To match Link's outfit, Emily's gown was rather simple too, a one-shoulder evening dress in falcon-blue.
The difference was that Emily's dress was adorned with many sequins made from polished pure falcon-blue gemstones. Around her neck hung a teardrop-shaped potion pendant containing Felix Felicis, brewed personally by Link.
With this gown that shimmered like starlight under enchantment, paired with Emily's carefully styled hair and makeup, she looked utterly stunning, but not showy.
For a moment, Link was completely dazed as he looked at her.
He had never understood, in his previous life, why brides would wear veils to cover their faces during weddings.
But now he finally understood.
Not only that, he even had the urge to find a piece of cloth and cover Emily's face himself.
For no other reason than that, Emily was simply too beautiful right now.
So beautiful that Link felt just having others see her was already a loss for him.
Surely other grooms must have felt the same way at such moments, right?
Being stared at so directly by Link was obviously something that made Emily very proud and delighted.
With a smile on her face, she even deliberately struck a few graceful poses for him.
This little display only ended when a faint blue light began to flash in Link's eyes.
Emily's face turned bright red; she patted Link lightly in mock anger before taking his arm and heading downstairs toward the ceremonial hall.
"Honestly! There are other people here!"
Emily's coy scolding didn't make Link feel the slightest bit of shame, instead, he grinned mischievously.
"They don't know what I just did anyway. Besides, we're getting engaged, what's wrong with looking a little?"
"No looking!" Emily raised her voice slightly, then realized her outburst and lowered her head again, mumbling softly, "If you want to look, wait until we're back tonight! We still have the ceremony right now!"
Link nodded in agreement, though his grin remained as he continued teasing her.
Laughing and joking all the way, the two of them went downstairs. Only when they reached the entrance hall did their expressions grow serious.
Because at this moment, all the guests who had been invited were already gathered inside the small hall surrounded by clusters of falcon-flowers.
Since it was only an engagement, there actually weren't that many guests.
Most of them were heads of small families who depended on the Flamel and Victoria families for their livelihoods. Their real purpose today was simply to put faces to the names of their future masters, Link and Emily.
Aside from them, the true guests were only the Diggory family, Snape, and, to Link's surprise, the current Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge.
Mrs. Flamel knew perfectly well how much her son disliked cumbersome formalities, so nearly all the preliminary steps of the ceremony had already been completed. The guests were cheerful and relaxed, merely waiting for Link and Emily to appear.
Thus, shortly after the two took their positions, a group of beautiful flower-fairies gathered around them, leading them along the red carpet toward the main stage. The gentle, melodious music that had been playing in the hall turned bright and lively.
Under everyone's gaze and exclamations of admiration, Link and Emily walked forward, wrapped in starlight, step by step.
At the end of the carpet, Fudge was waiting with a broad smile on his face.
Today, Fudge was to act as their officiant.
That hadn't been in the original plan.
After all, Link and Emily were only getting engaged, it didn't require official recognition from the Ministry of Magic, nor did it need an officiant at all.
But Fudge had volunteered himself, insisting on it.
Smiling, Link led Emily up to stand before Fudge.
"What a match made in heaven! You two are simply perfect together! The moment I saw you, I just knew!"
As expected, Fudge launched into an endless stream of florid compliments, piling flowery phrases one after another without end.
This sort of elaborate speech was effortless for someone like Fudge.
It wasn't until Mrs. Flamel coughed impatiently that Fudge finally stopped, smiling apologetically before straightening his face and holding up a sheet of parchment, from which he began to read aloud in ancient Latin.
And that recitation went on for a full ten minutes.
The Latin he spoke was so old that it made the Ancient Runes taught at Hogwarts seem modern, Link couldn't understand a single word.
But judging from the solemn looks on the guests' faces, the contents must have been quite impressive.
"The couple may now exchange rings."
Fudge smiled, wiped the sweat from his brow, and said breathlessly.
Hearing that, Link and Emily exchanged a glance, nodded in gratitude toward him, and each took out the rings they had prepared long in advance. Then they placed them on each other's left middle fingers.
Buzz~
The specially crafted golden rings flared with a brief flash of firelight as they were put on. At the same time, Link and Emily's full names appeared engraved upon each ring.
The contract magic on the rings had taken effect.
This was the wizards' traditional marriage ritual, should either side ever break the engagement, the consequences would be unpleasant indeed.
Of course, that was something that would never happen. Neither Link nor Emily had the slightest such thought.
In fact, at that very moment, they had no other thoughts at all, they simply embraced and kissed in full view of everyone.
Applause and cheers instantly filled the hall.
Among the crowd, old Kettleburn was easily the happiest of all.
Grinning wide enough to show his sharp teeth, he clapped so hard his hands turned red.
He was a simple, genuine man, if he could, he'd probably wish Link and Emily would quit school right now, stay home, and give the Flamel family ten or eight children, reviving its dwindling line.
Mrs. Flamel stood in the center of the crowd, eyes misty yet smiling in deep relief.
Beside her, even Snape, who had uncharacteristically washed his hair and dressed in a black robe, watched the two with a faint smile. For Snape, that was already remarkable.
What drove him to do so was the fact that he had long looked forward to this day.
As for Mr. Victoria...
He was already weeping uncontrollably, though his expression as he looked at Link and Emily was a mix of complex emotions.
By the time the ceremony ended, the sky had already darkened.
As Link and Emily separated, the solemn music inside the hall shifted to something lively, and rows of tables on either side filled with carefully prepared delicacies.
The banquet and ball had begun.
For the guests, this was a grand social event.
Many came forward to congratulate Link and Emily, then moved on to the more meaningful business of social mingling.
Fudge was, without doubt, the brightest star of the evening, apart from the Flamel family themselves.
