Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

James knocked on the door, "Lils?"

"Don't your dare come in James Potter," Lily shouted immediately.

She knew it was just a silly Muggle tradition for the bride and groom not to see each other for a day before the wedding, but there was already so much going on that she didn't need any more bad luck. Everyone else had been baffled when she'd told them but that always happened whenever she brought up anything Muggle. She stifled a laugh imaging what it would have been like if they'd had a Muggle wedding. That was her plan originally, but after Petunia had declined, there was no point anymore. The only other Muggles would be her parents and they were perfectly alright with a magical wedding. She convinced herself that it was better in the end but she knew that if her sister showed up right that moment, she would have let her be the maid of honour in a heartbeat.

"Lily?" James' voice brought her back to reality. "There's something you need to know."

"Well you better tell me from behind it that door then because I'm still not letting you in," Lily warned. "And if you've suddenly gotten cold feet I'd like to remind you that this was your idea all along."

"Lily," James' tone was way too grave for her liking.

"What happened?" she asked fear creeping into her voice.

"Your parents… they… Death Eaters…" he struggled to get his words out but she understood exactly what he was trying to say.

"No," she whispered. "No that's not possible, my mum's meant to be coming any moment now, she's meant to help me get ready for the wedding, she's… she's not dead!"

"I'm sorry Lily I really am," James said. "They're completely sure. They think it might have just been one of their random attacks on Muggles."

"No," Lily chuckled humourlessly. "They knew exactly what they were doing exactly who they were killing. They're dead because of me James!"

She could feel the handle of the door move as James tried to open it, but she slammed it back.

"Don't, don't," she yelled, panicked. "I can't deal with any more bad luck."

Finally, the sobs began and once the floodgates had opened, the tears wouldn't stop coming. Her parents were practically the last family she had left (she had lost Petunia the moment she left for Hogwarts and she knew there was no hope left for them, no matter how much she tried). They'd always had her back. Where other parents might not have agreed to send their daughter to some boarding school to learn magic or let their daughter get married so young, her parents had understood that these were no childish whims she had. They had given her every privilege, every happiness in the world, taught her everything she knew.

Lily had known there would be deaths in the war, but she had made the choice to fight anyways. Her parents though? They were completely innocent, they had no clue and the Death Eaters had come after them, just because of her? On her wedding day no less? She had no idea how they even knew it was her wedding day or where they lived, but it was too big a coincidence to ignore.

"James," she finally managed to choke out between sobs. "Are you still there?"

"Of course I'm still here," he replied instantly. "I'm here for you forever."

There was a pause as Lily dissolved into another fit of tears.

"Lils?" James asked cautiously. "If you want to talk, you can. You don't have to, we can just stay here together if you want."

"It's just- it's not fair," Lily said petulantly. "They were meant to be safe, this wasn't meant to hurt them. They were just Muggles. Just muggles…they had no idea…and it's all because of me…"

"It's not because of you," James cut in vehemently. "I won't have you blaming yourself for what they did."

"Merlin James, stop it! I don't need your high and mighty attitude. I chose to fight in the war. I doomed my parents. And now they're dead before they even turned 60. Maybe I should just forget about the war and the wizarding world and magic," she said angrily.

"Lily Evans, are you telling me you're giving up?"

"Yes, yes I am. Because I'm just so tired of this whole war. What if it's Marls next? Or Dorcas? Or Fabian and Gideon? Or…or you?" she whispered the last part.

"Then it'll be because they made the choice to fight for the good of the world, not just wizards but Muggles. They made the choice to protect everyone from Voldemort. Just like you did. Lily if we just give up, then we'll be doing exactly what they want us to. We'll be letting them win. And they won't stop with just the wizarding community, they'll go after the Muggles too. You wouldn't have made it any safer for your parents by ducking out of the fight," James said.

"I know James, I know, but sometimes I just feel so done with this bloody war. What kind of life is this? What kind of future do we have if we have to constantly worry about seeing anyone again every time we meet them? We're 19 years old and we're meant to be soldiers in a war? I know it's selfish, but I just want to take all of you away somewhere far away and leave everyone else to deal with this mess," Lily confessed.

"Trust me so do I, so do all of us. And I worry about you every single moment of the day," James said.

"I can take care of myself," Lily bristled indignantly.

"I know. And you know that the others can all look after themselves too. It doesn't stop you from worrying though. You just have to trust that they'll be okay."

"Trust. That's a hard thing to have these days," Lily muttered wryly.

