In All the Thunder

Chapter Seven: Surprises

Many children were laughing and running around the place, having as much fun possible, while their parents were congratulating the young couple. The bride was blushing furiously and the groom, looking proud as ever, had an arm draped around his new wife's shoulder. Meanwhile, the Best Man wasn't being so calm and good as he chased a young boy around the tables and through the dance floor; the young boy happened to have his wand--and his left shoe. The Maid of Honour was sitting at a table with two of her friends and painfully watched as the Best Man was dragged into a do-ce-do with some large woman whom none of them knew.

"Oy, somebody, help me!" the Best Man mouthed with fear in his eyes. It was an event that all of them could laugh at later on, but to save him from a most embarrassing kiss from this woman, the Maid of Honour rose from her seat and glided over to him.

"Can I have the next dance?" she politely asked. The woman grunted angrily and left them alone.

"Thank you," the Best Man sighed with relief. He gave her a lingering kiss on the lips and grabbed her hands. She said nothing in response, but started to dance with him. She'd gotten better at dancing since the last time she'd slow danced with him.

Sirius Black was as good as a dancer as he ever was. If there was one thing Krystyna Melanie knew, it was that Sirius was gifted in almost everything he did. The wedding of their best friends, James Potter and Lily Potter (formally Evans), had been most fantastic. Just as they wanted, the wedding had been outside on one of the most beautiful days of the year so far. Everything had been just right. Nothing seemed to have gone wrong and everyone, for the most part, was cheerful. Peter Pettigrew, another friend, even had a new girlfriend, Andrea Miller, to bring to the wedding and was now dancing with her. He, too, had become a better dance in the last few months.

Sara Whitefield was talking with James and Lily, introducing her boyfriend of a few months--her "pen pal" from when they all were still at Hogwarts--Marc Sanders. James and Marc both seemed to be Quidditch enthusiasts and were happily chatting away about the next Quidditch game, Chudley Cannons versus Bulgaria. Both were set on Bulgaria to win, though they remarked this with a frown (neither apparently were fond of the team). However, Lorena was still firm with the Chudley Cannons winning. Sara was telling Lily at how wonderful the wedding was and how great the reception was going; Lily couldn't get the smile off of her face.

Lorena Fawcett and Remus Lupin were still sitting at the table Krystyna had just left. They were not too fond of dancing and both of them were pleased with just sitting down and talking amongst themselves. Although, it did appear to Krystyna that Lorena actually wanted to dance, but she kept tight lips about that and just talked.

The song ended and Sirius leaned in to kiss Krystyna on the lips again. There was a rustle in the crowd and the chatter began. There was talk that "Mrs. Potter" (Krystyna and Sirius both grinned and chortled quietly at the name) was getting ready to throw the bouquet. Indeed, Krystyna looked over and saw Sara pulling a distantly uncomfortable Lorena out of her chair and onto the dance floor.

"Gotta go," Sirius muttered quickly. "I don't think I'm a woman."

He grinned and took a quick kiss from her again before trotting off to sit next to Remus and starting a conversation with him. Lily, still smiling, turned around and held her bouquet. She looked back at them and everyone cheered her on encouragingly.

"Now, don't laugh at me, okay?" Lily told them. "I'm not as sports coordinate as James so I'm not that much of a thrower." She turned around. "Bombs away!"

She giggled and tossed the bouquet behind herself blindly. All the women, teenage girls, and young girls shrieked to grab the bouquet and held their arms up to get it. Krystyna was shoved into some other girl around her age and apologized, although the girl wasn't paying a bit of attention to her. Instead, the bouquet elegantly fell right into Lorena's hands, even though she hadn't moved one muscle at all. She blushed furiously as a silence descended over them all. Then, most of the women and teenage girls pounced on her.

"Geroff! Geroff me!" Lorena shouted, trying to fight them off, not because she wanted to keep the bouquet, but because they were suffocating her. She somehow managed to squeeze out of the crowd and stagger over to the table. She went to chuck it back at them when James grabbed her wrist.

"You can't throw the bouquet away, Lorena; that's against the rules," James told her, grinning madly at her. She grumpily tugged her wrist out of James's grip and he guffawed. "Looks like you're getting married next. Hey, when's the wedding, Remus?"

Remus turned pink in the face, but it disappeared and he shook it away. Lorena smiled at him feebly and walked over to him. She gave Sirius that look and he jolted to his feet. He saluted her and bounded off to find Krystyna in the mesh of woman before he was carted away by some other teenage girl (that had happen to him six times in a matter of thirty minutes already). Remus pulled Lorena onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned down and kissed him soundly on the lips. There were rare displays of public affection between the two. They parted and she slid into her own seat very quickly before anyone saw. Lorena was still blushing like mad.

"I thought you were going to catch it!" Sirius pouted jokingly. Krystyna giggled at him. "I thought it was written in the stars that I marry before Remus. After all, I'm the Ladies' Man and Remus is...well... Lorena is his first girlfriend. That's really not fair."

"I think you'll come to find, Sirius, that life isn't always fair to you," Krystyna told him sweetly. She smiled and put her arms around his neck. They swayed to the music to the slow song and smiled at each other. Behind them, Lily had her head against James while dancing.

"You know, I knew James had it bad for Lily, but I never thought that she would ever give in to him," Sirius blurted out. "I mean, I thought that after a while, James would accept the fact that she didn't like him and he'd fine some other girl to date."

"He's a stubborn git," Krystyna pointed out and Sirius raised an eyebrow, "but he's a very good and nice guy. Lily always tended to hate guys before she liked them."

"So, when Lily called James an 'arrogant prat', she really meant, 'I love you'?" Sirius asked, grinning madly.

"Yes, that's exactly what she meant," Krystyna told him. "She just didn't know it at the times when she called him that."

Sirius laughed and shook his head. It was probably true, but neither said that it was a joke or it was true. Sirius thought it just might be true. After all, Lily did get into those modes at times, but was right back to being very nice.

"What about me?" Sirius inquired.

"What about you?" Krystyna asked curiously.

"I mean, when you called me an 'idiotic berk', did you actually mean, 'You're so hot and sweet'?" Sirius asked.

"No, I really meant that you were an 'idiotic berk'," Krystyna told him gravely. Truth be told, Sirius looked a tad bit put out by this information. "But you know what; I find that now you're a very dashing bloke who's both charming and very funny. You're not so much of an idiotic berk now as you were when we were in our Fifth Year."

"That's good," Sirius noted, nodding his head. She nodded her head, too. He got even closer to her face. "But you know, when I told you that you were the 'most beautiful girl in the world', I wasn't kidding you. I was telling the truth."

Krystyna blushed and looked down at her shoes. Sirius picked her chin up and looked her straight in the eyes. She smiled at him faintly and he leaned in to give her a soft kiss. He raised his hands to cup her cheeks and brushed her hair out of her eyes. When he pulled back, her eyes were still closed and he still held her face in his hands.

"And you know, you still are, even more so," Sirius whispered. Krystyna opened her eyes slowly to look into his. He grinned at her. "I still can't believe that you're with me."

"I wonder that every morning and every night," Krystyna admitted quickly, "but I thank God every time after that I am." His grin broadened. "You're such a dashing bloke, Sirius."

He spun her around as the music hastened and she giggled, clinging to him tightly. He slowed down and she sighed contently. She laid her head against his chest and closed her eyes, listening to his heartbeat.

"I don't know what I'd do--what I'd be--without you," Krystyna whispered, tears of joy trying to seep out from underneath her eyelids. She felt Sirius beginning to play with her hair. "I love you so much."

"I know," Sirius said back, "and I love you, too."

Krystyna opened her eyes and thought about the past year. Just a year ago, Sirius and James had practically hated her and she had been scheduled to marry Lucius Malfoy. Now, the only wedding she had attended was of her best friend's; she was again with Sirius; and James was still apologizing at the most inopportune times. How things had changed since then. Krystyna thought about what they had said and smiled. Suddenly, everything seemed so much better and brighter.

