Prologue

He whose head is in the shadow of love will have heaven beneath his feet.

He whose head is in the shadow of love will walk in the shadow.

There's a friend who is like a sweet fragrance,

whose words are like poetry

who is my evening, my night, my resurrection.

That friend is my beloved!

Sometimes she flirts like a flower,

so fragrantly that you may see her scent.

Having made it into an charm, I will wear it.

She shall be obtained as a miracle is obtained.

She is my song, my declaration of faith

My song... my declaration of faith.

She moves like the dew.

She walks with the garden of heaven beneath her feet,

sometimes through the branches, sometimes amidst the leaves.

I shall search the wind for her trail!

He whose head is in the shadow of love will have heaven beneath his feet.

He whose head is in the shadow of love will walk in the shadow.

Chapter One: New Beginnings

Beautiful. There was no other word to describe it. Kierra Nakofsky did not need a mirror to tell her that she looked beautiful. She felt it. The moment the zipper closed itself behind her, she knew it. This was the one. Kierra whirled around, grinning broadly at the full length mirror. Yes, this was definitely the one. She could just imagine Remus, standing at the front of the altar with his mouth slightly open, the corners of his lips playing at a smile. His eyes would meet hers, and then they would slowly travel down, taking in every inch of her appearance. But he would do it so subtly that no one except themselves would notice it. One of the many things she loved about him—his subtlety.

Kierra lifted her dress a few inches and took a few steps back, and then watched herself in the mirror as she took a few steps forward. No, she was supposed to walk slower than that. Kierra backed away again and repeated her steps, this time much slower, humming the bridal march in her head. She grinned as she let go of her dress. Kierra could not believe that the time had finally come. It seemed as though only yesterday Remus had popped the question to her...well, he hadn't exactly asked her, it was just something they had silently agreed to do…

They had gone back to London to visit Kierra's brother Harvey and his wife Janine, along with their two children, fifteen year old Nora and eleven month old Jackie. Along the way, they had made a stop at Gringotts Wizarding Bank, where Remus wanted to make a withdrawal. They had stepped inside the dark, cold vault that was empty save for a small stack of galleons and a small wooden chest that resembled a jewelry box. As Remus began to count galleons into a small sack, Kierra had run a hand over the dusty chest...

"What's in here?" she had asked automatically. She looked up expectantly at Remus, wondering if he would chastise her for being nosy.

"Oh…" Remus pocketed his withdrawal and made his way to Kierra. "This was my mother's jewelry box"—he tapped the lid with his wand and a moment later something inside made a clicking noise. He opened the box and withdrew a single diamond ring which seemed to gleam in the darkness—"she used to have a lot more, but I sold it over the years because I needed the money. But I never got around to selling this piece because…well, it was my mum's wedding ring…and her mother's, and her mother's…"

Kierra had nodded, smiling slightly as she watched Remus slowly twirling the ring between his fingers. "So I was always expected to give this to my wife if I ever got married…" he said, staring at the ring. "I've thought of selling it many times. It's quite valuable, you know. A couple hundred years old now…but"—he sighed deeply as he looked Kierra in the eyes—"I can't bring myself to sell it. I just think of my mum, and how she never would've forgiven me if I did. I don't think she would have wanted me to lose hope…"

"Your mum was a smart lady." Kierra replied.

The two of them smiled at each other, momentarily forgetting that they were in a cold, drippy cave-like vault. Her look had been reassuring, and his had been grateful. Just then, a mechanic sort of voice rang through the vault.

"Vault number 636, your time is up."

Remus and Kierra had jumped slightly, startled at the reappearance of the goblin who had led them to Remus's vault. In the small shock, Remus had dropped his mother's ring, and it rolled onto the dark, dingy floor. Remus swore under his breath, and Kierra giggled at the sound of it—it was not everyday Remus Lupin swore—and immediately they fell on all fours in search for the ring. After about a minute of searching, Kierra found the ring, which had lodged itself into a small crevice in the ground.

"Ah-found it!" she had exclaimed, pulling herself to her feet and grinning at Remus. "Here you go"—she extended her arm out to drop the ring in his hand, but his hand did not open for reception. He simply stared at the ring, and then shifted his gaze to her—"What?" she asked.

He looked at the ring pensively, as though he were trying to make a decision on the spot. At long last, he looked her in the eyes and smiled slightly, taking Kierra's hand in his own. With one hand around her wrist, Remus used his other hand to close Kierra's fingers around the ring and gently push her hand away. She cocked an eyebrow at him, looking very uncertain. But as realization dawned upon her, Kierra's eyes widened and a scream had escaped her lips before she could stop it.

It had been a very memorable engagement, what with fifteen goblins racing into Remus's vault at the sound, and the mini-hearing they had to face before the board of directors at Gringotts for all the disruption and alarm they had apparently caused in the bank. Well, at least she would always have an interesting story to tell when people asked her how she had gotten engaged. Which reminded her…

"Er—Marie!"

Immediately, an old heavy-set witch in elegant green robes and a tape measure hanging around her neck came bustling in. A moment later, she was followed by a petite woman about Kierra's age, who had long black hair and dark almond-shaped eyes to match. The pair had stopped shortly at the site. The black haired woman let out a small gasp and clamped her hands over her mouth.

"Kierra! This is the one!" she breathed, staring at Kierra's figure from top to bottom. "Twirl around a bit!"

Kierra obliged and turned around, closing her eyes and smiling as she felt her gown swishing around her. "Oh, Dominique, this is it! I'm going with this one! What do you think, Marie?"

The heavy-set woman only sighed in response as she fell back into a chair. "Finally"—she blinked a few times and quickly sat up straighter in her chair—"I mean…excellent choice! You look ravishing, my dear! Well, I think that wraps things up..."

"Right," Kierra said, throwing her hand back to unzip the gown. "I'll pay for it now"--

"Are you kidding me?" exclaimed Dominique.

Kierra paused in her effort to unzip her dress. "Er--what? I thought we all agreed this is the one..."

Dominique rolled her eyes and turned the Marie. "This gown is ridiculously over-priced"--

"I'm afraid it isn't." Marie replied in a seemingly forced civil tone. "You won't find styles like these any cheaper."

"At 600 galleons?" Dominique pressed. "Please. My rent doesn't even cost that much."

Marie sighed. "Alright. 550."

"We can take our business elsewhere." Dominique replied, folding her arms over her chest and looking squarely at Marie. Kierra raised an eyebrow, looking from Marie to Dominique. It was like watching a quidditch math. No, more like one of those muggle games...tennis...

"Alright, 500, but that's my final offer!" Marie replied.

"If you take it down to 450, Kierra will buy the rest of her ensembles from here."

"What's left to buy?" Marie asked, turning to Kierra.

"Oh"--Kierra blinked, suprised at being allowed a say in the matter--"well, I need a veil or a tiara...I think a tiara. And gloves...and shoes."

"450 galleons then. But only if you get your stuff now." Marie said stiffly, throwing a glare at Dominique as she headed out of the fitting room. "I've got some lovely tiaras in the backroom. Follow me..."

Kierra left two hours later with not only a wedding dress, but a tiara, gloves, shoes, a bustier, and a dress design she promised Marie she would send to her niece Nora, who was to be the bridesmaid at the upcoming wedding. She glanced sideways at her friend Dominique, who was carrying some of Kierra's purchases for her. Thank goodness for D. Thanks to her, she had saved 150 galleons on her gown and 20 galleons on her tiara. Kierra never would have thought to haggle with the saleswoman...she wasn't the aggressive sort of shopper like D. Moreover, she wasn't even really a shopper to begin with. If it weren't for Dominique, Kierra probably would have wandered into some regular old store like Cassandra's Clothiers, which was comparable to a supermarket, according to Dominique.

"Hey, thanks for coming out with me today." Kierra said suddenly as they left Diagon Alley and entered The Leaky Cauldron, the dingy-looking inn that served as a bridge to Diagon Alley. "If you hadn't come, I'd still be in there trying on dresses."

Dominique grinned as the innkeeper, Tom, showed them to a table. "Not a problem. I had fun watching you prance around the dressing rooms...and of course catching your bouquet all those times."

Kierra laughed. "Poor Marie. She didn't look too happy on that third toss...well, seeing as how she did get in the face..."

"And I'm betting that getting hit by a thorn-infested bouquet of roses is a bit painful." Dominique added.

