"You don't marry someone you can live with – you marry the person you cannot live without."
-Unknown

An announcement such as your engagement is never one easy to keep under wraps, and it makes no difference the common state of the world. At the same time, a prospect of a glimmer of hope – the concept that, against the odds, one might still find love – and the thought that, while darkness and despair and loss may be overwhelming and overpowering, love would hold its ground, was most of a welcome one. A renewal, almost, it seemed, for the two involved. It was as though, despite the real world crashing down, the two young lovers could construct their own perfect world in which no harm could come to them.

So it was with the intent of spreading the good news that Lily and James were having their three closest friends over for dinner.

The two had shared an apartment for little over a year. After the loss of both her parents in a plane wreck, Lily had decided to use her bit of inheritance to get a better apartment – with James. James, being intelligent enough of a 20 year old male, had gladly accepted his girlfriend's offer to live with her. It was a comfortable apartment – not too large, but not too small. The interior was run almost entirely by Lily, largely because James, in all honesty, couldn't have cared less what it looked like.

The cherry oak table was laden with food, which remained warm thanks to a nifty charm Lily had learned some time ago, the places were set, and as a result Lily and James were simply sitting beside each other on the sofa, staring blankly at the wall.

"I take it you're asking all three of them to be in the wedding party," Lily stated suddenly, still not bothering to turn and look at him.

"Of course."

"Sirius the best man?" Although a question, the way Lily posed it implied she already knew the answer.

"Of course."

Lily shook her head. "However did I guess?"

James snickered, stoic expression falling as he glanced sideways at her to grin. "And Remus is the Maid of Honor."

"Of course."

Lily was looking at him now, wry grin curling onto her lips before she curled up. She drew her legs up onto the couch next to her and leaned against him, head on his shoulder.

"Peter can be the flower girl," James decided after a moment. Lily chuckled and shook her head when the doorbell rang. Both slipped to their feet. It was six o'clock – exactly the time Lily had told them to be there. This, of course, led James to believe it was Remus, since neither Sirius nor Peter was renowned for his punctuality.

Upon opening the door, however, James discovered it was not one but all three of them. Sirius, at the foreground, was grinning. This, in truth, was not that unusual a sight. Optimism, by now, had not so much become a point of view as willpower. In times like these, with friends turning on each other, constant fatalities and the other not so pleasant aspects of war, enjoying your youth was a rather forced action.

Sirius Black and James Potter had long since mastered the art of ignoring the plagues of the world.

Remus was to the right, tall and emaciated as usual. As Lily stood there, leaning against the wall, slender arms folded across her chest watching the four who had made such names for themselves during school, she couldn't help but notice how horrible Remus looked. Of course, he always looked horrible, that was true enough – but there, she thought, surrounded by three rather healthy looking twenty-one year olds, he looked quite ready to keel over, apart from the warm smile on his face.

The shortest of the four, Peter, was to Sirius' left, and peering around the young man in front of him to eye Lily and James. Throughout most of the seven years they attended Hogwarts, Lily had wondered how it was Peter had ended up in the elitist Gryffindor clique. Now that she knew the man, however, it seemed like less of a dandelion in a field of daisies. Lily rather doubted she'd ever heard him utter a negative word about any of his friends (which she had to admit, considering James and Sirius, was quite a feat indeed) and – or so James had told her, anyway – the man was an absolute master at getting away with things.

"Oi," James had said, laughing, "Peter? Innocent? Ha! He did just about as much as we did - … well, excluding hexing people and all that. His area of expertise was more raiding the kitchens, spiking Slytherins' drinks… thing was, he knew how not to get caught in a way Sirius and I never quite mastered.."

I can see why, Lily thought, eyeing the man with a small smile from her position. He looks absolutely harmless.

"Are you going to let us in or simply check us out, Prongs?"

James snickered and moved from the doorway, allowing the three to file in.

"Dinner looks great, Lily," Remus commented as he led the small herd towards the table.

"Thank-you," Lily replied with a smile.

There was distinctive sniggering from Sirius and James.

"Shut up, the both of you," she instructed as she took a seat. James took a seat between her and Sirius at the end of the table and was heard whispering something to his companion about not eating the meatloaf. His fiancé rolled her eyes and kicked him discreetly under the table, which spawned a sugar-sweet and innocent smile from him.

