IMPORTANT A/N: Right...*shifts nervously in her seat* I'm going to be absolutely flamed to freakin' hell for this chapter, but I would like you to remember if you are an author, as my good friend Xavi said:
"We authors take the shit together. Any good author knows that what's best for the story is what has to happen."
Please remember that when you review. Oh, and some VERY good things do happen in this chapter, too! But you all need to remember that Voldemort had to have done some pretty awful things to have people be too scared to say his name, and this chapter illustrates it. Those days weren't all happy, they were quite dark, so please think of this logically when you review.
Thanks to my wonderful beta's, Snowlily and ReineDansante - I'm going to miss you sooo much, Lils! Also, a special thank you to Xaviera Xylira, who helped me wade through all the thoughts in my head and get this chapter right - and for telling me if the paragraphs were too "choppy" - lol, Xavi!
The Story of Lily
Chapter 17: My Light in the Dark
"Once there was a darkness, deep and endless night
You gave me everything you had, oh you gave me light..."
~ Courtesy Sarah McLachlan's "I Will Remember You"
Gwen endeavored to cheer Lily up with the prospects of Mary Katherine and Remus' wedding, but nothing could help. Lily wandered around in a sort of daze the whole day, only speaking when she had to (and that was generally only to one of her teachers). Gwen managed to fill in a lost and distressed Sirius, and, his reaction was not to be mad at Lily, but instead to turn his full wrath on Chase. Chase really only talked to Gwen, who had forgiven him, and James talked to no one but Sirius on occasion.
Saturday dawned bright and clear. Gwen pulled Lily out of bed and the two got dressed into their robes for the first time in months and met James and Sirius outside in front of their building.
After standing for a few moments in tense silence, in which Sirius and Gwen were hoping their best friends would speak to each other, James finally took out his wand, mumbled "Let's go," and Disapparated.
Lily, her eyes full with tears, brandished her wand and Disapparated as well. She Apparated in front of a small shop in the bustling streets of Diagon Alley. The shop sign had a picture of a bride and groom, and read: "Weddings by Victoria". She jumped when the door slammed and she saw James' back disappear inside.
Lily had finally realized what her life would be without James, and came up with one thing: nothing. It would be absolutely nothing.
She cringed every time she remembered the kiss - that dull feeling she had gotten - and remembered how she had been aware of everything around her. But when she kissed James, she was in a whole new world altogether, and nothing else mattered. She wanted to kiss those lips all her life! And those lips only!
With a frustrated grunt, she pushed open the door (not checking to see if anyone was behind her) and entered. It was a nice, very pink and very brightly-lit little store, with racks full of every color robes you could think of.
She heard a shriek from somewhere behind a rack and a second later, a pair of very tanned arms was squeezing her to death: Mary Katherine.
Lily laughed in spite of her current mood and hugged her friend back. She was very happy for the curly-haired brunette and was not going to spend the day thinking about old whatshisface over there, talking to Remus.
"Oh, Lily, it's soooo good to see you! I've missed you soooo much! How are you? How are you and James, better yet?"
Lily pulled back and forced herself to smile, "I'm fine, and you?"
Mary Katherine's eyes narrowed. "Lily, I've lived with you for seven - no, sorry, make that four - years, I know when you're lying," she stated.
But her attention was diverted by the arrival of the next two members of the wedding party, and for that, Lily was quite thankful. Telling Gwen had been murder yesterday, and she wasn't quite up to it now.
She forced herself to act happy, like nothing was bothering her, and she boldly walked over to where Remus, Peter, and James were standing, and she tapped Remus on the shoulder.
"Lily!" he said, turning around and smiling. His usually tired face was lit up, and he looked happier than she had ever seen. They hugged tightly, and then Lily hugged Peter. They chatted for a while until Mary Katherine called for their attention.
"Please! Okay, now, Hayley is coming, but she's running a bit late, so I suppose we'll start with the grooms' robes!" Mary Katherine clapped her hands together and grinned. She pulled off the rack simple black robes that were trimmed with silver, and Lily noticed that the small diamond on her finger sparkled in the sunlight. She felt herself sliding into her depressed mood again, but forced herself not to think about it and to pay attention.
"-and of course I won't let you see my wedding robes, because it's bad luck," Mary Katherine was saying. "So! Let's go, shall we?"
Lily stared in astonishment when the attendants came out: they were all wearing bridal robes, overseen by a large blonde woman dressed in the ugliest pink wedding robes Lily had ever seen. There were enough attendants so that each person of the wedding party could have one.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the fat woman was saying with a smile. "I am Victoria, owner of this shop, and I will be seeing everything from flowers," she gestured behind her where there was indeed a large collection of flowers, plus a few florists. "-to cakes, and I have already done the invitations. Now, gentleman, if you will please follow the attendants with the blue badges into the men's section...yes, I know, Miss Wampler, you want the robes with the silver trim for the grooms, the silver threaded with gold for the Best Man - who is he, by the way?"
No one answered.
The wedding party turned, to see Sirius leaning against the wall, his eyes closed, gently snoring. Gwen smacked his arm and he jerked awake. She whispered furiously in his ear and he stumbled forward.
"Thas' me," he said sleepily.
Lily put a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggle.
Victoria was deeply affronted. "Humph. Follow those attendants, all you males!" Sure enough, there was a doorway marked "The Men's Section". "Remember, what the groom says goes! Now, for the ladies...you want the maroon satin with silver for the bridesmaids, correct?"
Mary Katherine nodded, her eyes shining.
"And your Maid of Honor you want the silver with gold thread...speaking of, where did you say she was? I remember her from when you came earlier..."
"I'm here!" Someone panted from the doorway.
Lily turned to see Hayley, looking slightly more grown up since the last time she had seen her, but still with the same silvery blonde hair and big blue eyes.
"Lily! Gwen! Oh, it's heaven to see you again!"
Lily and Gwen each hugged her tightly. When she pulled back, Lily was slightly misty-eyed.
"I've heard all that happened - but I want to hear it from your points of view-" "Come on, girls!" Victoria interrupted, clapping her hands.
Gwen rolled her eyes and Lily raised her eyebrows.
"I know, isn't she a laugh?" Hayley smiled, and moved to go hug Mary Katherine. Lily and Gwen turned around and pasted on their own smiles.
"Let's have the three bridesmaid's first! Stand on those stools, dears!" Victoria pointed to three stools in front of mirrors, and as soon as Lily stepped on hers assistants rushed over and began measuring every part of her, it seemed.
"So, Mary Katherine," Gwen said conversationally, batting away a tape measure, "where are you and Remus going to live?"
"We're thinking of that charming cottage on the edge of Hogsmeade - next to Dervish and Bangs?"
"It's an adorable little place," Hayley agreed, looking at herself in the mirror.
"Yes, but it's kind of small," Gwen said, looking at her doubtfully. "And you know, if you want to have little Mary Katherine's and Remus's running around, you're going to need a bigger house."
Lily snorted and Mary Katherine blushed. "I know, I know. It's just temporary, I suppose. But we could always add on. Oh! I forgot to tell you! The reception is going to be at my house since the ceremonies' there. But Lily, I think you can still use your certificate."
Lily nodded. "Yes, I suppose..."
Hayley then turned to Lily. "So, Lils, when's your big day?"
