Chapter LII — The Parties and the Preparations

Months continued to pass quickly and Harry and Ron continued to help Portree win more games. They had managed to get into the championships before Christmas, and the entire team was ecstatic. The Quidditch season didn't start again until the twentieth of January and Harry was pleased with this because he now had the opportunity to enjoy a long honeymoon with Ginny. Daniel was growing so handsome and Tonks and Remus spoiled him rotten. Harry wasn't much better though, and Ginny was always teasing him when he found little gifts for his godchild. She told him that this only proved how wonderful of a father he would make. Finally, after months of planning, it was three days before the wedding.

Ron had some sort of bachelor party planned for Harry and Harry was a little nervous about it, mostly because Bill had told him that the twins had actually planned it. According to Ginny, there was a party for her too. The parties were supposed to be held two days before the wedding because Fred had said that Harry would need at least one day to recover. Harry didn't find this thought too comforting. So on the evening of December 22nd, Harry and Ron went to Ireland and to Seamus' dad's pub, which Seamus had reserved strictly for Harry's party that way no unwanted press would appear. The pub was called Finnegan's. When Harry stepped into the warm honey and oak decorated pub he grinned at the group of people who had appeared other than Seamus and Ron: Dean, Neville, Remus, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Arthur, Kingsley, Colin, Professors Flitwick, Hagrid, Snape, Slughorn, Michael Corner, Chris Roberts, and Mr. Tonks. It was an odd bunch of people and Harry didn't even know how to react at the idea of Severus Snape being there, he even wondered for a moment if he had been forced to show up. But then again, he had been invited to the wedding and had accepted.

Fred stood up on the bar grinning. "Welcome, welcome to what should be an incredible bachelor party for the famous Harry Potter! Harry is hitching himself to my sister in two days time, so let's make sure he has a good one!"

Harry laughed and looked down at the drink that Seamus had passed him. "What is it?"

"Fire whiskey."

Harry shrugged and took a small sip of it and winced as it burned his throat. "Interesting." He murmured and then he laughed as fireworks began to light up the pub and Michael winked at him.

"I heard a rumour that George found some strippers."

Harry gave a small laugh and he wondered if Ginny's party was even half as interesting as his was turning out to be.

Meanwhile, at the Burrow the girls had all crowded into the living room for gifts and fun, well girl fun. They had turned Ginny's party into a female wedding shower as well. Hermione had run the idea past Molly, who had loved it, even if she had hesitated at first knowing what kind of gifts her baby girl would be receiving. Once all of the guys had left, Lavender, Parvati, Luna, Fleur, Angelina, Katie, Demelza, Tonks, and Professors McGonagall, Hooch, and Madam Pomfrey had arrived at the house. It was an odd group of women, but everyone seemed to get along fairly well. Molly brought out champagne and wine along with some chocolate, cake, brownies, and all sorts of other sweets. Everyone sat around talking about the wedding and how the plans were going while they nibbled and waited for everyone to arrive before they began on the gifts.

Ginny giggled girlishly as she sipped her wine and took the first gift that Hermione handed her. It was from all of the Professors together as well as Madam Pomfrey. She unwrapped it and gasped, blushing to the roots of her hair as she pulled out a small white silk robe that would really barely cover her at all. She held it up against herself and sighed, it was so soft and when she pictured Harry's reaction well, she only liked the gift that much more. Beneath the robe she found high-heeled matching slippers and a nightgown. The nightgown was spaghetti strapped and even shorter then the robe and it showed almost her entire back.

"Thank you. It's beautiful." Ginny replied honestly, her mind once again going to Harry's reaction.

McGonagall smiled. "Well, a bride needs to be able to take her husband's breath away from time to time."

Ginny smiled. She never thought that she would see the day that Professor McGonagall bought her a silk nightgown so that she could impress Harry in the bedroom. "I completely agree. Thank you."

She folded up her new things and placed them back in the box. She took the next box from Hermione and read the card. This one was from Lavender. As she unwrapped the box she wondered what someone like Lavender Brown would buy her for her honeymoon. She blushed again when she pulled out a pair of knee high black heeled boots and a matching black leather mini skirt.

