Chapter 76
The Final Plan
Cassie Robinson rolled down her car window and let in a breeze. She really needed to get this air conditioning fixed but that would have to wait until next
month. It had been an exceptionally hot week and the poor little cooling system just hadn't been able to take it. She pulled to a smooth stop in front of a group of
new attractively decorated flats and she glanced at her watch. Good. She was a little bit early. The sooner she could get done here, the quicker she could get to
running the rest of her errands. She had a long list of things to do today and they were all critical. Opening the door a moment later with a key she had only
added to her key ring a few days ago, she glanced inside and was not surprised to see that the flat was still empty. Well, that would probably change very soon.
He never passed up a chance to see her, especially if the two of them were going to be alone. Those times were getting more and more rare as time went on. She
went right into her office and flipped on the computer, letting it boot up as she checked the rest of the flat.
She loved it here. He had basically given her carte blanche on the decorating, insisting that he didn't know anything about it and didn't really care as long as he
had somewhere to sit and somewhere to sleep - with her - the rest didn't matter. She laughed out loud remembering how that conversation had gone. So she had
recruited her mother's help in picking paint colors and carpet and then had picked out a few really great pieces of furniture which would last for years. She hadn't
gone too wild because they thought they would probably move into an actual house after a few years and she would want to decorate that with new pieces. But
what they had now looked nice and inviting. She looked into the second bedroom, which at the moment was a mess. "Athena - I thought I had told you to stack
the presents you brought on the floor. If you don't, they fall onto the floor and some could break." Her owl looked at her with an expression that Cassie could
have sworn meant "I'm a bird - don't expect me to think of such things" but then she tucked her head back under her wing and went back to sleep. "Sure, ignore
me. I don't mind." She started moving some of the wedding presents which were stacked haphazardly on a desk into a more organized pile on the floor. Of
course, all the wrapping paper was magical and the figures and flowers were moving. She had gotten used to that now, although sometimes if she just caught
movement out of the corner of her eye, she still jumped. She looked around for Icharus but determined he wasn't in the room. Probably out getting more gifts.
They already had an unbelievable number of gifts from the wizarding guests. As she had laughingly told Ginny, because of Arthur's position as Minister of Magic
they had to invite practically every wizard in the country. She had forgotten that meant she would have to do the same. And even though the presents were nice,
it also meant a lot of thank-you note writing. Maybe she should insist that he write them all. She would handle the much smaller pile of gifts from the people her
family had invited.
She went back into the office and sat down at the computer. She logged on to her internet provider and listened to the series of beeps and clicks that indicated
her computer was being connected to her server. She planned on logging on quickly and checking the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes web site, which was generating
a fairly large amount of business. She had taken over quite a bit of the day-to-day running of the site and wanted to make sure things were in good shape before
she left. Suddenly, though, the screen went blank and the computer fell silent. She sighed in frustration and turned around in her chair. "How many times have I
asked you not to do that?" He just laughed.
"I can't help it that my stunning personality sends your electronic stuff into fits."
"Right." But then she grinned and stood up to hug him. "I'll forgive you today."
"Good." George bent and kissed her, holding her close, threading his hands through her hair. "Hmmm. You taste wonderful."
"Must be the muffin I stuffed in my face on the way over here. I've got a huge pile of presents out in the car. Be a love and float them into the back bedroom,
would you?"
"Float? The word is levitate. Float sounds so . . . .unmagical." They both laughed softly as this was a discussion they had had many times in the past and she
liked to use the word float just to annoy him. They walked out of her office into the main room and then he continued on into the room she had vacated not long
before. "I see Icharus is gone again. This place is a mess! And how many more of these blasted presents are we going to get? I foolishly thought people actually
brought wedding presents to the wedding!"
"It's a mess because you want to set up your workshop yourself. If you want help, just ask for it." She looked at the piles of boxes stacked haphazardly on
almost every available surface. George had brought them from the Burrow almost three weeks ago, promising to get them unpacked and organized before the
wedding, but then he and Fred had been terribly busy at the shop and since he was leaving for two weeks he had had to find someone to help out which had been
a lot more trouble than they thought. She shook her head and finished answering his question. "And a lot of people like to have the shopkeepers send the gifts.
