Freedom Lost

[Larissa Sedgwick]

The sun was only just rising up to warm the blue morning sky, though the day was hardly destined to reach a much higher temperature. October seemed to have arrived quicker than anticipated, and now that it was almost at an end, November looming just around the corner, the weather would only grow colder. But for the blue-eyed bride-to-be, staring from the open window of her temporary accommodation, the icier the weather outside, the better. Anything to take her mind off of the day's events.

Somewhere in the distance, a clock chimed. In four hours time, Larissa Sedgwick would be married. In four hours time, her entire world would shift. In four hours time, there would be no going back. She had made a point to invite as few people as was appropriate. Larissa did not want those she had once known to see her wed the man she had never even dated. She did not wish to disclose her reasons for the saying yes to him. Spite had been the only thing to fuel her onwards, but she knew that, given the chance, her heart could flip in the space of a millisecond.

Pulling herself away from the window's view, Larissa found herself standing before the mirror: Her hair floated down her shoulders in great shining waves, her cheeks were a delicate blush, and her lips were a most innocent shade of pink. And though the part-veela shone in beauty, she was still not happy. Oh, she looked beautiful, alright, but the heart inside that elegant shell, did not beat for whom it should. Larissa had spent the previous night, and many before it, alone within the confines of this room. She had been staying in the house of an elderly witch who allowed all young witches and wizards to stay.

Another ten minutes ticked by. Larissa decided it was time to slip into her dress. It was the plainest and least expensive thing she could convince Andrew's family to buy. The Spinnett family had been rather pleasant, and eager to embrace Larissa as a new member of the family. But Larissa felt guilty for even meeting them. She wasn't even wholly sure she would make it to the ceremony, which was to be held in a large field, several miles away.

The clock gave another chime. Larissa's stomach lurched. Three hours to go..

 

[Andrew Sedgwick]

Andrew smoothed down his hair for the fifth time, that morning. A large lump had seized control of his throat, and he had struggled to so much as speak to anyone as he reached the table for a painfully early breakfast. His father had obviously noticed just how nervous Andrew was, and it came as no surprise. He smiled to his son, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It'll be okay," his father nodded, giving Andrew's shoulder a small pat, "I was like this when I married your mother." The two of them instinctively glanced in Mrs. Spinnett's direction, watching her gather their plates as she hummed cheerily to herself.

If only he could have felt as calm about the day as everyone else seemed to. It would not just be his wedding day, but also the day he and Larissa were due to move in together. His fiancée had seemed very keen on living separately until after the wedding, and though he had convinced Larissa to stay at the Spinnett home for a few days, she had only remained there until finding 'more appropriate' accommodation. To Andrew, it was all becoming so obvious, and his picture of Larissa's feelings for him, had grown clearer as the months had passed by. Still, if she was going marry him, then she must have believed that her feelings for him would change and grow, and that she would, in time, return his love for her.

Andrew had disappeared upstairs to put on his suit and smarten up, and as he looked in the mirror, he could tell that today was going to be a very, very special day. The clock in his room, ticked on triumphantly. It was fast nearing eight O'clock. Time to get going. A light knock on the door signaled the arrival of the best man. "Come in." Andrew called out in reply, giving his mirror-self an encouraging smile.

 

[Rodolph Murdo]

Rodolph, appropriately suited and booted for the big day, arrived at the groom's residence by broom. It was not a long journey, especially for someone like Rodolph who was only too used to speeding through the air and dodging obstacles. With a beaming smile on his face, he landed and gripped the brass knocker of the front door, before dropping it and allowing it to collide noisily with the brass plate. A woman answered, and Rodolph grinned at her, assuming her to be the groom's mother. "Hello," he said happily, glad of the opportunity to participate in a social event that was not Quidditch related, "I'm-" Mrs. Spinnett butted in with a noisy, but nonetheless upbeat, completion of his sentence. "Mr. Murdo, hello. Do come in. He's just upstairs getting ready." Rodolph was hauled inside the house, stripped of his broom- which he paused to check was being stored somewhere safe- and directed upstairs to the groom's room.

Still cheery for the day, Rodolph knocked softly on the bedroom door, feeling the wood scratch lightly against his knuckles. Upon hearing a voice replying at the other side, Rodolph turned the handle and stepped inside. "Hello," he beamed, glancing around the room to take it all in, "are you ready?" Andrew was looking at himself in the mirror. What did one normally say when it appeared that another was worried for their looks on such a vital day? Rodolph clumsily said the first words that came to his head, "You look wonderful. Like a princess." He stopped to mentally slap himself. He had had very little practice in giving words of comfort, and the practice he had been granted, was as a young man, attempting to cheer up a female friend. "I meant a prince. A right proper prince."

