The Chosen Family
For three more weeks, Moody's team of aurors look for Mulciber. They spoke to every informant, combed through all the domestic intelligence reports that Division B kept producing, and visited every known dark wizards' pub or hideout. But no one had seen or heard anything about Mulciber since he disappeared. They were quickly coming to a conclusion that he was gone.
"It's a dead end," Moody proclaimed one morning when the whole team was sitting around, trying to work out where to look next. "We've got other cases piling up. Let's keep our ears to the ground if he turns up, but for the time being-" he paused and sighed. "We're dropping the investigation."
"There was this one pub in Manchester we should go and see-" Claudia began to protest. They got so close. They could not stop now!
"Avery, it happens," Moody said.
"Just one more lead, it looked so promi-"
"Drop it," Moody barked. "It's a waste of time."
"But Ted-"
"Claudia, please," the old auror said almost gently. "Tidy up the file and take it to records. We're dropping this."
Moody did not give her an opportunity to respond, and left.
Claudia plonked down onto her chair and pulled a huge pile of papers in front of her. They were reports from the investigation, evidence records, and witness statements. She took out a fresh case file form from her drawer and began to fill it in. She logged every report and statement in chronological order, and took it to Barraclough to sign.
"It really does happen," he said as he circled 'unsolved' on the form just above his signature.
"I know, the boss said." Claudia paused. "I just hate losing."
"Get that intern of ours to take it to records, and go home," Barraclough said. "You deserve a break. You did well."
"Right," she said sarcastically. "So well that a murderer is free roaming the streets."
"Go home."
"I can't go home," Claudia replied with a sigh. "My boyfriend is a best man to a friend of ours and they're having the stag do today. So, I've been evicted."
"Where are you staying?"
"Normal people would stay with their parents," Claudia smirked. "But I don't have that option. I'll stay with friends." It had dawned on Claudia at that moment that nothing was arranged. She was meant to ask Alice if she could stay over but forgot. In fact, they had not spoken since their weird interaction in the pub. Maybe Lily would welcome the company...
"Crouch!" Barraclough yelled and interrupted her thoughts. "Get this to the records room," he added when Bartemius made it over to the senior auror's desk.
"Sure," Crouch said casually, grabbed the file and walked out.
"He's so useless," Claudia sighed. "Makes my blood boil that someone like that gets to be an auror just because his father heads up the department."
"He isn't the first one like that, and he won't be the last," Barraclough sighed.
"Great," she replied and wondered back to her desk. She sat down and stared blankly at the wall, having no strength to figure out what to do tonight. There was always the option to sleep in the office. Or just work through the night.
Eventually, Oscar dragged her out for lunch. The moment she settled back at her desk, her stomach full of a lovely pork pie, Frank appeared with a file in his hand. "I don't think this should be lying around in the men's toilets," he said and plonked the file down on Claudia's desk.
She blinked twice to make sure she was not seeing things. It was the Mulciber file that she just finished earlier "Where did you get this?"
"As I said, in the men's toilet," Frank said. "It was tucked behind the rubbish bin."
Claudia looked over her shoulder and saw Crouch sitting at his desk, feet up on a filing cabinet, and looking out of the window. "Can you please go and stand by the door for me?" she whispered to Frank. Then, she picked up the file and stood up. "Crouch!" she yelled.
Crouch rolled his eyes, slowly got to his feet and dragged his heels across the room. "Yes?"
"Did you take the Mulciber file to record?" she barked.
"Yes," Crouch sighed. "Obviously."
"So how come Frank found it in the men's bathroom?" she asked and folded her arms across her chest.
"I don't know." He shrugged. "Someone must have taken it out again."
His coolness infuriated her. "Do you think I'm an idiot?" Claudia yelled at him.
This had drawn Moody and Barraclough out of Moody's office. "What's going on?" Moody barked.
"I asked him to take the Mulciber file to Records," Claudia said and gestured towards Crouch. "But Frank just brought it from the men's bathroom."
"What?" Moody growled and strode across the room until his face was about an inch away from Crouch's. "Who are you working for?" he yelled, grabbing him by the collar.
