Disclaimer: Nothing's changed, Harry and Pansy are still the property of J. K. Rowling. Anthony, Sydney, Audra, Stephanie, Brittany, Holly, James, any other bar or hotel staff are my own creations. All other people, places, or things, are Ms. Rowling's moneymakers.
"And then I looked down, and he was kneeling there, the box open, the sunset glinting off the ring," Pansy said.
Hermione smacked Ron in the arm. "You should have asked Harry how to propose to me."
"Ow!" Ron replied. "You said yes, didn't you?"
Hermione rolled her eyes but smiled.
"C'mon then, Ron, let's let the girls gush over the moment," he said, winking at Pansy. She reached over and touched her fingertips to his before turning back to Hermione. "I, of course, thought about saying no, just to see his reaction, but then I realized I couldn't put him through that." Hermione laughed with her.
Ron and Harry walked over to the front door of the pub, and outside in the early summer sunshine. "Look, Ron, I know you don't like Pansy because she was in Slytherin house, but.."
Ron interrupted. "I like her just fine, Harry."
Harry looked at him askance. "I'm serious, Ron."
Ron stopped walking and said "I'm serious too. Look. I know that I've been prejudiced in the past, but since you two have gotten together I have come to know her better. And I honestly think that, if she had not had such ambition, she would have been placed in Gryffindor. And then I realized, it does not matter at all. She's a wonderful person, and she clearly loves you. I'm happy for you, Harry. I truly am."
Harry turned and looked at him, and saw the honesty in his face. He quickly embraced his best friend. "Thank you, Ron. That makes what I'm about to ask easier."
Ron smacked Harry on the back and said, "Of course I'll be your best man, git."
Harry laughed. "That easy to read, am I?"
Ron let him go and smacked him on top of the head. "No, I just know you too well. And I imagine that my wife is getting much the same question now. Those two have become such good friends that I'll be shocked if she doesn't ask her."
Harry nodded. "Pansy hasn't said anything to me, but I think so too."
Pansy finished telling Hermione the story of the engagement, and what had happened at her parents house. She wiped fresh tears from her eyes, reliving the emotional moment. "Hermione," she began.
Hermione grinned at her. "Yes," she said.
Pansy looked at her. "We've only been friends a few months, but I feel that I'm closer to you than anyone other than Harry. Would you … please … be my maid...matron of honor?"
Hermione took Pansy's hands in hers and smiled. "I already said yes, my dear friend."
She hugged Pansy then. "I hoped you'd ask. I'd have it no other way. Are you starting planning then? Harry said you were a phenomenal dress designer … are you going to design your own dress?"
Pansy chuckled. "Of course I am. Which is why Harry has been banned from the boutique for the next months while I work on it. We decided to have the wedding on August 11th," she said, tentatively, wondering if Hermione understood the reference.
Hermione's breath caught in her throat. "Ginny's birthday?" she asked, softly.
Pansy nodded. "I suggested it, I know it's weird, but I intended it as a way to honor her memory. Harry liked it."
Pansy found herself being hugged tightly. "I think it's brilliant, Pansy. Some people might think it's rude, but I think it's a wonderful idea."
Pansy sighed and hugged her friend back. "I hope so. I'm going to put it on the invitations, that we chose this day to honor her sacrifice in the battle."
Hermione nodded, and wiped tears from her eyes. "I think that's perfect."
Pansy and Hermione met almost every day, working with a wedding planner, to plan the perfect wedding day for the couple. The wedding planner very quickly learned that he was there simply to take down the ideas and concepts and implement them, because Pansy had been picturing this in her head for quiet some time.
"We'll have the actual ceremony down at the beach, so there will need to be a large covered area to fit around 100 people. We are not inviting anyone who isn't family or a close friend, and the press will be specifically banned from the wedding, if I have to lock Rita Skeeter in a cage my own self," Pansy told him.
"Yes ma'am," he replied, taking notes. "What about the weather?"
"I doubt it will be bad weather, but if it is, put up a weather shield, of course. I do want columns defining the ceremony area, though, with lights strung between them like this." She flipped over the Muggle bride magazine to show the planner what she wanted. "I want simple columns," she said, pointing her wand at the planner, "Tuscan, no fluted sides and not top-heavy. Simple, elegant."
The planner nodded and sketched something on his pad. He turned to show it to her, and she nodded. "Mostly like that, but just the one bulge and ring at the bottom and one ring at the top." She corrected his drawing. "There. Like that."
He nodded. "Do you want Muggle lights or Wizard lights, Miss Parkinson?"
