The Marriage Law

A Night of Bonding

After about an hour of everyone questioning Wilhelmina, they finally dropped the issue when they realised that she won't budge.
Around midnight, when everyone went into a deep slumber, Wilhelmina sat on the rooftop terrace, her legs were in the swimming pool and she was staring at stars with a blissful look in her eyes. A dazed smile played on her face, she was so lost that she didn't realise someone entering, she remained oblivious until she received a small nudge on her side.
Her trance broke and she looked to her side.
"Hey" she greeted softly,
"Hey" Sirius replied. "Can't sleep ?" He asked.
"No" she muttered.
"Me too."

With that they fell into a comfortable silence, just enjoying the stars.

"You shouldn't take her words to heart." Sirius broke the silence after a few minutes.
"I didn't" she responded quickly.
"Your eyes tell a whole new different story", he pressed.
"So now my eyes are a book ?" She asked, her bright eyes looking at him, her face illuminated by the moonlight, wind blowing through her silky hair.
"No, not a book. They are a mirror to your feelings. They display every emotion that you feel." He replied.
"And what were you able to make out ?" She asked with a teasing smile.
"She hurt you, you are still hurt. Yet you are trying to bottle up those feelings and hide them away within the darkest parts of yourself. While planting a smile and pretending that everything's great. It's not going to work Mina." He spoke.

His eyes reflected sadness and understanding. He knew all about bottling up pain and hiding it behind a mask of confidence, joy and flirting. He has done that all his life, in front of everyone, only person who knew the real broken, scarred and vulnerable Sirius Black was his brother James Potter. His heart clenched painfully at the memory of his brother. He shook away, he needed to help Wilhelmina, he couldn't wallow in self pain.

"What am I supposed to do then Sirius ?" She asked, her face radiated innocence and vulnerability, she was surprised by her own behaviour. She never shared anything with anyone, not since he died. But something about Sirius made her trust him. He had matured over the years, yet he still had an amusing part. She knew a bit about his story, but it was enough to tell her that he had experienced pain and was hiding it.
"Take out your anger, sadness, pain. You don't have to forgive anyone within the next second of their offence. Make them work for it, let them show you how sorry they really are through their actions." He replied, his eyes staring into hers.

She looked into his stormy grey eyes, trying to unveil the hidden mystery, but only to face failure. They seemed to be guarded well, and she hoped to break down those walls. This thought scared her the moment it entered her mind. Why would she want to do that? why is she even allowing him to look through her?. After a moment, she realised that she hadn't said anything and was just staring at him.

She turned her eyes away from his and replied "Life is too short and unpredictable Sirius, we never know when our loved ones are going to be snatched away from us. Any moment could be the last one, so why hold grudges. Isn't it better to have the comfort of the knowledge that when they died, they did know that they were loved by you, than to live your life with the misery of reality and guilt, knowing that they died thinking that you hate them? Or worse, you never got the time to mend things, to apologise or to forgive. If I were to live with the misery of world bestowed upon my heart, I shall survive, yet if my heart were to endure the burden of regret, the very next moment it shall crumble to pieces and wither into the abyss."

Sirius was gobsmacked, his mind was completely blank. He didn't know what to say, he never expected such wise words from someone so young, hell he wasn't that wise even though he was much older. He saw her in a new light, although he knew right from the start that she was intelligent, today she proved that she was wise beyond years. This made him feel a bit better about their arrangement, maybe it would turn out to be okay.

Both of them watched the stars in silence and felt a bit of change in the air around them. Sirius glanced at her from the corner of his eye frequently, his thoughts wandered to his best friend. He wondered how he was doing with Hermione, he knew that his wolfie friend must still be in shock at the fact that he was to marry sooner than expected. He was hoping that everything would go on smoothly and in the end, they will have their share of untainted happiness.

Author's note - Hello! It's been a long since I last updated, I don't know if anyone is still reading it, but if you are then here's an update. I am extremely sorry for not updating, I have been terribly busy. Though those things which kept me busy are still not finished, but I have learned to manage them better.BTW, the next chapter will be all about Hermione and Remus. Please comment what you think of this chapter, it will make my day..... Thank you!!