You cannot stand what I've become,
You much prefer the gentleman I was before.
I was so easy to defeat, I was so easy to control,
I didn't even know there was a war.
Why don't you come on back to the war? Don't be embarrassed.
Why don't you come on back to the war? You can still get married.
"What? Already?" Lily laughed.
Marlene McKinnon and Dorcas Meadows had paused in their potion mixing for the Order, and were grinning, too.
"Why not?" Alice Longbottom said, dicing mandrake root and returning the smile. "Just because there's a war on doesn't mean everything else in life stops. Frank and I have been married for six months. Why shouldn't we be trying for a baby?"
"I can't think of a single good reason," Lily assured her sincerely. She sighed a little wistfully. "When I was little and I thought life was simple, all I wanted to do was fall in love and get married and have lots of babies."
"No reason why you shouldn't," said Alice. "I think you'd make a wonderful mother. I bet you and that James Potter would make some very pretty babies," she added, grinning wickedly.
Lily blushed and bowed her head so her hair hid her face, feigning fierce concentration on the antidote before her. "What on earth would make you say a thing like that?"
"Well," said Marlene slyly, "he has been by 'just to say hello' three times this week."
Lily waved a hand in dismissal, but would not meet the other women's eyes. "It's nothing," she said. "We were friends at school. And last month when his parents - you know."
The women nodded in sympathy.
"Terrible," said Dorcas, shaking her head sadly. "Joseph Potter was one of the Ministry's best Aurors, and Eleanor was such a sweet lady."
Lily smiled a little sadly. "I never got to meet them. But you know I was there when James's father - went to the rendezvous."
"War is a terrible thing," said Alice. "But life goes on. You can still get married. You can't fool me, Lily Evans; I know what kind of 'friends' you and James Potter were at school."
Lily smiled and shrugged. "Maybe when the war's over. You remember what James was like in school, Alice. I don't know if he's mature enough for a commitment like that, let alone fatherhood. He's only nineteen."
"Oh, so you've thought about it!" interjected Dorcas with a laugh.
Lily blushed again. "In passing," she admitted. "Don't tell me you've never thought about Sturgis like that, because I know you have!"
It was Dorcas's turn to blush. "We've talked about it," she confessed. "But like you said. After the war."
"Well, there you are," Lily replied as if that settled matters. "No reason I shouldn't be thinking such things. James has changed a lot in the last couple of years. He's much more responsible than he used to be. He may be marriage material yet, by the time I'm ready to think about it."
"Good looking, too, isn't he?" Alice said with a wink. "I wonder how agility on the Quidditch pitch translates to the bedroom?"
Lily only smiled.
James was writing up reports when Remus came to see him. Remus took the empty chair and watched in sympathy for a moment as James ignored him, running fingers through hair which was already standing on end from hours of such treatment. There was a smudge of ink on his nose where he had scratched it with his quill.
"All these bloody reports!" cried James at last, breaking the silence. "Why can the Order never assign me to anything useful?"
"Reports are useful," replied Remus mildly. "Did you sleep with Lily? Sirius said you did."
James looked up at him coldly. He was in no mood for the male version of a gossip session. "I don't see how that's any of your business."
"You did." Remus nodded thoughtfully. "Are you planning to marry her?"
"What?" James asked blankly, utterly wrongfooted by the question.
"She's only nineteen, and she hasn't got any family," Remus explained. "Someone needs to look out for her. I'm it."
James sighed, his fingers scrubbing at his scalp once again. "We had a - a night," he confessed tiredly. "Adults are allowed to do that, you know. Without getting married. You and Sirius do."
"We do," Remus replied, frowning censoriously. "But to my knowledge, Sirius is not, at present, carrying my child."
"What?!" cried James. "Lily is -? How do you know?" he asked suspiciously.
Remus touched a finger to the tip of his nose. "I know," he said simply. "Now, are you going to marry her or not? Because I think it would impair our friendship if I were forced to bite you on the arse next full moon."
He did not want to believe Remus at first. As the days passed and Lily did not say anything to him on the subject, he began to relax. Werewolf senses or not, Remus did not have much experience with expectant women. There was every chance he could be mistaken. But when James opened the door of his new flat to find Lily standing on his doorstep a few days later, he knew by the look on her face that Remus had been correct. Still, he tried to forestall confirmation.
