A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the delay - I started a new job and I've had no time to write. I'm losing motivation for this story, just to be honest. It may take me some time to update, but I promise I will finish it! I might write faster if you guys told me how you were enjoying it :) Just saying :)
January 16th, 1995
We had gotten special permission from Dumbledore to bring the kids out of Hogsmeade to The Mystic for the vow renewal, so Arthur, Lewis and Remus had been pushing them through the floo at the Three Broomsticks for the last fifteen minutes. According to Hollyn, the twins had run off to a "quick meeting" just as she entered the floo, and Harry, Ron and Hermione were finishing up a conversation with Ludo Bagman, of all people. Then Ginny had said something about goblins before running off to talk to Bill. So… we had to wait for all of them before we could start. Ellie and Molly were upstairs with me in Remus's loft, helping me get ready, so I'd set Hollyn and Ginny to the task of making sure all of the kids were downstairs before coming to get me.
I looked at myself in the mirror; my hair was long and curled and I was wearing the same diamond and pearl headband with the lace veil that I had worn on my wedding day. I had opted for a simple white lace dress with long sleeves; once again, the only jewelry I wore was my wedding rings and my crystal necklace. My bouquet was a mix of yellow and white flowers; my bridesmaids were all carrying identical bouquets.
Ellie examined herself in the mirror, checking the back of her grey bridesmaid's dress to see if she had any underwear lines – she didn't. I had asked Molly if she would be my Maid of Honor, but she had respectfully declined citing that she was "too old" to be in a wedding party again. Nothing I said had convinced her otherwise, so I had to be content with her helping me get ready.
"Ellie, you look perfect," I assured her.
"You can't see the baby bump?" She asked worriedly, looking at her side profile and running her hands down her dress to ensure it was lying flat.
"Eliana," Molly admonished, coming behind Ellie and futzing with her hair. "You're not even four weeks pregnant. There's no possible way anyone will be able to tell."
"I know," Ellie said in defeat, bristling slightly at Molly's use of her full name. "I just feel like this is going to be the last time we all get together for a while, and I want to look good."
"You look amazing, Elle," I said. "Seriously, you're glowing and your waist looks so tiny."
"Really?" Ellie gasped, turning to look at her waist. I rolled my eyes at her melodramatics and turned to the door, wondering what was taking Hollyn and Ginny so long.
"Do we need to go wrangle Fred and George out of Zonko's or something?" I asked, fidgeting with my necklace anxiously. "I want to get this over with."
"Get it over with?" Molly asked, tilting her head at me. "Aren't you excited, dear?"
"Oh, super excited! But I have this pit in my stomach like something awful is going to happen," I replied. "And I just want to get down there before it happens."
"Nothing is going to go wrong, Addie," Ellie said, running her hand up and down my arm. "Especially not with you looking like that! Seriously, have you even fucking aged since you got married?"
Molly shot Ellie a look for her language, but turned to me with a gentle expression on her face. "Really, Addie. You look wonderful. Sirius isn't going to know what hit him."
I turned to look at myself again in the mirror. All I saw was how old I had gotten – I guess having a kid, losing your husband, and fighting for custody of your godson really had an effect on you. I knew that I looked good, relatively speaking, but all I could focus on was how much better I had looked the last time we did this. I sighed, accepting that it was what it was. I was about to respond disparagingly, when I heard the front door opening.
"Mom!" Hollyn yelled, excitedly. "The twins are here, so we can start!" Hollyn and Ginny had rushed in to the loft, their heels clicking loudly. Ginny had hiked up her bridesmaid's dress in her hands. Molly swatted her hands, making her drop the bunched up material.
"Ginny! Be a lady."
"Sorry, Mom. These heels are just so damn – darn, sorry – hard to walk in," Ginny complained.
"Take em off," I said with a wave of my hand. Ginny didn't need to be told twice, kicking off her heels and leaving them splayed on the living room floor. Molly looked like she was about to protest, but I held a hand up. "Molly, it's fine. She should be comfortable. Harry, Ron and Hermione are here too?" Ginny nodded.