"It may not be for the honeymoon, but I saw those and I just thought that they would look incredible on you." Lavender said, grinning. "Ginny, we need to get you to go a bit wilder from time to time."

Ginny laughed. "Thanks Lavender, I think that this will definitely be a change." She looked at the outfit again. "Harry's mouth will drop open if I ever wear that in public."

Lavender grinned. "That would be the point."

Ginny grinned and placed her new items in the box and took the next gift from Hermione. This one was from Parvati. She opened it up and found three nightgowns. One was black lace and almost completely see through and by the looks of it, it wouldn't cover much.

Ginny blushed. "Thanks Parvati."

Parvati laughed. "Oh, I did want to see your face when you pulled that one out. Look at the other two."

The next one was royal blue silk with lace trim. It went to her knees and had a criss-cross tie in the front that started at her naval and went up to the top of her breasts, leaving the centre of her torso bare to the world. She thought of Harry again and grinned and then she wondered briefly if she was turning into some kind of scarlet woman. She grinned to herself, who cared if it was all for Harry? She most certainly didn't and she was definitely a little anxious for her honeymoon now, even if Harry still refused to tell her where they were going. The third one was emerald green and made of lace, but it was modest and really very sexy. Ginny naturally loved it because it reminded her of Harry's eyes.

"Thanks Parvati."

Parvati grinned. "No problem."

The next gift was from Luna, which made Ginny a little nervous as Luna was well … odd. However, what she pulled out of the wonderfully wrapped bag was beautiful and she couldn't wait to wear it. Luna had bought her a gorgeous cashmere turtle neck sweater in emerald green.

Ginny sighed as she ran her hands over the softness. "Thanks Luna, it's beautiful."

Luna smiled. "Well, I just thought that it is winter time, and you do need things to keep you warm."

Parvati laughed. "Other than Harry you mean."

Everyone laughed as Ginny blushed. "Thanks Luna." She opened the next box which was from Demelza. Ginny had really become good friends with her since she had joined the Quidditch team for Gryffindor as a chaser. Both Demelza and Luna had been given permission to leave Hogwarts a day early to attend the party and the wedding. Ginny grinned when she pulled out a pair of black lace underwear and matching bra. "Thanks."

Demelza grinned. "I told my mum that you were getting married, and she and my aunt told me to get you this."

Ginny laughed. "It's nice, Dee, thanks."

Ginny received more sexy lingerie to wear from Angelina and Katie. Mostly in black lace and black satin. Katie had whispered something about she and Angelina buying her a whip but they didn't want to give it to her in the presence of her mother. Ginny turned scarlet at the idea; what was she supposed to do with that? But sure enough, shrunk in the envelope so that Molly wouldn't see were a whip and some handcuffs. Ginny nodded at Angelina and Katie who were grinning at her. Even though she was pretty sure that she would never use them in her entire life. Fleur bought Ginny some truly gorgeous nightgowns, six in total; in royal blue, black, white, red, emerald green, and gold. All of them were silk and went to her knees, leaving her back bare and cutting low at the bodice. She had smiled warmly when Ginny had thanked her, before she whispered in her ear.

"Bill told me that I must give you something modest, but I thought these were perfect because they are modest but they are very sexy."

Ginny smiled at her sister-in-law. "Thanks Fleur, I love them."

Fleur grinned and handed her the box from Tonks next. Tonks had gone a little overboard with the gifts, but she figured that since she loved Ginny like a sister and Harry was her godchild, she was allowed to make sure that they were both doubly happy. She had give Ginny some sexy lingerie – matching undergarments in a variety of colours. She also gave her a gift basket full of bath things so that she could make herself beautiful and Tonks had made sure that it all had Ginny's favourite scent; the flowery one that drove Harry mad. Hermione simply gave Ginny a card saying that she had plans for Ginny which would start at dawn on the day of her wedding day, but that it was a surprise.