Lily felt a stab of pain shoot through her, and she looked away, her eyes filled with tears.
"What?" Mary Katherine asked with puzzlement, looking at Gwen.
Gwen's teeth were clenched and she was making furious slashing motions at her neck. Mary Katherine and Hayley, while still bewildered, got the message and began to talk about what color nail polish they would wear.
After they had been fitted, they met the men and exited the shop. Outside, the wedding party exchanged good-byes and promises to owl each other weekly. Then all Apparated to their destinations - Lily, James, Sirius, and Gwen to auror training camp and Mary Katherine, Peter, and Remus to lunch.
Upon their arrival to Agent Nelson's class the following Monday, he clustered them around the mine entrance.
"Listen up! You're going to be doing the mine exercise today! I'm splitting you into teams, just as I would if you were real field aurors! There will be three groups of five and one with four. I've carefully reviewed all your strengths and weaknesses and have assembled the groups thus: Group One is Agents Alcinia, Rhys, Wakiza, Cherlin-" Lily glanced at this time to the very pretty yet modest girl and thought she would go well in the group - "and Ivory." Agent Ivory was very white, and it took everything in Gwen's power, Lily knew, to not say something about 'sunlight' to him. "Group Two is: Agents Eitan" - Lily glanced at James - ", Junna, Advante, Keefe, and Dahlia."
Lily froze. She was in a group with the two people she least looked forward to seeing - one because she was afraid she would break out in tears if she saw him, and the other she was afraid she might punch upon encountering him. And, oh, great, Agent Junna was the girl who had a very large crush on James...she was already flirting with him, Lily saw with disgust. She rather liked the quiet Agent Advante, who was quiet and serious. He had always been very polite to her, and everyone else she had seen him with.
Once Agent Nelson was finished with the groups, he shouted for quiet. "Now, trainees! You will elect a group leader in a few moments. Of course, you know that in real life the one in charge is the one with the highest rank in the group. Please do that now, and then I will give the team leaders what the group will need and I will explain the objective of this."
Lily walked slowly over to where her group had congregated and kept her eyes on the ground. She could tell Agent Junna was flirting like mad with James, Chase had diverted his eyes, and Agent Advante was standing quietly. Finally Lily's head snapped up. Her eyes rested on James and Junna and her mouth dropped open. He was facing her and smiling, his forehead resting on hers. Her arms were twined around his neck and his - around her waist.
"Fine, if no one else will call order, I will." She was inexplicably angry, and suddenly had the confidence boost she lacked when she saw Agent Junna hanging all over James. "Who votes Agent Junna to be captain?" She tried to keep the sharpness out and wasn't sure if she succeeded.
No hands went up, and Junna was too busy to notice.
"Agent Keefe?"
No hands.
"Agent - I'm sorry, I forgot his name." She was staring at James. She marveled at her courage, and wondered if she was slowly turning into Gwen.
James's face turned red and he muttered, "Eitan."
"Right. Sorry, it slipped my mind," she said with mock-pleasantness, and smiled very falsely at him. "Does anyone vote Agent - erm, Eitan?"
No hands went up except Junna's, plus her very giggly laugh.
"Agent Advante?"
Everyone hesitated. Lily knew that the boys thought Agent Advante was very stuck up and didn't like him much. But nevertheless, James' hand shot up soon after Lily's. To her surprise, Chase's stayed down.
"Me?"
Chase and Agent Advante's hands went up and Lily sighed. "Well, it's a tie. Agent Junna, you're going to have to choose between me and Agent Advante."
Junna smiled hugely (and fakely) at Lily. "I'm going to be feminist and say Lily!" she said exuberantly.
Lily nodded and turned to face Agent Nelson, who was coming towards their group. "Picked a leader, have you?" He asked gruffly.
"Yes, I am," Lily said.
Agent Nelson looked at her nervously. "Perhaps you should just direct them and not really do anything," he half-whispered, but everyone in the group heard.
Lily smiled pleasantly. "I'm fine, really, sir."
"If you're sure..." he said doubtfully, but handed her a rolled up piece of parchment. "Now, you're going on sort of a treasure hunt, very much like the one that will be on your final exam. All four groups are searching for a wooden crate that is somewhere inside this old abandoned mine, and once all five in the group touch it, you will be Portkeyed here. It could be anywhere, remember, and if you've given up, come back up here. And team members can be disqualified! If you cheat off of one group or go anywhere on the map that's marked red, you will immediately be sent back up here and will be punished accordingly. Good luck! Ready, everyone? Go!" he yelled to all the groups, and they charged into the mine. Lily held her group back to study the map.
"Right, there's a stream right here, near the very center of the mine...if we follow this track, we will eventually come to a dead end - the end of the mine." She said, thinking out loud. The mine was inside the hill in front of her - it was a pretty good size, too. "Does anyone have an idea as to where we should start?"
"I say we head to the left," Chase proposed.
"Are you sure?" Agent Advante said. "The circles on the map symbolize rocks - loose ones are over there-"
"Lily can blast anything out of our way," James said quietly, fixing her with his brown eyes. She had something scathing to say back, but she froze. His eyes had never, ever looked at her that way - that was how he looked when he talked about someone like Lucius Malfoy... "So why not? Unless she doesn't feel up to it today - I hear having superpowers makes one tired..."
Words rushed back into Lily's head and she walked up to him so merely three inches were between them. "I am the leader of this group, and if you speak to me in that tone again, I'll be sure to disqualify you." Her words cut through the air like icy knives. Then she turned mock innocent. "Is that okay? I hear making assumptions that aren't true and are in fact very far from the truth makes one tired too." Then she turned on her heel and told her group to follow her into the mine.
After an hour of taking all the tunnels to the left, Group Two came to a huge wall of loose rocks - the very rocks they had moved themselves for the past few weeks.
"Does anyone know how to get past this?" Junna finally whined after a few moments of contemplative silence.
Lily breathed in deeply, willing herself to not fly all over this girl. "No, Agent Junna, we don't. But I was thinking - if we could move some of the rocks...perhaps there's something hidden under this..."
Chase leaned against the wall. "Yes...perhaps..." He lost his balance slightly and his hand slipped. But instead of hearing it hit another rock, for it had slid into a crack, his whole arm soon followed. "I'd say Lily was right!"
Lily rushed to him. "And you're arm isn't touching anything? Can you move it and explore some more?"
Chase moved his hand around and then pulled his arm out. "Nothing."
Lily grinned. "Wonderful! Now, we should probably clear the rocks away...I'm going to follow Agent Nelson's advice and just direct. All right, now, everyone us 'Wingardium Leviosa" and move a few!"
James lazily said the spell, but was surprised to find nothing happened. Soon the other members of the group tried, except Lily, and found none of the rocks would budge.
Lily exhaled and faced her frustrated team. She swallowed and then stood up straighter. "Everyone, I want you all to make sure none of the other rocks fall - can you do that? Cast your strongest Strengthening Spell and hope it holds. I'm going to move the rocks around the hole where Chase went through."
Everyone stared at her, except Chase, who started casting his spell. Agent Advante then broke it by chortling.
"You cannot be serious," he gasped. "How utterly ridiculous! No one can move even one rock, and you're telling me you can move all of those around that hole?"