Molly pursed her lips but didn't say anything. She came up to me and adjusted me hair one last time. "Okay, dear. You're all ready; I'm going to pop down and take my seat. You girls all look beautiful." Molly turned, tears in her eyes, and made her way downstairs.
"Mom, you look beautiful," Hollyn said in a breathless voice, running her hand down the veil admiringly.
"Yeah, Aunt Addie! You look fit. Sirius is going to absolutely lose his mind when he sees you," Ginny agreed, picking a piece of hair that had gotten caught in her earring.
"Thanks, girls."
"I think we should head down, before Sirius thinks you ran away on him," Ellie joked, glancing at the clock that was hanging on the wall. We all made our way downstairs, Ellie bringing up the rear and carrying my short train so I didn't fall. It was cold outside, and I briefly thought that it was stupid to pick a venue that didn't have an area for us to wait. But then I remembered that I had wanted something small, intimate and rustic, and also that I was a witch. I took my wand out and performed a quick heating spell, which Ginny shot me an appreciative look for. Hollyn was too excited to notice the warming air, peaking through the door to notice.
"Everyone is ready! Ohhhh, Sirius looks so handsome," she gushed, her cheeks flushing as she talked about her Dad. "Ready, Mom?" I nodded to her, and she motioned to the guitarist that he could start playing. Sirius had, once again, insisted on picking the band. He had chosen a small band this time, comprised of just a drummer, guitarist and singer.
Ginny entered first, her red hair glinting beautifully in the setting sun. Ellie waited a couple of beats before following Ginny. Hollyn turned to me just before entering the door. "You know that I'm okay with this right?" She asked in a tentative voice. I cocked my eyebrow in question and she continued, "With you and Sirius. I love how happy he makes you – and you know that I am…getting used to having a Dad around. It's pretty cool, actually." She blushed in embarrassment, turning her gaze downwards so she could avoid making eye contact with me.
"Good," I said with a smile, squeezing her arm. "Because if you told me that you didn't want me to do this, we would go home right now. You're my number one, always." Hollyn nodded with a sweet smile on her face, wiping away the tears that had gathered under her eyes. I kissed her forehead and pulled her tight quickly before pushing her in the direction of the door. She entered, her dark hair flowing behind her in the wind.
It was my turn. I took a breath to center myself. I pulled the door open, seeing the familiar bar in front of me. I saw the Weasleys on my left – red hair lining the rows and all of their freckled faces turned to me with wide smiles. Even Percy had managed to take the time off of work, although he looked as though he had eaten bad sushi with how anxious he looked, like he was ready to bolt as soon as the vows were over. To my right was my family – nieces, nephews, cousins, Aunt Thea and Uncle Leo. At the end of the aisle I saw that Ellie, Ginny and Hollyn had taken their places to the left of my Dad, who was officiating. To Sirius's right were his groomsmen – Harry and Remus. Sirius was standing right in front of me; he had opted for a pair of black pants, a white dress shirt, and his black leather jacket. His black hair was shaggy, not at all tamed like it had been at our first wedding. The expression of pure awe that he was wearing, however, was exactly the same as it had been sixteen years ago.
As soon as I saw Sirius, the apprehension I had been feeling disappeared immediately. His eyes locked on mine, and the way he was looking at me made me feel like the most beautiful woman in the room – no, in the entire world. I walked down the short aisle, past all of our friends and family, towards the man who even after all of this time, was still waiting for me.
It was a raucous affair. Everyone was so excited to be together, celebrating something joyous. The butterbeer and firewhiskey was flowing, everyone was dancing and I was happy, for the first time, that I wasn't pregnant – so I was able to imbibe with everyone else. Ellie had dragged Lewis to the center of the dancefloor, and though sober, was the life of the party. Fred and George were dancing with Ginny and Hollyn so exuberantly that people had given them a wide berth on the dancefloor. I decided I needed a break from dancing and made my way over to the bar to get a glass of water. Sirius was sitting with Harry and his friends, deep in conversation.
"It is strange," Sirius admitted, as I walked over to them. "I don't understand why Bagman would be offering you help. But, until we know more, I don't want you three worrying about it. Keep your heads down, stick together, and worry about the tasks," Sirius said sternly.
