Marriage Licence

There was fire all around. Trees everywhere she looked. Claudia could hardly breathe as she run between the trees, for the smoke was burning in her lungs. She turned right, but her path was blocked by a hooded figure. Then left, but someone else had materialised in front of her.

They were ten feet away. Then five.

She raised her wand, and a flash of green light knocked them over with such force their hood slipped off their face.

Claudia did not even have to go and look to see who she had just killed. Fabian's pale face flashed right in front of her eyes.

She took a few steps back, tripped and fell, and kept falling and falling, until-

Claudia sat up. She was in bed. Her heart was pounding, and her breaths were shallow.

"Are you alright?" Sirius whispered sleepily, as he placed his hand on her lower back and gently rubbed it.

"Just a nightmare…" she replied and collapsed back into bed and squeezed her eyes shut. You did not kill Fabian, she kept repeating in her head. The Death Eaters did. Not you.

Claudia turned away from Sirius and drew her knees to her chest, as silent tears began to fall into her pillow. You did not kill Fabian, she repeated to herself again. But it was not working. Sirius was right last night. She did feel guilty about it.

She woke up just as the day began to break, having no memory of falling asleep in the first place. Sirius was already awake, staring intently at her face.

"I hope this is not about us getting married," he mumbled and brushed her cheeks with his thumb as if he was drying Claudia's tears. He must have known she had been crying, even if her tears have long dried up.

Claudia did not want to dwell on the real reason she was upset. She wanted to recapture a little of that happiness she felt last night. "How much fire-whiskey was in that tea we drank?" she whispered with a somewhat forced chuckle.

"Having second thoughts?"

"I don't think so. Are you?"

Sirius shuffled even closer to his now fiancée and sunk his fingers into her hair. "I'm not."

Claudia took a deep breath. She felt calm again, anchored. "So, where is my ring, then?"

"I don't have one."

"Marrying a Black." She laughed, this time genuinely, and shook her head. "I thought I'd at least get some expensive jewellery out of it."

"I have an idea. You'll like it." Sirius rummaged through Claudia's hair, his lips inching even closer to hers. They kissed. It was the sort of kiss that always led to something more. "Future Mrs Black…" he whispered and almost instantly froze. "You can't be Mrs Black… Gives me the creeps."

"I'm keeping my name."

"Thanks fuck for that," he sighed and kissed her again. One of his hands travelled down along her spine. His touch would usually send her trembling, make her feel good, loved.

But this time, it felt award. Almost uncomfortable…

"Sirius," she whispered and pulled away. "I'm not ready. I don't feel like, I can't-"

He smiled. "I get it," he said, gently brushing Claudia's hair out of her face. "I'll make you breakfast –" Then, he planted one more kiss on her forehead before disappearing into the kitchen.

Eventually, she made it out of bed to join him. "Coffee…"

Sirius, who was mixing some eggs in a pan, smirked, picked up a mug with his free hand and passed it over to Claudia.

She leaned against the counter and watched him for a moment. "Should we tell people? About the-" she paused and sipped her coffee. "the getting married thing."

"Probably."

"I might tell Alice today, going to see her for lunch."

"I'll tell James."

Claudia sighed. "And he'll tell Lily, and we'll have seven wedding planners on our doorstep by the time I get back tonight."

"If we only get seven, I'd consider us lucky…"

She chuckled. "James is going to pay you back for that best man speech, you know?"

"Maybe I need to reconsider…" Sirius laughed. "He knows too many embarrassing secrets."

For a moment, Claudia was silent, considering whether to approach this subject. But she did. "Remus?"

Something flashed in Sirius' eyes, but it was neither amusement, nor warmth. Claudia knew him too well to miss it was pure anger.

She took a deep breath before speaking again. "I thought you changed your mind. That you didn't think it was him."

"Gideon must have told him about that mission. Who else could've done it?"

"He would not send Gideon-" she paused and scratched her neck, "-to his death. I think he really cared for him."

Sirius shrugged. "They clearly knew you were coming. Who do you think told them? Fabian? Gideon? Peter? You?"

"I don't know…" She began and then froze and frowned when it finally clicked what Sirius had just said. "Me? That's a dumb joke, right?" she hissed, genuinely annoyed at him.

"Sorry…"

They did not talk much for the rest of breakfast. Claudia knew there was no point talking to Sirius about any of this. Nothing was going to change his mind. And she figured he thought she was probably being naïve, clutching at the last straw that one of their best friends was not betraying them.

