CHAPTER FOUR
CRASHED WEDDING
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Over the next week and a half, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I barely had any alone time to discuss our plans. The rest of the Order knew that Dumbledore had given us a job to do, but they weren't happy with the fact that we couldn't tell them what that job was.
Mrs. Weasley, more than anybody, was set on discovering our secret. She always kept us busy and working, and at that, busy and working separately. We never were together by ourselves for over a minute, Mrs. Weasley saw to that. She didn't like the idea of Ron and I, her children, going off on a dangerous adventure alone. She didn't want Harry and Hermione going, either.
The other person who was intent on figuring our task out was Lupin. However, he was set on it for a different reason that Mrs. Weasley. He just wanted to help. He kept asking Harry and I for clues, and asking if he could be of any service. We told him, politely, no.
Rufus Scrimgeour, the Minister of Magic, also stopped by to deliver the items of Albus Dumbledore's will. Hermione received Dumbledore's copy of the Tales of Beedle the Bard, Ron got his Deluminator, and Harry and I got the snitches we caught at our first Quidditch games.
Oh, we also got the Sword of Gryffindor. But the Ministry's too stubborn to give it to us.
Needless to say, we don't know why Dumbledore left us what he did.
On top of all of that, however, we barely had any time to worry about our lack of communication. The tasks and jobs we were given had to do with Bill and Fleur's wedding. How they were still happy and excited during these days- I didn't know. I was always stressed and nervous, but the excitement for the wedding helped with that.
Speaking of, the wedding was in a few hours. Everyone was dressed up already, we were now worrying about the finishing touches. Protection charms, setting up the tents, making sure everyone gets to their seats, etc.
"I need one of you to go help put up the protection spells-" Mrs. Weasley was angrily telling Harry, Ron, Hermione and I who she had just caught trying to talk in Ron's room.
"Got it," I said quickly, standing. The other three threw me dirty looks, knowing that job would be the easiest of the list she was about to name.
"Thank you, Giovanna, dear," Mrs. Weasley nodded. "Right over near the hillside of the house, Arthur, Fred, and Tonks are getting the other sides.
I nodded and exited the room, heading down the hillside of the house. I always liked it there as a kid since I was always able to see the Muggle village from the top of the hill. Raising my wand, I started muttering the spells.
"Protego Maxima... Salvio Hexia..."
"You look nice."
I jumped and wheeled around, seeing Draco standing there. My mouth opened and closed a few times as I tried to figure out what to say. I decided on whispering, "Are you real?"
He shrugged, looking around. "Yeah. Are you?"
Narrowing my eyes, I nodded. He was still looking around.
"Where are you?" He asked.
"As if I'd tell you," I scoffed. "Can you not see my surroundings?"
"No. I just see you. You're in my room a the manor, standing in front of me," He said. And, I knew. I knew he wasn't a hallucination and I wasn't seeing things. Somehow I just knew he was real.
I slowly nodded. "Same with you. You're standing here- at the same place I'm standing. But... how?"
He sighed and shook his head, his hands in his pockets. When he finished looking around, his eyes fell on me. He looked me up and down and muttered, "I don't know."
Glaring, I turned back to the protective charms I was casting. "Well, go away."
"You look really nice," He said, and I scowled at him.
"No. You don't get to say things like that anymore," I told him, growing angrier. "Not since you..."
Raising an eyebrow, he said "Broke up with you?"
I winced and looked away. "Yeah. That. I really don't want to talk to you. Or look at you. Or hear you. Every again. So, go away."
"I'm sorry," He whispered, and I pointed my wand at him.
"I don't want to hear your apologies!" I yelled as he took a step back.
Tonks came running over from her side of the house. "Giovanna! Are you okay?" She called. I looked at her and looked back at Draco.
He was gone.
I shook my head and blinked a few times. "Yeah, yeah, I'm alright..." I trailed off.
Tonks frowned but retreated back to her side. I turned back to my spells and sighed.
"I'm definitely going insane," I muttered, raising my wand, "Repello Inimicum..."
That night, all thoughts of my weird encounter with what I assumed was real Draco left my head. I intended to have a night of fun at the wedding, and didn't want to worry about anything. Because, after this, who knows when the next time that might be.
Harry and I approached the tent together. Two snitches floated by our ears, and, grinning at each other, we caught our own and slipped them in our pockets.
Everyone was clapping and cheering around the dance floor as Bill and Fleur danced in the middle. I smiled at them and watched as the glasses set on the table refilled themselves. Harry nudged me and pointed at Hagrid, who was standing awkwardly with Madame Maxine, and I laughed a little.
My eyes searched the crowd and found Ron, but he wasn't looking at me. He was looking at something with a dreamy awed look on his face. I followed his gaze and smirked when I realized he was watching Hermione.
"Giovanna," Harry said, causing me to look away from the pair. "Is that Elphias Doge?" He pointed to an elderly man sitting at a table by himself.
My face scrunched up. "Who?"
"Elphias Doge. The man who wrote about Dumbledore in the Daily Prophet. He grew up with him." Harry explained, then rolled his eyes when I just shrugged. "Come on, I want to go talk to him."
He started dragging me over to the table, but a blonde girl in a yellow dress stepped in front of us. It was Luna. "Hello, Harry, Giovanna," She smiled brightly.
"Hi Luna," I smiled back, but she saw Harry's face.
"I've interrupted a deep thought, haven't I?" She asked. "I see it growing smaller in your eyes."
