Disclaimer: Everything mentioned here belongs to J.K. Rowling and her fantastic imagination, Supplier Extraordinaire of fodder for all my fanfic dabblings.

Summary: This is a montage depicting the kaleidoscope of thoughts and emotions portrayed by Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew and (briefly) James Potter as they live through the events covering the period from 1978 to 1995.

Author's Notes: As the chapters for this fic turned out to be a lot longer than I initially had expected, I am dividing a full chapter into several shorter ones. Hence the explanation for several instalments here listed under the same name.

For the purpose of my fic, I have given James and Lily a Christian wedding. This is only because I am the most familiar with this religion. I am in no way stating for certain that James and Lily were Christians, nor am I proclaiming it is the only religion that is worthwhile. The quote about love is from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians 13:4-10. The description of the wedding procession, as well as the wedding vows were found on

Windmills of time

Do you know where you're going to

Do you like the things that life is showing you

Where are you going to

Do you know?

-- From "Mahogany"

Chapter one - The Way We Were


21st June, 1978

A light, hazy breeze sifted through the trees, gently rustling the leaves and providing a welcome whiff of cool air in the midst of a balmy summer's day. They have had superb weather so far this year – bright sunshine, clear skies, with barely a hint of showers.

On this day, a young man was observed pacing the grounds of an old, stone church. A hint of anxiety could be detected in his brisk step, and he was seemingly oblivious to the beautifully manicured gardens with its neatly trimmed lawns – its grass young, green and tender – and the brightly coloured flowerbeds lining its borders.

For James Potter, today was the most important day in his life. It was a day he wouldn't have given a moment's thought to at eleven; wouldn't have dreamt truly possible at fifteen; and didn't dare hope could ever come about even as recent as the beginning of the year.

It was the day he was to marry Lily Evans.

Just the thought of her name caused James' heart to skip a beat. Lily never failed to produce such an effect on him. It was a miracle in more ways than one that today had come about. At the (surely very grown-up) age of eleven, James had paid no attention whatsoever to the opposite sex. Girls, he had thought most assuredly, were purely made to giggle, and their sole existence on this earth was to annoy the hell out of the (very much mature) male population.

James sniggered at his pre-pubescent precocious-ness as his thoughts drifted a few years onwards along the memory lane. He smirked as he saw himself at fifteen. He had noticed girls by then. Oh yes. But they, at least the one he had showed an interest in, had hated him with a vengeance. What was it she had said? 'I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid.' Yeah, that was it. Looking back, James grudgingly agreed with her. Of course, she is always right! He supposed he had been a bit of a jerk back then.

Fast forward a couple of years, the pictures of him and Lily Evans as Head Boy and Girl at Hogwarts floated before him. By then, the girl who had preferred the giant squid to his pathetic existence had mellowed out regarding him. Remus, dry and curt as he always was, had constantly remarked the change had occurred more on James' end, when he had finally attempted to pare down his swollen ego following six years of strutting about the school corridors.

Upon finishing at Hogwarts however, it had not been the lack of love or romance which had stilted their hopes for a wedding. Times had rapidly become darker, tenser. The continued rise of the much feared Dark Lord Voldemort had quelled any hopes for a normal family life. People avoided much personal commitment for fear of hurt and loss should one die, leaving loved ones behind with a hollow in need of filling. Those who did treasure commitment barely found the time to rejoice and indulge in it. For the rare couple who did procure a wedding, they were hesitant in starting a family, not wishing to bring a future generation into a harsh uncertain world.

Times were bleak, and one lived in fear. The promise of a warm, loving, stable family was but a distant improbable dream for all.

Despite the fragile state of hope and peace amid these times, James and Lily had decided to seize the moment, this chance they had, and to relish in the fact that happiness and love could exist even in the gloomiest of times. Or perhaps, happiness and love existed so strongly because of these dark times. James hazarded a guess that he appreciated his luck much more now he had learnt of just how precarious human joy and life was.