"I think it looks good, Lily," Peter argued, taking a seat next to Sirius and eyeing the dressing aside the turkey hopefully. As, with staggered entries, all of them reached to fill up their plates, James raised a hand to his mouth to give a cough that sounded something like 'ass kisser'. Beside Lily, at the other end of the table, Remus shook his head. Letting a scoop full of broccoli fall onto his plate, he arched an eyebrow and glanced over at James.

"Now, now, Prongs," he chastised, "dare I even get started on how many times you've kissed Ms. Evans' ass?"

Sirius snickered and joined in before James had a chance to silence them.

"I concur, Moony – the I like your eyes, Lily-s and the that dress looks amazing on you, Lily-s and the --"

Sirius broke off as James flicked a pea at him with his thumb and forefinger. Deflecting it with one hand, Sirius snickered. Peter chuckled beside him and Remus and Lily exchanged glances, rolling their eyes. Some things, they'd all concluded ages ago, would never change. In times like these, that was one of the precious few things you could cling to.

"Shut it, Padfoot," he instructed simply, "I wasn't that bad."

"Were too," Sirius objected.

"Actually, Prongs, you were," Peter agreed.

"You were the epitome of ass-kisser from fifth year to seventh. Although it got more romantic in seventh," said Remus.

"Yeah. In seventh year James was the Shakespeare of ass-kissers," said Sirius.

"The Rhett Butler of ass-kissers."

"The Cyrano de Bergerac of ass-kissers."

"The—"

"We get the point," James said. The tone was rather final and the simple stare he sent Remus and Sirius shut them up, although they started snickering. Lily hid a grin behind her hand as she propped her elbow up against the table – very poor manners indeed. A moment of silence, apart from the occasional tinker of cutlery against plates reigned until Peter added:

"The Casanova of ass-kissers."

Sirius, Remus and Lily all snickered, eyes turned to their plates. A lazy glare was sent from James to Peter and as he shook his head, hazel eyes falling back to his food, he said simply: "Get out of my house." The snickers died away slowly, and it was quiet for another minute before Sirius asked how everyone was and they all responded at once.

"Not bad" came Peter's voice. "Tolerable" was Remus' reply. At the same time, Lily and James chimed: "great".

Such a reply in the current events was unusual. Friends were getting scarcer and scarcer, acquaintances were dropping like flies, and if you were lucky -- or unlucky -- enough to have most of your family decidedly on one side of things, family reunions got smaller and smaller. The simple greeting of 'how do you do?' had become rarer and rarer, largely in part thanks to the fact no one really wanted to know. The answer was very rarely 'good', and even more uncommonly 'great'.

For that reason, Remus, Sirius and Peter turned to stare at the two in silence.

…for a moment.

"You know what that means don't you?" Sirius asked, eyebrows shooting up as he grinned. The knowing way in which Remus arched his eyebrow suggested he did in fact know what it meant. Peter turned his gaze to Sirius so he might 'enlighten' them.

"…they had sex before we got here."

Remus' eyebrows lowered once more and he just shook his head at Sirius, the cluck of his tongue not necessary when coupled with his expression. Lily shook her head. From the look on James' face, it was difficult to tell what he was thinking.

"That's it exactly, Padfoot," he said, raising the glass to his lips. "Sex over and over again."

"Kinky?"

"Very."

Lily kicked him under the table once more. Jolted from the kick, a bit of wine from James' glass sloshed over the side and onto his chicken. Sirius snorted and shook his head.

"Lily!" James whined instantly. "You killed it!"

Lily snorted as well, rolling her eyes and slicing a piece of her own chicken. "I didn't kill it. It's… coq-au-vin."

"I don't like French food."

"Tough."

"And it looks slightly like blood."

"You are eating bird muscle."

"Your cooking never ceases to get more appetizing."

"I know. Shut up and eat your chicken."

"It's all wet."

It was obvious, by now, that all five of them were trying their best not to start laughing. At this comment of James', however, Sirius had to jump in – it was far too good to pass up.

"I thought you liked wet things, Jimmy? Over and over again?"

"Sirius, please, there is a great difference from wine-soaked chicken and Lily's--"

"One more word and I swear the engagement is off, Potter."

The entire room fell into silence. Someone's fork clanged against their plate as they dropped it, and every pair of eyes in the room was fixated on Lily. The startled look on her face dictated quite clearly she hadn't meant for it to come out like that – and the expression on James' face was almost every bit as surprised as Sirius, Peter and Remus'. Silence reigned to the absolute before, all at once, Sirius, Remus and Peter demanded incredulously:

"What!"

Lily bit her lip for a second, sending James a side glance. He looked every bit as dumbfounded as she – they were going to tell them, of course, but they'd intended to do so with much more tact. The two stared at each other for a long moment before James' eyes flickered around to the other three.

"…surprise?"

"Engaged?" Remus repeated, eyebrows rising up in surprise.

"Since when?" That was Sirius.

Lily smiled idly, glancing down at her fingers as she twirled her ring round and round. She wasn't quite sure why they were so surprised, really, but it was mildly pleasing to shock them nonetheless. The feel of the cool metal around her finger was something she wasn't quite used to and the girl was quite sure the spinning of her engagement ring would be a habit she'd have for lord knows how long. "Four days ago," she told them airily, eyes darting up from the ring in order to gaze around at the males.

"The wedding's going to be in September," James announced, trying a piece of the wine-soaked chicken, making a face and setting the fork down. "Towards the end of the month."

It was at this moment Peter looked horribly affronted. "Wait," he said urgently. "…You're getting married?"

The future Potters simply stared at him, Remus arched and eyebrow, and Sirius groaned, arm extending to hit Peter over the head.

"Are you that thick?"

"Just checking!"

"…"

"James, please tell me if you need help writing your vows you will not turn to Wormtail."

"Will do, Sirius."

For the next few minutes, James and Lily briefly outlined what the wedding would be like. Occasionally, of course, the subject would get off topic, or James would have to remind Lily that, despite being well off, he rather doubted he'd be able to get John Lennon to perform at the reception, and occasionally Lily had to remind James that despite his wishes she was not wearing a white bikini to the altar. Discussion turned to sea-foam green bridesmaid dresses, and it was only after Sirius asked how easy these dresses would be able to take off that the fiancés were reminded of something else.

"Sirius? Kitchen. Now," James said simply, rising from his seat.

"Are you going to spank me with a spatula?"

"…"

"You know, now that you're engaged to Lily, these homoerotic midnight rendezvous will have to stop."

"Damn," James replied in monotone as he reached over to grab Sirius by the ear and drag the other man to his feet.

"Is that where my spatula went, Sirius?" Remus asked calmly over the edge of his glass, wry grin well concealed. Of the four of them, Remus had the best poker face.

"You know you liked it, Moony," Sirius objected, swatting James' hand away from his ear once he'd stood up.

"Mmm," Remus mused indifferently, taking a drink and arching an eyebrow in Sirius and James' direction.

"Moony's got a spatula fetish," Sirius told James in a rather loud whisper.

"Actually, Sirius, I've always much preferred my Straight Man's Porn: For Straight Men."

How it was Sirius would reply to this they would never be sure, because by that time he'd been shoved into the kitchen by James. Grinning over his shoulder as he was shoved, Sirius arched an eyebrow.

Walking to the counter, Sirius turned his back to it and, with both hands on the countertop, heaved himself up. It creaked appropriately under his weight, and it occurred to James that were Lily present she would've mentioned something about sitting on countertops. The fact remained that the redhead wasn't there, and James said nothing – quite honestly, he didn't care if Sirius sat on the countertop. Instead James walked to the fridge, leaning back against it and ignoring the press of the handle in the middle of his back.

"I've been meaning to ask you something, Sirius," James began.

"Ask away. The amazing Sirius knows all and leaves no queries unanswered."

James rolled his eyes.

The amazing Sirius leaned back, spine resting against the wall. A glance around spotted the little pile of ripening fruit in the corner. He plucked two apples from the pile, tossing one in James' direction with a simple flick of his wrist.

"So what's up?" asked Sirius, raising the apple he'd kept to his mouth.

James caught the fruit with ease; being Hogwarts' star Chaser had its advantages when your best friend decided to throw fruit at you. Dropping the apple to his other hand his arm extended to set it down on the counter.

"Actually," James said, folding his arms across his chest once more and quirking both eyebrows up with a slight grin, "I was going to ask you to be my best man."

Sirius swallowed the chunk of apple he had in his mouth entirely too quickly and gagged a second later. The coughing was loud enough that, from the dining room, Lily's voice rang out.

"Have you killed him, James?"

"Yes."

"Just checking."

James shook his head with a faint grin and reached over to pound a fist into the center of Sirius' back. Apparently a suitable substitute to the Heimlich, Sirius coughed once more before swallowing and grinning. Wiping his eyes, which had begun to water due to the oxygen deprivation, Sirius straightened.

