Chapter Sixteen: A Celebration of Vows
*Four days after the major fight between Lily and James and the Dark Lord Lily finally decided she was ready to return to work. For the last three days she had been sleeping, resting, and coming to terms with the battle. She had faced down Lord Voldemort, the one wizard most feared. She was not pleased at herself, as she had assumed she might be if she had taken on the Dark Lord.
Instead, she was fearful. He would come after her, he would exact revenge, of this she was certain. Fear replaced the feeling of pride, and uncertainty of the future replaced her worry of the present. Was this why James had grabbed her in the elevator? Was this why he had sworn to protect her?
It had crossed her mind that he, too, must be wallowing in fear and shame. She knew he had fought Voldemort before, and this time he had again escaped with little less that a nightmarish memory of the Dark Lord. Still, the same fear of revenge must be weighing his shoulders down too.
"Lily? You up?" Alice was standing outside her door.
"Yeah, morning Alice." She smiled and sat up in bed. It was still early in the morning.
"I wanted to ask you something."
"Sure."
"Well, last night I was out with Frank…"
"I know, I watched you leave." Lily pointed out, giggling. Indeed, she and Ara had watched Alice leave, and teased and taunted her about it until she and Frank were out of earshot. Alice flushed.
"Anyway. Last night Frank took me to a really nice restaurant. We had dinner, he even asked me to dance! And then, later, he asked me to marry him." The last sentence came out in a small whisper.
"He did?" Lily whispered, matching her volume. "Oh Alice, how wonderful for you! I'm sure you'll be happy together!" Alice laughed, her face becoming redder by the moment.
"Yeah, I'm thrilled about it—I've been in love with him since we met I guess. Anyway. We've decided to marry soon—we want all the time together we can have, with Voldemort running around out there and our jobs being what they are…"
"Stop! You can't let that dark wizard dictate your life! You are not about to die any time soon, Alice, and neither is Frank! Don't worry about how much time you have together, I know you'll live a long and happy life."
"Well, I'd like to think the same way, but Frank and I, we've just been talking about that a lot lately, and it's what we've come to except. If it happens, it happens. We just want to get married now to spend all the time together we possibly can."
"It is sort of a romantic thought." Lily added. "All the time together you possibly can… so sweet."
"Ara promised to be my Maid of Honor… I was wonder, though, if you'd like to be a bridesmaid?"
"Oh Alice!" Lily breathed in. "I would be honored!"
"Thank you!" Alice smiled brightly and hugged Lily. "The wedding is actually next Monday—it's going to be very small, his mother and mine, and you and Ara, the Marauders, of course, and we weren't sure about it, but we were thinking of extending the invitation to the rest of the Order of the Phoenix—we're pretty sure Moody won't come anyway. It's still less than thirty people."
"It sounds wonderful!"
"Did you ask her?" Ara poked her head in the door.
"And she said yes!" Alice nodded vigorously.
"I told you she would!" Ara laughed and joined them on Lily's bed. "Alice told me Frank wants James to be his best man, and Sirius to be the other usher… I started laughing when she said that, it means you and I have to switch dates for the night!" She laughed at Lily.
"That's not a big deal." Lily smiled slightly. "James and I still aren't what we were, and I would rather be with Si, if you don't mind."
"Not at all, I completely understand you." Ara smiled too. "Oh, Alice, this is going to be so much fun! You get to go robe shopping, and cake shopping, and flower shopping! Oh, you have to take me!" Alice laughed.
"It's only a small event…"
"Only! Small! This is your wedding!" Ara boomed. Lily gave Alice a sympathetic glance. Then she dropped it and opened her mouth to speak.
"I'm glad she's not planning my wedding." She whispered evilly. Alice paled.
"Lily, you traitor!" Grabbing Lily's pillow, she used it to smack her, and then Ara, who was still ranting about shopping. Lily grabbed another pillow, and soon a feather-filled fight ensued.
