Chapter 4 – Preparations
Later that evening Harry found himself having the first truly joyful meal he'd had since Sirius died. He'd achieved happiness before, but never true joy, other than what he had with Ginny. He looked from side to side and felt it well up in him as he saw his friends full of laughter as they ate the last good meal they would have together for a long time.
The meal last a good long while people eating everything in sight. When they had finally finished their rice pudding, they all decided to settle into the living room to await Fleur's arrival.
After an hour or so of dawdling, talking about wedding plans and what they would need to do before the big day came, they heard a loud thud outside in the front yard.
"I'm guessing that would be Fleur and her family," Mr. Weasley said.
"It is. I've just heard the horses," Hermione confirmed.
"Well everyone, lets get out there and help. Fred, George, you don't mind helping me with the luggage do you?"
"No problem, Dad," Fred answered.
After a few minutes Fleur voice filled their ears.
"Vite, Madame Maxime! We must be quick to prepare for the wedding!"
She quickly walked in the door, still graceful with an unusual frantic manner about her. She closely followed by Madame Maxime, and her family. Her accent was still thick, but her English had greatly improved since the last time they had seen each other, only a few short weeks before. "Madame, how does my English sound? I hope that it is good enough for my vows, you know that I've been studying very much since we arrived at home."
"Oui, je sais... je sais," Madame Maxime replied, with an annoyed and exhausted look about her. It was obvious that Fleur would no stop talking about the minutia of the wedding.
"We must start immediately! Mrs. Weasley you have not started decorating? The décor must be perfect! There is so much to do, and we only have a week! Un semaine!"
"Erm... Fleur how about you introduce us to your family," Mrs. Weasley suggested. "There is plenty of time to worry about the wedding and we can start tomorrow morning, it's much to late to start tonight."
"Maybe you are right," Fleur responded.
Fleur's family consisted of her sister Gabrielle, her mother, and her father.
"This is my sister, you all already know her."
Gabrielle waved hello to them as Fleur began again.
"And this is my mother, she does not have any English, but her name is Colette"
Her mother resembled a more mature Fleur, her hair losing some of its luster and her face giving in some to gravity.
"This is my father, William. He is originally from Wales."
"Hello, all," he said.
Her father had brown hair and a small but well built frame. He was not nearly as attractive as Harry had expected him to be. He also seemed out of place with his family, almost uncomfortable with them.
"You don't have any brothers?" Ron asked.
"No. It would be impossible. I am part veela remember?"
"Why would that stop you from having brothers?" Hermione asked inquisitively.
"Because veela women cannot give birth to male children. All veela are born women, even those who are only part veela."
"Wait a minute," said George, "How in the world are there pure veela if there are no males?"
"I never said that there are no veela males. What I did say is that all veela are born women. Pure veela are similar to reef fish. Pure veela enter into a mating season and during the time of heightened hormones, fight in their hawkish forms continuously until only one in the group stands as the victor over the rest. The rest of them revert to their normal forms after the fighting but the winner does not. She undergoes a change into a male. This singular male will impregnate the other veela before reversing its change and becoming a normal veela again. Part-veelas cannot do this though."
"That's odd," Harry said, "So no veela have fathers?"
"Well that was the problem, without a father figure veela tend to be manipulative, and don't honor the male of any species. Many progressive veela looked to fix the fault, and mated with human males in order to have that father figure. The problem with that was that only female children were produced. So, to this day, there are no men who have veela blood."
"Hey! You never told me this Fleur! I think I might have liked to know this ahead of time!" Bill interjected, slightly annoyed by this new information.
"Are you truthfully telling me it would have affected your decision?" Fleur answered.
Bill simply stuttered out a, "No."
"Interesting..." Fred said, a mischievous look on his face, "Well, lets finish taking in the luggage and get to bed. I expect we are going to be worked to the bone tomorrow."
"It is true. Fleur is a perfectionist," Madame Maxime said. "I will be taking the palominos and carriage to Hagrid. I will be back in the morning. Au revoir!"
"Hermione, lets get you set up in my room," Ginny suggested.
"Good idea," Hermione replied. "You two should get to sleep too," she said, looking at Harry and Ron.
"I know... I know..." Harry muttered.
SP
The next morning dawned bright and hazy. The heat was extreme and Harry was drenched in sweat, though not from the humidity. He had once again had nightmares about the horcruxes. They were becoming more and more definite in his head. The locket repeatedly showed in his mind. The ornate, gleaming "S" the only glowing spot in its dark and dank surroundings. The cup bright and golden, glistening somewhere with bright lights. The last two, though, were hazy and undefined, too difficult to see well. The snake was obvious enough with its twisted shape, but the other was so blurry Harry couldn't tell if it was a Blast-Ended Skrewt or a few knuts in a jar.
