Trinity

Chapter 14

When the teens came downstairs in their dress robes they found Moody, Remus and Tonks waiting for them. The rest of the Weasleys had gone back to the Burrow the previous evening. The three adults were also wearing dress robes. Remus' were clearly new and Tonks' hair was a shade of red that made her look like a Weasley as well. She grinned at Ron when he chortled at her hair and everyone else grinned as well. Then Remus held out the jar holding the floo powder and one by one they travelled through to the Burrow.

Mrs Weasley was waiting for them when they stepped out into the living room and she whipped out her wand and cleaned the soot off their robes. She then looked them over critically.

"Well, you all look wonderful," she said with satisfaction.

"Mum!" Ginny came thundering down the stairs, interrupting Mrs Weasley.

Harry's jaw dropped as his girlfriend ran into the room in her pale gold robes, looking frantic and holding what looked like a circlet of white flowers in one hand and a brush in the other. Her hair was loose around her shoulders.

"Gabrielle and I can't get the charm to work and the hairdresser is still in with Fleur," Ginny wailed.

"Wow, Ginny," Harry breathed.

Ginny glanced over him briefly then returned to look at him better when his slightly stunned expression caught her attention. She blushed at the open admiration on his face. Mrs Weasley viewed them both with pleased amusement then chivvied Ginny back up the stairs.

"Come on, dear," she said briskly. "I know the spell. We're running out of time."

Harry watched Ginny walk up the stairs then jumped when Ron poked him in the ribs. "Wha?"

"Harry, mate, she's my sister!" Ron said with a pained expression as Hermione giggled and the adults smothered their smiles.

"Uh, yeah," Harry stammered, pulling himself together a bit.

"There must be something about the Potter men and red haired women," Remus said roguishly as he gestured for everyone to head outside. "That was a very strange piece of déjà vu. Except in James' case it was the Yule Ball that was held in our Seventh Year."

"You didn't do the same with your date?" Tonks asked mischievously as they walked through the kitchen.

"Er, well, Mariah Davies was very pretty but we were only friends rather than boyfriend and girlfriend like James and Lily," Remus replied with a slight blush. "She didn't know about my, er..."

"Furry little problem?" Harry offered with a grin.

Remus laughed. "Yes, that."

Just then Charlie descended on them with a look of desperation on his face. He quickly introduced them to Fleur's parents and Harry spent much of the rest of the time before the wedding began making small talk with the French couple who seemed to be very pleased to meet him. This made him uncomfortable until he worked out that it had more to do with his actions during the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament than him being the Boy-Who-Lived. Finally Monsieur Delacour disappeared inside and Mr and Mrs Weasley emerged and everyone began shuffling into their seats. Bill, Charlie and Mark, a friend on Bill's from Gringotts, took their places under the ivy-laced arbour and Bill stared nervously over towards the house, much to the amusement of his groomsmen.

Mr Weasley, who was standing by the back door, glanced inside then waved his wand and the traditional Bridal March started playing. The door to the house opened and first Gabrielle then Ginny walked out. Harry's jaw dropped slightly at the sight of his girlfriend. Mrs Weasley had obviously managed the charm for their hair and both girls had their hair arranged artfully with loose tendrils curling down their necks. He didn't even glance at Gabrielle as she walked past. Ginny's eyes flickered over at him as she got nearer and she suddenly struggled to swallow a fit of the giggles at his slightly stunned expression.

Then all eyes centred on the door where Fleur stood arm in arm with her father. She paused there momentarily to allow everyone to admire her then she and her father began a slow regal walk down the aisle. Harry's eyes lingered momentarily on the half-veela woman then they drifted back to Ginny. He didn't know much about fashion but he had to admit that the pale gold robes she was wearing were stunning and she looked beautiful.

He brought his attention back to the ceremony when Hermione elbowed him in the side and paid dutiful attention as Bill and Fleur were duly married. Then everyone headed over to where tables had been set up for the reception while the bridal party had their photos taken by a small man who bore a startling resemblance to the Creevey brothers. Harry found himself seated at a table with Ron and Hermione, Remus and Tonks, Fred and George, Fleur's Uncle Etienne and Aunt Suzette and a woman named Amanda who turned out to be Mark's fiancé.

