Fleur Delacour, resplendent in her designer wedding gown, stood at the back of the congregation on the arm of her father. The music had begun seconds ago, and she started to walk towards the love of her life, Bill Weasley. She smiled to herself at how hairy he was these days. That smile faded when she remembered her fear that he would die from the attack by Fenrir Greyback. She forced herself to turn her thoughts to something else. This was her wedding! She should be happy.

As she proceeded down the aisle, she noticed one of Bill’s brothers, Ron. He was holding hands with the girl next to him. Fleur recognized the witch as one of Ron and Harry’s friends. Finally, Ron seemed to have gotten some sense. She remembered meeting him for the first time when she was staying at Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament.

She stared at the boy standing before her and sighed. Sometimes she really did dislike having Veela blood. She was seventeen, but this boy of fourteen had just asked her to the Yule Ball. She considered how best to let him down, but before she got any words out, he ran down the corridor.

She smiled at the memory. Even though sometimes her Veela blood could cause problems, she had enjoyed having nearly every boy ask her to the Yule Ball, but she hadn’t liked the age differences between her and many of them, and she hadn’t liked the angry stares she had gotten from the girls. She had eventually settled on Roger Davies. He was clean-cut and very nervous. He had been too tame for her tastes – not like Bill at all – but she hadn’t known Bill then. She was so lucky to have met him.

Even though she had seen Ron, she didn’t formally meet him until later. She met Hermione at the Yule Ball.

Krum’s date was beautiful. Fleur knew there were far more eyes on herself than this other girl, but she noticed that the stares pointed in girl’s direction were more of surprise than admiration. A boy in horrid dress robes had practically collapsed at the sight of her. She vaguely registered that it was the same boy who had asked her to the dance and run away before she could answer.

Hermione hadn’t looked at all the same the next time Fleur talked to her, which wasn’t until after she was engaged to Bill. In fact, she hadn’t known it was the same person until she was told the girl’s name. At the time, she could not have guessed that she and Hermione were interested in two boys who were brothers. She found herself hoping that they would one day both be Weasleys.

She would never have met Bill if she hadn’t been a Triwizard champion. She laid eyes on her future husband when the families had come to watch the final task. Apparently, Harry Potter had been all but adopted by the Weasleys. It was because she met Bill that she came to work for Gringotts, where they dated. She squealed when he proposed.

The summer that Fleur had spent with the Weasleys at the Burrow had been miserable for her, so she felt much better when Harry had arrived. Her misery stemmed from how old-fashioned the family seemed to be and how much they didn’t approve of her. Another reason for her discomfort was that Ron again spent a great deal of time staring at her, which she found awkward due to her engagement to his brother.

Can he not see that Hermione is taken with him? She truly felt sorry for the younger witch. Fleur suspected that Ron’s feelings towards Hermione were the same, yet he continued to gawk at her. Guilt coursed through her every time Ron looked at her and sadness would enter Hermione’s eyes. She admired her for not showing that sadness to Ron.

When Harry came, Fleur made sure to give lots of attention to him, hoping that Ron would see what was right in front of him if she ignored him. She figured the pair would get together after they left for school, but they still hadn’t when she saw Ron again at Christmas.

After the holidays, she didn’t see either of them until the night that Dumbledore died. That was the night that Bill was attacked. That was the night that Molly finally accepted her. That was the night that she witnessed Ron comforting Hermione. Even through the emotional turmoil of that whole ordeal, she took hope in their potential happiness.

And now, here at her wedding, the pair was holding hands. Her (about to be) brother-in-law had grown from a clumsy boy to a confident man. He’d finally overcome a schoolboy crush that was based mostly on her magical heritage. She felt confident that the two would find happiness together.

All those recollections went through her mind just as she joined her fiancé at the front. Her father released her arm, and she took a hold of Bill’s, firmly pushing aside all thoughts of anyone but the man beside her.