A/N: As usual, everything that sounds familiar is… I'm just "borrowing" it for this story… so, giving credit where credit is due, don't sue me! Tee hee hee.

Oh, and to the reviewer that signed their review as "Nobody Important" I realize that it is known as the Philosopher's Stone as well, but in America (which is where I am, and which is the version of the books I read) it is the Sorcerer's Stone… not trying to sound self-righteous or anything like that, just pointing out that in the book I read (and the movie I saw) it was Sorcerer's rather than Philosopher's…

That having been said, enjoy!

Chapter 11: The Wedding Shower

The next few days went by rather quickly. Lily spent nearly every waking hour working on the wedding with Marilyn while James actually worked and tried to earn his vacation time for the honeymoon. There were no further incidents in the form of voices, letters or visions for that matter. Everything was as it should be.

One morning Lily woke up rather early and went downstairs to make breakfast for James and Sirius. She smiled when she saw that the freedom countdown was now at 7 Days, 6 Hours, 21 Minutes, 54 Seconds. Only a week to go, she thought, smiling to herself. But then something occurred to her. "I wonder if Sirius is planning a bachelor party for James..." she said out loud.

"You're damn right I am!" said Sirius as he walked into the room. He had a huge smile on his face. "Morning!"

"I do hope that you'll keep the trouble to a minimum," she said.

"Where's the fun in that?"

"Sirius, I do not want James to show up at our wedding with a hangover. Do you understand me?"

"Yeah, okay, okay."

"I'm glad we understand each other." She smiled and winked at him.

"From what I heard you're going to have quite a night beforehand anyhow," Sirius said, taking a sip of coffee.

"How do you know?"

"Jem talks. You should know that about her by now."

Lily smiled and shook her head. She knew that Jem was planning a bachelorette party for the night before the wedding, but she didn't think that anyone else did. "And here I was, thinking she'd only tell about the wedding shower this afternoon," Lily said.

Sirius nearly spat out his coffee that time. "As if we would be interested in that?"

"You never know, especially with you. A room full of mostly single girls? As if you wouldn't be interested..."

Sirius's expression changed for a moment, and then returned to it's usual nonchalant one. "Nope," he said.

Lily giggled. "Good, because it's not as though you're invited anyhow. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go get ready."

Lily then walked out of the kitchen, and made sure to hit Sirius in the head as she passed behind him on her way out. "See you later!" she said and then headed upstairs to shower and get dressed.

When Lily got back to her bedroom, she found that James was actually awake. "Morning sunshine," she said, kissing his cheek.

"Hey, baby," he said.

"There's coffee and food downstairs waiting for you, unless Sirius ate it all already," she told him.

James laughed. "Thanks. What are you doing today?"

"You know what today is... it's my wedding shower!"

"Right. Where is it going to be?"

"I honestly don't know. Jem is picking me up at 11 and taking me there though, so I've got to get ready. You should go and grab some food and then get to work. We can't have you being late every day..."

"I'm going, I'm going..."

"Have a good day, darling!" Lily called after him.

"I love you," he said.

"Love you too!"

True to her word, Jem showed up to collect Lily at 11 on the dot. "You look fab, Lil! Let's go!" She grabbed Lily's arm and led her to a waiting car. "I'm so excited, Lily! Today is going to be so much fun!"

Lily couldn't stop smiling. "I'm just going to have to trust you," she said.

"Oh, don't worry about a thing. Hmm, I wonder what sort of presents you'll get..."

Lily giggled. "I didn't even think about that! Thank you so much for putting all of this together for me..."

"What else is the maid of honour for?" Ten minutes later they pulled up in front of a beautiful stone house. "Here we are! Come on in."

Jem opened the door and Lily got her first glimpse of the bridal shower.

"Congratulations!" everyone shouted as she walked into the room.

There were white flowers everywhere, along with pink, lavender and white streamers in addition beautiful doves sitting in decorated cages. The food was laid out on white tables.

It took a minute, but then Lily finally managed to look at her guests. All of her girlfriends from Hogwarts were there, along with Claire, Marilyn and Kayla, Sirius's mother. And there they were. Sitting on a table next to the couch was a towering pile of presents.
"Thank you all so much," said Lily, genuinely grateful.

Virginia jumped up and hugged Lily. No sooner had she stepped away than April had swooped in and placed a veil on Lily's head. Everyone laughed with glee.

