The Slytherin Princess

Chapter 67

ᶜʰᵃᵖᵗᵉʳ ⁶⁷⁻ ᴸᵒᵛᵉ, ᴸⁱˡʸ.

Just as Narcissa put the veil on my head, a soft knock is heard making us turn around. I smile as I get up and twirl to show Sirius. "How do I look?"

"You look absolutely smashing," he replies earning a sound of disapproval from Narcissa.

"Smashing?" Narcissa repeats. "Surely you know how to complement a lady better than that, Sirius," she rolls her eyes. "You look lovely, Cassie dear," she says turning to me, tears forming in her eyes.

Tears start to gather in my eyes as well. "Thank you, Cissy," I say as I hug the tall woman.

She pulls away and sniffles softly. "Don't ruin your makeup," she orders taking a tissue and wiping my eyes. "I will see you outside. Don't be too late, alright?"

"We won't, Nessie," Sirius calls out. He then walks up to me and takes a seat on the couch next to the chair I'm sitting in. "Please tell me you have wedding jitters. We can apparate the hell out of here right this minute. I have a car on stand-by if you want to make it cinematic"

I can't help but laugh at this. I shake my head no, "Nope. No jitters. Although, I am wondering what you've got in your hand"

"Nothing goes unnoticed by Cassiopeia Ambers, does it?"

"Unfortunately, not"

He lets out a soft laugh and clicks his tongue. He hands me an envelope, "Cassie, this is- it's a letter from Lily. I suppose she knew what was going to happen to her. She was a brilliant witch," he lets out a laugh and I agree. "She told me to give this to you when I thought you'd need her most"

My eyes haven't left the envelope. How it's been carefully folded. How it has been sealed with the perfect amount of clay. How she's written my name on the front. Anyone can tell it has been written by Lillian Ambers with how it is a perfect balance between elegant and unique. Tasteful yet personalized.

I hear Sirius clear his throat. "I'll leave you to it then," he says getting up and walking toward the door. "Take all the time you need. I'll just be outside if you need me," he assures calmly and shuts the door.

I fidget with the letter in my hand, feeling the paper's material, pinching on the folds of the envelope. I am not even sure if I want to open it. I know this is the last thing she will even write to me. I don't want to read it right away. What if I need her more some other day and I've opened the letter already?

I shake those awful thoughts away. I remind myself that I trust Sirius' judgement. If he thinks I need her most today and gives me the letter, I should trust him and read it. For my own good.

Somehow, I conjure the strength to open the envelope. I make sure not to damage either the envelope or the letter. It should be good as new. I need to cherish it always. I need it to stay in mint condition for at least the next fifty years.

I take a deep breath and open the contents of the envelope.

𝑀𝑦 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝐶𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑒,

Just the first words are enough to make me tear up. I realise that I will never hear my name come out of her mouth again.

𝐼𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑑.

𝐼'𝑚 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑗𝑜𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒. 𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑑𝑚𝑖𝑡, 𝐼'𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡. 𝐴𝑠 𝑖𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑎𝑠𝑛'𝑡 𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ. 𝐼 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑆𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑢𝑠' 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑟𝑢𝑏𝑏𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑓𝑓 𝑜𝑛 𝑚𝑒. 𝑁𝑜𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑑, 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒.