FALLING WITH GRACE
by shiiki

CHAPTER TWELVE

A Beacon of Hope

August, 1979

'I, Frank Randolph Longbottom, take you, Alice Catherine Moody …'

No-one was listening to the wedding vows. Even Sturgis Podmore and Dorcas Meadowes, best man and maid of honour respectively, had their eyes trained towards the Portkey area. The audience was tense, waiting.

'If the Death Eaters don't show after all, Frank and Alice may effectively be married twice,' James tried to joke, to lighten the mood.

'I'm not sure if I really want them to,' said Peter nervously. James assumed he meant the Death Eaters showing.

Alice was halfway through her vows when the blast came. Not through the Portkey area, but from above their heads. There was a deafening crack, followed by yells of pain as the Death Eaters attempted to Apparate their way in and were impeded by Lily's Apparition barrier. Some had even Splinched, by the look of it. James caught sight of a flailing arm hanging in mid-air, and a masked head severed from its body.

The 'congregation' (which was in fact just the Order and the seven Aurors that Frank and Moody had roped into the scheme) were on their feet immediately, wands out. When the first Death Eaters found their way through the Portkey area, they were ready.

'Get out of the way!' yelled Marlene McKinnon, as bolts of green light accompanied the invading Death Eaters.

'Expelliarmus!' 'Protego!' 'Impedimenta!' 'Stupefy!' The air was thick with flying hexes from both sides. But the Order had the upper hand, having prepared for this for months. They made short work of the attacking Death Eaters. Soon, the air around James ceased to sizzle with the intensity of a hundred curses going off at once.

Then, strangely, the Death Eaters seemed to cringe and draw away, their eyes on the Portkey area. James narrowed his eyes, wondering if it was a ruse.

He understood all too soon. Through the arch that was meant for the bridal procession appeared a face like alabaster, with blood-red eyes and slits for nostrils. The lipless mouth moved, and Voldemort spoke, in his cold, shrill voice.

'So, this is the secret organisation working behind my back.' His long fingers smoothed his robes haughtily. With an almost imperceptible flick of his wand, he deflected a spell that Benjy Fenwick surreptitiously aimed at his back and sent a Crucio back in return. Benjy howled worse than a werewolf as it hit. 'Benjamin Fenwick,' he acknowledged, almost in amusement. His eyes travelled the rest of the Order. 'Marlene McKinnon. Why – James Potter, we meet for the third time. Sirius Black – your family awaits your return to our side, you know –'

Sirius spat at Voldemort's feet.

'Manners, now, Black. I'm sure your parents must have taught you those. Ah – the Prewett brothers, am I right? Yes … yes … and the happy couple.' Voldemort turned to Frank and Alice with a sneer. 'So sorry to disrupt your wedding, but I'm sure you can continue it … under the sod …'

'Your Death Eaters haven't stopped us,' said Edgar Bones. 'Look at them –' He didn't have to gesture to indicate the Death Eaters who had been Splinched, Stupefied or otherwise put out of action.

'You're one against twenty,' added Marlene.

'Oh, but I have made it clear – was the first lesson not enough, Mr Fenwick? Crucio! – that there is no gathering in the wizarding world that can be held openly without my wrath being felt. Yes … I believe the fear I have wrought is sufficient.'

'As always, Tom, you fail to understand that one can never govern effectively using fear.'

A flicker of uncertainty crossed Voldemort's face, his red eyes narrowing such that they became mere slits as the calm voice of Dumbledore addressed him.

'I am Lord Voldemort,' he hissed.

'You will always be Tom to me,' said Dumbledore firmly.

Voldemort seemed to swell in indignation – in that moment, he looked ridiculously like a pampered child (albeit with a face no child would ever have) ready to throw a tantrum.

'Reducto!' he screamed – everyone dodged out of the way as the curse blasted the arch, the altar and the seats all into dust. And then, Voldemort vanished.

With their master gone, the Death Eaters scrambled to leave, but Dumbledore hooked them up with an invisible rod and drew them back. The Aurors took charge of them quickly, Stupefying and binding them. James helped Benjy to his feet ('Thanks, James – ow, that aches …')

'I am sorry to be late,' said Dumbledore. 'I had business at the school. But it seems you were doing fine.'

'You're the only one he seems to have qualms about,' frowned Elphias Doge.

'Such is the legacy of a Hogwarts teacher, Elphias,' sighed Dumbledore, but he said no more on the subject.

'Let's get this all cleaned up, shall we?' suggested Lily. 'We've only three days to redo everything!'

The rest of the Order chorused their assent.

---

Lily felt a deep sense of satisfaction as she watched the wedding guests arrive. It was gratifying to see how much faith people were putting in them, just by attending. This wedding would be a success – they had hoodwinked Voldemort – nothing was going to ruin Frank and Alice's happiness today.

