Ron looked a little uncomfortable and began playing with the Fanged Frisbee Hermione had taken from the fourth-year student. It zoomed around the common room, snarling and attempting to take bites of the tapestry. Crookshanks's yellow eyes followed it and he hissed when it came too close. An hour later they reluctantly left the sunlit common room for the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom four floors below. Hermione was already queuing outside, carrying an armful of heavy books and looking put-upon.
"We got so much homework for Runes," she said anxiously, when Harry and Ron joined her. "A fifteen-inch essay, two translations, and I've got to read these by Wednesday!"
"Shame," yawned Ron.
"I love how you just don't care Ron" Rory smiles at him.
"You wait," she said resentfully. "I bet Snape gives us loads." The classroom door opened as she spoke, and Snape stepped into the corridor, his sallow face framed as ever by two curtains of greasy black hair. Silence fell over the queue immediately.
"Oh look he finally got to teach Defence" Barty Crouch Jr laughs as Snape glares at him.
"Inside," he said.Harry looked around as they entered. Snape had imposed his personality upon the room already; it was gloomier than usual, as curtains had been drawn over the windows, and was lit by candlelight. New pictures adorned the walls, many of them showing people who appeared to be in pain, sporting grisly injuries or strangely contorted body parts. Nobody spoke as they settled down, looking around at the shadowy, gruesome pictures "I have not asked you to take out your books," Snape said, closing the door and moving to face the class from behind his desk. Hermione hastily dropped her copy of Confronting the Faceless back into her bag and stowed it under her chair. "I wish to speak to you, and I want your fullest attention."
"I'm so glad I didn't have to deal with him for defence" Rory says looking at George.
His black eyes roved over their upturned faces, lingering for a fraction of a second longer on Harry's than anyone else's.
"You have had five teachers in this subject so far, I believe."
"You're the reason the best one left you grease bat" Rory said glaring at Snape.
"Naturally, these teachers will all have had their own methods and priorities. Given this confusion I am surprised so many of you scraped an O.W.L. in this subject. I shall be even more surprised if all of you manage to keep up with the N.E.W.T. work, which will be much more advanced." Snape set off around the edge of the room, speaking now in a lower voice; the class craned their necks to keep him in view. "The Dark Arts," Snape said, "are many, varied, ever-changing, and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before. You are fighting that which is unfixed, mutating, indestructible. Your defences," Snape said, a little louder, "must therefore be as flexible and inventive as the arts you seek to undo. These pictures" he indicated a few of them as he swept past "give a fair representation of what happens to those who suffer, for instance, the Cruciatus Curse" he waved a hand toward a witch who was clearly shrieking in agony.
Rory looks at Charlie who wraps his arms around her tightly.
"feel the Dementor's Kiss" a wizard lying huddled and blank-eyed, slumped against a wall "or provoke the aggression of the Inferius" a bloody mass upon the ground.
"Has an Inferius been seen, then?" said Parvati Patil in a highpitched voice. "Is it definite, is he using them?"
"The Dark Lord has used Inferi in the past," Snape said, "which means you would be well advised to assume he might use them again. Now" He set off again around the other side of the classroom toward his desk, and again, they watched him as he walked, his dark robes billowing behind him. "you are, I believe, complete novices in the use of nonverbal spells. What is the advantage of a nonverbal spell?" Hermione's hand shot into the air. Snape took his time looking around at everybody else, making sure he had no choice, before saying curtly, "Very well Miss Granger?"
"Your adversary has no warning about what kind of magic you're about to perform," Hermione said, "which gives you a split-second advantage."
"An answer copied almost word for word from The Standard Bookof Spells, Grade Six," Snape said dismissively "but correct in essentials. Yes, those who progress to using magic without shouting incantations gain an element of surprise in their spell-casting. Not all wizards can do this, of course it is a question of concentration and mind power which some" his gaze lingered maliciously upon Harry once more "lack."
"Snivellous" James glares at him along with Sirius.