Saves them the trouble of wrapping them themselves." Cassie clucked her tongue soothingly at Athena who had lifted her head from under her wing again and
was glaring at George. "Come on out of there. It can wait until we get home in a couple weeks."
"Home - I like the sound of that!" He pulled her by the hand into the larger bedroom. "This is looking really nice." Cassie had just brought all the bed clothes two
days ago and he obviously hadn't been here to see how it all looked since then. He sat down on the bed and pulled her closed to him. "I can't believe that in a
little more than 24 hours I'm going to be marrying you. And then -" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively and Cassie giggled.
"I know. I can't wait, either. I can't believe that it's finally here." His large hands wrapped around her waist and held her still as he put his face against the thin
material of her shirt and kissed her stomach through it.
"Let's make out a bit. I promise I'll be good." She looked down at him and then ruffled his hair, marveling as always at how thick it felt in her hands.
"Very tempting, very tempting. But you've waited this long. I think you can wait another day." He growled in frustration.
"Right after that blasted ceremony is over, I'm taking you into a back room and ripping-"
"George! Stop it, silly. You won't have time for that right then." He growled again and pushed the material of her shirt up, baring her stomach. He had
discovered fairly recently that she was very ticklish there and loved to make her laugh by rubbing his face against the sensitive skin. Her laugh deepened and
turned into almost a groan. "Don't do that. You know it makes me-"
He laid back suddenly, pulling her down on top of him, shifting her quickly so that their faces were even, looking solemnly at each other. "I know it makes you
wild. I want you wild. For me."
"I am already." He brought his hand up to her hair and held her face still as he kissed her.
"Not wild enough or you'd be ripping my clothes off." She raised an eyebrow at him.
"As I said, tempting, very tempting. But . . . I've got to -" He groaned and rolled away from her, covering his eyes with his arm.
"We should have just eloped. This has been the biggest pain in the tush."
"But think of all the good stuff we would have missed."
"Yeah, like what?"
"Give me a few minutes to think of something." He sighed and laced their fingers together.
"So . . . what exactly is on your to-do list today?"
She breathed out a puff of air, and thought back to the list in her car. "Final fitting for the dress, flowers, photographer-"
"Are you still going to that Muggle photographer?"
"Yes."
"Why? Colin said he would do these pictures for free as part of the package."
"I know. He'll take enough tomorrow. Today is for my mum."
"I just-"
"Trust me. Then my mum and I have to see the baker about the cake and then hair and makeup."
"The baker is doing your hair and makeup? That's interesting." She punched him on the shoulder and then sat up.
"Very funny, George Weasley." He sat up next to her.
"That's one of the things you love about me."
"Yes, it is. Usually." She considered him for a long moment. She still couldn't believe this was all really happening. Even after they had become engaged, the
wedding itself had seemed like a distant dream that would never actually come to pass. But here it was. And everything was going to be absolutely perfect - as
long as they could get through tonight. "What have you got to do today?"
"Me? Hmmm. I have a busy schedule. I have to take a nap. Eat lunch. Take another nap. Then, about 6:15 I'll roll out of bed and throw on some clothes from the
floor and pop over to some sort of meeting. Or maybe I'll just skip that completely."
"You just think you are a barrel of laughs today, don't you? But seriously. You have three things that you have to do. Do you remember what they are?" He gave
her a pleading look.
"Please . . . please don't make me do this."
"George. You promised."
"But I've never talked to a Muggle travel agent before. I'm going to embarrass myself."
"No, you're not. The tickets are all paid for and everything. All you need to do is go pick them up."
"Come with me."
"No. You already heard what I have to do today. You can't go get my hair done. I have to do that. You have to go get the airline tickets."
"And then I have to go get . . .traveler's cheques?"
"Yes. And those are all arranged, too. But you have to go sign yours. I already did mine."
"Why didn't I go with you?"
"Uh . . . Fred kept you late at the store, I think. All you have to do is go sign them. Then they'll do the rest."
"Can I use a quill?"
"If you want. I told them you normally used one. They were amused, but accepting. After all, we paid for the things."
"Fine. What if something goes wrong?"
"You have my phone number. Have them call me and tell me what's going on."
"You know I really love you, right?"
"Yes. I do."