Harry was a bit nervous about the three strangers on the table but after Etienne had told three terribly bad jokes in his haughty French accent, his eyes twinkling madly at the incongruity, he settled down a bit. As it turned out, he ended up having an extremely good time. Not was the food excellent but Fred and George were in a good mood and behaving themselves and Amanda, Etienne and Suzette turned out to be good and rather funny company. None of them batted an eyelid when he introduced himself and the only reaction he got was from the French couple and again that was due to his actions in the Second Task and not his unfortunate status in the wizarding world.

Finally Charlie stood up and tapped his glass. The guests slowly fell into silence and Charlie cleared his throat.

"Well, as best man it falls upon me to make the first speech," he said with an easy grin. "Now apparently I'm supposed to make all sorts of embarrassing remarks about the groom for the amusement of the crowd." Laughter rippled across through the tables. "But since I'm his brother that seemed too easy. Bill's the first in the family to get married which I suppose makes some sense since he's the oldest. I'm just not sure why it's taken him so long though I suppose if he'd met Fleur five years ago he might have got into trouble and Monsieur Delacour might have come after him with some interesting French hexes."

Everyone laughed as they did the mental maths in their minds, Monsieur Delacour most of all.

"Either way, he's taken a bit of pressure off the rest of us," Charlie continued. "Mum's been waiting for her first wedding though I suppose the danger is that she's now got a taste for them and we're all in trouble."

The laughter welled again as Mrs Weasley shook her finger at her son with a look of amused scolding.

Charlie grinned at his mother before continuing. "I welcome Fleur into the family and congratulate her on capturing my errant brother. I'm sure the hunt was fun for her and she cornered her prey exceptionally well." He turned to grin at Fleur who was laughing merrily then looked over at his grinning brother. "And Bill...it's about time you settled down. You've been giving us Weasley men a bad name. You now have a duty to become terribly eccentric, infernally cheerful and produce so many children that people start wondering about your sanity."

Everyone laughed again and this time it was Mr Weasley who shook an amused finger at Charlie.

Charlie grinned at his father before looking out over the crowd. "Although I'd say the Hogwarts teachers will be hoping you don't fulfil that last one."

A ringing "Hear, hear!" came from the table that held the Hogwarts contingent provoking even more laughter.

"I'd also like to remind everyone to admire and complement the bridesmaids," Charlie continued with a bow to Ginny and Gabrielle. "And may I say that both young ladies look absolutely stunning. Though everyone would do well to remember that Ginny has six brothers and a father in attendance and Gabrielle has six new brothers-in-law, one father and a new father-in-law watching over her so try any funny business and the result is your own fault."

Both girls poked their tongues out at Charlie and made a couple of comments much to the amusement of the guests and he pretended to hide from them.

Charlie sobered slightly as he continued. "I urge you all to enjoy yourselves here today. Merlin knows the world is a grim place at the moment but we can't let that sort of thing stop us from having fun at events like this. So now that I have rambled my way to the end of this speech, I will allow my brother to have the right of reply then we can all get on with the more important stuff...displaying our complete ineptitude on the dance floor. But before I do, I'd like you all to charge your glasses and stand." There was a minute or two of murmuring and rustling as people stood, glasses in hand then Charlie picked up his own glass and raised it in the direction Bill and Fleur. "I give you a toast. To the bride and groom."

"The bride and groom!" came the cheerful response and glasses were drained.

Charlie sat down to a round of enthusiastic applause and laughter as Bill rose to his feet. He waited for a minute or two for silence to fall then he looked around, his scarred face looking cheerful and proud.

"Well, thank you Charlie for that edifying and entertaining speech," he began. "I can see making you my best man wasn't the worst decision I've ever made." Chuckles rang through the crowd as Bill continued. "Meeting Fleur has been the best thing that has ever happened to me. I have Harry and the Triwizard Tournament to thank for that. If Harry hadn't been involved I wouldn't have had a vested interest in going along to see my honourary little brother compete and I probably wouldn't have met Fleur. So thanks, Harry!"

Bill looked around until he found Harry and raised his glass in salute and grinned. Harry blushed and smiled back; warmed beyond belief at Bill's public declaration of his status amongst the Weasleys. It also did him a world of good to be reminded that it wasn't just bad things that had resulted from that Tournament.

