Chapter One

The sun beat down on Marlene as she packed the dirt on top of her last Shrivelfig and wiped her dirt stained gloves off on her jeans. It was an unusually warm November, though the crisp breeze that hit her reminded Marlene that it was in fact fall. She threw her shovel and rake into an empty pot and walked out of her tiny greenhouse into the yard. A breeze caught her as she let the clip out of her curly blonde hair and wiped the sweat beads from her forehead. Across the yard she watched as her apricot and white cat Grimes chased after a garden mouse. The late August heat was unusual for Ottery St Catchpole and Marlene felt as though summer might never end.

She left her garden clogs at the door as she stepped inside the small cottage and poured herself a tall glass of iced tea. The house was almost completely silent except for the muffled sounds of Sirius talking to Albus behind his closed off office door. Marlene rarely ever knew what the two of them spent hours talking to in secrecy, but she rarely brought it up to Sirius, never trying to pry further than she should.

Marlene enjoyed a cold shower, running the dirt from her time in the garden off her and down the drain. Her nose was slightly burnt from the warm, toasty sun- giving her usually ivory skin a tinge of warmth. She had been spending every last moment of warm weather in her garden pruning and preparing for the impending frost. Once out she frantically ran about the bedroom, trying to get ready for the evening.

"Sirius Black! Where are you?" Marlene's voice carried through the empty cottage as she stumbled about with only one of her heels on. Sirius' office door was ajar, but he was nowhere to be found. Her bridesmaid's dress was unzipped in the back and she had only one of her heels on as she attempted to find her favorite beaded clutch among the clutter of their home. "We need to leave Sirius! We need to leave now!"

The house shook just a little bit and the chandelier started swinging from side to side as Sirius apparated into the living room. Marlene ran into the room after him, raging with anger, wondering where he could have possibly escaped to all day long. "Marlene… don't yell at me… I escorted Albus over to Molly and Arthur's. I'm ready to go." Marlene surveyed his outfit. Stained white collared shirt, wrinkled pants, and a suit jacket with holes in the elbows. She shook her head disapprovingly.

"I would hardly call that ready to go Sirius Arcturus Black. Please go put the suit that I pressed on. I can't be seen with someone who looks practically homeless." She pointed up the stairs with her wand, "Come on, up with you. We haven't got all day now. You would think for a wizard who comes from money you would dress a little better!"

Sirius trudged up the stairs while moaning under his breath and Marlene smirked, proud of herself. She located her other shoe underneath the couch and slipped it on, finally balancing out, and poked her matching earing through the opposite lobe. "Accio clutch", she called into the vastness of the room and out from under a sofa cushion came the clutch, zooming to her. "I love magic", she remarked out loud to herself.

"Hm?" Sirius asked as he came galloping back down the stairs. His facial hair was trimmed up and his curly locks looked tamed. Marlene surveyed him, thinking that he was the most handsome man she ever laid eyes on. "You look stunning my darling." Marlene spun opposite him, exposing her unzipped dress and bare back. He took a moment to trail his fingers softly up her spine causing all her tiny hairs on her back to stand straight up before zipping the dress and placing a kiss at the nape of her neck. She spun around again and planted a kiss firmly on his lips, staining him with red lipstick. He eyed the clock and leaned in for another kiss as he wrapped his arms around her, but she pushed him away playfully. "Oh, come on Marls, you can't look that good and expect me to behave myself."

"Well, I am. And you must." She took his arm and the pair spun out of the house and landed in the narthex of the chapel. It was quiet, with only a small crowd in attendance. Some of Lily's muggle relatives were scurrying about, making a fuss. "Oh I totally love all of Lily's muggle relatives. Reminds me of my dad's side, totally bonkers people." Marlene said a quick goodbye to Sirius, pecking him on the cheek, and then headed in pursuit of the bride.

As she entered the bridal suite both Emmeline and Lily were sitting in silent thought. Emmeline sat on a wooden table observing Lily in her wedding dress, looking perplexed. "What's going on? Why are you both so quiet?" Marlene asked as she closed the door behind her.

"Something is wrong with Lily's dress and I can't quite figure it out." Emmeline stated as she motioned for Lily to spin around. Obliging her Lily spun around and faced Marlene. Her tiny frame was being swallowed up by a mound of frilly white fabric.

"Oh my god, you look like a sponge cake all done up for tea Lily. Who let you buy that thing?" Marlene shut the door behind her and whipped out her wand flicking away yards of fabric. When she was done Lily was left in a simple shift dress looking much more like herself. Lily was an effortless beauty, her long wavy brown hair was draped around her shoulders and she barely had a bit of makeup on her flawless skin. It was no wonder James loved her so much.

The music from the violin and choir starting signaled to the ladies that they needed to make it out to the chapel. They gathered their dresses in their hands and ran back out into the empty lobby. All of the guests had taken their seats and the music was going. The church secretary stood at the door with a clipboard, "Oh there you are! Heavens I thought you'd be late to your own wedding Lily." She lined up Emmeline first, followed by Marlene, and then the stunning bride. The violin played more rapidly and Marlene gave a nervous Emmeline a push down the aisle. It was her first week back in London after abruptly moving away and Lily had thought it would be a good idea for her to be a bridesmaid, despite the protests from Marlene and Sirius.

