A hearty thank you to,
LeeArt,
SaruDM,
NickelRamaMetalHydride,
LyndahJune,
Echizenochi,
Dirty-little and
gimarkley2013
For leaving reviews for the last chapter.
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CHAPTER 30.
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"Come on Mione! Luna's almost ready. If you don't start getting dressed now, your date will definitely reach here before you're down." Ginny said, braiding the last of Luna's golden tresses.
"But Luna... Wait! What? Gin? My date? What do you mean?" Hermione said, as she spun around to face Ginny with a thin comb in her hand.
Ginny calmly put a pin in place in Luna's hair and surveyed her reflection. Perfect!
Luna looked positively radiant.
Her dress looked white from far but as the sun's rays hit it, it looked like a medley of rainbow colours. It was so Luna.
She could not decide which colour to wear, and being Luna, wearing a traditional white dress was out of the question. So she fell in love with the rainbow dress.
It was a strapless dress, tight at the bust like a corset, complete with lace and strings to tighten the back.
The part between the bust line and the waistline hug her body tightly and was made of white net with a self print of flowers so fine that it looked like cutwork when the sun shone on it.
The lower half was an A line. Not a stern one but flowing ever so slightly so as to not restrict her movements.
She wore diamonds in her ears, gifted by Ron and her neck held a single solitaire in a thin silver chain.
Ginny and Hermione had braided small braids on her head, which ended midway on her head and then had left the rest of her long golden hair flowing and the end were naturally curled into wavy ringlets.
She looked beyond beautiful and more than the appearance or make up, the anticipation of her life ahead gave her a glow that only a woman in love about to be married possessed.
Without looking at Hermione, Ginny continued to smooth the long hair left open.
"Your date for the wedding, silly. Surely you didn't expect to come alone to the wedding." Luna said dreamily.
"But but who? And why do I not know about this?" Hermione said looking flustered.
"Look, all the what's why's and when's can wait for later. Luna is done. All she has to do is now wait till she's called. But you and I need to get ready. I won't take long but if you want to tame that hair of yours I say you'd get a move on." Ginny said sharply, shutting the matter.
Grumbling to herself about nagging friends, Hermione left Ginny's old room at the burrow to change.
"Why would she not invite her boyfriend to the wedding?" Luna asked Ginny after Hermione had left.
"I guess she's taking it slow and doesn't want him to meet the family in such a public setting. This also means she's not entirely sure about him." Ginny said, adding the last part rather happily.
She was upset that Hermione was dating the other Fred. But her reluctance to speak about him gave her hope. Hermione wasn't the types who would gush and spill, but she surely would not hide anything from her and Luna either.
So the fact that she had not been open about her relationship only meant that she herself was not that sure and did not want to raise Ginny's and Luna's hopes.
"Frederick seemed a bit awkward too. He looked at me like the wrackspurts had got him when I invited him to the wedding as Hermione' date." Luna said.
"I know, you would have invited him either way but now that we know, we can push them together." Ginny said.
Although this was definitely not the reason she had told Luna to invite him.
When Luna had invited him, he had respectfully declined but she insisted he come at least for Hermione. At this, he was surprised. Something fishy was going on. Ginny was sure. So she forced Luna to force him to come.
She needed Fred to see Hermione with the other Fred. She knew the Weasley brothers. Jealosy and temper were two things they needed to work hard to control. And she rather hoped that seeing Hermione with another man, Fred would finally summon some courage and tell Hermione how he felt about her.
Ginny was sure that Hermione's hesitation with the other Fred was because she felt something for Fred too. But she didn't realise it. But if Fred told her then maybe things would get better.
And this was not all. Ginny was responsible for the tables and seating arrangement.
And she could not leave Fred alone, could she? Getting dressed quickly, she owled Fred at the last moment before he could back out.
Dear Fred,
I know you must not have left yet to come here, thus I am writing at the last moment before you back out.
Just so you know, backing out at the last moment is NOT an option.
I am not asking you, but TELLING you, that I have set a date for you.
