A/N: Just wanted to let you all know I'll be out of town for a couple days so there'll be a break in posting. But no worries I should have another chapter for you all by Monday or Tuesday.
Chapter 6
Lucy stared at the potion Severus had so kindly made for her as it sat up on the bathroom sink and she rested on the floor. She'd mostly stopped using it during the day, but in some respect she dearly wished it would work through the night since vomiting first thing upon waking had become a daily ritual for her.
At least the sexy hormones seemed to have left her alone for the night and the morning too obviously. There was nothing sexy about throwing up. She sighed and leaned back against the wall. Last night had been…interesting. Mostly in regards to Rita Skeeter showing up and trying to interrogate the Snapes.
Honestly that woman could be so troublesome. Lucy had a hard time imagining her in any of the school's houses. Dinah had proven herself more than capable of handling the reporter though. Lucy had been extremely worried someone actually would get hexed. Though if it came right down to it she wouldn't have been above doing it herself.
She could only hope that despicable woman would leave well enough alone. And leave her wedding alone too for that matter. As she understood it 'to be Black made you practically royal'. From what she'd learned over the years the Black family was considered to be the most noble and pure. Above families such as the Malfoys even. There'd been a time when the name Black was not going to be passed down, and among the pure-blood elitists your name and continuing the family line was everything. This marriage would be continuing a legacy or whatever. It didn't matter much to Lucy if people thought that way. She knew neither herself nor Sirius would be doing this if they weren't in love and ready for such a commitment.
She could see where some might think it newsworthy though. Sighing again, she stood up and brushed her teeth before summoning some dry toast. It would be the only thing she'd be able to stomach just now anyway. Just a couple more weeks and she could be officially pregnant. Of course in two days Sirius would be living here and able to help her out a little. Just two more days and she'd be a wife.
"Sorry," Lucy muttered, embarrassed as she came out of the Snapes' dungeon bathroom following their last Friday class. "I swear I haven't been having this problem in the evenings. I'm sure the nerves aren't helping." She looked over at Dinah sitting on the couch with her husband, "Be very happy you weren't pregnant and planning a wedding. It's slowly becoming a form of torture."
"Aww," Dinah offered her a sad face, "I'm sorry. Plus, you're wedding is much more complicated than ours was. If you need any extra help just let us know."
"Thanks," Lucy smiled, "but seeing as the wedding is tomorrow I think we're all set. Of course your participation in the rehearsal would be good. I think Sirius is sort of counting on you to make sure I get there without any major breakdowns or anything."
Dinah smiled. "He worries too much. Why would you break down at such a happy time?"
"Oh, well, I had a little one," she put up a hand with her thumb and index finger close together, "about Mum not being here. I keep trying to explain to him that the hormones just make everything ten times more dramatic than they normally would be but I don't think he quite gets it."
"Start getting hungry one minute and not hungry the next and he'll get it," Severus muttered, barely flinching as Dinah elbowed him.
Lucy giggled, "Maybe. Well, we should probably be going if we want to eat at a decent time. We're going to be out…rehearsing the wedding while the students are at dinner so we'll be having the dinner all together in the Great Hall after. You're coming to the rehearsal, aren't you Severus?"
"Yes, to watch, I suppose, though it will be brimming with Weasleys," Severus replied. "I trust you will not mind if I don't say much."
"Of course not," Lucy said, "Though I expect you'll have a lot to say when you see who Dinah's walking partner is."
Dinah looked curious and Severus frowned; "Who?" demanded the latter.
"Will it make you feel better if I assure you it's not Harry?" Lucy teased.
"Yes," Severus growled, grasping his wife around the shoulders and clutching her possessively to him. "I refuse to allow the Potters to steal this one from me."
Dinah giggled, tilting her head to address her husband. "Severus, darling... I'm yours. You don't need to worry."
"Well, even so," he grumbled, not loosening his grip.
