This one is a filler type since the next chapter will be good - very dramatic and informative, I guess?
Thanks to a Guest for the review (You really want her to be pregnant wow!) I'm hoping you like this as well!
"What do you think – peach or gold?" Lily asked as she held up two swatches of silk before waiting for Giselle to answer. Giselle stared at the colours in a daze, hoping that something would pop into her mind as Lily asked for her opinion but nothing came. Sighing, Giselle wrinkled her nose and said the first colour that came to mind.
"Gold, it looks better with your hair," She replied, flicking through the rsvp cards in her hands before noting down who was attending the Potter-Evans wedding. Lily thanked Giselle, claiming she never thought of that, and fixated the gold silk around the bouquet of flowers for the bride and bridesmaids.
Lily looked up at her best friend and noticed how concerned she looked. She had her eyes creased and focused blankly on the small pieces of card whilst her nose continued to wrinkle, the freckles on her skin crinkled.
"Giselle, are you ok?"
Truth be told, Giselle was far from ok. She hadn't been simply 'ok' ever since her last mission for the Order. The webbed bruising on her stomach had almost cleared up quickly but the constant anxiety she was now plagued with was ebbing constantly. She couldn't stop thinking about it. Intertwining her own fingers, Giselle looked up at Lily and shrugged.
"Yeah," she lied, "I was just thinking about the last mission, that's all." Lily dropped the gold silk and frowned. Emmeline and Alastor returned way before Giselle, but she insisted that the late timing was nothing to worry about. Lily placed her hand on top of Giselle's and gently pressed her for more details.
"What happened?" She asked slowly and Giselle threw her hands up, shaking her head. Her lips were pulled up into a very unnatural smile.
"Nothing, nothing. Are you thinking about adding anything else to the centrepieces or are the lilies going to-,"
"'Elle," Lily interrupted angrily, "tell me the truth."
Giselle stopped and looked at Lily. She winced and dropped the cheerful facade that never seemed to work on her best friend. "Look, it's nothing! After Alastor left, Rosier attacked me but Severus stopped him and let me escape before-,"
"Wait, Severus?" Lily exclaimed. She was the optimum of outrage. Her alabaster cheeks were suddenly aflame and she couldn't stop her emerald eyes from widening. Giselle watched as she flustered about, shuffling the details before slamming her hands on the kitchen table top causing Giselle to jump slightly.
"I can't believe him... He makes me physically sick," Lily uttered before jumping up to put the kettle on. Giselle watched in silence, hoping her anger wouldn't turn to her.
"Did he say anything?" Lily asked, her tone dripping with disgust. Giselle nodded and stood up, leaning casually against the counter as Lily fussed with the dotted teapot. She decided to focus on a charming photo of a group of galloping hippogriffs on the opposite wall because she never trusted her expressions around her best friends.
"He only told me to leave before the other Death Eaters woke up;" she lied, "that's it." Nobody knew of Giselle's recent visits to St Mungos since Healer Bastian had requested she return for certain new and highly risky treatments. Lily slammed the teapot lid shut and stared at the counter.
"Ok," She breathed. The pair never mentioned it again.
They spent the rest of the afternoon finalising the last details such as the timings of the wedding and the arrangements of certain pieces of furniture until James and Sirius arrived, covered head to toe in white snow. They entered the kitchen and shook the ice everywhere.
"It's snowing!" Sirius announced and Lily glared up at him as she attempted to dry a few pieces of parchment that held the schedule.
"No shit," She responded and Giselle laughed, putting their mugs in the sink before brushing a few snowflakes from Sirius' hair.
"When did it start?" She asked and James scoffed as he wrapped his arms around Lily's stomach.
"Haven't you seen it? It's like a storm out there!" The girls glanced out of the kitchen window and witnessed the transformation of the miniature garden as snow covered everything in sight.
"They've been too caught up in wedding details," Sirius said as he gazed down at the parchment on the table surface before letting a small smile settle on his face. Giselle squirmed uncomfortably at the thought of their own situation on marriage coming up in conversation so she sighed loudly and exclaimed, "Wow, is that the time? We better go!"
"Are you sure? Don't you want to stay for tea?" Lily asked but Giselle babbled on about plans as she shoved her coat and boots on. Sirius stood there, trying to think of what plans they could possibly have, but Giselle kissed both James and Lily on the cheeks and pulled Sirius out into the hall.
"Bye," They called out before apparating home to their empty and cold flat. Sirius hung their jackets up while Giselle lit the fire and warmed her hands. She stared at the flames and tried to shake the dark thoughts from her head but Sirius wrapped his arms around her body, pulling her close. She gritted her teeth and tried to avoid his face.
"Is there any particular reason as to why we left their house so quickly?" He asked and Giselle shook her head, still staring into the warm fire. Sirius pecked her cheek, not convinced at all.
"Tell me what's wrong-,"
"I'm tired, that's all. It's been a long day planning with Lily and I just need sleep," Giselle lied as she rubbed her eyes. Sirius frowned and chose to believe her. He wished her a goodnight as she retired to the bedroom. He heard the door shut as he collapsed onto the sofa, staring at the closed entrance to the room where she sat.
"Fuck," He mumbled to himself, running his hands through his hair as he stood up and walked over to his jacket pocket, pulling out a small box that hid a smartly cut diamond ring. He bit the inside of his cheek and debated on whether Giselle was too tired to propose to but thought against it as he still had plenty of chance before it became desperately too late. Sirius hid the box in his trouser pocket and decided it was time to turn in.
When he entered the bedroom, he found Giselle curled up on the bed, her limbs hugging her body and he caught her shiver. Sirius had no idea what had her reacting like this but he wanted it to stop. He slipped off his clothes and climbed into bed, wrapping his arms gently around her delicate body.
Giselle, completely dead to the world, unconsciously responded to his body and curled into him, her head nesting into his chest and he felt her chest heave. He stroked the bare skin along her stomach and felt something strange. Careful not to wake her with the brightness of his illuminated wand, Sirius glanced at her bare stomach and saw the strange faint bruising that was inked across it, something he had never noticed before.
He felt scared because he didn't know what it was, did she earn it through one of her missions? His heartbeat picked up as he pulled her body into his again but he didn't want to let go. Giselle let out a small moan through her sleep and he smiled down at her through the darkness, kissing her ever so gently on the forehead before letting sleep pull him under.