"You have your 'Head Girl' face on," he said lightly, standing aside to let her in. "What have I done?"
"What?" she asked, surprised. At his gesture, she took a seat on the rather worn sofa he had managed to pick up cheap.
"That look you always get when you're about to take someone to task for rule-breaking." He gave her his most winning Quidditch Captain smile, but he could feel the sweat breaking out on the back of his neck. She could probably hear his heart pounding.
"Oh. Well, I'm not here to yell at you, if that's what you're worried about," she said, biting her lip. "I just - thought we should talk."
"That sounds sort of ominous." He sat down beside her on the sofa.
They stared at one another in silent indecision for a moment.
Finally, Lily took a deep breath and said it in a rush, "James - you ought to know - I'm pregnant."
He had known it was coming since he had opened the door. Or if he was honest with himself, since Remus had told him. Still, like an idiot, he asked, "Are you sure?"
She smiled ruefully. "I mix potions for St Mungo's and the Order, James; I can make a pregnancy test potion."
"Well, sometimes those things aren't accurate," he babbled. "How can you be sure?"
"James, I know," she said, clearly calling up a reserve of patience she had put by especially for the occasion. "I double-checked. I'm having a baby."
"Well, what - I mean, how can I -" Why would his brain not work?
"Look, James. I'm sorry. I hate to spring this on you, and I don't mean to put you on the spot," she said, taking his hand. "I'm not asking you for anything. I have a good job. I can work for awhile yet, and my parents left me some money as well. You don't have to worry about me."
He nodded dumbly.
"I've made the decision to have this baby. Now I'm giving you the chance to decide how involved you want to be. I don't expect an answer right away," she added, seeing the overwhelmed expression on his face.
He nodded again, hardly knowing what to think.
At last, to his relief, a rational response surfaced in his brain. Remus always had the most sensible ideas. "Do you want to get married?"
She smiled again, but he caught a tinge of sadness in the expression. "You don't have to do that," she assured him, patting his hand.
He shook his head. "I said it wrong. What I meant -"
He rose from the sofa and got down on his knees before her. Clasping both of her hands formally between his own and looking straight into her startled green eyes, he said, "Lily Moira Evans, I love you. Will you be my wife?"
For a moment she stared at him, speechless. At last, she said faintly, "Yes. I suppose I will."
"All right, then. That's what we'll do."
James went to tell Remus and Sirius the news the next day. Remus looked approving, but Sirius was stunned.
"You're getting married? Just like that?" he asked. "Why?"
James looked at Remus. "You didn't tell him?"
"Wasn't my place to tell," said Remus with a shrug.
Sirius narrowed his eyes at them. James knew he hated the idea of his friends keeping secrets from him.
"Sorry, Padfoot," he said. "I figured Moony would have told you. I only found out for sure yesterday, myself. Lily's pregnant."
"Pregnant?" Sirius asked stupidly.
"Yes, Padfoot," James said patiently. "She's going to have a baby. We are. And we're getting married."
"Well," said Remus, smiling. "This is good news! When's the big day? What's the plan?"
"Er - plan?" James said weakly.
She knew that, traditionally, she should tell her family first that she and James were engaged, but all the family she had left was her sister Petunia, and they had not been on good terms for a few years. So it was Alice who heard the news first, and then Dorcas and Marlene. Amid the hugs and congratulations, Alice had a few questions.
"I thought you and James were 'just friends'," she said shrewdly. "Since when do 'just friends' suddenly decide to get married?"
"Well, it's just - we were - we wanted to -" She sighed. "Oh, bloody hell! It's not like you won't figure it out eventually. I'm pregnant."
There were gasps of shock, and a squeak of delight from Alice, who hugged her again.
"Oh, Lily! Congratulations!" She grinned wickedly. "I guess the Quidditch Captain still remembers some of his moves."
"Alice!" cried Lily, blushing. "You're going to spoil the moment. I was just about to ask you to be my Matron of Honour. And I was hoping you two would be my bridesmaids," she added, turning to the other women.
Alice dimpled with pleasure, but Marlene declared herself much too old to be a bridesmaid.
"Don't you have a sister?" she asked. "You really should ask her."
