Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.
A/N: Thanks to Eminnis for beta-ing this story.
Chapter Eight
The Wedding
" … So, I was holding on to the broom, trying to stop myself from crashing when I saw the Snitch, and before on knew it, it was in my mouth," Harry said, explaining his deadly first game.
"Merlin Harry, I don't know how you keep playing Quidditch after your narrow escapes," Sirius said, remembering the game he had gone to in Harry's third year when he fell fifty feet.
"I can't believe you would say that," Tonks said shaking her head. "You were the most reckless person I've ever seen play …."
"Sh … I'm trying to act like an adult now," Sirius pouted.
"You're not doing a very good job at it," Remus chuckled.
"What do you mean by escapes?" Molly said, who had listened to this recount of Harry's match with a panicked expression. "Have you gotten hurt in another match?"
"Er …." Harry said.
"What I'm curious about is just how Miss Granger stopped Quirrell!" Severus said in a cold voice as he glared at Hermione.
"Er …." Hermione said going bright red and she knew that he had figured out what she had done to him.
"Oh … she …." Ron started to say but Harry clapped his hand over his mouth, there was no reason to make things worse than they had to be.
"Snape will kill her if you tell them that," Harry hissed so only his friend could hear and Ron had to agree with that. Sirius was sure to laugh his head off and that would only infuriate their already annoyed Potions Master.
"I think I knocked the back of his head," Hermione answered after a long pause where everyone was looking at Ron and Harry questioningly.
"I believe we've all finished our meal," McGonagall prompted, trying to alleviate the tension. She remembered quite clearly that Severus's robes had mysteriously caught on fire that day and she wanted to help her favorite student out. Besides, she was rather amused by said event, even if she would never admit it.
"I'll read," Fleur volunteered as soon as they got to the room they had been reading in. No one was surprised by this, and Remus was already handing the book to her before she spoke. "The Wedding."
Fleur beamed as she read this, and Bill chuckled. Molly smiled too, it was clear the girl really loved her son, and though she wasn't happy about losing her son (it was much too soon for that) she was pleased that they were happy together.
Mentions the Muggle boy whose appearance Harry was slightly fatter than him:
"Of course, he's fatter than you," Fred rolled his eyes.
"My arm is fatter than you," Charlie added, trying to tease Harry but he was still upset about the whole Ginny issue.
Fred says when I get married:
"Don't you mean if … you'd have to find a girl crazy enough to marry you first," Bill teased his brother.
"True," Fred chuckled.
"Maybe you could get Loony to marry you," Ron chuckled.
"Don't call her Loony!" Ginny hissed. "Her name is Luna!"
"She might be a little too crazy for me," Fred chuckled again.
Fred says and I'll put a full Body Bind Curse on Mum until it's all over:
"I'd like to see you try," Molly said glaring at Fred, who gulped at the look his mum was giving him.
George says cried a bit about Percy not being here:
Molly moaned at that and looked at her third oldest son sadly.
Percy wasn't looking at her, he couldn't even try to move his head, he didn't want to see what any of his family looked like right now. He wasn't sure if it would have been worse if they were glaring at him or if they looked at him indifferently, but he knew he couldn't take either response.
Tonks says the Ministry's being very anti-werewolf at the moment:
"When is the Ministry not being anti-werewolf?" Remus muttered bitterly.
Harry said It's fine, I understand, more to Remus than Tonks:
"Why don't you ever want to talk to me, Harry?" Tonks pouted.
"Sorry," Harry chuckled. "I think I just feel more connected to L … er … Remus."
"Yeah, you can't even say his name without stuttering, I can see the connection is really strong," Sirius laughed, but Remus was smiling at Harry.
Mentions that Remus's face fell again into lines of misery:
"I'm being serious this time, what is wrong with you?" Sirius said.
"Aren't you always Sirius?" Remus answered absentmindedly, he didn't like the distance that he was showing in the book, and it was clear that he was regretting something. It probably had something to do with Tonks and how he knew a relationship with her would affect her life in a very negative way.
