December 30th, 1977

The wedding ceremony had been short and tasteful. The bride and her other two bridesmaids, one a friend from school the other from work, had been mercifully civil toward Lily during the preparations, and Lily had done her best to play the part of dutiful, loving sister. And she had not been lying when Petunia had slid into their mothers' gown, her usually sullen face glowing with happiness, and Lily had leaned in to whisper "You look beautiful" in her ear.

Petunia had smiled gratefully and patted the supportive hand Lily had placed on her shoulder. And for just a moment, there was a flicker of that old warmth they had felt toward each other during childhood. Before that fateful letter had come, and they'd each committed wholeheartedly to opposite sides of an unbreachable divide.

Now, Lily and James sat at the head table, watching the various guests toast to the happy couple. Fortunately, Lily had not been requested to give her own toast. The title of Maid of Honor had gone to Yvonne, Petunia's dearest friend, and someone who had much more to say about the beaming bride.

It pained Lily a little to realize, as Yvonne listed Petunia's positive qualities and peppered the speech with inside jokes, just how well Yvonne knew her sister; far better than she did. She knew they'd been steadily growing apart over the years, but the picture Petunia painted by Yvonne's speech was a different woman than the one Lily imagined her sister to be, and she knew in that moment, that Petunia existed far more in her imagination than in her real life.

Her mind flickered to her own wedding day. She ignored the urge to paste James's face onto the anonymous groom that had always stood there in her fantasies. She smiled, a little sadly, as she thought about what it would be like to step into that gown. Would Petunia be there to tell her she looked beautiful? Would she be able to stand being around so many magically inclined people at once? Because other than her family, Lily knew her wedding guests would be composed entirely of people from the Wizarding World, from her world, however broken it was at the moment.

The guests broke into applause as Yvonne concluded her toast. Petunia wiped a tear from her eye and got up to hug her Maid of Honor. Vernon squeezed her hand as she sat back down, and Lily's heart warmed a little at that small sign of tenderness. Vernon and Petunia were very private people and dedicated to traditional notions of propriety. Therefore, they held a strict 'no public displays of affection' policy.

So much so, that Lily had begun to wonder if there was any real love between the two or if the relationship was merely one of convenience; two acquaintances with similar values at a certain time of life in which it was expected to settle down and start a family. It would explain why their relationship had moved so quickly. Lily had never seen them so much as hold hands before today, and even their first kiss as husband and wife had been quick and perfunctory. But that little intimate touch gave her a glimpse of the very real affection that must exist between them.

As if reading her thoughts, James placed his own hand over hers where it rested on the table, loosely gripping the stem of her wine glass. He jerked his head toward the dance floor, where the band had just resumed their performance following the various speeches and announcements. Lily smiled her assent, and they rose to their feet. But they were intercepted as they approached the dance floor. "Apologies, James, but I think I'm going to have to claim this dance," said Joseph Evans. Lily grinned at her father and took his outstretched hand.

James bowed and went back to the table, where he sat obediently silent. Lily had given him firm instructions to keep his interactions with the other guests to the bare minimum. She could tell it was weighing heavily on her extremely extroverted and charming boyfriend to brush off all attempts at friendly conversation. But Lily had promised Petunia they would both be on their best behavior tonight, and Petunia's definition of 'best behavior' was 'make no one aware of your existence'.

Lily let her dad guide her into a waltz, one of the first and only dances he had ever taught her, having begun the instruction just a year before Lily left for Hogwarts. Joseph was an adept dancer, having taken lessons in childhood at the insistence of his mother. He was grateful for them later in life when he found the coordination he'd developed served him well on the football pitch.

Lily had been relieved to find her father looking so well this break. Thinner and greyer than she would have liked, but generally healthy and significantly less gaunt than he had been over the summer. He even seemed to have more energy than he had during her brief visit just over a month ago. Though perhaps that was just the wedding adrenaline kicking in. Or that he'd managed to time his treatments in relation to today so that he had sufficiently recovered from the last one and still had a bit of time to breathe before the next one. If only Remus had that flexibility when it came to moon cycles.

He smiled at Lily and cracked a joke about how Vernon seemed to be the life of the party in his family. Lily beheld the grim looking guests on his side of the room and held back a laugh. "I'm so glad your mother talked some sense into your sister. It wouldn't have felt right without you here today," he said more somberly. "What is a wedding without your family?" he asked rhetorically.

