Author's note: The very last one! This was definitely the hardest one for me, so I'm sorry for a little bit of a wait here. I also realize that I visited the 'I'm a Potter now' issue a bit more than necessary here, but I wasn't sure how else to bring about these conversations. But whatever. Thanks for sticking with this for four chapters, I know that it's a little sickeningly sweet, so I appreciate that you've put up with it. ALSO, I do not own anything.
Ron smiled at his best friend and little sister as they swayed on the dance floor. Ginny was giggling madly at something that Harry had said and as they turned he could just see his best friend's face partially buried in Ginny's red hair. Their eyes met and Harry moved his head away enough to grin back at him. Ron had never seen either of them so happy before.
Hermione's hand slipped into his. "Have you ever seen Harry smile so much?"
Ron shook his head, "I was just thinking about that. Do you think we'll look that stupid when we finally tie the knot?"
"Ron! They don't look stupid, they look in love. And I hope we look in love if we ever do get married." She grumbled the last bit, watching her two best friends laugh at some shared joke as their first dance ended.
"We'll have our day," he replied in the same serene tone in which he had earlier told Harry that they were taking their time. "Soon."
"Soon?" She sounded hopeful and Ron's stomach flipped a bit at the thought, but he still nodded.
"Soon."
She sighed contendedly, leading Ron out onto the dance floor by the hand as the music changed. "Have you got your speech prepared?"
He nodded, "Done, every word."
"Really?" He smiled at the surprise evident in her voice.
"Yes, really, you sound nearly as shocked as Harry did." He paused, dipping his girlfriend, and said conversationally, when she was back on her feet, "What about yours?"
She nodded, "I think that they'll be very pleased by it."
"Of course they will be," he smiled, a bit nervous about talking in front of so many people. Still, glancing around, he assured himself that it would all go perfectly fine. He knew everyone there, except perhaps a few of Ginny's teammates, but really they had managed to keep the guest list as low as possible. He hoped that this was one of the many notes that Hermione took from this wedding when they finally did start planning their own.
Harry and Ginny moved around the marquee, shaking hands and smiling and accepting congratulations from their friends and old classmates and colleagues. The Minister himself was there, attracting a few startled stares from Ginny's teammates, who didn't know about the couple's relationship with Kingsley. In a startlingly rare moment of quiet Ginny turned to Harry, who had been watching her Great-Aunt Muriel argue with Dean Thomas with a great deal of amusement, and said, "You know, I am a Potter now."
He nodded, "Percy would say that you aren't technically a Potter until the paperwork gets processed down at the ministry."
"Well," she paused, looking back at their friends and family and searching out that particular brother, "he would be wrong."
"Yes," he said, wrapping his arms around her middle and whispering the word in her ear, his breath tickling her neck and making her giggle. "I suppose he would be, Mrs. Potter."
She turned, rising on her toes to meet his lips, "I could get used to that," she commented against his lips. He chuckled.
"I suppose you'll have to," he replied through the kiss, not breaking contact. There was a rather loud cough from behind them and they both turned, to see Ron, red-eared and embarrassed.
"What do you need, Ron?" Ginny asked, exasperated that everyone seemed intent on interrupting them. She had already taken photos and circled around the tent and said hello to everyone, when was she going to just get a moment alone with her husband?
"Mum wanted me to tell you two that we're about to eat and make toasts and all that," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away from the newly-married couple. This was an awkward situation for him, while they were dating, if he had run into them doing anything besides sitting quietly and not touching, he would lecture them about it, and then when they had been engaged he had always scathingly told them to save it for their wedding night, even though he knew very well that they hadn't exactly saved anything (not that he enjoyed dwelling on the point). Now, that they actually were married he didn't suppose that he had a leg to stand on with the whole "brotherly disapproval" thing.
"Right," Harry said, breaking the awkward silence and leading Ginny back to their table by the hand.
After dinner, Hermione spent a few minutes surreptitiously jabbing Ron in the side with her elbow in a way that he supposed was meant to be encouraging. Finally, after a rather sharp poke and a knowing look sent to him from two tables away by his mother, he stood. When no one quieted down, he looked down at Hermione, panicked, "They're still talking," he hissed at her, glancing sidelong at Harry, who seemed entirely more interested in Ginny than in Ron or the rest of the party.
"Tap on your glass," she hissed back. Confused, he began hitting his glass with his fingers, and wondering why on earth this was supposed to shut anyone up, looked again to Hermione for help. She rolled her eyes and tapped her own glass with her fork, and this, coupled with Ron standing at the front of the tent, seemed to get sufficient attention that everyone slowly stopped speaking and looked to him, waiting for his great speech. He felt a sudden swooping sensation in his stomach, something akin to what he used to feel when he feel with people's eyes on him on the Quidditch pitch, something like stage fright.