An hour later Ara and Alice, who had been forcefully dragged along, left to go shopping. Lily, on the other hand, was just finishing dressing when she heard a knock at her apartment door. Muttering the counter curse to open the door, she found it was James who stood before her.
"Hey Lily." He robotically greeted her.
"Hello James. Come on in." Lily said, frowning. It was not that she didn't want to see James, no. In fact, she loved being able to see him again. But what bothered her was his appearance. He still looked less than halfway decent. It was as if something was still bothering him. And perhaps it was. But what, she did not know, and he would not share.
"James, are you hungry? I was just about to make some breakfast for myself."
"I am, but let me make it for you." He offered, a small glint of mischief returning to his dull chocolate eyes. Lily's eyebrows rose in disbelief. He hadn't cooked for her in years!
"Alright if you're sure…"
"I am. Let me see… your favorite breakfast is waffles and scrambled eggs, right?"
"Very good." Lily smiled. He too, smiled, and took one of her hands. Leading her into the kitchen, he pulled out one of the stools that sat around the tall island in the center of the room.
"Your table awaits, mademoiselle." He bowed. She giggled. As he began moving around the kitchen looking for condiments and ingredients, Lily watched him like a hawk.
"James?"
"Huh?"
"Why did you come here this morning? It wasn't to make me breakfast." James sighed. His Lily… she was too smart for even his tricks. Well, he would have to do this sooner or later.
"Frank Longbottom asked Alice Dove to marry him."
"Next Monday." Lily's eyes never left James, who kept busy at the stove across from her. As James put the eggs on the plates besides the waffles, he pulled forks out of the drawer and placed one on the plate. Then he handed it to Lily. Waiting for her to test it, he watched her.
She looked better, he noticed. Her eyes were still glazed over with a fake happiness, and her hair was still not as full as it had been, but her pale skin was looking more healthy, and her robes fell better around her petite form. He loved this tiny woman before him so much, how he could sit there without gathering her up in his arms still surprised him. Self-control was the key, but it was slowly losing the battle to instinct and lust.
"Is it good?" He asked her as she took her first bite. He savored the expression of heaven she let slip.
"Mm… James, you are a great cook. You should have opened a restaurant instead of becoming an auror." She teased. Then her face became serious once again. "What does the wedding have to do with why you came James?"
"Oh Lily." James moaned and sat beside her, his plate forgotten. But he was unable to finish. Shaking his head, James searched for the words. What could he possibly tell her? "Lily, do you remember when your sister got married? And I came to be the usher, and we went to the party afterwards?"
"The reception? Yes, of course. And my father kept shooting you death glances for dancing with me."
"And do you remember the night before the wedding Lily?" Lily strained hard, but she did indeed remember that night…
"Lily." He stated softly. Then he opened his arms and held them out. Lily looked at him for a moment, then flung herself into them and held on tightly. "It's ok Lily, it's alright. I told him off good for you. No one will ever hurt you while I'm around, I promise. God Lily, I swear no one will ever hurt you when I'm around. I'm kill them if they do."
"James…" She whispered. She wasn't crying, but she was so choked up with emotion she could barely speak. "Thank you."
"Vernon was horrible before the wedding. He's better now, at least, he's faithful to my sister." Lily flushed.
"That isn't it Lily. See, that night I promised you something, I promised myself something: I promised I would always protect you. And I tried as best I could to protect you at Hogwarts. And I tried as hard as I could to protect you when I first became an auror. But then, in all that rush to protect you? I think I somehow I got caught up in the system, and I lost focus. Lily, all this time, trying to protect you, I never realized, the person you needed the most protection against was me.
"Then, after the other night with Voldemort… I wanted to protect you! I tried to! But it didn't do any good. You stopped that curse from taking over me. You saved the clock tower. You blew Voldemort back when I fell. Lily, all this time, I've tried to protect you, but last night I realized, I can't protect you. God Lily, I couldn't protect you from me, how am I supposed to protect you from people like Voldemort?"