Another image from her future wedding flashed in her mind, this time of her and her father sharing the same father-daughter dance as he had done earlier that evening with Petunia. It was something she hadn't dared to hope for in years, ever since he had first been diagnosed with such a grim prognosis. But now, with that cursed disease finally in remission, and things going so well with James…well, it felt almost within her grasp.

She rested her head on her father's shoulder, and for once he didn't reprimand her for breaking her form, but just held her a little tighter, as if he too had been ruminating about a happy future with his daughters that he hadn't let himself consider until tonight. Lily held back the tears that sprang to her eyes. She would not let herself cry in front of all these people, even if a few tears were to be expected at a wedding.

They gave each other a lingering hug as the song rolled to a close. He kissed her gently on the forehead, and said "I suppose I better let you get back to your poor neglected boyfriend. He's been doing such a good job of keeping his mouth shut around all these 'insufferable Muggle snobs'," he said, referencing the speech he had overhead Lily give James in the back of the car on the way to the church and causing her to blush. "It would be a shame if he broke his streak because I let him go unsupervised for too long."

When Lily reached the head table, however, James was nowhere to be seen. Her heart sank, and she tried not to envision him smugly telling one of Vernon's more dour uncle's that his father was a famous potioneer. Surely he'd just gone to the bathroom. Since no shouts from the bride or groom had reached her ears yet, her heart rate settled back to a more normal pace.

She scanned the room and spied a familiar mop of black hair toward the back, and her anxiety was instantly replaced with deep confusion. What was James doing seated at the kids' table? Lily slid past various tables filled with distant, barely known relatives, her parents' friends, and Grunnings employees, giving a friendly wave here and there and dodging all attempts by the guests to corner her and ask that dreaded question "so what are you up to these days?".

A rotund woman at one of Vernon's tables gave her an extremely sour look when Lily almost accidentally stepped on the leg of a bulldog that was lying next to her seat. Lily briefly paused to wonder how and why there was a bulldog at a wedding reception, but quickly continued on her quest to find out what her mischievous marauder was up to.

She froze a few steps away as she began to hear the hushed conversation he was having with her seven-year old third cousin. "And then you have to say the magic words," James said solemnly.

"What are the magic words?" whispered Laney.

"Abracadabra, of course," said James.

"Abracadabra," breathed Laney.

"Good, now say it again, but this time place your hand over mine." He held out a clenched fist.

Laney placed her little palm over it and said, eyes wide in anticipation, "Abracadabra".

"Voila," said James, opening his hand to reveal a pink rose, which he tucked behind Laney's ear. "Look how beautiful you are," he grinned.

Laney grinned back, marveling at the sudden appearance of the flower and the handsome stranger that had given it to her.

Lily cleared her throat loudly, and Laney started, but James remained cool as a cucumber as he turned to smile at her. "And what have we here?" asked Lily, trying to sound casual so as not to alert Laney that something was amiss.

"James was showing me magic tricks!" squealed Laney. "He turned a coin into a rose. Look!" said Laney pointing to her hair in excitement.

"I see! How wonderful. And did he show you any other tricks?" asked Lily.

"Yes!" cried Laney in delight. "He made the candle turn off and on. It was amazing!"

"Who knew he was so talented?" said Lily with a tight smile.

James finally had the decency to look sheepish at being caught. "Well, she refused my request for a dance, so I had to find some other way to keep us entertained," he explained.

"Ah," said Lily curtly. "Well, Laney, would you mind if I borrow him for a moment?"

"No," said Laney, looking a bit disappointed that she was losing her new friend so quickly.

"And remember," added James, "secrecy of the utmost importance to magicians, so don't tell anybody about my tricks, or I'll be kicked out of the Magicians' Guild for breaking the code."

"I won't, I promise," said Laney.

"You just couldn't resist, could you?" asked Lily, more in amusement than anger, as they walked away.

"Well, what else was I supposed to do while I waited for you to get back?" he asked, the picture of innocence.

"I don't know, try anything at all except the one thing you're strictly forbidden to do today?" replied Lily.

"Oh, relax. I didn't do anything but basic Muggle party tricks. No magic involved. Well, no wand anyway. I'm sure I had a little unintentional assistance from my wandless magic in the slight of hand."

Lily sighed. "Well, no harm, no foul, I suppose."

But just minutes later, Petunia came fuming over to where they sat eating their cake. "What's this I hear about an interesting man performing magic tricks for the children?" she asked through clenched teeth. "Interesting" sounded like a dirty word the way Petunia said it.

