Chapter 32: Joy and Pain

The marquee had filled for the wedding. Dudley and Harry were standing before the wizard who would perform the ceremony. As the bride processed down the aisle on her Father's arm Luna was radiantly beautiful. Behind her came Petunia and the two matrons of honour Ginny and Hermione. As she reached Dudley's side he took her hand in his and gave her a reassuring smile.

"You are truly beautiful" He whispered to her as she looked over at him and smiled,

As he said this she felt his hand grasp hers. Then following the wizard's instructions the duly pledged to love and cherish each other for the rest of their lives and at the appropriate point in the ceremony Harry handed over the ring and it was placed on Luna's finger. They were pronounced man and wife and then processed out to music and into a smaller tent where their immediate family joined them as they signed the official documents.

After this they were led out and photographs were taken. Vicky was acting as the Muggle photographer since it was one of her hobbies. This meant that there would be pictures that remained still for display by the Muggle family members while the wizard photographer took the photographs which were common to wizards. In these photographs the subjects could move in and out of their frames.

While this was going on, Kingsley had taken charge of the operation to magically rearrange the marquee so that it was ready for the dancing and the buffet which would follow. People then took their allotted spaces around the various tables. As the bride and groom re-entered the marquee to applause they took their place at the table where the best man and the bridesmaids now sat.

When everyone had settled Harry rose to his feet and began to speak.

"I am going to keep this short, he said. "I have to tell you, that never in my wildest imaginings could I have foretold this event. Those of you who know the history of my family will know that for most of my childhood years the man whom I have supported all day and seen through his nervous sate as he awaited the arrival of his bride, is a man I regarded as my worst enemy.

But equally when I came to Hogwarts and received my wand, I probably became Dudley's worst nightmare, for he did not know that I was not allowed to do magic outside of school for some time. Even when he did realise that he told me he still had nightmares about me snapping and using magic on him anyway. So at the end of the day we had an uneasy truce.

Dudley up to this point had a very bad experience of wizards. The first one he met was a giant of a man who used magic to give him a pig's tail which had to be surgically removed."

All eyes turned to Hagrid who flushed and tried to do the impossible and hide as laughter rippled around the table.

Harry continued. He then saw his aunt blown up by me and floated off into the night and then if that was not enough, the late, and very much lamented Fred Weasley and his brother George deliberately fed him a one ton toffee. This caused his tongue to engorge to an enormous length before their father managed to put it right. You can also add to his tale of horror the fact that he was pursued by dementors who were really after me and he felt the full effect of them as they came close to sucking his soul from his body before I managed to summon a patronus and see them off."

Harry now turned and looked at Dudley and said,

"If I ever doubted your courage Dudley you have dispelled it today. If I had been in your shoes, I doubt if I would ever have been brave enough to propose to a witch even a very beautiful one after those experiences."

Now there was a great wave of laughter around the tent at this last remark.

"Then of course there is the bride herself and no one can doubt her bravery and her loyalty to and concern for those about whom she cares. As one of her first close friends, I have seen and been touched by her needs, But I have also been amazed by her capacity to give and her willingness to risk life and limb in the defence of all of us. She has shown great capacity to support and care for us in the times of our need.

Luna I consider it a great privilege to have been your friend and I will never forget the letter chain that was imprinted on the ceiling of your bedroom. It reminds me time and again, that our friends are among our most precious possessions. I think Dudley would agree with me, when I say you have matured into a very beautiful young woman whom any man would welcome as a bride. But as always, in taking Dudley as your husband, you have done much more than give him your love. You have embraced Petunia with that same love and then reached out touch and change the lives of your friends with your gift for reconciliation.

You have done what we both thought would be impossible and brought him and I together in new bonds of fellowship In your happiness you have brought together another couple here today, who if I am not mistaken will soon be following the path you have just trod. I have heard rumours that there may be other widening ripples of the effect of this love you have found. In our midst today is yet another couple one of whom is another close friend of ours whose lives may have been affected by the love you have found and shared with us."

At this Neville blushed, and Cecily who was sitting with him smiled hugely.

"I will finish this speech by saying that this has been a great privilege for me to be the first to wish you and Dudley great happiness in your life together. Let us drink to that. Ladies and gentlemen I ask you to raise your glasses in a toast to our bride and groom."

To the amazement of Dudley and Luna there was great applause to Harry's speech for the audience knew that there were hidden depths to this what he had to say and people who knew the history behind it were moved by it. This was revealed by the tears in the eyes of the bride herself.

When the applause had died down it was Dudley's turn to say a few words he rose to his feet and turned to Harry and said,

"I am grateful to my best man for his support today and for the way he glossed over the failings of my childhood. Those of you here do not need me to tell you that he is an exceptionally kind and caring person. He has proved that many times over through the actions he has performed in your midst and of which I am only learning now. I take this opportunity to say thank you for his gracious acceptance of me as I enter more deeply into the life of this community.

