Chapter Two

Marry You

Scarlet Kelly was happy.

She was highly successful in her chosen field, had seen more of the world than she ever imagined, and had finally maintained a steady and healthy weight. Currently she was in England, working with Albert Munch on the many uses of asonite. She hadn't wanted to stop after her stint in Romania, since she was eager to get home to her sisters. Mr. Munch had been persistent though, and since she had never been to London, she agreed.

Three weeks later she was staying in a dingy flat working with Mr. Munch during the day and waitressing part-time at night. She did not want for money, but there was something romantic about living and working in London, especially as a waitress. It was an interesting life, and she had met many people around the city. It was an odd experience for her to be associating with people her own age, as she had begun a group study in Egypt four weeks after her graduation from Salem.

Walking down Diagon Alley on a particular nice Wednesday morning, she came across Madame Lapelle's Salon for the Beautiful Witch. Scarlet was intrigued, looking for a change after her fifty pound drop in weight.

"Welcome deary!" a woman in bright purple robes, with long sleek black hair greeted her. "I am Madame Lapelle, how can I be of service?"

"Nice to meet you, I'm Scarlet. I'm not sure. I was looking for a change." Madame Lapelle's eyes lit up, and before she knew it, she was being lifted and placed into a chair with the wave of a wand.

"I think I can help!" Madame Lapelle declared throwing a purple clothe over her. The more Scarlet looked around, it seemed everything was some shade of purple. Madame Lapelle placed her hands on Scarlet's shoulders and Scarlet met her eyes in the mirror in front of her. "Do you trust me?"

Scarlet did not, but this was all starting to sound adventurous. She lived a relatively boring life, despite her many travels. They were usually spent in potion rooms, or in an empty field growing some herb. So that is why she shouted "Yes!" in a confident and excited tone.

Madame Lapelle shook with delight, her lips forming a wide grin and her eyes huge with anticipation.

"So what's the occasion?" the older witch asked while mixing ingredients that did not have a label. That was not a good sign.

"None. I've lost weight, and I'm sick of seeing the same old dull me in the mirror."

"Excellent! You've come to the right witch! American, yeah?"

"Yes, ma'm. I go home in a couple of weeks."

"They won't know what hit them!" Scarlet's smile only increased in size.

Three hours later, after she had been pinned and probed, and underwent one horrible bikini hair removal spell, Madame Lapelle was done.

"My finest work," Madame Lapelle proclaimed, clapping her hands. Scarlet opened her eyes and did not recognize the girl in front of her. Woman, rather.

She was blonde.

Not just blonde, but very blonde. That was the only proper way to describe the color. Her golden locks had been turned into a wavy platinum. Scarlet didn't have a word for it. Her face was done up with more make up than she had ever worn, though that wasn't saying much. Scarlet thought mascara and blush were good enough. Despite the dramatic changes, Scarlet thought she looked pretty. More importantly, she felt pretty. For a second she imagined herself as one of those women who walked around in their heels, fashionably commanding attention and respect. She had never been one of those girls, and was more than not, intimidated by them.

"It's…"

"Wonderful! I know! I really have outdone myself this time. Now darling, your hair and makeup look fantastic. I have a bag of products here to help with the upkeep. You'll have to come back for refills of course. But on to a more pressing matter, these clothes must go."

"What's wrong with my clothes?" Scarlet asked confused.

"You said you lost weight, but you're still wearing your old clothes. They're much too big. Now you must go shopping right away. No complaints. Here's the address to my niece's shop. She'll help you. Doesn't that sound nice? A fresh new start for a beautiful woman!"

Scarlet agreed, and that is how she found herself in the presence of Bridget Lapelle, fashion extraordinaire. Her hair was dark, and long like Madame Lapelle's, though she wasn't as eccentric. She was a couple of years younger than Scarlet, but seemed ages older.

"My aunt's done a wonderful job on you, and she is right, those drabs look terrible. Completely taking away your figure. And that color, awful for the skin tone. What were you thinking?" Bridget had been shaking her head and circling Scarlet. "No worries though, you're in capable hands."

"I want an entire new wardrobe then," Scarlet proclaimed. "I don't want to go through all my money though." Bridget smiled at her, a very sincere smile, and Scarlet knew she liked her.