Lily's eyes flashed and she opened her mouth, but Chase cut her off.
"Of course she can. She's the Adviser with incredible powers. Now get to work."
Well, it wasn't exactly a compliment, but it was close enough, and Lily felt her anger towards him reduced. She cast her own Strengthening Spell as a precaution and then instructed everyone to step back.
She was quite nervous because the only things she had lifted had been in the gymnasium, but was positive that she could do this. She raised her want and closed her eyes, finding her bubbling well of blue magic. It was fairly leaping behind the barrier of purple magic at the task ahead. Lily pictured the part of the wall she wanted to move, and envisioned all of the rocks neatly breaking away from the wall, leaving a hole big enough for a person to fit through, and then commanded out loud for good measure, "Wingardium Leviosa!"
There was a horrible grating noise and Lily pressed her hands to her ears, but watched in fascination at the scene in front of her. The exact piece she had envisioned was coming apart from the wall. It hovered there, apart from the wall, and Lily felt her strength draining. She realized she needed to move it, and she pointed it to the left of the wall. It moved there slowly, fell to the ground and broke into pieces. They felt a very slight tremor under their feet, but besides that, everything was perfect.
Lily's legs gave away and she landed on the dirt ground hard. Soon her team was surrounding her, each of them very impressed - except Chase, who didn't look even remotely surprised, but congratulated her and told her he knew she could do it.
All James could say was, "Wow, Lils," and that came out a hoarse croak. Lily's heart broke at the usage of her nickname - she had always loved it when it came out of his mouth.
"Oh, do stop fussing," she said, and stood up with Agent Advante's hand (and apology) and walked a bit unsteadily over towards the hole.
James came up beside her. "I'll go first, if you want," he said quietly, staring into the dark opening.
Her courage (and anger) vanished for the moment. "Uhm, I guess, if you - erm, want..." she stuttered.
He looked into her eyes briefly before turning to the other three.
"Light your wands, everyone. I'm going in first. Lily, only follow if I say it's alright." He stepped through the hole and the only think Lily could see was his wand bobbing from place to place.
"It's fine! It's a huge big chamber with a tunnel leading out of it!" he exclaimed. "Come on in, Lily!"
She gingerly stepped inside, her lighted wand stretched out in front of her. It was just a dirt chamber with a dark hole in the wall. Her heart beat quickly as she stood next to him...so close, but yet so far...and wondered if he was going through the same turmoil. The rest of the group filed and, and a unanimous vote was taken to follow the tunnel and see where it led.
Lily was in front, leading her group (and attempting to ignore what's-his-name with the glasses) through the dark tunnel. After about what she assumed was ten minutes of walking, she felt a presence next to her and she jumped. Her wand light fell on the mischievous face of James Potter, and she groaned.
"I know that look in your eyes. What did you do?"
James looked at her with wide eyes. "I almost stepped on a poor spider, and decided to give it a nice home - down Chase's shirt."
Lily hesitated before smiling slightly. Was there a hidden meaning in that action? James sensed her discomfort and saluted. "I apologize for interrupting you, O Fearless Leader. I'll return to my ranks."
Lily caught his sleeve before he (or she, for that matter) knew what she was doing and whispered, "I could use some company."
They walked in silence, but it wasn't the tense silence that had been around them for the past few days like a stifling blanket - it was almost companionable.
Soon they came to lighted chamber with another tunnel leading off of it. And there, in the corner, framed by two candles, was a medium-sized wooden chest. Lily rushed to it and grinned.
"This is it. It has to be it."
"We all have to touch it at the same time, remember," Agent Advante reminded them in an excited voice.
Suddenly, from the other tunnel, they heard talking. "Another group is coming!" James cried, and grabbed Lily's hand. "Right, on the count of three - one, two, three!"
Lily pressed the hand that wasn't held by James onto the chest and felt the jerking behind her navel. They stayed in the chamber long enough to see Gwen's surprised and Sirius's delighted faces - but their eyes weren't on the chest, but James and Lily's joined hands.
~*~*~*~*
"Lily!"
Lily recognized her best friends' voice behind her, and knew exactly what she wanted to know, so she smiled a friendly smile at James and turned to face the black-haired witch. Gwen was out of breath running up the hill with Sirius at her heels, and bother had looks of anxiety mixed with joy on their faces. When they caught up, Sirius paused only to say "good job" before leaping to James, but Gwen slowed and walked with Lily.
"I saw you!" She said triumphantly.
The redhead, still in a good mood from her win and the unspoken truce between her and James, decided to play with Gwen. "Yes - we beat you by a few seconds."
Gwen glared at Lily. "Oh, come off it, you know what I mean! About you and James!"
"What about us?"
"Well, that's what I want to know! You were holding hands-"
"So?"
"Are you together again?!"
Lily smiled. "Nope," she said cheerfully, bending over to pick a daisy. "He loves me," she said, picking off a petal, "he loves me not..."
"No?" Gwen asked, clearly flabbergasted. "But...but why..."
Lily tossed the flower away and grinned. "Friends hold hands."
"Frie-no! Why in God's name are you friends? You aren't supposed to be!"
"Gwen," Lily said patiently, "we've come to an unspoken agreement to be civil. We're friends and nothing more. Well, for now," she added thoughtfully. When Gwen didn't answer, Lily exclaimed, "Did you know it's past lunch? We're missing Agent Renny's class!"
~*~*~*~*
The day of the wedding arrived soon, much to the wedding party's happiness. After a month of intense practice for their exams - to be taken the following week and a half - they were ready for a break. Lily could now Apparate from one short distance (from the mine to the main building so far) without her wand, and on the personal front, she and James had been "just friends" since that day. They hadn't even attempted to discuss The Incident, as Gwen and Sirius had dubbed it.
On Saturday, August twentieth, a very sleepy Gwen, Sirius, James, and Lily met outside the main building, not looking like they would in a few hours - dark circles and sweatshirts were in abundance. Agent Nelson sent them off with his good wishes, and expectancies to see them back by no later than five the next day. Lily was armed with her gift certificate to the Leaky Cauldron along with her bag filled with makeup and other necessities.
"I'm going to try this." Lily said firmly. "I am going to Apparate there without using my wand." She stuffed the polished stick into her pocket.
"Lily-" Sirius and James both began worriedly, but Gwen cut them off.
"Don't try to reason with her," she said in a surly tone. "It won't work. I tried last night."
Lily smiled with satisfaction. "Right. I want one of you to go ahead, and the rest to stay behind, just in case..."
Gwen disappeared quickly, saying she didn't want to watch and would wait at Mary Katherine's house. Lily turned to face the men, her demeanor strangely calm. "Oh, come on," she said, looking at their faces. "I've a good feeling about this. Plus, what's the worst that could happen?"
"You could damage your powers," James said.
"You could get splinched." Sirius pointed out.
"You might end up in the middle of nowhere."
"You might accidentally land on some poor person - what if you landed on, say, the caterer who's got the cake?"
"Oh, shut up," Lily snapped. "I'm going." She closed her eyes, imagined exactly where she wanted to be, and a second later she opened her eyes and was right in front of a huge house. A squeak sounded behind her and she turned. Gwen was beaming at her. "Good job. I almost splinched myself! Remind me again why Mary Katherine wants us to be here at nine-thirty? The wedding isn't until six."
