The Wedding

Chapter 48

Two days after the incident in Number Twelve, Sirius sat Harry down and let him talk about what had happened in the cave.

Harry left out nothing; he explained about the potion that Dumbledore drank and also about the Inferi attack. Sirius told him how he had already been there with his Headmaster and how he had thought Dumbledore would take him along instead. But Sirius could not stay furious with their late Headmaster when he realized that he must have really trusted Harry, more than even himself. He must have known what that potion would do and had perhaps not wanted to be vulnerable with anyone else.

Harry didn't know how to feel about that – to know that was why Dumbledore had taken him along… He felt more like a failure for having done nothing but watch him get murdered right in front of his eyes. He should have tried to summon his wand or at least remove the spell Dumbledore had placed on him. A rational part of him knew it was impossible – he couldn't have summoned his wand when he was immobile – but what was the point of knowing non-verbal spells if he could not use them when it really mattered?

If only he had done something…

Sirius was quick to shut down Harry's regret when he pointed out that he would have been surrounded by Death Eaters and he was no match against the likes of Snape. Even though it made sense, Harry couldn't help but wonder how many more would die because of his ineptitude – his parents, Cedric, and now Dumbledore.

The days after Dumbledore's funeral were quiet in the Potter Manor. Sirius and Remus left for Order meetings almost every day now, leaving Harry on his own in the house. He didn't mind it too much anyway – he liked it when Sirius, Remus, and Tonks were around, but sometimes he just wanted to be by himself, without someone constantly telling him to eat (he didn't have much of an appetite nowadays) or fly outside to clear his head. He knew they only meant well, but it was grating on his nerves.

To keep himself occupied and to feel like he was doing something, Harry tried to look up any book that might have some information about the Horcruxes in his grandfather's library. But, predictably, there was nothing that even mentioned them.

He had taken to inspecting the locket in his grandfather's study every now and again. Harry tried looking up powerful spells that could destroy it, but it was time-consuming, as he first needed to master said spells, before he could use them on the locket.

One such practice session ended with the roof of the attic caving in, to Sirius' exasperation.

"I've told you a hundred times to practice only in the Duelling Room, Harry!" said Sirius through gritted teeth.

Harry looked at him sheepishly. "Sorry."

Sirius pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "Don't apologize."

"Right, sorr—" Harry pressed his lips to keep from repeating it again. He knew by now the aphorism that was always thrown around in their house. Harry had realized he had the habit of apologizing for anything and everything that went wrong, even if it was not directly because of him. Sirius pointed this out to him once and had made it his mission to break that habit of his, even if Harry really thought an apology was warranted. He would learn to use his words better, as Sirius had said, whatever that meant.

"You sound like my mum," groaned Tonks. The three adults had just been leaving the house when it had happened, and they had rushed up to the attic on hearing the crash. "Accidents happen! When did you become such an annoying parent?"

Remus snorted while Harry nodded in approval at Tonks' statement, turning to look at Sirius through narrowed eyes.

"Oh, shut up!" grumbled Sirius.

Tonks and Harry laughed and she walked up to the door, still smiling.

"I'd love to hang around and play, but I'd best be off to work," she said, waving goodbye to him. "You enjoy your day, Harry."

Harry returned her wave when Remus said, "I'll take you to the front door."

Tonks chuckled and she grabbed Remus' hand and left the attic, pulling him along.

Sirius watched the departing couple and shook his head. "I'll have to go now too. Remus and I are going to book the venue."

"Where is it going to be?" asked Harry eagerly. He had never been to a wedding before – neither magical nor Muggle. He was really looking forward to getting away from these four walls for a few hours.

"It's a Muggle place," said Sirius. "It's a good thing both of them are half-bloods. They have some sort of Muggle credentials that their parents had insisted on when they were younger. It's not exactly possible to register a marriage with the Ministry when the groom is a werewolf, you see."

Harry grimaced. "That's not fair at all."

"It's codswallop, but that's how it is," said Sirius, nodding.

"Why can't they just get married here like Mum and Dad did?" suggested Harry. If anything, he knew the place would look magical if any of the old pictures were to be believed.

"Apparently, Muggle weddings work differently than ours," said Sirius, matter-of-factly. "And we can't allow the Muggle officiant inside the house, even if it was possible to get married here."

"Why not? Won't they simply be bound by the Fidelius? It doesn't work any differently for Muggles, does it?"

"The Fidelius is a powerful spell, but it's not invincible," explained Sirius. "If the Secret-Keeper, that is I, were to die—" Harry made a vehement sound of protest, but Sirius continued without acknowledging him. "—everyone who attends the wedding could become Secret-Keepers. And if Voldemort got hold of them, wizards or Muggles, it would only take a minute to trick them into divulging anything. The power of the spell is greatly diluted by letting more people in on the secret."

"But I promised Ron and Hermione they could visit. And I trust them," added Harry firmly.

"And so do I," said Sirius. "As long as we can implicitly trust someone, we can tell them. That does not include the officiant for the wedding, no matter if he is a Muggle."

Harry nodded and Sirius clapped him on the shoulder, his mood brightening quickly. "You'll clean up this mess before I come back, won't you?"

Harry raised his eyebrows, taken aback. "You're not going to help?"

"I'm not the one who tried to master a Blasting Hex in the attic of a two hundred year-old house," said Sirius, turning towards the door. "And I don't see the point. I've tried everything I know on that locket. What could you possibly do that I can't?"

"It was worth a try," mumbled Harry.

"You should've been practicing the Ferrifors spell instead," said Sirius. "It can at least save your life when it matters."

Harry knew that was the more sensible choice, but it was boring and tiresome to keep practicing the same spell over and over again, with his progress as quick as a flobberworm.

"Why don't you get on with that instead after you've sorted this out?" said Sirius, playfully ruffling Harry's hair.

Harry leaned away from his hand with an annoyed look. "Are you kidding me? I don't think I've Reparo'd anything bigger than a teapot!"

"You'll figure it out," said Sirius, waving his hand dismissively and leaving through the door.

Harry scowled and watched Sirius leave before turning to the mess he had created.

A gaping hole, the size of a Hippogriff with its wings open wide, was above him, letting in the morning sunlight into the attic that must have never seen light since the house had been built. He would have thought a meteor had crashed through, if he hadn't known better. It was lucky that he had been at least ten feet away from his target when it had happened. His grandparents had stored lots of old boxes and things in the attic and half of them were likely crushed underneath the rubble. Harry blew out a breath in frustration. It was going to be a long day. Perhaps, he would call Twitchet to help him.

oOo

Saturday, July 5

"You're good to go."

Sirius finished adjusting the bow tie on Harry's rented suit. Harry was staring at himself in the mirror. He looked good, Sirius had to admit. Almost the exact way James had looked on his own wedding day. He stopped himself from slipping into painfully good memories.

"You don't have to keep admiring yourself," said Sirius with a bark of laughter. Remus looked up with a smile and shook his head.

Harry glared at Sirius before turning to leave the room.

"Hypocrite," coughed Remus.

"I heard that."

"I meant you to," said Remus nonchalantly, adjusting the cuff of his sleeve. Remus had protested against the idea of wearing a suit, but they had no other choice. It was a Muggle chapel that Ted had suggested in a small town that had been his home while growing up. And they would look ridiculous in robes in early July.

"I never thought you'd be getting married in a Muggle ceremony," said Sirius sadly. "All these years and our world hasn't changed for the better."

"I never thought I'd be getting married at all," said Remus, his eyes widening a fraction to emphasize the last two words. "I'm not complaining that I don't get to be bonded with Dora in the Wizarding way."

Sirius laughed half-heartedly. "When all this is over, we should have a proper bonding ceremony with everyone present."

Remus chuckled humourlessly, before dragging his fingers through his greying hair. "It won't make a difference to me, Padfoot. I'll still prefer the one with only my closest family with me."

Sirius beamed and embraced his friend. Remus said quietly, "I just wish James and Lily were here to see this."

Sirius gazed at him wistfully. "Me too."

They broke apart and Sirius turned away to make sure Remus wouldn't notice his bright eyes, not realizing that Remus was doing the same. The grandfather's clock in the living room showed that there was only twenty minutes left and Sirius decided they needed to get a move on.