~*~

Months had gone by. The newlyweds were suddenly not so much of newlyweds anymore and they had settled into a new home. Krystyna now had the house to herself, which she was partially happy about. It was a lot quieter now, but sometimes, she didn't like the silence so much. Of course, Auror training along with James was difficult and she found that most of the time, the silence was exactly what she needed to help her exhaustion.

Peter still had the same girlfriend and had gotten a new occupation in the Department of Muggle Artefacts. He seemed to be off well now. Remus was still trying to find a place to work, but he knew that he wanted to teach. It was just the fact that being a werewolf was a huge draw back and none of the headmasters of different schools wanted a werewolf teaching their students. Still, he was optimistic about it.

Sirius was enthusiastic as ever and had found a high paying job in the Department of Magical Games and Sports. He was quickly rising through the ranks and it was possible than any time soon, he would be head of the Department. Lily had been accepted into a program to become an Unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries; she'd been so excited that she'd gotten accepted that when she received the letter, she'd fainted. It was her dream to become an Unspeakable, she'd said. Lorena had asked what they did and Lily simply said that she didn't know.

Sara was working to become a Healer for St. Mungo's. Right now, she was there as an apprentice with a Healer by the name of Debbie Carmichael. According to Sara, Healer training was tiring and stressful, but healing people, especially now, was very important to her. She'd said that since she wasn't much of a dueller, she would do her share by healing the injuries acquired by duelling.

James was in Auror training along with Krystyna. They were doing about the same in the training, but Krystyna had to admit that James was better in agility; she insisted that it was because he was a Seeker. However, Krystyna was better at Identity Charms, which changed your appearance. Right now, James was still not used to the energy-demanding training and would come home thoroughly exhausted. Lily insisted that it would get easier over time. Both James and Krystyna sincerely hoped she was right.

Lorena was in the middle of her preparation to be a lawyer at London Wizarding Law Academy. So far, she was the top of her class and, according to all of her professors at the LWLA, the most aspiring, ambitious, and promising student they had taught in years. She was told that she was a great defence attorney, but also a painfully terrific prosecutor; most were one of the two. Lorena, however, stuck to her statement that she was "a good arguer by nature". They all had laughed at that later on when she had retold them.

Right now, it was late at night in Krystyna's house. She was home alone; Sirius had left about an hour ago because he had work in the morning. It was Thursday night, and according to Sirius, Friday's were the most tedious day of the week at the Department of Magical Games and Sports.

Krystyna was preparing to go to hit the sack early tonight. She was going to have another tough day of Auror training tomorrow also. James had probably already fallen asleep an hour ago. She stood silent in her bathroom, brushing her hair and looking at her reflection in the mirror. She stopped and sat the brush down on the sink slowly. She just stared at her reflection for a minute and began to unconsciously finger the ring on her finger.

Krystyna stopped and looked down at her hands to see her fingers touching the ring and she parted her mouth to take a breath. Suddenly, her world was different and she had a sense of understanding with Lily now. She knew that right now, nothing was different of the outside, but on the inside, almost everything had changed.

~*~

"Krystyna, I love you with all my heart and all my soul. If something were to happen to you before I did this, I think I'd just die on the spot. If something were to happen to you after I did this, I'd probably do the same thing anyways. I don't think I can bear to live without you. Will you, Krystyna? Will you?"

~*~

Krystyna often wondered from time to time again why she felt this way. Something that she had wanted for so long had finally come true and now, she wasn't feeling what she thought she should be feeling. Sure, she was ecstatic about this change in her relationship with Sirius, but... She couldn't put a spot on it.

Krystyna closed her eye for a second. What was wrong with her? She should be so happy that she could barely sleep. She was engaged to Sirius and here she was, looking like she was moping. Goodness, she was so thrilled with this, but every time she was by herself, she just felt so...indifferent about everything.

It's just because you're afraid, a voice in her mind told her. You're afraid that if you get too close to him that he'll die. I mean, after your Seventh Year, you've always been afraid that someone might attempt to murder Sirius again.

Krystyna opened her eyes and looked back into those same eyes. That was very true. She was afraid that everyone around her that she was close to would be killed. But Samuel, her father, Marcus, and Mr. Malfoy were all in Azkaban where they could never hurt Sirius or anyone else, right?

