Note from Nikki: Thanks to those of you who reviewed! I'm afraid that I've run out of time to do reviewer notes, so thanks with all of my heart to those of you who did! I hope you all (I mean, the whole two of you) enjoy this chapter!

--

Dorcas walked happily out of her home the next morning. The sun streaked brilliantly across a cloudless sky and birds chirped merrily in the nearby forest. The beauty of nature was reflecting the emotions that Dorcas was feeling inside. She felt light and happy, as if everything in the world was going to be okay because she was going to marry the man she loved.

She thought this as she knocked on James and Lily's door, humming to herself.

"Someone's in good spirits," Lily said as she opened the door. Her red hair was pulled tightly back and her robes were stretched over her stomach. Dorcas feared the thin fabric would tear, judging from how tightly it was pulled across her protruding abdomen.

"How's the pregnancy going?" Dorcas asked, stepping into the cozy house. James and Sirius were sitting on the couch, talking animatedly.

Lily groaned, shutting the door. "Horrible. You have no idea how annoying it is to have these awful cravings."

Dorcas didn't pay attention to this, she was too busy glaring at Sirius. She hadn't forgotten the way he'd acted last night.

Sirius seemed to notice because he stood up uneasily, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I'm sorry Dorcas."

"You should be," Dorcas seethed.

"I am. I was wrong to accuse people. This whole spy thing has made me jumpy is all."

"That doesn't give you any reason to accuse your friends."

Sirius opened his mouth and was about to say something but seemed to change his mind midway. He closed it before replying, "You're right. I know. Please forgive me." He flashed her one of his heart melting characteristic smiles and Dorcas could already feel her anger begin to ebb away. She couldn't stay mad today, even at Sirius.

"Well I forgive you. Just don't do it again, alright?"

Sirius grinned. "Alright."

James shifted from his seat and winked at Lily who was smiling fondly at the two of them. "So what brings you here at this time Dorcas?"

Dorcas grinned, her heart beginning to do a drum roll across her chest. "I have to tell you something," she said warmly.

"If it has anything to do with breakfast, I'm all for it," Sirius said excitedly.

"No," Dorcas replied. She had suddenly thought of something. How was Sirius going to react to the news of her engagement?

"Well, what is it then?" James asked, leaning back boredly.

Dorcas took a deep breath. "I'm getting married."

Lily shrieked and sat down abruptly, covering her mouth with her hand. James fell off the side of the couch (as he was prone to do when learning shocking news) and Sirius simply stared at her numbly.

Lily was the first to recover. She dashed over and attempted to hug Dorcas but her stomach was so large that it got in the way. Dorcas ended up gasping for breath as Lily congratulated her. "Oh this is wonderful! Gideon is such a great man, you'll be so happy together."

James was smiling and he made his way over to her, hugging her tightly. He didn't have half as much trouble as Lily had. "When are you planning to have the wedding?"

"Next week."

Lily raised her eyebrows excitedly. "You waste no time, do you?" she asked.

Dorcas laughed. "No, I guess not."

Lily squealed and grabbed her arm. "I know the perfect place to search for your wedding dress!"

Dorcas smiled but turned to look at Sirius who was sitting mutely on the couch still. "Sirius?" she asked uncertainly.

Sirius stood up, not smiling. "Congratulations," he offered. He pushed passed her and left the house without saying anything else.

Dorcas' shoulders slumped sadly. "I don't understand. . ."

Lily was frowning. "It's obvious, isn't it? He's still in love with you, isn't he James?"

James shrugged and began backing away slowly, as if bracing for an explosion. "I don't want to get in the middle of this." He gave Dorcas a winning smile and two thumbs up before dashing away from the house.

"I don't understand. The reason Sirius and I broke up was that neither of us were calm enough to settle down. I've changed and Sirius hasn't, why is that bothering him so much?"

"He'll get over it," Lily said nonchalantly. "What we need to worry about is where we're going to get your cake, who to invite, where to have it. . ."

"Will you be my Maid of Honor, Lily?" Dorcas asked suddenly.

Lily laughed. "Of course I will! Now come on, we've got some planning to do."

--

Gideon paced back and forth before his house, scared to go in. He loved his brother. Fabian was all that he had left in the world and it was killing him that they were still on bad terms. They'd hardly spoken to one another since that night they'd had the argument.

"What are you doing here?" a voice asked from the front door.

Gideon looked up into his brother's face, forcing a smile. "Hi Fabian."

