Everyone chatted merrily on the walk from the church back to the castle; the new Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were surrounded by a flurry of activity as people wished them well. When they all ended up back in the Great Hall darkness was just beginning to fall and the floating candles had been lit, casting the room in a celestial glow. Another long table had been laid near the doors of the hall and was straining under the weight of hundreds of presents. The other tables now bore little name cards at the place settings that dictated who was sitting at each table, at the top table were the family inclusive of it’s extended members and girlfriends, in other words, Minister Bones, Professor McGonagall, Mad-Eye, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet. The menus that were usually put to use during the balls at Hogwarts were engaged again to feed the many wedding guests. The house-elves did not disappoint and provided a scrumptious feast that would have satisfied any taste buds. After dinner had been devoured the rest of the hall waited excitedly for the top table to finish and the speeches to begin. As effectively the father of the bride Dumbledore was to speak first.
“A hag, troll, and a vampire all walk in to a bar,” he started.
“Albus, you can’t tell that joke at a time like this,” an exasperated Professor McGonagall called from the seat next to him.
“Oh, so sorry, please forgive me, my memory is not quite what it used to be, that is the beginning of a speech I will be giving at a luncheon later this week.” The glint in Dumbledore’s eye made Harry wonder if this was true. Everyone laughed at this with the exception of Professor McGonagall, who looked rather embarrassed that she had interrupted. Glancing down at his notes Dumbledore began again.
“This has been a hard day for me. Today I gave away my granddaughter. I let somebody have the one person in this world that means more to me than any other. As many of you here know I lost my children and all but one of my grandchildren during the first war against Lord Voldemort.” Several people shuddered. “Perhaps because of that she has been all the more important to me. I have had the honour and pleasure of watching her grow from a small, stubborn little girl into the beautiful, gifted and tender young woman you see before you today. She has become the woman that her mother and grandmothers would have dreamed her to be; she is generous in her love for others, fierce in her loyalty to them and strong in her convictions. Her triumphs have been my joy and her trials have been my suffering. It is with tremendous pride and a great deal of love that I proclaim her my granddaughter and it is with crushing melancholy that gave her hand to Charles today. Not because he isn’t worthy or because I believe that he won’t treat her well but rather because without her welfare to guard I feel a void my life that I hope she will soon fill with great grandchildren.
“Charles is a good man and I could not have hoped for a better husband for my beloved Elizabeth. His mother and father have taught him the value of the important things in life, love, family and friends. For fifteen long years now he has been promising to marry my granddaughter, and he kept that promise and leaves me with no reason to believe that he will not fulfil any of those vows he made to her today. He is a fine young man, who will love, respect and care for her in the manner she deserves. I know from many years of finding half written letters to him all over the house that Elizabeth loves him with all her heart, and I know from letters that she sent me each and every week of her stay in Italy, that there was never another person she considered admitting into her heart and spending her life with. I wish both of you every happiness the world has to offer, may your love be everlasting, your marriage strong and your children plenty “ although I daresay that with Weasley and Dumbledore genes in there that shall not be a problem. Good luck.” He finished by raising his glass to the newlyweds. Mr. Weasley took his place
“You must recount that joke to me later, Albus,” Arthur grinned. “Molly and I have been waiting for the day one of our boys would get married and what a joyous day it has been, well worth waiting for if you ask me. We’re very proud of all our children with Charlie being no exception; he has always worked very hard. In the past few weeks I have had dozens of people tell me that they never thought this day would come but we always knew it would, after all it was love at first sight. Andrew and Jane brought Elizabeth to see us for the first time when she was just a few days old and Charlie sat entranced with her as she slept in her mother’s arms. After much contemplation he said ‘I want an Ellie.’ What he really meant was that he wanted a sister, you should have seen his disappointment when he got four more brothers,” Arthur paused as a chuckle filtered though the room then he restarted. “But little did he realise that his words were so prophetic, here we stand today and Charlie has his very own Ellie.” Molly gave an appreciative little sniff.
“Elizabeth has been charming us since the day she was born, she has never failed to light up a room with her presence and now she comes to light up our family. We are delighted and honoured to have such an enchanting young lady amongst our number. We are also very proud that we taught our son well enough to have made such an excellent choice of wife. To the new Mr. and Mrs. Weasley,” he toasted. Remus took to the limelight next.
“Due to my unfortunate condition I have never had much in my life to cherish, that was until Elizabeth was born. When Jane and Andrew asked me to be her godfather, I initially refused. I didn’t believe that someone like me had anything worthwhile to give a child, what knowledge or advice could I give? I’m not sure how much of a support I have been to Elizabeth in the last nineteen years but I do know what she has been for me. She has stood by me unfalteringly; she has loved me without question and she has provided me with a place in the world, a place by her side. I feel that as she has grown, I have grown and as she learned more about herself, I have learned more about myself. As far as my self-awareness is concerned she has continued the legacy founded by her grandfather and her mother. She has continued to teach me that it doesn’t matter what I am because it is who I choose to be that matters and I choose to be a person who will always keep a space in their heart for her, someone who will be there no matter what.