"You will now divide," Snape went on, "into pairs. One partner will attempt to jinx the other without speaking. The other will attempt to repel the jinx in equal silence. Carry on." Typically, ten minutes into the lesson Hermione managed to repel Neville's muttered Jelly-Legs Jinx without uttering a single word.
"Hasn't Rory been able to do non verbal magic since she was like 15" Regulus says looking at Rory.
"Yes she has" Hermione says refusing to look at Rory.
Snape swept between them as they practiced, looking just as much like an overgrown bat as ever, lingering to watch Harry and Ron struggling with the task. Ron, who was supposed to be jinxing Harry, was purple in the face, his lips tightly compressed to save himself from the temptation of muttering the incantation. Harry had his wand raised, waiting on tenterhooks to repel a jinx that seemed unlikely ever to come.
"Pathetic, Weasley," Snape said, after a while. "Here let me show you" He turned his wand on Harry so fast that Harry reacted instinctively; all thought of nonverbal spells forgotten, he yelled,
"Protego!" His Shield Charm was so strong Snape was knocked off-balance and hit a desk. The whole class had looked around and now watched as Snape righted himself, scowling.
"Go Mini Prongs" Sirius and James cheer.
"Do you remember me telling you we are practicing nonverbal spells, Potter?"
"Yes," Harry said stiffly.
"Yes, sir."
"There's no need to call me 'sir,' Professor."
"You're banned from Rory" Lily says trying not to laugh.
"Rude mother" Rory says smiling at Harry.
Several people gasped, including Hermione. Behind Snape, however, Ron, Dean, and Seamus grinned appreciatively.
"Detention, Saturday night, my office," Snape said. "I do not take cheek from anyone, Potter not even 'the Chosen One.' "
"That was brilliant, Harry!" chortled Ron, once they were safely on their way to break a short while later.
"You really shouldn't have said it," said Hermione, frowning at Ron. "What made you?"
"I'm actually proud of you for once Harold, not as boring as usual" Lily hits Rory on the back of the head making George laugh.
"He tried to jinx me, in case you didn't notice!" fumed Harry. "I had enough of that during those Occlumency lessons! Why doesn't he use another guinea pig for a change? What's Dumbledore playing at, anyway, letting him teach Defence? Did you hear him talking about the Dark Arts? He loves them! All that unfixed, indestructible stuff"
"Well," said Hermione, "I thought he sounded a bit like you."
"Like me?"Yes, when you were telling us what it's like to face Voldemort. You said it wasn't just memorizing a bunch of spells, you said it was just you and your brains and your guts - well, wasn't that what Snape was saying? That it really comes down to being brave and quick thinking?"
"Harry! Hey, Harry!" Harry looked around; Jack Sloper, one of the Beaters on last year's Gryffindor Quidditch team, was hurrying toward him holding a roll of parchment. "For you," panted Sloper. "Listen, I heard you're the new Captain. When're you holding trials?"
"I'm not sure yet," Harry said "I'll let you know."
"Oh, right. I was hoping it'd be this weekend -" But Harry was not listening; he had just recognized the thin, slanting writing on the parchment. Leaving Sloper in mid-sentence, he hurried away with Ron and Hermione, unrolling the parchment as he went.
Dear Harry,
I would like to start our private lessons this Saturday. Kindly come along to my office at 8 P.M. I hope you are enjoying your first day back at school.
Yours sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
P.S. I enjoy Acid Pops.
"He enjoys Acid Pops?" said Ron, who had read the message over Harry's shoulder and was looking perplexed.
"It's the password to get past the gargoyle outside his study," Harry said in a low voice. "Ha! Snape's not going to be pleased I won't be able to do his detention!"
"We never really went to his detentions" George says smirking at Rory.
