July 10th, 2021
Lily smiled through her tears as she watched her eldest cousin, Victoire, glide down the aisle with such grace that it nearly broke Lily's heart. Teddy stood, not far away, grinning at his bride-to-be.
Dominique was Victoire's maid of honor; Rose, Lily, Roxanne, Molly, and Lucy made up the rest of the bridal party. Teddy had an unruly group of the male cousins: Louis, Fred, Hugo, James, and Albus on his side. It had been Victoire's idea to get all of her cousins and siblings into her wedding, and they had all cleaned up very nicely. Their proud parents, plus Gran and Pop, and Fleur's mother and father, sat in the first row, every single one of them smiling and crying at once.
Lily was entering her third year at Hogwarts. Since that night of her eleventh birthday, she had harbored something of a crush for Teddy; she had written him nearly every week she was at school. She loved getting his letters and making plans to spend time with him on her holidays. Most of all, Lily felt connected to Teddy in a special way that she couldn't quite phrase. Most of the pain she felt came from a feeling of being left behind by the very best friend she would ever have. She had imagined for nearly three years that marrying Teddy would make them closer than ever. Now, though…he was getting married to Victoire. And why shouldn't he? Lily thought bitterly.
Victoire was everything Lily was not; she was tall and slim and beautiful. Lily was more like her grandmother than anyone else; short and powerful. She privately thought she was rather fat, as well, though no one could call her that. She simply did not have the tall, slender build that Victoire and Dominique had. Lily wiped away a tear and tried to smile at Teddy and Victoire as they were bonded for life.
That night, Lily cried her eyes out in her mother's old bedroom in the Burrow. She didn't know if she was crying for her own feeling of abandonment, for her lost love, or for her envy of Victoire, but any way she looked at it, it hurt. She felt left behind and forgotten by Teddy, and a bit of the ache of a broken heart, knowing that Teddy had feelings for Victoire that he could never have for her. She couldn't stand the idea of Teddy being unhappy, and she knew that he would always be very happy with Victoire, but she couldn't stand the idea of being separated from him. Her love for him, she realized, was beyond romantic love. She needed his friendship more than anything else, and she couldn't imagine having to share his love with someone else. She was crying, buried so deeply in the pillow that she didn't hear Gran come in.
"Lily, sweetheart?" Molly asked, her hand on the doorknob.
Lily looked up. Molly sighed sympathetically and walked in, shutting the door behind her. Stiffly, she sat down beside Lily and took the girl in her arms. For a good half hour, Lily cried. When she had quieted, she felt Molly's hand stroking her hair. She picked up her grandmother's other hand and held it. It was careworn, but soft. The skin was fragile, and she could see the bumps and knots and veins that came from all of Molly's years of caring for her family.
Molly saw her looking and closed her hand around Lily's. "Lily," she said softly. Her granddaughter looked up at the lined face, smiling down at her understandingly. "He's going to be all right. You'll both be fine." Molly cupped a hand around Lily's cheek. Lily smiled and nodded, then wrapped her arms around Molly, who rocked her until they both fell asleep.