Lily's heart froze. Of course Laney had told. She was seven. Or else, someone had overheard. "It's not what you think, Petunia," said Lily hastily. "He wasn't using any magic. Just doing the same thing any Muggle hack at birthday party could manage."

"Out," said Petunia, no longer capable of forming complete sentences.

"Out where, Petunia? We're miles from home and there's another hour left of the party," Lily tried to reason. "He won't do it again, I promise."

"Cross my heart," added James, but shut his mouth quickly when he saw the look Lily shot him.

"I. Said. Out." Petunia huffed away, leaving no room for further questions.

Lily slumped in her seat looking utterly defeated.

"Lily, I…" James began.

"Don't. Just don't," she whispered, eyes closed as though the situation would disappear if she just shut them tightly enough. She opened them slowly and James saw they were brimming with tears. His heart broke a little at that.

"I'm an arse," he said in lieu of the apology she had already rejected.

"Completely," she said.

"Completely," he agreed.

"Well, let's go. There's a park on the other side of the car park. We can wait out there, I guess," she said, getting to her feet.

"Oh come on, I'm sure it was just an idle threat. She doesn't actually expect us to wait outside for the rest of the reception," he said, tugging her arm so she would sit back down.

"Oh, no?" she said with raised eyebrows. "Just look."

James looked over to the little table at the front of the hall where Vernon and Petunia sat. They were watching Lily and James like hawks, twin expressions of disgust etched on their faces. "Wow. Okay, then," he said.

They grabbed their coats from the hall—James had borrowed one from Mr. Evans, because Lily had refused to let him wear his good cloak—and slipped out a side door into the car park.

"Mum?" Mrs. Evans was sitting on the little bench by the door, a distant look on her face. She jumped a little and turned to look at them. "What are you doing out here?"

"Oh, nothing, dear," said Rose, but Lily didn't miss the sadness in her tone. James heard it too, and nonchalantly stepped away to give them some privacy. "I just get a little…reflective on days like today. Missing my parents, I think. Your Gran would have loved to see Petunia in her old dress."

"Yeah, she would have," agreed Lily, sitting next to her mother on the cold metal. Rose's parents had died five years ago when a nasty flu had gone around, leaving them both with a stubborn case of pneumonia that they just couldn't kick. They were the only grandparents Lily had ever known, Joseph's parents having died in a car accident when he was a university student, several years before he met Rose.

"I'm fine, sweetie, why don't you go back in and enjoy the party. James is quite the dancer, you know. Almost rivals your father," said Rose, the warmth returning to her voice. They both looked over to where James was tossing a rock in the air and catching it in convoluted ways. As they watched, he snagged it out of the air from behind his back.

"Actually, we thought we'd go for a walk. Get some fresh air, you know?" said Lily. She didn't have the heart to tell her that Petunia had kicked them out.

"Ah, yes. Some 'air'," said Rose with a wink.

"Muuum." Lily dragged the word out in exasperation. "It's nothing like that."

"If you say so. I best be getting back though. They'll start worrying if they can't find the mother of the bride. Don't go too far. We'll be leaving soon enough."

"We'll just be over in that park I think," said Lily, helping her mother stand. Her hands were icy. How long had she been out here? Rose went back inside, but not before giving Lily one more knowing look. Lily only rolled her eyes.

Snow began to flurry overhead as she and James sat down on the swings. Perfect, Lily thought, still feeling petty about James's infraction and their punishment.

"I thought you liked snow," said James, noticing the peeved look on her face.

"Yeah, from the window. Or when I'm properly bundled up and prepared for good frolic. Not when I'm banned from my own sister's wedding with only a coat that's more decorative than functional."

"Here, take mine." He held it out for her.

"You'll freeze."

"I won't. We Potter men are hot blooded."

"Hot headed, more like."

"And here I thought you were the one with the temper," he teased, relieved that their usual banter had replaced the chilled silence.

Lily shrugged on his coat and gave him a seething look.

"Yep, there it is, right on time."

"Oh, hush!" she pouted.

They fell into a more comfortable quietness then, watching little snowflakes flutter to the ground, swirling in little air drifts beneath their feet.

"I always thought there was something a little unsettling about a place meant for children abandoned after dark," said Lily.

"What's the matter? Afraid a vampire is going to sneak up on you?" laughed James.

"Maybe," she said defiantly.

"I wouldn't fancy his chances."

"No, but there are worse things lurking about these days than vampires."

