Written for 'The Pirate Ship Battles' for my Wolfstar entry. I used the prompts 'arrow', 'bandit', 'flowerpot' and 'chicken'.

Hope you enjoy! :)

Shattered Earthenware

Sirius wrinkles his nose up at the dingy little office he and his fiancé are sitting in. It's rather too small for three people, and filled with parchment upon parchment. The ceiling is low, creating an uncomfortable illusion that sparks Sirius's claustrophobia. It smells musty, like there hasn't been an ounce of fresh air in the office in – well – ever. The air looks cloudy. Sirius notes that the man before them has an ashtray sitting on the table with dozens of cigarette butts inside. That would explain the smoky air.

The only pleasant thing in the room is the plant on the table. It sits elegantly inside a earthenware flowerpot, its petals vibrant in colour. It contrasts the office like nothing else.

Sirius and Remus are so squashed together that their legs are literally pressed against each other. Sirius sees Remus glance at him from the corner of his eyes and takes hold of his hand comfortingly.

The man in front of them rubs his overgrown moustache thoughtfully and leans back in his chair. Remus and Sirius look at him expectantly. The man smiles.

"Love," he says in his oddly squeaky voice, "is much like a plant."

Oh Merlin, Sirius thinks, we have a nutter.

They have only come to see Mr Whitewaters because they have had so many scuffles about their wedding. The venue, the theme, the music, the dress code, the everything. Neither can agree. Sirius wants something exciting and daring, while Remus wants something more traditional. Lily recommended Mr Whitewaters to them and they agreed almost instantly.

"Love starts off as nothing more than a simple seed. Once the seed is in place, there is room for growth. Love can only grow when tended to. Once your love has grown, it turns into something beautiful. This plant started off in this lovely flowerpot. Without the flowerpot, this plant would not be able to stand on its own. Sirius Black, Remus Lupin – what is your flowerpot?"

"Er-"

"You mean where our love began?" Remus asks.

"Yes. Where the roots of your relationship lay."

"Well, that would be Hogwarts," Remus replies, looking excited. "Are you saying we should get married at Hogwarts?"

"Hogwarts is a big place. Much bigger than this tiny flowerpot. I'm looking for an exact place. Do you have any recollections of a special place within Hogwarts?"

"The Astronomy Tower," Sirius and Remus say in unison. Sirius smiles at Remus.

"Ah," Mr Whitewater says, looking impressed. "Well, that is your flowerpot."

"Okay," Sirius says uncertainly. "The Astronomy Tower it is."

oOo

It is the big day, and Remus and Sirius aren't following traditions of not seeing each other before the wedding. In fact, they haven't even informed the school that their wedding will be taking place there. Only a few people are invited – James, Peter and Lily, of course. Frank and Alice Longbottom, Marlene McKinnon and Mary McDonald are also invited. They have a priest with them, who looks like he is rather annoyed at the attire he is required to wear.

Remus and Sirius are trying to recreate their first kiss.

Everybody is dressed in dark, loose clothes. They are wearing no shoes and bandanas over their mouths and noses. It is their 'bandit' attire. When they were in school, the Marauders would dress up frequently and pretend to be different things. They didn't care how old they were, they found it amusing. It just so happened that the night of Sirius and Remus's first kiss was their 'Bandit Mission To The Astronomy Tower'.

Sirius is first in the line of 'bandits'. He gestures for them to sneak into the castle through one of the secret passageways.

"I didn't even know this existed," Marlene exclaims, resulting in a number of 'shh' sounds that echo off of the stone walls. Marlene apologises, and they carry on through the passageway.

Each of them tip-toe pressed against the wall. It feels like they are on a real mission, and the adrenaline makes its way into Sirius's blood again. He glances at Remus, whose hand is in his and sees the excitement mirrored in his eyes. It is a pleasing feeling, being transported back to the night it all happened. It feels like they have gone back in time.

They are almost at the main corridor, where the entrance to the Great Hall is, so they need to be careful now. Sirius is the first to peer around the corner. The coast is clear, so he gestures for the rest to follow him. They run silently across the middle of the main corridor and Sirius leads them right through a tapestry that is concealing another secret passageway.

Marlene looks baffled, but stays quiet this time. They make their way up a set of steep stairs. Sirius can hear them panting behind him. He feels a little breathless too – after all, it has been three years since their escapades through the secret passageways of the castle.

They emerge from another tapestry and Sirius stops them from following as he catches sight of Peeves patrolling the area. They remain silent as Peeves goes back and forwards humming to himself songs about 'stinking Gryffindors' and 'bookworm Ravenclaws'. He finally disappears around a corner, and his humming gets quieter and quieter until they can no longer hear it.

Sirius steps out first and a grin graces his face when he sees one of the suits of armour in front of him. One suit of armour that interests him. He glances at Remus, who smiles. Remus remembers. Sirius runs up to the suit of armour and swipes the bow and arrows out of its metal hands.

"My prince," Sirius grins, handing the bow and arrows to Remus, who takes them with a smile and red cheeks.

"Thank you," Remus replies.

They continue through the castle, hiding behind things when they sense somebody is coming, and running in hurried tip-toes when they fear they've been seen. They go through numerous secret passageways, until finally they are at the foot of the stairs of the Astronomy Tower.

Sirius looks at his husband-to-be and takes his hand. "After you, love."

Remus walks up first, and just the atmosphere of the cool air swirling through the Astronomy Tower and the view of the Scotland Highlands from so high up is one of the best feelings Sirius has ever had.

