Chapter 27: Cathy Writes a Chapter where Nothing Bad Happens to Meagan (Otherwise know as the Wedding)

 

      It was Christmas where Cate was in France, but everyone had forgotten, due to news of the upcoming wedding. There were gifts under the tree, all unopened. Dolere even had lightened up a slight bit, when Facere brought to everyone's attention that there were gifts indeed under the tree. It was very beautiful, the tree was bedecked with candles, and real snowflakes, and magical ornaments of the sort.

      Cate smiled at the small pile of gifts for her. It wasn't such a small pile, but she didn't really know what to expect. She was very patient in opening her gifts. Tearing the paper off neatly, and unwrapping seemed to bother everyone else, who was tearing through their gifts.

      " A broom?" Bellum said, looking at one of his gifts, bewildered. " I don't play Quidditch though."

     " I figured Cate would like someone to fly with, and that's not just any broom." Dolere said with a roll of her eyes. " It's a FireboltII, faster and more maneuverable than the regular. Just released."

      " Well then... Okay. Thank-you" Bellum said, giving it a curious look.

      Cate however was slightly more thrilled. She grinned when she unwrapped hers. " I was beginning to wonder if I was rusty on my Quidditch skills... I should keep them up... This is the latest, non? We'll take it for a test drive later..."

      There was of course a gift from Voldemort, which was very odd. It seemed to be a normal book, but it was not a normal book at all. There were people, who looked too real to be photographed, but they couldn't be real... They were in a book! All shouting various things, and looking as if making a desperate attempt to get out, though none worked. Cate chuckled.

      " What is this?" She asked.

       " Ah..." Voldemort said silkily. " People trapped in a book. They can't get out, they are there forever. You too can trap people, if need arises."

      " How... useful..." Cate grinned, putting the book aside, her ring catching the light and shining. It was a diamond ring, with pure wizard gold, which was very rare and hard to find. It changed things magically sometimes, and had an enhancement of powers. It read the wearer's mind and sometimes what he or she was thinking, happened.  This time it changed the Christmas tree to gold. The diamonds sparkled, and were there as an attention catcher. It was a beautiful ring.

     Right after they were done unwrapping gifts, Dolere took off for her room. She was closely examining her presents. She stared at the one from Cate. It seemed like an ordinary bottle, but it contained some sort of gold mist inside it. She pursed her lips, and opened it, wondering what would happen. It swirled around her, and she realized after a bit that it was spinning her too. Her blonde hair fanned out behind her, and then the mist threw her to the floor.

     " Damn!" was all Dolere had to say. She didn't look any different at all, but she felt different. She didn't have any new powers, but her old ones, basically all the painful curses she knew, were more powerful. She felt more intelligent as well. She knew more about the world... What had Cate conjured for this? Whatever it was.. it was great.

     The afternoon was spent planning the wedding. Everyone, including the exceptionally ugly Mors Vox and Voldemort went our to get clothes... Of course in a shopping community alot like Knockturn Alley, run by evil people, who wouldn't give word of where they were at, but would consider it more of an honor to plan this wedding.

     Cate dragged Dolere and Facere off to find a dress for herself, and bridesmaid dresses. First they picked out dresses for Facere and Dolere...

      " I'm not wearing light blue!" Facere said, lighting the hem of Doelre's robe on fire. " I hate that color! I can't see how you can stand it!"

      " Well, Like I want to wear red! It clashes horribly with my hair!" Dolere shot back. Facere writhed in pain, clutching her left arm.

       " And I look good in blue..."

       " I like Red better." Cate said. " Even though it doesn't go with the rest of the  wedding. But... I want it all to look nice. So... Therefore Ill pick the colors. Navy blue isn't bad. We'll wear that. Now can you pick the design of the dress without too much of an argument?"

       " Yes..." Dolere muttered. She still thought she had won, at least they were wearing blue of some sort. Even though she didn't think it would look too nice at the reception....

      She coudl agree, with Facere at least, on the design of the dress. It was a plain blue silk dress, sleeveless and rather tight at the chest, everything else fit loosely. Then they still had Cate's dress to decide upon, which was more fun.

      " Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.." Facere sighed with a smile to Dolere. " Where did your blonde friend go?"

      " Draco? He went back to Hoagwarts.. Or whatever they call that place in Britain. His parents want him to finish...." She said, watching Cate watch herself in the mirror.

     " Ahh.. I see."

     " What do you make of this dress?" Cate asked, drawing them back to reality. The dress was gorgeous, with a long train, and the way it gave off a sort of light. It had a way of bringing out the gold flecks in her eyes, it was bewitched in some way, to make her look even prettier than usual.

     " Lovely." Facere commented. " Nice effect on you, I must say, better than the last 23 dresses...."

     " I think... I think I like this one too. I'll take it..." Cate said a few minutes later, after thinking deeply about it.

      "Well then, i suppose we have to get the flowers, and the men get to choose the catering?"

      " Yes, shall we be off then?" Facere said, her eyes catching a glimpse of a sorch, and she took off in the opposite direction... Off to play with fire again...

