September/October, 1978
When Caradoc finally came back from his mission, a special meeting was called. Nearly every Order member was in attendance, mostly because people were hoping to find out what Caradoc had been up to that had been such a secret. Olivia found herself squished between Sirius and Fabian, squeezed around a table that should have held half the people presently surrounding it.
"Well," Albus Dumbledore said cheerily, "it's good to see you all here tonight. I do believe this is the best turnout we've ever had. Perhaps we should have the promise of steak and kidney pie more regularly."
There was a small chuckle that ran through the room, but it ended quickly. The eagerness to get to business was unusual for the younger members of the Order, but today was a day they had been awaiting for quite a while.
"Now, I'm sure you're all aware that Caradoc is back with us tonight. I know you're all itching to know what mission he was on, but I am afraid that it must remain a secret, for now." A collective groan sounded through the room. "Suffice it to say that his mission was successful. Dedalus, what news do you have from Kent?"
The meeting dragged on, and the excitement that had been in the air dissipated rapidly once Dumbledore informed them that Caradoc would not be reporting on his mission to the group at large. Toward the end of the meeting, however, several newer missions were assigned.
"Remus, I'll need to speak with you privately sometime this week," Dumbledore said, going down a list of notes he had made for himself. "Olivia, Peter, Dorcas, I'll be needing you for something once our wedding has taken place, of course." He gave Lily a smile and said, "We wouldn't want something to happen to the Maid of Honor that would impede the occasion. Edgar, there's a village in Yorkshire with reports of what appears to be unusual troll activity. I would like you to look into that. Take Dedalus with you. I think that's all for tonight. Oh, wait, I almost forgot."
He tapped his nose brightly, pointing at a camera on the end of the room.
"Dorcas wanted us to take a photograph. It's almost as though she knew we'd have a nearly complete turnout today. Well, everyone, settle into somewhere the camera can see you and we'll get this photograph out of the way. The smell of steak and kidney pie is getting to me."
They gathered around, taking a couple of quick photographs, smiling and eager, and young. Olivia thought how silly it would look in the years to come, when they looked back at a picture of them smiling like a bunch of foolish optimists during a bloody war. But then, that is exactly what they were: a bunch of foolish optimists. She knew that within ten years at least one of them would be dead, and she knew exactly who it would be.
Two weeks passed. The wedding was a week away, and they were all incredibly nervous as they worked out the finer details of safety and security for the event. After a long last-minute fitting of her bridesmaid dress, Olivia had collapsed in the bed she typically shared with Sirius, desperate for a nap.
She was rudely awakened, however, by Sirius and Remus.
"We need to go to headquarters, love," Sirius said earnestly. "Marlene McKinnon and her family were just killed."
Olivia's stomach dropped as Sirius pulled her out of bed and wrapped a cloak around her. The world was moving in slow motion. She had just spoken to Marlene the morning before. Olivia had braided Marlene's youngest daughter's hair just before lunch. They couldn't be dead. The youngest was only seven.
Still, she found herself at headquarters, surrounded by other Order members, each as solemn and disbelieving as the next. Here was the proof that it was true, Dumbledore regarding them with the saddest face she had ever seen him wear, and yet not a soul could bring themselves to truly accept the news.
A short debrief on the event occurred, but Olivia was hardly listening. She was watching the sullen, empty look in Sirius's eyes. There would be at least one more death by the time this was over, and one that would be much closer to him. The only saving grace was that she wouldn't have be to around to see him after that death, but to know that it would hurt him so much wrenched her heart right out of her chest.
"Livia, Dorcas, and Peter," Albus said softly, "I must speak with you privately."
The three of them nodded and Olivia kissed Sirius's cheek gently.
"I'll see you back at the house," she whispered, and although his tight grip on her arm didn't want to leave without her, he nodded shortly, kissed her lips quickly, and then left behind Remus, Lily, and James.
"I have a mission for the three of you," Albus said solemnly, "but it's particularly dangerous, and therefore I insist that it must wait until after the wedding. I refuse to allow this war to disrupt such a happy occasion."
They nodded and muttered their assent.
"Albus," Olivia said quietly, "what is the mission?"
"At this moment, I will not say," he replied, staring over the top of her head, lost in thought. "You will need to go abroad to the continent. France, Spain, Germany, and perhaps as far as Estonia. That won't be a problem?"
"No," Olivia said eagerly, glad it wouldn't be in the country. Staying out of Voldemort's grasp would surely be easier if they were in different countries. "How long do you expect us to be gone? Sirius doesn't really do without me very well for too long, as I'm sure you could imagine."
"The wedding is in a week," Albus said, considering her. "You will need to leave directly afterward. Then, I think two weeks abroad should do it. I will have more specific instructions upon your departure."
They said their goodbyes, but, Albus touched Olivia's shoulder as she turned to go.
"I know what you were thinking about," he said softly after Dorcas and Peter had left. "It will hurt him badly when it happens, but it would hurt him more if you walked away needlessly now."
