Three days after Gwen's death, Sirius and Remus left the apartment in Diagon Alley. Abigail Potter offered them a place in the mansion in Godric's Hollow. Remus was a bit apprehensive about the arrangement, but accepted after Lily promised to help him find a place of his own. Sirius, on the other hand, was ecstatic to return to the place where he had spent so many holidays during his school years. He promised to look for a new flat of his own, but no one was holding their breath, nor did Abagail or James care how long Sirius stayed.
The next few weeks were bittersweet for Sirius. The guilt he felt for Gwen's death and Remus' guilt weighed heavily on him. It was impossible not to notice the marked change in Remus. Though never exactly chatty, Remus had been almost mute since they moved into the mansion. He had mastered the art of the one word answer and spent the vast majority of time in his bedroom: no doubt reliving the guilt of Gwen's death and also the new guilt caused by living off of his friends' generosity.
But while Sirius noticed all of this, he had also found a new perspective since Gwen's death. His life wasn't nearly as bad as he had imagined it to be. There were far worse things that could happen to him. In all reality, he was damned lucky. In short, Sirius became a little more grateful for what he had. And suddenly the pain Dorcas had caused him didn't seem quite that bad. He still missed her like hell, but he understood that he just had to move on. He would forget her eventually.
In the weeks before James and Lily's wedding, Sirius and James acted as if they were back in school. Despite Lily's constant eye rolling, the two spent most of their time as Padfoot and Prongs. They teased the muggle girls of the nearby village. Well, it would be more accurate to say that James teased the girls. Sirius did a bit more than tease them. The wounded dog bit never failed. Marking each tree in their memories, the pair of them spent hours in the woods near the Potter's property. It was exactly what Sirius needed to push Dorcas further from his mind.
When James' stag party finally arrived, Sirius had, to James' great shock, hired three buxom strippers. He and Remus left the room with Frank Longbottom and Edgar Bones while Sirius and Elphias Doge reveled in their hip thrusts and bouncing breasts and a red-faced Peter snuck embarrassed glances at the girls.
"Getting married in the morning," Sirius elbowed James as they began to walk up the stairs towards their bedrooms. He was, as everyone had expected, rather drunk.
James smiled at his best friend. While not as inebriated as Sirius, James had an alcohol-induced grin covering his face. He nodded vigorously and laughed. "I hope I don't have a bloody hangover."
"Should have thought of that," Sirius laughed; pointing a wobbly finger at his friend. "You're s'posed to look good tommorow."
"Y'think Remus is still up?" James asked, his eyes drooping.
Sirius shrugged. Still depressed as anyone had ever seen him, Remus had opted out of James' last night of bachelorhood. He was only coming to the wedding tomorrow because it was in the Potter's garden and Lily had begged him. "What time is it?"
James squinted at his wristwatch. "I don't know. Can't read the blasted thing." He found this hilarious and began to laugh hysterically; falling against the banister and loosing his footing on the stairs. He almost fell backward, but caught himself suddenly. That was Sirius' cue to burst into loud bark-like laughter. The two drunk friends sat in the middle of the stairs laughing uncontrollably until a light on the second floor caused them to look up. Remus had emerged from his bedroom. He was still fully dressed which, of course, meant he hadn't gone to bed yet. There were great dark circles under his eyes and he was paler than ever. It didn't help that the next full moon was just three days away.
"Go to bed," he said quietly, not looking at either of his friends.
Sirius grabbed the banister awkwardly and pulled himself up, almost falling over in the process. "D'ya know what time it is, Moony?"
"Almost three," he said shortly.
"Alright there, Moony?" James asked. He seemed to have lost control of his head and it hung forward oddly.
Remus shrugged and walked back into his room. James and Sirius watched him for a second before Sirius clapped a hand on James' shoulder.
"Getting married in the morning," James slurred. "Bed." He aimed himself to his door and shuffled across the hall.
Sirius stood at the top of the stairs for a few seconds; trying to get his bearings. "Bugger," he said suddenly. "You are getting married."
Lily Evans was a very smart woman. Knowing that Sirius would keep James out until all hours, she had scheduled the wedding to take place at four in the afternoon – late enough for the hangovers to have subsided a bit. That morning, however, she hated herself for that bit of planning. All she wanted to do was get married right then. She had spent the entire night before in that strange limbo between being awake and sleeping. She imagined every possible detail countless times. She saw James' eyes burning with excitement, his face alternating between huge grins and suggestive smirks. Lily groaned when she imagined what Sirius would say in his best man's toast.
She finally got up at five am and made herself a cup of tea. Sitting at her kitchen table and clutching the cup to her chest, she took several deep breaths as the reality hit her again. This time tomorrow she would be Lily Potter.
James took a deep breath as he surveyed himself in the full length mirror in his childhood bedroom. He was wearing a set of midnight blue robes that his mother had given him the night before. Taking a deep breath, he bit his lip and straightened his glasses. The afternoon had come and, thanks to Gringy's extensive knowledge of hangover remedies, both Sirius and James were at full capacity.
Sirius was posed arrogantly on the bed and miraculously, his deep scarlet robes were not wrinkling. "Look at Prongs," he whistled. "What a bloody gorgeous man."
James turned to his friend and looked at his desk for something to throw at him. There was nothing there. Everything was packed and ready to move into Lily's flat. James furrowed his brow and little and then smiled. "I do have to look halfway normal standing next to her."
"Too bad your hair is rather awful," Sirius said coolly; running a hand through his own perfect hair.
In a pleased defiance, James smirked and messed up the back of his hair so that the back stuck up. Sirius laughed. James smiled slightly and then his eyes took on a strange sort of glow.