It was almost phenomenal, the way the Order had transformed the moor within three days into a magnificent garden for the wedding ceremony and reception. Marlene and Alice had worked painstakingly on the flowers, with help from Frank's Aunt Enid, and a breath-taking array of spring blossoms filled the air with a lovely scent. Peter and Sturgis had repaired the damage done by the Death Eater attack, such that the furniture – the garden archway, the bridal altar, benches for the guests – were all back in tip-top condition. Benjy and Nicholas had conjured a tent-like building for the reception dinner and dance. Emmeline and Dorcas had taken care of all the organisation details and Edgar had mobilised every house-elf of the Bones' connections to do the catering. Lily herself had worked industriously on strengthening her wards, charms and barriers, on which the security of the event depended. They were all invested in this wedding – its success would be the entire Order's triumph.

People all around Lily were greeting old friends with delight; it was not often that any socialising could take place in public nowadays, with the threat of Voldemort hanging over everybody's head. Pleased that there was a chance now, Lily scanned the crowds for familiar faces from her own Hogwarts days. Her gaze fell upon that of Andromeda Tonks, who was here with her husband and daughter.

'Andy!' Lily rushed over joyfully. She hadn't seen Andromeda or Ted since they had eloped so many years ago, although she knew that Sirius and James had visited them on many occasions. And she'd never met their daughter, who was staring up at her with big grey eyes very like her mother and cousin's.

'Hi.' Lily squatted so that she was eye-level with the girl, and held out her hand, which the girl shook solemnly.

'My daughter, Nymphadora,' said Andy. Lily deduced that Nymphadora didn't like her name because she scowled and wrinkled her nose at her mother. She couldn't really blame the little girl. Andy had chosen an elegant name – pretty in its own way, Lily supposed – but it was certainly a mouthful for this tiny snippet of a girl.

'I'm Lily. It's a pleasure to meet you.'

'Say hello to Miss Lily.' There was a slight emphasis on the 'Miss', a warning to little Nymphadora to be polite.

'Your hair is pretty,' said Nymphadora admiringly. Lily couldn't help smiling – wasn't there a saying that fools and children spoke the truth? 'Oh and hello!' Nymphadora added this in hurriedly. 'I like red hair,' she continued. 'I'd make mine red, only Mummy doesn't want me to change it here.'

Change it? Lily instantly thought of Professor McGonagall and her Animagus form, then remembered there were such beings as Metamorphmagi as well. She complimented Nymphadora on her current hair colour (a mousy brown, like her father's) and asked if she was indeed such a one.

'What's a Met-a-mor-may-jus?' asked Nymphadora cautiously.

Lily explained, as Andy acknowledged quietly that she was.

'Thankfully she only knows how to change her hair and nose now. I can't think how it'll be when she learns to control all of it – the rate she plays around with it, it'll be like having a new daughter every day!'

'That would be interesting!' agreed Lily.

Nymphadora's attention was diverted, however, by the approach of Sirius. He'd evidently abandoned his post (Moody, by way of complimenting Sirius and James, had insisted they help the Aurors guard the perimeters and review the security charms from time to time. The actual Aurors hadn't been too happy about the intrusion) to come find his little cousin.

'Aren't you supposed to be reviewing the security spells?' Lily reminded him. She didn't particularly want to be a kill-joy, but Moody could get quite sour with anyone shirking their duty.

'Had to come and say hi to my Dora,' shrugged Sirius. 'Got James to cover for me.'

Instinctively, Lily turned to look for a familiar crop of untidy black hair. She caught sight of him not far away, just behind the right corner of the altar and blushed faintly as he noticed her glance. There had been a strange awkwardness to their interaction since they'd made up over his sickbed, a shyness in the way James approached her. It made Lily feel as though she was in seventh year again, with his sweet, hesitant touches causing her heart to race and her stomach to flutter. It was almost as if she was anticipating something special, only she hadn't any idea what. Luckily, Sirius was too busy playing with Nymphadora and a second distraction in the form of Remus had appeared, so no-one paid much attention to her.

The guests had all arrived by now, and were crowding into the benches.

'I'd better get back to my post,' said Sirius, saluting Nymphadora before he capered off. Lily remembered with a jolt that she was supposed to be taking over Dorcas's shift watching the Apparition barriers during the ceremony as Dorcas was to be maid of honour.

'I think it's about to start,' she said. 'I'd better run! It's lovely to see you again, Andy – and to meet Dora.' She winked in farewell to the little girl, who tried unsuccessfully to return the gesture, and hurried off.

