A/N: More prominent slash themes
in this chapter, but still nothing dirty. I'm keeping this fic clean (I
know, I know, what fun it THAT?). I'm really hoping you guys don't
hate the couple… I decided to get creative. Tell me what you think (just
please don't totally bash the story, cause I couldn't take that)!
Well, that's it for now! R+R, please! Peace out, minna-san! –Nymphean
The day
of the wedding dawned clear and bright. Laelyn rose with the sun, realizing
with an unpleasant groan that her back was cramped from lying the entire night
on the floor. Well, at least the girls had been good enough not to vandalize
her skin with eyeliner as most bridesmaids did the night before a wedding.
Hermione stirred, and, yawning loudly, opened her eyes.
"Hey
Laelyn," she said sleepily, "Did you have a good OH MY
GOODNESS!"
Laelyn's
hands flew to her face. "What? What is it? Have I broken out in
hives?"
Hermione
seemed to have recovered from her shock, and was now laughing at herself.
"No, no… nothing like that… I was just frightened by your
eyes… I've never seen you at sunrise before." Laelyn turned
around and glanced in the mirror, realizing that, indeed, she must look rather
frightful to the poor girl. Her irises were bright pinkish red, the color of
the sunrise.
"I'm
afraid it does look rather evil," she admitted, turning away from her
reflection. "Sorry if I startled you!" Hermione shrugged.
"It
was stupid of me to forget. But enough of this… We have to get you
ready!" She kicked Ginny in the ribs, and the younger girl jolted into a
sitting position.
"Hrminonennn,"
She slurred, trying to make her tired mouth form Hermione's name.
"Whadayawant?"
"Oh,
get up, silly… we have a wedding to get ready for!"
*****
Charlie
Weasley felt the sunlight stream onto his face. No no nononono… please
don't let it be morning yet… He opened his eyes and groaned as the sunlight invaded them.
"Damn
it…" he rolled over, looking at the face which lay next to him on
the pillow. "Sirius…" he ran his fingers down the bristly
cheek. "Come on… wake up…"
"Mmmm…
No, not yet…"
Charlie
nodded. "Yes yet." Sirius groaned with fatigue. "I know, I
know, but I have to be there for my brother's wedding… I'm
the best man, you know."
"You
certainly are…"
Charlie
felt his lips twitch into a crooked half-smile. "Is that so?" He
stretched. "I wish you could be there with me… wouldn't that
be great? To just stand there and watch two people make one of the most
important decisions of their lives… weddings are really something."
He sighed, his smile fading. "You know, I'm this close to just
telling everyone about you and I. I don't care what anyone says. Damn
them all, Si, I don't even care."
Sirius
shook his head. "Charlie,
you know I want that too, but we just can't. What about your family?
Would they really accept this? And Harry… what about Harry? I don't
know what his reaction would be, but I can't risk it… I love him
like a son."
"I
know. I'm sorry… I was being selfish."
"No,
Charlie, you weren't," Sirius said soothingly, taking the younger
man into his arms. "You were only thinking of you and I. You're one
of the most selfless people I know. You snuck out of your brother's stag
party at two a.m. just to be with me…"
"You
act like there was nothing in it for me," Charlie replied, kissing Sirius
on the cheek. Sirius grinned.
"No,
love, there's enough in it for both of us, that's for sure."
He looked out the window at the still pink sky and sigh. "You'd
best be going. You'll be missed." He leaned over Charlie and
reached into the bedside table, pulling out a long, thin box. "Before you
go, I have something for you," he said, handing the box to Charlie. The
younger man looked up at him quizzically, and removed the lid from the box.
Inside, on a thin layer of fine silk, lay a thick silver chain.
"Sirius…"
Charlie said quietly, "… You shouldn't have done this.
Really." Sirius waved his hand dismissively.
"It's
not that much… I just wanted you to have something that you could keep
with you, something to remind you of me." Charlie picked up the weighty
chain and handed it to his lover.
"Here…
put it on for me, will you?" The chain hung perfectly against
Charlie's sculpted chest. Sirius embraced his lover fleetingly, and then
kissed his lips before literally kicking him out of the bed.
"Go!
They're going to realize you're gone!" Charlie rolled his
eyes, pulling on his robe.
"Okay,
fine, but I'll be back tonight!" He said, trying to sound
threatening. Sirius just grinned back at him.
"Get
out of here, before I change my mind and decide to keep you forever."
Charlie
returned the grin. "You do realize that's what I'm counting
on." He dodged the pillow that Sirius had thrown at him and flung his
hands up in defeat. "All right! I'm going!"
*****
Bill
awoke to the sound of someone shouting in his ear.
"BILLY…
wake up… You're getting married in less than five
hours…" Bill's eyes flew open.