"I think it's the only thing we can rely on. I would trust Sirius, Peter and Remus with my life and if I ever had to question that, I don't think I'd keep my sanity in this war. This isn't the last of it Lils, it's only going to get worse. And that's why I want you by my side for it because that's the only way I'd get through it."

Lily managed a watery smile, even though James couldn't see her, "Thanks. For everything James."

"And look if you want to postpone the wedding, I completely get it. I'm not going anywhere," James assured her.

"No. We can't cancel the wedding. We can't let them win," Lily said determinedly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Lily Evans is back!" James proclaimed and she could imagine the infectious grin on his face.

"It's just… my mum was meant to help me get ready," Lily said using all of her energy to not start crying again.

"Well, I'm sure I can sort something out," James promised.

5 minutes later, she heard a knock at her door.

"Need a little help there sweetheart?" Mary asked with Alice and Marlene standing behind her.

Lily couldn't have said that getting ready without her mother there was easy. Her bridesmaids were excellent of course, but she seemed to be bursting into tears every five minutes as something reminded her of her mum. From the dress that they'd picked out together to the family heirloom necklace that was her something old, her mother was everywhere.

At last, she was ready with a lot of cosmetic charms on her face to hide the puffiness.

"You look gorgeous!" Alice squealed.

"Thank you. Thank you to all of you for helping me," Lily said. "I really don't know how I would've managed today without you."

"All in the job description," shrugged Marlene with a smile.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"We're ready for you Lily," said Fleamont.

With a smile at her bridesmaids, Lily got up to walk out of the door and when she reached Monty, he held his hand out to her raising his eyebrows questioningly. Lily slipped her arm into his after a moment of hesitation as she imagined her own father who was supposed to be there to walk her down the aisle. Still, Monty had become like a second father to her and she was glad that if she couldn't have her dad, she at least had him.

Together, the procession made their way to the seating that had been set up in the Potters' garden.

In many ways, Lily's wedding was nothing like she had dreamed of as a child. She and Petunia used to play weddings together long before magic had caused the rift between them. They used to dream of hundreds of guests, massive castles, chocolate fountains (had they been older they may have chosen champagne) and a Prince Charming at the end of the aisle. No, Lily reflected as they walked, this was better. She would take her handful of close friends over a thousand guests, the Potter mansion over some destination castle, Effie's delicious recipes over a chocolate fountain. Her Prince Charming was definitely there for her though even if she hasn't recognised him at first.

The small procession approached the archway that had been set up at the back of the seating to signify the entrance to the aisle. A hush descended over the crowd and magically conjured birds began to sing the Bridal Chorus. As Lily and Fleamont led the way down the aisle, flower buds arranged in baskets alongside the seats began to bloom into lilies.

She loved the small touches that could be added to the wedding because of magic, but she didn't want to forget her Muggle heritage either which was why she insisted on following certain traditions. While James was dressed in fashionable, black dress robes, Lily had visited a Muggle boutique for her wedding dress. She recalled the hours she, her mum and her bridesmaids had spent at various boutiques until she found the perfect dress. It was worth it though just to see James' awestruck expression.

Lily's dress was pure white in the style of a ball gown with sleeves that slipped just off her shoulders. The chiffon flowed from the sweetheart neckline all the way to the bottom of the floor-length skirt. A faint floral design was stitched on the front of the bodice and the very bottom of the skirt. The low scoop back of the bodice was almost covered by the veil which sat on top of her delicately curled hair (done by Mary because the rest of them were nowhere near skilled enough).

Lily wore a pair of silver studs in her ears as her something new. Her mum's necklace was her something old, the veil was something borrowed from Alice and the carnations in her bouquet were her something blue. She had simply refused to budge on any of these little Muggle traditions and she was glad about it because the amalgamation of magic and Muggle made the wedding even more beautiful.

As they reached the end of the aisle, Lily turned to see Monty right next to her and she had a vision of her father standing there as he should've been. She imagined looking up to her father and reassuring him that his little girl was going to be fine just as she had when she went to Hogwarts and just as she knew she would have to on her wedding day. Lily had rolled her eyes every year on the way to Hogwarts when her parents used to hug and kiss her for what felt like hours, but now she wished that she'd lingered in that moment and stayed with them for as long as she possible could.

She must have zoned out remembering those times on the way to Hogwarts because another voice who used to be a common occurrence on the Hogwarts platform cut into her thoughts whispering, "Oi Evans! Are we getting married here or not?"

That was enough to snap her out of her reverie and look up at James' grinning face. She knew fully well that he too was thinking about their childish feud and in that moment she was so thankful to have him.

