Style // Sirius Black

Chapter XXXVII

Anger is an emotion plagued by the ideals of what you believe would have been better. It is something fuelled by pain and love all at once, both holding hands in a sadistic marriage. It's a myriad of suffering and emotions indescribable. It can be unbridled or completely justified, depending on the situation. It's a clown with many faces, all hiding something horrifically beautiful underneath it.

Anger is sometimes needed. It can expel unchecked emotions or even put someone else in their place. There are inhibitors to anger and things that propel it forward. It's an emotion that cannot be easily excused and can lead to catastrophe. It's okay to feel rage in moderation and ensure that this emotion's expelling is not misguided into something heinous.

It can stem from trauma, pain, love, heartbreak, anything. It's not always yelling and screaming, but hushed voices and sharp words. It can be powerful sonnets and speeches condemning the world around you for something wrong. It can be a feeling purely based on too many emotions shooting through your mind, leading to frustration and overstimulation.

It can simply be anger from loss.

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Sirius nearly hopped out of his seat. Lyra had to place her hand on his leg to keep him from storming through the chapel and wringing Pierre's neck. Euphemia and Fleamont were Sirus's parents as much as the twins, the only two parental figures he had. Having Pierre show up and taint the day into something filled with paranoia was the last thing anyone wanted. So, Lyra kept her mouth shut as James stared up at the two coffins a few meters away.

She would tell him afterwards. Now was not the time for her brother to worry about someone they had once deemed a friend but quickly turned foe. Lyra hadn't needed to share Pierre and Scarlett's plans with James, seeing as both Sirius and Regulus were aware. So, the elder Potter twin was still blissfully ignorant of the looming threat of French Death Eaters.

Lyra draped her dress over the space between her and Sirius, sliding their hands underneath it and interlocking their fingers. Although Pierre had managed to figure out the romance between the two, there were still others around Lyra wished to keep their escapade secret from. Specifically, the various Professors from Hogwarts littering the crowd that had gathered. McGonagall sat near the back alongside Madam Pomfrey.

"Not now," Lyra whispered to her lover, running her thumb over his knuckles, "Please. It's the day for my parents, don't let him win."

Sirius huffed through his nose before relaxing back into his seat, readjusting the stark black tie at his throat. Lyra watched his delicate features contort into a mask of mere frustration, no longer blind fury that nearly exploded. Her heart was beating faster than average, both from the impending start of her parent's wake and the Death Eater in their midst. Lyra would be the last to speak, and the speech in her pocket sat heavy. It had everything she wanted to say, including things Sirius had wished to add.

A thought ran through her mind, which struck pure fear through Lyra's spine. Was now the time to alert the world of the budding romance between her and Sirius? For years, something her mother had wished for, both secretly and outright? Her eyes racked over Sirius's features once more, and a sense of understanding sat upon her shoulders. Fear be damned, she was in love, something both of her parents had wanted for their sole daughter for years.

"I'm going to grant my mother's final wish today," Lyra whispered to Sirius as the priest took to the pedestal.

"I know."

As the ceremony began, so did the tears of Lyra, James, and their parent's peers. Lyra had let them fall before they came, and she fell dry as the priest spoke. Time seemingly flew by as he did, and the next thing the blonde knew, James was taking the pedestal with Lily sliding in next to Lyra. The ginger took the blonde's free hand into her own, squeezing as James laid his papers flat. Neither twin had shared the words they would share at the funeral, and Lyra's heart skipped a beat when the first tear fell from James' eye. She quickly slid out from between her best friend and boyfriend, taking the stage beside her brother and sliding her hand into his. Her pain disappeared as James nearly fell apart.