 

[Andrew Sedgwick]

Andrew gave Rodolph a quick flash of his teeth in a smile. He was glad that the Quidditch player had been able to make time for this event, and he was certainly grateful for it. Andrew had very few people to ask to assist in his big day, thanks to his notoriously 'goody-two-shoes' nature at school. He was a hard-working young man, and he intended to prove to Larissa that he was good enough to take care of her. Andrew turned to Rodolph, giving him a nod. "I'm ready."

---

The journey felt like it hardly even existed. Time seemed to have rearranged itself, and Andrew found a lump forming in his throat as they arrived at the field: A large, white tent had been erected in the center of the field, alongside several smaller tents. Lights were strung around the outside of the white tent, and little paper bats hung around the side, each flapping gently in the light breeze. As Andrew moved further within the scene, his family following not far behind, he could see the many tables and chairs set up within the white tent, and a clearing in the middle where the bride and groom would wed. Each table was covered with a white cloth, sprinkled with confetti black bats. It had been Larissa's idea to have a black and white wedding, and she had decided upon bats as the main theme, as it was near halloween. Andrew had agreed, wanting only to make his fiancée happy, if just for one day.

"It looks wonderful," his mother declared, picking up several pieces of confetti and examining them at close range. Rodolph just seemed happy to be there, looking this way and that. Andrew's father gave him another smile. "Not long until there'll be a new Mrs. Spinnett, eh, son?" Andrew suddenly opened his mouth to speak, "Well, actually-" but the sentence went to further as several more people arrived. One woman was well-built and rather short. She grinned at Andrew, taking him by the hand and shaking it. "Congratulations!" she squealed happily, before skipping off to hug a surprised Rodolph. Andrew looked to his parents. He had no idea who most of the people here, were. Still, the more, the merrier.

---

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[Karyna Spyridon]

Karyna had spent months- no, years, planning a way to make contact, and just when she had been giving up hope, someone had found her. And now she had been invited to the girl's wedding. At first, she had considered outright declining the invitation, not wanting to draw attention to herself, but then she had been made aware of just how alike this girl and her were. And so it was, with a scheming smile, that Karyna arrived at the wedding, quickly finding a seat in the tent to sit upon. She ignore the others present, and stared, instead, at the bat confetti on the table, sticking a piece to her cheek. Barely two minutes had passed before she gave a loud cough to make her presence known, and turned to stare at the people slowly filling up the room. "Hey," she said noisily, "is this a wedding, or not? Where's the booze?"

 

[Alex Corvus]

It was with great annoyance that Alex found himself at the wedding of the impolite, and flirty part-veela girl that Liberty would sometimes refer to as a friend. He hugged Keanu to his chest upon arrival, attempting to take hold of his wife's hand. "Let's just go," he said quietly to Libby, "the last thing you need, right now, is a fight." But Alex found his hand was soon rejected, and he attempted to hide this failure straightening his son's clothes. "I don't know why we came here in the first place." he shook his head, glancing towards the decorations and the gradually building crowd.

 

[Liberty Kaelen]

Libby rolled her eyes at her husband, though she was smiling. "She came to our wedding, so I thought I would return the favour." Admittedly, Liberty had no intention of returning the favour quite as Larissa had done at her wedding. For a start, Liberty didn't think Larissa was pregnant. As cruel hearted and devious as she was, even Larissa had some morals to follow. Besides, Liberty had the feeling that things weren't exactly as they should have been within Larissa and Andrew's relationship. "And I'm fine," Liberty stared down at her stomach. No, things were not as they should have been in many relationships.

 

[Alex Corvus]

Alex's eyebrows shot up. "'Return the favour'?! She ruined our big day!" But he could already see that all argument was futile, and he began to quieten down. Keanu began nattering away to himself. Alex kissed the top of his son's head. "I suppose we ought to find a table to sit at," he said to Liberty, leading her through the crowd and to one of the vacant tables. "I thought you said Ric was going to be here.. I could use something to laugh at."

 

[Alana Finch]

Now that the Finch family had arrived at their destination, Alana Finch decided that she no longer wished to be carried. She wasn't a baby after all. She was a big girl and didn't want anyone to get confused. "Down, Papa" the three year old commanded, squirming slightly in his arms as he gently placed her on the ground and straightened the back of her dress. Her red eyes scanned the area, looking for her Auntie L'issa, but she couldn't find her anywhere. Maybe she's hiding, Alana thought to herself as they walked on in. She loved that game very much and she was a great seeker. The family was moving a little slow for her liking, so the little girl ran a little ahead, towards the tents where the seats were, glancing back to see if her mother or father would yell at her to stop. She ran back, stopping next to her big brother and tugging on his arm several times to get his attention. "Where is L'issa?" she asked, her red eyes staring into her brother's face. She'd never been able to pronounce Larissa's name, so she'd made her own way.