"Well, I'm glad she just sells wedding apparel. If I was buying the wedding cake from her, I suppose she'd be spitting in the batter." Kierra said seriously.

Dominique laughed. "Well, something to keep in mind then when you're dealing with the baker and the caterers."

Kierra grinned as she took a sip of the gillywater that Tom had brought them moments ago. "Remus is taking care of the food. His culinary tastes are so much more refined."

Dominique stirred her drink with her straw, trying to pull out the lemon slice that had fallen into her drink from the rim of her glass. "Except with desserts. You do know that he's probably just going to get a giant chocolate cake for the occasion, right?"

Kierra laughed. "Fine by me..."

Dominique made a face. "Right. So you'll have this five-layered chocolate cake served at your wedding, with two white figurines sitting on top of it...well, one white figurine. I'm assuming the groom will be wearing black?" she aked, raising an eyebrow at Kierra.

"The figurine will be. Remus will be wearing grey though." Kierra replied, smiling slightly as an image of Remus in a light grey tails tuxedo popped into her mind.

"Kierra, I'm still here, you know." Dominique cut in. Kierra snapped out of her brief reverie, only to see Dominique smirking at her. "You can fantasize about Remus later. Anyway, a giant chocolate cake will completely stand out. Isn't the color theme going to be white?"

Kierra frowned as she tucked in for lunch, slightly annoyed at Dominique's ability to read minds. And it wasn't exactly legilimancy either. Kierra was just a very predictable person around her close friends. "So?" Kierra muttered between bites of her sandwich. "It's no big deal. Maybe we'll just coat it with white chocolate frosting or something..."

Dominique merely shrugged and began to start on her own lunch. "So...how do you like the dress for Nora?"

"I actually thought it was pretty--and I'm sure Nora will like it. I'm just going to send her the design and ask for her measurements." Kierra replied, not looking up from her lunch. It wasn't like she was uncomfortable discussing bridesmaid clothes in front of Dominique...it was just...well, actually that was it. She, Kierra, had been Dominique's bridesmaid about seventeen years ago at her wedding, and part of her felt obligated to return the favor. Dominique was one of her closest friends. And Remus was one of Dominique's closest friends...and she had become so involved in helping with the wedding...not to mention the fact that Dominique's legally-ex-husband-but-in-principle-still-a-husband, Sirius, had been killed only two months ago, and she didn't seem completely over it. And to top it off, she had just given up her seat as a violinist in the Parisian orchestra to take a job as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, only to be let off in order to do another job for headmaster Dumbledore: teaching at a muggle prepatory school; the details to which Kierra was not aware of yet. All she knew was that Dominique wasn't particularly pleased about moving into Hogwarts one night and packing and moving out a few nights later. Surely all of that would constitute an obligation to make Dominique part of the wedding party. But then there was Nora. Her niece. Her only niece...well, her only niece that could talk. And they were close, despite the fact that she was 36 and Nora was 15. They still got a long great, and she knew that Nora would have been very hurt if she had not been assigned a big role in the wedding. And Kierra genuinely wanted her to be involved--Nora was one of the few family members Kierra had left. All she really had now was Nora's small family--and they were all to be involved. Her brother Harvey would be giving her away. Nora would be bridesmaid, and Jackie would be flower girl. Fingers crossed, of course. She was just learning how to walk, and her mother Janine was trying to train her to drop flower petals in a steady fashion. So far, it was working out well. Jackie had learned to stop trying to eat the petals and had progressed to dumping the entire basket of rose petals into a heap on the floor.

Well, Dominique had not shown any signs of resentment, and was continuing to be as helpful and considerate as a friend could possibly be. But then again, they were not eighteen anymore. Neither of them were likely to readily throw tantrums for not being made bridesmaids, as Kierra and her friend Lily Potter had done when it was Dominique's turn to choose...

Kierra smiled vaguely as she waved Dominique goodbye at the door of The Leaky Cauldron. They were far from eighteen. Eighteen seemed like a lifetime ago...when Remus was just a sweet, bookworm of a prefect. When Dominique had been the new girl at their school...when Sirius Black was free to walk around in public...when Frank and Alice Longbottom could be seen lurking about in empty corridors, hand in hand...when Lily and James quarreled publicly about the prospects of dating each other... All these memories, all these people...they could now only be looked upon as mere shadows.