The Marriage Law

The enchanted forest

"Hello, Mclaggen" Hermione greeted politely and shook his hand. They started a small conversation and exchanged a few things.
Sirius who was uninterested in the boy turned his gaze to Wilhelmina who still had not turned around and seemed to be frozen.
He noticed her laboured breathing and frozen figure. Concerned by her unusual behaviour, he moved in front of her, his gazed at her, worried by her visible distress.

Wilhelmina was hit with tonnes of different emotions at once, she never expected to see him here, first, all she felt was a shock. Soon the shock passed and the deep fear that she didn't know she had, came to the surface.

Yet seeing Sirius with worry in his eyes that was directed towards her, snapped her out of her trance. She shook her head at the unspoken question asked by the worried man, instead, she surprised him by taking a step forward and wrapping her small hands around him, one side of her face resting on his chest. He was confused by her actions but without wasting time he returned the gesture, pulling her a bit closer in his embrace.

She allowed herself to soak up the comfort he was offering her, and within a few moments, her fear turned into fury. She was absolutely furious, 'Idiot Dumbledore, how dare he sends him here on a mission with her, she had absolutely made it clear that he wasn't even supposed to be a part of Order or Army, yet here he was.
Her mind started planning multiple ways to kill Dumbledore.
She let out a soft sigh, she just wanted to lock herself in her room and sleep, yet she knew this job was important.

She broke the hug and without looking at Sirius turned towards Hermione and Mclaggen.
Just a moment later both of them finished talking and turned towards Wilhelmina and Sirius.

Wilhelmina shifted uncomfortably when Mclaggen's arrogant gaze, Mclaggen smirked at this.
She gently grabbed Sirius' hand and put it around her waist, avoiding looking at his face which held many questions.

Time skip.

After they entered Chamonix, Wilhelmina who loved visiting new places was awestruck at the beauty in front of her.
She cleared her throat and looked at Sirius and Hermione, "Bonjour et Bienvenue à Chamonix"
They both raised their eyebrows at this and gave an amused smile.
They walked around the place trying to get some information, the place was beautiful but it was a shame that they couldn't enjoy it.

"Someone's a bit too excited" Sirius whispered in Wilhelmina's ear, causing a shiver to run her spine.
"Of course I am, Sirius you know I have always wanted to come here, just look at this man, it's so so beautiful" she replied while motioning her hands in all directions to emphasise her point.
Sirius really enjoyed seeing her getting so excited, she looked truly happy. By now he knew that Wilhelmina loved exploring, just maybe after this is over, both of them could go on a world tour.

"Very beautiful" he replied, his eyes still on her.

"Okay there is an enchanted forest around here let's go there," said Hermione.
"Yup but first things first, let us eat something," Sirius said and started walking in the direction of the only cafe in the area.

"English, speak in English I can't understand you," Sirius spoke in an irritated tone.
Apparently, the lady who owns the cafe can't speak English, and since she was a muggle Sirius couldn't use a spell.
"Move grandpa," Wilhelmina said, letting a small giggle escape from her lips.

"Bonne après-midi madam. Je voudrais un café noir, un chocolat chaud, deux croissants au chocolat et deux baguettes, S'il vous plaît." Wilhelmina spoke eloquently.
Sirius just stared at her like she was an alien.
The woman smiled happily, relieved to finally understand what was being said. She quickly moved around to give them their order.
"Tu parles bien français"
"Merci"
"Qui est-ce ?" She asked pointing towards Sirius.
"Il est mon ami" Wilhelmina replied, with a smile.

They quickly finished the food and left the cafe, heading towards the enchanted forest.

"Let us split and see if we can find something," Wilhelmina said once they were standing outside the forest.
"Alright everyone just be careful, this forest is called enchanted for a reason. There are certain wards and enchantments placed which prevent anyone from performing any sort of magic" Hermione warned.
"If no one can perform magic in here, then why are we even bothering to search this dingy place," Mclaggen asked.
"We are looking for clues, we don't have much information right now, this is currently the best place to start," Hermione answered and with that, they all parted ways.

Wilhelmina looked around mindlessly, she was finally alone, she could finally let go of her facade. Her eyes filled with tears, thoughts swirling in her mind. Three years had passed, she thought she was fine, but seeing him today, especially when she was not in her animagus form brought back every emotion that she had buried in the back of her mind. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't realise how far she had come, she was currently in the darkest part of the forest that was filled with eerie silence.
Tears blurred her eyes as she sat down, resting her back against the tree trunk. She knew she was supposed to look for clues but she couldn't get a grip on herself no matter how hard she tried. The painful memories just kept coming back, she was exhausted at this point, she slowly closed her eyes, the gentle breeze lulled her to sleep.

"Hello dear," a wolf said.
"Who are you, how are you talking and where am I ?" Wilhelmina asked in a panicked voice.
"Calm down child, this is your dream, I am reaching out to you in your dream. Who I am, how I am speaking are questions with the least significance. I am here to warn you. The path that you are on is a dangerous one, you will discover things about yourself that might frighten you, your journey will truly begin from 'The Eternal City', don't be afraid child I will be with you, heres meus"

Wilhelmina woke up with a gasp, she looked around her surroundings, noticing the darkness for the first time, her breaths turned shallow, her eyes darted wildly in fear, she scratched uselessly at her throat trying to get some air. Just when she thought she was going to pass out, a sudden air of comfort and peace surrounded her, it was oddly familiar to a mother's embrace.
To her utter surprise and relief, a golden light lit up the path that was in front of her, she assumed that it was leading her towards the others. She got up in a hurry and almost ran down the path, terrified of the strangeness she had just found herself in.

"Where were you Wil ?", Sirius and Hermione asked in one voice.
"Just looking around trying to find clues" she murmured.
"Did you find anything ?" Mclaggen asked, but Wilhelmina just ignored him and hugged her sister, trying to get as close as possible.
Hermione returned the hug and gently stroked Wilhelmina's head.
"You okay ?" Hermione asked, concerned at her twin's behaviour.
"Yeah" she replied, not in the mood to talk much.

They started heading back, disappointed at their failure to get any information, again Wilhelmina was lost in her thoughts and she didn't see Mclaggen walking beside her.
"Granger, wanna meet me tonight?" He asked with a suggestive smirk.
This broke her chain of thoughts and she pulled back into reality, that's when she realised what he had said and how close he was, their hands brushing against each other.
"Get away from me, just go away, I hate you, I hate you so much." Wilhelmina almost screamed, distressed and almost on the verge of crying.
She ran away from him, ignoring Hermione's and Sirius' calls.

"I will be with her, you go home", Sirius looked at Hermione.
At first, Hermione wanted to protest, but seeing that desperate look on Sirius' face, she just nodded.
With that Sirius ran after Wilhelmina.

"Wil stop!" Wilhelmina stopped at the sound of his voice and turned around.
Sirius was shocked to see her almost shaking, he moved forward and wrapped his arms around her and apparated them to a wooden cabin he owned.

Author's note - Hey!! Here's another chapter. I know it's been a while but I was busy with exams, I still am. It's terrible it's CHRISTMAS TIME, yet I have to worry about exams. I have got a physics exam in 2 days n I don't know a thing. Anyway, the next chapter will be full of revelations about Wilhelmina's past. I would also like to know your opinions on the current plotline. Please comment and let me know what you think of it. Vote if you liked this chapter. Thank you. Bye.