A/N: *sighs* This is the end...for now. I'm still writing things about them that will probably become one-shots, and who knows, maybe I'll even return to them in a while a long fic. I can't tell you just how sad it makes me to have to end this...but enough of that, here it goes:

Dreams

August 16, 2025

A clean, freshly cut grass made the ground into a perfectly smooth carpet. Flower petals were spread beautifully around the white chairs. Small candles floated gently lit around the air to offer some light for what was going to be an evening event.

And between the white chairs, the white rose petals, the floating candles there was...the people, the guests, the witnesses. Witches dressed in elegant, colourful gowns, and not very discreet hats, wizards wearing robes chosen just for the occasion, children running happily around the tables.

"Damn," murmured Teddy as he tried once again to count out the guests. He shook his head quickly and pressed his forehead against the glass of the window of the room he was in, two floors above the backyard of The Burrow. He swallowed hard, and fixed the necktie of his dress robes to breathe better. "Damn," he murmured again. He didn't recognize the old woman with the hot pink hat and the golden feathers rapping her neck. He didn't know who the wizard with the long moustache was. He took his hand to the back of his neck to sustain the weight of his head, he was sweating. Was it time to come down now?

He admitted then, for the first time in the last months, that the preparations had been...far too much. He finally acknowledged and silently admitted that his fiancé had been right when she pointed out, twenty or thirty times, that the magnitude of the wedding was getting out of control. "A small wedding," she had strictly requested, and by the looks of things, that didn't seem like a small event at all.

Teddy exhaled strongly and felt the need to walk out of the room and into the one where a bride was sure to be freaking out at that very moment.

"Hey, are you ready?" Harry's voice startled Teddy. He turned around and nodded quietly. Harry laughed softly as he walked inside the room and shut closed the door.

"Nervous?"

"No," he answered fast, too fast.

"Right."

Teddy turned to the window again and breathed in deeply.

"It'll be fine," Harry encouraged, placing his hand on Teddy's shoulder, which relaxed considerably. Teddy nodded.

"Yeah...sure..."

"It really will be fine..." Harry said again, this time smiling widely, almost mocking. As much as Harry tried to hide it, Ted could tell when his godfather was holding back a mocking laugh. He wasn't seeing the gravity of the situation.

"Only that...I mean—she won't come down," Teddy spitted out, pointing at the window. "When she sees this she won't come down..."

"Teddy—"

"—She won't! She asked for one thing...she clearly said: no more than fifty people... and there are over a hundred out there! She won't come down...she won't."

"Wha—Ted, she's not ten, she'll come down."

"She didn't want this circus, she wanted a small wedding. I agreed, but then Fleur got involved and then our grandmothers...and...Here we are."

"I still don't see—"

"—I didn't listen to her! I just played along. She wanted," he sighed "she wanted something else. She mentioned once...when we got engaged that. She wanted a private wedding, something small, but I didn't pay attention."

"Teddy it's not that bad, there is not half the amount of people that attended my wedding. Talk about scary," he laughed, shaking his head. Teddy didn't see what was so funny.

"I should have listened to Angelina," Teddy complained, pressing his forehead against the window again. "She suggested me to steal her and get married in some exotic country. I thought she was joking."

"Well, your honeymoon's in Greece," Harry shrugged.

"But I can't run off with her now, can I?" Teddy looked at his godfather's face, filled with a sudden amount of hope. "Can I?"

"No." Harry said, quite serious. "I have to show up down there with a Ted walking next to me, or else... Besides, those women won't let you live in peace if you run away with the bride. This wedding took them months to plan," he said sternly.

Teddy twisted his mouth into a smile, a very small one. He looked down at the decorated backyard, at the candles that were showing off their subtle light, at the wizard that was going to wed them, at his grandmother Andromeda, dressed with a beautiful and delicate purple, long gown. He smiled. He looked at his grandmother Molly, who was still fixing the last row of chairs and suddenly turned to give a waiter orders. Teddy's smile grew even more at the energy she still had.

He looked at his friends, finally he saw his friends. Jack was talking to Charlie. As the best man he had arrived right on time. Claire had just arrived as well, her left arm held by the tall, robust man with a strong chin that was her husband. Her right arm held the petit hand of a little boy, who was jumping with excitement at the sight of the flying candles. Her dress, a soft pink gown, didn't hide the size of her round belly. Across the field he found Bob, walking in with a girl Teddy didn't know. He felt lighter, for a moment. Then his mind went again to the bride.

"Have you seen her?" Teddy asked Harry. He shook his head.

"No one's allowed in there. And...to be honest I didn't even try," Harry explained. Teddy chuckled again, nervously.