"Harry's practically engaged anyway," Lucy said, waving her had dismissively as they started walking out of the school and down the path, towards the spot where she would be married tomorrow, "Besides, that still leaves you with two Weasley's and a Lupin to choose from."
"The selection pool is unattractive, I'll admit," Severus grumbled.
"Oh, relax," Lucy said. "She's walking with Charlie. It's Tonks and Remus, then Ginny and Harry, Dinah and Charlie, finishing up with Hermione and Ron. I wanted Dinah to come after Tonks but that would have meant pairing her with Harry and Sirius pointed out that wouldn't be good for anybody's health."
Severus nodded grimly, and then sighed; "So, that Weasley troublemaker then, is it? I suppose it makes sense that he's your relative, in that case," he almost smiled at her.
Lucy laughed at that. Troublemaker was Severus's favorite nickname for her. "Well, Charlie and I have always been close and I'm only a month younger than him."
"Yes, I recall, though you were thankfully much quieter than him in those days," Severus said, frowning. "He's nearly as bad as those twins. However, I suppose he's a better choice than Lupin. I think the other Weasley would have been the best choice, however, as he is quite a bit younger and I find it nearly impossible to take him seriously."
"Oh, honestly, Severus, do you have to keep insulting everyone?" Dinah laughed at her husband, and then turned a smile to Lucy. "I've never met Charlie. I'm sure he's a very nice young man."
"I like him. He can be a bit of a jokester, but he's not any worse than me or Bill and definitely nowhere near as bad as the twins, so don't…" she broke off as they rounded the corner and she saw a familiar red-head. She could see the remnants of a burn on one of his hands, but he looked just the same as he ever did. "Charlie!" she squealed as she ran over to her favorite cousin.
Lucy jumped up into his open arms as he lifted her for a hug. "There's my girl," he said, grinning.
"Come on," she said when her feet were on the ground again, "I want you to meet you're walking partner."
"I see how it is," Sirius said, coming up beside her and wrapping his arm around her waist, "Charlie comes around and I get no attention."
Lucy rolled her eyes at him, "You get plenty of attention." It took only a moment to make their way towards a curious-looking Dinah and an annoyed-looking Severus.
"Charlie, this is Dinah Snape. Dinah, Charlie," Lucy introduced. She knew Charlie and Severus already knew each other so she figured no introduction was necessary.
"So, this is your wonderful friend who you gave my spot on the bridesmaids list to?" Charlie grinned.
"Yes, but I'm sure we can still get you a dress if you'd like," Lucy teased back.
Dinah laughed, extending her hand; "It's very nice to meet you, Charlie."
Severus, on the other hand, was scowling; "This is my wife you are escorting, Weasley. I trust you will conduct yourself properly."
"Oh, honestly, Severus," Dinah repeated her earlier statement, chuckling, "Give the man a chance to say hello first."
"Nice to meet you too, Dinah," Charlie said, shaking her hand. "Now, Professor Snape you'll have to watch calling people Weasley. We're all here you're likely to get nine people answering you."
Severus growled, "Do not tell me what to do, Weasley," he said, ignoring Charlie's statement. "There is nothing else that I can call any of you, and I am certain that if I speak to anyone they will know to whom I am referring." Lucy had a feeling Severus was completely 'anti-first-name' this week due to the apparent incident with Mae Yates.
"All right, Professor," Charlie said, backing off. "I guess we should get the show started, huh?"
"Show?" Lucy repeated, raising an eyebrow, "You are a horrible man Charles Weasley."
"But not so horrible you'd middle name me," he smirked.
"Oh, really? Charles…"
"It doesn't matter, the wizard's not here yet anyway," Sirius interrupted.
"I don't understand," Dinah blinked, looking confused as she stared at Lucy. "What did he say wrong?"
"He called my wedding a show, like we're going to see a play or a film or something," Lucy frowned at her cousin, knowing he was only teasing her.
"Oh," Dinah blushed and Severus gave his wife an amused look. "I just thought it was a common phrase."
