The mood within the house during the coming week was an unpleasant one. Everybody was on edge because the attack had been forty miles away but was forty miles too close. There had been several other attacks, a total of ten Muggles and three wizards had died since Harry’s dream; and all of the attacks had taken place in and around London. One morning Dumbledore was found strengthening the locks, magical and otherwise, on the front and back doors. He was once again starting to look his age, the twinkle in his eye was conspicuous in its absence, and the age lines in his face were deeper than ever. Ellie had regressed somewhat, the cheerfulness that had shone from her since her near death experience was gone and had been replaced by the sullen and distracted woman he had seen following Percy’s death.
After some intense discussions Ellie and Charlie had decided that the best thing to do was to bring forward their wedding plans, Ellie had penciled it in for the last day of August by they decided to get married at the end of the first week instead. The second that the news was announced Ron turned to Harry with a face flushed in triumph. “Shall I take my ten galleons now or later?” he gleamed.
“But they’ve only brought it forward a couple of weeks!” Harry tried to protest.
“I know, but it’s still earlier than Ellie had wanted so Charlie got his way didn’t he?”
“I suppose,” he grumped. To save himself enduring endless pestering from Ron he handed over the money on the spot.
Two days before the wedding Ellie picked the wrong moment to try and sneak her dress through the house. When she stepped out of the fire, with a large box in her arms and a handful of bags, everyone was just sitting down to lunch. “Is that it?” Mrs. Weasley cooed.
“Um…it is…” Ellie stood rooted to the spot like a guilty child who’d been caught in the act.
“Can I see?” Charlie reached for the lid of the box.
“No you cannot!” Ellie shouted as she jumped out of his reach and almost landed back in the fire
“Don’t you dare! It’s bad luck!” Mrs. Weasley cried as she whacked Charlie’s arm with the broom she was holding. “Pop upstairs and we’ll see how you all look,” Molly gestured to Tonks, Fleur, Ginny and Hermione who had been appointed bridesmaids for the event. The six women bolted from the kitchen, loud squealing noises were heard twenty minutes later and then Tonks called down the stairs.
“Remus, come up here, you have to see this!” Remus looked like a werewolf caught in the headlights of an oncoming train. He moved from the kitchen very slowly and was gulping heavily, obviously not relishing in the opportunity to be surround by six, hyperactive and squealing women. He returned quite quickly looking extremely pale, his eyes were wide and moist and his mouth was flapping open.
“What did they do to you, Moony? Did they do lots of squealing?” Fred asked out of concern, none of them had ever seen him look the way he did.
“Remus, say something,” George urged.
“They…she…” he whispered.
“Somebody slap him,” Bill suggested.
“Oh, Charlie,” he said after a long pause. “She looks beautiful…” he said breathlessly.
“I know she’s beautiful!” Charlie exclaimed.
“No, no, no.” Remus grasped the groom’s forearm forcefully. “Trust me you have never seen her looking this exquisite…all of them…breathtaking…magnificent…”
“He needs a stiff drink,” Ron advised. Fred reached in to a nearby cupboard and pulled out a bottle of Firewhiskey, some glasses and poured all of them a drink.
“To Charlie and Elizabeth,” Bill toasted. They all raised their glasses and clunked them together, Ron coughed and Harry choked. “That’ll put hairs on your chest,” he laughed. He wasn’t laughing when Mrs. Weasley came back.
“Why is that bottle empty?” she demanded.
“Because-HIC-we-HIC-drank-HIC-it!” George gurgled, the rest of them laughed at him hysterically.
“THINK THAT’S FUNNY DO YOU?”
“Actually-HIC-yes!” his twin hooted.
“WELL LET’S SEE HOW FUNNY IT IS NOW!” She picked up the broom she had abandoned in her excitement and smacked each of them forcefully over the head with the brush end. It was quite enough to settle them all down; although Fred and George continued to snigger through lunch they were eventually hushed by a single deadly look from their mother.
The next morning they took a Portkey from Grimmauld Place to Hogwarts, they all managed to land, without falling, safely in the Great Hall. Instead of the usual house tables and the hundreds that had been present at their Balls, there were now about thirty little tables arranged in a ring around the hall, creating a circular dance floor in the middle. These tables could seat ten people, with the exception of what was undoubtedly the head table, which Harry counted had twenty settings. They were draped in beautiful ivory silk and the large centrepieces consisted of red and white roses, little silver plaques at each place setting. There was a gap in the circle where a long stage had been set up for music, he presumed. On a wall down one side there was a large banner whose golden lettering allowed the name Potter to glitter in the morning sun. The banner adorning the wall opposite was exactly the same although it said Weasley rather than Potter. Hovering several feet above them were the hundreds of candles that were normally present during the welcome feast. They floated around in circles waiting expectantly to be lit, for the chance to cast light in to the world.