Lily shrugged, unable to keep the excited smile off her face. This - this talent would be perfect! If she didn't have her wand and was somehow trapped, she could get out! Provided she knew where she was, of course.
"C'mon, let's go, Superwoman," Gwen said. Two pops sounded in front of them and James and Sirius appeared, and the four of them walked towards the house.
"You lot! Come here!" Hayley appeared from the back yard dressed in a Muggle business suit. "Oh, good Lord, girls, you are going to simply adore the bridesmaid's robes! They are perfect!" she enthused, and kissed James and Sirius. "You two need to go find Remus. He's acting like a complete git, worrying about everything in sight! Well, it could have to do with the fact that no one can find the carpet that lines the isle, and the service is taking place in the backyard...Perhaps you can help!" Sirius and James exchanged glances and jogged around the side of the house. "I didn't want to tell them about the state Mary Katherine is in incase they tell Remus...she's a nervous wreck! Come on, she's up in her room."
"Uh oh," Gwen muttered. "Is she having second thoughts or something?"
Hayley pushed open the door, let Lily and Gwen pass, and shut it behind them. "Well, no - she really does love him, you know, but she keeps ranting on about how she's too young to marry...and I'm very scared to tell her about the missing carpet...she took ages picking out that cream to match the cushions on the chairs." Hayley exhaled. "It's right up here to the left."
She knocked on the door and someone cried, "Whose there?"
"It's us, Mrs. Wampler - Gwen, Hayley, and Lily."
A short woman with dark hair streaked gray opened the door. "Girls! How wonderful to see you!"
Lily had only met this woman twice over the seven years she knew Mary Katherine, but had always liked her. Mrs. Wampler hugged her and Gwen and let them pass. "I'm going downstairs to check on how everything is down there."
"Um - well, we have a slight problem-" Hayley whispered hurriedly. She told Mrs. Wampler about the missing rug, and her face fell.
"Dear Lord. Well, I'll go see to that...you three just try and get her to see reason - and to get out of those pajamas!" She smiled grimly and disappeared down the hall.
The three girls went inside her bedroom and their eyes rested on dark skinned, curly haired Mary Katherine, who was sitting in the middle of her floor on the white carpet, staring at something only she could see and swirling her finger in her coffee. Her hair was up in a messy bun and her pajamas were wrinkled.
Hayley went first and sat down in front of her. "M.K.?"
Lily followed and sat on her left and Gwen on her right. "Are you okay?"
Mary Katherine sniffled and gave them all small smiles. "You know," she said in an amused voice, "when I was planning, I imagined myself jumping out of bed, getting into the shower, and then putting on a wonderfully brave face for the rest of the day and directing all the preparations. But I'm not," she shook her head. "I'm up here hiding in my room!" They were all silent for a moment, not knowing what to say to that, and then Mary Katherine broke it. "How's Remus?"
Hayley gave Lily a darting look. "Erm, well, we have a slight...um, problem..."
"Oh, God," she groaned, putting her face in her hands. "What is it?"
"Well," Hayley began in a whisper, "the...er...rug, that you picked out-"
"The one to go down the isle?"
"Yes - well, you don't happen to know where it is, do you?"
Mary Katherine jerked her head up. "It's lost?!"
"Technically, yes," Hayley said in the same whispery voice. Mary Katherine fell sideways onto Lily with a piteous moan. Lily stroked her hair while giving Hayley and Gwen frantic looks.
"Do any of you have any suggestions as to how we can get her to calm down?" Hayley mouthed, her eyes wide. They were all silent for a moment, until Gwen's face lit up like a lamp.
"I've got a brilliant, brilliant idea!"
~*~*~*~*
Two hours later found the four young women entering a salon in Muggle London. Mary Katherine had showered and put on makeup and was looking put together. Only her closest friends could detect that worried air to her.
The receptionist smiled brightly at them. "You must be the wedding party that called a few hours ago! Lovely! And the bride is which one?"
Mary Katherine stepped forward and attempted a smile. It looked more like a grimace, but the woman seemed to appreciate her endeavor.
"Good, good! If you'll follow Bridgett here, girls," she gestured to a big woman in a white suit, "she'll take you to your massages, and then onto thirty minutes of yoga, followed by haircuts, manicures and pedicures, styling you hair, and finally our experienced makeup artists will make you look like stars!"
Bridgett took them into a cream colored room with five white dentist-like chairs and handed them red terrycloth robes. "Take off your clothes in de dressing rooms and vait for de masseuses."
Hayley gave them all a big smile. "This is so exciting!" She squealed, and took the first dressing room.
Lily claimed the third one, and as she took off her khaki pants and Muggle shirt, she was very thankful that Gwen had remembered Mrs. Watson - Elizabeth - loved to go to a spa/salon when she was stressed. Elizabeth had immediately told them where she liked to go.
Lily emerged in the terrycloth robe and saw four women wheeling in little carts. Bridgett instructed them to pick a chair, and soon their massages began.
Lily's eyes were closed and she was falling asleep quickly. This, surely, was heaven...
"Lils?"
Someone called. It was Mary Katherine, so Lily didn't have the heart to tell her to shut up. "Mmmh?"
"How are you and James? No one let me ask a question the last time..."
"Yeah," Hayley chimed in.
Lily, now fully awake, sighed heavily. "It's a long story-"
"They're just friends now," Gwen interrupted bitterly.
"Just friends?" Mary Katherine cried. "How did that happen?!"
Lily found the entire story spilling out of her mouth in front of the masseuses and all, and for a moment, no one said anything.
"Oh, dear," Mary Katherine finally said weakly. "I paired you up with him in the wedding."
"You need to tell him the truth, honey," Lily's masseuse said, wiping her eyes.
"That's a good idea," Hayley agreed.
"I know I should! But I - I just can't! I don't ever have the chance to...and oh, I miss him so much!" she choked.
"Here," Lily's masseuse handed her a tissue. "Tell him tonight at the reception. If your friends get you two alone together, the subject's bound to come up."
Lily couldn't see it, but she knew immediately that Gwen had a mad glint in her eyes, signaling a plan was forming in her head. "Gwendolyn Elizabeth Watson!"
"How does she do that?" Gwen muttered crossly. "It's nothing bad, Lily, I promise. Just leave it to Sirius and I."
~*~*~*~*
Four hours later, they emerged from the salon, each looking perfect. The makeup and hairstylists had magical powers, Lily decided. Her hair, looking exactly like Hayley's and Gwen's, was done in curls with two braided pieces meeting in the back of her head. They had on darker makeup since the wedding was at night, and it matched the maroon (or so Hayley and Mary Katherine said) of the bridesmaid's dresses. Mary Katherine's hair was up in an elegant twist, and she had plans to decorate it with white roses, the flowers of the wedding. They stopped into a Muggle McDonalds at Mary Katherine's insistence ("But I've never been to one! Please?") for a quick lunch. Lily thought it was all right - the French fries were good - but she doubted she would start eating there regularly.
