Love, Life, And Lies- Regulus Black

.drinks dancing and dogs.

.and in the middle of the chaos, there was you.

Walking into the ceremony hall took my breath away.

Beautiful.

Everything was so unimaginably beautiful. In fact, beautiful didn't even begin to describe it. Glass baubles were suspended in the air above my head, surrounded by balls of light that looked like little suns. Light pink peonies, large ivory roses, and delicate peach lilies hung suspended in the air.

Magnificent fir trees lined the wall at the front of the hall, proud, tall, and strong, giving the room the feel of an emerald forest bathed in sunlight, and filled to brimming with flowers.

I breathed in the scent, letting it waft through me, tantalizing my senses. Pine and floral. It smelled like the depths of a forest, clean, sharp, and sweet.

Woody brown, forest green, ivory, the palest pink, soft gold. The colors surrounded me, all blending seamlessly together, leaving the part of my heart that loved beautiful things aching with the desire to capture it all.

Reluctantly, I tore my eyes away from the beauty of the room, a little hurried to find a seat before I was caught in the aisle where the bride might plow me down. As I scanned the remainder of the room, a familiar face caught my eye, causing a small smile to turn up the corners of my lips.

How I had missed him. My heart burst a little at the sight of him.

I eased into the seat next to him, putting one hand softly on his shoulder, as not to startle him. "Remus, it's me," I whispered, as I leaned in closer to him.

He startled a little, his eyes of melted chocolate widened as he turned to me. I could see the confusion on his face. Confusion at the face that I wore. But slowly, it turned into realization.

"Cassie? James said you'd be disguised. I didn't know what you were supposed to look like." He exclaimed,  his smile growing three times the size as he pulled me into a warm embrace. "I'm a fan of the red hair."

"You like it?" I giggled, running a hand through it as he released me. "I'm supposed to be a cousin of Lily's. Sirius figured the red hair would be a good touch."

"Quite a good touch." Remus agreed. He gave me a tender look and pulled me into another soft embrace.

He felt thinner, bonier than the last time I had seen him. And as he pulled away I took in the pallor of his skin, and the way it seemed stretched over the bones of his face. But more alarming than his gaunt appearance was the haunted look that gleamed in his eyes. I couldn't stop the cold sweat that broke out over my body. The feeling of icy pinpricks enveloping me. I was sure that whatever was torturing him was related to the Dark Lord.

As haunted as his eyes were, they warmed as he spoke to me. I had known his furry little secret longer than anyone else. Longer than any of his other friends. I had helped with his healing every day after the full moon, and gradually started healing James, Sirius, and Peter too as they started helping Remus. That kind of thing, it binds you. It was what bonded us. What let them understand who I really was.

"How's the groom?" I asked, curious to know if he and Sirius had stayed out of trouble as Euphemia had requested. The poor woman had been stressing about their shenanigans, worried that they would somehow wreck what she had tried so hard to put together. And that I understood. I would think that being the mother of James Potter meant a lifetime of stress.