(Right, some semblance of a plot will actually appear, sometime around here. I swear. Set on Midsummer Day – apparently a good date for getting married. Apparently.

It started sensible, and kind of boring. Then I started playing around with funny situations …

This chapter centres on and is dedicated to Lilly and James – at least, it's supposed to. It is their special day after all, isn't it?)

Chapter 9 – Holy Matrimony

"James, stop fretting. You can't go in there looking terrified. It'll look like you don't want to marry her. How will that look to her parents?"

"What if she leaves me at the altar?"

"Lilly wouldn't do something like that, James. You know that. Please don't be so neurotic," Remus told him, passing him his coat. James looked in the mirror. "Oh, crap! I look like an idiot! You know, if you put this on anyone else, it'd look great. On me, it looks like I've slept in it for three nights in a hedge!"

"James, you look fine. You look great. You don't look awful. I'd expect Lilly to be like this, but not you. I thought you were really cool about it," Sirius told him, straightening his tie. James shook his head, still staring dejectedly at his reflection. Remus pulled him over to a chair and sat him down.

"Am I doing the right thing?"

"Oh, God. He's starting to regret it. This is the last thing I need right now!" Sirius complained, running his fingers through his hair. Remus rolled his eyes, crouching in front of James.

"You're fine. You're absolutely fine. You're going to marry the girl of your dreams. How can this possibly be the wrong thing?"

"What if she's … not?"

Sirius sighed. "James, we've been through this. You've been completely head-over-heels in love with her from the moment you first saw her. Jesus, man, you're just being stupid! Calm down and stop being an idiot."

"You should try this sometime!"

"Already have!"

"When?!" James scoffed.

"When I was sixteen!" Sirius yelled furiously, eyes blazing. James' expression changed to confusion. "Eh?"

"He's talking about when he became my mate. We were both more worried and nervous than you were now, James. At least if it goes wrong for you, you can get a divorce; we didn't have that option. Not that you're going to need to get a divorce James, because you love each other to pieces. Look, can you think of one point – apart from The Snape Incident – when either of us have regretted that?"

While James was thinking, Sirius came up behind Remus and touched his shoulder. /I'm sorry./

/I've forgiven you for that. You know I have …/

Sirius gently kissed Remus' cheek. /Doesn't make me any less sorry./

James suddenly exploded, "Fine! So you do know how I feel! Hope you're proud of that!"

Remus sighed deeply. "Maybe I should just go call Lilly and tell her it's all off – "

"Remus! Don't you dare!" James yelled, his voice rising several octaves in panic. Sirius grinned. "You'll stop being paranoid then?"

James nodded in agreement.

Lilly Evans' wedding dress was perfect. It was pure white and hugged her figure down to the waist, where it became loose and flowing. Her veil covered her face and her sunset hair was finished with a tiara decorated with diamonds. James was still transfixed by her beauty by the end of the service. Sirius found this hilarious.

At the end of the service, everyone traipsed outside for photographs. Lilly and James were lucky – the day was gorgeous, without a cloud in the sky. Once the photos were taken, everyone piled into the cars and attempted to find the hotel where the reception was being held.

James looked across at Lilly as they sat in the limousine. She smiled to him. He sidled sideways and put his arms around her. She leant against him, looking up into his dark brown eyes. He whispered, " Love you."

"Love you too," she murmured back, her leaf-green eyes shining. James kissed her gently and she snuggled up close to him. She continued when they parted, "Nothing could spoil today, could it? It's perfect."

"I know. You look gorgeous."

"You look very smart. How long did it take?" Lilly asked, laugher in her voice. James was reputedly the most untidy person in the world. James grinned but didn't answer except to kiss his new wife again.

Sirius glanced behind him. He leant over and whispered to James, "Who's that kid?"

James looked around and muttered back, "Sarah Hardy. She's Lilly's cousin's daughter."

Sirius nodded his understanding. The little girl's eyes bored into his back. He turned around and asked, "What?"

She shrugged and made a face. Sirius glared at her. She grinned, crossing her eyes at him. He sighed and turned around. Suddenly, she was standing beside him, hugging at his arm. "Please, why're you sitting next to Lilly's James?"

Sirius gave her a disgusted look. Remus frowned at him reproachfully, as if to say 'try to be nice'. Sirius grimaced. "Because I'm his best man."