Not wanting to find the Leaky Cauldron, the girls ducked behind a bush and quickly Apparated back to Mary Katherine's house. They decided to go find the men - no one had told them where the girls had went probably, and Mary Katherine felt horrible for leaving her fiancé alone with everything to do. They went into the backyard and Lily gasped with delight. A big fountain was stationed in the middle of the yard with crystal clear water pouring out of it, and it was decorated with roses. Right in front of the fountain was no less that one hundred-fifty dark wooden chairs set up, separated by a cream colored carpet, matching the cushions on the chairs, of course.
They asked Mr. Lupin where his son and friends were, and he directed them to the lake that was near Mary Katherine's house. The girls walked through the woods and emerged on the rocky shore of the lake. At first they saw no one, but then four heads came into their view. "They're swimming," was Mary Katherine's stunned response. "Remus and I are getting married in two hours and a half, and they're all swimming!"
The men had discovered they had company, and swam into the shallower waters. "Come on, girls!" Sirius yelled. "The water feels nice!"
Mary Katherine snorted. "I think not! We've just gotten our hair and makeup done!"
Those in the water exchanged exasperated glances. "Fine," Remus said, getting out and grabbing a towel. "You look beautiful, love," he said, kissing Mary Katherine. They held hands and began walking down the beach.
"Noo," Gwen said, grabbing Peter on the shoulder and stopping him from following the bride and groom. "They need to have time alone before they have to go change and get married!"
Lily sighed. "They make such a wonderful couple."
After goofing around a bit on the beach, they decided to go back inside and get ready. The wedding was going to start in less than two hours, and all they needed to do was put their robes on and touch up their makeup.
With much excitement Mary Katherine brought out the bridesmaids robes. She handed Lily hers, and Lily removed the plastic. "Oh, M.K., it's beautiful," she breathed.
"Yes, I thought so too. Well, put them on!"
Lily changed quickly into the robes. They had a square neckline and were satin and billowy. They accented her red hair, and didn't go very well with her eyes - but they looked stunning on Gwen. Gwen and hers were lined with silver, and Hayley's was lined with silver threaded with gold.
"All right, go put yours on!" Hayley cried, shoving Mary Katherine into the bathroom. "You're going to love these robes! They're simply beautiful!"
Soon Mary Katherine emerged, looking radiant in her white satin robes lined with gold. They helped her with her jewelry and makeup, and soon, they were ready. Hayley rushed downstairs to get Mrs. Wampler, while Lily and Gwen tended to Mary Katherine some more. When she got there, they left the room to give mother and daughter some privacy and went downstairs to say hello to everyone.
Everything was perfectly assembled. Lily kissed Mr. Wampler, expressed her congratulations, and then said hello to Mr. and Mrs. Lupin, who were beaming. Lily felt tears pricking at her eyes - Mr. and Mrs. Lupin had had to live with the fact that their son wouldn't be accepted in society...that he would marry was beyond their wildest dreams. All of their old teachers were present, as well as members of the Lupin and Wampler family that Lily didn't know.
"Lily!"
She turned and smiled. Elizabeth Watson, closely followed by Minister Watson, was hurrying toward her. They embraced, and talked about her auror training. Minister Watson then smiled kindly at her.
"And how are your special classes going?"
Lily bit her lip. "Well..."
"Come now, I do not want you to be modest. Tell me what you can do now!"
"Are you sure this is the place?" Elizabeth inquired, looking at her husband with wide eyes. "Can't you speak about business some other time?"
"It's not business!" Minister Watson exclaimed jovially. "Please, go ahead, Lily."
"Er...I can do many simple and some hard spells without saying anything..." she began slowly.
"Really? And what hard spells?"
"I can Transfigure some things, and what I most recently learned to do was - Apparate without my wand."
Elizabeth's jaw dropped. "Without - I don't even know if Violet ever learned to do that!"
"Well, I do have an excellent teacher," Lily said modestly.
"And who is this?" Minister Watson inquired, exchanging looks with his wife.
"Marie-Claire DuPlessis - she is two or so years older than me, and an excellent auror."
"Would she mind leaving her post? I could hire her and use her as your teacher in the ministry." Lily could tell that Minister Watson was forming ideas already.
"I don't know," she responded truthfully. "You'll have to speak to her."
"Well, come on, George dear!" Elizabeth said after a pause. "We need to go find Gwendolyn! We'll see you after the ceremony, Lily. You look an absolute treat, my dear!" she pulled her husband away and began talking quickly with him. Lily stayed where she was for a moment, looking down at the ground, trying to gather her thoughts. It would be wonderful to have Marie-Claire at the ministry with her, but would she want to do it? Lily was sure she couldn't find a better teacher...
"Lily?" Someone put a soft hand on her back. Lily turned, knowing exactly who it was, and tried to smile, but she felt tears welling up in her eyes. Katharine stood there, with Celeste at her side, looking very kind. "Darling, don't cry."
Lily hugged her bony, thin frame gently, and almost began sobbing when she caught sight of Katharine's ring finger - only her wedding band was there. Lily had gotten Gwen to return the engagement ring back to James soon after The Incident.
"It's all right," Katharine soothed, stroking Lily's hair. Lily pulled back and wiped her face, glad her makeup was waterproof.
"Are you-" she began, but stopped, unable to go on.
"Am I upset?" Katharine asked gently. Lily nodded, and Katharine smiled. She held up her left hand, where her engagement diamond was missing, and said, "Lily, I would be upset if I had my ring back." She hugged her again, and whispered, "I'm still here, and I still believe." With that, she went and sat with the Watson's. Lily turned to Celeste and gave her a small smile.
"Hi, Lily."
"Goodness, you've grown," Lily replied, and hugged the fifteen-year-old. "Are you excited about going back to school?"
Celeste shrugged and pushed a lock of black hair behind her ear. "I suppose." Celeste's dark eyes fixed on a spot behind her. "I wish I could see Sirius more," she said softly. When she looked back at Lily, her eyes were filled with tears. "He's always so busy! And whenever I see him, I'm always afraid it'll be the last time, you know? I was so excited to be coming home so we could spend time together, and now he's gone off to be an auror..."
Lily hugged her again tightly. "Oh, Celeste. Why weren't we ever closer? We lived in the same house and basically had the same parents...let's start over, want to?"
Celeste stood back, her eyes shining. "Really?"
"Really," she said firmly. "We've both lost something huge in our lives...we should stick together."
The look of gratitude on Celeste's face was something Lily would never forget. "Like sisters?"
"Exactly. I shall be your older sister from now on. Now, the ceremony's about to start! Go sit with Katharine!"
Celeste nodded and smiled, and went to go take her seat.
Lily stood still for a moment, mulling Katharine's words over in her head. It was evident that she still believed Lily and James would end up together, and she was telling Lily to believe it to.
She had a joyful reunion with Ella and Ella offered her advice on what to do with James. Lily had sent her letters describing The Incident, and was desperate for her guardian's advice.
Soon everyone began to quiet down, and Lily left Ella and walked quickly to the back, passing a tearful Mrs. Wampler who was going to take her seat in the front. She took her small bouquet of flowers and kissed Sirius.
"You look beautiful," he whispered, and smiled at her.
Lily sniffled and smiled back. "So do you. You have the ring, don't you?"
Sirius snorted and pulled out a small white pillow with the golden ring on it. "C'mon, Lils, you know you trust me."
"Of course I do," she said, grinning at him. "Oh - I just had an interesting talk with your sister. Sirius, she loves you so much...and she wishes you would spend more time with her!"
