This was bad. So, so bad. So bad that Ella didn't bother to change out of her pyjamas, she just grabbed the robes she was going to wear to the wedding and apparated onto Marlene's front step and she knocked. Loudly. At seven in the morning. She could hear grumblings from inside the house and was appropriately sheepish when Mrs Adams opened the door in her bathrobe.
"Oh, Mrs Adams, uh, is Marls in?"
"At seven in the morning on a Saturday she better well not be out," Mrs Adams stepped aside to let Ella in. "Did you two have plans to dress together for the wedding?"
"Er, not exactly."
"All right then, head up to her room, she might still be sleeping."
Ella wasn't too worried though. Marlene Adams lived for gossip and Ella had just the thing to get her jumping out of bed. Ella let herself into Marlene's room and set down her dress and shoes before sitting on Marlene's bed and shaking her.
"You gotta get up because I am freaking the fuck out," Ella demanded and Marlene groaned.
"What you doing here?"
"Emergency, big time emergency. I-don't-know-how-this-happened emergency. Emergency with a capital 'E'. Are you getting this?"
Marlene rolled over and said, "Mmmhmm. I'll sleep you talk."
"Marlene, this is so bad."
Ella shook her head and looked up to the ceiling. Merlin she told herself she wouldn't cry. There wasn't a reason to yet because she only suspected. Suspicions weren't confirmations. A sniff escaped her and Marlene rolled back at that and opened her eyes.
"El, what kind of emergency has you crying?"
"The being two months late kind."
"Well, yeah that's a pretty big emergency. What were you late for?"
"No. I'm late."
"I'm sure whoever you offended will understand, just go apologise to the person and quit waking me up so early. Haven't you ever heard of beauty sleep? There's a wedding today, you know and I happen to be a big believer of beauty sleep."
"I offended my womb, Marlene. I'm late!"
Marlene shot up straight, Ella flinching back in surprise before slumping and saying, "There we go."
—
"There we go!" Sirius exclaimed and Ella giggled. He stripped his tie and undid his top button, simultaneously tossing his backpack so it hit a bedside table. Ella followed him into the dormitory and shook her head when things toppled off the bedside table. She bent down and sorted through the mess and paused at a small black box.
"Someone in here planning on proposing anytime soon?" Ella asked, opening the box. A white gold ring with a large circular diamond set in intricate carvings and smaller diamonds glittered in the box.
Sirius jumped on his bed peering over Ella's shoulder, his hair tickling her cheek. "Well, don't look at me. It's not mine."
"Which leaves James," Ella smiled, closing the box.
"How do you figure?"
"Do Remus or Peter have girlfriends I don't know about?"
"No."
"Exactly. Besides, it was on James' table. Has he said anything?"
"No."
Ella put the ring back on the table and jumped up onto the bed with Sirius. "I can imagine them together," she said, cuddling up to him, "You know, the whole thing. Marriage, kids, growing old together."
"James is the homey-type," Sirius agreed. "The sort who wouldn't move in with a girl unless they were engaged first."
Ella laughed, "That's so … old fashioned."
"Not as old fashioned as getting married."
Ella raised a brow, "You don't believe in marriage."
"I don't believe in it for me." Ella quirked a brow at him and he sighed. "For people like James and Lily it's clear, they stare at each other and anyone in viewing distance can tell that they're destined to get married and have kids and live in a big, old house until they die together. But for people like me? Marriage and kids," he shook his head, "I can't. I won't." He hesitated for a moment. "Does that bother you?"
Every fight and argument, every time she'd been hurt by her drunken father came to mind and the word spilled out before she could think again. "No."
—
"What are you going to do?" Marlene asked her. "And how late are you? Have you taken a test? And do you and Sirius just fight and shag? Honestly, you've only been living together since September. He can't be that good in bed!"
"I don't know and two months I think, three at the most. I haven't seen a healer yet and basically and yes he is that good. Was that all your questions?"
"You missed only been living together since September."
"Oh, well, I don't think my uterus cares about that." Ella stood and started pacing. "What the hell am I going to do?"
"Well, first, you're going to take a test. You could just be freaking out over nothing. You've been late before."
"True," Ella allowed. "Though I've never been late and sporadically nauseas."
"Oh, honey," Marlene crawled out of her bed.
"Is that your, we-don't-even-need-a-test-you're-pregnant voice? It sounds awfully similar to your you'll-get-through-this-break-up voice."
Ella sat down on the bed again. Pregnant. A baby was inside her. A baby whose mother avoided her own parents at all costs. A baby whose father hated his parents at all costs. There was no circumstance in which this was good. She was nineteen, just out of Hogwarts and trying to climb the Ministry social ladder. She couldn't do that if she had a baby. She'd become stay-at-home mum worrying about whether the baby ate enough or if the baby slept enough or if it pooped enough.
Sirius was another thing all together. He won't want this. Maybe in ten or fifteen years he'd change his mind and want to settle down but Ella knew he didn't want marriage and kids. She wasn't even sure if she wanted that. They were in a war. Was she supposed to tell Sirius to stay and mind the baby when she was on a mission? Worse, would she have to leave the Order?
Sirius would be furious. He'd yell. She was sure of it. Yelling was one of their talents as a couple and she was sure this — a baby — would bring about the biggest match yet. He'd yell and tell her all the things she already knew and she'd yell back and tell him that she knew. They were and would be a mess. Like James and Lily were destined to be in love and happy for the rest of their lives maybe Sirius and Ella's destiny was to be a big fucking mess.
They couldn't be parents.