Lucy stopped frowning at Charlie to look at Dinah, "It probably is. He's just trying to be annoying and I'm letting him succeed." Looking around at the organized chaos that was the Weasley family, she sighed. She was used to it but she wondered if the hormones were making it irritating. "You know," she said to Dinah, "Maybe Aunt Mildred should have come a day early. Then she could have organized us."
Dinah giggled. "If you had asked, she would have come."
Sirius groaned, "No, that's all right. The interrogation last time was bad enough."
"Aunt Mildred?" Charlie asked.
"Dinah's aunt," Lucy told him, "She probably won't bother you much because you aren't engaged or dating or anything."
"Except to demand to know why," Dinah chuckled. "But you have my permission to ignore her. Not you!" she turned to address Severus, who had opened his mouth looking hopeful.
Her husband scowled.
"Well," Charlie drew out, blushing.
"Ooooh, that's right. You did mention something about a new recruit in your last letter. Violetta I believe her name was," Lucy grinned.
Charlie's only response was to blush more and stare at the foot that was digging a hole in the ground.
Sirius, perhaps in an attempt to take some heat off her poor, embarrassed cousin, finally looked to the other couple and said, "How was your summer? I wasn't trying to be rude but the Weasley's can be rather overpowering, you know."
"Try teaching them for tens of years straight," Severus muttered, but looked surprisingly amiable as he addressed Sirius. "Our summer was satisfactory. And yours?"
She saw him glance sideways at her before replying, "Not much different then it was when you visited. Though a little more hectic with planning a wedding and all."
"I'm sure," Dinah smiled. "Well, once all this is over you'll get to relax. Enjoy married life like we did."
"Hm, yes," now Severus was smiling slightly. "I'm sure you'll find it enjoyable. We did nothing drastic over the summer but the companionship in normal life is nice."
"Yes, and summer gives you lots of opportunity to work on projects! Severus invented three new potions and a spell!"
"Yes, and Dinah continues to plan for all of her ridiculous game nights and surveys and general 'let's love everybody' projects while I sit back and say 'yes, dear.'"
"Oh, you!" Dinah swatted at her husband.
"And then she hits me," Severus finished.
Lucy giggled, "That's what it's been like planning the wedding. I ask him his opinion and he says, 'whatever you want'."
"And then she hits me," Sirius said, repeating Severus.
Severus smirk-smiled, "There is, unfortunately, no marriage guidebook that warns men about that it seems. You're sure you want to go through with this, then?" he backed off, dodging as Dinah went for him again.
"Yeah, I think so," Sirius grinned, kissing Lucy for the first time in a week. Unbeknownst to him her hormones were becoming active again and it only took a moment for them to be poked at from both sides.
"Hey, none of that with Mum and Dad watching. It's hardly decent for me to be watching," Charlie said.
Dinah giggled, lowering her hand from where it had been tapping Lucy's shoulder. "Oh, I think you deserve a little bit of that, but you should save some for the rehearsal."
Severus chuckled, slipping an arm around his wife's waist while Charlie gaped at the surprising - to him at least - gesture. "Sirius is right, though. It is worth it." He and Dinah exchanged smiles.
"Sorry," Lucy blushed looking at Dinah, "It's just…well, that thing we discussed earlier."
Dinah grinned and winked at Sirius. "You don't know what you're getting into."
Sirius grinned and was about to say something but Molly interrupted him, calling, "Mr. Bole is here and ready to start."
"Oh!" Dinah grinned, turning and waving at the wizard who had performed hers and Severus's marriage ceremony in May. "It's Bole! He's great."
"Yes, he came highly recommended." Lucy smiled. It had actually been the way he'd handled Dinah's wedding that made both Lucy and Sirius inclined to hire him for their own.
"Now, if you don't mind," Bole said as they all joined the group, "I normally don't make my bride walk down the aisle at the rehearsal unless she wishes to. I've seen plenty of them faint, throw up, cry hysterically…It's probably better for the nerves if she doesn't have to do that I think."
