Chapter 9
"Emily."
The sound of Sirius's voice sent an electric shock up Emily's spine that bloomed into relief she didn't know how to contain. Over the last month, a deep fear grew inside her that she'd be distrusted because the intel she gave on an attack on Diagon Alley didn't come true, or her message in the paper would be misinterpreted.
That fear vanished as soon as she knew Sirius was there.
She dropped her veil and turned around, her heart beating wildly. The blank expression she usually wore cracked and she was unable to stop a smile from forming as she let her relief show.
"I knew you'd come," she said.
The words spilled out of her and she surprised herself at how glad she was Sirius arrived, then she told herself she would have been happy to see anyone from the Order.
Despite that, she became overcome with the desire to confirm he was there, to check how far away he was, to see him. She reached out slowly and her hand touched an invisible silk curtain. A lump formed in her throat and she pushed the front of the cloak aside.
When she saw Sirius an unexpected warmth filled her chest. She noticed his hair was longer, past his shoulders, and he was growing a beard, which she thought looked good on his face. He wore muggle blue jeans, a white shirt, and a black leather jacket that she thought fit him well.
He tried to talk, snapping her out of her observations. "Wait," she whispered, letting go of the cloak to stop him from speaking and make sure he was out of sight again.
They were on the first floor near an open window, anyone could see movement in her room from the fields below if they happened to stand in the right spot. Not that many people had reason to pass by, the reception tent was being set up on the other side of the estate near the gardens. However if a wedding attendant, house-elf, or guest decided to stroll by she couldn't be seen talking to herself.
As subtle as possible she turned back and stepped around the cheval mirror, moving closer to the wall and out of the window's line of sight.
Then she pulled her wand from a hidden pocket she'd magically sewn into her dress and cast a silencing charm as well as an alarm charm, a spell she invented, on the double doors. If any living thing walked towards the door her wand would vibrate. A locking spell would be suspicious if Narcissa came back sooner than expected.
"Get away from the window," she said quietly, motioning for him to follow her into the shadows to stand close to the wall. "Keep the cloak on in case someone walks in."
Sirius didn't say anything and she wasn't sure if he followed her. His silence left her feeling nervous and exposed. She felt strange standing in front of him in her flowing wedding gown, decorated head to toe to his family's liking, made up like a perfect doll. She wondered what he thought of her, but then brushed off that thought to stay on track.
"Are you here?" she whispered, resisting the urge to reach out again.
"I'm here," Sirius said softly. She imagined he was about an arm's length away and was impressed by his ability to walk so silently.
"Are James, Lily, and Harry okay?" This was the question that had been eating at her for the last month. "Are they safe?"
"They're safe," he said and she sighed in relief, letting the information soak in. "Have you heard something? What do you have to tell us?" he asked urgently. Her throat tightened, dread filling her at his expectant tone.
"The Dark Lord knows James and Lily are in hiding and is focusing all of his forces on finding them and killing them, above all others, but I'm sure you already knew that." He made a confirming noise, but didn't elaborate, so she continued. "You can forget everything I reported was going to happen. All of the Dark Lord's plans have changed."
"We guessed as much," he said, and she looked away. "And the spy?"
"I wasn't able to find the spy. I've lost..." she trailed off, unable to admit how everything went wrong so quickly. The last time she met with Sirius she had been so sure of herself, thinking that she could talk her way out of any situation, like she was in control of everything.
"What's wrong, are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine." Emily brushed off his concern and took a deep breath to prepare herself for what she was about to say next. "The reason I wanted you to come was to tell you I've lost favor with the Dark Lord."
"What does that mean? Are you in danger?" Even with him under the invisibility cloak, she could feel him move closer to her.
"No, not while I have the protection of your family," she admitted. "I'm no longer being invited to meetings. Something happened last month when James and Lily escaped him again, and the Dark Lord's opinion of me went down hill. Everything happened so fast, and I needed to change my own plans."
"So this wedding-"
"Is part of my new role," she finished for him. "Regulus loves me, and wants to keep me safe, but I didn't think things would happen like this." Emily looked through the empty space in front of her where Sirius's chest would be, feeling ashamed. "They have no use for me."
