"I cannot believe you let that blood traitor screw you." 

"Which one?" 

"That Malfoy boy. I knew you two dated before, but I thought he was with Boot." 

I laughed, throwing my quill onto the parchment before me and lounging back on my chair, tilting it back on two legs. I gazed up at the ghost with a grin on my face, shaking my head slightly in disbelief. 

"Never thought I'd hear the day you'd call a Malfoy a 'blood traitor.'" I let my eyes move over the disgruntled ghost's folded arms. "And he IS with Terry. Not every relationship has to be oh-so-strictly monogamous, yanno. Some people like to have fun from time to time." 

"I did not mean like that." Ghost-Riddle huffed. "I simply thought he had turned strictly to the same sex." 

"Oh. You thought he was gay?" I giggled. "Mate, bi people exist. I'm one of them." 

Riddle raised an eyebrow coolly, letting his arms fall to his sides and gliding closer. "Come to think of it, why did I not ever take advantage of that? It would have been quite arousing to watch you and another female in bed together..." 

I snorted. "Um, you were and still are far too possessive to let anyone else touch me." 

Riddle contemplated this for a moment, then shrugged. "That is true. Women are just as much, if not more, of a threat than fellow men. While men have the dangerous ability to get you pregnant with their child rather than mine," he scowled, "women are far more beautiful and smarter in any situation." 

"Hell fuckin' yeah, dude! Facts." I raised my hand to Riddle's bewilderment. "Up top!" 

"Daze? Oh, there you are!" 

I pulled a 'yikes' face, lowering my hand as my two boyfriends, best friend, and his fiancé rounded the corner, coats and jackets on, my puffy pink coat thrown over Fred's arm. His eyes moved from me to my companion, the grin fading from his face. I nudged the piece of parchment I had been working on subtly underneath a textbook. 

"Here comes the orgy. Try not to touch each other up again while you are out." Riddle scoffed, turning and phasing through a bookshelf. 

"Excuse me. You don't fucking control me." I told Ancient Textes of the Charmes and Hexes. 

Fred, George, Terry, and Draco all blinked, glancing between me and the space where Riddle had just been. 

"Um." Terry said. 

"Why were you literally GOSSIPING about your sex life with Voldemort in the school library?!" Fred demanded, screwing his face up in puzzlement. 

"Eh. I was bored and he was there." I said, and Fred shrugged. 

"Here, put this on. We're meeting the others at the front." He said, tossing my coat at me. "Can't wait to see you in all those sexy dresses, babe." 

"Hey, come on now, I'm supposed to be the sexy one today." Terry protested. "Get up, bitch, why are you revising? Let's fucking goooo!" 

I stood up, sniggering, and pulled on my coat. I pushed the textbook under the nook beside the desk, glancing around at the boys and hoping no one saw the title. I tucked the chair in under the desk, leaning into Draco as he kissed my cheek, unsuccessfully dodging a playful slap on my ass from Terry, and taking Fred and George's hands. 

My eyes were drawn to the darkest corner of the library as we approached the door. Riddle was still lurking. He was staring behind me with some sort of strange emotion in his eyes - I turned slightly, wondering what he was looking at. Draco was chatting to Terry, a hand in his pocket; I turned back, and Riddle's eyes were now on me. 

They were... hurt. And... something else. Whatever it was, it made me shiver with the intensity of it. 

Our prolonged eye contact was broken when the twins pulled me out the door. I shook my head, erasing all thoughts about Riddle from my mind like an etch-a-sketch, and plastered a grin on my face as we made our way down to the Entrance Hall to join the rest of the bridal party. 

Or... well... groom party? I guess there's no bride. 

Along with Lee, Ginny, Blaise, and Louis, we all toured the florists local to Sello Castle. We perused among hydrangeas, lilies, roses, and daisies, gathering up a variety of blues, greens, and whites. 

"Blue and green, huh? Are you sure you guys aren't just being House proud?" 

"Uh, no. We just really like blue and green." 

"Uh huh. Sure..."

"Shut up, Softpaw." 

"No. Fuck you, Hopper." 

"Sorry, queen." 

"Sorry, king." 

We eventually settled on blue hydrangeas and soft green eucalyptus with spatterings of daisies for the bouquets and decorations, with small sprigs for buttonholes and corsages. Excitedly chattering, our entourage moved to the local bakery, where we settled around the little tables with many plates of different slices of cake. 

"I like this one, Terry." Lee said, holding up the red velvet. 

"Oh? You like that one, do you, Lee?" 

"Yeah...?" 

I cackled evilly as I smooshed the small amount of red velvet left into his face as he spluttered. 

"Well, to be honest, I think red velvet is rank." Louis said. "I mean, cream cheese? Ew." 

"I'm inclined to agree with you there, bro." I said, brushing the crumbs off my fingers. 

