One warm afternoon, in May, as the three happy couples were chilling under their tree, basking in its shadow, an owl delivered a very special letter, it was white with golden borders and there was a rose in each angle.
Hermione picked it up and carefully tore the envelope open, five pairs of curious eyes watching over her. She pulled out an embellished piece of parchment and began examining its content.
"Together with their families
Angelina Johnson
and
George Weasley
request the honour of your presence at their wedding celebration
Saturday, 15th of May
Weasley Burrow, Devon, England, Great Britain."
"George is getting married? And this is how he lets us know?" The brunette said, dropping the invitation letter and covering her gasping mouth with both hands.
"Oh, wow!"said Harry, happy as ever. It was about time George could have something so beautiful and positive happen in his life since his twin brother's death.
He was starting to take his life back in his hands and he couldn't be more excited for him.
Plus, he would marry his Hogwarts school sweetheart.
Ginny and her brother looked at each other, finally unmasking their fake confusion.
"Ah yes, Ginny and I knew about it, but it was supposed to be a surprise." Ron confessed, grinning from ear to ear.
"I'm the one who's surprised that you didn't let this secret slip." said Ginny, rolling her eyes.
Ron wasn't good at keeping secrets. If nobody suspected that he was hiding something, he was good to go, but, if anyone ever happened to interrogate him on the matter, it wasn't a hard task to get him to spill the beans.
"In all modesty, I am proud of myself." said Ron, looking full of himself.
"But it's in a week? I mean, it's impossible to find the dresses in little to no time!" Hermione squeaked.
"Angelina's mum has already got that covered, she's a magical tailor." Ron explained.
"She has our outfits ready, Mum will send them in as soon as possible." Ginny continued.
So, the day of the wedding, everyone received their outfits for the ceremony.
Ginny and Hermione were bridesmaids, so they would be wearing the exact same dress.
It was red, with a golden belt loosely knotted around the waist, suggesting the colours of Gryffindor house - strongly representing the bride and groom's unity, as they were both Gryffindors in their Hogwarts years.
It was made of chiffon, it was long, down to the girls' feet and it had a sheer lace bodice.
They were made to be worn with golden heels.
Luna's dress was blue and it featured a deep v-neck, its top was sequin-covered and the bottom was a tulle skirt, which was almost as long as the one on the red dress, but its effect made it larger and, to Luna, it made her look like a princess.
She was in love with her gown.
She didn't pair it with the silver shoes she had been given, but she had decided to go with the simple, casual shoes that her girlfriend had given her for that Christmas.
Her whole ensemble needed to have a touch of Luna, otherwise she wouldn't have been happy about it.
All the boys were wearing tuxedos.
"So, is everyone ready?" asked Ginny, as her girlfriend zipped her up.
They were all in the Gryffindor common room, waiting for everyone to be ready to travel by portkey.
"Your brother isn't." said an annoyed Hermione, as she put a flower pin in her braided hair.
Ginny gave a sigh of frustration. Why was her brother always the last one to be ready?
"Oh, he's going crazy in there." said Harry, walking out of the dorm. "He keeps undressing and putting his suit back on because he says it doesn't look good on him!"
"He says it makes, and I quote, his 'ass look big'" said Draco, barely covering up a giggle.
"Oh, Dear. Worse than a girl!" said Hermione. "I'll go rescue him!"
She then held her skirt up and hurried out of sight.
She came back minutes later holding a smiling Ron by his arm.
Hermione had worked her magic on him to make him calm down, somehow.
Ginny and Luna shared a look, knowing exactly what had just gone down in the bedroom.
"So," Harry said, ignoring the innuendo. "The portkey is the invitation letter. Everyone ready?"
"3, 2, 1!" Said Ginny, then everyone grabbed the object and got teleported to the Burrow.
Luna screamed and laughed for the whole duration of it.
"Oh, here you are!" Molly exclaimed as she ran to them. She gave each one of them a quick hug. Normally, she would have been extremely affectionate to them, but in that moment she was too anxious to even think straight. "Come on, it's about to start! Ginny, Hermione, Best Man, come with me, quick!" she said, then she grabbed her daughter and son by the arm and pushed them inside of the tent, hurriedly. Hermione followed them in.
"Is it just me or did she just call her son 'best man'?" Draco asked, amused.
"Yeah, it's the wedding thing. No more name basis." Harry chuckled.
"I hope the cake is a giant pudding." Luna mused.
As the three last ones entered the marquee they admired the view of the whole room.
It looked almost exactly as it did for Bill and Fleur's wedding.
The carpet, this time, was red and there were no balloons; the whole of the tent was adorned with flowers, some vases were attached to its ceiling and descended in a cascade of white.
The same set of golden chairs was used, they were placed in front of many round tables, all covered by golden silky cloths.
Each table had their own vase of red roses as decoration on top.