"Oh
my God, Charlie…" He grabbed his brother by the shoulders.
"Where's my robe? Someone was supposed to go pick it up from the
store…"
Charlie
patted his older brother on the head. "Don't worry, Bill. George
went and got it last night. Now come on, get up… everyone else is already
getting dressed."
"Shit…"
Bill got up from the floor, where he, too, had spent the entire night.
"Cold
feet?" Asked Charlie, pulling on a dress robe. Bill shook his head.
"Nah…
but my back feels like hell…"
"Not
even married, and an old man already!" Charlie combed his hair
absent-mindedly while Bill shot him a dirty look from across the room.
There
was a knock at the door, but before either of them could answer it, Fred,
George, and Ron burst in.
"'Morning!"
Cried the twins in unison. "How's the groom doing?"
"Fine,"
replied Bill as he pulled his hair back into a neat ponytail.
"He's
stressin'," Charlie whispered.
"We
come bearing pastries! Danish?"
Charlie
reached for the pastries that Fred and George were holding, but Bill only shook
his head.
"How
dumb do you boys think I am? I've lived with you long enough to know
never to eat anything that's come into your hands." George cursed
under his breath.
"I
really thought that would work…"
*****
Laelyn
knocked on the large wooden door, wedding dress and all. Come on Sirius,
open up… The door slid open on
it's own, and she stepped inside.
"Laelyn!
Hi." He looked her over. "Wow… you look…"
"Fit
to be married?" He nodded.
"Definitely."
He got up from the chair where he was sitting and walked over to her.
"You look so beautiful… it's no wonder Bill's crazy
about you." She looked at the floor modestly.
"I
wouldn't go that far, but…" suddenly she looked up at her,
her eyes frantic. "Do I really look all right? I mean… I'm
sure it doesn't matter, but… What if it does matter?"
Sirius
put his arms around her. "You know it doesn't. You've just
got cold feet, that's all." She nodded, knowing he was right.
"Talking
to you always calms me down, Sirius. You're such a good friend."
"You
know you can always talk to me, Laelyn. About anything. I'm not a big
conversationalist, but I'm pretty good t listening."
"And
you know YOU can always talk to ME." She said pointedly. "About
anything." She gave him a meaningful look and raised one eyebrow.
"Yeah…
I know…"
She
clenched her fists in frustration. "Damn it, Sirius… what are you
hiding?"
"I'm
not…"
"Oh,
yes you are, don't even try lying to me. You know better than
that." She looked at him analytically. "Last night, you and Charlie
Weasley were doing something in you room. I have no idea what, but whatever it
was, you DID NOT want me to figure it out. I've never seen either one of
you act so erratically. Before last night, I didn't even know that you
two knew each other. Now, do you want to tell me what's going on, or should I interrogate Charlie?"
Sirius
shook his head. "Why does it matter anyway?"
"It
matters because you are my friend, and something was bothering you. I want to
know what it is so I can help fix it."
Sirius
sighed. "It's not that simple, Lae. I don't think it's
really something that CAN be fixed. You see…" he paused, taking a
deep breath. "I think I'm in love."
Laelyn's
eyes widened. "Really? Well, what's wrong with that?" She
hugged him again. "Sirius, that's great… I'm so happy
for you… Who's the lucky girl? Do I know her?"
Sirius
bit his lip. "Well, um… see that's the thing…"
"What's
the thing?"
"Well,
SHE is more like a… HE."
"Oh,"
Laelyn replied, confused. And then, "OH! Well…"
Sirius
turned his back sharply and began to pace. "See? I knew you'd think
it's weird…"
Laelyn
caught his arm. "No no no… Sirius, it's all right!" she
laughed. "Did you really think I'd care whether you love a man or a
woman? You're still the same person, so why should it matter?"
Sirius
smiled bitterly. "You'd think the whole world would be able to use
that type of logic."
"So?
Who is it?"
Sirius
looked at his shoes and couldn't stop a smile from spreading across his
face. "It's Charlie… but don't tell anyone, okay?
It's supposed to be a secret…"
Laelyn
grinned at him. "I won't tell, you know that." She
straightened the front of her dress.
"So…
when did this happen?"
"A
year ago. Dumbledore sent me to Romania to spy on this group of Death Eaters,
and Charlie was one of my contacts there. I guess it just sort of
happened."
"That's
sweet," Laelyn said, practically beaming. "I bet you two are
perfect together." Sirius shrugged, still grinning. "Hey, Sirius,
why don't you come to the wedding? Not as you, as Padfoot, of course. I'd
really like it if you could come."
Sirius
nodded. "I'd love to come. Just give me a second…"
Sirius began to change before her eyes, growing smaller and changing shape
until he'd morphed completely into a large black dog.