"I hope she's not gazing out the window," Teddy murmured as he turned around to the transparent glass.

"Come on..."Harry said, gesturing with his head. "She'll really get scared if she sees you're not there."

Teddy smiled and fixed the neck tie of his robes again, for the fifth time. He shrugged, and his eyes begged for Harry's approval. His godfather smiled, a very small smile that made Teddy look down at his clothes. He thought they were alright, his Grandmother had picked them out.

"What?" he asked. Harry shook his head but cleared his throat. "What?" he said again, widening his eyes, taking his hands to his chest, trying to find out if something was wrong with what he was wearing. He felt even more anxious.

"I was thinking—I just hope you know how proud your parents would feel right now," Harry said, before looking down. The phrase clicked inside Teddy, froze the anxiousness he had felt the past hour, and placed it on the side. "I just hope you know that..."

"I...think I know..." he whispered with a very small smile, he fought the knot that was locking his throat. He breathed in.

"It's Bill's daughter," Harry explained, half laughing, pointing out what was obvious. "You don't know how happy they'd be. Remus...Tonks, they were both very fond of Bill. This would mean...this would be a pretty big deal for them, I'm sure." Harry stopped talking, and looked briefly at the window.

"I—I sort of wander what it would be like...if they were here. I'm not complaining!" he said quickly, making sure Harry knew just how grateful Teddy was for everything he had done for him. It was much more than feeling grateful, he had his place in the Potter's family, even if he didn't carry the same last name."I mean, what everybody's done for our wedding is more than what we asked for...literally." Harry laughed softly. "But I just can't stop wondering what it would feel like if they were here..."

"I know," Harry said, his eyes straight and firm, as if studding Teddy intently. Teddy looked away, and tugged his hands insides his pockets.

He felt low; he knew it wasn't his fault to feel the need for his parents to be there at that moment. He didn't know them, he didn't get a chance to meet them, see them, recognize them. The love he felt towards them was something he didn't even understand. He knew what his family told him, he knew what his instincts told him, what pictures told him, but he didn't know anything for himself. It was the strangest form of love of all the kinds he had experienced in his life. It didn't burn like his love towards Victoire burned, it didn't give him a tender sense of security like Andromeda's affections did, and it didn't give him the safeness Ginny and Harry had always given him. It was something intangible, something he didn't understand, something he missed without ever actually knowing what it was like. He had visited his parents' tombs two days ago, and once again he had longed for them. The longing sensation never went away and was never going away, exactly like Harry had told him many years ago.

His eyes moved up, looking straight at the man who was standing there, the same man who shared his advices with him, who had been there from the very beginning. In front of him was one of the people who had supplanted his parents; a person he felt entirely related to, someone he would turn to in any situation, and as such, it was also the only person he could tell anything.

"I wonder what my dad would say. I wonder what kind of advices my mum would give me..." Teddy admitted with a firm but inevitably sad tone of voice.

Harry laughed, short and softly. "I'm sure you would get good advices from Remus..." Harry said. "He was good with advices," he cleared his throat. Teddy waited patiently for him to continue. "Tonks..." he laughed this time. "I know one thing she'd say, but other than an advice I think of it more as a request."

"What is it?" Teddy wondered, filled with curiosity, and immediately questioning why Harry hadn't mentioned it before.

"If you have a girl, do not call her Nymphadora, for your mother's sake," he explained plainly. Teddy laughed immediately, an inhibited laugh that lasted long enough for him to relax his muscles.

"What was it with the name issue? It wasn't that bad," he said, and when he looked at Harry he saw him raising his eyebrow lightly, his mouth twisting at the same time.

"Fine, it was pretty bad," Teddy admitted with a chuckle. He shook his head, and gave himself a few seconds of thought. "What about Remus? Do you think my dad would have minded having a grandchild named after him?"

"I think Remus would have liked that very much," Harry smiled softly, and Teddy smiled back at his uncle, a bit weakly though. He wished to do more than just complain for his lack of parents, he wished to tell him what he felt for those who were alive and with him, he wished to tell him what he felt towards him and Ginny, but the knot on his throat had grown a few inches, and wouldn't let him speak at all.

Harry walked up to him, and placed his hand firmly on Teddy's shoulder.

"Ready?" He asked. Teddy nodded slowly, and sensed the hug his godfather was about to give him, seconds before he did so. He embraced Harry as strongly as he felt embraced, and after receiving two strong pats on his back Harry pulled away.

"It's going to be great, alright? Even though you feel like you're missing something. It's going to be brilliant."

"I know," he smiled.

"I understand what its like," Harry stated. "I know what it feels like to need your parents this bad during a moment like this." Harry patted Teddy's shoulder again and Teddy knew it was the perfect moment to speak out.

