𝐿𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝐿𝑖𝑓𝑒

Mess of Emotion

The amount of time it took for Dumbledore to silence a crowd of students was astonishing. It was as if the twinkle in his eyes was enough to get other people to just shut up.

He stood up from the staff table and strode to the podium used to make important announcements. He braced himself for the worst as the announcement he was about to make was not a pleasant one.

Conversation died down immediately as eyes were drawn to the headmaster from each of the four tables. He was particularly not looking forward to a certain group of Gryffindors reacting to his prepared "speech."

"As you all know, the quidditch hoops have been devastated by a fire. We have tried to fix them with magic, however, their charms will not cooperate. Hogwarts does not have the budget to buy six new hoops, so until further notice, the quidditch cup is canceled."

Just as Dumbledore expected there was an outcry from the Gryffindor table, as well as everywhere else. James looked like he might self-combust whereas Marlene had quickly become on the verge of tears. Sirius opened his mouth to protest, but was literally slapped in the face by an owl carrying the day's post.

There was an increasing amount of owls—almost to the point of alarm, but people only started to gasp when they read the front cover's title.

ORION BLACK DIES AT 49

An unnamed source has reported that Orion Black, a recent advocate against muggles and muggle-born rights, has died at home. This strikes as a huge loss to his wife, who declines to address the press at the current moment in time. His two sons, Sirius Black, 18, and Regulus Black, 17, both attend Hogwarts. The Daily Prophet sends their best regards to the Black family.

Sirius was, simply put, fuming. The post brushed past the fact that Orion had blatantly spoke about his horrid views all his life, making it significantly harder for people just to have rights. Then, they went on to talk about his career in the following paragraphs.

Regulus moved his eyes from the article to the letter that his mother had sent him. His parents never really enjoyed each other's company, so Regulus didn't exactly understand why she was trying to earn his pity now. He decided he didn't want to put up with it, making him toss the letter into his pocket for the time being.

Both brothers seemed to be grieving the loss of their quidditch season harder than the loss of their biological father.

...

Lily found herself in the girls' dormitory with Mary, Alice, and Marlene later that day nursing a minor stomachache due to eating a tonne of chocolate. The Marauders had left them on their own, directly after breakfast, leaving Remus to deal with the ever impulsive James and Sirius.

As for her decision to leave James and Sirius with Remus and Peter, Lily wasn't quite sure that it had been a wise move. Remus had been dealing with the two his entire school career at Hogwarts, but sometimes the two could be a bit overbearing.

So, she sat lost in thought, next to Alice, who looked over a wedding catalogue that Michelle had sent her. Eventually, she looked over her friend's shoulder to see her staring at a wedding dress.

The dress had a sweetheart neckline that could compliment anyone's build—girl or boy. The waist pulled inward right below the bust line, which donned a sparkly belt to set it off just right. The skirt flowed the rest of the way down with sparkles adorned every so often. The dress was so Alice.

"Oh, Alice! It's beautiful!" Lily beamed at Alice, who grinned just as Marlene and Mary crawled their way over.

"I especially like the skirt! It reminds me of Michelle's dress a fair bit," Alice spoke giddily.