“Charlie has taken excellent care of her so far and I need not ask whether he will continue to do this, I understand without a single doubt that he will do right by her. There is no family that I would rather be a part of, the Weasleys are kind, generous, caring people who only take heed of what is in your heart and only care about who you aspire to be and what they can do to help you. I congratulate you both on your dedication to each other and wish joy on everything you do.” Remus too raised his glass to the happy couple. Bill was the next to follow.
“It’s a strange feeling to stand here and know that my little brat of a brother is married. I don’t think I could ever really have imagined any of our lot making a commitment like that but here we all are. We’ve all got girlfriends and a boyfriend in Ginny’s case, a boyfriend who might want to watch his step from what Charlie tells me,” Bill raised an eyebrow at Harry significantly. Everyone looked at the sudden terror that streaked across Harry’s face and began to laugh once again. “All in all, I’m left with the feeling that it won’t be all that long before we’re gathered together again to celebrate another Weasley wedding. Charlie always told me he’d marry Ellie and I’ll be honest and say that I never thought it would happen, especially when I saw some of the looks he was getting from the girls at school. Credit to you, Charlie, you proved me wrong. There were all those girls sitting in this very hall making gooey eyes at you morning, noon and night but you never even noticed. You spent hours writing to Ellie and I guess it all paid off, you’ve got a beautiful wife and I’m certain she’ll make you happy. You made a good choice Charlie and I hope I can follow your lead.” Bill followed the lead of the three men before him in toasting his brother and sister-in-law. As per normal Fred and George took to the floor together.
“So Charlie finally got his act together,” George began.
“A time like this calls for honesty…” Fred announced.
“And we have to admit that we’re a bit jealous.”
“Not that Angelina and Alicia aren’t first-rate girls…”
“But they just don’t have the sense of humour that Ellie does.”
“Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes is such a success because of her…”
“She was the only person wiling to be a tester for our products…”
“And for that we thank you. We’ve also bought a special gift for the two of you…”
“If you would allow us to demonstrate?” George asked politely. Ellie nodded her head with vigour while everyone else at the table looked at the twins apprehensively. The pair of them reached down into their pockets and pulled out several little silver balls, they then launched these in half a dozen different directions. Instead of landing as you would expect they floated in the air and after ten seconds every last one of them exploded. They sent showers of brightly coloured confetti soaring into the air and a loud, chirpy voice yelled ‘CONGRATULATIONS!’ over the surprised screams of the other guests.
“Weasley’s Bridal Bombshells, created especially for Charlie and Ellie Weasley!” Fred declared before the pair returned to their seats. It was then Ron’s turn.
“How do you follow that?” he said nervously. “Um… I know that I can sometimes be… an ungrateful swine. Sometimes I don’t properly realize what I have and I have a great family, better than most. I’m proud to have such great brothers, Charlie included. I’ve always known that if I had a problem I could ask him for advice and he wouldn’t tease me like Fred and George.” The twins grinned proudly at this; the guests at other tables chuckled agreeably. “I really look up to you Charlie and I hope that maybe someday I can be more like you. Ellie’s my Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher and my friend, she nearly died trying to protect me, Ginny, Hermione and Harry, and we would do the same for her. Welcome to the family, Ellie,” Ron said enthusiastically. Unfortunately that meant that it was Harry’s turn next.
“Before I do anything else I should apologise to Charlie, I put him through hell this morning with my teasing and I’m sorry about it,” Harry tried to suppress his laughter.
“You nearly turned me into a nervous wreck. He pretended that he wasn’t going to give me permission to marry Ellie,” Charlie explained to his guests and an appreciative gurgle of laughter echoed around the room.
“But he looked so upset I had to say yes in the end. I was worried Ellie would turn me in to something disgusting if I didn’t,” Harry grinned; he was starting to feel more comfortable. “I suppose the first thing I need to talk about is September the first 1991. That was the day that I set out for Hogwarts and was abandoned by the Dursleys at King’s Cross. I was wandering about looking for any clues as to how I could find Platform 9 ¾ when I heard Mrs. Weasley say ‘packed with Muggles,’ Hagrid had already explained to me what Muggles were so I knew that she must be a witch. It took a fair bit of nerve for the skinny little eleven year old that I used to be, to ask her if she could show me how to get on to the platform but I’ve never looked back. That was the first kind thing she did for me and she hasn’t stopped. She and her family have given me so much, a best friend, a girlfriend,” he blushed a little bit. “Along with a whole handful of brothers and the closest thing to a mother and father that I’ll ever have. They’ve taken me in and made me a part of their family and thank you isn’t enough.