"Alright now, it's time for the first game. Lily, you come with me," Jem said, taking Lily into the next room. "Wait here until I come and get you."

"Alright..."

Jem went back to the rest of the guests and explained the rules. Everyone was to take the paper and pen they were given and write down as many things they could remember that Lily was wearing. Five minutes later, Jem called for Lily to come back in. "Ok, who has the most things correct?"

"I have 5," said April.

"9!" shouted Claire.

"Can anyone beat that?" Nobody could. "Alright Claire, you win! Here you go!" Her prize was a bottle of white wine.

"Ready for the next game?" asked Jem. When everyone quieted down, she continued. "Everyone needs to divide into teams of 3. We're going to play 'Dress the Bride.' Does everyone have their teams? Oh, and Lily, you're with me and Claire, just so you know." Claire grinned. "Each group come up and get some rolls of toilet paper. Now, choose one woman to be the bride in your group, and it's up to the other two to create a wedding dress! BUT, you only have 5 minutes! Ready? GO!" a timer suddenly appeared and started counting down.

For their group, Lily insisted that Jem be the bride. The sounds of giggles filled the room as everyone rushed to dress their bride before the timer ran out. "Time's up!" said Lily, very excited to see the other creations. "I get to judge, right?" Jem nodded. "Let's see... I'd like to have all the brides strut their stuff down the runway," she giggled. Everyone laughed at the different toilet paper creations. No two were alike. "Alright, I'm going to have to say that Leigh's gown is by far my favourite one!" Leigh, another Hogwarts graduate, and her teammates, Gretchen and Sonya (also classmates) all cheered and jumped forward to collect their prize, which was an antique lace fan for each of them.

After the games were finished, lunch was served. All of the women busied themselves with chatting while they ate. As soon as lunch was over though, Jem stood up and declared it "Time for the presents!"

Lily was seated in a central location on the couch and everyone gathered around, anxious to see what everyone else had gotten her. The first present that Lily unwrapped was a beautiful silver frame. "Thank you, Marilyn!" Lily exclaimed, passing the frame around for everyone to see. The next gift wasn't so innocent though. It was a white lace teddy. All of the women "Ooh'd and Aah'd" over it. Next Lily unwrapped a pair of handcuffs and some scented massage oils. She giggled, as did most everyone else. Next came a long black silk nightgown, followed by another teddy, this time emerald green, with a matching robe. The rest of the gifts continued along those lines, with the exception of one or two.

By the end of the shower, everyone's faces were hurting from smiling and laughing so much. Nobody cared though, as they all had a lot of fun, especially Lily. Some of the presents had given her ideas for sleepless nights to come, and others just meant so much that she didn't even know how to thank people for them. All in all, it was definitely a good afternoon.

It was only 4pm when Lily got home, and when she did, she was very surprised to find James asleep on the couch. Lily shook her head, smiling, and walked quietly over to him. Pushing him over ever so gently, she started to lie down beside him. Of course at that moment he woke up and pulled her playfully to him, causing her to break into a fit of giggles, which made him smile.

"Hi," James whispered.

"Hi," Lily said, kissing James's forearm.

"How was work?" Lily asked.

"Work? Oh, yeah. It was good. To much paper work though, so I thought I'd just bring some home and work on it here," James answered.

"You brought work home with you?" She turned around and felt his forehead. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine," he laughed. "Actually, I have a surprise for you."

"Really? What?"

"Well, ok, so I didn't exactly go into work today..."

"There's a real shock," Lily smirked.

"Well, I had an appointment." Lily raised her eyebrows, questioning him. "With a travel agent... to plan our honeymoon." James grinned.

"And...?"

"Well, I've got it narrowed down to three places: the Greek islands, the California wine country, or the Virgin Islands."

"And you get the final say. So, Lil, any preferences?"

Lily smiled. "When do you need to know by?"

"Friday at the latest."

"Alright." She kissed him and then jumped up. "I'm gonna start dinner. Any requests?"

"It doesn't matter, I think it's just going to be you and me tonight. Sirius has a date with Jem."

"What! She didn't mention that..."

James laughed. "Guess the cat's out of the bag then! Oh well, it's not like you had no idea."

"That's true. He did go home with her after the party... which reminds me, I have to ask her about that..."

"Well, when you do, you didn't hear anything from me. Ok?"

