Beauty and the Beast

chapter thirteen

Christmas, 1946

The night after Tom had proposed, Samantha had written a letter to Lilac.

"October 23, 1946

To Lilac Dalton,

Hey, little sis. If you've found out about this already, it's okay. But if you haven't, I wish to tell you myself. I got engaged the day I wrote this letter. You will have Tom as a brother-in-law whenever this thing happens. I hope you take this news well and also have a wonderful day.

Your sister,

Samantha Lou Dalton"

Lilac had read about in in Quidditch Weekly's recap of the game, but she was still happy for her sister. She was glad Tom would have a family finally, with parents-in-law, a sister-in-law, a wife, and possibly children later on. It was just joyous news to everyone.

Before long, the holidays arrived and the youngest member of the Dalton family returned for Christmas. "Where's Sammy?" She asked.

Roger responded, "She's off with Tom at the place they want to get married. Making sure they can do it there when they want to." Lilac gave a nod. There was a few seconds of silence. "It's weird that she's not here. She's always here," she confessed.

"It's been like that ever since she graduated and moved into her new apartment for us," Amelia added. "I'm just happy she's found herself a man worth marrying now. So we can visit them in their house whenever they move in." Almost a week passed, and Christmas had finally arrived after a long year of waiting.

Lilac woke up that morning and sat in the living room with her parents. The eldest child wasn't there yet. She sighed as they waited for about half an hour before the doorbell finally rang. Amelia answered the door to find Samantha and Tom standing there. The eighteen year olds thought it would be funny to pull a prank on Mr. and Mrs. Dalton. The young woman had found a kids' size pillow case at a store. This morning, she had tucked it in her shirt and a slight bit of her skirt and secured it with her leggings. To keep it flat, Tom had put tape around his fiancée's back that stretched all around from one side of the pillowcase to the other. Tom had his arms wrapped around his lover, his hands on her stomach. "Samantha... are you and Tom... expecting?" Sam gave a fake smile and nodded. "If you'd excuse me, mother, I have an awful need to use the restroom," she told the older woman. So she scurried off to the restroom.

While in there, the young lady took the pillowcase out and tucked her shirt back in. She left the bathroom, holding it in her hand. "Sike! Tom and I pranked you. No baby yet," she announced, laughing.

"Samantha Lou Dalton!" Amelia laughed. "You rascal!"

"Sorry, Mum. I always wanted to prank at Hogwarts, but didn't want to lose house points. Now, there's no real risk other than someone being temporarily mad at me," Sam admitted, laughing.

"Of course, Sammy 'Goody Two-Shoes' Dalton," Tom teased his fiancée. She put the things in a bag and took three presents out. One for Lilac, and the other two for her parents. Of course, Mr. and Mrs. Dalton had a gift for their future son-in-law. He was a part of the family now. There was a combined gift containing two matching rings; one with a T, the other with an S. It was for the pair to have as wedding rings, since they were expensive and did not have much muggle currency.

August 8, 1947

Samantha looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing her white wedding gown. The day had finally come for her to get married. Her dress was long and silky, but had short sleeves. Her hair was in a bun with curled hair forming a bit of a crown leading to it. Amelia came in quietly to see her daughter. "Oh, my goodness! Samantha, you look so beautiful. Your fiancé will love it. But he'll be your husband soon, I know," she told the 19 year old. Sam smiled. She then spoke quietly, "I just wish his father would've cared enough to at least attend his son's wedding. Tom told me about it. Hurts me to know he thinks about that constantly." Amelia looked at her daughter. "Poor guy. I never realized how rough life was for him."

Samantha nodded. "Love has been absent from his life. Tom claims I'm the first person who ever loved him, and he hopes I'll be the last too, in the sense that I don't stop loving him ever. And I doubt I will."

Soon, the ceremony began. The bridesmaids and groomsmen came out after Lilac, the (older than normal) flower girl. The room fell silent as Roger walked the bride down the aisle. The pace was a moderate slow, but fast enough to reach the front at a good time. Roger went to go sit down after Tom shook his hand. The groom lifted Samantha's veil. After, the couple took hands as the rather boring part of the wedding began. Lilac smiled as she watched the ceremony. It was still hard to comprehend that her big sister was getting married and would be living full-time with someone other than her and their parents. Things began to get more exciting when the young man and woman exchanged vows and rings. "Tom Marvolo Riddle, do you take Miss Samantha Dalton to be your wife?"

"I do."

"And do you Samantha Lou Dalton take Mr. Tom Riddle to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

The official gave a slight smile. "I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

So Tom did.

The guests applauded as the newlyweds shared their first kiss as a married couple. After letting go, the pair led everyone off to the dinner portion of the celebration. The group followed on the joyous day and went to find their assigned seats. Tom and Samantha sat at the smaller table for the bride and groom. Since Amelia and four of Samantha's friends were the only muggles in attendance, it was quite literally a magical night. All five of them knew someone that was magical other than Sam, so it was okay. Nothing was at risk. The feast was like at Hogwarts, and butterbeer was served to all the guests. It seemed to have been a popular choice, since smiled were all around the room. Mr. and Mrs. Riddle were certainly enjoying theirs, knowing they had been married not even an hour ago. Soon, the groom cut a slice of cake for his wife and let her have the first bite before cake was served to everyone.

Before long, Roger and Samantha had a father-daughter dance to a classical song from the early 1930's. It was followed by the newlyweds slow-dancing together. They gazed into each other's eyes in a joyful manner. Lilac watched, happy for her older sister. Roger and Amelia looked back at memories of their wedding day, about 22 years prior to this one. Samantha waved for others to join them as an energetic song came on. All the guests danced on the wooden dance floor. After a while, it was time for one of the most exciting events for the ladies. They all got in a bunched up group as Samantha stood a good amount of yards in front of them. She tossed her bouquet behind her. With an amazing leap, Raine caught it one-handed. Sam turned around and smiled. She walked over to hug her best friend that night.

The guests opened the doors of the cabin the wedding had taken place in. They lined up, holding yellow flower petals. Tom smiled at his wife then linked arms with her. They walked together towards the line and then through. The attendees threw the flower petals as the couple carefully jogged past in excitement. Every person there could sense that it was a happy occasion for all. Once they had thrown their petals, the spectators applauded for the couple as they watched the pair run off through the forest. Tom and Samantha soon reached a car with "Just Married!" on the back. They got in the back seat of the car, which would be driving them all the way down to southern France for their honeymoon.