When I received from you a young woman to assist me in the hunt for a rapist who turned out to be a dark wizard, little did I know that within the space of twenty four hours she was going to turn my world upside down. For three years I had been grieving over the loss of my first wife and my life was going nowhere. Then she came into the life of me and my daughter and confirmed what I already suspected, that my daughter was a witch, and at the same time revealed that she was also a witch.

Then to my amazement I found her acceptance of me and of my past lifting me out of my melancholy and enabling and inspiring me to seek a fresh start. She not only won my heart but also the heart of my daughter. At the same time she reminded us of the gratitude which we owed to my first wife for the love for the care she had given us prior to her death, and informed us that it was a gratitude she shared. She pointed out that through her not only had she inherited a man who would become her loving husband but also a wonderful daughter whom she would love and treasure as her own. Because of this she said that my first wife's memory would never be allowed to die but be treasured by every member of the new family we would become. Her openness and selflessness which Harry has alluded to along with her beauty just swept me off my feet and has led me to this place. And I thank her for all she has given to me and mine.

I would also like to thank my young bridesmaid and the matrons of honour for the support they have given Luna at this time and at the same time compliment them for their beauty and the way they have graced this great occasion. Then last but not least I would also like to thank all of you for the support you have given us both in the run up to our wedding and by your presence here today. My bride and I owe you a deep debt of gratitude not only for the friendship you have freely offered, but also for your generous gifts to us on the occasion of our wedding. Please accept our deep and heartfelt gratitude."

Again there was a great deal of applause for what Dudley had to say.

When it died down Harry announced that the festivities would now get underway as the bride He told them the bride and groom would soon take the floor to start the festivities they would be followed by the bridesmaid, the matrons of honour and their partners. He hoped that all would then take to the dance floor to support the bride and groom to get the party off in style.

He also reminded them of the buffet which would be available for most of the evening.

The bride and groom were then applauded as they led off the dancing. They were soon followed by the majority of the guests. One of the first couples to take the floor after the main protagonists had been Cecily and Neville. Cecily was delightfully surprised that Neville proved to be a very accomplished dancing partner, and this was to be the first of many daces they would enjoy together throughout the evening.

While these festivities were taking place, dark deeds were being planned elsewhere. Marcus Dolohov had learned that the couple would be taking a week's honeymoon together while their daughter stayed with her grandparents who were Muggles. He decided that this would be his chance to put into operation the first part of his revenge. He would seize the child while she was in their care and then use her to get Lovegood before wreaking his revenge on both.

In order that the child should not miss any schooling they would be staying in Dudley's house for the week which simplified his planning process because he had already studied the route and the area thoroughly. He smiled to himself as he thought it should literally be child's play.

Meanwhile as he festivities of the evening rolled on Cecily led Neville from the dance floor and instead of returning to the table where those with whom they had shared the evening till now sat, she led him to a more secluded table near the entrance of the marquee. Once they were settled and Neville had brought them refreshments, she said to him,

"I thought we should have a bit of privacy Neville, because I want to talk to you before we all depart to our normal lives once these festivities are over".

Neville looked at her with a slightly worried frown, wondering if she was about to bring to an end their budding relationship, for he could not believe that this extremely beautiful woman would want to continue seeing him.

"I have really enjoyed the time I have spent with you this week and you will probably have noticed that I am a pretty forceful character and that I have been the one who has made the decisions about where we should go and what we should do." She said to him.

"Yes I had noticed that," Neville said with a smile. "It hasn't really bothered me, because I am, usually very shy where girls are concerned so I have been happy to go along with the decisions you have made. Most of the time they are things I would have wanted to do with you anyway. Even if they had not been I would have done so in any case because you wanted me to. I am pretty easy going most of the time."

She smiled at him and said, "I had noticed that about you too and it worried me a little in case I was steamrollering you into something you did not really want to do."

Neville looked at her in astonished surprise and said,

"Are you kidding?" He asked. "One of the most beautiful brilliant and vibrant girls I have ever met virtually throws herself at me and then tells me that she likes me and wants my company, and I am going to object because she sort of takes the lead. No way. If there is ever anything you want me to do that I have reservations about Cecily I will let you know. If there is ever anything I really want us to do, then again I will let you know. I have a hunch that if you feel about me, the way I feel about you even after this short time, you will be more than willing to go along with it when that happens."

Then he smiled at her, leant across the table and took both her hands in his and said,

"Cecily, my sweet I am easy going, but I am not easily steamrollered. I have stood up to some pretty powerful people when it has been necessary, and even

To the point where I was putting my life has been at stake."

"I know," Cecily told him with a smile. "Today I have been speaking to people about you and they have told me among other things that you are one of the bravest people they have ever known. They told me about you leading the student revolt, and how you stood against that powerful dark lord when they all thought you were going to be killed. Then they marvelled about how you had recovered from the way he was torturing you and cut off the head of his snake and ended his last tie with immortality. They also told me you were a very kind and caring person.