"Uncle Harry," Teddy cleared his throat. "Even when I want them to be here, somehow...I can't wish that things were different. You see, you always say you don't have three kids. You say you have four. Well, I've had parents all my life," he stated, looking at Harry, making sure his point was coming across. "Two mothers and a pretty great dad," he saw his godfather swallowing hard and smiling widely afterwards. He nodded strangely, and Teddy could suddenly tell just how moved he was. The hug that came afterwards was very quick, but very strong.

"Don't tell me the groom is getting cold feet," Ginny mocked as she walked inside the room, a long satin yellow dress decorating her figure. "My—" she said softly. "—You look so handsome," she contemplated him. Teddy shrugged, a small smile playing on his face. Ginny threw her arms around his neck and hugged him as tightly as her arms allowed her. Teddy embraced her as well, as sweetly as he could demonstrate. But contrary to Harry's demonstration of affection, Ginny didn't measure the amount of time she spent on her hug and eventually Harry was forced to intervene.

"Gin," Harry said softly, taking his wife by the waist so she would release Teddy. "He has to go downstairs now." Ginny nodded and breathed deeply. When Teddy got to see her face again he found her eyes watering up. Teddy could count with one hand the times he had seen Ginny crying.

"I know," she said weakly, smiling at the same time. She fixed his hair with her fingers gently and grinned with satisfaction once she thought she was done.

Teddy exhaled strongly, and looked at his reflection through the mirror that hung on the wall, across the room. He stared at his hair, and watched it as it changed colours, trying to find the proper one for the occasion. He went through blond, black, green, blue and even a very dark indigo. Ginny laughed softly.

"Blue, definitely blue," she suggested, clearing a tear from her eye, Teddy followed her request. Victoire would like that as well.

"What's taking you people so long? Every time somebody comes up here they don't go back down." Andromeda had walked in. She stopped at the door and smiled as widely as Ginny had, she said nothing. Teddy began to feel too exposed to the eyes of the three people who were in the room with him.

"Alright, I'm ready," Teddy announced, as he walked towards his grandmother, who grabbed his face with both hands.

"You look—" she hesitated. "—you remind me so much of Ted right now." Teddy froze for a second. He had expected Remus, that's what he had heard all his life, but his resemblance to his grandfather was rarely mentioned. She kissed his cheek softly and Teddy walked more than confident down the stairs and towards the yard of The Burrow.

"Breathe in," Evelyn encouraged in the room next door. Victoire did as she was told. "Calm down," her sweet voice said as she finished buttoning Victoire's dress. The girl looked through the window and at the crowd that was gathering at the yard of The Burrow.

"It was supposed to be a small wedding. The one thing I asked for was a small amount of guests!" she said, raising her voice up. Evelyn pulled her by the arm, to separate her from the window.

"Stop staring out there!" she scolded. Victoire knew just how mortified her face looked. She hadn't planned any of it. At some point between the proposal and the beginning of the arrangements to the actual event she had lost track of it all. Her mother had intervened immediately and her grandmother Molly didn't lose a chance either. Soon Andromeda was giving out suggestions, and caught up in the emotions the wedding had caused she didn't find the strength to stop them from preparing it all. Only that...it wasn't at all what she had once dreamed of...getting married in some quiet place, with a breathtaking view, with only their closest family members (which were already a lot), and their most intimate friends.

At first she thought Teddy was on her side, but soon enough she found that even he was involved in the big event, and now...there she was, wearing a tight white dress, minutes before she got married in a sea of people she didn't know anything about.

"My hair's all wrong!" she said filled in worry. She never wore her hair up, never, now it was fixed in an elegant bun that according to Victoire didn't go with her at all.

"No it isn't," Evelyn complained, doing the very last button of the dress. How was Teddy supposed to undo that damn thing on their wedding night? A wand was definitely going to come in handy... "You're hair looks gorgeous," Evelyn continued, handing her the small, delicate tiara Fleur had picked out. Victoire took it and set it on her head. "You really look beautiful," her friend contemplated.

Victoire looked at herself in the mirror. Her pure white dress was perfectly fit to her figure. The strapless top trimmed her body all the way down to her waist, from where a delicate skirt seemed to spontaneously flow down to her feet. The small adornments that simulated diamonds shined with each of her moves.

The door slammed opened, and Dominique stormed inside. She squealed, a noise that made Victoire's anxiety even worse. "You look amazing!" she exclaimed loudly. Victoire smiled weakly.

"Thanks..."

"You're still missing your shoes," Dominique suddenly pointed out.

"I can't wear shoes. I'm nervous," she breathed deeply.

