Chapter 2

The loud music of the reception blares throughout the tall tent outside the Burrow. Purple and silver balloons line the ceiling of the tent with gold streamers trailing down from them, leaving a gold curtain hanging along the edges of the tent. The floor of the expansive tent has been transformed into a large wooden dance floor with round tables scattered throughout the space. Glowing, color changing orbs float around the dance floor, lighting the area with an array of bright colors. The guests from the wedding are scattered throughout the tent, some eating and socializing at the tables while others are dancing in the middle of the tent as the DJ plays song after song.

I see Brittany talking to her mom, who is sitting at another table, so I push myself up from the table I'm sitting at and walk over to her and her mom with a grin on my face. When I get over there, I wrap Brittany in a hug and say, "Congratulations, Mrs. Weasley!"

She laughs happily, returning my hug. "I can't believe the wedding is over! Six months of planning for it to be over in what seemed to be an instant!"

Brittany's mom laughs as she pats Brittany on the arm. "Oh sweetheart, while the wedding may be over, your married life has only just begun."

Brittany glances over at Freddie and grins. "I sure hope you're right."

As if he knew Brittany were looking at him, Freddie looks over at us and grins, silently beckoning Brittany over to him. I hear her giggle before hugging me again and walking over to him.

I shake my head and chuckle as I sit down next to Brittany's mom. "So mum, how does it feel to have all of your kids married off?"

Brittany's mom pats me on the hand and smiles, a hint of humor apparent on her face. "I still have one more child to marry off... I always thought Elijah would be the last one to get married, but you really take the cake on stalling. Even he's been married for two years now! You've been dating James for, what, five years now? When are you two going to get married?"

I smirk at her, rolling my eyes. "Mum, we've been over this. I'm not committing to anything until I've made my way in the world; I want to get more situated in my life. I've only just become an Auror, and-"

She shakes her head laughing. "You've been an Auror for almost two years now, dear! Now you're just holding out because of pure stubbornness! Ariana, just marry the boy already! I want grandkids!"

I nervously glance over at the now thirteen year old Lily Luna Potter, who is dancing with her date, and sigh, my hand clenching on the table to stop it from touching my stomach for the hundredth time tonight. "Mum..."

My sentence is interrupted, however, by someone placing a hand on my shoulder and asking, "Would you care to dance?"

I turn to face my current saviour, smirking when I recognize the face. "Why yes Landen, I would love to."

I look at Brittany's mother and shrug, a smirk pulling at the corners of my mouth. "Sorry to leave, but I really don't want to be rude..."

She rolls her eyes and waves me off with a crooked smile, turning to the plate of food in front of her. I follow my rescuer to the middle of the tent and smirk as I examine the face of one of my best friends. His black hair is neatly trimmed and combed to the side, a slight bit of scruff on his face. His grey eyes scan the room, glancing over at me every now and again. He is in a white dress shirt with a purple tie around his neck, black dress pants and black dress shoes.

I finally break the silence as we find a spot to dance. "Thanks for that... It was quite similar to an interrogation over there..."

Landen nods, a smirk on his face. "It was my pleasure. She is right, though..."

I roll my eyes and sigh, smacking him on the arm. "Not you too... I don't want to go through this with you too... Hey, have you worked things out with Sophie?"

He shakes his head, laughing a bit. "No, not yet. Why does that concern you though?"

I smack him on the arm again, glaring at him playfully. "It concerns me because you're my best friend and I care about you, dummy. I just want to see you happy."

He rolls his eyes and smirks at me. "How do you know I'm not happy now?"

I sigh, shaking my head at him, as I say, "You're impossible, you know that? Look, you do what you'd like, but please let me know if you need anything, alright?"

He nods unconvincingly, a smirk spreading on his face as he says, "Looks as though my time with you is up..."

Before I can ask him what he means, I hear, "Time for big brother to cut in!"

Landen barely releases me before I'm whisked away and dancing with a well-dressed Eli. His normally messy brown hair is combed neatly and his face is cleanly shaven, his blue eyes gleaming with pride as he looks over at Brittany and Freddie. I smirk at him as I say, "I was having a lovely conversation with Landen until you so rudely pulled me away..."

Eli smirks, raising an eyebrow at me. "Really now? Because when I took over, it looked more like I was saving him rather than interrupting something..." I laugh and roll my eyes at him, ignoring the triumphant grin on his face as he changes the subject. "So have you seen my dad yet?"

