The Hayes & Finnigan Wedding

The walk down the stairs was not nearly as treacherous as she had imagined. True to his word, Elliot kept his arm around her and he helped her wobble down the stairs and sweep out as lithely as she could into the foyer. He steadied her, then, pausing at the mouth of the stairs, and took a moment to take in his sister, his baby sister who was all grown up in his eyes. Merlin knew he’d still protect her though, husband or not, and Millie’s hesitant smile made Elliot laugh, a breathy exhale of air through his nostrils. For a moment, he laced his fingers with her own and squeezed them gently, rolling the rings on his fingers against her own, a crude mixture of their father’s rings, old and even older ones, which they coveted despite their mismatch. Then, the inevitable happened and the music began to play. Elliot released Millie’s fingers and she mourned the loss, realising as she settled beside him that this truly was ‘it’ and none of it had been of her own making.

The doors were thrown open and Millie found herself being guided into place by Elliot’s coaxing arm. She followed him blindly, finding the peeping flash of her orange shoes beneath her dress sublimely intriguing. Yet, at the sound of people rising she knew she had to lift her head and hesitantly she raised her chin, her eyes darting furtively around and coming to rest on the pale blue gaze that belonged to Keiran. Millie sucked in a heavy breath and she managed a breathless looking smile as she exhaled, her cheeks rising with colour as another epiphany struck her. She was getting married.

As if on cue, Millie found her feet beginning to move but for all the tea and china she couldn’t move her eyes, trapped somewhere between her own body and Kieran’s. Yet she moved and was ferried up the aisle according to the rhythm of the music that played around them. Elliot’s arm slipped out from around Millie’s tense grasp and took her by the small of her back as they reached the altar. His hand was a soothing thing but certainly did no favours for her nerves. She brought her lips together, quenching her smile as she felt her heart leap into her throat, nervousness consuming her, and she blinked rapidly as Elliot lifted her hand up.

She felt the exchange in warmth, the difference of texture and she opened her eyes, not realising they’d been closed, to see Elliot’s hands closed over theirs. He smiled, the briefest, fleeting of looks, and released their hands from his own before leaning down and pressing a kiss to Millie’s forehead. He stepped back, grasping Kieran’s upper arm for a moment before grinning doggedly.

“She’s your problem now, mate.” He told him cheekily before darting off at a more comely pace but hastening as fast as propriety would allow him just in case Millie got her wits together enough to thump him.

She didn’t. She merely stared at Kieran, stunned, managing only a whisper of, “I’m a little nervous,” before a small, shy smile took her lips.

Perhaps she should’ve released Kieran but the exchange meant that, indeed, she was his problem so she held onto Kieran as though her life depended on it, determined to cling to him as her only anchor in this new, rapidly forming, bizarre world. As she turned her attention to the vicar, Millie felt herself relax a little but it was marginal in comparison to the way her hand shook clammily in Kieran’s. Nervous, indeed.

"Will do." Robin stood and moved to the door where Avery met him. Even though he had only just arrived he was already feeling the need to take a walk and do something rather than sit around and watch Keiran make himself pretty. The pair left Keiran alone in his room and headed down the hall together. Since their lunch they hadn't seen each other once but as they walked there didn't seem to be any awkwardness despite their time apart.

Once they were out of Keiran's hearing range Robin spoke up. "He seems.. remarkably nervous." He let out a low laugh, regardless of the lack of humor in this situation. "I think we need to get this wedding moving unless we want a runaway groom on our hands." Knowing the kind of honor Keiran considered himself to have, Robin knew this was extremely unlikely. He would go through with the wedding, the marriage, even the children. Robin wasn't sure he would be able to be so infuriatingly compliant if their situations were reversed.

Robin and Avery split up, looking for their assigned targets. He found Millie's room quicker than he expected and met a woman at the door who he passed on the time to. After his duties were fulfilled he returned to Keiran's room and gave him the most encouraging smile he could manage. "I think they're ready for you."

- - -

Robin stood above the filled room, able to look out at all the guests from his place of honor beside the groom. He had seen Della and given her a wink, dearly hoping that she had found a happy medium between being bored and doing anything illegal. He had also spotted the faces of Jack Dyllan, Gisele Delacour, and various mutual friends through Quidditch. Avery sat in the front and center and he was distracted by the faces she insisted on making at those in the bridal party.

