The last few days before the wedding were full with preparations and passed quickly. Early on the morning of the wedding, Harry woke up in the attic with a smile on his face. Bill and Arthur had told him that it was natural for grooms to be nervous on their wedding day, but the only thing Harry was feeling was excited. He couldn't wait for Ginny to become his wife. His only regret was that so many of his loved ones wouldn't be with him to share this momentous day. As he lay in his bed and realized that this was probably the last night he would ever spend up in the attic with Ron, he also grew a little nostalgic. While getting married meant the start of a whole new adventure with Ginny, it would also mean that other things were ending or changing. Before he had a chance to get too lost in his thoughts, the attic door opened quietly and Ginny tiptoed over to his bed and climbed in.
"Couldn't sleep anymore either?" Harry asked as she arranged the covers around both of them.
"No," Ginny agreed as she burrowed into his embrace, resting her cheek against his chest.
"Nerves?" Harry asked.
"Not a chance," Ginny said as she shifted so her eyes were level with his. "Why, are you nervous?"
"Merlin, no," Harry said. "Just excited."
"Me too," Ginny said as she brought her lips to his.
"Wait, am I supposed to see you before the wedding?" Harry asked, suddenly concerned.
"Who knows, I know there is something about not seeing me in my wedding dress before the actual wedding," Ginny said. "But I'm not superstitious. You seeing me isn't going to wreck our marriage and if it does, we weren't going to last very long anyway."
Harry chuckled as he pulled her closer and said, "I love you. Let's just make sure your Mum doesn't catch you in here."
"I can't believe it's finally here," Ginny said. "We're actually getting married, today."
"I know," Harry agreed. "Even with the short engagement and school to distract us, it felt like a long time."
"I know, all the waiting is finally over," Ginny said huskily as her hands trailed down his back toward his bottom.
"Well, tonight it will be anyway," Harry said as his mouth moved to her neck.
"Did you hear that?" Ginny asked suddenly. "Sounds like Mum's up. I better go. I have to be ready for Lavendar to start working on me in an hour anyway. See you later?"
"Of course," Harry said. He kissed her one last time and said, "I'll be the deliriously happy looking one waiting for you at the front of the church."
"I can't wait," Ginny whispered.
"Me neither," Harry grinned.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Ginny lay sprawled on her bed, in her bathrobe, as Fleur, Luna, and Hermione discussed with Lavendar, how they would like their hair done for the wedding. Hermione had magically expanded Ginny's bedroom so that an area could be set up for Lavendar and Pavarti, who had also come to help, to work in.
"And how would the bride like her hair?" Lavendar asked with a smile.
"I think mostly up," Ginny said. "There's a tiara and a veil to deal with, just so you are aware. I trust your judgment though, whatever you think is going to work best."
"I want a little bit more to work from," Lavendar pushed. "When you see a picture in your head of your self as a bride, what is the first word that comes to mind?
Thinking back to the dress fitting, Ginny smiled and said, "Romantic."
"Perfect," Lavendar said. "I can work with that."
As Lavendar got to work on Fleur's hair, Hermione came to sit with Ginny on the bed. "Are you nervous?" she asked.
"No," Ginny replied. "Just excited."
"That's good," Hermione said. "I saw Harry at breakfast and he said the same thing when I asked him."
"Good," Ginny said with a secret smile, she wasn't going to tell Hermione she had already seen Harry this morning. Hermione was probably the superstitious type.
"Do you want me to paint your toenails?" Hermione asked.
"Why?" Ginny replied.
"Just a nice touch, we could make them match your bouquet," Hermione suggested.
"I guess," Ginny said. "No one is going to be able to see them under my dress though."
"Well then, Harry will see them tonight," Hermione countered.
"I'm sure my toenails are going to be the most important thing Harry has to look at tonight," Ginny said sarcastically.
"Speaking of tonight," Hermione said slowly. "Are you nervous?"
"A bit," Ginny confessed honestly.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Hermione asked carefully. "I know your mother already tried to talk to you about the wedding night, but if you'd be more comfortable talking to me, I'm here for you."
Ginny didn't meet Hermione's eyes but nodded carefully. Thinking for a minute, she watched Hermione tap her toenails with her wand and color magically appeared. When each toenail was done, Ginny asked, "Does it hurt?"
"A bit, the first time; but it's not so bad," Hermione said. "The second time is better."
"What if I'm terrible at it?" Ginny whispered.
"You won't be," Hermione said. "Just do what feels natural and you'll be fine. You'll figure it out together as you go along."