She hoped that the visit to Alice's place would provide a much-needed respite. Once Claudia was there, sitting on the floor and helping her godson learn how to walk, she hoped she could forget most of her woes, at least for a moment. But today, Alice would not let her.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

Claudia opened her mouth to say she was fine, but Alice cut her off.

"And don't say you are fine… I can tell you're not."

Claudia smirked. "I was not going to. In fact-" she took a deep breath. "I don't feel right. I get nightmares. I get tired."

"And Sirius is being good to you?"

"He's great," she sighed. "But it's been hard on him."

"Bit of an understatement."

"Yeah…"

"There was an Order meeting while you were missing. He yelled at Dumbledore for not doing anything, even smashed some chairs."

But before Claudia could reply to say that the Order's furniture was not the only one in pieces, Neville crashed into her lap laughing. She gave him a cuddle and kissed the top of his head. Then, she looked up at Alice, who looked like she had tears in her eyes. "I have to tell you something," Claudia said with a little smile. "We decided to get married."

"We?" Alice gasped. "You and Sirius?"

"Who else?"

"You are pregnant!" Alice exclaimed and jumped to her feet.

Claudia could not help but laugh. "I am not pregnant!"

"And you're still getting married?" A small frown appeared on Alice's face.

"Yes!" Claudia replied, almost defensively.

"Why?"

"Just seemed like a good idea. I thought you'd be more excited."

Alice dropped back into her armchair. "You two are never going to go through with it," she chuckled. But seeing the somewhat angry expression on her best friend's face, she continued. "Don't get me wrong. I've never met two people who love each other as much as you two do. But getting married? No. You're going to bail!"

"Maybe," Claudia shrugs. "But it does feel right, you know. Some good news for a change. And I do love him."

"I know you do."

But that was all the grown-up conversation they got to have that day. Neville broke down in tears for no apparent reason and had to go for a nap. At least it gave Claudia a chance to finally check her notebook.

"I'm at James' and Lily's. You need to come right now and help me. She's not letting me leave until she plans this whole wedding."

Claudia chuckled, waited for Alice to settle Neville down and said her goodbyes.

"Don't be mad. I'm excited for you," Alice whispered as she released her best friend from a hug. "It's just-"

"Just what?" Claudia asked perhaps a little sharper than she intended to.

"You wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't for the war. And I'm not saying you shouldn't do it, but… How bad has it really gotten, that it drove you and Sirius to marriage?"

Claudia sighed. "I know. From all the dumb things we could have done…"

"Definitely not the worst option," Alice said with a laugh and drew Claudia into another hug.

"I need to go save him from Lily," Claudia said, stepped into the fireplace, and within a few seconds materialised in James' and Lily's sitting room.

"I'm so excited for you both!" Lily squealed and grabbed Claudia in her arms.

When she finally let go, it was James' turn. "I'm just glad you're alive," he whispered.

"So am I," Claudia chuckled and glanced towards the middle of the room, where Sirius was sitting on the floor, building a tower out of blocks with Harry. But before she could add anything, or say greet him, Lily led her towards a sofa and sat her down.

"So, when are you doing it?" she asked, excitedly.

"We have literally just decided to do it…"

Lily grabbed Claudia's hand. "Where's the ring?"

"Ask him…" Claudia gestured towards Sirius, who stood up, picked up his godson and made his way over.

"I didn't exactly plan it," he said as he sat down and let Harry crawl across Claudia's lap towards his mother. Then, he glanced at his watch. "I have a Wizengamot meeting." He leaned in towards his girlfriend's ear. "Are you going to be alright? I don't have to go."

"I'll be alright. I'll stay here for a while longer and then go home to sleep – I'm knackered."

Sirius gave Claudia a brief kiss and left for the Ministry. And after James took Harry upstairs for his nap, Lily took out her old bridal magazines. Just the look of them made Claudia squirm.

"Any idea what you'd actually want to wear?" Lily asked after they flicked through half a magazine.

"Nothing long, or with big sleeves, or ruffles, or lace..."

Lily sighed and turned the page over. "What about this one?"

Claudia surveyed the pale blue knee-length dress. It had long sleeves and crystal embroidery around the neckline and on the cuffs. "Too shiny."

