INSTEAD, james potter [1]

Chapter Sixty-Nine

Snow was falling, coating the ground in white as Lyra looked out the window. Behind her, both of her sisters were doting on her. Bellatrix was helping her put on her white dress as Narcissa put some finishing touches on her hair. 

Lyra had never been able to imagine herself as a bride. Even when she turned to look at herself in the mirror, looking ready to get married, it didn't really look like her. Mostly, she thought about how she looked more and more like her sisters ever day. She wasn't sure if it was a good thing. 

She pursed her lips, but was broken out of staring at herself by her mother walking through the door, gasping loudly. "Oh, how lovely. My beautiful Lyra. I always knew you'd be a spectacular bride."

Behind Druella, her father, Cygnus, followed her in. He grinned widely as he approached her, his arms stretched out in a welcoming gesture. "You truly do look beautiful, sweetheart. Lucius is a very lucky man."

"Thanks, dad," Lyra smiled brightly at him. Once she was sure that her sisters had finished putting on her dress and fixing her hair, she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him sweetly.

"Well, at least you managed to find yourself a proper match in the end," commented Bellatrix, though none but her sisters picked up on the hidden meaning behind her words. The bride sent her a stern look, telling her not to even hint at the man she had loved, and left. It was not the day to do so. 

Narcissa only looked between the two awkwardly, not knowing what she could say to stop a possibly escalating conflict. She hated always having to be the mediator between them. "You'll be a wonderful couple."

The dark-haired woman looked at the older of the two blondes strangely, as if she wondered why she was taking Lyra's side. She got a glare in response, so she sent their youngest sister a smile. "You already are."

"Thank you, Bella, Cissy," Lyra muttered. Though she didn't like Bellatrix's earlier hint, her glare softened. She didn't want to argue with one of her bridesmaids on her wedding day, no matter what she had done. 

A firm knock on the door sounded, and Lyra was about to check what was going on, but Cygnus stopped her before she could even take a step.  "I'll go see what that's about. Don't you worry about anything today."

As her husband left the room, Druella walked over a nearby coffee table, where the days version of the Daily Prophet was. She absentmindedly started flipping through the pages, and everyone turned silent, not know what else to say. 

Lyra sighed and looked at herself once more. Her hair was in a complicated up-do, one that framed her face rather well. Her dress, white and innocent-looking, did not reflect the way she felt. Perhaps black would have been a better color, the one for mourning. 

But still, she couldn't help but think about how beautiful she looked. She wasn't usually the vain type, but she knew she had been blessed with extremely good genes for her looks. It was what made her such a fine bride. 

The worst part of it all was that she still couldn't imagine meeting Lucius at the end of the aisle. Looking at herself, knowing she was about to get married, her mind and her heart were still fooling her to think it would be James she was meeting. 

Subconsciously she found herself glancing at the door, wondering how difficult it would be to run. It wasn't too late. Remus had even said there would never be a point of no return with them. She would always be welcome. It wasn't even too late now, on her wedding day.

Then a loud scoff came from Druella's mouth, looking disbelieving as she had read a specific part of the Daily Prophet. She turned to her daughters, gaping. "Unbelievable. I can't believe it. Have you seen this?"