 

     " Getting married, I always knew you were the one who dwelled on other things than evilness." Mors Vox said to Bellum, who was fiddling with a tuxedo.

     " Yup. But who says you can't have a career and have a wife too?"  Bellum answered, striking a pose in front of the mirror, and looking at himself from all angles.

     " But it's what you want-"

     " More than anything at all."

     "  At least you fell for someone bad. if you fell in love with a good girl..."

     " You can trust that never would happen. There really is none other I could possibly even think about other than Cate."

      " Well, good luck, son."

     " Thank you. You always were such a father figure, even though mine was gone..."

 

     It was a happy Christmas at Hogwarts too. News of Harry and Meagan's engagement sent everyone into happy hysterics. But there was one more package.. It arrived with a whoosh through the window...

     " Jermey!" Hermione cried, opening the box. Everyone stared.

     Jermey blinked. Her remembered the girl that opened the box. And if he called correctly, he liked her. He didn't know many of the people, but he gave a weak smile, and clambored out, happy to be alive still.

      " Cate..." Meagan muttered, shaking her head.

      She pulled off the attached note, and read it aloud. It was a short one. Merry Christmas... I thought you'd like this back. It said in Cate's neat writing. Meagan was stunned. Cate hadn't harmed Jermey in any visible way, though he seemed a little short on memory judging by the way he smiled at everyone without a clue. This was a first for Cate.

      "Merry Christmas?" Jeremy offered, scratching his head, while everyone crowded around him. A girl with red hair and soft brown eyes gave him a rather suspicious look. She was rather scary, and she was one of the ones he had never seen before. The boy next to her wasn't as frightening, in fact, he seemed like a rather likeable person, but they were obviously related. " I'm sorry- but I don't remember all of you." He said carefully.

      " I'm Ferre Satis." said the girl who had been giving him eerie looks. " This is my twin, Ridere, and this is our baby sister, Melior."

      " Well.. Erm.. I'm Jeremy." He wondered if she was always this bossy. Ridere mimicked her while she wasn't looking.

      Everyone else introduced themselves to him, and he suddenly remembered most of them, but was sure he had never seen Remus Lupin, or Lily and James Potter either, as well as the twins. But he could deal.. Just as long as he stayed away from Cate...

 

                                                                 ~*~

      Cate took in the fresh, chilly air with a deep breath as she closed her eyes. She was out on the Quidditch field. She had taken a more Muggle approach to her clothing today, and was dressed in red sweat pants, which writing across the butt. (It said Abercrombie) There was also the white tank top, which looked to be cold, but she was going to play Quidditch...

      " Interesting choice of apparel today..." said a voice from behind, and Cate was grabbed at the waist and held tightly. " Where did you come across this?"

      " Hello Bellum, decided to give Quidditch another try?" she replied, leaning in closer. " As for my clothes... Muggle. I had these left over from my professional days. Way in the bottom of my trunk, but none the less comfortable."

      " You're going to freeze dear..." Bellum said, rubbing Cate's arms. It was rather cold out.    

      " Nope." Cate said, with a smile, and she snapped her fingers. There was a considerable change in the temperature, it felt about like spring now. " Come on.. You can fly, can't you?"

      " Yes... Of course, but I'm not too great..." Bellum said, giving the broom a strange look, and mounting it.

     " Well... We'll just fly around then."

     " Show off. I wanna see what you can do." Bellum said to Cate slyly.

     " Was that a command?"

     " Yes."

     " Yes Sir!" Cate said, and she kicked off her tennis shoes.

    She treated the broom like it was a skateboard. Balance was easy, and she was very coordinated. She could stand the entire time, while moving at high speeds, and not as much waver. This was easy work. As far as Cate was concerned, there was nothing as easy As Quidditch. But it was also an art. It was quite timed, as Muggle music played in the background.

      " Are you going back to being American again."

      " Oh no... I just like practicing this way." Cate said, dropping a few feet, and sliding onto Bellum's broom.

      " Well, it's rather nice to watch. Only you...." He said, kissing her softly. They almost fell off the broom. " Okay... Back to the ground... I'm a little more stable there..."

       " Did you ever get that feeling, where you want to savor the moment forever? You know... When you love someone so much, you never want to leave them? That's' the feeling I have right now... I never want to leave."

       " I get that feeling every time I'm with you. Even thinking about you."

      " Aw.... You're so sweet!" She said, turning to kiss him.

       " Okay.. back inside..." Bellum said, with a shiver. The temperature was returning to normal. Cate gave a fluttering sigh and walked arm in arm with him back to the warm castle.

 

                                                             ~*~

     It was two days after Christmas now. The crowd at Hogwarts was really getting to enjoy their gifts. But Snape had a fair share of pranks played on him, and was more sinister than usual... Chasing people away, even if they were from Slytherin.

     The Invisibility shoes came in handy so much to Meagan, and were a necessary asset in confusing Snape. He never knew where to look, and if by chance he did look the right way, she wasn't solid, so he'd never be able to catch her. But what made it really funny was that he suspected Sirius... Who roamed the hallways with a satisfied grin on his face.

