Pictures of the dresses are in the multimedia.
The next two weeks went by extremely quickly to everyone. Dudley could have sworn that it had only been a couple of days since he received the first letter, but it was almost a month ago that it came. One month. It wasn't a long time but it felt like a long time. He had learned so much about Harry in the last month that it kind of felt like he had really known him for years. When he tried to explain this to Felicity she had simply stated that he had known Harry for sixteen years of his life. She quietened down however when Dudley explained what he really meant. Of course she didn't say it to be harsh; she just said it because she was trying to understand her fiancé's mind in its frazzled state.
Dudley had met up with Harry twice since the first time. It was still almost just as awkward every time for a good few minutes but as soon as the two cousins began talking, the tension disappeared. It was getting less prominent each time and none of them failed to notice this. It unnerved them a little but for different reasons. Dudley still pretty much had Devils and angels on either shoulder. On one side his brain was making him think that it was still ridiculous but the opposite side was telling him to not give up. He was glad he listened more to the latter.
It was difficult for him. He was willingly subjecting himself to a whole other part of the world that is hidden to the majority of people. When the cousins weren't meeting up they were still communicating through letters as often as they could. Well, actually they communicated as often as the owl could carry the others reply to something. The last time they had met up Harry confirmed that himself and Ginny lived in a small town about a three-hour drive away. Dudley figured it would take the domesticated wild animal a while to fly between their respective homes.
Dudley was currently lying on the Super King sized bed that he and Felicity shared. This was something he had put his foot down on despite Felicity's embarrassment as to why. She had a dreadful habit of stealing the covers and constantly fidgeting throughout the night and it drove Dudley insane. So they paid a rather large sum of money that was in the four-digit region that suited them both. The short blonde was currently curled up into his front, her face tucked underneath his chin. Her hair tickled him but he didn't say anything because he knew she was comfortable.
She wasn't exactly sleeping, but she wasn't fully awake either. After a few minutes he carefully slid out of the large bed so as not to disturb the woman he loved from her half asleep state. He had set his alarm ten minutes earlier to try and make her day better. He had to go into work today and his shift was going to be at least eleven hours long. He wasn't going to complain however because he knows people who would jump at the chance to work that amount of time because they usually had to work longer. It was a perk being his own boss, deciding when he could and couldn't go in to the busy centre of London to sit in a cold office all day.
Felicity had a bit more to do today though. Today was her dress fitting and much to Dudley's annoyance she was refusing to let him see the two dresses she was struggling to choose from. Yes, it was tradition but it still annoyed him. By the time he had walked into their large kitchen he was wide awake. He figured he may as well do something nice for her whilst she was completely oblivious two floors up. Knowing that she loved unhealthy food, he got out some bacon, sausages, eggs and bread. He mixed the eggs with a little milk, cinnamon, onions and pepper before coating the bread in the mix and transferring it to the frying pan. French toast. It was her favourite breakfast food.
He wouldn't lie by saying that the cinnamon part grossed him out when he first heard her say that, but he had changed his mind almost instantly when he first tasted it. Once six slices had been cooked, he fried the sausages until they were sizzling lightly whilst doing the bacon in another pan until it was almost solid as she preferred it crunchy and slightly burnt. He smiled lightly to himself at hearing soft footfalls on the stairs which told him she had decided to get out of the warm and comfy bed. Almost instantly her eyes landed on the plate of food that lay on the dining table and a couple of seconds later she was digging in to the very unhealthy meal.
Dudley chuckled to himself whilst finally sliding on three slices of the French toast onto his own plate before sitting across from her to eat. Felicity's love of food was what really attracted Dudley to her, even though he would never say it out loud as she was rather self-conscious. No matter how many times he would tell her that her figure looked great, he would find her ten minutes later looking at the front cover of a magazine with a super skinny celebrity on the front. He couldn't understand why she was so self-conscious over her body because she was a small person but whenever he pestered her about it she would simply reply that it was a girl thing. When it came to that he would change the topic instantly.