When her gaze shifted to him he was greeted with a smirk. Robin opened his mouth slightly in mock shock and horror. It almost immediately dropped into a loose smile and silent laugh. Just then the music began and the doors swung open to reveal Millie Finnigan herself, dressed in full white and looking incredibly like a bride. Robin's eyes flickered to her for a moment and then returned to catch Avery's. He tilted his head and gave her a stern look and nodded his head towards the aisle which Millie was quickly ascending, clearly telling her to watch the procession.

But Robin did not follow his own advice. Even with his best friend's wedding in full swing it proved hard for him to concentrate. While his eyes should have been glued to the beautiful bride (everyone else's, especially Keiran's were) his gaze remained on the blonde in the front row. The was the amazing thing - even her smirk was beautiful.

Avery found it increasingly difficult to register anything other than the man laughing at her from Keiran's side. His eyes left hers for a moment, before returning and giving her a rather chastising look. She wanted to laugh aloud, but she had finally registered that the ceremony was starting. Biting her lip to keep from disrupting things, she turned to look down the aisle.

Melissa looked brilliant - though Avery hadn't seen her on her more casual days. The older woman had a feeling that the young Gryffindor was probably lovely regardless of what she wore. Keiran had no idea how lucky he was, yet. Avery was generally a pretty good judge of character, and this Millie looked just like something Mr. Hayes could use.

That reminded her: she wanted to see Keiran's reaction to his bride's entrance. Looking at him, she thought she must feel much like his Mum. His acceptance of all of the hard things being thrown at him was quite brave, and Avery could only hope she would end up pulling this off as well as he had so far. As well as he would, in the end.

Her gaze, however, was drawn back to the man who apparently liked to tease her. It wasn't that unusual that Avery found Robin attractive. But with his suit and the fact that he was still watching her, rather than the beautiful girl coming down the aisle made her flush. She wondered momentarily if she looked as surprised by this as she felt. Truly, she had a serious urge to pull him aside, but it was completely absurd.

Avery lifted an eyebrow at him, the corner of her mouth pulling up in an almost-smile, mocking him in return for his face earlier. She flicked her gaze in Keiran's direction for a moment, suggesting he turn and pay attention as Millie's hand was placed into the Professor's.

- - -

Keiran gave Millie's hand a squeeze as Elliot passed it to him, smiling at her brother's teasing comment. Her comment made his eyebrows draw together in concern but he pushed that away and smiled at her. She was clearly not sure about this. Was he? How could they be?

"I've got you." He murmured in return, not sure if it would help, but feeling the need to say anything he could to help her.

He brushed his thumb over her knuckles as she turned, following her example to face the front of the barn. He could feel Robin beside him, and feel the eyes of those seated behind them boring into him. This would be interesting.

Avery turned back to look at him and he grinned at her, unabashed. Was he mistaken or was that a tint of blush on her pale cheeks? Robin smirked but followed her directions and faced the couple who's hands were now clasped. Keiran's back was turned to him but he could see Melissa's face and it looked, well, terrified. This captured Robin's attention and he looked her over, not failing to notice the particularly violent shaking in her hands.

Melissa was no more than three years younger than him but at this moment she looked incredibly young. Her soft face stared at Keiran intently, not for a moment wavering towards the man who stood behind him. Robin wished he could see Keiran right now and get some read from him beyond the curves of his back. He knew his friend well and desperately wanted to give him some form of encouragement - the kind that the two men rarely exchanged.

Because as much as Robin would like to mock the marriage that was currently occurring he had to admit that Keiran really was a honorable, strong man for going through it. Also, a tall man. Robin couldn't see much of anything besides the expression on half of Millie's face from where he was standing. Looking to the vicar was a hopeless task so instead Robin took to flickering his gaze back and forth to the audience and Keiran's back.

Avery. Shoulders. Old lady scratching her nose. Waist. Avery. Pattern on tux. Avery. Back of head (his hair was quite messy). Child squirming in third row. Shoulders. Cordella. Earlobe shape. Avery. Melissa's changing expressions.

