Chapter Seven: - The Unification Oath

They were still in those grounds. Once the euphoria of winning was over, the realization of loss came… loss of people in the battle. And there were quiet a lot of casualties. The kids in the silver orb were all taken out safely and no one was injured. But many of the fighters were dead. First and the most important name in this list was Rufus Scrimgeour. He and five very high ranking officials were dead. Then, Mrs Tonks, Tonks’s mother died fighting. Witnesses said that she was killed by Bellatrix herself. Draco Malfoy was sobbing uncontrollably in a corner over the dead body of his mother, Narcissa. She was killed as she came in between the dueling father and son and got hit by two powerful curses at the same time. Harry saw that there were some more people dead whom he did not recognize by name but he had seen them before. He wanted to go and console them all, even Draco Malfoy, who he hated till some time ago, but then he saw some more dead bodies, those of the death eaters. He ran towards them, eager to see who all died, and saw that there were comparatively fewer bodies than those of their side. There was Macnair and Avery and three death eaters whom he didn’t recognize by face, but her thought they looked horrible. There were some more death eaters lying dead but they were too far away and Harry didn’t feel like going there. He wanted o go to Malfoy. After all, he understood how it felt to loose parents, he had lost his parents. So he went towards him and tried to console him. Even Malfoy, moaning in the grief of his mother’s loss and father’s betrayal, remained normal to Harry, as if all that had happened between them was just a dream.

Next day, at the burrow preparations for Bill and Fluer’s weddings began. Mrs. Delacour was as good in cooking as Mrs Wheasley. But the wedding food and decorations were being supervised by The Weddy-Wizards, a popular wedding planner company for wizards. They had in one day arranged everything for the wedding.

It was the night of the second August and Harry was sitting with Ron and Hermione in Ron’s room. They wanted some privacy to discuss their next move which was impossible to get outside as guests for the next days wedding had already started to come.

‘so, how do we find this R.A.B. bloke?’ asked Ron.

‘I don’t know, Ron,’ said Hermione ‘It’s tough. Who could it be?’

‘Dumbledore!’ said said Ron excietedly, ‘he might have been it. You know the kind of challenge that letter had for you-know-who, only he would do it.’

‘AND – WHY – ON – EARTH – WOULD – HE – GO – TO – THAT – CAVE – AGAIN – AND – DRINK – THAT – POTION, RONALD?’ shouted Hermione.

‘well, I haven’t though about that, maybe he wanted to show Harry how you enter a place where a horcrux is kept,’ he suggested.

‘shut up Ron, he would have used the pensive to she Harry that’

But Harry wasn’t paying attention to all this. His eyes were on the small pile of gifts he had got for his birthday that he hadn’t had the chance of opening. He took them and started opening them. the first one was from professor McGonagall, it was a book with odd symbols made on it.

‘a book!’ said Ron, ‘yeah, that will be a nice time pass when we are not fighting death eaters or you-know-who’

‘it’s not a normal book, Ron,’ said Hermione. ‘it’s about detecting magic and about some really advanced spells, and see, it also helps in translating runes…’

The next gift was from hagrid. It was a small shell of a snail. Harry didn’t knew what to do with it but kept with him. then, Mrs Wheasley had given him a watch, very much like Ron’s watch, she had said it was tradition. Charlie had given him a small crystal ball. This ball told it’s holder about and dark creature hiding close to the holder and also suggested what to do. But all this was audible only to the holder. Ginny had given Harry a map of the burrow and the space near it. It was just like the marauders map, where you can find the names of the people in that place. Apart from this there was a huge gift pack from Fred and George containing things from their joke shop, some toffees and other stuffs.

Harry wondered what he should take with him when he would go to hunt down horcruxes. The book will most definitely come, so will the crystal ball, but he was a bit skeptical about Hagrid’s gift. What could it be? He knew that Hagrid must have given him something helpful, and with best intentions, but, it just so happened that Hagrid’s choice was a bit… off beat. But he thought that it’s a matter of trusting and not trusting, and Harry trusted Hagrid. So he thought he will take his snail-shell. And then, what about the map that ginny gave him? What help could that be to Harry? But then he knew why she gave him the map. It was for Harry to check weather the Wheasleys were fine or not, and he thought he will take it.

The next day was the first wizarding wedding that Harry ever attended. Actually, it was the first wedding that Harry had attended. It was only dawn when the guests started coming. Then, at about eight in the morning, when all the guests were settled, bill came wearing pure white gown, not unlike the one Dumbledore used to wear. Soon, followed Fluer, with Ginny and Gabriel as bridesmaid, with her father. She too was wearing pearl white gown, ant it was the most beautiful gown Harry had ever seen.

Bill and Fleur stood facing each other. There was a small witch standing in front them, facing the crown who said, ‘are you two ready for the unification oath?’

‘yes’ said Bill and Fleur together.

And the small witch raised her wand and from it erupted a large translucent phoenix and a beautiful translucent unicorn. All the boys aahed and the girls oohed. Then bill came closer to fluer and said, ‘Fleur Delacour, I Bill Wheasley want to spend the rest of my life with you. will you join me as my wife for the rest of my life?’

‘Yes I will.’ Said fluer.

And then Mrs Wheasley and Mrs Delacour brought Bill anf Fleur’s wands. They took them and brought their tips together. The huge phoenix and unicorn encircled Bill and Fleur and vanished covering them in pure white smoke momentarily. And then, they kissed.

‘What was this’, Harry asked Ron, ‘what did they do with their wands?’

‘they gave each other protection. Now bill’s wand will always be loyal to Fleur’s and Fleur’s wand will be to Bill. So they can use both wands.’

Harry was amazed to see this it was a beautiful morning. Bill and Fleur had now exchanged rings and were now dancing. It was a relief to see this. First Nagini and now this… things were sure going smooth.