Hi, so this is my first attempt at a Butterfly effect fiction. Ron's drunken uncle falls over at Bill and Fleur's wedding causing events to take a different turn. The first part in italics is obviously the wonderful work of JK Rowling and I can take no credit for her words or characters

He had never been to a wedding before, so he could not judge how Wizarding celebrations differed from Muggle ones, though he was pretty sure that the latter would not involve a wedding cake topped with two model phoenixes that took flight when the cake was cut, or bottles of champagne that floated unsupported through the crowd. As the evening drew in, and moths began to swoop under the canopy, now lit with floating golden lanterns, the revelry became more and more uncontained. Fred and George had long since disappeared into the darkness with a pair of Fleur's cousins; Charlie, Hagrid, and a squat wizard in a purple porkpie hat were singing "Odo the Hero" in the corner.

Wandering through the crowd so as to escape a drunken uncle of Ron's who seemed unsure whether or not Harry was his son, Harry spotted an old wizard sitting alone at a table. His cloud of white hair made him look rather like an aged dandelion clock and was topped by a moth-eaten fez. He was vaguely familiar: Racking his brains, Harry suddenly realized that this was Elphias Doge, member of the Order of the Phoenix and the writer of Dumbledore's obituary.

Harry approached him. "May I sit down?"

"Of course, of course," said Doge; he had a rather high-pitched, wheezy voice.

Harry leaned in. "Mr. Doge, I'm Harry Potter."

Doge gasped. "My dear boy! Arthur told me you were here, disguised... I am so glad, so honored!"

In a flutter of nervous pleasure Doge poured Harry a goblet of champagne.

"I thought of writing to you," he whispered, "after Dumbledore... the shock... and for you, I am sure..."

Doge's tiny eyes filled with sudden tears.

The music stopped and across the marquee Harry saw that Ron's drunken uncle had now slipped and spilled mead all over the fiddlers and the accordionist. Mrs Weasley was giving him a stern talking to as Ron's Dad ushered the soaked musicians into the Burrow where they could presumably perform some cleaning charms on themselves in front of a well-lit mirror.

Many of the couples, including Ron and Hermione, who were dancing, left the empty floor and started to mingle or sit down at the tables around as the still dry harpist played out a plain twinkly sort of tune, the type of music you might here in the background of a lift or a supermarket.

Harry ignored the interruption and turned back to Doge eager to discover any more information about Dumbledore.

"I saw the obituary you wrote for the Daily Prophet," said Harry. "I didn't realize you knew Professor Dumbledore so well."

"Do you think we should rescue Harry from Great Auntie Muriel" Ron asked Hermione plopping a glass of butterbeer down in front of her and sipping his own glass.

"I don't think he wants to be rescued" Hermione said looking over at the polyjuiced Harry talking earnestly with two elderly persons "Don't you recognise that wizard?"

Ron frowned and squinted in Doge's direction "That's Doge isn't it, the one who wrote Dumbledore's obituary."

"Exactly" Hermione said knowingly "Harry will want to talk to him about Dumbledore."

There was another reason Hermione didn't want to disturb Harry, she wanted to be alone with Ron a little longer in the hope that the loss of music hadn't dulled his nerve.

She didn't appear to be as lucky as both of them descended into an awkward silence each knowing what they wanted to say to the other but without having the guts to say it. Why was this so hard Hermione thought frustrated, she knew Ron like her so why couldn't she just tell him she liked him or even just kiss him the same way Harry had just kissed Ginny after the Quidditch Cup Final last year.

Ron apparently looked for something to break the silence pulled out the silver Deluminator left to him by Dumbledore and flicked it open and shut experimentally.

A nearby floating candle was extinguished and then relit.

"Why do you think Dumbledore gave this to me?" he asked turning it over in his hands

"I don't know" Hermione said thoughtfully "You were right earlier, there are other magical objects that can produce or vanish light so I think it must do something else. Are there any engravings?"

Ron ran his fingers over the smooth surface and held it up to the floating candle to examine it more carefully "No nothing" he said.