"Well, come on. I'll get those presents out of the car and then you can go get all those things done." They stepped outside into the heat of the morning. "Is the
car unlocked?" She nodded, after clicking the button on her keys. She didn't really know why she ever bothered to lock it because if anyone in this neighborhood
decided they wanted to get into it, a lock would not keep them out. But it was a habit that she had a hard time breaking.
"Hey, Cassie!" Cassie turned and grinned at her almost-sister-in-law.
"Hey, yourself. How are you feeling?"
"Pretty good, I guess. I've stopped upchucking 15 times a day. Now I only have that fun about twice every morning."
"Poor thing. How much longer?"
"Who knows? You'd think someone could tell me as I do work with a lot of healers. All they can say, though, is . . . you're fine, baby's fine, you won't die. It's all
very comforting."
"Have you stopped hexing Fred every night for doing this to you?"
"Mostly." The two girls watched as George levitated the presents from the car into the flat. "You have him so wrapped around your finger."
"Me? No, I don't."
"Has he agreed to fly on an airplane?"
"Yes."
"Has he agreed to go to Disneyworld?"
"Yes."
"Has he agreed to stay at a Muggle hotel?" Cassie nodded, knowing where this was headed. "Well, there you go."
"He's going to absolutely love it."
"If you say so."
"We could have gone somewhere and laid on a beach. But this will be better."
"I hope you're right."
"Trust me. When we get back, you'll see I was right."
"You girls talking about my studly self? Hey, Ange."
"No. We were talking about your little trip across the ocean."
"Oh. Yeah." George grinned. "Don't worry, Cass. I'm going to pop right over to the travel agent."
"You'd better. I mean it. I guess I'd better go." She glanced at her watch. She barely had time to meet her mum. "I'll be late and that will throw off the entire day.
I love you, George. I'll see you tonight. 6:30. No later, right?"
"Right. I'll be there. I'll lock up. You go ahead and go." Cassie kissed him quickly and then hopped into the now boiling hot car for the fairly short drive. Ten
minutes later she maneuvered her car into a tiny parking space on the crowded street and threw some coins into the parking meter. She could see her mother
waiting outside the shop.
"Hey, Mum."
"Hi, Cassie. I was starting to wonder if you and George had -"
"Don't even go there. We're waiting. One more day. We just got talking to Angelina. She's doing pretty well. She's still really sick, though." Her mother nodded.
"Perfectly natural. It's good, though. It means the baby is strong and healthy."
"Really?"
"I think so. That's what I've always been told. Come on. She'll wonder where we are." They stepped into the dark coolness of the pub and Cassie waved at Tom.
"Last time for a while, Tom. I bet you'll be as happy to get this wedding over with as we will be."
"Nonsense, Miss Robinson. It's been a pleasure to help you out. Mrs. Robinson. You are both looking lovely today."
"Thanks, Tom. I appreciate your lying," Rebecca said as she fanned her hot sticky face with a napkin. Tom just grinned as he tapped the bricks and let them into
the Alley. They hurried as quickly as they good down to Madame Malkin's although it turned out that she was with a customer, a young Hogwarts student by the
looks of the robes she was trying on, and she just waved them toward the back room. Cassie sat down in the comfortable chairs provided while her mother
looked at the gown hanging on the rack.. "Okay. This looks really nice. I wasn't sure at first, but I think you made a good choice."
"I think so. If there's a problem tonight, we can just forget about -"
"Aaah. I'm so sorry about that. It is getting to be my busy time, you know." The shopkeeper entered then, smiling happily at the two of them.
"Yes. Of course. We appreciate your seeing us today."
"Everything is done. We'll just do a quick fitting and then I'll get it ready to go." Cassie took the gown off the rack and walked into the large fitting area. Her
mother helped her slip the white satin over her head and they both looked in the mirror. Her gown was very plain, a straight white sheath that hugged her figure.
The neckline was a simple princess style, but had delicate seed pearls around the collar, the only embellishment on the whole thing. The gown was almost
sleeveless, a nod to the fact it was August, although she had decided against the strapless look that was so popular in wedding gowns if you believed the bridal
magazines. Madame Malkin bustled in a second after her mother had fastened the last button up the back.
"Stunning, absolutely. You look lovely."
It's perfect."
