Fix You
A/N: Thanks to all reviewers and to Carla for betaing!
Chapter Twelve – The Wedding and The Girlfriend
February 26th, 2001, Ron and Hermione's wedding
"Harry?"
"Yeah?" A pause.
"How long til she gets here?"
Harry checked his watch with a flourish, looking around the almost full church, familiar heads recognisable through the masses; Tonks' bright pink was recognisable in the third row, Lupin, looking only slightly ragged was sitting next to her. Luna was sitting on the aisle in the row behind them, noticeable by her messy, dirty blonde hair; she was looking vaguely up at the vaulted ceiling of the old church, sunlight streaming through the stained glass windows. The echoing cathedral was littered with quiet chatter and red headed Weasleys', some Harry knew and others he didn't. The one standing next to him was pale in his muggle style suit, his nervousness not reflected in his appearance; a straight tie and combed hair, staring relentlessly at the door.
"Pretty much anytime now," Harry told Ron, straightening his jacket sleeve. They were talking in muted sidelong whispers. Harry glanced at the closest people; Mrs Weasley was sitting in the front row, tears of joy and sorrow already pouring down her face as her husband rubbed her hand supportively. "Your mum's already crying." He added in a voice whisper that no-one but he and Ron would hear.
"Yeah," Ron said breathily, barely seeming to notice what Harry was saying. He was still captivated by the large, brown doors at the other side of the church that had been thrown open to reveal the wet muggle street outside and the seedy looking photographers who were surreptitiously trying to get photos of inside. "I hope she comes." Harry raised his eyebrows at him.
"Hope she comes?" The best man asked the groom. "Of course she will."
"She mightn't," Ron said in quiet panic, his face going pale at the thought of this. "Maybe she won't be here."
"Trust me mate, she will be," Harry said, trying his best to be reassuring, though he knew chances are he was failing dismally.
"What if she gets here," Ron mused quietly, "then decides she doesn't want to get married anymore?" He shot a fleeting glance of terror at Harry before returning to his vigil over the door.
"Not likely," Harry told him. "You know what she's like, and she's worked too hard on this wedding to want to back out now." Upon seeing the look on his face, he hastily went on. "And she loves you too, which is the whole reason why she worked so hard."
"Still," Ron whispered noncommittally.
"She'll be here," insisted Harry. "She won't miss today, I promise." Ron just looked at him momentarily.
"She's been here since you two were fighting over Krum after the Yule Ball and she told you to notice that she was a girl." He smirked at his best friend before going on. "And you've been here since we knowingly ran off to visit oversized spiders in hope that it would help get her un-petrified. Take my word for it, she'll be here."
Ron broke his gaze away from the door, staring at Harry intensely. "Since when did you get so profound?" He seemed to have settled slightly.
Harry shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't know either.
"Is that how you convinced my sister to take you back?" Ron asked cheekily, grinning at him. "Pulling the whole 'I'm Mr Deep-and-Meaningful Boy Who Lived' act?"
"Not on purpose," Harry told him honestly. Ron snorted, gaining shocked looks from several people waiting for the ceremony to begin.
"Because she's the most stubborn person I know," Ron told him in a whisper, ignoring the people who had looked over at his crude behaviour. "You and Hermione included too. Because if I'm being honest with you, I didn't expect you and Ginny to work it out."
"Thanks for your vote of confidence, Ron," Harry rolled his eyes, but glad that Ron wasn't quite as nervous as he had been moments ago.
"Well, not this quickly, anyway," added Ron surreptitiously, glancing back at the door momentarily. "I wanted you to of course, I just didn't expect it. What did you say to her to make her come round, anyway?"
"I dunno," Harry said slowly after a moment, thinking it was better to keep Ron focussed on him rather then his ever approaching nuptials. "I guess I just told her that I cared about her too much to let all the stupid stuff that's been going on to get in the way."
"Going soft in your old age?" Ron teased jokingly. "Little Harry growing up a bit?"
"Like I ever had a choice to stay young and immature," Harry told him. "And anyway, you're the one getting married."
"Point," Ron said distractedly as a muggle limousine pulled up out the front of the church, the cameras of the photographers flashing and whirring. "But with Ginny... if you hurt her..." He trailed off as they saw through the open door Ginny climb out of the car, wearing a pretty pair of flowing bridesmaid robes in a pale green, followed by Mr Granger.