"So? You can't get married without shoes!" Dominique squealed again.

"Well, my feet sweat when I'm nervous!" she complained.

"Dominique, leave her alone!" Evelyn intervened. "Victoire, put your shoes on."

"Evelyn!"

"What do you mean leave her alone? I'm her sister!"

"Stop it. Both of you!" Victoire ordered. "Evelyn, is he out there?" she asked. Evelyn walked towards the window. "Well" she began, her eyes scanning the place. "Hey, I see that friend of yours. The French-Italian-whatever guy. You know, my replacement," she said sternly.

"Leo?" Victoire said relieved. "Thank god he made it." She saw Evelyn rolling her eyes.

"Bid deal, you've knpwn me longer than—Oh."

"What?"

"I see...the best man," she said, raising her eyebrow. Victoire exhaled strongly.

"Jack," she acknowledged.

"Hell...He looks pretty great, doesn't he? Did he come alone?"

"Not that I don't love talking about Jack right now, but do you mind looking for the groom?"

"I don't see him, " she said.

"How can you possibly see him? There's a thousand people out there," Victoire squealed. Evelyn snorted to that last.

"Don't be ridiculous. My cousin Eleanor's wedding was a lot bigger than this. And, let me tell you that most of the people out there have red hair so...that's probably your entire father's family, and I'm thinking those blond, tall girls are all your mum's cousins. Sorry to disappoint you, but you have a rather big family." When Evelyn turned around she must have seen Victoire going pale because her eyes widened, she suggested her to sit down.

"Hey, if you're so scared then you don't have to do this," Evelyn finally suggested. Victoire raised her eyebrow.

"What?" Dominique snapped. "What do you know?"

"I know she can't breathe from the stress!" Evelyn retorted.

"Victoire don't listen to her. What kind of a bridesmaid are you?"

"Stop it!" Victoire scolded again. "You're making it worse."

When the door opened up Victoire was relieved that she didn't have to put up alone with her sister and best friend anymore. She hoped it was her mother coming back to her. She had left once she finished fixing her hair, to solve some problem with the band that was playing. But instead of her mum she saw Hermione, and somehow an even bigger relief filled her chest.

Hermione smiled warmly once she saw her. "I can't tell you how beautiful you look," she gave out. "Fleur said you were going through a little crisis when she was doing your hair."

"Crisis? Did you see that out there? Do you even know those people?" Victoire pointed at the glass.

Hermione laughed. "Victoire, that's your family...most of them..."

Victoire shook her head heavily. "Aunt Hermione, I can't do this. This isn't what we wanted. This isn't how I pictured it! This—the hair—the dress's too tight—there's so many people!—the wedding's all wrong,"

"Hey," Hermione whispered, placing her hands on both sides of Victoire's face. "Calm down. It's not that many people, and you're not getting married to any of them. You're marrying one guy only tonight."

"That's exactly my point."

Hermione laughed again. "If it's of any consolation I had to marry twice."

"Twice?"

"Yes, I had a muggle wedding and a wizard one."

"Oh, how awful."

Hermione laughed. "Listen. I know this is very different from what you planned yourself, but just think, this is the first wedding this family has organized for years. And it's true that Molly and Fleur got carried away but that's only because they can't help the joy."

"I know," Victoire said softly.

"And you already agreed to this, didn't you?"

Victoire nodded.

"And the best part is," she said, taking Victoire by the hand and towards the window. "That after today, that man over there is going to be all yours," she said pointing at Teddy. Victoire laughed softly. Teddy was standing at the altar, next to the wizard who would marry them, and next to Jack. His face was plain, and he kept looking up at the window, even though he couldn't spot her from where he was. Victoire smiled.

"I'm ready," she announced.

Victoire's cheek was still branded by the intense kiss her mother had given her before she begun to walk down the aisle, holding tightly to his father's arm. A soft music played, as soft as the candles that marked her way towards the groom. She felt her father laughing very softly. She realized she was holding him too tightly.

"It's alright, I won't let you fall," he mocked sweetly. Victoire gave him a half smile. All eyes were on her, she could feel them. It was all about her at the moment, and that amount of attention was too much for her liking. She wanted to reach Teddy as fast as possible. But as she approached him she felt slightly thrown off by his sight, which was intent, completely frozen.

Once Victoire reached the altar, she felt primarily relieved. She breathed in one last time, and the groom's hand grabbed her tightly. She smiled at Teddy, as he pulled her softly towards her. She looked at him again, doing her best to communicate with him, but he didn't react.

Teddy stared at her, but not at her eyes. His sight was fixed upon her entire integrity. He didn't smile back, his face became expressionless. She widened her eyes, gestured in silence, hoping to find out what was getting him into that state of shock. If he was about to freak out then he chose the most inopportune moment of all.