"This is some sort of a dream, isn't it?" he asked, scratching his head and sitting in the chair next to his desk. "I'm not actually marrying her, am I?"
Sirius smirked. "I'm pretty sure you are mate."
"How'd I get so damned lucky?"
Sirius shrugged. "Merlin knows you don't deserve her."
James shot him a look. "You're supposed to be my best man."
"Well, you don't," he laughed; holding himself up with his right arm.
James looked at the floor, shaking his head. "I know."
"This is probably your best prank yet, Prongs," Sirius chuckled. "Tricking Lily Evans into marrying you."
James laughed. After a few seconds, he stopped and glanced out the window to the ceremony site that was now set up. His eyes rested on the raised circular platform at the center of the lawn where he and Lily would stand during the ceremony. His face broke into a lop-sided smile.
"God, I love her," he murmured.
"Well then," Sirius smirked. "What are you loafing around here for."
Lily took a huge breath as she stepped into the Potter's garden. The bleak November sunlight had begun to fade and lit the scene softly; creating a warm glow. The trees in the garden had changed colors and begun to drop their leaves. Reds, oranges, and yellows increased the feeling of heat that Lily felt through her entire body. A circle of guests had formed around a large wooden platform, but Lily could still see James and Sirius standing on the platform; watching her.
Her eyes locked with James. She was sure that he had never looked more handsome. His midnight blue robes hanging off of his body perfectly, his hair as messy as usual. When she saw the way he was watching her with a mixture of desire, affection, and happiness, she knew that she was the luckiest woman in the world. She was about to become one with this man. Their spirits would be connected forever.
James had been waiting for Lily for what felt like ages. He kept glancing nervously at Sirius, who would put a hand on his shoulder and smile. He scanned the crowd; noticing certain people. Dumbledore's light blue eyes were twinkling. Owen and Annabelle Towler stood near the front; Annabelle holding a plump, smiling baby. James smiled at his mother; who had already burst into tears. Remus and Peter stood next to her. Remus was trying his darnedest to look happy, but he wasn't succeeding very well. Peter wore a rather large grin. Marlene McKinnon and Caradoc Dearborn smiled broadly at him and Hagrid winked at him. It was a very small gathering: only order members, a few friends, and James' mother. He realized that there was no one here from Lily's childhood. She really had given up her own life to become part of his. He couldn't believe how lucky he was.
Then he saw her and his heart stopped. She was wearing deep green robes and her wavy red hair hung down past her shoulders. Her emerald eyes caught his immediately and he felt his heart begin to beat again. Suddenly the nerves all disappeared. When he saw her smile back at him, he knew without a doubt that this would be the greatest day of his life. Marrying Lily Evans would be the smartest thing James Potter ever did.
When she stepped into the circle of guests, Lily immediately took James' outstretched hands and grinned at him. "I love you," she mouthed.
"I love you too," he whispered back.
Sirius stepped forward. As best man, he served as a sort of master of ceremonies. "Do the two of you both enter this circle because you wish to be forever linked with one another?"
"Yes," Lily and James said in unison; staring at each other.
"Alright then," Sirius raised his eyebrows. "Who wants to give the first gift?"
Abagail Potter stepped forward. "I give my son and his new wife the courage to love each other through everything."
"I give James and Lily the gift of understanding," said Sturgis Podmore.
Frank and Alice Longbottom forced their way to the front of the crowd. "We offer James and Lily deep friendship."
Sirius took the next opportunity to offer Lily and James "pleasures of the flesh." Lily glared at him and he chuckled.
Remus stepped forward slowly. "I give you the ability to protect each other in times of danger." He said this quietly and looking sadly at Lily. Then he stepped back. Lily smiled sweetly at Remus and closed her eyes in thanks and the emotional impact of everything that had happened.
"I offer you the gift of exceptional children," Dumbledore said; smirking slightly.
The gifts continued for awhile until every guest had offered James and Lily some sort of virtue or ability that would help make their live together a happy one. Finally the time had come for the charm to be placed on the couple. Lily remembered her sister's wedding when James had shown her how this part went. She remembered the rumbling in her stomach when she had stared deeply into his hazel eyes as he taught her 'Toujourium Amortio." As she placed her hands on top of his and their eyes locked, she felt a similar wave of emotion run through her body. But it was different this time, much more complicated and much more intense. As his warm, strong fingers curled around her wrists, she felt the tears prickling behind her eyes. She could see by the tension in his jaw that he felt the same things. His eyes glistened behind his glasses and Lily felt the hot liquid fill her own. She was tempted to blink the tears away; but didn't dare let James' hazel gaze out of her sight for a second. Her hands pressed harder against his and then they heard it.
"Toujourium Amortio," the two words seemed to be the only noise in the world for ages. Lily and James both felt a warmth run through their bodies as their hands began to intertwine. They were married.
James smiled happily and brought Lily's hand to his lips and kissed the back of it, smiling lovingly at her as the circle of guests around them burst into applause and tears. She cupped his face with that hand and stepped closer to him; leaning in and placing her lips on top of his. He wrapped his arms around her; pressing her shoulder blades so that she was as close as possible. When they separated, both had tears running down their faces. James struggled to rid himself of them; rubbing roughly at his face. Lily smiled through the tears as she clutched James' hand tightly and kissed him on the cheek. Then she wiped the liquid from his face and beamed at him. He glowed back and gently shook his head as he fell into her eyes.
"Congratulations," Sirius grinned at the couple and walked up to clap James on the shoulder.
"Hold it," Hagrid's large hands were fumbling with a camera. "Let me take a picture."
Sirius laughed and Lily slipped into James arms as the flash went off.