Harry and Ron returned to the common room, where they grudgingly started Snape's homework. This turned out to be so complex that they still had not finished when Hermione joined them for their after-lunch free period. They had only just finished when the bell rang for the afternoon's double Potions and they beat the familiar path down to the dungeon classroom that had, for so long, been Snape's. When they arrived in the corridor they saw that there were only a dozen people progressing to N.E.W.T. level. Crabbe and Goyle had evidently failed to achieve the required O.W.L. grade, but four Slytherins had made it through, including Malfoy. Four Ravenclaws were there, and one Hufflepuff, Ernie Macmillan.
"Harry," Ernie said portentously, holding out his hand as Harry approached, "didn't get a chance to speak in Defence Against the Dark Arts this morning. Good lesson, I thought, but Shield Charms are old hat, of course, for us old D.A. lags . And how are you, Ron - Hermione?" Before they could say more than "fine," the dungeon door opened and Slughorn's belly preceded him out of the door. The dungeon was, most unusually, already full of vapours and odd smells. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sniffed interestedly as they passed large, bubbling cauldrons. The four Slytherins took a table together, as did the four Ravenclaws. This left Harry, Ron, and Hermione to share a table with Ernie.
"Now then, now then, now then," Slughorn said, whose massive outline was quivering through the many shimmering vapours. "Scales out, everyone, and potion kits, and don't forget your copies of Advanced Potion-Making"
"Sir?" Harry said, raising his hand.
"Harry, m'boy?"
"I haven't got a book or scales or anything - nor's Ron - we didn't realise we'd be able to do the N.E.W.T., you see -"
"Ah, yes, Professor McGonagall did mention not to worry, my dear boy, not to worry at all. You can use ingredients from the store cupboard today, and I'm sure we can lend you some scales, and we've got a small stock of old books here, they'll do until you can write to Flourish and Blotts"
"Why didn't you just come and ask me for my one before you went to the lesson" Rory asks looking at Harry.
"I forgot you did N.E.W.T level potions"
Slughorn strode over to a corner cupboard and, after a moment's foraging, emerged with two very battered-looking copies of Advanced Potion-Making by Libatius Borage, which he gave to Harry and Ron along with two sets of tarnished scales.
"Now then," Slughorn said, returning to the front of the class "I've prepared a few potions for you to have a look at, just out of interest, you know. These are the kind of thing you ought to be able to make after completing your N.E.W.T.s. You ought to have heard of 'em, even if you haven't made 'em yet. Anyone tell me what this one is?" He indicated the cauldron nearest the Slytherin table. Harry raised himself slightly in his seat and saw what looked like plain water boiling away inside it. Hermione's well-practiced hand hit the air before anybody else's.
"Of course she knows" One of the Ravenclaws says making his friends laugh slightly.
Slughorn pointed at her.
"It's Veritaserum, a colourless, odourless potion that forces the drinker to tell the truth," Hermione said.
"Very good, very good! Now," he continued, pointing at the cauldron nearest the Ravenclaw table, "this one here is pretty well known. Featured in a few Ministry leaflets lately too . Who can?" Hermione's hand was fastest once more.
"It's Polyjuice Potion, sir," she said.
George and Rory both look at each other and grimace remembering the taste along with some of the other time travellers.
"Excellent, excellent! Now, this one here yes, my dear?" Slughorn said, now looking slightly bemused, as Hermione's hand punched the air again.
"Do you ever just give someone else a chance" Barty Crouch Jr says looking at her.
"Not really" Ron says making Hermione glare at him.
"It's Amortentia!"
"It is indeed. It seems almost foolish to ask," Slughorn said, who was looking mightily impressed, "but I assume you know what it does?"
"It's the most powerful love potion in the world!" Hermione said.
Rory glares at George who smirks at her.
"Quite right! You recognised it, I suppose, by its distinctive mother-of-pearl sheen?"
"And the steam rising in characteristic spirals," Hermione said enthusiastically, "and it's supposed to smell differently to each of us, according to what attracts us, and I can smell freshly mown grass and new parchment and" But she turned slightly pink and did not complete the sentence.
"May I ask your name, my dear?" Slughorn said, ignoring Hermione's embarrassment.
"Hermione Granger, sir."