The wizard began his speech, but Victoire paid absolutely no attention. She tried to look up front, but her only interest was to figure Teddy's reaction out. She looked at him again, he hadn't moved his eyes away from her.

"What?" she whispered exasperatedly. "What is it?"

Teddy shook his head softly, but his eyes remained fixed and concentrated.

"You're wearing your hair up," he suddenly stated, Victoire raised her thin eyebrow sharply. She quickly gazed at the wizard, whose reading was distracted due to the groom and the bride's behaviour.

"I am," she said, looking back at Teddy, her voice a bit higher than before.

"I don't think I've ever seen you wearing your hair—"

"—This isn't the moment Teddy!" she scolded. The wizard stopped talking for a moment and gave them a rather serious glance. Both Victoire and Teddy looked up front again. The wizard seemed to appreciate the fact and continued his speech. Victoire, who couldn't concentrate at all, felt Teddy's eyes wandering towards her every other second.

"What?" she asked again.

"Nothing," he murmured.

"You don't like my hair," she concluded. She heard Teddy chuckle softly.

"Why do you have to reach that conclusion?"

Victoire looked at him again, losing track of the speech that was being read for them.

"Then why are you looking at me like that?" she said, a bit hasty now. Teddy smiled strongly.

"I was just wondering if you were for real, that's all," he shrugged plainly, his eyes searched for hers; she gave into his sight quickly with a soft, speechless smile, until the wizard cleared his throat, and Victoire realize it was time to stare at the man instead, just that now, she couldn't stop smiling.

The sun had set completely once the ceremony ended. The white chairs had disappeared, clearing the place for a dance floor. The candles still floated all across the yard, sharing their joyful light, moving delicately over the heads of the guests. Both Victoire and Teddy had given themselves to the event's atmosphere. Victoire found that it wasn't a hard thing to do at all. Her mother and father's proud smile was contagious, and her grandmother's joy filled the ground somehow. An uncle she hadn't seen for years asked to dance with her, and she accepted politely, but took that time to study the atmosphere around her.

Dominique, Molly and Lucy sat at a table, all three of them laughed hysterically at who knew what. From Victoire's knowledge of that dangerous trio, she was certain that they were probably making fun of someone, or were sharing very private jokes that only they could understand. She gave herself a moment to notice just how beautiful Dominique looked, with her shiny and straight blond hair short as always, decorated with very small flowers placed carefully by Fleur. In twenty two years Dominique had never grown her hair past the level of her jaw line (but never cut above it either). "Too complicated to look after, and when you ride a broom it gets all over your face," she complained. Tonight she wore a delicate green dress that went to her knees. If there was something hard with Dominique, it was making her wear a dress, and Victoire knew she had done it to look perfect for her sister's wedding. She was already wondering why those three girls in their twenties were alone, when two of her cousins on her mother's side approached their table, one of them asked to dance with Dominique and the other one with Lucy. Lucy's smirk was sharp as she accepted the boy's hand, and they both stood up leaving Molly at the table.

Molly rolled her eyes, but not at her twin or her cousin's luck for dancing. When Victoire followed Molly's sight she found Percy standing a few feet away from the table, talking intently with a young man, who held two glasses. The boy nodded constantly and seriously, but his sight wondered towards his girlfriend every other second. Victoire laughed silently when Molly lost her patience and stood up to save her boyfriend from the advices or warnings of her father.

On the other side of the yard, it was Victoire the object of observation. Teddy couldn't get over it all, he couldn't get over her dress, he never imagined she'd look that beautiful in white, especially because she had never been interested in wearing the colour at all.

"Congratulations!" Ron had thrown his arm around Ted. "Did I say that already?" Ron asked, frowning slightly. Teddy laughed.

"Only nine or ten times," he answered, giving back the half hug. "Thanks, Uncle Ron." Ron shrugged and clanked his glass of Firewhiskey against Teddy's glass, who could tell that his uncle had been having a little too much of those.

"I used to say you two would end up marrying. It was the way it was suppose to go, you know? Blimey, I didn't think we'd have to wait this long, though!" he said, messing Teddy's blue locks with his hand. Teddy laughed again. "Listen, from my share of experience with temperamental women, I can give you only one advice—" Ron begun.

"—Always tell her she's right?" Teddy asked sharply, with his best innocent look on his eyes. Ron snorted, and shook his head.

"Yes, that's exactly it."

Teddy laughed along with Ron, but he knew that his uncle didn't follow his own advice entirely, because if he did then he and Hermione wouldn't still fight over silly insignificant things, as Teddy liked to call them.