"James…" But Lily couldn't say much. James was right. In every way, he was right. Nonetheless, it made her feel awful knowing it. "James, you did protect me the other night. From those Death Eaters, and from Voldemort. You weren't going to tell them I was there, hiding. That is protection."
"It wasn't enough Lily! They would have found you! I would have lost you again! I only just got you back, I can't lose you again!"
"James, you don't have me back yet. You hut me so deeply… I can't even begin to tell you how much pain you caused me." Tears threatened to spill over her glassy eyes. "Incredible pain. You need to earn my trust again James."
"I know that." He whispered. "But I wouldn't have even had the chance to do that if you had died."
"I'm not planning on dying any time soon James."
"You don't need to plan it for it to happen. Death is like that Lil."
"You called me Lil." She smiled. He looked up through haggard and tired eyes, confused. "You stopped calling me Lil a long time ago James. It was nice to hear again."
"You'll always be my Lady Lily." He smiled. Lily was blinded by the light that shone when his face lit up. He was happy! And he was calling her Lady Lily! She wanted to kiss him.
"Eat your breakfast James, you need it." She ordered him instead. Not yet. She couldn't submit to him yet. She needed to protect herself, after all.
"Yes dear." He smiled. She giggled, unable to help herself.
)(
"Witches and Wizards. We are gathered here today to witness the binding of this wizard, Francis Longbottom, to this witch, Alice May Dove. Does anyone object to this binding?" With a small pause that remained empty, the minister who was conducting the ceremony continued. "Very good. Do you…"
Frank and Alice stood surrounded by their friends and family in a large courtroom in the Ministry of Magic. Up front a Minister was conducting the ceremony. Lily and Ara stood to the left of Alice, Lily trying to comfort Ara, who was in tears. James and Sirius stood on the other side of the couple, both staring into space. Around them stood the other members of the Order, and, of course, both Alice's and Frank's mothers. The wedding was a very simple ceremony, and afterwards there would be refreshments and such on the other side of the courtroom.
"I pronounce you wizard and wife, you may kiss the bride." With that, Alice and Frank turned to each other and looked, lovingly, at one another. Then she laughed, and pulled Frank in for a kiss. At that moment, both mothers rushed forward and began hugging and kissing the newly married couple.
"I love Frank's mother. She's so… happy." Sirius snorted. James elbowed him, but smirked.
"Leave them alone Padfoot, they just got married for crying out loud." Then another elbow met Sirius' stomach, much harder than James' had.
"Yeah Si, leave them alone. How dare you make fun of them on their wedding day? James, you need to be more forceful with him. Really open up and let him have it when he deserves it. Like now."
"Yeah." Sirius whispered, still recovering. "Let me have it when I deserve it."
"Si, you alright?" Remus asked as he joined them.
"Fine." He muttered, glaring at his long time girlfriend. "I do feel pain you know."
"I know." She smirked.
"Just reminding you." He pouted. Peter laughed.
"James, you're looking much better than you have been." He remarked.
"A woman does wonders for a man." He smiled, wistfully looking over at Lily, who was speaking to Hagrid.
"You love her huh? I mean, you really love her?" Peter asked.
"I do. I would die for her Pete."
"How do you know you love her though? What tells you?"
"The pain I feel whenever I'm not holding her, and the happiness I feel whenever I am. It's really mixed up Pete. All I know is that it's called love. I just wish she would open up to me again. I hurt her so bad… I'm such an idiot."
"She'll come crawling back sometime James, she loves you, doesn't she?"
"I don't want her to come crawling… I should be crawling. I just want her to come back."
"Ah, James, I'm glad I caught you. I had some news I thought you might find rather interesting, and seeing as how we're in the Ministry, I feel fairly safe telling you here." Dumbledore approached them.
