Chapter 29: A Walk to Remember

James was standing in front of a long mirror dressed in a tuxedo. Even though the wedding itself would be a wizard ceremony, Lily had insisted that she and James dress in the traditional Muggle fashion. He had tried, quite unsuccessfully, to straighten his hair and had been near breakdown when the boys had come in and Sirius had reminded him that Lily liked his hair messy. Now the Marauders were gathered around him, trying to prevent him from hyperventilating.

"Prongs, relax. Everything is going to be fine."

"You don't know that Remus. What if she's decided that she doesn't want to get married to me?"

Sirius and Remus glanced at each other, concern written over their faces. It had to be pretty bad for James to use their real names.

"Relax buddy." Peter spoke up hurriedly. "She said yes, didn't she?"

"Yes, following six years of hating my guts."

"She didn't hate you." Remus put in quickly.

"Need I remind you of the thousands of times she rejected me, yelled at me, and shattered my heart into a million pieces?"

"Yeah, but you aren't that arrogant little git anymore."

"Cause if you were we wouldn't need to be having this conversation." James glared at Sirius. "Right… not helping."

"Don't think about that," Remus said hastily. "Think about how great it is going to be to make Lily yours permanently."

A dreamy look came across James' face. "Yeah…" he murmured.

Sirius burst out laughing while looking at him.

"That's the same look you had on your face the day you first saw her, mate."

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Sirius and James had become instant friends on the train, after they simultaneously tried to play pranks on the fifth year Lucius Malfoy. On the boat ride across the lake the two were deep in a plot that came into affect the moment they reached the other side, where they flipped over the boat next to them in which sat a greasy haired boy boasting loudly about all the curses he knew.

But when the boat capsized a feminine shriek cut the air, and James was horrified. He hadn't meant to hurt a girl, he simply hadn't seen who was beside the boy in the boat. Hastily, James ran over and pulled the struggling girl out of the lake. Then he watched as she wrung out her hair and turned to yell at him.

James didn't hear a word she said.

He was staring at her like he had never seen a girl before. And indeed, he had never met a girl like her. Her long red hair hung down to the middle of her back, and even though it was sopping wet James simply knew that it was silky and beautiful. And then he noticed her eyes. They were almond shaped and brilliant green. James was thunderstruck.

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"She certainly does look good wet, doesn't she?"

"Yes, Prongs." Sirius smiled mischievously at him. "You'll have to soak her on your honeymoon." Remus shot Sirius a look that said quite plainly to shut up.

"I don't deserve her."

"No, you don't. But she seems to have fallen in love with you nonetheless."

"Why does she love me, Remus?"

"Because you finally grew up and showed her the real you."

"Yeah." James stared dazedly at his reflection, remembering that day when Lily had finally become his. "Can't wait to see her… haven't kissed her in a day and a half."

"Yeah, and tonight you'll get to do more than kiss her…"

"Padfoot!" Deep red was blossoming spectacularly over James' cheeks. "That's not why I'm marrying her."

"Sure, but you have to admit that it is a lovely added bonus."

"Play nice, boys." Peter said quickly, as James was about to murder his Best Man. "Come on, you two. Time for you to go up front, Prongs."

The color in James' face drained completely.

"James, all joking aside," the laughter was gone from Sirius' face. "You love Lily and she loves you. And I will personally castrate any one who thinks he can stop you from marrying her today. So let's go get you a wife."

James nodded and allowed himself to be led out the door.

Ten minutes later he found himself standing under a large tent. Behind him stood Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling merrily, and in front was a small group of people. Gwen was there, sitting next to Frank and Alice Longbottom. James' parents were smiling happily at him. A few more friends were there, but both Lily and James had wanted to keep the ceremony small.

Suddenly a soft music floated through the air and James looked to the back of the tent to where Sirius stood with Shannyn on his arm. James returned their beaming smiles with a small one of his own and watched nervously as they made their way down the aisle. Once Sirius was standing behind him, James turned his attention once more to the back of the tent.