"Why?"

"Because I'm his best friend."

"Why?"

"How should I know! Let go!"

"Why?"

"Get off me you stupid little brat!"

"Why?"

Remus leant over and tried to prize the little girl's fingers off Sirius' sleeve. She gripped harder. Finally, they managed to make her let go. She burst into very noisy tears. Both men jumped back as though she was a bomb that had just gone off. Heads started to turn. One of the women Sirius recognised as Jorja Hawk – her mother was on the Chudley Cannons as a beater – came over and asked, "What now, Black?"

"That's friendly, Jorja," he growled icily, picking Sarah up and trying to calm her down. However, she bawled even louder. Jorja shook her head. "What did he do this time?"

Remus shrugged. Sirius growled to Sarah, "I'll take your head off if you don't shut up, kid!"

It didn't help – it made it worse. Lilly's best friend and chief bridesmaid, Cassandra Webb, walked over. "Oh, it's Sarah. Anyone got any chocolate?"

Sirius delved into his pocket with his free hand, rooted for a long moment and finally pulled out a chocolate frog. Sarah stopped crying immediately, reaching out for the chocolate. "Mine!"

Sirius gave it to her. She hopped off his knee and ripped the packet open to get at the chocolate. Cassandra grinned at the expression of surprise on Sirius' face. She said, "It helps to know what young children like."

"What, you intend to become a child psychologist now?"

"No! I'm just saying … I've done babysitting sometimes."

"And that gives you just tons of experience, right?"

"You should have a baby sometime, it'd be a whole new adventure for you, Black. Especially a little girl," Jorja laughed.

Sirius smiled superiorly. "Do I have to explain basic anatomy to you girls? Two men cannot conceive a baby – or were you just too busy talking and didn't catch that lesson?"

Jorja glared at him. "There are people who can actually help gay people to have children, you know."

Remus raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "Really? How?"

"Don't look at me like that. That can. Cell splicing … IVF … stuff like that …" Jorja replied vaguely. "You don't want me to go into detail right now, you really don't. But the success rate is high."

Sirius was interested now. "How did you get to know about it?"

"Well, I know a few gay couples and … well, I heard about this wizarding organisation from one of them – they've got a son now. They said the people're very good; it works on fundraising, too. I can bring you some stuff about it next Quidditch practice if you want. I was thinking of coming watching Mum anyway."

Sirius shrugged. "Whatever."

Jorja wandered away in the direction of her boyfriend. Sirius turned to Remus. "You think it's worth the bother?"

It was Remus' turn to shrug. "Depends how much you want to hear the patter of little feet, doesn't it?"

Sirius asked quietly, "Do you ever want any children?"

"Since you mention it, yes. But I think we should wait to look at what this organisation actually does first," Remus replied quickly and quietly. Sirius reached over and brushed his cheek. He whispered in reply, "OK."

Meanwhile, Cassandra sat down next to Lilly. "Love the dress, Lil."

"Yeah, it's beautiful isn't it? My mum helped me pick it. I wanted a cream one, but Mum stood firm: 'You're having white and that's final!' Sometimes I felt like telling her it was actually MY wedding …"

They both laughed. "So you're a princess for a day, right? How's Prince Charming?"

Lilly smiled. "He's talking to Mum and Dad. Petunia and Vernon didn't stay long – they've gone already. She never really liked James and he and Vernon are like chalk and cheese. Not as bad as he and Snape, but it's a close contest."

"Can't think of a reason why! He was the most gorgeous guy at Hogwarts – except for Sirius: he was kind of on the same level. But we didn't have a chance with him so … yeah, James is the best. He's got a great personality."

"I know."

James turned and smiled at Lilly as her favourite song began to play. He beckoned to her and she got up. "Sorry Cassandra. I have to go dance with my husband," she apologised, stressing the last word. Cassandra smiled, standing too. "I'd better go someone to have me too, then? Unfortunately for me, the best man's already taken – but there's got to be someone in this room who'll have me!"

Sirius and Remus were attempting to find somewhere quiet. However, Sarah Hardy – possibly the most annoying child in the universe – was following Sirius like a puppy. Since he gave her the chocolate, he was her new best friend and she had latched herself onto his hand. So he couldn't dance with Remus – a fact that was really pissing him off. Not to mention Remus. James couldn't stop laughing. He though it was hilarious.