"Oh there you are Ron" Mrs Weasley rushed up beside them, she looked quite pink from both shouting at Ron's uncle and the champagne she had had so far "Would you be able to see Mr Perkins to the apparition point, I think it's gotten rather late for him the poor old dear."

Ron looked at the old wizard his father had worked with and saw him yawing loudly as he crouched low over his walking stick at the edge of the marquee.

"Can't Ginny or one of the others do it?" he asked reluctant to leave Hermione

"Oh for heaven's sake Ron this is your brother's wedding" Mrs Weasley said shrilly "I would ask Fred or George to do it but they seem to have disappeared."

"Fine" Ron grumbled pulling himself up "Here" he said handing the Deluminator to Hermione "I'll be right back, don't go anywhere." and Hermione went faintly pink at the return of Ron's confidence.

Mrs Weasley looked at the pair of them with a wide smile and satisfied eyes before she apparently remembered that they needed more butterbeer and tottered off to the house to get some.

Hermione twisted the Deluminator in her hands, a few tables away she saw Viktor Krum who looked as though he was having a row with Luna Lovegood's father and wondered whether she should try to intervene. She decided not to as she would rather wait for Ron and entertained the notion that maybe she should just drag Ron off to some dark bushes as Fred and George had done with the Veela cousins.

Just as she was wondering whether she could truly carry such a move off something large and silverly entered the tent. A magnificent silver lynx sored over the heads of the wedding guests who gasped as it landed in the middle of the floor.

It opened its mouth and the voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt boomed "The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming."

Mayhem filled the tent as frightened guests' disapperated. Hermione threw the Deluminator into her beaded bag and pushed her way through the mob of guests shouting for friends and relatives; she jumped up trying to see Harry or Ron but was unable to spot them in the throng of panicking witches and wizards.

She saw Lupin, Tonks and Bill shooting shield charms at the marquee to protect the guests but they were too late, black figures in Death Eater masks suddenly appeared circling the wedding as though hunting a herd of frightened gazelles. Flames shot over head setting chairs and curtains alight. Screams deafened Hermione's ears, whether hysterical or uttered in pain she had no time to care, she had one thought on her mind Harry and Ron.

Unable to see Harry in the chaos Hermione dodged in and out of the confusion and fighting and ran out of the marquee onto the moonlit lawn. Squinting she saw Ron's gangly silhouette running towards her and felt as though she was on air. They just needed to find Harry she thought internally her body sagging with relief as she ran towards him.

Suddenly strong arms wrapped around her waist and a rancid breath fell on her neck and she felt her body twist grotesquely.

Crack!

"Hermione!" Ron screamed. She had vanished. No! She couldn't be gone!

He ran to the spot where the Death Eater had disapperated as though he could make her reappear unable to comprehend what had happened.

Ron heard his sister's piercing scream echo from the fighting. No not her too!

He ran to the half destroyed marquee but before he could enter the fray before he could even cross from the newly groomed grass to polished marble dance floor and long spider like hand grasped his shoulder and he felt his body compress painfully as though it was pressed into a tiny keyhole. The last image he saw was that of Harry staring at him with horror unaware of a stunning spell heading his way.

Crack!

"Ron!" Harry cried as he watched a Death Eater kidnap his best friend.

"Duck" someone yelled.

Harry didn't have time to react and suddenly he was shoved down behind a table. A stunning spell shot over him just where his head had been, it passed so close that it ripped the string tying his moleskin pouch around his neck and the pouch fell to the ground below. Beside him crouched Tonks whose blond hair now was rather wild and she peeked up over the rim of the cream tablecloth to shoot her own series of stunning spells back.

Lupin ran behind the table to join them "It's no use" he said "There's too many of them. I've told Arthur to surrender."

Tonks nodded

"What but you can't?" Harry protested "Ron, Hermione..."

"It's you they're after" Tonks said breathlessly and poked her head up to shoot a few more defensive spells.

"Right on my count" Lupin said and before Harry could do anything to stop him Lupin was grabbing both Tonks and Harry's shoulders "1, 2, 3…"

Crack!

Hope you liked it, if you have time please let me know what you think with a review