Chapter 151: The Wedding
"Well done..."
I clapped my hands a couple of times, interrupting Fleur, Penny, and Blake's training.
"...today you tried very hard."
"Yes..."
Blake exhaled and collapsed onto the floor of the training hall.
"...we managed."
Fleur and Penny were just as exhausted. After all, I'd used projections, and I hadn't even noticed when I'd become able to use five at once, so I wasn't just teaching the girls, but continuing to train and study myself. There were books on Malefica in the Black library and in the Malfoy library, so I'd begun mastering the basics of that art.
"You managed, you managed."
I nodded.
"And I'm very pleased with how you're progressing. Only a month has passed, and you've already become better versions of yourselves. Blake has become much more diligent with her schoolwork, and you've improved your charm work."
"Yeah... tyrant..."
Penny sighed.
"Are you dissatisfied with anything?"
I looked questioningly at my fiancée.
"No, no..."
She shook her head while lying there.
"...I just didn't think my fiancé would be such a tyrant during training."
"And would you rather I patted you on your little heads and told you with pity that you could skip this today? That you could leave it for tomorrow?"
"Well..."
"No, we don't need that."
Blake shook her head, and Fleur and Penny immediately shot her irritated looks. They clearly wanted me to go a little easier on them.
"We understand you want what's good for us and..."
"Yes, yes..."
Fleur nodded.
"...we already understand that you really want to impress him. Isn't that enough? We all need some rest, or we'll keel over. So stop pretending to be some great warrior. Just admit that we need to rest."
"Frrr..."
"Don't snort, and don't get indignant. I understand perfectly well that I've pushed you to the point where training does more harm than good. But I had to do it to see your capabilities. Of course, Blake could endure another week at this pace, Penny shouldn't study at this pace at all anymore, and you, Fleur, would have lasted another three days."
"So you did it on purpose? You deliberately pushed us to the limit with these training sessions?"
"Well, yes..."
I nodded.
"...now, knowing your limits, I'll individualize training for each of you. So we're done for today, tomorrow you have off, and the day after tomorrow..."
"No!"
Fleur looked at me indignantly.
"Don't you dare! The day after tomorrow is Sirius's wedding!"
"I don't care..."
Blake shrugged while lying there.
"...I asked for training for a reason, and I knew what I was getting into."
"Oh, just shut up..."
Penny waved a hand toward Blake.
"THIS IS A WEDDING! We can't attend it tired and sluggish, looking like God knows what!"
"Don't worry..."
I shook my head.
"...I'm not going to load you down the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, you have days off from training. You don't even have to study theory if you're confident in your knowledge. I won't pressure you, but the day after the wedding, I'll bear down on you with renewed force."
Hurrah!
Fleur raised a clenched fist.
"Days off!"
"That's all, come on, we're done for today."
"What about you?"
Blake looked at me.
"What about me?"
"Well, do you have days off too?"
"The day after tomorrow, yes."
I nodded.
"And tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow I'll train a little and do some reading."
"Damn, you're a workaholic."
Penny shook her head.
"What's scary is that you want to turn us into workaholics too. And the worst part is, if we want to become journeymen and masters, we have to become workaholics."
She sighed.
"All right, go get cleaned up."
I waved my girls off, sent my projections to read various books, and continued practicing spells and wand movements.
"Can I train a little more?"
Blake stood up with difficulty and looked at me.
"Better not today. If you want, read the school curriculum or the specialized literature I recommended. But it's best not to work with magic today or tomorrow."
"Uh-huh..."
Blake nodded.
"...then I'm going."
She sighed and went toward the house while I continued my training.
*** The Next Day. ***
I came out into the parlor of the house on Grimmauld Place and saw Sirius pacing. Harry was there too, looking at his godfather in bewilderment.
"Sirius, can you stop pacing?"
Harry said with slight irritation.
"Harry, you don't understand!"
"Yes, I don't understand! You're a grown man, and here you are acting like... I don't even know what!"
"When you take Tracey or Ginny as your wife, or maybe both, then you can talk to me about staying calm!"
"What are you even talking about?!"
Harry turned as red as a lobster, and Sirius had apparently managed to calm down. He looked at his godson with a sly smile.
"And you think I don't know you've been secretly kissing them?"
"I..."
Steam practically came out of Harry's ears.
"All right, Sirius, did you prepare the flowers?"
"Yes..."
He gave me a slightly irritated glance.
"The rings?"
"Yes."
"The marriage contract?"
"Yes."
I continued listing exactly what he should have prepared, and each time he answered in the affirmative. I dragged out the questions long enough to theatrically check the clock and shift my gaze to Sirius.
"It seems it's already time."
"Huh? Damn!"