"And what do you suggest I do when she's insanely upset with me?" Teddy asked, Ron shook his head and looked at his own wife from the distance. Hermione, dressed in a light blue dress with her hair long and abnormally silky straight, was already staring their way, her eyebrow raised, probably disapproving that Ron was already quite happy thanks to the Firewhiskey.

Ron shrugged and shortly after he winked at her with a small smile on his lips. Hermione chuckled, rolled her eyes, but smiled back, widely.

"I haven't got a clue," Ron admitted. "But, it's always best if you work to get a smile out of her...instead of a frown, that's all I can say," he said wisely, shrugging plainly.

Teddy laughed and nodded. "I'll always keep that in mind."

"Here's the groom!" George said, approaching them along with Harry. "Hey Ron, ready for the next wedding? I hear it's going to be quite an event!"

Ron looked at his brother, frowning in disconcert. "What? What wedding?"

George didn't bother to answer the question, he pointed with his glass at the dance floor. The men drove their sight and found Rose, radiant in her creamy long dress, her soft, long curls tied in a loose bun, dancing with a tall, slightly pale blond man. Both Rose and Scorpius smiled and laughed unstoppably as they followed carelessly the beat of the music.

Ron shook his head rapidly, many times. His face had changed, it was pale. "Wedding?" he said straightening his back. "Are you fucking joking?" he asked to George, who laughed out loud. "She's nineteen years old! She's practically a baby! And they've been going out for what? Two days?"

"Try two years," Harry reminded him.

"Still, it's not even serious. It's a crush, she'll get over it."

"Fool yourself all you want little brother," George teased.

Ron exhaled strongly, quite dramatically.

"Come on Uncle Ron, he's not bad at all. He's great with her. Everybody says so. Even you said so once, and after all they've been through…they kind of deserve to be this happy," Teddy reminded him.

"I don't recall saying that," he said evasively. "Of all people, she had to go for...a Malfoy," the words came out dryly.

"Ah, I see it now!" George said raising his hands to the sky. "Rose Malfoy Weasley..."

"Over my dead body," Ron grunted.

Teddy, Harry and George burst into laughter, and Ron took a hand to his forehead.

"What are you laughing at?" Ron suddenly said to Harry. "Where's your little girl?" he asked.

Harry's laughter faded gradually, his eyes began to search for Lily, first through the dancing floor, and when he didn't see her there, or sitting at any of the tables, his smiled turned into a very strict frown. Albus was walking past them holding two glasses in his hand and Harry took the chance to grab his son by the arm and pull him towards them.

"Al, have you seen your sister?" Harry asked. Albus seemed concentrated for a moment and then shook his head.

"No. I saw her with Mike about a half hour ago, haven't seen her since," he shrugged. "But I haven't seen James either." he pointed out.

"Actually, James left...I think, with someone, I suppose she's from Fleur's side," George said with a soft smirk. Teddy laughed, not amazed at all. Harry exhaled impatiently. He knew that if James wasn't around then there was not really anyone to supervise Lily and her boyfriend, because she and Albus shared a slight complicity in that sort of thing. Even though he was instinctively protective of his sister and Rose, Albus wasn't the jealous type of brother or cousin like James was.

"Dad, I bet they're here somewhere. There are a lot of people here, it took me half an hour just to find a tray of drinks." Albus pointed out as he shrugged. "I have to go back," he said, as he moved his way through the crowd of people, to a table were a lonely, thin, light blond girl sat quietly.

Harry shook his head when his son left them. George smiled again.

"Come on Harry, don't worry so much," George said with a teasing tone. "Lily's boyfriend is a Hufflepuff, and young Hufflepuffs treat their girlfriends with respect. Right Teddy?" he evilly mocked, hitting Ted's arm with his elbow.

Suddenly all three pairs of male eyes were on the groom. "Sure, of course," he said, shrugging with nature.

"They don't try anything that goes further than a few kisses, right?" George asked again, smirking widely.

"Right, yes, a few kisses," Teddy said, now with a very untrusting tone.

"I'll go ask Ginny if she's seen her," Harry said quickly, with a mortified look as he left in a hurry. Teddy silently hoped that Lily was being careful enough so she wouldn't get caught at whatever it was that she and her boyfriend were doing.

"You're just showing off because Roxanne didn't come with a date," Ron pointed out bitterly.

George smiled, and shrugged. "She's a smart girl, that one," he remarked proudly.

"Teddy!" a female voice surprised him. Teddy turned to see Hanna, who hugged him tightly, when her embrace broke Neville followed.

"We didn't get a chance to congratulate you earlier," he said.

"Thanks," Teddy smiled.

