Chapter eight; The Wedding.

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Olivia would hand-on-heart one hundred percent agree that Fleur Delacour, now Weasley, was one of the most beautiful brides she had ever seen. The entire ceremony had been lifting, it had been beautiful and it was the best thing both Olivia and Harry needed at that time. Despite the latter's argument that he didn't care for the wedding.

She had seen his face when Ginny walked down the aisle as a bridesmaid and she had watched how happy he was when the two danced together. Stood there in a short coral, backless lace dress Olivia smiled watching the former couple interact. She and Hermione stood side by side holding a glass of champagne in their hands while watching Harry and Ginny dance together.

It was then time for Mr and Mrs Weasley's first dance as Bill guided his bride onto the floor with elegance where they began to dance together. Absentmindedly Olivia reached for the two silver chains around her neck and held onto the necklace Draco had gifted her on her sixteenth birthday, along with the promise of forever. A sad smile danced across her lips and Hermione turned away from Bill and Fleur to watch Olivia space out.

'I came to see if you were ready, and to give you this.'

'Happy birthday love.'

'I love it .. and I love you, thank you.'

"Here .. Wear it as a promise love."

'What promise?'

'A promise that one day we'll make this forever. I couldn't imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone but you.'

Olivia swallowed deeply, the words from that day echoing in her mind while she watched Bill and Fleur dance. She'd be too stubborn to admit to anyone verbally that she missed Draco with all her heart. So much that some days her heart physically ached to see his face once more, to see his smile or hear him laugh. She also hated to admit that Hermione could read her like a book and that the girl most likely already knew what she was thinking of when she wrapped her arm around Olivia's shoulder.

Hermione pulled Olivia into her side, seeing the deep frown on her best friends face. Olivia leaned her head on Hermione's shoulder, the red fabric of her dress under her ear, "Are you okay?" She asked quietly. When Olivia only nodded she frowned, "We're all human Olivia, remember that."

The music quietened down enough for everyone to applaud as Bill and Fleur had completed their first dance as a married couple. Olivia lifted her head from Hermione's shoulder as everyone went back to mingling. On the opposite end of the floor Olivia spotted Fred dancing with a blonde, his hands around her waist and a smitten smile on his face. She smiled to herself, seemingly surprised at the rare sight.

She was drew towards Hermione's yell of surprise in her ear and turned to see the commotion. All she saw however was the girl embracing a buff-looking black haired boy, not much taller than Olivia in heals. They pulled away and Olivia spat the champagne in her mouth back into her glass when she caught sight of the boy Hermione had embraced. She sneakily placed the glass onto a nearby table while no one was looking before turning back to Hermione.

"Viktor! I had no idea you were coming! How are you?" Hermione gushed breathless from the surprise. Olivia caught Ron scowling in the distance and smirked to herself.

"Fleur invited me." Viktor said in this thick Bulgarian accent while kissing Hermione's hand, "You look stunning Hermione."

"Now, now Viktor its rude to ignore another woman's presence. I thought we went over this sí?" An Italian voice called out from behind them. Olivia could've sworn her jaw hit the ground. She whirled around faster than Hermione had and looked to the culprit of the overly familiar Italian accent.

Olivia faced a clean shaven black haired man. He had a sharp jaw and defined cheekbones, light freckles dancing across his nose and under his eyes. Enhancing deep, forest green eyes bore into her own all the while he grinned. Had she not recognised the voice, Olivia would've thought she was staring back at a stranger.

"Merlin pinch me." She whispered under her breath, Hermione giggling beside her, "Alex?!"

"Is I in the flesh amore." Alex said, opening his arms. He wore an expensive looking black suit with a white dress shirt. Olivia, in utter and complete shock, pushed off her high, six inch heals and walked quickly over to Alex where she embraced him. Her arms latched around the now eighteen year olds shoulders and his went to the small of her back. Olivia laughed in surprise when they pulled away, Alex kissing both of her cheeks, "It's good to see you again Olivia .. have you changed your hair?" He joked.

Olivia laughed again, "I had no idea you'd be coming! I didn't know you and Fleur were aquatinted."