Harry shook his head a little. "How are you, Luna?"
"Very well. Got bitten by a garden gnome," She glance down at her thumb.
An older man with shoulder-length blonde hair came and wrapped his arm around Luna's shoulders. "Gnome saliva is very beneficial," He kissed the top of her head, and held out his hand. "Xenophilius Lovegood, we live just over the hill."
Harry and I shook his hand in turn. "Nice to meet you, sir," Harry told him, and I nodded in agreement.
Xenophilius leaned forward and whispered, "I trust you know, Mr. and Miss Potter, that we, at the Quibbler, unlike those toads at the Daily Prophet, fully supported Dumbledore in his lifetime, and his death, support you two just as fully."
I nodded a little, but grew distracted by his necklace. The pendant was silver and looked like an eye, but wasn't. It was a triangle with a line and circle in the middle.
"Thank you," Harry answered for us, also glancing at the necklace.
"Come, Daddy," Luna told him. "They don't want to talk to us right now, they're just too polite to say." And with that, she took her father's hand and led him away.
"Odd," was all I said, glancing back at them.
"Mhm, come," Harry ignored me and led the way to Elphias Doge's table. "Excuse me, sir," He said to get the man's attention. "May we sit down?"
"Mr. Potter!" He exclaimed, then saw me behind Harry. "Miss. Potter! By all means, yeah."
Harry and I took two of the chairs on the opposite side of the table. My brother glanced at me, but I just smirked and gestured to Doge. You wanted this, I told him.
He glared at me but turned to Doge. "I found what you wrote in the Daily Prophet. Really moving. You obviously knew Dumbledore well."
"Well, I certainly knew him the longest," Doge nodded. "That is, if you don't count his brother Aberforth, and somehow, people never do seem to count Aberforth."
"He had a brother?" I asked, surprised. "Didn't even know that."
"Yes. Dumbledore was always very private, even as a boy." Doge said.
A witch from the next table looked over, and I internally groaned. "Don't despair, Elphias. And by Merlin, Giovanna, is that you?"
I winced. "Hi, Auntie Muriel." She wasn't my aunt, obviously, but growing up with the Weasleys, I addressed her as so.
"You need a haircut, young lady," She frowned, and I said nothing, rolling my eyes when she looked away. "I'm told Dumbledore's been thoroughly unriddled by Rita Skeeter in eight-hundred pages, no less."
"Rita Skeeter is writing a book on Dumbledore?" I asked, growing angry at what she could say about him.
Muriel nodded.
"She's a cow," I huffed.
"I'm sorry?" Muriel asked with raised eyebrows.
My eyes widened. "A cow is what you call someone who you look up to and love very much," I say quickly.
Muriel nodded again and continued as Harry held in a laugh.
"Word has it that someone talked to her. Someone who knew the Dumbledore family well. Both you and I know who that is, Elphias."
"A monstrous betrayal," Doge said bitterly. Muriel looked at her drink.
"Uh- who- who're we talking about?" Harry asked.
"Bathilda Bagshot," Muriel told us.
Harry and I shared a confused glance. "Who?" We asked stupidly.
"My god, kids, she's only the most celebrated magical historian of the last century," Muriel exclaimed, then glared at me. "I've expected you to know better."
My eyes widened. "The author of History of Magic! That's where I knew her name from. Go on."
"She was as close to the Dumbledores as anyone. Oh, I'm sure Rita Skeeter thought it well worth a trip to Godric's Hollow to take a peek into old bird's rattled cage," Muriel continued.
I shared a wide-eyed glance with Harry. "Godric's Hollow?" I asked.
"Bathilda Bagshot lives in Godric's Hollow?" Harry added.
"That's where she first met Dumbledore," Muriel said, and I was surprised yet again.
Harry was also surprised. "You don't mean to say he lived there too?"
"The family moved there after his father killed those three muggles," Muriel said carelessly, but I gasped, and Harry looked taken aback. "It was quite the scandal. Honestly, my twins, are you sure you knew him at all?"
We were silent, not knowing a reply. To be honest, I felt quite betrayed at the fact that I knew nothing of Dumbledore's childhood. Then again, it wasn't like I'd asked.
However, before the conversation could continue, a bright let came rushing through the roof of the tent to the center of the dance floor. Harry and I stood up and walked closer to it, where we saw that it was actually a patronus.
"The Ministry has fallen," came the deep voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt. "Minister of Magic is dead."
Harry and I glanced at each other, and then my eyes raked the crowd for Hermione and Ron. Hermione was across from us on the other side of the patronus, but I couldn't see Ron.
"They are coming. They are coming."
At once, chaos and panic erupted throughout the tent. Many of the elders got out of their chairs and apparated away. Elphias Doge was included after he said a quick goodbye to Harry and I.
Black smoke came through the tent from all around, forming into Death Eaters when they landed. They instantly started shooting spells, and the Order started shooting ones right back.
Terrified, my heart beating quickly, I seized Harry's hand tightly and started pushing through the screaming crowd to find Hermione and Ron.
"Ginny!" Harry yelled, letting go of my hand and running to Ginny, who was fighting a Death Eater with Bill.
"Harry, no!" I yelled, but Lupin ran forward and grabbed him, looking gravely at me.
I rushed forward and took Harry's arm. "Go!" Lupin told us. "Go!"
Spotting Hermione and Ron, who were holding each other, I pulled Harry and we ran over to them. We all clung to one another tightly, and Hermione apparated us away.