Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the movie The Wedding Planner
Ginny Weasley, the most prominent wedding planner in the United Kingdom, walked through the church, calmly; making sure everything was running smoothly and in order. With five minutes until the big moment, Ginny entered the bride's room to inform her. The first thing she saw upon entering was the bride's terrified face.
"I can't do this!" Said the woman, staring at her reflection in the mirror, while smoothing her lace wedding gown.
Ginny smiled, she had heard the same thing over and over again from so many brides. "Susan, do you want to know how I know that you and Justin are going to make a fantastic couple?" asked Ginny kindly.
"How?" Susan asked nervously.
"He told me yesterday that he thought he was the luckiest man in the world because he was marrying the most beautiful woman in the world."
"Really?" Susan asked, on the verge of tears.
Ginny grinned, "Yes, and he also enlightened me that he thinks you have the cutest bum he's ever seen."
"Thanks Ginny, I owe you one," Susan giggled, feeling much better, and turned back to the mirror.
"Not a problem at all Susan. I'm glad that I got to plan a wedding for two former Hogwarts students." Ginny smiled, "Now that you're alright, I need to make sure that everyone else is."
Ginny sighed; she knew that Justin Finch-Fletchley and Susan Bones had fancied each other since their last year of Hogwarts, over five years ago. Ginny hadn't changed that much since her Hogwarts days. She was still the vibrant red-head that everyone knew and loved. The only difference was her hair was a bit longer, past her shoulders.
As Ginny made her way out of the bride's room, she spotted a bridesmaid fidgeting with the extra fabric at the top of her gown. Ginny quickly pulled out her wand and fixed the problem with one swift flick. She was ready for anything that could cause a problem.
"Er, Ginny?" came a voice in Ginny's ear through her microphone. (Handy little device she discovered in her Muggle Studies class.)
"Yes, Lavender?" Ginny answered, quickly telling the groom's party to stop toasting, put their jackets on and get ready to go.
"The F.O.B is M.I.A.," replied Lavender.
Ginny sighed. Fantastic "Alright, I'm on top of it." Just great, the father of the bride is missing. Ginny turned the corner to search upstairs, but she didn't get too far. There, sitting on the stairs was Susan's father.
"Lavender, the F.O.B. has been located. Go make sure everyone else is in place." ordered Ginny.
"Roger, Ginny, everything else is under control," responded Lavender.
Ginny walked up to Susan's father, who clearly had had a few too many firewhiskeys. She unbuttoned her jacket; attached to it was a belt with everything that she might need in case of an emergency: her wand, Spellotape, Pepperup Potion, and in this case, a sobering potion.
"My little girl is getting married today," Susan's father slurred.
"I know," Ginny replied. "Here take this, you'll feel much better."
He took the potion from her as he continued to babble. "I remember when ickle Suzie was only eleven. Hic! She started school at a big, big, castle..er…palace…er…Pigwarts? No!..Hogwarts that's right," he said, pointing a wobbly finger. But, as Mr. Bones drank the potion, he began to come back to reality. "Who are you?" he asked Ginny.
"I'm the wedding planner and its time for you to walk Susan down the aisle."
Ginny looked out on the ceremony and couldn't help but smile. Everything had worked out perfectly. Susan looked beautiful, her father walked her down the aisle without giving anyone the slightest clue of his previous condition, and the church looked lovely with white roses and fairy light floating overhead. Even Lavender was not her normal anxious self. She smiled as she watched the ceremony.
Two witches looked up at Ginny and Lavender, as the priest spoke. "Who's that Mum?" asked the younger witch.
"Dear, that's the wedding planner," replied her mother.
"Ohh!" gasped the daughter, "She must live such a romantic life."
If only those two witches really knew what Ginny's life was like.
After the wedding, Ginny walked into her small, but cozy flat. She was dead tired and wanted nothing more than to get to bed. She conjured up a quick meal, watched a program on the television that her dad bought her and went to bed. This is how Ginny, the fantastic Wedding Planner, spent her nights. Not as romantic as some would think….
"Rook to C4," Ginny directed her rook into position.
"Bugger," mumbled Hermione, twisting her finger around a chestnut brown curl.
Ginny giggled as she watched Hermione contemplate her next move.
"Ginny, dear, give Hermione a chance," Molly Weasley called from the kitchen.
"Sorry Mum, but I play the same whether I'm playing against a five year old or a Weasley."
