Snapshots of a Wedding

SNAPSHOTS OF A WEDDING

"Anyone can give up; it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fall apart, that's true strength."

--Anonymous

[...After All Is Said and Done...]

10:28 P.M.

Ginny looked at the clock, a slight smile on her face, and contemplated the fact that a little over an hour was left before she would become Mrs. Harry James Potter. The thought stirred butterflies in her stomach and she exhaled deeply, feeling a rush of excitement, anxiety and restlessness all at the same time. She closed her eyes and took a few more deep breaths before opening them again.

She was sitting in front of the vanity mirror, a look of complete relaxation on her face. She had just finished magiking a hairstyle that involved a lot of long, tight curls that bounced with even the slightest head motion. Her makeup was done, consisting of a light base, eyeliner, a dab of light blue eye-shadow, and a casual, glossy lip. She was never one for elaborate makeup and, therefore, a fresh, natural look suited her best.

She placed her wand onto the counter and turned to survey the room. Her bouquet of flowers was lying on the edge of the bed closest to her and her magnificent dress was hanging on the closet door. The thought of walking down the aisle in that dress, walking towards the man she loved, came rushing to her mind.

"Aw, your hair looks so beautiful!"

The sound of a door closing followed the voice and Ginny spun towards it to see both Luna and Hermione already dressed in their bridesmaid's gowns. Luna had done a perfect job in changing the color from the horrible pink to the perfect shade of blue that Ginny had wanted in the first place. Both of them had their hair pinned back with an elegant silver clip that was adorned with dark blue flowers to match the sash of the dress.

"You two look amazing," Ginny said, standing up, "just like I imagined."

Hermione smiled. "Well we all knew you have good taste. Why aren't you dressed yet anyway? We're supposed to be downstairs by at least 10:40."

Ginny nodded. "I know I was just taking it all in."

"Not getting cold feet are you?" Luna asked, fixing a patch of hair that was not secured in her silver hair-clip.

"No," Ginny said, "far from it. I just was savoring the moment. I want to remember everything about today. All the emotions, the excitement, the anxiety -"

"The anger, the resentment, the tears," Luna added, counting on her fingers as she said each word. She looked at Ginny and laughed before saying, "You have had possibly the most exciting wedding day ever, Ginny."

Ginny couldn't help but smile. Today was indeed...eventful, for want of a better word. All of her plans had begun to fall apart at the seams and she had come unbearably close to losing Harry altogether. But now, everything was back in order and she was just a few steps away from marrying Harry.

"Come on," Hermione started, shaking Ginny from her thoughts, "let's get you dressed."

Luna removed the dress from the door of the closet and walked over to Ginny. After a few moments of fastening, buttoning and adjusting, Ginny was finally dressed in her delicate wedding gown. The bodice was made of white satin except for the area around the breast, which was pure organza lined with silver-floral embroidery. The full, ball-gown-sized skirt was also organza embellished with silver-floral accents. Once adorned with her organza veil, Ginny turned towards Hermione and Luna who both wore expressions of complete satisfaction.

"Perfect!" Hermione exclaimed, flattening the veil more as she did so.

Just then, the door to the room opened and closed again, revealing Molly Weasley and Lily Potter. Both women looked stunning; although they were dressed in regular, formal wizarding robes, they seemed to sparkle and shine with a radiance that could only emanate from mothers of the bride and groom.

"You look absolutely stunning." Molly walked over to her daughter. "Reminds me of how I looked on my wedding day." Ginny smiled and Molly looked at her. "I'm so sorry about trying to prevent this day from happening, Ginny."

"It's alright mum," Ginny said, touching Molly's shoulder. "That's behind us now."

Molly nodded but the tears swelled anyway. "I know you and Harry will be very happy dear."

"As do I," Lily added, moving to stand next to Hermione. "He loves you whole-heartedly and I know now that will never change."

Ginny smiled at Lily and then hugged her mother who was sobbing into a handkerchief. She knew that tears were going to accompany many people at this wedding and was prepared for it, hoping that she herself would not break down and cry. In any event, as she continued to hug her mother, the tears threatened to fall and she closed her eyes, inwardly wondering if Harry was feeling as overwhelmed as she was.

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Harry exhaled deeply, over and over again and kept his eyes focused on one particular crack in a tile on Ron's floor. He was trying desperately not to think about the wedding or it would cause a wave of nervousness and anxiety that he was not at all comfortable with dealing at the moment. Instead, he chose to focus on the story of how the crack got there as a distraction.

He and Ron had been wrestling Fred and George after a cruel trick was played on them that involved a gnome and some badly concocted potion. Somehow, during their grapple they had overturned the breakfast trays Mrs. Weasley had brought in earlier that morning and knocked over one of Ron's night tables, cracking the tile on impact. Luckily, Mrs. Weasley was not home at the time and therefore, the one person who came rushing into the room was Ginny.

Unfortunately, the thought of that day brought the thought of Ginny to Harry's mind and his stomach seemed to double in the amount of butterflies and his heart began to beat faster. He was so nervous yet excited at the same time and his current state of restlessness was proof positive that those two emotions were not a good combination.

"Harry, are you alright?"

Harry looked up at Ron who had been busy adjusting his tie and was now staring at him, a look of concern in his face. Neville was right behind him, along with Sirius, James, and Remus, all fully dressed and looking at Harry with an apprehensive gaze.

Harry shook his head and managed to say, "I feel like I'm going to throw up."

James smiled and shook his head. "You'll be fine, son. It's just nerves."

"Yeah, you would know all about that," Sirius commented, looking at James. "You actually did throw up an hour before your wedding."

"Oh, I remember that," Remus said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "You thought it was some kind of bad omen and practically went mental."

"Remember how he almost strangled one of his cousins?" Sirius said, bursting with laughter.

"Ah yes," Remus said, his mouth curving into a grin. "James nearly killed him because he kept walking up and down the aisle even though the wedding hadn't started yet."

"I thought we were discussing Harry, not me."

James looked at his two best friends who were busy keeling over from laughter. He shook his head and turned back to Harry but he, Ron and Neville were also laughing, though not as boisterously.

"Nerves are normal for anyone who's getting married to experience," James said, over the laughter and surprisingly it died down.

"We know, James," Sirius said, wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes. "But it doesn't mean that we still can't enjoy the humor of it years later."

James, although he kept glaring at Sirius, said to Harry, "You'll be fine son. Just try and relax."

Harry nodded and felt himself immediately begin to calm down. They were all know listening to tales of James and Lily's wedding day and it wasn't until Fred and George came into the room did the reality of the day come flooding back.

"The priest is here, Harry," Fred said, walking inside the room. "He says he needs to go over a few things with you before the wedding starts."

"And you better hurry because it's almost time for the wedding to start."

Harry nodded and made one last adjustment to his tie before exiting the room, followed by Ron, Neville, Sirius, Remus and James. Before they descended the landing, Ron took hold of Harry's arm, causing him to stop.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"I just wanted to apologize again for, you know, punching you." Ron released Harry's arm and put his hands in his pockets. "I was just upset about everything and Ginny's my sister so-"

"I completely understand, Ron," Harry interrupted. "I probably would have done the same thing had it been my sister." He paused and then added with a small smile, "You know, if I had a sister in the first place."

Ron laughed and nodded and the two finally descended the stairs behind everyone else. Just before Harry took the last step, he looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it read 10:42 P.M. Only eighteen minutes left until the ceremony started. All other thoughts escaped his mind at that moment. His one and only concern was marrying Ginny and in a short while, it would become reality.

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Coming up... [...When I Said I Do...]