"Are you ready?"

Remus looked up and breathed out, trying to calm his nerves. Sirius waited for some response, but Remus instead blurted out, "Am I making a mistake?"

Sirius slapped a hand to his forehead and sighed, "Not this again."

They had gone over this about ten times just this week and their conversations had always ended with Remus deciding that he loved Dora too much for him to back out like a coward. To his surprise, Remus was laughing.

"I just had to see your expression," snorted Remus.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Well, it's not funny and I am not going to lecture you for the eleventh time on how much you two are perfect for each other. If you can't see that, it's your loss."

"Relax," said Remus, looking anything but relaxed. "I was just joking. Let's go." He steeled himself like a soldier preparing for battle, and Sirius approved the nervousness that was settling over his friend. It was good to see some sombreness before something as important as his wedding.

Harry was waiting by the door. "How long do you need to get ready?" he asked Sirius, who ignored the redundant question and they Side-Along Apparated together to the chapel in a quaint little town. They met with Ted, who greeted them politely and shook their hands. He proceeded to drag Harry to the side and showed him how to use his camera.

Remus was distracted when he saw a grey-haired and dignified looking man standing a few feet away. Sirius watched Remus move away to talk with his father, Lyall Lupin.

Though Remus and his father were on good terms since childhood, they hadn't been very close even during his time after Hogwarts. Sirius was surprised that it hadn't changed after all these years. He had assumed Remus would have reconnected with his father, after all of his friends were taken from him.

But he had learned from Remus only a year ago that that wasn't the case. Sirius could read between the lines – Remus had still been ashamed and regretted taking away his father's name and fame. Sirius had hoped his relationship with Dora will have brought about some positive change with his self-confidence. He was proved right when Remus had been open to the idea of meeting his father along with him just a couple of weeks ago.

In Sirius' opinion, Mr. Lupin was the happiest person of them all on hearing the news of Remus' marriage to Dora and it clearly showed how much he cared for him. He hoped Remus understood that now too.

He gave them their privacy, knowing they needed it.

"Yes, I know how it works, Mr. Tonks," Harry was saying politely, frowning at the end of the sentence in confusion.

He looked up to see Sirius and quickly snapped a picture. He turned to Ted and said, "See?"

"That's splendid, Harry," smiled Ted warmly. "I'll have to go and get Dora. Get everyone in, Sirius."

Harry was fascinated with the camera, taking too many pictures for Sirius' liking. He stepped down his foot when he noticed Harry taking pictures of a girl sitting on a bench in the park opposite the chapel.

"What do you think you're doing?" hissed Sirius, dragging Harry away by the collar.

"What? She's very pretty," huffed Harry in annoyance, trying to wriggle out of his grip.

"You don't go taking pictures of someone without asking them," said Sirius.

"I could ask her if I wanted to," proclaimed Harry with an expression as if daring Sirius to say he couldn't.

"You do know this is Ted's camera, right?"

Harry blinked before realizing what it meant. "Uh-oh."

Sirius snorted, "How're you going to erase it now?"

"There must be some kind of spell for this, right?" asked Harry, hurriedly trying to take out the film.

"Nope. And you would be wise not to take it out," said Sirius when Harry snapped open the lid. "Unless you want to explain to Ted why you got no photos of his one and only daughter's wedding."

Sirius ignored Harry's murmured swearing and ushered Remus and his father inside the chapel, where the officiant stood waiting.

Harry entered the chapel along with Andromeda, who was wearing a pale blue evening dress. She greeted Mr. Lupin and exchanged a few words before parting from him to slip into the seat on the other side of the aisle. She motioned for the pianist to begin and the music began to play.

Dora arrived just outside the doors, looking more beautiful than ever. She was in a pure white wedding gown that he knew belonged to her grandmother. It was altered with magic in some places, but it looked simply perfect on her. Her hair was in her favourite bubble-gum pink, but it was longer and swept onto one side of her shoulder in perfect curls. She smiled at Remus, who looked like lightning had struck him, much to Sirius' amusement. It reminded him too much of another person in another time, but he would not let anything dull this day for him or his family.