"Well, I'm not a five year old or a Weasley," replied Hermione smugly.
"No, of course you're not a Weasley…yet," snickered Ginny, making Hermione blush furiously. Ron had proposed six months ago, right before he and their father, Arthur, went off around the world for a year long trip. Arthur had to take a world tour, being the new Minister of Magic and all.
"Can we please not talk about Ron and my relationship for once?" pleaded Hermione with a slight frown. "Can't we pick on someone else for a change? Ginny perhaps?" she added hopefully.
"Oh, no, don't start that up again. The last time we discussed me, I came so close to hexing you all that sparks were flying out of my wand," snapped Ginny.
Ginny didn't have any type of problem finding a date, she was a very beautiful, intelligent woman, she was even engaged once before. The problem was that her job busied her, leaving her with hardly any time for a social life.
"Ginny, come now, let them have some fun. You know how they love helping you." This statement came from Luna Lovegood's father, editor and owner of the very successful magazine, The Quibbler, John Lovegood.
"Don't you start as well. You can only come to my flat to practice chess and that's it, not to help them torture me," argued Ginny.
"Well, Ginny, speaking of your love life," Molly smiled, as Ginny groaned. "Do you remember Louis Bordeaux, the sweet boy you met on our trip to Egypt, when you were twelve?"
Ginny snorted. Sweet? Was her mother mad? "You mean the short kid with the squeaky voice who tried to shut me in a tomb?" inquired Ginny. Hermione laughed as Ginny's face scrunched up as she pictured him. "Why are you asking about that Mum? It was ages ago."
"Well," Molly answered, "I ran into him in Diagon Alley." Ginny shut her eyes and shook her head. She did not like where this conversation was heading, but it didn't seem to matter, for Molly continued. "He had no place to stay, so I told him that he could stay at the Burrow. He is single, you know."
Ginny looked up. "Is that all?"
"Well actually no. We got to talking and he told me that in French wizarding customs, men must get married before they turn twenty-five, so I mentioned your name…and he said that he would marry you." Molly quickly finished her sentence, just before Ginny let out a scream.
"So let me get this straight," Ginny started, gradually getting louder. "You accepted a marriage proposal for me from a person I haven't seen in over ten years! Are you bloody mental!"
"Ginevra Molly Weasley! Watch your mouth!" scolded Molly. "Louis is a perfectly lovely man. You've known him half your life. You even said yourself that you have no time to date, well, I fixed that problem."
Ginny didn't know what to say. She was questioning her mother's sanity while Hermione and John stood there and did nothing to help her. Just as she was about to say something that would have definitely gotten her in trouble, the doorbell rang.
"Is that him!" asked Ginny, horrified.
"Yes. I told him to come over. You control yourself young lady!" snapped Molly. "The door is open, come right in!" she called to him.
The person who entered the room looked nothing like Ginny remembered. Instead of a tiny boy with a head of long blond curls, there was a perfect blond head of hair on an even more perfect body. The short, gangly kid, who Ginny once detested, was now a tall, muscular man with a stunning tan and amazingly blue eyes.
"Bonjour Mrs. Weasley. Gi-Ginny? Eez zat you? Zee last time I saw you, you woz a petite girl with zee pig-tails who woz afraid of zee pyramids." Louis was stunned at how exquisite Ginny looked.
"Hi," This time Ginny was the one who was squeaking. As she regained her composure she replied, "And I was not afraid of the pyramids."
Louis laughed, "Oui, you are still zee same stubborn girl I remember. I am very glad zat you have agreed to be my wife."
Before that last sentence, Ginny was actually considering giving Louis a chance, but after he said that, she immediately changed her mind and started to leave.
"Ginny wait!" her mother called as Ginny grabbed her coat. Ginny pretended not to hear her and stormed out of the building.
"Oh dear," sighed John.
"She eez going to be my wife. She eez very, how you say, feisty. I will 'ave fun with 'er," exclaimed Louis, happily.
The next day, Ginny had calmed dawn after the whole Louis fiasco. She flicked her wand and styled her hair into an elegant bun before walking to work. On the way, she picked up a copy of Witch Weekly. As soon as Ginny entered her office building, other wedding planners attacked her with questions about their weddings. Ginny ignored them all and continued to Laura Graham's office, head of LG Weddings Inc. Ginny was on a mission.
