you weren't thinking and i was just drinking

⋅𖥔⋅ ━━✶━━ ⋅𖥔⋅

FIVE MONTHS LATER

Celeste was especially distracted today.

She sat lounged across Sirius' leather couch as though it was the most lavish throne in the world, her legs crossed and her silk black dress splayed all around. It was like a part of the night sky had been stolen and spilled all over her. Pearl and diamond cuffs adorned her thin wrists, and in her hand held a crystal flute of champagne.

Cheerful muggle holiday music played from Sirius' record player as James and Lily danced in the center of the living room. Celeste watched as they held each other close, their eyes closed and their bodies gently swaying in sync. She smiled at the scene.

Marlene groaned, waving her hand at Celeste. The blonde stood on a high ladder, hanging colourful lights and garlands around the room. "Celeste, you need to help me. I don't understand any of this."

Grimacing, Celeste shook her head. "I don't either. I've been at it since this morning. Clearly I should be a professional decorator." She gestured to the Christmas tree, where strings of lights and ribbons dangled in heaps through the branches. The golden star sat crooked at the top, enthusiastically pulsing with shining light. A shattered ornament still lay at the foot of the tree.

Lily opened her eyes and sighed. "James, I need to help the girls."

Shooting Celeste a withering look for interrupting their moment, James sighed. "Alright. Just please don't make me help."

But the decorating wasn't why Celeste was distracted.

The week before, Evan had asked for an heir.

The very word had sent Celeste over the edge, and she had locked herself in her room for days, curled up at the foot of her bed in a shaking and sobbing mess. When Sirius had asked everyone to come over, she had composed herself and gotten drunk on champagne.

"Here they are!" Celeste exclaimed as Alice and Frank entered the room. "My favourite newlyweds!"

Alice laughed and moved to join Celeste on the couch. She shooed Frank away, and snuggled up with Celeste. "How's my favourite drunk?"

Celeste scrunched up her nose, examining her drink. "I'm not that drunk. Here! Have some wine. It'll make you feel better."

Alice took the bottle that Celeste had brandished in her face. "Better? I'm not sad right now."

Uncorking the bottle with her wand, Celeste rolled her eyes. "I think people can always feel better. It's also a very delicious idea, don't you think?"

Alice hesitated, but very gently, she took Celeste's champagne away from her. "I will get drunk with you, on one condition."

"Anything!"

Alice smiled sadly, lowering both drinks down. "It's just a question. Are you okay?"

Celeste stilled, startled and tense. The question suddenly made her very sober. She blinked and said strangely, "I'm fine."

"Okay."

"I'm fine," Celeste repeated, in a more convincing tone.

She took her drink back and downed the rest.

✶

Lily, Alice, Marlene and Celeste sat tightly together on the couch, giggling and drunk out of their minds.

"I'm so lonely now!" Marlene groaned, slumping back. "I want a girlfriend."

"You can date me, Marls," Alice teased.

Marlene pretended to gag. "Um, aren't you married?"

Alice gasped, placing a hand over her heart. "He doesn't have to know!"

Lily and Celeste laughed so hard that couldn't breathe, clutching their stomachs as they wheezed.

"Okay," Marlene decided. "So I just need someone as hot as Celeste, as sweet as Alice and smart as Lily."

"I don't think people like that exist," Celeste mourned.

From across the room, Sirius lifted his head and shouted, "Rude!"

Celeste fought back a smile and bless him a kiss. She looked away, her face flushed with color.

Lily sighed. "We have a mission tonight. We better stop drinking now."

Surprised, Celeste looked up. "You do?" It was the first she had heard of it. Marlene looked surprised as well, sharing a glance with Celeste.

"Oh, that's right," Alice recalled. "With the spy and everything, missions are being more and more private now. I guess it slipped our minds."

Marlene sighed and set down her whiskey. "Well, be careful. Every day gets more and more dangerous. Honestly, it scares me."

Lily smiled tightly. "We'll do the best we can."

Slowly, Alice reached out and locked hands with Marlene and Celeste. Marlene reached for Lily's hand at her left. They clung to each other, and for a moment, they were just girls again, together in the safe sanctuary of their dormitory. Gone was the war, and gone was the bloodshed that would be forever engraved in their young eyes. For a moment, all was quiet.

Somehow, they pressed together even more closely.

Celeste closed her eyes, breathing slow and deep. "The best we can," she whispered.

-

Alice and Lily left early, with James following shortly. Sirius and Celeste lingered by the threshold as Marlene pulled her coat on.

Sighing deeply, Marlene smiled wearily. "Well, I'm off I guess."

"Where are you headed?" Celeste asked.

"I have a family dinner tonight," the blonde said with a playful eye roll. "I'll have to put up with my annoying brothers all night. Pray for me, will you?"

Laughing, Celeste hugged Marlene and kissed her cheek. "Have fun!"

"Goodnight, McKinnon," Sirius said, wrapping a casual arm around Celeste's waist.

Marlene winked at the two of them. "Love you tons, don't forget to use protection!" With the slightest flick of her wand, she apparated and vanished into the air.

Her absence left a sullen silence hanging over the room, her contagious joy left with her.

Sirius smiled at Celeste. "Wanna go out for dinner?"

"Sure."

Celeste's mood lifted as the pair exited out of the flat. Her heels clicked against the cobble, and the couple settled on a steady pace together. They strolled down a few blocks, making their way to a street bustling with muggle tourists and crowded restaurants.

Although they usually preferred the high end glamorous restaurants, the mood of the day had made them decide on a cozy cafe. It was situated at the end of the busy area, on a comfortable corner that watched the rest of the world walk past.

Sirius and Celeste sat by the tall glass windows, at a small table fit for just the two of them. They shared a large pot of steaming oolong tea, a tray of small sandwiches and a thick slice of crepe cake.

