The First Rise & Fall of Voldemort

by Unknown Future

Slight AU. Begins summer before Marauders 7th Year. What Happens when there is no prophecy claiming a 'Chosen One? How are the Marauders, and eventually Harry, involved in the War? How does Harry recieve his scar? Why are the Marauders in danger?

8. In The Year 1979

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the recognizable characters, ideas, places, etc… Now that that's cleared up…enjoy!

A/N: Sorry it took so long, I had writers block and I had stuff to do with the family. Enjoy the story, hopefully it was worth whatever wait you've had to read it.

Chapter 7: In The Year 1979…

Song: You Can't Hurry Love

By: The Supremes

January

-Sirius' POV-

It was two days 'till the wedding and Sirius had finally made a big decision, one that he was going to consult Rose on now. He found her sitting in the living room watching TV with Lily. She looked beautiful. She was in her pajamas; some long, pale blue, pants made of silk and a matching tank-top that said 'bride-to-be' on it, it had been a gift from the other girls and she'd been wearing them every night for the past few nights. Her lovely brown hair was pulled back in a pony-tail that was beautiful despite its simplicity. Something made her laugh, which in turn made him smile. Her laugh was contagious and it lit up the room to his eyes. He couldn't stop gazing at her, but he had to talk to her about this soon. He decided a couple more minutes wouldn't hurt anything and continued to gaze upon her adoringly.

They were going to be married at Hogwarts, in the Great Hall, so that Regulus could be there. Dumbledore, who was performing the ceremony, said it was too dangerous to let a student go about…no matter how well protected that student might be. Not that that mattered anyway, they would have snuck him out of the school. They wanted to be married at the castle anyway as it held their best memories and they wanted it to have another for them. Lily and James had also decided to be married in Hogwarts' Great Hall come March 22nd.

He decided that he should tell her before he forgot altogether to mention it. He walked over and tapped her on the shoulder. When she turned to smile at him he returned it and gestured with his chin towards the kitchen where they could talk in private. She got up and began to walk with him, hand-in-hand, to the kitchen. When they got there, he pulled out a chair for her to sit on and then joined her at the table.

"Ok, I've made a decision that I hope will coincide with yours. I want to have all the Marauders as my best men."

"That's just because you can't choose, isn't it? No matter though, I couldn't choose either, when it came down to it. So then, what do we do about Peter? He doesn't have a girlfriend. I suppose I could have my sister fill in that place. I'm sure Laureola won't mind. I'll give her a ring. Then, we can get everyone together and inform them of our choice. You should call Peter, call him before I call Laura…she's a chatterbox."

Sirius went over and gave Rose a kiss and whispered to her to 'go along with me for a minute later on, just humor me'. She nodded and, with that, Sirius called Peter and asked him to come over in all-due-haste. Peter had gotten to the flat by the time Rose was done talking with her sister, which was nearly a half-hour for something so simple. They gathered everyone in the living room and began.

-Rose's POV-

"Alright," Sirius began. "We have made a very important decision. We…are going to call off the wedding." Rose tried to not look shocked like the others, remembering what Sirius had said earlier in the kitchen. She decided to play along for a while. She knew that there would be some interesting reactions from their friends and wanted to see what they were before speaking up. Lily went wide-eyed, as did Alice and Holly. Rina began spluttering incoherently. Remus and Frank looked shocked as all hell. Peter just looked at them, confused as ever. James, however, took the vocal approach. He seemed indignant, she noted briefly before he set off with the shouting.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? You two are MADE FOR EACH OTHER! What could have possibly made you decide this so close to the wedding?" His voice suddenly turned to one of cold fury as he saw Sirius laughing his arse off and me smiling maliciously. "You are going to pay, Padfoot. You'll be lucky if there's anything left to marry in two days time, Rose!" At this he jumped over the back of the couch, where he'd been standing, and drew his wand aiming it at Sirius' face. Remus and Frank quickly joined in as realization hit them not two seconds after it had hit James. Sirius looked at her with pleading in his eyes. He had also drawn his wand for protection, but obviously didn't want to hex his best mates.