"I'm InClInEd To AgReE wItH yOu - what are you, a nineteenth century solicitor?" Terry bullied me. 

"No, a fan of triple chocolate." I wiggled my eyebrows at George, who was spooning some of said cake into his mouth. He smirked, setting the plate down and reaching across for me, planting his lips on mine. 

When we broke apart again after a lingering moment, Terry's face was wrinkled in disgust. "I hate you both. Anyway, Draco, honey, what's your favourite?" 

Draco turned from where he was chatting to Fred across the room and said, "Victoria sponge, to be honest. It's so underrated." 

We all exchanged a glance, nodding thoughtfully. 

"Yeah, y'know, it's a crowd pleaser." I said. 

"True dat. We'll do victoria sponge, then!" Terry beamed, leaping up from his chair and making his way to the counter. I caught George's eye again and giggled, feeling my cheeks burning as I drew my lip in between my teeth and tasted chocolate. 

Then we scoured the town for decor, buying and putting appropriately coloured bunting, trellises, ribbons, and organza in our inventory. Last stop on our wedding planning trip was to our appointment at the bridal shop, where we were all presented with flutes of champagne on arrival and led to the private back room. I glanced around casually as I dipped my finger into the flute and swirled, checking that my fingernail hadn’t changed colour. 

"Beaut." I said, positioning myself immediately on the comfiest, plushiest looking armchair. "Alright, bring out the suits!" 

Terry and Draco had written ahead to the shop to have suits matching their style and colour scheme already picked out. I beamed at my best friend as he disappeared behind the curtain with an attendant, winking cheekily at Draco as he went behind his own curtain. 

"Eh," I said as the two came out in their first outfits, "hmm." 

Draco raised an eyebrow at Terry, and the curly-haired boy burst out laughing. 

"Yeah, that's a no, girliepop." I told Terry's attendant. "Try again." 

She grinned, lifting the curtain for Terry. Fred, George, and I leaned forward in eager anticipation as the sound of Terry's maniacal giggles drifted out to us. 

"Oh boy, this is gonna be good." Fred told us. 

Ginny's jaw dropped as Terry stepped out again, and Blaise stifled a snort into his elbow as Draco emerged too. 

"Oh, fuck!" I exploded. Terry and Draco grinned at each other as I slapped my thigh, bending over and heaving in mirth. Fred quickly got out his phone, zooming in on the two boys dressed in neon green with blue peaches patterned across their blazers. 

"What the actual -?" 

"Does anyone ever actually buy these?" Draco asked the attendant, who shrugged. 

Terry ripped the price tag off his sleeve and handed it to her. "They do now. I want this! Not for my wedding though." 

Fred and George sniggered as they bent over Fred's phone. Terry and Draco slipped back behind their curtains, and I leaned over Fred's shoulder to see what they were laughing at. 

Wait - that wasn't Fred's phone - it was Draco's! I snatched the phone; scrolling up, I saw that the twins had sent the zoomed-in photo of Draco in the bizarre suit to his dad, and I started jolting with silent laughter. 

I scrolled down to see Lucius Malfoy's response: 

'Dear Draco, 

That attire is hideous. You are not wearing this to your wedding? Please advise. 

- Dad' 

I eagerly typed out a reply: 

'I advise you that I will absolutely be wearing this attire to the wedding and also I scheduled your buzzcut for charity for tomorrow morning at eight, if that's ok? I gave them keys to the manor and told them to just come on in and start filming it like a documentary. Be ready mate lmao 💀' 

I hit send and threw Draco's phone back onto the sofa nearby as Fred and George chuckled on either side of me. Ginny sent me a weird look, and I grinned at her. 

“Yo, what the fuck did you say to Draco’s dad?” Lee said, peering at the phone. “It’s blowing up with texts from him!” 

“Oh, I told him someone’s giving him a buzzcut for charity.” I said, taking another sip of my champagne. “Said they’re just going to walk right in and do it.” 

Fred slid off his seat, heaving with laughter. Louis’s eyebrows furrowed as Ginny leaned over to high-five me. 

“More champagne, please.” Blaise said to a passing attendant. “I’ll need it to deal with this lot.” 

A rustling came from the curtains, and I turned expectantly. Draco emerged, a small pleased smile on his face. I let my eyes roam over him, taking in the sage green blazer and waistcoat, the floral tie, his confident stance; yes, this was it. 

“It’s perfect.” I told him, and the others nodded. 

“You know how much I hate to agree with Potter,” Blaise said with a quirk of his lips, as I snorted, “but yeah, it’s brilliant.” 

“I think so too.” Draco said quietly. 

And then Terry emerged. Dressed the same as Draco but in a powder blue, he was beaming from ear to ear. The second his eyes met Draco, they softened. The gaze exchanged between the boys made me breathe out a huge sigh. 

“I wish someone would look at me like that.” Louis hissed to us. 

