A/N- sorry i haven't updated in forever!! school hates me 😭 i made the dreadful mistake of taking AP History, but it's too late to change now so i guess i'll just have to cry in my corner.
do you guys have any questions? regarding the story or myself, because i'm happy to tell you things about myself and about the story (as long as it doesn't spoil anything).
where are you all from??? and where do you think i'm from??? it's a mysteryyyy. anyways, enjoy!
Word Count: 1831
The following day, the day of Bill and Fleur's wedding, Harry and I found ourselves feeling rather unlike our usual selves. Being that we weren't our usual selves. Harry had taken a large dose of Polyjuice Potion containing the hair of a pudgy, redheaded Muggle boy who lived in the local village and was to be introduced at the wedding as "Cousin Barny" to anyone other than members of the Order. I, however, had refused to take Polyjuice Potion because of its gag-worthy taste and the fact that they wanted to turn me into a brown-haired, male Muggle— "You really expect me to- Nope, I won't do it."— In turn, I spent almost an hour before the wedding in front of a mirror with Hermione trying to change my appearance.
"I honestly don't understand why you won't just take the potion, it's only for a couple of hours," she says while changing my hair from jet black to curly and light brown with a faint red tint.
"You've really got a knack for this stuff, 'Mione," I comment, ignoring her previous statement. In the reflection of the mirror, I see her roll her eyes, but smiling slightly nonetheless. She changes the colour of my eyes to a pale blue, lengthens my hair, somehow makes my lips thinner, changes the skin on my neck, face, arms, and hands to be paler and littered with freckles, lengthens my nose (again, no idea how), and makes my face seem slimmer. By the time she was through, I didn't even recognise my own reflection in the mirror.
"You can wear these stockings and this dress, that way the rest of your skin will be covered," she says, holding up a knee-length, lilac-coloured dress and a pair of black stockings. "Go put these on. Quick, or we'll be late."
"Yes, mother."
When I re-emerged from the bathroom moments later, I met Hermione who wore a dress the same colour as mine.
"I thought we'd match since we both look good in lilac," she says. "Though it is a bit weird with you not being... well, you."
"Yeah, well, it's not exactly normal for me either," I reply, running my hand self consciously down my opposite bicep.
"Oh, you look fine," said Hermione with a dismissive wave of her hand. "You don't look that much different, just enough to make you vaguely unrecognisable. Come on, we're late."
On our way out of the bedroom and down the stairs, we met Fleur and a short old woman holding a glittering tiara.
"—and make sure to keep it farther back, mind you," said the old woman before her head swivelled in our direction at the sound of our footsteps. Her eyes narrowed as she scanned both of us with mild distaste making me feel even more self-conscious than I already was.
"Oh dear, is this the Muggle-Born?" she said wrinkling her nose slightly in Hermione's direction. I was too taken aback to say anything for a moment.
"Hey—!" I started in defense of my friend, but the old woman paid no mind.
"Bad posture and skinny ankles," she said as though it was remotely helpful. "And who might you be? You look an awful lot like her, don't tell me they invited a Muggle to this as well."
"I will have you know, I'm most definitely a witch," I state with a scoff, ignoring her question. Hermione merely smiled meekly at the old bat before grabbing me by the arm and dragging me towards the large white tent in the Weasley's front yard where the wedding was being held. As we hurried inside the tent towards Ron and Harry (disguised as "Cousin Barny"), Ron gaped at Hermione and I could swear I heard a faint "wow" come from his mouth before we approached.
"You look great!" he said to Hermione. I crossed my arms over my chest and rolled my eyes playfully.
"Always the tone of surprise," she answered, smiling up at him.
"Thanks, Ron, you look wonderful as well," I say sarcastically making him finally acknowledge my existence.
"Blimey, Y/n, I didn't recognise you for a minute there," he says, looking bewildered.
"Yeah, I noticed."
What I also noticed was a pair of practically glowing veela cousins standing near us to whom I shot a wink making them giggle and blush. I grinned at them before receiving a sharp blow to the shoulder from my best friend.
"Oi! What was that for?" I asked, rubbing the spot on my arm she had hit with her tiny beaded bag. She merely rolled her eyes.
"Don't you have a boyfriend? You can't simply flirt with whomever you find attractive," she says with narrowed eyes.
"I wasn't flirting!" I answered indignantly. "Sure, they are definitely my type, but—"
"Time to sit down," said Fred from over my shoulder, "or we're going to get run over by the bride."
