Broken
By Neurotica
Sixteen
The weeks following Sirius' declared innocence by the Ministry of Magic were quite eventful.
Wormtail recovered from his unconscious state in one of the Ministry's holding cells. He was informed by Mad-Eye Moody who'd been standing guard over the prisoner, after a swift kick to his ribs, what his current position was, and what would happen to him in the coming days. Wormtail would receive a trial before the Wizengamot—though he didn't deserve such humane treatment—and pending a guilty ruling—which he would undoubtedly receive, Mad-Eye assured him—would be sent to Azkaban where he belonged.
Cornelius Fudge had been discredited in his position as Minister of Magic and would be replaced in the coming months by Amelia Bones. Delores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, was discovered to have been at the center of the mystery of Sirius' wand. After a bit of detective work by Kingsley Shacklebolt, there was charmed video footage of Umbridge breaking into Moody's office, disabling the charms surrounding Sirius' wand, and performing Priori Incantatem with said wand. According to the results of the charm, the last spell Sirius cast before his arrest by Ministry Aurors was a summoning charm for a bottle of butterbeer.
Umbridge was arrested for withholding evidence in Sirius' case, and would receive a cell across from Wormtail for all of her trouble.
Not many in the Ministry were sad to see her go.
Back at Remus' cottage, Sirius couldn't remember ever being happier than he currently was. Julia busied herself with wedding plans, sorting out all the tedious details with a close friend of hers from the Order of the Phoenix, Emmeline Vance. Emmeline began spending a lot of time at the cottage sorting through wedding catalogues with Julia, suggesting flower arrangements, and all the other things weddings required. Sirius noticed Remus began spending a lot of his free time asking the girls if they needed anything...
Harry was adjusting well to his new family. As a surprise, Sirius had gone to Diagon Alley and bought three of the newest broomsticks on the market—one each for him, Harry, and Remus—Julia didn't fancy flying much. The shyness Harry had when he'd first come to his new guardians began to fade with time, though he was still wary of strangers.
The day came when Sirius reluctantly suggested that he, Julia, Harry should go back to his flat in London. He didn't want to mention it to Remus; the werewolf had become quite attached to Harry in a short time. At first when Sirius mentioned it after dinner one night, Remus looked hurt at the suggestion his friends were leaving him—he'd only just gotten used to having them around again. But he put up no arguments and even said it was the right decision—Harry shouldn't be around for the full moons.
Sensing her friend's hurt feelings, Julia told Remus someone would need to take care of Harry during the day—Sirius had been offered a position in the Auror department at the Ministry, and was due to start within the week. Remus, naturally, accepted the offer without hesitation, but flat-out refused to allow Sirius and Julia to pay him.
"Moony, if you do not accept compensation for watching Harry," Sirius said with a straight face, "I will have to curse you." To enhance his point, he pointed his wand at his best friend.
Remus looked as though he'd prefer Sirius' curse rather than accepting money for babysitting Harry, but he recalled that Sirius had come up with some rather creative hexes in his day. Seeing the joking gleam in Sirius' eyes, Remus smiled. "You're the world's biggest git, Padfoot." He chuckled.
Sirius grinned. "Think of it this way, Moony: Without us here to cramp your style, you and Emmeline Vance can have a chance to get to know one another..." Remus glared at him, but was in higher spirits for the rest of the night.
Harry wasn't at all thrilled with leaving the cottage and Remus. The adults assured him he would see Remus every day. "Harry," Sirius said, "you're going to see so much of Remus you're going to get sick of him after a while."
Sirius earned a slap in the back of his head from Julia and Remus for that.
Two days later, Julia and Sirius were settled back into their flat. The guest room was quickly converted into Harry's bedroom with so many toys that Remus wondered if the child even knew they all existed.
Julia was tucking Harry into bed late one night while Sirius and Remus sat together on a black leather sofa in the living room drinking butterbeer, reminiscing.
"A lot of good memories here," Sirius said fondly, looking around the home he'd bought when he was seventeen. Julia had kept it mostly the same after he'd been arrested—something that surprised him immensely; he'd thought she would have wanted anything and everything associated with him to be disposed of.
Remus laughed suddenly, causing Sirius to look at him questioningly. "Remember that night you and James thought it would be a right smart idea to cook for all of us?"
Sirius groaned at the memory but smiled. "How could I forget? You all ran out of here gasping for air, and I couldn't get the smell or the black spots out of here for a month." He chuckled. "Lily never let James live that night down..."
"What? You think Julia's let you live it down? If she's forgotten, I need to remind her of a few things," Remus said taking a sip of his butterbeer. The two friends sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments before Remus spoke again. "Are you excited about the wedding?"
