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Author: Aibhinn Story: Heal The Pain Rating: Teens Setting: AU Status: Completed Reviews: 9 Words: 198,021
2 March Major Miller: I wonder if you could answer a question for me. Are Muggle weddings legally binding in the wizarding world? Thanks, Capt. H. P. --- 2 March Captain: Muggle weddings are, indeed, legally binding in the wizarding world. They are not, however, magically binding. For that, you would need a wizarding wedding. I'm told the Registry Office charges quite a reasonable rate, and can be done at relatively short notice. You do, however, need to post your intention 21 days before your wedding date; it's Muggle law. Maj. Steve Miller --- 3 March Gin: Looks like the Registry Office is for us. I'll do some checking and see what's involved in getting a Muggle marriage licence. Thankfully you're over 17, so we don't have to involve your parents. We may have to get you out of Hogwarts within the next week or two, if we're to post our intentions 21 days before 4 April. Harry --- 3 March Involve my parents???? Ginny --- 3 March The Muggles tend to be a bit more cautious about this kind of thing—if you're not of age, you have to have your parents' permission. Oh—you haven't any kind of Muggle identification to prove your age. Damn. Must see to that. H --- 4 March Why would I need identification to get married? G --- 4 March It's a Muggle law, unfortunately. I'll talk to Major Miller; maybe he can come up with something. H --- 4 March Major Miller: I'm sorry to bother you again, but how might I go about getting Muggle identification for a witch? Capt. H. P. --- 4 March Captain: Has the witch in question any proof of when she was born—a document, a certificate, etc.? Maj. Miller --- 5 March Maj. Miller: No, I don't believe she does. She doesn't know of any, at any rate, and there's nobody else I can ask. I'm sure you know why. Capt. H. P. --- 5 March Captain: Yes, I can understand. The Ministry of Magic's Muggle Liaison Division provides Muggle birth certificates for those in need of such documents, along with transcripts for wizards and witches who wish to attend Muggle institutions of higher learning. For a fee of two Galleons, any adult witch or wizard may get a birth certificate; all that is necessary is a pair of letters from people of authority verifying the age of the person in question—from a parent and a professor at Hogwarts, for example. In lieu of the letters, a formal legal affidavit will suffice. I will be in Scotland later this week. Perhaps I may provide the latter service. Maj. Steve Miller --- 5 March Thank you very much, Major. Capt. H. P. --- 5 March Gin: Take a look at the enclosed note from Major Miller. Can you be ready if he needs to get in touch with you? I'm sure when he approaches McGonagall he'll say it's to do with my trial. Which is true, after all. H. --- 5 March I'll be ready! Have you told Ron and Hermione yet? G. --- 6 March Uh, no. I like having my nose in place. But I'd better do it soon, if we're to do this on the 4th. They'll need to make sure they've time off. Ron should be up soon; I'll talk to them then. Later Well, that went better than expected. All my facial features are in place and unbruised, which is more than I had hoped. As a matter of fact, he didn't seem too upset. Which makes me wonder: who did I talk to, and what did he do with the real Ron Weasley? Actually, it's not so surprising, all joking aside. I pulled them both into my room and started with the whole concept of 'playing the Ginny card,' but didn't say a word about the baby, of course—I used your being a Seer as the Umbra secret instead. They seemed to understand, and Hermione asked a lot of very penetrating questions which, luckily, I was able to slip past. They agreed to be our witnesses, and they're both going to put in for the day off at work. I honestly have no idea how they'll cover Ron, but perhaps they can get someone else to take the day. Or perhaps he'll just be on call—I don't know. I had a question for you, though, love. What about clothes? What would you like to wear? I don't think wizarding robes would be a good idea for a Muggle Registry Office. H --- 6 March I'm sorry it took me so long to get back to you; McGonagall had me at my Animagus work so late I missed dinner. I got Dobby to bring me something, though. What do you think I should wear? I don't know much about current Muggle fashions. I don't want to end up looking like some of those blokes from the Quidditch World Cup. Or like a meringue, which is what sticks in my mind from the weddings portion of Muggle Studies. G --- 7 March Gin, Would you mind terribly if I took matters into my own hands re: wedding clothes? H. --- 7 March Er… No? Harry, what do you have in mind? G. --- 7 March You'll see. I've a few ideas. Love, H. --- 7 March Oxford Bridal 145 Oxford Street London To Whom It May Concern: I would like to make an appointment for a fitting for my fiancée and me. It would have to be done on a weekend, and our wedding is scheduled for Saturday, 4 April. I realise it's short notice, but have you any