"Good, then leave with me," he said. "If you have nothing left to do here, then you don't need to stay any longer. Let's get you out of here now."
"Sirius." Her heart raced at the suggestion. "No, that's not what I'm saying, we don't have time to argue about this, you'll understand once I explain." She reached out to grasp the front of the cloak, looking up to where his face would be and said the next part as quickly as possible so he wouldn't interrupt.
"There's something else I can do. Regulus may have found out how the Dark Lord's immortality works and potentially how to stop him. I need you to tell Dumbledore that I'm staying to try and find out as much information from Regulus as possible. I'm being followed wherever I go in case I make contact with James, so it'll be too risky to meet after this."
There was a long silence, and she hoped all of that shocked him enough into changing his mind about rescuing her.
"I don't believe it," he said finally, sounding breathless, and a little hopeful. "Regulus has turned on Voldemort?" Emily shuddered at the Dark Lord's name, still unable to kick the habit.
"Not yet," she said. "But he's questioning things and I know he's close to finding out the truth."
"But why is he doing this?" Sirius asked.
Emily hesitated, knowing the truth wouldn't make him happy. "Regulus's beliefs haven't changed yet, they're just working against the Dark Lord. Regulus never expected any anger or torture to be directed toward the loyal followers. He doesn't like feeling disposable, so he's trying to figure out the Dark Lord's secrets. For leverage."
"Well what did the idiot expect? If that bothers him so much he should never have started working for a psycho-murderer in the first place." Sirius spat. "Even when he does something good it's for a bad reason."
"Calm down," she pleaded. "He doesn't want to kill, he's turning, I can see it."
"Should've known he'd get cold feet, he's never had the stomach for violence, he's always played the victim, making everything about himself to get out of any dirty work or trouble." Sirius scoffed. "And for a second I thought he decided to give up that superiority bullshit and turn over a new leaf."
"Regardless of his motivation, this is a good thing." She insisted, hating that she agreed with everything Sirius said, but she couldn't let herself focus on those things. "Just think of it like this. If he's willing to research the Dark Lord's weakness, he'll be willing to use that weakness against him one day. And then everything can be different."
"Is that what you tell yourself to stay here and marry such a horrible person?" Sirius pulled off the invisibility cloak and his expression was so furious that Emily pulled her hands back in surprise.
"Yes," she said instantly, meeting his eyes. "I need Regulus to finish what he started. I will marry him to avoid suspicion, but also to help him in any way I can. This information is worth the effort, but also because I care about his safety. But most importantly, I'm doing this for my family and to stop V-Voldemort. Please say you understand and you'll leave me here."
Sirius's expression went through so many dark emotions she couldn't keep up.
"I hate this," he said, stepping away.
"I hate it too," Emily sighed. "But this is bigger than us. If you want all of this to end as much as I do, then ask yourself, what are you willing to do to stop V-Voldemort?"
He didn't answer, and his face looked so pained she felt her own heart squeeze in response, but there was nothing he could say that would change her mind.
"I need you to trust me," she said softly.
"Damn it, Emily, of course I trust you," he snapped. "I wouldn't be in this hell-hole right now if I didn't." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting the air out slowly to calm himself. "As much as I don't want to admit it this information can change everything. I'll go and tell James and Dumbledore."
"Thank you, Sirius," she whispered, feeling something inside her brighten. "You may not think this means anything to me, but it does." The fear that he would shoot her down and make her leave disappeared. He looked angry, but he wasn't yelling at her to do what he thought was best, he listened to her, and agreed with her. The way she looked at Sirius shifted and her respect for him grew in that moment.
"Is there anything else you want to tell me?" he asked, his voice rougher, like he had something caught in his throat.
"No, not until Regulus finds out the secret," she said, and he nodded, visually wiping his face of emotions.
"Then I'll go," he said. "But before I do I'm showing you how to send me a message."
"Fine." She agreed. "Show me quickly."