"Right now, I'm inclined to agree," Lucy said, feeling a little queasy again.
"All right, then," Bole agreed, rubbing his hands together. Now that the sun was starting to sink the air was quickly losing it's warmth. "We'll have your attendants walk down the aisle, understanding of course that the bride will be coming last tomorrow being escorted by her uncle. After arriving here her hand will be placed in the grooms and the ceremony will commence, but first I think we'll have the bridal party practice their walk down the aisle. If I could have anyone not part of the ceremony please stand to either side."
The Weasleys who weren't walking down the aisle separated, half on one side, half on the other along with their significant others. Molly and Arthur though, made sure to be on 'the bride's side'. Andromeda, who had arrived in the last day or two, took command of Teddy and Anne, holding Anne and escorting Teddy over to stand on 'the groom's side'. Severus nodded at her aunt and uncle. "Molly, Arthur," he said before continuing on to stand on Lucy's side, looking at bit annoyed at being surrounded by Weasleys.
Lucy felt about ready to cry as she watched the couples come down the aisle towards her, but got distracted by Bole's excessive swatting at a fly buzzing around his head.
"A wedding in the middle of December might have been cold but at least there wouldn't have been bugs," Lucy said, as Dinah and Charlie, the third couple down the aisle reached them. She noticed Severus's face was now in a very unhappy scowl and he appeared to be muttering something. Probably profanities she was glad she couldn't hear at the moment.
They went through the motions of the ceremony. Bole hesitated over whether or not to tell them to kiss but Sirius took that decision from the older wizard when he bent Lucy back and proceeded to kiss her more thoroughly than was proper in front of her family and friends. Of course, she didn't really mind…in fact she was half hoping that was the actual ceremony and they could have their wedding night now.
When that fly that had been bugging Bole earlier buzzed past Lucy's ear they finally broke apart.
"It's awfully buggy here," Sirius said, pulling Lucy back up with him, "are you sure you want the ceremony in this spot?"
"Yes," Lucy said, swatting at him, "It's just one…bug," her eyes drifted over to Dinah as she said it, hoping she was wrong. After all, Rita was a beetle and not a fly.
Dinah shook her head, chewing on a fingernail in consideration; "I didn't see it, so I can't help you. I can only hope not. Desperately hope not, in fact."
"If it is, I'll put her in a jar without air holes this time," Hermione grumbled.
That made Lucy giggle a bit, "Thanks, Hermione but I don't think I'd go quite that far. Oh!" she gasped, realizing she hadn't introduced Dinah to everyone. She was so used to most of her friends already knowing each other that she sometimes forgot Dinah had spent time outside the wizarding world. "Dinah, come here I forgot to introduce you to everyone."
"No," Severus growled, having just gotten his wife back from Charlie and looking intent on keeping her away from everyone else.
Dinah chuckled, turning Severus's chin from where he was glaring out at his crop of nemeses so that he could meet her gaze. "Severus, if you don't stop this I am going to start calling you a psycho obsessed stalker again," she teased, lightly kissing his lips, which got everyone staring at them especially when Severus responded easily.
When she released him he sighed, "You would, wouldn't you?"
"Yes," she giggled, turning away from him as he released her waist and heading over to Lucy.
When Lucy just stared around, stumped on who to start with, Severus gave an exaggerated sigh and walked up, placing a light hand on his wife's back and pointing the other at Aunt Molly and Uncle Arthur. "You've met Arthur Weasley already, but that is his wife Molly. As you know, I worked with them minimally while in the Order. My wife, Dinah," he muttered, only half meeting the gazes of the slightly older couple.
Dinah smiled. "Pleased to meet you both. Well, to see you again," she nodded at Arthur. "I've heard a lot about you both from Severus, Lucy, and Sirius. And your daughter has always been an excellent student in my classes."
"Lovely to meet you dear," Molly said, enveloping Dinah in a motherly hug. "I'm sure we've heard just as much about you from Lucy as well. And it's good to know that at least some of my children can manage to behave." Fred and George groaned and buried their heads in their girlfriends' shoulders.
