Chapter Text
‘The wedding is cancelled,’ were the first words Harry heard as he got off the Hogwarts Express. The smoke in the air prevented him from seeing properly, but he didn’t need to see Sirius’ face to know the expression he’d be wearing. The crowd of students thronged around them and moved them towards the exit into Kings Cross Station without them consciously moving. Harry’s trunk, only lightly packed for the holidays, followed along behind him as they walked.
“Wait -” Sirius turned around but his long black hair shielded his eyes from Harry. “What happened? Is Moony okay?”
Sirius sighed at the question but softened, and Harry breathed a sigh of relief. Since Remus told him about the missions Dumbledore used to send him on, Harry had been waiting for a letter to arrive to tell him his godfather had gone underground again. Sirius cleared his throat and pulled Harry close to his side, lowering his voice so only Harry could hear him.
“Voldemort found out about it - apparently that toad teaching you Defence is screening your post and she passed the invitation on to Lucius bloody Malfoy - and Snape told the Order he’s planning on ambushing it.”
They were in the midst of the muggle station now and Harry couldn’t keep track of all the people around him, Hedwig and his luggage, and this new information. He stumbled as the arm around his shoulders kept them walking towards the exit. If Umbridge was on Voldemort’s side then Harry really needed to do something - and he needed to write to Hermione. They’d need to make the DA sessions even more secret.
“C’mon, Moony’s waiting at home. He’s dying to see you.”
Sirius barely said another word as they headed to the apparition point.
--
Remus really was anxious to see him, if the waiting by the front door was any indication. As soon as he and Sirius appeared on the Estate’s pristine driveway, Remus was running over to them and checking over every inch of Harry. He put up with it for a few minutes but drew the line at the forehead kisses.
“Get off,” he laughed, “I’m fine.”
“How’s Ron doing? And the other Weasleys? I heard Arthur’s recovering nicely.”
“He’s doing okay.” In truth, Ron hadn’t been his usual self since that night. He was looking at Harry differently and he wasn’t sure if it was fear or gratitude that was making his best friend look at him like he was. He hadn’t even given Harry that much crap after he heard about him kissing Cho. It was plain weird.
“Let’s go in, it’s freezing out.” Remus took the trunks from Sirius and held them under one arm, his other hand holding Sirius’ tightly. Sirius’ knuckles were white with how tightly he gripped back but he didn’t acknowledge it at all and just stared out at the gardens.
They settled into their favourite living room, the one without portraits all over the walls, and got a fire started. Harry’s favourite Potter elf came in with a tray of hot butterbeer and sandwiches for them. His stomach rumbled; he always forgot how long the train from Hogwarts was.
“Thanks Bitty,” Harry tucked into his food straight away but he was the only one. Sirius was still looking out into the gardens and once again Harry couldn’t see his expression for his loose hair blocking the view. He looked at Remus instead, but he was staring at Sirius and biting his lip. Harry had only ever seen Remus do that when he was really worried about something.
“Sweetheart,” Remus whispered, “can you eat something?”
“Not hungry.”
“It’s really nice?” Harry tried. Sirius’ shoulders slumped at Harry’s voice and he turned back around and glanced up at him quickly, a guilty look on his face.
“Sorry, Harry.” He picked the sandwich up but didn’t take a bite. “I’m distracted. Tell us about school.”
Harry did, talking about anything that crossed his mind until his throat started to hurt. He spoke about the DA and how he’d got everyone to try the patronus charm in the last session, how Hermione still hadn’t acted on her feelings for Ron even though it was obvious Ron liked her back, and - haltingly - he told them about Cho. Sirius laughed in the right places and asked leading questions, but he didn’t seem to be fully engaged in what Harry was saying. Ever since they’d met, Harry was used to having the complete attention of his godfather; it was startling to see him so reserved and not even teasing him about kissing Cho but just smiling blandly and saying ‘that’s nice.’ Harry exchanged a worried glance with Remus. Something was definitely wrong.
