can't quite get my head around that one."
"Or stop thinking about it?" Neville guessed, shooting Harry an amused look, "Me either, Hermione's hot."
"So is Sadie."
"You would think so. You like blonde's," Neville chuckled.
"And you like brunettes," Harry countered with an amused smile, "If they were up for it, would you do it?"
"Yeah, I'd do it. Would you?" Neville countered.
"Uh, obviously," Harry replied.
Daphne sat down on a wall on the other side of the firepit next to Lilly, "Drink?"
"Ooh, thank you," Lilly said as she took the glass from Daphne, "What do you think those two are talking about?"
"I know what those two are talking about," Daphne said. She shot her friend an amused look, "A foursome."
Lilly frowned, "Really?"
"Yes, I think Harry is jealous," Daphne said. She shook her head in amusement.
Lilly snorted, "As if they think we would go for that. I, for one, do not have the confidence."
"Why not?" Daphne asked curiously.
"Why not?" Lilly scoffed, "Are you for real? I'm short, plain and nerdy, and you're you."
"What's that's supposed to mean?" Daphne laughed.
Lilly raised an eyebrow at her friend, "Look at yourself. You were voted the most attractive girl in our year for a reason, Daph."
"So now you're hitting on me?" Daphne asked with an amused grin, "I thought I was the flirty one in this friendship."
Lilly laughed out loud, "I didn't think that's what I was doing, but if that's the way you wanna interpret it, feel free."
Daphne chuckled, "Don't be so down on yourself, Lil," she said.
The shorter girl was looking into her drink and refusing to meet Daphne's eye. Daphne put her finger under her chin and forced her to look up, "You are short, but you're not plain or nerdy. You're cute."
Lilly met her eye, "Whose hitting on who now?" She joked.
"Neville!"
"What?"
"Look," Harry muttered, "But don't make it obvious you're looking."
Neville tried to subtly look over at his fiancé, who was currently looking into the eyes of Harry's wife.
"Are they just going to do this every time they get drunk?" Neville asked, but he didn't sound irritated about that fact.
At that point, Daphne kissed Lilly and Harry, and Neville gaped like a couple of stupid fish.
"Yeah, I think they probably are," Harry answered.
He got to his feet, then grabbed Neville's shoulder to steady himself, "Right, we're both tipsy, and those two are drunk, so I'm jumping on the chance while we're all stupid enough to do it," Harry said cheerfully, "Come along, Nev."
"I'm not a fucking dog," Neville muttered, but he followed Harry anyway.
* ~ TBC ~ *