"I've lost it, ok?" Crouch barked. "Happy now? I went to the bathroom and left it on the sink. Once I came back, it was gone!"
"Get out of here, your useless piece of shit!" Moody yelled.
"You can't fire me!" Crouch smirked. "My father-"
"I don't care one bit about your father!" Moody barked. "Get out!"
Crouch looked at everyone else, but not a single person had an ounce of sympathy on their face. He scoffed, picked up his jacket. "You'll regret this, Longbottom," he hissed as he passed Frank who was still guarding the door.
Claudia walked over to Frank to thank him.
"What a prat," Frank said and shook his head.
"Thank you," Claudia said with a soft smile. "I should've taken the damn thing myself."
Claudia saw Frank look to the side, down the corridor, and smile. She turned to see her best friend approaching.
"What are you two talking about?" Alice asked.
"Frank just saved my butt," Claudia said. "Remember my trainee? He left a file in the bathroom, and if Frank hadn't found it, all the work on the Mulciber case would have gone to waste."
"Sounds like he was indeed a piece of work." Alice looked momentarily at her feet. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier. You aren't an asshole."
"Well, if you wanted to make it up to me... Can I stay at yours today?" Claudia asked, relieved her row with Alice seemingly forgotten. "Sirius is having everyone over for James' stag do and I've been banished."
"Isn't that normally the night before the wedding?" Frank asked sceptically. "At least mine was."
"It is," Claudia smirked. "But Lily made it clear she wanted James conscious when they got married. So they are doing it today."
After a pleasant evening at Alice's, Claudia tiptoed into her flat to quickly change before heading back to work. It must have just been approaching eight in the morning.
"Claude!" Sirius yelled jovially and startled her. "Welcome home!" He was sitting with his feet up on the dining table and grinning.
"Are you not hangover?" she asked, somewhat surprised to see him awake and this cheerful.
"I am not," Sirius beamed. "For I am still drunk!" He lifted his arms theatrically.
Claudia chuckled and looked around the rest of the flat. Peter and Remus were passed out on the sofa and armchair respectively, and James was just coming back from the bathroom.
He sat down next to Sirius and pulled up a greasy paper with leftover fish and chips. "Breakfast?" he asked.
"No, thank you." Claudia's stomach turned when she saw James get stuck in. "I'm just getting changed and will be out of your hair soon."
"Don't go," Sirius said, jumped up from his chair and, stumbling slightly, grabbed Claudia in his arms.
"Your breath is terrible," she grimaced, held onto his forearms and was about to push him away, when he screamed with pain.
"What happened?" she gasped and took a few steps back. Remus and Peter were scrambling to their feet, and looked like they were expecting a couple of Death Eaters.
"I was only going to show you once these clowns left," Sirius said and started to roll up his sleeve to reveal his left forearm.
Remus and Peter collapsed back into the cushions. They both looked half-dead.
"Did you get the Dark Mark?" Claudia smirked at Sirius who was still wrestling with his shirt. She knew of the tattoo Voldemort imparted on his followers.
Sirius laughed. "Not quite." He revealed a fresh tattoo, still wrapped in a clear film.
"What is it?" Claudia squinted to look at an animal's head. It was rather cool and very pretty. "A wolf?" she asked and held onto Sirius' arm.
"It's a fox." Sirius beamed and brushed her hair with his free hand. "Or it will be a fox once the swelling goes down."
Claudia looked up at him and smiled. "I didn't think these would hurt," she said softly and with a slight crack in her voice.
"Of course, it did!" He replied. "They kept poking my skin with a needle for two hours!"
"A needle?" she gasped. "Where did you go?"
"Soho. Where else?"
"The magical tattoo place in Diagon Alley?"
"You bastards!" Sirius shot James a look that could kill, and all the three boys started to laugh manically. "You said I had to go to the muggle place! That magic couldn't do them!" Sirius roared.
"And I cannot believe you fell for it!" James laughed. "You're so dumb when you drink."
Sirius took half a step towards James and looked like he might punch him. But Claudia drew him back and kissed him. "You've been very brave," she whispered. His terrible drunken breath did not matter anymore.
"Are you mocking me?" Sirius hissed.
