Previous / Return to Scene List / Next

Title: The Ceremony

Contributors: molly_w, _weasleyking_, ccreevy, kestralsfan, wings_of_charm, ___neville___, ginny_ginger

Edited by: Carla Lute

Posted: 2005-12-10 to 13

Game Date: August 20th

Disclaimer: No one at Levicorpus owns Harry Potter, the world or its characters. We just like to play in J.K. Rowling’s world.

* * * * * * *

The paddock was filled with hundreds of chairs and benches. The Quidditch goals at either end were draped with ribbons and silk. A long white silk carpet passed through the center forming a T-shape with another carpet that passed infront of the sea of seating. Just beyond where the T-intersection was a large half-tent draped with the same sort of silk hanging from the Quidditch goals. The air itself sparkled and shimmered with magic dust and fairylights.

The guest finished settling into their seats and the music started up. Bill's and his party entered from the left, and Fleur and her entourage entered from the right. They met in the center and Bill and Fleur kneeled before the Bonder. They were both dressed in richly patterned green robes. Fleur reach out to push back Bill's hood, and he did the same to her. They joined hands, Bill's left and Fleur's right, and the Bonder laid his wand on them.

"Do you swear to be my faithful husband from this day until death parts us?" Fleur asked.

"I swear it," Bill said, and a tongue of flame sprung from the wand to wrap around their joined hands.

"Do you swear to be my faithful wife from this day until death parts us?" asked Bill.

"I swear it," said Fleur, and a second thin tongue wrapped around their joined hands.

"Do you swear to keep the unbreakable vow you have made before these witnesses?" the binder asked.

"We swear it," Bill and Fleur both answered. A third tongue wound around their hands.

The Bonder removed his wand and said in a clear voice, "Then in accordance with the laws set by the Ministry of Magic. I pronounce you man and wife."

Bill and Fleur smiled and holding their clasped hands in the air while the crowd cheered loudly. Then they walked down the center aisle together, hands still clasped, and their entourages followed, walking side by side.

* * * * * * *

Arthur sniffled, trying to keep the tears from his eyes as he watched his son perform the unbreakable vow with Fleur. He had never been good in weddings and this, his first child to be married, was proving to make him even more of an emotional wreck than usual. Reaching into his bright purple dress robes, he pulled free a large handkerchief and dabbed at his eyes as they applauded the presentation of the married couple.

Molly patted her husband's hand and sniffed away her own tears. It was terribly shallow of her, but she could not help thinking what a shame it was that Bill had to wear those scars. He'd had such a pretty face.

Arthur took his wife's hand and saw the tears that were beginning to build in her own eyes. "They're such a lovely couple." Arthur found himself saying between sniffles.

* * * * * * *

Demelza cried-she always cried at weddings.

* * * * * * *

Seamus sat by the aisle and watched as Bill and Fleur performed the Unbreakable Vow. This was actually the first wedding he had been to, and he watched with rapt attention as the just-married couple made their way back down the aisle. He nodded to Bill, and grinned. "Congratulations," He said, as he stood up with the rest of the crowd.

He looked around, seeing where everyone he knew was sitting. Suddenly someone tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned around. "Oh, hey! Wow, that was such an amazing ceremony, wasn't it?"

Blaise shrugged. "It's a little unusual that they preformed a real unbreakable," he said in bored voice. "But otherwise it was pretty simplistic. I just wanted to ask you what time it was."

"Oh," Seamus said. "Well, it's about 12:30 or so. And sometimes simplistic can be nice. The reception's supposed to be amazing, though."

"I'm not easily amazed," Blaise said. "But I guess I'll stick around." Because...sadly, he didn't have anything else to do.

Promise who had been wandering past in a slight daze, for she was rather lost in a sea of strangers piped up, "Well I thought it was lovely as well, Seamus."

It was nice to recognize someone and be able to have at least a bit of a casual conversation. She looked at Blaise, her expression nothing other than concerned. "It must be terribly boring to not be amazed very often," She said. "Being amazed is right up there with being surprised, quite fun."