Sirius just frowned; his friend never used that pun. Remus must really be worried about something.
Mentions an odd symbol, a triangular eye:
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at that. It sounded like the mark that identified the Deathly Hallows but he couldn't be sure, though he thought that Xenophilius would be someone that would believe in something like this.
Mr. Lovegood says so kind of the good Weasleys to invite us:
"I don't think it was the good Weasleys that invited them … it must have been my evil twin," Fred said.
"I'm not evil … you're the evil one!" George huffed indignantly and then the two of them laughed.
Mr. Lovegood says but I think you know my Luna:
"Ah, so we're going to get to meet this girl that is too crazy for even Fred," Sirius chuckled. "This should be interesting."
"That's putting it mildly," Ron chuckled.
Mr. Lovegood says Luna lingered to say hello to the gnomes:
"Argh!" Molly groaned at that, couldn't they just stay away for a day like this, was that too much to ask for?!
Luna says hello Harry and Harry says er my name's Barry:
"Wow, that's right, you're under the Polyjuice Potion," Hermione said. "How did she know it was you?"
"Luna has a way of looking at things that's a bit different," Ginny shrugged.
"I've noticed," Hermione rolled her eyes.
Ginny frowned at her friend, she thought that Luna and Hermione would actually have a good friendship if they would just try to understand each other.
Luna says oh, have you changed that too:
Sirius chuckled at that, "I like her."
"Well, crazy people do have to stick together," Tonks teased.
"I noticed you laughing too, Tonksy," Sirius said, "one would say that your theory applies to you, too."
Tonks just shrugged at this comment.
Mentions Harry had long since decided not to challenge Luna or her father's peculiar views:
"Hm … that sounds like I'm going to get closer to Luna," Harry said thoughtfully.
"Not necessarily," Hermione said. "I mean you already know that you shouldn't questions comments like this because she's just going to give you some kind of crazy answer."
"Maybe," Harry shrugged. "But it still seems like she might be my friend now."
Auntie Muriel says and your hair is much too long, Ronald, I thought you were Ginevra:
"You grow your hair out, too," Molly groaned, looking at Ron with a scowl. Did all her boys have to like that ridiculous long-haired look?
Ron says to Hermione wow, you look great:
"Aw … is Ickie Ronnie all tongue tied?" Fred teased.
"Shut up!" Ron said looking at the floor, his ears bright red. Hermione was looking at Ron from the corner of her eye with a small smile.
Hermione says Aunt Muriel says oh dear, is this the Muggle-born, bad posture and skinny ankles:
"Well as you can see, Aunt Muriel doesn't say anything nice about anyone so don't worry about it," Ginny told her friend who didn't seem to have noticed what was going on in the book, she was just looking at Ron with a hopeful expression.
Mentions dark-haired young man with a large, curved nose with his eyes on Hermione, you look vunderful:
Ron was glaring at the book, his ears now red with anger. Why did he have to show up now when things with Hermione seemed to be going better?
"Why would Viktor be here?" Hermione questioned and Ron's scowl darkened.
"He is my friend, I would want him there," Fleur explained and before Ron could open his mouth to start a fight with Hermione, she started reading again.
Mentions Hermione dropped her beaded bag, that made a loud thump quite disproportionate to its size:
Remus, McGonagall, and Arthur all raised an eyebrow at that, wondering why that was and having a good idea what the answer would be to that.
Hermione says I didn't know you were, goodness, it's lovely to see how are you:
Ron started making clucking sounds with his tongue as he crossed his arms. He should have known better than to hope that Hermione would ever be interested in him when she had an international Quidditch star interested in her.
Ron asks rudely how come you're here:
All of Ron's siblings were laughing at that, which only made him surlier.
"Ronald, I know you have better manners than that!" Molly reprimanded him.
"He's just my friend, Ron," Hermione whispered so only Ron could hear, but seeing as he didn't budge at all she wasn't sure he could hear her.