"How are you doing with that egg?" I interjected, resting my hand on Harry's back.
"Uhh, all right?" Harry lied.
"He's almost got it!" Hermione said excitedly with a smile, her naivety obvious. Sirius and I exchanged a glance, deciding not to embarrass Harry in front of his friends. I knew Sirius would say something to him later, reminding him of how critical it was that he be well prepared for the tasks. Remind him that someone was trying to hurt him, and he was making it easier for them by being lackadaisical in his preparation.
"Well, that's great to hear!" I said enthusiastically, judging Harry's reaction. "Sirius and I are so proud of you." Harry nodded, guilt evident in his expression. The band started playing a slow song. "Sirius, dance with me?"
With a low bow to me, Sirius took my hand and pulled me on to the dancefloor. We heard the Trio begin to talk about Hagrid, and the recent article that had been printed in the Daily Prophet, but before I knew it Sirius had spun me in a wide circle.
"You're going to talk to him, right?" I asked after Sirius had pulled me roughly to his chest, and I had laid my head on his chest.
"Of course. He's just like James – probably hasn't even started trying to figure out the clue," Sirius rolled his eyes. His expression dropped suddenly. "I just wish I knew who had put his name in the cup."
"I know, love. Do you have any ideas?"
"I don't like that Bagman offering him help; he's a judge and shouldn't be giving any of the champions help. So why is he going out of his way to break the rules? But also, Crouch. Didn't show up to the Yule Ball? He also didn't show up to the World Cup match, remember? Made his house elf save him a seat and then never showed…and then sacked the elf that night because he thought she might have cast the Dark Mark. And elf? Cast the Dark Mark? It's ridiculous. So why was he so quick to believe it?" Sirius contemplated. He spun me in another circle, and dipped me low to the ground.
"Crouch sent his own son to Azkaban," I reminded him, after he had pulled me up. "I doubt he'd suddenly switch to the dark side."
"I told the kids all of this – they also told me about Bertha Jorkins. Bagman told them that there were still no leads, but it seems like he's starting to come around to the fact that something probably happened to her. Like I haven't been telling him that for weeks," Sirius scoffed, rolling his eyes at Bagman's indifference.
"I don't understand why Snape is teaching at Hogwarts," I said.
"I don't like it either. Harry told me that Karkaroff barged in to his lesson the other day and insisted on showing Snape his arm. I didn't want to worry Harry, not when he already has so much on his mind, but obviously the mark is back. I don't know whether or not Harry knows about the mark, but I just couldn't tell him. And why would Karkaroff be going to Snape? I can't see Dumbledore allowing Snape to work at Hogwarts if he had ever actually been a Death Eater," Sirius sighed. "Can we not talk about it right now?"
"Sure, love. What do you want to talk about?" I asked. Sirius smirked and leaned up to my ear to whisper.
"I want to talk about how long it's going to take to get you out of this dress." Shivers went down my spine at his innuendo.
"Not long. Couple seconds at most."
"So, we can sneak off to the bathroom without making anyone suspicious?"
"Sirius Black!" I admonished playfully. "Your daughter is not even five feet away!"
"Well, if she ever wants to be a big sister, we're going to have to make her a little brother or sister," Sirius chuckled, before pulling on my hand in the direction of the bathroom. I followed obediently, giddy at the thought of reenacting yet another part of our first wedding.
February 24th, 1995
Before we knew it, the day of the second task had arrived. Neither Sirius nor I had heard from Harry since the day of the wedding, so we woke up hopeful that he had figured out the clue, but overwhelmingly unsure. Hollyn had owled us yesterday to let us know that Harry had been extremely stressed, and that she had seen him spending every spare moment he had in the library; however, her note was postmarked to several weeks ago, and seems to have been delayed due to the storms that had taken the countryside. As it turned out, a letter from Harry, also dated several weeks ago, arrived this morning asking us for help coming up with a way for him to breath underwater for an hour. Immediately the two of us had thought of the bubble head charm, but we knew that our response would never reach Harry in time for the start of the task, let alone with enough time for him to learn the charm.