Within less than a minute Robin had made several key conclusions. Firstly, (and arguably most importantly), Keiran had remarkably well shaped and strong looking shoulders. Second, that the couple standing in front of him may have been scared out of their minds, but they were looking to eachother for comfort. And thirdly, Avery had made an excellent decision when she had bought that red dress.

The vicar’s surplice was starched over the bright mauve cassock he wore, pricked here and there with gold stars and silver moons. Around the edges of the surplice, a nebula had been etched in multi-coloured threads. His stole looped down over his chest, the tassels tickling at the tops of his legs, the pectoral cross flickering into two crossed wands if one was to blink quick enough; a thoroughly disorientating thing for an unsuspecting Muggle to see, Melissa Finnigan was sure. His smile was timeless, the paths in his face depicting a life of sorrow etched with vital happiness, and his bright blue eyes sparkled over the tops of half-moon glasses. His hair was long and silver, sweeping down around the floor with a plaited, beaded beard to match. His hands reached for theirs and she watched as he curled a single piece of dark red ribbon around their wrists before bringing their fingers outwards and curling another, golden piece of ribbon around the tips of their fingers.

“And thus,” the minister began smoothly, his voice projecting across the hall yet still managing to remain intimate, as though he was talking to perhaps only them. “You are joined. Might I inquire, Mr Finnigan,” Elliot was invited into this sacred circle and Millie blinked, feeling the presence of her brother lazily sidle up behind her from where he’d been stood just off from the altar. “Do you give this woman in marriage to this man?”

Elliot blanched and nodded, his mouth dry and the minister opened a hand to him. Elliot held up a small shield, the field a bright yellow and decorated with two badgers mingling with two red lions. It was a practised that had gone out of fashion with time but it was one the minister appeared insistent on. It was old, the shield used in all of the past Finnigan weddings of the last one hundred years, but certainly in good wear. Elliot lifted up Millie’s thumb and slid the thread that held it beneath, letting her share it with Keiran. He then guided it over their hands and watched with a small sense of triumph as the shield fell between their hands, hanging and fluttering gracefully for a moment before coming to a stop.

Millie’s eyes alighted on the minister and he smiled indulgently before saying, “In times like these, we must remember our traditions wherefore wizard folk enter into a marriage of holy matrimony reverently, discreetly, advisory and solemnly. Most rightly fear that now, at the press of our superiors we are to enter unadvisedly and lightly. But we must remember, to bond wizard folk in this manner is commended to be honourable amongst us all and therefore, we must honour it justly. With the tie of love I bind you,” the minister touched at the red ribbon. “And with that of eternal happiness I also do.” his fingers strayed to the gold one. “Into this holy estate these persons come together. Now, at the expense of irony, can anyone present in this band of friends and loved ones decipher a reason within these two people as to why they should not be wed?”

Millie closed her eyes, her heart thudding painfully in her ears. Silence stretched out for a few moments and when the minister began to speak again, Millie exhaled a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding within her so ardently.

“Marriage is a union of two people in heart,” he touched at their chests, two soft fingers each at the base of their throats, for, indeed, Millie felt he was right in doing so as hers was most certainly dithering there, “body,” he moved his fingers left, across their collarbones to their shoulders, “mind and soul,” then lifted his fingers to their foreheads where he traced the two crossed wands on his stole, followed by the pectoral cross which also appeared there. He lowered his hands, taking theirs once more, and continued. “It is intended for their mutual joy and for the help and comfort given on each other in prosperity and adversity. And while I am sure you fulfil these even now, it is important also to remember that in joining these pieces of yourselves you must endeavour to create a warm, loving environment in which your friends, loved ones and offspring will desire to return to for the stability, trust and love you can provide.”

Another piece of ribbon was curled around their wrists, one of a deep pink colour followed by a lighter blue. He smiled again, the minister’s presence beginning to truly relax Millie, and he opened his mouth, the next part of his speech falling easily and familiarly from his lips.

“Through marriage, Keiran Conall Finley Hayes and Melissa Adriana Finnigan will make a commitment together to face their disappointments, embrace their dreams, realise their hopes and accept each other’s failures; and on all occasions remember the correct method to make tea and accept that the chocolate digestive is far superior to the rich tea biscuit.”

