The Boy Who Lived

The Ceremony, of sorts, and some news

At being left alone in the middle of all these strange and fancy people, Ronica had a chance to look around and she suddenly fretted about whether she was dressed appropriately, everyone looked very formal. Dudley had said that Harry said go as big and flamboyant as she wanted. The gold fishtail skirt suddenly felt too dressy and sparkly for 10.30 in the morning. She felt a little overwhelmed by it all but then a young pregnant woman with dirty blond hair in a huge floor-length netted pastel-rainbow dress was rushing across the room towards her and linking arms with her and gushing, 'oh my goodness, I love your dress. You must come and show Pansy. Gosh, you're stunning. Dudley's a very lucky man.'

It turned out they weren't the only non-magical people invited to the wedding. They were introduced to a couple called Jean and Walter Granger, who Petunia latched onto. And Ronica needn't have worried about her outfit because actually, when she looked a little closer, lots of people were dressed in weird and wonderful things of all varieties, especially the men, she realised, many of whom seemed to be wearing long fancy frockcoats. She was introduced to all sorts of people by Luna, the young woman who'd attached herself to her arm. She was grateful to recognise Lee Jordan, Mara Sheppard, and Talbott Cholmondeley through her work. She couldn't remember anyone else she was introduced too but they were all very welcoming and Luna kept plying her with champagne even though it was only mid-morning.

It felt like barely minutes after they'd arrived when the redhaired man called Ron announced loudly that it was time to take their seats. Dudley was still holding Daisy as he did his usher duties but it didn't seem to matter. It appeared anything went and despite the formality of the setting, the day promised to be quite relaxed and more of an excuse for everyone to dress up and have a party.

At Dudley's beckoning, Ronica and Petunia happened to reach the doorway at the same time as a tall, thin older woman wearing a floor-length sweeping blue coat with long bell sleeves that fell to her knees. She also wore a proper black witch's hat with three thin feathers the same colour as her gown attached to the brim. It was all Ronica could do not to stare or giggle... She stopped herself from looking around for a broomstick and a black cat. There was, however, a young brown tabby sitting beside the woman looking decidedly unimpressed by all these people.

Petunia froze in her tracks and the other woman's lips thinned momentarily. For a moment, she looked at Petunia with harsh disparagement but suddenly the look disappeared and her shoulders dropped.

'Petunia,' she said with a quiet nod.

'Minerva,' Petunia replied a little stiffly. Perhaps, thought Ronica, Petunia sounded a little fearful too.

Minerva suddenly reached out a hand and touched Petunia's arms comfortingly. 'I'm glad you decided to come. Harry's very pleased. He wanted you here.' She smiled much more welcomingly and Petunia looked overwhelmed.

'Thank you,' she stammered, though Ronica didn't know why she was thanking the other woman.

'That's the woman who adopted Harry. There's no love lost between mum and her,' whispered Dudley in Ronica's ear. He handed her Daisy.

Minerva smiled at him as if she'd heard every word. 'It's all water under the bridge now. Are you finding your way around, Dudley? Can you direct your mother and fiancée to your seats?' She waved a hand in the direction of some double doors where Ron and another redhaired man, who was clearly his brother, were standing and directing the guests.

There were, Ronica noticed, a lot of redheads, everywhere. There were a number of people in the same military-style coats that Harry wore, including Lee and Mara, though they all had grey linings, apart from an older man who had red lining. And there were lots of people in petrol-blue, as if it were another uniform, though most of them seemed to be ushers. She'd been introduced by Luna to a slender flame-haired woman called Ginny, who was all lean and athletic - she was wearing an incredible outfit: a black floor-length coat over leather trousers and a leather waistcoat. What was noticeable, apart from the tall good-looking black man who was practically drooling down her neck, was that her coat was piped and had huge satin cuffs and a neck detail, all in the same petrol-blue. And even the man who was clearly besotted with her wore a knee-length coat and waist coat of the same colour. Turned out he was Draco Malfoy's best-man. They're all very intriguing, she thought to herself.