"Granger? Granger? Can you possibly be related to Hector Dagworth-Granger, who founded the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers?"
"No, I don't think so, sir. I'm Muggle-born, you see." Harry saw Malfoy lean close to Nott and whisper something; both of them sniggered, but Slughorn showed no dismay; on the contrary, he beamed and looked from Hermione to Harry, who was sitting next to her.
"Oho! 'One of my best friends is Muggle-born, and she's the best in our year!' I'm assuming this is the very friend of whom you spoke, Harry?"
"Yes, sir," Harry said.
"Well, well, take twenty well-earned points for Gryffindor, Miss Granger," Slughorn said genially. Hermione turned to Harry with a radiant expression and whispered,
"Did you really tell him I'm the best in the year? Oh, Harry!"
"Well, what's so impressive about that?" whispered Ron, who for some reason looked annoyed. "You are the best in the year - I'd've told him so if he'd asked me!"
"Is this just a year of jealousy"
Hermione smiled but made a "shhing" gesture, so that they could hear what Slughorn was saying. Ron looked slightly disgruntled.
"Amortentia doesn't really create love, of course. It is impossible to manufacture or imitate love. No, this will simply cause a powerful infatuation or obsession. It is probably the most dangerous and powerful potion in this room - oh yes," he said, nodding gravely at Malfoy and Nott, both of whom were smirking skeptically. "When you have seen as much of life as I have, you will not underestimate the power of obsessive love. And now, it is time for us to start work."
"Sir, you haven't told us what's in this one," Ernie Macmillan said, pointing at a small black cauldron standing on Slughorn's desk. The potion within was splashing about merrily; it was the colour of molten gold, and large drops were leaping like goldfish above the surface, though not a particle had spilled.
"Oho," Slughorn said again "Yes. That. Well, that one, ladies and gentlemen, is a most curious little potion called Felix Felicis. I take it," he turned, smiling, to look at Hermione, who had let out an audible gasp, "that you know what Felix Felicis does, Miss Granger?"
"Of course she knows" Snape sneers slightly at her.
"It's liquid luck," Hermione said excitedly. "It makes you lucky!" The whole class seemed to sit up a little straighten Now all Harry could see of Malfoy was the back of his sleek blond head, because he was at last giving Slughorn his full and undivided attention.
"Quite right, take another ten points for Gryffindor. Yes, it's a funny little potion, Felix Felicis," Slughorn said. "Desperately tricky to make, and disastrous to get wrong. However, if brewed correctly, as this has been, you will find that all your endeavours tend to succeed at least until the effects wear off."
"Why don't people drink it all the time, sir?" Terry Boot said eagerly.
"Because if taken in excess, it causes giddiness, recklessness, and dangerous overconfidence," Slughorn said. "Too much of a good thing, you know highly toxic in large quantities. But taken sparingly, and very occasionally"
"Have you ever taken it, sir?" asked Michael Corner with great interest.
"Twice in my life," Slughorn said. "Once when I was twenty four, once when I was fifty-seven. Two tablespoonfuls taken with breakfast. Two perfect days." He gazed dreamily into the distance. "And that," Slughorn said, apparently coming back to earth, "is what I shall be offering as a prize in this lesson." There was silence in which every bubble and gurgle of the surrounding potions seemed magnified tenfold. "One tiny bottle of Felix Felicis," Slughorn said, taking a minuscule glass bottle with a cork in it out of his pocket and showing it to them all. "Enough for twelve hours' luck. From dawn till dusk, you will be lucky in everything you attempt. Now, I must give you warning that Felix Felicis is a banned substance in organized competitions sporting events, for instance, examinations, or elections. So the winner is to use it on an ordinary day only and watch how that ordinary day becomes extraordinary! So," Slughorn said, suddenly brisk, "how are you to win my fabulous prize? Well, by turning to page ten of Advanced Potion Making. We have a little over an hour left to us, which should be time for you to make a decent attempt at the Draught of Living Death. I know it is more complex than anything you have attempted before, and I do not expect a perfect potion from anybody. The person who does best, however, will win little Felix here. Off you go!"