By the time he had finished she had only just finished her toast and still had the meat to eat. Dudley glanced at the clock in the corner of the room before standing up and leaning down to gently kiss her forehead; causing the slightly younger woman to blush furiously. He pinched her shoulder lightly which caused her to jokingly glare at him. Neither of them needed to say anything because Felicity knew he done that simply because she was being stubborn over not letting him see the dress she would choose. Her fitting was in a little over three hours anyway so it gave her plenty of time to prepare. Soon after, Dudley left, leaving Felicity by herself at the island that doubled as a dining table.
It was a big day for her, and the fact she was so scared worried her slightly. If she was so scared to look at the two dresses that she couldn't decide between, how would she cope when it actually came to the day that she would be walking down the aisle with her dad's arm looped around her protectively towards Dudley? She shook her head lightly because it wasn't for another few months as she had been dead set on a spring date. She said that she would prefer the summer to herself and also so she would not melt when it came to their honeymoon a couple of days after the wedding date. They were going to Fiji. They decided on a tropical location and after hours of scouring travel guides, the pair decided on the small island.
She quickly finished her food before rushing upstairs to get ready as she was to be meeting Ginny in a little over an hour. Felicity tore apart her wardrobe before deciding on a baby pink top with the sleeves coming to just a little past her elbows and pale blue jeans. She didn't want to dress up but she also didn't want to look like she was homeless either. She grabbed her brush and began untangling her almost hip length ash-blonde hair. Once all the knots had been removed she huffed in annoyance though as like almost every other day her waves had turned into a giant ball of frizz. Once she realised there was no way that she was getting it to cooperate with it down, she pulled the top layer into a messy waterfall braid before applying minimal makeup. She wasn't into the same style as a lot of people were now, preferring the much more casual approach to anything else.
She grabbed her bag that she always had hung on the back of the door and slipped on some brown ankle boots before making her way outside into the cool autumn air. It was her favourite season of all because the rich reds, oranges, purples, yellows and every other colour that emerged on the plants fascinated her. She always thought that warm colours were a lot more attractive than bright colours. Then again, it was all she had ever known really as she was born and raised in a tiny village. She was scared when she moved to London because she had no idea if she would be able to integrate into the capital city well. Surprisingly though, she fit right in. She smiled lightly to herself as she probably wouldn't have made the move if it weren't for Dudley. He had helped her get used to the city life in return of her showing him the way of village life. It worked out for both of them because they in a sense got the best of both worlds. They lived close to the city, but the quiet suburban area reminded her greatly of the place she grew up.
It wasn't long until she was stood outside the restaurant in which she was meeting Ginny. She didn't even know what the girl looked like, only that she had flaming ginger hair and she had a fiery temper. Felicity was a bit scared in case she got on her bad side because Dudley had told her the embarrassing tale of what her older brothers had done to him a few years before with what seemed like a harmless toffee. She checked the time on her rose gold watch that her mum had purchased her for her twenty-first birthday to make sure she wasn't running late. She nodded lightly to herself at seeing she still had five minutes until Ginny was due to appear. She didn't really know what to expect from her as Ginny was a witch and she was a muggle. How would two completely different backgrounds find common ground?
Never mind that, how would she be able to get to know someone who had only ever known her fiancé as a bully? Felicity couldn't lie by saying that it did disgust her in a sense, but the man she fell in love with was not like that anymore. Even when they were still struggling to make ends meet, Dudley still went out of his way to spoil her on occasion. Whether that be through dates or the odd little gift and it only ever made her heart grow fonder. She never knew him as other people did because she knew that Dudley would have never done any of the things he has done to win her over had he not changed.
//
The frost was beginning to coat the medieval style cobbled street that she knew so well. A mix of a pale brown, brick red and grey stones packed together so tightly that the street looked like a never ending pattern. Small shops lining the road and a very light wave of snow falling from the pale grey storm clouds. Felicity enjoyed this. She enjoyed roaming around and admiring the beauty of her home village as often as she could. It was a common fact that the majority of people tended to emigrate to large towns and cities but for some reason she couldn't see the appeal of extremely busy streets.