"No worries, I've just opened this shop. My prices are reasonable, I need to make a name for myself after all." Bridget began shuffling through clothes, muttering phrases such as "No, no, this won't work," and "This is perfect." She sometimes would hold a garment up to Scarlet and take several minutes of deliberation with narrowed eyes before deciding if it was a yes or no.

Three hours later, Scarlet was outfitted in a peach ponte dress with a pencil skirt and ruched sides. Bridget had added nude wedges and a white stoned bib necklace for "dramatic effect."

"You look magnificent," Bridget complimented, more to herself than Scarlet.

"Thank you," Scarlet returned, doing her best impression of a sassy catwalk. The slight trip at the end did not do her any favors.

"Eh, maybe you should just stand there and look pretty," Bridget said, and Scarlet was floored. No one had ever told her to just look pretty.

"Thank you so much Bridget, but I really must be off to work."

"I'll send the other garments to your home," Bridget said, already dismissing her.

Scarlet almost fell five more times, as she flooed and walked over cobblestone on her way to Kirk's. It was a restaurant that centered around space travel, and was decorated with pop culture references from various science fiction shows. Ava thought that for a restaurant who's selling point was the future, they did a poor job of keeping up with technology. They still employed waitresses, after all.

"Fancy," Matthew, her fellow employee, greeted her. "What's with the makeover?" Matthew had a tattoo that made his face resemble a weeping angel from Doctor Who, so Scarlet did not think he should have been able to comment on anyone's appearance. She did not judge, however, and so she indulged his questioning.

"Needed a change. How are you Matt?"

"Well it's slow as ever, so there's that." Kirk's was not very popular, as the food was horrible. Scarlet stored her purse and coat behind the counter. "Someone just came in, you can take him." Matt did not work very often, and could be found writing The Lord of the Rings fan fiction in seedy corners. Scarlet was a big fan of the book series, so she sometimes read over his work. She grabbed her tablet and approached the table, where a man in orange pants and a red sweater sat with his face pressed up against the menu.

"Hello, my name's Scarlet, how can I help you?" she greeted with her finger already poised in front of the tablet. The man lowered the menu, and looked up at her.

Scarlet almost dropped the tablet.

His eyes were brown, and they might as well have been a teleport, because Scarlet was transferred somewhere else. Her heart was racing, and her body was flaming.

"Hello," he said, not moving a centimeter. Scarlet now understood why Ava loved men with accents.

"Hello," she replied.

"You already said that."

"Did I?"

"I think so, things seem a little hazy." Scarlet was glad that she wasn't the only one that was flustered.

"I'm Scarlet."

"I'm James."

"You're really pretty," she said realizing that not even a make over could undo her awkward nature. He chuckled, not once looking away.

"You're beautiful."

"Really?"

"Absolutely." They both continued to stare at one another, but Scarlet didn't mind. She could stare forever. She took in every inch of his face, from the thin nose and full lips, to the slightly puffy cheeks that she knew would reveal dimples if he smiled. "Would you like to join me for some coffee and pie?" Scarlet blinked, trying very hard to release herself from this spell.

"I'm working." James looked around.

"There's no one else here."

"Then sure. Let me go get some coffee." Scarlet quickly walked away and grabbed an entire pot and a cup of orange juice. She sat down in the booth, across from him.

"No coffee for you?"

"I don't drink caffeine, it messes up my sleep cycle." James smiled, and Scarlet felt like she was in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and someone had squeezed her heart. There were dimples.

"Smart," he said. "I drink way too much of it."

"It's not good for your complexion either."

"Didn't know that," he said rubbing the side of his cheek in contemplation.

"Not that there's anything wrong with yours. Your skin is crystal clear."

"It's the cream I use, it's super effective." Scarlet found herself bursting with laughter.

"You play Pokémon?"

"Poke a man?"

"No! You have to have heard of Pokémon! I thought you were making a nerdy joke."

"Sorry to disappoint, but it doesn't ring a bell."

"My younger sister Emma is obsessed with the games. They're all the same but she insists she has to own them all."

"How many sisters do you have?" he asked.

"Five."

"Wow! And I though growing up with one was enough!"

"Rough spot around the 13-14 age?" she inquired.