"You're impossible…"

"We don't have to do this at all," Claudia protested. "I don't care what I wear."

But Lily was not listening. "Found it!" she exclaimed, pointing manically at a white mini dress with two rows of black buttons at the front and a thin belt.

"That's cute," Claudia mumbled to her own surprise.

"Wait here." Lily run up the stairs and was back before Claudia managed to fully understand what was happening. "I have a similar dress." Lily threw a piece of fabric at Claudia. "Try it on, with-" she run into the corridor. "These shoes."

Claudia realised there was no point arguing and threw on the dress.

"Jesus," Lily said with an eye roll. "Take off your jeans, otherwise you'll look like a scarecrow. And put on those shoes." After Claudia obliged, Lily looked at the picture in the magazine, closed her eyes and waved her wand. In an instant, the dress has changed to mirror what was in the magazine. Lily shrieked and began to clap. "You look so pretty."

Still sceptical, Claudia let Lily push her towards a mirror in the hallway. But the moment she saw herself, her face melted into a smile.

"You like it!" Lily said with a chuckle.

"I don't hate it," Claudia said but turned around slightly. The dress was perfect from every angle.

The fact that Claudia had agreed to wear something white seemed to have calmed down Lily enough to let her friend go home. And not a minute too late, for Claudia collapsed into bed the moment she got home and was asleep in minutes.

The following morning, Sirius only woke up when Claudia was pulling on her socks. "Do I dare ask where you're going?" he mumbled sleepily when he noticed she was wearing one of her smarter shirts."

"I have to go in today."

"Is there any point of me trying to talk you out of it?"

"No."

Sirius sighed and crawled out of bed. "I'll make coffee…" he whispered and disappeared.

Once Claudia finished dressing, she joined her boyfriend in the kitchen. "How was the Wizengamot?"

"Pointless as usual," he shrugged as they both sat down at their little dining table. "Those clowns can't agree on anything. It's just endless round of voting on the most stupid issues." He brought his mug to his lips and took a long sip. "And I've managed to piss off Dumbledore."

"How?"

"Voted against his motion to waste time talking to the International Confederation of Wizards."

"I'm sure that's exactly how Dumbledore phrased it…" she said sarcastically, but Sirius was not really listening.

"I'm sick of him treating me like a child, and just expecting me to agree with him all the time. I have my own brain!"

"That you definitely do," she whispered.

"Don't you patronise me too!" he hissed.

She leaned in and uttered. "It was a compliment. It's the reason I love you." She kissed him. "But I really need to go now."

But before she could fully get up, Sirius grabbed her wrist. "Claude," he said in a tone that suggested this was no joking matter. "Be careful. And don't do anything stupid."

Claudia took a deep breath. "I promise."

She was a little nervous, walking through the Ministry corridors. How much work must she have missed while she was gone? How many new people suddenly appeared to take her place as one of Moody's trusted lieutenants? But the moment she got to the office, it was clear her fears were unfounded. She did not even had time to put her bag down before Ewan was clutching her in his arms. When he finally released her, Claudia would swear that he had tears in his eyes. "I'm so glad you're alright," he mumbled.

"Did you miss me?"

"We all missed you. It's chaos around here. I can count the people I trust on one hand."

But Claudia could barely manage a fleeting smile before her eyes landed on Oscar, who was standing nearby. She reached for his hand. "I'm so sorry about Fabian."

"I'm already on the trail of the bastard who did it."

Claudia opened her mouth, but Oscar cut her off-

"We can do it together."

She smiled and gave him a hug. "You know me too well." But just as those words left Claudia's lips, she heard a familiar sound of Moody's wooden leg tapping on the hard floor of the Auror Office.

She turned to face him, but his expression was unreadable.

The inspector nodded towards his office and Claudia followed him. They stood awkwardly in silence for a while, until Moody finally summoned enough courage to speak. "You know I'm not one to get too emotional," he mumbled.

"I know."

His magical eye was fixed on Claudia in a way that was nearly uncomfortable.

"You don't have to say-" she whispered.

"I need to say this," he sighed and averted his gaze. "I can't lose another one of you. Aiden may have been my son, but you're all just as-" Moody cleared his throat. "Just as- you know what I mean."

"I know, boss." Claudia overcame the urge to go give Moody a hug. There was only as much awkwardness as she could handle. "I've got some news from the Department of Mysteries."

