Naturally, the ceremony had been beautiful. It had taken place outside, on a beautiful cliffside with the sound of the ocean setting the atmosphere and the bloody beautiful couple with their beautiful vows, and by the time they had filtered into the Manor House for the reception, Mary thought she might have to knock herself unconscious and hope she lost all memory of it.
Instead of taking that approach, she managed to knock back the rest of her drink and excuse herself for a moment. She had slipped quietly out of one of the many doors half-way through the disco so she could get a minute to herself to wallow in self-pity. The last thing she'd seen was James and Lily laughing heartily over something Mrs Evans had said and she couldn't take it anymore. The gentle flush of Lily’s cheeks, the way a few strands of hair had come loose from her floral hairpiece and fallen into her face, the way she looked at her husband, it had all become too much. She stepped away from the sound of music and chatter in search of a secluded corner near where the ceremony had taken place.
Eventually, she found herself just a few meters from the edge of the cliff, the fairy lights adorning the whole place keeping her far enough that she wouldn't get too close. It was only when she turned around to walk back towards the manor that she noticed the small figure sat on the ground with his back leant against one side of the arch by the altar. In further inspection, she was able to identify the man as Regulus Black, Sirius’ brother whom none of them had ever truly expected to attend the wedding.
When Lily had added his name to the invitation list, Mary was certain it had been done as some sort of formality. Just to tick it off the list as them showing inclusivity to people Sirius cares about or something. But clearly he had deemed the event important enough to attend, even if he was now slouched on the ground outside with his fist clenched around a very large bottle of champagne that he must have nicked from one of the reception tables when nobody was looking.
He seemed to notice her a few seconds later, nodding at her lazily, the lack of manners giving away his current state.
“MacDonald.” He grumbled.
“Black,” She responded. “I just…needed some air.” Mary didn't know why she felt the need to justify herself to him, but after saying it, she realised just how suspicious it had made her sound. Now it was clear something was wrong with her.
Almost as if he'd heard her thoughts, Black laughed. Not a warm, bright laugh like Lily, a cold, harsh one, like he thought her excuse was pathetic. With a roll of his eyes, Regulus held out the bottle for her to take. Mary wrinkled her nose a little.
“I don't drink away my problems,” She mumbled, crossing her arms and looking down at him stubbornly despite the fact she had technically been doing just that indoors only minutes ago.
“Neither do I but according to Sirius the lovely groom spent a grand on this shit in total so we really can't let any of it go to waste.” He took another sip and then held up the bottle again. This time, Mary took it and took a few gentle sips, lowering herself to the ground next to him as she did. Her side pressed against the other side of the arch and they were close enough that she could feel the warmth of his body through her cardigan.
“Oh wow, this is the good stuff.”
“You really think I'd be drinking it if it wasn't?”
Mary laughed and shook her head. “Posh knob. Nice spot you've found, though.” They fell silent for a while and then she let her head fall back against the wooden frame, turning to face him tiredly. “Why did I come here?”
“Is that a rhetorical question or do you want an answer?” Mary didn't respond. “I would take a wild guess and assume that it's the same reason I came here.”
Mary laughed at that, loudly breaking the peaceful atmosphere for a few moments before falling quiet again as she found it in herself to respond. She pushed the bottle back onto his hands with a shake of her head and sad smile.
“No, I really don't think it is. Trust me.”
In response he shot her a deadpan look that seemed to say 'I know more than you’. After a few seconds the penny dropped and Mary was gawping right in his face. Rude, sure, but she didn't really have it in her to care that night.
“Yo- really?” He shrugged and turned back to the sky. “God, what are the chances of that, hm?” She giggled to herself, more out of self-pity than genuine humour. “Look at the two of us.” She continued to laugh, not noticing her company grow increasingly more agitated. "Sad."
“I should never have mentioned it,” Regulus grumbled into the mouth of the bottle.
“No, no,” She reached out to grip onto his arm, the champagne sloshing around in the bottle as she moved. “I'm not judging, just…shocked.” He hummed absently. "James, huh?" Regulus nodded stiffly. She sniffed a bit and took the opportunity to pry while he was tipsy enough to give her answers. “Did you two ever…?”
Regulus nodded slowly. “Yes. About two years. Back in school.” His tone was clipped but it did nothing to dissuade Mary from asking questions.
