Chapter Thirty Eight: Served

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It was the biggest story to hit the magical world since the death of Harry Potter.

Emerging from the snowy underground of neutral Canada, rebels had taken down Lucius Malfoy and his death eaters, burning Malfoy Manor to the ground. Ron's hardened face was plastered all over televisions and newspapers, a loud reminder that goodness had begun to penetrate the evil of their world. There was one final army of death eaters, sloppily put together with the remaining forces throughout Europe. Thankfully, Ron's rebels easily outnumbered them and they crumbled under lack of leadership and untrained members. Still, the battle had been extremely violent, both sides suffering severe losses. Friends were lost and families rallied together once again to mourn those who they could not bring back.

With the remaining death eaters squelched, everybody got to work on rebuilding the Ministry from the ground up. There were many that were relieved that the rebels had conquered, but became displeased when these rebels moved in to take leading spots. Their complaints were not unreasonable; some people had been working at the Ministry before Harry Potter's death, so they felt entitled to some sort of promotion. They proved to be difficult and strongly resistant to any kind of new change, despite the terrible regime that they had been forced to endure for the past ten years.

For Regan, the constant bad news was frustrating. She had hoped that things would have been figured out, especially when the discussions began to drag on and on for well over a year. On the anniversary of Lucius Malfoy's death, it had become apparent that neither side was willing to give an inch. People were becoming restless and Charlie even went so far as to suggest that Regan sit in on the meetings. To her, it seemed silly, but she had apparently earned a violent reputation. Honestly, how could anybody ever forget the fiery red head that had plunged a knife into a woman's skull? But everybody was done playing games. So Ron, who had taken over as Minister of Magic with a council of over twenty, made the decision of who was given positions in which departments.

Ron instated his siblings among the Ministry; Charlie was made head of the Magical Creatures Department, Bill took over as Head of Wizard Banking, Percy became Head of Magical Resources, George became Head of Human and Muggle Affairs, and Ginny took a position among the Foreign Affairs Department and took her opportunity to travel. They promoted who they could, but some people were left where they had been for years.

Under Hermione's care, Hogwarts slowly began to become a reality. With her brilliant friends put into positions as professors, Regan gladly accepting the position of Charms Mistress, the castle was reopened and remodeling began as they worked to restore the castle to its former glory. Regan was glad for the work to take her mind off of the fighting still happening in the Ministry. She was also glad to begin to furnish her office and prepare her classroom for the students that would eventually occupy the seats. The work that she did made her feel important and she was happy to do it. And at the end of the day, when she had finished putting together her lesson plan or helping the others to rebuild parts of the castle, she returned home to Charlie, who always seemed to get home before she did. In fact, all of the Weasleys somehow managed to beat her home, but she was glad to arrive somewhere warm and welcoming.

One positive thing that came out of rebuilding the Ministry was the giant rise of marriages and birth rates. Rightfully so, Ron and Hermione were the first to get married. Regan, among others, served in their bridal party. Regan was surprised when Hermione asked her to be a bridesmaid, but she accepted, taking part in what she supposed was considered normal wedding procedures. Since they were all living in the Weasley household, planning the wedding was easy enough and put together in a matter of months. Just like Bill and Fleur's wedding, tents were erected outside with tables and chairs for every guest to sit comfortably.

As Regan stood there in her deep red dress that was too short for her, watching Ron and Hermione clasp each other's hands, she did her best to keep a smile on her face, something that Charlie was making very difficult. He kept grinning at her oddly and made inappropriate faces when she would glance at him. No matter how hard she tried, Regan couldn't suppress the few giggles that did manage to escape.

He was so sleeping on the sofa tonight.

The reception was a large celebration with copious amounts of food and drink, not to celebrate just the wedding, but also to celebrate the end of some very serious political talk. Things had finally come to a head and it seemed that things had finally calmed down in the Ministry. Everybody had grown tired of fighting and had arrived at the conclusion that it was the last thing that any of them needed to be doing.

Fighting would solve nothing; if things were to work out, they needed to work together.

The bride, wearing a simple sheath gown with scattered beading, looked radiant among her red bridesmaids. Regan felt genuinely happy as she sat at the end of the long head table between Charlie and Ginny, watching friends and family deliver toasts to the happy couple. Under the table, Charlie held onto Regan's hand, his thumb running across the tops of her fingers.

Their relationship had progressed slowly over the past year and a half, moving at a pace that Regan had set. The first few months after the government collapsed, they had stayed in Charlie's old room, the pair packed together every night on his slim twin bed. In early October, while Regan was working with Hermione to get Hogwarts back into shape and Charlie was settling into his work at the Ministry, they moved to a flat in the magical district in London, purchasing the biggest bed they could find and delighting in all of their extra space.

There was always hand holding and cuddling, and on occasion (at least four times a week), Charlie would pull her into bed and would engage her in some very serious snogging. Sex had never come up in any of their conversations and Regan actually began to grow concerned.

Would he ever be able to be with her after all that had happened with Lucius?

Regan had to often remind herself that she was actually very happy to be with Charlie and that their lives were very good. Both were working hard doing jobs that they enjoyed and the lived in a prime spot in London. They had even gotten a dog, a corgi that they named Dickens, who was currently asleep at Regan's feet. It felt so strange to say, but they were really starting to behave like a normal couple, an idea that Regan was not used to. It made her smile much more, something that her new friends noticed instantly.

