Wedding Dress
Inspired by the song 'Wedding Dress' by Matt Nathanson
The sun had finally set. All that was left of the daylight was the faint hint of colour, which floated above the distant horizon line. The pinks and purples melted into the black abyss that stretched out overhead. The day had started out stormy, rain clouds threatening to explode, covering the entire early morning sky, but the rain that so often covered the English countryside never did come. Instead the clouds were replaced with the clear blue of the mid July summer sky. Everyone celebrated the fact that today there would be no rain. Rain had been a constant companion to the residents of Godric's Hallow. It would be a good day.
It would be the best day for James Potter. It was his wedding day. He was finally marrying the girl of his dreams. Though the girl he finally did marry wasn't the one he had dreamt about. No she was so much more; she was beyond his wildest dreams, she was better than any fantasy, she was his, and he was hers.
Now the day was done.
It had been magical. More magical than any magic he would ever be able to perform. It had been perfect. Even though perfection is impossible to achieve, they had done it. It had been everything, and anything he had ever hoped it would be, and then some.
James and Lily Potter. He loved the sound of it. It was one of the many phrases that he had been continually repeating since the ceremony. That and "I love you".
"I Love You, Lily Jane Potter." He said his eyes wide, a smile across his face.
"Oh James, you sound like a broken record, but I love you for it." Lily laughed, walking towards him but standing just beyond his reach.
"What's a record? And why does it repeat when it's broken?" He asked, puzzlement etched itself across his handsome features.
"Oh, it's nothing, just a Muggle expression." She laughed, this type conversation always occurred, and she had long since stopped trying to explain things about Muggles.
"Well in that case…"
He pulled his new wife towards him, where he lay on the bed. It was covered in white rose petals, and the candles on the nightstand cast sharp shadows across him. Together they lay there in silence, both reflecting on their day, content just to be with each other. The fire on the candle wicks flickered out, but the fire in the room burned on, filling the both of them.
James grasped the back of Lily's Wedding dress, and slowly began the job of undoing the row of buttons. He kissed her back every time he undid one of the tiny pearls. She was his to have, and he would hold her until the end of their days. But this day, the day she donned her beautiful wedding dress, she was his, and he would never let go of his beautiful bride.
She saw him at his best and worst, and she never left his side, no matter what had happened between the two of them, through thick and thin they had stayed together. Now it just was official.
James and Lily Potter.
The future looked bleak, there was no denying it. The clouds of war leered over all of their heads. That's how he had convinced her to marry him, they were only nineteen. But James' argument had been that they didn't know how much time they had left, so why wait? Why not spend as much time together as possible, so if something were to happen, they wouldn't regret anything. She had agreed, though somewhat reluctantly.
Today during the ceremony, when she arrived at the front of the church, her train flowing out behind her, the veil covering the blush that spread across her cheeks that only he could see, her hair up with soft curls flowing down cascading her pale neck and face. She handed her bouquet to Alice, and turned to him and whispered. "I'm glad you convinced me." His heart had soared even more than it had already been.
He grinned at her, and whispered back "So am I."
He slowly pulled the satin fabric of the dress past her hips, and lovingly laid it on the chair in the corner, he stopped and looked at, remembering all the images that flooded his mind.
"James what are you doing?"
"I'm remembering exactly what you looked like, so it will be in my mind for the rest of my life. I never want to forget today. Oh Lily you have made me happier then is humanly possible. If I were to die right now, I would die the happiest man on the earth."
"Well why don't you come over here, so I can make you even happier." Lily said with a grin.
He looked at her, and understood the meaning of what see was suggesting, but still he didn't move. He wanted to remember all the feelings that he had experienced today. He knew that in the not too distant future they would both be back in the centre of the war, and this happiness would be a distant memory. And that was the last thing that he wanted. He wanted to be able to think back and clearly remember everything so that if it ever got to be too much he would be able to remember what true happiness felt like.
He closed his eyes, and remembered seeing Lily walking towards him, her White Wedding dress flowing behind her, a smile playing across her beautiful features, He saw her saying her vows,
To have and to hold
Because even at my best
I don't want to let go
In sickness or in health
I'll let you hold me in your arms
And all that I can feel
Is my future in your hands
And all that I can see
Is how long ever after is
It's all that I can do
To be with you, just to be with you
He saw her gliding across the dance floor in the customary best man dance. Her face lit up in laughter and some horrendous joke Sirius had just told her. He saw her sitting on the bed covered in white rose petals in her white wedding lingerie, which she had bought especially for him. He opened his eyes and there she sat the same soft smile on her beautiful face.
He walked towards her, and drew her towards him. Holding her tight he dropped his face close to her and kissed her softly and gently. Again and again he kissed her, and between each kiss, he repeated the same three words.
I Love You.
He was a broken record, whatever that was.