"Bet Granger wins it" The Slytherin next to Barty Crouch Jr says making him nod in agreement.
There was a scraping as everyone drew their cauldrons toward them and some loud clunks as people began adding weights to their scales, but nobody spoke. The concentration within the room was almost tangible. Harry bent swiftly over the tattered book Slughorn had lent him. To his annoyance he saw that the previous owner had scribbled all over the pages, so that the margins were as black as the printed portions. Bending low to decipher the ingredients even here, the previous owner had made annotations and crossed things out. Harry hurried off toward the store cupboard to find what he needed. As he dashed back to his cauldron, he saw Malfoy cutting up valerian roots as fast as he could.
Snape looks at the screen recognising the book.
Everyone kept glancing around at what the rest of the class was doing; this was both an advantage and a disadvantage of Potions, that it was hard to keep your work private. Within ten minutes, the whole place was full of bluish steam. Hermione, of course, seemed to have progressed furthest. Her potion already resembled the "smooth, black currant-coloured liquid" mentioned as the ideal halfway stage. Having finished chopping his roots, Harry bent low over his book again. It was really very irritating, having to try and decipher the directions under all the stupid scribbles of the previous owner, who for some reason had taken issue with the order to cut up the sopophorous bean and had written in the alternative instruction:
Crush with flat side of silver dagger, releases juice better than cutting.
"Sir, I think you knew my grandfather, Abraxas Malfoy?" Harry looked up; Slughorn was just passing the Slytherin table.
"Yes," Slughorn said, without looking at Malfoy, "I was sorry to hear he had died, although of course it wasn't unexpected, dragon pox at his age" And he walked away. Harry bent back over his cauldron, smirking. The sopophorous bean was proving very difficult to cut up. Harry turned to Hermione.
"Can I borrow your silver knife?" She nodded impatiently, not taking her eyes off her potion, which was still deep purple, though according to the book ought to be turning a light shade of lilac by now. Harry crushed his bean with the flat side of the dagger. To his astonishment, it immediately exuded so much juice he was amazed the shriveled bean could have held it all. Hastily scooping it all into the cauldron he saw, to his surprise, that the potion immediately turned exactly the shade of lilac described by the textbook. His annoyance with the previous owner vanishing on the spot, Harry now squinted at the next line of instructions. According to the book, he had to stir counterclockwise until the potion turned clear as water. According to the addition the previous owner had made, however, he ought to add a clockwise stir after every seventh counterclockwise stir. Harry stirred counterclockwise, held his breath, and stirred once clockwise. The effect was immediate. The potion turned palest pink.
"How are you doing that?" demanded Hermione, who was redfaced and whose hair was growing bushier and bushier in the fumes from her cauldron; her potion was still resolutely purple.
"Someones not happy at being beat" Gideon smirks.
"Add a clockwise stir"
"No, no, the book says counterclockwise!" she snapped. Harry shrugged and continued what he was doing. Seven stirs counterclockwise, one clockwise, pause seven stirs counterclockwise, one stir clockwise. Across the table, Ron was cursing fluently under his breath; his potion looked like liquid liquorice. Harry glanced around. As far as he could see, no one else's potion had turned as pale as his.
"And time's up!" called Slughorn. "Stop stirring, please!" Slughorn moved slowly among the tables, peering into cauldrons. He made no comment, but occasionally gave the potions a stir or a sniff. At last he reached the table where Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ernie were sitting. He smiled ruefully at the tarlike substance in Ron's cauldron. He passed over Ernie's navy concoction. Hermione's potion he gave an approving nod. Then he saw Harry's, and a look of incredulous delight spread over his face. "The clear winner!" he cried to the dungeon. "Excellent, excellent, Harry! Good lord, it's clear you've inherited your mother's talent. She was a dab hand at Potions, Lily was! Here you are, then, here you are - one bottle of Felix Felicis, as promised, and use it well!"
Lily blushes slightly at the mention of her.