"Well, it's very plain. But I think that was a wise decision, all things considered." She fussed for a few minutes before declaring the gown perfect and then smiled
broadly at the two of them. "Are you ready?"
Cassie grinned nervously. "I think so. How did it turn out?"
"Words cannot describe. A work of art. Absolutely." She left the room and came back in with a large swathe of material that made Cassie catch her breath. The
silk was so fine that it was practically transparent and the gold embroidery that decorated its surface almost seemed to be suspended in mid-air. The shopkeeper
helped her into the robes, arranging them so they fell in graceful folds over the plain white satin, enhancing it, framing Cassie in the soft cloud. "Ah, yes.
Perfect." The embroidered unicorns were moving with a delicate grace over the silk and Cassie fingered one as it pawed at a pearl button.
"Madame. These are more beautiful than I could have imagined." The seamstress flushed at the praise and Cassie looked up at her mother.
"What do you think?" Rebecca just shook her head.
"You are so beautiful." She sniffed and Cassie found herself blinking back tears of her own.
"Do you really like them?"
"Yes. Yes. Oh, yes."
"You don't think-"
"I think they're beautiful. I just hope you get to wear them."
"I will. I'm not worried. I'm not going to give these up easily." Madame Malkin fussed a bit over the hem and then stood back and looked her over with a critical
eye.
"Yes. Very nice. Would you like to see the bridesmaids' dresses? Now that they are finished?"
"Oh, yes! When are they going to be picked up? I thought they'd already be gone."
"This afternoon. Don't worry. They will be picked up in plenty of time." She went back out into her workroom and brought in a stunning confection of dark blue
and gold.
"It's beautiful."
"Yes. And all the girls look beautiful in them. The color is so rich."
"And my brothers-in-law all look good in their robes?"
"Yes. The blue with the red hair. It is a good combination."
"Good. I have to admit I was nervous."
"No reason to be. I will always take care of you." Twenty minutes later Cassie and her mother were walking with two large clothing bags out through the Leaky
Cauldron, thanking Tom once again for his help over the last few weeks.
Cassie and Rebecca piled the bags into the back of the car and headed off toward the florist next. Cassie had arranged to stop by this morning to pick up her
bouquet and some flowers for her hair. The flowers were being delivered to the hall this evening before the rehearsal dinner so they would be as fresh as possible
in the morning but she really wanted to have some for these photographs. She had always wanted roses in her wedding but her colors were gold and a dark blue,
neither of which lent themselves well to bouquets of roses. However, she had finally decided on white roses with the stems dipped in gold, which apparently was
not that unusual for weddings. Then she had added some deep blue agapanthus and delphiniums and it had turned out better than she could have imagined. Her
bouquet itself was quite simple, basically just a mass of roses with the other flowers mixed in, tied with a large white ribbon. The florist was thrilled to see them
but fortunately they were able to get in and out very quickly with Cassie's bouquet stowed in a large box.
The next stop was the hairdresser's, a good friend of her mother's, who had insisted on doing her hair today and in the morning. It took more than an hour to get
her hair into the tousled mass of curls that she wanted but when it was all said and done, Cassie was very pleased with the effect. Since her dress was so plain,
she wanted something a bit more fancy somewhere on her and had decided that her hair would be the place. The woman arranged the blossoms Cassie gave her
in her hair, making it look casual and elegant at the same time. For tonight, she would just wear it as it looked now, but in the morning, she would sweep it back
and put dark blue combs in on one side to match the robes George would be wearing. The hairdresser chatted nonstop with her mum and Cassie just grunted and
made appropriate noises as she worked. When her hair was done and hairsprayed to within an inch of its life, the woman started to work on her makeup. By the
time they left, Cassie was almost afraid to move for fear of damaging either her hair or her face.
So, although by now it was after 1 and they were both hungry, they had an appointment at the photographer to keep before they allowed themselves to eat. "This
getting married is hard work, Mum."
"Yes, it is. But it only happens once. Well, hopefully. And it really should be a very special day for someone."
"It's going to be. But it seems like a lot of effort for one hour." Her mother had just laughed.
"But you'll remember it all your life. Besides, now is not the time to complain. We're in the home stretch now." Cassie looked longingly at the second clothes bag
as she lifted the one bag out and handed her mother the box containing her bouquet.