Harry was taking pictures as Dora walked down the aisle, arm in arm with her father. Ted kissed his daughter on the cheek before setting off to sit beside his wife, who already had her handkerchief out.

The officiant began with a speech, talking about love and commitment to one another during good times and bad. Sirius wasn't paying too much attention to his words – he already knew the gist of what they would say. Exactly twenty years ago, Sirius had been content to watch his best friend get married to the love of his life, never wanting the same for himself.

While twelve years in Azkaban and two on the run hadn't changed that opinion, this past year as a free man had given him some semblance of perspective on his needs and wants. He had on more than one occasion begun to question why he existed, purely in the philosophical sense of course.

Twenty years ago, he would have given the answer that he lived for his friends, the one who had betrayed them all for good, the one who had accepted him the moment he had known the truth and had been his solace for two years now, and the one whom Sirius loved so much that he promised to take care of his son as if he were his own.

Now, maybe he was selfish, but being free for the past year had made him want things that he hadn't really given a thought to in his entire life. He wanted more – much more than he had in his youth, which he had squandered away to a war and jail time.

"Ring?"

Sirius started, before pulling out the box from inside his pocket and handing it to them. Remus gently held Tonks' hand and slipped on a ring, the two smiling at each other and looking so openly in love, it actually made his heart ache.

They were made to sign a register along with Mr. Tonks and Mr. Lupin as the witnesses. The officiant beamed, "Remus and Dora, you have come here today of your own free will and in the presence of family and friends, have declared your love and commitment to each other. You have given and received a ring as a symbol of your promises. By the power of your love and commitment to each other, and by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and—"

BOOM!

If it wasn't for his reflexes, his godson would have been lying dead at his feet. But Sirius had noticed out of the corner of his eye something approaching him and had pulled out his wand reflexively, creating a solid iron wall onto which the purple hex collided with a loud ringing sound.

The Muggle pianist stood up and yelled in alarm when Sirius saw who had just gate-crashed the wedding. Of course, it was that bitch.

oOo

Harry nearly dropped his camera when he realized what had just happened. His fingers stumbled to get his wand out of his pocket when Sirius pushed him out of the way and he fell to the floor behind the benches. The sound of screaming halted abruptly, followed by a clang of the piano. Harry saw the pianist fallen on top of the piano and he turned around to make sense of what was happening.

It was the most fast-paced duelling he had ever seen. By Harry's estimate, there were around eight Death-Eaters and they were firing a volley of spells with such speed, it made it impossible to stop and Disapparate as quickly as they could. Harry joined Mr. Lupin in duelling two Death Eaters together when Sirius shouted, "Get Harry out of here!"

Harry couldn't imagine abandoning his family like a coward when their lives were on the line. And none of the adults had the space of time to divert their attention to Harry, which was all well for him.

"You filthy half-blood! You might as well go and join the Muggles!" screeched Bellatrix, before sending a 'Crucio' towards Tonks. Remus cut into the fight with a ferocious snarl, pushing Tonks out of the way and she slammed onto Harry. She immediately grabbed his hand and he felt himself Disapparating against his will.

They emerged outside Potter Manor and Tonks dragged Harry along inside the front door. "Don't leave the house!"

"Wait–"

She didn't stop to listen as she summoned her Patronus. A large, silver werewolf materializing from her wand and she relayed a message asking for backup. With a wave of her wand, it bounded off and Tonks Disapparated immediately.

Harry made to subconsciously follow her, when Twitchet Apparated in front of the closed door. "Young Master Harry should stay inside. Master Sirius' orders."

"He's not your Master, I am!" exclaimed Harry, indignantly. But, he heeded her words despite himself and paced the room to stave off his anxiety.

Harry's thoughts were going a mile a minute. What if something happened to Sirius or Remus? He could not imagine what it would do to him and he refused to even believe that it was possible.

They have to be fine. They will be fine.

Harry opened the front door and Twitchet immediately came forward, but Harry snapped. "I'm not leaving! I just want to keep an eye out."

Twitchet watched him closely but Harry was looking at the gates, waiting.