"Thanks Hermione," Ginny said as she offered her hands to Hermione. "Here, do my fingernails too."
When Luna, Hermione, and Fleur had each had their turn with Lavendar, Ginny took a seat at the small vanity table and watched as Lavendar set to work with various tubes and bottles of magical hair potions. She watched in amazement for a while as Lavendar curled and pinned her hair. Eventually, she let her eyes drift closed as her mind wandered. She thought about the wedding and the vows she'd be reciting in just a few hours time. She thought about where Harry might be taking her on their honeymoon and how, when they returned here tomorrow night to spend Christmas Eve with her family, she and Harry could go to bed together in her room; no more sneaking around. Most of all, she thought about how in a few hours time she would be Harry's wife.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"Harry, it's your turn," George said exasperatedly.
"Sorry," Harry mumbled as he played his turn at wizard's chess. His mind just wasn't on the game. He knew George was just trying to follow directions keep him occupied until the ceremony, but he wouldn't have minded just being left to think in peace.
Ron, George, Neville, and Harry had been sent ahead to the church and were to remain there until the wedding. The Burrow was too full this morning, and with Ginny and her bridesmaids preparing for the wedding there and Molly being so adamant about the two of them not running into each other before the ceremony, the only solution had been to send the boys out of the house. Harry smiled to himself remembering that he and Ginny had already spend time together this morning; their little secret.
"How much longer?" Ron asked for the third time in the last half hour.
"A little over an hour," Neville said calmly as he checked his watch.
Harry was starting to feel claustrophobic in the little room. An idea struck him. "I'm going to go out to the cemetery and visit my parent's graves," he said.
"Want company?" Ron asked hopefully, clearly also sick of the little room.
"I'd rather go alone if you don't mind," Harry said.
"No problem," Ron replied.
Harry pulled his winter cloak on over his dress robes and let himself out of the church. He breathed in the cold air deeply; it felt good to be out of that room. As he made his way to the back of the church where the cemetery lay, he took in the beautiful day. A fresh blanket of snow had fallen the night before and it covered everything. The sun was shining brightly and made the new snow sparkle. When he reached the place where his parents were buried, he cleared the snow away with his wand and conjured a Christmas wreath.
"Hi," he said, unsure where to begin. "Today is my wedding day." Quietly, he studied the headstones before continuing, "I wonder if there will ever be an important moment in my life in which I don't think of you. Not that I want to stop thinking about you. It's just that sometimes it seems odd to me that I think of you as much as I do when I knew you as little as I did. Does that make sense? I suppose even if I hadn't known you at all, as my parents, I would still think of you during the big moments of my life. I wish you could be here with me today. I wish that I could look back at you sitting in the pews, smiling proudly at me, as I marry Ginny. I will settle with hoping that where ever you are now, you are watching today and smiling proudly from there. Maybe gather Sirius and Remus to watch with you." He paused, wondering if he had the courage to voice this next bit out loud. He knew he was being rather silly, no one was actually around to hear him. He knew that even though he was talking to his parents, what he had to say next was something he was admitting to himself. "Sometimes I worry what kind of husband I will end up to be for Ginny. I mean, my best examples have been you Dad, and Arthur; neither of who I've gotten much time observing. I guess I will just do the best I can."
Harry stood there in the cemetery for a while just thinking about the wedding and his vows to Ginny. He thought about bringing Ginny back to their new home at Grimmauld Place this evening and the spectacular honeymoon he had planned for them; most of all, he thought about how, in about an hour, he would be Ginny's husband.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
It was a mere ten minutes before the wedding. The boys had been let out of the cramped little room so that Ginny and the bridesmaids could wait for the wedding in there. Ron, Neville, and George were helping the ushers escort guests to their seats in the tiny church. Harry was pacing in the coatroom off the entrance to the church. As the wedding drew closer, he was getting a bit nervous; but it had nothing to do with the act of getting married and everything to do with the audience he was going to do it in front of.
Ginny must have been feeling the same way because suddenly Hermione burst into the coatroom and demanded that Harry come with her. "Ginny wants to talk to you."
"But I thought I wasn't allowed to see her in her dress before the wedding," Harry protested.
"Well, we'll make sure you can't see each other," Hermione said. "You don't need to see each other to talk to each other."
Hermione dragged Harry toward the cramped little room and stopped outside the door. "Ginny, he's here." Ginny's hand poked out through the small crack they'd left in the door.
"Hold my hand, Harry," Ginny demanded.
