Sirius Black was sure that any more waiting would likely have killed him. Even if everyone spoke every word of encouragement that they knew, a part of him would believe, until the instant she was standing in front of him and the vows were said, that she would find a reason to run – that someone would need her more, or something would call her away, because that was simply the way it had always been. Something always called her away, and she felt that he didn't need her as much as anything else did.

She had always been wrong. He had always needed her more than she knew. He had needed her, even when he was convinced that she was the one who needed him. He needed her to bring him back down to earth at times. He needed her in the times when he forgot that he was only human. He needed her in the times when he forgot he was human at all.

"You might want to loosen your collar a bit, I don't think you're breathing," Remus chortled quietly, nudging his friend with his shoulder. "I saw her not more than twenty minutes ago."

"She could have run off anywhere within twenty minutes."

"To what end?" Remus chuckled. "She'd just come back here. She always comes back to you."

The statement made Sirius beam widely, despite the fact that indeed, he wasn't sure if he was breathing. And then, he saw her in the doorway.

Looking back, Davie would probably say the most beautiful thing about the evening was the room – the candles, the drapes, the ivy and white roses, the way everything had been done up so that the parlor looked like it wasn't Grimmauld Place at all. But Sirius, truth be told, probably wouldn't remember any of those things. He would only remember the woman in the doorway, dressed in white, striding towards him and never once looking back. Her long dark hair fell over her shoulders, the expanse of snow-white chiffon trailing down over her body and just brushing the floor, so bright that she almost looked ethereal.

This was real, Sirius realized. She was not running. He was almost sure he could see her trembling from across the room, and she looked like she had cried a bit already, but she wasn't running.

Even Dumbledore had made an appearance – he had told the Weasleys that he had seen Sirius and Davie through too much of their lives not to witness the evening, even given current circumstances. He lingered a bit away from everyone else, though it was not a large distance, considering the small size of the parlor. He still avoided Harry's gaze, and though Harry noticed this – as did Ron and Hermione, he shook his head when his friends glanced at him questioningly. He refused to make the evening about him instead of his godfather.

Arthur Weasley smiled and shared a glance with his wife as Davie finally joined Sirius – he immediately reached out and grabbed both of her hands, as though still fearful that something would happen. But Arthur knew, though. He knew that this was it – he was going to see them wed, and it was about time.

"We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of two faithful souls..."

Molly Weasley had already begun wiping her eyes, and could hardly keep composure when her husband deviated from the usual script of weddings.

"...and no two souls, I think, have ever been more faithful, more stalwart, more devoted to one another than the two standing before me tonight."

Davie couldn't help but stare at Sirius, her eyes gleaming with tears. She wished for a moment that she had done this while they were younger, that she hadn't waited until so many of their loved ones were gone before she thought it was finally the right time. But now wasn't the time to regret. There was nothing to regret about the fact that finally, after all these years, she making the right choice.

While Davie was pensive and full of so many things, Sirius felt himself going completely blank. He had simply been waiting so long for something good to happen in his life again, and now that it was actually happening, he felt completely off guard. He didn't know what to do with good things in his life anymore. All he knew is that this time, even just this once, he wanted to keep it.

"Padfoot?"

Remus nudged Sirius in the small of his back and said in a low voice a single word – vows. And it was then that Sirius realized he had been completely lost in the awestruck panic of his own mind, he had lost awareness of where he actually was until it came to the point he had been waiting for, for so many years.

"Davie..." he said, letting go of one of her hands and scratching the back of his neck. "I'm no good at this. My roguish good looks are of no help to me right now," he joked weakly, but rather than garner roaring laughter as he was accustomed to received, he was met with a few tearful sniffle-laughs, which did nothing to assuage the tension he was feeling to make this sound right.