“It looks wonderful, doesn’t it?” Ellie gushed in Charlie’s ear. The confirmation that she was really getting married seemed to have washed the gloomy disposition away and she was back to being the excitable young woman who, at Christmas, had rushed in to the kitchen and announced her engagement with utter glee. As her eyes flitted around the hall her smile widened and she looked fit to burst with delight.
“It’s nice,” Charlie nodded. He was watching Ellie’s excitement steadily build, with a large grin on his face. “Right chaps, we’ve been banished to the tower “ Gryffindor Tower that is “ for the evening so if you’d kindly pick your stuff up from the pile at the door, we shall proceed to the tower with haste,” he bowed mockingly to them all.
“Where are the girls staying?” Ron asked his brother.
“Nowhere that you’ll be able to sneak in to in the dead of night,” Charlie chirped cheerily. Ron’s mouth fell open and his tell tale ears gave him away by burning a furious shade of red. He asked no other questions relating to the girls thereafter. The men did as instructed with Remus and Arthur leading the way. In the end Harry, Ron, Remus, Fred and George settled into Harry and Ron’s dormitory, while Arthur, Bill and Charlie picked the room below them. Once they were all unpacked and had their wedding robes hanging nicely by their beds they congregated in the common room.
“So what else do we have to do?” Harry asked Mr. Weasley.
“We’re supposed to be meeting the girls down at the church in ten minutes, we’ve got to check the place is all right and do a quick run through the ceremony,” he answered. When the last of the group, suspiciously Fred and George, had joined them they set off for the church. This was the part that Harry and Ron were most interested in. They had been at Hogwarts for six years and had never even glimpsed a church once, considering that their previous adventures had taken them all over the castle and grounds, this was a near miracle. They were led out a side door on the ground floor, they walked through the courtyard that this lead them to, through an archway that was opposite the door that they had just come through and found themselves standing in the shadow of a large church. When Harry looked back at the castle behind him he recognised the North Tower standing behind him, he had been sitting in divination for three years, staring out the window and had never once had a clue that there was any other building out there.
It was a red sandstone building of gothic design, rising up to meet the sky with a crown on its spire. There was a flight of stairs that led up to the oak front doors that were almost identical to those of the castle. White streamers and flowers had been arranged on the banisters creating a nice contrast with the red stone. The beauty of the outside did no justice to the beauty of the inside; there were high vaulted ceilings, mosaic floors and marble drinking fountains. The ends of the wooden pews had been tied with white and gold materials, with the familiar roses in small planters at the ends. It took them two hours to get through the practice run; it would have been quicker if Fred and George hadn’t been impersonating Mrs. Weasley throughout. They were sat in the front pew with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill, and Ron. Harry watched them from his seat on the other side of the aisle as they poked themselves in the eye with something before they began howling with tears streaming down their faces. They sobbed into each other’s shoulders and began crying out things at random intervals.
“They grow up so fast!”
“What happened to our little boy?”
“I remember their first kiss!”
“Doesn’t she look beautiful?”
“I can’t believe they’re getting married at last!”
This continued for a good long while, Mrs. Weasley was trying hard not to give them the satisfaction of knowing they’d annoyed her, but she eventually cracked. “That’s it! I’ve had enough!” she shouted just as Charlie was about to say his vows. “What do you two think you’re doing?” she stood in front of them with her hands on her hips, as she so often did, and a tear streaked face. As they continued to bawl Fred handed his mother a small clear bottle. “Weasley’s Wedding Woes,” she began reading from the label. “It’ll make you cry at any wedding! “ Is this what you’ve taken? Do you have an antidote?” she asked in a thoroughly un-amused tone. George immediately handed her another black little bottle, she read from the instructions and then poked them in the eyes rather ferociously.
“OOOOOWWW!” the twins yelled in unison. They then returned to their sobbing, which quickly became more of a whimper and eventually disappeared, it was only then that the ceremony continued.
With everything being set they were ready to retire to the castle, but when they reached the bottom of the stairs outside Harry felt a gentle tugging on his sleeve, he turned to see Ellie looking rather sheepish.
“What’s the matter, Ellie?” he enquired gently, he then realised that Remus was standing right next to her and watching the two of them very carefully.