"Hopefully Hermione was able to come up with something," I said, pulling open the door to The Mystic, seeing Remus sitting at the bar already. "Hey Moony."
"Hey, guys," Remus greeted us, as Sirius went to order drinks. The wireless was already blaring announcement from the beginning of the match; right now it was giving a recap of the last match and a rundown of the current standings. "Harry hasn't shown up yet."
"What?" I said sharply. "What do you mean? The match starts in five minutes."
"I know. The other three champions are there, but Bagman's been saying there is no sight of Harry yet."
"Kitten, Harry isn't there yet!" Sirius came running over, drinks in hand, oblivious to the fact that he had spilled half of his drink down his sleeve.
"I know, love. Remus just told me," I said patiently, using my wand to clean him up.
"Well, where is he? Do you think he didn't figure out how to do it?" Sirius was clearly anxious, sipping on his drink absentmindedly.
"Do what?" Remus asked.
"Second task he has to retrieve something from the bottom of the Black Lake," I explained. "He sent us an owl for help, but we didn't get it until this morning."
"Huge storms. I read in the Prophet that owls have been delayed everywhere. One woman didn't get the news that her grandkid was born for an entire month. Her family was pissed when she finally showed up. In her defense…why didn't they fire call her?" Remus chuckled. "Sirius calm down. Harry will be fine; he fought a basilisk, remember?"
"Don't remind me," Sirius moaned, dropping his head in to his hands. "What that kid has gotten himself in to literally brings me nightmares."
"Don't remind me," I joked. "Your nightmares give me nightmares."
"I'm stressed!" He exclaimed. "I don't know who is targeting Harry, I don't know if he'll make it through all of the tasks, I still haven't come up with a significant lead for Bertha Jorkins, and every second I'm home we're going at it like rabbits!"
"Too much information," I said, rolling my eyes. "Sorry, Remus."
"I'm used to it with you two. No luck with the baby yet?" Remus asked, his eyebrows furrowed.
"None," Sirius said. "And trust me, it's not for lack of trying. I swear my dick has never been so sore in my entire life. And we've completely run out of new places to try," Sirius explained, completely unabashed.
"Maybe we should go back to our old loft?" I jumped in. "Might have more luck there."
"Come on, guys!" Remus exclaimed. "I live there. Not that it ever stopped you before. You two used to go at it in Sirius's bed, with James sleeping right there. Remember, I have werewolf hearing. Silencing charms barely work on me."
I looked at Sirius and laughed. "I never really thought about that, honestly."
Sirius just chuckled and slapped Remus on the back. "Sorry, mate. But you understand – look at how fit my wife is."
They had just announced that Harry was running down the grounds, so I shushed the boys who had started bickering about what the proper etiquette was for shagging while sharing a room. "Will you two shut up? Harry's coming down."
We all turned our attention to the wireless and sipped our drinks heavily as Bagman announced what all of the champions were doing. Fleur and Cedric each performed the Bubble Head charm, while Krum transfigured just his head in to a shark. It appeared that Harry had waded in to the center of the lake…and done nothing.
"Is he not going to do anything?" I asked, bewildered.
"He must have figured something out," Sirius said, shaking his head. He gestured to the bartender for another drinking, having finished his quickly in his anxiety. He glanced to check on my drink, saw that it too was empty, and ordered me another one.
"He's…eating something," Remus said, looking deep in thought. Suddenly, something clicked and his eyes lit up. "Gillyweed!"
"Bless you," I said, unnerved by his sudden exclamation.
Remus clicked his tongue at me, and repeated himself. "He used gillyweed."
"Moony, mate, are you having a stroke or are you going to explain what the fuck you are talking about," Sirius snapped, his irritability spilling over.
"You two were fucking hopeless at Herbology. Gillyweed is a plant – when you eat it, it allows you to breath underwater. He's eating it right now," Remus explained with a sigh. "Seriously, how did you two get OWLs in Herbology?"
"No idea," I admitted. "And I definitely didn't get an NEWT."
"I did," Sirius chuckled. "No idea how since I know nothing about plants."
