The wedding had been big and extravagant.

Much to Fred and Helena's embarrassment.

While initially the wedding was only supposed to consist of close family and friends, what Helena and Fred forgot to consider was that for all that they loved her like a mother (for Helena) and as their actual mother (for Fred), Molly Weasley was one of the biggest gossip and rumor mongers the world had ever known or would ever see again in this lifetime.

Seriously the woman could spread information faster than the Daily Prophet could blink and the Wizarding World had better pray that she doesn't wake up one day and decide to create her own paper or else they'd all be doomed.

3 hours before the wedding

So basically, the question is…how did they get here?

Here being casually freaking out in the back room only three and a half hours away from the wedding and finding out, upon arrival, that their original twenty people maximum ceremony was hosting close to seven hundred plus of the Wizarding and some of the Muggle World's most influential leaders and influencers in an expensively lavish chateau in Southwest France goes a little something like this.

5 weeks before the wedding

After saying yes to marrying Fred, Helena, still with puffy eyes and a watery smile had suggested they set a date and tell only their close friends and family about it.

She told Fred that she didn't really need a big wedding. She said that all she needed was him and their love and that would be enough.

Fred, feeling the same way, agreed, and together they sent out owls to request a meeting at the Burrow mostly for all of their mates that were still in the country.

Five hours later, the sun was starting to set, painting the sky a riotous kaleidoscope of oranges, reds, and yellows that seemed to set the sky ablaze and add an air of warmth and contentment to the already cramped living room. By this point, almost all of their comrades and family members had made it to the Borrow.

Laughing and drinking fire whiskey, everyone was reacquainting themselves with each other and reminiscing about times long past during their Hogwarts days. Finally, after snacks had been served and everyone was mildly tipsy, Helena gently tapped a spoon against her wine glass to get everyone's attention.

"So, I know you all are wondering why Fred and I gathered you all here today," Helena started, and at her show of brief hesitation, Fred gently squeezed her hand encouragingly.

Emboldened, Helena proudly announced to everyone that, "Fred and I have decided to get married. We don't know when exactly we plan on doing this, but we have been in love for a long time and honestly, after everything that's happened this year, we've realized that life is too short for second guessing and hesitation. For the most part I think we both always knew that it would come to this, seeing as how we can't really live without each other, so we decided to spend the rest of our lives together, rather than deny the compassion we share for each other".

After that statement, the room became deathly quiet in which only the singing of the crickets outside could be heard. But, as expected, that silence didn't last long as chaos erupted around the living room.

Like locusts, most of the women in the room swarmed Helena either squealing (Fleur Delacour-Weasley, Bill's wife) or asking a million and one questions about her dress and/or the venue (Hermione Granger-Weasley, who had recently eloped with Ron in a shot-gun wedding the year before but opted to hyphenate her last name in honor of her parents). But while the women flocked to Helena, most of the men surrounded Fred.

While all of his brothers were teasing him in one way or another, a couple of the older men, mostly Sirius, Remus, and, surprisingly, Fred's own father, Arthur, were taking turns giving him a very thorough shovel talk and describing in vivid detail what they would do to him if he ever broke her heart.

Overall, the atmosphere was one of celebration and joy; however, no one was more excited than Molly Weasley who, upon hearing the news, had already started a list of all the things that would need to be done before the wedding.

After about half an hour of receiving well wishes and veiled threats (mostly for Fred, her poor fiancé looked especially pale) Molly finally interrupted.

"Oh Fred, Helena" Molly started with unshed tears dancing within the edges of her warm brown eyes.

"As a mother I couldn't be more overjoyed that my two children have finally found happiness with one another. After the war, you both seemed so sad and lost and I had feared that the long, undeniable bond that you had held for each other since your third year at Hogwarts had broken with Fred's silence and your distance, Helena. But, seeing you both now, I am so thankful that you were able to overcome your pain and turn it into something better, together".

Shocked, Helena and Fred stared at Molly with bewildered eyes not because she had expressed happiness for their union because everyone knew how she adored Helena as if she were her own daughter and Fred was her son, so it was only natural for her to be content with their union.

No, what had shocked them was that Molly had known long before they came out, just before the Battle of Hogwarts, as a couple officially.