Harry’s mind started running down countless pathways - maybe dementors were back, maybe this was an episode like he sometimes had after escaping Azkaban, maybe he had to go on some bad missions for the Order, maybe he and Remus were hurt or in danger and just didn’t want to tell Harry. Maybe, maybe, maybe -
--
The next morning, Harry came downstairs for breakfast and saw Remus in the kitchen preparing a tray of food. Sirius was nowhere to be seen.
“Morning Moony.”
“Harry,” Remus startled slightly at his greeting and spilled the tea he was pouring. “Good sleep?”
It hadn’t been, but Harry didn’t want to worry his godfather more. At least he hadn’t dreamt of the dark corridor since Mr Weasley was attacked the week before.
“Moony?” Harry fidgeted with his glasses, “is Sirius okay?”
Remus turned around and leant against the countertop so he could look at Harry properly. He looked tired, drawn, and he shook his head.
“He told you we’ve had to cancel the wedding?” Harry nodded, “well it’s hitting him hard. He’s...well, truth be told he’s devastated.”
Harry didn’t know what to say to that. He didn’t know how he could help - it wasn’t like there was someone to fight or something he just had to figure out to make it work. He hated when things felt out of his hands. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, in reply but Remus beat him to it.
“I have an idea, but I’ll need your help.”
“What is it?”
“I think we can still do the wedding here. I know it won’t be perfect and it’s not the celebration Sirius wanted but it will be enough, right? To hold the ceremony just us?”
“You don’t want me to actually officiate do you?” Harry didn’t think he could do that. He’d seen the memory of his parents’ wedding and the bonding spell looked more complicated than anything Harry had seen before.
Remus laughed, “no. I thought we’d ask Minerva to do that part.”
“Okay, I’m in. What do we need to do?”
Remus sat down at the kitchen table and pulled a huge binder towards him that Harry hadn’t noticed. It was full of pieces of parchment, all divided by colour, which at a closer glance looked to be for a hundred different things Harry hadn’t known went into planning a wedding. He stole a bite of toast from Remus’ tray while he was distracted by pulling out different forms.
“Here,” Remus slid five different papers over to him and the rest of the toast, too. “Here’s what we’ll start with: robes, flowers, rings, crowns, officiant papers.”
Harry nodded along but his brain skipped and rewound as he thought over the list.
“Wait...did you say crowns?”
Remus nodded slowly and grimaced a little. Harry imagined gold crowns with huge gems like the ones he’d learnt about in primary school. But the designs on the paper were much more intricate. They were gold as well, but the metal was barely visible beneath the embellishments on them. Red velvet covered the middle of the crowns and thinner bands of gold arched over the top with a diamond cross in the centre. Harry had never seen anything quite like them.
“It’s a Russian tradition,” Remus traced a finger across the designs and muttered, “apparently.”
Harry snickered but managed to suppress it before he laughed loudly enough to wake Sirius up. He still remembered seeing Remus for the first time with his patchwork clothes and battered briefcase, but those tattered old clothes didn’t see the light of day very often anymore. Harry wondered vaguely how Sirius had managed to buy Remus a whole new wardrobe without Remus realising. Last summer it had been a fight just to get him into a new jumper.
“These are drawings of the Black family crowns. They’ll be the hardest thing to get - they’re currently in the Black vault at Gringotts and Sirius swore he’d wear nothing less. Something about rubbing his family’s nose in it and claiming his heritage for himself or something.”
Remus’ usual sarcasm didn’t quite hit - in fact, Harry thought he looked quite happy at those words.
“So how do we get into the vault? Polyjuice?”
“Christ, Harry! Only if you want to get killed down there. No, Sirius will have to get them - he’s the only Black with access to those vaults. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Let’s do the easy things first.”
Remus shuffled through the papers and stuck one into Harry’s hands which looked like an order for flowers.
“Can you write to them and request the flowers are delivered here on the twenty-third instead of to the Abbey?”
Harry nodded and grabbed the paper and the last bit of toast. He headed upstairs feeling much better than he had when he’d woken up. He could follow this plan no problem.