Looking somewhat relieved the emotional part of the conversation was over, Moody leaned against his desk. "Please tell me we've got him."

"Not quite. But the memories show use of the Imperious Curse. And the fact that someone used it to make the official pass on the itinerary and security documents to the assailants."

"It's a start."

"I will keep digging."

"You should also go and see Mulciber again."

Claudia nodded. She spent the rest of the day, and the next two days working on the memories and a solid excuse to go see Mulciber again. She also spent a fair bit of time lurking around the cafeteria and Ministry's corridors to get a sense of what was going on.

There were rumours flying around about dozens of people being under the Imperius Curse, unsolved cases were piling up, and there were even whispers about inspectors being ordered to destroy anything that could fall into the wrong hands.

By the end of the week, it was time for Claudia to try her luck in Azkaban again. It was now a well-rehearsed routine for her. Get down to the secure portkey room, get searched and handover all her permissions.

When she was finally asked to hand over her wand, she as much as threw it on the counter. It still took her a couple tries to do anything, so much so, she did not feel like going back to the field. But she would not give Ollivander the satisfaction of returning it. No wand was ever going to win a battle of the wills with Claudia Avery.

Walking through Azkaban's corridors, even under the protection of the guard's patronus charm, felt a little worse than last time. The dementors were clearly keen to see Claudia again, being able to feast on her memories of Fabian's death and Bellatrix's torture. On a few occasions, she had to grab onto one of the slimy walls to steady herself and to keep her consciousness. Eventually, however, she made it to the interrogation room and the voices in her head disappeared.

When the guards brought Mulciber to her, he looked like he aged twenty years. His hair and skin were both pale grey, and there was nothing in his eyes. If he was not moving, Claudia would swear he was a corpse.

"Do you remember me?" Claudia began.

Mulciber nodded. "I know why you're here. Buttons. Tonks."

"I know you weren't behind it. If only you were able to tell me who was…"

"I remember now," Mulciber whispered. "It was him, Marcus' father. He told me to do it. I remember I was in his house. He has this secret room by his study…" Without warning, Mulciber's face had twisted in a grimace, and he pressed both his hands against his temples.

But Claudia barely noticed the prisoner's pain. She ran to the door and yelled at the guard to get her parchment and a quill. Within seconds, he obliged.

"Keep talking," she mumbled at Mulciber when she sat back down at the table and began to write down his testimony.

"They made me. I can't remember- I can't-"

"There," Claudia exclaimed triumphantly and pushed the parchment in front of Mulciber.

He stared at it blankly for a while. "What is this?"

"Your testimony. I just wrote down the things you told me. You sign it here, and my father gets to rot here instead of you."

Mulciber blinked twice. "Who are you?"

Claudia closed her eyes and sighed. So close, yet so far… "I'm with the Auror Office. You have just told me some things and I wrote them down. Now, I'm asking you to sign this."

"I don't- I don't remember…"

Claudia could feel the rage building up inside her chest. "You have just told me-"

But her sentence got drowned by loud bangs on the door. "Time's up!" yelled the guard. "They want the prisoner back."

She stood up, shoved the useless piece of parchment into her pocket and run out of the cell towards the portkey. She did not care she did not have the protection of the guard's patronus. The voices in her head, and the prisoners' shrieks were almost a welcomed relief from the fact she failed to get a proof against her father. Again.

Claudia barely made it towards the portkey, and when she got back to the Ministry, she collapsed to the floor right outside of the portkey room.

Her whole body was shaking.

She wanted to vomit.

And her own screams from when Bellatrix had her under the Cruciatus Curse were still ringing in her ears.

She sat on the floor for a good hour, before she summoned enough strength to get up and drag herself back to her office.

"You look like death warmed up," Moody said with a surprising amount of care in his voice when Claudia stumbled into his office and collapsed onto the couch.

"Do you have chocolate?"

Moody reached into his desk and threw a couple of chocolate frogs her way. "How was Mulciber?"

"Well, the good news is that the Dementors are slowly taking away the memory charm that made him forget who was really behind the murders." She opened a chocolate frog and shoved it into her mouth. "The bad news is that they're turning his brain into mush." She took out the piece of parchment and passed it to Moody. "He told me all this, but forgot everything before he signed it."

Moody stared at the paper for a while. "I know it's not a formal testimony, but it's the first solid intel we have about what happened. We should tell the others."