"I already have," Harry said, slightly mournfully as she caught his eye from yards away and smiled warmly at him. "It won't happen again though."
"Good," was all Ron could say as Hermione, wearing a stunning white dress stepped out of the car with the help, causing the cameras to go off even more, the people inside the church to stand out of their seats, turning to face the doors as the bridal party walked inside, the large brown doors slamming behind them.
Clapping him on the shoulder as the organ began playing; Harry muttered something into Ron's ear. "Told you she'd be here."
"I can't believe that my little Ronald is all grown up and married!" Mrs Weasley sobbed in the back of a limousine similar to the one that Hermione had arrived in an hour and a half later.
"Poor Hermione," Fred muttered, trying to pop the cork off a bottle of champagne without taking out someone's eye. Due to the muggle nature of the wedding, Hermione had expressed that she wanted all magical guests to take muggle transport to the reception after the ceremony, avoiding apparition and Floo powder at all costs in an attempt not to draw attention from some unknowing muggle relatives.
This somehow left Harry, Ginny, Mr and Mrs Weasley and Granger stuck together in seats only intended for four, and on top of that, Fred and George realised last minute that they had no form of transportation, and so had jumped in the car alongside them. This led to a very cramped environment, with everyone pressed against everyone else, Harry's head being stuck in George's armpit and the window. Ginny was sitting opposite Harry, looking as cramped as he felt, and the other twin squishing her into her mother. Mr Weasley was prodding the little buttons that made the windows go up and down and the sunroof open excitedly as Fred passed Mr and Mrs Granger flutes of champagne. Ginny smiled weakly at him as they stopped suddenly at a traffic light, causing much pain and much wincing for everyone in the car.
"What project will you move onto next mum?" George asked imploringly, as Fred handed her a glass which she downed in one. "More grandkids, and attempt at stopping Percy being a prat, or are you going to try and sell Ginny off to some poor bloke?"
At this, one twin stared pointedly at Harry while the other nudged him hard in the ribs.
"You're not going to sell me off to anyone," Ginny told her mother huffily. "Maybe she should work at you two to grow up a bit."
"Somehow," Mr Granger smiled, "I have a feeling that's not likely to happen."
"It seems you know my sons well," Mr Weasley grinned at his muggle counterpart. "And can you explain how exactly do these windows work? Ekeltricity, yes?" Mr Granger started telling him about the wires, Mr Weasley nodding along happily.
"I think," Mrs Weasley told her fellow passengers loudly, "that my next project should be Harry." Upon hearing his name, Harry swallowed loudly.
"What have I done?" He asked in a little voice, causing the twins to snicker.
"Nothing, dear," She smiled at him. "I'm just curious about this girlfriend of yours that has been mentioned. Is she going to be here today?" Ginny froze next to her mother.
"Why yes she is," Fred smirked at Harry. "I could introduce you two if you like."
"She's a lovely girl," George said genially, reaching over to pat his mother on the arm.
"But you're not going to," Harry told them firmly.
"Why not?" Fred teased him openly. "I could tell everyone right now."
"And boy, would the rest of this trip be fun," George went on sarcastically. Ginny stomped on his only slightly discretely.
"But you're not going to," Harry repeated, "because Ron and Hermione told you that you were free to tell everyone after the wedding."
He sipped from the glass that had been just handed to him. "The reception still counts as part of the wedding." He smirked as he saw Ginny glaring gleefully at George.
"Have you actually worked it out with the girlfriend yet?" Fred asked, subtly monitoring his little sister. "Or do we just refer to her as The Girlfriend because we all know that's how it is going to end up?"
"Well, I haven't asked her out, really," Harry mused, smiling slightly at Mrs Weasley's rapt attention. "I didn't even ask her out when we were together at Hogwarts even. I probably should."
"Oh, it's that girl," Ginny said brightly to him, faking a sudden understanding convincingly. Fred and George recoiled in shock; to them, this was almost as if their sister was confessing their undying love. "I didn't realise it was her."
"I thought you knew already," Harry smiled at her as the twins glared at them both.
"I had my suspicions," she explained loudly, noticing her mother now following her closely. "But I didn't want to ask; I knew it was a bit of a touchy subject when you two broke up."