--
'Dear Professor McGonagall,
I’m sure you’ve heard that Sirius and Remus had to cancel their wedding. Sirius is very upset about it, so Remus and I are planning a surprise ceremony on Christmas Eve at our home (the Potter Estate in Windsor) with just the three of us.
Would you like to come and officiate the ceremony? I’ve sent the forms you’d need to sign to make it legal.
Please let us know as soon as possible.
Harry'
*
'Dear Mr Potter,
I’d be delighted to attend as officiant.
This is a lovely thing you are doing for your godfather, he is very lucky to have you both.
Attached to the letter are the signed forms.
Yours faithfully,
Professor M. McGonagall
Head of Gryffindor House
Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry'
*
“McGonagall’s in.” Harry waved the letter in the air to grab Remus’ attention. Sirius was out with Buckbeak in the garden as Padfoot, as he’d been for most of the last few days.
Padfoot was cute and all but Harry missed his godfather. It wasn’t the same in the evenings without Sirius trying to distract Remus from his reading and Harry from his homework with some crazy game he’d made up. Padfoot had taken to just curling up by either of their sides and huffing until they patted him.
Remus turned away from the garden window and took the letter, shaking the heavy parchment out so he could read the whole message. He smiled and glanced back out to the garden where a black tail was just visible behind one of the trees.
“Okay, that means we can move onto phase two - setting everything up. I was thinking we’d have the ceremony outside.”
“Seriously?” Harry eyed the dark clouds anxiously. Christmas Eve was only a few days away and the weather had been grey for the last week. “It’s going to be freezing.”
“We’re wizards Harry,” Remus laughed and swatted him with the letter, “‘sides, Sirius will love the drama of it if it snows.”
Harry laughed and picked up a quill, writing ‘ phase two’ on the back of McGonagall’s letter. Planning this surprise with Remus was giving him a great idea of who exactly had been the mastermind behind the Marauders’ pranks and how they’d been executed so flawlessly.
Remus leant back in his chair and balanced on the back legs as he hummed.
“Write this down…”
By the time lunchtime rolled around and Padfoot had slunk back into the kitchen, covered in dirt but with his tail still trailing on the floor, they had the following written down:
Phase Two:
- Get flowers delivered on twenty-third and hide them
- Collect robes from dressmaker in Paris
- Collect rings from muggle jeweller in London
- Set up on morning of twenty-fourth - STOP SIRIUS GETTING IN GARDEN
- Get Minerva over
- Get Sirius to get the crowns????
- Surprise Sirius, get married
Harry read over the list and even he had to admit it wasn’t the most foolproof of plans. Remus seemed confident though, and he scratched Padfoot’s head as he got up to start lunch without even bothering to hide the list.
--
The first obstacle came when the flowers were delivered a day early. Harry was upstairs, trying and failing to charm himself warm, when he heard the wards ring and Sirius’ voice mumbling that he’d get it. Harry stole a glance out the window opposite out of curiosity and almost fell over in his haste to get out of his room. The visitor who’d set off the wards was really three wizards all piled together holding an unholy amount of flowers between them.
“Wait! Sirius, I’ll get it!”
Harry hurtled down the marble staircase and fell directly into Sirius, who stared at him like he’d suddenly grown a horn out of his head.
“Who is it? Cho?”
“W-what?” Harry felt his cheeks darken. He’d known telling them about Cho would come back to bite him, but part of him was glad that Sirius was teasing him again after the past few days of sullen, monosyllabic conversation. “No!”
“Okay...then let me get the door.”
“No!”
“What are you hiding!”
Before Harry could think up an excuse, he was saved. Remus appeared in the hallway, red faced and breathing hard like he’d sprinted in from the garden. The wards rang again, this time much closer, and he looked Harry straight in the eye and nodded towards the door.
“Re, he’s being wei-” but before Sirius could finish his sentence, Remus was yanking him forward and into a deeper kiss than Harry had any wish to see. He grimaced and was happy to turn towards the door, especially when Sirius’ noise of surprise turned into one of pleasure.
The delivery wizards were all too happy to unload the flowers into Harry’s arms and hurry back to their brooms before offering to help. Harry had to put the bouquets down before his arms turned to rubber faster than if Lockhart pointed his wand at him again. He surveyed the sea of roses in front of him, all in varying shades of red so they created a sunset of petals. He adjusted his glasses and picked up three of the bouquets.