Laura Graham was a stern woman who did not mess around. Her appearance wouldn't intimidate anyone; she was a short, medium-build woman with short cropped, honey colored hair. She looked like she would never hurt a fly, but anyone who got in her way knew otherwise.
As Ginny opened the door, she could hear Laura talking to someone over the Floo Network.
"No carnations! If I see one carnation in a kilometer radius of the Casey-Gibson wedding, I'll turn you into a carnation and then destroy you! Because I hate carnations!" Laura pulled her head out of the fire and turned and to see Ginny.
Ginny giggled. Laura seemed frightening, but Ginny knew how to work her – at least, she hoped.
"Weasley! Pleasure to see you. Excellent work on the Bone-Finch-Fletchley wedding!" Laura knew that Ginny was not only the best wedding planner at the firm, but also the youngest. "What's on your mind?"
Ginny took out the magazine she had purchased earlier and slapped it on Laura's desk. On the cover was Sarah Mitchell, heiress to the Wizarding Wireless fortune. Laura looked at Ginny like she was crazy.
"Sarah Mitchell, the most famous witch in Europe is recently engaged," stated Ginny, sitting down on the white leather couch.
"Brilliant!" grinned Laura, "We can make contact today and –"
"Already did, she's coming to the Casey-Gibson wedding to see my work." Ginny smiled, knowing her boss would be impressed.
"Ginny what would I do without you?" asked Laura.
Ginny grinned. This was exactly what she expected Laura to say. "You would probably make no money. Now if I were a partner in the firm-"
"Ginny," Laura started cautiously.
"You need me Laura and you know it," argued Ginny.
"I don't need you," Laura shot back.
"Yes you do."
"Nuhuh,"
"You know you need me."
"Ginny, I built this firm myself. I worked hard my whole life, way before you-"
"Before me you didn't make any money," Ginny cut in. She had to prove that she was needed. "I make more money than all your other wedding planners."
Laura knew this was true but wouldn't give in that easily. "Ginny…"
"Times five!"
"I know that but…"
Ginny stood up, "Fine, fine, forget it. I'll just start my own business."
"You wouldn't dare!" hissed Laura.
"Try me"
Laura pounded her desk and groaned, "Fine! Alright! You win!"
"Really!" Ginny exclaimed.
"ONLY if you get the Mitchell account," stated Laura.
"Consider it done. Thanks Laura!" Ginny hugged a very disgruntled Laura and skipped out the double doors to go meet Sarah.
Ginny stood in the back of the hall by the kitchen at the Casey-Gibson wedding. She spoke into her microphone and recited, "May you both live long wonderful lives together full of happiness, joy, hopes and dreams. Now raise your glass to the couple." At the same time the Best Man repeated the exact same words.
The passing waiters and caterers looked at Ginny in shock and disbelief. "What?" she asked. "You expected him to come up with that himself?"
"You just fed the Best Man his speech; quite impressive."
Ginny whipped around to see a young woman standing there in a red turtleneck sweater, and formfitting jeans. She had warm blue eyes and dirty blonde hair so straight that she must have used Sleekeasy's. Ginny smiled. She liked this woman already. "You must be Sarah Mitchell. It's a pleasure to finally meet you," she said, recognizing her picture from the magazine.
"No, the pleasure's all mine. I can't believe I'm going to have the best wedding planner in Europe plan my wedding!" Sarah exclaimed.
Ginny smiled. "Well, maybe not Europe, but definitely England," she said with a grin. "Thanks for the compliment." Ginny looked around. "Where's your fiancé?"
"I don't know, he should have been here by now. But between you and me, he's not interested in the planning."
"Well, most grooms are N.I.Ds," Ginny answered, leaving Sarah confused. "Not into details," She clarified.
"Oh!" Sarah laughed, "Yeah that's him, he only cares about the end result."
Just then, the Best Man passed by and slapped Ginny on the back, "Thanks love, that speech was bloody brilliant!"
Ginny laughed, "Easy on the firewhiskey, Joe!"
"Oh hey!" Sarah exclaimed, "I want you to meet my parents."
Sarah led Ginny over to the buffet table where her parents were standing. Sarah's mother was drinking champagne while her father examined the silverware.
"Mummy! Daddy!" called Sarah. They looked at their daughter "Ginny Weasley, I would like you to meet my parents, Margaret and Jack."
Margaret was a tall, thin woman, like her daughter. Her blonde hair was held back tightly in a clip. And her face was pulled almost as tight as her hair. It was very obvious that she had experimented with de-ageing potions and charms.