Mentions Harry offered to show Krum to his seat:
"Thank you 'Arry," Fleur said, not wanting anything to happen that would ruin her day.
"I wish you hadn't done that," Sirius pouted.
Mentions while Fleur's radiance usually dimmed everyone else by comparison, today it beautified everyone it fell upon:
"Wow, I think she's started to glow like that now," Sirius whispered loudly to Remus. Fleur looked at him and blushed slightly before she started reading again.
Mentions that Bill did not look as though he had ever met Fenrir Greyback:
"Greyback!" Several people gasped and Remus hissed bitterly.
"My poor baby," Molly said looking at Bill and then getting up to sit next to him. She was starting to really hate this book … it brought so much bad news.
"I'm okay Mum," Bill said impatiently but allowed his mum to hug him, knowing that she needed that right now. "It hasn't happened yet."
"You don't think you're … he was … a werewolf …." Arthur sputtered out, looking pale as he watched his eldest son wrap his arms around Molly.
"I'm sure Harry would have made some kind of reference to that before now if that was the case," Dumbledore said calmly.
"Who's Greyback?" Harry questioned them, wondering who this guy could be to have everyone look so anxious.
"He's a werewolf, a vicious one if half of what I've read about him is true …." Hermione started to explain, her voice was tight, and she tried not to speak too loudly.
"It's true," Remus said in a cold voice that most the people in the room weren't used to hearing from him. "He would threaten people by saying he would attack their children if they didn't do what he said … and he would follow through with the threat."
"That's horrible," Hermione whispered. She paled as she understood how Remus would know about this. This must have been the monster that had turned him as a boy.
Mentions Harry's thoughts wandered to afternoons spent alone with Ginny:
"Just how many hours did you spend with her?" Charlie asked, his voice full of annoyance again.
"None," Harry answered, for that was the truth as he knew it.
"Right, just keep it that way," Charlie smiled and was hit in the head by a pillow that was thrown by Ginny. For such a soft thing, Charlie was surprised how much it hurt… Ginny really had an arm on her.
"Shut up Charlie!" Ginny hissed.
Mentions that time seems too good to be true, they belong to a normal person's life:
Harry groaned as he received several sympathetic looks from the women in the room.
"You deserve happiness too Harry," Hermione whispered to him, giving his hand a comforting squeeze.
It says do you, William Arthur, take Fleur Isabelle … and then Harry thinks in the front row:
Fleur's voice went from excited squeal to annoyance in a flash. "Can't you pay attention to the wedding a little more closely 'Arry!"
"Sorry," Harry said automatically.
Mentions that Harry was sure that Ron was keeping an eye out for Krum:
"I thought you got over this," Hermione rolled her eyes, he had asked for Viktor's autograph at the end of fourth year after all … Okay so he acted all bothered when she was writing that letter to Viktor just a few nights ago (a reaction that always made a wave of pleasure go through her stomach).
Ron says what is it, a lifetime supply of Gurdyroots:
"What's Gurdyroot?" Harry questioned.
"No idea," Ron shrugged. "But knowing Luna, it's something better not knowing."
Mentions Hermione tried to kick Ron under the table, but caught Harry instead:
"Sorry Harry," Hermione said as most people in the room chuckled.
"It's okay," Harry answered and then added, "but it sounds like you were trying to defend Luna."
"I know," Hermione agreed. "I suppose you were right, and we did become friends … I wonder how that happened?"
Luna says I like this song, and then it describes how she dances:
"It looks like she's taking the Gernumbli bite seriously," Fred said. "Good for her."
Ron says she's great isn't she, always good value:
"I can kind of see that," Ron said thoughtfully, but he was still a little weirded out by the odd girl.
Ron says to Hermione come and dance:
"Did you just ask me to dance?" Hermione asked incredulously.
Ron didn't think he could say anything right now, so he just nodded his head.
