MISSED CALLS ➡︎ TEDDY LUPIN [2] ✓

xxiii. THE WEDDING

avalonweasley: the bishops really know how to throw a wedding (congrats nana and kingsley!! so happy for the both of you!!)

Avalon was all smiles as she watched her grandmother and new step-grandfather tie the knot, tears in her eyes.

Avalon, Teddy, and Beth stood in the front row, her brothers on one side of Beth and Isabel on her other side. Both her mother and Aunt Bellamy were bridesmaids in the wedding, and Aunt Fleur, her godmother whom she was partially named after, was standing with Uncle Bill and their children a few rows back.

Once the ceremony was over, Avalon and her family were ushered into the large, manor-like house, where the reception was being held.

The grand ballroom had been draped with silver and royal blue fabric, and each of the many tables was adorned with white tablecloths.

Avalon had never seen anything so elegant in her life.

She watched her grandmother and Kingsley share their first dance together on the makeshift dance floor in the middle of the ballroom, smiling softly as the train of Nadia's gown swept beautifully across the floor.

When the first dance was over, and a faster-paced song began, Avalon grabbed Beth and Isabel's hands and dragged them into the crowd of wedding guests for a dance.

Teddy joined them, as well as Arthur and Oliver, and soon the entirity of the Bishop-Weasley family and their friends were circled up on the dance floor, swaying along to the songs that played.

Avalon was next to Teddy, and when he glanced over at her with a warm, kind smile, she felt her face heat up. She looked away quickly so he wouldn't see her blush.

He suddenly pulled her into him and gave her a spin, and the feeling of his hand enveloping hers was enough to make butterflies bloom in her belly.

While she knew he was only being so sweet to her because she invited him to a wedding where he only knew her and her siblings, she allowed herself to relish in the warmth of his attention and affection, at least for the night.

And then the air exploded.

Somewhere off on the other side of the room, where the long table that sat the wedding party was, the wall collapsed, a burst of flames in its wake.

Out of the corner of her eye, Avalon saw her father run for her twin brother and Beth, and Oliver sheltered Isabel behind him. It seemed that the older members of her family, the ones who were of age, shielded those who were underage and unable to do protective magic, or any magic at all, really, outside of school.

For a moment, Avalon was alone and unprotected.

Until Teddy was suddenly next to her, tackling her to the ground as a group of men in dark cloaks and masks barged in through the hole in the wall, shooting spells as they went.

"Amelia!" Her father shouted, and he shoved the children under a table for protection before rushing towards his wife.

They met halfway, Amelia Weasley hiking up her dress to grab the wand hidden in her garter.

"Stupefy!" The pair shouted, and a few of the interrupting men flew backwards, out of the hole in the wall that they had created.

All of the of-age witches and wizards in attendance fought back against the men, except for Teddy and Oliver, who were focused on getting the Weasley girls away from the fight.

Avalon kicked off her heels as she was dragged towards the door, and she ducked just in time, a jet of green magic flying over her head.

"No, I can't leave my parents!" She said quickly to Teddy.

He looked back at her briefly, the hand around her wrist tightening. "Ava, you can't do magic. They'd want you and Isabel out of here." He urged.

Oliver slammed the door shut behind them, and the noise from the ballroom was muffled behind the wood.

"I can do magic! I have my wand!" Avalon argued, pulling her wand out of her stocking where she'd put it just in case—she'd learned from her mother to always keep her wand on her, no matter what.

Her older brother looked over at her with an incredulous expression. "Yeah, and get sent to Azkaban for underage magic? Put your damn wand away, Avalon." He ordered, dark eyes fiercely protective.

Another explosion rang out from behind the doors, and Avalon had to be physically restrained from running back into the fight. Teddy had grabbed her around the waist, his strong hands keeping her in place.

"Ava, stop!"

She banged her fists on his chest, and her freckled face was beet red with frustration. It was rare for Avalon to get this visibly angry—usually, she just internalized her rage, and you wouldn't know she was mad until she hexed you into next year.

But her parents, grandmother, aunts and uncles, and even her best friend and twin brother were still in there.

And nothing would stand between Avalon Fleur Weasley and her family; no matter how many times Arthur called her ugly, or how often Oliver made fun of her, or how Isabel bugged her to spend time together constantly, they were her family.

But she also knew that she couldn't physically help them, not while she was still sixteen, legally prohibited from doing magic, and not the best at defensive magic. Sure, she could basically predict the future and she was ace at transfiguration, but Defense Against the Dark Arts was never her strongest subject, unlike Oliver and Isabel, who excelled at it.

So she sat down, defeated, back against the wall next to the door. She looked over at her brother and Teddy with a grimmace.

"Fine."

me, foaming at the mouth over protective teddy