“I like you a lot, Charlie, you’re from a good, loving family and you’ll take care of Ellie. I don’t know what to say about you, Ellie, up until November I didn’t even know I had another cousin but you’re a thousand times better than the other one I have…”
“You can say that again!” Fred confirmed.
“I know you feel bad that you weren’t here for a lot of the stuff that’s happened since I got to Hogwarts but don’t, you’ve more than made up for it. You nearly died for me, which says a lot. When you took me back to Potter Hall I saw how happy our parents had been and I really hope that you and Charlie can be just as happy as they were because no two people deserve it more. Congratulations!” he said as he happily toasted his cousin and her husband. The last person to speak was the groom.
“Thanks for what you said, Harry, it means a lot to us. My dad mentioned all the people who had told him they didn’t think that this day would come but what he didn’t say was that I was one of them. When Ellie was sent off to Italy I honestly believed that would be the last that I saw of her, I didn’t think I could compete with all those good looking Italian lads.” Several of the women in the hall smiled sweetly at him at this point. “We wrote to each other almost every week that she was away and when you consider that she spent seven years there that adds up to a lot of letters, over three hundred in fact. I’m not talking tiny little letters either; I mean two, three foot rolls of parchment, her owl always used to look at me so resentfully when I attached my reply. The girl that sits next to me is the only person in this hall who can say, unequivocally, that she knows me better than anyone else, there’s very little that has happened in my life that she doesn’t know about, she’s been my best friend and now she’s my wife.
“The months you were in hospital were the worst of my life and when Healer Adelaide said she didn’t think that you’d make it I felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest, I was devastated. There are no words to describe the way I felt when you came through those doors, sore but alive, I’ve never felt so relieved in all my life. I think that was probably the moment I knew I had to marry you as soon as I could. Sirius said in his will that thought of you and I being together warmed his heart and so I hope that wherever he is, he’s as happy as I am that you finally let me get you to the church. The rest of you have to hurry up and get married because there’s no feeling like it. I can’t wait to start spending our lives together and to start our family, we don’t know what’s to come but we know that we have each other and that’s enough. To my wonderful wife.” He gave her loving kiss as he sat back down. It had all got too much for Ellie and she was now wiping her eyes with a handkerchief passed to her by Professor McGonagall. She wasn’t the only one shedding tears, Mrs. Weasley was weeping in to Mr. Weasley’s shoulders, his eyes were looking dangerously moist as well.
Some chatter followed the speeches until a small orchestra took to the stage and struck up a slow, romantic tune. Charlie gently pushed his chair back and addressed his new wife.
“Mrs. Weasley, would you care to dance?” he asked her politely.
“Yes, Mr. Weasley, I would,” Ellie replied with wide grin. He swept her from her seat and on to the dance floor where they danced together slowly; they smiled at each other widely the whole time they were on the floor. It wasn’t too long before most of the seats were empty and the dance floor was filled with swaying bodies. A lot of the older couples remained seated, preferring to sit and watch the youngsters dance it out. This time Harry felt far more comfortable dancing with Ginny, the atmosphere at the wedding was a lot more relaxing than the one at the ball. On top of that there wasn’t the pressure of trying not to trip up in front of the whole school. Four hours later Dumbledore’s voice rang through the hall.
“Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, your carriage awaits you.” He signalled to the front doors. Very reluctantly Charlie and Ellie stopped dancing and headed for the castle’s entrance. True enough, a gleaming carriage, complete with white horses, was waiting for them at the foot of the stairs. The couple said goodbye to their family with hugs and kisses all round. Charlie was helping Ellie in to the carriage when Mrs. Weasley’s voice rang through the air.
“Aren’t you going to throw your bouquet, Elizabeth?” she asked.
“I nearly forgot.” The woman in white scrambled back out of the carriage and promptly turned her back on the crowd watching her. Harry spotted all the men in the mob and some of the older women, stepping off to the side and abandoned Ginny to follow suit. The women then crammed into the gaps left by the departing males.
“What’s this all about?” Harry asked Bill who was stood nearest him.
“Whichever girl catches it first is supposedly the next to get married,” he answered watching Fleur worriedly.
“Good Luck Girls!” Ellie called before throwing her flowers high in to the air, she turned around just in time to see Hermione catch them. “Remember what I told you Hermione!” she shouted over the mass of girls that were now cooing in Ron’s direction.
“That’s tough,” Bill said looking at Ron sadly. “Anything you want to tell us?”
“No,” Ron answered he was looking very, very pale.
The carriage finally set off in to the distance with a big sign that the boys had painted on the back glittering ‘Just Married’ through the darkness.
A/N: The next chapter winging its way to you is…Anxious Alley.
As always if you could review I’d be very grateful!