A crowd of people, wearing greedy yet flattering smiles, quickly surrounded him.
They flattered him madly, hoping to gain some small favor from the Minister of Magic, something trivial to Fudge, but of enormous value to them.
Fudge thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere. He moved gracefully among the guests, wearing his perpetual genial smile, and didn't leave Flamel Castle until nearly three hours later.
After Fudge's departure, the guests swiftly shifted their focus to Mrs. Flamel, treating her even more respectfully than before.
Clearly, they took Fudge's actions as a gesture of goodwill toward Link and the Flamel family, a sign of alliance, of giving face.
After all, with everything the Ministry had been dealing with lately, the fact that Fudge himself had acted as officiant for Link and Emily, and even made time to stay for three hours, was indeed remarkable.
But Link read something else in it, a hint of revenge, even of threat.
Because if just this small engagement ceremony required the personal attendance of the Minister for Magic himself…
Then who would they be expected to invite for the actual wedding?
Dumbledore? Or Voldemort?
Would either of them even want to come?
Dumbledore hadn't even attended this engagement.
Link's gaze toward Fudge's retreating back held a flicker of dissatisfaction, though it was perfectly masked by his level 6 Occlumency.
"Link! Come on!"
From the dance floor, Emily was calling excitedly, and at her voice, Link instantly forgot about Fudge and rushed toward her.
Today was a joyous day, not one worth ruining by dwelling on such things.
After the practice they'd had during last Christmas's ball, Link and Emily's dancing was now nearly flawless.
The two moved together to the soft music, like a black and a blue butterfly weaving through the sea of falcon-flowers, breathtakingly beautiful.
When their dance ended, the music grew faster, and more couples finally entered the dance floor.
Most were young people.
After all, engagement and wedding balls were inherently matchmaking occasions for other unmarried youths.
Cedric Diggory, as an outstanding young man, was naturally very popular in such a setting.
Since stepping onto the floor, his dance partners had changed one after another.
A few girls even quarreled over the order of dancing with him.
Cedric could only give bitter smiles.
He hadn't wanted to dance, after all, he already had Cho Chang.
Unfortunately, his father, Amos Diggory, didn't know that. Stirred by the affectionate sight of Link and Emily, Mr. Diggory had forcefully pushed Cedric onto the floor.
Of course, that was Cedric's optimistic assumption about his father's intentions.
In reality, Mr. Diggory probably did know about Cho Chang, but disapproved of her family background, and hoped Cedric might use this chance to find someone better.
After all, the Diggorys ordinarily had no right to attend a banquet of this level.
Which meant every girl here came from a far more powerful family, genuine rich beauties.
Link, meanwhile, knew nothing of Cedric's predicament.
Even if he had, he probably wouldn't have cared.
Because he was fully occupied dealing with Emily's "attack."
Emily was overflowing with passion tonight, and that energy had perfectly merged into her dancing, soon infecting Link as well.
They didn't exchange a single word throughout.
But dance itself was the best form of body language.
From their bold movements, quickening breaths, and rising body heat, they could both sense, without the constraints of their magical contract, each other's growing anticipation and desire for what came next.
Honestly, Link was a bit bewildered.
Emily was usually so shy about such things, yet tonight she was being astonishingly bold.
But soon Link adjusted his thoughts.
No matter how Emily behaved, he loved her all the same.
The ball had already reached its fevered peak.
The steady rhythm of physical contact stirred reactions in nearly everyone on the dance floor, much like Link and Emily's.
The rising warmth among the guests even seemed to lift the temperature of the entire hall, making the scent of falcon-flowers grow thicker.
Link didn't mind this at all, in fact, he welcomed it. It meant no one would be paying too much attention to him and Emily, giving him more freedom to make his "little moves."
The only annoyance was that in one corner of the hall, an old man's gaze had been locked on them the entire time.
The old man was tall, with silver hair and beard, both perfectly groomed. His refined looks reminded Link of a certain Russian pilot who had once gone viral in his past life, a real silver fox.
Annoyed, Link cast Legilimency toward him, swearing that if he detected even the slightest ill intent, he'd throw the man out himself, no matter the circumstances.
But what he sensed was unexpected.
The old man's mind was filled only with emotion and joy, so pure it rivaled that of Mrs. Flamel and old Kettleburn.
That was strange indeed.
But Link didn't have time to dwell on it.
Because just as the music reached a passionate crescendo, Emily suddenly threw herself hard into his arms. Her breath came hot against his ear as she whispered softly, "Take me away, "
BOOM!
Link felt blood surge straight to his head, his scalp tingled, and his reason began to slip.
He didn't hesitate another second. Scooping Emily into his arms, he dashed toward the staircase.
Under the powerful aid of the Sensory Enhancement Charm, he was sure they were perfectly concealed. Aside from that handsome old man, no one in the hall noticed their disappearance.
Before leaving, Link even shot the old man a fierce glare, a warning not to meddle and ruin his moment.
But as fate often has it, the more you fear something, the more likely it happens.
Just as Link was hurrying up the stairs with Emily in his arms, he suddenly saw, to his astonishment, that same handsome old man standing ahead of them, blocking their way.
Link's expression instantly turned cold.
Emily slipped from his arms, gritting her teeth as she glared at the man, her wand now glowing with a sharp crimson light.
The old man didn't seem the least bit concerned. His warm smile remained as he spoke sincerely, "Link, congratulations..."
"Who the hell are you?!"
Link cut him off harshly, his tone fierce and his demeanor menacing.
The magic inside him, sensing his anger, began to surge out on its own, forming invisible claws that stirred the air even without his wand.
"Me? Has Leonie never mentioned me to you?" A flicker of surprise crossed the old man's face, then he shook his head and explained gently, "Ah, well. Actually, you should call me, Grandfather."
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