Chapter Sixteen; The Double Wedding
Hey guys it's me, sorry that it's taken me so long to update the next chapter and there are only a couple left but I've just been pretty upset lately about some stuff and I just needed to calm down. You guys are awesome by the way! I couldn't be doing this without you so thank you very much! Anyway, here is the next chapter!
Aaron fixed his bright red bowtie as he studied himself inside the mirror. "How do I look?" he asked Harry before he turned around to face him.
"Brilliant." Harry answered with a grin while he shook his head with disbelief. "Much better than I do in dress robes." He admitted. "How's your heart?" he questioned as Aaron just smiled back warmly at him.
"It's doing great." He began. "Do you want to feel it?" he whispered softly. Harry nodded and slowly reached his hand up to feel his chest. Sure enough he could feel his mother's heart beating inside of him for the very first time. Tears of joy streamed down his cheeks while Aaron smiled at him. That's when suddenly Ron cleared his throat. The two boys whirled around to see him standing behind them.
"You guys better go get ready. The wedding will be starting soon." He said.
"I think you mean weddings." Aaron told him before he turned around and walked away out of the boy's bathroom with Harry and Ron tagging along after him. Meanwhile Hermione (who was holding a now six month baby boy inside her arms) and Casey were inside the girl's bathroom watching Amber and Luna examine themselves inside their wedding dresses. Luna had on the traditional white wedding dress but Amber had on a light blue evening gown. They each carried a bouquet that matched their dresses inside their hands.
"Well,.." Luna began. "how do we look?" she asked them with a nervous giggle.
"Perfect!" Hermione responded with delight as Chase reached out his hands towards Amber and made a tiny grunt.
"Sorry Tommy, you're cute, but I'm already taken." She told him with a loving and affectionate smile. "Besides even though you look so grown up in your little baby tuxedo, I only date guys over two years old." She teased.
"Way over two hopefully." Casey said as all three girls giggled. That's when suddenly Amber wrinkled her nose and started to sniff.
"Phew, I think I just found another reason." She said while she waved her hand in front of her face.
"Don't worry I'll go change him, and then I have to go find Ginny." Hermione said before she carried Chase over to the baby changing station.
"Where is Ginny anyway?" Amber asked her.
"She had an appointment to go to." She told her as she laid the baby on top of the counter and started to slide off his shoes, socks, and trousers.
"Why did she have to go today though? I mean it's a pretty important occasion don't you think?" Amber questioned. "She was pretty healthy looking the last time I checked." She said while Hermione started to remove Chase's diaper and then stepped on the pedal of the trashcan and tossed it inside.
"That's because it wasn't about her babies,.. well, I mean it was but_" Hermione began while she began to wipe her son's bottom when suddenly the door opened and Ginny stepped inside.
"I had a feeling that you guys would be here." She said.
"Great detective work it's our wedding day." Amber said sarcastically. "Now the only question that remains is where the heck were you?"
"I'll explain it later after the wedding when I have everyone's attention. Right now I think Hermione has a bigger problem on her hands." Ginny said as she gestured over to her with her head and the other girls turned to look to see Chase giving his mother a thank you gift for changing his nappy. He grinned proudly at her when she suddenly became disgusted with the fact that the front of her dress was now ruined.
"Oh come on Hermione, all you have to do is wash it off." Ginny told her while she dabbed at it with a paper towel.
"Well take a look at it this way Ginny," Amber began. "even though you and Harry are having twins at least they're both girls." She told her.
"I know, but that's the problem." Ginny said.
"What do you mean? Aren't you excited about having two beautiful little daughters?" Amber questioned her.
"I am but I just want to protect them. There's this prophecy and_" she began when suddenly Mrs. Weasley stuck her head and peeked inside the door while Hermione finished changing Chase. She was holding Sheela onto her hip.
"Girls, you better get a move on. We're already to start." She told them.
"Alright we'll be right there Mrs. Weasley let me just finish getting Chase all cleaned up." Hermione said as she put a new diaper on him and then slid his pants back on before putting on his socks and shoes. That's when the baby started to cry.
"Uh oh, I think somebody's getting a little bit fussy." Amber said.
"I know, he hates it when I try to get him dressed. Getting him undressed is easy, he likes it when he gets his clothes taken off, but putting them on is a different matter. And it doesn't really help that I had to wake him up from his nap and he's starting to teethe." She said before she finally managed to finish getting him ready and then she scooped him back up inside her arms.