"Hanna, do you know what's up with your girl and Al?" Ron interrupted, pointing at the table where Albus and Anya where sitting at, carelessly talking. "He keeps denying there is something going on."

Hanna sighed. "I'm sorry to say that I know nothing different than you. She keeps saying they're just friends," Hanna said, highly disappointed, referring to the friendship that had developed out of nowhere between Albus and Anya during the past couple of years.

At first Teddy didn't think much of it. He figured that even though Rose and Albus' bond was quite strong and unbreakable, since she had been formally dating Scorpious she probably begun to spend a considerable amount of time with her boyfriend instead of her best friend, and that might have motivated Albus to spend some quality time with other acquaintances. Of course such a relation only awoke in the parents of the teenagers the hope of them getting together romantically, even though they -especially Albus- denied any love interest.

Teddy smiled; he couldn't blame the Longbottom's or Harry and Ginny's hopes. After all, everybody standing there with him at that very minute knew well that some friendships were very tricky threads that tended to roll into something much more stronger than that.

"We still keep our fingers crossed," Neville joked.

"Victoire looks stunning," Hanna observed.

"She does," Teddy said, gazing at the bride one more time, who was now dancing with her friend Leo. She hadn't stopped smiling since the ceremony, and Teddy felt relieved to see that she was actually enjoying the attention instead of despising it.

"They won't leave her alone, though," Hanna said softly. "She's been dancing with every male guest for the past hour."

Teddy looked at his bride and quickly caught the hint, he handed his glass to George.

"You're right, I better go check on her," he said walking away from them.

"Mind if I cut in?" Teddy asked Leo, who stopped dancing the moment he saw the groom. He shrugged, as if he didn't have another option than to follow the request, and with a polite smile he gave Teddy the hand of the woman he had been dancing with. Leo was as tall as Teddy and their sights met for a brief but very describable second. The asperities between them had worn out through the last years, slowly. It was hard for him at first; he couldn't hold back the hunch that drowned his stomach every time Victoire talked about Leo. It was clear that the Italian guy's sexual preferences eliminated the possibilities of him being a threat to Teddy. But still, he was a man Victoire listened to, a man she cared enormously about. He was the only man, apart from Teddy, that made a difference to her.

Teddy also knew that it took Leo a while to accept that Victoire had decided to go back to London, and leave everything behind for Teddy. But time mended the broken first impression he had of Teddy, successfully, even though Leo's sight still warned Teddy to be careful, and Teddy's own eyes spoke that he had nothing to be careful about.

Their sight exchange died fast and soon a smile followed. "Congratulazioni Ted," Leo said, patting Teddy's shoulder twice.

"Thanks," Teddy nodded sincerely.

"You ar verry lucky man," Leo said softly. The Italian man turned around and held Victoire's face with his hands for a moment, to kiss her forehead shortly. He then turned and left the dance floor.

"Don't pay attention to him," she rolled her eyes.

"Actually, I agree with him."

Victoire chuckled, as Teddy softly led her to the slow song that was playing. When he looked away from her he found his best man dancing with Victorie's bridesmaid.

"Here we go again," he sentenced. Victoire looked towards their direction, and smiled.

"Let's hope they handle each other, at least for a month or two."

Teddy smiled, his eyes fixed on hers, but soon his smile was banishing. "You alright?" he asked. "I thought you might be tired by now."

"No, I'm fine," Victoire smiled, before sighing softly.

"I'm sorry," Teddy said.

"What? Sorry about what?"

"For making you go through this big wedding. This wasn't what we agreed, it wasn't what you wanted..."

"Teddy, I'm fine," she answered sweetly.

"No, it's not fine. It got out of control... there are a million candles flying over our heads and I swear I haven't seen so much food in my life. Merlin, we're even going to appear in the paper! I invited my boss out of courtesy...but he didn't have to bring one of the Prophet's photographers with him."

Victoire laughed. "It did got out of control, but I have to admit, everything looks amazing, and everybody's having a great time," she observed.

"What about you?"

"Teddy. I said: I'm fine."

"Because if you want we can run off and have the rest of the night for ourselves."

"I think I can handle the rest of my own wedding," she smiled. He couldn't get over how much she was smiling. "Honestly Teddy, it wasn't as bad as I had imagined, and...having seen the look on your face when I walked down the aisle was quite satisfactory."

Teddy chuckled. "You do know how to leave an impression," he said, scanning her face. "Still. I can't help thinking that I owe you one."

"Really?" she said suspiciously, "And how do you plan to pay me? Because I have a good imagination." she smirked.

"Well yes, that's one way, but I thought I'd pay you with our initial version of this."

"What? You're joking."

"I'm not."

