Chapter 785: The Witch in Godric's Hollow

Fred, George, and Ron had been recruited by Mrs. Weasley as temporary ushers, standing by the entrance to greet the guests and lead them inside.

"Kyle, what do you think? Do I look all right? I hope I don't seem too shabby," Hagrid asked in a low voice at the door.

"Huh?" Kyle glanced at Hagrid's thick, furry brown suit and said with certainty, "Don't worry, anyone can tell at first glance how seriously you're taking this wedding."

Wearing a heavy, fur-lined suit meant for winter in the sweltering August heat—how could anyone doubt his dedication? Kyle knew he definitely wouldn't be able to endure it.

"Well…" Harry hesitated before speaking. "Should I do something to hide my identity? Like take some Polyjuice Potion or something?"

He and Sirius had reconciled. No one knew what they had discussed in that room, but when they emerged, they were back to normal, as if nothing had happened.

"There's no need at all," Kyle waved him off. "You're not that scary; you won't be frightening any guests. Just use your own face."

"That's not what I meant," Harry said awkwardly. "I mean, what if a Death Eater finds out I'm here? Won't that cause trouble?"

"That's even less of a concern," Kyle replied calmly. "Unless the Dark Lord himself shows up, nothing will happen. And, conveniently enough, he just had a fight with Professor Dumbledore a few days ago. He's probably still recovering, so I doubt he'll be making any public appearances anytime soon."

"Really?" Harry scratched his head.

"Of course." Kyle gave him a reassuring smile. "Just focus on what you need to do. You don't have to worry about anything else."

"So what should I do?" Harry's energy immediately returned. "Mrs. Weasley hasn't assigned me any tasks."

"Then go check on the seating arrangements," Kyle suggested after a moment of thought. "Also, make sure to add some decorations to the seats—flowers, ribbons, anything festive. It's a wedding, after all; it should feel special."

"No problem!" Harry grinned and dashed off.

"Decorate the seats?" Hagrid gave Kyle a curious look. "If I remember right, wasn't that supposed to be your job?"

"That's true," Kyle admitted with a nod. "But since Harry actually wants to help, I figured I'd let him take over."

"Huh?" Hagrid blinked. "Wait, I don't quite follow."

"What's so hard to understand?" Kyle said seriously. "Events like this don't happen often."

"Well, yeah, that's true," Hagrid agreed.

Wizards had certainly gotten married under difficult circumstances before, but those were mostly strangers. Among people they actually knew, Lupin and Tonks were the only ones tying the knot at the moment.

"That's why," Kyle continued, "the more you do during an event like this, the more involved you feel. It's a rare opportunity. Isn't that a good thing?"

Hagrid nodded uncertainly. Something still felt off about Kyle's reasoning, but after thinking it over, he couldn't exactly argue with it.

With so few things worth celebrating in the wizarding world lately, feeling involved did seem important.

"Well, all right. I'll go help too," Hagrid said, then followed Harry toward the seating area.

"Oh, sir, madam, please follow me this way," Fred's voice called from a short distance away.

He was walking beside a middle-aged couple.

The woman, a witch, bore a resemblance to Tonks, though her hair remained a soft, warm brown instead of changing colors.

Beside her stood a stocky man with golden hair and a pronounced belly…

"Andromeda, Ted! It's so good to see you," Mr. Weasley called, hurrying over to greet them with warm embraces.

"It's been a long time, Arthur," said Tonks' mother, Andromeda Tonks, gently. "How's Molly?"

"She's doing well. Right now, she's busy preparing the refreshments," Mr. Weasley replied.

"Allow me to introduce you." He gestured toward Fred. "This is my son Fred… or possibly George. They're twins, you know how it is."

Ignoring Fred's indignant expression, he then motioned toward Kyle. "And this is Kyle, Chris and Diana's son."

"Oh, Kyle, these are Tonks' parents."

"Nice to meet you," Kyle said, stepping forward to shake their hands.

"I've heard of you," Andromeda said in mild surprise. "The youngest recipient of the Order of Merlin, Second Class, Triwizard Tournament Champion—you gave the British Ministry of Magic quite a spectacle on the international stage."

"You flatter me," Kyle responded modestly.

However, he quickly noticed that it was Andromeda doing all the talking. Ted Tonks, on the other hand, looked rather displeased. His expression was stiff, and he only managed a forced smile when Kyle met his gaze.

But that was understandable.