openings? Sincerely, Harry J. Potter --- 8 March Mr Harry J. Potter c/o Drs Robert and Helen Granger 15 Tidy Road Durham Dear Mr Potter: We can accommodate you at 1 pm on 28 March. The fitting will likely take two to three hours, based on our experience with other brides and grooms. We look forward to seeing you. Sincerely, Margaret Wainwright Fitting Consultant, Oxford Bridal --- 8 March Professor McGonagall: I wonder if I might take Ginny from school on Saturday, 14 March and Saturday, 28 March. It's to do with my trial at the Ministry of Magic. She would return to school each evening. Sincerely, Harry Potter --- 9 March Potter: I will allow it this time, but I certainly hope there will be no more late-night visits at dormitory windows from now on. Do I make myself clear? Minerva McGonagall Headmistress, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry --- 9 March Yes, Professor. Completely clear. Please accept my apologies. Harry --- 9 March Gin: Looks like my last visit didn't go unnoticed after all. Take a look at this owl I received from McGonagall. However, she is allowing me to pick you up on the 14th March and take you to get the marriage certificate. I think I'll come in the proper way, through the main doors, this time. We can make a day of it in Muggle London, if you like. H. --- 10 March Oh dear. It looks like she notices more than we realised. But she hasn't said a thing about the Room of Requirement or Professor Estrella's quarters, has she? As far as the 14th… I'll be ready to go. When will you be here? G --- 10 March Well, no, she hasn't, now I come to think of it. That's useful. I'll be there about nine, so we can get your identification and the marriage certificate early enough that we shouldn't have to queue up too long. H. --- 11 March Harry, Major Miller came by today. He took my statement and drafted an affidavit. Apparently, before we go to get our marriage certificate, we should go to the Ministry for Magic and get my Muggle birth certificate. It can all be done the same day. Looks like a full day spent with you. Not that I'm complaining, mind. G --- 12 March I can't think of a better way to spend it. H. ---------------- At nine o'clock in the morning on 14 March, Harry walked through the front doors of Hogwarts and into the main corridor. He hadn't come through those doors since the previous July, when Madam Pomfrey and Healer Stone had removed his burn scar, and it was an odd sensation. So much had happened since then that he felt like an entirely different person from the Harry who had been here then. Movement caught his eye, and he saw Ginny coming down the main staircase with Professor McGonagall. "Potter," the Headmistress said by way of greeting. "I trust you understand that Miss Weasley will be subject to the same curfew as she would if she were to stay at school today." "Yes, Professor. I'll have her back well before ten this evening." He smiled at Ginny, who smiled back. "Very well, then. I shall see you this evening, Miss Weasley." McGonagall swept into the Great Hall with dignity. Harry turned to Ginny. "You don't have a problem with Portkeys, do you?" "No. Why?" He produced a dark blue knitted scarf and held it out to her. "It's still chilly enough that nobody will look twice at me for wearing this in the Muggle world, and it's been charmed to react to my voice, no one else's. It'll take us to the courtyard of the Leaky Cauldron and back. The Registry Office isn't far from there." "We'll have to use it outside Hogwarts' wards," Ginny observed. "Nothing simpler. It's a lovely spring day." He crooked his arm and held it out to Ginny. "Would my lady care for a stroll down to Hogsmeade?" She laughed and took his elbow. "With pleasure, my lord." --------------- Getting the identification at the Ministry's Muggle Liaison Office was more a matter of waiting on line than it was anything else. Once they'd reached the front of the queue, it was less than ten minutes before she walked out with her Muggle birth certificate declaring her to be— She looked at it again. "Harry," she said slowly, "this says I'm eighteen, not seventeen." "Let me see." He looked at it. "You're right; you're listed as having been born the year before Ron and me." He frowned. "Do you still have the affidavit?" She handed it over to him, and he opened and perused it. "Yep," he said after a moment. "This says the same year." "Should we go back and fix it?" Harry shook his head firmly. "No. Major Miller doesn't make mistakes like that. If he gave you an extra year, it was for a reason. Come on, let's get to the Registry Office." "Wait a minute, Harry. Do you have one of these?" She held up the birth certificate. He nodded. "Mum and Dad apparently got one for me when I was born, even though I was born to wizarding parents." He patted his jacket, and a reassuring sound of rattling paper could be heard. "It's right here." That's odd, Ginny thought as they walked down the corridor toward the doors to Diagon Alley. I wonder how many magical families would think to provide their child with a Muggle birth certificate? The doors opened