He nudged the door open and peered around it furtively, rolling his eyes as he saw his godparents still wrapped up in each other. It was nice that they loved each other, but Harry really didn’t want to see it. Remus spun them around so Sirius’ back was to Harry and pointed furiously down the hallway. Right - garden it was then.
Harry edged past them ever so carefully, but when Sirius showed no sign of moving from Remus’ arms even if the world started burning around them, he threw caution to the wind and summoned all the flowers to him, letting them whack into Sirius as they passed. Levitating them into the garden was a piece of cake and he made sure to stay outside arranging them for long enough to avoid seeing anymore PDA.
--
Remus was taking a portkey to Paris to pick up the dress robes that afternoon and it was Harry’s job to convince Sirius to get the wedding crowns from Gringotts while he was gone. They had one day before the wedding, so the margin of error was about the same as it had been going up against the Hungarian Horntail - not very large at all.
“Sirius?”
“Harry.”
“Moony told me about the crowns you were going to have at the wedding,” Harry had to hide a wince when Sirius’ eyes clouded over, “and I was wondering if you’d show them to me?”
“Why? We obviously don’t need them.”
“I guess I thought it would be nice to learn about them anyway. Moony said you wanted to reclaim your culture or something and I’ve only been able to do that recently because of you guys so I thought I could do the same for you?” Harry mumbled in a rush, “or something.”
The room was silent after his words, and Harry’s heart was pounding, frantically wishing he hadn’t said the wrong thing. Harry knew Sirius liked being Russian - he didn’t speak about it much but when he did his voice went all faraway and proud, and when he spoke Russian and French he held himself differently too. It had taken a while for Harry to pinpoint the difference, but he’d realised one day when he saw Sirius chatting to Fleur Delacour during the Tournament that he held himself taller, more like the nobility he was. He wanted to share that with Sirius like Sirius had shared the Potter history with him.
Sirius moved quite suddenly and pulled Harry into a hug, kissing his hair repeatedly, “what did I do to deserve a godson like you, huh?”
“Escape prison?”
Sirius laughed for the first time since Harry had been home and grinned. “Okay, let’s get the crowns. Go get dressed - and properly! Wear those nice robes I got you.”
“Which ones?” Harry laughed as he ran up the stairs, “there’s a new set in my wardrobe every time I’m home.”
“Don’t tell Moony!”
--
Gringotts never made Harry feel welcome with its sweeping marble floors and the high counters he could barely see over. The goblins always stared at him like he was there to cause trouble, so he kept his eyes down and his hands firmly in the pockets of his robes. Sirius, on the other hand, stepped into the bank like he owned it and with the way the goblins responded to him he might as well have.
“Heir Black,” a goblin Harry thought he recognised as Griphook came up to them as soon as they stepped through the doors, “what can we help you with today?”
“I’d like to visit the Black family vault to make a withdrawal.”
The key Sirius conjured into existence was solid gold and more ornate than the one Harry had for the Potter vault. This one had a handle that twisted and curved around rubies and, as it glinted in the sun, Harry could just make out the Black family crest and their motto ‘ toujours pur’ engraved on it . Sirius thrust it into Griphook’s hand like it was burning him.
Griphook took out a magnifying glass and examined the key for a minute before nodding and putting it into a small leather pouch he had fastened around his chest.
“This way.” He led them to one of the small doors leading off the main hall and into the dark passageway that led to the carts.
The journey down to the vaults was as hair raising as Harry remembered it being, but this time, with Sirius whooping behind him and keeping a firm hand on his shoulder, he could actually enjoy it. He’d never been on a rollercoaster before. Dudley had gone to Thorpe Park for his tenth birthday but Harry had been left with Mrs Figg and her stinking cats. He bet Dudley would be jealous of him now, and the thought made him laugh out loud.
