RP: At Last

[shh_ernie]

Date: 31 December 2005
Characters: Ernie Macmillan, Eleanor Branstone, Invited Guests (Add your tag when you arrive.)
Location: Hammerside Lobby
Status: Semi-Private
Summary: The big day is finally here.
Completion: InComplete

Comments

[shh_eleanor]

Eleanor had been suffering from a horrible case of nerves most of the day, but now that it was nearly time for the big moment, she was surprisingly calm. The lobby had looked beautiful when she'd come in a few hours earlier, and she had been assured that everything was ready to go. Of course, if Mum didn't stop fussing with her dress that could change at any moment

[shh_mandy]

After talking with Ernie and placing the present on the table, Mandy tucked her arm in Zach's and wandered off to find Elle, as per the directions provided.

They located the women's locker room, just as a middle-aged woman was vacating it, looking a little sniffly and pink-eyed, which led Mandy to suspect she might just be the mother of the bride. She smiled at her as they passed each other, and then walked up to the door and looked up at Zach as she knocked.

"Elle? It's Mandy. And Zach," she called softly, standing back a step and waiting for a response.

[shh_eleanor]

There was a knock at the door soon after Mum left. Eleanor grinned when she heard Mandy's voice and jumped up to let them in, making sure she was properly hidden behind the door when it opened.

"Come in," she said excitedly. "I'm so glad you're here, my mother's just run out to get a camera, and I feel like I'm about to bounce right out of my dress."

She gave them both a good look over and a hug once they were inside. "You both look wonderful. Have you seen Ernie? How's he doing? Rose said she was going to check on him, but she's not come back yet."

[shh_mandy]

"Oh, wow," Mandy said weakly, her jaw dropping when they got into the room and Eleanor closed the door and came into view. "You look ... oh. So beautiful." Embarrassingly, she found herself choking up already, and swallowed with determination. "That dress is perfect for you." It really was. It was both elegant and pretty, very feminine without overdone frills. Much like Eleanor.

"Um, Ernie?" She nodded, and tried to force herself not to gawk; she had a notion that she came off like a four-year-old girl spotting a fairy-tale princess, and that Zach was likely quite amused at her. "We talked to him. He seemed to be doing very well, actually, didn't you think so, Zach? I was amazed at how it is actually possible to look calm and collected and delirious with happiness at once," she said with a giggle.

"How are you doing? You don't look the least bit nervous either. Just, well, about to bounce out of your dress probably covers it," she grinned. She didn't think she'd ever seen Eleanor this excited. Which was just as it should be, really.

[shh_zach]

Zach held Mandy's hand as he held the door for her and ushered her inside, keeping hold of her as he followed her in. "Looks nice, doesn't it?" he asked, slipping an arm round her waist and looking round. He saw Ernie but didn't see Elle yet and he wondered where she could be. Probably off getting dressed. Macmillan didn't look too green though, and Zach was impressed. He thought that he'd likely be terribly nervous when the time came for him.

He absently toyed with the diamond on Mandy's finger. "Um... where do we need to put the gifts?" he asked her, brushing his lips against hr forehead. "And we should find Elle too. I'd like to see her before she actually marries the prat." But he smiled to show he was teasing so she wouldn't fuss at him too much.

[shh_mandy]

Mandy agreed. "It looks just lovely. Oh my, Ernie is simply dashing in that suit!" she added with a happy sigh.

Zach was dashing too, of course. Mandy plaited her fingers into his, smiling as she felt him stroke his fingers over her ring. The fine material of his suit jacket scratched gently against her bare arms. She'd considered dress robes for herself, but ended up buying a long silk lace dress, short-sleeved and off-the-shoulder in a lilac pink colour.

"There's probably set up a table to put gifts on?" she guessed, looking around. Zach held the wrapped present from them in his other hand. They'd shopped around for a wedding gift before Christmas. Zach had suggested a book called The Joys of Sex, claiming that he sensed Ernie might need the help and that he only had Eleanor's best interest in mind. Mandy was pretty sure he'd just been joking, but had firmly put her foot down all the same, informing him that she seriously doubted they needed the help

[shh_ernie]

Ernie saw Smith and Mandy enter. And it didn't even bother him that Smith was here. Goofy grin plastered to his face, he walked over to greet them.

"Mandy," he said, hugging her. "You look lovely." He extended his hand to Smith. "Zach. Thanks for coming."

[shh_mandy]

"Congratulations on your big day, Ernie!" Mandy hugged Ernie back, standing back a step and looking at him with a big grin, partly because his own was so broad and contagious. "And you look so handsome. Wait till Elle sees you. How on earth do you manage to look not even a little bit nervous?"

"Thanks for having us," she added. "You know we wouldn't have missed it for the world. And this place ... wow, it is simply beautiful."

[shh_lavender]

Lavender didn't think she could be any more in love with Ron than she was right now. The afternoon they had spent together was more than a little unconventional, even for them, but it had left her feeling so close to him.

She was in the perfect mood for a wedding right now, dressed up in a new dress that she'd bought in the post-Christmas sales when she had popped into Exeter yesterday. The strapless dress made her feel sexy and the bright colour made her feel confident. As Ron wasn't part of the wedding party like he had been for Percy, she could even enjoy the whole evening with him without him stressing that he was going to lose the ring or something silly like that.

Smiling at him, Lavender slipped her hand into Ron's, giving it a small squeeze.

[shh_ernie]

When Ernie looked from his conversation with Henry about what songs were appropriate to play when (and how Barry White would not be appropriate right now), Lavender and Ron were talking to Cedric.