Eventually, her parents called her away for something and Remus and Sirius made a dash for it. They pelted out to the garden and behind some bushes so they were hidden between the wall and the foliage. The open window above let soft music waft down to them. Sirius slid his arms around Remus' neck and nuzzled close. Remus kissed the end of his nose and murmured, "I've waited all night to do this."

"Funny, I thought you said you refused to do that sort of thing in public – " Sirius began, but was cut off when Remus cuffed him around the head gently. "Oh, shut up."

Sirius smiled. "Sorry."

Remus slid his arms around his mate and pulled him close. "Can we dance?"

Sirius nodded. Remus leant in for a long, soft kiss. Suddenly, their romantic moment was rather spoiled by Sarah bursting through the leaves and half-shouting, "What're you doing?!"

The werewolf and the animagus leapt apart as though burnt by the contact with each other. "Sarah!" Sirius exclaimed. Remus was speechless.

"My mummy says I shouldn't follow you around. I said you didn't mind."

"Oh," Remus said weakly. "No. We don't mind at all. But I think Jorja wants you for something, Sarah."

The little girl turned around and saw Jorja leaning against a tree kissing her boyfriend, Jack. She started to run. Sirius sighed. "Sorry …"

"She'll be going soon. It's nearly nine, far too late for children to be up."

"Good! Bloody kid!" He stepped forwards, pulling Remus into his arms once more. "Then nothing can spoil our evening together. We can stand on that balcony with the door open a crack and the moon'll be shining and we can dance until sunrise."

Remus smiled and leaned against his lover. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Sarah running back towards them, an irate Jorja glaring at them from over her shoulder. He sighed. It was going to be a long night.

It was dark outside, and requests for slower songs had been accepted. There were fewer guests left; most with younger children, including Sarah and her parents, had left. Lilly leant her head on James' shoulder as they slowly waltzed on the dance floor. James grinned as he looked through one of the windows out onto the balcony.

Remus leaned against Sirius, shutting his eyes. Sirius tightened his arms around his mate, kissing his hair. /I wish we could do this./

/What? Get married? Never thought I'd hear you say that, Siri./

/Well …/

/Do we need a piece of paper to tell us we love each other very much? Hmm?/

/No, but it'd be nice to let other people know./

/The people who matter do know./

Sirius looked down at Remus. He smiled as the moonlight highlighted the grey in his hair. He twined a lock around his fingers. Remus smiled ruefully. He murmured, "I wish it wasn't so grey."

"It makes you look wonderful," Sirius replied softly. "Everything about you's wonderful."

Remus blushed and buried his head in Sirius chest. His lover hugged him tightly, sighing softly. He would never tire of feeling Remus in his arms.

Lilly and James were sitting at one of the back tables, watching random relatives wander past. Suddenly, Peter came up to them. "Look, I need to talk to you. I don't want to ruin your day, but … You Know Who may be after the two of you. I don't know why, but … I know it's possible."

James suddenly looked serious. "Please say you're joking, Pete."

"I'm sorry James. I just thought you might want to know sooner rather than later. And you're catching the plane to Africa tomorrow first thing … I had to tell you right away. I'm sorry."

Lilly smiled weakly. "It's OK, Peter. Thanks."

Peter left them. James looked across at Lilly. The best day of their lives had just taken a turn for the worse.

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(Fluffyfluffyfluffy! But quite a disturbing ending – gah, evil You Know Who! OK, I promise it'll get better. And I have no idea what year these events actually happened in or if they had IVF and stuff then, but I frankly don't care. It works like this: YOU just pretend they did have that sort of thing and I'LL be happy.

Right now, I'd like to thank three of my great friends who allowed me to use them shamelessly here. "Cassandra Webb" is c/o Tsunami. (Sorry you ain't got a big part. Evil writers' block in the middle of this chapter! Evil, I tell you!)

"Sarah Hardy" is c/o the Fire Breathing Ferret. (Thank you so much for letting me put you through this absolute idiocy! She probably hates me now …)

"Jorja Hawk" is c/o my best friend Captain Hawk. (PS: Hope you like the reference to your boyfriend – Jack! As in Jack Sparrow! Anyone else who loves Pirates of the Caribbean will probably get it.)

Now. The Review button's right down there on the left, go click on it and leave your own little comment, just for me! Thanks.)