"Have you mastered the Patronus charm?" he asked, pulling out his wand, taking another small step back to give himself space to demonstrate.
"Of course," Emily said confidently, pulling out her wand as well.
"Right, why did I ask? Anyway, Dumbledore figured out a way to use a Patronus to send short messages to specific people or places," Sirius explained. "You need to think of something that makes you happy, but before you cast you also have to think of the person or place you want to send a message to, and then say the message in your head and cast it. The spell is Nuntius Patronum. Here's the movement." Sirius waved his wand in a similar motion to the Patronus spell, but slightly different.
Emily mimicked him until he nodded in approval.
"Now watch. Nuntius Patronum," he exclaimed, and a silver wisp of a large hound appeared from Sirius's wand and floated around Emily's legs, stopping beside them to look up at her.
The dog Patronus opened its mouth and Sirius's voice came out. "You try." Then it disappeared just as quickly as it appeared.
Emily thought of her happiest memories and then thought of sending Sirius a message. "Nuntius Patronum."
Her Patronus, a fox, pranced from her wand and circled the air around Sirius's head, stopping to float near his shoulder. The fox's mouth opened and it said, "Thank you," before disappearing.
"Great, making it look easy." Sirius smiled, but his eyes looked deeply troubled.
"Dumbledore didn't change much. I'm actually a little disappointed I didn't think of this." She put away her wand. "That's that then."
"No, technically, there's one more thing. Seems I lost a bet." He held out the invisibility cloak to her. "James knew you wouldn't come with me. He told me to give you this to you when you refused. "
"What?" Emily reached for the cloak in awe. "He did? Why?"
"To protect you, since he can't be here." Their hands touched as she took the cloak and she felt a shock run up her arm at the contact. They both hesitated before pulling away. He looked like he wanted to say more, and she waited, but his eyebrows furrowed and he didn't speak.
She looked down at the cloak, still in shock. Tears began to well and she hugged the fabric closer. "Thank you, James." Then she realized something. "But how are you going to get out?"
"Easy." Sirius dug his hand into the pocket of his blue jeans and pulled out a tiny broom. He tapped the broom once with his wand for it to become normal sized, and then again so the broom became invisible. Next Sirius tapped himself on the head with his wand and the image of his body melted away, reflecting his surroundings to seem as if he disappeared.
The time to say goodbye arrived, and Emily felt a pang of sadness. She put a hand on his arm before he moved away, impulse taking over. "Sirius, thank you for understanding." Using his arm to guide her, she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek, lingering to say, "Be careful."
Suddenly, Sirius wrapped his arms around her and Emily gasped in surprise, becoming completely engulfed by him. She took a deep breath and sunk into him, almost as a reflex, resting her forehead on his chest. He was warm, and he smelled like smoke and sugar.
"When you need me, I'll find you." He said before letting her go.
She lost track of him and suddenly she was alone, her entire body buzzing. She snapped herself out of her stupor and pulled a small bag out of her dress pocket. The bag was enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm. She threw the invisibility cloak inside, then pulled her wand back out to remove the spells she cast on the door before returning the bag and her wand to her pocket.
Now empty handed, she went back to the mirror and picked her veil up off the floor. Brushing off the tulle, she looked over the silver headband embroidered with small crystals and emeralds shaped to look like flowers. There wasn't a scratch on the piece, and she put the headband on and unfolded the veil so the front draped over her face to her waist. When she looked at herself in the mirror she felt like a different person.
"This is the only way," she told herself as she forced her face back into a look of bridal bliss. "This will be a good thing."
A few hours passed and the ceremony began. Emily left her room when she was summoned and stopped at the top of the grand staircase, looking out over the great hall, feeling far away and small. She waited for her cue to move.
From her viewpoint she could see all the guests seated in elegant black chairs arranged on two sides of the hall forming an aisle down the middle, which was lined with white rose petals and tiny orbs of pink lights that floated above the guest and led to the altar, where Regulus stood under an arch of ivy and white roses.
A change in the ceremonial music announced her presence and the guests stood from their seats and turned to watch her. Emily took a deep breath and held onto her large cascading bouquet of ivy, white gladiolus, blue hydrangeas, and pink baby's breath tightly as she descended the stairs.