"Now, now boys, you have to leave him be until after the wedding photos; then you can do to him whatever you like." When she finished, Sirius looked betrayed. She just smiled at him, having done her part in protecting their wedding photos. She knew the boys wouldn't mess with her wedding for fear of the ladies wrath. She had always loved that saying 'hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn'. She turned back to the others, who were waiting for the real announcement. "We have decided on our best man and maid-of-honor. Or, rather, our best men and maids-of-honor. We couldn't decide who to pick, as you're all such good friends, that we've chosen all of you. Regulus will also be a best man, and to make an even number of girls and guys, my sister Laura will be a part of the wedding party as well. Now then, that's it. Feel free to go back to your prior engagements." She turned to leave, but before she could she was engulfed by her four best friends' hugs. She turned to see Sirius being given similar treatment; his hair was being ruffled and he was being patted on the back, rather hard pats, by James.

That accomplished for the evening, they all decided to watch a movie. Sirius had brought home a movie called Animal House because he thought the title interesting. It was about a year old, but it had caught his interest anyhow on one of his muggle shopping excursions. They put it in the VCR and the song came on, a tune that sounded like muggle classical music. They were all thinking, though none of them saying it, that this movie was going to be a bore. They watched as the friends left the first 'frat-house' and went to the next. Then it got interesting. The entire room became enraptured by the movie and watched until the end, laughing at all the best parts. When Bluto smashed his cheeks and proclaimed himself a pimple, they all burst out laughing. Rose's eyes were watering from such laughter by the end of the movie. They were discussing the movie for a long time, into the wee hours of the morning. When they came to the part about 'shooting' the horse in the headmaster's office, she saw a familiar glint in the eyes of every Marauder. She guessed they were reminiscing about past times, even though they hadn't all been on that particular excursion.

She and Sirius had snuck into Dumbledore's office while he was gone one day, not an easy feat by any means, and they had transfigured his desk into a unicorn. Not a real unicorn, of course, but a decent replication of the one they'd seen in Care of Magical Creatures. When they'd told the story, even Lily had had to laugh about it.

They finished their talk, and all went to bed that night chanting 'Toga! Toga! Toga!' They had, what was to be one of their last as an unmarried couple, a peaceful nights sleep.

-James' POV-

It's Sirius' wedding day, James thought upon waking. He began to get into some light robes that he would change out of at Hogwarts later. Rose had gone to the castle yesterday afternoon with the other ladies so that she wouldn't see Sirius until their wedding. Lily said it was some sort of muggle tradition. He went to wake Sirius up, the great lump, but found his bed already vacated. He listened with his newly acquired Auror senses and heard Sirius begin singing Some Kind of Wonderful by Grand Funk Railroad. It was one of his favorite songs, and had been since it came out a few years ago. He loved muggle music, as did all of them, but Sirius had a particular liking as it was one more thing that pissed his mum off.

"I don't need a whole lot of money;

I don't need a big bright car.

I got everything that a man could want;

I got more than I could ask for.

I don't have to run-around;

I don't have to stay out all night.

'Cause I got me a sweet - a sweet lovin' woman;

And she knows just how to treat me right.

James decided to listen. He, too, like the song and Sirius was a pretty good singer when he wasn't drunk and rowdy.

Well my baby, she's all right;

Well my baby, she's clean out of sight.

Don't ya know that she's – she's some kind of wonderful;

She's some kind of wonderful, yes she is;

She's some kind of wonderful.

Yeah yeah yeah yeah.

When I hold her in my arms;

You know she sets my soul on fire.

Ooh when my baby kisses me;

My heart becomes filled with desire.

When she wraps her lovin' arms around me;

It about drives me outta my mind.

Yeah when my baby kisses me;

Chills me up and down my spine.

Now my baby, she's all right;

My baby, she's clean out of sight.

Don't ya know that she's – she's some kind of wonderful;

She's some kind of wonderful, yes she is;

She's some kind of wonderful.

Yeah yeah yeah yeah.

Now is there anybody;

Got a sweet little woman like mine.

There's gotta be somebody;

Got a sweet little woman like mine.

Now can I get a witness;

Can I get a witness

Well can I get a witness

James cut him off there as the song got a little repetitive after a bit. "Well, I'll be your witness mate." James said, loud enough to be heard over the singing and the shower. "Lily's pretty damn sweet herself, if I do say so myself…and I do, so there!" Sirius had stopped at the interruption, but decided to carry on and James heard him pick up where he left off. "Just hurry it up in there; you don't want to be late for your wedding." That got Sirius moving, apparently, because he was out of the shower in five minutes and had come down to the kitchen. He just sat there staring at the table. James offered him food, but it was refused which startled everyone…the others had also come down to breakfast.

"What is it, mate?" Remus asked with awe in his voice, awe at the fact that Sirius was turning away food. "You're not honestly that nervous, are you?"

"So what if I am? I mean, I know were meant for each other, but there're still those nerves everyone has. James, why didn't you and Lily get married first so I'd know what to expect?"

"Because, we all had a meeting and decided that yours was to be the crash-test wedding. We planned it all out so that you'd never suspect a thing, but you foiled us in our evil plot to make you nervous on your wedding day. However will we live with ourselves after this tragic incident of Sirius being nervous about such a huge step in his life?" All of this was said with extreme sarcasm that got the point across to Sirius that it wasn't his fault they'd set their wedding before his own.

Sirius frowned for a moment then, apparently more calm and more himself, asked for some eggs and toast to be passed his way.

-Lily's POV-

Lily woke up with a smile. Last night had been fun; they had spent a great part of the evening discussing today and what would happen. Rose was slightly sad that her father was unable to walk her down the aisle at her wedding, as he and her mum had died when she was about 16 in a car crash. She had cried for a little bit, but had gotten over it and began to chatter excitedly about the wedding. Her sister would be coming to the castle in about an hour. Dumbledore would be placing charms on her to make her able to see and enter the castle as she is a muggle and wouldn't be able to enter any other way and then he would show her to their room.

Lily got up and got dressed in a plain black robe with a pair of jeans and a tank-top underneath it and went to wake up Rose. When she got there though, she was awake and in the shower. She was humming a muggle tune from the mid-sixties that Lily recognized as You're the One by The Vogues. Lily smiled to herself and the words to the song floated across her mind. Every time we meet…everything is sweet…ooh you're so tender…I must surrender…my love is your love…for now and forever…you're the one that I long to kiss…baby you're the one that I really miss…you're the one that I'm dreamin' of… baby you're the one that I love… Lily shook her head and knocked on the door.

"Rose! Hurry up in there, you have to eat then begin getting ready. I'll be in the Great Hall." With that she departed to the Great Hall. The children who were still here had been told to keep in their common rooms for the day; food would be brought from the kitchens to individuals as there weren't that many to begin with. When she walked through the door to the Great Hall, she was gob-smacked. It seemed that Dumbledore and the staff had pulled out all the stops for their former pupils.

The hall was decorated with white fabric hanging about the walls. Some red, rose-red, was mixed in as well as those were the color of the maids-of-honor's dresses. There were many smaller tables, each able to seat about fifteen, placed around the room upon which sat centerpieces of red and white roses; the red and white roses together symbolized unity and understanding. Rose would carry a bouquet of white roses that symbolized happiness while the female portion of the wedding party would carry bouquets of red roses that denoted their respect of the couple.

The wedding would begin in about four hours, at 11:00. She waited on Rose and when she finally came down there was some toast waiting for her. They ate in silence then got up to join the others in preparing for the day. Rose had had her own room last night, but the other four had shared a room with a bed for each; it was a lot like their old dorm room, especially when they stayed up late talking about the boys. The guys were going to be apparating in to Hogsmeade any time now, this was another of Lily's motivations for getting Rose out of the hall quickly; she didn't want to let Rose see Sirius before the ceremony, Rose didn't want to either. All of their friends thought it strange, but they accepted that it was a muggle tradition that was to be followed on their friends' wedding day. They went up to Rose's room, where the other girls had convened for ceremony preparations.

