Rachel woke early on the morning of her wedding. It had taken a little under a year to make the preparations. In just over a month she'd be turning thirty one years old. She hadn't quite decided how she felt about that. On one hand, being in her third decade felt like she was firmly an adult, and quite experienced. On the other hand, she had six Wizengamot colleagues who were over a hundred years old. She knew enough about life and death to know that nothing was guaranteed, but she was looking forward to the years ahead and the discoveries that would come with them.
The summer sunrise was painting her bedroom a faint gold through her curtains and she could feel that Dingbat was curled up in the crook of her knees and Feverfew was settled against her stomach. She and Theo had long ago decided that separate bedrooms was the way to go. She struggled with sleeping and didn't want to wake him up multiple times a night, and he didn't want to sleep with the cats. It worked for them.
Their day to day life wasn't really changing by being married, but she found that there was something comforting in the commitment as well. They were going to be bound together, not by magic or anything like that, but by a simple agreement that they belonged together and would take care of each other. It had taken a while, and a lot of reassurance that the important things weren't changing, but Rachel had come to feel that she would like being married.
As they had expected, the press had been all in their business ever since their engagement had been announced. Rachel and Theo had reluctantly agreed to let Witch Weekly do a wedding issue, but for only one reason - they wouldn't be at the real wedding.
She and Theo had talked it over. They both wanted a private ceremony with just the people who were important to them, but they couldn't afford to snub the Wizengamot and the Ministry. Finally, despite how ridiculous it seemed, they had decided on having two weddings. The first was today, Friday, and was a private affair with just their closest family and friends. They'd done their best to keep it a secret, not even hiring caterers or an event space.
The second wedding would be tomorrow and would be a huge event. They'd invited the entire Wizengamot and their partners, the department heads of the Ministry and other important people in the Ministry, the Spell Crafting Guild, the Potions Guild, Rachel's Quidditch mates, the rest of their school friends, Witch Weekly, and everyone else who warranted an invitation. Rachel was expecting it to be a nightmare, but they'd get through it.
Today was a simple ceremony in a small chapel and dinner and a party in Draco's ballroom. He'd volunteered Malfoy Manor as a location that would easily hold all of them and was absolutely certain to be private. Draco's House Elves would be cooking as they had experience cooking for events - and those House Elves were paid now. Rachel's committee had established a department in the Ministry for House Elf Welfare and had enacted laws with a minimum wage for House Elves. There was still more to do and wrinkles to iron out, but the major issues had been settled.
Rachel even had two gowns for the separate weddings. The one for today was pale lavender, almost so pale that it was white, and was a simple flowing dress that met her ankles. She'd vetoed lace or flowers of any kind. The dress for tomorrow was larger with a full skirt and was pure white, though she'd still vetoed lace and flowers. She intended to be in that dress for as little time as possible as it was rather heavy and tight across the bodice. Her shoes for both were simple white slippers. She didn't feel any desire to wear heels, despite how short she was.
Resting her hand on Feverfew's back, she let her thoughts drift to the days ahead. She and Theo were taking a two week honeymoon starting on Sunday. They were traveling by portkey, though they also were going to take a short plane ride while on their trip, just to try it out and see what it was like. They were avoiding traveling to anywhere the government might want to greet her or to invite her to political dinners or parties. They'd booked a few nights in resorts and intended to go sightseeing and horseback riding and all the rest that they never found time to do in their daily lives. It wouldn't exactly be a break, but it would be fun.
Given how busy her mind was, Rachel realized it was time to get up, even if it wasn't quite yet six in the morning. She took a moment to pet the cats, both of which had been woken by her moving, and then climbed out of bed. After a shower, she put her hair up so she could deal with it later, and then changed into trousers and t-shirt and a casual robe. She'd just be changing into her gown in a few hours anyway.
She found Theo in the hallway as she returned from getting dressed. "You couldn't sleep either?" she asked.
"No. Thinking too much, trying to make sure we took care of everything," he said.
"We did," she assured him, wrapping an arm around him. For today's ceremony, there wasn't much to take care of. For tomorrow's ceremony, they had a wedding planner taking care of the details.
