FONTAINE MANOR

Planning a wedding in under two months should have been impossible. It really, truly should have been. But with Maia Dumont-Lupin, Anna-Lee Michaels, and Rowan Silvers in charge of preparation and organizing everything, from floral arrangements to invitations, they had finished with three weeks to spare.

Sage had nerves of steel, but even she was anxious to get married.

It was to be a small wedding, of course, with the groom being wanted for murder, even if he was innocent. A large wedding with quite a few guests would send Sirius back to Azkaban in mere seconds.

She'd never thought much about what her wedding would be like; even at eleven, when her dorm-mates gossiped about their future weddings, Sage never joined in. She couldn't imagine herself getting married, finding someone she loved enough and that loved her enough to be with forever.

Their wedding party was so small that there was no one to officiate—Rowan, Maia, and Anna-Lee had had an awful time trying to find the proper person to marry their friends, and they also realized, a week into planning, that there was no one to walk Sage down the aisle. For several days, the wedding planners were scrambling, until Noah volunteered to walk Sage to her future husband, and Remus had offered to officate the wedding, even though he'd be standing up as Sirius's best man.

On the day of the wedding, Sage stood in her bedroom with Anna-Lee, Maia, and Rowan, the latter three fussing over her and making sure she was ready.

"D'you think she needs another coat of lipstick?" Rowan asked between sips of champagne. "I think she needs more lipstick. And maybe more blush."

Maia shook her head fervently. "No, no. she's good on blush. Maybe more lipstick, though."

Sage grabbed her best friends' hands. "I've got enough lipstick on. Just—can we sit here for a moment? Let me live out the last few minutes I have as an unmarried woman?" She pleaded.

"Don't tell me you've got cold feet, Sagey Baby." Rowan said teasingly, wrapping her arms around the bride as she used a nickname that hadn't been heard in years. "If you want to flee, we've got about five minutes to sneak you out the front door. Or if we're quick enough, we can toss you into the floo downstairs and hope you land somewhere pleasant."

Sage, with a roll of her eyes and a dismissive wave of her hand, shook her head. "Not cold feet. You couldn't talk me out of this if you tried. I just want to remember the girl I used to be for a little while longer." She answered, honestly and vulnerably.

Rowan softened, releasing her best friend. "Remembering Charlotte?"

"Always. Not like I could forget her enough to have to try to remember."

Anna-Lee made an excuse to leave the room and allowed the three remaining Dungeon Girls to have their moment of mourning for their late friend.

Maia put down the mirror she'd been holding to smile sadly at her friends. "She would've loved to see us this happy, Sagey. I mean, me and Remus, married, with a daughter. You and Sirius raising Harry and about to be married." She paused, glancing at Rowan. "And Ro, with her bottle of champagne for a lover."

"Oi, just because every man I've tried to love has left me doesn't mean I've got a problem!" Rowan burst, feigning anger, but the grin on her face showed her true feelings.

Sighing, Sage just shook her head. "You know I love you ladies, right? Even though I don't say it often enough."

"Trust me," Maia began, leaning in close enough to kiss Sage's cheek. "We know. We really do know. And we love you just as much."

☾

Noah wore a small smile as he helped Sage down the stairs. He held one of her hands, while the other gripped the banister as if her life depended on it.

She had chosen a short dress instead of the traditional floor-length gown, and she was thankful for it, because the sun beat down hard on that day in the middle of August. If she'd had several layers of tulle, silk, or chiffon floating around her legs, she would have felt stifled and suffocated.

"Noah," She began, trying to figure out how to express how grateful she was for him walking her down the aisle. "I—I just wanted to say thank you. For everything you've done over the past decade. I know Harry wasn't—isn't—yours to raise, but you've helped me so much with taking care of him. And thank you for doing this today."

Noah smiled, giving her hand a squeeze. "You did it for Madeleine. It's only right that I do the same for you."

She studied him for a moment, about to say something but ultimately deciding against it. "Let's do this."

She was barely able to keep her smile at bay when the Knockturn Alley Project's cover of Here Comes the Bride played softly, echoing off of the wards around the house, as she walked down the aisle towards the man she loved.

Remus, Regulus, and Harry stood on one side of Sirius, while Anna-Lee, Rowan, and Maia stood on his other side. Madeleine walked a few paces ahead of Noah and Sage, tossing the petals of several dozen lilies onto the path she walked on.

"We are gathered here today to witness the long-awaited marriage of Sage Celeste Fontaine and Sirius Orion Black." Remus began, addressing the nine people who stood before him. "We've come a long way from their early days of hating each other, so I think a celebration is in order."

"I'll drink to that." Rowan interjected, causing the group to laugh.

He sent her a playful glare before continuing. "We've also lost quite a few people over the years, and I would like to honor them with a moment of silence. For Julien, Charlotte, Marlene, Lily, and James."

The tight-knit group fell silent for nearly a minute.

"Now, let's begin, yeah? So, since these two have decided to write their own vows, I'll let them say their parts. Keep it clean, alright? I'm looking at you, Sirius." He said.

Sirius cleared his throat and grabbed Sage's hands in his own. "I'm not quite sure what I've done in my life to deserve someone like you, Sage. As you know, I've made my fair share of mistakes. I've fucked up in every single area of my life more times than I can count. I put you through hell, and even then, you haven't stopped loving me. Even when you hated me, even when I've given you every reason to give up on me, you've never stopped believing in me. So thank you, Sage Fontaine, for everything." He said, voice thick.

"My dear nuissance—sorry, my dear Sirius," Sage began with a wicked grin. "You talk about how I've never given up on you, but Merlin, Sirius, you act like I'm an easy person to love and care about. I pushed you away at every turn, but you never stopped trying to get through to me. I never realized that I was able to be loved like this, that I deserved this type of love. I wasn't sure love could survive everything we've put it through, but you were. You never gave up on us. And because of you, I'm sure we can survive anything life throws at us. I love you, you fucking bastard."

"Swear jar!" Harry exclaimed.

Remus smiled widely, the brightness of his grin taking away any and all attention from his scarred face.

Rowan and Maia were openly crying, clinging to each other for support. Regulus's expression seemed far away, as if he was thinking back to everything his best friend had been through in the past thirty five years of her life.

"Alright. Do you, Sirius Orion Black, take Sage Celeste Fontaine to be your lawfully wedded wife, for as long as you both shall live?" Remus asked his oldest friend.

Sirius nodded enthusiastically. "I do."

Remus turned to Sage. "And do you, Sage Celeste Fontaine, take Sirius Orion Black to be your lawfully wedded husband, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do. I really fucking do." She replied, words bursting from her like lava from a volcano.

Remus clasped his hands in front of him, still smiling a mile wide "Then Sirius, you may kiss your bride."

Before Sage knew it, one of Sirius's hands was snaking around the back of her neck, the other circling her back, and his lips were on hers. She squealed as he dipped her, so low that her long black hair touched the ground beneath their feet.

She was laughing, openly laughing, so genuinely and loudly that even she was surprised. She barely even heard when Remus pronounced them husband and wife.

This was truly, honestly, the happiest day of Sage Fontaine's life. She couldn't remember a time when she felt happier or more content.

It's Sage Fontaine-Black now, she had to remind herself giddily. Even if you can't refer to yourself like that in public. But you'll have him for the rest of your life. He's yours forever.