A/N: Beta love to the wonderful Roman's sundial! I don't know how to thank her enough for her help!

Chapter 13: Prompt #13 - Orchid

This wedding was a torture. Or rather, Sirius' intimate torture.

Not because the marriage itself was painful. Absolutely not. The bride was beautiful in her cream wedding dress, her chestnut hair decorated with splendid white orchids, and the guests were very pleasant overall.

But then there was Molly Weasley. Overwhelmed with happiness, she spent her time telling every people she met how happy she was for her Ronnie-darling and asking what they were waiting for to get married. She even had the audacity to tell Sirius that now at 37 years old, it was time for him to settle down. As if he had had the choice…

Then there was Harry, in his ceremonial robes, who looked so much like James that Sirius felt his heart squeeze like never before when he saw him near the altar. For a moment, he thought he was seeing his best friend as he was about to marry Lily, but the confusion soon faded, leaving Sirius more alone than ever.

And above all, there was Hermione. Sublime in a simple yet gorgeous purple dress, her hair cascading down her back as Sirius loved it so much, an orchid perched on her ear, undeniable proof of her affection for the bride, she radiated with joy.

But why did she have to be so beautiful? So desirable?
Sirius sighed heavily and dropped to the nearest chair, unable to take his eyes off Hermione, who was talking to Ella and one of her bridesmaids a little further away.

Sirius knew he had no other solution, he had to leave. He knew he would have to leave London for a long time to get over her. He had to get Hermione out of his head. That he had to get over his infatuation, because she would never be his, she was too good, too pure, too innocent for him and above all, she would never see him as he saw her.

He was only dead weight; a ghost of the wizard he had been. He could never make her happy, he could never be completely normal and serene, he knew it. Azkaban had branded him and the Veil had finished removing from him the slightest trace of humanity.

He had felt alive beside her, but he could not continue to thrive on her warmth, to draw his energy, his desire to live in Hermione's, so he had to leave.

For a moment, he had thought possible that Hermione was attracted to him as he was to her, but soon he had to face the reality. It was not possible; he had mistaken his desires for a reality.

Lost in thought, Sirius jumped when Ron sat in the chair beside his, looking visibly pleased but exhausted. "I didn't even think it was possible to want to run away from your own wedding," he whispered to Sirius with a smile that denied that he was really thinking about it.
Sirius raised an eyebrow and asked jokingly, "Did you had the misfortune to pass near your mother?"

"No, worse," Ron replied, looking falsely dark. "George, Charlie and Bill. In great discussion about the importance of taking Ella to St. Mungo's for her to be either exorcised or interned."

Sirius couldn't hold back a laugh, the Weasley elders were tough with their younger brother, but he loved their wicked sense of humour. "Not you too!" Ron added, laughing with his best friend's godfather.

They stood for a moment, in a friendly silence, their eyes often deviating towards the place where the bride was still in great discussion with Hermione.

"Don't know what's holding you back, but I hope it's not me," Ron finally said, putting an end to their silence.

"What are you talking about?" Sirius asked, visibly puzzled.

Ron stared at him for a moment, wondering if Sirius was as clueless as he appeared. "I'm talking to you about Hermione. One would have to be blind not to see that—"

"I'll stop you right now!" Sirius cut him off, more drily than he would have liked. "I don't know what idea Harry has put in your head, but there's nothing between Hermione and me." Catching Ron's surprised look when he mentioned his godson, he continued. "Harry spent the week wondering what was going on between her and me and telling me to be careful with her. So I'll repeat it one last time, hoping that you understand it and then that you convince my godson: there is nothing between Hermione and me," he finished, clearly separating each of his last words as if articulating could better convince Ron.

Looking back at Hermione, who had left Ella's company for the unsavoury and unenviable of Aunt Muriel's, Ron said, "I don't really know who you're trying to convince: you or me. What I know is that there is something between you two." He raised a hand to stop Sirius, who was about to protest again. "I listened to you, now, you listen to me," he ordered.

Visibly surprised, Sirius said nothing. He just stared at Ron, frowning.

"I'm certainly not as smart as she is, but I know her and I'm not blind. Since Arrain Mhor, there is something between you and her. At first I thought she had found another friend in you, and somewhere, selfishly, it made me feel better, because I felt less guilty about not having enough time to hang out with her. And then, I quickly realized that it wasn't that. The way she looks at you…" He left his sentence unfinished, observing Sirius' glance going back to Hermione.

Although they had separated on good terms and remained very close, it wasn't easy for Ron to talk about the feelings of the one he had once loved. "I don't understand, Sirius. That night, when we were all at the restaurant to celebrate the motion, we all saw what nearly happened and… And then you evaporated. Never again at Grimmauld Place, never again with her. Always with the excuse of your work… And I think that, in a strange way, I persuaded myself that it was my fault, that maybe what Hermione and me had lived prevented you from… I don't do not know… But that's not it, is it?" When his only answer was Sirius' silence, Ron knew he was right. "It's you."

At that moment, Sirius stood up abruptly, surprising Ron who immediately rose up reflexively. Following the direction of Sirius' gaze, he saw Hermione, visibly upset, hurriedly leaving the room, under Aunt Muriel's astonishingly pitying look.

As Sirius looked petrified, Ron pushed him gently, whispering, "If you don't go now after her, you'll lose her." Sirius turned to him, a response obviously on his lips, but again Ron stopped him from speaking: "Be a Gryffindor, Sirius. Rush f—"

"Rush first, ask questions later," Sirius added mechanically. "I taught this one to Harry, and it's time for me to practice what I'm preaching," He concluded as he rushed to the door through which Hermione had gone.