A/N: Not my sandbox, just my sand castle. I don't own anything from Harry Potter. Additionally, no one has permission to bind and sell my works, fandom or otherwise. Shame on you for exploiting other people's works!

Hello everyone! Welcome back to another fic :) I can't tell you how excited I am to have an excuse to write a regency wedding fic :3

I am going to refrain from using Regency dialogue just because the last time I wrote it for the competition, I was marked down for using it, since it's not considered modern grammar.

So I will do my best to stick to modern grammar despite writing a historical piece.

With the inclusion of the prompt 'mermaid-style wedding dress', however, I will be doing some time bending.

The mermaid dress first appeared at the end of the 19th century, more specifically in 1877, at a time when fashion was transitioning from maximum width to maximum narrowness.

The Regency Era of British history, on the other hand, is commonly described as the years between c. 1795 and 1837, although the official regency for which it is named only spanned the years 1811 to 1820.

Obviously this style of wedding-dress would not exist during this time period, however this is fiction, so everything is made up and the points don't matter!

This one is for Round 4 of The Houses Competition, where I'm in Gryffindor House and writing for Potions. This competition, we have to write a drabble (500-1000 words) as well as a standard (1000-3000 words). This fic is the Standard of the two. Prompts are listed below.

Thank you kindly to charliemanx, Dora, and Queenie for the beta!

Word Count: 1312

Disclaimers/Warnings:

Summary: It is Bellatrix Black's wedding day, and her sisters help her get ready to become Lady Lestrange. Bridgerton!AU, Muggle!AU

Prompts:

The Houses Competition Y11 R4

Standard

[Object] Mermaid-style wedding dress

[Pairing-family] The Black sisters-Bellatrix, Andromeda, Narcissa

The Menagerie on Discord

July 2024 Bingo

I3- (Word) Heroic

The Menagerie on Discord

Weekly Writing Challenge

7/8/24 Prompts: 3- (dialogue) "If I didn't know better, I'd say you're sweet on him."

"Lady Lestrange"

"One day, I hope to be as happy as you," Narcissa murmured as she lounged on the bed, waiting for her older sister Andromeda to finish with their eldest sister's hair. It was Bellatrix's wedding today, and the trio of sisters were up in Bella's suite of rooms to get Bella all ready for her upcoming nuptials. The carriage would be on the doorstep in a few hours and everything needed to be perfect.

"Oh, do not fret so, Cissa, you'll give yourself wrinkles," Bella replied, watching in the mirror as Andromeda set down the hairbrush before beginning to plait the top layer of hair. The hairstyle Bella wanted was a crown of plaits and flowers, and Narcissa was slightly jealous of her sister's thick curly hair. Narcissa had been blessed with the Rosier hair of her mother's side of the family–stick straight and uninspiringly blonde. She could tie it back with a ribbon, or plait it into one or two tails. That was about it.

"I think what Bella means to say is that now that she is off the marriage mart, you'll have your first season this coming year. You'll have gentlemen callers during the day, and you will join me at balls and parties at night," Andromeda replied.

Narcissa couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Meda, with how many gentlemen callers you get nowadays, I would be surprised if you weren't married shortly after our dear Bella here." She immediately spotted the flush that blossomed on her sister's cheeks and Narcissa couldn't help but get giddy. "You already have a suitor in mind! You must tell us!" Jumping up from the bed, she drew closer to her older sisters.

"Yes, my dear Meda, you must share with us this mysterious beau of yours," Bella replied. With a huff, Andromeda finished the last plait and pinned it to the crown of Bella's head.

"There's nothing to talk about," Andromeda replied stiffly.

With a laugh, Bella turned to face her younger sister. "Is he tall?"

"Is he handsome?" Narcissa interjected.

"Is he heroic? Has he fought in the war?" Bella added. Andromeda flushed darker, and Narcissa shared a look with her eldest sister.

"Mister Tonks, he's…not like anyone I've ever met," Andromeda replied softly. "He's kind, and thoughtful, and doesn't pontificate like some of the other lords do. He…he listens to me. He likes my ideas."

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you're sweet on him," Bella said. She grinned widely at her thoughtful statement, even as Andromeda averted her gaze. "Oh, Meda. All teasing aside, I'm sure he's a wonderful young man. So long as he treats you right, and is of good standing, Mama and Papa will approve of the match."