"You know The Girlfriend?" Mrs Weasley asked her daughter, causing the twins to chuckle quietly before, simultaneously, Harry and Ginny both elbowed them in the sides.
"Yeah," Ginny told her mother, ignoring her brothers. "She's really pretty," she went on flatteringly.
"I know," Harry nodded gushingly. "She's so pretty." Ginny bit her lip to hide her smile.
"And she's really lucky to have you, Harry."
"Naah," Harry smiled widely, causing the twins to cringe. "I'm the lucky one to have her."
She considered him for a moment.
"I'll tell her you said that."
"Please do," He grinned. Fred made vomiting motions to his brother, something that went unnoticed by everyone but Mrs Granger, who, surprisingly just winked and tapped her nose at Harry.
"While Harry's love life seems to be a riveting topic," Mrs Granger said loudly. "I think we have arrived at our destination."
"Thank Merlin," George sighed. "I don't think I can feel my toes." The door to the limo slid open and the Grangers practically fell out, followed by the Weasley parents. As Ginny, the twins and him also scuttled around the seats to get to the door, Harry noted with a groan, there were more photographers here then there were waiting at the church.
"Fun," Fred said brightly, grinning widely between his sister and Harry. The four of them all slid out of the limo, and upon seeing Harry, the hoards of reporters reacted predictably, voices yelling, cameras flashing. Mr and Mrs Granger and Weasley walked inside quickly.
"Mr Potter, Mr Potter, over here for a moment please, if you wouldn't mind."
"Pose for one photo please Mr Potter."
"Harry, how do you feel about your best friends' marriage? Is it this exclusion that has driven you to your drug filled, homeless rampage?"
"That's a new one," he muttered to Ginny sidelong as Fred and George grinned at him, shaking their heads.
"Give 'em a photo Harry," Fred said, pulling him to his side. George grabbed Ginny, and forced her into the frame with Harry and his twin.
Only slightly reluctantly, Harry put his arm around Ginny's waist and drew her in close to him for the photo. Harry inhaled her flowery scent, and didn't have to fake a smile as Ginny put one of her arms around his waist. The twins took this opportunity to step out of the way for the photographers.
The cameras flickered madly at them, more questions being fired off, not just at Harry but at a slightly seething Ginny too.
"Are you dating Ms Weasley, Mr Potter?"
"Have you found a job yet, Harry?"
"Ms Weasley, what are your intentions with Mr Potter?"
Pulling away from him once the photo was taken, for show Ginny shrugged her shoulders, Harry following suit and laughing, acting in a way that he hoped would make the photographers and reporters second guess the relationship that they had just decided on.
Despite the fact that Ginny knew that once it got out her and Harry were together then she would be treated in a similar way to Ron and Hermione by the newspapers, Harry wanted to keep it quiet for as long as possible, wanting to save her from the hassle of people taking photos of her wherever she went.
"Nice," George said as the four of them trotted off into the foyer of the building where the reception was. The Weasleys and Grangers seemed to have moved into the main hall where the reception was being held; Harry could hear voices already in there, and a peek through the door saw a bunch of circular tables and one rectangular one decorated in green and purple, balloons hovering around and Fred and George's fireworks going off in each corner occasionally. How they were going to get that past the Muggles, Harry had no idea.
"You told us we could tell people after the wedding," Fred said. "And now the whole world will know." He smiled sweetly at the two.
"After the wedding of course," his twin finished for him.
"You're the world's biggest prats," Ginny said grumpily, tugging at her dress. "Just taken over from Percy you two have. Did you consider for a moment that there was a reason why we didn't want people to know?"
"So you two can snog in private and no-one will care?" George tried. Ginny glared at him.
"No, actually," Ginny said, sounding peeved.
"Well, you should," Fred said, stopping just out of view of the people in the reception hall. "Potter, while we don't care if you snog our sister in private, if you do it in front of us-"
"We might just have to hurt you," George went on sympathetically, patting Harry on the shoulder, as if he were only obliged to act this way because Ginny was his kid sister, something Harry picked up on immediately as something which would irritate her. "And as soon as Mum knows about this, she'll start naming your kids."
"So we're giving you tonight to think of a scheme that will somehow make Molly Weasley leave you two alone for a bit," Fred finished.