"I hope I'm setting a good example for my brothers and sister," Bill continued. "And that I start something of a chain reaction. Mum will be pleased if that happens. I hope out high hopes for Ron, Percy and Ginny but Charlie has me worried and I think Fred and George are a lost cause."

Cat calls rang out from the twins as Harry looked around in surprise. He caught sight of Percy on a nearby table. The estranged Weasley was sitting next to Penelope Clearwater and had a small smile on his face as he looked over at his brother. Percy seemed to feel his regard and he looked around and caught Harry's gaze. He seemed to flinch slightly then he quickly averted his eyes before returning to stare resolutely at his eldest brother. Harry stared at him for a moment longer before following suit.

"To Monsieur and Madame Delacour, I promise to look after Fleur and love and cherish her with all my heart," Bill continued. "Though I honestly think she's more likely to spend her time looking after me. I seem to have got things off to a rather inauspicious start." He gestured at his face and some nervous chuckles ran through the crowd. "Fleur however assures me that her beauty will be enough for both of us and I have to say she's quite likely right." He beamed down at his new wife and more genuine laughter rippled through the crowd. "I want to thank you all for coming today. As Charlie said, these are grim times and that makes it all the more important that days like today happen. In grim times, laughter, love, happiness and good friendship are vital. So I'd like you all to enjoy the good food, the good drink and the excellent fellowship. Have fun, dance badly and otherwise have a rollicking good time!"

Cheers greeted Bill's speech and glasses were again filled and raised to the newly-married couple. When it became clear that no more speeches were in the offing, Mr Weasley gestured to someone over to one side of the gathering and a small band trooped out and set up to one side of the open area that had been magically paved and declared the dance floor. The band struck up a traditional waltz and Bill held out his hand to his wife. Fleur smiled and the two of them made their way out onto the dance floor, joined shortly afterwards by Charlie and Gabrielle and Mark and Ginny. Slowly other couples began to join them and Harry soon found himself sitting at his table with only Amanda.

He looked over at her and smiled wryly. "Would you like to dance? I warn you, I'm a terrible dancer."

"So am I," Amanda replied cheerfully. "So let's go see how many times we can step on each other's toes."

Harry laughed and held out a hand to the older woman. They walked onto the dance floor and, after a few awkward moments, proceeded to attempt to maim each other's feet. After a few minutes of this, some of which was accidental, some deliberate, they realised that Mark and Ginny had made their way across the dance floor to them.

"Shall we swap partners?" Mark suggested to Harry with a grin.

Harry returned the grin and nodded and Amanda and Ginny willingly swapped places.

"You know I'm a terrible dancer?" Harry said idly to Ginny as Mark and Amanda danced away.

Ginny raised an eyebrow and inclined her head in the direction of Fred and George who were dancing wildly, something that seemed rather inappropriate since they were still supposed to be waltzing with their partners.

"You were saying?" she said.

"Well, okay, I'm not that bad," Harry replied with a laugh.

Suddenly there was a low booming sound and the air above them seemed to shudder slightly. A sudden silence fell until Mr Weasley gestured angrily at the band. They slowly started playing again, nervous looks on their faces. Mr Weasley then gestured to Moody, Kingsley, Remus, Tonks and several of the Aurors who were dotted through the crowd. The adults nodded in return then started to slip through the nervous crowd and Harry quickly caught Ron and Hermione's eye, giving a sharp jerk of his head in the direction the adults had taken.

He looked down at Ginny. "I've..."

"Got to go," she completed for him, an understanding look on her face.

Harry nodded awkwardly then he collected Ron and Hermione with a glance and they headed around the front of the house. The moment they were out of sight of the guests, Harry pulled his wand out of his robes, Ron and Hermione following suit. As they rounded the corner of the house, they found the adults standing over near the front gate and they quickly joined them.

"What happened?" Harry asked firmly. He knew this would be the first test of his authority as the leader of the Order of the Phoenix and he had to make sure they would respect him.

Mr Weasley looked up at him and frowned. "Oh, Harry. There was no need for you..."

"Arthur," Harry interrupted in a stern voice. He almost unconsciously drew himself to his full height, his expression calm but stern. He didn't see Ron and Hermione move up to flank him in firm supporting positions. "What happened?"