Harry took her hand in his and asked through the door, "Is everything okay?"
"Yes, it is now. I just needed to hear your voice. Sitting in this little room, hearing everyone arriving and not knowing if you were here somewhere or not, I just started to get nervous," Ginny explained.
"So, you still want to marry me in five minutes or so?" Harry asked.
"Of course," Ginny said. "It was just nerves, but not about marrying you. I got a little nervous about walking down the aisle in this dress and not tripping in my heels and everyone watching me…"
"Gin," Harry interrupted. "I know exactly how you are feeling. I was pacing over in the coatroom, worrying about the same sorts of things. We'll just focus on each other and let everyone else fade into the background."
"Thanks Harry," Ginny said drawing in a shaky breath. "I love you. See you in a few minutes?"
"You can bet on it," Harry said. "I love you too."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Ten minutes later, Harry found himself standing at the alter with Ron, George, and Neville beside him. The ushers had escorted Ginny's family in, and lit some candles upon the altar. There were arrangements of Christmassy flowers spread around the church and, hovering near the ceiling, were the same magical balloons that had been at Bill and Fleur's wedding. These balloons were silver instead of gold though, to match the rest of the wedding décor. Music swelled out of the balloons and Harry knew that it was time. Luna, Fleur, then Hermione walked down the aisle, beaming at him as their carried their bouquets of white roses and holly. Then everyone in the church stood and Harry could see Arthur and Ginny standing at the end of the aisle. She had never looked more radiantly beautiful. As they made their way toward him, he never lost eye contact with her. As he had promised her outside the cramped little room earlier, the world shrank to just the two of them. He could feel the happy smile spreading across his face and, despite the happy tears shining in her eyes, her smile mirrored his. When they reached the front of the church, Arthur hugged and kissed his daughter before hugging Harry and whispering, "Take care of each other."
Together they approached the altar and Harry heard the guests settle back into their seats behind them. Sebastian Ripple, the same minister that he'd hired to bury Professor Snape, was presiding over their wedding today. "Witches and Wizards, we are gathered here today to witness the bonding of Harry and Ginevra for life. The couple has prepared their own statements. Harry, you may proceed."
Nervously clearing his throat and looking deep into Ginny's eyes, he said, "Ginevra, I feel like the luckiest wizard alive, that the girl I fell in love with, loves me back. I'm still not sure that I deserve you, but I will spend the rest of my life making sure that I make you as happy as you deserve to be. I love you, Ginny." He slid a simple wedding band onto her finger to join the diamond and emerald engagement ring.
"Harry," Ginny began shakily. Her eyes reconnected with his and her voice grew stronger, "I have been in love with since I was five years old. Back then, it was just a crush, but as I got to know you, first as a friend, and then as something more, I knew it was the real thing. There is no one else, that I could possibly imagine, with whom I'd rather spend the rest of my life. I love you, Harry." She slid the gold wedding band she had picked out for him onto his finger.
"Now comes my part," said the minister. "Do you, Harry James Potter, take Ginevra Molly Weasley, to be your magically bonded wife?"
"I do," Harry said with a grin at Ginny.
"And, do you, Ginevra Molly Weasley, take Harry James Potter, to be your magically bonded husband?"
"I do," Ginny said happily.
"Then I declare you bonded for life," he pronounced. Behind them, Harry could hear more than one person crying tears of joy. Just like at Bill and Fleur's wedding, the minister waved his wand high over their heads and a shower of silver stars fell upon them. They spiraled around them as Harry pulled Ginny toward him and kissed her. As their guests began to applaud, the silver balloons burst and bells, rose petals, and sprigs of mistletoe floated out of them, gently falling to the aisle below. Ginny took Harry's arm and together, they walked down the aisle to the back of the church. Once near the front door, Harry gathered Ginny into his arms and kissed her longingly. They were married! It wasn't long before Ron, Hermione, Fleur, George, Neville, and Luna had followed them down the aisle and were hugging and congratulating them.
"Congratulations, brother," Ron said affectionately as he pulled Harry into a hug. "Take care of my baby sister."
"You know I will," Harry replied.
"Congratulation Harry," Fleur said as she kissed him on both cheeks.
"Congratulations both of you," George said as he gathered both Harry and Ginny into his arms and hugged them tightly. "I'm so happy for you."
Hermione was openly crying and, when Harry hugged her, she hiccupped and said, "Congratulations, that was such a beautiful wedding."