"Obviously," she laughed and placed her hands on his chest. "But I do like it. I really do."
"I hoped you would," he whispered and kissed her again. His hands travelled down her back and across her hips. "Get a room!" James screeched.
"We have one!" Sirius barked back. "You just happen to be fucking in it."
Claudia took her boyfriend's hand and led him to their bedroom.
Sirius may have misread her intentions and collapsed into the bed. "Come here," he whispered, his eyes dancing.
"I really have to go back to work," she replied. "And you need to sober up."
"I don't want to," Sirius moaned. "I'll feel terrible!"
"Just go to sleep," she laughed lowered herself on all fours, kneeled over him and kissed him. "I'll look after you when I'm back?"
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"
She shook her head, smiling. Then, she grabbed some fresh clothes and made her way to the shower. By the time she got out of there, Sirius was already asleep.
The last few days before the wedding were filled with last minute preparations and made Claudia regret ever volunteering to help. Lily's hen do actually came the day before the wedding, and it was tamed accordingly. Lily, Marlene, Claudia, Alice and two of Lily's friends, Emily from the apothecary, and Meadow from Hogwarts were in attendance. The girls stayed in James's and Lily's wedding suite, had pizza and drank some pink wine. Then, they started to paint each other's fingernails.
Claudia sat in the corner of the room, her knees pressed against her chest. This was not exactly her scene. Just as she thought that, Alice came over and shook light pink nail polish in front of Claudia's face.
"In your dreams," Claudia smirked and took another sip of the overly sweet wine.
Emily finished on Lily's toes and looked up. "I don't know much about you and James. How did you meet? What was your first kiss like?"
"It was our second date," Lily said tentatively as she was trying to remember. "We went for a butterbeer in Hogsmeade. I wanted to kiss his cheek but he sort of turned awkwardly and I kissed his chin instead. He went red, began apologising profusely. So, I kissed him again to shut him up."
"Sounds like a right mess. I would never have thought. He seems so confident."
"He was a mess!" Lily laughed. "He barely put together a coherent sentence the first month we were together."
"And your first time?" Meadow said, hiding a cheeky smile behind her wine glass.
"I'm not telling you!" Lily said and went bright red.
"Come on!"
"No!"
"I know!" Claudia chipped in with a little smirk.
"You keep your mouth shut, if you know what's good for you," Lily chuckled.
But Claudia was undeterred. She sat down properly and began. "There was this one evening. Was it Valentine's Day? Where James kicked all the others from the Gryffindor dorm," she paused to judge Lily's facial expression. She was smiling and blushing, so Claudia deemed it safe to continue. "And in the morning, you two came down holding hands and smiling like idiots."
"No comment," Lily laughed.
"What about you?" Emily asked Claudia. "You're dating the best man, aren't you?"
"There is nothing to tell," Claudia chuckled. "We were friends. There was a party and drink. And we kissed."
"And your first time?"
"Allow me," Lily jumped in. "A year after that first kiss, I believe? You were still friends, you were at a party and there was drink. Am I right?"
"Yes," Alice replied before Claudia had a chance to stop laughing. "Two and a half years ago."
"Except they didn't tell anyone they were together for over half a year!" Lily exclaimed.
"I even went with him to that stupid ball!" Marlene said.
Claudia looked at her, alarmed. This was the first time Marlene brought it up. But she was relieved to see that the chief bridesmaid was laughing. Lily must have been right, she was over her crush on Sirius.
"That was such a mess," Lily laughed. "I said I'd only go with James if Sirius took Marlene. Which he did, but was already with Claudia, who – if I remember – went with Remus as friends. And Mary, who wanted to go with Remus in the first place, was stuck with Peter."
"Oh, to be seventeen again!" Marlene proclaimed and all the girls laughed.
"Who's Mary?" Emily asked.
"It was our other friend from school." Marlene explained. "She's moved to America and said she couldn't make it."
Lily sighed and took a large sip of the pink wine. "No Mary, no Tuney, no parents… It's almost as if I have no family anymore." The mood in the room changed in an instant. Everyone fell silent.
"You have us," Alice whispered.