Her mouth curved up at the edges and she moved on from the subject, talking more to Seamus again, "I'm quite looking forward to the reception as well. They're my favorite part of weddings...actually I don't even think the bride and groom start to have any manner of fun until the reception either. Usually they're just terrified and or stressed out of their minds until they get some drink into them and do a bit of dancing."

Seamus laughed. "I couldn't agree with you more. I think they get rid of the stress the night before the wedding, well, bill at least, and it comes right back at the wedding. So at the reception they wear it off again."

He spotted Ron a little ways ahead, curious as to the odd expression on his face.

Promise smirked a little, mischief dancing in her eyes, "I think they do a little more wearing off of the stress after the reception, don't you?"
Suddenly she couldn't believe she'd said something like that to a boy she'd barely met about someone she didn't know and he did and felt her face growing warm as her cheeks turned a dark rose color. She covered her mouth and looked down, embarrassed. "....I mean...." She looked up helplessly and smiled in a feeble manner, "There's no rescuing myself from that one, I suppose." She laughed lightly, she didn't see the point in staying embarrassed for long.

Seamus paused for a second, as he registered what Promise had just said. he laughed, not noticing how embarrased she was getting.
"Yeah, I'd say so."
They continued walking, following the crowd to the reception.
"So, you're from the states? I got to go there for a little vacation, last week, actually. Where in the states are you from?"

Promise was glad that he hadn't really seemed to notice how embarrassing she'd found her slightly rude comment and was also very glad for the subject change.
"Montana," She said simply. "I don't even think most people in the STATES know it exists." She laughed a little, "I love it there though. It's very beautiful, secluded, almost like a fantasy land. My parents went there to hide when Voldemort sprung up and I was just a little baby. They didn't want any attention drawn to my father and to be put into a position where I'd be in danger."

She paused, "See, my dad's side of the family...well The Dae family is a family of very talented dark wizards, basically. But my Dad is, as far as we know, the first to be a good guy. He didn't want Voldemort to be drawn to the Dae name and seek him out, thinking he was evil, etc, etc, etc."
Promise smiled, "It may seems strange for me to tell you that I'm from a family of evil folk but my Dad isn't a bad man and I certainly don't FEEL evil so I think we're ok. I just tend to be of the opinion that it's better to tell people myself rather than let ugly rumors pop up."

She was relatively startled that she'd given him such a long winded answer to the simple question of where she was from but she hated small talk. He seemed like a nice guy and someone she could continue to get along with so why not let him know?
"In any case, after I blew all that out at you to absorb. That's why we moved there. I think I'll really miss it during school but that's ok. I like it at Hogwarts as well. What house are you in?"

Blaise could not help smirking as Promise told her story, his smirking gave way to silent chuckles, and when she finished to full blown laughter. "Oh my...Finnigan, I think we might have another Gryffindor here...or a Hufflepuff."

Rather than becoming irritated at being laughed at she smiled at Blaise in a friendly manner, "Actually I'm not in any house. I'm STAYING in Gryffindor tower just because it was apparently the most convenient place to put me but I asked not to be sorted. I heard there was a huge rivalry between a couple of the houses and felt that would be a dumb reason to not befriend people in more than just my house. The headmistress decided that since I'm an exchange student that it would be alright.....I may ask to be sorted later in the year but I don't really see the point."
She then laughed, "But I can imagine how much you actually CARE so I'll clam up about it."

"You should come stay in the Slytherin dorms, better company." He smirked. "What year will you be in anyway?"

Charm laughed a little, "Oh from what I've seen of Gryffindors they're good enough people. And you, a Slytherin, are charming as well. Exactly the reason why I didn't want to be sorted," She grinned.
"And I'll be repeating my seventh year. Because I am an exchange student they didn't allow me to graduate from my seventh year at home. So I'm taking seventh year classes again at Hogwarts. It makes me feel old. I turn 18 the day after school starts....actually I was a little irritated that Hogwarts doesn't have the option of a Dark Arts class. My old school had them if you could take them with parental permission and I've been taking them since I was a first year. I think I'm going to miss them, they were pretty fun and made my DADA grades better. I guess with Voldemort being more of a problem here the parents would disapprove more, though, so I understand."

Seamus stood back a few feet, sipping his drink as Blaise and Promise, only interrupting when he heard Promise say something about the dark arts classes. "Are we not having them this year? We usually have dark arts classes, but we've had a different teacher every year. Maybe Professor McGonagall is having trouble finding someone... Sorry to interrupt, continue," He said, going back to his drink.

Promise smiled at Seamus. She liked him a lot, he was very sweet and not to mention pretty cute though she wouldn't admit to herself that that was part of the reason that she liked him. She refused to believe she was a bit shallow, even though most people are. "oh, not the defense against the dark arts, Seamus, I mean the dark arts. They teach us the dark arts if we have a permission slip signed by our parents. They think it will help us defend against them. It's true, too, my defense against the dark arts scores were nearly as good as my dark arts scores."
Her smile was brilliant, she was in an amazingly good mood. "And you're not interrupting at all. Last I checked you were part of the conversation too."

Seamus made a mental note to talk to harry before the day was over about starting up the D.A. again this school year. Promise seemed like she'd make a good member, he'd bring it up after school started.
"I think the closest we ever got to actually learning the dark arts were with Mad-Eye in my 4th year. and Professor Lupin, the year before that. He wasn't so much teaching us the dark arts, but it was a very hands-on approach to the class."

Promise frowned a little, "Yeah the dark arts are a fairly questionable subject anywhere. I bet parents would flip if Hogwarts taught it, so I guess I understand. I'll just miss it a bit. I actually think my school quit teaching it this year as well because of Voldemort popping back up."
She sighed, "It's a shame because it's a very interesting subject. I may have to take divination in its place at Hogwarts...I HATE divination. I'm TERRIBLE at it. (which makes my mother ashamed because she comes from a family line of shamans)"
She then smiled gently at him, "So if you get a new teacher for defense each year who will be teaching it this year?" She asked, changing the subject.

He glaced across the garden, and could see Hermione talking with someone. "Yeah, I know a few people who hate Divination. As for the dark arts, We don't purposefully get a new teacher, it's just happened. some say the job has been cursed. So I'm not sure who will be the teacher this year. we usually don't find out until the beginning feast."

"Oh, cursed? That's not very pleasant, is it? Thenagain, what curses are?" She smiled, so unbelievably glad for human contact that she was nearly glowing. Her eyes widened and her attention seemed very piqued at the mention of a feast. "Beginning feast? That sounds intriguing, no one's told me anything about that. What happens there?"

Blaise listened while he lazily brushed the dustings of nature off his clothes, giving off every impression of complete disinterest. He had heard something about another former Auror taking the defense position but decided not to share. It was not going to be nearly as fun this year without Professor Snape and Draco around. "Why would anyone want a cursed position?" he muttered to himself. And then more loudly, "The start of term feast is where the first years are sorted and they make the announcements for the year. Everyone meets in the Great Hall before heading to their dormitories."

Promise looked a little bit deflated at the explanation of the beginning feast. "Isn't watching all the first years get sorted a little boring?" She raised her brows. "Or are there not that many usually so it won't take too long?"
She had had to suppress a smile. She loved how Blaise pretended to not be interested in the slightest bit seemed to be listening fairly intently to the conversation. She knew most people wouldn't really enjoy Blaise's attitude but she found it endlessly entertaining and when he did discuss something sincerely he did seem like a very interesting person.

"It's a big deal," Blaise said. "Sorting determines their place for the next seven year, maybe longer. It might be short this year. Hard to say how many people will return this year, it kept getting lighter all last year."

She frowned, "That's a little depressing but I guess I can't blame parents for freaking out, everyone knows what happened there to an extent but no one back home really likes to talk about it. However, I'm thinking that parents are being a little...silly, I guess is a polite word to use, if they think their children are safer at home than they are at Hogwarts, don't you think? At least that's the argument I used when my parents brought up the fact that Hogwarts may not be safe."

Blaise frowned. He was still rather cheesed that Draco had not filled him in on all the details. His frown deepened into a scowl and he settle back into his chair.