They walked in to find all the girls chattering excitedly in their bath-robes waiting for their instructions on how to help. They immediately began with each other's make-up and hair; Rose's was to be done last so it would last longer. Alice was first up. The maids-of-honor were all going to be curling their hair loosely and leaving it down. For make-up, they didn't need much as their daily hygiene spells took care of blemishes and any markings from unattained sleep. They were quickly done with everyone's hair and make-up, all accept for Rose's.

Rose's hair was to be curled loosely. It would be brought back behind her head in a low pony-tail and clipped up onto the back of her head with magic, several strands trailing down gracefully. Her face was radiant enough with out adding make-up, so Lily just added a touch of a pale cream eye-shadow. Then, everyone was ready to put on their dresses. The maids-of-honor dresses were floor-length and made of satin. The top half had somewhat thick straps and was made to look like a bodice, lacing up in the back and with a decent neckline that began at the straps as a square but then turned to a v; it was a deep shade of red, almost burgundy. The rose-red a-line skirt flowed gracefully around the girls waists and accented their figures well, but not enough to detract attention from the vision that was Rose.

Rose's dress was much like the others. It was of purest white satin. The top half was a strapless bodice that was laced up in the back with silver ribbon. The bodice was decorated with silver stitching in the form of vines trailing from the top of the bodice to the v at her waist where the satin skirt began. The skirt was also of purest white material and had an elegant way of flowing down from her waist to her feet. It had a short train in the back, just long enough to drag a little, but not so long as to reach to London and back. Her veil was of thin, nylon tulle, a muggle veil to go with her muggle dress…she thought it fitting. It had an inch thick strip of satin edging and was attached to her hair via clip. It draped down in elegant swoops and reached the lower portion of her back. She truly looked like one of the fairy princesses her mother would tell her of before she discovered she was a witch. She put on her white 2" pumps and Lily was satisfied that Rose was ready to get married.

Rose's sister had come to join them about an hour ago. It was now 10:30 and the ceremony was set to begin at 11:00. Rose was to be walked down the aisle by Moody in lieu of her father. She had asked him a few weeks ago after a training session. They had today off as it was Saturday, so he had agreed and been taken off-duty for the day. Lily sat contemplating what she would do if she had to have someone other than her father walk her down the aisle. She thought about all the people she could ask and then she stopped thinking about it altogether as her father would surely be alive in late March to give her away at her own wedding and for a long time after. A knock on the door brought her back to her senses and she and the other girls grabbed their bouquets and headed for the portrait hole to meet Moody and begin the ceremony.

-Rose's POV-

Rose went out of the portrait first and greeted Moody.

"Hello, sir. How are you today?"

"Oh, well enough I expect. How about you? Nervous yet?"

"Well, I had some butterflies, but they have thoroughly abandoned me now, sir. I thank you again for acting in place of my father; it means a great deal to me that you would do so."

"Not a problem, you and Black have become two of my best students. I don't think I've ever had such a talented group to teach as you seven. Besides, you've kind of grown on me."

Rose smiled at that. They had started out at odds because of her hot-headedness and her willingness to argue for hours on theories that went against Moody, even if she didn't agree with them. They began the walk to the Great Hall. When they reached the final staircase to the entrance hall, she and Moody descended slowly so as not to trip on her dress and his wooden leg. They got to the bottom and the other girls took the lead to meet up with their partners for walking down the aisle. She and Moody stood off to the side of the door so that when they opened to admit the others, she wouldn't be seen yet.

First in went Lily and James, closely followed by Holly and Regulus then Rina and Remus. After them went Frank and Alice and bringing up the rear were her sister Laura and Peter. The doors closed again for a moment after the last couple. She and Moody moved in front of the doors and waited for them to open up again. They slowly began to open and she saw the hall, all decked out in red and white. The tables were full of people. Her eyes immediately went to the front, to Sirius. His mouth was hanging open at sight of her and she smiled at him. James turned and looked at Sirius then gently shut his mouth for him and turned back to looking at the doors. Everyone in the hall had stood up by now. On her way up the aisle with Moody, she noticed the Weasleys and her former professors. She noticed a few Aurors, and some from her classes. Some people from the Order were there as well.

