Author's Note:

Well, since a lot of people are celebrating American Thanksgiving — thank you to the people who wished me well, but here in Canada it's just Thursday — but Happy American Thanksgiving to those who are celebrating and as part of your celebration — here's an early post!

Reviews and Comments: To EnigmaticEmperor: James is definitely a very romantic person! Thank you! To Nuno Neves: James forgot amidst all of the excitement and Lily was mostly annoyed because she was waiting, she wasn't really angry at James for forgetting because she knows he's a bit Quidditch obsessed. Thank you! To ThomasJAvery: Thank you! I think when I was lining them up chronologically I realized they were already engaged so had to edit lol. Thank you! To Sets: I'm glad you loved James' horror at Lily revealing his middle name to the whole common room lol. Thank you! To Emma Janet: It is true, Harry would definitely be very keen to celebrate Ginny's success. As to James' record, I have no idea lol. Oh, I never know when I have PMs, I will check it out and respond accordingly. Thank you! To ellyann13: Yup, now everyone knows lol. Thank you! To Guest: Glad you're enjoying the fluff and the smut. Thank you!

My posting schedule: Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays.

Thanks to Dusk for her amazing editing skills.

As always, thank you very much for reading and please, please review!

Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you for all of your continued support!

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE:

The One Where Lily Asks Sirius

June 1978…

Lily was sitting on the floor of the Heads' common room, books opened around her. She had one hand in her hair in frustration, her mouth slightly parted, as the portrait hole opened. Sirius strolled in wearing his shirt untucked and rolled at the elbows with his Gryffindor tie loose around his neck. Hints of his tattoos could be seen under the shirt as he carried a cup of tea in his hands.

He took one look at Lily and arched an eyebrow.

"Rough day?"

"Yes. Why is planning a wedding so incredibly stressful?" She took the tea from him and drank.

"That tea was actually for…" He trailed off at the look he got. "You, totally for you. Um, anything I can do to help?"

Lily sighed and placed the tea on the table in front of her. She bit her bottom lip as if she was contemplating something before she nodded. "There is… I did want to talk to you about something."

Sirius took a seat next to her. "All ears."

She smiled and let out a slow breath. "You know that I love you, right?"

"I am pretty lovable," Sirius agreed.

Lily's eyes softened. "You kind of are. I love you very much and you know that you're one of the most important people in my life. If it hadn't been for you, I probably never would have realized how much I love James."

"I know, I'm awesome. What else is new?"

She chuckled. "Don't be so modest, really." At his look, she cleared her throat. "Sirius, with the death of my parents… I don't really have any family coming to my wedding. I don't even know if Petunia is going to be there. She still won't answer my letters."

Sirius nodded, his expression sobering. "I know. I know that it's been a tough year for you, Evans. But you have us and the Marauders will be your family."

"Thank you. You already are," she said, reaching out to cover his hand with hers. "And I know that you're James' best man, but would you be interested in having a second job at the ceremony?"

His eyebrow rose slightly. "What do you need me to do?"

"I don't really need… I just want… this is going to sound stupid, but I trust you with all of my heart and you've done so much for me, Sirius. I like to think that we've become more than friends and more like family."

"I agree with that," Sirius said. "You're basically the annoying sister I never wanted."

"Haha," she said.

His lips curved. "I love you, too, Evans. How can I help?"

Lily's green eyes stared into his as she let out a slow breath. "Would you give me away?"

Sirius' mouth opened in surprise. That had been the last thing he'd expected. "Like walk you down the aisle and present you to James?"

"Yes."

He grinned widely, surprised to find himself choking up. "Lily, I would be honoured. That's just… the coolest thing. You really want me to give you away?"

"Well, with my dad gone, other than James, you're the most important man in my life. To me, that means you should get the honour of walking me down the aisle. It would mean so much to me."

"Yes. Definitely, yes. I would be totally honoured to walk you down the aisle."

He leaned in and kissed her cheek as James stepped into the portrait hole.

"Trying to snog my girl, again?"

Sirius grinned, stretching his arm out to wrap around Lily. "I'm sorry, Prongs, we're mad about each other. We're eloping in Monte Carlo."

James plopped himself down next to Lily, his fingers automatically stroking her hair. "You asked him?"

"He said yes."

"Good man." He leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. "There's no one else that I would want to walk you down the aisle to me."

Sirius grinned. "Again, pretty awesome over here." He stretched his legs out, plopping his feet on the coffee table in front of him. "Anything else you guys need, wedding-related? As I clearly have the two most important jobs as best man and bride-give-away-er, what can I do?"

"That's not the title," Lily said. "Please don't tell people that you're the formal bride-give-away-er."

Sirius winked at her and she laughed.

James shook his head. "Thanks, Padfoot. I think everything else is all just stuff we need to do ourselves."

Lily nodded. "Very true. But it might be time to put the wedding planning on hold and start studying."

"Psh, who studies?" Sirius said, crossing his legs in front of him.

"You study."

"Since when?" he asked, grinning. "I've got a date tonight."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Would it kill you to open a book, Sirius?"

"It's possible," he admitted. "And I'm not willing to risk it. The world would be a sad place if this sexy face wasn't in it."

James chuckled, reaching for the Charms textbook. "Well, Lily and I are going to take a break from wedding planning to study for our NEWTs."

"Ugh," Sirius said. "When did you get so boring, Prongs?"

"Where's Moony?" James asked.

"Studying like a good student," Sirius supplied. "But he's always been boring. Can I help with the wedding planning instead?"

"No," Lily said, stretching her arms up over her head. "There's nothing else we can really do here for the moment. Fee is handling the decorations and the food and she has been a blessing."

James leaned in and kissed her softly. "I know the feeling."

Lily moved to sit up next to James and he slipped his arm around her. She leaned in to rest her head on his shoulder. "It's just overwhelming sometimes to think that I'm planning our wedding as I try to study for NEWT exams."

"I can take on a bigger role in the planning stage, you know?" James offered.

"No, I think that Fee and I have it under control. It's still a year away, but still a lot of work to prep for."

James kissed her forehead, turning to Sirius. "Are you going to study with us or what?"

"No," Sirius said. "Like I said, I have a date. You and Evans actually going to study?"

"That's the plan," James said before the soft snore made him look down at her, a soft smile on his face. "Or it's the plan for me."

Sirius grinned as he stood up, stretching his arms up over his head. "Let her sleep, Prongs. She obviously needs the rest if she can pass out that quickly."

"Yeah, she does," James said, carefully tugging the afghan around her as she snuggled into his side.

Sirius stood up. "We'll talk tomorrow and by the way, it's seriously cool that I'm going to walk her down the aisle."

"There's no one I trust more, brother."

Sirius beamed at him before he left, unable to keep the smile off of his face.