"Yup, except it never went away. Lily's the baby, so she's always been spoiled. Rotten really."

"How old is she now?"

"Twenty three."

"How many siblings do you have?"

"Just Lily and Albus, I'm the oldest."

"Me too!" Scarlet squealed.

"It's a tough gig."

"But someone's gotta do it," she said causing them both to laugh.

"You must have a huge family, with so many sisters."

"Not really, it's just them."

"Lucky! Mine's huge, and involved in every aspect of my life."

"It's because they love you. My sisters are the same way, I've just come to accept that no matter what I do, they'll all have different opinions."

"Nice philosophy. I wish it was as easy for me."

"What's the problem?" Scarlet saw the hesitation on his face as he debated whether to reveal his problem.

"It's my girlfriend." Scarlet's heart dropped. "My ex-girlfriend actually. We recently broke up a couple of weeks ago. They don't understand why we've broken up. They love her, always have. She was one of my brother's best mates in school, and my cousin's best friend. They're both pretty angry with me."

"Why'd you break up? Not that it matters, sometimes these things just don't work out."

"She cheated on me." Scarlet immediately reached her hand out and placed it over his and gave it a firm squeeze.

"I'm so sorry," she said tenderly. He responded by turning his hand around, and interlocking it with hers. Scarlet thought she should feel uncomfortable holding hands with a man she just met, but instead, she felt whole.

"Don't feel sorry for me."

"I don't!" she quickly explained. "I just know how you feel, and know how much it sucks. I've been there."

"Who would ever cheat on you? They'd have to be an idiot." Scarlet knew she was blushing, but didn't care.

"He was my first boyfriend. We dated for three years, and then at graduation, he told me he wanted to see other people. I found out later that he had already been seeing a lot of other people." James frowned then, and looked down into his mug of coffee.

"I was like him. I didn't have a three-year long relationship, but I cheated on my girlfriend's in school. You're probably repulsed."

"No, not at all. You were young, and so was he. I forgave him a long time ago. It's actually nice to see someone that's changed, it gives me hope that he did."

"You're really nice, you know that?" he said, giving her an appraising look.

"Thanks. Why don't you just tell your brother what she did?"

"She asked me not to, begged more like it. And I just don't have it in my heart to tell them. She really loves my family." Scarlet's affection for him grew tenfold.

"You're wonderful," she told him. She watched as a blush crept from his cheeks to his ears. His ears stuck out of the sides of his head more than natural, but Scarlet found it adorable. "How serious were you with her?"

"Very, I thought. I thought we'd get married one day, have a couple of kids. The works."

"And now?"

"And now with one look at you, I realize she's never made my heart feel like that."

"You felt it too?" Scarlet asked excitedly.

"Of course! It feels like I've been electrocuted!"

"I feel like I've been punched, only it was fantastic!"

"I feel like I've been assaulted by a hundred bludgers!" That woke Scarlet up.

"Bludger?" He suddenly looked very nervous. "You're a wizard!" His eyes lit up.

"You're a witch! This is perfect!"

"More than perfect." They both turned their heads as music began playing. Matt stood behind the counter, with a stalker like look on his face.

"Well isn't that creepy," James commented.

"He's more like a puppy, you just have to get used to him." James used his free hand to run it through his messy black hair. Scarlet felt the warmth in her chest quickly travel down to the space between her legs.

"Would you like to dance Scarlet?"James asked her tenderly.

"I'd love to."

That is how Scarlet found herself softly swaying with a fairytale prince as The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face played in the background. Their two hands had never lost contact, and while his other hand was rubbing circles on her waist, hers was playing with the loose hairs at the nip of his neck. They had begun the dance by making eye contact, almost mesmerized. Slowly Scarlet found herself falling deeper and deeper into him until her cheek was pressed up against his jaw. His heart was racing against her own, and without warning, they both sighed into one another.

He smelled like mint. Scarlet loved mint, loved it so much she wanted to explode. She didn't think it was possible to keep so many emotions inside without a grand explosion.

When the song ended, they both stopped, but made no move to part. When they pulled apart slightly, just to look at one another, Scarlet thought she might cry.

"I think I love you," he said, brushing a portion of her hair behind her ear.

