Chapter Eleven: But With Happy Days
Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter, and I don't own the Princess Bride, and I don't own…lots of things actually…Even "my own characters" are based on some people…for example, James's mom is based on my little brother's friend's mom. ^_^ Coincidence! Coincidence!
Author: lets see, back to the sibling rivalry. But without both of them living in the same house it is harder you know…hmmm…Oh, and things are explained here about the mission and all that stuff, so you'll know what it is exactly. I meant to put this up yesterday…and I didn't. Sorry!
"Petunia, I want you to come to my wedding." Lily said. Her sister gave her a look of contempt.
"And why should I do that? If I remember correctly, little sister, you didn't come to my wedding." She sipped her tea, blond hair bobbing.
Lily grimaced. If Petunia found out that Lily actually did go to the wedding, ugh, the sappy sisterly love would take over and she would never again be freed.
"So?" she said finally. "You always were more mature, right?"
"Lily, I'm not going. You and your friends will just laugh at me the whole time, and I am not going to sit there and take it."
"They will not laugh at you Petunia, I promise."
"No."
"Please?"
"No. Absolutely not. Even if I wanted to, I could never persuade Vernon to see all of you freaks dancing around being happy. Probably you'll all get drunk and destroy the whole party!"
"Petunia!" Lily said exasperatedly. "Can you never get over your stupid little prejudice? I can't believe this!" She stood up.
"Fine then, don't come. But if you do show up, I'll welcome you. And you asked why should you? I'll tell you why." Lily took a deep steadying breath. "I know three girls who would give anything to go to their sister's wedding, and can't because Saraline Stokes is dead and will never get married. I know a boy—a man, whose only brother was killed, and can't go to his wedding if he ever gets married." Petunia rolled her eyes, but Lily continued. "I think that it's pathetic that we argue about something like this, because, like it or not, you are my sister!"
"I'm going home." Petunia snapped. She picked up her purse and left, glaring at Lily angrily.
"The big day is coming!" Sirius said gleefully, pouring drinks for everyone. "Everyone" included Lily and James, Frank and Alice, Peter, and Remus. They were at Sirius's apartment, a tiny run down thing on the edge of the city that was just clean enough to allow seven people to sit around comfortably.
"Are you nervous?" Frank asked seriously. Lily smiled.
"I'm not. I knew I'd marry James Potter from the moment I layed eyes on him." She said.
"I seem to remember you cursing him into having boils on his nose the first time you layed eyes on him…" Alice began, but James just laughed.
"Her first gift to me…" he said, kissing her lightly on the cheek. "Hey Moony, remember that time that Snape made you grow breasts? Wasn't that his first gift to you? Think you'll be lovers?"
Remus laughed. "Oh yeah, in the first year. Mine were bigger than Lily's are now." Lily blushed and shoved Remus a little.
"My first gift to Snape was a howler…remember when we used to send them to him every week? But then McGonagall caught us. We got detention for a week huh?"
Sirius sat down next to Remus.
"Good times, good times." Everyone knew that Remus was suffering. Seeing the other happy couples made him sad. "Have a drink Moony." Sirius suggested, seeing the gaze that Remus had turned on Lily and James.
"Nah, I think I'll go home." He stood up. "Not feeling too well." The others didn't meet his eyes. They all knew the full moon was still two weeks off.
"You'll be ok for the wedding this weekend?" Alice asked. Remus nodded, waving goodbye and leaving. Sirius walked him to the door.
"You aren't thinking about what I think you're thinking about are you?" Sirius asked him.
"That made no sense Sirius." He answered.
"Stay." He said.
"I…can't. I still think about her."
"We all do. You're just torturing yourself. Stay and cherish the friends you have. They miss her, but they also miss you. Remus…" Sirius paused and looked back at the table where the others were deep in conversation.
"Unless you promise to have a date in a week."
"What?" Remus asked.
"A date. You and a girl. Next week. I can get Natalie or someone to go with me. C'mon."
"Sure, whatever, Can I leave now?" Remus asked.
With a worried look at his friend, Sirius let him leave alone, down the stairs and out onto the dark street. He closed the door and went back to the table.
"He's still beating himself up." Sirius informed his friends. Alice shook her head.
"I don't get it. It why does he blame himself?" she asked softly, holding Frank's hand.
"It was a mission for Dumbledore. He was supposed to go, but he overlooked the fact that it was the same night as the full moon when he volunteered." James said.
"So he attacked her?" Alice asked, shocked.
James shook his head. "No, nothing like that. He just couldn't go with her. He told her not to go, and didn't think she would…but obviously she thought the mission was more important…"
"What was the mission?" Lily asked. She knew some of this, but never had gotten Remus to tell the whole story. Usually she was in tears before she could ask him outright.
"To Azkaban. To send a message to one of the prisoners who was in there spying. You see all the wild dementor attacks on the news, how they don't obey their masters anymore. The ministry doesn't believe it."
"So they turned on her when she was visiting Azkaban?" Alice said softly. She shivered. Her and Sara had been friends.
"Yes." James answered. "And Remus thinks that if he was there they wouldn't have attacked."
"Why couldn't she just go on a different day?" Lily suggested. Saraline was not rash, she would have thought of all the possibilities before rushing into something so dangerous.
"Because the prisoner was about to be executed." James said. "But thanks to her, he managed to escape with valuable information."
"Who was the prisoner?" Lily asked.
"Me." James said. For a moment Lily sat in stunned silence, then tears streaked down her face. That was why he knew first. That was why he went to see Remus. That was why his face was so pale; why he told her he was helping Sirius move. Wait, he probably was the one who told Remus and Sara's family.