“Come over here,” she gently grabbed his wrist and guided him round to the left side of the church where a vast graveyard lay. She immediately began to pick her way along a row, pulling Harry behind her the whole time. When she eventually stopped he looked at the marble headstone in front of him with shock.
The Honourable and Brave House of Potter
Nunquam Obliviscar’
“Is this where they are?” Harry whispered respectfully.
“Everyone for twenty generations, the rest are in the grounds of Potter Hall,” Ellie muttered.
“What does the Latin mean?” he asked her.
“Never forget,” she said quietly. “They should be here; it’s their day as much as it is mine.”
“They’ll be watching,” Remus said quietly.
“No they won’t,” Harry replied. Both Ellie and Remus looked at him rather shocked. “You’re the one that told me,” he said to Ellie. “They’re always here,” he laid his hand on his heart.
“Very true, Harry,” Remus was looking at him with distinct pride. “They’re always with you, both of you and tomorrow will be no different.”
“I just wish…that…Dad was here to walk me down the aisle.” One of Ellie’s tears slipped around the apple of her cheek, down to her chin and then fell silently to the grass below.
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Harry was certain that the answer was no but he wanted her to know they were willing.
“Just stay with me for a while,” she pleaded through her flurry of tears.
“Of course,” Remus answered, he took one of her hands gently while Harry took the other and they stepped in to hold the poor girl tightly as her body began to convulse with grief.
When Remus and Harry returned to the tower an hour or so later a raucous party was underway. Fred and George were moving around energetically in front of the fire and slurring their way through ‘Get Me To The Church On Time’,
“I'M GETTTING MARRRIED IN THE MOOORNING, DING! DONG! THE BELLSSS ARE GONNNA CHIIIME, PULLL OUT THE STOPPERRR, LET'SSS HAVE A WHOPPERRR, BUT GET MEEE TOOO THE CHURRRCH ON TIIIME…” they sang merrily. Harry spotted that Fred was swinging a half empty bottle of Firewhiskey about.
“Are they drunk?” he asked Ron.
“I “ haha! “ I think so “ haha! “” Ron answered giddily, under his chair there were twenty empty Butterbeer bottles and he had a two thirds empty bottle of the fiery whiskey in front of him.
“Are you drunk?” Harry asked with an unsuppressed grin.
“MAAAYYYBBBEEE!” Ron sang.
“I GOT TO BE THERRRE IN THE MOOORNING, SPRUUUCED UP AND LOOOKING IN MY PRIIIMEEE, GIRLSSS, COME AND KISSS MEEE, SHOOOW THAAAT YOU'LL MISSS MEEE, BUT GET MEEE TO THE CHURRRCH ON TIIIMEEE…” Ron now joined his brothers, they were starting to look like a barbershop quartet that was short of a member, but that wasn’t for long.
“Some people just can’t hold their drink,” Charlie laughed. Harry was glad to see that his collection was only a handful of Butterbeers and his bottle of Firewhiskey was much fuller than the others.
“Sit down, Harry,” Bill patted the chair in between him and Charlie that Ron had been sitting in. He summoned a bottle of Mulled Mead towards them and began pouring some in to a glass for Harry. “Get that down you, you’ll feel better,” he garbled almost incoherently. The eldest Weasley brother then jumped out of his seat and joined his siblings in song.
“IF I AM DANCING, ROLL UP THE FLOOR! IF I AM WHISTLING, WHEWT ME OUT THE DOOR!” the four of them chorused together.
“Good to see them enjoying themselves isn’t it, Arthur?” Remus said as he helped himself to a bottle of whiskey.
“Why, yes it is,” Mr. Weasley was decidedly red in the face and was swaying ever so slightly in his seat. Remus and Harry grinned wickedly at each other before they attempted to catch up with the other six’s inebriated state. It wasn’t long before all eight of them were singing. Charlie was stood on a chair and the rest of them were in a circle around him.
“FOOOR I'M GETTTING MARRRIED IN THE MOOORNING, DING! DONG! THE BELLSSS ARRRE GONNNA CHIIIMEEE, KICK UP A RUMPUSSS, BUT DON'T LOOOSE THE COMPASSS, AND GET MEEE TOOO THE CHURRRCH, GET MEEE TOOO THE CHURRRCH, FOOOR PETE'S SAKEEE, GET MEEE TOOO THE CHURRRCH ONNN TIIIMEEE!”
A/N: I’m not really sure what to say after that, other than…Wedding Bells is up next.