"Shh,.. shhh,.." she whispered soothingly as she rocked him and bounced him on top of her hip. "What's wrong Tommy? Are you hungry? Or do you want your dummy?" she asked him as he continued to cry and she continued to try and soothe him. "I'll take you back to Grandma and Grandpa and then they'll be able to get you taken care of because Mummy and Daddy have to be in the wedding." She explained before she kissed the top of his gingery head.
"Is that your parents or Ron's?" Casey asked her.
"Ron's." Hermione began. "We refer to mine as Nana and Pappy." She explained before she carried him out of the bathroom.
….
"Alright now Rosie do you remember what to do?" Ron asked his daughter while they awaited their turn to walk down the aisle. She simply just nodded up at him while she clutched onto her flower basket. She had her hair tied up in a pretty pink bow that matched her lacey pink dress.
"Let me rephrase that," he began. "do you even want to do it?" he asked her and she quickly shook her head before removing strands of hair from her face and tucking it behind her ear.
"I want to go home." She answered inside a muffled sob when suddenly Hermione squatted down in front of her.
"Are you scared Rosie?" she asked her as she quickly nodded in response. "Do you remember what I told you when you were afraid that there was a monster under your bed?"
"You told me that it was just my imagination and you and Daddy would never let anything bad happen to me." She said.
"Exactly, and it's just like that now. You're the most beautiful flower girl that I've ever seen, and I'm sure that once you get out there everyone else will think so too. Just do the best that you can? Understand?" Hermione questioned her.
"Yes Mummy." She answered before they threw their arms around one another in a tight hug. "That's my good girl." She told her before she planted a kiss on her cheek and stood up and walked back over to her husband while the two of them smiled as they watched their daughter walk down the aisle scattering red and pink rose petals on top of the red carpeted floor.
Then they took their turn behind her and took each other's arm and marched to the front of the church while the piano man played steadily on the piano. Once the rest of the wedding party made it to the front of the room everyone inside their pews stood up as the wedding march began to play and the two beautiful brides were escorted down the aisle by their fathers.
Aaron and Neville smiled at their beautiful brides as the music stopped. "Dearly beloved," Rickie began. "we are gathered here today to join this two men and women in holy matrimony." He said. "Who gives these two women to these two men?" he questioned.
"Her mother and I do." Amber's father (who was also a black Brit) said.
"I do." Xenophilius said.
"Thank you gentlemen," Rickie began as the two men bowed and nodded at him. "Fellows, you can go and collect your brides." He told them as Neville and Aaron walked over to Luna and Amber and allowed them the use of their arm while they escorted them back up the steps and faced the minister. (which was Rickie) "Neville Longbottom and Aaron Parker, do you take Luna and Amber to be your lawfully wedded wives? To have and to hold in sickness and in health? To love and to cherish for as long as you all shall live? Till death do you part?" he questioned them.
"I do." Neville responded.
"I do." Aaron agreed.
"Very well then, Luna Lovegood and Amber Baker, do you take Neville and Aaron to be your lawfully wedded husbands? To have and to hold in sickness and in health? To love and cherish for as long as you all shall live? Till death do you part?" he continued.
"I do." Luna answered.
"I do." Amber agreed.
"In that case may I have the rings please?" Rickie asked as he turned over to look at Harry and Ron. He thanked each one of them as he presented them with a ring. "Gentlemen, place these rings on your bride's finger and say with this ring I thee wed." he told them.
"With this ring I thee wed." Aaron said as he smiled at Amber while gazing deeply inside her eyes and slid the ring onto her finger.
"With this ring I thee wed." Neville said while sliding his own ring onto Luna's extended finger.
"Now ladies, it's your turn to take these rings and slide them onto your groom's finger saying with this ring, I thee wed." Rickie told them.
"With this ring, I thee wed." Amber said softly while smiling sweetly at Aaron and sliding the ring onto his finger.
"With this ring, I thee wed." Luna echoed sliding her own ring onto her groom's finger.
"By the power invested in me through the laws of Britain and minister of the Lord Jesus Christ, I now pronounce you husbands and wives, you may go ahead and kiss your brides." Rickie told them as the crowd cheered while the two couples smiled at each other and then placing a tender hand on top of each other's cheek and resting it there shared a passionate kiss while the crowd roared with cheers and applause.