Sirius exhaled and looked over to where his sister was seated. "You know I love her! It's just...we graduate the night before she goes off to school...that's no excuse though, is it? Right, I promise to pull her out of McGonagall's class one day and take her somewhere."
"Sirius-"
"Only joking. I'll think of something."
Lily smiled and rolled her eyes, and went to find James, who was standing with Gwen and Peter. Lily hugged her best friend and hugged Peter as well, and then swallowed and took a deep breath. Gathering her courage, she turned around and smiled at James. "You look very-" she stopped, and her breath caught. James was staring down at her, and he looked like he had before, when they were together - that tender look that he had always reserved for her. He tentatively brought his hand up and cupped her left cheek. Then his eyes widened and to her immense disappointment, he quickly dropped his hand and cleared his throat. "Let's get ready, then."
Lily dropped her own eyes and nodded. She turned around and faced forward, trying to ignore the furious whispering going on between Gwen and James. She could tell her best friend was rather...angry.
Music started from the live band and the wedding party got into their positions. The floating fairies lit themselves, as it was growing dark, and the candles flickered off of Remus's happy face. They had planned the wedding date to be as far away from the full moon as possible.
They came to the part in the music that was their cue, and Sirius and Hayley began walking slowly down the isle. When they were about halfway down, Lily and James started, and was followed by Gwen and Peter. The bridal march sounded when they were all in their positions around the altar (Dumbledore was performing the ceremony), and the entire congregation stood. Lily felt a smile start on her face despite her circumstances, and it soon turned into a full-fledged grin when Mary Katherine came into view. She was the epitome of radiance, and when her father leaned in to kiss her, she whispered, "I love you, Daddy," and took Remus's outstretched hand.
Dumbledore cleared his throat. He was beaming at the happy couple, and the golden wand that was sewn onto his robes was glittering.
"Witches and wizards, we are all gathered here today to join Mary Katherine Wampler and Remus John Lupin in holy matrimony..."
Finally, it was time for the vows.
"Mary Katherine, do you take this man, Remus John Lupin, to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, in sickness and health, as long as you both shall live?"
"I do," she replied confidently.
For a moment, nothing happened. Lily's eyes widened and she prodded Hayley in the back, who in turn gasped and pulled out the white pillow with the gold wedding band on it. The crowd chuckled, and Hayley smiled good-naturedly. She stepped forward and held the pillow out to Mary Katherine, who took her wand out of her pocket and said, "Adorus Totalus!" while tapping the ring. It emitted a golden light and flew into the air, and then stopped and hovered in front of Dumbledore. Dumbledore smiled and turned to Remus.
"And do you, Remus, take this woman, Mary Katherine Wampler, to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, in sickness and health, as long as you both shall live?"
"I do," he replied just as confidently, and he turned to Sirius on his left, who had the pillow ready. His back was turned to her, but Lily knew he had done the same thing, because soon, the wedding band emitted a golden light and floated to Dumbledore.
"Ius Coniubium!" Dumbledore cried, and the wedding bands molded together as one and then sprang apart, and slid onto Mary Katherine and Remus's fingers.
"Now, with the power vested in me by the Ministry of Magic, I pronounce thee, Mary Katherine and Remus John, man and wife!" He then turned and smiled widely at Remus. "You may now kiss the bride." The two leaned in for a tender kiss.
"I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Mary Katherine and Remus Lupin!" Dumbledore raised his arms and everyone stood and cheered. Lily felt happy tears leaking out of her eyes. At least her friends were happy, even if she wasn't. The band struck up a lively tune, and Lily and James followed Hayley and Sirius, who in turn followed the newlyweds.
Everyone hugged at least twice, and then they all stood in a line to greet the guests. After that, while the reception was beginning, they took wedding photos. By the time those were finished, Lily was seeing little white flashes everywhere. Luckily they disappeared after she blinked a few times.
They processed into the huge dancing tent where Remus and Mary Katherine would have their first dance as a married couple. The band began to play a waltz, and as it was custom, after a few moments of solitary dancing, Gwen and Peter, Haley and Sirius, and Lily and James took to the floor.
Lily adverted her eyes as soon as they began dancing lightly, but soon she found her eyes traveling unwillingly up into his chocolate brown eyes.
"I'm remembering," he said softly, never breaking eye contact.
"About?" she whispered, her voice shaking. Oh, it was absolute heaven to be so near him...
"About our first dance," he smiled slightly. "We were both eleven, at the Ministry Ball before our first year. Do you remember?"
Lily swallowed hard and said, "Yes," almost inaudibly. Was it just her, or were the people around them starting to melt away? And why couldn't she feel the floor anymore? But try as she did, Lily couldn't move her green orbs from his brown ones to check.
James turned serious. "Lily, can I tell you something?"
Lily felt the world come back around her. The dance had ended and everyone was applauding. Soon the band began playing again, an old wizard song that everyone knew, but she and James stood still.
"When you told me during that mine exercise...you said 'I hear making assumptions that aren't true and are in fact very far from what really happened makes one tired too.'" He smiled at her. "That has stayed with me, you know."
Lily blushed deeply. She couldn't believe they were having this conversation. "I'm sorry - my temper ran away with me."
"So did mine, but not only that day - on your birthday, too."
Lily closed her eyes, trying to fight away memories of that day.
"I acted very rashly...I should have stopped and asked what had happened. But when I saw you-" his voice broke, and he paused. "When I saw you with him, a million different things rushed through my head. And I thought the worse...but since then, I've allowed Sirius to tell me what information he got from Gwen...let's get out of this tent, okay?"
Lily could only nod, and they were halfway down the path that led to the lake before he spoke again.
"And it seems like what I assumed was wrong. Please - tell me."
Lily looked up at him with wide eyes. "You - you want me to tell you what happened?"
James nodded, keeping his eyes on the ground.
"Well," she began slowly, looking straight ahead, "Marie-Claire left us very suddenly-"
"That's because I told her to," he interrupted.
Lily felt her face heat up, and she was glad it was dark. "And then Chase turned to me, told me he was in love with me, and kissed me. And then you came."
"Yes, but why were you so happy?" he asked confusedly. "That's what stumped me."
"Because I felt nothing! Absolutely nothing!" Lily cried. "And...Well, when I - or, when I used to - kiss you, it was like...like flying, or-or something like that! It's like the world just melts away, and it's just me and you," she finished softly. "I can't really explain it."
"It's been absolute torture for me, not being able to be with you."
"I - I've missed you too," Lily breathed, looking up into his eyes.
"But I never stopped loving you," James said, leaning down.
Lily smiled slowly. "Me either," she whispered, and they kissed. It started slowly, but soon blew into the most passion-filled kiss they had ever experienced, full of relief, hurt, longing...
A piercing scream made them jump apart. Loud noises were coming from the reception area. "Stay here, Lily!" James instructed, and ran up the path to see what was happening.
Lily snorted. "Yeah, right," she muttered, and took off after him. The site that met them was horrifying. People dressed in black robes were destroying everything, setting fire to the tents and terrorizing the people inside. "Oh, God," Lily breathed. "Are those-"
"Death Eaters, Lily! Come on!" James whipped out his wand and sprinted to the tents. He immediately began firing curses at the Death Eaters.