Hermione smiled at this, she knew that Ron didn't like dancing, it must mean something that he was asking her … still she wished he wasn't doing this because Viktor was there, he might just be acting like an over protecting git and not actually like her …
Mentions Hermione looked taken aback, but pleased too:
"Yep, that's how she looks," George said, looking at Hermione closely.
"Shut up," Hermione hissed at him as the whole room chuckled.
Krum asks ah, they are together now:
Both Ron and Hermione looked at the book hopefully though they both said, "of course not," at the same time and then looked away disappointed.
Harry says er, sort of:
"What is that supposed to mean?" Ron questioned with a groan, he really wanted a yes or no answer not a 'sort of ' answer.
Hermione looked at him, she couldn't tell by his tone if he was opposed to the idea or if he would like it. She wanted to ask him about it … ask him what he was thinking but the fact that they were in a room full of people wasn't lost on her and it was already impossibly hard for her to talk to Ron about this without the audience.
"It means you two are still being idiots," Ginny grumbled, rolling her eyes.
Krum says that if Mr. Lovegood wasn't Fleur's guess would have done him, here and now for wearing that filthy sign:
Dumbledore sighed, he was right, and he knew what was coming next.
Everyone looked at Dumbledore, not used to him having such a reaction, which was all the more noticeable because it didn't mean anything to the rest of them.
Krum says Grindelwald's sign:
"Oh," several people said, thinking they understood why Dumbledore would react to that, obviously he would have known about the sign.
However, everyone's gasp only seemed to make Dumbledore look even glummer. He knew they had come to the wrong conclusion, but he didn't really have time to worry about them, because his mind was starting to travel to his most painful memories, and he was having trouble stopping them from coming.
Krum says Grindelwald was never powerful in this country, they said he feared Dumbledore:
Dumbledore wondered then why Grindelwald never came here, was it really fear of him or was it some other reason. He would like to think it was because a part of Grindelwald thought about what had happened between them, but he wasn't sure he believed that.
Krum describes the symbol ending with who had lost family members taught them better:
"That doesn't sound like something that Xenophilius would wear," Arthur said. "He might be eccentric, but he definitely never supported the dark arts."
"I believe that Mr. Krum is under a misunderstanding," Dumbledore said. "The symbol wasn't made by Grindelwald …" it was hard for him to keep his voice even as he said the name of his onetime friend, but it looked like no one, but McGonagall noticed that. "The symbol was used a long time before he was even born."
Krum says I walked past that sign for several years; I know it well:
"So, the symbol might not have been made by Grindelwald, but it was obviously something that he was interested in," Severus said. "I wonder what it means?"
"Who cares? It's probably some way to gain power. That sounds like something that he would be interested in," Sirius groaned impatiently, not noticing the dark expression in Dumbledore's eyes.
Harry says Mr. Lovegood doesn't know what it means, thinking it's a cross section to the Crumple-Horned Snorkack:
Several people snorted at this.
"What's a Crumple-Horned Snorkack?" Sirius questioned.
"It's a creature that Luna and her dad go on expeditions to try and find," Ginny shrugged. "I don't think they actually exist … but Luna is convinced they do."
"Well just because they haven't been discovered yet, doesn't mean they don't exist," Remus chuckled at Ginny's answer. "Though I doubt this particular creature exists, some of the other ones that she has mentioned actually have some proof they might be real."
"Really?" Hermione asked, shocked by that.
Remus nodded his head.
"I didn't know you knew her?" Harry questioned.
"You do realize that your class wasn't the only one that I taught when I was a professor, right?" Remus teased lightly.
"Oh, right," Harry smiled at him sheepishly.
Mentions Krum tapped his wand menacingly and Harry says Gregorovitch:
"Ah … so that's the real reason why Krum is there, so Harry could figure out the wand clue," George said. "See, Ronnie … there's nothing to worry about, he's just a plot device."
"Whatever," Ron said rolling his eyes.
Harry says he made your wand, that's why I thought Quidditch:
"And now you just made yourself look like some crazy person," Sirius said shaking his head.
"Like he wasn't already doing that talking about Snorkackes and Wrackspurt," Hermione pointed out rolling her eyes.
