She sipped at her wine, observing their guests across the room. There was her mother chatting with Andromeda at a table in the corner of the room, she saw Luna re-arranging the flower arrangement on the table she shared with a few of her Harpie friends. Audrey had joined them, probably because her husband had been in discussions with Kingsley and Dean for quite a while now. Why her brother insisted that Ministry talk should extend to her wedding day though, Ginny would never understand.

Family, she thought sighing inwardly. Her mum had pulled her aside earlier, hugged her with tears in her eyes and congratulated her on a beautiful day. Ginny had had to bite her tongue not to let it slip that in the last months they had fought tooth and nail pretty much over every aspect of the wedding. But none of that mattered today.

"May I steal the bride?"

A smile hushed over her face as she saw Neville standing there extending his hand. Accepting his invitation, she heard Harry say something about stepping on feet, but she had no worry there. Harry's dancing was decent enough after they had practiced a lot, but there was a reason she had been envied by most of her dorm on the night of the Yule Ball. When the music started with a waltz, she closed her eyes for a second and allowed herself to be led by his guiding movements.

"I hope you don't mind me saying this, but you look beautiful."

"Thank you."

She smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and searching his eyes.

"You know, I don't think I ever asked you why you dance so well."

He led her in another twirl, and when she came face to face with him again, she could see a smirk on his face.

"I think you maybe just have a poor comparison."

"Harry isn't that bad, and he's far from the only man I've danced with", she replied tilting her head to prompt a more satisfactory reply from her current dancing partner.

"I've just had lessons, and lots of them. My gran insisted on lessons from when I was 13. Once you got the basics down, it really is a lot more enjoyable."

She could see that he was trying to shrug it off, downplay his abilities as he did so often. He had certainly changed from the nervous school-boy she had danced with so many years ago, but much like her now husband, Neville did not enjoy the spotlight of attention.

"You hardly only have the basics down. Every ministry ball the girl you took would be the envy of the ensembled single witches," she teased though there was truth to her words

"It's a good thing then that Luna was oblivious to that and Hannah doesn't care," he replied with as much of a shrug as he could manage while dancing.

"Let's not forget the time you took me," she quipped up.

"I doubt I could forget that. There was enough press coverage to last me a life-time."

She watched him grow pensive for a second, but then he shook his head as if to force the thought out of his head.

"They're obsessed with Harry, even after years. And you're no better since the Harpies have been top of the league. How did you manage to keep all of this private?"

She looked around the room again, the fairly lights on the wooden beams, the dim light of the candles flickering in the snow outside, and a room full of people that she and Harry wanted to share this with. No concessions, no compromises.

"Look at this place, it's as remote as it gets. Only guests knew the location. We also cut a deal with Witch Weekly, the Prophet and the quibbler. They get three images approved by us, but only if they leave off all stories."

"Smart move," he nodded.

"Press secretary for the Harpies set it up. Though I did object to posing with a broom and my wedding dress."

"Good thing too, some people might have thought you'd married a broom, not a groom," the words came not from Neville, who would never display so little tact, but rather Bill who had waltzed past her with Fleur in his arms and was apparently close enough to overhear their conversation.

"That, Bill Weasley, must be the worst joke I have heard from you, and I have a long list to pick from," she replied.

"I think what he really wanted to say is, he would be pleased to have the next dance," Fleur stated with a meaningful look to her husband. "And maybe your dance partner would agree to a swap."

"Of course." Neville gave a small bow and then released her from the embrace they had shared dancing.

He waltzed off with Fleur and left Ginny standing opposite her eldest brother. Bill extended his right hand to her and bowed his head in a polite nod.

"May I have this dance?" His words were soft and when she met his eyes, they shone with sincerity.

She grasped his hand and they danced in silence for a moment. Only when they'd been once around the dancefloor and the music turned slower did he pull her in closer.

"You look beautiful tonight, but more importantly you look so happy Gin-Gin," he whispered into her ear.

She leaned on his shoulder, a familiarity they hadn't shared for so long. His scent was familiar though he had changed his after shave since they'd last been this close.

"I'm happy," she replied softly.

"I was worried," he hesitated and she could hear him clear his throat. "I was worried you would have bad memories. That they'd ruin your wedding. I watched you at Ron's wedding."

She was surprised he had noticed. She had been fine throughout the day, laughing, dancing and chatting with friends without a care in the world, but as the night went on, she hadn't been able to keep the memories at bay. That tent, the smells, the lights each twinkle pushing a memory of that night back into her mind.

She pushed away from her brother enough so that she could look him in the eye.

"There's a reason we didn't want a wedding at the Burrow. However, if we had wanted it there, then we would have. They won't win. I'll keep on making happy memories until there is no room for the dark ones."

"That's not how it works though, Gin-Gin."

"I'm really too old for you to call me that."

"You'll always be my little sister."

They continued the dance in silence, which left her time to let her eyes wander around the room again. She smiled as Fleur and Neville dance in unison, she observed how George sat closely to Angelina, who had left the table with the other Harpie's fairly soon after dinner. She knew the two had been spending more time with each other, but it looked much more serious than she had realised. Eventually, though her eyes rested on Harry. Hermione and Ron had finally stopped dancing and were now sitting next to him. The Golden Trio united, she thought but there was no bitterness behind it. In the past she had envied the close bond the three of them had, had resented that they shared experiences she would never be part of. Now however, she accepted that it was not about memories that they had not shared, but about those that they did. And today, she had said yes to a lifetime of memories with him.

She smiled to herself.

Nothing could be more perfect than that.


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