Harry looked around quickly, and seeing that no-one could see them, he pressed a quick kiss to the side of Ginny's mouth, before looking defiantly up at the twins, daring them to say or do something. They didn't, just clenched their fists, clearly irritated, and stormed into the reception hall.
"Oh, you're so brave," Ginny said sarcastically as they followed the twins into the cavernous room. Harry remembered from Hermione's seating arrangement charts that the two of them were sitting with at the bride and grooms table with the Weasley and Granger parents. "My hero."
"I do my best," Harry said in mock masculinity.
"You just wanted to snog me, didn't you?" She laughed, slapping his shoulder. He nodded with a greedy grin on his face.
"I think I might go talk to Hagrid for a bit," said Harry quickly, "I haven't seen him for a while. Talk to you later?" Ginny nodded vaguely and headed off towards where Luna and Neville were sitting.
Harry wandered over to where his half-giant friend sat at a table with Lupin, Tonks, Professor McGonagall and Kingsley Shacklebolt. "Hey Hagrid, everyone."
"Harry!" Hagrid boomed when he saw Harry and seized the smaller man into a brief, one armed hug. "How are yer? I haven't seen yer in ages!"
"Which is precisely why I came over," Harry told him, kneeling down in the small space between him and Shacklebolt, who smiled toothily at him. "How have you been since, oh November? Busy? How's Grawp?"
"He's going wonderfully," Hagrid said. "Wanted to come today, but I had ter tell him that the Muggles wouldn't like that. But otherwise, not busy. Just helping with get'n Hogwarts ready for re-opening in September."
"That's good," Harry nodded at him.
"I take it yer've been busy and tha's why yer haven't wrote," Hagrid said to him, his black eyes glinting at Harry cheekily.
"I think lazy is a better way to put it, Hagrid," Tonks teased him. Harry glared at her, causing her to smirk at him. "Wotcher."
"How are things going anyway, Harry?" Lupin asked him, smiling benignly, his dress robes only slightly shabbier than those of the people around him. Harry met his eyes and Lupin smiled at him broadly.
"Things are very good, thanks," Harry said brightly, ignoring Lupin's all-knowing stare.
"Have you got a job yet?" Tonks asked him conversationally. Harry groaned.
"How come that's all people ever ask me?"
"That's not all I question you about," Lupin told him. "Would you prefer me to start on the other thing?" Kingsley smirked into his glass goblet.
Trying to act oblivious to what Lupin was on about, Harry went on. "I've got an idea of what I should do now, so that's going okay for the bit."
"Oh, Remus, he's blushing!" Tonks exclaimed brightly, ignoring Harry's attempt to change the subject. She screwed up her face to make it change to the red that Harry's was quickly becoming, clashing horribly with her pink hair.
"Ah, I see we are moving on to Miss Weasley now," Professor McGonagall stated primly.
Harry gaped at this, at the sheer audacity of his former professors, his elders in general and their well... teasing, playful behaviour. When he started Hogwarts, it was a surprise to Harry when McGonagall smiled, and he never would have guessed that ten years later she would be teasing him about his love life.
"This is when I leave," he said, standing up.
"Come on Harry," said Kingsley in his deep, booming voice. "Everyone knew this was going to happen." Hagrid nodded his massive head at this.
"Thanks for telling me," Harry grumbled at them. "Would have saved me a lot of effort."
"So you did make up with Ginny then?" Tonks questioned him.
"Yeah." He squirmed slightly under their gaze.
"But back to you apparently doing something with yourself," Lupin said after an awkward pause, reverting to what Harry had said in an attempt to be left alone. "Care to elaborate?"
"Is it Ginny who prompted you to make an effort?" Tonks asked him excitedly, accidently knocking over her goblet of water. "Because that would be very cute."
"Well, she gave me the idea," Harry half grunted, clearly uncomfortable with this attention. "And I actually suppose I should talk to a few of you later, you know, getting opinions and such."
"On what, Harry?" Kingsley asked him calmly. Harry shook his hand.
"I'll come talk to you all about it later," Harry told them lightly, pinching one of the bread rolls that were lying in the basket on the table. "It's still a very vague idea. I think it's good though."
"I'm sure it is Harry," Hagrid said, eating an entire baguette as if it were a crouton.
"Especially if Ginny inspired it," Tonks' smirk matched her boyfriends at this.