"We should take a walk over by that lake down the street," Celeste mentioned, refilling her teacup. "The weather's nice tonight."

"Sure," Sirius agreed.

It was so peaceful that neither of them dared to destroy it. They carefully avoided all the worst topics, like, why wasn't Celeste supposed to be at home at this hour already? or why were they enjoying themselves when their friends were currently risking their necks?

They paid and left just as the sun was setting.

Strolling further down the block, they arrived their favorite park. At this time of the year, the place was decorated with shimmery holiday signs and wrapped with blinking coils of bright lights. Willows and wisteria swayed in the cold, early winter air.

The park wrapped around a long lake, with lily pads and swans silently gliding along the water's surface. Celeste and Sirius slowly walked on the winding path by the lake's edge, their hands laced together.

At the first sign of her shivering, Sirius instantly draped his leather jacket across Celeste's shoulders.

"I've missed you," he said. Celeste smiled at this, and Sirius admired her face, somehow lovelier than it had been the day before.

"Sirius, we see each other nearly every day now."

It was true. Ever since Sirius had gotten his new flat, Celeste had been treating it like a second home, arriving unannounced as she pleased. Sirius didn't mind one bit, of course, and greeted her with a thrilled kiss every time. If she had come when the house was empty, Celeste would do the same. That was their new dynamic ― constantly waiting for each other and ecstatic when the other arrived.

"Not nearly enough," Sirius decided.

At that, she smiled even wider. "We should elope. Find a dainty cottage or castle or whatever somewhere far, far away where nobody knows our names."

"Get several thousand puppies and plant a garden," he said. "And it's gotta be near a beach! We can collect shells all day and snog until we're sick of each other."

"Is this a flower or vegetable garden?" Celeste continued, unable to erase her grin. "Because I was thinking an orchard. With peaches and cherries and apricots. Maybe some dates and blackberries."

"Pomegranates," Sirius agreed. "But you like those tsubaki flowers, so we should have a forest of them."

Celeste laughed. "I'm sure we can find some room for that."

In a comfortable silence, they continued to walk, passing elderly couples and racing toddlers. At some point, Celeste had taken her shoes off, regretting wearing heels. They reached a small dock, stopping there. From afar, a muggle band was playing Silent Night.

Without even exchanging words, Sirius and Celeste pulled each other close, gently swaying to the music.

The last time they had danced was the night after Celeste's wedding. But it felt like years. In the silence, it was clear that they were both thinking it.

Celeste closed her eyes, pushing the memory away from her brain. She exhaled, resting her head on Sirius' chest. How long would it be until the next time they danced? Would it be in another stolen moment like this? Would they finally be safe? Secure?

The boy and girl held onto each other a little tighter, dreaming of a day neither of them would see soon. As the sweet, flower perfumed air wafted over them, they kissed, slow and sure, and a little bit terrified of the future.

"I'm going to marry you, Celeste Malfoy," Sirius whispered. His tone was dreamlike, wistful, and completely unfazed.

Startled, Celeste looked up at him. "What?"

He held her gaze, intensely looking through her soul. Celeste's breath caught at the sight of him. "Would you? Would you marry me?"

As the words flew through her mind, her eyes welled with tears. Their foreheads pressed against one another's, and Celeste tried to nod. She laughed, and it was broken by a sob. "Of course I will. I always will, Sirius Black."

She had never felt so elated or devastated in her entire life. If it were to be true, it would be the greatest day of her life. If not, she feared it would haunt her to her grave. There would never be another boy worthy of her heart. Nobody else that breathed understood her in such a way, and had bled the same way as her. No matter how horrible of a start they had had, Celeste couldn't find it in herself to care. Sirius would be her greatest destruction and ruination, and she would allow it.

Sirius took off his ring.

Celeste sucked in a breath. "Sirius, that's your family heirloom, I couldn't―"

He took her hand, and slipped it onto her ring finger. It had been bare, as she never wore Evan's. Sirius shook his head. "There is nobody else worthy of it. Nobody of equal value."

Awestruck, Celeste gazed at his face. In a disbelieving voice she stammered, "But it's the only―"

Sirius cut her right off, sealing their destiny as their lips pressed together. He kissed her, long and hard as he had always loved to do. He grinned at her stunned expression, suddenly a lovestruck teen boy again. "I love you, darling."

"I love you, Sirius," Celeste said softly, heart pounding wildly in her chest. "More than you might ever imagine."

The discarded heir and lonely heiress held onto each other, existing and hearts beating as one. The moonlight spilled over them like a celestial spotlight, pouring onto the lake's surface. The pale lights shifted and gleamed, trembling with terror and intensity.

In an instant, the world flashed blue.

A wolf patronus darted towards them over the water, racing with a frightened urgency. Remus' voice came rushing out. "Guys, it's the McKinnon's." His voice cracked, and Lily's devastated sob echoed into the background. "They were attacked tonight."

The world howled in Celeste's ears. It was silent and screaming, all at once. She looked at Sirius, who shared her same look of disbelief and stared back at the patronus for more answers.

Remus' shaking voice continued. "We just got to the family's house. They're all dead. And... so is Marlene."

In a single second, her entire heart shattered on the ground.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

anyways yeah!!! um so here's our very first major character death. how are we feeling??

this chapter took so long for me to write. also i just realized that this book is ending kind of soon??? that freaks me out, cause celeste is my favorite child and this story is kind of my safe space.

i have a bunch of more fics i have planned out soon so i hope you guys can check those out!! i will absolutely continue writing Blank Space once this story slows down a bit. i know i kinda abandoned her a while ago, but Valentina is so much fun to write, and i might even do a bit of revisions for her too!!

thank you for reading my rant, love you!!

xx, aria <3