'Is that one of your father's famous sayings?'
'No,' he said. 'I made that one up myself.'
'Bagpipes,' said Sirius firmly.
Narcissa shook her head, not looking up from the bridal magazine she was reading. 'No bagpipes,' she said, reached for a pillow, and put it behind her head. She was sitting up on the bed in their hotel room, surrounded by magazine clippings, books, and pieces of paper on which she had scrawled possible wedding invitation designs.
'I'm Scottish,' said Sirius. 'I want to have a Scottish wedding.'
Narcissa's mouth twitched into a smile, but she still didn't look up.
'I told you that you could wear a skirt if you wanted,' she began.
'Kilt,' interrupted Sirius, but she ignored him.
'And frankly, I don't care if you wear suspenders and high heels to go with it. And I told you we could serve haggis, and if you want to spend all afternoon tossing the caber in the back yard, that's fine too. But I cannot subject my friends and loved ones to bagpipe music. Think what Draco would say.'
'Think what he'll say when you tell him he has to wear that suit you picked out.'
'That suit is charming,' said Narcissa, but she was definitely smiling now. She looked up and grinned at him, and he smiled back at her.
Like her son's, Narcissa's hair bleached easily in the sun, and now hung in long salt-white ringlets down her back. She looked like she had when they were at school together, he thought. And she did look a great deal like Draco, only the curves of her face were more rounded than his, her chin not as pointy, but the silver-gray eyes that tilted at the edges were the same.
'He'll hate it,' said Sirius, positively.
'You don't know that.'
'I do know that.'
Narcissa rolled her eyes. 'You must overcome this delusion that Draco is an exact copy of you when you were his age, Sirius,' she said. 'I agree you would have hated that suit, but Draco likes clothes, he always has, and — '
'And I'll bet you fifty galleons he sets that suit on fire before he agrees to wear it.'
Narcissa suddenly become very interested in her magazine.
'Don't want to bet me, do you?' grinned Sirius. 'How about, if I win the bet, I get to have bagpipes?'
'No bagpipes,' said Narcissa in a muffled voice.
'There will be bagpipes, or there will be bloodshed,' said Sirius.
'Then it'll be a lot like my last wedding,' said Narcissa with an evil grin.
When she smiled like that, Sirius thought, she really did look like her son.
'Er,' said a voice — neither Narcissa's nor Sirius' — from the corner of the room, and both Sirius and Narcissa jumped. 'I'm sorry to intrude, but — '
Sirius leaped to his feet, staring at the fireplace. 'Remus?'
'I'm sorry,' repeated Lupin, whose head and shoulders were visible in the ornamental fireplace in the corner of the room. He looked extremely unhappy. 'I wouldn't bother you if it wasn't important.'
His eyes flicked over to the bed. 'Sorry, Narcissa.'
She pushed the magazines away and looked anxiously from Lupin to Sirius. 'Is everything all right?'
'Harry,' said Sirius, dropping down on his knees next to the fireplace. 'Has something happened to Harry?'
'He's gone,' said Lupin heavily, and felt even guiltier than he already had as the color drained out of Sirius' face.
'Gone?'
'He's gone, his broomstick's gone. My office is destroyed, and the sword I was telling you about — that's gone, too.'
'Draco,' said Narcissa quickly. 'Have you asked him where Harry is?'
'I can't,' said Lupin. 'He's gone, too.'
Narcissa went as white as Sirius had.
'So they're together,' said Sirius. 'Are you sure they destroyed your office?'
'Positive,' said Lupin. 'Remember that snow globe you gave me, with the redheaded nymph in it? Well, she saw them come in. They took some implements of mine — an Orb of Thessala, some other things. And they took the sword.' He winced. 'They smashed the case I put it in. It was adamantine. I've no idea how they did that. I couldn't have done it.'
'They're Magids,' said Sirius hoarsely.
'They're children,' said Narcissa, standing up. 'They took the sword
— what does that mean? Will it hurt them?'
'I honestly don't know,' said Lupin. 'I've been searching all day in my books for some mention, some idea what might happen. I can't find anything but vaguely worded prophecies.' He rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand, and Sirius saw that his fingers were grained with ink. 'But if you're asking me whether it might hurt