The husband and wife to be were already standing on the wooden platform, next to each other.
The wedding would be officiated by none of other than the most beloved teacher in Hogwarts, Adrastea Sivan.
She was wearing a golden gown, this time, and her hair was wrapped in a fancy bun.
Ginny and Hermione were standing by Angelina's side, while Ron and Charlie stood alongside George.
"Friends, Loved ones..." Miss Sivan began in her tinkling voice. As she spoke, glitter fell on her shoulders. "We are gathered here to witness the marriage of George and Angelina..."
"This is so exciting." said Harry to Draco, as they sat next to each other. "I can't believe we used to play Qudditch together, it feels like yesterday!"
"I am sure that I am going to cry." said Luna. "I always cry at weddings. But in this one I will cry more because I will imagine my girlfriend as the bride and me as the groom but as another bride." she smiled as she shrugged her shoulders.
"Poor Angie, she got the worst Weasley." Bill joked from behind Harry. "Hoping he won't drive her mad!"
Harry smiled in response. Banter in the Weasley household was one of the things he liked the most about that family.
"George Weasley, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in heath, in good times and woe, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself solely unto her for as long as you both shall live?" Miss Sivan proceeded, her attention fixed on the groom.
"I do." George said, smiling uncontrollably.
"And do you, Angelina Johnson, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and health, in good times and woe, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself solely unto him for as long as you both shall live?"
"I do." Angelina replied, barely able to keep her tears from falling down her cheeks.
The couple put their respective rings on each other's finger.
"By the power invested in me by the Ministry Of Magic, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Congratulations!" The teacher squealed as the newly weds pressed their lips together.
The whole room fell into a loud applause.
Ginny and Hermione exchanged a tearful look, then they hugged.
Molly was almost sobbing, hugging her husband as he, too, shed a tear.
"Aw they look so in love!" said Draco, smiling and taking Harry's hand into his.
"Yeah, they are..." said Harry, absent-mindedly. He looked a bit weird, to say the least - like he was out of it. He was shaking his right leg, tapping the floor with his foot.
Draco chose to ignore it, though. It was probably that he was happy that his once fellow players had just gotten married. After all, George and the rest of the Weasleys were Harry's chosen family.
Ginny ran happily to Luna, then she twirled her around.
"Ah, Gin Gin, you looked so hot there with your red dress." Luna said, tittering.
"Thanks, you look cute too." Ginny said, blushing.
"This wedding is cool, by the way. No Nargles as party poopers."said Luna, contentedly.
Ginny finally decided that it was time to ask her girl what in the world those nargles were. She wouldn't go a day without talking about them. They were her top enemies. Hell, she even thought that they ran through her backyard to lay their chicken eggs.
"Baby girl," she started. " Will you please honour me with the details on what on Earth these nargles are?"
Luna looked around, then, when she thought it was safe to speak, she moved closer to her girlfriend and whispered in her ear.
"They say that they're the vilest creatures to have ever lived. But I have never encountered one... only their eggs."
"Oh." The Gryffindor girl said, as if she had finally understood the mystery surrounding those creatures.
She was considering telling her that hens were the ones infesting her garden, not the nargles.
But she felt that it would be a pity to burst Luna's bubble so quickly, so she played along.
"Yeah, one day we will find them and destroy them together." she said.
Luna gave a squeal of contentment and she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's neck, going in for a kiss.
Ginny stopped her, no one in the room knew of them, except their friends and Xenophilius.
"Let the dance begin!" Molly shouted.
Soon, the floor became a dancefloor and everyone grabbed a partner.
Luna and Ginny did a dance that was very similar to their Easter one, earning a bunch of puzzled looks.
Miss Sivan involved a reluctant Mr Lovegood in a very sensual tango, her hair glitter hitting the man with each move.
It was like Xenophilius had taken a golden glitter shower, but he didn't really mind.
That woman was too beautiful and breath taking to care.
Harry was visibly nervous.
Ron noticed that his best friend had not taken his boyfriend to dance, so he became curious as to why he would refuse to do so.
"Harry? Are you ok, mate?" he asked. "Are you afraid you will make a fool of yourself? I mean, look at my sister!" He then pointed to where Luna and Ginny were, spinning around like fools.
"No, not that..." said Harry, gulping.
"Come on, shut up and dance!" Draco intervened. "Let's show them how it's done!"
He took his boyfriend's hand and forced him to walk towards the middle of the room.
When everyone was busy dancing, therefore not looking at him, Harry let go of his anxiety and danced with his lover.
"Follow me, Ronald!" an angered Hermione said to her clumsy boyfriend.
"I'm trying! But you keep stomping on my foot!" Ron whined.
"Serves you right!" His girlfriend spat.
"Oh, babe," said a giggling Draco. "I don't know who's dancing worse, between you and me."