"You don't think the photographer would believe it if we just told him that he really isn't seeing the embroidery move?" Her mother smiled vaguely.
"Are you willing to take the chance?"
"No. Pity, though. It's so beautiful."
"Yes, it is. But so is the dress by itself. Come on. He was expecting us five minutes ago." Cassie was posed and photographed for over an hour in the plain white
sheath. The photographer took picture after picture in every possible position. Cassie tried hard to remain cheerful although her growling stomach was making it
very difficult. She knew her mother really wanted photographs she could display in her home to her friends and even intended to send small versions in her
Christmas cards this year, so obviously any pictures taken by Colin Creevy at the actual wedding would not be acceptable. She allowed herself to zone off for a
while thinking about George and the photographer noticed her dreamy smile and got several close-ups when she wasn't noticing. Finally, he declared that he was
finished and Cassie escaped into the changing room to slip back into her street clothes. She zipped the gown back into the dress bag and carried it out. She was
still behind a screen when she heard her mother talking.
"He's a very nice boy. It took me a while to come around to accepting the two of them together, but he loves her very much. I guess that's the important thing."
"Your daughter is very lovely."
"Thank you. Do you think the photographs came out well?"
"Undoubtedly. Now remind me again who is taking the actual wedding pictures?"
"A friend of hers from school. He's . . . a professional himself. It's just that . . . he . . ."
"Oh. Now where did she go to school?"
Cassie stepped out from behind the screen and cleared her throat. "We better go, Mum. I'm starved and we've still got a few more things to do today."
"Right. Well, thank you again." They left the studio quickly and Cassie glanced down at her watch.
"It's 2:30. Only four more hours to go." She hugged her mother. "Thanks for what you said in there. George does love me."
"I know. If I didn't, I wouldn't be working this hard on this wedding, believe me. I'm glad it will be many years before either of your brothers is even close to
thinking about getting married. I honestly don't know how Molly has survived this past year."
"Well, don't forget. They have all been boys. She may not have such an easy time of things come December when it's Ginny's turn."
They ate at a café near the bakery and then were able to make a quick stop there to finalize delivery information for the cake the next day. The crowd they were
expecting was so large that the cake was one of the more expensive available. The baker had at first insisted that no one needed a cake that big. Cassie smiled to
herself as her mother finished paying. That conversation had been quite interesting that day when they had first come in.
"But Ms. Robinson, I am telling you, no one has more than 600 people at their wedding."
"Well, that is how many we are expecting. Really, I do not understand why you are causing such difficulty."
"Who is the groom? Is he the son of the Prime Minister or something?"
"Uh, well, in a manner of speaking, yes. Please, Mr. Wexler. Don't argue with us. We are the ones paying for the cake."
"I understand, but it is just . . . . The Prime Minister does not actually have a son, does he?"
"No, but . . ." It had taken them a long time to convince him that they were not imagining how many people would be coming to the wedding. Cassie was quite
nervous about having the cake actually delivered without the bakery staff running into wizards. She had tried to arrange deliveries so that the magical ones came
after the Muggle ones so that there was less chance of the two mixing although she knew that things were likely to not go quite as planned. She wouldn't be able
to be there to smooth things over if something happened. Hermione, fortunately, was going to run interference and Cassie hoped that everything went well.
Finally, by 4:00, all of Cassie's errands had been completed and she and her mother turned her car toward home. "I'm exhausted. I think I better take a nap."
"No! You'll muss your hair!"
"Mum!"
"I'm serious. You want to look nice for tonight, don't you?"
"Yes. All right. But I'm so tired."
"You can sit in the recliner. As long as you don't lay down." Cassie groaned and eased her car through traffic.
If there was one good thing about the rehearsal dinner, Cassie thought two hours later as she, her dad and her mum as well as her two brothers drove through
London toward the hall where the wedding was going to take place, it was that no one was expected to dress up. She was wearing jeans and light T-shirt that
her mother had helped pull over her head. She had her dress and robes in the back of her dad's car along with the bouquet along with her mother's dress and the
three suits that the men in her family would be wearing, much to her brothers' disgust.
