-Chapter Twenty Five-

The Joining

Ron stood before the mirror, fumbling with his bow tie. He grumbled to himself as he once again failed to tie it correctly. There was a knock on the door and his Mum walked in.

"An owl arrived from the Grangers, they'll be leaving soon…" she tailed off, looking at Ron. "You look so smart right now," she said finally, fighting back tears.

"Can't I just wear some robes or something?" asked Ron. "I feel like a Laykin (1)."

"Of course you can't!" snapped his Mum, grabbing the bow tie and tying it on quickly. "There are traditions to follow! Now, hurry up and come down, everybody's waiting!" She turned and hurried out of the room, muttering about the hundreds of things still lot do under her breath.

Ron sighed. Why did weddings have to be so complicated?

Ron took his time coming down the stairs. As the babble of voices grew louder he seemed to slow down even more. He was a nervous wreck yet at the same time he felt on top of -

Suddenly he was face to face with someone a bit younger than him who had the face of a stranger yet Ron felt he'd known him for most of his life and the ground was shaking and

"ROOOOOOOOOON!"

Ron cried out and fell backwards. It was here! After so many years he thought he'd been free of it, but no!

Suddenly the kitchen door was flung open and his Mother was hurrying over to him."Ron! What happened? Was it one of those tremors? I swear, they are getting worse and worse…" She pulled him to his feet and fussed over him, brushing dust off his clothes and straightening his bow tie. "Now stop dawdling, everybody's here!"

Ron walked into the room to find himself hailed by seemingly every single member of the Weasley family. He put up with Fred and George's good-natured teasing as well as Percy's attempt at a speech. He patiently sat through all of his aunts and uncles congratulations and Great-Aunt Muriel's "I never thought you'd get married, Ronald, and certainly not to a muggle-born!" Before his mother announced it was time to head to the church, causing Ron to be attacked with a fit of nerves. His father, obsessed with all things Muggle, had hurried down there to get a good look at everything before the ceremony began and Charlie and Bill had hastily accompanied him to make sure he didn't break anything.

The St. Mary's Church was on the outskirts of Ottery St Catchpole and was used by the residents of the town for various activities, be they muggle or wizard. It was such a nice day that the Weasleys decided to walk down to town together, catching a lot of funny looks from the muggle residents. ("A lot of weird people about today!" one old woman muttered.)

Ron tried being chatty, became increasingly quiet as they walked towards the church and the pre-wedding jitters inevitably set in. Ginny smiled encouragingly at him and squeezed his hand in order to keep him focussed. Ron could see how excited she was for him. Despite his own terror the mood was generally jovial (2), only interrupted by an earth tremor.

The tremors had started just over a year ago. They had been ignored at first but as their strength and frequency grew there were concerns about what could be causing it, such as what was left of Voldemort's followers or some other Dark Wizards, such as Vinear Laval (3). Ron had been part of a team of Aurors that the Ministry of Magic had formed to investigate the issue but after following several leads they had come up with nothing. Another group had been tasked to come up with whys of stopping the tremors without success. Despite this the people of the Wizarding World carried on their lives, confident that it would all be sorted.

And, much to Ron's relief, none of the party was a dark spectre staring right at him.

They arrived at the church to find several friends of the family waiting. "Hello Molly!" said Amos Diggory, embracing her tightly. "Thankyou again for inviting us." Cedric shook hands with Ron warmly. "Congratulations, Ron," he said kindly. "You must be over the moon!" Ron smiled weakly, not trusting his voice to say anything. He'd always been jealous of Cedric at school - one of the best seekers on the Hufllepuff Quidditch team, always getting the girls following him - but in the years getting to know him after Hogwarts he was a nice guy really and utterly dedicated to his parents - the three seemed to be inseparable these days and Cedric didn't even seem interested in getting a place of his own.

Neither did Neville. He, his parents and his Gran all greeted him. Ron was at a bit of a loss for words at meeting the two people who had finally defeated the Dark Lord, but they were very pleasant towards him. Neville's Grandmother was very loud and boastful of her family's accomplishments and Ron couldn't help but feel that there would be trouble if she were ever to talk to Great-Aunt Muriel. Neville was his usual meek self but Ron was glad to see him again.

There were also a few unexpected guests. "Professor Dumbledore!" exclaimed Ron. "What are you doing here?"

"Wouldn't miss this for the world," said Dumbledore, smiling benevolently. "I always try to keep in touch with former Hogwarts Students. And," he added, lowering his voice so that only Ron could hear him. "I'm pleased that you've overcome those problems that were hounding you."

Ron's throat felt dry. This was it. Fate (4) had given him a chance. All he had to do was to tell Dumbledore about what he had just seen. But that could mean postponing the wedding…

"Yes, sir," Ron whispered back. "And thanks."

Another of the unexpected guests was Professor Willow. Like Dumbledore, he was pleased to see how well Ron had done. ("How could I not attend the wedding of my two favourite students?") but Ron still felt there was something odd about him being there, especially as when no one would talk to him his face would suddenly take on a deadly serious look and he took almost as great a fascination in the church as Ron's father did, strolling from room to room, examining everything intently.

