Dark Destinies

Disclaimer: Most characters featured in this story are not of my creation. They belong to their respective creators, J.K. Rowling, Joss Whedon, and any and all parties related to Bloombury Publishing, Scholastic Inc., AOL/Time-Warner, Fox, and Mutant Enemy. Grrrr, arrgh.

Chapter 7

"Lily!" exclaimed Rupert, startled by the sudden appearance of his 18 year old cousin in his office at the British Museum.  Well, to call it an office would have been very kind.  It was basically a small corner of the Acquisitions floor of the Museum's Pre-history section.

"Hi, Rupert!" Lily's bright green eyes were dancing as she looked at her older cousin.  "Like that spell?  It's called Apparition.  I'm one of the few in my class who can do it!  It's very difficult..."

"I'm...very proud of you, Lily," Rupert grinned, hugging his cousin.  "What brings you here?  You still have a few weeks of the school term to go before you graduate.  Shouldn't you be studying?"

"I came to visit you.  The rest of the school are at Hogsmeade anyhow and I wanted to see you," Lily said, walking slowly around the ancient artifacts that Rupert had to catalog.  "What's this?" she asked as she picked up an old dagger.

"It's an Aztec ceremonial disembowling knife," Rupert said.  "They would sacrifice a virgin to their gods by slashing her innards out."

Lily gingerly put the dagger down.  "Urgh, how dreadful."

"Oh, it's not so bad. Certainly not as bad as some of the things you had to learn in Defense Against the Dark Arts, hmmm?" Rupert said.

Lily shook her head quickly, sitting in the nearest chair instead of exploring the floor.

Rupert frowned.  "Lily, what is it?  There's...there's something you wish to tell me..."

"Oh, Rupert.  I'm engaged!"

Rupert blinked a few times and then took off his glasses to clean them.  "Ah..." he said, unsure of what to actually say.  "Con-congratulations!  It isn't that Potter lad, is it?"

Lily stood up and stared right into Rupert's eyes.  "And what's wrong with James?"

"Well, you've...you've written to me about all that mischief he and his friends get into.  Erm, becoming Animagi without Ministry of Magic authorization is a very serious offense!  And...calling themselves the Marauders, as if they're...they're pirates or some such nonsense," Rupert said.

"Rupert," Lily said.  "It wasn't so long ago that you had gotten into some serious mischief yourself.  Besides, I love James."

"Yes, yes, love's a good enough reason...I suppose.  When's the wedding?"

"We're planning on a small ceremony," Lily said quickly.  "Nothing fancy.  And I want you to give me away.  You know, Dad passed on a few years ago and I just thought it'd be right to have you there in the ceremony.  You've always been like a brother to me."

"Of...of course..." Rupert replied.  "I'd be honored."

Lily hugged her cousin tightly.  "Thank you, Rupert!  You don't know how much this will mean for the both of us!  Horace will arrive with the date and location later on.  We're planning for some time after graduation."

A few weeks later, Rupert received an invitation by regular old Muggle mail.  The envelope announced the imminent wedding of Petunia Marie Evans to Vernon Dursley.  Unfortunately, Petunia seemed to have chosen the same date as Lily and James' wedding.  Since Lily had asked Rupert first, Rupert felt obliged to attend her wedding instead.  He regretfully sent his refusal (or so he wrote) to Petunia, saying that he needed to go supervise an archaelogical dig in the Tigris-Euphrates river valley.  Petunia never wrote back, but this didn't bother Rupert a great deal.  Petunia still had the habit of throwing a tantrum in front of Rupert when she didn't get her way, and Rupert doubted that she'd act any differently.

The location that Lily and James gave wasn't of the actual wedding area.  It was just the directions to the Portkey which would transport anyone who touched it to the area.  Protecting this particular Portkey was tricky.  Since Rupert was a Muggle, the Portkey couldn't have a Muggle-repelling charm cast on it.  James finally discovered that a lock of Rupert's hair was enough to alter the charm to allow Rupert through.

On the day of the wedding, people living in the countryside an hour outside of London might have been shocked by a most amazing sight.  There was a man in a tuxedo roaming around the grass, seemingly looking for something hidden on the ground.  The people would have gone closer to the man to ask him why he was there, but they suddenly remembered an important appointment they had to go to and left the man alone.

Rupert, meanwhile, finally found the Portkey.  It was a beaten-up construction helmet.  He touched it and was immediately whisked away to the site of the wedding.  It was outdoors, with a canopy magically weaved out of the branches of nearby trees.  Rupert nodded to the best man, Sirius Black, and then took his place next to Lily.  As Rupert looked around, he felt horribly underdressed.  Almost everyone else in the small wedding party had fancy robes, even Lily.  Rupert was the only one in Muggle clothing.

"You didn't tell me it was going to be a Wizard ceremony," he whispered to Lily.

"You look fine!" Lily said.  "I don't think anyone will care what you're wearing.  You're my cousin and my guest."

Rupert nodded, even though he felt his cheeks begin to burn in embarassment.  "Who's officiating?"

Lily gave Rupert a wink.  "You'll see..."

Rupert didn't have to wait long because suddenly, standing at the end of the aisle, was Albus Dumbledore.  He waved merrily to everyone and then took out his wand.

"Now, then," Dumbledore said.  "Some appropriate music."  He waved his wand and The Wedding March started to flow into everyone's ears.

Rupert offered his arm to Lily.  "Here we go then."

Lily slipped her arm in Rupert's, and they began to slowly march towards the end of the aisle where James stood with Dumbledore and Sirius.  Rupert scanned the tiny gathering, noticing friends of James and Lily, and his Aunt Iris (Lily's mother) who was bawling appropriately.  Rupert suddenly wondered how they had gotten Aunt Iris to the area as well.  Perhaps they used a different Portkey for her.  Before he could work out the problem in great detail, he and Lily had already reached Dumbledore.

"Who gives the bride away?" Dumbledore asked after another flourish of his wand stopped the music.

"Her mother and I do," replied Rupert.  He gently removed his arm from Lily's and took his place on the side next to Sirius.

While the ceremony was going on, Rupert couldn't help but be lost in his thoughts.  During the vows, he thought about his own experiences with women, which were never that wonderful to begin with.  He wondered if he'd ever find someone he truly loved, like Lily loved James.  He knew that Watchers could wed, but he didn't know any women who were strong enough to accept his "line of work."  Women like his mother seemed very rare.  At least, Rupert hadn't been able to find one who came close.

By the time he brought himself back to what was happening around him, the ceremony was over.  Dumbledore and a few other wizards sent bright sparks up into the air with their wands as James and Lily kissed.  Rupert, not having a wand or a firework spell, simply clapped.