"And James," Claudia added. It nearly took her by surprise that her tone was earnest. "He's going to be your family from tomorrow. Just like Sirius is mine." She paused. "Just like you're my family, actually, my strangely upbeat sister."
Lily crossed the room to where Claudia was sitting. "I would never have thought it would come to this…" she whispered and hugged her. "I love you."
"Hold your horses, Evans," Claudia laughed. "You're marrying James, remember?"
"Oh, shut up." Lily laughed and held Claudia firmly in her arms.
Once Lily finally released her, they had more food and drink. And Claudia even let Lily paint her toenails. In black, mind you. That was their compromise.
Just after midnight, the girls climbed into their sleeping bags and went to sleep. But Claudia was uncomfortable on the floor and after a few hours of tossing around decided to bail on the hen do and go back to the room where Sirius was sleeping. In a bed which was so much more comfortable.
She snuck into the room, took off everything but her knickers and climbed into bed. Sirius stirred, turned over and wrapped his arms around Claudia.
"Why are you naked?" she whispered.
"Do you expect me to dress when you aren't here?" he mumbled half-asleep.
"Do you have an alarm?"
Sirius groaned and started to breathe softly again. Claudia set her own alarm and passed out within seconds, the warmth of Sirius' naked body was always the best sleeping draught.
When Claudia woke up, Sirius was already sitting up in bed, scribbling something on a piece of parchment.
"What are you doing?" she asked and stretched her back. It was still sore from the sleeping bag earlier.
"Polishing the speech."
"You prepared it?" she smirked. "That's very unlike you."
"This is the sixth draft!" Sirius scoffed. "Have some faith in me."
"Well, in that case." Claudia whispered, lifted herself on her knees and threw one of her legs over Sirius, so that she was kneeling over him. "You don't want to over prepare." She reached for the speech, took it out of his hand and threw it onto the pillow where she slept moments ago.
Sirius did not take long to catch on. He buried his fingers in the back of Claudia's hair and kissed her. His hands travelled to her shoulders, the top of her arms. "I'm so glad you like this," he whispered and moved his finger across her chest to the pendant he gave her for her birthday. "Bit of a risk, trying to buy you some jewellery."
"I love it," she mumbled and kissed him. She felt his palm move over her sides and down her hips. Sirius slid her underwear over her knees and threw it away.
He stayed sitting, leaning against the headboard and Claudia pressed her body against his. They kissed, completely losing track of time. Their hands began to wander until...
"You're right," Sirius exhaled, his eyes firmly shut. "This is much better than working on the speech."
Their foreheads were together while they started to move slowly.
"You mention that speech one more time," she whispered in response. "And-"
"And what?" he smirked, grabbed her hips even tighter and pulled his girlfriend closer to him. As close as he could. A wave of pleasure shook Claudia. And she was not alone struggling to finish a sentence. All he managed was a groan and a little bite on Claudia's shoulder.
Her whole body quivered. "And I'll stop," she mumbled. But it was getting too much. She dropped her head on Sirius' shoulder. "Who am I kidding," she exhaled. "I can't stop. I don't want to."
Sirius laughed and kissed her. "You're just... perfect. Almost as perfect as that speech."
Claudia lifted her finger and placed it across Sirius' lips.
He grinned at bit it.
Claudia no longer cared. She did not know if it was the angle or the way their bodies rubbed against each other in this position, but she was about to explode.
"Please," she whispered between the heavy breaths. "I'm begging you."
Sirius did not need a lot of convincing. He sunk his fingers even deeper into Claudia's legs. Then, his body twitched, and movements slowed down.
Claudia collapsed on top of him like a marionette that got her strings cut and rested her head on Sirius' shoulder. She could feel his heart pounding against her chest.
"I don't want to say it," he whispered after a few minutes.
"Then don't," Claudia moaned. She knew what was coming.
"We need to get ready."
Grudgingly, Claudia got out of bed and began searching through her bag.
"Shit, I forgot my potion," she uttered in frustration. "I need to swing by home."
"I'll get it," Sirius said and began a feeble attempt to get dressed.
"Isn't it too far to apparate?"
"I'll be fine. Go to the shower."
"It's in the-" Claudia began to give him instructions as to where to find it.