A poorly stifled laugh jutted from Millie’s lips and her mouth twisted into a smirk. Elliot chuckled lowly behind her and between a sniff and what sounded like a sob, Lavender laughed amongst the others on their side of the room and some, she was sure, on Keiran’s, all accepting that, despite their own faults, a good partner to make tea was paramount to happiness. Millie herself could remember that every time her parents fought, her father would put the kettle on the cooker and make a cup of tea and like that their anger would evaporate and, inevitably, many more cups would be made throughout the day as Lavender picked at Seamus, no one entirely sure whether it was a fight she wanted or another custard crème.

“Keiran and Melissa will promise one another to aspire to these ideals wholeheartedly,” the minister winked, “throughout their lives together, through mutual understanding, openness and sensitivity to each other. Which, of course, means,” he said as he brought three more ribbons around them in varying colours. “we must impart to each other the right amount of sugar to make the tea just right.”

“None,” Millie whispered, unable to quite help herself. The minister’s smile grew on his face and he patted her arm gently with a chuckle before opening his arms out, addressing everyone and, at the same time, just them.

“We are here today before God and before Merlin himself because they shared the most sacred wish to witness the joining in marriage of Keiran Hayes and Melissa Finnigan. Blessed we are, indeed, if not a little terrified,” chuckles rose up into the air again and the minister found their hands once more. “This occasion,” his voice lowered a little, looking between them. “Marks the celebration of love and commitment with which you begin your life together. Through me, you are being joined in one of the holiest of bonds.”

A slight twinge of sadness enveloped the minister as he moved on. “This is a beginning and a continuation of their growth as individuals. With mutual care, respect, responsibility and knowledge comes the affirmation of each one’s own life happiness, growth and freedom. With respect for individual boundaries comes the freedom to ...” he paused, a mere microsecond but it did not go unnoticed by Millie. “love unconditionally.” It was apt that he seemed to hate what the Ministry had done as much as everyone else but for a different reason, of course. They had ruined the sanctity of marriage. There would be no unconditional love. “For you are both capable of it.”

Millie looked up, meeting the minister’s twinkling gaze and she felt a smile rise on her lips, a grateful one. Someone believed in them, it seemed. It didn’t matter how comforting Kieran was or how compliant Millie was, they knew it was wrong. The minister knew too but his words were borne out of a need to make it right, to make the marriage something other than an event the Ministry desired them to go through with. Millie didn’t want there to be a stalemate. She didn’t want resentment to build between them, each one biding their time until the Ministry finally changed their minds. For the first time she realised she wanted this and while it was still a long shot to say she wanted Kieran, not that there was anything wrong with him, just that it was too soon, she wanted to be a good wife. She wanted to be helpful and kind and she thanked everyone watching over them for the person before them, trying to make them see it would be alright.

“Within the emotional safety of a loving relationship, the knowledge self-offered one another becomes the fertile soil for continued growth. With care and responsibility towards self and one another comes the potential for full and happy lives. By gathering together all the wishes and our fondest hopes for Kieran and Melissa from all present here, we assure them that our hearts,” he touched his chest, “are in tune with theirs,” and opened his palm out to them. “These moments are precious. They are meaningful. They are important to us all. What greater thing is there, after all, than for two human souls to feel they are joined together, to strengthen each other in all labour, to minister each other in all sorrow and to share with each other in all gladness?”

“This relationship stands and will stand against the test of time for love, loyalty, honesty and trust but, most of all, friendship. Friendship is a catalyst for love, the oxygen a flame needs to remain ignited. It is from this that will path your destiny. Do not think you can direct the course for love. For, love, if it finds you worthy, shall direct you and will do in time. Marriage is an act of faith and a personal commitment as well as a moral and physical union between two people. It is the construction of love and trust into a single growing energy of life. It is an amoral commitment that deserves and requires daily attention. Marriage is a lifelong consecration of the ideal of loving kindness backed with the will to make it last. You can make it last.”

The minister reached for their hands and removed their bounds, slipping the ribbons carefully into his palm before taking off Millie’s coat of arms, removing it in a rather ceremonial manner that left her lost for a moment, in familial limbo, as it was handed back to Elliot who was no longer hers and vice versa. The warmth of the ribbons still wriggled over her skin, the bonds setting in with old magic around them. The minister held out his hand, looking expectantly to Robin for the rings, and taking them with a grateful smile.