     Malfoy preferred to keep his distance after the reindeer incident. He didn't go near anyone that was near Meagan. But one day he decided to say something, he still had the hoof print, a few black eyes, and a sling.

     " If you'll excuse me..." He said walking past with a sneer. " I have a very important event to attend to... Far beyond the petty likes of you... I see no one here was invited? Shame..."

     " And you mean you're going out in public like that?" Meagan shot at him. " I mean, you looked bad before, but now it's just unbearable... Tut tut..."

     " Well, I have my connections. At least someone thought me important enough to be invited."

     " To what?" Harry asked. " What is it Malfoy?"

     " Yu don't even know... Pity..." he said, taking a step back from Harry. " Father's here to get me now... Have fun all alone..." He said with a false smile and a wave.

     " He's probably going home to open more presents..." Ron grumbled. " I wouldn't expect too much from him... Hey, where did Jeremy and Hermione go?"

     " Library..." Marykate grinned.

     " Ugh... I'm gonna explode soon." Lizzie said, sitting down on a seat in the Great Hall.

     " You still have a few months left..." Sirius smiled kindly.

     " Don't remind me..." She groaned.

     " Another little Black..." James smiled, shaking his head. " I sense trouble for poor Snape if he's still a Professor when the time comes for schooling. I take it he won't like your child any more than he likes you Sirius."

     " Good." Sirius laughed. " We'll have our baby trained up properly... Just as we were during school."

     " I'd rather not have our baby in detention every other day. Bringing home stuff of odd assortment..."

     " Well, I do feel sorry for you." Remus chimed in. " You'll have Sirius home too... What a strange life..."

     Sirius chucked a fork at his head, and Lupin rubbed his head and stuck his tongue out at Sirius playfully.

     " So what are you going to name it?" Ferre said, breaking the temporary silence.

     " Well... If it's a girl... The name will be Brynn."

     " I didn't choose the names..." Sirius muttered.

     " And if it's a boy..." Elizabeth went on, ignoring Sirius. " Bryce."

     " Matching names... I think I'd kill my parents." Sirius went on muttering. Elizabeth conked him on the head with a goblet and he shut up immediately.

     " Well, those are nice names." Ferre said. " At least you aren't called Ferre and Ridere... rhyming names for twins... and odd names at that... Ever even heard of anyone called Ferre?"

     " No."

     " She's giving a lecture now... Everyone put their fingers in their ears!" Ridere said, ducking so he wouldn't get hit.

     " Shut it you..."

 

       Cate closed her eyes before she looked in the mirror. She was wearing her wedding dress, and was preparing for the ceremony, which was in an hour. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and gazed at her reflection.

       Her hair was in soft curls, with gold brushed in about various spots, to match the flecks in her eyes. She looked much younger, like she had before she was evil. Innocent and sweet. At the moment, she was the perfect picture of all things good. No one would have ever known she was bad. She smiled, and brushed a few tears from her eyes.

     She was beautiful. The dress flattered her tiny figure nicely, and she almost wished she could stay this way forever. It was obvious though, her relation to Sirius and Elizabeth, she looked like a perfect combination of their good features. She had Sirius's eyes, and look pretty much more like her mother. But she still despised them, for not being there when she was little. But she really did know there was nothing they could have done.

      But no thoughts of them would ruin her wedding day. She trailed down the stairs slowly, wanting to make the day last forever. She glanced to the hall full of people. They were all waiting for the ceremony to start. There was a buzzing, which stopped immediately when the she arrived. Everything was silent.

     A wizarding wedding was more or less the same as a Muggle one. It was almost exactly the same, though some things were magically enhanced, such as the decorations, everything was beautiful. The hall, the people, everything. The ceremony had started, and she was walked up the aisle by Voldemort, who she considered her father. Bellum was there, and she waited until she was facing him, when she looked him in the eyes.

        " Beautiful." He whispered, leaning in.

        " Thank you." Cate whispered back.

        Bellum didn't look too bad himself, but he was constantly fidgeting with the collar of his shirt, under the tuxedo jacket. His deep brown eyes reflected only Cate, and they shone because of the lighting in the building. Their line of vision didn't stray from each other very often. Finally.... after what seemed like hours, especially to Draco Malfoy, whose arm was really starting to bug him... and that awful hoof print scar. People were giving him odd looks. He sank down in his seat, rather keen not to be spotted by everyone. Well, back to the topic, the "I do's" Were finally said.

     There was a dance as well. Not that Cate and Bellum bothered to stay for much of it. But it let Dolere talk to Malfoy...

     " What happened to you?" She said, taking a seat next to him.

     " Reindeer..." He muttered.

     " What?"

     " I was hit by Hagrid's ruddy reindeer. Don't ask..."

     " Okay then... I suppose I won't..."

     But in the back of Malfoy's head the song " Malfoy got Run over By a Reindeer" teased him... He couldn't shake it off...

 

      Then, for a week... Cate was off everyone's hands, for she was off enjoying her honeymoon, and was too busy to bother anyone with new of more murders, and terrible acts of the sort.