"When?"

"When Adebayo is back from an assignment. Should be day after tomorrow."

"Alright-"

But before either of them could say any more, the door flung open, and Sirius' enraged face appeared on the threshold. "Where have you been?" he barked.

"I told you I was working!" Claudia stood up but had to steady herself on the top of the couch. Her legs were still weak.

"But-" He started jabbing his left forearm. "You could've warned me you were going to Azkaban!"

Claudia shot Sirius a warning look. No one else knew about the tattoos and she had no particular desire to explain them to Moody, who was presumably watching them argue with interest.

"I was imagining million different things-" Sirius continued to yell.

Claudia took a few steps towards him and tugged on his arm. "Not here."

"Where?"

"Home."

They walked through the Ministry entirely in silence before apparating home. The moment they landed on their feet, Claudia began to run up the stairs.

"Wait!" Sirius yelled after her, but she did not turn back.

When she got the top of the stairs, she froze. There was a large package laying across their doormat. Before she had time to crouch down and examine it, Sirius push her to the side and started to perform enchantments on it.

Claudia crossed her arms against her chest. "Are you quite finished?"

"No. It says it's from some muggle clothing store. I don't recognise it."

Claudia's suspicions about what it was were confirmed. "Leave it alone. I know what it is. Lily ordered it."

"What is it?"

"My wedding dress…" Claudia snatched the package from under Sirius' nose and nearly broke the door down trying to get in. She marched into the bedroom and opened Sirius' bedside table?

"What are you doing?"

"Looking for the mirror to thank her."

"We were talking!"

"Your overprotectiveness will just have to wait," she hissed, dropped down on the bed and lifted the mirror in front of her face. "Lily! Are you there?" And within a few seconds, Lily appeared.

"Did it arrive?" Lily beamed.

Claudia forced a smile and nodded. "Thank you so much. It makes it all feel a little bit more real."

"Do you have a date yet?" Lily asked.

Claudia looked at Sirius, who hesitated for a moment before sitting down next to her. "Not yet," he glanced at his girlfriend. "We thought we'd play it by ear."

But Lily did not let them off the hook. "You had requested a marriage licence, right?"

"A what?" they both replied, nearly in unison.

Lily rolled her eyes. "You need to go to the Ministry to request a marriage licence, once you get that you need to wait a month before you can get married."

"Did you know this?" Sirius whispered, just quietly enough that Claudia knew the remark was aimed at her. She did not know that, so she shook her head.

Lily's lips have noticeably narrowed to the point she resembled Professor McGonagall again. "Have you done any planning?"

"Not really," Claudia shrugged.

"I'm going to do it for you," Lily sighed. "But I need you two to go get that marriage licence! Now!" Lily head turned away from the mirror. "Harry's awake. I have to go." And she disappeared from the mirror as fast as she came.

After a few seconds on awkward silence, Sirius was the first to have the courage to speak. "Good grief, she's bossy…"

"Is that news to you?"

"I suppose not."

More silence ensued. Until Claudia could no longer take it. "We don't have to do it, if you changed your mind. I'm sure Lily can still return the dress."

Sirius sighed. "That's not why I got mad… I got mad about the Azkaban thing because I was scared." He reached for Claudia's hand. "Because I love you. Because I do want to marry you, you st-" he trailed off.

"Choose your next word very carefully…" she hissed. But she knew at that point she could not stay mad at him for long. She knew she should have told him.

"I love you."

Claudia sighed and most of the tension that accumulated in her body had disappeared. "I love you too." She paused and brushed her fingers against Sirius' chest.

He pushed her into the covers and kissed her with such force it took Claudia by surprise. She got used to his gentle kisses and strokes since her captivity, and this felt different. She found herself wanting more for the first time in weeks. All her doubts and inhibitions were gone, and she slid her hands under Sirius' t-shirt and began to pull it off.

Sirius groaned and stopped her.

"What's wrong?" Claudia whispered.

"I have to go on a mission…"

"When?"

He glanced at his watch. "Half an hour ago." He sat up but continued to look at Claudia in a way that made it clear he would pay good money to be able to stay. "But why don't I come to your office tomorrow afternoon. We can go get that marriage licence."

"As long as you promise not to make me look like an idiot in front of my boss again."

Sirius grudgingly agreed and disappeared, leaving Claudia to warm up some leftovers for herself and slowly stagger to bed. It may have only been seven o'clock, but after the exertion of going to Azkaban, it felt like midnight.