"The truth," he said, his brow furrowing, "is that I've wanted you to be mine since I was fifteen. I didn't even know what color shoes I wanted to wear the next day, but I knew that much. I knew back then I wanted to keep you in my life. But I have never wanted that as much as I do now, tonight. You have no idea what you are to me. You're – you're terrifying, really," he said, to which Davie could not help but give a quiet, questioning laugh. "I'm terrified you'll run away again. And Sirius Black never begs, but I'm begging you, don't. Don't run, and I will never let you down again. I will never hide anything from you. I will never shut you out of my life, even if I think I'm protecting you. I will love you, forever," he said frankly, finally managing to clasp both of Davie's hands again, just in time to realize that they were shaking just as much as his. He laughed slightly, shaking his head. "You don't know what you do to me, Maddux, but I want you to keep doing it for the rest of our lives."

Davie laughed, blinking back tears in the knowledge that if she started genuinely crying, she would never be able to get her vows out. She took a deep breath, never tearing her gaze away from the deep, dark brown eyes she had long loved.

"Since the moment I met you, I... have never been able to be neutral about you," she said with a gentle laugh. "I should have known that the instant I stopped loathing you, I would start loving you. And the moment I fell in love with you, I should have known that there would be no one else who could have the place in my heart that you took over. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared witless, because I don't know what life holds for us. I don't know what kind of life we can expect to have. But all I know is that you have given my life more meaning than anyone ever has, more than anyone else ever could, and even if I have nothing else, just seeing those eyes looking into mine, even up to the instant that my heart beats its last, then I'll have everything in the world. I'm not afraid of starting whatever journey this leads us on, because if you're with me, it's enough. I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner, but it's enough. We're enough. I love you... I always will, and I think a part of me always has."

By now, Ginny and Hermione were practically holding one another up for support, and Molly had buried her face in her handkerchief. Tonks' hair had gone a particularly lovely shade of lilac, and Remus' Adam's apple bobbed precariously in his throat as he nodded in approval – his best friends, the two people who gave him his only remaining glances at a happy past, were finally going to be married. He glanced at Harry, who, for what seemed like the first time in months, was smiling as he stared at them.

"Do you, Sirius Black, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"What kind of question is that?" he asked with a nervous laugh, feeling the anticipation crawling beneath his skin as it finally sank in that this was truly happening. Davie pinched the underside of his hand and mouthed silently, say it right. "Alright. I do," Sirius corrected, squeezing her hand back. A small, tearful chuckle passed over the room again.

"And do you, Davina Maddux, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband."

Sirius took the opportunity to mouth to Davie, say it right – she gave a tiny smirk and replied, "I do."

Again laughter tinkled through the room, and the brief moment of humor seemed all the more real. If it had been completely solemn, it would have been easy enough to mistake this for a wedding between two other people, but the note of teasing, the almost childlike playfulness, made it clear that this was the Sirius and Davie that any of them had known for so long, and that they were finally here, doing what they had planned to and longed to for so many years.

"Then..."

Sirius and Davie's grips on one another's hands tightened as Arthur spoke up again, seeming on the verge of choking up himself. "I now declare you, bonded for life..."

And without waiting for permission, Sirius pulled Davie close to him and pressed his lips to hers with an eagerness that belied his age, and Davie returned the kiss, even through tears with such joy – such hope – that almost seemed impossible in such dark times.

And they danced. They drank. They forgot that outside of Grimmauld Place, there was a war brewing and that they were in the middle of it. Arthur Weasley had enchanted an old record player, and they had all seamlessly transitioned the parlor into a makeshift wedding reception – nothing grad, but somehow beautiful nonetheless.

"I think this is why people get married in times like this," Ginny half-joked as she, by some small amount of maneuvering and engineering by the newlyweds, shared an upbeat dance with Harry. He had erstwhile been grousing a bit that Dumbledore had disappeared so quickly after the ceremony's end, but was now more than willing to forget about it for the time being. "Because being afraid is exhausting. Sometimes, you just need something good. Something to be happy about."

Harry couldn't help but think that Ginny was very pretty.

Wise, he corrected himself. He meant, he couldn't help but think she was pretty wise.

Remus Lupin, meanwhile, had been dragged to dance by Tonks, whose hair was now a surprisingly subtle shade of blue.

"You know, I've believed they were meant to be together since I was tiny," Tonks mused happily, and Remus beamed at the genuinely overjoyed twinkle in the woman's eyes. "I never knew two people who deserved a happy ending like this as much as they do."