No matter how one looked at it—appearance, age, or financial standing—Lupin hardly fit the image of an ideal son-in-law. On top of that, he was a werewolf.

Ted Tonks' discontent was hardly surprising. If he had come here cheerfully, that would have been unusual. In fact, if he had refused to attend the wedding at all, Kyle would have understood.

But they had still chosen to come, which likely meant Andromeda had played a key role—just as she had in the past, when she had defied her family's expectations, disregarded their disapproval, and chosen Ted despite the risk of being disowned.

In a way, Tonks was now doing the same thing her mother had done all those years ago.

The difference was, this time, she wasn't alone.

"This way, let me take you inside," said Fred, leading them into the house after a brief introduction and heading off to find Tonks.

Next came George, who had brought along some familiar faces—Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout. Kyle hadn't expected to see them, as he rarely encountered them outside of school.

Especially Professor Sprout—Kyle had always assumed she never left the greenhouse.

"Welcome, Professors." This time, Sirius was the one greeting them. "It's a wonderful surprise to see you here."

"I'm quite surprised myself," said Professor McGonagall, glancing at the house in the distance. "I really didn't expect you to hold the wedding here."

"Remus insisted," Sirius said, rubbing his nose. "Because James once said that no matter where Remus got married, he would find a way to be there."

"Yes… The four of you were always inseparable back in school," McGonagall murmured, her eyes slightly red.

"Those were the best years of my life," Sirius admitted. "Come inside—Lupin will be thrilled. He was convinced you wouldn't have time to come."

"We didn't have time," McGonagall admitted, "but Filius took over some of our duties. Remus is one of my favorite students—I couldn't miss this."

"Nymphadora is just as special," added Professor Sprout with a smile.

"And what about me?" Sirius asked, clearly in good spirits. "How do I rank in your memories?"

"If I had the choice, I'd have sorted you into a different House," McGonagall said bluntly. "That way, Gryffindor might have won a few more House Cups."

Whether intentionally or not, she cast a fleeting glance at George as she said it.

"That's a bit hurtful," Sirius said, clutching his chest dramatically—but his grin only widened.

"Come on, Professors, let's not keep Remus waiting. He'll be over the moon to see you."

After Sirius left, George lingered for a moment and made his way over to Kyle.

"When I get married…" George tugged at the collar of his dress robes. "I definitely won't go through all this hassle. I'll throw a party that lasts from morning till midnight—people can come and go whenever they like, join in anytime, leave whenever."

"You'd have to get past Mrs. Weasley first," Kyle said, handing him a chilled bottle of Pumpkin Fizz. "She'll never agree to that."

"No problem," George said, taking a swig. "I'll just hit Mum with a Full Body-Bind Curse until it's all over."

"If that's the plan, be sure to let me know in advance," Kyle said, giving him a look. "So I can bring flowers to your grave the next morning."

"She'd have to catch me first," George laughed. "All right, I've got to go tell the band to start playing."

With that, he strolled toward the largest tree in the area, where the wizard musicians were gathered, smoking their pipes. It was supposedly a famous band, but Kyle hadn't caught their name—and frankly, he didn't recognize them anyway.

...

There were fewer guests than expected. By seven-thirty, everyone had arrived, and most were familiar faces.

But they had anticipated this.

Tonks' mother, Andromeda, had been disowned by her family long ago for marrying a Muggle-born wizard. Her name was one of the many burned holes on the Black family tapestry.

As a result, she had lost contact with nearly everyone she once knew. And even if she had stayed in touch, those people would never have attended her daughter's wedding—especially not to a werewolf.

As for Ted Tonks, most of his family were Muggles. It didn't seem appropriate to invite them to a wizarding wedding.

Beyond that, the only unfamiliar faces Kyle noticed were Lupin's parents.

But they didn't arrive until halfway through the ceremony.

At that moment, the officiant was reading the vows when Lupin suddenly bolted from the stage.

Tonks, startled, assumed he was having second thoughts—her hair flared red with anger.

It wasn't until she and the others followed Lupin's gaze that they saw the couple arriving late.

Like the Tonks couple, they were a wizard-Muggle pair. But in Lupin's case, it was his father who was the wizard.

Lyall Lupin—an expert in Dark creatures. Kyle had heard his name from Newt Scamander, who spoke highly of him.

If Kyle remembered correctly, he should have been in his sixties, but he looked far older than that.

His frame was stooped, his hair stark white—Newt, who was over a hundred, looked far more energetic than he did.

