The warm sunshine filtered in through the small cracks of the curtains that were pulled shut, into the bedroom of Lily Evans; upon the bed in a tangle of limbs and a mess of blonde, brown and red hair laid Lily Evans herself with Marlene McKinnon and Hestia Jones. They had passed out after a giggly night in which they'd ate too many Muggle snacks and had too much of Lily's favourite Muggle drink – tequila. The girls had spent the night gossiping about their past (extremely eventful) year at Hogwarts and flicking through the latest edition of Witch Weekly magazine. Lily stirred as she felt the sunshine dancing across her shut eyes, enticing them open. Hestia's legs were tangled with hers and Marlene's head was sleeping peacefully on Lily's stomach, golden hair splayed in a beautiful halo around her. Lily smiled at her sleeping friends – they never looked this peaceful and suddenly she started to feel ripples of excitement as she thought about the day they were going to have. Today was to be the wedding of Frank Longbottom and Alice Prewett; Frank and Alice had been their friends in the year above, they had been Head Girl and Boy last year and therefore worked closely with Lily who had been a Prefect. They were to Lily, like an older brother and sister and she couldn't be happier for them, she had never seen two people more in love, except maybe Remus and Marls who had finally got their act together at the end of sixth year and became Hogwart's hottest new couple.
Lily nudged Tia, who stirred and moaned sleepily at Lily to leave her alone. Lily nudged Marls who opened up her sapphire blue eyes and gave Lily the deepest look of loathing: "what" she snapped. She really was not a morning person.
"Come on you lazy cows! We need to start getting ready for today, I want to look perfect."
"James is still going to worship the ground you work on, even if you turn up looking as rough as a mountain troll." Marlene remarked as she proceeded to kick Tia's bottom to get her to wake up properly, feeling it was unfair that Tia got to sleep on while she didn't.
"Shut it you" Lily retorted, blushing as she thought of James Stupid Potter and his stupid beautiful grin and his eyes which looked at her and made her feel all kinds of stupid ways she knew she shouldn't. He was also going to be at the wedding along with the rest of the Marauders as they had been quite close to Frank, who always seemed to look the other way when they were up to their usual mischief. Lily's stomach swooped when she thought about how good he would look in a Muggle suit and couldn't help smiling when she thought how good he would look out of it too.
Lily had to stop and refocus herself from having those kind of thoughts about James Potter, she had spent a long time (5 years to be exact) hating the crap out of Potter until the day of their Defence Against the Dark Arts O.W.L exam when Severus Snape who had been her oldest friend, called her a Mudblood. Potter sought her out after it all happened and spent the evening trying to comfort her; he took her down to the kitchens and got her ice cream and later Sirius joined them and they played Muggle card games which Lily taught them, and the boys found fascinating. After that night Lily's friends became combined with the Marauders and Lily found how much she enjoyed their company: there was never a dull moment and conversation never had to be forced, it simply flowed. Over the last two years Lily spent more and more time with James, and although he still asked her out relentlessly he had also made the effort to become her friend; he walked her to classes and she helped him with his homework, and he took her to see all the amazing spots around the castle, and took her flying and Lily could finally see that the attraction between them was more than just physical. She shivered with excitement as she thought about seeing him later that day.
The girls eventually hauled themselves out of bed and begrudgingly followed Lily downstairs and into the kitchen where Mrs Evans had laid out plates of chocolate chip pancakes, fruit and a large jug of fresh orange juice. The girls entered the kitchen expecting to see Mr and Mrs Evans and maybe Petunia if she hadn't already left for work, so they were very surprised to see Sirius Black sitting in Lily's chair at the breakfast table laughing jovially at a joke Mr Evans had just told, looking dazzling in a black Muggle suit with a crisp white shirt and black bow tie.
"Black!" Lily exclaimed,
"Red! How's my favourite flower?" he grinned back eyeing up the three girls up and down in their current state of undress as they stood all three barefoot in the kitchen wearing very skimpy vests and shorts.
"What in Godric's name are you doing here?" Hestia laughed as he got up and pulled the three girls into a bear hug.
"Well Dumbledore thought it would be best if someone came to escort you girls to the wedding, James and Remus will be along later, I came early to scope everything out and set up the Portkey Dumbledore provided." He said signalling towards the empty plastic bottle which sat atop the kitchen counter.
