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"This is terrible!" Marlene cries, throwing her hands up in frustration. "Absolutely terrible. A complete and utter nightmare!"

Sometimes Lily wonders how Sirius and Marlene never worked out. They have the same flare for the dramatic, and Lily would call them a perfect match.

"Will you calm down?" Alice grumbles, shooting their friend a dirty look. "What are you on about, anyway?"

Marlene rolls her eyes and lets out a frustrated sigh. She folds her arms over her chest. "The wedding thing? Something old, something new. Something borrowed, something blue," she says dryly. "We're missing one."

Lily looks at her reflection, frowning. Her dress is new, a simple satin gown her friends had helped her pick out. Her shoes are old, a pair of trainers that made Marlene wrinkle her nose because they aren't fancy enough (not that Lily has ever cared much for being fancy). Something blue, the baby blue ribbon Alice has woven into her fiery hair. As Lily goes through the list, she realizes Marlene is right; somehow, they've completely overlooked something borrowed.

"It isn't a big deal," Lily insists.

Really, she doesn't care much about the tradition. Given everything she's seen since finding out she's a witch, she doesn't know if she actually believes in luck the way she did when she was a little girl. It's a nice thought, but, overall, it seems silly.

All she wants is to get through the next few hours. This is the day she's been waiting for, and she won't let something like a silly tradition ruin it for her.

"Not a big deal? Lily, come on! What bride doesn't do the whole thing?" Marlene demands.

"You're going to give me a headache," Alice says with a sigh. "If Lily says it isn't a big deal, it isn't a big deal."

Marlene narrows her eyes and huffs. "Oh? And I suppose you just happen to have overlooked one other key detail too, huh?"

Lily frowns, confused. She looks around, wondering what other key detail she could be missing. It doesn't click until Dorcas comes through the door, fully dressed in her bridesmaid gown, but her dark hair a mess.

"Sorry I'm late! I just realized we forgot something borrowed," Dorcas calls, gasping for breath. She skids to a stop and wipes sweat from her brow with the back of her hand.

"See? Dorcas gets me," Marlene says with a smug look.

"It isn't much," Dorcas adds, pulling out a thin strip of brown leather and wrapping it around Lily's wrist. "It's my lucky exam-taking bracelet."

"That's adorable," Alice says with a dreamy sigh. "Now, get over here so I can do something with your hair."

Lily doesn't know what to see. Even though the tradition doesn't really mean anything to her, her friends' actions do. What has she done to earn such wonderful friends in this world?

"Don't start crying, you sentimental sap," Marelene teases with a chuckle. "I spent way too long fixing your makeup for you to ruin it."

"Love you," Lily laughs. "Love you all."

"I promise, the feeling is mutual."

…

After the wedding is over, she and James sit together, enjoying the first two slices of the wedding cake as the festivities continue. Lily watches, laughing as Sirius tries to impress Marlene with some ridiculous dance move.

"You look beautiful," James says.

"All thanks to the girls," Lily replies.

Her husband shakes head and lets out a small laugh. "I don't think you give yourself enough credit, Evans."

"Actually, it's Potter now."

"You'll always be my Evans, Evans," he laughs, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

Lily can't help but smile. All around her, everyone looks so happy as they dance and laugh and eat and drink. There's a war going on, and the world seems to be getting darker and darker with each passing day.

Even so, for one brief moment, Lily can smile. She has the most amazing friends in the world. The love of her life is now legally her husband, and she's looking forward to annoying him for the rest of their lives.

Maybe the world isn't perfect, but, for now, in that moment, it was as close to perfect as it could be.