"What's wrong Professor?"
"I'm afraid we've had word that the Dark Lord is very close to signing an alliance with the vampires." The circle of friends jaw's dropped.
"But, didn't Frank and Alice foil that plan the first time they came into contact with Voldemort?" Remus asked. "I mean, now they've met him twice, I thought they had stopped him the first time with vampires though."
"What they stopped, he merely found another way around. I was thinking it might be time to send an experienced team out—for reconnaissance, you'll understand." Dumbledore winked, assuring James there would be more involved. "But I only wanted to run that by you. Today we should be celebrating, after all."
"Of course." James murmured. His vision swam, and he looked over to his life source, hoping she would give him strength. What he saw made him see red. Lily was almost in tears! Quickly he excused himself from the group and made his way over to her.
"— Selling the house now. I love that house, and she's selling it." His ears perked up at her voice.
"Lady Lily?" He asked. Lily spun around, and Hagrid took notice of James. "Are you alright?"
"Fine." She chirped, blinking away the melancholy tone that had been plaguing her voice before.
"I—" But before he could say much more, Ara had tapped her glass in the motion of a toast.
"I would just like to congratulate both Alice and Frank, two young kids in love, and I know that they will live long and happy lives. Cheers boys and girls!" The occupants of the room clapped and cheered for the couple, which had turned to leave.
"We'll see you in a week Alice!" Ara yelled after them. "Don't do anything I wouldn't!"
"That's almost nothing Ara," Alice joked as she was leaving. Ara feigned hurt, then laughed.
"Alright, then be careful and have fun! Goodbye!"
"Bye!" Lily called, and was echoed by James behind her, and the rest of the Marauders near by. Once they had left, Lily, James, and Hagrid joined the other three Marauders, Ara, and Dumbledore in their circle.
"Lily. I was just telling James I might have another errand for you to run."
"What? Professor, no." James interrupted. "You can't ask Lily to do this. I won't let you. She can't."
"She can't?"
"I can't?" Both Lily and Hagrid said at the same time. "Why not?"
"I won't let you… Lily, it's too dangerous."
"James, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself." Lily pointed out crossly.
"I made a promise Lily."
"Then who's to protect me from you?" James stopped. That was just it, wasn't it? That was their problem: she couldn't trust him, and he didn't trust himself with her. Still…
"But Lil, it's dangerous. It's about Voldemort." He whispered. Then and only then did Lily pause.
"Him?"
"Yes, indeed. Rumor has it that the Dark Lord is closer than ever in forming any alliance between himself and the vampires. Something needs to be done." Dumbledore looked quite serious. "But perhaps we should discuss this elsewhere?"
"Your office, in an hour?" Lily asked. "You'll be there, won't you, James?"
"If you will, yes."
"Very well. I will see you both soon. Oh, I had best be on my way—if I don't get back, I'll miss dinner at Hogwarts." Dumbledore smiled as his eyes twinkled. "I shall see you all later." And he was gone.
"Apparated to Hogsmead I'll bet." Remus said.
"I need to get home and change, coming Lily?" Ara grabbed Lily's hand.
"Yes."
"We'll see you all later then. Ciao!" Ara said as she apparated, Lily in tow. *
~~~I would just like to take a moment to thank everyone who emailed me about ff.net taking OCL off without any valid reasons. It means so much that you all took the time to email me: RandaManda1415, HeavenlyMystie, SnowyPrincess103, Barbara, Isis197, Lilyclio, Chickensoup3, ToonedIn, Icy2, Reviewer, and Anonymous, and countless others. I don't like making out lists like this in case I forget someone, but in this case all of these people really made me feel like my complaint to ff.net was justified, and that I wasn't whining over nothing. Thank you all so much for your support. Remember, even if you can't find Our Complicated Lives here on ff.net, it will always be posted on my personal website, the Fanfiction HQ. Much love and thanks always, Vixen~~~