Either way, he put it out of his mind and got himself up. It was still very early, but he heard a commotion downstairs and decided to investigate.
"Why is no one up? There is so much to do! I cannot stand this, they are all so nonchalant about this wedding!"
"I reckon it's because you haven't woken them yet," Harry said.
"Yes, good idea," Fleur said, before wrenching up for a terrible roar. "LEVEZ-VOUS! NOW!" she screamed, a hint of that terrible veela beast inside her showing through. It was then that Harry thought Bill really was marrying a woman just like his mother, Freud was right after all.
"Well, that would do it," Harry said as his ears rang.
"I expect so," Fleur concluded. "They had better get down here soon, we have a great amount of shopping to do."
"You aren't going to make me shop are you?" Harry asked, trying to hide his nerves.
"No, no, no, you scared little boy, you. You will be out in the yard, building the alter and arch of course!"
"Fantastic," Harry said, his sarcasm showing a bit more than he expected. He decided to get something to snack on.
"What was all that racket about," Mrs. Weasley said as she walked down the stairs.
"Mrs. Weasley, we must hurry to get ourselves ready for the wedding, there is little time!" Fleur stated.
"You are right. We will start getting everything ready right after we eat breakfast."
"Good."
Fleur then went to everyone's rooms and woke them up while Mrs. Weasley prepared an unusually bland breakfast compared to her usual meals. It consisted of buttered crisp breads and some grapefruit with sugar.
When everyone had eaten a very rushed breakfast Fleur gathered them in the living room for their assignments for the day.
"Alright everyone. The day is nearing quickly. We have exactly six days to do the necessary preparations, and day seven is the wedding. So you see the duress we are under to work quickly correct? All the invitations have been sent already, yet we still have to build and decorate the alter in the backyard. We also have to prepare the catering for the reception. All the decorating is still to be done, as well. There is much to do so lets get moving."
SP
Harry and Ron found themselves spending the duration of the morning in the yard painting large pieces of white birch wood. Mr. Weasley was the one supplying them with work as he magically cut the wood from thick logs a few yards away. Somehow the paint they were using had turned them bright white, and they had no idea how it had managed to cover them so quickly.
"This is insane," Ron said. "We are wasting the entire morning painting this stuff when its already white!"
"Now, Ron," Mr. Weasley interjected, "it's actually beige, you know it's not really white."
"My paintbrush is all gunked up," Ron continued, ignoring his fathers statement. "I wish there was a better way to do this. Maybe if I just..."
"Ron, don't you dare swish that wand! You know the traditions. The alter and arch are always made the muggle way. It's bad enough we are cutting the wood by magic."
"How is it fair that you get to break the rules, Dad?"
Harry chose that moment to chime in. "I kind of like this," he said. "It's messy and tiring, and well, very... manly."
"That's the ticket, Harry! Ron, try and have the glass half full as well, okay?" Mr. Weasley responded, ending the conversation.
The continued on painting until lunchtime rolled around.
"I'm not much of a chef, so we are just going to have sandwiches, boys." Mr. Weasley stated. "I don't know what I would do without Molly. She's off with the girls to do some shopping and we are already having a time fending for ourselves. Now where is that bread?"
The sandwiches were roughly cut, and the meat was too thick, but they tasted fine none the less. Harry felt it was appropriate to have such rustic food to accompany the primal feel of their work.
"So what do you think the wedding is going to be like?" Harry asked while they were eating.
"It should be fun. I've never been to one before so I don't really know what to expect," Ron responded.
Mr. Weasley was off in the backyard checking to see how much they had left to do.
"Neither have I. I always wanted to got o one though. It seems like they are such joyous occasions. I mean, I know they are supposed to be happy, but it seems almost like they cant be ruined. Birthdays get ruined all the time. Weddings don't though. You know, if the cake got mashed, everyone would laugh and eat it anyway." Harry said.
"I guess you're right. I don't think anything will go wrong here. Merlin knows we all need a break from what's been going on lately."
"Definitely."
"Okay!" Ron shouted at the window. Then turning to Harry, "Looks like Dad wants us to start working again. I think we are going to put the sucker together now."
"Do you think the paint is dry yet?" Harry asked as they walked out back.
"No, but I think Dad said something about a second coat after we assemble it."