Ginny grinned up at Hermione. "What kind of surprise?"

Hermione laughed. "A good one."

Molly gave her daughter her gift next, mostly to distract her from badgering Hermione but also because she was the last one. It was simply a veil that had been passed down in the Prewitt family household for centuries. Ginny cried when she saw it. It was so beautiful. The veil had a crown of pearls and tiny glass flowers sprinkled in a rim around the crown that was attached to the long flowing veil itself. Molly gently placed it on her daughter's head.

"This is yours now, Ginevra."

Ginny wiped the tears from her eyes as she jumped up to hug her mum. Once she had hugged everyone and thanked them thoroughly for the gifts, Tonks popped open another bottle of champagne, shifting baby Daniel in her lap so that she could reach for the chocolate.

"Alright, guys, let's get this party started!"

At the pub, Harry found himself constantly being given more and more alcohol. After fire whiskey he had been given some Guinness, a bit of tequila, a shot of rum, and some rye and coke. The many different mixes made his stomach revolt a bit and he threw up spectacularly in the bathroom. Fred and George seemed to think that this was the cue for more and they soon had him drinking another shot of tequila, cheering loudly whenever he vomited. Gambling was happening all over the party over exploding snap, poker, and all sorts of other games. Arthur decided to make sure that he bet money for Harry to keep the now extremely drunk Harry from losing everything he owned.

Fireworks continued to fly around the room and Harry had received some weird food that he realized must have come from Fred and George's joke shop when he felt himself constantly changing into animals and then turning back into himself. Obviously they had greatly improved the Canary Creams. Michael Corner hadn't been lying about overhearing George's plans and soon there were two female strippers in the mix. One of them, a brunette with big blue eyes ended up giving Harry a lap dance. Harry was so drunk that he could barely see straight, so he just grinned like a loon and went on to tell the entire pub how much he loved Ginny Weasley. Not soon after, he was puking everywhere once again.

Ron, Remus, and Arthur took pity on him around dawn and decided to help him back to Potter Manor. They had to take a portkey since they didn't trust Harry not to splinch himself while apparating. When they arrived in the entrance hall, Dobby quickly hurried out and winced when Harry vomited all over the floor.

Remus sighed and vanished the vomit with a wave of his wand. "Hey Dobby, do you have any sobering potion?"

Dobby looked at Harry with curiousity. "Is Harry Potter drunk, sir?"

Ron laughed; he himself has also had quite a bit to drink, but not merely as much as Harry and Ron had stuck to fire whiskey, while Harry had been mixing alcohol all evening. "He most certainly is, Dobby; in fact we're all drunk!"

Arthur sighed. "Well, Harry and Ron are drunk anyway." He slipped an arm around his son's waist to prevent him from falling over.

Remus grinned. "If you could get the potion ready, Dobby, for when he wakes up. For now, we're going to get these two into bed."

Dobby nodded and hurried out of the room as Remus tried to help a stumbling Harry up the stairs while Arthur helped Ron.

Remus went to the master bedroom, waving to Arthur who was trying to transport Ron up another flight of stairs. He laid Harry down on his bed, making sure that he was on his stomach and then he quickly undressed Harry down to his boxers and put a cool cloth on his head and a pail next to his bed. "Sleep tight, Harry."

Harry grinned. "Can Ginny come too? I need her here."

Remus smiled. "Ginny will be here soon enough, but right now you need to sleep."

"I love her, she is so beautiful."

Remus laughed. "At least you're a happy drunk, good night, Harry." As he left the room he ran into Dobby. "You going to keep an eye on him tonight?"

Dobby nodded. "Yes sir."

Remus smiled. "Good, then I'll go see if Arthur needs help with Ron."

Dobby nodded and hurried into the master bedroom, taking a comfortable seat in the chair to watch over his master.

When Harry woke up the next morning he felt like someone was beating on his head with a hammer. He groaned and rolled over to find Dobby staring at him.

"Good morning Harry Potter sir, how is you feeling?"