The florist had come and gone by the time Cassie checked the room where the rehearsal would happen later that evening. The room looked stunning with the
flowers and candles in place. She heard someone come up behind her and turned, expecting to see George. It was Ginny and she couldn't help but smile. "Oh,
Cassie. It looks wonderful."
"I think so. I hope . . . everything goes smoothly."
"Yeah. I don't blame you for being nervous. But I think it'll work out."
"What if it's just a huge disaster?"
"Simple. Memory charms." Cassie laughed.
"Is George here yet?"
"No. But he'll be here. Don't worry. He knows he has to be here by 7:30." At first, Cassie's eyes grew wide in terror, but then she realized her maid of honor was
teasing her. "No, seriously. He'll be here in time."
"Did he get the tickets?"
"Yes. And the money things."
"Good."
"So . . . Tell me. Should Harry and I elope?"
"Merlin, yes. This whole thing is just terrible."
"It probably won't be so bad for us."
"No. Trying to do both Muggle and wizard stuff is making it much worse."
"Speaking of George . . . what has he told you they're doing tonight?"
"He hasn't told me anything, but I figure it can't be too bad."
"How so?"
"Well, my dad is invited. What about yours?"
"Yes, but . . . well, I'm not sure . . . "
"What? Tell me."
Ginny sighed and then scowled. "My dad told my mum it was going to be an early night, that the party was supposed to break up around 10."
"Yeah? That's what my dad told us, too. I'm glad because I don't want George to have dark circles under his eyes in all the photographs. And he also better not
drink too much. If he comes to his own wedding with a hangover, I won't need magic to do him some serious hurt."
"But listen. Harry told me he wouldn't be home until after midnight."
"What?"
"Ron told him that the entertainment wouldn't be over until midnight." Cassie's eyes narrowed.
"They wouldn't dare."
"This is the twins and my other brothers we're talking about. I wouldn't put trying to pull a fast one past them."
"Maybe Harry would lend me his invisibility cloak and I can spy on them. No, I'm just teasing. I trust him. He won't do anything wrong."
"But it's Fred that's organizing it."
"Angelina keeps him in line. I have nothing to worry about."
"Hmm."
"Well, do you trust Harry?"
"Usually. But then what explains the two-hour difference?"
"I don't know. But I'm not going to ask. I trust him."
"I hope you know what you're doing."
"I hope so, too. About everything. Not just the stupid Bachelor's night thing."
"Yeah. I just wish I had organized something for us girls tonight."
"Even if you had I probably couldn't come. I think I've got to be available to talk to my family and friends."
"You're probably right."
"Can you be there with me? Just in case?"
"Sure. If you want me there."
"I think that might be best. And maybe Hermione."
"Okay. I'll mention it to her before dinner. Your hair looks great, by the way."
"Thanks. You don't think it's too much?"
"No. It looks really nice."
"Did you get your dress and the robe for Harry today?"
"Uh-huh. Sure did. They look good."
"Are you still thinking green?"
"Of course. Nothing else would even cross my mind." Cassie glanced down at her watch.
"Oh, Merlin! I've got to get out there. George had better be here by now." She and Ginny quickly went into the other room where a fairly large crowd was
already gathering and sitting at the tables, both her family and George's looking rather questioningly at each other. She was sure that a lot of her family was
wondering why there were weirdos in long robes sitting down at this dinner and she was equally sure that a lot of George's relatives were wondering why there
were Muggles invited. George saw her and waved frantically from across the room. Cassie hurried over to him and fell into his arms.
"I'm so glad to see you!"
"Me too, Cass. You look great!" She felt her hair self-consciously.
"You think so?"
"Of course. I'm so nervous."
"Me, too. I've gone over this a million times in my head."
"You'll do great, Cassie."
"I hope so." She decided to change to a happier subject. "Ginny said you got everything."
"Yeah. Although it wasn't that easy. They wanted picture ID in both places and I didn't have any."
"Oh, no! What did you do?"
"I described you and that convinced them I was the right person. It was a close call, though, at the travel agent. They said I would need it for sure in Florida. But
I have my passport so I can use that."
"That's right. Okay." She rubbed her suddenly sweaty hands together. "I think we should probably get started. I just keep reminding myself that in 24 hours we'll
be on the plane on the way to Florida. No matter what."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" She laughed.