Harry slipped the tiny bottle of golden liquid into his inner pocket.
"Granger doesn't look happy" The Slytherin from before said smirking at her.
It was currently Saturday and Rory was sat in the kitchen at the Burrows with Charlie and Mr and Mrs Weasley discussing wedding plans. The moment Charlie had told his mum the date she had gone into planning mode.
"We can do it here, put up protections wards and things" Mr Weasley suggested.
"That's a brilliant idea Arthur. We'll need to make sure the tents are heated throughout" Rory zoned out slightly whilst they discussed where to hold the wedding. "Right Rory colour scheme"
"Aww I love how not into planning your own wedding you are Rory"
"Shut it George, Charlie wasn't anymore into it either"
"Maybe navy blue"
"Oh yes that'll be brilliant, navy blue and white with red roses" She started writing things down as they went "Okay so bridesmaids"
"See this is why we let Mama bear deal with most of it, she's brilliant at it" Rory says smiling at Molly.
"We're thinking Ginny obviously, Tonks, Angelina and Hermione" Mrs Weasley writes this down.
"Okay groomsmen?" She turns to Charlie.
"Fred, George, Ron and Harry" Charlie answers her.
"What about Bill" Mrs Weasley questions.
"I want to ask him to be my best man" Mrs Weasley smiles at her son.
"Right okay who's going to walk you down the isle Rory"
"I was going to ask Moony"
"Me" Remus looks surprised as James and Sirius smile at him.
"Right" Mrs Weasley says writing it all down "Bridesmaid dress colour"
"Navy blue"
"Right and any thoughts on groomsmen suits"
"We were thinking grey for Ron, Harry, Fred and George and then black for me, Bill and Remus" Charlie answers her. She nods writing it down.
"Right Wedding dress shopping"
"Err maybe in a couple of weeks, I'll speak to Dumbledore about getting the others out of school so we can do bridesmaids and Charlie can do suits all at the same time"
"Right so say the first weekend of October"
"Works for us" Charlie says to his mother.
"Right guests"
"We don't want too many, only close family, friends and order members" Charlie says as Mrs Weasley nods. Rory glanced at the time.
"I've got to go somewhere quick I asked Moony to meet me"
"You left them to do the planning" Marlene smirks at her.
"She did" Charlie shakes his head at Rory.
"Love you Charlie" Rory smirks.
"Alright dear we'll see you in a bit we can definitely make a start with the information we've got"
"Bye baby" Charlie gives her a quick kiss before she apparates to a small cafe in London to wait for Remus. She grabs 2 cups of tea as he walks in.
"Hey Moony" She greets him as he sits down, she hands him one of the teas.
"Thanks Wolf so what did you need to see me about"
"I want to ask you something"
"What's up"
"I bet I know what she's asking him" Marlene says watching the screen excitedly.
"We've set a date 20th December so it'll be a week after the full moon. I want you to be the one to walk me down the isle"
"Me?"
"Yes you Moony, you're my godfather and I want you to do it"
"I'd love to Wolf"
"Thank you"
"You don't need to thank me, I'm honoured to do it"
"We're also paying for your suit"
"No way"
"Yes Moony, we're paying for your suit as well as all the Weasleys and Harry's"
"Wolf"
"Don't try and argue with me Moony, I could win an argument against Pad's so you stand no chance" She smiles at him as he rolls his eyes but drops it anyway.
"She actually could" Harry says making James smirk at Sirius.
Rory apparates back to the burrow to find Charlie outside.
"Hey" He pulls her to him, kissing her.
"Wedding planning is so much harder than I thought. Mum has all these ideas and I don't know what's what"
"You wanted to get married in December Charlie just remember that"
"And that hasn't changed, even with all the boring planning I can't wait to call you my wife"
Around lunch on the Monday Rory goes to find Ginny after sending her a note to meet her outside the hospital wing.
"Ginevra Weasley"
"Do you have to call me that"
"Nah just felt like being annoying before I ask you something very important"
A few people laugh at the two.