The cart went further down than he’d been before - further even than the vault Hagrid had got the Philosopher’s stone from - and by the time the cart came to an abrupt halt Harry had completely lost track of where they were. He made to stand up on wobbling legs but was pulled sharply back down by Sirius.
“Stay put,” Sirius hissed in his ear, “these vaults are cursed to the nines - you’ll be blown to bits if you aren’t careful.”
Griphook stepped out of the cart and into the darkness of the tunnel. Harry had no idea where they were, for he could see barely a metre in front of him. He strained his ears and eyes to try and make sense of the blackness around him, but try as he might he could hear nothing but Griphook’s quiet steps. The sound of a key turning in a heavy lock was followed by metallic clanking and a steadily growing light. The cart wobbled as Sirius stood up.
The light grew until it was nearly blinding and Harry squinted to shield his eyes until it settled down. When he opened them again he saw something straight out of his nightmares - Voldemort’s snake, huge and dark and coiling tightly around the door to the vault, was staring straight at Sirius. It’s red eyes were fixed unerringly upon Sirius’ grey ones.
Harry gripped his wand tighter and stepped forward, but Sirius spoke before he could.
“My name is Sirius Orion Black, Heir to the Noble House of Black and I have come to withdraw the Black wedding crowns from the vault.” He repeated the formality in Russian, then in French. The snake’s eyes never left his. “I would also like to formally present my heir, Harry James Potter.”
The snake’s eyes snapped to Harry’s instantly and a chill went through his body. The red seemed to glow even brighter as the snake took him in.
“Say your name, Harry.” Sirius guided him to stand next to him, shoulder to shoulder on the stairs leading to the vault door.
Harry stared the snake in the eye and said his name, but the hissing that came out of his mouth wasn’t anything he’d heard before. The snake’s eyes shifted to a soft lilac and it slid forward, it’s tongue darting out to taste the air around Harry.
“ It’s been a while since a true speaker has come to visit me. And one in the family, no less! Welcome to the Black family, you will come to visit me more often than the Heir, yes? It is awfully boring down here. You are interesting, you have the Gift.”
As the snake spoke it came closer and closer to Harry until it was twined around his shoulders, the weight of its muscular body heavy and unfamiliar. Harry felt his pulse quicken and his palms begin to sweat.
“ What’s your name?”
“Luna,” the snake hissed in his ear and something in Harry loosened. It wasn’t the snake that attacked Mr Weasley, and now he looked more closely in the light he could see the snake wasn’t green like he’d thought but a dark velvety purple with light pink, almost white, rosettes scattered across its back. Harry thought the name suited the snake, and he knew his own Luna would feel the same way.
“ I have a friend called Luna. She’d like you.”
The snake twined over his shoulders faster and burrowed her head in his hair, “ obviously.”
Harry laughed and reached up a hand to run along her scales, feeling her hum in contentment as he did so. He glanced back up at Sirius who was watching him with obvious interest, a million questions burning behind his eyes.
Griphook pushed the vault door open before he could ask any of them.
The sight of the Black family vault wasn’t something Harry was prepared for. He’d thought his parents’ vault was huge but the Black fortune was bigger than he could have ever dreamt up. Piles and piles of galleons stretched back as far as the eye could see and not a single silver or copper coin disrupted the golden view. Shelves were mounted along the wall carrying precious stones and swords and what looked like a complete set of armour. Two crowns sat pride of place right at the back on the centre shelf.
Sirius walked through the vault without pausing to look at anything else. The piles of treasure parted for him, a sea of gold rippling outwards, and the crowns seemed to shine extra brightly when they were in Sirius’ hands.
“The Heir is marrying?” Luna hissed in Harry’s ear as she eyed the prize Sirius had taken from her hoard. “ Who is his betrothed?”
Harry adjusted her weight so she was looped around his arms, “Remus Lupin.”
“With a name like that you’d think he was a werewolf,” Luna let out a stream of hisses and Harry realised with a start that she was laughing. The snake was making a joke.
“He is,” Harry snorted at Luna’s sudden interest. Her lilac eyes flashed as she lifted her head to survey Sirius.
“Interesting...finally some good gossip…”
Harry laughed, and laughed even harder when he caught sight of Sirius’ side-eye.
