MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING

CHAPTER 1: A Visitor

It all started three weeks ago. It was three weeks ago that I was forced into this mess and now I'm crawling around in the dark trying to find my way out. Perhaps I should explain my dilemma to you. But where to start? Where to start?

Let me first introduce myself. My name is James Potter and, up until three weeks ago, at least, I was a fee-wheeling bachelor just looking for a good time. I'm training to be an Auror right now, which takes up a lot of my time, but the rest of my time I spend out in the town looking for the right girl to take home. Some people call me a "womanizer" but I don't think of myself as that. I just want to have fun and live my life. Well that's me, in a nutshell anyway. Correction: I guess that was me, three weeks ago. Now I don't know where I stand.

Growing up, I had three best friends; Sirius, Remus and Peter. In fact I still consider them my best friends, even though we drifted apart the last few years. Peter is a little out there sometimes. He's kinda chubby and short. Quite frankly he looks exactly like a mouse. Remus is the smart one of us. He always thinks rationally and never takes any chances. Sirius is the most like me. Throughout school we earned ourselves pretty lengthy reputations, if you know what I mean. But Sirius and I have always been like brothers. We always did everything together. It was hard for us, after we graduated. I was going to be an Auror, like I told you, but he didn't have quite the ambitions for himself as I had. We were so used to being with each other and doing the same things, that when he was drafted by the Chudley Canons, and I had an internship at the Ministry, we didn't quite know what to do.

We had to separate, of course, and we both went into our respective trainings. We tried to keep in touch but over the years we kind of drifted apart. I hadn't heard from him in about a year and a half until just three weeks ago and that's where my story starts.

I returned from the Ministry at about ten at night, one evening three weeks ago. It was a Wednesday so there were no parties to go to. Work had been a bitch that day, and I was exhausted. I had been doing an extensive follow-up research on a Death Eater we had just caught.

I yawned as I opened the door to my flat. I dropped my keys onto a small table by the door and stumbled into the kitchen flicking on the lights to see where I was going. You see, I'm a pretty messy person. I just hate cleaning and I never seem to have the time to. But anyways, as I rummaged around the kitchen to find something to eat, I heard a light rustle behind me. I figured it was my owl whining for me to let him out to go hunt, but when I turned around I saws a different owl It was an owl I hadn't seen in a long time. It was Sirius' owl.

I turned toward it and scratched it on the neck. I untied the parcel from its leg and opened the letter. I was greeted by Sirius' familiar scrawl.

Prongs-

I have to talk to you about something. Your place, tomorrow, 9 o clock.

-Padfoot

I blinked as I stared at the letter, thinking the words might change the more times I did so. But they didn't. If this scene had taken place five years ago, it would have been just a normal day in the life of James Potter. But it didn't. It took place on that day. The last I had heard from Sirius, he had been dropped from the Chudley Canons and was living off his parents. I he had anything important to tell me, couldn't he just write it down? Why did he have to see me in person?

Anyway, these questions filled my head the rest of the night. I felt nervous. It had to be something serious, right? It had to be something important, didn't it? I wasn't sure. But, once work came around the next day, all thoughts of Sirius left my mind and I was forced into another day of strenuous tasks. Work had always been like an alternate reality for me. It was a place to escape from my problems in real life. And that was what I did with the 'Sirius issue.'

It wasn't until ten o'clock the next night, as I entered my kitchen that I remembered I was supposed to meet him at nine. He sat on my sofa listening to the Wireless Wizarding Network and sipping a butterbeer.

"You have nothing to eat," he said as I entered.

I laughed. "I do too. You're just a picky eater," I replied.

"That may be true, but I wouldn't call a can of capers, mustard seed and sugar a meal." He stood up and we embraced each other. He looked exactly the same as he had the last time I saw him.

"How have you been?" I asked him.

"I've been really great," he said excitedly. "For a while, after the Canons dropped me, I was pretty depressed. I was living off my parents and I had no job. It was really hard. But then, things just started turning around."

"That's great!" I said.

He continued. "Yeah, I found a job at the Prophet. I find vendors to sell advertisements to. Sound kinda lame, I know, but I like it. And also, what I came here to tell you, is that I met someone."

I raised my eyebrows. Sirius had been more of a player than I had been. "You met someone?" I repeated.

"Yeah," he said nodding excitedly. "Kinda hard to believe, huh?"

"Yeah, just a little," I agreed widening my eyes.

"I know. Everyone I tell goes into a temporary state of shock. You should have seen Remus' face."

"You talked to Remus?" I asked surprised. How come he hadn't told me first?

"Well, yeah," he admitted. "I needed his advice about something. And, well, he's a bit more level-headed than you, mate."

"Oh," I said, a bit hurt.

"You see, James," he said, "I'm getting married."

I felt my jaw drop. "Married?" I repeated.

He nodded. "In three weeks."

"Three weeks?" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, we're doing one of those traditional long weddings with all the activities. Her idea. Plus, she's a muggle born so we have to have two ceremonies."

"Right," I nodded. "Well congratulations," I said hugging him again. "You could have come to me for advice, you know," I said. "But who's the lucky lady?"

"Well, she's a writer for the Prophet. We met at work," he said.

"How long have you known her?" I asked.

He cleared his throat. "Eight months."

"Eight months?" I repeated. "That's not that long ago. You don't think you're rushing into this?"

"No James," he said seriously. "I love her. And she loves me. We are both ready for this."

"Well, okay. If you say so," I said. "What's she like? Is she pretty?"

He beamed. "She's gorgeous. I have a picture, wanna see?" he asked.

"Yeah, of course," I said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a moving photograph of him and a red headed woman with their arms around each other. It wasn't until I took a close look at the woman that I recognized who it was.

"Her name is Lily Evans," he said happily.

A/n: This was supposed to be a Harry Potter take on the movie My Best Friend's Wedding with Julia Roberts, but after thinking about it and writing it I realized I couldn't do it without adding in like a kajillion OCs and I hate making OCs so this is what I came up with. It's very different for me. I've never really written a light-hearted/comedy sort of fic before (if you don't include The Tawny Owl), especially one in first person AND James Potter's POV. But I hope you liked it! Please review!