They spent the better part of the afternoon arguing over which pieces belonged where, yet a few hours before dusk had more or less figure out what they were doing and had fallen into a routine. After some quick work they managed to put the entire alter together before night had fallen. It was a small and quaint little alter, but they were proud of their accomplishments. They knew, though, that the next day would be much worse. They would have to make up for their lost time by painting the second coat, on top of assembling the archway and carpeting the alter and walkway. Fleur would never stand for making her vows on incomplete work.
"Well it seems like tomorrow will be fun..." Harry said, trying to keep things positive. "At least I hope so."
SP
The arch turned out to be an easy build, since they had ordered one precut, leaving only the assembly to be done. The put it together with wood glue and clamped it while it dried. When they stood it up a few hours later, Harry got his first good look. It was beautiful. The Indian rosewood had an auburn hue and the flower carvings played on the sun's rays as they passed through. The cut out pattern was magnified and used as one big chain across the outside of the arch, laying deep grooves in the wood without ever cutting to the other side. It put their alter to shame.
"Beautiful work, boys! Absolutely beautiful!" came a voice from behind them. "I say, Arthur, I never knew you were such a craftsman."
They all turned around to see Professor McGonagall walking across the yard toward them.
"I can't believe you did all these wonderful carvings by hand. You didn't break tradition did you?" she asked eyeing him definitively.
"No, of course not, Minerva. I wouldn't think of it. But, I did go as far as to order it from the local muggle carpenter," he responded.
"Oh, I see. Well I must say that was a nice way around the rules. I love to continue talking about the wedding, but I have more important news for you. Ginny's OWLS have been scheduled. They will take place throughout week after the wedding. They will be taking place at the Ministry, so you won't have to worry about security much, I'd bring Mad-Eye along to watch her while you are working though. Other than that, I suggest she start studying right away."
"Thank you very much, Minerva, I'll tell her right away. She'll be very happy to have an excuse to get away from the preparations."
"I expect so. Miss Delacour seems very uptight, but what can you expect from a prospective bride? I will speak with you later at headquarters about the wedding security, yes?"
"Of course, Molly and I will certainly be there."
"Good," she responded, then turning to Harry, "may I have a word Harry?"
He wanted to say no because he knew exactly what she wanted to talk about, but seeing no way out he had to say, "Sure. I'll be right back Mr. Weasley."
"Ron and I are going in for lunch. We'll see you inside."
McGonagall waited until Ron and Mr. Weasley were securely out of earshot when she said, "So, Harry, how have you been feeling?" Her words had that caring feel that was so rare. She was obviously trying not to seem her usual strict self.
"I'm fine, Professor. I expect you are going to ask about the task Dumbledore assigned to me? If you are I'm not telling you, he left me strict orders to tell only Ron and Hermione, and I pushed it far enough when I told Ginny, but being as she is going to accompany us, I though she should know. All I need from you is your trust, and maybe a member of the Order to help me here and there." Harry said, plowing though his Professor's attempted interruptions.
"Well, Harry, I think you should take into consideration that Dumbledore is now dead." The words stung as she spoke them. "I do not believe he gave you orders that were meant to be ongoing in the event of his death."
"I'm not sure about that, Professor. I'm becoming more and more convinced that he saw it coming. But it doesn't matter. I believe he wanted me to keep it secret no matter what. In fact, I believe his worry was that the Order would stop me in attempts to protect me. I know he left orders to keep me safe, but that is for when I am here. Voldemort won't send his Death Eaters to kill me, he will want to do it himself. Seal his victory." Harry thought for a second and decided that this particular secret was his to reveal. "I am the Chosen One after all."
Professor McGonagall was not taken aback at all, much to Harry's surprise. "Well fine then Harry, you have my trust." Any hint of emotion was now gone from her voice, the usual stringent Professor was back. "I will not question you any further on this topic."
"Thank you, Professor. I'm pretty sure you would want me to take it back if I told you the truth, anyway."
"I understand. I will see you tonight at the Order meeting then?" she asked.
"What?" Harry responded, dumbfounded by her question.
"Well, if you expect to have my help, I will need to know the terms, and I feel it would be better if everyone heard them all at once."
"Alright. I will see you there then."
"Understand, Harry, that there will be talk tonight that you must keep secret. Things that you cannot even tell Ron."
"I understand, Professor."
"Good. See you later," and she was gone with a small crack noise.
SP
That evening, after they had finished dinner, Harry got up from his seat and went into the living room with Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie. Ginny followed him while Ron and Hermione stayed back to clean up as instructed.
"Where are you going, Harry?" Ginny asked.
"I'm going to the meeting."
"Then, I'm coming too," she said sternly.
