A/N:
Welcome to the third part of the "Never Alone" series. If you have not read books one and two, this story may be rather confusing for you. You can access "Never Alone" (Part I) and "Give Yourself Away" (Part II) from my profile by clicking my name.
If you are already familiar with the Never Alone series, I want to thank you for your continued support for book three. Enjoy!
Beyond
Never Alone, Book III
Chapter One – Before the Wedding
Voldemort had returned.
Oh, yes. How very true that was.
But even he couldn't raise the same sort of chaos that was preparing for a wedding. He (Harry that is, not Snake-Face) and Pansy had been running non-stop all week. Not to mention the efforts the Maid of Honor, Hermione, had put forth. They'd have dropped dead on their first day without her.
They'd spent the whole of the week organizing the clothing for the various people asked and assigned to help with the wedding. Hermione, it would seem, was quite on top of things. She stayed up late, got up early, and, unless she had a question to ask, was completely silent the entirety of the day.
This, of course, irritated Ron some, as it was his girlfriend that he was unable to spend any time with. Pansy tried distracting him from that fact by piling stuff up for him to do, but this only annoyed him further. He did, however, do the work assigned to him.
Harry, as it was, was currently digging through a pile... a heap of papers searching for the set-up of the wedding. He would need to get the paper to Dumbledore immediately if the House-Elves were to have everything in place by 7 p.m., the time of the wedding.
Harry'd been awaiting the arrival of Pansy's bridesmaids all day. Fleur and Gabrielle Delacour, whom they had befriended last school year with the reinstatement of the Triwizard Tournament, happily accepted the plea to fill that most demanding role.
He then remembered that Gabrielle would be attending Hogwarts and smiled. Then he frowned. If this wedding didn't go well, he'd hear about it all year.
The doorbell rang at Parkinson Manor, Potter Manor as Pansy preferred it. Sighing slightly as he put the top of the stack back down with the rest, Harry rose from his seat and made his way to the door.
Blinking to save time, 'cause he's good like that, Harry swung the door open.
Before him were the two smiling faces of the bridesmaids for their wedding. It was tomorrow, of course, but, seeing as they were from France, it was far easier for them to stay the night and travel with them to the Black Lake the following day.
Hugging them, both Fleur and Gabrielle Delacour, that is, Harry ushered them inside and closed the door. Pansy walked down the stairs and greeted them as well.
Hermione stayed busy in the next room over.
"Eez zere anytheeng we can do to 'elp?" asked Fleur innocently as little Gabrielle walked around the living room.
"Oh, yes." said Hermione grabbing her arm immediately, "C'mere!"
Fleur's eyes bulged as she was whisked off into the neighboring room.
"She should never have asked," laughed Pansy, reaching for the doorknob as the bell rung once again.
It was Dumbledore. There he stood in their doorway, clad in robes of pure white. His white hair was neatly combed and hung down at his sides. He smiled,
"Pansy, Harry," he said quietly, inviting himself in, "You wanted me to be the one to marry you, yes?" he asked, taking a seat as Pansy closed the door.
"Yes," Pansy blurted as she stepped in front of the old man, "Is something wrong, sir?"
"Oh, no." he said simply, smiling, his blue eyes twinkling ever so slightly, "It's just the first time I've been asked." he chuckled. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Dumbledore's eyes bulged much as Fleur's had when Hermione charged into the room, grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the same room she had imprisoned Fleur and Gabby.
"She makes a brilliant Maid of Honor," said Pansy, failing to fight back laughter as the door closed.
"And that she does." said Harry, laughing a little himself as he went over the seating for the wedding, "And that she does."
A/N: And there we have it! The start of year 5! I hope to see some brilliant reviews! Thanks for all of you who have stuck with the series, hope to see you enjoy this as much as you did "Never Alone" and "Give Yourself Away".