Lily sat in front of the mirror, looking at her reflection but not quite seeing it. A single tear fell from her eye. Today she was going to get married to James Potter. Her dreams were going to come true. Her dream wedding had finally arrived.
And yet, she was sitting in the dressing room of the Potter Manor in her pure white wedding dress crying silently. She couldn't figure out why. Was it because her father was no longer alive to escort her down the aisle as he had escorted Petunia almost a year ago? Or was it because Petunia had so ruthlessly refused to be her bride's maid?
Four months had passed since the terrible accident that had taken the life of her parents, so it didn't hurt that much; but it hurt nevertheless. On leaving school, she had rushed home to inform her parents about the engagement. They were thrilled. When James called at their place after a few days, they had been exceptionally pleased at her choice; maybe, a tad more than they had been of Petunia's, a fact that she noticed very quickly. A couple of weeks later, she had moved in with James at the Potter Manor to get to know his family better. Mr. and Mrs. Potter had loved her.
In the first week of July itself, Lily had applied for training at St. Mungo's and James at the Ministry. The N.E.W.T results had come just two days after they had come back and since each of them had the desired results, they could pursue their chosen careers.
Lily had returned from St. Mungo's early that day in late July. She had got a message from Dumbledore that a meeting was to take place at the Hog's Head at 4:00 pm. It was three, and she was waiting for James to return so that they could go together. A brown owl swooped through the window and landed on the kitchen table. Lily, expecting it to be a letter from James probably saying that he would be late received it. She opened the letter and read its contents, and let it slip from her hands.
Petunia stood in the lobby of the Muggle hospital sobbing hysterically into Vernon's shoulder. Lily rushed past her to the Operation Theatre, where her parents were battling for life. They had met with a car crash on the way to Surrey. She could not believe it. Her parents were lying helplessly with tubes and tubes of blood all over. She had requested with the doctors to let her in while they operated on her, but they didn't. She tried all the spells she had ever learnt through the glass doors itself but to no avail.
Meanwhile, James had reached home to find it empty. It took him five minutes to find the letter from Petunia that Lily had dropped, and rushed to her. He found her sitting in the lobby staring at her hands.
It had taken her two months to be herself again. And now, here she was, ready to be married but a little saddened by her loss. She got up from the chair, wiped the single tear away, and left the room.
James couldn't take his eyes off the pearly figure in white, as she walked towards him (Sirius was literally bursting with excitement). He held out his hand when she reached him, boring his eyes into the gorgeous beauty, making her blush slightly. They both looked too happy to be able to say anything. They vaguely heard themselves taking the vows. As they kissed, their first kiss as husband and wife, a hundred golden balloons rose into the air and music bellowed all around them.
As the evening progressed, the newly wedded couple was bestowed upon by loads of presents from James's and a few of Lily's relatives (those who knew she was a witch) and friends. Sirius after having two bottles of undiluted Firewhisky, was creating a commotion on the dance floor, breaking up dancing couples and taking the girls for himself. At one point he even went for Lily, but James shooed him away. Both were lost in each other.
As the stars started peeping out from the sky that was rapidly turning navy blue, the guests bid farewell and with a last word of "congratulations" and "good-lucks" disapperated into thin air. The band followed suit and so did the waiters, promising to come back the next day to take away the Marquee.
Ethan and Emily Potter, James, Lily, Sirius, Remus, Peter and Mary made their way inside the house to have a last cup of coffee before dispersing themselves. Sirius seemed to have calmed down a bit, but just to make sure, Remus flooed himself with Sirius to his new place (that his uncle Alfred had left him). Peter too went to his mother's house and Mary to her flat.
Lily was mighty tired after all the dancing. She just wanted to be back in the bedroom that she and James would now share. But James thought differently. When Ethan and Emily retired for the night (knowing what he had planned), James took Lily's hand and despite her protests Disapparated to the edge of a post-card village covered with early November snow. Sleet was falling and cold wind ruffled the trees.
Lily, who was wearing just a scarf around her shoulders, shivered. James threw his blazer around her. Lily looked around. It was a picturesque village. Large cottages with slanting red roofs stood on either side of the road starting from where they stood. Light was shining through the windows of many. At the far end of the road ahead, Lily could see the square. She could make out the high church with its lit windows and the pub, even in the dark. The country extended far and wide behind her.
'Where are we, James? And why are we here?' asked Lily interestedly but with a slight edge to her voice. She was still cold and tired. 'Godric's Hollow,' replied James promptly. 'Have we come here to meet someone or was it just one of your urges to suddenly take me to Godric's Hollow?' she asked as they headed down the road. He grimaced in reply.
They walked some distance, till another road lead off to the right and another row of houses continued beyond it. James stopped in front of a beautifully built cottage at the beginning of the row that ended at the square.
'James, whose house is this?' asked Lily. She was impatient now. 'You'll see,' he smiled and pushed open the gate. Even in the slight light coming from the windows of the cottage, she could make out a well maintained garden. James walked up to the door and without knocking, pushed it open. Ready to reprimand him for his lack of manners, she followed.
Lily stopped dead in her tracks. The house was exquisite. The living room was painted light peach and the yellow light that glowed off the walls highlighted all the items kept around. She stared, speechlessly. She had never seen such a beautiful house. It looked so homely.
'Welcome to your new home, Mrs. Potter!' James whispered from behind. She turned around and stared in disbelief. They had been too busy over the past two months to look for a house. They had decided that they would go home- hunting after marriage. When did James get the time to buy and furnish a house? And he had kept this from her all along. Tears filled in her eyes as she remembered how she had once vaguely mentioned that she, being in Gryffindor, wanted to live in Godric's Hollow where the founder of their house had been born.
James wiped Lily's tears and pulled her into a close embrace, kissing her lightly on the nose first and then on the lips. He removed the coat she was wearing and put it on the back of the sofa. His hand traced the edge of her dress on her sparsely covered back. She ran her hand through his messy hair and leaned in to kiss him.
He carried her upstairs to their bedroom in his arms. He unzipped her dress and she took off his shirt. They went to bed with not a care in the world. They considered themselves to be the happiest and the luckiest ones as they each other.
Later they lay in the bed, blankets drawn, fingers entwined. They had made love many times before, but this was special. They were soul mates now. Nothing in the world could separate them. They were made for each other.