"Viktor and I spent a lot of time with Fleur during the Triwizard Tournament." He shrugged, offering his arm so the two could move to converse with a blushing Hermione and a laughing Viktor.

Olivia blew out a ragged puff of air, a loose strand of her hair blowing from her face, "Merlin, the Tournament. It feels like a lifetime ago."

"Hmm." Alex agreed, "You were ginger then too, shame I have a knack for fancying gingers."

Olivia's mouth opened in shock as she slapped Alex's arm whilst stopping, "Alexander Bianchi, are you hitting on me?"

Alex pursed his lips, "It depends love, are you still with what's-his-name?"

Her jaw dropped again, "Draco and I never got together until long after the Tournament started, perhaps you heard the rumours—"

"—I can assure you Olivianna, I heard the rumours." He whispered lowly.

"It's complicated. The last we spoke we argued, the last I properly saw him I punched him."

"You punched him?"

She nodded, "It was better than your hit if I do say so myself."

"I'll have to take your word for it, I can hardly remember that night." Alex said with remorse, "You're quite famous nowadays aren't you?"

Olivia's brows raised and fell as she pressed her lips into a thin line, "Unfortunately so."

"It's not a bad thing Olivia." Alex reminded as they eventually started walking again and stopped next to Viktor and Hermione, "Hermione, it's nice to finally meet you." Alex said, a charming smile on his face.

"And you Alex, I've only heard what Olivia told me."

"Nothing good I suppose?" He quipped before laughing.

Olivia smiled in Viktor's direction, "It's nice to see you again Viktor."

"As it is you Olivia, I hope you are well." The Bulgarian said, kissing her hand.

"I suppose I'm doing alright." Olivia half lied.

From where he was scowling Alissa had grown beyond amused watching Ron, and so dragged Charlie over to give his younger brother some form of advice. It was evidently clear whom Hermione was occupied with but Alissa didn't seem to recognise the man Olivia was smiling at.

Charlie nudged his brothers arm when they reached Ron's side, "I can't say I told you so little brother." He joked.

"You can't." Ron scowled, "She can." He motioned to Olivia.

"You should've listened to Olivia when she first told you, you need to grow a pair Ronald." Alissa said, ruffling Ron's hair.

"Speaking of the devil, who's that boy she's with?" Fred asked, him also joining the small group next to Alissa with his date at his side.

Ron barely payed them a glance, "That's Alex, Italian, went to Durmstrang."

"You mean the Alex that tired to kill her at the Ball?" George quipped, slinging an arm over Ron's shoulder, "That Alex?"

"Yes, that Alex. He only tired to kill her because he was under the Imperius curse."

"That's the boy who tired to kill my goddaughter?" Remus asked curiously, joining the ever growing group of people.

"Apparently so." Charlie replied, watching Alex and Olivia interact wearily.

"He's got a charming smile." Tonks said, kissing her husband on the cheek.

"Oh tell me about it." Alissa added, "look at those eyes, Merlin."

"You're married." Harry said to Tonks, joining them, "and pregnant."

"And you're engaged." Charlie said to his fiancée, "and also pregnant."

"What?" Alissa gaped, "a pregnant and engaged woman can't look anymore? Give me a break."

"Hey, didn't Olivia have a bit of a thing with Alex?" Harry asked.

"They went to Hogsmeade together, Hermione and I caught them snogging behind Zonko's." Ginny said, walking over to the group and crossing her arms. She paid the four a glance and looked back to George and Ron, suppressing a laugh as Ron's scowl deepened while George ruffled his hair.

"Uh, where are they going?" Tonks asked, cocking her head to the side.

They all turned to watch as Alex lead Olivia outside, their hands intertwined as they moved through the crowd.

"The last time something like that happened Olivia nearly destroyed the Astronomy Tower." Ron said wearily.

"I'm sure they'll be fine." Charlie reassured them all, "Hermione wouldn't let them go if she thought Olivia was in trouble." They all then looked to see Viktor leading Hermione onto the dance floor, the latter throwing her head back and laughing brilliantly.