The train of her veil was long and enchanted to flair out and hover slightly off the ground as she walked. She focused on walking down the stairs as elegantly as possible, and once at the bottom she stopped and waited as Regulus's grandfather Pollux Black stepped forward and offered his arm to her. He was dressed in dark navy dress robes with delicate emerald gems decorating his cravat.
Since her own father was dead, and she had no relatives present at the wedding, the decision was made that Emily would begin the walk down the stairs alone and then Pollux would take her the rest of the way down the aisle.
Emily took his arm and kept her eyes down as they walked, the rose petals tousled at the hem of her dress like small white waves. There was no one to look for in the crowd, and the thought made her unconsciously think of her mother, the person she wanted with her the most at that moment. Her heart clenched as they reached the steps to the altar.
When she looked up her eyes met Regulus's and she was able to center on him and smile sweetly. Even through the veil she could see he looked starstruck, grinning madly, love and admiration written all over his face. He wore dark emerald dress robes that matched her emerald jewels, looking perfectly groomed, the exact opposite of his brother.
Guilt swelled inside her at the thought of Sirius, and she pushed his image out of her head, returning to focus on Regulus and their joyous moment.
"Who gives this woman to be married to this man?" a monotone voice asked, belonging to the ceremony official, a tall, thin wizard with a clean shaven face and hair that was fluffy and white like a dandelion. Despite his wild hair, his face was stoic, and his robes a dull grey.
"In place of her father, I, Pollux Black, will give this woman to be wed into the House of Black." Pollux said with authority. His voice resonating throughout the hall.
Emily gave him a grateful smile, kissed him on the cheek, and let go of his arm to step onto the altar. Narcissa, her only bridesmaid, and maid of honor, met her to take the bouquet and give her an encouraging smile, which Emily returned with one she hoped gave off nervous excitement.
Once in front of Regulus, he reached out to lift the front of her veil to reveal her face. His smile softened and his eyes radiated happiness at the sight of her. Emily smiled back before the two of them turned to the official, who nodded to both of them and then addressed the crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of two pure, faithful souls. Who will be the protectors of magic for generations to come. You are all here to witness the joining of Regulus Arcturus and Emily Ann. If there is anyone who has reason for these two souls not to join, speak now."
No one spoke and the official continued. "I now invite you both to join hands and face each other to recite these vows in front of this mighty gathering of the magical community to bind your souls for the rest of your lives."
Emily turned to Regulus and took both of his hands, giving him a small smile as he squeezed her hands. Focusing only on him always gave Emily the strength to get through anything because she could see how much Regulus needed her. That was usually enough, but it was hard to focus on him with a crowd of hundreds watching her.
The official gave Regulus his vows, which he then repeated to Emily.
"I, Regulus, take you Emily, to be my wife, to have and to hold forevermore; for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death parts our souls. In the presence of this mighty magical community, I do solemnly vow."
There was so much raw emotion in Regulus voice as he spoke, and she knew he had nothing else on his mind but her. Emily waited for the official to prompt her, and when he did, she repeated her side of the vows. Her voice came out gentle and confident.
"I, Emily, take you Regulus, to be my husband, to have and to hold forevermore; for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death parts our souls. In the presence of this mighty magical community, I do solemnly vow."
"Let these rings be a symbol of Regulus and Emily's unending love and faithfulness," the official said and waved Regulus's best man, Rabastan, forward to hand him the rings. Emily avoided looking at him as he did, only reminded of bad memories with him. "To remind them of the vow they have made this day."
The official handed Regulus the ring meant for Emily, which he placed on her left hand ring finger as he recited more words from the official, "Emily, I give you this ring as a sign of our bond. With my body and blood I honour you, all that I am I give to you, and all that I have I share with you, above all others."
Emily took the ring meant for Regulus from the official and did the same. Her hand trembled slightly as she put the ring on him, but her voice didn't waiver. "Regulus, I give you this ring as a sign of our bond. With my body and blood I honour you, all that I am I give to you, and all that I have I share with you, above all others."