"Why do we need to be escorted?" Lily asked, internally freaking out over the fact that James Potter was soon going to be in her house, meeting her parents.
"Well, things are getting a bit heated and this wedding is meant to be a target, some of the biggest blood traitors such as the Weasleys and Potter's will be attending; you girls need to get there and back safely so me, Moony and Prongs volunteered, just doing our bit you know," he said winking at Tia as he stared openly down her top, she responded by throwing a blueberry at him which he skilfully caught in his mouth.
Lily and Marlene looked at each other, the worry mirrored in both their eyes, emeralds meeting sapphires. "Things are really that bad?"
Sirius came and put his arm around Lily, pulling her towards the breakfast table where she sat down next to her dad after kissing him on the cheek. "Don't worry Lils, we're just taking precautions, nothing is going to ruin today," he beamed at her and just like that she felt more at ease. Sirius, scoundrel that he may be would never lie to Lily and his presence and the thought of James being there later was enough to appease Lily.
They all sat down around the table and Mrs Evans came through holding waffles covered in maple syrup and placed them in front of Sirius,
"Right girls, if you need any help getting ready let me know, me and your father are going to be in the garden sorting out my rose bushes." She beamed at them pushing her auburn hair out of her eyes.
"We are?" asked Mr Evans sheepishly.
"We are indeed, honey," Mrs Evans replied giving him a menacing stare and pulling him away from Sirius and the girls and into the garden.
Lily laughed, and remarked "he never can say no to her,"
"Kind of how James can never say no to you," Tia smirked.
"Ugh, why does it always have to go back to Potter?" Lily rolled her eyes but blushed all the same.
"He's really excited to be your date for today," Sirius teased.
"He is not my date! We're all going together as friends right?" Lily asked, exasperated.
"Well I'm going with Remus of course," Marlene said happily as she tucked into her pancakes, "and I think Tia and Sirius will probably go together," she said as she eyed the two who were snuggled up with each other feeding eachother bits of pancake and strawberries. "So that leaves you and James."
Sirius was getting extremely fed up and bored; he had been sitting in the Evans' front room for the best part of 3 hours waiting for the girls to get ready; they wouldn't let him stay in the room with them saying it would "ruin the surprise". He had tried to occupy himself by flicking through all the Evans' photo albums to look for horrendously embarrassing photographs of Lily, read one of Mrs Evans's Muggle magazines and even attempted to watch the Muggle box with the moving pictures that Lily called the "telly". So, he did what he always did when he was bored, he pulled out the enchanted mirror from his pocket and spoke into it,
"Prongs!"
His best friend's face appeared grinning up at him in place of his reflection in the mirror.
"Padfoot, how's my Lilyflower?" James Potter beamed.
"Don't you worry Jamesie I am taking very good care of her!" Sirius winked.
"I will hurt you."
"Tell Moony, Marls is in good hands too."
"Do you really want to cross him this close to the full moon?" laughed James.
"What's life without a little danger?"
"What do you want?" asked James drily.
"I'm bored. The girls have been getting ready for bloody ages. When are you guys getting here? Scrap that – just get here. Now."
"Nah I think I'll take my time, thanks."
"Lily is probably naked in her room right now."
"I'm on my way."
James disappeared from the mirror and next thing Sirius knew there was a knock on the door and he was swinging it open to let his two best friends into the Evans' household.
James looked around the place where Lily had grown up, trying to take everything in. It was a beautiful home with French panelled windows and doors, glossy hardwood flooring, rich carpets and rugs, heavy draping curtains and fresh flowers dotted about the place. There were many pictures of Lily on the wall, some of her as a child in which she looked positively angelic. There were also many pictures of Lily's older sister, Petunia who was very thin, blonde and nothing at all like Lily.
"Where's Lily?" James asked.
"Calm down Romeo, she's in the room with the other girls. We're not allowed up there." Sirius rolled his eyes at his friend; it was common knowledge in Hogwarts that James had been in love with Lily for the last seven years, ever since he saw her on the Hogwarts Express and told Remus and Sirius that she would be his wife someday.
"She won't mind me popping in to say hi,"
"She will actually, she will decapitate you. Just let them do their thing and keep me company."