Alice sat in front of a mirror as Emmeline performed charms on her hair to curl Alice's soft brown hair and she smiled at Emmeline.
"I can't believe this is really happening."
"If you're having second thoughts it's not too late, in fact, you'd save me the shame of my little sister getting married before me."
Alice laughed lightly. "You know, Fab would marry you in a heart beat."
"I know, but we both agreed to wait until after the war."
Alice wanted to point out that it could be too late after the war but she also didn't want to talk about something so morbid on her wedding day so she let it drop and hoped her sister knew what she was talking about.
Emmeline put her wand down and pulled Alice's hair back, leaving a few strands to frame her face and started sticking pins in to hold Alice's hair up in a soft bun.
"It'll be weird, not being here anymore."
"We'll visit and you'll visit. You can floo over anytime."
"You too."
"Just don't go having kids anytime soon because then I'd really be shamed."
Alice laughed and shook her head. "Kids are way, way off." She'd want to finish Auror training before she even thought of having kids.
"Even if Mrs Longbottom drives you to insanity?"
"Especially so. The old bat is a stubborn mule but I'm more stubborn and I have a plan."
Emmeline glanced up into the mirror as she placed and pinned twigs of baby breaths into Alice's hair, "And what is this plan of yours?"
"Well, I'd want to finish training and get a Junior Auror position. Then three years as a Junior Auror before sitting the exam to become a Special Auror, do that for three to four years before sitting the exam to become Senior Special Auror. Again do that for a few years until I can take the exam to become Special Auror-in-Charge."
"At that rate, I'm never going to be an auntie and your hair is done," Emmeline announced.
"You can wait ten years," Alice assured her, turning her head in the mirror to judge her hair. She smiled widely, "You did good. I look gorgeous."
"Of course you do, you look just like mum," Emmeline said softly, squeezing Alice's shoulders. "Let's get you into your dress, the photographer will be here soon."
Emmeline helped Alice into her dress careful not to step and tear the thin lace. Alice stuck her arms gently through the bell sleeves and held the dress in place so Emmeline could do the buttons. The dress featured a pinched in waist with a v-neckline and the lace on her back was transparent. A small train of lace followed behind her — something she had nightmares about tripping over.
"You look stunning," Emmeline smiled. "Frank's not going to know what hit him."
"You think so?" Alice asked looking herself over in the mirror.
"Definitely."
There was a knock on the door before it opened and Adaline poked her head in, "Your dad said I could come up. His a bag of nerves Al, teared up when he saw me."
"I think I might too, Del, you look amazing!" Alice gushed.
Della's thick hair tumbled in styled curls down her back, with the front part pinned pack to show off her cheekbones and she wore a pretty gold dress that fell to the floor. Della waved Alice off though.
"Please, if I look amazing, you look earth shattering."
Alice laughed and nodded, "I do look pretty good."
"Speaking of looking good, I'm going to go put my dress on," Emmeline said excusing herself.
Adaline came in and held a gift bag out for Alice, "If you haven't got anything for your something blue. I picked this up for you in America."
Alice grabbed the gift bag and pulled out a little red box that read 'Cartier' in gold letters. She opened the box which held a jewellery box that was also red and Alice opened that and gasped. "Della, this is too much."
"No, it's just right."
In the box were two very large and round sapphires the size of a wand tip. "You're not going to let me refuse or you? Adaline shook her head and Alice laughed, "Well help me put them on then."
Adaline held the boxes as Alice put the earrings on and Adaline said, "People have started arriving. Are you nervous?"
"That I'll trip and fall in front of everyone I know? Nah."
"You'll be fine," Adaline insisted.
Alice looked at the earrings in the mirror and turned to Adaline, "Thank you so much. You really didn't have to."
"You're getting married. Of course I did."
—
The start of Adaline and Alice's friendship happened over a book series, only the most best book series in the world according to their eleven year old selves. It was called Rainbow Magic and there were so many to read!
The first time either of them noticed that they were reading books from the same series was in History of Magic. They had sat next to each other by chance and Adaline pulled her copy of Sky the Blue Fairy out and Alice started scribbling intensely on her parchment — a note that read, 'You read Rainbow Magic too! I'm up to Inky the Indigo Fairy!' and the entire lesson was spent swapping notes on the books they had both read.
From then on they had been inseparable. Their entire first year consisted of collecting as many Rainbow Magic books as they could together and reading them together but the moment that truly solidified their friendship: when Alice punched Dominique Mulciber in the face after he stole Adaline's copy of Storm the Lightening Fairy.
It all happened rather quickly. Dominique bumped into Adaline purposely causing her to drop her books and in his attempt to 'help' her, he started flicking through the book, teasing Adaline about reading such a girly book because, "Your hair's so short I thought you were a boy!"
Adaline remembered feeling so embarrassed and to this day she could still feel the hot flush of blood rushing to her face reddening her up like a tomato but within thirty seconds, Alice had marched over and punched him square in the face, breaking her thumb, and his nose, in the process because she was eleven and didn't know to keep her thumb out of her fist. It was then that Adaline knew that her and Alice were ride or die for life.
Dear Lily,
I'm starting to feel like a charity case for Head Girls. Mary MacDonald has been, well, she's been like how you were with me ever since school started. She's let me sit with her and her friends in the Great Hall and she checks up on me. At first I was hesitant, but then I don't know she grew on me. She's a lot like you. She basically is you except with brown hair and brown eyes. Anyway, because of Mary I started talking to some of the Gryffindor girls in my year and I think I've finally made some friends.
I sit with them now in class and they don't care that I'm muggle-born or that I'm practically homeless. They're really sweet and Gwen Fletcher even wants me to come on vacation with her and her family to Paris this summer. Apparently her brother backed out last minute so her parents said she could bring a friend along! I'm so excited, I've never been to Paris! Claire Fraser has also invited us all up to her farm in Ireland for a week!
Please let your mum know that I'll be staying at the castle for the Easter holidays. Sixth Year has been kicking my butt and I think it'd be best if I just stay to focus on some study. The Gryffindor girls are staying too so you don't have to worry about me being alone or anything. Though if your mum could send over some more of that chocolate fudge, I would be eternally grateful. It was the best thing I've ever tasted!
Love, Mia Scott
Lily smiled before tucking the letter into her draw. She was glad that Mary MacDonald had kept to her word and glad Mia found some loyal friends. The tone of this letter was perhaps the happiest she'd gotten from Mia since school started six months ago and Lily was happy for Mia if not slightly relieved that this was something she could worry less about.
Lily stood from the chair to look at herself in the mirror once more. It was almost time to go and this was, as Marlene would put it, final check. In a pale yellow dress and a white coat with corked heels with white straps, this was as good as it was going to get. She slipped on the gold bangle engraved with 'James+Lily' that James had bought her for her birthday, and slipped on the necklace Euphemia had given her two Christmas's ago and deemed herself ready.
She grabbed her purse, walked carefully down the stairs and let her mum fuss over her before she finally stepped into the fireplace and vanished in green flames only to appear in the Potter's drawing room.
"Oh dear," Euphemia said looking up from the paper she was reading and Lily looked down only to see her white coat covered in soot. Maybe this is why witches and wizards only had a colour scheme of black, emerald and navy. "Why don't you call on over Sprinkle? She can fix that right up for you. I'll go get us some tea while we wait for the boys."
"Oh, er, will Sprinkle even respond to me?" Lily asked.
"Oh of course, she will dear, she answers to anyone who's family and you're as good as." Euphemia waltzed out just as easily as she'd called Lily family.
Oh. A small smile formed on her lips. Family. Lily glanced down at the heirloom that Euphemia and Fleamont had gifted her with the first Christmas James had brought her to and wondered why she seemed so shocked that she had another family apart from the one she was born into. It seemed she had one for a while.
Her eyes caught sight of the soot again and she sighed, "Er, Sprinkle?" she said unsurely and true to Euphemia's word, Sprinkle popped in with a crack.
"Hello, Miss Lily. What is I doing for you today?"
Lily smiled kindly and bent down so she was eye level, shucking off her coat. "Do you mind getting this clean for me before the wedding? It'd be a great help."
"I is doing," Sprinkle assured, grabbing the coat in her long, thin fingers.
"Thank you very much." With that, Sprinkle popped out and Lily was alone, grateful that the house was warm since she didn't have her coat.
"Hey, was that Sprinkle?" James asked.
Lily looked over at him as he walked into the room and smiled. He looked handsome in his dress robes, so handsome that she walked to him and pulled him down for a kiss. He grinned down at her, pulling her closer from the waist. "Hi."
"Hi," she replied. "You look handsome," she patted his chest with her hand.
"And you look gorgeous."
"And together you look like a bumble bee." Sirius strolled into the room, sitting on the couch and propping his feet up.
"A very cute bumble bee," James assured Lily, pressing a kiss to her jawline.
"Sirius," Lily said surprised. "Is Ella here too? I thought we were going to meet at the wedding."
"We were but Ella forgot that she agreed to get ready with Marlene so I thought who better to go with than my best friend and his girlfriend."
"And your parents," Euphemia walked in with a tray of tea. "Did Sprinkle take care of your coat?"
"Yeah, she's taking care of it."
Euphemia winked, "Told you she'd come for you. You're family."
Lily didn't miss the pained glare James gave his mother as she set the tea tray down and Lily frowned. Maybe James wasn't okay with Lily being considered family. It had taken Lily by surprise earlier to hear Euphemia consider Lily family so maybe it took James by surprise too.
"James, is your father still down in the basement?"
"No, pretty sure he was washing up when we were coming down."
"Drink up, your teas. We'll be off as soon as he's down."
—
The early days of Hogwarts, those would never be the happiest days of her life, those were yet to come, but it was an easier time or simpler or maybe it just seemed that way when she looked back on it. The early days of Hogwarts, her sister didn't hate her so much and she had Severus and at the time they were her two favourite people. Severus Snape, the person who introduced her to magic, and Petunia Evans, the friend she'd had since she was born. It was a shame the two of them couldn't get over themselves long enough to get along.
"Now, your sister is very excited to have you home. We were out at the store yesterday making sure you have everything you need to make your Christmas biscuits and she set aside your favourite ornaments so you could put up on the tree."
Lily gasped in excitement and bounced, "Really? She waited for me to make the biscuits!"
"She's been counting down the days," Rose told Lily. "We're just so happy to have you back, sweetie. It feels like so long since you were here."
"It was only three months," Lily assured her mother. "And Hogwarts is the best! I wish you could see it, mum. The staircases are huge and the biggest one moves! A moving staircase, mum! And the portraits talk and move about like the telly except they're impressions of the real person!"
Rose laughed as her daughter tried to tell her everything in a breath. "I feel like I have seen it. Your letters are so descriptive and I'm glad you're having fun."
When they got home, Petunia hugged her sister excitedly and they all rushed into the kitchen to get started on the biscuits. Lily stayed quiet about Hogwarts at first, the way they had left things before Lily had left, Lily wasn't sure if Petunia wanted to hear about it so instead she asked Petunia about school and their friends. It wasn't until they were putting the biscuits into the oven when Petunia asked her, "So how is school?"
Lily smiled widely, "Oh Tuney, it's everything I hoped it would be and I've met such fun girls — Alice, Della, Ella and Marlene — Marlene is like me. She has non-magic parents but she grew up next to a magical family the McKinnon's. Nate McKinnon is in our year too but I don't talk to him much. The other girls have such cool stories about growing up with magic though. Alice said she didn't know how many generations back her family was from and Ella said she was the tenth generation of magic in her family and Della is the sixth generation."
"So that makes you and the other girl, first generation?" Petunia asked.
Lily thought about it and then nodded, "Yeah, I guess."
"What have you," she coughed, "been learning?"
"Oh, all sorts of things you wouldn't imagine! I turned a cup into a bird in Transfiguration and in Charms we learn all sorts of things. Our very first lesson we learnt how to make things float!"
"Like in water?"
"No, in the air! I can make things fly! I think Charms is my favourite. Professor Flitwick says I'm very good at it considering no one else in our family is magic. But I like Potions too and Professor Slughorn likes me. He invited me into some student club called the Slug Club but everyone says only the teacher's pets go so I don't really like going to meetings."
They talked like this until their mother kicked them out of the kitchen so she could cook dinner. It was the first and only time Petunia took interest in magic and Hogwarts, and it was the last time Lily remembered them as a happy family.
Marlene knocked on the door again. "Ella? Did you do it?"
Ella sucked in a breath, nodding to herself and trying not to look at herself in the mirror. The test had confirmed her fears and sentenced her to a life of motherhood.
"Ella?" Marlene asked again. "Can you open the door, please?"
Ella pushed off the vanity and unlocked the door before sitting on the toilet. Marlene came in, closing the door behind her and saw the pink glowing ball that floated in the air, the same thing that had Ella's stomach sinking to the core of the earth a few minutes ago.
"Oh, honey," Marlene sighed, crouching in front of Ella.
"How am I supposed to do this?" Ella asked her the question that had been running through her mind since the test came back positive.
"You have me. And the girls. And your brother-"
Ella stood up. She hadn't even thought of Caradoc but now that she had, a whole different fear had been knocked into her. She would have to tell her brother that his baby sister was pregnant at nineteen. He would freak, and yell and her parents. Merlin, her parents. Would she even tell them? She hadn't spoken to or seen them in months. Any and all letters they'd sent her, she'd left unanswered.
"No, no, no. I can't, I can't do this!" Ella clutched at her head, as sobs wracked her. "How am I supposed to tell Doc that I'm pregnant? How am I supposed to tell Sirius that he's going to be a dad? I - this is too much. We're too young and I can't — I can't be a mum! I don't even talk to my mum and Sirius doesn't want to be a dad! We agreed. We agreed that we wouldn't be boring. No marriage, no kids. We agreed we'd always be free. Free to do whatever we wanted as long as we were together."
"Hey, breathe," Marlene commanded, "Just breathe. This doesn't have to be the end of the world."
"It's a whole life, Marlene! A baby!" Ella shouted. "There's a baby inside me and I'm responsible for it so it's the end of my world. The end of my career, possibly my relationship and the end of life as I know it. This changes everything."
"It doesn't have to."
"Of course it does. It's a baby."
Marlene sighed, "I know this is not something that's considered acceptable in wizarding society, it's not totally acceptable in muggle society either but the doctors, well, our doctors have a way to terminate a pregnancy."
"I don't understand." Ella looked at Marlene with a tear ridden face and splotchy eyes.
"It's a procedure that will get rid of the pregnancy. It's called an abortion."
"But then … the baby will die?" Ella asked, a hand fluttering over her tummy.
Marlene nodded. "If you really don't want this, only we have to know. I'll take you and hold your hand the whole way through but only if you're a hundred percent sure this isn't what you want."
"I — I don't know." A moment ago, she didn't even know she had an option and now, she had a choice to make. A choice between two very different lives. She could do her best to be someone's mother or she could go after what she'd always wanted from life. She buried her face in her hands again. This was impossible. She didn't only hold her life in her hands, but a baby's, a baby who never did anything wrong except exist, and Sirius's. This would turn his life around just us much as it would turn hers around.
"Do you still want to go to the wedding? I can cover for you."
Ella shook her head. "No, I have to go. It's Alice."
Marlene pulled Ella up and started dabbing at her face with the hand towel to soak up the tears. "This is a big decision, Ella. You need to take your time and think about it."
"I know."
"All right. I support you no matter what," Marlene promised her and pulled her into a hug. Ella shut her eyes and just held on for dear life but eventually Marlene pulled away, "Now, let's get you ready for a wedding."
Deep down, Ella was thankful for Marlene's attempt at enthusiasm for the wedding to get Ella's mind off of things but it was a baby and it was literally inside her. Ella didn't think anything could get her mind off of it though she did stop crying once Marlene threatened her with bodily harm whilst doing her make-up.
"I'm really not helping, am I?" Marlene sighed.
"It's not your fault."
"Are you going to tell Sirius today?"
Ella shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe after the wedding. I don't want anything to take attention away from Alice. It's her day."
Marlene nodded. "Well, your hair and make-up's done. Just go get dressed and I'll get Nate and we can head off."
"Thanks … and Marls," Marlene paused at the door, "Please don't tell anyone — not even Nate."
Marlene nodded, "Of course. My lips are sealed until you're ready to spill."
