Disclaimer: I don't own HP, only Evan and Iris Potter.
Welcome to Family Secrets: The Goblet of Fire. I hope it's as enjoyable as the other parts of the series.
Also, I'm just going to state for the record that male primogeniture doesn't exist for wixen, the first born inherits regardless of sex. From the background given by JK, such as Artemisia Lufkin being Minister for Magic in the 1700s, it seems like sexism is one problem wixen DON'T have. So if Sirius had a son, and I'm not saying he will, Aludra would still be Heiress.
Published: 12-2-2024
Chapter One
Wedding at the Observatory
The Observatory, the country estate of the Black family, was full of activity. It was the first of July, 1994, and Lord Sirius Orion Black III, the Patriarch of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, was marrying Miss Emmeline Prunella Vance, second daughter of Lord Archibald Henry Vance, Head of the Noble House of Vance.
Currently Aludra Black, Heiress and only (current) child of Lord Black was in the suite of rooms that had been set aside for the women of the wedding party, having her hair done by one of the beauticians hired for the day. Emma, as she had urged Aludra to call her, was being helped into her custom-made wedding robes by Mrs. Ismelda Twilfitt, one of the owners of the haute couture shop, Twilfitt and Tattings, while other beauticians attended to Emma's sister, Matilda, her sister's wife, Cornelia and Aludra's father's cousin, Andromeda Tonks. Aludra would be Maid of Honour, while the women would make up the other members of the female half of the wedding party.
Aludra's Uncle Remus would be Best Man, while Frank Longbottom, Ted Tonks and Christophus Vance, Emma's cousin, would be his groomsmen.
"There!" Tatiana, the beautician attending Aludra announced, stepping back and holstering her wand. "Perfection!"
Aludra stood and made her way to the floor-length mirror to look at herself and see if she wanted anything changed. She'd gone through a phase, after her first year at Hogwarts, where she couldn't stand to look at full-length mirrors, but regular meetings with a Mind Healer had healed that trauma.
"Oh, Ally, you look beautiful, darling," Aunt Meda declared from where she was having her eye make-up done.
"Thank you, Auntie," Aludra smiled, looking at herself in satisfaction. She didn't think she was a vain person, but she had to admit that she looked very well today.
Her thick corkscrew curls had been tamed into gentle waves and twisted up into an undone low bun, with a crown made of delicate purple heliotropes on top of her head (charmed not to wilt or fall off) that matched her purple and silver-embroidered dress robes. Her make-up was done with tasteful elegance, enough to enhance her features but not inappropriate for a young witch of fourteen years. Her wedge heels (charmed with cushioning and balance charms) were silver to match her embroidered bodice and the delicate jewellery she wore.
"Would you go check and see if everything is ready, seeing as you're done already?" Cornelia asked kindly, the same way she always did. "Make sure the Priestess is here and the Elves have everything set up in the meadow?"
"Of course," Aludra agreed. She would appreciate a moment to check on her father, anyway. She made her way to the men's suite first, tapping on the door and hearing the men moving around for a minute before Remus opened the door.
"Ah, Aludra, cub," he smiled, wrinkling an old facial scar from pre-Wolfsbane. "Is everything alright?"
"That's what I'm here to check," she smiled back, stepping into the room. "Where's Daddy?"
"Right here!" Her father strode into the main part of the suite, his shoulder-length hair pulled back into a low ponytail, dressed in in elegant black dress robes with the Family crest over his heart, his goatee newly trimmed. He paused at the sight of her, looking emotional. "Oh, my little star is not so little anymore," he remarked wistfully. "Look at you. So grown up. Where did the time go?"
"I will always be your little star, Daddy," she assured him with a smile, leaning up to kiss his cheek briefly before stepping back. "Cornelia asked me to see if everything is ready, so I thought I would check on you first."
"I'm ready," her father nodded, tugging slightly on his robes. "It's funny. I always thought I would be nervous on my wedding day but I'm not. Emma is the woman for me, and I have faith that this is the path the Goddess wills for me."
"I'm glad," Aludra said honestly. She didn't know Emma very well, but the woman was kind, clever, quick-witted and, most importantly, she loved Aludra's father. That was enough for her. "I'll go check on the guests, shall I?"
"Yes, thank you little star," her father nodded, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of her head (careful not damage the hairdo), before sending her off.
She checked on the kitchens, to find Millie, Timmie and Kipper, the Observatory's elf, in flying form as they raced around preparing the reception buffet. She hastily left before one of them knocked her over in their excitement, and went upstairs where she found the guests milling around the courtyard in groups, discussing each other.
It was a fairly big wedding party, with all the members of the Black Alliance, colleagues and relations of the bride and groom, and other acquaintances they couldn't justify snubbing without causing political problems, such as, unfortunately, the Malfoys, who were first cousins to Sirius through Madam Malfoy. Thankfully, Narcissa apparently had her arrogant son and entitled husband under control for once, as they spoke as politely as a Malfoy could to Aludra when she forced herself to smile and greet them.