Sirius smiled and his eyes lit up. "Yeah," he said dreamily. After a few more silent minutes of Sirius daydreaming about his wedding day, his face became oddly tense. "Er, listen, about the wedding..." Sirius set his bottle on the coffee table and ran a hand through his long hair nervously. "I, um, I was wondering if you'd be my best man. I mean, I know I always said it'd be James, but obviously he can't do it, and you've always been my second choice. Not that I think of you any less than James," he added hastily, "but... will you?"
Normally, Remus probably would have burst out laughing at Sirius' ramblings. Instead, he felt oddly teary-eyed as he smiled. "I'd be honored, Sirius," he said quietly and sincerely.
On an unnaturally warm afternoon in mid-November, a small group congregated on the shore of the Hogwarts Lake. Standing before the party was Albus Dumbledore, smiling down on a couple just under a large beech tree.
She wore a traditional white dress, nothing too frilly—she'd never been one for dressing up. Her long, brown hair was braided, her face bright with pure happiness, her dark blue eyes shining with love, and perhaps a fresh wave of tears. He wore black dress robes, his hair cut shorter than normal—she'd always liked it just above his shoulders. His formally dull grey eyes now alive with thousands of emotions only she could cause him to feel.
Standing by her side was her maid of honor, a tall witch with long black hair. Standing by his side was his best friend, his brother, looking prouder than anyone had ever seen him. Between the couple stood a small boy of six-years-old with unruly black hair, emerald green eyes, and black dress robes. He carried a satin pillow with two rings that he held out to them.
With a slightly shaking hand, Sirius reached down and took a thin silver band of diamonds from the pillow, holding it before Julia's awaiting finger. In a slight daze, he repeated the vows Dumbledore recited, and slipped the ring gently on her finger. "I love you," he whispered softly, staring deeply into her eyes.
She smiled, unable to return the words at the moment—her throat seemed to have locked up due to her emotions. She took a golden band with three diamonds from the pillow Harry held out and also repeated the Dumbledore's words before placing the ring on Sirius' finger. "I love you too," she finally whispered back, her cheeks soaked with tears.
Dumbledore's lips twitched as Sirius pulled her to him a second later. "I would say you may now kiss the bride, but it still seems Sirius does not like to follow tradition!"
Nearly five minutes later—the wedding guests were quite amused they could go on with that kind of energy for that long—the newly-wedded couple pulled away from one another, smiling broadly.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Dumbledore said happily, his arms spread out wide. "May I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Sirius Black!" A dozen cheers filled the school's grounds—Hagrid's could be heard in Hogsmeade—as Sirius picked up his godson and hugged him tightly. With Harry in one arm, Sirius took Julia's hand tightly in his free one and led the party to an area around Hagrid's cabin where they would have a small reception.
Remus watched them for a moment, a wide smile on his face, his own cheeks streaked with tears, unable to think of anyone who deserved this more than his two best friends.
"Would you care to join me for a drink, Remus?" asked a voice from beside him.
He turned and smiled at Emmeline. "I'd love to," he said, extending his arm to her.
During the party that went on through the night, Minerva McGonagall approached Sirius and Julia dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. She extended her congratulations to the couple, and surprised everyone present by giving Sirius a hug and kiss on the cheek. She then quickly excused herself from the party, claiming she had to prepare for the next day's lessons.
"But it's Saturday!" Sirius called after her. "Damn," he muttered, turning to his wife and friends. "I really wanted to dance with her, too."
Julia raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'm sorry to say you'll have to settle for me, Sirius."
Sirius grinned and shrugged. "I must do what I must do," he said before taking her in his arms again.
Harry began to fall asleep around ten p.m., so Remus took him into Hagrid's hut and laid him on the half-giant's large bed. He went back outside and sat on the steps of the hut, watching Julia dance happily with Dumbledore. He'd known the old wizard for most of his life, but was still quite surprised to see how graceful he moved across the grass.
Sirius stood by the refreshment table talking with Emmeline Vance. Remus raised an eyebrow at the pair, but realized quickly what his best friend was up to. Emmeline looked over her shoulder at Remus and blushed a bit as she smiled and turned back to Sirius. He smiled back and stood to cross the lawn. Sirius met him halfway and muttered something along the lines of "no need to thank me, Moony," before greeting Hagrid quite loudly.
Remus approached Emmeline rather shyly. "Should I apologize for Sirius' behavior, or just wipe any memory of the last five minutes from your mind?" he asked with a grin.
Emmeline laughed. "No need for either, actually. Sirius was the perfect gentleman," she said.
Remus raised an eyebrow again. "Now that I don't believe. You've known him for years and you still think he's a gentleman? Wow..." he said shaking his head in mock-disbelief.
"He's not that bad." She smiled.
"Maybe not that bad, but he does have his moments," Remus protested. The two exchanged small talk while Remus tried to build up the courage to ask her to dance. Finally, he did, and she accepted.
Albus Dumbledore stood on the side of the party watching the two couples, his eyes twinkling, and a small smile on his face. He always said the world needed more love...