Wedding Day Jitters (or so Frank would say)

by Somewhat Quirky

It's a couple of hours before his wedding and James is freaking out.

Disclaimer: This for Shannon, who has the misfortune of being my recipient of this year's Jily Secret Santa on tumblr. Enjoy.

"Wedding Day Jitters", or so Frank would say.

He'd always joked about wanting to marry Evans.

It had been one of many statements regarding Lily throughout the years. There had been "look, gents, it's the Legs", "got rid of Snivellus, have you, ginger?", and the incredibly common "why doesn't she like me?!", which was most often uttered between first year and fifth, just after dinner in the Gryffindor boys' dormitory, to a bored-looking Sirius, an insightful Remus, and Peter, who often didn't say the right thing.

However, today was James's wedding day, and he would have given anything to be back in that situation.

Which, in a way, he was. Lily was down the hall with Mary Macdonald and Alice Longbottom, and Marlene was off arguing with one of the Dearborns about who should sit where; while James found himself pacing around one of the various guest bedrooms that the Potter mansion had to offer, surrounded by his three best friends, and Frank Longbottom.

'What if she doesn't want to marry me? What if she—'

Remus raised his eyebrows. 'I'm pretty sure Lily's the type of girl who'd already be gone if she didn't want to be be here.'

Frank nodded. 'That's just wedding day jitters.'

'"Wedding day jitters"?' James repeated anxiously. His pacing continued. 'I feel like I'm going to nosedive into molten rock.'

'I'm pretty sure the aisle's made of marble,' Sirius put in, who knew this for a fact because he had been trying to chat Marlene up as she checked on the decorations a couple of hours prior.

'Even worse!' said James. He lifted his arms in an exaggerated gesture that visualized the degree to which he had given up. 'I swear,' he continued after a brief pause for breath, 'there's been a mistake—I don't know what—I can't go through with this—what if she hates me?! Shit, Frank! Tell me what to do!'

Frank stared at him, then turned to Remus. Both remained silent.

Sirius shrugged. 'Just get pissed drunk.'

Peter frowned at him.

'Now I see why you've never succeeded with Marlene, Sirius,' said Frank.

'No,' Remus sighed. 'He's never succeeded with Marlene because he doesn't commit.'

'She's not to know if he's been shagging other girls the whole time,' said Peter. 'And I can see why she's bothered; there is a war going on.'

Sirius glared around at them all, then exhaled deeply. 'At least she knows what side I'm on.'

Peter coughed, and James resumed his steady pace and downward spiral into distress, even though he would have very much liked to point out another reason Marlene McKinnon wouldn't sleep with Padfoot; she had once walked in on him snogging a lovely girl named Shannon from Ravenclaw twenty minutes after she—Marlene—had rejected him. Mind you, Sirius had been a bit worse for wear at the time. He was two drinks on the wrong side of intoxicated and a light away from two empty packs of cigarettes. In fact, it was a wonder Shannon had been nice enough to kiss him in the first place, with an attitude like that.

Sirius's sexual exploits aside, James was a mess. He kept pacing and voicing his worries until Mary entered the room in her bridesmaid's dress. Frank and Remus said a simple 'hello', whereas Peter blushed-Mary was quite a pretty girl-and Sirius exclaimed, 'wow, Macdonald! Why haven't I had you for a snog in the shrubbery yet?'

Mary smiled. 'Taken, I'm afraid.'

'Damned Hufflepuffs,' muttered Sirius, for it was a Cattermole whom she was dating.

Mary redirected her attention to James. 'Alice wants you in the hall,' she explained. 'She said she needed the husband-to-be and the husband-who-is. So,' she said kindly, 'I'm guessing that's you, Frank.'

'What? Why?' James asked quickly. 'Has Lily decided she wants to call the whole thing off-'

'Yes,' Mary interrupted. 'She's run off with Snape to join a nudist colony.'

James's face drained of colour.

'I am kidding,' said Mary. 'Damn it, James; where's your sense of humour? You're meant to be getting married. Isn't that a happy occasion?'

'Evidently not when the bride-to-be is joining nudist colonies with your old school-rival,' Remus muttered as Frank and James followed Mary from the room.

James had never noticed such subtle details in the walls of his house, even though he had had two decades to do so. There were portraits on the wall depicting landscapes and party scenes and even one grandmother who-as far as James was aware-had been scorched off the Black family tapestry, just like Sirius. Little elements of the portraits: the green of the landscapes, a woman with red hair celebrating something or other with a group of drunken monks, reminded James once again of Lily, which neither increased his anxiety nor caused it to disintegrate. If anything, the innate fear that perhaps his fiancee was having second thoughts burrowed a bit further into his stomach.

Mary led the two boys down the staircase to where Alice stood in the foyer. Her pixie-cut hair framed her smiling face, and she looked positively stunning in her dress, which was identical to Mary's, for they were both bridesmaids. Upon receiving them, Alice stepped onto her toes and kissed Frank on the cheek, then gave James a quick squeeze around the shoulders. (Actually, it was more around the elbows, for he was quite tall and she was quite the opposite.)

'You look dashing,' she complimented.

'Thanks,' said James. 'Feeling the opposite.'

'Why's that?' Alice asked, eyebrows furrowed. She looked to her husband, then to Mary, then her focus returned to James.

'What if something goes wrong?' he cried. Woes began to spill from his lips, each more ridiculous than the next. 'What if I make a mistake? What if Lily's sick of me? What if Snape shows up? What if we're attacked by Death Eaters? What if somebody sells out the Order, and—stop looking at me like that—what if Snape shows up?'

Alice rolled her eyes. 'Honestly; you're worse than Lily. She is not leaving you; everything's going to be fine—and for Merlin's sake, if Snape shows up, I'm sure Remus and the others will take great pleasure in hexing him before he even gets inside! How would he know where the wedding's being held anyway? Nobody you've invited would want him here.'

While Frank and Mary nodded, James had only plucked one piece of information from this stream of advice.

'"You're worse than Lily"?' he marveled. 'What—you're saying she's a mess, too?'

Mary let out a sigh of exasperation. 'Of course. This is Lily you're talking about. She's all worried about relatives and ornamental bouquets not being where they should be; she's driving Marlene and Dorcas over the edge—apparently, last night she had a dream about you running off with Celestina Warbeck!'

Frank burst out laughing. 'Celestina Warbeck?!' he chortled. 'James is just about as likely to elope with her as he is with Mad-Eye Moody!'

Alice rested a hand on Frank's arm, patting it to calm him down. 'She does look a bit like a mongoose when she's had a pint or so, that Celestina.' Then, with a deep breath, she addressed James: 'see? You've got nothing to worry about! It's just nerves; you're both terrified.'

Though he felt much better now, James was still skeptical. 'Are you sure it's not just me being an idiot?'

As if to answer him, there was an anguished Lily-like cry from somewhere else in the mansion: 'Meghan McCormack is coming?! Well, there goes the ceremony!'

The four in the foyer turned to the three Marauders, who were making their way down the staircase. Remus had paused on the fourth step down and was now looking at James somewhat expectantly. The former opened his mouth. 'Does that answer your question?'