and they walked out of the white granite building into the bustle of Diagon Alley. Harry glanced at the black building that he'd said housed the Department of Mysteries, and sighed before he turned away to head back toward The Leaky Cauldron with her. Her heart squeezed. She knew he wanted to be back to work, wanted to be part of the fight rather than forced to wait on the sidelines like a reserve player. And she knew, too, that the hardest part of being unable to work was the knowledge that it was his own fault he couldn't go. She hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Harry, d'you… wish we didn't have to do this?" He looked at her, brow furrowed. "What do you mean by that, Ginny?" She sighed and rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand. "All this plotting and scheming. Going behind Mum's back. All this secrecy. We wouldn't have to get married next month if I weren't so dead set on not testifying—" "No, Ginny," he interrupted firmly, stopping and turning directly to face her. He took her hand in his. "I'm not at all sorry, I'm thrilled to be able to marry you earlier. The only thing I regret is that we have to keep it a secret to keep you safe, and we can't give you the wedding you want until this summer." She pulled a face. "The wedding Mum wants, you mean," she said ruefully. "No, I mean the wedding you want. Your mum, much as I love her, had her wedding; it's your turn." He grinned, squeezing her hand. "I don't know much about planning the things, but I do know that weddings belong to the bride." "And the groom," she said firmly. He smiled and kissed her. "As long as you're the one I'm marrying, it's perfect as far as I'm concerned." Warmth surged through her even as she rolled her eyes. "Flatterer," she said dryly. "Of course." He took her hand and tucked it into his elbow as they started moving again. "But flattery can be completely truthful." They took a Muggle taxi to the Registry Office, which was in a building slightly smaller than one of the four Ministry buildings. There was a bewildering array of offices and clerks and departments, but Harry just looked at the board where everything was listed and said, "Sixth floor—let's take the lift." As it was only a little after half-ten, there weren't as many people in the waiting area as there were chairs, but there was still a significant number. Harry pulled a little piece of paper out of a machine and they sat down to wait. Ginny looked at it—it read 42 in large print. "What's this for?" she asked, curious. Harry pointed up at signs on the wall. They each said "NOW SERVING," and had the number 41 made up of small red dots beneath the words. "Each of the clerks has a little button that will change that number when they're ready to serve a new customer," he said. "The customers take a number and wait here until their turn comes. That way we don't have to stand in a great long queue." A bell sounded, and all the signs changed from 41 to 42. "That's us!" Harry said, and took her hand as they both rose from their chairs. He led her to a window with nobody standing before it. The clerk there was a woman of indeterminate age but probably between 35 and 45, with hair that looked as though it had been dyed blonde by a very poorly-trained stylist and enough makeup to have made even Parvati Patil cringe back in their school days. "'Can Oi 'elp you?" the clerk asked in a slightly bored voice. "We want to give notice of intent to wed," Harry said firmly. He reached into his jacket and pulled out his (slightly crumpled) birth certificate and placed it on the counter, and Ginny placed hers beside it. The clerk looked at both certificates, then pushed them back toward Harry and Ginny. "Roight," she said, reaching beneath the counter for two forms. She set them side-by-side on the counter so that both Harry and Ginny could read them. "Oi've got to ask yer these questions, so you just answer 'em all and then sign the bottom an' I'll give yeh the form to apply for yer licence, all roight?" "Yes," Harry said firmly. Ginny echoed him. "Roight." In that same bored voice, she began asking aloud the questions that were on the form. Ginny got the feeling she'd done this so many times it no longer made any impression on her. "Are yeh both of sound mind and do yeh understand the terms of the marriage contract?" "Yes," Ginny and Harry chorused. "Are yeh both of age?" "Yes." Ginny was glad she'd phrased it that way; if she'd said "Are you both over eighteen," Ginny wasn't sure she could have lied well enough to pass muster. "Do either of yeh have any surviving spouse from a previous marriage?" "No." The clerk looked at Ginny. "Is he yer father, adoptive father, stepfather, father-in-law, or formerly in one of those relationships to you?" She blinked. "No." "Is he yer son, adoptive son, stepson, son-in-law, or formerly in one of those relationships to you?" "No." "Formerly" my son? she thought, shaking her head. Harry was trying to choke down his laughter. "Is he the father of either of yer parents?" This time Harry couldn't choke it down; he laughed outright. "No," Ginny asked, chuckling at the image of Harry being her grandfather. "Is he the son of one of yer siblings?" "No." "Is he yer son's or daughter's son; husband's son's or daughter's son; or yer brother, stepbrother, or half-brother?" "No!" "Can't be," Harry said blithely. "I haven't got red hair." "Yer grandmother's former husband?" "No! Eugh!" Ginny exclaimed, shocked. "The husband of yer son or daughter's child?" "Now that would be really something, wouldn't it?" Harry said to no one in particular. Ginny elbowed him. "No," she said again. "Roight. Sign 'ere, please." She handed Ginny a ball-point pen and turned to Harry. Ginny carefully signed her name—It's so nice not to have ink blots!