Mr Weasley blinked at both the tone of voice and the use of his given name then it suddenly occurred to him that he wasn't being asked a question by his youngest son's best friend; he was being asked a question by the leader of the Order of the Phoenix.

"It looks like someone tested the wards," he said over the startled protests on a couple of the Aurors. Those protests were swiftly silenced by Moody and Kingsley. "From the feel of it, they made a decent attempt to bring down the wards but failed. We've been strengthening them considerably over the last two weeks. It would take a full attack by You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters to bring them down right now."

"I take it whoever did this didn't stick around," Harry said.

"No," Moody growled. "There are signs of an apparition outside the wards but nothing more."

"Was this a serious attack?" Harry asked. "Or was it just something designed to frighten us?"

"I'd put a vote in for it being an attempt to frighten us," Tonks said. "It looks like it was only one person and they only made the wards alert us rather than put them under any particular strain."

Harry walked forward until he could feel the wards buzzing in front of him. He looked around then turned and nodded.

"Well, there's no point hanging around here then," he said firmly. "All we'll do is make the guests nervous."

Low chuckles came from the others and they all sheathed their wand and started walking back towards the party. A sudden low growl from behind them made them stop and turn around. Standing in the middle of the path leading away from the Burrow was a large grey wolf. Flanking and behind this wolf were at least a dozen other wolves.

"I guess we should have known it wouldn't be that easy," Ron said warily as everyone pulled their wands out.

Suddenly Remus let out a vicious oath and reeled backwards. Tonks caught his arm and held him upright.

"Remus?" she asked with alarm.

Remus didn't answer; his eyes were trained on the large grey wolf standing at the front of the growling pack. Harry eyed the older man with concern and walked over to him, placing a hand on his arm.

"Remus? What's wrong?" he asked urgently. "Do you know that wolf?" He gave a sudden jerk and whipped around to look at the grey wolf. "Oh shit! It's Greyback, isn't it? What's happened to him?"

Remus stared at the wolf in shock for a moment longer then his gaze stuttered over to Harry. "I...yes...yes, it's Greyback. I'd...heard of this but..."

His voice trailed off as the grey wolf started to stalk towards the edge of the wards, the other wolves following him. The growling became louder and more vicious. Harry paused then made a swift decision.

"Tonks! Take Remus back around to the party then come back," he ordered.

The two of them stared at him in surprise and he levelled a glare at them both. "Move!" he barked.

Tonks jumped slightly then she grabbed the still-shocked Remus by the arm and dragged him towards the rear of the house.

Harry didn't watch them go. Instead he turned to Mr Weasley. "Could they get through those wards?"

"I shouldn't think so," Mr Weasley replied, eying the wolf warily.

As they watched Greyback barked at one of the other wolves. The wolf stepped back slightly then leapt at the wards. Everyone flinched backwards as the wolf impacted with the wards. It didn't get through but the wards sparked and they all felt them go into alert. The wolf landed on the ground outside the wards with a whimpering yelp then climbed to its feet unsteadily, staggering away.

As they watched Greyback stepped up and sniffed at the wards then he looked past them towards where the party was continuing. Harry watched him for a moment then yelped.

"We've got to get rid of them now," he said sharply. "We can't let them work their way around the wards to the party. Hermione, go and get Fred and George, Charlie, the teachers and anyone else you think looks like they could be useful."

Hermione nodded and sprinted off towards the rear of the house, passing the returning Tonks on her way.

"Can we go through the wards?" Harry asked Mr Weasley.

The older man nodded. "The invitations included a spell that keyed each guest to the wards. We are the only ones who can pass through."

"Good," Harry said flatly, keeping a wary eye on Greyback who was standing and watching him with a vicious light in his eyes. "We've got to keep them busy until help arrives. Arthur, I want you and Alastor to keep the wolves here. Don't let them past you. Ron, Kingsley, Tonks, all of you Aurors, concentrate on subduing them. Only kill them if you have to. I think we need to understand what's happened here. And for Merlin's sake, don't let them bite you."