Lily looked a little sad. "I will," she said, "but I know what she'll say already. She didn't even tell me when she got married. Anyway," she teased, "don't you want to know how hideous the robes I'm choosing are, before you go refusing them?"
"When's the big day?" asked Dorcas. "I expect it's soon."
"It had better be," said Alice, "or it'll be maternity robes all around." When the other women looked at her, she dimpled again. "Lily's not the only one with news."
Even with work and the war on, James and Lily's friends found the time to help them plan their wedding. Or rather, help Lily. James had left the details of the wedding up to her, assigning himself the task of finding a new home for his incipient family. His own flat was squalid and unsuitable, and hers was much too small for the soon-to-be-three of them. Still, he was slightly stunned when she set the date of the wedding for Hogmanay.
"Can you really get it all ready that soon?" he asked in wonder.
"I can and I will," she told him. "Don't you worry about it, James. All you have to do is choose a Best Man, make sure you have decent robes, and turn up on the day. But if you can only manage one of those, I would prefer it to be you to showing up," she joked rather nervously.
"I'll be there," he assured her.
Between the four of them, Lily and her bridesmaids arranged the robes, the venue, the flowers, and the food by Christmas. When Lily had suggested that they ask Dumbledore to officiate, James had agreed at once, and they had gone together to ask the headmaster, who had informed them that he would be delighted. Besides that, the happy couple were so busy they hardly saw one another between the evening of the proposal and the wedding itself.
In fact, after James asked Sirius to be his Best Man, Lily saw more of him and Remus than of her fiancé. The two young men were an eager and fiercely-protective team, and Lily might have been irritated at their insistence upon doing every last little thing for her, if she had not been so touched. But there was one thing they insisted she do herself.
"You have to talk to her," Remus told her sternly one evening a week before the wedding. "However things may stand between you, she's your sister, and she ought to know, at the very least."
Having reluctantly agreed to contact Petunia, Lily knew she could not, in good conscience, do anything so impersonal as sending an invitation or placing a phone call. She knew she must go in person. Mindful of her sister's feelings about such things, and that most Wizarding methods of travel could be hazardous for the baby, Lily made her way to Little Whinging by Muggle means, and wearing Muggle clothing.
Her sister and her husband had taken up residence in Lily's parents' house, so she had no trouble finding the place. She did feel a twinge, though, at knocking on the front door of her old home like an unwelcome stranger. Heavy footsteps sounded within, and with a click of the latch, the door opened. A large, red-faced, mustachioed man looked her up and down with small, suspicious eyes.
"What do you want?" he asked rudely.
Armoring herself in courtesy, Lily forced herself to smile. "You must be Vernon," she said, extending her hand. "How lovely to meet you at last. I'm Lily Evans. Petunia's sister."
His eye widened, and for a moment, he looked indecisive. At last, without taking his eyes off her, he raised his voice. "Petunia!" he called. "There's someone here to see you."
More footsteps, and then Petunia Dursley's blonde head and horsey face appeared, peering around her husband's beefy shoulder. She uttered a small scream of horror and grabbed Lily's arm, dragging her inside.
"Someone might have seen her, Vernon!" she berated her husband. She let go of her sister and turned to face her. "What do you want?" she demanded.
Lily spread her hands in a placating gesture, and attempted to keep her wavering smile in place. "It's good to see you, Petty," she said softly.
Petunia snorted. Vernon Dursley hovered behind his wife uncertainly.
Lily took a deep breath and continued, "I came to invite you to my wedding. Both of you," she added hastily. "I'm marrying James Potter. I told you about him, Petty, remember?"
Her sister stiffened slightly at the name and nodded imperceptibly.
"It's going to be held on the thirty-first in a little village called - called Hogsmeade. It will just be a small ceremony," she assured them. "Very quiet and respectable. I've had some bridesmaid robes made for you, Petty." She looked pleadingly at her elder sister.
It was Vernon who spoke first, though. "Is it going to be your sort of people there?" he asked, eyes narrowed. "Petunia's told me you run with a very odd crowd. From some special school? Weirdoes, the lot of them, she said."
Lily glanced at him in surprise and then looked back at her sister. "You haven't told him?" she asked in disbelief.
"You think he'd believe me?" Petunia hissed. "You think I'd want him thinking I'm the crazy one?"
"Oh, for heaven sake!" said Lily, rolling her eyes. She turned to Vernon. "I'm a witch."
He looked unimpressed. "Oh, I see. One of those new-agey types, are you? Bonfires and running around the woods with your kit off?"
"Nothing of the sort," she said coldly. She drew her wand and pointed it at his chest. "Vestis Constrictus."
With a long hiss, all the air left Vernon Dursley's lungs. Petunia gave a squeak of dismay, and hurried to loosen his tie and straining buttons as his face grew purple.
"I see that I have your attention now," Lily said evenly. "As I was saying, I am a witch. My fiancé, James Potter, is a wizard. All of our friends and their families who will be attending the wedding will be witches and wizards. And," she concluded in tones of satisfaction, laying a hand upon her midsection, "our children will be witches and wizards."
She released the charm, and Vernon gulped a lung-full of air. Ignoring his wife's concerned fluttering, his eyes remained fixed upon Lily. She was gratified to see that he was shaking slightly, though he made a creditable attempt to retain his composure.
"Your children?" he asked in dawning horror. "This - this deviancy - it's not genetic is it?" He turned his horrified gaze upon his wife, eyes fixing upon her hands, clamped tight across her belly.
"No!" screeched Petunia. "Sister or no, I won't have you spreading your filthy lies here! It's not true, Vernon," she said, turning her pleading eyes to her husband. "She's the deviant. I'm normal. My parents were normal. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, all respectable, upstanding, and completely, utterly normal." Her hands remained firmly in place, bony fingers digging into the fabric of her dress.
"Oh, Petty!" Lily cried, unsure whether to laugh or weep. "You're having a baby too?"
The disquiet was clear in Vernon's eyes as he turned them on Lily. "Leave my house at once, woman." His voice was low and threatening. "You have upset my wife, and I will not have you near my child, nor any of your kind either. Go."
It was starting to rain as they shut the door behind her. In that last instant, when her eyes had met her sister's, she thought she saw a flash of regret, but perhaps it was only wishful thinking. By the time she found her way back to the train station, her face was wet with rain. It was impossible to tell if she had been crying.
James stood staring at the vision of loveliness before him, feeling stunned. A smiling Dumbledore had said "husband and wife", and a crowd of their friends had cheered the chaste kiss they had exchanged, but he could not quite believe that it was real.
Since when am I such a lucky bastard? he thought, grinning stupidly.
He noticed Lily's eyelashes were clumped with moisture, though she was smiling and biting her lip as if trying not to laugh. He had not thought to be starting a family so soon, but if this was his chance to have this beautiful, brilliant woman all to himself, he was by God going to take it.
A surprising number of people had turned out for the big day. He had not noticed during the ceremony - he had had eyes for no one but Lily - but the Three Broomsticks was crowded for the reception afterwards. In a troubled world, people will find the time to rejoice at any cause for celebration. Most of those assembled knew Lily was expecting, but it made no difference to them. Their friends were happy for them, and soon a new life would enter the world. They were all prepared to do whatever they could to see that this child grew up in peace and safety, and never knew the hardships of this dreadful time.
Alice Longbottom looked nearly as radiant as Lily. She and her husband Frank kept casting besotted looks at one another, clearly recalling their own wedding day the previous spring. Lily had told James that Alice, too, was expecting, and he eyed her covertly, trying to decide if he would have known if he had not been told. He still thought it hugely unfair that Remus had known of Lily's condition before he had. But then, Remus had the heightened senses common to werewolves, and he had always shared a special bond with Lily.
Looking around for Remus, he instead spotted a dark-haired woman whose cheekbones and gray eyes identified her as a member of the Black family. Andromeda, the only Black besides Sirius who would countenance attending a wedding between a pure-blood wizard and a Muggleborn witch. Andromeda's husband, Ted Tonks, was also Muggleborn. Their marriage had horrified her family, who had promptly disowned her. It went without saying that she and Sirius were close.
Andromeda caught James's eye and came to offer her congratulations. "Lily looks lovely," she said in her throaty voice, smiling down at him. She was a tall woman, with Sirius's wide smile. "And you don't look half bad either," she added with a wink, glancing at his hair.
He grinned at her. "Flatterer," he said, patting his head self-consciously. "Lily despairs of me; there's not a charm nor potion that can make my hair lie flat."
