The Edge of Sanity

Everyone applauded as Bill pushed back Fleur's veil and kissed her lovingly. The newlyweds smiled at one another, clearly overjoyed. Ginny caught Bill's eye and winked, grinning at her oldest brother, who returned the wink before sweeping up his wife, kissing her again. Even though Bill's face was covered in scars, they looked beautiful together.

Ginny received a nudge from the boy sitting next to her, and turned to face a confused but grinning Harry Potter. He poked his thumb towards his other side and Ginny looked to find her brother Ron and Hermione locked in a passionate kiss. She let out a giggle and then returned her gaze to Harry.

"Well, it's about time, isn't it?" she said. Harry nodded his agreement, but his grin looked somehow forced.

"Ergh! Get a room you two!" said Fred when he noticed the tangle of red and brown hair that was Ron and Hermione. They all waited for George to make a similar comment, but it never came. George was too busy staring at a silver-haired girl on the other side of the aisle that Ginny knew to be Fleur's younger cousin, Isabella.

"Oh, come off it, George!" said Ginny in disgust. "She's way too young for you. She's barely fifteen!" George wasn't listening. Fred squinted his eyes in the direction of George's gaze.

"You know what," he said. "I think you're wrong Ginny. She has to be at least a hundred."

"And how did you come to this conclusion?" asked Harry sceptically. Fred pointed to the woman sitting next to Isabella. It was her aging, withered, Veela grandmother. They all laughed which seemed to break George's reverie. He glanced at them all, somewhat disoriented, then gasped in shock.

"Great Scott! Look at those two go! Anyone would think it was a Triwizard event!" he exclaimed, referring to Ron and Hermione's situation. They all laughed at George's delay and Ron and Hermione finally broke their passionate lock looking flustered. Ron's ears were glowing. Ginny grinned at Hermione who blushed.

"Well, it's about bloody time you two came up for air!" teased Fred. Ron's ears turned an even brighter shade of red and Hermione wrung her hands nervously. They were both looking at Harry in anticipation.

Harry avoided both of their eyes and playfully teased, "I thought we were going to have to put the hose on you or something." His two friends chuckled weakly, relieved. "We'd better get going. Everyone is headed for the reception." They all stood and followed the crowd up the lawns towards the manor.

The wedding had been held outside in the beautiful gardens of the Delacour Manor in the French countryside of Luberon that sunny afternoon and the reception was to be inside in their ball room. As the group approached the front doors and followed the rest of the guests into the entrance, Ginny felt Harry's hand brush hers.

"Sorry," he said quickly, looking away. Ginny frowned slightly and slipped her hand in his, giving it a small squeeze. Harry looked down at her sadly with a half-smile but didn't let go of her hand.

Ginny heard Hermione let out a small gasp as they entered the magnificent ball room. The high, domed ceiling was painted with baby angels zooming this way and that, hiding and playing amongst the fluffy white clouds. The floor was a highly polished dark wood, so glossy it was almost like a mirror. At the far end was a long table, similar to the staff table at the Great Hall of Hogwarts. It was decorated with beautiful white roses and yellow lilies.

In front of this table there were about twenty smaller, round tables that could seat about six people each. These, too, had yellow and white flowers in the centre. There was a gap in the middle of the room for dancing, and to the right was a stage with a small orchestral band. They were performing a quiet French love song while the guests filed in and found their seats.

The group found their names on small, gold cards on a table near the front. Ginny noticed that her name was between "Ron" and "Hermione". She discreetly swapped her own name with Ron's so that Ron and Hermione could sit next to each other and so could Ginny and Harry. The only person who noticed her doing this was Fred, who gave her a cheeky wink.

Once most of the guests had taken their seats, the band began a loud number. People started clapping and Ginny turned to see Bill and Fleur entering the ball room, followed by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Charlie, Mr. and Mrs. Delacour and Isabella. Fred sniggered when George almost fell off his chair upon Isabella's entrance.

Hermione let out an exasperated sigh because Ron was staring at Fleur's flowing gown. She had changed out of her fluffy, white wedding dress and was now wearing a long, silken dress that seemed to change into different shades of gold. Her silvery blonde hair, which had been up during the ceremony, now cascaded gently down her back.

The couple took their seats in the middle of the head table with Fleur's parents and sister sitting one side and Bill's parents and best-man Charlie on the other. Ginny looked around the room spotting people she knew. The first people she noticed were Hagrid and Madame Maxime sitting towards the back. They took up a whole table by themselves. Over at a table in the corner sat a few Order members including Mad-Eye Moody, Professor McGonagall, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Tonks and Lupin.

"Looks like Ron and Hermione aren't the only ones finally getting together," Ginny whispered to Harry. She nodded towards the table where Lupin was whispering to a giggling Tonks. They both looked positively thrilled to be in each others company.