"We've lived together for a year," Sirius said with a laugh. "I know where it is."
And he was right. Few minutes later, he was back, potion in hand.
Showered and with the potion safely in her stomach, Claudia was looking at herself in the mirror. She was overjoyed that she managed to convince Lily to wear a white blouse and tailored trousers in the same dark blue colour that the other bridesmaids wore. Her case was helped significantly when the bridesmaids could not agree on a style, and Lily agreed to Claudia's suggestion to let them wear mismatched dresses (not realising at that point what Claudia's idea for her own dress was).
Sirius was wearing a traditional suit with a waistcoat. His tie and pocket square were the same blue as Claudia's trousers.
Hand in hand, they walked over to the venue to help set up. They sat on an empty crate, drank coffee and had some toast.
"I need to go help James," Sirius said as he glanced at his watch. It was nearly ten.
Claudia kissed him.
As their lips parted, Sirius picked up the pendant that was just visible on Claudia's chest. "I think it looked better with the shirt off," he whispered.
"Get out of here," Claudia smirked and pushed him to standing. "We have a wedding to run." But she agreed and would have happily go straight back to their room and prove his point.
Sadly, there was no time and Claudia got to work, checking that everything was ready. James and Sirius arrived just under an hour later, wearing matching suits. Claudia was not quite sure how Sirius did it, but while James managed to look stiff and uncomfortable, Sirius looked like he stepped out from one of the magazines Claudia's mother liked to read.
"Where is Remus?" Claudia asked.
"Lily had a little wobble earlier about not having her dad here," James explained. "So, Remus volunteered to become the Father of the Bride for the day. He's there to take pictures while she gets ready, walk her down the aisle, do the speech."
"People are starting to arrive," Peter mumbled and looked towards the garden gate that led from the car park.
Claudia barely managed to turn before she heard a loud shriek. "Cousin Sirius!" A little girl ran the length of the path and jumped into Sirius' arms. The Tonkses were here.
"Cute hair," Sirius laughed and messed up Nymphadora's bob. It had streaks of every colour in the rainbow.
"Do not get me started!" Andromeda sighed. "She learned how to control her metamorphogus abilities. "There is nothing I can do."
"Cousin Sirius said it's cute!" Nymphadora shrieked, her arms still clutched around Sirius' neck.
"Thank you for inviting us, James," Andromeda said.
"My pleasure," James grinned and then looked at Sirius. "He's like a brother to me. So, his family is my family."
"Claude," Ted said and grabbed her arm with both of his hands. "Good to see you. I don't know how to thank you."
"Don't mention it," she said with a smile. "I'm glad I could help."
"Ehrm, ehrm," someone cleared their throat behind the Tonkses.
"Grandma Edith!" James said, his voice a little high-pitched.
"Who's grandma Edith?" Claudia whispered in Sirius' ear.
"Lily's grandma," he whispered back. "James is terrified of her."
A short, stocky woman in a huge pink hat emerged from behind Ted. "You scrub up alright," she said and straightened James' tie. Then, she looked towards Sirius. "Couldn't you have found an uglier best man? No sane woman would pick you when you're standing next to him."
Claudia let out a little laugh, which attracted grandma Edith's attention. Her eyes narrowed. "You're new… Are you a boy or a girl?" she asked. "It's so hard to tell these days."
"Does it matter?" Claudia smirked.
"I suppose not," Grandma Edith sighed. "But if you are a boy, I hope you've got a jacket somewhere. And a tie." She did not even let Claudia answer. "Show me to my seat, James," she said and extended her arm so that James could lead her to the front.
"We better get going too," said Ted. "See you later."
The ceremony was beautiful, if a little too long, and soon, everyone found themselves sitting down for the meal. Sirius, Remus and Marlene sat with the Bride and Groom at the long top table, alongside James' parents and Grandma Edith.
As the best man, Sirius was sat on the far right end, a couple of yards from Claudia's seat at one of the round tables where the rest of the guests were sat. To Claudia's right was Peter, and to her left Ted, Andromenda, Frank and Alice. The table also sat the other two bridesmaids and a couple of James' Quidditch friends.
