Mortem . Sirius Black

chapter one hundred and thirty

July 20th - Alice and Frank's home 

The girls of the group were all gathered in Alice's home that midday, looking over what Nephera had planned for the wedding thus far. To her suprise, neither Marlene nor Lily seemed to be too angry about Nephera being chosen as maid of honor. Or perhaps they realized that it would be best to keep their opinions to themselves, mainly because Alice was apparently a very nervous bride-to-be. 

"What about flowers?" asked the pixie-haired witch, "Do we do roses, traditional? Or maybe sunflowers? But is that too plain?"she rambled on, drinking coffee rapidly 

Marlene rushed, taking the cup from Alice's hand and replacing it with another, "Decaf, love," she said 

"Do not talk to me like some sort of psycho!" 

"Marlene, down," ordered Lily, "And Alice, love, relax, alright? The wedding is in a month, and Nephera has it all under control, right? Right?" she repeated the question more fervently, snapping the Slytherin out of her gaze 

The brunette nodded, "I have eighteen years worth of lessons on how to be the perfect society wife, trust me, it's under control," she laughed, easing the tension in the room slightly 

She flicked her wrist, making her cup of coffee refill itself, "And to answer the question, Tweedia flowers for the bouquet. Small, cute, dainty, but not enough to overshadow you or the dress," she explained, "And for decoration, Hydrangeas," 

"That sounds good," smiled the redhead, looking at her friend in anticipation, "I mean, the theme is a natural wedding, right? So it goes perfectly," 

But Nephera did not give the bride-to-be a chance to start spiraling into herself, "But today is not about that. Because today, you, young lady, are going to look for a dress," she stated, smirking 

Apparently, the idea of playing dress up the entire day resonated greatly with the pixie-haired witch, just as Nephera had appareciated, "Really?" she asked 

"Finally," replied Marlene, "We're just going to have to find a dress that overshadows that rock you've got on your finger," 

Alice laughed bashfully, "Shut up," she muttered, standing up, "So, Madame Malkins it is," 

The other two Gryffindors agreed, while Nephera stayed rooted in her seat. She knew that growing up in the environment she did, barring the abuse, had spoiled her to a certain degree, but it became clear to her just how much at that moment, "You are not going to be buying a wedding dress from the same place you've been getting your school robes for the past seven years," she announced, springing up from her chair 

The other three looked at each other, "Then where?" asked Alice, cocking her head to the left 

A short half an hour later, the four girls, Mrs. Longbottom and Mrs. Fortesque were standing in front of an elegant looking wedding boutique in Milan, staring at the beautifull dresses on display at the windows, "How do you know this place?" asked Lily, mouth agape and eyes open even wider 

"My mother and the others always raven about this place during gatherings," she sighed, pushing the door open and walking inside, "She may have been a bitch, but at least she opened up a door or two for me," 

"Don't we need an appointment for places such as these?" asked Mrs. Fortesque 

Nephera only smirked at the older woman, and in no less than fifteen seconds, about three of the workers walked up to them, "Ms. Winchester," said one, "We were not aware you were coming today," 

"I know, it's sort of a last minute decision, really," she laughed, "But my friend over here, Alice, is getting married, and I told her that the only place worthy of looking is here,"