"Dearly beloved," Dumbledore began formally. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of James Fleamont Potter and Lily Evans. James, Lily, I believe you have prepared some vows?"

"I'll go first," James volunteered. "I'll go first because I fell for Lily the first time I saw her. It sounds cheesy I know but something inside me just clicked when I saw her, haughty little redhead first year that she was. Mind you I was also just a tiny arrogant kid too, but I noticed this spark between us. I've talked everyone's head off about you ever since I met her so I'm going to try not to wax lyrical about you Lily. As you used to say, I was a complete arrogant toerag back in Hogwarts but you somehow someday decided that I was crazy enough to merit a date instead of the well-deserved embarrassment I usually got. You've changed my life immeasurably since we first met Lils and every milestone with you our first meeting, our first date, our first kiss has and always will be seared in my memory. If you told a 12 year old me that I would marry Lily Evans I probably would've fainted but looks like my determination paid off. Now that I've got you, I'm not letting you go Lils, but I promise that I will channel as much energy into us and our small world as I did into getting you to go out with me. So, one last time, Evans, just to make sure you haven't changed your mind like I'm constantly think you're going to, will you become Lily Potter?"

"Yes James a million times yes," Lily replied before continuing to her own vows. "You know me well enough now to realise that I'm stubborn enough to not change my mind once I've made a commitment. And trust me, I vowed over and over to never go out with you James, but somehow something in you bent my inflexible will and softened my titanium exterior. In a time when there is so much fear and so much unknown, you have always been my constant. A constant annoyance during the first few years at Hogwarts but you were the one person that wasn't running after me because I was a Muggle-born, but just because I was me. And there was something comforting about coming back every year and no matter how bad the war was getting, finding you pranking and making mischief as usual. You have become so inextricably tied to my life since I joined the Wizarding world and now I want to just make it official. I'm going off script here but as I'm sure a lot of you know today has been a really hard day for me. In times like these even the best days like today rarely go perfectly and I was hit very hard this morning by the news of my parents' d- my parents' death. I'd just like to give a huge thank you to all of you for supporting me, but especially my bridesmaids, Monty and above all James. Even without us being able to see each other you made me feel better feel stronger, darling. So thank you for everything you've done for me."

If the couple had taken a moment to stop smiling at each other, they would've noticed Dumbledore's equally wide smile as he said, "We'll have the rings now please. Do you James Fleamont Potter take this woman as your wife?"

"I do," he affirmed, sliding the plain gold wedding band onto Lily's ring finger.

"And do you Lily Evans take this man as your husband?"

"I do," said Lily putting the ring on James.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss," Dumbledore proclaimed.

The couple needed no prompting and moved in for a long kiss.

"Alright everyone time for the best man speech," said Sirius banging his spoon way too hard on his glass and standing up. "I can't tell you how pleased I am to see my dear friend finally married to the girl of his dreams."

Both James and Lily groaned at this first sentence and began questioning their decision to choose Sirius as best man, but he ploughed on.

"Now, I heard that the best man's job is to tell as many embarrassing stories as possible and let me tell you I have so many just from the category of James embarrassing himself trying to get Lily's attention. To give you a flavour I have a story which ends with James dangling from the windowsill of the girls dormitory and wearing only floral print pyjamas with lilies and a pair of reindeer ears. But if you want to know how that began you can come talk to me separately," he winked to James who had his face hidden behind his hands. "In all seriousness, I love James like a brother. He has done everything imaginable for me and if there are two things I trust him to do, it's to be a good judge of character and to get what he wants no matter what. So when Lily caught James' eye I knew I could do nothing but wish him the best of luck and watch their beautiful love story unfold over the years. To my brother and my sister in law. To James and Lily," Sirius said raising his champagne glass.

There was rapturous applause around all of the tables and the couple turned to Sirius with a thankful smile. James was glad that he hadn't actually told the story, but as soon as he caught his dad's eye, he knew Monty would be making a beeline to Sirius as soon as the dancing began.

As soon as the cheering and babble had died down slightly, Mary stood up raising her glass, "James and Lily's romance or initial lack of is famous enough in Hogwarts that I'm sure all of you have heard at least some of the crazy stories. James was head over heels right from the beginning and he made that no secret. In fact I'm sure plenty of us wished he'd kept it more of a secret but that's just not James. Lily, on the other hand, absolutely hated him for the first 5 years but then throughout 6th year I watched a complete transformation overcome her. It was funny but also beautiful seeing that hatred turn into the most beautiful love. Lily and James were never casual because both of them have had such a deep connection with each other even before they started dating. So really, this wedding feels like the most natural thing ever for all of us who watched their relationship blossom. Here's to an amazing life together. To James and Lily."