"I don't see why you're so surprised," said James, "We've been best friends for ten years."

"I was pulling for flower girl."

"That's Pete."

"Damnit." Despite the expression he was grinning as he took a second bite of apple, chewing it thoroughly this time before swallowing. "Do I need a speech?"

"Saying something instead of standing at the altar pointlessly is ideal, yes."

"Damn. I'm supposed to say something nice about you, then?"

"Yeah."

"Good thing I'm imaginative."

"Yeah."

They both snickered and lapsed into silence for a moment as Sirius took another bite of his apple. Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed he smiled mischievously over at James.

"Will there be gifts? I daresay I deserve some reward for putting up with you all these years."

"Jackass."

"Yeah but so are you."

"…jackass."

Eyeing his friend as he shook his head, Sirius bit into the apple once more. The moment passed in silence was he swallowed the last bite of apple. He slid from his perch on the countertop, landing on his feet and striding to the garbage can, within which he disposed of the apple core.

"You know damn well I'd be honored, James," he said, smile more sincere as he peered up at the Potter.

"I know." Pause. "… aside from that, I know you'd never miss an opportunity to get on the good side of a few bridesmaids."

Ceasing to lean, James stood up straight and smiled quirkily before heading back towards the dining room. Sirius was at his heels in a second, snickering and shaking his head.

"The only good thing about those gaudy dresses is the way they look crumpled on my floor."

James laughed and shook his head, returning to his seat at the table, as Sirius did a second later. The look on Lily's face as she eyed Sirius stated quite plainly that she'd overheard his last comment. Withering stare having been practiced enough to make next to anyone quail, Sirius smiled charmingly.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Potter."

Lipstick right? Yes, yes, check, okay. Flowers… flowers… oh, yes, they're on the table. I put them there. Right. Cake! Cake? Yes, the cake is fine, I saw it not two hours ago… dress? Fits. Does it make my ass look big? No – no of course not, its custom fit. Hair… no! Don't stick out like that! Stay behind my ear, damnit! There. There. … Hmm. Lipstick? Yes. Flowers?

"I swear to god, Lily, you rush over to inspect those flowers one more time and I'll beam you over the head with them."

The bride-to-be paused mid-stride on her way to the table where her bouquet sat and glanced over. Maid of HonourJulie Wankairolled her eyes.

"You've done it five times in the past forty-five minutes, Lily," she informed, tugging up the top of her forest green halter-top bridesmaid dress. "Do it again and I'll be forced to hurt you."

Suddenly feeling rather stupid, Lily let her arms fall back to her sides and frowned. "Oh. Well, alright, then." She retreated to Julie's side, anxiously brushing a tendril of hair, having been excluded from her otherwise up-do, behind her ear.

She was nervous. Obviously. Wasn't everyone nervous on their wedding day? It was only the biggest, most important day of your life. It was only the highest level of commitment you could reach. It was just her wedding after all, not at all as if she was completely signing away life as she knew it to 'start anew'. It wasn't like the fact that, in a matter of three or so hours, she'd not be an Evans for the first time in her life mattered any.

Right?

"Stop looking so nervous," Julie said again, rolling her eyes. She half frowned, glancing over at the Bride to reach up and adjust her veil. "Everything will be fine. You look perfect, the flowers are perfect, the cake's perfect… your hair would be perfect if you'd stop ramming it behind your ear." She reached out to un-pluck the tendril from its resting place. Lily frowned at the new look in the mirror before her eyes went back to Julie.

"You think so?"

"Lily, you've got James Potter wrapped around your baby finger. I'm quite sure he knows how much this day means to you, and I daresay the fact we're here at all shows he can do something if he sets his mind to it, so relax."

Lily sighed and nodded, running both gloved hands down along her stomach as if to flatten out her dress – not that it were crinkled in the first place.

"…Do you think he's nervous?"

"Lily, hon, is James Potter ever nervous?"

James Potter was nervous.

That was a first. No, really, it was – he'd played countless Quidditch matches, been cornered by a superior for doing something decidedly against the rules hundreds of times, partaken in countless dangerous duels without scarcely a flutter, and yet as he stood there, eyeing his own reflection in the full-length mirror, he felt nervous. He noticed, seemingly for the first time, the way his hair looked completely uncooperative and had run a hand through it so many times that Sirius, leaning against the wall and shaking his head, had begun counting aloud. James wasn't really paying attention to the tally, but Sirius was quite attentive to the details such as this, or so it seemed.