I grimace, shaking my head. It's a well-known fact that Eli and Brittany's dad hates me and thinks I'm a horrid influence on his children, and he was one of the few people I was dreading seeing today. "Thankfully, no. Though that could be because I've been actively avoiding him since he got here this morning..."

Eli flashes a grin at me, leading me over to a table so we can sit and eat. "You know he doesn't hate you nearly as much as he did. Once Bri and I explained everything you did to help the muggle and wizarding world, his opinion about you changed a bit."

I give him a skeptical look, taking a seat next to him as he places a piece of cake in front of me. "The point is that he still hates me, even if it is only a little bit."

He laughs, smirking deviously as he says, "Well he's going to see you when you give your toast..."

I shake my head, returning his smirk. "Bri said no toasts from anyone. She said it would embarrass her to no end and she would rather her wedding and reception went embarrassment free."

He smiles as a tall woman with long, curly brown hair and brown eyes walks over and gives him a kiss before sitting down with us, giving me a distasteful glance before she says to Eli, "Sweetheart, I've been looking for you everywhere!"

Eli sighs as he gestures over to me and says, "Natalia, dear, I was catching up with my dear sister, as I told you I would be."

Natalia shoots me another dirty look while saying, "Yes... Your 'sister'..."

She then leans over and whispers something to Eli, which evokes an eye roll from both him and me before Eli sighs again and rises from the table as he says, "Well, Ari, it's been fun. But it's time for my wife and me to head back home."

I roll my eyes again as I loudly ask, "Nat, you're really going to make him leave his own sister's wedding? What kind of a sister-in-law are you?"

She glares at me, answering acidly. "We have things to discuss... Alone."

I nod, giving her as sarcastic a look as I say, "Right, right... And these things couldn't wait until after his sister's wedding, right?"

Eli sighs loudly, holding up his hands in defeat. "Ari. Nat. Claws away please." He looks at me and adds, "There are a lot of people here. I doubt Bri will even notice I'm gone..."

I glare at Natalia pull Eli into a hug. "You're a liar and I hate your wife, but I'll try to keep Bri off your back for having to leave... Love you big brother."

He returns my hug and whispers, "Thanks, wish me luck. Love you."

With that, he grabs his wife's hand and walks over to congratulate Brittany and Freddie on their marriage. I make a face at the retreating form of Eli's wife before getting up from the table and walking over to Teddy, who's standing next to the exit scanning the dance floor. "Hey Teddy, have you seen James?"

Teddy nods his greeting, rubbing his hand through his already messy blue hair then shakes his head. "Sorry, I haven't. I'm actually looking for Victoire. Maybe we can look for them together? Two sets of eyes are better than only one."

I nod with a grin, turning and standing next to him so that I can see the rest of the tent. "So how've you been?"

"I've been good. How about you?"

I shrug with a nonchalant smile. "I've been good. Are you enjoying your winter holiday or are you ready to get back to teaching the students of Hogwarts some Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

He nods with a smile, a sigh escaping his lips. "I am thoroughly enjoying my holiday. While I love teaching, it's definitely nice to have a break. Are you still enjoying being an Auror?"

I nod and smirk, thinking back to how bad I was when I first became an Auror. "I am, actually. I wasn't very fond of it at first, but I'm definitely enjoying it now."

Teddy laughs then gestures across the tent, to a long table full of food. "There's James."

At the same time, I gesture to a table nearby and say, "There's Vic!"

We bid each other adieu with a grin and a nod then head our separate ways. When I get over to James, who is still standing at the table putting food on his plate, I steal a strawberry off his plate and pop it into my mouth, smirking at him when he turns and sees that I was the one who did it. "A whole bowl full of fruit and you still decide to steal some off my plate?"

I shrug my shoulders and grin. "I guess some things will never change... Are you really all that surprised?"

James shakes his head while holding his plate out to me. "No, I guess I'm not..."

I accept his offering, taking an orange slice off his plate, and ask, "You remember that we're going to visit Al in Ireland tomorrow, right?"

He nods, adding, "And you remember that I have a match in Australia next week, right?"

"Of course!" I say with a grin. "And I'll be there to cheer you on just like I have been for all of your other matches!"

He laughs and gives me a kiss. "You're the best, do you know that?"

I shrug, smirking at him. "I may have been told so once or twice before..."

James rolls his eyes and laughs before looking at his watch and asking, "What time is this thing supposed to end? It's already ten in the evening..."