There was another group she was reluctant to greet, but Aludra plastered on a smile and forced herself to greet the Potters anyway. The expression became more genuine at Iris and Evan's enthusiastic greetings. She did love her friends, half-siblings, friends after all. It was just their parents she had trouble with.
"Hi Ally!" Iris greeted her excitedly. "Oh, you look beautiful!"
"Thank you," Aludra laughed, forcing herself to act normal. She had practice, the Potters having Flooed over thrice since term ended on the last day of May, so it wasn't as hard as it had been when she first learned the truth. "You're the third person to tell me that in forty minutes. If this keeps up my head will too big for me to get my broom off the ground."
"The day you get a big head is the day I declare my undying love for Malfoy," Evan scoffed as he hugged her.
"That- yes, no, I can't see that ever happening," Aludra stated, shaking her head. "Look, I can't stay, I have to go, but we'll talk later, alright?"
They agreed and Aludra hurried off, relieved that the Potter parents had stayed quiet beyond giving her their greetings. Aludra said hello to a few more people, including the Minister, the Head of the Auror Office and the other Lord and Ladies of the Alliance, then hurried back to the women's suite.
She paused when she entered and saw Emma.
"Oh, Emma, you look beautiful!" She declared instantly.
Emmeline had her golden blonde tresses swept into the traditional bridal braid with little white snowdrops decorating it, and she wore a beautiful, form-fitting set of dress robes in silver that brought out her blue eyes. She wore minimal make-up, again as per tradition, and her feet were bare save for an anklet made of snowdrops.
She looked like the perfect Wixen bride.
She beamed at Aludra, eyes sparkling with happiness. "Thank you, Ally," she told her warmly. "You're the prettiest Maid of Honour I've ever seen. I'm so glad we're going to be family now."
"You make my father happy," Aludra responded frankly. "That's all I need to love you."
Emma's smile widened even further, but Matilda (Aunt Tilly, as she had asked Aludra to call her) interrupted before she could respond.
"As sweet as this is, we have to get moving!" She announced, clapping her hands impatiently. "We don't want to be late, do we?"
"Today would be the worst day for tardiness," Emma conceded.
There was a knock on the door and, after Emma granted entrance, Lord Vance entered, leaning on a cane that a wix in his early seventies shouldn't need but he did due to a curse by a Death Eater during the War.
"Oh, my darling girl," he sighed when he saw Emma. "How I wish your mother were here to see this day." The late Lady Katharine Vance had been killed in the War along with her only son, Theodosius.
"She's always with us in spirit, Papa," Emma replied gently. "Now, are you ready to give me away?"
"Never," he denied. "But if that is what will make you happy, then so it shall be."
She laid her hand on his arm, and they left the room, heading to the archway leading to the meadow where Sirius and Emma would marry, where the groomsmen were already waiting. The bridesmaids joined their companions, Aludra linking arms with her Uncle, and began walking into the meadow, led by the Tonkses, with Aludra and Remus right before the bride and her father.
They separated at the altar and went to their assigned places, Aludra smiling at the happiness on her father's face as he accepted his wife-to-be's hands from her father. All Aludra had ever wanted was her family to be happy, and she was delighted that Sirius had finally found the person to give him that.
Now all she needed was to convince Remus that the age gap between him and Tonks wasn't that bad, and everything would be perfect.
"Merry meet to ye all on this beautiful summer's day!" The High Priestess of Hecate, Violet Brown, Lavender Brown's great-great aunt, called in a voice that warbled slightly.
"Merry meet!" The audience called back.
"We gather here on these hallowed grounds, to unite this wizard and this witch as one, in the eyes of the one who is Mother of us All, Hecate, Goddess of Magic," Priestess Brown went on. "From this day forward, they will act as one, cast magic as one, live their lives together as one. If anybody here knows of any reason that these two should not be united, if they have blasphemed against Lady Hecate or betrayed and misused her gifts, then speak now or forever be cursed in Her eyes."
There was silence, much to Aludra's relief. She had worried Malfoy would do something stupid. Indeed, she saw him shift, but his mother's tight grip on his shoulder seemed to restrain him.
The ceremony continued.
"Lord Black, Miss Vance, clasp your arms," the Priestess ordered, and they did so. She placed her wand atop their arms as if performing an Unbreakable Vow. The Wedding Oath was magical, but it wasn't as binding or literal as an Unbreakable Vow. "Now repeat after me. I, Lord Sirius Orion of House Black, I Miss Emmeline Prunella of House Vance, stand in the sight of the Blessed Mother, and pledge myself to you."
They repeated the vows.
"I pledge to be faithful to you, to love you, to fight for you and yours. We are one mind, one heart, one wand."