Lily suddenly had a horrible thought: were the Death Eaters here to find her? Without trying to harness her powers, she followed at a sprint and looked around wildly. She spotted Gwen, who was over on the left side of the tent, being surrounded by three Death Eaters with their wands trained on her. Lily wondered why she wasn't fighting back, when she remembered: Gwen had tossed her wand on the bed that afternoon and claimed she wouldn't need it.
"Stupefy!" Lily yelled without thinking twice. Her magic, which was very excited, shot out and Stunned the man closest to Gwen. Lily wondered if she had done too much damage, for blood had begun to come out from the wound in the Death Eater's head. His companions spun around, and when they saw Lily, they immediately ran forward.
She had been right. They were after her.
Soon more Death Eaters joined them, and she was surrounded. They all had their wands trained on her, and Lily did the first thing that came to mind: she threw her wand with all her might to Gwen, and pointed at a man in front of her. "Stupefy!" she cried, and a blue jet shot from her finger and hit the man square on the chest.
She had done wandless magic.
Soon the rest of the Death Eaters were backing away, all except one, who took down his hood. She recognized the pale hair and skin immediately.
"You idiots! She is only one girl! Seize her! The protective shield is up!"
Sure enough, the few people who had stayed outside to fight - Minister Watson, Elizabeth, Remus, Mary Katherine, their parents, Gwen, Sirius, James, Peter - they were all firing at the Death Eaters, but the clear shield merely absorbed the curses.
Lily thought quickly. Lucius Malfoy was inches from her- and the shield. She kicked him with all her might, hitting him on the shoulder and knocking him off his feet. He crashed into the barrier, breaking it. A full-blown battle ensued then. Lily could see hardly anything for all the spells shooting around, but Stunned as many Death Eaters as she could. Many Apparated away, including Lucius. When reinforcements from the Auror Department at the Ministry arrived, the remaining conscious Death Eaters left quickly.
Lily leaned over, putting her hands on her knees, breathing heavily. Her magic was still fired up, and she was having trouble calming it down.
Suddenly, Gwen came up and hugged her tightly. "You saved my life!" she sobbed, "and I could have saved yours, but I couldn't get your wand to work!" She handed Lily the polished stick of wood reverently. "If I hadn't been so stupid this afternoon-"
"Lily! Are you alright?!" Sirius demanded, hugging her also. "I swore I wouldn't let you out of my sight...I guess I didn't do a very good job...but I was escorting everyone inside."
"How is Celeste?"
"Both she and Katharine are fine-"
Lily felt two hands suddenly grab her from behind and spin her around. It was James. She flung her arms around him tightly. "Lily, you were so brave," he was whispering into her ear. "Not many people can think like that under pressure - God, I love you!"
Her heart soared, and she kissed him hard. "I love you too, James Potter."
They stayed in each other's embrace for few seconds later, when suddenly-
"Where's Mary Katherine?" Remus cried, looking around wildly.
Her parent's looked at him strangely. "I thought she was inside-" Mr. Wampler said slowly. Everyone turned to Sirius, who was as pale as a sheet.
"No-no, I never took her inside-"
An auror came up to them importantly. "Is anyone missing that you know of?"
"My wife, yes!" Remus cried hysterically.
"Come on, everyone, let's go look," Hayley said, and Lily could tell she was on the verge of panic.
They all split up immediately and yelled for her. The aurors were taking the captured Death Eater's back to the Ministry, and one of the aurors was talking with the Minister.
"Lily!" Minister Watson yelled, and beckoned her over. Lily came over slowly, wanting to go and look for her friend.
"Yes?"
"Lily, this is the head of the Auror Department, Jo Krespin. Jo, this is Lily Evans, one of your aurors-in-training and the Adviser - she's the one I was telling you about, remember?"
Jo was a tall black woman, who nodded and extended her hand. "I can't tell you how pleased I am to have you as an auror," she said sincerely. "And the Minister was just telling me about your accomplishments - very impressive."
Lily shifted and looked over her shoulder. "Thank you."
"I found her! She's over here! AAAAAAAAAAH!"
Someone yelled loudly. Lily glanced at Jo, and they both took off at a run towards the side of the house where the shed was.
About twenty voices yelled, "Stupefy!" as a stray Death Eater dressed in black ran out of the shed. Sirius, however, was the one who shouted, and he didn't move. He was standing in the doorway of the shed, staring into it, transfixed.
Her heart pounding, Lily ran up to him first. "Sirius, move-"
He moved aside, he mouth open. Mary Katherine was lying on the floor in all her wedding finery, but was motionless. Lily fell to her knees next to her and was soon followed by Remus, Gwen, Hayley, James, and most everyone else who could fit. For a moment, no one moved, until Professor Dumbledore stepped forward, knelt, and felt her pulse. He bowed his head.
"Albus?" Professor McGonagall whispered.
Dumbledore raised his head and looked at Remus. "I'm so very sorry."
What little blood was in his face drained. Mrs. Wampler flung herself on the ground, sobbing hysterically, and Mr. Wampler followed. Remus had the most anguished expression on his face that Lily wouldn't ever forget.
And it was all her fault.
~*~*~*~*
Lily spent the night at the Leaky Cauldron without anyone knowing and spent Sunday by herself. She mourned for her friend, and spent a long time in deep thought. Finally she Apparated back to the auror-training camp (without her wand - she didn't know where it was, but what did it matter?) and trudged in a sort of daze up to her room. Gwen was there, staring at a picture of her, Lily, and Mary Katherine at graduation and sniffling slightly. She put it down and looked at her hands.
"The funeral's next Sunday," she said quietly.
Lily nodded, her throat blocked.
"Lily," Gwen began, turning around to face her, "you know no one blames you."
She said nothing. She just stared out the window.
"Let's take a walk, okay?"
Lily nodded and they both walked slowly along one of the paths. At one point, Lily sat down and began to cry, tears pouring down her cheeks. Gwen hugged her tightly, and then they went back to the dorms. Neither of them said a word the entire time. Nothing seemed good enough to say, or appropriate, and nothing really was needed.
~*~*~*~*
The following week they started their final exams, which would determine whether they would become an auror or not. By Friday they had completed two of their three exams - in Agent Nelson's class, they did a sort of obstacle course by themselves and in teams, which involved swimming, a mine exercise, and running. In Agent Renny's class they performed the three Unforgivable Curses - the Killing Curse, Avada Kedavra, the Cruciatus Curse, and the Imperius Curse - on a spider for the first part of the test. For the second part, Agent Renny paired them up and they fought using simple hexes (Lily didn't participate, instead, she hexed a tree and got to exempt). The following Monday and Tuesday would be Agent Union's exam, and then they would graduate on Wednesday, August thirty-first. There wasn't to be an exam in Marie-Claire's class, that goodness, Lily thought.
On Saturday James, Lily, Sirius, and Gwen dressed in their black robes and went out to the Wampler's graveyard to bury Mary Katherine. Lily was silent the whole time, and couldn't look at Remus, the Lupin's, or the Wampler's. The second the service was over, she Apparated back to camp.
Monday was the first day of Agent Union's exam: a fighting tournament. Lily went at it with all she had, not really knowing what she was doing, beating men and women alike, and made it into the finals. She beat Agent Forte - who was a very big man - in seconds on Tuesday.
