The following week passed slowly. Tonks and Lupin came in and out of the house. My seventeenth birthday arrived, but I asked everyone not to pay much attention to it. Lupin did present me with a picture of my parents, but other than that there wasn't much celebration; none of us felt like celebrating.
That night, when Lupin and Tonks returned from Harry's birthday dinner, they informed me that I was invited to Bill and Fluer's wedding, which would take place the following day. After I thought about it, I decided to go. It was an opportunity to get out of the house that I might not have later in the summer.
The next day after lunch, I went upstairs and got ready for the wedding. I wore a turquoise Muggle dress that I got with Sammy on one of her many shopping sprees. Once I had deemed myself ready, I went downstairs and we left.
We Apparated together at three o'clock sharp. Fred and George escorted us to our seats; I winced when I saw George, a gaping hole in the side of his head that he would have for the rest of his life. The twins seemed in good spirits in spite of George's battle scar. We were seated, and I looked around, hoping for familiar faces. I didn't see Sammy or Valentine, but I didn't think they knew the Weasleys or the Delacours. I didn't see Ginny either, but I saw Hermione (looking much nicer and less bushy than usual) sitting with Ron and another red-headed boy I didn't recognize, probably one of the Weasley clan.
I turned to face forward in my seat again, when a dreamy voice next to me said, “Hello. Your name is Rose Evans, isn't it?”
I turned and saw a sixteen-year-old girl with long dirty blond hair sitting next to me, wearing a blindingly yellow dress. She had what looked like bite marks on her finger. This was Luna Lovegood; I remembered her from the night Dumbledore was murdered. She handed out copies of The Quibbler on the Hogwarts Express.
“Yes, that's my name,” I said. She had never spoken to me before in her life, but I had heard about her Crumple-Horned Snorcacks and her Nargles, and I had held out hope that I would have escaped ever hearing about them directly from her.
“Are you a friend of the Weasleys?” she asked.
“Sort of,” I replied uncertainly.
“I live over the hill with my father, Xenophillius Lovegood. I'm Luna.”
“I know you are.” In my head, I tried saying Xenophillius Lovegood five times fast.
Luckily, at this point in the conversation, loud music began to play, and the wedding had begun. Two red haired Weasleys stood on a raised platform at the front of the crowd. As the music played, a pretty blond girl who was obviously Fluer's sister, followed by Ginny, walked down the center aisle. Both were dressed in gold and looked very pretty. Then Fluer walked down the aisle, accompanied by a short, squat man I assumed was her father. She was dressed far more simply than I had guessed, in a plain white dress and a tiara in her hair. She beamed at the Weasley she was marrying, and the small man with the squeaky voice whom I remembered from Dumbledore's funeral stood and began the ceremony.
As he spoke, I zoned out automatically. It was like listening to one of Binn's lectures. It was strange, a wedding in the middle of everything else that was happening. I could hardly believe that only a few weeks ago- no, don't think about that. Think of something else. It was bad enough having those awful nightmares without thinking about June during my waking moments.
It was shorter than I expected. As the small man declared them “bonded for life” everyone burst into applause. That was when the food was served and the dancing began. I was never much for dancing, but I did help myself to some butterbeer. I was hoping to see if Harry was alright, but I didn't see him anywhere. Was he here, but under his Invisibility Cloak? I scanned the crowd, and saw Ron and Hermione, again with the red haired boy I didn't recognize. They were talking together, clearly all friends. Harry was nowhere to be seen.
Suddenly something clicked: Polyjuice Potion. I would have bet my life that Harry was that red-headed boy. If Harry was attending weddings disguised as another person, he was fine. I settled myself back into the chair, when somebody sat down next to me.
“Hello, Rose,” said a boy's voice.
“Simon!” I said, surprised. “You startled me.”
He grinned. His hair was still too long, and his dress robes were probably the same ones he had worn to the Yule Ball in fourth year, the sleeves were so short.
“Did you get my letter?” I said quietly.
“Yes. That was clever, that bit about the Phoenixes. Lupin and Tonks, right?”
“Yes, and it'll get you into trouble one day.”
Simon smiled again, and took a swig of butterbeer. “Have you seen Harry yet? I haven't.”
“Of course I have,” I said. “I thought you'd have that figured out by now. He's over there, with Ron and Hermione. I'd bet anything they used Polyjuice Potion.”
“How do you know that's him?” Simon asked, squinting in their direction a la Sammy.
“I just do. I think I'd recognize my own bro-”
“Keep your voice down,” muttered Simon, looking around quickly.
“Sorry... I forget sometimes. Especially since you- you know, figured it out.” I felt stupid. I was the one who had been so worried that Simon would blow it, and now things were the other way around.
Simon nodded, but through the rest of our conversation, he still glanced continuously over his shoulder, as if he had a twitch. “How do you know the Weasleys, anyway?” I asked, hoping to distract him from his paranoia.
“My dad works at the Ministry, on the same floor as Mr. Weasley. He's an Auror,” said Simon, a little proudly. “How do you know them?”
“Lupin and Tonks,” I said, with a shrug. “I don't actually know either family well at all. It's just a chance to get out of the house.”
Simon studied me shrewdly then. “So, what about these nightmares?” he said so quietly I could barely hear him.
I looked down at the table, suddenly fascinated by the choice of tablecloth. “It's bad enough putting up with them every night without dwelling on them during the day,” I muttered.
“Touché,” said Simon. We sat there quietly, until that awful feeling in my stomach went away. We would have started talking again, if not for the commotion in the center of the tent.
A silvery lynx had appeared in the middle of the room. It was talking in Kingsley Shaklebolt's deep voice. The only thing I heard was, “The Ministry has fallen.” That was when people started screaming.