It was normal to be nervous, right? No of course not – of course he wasn't nervous. Why should he be? It was, after all, only the biggest day of his life thus far, and there was only going to be one hundred and five of their closest friends and family. No, no, no reason to be nervous at all.

"Seventeen!" came Sirius' voice with a snicker and a hint of amusement and James suddenly noticed that his hand was in his hair again. Removing it abruptly, he glanced over at him, deciding instead to adjust his tie – for only the eighth time that hour.

"Do you think she's nervous?" James asked, hands falling away from the tie for a moment to inspect it. He decided a split second later it still did not reach the standard of excellence he was hoping for and jerked the knot out, retying it again. From the other side of the room, Sirius shook his head.

"Nervous? Do I think she's nervous? Why, James, this is only the most monumental day of her life! She's only signing herself away to one man – not least you – till death do you part. She'll have a new name in a matter of hours, and quite probably a new life with you there all the time. Who wouldn't be nervous?"

"… You are the worst Best Man ever."

"I try."

James glared. The glare was what Sirius was waiting for, evidently, for he cackled triumphantly and strode to his friends side, clapping him on the back.

"Well, mate, on the bright side, it's your honeymoon in about thirteen hours, and you'll get some then."

"Assuming I survive the wedding," James said grimly.

Sirius smiled. "Assuming you survive the wedding."

James made a face at the mirror and adjusted his tie once more.

There was always an element of risk in an outdoor wedding. Wind, rain, and cold snaps were like the relatives you invited only out of duty, only because you thought you had to, not because you wanted to for any reason. There was always the threat that at any moment the sky might crack and rain would pour down, the bride, dressed in white, would no doubt start screaming and crying, the cake's icing would begin melting and dripping off, the Groom and the groomsmen exchanging helpless glances and shrugs.

For the sake of the already nerve-wracked couple, they could only hope such a thing would not happen. Lily, who'd always preferred to be on the 'safe side' of things, had brought this up when she and James were discussing the wedding's location.

"It might rain," she'd said. "And then what?"

"Then we'd be completely screwed over."

"Exactly!"

"I like being screwed."

"… Why am I marrying you, again?"

"Because evidently you like it too."

"Inside, James. Inside. Outside is too risky."

"Outside, Lily, outside. Inside is too boring."

"James."

"Come on, Lily! Life's about taking risks!"

"I signed up to marry someone brave – not Clark Kent."

"… Who?"

In the end, naturally, James had won – somehow. That was mildly disappointing to Lily, mostly because from the way things were going it seemed as though James would have the final say in everything, ever.

James' call, however, seemed to have been something of a good one. His hazel eyes were darting around avidly as he stood at the front of the altar, and at some point that fact dawned on him. The sky was a bright, noticeable blue and the few clouds that spotted it here and there were bright, white, and fluffy. Well, weather's agreeing with us. That has to be a good sign. Of course, I suppose there's the off chance that one of those clouds will crack open and I'll be struck by lightning, charred to a crisp in the middle of saying 'I do'.

….that'd be kinda cool.

The mismatched train of thought went on like that as he continued glancing around, eyes roaming up the large, white arch he stood beneath, tracing the pattern of the vine weaving in around the lattice. He let his eyes wander over towards the guests and noticed with faint amusement that his parents were seated directly behind him. Oh good lord, the waterworks start.

James' mum was already in tears, positively beaming up at her son as she dabbed at the corners of her eyes. Anna Potter was something of an emotional woman, which came, perhaps, from being the mother of one child who probably would have preferred a larger family. For that reason the sight of her only son – unless one took Sirius into consideration, given the fact they'd as good as adopted him for a year or so and ever since then he had been considered family – at an altar was something of a tearjerker.

At her side was Carter Potter, who grinned encouragingly as the rather anxious looking James glanced their way. The pair of them exchanged glances and Carter nudged Anna, muttering something about not shedding too many tears, because that was James' job. James sent his father a sort of excuse me? look, but Carter merely grinned in return.

Yeah, Dad, James thought with a slightly amused grin as he let his eyes wander elsewhere in the audience. I'm ready to burst into tears any second. Far though that may have been from the truth, James did notice that his hands were getting rather clammy, and he was entirely too sure that time had slowed down too much. Birds didn't usually chirp that slowly, did they?