We all took our seats, and shortly after, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley strolled up the aisle, smiling and waving at guests and relatives as they passed, Mrs. Weasley dressed in a brand new set of amethyst-coloured robes and a matching hat. A moment later, Bill and Charlie walked to stand in front of the marquee, both wearing dress robes with white roses sticking out of their buttonholes. Fred and I wolf-whistled, causing an outbreak of giggles from the veela cousins.
"Ooooh!" Hermione gasped from my left as she turned to face the entrance where Fleur was entering on her father's arm. Even in her simple white dress, she seemed to be emitting a sort of silvery glow that washed over all the guests. Usually, Fleur's radiance made everyone else look dimmer by comparison, but this time it beautified all it fell upon. Ginny, wearing a gold dress identical to Gabrielle's, looked even more beautiful than usual, and Hermione beside me was simply glowing. Bill looked as though he had never met Fenrir Greyback.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of two faithful souls..."
I let my mind wander as I heard the old woman I now knew to be Ron's Auntie Muriel start speaking in a carrying whisper. I thought about weddings, but not the one I was presently attending. Instead, I thought about my own. I had never really given the idea of marriage much thought, partially because most of the time, I was more worried about living through the next ten minutes much less ten years or more. Briefly, the image of myself in a plain white dress walking toward a beaming Draco Malfoy crossed my mind, and though it was gone as soon as it arrived, the picture made my cheeks burn nonetheless.
"... then I declare you bonded for life."
A shower of stars fell over Bill and Fleur's now entwined figures as the rest of the guests clapped and cheered. Mrs Weasley and Madame Delecour were sobbing harder than ever and Hermione's eyes were filled with tears as well.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" called a tufty-haired wizard. "If you would please stand!"
When we all did, Auntie Muriel grumbling audibly, he waved his wand again removing the walls of the tent and creating a sort of canopy supported by golden poles that allowed us to see the setting sun on the horizon. The chairs we'd previously sat on set themselves gracefully around white-clothed tables, and a pool of molten gold spread across the ground to create a glittering dance floor. Ron dragged Hermione, Harry and I across the dance floor and to the other side of the marquee where we joined Luna Lovegood at one of the tables.
"All right if we join you?" asked Ron.
"Oh yes," she answered happily. I smiled at her in response, taking the seat on her left.
The band had begun to play as I already felt my eyes drooping with fatigue. I was slowly losing track of the conversation, and it was until Luna started swaying in her spot to the time of the music that I started paying attention again.
"I like this song," she says, closing her eyes with a blissful smile gracing her features before she got up and glided onto the dance floor where she revolved on the spot, quite alone, waving her arms.
"She is absolutely wonderful," I say with a smile in her direction. "Quite possibly my favourite person."
"Thanks so much," says Harry from my left with an eye roll.
"Who is that man in yellow?" a gravelly voice asks from the spot at my right that had been previously occupied by Luna. I jumped violently before realising it was merely Viktor Krum, though he didn't seem to be here to flirt with Hermione.
"That's Xenophilius Lovegood, he's the father of a friend of ours," said Ron in an accusatory tone that indicated we were not about to laugh at Xenophilius, despite the obvious provocation. "Come and dance," he added abruptly, holding a hand out to Hermione, who looked taken aback as well as pleased when she stood up to join him.
"Ah, they are together now?" asked Krum.
My eyes followed my two friends as they disappeared into the crowd of people on the dance floor. "You could say that," I answered with a small smile.
"Who are you?" he asked, looking at me, then Harry.
"Barny Weasley," Harry answered, giving me time to think of a name.
"Persephone Brown," I blurted with a smile. He shook Harry's hand and placed a kiss on the back of mine. I gave an awkward sort of grin and felt my face flush.
"I think I'm gonna go get something to drink," I said, pulling my hand gently from his grasp. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Krum."
I wandered over to the table lined with glasses of champagne and picked one up for myself to appear somewhat busy even though I never so much as took a sip.
I wasn't sure how long I stood there for, leaning against one of the golden pillars and watching guests mill about and dance with one another. It was until Hermione nearly ran me over that I regained the awareness of time.
"I simply can't dance anymore," she panted, taking off one of her heels. "Ron's gone looking to find more butterbeers. It's a bit odd, I've just seen Viktor storming away from Luna's father, it looked like they'd been arguing."
I glanced over the crowd to look for an angry Viktor Krum but came up short. "Yeah, he seemed curious to know about Mr. Lovegood earlier—"
My sentence was cut off by a loud gust of wind and the appearance of something glowing silver from through the canopy. A lynx Patronus was hovering above the golden dance floor where all the guests had paused and gone silent in shock before it spoke in the loud, deep voice of Kingsley Shackelbolt.
"The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming."