Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to JK Rowling. I'm just a fan who enjoys writing so please don't sue me.
Rain softly pattered on the roof of the Burrow as a raven-haired young man sat alone at the kitchen table. It was only two in the morning, but Harry Potter was wide awake. Every now and then he would raise a coffee-filled mug to his lips and revel in its calming warmth.
He'd only been there for a few weeks, but already Harry felt at home. Hermione's parents, feeling that their only daughter would be safer with wizards rather than Muggles, had graciously enough allowed their daughter to spend the summer with the Weasleys. It was a comfort to him to know that the only other two people in the world who knew the truth would be with him. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew he needed Ron and Hermione right now.
"Harry! I'm sorry. I didn't know anyone else was in here." Harry's thoughts had been interrupted by a very surprised looking Lupin. He had arrived just a few hours earlier.
"It's alright. I was just listening to the rain," replied Harry softly, tilting his head up, "beautiful, isn't it?"
"Nervous about tomorrow?" Lupin jokingly asked.
"About the wedding? No. Not really," said Harry, shaking his head. Lupin shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
Truth be told, Harry hadn't thought about Bill and Fleur's impending wedding at all much. In any case, there wasn't much to be nervous about. It wasn't exactly hard being a groomsman. All you had to do was stand around.
"Harry," Lupin said, leaning in closer. He looked serious now, quite a departure from the joker he had been earlier. Deep down, he had dreaded this moment…the moment he would have to discuss with Harry the topic that he had no desire to speak of.
The problem was, he knew he had to go through with it. 'This isn't about you, Remus. This is about Harry. Talking is the only way to help him get through it,' he thought to himself.
Lupin spoke slowly, guarding his words. "If it isn't the wedding keeping you up this late, then what is it, Harry? Is it…Is this about…" Lupin trailed off, but his eyes completed the sentence for him. Realization hit Harry like a ton of bricks.
'Dumbledore…He thinks this is about Dumbledore.'
"This has nothing to do with Dumbledore…It's just…with all the chaos I know is going to ensue tomorrow, I wanted a little quiet and relaxation to get me ready for it. Middle of the night seemed like my only chance with the way things have been going around here. You missed all the drama yesterday. I thought Mrs. Weasley was going to have a conniption fit when the flowers she ordered ended up being the wrong color. Poor deliveryman!" Harry gave off a small chuckle at the memory and a reassuring smile to Lupin. Harry felt the need to show him that he was going to make it. Dumbledore wouldn't have wanted anyone's tears anyway, least of all Harry's.
Lupin returned the gesture, mentally breathing in a sigh of relief. Harry was tougher than Lupin gave him credit for.
"Well," said Harry, getting up from the table," I had better get to bed. I want to get one or two more hours in before tomorrow. Goodnight." Harry pushed in his chair, emptied his mug, and turned to leave just before Lupin stopped him.
"Harry."
"Yeah," Harry replied, turning back around.
"I just…wanted to say…If you ever need someone to talk to…"
Harry smiled, "Thank you," was all his reply.
And with that, Harry was gone.
Harry couldn't have been more right. Two words could've summed up the situation the following morning in Lupin's opinion…utter chaos. Lupin had only arrived late the previous night and already he could feel the overwhelming sense of panic in the household.
As it turns out, having the wrong color flowers delivered was the least of Mrs. Weasley's worries. Fleur had insisted from the beginning that the wedding would take place outdoors. This would have been absolutely fine…had they been in a different country. English weather, being as unpredictable as ever, had refused to cooperate. Rain from the previous night had completely saturated the ground and turned the beautifully manicured lawn into a sink hole. To add to the mess, high winds had destroyed all the floral arrangements and blown leaves and bits of debris everywhere. The wedding had to be postponed until later that afternoon, which of course meant that the meticulously carved swan ice sculpture would be nothing but a giant puddle before the reception had even begun.
Postponement also meant that a few important individuals such as the vicar and caterer would have to be notified to make sure they were still going to available. The vicar, luckily enough, was fine with the changes. The caterer, however, was an entirely different story.
He had decided to double his fee because he had already prepared the food and claimed that by the time the reception began, it would be too cold to eat. He, therefore, needed to start a completely new batch and throw the old one out.
Lupin felt the need to inform Mrs. Weasley that she was being cheated. They could simply reheat the first batch themselves, but Mrs. Weasley was in no mood to argue with the caterer and agreed to pay him the extra money.
"I shall be broke by the time this wedding is over with," the weary woman said.
"Agree to more things like that and you will be, Molly," Lupin retorted sternly.
"I know. I know. It's just that it's my oldest son's wedding and I wanted everything to be perfect…even if it meant shoveling over every sickle I have," she said, taking a deep breath, "Well, at least I didn't have to pay for a wedding singer. Thank God." Lupin gave her a puzzled look.
"Ginny." Mrs. Weasley said simply, "She has a lovely voice. Frankly, I don't think any wedding singer could have done any better."
'Well, this should be a pleasant surprise…I wonder if Harry knows,' Lupin thought to himself.
It was going to be a very interesting night.