You will be taking her to the wedding.
Therefore, don't bother coming here alone.
I have already told her that you will be picking her up and escorting her to the wedding and will be her date till it ends.
I know you and you have not been on a single date in 5 weeks.
Which worries me.
Hence, consider this date as a gift from me to you.
You will not regret it, I promise.
You might just thank me for life when you look at her.
Don't you dare ignore this letter and when you see your date I doubt you'll be able to ignore her.
She is waiting for you at Shell Cottage and her name is Estelle.
And yes, she is a Veela.
You're welcome. ;-)
You're loving sister.
Gin.
Loving my foot! Interfering is more like it.
Fred crumpled the letter in anger and threw it away!
What the hell was wrong with Ginny?
Sometimes she gives all knowing looks about Hermione and now this!
A date? She set him up with a date for the wedding?
A Veela that too.
Normally, the prospect would seem inviting.
At Bill's wedding, Fred and George had hooked up with a couple of Fleur's Veela cousins and it had been an enjoyable experience.
There couldn't be anything less than enjoyable about a Veela's company.
But Fred didn't want any Veela as his date. He wanted Hermione.
He knew they could not go together but that would be ok.
But now that Ginny had thrown him into this situation, he didn't know what to do.
Hermione would definitely be livid with him that he had a date and a Veela that too!
But he would explain it all to her when she met him. That it was all Ginny's doing and he had no hand and no interest whatsoever in the Veela.
He apparated to Shell cottage with a sigh.
Ginny could not help but smile an evil smile. So Hermione with the other Fred and Fred with Estelle. This would be interesting. And all 4 on the same table.
If Hermione had any sort of feelings for Fred, which Ginny suspected she did, then it was going to be one long awkward wedding for them.
"Ginny dear?" Mrs. Weasley called out.
"Yes mum?" Ginny said from the top of the stairs, coming down to help with the flowers since she was ready.
"Dear, I need you to add another chair at Hermione's table." Mrs. Weasley said.
"But mum, there already are 4 people at her table. The seating will get messed up." She said pouting.
Really, no one would care who was sitting next to whom and how many were sitting at a table. Because eventually everyone would be dancing and drinking and stopping by at various tables saying hello to friends and settling down at a table that was surely not theirs.
But Ginny needed to make sure that those 4 were secluded and not disturbed for her plan to work.
"Rubbish. Do as I say. I need another chair on Hermione's table or you remove one person from the table." Her mother argued.
"Fine. Have it as you like. But whose chair are we adding?" Ginny asked grudgingly.
"Charlie's." Mrs. Weasley said, beaming. "A wedding is the best atmosphere for romantic liaisons to begin. Have you not noticed how much they talk at mealtimes?"
"That's only because you keep pushing them to sit next to each other." Ginny mumbled to herself.
"What did you say now?" Her mother asked sharply.
"Nothing mum. I'll add his chair. Although, I wouldn't be too hopeful." She said trying to lessen her mother's excitement so that when she would find out that it was not happening she wouldn't be too upset.
"This is getting crazy. Hermione is going to kill me. The conversation at this special table of 5 is definitely going to be way more awkward now." Ginny said to herself.
But maybe it might work. Fred will be under double pressure. The other Fred on one side and Charlie on the other. He'll surely make a move faster now with more competition.
Wait a minute! She thought, smiling evilly again. I am a genius! The more the merrier! It's going to be a table for 6 now!
Conjuring a parchment and a quill, she drew new placements for the latest additions and table of 6!
Welcome to the table, Lee Jordan!
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Oh Ginny!
If only you knew! You wouldn't have had to go through so much scheming!
It's going to be one awkward table to sit at!
And seating is by permission only! Lolll!
Poor Fred!
He's going to lose it!
And Hermione has never held 4 men's attention at the same time ever!
How will she cope? Especially when she has eyes only for one?
Coming up in the next chapter!
Pls review and if you have any ideas or suggestions to make the wedding more interesting do let me know!
Thanx for reading!
Mwah!
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