Bill & Fleur Marriage - Part 9

Gritting his teeth and ignoring Ron's snigger, Harry sat down. Ron and Hermione sat across from him, looking extremely cozy. Fred and George were up and already instructing the band by the dance floor in the middle of the tent.

Bill and Fleur were seated at a table for two at the front of the tent, with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Mr. and Mrs. Delacour occupying a table to their right. Harry sat with the other Weasley siblings and Gabrielle at a table on the left of the happy couple. Harry looked up in time to see Ginny and Jean-Luc taking the remaining seats at his table.

Harry's eyes locked on Ginny's for a moment as she sat down, and he was unable to pull them away. She was wearing make-up on her eyes that made them look kind of smoky and unbelievably sexy. He didn't remember ever seeing her wearing more than lipstick at school.

"Let me pour you zome of zis wine, Ginny," Jean-Luc said, and it sounded like he was caressing her name.

Harry's beast snarled crossly.

"Thank you, Jean-Luc," Ginny replied sweetly.

Scowling, Harry took a liberal drink of his own wine.

Despite all the delectable food that was offered, the dinner dragged excruciatingly slowly for Harry. Between Gabrielle's hints about how much she wanted to dance and Jean-Luc's constant attentiveness to Ginny, Harry was ready to leap on his Firebolt and dive bomb the whole affair.

The only upside was the wine that had made him pleasantly warm. He'd quickly forgotten his promise of just that morning never to imbibe again. Even a hangover would feel better than the way he felt at the moment.

When he finished his dessert, he thought he'd managed to make it through the evening. He'd planned on slipping away from the festivities quietly and making it an early night. They were leaving for Godric's Hollow in the morning, and he wanted to be well rested.

That plan changed when Jean-Luc asked Ginny to dance. She nodded brightly and turned around. Looking directly into Harry's eyes with something he thought looked like a challenge, she allowed the shawl that she'd been wearing to drop from her shoulders.

Harry gulped as his mouth went dry. He felt as if all the air in his lungs had been forced out of him. The neckline of Ginny's dress suddenly appeared much lower than the modest cut of Gabrielle's, and Ginny's bosom looked as if it were barely being contained. Her robes no longer looked as if they had been made for a little girl at all.

Harry's jaw dropped open, and he wasn't even been aware of it until Hermione elbowed him sharply in the ribs. Ginny's eyes sparkled with triumph.

Jean-Luc, of course, handled the situation with much more grace than Harry had managed. He leaned over and whispered something in Ginny's ear, causing her to blush and look toward her feet. In doing so, she missed the appreciative look the Frenchman cast down her cleavage.

Harry didn't miss it, however, and jumped to his feet.

Once again, it was Hermione who held him back. "Don't make a scene, Harry," she hissed.

Harry glared at her. "Did you see where he was looking?" he demanded crossly.

"Yes. The same place you were looking. Honestly, Harry. It's called a push-up bra," Hermione said, her cheeks turning pink.

"What the bloody hell has Ginny done to herself?" Ron demanded, finally finding his voice after Ginny and Jean-Luc had walked onto the dance floor. "That...that doesn't look like my baby sister, and I don't want all these blokes looking at that."