The Matchmaker

Chapter Twenty Three: The Wedding

Chapter Twenty Three: The Wedding
"I do."
~

Harry Potter was nervous. Excited, thrilled even, but nervous too. He wasn't sure what exactly he was nervous for, though, since it had been two years since he'd defeated Voldemort, a year since he'd proposed to Ginny, and he had no doubts that she'd come walking down the aisle towards him in under an hour.

No, what Harry was most concerned about was how it had been a long time of quiet peace and he was scared to lose it. He didn't want to think about such things right now, however, and wanted to focus on the day ahead of him. He was marrying the love of his life and he was thrilled. Ron seemed to sense his nervousness and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Nervous?" Ron asked and Harry shook his head.

"Not at all," he lied and Ron snorted, knowing well that Harry was, as much as he may tell himself he wasn't, at least a little nervous.

The two didn't want a huge wedding because Harry didn't want the Daily Prophet to try and bust in. He had, however, allowed Xenophilius Lovegood to arrive on behalf of The Quibbler, the only paper that would be getting the story of his wedding. Of course, part of the reason that Harry and Ginny didn't mind Mr. Lovegood representing the media was because he was already going to be there anyway.

Ginny had asked Hermione and Luna to be her bridesmaids, with Ava as her Maid of Honor, and Harry had asked Neville and George, with Ron as his best man. Molly was beside herself when she found out Harry had proposed and Harry was just as excited to have someone to call a mother again. Of course, Molly had always been a mother figure in Harry's life and every time he brought it up, she seemed ready to cry. In fact, when the Weasley's came by Harry's flat to start moving Ginny's stuff in just last week, Molly Weasley burst out into tears when she opened his closet to find every single jumper she'd ever made him hanging inside.

Harry stared at the white tent that the Arthur, Bill, Charlie and Ron were putting up. It was the same tent in the same spot that had been put up just two years prior to Bill and Fleur's wedding and the sight of it seemed to make Fleur sentimental because once it was up, Bill was immediately pulled into a kiss by his wife.

The Weasley's were all moving about and it made Harry feel sentimental. Other than Ava, he didn't have any family. His parents were dead, his Godfather was dead, and his Aunt and Uncle had died during the Battle of Hogwarts. He was thrilled, however, that Emma promised to be there with her daughter, Evelyn.

There were many friendly, familiar faces that quickly showed up once everything was set up and ready to go, including the entirety of the D.A. Professor McGonagall had shown up and made a comment about how much Harry looked like his father, whom Harry had based his dress robes after once he saw a picture of his parent's wedding. Hagrid had come, as well as Professor Slughorn.

Viktor Krum had accepted the invitation and, despite being engaged to Ron, Hermione blushed lightly when she saw him. Ginny's Great Aunt Muriel was still alive and kicking, and George made a comment about how she better not be alive for his wedding, which was in just a few months. Harry had invited a few close coworkers from the Auror's office and the Holyhead Harpies team was present.

Still, Harry wished that his family could've been there to see his wedding. Oh, how he missed them. Harry, Ava, and Evelyn made it a weekly trip to go to Godric's Hollow and see their parents. Holly and Remus Lupin had been buried next to James and Lily Potter and, even though Sirius's body had fallen through the veil, they had set up a gravestone on the other side of James and Lily's.

"Harry!" A voice broke through the crowd that had started arriving. Harry was walking around greeting everyone, but quickly turned to see the grin of Ava Lupin walking towards him. She was wearing a pale lavender dress and her hair was in a braided updo. She looked beautiful and George seemed to think so too because his eyes just about popped out of his head when he saw her. Harry wondered what it would be like when George saw Ava walking down the aisle towards him.