Marriage Law Madness

Molly Weasley was nervous. The Halloween feast was about to start, and she was about to enter the Great Hall on Dumbledore’s arm to become Mrs. Snape. She was resplendent in robes of black velvet; since there were no traditional colors for a second marriage, she chose to wear her groom’s favorite color. Her dress however shimmered with silver embroidery around the neck, sleeves and hem. Instead of a hat she wore a glittering knotted silver net over her hair, thoughtfully woven for her by Aragog, who had also provided the silver thread for the dress. Draco had lent her his mother’s beautiful diamond necklace as her something borrowed, she had her wedding hanky from her marriage to Arthur as her something old, Hermione had tacked a light blue bow on her garter as something blue, and Dumbledore had bought her diamond earrings. Not many outside the family knew that Albus was Molly’s godfather. “Are you ready?” a voice whispered. She nodded, soft music began and the door leading into the hall opened. The room was bedecked with garlands of fall flowers, and the centerpiece, instead of just the usual floating jack-o-lanterns, featured one pair wearing a veil and a top hat. The cake stood off to the side, with roses of a deep russet red to match the flowers.

The photographer Dumbledore had hired began clicking away as Ginny stepped down the aisle as her mother’s maid of honor; escorted by Draco. Hermione, escorted by Percy, was the bridesmaid. Standing next to Molly were Alicia, Angelina, Tonks and Fleur. They had decided that they might as well share the wedding date and make it a very Weasley wedding. Draco and Ginny had to wait a year until Ginny turned sixteen.

One by one the brides came down the aisle, with their groom taking them by the arm and leading them to their assigned spot. They said their vows one by one, Molly and Severus first. They were followed by Fred and Angelina, then George and Alicia, Charlie and Fleur and finally Bill and Tonks took their vows. Dumbledore performed the ribbon binding ceremony, and then all five grooms were given permission to kiss their brides. A huge burst of golden sparks erupted from the room as the five magical ribbons turned into golden, unbreakable ribbon. These were to be kept by the couple as a treasured possession, a reminder of the unbreakable bond between them.

Then the feast began, with lots of toasts and calls for kisses. After all, this was probably the only time in their lives where the students could get Snape to be embarrassed in public and not get detention for it. But even this wasn’t as hard as it used to be. He was more relaxed than anyone had seen him in a long while, eating and dancing and actually seeming to enjoy himself. Ginny was surprised when he cut in on her and Draco. “Godson, may I steal my stepdaughter for a dance?” And when all the tables managed to coordinate clinking their glasses to call for a kiss, expecting him to simply glare and ignore them, he just mock-glared at them, looked at Dumbledore for permission and dipped Molly backward for a long smooch. Peeves zoomed over their heads blowing bubbles from one of the little containers on the table.

Later, there was a huge send-off before the couples headed off to their honeymoon destinations. The twins and their mates were departing for a wizarding resort in the Carribean, while Bill and Tonks were going to New York City. Fleur and Charlie were going straight to Romania, as Charlie didn’t have any time off. Molly and Severus were the last to leave, heading off to Snape Manor for the weekend. Dumbledore had offered to finance their honeymoon if they would wait until the Christmas holiday for a real honeymoon so he didn’t have to find a substitute.

Molly and Severus stepped out of the Hogwarts carriage at the Apparition boundary and Apparated to the gates of Snape Manor. Snape spelled open the door, picked Molly up and carried her over the threshold. “Welcome home, Mrs. Snape.”