Ella couldn't help it when her lips twitched into a tiny smile at the saying they used to say back in first year when they first became friends.
—
Ella Dearborn was always up for trouble when she was eleven. She came from a standard pure-blood family which meant her years before Hogwarts was spent learning etiquette and social cues. Her brother, three years older than her, always came home on Christmas and summer and told her wonderful stories of running and always being with your friends and magic. At home she was never allowed to use magic and her mum thoroughly chastised her when she used it accidentally especially in the last year or so because she was meant to be able to control it better.
Arriving at Hogwarts, was freedom for Ella. She was allowed to run and eat with her elbows on the table, she was allowed to ask questions! Her only guidance was at an arm's length, close enough to reach when she needed it but far enough away when she didn't and she had friends now. Lily Evans, an animated girl, was always kind to Ella and sat with her in Transfiguration and even though Ella found that boy from Slytherin that Lily hang out with weird, Ella liked having Lily as a friend. Alice Vance, maybe too into make-up and hair and things but Ella had known Alice since she was little. They attended the same etiquette classes by Madame Lemaire from the ages of five to nine — learning the right way to hold a teacup by a stuck-up french lady didn't do much to teach you but did wonders for mocking with the person next to you. Adaline Bennett, a quieter girl, more sporty from what Ella could tell by the Quidditch poster above her bed but she always received fabulous gifts from her much older brothers and Alice warmed up to her quickly so Ella hung out mostly with them at first … until halloween.
Marlene Adams was gossipy and, like Alice, into make-up and hair and fashion and MUSIC. Whatever Marlene played in the dorm was nothing Ella knew, it was all muggle stuff but even Ella admitted to herself that some of it, a lot of it, was good. Though Ella hadn't admitted it to anyone, the reason why Ella had kept her distance from Marlene — and even Lily — was because she didn't feel she knew anything about them. With Alice it was easy. They'd known each other growing up and Bennett, well, Bennett grew up with magic. That excuse ran dry on that first halloween spent at Hogwarts and it all started with a secret.
"Can I tell you something? But you have to promise not to tell anyone!" Marlene sat next to Ella on the couch.
Ella smirked. She was always up for a secret, especially if it entailed a bit of trouble. "My lips are sealed until you're ready to spill."
Marlene pulled out of her pocket Peyton Aitken's horrendously fat mouse that was large enough to be called a rat.
"It tried to get into my bag in the library, my mum sent me all these cheeses for halloween, and anyway, yesterday Peyton called me a — well, a you-know-what" — Ella gasped — "Oh don't worry about that I don't really care what she thinks of me anyways, I just thought losing her rat might have her sweating for a few days."
Ella giggled, "You'd probably take care of the thing better than she does."
"Rule one, it's going on a diet. It is way to fat for a mouse. The thing could barely run when I caught it."
"You're already doing a better job than Aitkens," Ella paused and then, "Why did you mum send you cheese for halloween? Is that a, er, a muggle thing?"
Marlene laughed. "No. I'm just going through a cheese phase and apparently a new cheese and breads shopped opened in town so mum thought I'd appreciate cheese more than candy."
"A cheese phase?"
Marlene shrugged, "I go through phases."
"Like stealing people's pets kind of phases."
Marlene grinned, "Only when they're mean."
That was the start of a friendship that would only end when one of them was no longer on this Earth.
This was the beginning and sometimes beginnings were scary. Sometimes you wanted to run from them before they could start because you were scared of what it could bring. Alice was when Frank first proposed but the thing was, Alice wasn't scared anymore, she wasn't even nervous. The moment she met Frank, their destiny together had been sealed and of this she was sure even if she was frightened of it at first.
"Are you ready, honey?" her dad asked, pulling the veil over her face.
"I am," Alice grinned.
"I'm real proud of you. You're mum is too."
Alice wrapped her arms around her dad and blinked hard to stop the tears. She didn't want to be a weepy bride. "I wish she were here."
"She is. She'll be watching over you and your sister always. She's not missing anything," her dad promised. The music started and Adaline and Emmeline started walking up the aisle. "That's our cue."
"I love you, dad."
"I love you, too, Alice. Now let's get you married."
Alice smiled and they stepped into the aisle, walking slowly up the aisle to where Frank stood. It was like her heart tripled in size when she saw him and her smile spread so wide across her face — she didn't think she'd ever been or would be happier.
"Finally," she whispered when they reached the end of the aisle and Frank chuckled.
"You look amazing!"
She kissed her dad on the cheek and stepped up next to Frank, palming her bouquet off to Emmeline and then it started and she knew.
She was meant to be standing in this very spot under a white tent in front of all her family and friends opposite the love of her life. She didn't know why or how but she knew that much.
"Do you, Alice Eugenie Vance, take Francis August Longbottom to be your lawfully wedded husband in sickness and in heath?"
Alice smiled so widely her cheeks hurt, "I do." Alice slid the gold wedding band onto Frank's finger with shaky hands.
"And do you, Francis August Longbottom, take Alice Eugenie Vance to be your lawfully wedded wide in sickness and in health?"
Frank matched her smile, squeezed her hands and said, "I do." Frank slid her gold wedding band onto her finger to join her engagement ring and Alice felt the love of a thousand years.
"With these symbols of love and life you have pledged your lives to each other until death do you part. I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."
"With pleasure," Frank grinned as he pulled Alice in to kiss her softly. "Hi wife."
Alice giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him again. "Hi husband."