He hugged her. "You're still feeling good about this?"
"Yes. Are you?" she checked, hoping he wasn't having second thoughts.
"Yes. No doubts whatsoever."
"Even with the insanity for tomorrow?"
He smiled and squeezed her once before releasing her. "It's the Wizengamot. We can handle the Wizengamot."
Rachel met his eyes, happy to see that he seemed confident in that. If he was confident about it, she could be confident too.
"Ready for this?" Millie asked as she came into the small room at the back of the chapel.
"I think so," Rachel said, though she had some nervous butterflies in her stomach.
She had asked Millie to be her maid of honor, and Hermione and Ginny were her bridesmaids. She would have asked Luna as well, but Luna and Rolf had been on a safari in Austria and had port-keyed in for the long weekend for the weddings. For the seating arrangements for the wedding dinner on Saturday, she'd placed Luna, Rolf, and Hermione at the table with the Unspeakables, figuring they would all have interesting things to say to each other. Rachel had lent Luna her camera and asked her to take photos of today's ceremony.
Hermione and Ginny arrived a few moments later and they all took a minute to hug and grin at each other.
"Anything special you want to do with your hair today?" Hermione asked as they all began unpacking their gowns.
"I'm going to leave most of it loose and tie the sides in the back after I define my curls," Rachel said, figuring she would get dressed first and then do her hair since the gown needed to go over her head.
"We can take care of that for you," Hermione offered. "I use that spell on my hair whenever I leave it down."
"Okay," she agreed.
"Make-up?" Ginny asked.
"Not today." She wanted to be comfortable today. She had a friend of Daphne's coming in tomorrow to do her hair and make-up. But for today, with just her friends and family, she wanted to look like herself.
They got busy getting ready, changing into gowns and doing their hair.
Hermione had Rachel sit and used her wand to define her curls before taking a few pieces from each side and joining them together in the back. "That about right?" Hermione checked.
"Looks good," she said, taking a look at herself in the mirror. It was easy for her to forget how long her hair was until she washed it or wore it down. When her hair was wet, the ends met her hips.
They had decided against bouquets for the bridesmaids - for this wedding at least, there would be bouquets tomorrow - and had instead gone for a small corsage pinned just below their shoulders. The corsages were a single white rose, and Rachel had a bouquet of white roses to carry down the aisle. She found the entire thing a little silly, but who was she to argue with tradition?
After helping each other pin on corsages, being careful not to stick anyone with the pins, they all took a quick look over each other, using their wands to smooth wrinkles and to adjust their gowns and hair.
"We're starting to run out of people to marry off," Millie said with a smile as she looked over them.
"Don't look at me," Hermione said.
"Me neither. I don't think I'm marrying until I leave the league, and that won't be for at least another five years," Ginny said.
"Take your time. It will happen when you're ready," Rachel told them, which she felt was advice she was qualified to give.
A knock on the door startled all of them and Millie moved to answer it.
"May I have a moment with Rachel if you're all ready?" she heard Severus ask.
"Of course," Millie said. She, Ginny, and Hermione left the room with a smile back at her and Severus entered.
He took a moment, looking her up and down. "You look beautiful," he said with a soft smile. "I don't tell you that enough."
Rachel blushed. "I look like me. More like me than I will look tomorrow."
"And you look beautiful," Severus insisted. "Are you happy?"
"Yes," she said, finding that she was. She was happy with her life, even if it wasn't perfect. She was happy to be marrying Theo.
"Then that's what I want for you, to be happy, safe, and healthy," he said.
"I am," Rachel said, stepping forward to hug her father. She smiled as she felt his arms wrap around her. No matter what happened in her life, she always had Severus to come back to.
They hugged for a long moment and when Rachel stepped back she saw that his eyes looked slightly shiny. She didn't think she'd ever seen Severus moved to tears before. "You're happy?" she asked.
"I am. I'm happy for you and Theo. And I'm happy for the lives we are living now," he said with a nod.
Rachel smiled as she looked at him. She'd never thought they'd reach this point in their lives, but here they were. The threats to them were over. They'd had time to heal. They'd had time to rebuild their lives. It wasn't perfect - nothing ever was - but she could continue to work on the things she needed to work on and she could live with the rest.