Up to that point they had kept it secret because if they had told anyone they would have never been able to date and figure out their emotions on their own. Every school gossip and news rag would have analyzed and pressured the relatively new relationship between the famous Girl-Who-Lived and the infamous school prankster and new age Marauder, Fred Weasley. Not to mention the fact that it would have broadcasted a glaring weakness in Helena's life that Voldemort would have used against her.

So, they had both decided to keep it quiet so that their relationship could flourish without the strain of other people's expectations and pressure. However, with the beginning of the war on the way they had decided that if this was to be their last time seeing each other then they wanted to at least make their love for each other public so that others could know that in their last moments they had been in love.

Up until that point, though they had never confirmed it, many people, specifically George and Hermione, had already suspected but they genuinely hadn't thought that anyone knew exactly when their relationship had really began. However here was Molly confirming that she had known from the beginning?

Seeing their disbelieving eyes, Mrs. Weasley huffed.

"Don't look at me like that of course I knew. As I knew with all of my children. For one, while you lot might think you can be slick and play me, you forget that I raised each and every one of you. And trust me a mother knows when her children are trying to keep secrets". She said, looking specifically at Ron, who she was still not happy with for getting a rushed wedding without her knowledge, sure she had suspected, but had been too late to plan anything big like she wanted when he had only sent the invite the day before the wedding, the nerve of that boy!

But no worries, she thought mercilessly, glancing mischievously at where Helena and Fred where still standing in the front of the room holding hands, I've always got next time She hummed, giggling evilly in her head while rubbing her hands together.

Properly chastised Ron looked away while Hermione chuckled in the background.

Meanwhile Helena got a sudden chill down her spine like someone had just brushed across her grave but after carefully glancing around, shrugged it off thinking it nothing but the outside chill coming in from the open window.

If only

"Either way" Molly continued "I was thinking, as an early wedding gift why don't you two lovebirds go on a vacation! Think of it as a pre-honeymoon, a warm-up if you like, as a sample of what the real thing will be like. Meanwhile, to take some of the pressure off your shoulders, I can handle all the strenuous details of the wedding. Doesn't that just sound wonderful?!"

Glancing at each other briefly, Fred started to say "Actually mom there's no reason to…"

"So, it's settled then!" Molly interrupted talking over her son and effectively cutting off his rejection at the knees.

"I'll plan the major parts with some suggestions added in, wouldn't want to exclude you from planning the wedding of course, oh there's just so much to do the food, venue, and of course, the guests! Now, there will definitely be some who won't be able to come maybe…" after that Molly Weasley began to mumble as she walked off into the kitchen, thoughts churning with all of the ideas and themes she had on a recurring list in her head.

Sighing fondly, Arthur Weasley just clapped his hands on his son's shoulders while pressing a chaste kiss to his soon to be daughter-in-law's temple and told him quietly, "just let her do her thing, son, you'll learn soon enough that sometimes it's just easier to go along with her schemes."

Arthur continued in a long-suffering tone, "I'll try to make sure she doesn't go too over the top, but your mother can be stubborn when she wants to be."

Understanding what his father was implying Fred just told him to try to convince her to only invite a few people as he and Helena still only wanted a small, intimate wedding. And after mentioning that while he made no promises, he would certainly try to at least cut the list of possible attendees down by half; Arthur left to go find his wife.

Soon after, everyone began to trickle out of the house and soon it was just Helena and Fred left in the living room packing up their things and getting ready to head out themselves.

However, on their way-out Helena stopped by the door and glanced back toward the stairs where his parent's room was located and said, thoughtfully, "I hope we made the right choice." Fred glanced up briefly and whispered dejectedly, "Me too".

Now, however, as they looked around at the positively packed but undoubtedly beautiful chateau Helena and Fred realized that their fears hadn't been for nothing.

Still, although the wedding hadn't been the quiet affair they had wanted, they couldn't argue that it wasn't a beautiful and frankly marvelous occasion.

The wedding was held in the chateau's bountiful garden where millions of peonies and calla lilies intertwined with each other in a truly fantastical display of soft pink and pure white.

In the center was a walkway made entirely of white marble with pink inlays in the cracks that were so resplendent that one could see their own reflection in the polished stone.

Overhead someone, probably Molly, had enchanted the overhead branches' leaves, which dangled from their vines to about mid-way to the ground, to glow softly in various shades of yellow, orange, blue, and red in order to give the "ceiling" a more ethereal appearance as if millions of multicolored stars were falling from the sky in order to grace the couple that would walk below them during the midnight ceremony.