"It's good to see them both happy again," said Harry. Ginny went back to seeking familiar faces. She recognised a few of the Beauxbatons girls that had stayed at Hogwarts during the Triwizard Tournament. At the table next to them sat a group of boys that Ginny knew to be old school friends of Bill's. They had all stayed at the Burrow at one time or another when Ginny was younger. The three tables nearest Ginny seated the many Weasley relatives. Most she'd met when she was too young to remember, but she knew Uncle Howard, Great Auntie Muriel and Grandma Frieda. Grandma Frieda was drinking champagne and looked like she was already so drunk she couldn't stand.

Ginny was astounded at just how many of the Weasleys had shown up. A lot of them could be recognised by the trademark red hair, but they all came in different shapes and sizes. As many as there were, however, Ginny knew someone was missing.

"Where's Percy?" she asked of nobody in particular. "He was at the ceremony. I remember because he came late."

"I don't know, but I'm glad the great prat isn't here. Don't know why Bill invited him in the first place," said Ron bitterly. He received a disapproving glare from Hermione.

"I'm sure he had important work he had to do back to at the Ministry," she reasoned.

"Oh yes, I'm sure kissing the Minister's ass is very important," said Fred. He and George then did a very funny imitation of Percy and Scrimgeour. Just then, menus appeared before them all.

"This must be like what they had at the Yule Ball," said Harry. After entr'es, they all had fun guessing which French dishes sounded tastiest. Hermione warned Ron against the one he was about to choose, but he like the name because it had "bum" in it. He ended up regretting not listening to her though, when he ended up with an odd pie with green pastry that tasted like a mixture of anchovies, Brussels sprouts and seaweed.

For dessert, the wedding cake transformed into whatever desert they wanted. Ginny's was a piece of chocolate mud cake with blueberry sauce, a scoop of peppermint ice-cream with caramel topping, all sprinkled with nuts and sprinkles. It was delicious.

After their empty plates vanished, the band picked up once more and Bill and Fleur moved down to the dance floor. The orchestral song turned smoothly into a rock song and Ginny tuned to see that the band had transfigured their string instruments into guitars, basses and drum kits. Only one fiddle remained, and the witch playing it was moving the bow so fast it looked like she had four arms. The conductor turned his baton back into a wand, magically magnified his voice and began singing.

As soon as the song finished and another one began, some of the guests started joining Bill and Fleur on the dance floor, Hermione and Ginny amongst them. Fred asked one of Fleur's cousins to dance with him while George just sat and stared at a dancing Isabella. Ron and Harry kept giving each other horrified glances, hoping that they wouldn't be made to dance.

After several songs, Fleur went back to the table to rest, as did Hermione. Ginny received a tap on the shoulder and turned to see Bill smiling down at her.

"Care to dance, little sis?" he asked. Ginny grinned and took her brother's hand. They danced for a while, Ginny giggling at her brother's "groovy" dance moves, before she insisted she was exhausted and needed to sit. When she returned to the table, Harry was the only one there.

"Where'd everyone go?" she asked him.

"George is over talking to Isabella. Fred is dancing with a couple of Fleur's friends, if you can call that dancing," said Harry, nodding towards Fred who was entertaining a small group of girls with some odd acrobatics. Ginny laughed.

"And Ron and Hermione?"

Harry looked a bit uncomfortable. "Um, they went outside to... er... chat ," he said, obviously not convinced that his two best friends were simply chatting at all. Ginny gave him a small frown.

"You are okay with them being together, aren't you?" she asked, sitting down next to him.

"Of course I am! This has been coming for years." He didn't quite meet Ginny's eyes. "It's just..."

"Just what?"

"Never mind."

"No, come on, tell me." Ginny put an encouraging hand on Harry's, but he still wouldn't look her in the eye.

"It's just - well, the three of us are leaving tomorrow, right?"

Ginny's heart sank at the thought of it. She'd been trying to forget. "Right."

"And we'll be spending a lot of time together. With them being together now, it's going to be. I'm going to..." He met her gaze at last. "It's just made me realise how much I'm going to miss you."

Ginny felt like she might cry, but she held back the tears. She put a hand up to Harry's cheek, leaned forward and kissed him slowly on the lips.

When she pulled back, Harry was frowning ruefully. "Ginny... you know we can't do this."

Now it was Ginny's turn to frown. "No, Harry, I don't know. I mean, I can understand you not wanting me to come with you on this insane mission you insist is your destiny, even if I don't agree, I understand. I can even understand why you're letting them go, but not me. But I don't- I won't- understand why you're making us both miserable when we should be making the most of the time we have together!" Ginny had stood up without realising. "You're letting You-Know-Who scare you into living a life without love, and that's exactly what he wants." With that, Ginny turned and stormed out of the ball room, leaving Harry to stare at his shoes.

Pacing up and down the entrance, Ginny muttered furiously to herself. Eventually, she let out an exasperated sigh, and sat down on the polished wood stairs that led to the rest of the manor. Resting her face in her hands, she began to cry, trying her hardest to silence her sobs.

The front doors creaked open and Ginny could hear the sound of laughter as two people stumbled in. She quickly made to wipe away her tears but it was too late.