She shook her head, turning to face him once more.
"And is it really fair to just go on with this knowledge and not tell him, walk away knowing what's going to happen and not saying a word because it's for his own good? That's going to break his heart, Albus. I can't play these games. It's not just him this is going to hurt!" she yelled. "How can I possibly leave him? I mean, what will I have to do, look him in the eye and say I didn't really love him and that it was all just a game? Wouldn't it make more sense to just walk away now and never get in so deep that I have to hurt him like that?"
They blinked at each other as she realized what she had just said, just done, and a blush gathered on her cheeks.
"I'm so sorry, Albus," she muttered, not meeting his eyes. "I had no right to yell at you–"
"Nonsense, my dear," he said. "Better to yell at me than to do something destructive to yourself. As far as your decisions, it is entirely up to you, but know that this is going to hurt you both very much, no matter what you decide. And there is always a chance that after you leave him, if things go well, that he won't lose you completely. It is a prophecy, yes, but they can be changed."
She shook her head, knowing Albus believed so much in free will, believed in making one's own destiny. She didn't believe a word about it, and if Albus had spent his whole life being dragged around by fate, she suspected he wouldn't be quite so apt to suggest that the prophecy wouldn't come true.
But even so, even if she could change the prophecy, would she? Would she leave Sirius to save her own life, to go into hiding? Would life be worth living without him, without at least his child? Olivia doubted it very much. No, she wouldn't leave him, no matter how good of an idea it seemed.
"Good night, Albus," she whispered, grasping his hand fondly as she made her way out of the door, heading straight back to Sirius.
She crawled back into bed, curled up against Sirius's dozing form, and he stirred slightly as she clutched him.
"Livia?" he moaned, turning over to face her.
"Shh," she soothed. "Go back to sleep, love, it's me."
And they held each other tightly, anxiously, both incredibly sleepy, but too shaken by the events of the night to truly sleep peacefully in each other's arms.
/-/
Sirius woke up on the morning of the wedding with one of the worst hangovers of his life. It was definitely top five of all time. Groaning, he sat up, looked around Remus's flat, and saw that he was not the only one awake. Remus was staring at a tile on the floor, checking his watch every few seconds, as if trying to decide when would be the kindest time to wake up the others.
"Bloody hell, Moony," Sirius moaned. "What did we do last night?"
Remus started at the greeted, but he smirked ever so slightly and whispered, "Nothing we'll be telling the girls about, that's for certain. Do you not remember anything?"
"Ah," Sirius sighed, slowly crawling to his feet, "something about a blonde… and Peter. Was Peter snogging a blonde?"
"Ah, yes," Remus said sheepishly. "A blond man."
"Oh," Sirius said shortly. "He's not going to remember that, is he?"
"Likely not," Remus replied. "I'd recommend not mentioning it, either, because he's certainly going to remember your earlier misdeeds from the night, and you don't want him telling Olivia about the redhead you propositioned."
Sirius's eyes grew like saucers. He had done what?
"Please tell me I didn't–?"
"Oh, no, she turned you down. Rather cruelly, I might add. I suppose it's probably because you sloshed your drink all over her dress."
Sirius snorted. Birds could be so picky. You didn't go out to places like that if you didn't want to get a little bit gritty with a completely drunk stranger.
"There is one thing you'll not be able to hide from Olivia, though," Remus muttered, turning a shade of pink that made Sirius's heart drop.
What had he done?
"And that is?"
"Uh, there's a few of them. The ones on your chest aren't so bad, but the one on your hip, that might be a bit awkward."
Oh, sweet Merlin.
Sirius ran to the nearest full-length mirror, which was in James's bedroom, and stripped off his clothes. Tattoos. Five of them. Sirius hadn't taken Ancient Runes, and James hadn't been any great shakes at them, but James must have drawn the designs, because Sirius recognized the marks on his chest as roughly the runes for "ferret", "stag", "rat", and "wolf". They looked a bit tough. Remus was right; those weren't the problem at all. It was the little swirly purple monstrosity on his hip that Olivia was going to flip out about.
"Property of Olivia Evelyn Cromwell Black."
It probably wouldn't have been so bad, if he hadn't stuck his own surname on the end of it.
He took a deep, shaky breath and prepared himself mentally for being murdered as soon as she saw it.
Although on the plus side, it was quite pretty. The writing was very elaborate and swirly, like the sort of thing girls liked, and it had a tiny boarder of miniature purple hearts in a chain around the words, the shape of an oval.
He threw on some clothes, shook his head, which hurt quite a lot, and made his way back out to join the boys. Remus had just finished waking James and Peter when Sirius looked down at them.
"What in the name of Merlin did we do last night?" James groaned, blinking furiously as he stretched his arms.
"I got tattoos," Sirius said hoarsely. "Five of them."
"Seriously?" James said eyes suddenly wide. "Where?"
Sirius pulled off his shirt. The boys looked at them and nodded with approval, although Sirius had a suspicion that Peter was merely mimicking the motion of the other two.
