The following day, Harry awoke to Mrs. Weasley throwing a bath towel at him.
“Get in the shower now, Harry,” she barked. “You have ten minutes. Ron, you get in as soon as he’s out.” She bustled out of the room, leaving the two boys in a state of shock.
“You'd better shower quick, Harry,” Ron said, rolling his eyes at his watch. “We only have five hours to get to the wedding hall.”
It was the day of Bill and Fleur’s wedding and the Weasley house was in a state of chaos. As all the men took turns showering, Mrs. Weasley and Hermione ran around like a flock of headless chickens. Ginny had been kidnapped at about four in the morning by an emotional Fleur and taken to secret location to get ready in her bridesmaid dress. Harry had heard her protesting groggily as she had been dragged out of bed and forced into the fireplace. He laughed as he imagined her in a house full of Fleur’s relatives. Poor Ginny. However, Harry barely had time to breathe, let alone think about Ginny’s welfare.
With two hours to spare, Harry was already in his dress robes as was Ron. Hermione, on the other hand, was last seen running through the kitchen with a towel on her head, clutching a dressing gown around her. Bill was constantly jumping from room to room checking everyone’s progress. All tempers were pretty stretched.
“You idiot, Fred!” Charlie bellowed.
“I’m not Fred!” George yelled back.
“What’s going on out here?” Mr. Weasley joined the shouting match.
“This git just stood on my button hole.”
“No, I didn’t. I stood on his flower-ouch!”
“Don’t hit him, Charlie!” Mr. Weasley sounded furious. “There, good as new. I thought you could have done that without the fuss, or did Fred tread on your wand too?”
“I’m not Fred!” George shouted again. Ron shook his head.
“I hate my family,” he moaned.
“I’ll trade you mine,” Harry challenged with small smile.
Finally, with just fifteen minutes left, Hermione emerged looking-
“Stunning,” gasped Ron. He stood up and kissed her. “Stunning.”
“You don’t scrub up to bad yourself,” she said, blushing slightly.
Harry had to admit, she did look gorgeous in her long, deep purple dress that left her shoulders bare, yet she remained sophisticated and modest. She smoothed her hair and put it in a neat knot letting only a few stray curls tease her cheeks. To be fair, Ron didn’t look bad either. He was wearing neat, navy blue dress robes that Fred and George had bought him a while back. It was suddenly apparent how much he had filled over the last year. He no longer appeared lanky or stretched, but had broader shoulders, and a thicker chest and limbs that seemed the correct length. Harry, once again, found himself in green dress robes. Mrs. Weasley had insisted that he would look “so very handsome” in them. In truth, Harry didn't mind. In fact, it meant he was saved from picking out his own, which he wasn’t looking forward to.
“CHARLIE!” yelled Bill in a menacing voice. “CHARLIE! CHAR-”
“Yes?” Charlie said politely, having been standing next to Bill the entire time he had been shouting.
“Do you have the-”
“Rings? Yes, they are right here…just like they were two minutes ago.”
“Sorry,” Bill said, dropping his head.
“That’s okay. You’re allowed to be a little apprehensive.”
“Just try to not kill any of us,” said Fred, patting Bill’s shoulder.
“I’m pretty sure that’s illegal, even on your wedding day,” George added.
Bill pulled his brothers into a group hug. “You guys are the best,” he said emotionally. Ron let out a loud fake cough.
“And you as well, little brother,” Bill said, separating himself from the others to give Ron a hug. Hermione giggled.
“The carriages are here, everyone,” Mrs. Weasley squealed excitedly. It was traditional for people to arrive at weddings in horse drawn carriages in the wizarding world and Fleur’s parents had gone all out. In the front garden stood two magnificent silver carriages, each with a beautiful white horse to pull it along.
“Won’t the Muggles wonder what’s going on?” Harry queried. The carriages weren’t exactly discreet.
“They can’t see them,” Mr. Weasley said proudly. “I charmed them myself.” He gave a little chuckle. “Bless their hearts.”
They arrived at the hall surprisingly quickly. A few of the guests had already arrived and were sitting politely in the chairs.
“It’s perfect,” Hermione said, twirling around.
“What is?” asked Harry, glancing at an equally bewildered Ron.
“This place,” she gasped, awestruck.
Harry and Ron looked around. It didn’t take long for them to realise what she was talking about. Swans were sculpted out of ice and were nested in the centre of an arrangement of white lilies, and a white satin type carpet had been laid down in the centre, bordered with deep red roses forming a glistening aisle. But what really amazed Harry was the water that was magically spiralling across the walls and finishing in a delicate waterfall that poured to nowhere just in front of where Bill and Fleur were to stand.