"No you are not!" Harry retorted. "I promised that I'd keep everything I heard tonight absolutely secret. The only reason I'm going is to work out the logistics for our mission, just in case we need some help."
"I can keep a secret, I think I have a right to know what's going on too!"
"Ginny you are not coming, no ifs, ands, or buts." Harry stated, with finality in his voice.
"He's right, dear. You can't come with us, you are just—" Mrs. Weasley started.
"Too young. I know, I know, I know," she said as she turned around to walk away in defeat.
"Honey, don't be mad at him, he's just doing what he's been told to do." Mrs. Weasley attempted.
"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley, but I'll take what's coming to me for that."
"You shouldn't have to, dear."
"I know, but that's how life goes," he said as he grabbed some floo powder and climbed onto the grate. "Number 12, Grimmauld Place!"
He stumbled out of the fireplace in the kitchen of his godfather's old home. He looked around and saw most of the order was there sitting around the table munching on some cheese and fruit as Harry and the Weasleys sat down. Once everyone was settled and had said their hellos, Professor McGonagall stood up and tapped her wand on the table.
"I see we now have quorum so, I hereby authorize commencement of this official meeting of the Order of the Phoenix," she stated in a routine fashion, then with a whip of her wand, closed all the windows and cast an Imperturbable spell on each opening to the room.
Each member of the Order stood in turn to report on missions they had been given. Nothing seemed at all interesting to Harry, since most of it was merely a long droning of useless facts that really meant 'nothing new.' The meeting was threatening to become the most boring thing he had ever been to, until Kingsley Shacklebolt stood up.
"Well, as you all know by now, I've been watching in on the actions of the Ministry regarding You-Know-Who. There has been a new development. Scrimgeour has started taking Aurors from Azkaban and is sending them on top secret missions. He's replacing them with members of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad, two for each auror he removes. Good move if you ask me, they are not as well trained. He gave the list of missions to Gawain Robards yesterday, he's the new head of the Aurors office, since Scrimgeour left," he said toward Harry. "We are not authorized to tell anyone about our work except Robards or the Minister."
"Alright, seems simple enough. Keep us informed," McGonagall stated.
"Wait, Minerva. That's not all of it. Gawain is assigning us these missions in order of seniority. So it is likely that I'll get assigned one soon. I don't know if I will be around much, so Tonks will have to take over my Ministry assignment in the event of my leaving," Kingsley finished.
"It seems the logical choice," she said. "Tonks do you have any news on Voldemort's most recent movements for us?"
"There isn't much to say. We believe he hasn't made any new alliances, but we are certain that he is trying his best to develop new curses. He also seems to be searching for a new headquarters, not that we know where his current one is. Other than that, I have very little to say," Tonks answered.
"Thank you very much Nymphadora," McGonagall said, causing Tonks to cringe. "Now onto the last of our business for tonight. The logistical liabilities of Harry Potter's unknown mission. I urge you all not to question Potter on his mission as he is not releasing a single task to any of us. I believe he will tell us when the time is right. Now, if you will all offer you attention, Harry?"
It was then that Harry stood. He hadn't thought too much about what he would say. All he knew was that there were no definite. "I honestly cannot say how many of you I will need, or when I will need you, because I don't know at all. What I can say is that over the time I spend completing this quest, I may need to call upon your help. I may need any number of you, maybe all of you, at anytime, in anyplace in Britain."
"That's quite an undertaking, Potter. Are you sure that this is what you need?" McGonagall asked.
"Quite sure, Professor. This quest is quite an undertaking. The only other thing you all need to know, is that you cannot ask any questions about what I ask of you. Act as though I never asked at all. Understood?"
They all nodded their agreement. Harry knew then that he was far from alone in his quest. He had everyone he had ever cared for behind him. If it came down to it, he'd have an army at his side.
A/N - "What? Can't a guy get seven months sequential rest?" --Waterman
I know it hasbeen much too long since I've updated. I promise that it will speed up some. This chapter was very boring to write untilI reached the meeting, which was one of those unknown developments that kind of just fit here rather than later. The planned chapter four has been split, so chapter five is already well on its way to being written. I'm honestly very sorry that it took so long, but between five APs and two SCALEs, college auditions,and appearing in Les Mis this spring, I had absolutely no typing time at all... My marble notebook became my only writing friend. Now that I'm into college, Les Mis is over, and APs will be done in a few weeks, there is nothing to worry about. Chapter five will be out soon.
Oh and just to add, please review!CRANE SCHOOL OF MUSIC, SUNY POTSDAM, Class of'10