The wedding was beautiful. I know, I am supposed to say that as the bride, and truly if we were married in a state hall in Portland it would have beautiful, but the wedding truly was. The church was big and had a huge cathedral filled with hundreds of stained glass windows. The priest was a preacher. Imagine that. He spoke loudly yet beautifully. Abby, my flower girl, beautifully placed the roses along the white carpet that stretched from the double doors at the front to the altar, as if they floated from her hands to the floor in a precise order. Paul and Amelia went after, walking slowly yet delibteretly, taking their places on either side of Stan. I took my mother's hand and we walked to the door waiting for our cue.
"Are you nervous?" She asked excitedly.
"No," I said truthfully. My voice came out like a sigh. My happiness could be heard through the very tone of my voice. It could be seen through every fiber of my being. Stan and I were married on November 18th at exactly 3:14 pm. I knew the time because a clock was strategically placed on the wall opposite from Stan. I just had to gaze over his shoulder to see what time it was. Of course, Stan caught my eye immediately after and held it there through the rest of the ceremony.
"You're beautiful," Stan whispered as the priest said words I didn't bother to hear. I blushed madly. Just two words from Stan made my heartbeat so fast and my face turn a hideous red color. I smiled at him, like a fool. He leaned in to kiss me and I kissed back.
"Hey," The priest said from far away. I broke away and look at him strangely. Why was he interrupting? "You haven't even said your vows yet," He said. The audience laughed. I could easily hear Al's distinguishable guffaw. I blushed and Stan even turned a light tint of pink. We said our vows and exchanged our rings. The ring, an opal stone encrusted with diamonds, now lay over my ring finger. I marveled at how the color immediately changed to pink. The stone was the same as the Stan's grandmother's necklace. It was exactly as I had pictured it.
Soon after, the priest pronounced us man and wife. What a strange thing to say, I thought. So was Stan not a man before today? Obviously he was a man. Why would they say that?
"Something old. It was my grandmother's" Stan whispered about the ring as our mouth's met again for the second time. The crowd applauded this time and I smiled wide as we "drove" to the reception. For the sake of Stan's father's family we apparated and put the illusion of us coming out of the car. I was deathly afraid of them since getting into a car accident when I was 16. I loved being a witch, there was always a way to avoid muggle things. The reception was held at a nicely decorated hall. Stan and I did the whole she-bang. We danced slowly to our first dance, twirling around slowly and kissing for the small crowd. By then though the numbness had worn off and I could feel the blister's setting in. We only danced for a few more songs before they were bleeding. But I, being stubborn, ignored it and made myself stand up. The cake was delicious. Although I couldn't prove it, I was pretty sure there was something magical in there to boost happiness. When I asked Mum about it she shrugged.
"The only thing I put was chocolate," She said with a devilish grin I hadn't seen for so long. Abby, had fallen asleep standing up at 5 and I so wanted to do the same, but the crowd wouldn't let me. They insisted on coming up one by one and paying their congratulations. Al and his family were the only people that really mattered to me and we had a big laugh.
"Hey, good thing those marriage laws were repealed," Said Al. I laughed at his playful yet political joke. Except for the occasional owl, Al and I rarely talked. I made a mental note to invite him over more.
I glanced at Maddie and Nick, with bags under their eyes, tenderly holding Julia Brooke. Nick smiled and waved at me when our eyes met, but Maddie didn't seem to notice. Amelia was next to Paul, with her round stomach ready to pop. She smiled at me and the smile that was already on my face became wider.
Stan and I didn't talk much during the reception. We couldn't keep the smile off of our faces. We kissed each other's lips whenever our eyes met and soon all I wanted to do was go home. I just wanted to go home and love my husband. I giggled as my new name settled in my mind. Brooke Shunpike sounded so good. I caught Stan's eye as he looked away from his mother for a second. He winked and I blushed. Mum looked at us but I barely noticed her.
"Go on ahead, I clean up. You airplane leaves early tomorrow for France in the morning," I heard Mum's voice. Upon hearing these words I removed my shoes quickly and leapt into Stan's arm. We arrived at our condo soon after. The talk of a new house was always on our mind and half of our things were already packed even though we hadn't really chosen a new place. We were fascinated however, by a big house close to Diagon Alley. It was big and old, made over 40 years ago, yet it was breathtaking. It would have taken a lot of work to renovate so we hadn't closed on the deal. I however hoped that Stan and I would be able to get the house. It just needed some love inside of it was all.
"Brooke, I love you so much." Stan breathed into my ear from behind. I immediately shivered.
"I love you. Sometimes I wonder if love is strong enough a word," I told him unbuttoning his shirt.
"I do too. But it's all I can think of right now. My mind is too filled with thoughts of you." He said quietly and I believed it. That night we made love with such tenderness with the telling of such promises that I could hardly keep from crying. It was sweet.
I had a vision as I lay next to Stan some hours later of our future. We were sitting on the porch of some unfamiliar house; it looked suspiciously like the house we had been looking at earlier, rocking and holding hands. Our hair was a matching white and there were quite a few wrinkles to be seen. I saw our grandchildren playing in the field in front of our house happily. I heard their laughter filling my ears so that I smiled along. And I saw Stan sitting right next to me where he should always be. I was suddenly very conscious of how long we would be together. The thought didn't frighten me. Instead it made me eager. I was eager to share the experiences of a married couple with Stan. This was only the beginning after all. My mind flashed to the night when we had met. Stan had been shy and awkward, we had become better people, and both of us had become better by our relationship then. I remember how my face had looked when I had got the news Stan was in Azkaban. I couldn't believe it, there was no way my Stan had done something so terrible. I remember again the day when I had gotten on the Knight Bus in tears and Stan knew exactly what not to say. He always knew. I looked over at Stan's sleeping figure and only one thing ran through my mind. It was destiny. It was pre determined that we had met, that we got married. We should have stayed together all along. If only I hadn't broken up with him, we could have been married so much earlier. I would have had some many more adventures and stories to tell featuring us together. The Knight Bus was a beacon for our love. Providing its breeding ground. We were met again in the Knight Bus both times. Maybe the Knight Bus itself wanted us to be together. It had a plan and I shunned it. I knew one thing for certain though, I was so glad I had gotten on the Knight Bus. I mentally reminded myself to take my kids on a trip in the Knight Bus showing them the memorial. I felt Stan moved from under my caressing hands. He roused in his sleep and once noticing I was near him smiled. That smile reminded me of all the memories we had had and all of the memories that would come. That smile reminded me of the Knight Bus.