The Slytherin Princess

Chapter 66

ᶜʰᵃᵖᵗᵉʳ ⁶⁶⁻ "ʸᵒᵘ ʷᵒᵘˡᵈⁿ'ᵗ ᵇᵉ ⁱⁿᵛⁱᵗᵉᵈ ⁱᶠ ᴵ ᵈⁱᵈⁿ'ᵗ ʷᵃⁿᵗ ʸᵒᵘ ᵗʰᵉʳᵉ"

I knock on the tiny door of the Burrow and stand back. I hear some shouting before Molly Weasley opens the door.

"Morning," I try my best to give her a polite smile which she returns but the confusion on her face is evident. "Is Sirius here?"

She nods but stands still. But when the realisation hits, she quickly moves out of my way. I enter the house to find a tiny and messy living room filled with homey furniture.

"Who is it, mum?" Weasley calls out running down the stairs with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. He stops when he sees me. "What's she doing here?"

I shield my eyes from that awful image. "Cover up, Weaselbee"

"Sit down, my dear," Molly Weasley instructs and I take a seat on the couch. "Sirius! You have a visitor!" she calls out as she tries her best to tidy the place up. "Ron, what are you still doing here? Go upstairs, get dressed, and come on now. Sirius!"

It was a minute before I hear Sirius' voice. "What's got you shouting so loudly-" he walks in and sees me sitting on the couch.

I get up and wave. "Can we talk?" He nods and we both look at Molly Weasley. This time, the message reaches her quickly and she leaves the room.

Both of us are quiet for a long time. He's fidgeting with his fingers while my leg is bouncing rapidly. I clear my throat, not wanting the awkward silence to continue any longer. "How, uh, how've you been?"

"Getting by," he chuckles softly. "What about you?"

"Um, I've been busy," I reply. "That is what I came here for, actually," I continue and see him getting into a comfortable position on the couch. "Well, I mean I needed to talk to Granger but I just thought, you know, might as well talk to you"

He nods and I take a deep breath, bracing myself to say what I wanted to all these days. "Sirius, I know you probably don't want much to do with me but-"

"Whoa," he interrupts, waving his hands in the air. "Cassiopeia, I- what makes you say that? I don't-"

"No, well, I mean, I just assumed since," I hesitate before saying the next words. "You didn't come to Lily's funeral"

"That's because I thought you wouldn't want me there"

"You wouldn't be invited if I didn't want you there"

He lets out a chuckle and falls back on the sofa. I take a sharp breath and both of us begin to laugh. It's much more comfortable now.

"Sirius, whether you like it or not," I say, "you are the only parent figure I've got left now. You're stuck with me and I'm not sorry, at all. I would very much like it if you were a part of my life"

His eyes soften when he hears me say that. "I'm so sorry I didn't show up at the funeral. I kept blaming myself and I- I just thought you blamed me too. And that maybe when I showed up, it would make you even more upset"

"No," I put my hand over his. "You don't blame yourself for what happened. None of us does. Everyone did the best they could," I quote Draco. "And I like to think that they're at peace now"

He gives me a smile. "That's good"

"Yeah," I chuckle. "Draco told me that"

He makes a disgusted face on hearing Draco's name. "Ugh," he groans. "You're still with him? You can do much better"

"Brace yourself because the next news is going to make you sicker," I laugh and show him the ring on my finger. "The wedding's in five days"

After he's done throwing his tantrum, I clear my throat. "That was what I wanted to talk to you about," I say looking down at my hands. "Would you- you can say no if you're busy, but, uh, will you, please, walk me down the aisle?"

I slowly look up at him and I swear, never have I ever seen so many emotions erupting out of one person at the same time. He was surprised, he was happy, he looked like he wanted to cry, he was sad, he was angry. He was everything.

He throws his arms around me as he giggles like a child who just got candy. "Of course, I will!" he exclaims loud enough for everyone to come down to the living room.

After Sirius explained everything that happened and everyone congratulated me on the wedding, I decide it is time to leave. "Before I go," I turn around. "Granger, would you like to be the Minter of Magic?"

"The bloody what?" Weasley repeated out loud.

"Well, I hope you think about it," I tell her. "And, um, all of you are obviously invited to the wedding"

Everyone thanks me but everyone is still confused. I politely decline Molly Weasley's invitation to stay for lunch and open the door. "Um, if you ever want a change of scenery," I take a look around the tiny room filled with people. "You're always welcome at the Manor, Sirius"

"Really?"

"Yeah, of course. It'd be nice to have some grown-up company around. I'm sure Narcissa would love to meet you and you don't have to live in a broom closet this time"