~*~

"I've heard the professors and Aurors around LWLA talking about it; they're troubled that the Dementors might leave Azkaban to go join You-Know-Who. Anyways, they say that the Dementors are getting restless, and V-V--bugger it--You-Know-Who will always allow them to suck the souls out of every Muggle, Muggle born, and pureblood traitor alive. If the Dementors leave Azkaban, then the prisoners there, if not mad enough already, will be able to escape."

~*~

Lorena had told her that one night after she'd come home from classes. It had shaken Krystyna down to every bone. She'd been so frightened that Sirius had stayed the night so she wouldn't be so scared. It was possible that they could escape. And it was that that scared her so badly. It was her fear and she could never get over it. It was her Boggart in the closet. She snorted and shook her head at herself.

"You're barking mad, Melanie," Krystyna said to her reflection.

"Let's hope not," the magical mirror replied back concernedly. Krystyna grinned at the mirror and walked out of the bathroom. She extinguished the light and went into her bedroom. She fell onto her bed and slipped under the covers.

In the silence, Krystyna stared at the ceiling and suddenly felt the pure joy again. Now she couldn't sleep. She put her hands behind her head and lay there in the stillness. There had been a time when she had not been able to stand Sirius and yet now, she was engaged to him and truly happy about it. If that wasn't an oxymoron, Krystyna didn't know what was.

She grinned about it and turned onto her side where she stared out of her window. She could see the stars and up in the sky, she saw the Dog Star, Sirius. She smiled faintly and closed her eyes. Slowly, Krystyna dozed off into a deep sleep.

~*~

Lorena appeared down the rode in Hogsmeade; she had work tonight. It was around midnight and was pouring very hard. Her umbrella had caved it and a huge amount of water splashed over her. She coughed and sputtered water out of her mouth. She found a newspaper and put it over her head as she ran down the street. When she finally got into The Three Broomsticks, she was completely soaked.

"Lorena, you're late!" her boss shouted at her from across the room. She rolled her eyes and tossed the wet newspaper into the nearest trashcan. Her boss, Tucker Walsh, came trotting over to her.

Tucker Walsh was a tall, burly looking man that made Lorena look like a little kid. He was in his early or mid thirties. His eyes were dark brown on the verge of being black and the whites of his eyes were always a little bloodshot. His robes seemed to be a size or two too small for him and the robes were always a little too nice for a place like this. He was cranky, moody, strict, and stupid. Well, that's what Lorena thought anyway. He was always picking at everyone, but he picked at her the worse.

"Sorry, sir," Lorena sighed, fighting the urge to yawn. He might think that disrespectful or something along the lines. "I was finishing my homework."

"Homework? I thought you were out of Hogwarts?" Walsh replied, sounding confused.

"I am, sir," Lorena told him for what could be the hundredth time. He never remembered anything except the drink people ordered. She brought her wand out. "I'm going to London Wizarding Law Academy, remember, sir?"

"Law Academy? That's rubbish, Lorena." Walsh snorted and shook his head. Lorena rolled her eyes and did the Drying Charm on herself. Her hair became frizzy so she put it up in a pony tail. Her bangs fell in her eyes and she brushed them away. "You have to be a smart arse--both ways--to become a bloody lawyer."

"Thanks for the support, sir," Lorena said dryly. She put her wand away. "Well, I better get to work now."

And before Walsh could say anything else to her, Lorena walked past him and walked behind the bar. She said hello to Daniel Beckham and walked into the employee room. She knew the guy from Hogwarts; he'd been a year ahead of her in Ravenclaw. He needed the money to continue to pay for his tuition at a professor school somewhere in France; he wanted to be a professor for Charms at Beauxbatons and they required that you go to school.

Lorena changed into her work clothes and yawned. It was late and truth be told, she was very tired. She was supposed to have switched to the day shift last week, but the woman that was going to quit decided not to yet and Madam Rosmerta wouldn't fire her. She was too nice. Now, she was getting up around nine; going to class until two; seeing Remus and her friends until around six; doing her homework until around nine; sleeping until eleven, working from midnight to five; and then going home to sleep until nine. It was a tiresome schedule, but luckily, it was only for four days of the week.