Harry says I read it somewhere, in a fan magazine:
"I didn't know that you read fan magazines," Ron said.
"I didn't know you read other people's fan articles, I would have thought you had enough reading your own," Draco sneered.
"Ah, look little Draky is jealous of ickies Harry's fame," Fred said in a baby voice.
"Isn't that just adorable," George added and Draco glared at the both of them.
Krum says he retired sever years ago, they are the best:
"Yeah, bloody right, Ollivander's wands kick their arse," Charlie said.
"Charlie, watch your language," Molly snapped at her son.
"I think that it is a matter of where you come from that colors your opinion of who the best wand maker is," Fleur said reasonably.
"Are there any good wand makers in France, Fleur?" Harry questioned, knowing that the core for her wand was a piece of her veela grandmother's hair.
"Oh yes, there are several good wand makers in France, though I would have to say that none of them are as famous as Ollivander or Gregorowitch, but they are more willing to use … unusual cores in their wands … which suits me very well."
Krum calls Ginny very nice-looking:
"Oi, stay away from her!" Ron hissed out unnecessarily loud, but he couldn't help it, he couldn't stand it if the ruddy pumpkin head went after his sister after everything that went on with Hermione.
Everyone laughed at that especially Ginny, who never would have gone near Krum in a million years.
Hermione, however, was frowning. His reaction to this was so similar to the way that he reacted when Viktor was near her that she could easily believe that Ron only thought of her like a sister … not an altogether comforting thought to her at the moment.
Harry says she's seeing someone, jealous type, big bloke, you wouldn't want to cross him:
Everyone was laughing at that.
"I think you might be exaggerating about the big bloke comment," Fred laughed.
"Yeah, you really are scrawny, not big at all," George laughed too.
Mentions Harry wanted to tell Ron about Gregovitch, but he was dancing with Hermione:
"Well you could have come too, Harry, unless you're going to be keeping that from me too," Hermione said, ending with a sharp note.
"I don't like dancing," Harry replied, evading her glare. When that didn't work, he added, "besides, I think I was trying to give you two some time alone …."
That caused Hermione's cheeks to turn slightly pink, after all, she did like the idea of dancing with Ron.
Harry says Mr. Doge, I'm Harry Potter:
"You can't just tell people that Potter, you're supposed to be hiding," McGonagall said, giving Harry a disappointed look, really, he should have known better than that.
"I do not believe that Elphias will be a security risk," Dumbledore said. "It is likely that he already knows that Harry is there … after all he is a member of the Order."
"Still, I would think that Potter would take more care with his safety than that," McGonagall said, her tone still quite stern.
Doge says if you don't count Aberforth and somehow people never count Aberforth:
"Why is that?" Sirius asked and saw a familiar look in Dumbledore's eyes as he always had when someone talked about his own brother.
"Aberforth prefers it that way," Dumbledore said sadly, wishing he could have somehow bridged the gap between his brother, knowing that he was to blame for it in the first place.
Harry says Skeeter hinted that Dumbledore was involved in the Dark Arts when he was young:
"Harry, how can you believe that?" Hermione said frowning, "you know better than anyone that she lies about everything." Harry shrugged again, not really understanding himself here either.
However, that didn't stop Severus and Draco from looking at Dumbledore thoughtfully and seeing that he looked almost ashamed … or were they just imagining that … it was hard to get anything out of Dumbledore's expression.
Mentions that Harry's need to be sure, to know everything:
"Why do you have to know everything Potter, is the man not allowed to have a past," Severus said coldly, Potter was showing his arrogance again. "It has nothing to do with you."
Harry furrowed his eyebrows questioningly. Why was his book self so angry about this? It was true that he was intrigued by this bit of information, but he didn't think he was in the same state as he appeared to be in the book. "I know that sir," he said, still frowning.
Someone says Rita Skeeter, oh I love her, always read her:
"Three guesses who that is," Fred groaned.