Right now, this was exactly where she wanted to be.
She took a slow breath in and out as she stood at the back of the chapel. There was nothing to be nervous about. There was no one here but the people she was closest with. She should save her nerves for tomorrow when everyone would be watching.
The minister had already arrived at the altar and was standing patiently as she looked out over the chapel. Theo was next, escorted by Sirius and Remus, along with Draco. Both of them had been deeply moved that Theo had asked for them to stand as his family today. They were the closest Theo had to parents. Theo had asked Draco to be his best man. Draco only smiling at him and saying he'd be honored when Theo had asked.
Millie, Hermione, and Ginny went down the aisle next. They weren't in matching gowns, Rachel had told them to wear whatever they were comfortable with and they could save all of the uncomfortable stuff for tomorrow. Still, they looked like a set despite their different gowns, the flowers pinned to their dresses connecting them.
Scorpius followed them, carrying their rings on the small velvet pillow. He had tolerated being put in dress robes, though had made it clear he wanted his own clothes as soon as possible. Rachel and Astoria had promised him he could change as soon as the ceremony was over.
Sarah was next, needing a small nudge from Hannah to take her first steps as she sprinkled white rose petals down the aisle. She hadn't needed any prompting to wear a dress and had been spinning and flaring her skirt as she waited for her turn.
Rachel glanced at Severus and he nodded to her with raised eyebrows. She nodded back. She was ready.
Clutching her bouquet, Rachel slowly began walking down the aisle with Severus a step behind her and to the side. She took in her gathered friends and family, all of them smiling at her. To her left was Astoria, Cygnus in Astoria's lap. Neville sat holding Lisander. Cygnus and Lisander were both starting to get a little too big for lap sitting, which was just a reminder to Rachel of how quickly time passed. So far, Cygnus hadn't shown any signs of inheriting the blood curse that ran in Astoria's family. Hermione checked him once every six months just to be certain.
Malcolm was sitting with them as well. He had finished his second mastery last summer and had decided to join the Unspeakables. He was happily cozied away with other theoretical arithmancers, and while Rachel had accompanied him into the Department a few times, he was much more interested in math than he was the Department.
To Rachel's right sat Luna and Rolf and Natalie.
Their family had expanded over the past ten years as people had begun dating and having children, but they were always happy to have someone join them. For their core group, their family had been formed while they were still children. Rachel had spent two thirds of her life with most of these people and she wouldn't want anything less. She wanted them by her side for the rest of their lives, even when they went on trips or adventures that lasted for a few months. They were always here waiting when their family returned.
Rachel glanced up instinctively. She was sure her mom and dad were watching this right now. She had wanted to bring Monty, but she'd been told that Wizengamot portraits weren't allowed out of the Wizengamot chambers or portrait gallery for any reason. She had settled for involving him in the planning and telling him about it and promising she would bring him photos of everything.
They arrived in front of the altar, Severus bringing her to where Theo was waiting and then stepping aside.
She looked into Theo's eyes and he smiled at her. Smiling back, Rachel couldn't help but think of everything that had brought them to this point, from their rocky adolescence, to their fumbling attempts at dating in their late teens, to the peace and comfort they'd had the last five years of living together. This was exactly what she wanted.
The minister began to speak and Rachel let the words rush over her. She was mostly focused on Theo and on the sense of love and family that she could feel in the chapel.
"I, Theodore Nott, take Rachel Snow to be my lawfully wedded wife. Before these witnesses, I vow to love and cherish you, for as long as we both shall live," Theo said, when it came time for their vows.
Rachel held his gaze. "I, Rachel Snow, take Theodore Nott to be my lawfully wedded husband. Before these witnesses, I vow to love and cherish you, for as long as we both shall live."
"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride," the minister said.
Their kiss was brief and chaste, just as they'd discussed. Even after all these years, Rachel still did not like kissing.
With her hands threaded with Theo's, they walked back down the aisle to the cheers of their friends and family. Rachel found herself grinning. This was exactly what she'd wanted for her wedding. Having two weddings had seemed ostentatious to her when they'd first talked about it, but now she knew it was exactly the right decision. Tomorrow was for everyone else. Today was for her and Theo.
