Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

8

Chapter 8—The Wedding

Summary

By 3pm the next day, everyone is awaiting the wedding guests. Harry has taken Polyjuice Potion to look like a Muggle boy from town, with a plan to introduce him as their cousin Barny. Harry, Ron, and the twins are showing people their seats. The back yard is all done up, and Harry is very uncomfortable in his dress robes with a slightly larger body. Fred tells everyone that when he gets married, they can all wear what they like. George points out that Molly’s in a good mood despite everything, though she did cry a little in the morning over Percy not being there. Tonks and Lupin turn up during the seating, and Tonks apologizes for their flight the night before; the Ministry has been very anti-werewolf of late. Harry notices that while Lupin gives him a smile, when he turns away he looks upset again. Hagrid sits down in the wrong place, reducing several chairs to kindling, which Arthur repairs. Ron is seating Luna’s father Xenophilius Lovegood, who lives with his daughter just over the hill. Luna recognizes Harry immediately due to his expression, though luckily her father does not hear her greet him by name. She tells Xenophilius that she was bitten by one of the garden gnomes she was talking to, and he is elated, telling her that she may have been gifted with their magic. Luna tells Harry that he looks good in his dress robes and goes off to sit with her father.

Ron walks over with his Auntie Muriel, who is busy criticizing everyone. She’s displeased that Harry isn’t at the wedding, as she’d been waiting to meet him. Then she criticizes Fleur for being French and continues on with Ron toward her seat. Ron comes back later to complain about how she used to come over every Christmas until the twins set off a dung bomb under her chair. Hermione shows up looking lovely, and Ron compliments her. Hermione informs him that Muriel didn’t think she looked all that good, and Ron assures her that his aunt insults everyone. The twins show up to remark that they wished their Uncle Bilius was still alive because he was such fun at weddings (the one who saw a Grim and died a day later). As they’re all laughing over stories about him, Viktor Krum shows up, telling Hermione that she looks wonderful. He was invited by Fleur, and while Ron is steaming and Hermione is flustered, Harry shows him his seat. Viktor causes a stir in the tent, being a famous Quidditch player and all. The wedding begins, presided over by the same wizard who led Dumbledore’s funeral. Muriel praises her tiara that Fleur is wearing, but is displeased over how low-cut Ginny’s dress is. Ginny grins and winks at Harry when she hears. As Fleur and Bill are pronounced husband and wife, the balloons about explode releasing flowers and ringing golden bells.

The tent transforms itself for the reception, gaining a dance floor and tables and chairs for eating. Ron grabs the three of them butterbeers and suggests that they grab a table before anything else. They sit down at a table with Luna, who tells them that her father is giving Bill and Fleur their present. When Ron cracks a joke about it, Hermione tries to kick him under the table, but gets Harry instead. The first of the dances begin, and Luna gets up to join in, leaving a spot open for Viktor to sit. He asks about who Xenophilius is, but Ron doesn’t want to talk with Viktor—he tells Hermione to come and dance with him. Viktor figures that they’re dating now, then decides to talk to “Barny,” telling him that if he were not Fleur’s guest today, he’d duel Xenophilius. Harry asks why, and Krum tells him it’s because Luna’s father is wearing a symbol—something that looks like a triangular eye—that is Grindelwald’s sign. It turns out that Grindelwald killed Viktor’s grandfather back in the day. The Dark wizard carved the same symbol into walls at Durmstrang when he was a student. Viktor tells Harry that other students copied the symbol down to seem “impressive” until other Durmstrang students who had family killed by Grindelwald “taught them better.”