Lorena walked out of the employee room and walked to the front of the bar. She pulled a sickle out of her pocket and slapped it onto the table. "Daniel, I knew a Firewhiskey over here," she called. Daniel came over to her and handed her a Firewhiskey. He stood there and watched her down it quickly, setting the glass back down on the counter. He was also a tall guy, but thin, and had light hazel eyes with dark blond hair. He was nice and easy to get along with; he was also smart.

"Need another?" Daniel asked her. She thought about it and then realized that she was still very tired. A Firewhiskey or two usually woke her right up, but she was still feeling exhausted. She handed him another sickle.

"Yeah, I'm still drowsy," Lorena yawned tiredly. Daniel gave her another one and she began to down it quickly.

"Easy there, Lorena," Daniel cautioned. "You don't want to choke on it."

Lorena finished it and sat the glass on the counter. She was satisfied enough to feel that she felt more awake now. She thanked him and he shook his head as she walked away from him. Most people got tired when they drank this late, but it woke her up. He began to clean the glass and she wandered around the room between the tables. A man in black robes raised his hand and snapped his fingers in the air. She walked over in that direction and pulled out her wand and notebook.

"Hello, what'll it be?" Lorena asked.

"Devil's Whiskey," the man said in a low growl. She raised her eyebrows, but said nothing in response except putting that on her notepad. Devil's Whiskey was one of the most toxic drinks they had and not many drank it. She looked to his comrades.

"Gin and Tonic," another man said in a deep voice. She put that down on her notepad and looked up to the last two men--or she thought they were men; their faces were hidden beneath black hoods and their bodies were consumed in thick black robes.

"Three Firewhiskies," the other guy said in a drawling voice. Lorena paused before she wrote that down. That voice had sounded so familiar. She looked up at the guy and gave him a good look over.

Lorena thought of all people this guy sounded like: Marcus (he was in Azkaban so it couldn't be him), Owen Lawson (who knows where he was nowadays), Trevor Anderson (he graduated from Gryffindor two years ago), and Lucius. Lorena stopped on that last name. She hadn't seen him since she turned invisible. For all she knew, he could've died since then. She didn't think it was him though, because she knew that Lucius could barely hold one Firewhiskey down.

Lorena looked at him again suspiciously and put down his order slowly. Maybe she was hearing things. She looked up at the last guy, who looked to be quite shorter than the rest of the men.

"One Firewhiskey," the last man said rather nervously. That voice sounded familiar, too now that she thought about it; it was kind of high-pitched and squeaky, but it was a man's voice. However, she put down his order and put her wand behind her ear.

"Coming right up," Lorena told them before she walked away from them and walked up to the bar. She passed Daniel the paper and went to get someone else's order. They didn't sound familiar at all; in fact, with their accents, they sounded German. She got her first costumers' orders and gave it to them. The group at the table next to them stood up and left, handing their waiter two sickles. She walked over to him, Phil Madden, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm guessing we don't have high tippers tonight," Lorena joked quietly. He brought his dark blue eyes to hers and grinned. He shook his head and pocketed the sickles.

"Nope, but the good thing is that I have to go now," Phil sighed, giving a yawn. "Melody is probably panic stricken; I'm in overtime right now."

"Here then; I'll clean up the table and you can go ahead and leave," Lorena said. Melody was Phil's pregnant wife and she was due to have their son any time soon.

"Really?" Phil asked. Lorena nodded her head. He smiled. "Thanks, Lorena; you're a real live saver. I'll see you tomorrow night, then. Goodbye!"

"Later, Phil," Lorena told him. He nodded his head and disappeared into the employee room quickly. She shook her head and conjured up a rag and tub to put the empty glasses in. She began to clear off the table and glanced over at the four men in black robes. There was just something about them that seemed familiar to Lorena and it interested her.

"...don't think I can do this good," the short man was saying timidly. "I'm not that smart honestly and I probably wouldn't do much good."