Promise noticed that Blaise seemed suddenly displeased. No matter, though, she wouldn't pry. She was content to sit quietly and watch as the guests filed about, hearing strange fractions of conversations that made no real sense. If he saw it fit to speak again she was sure he'd do so but until then she wasn't about to force conversation. She simply stroked Charm's wings and watched about. She caught a glimpse of Molly Weasley, the wonderfully kind woman who was friends with her mother so long ago. She decided to wait before she went up to the woman to offer her congratulations, however. It was probably best to wait until things had settled down. She HAD just officially met the woman earlier that day and it was the close friends' and relatives' turn to speak to the mother of the groom.

* * * * * * *

Ron smiled as his brother and new sister walked back up the aisle. And, no matter how much he hated to admit it, it wasn't just because of the fact that it was all almost over.

Searching for Hermione's face in the crowd, he smiled when his gaze fell on her face. She really was beautiful. His smile was quickly replaced with a look of disgust that he really hoped wasn't apparent because of the person sitting just behind Hermione. His absolute favorite person in the entire world. Viktor Krum.

Neville had been walking around and couldn't help but notice the look of disgust on Ron's face. When he saw that Ron was looking at Victor, he decided to distract Ron so that he wouldn't cause a scene.
"Hi Ron! That was a very beautiful ceremony, wasn't it? Bill and Fleur really look great! I'm sure you're relieved that it's all over now, aren't you?"

"Neville, mate," Ron said, snapping his head around, looking at Neville. "Sorry. I'm, uh, a bit distracted. Yeah. It was a really nice ceremony. And, Merlin yes. I'm more pleased than you can possibly know that this is all over." Ron began walking back towards the house. "How's your summer been?"

"Well, it was quite uneventful until Malfoy showed up in my backyard," he said to Ron. "You know, I was so proud of myself for taking his wand and locking him in the closet. But he escaped and now the wand is missing and it seems like my entire encounter with him was in vain. But enough about me... how has your summer been?"

"Is there any way that Creevey kid could have taken it? I don't know. It just seems kind of odd that he would mess up your room and then the wand would be missing. Eh," Ron shrugged. Getting a butterbeer, Ron turned back to Neville. "My summer's been pretty uneventful because everything seemed to be leading up to this," he said, motioning around. "I'm actually looking forward to school, oddly enough."

"The thought has crossed my mind, mate. He was the only one besides my gran who has been in my bedroom since the Malfoy incident. But I just don't understand why he would take it!"
Neville got himself a butterbeer as well.
"I'm looking forward to school too. I'm honestly going mad in that house. I don't know what I'm going to do when school is over. But I'm thinking about getting my own place and maybe having some roommates. Hey, would you be interested, Ron?"

"Of course, mate. Don't know how interested my mum will be about it, but maybe she'll be excited to get my arse out of the house. Sounds like it could be fun, though," Ron said, walking back towards the area where the reception was taking place. Sitting down at an empty table, he sneered at Viktor and Hermione before turning his back to them and taking a large swig from the drink he was holding.

* * * * * * *

Ginny smiled at her brother, pushing back the tears that were playing at the corners of her eyes. Okay, so Fleur wasn't her first choice of someone to marry her brother. Or her second or third choice. But he loved her, and she loved him, and that was good enough for Ginny.

As her brother and sister in law walked down the aisle, she scanned the crowd for people she knew, which was nearly all of them. She caught sight of Harry in one of the first few rows and smiled, before remembering the note stuffed into the front of her dress.

“Hiya, Ginny! You had something to show me?” Harry said.

"Yeah, actually, I do." Ginny replied, messing with the front of her dress nervously, "Walk with me? Over there?" She asked, pointing away form the wedding guests and towards the tree where she had spoken with Draco.

* * * * * * *

Tonks quietly moved into the back of the crowd of people, hoping that no one noticed her late arrival. She made it just in time to see them walk down the isle together as man and wife. She beamed at Bill gave him the thumbs up as he walked passed her.

Previous / Return to Scene List / Next