She looked up to the front again and saw Dumbledore smiling at her. They finally got to the front and Moody let go her arm and sat down by McGonagall. Dumbledore began; "We are here to day to witness the marriage of Rosemary Jasmine Pearl to Sirius Orion Black. As per the usual ceremony, the bride and groom have memorized their vows beforehand and shall now recite them. You may begin, Rosemary."

Rose, looking into Sirius' eyes began reciting her vows. The world seemed to not exist around them, it was as if they were the only two in the room and she spoke only for him.

"I, Rose, ask you, Sirius, to be my husband as my friend and my love. Together we will dream, we will stumble but restore each other, we will share all things. Our miracle lies in the path we have chosen together. In the future, happy occasions will come as surely as the morning and difficult times will come as surely as the night, but we shall weather them together. I enter into this marriage with you knowing that the true magic of love is not to avoid changes, but to navigate them successfully. I humbly give you my hand and my heart as a sanctuary of warmth and peace." She turned to Lily and took from her the ring she had gotten Sirius, a simple white-gold band, and placed it upon the ring finger on his left hand. "Just as this circle is without end, my love for you is eternal. Just as it is made of incorruptible substance, my commitment to you will never fail. I choose you as the person with whom I will spend my life. I will stay with you as long as we shall Live, freed and bound by our Love."

She finished her vows and felt a complete sense of joy nearly overwhelm her, but she held onto it and listened as he recited his vows.

-Sirius' POV-

He was waiting anxiously for the wedding to begin. His doubts had vanished as he thought about how much he truly loved Rose. It was about 9:45 and they had just apparated to Hogsmeade and walked to the castle. They were in a room provided by Dumbledore to get ready. The guys were all wearing black dress robes with red ties and a red rose in their lapels. Sirius himself was wearing a more detailed set of dress robes that were also black but were more of a crossover with a muggle tuxedo than the others'. He had a silver tie and a white rose in his lapel, to match Rose's outfit…or so he'd been told. He still didn't understand the whole 'not seeing the bride before the wedding thing' but had humored his wife-to-be as she and Lily had assured him it was bad luck to see her before the ceremony.

Regulus had met them at their room about fifteen minutes ago and was now getting changed into his own robes. They passed the time by playing with muggle cards because exploding snap was to messy and wizard chess took to long. He looked up and it was 10:15. They had been told to be downstairs at 10:25 for further instruction. He got up and told the others it was time to go. He was completely relaxed now.

They walked down to the entrance hall where McGonagall smiled at him and told him to take his place at the front of the room. The others were to wait out in the entrance hall for the girls. He went to the front as told and stood their, watching the door like a hawk. Dumbledore came in and told him that the ceremony was all set and would begin momentarily. Then he started to think. What if she doesn't want to marry me anymore? What if she's changed her mind? The longer he thought, the more lucid his thoughts became. What if she's got lost? What if she got hurt on her way down? I mean, I know she's with Moody and all her friends…but what if they were all attacked? His thoughts and worries all stopped as he saw the doors open and Lily and James enter. They were followed by Regulus and Holly, Remus and Rina, Frank and Alice, then Peter and Laura. The doors closed again and he almost started his insane train of thoughts up again, when James nudged him and said she was out there with Moody, just waiting for the cue. Good old Prongs, he always knew just what to say. He was right, in a moment the doors opened again.

His first thought upon seeing her was, Merlin she's beautiful. His second thought was; I don't deserve her. He suddenly felt James push his jaw up and assumed it had dropped open when he saw Rose in all her glory. He noticed everyone was standing, but only distantly as he was watching Rose. She smiled at him and kept walking with Moody down the aisle. She got up there and he looked into her eyes and was overtaken with happiness at the thought of how lucky he was that he'd found her.

Dumbledore began his part at the beginning, and then Rose said her vows. He heard her, but only distantly. When she finished, he smiled and began his own recitation of the vows.