"Too bad," the first man replied coolly. "Once you're in this, there's no way out."

The short man shook his head and too a drink of his Firewhiskey. Lorena noticed that his hands were shaking. "But...I--I'm not good at this stuff!" he squeaked.

"Pull it together!" the deep voiced man snapped viciously. "We've no time for your lame insecurities. If you don't contain your pitiful fears and tears, then we all will pay the price for not toughening you up."

"And remember what happened last time you got punished?" the third man drawled lazily before taking a sip of one of his Firewhiskies. The short man shuddered and shook his head. He took another drink of his Firewhiskey.

"I just don't think I can...do this without getting caught," the short man muttered.

"Sure you can," the first man snorted derisively. "You're a rat; you were practically born to be a snitch. And after all, you are used to sneaking around."

"Yes, but...I'm not good at it," the short man explained lamely. Lorena began to wipe the table off with the rag and turned her head away from the group of men. She didn't want to get caught eavesdropping on them; they didn't seem like a nice bunch. "I'll probably get caught or something and ruin the entire plan!"

"You'd better not," the deep voiced man threatened.

"Oh, I don't think he's worried about being caught," the third man drawled. All of the other men looked at him. The third man drank the rest of his first Firewhiskey and then sat the glass down quietly.

"What's he on about then?" the first man questioned.

"No, no, I am worried about the plan!" the short man squealed, sounding scared.

"No, you're not," the third man said placidly. "You want to back out, don't' you? Are you having second thoughts about what you are now?" The short man shook his head frantically. "You are. Well, you can't back out now. He wouldn't like that, now would he? You crossed the line months ago and there was no turning back since that day. You want the power though, don't you?"

"Yes, h-he promised me..."

"He did and if you stick to this and get better, you'll get exactly what you want," the third man interrupted. "Even if everything means something so sickening to me that it makes me want to puke."

"Why do you care about that still anyways?" the first man questioned. "It's done with."

"I don't," the third man retorted angrily. "I just don't see why he cares so much about her. She's just a stupid girl."

"Whatever you say," the deep voiced man replied, shaking his head. The third man was probably glaring at the deep voiced man, but he said nothing in reply. Whatever they were talking about, it had ended as they all finished their drinks.

They began to talk about other things, like the gloomy weather. Lorena hadn't a clue what they were talking about minutes ago. She took a breath and threw the rag into the tub with all of the glasses. She went to pick it up and take it to the back when someone grabbed her hand. She jumped and spun around to see that it was the first man.

"Waitress," he said, staring at her from behind his hood. She gaped at him and blinked when she suddenly remembered where she was. She jerked her hand out of his grip and rubbed it. It felt sore.

"Yes," Lorena replied calmly, "what is it?"

"We need some more drinks," the first man told her. "Same thing for everyone."

"Except I would only like one Firewhiskey this time," the third man told her. She nodded her head and turned around from him. She picked the tub up and walked behind the counter to put the glasses in the sink. She waved her wand and the tub disappeared. She told Daniel their order.

"Creepy bunch, they are," Lorena murmured. "I thought most men in here were insane, but I'm considering that these guys are more of the sinister type."

"Lorena, you're paranoid," Daniel chuckled as he filled up the glasses. "Last week you swore that one of your tables was filled with a group of Death Eaters."

"Well, they certainly qualified to be ones!" Lorena muttered hastily. "Of course, I think that these guys sound more like Death Eaters than those guys."

"Really?" Daniel inquired sarcastically.

Lorena threw him a glare. "Just shut up, Daniel," she said as she waved her wand and the drinks floated in front of her. "They're conversation is not one of regular people. They were talking about someone promising them power and the only...thing around here that promises that is You-Know-Who."

"True, but maybe they're talking about their boss," Daniel told her, finally sounding a tad bit worried. Lorena rolled her eyes and walked out from behind the bar.

"I never knew bosses to promise their employees a girl," Lorena murmured darkly. She gave Daniel a certain look and saw that his eyes had widened. She walked away from him and gave those guys their drinks. She quickly turned around and began to wait the people at the table she had just cleaned.

Tonight was going to be one busy night.