—and listened in amusement as her prediction became true and Harry did, indeed, have to answer all the same questions she had, with proper gender shifts. Once they'd both signed those forms, the clerk whisked the papers away and presented them with new ones. "Fill out these 'ere forms with yer name, address, and so forth," she said. "All the way down. When yer done, give yer forms ter me, and they gets posted fer 21 days. At the end of that, the certificate will be issued, and yeh comes here ter get it until the day yeh gets married. When's the date?" "Fourth of April," Harry said. "Plenty o' time, then. Yeh can fill these out over there—" She pointed at a table along one wall. "—an' bring 'em back an' put 'em in this tray 'ere." She pointed to a black tray filled with similar forms. "Yeh don' need to take another number. Okay?" "Right. Thanks." Harry took Ginny's hand and they made their way over to the table. "Harry," Ginny said under her breath as they sat down in two of the chairs, "how am I supposed to fill this out? I don't think 'The Burrow' is going to work as a legal Muggle address!" "Not to mention being a bad idea, since your mum would find out," Harry replied, grinning. "No, we've permission to use Hermione's parents' house as a mail drop. I've their address right here." He pulled a piece of paper out of his jeans pocket and placed it between them. "And their telephone number. If anyone calls asking for either of us, they'll take a message and let us know by owl as soon as possible." Ginny blinked, surprised. "That's very kind of them. Hermione told them, then, did she?" He nodded, beginning to fill out the form. She bent down and began as well. "Yes, because we'd need a legal Muggle address, and they were the only Muggles I knew that I could trust to keep a secret. They'll be at the official wedding as well, of course." "Of course." Ginny giggled suddenly. "This doesn't feel much like a wedding, does it?" she asked. "Sitting in an office, filling out forms?" He laughed. "Not really, no. But then Muggles are notoriously unromantic." She wrinkled her nose at him. "So it would seem." She cocked her head to the side. "You weren't planning on taking me straight back to Hogwarts, were you?" "When I've the chance of an entire day with you? Not on your life." He kissed the tip of her nose. "So get writing, wench—you're wasting the day!" She laughed and returned to writing. -------------- Ginny was awakened at half past eight the next morning by a familiar squeaky voice. "Miss Wheezy! Miss Wheezy! Dobby is sorry he has to wake you so early on a Sunday, Miss, but Dobby has a parcel for you!" She sat up, rubbing her eyes blearily. "A par—oh!—cel?" she asked, yawning in the midst of the word. "From whom?" Dobby's eyes grew round and his voice dropped to a whisper. "From Harry Potter, Miss Wheezy!" "From Harry?" All sleepiness gone, she reached for the parcel and the note attached to it, opening the latter first. 15 March Delivery to Miss Ginny Weasley Gryffindor House Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Ginny, I hope these flowers can communicate how much yesterday meant to me. Not just spending time with you—though that is always wonderful—but what precisely we were spending time doing. It may have seemed like makework, but, love, in situations such as ours, every step toward our goal is a milestone. Even if it's only filling out paperwork. I'll see you again in two weeks. In the meantime, know that these roses are saying everything I can't in a letter, or it would be so huge that Hedwig couldn't carry it. All my love, for all my life, Harry Ginny beamed. A/N: I know, it's short, but I ended up having to tweak some things with the process of getting a license. I don't truly know whether all those questions are asked when one applies for a marriage license in Britain, but they are the laws governing who may marry. I got them from this website: http://www.webwedding.co.uk/articles/ceremonies/civil/registry.htm. I intended only to have a couple, maybe as many as six, letters; they just sort of grew out of control. They were fun to write, though. Huge thanks go to Michele and Imogen--Michele for her wedding planner expertise, and Imogen for finding the specifics for the UK. You ladies both rock! This chapter, and the next one, could not have been written without you. Off to Chapter 18: The Wedding!
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