"Don't worry, I won't say anything."

Lily then began to busy herself in the kitchen, determined to make a nice dinner for James and herself. James however took this time to start prowling around the entrance hall, very interested in the countless bags that Lily had left by the door. He had just started to open on of the gift bags when a bright light started flashing and an extremely loud beeping emitted from the bag.

"Step away from the bags, Potter!" yelled Lily, suddenly right behind him. She was grinning, obviously very pleased with herself.

"But.. what? What is all this stuff?"

"Those are my presents from the shower. You are so predictable... I knew you would try to get into them, so I enchanted the bags. Now if you please, step away."

"Oh, come on, Lil! Can't I just see some of it?"

"All in due time. Now, if you won't leave them be, you can make yourself useful and carry them up to my closet. They won't let you open them, so it doesn't really matter if you try."

Lily then walked back to the kitchen, leaving a very disgruntled James in the hallway trying to schlep the bags upstairs.

Once the bags were all upstairs, James returned to the kitchen. "You know, Lil, sometimes you just suck all the fun out of things."

"Really? I thought that that little prank actually made things more interesting..."

"Funny, very funny."

"Thanks!" she beamed.

James rolled his eyes. "So, what's for dinner anyhow?" He grabbed a spoon and started to dip it into a pot to take a taste, but once again Lily was too quick for him. She smacked his hand and grabbed the spoon away from him.

"Not yet. We're having rosemary encrusted chicken with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus. Why don't you go set the table?"

"Why do I get the distinct feeling you're trying to get rid of me?"

"Because I am. Now get out of my kitchen." She smiled and gave James a little shove out the door. "Just set the table and maybe put out a bottle of wine, if you want."

James did as he was told. He set the table, and even went a couple of extra steps. He filled the wine bucket with ice, and set a nice Riesling in it. He then lit some candles and found a good jazz record to put on.

When Lily walked into the dining room she was very pleased with the sight that greeted her. James rushed over to her and grabbed the food from her hands, insisting that she sit down and allow him to serve.

"Thank you, darling!" she said.

"Think nothing of it. You just sit down and have a glass of wine," James instructed.

Lily and James had a lovely evening. They enjoyed their nice, quiet, romantic dinner. After that, they snuggled up on the sofa in front of a roaring fire settling in for a quiet and uneventful evening. This, of course, was destined not to happen for just at that moment, Sirius burst into the house.

"Where are they? I want to see them for myself!" Sirius bellowed.

"What are you talking about?" demanded James.

"Oh, don't pretend like you don't know, you sly dog... Jem told me all about them..."

"What the hell?"

"The handcuffs and stuff that Claire gave you guys!"

Lily's eyed widened and her face immediately reddened.

"What are you on, Sirius? Claire didn't give-" James turned to Lily who was slowly trying to get up off the couch and leave the room. "Wait just one minute... what was in those bags of presents?"

Sirius couldn't resist. He burst out laughing.

"Um... nothing?" Lily answered uncomfortably.

"Lily, please. Don't insult my intelligence here," James said.

"Yeah, Lil," Sirius agreed. "He does a pretty good job of that on his own." James glared at him, which made him laugh even harder.

"Well, I just got a lot of stuff, that's all... can't really remember all of it," Lily insisted.

"Don't forget the handcuffs though!" Sirius piped in. Lily shot him a look that made him wish he hadn't.

"She actually gave you handcuffs?" James asked. Lily nodded. "Why doesn't that surprise me? My sister is so strange..."

A small smile appeared on Lily's face. "Yeah, really..." She hoped that this would be the end of the conversation for now.

"So, can I see them?" asked Sirius.

"No. They're not for you," she said.

"God, you are so selfish."

"No, I just know you well enough to know better than to trust you with something like that. And don't even think about trying to steal them either, the bags are enchanted so that only I can open them."

"Tell me about it... there's this annoying alarm that she put on them," James added.

"I'm guessing you found out the hard way?" James nodded.

"Lily, you are no fun anymore. Whatever happened to our fellow prankster?" Sirius asked, shaking his head.

Lily smiled. "It's not going to work, hon, so don't even try it."

"Damnit!"

Lily laughed. "There is nothing in those bags that is for your benefit, Sirius. Please keep that in mind."

"Benefit eh? James, it sounds like you have a lot to look forward to on that wedding night of yours..." he said, winking at James.