—
It wasn't the most romantic meeting in the world. In fact, it wasn't romantic at all but it was a moment that changed their worlds. Frank was in Sixth Year and Alice in Fifth. They were both in Gryffindor so it wasn't that they hadn't seen each other around. Everyone knew Frank, he was considered top five hottest in his year and Alice was not immune to his looks. She admitted regularly to the girls that she'd snog him senseless in a broom cupboard, but half the girls at Hogwarts said that.
The thing that tipped the scale in Alice's favour over half the girls at Hogwarts was he hit her with a giggling charm by accident — or well, she thought it was by accident but really, Frank had been trying to find a way to talk to her.
"I'm so sorry!" he apologised coming over. "I was meant to hit Demure because — well, it's a long story."
Alice could only laugh, "I'm sorry!" she apologised in the midst of giggles. "This isn't laughing but I can't stop funny!"
Frank bit in his laughter at Alice's order of words and she groaned — well, tried to. Groaning and laughing was an odd combination.
"Fix it!" she insisted. "I can't stop!"
"Can't stop funny?" he asked with a smirk and she glared at him. "Okay, okay, don't get any ideas." He quickly performed the counter charm and the giggles subsided.
Now that Alice had her wits about her back she folded her arms, "Need a charm to make a girl laugh, Longbottom?"
"Come to Hogsmeade with me next trip and we can find out."
Alice bit her lip. That was smooth and she really, really wanted to say yes. "I"—
"Say yes, Alice. Laughs guaranteed."
"Or what? What do I get if you can't make me laugh?"
"Your pick in Honeyduke's, on me and I promise to never unleash the giggle charm on you again."
Alice considered. "And what if I want the whole shop?"
"Then I guess I'm getting you the whole shop — if I can't make you laugh, that is."
"Of course though you realise I'm going to be really determined not to laugh. It's been a lifelong dream. Unlimited freedom in Honeyduke's."
"That is the dream," Frank agreed. "So is that a yes?"
Alice tucked a hair behind her ear and nodded, "Yeah, I guess it is."
"1…2…3!"
The bouquet of roses and orchids flew through the air arching straight towards, and much to her surprise, Lily. She reached up to catch it, petals showering her as her fist clipped around the handle and Marlene cheered.
"Oh my God! You caught it!" she exclaimed as Lily held the bouquet like a trophy in the air. "Knew you'd be next," Marlene quipped.
Lily rolled her eyes and laughed, hitting Marlene with the flowers. "Maybe you'll be next."
"No, I didn't catch it. Superstition dictates that you'll be the next person in this room to get married."
Lily laughed it off because it was just a dumb superstition, just because she caught some flowers didn't mean she was getting married anytime soon. Though she had to admit, if it were Marlene who had caught the bouquet, it would be jokes for days.
"Lily!" Alice exclaimed, grinning. "You caught it!"
"I did," Lily grinned. "James better get proposing." Ride or die, right?
"Let's take a few photos," Alice demanded gesturing to the photographer with a camera that looked like it came out of the eighteen hundreds. "Then we can find James and tell him to get proposing."
Lily nudged her as they posed for the photo. After a few blinding flashes the photographer moved on and Lily turned to Alice, "So, how does it feel being married?" Lily asked.
"It's wonderful," Alice grinned. "If I could find him. Have you seen Ella? I feel like I've barely seen her around."
"Yeah, I don't know," Lily shrugged. "Marlene said she came down with a bug or something but go and enjoy the party because Emmeline is coming over with another round of firewhiskey and it's my cue to scamper."
Alice laughed. "Come back after you put the flowers down! We are all getting insanely, sloppily drunk tonight!"
"Yeah we are!" Lily agreed as Marlene pulled Alice towards Emmeline declaring, "Shots!"
Lily quickly made a break for it because she really did want to put the flower before things got out of hand. She headed towards her table that was now empty and sighed. If she wanted James she'd have to hunt for him.
"I see we're next to get married." Arms wrapped around her waist pulling her into a familiar person and she whacked him with the flowers despite the smile at her lips — the flowers were quickly becoming a weapon against people and she wasn't sure why.
"It's just a dumb superstition," she said, turning around to pull him closer.
"One I happen to like a lot." He pressed a soft kiss to her lips, her heart stopped from his words — Euphemia's talk about family and … was James thinking about proposing?
She pulled back, opening her mouth to say something but before anything could come out a distraction in the form of Remus appeared.
"Well, if it isn't Mr and Mrs Bumblebee."
"Does everyone know about this already?" Lily turned around to face Remus, "And I am going to kill Sirius for coming up with bumblebee!"
James chuckled, hugging Lily from behind and resting his chin on her head. Lily considered the distance between her and their table and tossed the flowers onto it.
"Maybe when we get married we should have a bee theme. Yellow flowers, black ribbons. Yellow dresses, black tuxes, yellow ties."
"No," Lily said. "Yellow tuxes, black ties. If we're going to have something as ridiculous as a bee theme we may as well make it as ridiculous as possible."
"Fiesty," James commented.
"I would so wear a yellow tax — tux!" Remus hiccuped and Lily studied him and then, "Remus John Lupin! You are drunk!"
"I am and have concluded that you should be more drunk!"
Lily chuckled and asked where the other two were just as two translucent blue phoenixes came into the tent, whispering into Remus and James' ear.
"What? What is it?"
"We're needed at Hogwarts," Remus said, serious.
"What?"
"We gotta go. Four Death Eaters approaching the gates," James pulled away from Lily, pulling his wand out as though the Death Eaters were approaching the wedding.
"James — he's drunk!" Lily protested. "He can't go anywhere much less fight."
