Reception

Reception
By: YayCoffee

Harry had only ever seen pictures of weddings before--stiff, posed pictures on the mantel at Privet Drive of Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, whose static smiles were too much teeth and didn't fully reach their eyes. He'd watched clips of news footage from Princess Diana's wedding, all fan fare and glamour. Then there were the fluid photos of his parents' wedding from the book Hagrid had made him. His mother and father spun around on the dance floor, red-faced and laughing, clinging to each other as if there was no place on earth they would rather have been. Bill and Fleur Weasley's wedding had been the first he'd actually been to.

Harry had always loved the Burrow's garden in the summer. It became even more beautiful as the evening sun set in vibrant golds and reds. Now the trees were patches of black lace against a rich, purple sky.

Harry watched Ron, red faced from too much champagne, scowl as Fleur's cousin spun Hermione around on the dance floor.

"Would you look at where he's got his hands," Ron spat, stabbing a piece of cake with more force than was strictly necessary.

"They're on her waist, Ron," Harry said.

"Yeah," Ron said, as if that was his point, exactly. He chewed his bite forcefully and scowled some more.

"Well, Ron. You could always dance with her. Cut in. I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

Ron's face went from red to green in an instant. He choked on his bite, little flecks of icing shooting from the corners of his mouth. He swallowed hard and took a large gulp of the water Harry handed him.

"You...you think so?" Ron said, voice slightly wobbly.

"I do," Harry said. He clapped Ron on the shoulder, and with a deep breath, Ron stood up. He drained his glass of champagne in three large gulps before walking over to where Hermione was dancing. After a moment's hesitation, he prodded Fleur's cousin on the shoulder with two fingers. Harry saw the boy smile and incline his head slightly.

After a long, awkward moment, Ron brought a large, shaky hand to barely touch Hermione's waist. Grinning, she captured his other hand. Hermione said something that made Ron laugh, and from that point forward, the two only got closer together, their steps more in time.

Harry chuckled as Mundungus Fletcher spun Professor McGonagall madly, dipping her at every opportunity despite the slow pace of the music. Lupin and Tonks looked very content, talking softly as they moved with the music. Bill and Fleur could not keep their eyes off of each other or the grins off of their faces. Bill said something in Fleur's ear that made her toss her head back in delighted laughter. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley danced like they were actually one person; Mr. Weasley with his chin on the top of Mrs. Weasley's hair, where she had rested her head against his chest.

He didn't have to turn his head to know who had just taken the seat next to him. Even though he'd been very busy not watching Ginny all evening, he was still very aware of when she was near.

"Why are you sitting by yourself?" she asked.

"Well, because I just sent your brother off to finally ask Hermione to dance," Harry said, indicating Ron and Hermione with his hand.

Ginny tutted and shook her head. "It's about time. Mad, isn't it? People coming to a wedding and only sitting and not dancing." Now she was looking at him, one crimson eyebrow arched as the corner of her mouth twitched upward.

"Mm," was all Harry could say. He was crap at dancing.

"C'mon Harry, what do you say? Dance with me?" Ginny's voice was sweet and playful, and Harry did think that if he were to dance with anyone, he would love to dance with her.

"Ginny, I..." Harry's voice trailed off as he tried to escape her stare.

"Harry. I know you. You are not going to sit here all by yourself and watch everyone else have fun. You are going to get up and dance with me right now."

With a sigh, Harry said, "All right. Your toes are now warned."

"Mum keeps a bottle of Skele-Gro in the cupboard. I'm covered."

Harry shrugged and stood up. She grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor.

Her dress was the same champagne color as the other bridesmaids', but he didn't think any of them looked nearly as pretty in it. When she walked, the light played in the folds of her skirts, changing from yellow to silver to pink to gold.

On the floor, Ginny shifted her hand in his so that their palms were facing the correct way. She put a hand on his shoulder, and he put his free hand on her waist.

He didn't move his feet much at first. He really was afraid of stepping on her feet. He swallowed.

Her hair had been drawn up loosely, but several soft curls fell down to her freckled shoulders.

"Er..." Harry said. "You, er... You look really pretty."

Ginny blushed, sending color to her cheeks. She ducked her head a little before looking back up at him, smiling. "Thanks. You're pretty dashing yourself."

It was Harry's turn to blush. He still felt a little silly in dress robes. He adjusted his glasses and smiled at her anyway. She pulled closer to him and moved her hand from his shoulder to the nape of his neck, where small fingers lightly raked through his hair.

They made their way in lazy circles around the floor. At some point both of them had foregone traditional dancing posture for a loose embrace. Both of Harry's arms were around Ginny's waist, and she had interlaced her fingers behind his neck.

Harry sighed as Ginny put her head on her chest. He pulled her closer and smelled flowers when he rested his chin on her hair.

~Fin~