"You weren't helping Sirius move." She said.
"No." Sirius answered.
"You knew too?!" Lily burst out. "Why didn't you tell me??" she asked.
Sirius looked at her though his long dark bangs and nodded.
"You would have tried to stop us." He said simply. Lily couldn't argue with that. She could be angry about it though.
"I can't believe this! James, you should have told me! I…What if Sara hadn't gone…oh…my best friend or my one true love…" she looked over at James. He had had to make that choice, purely in fun and games on the train ride home from Hogwarts so many months ago…it seemed like a different life, a different universe. Losing James…it seemed so possible all of a sudden… she sank into his arms.
"See Lily, you would have gotten all sobby... Embarrassing, this…" he kissed her forehead. "Don't cry…"
Sirius got up and hugged both of them, pretending to cry loudly. Peter laughed.
"Oh James, what would I do without you to hug me and kiss me?" he wailed. Alice gave him a disproving look.
"Sirius, this is serious!"
"I am Sirius."
"Oh please, I thought you got tired of that joke in the first year…" Frank complained.
Lily gave Sirius a big slobbery kiss on the cheek. "Thanks Sirius, I love you know."
"And I love you too, beautiful Lily." Sirius answered. James shoved him away.
"I don't love you, Padfoot, so stay away from my woman." He said.
"I'm hurt!" Sirius said, sitting back in his chair. Lily blew him a kiss, and then reprimanded James for being obsessive and mean, almost forgetting that he had tricked her and refused to tell her he was going on a dangerous, deadly mission.
The ceremony that Lily had found so boring at her sister's wedding was suddenly the most meaningful and frightening things that she had ever faced. She stood at the back of the church in her gown and stared at the rows of people.
She could do this. All she had to do was take it one step at a time. She had done it at the rehearsal! She had dreamed of this moment since she and Petunia were old enough to dress themselves and their dolls in wedding attire and pretend! Alice gave her a soft nudge and a quick smile before starting down. Finally it was her turn.
Lily's father took her arm and steadied her as she walked, one foot, then the other. No one in the pews drew her attention from trying to get to the front of the church. (Although there was the unmistakable bright silver beard from Dumbledore and the huge shaggy head of everyone's favorite gamekeeper.) Then finally, James's smiling face, and she was in his arms. Sirius winked at her from his place next to James as best man, calming her nerves a little.
"Mawwigge!" the preacher began, in a voice that rivaled Scuttle the Seagulls in ludicrousness. "Twuuu Luvvv!" he went on. Lily knew he was a very old friend of the Potters, but she did really having trouble understanding him. She kind of actually dazed out until James poked her.
"I do," he said. The church gave a giggle, and Lily realized he had just said 'I do' twice, loudly.
"Oh!" Lily exclaimed, blushing. "I do!" James slipped the ring on her finger and before the squawking old preacher could say the words, he kissed her on the lips.
The rest of the wedding day passed in a daze. Lily was swept away with everything, and she knew exactly why Petunia hadn't noticed that Lily had been at her own wedding. There could have been chimps dressed in robes on the stage for all she cared, because today she was becoming someone new.
"Mrs. Potter," Sirius asked her, bowing. "May I have this dance?" Lily nodded and lifted the hem of her gown, stepping gracefully onto the stage to dance. Sirius was not a bad dancer, either, very smooth and cool.
"Sirius you have no idea how happy I am today." She said.
"I'm that good a dancer huh?" he asked, winking. He nodded over at James, who was dancing enthusiastically with Lily's mother. "He's happy too." He said. "You know why?"
"Because my mother is a good dancer?" Lily said shyly.
"Because you're happy."
Lily knew it was the truth. Sirius spun her around and passed her to Remus, who was looking very neat and combed in new robes, just for the occasion.
He danced very nicely also, but was gentler and bit slower, unlike Sirius's gallant show off footwork. Lily found herself comparing both to James, who was steady and strong, her anchor to reality with messy black hair and a smirking grin.
"Are you doing alright now Remus?" Lily asked. He nodded, but he didn't look all right.
"Don't worry about me Lily, Just enjoy yourself."
"It's hard without her," she said softly. Remus nodded, understanding.
"She would want you to be happy." His gray eyes glanced over at the table where Saraline's family enjoyed some food. Little Sammie was now dancing with James, watched enviously by her other two sisters. It was actually very comical to watch, James bending over and holding her hands, her pink party dress twirling along with bouncing curls. Lily motioned for Remus to go over to Katherine and Anastasia, and found herself dancing with Peter. He was blushing, face red. His dancing could use some improvement, and she told him so before laughing and trading him for Frank. Strong and silent, but incredibly smart, he was not a horrible dancer, and only stepped on her feet a few times.
"Lily, I'm glad that you and James are properly married. Alice was worried about being the first ones to get hitched, but now she feels better.
"I bet she does. We'll be old ladies together, won't we Alice?" Lily called over to her dark haired friend, who waved merrily. She was dancing with Sirius, who was doing some sort of tap dancing number in a circle around her and not really with her. Sammie clapped her hands in tune with the music, watching Sirius with an expression of deep adoration.
As soon as he was done he bowed and skipped off to get a drink. Finally, the dance floor emptied until it was just Lily and James.
"Well, Lily, How does it feel to be a wedded woman?" James asked. She smiled.
"Wonderful. How are you doing today? Having a nice married life so far?"
"Oh yes, smashing." James said. "But I can't wait until the wedding night. I think that that will be the best part of married life."
"Seek happy nights with happy days" Lily quoted Shakespeare. "And so we have."
"I love you." James said
"I love you." Lily answered.
*****