"Sirius!" exclaimed Lily.

Sirius looked around and then up at her innocently. "What?"

This cause all three of them to start laughing. "Knock it off, you damn fool!" she said through her giggles.

Lily shook her head, still laughing. "Sometimes I worry about that boy."

"I know," James said. "They grow up so fast..."

Lily sighed. "Our little boy... dating already..." she giggled.

"Well, lady, it looks like it's just you and me in for the night," James said.

"Catch on quick, don't you?"

"Well, there's no need to be snippy," he said, tickling her side.

"Stop it!"

"Well, what do you want to do?"

"Can we go to a movie?"

"A what?"

"James, stop. You know what I'm talking about, we've gone to movies before." James nodded. "Good. They're showing Hitchcock movies all week at the theatre in town... tonight it's To Catch a Thief... I love that movie.. Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. Does life get any better?"

James rolled his eyes. He was more into the 007 movies, but he agreed to go along anyhow.

The movie was fabulous. "Isn't she beautiful?" Lily breathed the moment that Audrey appeared on the screen. "If only I looked like her..."

"Bollocks. You're more beautiful than she is, any day!"

"Bite your tongue!" she hissed while staring dreamily at Cary Grant.

During the course of the movie, James kept trying to pull some cliché moves on Lily, such as yawning and putting his arm around her, or trying to rest his hand on her knee, but none of them worked. She was too engrossed by the film. By the time it was over, James was rather annoyed at the fact that Lily had ignored him the whole time.

"Wasn't that wonderful?" Lily asked, taking James's hand as they walked out of the theatre.

He quickly pulled his hand away and shoved it into his coat pocket. "Yeah, great," he muttered.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Oh, so now you notice me?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Me? Oh, nothing. Things are just peachy. Listen, why don't you just go and hunt Cary Grant down. Maybe you'd like to spend some time alone with him."

Lily just stood there looking at him stunned. She finally started to smile. "Is that what you're upset about? Because I watched the movie rather than you?"

James suddenly realized how stupid it sounded. "Well, when you say it like that..."

"James, come on. Get off your pedestal. I was watching a movie, not ignoring you."

"Fine, fine..." He then took her hand in his. "Geez, Lil. Your hands are freezing."

"Well, winter is setting in fast around here... but at least that means one good thing..."

"That it's almost time," he finished.

James twirled Lily into his arms. He pulled her close to him and whispered "Less than a week..."

"And then we'll be married," she whispered back, smiling. She then closed her eyes as she and James kissed on the corner of the street, but they didn't care where they actually were. They were in their own world.

"Come on, let's go home," whispered James.  "We'll get you warmed up."

Lily was shivering and she didn't even realize it.  She took a deep breath and then nodded.  They walked the rest of the way back with James's arm around Lily's shoulders and hers around his waist.  When they got to their house, James unlocked the door and let Lily in.  Once they took off their coats and scarves, James insisted on a cup of hot chocolate.  They walked into the kitchen and smiled when they saw the Freedom Countdown.  6 Days, 12 hours, 23 minutes, 8 seconds.

"Well, it officially is less than a week…" Lily smiled. 

They drank their hot chocolate quietly, while gazing at each other from across the table.  It was quite some time before either of them said anything.

"What are you thinking about?" asked James.

"I know where we should go for the honeymoon.  Let's go to California."

"Really?  You're sure about this?"

"Positive." Lily smiled.

"I'll make the arrangements tomorrow," James said, beaming.

"James?"

"Yes, Lil?"

"You do realize that I won't be here for the last three days before the wedding, right?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm going to be staying at the Palace, with Gran.  Sorting things out, getting ready, things like that."

"Oh," James said, sounding rather disappointed.

"It's bad luck for you to see me 24 hours beforehand anyhow… this is just going to make it 72 hours instead…"

"I know, but that's a long time… I can't even remember the last time we've been apart for that long."

Lily sighed.  "Me neither."

"Just think of it like this," Lily started, "It's a small price to pay for the outcome."

"Lily, the ends don't always justify the means..."

"Aren't you being a little dramatic? It's not as though you don't have to work or get your own things done..."

"I know, but still!"

"I swear, all you ever do is whine, James Potter. I don't even know why I'm going to marry you at all!" She laughed.

"I've often asked myself that very question," he said. "Come on, let's go to bed... it's late."

Lily nodded and followed him upstairs.