"I so wanted to bring Dora with me today," she said with a sigh.
"Dora?" he asked, confused.
"My daughter, Nymphadora," she explained. "She would have loved this." She gestured at the food, the decor, the guests in their finery.
James nodded. "Sirius said she was ill. I hope it's nothing too awful?"
"Dragonpox," Andromeda said ruefully. "Ted had to stay home with her. It's such a shame I couldn't bring her; she's hardly been out of the house in weeks. I'm terrified something might happen to her," she admitted. "She hates being cooped up, but she's so careless, and she's endlessly getting away from me. You know how she loves hiding."
James nodded vaguely. He had met the girl once or twice. Sirius was besotted with his little cousin, and often boasted of how much she resembled him, taking pride in her mischief and misadventures.
All thought of Sirius's extended family left him, though, as green eyes met his across the room. Accio James, he thought, and said, "Sorry, Andromeda; I think I'm wanted."
She gave a throaty laugh and patted his arm. "Don't let me keep you. I was just about to go examine the vast array of cakes Rosmerta has laid out."
James felt as though he was drowning in emeralds as those green eyes drew him across the room. A radiant smile touched the mouth of the red-haired witch dressed in cream-coloured robes edged in delicate pink. I would die for that smile.
She took his hand in hers. "I was wondering where you'd got to," she said, standing on tiptoe to kiss him. "I thought you might like to try some of the mead before Sirius finishes it."
"I haven't had that mush - er - much," said their Best Man, feigning offended dignity.
"Well, go easy," Lily told him. "You have a speech to give, remember?"
"Don't - hic - don't you worry, my dear," he replied grandly, bowing to her. "It will be a marvelous speech, full of wisdom and portent and - er - things."
"I should have warned you," groaned James. "Sirius gets pompous and avuncular when drunk."
There was a flash of light, and all three turned to regard Peter, clutching his old, battered camera and grinning.
"Which of these lovely ladies is the bride, Prongs?" he teased.
He snapped another picture of the three of them, as Sirius laughed, and James and Lily grinned lovingly at one another.
James inclined his head toward Sirius. "That one's been spoken for, more's the pity," he said mournfully. "I guess I'll just have to settle for the stunning redhead."
"I hope these pictures come out," said Peter, winking at Lily. "I'm not sure my poor camera can handle anything so blindingly beautiful."
"Now, Wormtail, don't flirt," admonished Sirius. "Prongs already told you; I'm promised elsewhere."
James tore himself away from Lily long enough to take Peter aside for a moment. "I wanted to thank you," he said sincerely. "I know your mum's poorly, and I really appreciate you making the effort to show up today."
Peter looked slightly abashed and addressed his own toes. "You know I wouldn't have missed it for the world."
"And," James added, "I appreciate that you didn't bring - well, you know."
Peter had been seeing Madeleine Yaxley off and on since their fourth year. Long acquaintance had not endeared her to the rest of the Marauders.
"I wanted to ask her," he admitted miserably, "but you know what she would have said."
James allowed his friend a little sympathy. "Something about blood traitors and mudbloods and not being caught dead, doubtless," he said drily.
"I'm sorry, Prongs," Peter looked up. "I know what you lot think of her."
"You know she's probably a Death Eater, don't you?" James inquired gently.
Peter nodded again, eyes dropping back to the ground. "I've broken it off with her. For good this time. I don't want anyone to think I'm associated with - those people." He shuddered slightly.
James clapped him on the shoulder. "Good man, Wormtail," he said warmly. "You can do better than her, anyway. That girl was trouble down to her toes."
"James!" someone called, making him look up. The guests were shushing one another, their attention turned toward Sirius, standing on a chair next to the mead cask with a glass in his hand.
The Mead Toast was an ancient Wizarding custom, whereby a close male friend or relative toasted the bridal couple with honeywine, symbolically bestowing the family's blessing on the union, and usually embarrassing the hell out of them in the process. James had no brothers or other family, and so the task fell to Sirius, his Best Man and best friend. James and Lily made their way to the mead cask as Sirius began to speak.
