Song Of The Guardians

Wedded Bless

"What do you mean he threw the vote?" Caroline asked Andy with a frown.

Andy handed Caroline a cup of tea, hoping to soothe her. "Let's stay calm," he said quietly. "It's Christmas day and we're all family."

Caroline drew in a deep breath and looked at Severus. "Why Severus?" she asked. "You could have told us. It was anonymous."

Severus rolled his eyes. "Hardly," he scoffed. "There were two negative votes. It would have been terribly obvious who voted against your brother."

Proving his point, she immediately turned to look at Draco. Draco sighed and shot Severus an irritable look. Severus shrugged.

Before Caroline could question her husband, Andy intervened. "Severus and Draco don't trust David," he said bluntly. "And it's for good reason. We were in such a hurry to bring David into the group that we didn't question him. We didn't make sure. I love David too, but we should have been more careful. Severus and Draco didn't want to cause tension, so they went with it, deciding to keep a close eye on things."

Sam sighed in resignation. "I guess it would've been too risky with the wedding," she said. She looked at David apologetically. "We love you, but we can't be careless about this."

David just looked around at the others uncomfortably. "I understand," he said quietly. He stood up and moved toward the door.

"That is not our intention," Severus said, stopping him. "We did not intend to throw you out. We intend to question you. Will you submit to an interrogation using Veritaserum?"

David agreed and Severus had him drink from a small vial. Severus then proceeded to ask very pointed, probing questions. He didn't want to take any chances. Fortunately, David had been truthful. He had returned with the intention of reuniting with, and protecting, his sisters. He wasn't working with Grant and wanted to be free of his vampirism.

Satisfied, Severus gave David the antidote, offering the others a nod. David blinked and looked at everyone, appearing a bit dazed. "It was necessary," Severus said firmly.

David nodded. "I agree," he said. "I'm glad my sisters have such protective friends." He reached out and shook Severus' hand with a slight smile.

"Very touching," Sam said, sounding bored. "Can we move on now?"

"Seriously," Jenna agreed. "I need to know what kind of flowers Hermione wants to use."

The wedding day arrived and the castle was alive with activity. The Sirens and Guardians had set everything up in the Great Hall. There were tables lined up against the walls draped in silky white cloth. Each table had dark red rose petals sprinkled over them and a wide glass bowl of water containing two floating candles. Once the ceremony was over, the tables would be placed around the hall while the center was left open for dancing. For the ceremony, chairs were sitting in rows in front of a lovely arch that was wrapped in lush green ivy and fairy lights.

Hermione paced restlessly in her bedroom, ignoring the amused looks from the other women. "This is mad," she muttered to herself.

"Are you having doubts?" Ginny asked with a frown.

"No," Hermione replied hastily. "I have no doubt that I want to marry Severus. But, he only proposed a few days ago. Most people take a few months to plan a wedding."

"You're not most people," Jenna pointed out, taking hold of Hermione shoulders and making her sit down. "Everything is perfect. The wedding will be beautiful. It's just nerves and it happens to every bride no matter how long they spent planning. Now shut up and let me do your hair."