"Er- hello," he said, looking over all of the familiar faces and wondering why all those months ago he had agreed so quickly to be Harry's best man. It had seemed like such an easy thing to do, stand beside him during the ceremony, say something nice during the reception. Even that morning it had been easy to make fun of Harry about nerves but now Harry was smiling up at him, serene as anything and Ron could feel his palms sweating and a red blush creeping up his neck. "I'm Ron, if any of you didn't know." There was a brief chuckle that rippled through the room, and Ron's confidence grew a bit, he pulled his crumpled notes out of his breast pocket and took a moment to glance through them before looking up again.
He cleared his throat, "I've known Harry since we were eleven. We met on the train to Hogwarts, and kind of hit it off. We've been through a lot, him and me. He's my best friend, and he's been a part of our family in everything but name since I brought him home the summer before our second year.
"And Ginny, well, Ginny's my baby sister. My only baby sister. And as much as she hates it, she'll always be the only baby sister, and she'll always have her big, annoying, git brothers looking over her shoulder and making sure that she's alright. And I have always prided myself on being the worst of them, especially where dating is concerned.
"So imagine my dilemma when Harry and Ginny started dating. I mean, I love Harry and everything and I want him to do well with the ladies, but that's my sister! My only sister!" He pointed to Ginny for emphasis, and a chuckle rippled through the tent, "And I mean, I looked at Harry like a brother, and Ginny actually is my sister, so it had never occurred to me that their feelings might be… different. The whole thing made me uncomfortable, honestly. And I was sure that it wouldn't last." He looked up again, sharing a look with his audience that clearly said, 'boy, was I wrong,' before continuing, "Clearly, I'm not that bright when it comes to things like this."
He paused, clearing his throat again, "I realize now, that I was wrong. What I assumed to be hormones on Harry's part and hero-worship on Ginny's was actually something entirely different. I've never seen either of them happier than when they are together, and maybe I don't need to worry so much about Ginny anymore. I mean, the man that saved the wizarding world is probably capable of keeping track of my sister." He emphasized probably, as if he was still dubious, "And my fantastic little sister is probably capable of keeping track of my best friend.
"And I guess that my whole point in this mess of a speech is that this wedding doesn't really change anything. And I am sure that my mum is glaring at me right now, but just think about it for a second, it's true. Harry's been family since he was eleven years old, and this wedding doesn't change that. They've been practically connected at the hip since the war ended, as well and I doubt that they could grow a lot closer now that they have the same last name. Which I guess is the only state you should be in if you're going to get married, you should be so close and so in love that it almost defeats the purpose. Almost.
"I know that I'm rambling now, so I'll get to the root of the matter, and you can all drink, which I know you're waiting for," there was another brief laugh at the weak joke, "Harry and Ginny, there are a lot of people here that love you both a lot, and I'm happy to be one of them. I know that there are a lot of people that aren't here, that couldn't be here," he paused, letting everyone silently list the names, "and I'm sorry about that, but I know that you two will be more than enough for each other and you have plenty of family to bother you besides." He raised his glass, and everyone in the tent did the same, "To Harry and Ginny, may there be nothing but happiness for the both of you."
Ron knocked back most of his drink as everyone around him chorused "Harry and Ginny," before doing the same. Harry and Ginny were both smiling at him, and somewhere nearby he could hear his mother blowing her nose, which, he thought, was odd because he had intentionally tried not to be too soppy. That bit about people not being here might have done it, he reflected, looking up in time to see Hermione standing with much more grace and composure than he had.
"Harry and Ginny are my two best friends." She stated, smiling broadly at the newly-weds who grinned back, "I met Harry when we were eleven, at the same time that he met Ron, and we all became really close. Harry was really my first good friend in the wizarding world, the first person that I met, maybe ever, that didn't have expectations for me to meet, and without all of the tension that Ron and I have always had," Harry laughed at that, surprising a few people in the tent that didn't see the blush crawling up Hermione's neck. 'Tension' was one way to put it, he supposed, biting back another inappropriate laugh. "And I'm so glad that I met him." She soldiered on, ignoring his chortle, "Because I know that he'll always be there when I need him, and even if he doesn't know what he's doing, he'll do something to try and fix whatever is bothering me." This time Ron and Ginny laughed, both familiar with Harry's habit of just bursting into situations, which had only gotten marginally better after Auror training.
"I met Ginny a few years later. When I came to visit Ron during the summertime I would stay with her in her room, and eventually we became friends. She's brave and smart, and I still have no idea what she went through while we were gone," her breath caught unexpectedly, "But I know that a lesser person would have broken down but she was strong and willful. She did something that none of us could and kept Harry together after the war, and I'll always be grateful to her for that, and a whole host of other reasons.
