I, I will be king and you, you will be queen -- Winter 1998

I nodded and smiled at her.  "Yeah, he did," I said to answre her, even though it was not necessary to do so.  "And you deserve to be a part of it... and get your little happy ending."  I was not entirely sure what Juniper and Draco called it, but I wanted her to know that she deserved to be happy, no matter what she thought.

I laughed, "It's happily ever after." I informed him. I looked at him curiously, "How did you know about that?" I asked. I didn't remember mention it to him, or really talking about it with anyone else but Draco. It didn't really matter though, Lincoln had asked me to marry him and, somehow, I said yes. My smile widened at that thought. "So what happens now?" I asked him. "Should we go out to celebrate?" I had no real experience with these kind of things so I was going to follow his lead.  

I chuckled sligtly and looked at her. " Sorry, didn't mean to get it wrong," I teased.  I stopped for a moment and was kind of surprised.  "Oh, I hadn't really thought of that... I really dont' know what to do."  I sighed, smiling and looking at my fiance.  "I mean... I think you're going to need to announce it to Pansy and Draco -- possibly on your own first."  Of course I knew that Draco was okay with this, but I was sure that he would appreciate me not being there.  "I have my family we could tell...?  Try to celebrate with them...?" I suggested, knowing that the Lupins would love to hear about this.  Remus knew about this but I was not entirely sure if he had told Chloe anything.  Besides, I kenw they would love to get involved to help us celebrate anyways.  Same with Lucy and Will.

I rolled my eyes slightly at him. "Hey, no making fun of happily ever after. It's gotten Draco and I through a lot." My eyes widened at what he said next. I had almost forgotten there were people we had to tell. That would want to celebrate. With a death eater. "Right, we have to tell the Lupins. And I have to tell Draco and Pansy." What would the Lupins think of their son asking a death eater to marry him? They had to want something better for him, I did. "I think it best that I tell Draco and Pansy by myself." I agreed as I sighed and looked down, not being able to look at him with what I was about to say. "Are you sure they would want to celebrate with a death eater?" I asked softly. "Will they even want me to be in your family?" I started biting the nails of my free hand, hoping I had spoken too softly that he hadn't heard me.

I squeezed her hand.  "Dad," I said, though I still had a hrd time calling him that sometimes, "already knows.  He's the one who gave me the ring, after all.  I went to him for advice... and he couldn't have been more happy."  He had been happy that I was happy -- like a real father would do.  "They don't have prejudice over people just because of what they are."  Remus had gotten so used to it through his whole life as a werewolf, they were not about to do that to others.  That was what I loved about them.

I took a deep breath and nodded slightly. "Do they know what I am though? And what about Lucy and Will?" I sighed, not sure what it was I was feeling. I was so excited to be marring Lincoln and happy that I had said yes, but I was also extremely nervous about what would happen because I was happy and the Disappointment didn't deserve to be happy. If anything happened the Lincoln, it would be my fault.

I smiled at her.  "They don't care," I assured her.  "No, I did not tell them what you are... I told them who you were.  And that is far more important than that mark on your arm."  The Lupins always gave people the benefit of a doubt.  "Trust me... if they judged on what a person was, well, Will and Dad wouldn't be accepted."  I thought that putting the werewolf in there would get her to understand it a bit more of why they only care of who a person was rather than anythign else.

When he mentioned the mark I started scratching it, not even thinking about it. "They deserve to know the truth." I said softly. They really were a great family but would they accept a death eater? Will and Professor Lupin were one thing but I was not part of that family. What if their acceptance only went so far and Death Eaters were not on that list, despite me not wanting the horrid mark on my arm. "Will and Professor Lupin are good people though." I countered easily. I was a Death Eater. The only thing I was good for was causing pain and misery to the people I cared about most.

"And so are you," I assured her.  "You can't help the family you were born into... and you really have tried not to let that affect who you are.  Trust me, you have nothing to worry about."

"I may try, but I still have this." I held up my left arm, indicting my mark. I sighed and shook my head slightly. "I'm just a Death Eater, I don't deserve someone like you or in-laws like the Lupins." I looked down. "You deserve someone much better than me and I'm sure they'll agree, they would want someone better for you. Someone who can actually make you happy. That's all I want for you, even though I know that person isn't me." I played with the ring on my figure, figuring he would agree and ask for it back soon.

I shrugged.  "Meh, I think I've gotten decently lucky," I said to her, knowing that my optimism about her drove her mental sometimes.  "And if the Lupins didn't support me and you... would Remus have given me a ring that belonged to Grandma Cathie?  Not at all."  I gave her a pointed look.  I won and she just needed to admit it.