Precious Splendour

Well you better not see me when you come back.
I could be sharin' someone else's pillow.
And my love for you is better than diamonds,
To you, ev'rything, I bestow.
And tomorrow I'll be dancing on my own,
And I'll need a kiss for my head that's achin'.
And I'll be a hungry dog without a bone,
Hoping my place with you's not taken.
Kiss me and tell me it's not broken.
Kiss me and kiss me till I'm dead.
See, I'll give you the stars from the bruised ev 'nin' sky
And a crown of jewels for your head, now,
For your head, now, for your head, now, for your head
One last night in bed for a time,
And two more wishes. and both are for thine.
And three guesses you´re the angel's child,
And four hopes this love's not spoiled

-To You I Bestow, Mundy, Romeo& Juliet soundtrack I

Prologue: The Glass Still Whole

He was the first Weasley son to wed. True, he was hardly twenty, but Percy liked to have his whole life there in front of him, even if it meant marrying before he even learned how to live out on his own.

She needed a husband; someone to take care of her - - a person who she belonged to. Penelope had never belonged to anyone and thus had a sense that she served no purpose. The tiny girl of nineteen could have easily passed for a Muggle movie star with her delicate visage and radiantly innocent smile. She looked beautiful up there under the wedding canopy. She was Jewish - -something which was not too common in Magic England, but Percy had managed to adjust to it all the same.

Looking at his brother up there, Charlie gave a hint of a crooked towards his brother Bill, who merely gave him a nod and then a whisper of, "We always thought that you´d be the first of us to jump the stick."

Although the eldest of the six Weasley brothers, Bill had made a vow to remain a bachelor his entire life as he lived by the theory that marriage bereft people of their freedom. Thus, it was assumed that Charlie, who, to everyone´s knowledge had only had about three serious girlfriends his whole life, would surely be the first to get married.

The second born Weasley nodded towards his elder brother, but the usual sparkle seemed to be missing from those warm chocolate orbs of his as he looked down at his feet, looking as far away as he could from the young couple being blessed by the Rabbi.

Picking up on his brother´s disconnection with the event, Bill put a hand on Charlie´s shoulder, "I´m sure you´ll be next Charlie." he chuckled, "Percy just happened to find his right girl first. I´m sure that yours is out there."

Feigning a smile, Charlie dug his hands into his pockets, clasping onto a golden chain which had the Star of David dangling off of it. He never wore it, as he was not, by any means, Jewish. He just kept it in his pocket wherever he went. Before fighting a dragon or undergoing some other life threatening task, he would kiss the Star, muttering "I love you" as he did so. Charlie bit his lower lip, clenching the Star tighter in his fist. It had been over for almost four years, yet it still felt like it had just been ten minutes ago. His eyes fused with tears which he quickly blinked back, as he felt his stomach tie into a knot as his body burned in such internal pain that he thought as though his heart had been burnt with a fiery torch. Yet, he knew he could not shed a tear - - no one knew what was playing in his mind, what was tearing his heart apart, what was causing the Star of David to scorch his hand.

Then, with the Rabbi´s words of, "If anyone knows a reason as to why these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace"; it all came back to Charlie. The smile she always gave him, the love they made, the feel of her kisses upon his neck, the scent of her perfume as he held her delicate body in his muscular arms - - all the memories of an event that took place four years ago; an event which made Charlie Weasley realise that Fate was nothing but a fickle force.