June, 1979

There were no lilies, not a single one. Instead, the garden of the Potters was flooded with white roses and little delicate sweet peas, wrapping themselves around the wooden poles of the quidditch goal rings, adorned with silk bows and flowy tufts of tulle. Caught in the surface of the many fragile champagne glasses the light of the warm June sun was spread across the tables, painting everything in a lovely shade of gold. A soft wind made the napkins bob slightly, which were folded to resemble a snitch.

"Do you think Lily overdid it?", Sirius asked, as Lyra fiddled with his black bowtie. "No, I mean it's her wedding after all.", she answered, laying her hands flat on Sirius' chest when she was done. "I've been to many weddings and they all were..." "Unpleasant?", Lyra looked up at him. "Horrible.", Sirius corrected, raising an eyebrow. Lyra smiled and shook her head. "This is James' wedding, Sirius. And he asked you to be his best man so cheer up, hm?" She got on her tippy toes to plant a small kiss on Sirius' nose. "By the way, shouldn't you be with him right now? You know, in case he gets cold feet." Sirius laughed. "He's been in love with Lily since he was twelve, I don't think he's gonna back down now."

"Well, I think you should still be with him. He's gonna need you.", Lyra said, gently patting Sirius and pushing him towards the house. "Everything is taken care of so all you need to do is calm him down. He's gonna be nervous for sure, no matter how much he loves Lily." "Hm, have I told you that I like it when you get a bit bossy?", Siris grinned and Lyra's cheeks turned a light shade of pink. Giggling like a little boy Sirius disappeared between the other wedding guest, searching for the groom.

"I reckon Pads went to find Prongs.", Remus said, emerging from the kitchen, holding a tiny glass with a reddish liquid in it. "He did, he...hold on a second, is that a Firewhisky shot?" Lyra swooped the glass from Remus' hand who shrugged helplessly. "Uhm yeah, Mary handed them out. To calm the nerves, I guess." Lyra looked at him and then downed the shot in one go. "Wow, one could think you're the one getting married.", Remus chuckled. "You okay?" "I'm fine, it's just...Lily said she wants Sirius and me to 'open the dancefloor' after they had their turn.", Lyra said in a hoarse voice, leaning against one of the tables.

"But you can dance, right? I mean you grew up in a wealthy family.", Remus pondered, tilting his head a bit. Lyra still thought he looked absolutely adorable while doing this. "I did and I can dance but I never did it in front of so many people, Moony." Remus smiled and put both of his hands on Lyra's shoulders. "It's gonna be fine. I'm sure everything is going to be okay. Besides I'm actually looking forward to seeing Sirius dance." "You just want to laugh at him, don't you?", Lyra returned and Remus smirked. "Oh, you're a mean one Mr. Lupin." Lyra nudged Remus between the ribs and smiled and he pulled her close, kissing her forehead.

Lyra sighed, Remus' hugs were pure magic. Not even a hot chocolate made by Mrs. Potter could compete with the feeling that spread through Lyra when Remus wrapped his long arms around her.

"Oi, it's starting!", someone yelled and the two broke apart. It was Sirius accompanied by James who looked a little paler than usual and seemed to be sweating. "No turning back now, Prongs.", Lyra whispered as she walked past James and he sighed. "Not helpful, Smirks." "Oh come on, I bet as soon as you see Lily everything will be sunshine and butterflies.", Lyra waved off. "Wait, you've seen Lily?", Sirius asked and Lyra frowned. "Well yeah, Mary, Marlene and I helped her with the dress and everything. We're her bridesmaids after all." "Unfair, not even Moony got to see her even though she changed in front of him once.", Sirius wailed and James stared at him confused. "Lily did what?!" "It was one time, you two were already together and I am gay as fuck so calm down.", Remus snapped, shooting an angry glance at Sirius. "Thanks for that Pads." But Sirius only raised his arms in an apologetic manner.

"Shhh, stop it, boys. I know you're all pretty wound up but if you start arguing now I'm gonna jinx every single one of you." Lyra pulled out her wand and stopped for a second. "Where's Peter by the way?"

But no one answered her question and Wormtail didn't show up until after the ceremony, which was beautiful and touching and Lyra couldn't remember the last time she had seen Mr. and Mrs. Potter being so happy. The war had taken its toll on all of them and James' parents were no exception. Euphemia's hair was mostly grey now and Fleamont had lost that boyish spark in his eyes but as Lily and James said their vows and kissed they practically beamed with joy. And of course, Lyra had been right. The moment James laid eyes on Lily all the panic and the worries were forgotten. It was only them and it was their day.

Lily herself was also incredibly cheerful, her red hair partly put up in a loose bun, sprinkled with lilacs. She was a delight to look at, a dream in white. And James Potter was undeniably the merriest man in the world. "I still can't believe it.", he said, as the marauders had managed to snatch him away from Lily as she was busy thanking the Weasley's for their wedding gifts. "I mean I always dreamed of it but thinking back to our second year...Merlin, she really did hate me, didn't she?" Sirius grinned. "In the end, she fell victim to your charms." He ruffled through James' messy black hair. "And you better treat her right or I'm gonna steal her from you."