Once again the room broke out into applause and both James and Lily found themselves wiping the tears from the corners of their eyes. Once the hubbub had died down slightly, Mary turned to address the crowd again.

"And now, it's time to throw the bouquet!"

Her exclamation was met by mostly blank stares and she sighed impatiently.

"Oh of course. Let me guess, this is another Muggle-only tradition," Mary concluded. "Basically, the idea is that Lily turns around and throws her bouquet while all of the unmarried people gather behind her. Then, whoever catches it is the next one to get married. It's a silly little superstition but it's fun to do so single people come on up!"

"Coming Remus?" Sirius asked turning to his boyfriend.

"Since when do we count as single? Unless there's something you want to tell me…" he teased.

"She said unmarried not single. I'm going up whatever you say," Sirius declared.

"Alright then go ahead. I'll be cheering for you," Remus said.

Sirius joined the throng of people near the back of the group, but he knew from experience how far Lily could throw so he wasn't too worried.

"Get ready," said Lily swinging the bouquet to prepare for the throw. "Three…two…one…here it comes!"

The bouquet sailed over the heads of most of the crowd and went just left of Sirius. Fortunately he still had the reflexes from his Quidditch days and it flew right into his outstretched arm.

"I caught it!" he cried out, brandishing his prize.

"No pressure right Moony?" James said to him expecting him to be slightly nervous.

Instead, Remus was completely cool, "Nope, just confirms what I was thinking."

"Hold up, are you planning to propose to Sirius?" James whispered, trying not to give it away.

Remus seemed slightly sheepish now, "Well, yeah, maybe, I don't know. I would love to even if we can't make it legal just to have a ceremony and make it official for the two of us. But what with the war and everything… It just doesn't feel like the right time. But I'm 100% sure that it is the right person."

"Moony! I didn't know you were so sentimental!" James exclaimed.

"Don't tell him anything yet though, I'm still working things out."

"Of course not," James promised, watching his best friend show off the bouquet to absolutely everyone at the wedding.

I, I will be king

And you, you will be queen

As the first notes of the song began playing, James led Lily out onto the dance floor. They swayed along to the bouncy rhythm of the song, hands securely on each other's waists. It was almost as if her parents hadn't died just that day. For a minute, her world felt like it would come crashing down again, but James' voice brought her back.

"All right love?" James murmured.

"Yeah…yeah, never better," she replied, smiling back at him.

Maybe there was a war going on, but that was something to worry about in the years to come that they had together. In that moment, the only thing that seemed to matter to Lily was the cheering of their friends, the beat of the music and above all, James in her arms. Her husband.

We can be Heroes

Just for one day

We can be Heroes

We're nothing, and nothing will help us

Maybe we're lying, then you better not stay

But we could be safer, just for one day

Oh-oh-oh-ohh, oh-oh-oh-ohh, just for one day

A/N Well, if you made it this far, your prize is that you get to listen to my ramblings. First of all, I would like to dedicate this fic to my best friend whose birthday it is today. Happy birthday bestie! I love you so much and I know how much you love Jily so this is for you. As for my complete lack of updates otherwise, sorry about that. Life has been absolutely crazy but I will get to the next chapter of Far Away From Home. Eventually.

I've had this fic in my mind for a long time, but I started writing it a few months ago for my friend's birthday. As a Marauders fic, I had to put some angst in there somewhere unfortunately which is why we get Lily's parents' death, but I just love the image of Lily and James on opposite sides of the door, him trying to comfort her without them even seeing each other. It's adorable. Then, the actual wedding. I love wedding dresses a really ridiculous amount and so I was happy to do a ton of research to think about what might suit Lily (I've got the Sophie Skelton fancast in mind because why not). I also wanted to incorporate a bunch of Muggle traditions and as well as the magical element hence the many Muggle traditions. The throwing the bouquet and Sirius catching it idea was from my friend and while writing it with no intention of doing that, I ended up making Remus ready to propose to Sirius. Oh well Wolfstar always shines even in a Jily fic. The first dance song was difficult because I have limited knowledge of 70s music, but I know a lot of Marauders fics have David Bowie and turns out one of his famous songs fit really well. Anyways, if you got to the end of this, I hope you enjoyed the story and please review to let me know what you think!