Throughout the starters, Peter was trying to flirt with Meadow, and it was excruciating to listen to. Not least because she was clearly into James' Quidditch friend who was sitting on the other side of her. Claudia thought his name was Chester, but was not quite sure. What she was sure about though was that if Meadow was going home with anyone, it was this guy rather than Peter.
Ted tapped her arm and she had to stop observing and judging people for a moment. "I meant it earlier. Thank you."
"How has it been?" Claudia asked.
"Getting used to living under official Ministry protection. Can't even go to the park with Dora without the patrol officers following me."
"Sorry he slipped away," Claudia uttered. "We really should've caught him."
"He was a Death Eater, right?" Ted quipped. "Send to kill Buttons and later me under You-Know-Who's orders?"
"Yes."
"Then someone else would come if you caught Mulciber. And then another, and another," Ted said. "So, don't be sorry. I knew what I signed up for. Although it is harder with Dromeda and Dora."
Just on cue, little Nymphadora ran to the table. "Daddy, what food do you have?"
"Steak."
"I want a steak. My food is-" Nymphadora blew a raspberry to show her displeasure with the food served at the children's table.
Claudia chuckled and tuned out the rest of the conversation to go back to observing people. Meadow was telling Chester about her travels and twirling her hair, but he did not seem that keen. He was exchanging side glances with James' other friend and Claudia would bet anything those two were an item.
The dinner was now over, and Claudia went to chat to Sirius for a bit. She leaned against his chair, just as he was talking to Mrs Potter who was sitting next to him. Sirius wrapped his arm around Claudia and hung his hand on her belt.
"Are you enjoying yourself, dear?" Mrs Potter asked.
"It's been great," Claudia said.
"I do like a wedding," Mrs Potter smirked. "I hope to get invited to another one soon," she added and tapped Sirius' arm. She did not have to explain whose wedding she meant.
Claudia looked at Sirius, who froze with his mouth a little ajar.
Mrs Potter laughed. "I'm only teasing. One of my sons getting married is plenty for me."
Sirius blushed and squeezed Mrs Potter's hand. But before he could explain that there would be no wedding, Remus stood up and tapped a piece of cutlery on his glass. It was time for the speeches.
"As you have all probably realised by now, I am not Lily's father." Remus began speaking to soft chuckles around the room. "But it has been my greatest honour being by Lily's side today as her father could not."
"Lily," he said and turned to his right where the bride was sitting. "I'm sure your parents are watching you tonight and they are so proud and happy for you. You look beautiful."
"I was told that as the honorary father of the bride, I need to do three things in this speech."
"First, compliment the bride," Remus said. "Done."
"Second, tell heartfelt stories about her." Remus paused and looked at Lily. "I have plenty of those." He began recalling a story of Lily noticing in second year he was not feeling to well and following him for two days - against his wishes - to make sure he was alright. "She even spiked my pumpkin juice with pepper-up potion, something she only confessed to last year!"
The room burst into laughter. Remus added couple other anecdotes for good measure.
"Lastly, I'm supposed to talk about how much of a great couple those two are." He said with an awkward grimace. "That's going to be a lot harder," he added to raucous laughter.
"Oi!" Sirius shouted. "Leave the jokes to me!"
Without warning, Claudia was nearly knocked over by little Nymphadora who ran towards the top table and jumped onto Sirius' lap. That interruption meant that Claudia missed the rest of Remus' speech.
It was now the groom's turn.
"Thank you all for coming," he began. "And to everyone who made this wedding happen."
"Thank you to all the bridesmaids. Marlene," James said and raised his glass. "Claudia… Get back to your table. Good grief, can't you two stay apart for five minutes?" he chuckled before moving onto the other bridesmaids. "Emily," he raised his glass again, "Meadow" and again.
Nymphadora jumped down from Sirius' lap, grabbed Claudia's hand and loudly proclaimed. "Let's go. James is mean." The whole room laughed.
"I wouldn't try to resist," Sirius whispered and let go of Claudia's waist. "I gather she knows her mind."
Claudia sighed and let Nymphadora drag her back to their original table.
Andromeda looked a little embarrassed. "Do you want to go back to sit with the other kids?"