“Two years? Shit, I'm sorry. Are you alright?"
“It's fine, it wasn't that big a deal, he's clearly been able to move on from it pretty easily.”
“Did you?” She asked, though she already knew the answer. He looked at her with a deadpan expression and she laughed bitterly, nodding in understanding. “Yeah, yeah no, I get it.”
For a while, the two of them fell back into an odd silence, passing the bottle back between them at intervals. It was running out rather quickly. Eventually it was Regulus who spoke first.
“So, did you and Evans-?” He trailed off to leave her to fill in the blank herself and respond.
Mary sighed, taking a second to consider her answer. She felt a little more relaxed now, and couldn't help herself from blurting out everything.
“Honestly? I don't know. We…twelve years of friendship and she never even looked at me. I spent the whole time waiting and hoping and she just…we kissed once.” It was something she had never mentioned to anybody before, not even to Marlene, who she'd promised to share all of her secrets with. But here she was, telling Regulus Black of all people. “She was heartbroken. She dated this boy back in school, Joshua, he was awful. He never treated her right and one day it all came crashing down. She used to go to the courtyard whenever she was upset and she didn't come back when she usually did so I went looking for her. I found her sitting in the mud crying her eyes out. She never cried, that's how I knew something was really wrong. She told me what happened then she just…kissed me?”
Regulus watched her silently as she relived the memory, listening carefully to every word she said as if he understood just how take was feeling. She'd never felt that way near someone before. Completely seen.
“It was out of sadness, I was comforting her and she must have just acted on instinct. I don't even think she remembers it, she was so exhausted she passed out the second we got back to our room and we never mentioned it again after that. Or maybe it just wasn't a big deal to her, I don't know. Doesnt really matter now anyways, does it? She's gotten hitched now.”
He nodded solemnly and reached out a hand, pressing it over hers in a gesture so soft nobody would believe it if she told them it had happened. It was a token of understanding, of acknowledgment of her pain. It was almost friendly, if she thought Regulus Black was capable of making friends.
“You know what I think?” He asked. Mary hummed in question and he shuffled around on the spot, making himself comfortable. After a few beats he continued, placing the almost empty bottle down on the floor with a soft clinking sound.
“She's clearly incapable of seeing what's in front of her,” Sober, such kind reassurances would never come sighing a mile of leaving his mouth, but drunk Regulus had a way of breaking all his typical rules. He rushed to explain himself. “I mean, you are very clearly beautiful. You really do not need to be attracted to women to see that. She is missing out on a lot by not giving you a chance.”
“That's your ex you're talking shit about, Black.” Mary teased, fighting back the waver in her voice. He ignored her.
“You could have anyone.” He finished, still looking out at the night sky with a slightly dazed expression.
“I know.” The admission wasn't out of a place of arrogance, Mary knew she caught a lot of eyes wherever she went, she just didn't really care for any of them. “I don't want anyone.”
“You want her.” Mary nodded, closing her eyes to keep the pathetic tears from falling. “I get that.”
“I assume I'm not getting any long, depressing explanations from you.” Mary stretched out her arms in front of her, hearing them crack. Black shrugged. He did that a lot, she noted.
“There's not much to tell.” Mary doubted that greatly. “We were fine for a long time, then we just started to drift, then it just happened.” It was very clear that was all she was going to get, so she resigned to nodding and not pushing any further.
“I'm sorry.” She whispered, finding that she truly meant it.
“Me too.” The words were almost swallowed by the sound of the waves below, but Mary heard them nonetheless.
A beat, Mary picked up the bottle for one last sip.
“They're such a beautiful couple.” She sighed, sounding equally jealous and happy for them.
“They are.”
"They'll be good for each other, I think. I can see it."
"They will," Regulus agreed. "They look so happy together all the time. I'm assuming that's a good sign."
Mary nodded silently. They sat and waited for something to happen. For someone to move first.
With a small sniffle and a heavy sigh, Mary placed the bottle back between them, pushed herself up from the ground, and reached down to ruffle his hair a bit.
“Alright, I'm going back in before they notice I'm missing. Have fun moping, Black. I hope you find someone one day.” And, before waiting for his response, she went back inside, the music and laughter immediately smothering her broken heart in an uncomfortable warmth. But for the rest of the night, she couldn't help but wonder whether it had just made her a friend.