"I was going to say something witty that would have you all rolling on the floor, wetting yourselves with glee," he said. "But Remus suggested that I try taking something seriously for once. What the hell, eh? I'm open to new experiences." He grinned and raised his glass to the bridal pair. "To my best friend James Potter, who taught me the value of having someone to laugh with, and to his beautiful bride. I wish you joy in each other, long lives together, enough children to start your own Quidditch team - and pray that they look like their mother, because God help them if they get that hair!"
James was too moved to speak. He saw tears shining in Lily's eyes as they raised their glasses of exquisitely-spiced mulled mead in salute to all those assembled.
It was ironic, James thought, that on a day supposedly devoted to their union, he was barely able to speak two words to Lily without being interrupted. Of course he appreciated all the good wishes and kind and admiring words, and he was pleased that everyone was having such a marvelous time, but the longer it went on, the more he longed for the moment when he and his new bride would finally have the space to breathe, and the quiet in which to say a few words to one another.
He got his chance when Madam Rosmerta brought a new cask of mead up from the cellar - one she had been saving for special, she said. Lily hung back. Too much mead would not be good for the baby, and she had limited herself to a small measure during Sirius's toast.
James made his way toward her, keeping a wary eye on the increasingly-rowdy celebration, but their attention seemed to be entirely taken up with Rosmerta's glorious golden beverage. Placing a hand on the small of Lily's back, he leaned to whisper in her ear.
"Come on. Let's get out of here for a bit."
It was cold outside, and growing dark as well, but the air was fresh and clear, and the stars twinkled brightly. They walked in silence for a moment before James turned to her, taking her hands in his.
"You look lovely today, Lily," he told her sincerely. "But I imagine you've been told that a hundred times already."
"A hundred and twelve," she acknowledged. "I've been counting. But about forty of those were Remus. Did you see him after the fifth glass of mead? He cried."
"Well, you know Remus loves you," he said with a smile. "Maybe not as much as Sirius, but you're definitely in the top ten."
"So Remus doesn't love me as much as Sirius loves me?" she teased.
"You know what I mean," he said, wrinkling his nose. "And he's right; you do look especially lovely today."
"Really?" she replied. "Because you look as if you've been hit on the head. You've been going around with a stunned look on your face all day. Not having second thoughts, are you?" She said it lightly, but he heard the catch in her voice.
Her eyes looked black in the starlight, and he was lost in them. "Of course not," he said firmly. "How could you think that?"
She bit her lip. "I don't. Not really. It's only - well, you haven't tried to - to touch me or anything since - the one time."
Memory washed over him, and he felt dizzy. Grief. Horror. Lily, soft and sweet under his hands. He shook off the feeling. How could he make her understand? He led her to a bench, and sat facing her, still holding both her hands in his.
"What happened that night between us," he began. "It was wonderful. It was amazing. But it was wrong." When her brow furrowed, he hastened to amend, "Not wrong, I don't mean. It just wasn't how I would have wanted it to happen. On the one hand, I guess I'm glad it happened like it did, because we probably wouldn't be where we are now, and we might never have been. But I wanted to do things right with you. I waited for so long, and I should have waited a little more. I was out of control that night. I hardly knew what I was doing. I'm sorry."
She smiled at him with only a trace of sadness in her eyes. "And here was me, thinking I was a horrible person for taking advantage of your grief, and not taking proper precautions. I'm sorry, too."
The apology lightened his mood. "Well, now that we're both a couple of sorry souls, what happens next?"
She laid her head on his shoulder. "I hear Rosmerta's reserved the honeymoon suite for us. It would be a shame to waste it. I mean, we're married now, if you're ready to - er - do things right."
"Do you want to?" he asked, wrapping his cloak around them both against the chill of the night. "I wasn't sure if you would, and I couldn't think how to ask. I was worried maybe you took me the once for pity."
"For pity," she admitted. "For understanding. For admiration. For respect. And for love. I think."
"Do you love me then, Lily?" She had never said it, and he found himself holding his breath.
She was silent for a moment, then, "I do," she said for the second time that day. "I think I have since seventh year." She raised her head to look into his eyes. "I love you, James Potter." She kissed him, long and tenderly. "Now let's go see about that honeymoon suite."
They sneaked around to the back entrance of the Three Broomsticks, avoiding the noisy taproom, and, intoxicated by the winter air and each other, made their way up the narrow wooden stairs, clinging to one another for support, blushing and giggling nervously. James was just fumbling with the door handle when Lily suddenly laid a restraining hand on his arm.
