Hello there, Emm again. KCB's off doing something, do she's not available at the moment. For the record, chapters 39-42 are all ready to be uploaded, we'll just wait until we get enough reviews:) Disclaimer-Haven't we told you enough? We don't own Harry Potter, the rights, the world, etc. etc. Onto the wedding!

Chapter 39

For Better or For Worse

"Ring! Where's the ring?" It was the morning of the wedding and, needless to say, Sirius was getting a bit frantic.

"Sirius, calm down! The ring's in your pocket!" Remus shouted. "We've been through this five times already and it's only ten o'clock!"

"Right, sorry, I forgot," he panted.

"Somebody needs to chill, dude," Nikki stated in amusement. "Take deep breaths or something. You're going to put the whole castle in a state of panic like that."

"Sirius Black, innocent mass murderer, is finally going insane," declared Harry.

"Let's just see how you two deal with it when you get married," Sirius replied. Harry and Nikki exchanged apprehensive looks, then fell to the floor, giggling madly.

"And what exactly makes you think we're going to get married?" Harry asked, still laughing.

"You two snogging in the kitchens reminded us of someone, didn't it, Moony?"

"Yes, it did, Padfoot. It reminded us very much of a certain stag and redhead…"

"Who also believed they would never get married," Sirius continued. "James told me once that the day I got married would be the day Snivellus washed his hair. Think it's true?"

"I'd rather not get close enough to Snape to find out," Heather smirked from behind him. "Quit this lounging around, you lazy bums! You're supposed to be getting ready! Nicole, come with me, will you? And where's Ron?"

"I'm right here, don't worry," he replied. "You don't think I'd just randomly leave, do you?"

"You never know, Ron, sometimes you aren't the most reliable person in the world," Harry teased.

"I'll have you know-"

"You can have us know later, Ron," Heather interrupted. "All of you, get changed already! Nicole, go find Tonks, Petunia, and Ginny and meet us in our room."

"Both of you need to relax, you really do," Harry told Sirius a few minutes later. The men in the wedding party had taken over the Gryffindor common room to get ready, and at the moment, Sirius was dashing through it, looking for the ring a sixth time. Remus finally took it away from him, and would hold it up any time Sirius opened his mouth. The portrait suddenly swung open and Ron dove behind one of the chairs, only to see a young man no one but Sirius recognized.

"Chris! Glad you didn't get lost in the castle!"

"I had Nik help me," he smiled back. His hair was a sandy blond, somewhat like his sister, and his twinkling blue eyes reminded Harry of Dumbledore. He looked to be around 20 years old and the kind of guy that would make girls drool. "And I hope that Miss Windling still has a stash of chocolate hidden around here somewhere."

"How do you know about that?" Remus frowned.

"I realized one day in school that her pencil was a wand, and proceeded to tell her that I knew she was magical. She told me she had a hidden box of candy at her old school, but I always thought she was joking. She didn't even figure out that I was a wizard until she saw my sister here at Christmas."

"I don't mean to interrupt," Ron mentioned over to their right. "But, what is this?" He held up the cummerbund in confusion while Harry and Chris, being raised Muggle, collapsed onto the floor in a fit of silent chuckles.

"It's a hat…" George stated immediately.

"…you put it on like so…" Fred continued.

"…tie it here…"

"…so it stays on…"

"…and doesn't blow off…"

"…when you rush down the aisle with Hermione…"

"…and there you have it," they finished together. His left eye was partially covered and red hair was sticking up all over the place. Remus soon joined Harry and Chris on the floor while Sirius cocked his head like Padfoot.

"That doesn't look right…" he trailed off.

"That's because it's not," Fred explained.

"But we couldn't have Ickle Ronniekins looking good…" George declared.

"…or it would reflect badly upon us."

"Good day," they remarked, strolling happily out of the room. George returned after a few seconds and added, "Hermione, Nikki and Ginny want to know if they can come in."

"No!" Ron barked.

"Alright. They say it's fine!" he shouted through the portrait hole. Ron screamed in rage, fled up the staircase to his dormitory and slammed the door. The three girls entered a second later, wearing pale purple strapless gowns and finding Remus, Harry, and Chris sprawled out on the floor, clutching their sides from laughter and Sirius standing bewilderedly in front of them, looking utterly lost.

"What is going on here?" Hermione questioned with an expression much like Mrs. Weasley's.

"The cummerbund-Ron confused-so funny…" Harry gasped from the floor. Ginny looked at him, as lost as Sirius was, while Nikki and Hermione exchanged a knowing glance.

"Where is he?" Nikki asked, trying to hide her own laughter.

"Dormitory," Remus managed to spit out. Hermione trudged up the stairs and began banging on his door while Nikki and Ginny helped the men on the floor to their feet.

"Sirius, would you like some help with that?" Nikki wondered out loud, smirking at his cummerbund. He nodded desperately in reply. She and Ginny marched up to him and, in a matter of seconds, had fixed his tux and styled his hair. The two of them and Harry and Chris then went upstairs to help Hermione with Ron. She'd just gotten his hair flattened with Sleekeazy's when a woman's piercing shriek brought them racing down the stairs.

"What's wrong?" Harry exclaimed, seeing Sirius with a very smug look on his face. He pointed at something behind Harry; Harry turned around and found Remus looking rather-not like Remus. His hair had grown down to his shoulders and he was wearing a bright pink dress and glaring murderously at Sirius. The gown happened to be the same shade of pink that was the favored color of wrapping paper for Sirius.

"Make him change me back!" Remus shouted in a tremendously high-pitched voice.

"It's what you get," Sirius replied loftily. "Besides, James did the exact same thing to me at his wedding. It's now tradition."

"I don't care, remove it!"

"Oh, you bunch of children!" Hermione yelled, pushing the stunned Ron and Harry out of her way and waving her wand sharply at the werewolf. Nothing happened.

"Uh…" she muttered uncertainly.

"Sirius!" Remus cried desperately. Said Animagus flicked his wand and flowers suddenly appeared in Remus's hair. This was too much for everyone in the room bar Hermione, who tried the spell once again. Much to Sirius's disappointment, Remus returned to normal.

"Can we get on with the wedding, now?" she asked disapprovingly.

"Thank you, Hermione! At least some people in this room aren't as evil as someone else I could mention."

"Evil, no, I'm not evil," Sirius replied. "Maniacal, insane, marauder-ous, yes, but evil?"

"Whatever," Remus sighed. "Sirius, go snog with your bride and leave me be!"

"Fine, I can tell when I'm not wanted. Harry, come here, I want to talk to you." Sirius led him out of the common room and down a hallway. "I know that you, well-when we first met, you kind of jumped at the possibility of living with me. I know this is kind of sudden, but Heather and I have bought a house, it's a few hours north of Hogsmeade out in the country. Remus is going to be living with us, and maybe Nikki and Chris. Since Heather is your mother's sister, you'd still get the protection from the blood magic. And I, okay, we, thought, maybe you'd like-I mean, if the Dursleys are getting better, I'll understand, but…"

"Sirius," Harry interrupted. "Shut up. I'd love to live with you guys."

"Really? Because if it's not what you want, it's fine…"

"You're an idiot, you know that? If the Dursleys owned a mansion and gave me everything I ever asked, I'd still go live with you. You're my godfather for a reason, remember? Just as long as I don't have to call you Uncle Sirius."

"Ugh, makes me feel old."

"Good," Harry laughed.

"What, you want me to feel old?" he replied in mock anger.

"Yes, yes I do." That remark caused Sirius to chase him through the halls of Hogwarts in an effort to prove that he was not old. "C'mon, Sirius, you can do better than that!" Harry yelled over his shoulder. He skidded to a halt when he realized what he'd said, and Sirius ran into him, throwing both of them into Nikki and Chris.

"Hey, would you two like to live with us?" Sirius asked as he pulled Harry up from the floor.

"Sure, why not," Nikki joked.

"I'm serious!"

"We know you are!" Harry and Nikki shouted back.

"I meant that the offer stands. You can't stay at Hogwarts all summer, you'll need somewhere else to go."

"We'll think about it," Chris told him.


About an hour later found Sirius, Harry, and Remus waiting in a side chamber while guests filled the Great Hall. Said guests only included the Order of the Phoenix, excluding Snape, of course, but that was still a healthy amount of people. Sirius was currently pacing through the room and actually wearing a path in the carpeting.

"I can't do it!" he screamed in anguish.

"Yes, you can," Harry admonished. "You were all ready to do this fifteen years ago, why not now?"

"Now it's different! I've been in Azkaban, she's been hiding in America, we've started a new war, Voldemort wants our godson dead…"

"Voldemort wanted me dead when you were engaged, it's still the same war, and who cares where you've been! That's the past, you love each other, marry her!"

"What if she's changed?" Sirius asked with dread. "What if I've changed? What if I'm not good enough any more? What if Azkaban altered my brain?"

"Sirius, get a grip!" Remus cried out. "Heather still wants to marry you! What would she say if she saw you right now?"


Three minutes earlier, in a different side chamber-

"I can't do it!" Heather shrieked, panicked.

