Wedding March

[alwaysimpure]

"I didn't think you'd break up over it!"

Sirius assured her, again, while holding his hands up in front of himself just in case there might be any more hits or curses in store for him.

"Clearly it wasn't that serious then," he reasoned, glancing at Andromeda trying on a wedding dress, smiling and waving at him.

On the picture on the front page of the Prophet, that is. The actual Andromeda looked a lot less pleased.

"It's not as if most of the family even reads the Prophet anymore!"

Most of them didn't, but he was fairly certain one of them still did, which was the whole point of this exercise.

Comments

[snakesroarquietly]

"Well... Yes. I'm going to need a wife, you need a husband and we are both of respectable blood." He paused, frowning at himself.

"What I mean to say is, I care for you, Andromeda. I would like to see you happy." So what if he didn't trust anyone else to get it right...

[ambiguosity]

"You'd like to see me happy inasmuch as it meets the standards of what our family considers appropriate, you mean." Andromeda tilted her head slightly.

"You know I'm never going to be a proper Black, Regulus. I don't think like they do and I certainly don't share their beliefs."

[snakesroarquietly]

"I wouldn't care!" he blurted out, then immediately wilted for Andromeda knew him far too well to believe that. "I won't care enough that it would hold me back. You are entitled to your own opinions."

He just hoped she wouldn't voice them all too loudly, but Regulus wasn't quite young and foolish enough to say that out loud.

He squeezed Andromeda's hand. "I would treat you well. I would honor you."

[ambiguosity]

"And expect me to keep my mouth shut when people say things I disagree with so I don't come off like a blood traitor?" Andromeda lifted her head, gaze locking on Regulus' face.

"I'm not going to be what they want, Reg. You should decide what kind of man you want to be before you even consider asking me something like this.

[snakesroarquietly]

His shoulders slumped as he had to admit, for now, defeat. "You're right," he whispered, "I shouldn't have asked you today. I acted like a child instead of like the man I ought to be. But you could help me figure out who I want to be."

He shook his head, walking away from Andromeda. "It isn't easy with... everything... I'm not like you and Sirius."

[ambiguosity]

"You know we'll be here for you." She followed, settling a hand on his shoulder.

"Just forget what everyone expects of you. What do you want, Reg? Not what's 'best for the family' but what's best for you."

[snakesroarquietly]

He peered at Andromeda's hand on his shoulder, it felt nice being touched by her. Comforting. Too bad he had no proper answer to give. "I've never permitted myself to think about it all that much," he admitted quietly.

"To be someone my family can be proud of, I suppose. But you are family... and so is my mother and I can never make both of you proud."

[ambiguosity]

Andromeda was quiet for a moment before she let her hand drop back to her side. "You're right that your mother and I will never see eye to eye. The reason I left home, why I walked away was because I'm not like my sisters.

I judge people on who they are, not their bloodline."

[snakesroarquietly]

He watched her for a while, simply regarding her quietly as he tried to figure out how he saw her. "I'm willing to judge you on who you are, Andromeda, not just on whom you associate with like my mother would."

He sighs. "We will never see eye to eye on some matters. But I believe we could find middle ground."