"No!" the girl shrieked. "I want to sit with Claudia!"
Ted got up, brought a chair over and stuck it between himself and Claudia. James was still talking. What about, Claudia had no clue. And she was not going to get an opportunity to find out.
"What's your favourite colour?" Nymphadora asked the moment she climbed onto that chair.
Claudia had no idea. But the room was all blue so that's what she was going with. "Blue."
Nymphadora rolled her eyes. "What kind of blue? Navy? Sky? Turquoise?"
"Sky."
The hair on the girl's head turned a bright shade of light blue.
"Well done," Claudia clapped tentatively.
"Did it work? Is it sky blue?" Nymphadora picked up a spoon and looked. It was and she cackled. "Tell me another colour!"
They had gone through powder pink, dark green, bright purple and gold before Nymphadora got bored.
"Now," Nymphadora said. "I want to try to change my face."
"Dora, sweetheart," Ted said softly. "Cousin Sirius is about to speak." He pointed towards the top table, and Nymphadora sat up straight to listen. "Distraction always works," Ted whispered to Claudia with a wink.
Sirius stood up. His jacket was now off, sleeves were rolled up, and tie was loose. His tattoo was on his forearm for everyone to see. Grandma Edith did not seem impressed. Claudia on the other hand, could not stop smiling.
"I haven't really prepared much," Sirius began.
"You had six drafts!" Claudia said just loudly enough so Sirius and the rest of the top table could hear her.
"Heckled by my own girlfriend," Sirius smirked. "Don't believe anything Claude says about me. Understood?"
"James has been my best friend since the moment we met. So, it was only natural, I was there when he fell in love for the first time." Sirius smirked at James. "Every time he thought about her, he smiled absent-mindedly. He dreamed about her every day. Would not shut up about her..." He paused and took a sip of his champagne. "Her name was Quidditch."
The whole room burst into laughter.
"Most of you will know James as this happy, laid-back guy... Let me tell you, that is not what he's like when he's playing that wretched game. I cannot even remember the number of nights he spent in his bed crying over it. First, because he wasn't on the team. Then, because they kept losing."
James muttered something incomprehensible, clearly not particularly impressed that his Quidditch failures were being brought up on what was supposed to be the happiest day of his life.
"And when I started dating Claude, he tried to break us up," Sirius continued. "It was hell. I hate that game... I almost ended it with both of them."
Claudia could not help but laugh with everyone else. Those early days were quite strange for everyone involved.
"But if you think his moping about Quidditch was bad, you cannot imagine what he was like about Lily!"
"I don't know whether you know..." Sirius took a dramatic pause. "But James can be quite competitive."
The room erupted again.
"Oh, so you do know!" Sirius smirked. "I believe he asked Lily out for the first time in third year. I also believe she laughed in his face."
Claudia took her eyes off Sirius to look at the bride. She was giggling.
"If she only said yes, went for a butterbeer and blew him off, it would have ended right there. I would have saved myself four years of watching him mope. And we would not be here."
James opened his mouth theatrically to fake outrage, and then leaned to Lily and whispered something. They both giggled.
"He asked her again, again and again," Sirius continued. "It was sad to watch, actually... Pathetic even. By fourth year, Lily stopped laughing at him and started to shout. I swear I saw her jinx him once."
Lily shrugged innocently.
"To this day, I don't know what made her say yes." Sirius chuckled, then paused and looked at James. "That's a lie actually, I know what did it. James is the most amazingly loyal, loving, smart guy I've ever met. You need to get through a lot of dickishness, but he is-"
"What's dickishness?" Nymphadora grabbed Claudia's attention just as everyone laughed again. Claudia pretended she did not hear. There is no way she was answering that.
"Besides he's kind of handsome," Sirius continued. "Rich and, if he's to be believed, amazing in bed."
Claudia laughed but shortly got interrupted by yet another of Nymphadora's questions.
"Does it mean he sleeps a lot?" the little girl asked Ted, who was trying desperately hard to keep a straight face. Andromeda leaned back into her chair and poured herself a rather large glass of wine.
Claudia looked back at the top table. Lily put her face in her hands, her shoulders were shaking. It was unclear whether she was laughing or crying. Sirius spotted this and smirked.