"By the joining of the hands and exchanging of the rings Regulus and Emily have presented their love and intent before I and all of those present." the official said. "Therefore, I now declare you bonded for life."
The official waved his wand over their heads as Regulus reached for her and kissed her. Her arms wrapped around his neck as he pulled her closer. A shower of silver stars fell from the official's wand and spiraled around them until they broke apart.
"If you would please stand and commemorate Regulus and Emily Black."
Hand in hand, Regulus and Emily faced their guests as everyone stood and clapped. Narcissa gave Emily back her bouquet, and the newlyweds walked side by side down the aisle as music began again to transition them out.
The reception was set up outside in the field beside the garden. The guest would be attended to with drinks before exiting the great hall into the gardens and the reception. Using a side corridor, Regulus and Emily would exit a different way to give themselves a moment alone before they settled in the reception tent first to greet and speak with all their guests.
Regulus led the way since she didn't know her way around the estate as well. Once they exited the great hall and were out of sight, including her long trailing veil, Regulus pulled her into an alcove to stop and kiss her again, deeper than he had in front of his family. His hands ran up her neck to cradle her face. She shivered.
"My wife," he said softly as he pulled away to look at her, searching her face like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "My beautiful wife."
"My husband," she said, unable to think of anything else to say. She smiled at his genuine happiness, feeling lighter now that they were alone.
"Everything feels different," he said and his eyes glazed over with lust as he moved his hands back down her neck, over her sides, to her waist. "Now you're mine completely."
Emily kissed him, letting herself get absorbed with him. His hands tightened over her hips and he pulled her flush against him, forcing her to drop her bouquet. Her arms wrapped around his neck automatically and she leaned into him, returning his kiss and letting out all of her anxieties on him. There was nothing unpleasant about the way he touched her. His hands moved over her as if he thought she would disappear. She ran her hands over his chest and grabbed the front of his robes desperately.
He bit her lip lightly and she moaned against him, wishing they could skip the reception and be alone, where she could find enjoyment out of their new bond and distract herself. He brought her back to reality as his hands touched the edge of her hair.
"Careful, she said, breaking the kiss. "My hair isn't magically set like my makeup." She took his hands and led them down the front of her dress back to her waist, looking at him innocently. "We can't get carried away."
"I can't help myself," he said, leaning down to trail kisses up her neck. "We won't have time to ourselves for hours."
Emily let out a sigh of pleasure, not really in any rush, but she liked teasing him. "Our tardiness will cause your family to talk."
"I'm sure they already are," Regulus said against her collar, one of his hands itching over her stomach to her chest. "If gossip was water, they'd be fish."
Emily laughed, sounding more breathless the longer he touched her. "Regulus, my word, was that a joke, at your family's expense?"
"You're the only one I need right now." His hand continued up to the back of her neck and pulled her in to kiss him again. "No more talk."
She made an affirmative noise against him and let herself get carried away.
Somewhere in London, there was a knock at the door of an apartment. A minute passed, and no one answered. The knocking began again, louder this time.
Sirius stirred, his eyebrows furrowing, and buried his head in his arm. He was slumped over his dining room table, surrounded by bottles of wine, waiting for silence. When the knocking didn't stop he sat up, but groaned, slumping back over when his head began spinning, hitting a few empty wine bottles off the table as he did. The bottles hit the wood floor and shattered.
Sirius cursed and the knocking paused briefly before becoming more persistent.
"I'm coming!" he yelled, then groaned and cursed again when his stomach flipped in an unpleasant way and his head pulsed.
The knocking stopped. He grabbed his wand and walked slowly to the door, trying to gauge what time of day it was. The room was dark, but not pitch black, so he deduced it was sometime between late afternoon and early night-time. Either way, there was a very good chance he was still drunk.
Even in his stupor, he checked his protection spells and looked through the peep-hole of his front door, sighing when he saw who was there. He opened the door and leaned against the doorframe, almost missing.
"Moony, Wormtail, to what do I owe this honor?"