Sirius led them into the front room where they sprawled out on the sofas: the three golden boys of Hogwarts. All three of them had a reputation for being flirty, charmers with amazing grades but also for being three of the biggest troublemakers Hogwarts had ever seen. Remus had rugged good looks and a quiet charm, but also an underlying vulnerability. Sirius had aristocratic features and a massive ego, but he also had a softer side that was usually reserved for the people he was closest to. James was the hero, with his sparkling hazel eyes and noble attitude, and incredible Quidditch skills – he was the most popular boy at school.
"Prongs?"
"Padfoot?"
"Is today the day?"
"Hopefully."
"What makes you think she's going to say yes this time around when she hasn't done in the last few years?" Remus asked.
James grimaced, "cheers for the support Moony."
"Just keeping it real Jamesie."
"No but really, what's the master plan? Have you hired out an orchestra or some other extravagant romantic gesture, which we know you have been privy to in the past?" Sirius said.
"Nope. No gestures. Just me being honest, I'm just going to tell her how I really feel about her. And ask her to be my girlfriend. And that will be all."
"Baring your soul to her?" Remus said, impressed.
"Something like that." James smiled with a grim determination.
"Good luck mate." Sirius and Remus said in unison. And they truly meant it, any person could see how good Lily and James would be together, however there always seemed to be something holding Lily back.
The boys heard the girls giggling on the staircase, as they descended and they sprung up to meet them.
Tia came down first looking stunning as ever, in a floaty coral dress with her raven hair in soft waves framing her tanned face and her soft grey eyes lined with black makeup, her lashes thick and full. She grinned at Sirius as he wolf whistled at her and jumped into his arms as he stood at the bottom of the stairs waiting for her.
He beamed down at her, "you actually look like a lady for once."
"Thank you Black! I really tried." She laughed.
"I'm joking, you look drop dead gorgeous," he said kissing her neck. She blushed.
Marlene came down after her, her eyes fixated on Remus as she descended. She was wearing a beautifully made floor-length dress in an ocean blue, her hair in a blonde curly mass upon her head, with a few curly tendrils around her face. She glowed as she stepped into Remus' arms and he looked radiant to have her with him.
Lily was the last to come down the stairs and found she couldn't look James in the eyes. He, however, could not take his eyes off her.
She was ethereal. Her hair seemed to glisten with every shade of red imaginable, the colours danced in the sunlight, and it fell in a magnificent waterfall of waves down her back. She was wearing a long forest green dress which hugged her torso and then flared out from the waist. She was wearing a light layer of makeup, the smattering of freckles across her nose were still visible. Her high cheekbones, alabaster skin and full lips which were currently covered in gloss added to her beauty. However, the thing James found most enticing about her was her eyes, they were like a million emeralds had been crushed and placed in her irises, James had never seen anything like them before, and he found himself getting lost in them regularly. Today they were framed by her mascara covered lashes which made them look even bigger. James gulped, as she approached him and finally met his eyes.
He grinned down at her. "Hey, you."
"Hey, yourself" she smiled. James' stomach did a somersault. He leaned down and whispered to her,
"You look incredible do you know that?"
She blushed. "You don't look so bad yourself."
"Evans, was that a compliment?"
She laughed, "Almost?"
"Erm, if you two are quite done eye-fucking we need to get going soon."Sirius said crassly.
"You're right." Lily said. "Let me just say bye to my parents," And made her way towards the garden with the rest of her friends trailing behind her.
Marie and John Evans were in the middle of the flowerbed pruning the rose bushes, laughing at something or the other when they were approached by their daughter and her friends.
"Oh my! Well don't you all look amazing! Lily, sweetheart you look beautiful." Marie said, beaming with pride at her youngest.
Mr Evans eyed up James who was standing behind her and assumed him to be her date. "Don't believe we've met before," he said in his sternest voice to James and Lily rolled her eyes at the thought of her dad putting on the tough guy act to scare James away.
"No sir, James Potter, pleased to meet you." James said, springing forward and shaking hands with Marie and John.
"Mum, Dad, we really have to get going now," Lily rushed kissing her parents goodbye.
"Okay darling, be safe and James, Sirius, Remus, come back soon! You're always welcome!"
"Your mum is so cute." James said to Lily grinning at her embarrassment as they made their way towards the portkey in the kitchen.
"She seems cute. She can really be terrifying though. So you know, don't cross her. Or her daughter." Lily warned cheekily grinning back at James as they all placed their fingers on the empty plastic bottle.
He whispered into her ear as they felt the familiar pulling sensation at the navel, "Oh, I intend to."