“Hopper, mate, if you don’t get these suits, I will kill you.” I informed my best friend. 

Terry looked over at me, and I smiled fondly at him as I saw the tears in his eyes. “Y-yeah.” His voice cracked as he wiped his face with the back of his hand. “We’re getting these, I think.” 

“Whoop!” Fred and George cheered. I leaped up, slinging an arm around Terry and squeezing him tight to me. 

We watched as Draco chose his groomsmen’s suits, black and white suits with sage green waistcoats and bow ties, and Ginny’s bridesmaid dress, a sage green, tulle dress with a single shoulder strap. We consumed more champagne as the twins, Lee, Terry, and I rummaged through the shop’s inventory, giggling and chattering, and eventually picked out a selection of suits for the boys and dresses for me. 

“I LOVE those.” I said, Terry clapping his hands in delight as Fred, George, and Lee emerged from behind the curtains in black and white tuxedos, powder blue waistcoats and bow ties making them look similar to Draco’s suits. 

I let my eyes linger on the twins as they checked themselves out in the giant mirror, tugging on their bow ties and posing with their hands in their pockets. They looked incredibly hot; I wondered how I’d be able to keep my hands off them at the wedding looking like that. 

“Now maid of honour’s turn!” Terry pushed me eagerly towards the changing room. He ducked under the curtain too, gazing around at the dresses hung up waiting for me. 

I raised an eyebrow at him, amused. “You know, I didn’t come in here while you were trying your suits on. Because I wanted to be surprised by your awesomeness.” 

“Well, I’m not patient like you.” Terry turned to me, excitement plastered across his face as he held up two dresses. 

“I’m not patient.” 

“I just can’t CONTAIN myself, okay? Now, I’m saving the best for last, so pick between these two which one you want to try first.” 

“Okay, this one, because it’s really slutty, and I wanna see their reaction.” 

Terry sniggered the whole time I changed, me batting at him with a random sparkly high heel someone had left on the pouffe, and I strutted out onto the podium, tossing my hair over my shoulder. 

“Wow.” Ginny said. 

My face screwed up with the effort of not laughing. 

“That’s really appropriate for a wedding.” She continued. 

I bit down hard on my lip. 

“I can only imagine Lucius and Narcissa’s faces when you turn up wearing that.” 

I lost composure and exploded. Draco, Lee, Ginny, Blaise, and Louis burst out laughing too, Terry already ducking behind the curtain to let off his raucous peals of laughter. The twins weren’t laughing, if only because of the way their eyes had glazed over, their pupils expanded and mouths slightly open as they stared at my body. 

“You guys like my Vegas wedding bridesmaid dress?” I winked at them. “Yanno, for strippers?” 

Ginny shrieked with laughter. I laughed harder in response, tears collecting at the corners of my eyes, and scurried behind my curtain. 

“Oh, Jesus.” I breathed once I’d calmed down. “Oh, fucking hell, that was hilarious.” 

“I would one hundred percent let you wear that to my wedding.” Terry told me. “Just so you know, queen.” 

“Thanks, boo.” I leaned in and pecked him on the lips. He let out a high-pitched giggle. “Okay, now this one… it’s pretty, but I’m not sure about it…” 

Terry helped me zip up the second blue dress as I frowned at myself in the smaller mirror. The chiffon brushed at my ankles, and the straps hugged my shoulders in a way that made me slightly uncomfortable. It made my waist look snatched, though. 

Terry lifted the curtain for me, and I dandered out, placing a hand on my hip and laughing nervously. Blaise immediately shook his head. 

“You look gorgeous in literally anything, babe.” George said. “But you don’t look comfy.” 

“I’m not.” I said. “This one a bust, then?” 

“Yeah.” Draco said, and the others nodded. “Can’t have our maid of honour feeling weirded out.” 

“That bust makes YOUR bust look good, though.” Fred muttered, and I stared at him. 

“Anyway.” I said, and ducked under the curtain again. “Third time lucky?” 

I was a bit more excited for this one. The dress was one that Terry had spotted immediately when we got to the blue dress section, and all of us agreed it would look swell on me. Terry helped me into it as I admired myself in the mirror. It was low cut, snatched my waist just like the last one, and was far more comfortable. Blue tulle skirt poofed around me, short in front of my knees, longer at the back, and the second that Terry zipped me up I knew. 

“This is it!” I beamed. 

“Oh, fucking definitely, Softpaw.” 

I practically skipped out into the larger room, where everyone leaned forward, nodding in approval as soon as they saw me. 

“That’s the one.” Fred said, raising his champagne flute at me before downing the rest of it. 

“Beautiful!” Ginny exclaimed, a hand to her cheek. 

“I know.” I grinned, twisting and turning as I checked myself out in the floor length mirror. I was so excited for this wedding. And to think it was only a couple months away now.