"Mummy, why is everyone laughing? Sleep isn't that funny." Nymphadora interjected again. Both of her parents were now spitting their drinks.
"Not that Lily would ever confirm or deny this," Sirius continued the speech. "And I'm pretty sure there is no one else we could ask."
James was redder than Claudia had ever seen him be. Grandma Edith, who was sitting next to him, was glaring. Claudia enjoyed watching everybody squirm and hoped this speech would never end. But Sirius was on the last stretch.
"James," he said suddenly looking very serious. "You're my brother. It's been my greatest honour to be standing here, giving this speech. I love you and wish you all the happiness in the world."
He raised his glass, and everyone cheered.
When Sirius sat back down, Mrs Potter playfully slapped his arm and laughed. Then, she gave him the sweetest motherly kiss Claudia had ever seen. Sirius blushed and giggled. He looked so happy, and Claudia could feel a tear in her eye.
James walked over and hugged Sirius from the back. "You better get married too. I want my revenge speech!"
Sirius looked at Claudia, their eyes locked, and the time slowed. The thought of having a wedding did not momentarily seem quite so terrible. Sirius was blushing and Claudia was pretty sure she was too.
"Could've mentioned me at least once," Peter interrupted Claudia's train of thought.
"Grow up, today's not about you," Claudia hissed.
"Nothing is ever about me."
Claudia rolls her eyes. The moment was gone. This is what weddings really were. Just pointless drama.
But the wedding only got better from there. There was dancing, singing and garden games – croquet, high striker, and a booth where you could knock over a tower of cans by throwing a ball at it.
Claudia and James, the two former chasers, went head-to-head. Every time they knocked the tower, they took a step back. Finally, they were about ten or twelve yards away.
Claudia threw first and missed by a mile.
James screamed in triumph and punched the air. He readied himself to throw, and he too missed.
They tried again and again, getting increasingly more frustrated. After about five minutes of fruitless competition, Claudia heard a giggling from behind her. She turned and saw Sirius and Lily with their wands out, aiming at the cans.
"It's been you all along!" she yelled. "I hate you!"
"What?" James asked and turned around. He folded his arms when he saw them. "Really? On my wedding day?"
Sirius and Lily again collapsed in a fit of giggles.
"Sorry," Lily said. "Do try again."
James exhaled, picked up a ball and threw it. It was right on target until it suddenly changed course and crashed into the back wall of the booth, leaving the can tower intact. "Sirius!" he yelled.
"It wasn't me!" Sirius defended himself. "It was your wife!"
"Too soon to ask for a divorce?" he growled.
Lily walked up to him and kissed him. "Better?"
"Maybe a little," James mumbled. "Try again?"
Sirius brushed Claudia's shoulders with the palms of his hand. "Should we get out of here?" When he saw a hint of hesitation on Claudia's face, he laughed and shook his head. "If you chose this game over me, I want a divorce too."
Claudia smiled and took his hand. "Let's get out of here, then."
They walked past the bar to pick up a bottle of champagne and bumped into the Tonkses. Ted and Andromeda came to say goodbye. Nymphadora was passed out on Ted's shoulder. Sirius gave them both the longest hug and they were on their way.
"I don't think I've ever seen you this happy," Claudia whispered as they walked towards a lonely tree in the grounds of the house where the wedding was taking place.
"I realised something today," Sirius replied. "I do have a family that loves me and is proud of me."
"The love you so much."
They sat down by the foot of the tree and Sirius popped open the bottle of champagne. He passed it to his girlfriend to take the first sip. As he did, she caught a glance of his forearm.
Claudia ran the fingers over his new tattoo. "I can't believe you did this. It's so..." she paused for a moment, looking for the right word. "Permanent."
"Just because we aren't getting married, doesn't mean I won't love you for the rest of my life."
Claudia wrapped her arms around Sirius' neck and kissed him. "I want one too," she uttered.
"A fox?" he asked but Claudia shook her head. "Or my patronus? A dog?"
"Hate dogs," Claudia smirked and turned her head slightly to look at the stars. "What about the Canis Major?"