On either side of the walkway thousands of pink and white chairs were set up for the people who had been invited to attend. And further out, past the gardens, if you looked far enough there was a beautiful tent large enough to hold an entire stadium of people within set up for the food, dancing, and presents that would be open to everyone after the wedding had commenced.

Honestly, it was beautiful and thoughtful, and Helena had never been more touched and grateful in her life. Silent tears touched the edges of her lashes as Fred, also stunned in quiet awe, brushed aside her tears with his thumb.

Though a lot of people had shown up early the actual wedding wouldn't commence for another three hours until the clock struck 12.

Both Helena and Fred had agreed that even if they didn't get a small wedding the one thing, they wanted to remain the same was the timing.

Midnight represented the end of one day and the beginning of another, and in that same vein, Helena had argued that it would symbolize the beginning of their lives together as it would represent the end to their old lives full of suffering, death, and sacrifice, and the start of their new one that was full of hope, love, and loyalty.

So, after taking a look at the ceremony, greeting and thanking Molly, they finally split up with their respective bridesmaids and groomsmen in order to get ready for the ceremony.

Three hours and fifteen minutes later the ceremony had started, Fred, even with his mutilated left side, still looked dashing in his sleek and handsome wedding Wizarding robes which, instead of using Helena's extensive inheritance, like they had to fund the entire wedding, Fred had spent his own earnings from his and George's new prank shop to buy a robe with gold and diamonds intwined within the fabric itself.

His fiery red hair was pulled back into a proper and well done man bun at the back of his head. His eye, the one not covered by the pitch black eyepatch shone a fierce blue that almost seemed to glow in the leaf lights above. His skin gleamed a pale white and his plump red lips were pursed in a straight line in order to avoid him biting at them due to nerves.

Overall, most thought he looked something like a a scarred but exceedingly handsome prince with a wild streak a mile wide. Or, if you asked George, who was standing right beside him as his best man, a pirate captain who got lost on his way to a raid and decided to attend a wedding instead.

Sometimes Fred really does question why he still hangs around his idiot brother, seriously.

Either way, Mendelssohn's Wedding March had just begun, and Fred waited anxiously for Helena to walk down the aisle with her hand wrapped around Sirius's elbow as he led her to him. Fred was just about to start breaking out in nervous sweats when he caught a flash of white out the side of his vision.

Facing forward agin, Fred glanced up and his breath caught.

He couldn't breathe.

Because there in front of him was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and would ever see again.

Helena was dressed in a truly stunning gown fit for nothing other than a queen. She looked kind of like what he imagined the sun would look like if it were a person.

Her white gown glowed with a thousand multicolored small, crystallized diamond sparkles that, with the help of magic, looked like actual stars gleaming in her dress.

Her bright scarlet red hair with mixes of dark orange and blood red were wrapped in an elegant braided half-bun with the back trailing red strands that fell like a curtain over her shoulders and neck towards her the upper half of her thighs.

Her beautiful forest green eyes reflected in the light of the moon, and were made sharper by the eyeliner and mascara she had put on to highlight these features making her look both fierce and untouchable.

All and All, Helena looked like a queen as she stroud confidently towards him and while everyone else gasped and whispered the only thing that Fred could see was her.

After making her way down the aisle and before reaching the marbled stairs that would end on the pedestal, Sirius, who had stood beside and walked with her in the place of her father, gently lifted and kissed his goddaughter's hand, whispered something in her ear that made her slightly tear up, look purposefully at Fred, and, finally, passed Helena's hand to him.

After briefly acknowledging the significance of the moment and nodding seriously to Sirius, Fred and Helena finally stood on the pedestal face to face, fingers laced between them staring lovingly into each other's eyes.

In all honesty, if asked Fred wouldn't be able to explain what happened next, to be honest the rest of the ceremony was a whirlwind of emotions and words that meant everything and nothing at all. Because in Fred's heart he knew; he had everything he had ever wanted and needed in his arms at last.

Furthermore, at the end of the day, as the magical fireworks went off painting the sky in fiery reds and whites, he looked into Helena's loving, passionate forest green eyes he knew that he wasn't alone in that notion. And the next day as he basked in the morning sun cresting over the French chateau's beachside and crystal clear oceans he smiled contentedly beside a naked Helena as all he could remember was the press of their lips as they whispered promises of forever into the others skin.