Remus and Sirius head towards the balcony and stand hand-in-hand. Their friends surround them, watching with smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes. Lily is the one to shoot beautiful sparks out of her wand above everyone's heads, making the entire place seem a hundred times more magical.

The priest stands in between Remus and Sirius, and clears his throat.

"We are gathered here today to witness the marriage of Mr Sirius Black and Mr Remus Lupin."

Sirius is amused to see James crying.

"Sirius Black, will you have this man to be your wedded husband, to love him, to comfort him, to honour and keep him, and forsaking all others, keep you only unto him, for so long as you both shall live?"

Sirius laughs nervously and nods. "I don't have a bloody clue what half of that means, but I do."

Everybody lets out a laugh, and the priest continues.

"Remus Lupin, will you have this man to be your wedded husband, to love him, to comfort him, to honour and keep him, and forsaking all others, keep you only unto him, for so long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Remus says with tears in his eyes.

"Take hands and repeat after me: I, Sirius Black, take you, Remus Lupin, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, to love and to cherish, from this day forward."

Sirius repeats this, staring into Remus's eyes.

"I, Remus Lupin, take you, Sirius Black, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, to love and to cherish, from this day forward."

Remus repeats his vow.

"Do you have the rings?" the priest asks. Sirius and Remus look to James, who is now blubbering away.

He hands each of them a ring and stands back once more.

Sirius reaches out and places the ring on Remus's finger. "With this ring, I thee wed."

Remus smiles and places his ring on Sirius's finger and says, "with this ring, I thee wed."

"Let these rings be given and received as a token of your affection, sincerity and fidelity to one another. I now pronounce you husband and husband. You may now kiss."

Sirius doesn't need telling twice; he grabs Remus around the waist and pulls him in for a kiss that closely resembles their very first kiss.

An eruption of cheers follows, by their friends.

Following tradition, Remus takes his bow and arrows and shoots an arrow into the sky. He hands the bow and arrows to Sirius, who does the same.

"I love you," Remus says, leaning against Sirius's shoulder.

"And I love you, too," Sirius says, kissing the top of his head.

oOo

Their friends would agree that the wedding ceremony had been amazing and romantic, and that it was a truly magical event, but they could not appreciate the food.

They decide on having Sirius's favourite food – chicken, and Remus's favourite food – chocolate.

The group of friends now stand around a chocolate fountain with chicken drumsticks in their hands, looking at each other blankly.

"Oh come on," Sirius says, taking a bite of his chocolate-covered chicken drumstick. "It's actually really nice."

"Looks horrible," Lily says.

"Tastes horrible," James says, making a face and putting his half-eaten chocolate drumstick onto Sirius's plate. Sirius starts to eat it as though it doesn't have a huge chunk bitten out of it.

"Sirius," Remus mutters, shaking his head at his dopey new husband.

"Okay," James says. "Let's make a toast. To Remus and Sirius. My two best mates in the whole wide world. I love you guys. Even after hearing you doing the dirty every night in the dormitory, and having to listen to you blatantly flirting . I still love you. I know you guys will always be together. Here's to many more years of happiness!" He wrenches the drumstick out of Sirius's hand and holds it in the air like a make-shift champagne flute.

"Hey!" Sirius says, grabbing it back.

"Well, you're the idiot who forgot to give us drinks for your wedding," James says.

"Thank you, James," Remus says, nudging Sirius.

"Thanks, mate," Sirius says quickly, attacking his chicken drumstick once more.

oOo

It is night and Remus and Sirius are sitting on the sofa in their flat. Remus glances at the bow and arrow in the corner and laughs.

"I can't believe we stole it," he says.

"It's a good memory. From our bandit wedding."

Remus grins and leans forwards to kiss Sirius.

"I have a present for you, Rem. Only a small one."

"Oh, what is it?" Remus says excitedly. Sirius stands up and heads into the kitchen. When he returns he is holding a flowerpot with a beautiful flower in it. Remus feels ridiculous. He can't believe a flower can make him cry, but it has so much meaning to him, that it's possibly the greatest gift he's ever received.

"Oh, Sirius," Remus breaths. "You're amazing."

"I know I am," Sirius grins. "I love you."

"Forever," Remus replies, holding onto Sirius tightly.

oOo

Three Months Later...

Remus is broken. No, he feels shattered. Fragmented.

Sirius has betrayed him – betrayed everyone. He has killed James and Lily, he has killed Peter. He has just about killed Remus.

Remus wishes Sirius could be dead. It would be a better ending than knowing he's still out there rotting in an Azkaban cell.

Remus loves him.

This angers him. He slams his fist down on the table and it doesn't even hurt. Nothing can hurt compared to what Sirius has done.

What happened to forever?

What happened to always?

What happened to their love?

The flowerpot sits on the table in front of Remus and anger bubbles up inside him like a volcano about to erupt. The very sight of it makes him feel sick. He hates it. It reminds him of Sirius.

He reaches out for the bow and arrow in the corner of the room, and shakily lifts it so that the arrow is aimed towards the flowerpot.

In less than five seconds, Remus's hand lets go of the arrow, it flies through the room and hits the flowerpot squarely in the centre.

A crack appears, and then all of a sudden a mass of shattered earthenware and soil is all over the table and Remus feels triumphant.

But the pain lingers. He stares at the mangled flower that once resembled his and Sirius's love, and a tear rolls down his cheek.

Like the flower, his love for Sirius will die. His heart is already shattered – it is only a matter of time.

Remus walks away, not bothering to clean up the mess.

oOo The End oOo