Again, they repeated her words, golden ribbons of magic binding them together with each vow.
"So mote it be!" The Priestess cried.
"So mote it be!" The guests cried back.
"It is done. In the eyes of Our Lady, you are now one," she intoned, removing her wand and bowing to the Lord and his new Lady. "May Our Lady bless your marriage and your life."
"Our thanks for your services, Priestess," Sirius smiled widely, as the congregation bowed back to her.
The party started almost immediately after the end of the ceremony, with the elves serving a buffet so that people could get themselves something to eat or drink and sit down or dance as they pleased. Aludra spent most of her night socializing with political allies and vassals, but eventually she had done her duties as a hostess and she slumped as elegantly as she could into a chair her friends had saved for her, eager to eat the dinner she had gotten for herself.
"Alright, Ally?" Evan asked, looking a bit amused.
She sighed. "Oh, when I get married, I'm eloping," she groaned, even though she knew that would never happen. For one thing, she'd very quickly become a widow when her father murdered her would-be groom if she ever did disappear and return a married woman. "What is wrong with the world, that wixen and their families need to spend their time politicking at a wedding? Isn't it meant to be a time for joy and family?"
"You've answered your own question," Neville grinned. "Politics is what's wrong with the world. But it's a necessary evil. Without you and your father to stop them, the Malfoys would probably be able to make use of the Black wealth and power. Imagine what kind of world that would be."
Aludra grimaced in distaste. She could easily picture the sort of things the Malfoys would do, and she did not like it. "Let's talk about something more pleasant," she requested. "Bad enough we have to endure their presence without actually talking about them."
"We were talking about the World Cup before you arrived," Ron offered. "I was just saying that Dad got tickets in the Minister's box for the whole family, with a few spares. Evan, Iris and Lord Potter are coming with us."
"Mum didn't want to come," Evan added. "She's weird about Quidditch. Says it's a silly game and people shouldn't be so obsessed with it. Can you believe that?" He looked incredulous.
"Daddy got tickets too," Aludra stated in response, neatly avoiding having to talk about the Potter parents. "He got tickets for the four of us and Neville, and we're sharing a tent with Uncle Amos and Cedric, aren't we Neville?" Neville, who was coming with them as his parents were out of the country consulting a specialist for Frank Longbottom's chronic nerve damage and his grandmother was too highbrow to attend a 'silly Quidditch match', nodded in confirmation. "Susan and Aunt Mia have tickets too, don't you?"
Susan nodded, looking excited. "It'll be brilliant!" She declared. "We're in the Department Heads' Box, which is just to the left of the Ministers' one."
"So are we," Aludra confirmed with a grin. "Which team are you lot supporting? Ireland for me, of course, but Krum is certainly impressive."
They all agreed that they would be supporting the Irish team, while bemoaning the embarrassment of the English team losing to Transylvania of all places, which was as bad as, for example, Puddlemere United losing to the Chudley Cannons.
"The twins think that Ireland will win, but Krum'll catch the Snitch," Ron scoffed. "Mad, ain't it?"
"Well, it's rare but not unheard of," Susan pointed out reasonably. "And Krum is considered the best Seeker in the League for a reason. Bulgaria only made it to the finals because of him, really. Meanwhile, the entire Irish team is just plain brilliant. Their Chasers are practically connected by a magical bond. I could see the result turning out like that."
"What turning out like what?" A cheerful voice asked, and they turned to see Sirius walking up behind them with a wide smile. He looked so happy, it made Aludra beam on instinct. Truly, she'd love Emma purely for the happiness she gave Sirius, even if she wasn't such a warm, friendly person.
"Ireland winning the World Cup but Krum catching the Snitch," Aludra told her father cheerfully. "That's what the twins think will happen."
"Ah, I wouldn't be surprised," he nodded. "Ireland is very good, they're the definite favourites, but Krum is the youngest in the League for a reason. Now, forgive my interruption but my daughter has neglected to give me a dance this evening. Can this old codger coax you away from your friends for a song?"
"Always, Daddy," Aludra grinned, putting aside her empty plate and butterbeer bottle and jumping back to her feet. "See you lot later!" She waved at her friends.
"Enjoy!" They called back, watching as she and Sirius made their way to the middle of the dancefloor.
"Congratulations, Daddy," Aludra told him softly. "I'm so happy for you."
"I'm the luckiest wix in the world," he replied, squeezing her hand softly. "I have a brother in all but blood who I adore, a beautiful, wonderful wife whose smile makes my heart leap and a daughter I would burn the world for. There are many with far less than that."
"I think we're the lucky ones," Aludra responded with a warm smile. "We'd have much worse lives without you."
"We'll agree that we're both lucky, how about that?" He smiled back at her.
"Sounds good to me," she replied happily.
It was the perfect wedding, and she hoped she was half-as happy on her future wedding day as her father and Emma were today.