"Lavender, Ron, thanks for coming," he said, extending his hand to both of them. Cedric clapped him on the shoulder and murmured that he was going to greet Romilda and Cormac.

[shh_ron]

Ron was about as relaxed and happy as he'd ever been. After a brilliant afternoon with Lavender (and finally being alone in their own house), he was in a very good mood. He and Lavender had chatted with Cedric as they entered Hammerside and Ron was glad to find his friend well and happy. It seemed a lot of people had found someone special in the last year - off the top of his head he knew of himself and Lavender, Hermione and Roger, Cedric and Katie, and of course the happy couple of the evening, Eleanor and Ernie.

Just as Ron thought this, Ernie approached and thanked Ron and Lavender for coming. "Wouldn't have missed this for anything, mate," Ron said with a grin as he shook Ernie's hand. "You look pretty dashing tonight. Nervous?"

[shh_ernie]

Ernie shook his head. "Never been more certain about anything in my life," he said with a grin. "As for dashing..." he shrugged. "I hope Eleanor thinks so."

Turning to Lavender, he said, "You look lovely tonight, Lavender. So what have you two been up to? Seems like it's been ages since I've seen either of you."

[shh_orla]

Orla had almost decided in favor of pants, given the recent cold snap, and the fact that she still felt a bit off from it. She'd stayed warm enough, but was mentally kicking herself for not taking advantage of the community center when it was offere. Of course, it had everything to do with the fact that Wayne was there, and last she saw him, he'd put her to bed when she had too much wine with their dinner. She'd woken up with a hangover potion waiting for her, and had never been more embarrassed. Well, maybe that time when George had gotten her a vibrator - she pushed thoughts of George out of her head. She was not going to start off the evening moping. It was likely seeing two people so utterly devoted to each other would make her cry, and she didn't want to start the new year so depressed.

So, she donned a shiny purple dress Padma had convinced her to get, hose and heels, and pulled her hair back into a sleek chignon, some makeup and a transfigured coat, and taking a deep breath, apparated to outside Hammerside. She saw quite a few

[shh_ernie]

"Orla!" Ernie greeted enthusiastically. They'd been meeting every other week for a while now and he honestly didn't think that he'd be doing as well as he was without her help. "You look...fantastic," he said, giving her a hug. "Thanks for coming."

[shh_orla]

Orla grinned, and hugged Ernie. "Thank you. You look pretty dashing yourself. Hope you don't upstage the bride." She teased. She had watched Ernie grow and change as he started to accept that he was worth loving, and that he wasn't a waste of space, and he had a special place in her heart as one of the few people she honestly felt like she'd made a difference for.

"My pleasure. And you should keep an eye out. There will be a package for you and Elle by the end of the week." She smiled. She'd enjoyed ordering a full set of tableware for them. She hoped they liked it.

[shh_ernie]

"Well, we'll still be on our honeymoon. But S-Zach and Mandy are staying in the house. I'll have them keep an eye out." He paused for a moment. "I just wanted to say thank you for...everything else you've done, too. I don't know if I'd be here, as happy as I am, if you hadn't helped me." He shrugged slightly.

[shh_kingsley]

Kingsley entered Hammerside alone and looked around. It looked really nice. He was very pleased for Ernie and Eleanor. He'd done some scavenging and then some trading to obtain their gift, which he placed on the table. He hoped there wouldn't be too many awkward questions about why Susan wasn't with him. Actually, he hoped there wouldn't be an awkward moment when Susan appeared. He still adored her and did not want to make her uncomfortable, but he hadn't wanted to let Ernie down by staying away either.

He looked about and wondered where he should sit.

[shh_ernie]

Henry was talking to Kingsley, complete with enthusiastic hand gestures that looked as if he might be karate chops to Ernie. Completely uncertain as to what that was about, he excused himself from Orla and walked over.

"Have you ever cast an Unforgiveable?" he overheard Henry asking.

"Henry, I think Dad needs you." Ernie hadn't actually seen Mr. Branstone lately, but it was as good an excuse as any. As he hurried off, Ernie turned to Kingsley. "Sorry about that. Eleanor's brother is a bit...spirited." He extended his hand. "Thanks for coming." Then he looked around. "Where's Susan?"

[shh_kingsley]

Kingsley chuckled over the boy's enthusiasm but had to wonder who he was, "Mind telling me who you might be?" He introduced himself as Elle's brother and went back to talking about some woman named Jackie Chan and displaying a technique Kingsley thought probably came from watching muggle television.

Thankfully, Ernie rescued him. Then Ernie asked about Susan and Kingsley thought perhaps he'd rather have Henry back after all.

"Congratulations, Ernie. Nice suit. Elle's a lucky girl." Sucking it up, Kingsley decided to keep it simple, "Remember the last conversation we had? I brought some of that up with Susan along with something else. Let's just say, she isn't too happy with me right now. I hope she's coming though. I promise we won't spoil your celebration." Kingsley would leave before he'd ruin Ernie's day, he was fairly Susan would too. It was one of the reason he hoped they could work their friendship out because he really did value her even if he knew himself to be an arse.

[shh_ernie]

Ernie managed to emerge from his happiness-induced fog long enough to hear the wistful tone in Kingsley's voice. "I'm sorry to hear that, Kingsley," he said quietly. He'd thought they were doing so well. Hopefully, it wasn't because of all of that being old business. Or the babies business. "I know you wouldn't do anything to spoil it either." With a grin, he added, "Fairly certain that you couldn't anyway. I am getting married today. No doubt about it."