The sudden start of Pachelbel's Canon in D Major caused James' heart to rev a little, suddenly reminded him of the fact that oh, look, this still is a wedding. Lily had waved aside the standard Here Comes the Bride in favor of the more classical song, saying that the song was absolutely gorgeous and made her want to cry. James had sort of wondered why she'd want a song that made her cry on her wedding day, but music was her thing so he went with it.

As his head craned instantly to look down the aisle, down which Sirius and Julie were walking, arm in arm, he noticed their smiles for the first time. Broad, of course – almost all the eyes in the room were on the Best Man and the Maid of Honor, for the moment, and not smiling wouldn't suit. No, it wasn't that that surprised him – it was that he noticed for the first time how sincere the smiles were. Julie glanced at him past the tress of dark hair the fell into her eyes from her otherwise elegant bun. Hopefully he doesn't pass out when he sees Lily, the girl thought as her smile grew. The moment during which James and Sirius made eye contact, Sirius' smile changed from a simple contented smile to more of his characteristic handsome grin and he winked.

James, much to his own surprise, found it difficult to do anything but stare in awe.

As Raven and Sirius parted, Julie slipping to the side of the altar opposite James and Sirius moving behind his friend and off to the side enough to not obstruct the view of the Groom, the next two were already on their way down the aisle. Remus was arm-in-arm with Bridesmaid Emma Buracheck, and James was struck this time by how different Remus looked. Perhaps it was the fact that, in a tux, as opposed to falling apart robes, he looked almost well off or perhaps it was because the wedding itself had been planned with Remus in mind, intentionally falling at a time of the month when he'd be healthy – well, as healthy as the werewolf got. James, however, was entirely convinced that despite the contribution of these two elements, it was also because he looked so happy. In any case, the change was quite a welcome one.

The two split apart and next down the aisle was Peter, with third Bridesmaid Alice Longbottom at his side. He thought, briefly, that Peter didn't look quite as happy as the first two had, but paid little attention. Simply because Peter wasn't grinning from ear to ear wasn't all that strange – perhaps it was because he had a married woman on his arm.

It was only after those two split apart and the Flower Girl came out that it dawned on James that Lily would be making an appearance soon, and directly after they'd be saying their vows. It was for that reason – the sudden feeling of a complete lack of time and a swell of nerves again – that he hardly paid attention to four-year-old Nymphadora Tonks as she skipped happily down the aisle, tossing flowers everywhere purposefully. The little metamorphmagus finished her run and fell into place behind Nicole with a slight stumble before smiling broadly in a way only a child can and, like everyone else, turning to glance down the aisle.

Where Lily was.

Wow.

That was James' first thought – the second was a mental reminder to breathe. Rather suddenly, James found it quite difficult not to smile.

The Bride looked gorgeous. Her exquisite gown fell to the floor and hung off her shoulders, flowers embroidered around the neck and the short sleeves. A rich, glowing snow white, the dress stuck out from the green grass noticeably, somehow accenting her bright red hair, ear-to-ear smile and the bouquet of lilies she was holding. The veil hanging loosely over her face did nothing to obscure the fact that she was absolutely beaming, and she was absolutely gorgeous. It was only after, at his side, Sirius snickered that James realized his mouth was open slightly and promptly shut it, letting his eyes leave his soon-to-be-bride at last. And he noticed that Lily's arm was linked with Albus Dumbledore's.

James had wondered, beforehand, who would walk Lily down the aisle, given the fact that her father couldn't, but the girl had refused to say. She'd merely smile mysteriously and say that she'd worked something out, and that there ought to be some sort of surprise. James had tried to make the same argument for a 'surprise' honeymoon, but it hadn't quite gone over well. Now he wondered how Lily had worked that one – the supposed most powerful wizard of the century walking his wife down the aisle.

When the pair split apart, James was almost entirely sure Dumbledore winked at him. He couldn't be positive, of course, because it lasted only a half second and he thought he could have imagined it, but, he supposed, given that it was Dumbledore, nothing was particularly unexpected. Lily, absolutely beaming, took the last step alone to reach James' side.

This is it.

"We are gathered here…"

It occurred to the Groom that it was probably a strict no-no to tune out the priest at your own wedding, but he couldn't help it. The side glances he kept sending Lily were distracting, and he found it hard to focus on whatever biblical passages the Priest was spouting. She's gorgeous was a key element to the train of thought, although it was followed up by everything anyone has ever thought minutes away before their I Do's. It seemed like immense good fortune that the two of them be so lucky in spite of all going on. It seemed like an amazing chance that, amid all the hate and animosity in the world, the two of them find love.

