Chapter 11: Wedding Bells
The months flew by and soon, Ginny found herself back at the Burrow, a few days in advance of the wedding day. On a warm June morning, Harry had been sent off to Ron and Hermione's house with all the other men while the women and children went to the Burrow.
Ginny was poked away by three-year-old Hope. Hope grinned cheerfully as she followed her grandmother's instructions to 'wake up, Mummy.' Ginny blearily opened her eyes and then smiled sleepily at her daughter.
"And what do you think you are doing, missy?" Ginny asked rather hoarsely, sitting up in her bed.
Hope giggled. "Up, Mommy!"
Ginny felt the excitement rush through her veins and she scooped Hope up and kissed her.
"Are you ready to have a real family!" She asked Hope brightly, who nodded, still smiling brightly.
Ginny set her down and dressed quickly in a pair of shorts and tank top, before hurrying downstairs for breakfast, holding Hope in her arms.
Her mother, Hermione, Cassie, Olivia were all seated around the table, talking in voices full of excitement. When they spotted Ginny, they all beamed and cheered.
"Congratulations!" Cassie exclaimed, throwing her arms around her sister-in-law the moment she sat at the table.
"How are you feeling?" Olivia asked excitedly.
"Hungry," Ginny admitted with a laugh, watching her mother pile food onto her plate.
"Well eat up, dear, we probably won't eat again until later in the afternoon!" Molly told her firmly, before sitting back in her seat and pulling Hope towards her.
"Wee!" Hope squealed as her grandmother picked her up.
Ginny began to eat quickly, her mind racing. She was getting married today!
When she'd finished eating, Molly glanced at the clock and jumped to her feet.
"Oh my, everyone hurry up, and change! We've got to be at the church in an hour to beat the men!"
"They'll probably be late as usual, Molly." Remarked Cassie dryly.
Hermione snorted in disbelief. "Not with Harry there. He'll be a nervous wreck this morning."
"Thanks, Hermione. That makes me feel even more confident!" Ginny said sarcastically.
Ginny took Hope's hand and led her back upstairs to her bedroom, where her wedding gown hung on a hanger. She shut the door and grabbed Hope's little dark blue dress and twirled around in delight.
"Hope, sweetie, Mummy's going to get dressed first and then I'll dress you!" Ginny explained to Hope, as she gently removed the dress from the protective wrapper it was in.
Undressing from her casual clothes, she dressed in her strapless bra and lowered the dress to the ground to step into it. It was a gorgeous dress, though it had been pricey, Harry had bought it without a second thought. It was made of a silky, gorgeous fabric, with a long train. It was strapless, and billowed out below her waist. Lastly, the train's hem was decorated with a floral pattern in tiny white beads.
There was a knock on the door and Hermione came in. Ginny held the dress against her chest in an attempt to keep it from falling down.
"Hope, Auntie Penelope is going to help you dress!" Hermione told her niece brightly.
"Come, honey!" Came a cheerful voice from the hallway.
Hermione grabbed the little dress, handed it to Penelope and shut the door behind Hope.
"Here," Hermione said kindly, stepping behind Ginny. Ginny relaxed slightly as she began to tightly lace up the back.
"Hermione!" Ginny gasped suddenly, as Hermione tugged at the laces.
"Mm?" Hermione replied, tightening up the next level of strings.
"Am I supposed to breathe?"
"I don't think so, Gin, but you look beautiful."
Ginny said nothing. She was staring at herself in the mirror, entranced by how much she'd grown up.
It took thirty seconds to tightly lace up the back of the gown and then cover the laces with the zipper, which was covered with fabric. Ginny turned around to look at herself in the mirror, admiring how much thinner she looked in the gown.
"Wow… looks better than it did in the store!" Hermione admired.
"Do you want help with your hair?"
"Um… no, I'll be fine" Ginny decided. "Thanks for helping me with this dress."
Hermione waved her hand to brush away her thanks and went to put on her own gown.
Ginny lowered herself slowly into the bench at her vanity table that her father had built her when she was little. She picked up her wand and then began her work. She had been reviewing all her spells over the past few months, eager to decide on a hairstyle.
Fifteen minutes later, Ginny's hair smelled of roses and had been magically styled into perfect curls that hung around her face. With a few pins, she tied back the curls from her face. She put her vale on her head and tossed the front piece back, revealing her face so she could do her makeup.
Twenty minutes rolled by and Ginny had put foundation, mascara, skin-colour eye shadow, blush and long-lasting pink lipstick on, though she had originally planned on red. Hope came in at this time, bouncing up and down in little white dress shoes, a dark blue velvet dress with a white sash which tied into a bow. Her hair was brushed and hung down with little blue clips keeping it out of her face.
"Pretty!" Hope said happily, staring at her mother.
Ginny smiled once again and walked over to her daughter. She picked her up and stepped out of her room.
"Oh my!" Molly gasped, hurrying up to her daughter. "Sweetheart, you look magnificent!" Tears filled her eyes as she gazed at her daughter.
"Thanks," she breathed.
Hermione stepped into the hall, dressed in the requested dark blue silk dress. Thin straps held up the delicate gown, which billowed out almost as much as Ginny's dress. Her hair was twisted into an elegant knot and her face was glowing.
"Oh, Ginny! You look beautiful!" She exclaimed joyfully.
"So do you!" Ginny replied, her cheeks colouring.