Here she could hear the barely audible whistle of the wind blowing through her elbow length ash-blonde hair which she had tied with a thick black bandana. A lot of people looked at her weird for wearing the fashion accessory but it was the only way she could stand her hair as it was always getting in her face. Her pale grey eyes staring out over the fields from the bench she was sitting on at the top of a hill just a tiny bit outside of the city. The quaint houses all slightly different from the rest but all holding a similar architectural style.
Her community was small and she loved that. There was very rarely anyone who moved here and she wondered why. Then again, she had never lived in even a small town so she didn't know any different and couldn't judge. It was something about her; she never judges something from the outside. From her spot the village she lives in looks rather boring and like nothing ever happens. This was not the case though. There were yearly festivals within the tiny community and people within a twenty-mile radius usually came to enjoy another side of life. In a way she could relate this view to people. Someone who may seem really terrifying may actually be incredibly sweet. Someone who looks quiet could be very loud. This was why she tried not to judge a person before really knowing them.
She smiled lightly to herself as she remembered a few hours ago, a certain boy in her mind. He looked to be around her age and he had messy dark brown hair which was almost black. He was also rather overweight but for her perception of people she wasn't going to care. She had never seen him around before which was why she had sat in the booth across from him and started up a conversation. A smile broke out on her face whilst she shook her head a little bit at remembering the startled noise he made when he first noticed her as he was very engrossed in whatever was in the daily newspaper.
Felicity swung her legs a little as they didn't quite touch the ground as she was short, but appearances weren't always what they seem. She was a very strong girl and she had won numerous competitions for years in her home. Her parents had paid all of her karate lessons and it paid off well as she had three dar's on her black belt which was quite an achievement for a seventeen-year-old. It wasn't long until she heard footsteps behind her which told her Dudley had managed to find the location she described to him just before she left. Since she had already figured out that he was new here, she had offered him a small tour of the place. He had awkwardly agreed because he didn't know anyone and it looked as though he wasn't sure about her. She knew why though because it can be dodgy to speak to a complete stranger but if you don't do that at times how are you supposed to meet new people?
For two hours she walked him around and the pair talked about anything and everything. It shocked her because she almost never managed to talk for a long time as she had a shy personality around people she had only just met. There was something about him though; she just had no idea what.
//
Felicity looked around her to take in the décor of the place in which Dudley had taken her. They had spoken almost daily for two months and somehow they still didn't manage to stop talking. She was glad he had moved but she did skirt around how much he refused to speak about what happened which caused the move. When she did ask he simply stated 'family problems'. She figured that it was hard on him and he wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to talk about it but she was beginning to get a bit more nervous in case he was hiding something horrible from her.
She already knew about his bullying past but it didn't put her off. She never knew him then so she couldn't judge him and he was extremely kind to her and offered to help the locals often. She did find it funny that he struggled with the accent and the strange names of places. The language and accent was mixed because of the location of the village. Directly on the western border of England and the South East of Wales. Felicity was happy that she had been one of the luckier ones who ended up with a straight up Welsh accent as opposed to a mix because it was difficult to understand. People always complimented her by saying that she sounded as if she was singing when she spoke and she always took it as a compliment as she knew it was unique.
Dudley was sitting across from her and he was looking down a bit awkwardly. She had once again asked him what happened. She was happy he had moved here because as each and every day passed she had noticed her heartbeat momentarily halting before speeding up whenever she heard his voice, she was beginning to feel her blood rush to her cheeks just thinking of him. She had fallen for him but he did not know of her feelings. She did not want to be turned down or make it awkward between them as he was her closest friend.
He was looking at her in thought, trying to decide whether to tell her everything or tell her only a little. Dudley had wanted to tell her for quite some time but he didn't want to sound like he was insane. After an awkward few moments he simply stated;
"If you really want to know what happened, well, it is something going on with my cousin."