"I think I love you." And they were kissing with lips forming together in a perfect mold. His lips were chapped and rough, but it was perfect.

"Do you want to get out of here?" he asked her.

"Sure," she said, and Scarlet quickly grabbed her purse and coat before joining James at the door.

"Where are you going Scarlet?" Matt yelled.

"I quit," she responded, feeling quite giddy.

James took her to a movie first. It was about two robots slowly falling in love and growing human emotions. At least that's what Scarlet thought as she didn't pay much attention to the movie. She was too busy whispering to James, causing them to receive many "shhhs" and dirty looks. The highlight of the movie had been when the two teens in front of them had started making out. James had thrown popcorn at them, causing them both to look around with embarrassed looks with every hit. Scarlet had demanded James stop, and had added a few light smacks to the chest to show she was serious, but kept giggling nonetheless.

Scarlet didn't know she could giggle until James.

Afterwards they went to a local café and ordered every type of pie there was. They talked for a very long time, about nothing and everything. James told her about his family from his Uncle Charlie to his Aunt Muriel. They both agreed that his cousin Dominique and her sister Emma would be the best of friends if they didn't first contribute to each others death upon their first meeting. Scarlet learned that James' favorite band was an electronic rock band named The Wonderful Wizards, while Scarlet embarrassingly admitted she loved show tunes. James' favorite drink was firewhiskey, while Scarlet loved any sweet wine there was. She laughed hard at a story he told involving his cousins Fred and Louis, and a three-legged cat.

"I love pie," Scarlet exclaimed after a particular delicious bite of apple.

"Me too. You know, you never did bring the pie at Kirk's"

"You wouldn't have wanted it, trust me."

"That bad?" Scarlet tried to think of a nice way to say that it tasted like dirt rolled in butter. James had begun laughing. "Merline you're cute."

"What do you mean?"

"Your face. You just scrunched it up and your lips got all tight. It was adorable."

"Should I be flattered?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't you be?"

"Well usually kittens and little girls are adorable."

"Would it help if I said you were sexy too?" Scarlet felt the warmth growing again, and she thought if James said sexy one more time, she might become a girl like Emma and escort him to the bathroom.

"Maybe." Scarlet was now even more aware that their legs were wrapped around one another, and that her shoeless foot was resting on his calve.

"Well then, I think you are very sexy Scarlet," James said, only there was a husky edge to his voice now. The air had become tense, and despite the many people eating pie around them, Scarlet could only focus on the slight twitch in his jaw.

"You too," Scarlet whimpered. James pulled money out of his pocket and began throwing it down on the table.

"Do you think this is enough?" Scarlet looked down to see enough money to put Erin halfway through law school.

"That's way too much," Scarlet said. James simply brushed it off with an "All well" and grabbed her hand. They were running out of the café, though Scarlet wasn't sure why because they didn't have a destination in mind. She could, however, feel anticipation building up in her and she acknowledged that they were most likely heading somewhere where she could become more acquainted with James' lips.

She found her assumption correct when he pulled her into a small alleyway and pushed her up against the wall. They were both laughing, and Scarlet was slightly out of breath from the run and trying to stay on her feet in wedges. Without a second of hesitation, she found her arms wrapping around his neck while his took up residence on her low lip and upper side.

They were kissing again, and nothing had felt so much like home. Scarlet was a witch, but knew that no matter how many spells she had cast or potions she had brewed, there was never so much magic shooting through her veins.

"Piss off you animals!" They were interrupted by a rough voice. They broke apart to assess the new intruder and were met with an older man, covered in grime and old clothes. His smell was slowly wafting up Scarlet's nostrils, confirming that this man had not taken a bath in some time.

"Sorry sir, were we bothering you?" Scarlet asked, genuinely concerned.

"Of course you monstrosity's were! It's impure, impure!" He began chanting "impure" while he pointed at Scarlet, and Scarlet thought he might have been talking about the hand that had somehow began a journey under her dress and up her thigh. She released James and took a step towards the man.

"My name's Scarlet, " she said, holding her hand out. The man hesitated for one very long minute where they all just stood there in silence.

"Ben," he responded, finally taking Scarlet's hand and shaking it.