"Don't say it too loudly," Harry told her in an angry whisper. "Someone might hear!"
"I take it that you haven't informed the family of your relationship with their daughter then?" Professor McGonagall pressed him. "I don't think Molly would be impressed."
"Well, the twins are telling them all tomorrow," Harry said. "So tonight me and Ginny are trying to think up a way of escaping Mrs Weasley's... well-"
"Nagging?" Tonks supplied lightly. "You can say it. It's worked horrible wonders for her."
"Er, right, well, I'd better go sit down," Harry said awkwardly, noticing everyone had started to take their seats in preparation for Ron and Hermione's arrival. "Just remember, no-one tells any Weasley about this conversation." He felt ridiculously odd giving this group of people instructions.
"Have fun," Lupin smiled at him, nodding his head reassuringly. Harry rolled his eyes and worked his way to his table at the other side of the room, several of his old Hogwarts peers waving to him.
"I just had the weirdest conversation," he told Ginny, shaking his head as he sat down opposite her and next to the empty the seats at the head of the table which were reserved for Ron and Hermione.
"Me too," Ginny said cheerfully, who looked up from the menu she had been vaguely examining. "I was chatting with Luna, what's your excuse?"
Glancing to see that the Weasley and Granger parents were involved in their own conversation, he lowered his voice and leaned over the table to whisper to her, "Lupin, McGonagall, questioning me about you."
"I think my conversation with Luna trumps that," she told him, smiling.
Just as he begun to ask her why, he was cut off by tumultuous applause; Ron and Hermione had just arrived. Hands clasped, they both blushed at the attention, but were also grinning widely as they sat down in their seats next to Harry and Ginny respectively. As soon as they did, bowls of soup were bought out by waiters in muggle suits. Many of the wizards in attendance looked shocked at this, just expecting their food to pop up at them.
"Did you even try to brush your hair?" Hermione asked Harry defeatedly, eyeing his hair as the newlyweds sat down.
"It didn't work very well," he told her, slightly defensively as both Ron and Ginny snorted loudly.
Soup came and went without a hitch, as did dinner, Mr Granger standing up halfway through it to make a speech that went down very well. Before Harry knew it, everyone was halfway through their pudding and he was being prodded by Ron, given significant looks by Hermione and was handed a muggle style microphone. Ginny grinned at him as he stood up awkwardly.
"Hey everyone," Harry said nervously, interrupting the chatter of dinner. People put down their cutlery with a little cling and all turned to face him. Slightly self-consciously, he went on. "Hi."
"Hi, Harry," Fred bellowed, causing a small peel of laughter.
"Well, as one of the twins just told you, I'm Harry," he said after taking a deep breath.
"You don't think," George called sarcastically. Harry glared at them both calmly.
"And as the other just pointed out, chances are you already know that," Harry said, running a hand through his hair as his nerves subsided slightly and a few more laughed. "And as you probably also know, Ron and Hermione are my best friends. The three of us have been pretty much joined at the hip since we were about this tall," he held his hand around his navel, "and spoke like this," he added in a high pitched voice, causing a smatter of appreciative laughter.
"I mean," Harry went on heartily, "they didn't even have to ask me to be Best Man today. Everyone assumed I would be; I would have been rather insulted if I wasn't, and I think they just figured I would and it was without question. It's probably a bit presumptuous on all parts, but oh well.
"When Hermione told me that part of being Best Man was to make a speech though, I was rather anxious, so I asked her what I was meant to talk about. In basics, her answer was 'say nice things about us in front of people'," Harry told the room at large, now managing to articulate what he had prepared in his head. "That was in itself a bit of a problem, because what do I honestly say about them?"
"Oh," Hermione moaned quietly, tilting her head to one side, holding Ron's hand and smiling up at Harry sadly. He smiled back at the two of them.
"Us three have literally been to hell and back together," Harry informed. "So I can't really stand up here and gush about how they are the best friends anyone could ever have, even though they are." He reached down and ruffled Ron's hair playfully.
"The other day I was stuck with a horrible thought," said Harry still smiling at them affectionately. "It occurred to me, when they got married, it'll completely cut me from our little trio. It bothered me to begin with, that everything has now turned from Harry, Ron and Hermione to Ron and Hermione, with Harry." He smiled. "Well, I know what that means anyway. I figured that it meant that I would be suddenly excluded from everything, that instead of it being the three of us, it would just be them two and me as an after thought."