It was such a typical reaction from them that Lucy laughed, "That's Fred and George, Dinah. George is the one without the ear and Fred is the one who…died. George is also dating Angelina and Fred, Katie."
Dinah smiled at Molly and then next at the embarrassed twins; "Pleased to meet you," her gaze landed briefly on George's missing ear and Severus made an irritated, slightly embarrassed noise and looked away.
"Well, you already know Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny. You just met Charlie…so that leaves Percy and Audrey," Lucy nodded towards her haughty looking cousin, though he wasn't nearly as bad as before the Battle, she seriously wondered if his face just got stuck that way. "And finally, as far as Weasleys go, there's Bill, Fleur, and Victoire."
Dinah politely introduced herself to the lot as Severus was starting to look impatient and annoyed.
"Over here," she said, dragging Dinah over to Teddy whose hair was now the same shade as Dinah's and whose face looked like a duck's bill, "We have Remus, Tonks, and Teddy, who you know but might not recognize. Then we have Mrs. Tonks. She'll insist you call her Andromeda but most of the time I call her Mrs. Tonks. And this," she said, lifting the baby out of Andromeda's arms, "is my goddaughter, Anne."
"Hello again," Dinah smiled at Remus and Tonks while Severus gave a very stiff nod. "Nice to meet you, Andromeda. And Anne," she smiled indulgently at the tiny baby in Lucy's arms, reaching a finger out.
Lucy grinned as Anne tried to catch Dinah's finger. She was a fairly quiet baby; a lot like her father.
"Would you like to hold her?" Tonks offered.
"Oh, yes!" Dinah gushed, and Severus finally managed a slight smile. Lucy's friend blushed as she took the baby; "I'm going to have my own in February, so..." she shyly informed the group.
"Really? Congratulations!" Tonks said, followed by much of the same sentiment from everyone around them. Lucy worried that the mood wouldn't be quite so boisterous when they found out about her own pregnancy.
"They can be quite a handful," Remus admitted, "but I wouldn't trade it for anything."
"I can imagine," Dinah smiled down at the calm, observant Anne she was cuddling. She hesitated, and then turned to address Severus, "You don't want to...?"
"I'll wait for ours, but thank you for asking," her husband replied stiffly, looking quite uncomfortable again and actually taking a step back from his baby-clutching wife.
Dinah chuckled. She didn't look worried about his reaction at all. "I figured. Just thought I'd offer," she handed Anne back to Tonks.
"Sirius has no problem holding her," Tonks teased, attempting to pass her child to her cousin.
"I would, but my hands are full," he said, grabbing ahold of Lucy.
Tonks stuck her tongue out at him before turning back to Lucy and saying, "I know you're probably dieting and whatever but you have one friend who just had a baby and another who's pregnant so I think we should go eat."
"All right," Lucy sighed, "the students should be out of the Hall by now anyway and I find I'm currently hungry too. Though I refuse to eat too much since I know you sent a bunch of junk food to my room."
"Junk food?" Dinah questioned, not looking stimulated by the mention of food at all. In fact, she looked quite uninterested.
"Well, yeah," Tonks said, looking a little embarrassed, "isn't that what people normally serve at this sort of thing? I knew I should have owled you about it."
"Oh, you mean for the hen party!" Dinah realized, nodding. "Yes, junk food is fine. I don't know that I'll eat much, though..."
"You had better," Severus frowned, taking his wife's arm. "We'll wait it out at first. Perhaps you will be hungry again when we reach the Great Hall."
As everyone made their way back up to the school Sirius held Lucy back for a moment. "Everything okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said, pulling his head down so she could whisper in his ear, "I've just been incredibly turned on all week. So I should probably. Stay. Away. From. You." She punctuated each of her last words with little kisses.
Sirius chucked, "But that's not going to happen, is it?"
Lucy grinned mischievously, "I doubt it."