 

[Ioan Finch]

As he walked along with his family, Ioan Finch watched his little girl run back and forth. At least someone is excited to be here, he thought to himself. Ioan wasn't. He didn't like weddings, finding them boring, and he especially wasn't happy to be at this one. For one, he would have much preferred to be home, in bed with his wife. It was the days before his birthday and he could think of several ways to begin celebrating. This was not one of them. For another, he hadn't even known that Larissa was dating anyone, let alone that the relationship had developed to a point that marriage was involved. Surely, the bride and groom were too young for that.

None of that mattered though, especially since Ioan knew what consequences would come from not attending the wedding. He wasn't a genius but even he knew that missing the wedding would lead to him missing out on other things. Happy wife, happy life, he reminded himself as they approached the tents. That was Ioan's motto these days and it had kept him out of a lot of trouble in recent years. Still, he couldn't help but voice his concerns. "How long will this be?" he asked his wife quietly. "At least he's a Durmstrang graduate. You did say he was a Durmy, right?" He was fairly certain he had heard Adrianne say this, hoping he wasn't wrong.

 

[Adrianne Finch]

Adrianne walked with her family, holding her son's hand as she moved. If she had been told six years ago that she would be a wife and mother of two, with connections to blood relatives, all before she was twenty-seven, Adrianne would have called the messenger of those words, a fool. But attending Larissa's wedding, the girl she often looked upon as a cousin, or a niece, of sorts, was already bringing back the swirls of memories of those early days in her own early days of 'wedded bliss'. Except, things could never go so straight forward, and Ioan had had affairs. Still, Adrianne could only hope that it would not take Larissa wielding a cleaver to convince her husband not to cheat again.

Ioan was less than pleased to be here, and Adrianne was only too aware of that factor. But she could hardly blame him when she knew how close it was to his birthday, the one day of the year where she would not allow herself to nag her husband. Adrianne tried to give her husband a smile, though it did not last for very long. "We're staying for the ceremony. And for a few minutes after." She may have had no right to, but Adrianne wanted to look out for Larissa, and, at that, she intended to make sure her new husband was of decent stock. It was too easy for a young girl's heart to get carried away in what she believed to be romance. "Yes," Adrianne nodded, giving her children a smile as they excitably went about their business, "at least he'll be as decent as you."

 

[Lorin Finch]

Lorin had fought hard against his mother, that morning, as she had attempted to get him into a child's dress robes. He had wriggled and struggled, and caused the whole process to take an extra five minutes that they really didn't have. Still, his mother's forcefulness had not been in vain, and Lorin had eventually given up, surrendering to wearing what he was given.

He had walked silently with his hand in his mother's. A silent protest to show how much she had upset him. In truth, he was overplaying it all, a little, and when the chance came to release his mother's hand and run off in search of Larissa with his sister, he was only too happy to capture it. He had never found his sister's eyes strange, even if others had, but then, he had spent all his life seeing his mother's red eyes. He found them almost comforting. Almost.

"She's probably hiding," he replied, though he stumbled a little over the larger word. He had been trying to use the biggest words he could in order to sound more intelligent. Truth be told, Lorin didn't know what several of the words even meant. "Maybe she's scared of being laughed at." Instinctively, the small boy looked to his own clothes, frowning. He looked back to his sister. They may have only been very young, but at heart, this boy was 'not a child, anymore'. "Come on," Lorin said eagerly to Alana, "let's go find her." And, without so much as a backward glance, Lorin took his sister by the hand and hurried towards the large tent, to check that Larissa wasn't hiding under any of the tables.

 

[Larissa Sedgwick]

As the final hour headed to a close, Larissa found herself fully dressed for the wedding, and seated in the horse-drawn carriage that Andrew had convinced her to ride to and from the wedding in. If she had been truly given her way, Larissa would have invited no-one, and the wedding would have been a rather small and discreet affair. Still, she might as well make the most of it. This was, after all, just the beginning of her life with Andrew.

The winged horses danced on through the sky, speeding to the wedding field. They landed gently upon the ground, standing tall and proud. Larissa stepped from the carriage. In an ideal world, her father would have stepped out with her, or even Grakul, but one was dead, and the other was in Azkaban. And so it was that Larissa Sedgwick stepped from the carriage, alone. The guests had already found their places within the white tent, but for a few late arrivals. Larissa didn't mind people being late. In fact, it suited her quite well. It would mean there were less people to witness the lie.