"What was that?" she whispered.
"What was what?" But by then he had heard it, too: a frantic scuffling sound from inside the room.
James pushed the door open and halted abruptly. "Ah," he said.
"Who's there?" asked Lily, craning to see around him.
A very flushed and tousled Remus and Sirius stood on conspicuously opposite sides of the room, fiddling with the garlands of pine boughs and holly which festooned the walls. James's eyes fell suspiciously upon the bed, but it was neatly made. Too neatly. James recalled the sliderule precision with which Remus had folded the hospital corners on his bed in their schooldays.
"We - ah - weren't expecting you so soon," Remus said, not meeting James's eyes.
"We thought we'd take a bit of a breather," replied James, fixing his fellow Marauders with a gimlet eye. "What are you doing up here?"
"We were just putting the finishing touches on the decorations," volunteered Sirius too quickly. "Do you like them?"
Beneath the greenery, scented candles lit the room with a warm and inviting glow. A bottle of Goblin's Reserve stood open and breathing on a small table, and Sirius fidgeted with it, adjusting the position of the accompanying glasses by a millimetre or so.
"I love them. Especially this one," said Lily, bending over to pick up something small and white, lying on the floor. "It's such a nice touch."
It was a button.
Sirius glanced down at his shirt furtively. "Ah. I think that's mine," he muttered. "I must have - er - caught it on something. While we were decorating."
"Looks like you two have been working awfully hard," commented James with a grin. "Why, Moony's shirt has come all untucked. And turned itself inside out. And I believe you'll find your other shoe just there under the table, Padfoot."
"Yes, well." Remus quickly bent down to retrieve the shoe, then grabbed Sirius by the elbow and dragged him from the room, smiling a little too widely. "We'll just - leave you to it, then, shall we? See you back downstairs in a bit!"
Lily collapsed on the bed in a fit of giggles.
"They didn't, did they?" James asked, sitting down beside her.
"I rather expect they did," Lily fizzed. "At least they didn't drink the wine. Pour me a glass, will you, Husband?"
James's heart skipped a beat at the word, but he said, "Are you sure you should be drinking? It's not good for the baby, is it?"
Lily shook her head. "It's Goblin's Reserve," she replied, leaning over to pour it herself.
"What difference does that make?" James asked, puzzled.
"I looked into it," Lily explained. "I wanted something nice for the wedding that I could actually drink. Intoxication in Goblin's Reserve comes from a charm; not from alcohol. That's why it never causes hangovers. It shouldn't have any effect on the baby at all."
"Well in that case -" James took the bottle from her and poured himself a glass of the dark ruby liquid. The bouquet was rich and inviting. He raised the glass. "To Mrs Potter," he said, wondering if she felt the same internal flutter at the words that he did. "May she always suffer fools gladly. Well, one of them, anyway."
The glasses chimed together, and they sipped in silence for a moment, the wine spreading its warming tendrils to the ends of their fingers and chilled toes.
"What's this?" Lily asked curiously, picking up something which lay on the bed's white coverlet. She turned it over in her hands, examining it closely. It was a flower, red as the wine in their glasses. "I thought it was a rose at first, by the colour, but it's not."
"It's a red lily," he said softly.
She looked up at him in surprise. "There's no such thing."
"There is. But I couldn't get a real one." He could not suppress a small, triumphant smile. "I made it. For you."
"Oh." She looked down at the flower again. "James, this is beautiful."
"I snuck up here earlier," he confessed. He gestured toward the place where it had lain. "I just thought how lovely you would look, lying there. How lovely you looked that night."
"Oh, so you do want to?" she teased with a deliciously wicked grin. She gently placed the lily next to the half-empty bottle, and turned toward him. "Well, I'm glad Remus and Sirius didn't squash it."
"You know, I think I like you when you're pissed, Evans," he commented. "You're almost as bad as I am."
"I'm not pissed!" she protested. "I'm barely on my second glass." But her face was flushed and her eyes sparkled in the candlelight.
James had never seen a more beautiful sight in all his life. "Come here and prove it then, my Red Lily."
This time, he thought as he tasted the wine on her lips and felt her smooth, warm flesh under his hands and the heat of desire between her thighs, it's right.
They barely made it back downstairs by midnight to ring in the new year.