Harry groaned again and covered his face with his pillow. Dobby however, didn't take this as a sign to leave. Instead, he pulled Harry right off the bed so that he fell and hit the floor. "Ouch! Dobby, what was that for?" Harry demanded.

Dobby grinned. "I can make your head stop hurting."

Harry looked at Dobby with interest. "Really?"

Dobby nodded, beaming at him. "First Harry Potter must go and take a cold shower, wake you up a bit."

Harry merely nodded and forced himself to climb up and walk into the bathroom. He yelped when the cold water hit his skin, but after the initial shock, he did feel better. When he stepped out and had slung a towel around his waist, Dobby handed Harry a cup of potion. Harry gulped it down in two sips.

"Good, now Harry Potter can take a proper shower. You is feeling better soon. Come downstairs when you is done and I is making you some breakfast."

Harry nodded and stepped back into the shower, deciding on the spot, that Fred and George Weasley were dead men.

Ginny woke up refreshed and excited. Once all of the presents had been opened there had been dancing and singing and stupid games to be played. Angelina and Katie had even called in a stripper but Molly had freaked out and kicked the man out before most of his clothes disappeared. Ginny had found the entire thing to be absolutely hilarious. Now she was excited and tense. Tomorrow she would become Mrs. Harry James Potter.

She giggled in delight and got up to take her shower. Some last minute decisions and decorating had to be made so she needed to be fresh for the day ahead.

Arthur caught up with Harry the day before the wedding to talk to him. He looked sort of nervous when he spoke. "Harry, can I ask you something?"

Harry nodded. "Sure Arthur, what's up?"

Arthur smiled. "Well, Harry I know that tomorrow is your wedding and that is a very special day for you and Ginny. Well I, I managed to book two weeks off in January to take Molly on a holiday to the Caribbean. She's always wanted to go there you know, and I thought since I'm making enough money to take her there now, that she would like it."

Harry nodded; he wasn't sure exactly where this conversation was going. "Alright, I'm sure she'll love it. I hope you guys have fun."

Arthur smiled. "Thank you, Harry, but you see Molly's and my anniversary is coming up in January and I want to do something special for her, hence the trip. But I want to tell her by doing something special. It's the anniversary of when we first met, which was in January at Hogwarts."

"Like what?" Harry asked, he found this entire conversation to be really sweet.

"Well, I was looking for a nice song for her and I found a good muggle one. I was wondering if I could play it at the wedding as a special treat for her, so I can show the world how much she means to me and then tell her about the trip."

Harry grinned. "I think that that's a great idea, just tell me what you want me to do."

Arthur grinned broadly. "I knew that I could count on you. But you can't tell Ginny or anyone, I want it to be a complete surprise."

Harry grinned. "Of course, so let's see the song."

At dawn on December 24th, Ginny was awoken by Hermione for her surprise. She showered and dressed in the casual clothes that she was told too and then Ginny, Hermione, Luna, Fleur, Molly, Lavender, Tonks, and Parvati took a portkey to muggle London where Hermione had planned for them all to enjoy a day at the spa. They were treated to a full body massage and a mud mask first; they then had a luxurious bath in the scent of their choosing while someone washed their hair and put masks on their faces; then they each received a pedicure and a manicure; then each woman got their hair done professionally; and last but not least their makeup. When they walked out of their, forty-five minutes before the wedding, each one of them felt incredible.

Ginny thanked Hermione constantly as they took another portkey to the dress rooms in the castle in Ireland and began to dress for the wedding.

Harry had slept most of the morning to try to stop himself from being nervous, but he was. He didn't know why he was nervous, he knew that he loved Ginny and that there was nothing else in the world that he wanted more than to marry her, yet he had butterflies in his stomach. Before he knew it, he was in the dress rooms in the castle with his wedding barely an hour a way. He looked at himself in the mirror and sighed. Ginny had chosen a black tux instead of robes. Harry didn't mind at all as he stood there in his black pants, white shirt, black tie and vest. His jacket was draped over the back of the chair as he looked at his hair, wondering if he could make it lye flat for once in his life.

