A/N: Nothing much to say, besides the fact that I am excited by the rate I'm punching out all these chapters. I mean, honestly. I hope they're all good quality.
A/N: Next chapter: DEDICATIONS! *sings* Slap down a review, and I will slap down your name within my story! YOU SHALL FOREVER BE NAMED IN THIS STORY BECAUSE I LOVE YOU, GODAMMIT!
A/N: I swear that's a running theme within this.
A/N: So much for the 'nothing much to say' XD. I do that all the ti-
A/N: You know what, just read the damn chapter :P
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Dear James Potter,
I hereby grant you permission to board the Hogwarts Express to London on Saturday, the 20th of January from 9.30 am to 6.30 pm.
Show this letter to the guards that will be outside the gates of Hogwarts at 9.30 am and they will allow you to board the train with KayCee Williams, Bridget Jones, Lily Evans, Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black.
Yours sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
James grinned, handing the letter over to Remus before picking up the next one.
James –
We'd love to receive you seven. Are you sure that Peter wouldn't like to bring someone? We'll have an extra seat just in case.
Charlie
James handed this one to Peter with a cocked eyebrow and a grin.
"So, Peter, anyone special that you want to bring?"
Peter turned bright red and involuntarily glanced at Rebecca Ellen, the girl that James had received his first kiss from. (A/N: In case you forgot who she was… oh, and yes, this is Luna's mother. Didn't know her actual name and I didn't really want a complicated one like Xenophilius. However you spell his name.)
"Go ask her, dummy," said Sirius after the revelation, which wasn't really a revelation considering that James caught Peter trying to touch her hair a few times when she passed him in the hall. That kid could be very creepy when he wanted to be.
James thought Peter was about to say something childish like, "Not if you ask her first!" but Peter surprised him. He squared his shoulders, nodded to the rest of them, and headed off to where Rebecca Ellen was sitting.
A few moments later, and Peter was back, beaming his face off.
"Are you feeling alright, Pete?" asked Sirius, raising an eyebrow.
"I've liked her for almost two years," shrugged Peter, picking a grape from the table and chewing on it, "why not ask her out now?"
James and Lily exchanged looks and raised eyebrows.
"Well, go Pete," said Sirius into the awkward silence. Peter blushed and sat back down, suddenly morphing back into the shy and daft Peter.
Saturday couldn't come soon enough.
"My, my, my," said Sirius, waggling his finger, "aren't you just a little bit too fancy today?"
"So?" asked KayCee with a laugh, spinning around, "It's a wedding. A formal occasion."
"It even says so on the invitation," pointed out Remus, poring over it for the umpteenth time.
"Alright then, mister smarty-pants," said Sirius with a huff.
"I would hate to be all left," said Remus simply. Sirius gave him a sarcastic, 'haha-you're-so-funny' sort of a look.
"Anyway, are we all set?" asked James, looking around and counting heads. Remus, Sirius, KayCee and Rebecca, thought James, hmm…
"We're all here," said Sirius. Remus scoffed.
"Oi, what about my girlfriend, mate?"
"No one else counts besides KayCee," said Sirius, making lovey-dovey eyes at her. She blushed and they leaned in for a kiss-
"We don't have time for that," said James, sliding in between them. As a result, Sirius head-butted James and KayCee frowned.
"Here they are," said Remus gratefully as Bridget, Peter and Lily descended the steps out the front of Hogwarts.
"Thought I should round them up for you," grinned Peter. Rebecca looked at Peter suspiciously, but seemed to like what she saw. Remus blushed when he saw Bridget, and she blushed also.
"How cute," sighed KayCee, leaning into Sirius' shoulder, for James had moved on to get a closer look at Lily.
"Whoa," he murmured. Her straight hair was curled at the ends, and tied up to a sort of half up and half down thing. She wore white, sensible heels and a knee-length, soft blue dress which accentuated her curves. Her earrings were plain silver studs, and she had a silver locket resting in the middle of her torso. Simple, but it seemed to make her look fantastic.
Lily grinned at James and gestured to the carriages waiting for them. Professor Dumbledore, it seemed, had decided that eight was a crowd inside a carriage and had arranged for two carriages to be waiting for them.
"Let's get going," announced KayCee, fist pumping the air.
"Was that fist pump necessary?" asked Sirius.
"Dunno. Was that fist pump necessary?"
"Well anyway," said Lily, "I was brushing up on some Japanese the other day, because I finished my homework, and I have a cute, fist pumping phrase for you."
"Cute, fist pumping phrase?"
"Well, it's one word, but it says a lot."
