Silver Wedding by Minnow
Disclaimer: These characters are owned by J.K. Rowling and various publishers and corporations.
Rating: PG
Era: AU, present day.
Summary: Everyone's happy except Remus.
AN: A bit of penance for the PoA fic. Just a reminder that Voldemort was born Tom Riddle, so nobody gets too confused by the first section.
A scream, a crash, and young Mrs. Riddle lay sobbing at the foot of the stone stairs.
'Oh, God, the baby, my baby...please not my baby.'
Strong arms cradled her. 'It's all right, the ambulance is on its way. Just relax. Breathe. Like that...'
'It was a rat,' Mrs. Riddle whimpered. 'An enormous rat.'
In due course, she recovered, but the baby was lost.
'You can't not go,' the dark man said. He was in his forties, and like many men had improved rather than suffered with age. His black hair was short, greying a bit at the front – just a bit, as he tended to pull out grey and white hairs – and his chiselled face was remarkably unlined.
'Oh, I can,' said his companion coolly. He was about the same age, and though time hadn't been quite as kind to him, the few lines on his face emphasised the strangely childlike quality of his delicate features. His grey hairs, though more numerous than his companion's, seemed to mingle with his tawny hair like the pelt of some exotic animal.
'It's their 25th anniversary, Moony. Everyone's going to be there. Peter's coming from Transylvania, for heaven's sake. With that appalling Slytherin wife of his.'
'They're well suited.'
'Moony. That's not like you! I mean, I know one suffers Peter rather than likes him, but all the same...'
'Yes it is like me, Sirius. I am thoroughly pissed off. And I'm not going.'
'Yes, you are. If Ron and Hermione can cut short their honeymoon to be there, Remus Lupin can damn well stroll in from just around the corner. They even changed the date so it wouldn't be full moon. I think you're being totally unreasonable.'
The other man bristled. He did look remarkably feral when he bristled. 'Oh, really? Now, Sirius, I'm sure that you, with your immense knowledge, know perfectly well what a 25th anniversary is.'
Sirius looked blank. 'It means...that Lily and James have been married a quarter of a century.'
Remus sighed. 'Lily is Muggle-born, Sirius. So, like your ignorant mate here, Lily knows that in the Muggle world it's called a silver wedding anniversary.'
'Oh. Does James know?'
'If James didn't know, this anniversary wouldn't be taking place, because Lily would have divorced him on the spot. They both know. And their children, who also know, are planning to have everything silver. Everything. From the knives and forks to the balloons to the fireworks. Oh, and the plates. Harry and the girls have actually dug up some ancestral Potter plates from their grandparents' attic. Sally told me all about them.' Remus's voice softened in spite of himself. He was Sally's godfather, and very fond indeed of Harry's youngest sister.
'We-ell. Yes. Okay, Moony, I see the problem. I concede there is a problem.'
'I really don't want to come out as a werewolf in front of the Potter children and their various partners. I don't, Sirius.'
'You've come out in other ways, Moony.'
'Don't leer like that. Your mind doesn't get any cleaner, Padfoot. That's different, anyway. We've always been together. The children just accept that.'
'Yeah, that's a point. We're probably well past our 25th anniversary by now, aren't we?'
'We're on the 30th this year. If you count it from the first time we got together.'
'God, we were just kids, weren't we?' Sirius marvelled.
'Underage,' said Remus grimly. 'Lucky not to get expelled. Or flung into Azkaban.'
'Oh, well, Azkaban,' scoffed Sirius. 'That's a cushy ride. You can use an Unforgivable curse and get away with three years, and still keep your wand. And the guards are pussycats.'
'Don't change the subject,' Remus said. 'Now, I can't say anything to the kids, and I don't want to upset Lily. She hasn't got a clue about werewolves and silver. Well, why should she? If you and James get involved, the whole party will be transformed into some ghastly Quidditch do, and Lily really will divorce James.'
'Oh, but Prongs would love a Quidditch party,' Sirius grinned. 'You know, Moony, that's a brilliant idea. We could divide into teams, and have a prize for the winners. New broomsticks or something. Not silver ones, of course,' he added hastily.
'Don't even think about it. Or I'll put a Memory Charm on you.'
Sirius pondered for a moment. 'Well, we don't want to spoil it for the kids, not when they've worked so hard on it. We certainly don't want to spoil it for James and Lily. Oh, sod it, I can't think what to do. Let's go and discuss it upstairs, okay?'
'Okay.'
End