"I still don't fancy their chances," he said, a note of challenge in his voice. They both began to contemplate the various dangers that awaited them when they would leave the relative safety of Hogwarts's halls in just six short months.

"Petunia and I used to come to a park like this near our home growing up," said Lily, suddenly, beginning to pump her legs and bring the swing into motion. "I used to test out my magic there, though I didn't know that was what I was doing. It certainly made Petunia squirm when I effortlessly landed from a swing just like this one after nearly bringing it all the way around the bar."

James laughed. "Little daredevil, were you?"

"Take out the 'dare' and that's certainly what Petunia thought. That's why parks make me a little sad now. It's where we first began to see the world differently. Not to mention where I first met…" she stopped then, not wanting to even say his name.

"Snape?" asked James, filling the gap.

"You rang?" drawled a voice from the shadows.

Their wands were out in an instant as James whirled to face the intruder and Lily skidded to a halt on the swing.

"Easy," said Snape, stepping into the lamplight, hands raised in surrender. "I'm not here to fight."

"Then why are you here, Sniv…ape," asked James, just catching himself as he was about to hurl the old reviled nickname at him.

"And how did you find us?" asked Lily. Neither of them had dropped their wands.

"There was announcement in the paper about the wedding. It named the church, so I waited there hoping to catch you, but there were too many people around, so I followed the crowd here, and I've been waiting for the opportunity to speak to you all night. I was just about to sneak into the hall when you finally came outside."

"And why do you need to speak to me? I though I made it clear that I no longer care to hear what you have to say," she said.

Snape grimaced. "I wanted to warn you," he said, casting James a look that obviously said Snape would rather be having this conversation alone.

"Warn her about what?" asked James, gripping his wand even tighter at the hint of an impending threat.

Snape scowled at him.

"Well?" prompted Lily.

"I've heard some rumors. I think you should keep a low profile over the next few weeks. They seem to be planning something. Something bigger than usual."

Lily did not need to ask who 'they' were.

"Thanks. That was nice and specific. We definitely know what to look out for now," quipped James.

"Contrary to popular opinion, I'm not actually a member of any alleged groups that would make me privy to any more specific details," said Snape coldly.

"Yet," said James.

Snape's wand was out in the blink of eye. "Give me a reason," he hissed.

"Enough," Lily said. They both gave her a protesting glance before lowering their wands to their sides, not quite ready to surrender them to their pockets.

"Listen. Take my advice or not. I don't particularly care. I just thought you should know," said Snape, giving Lily a pleading look that revealed he did in fact care very much whether or not she would take the advice.

"Noted," was all Lily said. It was a clear dismissal.

They all waited tensely, no one wanting to be the first to walk away, exposing their backs to their enemy. Had they really gone from best friends to enemies in just a few short years?

Cheers erupted from somewhere nearby. "They must be seeing the happy couple off," said Snape dryly. "I'll let you two get back to the festivities. Surely the bride will notice if her beloved sister is not there to wave goodbye." The words cut deep, just like he knew they would. But he felt no satisfaction as they found their target, her face crumpling in rage and remorse.

Snape spun on his heel and was gone a split second before James's hex flew through the air where he had been, shortly followed by a rock hurled by Lily. She let out a frustrated scream that they were both too late.

"Prick," James said.

"Loathsome rat, more like," said Lily, still staring furiously at the spot he had stood.

"Don't let Peter hear you say that," laughed James.

Lily looked at him startled. "Why? They're not friends, are they?"

"Merlin no! He just…likes rats."

Lily looked at him skeptically.

"He had a pet one growing up. Apparently they make nice pets. Cleaner than you would think and very well behaved, even if they do gnaw on everything." It was the truth. Or half of it anyway. No reason to tell her the other reason Peter would be offended on behalf of rats. "Do you reckon we ought to do anything? About what he said," he asked to change the subject.

Lily chewed her lip in contemplation, which James found very distracting. "I'm not sure what there is to do, besides maybe warn people to be on guard," she said finally. "He might have been bluffing. To try to get back on my good side or something. I doubt he'd risk facing retribution for spilling Death Eater secrets if he told us anything real about what they are up to."

"Do you think he's that desperate?" asked James.

"He's being trying to apologize to me all year, but I've accepted more of his apologies than I should have over the years. I don't know why he won't take the message that we're done," she sighed.

"Can you really blame the guy? If I had been that close to you and then lost you, I might get a bit desperate too."