Other people from Hogwarts and the Ministry were present. Ron was thrilled when Hagrid arrived, clutching a bouquet of flowers almost as big as he was. "Sorry I'm late!" he cried, "Had ter pick up some flowers for the occasion." He dropped the flowers on a nearby table and then shook hands with Ron a little too heartily. "Big day for yeh, Ron. Can't believe that it's happening, yeh and Hermione…" He let go of Ron's hand (much to his relief) and pulled out a large handkerchief from his pocket and blew his nose loudly, much to the distaste to several people around them. "Always get emotional at these things…" muttered Hagrid as he hurried away.

Ron found his Father inside the church. He must have been examining everything he could find for hours but still rushed around with the same level of enthusiasm. "Look at this Ron!" he cried excitedly, holding up a book. "It's the children's version of the muggle's holy book. Look! The pictures don't even move!" He flicked through it a few times before putting it down as he saw Ron's lack of enthusiasm. "What's wrong?"

Ron opened his mouth but no sounds came out. He had to tell someone about this persistent spectre but it was no good. He could not simply get the words out.

"I get it," said his Father, a smile slowly appearing on his lips. "Nerves."

Ron tired to force the words out as his Father placed a comforting arm around him. "Ron, today is a very important day for you and Hermione. I know your Mother is panicking about every little thing but let me tell you something - she was exactly the same on our wedding day, but it couldn't have gone better. And I'll tell you something else," he leaned forward and whispered in Ron's ear. "I was even more nervous than you." Ron looked back at him in surprise. His father winked at him.

Ron smiled. "Thanks."

Before Ron knew it, it was time. He heard the sound of a horse and thestral drawn carriage (5) and his Mother was all over him, straightening out his tie, tidying his hair, while trying very hard not to cry. "All right, all right Mum!" insisted Ron. His mother hurried away, leaving Ron alone in front of the pews. He looked at the sea of faces in front of him. He felt a fear like no other in his chest.

Then the door opened and Hermione strolled in.

Ron's heart skipped a beat. She looked simply beautiful. Her wedding dress was the purest white he had ever seen and bouquet she clutched in her hands were full of a combination off Muggle and Wizard plants. The organist struck up a tune as she walked down, accompanied by one of the Weird Sisters. They both tried to ignore the funny-looking instruments each other was playing. Hermione reached where Ron was standing and or a few moments the two of them stared at each other.

"Ready?" whispered Ron.

"For the rest of my life?" Hermione whispered back. "Of course!"

Despite the sheer length of the day so far, neither Ron and Hermione would forget a single moment of it. Even the vicar slowly droning on and the endless hymns and wizarding songs couldn't put a damper on their special day. Ron had felt a warm glow inside him from the minute he had seen Hermione walk in and he knew that it would never stop now.

Finally the end of the ceremony approached. "If any person here has reasons why these two should not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace." Silence rang out through the hall.

Ron couldn't resist. Even though he knew no one would say anything he could help but look over his shoulder just to be sure.

Standing in the aisle was the spectre.

"No…" Whispered Ron.

"You're not supposed to say anything!" hissed Hermione.

Ron ignored her. The figure had started walking towards him.

"Is there a problem?" asked the vicar suddenly. He suddenly gasped. "My word…"

And now other people were turning in their chairs. All of them were staring at the figure as it walked down the aisle . Some people were talking amongst themselves but one thing was clear to Ron.

They could all see it.

Beside him Hermione gasped at the sight of the figure. Ron instantly stepped in front of her, drawing his wand out. Enough of this. Several other people were doing the same. "I don't know who you are mate, but if you take one step closer there'll be trouble."

The figure carried on. it seemed to be getting more solid with every step. Ron could see it's features beginning to appear, it's mouth opening to say something. His nerve failed him and he stepped back, pushing Hermione with him. "Why don't you just go away?" he yelled. Several opeopel were sliding down the pews in an effort to get away from the figure, blocking those who were frantically scrambling forwards to help Ron and Hermione. He could see Willow drawing his wand while Dumbledore watched the entire thing with an unreadable expression that could have been interest. He seemed to be muttering something under his breath.

Suddenly Cedric broke free of his pew. Ignoring the shouts of protest from his parents, he charged up to the figure. "Get away from him!"

The flash was both bright and dark at the same time. For a split second Cedric and the figure were briefly illuminated in the strange light. Then it vanished and they were both gone. In their place stood a stranger.

No, not a stranger. For as Ron stared at him he suddenly realized who it was. Beside him Hermione shrieked. A name jumped unprompted to his lips.

"Harry Potter!"

Appendix

(1) A creature with any layers of skin, each one with a different texture and appearance. A Laykin goes through several stages of shedding throughout its life and as each layer of skin has different properties they are keenly sought after. As a result they are now very rare and considered almost extinct.

(2) Great-Aunt Muriel has a habit of bringing percentages down.

(3) An old, senile wizard who believes that he originates from a faraway land called Dulkis and is obsessed with recreating it. Despite his delusions is a highly talented in the Dark Arts.

(4) Some Wizards believe in fate, others make it. Some like to catch it and study it. Those wizards aren't very fun.

(5) Due to the nature of the wedding and Arthur Weasley's obvious enthusiasm for muggle weddings it was decided to have the carriage pulled by both horses and thestrals, which resulted in some odd looks from the resident muggles to say the least.