"Another one? How many times do you want to get married? I think one was enough."

Teddy smiled softly and leaned down gently to press his lips close to her ear. "You say you have a good imagination, well, since our Honeymoon is in Greece," he whispered. "I suddenly can't stop thinking what it would be like to wed you there, just the two of us."

"Wha—you're actually serious," she said, her voice astonished.

"I am. So, how about it? You and I? Greece. Some random little island? We already have the rings."

Victoire chuckled in disbelieve. "You're out of your mind," she stated.

Their bodies moved to the slow sound, barely sliding through the floor. He felt her breathing, slowly. He allowed her silence for more than a minute, he knew what she was thinking about.

"I heard sunset in Naxos is breathtaking," she suddenly whispered.

"Sunset in Naxos it is," he whispered with a smile.

"You are serious," she mumbled again.

"Picture it," he said to her ear. "You in a white, very light dress. A dress you'll buy in some local shop thirty minutes before. You can wear a muggle bathing suit underneath it." Victoire's laugh was very soft.

"What else?" she asked softly.

"Well, you won't have to wear shoes to it! The sand will get in your toes," he offered.

"That's very tempting."

"I know, and I'm just looking for an excuse to see the wind blowing on your face, playing with your loose hair."

"I thought you liked my hair tied up in a bun," she mocked.

"I do! But only because I can't stop thinking of the moment I'll get to undo it."

"We'll need witnesses," she said, picking up the previous topic.

"I'm sure we'll find someone to stand up there with us. Some fisherman, a local kid, or maybe even the hotel lady."

"And who will wed us?"

"A muggle priest. It'll be a muggle wedding, we'll be two British muggles. Come on, what do you say?"

"Ted Lupin, I believe you're proposing again," she teased, separating their faces so their eyes could meet.

"Don't be mean," he begged sweetly. "I'm serious."

Victoire's overwhelmed eyes focused strongly on his. "How come you didn't think of this before?" She wondered.

"I just. I saw our grandparents so excited with the wedding, and your mum...even Ginny and Hermione. Everybody had something to do with it! I got caught up, and I forgot about us, but I especially forgot about you."

Victoire sighed, stood slowly on her tip toes, to brush his lips with hers. "You clearly didn't forget. Sunset in Naxos it is," she whispered, holding his shirt so she could pull his head down. He smiled, and laughed softly, filled with satisfaction once he embraced her as fervently as it was publically permitted.

Author's (very long) note:

Mayor fluff explosion? Sorry! Couldn't help myself! Sue me...

I can't say how much I dislike to end this fic. I had the time of my life writing it. I know, the epilogue doesn't involve their kids but that's another stage of their life, a whole new story. Although I will probably sell myself and write about it in a soon to come one-shot.

To my reviewers:

I would have never enjoyed this story as I did if it weren't for you guys. Most of you were so much fun to read! And every time I received a comment of somebody getting mad at the characters or happy because something happened I couldn't wear the smile off for days. So THANKS to everyone who reviewed at least once. And hugs, kisses, cookies and free imaginary Harry potter merchandise to all of my regular reviewers. Needless to say that you're the only reason I kept to updating as regular as my life allowed me to. Thank you for your patience, for your kindness and for correcting my grammar =D

One more for the road: REVIEW PLEASE!

What I enjoyed the most when writing this:

I'll be honest. I loved Victoire overruling Teddy when they were kids, I loved Teddy drooling over Vic when they were teenagers, I loved Vic adoring him. I totally loved them so clueless towards the end.

My next fic:

It will be a Rose & Scorpious fic. Not even half as long as this one, I promise. By the way, I have a small question to ask you that concerns my new fic. Would you mind turning to my poll and answering it?

Artist: The Cranberries

A/N: I chose this song, because dreams are never exactly how we picture them, we often have to work hard to get close to them, and sometimes, in the end, everything ends up being worth it. Oh, and I will confess: getting married in a small Greek island is my secret ideal of a wedding. This is the first time I share this!

Lyrics:

Oh, my life is changing everyday,

In every possible way.

And oh, my dreams, it's never quite as it seems,

Never quite as it seems.

I know I've felt like this before, but now I'm feeling it even more,

Because it came from you.

And then I open up and see the person falling here is me,

A different way to be.

I want more, impossible to ignore,

Impossible to ignore.

And they'll come true, impossible not to do,

Impossible not to do.

And now I tell you openly, you have my heart so don't hurt me.

You're what I couldn't find.

A totally amazing mind, so understanding and so kind;

You're everything to me.

Oh, my life,

Is changing every day,

In every possible way.

And oh, my dreams,

It's never quite as it seems,

'Cause you're a dream to me,

Dream to me.