"But then I realised that I'm okay with that," he said. "It's always been like that anyway, it's often been two of us and the third in some way. And it's normally been me, anyway. This is just making it official." He grinned further. "So I'm ridiculously happy for them."
"The fact is that I can't condense what they actually mean to me into a little five minute speech, so I'm not going to try." He paused dramatically for a moment. "I'll just tell a couple of embarrassing stories instead."
The tension in the room broke into laughter; Harry could clearly hear one of the twins loudly exclaim "that'a boy, Harry", prompting more. Harry took this chance to glance at Ginny, who was smiling up at him appreciatively, then poked her tongue out at him slightly.
"You have to pay attention though," Harry told his audience once the laughter had died down. "Believe it or not, there is a point behind these stories. They are going to show you how much people really change over ten odd years." He paused again. "I like to call this one 'When Ron met Hermione'."
"Like many significant things in both of their lives, I was there when they met," Harry smiled. "Me and Ron were sitting in our compartment on our first train ride to school, having just met. Ron was stuffing himself stupid with Chocolate Frogs. Let this be the best example of how much Ron has changed, and as Harry looked over at him, Ron had his dessert spoon hanging out of his mouth." More laughter.
"Next thing we know, a heap of bushy brown hair bursts into out compartment," Harry went on. He could feel Ginny's eyes on the back of his neck watching him, and it spurned him on. "And, ever so bossily, she asks us if we've seen a toad, because Neville's lost Trevor." At this, several people turned to look at a slightly red Neville, who was sitting at a table with Dean, Seamus, Luna and the Patil twins. "Me and Ron quickly inform her that we haven't, and just as Hermione is about to leave, she looks at me and goes excitedly 'I know who you are, you're Harry Potter. I've read about you'," Harry turned to smirk at Ron and Hermione, both who looked thoroughly embarrassed already, though not entirely displeased as many people again laughed, this time at Hermione's expense.
"Hermione then went on to lecture us for five minutes about what house she wanted to get sorted into," Harry continued, rolling his eyes. "After she left, Ron turns to me scathingly. I wish that I could say that it was love at first sight for these two, that Ron said something along the lines of 'I'm going to marry that girl', or 'I love her already', but I would be lying if I said that."
"Ron turns to me and he said 'Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it'."
Harry said it rather hurriedly as if he were peeling of a healing potion, turning to see that Hermione was quite affronted, and Ron at least had the decency to look rather sheepish at this revelation. Harry waited a moment as the guests laughed, again stealing a glance at Ginny, who was also laughing, her eyes twinkling merrily at Harry. He thought it was the happiest he'd seen her since when they were going out back at Hogwarts, and that was something he was extremely glad to see.
"Everyone knows how these two fight," Harry went on after the giggles had died down once again. "They'll bicker about anything; schoolwork, cats, Quidditch and even me once or twice. But there were two topics, or I should say two people who got them fired up most." Harry grinned. "Lavender Brown and Viktor Krum, both sitting on a table over that way,"
He shook his hand in the general direction of where he knew Krum and Lavender were conveniently sitting at the same table. Lavender blushed and looked only very mildly irritated at the attention.
"This next story I like to call 'The Year Ron and Hermione Didn't Talk version two'," Harry said brightly. He was quelled with glares from the newlyweds. "Actually, I won't. I'm getting death glares here," he added shamefacedly. "And this isn't really a nice story." He turned to face the couple, crouching slightly to whisper to them
"Can I tell them about the time you turned into a cat?" Harry asked Hermione, lowering the microphone so most people couldn't hear. "Or the time you burped up slugs everywhere, Ron?" As a duo, they shook their heads. Ginny smirked between the three of them.
"They've just cancelled half my stories," Harry said at large, shaking his head as he brought the microphone back up to his mouth. "What can I say then?" He asked away from the microphone.
"Nice things!" Hermione told him slightly angrily.
"I've been told to say nice things again," Harry told everyone. "Which kind of leaves me at a loss of words." He looked around the room, searching for a stroke of inspiration that he didn't find. "Mainly because I can't truly explain how awesome these two are."