“Now,” he murmured, closing his palms around the ribbons and the rings. “Do you have vows to be exchanged?” He looked pointedly, then, at Keiran and Millie stifled a little laugh.

“He has done all the talking,” she whispered conspiringly, squeezing her index finger reassuringly around Kieran’s. “Our turn.”

Her hands felt less clammy now and her ankles less likely to snap out of fear. Her brittleness had softened and her hands stayed loosely in Kieran’s, content there. It was going to be fine, of this fact she was sure. They were nearly there.

Keiran felt almost numb for the beginning of the ceremony. It was happening. Melissa was taking this quite well, he mused as he sent a glance in her direction. A smile crossed his face as Elliot was called forward, seeming almost surprised by it all. As one who had never been to a Wizarding world wedding, Keiran just did as Millie did, or followed along with what was asked of him. Keiran's hands were shaking as they got further into the wedding. Surely Millie could feel it?

He did his best to keep his nerves from showing through, but when they were asked if anyone objected, Keiran frowned darkly at the ground. Like anyone attending the wedding had a choice. The Ministry folks would have none of it, he was sure.

Keiran's eyes followed the minister's hand as it moved across Millie's shoulder, only half understanding the words that came out of the man's mouth. Keiran found himself grateful that the minister seemed to feel a little bad for the two of them but want things to work out for them just the same. It was sweet, in a way, and the professor found his lips tugging upwards into a smile.

He finally knew Millie's middle name, and Keiran could feel the draw to call her on it randomly just to see what she would do. If he called Avery by her real name, for example, Keiran knew he would get whacked upside the head. His thoughts were drawn from Melissa's name to the silly comments the minister was making. Did he know Keiran was feeling out of it? A chuckle passed through him before he could stop it, and he was fairly certain he could hear the breathy laugh of his mum and the bright, sharp giggle from Avery.

A full laugh came out when the tea was brought up again and Millie commented on it. Should he mention the fact that he didn't like tea? Probably not, he decided with a small smile. They were having a laugh, things were going well, and he wasn't about to ruin it. The minister was somehow able to hit all of their feelings right on the head; Keiran was nervous, if not terrified, that Melissa wouldn't really come to love him.

The man's speech grew almost sad as he spoke of love, and Keiran glanced around, from Robin to Melissa. Capability didn't mean certainty. Keiran could feel Millie look up and watched a smile break out across her face but couldn't bring herself to do the same. All Keiran could really think about what what the next few months would bring, while she was still in school. What about when he had to return the next year to teach, as Head of Slytherin, and she wouldn't? There were so many things that could go wrong. He had not been involved in her life for very long, and now he would be missing so much of her life after this.

Keiran did his best to just focus on the words that the minister spoke for them. Was friendship going to be enough? They didn't even have that yet, really. Not decidedly. He supposed it didn't matter if much came out of it, though, because it was law and the Wizarding world had binding marriages. He wasn't so sure the Ministry really knew what they were doing.

Keiran's jaw clenched as the their need to say their vows, and felt Millie give his hand a squeeze. He looked down at her as he turned to face her properly. Nodding, he knew he was meant to go first. His mouth opened for a moment, closed briefly, and he let out a quiet, shaky breath. This shouldn't be so hard.

“Millie,” He began, attempting to let his voice resonate so those in attendance could hear his bad attempt at vows, “I tried to write out something that would impress you and those around us but it just didn't feel right. So, I'm just going to say what I know and what I feel. I know neither of us expected to be standing here, either this early or with each other. But through what time we've spent getting to know each other, I've already learned a lot about you, and hopefully you can say the same. I wonder, if we had met differently, if we would get on or if anything like this would have happened. I can only hope that I find more than I've already seen in you that I love. I feel like I should list those things, or go on about how perfect this all is. But you know as well as I do that I've been talking far too long about something I don't understand. I wish I did, but I don't yet. So I'll just offer you the faith that I am here and will be for far longer than you expected me to be.” He cracked a smile, hoping she took his word and accepted it. Keiran's usual smirk was lost and he couldn't seem to find it.

He squeezed her hand, giving her a nod to indicate that he had finished and wasn't sure what else to do. Bouncing their joined hands up and down softly he watched them for a moment before looking up at her again. He may have imagined it, but he was fairly certain he could hear Avery shushing his mum.