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It wasn't as warm outside as it was inside the tent where the reception was being held but it was welcoming not to be in a hot and stuffy room. The beginning of August had harboured beautiful weather and it continued into the late hours of the night. Olivia would guess that it had to be no lower then fifteen degrees, even at almost ten into the night.

Despite the hot nature, Olivia found the hairs rising on her arms and goosebumps covering her body. She involuntary shivered, the action stemming from the back of her neck and carrying down her body. Alex stopped guiding Olivia and turned to face the frowning girl with a confused expression on his face, "Is something the matter?"

It was hard to sneak away given that there were Aurors everywhere guarding the tent.

Her eyes searched for his frantically, "No, no. It's just I— I don't know, it's hard to explain."

Alex nodded slowly, "Is it something I should be worried about?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "I can't tell, I only know something will happen. That's the downfall I've found with parting with something that was supposed to anchor me."

"I noticed the lack of bracelet on your wrist." Alex said, "So that does really tie you down then?"

She raised her brows slightly again and dropped them in the same moment, "Despite popular belief."

"So why'd you get rid of it?" Alex asked confused, facing Olivia fully and taking taking her other hand in his.

"I didn't get rid of it." She laughed half heartedly, looking down to the ground where a section of hair fell from the clip she had keeping the front section out of her face. Alex released one of her hands and pushed the small curl behind her ear, "I hid it for safety precautions."

"Safety precautions?" Alex asked baffled, "What type of safety precautions does a seventeen year old need to take?"

"Almost eighteen." She corrected nonchalantly, "last week I got knocked off my broom and dragged to Death Eater central. There's a strict instruction under his order that he wants me alive, apparently he wants me to become his newest bitch."

"I've heard many names for them, but bitch is I think by far is the best." Alex laughed.

Olivia shared a small, amused smile, "Anyhow, he wants to teach me to relish my abilities. He can't do that if I don't have the thing that controls them."

"So where did you hide it?"

She shrugged, "I have no idea, I had Hermione obliviate me after I did the same to her."

"Why would you do that to yourself?" Alex asked, his brows deeply furrowed, "that bracelet sounds like your lifeline."

"I did it to keep a lot of people safe, it might not seem that way but .. I did."

The Italian took a small step closer to Olivia, caressing her cheek bone lightly, "You don't seem to be thinking about yourself Olivia, you could end up hurt."

"And people could end up dead if he got his hands on me and that bracelet." She arched a brow, "honest Alex, I'm doing the right thing."

Alex looked down to the floor briefly while shuffling another inch closer to Olivia, the gap between almost nonexistent. He looked up to meet her blue eyed gaze and frowned, "What changed Olivia?"

She frowned herself, "How do you mean?"

"When we first met you had this brilliant aura circling you, you were so carefree and easygoing. You had the brightest blue eyes that put the boldness of your hair to shame, but now.."

"Now what?"

"Now it's all gone Olivia. You're on edge, anxious and heavy hearted. And don't even try to fight me on that because you know I'm right." He argued, cupping her warm cheek in his large hand, "What happened to your eyes?"

"My eyes?" She asked puzzled. Alex only nodded, "They changed colour slightly when the protection charm—"

"That's not what I meant." Alex interrupted, "When I first saw you, the first night we spent in the castle, when you were stood on the table to see, the thing that drew me in the most was your eyes. You know why?" Olivia shook her head wordlessly, "Because they were so bright and beautiful, they had this blinding spark and it made you look so pure and you looked happy. When I look at you now I don't see that girl I laid eyes on that night."

Olivia swallowed, mustering the strength to find her lost voice, "What do you see now?" She whispered, a sound that wouldn't of been heard if they weren't stood so close together.

"I see a damaged, heart broken girl. Your eyes aren't pure anymore Olivia, they're dull and it's awful to see you look this defeated."

"A lot has happened since we first met Alex. I'm not the girl I once—"

"And I never said you were." He said softly, "you're giving yourself too much grief Olivia, it's not healthy. If protecting people is what you want to do, you need to do it without constantly pulling yourself down."

"People have died because of me." She defended, "I carry that grief because I know now that I could've helped them if I wasn't thinking about myself."

