You Are Cordially Invited (Sirius Black)

"Is This the Sound of Someone In the Bastard Know?"

JAMES Potter stared out of the window into the street below. People were milling about, looking reasonably busy and purposeful, which only propounded the building sense of claustrophobia and uselessness building up inside of him. His family home was currently being fully gutted and redecorated rendering his wing of the house uninhabitable, and wife Lily was spending the weekend at her parents' house, so he'd had no choice but to camp out at his best friend Sirius Black's house.

Sirius was so much fun and completely "got him", as the expression went, but a shining example of spotless domesticity he was not. His windows probably hadn't been cleaned since he moved into his flat six months ago. He hadn't even bothered to cast a Repelling Charm on the windows to help stay some of the muck.

Life had moved on for James of late-only two months ago he married the girl he'd been madly in love with since he was eleven. They were living in a wing of his parents' very large home before they moved to their own home, and it had only been four months before that that Sirius had left that house to live in his own flat. Sirius’ Uncle Alphard had left him a generous bequest; certainly enough for him to get flat and live comfortably for a long time.

"Beer, mate? I've got some of those great cans from the Muggle shop down the road," Sirius called from the kitchen.

"Padfoot, it's not even ten o'clock," James replied. He could almost hear Sirius rolling his eyes crossly from the other room.

"When did you suddenly become a boring twat?" Sirius retorted huffily.

"When I got married and realised being drunk before lunchtime isn't the best way to be happy!"

Sirius popped his head around the door and grinned wryly. "I can't really argue with that, can I?" Then he threw him a can anyway. James looked at his best friend fondly.

"What about you, Padfoot? Any ladies on the scene for you?" James asked, opening his can with that reassuring tssssk! Sirius pulled a face.

"Not much, mate," he admitted, pushing his still-damp shower-hair away from his grey eyes. "I went out with Emmeline Vance a few times but that's it. She decided to focus on her career or something." Sirius shrugged and took a swig of beer from his can.

"I'm not bothered, honestly mate… don't look at me with that pitying expression. You got lucky and found the love of your life but me- nah, I'm in no rush. I'm enjoying my own space, actually," Sirius said. And truthfully he was.

Sirius left home at about fifteen years old and moved in with James. The Potters virtually adopted him and his sense of familial loyalty lay firmly with his new 'parents'. But when James and Lily were engaged it became time for a radical change. His Uncle Alphard left him a sizeable provision of gold in his will, which enabled him to find a reasonable flat to rent.

The letterbox rattled as his post fluttered in. As Sirius ambled through to the front door James felt himself relish the momentary reprieve of responsibility. He loved Lily- of course he did- but he worried twice as much now that he had a wife. Knowing she was safe for the weekend meant he could relax properly. He'd forgotten how much he loved to drink with Sirius in the morning; during that first summer after Sirius came to live with him that's all they did.

James was aglow with the joyous buzz of his first half a can before breakfast but a well-chosen swear word from his best friend broke through the haze. James stared at him. He was holding a thick, cream envelope embossed with some sort of insignia, which sparkled and shimmered hues of pink. He was gripping it tightly as though it were about to fly away.

"Is this your idea of a bloody joke? Or Moony or Wormtail's? I'm pissed- this isn't funny!" Sirius thundered. James was utterly dumbstruck.

"What IS that? What's going on?" James questioned. Sirius tutted loudly and tossed it over to him.

"Well if it's not the other Marauders it's got to be Mundungus Fletcher, probably using my name for a scam he's running," Sirius spat angrily.

James turned the card over in his hands. Inside the thick, embossed envelope (which had been redirected from Sirius’s family home) was an invitation written with iridescent pink ink.

"Mr. & Mrs Black and Mr. & Mrs DeRavin cordially invite you to witness the marriage of their son, Mr. Sirius Orion Black, to their daughter, Miss Aurora Devereux DeRavin, on Saturday, August 3rd.

Please do not bring any additional guests unless otherwise stated on your invitation. RSVP by 31st June. Direct gift enquiries towards Mrs DeRavin."

James looked up at Sirius in disbelief. Sirius was breathing heavily, wearing an expression directly in between fury and panic.

"Padfoot… you're engaged?"

*

"Of course I'm not engaged, you shit head! This… this… THING is some sort of mistake," Sirius heaved.

"Mate, no, you are. You're betrothed. Were you never told?"

Sirius threw the rest of his post at James's head. "Of course I didn't bastard know! Is this the sound of someone in the bastard know?" He ran his hands through his hair distractedly. James glanced down at the invitation again.

"DeRavin… they're a very old family, one of the oldest, but I thought they left England years ago?" James pondered aloud. The Potters technically were a pureblood family but they had fairly modern thinking, yet many of the ancient families preserved the old ways, such as betrothals, dowries and distant family inter-breeding.

"Aurora DeRavin… it can't be…" Sirius muttered to himself. He was clearly wracking his brain for a memory long buried. After a minute of furious thinking his face twisted into a horrified expression.

"I know her, James, we played together as kids. I used to pull her hair and put frogs in her shoes. She… she had a big house in the country somewhere and I always had to wear my best robes, have my hair plastered down and repeat stupid things, like 'I love learning my family history' and 'My favourite toy is the family silver Gobstones set'." Sirius shook his head bitterly. Even after being estranged from his family for four years they still found a way to ruin his life.

"They moved away to France, I think. Merlin's beard! They think I'm going to marry some stuck-up brat I've not seen since I was five?!" Sirius angrily kicked the nearest object (kitchen unit) and lunged for the invitation still beautifully shimmering away in James's hands. James pulled it away from him.

"Sirius, do you realise what's happening here?" James said sternly. "Your invitation was sent like you were just a random guest at this wedding. It's pre-arranged. Every pureblood and noble family in the country will get the same invite as you. By tomorrow, Sirius, the whole of England will be talking about your wedding!"

**