Larissa stood outside the tent, staring up at the sky. It groaned a light grey swarm of clouds. It was going to rain. Perhaps a heavy downpour would be just the thing to complete this spectacular day. Larissa's eyes were pale, reflecting the weather. She could run. She could just run away, right now. She didn't have to marry Andrew. She didn't have to marry anyone. She could easily spend the rest of her life alone. Was that what she wanted? No. No, it wasn't. Larissa didn't want to spend her life alone, but neither was her heart in spending it with Andrew.

And then her mind took her back. Back to those sunny afternoons, back to the fun she had been blessed with, back to the many laughs they had shared and the times they had just sat together. It was only then that it truly struck Larissa. It was only as she walked into that large white tent of people she knew, only as she walked rhythmically and calmly to where her future husband waited with an enormous, yet nervous, smile etched onto his face, that Larissa realised who it was she wanted to be with for the rest of her life. And now, as the ceremony progressed, as Larissa spoke when required, as her new husband placed the most elegant jewel upon her ring finger and drew the parchment from his pocket, from which he soon read, Larissa realised that true love had showed itself far too late.

 

[Andrew Sedgwick]

The occupants of the large white tent, lapsed into silence as the beautiful bride entered. Andrew watched his bride's approach with a giant grin. He had not been sure that she would even turn up, but here she was, marrying him. She had obviously had a change in her feelings towards him. She loved him. He was certain now that that was true. And she looked so wonderful, elegant like a rose, though equally as thorny. But of course she looked beautiful. Andrew was aware of her blood status and her heritage. He knew only too well that she could control anyone she wanted with looks like those.

They stood together in silence as the ceremony began. Andrew assumed her lack of whispered speech, or even a fleeting smile, was due to nerves, as was his case. As the ceremony went on, Andrew glanced to his bride multiple times, but she seemed not to notice. Still, she spoke when she was required to do so, and the whole thing seemed to go smoothly. The exchange of rings caused Andrew's stomach to knot. He could only hope she liked the ring he had chosen for her. She had told him not to reveal to her what he was buying, to keep it as a surprise. She did not seem to reject the ring, and Andrew could only assume this meant all was well. He had decided not to go for his mother's original suggestion of a large, fancy ring. His mother had told him just how expensive a girl this pretty would likely be, but Larissa had asked to keep the whole wedding, and its contents, as simple as possible. In fact, the person who had pointed out the far more elegant, yet somewhat, simplistic ring, had been an old friend of Larissa's. Andrew had invited the man to the wedding, but he had received no reply. He spent a moment only half-listening to the ceremony, as he attempted to recall the man's name. Rupert? No.. Ro.. Rob- Robert! That's it. He found himself smiling, glad he had a name to give Larissa should she enquire as to whom thought the ring was a good idea.

After a moment or two, Andrew gave a sudden gasp, before pulling out a piece of parchment. It was something he had written for Larissa, for at the end of the ceremony, and now he began to read it out to his new bride. His eyes glanced to his parents for just a moment, noting their smiles, though slight surprise at the change in name, for there had been only one real request from Larissa as to how the big day should go, and that was for Andrew to be the one to alter his surname. He was only too happy to oblige. It was, after all, a small price to pay for a life with Larissa.

"Larissa," Andrew began, addressing his wife, before glancing back to his parchment, "from the moment we first met at Durmstrang, I knew you were the one for me. Your beauty was, is, and always will be, astounding. You taught me that ambition can earn me my dream, and that dream was to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you, you're amazing, you're intelligent, you're a little scary at times," Andrew paused as a few people laughed. Obviously, they were only too aware of what Larissa could be like. Andrew smiled, "and that's how I know this is meant to be. That's how I know that this is love."

---

The celebratory drinks were soon broken out, and the party could begin. Andrew found his parents and began to speak to them, his wife hooked onto his arm. She was glancing around at the attendees. She nodded to a few and smiled at others, though she seemed a little fidgety. Andrew gave her a reassuring smile- which she returned, before uncoupling herself from him and walking towards two children.