"Muggle," she said. "Remember, this is supposed to be a mix of Muggle and Wizard ceremonies."
"Yes ma'am," the planner said again.
The summer had flown by in a blur. And now, Harry stood next to Ron in front of a crowd of people on the beach near his building. An elderly wizard stood near them, and in the chairs sat all of Harry's and Pansy's friends and family. They'd all managed to keep the event quiet, and not a single reporter or Ministry employee who was not already a friend was present. It would truly be a quiet, beloved people only, wedding.
The area had been covered with a thin but solid surface, and Harry wasn't sure what exactly it was made of. It didn't move beneath the feet like sand did, but it was hard to tell that it wasn't sand ether. The simple columns Pansy had requested framed the area, with twinkling lights strung between them, forming a ceiling of stars against the twilight skies. Behind him, gauzy fabrics framed the altar, which was surrounded by lilies. The tribute to his mother made him smile even bigger.
Next to Ron stood Remus Lupin, and beside him, Fred Weasley. Across the altar, Hermione stood beaming, with Daphne Greengrass next to her, and Tracy Davis on the end. Down the aisle now came Remus' son, Teddy, carrying a pillow with the two wedding rings on it. Behind him, carefully spreading flower petals as she had been instructed, came Victoire Weasley.
As she reached the altar and ran over to stand in front of Hermione, the soft music from the string quartet stopped, and they began to play the wedding march slightly louder. Harry looked up to watch his bride enter. Pansy stepped from behind a curtain to stand on the carpet lining the center aisle, her father standing beside her. Harry could not stop himself, his jaw dropped open and his eyes went wide.
She stopped her walk for a moment as their eyes met. She was resplendent in a flowing white dress with a halter collar, baring her back and shoulders. Extremely intricate threading, ribbons, and bead-work flowed down from the bodice through the full skirt. She carried a simple bouquet of lilies, interspersed with purple and yellow pansies. When she began to walk down the aisle, the light reflected off the dress showing first a snake, then a lion as the fabric shifted. When she stopped a step away from him, he could no longer see the details of her dress, only her beautiful face. Her warm brown eyes filled his vision and he barely heard her father hand her over to him, but he took her hand and turned to face the minister.
They had agreed to write their own vows. When the minister finished the required comments, he turned to Harry.
Harry cleared his throat, and looked into Pansy's beautiful eyes. "My dearest love, the other half of my heart, to you I pledge my life, my love, my support, everything I have or ever will have. I promise to share everything with you, good and bad, easy and hard, until the end of time."
The minister turned to Pansy, and she spoke her vow. "Heart of my heart, soul of my soul, I pledge to you all that I am, all that I was, and all that I will be. I will love you until my dying breath and beyond, as I plan to become a ghost and haunt you until the end of existence."
"Do you have the rings?" the minister asked.
Harry took the ring from Ron, the gold band a match to her engagement ring. "With this ring, I pledge to you my life."
Pansy held up a ring she had had made, a black titanium ring with a band of green and a band of red encircling it. "With this ring, I pledge to you my life," she echoed.
"By the power vested in me, if there are no objections," and he paused. There were none. "I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."
As Harry and Pansy kissed, a golden halo of light enveloped them and expanded until the watching crowd was nearly blinded. It dissipated when the kiss broke, and Hermione caught Ron's eye across the newlywed couple.
The minister rubbed his eyes. "I present to you, ladies and gentlemen, Baron and Baroness Potter, Lord and Lady Black, and the Duke and Duchess Peverell."
Harry and Pansy walked, arm in arm, back down the aisle through the showers of birdseed.
"Everyone, the reception is at the Lost Boy pub up the road!" Ron yelled, and led the crowd in the wake of the bride and groom to the pub.
As they arrived Harry turned and held up his hands. "Ladies and gentlemen, family and friends. As you all have found out by now, I have owned The Lost Boy for four years now. As of tonight, though, it is no longer The Lost Boy." He pointed his wand at the cloth covering the sign, whipping it away.
"I give you, the Fox & the Stag." Harry said, smiling at his new wife.
"How did you know my patronus is a fox?" she asked him quietly, as the crowd cheered.
Harry grinned at her. "I have my ways."
He kissed her.
Harry's staff was very busy, keeping the buffet full of food and the drinks flowing. Midway through the meal, Ron stood up and tapped a glass. When the room had fell silent and everyone looked over at him, he blushed, and spoke.
