For Samantha, via the OTP Swap
"Congratulations."
James freezes. The voice is all too familiar. He still hears it in his dreams.
He turns to find Narcissa waiting outside the church. "Perhaps it's too soon to congratulate you," she muses, tapping a slender finger against her chin. "You haven't married her yet."
"What are you doing here?" James demands, regaining his senses and grabbing her by the arm, pulling her aside before anyway can see her. "I'm getting married in an hour!"
"And I didn't receive an invitation," she says. "I guess I'll forgive the oversight, though we were pretty close."
"Cissa-"
She leans in dangerously close, and James shivers. He's missed the floral springtime scent of her perfume. "You still love me, don't you?" she whispers, resting her forehead against his.
He had never used love to describe them. Passion, wanting, lust, and then later a deeper connection, something with meaning. But love... He had never dared to hope. He had been so certain that Lily would be his, that he had given up the chance to love Narcissa.
And yet his heart had never quite stopped searching for her.
James pulls back, unable to meet her gaze. "You shouldn't be here."
"Then tell me to leave," she says, and he can hear the clear challenge in her voice.
James opens his mouth, ready to dismiss her, but his voice fails. Narcissa's lips twist into an amused smile. She pulls James close, pressing her lips to his.
He knows he should stop her. He knows that this isn't right, that this isn't who he is. But his body and his heart override his brain, and he surrenders to her.