Avery had seated herself next to Keiran's parents, knowing that most people at the wedding had only recently found out about Keiran's secret. She didn't want anyone to look at his parents differently, or him differently just because he wasn't the typical pureblood Slytherin. Throughout the ceremony, Mrs. Hayes kept frowning and leaning into Aiden to keep from crying. Bridget was not ready to share this day with someone whose family she didn't know, and with a daughter-in-law her son didn't know or didn't propose to.

Avery secretly hoped that down the road, Keiran would realize how good this girl could be for him, would accept falling for her, and could finally propose to her for real. They could renew vows like his parents had, but that time it would be real and their vows would be so different. The idea brought a smile to her face.

The smile dropped almost immediately when the vows were requested. Bridget had stiffened noticeably, so Avery extended a hand to squeeze the older woman's hand. On her other side, Aiden was watching his son seriously, looking like he regretted something, but Avery had no idea what it would be. As someone who tended to keep to himself, Aiden had his arms crossed in front of him.

By the end of Keiran's vows, Bridget had tears rolling down her face, and her sniffing was obvious. “Shhh, it's fine.” Avery whispered, wrapping both arms around Bridget and patting the woman's dark hair that was so very like her son's. “It will work out, I know it. He's accepted this.”

Glancing up at those standing before the minister, she could see Keiran's shoulders stiffen as he heard his mum, so Avery just hugged Mrs. Hayes tighter and kept quiet. Her eyes drifted to Robin, almost hoping he wasn't looking at her to see her previously well-hidden anxiety, but at the same time knowing that it wasn't as bad as all that.  They would need the laughs that their friends and family could bring, and even Bridget would accept it.

The problem, Avery figured, was that the Hayes family had, until that day, not invited many people inside their lives. The three of them were naturally the type to keep to themselves. Avery remembered the first time she had gone home with Keiran from University, not wanting to spend her holiday alone at her flat. She was like the daughter to Bridget and Aiden, but at the same time could understand his mum's fears.

The ceremony was going to wind down and come to its natural close after the vows. Thereafter they’d affirm the promises and they’d exchange rings and it’d be official. They’d sign the documents the Ministry wanted them to sign and then that’d be it. They could press on to dinner and cake and dancing and she’d be Mrs Hayes and he’d be, well, Mr Hayes too - minus the esquire he might’ve tagged on the end depending on Kieran’s preferred level of pretentiousness. But the thing was, she didn’t know if she did that. The promises and the vows were in vain for they didn’t love each other; they didn’t know each other. Yet they were still expected to marry and have children toot sweet. Why?

Millie reaffirmed her grip on Kieran’s hands as he spoke, her thumb unconsciously beginning to rub circles into his palm. Her smile was soft and gentle on her mouth, her eyes old and reassuring in a manner akin to her great-grandmother’s way of looking at someone - intuitively. She released one of his hands and brought it up to his cheek, pausing in mid-air for the briefest of second before brushing her fingers across his skin, her palm cupping around his jaw. She moved her thumb gently across his cheekbone and smile a little more fully, her teeth coming around her lower lip as she looked at him, mirth sparkling in her eyes.

“I forget you don’t like touching,” she muttered with a slight grin. “I think the best thing we have here is time. It’s the only true gift we’ve been afforded, I believe. I didn’t write anything either so we’ve got that in common. Well, I tried. It was on the back of a napkin in the Three Broomsticks last week. I turned it into a swan, I think.” Her brows furrowed over her eyes for a moment as she tried to remember. “It’s difficult, isn’t it? Silly, too. We’re doing it all arse backwards but I guess that’s part of the challenge. Part of the fun.” She smiled a little. “I’m not going to promise I don’t snore. I think I did. I think I lied. Um.” She laughed. “I’m not going to tell you I’m going to cook every night because that’s bollocks and take-aways are easy. What I am going to promise is that I’ll be your friend first and then we’ll see.” She raised her eyebrows suggestively and giggled again, letting her hand drop to his shoulder. “We’ve got no crutch, either. I don’t know who the hell you are but I’m going to be your wife and we’ve got to ...” she smudged her lips together in thought for a moment before continuing, “we’ve got to work at this and I think...I think we can, you know? So I’m going to try my hardest to not snore and cook every night maybe, if you’re lucky, and I’m going to be your friend and your wife and your anchor, hopefully. That’s my aim. I’m going to be here and I’m going to stay around longer than you.” She poked her tongue out at him playfully before dropping her hand back into his. “Always.”