---

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[Larissa Sedgwick]

The whole charade of a ceremony was, at last, over. Larissa was keen to leave at the first moment, but she knew her husband would want to talk to people. She knew it would be impolite to just run off. Instead, Larissa ducked away from many people, to the place where her 'niece' and 'nephew' stood. She was always happy to see Lorin and Alana. They were raised in the right manner. "Wow, Lorin, you've grown!" she offered him a bright smile, the most realistic emotion she had shown, so far that day. "You'll be taller than me, soon." Adrianne was stood nearby, smiling to Larissa. Larissa had admiration for this woman, this witch who had managed to raise two children, while keeping her husband in line. She turned to little Alana, scooping her up and holding her out at arms length. "You've grown, too," Larissa grinned, before setting the little girl back down, "have you two been mixing growth potions, or something?" Generally speaking, Larissa hated kids, but when it came to Lorin and Alana- the little girl who shared her mother's eyes, she loved them, and there was no being more cheery to see.

 

[Alana Finch]

The ceremony had been boring. Alana had wanted to run off and play a number of times, but one look from her mother had stilled her. When it was at last over, Alana had clapped her chubby hands along with everyone else even though she didn't really know why she was clapping. Maybe Larissa had answered a question with the right answer.

It wasn't long before Larissa came to them. "Ooh...pwetty" Alana lisped, clapping again since she thought that was what she was supposed to do. She allowed herself to get scooped up by her favorite person and smiled, her red eyes taking in a face that looked sort of like her mother's except without the red eyes. She nodded her head at the question even though she didn't understand at all what it meant, and when she was placed back at the ground, she spoke. "Wanna play?" she asked, her red eyes looking up at Larissa expectantly. She had no idea that now might not be an appropriate time for that, or that the woman might not want to play.

 

[Larissa Sedgwick]

Larissa couldn't help but smile at the clapping child, and then her wish to play. If only life could be that simple, again. Larissa could still remember the days when her and Liberty had played by the lake at Hogwarts. She could still remember the days when she was reckless, day and night. She could still remember the days when she journeyed the school at night with Liberty and Robert. And, though she dare not admit it, she somewhat missed those days. Sadly, Larissa didn't have time to play, and she looked to little Lorin, watching his pleading eyes. It couldn't have been fun for the children to be here, but Larissa had prepared for this very possibility. She shook her head, "I'm sorry," she said, casting a glance over at her husband, "I can't play right now.. But I did get you two something." She smiled and turned on her heel to look over at the table of wedding presents. She summoned two over, and handed them to the children.

She may not have been the most giving of people, but Larissa was more than happy to give to the Finch family. The children were correctly raised, and though she doubted Ioan was entirely fond of her, Larissa found him entertaining through Adrianne's letters. She could only hope that Lorin liked his new book- One Larissa had bought on a village weekend while at Durmstrang, a children's one about a man who tamed the deadliest of dragons. She had noticed the heavy, if surprisingly subtle, underlying theme of muggles being weak compared to wizards and witches, and she could only approve. Larissa also hoped that Alana would enjoy her new present- a miniature model of a Peruvian Vipertooth. The little moving creature could breath fire and pace around the room. She had nothing against Lorin, but Larissa knew what it was like to have an older brother, and this gift would be perfect for winding him up.

Larissa felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned, regardless of the fact she knew exactly who it was. She smiled in the most convincing manner, possible.

 

[Andrew Sedgwick]

Andrew gave Larissa a great smile. He had a surprise in store for her, too. "Come on," he said to his beautiful wife, "it's time to leave. Let the others finish the party, themselves. There's something I wanted to tell you." Andrew began to lead his wife from the tent and, to his surprise, she came willingly. They were outside in moments, and he beamed at her, before indicating to the carriage she had arrived in. "Let's slip away before anyway notices." This didn't sound like typical Andrew behaviour but, in fact, it was. His parents already knew what the surprise was, and it was his father who had convinced him to drag Larissa from the party, to whisk her away. Once again, Larissa surprised her husband by following him into the carriage, once inside, however, he owed her an explanation. "Now, I know you said not to," he began as the carriage gave a jolt to take off, "but you only marry once- well, hopefully!" He gave a slightly nervous laugh, "And that's why I went against what you said and organised a little something.. More specifically, a honeymoon." He waited for the gasp of excitement, the grin, something. Still, the raised eyebrows and slight look of disapproval, was at least something to go by.

The carriage continued on its journey. "Don't worry, I've packed everything we need, and when we get back, we'll be taken directly to our new home." He smiled at Larissa. Now she seemed to show some happier emotion, even if it was somewhat distant. Only Andrew knew what their residence-to-be, looked like, and that was yet another surprise for Larissa to uncover. For now, Andrew felt it the right time to divulge the location of their honeymoon. "Now, I wasn't sure where you would want to go, so I contacted some old friends of yours," Robert, he thought to himself. That man had been a life saver, "and it was suggested that, perhaps, you were still fond of Egypt." He looked hopefully to his wife, and, for once, he was not disappointed. She looked to him, and she smiled.

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