"Yes…I'm sure they will." Andromeda's tone was a bit wistful and distant, but she quickly recovered in order to head to the vanity to grab the flowers for Bellatrix's hair.

Bella rose from her chair gracefully to glide over to her wedding dress, a new form-fitting style from France–it was a nod to her new groom's heritage, and a style that would scandalize the marriage-minded mamas of the London ton.

Narcissa gazed upon the hung-up dress with slight envy. At the tender age of sixteen, Narcissa wouldn't have dared to wear something like it to a formal event. No one really acknowledged it, but Bella was the most privileged out of the three of them. She had fewer restrictions, as the eldest, and could get away with more shenanigans. The weight of the world, however, rested on her shoulders to ensure that the family name stayed respected and that her sisters would receive advantageous matches. They were the Black Family, however, so unless one of them married a prince, there wasn't much further for them to go to climb up the social ladder.

"Bella," Andromeda whispered emotionally, and Narcissa snapped back to the present to see Bella had donned the form-fitting dress. It was ivory in color and simply covered in lace. The dress itself hugged all of Bella's curves, pressed tightly against her until the dress hit her knees where it then exploded into a torrent of lace and tulle, covering her legs–and thankfully her ankles–entirely. The bottom part of the dress reminded Narcissa of a fish tale, which made the name of the dress make sense in her mind.

"However did you get this dress past Mama?" Narcissa asked curiously. She watched as Bella wrapped a separate tulle skirt around just under her bust, giving her a more classic shape that would be suitable for the church.

"She's never seen the dress without the wrap," Bellatrix admitted with a sly grin. Flowers were suddenly pressed into Narcissa's arms, and she looked down to find the white blooms that had been delivered that morning to the house. They were just the heads, with very little stems. Just enough to tuck into the hairstyle that Andromeda so carefully had styled not five minutes ago.

"Shall we?" Andromeda asked, grinning. Bellatrix and Narcissa grinned back at her.

Nary a few minutes after they had finished decorating Bella's hair with the blooms, a firm knock came at the door. Andromeda answered it while Narcissa readied her attendant dress, only to admit their cousin Sirius, who was in charge of getting Bellatrix to the church, ready and on time. Their parents had already left hours earlier to finish up any last-minute preparations.

"Bellatrix, you look stunning. Run away with me?" Sirius joked, a wide grin on his face.

"Sirius, if you weren't my first cousin and I thought you were actually serious–don't you dare–I would actually consider it," Bella replied with a half-glare. Sirius' grin only widened further.

"But seriously, Bella," he said, emphasizing the pun that was his name, "if you don't want to marry Lord Le-weird–"

"Lord Lestrange," Bella corrected, annoyed.

"Same thing," Sirius replied without missing a beat. "If you don't want to marry the Frenchman, just say the word. I'll whisk you away, hide you in a tower, and you'll never have to marry a man if you don't want to. You can have three cats–no four–and forever be the spinster aunt who loved in life and spurned the only man who saw fit to worship the ground you walk upon."

"Careful there, Siri," Bellatrix teased as her expression relaxed, noting that this was his way of giving her an out or an opportunity to confirm her decision. "It almost sounds like you're starting to like Lord Lestrange."

"You know I would never let you marry someone I thought was unworthy. You are a Black, after all. You deserve the best," he replied.

Bellatrix sniffed haughtily. "Well of course I do," she replied. And I think I've found the best. Sorry, sisters. But your suitors will pale in comparison to my husband." Narcissa watched as a fond smile spread across Bella's face at the wording. "My husband," Bella repeated, her grin only widening.

"Now, as Lord Black–"

"You're not Lord Black yet," Narcissa pointed out, pausing for a moment to slip on her day shoes.

"As a Lord Black," Sirius amended, shooting an annoyed glance at Narcissa–she merely grinned widely back at him, "it is my solemn duty to escort you to the church, to hand you off to your Lord father to marry you to the man whom will take over the duty of caring for you, loving you, cherishing you, and protecting you from all the vices and avarice in the world. Bellatrix…do you go with me willingly, to be the bride of Lord Rodolphus Lestrange, Duke of Aumale?"

"I do," Bella said. With their family tradition finished, Narcissa and Andromeda carefully placed the veil over Bellatrix. Sirius offered his arm to her as Narcissa and Andromeda grabbed their bouquets and Bellatrix's from the vanity.

"Then let's make you a blushing bride, Lady Lestrange."