Chapter One: A Wedding

November, 1979…the First War approaches.

Remus walked up the stairs to Ermengarde's flat and rang the bell. He knew he was slightly early, but Ermengarde was a low-maintenance girl. She'd be ready by now. He was surprised, therefore, when she flung open the door still in her dressing gown, her hair pinned up unflatteringly on top of her head, looking slightly harassed.

"I overslept!" she moaned, letting him in. "I'll be ready as fast as I can be, I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay," said Remus. "Do you need anything?"

"No!" shouted Ermengarde's back as she ran to her bathroom. "I like that suit, by the way!"

"Thanks. It's Sirius's."

"Better colour for you, though."

And with that, she slammed the door to her bathroom. Remus heard the clattering of various beauty products and the running of the sink. When he heard her swear loudly, which she never did, he shook his head and grinned. He'd never seen her in a panic that wasn't about something life-threatening. He helped himself to a soda from her refrigerator and sat down at the kitchen table, playing with the leaf off of a potted plant from the centre of it. When he'd finished the soda and realised with a jolt that they were running late, he pounded on the bathroom door.

"Come on, Ermengarde, we'll be late! We should have left ten minutes ago!" he called.

"Remus, I'm a girl. What did you expect, for me to be ready on time?" Ermengarde said back.

"Well…yes, actually," said Remus lightly.

"We won't be late, I promise. Let me just make sure I've done everything…"

Remus sighed, but he couldn't help a chuckle. He knew he was just being neurotic about being on time, and he told himself he was being silly. Ermengarde so rarely took extra time getting ready for anything that he realised she was probably just nervous. Just a few more minutes passed and he heard Ermengarde click off the light switch. When she opened the door into the bright hall, Remus felt his smile take over his whole face.

"You look beautiful," he said, and Ermengarde beamed.

She had done something different with her hair, clipping the sides back with pearly bobby pins, so that the neat curls were pulled away from her face. Even though Remus thought she was equally pretty without makeup, she had taken the time to curl up her eyelashes and put on some mascara.

"Is it all right? It's not very wintry," she asked, indicating the turquoise dress she'd chosen. It matched her eyes perfectly.

Remus laughed right aloud. "Is it all right?" he repeated. "It's perfect."

"All right, now we can go," said Ermengarde with a giggle that made her pearl-drop earrings dance around her face.

"Nice earrings," said Remus, noting them.

"They go well with this," said Ermengarde, holding out her hand and grinning.

The engagement ring Remus had given her, simple though it was, looked much prettier on her finger. The tiny diamonds that surrounded the pearl in the centre of the band looked much less pathetic. He still wished he could have afforded something fancier, that look more –

Quit worrying about that, he said to himself sharply. Stop thinking about how much the damn ring cost…even if she does deserve so much better.

"Remus," said Ermengarde as though she'd read his mind. "I think it's perfect."

And, taking his arm in hers, they walked out Ermengarde's front door together.

Remus and Ermengarde arrived just on time and found their seats right before the ceremony started. When Lily entered, Remus heard Ermengarde give a girlish little gasp that made him smile. He loved how, no matter how things surrounding her were, she could still find things to be innocently excited about. Lily did indeed look wonderful, holding a bouquet of daffodils and wearing a veil that framed her face perfectly.

This is nice, said a voice in Remus's head. I thought I'd feel something, and I don't. Only happiness. I suppose I've grown up, then.

You've also got a remarkable girl yourself, said another voice.

Looking at Ermengarde's glowing face as she watched James and Lily get married, Remus told himself how lucky he was to have met her. He remembered his silly crush he'd had on Lily and how carefully he'd concealed it from James. He remembered thinking Lily was the answer to all his problems, simply because she was the only girl who'd ever spoken to him first. But then Ermengarde had entered his life and everything made sense. All those childish feelings he'd had for Lily – so briefly, really, that it seemed like they had never happened – had flooded away. It was as though all of the things that had happened to Ermengarde had happened solely to bring them together to find happiness. He reached for her hand and she took it. As he held her hand, he couldn't believe he could ever love anyone but her.