Bagman announced that Harry had dove underwater, and Sirius grabbed my hand reflexively. "It'll be okay, love. Dumbledore won't let anything happen to him."
Sirius shot me an incredulous look at my words. "Okay," I put my hands up. "So Dumbledore definitely would let something happen to him; but surely he won't kill him off in front of so many people. Bagman at least will save him, eh?"
"Bagman?" Remus asked. "What does he have to do with anything?"
Sirius and I spent the next hour explaining everything that had been going on – Crouch, the World Cup, Bertha Jorkins, Bagman. Even though we had seen Remus several times, we hadn't really had a chance to actually catch him up on everything. It was nice having another opinion – from another person who cared about Harry and wanted the best for him.
"I think we all just need to be careful and be on the look out for any signs that we can. I don't like that we don't know anything any more than you do, but we also know that Harry can look out for himself. He's proven himself capable on more occasion than one. He just needs us to be there for him and help however we can," Remus sighed, tipping his drink back.
"I hate that he has to look out for himself," Sirius said. "He should be able to be a kid."
"He should be back by now." I checked my watch anxiously. It had been nearly an hour and fifteen minutes. Fleur had never made it to the bottom of the lake, having been deterred by grindylows and been forced to turn around. Cedric had returned one minute outside of the hour time-limit, and Krum had followed him just minutes later. But again, there was no sign of Harry.
Sirius checked his own watch and seemed shocked by the time. "How long does Gillyweed work for?" He asked Remus.
Remus checked his own, rather shabby, watch with his brows furrowed. "Uhm…well it depends."
"On?" I prompted, my stomach sinking.
"Lots of things – his weight, his age, freshwater vs. saltwater, the temperature of the water…" Remus trailed off.
"So, basically," Sirius said hotly, "you have no idea."
"Right," Remus agreed, biting his lip.
"So, should I start worrying?" I asked nervously.
"Not yet," Sirius said. He grabbed my hand and held it, his thumb rubbing the back of my hand comfortingly.
We sat in tense silence for a couple of minutes. I ordered another round of drinks, just so I would have something to do with my hands. As I drank my drink, Bagman was announcing that there was still no sign of Harry, and that the judges were deliberating on when they should intervene.
"Now you should worry," Sirius decided. He got up out of his chair and began pacing. "Because I'm worrying. What the fuck is Dumbledore doing? Go get him!" He was shouting at the end, and gaining the attention of the other patrons in the bar.
"Oh, shove it," I snapped at a particularly snotty looking woman who was glaring at him from a couple of chairs over. "Our son is at the bottom of a fucking lake."
The woman looked offended, but looked away nonetheless. I started biting my nails, staring at the wireless as though that would make Harry reappear quicker.
Two minutes later, Remus was pacing as well. "If Dumbledore doesn't do something in the next minute, I'm going over there and jumping in the lake myself," he announced, determination in his tone.
Sirius nodded absentmindedly, picking up his drink and putting it back down without drinking anything. Just as I was about to stand and demand that we all get in the floo to the Leaky Cauldron, Bagman announced that someone was appearing.
It was Ron! And Fleur's hostage, Gabrielle. It was several very tense second later before Harry appeared, gasping for air according to Bagman. I felt immense relief, knowing that he was breathing air again, and that his gills had disappeared.
Sirius, Remus and I all finished our drinks in relief, to settle our nerves, as the judges deliberated. Honestly, I didn't care what the results were; I was just happy that he was okay and that there was only one more task to worry about.
The judges announced their scores, and awarded Harry 45 points out of 50 – citing moral gumption as their reasoning. He had, apparently, taken the egg's clue slightly too literally and decided that if he didn't bring all of the hostages up with him, they would die. I rolled my eyes at his stupidity, but deep inside I felt a flare of admiration. He was so much like James, without even trying, that it sometimes was hard to look at him. I turned to Sirius and laid my head on his chest, letting him wrap his arms around me. We spent the rest of the night chatting with Remus, going over the task and arguing about what we thought the final task would be. By the time we stumbled home, I was feeling better about Harry's chances in the final task – if he could figure out a way to survive under water, he could do anything.