The groom glanced at his watch. Twenty past eleven. He had only been pacing for ten minutes. It had seemed like an eternity. There was still twenty minutes – twenty l-o-n-g minutes – before the ceremony was scheduled to begin. Nerves eroded the lining of his stomach as he tried to still his hands from wringing involuntarily. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a thong of Lily's friends and relatives noisily making their way up the stone steps to the entrance of the chapel. Their loud laughter and joyous exclamations rang clearly through the air and across the grounds to where James stood. James was debating whether to be a polite host and head over to greet them when a shout cut across his thoughts.

"So there you are! You've been hiding from us then, Prongs?" There was a trace of cheeky amusement in Padfoot's voice.

James turned to find Sirius, Remus and Peter slipping out of the back door of the church and cutting across the grounds to meet him.

"We were wondering where you'd gone, mate," said Peter. "You gave us the slip."

"The guy probably wants to have some alone time, away from three jealous, mischievous Marauders," offered Remus calmly, but his eyes were twinkling.

James flashed a quick grin and nodded. "Of course," he replied, finding his voice now he was surrounded by familiar faces, ones which did not belong to whom he was about to marry. "Anyone would need a break from you lot."

Sirius and Peter looked highly affronted.

"Hey!"

"Jealous? Us? Why would we be jealous of Prongs wedding a gorgeous red-haired, green-eyed beauty who could hex you into oblivion?"

"So, have you seen Lily yet?" asked Remus, ignoring the mock indignation of the other two.

James shook his head. "No," he replied, glancing at Lily's Muggle parents standing by the chapel entrance. There was a thin, sour-faced lady alongside them. Petunia Evans looked as if a funeral would have been more delightful to attend.

"No," he repeated, turning back to Remus. "Those Muggles have this funny tradition that the groom must not see the bride before the wedding. It's supposed to bring bad luck or something." He shrugged.

Sirius raised his eyebrows so far up they disappeared into his fringe.

"But surely Prongs, you and Lily are anything but traditional, even by wizard standards. If I recall correctly, you proposed to Lily after having your skull split open by a Bludger, while she had been covered with Erin's sick as she'd projectile vomited all over Lily upon seeing the blood."

"It wasn't the most cavalier scenario," admitted James, grinning sheepishly. He hoped the others wouldn't bring up the fact that he had been less than coherent that day either, what with that head injury.

"Lily did say she found it strangely romantic," he added uselessly at Peter's scoff.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "She was just saying that to protect your delicate ego, Prongs."

"Lily doesn't care to protect James' ego, Sirius," said Remus. Then off Sirius' and Peter's looks, "except that sometimes she does do that," he finished solemnly, without a flicker that betrayed he had originally thought otherwise.

"Stop bullying Moony into agreeing with you!" James commanded Sirius and Peter. "Remus, you know better than to let them change your mind for you," he said accusingly.

"I know better than to go against someone who can make my life a living hell through the application of practical jokes," answered Remus.

"Oh, you mean Wormtail?" said Sirius brightly, at once.

"Yes, Padfoot. Of course," Remus clipped dryly. "One would never implicate it would be you."

At that moment, they were joined by Mr and Mrs Potter.

"Son, you ready?" James' father asked. "It's about to begin."

James felt a lurch within the mid-regions of his stomach. He was ushered by his parents and friends into the chapel. The organist was already playing the prelude music – Pachebel's Canon in D – and excited chatter was filling up the church. As James and Sirius, the best man, made their way up to the altar, the hum of nattering died down abruptly. James cast a nervous smile at his parents as they seated themselves in the front row.

The organist then skilfully merged from Pachebel's Canon to Mendelssohn's Wedding March. At this point, Remus and Peter, acting as groomsmen, joined them, up near the altar. Glancing at those gathered inside the chapel, however nervous he was, James couldn't help feeling extremely proud, extremely contented and extremely thankful that he could experience such an occasion. He was to finally wed Lily, and could share the moment with his family and best friends. The fear and darkness that had shrouded the wizarding world for the past eight years was for the moment forgotten, and in its place was a juncture of pure joy and hope. He felt a shiver trickling down his spine, and goose bumps crawl all over his skin as he saw first, the bridesmaids, then the ring bearer and flower girl, and finally Lily, led by her father, walking down the aisle. James felt fit to burst, despite a quivering which threatened to cause his legs to give way from underneath him. It was an excitement, an eagerness and an anxiety akin to that of an adrenaline rush before Quidditch finals. But amplified over a thousand times.