I'm one lucky son of a bitch.

To the left, Lily was also lost in her thoughts. She knew what the priest was saying – or at least the basic extent of it – but she also knew that in the long run it was irrelevant. How was she supposed to focus on that when James was right beside her? She knew perfectly well that the little glances she was sending at him were being returned. The two caught each others' eye and both smiles broadened, before once again Lily forced herself to look at the priest, even if she wasn't paying attention. He looks nervous. I can't believe it. James is never nervous. …Actually, it's kind of sweet. He's sweet. Oh, lord, hurry on with it, won't you, before the butterflies try to break free of my stomach? She looked over at James once more anxiously.

I'm one very lucky woman.

"I ask you to make your wedding vows at this time."

That brought them both back to reality quite quickly. The couple pivoted to face each other, and for a slight second James thought he might not be able to find his voice to say the vows. He swallowed, however, and when he tried to speak he was relieved to find he could. James, having the first 'go ahead', reached forward to take her hands in his.

"I fell in love with you the day we were fifteen by the lake and you called me a great bullying toe-rag."

There was a ripple in the silence that otherwise consumed the gathering, as quick hurried whispers or hesitant snickers made it clear most everyone didn't know what to think. Smile never faltering, Lily did, however, blink, and let out a tut of laughter. Well aware of the surprised reaction, James merely grinned even broader, thumb running up and down along her hand.

"I love the way you speak your mind. I love the way you stand up for what you believe in. I love how passionate you are about everything, I love your eyes and I love the fire I can see in them. I love the way when I see your smile I can't help but smile. I love how absolutely perfect you are –" Lily's eyes flickered downwards for a half-second, "—and I love the way you look to the ground when you're flattered. I love that it took me three and a half years to earn a second glance and here we are. I love that you chose me over the Giant Squid." Once more there were faint chuckles from most of the wedding party.

"I love you, Lily Evans, and for that reason I solemnly swear to stand by your side, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part."

One hand dropped from hers to be extended, palm-upwards, in Sirius' direction. Recognizing the cue, Sirius took a small velvet box from his pocket, took out the ring held within, and dropped it in James' palm. Sending his Best Man a quick smile, James closed his hand around the ring, took Lily's left hand and slipped it onto her finger. For a second both pairs of eyes were fixed on the ring, golden with a diamond between two hearts, one with the point facing forwards and the other with the point facing backwards, until the Bride and the Groom's eyes met once again.

"With this ring, I thee wed."

It was Lily's turn, now, and the Bride held her head a little higher, massaging James' palm gently with one thumb.

"Standing here now, in front of all our friends and family, I can honestly say I have never been more in love.

You've captured my heart, James, in a way no one else ever will and in a way I never thought you could. I underestimated you, for three years, and I can almost say I'm glad, because there is no surprise sweeter than learning how much you really love something. You truly are my only love, sprung from my only hate, and I wouldn't have it any other way. When I kiss you, James, the fireworks still go off, and I would give anything to keep setting off those fireworks, for richer or poorer, better or worse, in sickness and in health, till death do us part. "

She smiled and turned momentarily to Julie, taking the wedding band held out to her. Simple and golden, the band was inscribed, on the inside, with nemo nisi mors, † which could likewise be found on the inside of Lily's own wedding ring. She took his left hand and held it up, holding the wedding band merely inches from slipping onto his ring finger. Her smile was infinitely broad, now, and she let out a light jovial chuckle.

"I love you, James Potter, you great bullying toe-rag." The ring slipped onto his finger. "With this ring, I thee wed."

"I now pronounce you husband and wife." The Priest smiled and turned his head towards James.

"You may kiss the bride."

And barely a split second later James had one hand on the small of her back and the other behind her head, pulling Lily into a long kiss. As those surrounding burst into applause, the fireworks went off, in both his mind and hers.

- My only love sprung from my only hate! Juliet in William Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet'.

† - Nemo nisi mors - Nobody except death (will part us). Inscription in the wedding ring of the Swedish Queen Katarina Jagellonica.

Author's Note: Wow. That took us a while to update, didn't it? Well, it's nearly 15 pages, so yeah. And we had writer's block, innit that right, Lexi?