The minister seemed satisfied and opened his hands, holding the rings which were sealing themselves with the ribbons. Millie watched as the colours settled into the metal and she looked up at Kieran.

“Now,” the Minister spoke. “Would you like to exchange rings?”

Millie picked up the offered ring and turned over Kieran’s appropriate hand, pressing the ring down the length of his finger, watching as the magic set in around him.

“Will you love each other, comfort, honour and keep each other in sickness and health, for richer or for poorer, for better or for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon each other your heart’s deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keep yourselves only unto each other for as long as you both shall live?”

Millie nodded. “I will.” The full magnitude of what they’d done began to wriggle inside of her then, when the pledges were made and she lifted her eyes to Kieran hesitantly.

“Well, would you all rise for the husband and wife, Mister and Missus Hayes? You may now, sir, kiss the bride.”

He didn't realize her gestures were soothing until he had finished and she lifted a hand. His eyes widened briefly as her fingers approached but he pushed the anxiety away so it wouldn't be obvious in his expression. Though Keiran didn't think Millie could really read his face well just yet, he didn't need someone who could to take notice. He was fairly certain, even still, that his stiffness was obvious.

She was kind of right; he didn't really feel comfortable with people touching him. It wasn't that he didn't like it – it was more that he wasn't used to it. Some people, like Robin or Avery, who he knew well, did not affect him. With time it wouldn't be so strange or unwelcome. He gripped the hand still settled in his own as Melissa began her vows.

A smile started across his face as she joked and laughed. Her good spirits were infectious. As instructed, he slid the ring up Millie's finger, glancing at her face as he did so. His face became serious again as they were meant to affirm the final bit of the ceremony.

“I will.” Keiran said, louder and more seriously than he meant to. He glanced to the side just as Millie was looking up at him. He lifted his eyebrows in a silent question as the minister spoke again.

How wrong all of this was. The ceremony, the promises, and the required kiss. Keiran could only hope it wasn't one of those horribly awkward first kisses he sometimes heard about or saw in those strange Muggle films Avery made him watch. Squaring his shoulders to face her, he nodded briefly to the minister to show his acceptance of the words.

Deciding to make this either as awkward as possible or amusing as possible, he lifted an eyebrow in Millie's direction, smirking. May as well, he mused silently. Looking for some sign that she was okay with it, he decided to ignore his paranoia about touching and lifted the hand closest to the minister to her neck where it met with her jaw. His thumb brushed across her bottom lip before he leaned in, hovering in front of her for a moment. Keiran's other hand brushed up to her elbow as he closed the distance between them.

The pronunciation that they were man and wife must have rung over head somewhere along the line but Millie knew that if she was to be asked about it later she’d have to feign enthusiasm for she didn’t hear it. She suddenly found herself feeling shy, stupid and absurdly giggly as it truly began to resound with her that a kiss, a very obvious show of affection, was expected. The giggles were stifled but the apprehension was simmering beneath a half-sort-of-smirk she wore on her lips as her gaze fell to Kieran’s mouth. However, that apprehension seemed to lessen as she took in the expression on his face and one of those suppressed giggles broke free of her lips as she shifted a little closer to him.

The kiss came slowly and then suddenly and Millie jerked a little upon feeling his soft lips on her own. She brought her hands back up to his shoulders and slid into the kiss, relaxing and determined to enjoy it. It came to its natural close far sooner than Millie perhaps would have liked, reminded with sudden clarity how parched she truly was of human contact in a non-platonic sense. It amused her, perversely, for a moment to think that, in the room, the last person she’d had non-platonic human contact with was Gisele whose problems seemed to eclipse everyone else’s in the most tragic of ways. Of course, the goal-posts had been moved and, lest anything went dreadfully pear-shaped, Kieran was her sole lover. Though, even that they’d probably have to take a run and jump up to. Dear lord.

