A Sliver of Change | S. Black

Part 4: Chapter 2

Part 4:

Chapter 2 –

August 1st, 1997

The wedding had been something of a dream, similar to James and Lily's that she had attended years ago, minus the champagne tower. Lia couldn't help but feel proud of Molly for how quickly she had set up the area, glittering lights surrounding each guest as they let the waves of fear disappear for the night to enjoy the lovely new married couple.

Her eyes roamed over Bill and Fleur as they fed eachother pieces of their wedding cake, smiles covering their faces despite the way the world was these days. Remembering Bill as a child, she couldn't help but feel excited for the love he had found all these years later, not letting the war distract him from what was truly important in this world.

She lifted her gaze over to a smiling golden trio, noticing how odd Harry looked while sitting with them and acting as if he was a relative of Ron's instead of who he really was. It had been Sirius' idea to hide who he truly was, not wanting the weight of being Harry Potter covering his shoulders all night and she pinched herself for not thinking of the idea sooner.

As if the thought of him flared his spidey senses, she felt as a warm hand covered the expanse of her bare skin, just underneath where her sleeves ended at her shoulders. Looking up at Sirius, a small smile covered her face at his new hair-do, missing the length of it from before but admitting selfishly that the short hair brought out the expanse of his jaw, strengthening it further.

"Enjoying yourself love?" He asked, slithering his hand up to the back of her neck and pulling her face up to his.

Lia smiled into the light kiss, wrapping her arms around his own neck and thanking the pair of heels she wore instead of having to reach up on her tippy toes.

"It's a beautiful wedding," she admitted, releasing a small gasp when Sirius led them towards the dance floor.

Her smile brightened when his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, swaying them softly to the beat of the slow music and relishing in the hand that wove small circles comfortingly on her waist.

Her breath hitched slightly when Sirius' forehead came to rest on her own, increasing the beat of her heart even after years of enjoying the touch of the man in front of her. She realized that she might never get used to the feeling of love he gave her, her body emitting light each day as if it was experiencing something new from him.

"They better enjoy it while it lasts," he muttered heavily, the mint of his breath flashing across her lips, "because once this war is over, I predict that we'll be having the wedding of the century."

His words hit her with a brick wall, the happiness she experienced, something she had never felt before. The two of them were years in the making, destined to be together since the ripe age of eleven and after five years of pining, loss, and obstacles they finally were able to be together, only for it to be ripped away from them before they had the chance to live through it all.

Fate had brought them back together, their futures written in the stars, but the war ahead of them was slowly bringing them to a standstill, holding them from being able to finally experience all that had been lost over the years.

She always knew, always, that it would only be Sirius she would walk down an aisle towards, covered in a dress of her choosing and smiling at his handsome face as they experienced the best days of their life. But time and pain had taught her a lot, the heaviness of it all being that sometimes they didn't get to choose what laid ahead of them. One or the other could die tomorrow, no questions asked and no way to take it back, and she suddenly didn't care about a stupid measly wedding. Suddenly didn't care about who was in attendance. Suddenly didn't care about the pretty white dress and champagne tower that she had wanted years prior.