Hermione had heard about the Black Family and how strict they were with their traditions, mostly from Sirius who had told them stories of his childhood, but she had always thought that his outlandish stories were exaggerated or even made up. Surely they couldn't be as bad as he said.

She could now honestly say that Sirius hadn't exaggerated even a single detail of those stories…

When Druella had first approached her about being her bridesmaid, she had been picturing a relatively average wedding, but what she found herself a part of was far from the kind of weddings that she was used to.

For starters, the wedding was being held in the Black Family Graveyard, hardly a romantic place to get married, even if the couple didn't exactly love each other, but Druella claimed that it had something with the spirits of their pureblood ancestors. Whatever that meant.

The decorations consisted mostly of candles, both lining the ground and in mid air. Normally she found that floating candles had a magical effect, but here they just seemed downright creepy, as they illuminated all the headstones scattered about. Almost all of them had the house motto etched into the bottom, just below their names. 'Toujours Pur', which was French for 'Always Pure'.

And then there were the dresses. Rather than the puffy pure white dress that most brides wore, Druella was squeezed into a skin tight dress that was as black as night, while the bridesmaids, consisting of Rosaline, Hera and herself, were made to wear similar dresses in Slytherin Green. She honestly didn't know how they were all going to make it through the wedding without fainting on account of being unable to breath.

She couldn't help but feel sorry for her friend. A woman's wedding was supposed to be the happiest day of her life, but it seemed to have the opposite effect for Druella. It wasn't hard to see that her friend was unhappy. This was hardly the day she had hoped for. The only thing she got to pick for herself were her bridesmaids.

As mother of the groom, the job of planning everything fell to Mrs. Irma Black. With the voice of a drill sergeant, she barked out order after order and no one dared to object. Hermione had already learned that the hard way when she tried to suggest that it might be nice to get the bride's opinion on the flower arrangements. That earned her a swift slap to the face.

She was so shocked by it that she couldn't move for the first few minutes. It was only after Mrs. Black was gone that she regained the ability to move and ran out as fast as she could. Unfortunately, she wasn't looking where she was going and ended up crashing into the groom himself.

"Woah! What's the hurry," Cygnus asked, reaching out to steady her. "You'd think there was a rampaging dragon chasing after-"

Then he stopped, as he saw the red hand mark on her cheek. His already dark eyes darkened even more as he glared in the direction his mother had gone. He didn't even bother asking who had done it. He knew right away.

Before she could even process it all, he had dragged her into the nearest empty room, which just so happened to be the parlor, closing the door behind him and making her to sit down on a chair.

"Don't move. This will only hurt a bit."

Taking out his wand, he pointed it at her cheek and recited a quick healing spell. It stung for but a moment before a soothing sensation washed over. When she reached up to touch it, it no longer felt hot and sore as it had just moments ago.

"Thank you," she said. "I'm starting to see why your boggart turned into her back in third year."

He let out a small chuckle. "Now you know what I have to put up with all summer. Don't take it too personally, though. I'm pretty sure she's slapped everyone in the family at some point. She slaps me on a regular basis. I've gotten pretty good at casting healing spells as a result."

That was just down right horrible! The fact that his healing spell was as effective as it was showed just how much practice he had with it. No child, no matter what age, should have to endure such abuse at the hands of a parent, or anyone else in his or her family for that matter.

"Anyway, how's Druella making out?" he asked. "Is my bride-to-be dreading walking down the aisle as much as I am?"

She glanced up at Cygnus. He looked quite nice, with his hair slicked back and dressed in his best dress robes, but his face looked positively dreadful. It looked gaunt, as if he hadn't eaten in days, and there were dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept in days either.

"Well, she's certainly holding herself together better than you, but yes, I'd say she's dreading it just the same."

He let out a deep sigh as he sat down on the chair next to her, running a hand down his face. "This is a nightmare. I feel terrible about dragging Druella into this all. Merlin knows she deserves better."

At least he admitted as much.

"You will be good to her, right?"

"I'll do my best, but to be honest, I have no choice but to do what my parents tell me to, at least until I graduate," he explained. "My parents will probably be moving in with Walburga and Orion at Grimmauld Place after that, providing they haven't managed to produce an heir for the Black Family by then."

She couldn't believe it, but she actually felt sorry for Walburga. No wonder she turned out the way she did with a mother like that. And it didn't sound like it was going to get any better for her, knowing what she did of her future children and their dates of birth. She wouldn't be producing the heirs her mother wanted for quite some time.

They stayed in there for a bit longer, before they noticed the time and realized that the ceremony was set to start soon.

Hermione managed to make it back to where the girls were all getting ready in without running into Mrs. Black again. However, it wasn't long before she showed up to inform them that the music had started. Hermione gave Druella a quick reassuring hug before getting into position behind her to begin their journey out back into the graveyard.

She hadn't even thought it possible, but the music seemed to only add to the already heavy cloud of gloom that hung over the procession. Great-Aunt Belvina, who had agreed to play the organ for the occasion, was playing a melody that sounded more like a funeral march. Then again, maybe that was her intention. The whole wedding seemed to have a death related theme to it.

The congregation was rather large in size, with almost all the Sacred 28 Families in attendance, as well as the rest of the extended Black family members. When she stopped to consider it, she realized that well over half of the guests were related to the Black's. Almost all pureblood families were related one way or another.

Cygnus stood waiting at the very end of the aisle with his two best men, Tom and Abraxas at his side, looking even more nervous than he had before. Poor boy… He wasn't ready to get married. He still acted the same as his eleven year old self. How could he possibly be expected to take care of a wife? She felt sorry for both him and Druella. They had been forced to marry far too young.