"Though if you take more than one, you're a git," George added, groaning as well.
Muriel says you there, give me your chair, I'm a hundred and seven:
"I don't know why she's complaining so much, that's not very old," Tonks said. "You're like … a hundred and fifty, aren't you sir?"
"Almost," Dumbledore chuckled at her.
Muriel says you'll still think Dumbledore was a saint even if he did away with his Squib sister:
Dumbledore shivered at that; it was callous and incorrect but there was just enough truth in it that made him feel like he was stabbed in the chest. He was the reason his sister was gone after all, no matter if he cast the charm that actually ended her life or not.
Everyone was looking at Dumbledore's painful expression and was dying to know what had happened, but nobody dared to ask.
Harry says he never told me his sister was a Squib:
"Ariana was not a Squib," Dumbledore said softly, his voice was weak with the guilt he was feeling.
"I'm sorry sir," Harry said looking down, he could see the pain in Dumbledore's eyes, and it was clear to him why the older man never brought this up, he was obviously hurt by the subject … and why wouldn't he be? After all it was about his younger sister dying much too early. He, himself, never liked talking about his past, and all that happened to him was being neglected by the Dursleys … or at least that's the only past that he remembers.
Muriel says off being brilliant at Hogwarts and never mind what was going on in his own house:
Dumbledore flinched at these words and people were starting to wonder if they were true … or at least what part of them were true. For it was clear that there was something to this story that affected Dumbledore.
Muriel says Dumbledore's mother was Muggle-born, though I heard she pretended otherwise:
"She was Muggle-born, and she never pretended to be anything else," Dumbledore said automatically, still trying to maintain his calm demeanor.
Muriel says Ariana was never permitted to leave but she was never taken to St. Mungo's and no Healer ever saw her:
"Because if she was taken to a Healer she would have been taken away from us," Dumbledore said, he could feel everyone look at him. It hurt to say this, but he didn't want everyone in here to believe this story … believe that his mother was so cold as to do something like this. "My mother could not bear to be separated from my sister like that …."
Remus opened his mouth to ask what was wrong with Ariana, but he still couldn't bring himself to do that with the way that Dumbledore looked right now.
Harry thinks about the Dursleys locking him up because he was a wizard and wonder if Ariana was imprisoned for her lack of magic:
"I'm sorry, sir, I don't know why I'm thinking that," Harry said softly when he saw his headmaster bow his head.
"It's a reasonable thought after what you heard," Dumbledore said in an uneven tone, "but I assure you that this is definitely not the case."
Muriel says I'd say that Kendra was who finished off Ariana:
Dumbledore's eyes showed a hint of anger at that before the sadness consumed them again as he thought of what had really happened.
Muriel mentions that Bathilda was the source:
Dumbledore was really frowning at this, if Bathilda was the source, that book was sure to bring back more painful memories … he hoped it wasn't in this book, but somehow with Harry as determined as he seemed to be, he seriously doubted he would be so lucky.
Harry says Bathilda Bagshot, the author of A History of Magic:
"You actually know the author's name!" Hermione and Ron said at the same time with completely different tones. Hermione was pleasantly surprised, and Ron was disgusted. Harry just shrugged at that.
Mentions were Lily and James buried close to Dumbledore's mother and sister:
"Yes, they are," Dumbledore said sadly, "I'm sorry I've never told you this …."
"It's okay sir, I know this couldn't have been easy to bring up," Harry said.
Hermione says I simply can't dance anymore:
"Aw, has little Ronnie tired you out already," Fred chuckled, trying to lighten the mood in the somber room.
Kingsley's lynx Patronus says the Ministry has fallen, Scrimgeour is dead, they are coming:
"NO! No, no, no …!" Molly screamed and kept chanting.
"That is the end of the chapter," Fleur said in a shaky voice. This definitely wasn't something she wanted on her wedding day, but she was too scared for everyone's safety to worry about that now.
"I'll read," Bill said taking the book from her. He didn't wait for anyone else to make a comment before he started reading the next chapter.