The week after her disastrous visit to see Hermione, Ginny had arranged for her and Harry to view a wedding venue, and they'd invited Ron and Lavender to join them. The idea was to view the venue and then have dinner at the onsite restaurant to get a true feel for what the place was like. Although Ginny had high hopes as The Nymph of the Laurel Tree Hotel, usually shorted to simply The Nymph, was a top-class hotel, and she was especially keen on some of the wedding packages they offered. Exclusive to The Nymph was a wedding weekend package, which stretched the big day out over an entire weekend, which could either be two or three days depending on the package you picked. Included in both packages were spa treatments for the bridal party, and Ginny had heard good things about the spa at The Nymph as one of her teammates at The Harpies had recently visited the place and hadn't stopped raving about it since.
"What happened with the dress?" Lavender asked Ginny as they were preparing to leave for the hotel. "Did you manage to buy it?"
"Not yet, but I will do," Ginny replied confidently. "Although you won't believe who the dress belongs to."
"Who?"
"Hermione."
"Wow, that is unexpected," Lavender remarked with a low whistle. "Who is she marrying?"
"I don't know," Ginny admitted with a frown. "I forget to ask."
"You tried to buy her wedding dress, and didn't even ask who she was marrying?" Lavender questioned, barely able to believe the front on Ginny. "Did you even ask when she was getting married?"
"No," Ginny replied with a slight shake of her head. "I wonder if that was why she was so reluctant to sell me the dress. Maybe she doesn't think she can get a new one in time for the wedding. Maybe I need to offer her even more money."
"Or maybe you should accept that it's not meant to be and find another dress," Lavender suggested. To be honest she was rather conflicted about Ginny's determination to own this particular dress, and she couldn't help but worry that things were going to get messy.
"That is not an option," Ginny insisted firmly. "I will have that dress. It is the only dress I can even think about getting married in. It's perfect."
Lavender was tempted to point out that the dress couldn't be perfect for Ginny as it belonged to someone else, but she suspected it would fall on deaf ears. Luckily Harry announced it was time they were leaving, so the subject of the dress was left for the moment. Although Lavender suspected it would rear its head again. She just hoped trouble wasn't going to follow.
The Nymph of the Laurel Tree Hotel was located on a sprawling estate in the Cotswolds, and Harry had arranged a portkey to take them to the hotel. The port key swept the foursome up from Harry and Ginny's front room and dropped them in a cosy reception room several miles away. Waiting for them was a wizard, dressed smartly in a black uniform with a deep purple trim and the crest of the hotel on his jacket.
"Hello and welcome to The Nymph of the Laurel Tree," the wizard said in greeting as he offered around small glasses of champagne. "You're here to view the wedding packages, I believe."
"We are," Ginny confirmed with a nod. "I believe we have an appointment with a witch named Celeste."
"Celeste is head of our wedding department," the wizard confirmed. "She'll be along shortly, so let me just show you to the reception area."
Leading them out of the room they'd arrived in, the wizard led them down a short marble floored corridor and into a large, airy reception area. The front doors of the hotel were open to reveal the stunning looking grounds. Across from the doors stood the semi-circular reception desk, behind which sat a witch and wizard dealing with the guests. Across the room stood an elegant lift and a soaring spiral staircase, while beside the door they'd just emerged from were several other doors leading to different parts of the hotel. There was also a spacious seating area, where the foursome sat and finished their champagne while they waited for the witch they were dealing with to arrive.
The foursome were drinking in the opulent view, when an attractive older witch with dark brown hair approached them. The witch was wearing a white and purple dress, but she was wearing a badge with The Nymph's logo on.
"Hello, I'm Celeste," the witch said, introducing herself.
"Ginny Weasley," Ginny returned. "This is my fiancé, Harry Potter," she said, gesturing to Harry who had stood up to greet Celeste. "And my brother Ron, and his partner, Lavender."
"It's very nice to meet you all," Celeste replied with a warm smile. "Before we talk business, I like to show the guests around the hotel and tell them a little about what they can expect from our wedding packages. I do want to stress that all of our packages are flexible. We can remove anything you don't want, add someone special you might like to include, or even tweak something to make it more to your liking. We aim for everyone to have the wedding of their dreams here at The Nymph."
"I'm liking the sound of it already," Ginny giggled, linking her arm through Harry's as they set off on their tour of the hotel.
The tour of the hotel, and all the amenities it had to offer, took nearly an hour, and as they went, Celeste spoke about all the different bits and pieces they offered in their wedding packages. She showed them several places where the actual ceremony could be held, although she also assured them that if they'd seen somewhere different they wanted to say their vows, they could see about making that the centre of the wedding.
"And how many people would get spa treatments in the packages?" Ginny asked as they toured the luxury spa attached to the hotel.
"That would be entirely up to you," Celeste replied. "Our weekend wedding packages do usually include spa treatments for the bride, but you can add as many extras as you wish. It really all depends on the size of your wedding party and how many people you are planning on having with you when you receive your treatments."
"We can discuss details later, if this is what we decide to do," Harry cautioned Ginny, not wanting her to get carried away before they'd made any firm decisions.
From the spa, Celeste led the party through the gardens, before returning to the reception area. However, when they reached the reception area the wizard who had greeted them upon arrival grabbed Celeste and whispered what seemed like an urgent message in her ear. Whatever it was, it was urgent enough for her to halt the tour, and she ordered more champagne for them while she stepped into the office behind the reception desk to deal with whatever problem couldn't wait until she was finished with the potential clients.