"So to Ron and Hermione," Harry said awkwardly, raising his glass of elf made wine in the air. "In hopes that they might let me tell these embarrassing stories to their kids when I'm seedy Uncle Harry who spends way too much time at their house." Harry lowered and drained his glass, sitting back down to a splattering of enthusiastic applause. Fred and George were coming across rather clearly with their jeering.
"Since when have you been funny?" Ron asked Harry, rolling his eyes at his best mate.
"I think I preferred you when you were broody fifth year," Hermione told him darkly. Harry and Ginny both laughed openly at this.
"Didn't like the speech?" Harry asked them teasingly.
"I thought it was lovely, Harry dear," Mrs Granger said to him from next to Ginny, smiling across the table at him.
"It started off nice before he decided to publically embarrass us!" Hermione exclaimed, though now Harry had sat down, he noticed that she wasn't really overly mad at him, just rather peeved.
"I was joking around, Hermione," Harry groaned at her, digging back into his half-eaten pudding. Ginny smiled at him and rubbed his shin with her foot under the table, letting him know that she at least appreciated the humour behind his speech.
"Does that mean you're going to tell us the rest of the story then?" Mr Granger asked him, eyes twinkling in his daughter and new son-in-law's direction.
"Please, do tell Harry," Mr Weasley requested as Harry's feet fiddled with Ginny's, who was smirking at him over the table. She pushed back against his feet as he tried to shove hers under her chair and put his feet on her lap.
"He's not going to, Dad," Ron said, sounding irritated as Ginny nudged away Harry's foot and put one of hers in his lap.
"I could though," Harry teased his best friends Ginny's foot teased him, running across his leg.
"You won't though, mate, or I'll start on all the stories about you," Ron poked his shoulder with his fork as Harry subtly put one of his hands under the table cloth that was covering his and Ginny's game of footsies, his cold fingers playfully running over the top of her foot which was revealed by her pale green ballet flats. Her unoccupied foot kicked Harry's teasingly.
"The only good one you have about me is the one that Fred and George have already claimed telling rights over," Harry laughed at both Ron and also how Ginny was squirming at the contact of his hand on her foot.
"I have one, but I'm not going to say," Hermione said conversationally, causing Harry to glare at her suddenly. Ginny's foot slipped, and Harry was fairly sure it was because Ginny was thinking about the same story as he was, the one about the aftermath of her eldest brothers wedding.
"Is it the one I'm thinking of?" Harry asked her slightly aggressively, having just seen Ginny freeze up over the table. "Because you're not allowed to tell that one."
"No, tell, Hermione," Mrs Weasley pressed her, excitedly. "Tell us!" Hermione risked a chance glance at Harry, who was looking rather livid, and Ginny, who was looking rather pale.
"Do I know this story?" Ron asked Harry suspiciously. "Do I want to?"
"You don't know it," Harry told him quickly. "You don't really want to know, either, but I suppose Hermione might feel inclined to tell you at some stage." Harry shuddered at the thought of being anywhere near Ron if he found out, a shudder Ron mirrored.
"If you say I don't want to know, then I really, really don't want to know," he said, still looking at Harry slightly suspiciously, but glancing quickly at his sister.
"Good, because I don't fancy telling it," Hermione told him warily. "You would find it highly interesting."
"Tell me about it in," Ron paused to think. "Three years maybe?" Hermione nodded to him, rolling her eyes at a less than impressed Ginny.
"Do you have any idea of what these three are on about?" Mrs Granger asked Ginny, who turned suddenly when being addressed.
"Not really," She openly lied, shaking her head. Harry, Ron and Hermione all smirked slightly at this, knowing that she knew what was going on quite well. Harry reached his foot out, scrambling to find hers, hoping to rekindle the foot romance.
"It's not very important," Hermione told her parents and in-laws, rolling her eyes.
Harry found a foot at where he guessed Ginny's feet should be, and scuffed the toes up slightly, then running the side of his shoe up the leg, looking across at her with a teasing smirk.
Very suddenly, Harry felt his foot go flying under the table, and when Ginny showed no inclination of noticing anything, Harry looked around wildly only to see a livid Ron, who was glaring at Harry. Blushing, he quickly withdrew his feet and hid his face in his goblet, making excuses not to look at Ron for the rest of the meal.
A/N: feedback is loved!