"It's very nice to meet you Ben. Have you lived around here long?" Ben looked very uncomfortable for a moment, perhaps debating whether this blonde was mocking him.

"All my life," he finally said.

"How exciting! I'm from America and though I'm a city girl, it's nothing like London. I've fallen in love with it."

"It's shit," Ben responded incredulously.

"Oh no it's not!"

"It's overcrowded, the people are rude, and there's drunks like me every which way." Scarlet merely waved him off.

"Sacrifices of living in a city. It's got it's jewels too. Take that café just across the way. They have the best apple pie I've ever had, and I come from the land of apple pie!" Ben and James both laughed at that. "You have to try it, it's like heaven on a fork. It'll be my treat since you seem so unconvinced about the wonders of London." Scarlet pulled out enough money to buy enough apple pie ten times over and tried to hand it to Ben.

"No, no, I can't take your money miss," Ben said bashfully.

"No, please! I need to convince you that there's still good parts of London. Please go and try that apple pie. It would make me very happy." Ben looked like he would like nothing more than to make Scarlet happy so he took the money.

"I'll go and try it," he told her.

"That's great! Thanks Ben! It was so nice to meet you."

"You too Scarlet." Scarlet sent him along with a broad smile, and turned to James. He was ogling her like she had three heads.

"Is everything alright?"

"You're the best person I've ever met." It was the nicest thing anyone had ever said about her.

"Oh no, I'm not."

"Yes, yes you are." And Scarlet was locked in another kiss, that was filled with passion and zeal, as if James could convince her that she was the best person he'd ever met through a kiss. "Do you want to do something crazy?"

"What's that?" she asked, trying to grab his lips back to her own. James fought off her advances, and instead, took both her hands in his own, and bent down on one knee. "What are you doing?"

"Scarlet-" he stopped suddenly, waiting for her to fill in the blank.

"Kelly, my last name's Kelly."

"Scarlet Kelly, you are the most beautiful woman I've ever met, on the outside and inside. And I've never been very good with romance and that lot, but you make me want to do stupid shit like sing and eat an entire pie. I feel like I've always known you, and was just waiting to see you again. I know this might sound dumb and you might think I'm a lunatic, but I want to take a chance. A big chance on us, because nothing has ever felt so right in my fucking life. So, Scarlet Kelly, will you marry me?"

Scarlet was aware of the trash thrown around the alley, the moon shining on the drinkers of London as they cursed and stumbled through the city, the lights from the lampposts and neon open signs of various pubs and cafes. She was aware even more of James' beautiful brown eyes.

How could she say no to that? Not that James needed to even make speech, Scarlet would have said yes without it.

"Yes!" she cried, tears forming at the edges of her eyes. She had never cried from happiness before.

Things happened very fast from there. James bought them both a pair of sunglasses and trucker hats, and they were flooing and dissaparatting like celebrities on the run, hidden by their new garb. He had even grabbed some roses from a bush they passed. He had forgotten about thorns, and Scarlet had to do some simple healing spells.

She was laughing and kissing and just being happy.

"This is it!" James declared when they finally found themselves in front of an old abandoned house. Scarlet assumed it was a wizard's home, charmed to keep muggles away.

"What do you want?" A short man, outfitted in Puddlemore United pajamas answered the door. His black mustache hovered over his upper lip.

"Scarlet, this is Alfie Clarke, my nutritionist. Alfie, this is Scarlet Kelly, my fiancé."

"Fiance!" he shrieked. "What the hell are you talking about James?"

"You're ordained right Alfie?" James asked, completely ignoring Alfie's outrage.

"Well yes, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"I want you to marry us!"

"Marry you? When?"

"Right now!"

"Right now?" Alfie spread his arms wide and his mouth popped open in disbelief.

"Yup!" James clucked.

It took fifteen minutes for James to convince Alfie Clarke to marry them, and even then he spoke with grudging defeat. Scarlet had just stood by Alfie's side, amused. James was awful cute when he was trying to convince someone to go along with him.

"If I get any slack for this James.." he trailed off, because Alfie was not the type of man to make threats, let alone go through with them.

"You won't Alfie, this is all me."

"Alright." James and Scarlet took their places in front of Alfie, gripping each others hands. Alfie began the ceremony, reciting several spells before going on about love and the sacredness of marriage. It seemed Alfie was a romantic at heart. Halfway through a long Lord Byron poem, James thought it best to stop him.