"What do you want?" Fabian asked.

Gideon sighed. "I want to stop this."

"Oh, so you'll stop consorting with the enemy?"

"Dorcas is not the enemy Fabian," Gideon replied wearily. "I wish you could see that."

"She's a Death Eater."

"My future wife is not a true Death Eater."

Fabian's face went from an angry red to a pale white. "Your what?"

"We're getting married Fabe. I proposed last night and she accepted."

Fabian shook his head and turned around to go back inside. "I love her! Can't you see that?" Gideon shouted. "I want you there Fabian. I want you to be my best man. I want you to support me like a brother supports a brother."

Fabian turned back to him, his eyes filled with rage. "How can I support you when you support a member of the ruthless group that killed our family?"

Gideon mouthed wordlessly after him as Fabian Disapparated. He yelled loudly and Disapparated too, heading back to the Order.

--

The next couple of days went by in a haze to Dorcas. It was so much work planning for a wedding, a lot more than she liked. To top things off, Voldemort had striked again. Edgar Bones and his family had been killed during the night. Dorcas had been one of the first on the scene and she had fell into a deep well of depression again.

They held a funeral for the family a few days after their deaths and Dorcas had wanted to call off the wedding. Lily, however, had other plans. She had completely insisted that Dorcas go through with the wedding, that Edgar wouldn't have wanted the Order to put their lives on hold. It was a sacrifice that he knew was coming. Every member knew what being a part of the Order meant.

And so Dorcas could be found twirling around a small store on Thursday afternoon, rain drizzling outside the glass window.

"Lily," she groaned. "I don't want to try on another dress."

Lily glared at her sternly. "Do you want your butt to look huge on your wedding day?"

"My butt looks huge?" Dorcas shrieked, spinning around and looking at her rear end in the tall, three way mirror.

"It's enormous in that dress, go try on another one."

Dorcas scowled as she trudged back into the dressing rooms. "You don't have to be so blunt about it oh grumpy pregnant woman."

Dorcas slipped on another dress and knew that she liked this one the best, even before she stepped out of the dressing room. It was long and the back trailed behind her like a princess she had read about in a book. The dress made her feel beautiful.

Lily's jaw dropped when Dorcas stepped out of the room. "That's it!"

Dorcas smiled. "I think so. I like it."

"Aren't you excited?" Lily chuckled happily.

Dorcas smiled as she gazed at her reflection. "I'm more than excited."

--

The night before her wedding, Dorcas found some time to talk to Sirius. Gideon had insisted that they couldn't see each other so close to their wedding and so he had gone to stay with a friend. He had reluctantly filled Dorcas in on the situation with Fabian and, to Dorcas' prompting, decided to attempt a conversation with him.

She had invited Sirius to her house and his knocking announced his reluctant arrival.

"Hi," Dorcas said, letting him in.

"Mm," Sirius replied, falling onto her couch.

"Sirius," Dorcas said sternly, sitting across from him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Don't lie."

"I don't like Gideon."

"Why?"

"He won your heart," Sirius replied bluntly.

Dorcas sighed and leaned back. "Sirius, you're not on the same page as me anymore. We used to be."

"I've always loved you."

"And I have too," Dorcas replied fondly. "I always will. You're my first love and I will never forget you. But things change Sirius, people change."

"We weren't supposed to."

"Everyone does."

"I can't just let you go," Sirius muttered.

"But you have to. I love Gideon Sirius, I'll love him for the rest of our lives."

Sirius shifted uncomfortably in his seat before meeting Dorcas' intense gaze. "And what about me?"

"I'll love you forever too. Just not in that way that I do Gideon."

Sirius sighed and stood up. "I can't do this. I won't give you my blessings when my heart is so against this."

Dorcas shook her head. "I'm not asking that from you. I'm asking that you simply accept it and accept Gideon."

Sirius didn't want to say it. He didn't want to give Dorcas that satisfaction. But he looked into her eyes and his heart was filled with pity. How could he deny her the one thing she had asked of him? "I'd do anything for you Dorcas. So I will accept this wedding and I will be there watching you walk down that aisle."

Dorcas smiled and reached her hand to his cheek. "Thank you."

Sirius smiled and left her house, his steps light and timid, his heart breaking inside of him. Dorcas didn't see this as she fell into her warm bed. She was nervous for tomorrow. But she was as happy as she would ever be.

--

A/n: Good? Bad? You tell me. Thanks for reading!