It was indescribable.

When Lily reached him (it felt like both an age and a blink of an eye at the same time), they made their way up to the altar together. The priest looked at them and smiled.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God to join together this Man and this Woman in holy Matrimony; which is an honourable estate, instituted of God in Paradise, and into which holy estate these two persons present come now to be joined."

He paused.

"Therefore if any man can shew any just cause, why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak, or else hereafter for ever hold his peace."

When no one raised their hand or voiced out loud, the priest continued.

"Wilt the have this Woman to be thy wedded wife, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt the love her, comfort her, honour, and keep her, in sickness and in health; and forsaking all other, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?"

James swallowed hard to prevent his words, albeit all of two syllables, tumble over one another. 

"I will."

The priest then turned to Lily and asked her the same question. Looking directly into James's eyes with her own emerald ones, she stated firmly,

"I will."

James' heart was beating harder than the wings of a struggling Snitch in a Seeker's grip. He willed his voice to steady.

"I, James Tobias Potter, take you Lily Kathryn Evans, to be my wife, my partner in life and my one true love.

I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever.

I will trust you and honour you.

I will laugh with you and cry with you. I will love you faithfully.

Through the best and the worst, through the difficult and the easy.

What may come I will always be there.

As I have given you my hand to hold,

So I give you my life to keep. So help me God."

James dared not look up into the faces of his parents, nor at his friends standing a few feet away from him at the altar. He could sense the emotion thickening inside the chapel without gauging anyone's expressions. He tried to clear his mind of the mounting sentiments welling up through him as Lily returned her vows in the clear voice he had grown to love. As she neared the end, James took a deep breath, and fighting to placate the tremor in his voice, he joined Lily.

"Entreat me not to leave you, or to return from following after you,

For where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay

Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.

And where you die, I will die and there I will be buried.

May the Lord do with me and more if anything but death parts you from me."

As they finished their vows, James stole a peek at those close by. His mother had tears in her eyes, a look of fierce pride in her face. As did his dad. Turning his gaze to the side, he saw Peter hastily brush away a tear. Remus and Sirius looked pretty choked up with emotion themselves.

James' hand shook as he slipped the wedding ring upon Lily's finger. The priest's words echoed in their ears as the two moved in for their kiss.

"Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love is eternal. There are inspired messages, but they are temporary; there are gifts of speaking in strange tongues, but they will cease; there is knowledge, but it will pass. For our gifts of knowledge and inspired messages are only partial; but when what is perfect comes, then what is partial will disappear."

A huge joyous roar erupted as the couple sealed their vows with an intense kiss. As the procession made their way out through the doors of the church, a familiar figure made its way towards the newly-weds.

"My heartiest congratulations to you, James and Lily," said Albus Dumbledore sincerely.

"Professor!" cried Lily in delight. "So glad you could come. We thought you were away in Spain to deal with the Minster of Magic there."

"Still polite and respectful after leaving Hogwarts I see," chuckled Dumbledore. "Albus would do, Lily. We are working together on the Order after all. And yes, I am supposed to be in Spain, but I did not wish to miss today. I just wanted to offer you my blessings before I dash off. Good day, Mr and Mrs James Potter."

And with a wink, the Headmaster Disapparated silently before Lily's Muggle relations even noticed the wizard's presence.

"Well, well, well, Mr and Mrs James Potter. You do attract the most distinguished guests," teased Sirius coming up to the couple, with Remus and Peter in tow.

James and Lily exchanged amused looks.

"Yes," concurred James. " I guess we do."

~ * ~