"Trust me. You'll love it. Have some faith in me."
"I think I'll like the amusement park. It's the plane ride I could do without."
She smiled. "I'll take care of you, George. Don't worry." They kissed softly and then George took her hand and led his fiancee out in front of the group.
Cassie stood there in front of the group of about 100 people and looked around as she waited for them to quiet down. She didn't want to start talking until she
had everyone's attention. She looked at the table where her grandparents were sitting. They looked very happy to see her getting married and she was glad that
they had been in good enough health to come. Her brothers were sitting with them, fidgeting in their seats. John waved frantically at George who waved back
happily. Cassie smiled at the two boys who had been so accepted by the Weasleys and so accepting of the magic in her life now. George and Fred even used
them as guinea pigs (when Rebecca didn't know) for products they were thinking of selling on the website. She also looked over at the two tables of her friends
from school. Her friends had been surprised to be asked to the rehearsal dinner but had been happy to come when Cassie had promised them a good meal. She
also glanced at the two tables full of her aunts and uncles and cousins. They had been so accepting of George and she was excited for them to get to know him
better. She also looked over at George's side of the room. All the Weasleys were there, even Percy, who had settled into an uneasy peace with his family now.
Remus and Tonks were sitting at the same table as Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore, all smiling happily at Cassie. Angelina and Fred were at the same
table as Ginny and Harry and Ron and Hermione and Fred was whispering something to George, who grinned back and gave him the thumbs up. Elspeth was
there, with Colin, as was Neville, who had brought Luna. Rhiannon was also sitting there, although the spot Cassie had optimistically left for Saffron was still
empty. All in all, Cassie thought, these were the people she knew and loved. She wanted all of them in her life and that is why she had decided that what she was
going to do tonight was necessary. Fortunately, Arthur had agreed and her parents had as well. Finally, the last minute murmuring died down and it was
completely quiet in the room. Cassie cleared her throat.
"Thank you all for coming. I am sure that some of you were a little confused that you received an invitation for tonight. Many of you aren't in the wedding party
and would therefore not be expected to come and actually rehearse. Others of you are wondering why we are eating before we rehearse since usually it's done
the other way 'round. I'm sure all of you are wondering why I am up here talking." Cassie glanced back at George and saw the encouragement in his eyes.
"I'm here tonight, actually, to talk to you all about George. Now, there's a lot of things you all know about him already. First of all, he's got red hair and he's
fairly tall, like the rest of his family. Also, you all probably know that he has a great sense of humor and that he makes me laugh. I think most of you know by
now that he's an identical twin and that they are very close. I think some of you assumed he was two-timing me when you saw Fred here tonight with his lovely
wife, Angelina." There was an appreciative chuckle primarily from her family's side of the room. Cassie actually knew for a fact that one of her grandmother's
had about passed out from shock the first time she had seen Fred and Angelina together a month ago and John had had to reassure her several times that it really
wasn't George. "And I think most of you know that he and Fred own a joke shop and that they are very successful at it. If you want more information, talk to us
afterwards. We have business cards here." Another low chuckle and Cassie knew she had stalled long enough.
"But there's one thing that many of you here do not know about George, one thing that you never would have guessed. When I tell you what this last thing is,
well, you probably won't believe me. You'll wonder what I've been drinking before I came out here tonight. The first time I heard it more than three years ago
now, I didn't believe it either. But, if you'll just allow your heart to be open to what I'm going to tell you, you can be convinced of something that could seriously
change your life. It certainly has changed mine. For the better." She took a deep breath. She had everyone's attention. Even all the wizards and witches who were
present were waiting with baited breath to see if she was really going to go through with it and how it would be received.
Cassie closed her eyes for a second for strength before she continued and wished that George was standing near her. She had told him that she needed to do this
alone, but suddenly, she felt his arm around her waist and she relaxed against him, taking encouragement from his presence. She was going to finish it, now.
"Before I tell you what this one thing is, I just want you all to ask yourselves one question. Don't answer out loud and you don't have to raise your hand. But just
ask yourself if you ever in your life . . . even for one small moment, wondered if there might be such a thing . . . as magic?"
THE END! YOU'LL ALL JUT HAVE TO USE YOUR IMAGINATIONS AFTER THIS!!