James shot his wand at Remus and said, "Done. Sobering charm."
"Let's find Sirius and Peter and let's go."
James kissed Lily's temple and then followed Remus through the crowd. Lily watched James until he left the tent and her heart sunk a million miles. She felt how she did back on New Year's Eve when he left her to go fight. Frightened with her guts being threaded by a blender.
"Where're they going?"
Lily flinched in surprise as Ella came up next to her and what spewed out of her mouth next was a bunch of word vomit.
"Where the hell have you been? You missed the bouquet toss! I caught it and please don't start with the engagement jokes because I really think he might propose soon — just little things like Euphemia calling me family and the house elves doing what I ask them to. Don't even get me started on James because when I tried to brush it off saying it was a superstition, he said and I quote, 'one I like a lot'."
"Lily? You okay?"
"No. They've gone to Hogwarts. Four Death Eaters are trying to get in."
A black dog charged at one of the four Death Eaters and James cursed when her hood fell. It was the unmistakeable curls of Bellatrix Lestrange. The dog's sharp teeth snapped around her wand, splitting it in half. Bellatrix screamed in anguish and slashed at the dog with her long fingernails.
"Get away you mangy mutt!" her screech floated over to where James and Remus hid behind a tree.
"And in three, two, one," Remus uttered and right on time, a rat found it's way up another hooded figure's leg, taking care to scratch and bite the entire way up.
The hood fell down to reveal Rodolphus Lestrange. He started shaking his leg, patting down, no doubt trying to find the creature that had crawled up his leg but Peter was good. The rat found it's way up Rodolphus' leg, up his torso and down his right arm, biting hard on his fingers making Rodolphus drop his wand. The dog immediately nosed it away with his nose, dodging a swift kick from Bellatrix as the rat leaped through the air and landed on another's head.
The woman shrieked, swatting at her head as the rat leapt onto her arm and did the same thing. He bit down on her hand and her wand fell out of her grasp just in time for the dog to snatch it in his jaw and snap it.
"This is bloody animal's gone mad!" Rodolphus shouted as the dog, as it had done for Bellatrix, leapt through the air and snatched the remaining Death Eater's wand right out of her hand but not breaking it.
"And go," James urged Remus.
"Here goes nothing."
Remus stepped out from behind the tree and said, "Padfoot, drop!" The dog trotted over to Remus and dropped the wand at his feet before sitting obediently. "Wormtail!" Remus called and within a minute, the rat was sitting upon the dog's head. "Lovely."
"Who are you?" Bellatrix Lestrange demanded to know.
"Remus Lupin," one of the still hooded woman answered. "A werewolf."
Remus didn't falter at this even though it concerned him how this woman knew. "Leave now and no blood needs to spill."
Rodolphus laughed. "You think you're a match for us?"
"None of you have wands," Remus pointed out. "Of course, I'd give you back this one so you can apparate out."
"You're being too kind, Remus," James stepped out from behind them and they jumped turning around.
"James Potter," Bellatrix snarled. "You have something the Dark Lord wants."
"You tell him that if he wants it, he can come get it," James told her. "Now, why don't you run along and tell him all about how you almost snuck into Hogwarts?"
Bellatrix glared at him before laughing. "You better watch your back, Potter. We'll find out how you're controlling these fleabags and I'll be coming for you next. You and that filthy mudblood you call a girlfriend."
The dog bared his teeth and growled deeply.
"Padfoot," Remus muttered.
"You touch her and I'll make sure you live to regret it," James threatened.
"I think it's best you leave before the faculty come down. They could have you arrested for trespassing."
Remus kicked the still-intact but slobbery wand at them and the owner bent down to pick it up. James could see them considering to fight, they glanced at each other but the doors to the castle opened and in it's light Professors McGonagall, Dumbledore and Flitwick could be seen.
The four Death Eaters linked hands. With a twist and a crack, they were gone.
James breathed out in relief, sagging against Remus. It had always been so easy having that cocky persona in the walls of Hogwarts but James had never been more scared in his life. They could have called for back-up. The owner of the one wand could have killed them. Two killing curses one after the other — there was no spell to protect against that.
Sirius and Peter transformed back into themselves and they stood in a silent circle, staring at the floor in the wake of what they'd just accomplished and then, Peter broke.
A giggle escaped his lips. "I'm sorry it's not funny," he said but another giggle came out as he bit on his fist.
James could see Sirius' lips twitching too and James bit his lips to stop him from smiling.
Peter burst into full out laughter. "It's just! They think you two can control animals!"
James lost it then and laughter spilled out of his mouth too because it was absurd that they left so easily because of a rat and a dog when there were only two armed wizards present. It sounded ridiculous. Ridiculously funny.
Sirius was barking with laughter and Remus was shaking with silent laughter as Peter recounted their attack on the four Death Eaters with the other three pitching in.
"How long do you think Bellatrix will dedicate herself to trying to control animals?" Sirius wheezed.
"I don't even think that's an actual thing," Remus said. "I mean above normal obediency commands like sit, stay, roll-over and what not. She'll be searching for a long time."
The four boys laughed outside of the Hogwarts gates like they hadn't a care in the world, cracking jokes and teasing each other as though it were just another full-moon or midnight outing.
It had been over two weeks since the wedding and Lily had found not much had changed since then. Things work wise were still the same. Lovegood had made barely any progress on the charm and Lily and Francis' 'friendship' had only grown as the days passed, usually working together on the spell which annoyed Lily because it meant she had to hold back in case she gave him any ideas.
