Disclaimer: I am, very unfortunately, not JKR. I do not own any characters. I am not making any profit from this story.
Why Yes, Yes You May
"Rain," she thought to herself, "it would have to rain today, wouldn't it?"
Lily Evans was presently trying to gain some control over her hair that didn't want to lay flat. "Stupid rain." She thought for the hundredth time since waking up that morning. While she was yanking a brush through her hair, someone came up behind her and pulled the brush out of her hand, throwing it across the room.
"Lily Evans, are you a witch or not?" Marlene McKinnon asked of her red-haired best friend. Without waiting for a response, Marlene pulled out her wand and after a few quick spells, had Lily's hair laying in perfect curls and pinned up in just the right places.
"I have no clue why I didn't think of that…" Lily mumbled under her breath.
"Well, I would say it's likely because you're still in shock that you're not only getting married today, but it's to none other than James Potter. I'm still partially in shock about it myself." Came the voice of Alice Longbottom, as she rounded the corner carrying an armful of flowers. "I still think it's hilarious that you didn't decide to go with lilies for your flower choice. You know James would have laughed."
"Yes, Alice. I'm well aware that James thought using lilies would have been the most hilarious thing we could have done. However, it seemed rather expected so I wanted to mix it up and we went with daisies. They're simple, which seemed to work nicely with this wedding we've thrown together." Lily said, shaking her head.
In truth, they had thrown together the wedding rather quickly. While James had proposed to Lily ages ago, they'd never truly set a date right away. They were still at Hogwarts when she got the Potter family engagement ring (that still shocked Lily that it had been used by every Potter male for over 200 years). So Lily had been in no rush, as she was trying to make sure she would get pass all of her N.E.W.T.s so that she could start into a Healers program in the fall. James, though not quite as worried about exams due to having been offered early admittance to the Auror program, definitely wasn't about to begin making wedding decisions without Lily there.
Shortly after graduation, the war seemed to take a big turn for the worst. This lead to the couple deciding that they didn't want to wait forever to plan a huge lavish wedding. (Besides, it really wasn't Lily's style anyway.) So, planned in less than two weeks, the wedding of James Potter and Lily Evans was a mere two hours from happening.
While Lily was fussing over hair and flowers and general wedding day stress, James was lying across a table in the boys' dressing room while Sirius Black threw grapes into the air for him to catch in his mouth.
"Don't you think you should be doing, I don't know, something?" Remus Lupin asked the groom. "I'm sure Lily is probably panicking about one thing or another."
Sirius shook his head at his friend. "Moony, are you mad? She would probably hex all of us without even blinking an eye if we got in her way today. I say we just hide in here until it's time for us to meet her at the end of the aisle."
James snorted. "For 'us' to meet her? You do realize, Padfoot, that I'm the only one actually marrying her, right?"
"Duh. First off, you know very well that I don't plan on ever tying myself down to one bird. That would just be extremely boring for me. Even the few weeks I've been dating McKinnon have been a rarity. Second, if I ever considered doing anything with Evans, you'd have thrown me off the top of the Astronomy tower. I'm no fool, you've been in love with her for ages. Finally, only you are marrying her mate, but you know darn well that she is marrying all of us. We're not just friends. We're brothers. We are the Marauders! She's been doomed since the moment she decided to date you."
This caused all of the boys in the room to burst into laughter, including Peter Pettigrew, who had been completely silent up until this point. They'd all noticed that Peter seemed a bit distant lately, but they had chalked it up to the fact that he wasn't used to being away from everyone so long. Change was hard on him.
"You know, you're kind of right Padfoot. Even though she's technically only marrying James, she knows very well that includes us being over at their house constantly. Rather like we do now anyway." Remus said.
James, still lying on the table, looked up at the ceiling and said "I'm still pretty shocked that she's marrying me at all, mates."
Upon finishing the sentence, Sirius bounced a grape off of his best friend's forehead. "Pull yourself together. Evans is mad about you! Trust me, we don't get it either."
This caused James to roll over and glare at his best friend. However, before he could say anything in response, Peter piped up again, "I think we should get going guys. We're supposed to be at the front of the church in five minutes."
"Damn!" Sirius and James both jumped up and scrambled for the door. While trying to straighten their ties and readjust their robes, the boys made it to the hall that they were using for the ceremony.
