ghost stories - h. potter

Epilogue

Mr and Mrs Weasley were seated right at the front, right next to Collette. There was an empty space next to Collette, dedicated to Belle's father, who wasn't with them. Another seven seats beside those were completely empty, dedicated to the closest friends and family that both Belle and Harry had, who were there, but could only be seen by Belle. Her mouth turned up in a smile as her eyes fell upon Lily and James Potter, who were both teary-eyed and beaming at her and Harry. Next to them sat Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Lupin-Tonks. Sirius and Tonks were both already crying into each other's shoulders, while a kind smile was plastered on Remus' face.

Cedric Diggory and Fred Weasley occupied the last two cheers, wide grins on their faces as they caught Belle's eyes. Fred, unable to stop it from happening, teared up the moment Belle made eye-contact with him and Cedric patted him on the back gently, chuckling gently.

"Hey," Harry whispered gently as the wizard started talking and Belle turned back to face him, a content smile on her face.

"Are they here?" He asked and she nodded quietly.

"All of them." Harry's lips turned up in a smile as his eyes roamed over her face.

"You look beautiful," he added and even then, years after that one, special trip back from Hogsmeade, he still managed to make Belle blush with his words.

"So do you," Belle replied, pressing her lips together in another smile as his own widened, holding back a small laugh.

The ceremonial part of the wedding passed fairly quickly, with Harry and Belle unable to take their eyes off each other the whole time. Their vows were short, sweet and straight to the point and by the time they had both said their 'I do's', half the guests had glassy eyes and were sobbing quietly. Hagrid, at that point, was positively bawling.

"... then I declare you bonded for life." Belle watched as the tufty-haired wizard who had married her and Harry, raised his wand over their heads and sent a shower of silver stars falling down on them and around their intertwined hands. Harry, unable to help himself, leaned forward and captured Belle's lips with his own, a soft, gentle movement that earned applause and a few wolf-whistles from some of their friends. The two broke away and Belle's eyes fluttered open, taking in Harry's bright, green eyes that stared right back at her.

Belle disappeared after that and changed hurriedly into a beautiful, dark-blue jumpsuit and a pair of black, strappy high-heels that allowed her to move comfortably with ease. When she rejoined the celebrations, she was congratulated left and right by her friends and family. When her mother flung her arms around her neck, Belle almost toppled over. Harry, however, was there to catch her to stop her from doing so and he laughed gently as he patted Collette on the back.

"Don't worry, Mrs Praevideat," Harry said as she pulled away from Belle and threw her arms around his neck, too.

"I'll take good care of her."

"You'd better," she threatened, tears running down her face.

"Oh, I'm a mess. I can't believe it - my baby girl!"

"Come on, Mum, let's go get you cleaned up." Clarice, who had spotted the two with the sobbing Collette, gently lead her away, giving the pair a few moments to themselves before they would join each other for their very first dance as a married couple.

"So, Mrs Potter," Harry started, the corners of his mouth rising upwards as Belle turned towards him, beaming.

"Mr Potter," she replied and Harry chuckled, his hands falling to her waist.

"Are you happy?" He asked and in reply, Belle leaned forward to kiss him once more, right before they were tugged onto the dance floor by George and Ginny.