“Every girl dreams of having a wedding like this,” whispered Hermione. Ron slipped his hand into hers. At that moment, Harry knew he wouldn’t ever need to worry about them breaking up. The looks on their faces told him so.
“So, who's leading the ceremony?” Harry asked casually, trying to inspire conversation.
“Binder Obligit, I think. Yeah, that’s right. He’s a nice guy, getting on a bit, could use a few more teeth, but a nice guy all the same,” Ron said thoughtfully.
“Binder? Not vicar?” Once again, Harry found something else in the magical world he didn’t know about. How on earth am I expected to kill Lord Voldemort when I have about as much knowledge as a pineapple? Harry thought.
“Binders do the same job as vicars,” Hermione eagerly explained. “Except it’s not all done it’s not all done with words, like the way Muggles do. There’s a special charm that’s performed instead that binds, hence binder, the souls of the two people together. I don’t really understand all the details, but it sounds so romantic.”
Ron snorted. “It’s not that romantic. When the two people are bound, it just means they’re registered as a couple, their bank vaults join together and she’ll take his name. It’s more of a contract than anything else,” he said dispassionately.
“There’s more to it than that, Ron,” Hermione said, sounding a little insulted. “An ancient magic is used that only the binders can ever hope to understand.”
Ron shrugged. “If you say so.”
It wasn’t long before all the guests had arrived and were seated, ready for the wedding to begin.
“Please stand for the entry of the bride,” announced the elderly binder. As everyone rose to their feet, the live orchestra began to play a slow and warming song. Fleur Delacour seemed to float through the through the large door, arm linked with her father. Harry could not help but notice how much she looked like some sort of fallen angel. Her dress was the same sort that Muggle women wear, but they never looked that good, that was for sure. However, it did not take long for Harry’s gaze to be torn away from Fleur, as walking just as gracefully behind was Ginny. She wore a dress of deep red material that clung gently to every contour of her body. Her long ginger hair was lifted off her face and was tied in a knot except for a single flick that was tucked behind her left ear; all this was completed by a red rose sitting on the side of the knot. She followed Fleur up the aisle to the soft music from the live instruments, a shy smile creeping up on her face. She caught Harry’s eye as she walked past, and for the first time his resolve wavered. Finally, he had to admit the thing he had been denying since Dumbledore’s funeral. He was in love with her.
Bill and Fleur stared at each other, saying nothing. The binder smiled at them.
“William Arthur Weasley, please state your vows for us all to hear.”
Bill exhaled slowly and began to speak, “Fleur, you are quite simply the most amazing person I have ever met, and here we are on our wedding day. I never thought I could be so lucky. When most people look at you, they see nothing past your stunning beauty, but you have let me pass that, you’ve let me see you for who you really are.” He paused for a moment to wipe a tear off his face. “I know that there is still even more to you and I want to spend the rest of my life discovering you and loving you.” A small laugh showed he had finished. The binder gave his wand a small flick, releasing sparks over Fleur that instantly vanished as though being absorbed.
“Fleur Felicity Delacour, please state your vows for us all to hear.”
Wiping tears from her face, Fleur started her vows, “Bill, we ‘ave already been through so much togezzer.” She ran a finger down one of the scars on his face. “But I still ‘ave not seen enough. You are brave, clever and kind. I do not believe anuzzer man exists anywhere in zis world. I am lucky to ’ave even met you. I think eet must ’ave been fate, because things like zis are not whims of chance. Love is not an accident. I want to spend the rest of my days living wiz what fate ’as given to me. Zat is you, Bill, you are my fate.” Tears were now looking freely from both of them and most of the people watching. Once again, the binder flicked his wand; this time showering Bill with the gold sparks.
“Do you have the rings?” he said, addressing Charlie.
“Absolutely,” he said, handing the ring to the binder. The binder handed one of the rings to Bill to place on Fleur’s finger. The moment it touched her skin, it shone bright blue. Fleur the did the same to Bill.
“I am honoured and thrilled to pronounce you husband and wife. Now kiss her before I do.”
The binder beamed at them. Bill did as he was told and swooped down to kiss her.
What Is Right And What Is Easy by fizzingwizzbee
Chapter Notes: Thanks so much to my Beta Elisabth for without her none of this would have been possible. I should have done his with chapter 1 but it slipped my mind. So here you go girl.