Millie allowed a small smile to creep over her face as she met her husband’s gaze. Not just Professor, not just total stranger, no longer fiancé: husband. She brushed her hand across his cheek again, with a fondness she hadn’t previously thought herself capable of in regards to a man such as Kieran - being that he was her Professor, primarily. Only, that primary association had changed. He was hers and she his by law and by magic. Her eyes not only seemed to show contentedness and fondness but also vague amusement which was tinged with a slight sadness. They were trapped. She, of course, was in a much better situation than her husband. She was his burden. He was her bank. That said, that was not the way Millie intended to look at it but at is barest she brought nothing to the table bar a few cartons of cigarettes and some other illegal tidbits. She was devastated for him on some level. Who on earth had the Ministry paired him with?

“Shall we go and sign the documents?” She whispered, smoothing her thumb over his cheekbone before letting her hand fall to her side. She looped her other hand in his fingers and looked to the minister who, with the extension of his own hand, directed them to a table off to the side.

Tradition dictated that the lady wife sat while the lord husband stood, leaning around her, one hand on the table while the other rested on the back of her chair. Millie supposed whimsically that it was a throwback to some sort of old challenge, that the husband’s stance was a warning as much as it was a sign of protection. Her seatedness was her negligence while he lorded and conserved and looked after her. As she took her seat, Millie found she wasn’t sure she minded. She was used to Kieran’s smell, now, as ridiculous as that sounded. Her periphery had ascertained his size and build so her shoulders didn’t rise pre-emptively as he moved behind her. The only thing she’d have to work on, barring their relationship from the ground up, was remember her name was different now.

The bare bones of the certificate were filled out. The marriage was listed to have taken place in the Parish of Hogsmeade in the appropriate Scottish county. It even listed where exactly they were marriage in what rites and ceremonies they were bound. What it lacked was their details and that of their fathers’. Millie picked up the waiting fountain pen and looked up at the dazzle of her eyes to find a camera being pointed in their direction. As the friend or relative made to take another, Millie screwed her face up in a horrendous fashion just as the flash went off and she tried to take special interest in the expression of the photographer but, instead, her attention was stolen by another photographer, then another and another until her mother’s wailing attempts to use a throw-away camera drove her to distraction.

Fill it out then they can all go and get drunk and they’ll shut up, Millie thought to herself as she circled the pen over the top of the certificate, her eyes scooting over the page in an effort to ascertain what she was supposed to write and where.

The date was already written down so she moved instead, in a fashion she suspected was very wife-like, to fill in the parts relative to them. So, in her surprisingly neat script she took down their names, their ages - and in noting down Kieran’s she found herself counting her good fortune he was twenty-six, not seventy-six - their marital conditions and their professions, scoring out the little box that was left for hers. She halted over the residences. She had no idea of her own permanent address, she realised with a start, let alone Kieran’s. She didn’t live with her mother and she doubted a bungalow in Jamaica was exactly the residence they were after. So, at a loss of all other options she put Hogwarts down before reaching to fill out her father’s name, curling the letters with much more care.

He’d been a Quidditch co-ordinator for the Department of Magical Games and Sports, Seamus. He’d scheduled all of the matches in Britain with his team and had worked tirelessly to make sure the games went off alright. She could remember him taking her to all of the games he could. That was before Lav had put her foot down, of course, and tried to make Seamus take Elliot who didn’t want to go. Millie wasn’t allowed because she was a little girl - a little girl who went on to play a mean game of Quidditch, a skill she’d lost somewhat due to the broken bone crisis which her mother had taken the opportunity of to remove her from the squad. He should’ve been there. He should’ve lived. He should’ve tried harder. She hated him, in part, for giving up but couldn’t blame him. It was a miracle she and Elliot had made it out the other side. It was a miracle he’d been alive to walk her down the aisle, that she had been alive to do so. They’d all been so close. All it took was one casualty to draw them back from the brink.

Millie brought her hand up to her neck and rubbed at it as she penned ‘deceased’ in a pair of parentheses. She looked up at Kieran, holding up the pen with her other hand.

“Stuck,” she pouted at him before quickly taking the pen away to scrawl out her signature on the dotted line. She held it up to him again with a smile. “Fill in the blanks, husband-of-mine? Admonish me for not knowing them later.” She raised her eyebrows suggestively, she couldn’t help herself, and laughed a little before looking up, glaring in the direction of one of her cousins who had, by the sounds of it, encouraged and explained to her mother exactly how to sort out the camera. What a traitor.