"We all knew that Ginny loved Harry for years before anything came of it," she said with a smile, returning to a lighter topic, "I think I knew how Harry felt before he did, the same way that he's always known how Ron and I feel. In our sixth year they dated briefly, and I knew that this was deeper than anything that they had experienced before. When they found each other again, the day after everything ended, I knew that they would never be outside of the other's sight without good reason again. When Ginny and I returned to school, without Harry and Ron, she wrote to him at least twice a week, but usually more like five or six times, and he wrote back just as often. And they've only gotten closer. I always knew that this would happen, and I can't imagine two people that more deserve happiness.
"I'll always be around if you two need me," she breathed, her eyes beginning to tear up, "And I'm really happy for both of you. I love you guys, more than you know." She swallowed, holding up her glass, "Harry and Ginny!"
"Harry and Ginny," Ginny said, smiling at her husband, who leaned in to kiss her. There were more speeches, one from Mr. Weasley and one from George, who got plenty of laughs. There were more drinks and more dancing, until almost everyone but family had stumbled out of the tent and disappeared with a loud crack outside.
"Really shouldn't apparate drunk," Ron commented as a particularly inebriated teammate of Ginny's nearly fell out of the tent, giggling madly the entire time as her date pulled her by the hand. The man nodded at Ron's advice but didn't comment, and seconds later they all heard the telltale pop as the pair left.
"Hope she didn't splinch herself," Ginny said without any real concern, surveying the last of the party. Her parents were slowly turning on the dancefloor, the only ones as the band had left nearly an hour ago, but they hadn't seemed to yet notice. Her brothers and their significant others were all still there, scattered about, laughing and talking with glasses being passed between them. Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny were all once again clustered around the table where they had eaten hours earlier, Harry leaning back contentedly, hands behind his head, well Ron was arguing playfully with Hermione, her head on his shoulder.
"Even if she did, you aren't playing next week," Harry replied, smiling. The woman had been the reserve chaser, who had been extremely excited for the chance to finally play a real game. Harry and Ginny were leaving in the morning for France, where they would be for the next two and a half weeks, during which neither would work and they would maintain minimal contact with their family back in Britain.
"I don't plan to," she replied, brushing his dark hair out of his eyes, "And if the entire ministry burns down and everyone breaks out of Azkaban, you aren't going to work either."
He raised his eyebrows at her, knowing that if such a thing were to occur, he would probably have to go to work, but still said, "I wouldn't want to anyway."
"Oh, no?" She asked, smiling.
"I'm right where I want to be," he replied, being entirely honest. "With you." This earned him a kiss and a long-suffering sigh from Ron.
"Oh shut up, Ronald," Hermione said, slapping him on the arm. "They're cute."
"You say that about gnomes," he replied, rolling his eyes. Harry snorted, and Ron was hit once again.
"You know," Ginny said in a revelatory tone, "There are twice as many Potters right now than there were yesterday at this time."
"I hadn't really thought about it much," Harry admitted, watching Teddy crawl sleepily into his grandmother's lap. How he had managed to stay awake this long, Harry would never know. Victoire was currently tucked away in one of the Burrow's bedrooms, asleep for almost two hours. "Not for a long time, anyway, being the last one."
"Well, now you aren't, mate," Ron replied stoically, slapping him on the back.
Harry shook his head, looking around at the dwindling group in front of him. Hagrid was still in a corner, blathering drunkenly to Percy, who was trying to extricate himself from the conversation with grace. Ginny's parents had just stopped dancing, her mother taking Teddy gingerly from Andromeda, and her father accepting another glass of firewhiskey from Charlie, who was going back to Romania in a few days' time. Somewhere nearby he could hear Angelina cracking up at one of George's jokes, and he smiled at the sound of laughter, which had so recently been so conspicuously absent from their lives. "I might have been the last Potter all my life, but I haven't been alone in a long time."
They all sat there for a moment, contemplating that and how somehow they had all ended up here. "It's strange, isn't it?" Ron asked, smiling because he knew that they all knew exactly what he meant. The other three nodded, smiling.
"It's nice," Ginny said, wrapping her hand around Harry's.
"So this is the happy ending, I suppose?" Harry asked, smiling at her.
"I suppose it is," she replied, kissing him.
"Makes all the crap in the middle worth it, doesn't it?" Ron offered, ignoring his sister and her new husband, and instead looking out at his brothers and their wives and girlfriends, knowing that in the next few years the family was going to explode and his one niece would soon have a great deal of company. Maybe there would even be a few Potters, he reflected, relieved that the idea didn't disturb him nearly as much as he had thought it would.
"Absolutely," Harry said with complete surety.