When Claudia woke up in the middle of the night, with her heart pounding, it was not because of a war nightmare, or the aftermath of her Azkaban visit. It was because she dreamt about Sirius taking off her clothes one by one, and making her beg for more. It made a nice change.

After a cold shower and a strong cup of coffee or two, she made it to the office again.

But before she managed to sit down, Oscar dragged her into the corridor by her elbow. "Come with me," he mumbled. "There is a surprise waiting for us in the holding cells." But he would not tell her what the surprise was, until she saw the detainee with her own eyes-

"Dolohov," she mumbled.

Oscar joined the aurors who brought Dolohov in for the interrogation, while Claudia was left to watch from the adjacent room again. She did not even have the heart to protest. She stood there, frozen and fixated on Dolohov's face. It was undoubtedly him. Claudia would always remember the face of the man who nearly strangled her against that disgusting wall in the cellar. She would always remember the face of a man who told her he killed Fabian in cold blood.

Before she even realised, her wand was pointing at the window and Dolohov's memories were flashing in front of Claudia's eyes. Skulking through Knockturn Alley, getting the dark mark, shooting a green jet of light at Fabian…

Overwhelmed, Claudia dropped her wand. Her eyes were full of tears and her chest full of rage. But she did not break down. Instead, she noticed her wand pulsating in her hand, making her feel like she should be doing more. Like she should be taking revenge. Was it possible the wand was egging her on? Or was it all in her head?

Then, the urge came on stronger. An unexplainable urge to smash the window and cast the Cruciatus Curse again and again, until Dolohov was begging for mercy. She did not understand how, but she could feel her wand wanted her to do it. It was rising on its own and taking Claudia's hand with it.

"I'm in charge here, you fucker," Claudia mumbled and forcefully lowered her wand. Dolohov was heading to Azkaban, and that was enough of a punishment. Besides, if she did what her wand wanted her to do, she would undoubtedly be joining him on that journey.

Then, out of nowhere, Claudia felt like her legs were giving up and collapsed to the floor.

Her hands were shaking, and her body was covered in chills.

She cursed. Even trying to control her own wand made her exhausted. She turned over the wand in her hand, fully prepared to throw it into the nearest bin. But as she played with it, the wand felt different. Like it was nearly purring in her hands.

Claudia closed her eyes, thought of waking up in Sirius' arms and cast a patronus charm. From the top of her wand shot out the biggest, most well-defined patronus she had ever managed.

There was only one explanation.

The wand was finally subdued. It finally accepted Claudia as its master.

The patronus, combined with lunch and the news Dolohov was on his way to Azkaban, made Claudia recover and at around four o'clock, Sirius came knocking on the door.

"Where are you going?" Ewan asked, as Claudia was about to step out.

"None of your business," she smirked and run off before any more probing questions were thrown her way. She loved her colleagues dearly, but marriage was not a subject she wanted to discuss with them.

The Registrar Office – where they were supposed to get their marriage licence - was not far. It boasted a spacious waiting room, which seemed a lot nicer than many of the rooms Claudia witnessed around the Ministry.

"Wait there," the receptionist said, pointing in the corner.

As Claudia sat down at her designated seat, she noticed a dusty bookshelf in the corner of the room with rather yellow-looking pamphlets. She wondered over and picked a few.

When she got back to her seat, she glanced at the first pamphlet: 'TIPS FOR A GOOD MARRIAGE'.

"We should read this," Sirius chuckled and rested his chin on Claudia's shoulder to read with her. "It promises essential advice for a young witch wife."

And the inside of the booklet did not disappoint.

'Make your husband comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.'

Claudia scoffed when she read that. "Is my voice soothing and pleasant enough for you?"

"No comment."

But Claudia did not even register the slightly facetious response. "What the fuck is this?" she hissed and jabbed her finger at the next paragraph.

'Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgement or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.'

Sirius was struggling not to laugh, but Claudia was far from amused.

"Apparently I should not be questioning you, or your action," she barked.

"Quite right… Especially if you're correct. It's very annoying when I'm wrong and you point it out."

"A good wife always knows her place!" Claudia read the last line out loud. "When the fuck was this printed?" She turned over the booklet the see on the back of it. It read, 'printed on the order of the Ministry of Magic in nineteen-fifty-two'. "That explains a lot," she mumbled. "Why are they still giving this crap out?"