"Ginny, what's wrong?" asked Hermione, the laughter dying away immediately when she and Ron noticed the distraught girl on the steps. When Ginny finished smudging makeup on both her face and her lilac dress in an attempt to rid her face of tears, she looked up at the couple and couldn't help but laugh.

Ron's hair looked extremely rumpled and his shirt was untucked. Hermione's powder-pink dress looked somehow twisted. Ginny thought her brother was blushing a deep pink, but then realised that he had lipstick on his face.

"Have a good chat?" she asked slyly. The couple glanced at each other and forced a nervous laugh. Hermione walked over and sat next to Ginny on the stairs, resting a comforting hand on her arm. The younger witch stared at her hands in silence. Ron, obviously not knowing what to do, mumbled something and left the girls alone.

They sat in silence for a few moments. "He's such a prat!" Ginny burst out. Hermione patted her arm gently.

"I know, but he means well. I expect he thought you wouldn't want to talk about it in front of him anyway." Ginny stared at her for a confused moment and then understood.

"No, not Ron, although he definitely is a prat. I was talking about Harry." Ginny recovered her interest in her hands.

"What happened this time?"

"Oh, the usual. Him finally starting to open up and show that he cares, and then immediately shutting me out again. All because of his stupid infatuation with saving the world." Ginny knew that what Harry was doing was not stupid at all, but she was so hurt that she didn't care. She needed to blame Harry's behaviour on something. "I just hate the fact that it's always Harry who has to be the hero." Ginny thought for a moment and then added, "It's one of the things I hate, but also one of the things I love most about him."

Hermione pulled her friend into an understanding embrace. Her sympathy poured over Ginny and it really did make her feel just a little bit better to know that someone understood.

"That's a huge part of Harry. It's what drives him, what makes him who he is," Hermione said. "Even if you could change it, would you ever have him any other way?"

Ginny sighed. "No." They sat in silence again until Hermione suggested she try not to think about it and just enjoy her brother's wedding. Pulling out her wand, she cleaned up the mess on Ginny's face and dress and walked her back to the ball room.

Harry was still sitting at the table, but Ron and the twins had joined him again. Fred and George were attacking Ron, apparently trying to rub his face off. Harry was watching them with limited interest.

"Ickle Ronnikens has somfink on his cheeky-weeky," mocked Fred.

"Here, let me get that for you," said George, first licking his thumb, then reconsidering licking his entire palm. He then attempted to wipe Ron's face with the salivated hand, but Ron struggled free of his brothers before doom fell. He grinned in triumph, noticed the two approaching girls and promptly let out a very "subtle" cough, poking Harry in the back of the head.

Harry jumped at the shock of being snapped out of his reverie so suddenly, and turned to shout abuse at Ron. However, when he saw the significant expression on Ron's face, he switched his focus to Ginny. Alas, Ginny had other ideas and was quite content to look anywhere but at Harry.

"Let's go dance again," said Ginny to Hermione. "You guys want to join us?" she asked her brothers, making certain that Harry knew he wasn't included in the invitation.

The twins both stood and grinned at the girls. "Certainly, my lovely ladies!" said Fred.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" said George.

Ron turned a deathly white in horror at the thought of dancing, and sat next to Harry with a quick, "I think I'll pass."

Ginny was aware of Harry's attempts to catch her eye but was determined to ignore them. The four set off for the dance floor, boogied their hearts out to the band, that had now switched to reggae, and soon Ginny had pushed all thoughts of Harry to the back of her mind. That was, of course, until Harry decided to push back.

"Woodyewliketodancewimme?" he asked after making his way through the dancing crowd and finding her. Ginny could see that it was causing Harry a great deal of pain to not only consent, but actually offer to dance. Ginny was feeling cruel, and although she had made out the mumble and heard it over the music, she pretended she hadn't so that Harry would have to ask again. And he did.

"Ginny," he said, touching her arm so that she was facing him, "would you like to dance?" As resentful as she was feeling, Ginny didn't have the heart to reject him. She nodded and moved closer to him, putting one hand in his and the other on his shoulder. Harry put his other hand on her waist and began to move stiffly from side to side, and Ginny was unsuccessful at containing her giggle. Harry faked a look of hurt. "You think I'm funny, do you?"

"No, Harry, you're as boring as a door knob." She had meant it to sound sarcastic, but it came out harsh. Harry didn't have to fake his look of hurt this time. He opened his mouth a few times, but apparently couldn't speak. "Don't even bother," she said with a exasperated sigh. "I know what you're going to say: 'I'm sorry, Gin, I wish things could be different but-'"

"No," Harry cut her off. "That's not it."

"Well, what then?"

"I-I wanted to tell you-you..." Ginny raised an impatient eyebrow. "I wanted to tell you, you look beautiful tonight." Ginny was in shock for a moment, but soon recovered and pushed furiously away from him.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you!?" she demanded, anger flashing in her eyes.