“I don’t like this vibe,” Sirius waved a hand in their direction, “I feel like you’re laughing at me.”
“We are.”
Sirius gasped and spun the crowns around before shrinking them and putting them in his robe pocket. Griphook’s hands tightened on the doorframe like he was willing himself to stay put and not grab the priceless items from Sirius’ careless hands.
“C’mon, let’s go home and show Moony.”
Harry didn’t want to let Luna go, but for once Sirius didn’t immediately give in to his every whim and he had to leave her with one last hissed goodbye. She flicked her tongue at him and disappeared back into her golden treasure chest.
The ride back up to ground level was as twisting and turning as it had been on the way down, but without the thrill of the drops it felt longer and Harry couldn’t get his mind off Luna. He hated leaving her down there in her dark cell.
The light of the main hall felt blindingly bright after the dark vaults and Harry’s vision swam as it adjusted. He caught sight of the huge clock hanging over the door and his stomach sank as he saw it was only eleven thirty. Remus’ portkey wouldn’t be back from Paris until lunchtime.
“Sirius,” Harry thought quickly, “I need to get a last minute present for Moony. Can we pop into Flourish and Blotts since we’re already here?”
“Sure,” Sirius led the way into the shop. Harry knew that he’d be distracted by the books within minutes and he was right - they’d barely stepped through the door before Sirius was pouring over the Defence section. No doubt he’d pick something up for all of them.
By the time they were heading back into the Leaky Cauldron and flooing home it was one-thirty and their pockets were weighed down with books.
Remus was sitting at the kitchen table reading a book when they arrived and as Sirius went upstairs to hide the books, Remus shot Harry a thumbs up which he quickly returned. Not only had the crowns and robes been collected, but Sirius was cheering up immensely.
As soon as Harry took a seat at the table a plate of food appeared in front of him. He tucked in with the satisfaction of knowing he’d done something good that day.
--
Professor McGonagall was set to arrive at five and by lunchtime Harry was already exhausted. He’d spent the morning running around the house to make sure everything was set up as it should be - flowers in place, elves prepping the right food, dress robes ready, cameras all up and running - and he still had to go and collect the rings. Remus was busy getting Christmas ready with Sirius, for all Sirius knew that was the only celebration they’d be having and he’d decided to use his renewed cheer to make it ‘the best Christmas ever.’
As Harry walked out of the Leaky Cauldron and straight onto Oxford Street he realised it was snowing. Small snowflakes were dancing through the air and melting before they even hit the pavement. All around him bunches of tourists were standing with their smiling faces staring up at the sky. Harry wished Ron and Hermione could be with him - he and Hermione had told Ron about Oxford Street but he hadn’t believed them when they’d described how busy it could get. Seeing a gap in the crowd, Harry darted through and rushed off in the direction of the jewellers. He would have to show Ron the memory of this.
The rings, when he finally got into the shop, were sat in a blue velvet box waiting for him. The jeweller exclaimed over the quality of the metal and the cut, but when she started talking about the hallmarking Harry scooped up the box and handed over Sirius’ muggle card, running out of the shop as quickly as he could. Getting caught up in a conversation about jewellery was about as interesting as a History of Magic lecture.
When he tumbled back out of the fireplace into his living room the clock was almost hitting five and he was covered in soot.
“Merlin,” Harry cursed under his breath and sprinted up the stairs into his room. He needed to be dressed and ready by the time McGonagall arrived, and he knew she’d be perfectly on time.
Sure enough, the floo flared not five minutes later and Harry skidded into the living room just in time to receive her.
“Harry!” Sirius called out, “was that the floo? Who’s here on Christmas Eve?”
“Stop shouting across the house Pads. Just go see.” Remus’ voice was close and he appeared in the living room already dressed to go, with a pale pink rose in his hand. He grinned at McGonagall nervously and stood in the middle of the room with a vague tremor about him.
“Alright, alright.” Sirius huffed and poked his head around the doorway. His eyes flitted to the fireplace first then, more quickly than Harry thought possible, they flicked back to take in Remus. “Remus?”