"Excuse you?!" Lyra and Remus looked at Sirius, eyebrows up, lips slightly parted in an indignant way. Sirius gulped, his cheeky confidence flailing. "That was just a joke, don't worry." He slid between his two lovers, lowering his voice. "I would be lost without you, Moony." A quick playful nibble on Remus' neck, that made the young man flush from head to toe and Sirius turned to Lyra. "And you...have I told you how breathtakingly pretty you look in that dress?" His breath brushed against her skin and Lyra shuddered. If there was one thing that Sirius Black knew how to do...it was how to disarm them in the most wonderful way. One word, one look from his blue eyes, and neither Remus nor Lyra stood a chance.

"Well, I think I'll better get back to my wife.", James smiled, wiggling his eyebrows at Sirius who was apparently determined to make both of his loved ones dissolve into puddles. "Stop it, Pads.", Remus mumbled, his voice shaking. Lyra knew that tone far too well. That trembling shortly before Remus lost it and gave into Sirius. And if Remus failed Lyra wouldn't be able to hold on either. Luckily for them, Lily decided at that very moment that it was time to throw her bridal bouquet. "Ready everyone?", she asked, turning her back onto her guests. "One, two, three!"

The bundle of roses, sweet peas, lilacs, and anemones flew into the air, sailing across the room, and if Remus' reflexes hadn't been beyond average it would've hit Sirius right in the face. "Oh...", was all Remus could say when he realized what had just happened and Sirius and Lyra just looked at each other completely astounded. There was laughter, James who wheezed so hard that he dropped to his knees, Lily's face going red because she couldn't stop giggling, jealous glances from various witches but Remus just stared at the flowers he had just caught.

"Well Moony, you brought that onto yourself.", Sirius snickered, patting his boyfriend's shoulder, already thinking about how it would be absolutely hilarious to propose some 'engagement sex' later. But Lyra didn't laugh, she didn't even smile. Her mouth felt dry and there was a nasty feeling, gnawing and tearing inside of her. Absently her fingers caressed a piece of jewelry that wrapped itself around her left ring finger. Sirius had bought it for her after he had been kicked out by his family. Slim and silver, engraved with a line from her favorite song and embellished with a blue diamond, her birthstone. And a hideous voice inside her head began taunting her. 'He's never gonna marry you' Lyra bit her lip and dug her fingernails into her skin, hoping that the pain would drown out those terrible thoughts.

'He doesn't love you the way he loves the wolf.' The voice continued in its cruddy way, mocking her. Lyra closed her eyes and tried to take a deep breath. Her heart pounded heavily inside her chest, she could hear her blood pulsing through her veins. Everything was suddenly too much and as she felt a scream fighting to pass her lips, a hand grabbed her shaking fingers. "It's our turn now.", Sirius said and Lyra opened her eyes. A few minutes must've passed while she had been struggling not to give in to her unexpected panic attack.

Remus was sitting at their table, the flowers lying in his lap. Everybody seemed to look at them, waiting for something. And Lyra realized that she had missed Lily's and James' first dance, meaning that it was now time for Sirius and her to take the floor. "I don't think I can do this right now...", she whispered but Sirius, oblivious to the fact that her head was still spinning with awful thoughts, smiled and squeezed her hand. "Don't worry, I've got you, darling."

Lyra opened her mouth to protest but Sirius just pulled her with him, positioning his right hand on her hip while the left one was entangled with her own. Another fit of panic began to rise inside Lyra, threatening to overwhelm her. "Sirius, I..." "Just look at me and everything will be fine.", he shushed meekly and the music started. Lyra felt herself being dragged across the dance floor as Sirius did all the work. It was still incredibly loud inside her head but the firm grip of Sirius' hands had a calming effect and soon enough Lyra found herself feeling mostly peaceful.

The dance lessons she had to endure since the early age of three paid off, she didn't even have to concentrate, her feet just knew what to do. And during a twist, Sirius whispered: "Come on, let's show off a little." By showing off Sirius meant speeding up the pace, adding elaborate rotations, and scandalously intimate figures. It was surprisingly easy, Lyra didn't trip once and Sirius' hands were always there to catch her. As he held her only centimeters above the ground, after spinning her around himself, Sirius grinned and said in a hushed tone: "They might be all looking at you but you're mine and mine alone."

Lyra felt a rush of love for Sirius, spreading through her body, a tingling sensation and she knew that this would never be enough. No matter how many kisses he would give her or how many times he would say 'I love you', it would never ever be enough. Because in the end, she wouldn't be able to keep him. One day someone or something would rip him away and nothing would be left of her as Sirius Black did not only own her heart but rather everything that made her up. And he would take all of it with him, leaving nothing behind.