Sirius complained some that Ella was being distant but Lily didn't make much of it because, well, them fighting hadn't become unusual but she did notice Ella hadn't been acting herself lately. She hadn't come out for after work drinks since the wedding and wouldn't even have a goblet of firewhiskey with everyone at Order meetings. It wasn't like Ella to decline a drink when everyone else was drinking. Lily had tried to ask Marlene but she only insisted that everything was fine as far as she knew and had left it at that.
Lily glanced at her mum, the only person in Lily's life who's world wasn't affected by the simmering war. James had suggested telling Rosie about the war but how could Lily change her mum's world like that? It wouldn't do Rosie any good to know about a war secretly raging. All telling Rosie would accomplish was making her paranoid and worried. Lily much rather her mum live in ignorant bliss for sometimes Lily wished she could too.
Things had been nice lately. Nothing exciting had happened in the Order lately — no kidnappings or near deaths for anyone — and Alice and Frank's wedding had they're entire friend circle in a good mood and they'd gathered for drinks almost every night, it was almost like they were in a honeymoon bubble of their own and James was being very affectionate lately which Lily did not mind one bit. The other day they actually hid from Euphemia just to snog — not even shag — just snog in various locations of the house like they were at school hiding from Filch. The day still brought a smile to Lily's lips as she could still hear the sound of their mingled giggles as they ran across the lawn and into the trees, away from Euphemia who seemed particularly set to find them. Though when they were hidden by the shade of the trees, they simply lay together and talked, occasionally kissing with roaming hands and the whisper of 'I'm going to love you forever'. A promise, Lily thought, that she didn't even need to hear or say to know it to be true. It was in her very bones.
Weekly dinners at her place became a thing on Friday nights and it filled Lily with contentment to see how well her mother and James got on — much better than her mother and Vernon at any rate. James would forever be a charmer in Rosie's eyes and Lily was inclined to agree. James was the perfect boyfriend. He offered to help cook and clean up afterwards, he was funny, offering funny stories and debate topics like 'who's smarter, the smartest wizard or witch or the smartest muggle?'
They were in the middle spaghetti bolognese and one of James' stories when it happened.
The front door came careening into the kitchen so quickly and forcefully that it slammed straight into the table with an almighty crash, turning it upside down and pining Lily down.
"Lily!" she heard her mum shout as James staggered to his feet with his wand in front of him.
"James," Lily gasped, "Who … ?" Fear overcame her as she saw him.
She'd heard from whispered gossip of what the man who started all this looked like but it wasn't the same as seeing for merely seeing the man shot ice cold shivers down her spine chilling her to her toes. His skin was translucent white, so much so that she could see his spidery blue veins under his skin and his eyes were blood red slits that could fool any muggle into believing this was the devil reincarnate — maybe he was. He wore heavy black robes and held his bone white wand with both hands in the centre of his body as though he was finding his centre self to become zen. It was eerie. Despite having blasted a door through an entire house, the man was calm, surveying his surroundings with a certain aloofness that had Lily wanting to run.
Rosie screamed and Lily's focus returned. She had to get her mum out of here. She had to get out from under this blasted table which was heavier than she'd ever realised. Straining, she dragged her leg up, using her leg strength to lift the table up enough to give her enough wiggle room to find her wand which was jammed into her lower back. She twisted her arm, her fingers groping and scratching at her skin until it gripped her wand, shuffling it out from her back.
"Mum," Lily gritted, "Mum, you have to run!"
"Lily — James she's stuck!" Rosie shouted, hysterically trying to lift the table that had always been a two person lift.
"Lil!" James shouted not taking his eyes off the intruder.
"I'm fine," Lily called. "Get mum-"
Suddenly, Lily couldn't talk and the table was crushing an impossible weight on her and it was all she could do to keep breathing as the table pressed on her stomach.
"What are you doing?" James shouted as though Lord Voldemort would answer.
Lily watched with horror, struggling against the table, as Voldemort stalked towards her mother, James' spells bouncing off of him as though they were bits of fluff he was flicking off his shoulder until with a slash of his wand, James was pressed against the fridge struggling to breathe.
Lily's hand clasped freely around her wand and the table sprung off her with barely a thought and Lily scrambled up to her feet pointing her wand at Voldemort.
"Let her go!" Lily demanded. "She didn't do anything!"
"Your boyfriend has though." Suddenly, James fell hard on the floor, gasping for air and Lily rushed over to him.
"Me?" he breathed. "What have I done?"
"You stole something of mine. Return the book and join my ranks and I shall forgive your misgivings."
"Join your ranks? Why would we do that? Why would you even want me?" Lily shouted bewildered. She was a muggle-born. The type of person he despised and was trying to rid the world of.
"Now flaws in blood can be forgiven with extraordinary talent. I have two of my most loyal servants pleading your case Miss Evans so I myself looked into your family line. Did you know you're very distantly related to the Prewett line?"
"The Prewetts," Lily echoed, her brain spinning.
"Yes. You descended from a squib Prewett who married a muggle man, all abominable of course but clearly, magic still ran through the line until it flourished in you. Having you and Mr Potter in our ranks would greatly serve me."
"Well we—"
"Don't be so hasty, Mr Potter. You see if you refuse my offer, Mrs Evans here will meet a rather untimely death."
"No!" Lily shouted starting forward only to be caught by James who wrapped his arms around her waist to hold her back. She fought against him, clawing at his hands trying to get him to let her go. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!"
"It's simple. Join or she dies."
Author's Note:
Thank you for reading! Please review, favourite and follow :)
-Natalie xx