"The
nice thing about being a nymph," Laelyn side, putting a large leather
collar on the dog, "Is that we can carry on a conversation, even when
you're like this. Come on, let's go." The dog nodded
it's big black head followed Laelyn out of the room.
"You
know," said Laelyn as they walked down the hall, "I think Bill
would be OK with the whole Charlie thing. He's pretty cool about
that…" The dog barked in protest, and Laelyn laughed.
"I'll only tell him if I have your permission, don't
worry."
They
were so busy talking that they almost ran straight into Professor Dumbledore.
Laelyn gave her head a nod. "Good morning Professor."
The
old wizard held out his hands. "Child, you look wonderful. Are you
ready?" she nodded enthusiastically.
"I'm
really excited," she admitted. The professor smiled at her.
"Of
course you are, my dear." He looked down at the black dog with amusement.
"Ah, I see we have an extra wedding guest." He nodded courteously
at Sirius. "Well, I had best be going… Laelyn, Hermione was looking
for you. Gryffindor tower." Laelyn smiled at the professor.
"Thanks,
Professor Dumbledore. See you at the ceremony."
The bride and the dog head towards
Gryffindor Tower. The were about halfway there when they bumped into Hermione.
"Laelyn,
I've been looking for you everywhere! Hey Sirius." The girl whipped
a strand of hair out of her eyes. "We thought you'd decided to bolt
or something. Well, I guess it's all fine now."
Laelyn
nodded. "Are the girls all ready?"
Hermione
shrugged. "I think so. They'd better be, the ceremony's in
half an hour!"
"Goddess,"
whispered Laelyn. "I don't believe this… 'Mio, do I
look all right?"
"You
look perfect. And you're glowing." Laelyn rolled her eyes.
"You really love him, don't you Lae?"
The
older woman grinned sheepishly. "Yeah," she muttered. She placed
her hand over her stomach.
"Wonder
if it's going to be a boy or a girl," Hermione said pensively.
"Boy,"
Laelyn said, sounding rather unsure. She laughed. "Well, I wasn't
really positive about that, but now I guess we know for sure."
*****
Bill
stood nervously at the altar. Charlie, who stood beside him, patted his arm
reassuringly. Behind them stood the other Weasley boys. All six of them looked
rather serious. Bill looked up as he heard the rustle of people turning in
their seats to see the bride walking down the isle at her father's side.
He drew in a sharp breath at the sight of his future wife.
She's
painfully beautiful, He thought. Laelyn
was wearing a dress made of off-white silk, which flowed and puddle on the
ground around her feet like water. Her dark hair was caught up in a
complicated, twisted mound near the top of her head, and she carried a bouquet
of the very same roses that surrounded them now, in the garden. She looked up
at him, her eyes a bright, shining blue, and smiled. He felt a grin spread
across his face.
Laelyn's
father relinquished her arm with a quiet sigh. "Take care of her,
son," he whispered to Bill, who nodded as the older man took his seat.
Dumbledore
began the ceremony, which ran surprisingly smoothly. Halfway through,
Dumbledore asked for the rings to be handed over, and Charlie and Ginny gave
the wedding bands to the bride and groom, and the two began to exchange.
"Laelyn,"
Began Bill, "When I first met you two years ago, you were just a little
high school girl, and I was just a slacker who spent most of his day counting
other people's money. I remember the day we met: You were on a school
trip to Egypt. I remember following you all over Cairo just so I could get an
address, a name, anything. All my persistence finally paid off when, at the end
of the day, just when your bus was leaving, you leaned out the window and threw
a piece of paper at me. You yelled at me to write to you, and I immediately ran
back to my apartment and began to write I letter. I still have that piece of
paper with your name and school on it. I wrote you a letter every day for a
month, and you never wrote back. I was heartbroken, thinking you didn't
care, until one day you showed up on my doorstep. Since that very moment, I've
known that you're the only person in the world for me. You're my
best friend, my love, my life, and I promise to keep it that way, through this
life and the next."
There
were tears in Laelyn's eyes as she began her vows. "I've
never been the most beautiful girl. I've never been the smartest, or the
happiest, or the one who everyone loves. But when I'm with you, you make
me feel like all those things. I've never met anyone as wonderful as you.
I used to think when I was younger that I'd never find someone to love
me, and I spent seventeen years of my life waiting for that person to come
along, all the while wondering if it was worth the wait. And it was." She
squeezed his hand. "You're my world, Bill, and I'll always
love you, no matter what."
They
two exchanged rings, said their "I do"s, and at Dumbledore's
cue, kissed each other, a warm, loving kiss. The guests exploded in applause
and cheers, and swarms of people began rushing at the bride and groom after
they had walked back down the aisle.