The two of them were dancing almost as badly as Ron and Hermione, but at least they had a sense of rhythm. Draco had a hand on Harry's waist , the other one was entwined with the other boy's. Harry gripped his shoulder firmly, even though, often times, it would slide down his arm, due to the sweat.
"You, of course." The Gryffindor teased. "Not me, as I'm a master."
"Yeah, a master of embarrassment, you mean." Draco snapped back.
Harry pretended to scoff.
Their little playful fights never failed to entertain him.
"Not in Quidditch, that one would be you. I always win."
"Well, I won at other things."said Draco, giving him a suggestive smile.
Harry felt his cheeks flare up and his hands became even sweatier that they were already.
"You mean, like my heart?" Harry asked, timidly.
"I'd say that wins Quidditch over by far." He muttered, then pressed his forehead to Harry's.
"Oh."Harry said, grinning widely. "You are so romantic."
Harry couldn't believe the amount of butterflies that his boyfriend gave him, just by holding him close.
"I'm so lucky, honestly. I'm so happy to be dancing with you tonight." The taller boy stated.
"Me too." said Harry, closing his eyes contentedly.
He was always taken over by overwhelming joy whenever he was with him.
There, dancing at a wedding,he was even more joyous. He was not afraid to show anyone that he loved him, another male. And his love for him was stronger than any spell, it was simple and pure and it was all it took to make him happy. He wanted to feel this way forever.
They stayed like this for a while. They didn't even need to move.
Just breathing into each other, feeling each other's bodies close, was enough to make them ecstatic.
"May I have your attention, please?" Mrs Weasley called out, after clearing her throat.
"I'd like to make a toast to my son and his new wife..."
As the woman spoke, Harry couldn't hear a word of what she was saying. He was too much in trance, looking into those grey eyes that would always hypnotize him.
Soon, it was Ron's turn to speak.
"To my brother, who used to hex me as a kid, testing his atrocities on me..."
Harry still wouldn't listen.
This was it. He heard nothing but his own heart thumping in his ears, as time perilously got closer to his speech.
As each Weasley made a toast, Harry felt his anxiety grow stronger and stronger.
He had to do this.
He wondered if he had made the right decision.
He could also choose not to go through with it.
But he didn't want to chicken out. It wasn't in his blood to run away from things.
He needed to man up and do it.
Harry was brave, it was what made him a Gryffindor.
This was simply a walk in the park, as far as his experiences went.
"Congratulations Big Brother!" Came Ginny's voice. It was the signal. Harry was going to be the next one raising his glass for the newly weds.
"...and now, time for Harry's words!" Said Arthur Weasley, wiping a residue of his tearful speech.
Breathing heavily, Harry detached himself from his dancing partner and walked to where Arthur was standing.
Mr Weasley gave Harry a soft squeeze in his shoulder. He didn't know that the boy took it as a sign of encouragement. He must have simply done it out of affection.
"Good evening everyone!" He started, adjusting his glasses on his nose. "I've known these two for almost eight years and I can tell you that they were marvelous Quidditch players!"
"Not as good as you!" Angelina broke in, beaming.
"Seeing them today warms my heart greatly. I honestly can't imagine them being separated. I think Angelina is perfect for George, their personalities merge together beautifully." He continued.
George wrapped an arm around his new wife, pulling her closer as his friend delivered such beautiful words.
Angelina put her hands on her chest, feeling so much affection towards her ex team mate.
"I see them and I can't help identifying myself in them. Their love reminds me of my experience with my boyfriend, Draco, who is with me today..." He went on.
Draco didn't expect him to talk about him, so he gasped lightly as many pairs of eyes fixated on his figure. His face turned crimson red at the attention and flashed Harry an almost tear filled smile.
He never missed an opportunity to flatter him, especially in front of other people.
He was something else, really.
And he was his.
Then, a delightful music started playing from miss Sivan's flute.
Hermione began to think that maybe Harry had brought up Draco for a reason. Could it be that reason?
She tried to think that maybe she might have been wrong.
Well, she was never wrong, after all, but she wondered, had she been right, if that would be the right thing to do.
"Mione, where is he getting at?" Ron asked.
Even Ron was becoming suspicious of Harry's next move.
And Ron rarely saw things. But when he did...boy, was he right.
"I don't know." She replied, not knowing what to think.
"George and Angie here have taught me that if you love someone, why should you wait to always have them by your side?" Harry expressed.
He took a deep, long breath, then, his whole body trembling, he got down on one knee.
"He's doing it!" Hermione gasped, tugging at Ron's suit.
"What is he doing?' asked Luna, naively, as her girlfriend's brown eyes widened in shock.
"Oh no, he did not." Ginny said in response.
Harry closed a fist and when he opened it back something was in his hand, a ring box.
Inside of it was a white gold ring which proudly displayed an emerald in its middle.
"Draco Lucius Malfoy, will you marry me?"