Sirius was cackling next to her, grabbing another leaflet. "This one is about marital intimacy. It's absolute gold." He leaned towards Claudia and began to read. "Once married, you will likely engage in marital intimacy. The Ministry understands that this can be quite daunting." Sirius could barely read he was laughing hysterically. "We have, therefore, prepared this booklet to help young couples navigate-" He could not even finish the sentence. "I can't actually… Apparently we are to have sex often to produce a lot of lovely wizard children."

"Very, very pureblood children."

Sirius turned the pamphlet in his hands. "It doesn't have sketches. How are we to know we're doing it right?"

"I think we know," Claudia whispered in his ear, at which point both of them succumbed to another fit of giggles.

From the corner of her eye, Claudia saw the receptionist get up and walk over to them. Without a word, she snatched the pamphlets out of their hands. "Enough. This is a special moment for some people here."

"Sorry," Claudia mumbled.

"Not as special as that daunting wedding night you are warning us about," Sirius added with a completely straight face.

"That's it!" the receptionist snapped. "Get out of here, both of you."

"But we have an appointment!" Claudia protested. "And I work at the Ministry, so you can't technically throw us out."

"Whatever," the receptionist said. "Told them to get rid of these ridiculous leaflets years ago…" she mumbled as she walked back to her desk.

Claudia surveyed the room. People were looking at bridal magazines, much like the ones she saw at Lily's, whispering about flower arrangements, china patterns. One couple was arguing about whether a great-aunt should come to the wedding. It was all so unspeakably awful.

"Sirius," Claudia whispered. "I- This is- Too much."

"I can't do this either."

Claudia exhaled. "Thank you."

"Bail?"

"Please!"

Sirius grabbed Claudia's hand and they run out of there like the room was on fire.

"What the fuck were we thinking?" Claudia said, when she stopped running couple corners away from the Registrar Office. She was panting and had to lean against a wall not to fall over.

"This is not for us."

"Lily's going to kills us," Claudia sighed. "And worse than that, Alice was right! She knew were never going to go through with it."

"They'll cope," Sirius whispered into Claudia's ear and kissed her neck. "But maybe we could at least practice the wedding night. To see what all the fuss is about."

"Not here!" Claudia giggled.

"Why not? I'm sure we can find a storage cupboard somewhere," Sirius mumbled.

Claudia was not entirely sure whether he was kidding or not. "The last time we did it in a cupboard," she whispered and kissed him. "I got my one and only detention…"

"Prude."

"Let's get home," she said with a laugh. "I'll show you what sort of prude I am."

Hand-in-hand, they run towards the atrium. But when they turned another corner, someone unexpected was striding in their direction-

Frederick Avery.

"Say nothing that could ruin the case," Claudia hastily hissed at Sirius. "Actually, say nothing at all-"

"You aren't supposed to question my actions," Sirius smirked.

"Not the fucking time-" she trailed off as Frederick was now only a few years away.

Claudia's father's eyes travelled between his daughter and Sirius for a few seconds and then he scoffed. "Enjoy yourselves while you can." He took a step closer to his daughter. "Soon, it will all be over. Very, very soon."

Claudia bit her lip so hard she made it bleed. Sirius was clutching her hand with such force he almost broke her fingers.

But she looked at her father with all the defiance she could muster. "Then, why did you let me escape? Eh? You could have had me killed."

Frederick smirked but remained silent.

So, Claudia continued. "I know it wasn't because you care!"

"I don't have to explain myself to you," he barked. Claudia could tell he was getting angry. That was good, she preferred it. Anger made him loose composure and make mistakes. "You've been a nothing but a thorn in my side since you were born."

"That's the nicest thing you ever said to me," she said in an attempt to make him lash out. And it worked.

Hatred crossed Frederick's face, and he drew his wand.

In a flash, Sirius stepped in front of Claudia and squared off to Frederick. "Try anything and I'll kill you with my bare hands."

Frederick grabbed Sirius by the collar and whispered something in his ear. Then, he let go of Sirius, and left both him and Claudia rooted in the hallway, speechless.

"What did he say to you?" Claudia whispered after a good few seconds.

It took Sirius a while to respond. He was pale. "Baseless threats. Nothing you have not heard before," he mumbled before putting his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders. "Let's get out of here…"