Her eyebrows shot up now as this was the first time she had heard of said cousin. He didn't really speak about his family other than his parents and Felicity knew right then that Dudley was going to tell her. Her stomach dropped in amazement though as the word 'wizard' left his thin lips and she had a rough idea of where the conversation was going. Her mum was a squib. In other words, her grandparents on her mother's side were a witch and wizard, but her mum had been born with no magical powers. Felicity listened intently as he spoke about everything.
Dudley didn't know what to expect about telling her about his upbringing. He was expecting her to walk out in disgust at the way he had treated Harry for the majority of his life. He scanned her stormy grey eyes in search for something that would tell him that she was disgusted by his behaviour. He found none however. Felicity wasn't shocked and he asked her why. He understood why she wasn't shocked when she told him about her mum and his nerves almost disappeared. Although his nerves for something else were coming back and he felt inside his coat which held a single red rose underneath hidden from Felicity's sight. He was planning on asking her on a date today, and his stomach was doing numerous flips. He never thought he would fall for someone genuinely. He always assumed he would just be one of those boys who jumped from woman to woman but Dudley couldn't deny that he had pictured Felicity wearing a white gown even though they aren't even dating.
He took almost an hour to tell her everything and her face was a mix of conflicting emotions but disgust was not one of them. Simply from the way he spoke she could tell he was trying to become a better person and learn from his mistakes. Felicity wanted to help him too. The pair ordered some food and Felicity had to hide her face in embarrassment at what their lunches were. Dudley had gotten a chicken Caesar salad and a smoothie that contained raspberries, mangoes and banana in it. She on the other hand though had a bowl of cheesy nachos with extra hot salsa. Dudley seemed to pick up on it and he told her she was beautiful and perfect.
This had caused her to blush profusely as the words sank in. It was now that Dudley decided to seize his chance. He reached over the table and took her small hand in his, gently running his thumb over her knuckles. She looked down confused at their intertwined hands before lifting her head to look at him in the eyes. Dudley gently licked his lips before asking something which was inaudible as he had said it so quietly. She asked him what but her face whitened when he reached into his coat and pulled out a single red rose, the petals all sitting perfectly and the thorns from the stem had all been removed. She reached over with her free hand and took the delicate flower from his hand. She admired it a little bit before looking at him again lost for words.
"Will you go on a date with me Felicity Marie Jones?"
//
She didn't have much time to think though as she heard what sounded like a Christmas cracker being snapped and it caught her attention. She looked down the street but didn't see anything that strange. She frowned a little but it wasn't long until she felt a timid tap on her shoulder from behind. Felicity span around in fright and subconsciously formed her small hand into a fist but she retracted it as soon as she realised that this must be Ginny. The small girl's eyes widened as she took in the girl's bright orange shade of hair, Dudley certainly wasn't lying by saying her hair was flaming. The multiple shades of red and orange blended seamlessly together to look like her head was literally on fire every time the sun caught it. She had quite a defined face and Felicity did feel a little insecure standing next to her which wasn't really helping.
"Are you Felicity?"
She nodded and held her hand out which Ginny shook warily. It was enough to calm her nerves as the other woman standing in front of her was obviously just as nervous as herself. They both walked in to the building and Felicity took note of Ginny's hesitance which made her frown in wariness. Why was she so hesitant? She followed her anyway towards a booth before sitting down. Felicity was about to ask her what was wrong when Ginny stated quietly and in a bit of embarrassment;
"In our side of the world we don't really have restaurants or the same food so I don't know how this works."
She let out a small laugh at the end to show how embarrassed she actually was at not knowing how something worked that was obviously common. It shocked Felicity a little bit but she did understand now why the redhead seemed so out of place with everything going on. She took time to explain what was going on but she tried desperately to hide her small chuckle as Ginny was the first person she had ever met who didn't know what a restaurant was. After roughly ten minutes Ginny had decided to get a steak with a cookie dough for dessert. At that single thing, Felicity knew she would get along with Ginny. It appeared as though she loved her food just as much as she did. They talked for a little bit and their conversation soon turned to their own upcoming nuptials.