Lupin's mother didn't look much better.

At first, they seemed skeptical, as if they thought this was some kind of elaborate prank. But once they saw it was real—once they knew their son was truly getting married—they couldn't contain themselves.

They clung to each other, overwhelmed with emotion, crying tears of joy.

Still, something about their relationship with Lupin struck Kyle as odd.

They weren't distant exactly, but neither were they close. There was a certain restrained formality between them—like relatives who hadn't seen each other in years and weren't sure how to bridge the gap.

After the initial wave of emotion passed, silence quickly settled between them again.

Lupin soon returned to the stage.

Fortunately, the officiant had seen plenty in his time. Without missing a beat, he ignored the interruption and calmly restarted the vows from the beginning.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of these two devoted souls…"

"I didn't realize their relationship was actually like that," Fred muttered under his breath, sitting to Kyle's left.

"What do you mean?" Kyle asked.

"Lupin and his parents," George clarified from the other side.

"They don't get along?"

"Well… it's not that they don't get along," Fred said thoughtfully. "It all started more than thirty years ago."

"Lupin's father once said something that offended Fenrir Greyback. In retaliation, Greyback broke into their home on a full moon and bit Lupin when he was just a child."

"Yeah," Fred nodded. "Because of that, his father was consumed with guilt. He became withdrawn, barely spoke, and didn't know how to face Lupin."

"And with Lupin being a werewolf, he gradually distanced himself from his parents too. Over time, things just… turned out like this."

Kyle eyed them skeptically. "And how exactly do you two know all this?"

"We eavesdropped, of course," Fred said matter-of-factly. "We listened in on their conversation for three hours last night. Lupin even said he was sure his parents wouldn't come to the wedding."

"But looks like he was wrong," George said with a grin.

"Three hours?" Kyle raised an eyebrow. "You two really have nothing better to do."

"Worth it, wasn't it?" Fred smirked. "They wouldn't have told us anything like that otherwise."

He turned his gaze to the couple on stage.

"Nice and all, but this whole thing seems like such a hassle. When I get married, I definitely won't have someone standing up there droning on forever."

"As I said before," Kyle quipped, "you'll have to get that past Mrs. Weasley first."

...

As the vows were spoken, more than a few guests had already started tearing up. Mrs. Weasley and Hermione kept dabbing at their eyes, while Mrs. Lupin and Mrs. Tonks were crying tears of joy.

From somewhere behind them came a loud, trumpeting noise.

It was Hagrid—he had buried his face in what looked like a tablecloth-sized handkerchief, and the sound was coming straight from his nose.

"…I now pronounce you husband and wife."

At those words, Fred and George sprang to their feet, producing the confetti cannons they had prepared in advance and setting them off above Lupin and Tonks.

This wasn't some leftover stock from Christmas—this was custom-made.

A cascade of silver stars rained down over the couple, along with an assortment of flowers in every shape and color. These weren't illusions—they were real flowers, some of them still carrying startled bees that flew around in confusion before quickly zipping off toward the nearby garden.

Then Kyle flicked his wand.

The flowers around them shot up, growing as tall as people in an instant. Small, fluffy creatures emerged from all directions, and three phoenixes swooped down behind the couple, their hauntingly beautiful song filling the air.

"That's some impressive Transfiguration," Professor McGonagall remarked approvingly from the guests' seats.

"Yes," Professor Sprout nodded, "though I think golden globe flowers would have been a better choice than orchids and roses. Those are truly the most beautiful plants."

The two professors immediately launched into a discussion.

"Hey, Kyle, this wasn't part of the plan," Fred said, sounding a bit put out.

"Yeah, and now we look like we underprepared," George added.

"Spur-of-the-moment decision," Kyle said with an easy grin. "Don't be mad."

The thought had only just occurred to him—after all, this was Lupin's wedding. He couldn't just sit back and do nothing.

The unexpected spectacle drew a round of applause from the guests.

...

The garden quickly transformed into a dance floor. The band struck up a lively tune, and an assortment of drinks—Pumpkin Juice, Butterbeer, Firewhisky—whizzed through the air, arranging themselves neatly on the tables.

"Not bad," George said, taking a sip of Butterbeer. "But I have a question."

"What is it?" Fred asked.

"Who is that?" George gestured.

Not far from them, a hunched old witch stood alone, looking completely out of place amidst the festive atmosphere.

"No idea," Fred said, shaking his head. "Probably a neighbor from around here."