"Oi! Charlie! When are you gonna put a ring on Regan's finger?" Ron called from across the table, his cheeks flushed thanks to the wine.

"Yeah, poor girl's gotta get something out of living with you." Bill said with a chuckle, earning a sharp job from an early pregnant Fleur. Bill grimaced, but Regan could only smirk behind her hand. This wasn't the first time that somebody else had brought up marriage.

"Oh sod off, the pair of you." Charlie answered, leaning back in his chair. Dickens suddenly perked up, nudging Regan's big toe with his nose. When she looked down, he innocently whimpered and she knew what he wanted. She picked him up and held him in her lap, waiting as he made himself comfortable before resting his head on her thigh.

"It's a fair question," she quietly mused. Charlie glanced at her, clearly surprised by her words.

"I thought…I didn't think that you would ever want to get married." He admitted. Regan shrugged her shoulders, those closest to them watching with expectant smiles.

"With you it's different." She said quietly. "If we were to spend the rest of our lives together…I think I would like that…very much." Charlie's jaw dropped and he almost pinched himself to make sure that he wasn't dreaming.

"I don't have a ring…"

"I don't need a ring." Regan insisted. "You know that kind of stuff doesn't appeal to me. I would marry you tomorrow in jeans and a tee shirt." Charlie smirked.

"Could I convince you to wear a dress?" He asked. Regan rolled her eyes, scratching behind Dickens's ear.

"As long as it doesn't have to be white."

"If you're going to propose, then you have to do it properly, Charlie." Molly called out, a smile bursting onto her face. Charlie flushed a bright red, clearly a put off by all of the attention being put on him.

"I can't really do it properly if I don't have a ring, now can I?" He asked, running a hand across his short hair. Molly, being the ever resourceful woman that she was, pulled off the only other ring she wore. It was an oval cut white opal, set in a thin band of rose gold. She rushed to where Charlie sat, pressing the ring into his hand.

"This belonged to my grandmother…I suppose it's only right that you get it."

Due to traveling circumstances, Charlie had been the only great grandchild that Gram Hill ever gotten to meet. He was barely four months old when she had passed, so he had no memory of her, but all of the pictures seemed to suggest that she loved him very much. So, in a way, it was appropriate for him to receive the ring.

Charlie awkwardly got down on one knee, receiving a curious look from Dickens as the pair was suddenly face to face. He stared at the little dog, who had no intention of getting of getting down, before gently removing him from Regan's lap to set him on the ground and then take her hands. For some reason unbeknownst to Regan, she found this whole thing very funny.

Perhaps it was Charlie's reaction to receiving so much attention?

Or perhaps it was because she was giddy; excited?

Either way, she smiled brightly for the first time in ages, her heart pounding when he returned the smile.

"Regan…will you marry me?"

The air suddenly became heavy as the remaining guests waited with held breath for Regan's answer. She didn't look at the ring, because it didn't matter, and she didn't look at those around her, because this didn't involve them. Regan stared into his hazel eyes with the green and gold flecks that made them so lovely. Her eyes flickered across what little of his burn scars that she could see, fighting the urge to reach out and touch them. They were both broken and damaged to the point where no other person would understand what they had gone through; they were essentially made for each other.

"Yes, I'll marry you."

Regan didn't even get the chance to put on the ring. Charlie wrapped his arms tightly around her, causing her to slide out of her chair and plop down into his lap. She laughed loudly, ignoring the laughter and applause of others. It was only after Charlie had kissed her senseless that he slid the ring onto her finger. It was a little loose, but that didn't matter to Regan.

As Charlie helped her to stand and she was bombarded by Molly, she slowly realized that this wasn't just Charlie's family and friends that were hugging her; this was now her family. With each hug from her soon-to-be siblings, Regan's heart warmed just a little more and she did not hold back her happiness.

While Regan was distracted by Molly and Ginny, Charlie slowly approached his brother George, who hugged him tightly and wished him well.

"I need a favor," Charlie told him quietly. George instantly nodded.

"Sure, what's up?"

"I need you to see if you can track down Regan's parents. I want them to be there at the wedding…she's sort of given up hope that they're still alive."

"Any clue as to where they might be?" George asked, already predicting a difficult search through what little information that he had.

"All I know is that her dad has a brother in Connecticut, but I'm unsure of whether or not they would hide somewhere so obvious." George quirked an eyebrow.

"Why did they need to go into hiding?" Charlie slyly glanced back to Regan to make sure that she wasn't paying attention before turning back to George.

"I had to do a little digging, but it appears that her parents were undercover aurors working closely with Malfoy. After the final battle, their covers were blown and they had to go underground. It's small, but there's still a chance that at least one of them is still alive." George nodded.

"I'll do what I can, but no promises." Charlie smirked.

"Just be sure that you find them before the wedding."

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A/N: So only two more chapters yet; sadness :(

Dragoon Dave: The way that I saw it, they just got overly confident and it led to their downfall. And seriously, how awesome was that? I wrote that the day of; it was just something that I thought would be cool...plus I think there needed to be a little more gore.