"Calm down. Breathe. You look gorgeous. We've got your hair to stay calm, and your dress looks fantastic. Everyone is where they should be. Everything looks perfect." Alice said in a very calming voice, trying to get the hysterical bride to breathe evenly before she passed out.
"LILY. I swear to Merlin if you don't take a deep breath and calm down, I am going to knock you. Then you'll be late. That'll give James time to run." Marlene joked, trying to lighten the mood some.
Lily was panicking. She was worrying about every little detail and suddenly was afraid that it wouldn't be everything that she wanted it to be. Both she and James' parents were dead, and they couldn't be there with them. With all the emotions running so high, it was no wonder that she finally collapsed under them. Slowly, she was attempting to reign in her control when Marlene said that last line, and suddenly Lily fell apart all over again.
"Way to go, Mar." Alice grumbled under her breath. "Lily. Lily. LILY!" Finally, Lily looked up at her normally mild tempered friend. Alice continued, "Your parents wouldn't want you to be this upset about them on your wedding day. They're here in your heart. And when it comes to James, well James is not going to run. Merlin, he chased after you for the better part of 7 years at Hogwarts! What makes you think he would run now? He's there, Lily. He's waiting for you at the end of that aisle. You don't want him to think that you've run out on him do you?"
"N-n-n-n-no. I don't want him to think that. I'd never run out on him." Lily whispered, finally gaining control. Alice was right. Her parents wouldn't want me to be blubbering over them when she should be celebrating. And James. Oh James, what would he think if he saw how she was behaving? Standing up, Lily gave herself a quick shake and nodded. It was time. Time to walk out in front of everyone, and marry James. James. Just the thought of him waiting for her at the end of that aisle was enough to make her heart soar.
"Lily, it's time." Marlene said, pushing her friend towards the door. "Now get going. No sitting back down. No more tears. Get out there and marry that fool like we know you want to!"
Smiling, Lily knew Marlene was right. James could be a fool, but he was her fool. Nothing would ever change that. She was ready to be with him forever. So when the music changed, she held her head up high, took a deep breath, and walked through the door into the hall and began her walk down the aisle.
It was like someone had hit him straight in the chest with a bludger. The wind was completely knocked out of James as soon as Lily began her walk down the aisle. She was absolutely stunning. He always thought she was beautiful, but there was something extra amazing about her today. Maybe it was the way the soft curls framed her beautiful face, or the dress that hugged her curves just so. Maybe it was the way she seemed to glide effortlessly down the aisle in the heels that James knew she hated, but was forced to wear by the girls to complete the outfit. Or maybe, just maybe, it was because she walked down the aisle as Lily Evans, but would walk back as Lily Potter. James was pretty sure it was the latter.
Once she reached him, James offered his hand and they stood side by side while Albus Dumbledore officiated the ceremony. To James, there really wasn't much to do but stand around and look like he was paying attention. In reality, he was staring at Lily out of the corner of his eyes, admiring her beauty and adoring the fact that she was standing there next to him. He was so caught up in these thoughts, that when Sirius nudged him with his elbow, James looked up extremely confused.
Dumbledore looked over his half-moon spectacles, and repeated "Do you take Lily to be your wife?"
"Yes, sir. Yes I do."
"And Lily? Do you take James to be your husband?"
Lily's smile was as large as anyone had ever seen it. "I do."
Dumbledore smiled and said "Then by the power given to me, I pronounce you husband and wife."
"Sir? Can I kiss her now? Because I would love nothing more than to do just that." James said, impatiently.
This caused not only Dumbledore, but all of the guests to laugh too. "Why yes, yes you may."
And with that, James grabbed Lily in his arms, and kissed her. He poured his heart and soul into the kiss, so she would know exactly how happy he truly was. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back with exactly the same passion. They were two people united against the world. Some may even call it soul mates. It wasn't possible to consider one without the other, and now it was official.
When they came up for air, the crowd was still applauding and the rest of the Marauders along with Alice and Marlene were whopping and hollering for their two friends, Lily grinned up at James. "Well, how does it feel? Knowing that you, sir, have just kissed the new Mrs. James Potter?"
James got that wonderful smirk on his face that she just adores before saying, "it feels amazing, and I'm about to do it again. Now, and every single day for the rest of our lives."