Marlene started her walk down the aisle, maintaining eye contact with Sirius the entire time. He gave her a devilish grin and mouthed something profane to her which made her giggle a bit and misstep. She took her place to the left of Emmeline and watched Lily transcend down the aisle. James had a twinkle and glisten in his eye looking at his beautiful bride.

The church wedding had been Lily's idea, a final request of her late mother's, and James was all too happy to oblige her. Their vows were simple, but elegantly put, and there was hardly a dry eye in the entire room. Even Sirius, a man on a crusade against marriage, was sniffling softly into a handkerchief.

James and Lily shared a wonderful first kiss as husband and wife and ran down the aisle smiling and laughing as their friends threw rice and shouted well wishes. Marlene grabbed Sirius's arm and skipped alongside him out the doors of the church.

The reception was held in the upstairs space of one of Lily and James' favorite pubs. It was even a smaller affair than the church ceremony, with all of Lily's muggle family and friends not in attendance. James' parents sat at a table with a small group of their friends watching all of the kids dance and have fun. Marlene wrapped her arms lovingly around Sirius as they swayed to the music from the live band, "It was a beautiful wedding, don't you think?" Marlene whispered in Sirius' ear as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"I think everything went smoothly. Remus and Emmeline managed to get along just fine. It was exactly as they had hoped it would be. A wedding fit for ordinary muggles."

"This could be us someday, when the war is over and the world is at peace again."

"I just don't need this giant display to prove to myself or anyone that I love you Marlene. I just do love you. Plain and simple."

"So we're never to have a family or anything? We just die alone together with no commitment?"

"I'm not saying that."

"I don't want to argue about this, at least not now, I'm sorry I brought it up." Sirius trailed his hands from her waist further down her back and she leaned into him, almost forgetting she was extremely angry with him. "Shall we have a bit of fun?"

"Marlene...what do you have in mind?" She grabbed his hand weaving him through the dancing people having fun.

"I don't think I want to wait until we are home, Sirius Black." Sirius led her between two long racks of coats and then dropped to his knees raising her lacy dress inch by inch up her legs, trailing kisses as he went. Marlene's head dipped back and she sighed with anticipation. He was far more experienced and worldly than her, while at school Sirius had managed to snog half of the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff dormitory, but Marlene loved him anyways. He opened her world up, made her crave adventure, and she completely flourished once they had gotten together. Sirius stood up again and kissed her full, pouty lips. The red lipstick had become a Marlene signature and he loved making a mess of it. He pushed her up against the wall and gathered her dress about her waist. Marlene was fumbling around with the zipper on his pants still kissing him passionately as she tried time and time again to loosen the button on his slacks.

Sirius unhooked his own trousers in an instant and picked her up so that their waists met and Marlene cried out has he thrust into her. "Shhhh…." Sirius covered her mouth forcefully with one hand. He went quicker and quicker until he himself cried out and his knees buckled. They both fell to the floor panting and giggling. "This is why I love you Marlene, you're spontaneous and full of life, is a wedding ring really going to change that?"

"I suppose not…" Marlene searched around in the dark and couldn't seem to locate her underwear anywhere and eventually sighed and gave up, thinking it would give some poor aunt of James' a great big surprise at the end of the evening. "Does my hair look okay?" She asked Sirius as the tried to tame her curls that were sticking up in each direction.

"Your hair looks amazing Marls. You look amazing. I know you weren't enthralled about the lavender dresses, but color suits you." Sirius buckled himself back up and straightened out his tie. Marlene much preferred him looking a little more disheveled and in his typical corduroy jackets with the patched-up elbows. They both looked like they were playing parts in the wedding that they didn't quite fit.

Marlene and Sirius walked out of the coat room and caught James ordering drinks at the bar, "Where have the two of you been?", he asked as they walked by. Marlene looked nervously at the floor and giggled. "Bloody hell Sirius, it's my wedding night, I'm the one supposed to be having that kind of fun."

"I couldn't find my clutch, Sirius was just helping me locate it." Marlene held up her beaded gold clutch and laughed awkwardly before running off to find Emmeline and Lily.

"I don't know why you won't just marry her Sirius, honest, where will you ever find someone who puts up with you the way she does? Think of all the trouble you gave her at school and she still wanted to be with you. It's a miracle, really." James shook his head disapprovingly at Sirius and rolled his eyes.

"I love her, of course, but I just don't think we need all this to prove it. Besides, we're only kids James. We just left school. There is so much left to see in this world. What we did in the coat check room", Sirius paused and gave James a devilish wink, "that was more proving of our love than anything."

"Sex is not love mate. Get that through your thick skull." James patted him on the back and grabbed his drinks. He walked away in search of his bride leaving Sirius to contemplate alone at the bar.