Remus grinned, his nerves seemingly forgotten in front of Sirius.
“Wanna get married?”
Sirius stood stock still, his eyes wide and locked on one person only, his hands fluttering uselessly against his sides. Harry shifted awkwardly from foot to foot. He wanted to break the silence somehow, lift the tension in the room.
“Really?” Sirius breathed.
Remus nodded, his grin even wider now, creasing at his cheeks and his eyes, and before Harry could blink Sirius had hurtled into Remus’ arms, laughing and twirling the pink rose around in his fingers.
“I know it’s not what we planned,” Remus grimaced slightly, “but I didn’t want to wait any longer.”
“It’s perfect.”
Remus pushed Sirius away before he could kiss him, and ordered him to go and get ready, but Sirius didn’t listen. He bounced over to Harry and pulled him into a hug, ruffling his hair and smoothing out the creases in his dress robes, then kissed Professor McGonagall on each cheek, twice. It took five minutes before all three of them could get him out of the room.
--
Harry stood at the arch of flowers he and Remus had positioned in the middle of the rose garden and waited. Like this, it could have been his parents’ wedding. Remus stood next to him, still smiling like nothing in the entire world was better than this moment they were living, and McGonagall was at the centre of it all, looking out over the garden like she looked over the Great Hall at mealtimes.
The charmed roses hummed a sweet tune of strings and bells and the same bluebell flame lights that Remus had conjured the very first day they’d met on the train were scattered around them, lighting up the dark December evening. It was magical, Harry thought, like nothing he’d ever seen before. Even the Yule Ball hadn’t felt this magical with all of its ceremony and riches.
Harry fidgeted where he stood and cast a warming charm over himself again; the snow that had started falling earlier was heavy now, almost completely obscuring the grass. The camera around his neck was heavy and the leather strap had snuck under his robe collar, rubbing his skin uncomfortably. He reached up to take it off just as Sirius appeared in the garden doorway. Harry almost dropped the camera in his haste to photograph everything.
Remus stood up straighter and walked down the makeshift aisle to Sirius’ side. Harry couldn’t hear what they were saying, but he saw the awe in Sirius’ grey eyes and the tear that slid down his cheek. Remus wiped it away. Harry pointed the camera and let the photo capture the moment.
The charmed roses sang sweetly as they walked up the path and came to a stand in front of McGonagall, but their song quietened to almost nothing when she began to speak.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mark the union of two extraordinary people in marriage and in magic. The journey to get to this day has been marked with pain and grief and unerring loyalty and love, and today marks the beginning of a new chapter. May this union bring peace and happiness to your unending love.”
Sirius and Remus were staring at each other like Hagrid had stared at Norbert the dragon, like Oliver Wood stared at the Quidditch team when they won against Slytherin, like how Hermione would sometimes stare at Ron.
“Sirius, I do believe the Orthodox Church does not make traditional vows but Remus has prepared simple wizarding vows to accompany the bonding ceremony. If you’re happy with that we’ll commence.”
“Yeah,” Sirius’ voice was a rasp and he had to clear his throat once, twice. “Perfect.”
“Then repeat after me: with this ring, I take thee to be my lawfully wedded husband and pledge my magic to be bonded with yours, from this day forward, for as long as we both may live.” Remus slipped a hand into his pocket and took out the shining wedding bands, pressing them into Sirius’ waiting hand with a squeeze. Sirius looked at them resting in his palm for a beat before taking in a shaky breath and sliding the ring onto Remus’ finger.
“Remus, repeat after me: with this ring, I take thee to be my lawfully wedded husband and pledge my magic to be bonded with yours, from this day forward, for as long as we both may live.”
Remus slid the ring onto Sirius’ finger without hesitation and brought the band to his lips as soon as it slotted into place beside the shining diamond of Sirius’ engagement band.
“Sirius, do you have the crowns?” Sirius conjured the crowns into existence and pressed them into her hands. “Are you marrying of your own free will?”
“I am,” Sirius said.
“I am,” Remus repeated.
“Have you promised yourself to another?”
“Never,” Sirius said.