Everyone nodded then at Harry's signal they burst through the wards. The wolves, all except Greyback, had been circling, waiting for an order from their leader. At the sudden charge, that order came. Grey back barked once and the wolves whirled and launched themselves at the wizards and witches. Spells and hexes flew and a good half dozen of the wolves went down, yelping and whining, in that first sally. The rest kept going however leaping at the humans and snarling savagely. Harry was initially surprised when none of the wolves came at him then a low, rumbling growl alerted him to the danger. Greyback had marked him as the leader and was now approaching at a slow stalk.

Harry levelled his wand at the enormous wolf. "Stupefy!" he said firmly.

A bolt of red light burst from the end of Harry's wand and impacted with the grey wolf. The wolf staggered momentarily then kept prowling towards him.

Harry grimaced then gathered his will and power together. "STUPEFY!" he yelled.

Again a red bolt of light emerged from the end of his wand but this one did not hit the wolf. The moment he had uttered the words, Greyback had dodged to the right then launched himself into the air straight at Harry. He hit with enormous force and both of them flew backwards. Greyback's momentum carried him off Harry and the young wizard was quick to roll away and leap to his feet, whirling to face the grey wolf, gasping a little at the bruises he'd just been gifted with. The wolf scrabbled to his feet and launched himself at Harry again.

"Impendimenta!" Harry yelled hastily.

Greyback was knocked off his feet by the force of the spell and Harry risked a quick look over his shoulder towards the house. He gave a sigh of relief when he saw a large number of witches and wizards pounding towards them, Hermione in the lead. Movement out of the corner of his eye had him paying attention to the fight once more and when he turned he saw Greyback was just about to leap at him again.

"Petrificus totalus!" he shouted but Greyback twisted in midair and the spell flashed past him, singing some fur.

The mid air twist to his leap took Greyback past Harry but the enormous wolf was close enough to turn his head and latch onto Harry's left shoulder with his jaws. Harry gave a shout of pain as he felt the wolf's teeth rip into his shoulder and he was pulled to the ground with a thump. Greyback snarled around his mouthful of robes and flesh and began dragging his prey towards the woods.

Pain lanced through Harry from his shoulder and he could dimly hear the shouts from the others as they realised what had happened to him. He beat at the wolf's snout with his fist and wand, trying desperately to get loose. Greyback flinched and briefly let go. It was not long enough for Harry to get free. It was only long enough for Greyback to bite at him again, getting a better grip on his shoulder.

Harry shouted again as Greyback's teeth bit deep into his shoulder and he pointed his wand at the wolf as best he could and gasped out, "Sectumsempra!"

A large gash suddenly opened on the Greyback's face and the wolf let go of Harry with a pained yelp. Harry rolled away then got to his knees, his left arm hanging uselessly from his injured left shoulder. He ignored the pain and blood and the potential implications of the wound and levelled his wand at the wolf again.

"Sectumsempra," he said grimly and watched as further gashes opened up along Greyback's flanks and blood started to flow.

The grey wolf snarled and seemed about to leap at Harry again when a slightly misaimed Stupefy exploded in front of his paws. The wolf glared malevolently at Harry then barked twice. The wolves howled and the pack swiftly disappeared into the woods.

Harry watched them go then he felt a wave of dizziness flood through him. He dropped his wand on the ground and grabbed at his shoulder, feeling the blood flowing through his fingers and pain blossomed at the contact. He dimly heard someone calling his name before he slowly collapsed on his right side and then all he knew was blackness.

He came around briefly when the pain as his shoulder was jostled lanced through him and he realised that he was being carried somewhere and that there were low voices talking around him. He moaned and tried to sit up.

"Lie still, Harry," came a voice; he was fairly sure it was Tonks. Her voice sounded strained and held a hint of panic. He felt her hand in his chest, holding him steady.

"The others," he gasped out as he relaxed back into the hands of those carrying him. He briefly wondered why they weren't using magic then the thought slipped away from him.

"Everyone's fine," Tonks said with a tiny quaver in her voice. "You're the only one who got hurt."

"The wolves," Harry asked, his vision swimming and starting to blacken again.

"Gone," Tonks replied. "The whole pack ran when Greyback ran."

Harry made an inarticulate moan that turned into a strangled scream as his shoulder was jostled again. As he faded out again, he heard Tonks swearing harshly at whoever the culprit had been then he knew nothing.