"I only see four," James said, frowning slightly. "Where's the other one?"
"Nowhere I'm ever showing you," Sirius snapped, slapping Remus upside the head as he began to snigger. "Now, let's get a move on before your bride thinks you've changed your mind after stalking her for the last seven years."
The mention of Lily sobered James instantly. They made their way to the clearing behind the Cromwell Manor where the wedding would be taking place.
"Ah, boys!" called the familiar voice of Olivia's father, Peter Cromwell. "The girls were here a half hour ago, and I must say they looked rather worse for the wear. Not that you look too spectacular yourselves. Come here, you'll be getting ready in Anne-Claire's room since she's away. There's plenty of room, but if you need more, let me know. Olivia expanded her room a bit. Girls take up so much space."
Sirius barked with laughter, and he led the way to Anne-Claire's room. It was incredibly girly, just as he had expected it to be. They didn't have much to do, once Remus had James looking like he wasn't experiencing a massive hangover and the dress robes were freshened up. Just as Sirius was pulling off his shirt, there was a knock on the door, and without further warning, it opened to reveal Olivia, already changed and ready to go.
"Bloody hell, Livia, don't you know?" James cried. "One of us could have been starkers!"
She snorted.
"I did knock, James. And it wouldn't be something I haven't seen before. Sweet Merlin's balls, Sirius, what did you do to your skin?"
He regarded her shocked expression sheepishly, shrugging a little as she ran her fingers along the tattoos, holding in the shiver at her touch.
"Erm, like it? It's you guys, see? The runes."
"Yes, I know," she snapped. "Lily got an Outstanding on her Runes O.W.L., if you recall. I happened to be the one doing her revision with her, despite the fact that I wasn't in the bloody class. Is this… are these things permanent?"
"Er, I think so," he muttered. "What, you don't like them?"
Before she could answer, Remus guffawed, "Wait till she sees the fifth one, Pads."
Sirius glared at Remus and threw his shoe, but Remus ducked.
"Destroy my sister's room and she'll be after your heads," Olivia said. "What fifth one?"
"It's… um…"
"Can I see it, so we can just get this all over with?"
"It's not something I'm going to reveal to these guys," he sniffed. "It's personal."
"Oh, bloody Merlin's piss, Sirius," she swore softly, rolling her eyes. "I swear, I leave you guys alone for one bloody night–"
"So what did you do last night, Livia?" Remus said, rather cheekily.
She blushed bright red, shook her head, and said, "Never mind this now. I'll deal with whatever this craziness is that you've done later, Sirius. I'm here to exchange gifts. James, this is for you, from your darling bride. In case she tries to tell you otherwise, I picked it out. Don't believe her lies."
James snorted, taking the parcel.
"Thanks, Livia. You've really put me in the mood for the occasion with your humble words and true friendship."
They were cufflinks with a stag and doe charmed on them, gently nuzzling snouts. It was an incredibly thoughtful gift, one I might have believed Lily had picked out.
"Lily did that charm work," Remus said astutely. "I recognize her signature. Your images aren't as sharp and crisp."
"Yes, well," Olivia huffed, "it was still my idea, and I did pick out the cufflinks."
"They're very nice," James said, holding out his arms to Remus so that he could put them in. "Her gift is over there," he added, nodding over to a carefully wrapped box that had clearly been wrapped by Remus. She grabbed the box, kissed Sirius's cheek, shook her head and gave him a this-isn't-over look as she backed out of the door.
"You're in for it now," Remus said, his tone very amused after the door closed.
"Yeah, no thanks to you, Moony," Sirius growled.
"No, I didn't mean that. You didn't tell her she looked nice. You're in for it."
So he was.
The wedding ceremony was lovely, but Sirius was more taken by how completely overshadowed the Sitzer twins were by Olivia. Lily looked nice, of course, but Sirius had eyes for no one but the girl whose name was tattooed on his hip, and that was probably for the best.
When they danced, Olivia questioned him once more about the tattoo, and he gave her an elusive answer before saying, "Oh, look, Lily's about to throw the bouquet" and pushing her over to the crowd of clambering single women.
Jiki caught it. That was probably for the best. It took a bit of the pressure off Sirius. Especially after thinking over what he had to show her after the party was over.
And sooner than he would have liked, it was over, and the best man and maid of honor bid the newlyweds a fond goodbye, returning back to Sirius's house and collapsing on the couch.
"I want to see it."
With a sigh, he muttered, "Please don't curse me," and stripped off his clothes, ensuring that she could see his bare hip.
She stared at the words, entranced, shocked, and ran her finger along the swirly writing.
"What on earth possessed you…?"
"Blame Moony for not stopping me," Sirius sighed. "Apparently, he was sober all night and just let me act like a fool."
For a moment, she continued to trace the words as if finding something acceptable to say about them. Then she said, "Well, at least purple is a nice color for you."
And then they laughed so hard they cried.