"Witches and Gentlewizards, we are gathered here today to witness the joining of the noble houses of Black and Rosier…" The ceremony official began.

There was no use denying that this was by far the worst wedding that Hermione had ever been to. Though, to be fair, she hadn't been to that many. She did her best to drown out what the ceremony official was saying and try to keep her calm, anxiously waiting for the wedding to be over with.

However, at the same time, she couldn't help but be intrigued, as this was her first ever wizard wedding. The ceremony was different from those in the muggle world. They still exchanged rings, but they also had something that she had only read about before, called a handfasting. How they did it was similar to that of a blood pact. Both the bride and groom would use a special knife to cut across their hands, just enough to draw a bit of blood, before they joined hands, thus joining their bloodline's together.

"F-Flesh of my flesh… Bone of my bone…" Cygnus recited his vows shakily.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Mrs. Black glaring venomously at her son, as if silently warning him not to mess up. Of course, this just made him even more nervous. She wasn't entirely sure whether to consider it good or bad, but Cygnus managed to make it through his vows without embarrassing himself too much. Druella looked as though she was ready to faint at any moment.

Then came the kiss. It was the most awkward, forced kiss she had ever seen. The first time, their noses crashed into one another, causing them both to wince before turning their heads one way and then the other before finally getting it right. It was so bad she had to fight back the urge to cringe. This was why people should marry for love… So that they wouldn't have to feel like they're kissing a stranger on their wedding day.

Hermione forced herself to clap along with everyone else, even though she thought there was nothing to clap about. The wedding procession made its way back down the aisle and into the house, the bridesmaids meeting up with the groomsmen as they followed after the bride and groom.

"Did you have any problems with Cygnus?" she whispered to Tom.

He nodded his head. "If it weren't for me and Abraxas, Cygnus would probably be halfway to Antarctica by now."

Yikes… That sounded pretty bad… She wondered if this had happened before or after she ran into him in the corridor. Either way, it didn't matter. They had managed to talk him out of it and now he was officially married. She still wasn't sure if that was for the best or not, but what was done was done.

Wishing to distract herself from worrying about her friends, she sought to mingle with some of the members of the family that she already knew. First she went up to Walburga and her husband, Orion.

"It's good to see you again, Walburga," she greeted. "And this must be your husband. I heard you got married."

Walburga looked at her for a few moments, taking in every inch of her appearance with a hint of puzzlement. She must not have recognized her, which was hardly surprising, considering she had hardly said more than two words to her back when she was still at Hogwarts.

"Ah yes, now I remember you," she said, sticking her nose up in the air. "You're one of Cygnus' half-blood friends. I suppose we should all just be thankful he didn't marry you instead."

Hermione knew that Walburga probably meant it as an offense, but she didn't take it as one. She was glad that it was Druella he had married and not her. The idea of marrying into the Black Family sounded positively dreadful.

"Druella certainly is lucky to marry a fine wizard such as your brother," she lied. "I wish the two of them all the best."

Orion stepped forward, apparently not as repulsed by her supposed blood status as his wife, introducing himself to her officially. She couldn't help but smile at him as, for a few brief moments, she saw Sirius standing there before her instead of his father. Sirius might not have been her godfather, but she still missed him when he died.

Unfortunately, the spell soon passed and she realized that Sirius hadn't even been born yet. Walburga, clearly not liking the friendly manner in which she spoke to her husband, pulled him away, casting a warning glare back at her.

Hermione hung back for a while after that, preferring to observe the rest of the guests from the sideline. However, that was short lived when she locked eyes with her favorite of all the current Black's. Pulling himself away from his aunt and uncle, he came over to her, greeting her with a grin.

"Are you enjoying the wedding so far?" Alphard asked. "From the looks of it, my sister seems to have given you a particularly warm welcome."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly, i feel like I'm at a funeral rather than a wedding, but regardless, I'm happy to see you."

The two of them launched into an easy conversation. She filled him in on all the latest Hogwarts news and he told her all about what he had been doing since graduation. Apparently he had been splitting his time between France and Britain, having purchased a house for himself in Paris. He claimed that it wasn't anything fancy, but she was sure it still was to her standards.

"I was actually hoping that I could get your advice on something… something that I don't want my parents knowing about just yet."

She had no idea what he was talking about, but she trusted Alphard's character enough to give him the benefit of the doubt. "Of course. You don't have to worry about me telling your parents anything."

He let out a sigh of relief at that, leading them a bit further away from the crowd.

"There's this woman back in Paris, the most beautiful and kind I've ever known, and I think I might be falling in love with her, but I know my parents wouldn't approve of her," he explained. "Her name is Camille and she's a muggle-born. I'd like to start a serious relationship with her, but I'm hesitant."

Hermione could honestly say that she was surprised, though not in a bad way. It was just unexpected. She hadn't expected him to come to her asking for relationship advice. In a way, it made sense, as she was probably one of the only people he could openly talk to about it.

"Well, personally I don't see anything wrong with being a muggle-born, but I understand that you would be disowned for it. I suppose the best advice I can give you is to think it through and follow your heart."

He nodded his head. "I will keep that in mind. Thank you, Hermione."

Cygnus and Druella may not have had the chance to find love, and nor had Walburga for that matter, but that didn't mean that Alphard should suffer the same fate. If he was lucky enough to find love with a muggle-born, she wished to encourage it, even if there were some consequences to be paid.