"When are you and Harry getting married then?"
She leaned over and took a sip of her cola before sitting back in the booth and wiggling her eyebrows a little. Over the very little time they had talked they had already found a common ground in their personalities. Ginny blushed awkwardly before coughing into her hand to hide her embarrassment flushing her lightly freckled cheeks. Felicity laughed lightly and gave Ginny a teasing look once again which caused the other woman to blush even more.
"In two months. Harry is hell-bent on having a wedding at the start of the New Year for some reason. Although I've still to find a dress."
At this Felicity's eyebrows shot up as a thought came to mind. She had her dress fitting in a couple of hours so why could she not invited the redhead along with her to have a look as well? It wouldn't do any harm for her to look and she had already made a good friend in Ginny. They may have only met half an hour before but it was like they were already best friends which very rarely happened as Felicity as a whole was not a social person. Ginny was though but she was very sceptical of people until she really knew them. In some ways Felicity was the same. So she brought the idea up and Ginny snapped her head up and beamed at her new friend. She began telling the blonde of hers and Harry's very close friend Hermione- even though she was technically Ginny's sister-in-law now since she and Ron had gotten married a few months before.
"I loved her dress. We have a different fashion sense and we tend to wear dress robes a lot. I was expecting her to go along with our culture more but the second those doors opened and she walked in with that gorgeous dress- honestly, it's made me convince Harry to let me wear one on our wedding day. I don't think I have ever seen anything so beautiful before in my life."
Felicity smiled and she was glad that she would definitely have a second opinion on the two dresses she was struggling to choose between. One was definitely a lot showier whilst the other was simple and elegant. Ginny's advice would be good. They finished their food not long after and they walked around the city a little before stopping outside the bridal boutique shop which Felicity was purchasing her dress from. She had her debit card sitting in her purse currently because she had already said to herself to not worry about price despite her and Dudley being rather wealthy. She hated spending a lot of money but this was her big day so she may as well go all out on it.
She pushed the door open and stepped inside with Ginny following behind. Ginny had never really walked around muggle shops previously and she was very fascinated by everything. The redhead snickered quietly because she just knew her dad Arthur was going to ask her numerous questions due to his obsession over anything and everything muggle related. The shop owner stepped out from behind a wall and she beamed once she spotted Felicity.
"Hello there, are you here for the fitting of two dresses?"
Felicity nodded and the elderly lady walked into the back to retrieve them both for her. To avoid anyone else picking the exact same dress and to stop fights, they always kept the ones that were reserved for fittings in the storage room. Ginny looked around in awe as she took in all of the beautiful floor length dresses. She knew then that she wanted one, despite her being a witch and being expected to wear dress robes. She wanted to go against tradition because there was no way she was turning away from this shop without a gown. It was a good thing that she had asked Hermione to switch some of her money into muggle money. She wasn't entirely sure how much she would need so she had handed her four hundred galleons. Hermione gave her an odd look at the amount but switched the money anyway. She had roughly £2,000 sitting in her own purse currently which was sitting in her coat pocket.
The lady came back in a few seconds later with two large clothing bags and hung them up in one of the changing rooms. She looked over to Ginny and her eyes widened at seeing the very large rock that was sitting on her finger. Harry certainly did not hold back by buying her a five carat diamond when he got down on one knee almost a year before. She asked her if she was looking for a dress and Ginny nodded frantically. Felicity got the hint and walked into the changing room before stripping off her clothes until she was left standing in only her underwear. Her fingers grazed over the small tattoo which was just underneath her left collarbone which was a hyacinth. Her grandmother's favourite flower. She was very close to her and when she passed a couple of years before she had gotten the tribute to her.
She unzipped one of the bags and her eyes widened as she took in the first dress in all its beauty. It was a corset top with a long flowing train which had simple decoration. It was the top half which was the most striking. It had the fabric made in such a way that it was wrapped and it had no sleeves. The top of it looked like a heart but the left side of the dress was what really made it stand out. Numerous gems covered it in a pattern and some were layered to give it the appearance of a giant flower. The top half if it looked like feathers and Felicity had immediately fallen in love with it. She carefully removed it from the bag and stepped into it, being careful with the silk and satin material in case she ripped it.