"What's up"
"Will you be one of my bridesmaids"
"Hell yes I will, Fleur isn't one is she"
"I like how you felt the need to ask that Gin" Rory says smiling at Ginny.
"No"
"Good, yay I'm going to be a bridesmaid"
Rory finds Charlie asleep on the sofa when she arrives home. She walks over to him and places a kiss on his cheek.
"You two are so cute" Alice says as her and Marlene smile at the screen.
"Hey Nova" He says sleepily as he opens his eyes.
"Long day?" She asks as he pulls her into his lap.
"Yeah, one of the dragons got loose"
"That sucks"
"Yep how was your day"
"Quiet, I've officially got all my bridesmaids now. Just you left to ask your brothers and Harry"
"I'll send Ron and Harry a letter and I'll go see the others at some point on the weekend" Rory snuggles into him as they both fall asleep on the sofa.
"Ready to see Rory hiding" Charlie smirks.
Yet another weekend of wedding planning and Charlie had to work so Rory was stuck dealing with Mrs Weasley and Fleur alone. She was currently hiding in Charlie and Bill's old room to get a break.
"Rory" She jumped at the sound of her name.
"Shit" Bill laughs.
"What you doing"
"Hiding" He walks over to sit next to me.
"At least she admitted it" George smiles at her.
"I wasn't hiding from you Mama bear it was more Fleur, she didn't like any of our choices"
"Why"
"Because I hate wedding planning it's so much and it's not me. I'm not even slightly excited about planning a wedding"
"Are you excited to marry Charlie?"
"Yes I'd marry him right now if I could. I just don't know what's wrong with me, I thought every girl dreamed of planning their wedding, that's just not who I am"
"Nothings wrong with you Rory, you're just not one of those girls and Charlie loves you the way you are"
"You're perfect for me" Charlie whispers to Rory before kissing her on the cheek.
"Love you" She whispers back.
"I'm getting so overwhelmed with it all, I feel like I shouldn't of agreed to a December wedding"
"You agreed because you want to marry Charlie as soon as possible, that's why you did it"
"Thanks Pillock"
"What for"
"Making me feel better"
"Well you are basically my sister so I'm just doing my job" She pushes him slightly as he laughs "Come on let's go do this together, I'll be your human buffer"
"Thank you" They head back down to the kitchen together.
"You alright Rory" Mrs Weasley asks as Rory walks in with Bill.
"Yeah, sorry got a bit overwhelmed" She hugs Rory as Bill goes to sit with Fleur.
"That's completely normal, come on we'll try and tone it down a bit"
"Thanks Mama Bear"
"Right we've sorted the guest list, just need you and Charlie to go over it and make sure we got everyone" Dress shopping wasn't any less stressful, Fleur decided to tag along as well.
"Ready to see Fleur stress Rory out more" Ginny says sending Rory a small smile.
"Are you sure about zee blue" Rory sent Angelina then Ginny a look before answering her.
"Yeah" Fleur looked ready to say something else but Mrs Weasley beat her to it.
"I think the colour scheme is perfect"
"Rory I think I've found the perfect dresses" Ginny calls from one of the rails, she walks over to see what she'd found.
"I love it, just need you all to try it to be sure" All of the bridesmaids looked perfect in the dress much to Fleurs disagreement on the colour being too dark.
Rory heads back to the Burrow with Fleur and Mrs Weasley after they drop Ginny and Hermione back at school. Bill and Charlie are sat at the kitchen table with the twins, it doesn't look like they've been back very long.
"Hello boy's" Mrs Weasley greets her sons as they walk in.
"Rory" The twins both sandwich her between them as they hug her "We haven't seen you in weeks"
"Sorry, been a bit busy" They let her go as she walks over to Charlie.
"Did you manage to find all the dresses" Charlie asks as Rory sits down next to him.
"Yeah"
"And she looks beautiful in 'ers" Fleur says smiling.
"The only thing she approved of" Ginny says rolling her eyes.