Whispers

Twenty Five

Calliope straightened Fred's robes for him in the kitchen of the Burrow on the morning of the wedding. The guests were beginning to descend upon the house and at that moment a very old woman in a violently pink hat entered the kitchen.

"Fred or George!" she declared, "pull me up a chair! I'm 107!"

"Hello Aunty Muriel," Fred sighed, he conjured her a chair and she plonked herself down on it. The woman then fixed Calliope with a stare.

"Fred or George, who does this happen to be?"

"I'm Fred Aunty Muriel," Fred said, "and this is my wife Calliope."

"Ah yes, the banshee girl." Muriel scanned Calliope up and down, "you don't look like much, girl, a little too short for my liking, but at least your ankles aren't too chubby."

"Thank you?" Calliope shot Fred a glance.

"I was rather taken aback to have been neglected from your wedding," Muriel continued, "but I suppose this is why you're not in my will Fred or George. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to instruct the bride on how to best wear my tiara, it's goblin made you know!"

Muriel bustled off up the stairs towards where Fleur was getting ready. 

"Well, you've met Muriel," said Fred, watching her leave, "isn't she great?"

"She's a character," Calliope agreed.

"And I am becoming happier by the second that we didn't invite everyone we know to our wedding," said Fred, "but if Uncle Billius was still kicking then I would have definitely wanted him there, he used to down three bottles of Firewhisky, run onto the dance floor and start pulling flowers out of his-"

"Would you two head outside please, we need people to guide the guests to their seats," Molly bustled into the kitchen.

"Callie is staying inside until everyone is here," said Fred, "Sirius, Remus and I want to make sure that it is only the people we want here before she goes out."

"Well Fred you can go outside, Calliope come and help me get Ginny's hair done she's being uncooperative." 

Fred took Calliope's hand and squeezed it lightly before leaving to go outside. Calliope left with Molly up the stairs to where Fleur, Ginny and Gabrielle were getting ready. 

********

The wedding service was beautiful. Both Molly and Fleur's parents cried and the whole thing was punctuated by the nose of Hagrid blowing his nose on a table cloth sized handkerchief. The service seamlessly slid into the party and Fred dragged Calliope onto the dance floor after the first dance. 

"I finally beat Bill at something," Fred was smiling widely as he twirled an unwilling Calliope around and then caught her in his arms. 

"What?" Calliope frowned at him.

"I beat Bill, I got married first," he said.

Calliope rolled her eyes, "not everything is a competition you know."

"Oh, it is when you grow up with six siblings."

Fred and Calliope continued to lightly bicker back and forth through three songs until Calliope eventually pulled him off of the dance floor and went to sit with her Grandfather for a while. Fred always found the relationship between Eliphias and Calliope very strange, they were perfectly content to be with each other by not speak, whereas his family had always been very loud when they were in each other's company. 

In recent months the whispers hadn't stopped, and Calliope had learnt to tune out the background noise which warned her of the impending doom that Voldemort bought with him. But they were louder that night and Calliope frowned slightly as she listened to them.

Fred did not notice and ruffled her hair slightly as he moved off to talk to some of his extended family. Harry (disguised as a Weasley cousin) joined Elphias and Calliope where they sat watching the party. Harry began to question Elphias on Dumbledore and Calliope rose and drifted away, passing Muriel as she walked. 

"You all good Callie?" George broke away from one of Fleur's cousins who he was dancing with to check on his Sister-In-Law, who was looking rather distracted as she wove in and out of tables.

"I'm just listening," she replied, "I hope it's nothing that any of you have to worry about right now. Go back to your French girl."

"Her name is Esme," George replied, "she's part Veela." 

This made Calliope laugh lightly as George winked at her and returned back to the dance floor.

"Who was zat?" Esme demanded as he rejoined her. 

"That is my Sister-In-Law, Calliope," George told her, "she's not the party type."

Calliope drifted around the tent, smiling at people who addressed her, but only half listening as they spoke to her. Her drifting continued until Fred found her. The moment that Fred's hands made contact with Calliope's arm her head snapped up and she stared straight at him, with horror on her face. 

"What Callie? Who died?" Fred demanded.

"Rufus Scrimgeour." Calliope replied with panic in her voice, "the Death Eaters are on their way. We need to warn Harry."

How's everyone doing? 
Schools in the UK will be closed as of Friday and I plan to never leave my house again.

Also, I'm still after some more Beta Readers for a new Harry Potter fanfiction. If you think this is something you would be willing to do, drop me your Gmail email address in my inbox and I'll send you the book- I will be welcoming constructive criticism and suggestions and would love some Beta readers who are up for being active and offering these!

Remember to vote, comment and be amazing!
~Em xx