He turned at the sound of the door opening and grinned when Ron and Remus came in. "Hey mate, how are you doing?" Ron asked. He was also in a black tux.

"A little nervous."

Remus grinned. "Well, you got me through my nerves and look now I'm the happiest man alive. I've got a beautiful wife and a beautiful son, what more could I ask for? This is what you want, Harry, Ginny is what you want."

Harry nodded. "I know, but I'm still nervous." He pulled the wedding rings from his pocket and handed them to Ron.

"Here." Ron grinned. "I'll keep them safe, mate. Come on, everything will be fine."

There was a knock at the door and Ron went to pull it open, grinning at Tonks and Hermione. Tonks wore a velvet lavender gown that cut low at the bodice and flared out at the waist and went down to her ankles, while Hermione had the maid of honour dress on; Ginny had chosen royal blue for her maid of honour and a baby blue for her bridesmaids.

"Wow."

Tonks laughed. "I'll take that as a compliment." She stepped into the room and smiled at Harry. "Hiya handsome, how are you holding up?"

Harry shrugged. "I'm alright. How's Ginny?"

Hermione grinned and walked up to Harry to kiss his cheek. "Deliriously happy and looking so beautiful."

Harry grinned. "Good. I can do this."

Tonks and Hermione each took one of his hands. "Of course you can. Now hang in there, handsome, it's only going to be a few more minutes."

Ginny stood in front of the mirror in the white silk and lace wedding dress that she had designed and made from scratch with the help of her mum. Her perfect dress. It was strapless and cut straight across her bodice for a modest cut, tight fitting on her torso and then flaring out from the waist down. The dress was made of silk with lace flowers and swirls patterned along her breasts, as a belt around her waist, and along the hem of the dress. On top of the lace were tiny glass flowers to match the veil she would be wearing as well as tiny pearls. Her hair was swept up in a fantastic twist of braids and curls, with a curl dangling down on each side of her face and a few dangling down in the back of her hair.

She felt like a princess.

Lavender and Parvati helped her fit the veil on her head, making sure the crown was sitting so that it wouldn't mess up her hair.

Arthur stepped into the room and gasped when he took a look at his daughter. "God Ginevra, you look beautiful. How did my baby grow up so quickly?"

Ginny smiled and stepped into her high heels before kissing her dad on the cheek. "I didn't grow up that fast."

Arthur smiled. "I have something for you. It belonged to my grandmother and your mother wore it on our wedding day." He reached into the jacket pocket of his tux and pulled out a large velvet box, opening it to reveal a stunning necklace. "The chain is white gold and well most of them are not real diamonds, but it sparkles just the same." He placed it around her neck and smiled. "You look lovely."

Ginny reached a hand down to touch the necklace, tears in her eyes. "Oh Daddy, it's wonderful." She kissed his cheeks and pulled him close for a hug. When she pulled back, Arthur had tears in his eyes as he looked at his daughter.

"It matches your bracelet, the one you received from Harry on your birthday." Arthur replied.

Ginny grinned. "They're both beautiful, Dad, did Mum really wear it too?"

"Yes, she did." He smiled when Molly came back into the room. "Right Molly?"

Molly smiled at her husband. "Right what dear?" Then her eyes saw the necklace that Ginny wore. "Oh Ginny, you have the necklace. I wore that on my wedding day. We need to find you earrings that match."

Lavender smiled; she Parvati, Luna, and Fleur had been trying to stay out of the touching scene, but now she moved forward. "I have some that would match." She reached into her bag and pulled out two white gold earrings with dangling glass flowers. "Here Ginny, wear these. I was going to give them to you after the wedding, but they match your outfit."

"Oh these are for me?" Ginny asked as she took the earrings from Lavender.

Lavender nodded. "Yes, it's your wedding present from Seamus and I; they'll look beautiful on you."

Ginny giggled and slipped them on, taking one last look in the mirror as her mum came up behind her and put the veil over her face. "Well, how do I look?"

Molly smiled at her daughter, tears in her eyes. "Like a bride."