I stood up and began searching for Lupin and Tonks. People were Disapparating all over the place, running, calling names. Plates and cups were being smashed, and I saw flashes of light; people were dueling. Simon grabbed my arm and pulled me under a table. I felt like I was playing hide-and-seek.
“We have to get out of here!” I yelled at him. He was nuts if he thought we were safe under a table.
“Where do you suggest we go?” he said, pulling out his wand and peering through the table cloth.
“Away from here would be good,” I said. “What's your plan, anyway? We hide under here until the bad guys go away?”
“That's the general idea!”
“Well, it sucks!”
Simon paid no attention. I had to think fast. But where could we possibly go? I thought hard, and then remembered Tonks' house. What street did she live on? I grabbed Simon's arm and thought of that street as hard as I could. A tight squeeze later we were standing in front of Tonks' house. I felt dizzy, and Simon was panting slightly, but we were both in one piece.
“Did- did we just- Apparate?” Simon asked shakily.
“Oh my Godric, I think we did! I've only done it a couple of times! How did I do that?” I said, half exhilarated, half worried.
“I have no idea. Where are we?” he said, following me up to the door.
“Tonks' house. I couldn't think of anywhere else to go, but there was no way we could just stay under that table! Come on, we better get inside,” I said, tapping on the door.
Tonks threw it open and hugged me. “Remus and I looked everywhere for you! We were so worried, and then Remus got into a slight disagreement with Yaxley and Dolohov, but we took care of them, and then we had to get out of there! We hoped you'd make it back all right! Who's this?” she added, gesturing to Simon.
“Simon Harris, Ravenclaw, friend of mine,” I said quickly, shoving him inside and looking worriedly out at the darkening sky. “He knows,” I added meaningfully as the door closed.
“How?” said Lupin, standing aggressively, and a wolf flashed in his eyes.
“Intelligence and being stubborn,” I said calmly. “He's completely trustworthy.”
“We thought Snape was-” Lupin began, but to my surprise, it was Tonks who stopped him, putting a gentle hand on his arm.
“Don't,” she said quietly, glancing at me for a half-second, and then back at her husband. Lupin relaxed, but cut Simon one more accusatory stare before sitting down.
Simon sat awkwardly on the couch next to me, and Tonks sat on my other side. Ted said something about the bathroom and left, while Andromeda hurried to the kitchen, and a moment later we heard running water. She might have been doing dishes, except that we'd eaten take-out from the box for lunch. Lupin sat as well, and we waited.
“What happened to you two?” Lupin said finally, rubbing his forehead and closing his eyes.
Simon opened his mouth and I stepped on his foot. Lupin wasn't going to listen to Simon after I'd opened my big mouth about him knowing my “little secret.” I said, “We saw the Patronus, and I heard it say something about the Ministry. Then everyone started going nuts, and we hid under a table-”
Lupin muttered something about “You could do better than that,” and Tonks gave him a look that I sincerely hoped I was never on the receiving end of.
“-but I knew we couldn't just sit there forever, so I thought hard of Tonks' house, and we Apparated.” I blushed when Lupin looked up.
“But you've only done it a handful of times!” he said, staring at me in astonishment.
“I know. It was weird, but I couldn't think what else to do, and I couldn't just leave Simon sitting there.” Simon smiled sheepishly. Lupin looked at Simon and started muttering again, but with a different tone.
“Harris, Harris-does your father work at the Ministry?” he asked. Simon nodded, and Lupin continued, “I'll see what I can do about finding him, and then we'll send you home.”
Lupin went outside and Disapparated, presumably to find Simon's dad. Ten minutes later, the door bell rang, and a man delivering tacos gave Ted a large stack of Styrofoam boxes. Suddenly I realized how hungry I was. We ate in total silence; no one wanted to talk about recent events.
~ * ~
Lupin didn't return for several hours, and everyone got tired. Ted and Andromeda stole to their room, probably to talk in nervous whispers about everything that had happened. I changed into pajamas, and Tonks gave Simon an old pair of her father's sweats. The three of us sat in the living room, waiting.
Eleven o'clock chimed on the little clock in the hall. Simon was sprawled in an armchair, his eyes half-closed, a faint snore issuing from his open mouth. Tonks was staring blankly at the window, and her fingers were braiding the tassels on the blanket she had draped over her lap, though she didn't seem fully aware of it. I was staring alternately at the two of them, praying Lupin was alright and that he got back before midnight.
Technically, he did. It was 11:54 when I heard a soft pop on the other side of the front door, and Lupin entered, followed by a man who was completely bald, but had a goatee the same color as Simon's hair. I looked at Simon, rubbing my eyes, and said, “Simon, wake up,” in a loud whisper. Tonks was totally asleep by now; when Simon said something that sounded like “wassamatta” she swatted at an invisible fly and continued sleeping.
Mr. Harris collected Simon's old dress robes, was told to keep the sweats, and took Simon home in a space of about ten minutes. Simon was barely conscious, and I doubted he would remember being here tomorrow. Lupin sent me to bed, and I went willingly up the stairs. I fell onto my bed and into a deep sleep within seconds.
The Other Potter by georgeisholey
Chapter Notes: This was a fun chapter to write. It's also a little odd to reread it after I wrote a few months ago- I almost inadvertently based Simon off a person I know in real life! Maybe I really am slightly insane... I hope you like this chapter! I don't own Harry Potter or My Big Fat Greek Wedding. (Incidentally, great movie, revealing the healing powers of... Windex?)
Chapter Endnotes: All done! I must admit, my favorite part was when Simon and Rose hid under the table from the Death Eaters... definitely had me laughing, despite how "serious" this part is supposed to be. :) Comments, anyone?