"Let's hear it, then."
"いきましょう!" cried Lily, fist pumping.
"Bless you," said James. Lily gave him a withering look – on any other day, when she was dressed casually, in her Hogwarts uniform, that look would have withered James' balls. But not today. Today, James laughed – she was just too cute.
"So, how would you go about saying that again?" asked KayCee.
"I-ki-ma-sho-u," said Lily, working on her Japanese accent.
"I-ki-ma-sho-u," repeated everyone else.
"Now say it together."
"IKIMASHOU!" Everyone fist pumped the air, even Rebecca.
"いきましょう!" cried Lily.
Why does she get the fancy hiragana stuff? James asked himself angrily. Wait a moment… what's hiragana? How does Lily have it? I'm going crazy!
James looked up at the sky with crazed eyes. (A/N: And the audience reading this jolted for the suddenness of James staring at everyone. Jokes. But I've wanted to have a weird sort of joke where the characters are like 'WELL WHY ARE YOU IN BOLD LETTERS, HUH?!' – maybe I'll work on that idea…) Everyone tumbled into carriages, Sirius, KayCee and Lily jumping into the first, Remus, Peter, Rebecca and Bridget jumping into the other. Remus slammed the carriage door shut, and Sirius pulled James into the first carriage. James shut the door in a much gentler way, and off the carriage went, with a sudden, startling jerk.
"There you are!"
James looked around wildly as the sudden exclamation violently disturbed his ears.
"Ouch, Charlie," said James with a grin as his cousin clapped him on the back.
"The ceremony's to start in about twenty minutes. Please, make yourself comfortable. Where's your friends?"
"They're over in the back," said James, "making themselves comfortable awkwardly."
"Did Peter bring a lady friend?" asked Charlie as he and James made their way towards where James' friends were standing.
"Yes he did. She's the blonde."
"Perfect. Hello and welcome, friends of James," said Charlie as they reached Lily, KayCee, Bridget, Remus, Peter, Rebecca and Sirius, who all looked up guiltily.
"Why do you look so guilty, huh?" asked Charlie, jutting out his hip and waving a finger at them, as though he was a disapproving… nutter.
"They always look guilty," said James with a laugh, "it's in their nature."
"Right," said Charlie, "and that's why you're all friends."
James bumped Charlie's shoulder, and then Charlie directed them to their seats.
"How fancy," said Sirius, picking up a placement card with his name on it in golden, flowing writing.
"The ceremony will st-start in 15 minutes," said Charlie, stumbling over his words after checking his watch. He shakily smoothed down his tuxedo, something that Eliza, his bride to be, found endearing. Apparently.
"Charlie? You alright?" asked James.
"Not entirely," replied Charlie, "it's just a b-big day, that's all."
He bustled off before James could say another word.
Everyone glanced at each other and shrugged before sitting down. Soon enough, the ceremony started, Charlie looking nervous and excited at the same time. He turned and grinned at James, and the Potters (James' parents turned up a few minutes before, having been delayed for mysterious reasons) and then to his best man.
Then, Eliza Hanes entered the room.
Everyone stopped talking, stopped breathing even.
"Jesus…" murmured James. Lily smacked his stomach quicker than James could say, "Blasphemy". Though, James did always get confused on the pronunciation – let's just say that Lily smacked James' stomach quickly.
"Ouch."
Eliza Hanes looked stunning, truly stunning. Her face was glowing, her brown eyes highlighted underneath a dark curtain of black hair. Her dress fitted her perfectly, and Charlie seemed to have lost his words forever.
Man, for someone who knows a lot about women, he sure gets tongue-twisted when you mention his, thought James as Eliza walked slowly past him.
The minister at the altar stood before them, smiling in a friendly sort of a way.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to witness the union of a young man named Charles Potter and a young woman named Eliza Hanes. These two fine young adults are to enter the joys of marriage, joined in holy matrimony…"
The minister droned on and on about marriage, and how great Charlie and Eliza was until he asked,
"Is there anyone in the audience to object the union of these two fine young people?"
James glanced at Lily, and Lily glanced at James. No one spoke, and no one raised their hands.
"Well then. Let's get on with the ceremony."
What the minister said next was so romantic and truly incredible that Lily started to sob beside James, and she hadn't even met Eliza and Charlie until today.
Even James began to feel a little emotional, tears threatening to spill. He grinned at Charlie and Eliza's backs, remembering the good old days. Well, they were still young in the average human lifespan, but to James they felt old.