Jack Mitchell had a much softer look about him. His once brown hair was now starting to grey. He was dressed in a stylish brown suit and had his glasses on the crook of his nose to examine the intricate details of the platinum spoon he was holding.
"It's a pleasure to meet both of you," Ginny responded politely.
"Dad, are you eating the food?" asked Sarah, clearly embarrassed.
"Yes, and it's delicious!"
"And the champagne is magnificent!" added Margaret.
Sarah looked livid. "Mum, we're not guests; you're not supposed to be drinking the champagne!"
Jack kissed his daughter on the forehead, trying to calm her down. "Ms. Weasley, give my daughter whatever she wants. Money is no object."
Sarah smiled, "Thanks Dad"
"Now then," Jack clasped his hands, "What do you see for my daughter's wedding?"
"Well," answered Ginny, "Now having met you, er… I see an afternoon wedding, just as the sun is setting. It should be outside, under white tents, so later on you can see the stars. We can bring in exotic trees from Thailand to border the outer area and have roses floating overhead during the ceremony…"
"I got it Lav! I got the Mitchell account!" exclaimed Ginny to Lavender over her cell phone, as she walked back to the office. (Another nifty invention that Muggles had come up with. Of course it was altered so it could be used by witches and wizards.)
"All right!" Lavender shouted on the other end of the phone. "Did you meet the groom yet?"
"No, not yet. I'll tell you when I do." Ginny was ecstatic. "I can't believe it! I'm going to be part of the – oh!"
The heel of Ginny's shoe had gotten caught in a grate in the middle of the street. "Bugger," mumbled Ginny. "I'm stuck. Hold on a minute Lav."
As Ginny struggled to free her shoe, while still holding the phone, a clumsy worker down the street at Quality Quidditch Supplies, accidentally dropped a box of brand new Bludgers. The Bludgers began to fly down the street at an incredible speed.
Ginny was so preoccupied with her shoe, that she didn't notice the dozen Bludgers coming right at her. She looked up just in time to see them getting closer and closer, and she was stuck.
"Shit!" cried Ginny. She decided that her only option was to unbuckle her hopelessly stuck shoe and get out of the way. But, upon looking back at her poor wedged shoe, she decided to give it on last tug. Those were her favorite shoes, and she couldn't leave it there.
Suddenly, Ginny heard an all too familiar sound. It was the sound of a Bludger when it was right about to hit you. But this time it was a lot more than one, or even two. Ginny panicked. She didn't have time to move and she couldn't concentrate enough to Disapparate, or get her wand out fast enough. She closed her eyes and hoped only to come out of the incident with serious injuries, but still be living.
Ginny heard the rush of the Bludgers and was suddenly thrown down to the ground. Hmm she though, the impact was not as hard as I expected.
Then Ginny realized that something heavy was on top of her. It hurt, but wasn't the feeling of being hit by a dozen Bludgers.
Then, she heard a voice, "Are you alright?...Hello?...Please wake up."
Ginny opened her brown eyes and was greeted with a pair of bright emerald ones. She looked up and saw a young man. He had raven colored hair and glasses. Ginny had a familiar feeling that she had met him before, but she was so out of it from the fall that she couldn't think straight.
"Thank Merlin you're awake," the young man said. Ginny nodded. She tried to form a sentence, "You…you saved my…my shoe." Ginny realized what she had just said too late. "I mean my life."
The young man chuckled, "Yeah, the shoe was what I was going for, you just happened to be in the way. But let's not worry about that right now. Are you sure you're alright? No head injuries or trouble breathing?"
"The breathing one rings a bell," answered Ginny, "Then again, you are on top of me cutting off my air supply."
"That's probably it," grinned the young man.
"Er…why are you still on top of me?" asked Ginny.
"Oh right, sorry," the young man apologized. "Let's try and get up alright? I'll take you to St. Mungo's. Just try and stay awake, okay?"
As the young man picked Ginny up, she rolled onto his hand; "Ow!" he stifled a groan of pain.
Ginny placed her head on his shoulder. He had a nice strong shoulder, he smelled nice too, she thought.
"You smell," Ginny mumbled, "like lemon drops…and…a new Quidditch uniform."
And with that, Ginny collapsed into a faint in the young man's arms.
A/N: I hope you liked the first chapter! Tell me what you think!