Dallas smiled at Bailey as they giggled and smiled over the jewellery that Astoria had given Dallas to wear. Then paused when the fireplace roared to life and then froze when Savannah walked out with James Potter.
"Come on" she said and Dallas heard Bailey and Savannah leave as she looked at James.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Trust me, this is the last place I wanted to be but even your own best friend thinks we need to talk" he said and she looked at him.
"Well what I need is for you to…" she began.
"Don't marry him" he cut her off and she looked at him.
"James" she breathed.
"Don't marry him" he repeated.
"All those people out there are waiting for me" she said.
"Yeah but none of them even know who you are. Even your own mother can't tell how miserable you are, I can see it just by looking into your eyes. They are waiting for you to follow the same rules that they all did and have you met one Pureblood couple who is truly happy?" he asked and she glanced away.
"Exactly. You will never be happy if you go through with this, Dallas. Tell me I'm wrong and I'll leave" he said and she looked at him, feeling her eyes water.
"You can't. Because it should be us up there and you know it" he said and she felt her heart and stomach flip.
"It isn't that simple" she said.
"It's only that simple. You told me that you love me. I know it was true" he said and she looked at him.
"It is. Of course I love you James, I've always loved you. I love you more and more every day if it's even possible to love someone that much" she admitted.
"Then get out of here with me, now" he said.
"We can go anywhere, just as long as we're together" he said and she looked at him.
"I know you don't understand and I don't expect you to but even if I weren't forced to marry Scorpius, we still couldn't be together" she said and saw his frown and his red-rimmed eyes.
"Just know that not leaving with you is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. But at least I have someone who I know loves me in some why at least and who cares for me. You should find someone who loves you, like you deserve" she said and he looked at her.
"I have. She's standing right in front of me" he said and she looked at him, forcing herself not to cry.
"I know it sounds crazy but I really am doing this for you" she said, thinking about her mother's warning.
"Hey, Dallas, the…" Savannah began.
"It's ok Savannah. James was just leaving" she said and saw his defeated, upset look as she left with Savannah.
Savannah looked at Dallas, her best friend since they were 6 and saw the misery and heart-ache in her eyes.
"Are you sure you wonna go through with this? Because I am prepared to make a run for it with you" she offered and Dallas looked at her.
"I've made peace with my decision and so should everyone else" Dallas replied and Savannah sighed.
"I know you think you can't be with James because of what your mother said but she might be mental but she's not a killer" she said and Dallas looked at her.
"No but she knows people who could be for the right price and she can hide it. No matter how much I love James, I can't risk it. I won't" she refused.
"What about you, Dallas? You are sentencing yourself to a life of misery with a man you know loves someone else, when you yourself are in love with someone else" she said.
"I'll grow into loving Scorpius and he won't hurt me" Dallas said and Savannah looked at her.
"He won't have to. You're hurting yourselves enough by going through with this. Both of you are in love with other people and by marrying each other, all you're going to do is make each other miserable. Please, Dallas, don't do this" she pleaded and Dallas looked at her.
"Would you please tell everyone I'm ready to begin?" Dallas asked and Savannah sighed.
"Ok" she said and left the room and then spotted James and ran towards him.
"James" she said and he looked at her.
"Don't worry, I'm leaving and no one saw me" he said and she looked at him.
"Wait, there's something you need to know. Something that if Dallas knew I was telling you, she'd probably never speak to me again" she said and saw his curious frown and looked at him.
Dallas walked down the aisle with her veil covering her face as she walked with her father. As she walked she kept thinking about what James had said and what Savannah has said. She knew they were both right and it took everything inside of her to refuse both of their offers. She couldn't risk her mother hiring someone to hurt James. She would never forgive herself if anything happened to him. James and Rose would be ok, they would get over this and she and Scorpius would find some way to make their lives work. She would be the perfect wife because it was the only way to keep James safe. She stood at the alter facing Scorpius as she held his hand and she saw that she wasn't the only one who wanted to cry. She felt him squeeze her hand softly and bite her lip, hard, to stop the sob that wanted to escape. She heard the Minister start his speech and then glanced down the aisle and paused when she saw James, looking at her.
"…forever hold his peace" the Minister said and she looked at James and felt her heart shatter and forced back the sob and forced her eyes shut to hold in tears, as he turned and vanished from her sight. "…as long as you both shall live?" she heard the Minister asked and looked up at Scorpius as he looked back at her.
"I…" she began and then her mind suddenly flooded with memories of James Potter.
"I'm not asking for anything. When I say I love you it's not because I want you or because I can't have you" he began and she gaped at him, shocked and slightly confused.
"It has nothing to do with me. I love what you are, who you really are, how you try" he explained and she looked at him, letting the tears fall.
"I've seen your kindness. I've seen your strength. I've seen the best and the worst of you and I understand with perfect clarity, exactly what you are; you're a hell of a woman. You're the one, Dallas" he said and she gasped.
"Because I know how much it hurts to know that you can't be with the person you love" she admitted softly and he gasped.
"You admit it? You love Potter, you admit it?" he asked and she sighed and nodded.
"Yes, I love James Potter but I can't be with him and you can't be with Rose. But I want you to be and the only way for that to happen is if you marry me and I cover for you and help" she said and he looked at her and she felt the tears falling.
"Do you love me?" he asked softly and she paused.
"Yes" she whispered.
"I asked you to come to my home with me not as a charity case but as the woman I'm in love with" he explained and she looked at him.
Dallas opened her mouth to answer and then gasped and turned her head as did Scorpius when they heard a commotion at the other end of the aisle.