A series of pops sounded and Harry did a quick headcount. His panic worsened when he could count only five of them.

He walked out of the house and saw Sirius and Remus were alright. Relieved, but also properly noticing who was missing, he asked, "Where's Mr. Lupin?"

"Dad left," said Remus, wiping his bloody cheek. "I told him to hide for a few days. I saw him Disapparate, so I know he's safe."

Sirius walked with a slight limp and Harry looked at him worriedly. "What happened to your leg?"

Sirius grimaced. "I must've twisted my ankle. That delirious cousin of mine is pretty good at her aiming skills. No offence," he added to Andromeda, who made him sit on the grass and helped to fix him up.

"I knew something like this would happen," continued Sirius, wincing when his bones were put right.

"But, we were sure nobody knew where the wedding was taking place." Mr. Tonks said perplexedly to his daughter, whose pristine white gown was muddied and ripped in places. "Certainly, nobody could know it was in a Muggle chapel."

Tonks said, "I can only name a handful of people at work who even know I'm getting married. I can't think of anyone who would notify Death Eaters."

"Anyone could be Imperiused though," said Mrs. Tonks. "It's lucky the wedding was over by the time we were attacked."

They became solemn once again, and Harry watched her patch Sirius up with a splint around his ankle.

At least they were safe here. Harry felt the tension in his neck leave at that comforting thought.

Remus looked worried, so Harry took it upon himself to lighten his mood. "Aren't we forgetting something though?"

Sirius looked up at Harry, who looked pointedly at Remus and Tonks, hinting something wordlessly that Sirius caught on to. He laughed out loud, his eyes dancing with happiness when he announced from his place on the grass, "You may kiss the bride!"

oOo

They put aside the dreadful morning and had a beautiful lunch out in the gardens of Potter Manor to celebrate Remus and Tonks' wedding. Though it was short-lived, there were many stories shared about the bride and groom and their childhood, much to their embarrassment.

After their lunch, it was the right time for Sirius and Harry to announce they had a gift for them. Sirius pulled out a set of newly-polished keys from his pocket and gave it to Remus, who looked awed.

"But, this is—"

"This was my flat that we both shared when we were eighteen, before you moved out. I thought it is high-time you both got a place of your own."

"Yeah, we've had enough of seeing you both snog every day during breakfast," said Harry with a disgusted expression.

Tonks laughed happily, looking radiant when she gave Harry a bear-hug. "Thank you, both of you."

Sirius was saying, "It's got all the protective enchantments you need. Mad-Eye and I sorted it all out last week –"

"And we've even decorated it," added Harry.

"—yes, that too," finished Sirius.

Remus still looked disbelieving. "But Dora and I had thought of renting a place and—"

"I'll sort it out," said Sirius, beaming. "This is your own house, so you never have to keep moving anymore."

Remus looked touched and hugged Sirius with a murmured, "Thank you."

After farewells and some tears on Mrs. Tonks' part, the two newly-weds Disapparated just outside the gates.

"We've got to go and check on the officiant and the pianist, don't you think?" said Ted to Sirius, who nodded.

"Oh, I hope they make it out alive," said Mrs. Tonks worriedly.

"Don't worry," said Sirius. "I Stunned them both as soon as the Death Eaters got in. That way, they wouldn't be too much of a target and most likely won't need to lose too many of their memories."

Mrs. Tonks said to Harry graciously, "Thank you for the pictures, dear. I'll see you around soon."

Harry smiled and nodded, waiting for her to leave before whispering hurriedly to Sirius, "I left the camera in the chapel."

Sirius sniggered. "I got it."

Everyone had departed now and Harry was left to wonder why weddings felt like they were over before they had even begun.

oOo

A/N: I know Pottermore said Remus and Tonks had a very private "Wizarding" marriage, but I find it highly unlikely. After Umbridge passed those laws banning werewolves from getting jobs, it should only follow that a marriage is just impossible. I hope you liked my spin on it :)

Huge thanks to evadnekapaneos for giving me insight on wedding ceremonies and pointing out logical inconsistencies. You're amazing, you are!

Virtual cookies to the 400th follower - alhena. I had to pinch myself to know I had crossed 400 followers!