"It's not an ending yet, you know," Remus replied as they danced. "They have an entire life left to annoy one another and adore another."

"Well, whatever the case," Tonks laughed. "I think it must be a nice feeling to know you can count on one person to adore and annoy you for the rest of your life."

Remus smiled, unable to look anywhere but at the woman he was dancing with, replying with a gentle sincerity, "I think you're right."

"Mrs. Black."

"Hm?"

The music had slowed – Sirius and Davie had been dancing, with her head resting peacefully against his chest when he spoke up. She looked up curiously, only to see him beaming down at her with a strange, unreadable smile.

"Just wanted to see you answer to it," he chuckled quietly to himself. "Been waiting to do that for a short while now. It's quite nice."

"Mm." Davie laughed, relaxing against him again. They danced for another minute or so while everyone else was starting to wind down, watching the newlyweds and talking amongst themselves moreso than dancing.

"Mrs. Black?"

"Again?" Davie asked, laughing as she pulled back and swatted Sirius playfully on the shoulder. "Is this what our marriage is going to be? You waking me up at all hours of the night to see me answer to being called your wife?"

"If I wake you up at all hours of the night, I'm not sure that's what it'll be for –"

"Sirius!" Davie laughed, shaking her head. "You're hopeless."

"You married me," he smirked. The pair of them laughed – not the choked, tight-collared laugh of adults who had appearances to keep but the laugh of two people in love, who had forgotten, even if just for a moment, that things were falling apart around them. They laughed as though they had told a joke that only the two of them could understand, until finally, Davie calmed.

"I don't want tonight to be over," she said with child-like honesty, hugging Sirius tightly. He paused, and his silent spoke enough – he didn't want it to be over either. He didn't want to face what happened after this happiness quite yet, when he had only just been able to get his hands on everything he had ever really been sure he wanted.

"It's not quite over yet," Molly interrupted, gently approaching and placing a hand on Davie's shoulder. "We've linked a safe house by Floo, you see. Only for tonight. It's an old family home of Kingsley's, near Shandwick, by the sea."

"Molly –"

"You two are married," Arthur said when he approached as well. "We couldn't very well deprive you of a honeymoon. Two days away will do you good."

"Is it – safe?" Davie asked, and despite the joy of the evening, Sirius felt a pang, however tiny, of guilt upon realizing that what she really meant was, was it safe for him? Molly nodded.

"We've taken all the necessary precautions. No one will find you – but only for the two days," she reminded. "You two, go. We'll all be fine here."

Davie turned around and looked at Sirius, who was regarding the Weasleys with an expression of the utmost gratitude – he knew Molly took issue with him on a great many things. He knew she found him reckless and, most of the time, completely insufferable. But she was wonderful. Sirius reached over and took Davie's hand, squeezing it tightly.

"Well, milady," he smirked, nodding towards the fireplace. "Our chariot awaits."

A/N's

Aaaand, we know how honeymoons go! I'm terrible with love scenes, honestly, so I'll allow all of my readers to decide as they see fit.

So, I have been a very, very bad author and most definitely owe all of my readers an explanation. Since I last updated this story, I was accepted into nursing school, finished nursing school, and finally was able to consider having a life again. If you're still here and reading this, and interested in this story, I think you from the bottom of my heart and promise you, I will see it through to the end this time.

Honestly, I left off at a point that was more than I could handle. There was a great deal going on in my real life, and writing the intense scenes that were to follow (this being right around 'that time' in Order of the Phoenix) were more than I was able to shoulder, because there are some scenes that I genuinely, sincerely want to do justice. Now, I'm a college graduate and have time to breathe a little before getting all of my grown-up affairs in order, so to speak.

That being said, it's getting to about that point in the story (you know the one) – but there's still a tiny bit more left to cover before we get there, and there will still be story left to tell after it happens. All I'm going to say is that there will be some happiness to the ending, after a great deal of heavy things.

I won't make promises about the timeline for the next update, but just know that I am working on it as we speak! Cheers!