He snapped out of it and ran to get the flowers and the ring from the little table. Walburga would bring them the contract. Sirius, meanwhile, ran off to find his beloved, whom he needed to bring to our house to meet the family.
Of course, we were already acquainted with her, but that was the tradition. First, the groom brings the bride into the house, where she is presented to the head of the House. After that, with the head's permission, the girl and the groom sign the contract. This is still done inside the house, and only then do they go into the hall where the marriage will take place to exchange ceremonial promises and rings.
"Just you watch, this is waiting for you too..."
Harry decided to needle me.
"Well, yes... and if all goes well, I'll have three brides at once."
I shrugged.
"Aren't you embarrassed at all?"
"Should I be? Harry, I'm methodically making sure my girls don't even think about other boys. I've been working on Penny and Fleur since first year. Sirius, let's say, stumbled into happiness through foolishness, while I have everything planned out."
"Um..."
Harry blinked in confusion.
Meanwhile, Narcissa, Bellatrix, and Walburga appeared in the parlor. Andromeda and Nymphadora joined them, and we all froze in a semicircle, waiting for Sirius to return.
Sirius arrived about seven minutes later, accompanied by Amelia and Susan.
"Amelia Bones..."
Walburga spoke to the guests.
"...you are here to be joined in marriage to the son of the House of Black. Do you understand the responsibility of such a step?"
For the next twenty minutes, Walburga grilled Amelia. Fortunately, she had been ready for something like this, since she too came from an ancient House, and she answered every one of Grandmother's questions with dignity. By the end of the questioning, Grandmother looked over all of us.
"I, as the eldest in the House and its nominal head, give my permission for the marriage between Sirius Orion Black and Amelia Susan Bones. Sign the marriage contract."
With a wave of Grandmother's wand, a small table appeared between us, and four contracts materialized upon it.
One was for Amelia, one for Sirius, one for the vaults of House Bones, and one for the vaults of House Black.
"Finally..."
Sirius muttered this barely audibly, but we heard him and grimaced almost imperceptibly.
Still, knowing this idiot, it was a good thing that he was only now starting to grumble. He could have snapped earlier.
"The contracts are signed. I ask Draco Black and Susan Bones to witness them."
I took a step forward and, taking out my wand, touched the first contract. Susan did the same.
"I witness."
We said this almost in chorus, after which we repeated the same procedure with the other contracts.
Interestingly, this particular witnessing carried no magic. It was a purely ritual action that completed this stage of the marriage.
"Now you should conduct the public procedure."
"Sirius..."
Amelia looked at the man who was, in fact, already her husband.
"Yes, dear?"
A note of apprehension entered Sirius's voice.
"I'm asking you, don't do anything strange... this is an important day for me, and if you ruin it..."
"I never even thought of that!"
Sirius exclaimed, and he even seemed sincere. At least, Amelia nodded after giving him a suspicious stare.
"Good. Then let's go."
"It seems Sirius has ended up under the thumb..."
Harry said this as soon as Sirius and Amelia left the parlor.
"Well..."
I shrugged.
"...any wise girl or woman will keep a man under her thumb. It's just that the smarter she is, the less noticeable that thumb will be to the man and those around him."
"Are you saying my aunt isn't that smart?"
"No..."
I shook my head, casting a mocking glance at Susan.
"...it's simply that your aunt is very lucky with her husband. He stood out too much in everyday life, so mundane behavior that was normal for anyone else seemed abnormal for him. It would immediately become clear to everyone that he's been kept under her thumb."
"Hm... perhaps Aunt won't control him so strictly on other days. But today..."
Susan shrugged.
"...today is the most important day for her. And she really won't forgive him if he ruins it."
"Well, I wouldn't be against it if she clearly kept him under her thumb."
Walburga looked mockingly at the closed door.
"All right, let's go..."
I waved my hand, and all of us headed to the public part of the event, which was supposed to last several hours, followed by a feast... in short, today would definitely be a waste. Although I hadn't intended to spend the entire day at this wedding, I'd planned to slip away after a couple of hours and read in peace...
However, those plans were not to be, as Penny, Fleur, and Blake decided that this day was perfectly suited to dancing with me until we were exhausted. And since the main repertoire consisted of slow dances, during which one could simply press against their partner and shuffle in place, I didn't mind...
------------------------------------------
Chapters on Patreon progress: Currently at;
1. Harry Potter: Satan? Nah, Just My Family Crest = CHAPTER 434
2.Harry Potter: Beyond Good and Evil in the Wizarding World = CHAPTER 449
3.Harry Potter: Reborn as Draco Black = CHAPTER 237
support me on Patreon for instant access to the 120+ advance chapters: patreon.com/redofic