Rachel was sitting next to Theo as she peered out over the chaos. They had made it through the second wedding and had just finished dinner. They still had the rest of the party to make it through, but she thought that was doable. She had stayed by Theo's side almost the entire day, her hand looped around his forearm and his hand resting over hers.
She'd tolerated having her hair and make-up done, being stuffed into a gown that she felt was more than a little over the top, and having a photo shoot both by herself and with Theo. Daphne had directed things and had sent people away when she'd seen that Rachel was reaching the limits of her patience. Daphne had told them that the wedding issue was going to be the most popular issue of Witch Weekly in years and that she was anticipating they'd need reprintings of it.
Rachel had taken advantage of the situation to write a few articles for the issue. With Theo's permission, she'd written about her journey with dating and her asexuality. She didn't know how it was going to be received, but she had decided that it was important that people understood about asexuality and what it meant and how it impacted a person's life and relationships. She'd also written about taking her time and asking questions and thinking before getting engaged, wanting young readers - and even older readers - to know that it was alright to take time and to want to be sure before getting married. She'd written another article about muggle and magical weddings around the world, wanting people to know about the diversity of what was available.
In Britain, there weren't a lot of differences between magical and muggle weddings. The ceremonies had all come from the same traditions. That wasn't true everywhere and she'd learned about the incredibly elaborate wedding ceremonies in some cultures that made her extravagant wedding look simple in comparison. Rachel was relieved. She did not want an entire week of events leading up to a wedding. She wanted things as simple as possible.
As it was, they'd been married in an enormous chapel with over three hundred people in attendance and Rachel had spent the ceremony with her eyes on Theo pretending everyone else wasn't there. They had both declined to give speeches of any kind. Even after twelve years on the Wizengamot, Rachel wasn't a fan of speaking in front of a large group of people.
There had been more photos after the ceremony and then they had moved to the venue for the reception, dinner, and party. Rachel had been very specific about wedding gifts - no gifts. If they wanted to contribute something to the wedding, they could donate to the charity that had been set up for war orphans and for families who had one or more members killed in the war or by the Death Eaters. Rachel had written a short article about that charity for Witch Weekly as well.
The reception line had gone on forever, and while it was good to see many of the people who were there to celebrate with them, it had also been slightly tedious. Rachel had done her best to smile politely through it, all the while clinging to Theo.
After that had been the dinner. Rachel had actually managed to eat, recognizing that she hadn't had anything since breakfast, and it had been a relief to sit down for a moment. And now there was dancing. By tradition, she and Theo had the first dance.
They stepped out onto the dance floor together. They settled together, his hand on her hip and hers on his shoulder. They'd been to enough events with dancing now that this was completely familiar and comfortable. The music began and they started to move, Rachel letting Theo lead.
"Do you remember the first time we did this?" he asked quietly, his gaze focused entirely on her.
"How could I forget?" Rachel asked. "The Triwizard Tournament and the Yule Ball."
"The very first time was in the common room, with Severus giving dance lessons," Theo reminded her. "A waltz."
She smiled. "I had no idea what I was doing. You had to lead me through the steps."
"You learned quickly. By the time the Yule Ball arrived, I don't think anyone suspected that you'd never danced before. I knew then, all the way back then, that I liked you."
"And I had no clue. I was still in horror at the very idea of attending a dance and dancing in front of people," she said, meeting his eyes.
"But you go through it. Just like we got through this," he said.
"Yes, and just like then, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be and it was easier because you were by my side." She knew that was true. Theo had been by her side for all of it. And he was still here, even after everything they'd been through. "I wouldn't want to do this without you."
"I wouldn't want to do this without you either," Theo said.
Despite the crowd watching them, Rachel felt like it was just them, wrapped neatly into the center of their own universe. She couldn't ask for anything more than this. Sometimes things were just perfect.
Thank you for joining me for the past four and half years of Rachel Snow. I appreciate all of your thoughtful comments and your favorites! It's been a journey, both for me and for Rachel, and I'm happy so many people joined us on the way. Thank you!