Eventually, the rest of the immediate Weasley family found their way to them and the hugging and congratulating continued. Molly was still wiping tears and Arthur was beaming widely at his newest son. Bill and Charlie slapped Harry on the back and welcomed their newest brother into the family. When finally everyone had hugged and congratulated the happy couple, Harry asked, "Could we take a minute to go out to the cemetery?"
"Of course, dear," Molly said. "Take your time. The rest of us will go back to the Burrow and prepare for the reception to begin." Arthur and Molly hurried back into the church to address the guests and direct them back to the Burrow.
Harry and Ginny pulled on coats and, together, returned to the place where Harry had visited earlier. When they arrived, Harry didn't say anything at first, just pulled Ginny into his arms and kissed her. When they broke apart Harry smiled down at her and simply said, "We're married."
Ginny chuckled and said, "I know." She looked down at the headstones and asked, "Are you going to talk to them?"
"I actually talked to them earlier," Harry confessed. "I just wanted a moment alone with you before we head back. But I supposed I could say one thing," With a smile, he turned toward the headstones and said, "Mum and Dad, meet the new Mrs. Potter."
"I love the way that sounds," Ginny said happily. "Mrs. Ginny Potter."
"Me too," Harry whispered as he drew her in for another kiss.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
After a while, they apparated back to the Burrow. They left their coats inside and prepared to enter the magically heated marquee out in the snowy garden where the reception was taking place. As they entered the marquee, a round of applause greeted the announcement of Mr. and Mrs. Potter. They smiled happily at one another as they entered the tent and prepared to be hugged and congratulated by the rest of their guests. Harry took in the tent around them between conversations with guests. There were hundreds of tiny fairies flitting around the top of the tent casting a romantic glow. There were sprigs of mistletoe hung throughout the tent and large sprays of the same Christmassy flowers from the ceremony were scattered around.
Finally, Harry and Ginny sat down after having spent enough time being congratulated by each and every one of their guests. There was a delicious meal, which Harry scarcely got to enjoy, every time he swallowed a mouthful, someone would start clinking their glasses and he and Ginny would stop to kiss amid whistling and cat calls; not that he minded. After the meal, some of the tables and chairs were cleared to make room for a shining dance floor. The musicians struck up the first number and Harry and Ginny shared their first dance as husband and wife. When the song ended, they were pulled away to dance with others, Ginny with her father and Harry with her mother. This trend continued through several more songs; new partners kept appearing to dance with the bride and groom. All the while, Harry and Ginny kept looking at each other; wishing only to have another dance together. As Harry finally managed to sweep Ginny back into his own embrace, the music halted and Molly announced that it was time to cut the cake.
Together, they cut the first slice of cake; but rather than smash it into each other's faces like so many chose to do, they carefully shared the piece before moving back to the dance floor together. They laughed as, from the dance floor, they watched George demonstrate on Percy how the cake cutting should have gone. Percy's ears turned bright red as he tried to remove the sticky frosting from his glasses.
The dancing went on for hours and Harry started to wonder when he and Ginny could safely leave their own wedding without offending anyone. It had been a wonderful day, but it had also been exhausting and frankly, they had other matters to attend to. When Ginny was finally displaying the same signs of weariness that Harry was, Molly took notice and announced that the bride and groom would shortly be leaving.
Before they left, they had to throw the bouquet, which a blushing Hermione caught. Also, a blushing Harry removed Ginny's garter from high on her thigh under her skirt, under the somewhat menacing glares of her older brothers. He threw it and laughed appreciatively when Ron caught it. If the old tradition was true, Ron and Hermione would be the next to marry.
Finally, after many thank-yous, congratulations, and good-byes were spoken, they were free to go. Harry scooped Ginny into his arms bridal style and whispered, "Ready to go home?" She nodded her assent and he apparated them away.
Author's Note: Ta-da! They are married. Thank you for reading and take time to review and let me know how I did. I tried to make the ceremony a good mix of how J.K.R. wrote the wedding in D.H. and how a traditional wedding would go. I hope it works. Wish me lots of luck in writing the next chapter – I'm nervous.
Many thanks to my awesome beta Terra Ferme for getting back to me so quickly with this chapter and, as always, catching all my silly mistakes.
Finally, let me say that I apologize for this chapter being a little slow in coming. I had a little writer's block about parts of it. I had to take some time to clear some other things out of my head before I could move forward. One of those things I cleared out is another story…well, the start of it anyway. It is a James and Lily story, which I have been obsessed with lately and had an idea for taking up space in my head. If you are interested, go check it out, it is called, "The Game of Love."
Thanks! Tinkerbell