“Not once,” Remus reported.
“I place these crowns upon your heads as a symbol of the sanctity of this union and of the beauty and burden it will bring to your lives.”
Tall as she was, Professor McGonagall didn’t have to reach far to place the crown on Sirius’ head, but Remus bowed to her as the heavy gilded crown was placed on his head. They looked like royalty, like they could be marrying in a cathedral and the whole world could be watching, but instead they were in their garden with their old teacher and their godson, getting soaked through from the snow.
Harry watched curiously as McGonagall pocketed her notes and brandished her wand, waving it between his godparents before tapping them each on the heart and then on their joined hands. He felt a tinge of unease; the static electricity of the magic set his hair on edge. It was the same feeling he’d had when Remus had shielded him from Voldemort. Pure magic in the air was glorious, dangerous. But all that happened was a golden light poured from McGonagall’s wand and spun around his godparents. It looked like it was lighting them up from the inside, although that could have just been their happiness. It was over in minutes.
“I now pronounce you married, you may now kiss your husband.”
It was Remus who surged forward first, his arms twisting around Sirius’ shoulders as he kissed him. Sirius was on the tips of his toes to loop one arm around Remus’ neck, the other grabbing onto his arm.
Harry grinned and cheered and the roses sang their sweet song. The bluebell flames were the same gold as the bond and the smiles on everyone’s faces felt like permanent fixtures.
Harry let the heavy camera bounce onto his chest as he clapped and cheered and took out his wand.
Prongs galloped around them all in joy, tossing his antlers and setting his proud, proud gaze on his two best friends.
--
They hadn’t stayed out in the snow for long, cold as it was. At Sirius’ request they’d taken photos by the arch, first off just him and Remus, then with Harry too, and after a lot of cajoling McGonagall had joined them. They looked like a family with their snow whitened hair and blinding smiles.
They were in the living room now, and Harry paused on the edge of the laughter. A drop of water on the window cutting through the fog of condensation made a distant feeling of cold dread creep over him. He felt a hand grab on to his shoulder and he spun around, heart hammering, expecting to see a slimy, scabby hand pull him in. But the hand was normal, if a little wrinkled.
“Drink, Potter?” McGonagall gestured to the table he was standing next to and the multitude of bottles standing on it. Harry squinted at them, then back at his teacher, then back at the bottles. His heart was still racing.
“Is this a test?” McGonagall scoffed and poured him a glass of firewhisky and pushed it into his hand.
“Minnie!” Sirius plucked the glass from Harry’s hand before he’d even had a sip. “He’s fifteen!”
“Old enough for whisky, then.”
“You’re drunk.”
“I’m Scottish.”
Sirius threw his head back and laughed, and Harry joined in, letting his anxieties pass. The sight of his austere teacher letting loose was too good to miss. He just wished Ron and Hermione were there with him.
“Alright then, if you’re not drunk then you’ll be able to do this.” And where Sirius stood, Padfoot now panted. He cocked his canine head to the side and winked before transforming back.
McGonagall narrowed her eyes in challenge and put her whisky glass down with pinpoint precision. Harry brought the camera to his eye just as she and Sirius stared at each other and, in perfect unison, shrank down to their animagus forms and back again.
“Idiots,” Remus laughed softly from somewhere behind Harry. “We’ll need copies of that photo.”
“Definitely,” Harry grinned back. He’d plant it in McGonagall’s office when they were back at school.
--
When the clock struck midnight they were still gathered in the house, cozy in their bubble of warmth while the snow fell still heavier outside. McGonagall had snuck Harry another glass of whisky, which he’d managed to drink while his godparents were slow dancing in the middle of the room, and he felt warm inside and out.
“Hey,” Harry pitched his voice loud enough to be heard over the music that was playing, “it’s Christmas.”
Three heads swivelled to the clock on the wall in unison.
“Merry Christmas everyone,” Remus said.
“Presents?” Sirius’ eyes were glistening and he looked about ready to rush off and grab his stack of gifts.
“No. Let’s wait until tomorrow.”
Harry wanted another day of celebration just like this one.