"I think this is it, Harry," Ginny announced with glee. "This is where I want to get married."
"It is rather spectacular," Harry agreed. "When Celeste returns, we'll ask for some details we can take home. We can then come back and book a package when we know what we want."
As Ginny threw her arms around Harry, thrilled at the prospect at getting married at The Nymph of the Laurel Tree, she had no idea that everything was going to change when Celeste returned. Unbeknown to her, all her wedding plans were about to go up in smoke.
Hermione and Draco were always happy to meet up with Draco's best friend, Blaise Zabini, and his stunning wife, Daphne, for dinner. The two couples tried to meet up at least once a week, with the location varying. Sometimes Hermione and Draco played host, sometimes Daphne and Blaise did, and other times they went for a meal. They also went on weekends away together, and while Draco and Blaise often spent time just the two of them, so did Hermione and Daphne.
This time they'd met for dinner at the luxury hotel, Blaise and Daphne owned in the Cotswolds. The hotel had come about when Blaise had inherited the house from a relative of his fathers that he hadn't even known existed. Not wanting to give up their luxury penthouse in London, Blaise and Daphne had debated selling the large house, before eventually deciding to turn it into a hotel. It had taken a lot of hard work, and some serious money, which included an investment from Draco's father, Lucius, but eventually Blaise and Daphne had the hotel of their dreams. Blaise had even named the hotel The Nymph of the Laurel Tree after Daphne, who herself was named for the naiad nymph in Greek legends who had turned into a laurel tree.
Three years later, The Nymph was a runaway success, and Hermione and Draco were actually regular visitors to the hotel. They both loved how relaxing the place was, and the on-site restaurant was one of the best places to eat in Wizarding Britain.
"Sorry I'm late," Daphne apologised as she joined her husband and friends. "I was wanting to talk to Celeste about a wedding we've got booked for next week, but she's busy with potential clients. Although you will never guess who they are, Hermione. Only your former best friend, Harry Potter and the Weasley girl."
"What joy," Draco remarked with a disinterested roll of his eyes. "That cheeky Weasley cow better keep her distance. After last week, I've got a few choice things I wouldn't mind saying to her."
"Don't Draco, it's not worth it," Hermione said.
"Not worth it?" Draco scoffed. "Because of her, you've got your wedding dress locked up at the manor."
"You've what?" Blaise questioned, sharing a baffled look with his wife. "I think we're missing something here. What exactly is going on."
With a sigh, Hermione recounted her encounter with Ginny the previous week, and how she'd ended up becoming so paranoid over what she would do next that she'd moved her wedding dress to the safety of Malfoy Manor.
"That is the craziest thing I've ever heard," Daphne gasped. "It's bad enough she genuinely thought she could just buy your wedding dress, but to not take no for an answer is just shameful."
"And it doesn't sound like she'd given up in the end," Blaise remarked.
"She still seemed convinced she would get the dress," Hermione confirmed. "It seems crazy to have hidden it away at the manor, but it's the only place I can be sure it'll be safe. She'd already tricked my address out of the bridal shop, so I wasn't sure it was safe there, and since she was poking around the back garden, I wasn't even sure it would be safe at home. Maybe I'm just blowing the whole thing out of proportion."
"No, you're not," Daphne assured her friend. "In your shoes, I would be paranoid as well. Just who does that Weasley girl think she is?"
"Someone who can get whatever she wants," Draco answered with a snort. "It sounds as though she thinks she's something special because she plays quidditch and is marrying Potter."
"I know how to cut her down to size," Daphne remarked with a sly smile. "You know Blaise, I don't think we've got any openings for any weddings. Maybe you should go and let Celeste know."
"You're going to stop them from booking the hotel for the wedding?" Hermione gasped. "You can't do that, Daphne. It's bad business."
"I don't care if it's bad business, it's good friendship," Daphne said with a warm smile. "I will not stand for her treating you the way she did. Besides, this is our business, and we have the right to decide who we wish to allow into our hotel."
"And who we wish to ban," Blaise added with a grin. "Excuse me, I've got to go and stop a wedding."
Before Hermione could argue, and Blaise knew she would as she was too kind-hearted for her own good, he swept from the restaurant in search of Celeste. As it turned out her tour hadn't yet finished, so he left word at reception that he needed to see her urgently and slid into the main office to await her arrival. Less than ten minutes later she entered the office, clearly puzzled by his unusual summons.
"Have I done something wrong?" she asked in genuine confusion. She'd been in charge of the wedding side of the business since it had launched, and she'd always been under the impression she was good at her job and had the support of both of her bosses.
"No, as always your work is exemplary, Celeste," Blaise assured her. "However, I cannot allow you to take a booking from Ginny Weasley. It's a personal matter, but she is not welcome to get married in my hotel."
"And you want me to tell her that?" Celeste queried with wide eyes.
Blaise was going to confirm that was exactly what he wanted, before an idea occurred to him. Rather than get Celeste to do his dirty work, he should do it himself. He should deliver the good news personally.
"You get back to work, Celeste," Blaise said, a sly smile creeping over his face as he anticipated what was about to happen. "I'll deal with Ginny Weasley personally."