It slid nicely onto her and she reached to the side to grab hold of the zip, glad that it wasn't in the back as that was a pain to do up. She slid it up and looked at herself in the mirror. She had let the un-braided parts of her hair fall in beach waves and the simplicity of her look contrasted with the dress but in a good way. She moved around a little and smiled at how simple it was to walk around in. She opened the door and stepped out and she swears she saw Ginny's jaw fall open in awe. The other girl covered it up immediately but she walked over, her eyes never leaving her dress. Ginny was pretty certain she had never seen something so beautiful in her life.
Felicity twirled on her spot which allowed the train to spiral around her feet as she thought. She still had one more dress to see though so she couldn't choose yet. This was the showier one and it was definitely extremely elegant. She just wasn't entirely sure on all of the gems despite how when the light hit the stones they all glittered in a seemingly endless array of colours. A bit like when direct sunlight shines through a prism.
"Damn girl!"
Felicity chuckled at Ginny's remark before asking her opinion. Ginny had nothing but praise for it and Felicity kept this in mind. She moved around in it a little more before stepping back into the changing room to try on the other dress. The second one was a lace design. She hung the first one up as she didn't want to put it back in the bag yet as it was a definite contender as her wedding dress. She lifted up the soft cotton and let it slide through her fingers gently before stepping into it, struggling a little with the back because that was where the zip was. After an awkward couple of minutes, she stepped out and asked Ginny to help her zip up. The redhead walked over and pulled the metal up until it was touching the centre of her shoulder blades, where the back of the dress started. It was in two layers. The bottom one consisted of a very large puffy skirt which had a few plaits in the fabric and the top was a similar shape to the first dress but it stopped a little above her navel, showing just a tiny amount of skin. The top layer was a delicately patterned lace which joined the two pieces together and had sleeves which came to a little above her elbows.
Felicity looked at herself in the mirror as she took in her image. In a couple of seconds, she was crying a little as she took in how beautiful it looked. It had finally sunk in that she was getting married in a few months as she tried on the dresses. Despite the one she was wearing being beautiful, in her opinion it was just missing a little something and the first one wasn't. She asked Ginny for her opinion too and Ginny agreed with her. Yes, the dress was beautiful, but for some reason it didn't click for her. So when the owner of the shop walked over and asked what one she preferred she instantly said the first one which she had decided to call the 'swan dress' as it reminded her of the beautiful birds with the flower/wing design of the stones. Felicity changed into her own clothes again and walked over to the till to pay for the dress and she tried to hide in a small hiss at seeing the £3,000 total. She figured it would have been a lot seen as she bought a couple of pieces of jewellery as well that she knew would look perfect with it on her big day.
She asked Ginny what she thought of all the dresses and the other girl gave the lady an awkward smile which told Felicity that Ginny was seriously considering a dress from here. The two girls walked out together with Felicity carrying the large bag in one hand. She was glad that her mum was coming over to her house for dinner tonight so she could see her dress and also take it home with her. Felicity didn't trust Dudley in not peaking around to look for it so her mum had offered to keep it for her until the night before. Felicity bid goodbye to Ginny and the other girl disappeared soon after with a bang- literally.
Just as she expected, the second she walked into the house she shared with Dudley her mum had walked over and began bombarding her with multiple questions. Felicity handed over the bag as her mum took out the dress and letting it fall to its full length. Her mum cried a little when Felicity slipped it on and her mum had hugged her tightly as she realised she wasn't just going to be her baby anymore. Felicity quickly changed back into her own clothes and put the dress back in the bag and hid underneath a few of her bags in the wardrobe. Dudley came home soon from spending the day with Harry and the trio all sat down to eat their dinner. Felicity and her mum both laughed at Dudley's failed attempts at trying to get Felicity to tell him about her dress.