"Look at Sirius," she whispered to him.

Remus looked. Sirius was brimming with joy, it seemed, and seemed to be suppressing a giant smile. He looked very much the way a proud father would. The ceremony was finished with a kiss between Lily and James, and everyone stood up and applauded, thrilled for the couple. Remus and Ermengarde clapped particularly hard, and as James and Lily passed, they said a quick hello before continuing down the aisle.

On the way to the reception, Ermengarde somehow managed to lose an earring. She backtracked and searched for at least twenty minutes before it occurred to anyone to simply say "Accio!"

"I swear, I must be going mad, to have forgotten to just summon the bloody thing…" Ermengarde muttered as she thrust the earring impatiently back in her ear, winced as she missed the hole, and tried once more.

"Come on, we're horribly late. Let's just Apparate –"

"Not unless you want half a wife, because I've never Apparated and not splinched myself."

"We can do Side-Along."

"You'd only get one side of me if we do that. Seriously, Remus, I'm hopeless at Apparating, can't we just walk? It isn't far…"

"It's just that we were already almost late for the actual wedding…"

"Yes, but I wasn't joking when I said I'd splinch myself. I tried just last week and ended up with one foot inside my flat and the rest of me in Diagon Alley."

Remus gave in, of course, and they walked. When they finally arrived – very late – the party was in full swing. The reception was a loud event, full of food and music and laughter. True to character, Lily and James had opted for a casual party rather than a formal, sit-down affair. Sirius sprinted over to Remus and Ermengarde as they arrived, smiling ear to ear.

"About time you got here!" he said, cuffing Remus on the shoulder playfully.

"Good to see you, Sirius, you look wonderful!" said Ermengarde.

"You should have seen James just before, he kept trying to smash his hair flat, but it's no good, it'll never look like he wants it to," said Sirius confidingly. "You two look all right, though!"

"Thank you very much," said Ermengarde.

"Come on, you've got to have some of these weird yam things Lily's mum made, they're excellent…"

Sirius had directed them to a table laden heavily with all sorts of dishes, including a vast plate of what looked like whipped sweet potatoes with pineapple and candied walnuts and cinnamon in them. Ermengarde looked slightly wary, but Sirius had already put some on a plate for her and was now holding it under her nose, looking at her expectantly. She took a small bite, then smiled.

"They're delicious," she said. "Try some, Remus…"

Remus took a taste. They were, indeed, very good. The two of them loaded up their plates and followed Sirius to a table where James, Lily, and Peter were seated. All of them rose to greet Remus and Ermengarde, congratulating them once again on their engagement and voicing enthusiastically their wishes for their happiness.

"Well," said Sirius. "As I already made my toast – well done missing it, you two," he added to Ermengarde and Remus, who both smiled sheepishly. "All I'm going to say is that I'm glad we're all here together, safe and sound, and that Remus finally found himself one hell of a great girl. Congratulations, you two."

Remus and Ermengarde beamed and drank with everyone. A few minutes' happy conversation later, Ermengarde had snatched Remus's hand and also grabbed hold of Lily, dragging everyone to the dance floor. Remus immediately tensed.

"Ermengarde – look, I'm a terrible dancer…" he said, embarrassed.

"So? I am too, but who cares?" said Ermengarde.

A number of fast, jazzy tunes played, where Ermengarde did most of the dancing while Remus made half-hearted sort of moves, not really sure what to do. At long last, a much slower number began to play. He felt much more confident in his ability to revolve slowly on the spot. Ermengarde held Remus's hand tightly and rest her head against his shoulder. He felt sure she had a smile on her face.

"Let's have this sort of party for our wedding," she said suddenly, looking at him. "This is fun."

"Anything you like," said Remus.

"Well, it would be good if you liked it too…you are having a good time, aren't you?" asked Ermengarde.

"Well, I don't think breaking my fiancée's toes really qualifies as a good time, but other than that…"

Ermengarde laughed and put her head back on his shoulder. It was a nice feeling, dancing with her, not really listening to the music, watching all the other happy couples around them. He wished nothing would ever have to change and made a promise to himself to keep it from doing so at all costs.