"Hurry, now!" Penelope called suddenly, holding the hands of her two youngest children, Brooke and William, with her oldest, Alexander, following behind. She stopped and gasped at the sight of Ginny.
"Is heaven missing an angel?" She asked teasingly. "You look gorgeous!"
"Thanks!" Ginny stuttered out again.
Penelope's smile brightened. "Ready for a wedding?"
Harry paced around the room, his heart pounding in his chest. What if something went wrong? What if she didn't show? What if she said no at the alter?
"Relax Harry!" Ron laughed, watching him pace the room.
"Yeah, the worst that can happen is that one of you stumbles walking down the aisle. Remember your wedding, Ron?" Fred joked.
"Yeah!" George laughed. "Thought you fall flat on your face in front of the entire congregation."
"Which wasn't a very big one!" Ron retorted.
"Fred, George!" Arthur said sharply. He looked over at Harry. "Nothing will go wrong, Harry. It'll be fine."
"I hope so," Harry sighed, resuming his pacing.
Ron watched his best friend for a few more moments before finally snapping at him out of frustration.
"Harry! Will you stop it? You're going to put a hole in the floor!"
"You look great, Harry, she won't say no" George chimed in, smirking slightly.
"George," Arthur began in a warning tone.
"What?" George asked innocently.
Harry was dressed in long black and white wizards' robes, along with all the other Weasley men. There were just over 200 people seated in the church, along with over thirty Aurors in the church alone.
Suddenly, the priest stepped into the room they were waiting in and smiled pleasantly.
"If you will, gentlemen…" He said kindly, motioning to exit into the main part of the church.
They all got up and Ron, holding him back clapped Harry on the shoulder.
"If you hurt her, I'll kick your ass so hard you'll fly from here to the North Pole." Ron told him seriously.
Harry raised his eyebrows at him but Ron chuckled.
"Only joking, mate."
Harry left first and Ron stood back for a moment. "Well, not really, but…" he muttered and then followed Harry.
They all stood at the front of the church, most of the eyes on them. Harry felt extremely nervous and had to keep reminding himself that Ginny loved him, that she had said 'yes' to his proposal.
The minutes felt like hours, but finally, an elegant tune rang throughout the church and the crowd fell into revered silence.
Hope and Dominic, (Hermione and Ron's three-year-old son,) came walking down the isle, holding hands. Cameras clicked everywhere and both kids were smiling nervously from the attention.
Harry's heart suddenly felt at ease when he saw his daughter and her smile. He kept his eyes on her, but they shifted when the bridesmaids began to file into the church.
Harry then began to count down the number of bridesmaids until Ginny would show up. The ushers, who had shut the door behind the last bridesmaid, waited until the wedding march came on to pull open the large oak doors again.
Harry's heart skipped a beat and he felt his stomach give another uneasy stir. There were a few moments when he thought she wasn't there, but then she stepped out and Harry felt himself entranced.
She was beautiful, beyond beautiful. Her face glowed with happiness, as she kept her head forward, her eyes immediately locking themselves on Harry. As she came closer, Harry could tell she was trying very hard not to cry.
Finally, she stepped up to the altar and he felt a permanent smile implant itself on his face. He gently lifted the front part of her vale behind her, revealing her face. He took her hands, which were a little cold from being nervous.
She squeezed his hands in reassurance and the bridal march slowly faded away and the priest began his speech. Harry's mind drifted, as he stared at Ginny, wondering how he had become so fortunate to have her as his bride.
"And do you, Mister Potter, take Ginny Weasley to be your wife?" The priest asked.
Harry snapped back to reality, and nodded. "I do," He said in a rather jittery voice.
"The rings" The priest called expectantly.
Two little boys stepped forward and handed the rings to the priest.
Harry tore his eyes from Ginny to look at the priest.
"Now, Harry. Take this ring, and repeat after me, placing the ring on her hand. I, Harry James Potter"
"I, Harry James Potter," Harry echoed, his smile returning.
"Take you, Ginevra Elizabeth Weasley to be my wife."
"Take you, Ginevra Elizabeth Weasley to be my wife." Harry said, his excitement growing. With that, he slipped the ring onto her finger gently.
"And now, you Ginevra, take this ring," The priest instructed kindly, handing her the ring. "I, Ginevra Elizabeth Weasley,"
"I, Ginevra Elizabeth Weasley," Ginny repeated, tears shimmering in her dark chocolate eyes.
"Take you, Harry James Potter to be my husband."
"Take you, Harry James P-Potter to be my husband" Ginny said, stuttering on his name, as she continued to hold back her tears of joy. She slid the ring on his hand and stared up at him with such love it made Harry's happiness shoot up even more, if at all possible.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to proudly present: Mr. and Mrs. Harry Potter… Harry- you may-" But he didn't get to finish, as Harry's anxiety was released in a rush and he kissed her passionately.
"Well, I suppose he knew what he was supposed to do!" The priest laughed.
The congregation broke out in laughter and applause, while beautiful sparks from wands exploded throughout the church. Ginny pulled back, her face alight with happiness.
"Shall we?" She asked shakily, beaming.
Harry nodded, and hand in hand, they hurried down the isle and outside, where they were stopped for pictures from the press, the photographer, and the family.
Harry, for once, was not reluctant to be in more pictures for the Daily Prophet. He proudly stood in every one, either holding Ginny's hand, or wrapping his arm around her waist.
Nearly half an hour passed before the Aurors pushed aside the crowd, and allowed the happily married couple to get into their limousine to drive to their reception.