"That's a poisonous thing to do Olivia, some of those people died years ago. It was out of your control—"

"No it wasn't!" She argued, "Alex don't you see? I could've helped every single person who's died if I had listened to myself instead of others. My selfishness is the reason those people are dead!"

"That is perhaps the biggest lie I've ever heard." Alex said, his hands on her shoulders, "Olivia you couldn't of stopped your adoptive parents death because at the same time someone was trying to kill you. You couldn't of prevented Diggory's death because you wouldn't of reached him in time. You couldn't of prevented your father's death because of how unexpected it was, nor could you of Dumbledores."

"I could've prevented Dumbledores." She whispered, tears brimming to her eyes.

"I don't doubt that at the time you were trying everything you could, but it clicked into place too quickly for you to keep up .. You shouldn't be blaming yourself because you'll wind up on a path to self-destruction, and something as deadly as that is never healthy."

Olivia swallowed deeply and allowed her eyes to close, small droplets of water pushed themselves past the barrier keeping them in and they fell freely down her cheeks, "Everyone thinks I can do this." She choked, "T-they think I can help Harry but I can't—"

Alex grasped her wrists and held them in front of her, "Yes you can, you just have to believe that you can Olivia."

"I can't help them until I help myself." She whispered faintly, "and I don't know how to help myself."

"You'll find help along the way Olivia, I know will. You're stronger than you think." Alex whispered, his voice carrying into the dark sky as he stood mere inches from Olivia. He loosened his grip on her wrists before tugging against them and pulling her flush into his strong frame. Alex's hands found her waist and hers hooked around his neck, fastening together at the base.

All the while this was happening, Olivia couldn't take her eyes from the intense gaze of the piercing green in front of hers. She couldn't rip them away if she wanted to because she was in a trance, a part of her she'd never experienced before had taken a hold of her mind and pushed every doubt and troubled thought away. Inside her mind was bliss. It had stopped running a mile a minute, she couldn't hear nagging doubt anymore. Everything was clear, and it was fucking refreshing for her to experience.

Alex's eyes tore away from hers to flicker down to her pink painted lips. His mouth parted, ready for him to say something but he couldn't find the words. Instead he blinked a few times, looking back to Olivia. He saw that she showed no indication of wanting to pull away so he didn't. Without another thought he did the opposite and closed the small remaining distance between.

His warm lips met her cool ones lightly, where he tested the waters gently. It took a moment to find a response, but eventually Olivia tightened her grip around Alex's neck and pulled him closer to her where she responded to the kiss. In unfamiliar territory their lips moved slowly to accommodate each other's needs. Olivia wrapped a small lock of Alex's hair around her dainty fingers and he squeezed her hips in response, opening his mouth and swiping his tongue across her bottom lip.

Olivia's other hand ventured bravely from behind Alex's neck to his own on her waist where she took it and guided it to her bum. She then removed her own hand and cupped his cheek, opening her own mouth to respond to his request. Alex paid her bum a gentle squeeze as the two continued to explore each other at a slow pace, only having been this familiar once or twice before.

As Alex went to make the next move the sky above them lit up suddenly and they pulled away. Olivia turned in his embrace, hers and his hands still in place as they watched a small ball of white light in the grow bigger as it approached in lightening speed.

"Is this what you meant when you had a feeling something would happen?" Alex asked wearily, turning to look at Olivia who continued to stare with wide eyes.

She gulped, "For our sakes I hope not, that looks like a patronus." She said, grabbing Alex's hand and dragging him back to the tent quickly. They slipped in just as it landed and Olivia found everything she needed to know, pulling her wand out from its hiding place in a strap around her upper leg. She pulled Alex towards the patronus before leaving go of his hand and taking the last few curious steps herself, only an arms length away.

Everyone turned horrified to what was a patronus and waited tentatively. Kingsley Shacklebolt's voice then granted them their worst fear,

'The Ministry has fallen. The Minister of Magic is dead. They are coming, they are coming.'

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Long chapter, sorry but I hope you enjoyed it!

Also I want to see your reaction on Alex's return! What do you think about his words to Olivia?