As if on cue, Brittany and Freddie walk over to us hand in hand. I grin at them and say, "Congratulations again, you two! I really am extremely happy for the both of you."

James adds, "You two really are perfect for each other..."

Freddie grins at us and says, "Thanks. And thanks to both of you for being a part of the wedding. I appreciate it."

Brittany smiles, adding, "We both do."

Freddie continues to grin as he says, "Well, we're getting ready to leave for our honeymoon, but we didn't want to do so without thanking you two and saying goodbye."

James and I stand up and hug the two newlyweds, saying our goodbyes and wishing them a fun honeymoon. When that's done, they both walk to the front of the tent and yell goodbye to everyone, waving as they exit the tent.

Once the newlyweds have exited, people begin to file out of the tent, heading home after the long celebration. When James sees this, he grabs my hand and begins leading me toward the front of the tent.

We're almost to the exit when I pull my hand from his and say, "You can go head up now if you'd like, but I'm going to see if Grandma Weasley needs help cleaning up."

James rolls his eyes, once again taking my hand and saying, "I'll go with you to ask..."

I grin, kissing him on the cheek, though a bit disappointed he's decided to come with. I needed some time to figure out how to tell him my news... "You're such a good grandson..."

We wander around the tent until we find Grandma Weasley cleaning up dirty plates and cups with a flick of her wand. I approach her and ask with a smile, "Do you need any help cleaning?"

She looks at me and smiles kindly while shaking her head. "I actually have Ginny and Angelina helping me clean, but I appreciate you two coming to check! Now you two go into the Burrow and go to bed; I've got everything under control."

"Alright," James says, pulling on my hand, "Let's go to bed then."

I pull my hand free from his again and sigh. "Go on ahead; I'll be up in a moment."

James sighs, giving my hand a squeeze before leaving the tent. Once he's gone, I turn to Grandma Weasley once again and say, "Grandma Weasley?"

"Mhm?" she hums while continuing her cleaning.

Just tell her I think as I nervously twiddle my thumbs. I shuffle my feet and clear my throat as I decide not to tell her and say, "I, uh, just wanted to thank you for letting Bri and Freddie have their wedding here. I know it was a lot of work, and probably really inconvenient, but it turned out beautifully. I really appreciate you putting forth all that work for them."

She stops her cleaning and looks at me with a smile. "Dear, having the wedding here was my pleasure. It was no trouble at all to have it here and I'm glad Freddie found such a great girl to marry. She's family now, and I wanted to welcome her in right."

I grin, looking around at the tent. "Well you did a brilliant job of that. The wedding and reception were both amazing."

"As I said, it was my pleasure." She goes back to cleaning, glancing at me out of the corner of her eye as she adds, "Maybe one day I'll get to have James and your wedding here..."

I laugh uneasily and yawn before saying, "Well, I'm exhausted... Better head off to bed! Thank you again!"

I don't wait for her to answer before hastily exiting the tent and rushing into the Burrow. I need to tell James...

I walk to the stairs and head up to the second floor, entering the first room on the right. James is already in the bathroom brushing his teeth when I get into the room, so I enter the bathroom to join him, casually leaning against the door frame while I wait for him to finish.

James spits out the toothpaste in his mouth and glances at my reflection in the mirror. "Everything alright?"

"What?" I glance up at him, crossing my arms, and nod. "Oh, yeah, everything is fine. I just have something I need to tell you. I haven't told anyone else yet and I've spent all day trying to figure out how to tell you, trying to figure out the best way to do it, the perfect time, but I realize there's no perfect way or time and I just need to tell you."

He sets his toothbrush down and turns to face me. "Ariana, what's going on? You're worrying me..."

I shake my head as I cross the bathroom and wrap my arms around his waist, smiling when he reciprocates the gesture. "James, everything is fine. I just... I, uh... Just give me a second, okay?"

We stand in tense silence for a few seconds before James groans impatiently. I can tell he's about to say something again so, before he can, I look up at his face and blurt out, "Jamie, I'm pregnant..."

His eyes widen and I cringe internally, waiting for the inevitable freak out. He gently pulls back and says, "So you... You're... You... Preg-... We're going to have a baby?"

I nod, smiling slightly at him. "Yeah, Jamie, we're going to have a baby."

A smile spreads across his face as he lifts me up and plants a hard kiss on my lips, his smile remaining intact the entire time. When he's put me back down, he grins at me and says, "We're having a baby..."

I can't help but reciprocate his grin as I nod and give him a kiss. "We're having a baby."