"Alfie, how long is this going to take?" James asked. Scarlet wondered if James was just as eager to rip her dress off as she was to see what was under that ugly red sweater.

"Do not interrupt me James! I'm doing you quite the favor! If I want to do this properly, you will not interrupt." Alfie was very serious about this marriage business.

Scarlet and James made eye contact and giggled at each other like chastised children.

"Do you James Potter take Scarlet Kelly to be your lawfully wedded wife?" It was the first time Scarlet heard his last name, and though it rang a small bell in her mind, she was too happy to pay attention.

"I do." She watched as James took his wand and with a twirl, a simple brown knot formed around her ring finger and ended with a bow on top.

"Do you Scarlet Kelly take James Potter to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do." And Scarlet cast a similar knot on James' ring finger.

"By the power vested in me by the Ministry of Magic, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!" James tipped her over and placed a sweet kiss on her lips. Alfie had to wipe the tears away from his eyes.

"Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Potter!"

"Thanks Alfie!" Scarlet said and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek, causing him to color all over.

"Yeah, thanks Alfie! Lets go Mrs. Potter!" James dissaparated them to the nicest hotel she had ever seen and quickly checked them into a room.

Only when she noticed her reflection in the elevator door did she realize she had gotten married in a trucker hat. James picked her up, and she found her arms and legs easily forming around his body. There were kisses and squeezes everywhere, and Scarlet wasn't sure how they made it to the room and onto the bed.

James was trying hard to pull her dress over her head, but it just wasn't working, as it was tight fitted. Meanwhile, Scarlet had her own battle with a hideous red sweater that she was straining to pull over James' head. The abs beneath were well worth it. There was one point where Scarlet had blinded James with the sweater as he was trying to squeeze the dress over her large breasts.

"To hell with this," he declared throwing the sweater off himself, and flipping her over. He unzipped the dress, pulled it down, and threw it across the room faster than you could say Mississippi. He lowered himself between her legs to remove her underwear, and never came back up. It was not the first time a man had used his lips to pleasure her, but it was the first time Scarlet could compare it to discovering the cure for lycanthropy. When he was done, Scarlet thought it best to return the favor, before they launched into the big finale.

She thought she should have felt insecure and uncomfortable showing her naked body to James for the first time, but she never felt more sure about a sexual act. James' very touch had comforted and insured her that all of this was right. After they were done, they laid on their sides, intertwined with only the sound of their heavy breathing. James was running his hand up and down her side while she played with the lobe of his ear.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you," she responded, giddy from sex. Her heart almost fell out of her chest, until her stomach growled.

"Hungry?" he asked with a loving smile.

"Very." They ordered tons of room service at James' insistence. It was their honeymoon after all. They both drank wine, only dressed in their hotel robes, as they dined on the entire menu. James had made up a tragic play between two lobsters named Alfie and Byron, causing Scarlet to squirt wine out of her nose. James had responded by licking the wine off of her chin. They finished the evening by watching a Leonardo DiCaprio movie while James continually did his best impressions of the star. When they fell asleep, their naked bodies were so wrapped up in one another that you could not tell where one began and the other ended.

The pecking of an owl woke her up the next morning. She had wanted to stay bundled up with James, but the owl's insistence gave her no choice. So she left James, who was apparently a heavy sleeper.

"Alright, I'm coming." She opened the screen door that connected to their balcony, not even caring that she was in her birthday suite. She took the package the owl carried, and the owl quickly flew away. Scarlet stared down at the package, only to be astonished by pictures of herself. There was one of her and James kissing against the alley wall, another of them enjoying pie, and even one of James bending Scarlet over for their first marital kiss. The words "The New Mrs. Potter" flashed with every movement of the pictures.

"James," she called to him. He woke up and casually rested his head in his palm.

"Yeah," he said through a yawn.

"Is there something you have to tell me?" James looked at the magazine cover and gave her a sheepish look.

"Eh, about that."

Scarlet Kelly, Potter actually, was suddenly aware that there was a very big part of James that she was missing.


Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. And this chapter is named after a song by Bruno Mars. I don't own that either.