"I've been told that the best man is supposed to give a toast. And then I realized...I'm Harry Potter's best man. I've known this bloke for 13 years now, since we met on that first day at Platform 9 ¾, and while I know how much he's accomplished, I know that for many people, this man is a legend. So I thought about all the moments that weren't legendary."
He looked over at Harry who was hiding his face behind a napkin, and Pansy, who was laughing at Harry. "AND I decided not to talk about those. Instead, I wanted to talk about the man he truly is."
"Harry never wanted the fame he has received, and he has never tried to be a hero. What he has done, though, is what he felt needed to be done, no matter what the obstacles And for that, I will forever be his friend. He saved my dad's life, and he mourned my mother and sister when they lost theirs. I saw how he tried to blame himself for their losses, and I'm here to say, Harry...it was not your fault. No matter what you had done that night, I don't think you could have saved them. Because they died for a purpose….the lives of everyone here and around the world. And, if none of you has realized, Harry and Pansy chose to get married today to honor my sister Ginevra's life. This would have been her birthday. Ginny, you are missed and loved, and I hope you're smiling down on us right now." Ron turned to Harry, and clasped his shoulder. "The family and I talked, and we all thank you for your tribute to Ginny. We think she would have approved of you two getting married, and I want you to know I approve as well. You are my best friend, and my brother. Pansy, welcome to the family." He raised his glass as the entire room cheered.
Harry stood and embraced Ron, and then turned to face the crowd and cleared his throat. Everyone quieted down again.
"I know it is not traditional for the groom to give a speech, but I feel the need to." He raised his glass.
"I thank you all for coming out to my wedding, even though most of you think I abandoned you. For that, you have my apologies. I had my reasons to leave your world, but I am slowly coming back. I thank you for your patience and attendance here today." He turned to Pansy and reached out a hand for her. Taking it, she rose next to him. He turned back to the crowd. "Pansy and I both thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your attendance here today. You all mean the world to us, and we are happy to share this wonderful day with you. We love you all." He raised his glass, and everyone clinked glasses and cheered as he kissed Pansy.
"I love you, Mrs. Potter Black Peverell," he said teasingly.
"And I love you, Mr. Potter Peverell Black. How are we doing to sort out all these names?" she asked him.
"Well, first, we go on a honeymoon to Greece. And then we visit Gringott's and sort it all out. I'm hoping we can combine the three families into one family name. But we'll have to see what the barristers can work out."
She smiled at him. "I'll happily be known by whatever name or names are required so the world knows that we're together, Harry."
He kissed her then, in full view of the guests, who applauded them.
"But for now, Mrs. Potter, I believe we owe these people a dance."
Harry swept Pansy out to the dance floor and the band started to play a soft, slow, romantic song. They gracefully moved around the dance floor, and they could only see each other. Everything else faded to grey as they danced. The band finished playing, and they slowly stopped moving. The guests watching cheered, and then couples started entering the dance floor. For what seemed like hours they danced, with each other, and with guests. Harry made sure to save a dance for Hermione, Daphne, Tracy, and even little Victoire, who he held up with one arm while he twirled her around, her beaming grin visible to everyone. They took breaks to rest, and for more food and drink, but then resumed celebrating.
As midnight approached, most of the guests had left. The wedding party and a few family members remained, and Harry looked around at them. "Thank you, all of you, for making this day happen. I have it on good authority that the wedding planner has made it home with all his appendages attached and intact, and is probably right now finishing off that bottle of tequila I gave him as a thank you." Pansy smacked his shoulder and the others laughed.
"Should have made you write 'I will not hit my husband' into your vows," Harry said teasingly. "I'm kidding," he exclaimed as she raised her hand again. He looked around at his smiling friends and family. "Anyway. I wanted to share something special with all of you."
He pulled a box from behind the bar and set it on the table. "These two bottle of wine were from my parents' house. Somehow, they escaped being damaged when the house was destroyed, and I found them a couple months ago. They're not fancy, but they are now well-aged. I have no idea how they taste, but I can't think of a better time or a better group of family to share them with." He popped the cork from one bottle and sniffed. "Smells good."
He poured a little out into a glass and took a deeper sniff. "Smells excellent, in fact." He poured a glass for everyone, and then started to hand them out. Hermione and Tonks both declined, and he quirked an eyebrow at them both.
Hermione looked up at Ron, took his hand and nodded. Tonks did the same with Remus. Harry beamed at them both, and raised his glass. "To friends, to family, to new beginnings, and, most importantly, to two new lives we will be blessed with. Congratulations, Ron, Hermione, and Tonks, Remus," he said happily.