"Professor, be realistic!" Hermione berated. "You can and you will marry him!"

"Well, I could marry him before, but now I'm not so sure."

"What's not to be sure about?" Nikki asked patiently, attempting to calm her professor down.

"Well, what if he's changed? What if I've changed? What if I'm not good enough any more? What if Azkaban altered his brain?"

"If Azkaban altered his brain, then why is he doing this?" Hermione questioned.

"HELP ME!"


"So? What if she doesn't like me any more and she just wants to humiliate me!"

"Sirius, is she really the kind of person who would do something like that?" Harry joked, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Yes," Remus answered.

"Oh."

"See!" Sirius screeched. "It's all a lie!" Ron chose that moment to walk into the room.

"Sirius, it's time."


"Really, Sirius cares about you!" Tonks tried to tell Heather.

"What if this is all just some practical joke?"

"Sirius wouldn't…" Nikki began. "Oh, he would, wouldn't he."

"Yes, but that's beside the point!" exclaimed Hermione.

"The point is," Tonks continued, "he loves you, you love him, go get married already!"

"It's just that…" Petunia barged into their chamber, rather frightened by her current location.

"Heather, that freak of a fiancé of yours is waiting."


The entire wedding party was waiting anxiously outside of the Great Hall, Sirius and Heather being more nervous than ever. Hermione also seemed a bit jittery, but that was not due to nerves.

"Ugh," she whispered to Nicole, "my dress feels really weird."

"Mine's just fine," she shrugged.

"Ah, George," his twin stated in a very satisfied manner. "The test is a success."

"What test?" Hermione hissed menacingly.

"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes' newest product-Perfectly Persistent Prickly Powder," George replied.

"We wanted to put it on Harry's aunt," Fred explained.

"But Mum wouldn't let us."

"Get it off!" Hermione growled frantically.

"You're a smart girl," George mentioned. "It's not called 'perfectly persistent' for nothing."

"Yep. Stays on for 24 hours."

"What?" she cried. The doors then opened and Sirius walked shakily into the Great Hall. He came to a stop near the podium, where Dumbledore gave him a reassuring smile, eyes twinkling more than ever. Remus and Bridget followed, their arms linked as they slowly marched down the aisle.

"I think Sirius needs a little something to calm him down," Nikki suggest quietly.

"Like what?" Harry asked. Ron and Hermione also eagerly listened for any ideas Nikki had.

"This," she responded.

Up at the podium, Remus was desperately attempting to get Sirius to relax.

"You'll be fine, I promise."

"Yeah, I know. I'm just so-worried-not sure why."

"Take a look at your godson, then," Remus told him. Harry had Nicole in his arms and was carrying her down the aisle. When they got to the end, he spun her around, put her down gently, and they separated.

"Sirius says thanks," Remus relayed as Ron and Hermione went through, Ron's hair spiked up in different directions and Hermione holding Crookshanks.

"Tell him I say you're welcome." Ron soon stood next to Harry while Fred led Tonks, whose hair and eyes were pale purple to match her dress. "I like your hair like that, Ron," Harry muttered.

"Still isn't anywhere near as bad as yours, mate." George and Petunia, looking less Dursley-ish than Harry had ever seen her, followed, and then Chris, carrying Ginny piggy-back, walked down the aisle. Harry could practically feel Sirius shaking as Heather entered, unescorted. Her brown hair and eyes had vanished and she once again looked exactly like Harry's mother. Heather's pure white dress was long and flowing, embroidered with the same shade of lavender in the bridesmaids' gowns. Sirius met her a few rows before the podium and they stood before Dumbledore, trembling like mad.

"We are gathered here today…" Dumbledore began, presiding over the ceremony. Sirius and Heather both appeared to be too nervous to hear anything past that, however, caught up in their fears. When Dumbledore got to the vows, Remus had to discreetly kick Sirius in the shin to snap him out of his thoughts.

Sirius looked at Heather for a second, then uttered with resolution, "I do."

"And do you, Heather Anne Evans, take this man…" This is it. There's no turning back. I know he cares about me, and I love him, but…no. Hermione and Nikki are right. Time to do what we should have done a long time ago. Bridget suddenly elbowed Heather and she attempted to answer, but no sound came out of her mouth. Sirius glanced over in apprehension and dread as she tried again, but she never got the words out. The doors to the Great Hall were flung off of their hinges and a hundred or so Death Eaters entered, led by Lord Voldemort himself.

DunDUNDUN! What, did you think Voldie wasn't going to interrupt their "special day?" FIVE Reviews please, or you'll have to wait longer for chapter 40. Resolve the cliffie! You can do it!