There stood Lily.

She had one hand through Remus' arm and the other through Peter's. As she had no father of her own to walk her down the aisle she had decided that they were the next best thing. But none of this registered in James' mind. He didn't even glance at the stunning dress she wore or the flowers that were held in her hands. His eyes never left her face.

Sirius would afterwards swear that James hadn't breathed the entire time that Lily was walking down the aisle. James himself couldn't remember. He didn't recognize anything that was happening around him until Sirius gave him a sharp poke in the back and hissed in his ear,

"You're supposed to kiss her now!"

It wasn't until the reception that James got a good look at Lily's dress. It was remarkably simple for a wedding dress, but James liked it all the more for this reason. His Lily was beautiful without all the frills most brides seemed to find necessary. The only adornments she wore were small silver jewels in the shape of daisies in her hair and ears and a silk ribbon of vibrant green around her waist.

To James she had never been more beautiful.

The reception was at the Potter's home, and it was really nothing more than a nice dinner for the small wedding party and their few guests. No one wanted to attract any attention as the bride and groom already had a knack for bringing trouble. James was grateful for the small size of the party when Sirius stood up to deliver his toast—better known as a long and detailed recounting of the hundreds of times Lily had turned down James. James felt quite put out until Lily leaned over and whispered in his ear.

"But aren't you glad you kept asking?"

James beamed at her, gave her a quick peck on the cheek, and stood up.

"Thank you, Sirius, for heartily embarrassing me. Don't think I won't return the favor." He cast a not-so-subtle look in Shannyn's direction. "But it is about time for me to steal my lovely wife away from you; we have a Portkey to catch."

"Where are you taking her, Prongs?" Sirius called out, a grin on his face.

"None of your damn business."

And with that James helped Lily out of her chair and led her to a corner where an old lamp was waiting. Seconds later Lily was surrounded by the tropical smell of palm trees and a warm ocean breeze. But before she could really look around James had taken her in his arms and apparated with her—right into their own backyard.

"James? What's going on?"

"Now, if any trouble tries to come looking for us on our honeymoon they'll spend the whole time wandering around confused in Barbados. And besides, we don't need anything special—I've got you and that is more than enough."

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Lily smiled up at James; he always was protecting her, and she loved him for that. And he was all hers, all hers.

"Well Mrs. Potter," Lily beamed at him, "can I escort you into the house?"

"Why yes, Mr. Potter, you may."

But instead of taking her hand and leading her in he scooped her into his arms and carried her, Lily laughing the whole time. Once inside he set her gently down and enveloped her in his arms.

"I love you, Lily Potter."

She raised her head and caught a brief glimpse of his hazel eyes staring lovingly down at her before he was kissing her, and then that was all she could think about. James's kisses had always left her breathless, but there had always been a certain restraint before. But tonight he was no longer holding back. She was his and he knew it.

He pulled back eventually and waved at the table where a bottle of champagne stood waiting.

"Can I offer you some champagne, my lady?"

"You pour; I'm going to go change out of this dress."

Lily practically ran up the stairs. She could see that James had wanted to stop her. From the look in his eyes he had wanted the pleasure of taking that dress off of her. But she had something else planned for him, and she didn't think he would mind.

Quickly, Lily slipped out of her dress and hung it carefully in the closet. Then she changed into the present that Shannyn had insisted on giving her a day early. It was smooth and cream-colored silk and only fell mid-thigh. And it was just revealing enough that Lily knew James would go simply wild. She also pulled her hair down, letting it cascade down her back, knowing that James loved to play with it. Then with one final look in the mirror Lily slowly descended the stairs to her star-struck husband who promptly forgot about the champagne. They could always drink it tomorrow.

A/N: Sorry it has taken so long. I had my big doctoral exams last week and I really wanted this chapter not to be rushed. I know some of you may have liked a little more at the end there, but I really didn't want to cheapen something so beautiful. There will still be oodles of romance later on, but I left their wedding night up to you. Enjoy!