"...then I declare you bonded for life."

The wizard who had married Bill and Fleur together raised his wand over the newly wedded couple and showered them with silver stars. Fred and George gave a round of applause, followed by the rest of the quests.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you would please stand up!"

As soon as the wizard raised his wand again, Emma turned around to watch the magic. The walls of the marquee rose so that they stood beneath a canopy, help up by golden poles, giving off a view of the countryside. The chairs on which the guests had been sitting disappeared and ended up around small tables draped with white cloths, where there was now a dancefloor. A band made its way to a podium. Waiters entered the marquee, carrying silver trays of Butterbeer, pumpkin juice and Firewhisky, and sandwiches and tarts.

Emma turned back around to look for Bill and Fleur, only to come nose first into an extended hand. Eyes trailing up, she smiled.

"M'lady," Fred said in a posh voice, bowing slightly. "Care for a dance?"

He didn't give her a chance to answer, as he had already grabbed her half-raised, unsure hand and walked with her toward the dancefloor. Bill and Fleur, and Mrs Weasley and Mr Lovegood were already dancing.

"Fred," she said in a warning tone. "Do you want broken toes?"

He looked at her. "It'll be worth it, I reckon."

Emma didn't know how to respond to that, only waited, uncertain, as Fred reluctantly wrapped his arms around her back and closed a bit of the gap between them. She followed his lead and put her hands on his shoulders.

"I get the feeling you've never done this before," Fred said airily.

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? No...what makes you say that?"

"Let's see," Fred mocked, clearly playing along. He grabbed her hands and moved them closer so that her arms clung around the back of his neck. "You're being too gentle."

"I never pictured you for a dancer," Emma chuckled. "When did this happen?"

"When the Yule Ball happened," Fred wiggled his eyebrows.

When Fred began to move, so did Emma. She was extremely embarrassed at first, but as she followed Fred's lead, it wasn't so hard as she'd thought it was. She'd never danced before, and considering she wasn't breaking any toes, it was a good start.

"There," Fred said brightly. "Not so bad, huh?"

Emma looked away from their feet and instantly came eye to eye with Fred, and he was a lot closer than he was before. Her eyes flickered above his shoulder, where she saw George standing by a table, grinning and nodding his head in approval, before he caught her eye and quickly looked away, scratching his head and striking up a conversation with Ginny and Mr Weasley.

Emma huffed in amusement.

"You still aren't going back are you?" Fred said quietly. "To Hogwarts?"

Emma shook her head. "It's too risky."

"I know that," he replied smoothly. "I just thought since – you know – Ginny has to go back, that you could go back and look out for her or something. Make sure she doesn't get into any trouble. It'll be different."

"My Dad would never allow it. Besides, I'm sure she'll be fine. What's the worst she could do?"

Fred raised his eyebrows. "Are you forgetting about the geniuses she grew up with?"

Emma gave him a look. "You're extremely optimistic, Fred, I'll give you that. But I can't go back, you know that."

"Let's talk about something else, shall we?" Fred said lightly. "Something that's been buzzing at the back of my head like a stupid bee. Did you end up using that potion that George and me gave you a couple years ago?"

"No..."

"Well, that's obvious. I was kind of hoping you'd use it on someone," Fred leaned in and grinned. "But, no. If you still have it, I'd like it back if that's alright with you. Me and George could make more of it and sell it in the shop. Possibly even make it into something even better."

"You got it," Emma smiled. "I lost that Pygmy Puff you gave me last year."

"What?" Fred said, shocked. "How do you even manage to lose one of them?"

"He – er – I don't know; I think he ran away."

Fred snickered. "Alright, then. Your Pygmy Puff ran away. What'd you call him?"

"Giggles," Emma admitted shamefully, feeling her face burn red.

"Giggles?" Fred arched a red eyebrow. "You called him Giggles? He must have felt so small; given why he ran away. Emma, you're adorable, I'll give you that, but you can't go around naming Pygmy Puffs 'Giggles.' Shame on you."

Emma laughed, aware that he was mocking her choice of words and twisting them around. It was quiet; they had been dancing for a few minutes now. Emma usually knew what to say to Fred and George, but now she didn't know what to say. It was clear that he felt the same way. She wanted to say that her Mum had called the Pygmy Puff 'Giggles' but she didn't want any more apologies.

"Are you scared?"

Emma looked up into Fred's brown eyes.

"I'm terrified," she whispered.

Fred looked pitiful for a moment, and Emma's stomach tightened as his eyes began to wander. She looked down self-consciously. Emma was aware of what was happening but allowed it to happen anyway. Fred was leaning in and so was she – she didn't know who was more reluctant. Their noses touched, and then Fred stopped. Just for a second, he stopped. Emma's stomach clenched and she was feeling rather embarrassed.

Fred quickly closed the gap and kissed her. Emma didn't think she had it in her – dancing and kissing at the same time. Dancing...and kissing...she was kissing Fred. Fred was kissing her. She meant to pull away but didn't. Instead, she closed her eyes and kissed him.

She pushed him away. "Oh, my god," she whispered to herself.

Fred looked shocked for a moment, and then shameful. He scratched his forehead distractedly.

"Er – sorry. I probably shouldn't have done that."

"Yeah, it was – Harry and Ginny – it would be a bit weird, y'know?"

"Yeah, completely," Fred nodded quickly. Harry and Ginny having a thing at one point didn't stop Fred from slowly breaking into a sheepish grin.

Emma smiled back at him, before jumping in surprise at the large, silver Patronus that had fallen in through the canopy and over the dance floor, near where Fred and Emma had been dancing. The mouth of the Patronus opened wide, and out came the deep voice that belonged to Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming."

The Patronus began to fade, but Emma was stood shocked at what she had heard. She didn't know how long she was standing there, staring at the spot where the Patronus had once been Kingsley Shacklebolt's voice, but her first instinct was to catch Harry's eye, wherever he was. A firm hand gripped her arm and pulled her off the dancefloor.

"Quick," said Fred. "Got your wand?"

Emma nodded. "Yeah, but where's–"

The crowd suddenly panicked and Emma was knocked into a table by bustling guests. Many people began to Disapparate as cloaked and masked figures – completely uninvited – began to enter the marquee. Emma shoved her hand in her bra and retrieved her wand. She didn't know what was happening, what had happened, but seconds later she was in a duel with a masked figure. She didn't know who it was; the only identification that the Death Eater let known was his terrifying laughter.

Furniture was flying all over the place. People were screaming. Emma cried out as she saw a table come flying toward her, but ducked just in time. This meant that her duel paused. Distinctively, Emma watched over her shoulder at the table that had nearly knocked into her, land onto the back of the marquee, legs against the back wall.

She looked back quickly, a spell on the tip of her tongue, but she was too late and was already struck with a spell that made her feel like watching those teenagers on the rollercoaster at the carnival those years ago. Emma's back collided with the table and she fell stomach first onto the floor of the marquee. She screamed in pain as the same feeling crushed her back once again, and she knew the table had fallen on top of her. Her wand went rolling from her finger tips and tears threatened to spill.

Emma screamed as hands gripped onto her arms.

"Hold on a sec!" Fred shouted over to commotion. George was duelling the Death Eater that Emma had been duelling. He tried freeing Emma by pulling her arms, but all it did was cause more pain. He let go of her when she cried out. "Oh, what am I doing?" he said, standing up to his full height. "I'm a wizard."

The table was levitated off Emma's back and it was easier to breathe. Fred quickly grabbed her by the arms and helped her up, handing her back her wand. They spun around, ready to attack, only to have wands pointed directly at the tip of their noses.