Lily blushed at the roundabout compliment but decided to tease him rather than deny it like her instincts told her to. "You already were desperate, remember. You were begging to go out with me for years."

"Valid point. All I'm saying is, I can get were they guy is coming from, even if his behavior has been unacceptable. Maybe he really is just trying to look out for you."

"He doesn't actually care that much. He if did, he would have never used that word to me. Never practiced so many dark spells. Never followed those people. No, I think it's just another one of his manipulations. His pride is hurt. He always fancied himself so much better than you and your friends, and then I choose you in the end. He feels like he lost." She spat out those last words in distaste. She did not like being thought of as a prize. An object.

James tried not to let his own pride swell at the reminder that Lily had chosen him despite all the odds. The years of disagreements and disapproval. He had nearly given up hope when that letter had come with that badge, and he knew who must have the other. It had been more than just excitement for working closely with her. No. It had been an opportunity. To show her who he could be. Who he had slowly, painstakingly become. He sometimes wondered if Dumbledore had been thinking the same thing when he'd chosen him. Maybe Dumbledore could help in this situation too.

"Well, it can't hurt to write to Dumbledore and tell him what Snape said. Get his opinion," suggested James.

"Yes, maybe he and his group have heard something that might elucidate the situation," agreed Lily.

"Elucidate?" said James wryly. "You always do like to use big words when you're mad, don't you?"

"Keeps my enemies on their toes," she grinned slyly.

"I don't think you need the impressive vocabulary to do that. You're dueling skills are more than adequate in that regard."

"Believe it or not, some of us prefer to resolve conflicts verbally rather than with violence. If you took a cue from Remus every once in a while and picked up a book, you could do the same."

"Says the girl who threw a rock at someone not five minutes ago."

"I knew he'd be gone before it reached him," she shrugged. "Unfortunately," she added under her breath, making James laugh heartily.

"Six and half years of magical instruction, and you still resort to Muggle weapons," he mused when his laughter had died down.

"Sometimes the old ways are best. Like I said, keep them on their toes. I always wondered why wizards don't use more Muggle weapons at times like these. Imagine what You-Know-Who would do if he were staring down the barrel of gun."

"Wouldn't do much good. Even if he didn't have time to conjure a shield, his magical blood would form a sort of natural shield, and the bullet would have little impact. Didn't you ever wonder why you were able to leap from swings unscathed as a girl? Things that might incapacitate a Muggle bounce right off of us."

"Then how come it still hurts like hell when I stub my toe?" she scowled.

"Some Muggle injuries are evil enough to get through even the strongest of magical shields," he explained, looking amused at her expression.

"Well, I'm glad you think my pain is so funny."

"Not at all. But the face you make when you're cross is pretty adorable," he said, flicking her nose.

"Oh, you'll pay for that," she seethed.

"I'm hoping too." He wriggled his eyebrows at her.

She lunged for him, but he was too fast and easily evaded her grip.

He let her chase him for a few minutes before allowing himself to be caught.

"I wonder how your magical barriers can hold up against the dreaded Muggle snake bite," she said, grabbing his forearm with both her hands and twisting.

"That stings," he yelped, shrugging her off.

"See. Muggle methods can be effective," she said triumphantly.

"But not as well as magic," he said, and before she could react, she felt the invisible cords bind around her, immobilizing her. He jerked his wand, and it was as if he was tugging her in by an imaginary lasso.

Lily tried to struggle against the bind, but she knew it was no good. "Let me go," she demanded.

"Not until you pay," he smirked.

"What's your price?"

"One kiss ought to do it," he said, leaning his face in to hers.

"Deal," she sighed, feigning reluctance.

He bent down to claim his fee, but at the last moment, she tilted her face up and pecked him on the tip of his nose, mimicking where he'd flicked her earlier.

"That's not fair," he pouted.

"There's always a loophole," she said, looking at his wand expectantly.

He undid the jinx begrudgingly.

"Now I can kiss you properly," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and planting a deep kiss on his mouth. She made to pull away, but he grabbed her waist and pulled her back into him, even more tightly than before. "We should go back," she murmured against his mouth.

"Two more minutes," he groaned. They kissed again. "Maybe five," he said, when she began to break away again.

"Come on," she said, giving his shoulder a light shove before taking his hand in hers as she lead him back to the church, James begging for one more kiss all the way.

Neither of them felt the eyes, filled with resentment, peering at them from the shadows between two trees. Snape turned on the spot once again, this time disapparating out of the park completely. He'd seen and heard enough.