Doing guard duty didn't allow her to watch the ceremony, but she could still hear Frank and Alice as they spoke their wedding vows, so clearly and devoutly that there were appreciative sighs from all the guests. Lily was surprised to behold her own vision blurring as she listened – tears of happiness for her old classmate and friend, but also of wistfulness: she found she was imagining herself and James in their place.

Emmeline arrived to relieve her shift.

'The dance is starting up inside. Go get a spot of dinner while everyone's dancing.'

Lily didn't feel quite hungry, though. She thanked Emmeline and went for a walk along the twisting garden paths. The sun was starting to set, bathing the flowers in a glorious golden-red glow.

'You look like an angel with the sun over your head like that. Unfortunately, you know what they say about looks …'

It was James, teasing her. Thankful for his light bantering, Lily laughed and swatted at his shoulder.

'Prat.'

He chuckled and fell in step with her. 'So you've said, a million and one times.'

'You've counted, have you?'

'Mm-hm.' He stuck his hands in his pockets and looked around distractedly. Lily studied his face as he did so. He was nervous about something; his teeth pulled at a spot on his lip, there was a pinkish tinge to his face, and he blinked rapidly.

'Something wrong?'

James swivelled his head back quickly to face her. 'Not … exactly …' He scratched his head. 'Actually … I never gave you your birthday present, you know.'

'My birthday present?' Her birthday had been nearly a month ago. It could have been a year ago, for all that had happened in that one month, actually.

'I – it … d'you remember what we did on that day?'

She certainly did. They'd gone for ice-cream at Fortescue's and she'd seen Petunia – no, Drucilla Malfoy in Polyjuice disguise – and that entire horrid plot of Drucilla's had started there. Lily went pink with embarrassment and guilt just thinking about it.

'I remember,' she said softly. 'We were at Fortescue's … wasn't that your treat?'

'Not – not just that. I meant to tell you … well, I bought a house.'

'You did?'

'Yeah. I've been working on it the whole of last month … it's not perfect, the interior's got to be furnished and all, but it's more or less ready to …' His voice trailed off and he stopped walking suddenly. When he spoke again, his voice was hoarse. 'I wanted to ask you to …'

Lily suddenly knew what she had been waiting for, a question her heart had secretly been longing for, one that she wanted only to answer 'yes' to. Her heart was jubilant, singing like a phoenix. Why were her eyes filling up, then?

James must have noticed, because he grasped her hands pleadingly. 'Lily, I'm sorry, don't cry … I won't ask anything of you if it makes you unhappy!'

'No, James,' she told him as she fought back her tears. 'It's not … I'm not sad. I know what you mean, and I … James, honestly!' Her head snapped up suddenly. 'I love you, you prat. Of course I'd want to … if you mean …'

James looked astounded. His hand reached out to caress her cheek as the tears escaped and rolled down. He wiped away a beady drop with his thumb.

'So … if I asked you … it would be a …' His voice was so soft, it was like a gentle breath of wind. Lily pressed her face against his shoulder and nodded into it before he could complete his question. James drew her close, his arms encircling her waist. 'I ought to ask properly, then,' he whispered. Letting her go, he dropped down on one knee, clasping her hands tight.

'Lily,' he said earnestly. 'Marry me. Please.'

The tears were still rolling down her face, but as she bent forward to whisper, 'Yes' in his ear, and James pulled them both to their feet and kissed her as if there was no tomorrow, pausing only to say, 'I love you,' she knew without a shadow of doubt that these were tears of happiness.

---

When the wedding had been concluded and the guests had gone, the Order ran around doing Finites and Evanescos on their conjured constructions. Before they could get rid of the garden, however, Alice stopped them.

'Oh, don't Vanish it yet,' she said. 'Let's take a picture first!'

It took some time to organise everybody and to set up Moody's old camera on a tripod and time the shot. They beamed and waved as it flashed, sending purple smoke into the air. James, posing between Peter and Sirius, felt like life couldn't be better. The wedding – the Order's wedding; it wasn't just Frank and Alice's: everyone had invested themselves in it so much that it was personal to all of them – had been pulled off with aplomb. He himself had another wedding to look forward to, and his bride-to-be standing next to Peter, looking radiant. The day couldn't get any more perfect.

'You must give me the photograph when you've developed it, Uncle Alastor,' said Alice fervently. 'A picture of everyone here – everyone who put in this effort! I'll want to remember it always; Frank and I will be forever grateful to all of you for what you've done.'

'Nonsense,' said Gideon Prewett. 'Everyone had a good time.'

'And it's for the greater good – to remind old Voldemort we're free to celebrate if we want to!' added Fabian Prewett.

The last rays of sunlight were fading into the west, light that had shone over them as they had proved a point today: Voldemort had not taken over, nor cowed them completely.