He remembered when he was eight and Charlie was thirteen, fresh from his second year at Hogwarts. Boy, the stories Charlie told him made James hysterical for the rest of the night – hysterical with laughter, that is.
A few years later, and Christmas time came around. James had returned from his first year at Hogwarts, and Charlie's fifth.
"So, what's happening with you, Charlie?" James had asked with a sly grin.
"Nothing really. Met a girl last summer. She was nice," Charlie had replied, trying to be as nonchalant as possible.
Trying.
And now, five years on, and James was witnessing their marriage. Man, just thinking about it was almost enough to destroy James' tough 'I'm-a-man-and-men-don't-cry' armour.
"… promise to love and to cherish, for better and for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, until parted by death?"
James' attention reverted back to the ceremony. He didn't realise that Lily was crying on his shoulder until then. He awkwardly patted his hair as his cousin replied.
"I do."
"And do you, Eliza Hanes, promise to love and to cherish, for better and for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, until parted by death?"
"I do."
"You may kiss the bride," the minister nodded to Charlie.
In one swift movement, Charlie lifted Eliza by her waist and spun her around before giving her one lingering kiss.
Mrs Potter, Mrs Hanes, Mrs Helen Potter (Charlie's mother) and Lily all gave one sort of a wail amidst a tirade of sobs. Even James almost felt the need to be reaching for the tissues.
What a sissy you are, James, James thought angrily to himself.
"Why hello, Mrs Potter," James heard Charlie whisper to Eliza as he let her down gently, "I believe you are my wife."
"And you are my husband."
Music pumped through the air, people milling about and dancing. The live band, The Dragon Tamers, played it's iconic song "Dragon Heartstrings".
"Let's dance," said KayCee flirtily to Sirius. He took the bait and they made their way out into the dance floor.
"And then there were fou- oh, never mind," said James, changing his sentence when Peter shyly took Rebecca's hand and led her dreamily onto the dance floor.
"Well," said James, "this is a bit awkward. You want to dance?"
Lily looked up shyly and took his hand with a grin.
"Why not?"
They danced to various songs, without speaking. Then, a familiar tune floated its way to them. Suddenly, it clicked in James' head and he beamed down at her.
"Hey, remember this?" he asked, as they waltzed to the same song they danced solo to at the Halloween dance.
"Of course I do," said Lily with a grin, "you kept stepping on my feet."
"Only because you were stepping on mine!"
"In retaliation of your foot stepping," said Lily with a laugh.
"You started it," said James, with a bigger grin.
"Oh yeah? We'll see who steps on who's foot first."
"You're on, Evans."
Soon, they raged war against each other, and they had fun, each trying to get under the other's feet, and as a result, they were breathless and exhausted. They laughed for what seemed like ages and they sat back at a table, chatting.
"Want a drink?" James asked after a while.
"Water'll be fine," said Lily with a tired grin. James wandered through the crowd in search of the drinks table.
On the way, he bumped into Charlie.
"Oh, hello," said James, "where's your wife?"
"She's off chatting with her parents," said Charlie, "I wanted to find you, actually."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. I was going to say that I have made my evaluation and that I'll write soon, buddy," said Charlie, fondly ruffling his hair, "however, I gotta go on my honeymoon with my lovely wife."
James nodded and they went their separate ways, not willing to be emotional in front of the newly united family and friends. James procured a drink of Butterbeer for himself and a drink of water for Lily, and half an hour later, James and his friends found themselves waving away the honeymooned couple, being driven in a fancy car – Eliza had insisted.
Sometimes, James wondered who was wearing the pants in the relationship, but he wondered it fondly.
Soon, James, Lily, Peter, Rebecca, Sirius, KayCee, Remus and Bridget were boarding the Hogwarts Express.
"Well, that was fun. I'm tired," yawned KayCee, leaning back. Soon, everyone fell asleep. However, James woke up after about an hour.
He felt pressure on his shoulder, and when he looked to his right, it was to find Lily asleep on his shoulder. She looked so beautiful and peaceful on his shoulder that he didn't have the heart to wake her up. One by one, the rest of his friends woke up, and most wore amused smirks.
"Nice accessory," said Sirius, raising his eyebrows towards her.
James rolled his eyes at Sirius and soon a small chatter rose, but quiet enough to not disturb Lily.
Near the end of the train ride, however, Lily stirred. She looked up with wide eyes, a blush tainting her cheeks.
"Sorry," she said, her cheeks flushing brighter with every passing second.
"It's alright," said James, "that's what I'm here for. To be your drool catcher."
Everyone laughed as the train ride drew to a close.