On Wednesday morning, Lily smiled her first smile when Sirius paraded into their room with hot green hair, polka dotted skin, and a ballerina tutu in an attempt to cheer her up. He performed a dance, and then tried to get his wand back from James to change himself back, but James took off and Sirius chased him all around camp. Finally Lily, gasping with laughter, pointed her wand at him and yelled, "Finite Incantatem!" Sirius was knocked off his feet by the force of the spell, which everyone thought was very funny.
She and Gwen got into their Hogwarts graduation robes in good spirits and looked around the room that had been their home for three months. They grabbed their suitcases and shut the door after them, smiling widely.
Lily had made up with Chase the week before. He had approached her and told her that he wanted to at least be her friend if he couldn't be her lover. He understood that she didn't love him, and he was happy (or so he said) that Lily was happy. James also, and rather reluctantly, forgave Chase, and they were basically back to normal.
They put their baggage outside the girls' dorms and went to talk to those who had come to watch them graduate. All of the people who had been at the wedding - and funeral - were there, except Remus. His parents told them he was taking some time alone.
Lily finally got the courage to ask them what had been bothering her. She went up to Mrs. Lupin, who was adjusting the lace on her sleeve, and said, "Mrs. Lupin?"
"Hello, Lily," Mrs. Lupin said, giving her a small smile.
"I - I was wondering, if you by any chance know...I know it was my fault the Death Eaters came," she said recklessly, "and I want know if Remus hates me. I mean, I would definitely hate me if I ruined my wedding and caused the death of my new spouse-" she knew she was rambling about nothing, and was glad when Mr. Lupin (who was no longer the Assistant Minister of Magic) cut her off.
"Lily, no one blames you for anything. We are most grateful to have you, as a matter of fact, and - who knows, perhaps this would have happened anyway."
Lily smiled and got up. She doubted that, but it was nice of him to try and cheer her up.
The ceremony wasn't as formal as it had been at Hogwarts, but Lily still felt that wonderful feeling that comes with finishing something for good. She was awarded her diploma, and they all cheered when they were all finished. Marie-Claire hugged her tightly and told her that she was looking into working for the Ministry.
"That's wonderful!"
"Well, yoo cannot expect me to stay 'ere for ze rest of my life, now can yoo?"
"Lilee!" Ella came up and embraced her. "Yoo were so wonderful! We are going to go to ze Watson's for a party - oh, excuse me, I did not see yoo, Marie-Claire!"
They started talking rapidly in French, so Lily took her leave and went to find James. He swept her up in a hug. "Ugh, can you believe it, Lils? We're finished!"
"I know!" she laughed, and he put back on the ground.
"Ready, you lot?" Gwen called, standing with Sirius and Celeste. "We've got to Apparate back, but Celeste is using this Portkey," she held up a used Band-Aid. Lily wrinkled her nose, but when back.
"Lily, can I see you Apparate without using your wand?" Celeste asked eagerly. Lily smiled. "Sure. When does that thing leave?"
"Erm, in about thirty seconds," Gwen said, checking her wand.
"Well, in that case-" Lily began. She winked at Celeste and was gone a second later.
She arrived on the sidewalk in front of the Watson's home. You couldn't Apparate inside the property; of course, it was much too dangerous for the Minister, so you ended up on the sidewalk. Seconds later, Celeste appeared in front of her. Her feet slammed on the walk hard and she felt over backwards. Lily caught her, and Celeste turned, her face shining.
"That was really neat!" she exclaimed. "Can you-"
"That's enough, Celeste," Sirius said mock-seriously. "We're going inside." And then, before Celeste could do anything, Sirius picked his little sister up easily and carried her up to the Watson's house. The guards didn't stop him - they knew who he was, of course. Celeste was screaming and laughing at the same time, and Lily sighed happily.
She felt rather then saw James. "It's so good he's paying attention to her," he murmured.
"Yeah," she agreed. She looked up at the huge mansion.
"I wonder when you were here last?" Gwen mused, appearing next to her.
"That's what I was just thinking about. And I think it was Christmas in our second year." They walked through the gates, followed closely by the parents, and walked up the stairs. "D'you still have Mood Walls?"
"Yes! If I'm not mistaken, they should still be hot yellow - excited - which is what I was before we went to camp."
They went into the gardens in the back of the house where refreshments were set up, and Lily bounced from group to group, talking to everyone. Soon, though, she and the rest started to get bored, and Hayley suggested they go play Quidditch. Everyone agreed on that, but they couldn't decide who would play what positions, so it was turned into sort of an impromptu game of scoring goals without caring what team you were on.
"Miss Gwendolyn, your mother has sent me to tell you dinner is served." A familiar, dry voice said - it was the butler, Giles.
"You still have him?" Lily whispered to Gwen as they stashed their brooms.
Gwen snorted. "Of course. Mum loves him! The day we get rid of Giles will be the day he dies."
They walked into the "small" dining room, and all took their places around the table. They had Italian food, and it was all very good. Everyone was chatting happily, and Lily wished Remus were there.
A tinkling came from her right - James was tapping on his glass and clearing his throat, his eyes sparkling like mad. Gradually everyone hushed and looked at him expectantly. He stood and began.
"I met the woman I would marry when I was seven or eight, in a dream."
Lily's heart stopped. Where was this going?
"I never once saw her face, but in that one night, I felt more content when I was with my dream girl. I prayed and prayed for the next two or three years that I would have that dream again, but it never did come. I had given up hope by the time I was ten and eleven, until one day, in Diagon Alley, I accidentally knocked into someone, and felt complete again."
He finally looked down at Lily, whose smile was growing slowly, and heart was beating rather fast.
"When I came home, I repeated that name to myself until I could say it in my sleep, and vowed not to let that little red head out of my sight at the approaching Ministry Ball.
"The ball came and went, and by the time it was over, I was convinced I was in love. The trouble was, I wasn't sure if the little girl returned my affections." Everyone chuckled here. "But finally, I was pretty sure when she kissed my cheek in second year at the Christmas party. But then, things got bad," his demeanor became darker. "And I was pretty sure she hated me when she...well, told me so."
Lily looked down at her lap with a sad smile. Then she looked around the table - Elizabeth, Ella, and Katherine were all getting teary-eyed.
"So I survived third, fourth, fifth, and sixth year without her, until that fateful day Gwen almost killed her on the Hogwarts Express and she re-entered our lives. After a very rocky first few months, when I declared my love for her and she shied away, we got together for the first time."
He turned to Lily and raised her chin to his eyes. Her green ones were sparkling with tears. "Lily, we were interrupted once - lets make sure it never happens again."
And with that, he dropped to his knees in front of her and took her hand. In a fluid motion, everyone at the table stood so they could have a better view. Tears began pouring out of Lily's eyes as he opened the ring box that he had thrown a month ago at her feet, took out the glittering diamond, and slipped it on her finger. It fit perfectly.
"Lily Carolyn Evans, marry me, my dream girl, and let us never be apart," he whispered.
She sniffled and threw her arms around him. "Of course I will," she whispered back, and they kissed lovingly as everyone applauded.
~*~*~*~*
A/N: Looong chapter, I know. But please remember what's written in the A/N above, okay? And try not to flame me too badly!