"I, Sirius, ask you, Rose, to be my wife as my friend and my love. Together we will dream, we will stumble but restore each other, we will share all things. Our miracle lies in the path we have chosen together. In the future, happy occasions will come as surely as the morning and difficult times will come as surely as the night, but we shall weather them together. I enter into this marriage with you knowing that the true magic of love is not to avoid changes, but to navigate them successfully. I humbly give you my hand and my heart as a sanctuary of warmth and peace." He turned to James and took the ring with a Celtic design around the white-goldband and placed it upon her left hand's ring finger. "Just as this circle is without end, my love for you is eternal. Just as it is made of incorruptible substance, my commitment to you will never fail. I choose you as the person with whom I will spend my life. I will stay with you as long as we shall Live, freed and bound by our Love."

Dumbledore then started speaking again. "Then, by the power vested in me, in the name of Merlin, Man, and Magic, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride." Sirius didn't hesitate to oblige with a short, but passionate, kiss to his wife. "I give you," Dumbledore said to the crowd, "Mr. and Mrs. Sirius Black." Everyone in the hall cheered and clapped. Their friends all surrounded them with hugs and congratulations. They stepped down from the stand at the front and it was transfigured into a table big enough for their entire wedding party. They took their seats and listened to everyone around them very little as they looked into each others eyes. Then music came on and Sirius heard James announce the first dance as a married couple. He stood up and offered his hand to Rose with a flourishing bow which she accepted with a formal curtsy of her own.

They walked out onto the dance floor and began dancing to, what Sirius registered as their song, More Today than Yesterday by Spiral Staircase. It was awkward to dance to, but they made it work with a combination of dances. When the song was done, they returned to their seats to be greeted with the sound of clinking glasses. They kissed each other then sat down and waited for the inevitable speeches to begin. It seemed James was up first.

"Alright; we all know Sirius and/or Rose fairly well. What is probably not well known is how they met." Sirius began blushing helplessly and next to him Rose was flushing a deep shade of red as well. "It was a fine October day, several years past. Sirius and I had been playing exploding snap in the halls, again, and were being taken in for punishment by Mr. Filch, again. We got to his office and were seated and told of our 'ruining the school' and 'defiling property' and the like. We were about to defend ourselves when Mr. Filch was called off to deal with yet another young miscreant, much like ourselves. He ordered us to stay where we were and left murmuring about thumbscrews and how it would teach us to respect the school. When he returned, he had in tow a fourteen year-old Rose. He ignored us at first and we couldn't help but overhear what she'd done. Apparently, she was a troublemaker like us who had cursed a certain Malfoy to look like a woman, not much of a stretch, in a pink tutu with a very high-pitched voice…the effects of which were unable to be stopped by anyone but the caster. The caster being Rose, of course, she refused to remove the hexes and concocted a story as to why. Her story, and she kept it up the whole while, was that 'Honestly, Mr. Filch. I didn't know that that spell did that. I thought it was to make him feel as if he was being tickled. How was I supposed to know that saying ballerina after clotherio would dress him as such irreversibly?' At this point, Mr. Filch was red from frustration. He decided to add his two cents that 'How could anyone in their fourth year not know what happens when you do that.' Filch was forced to let her go for lack of proof and had gotten flustered enough to not notice us follow her out. Our interest was piqued by this girl who had not only gotten herself out of trouble, but us as well. Sirius couldn't stop talking about her. It's rumored that he talked about her more than I talked about Lily that week."

"Well, they began dating a couple of years later, and I don't think I've seen them argue once yet. They both love Quidditch, troublemaking, mischief, and they're both dead stubborn as well. It's as if they're one person. I know these two are made for one another, as they're the only ones who could handle each other. I wish them the best of luck and all the happiness that they deserve. To Sirius and Rose!" He raised his glass and drank to them and was mirrored by all in the hall. Lily spoke up next.

"Alright, I'm not quite so long winded as James, but I have a few words to say concerning the new couple. When I met Rose, we immediately became friends. We got along perfectly well and we had our fun. When I met Sirius, we argued and we didn't get on well at all. I never would have thought that those two would have got together, but it makes perfect sense to me now. They're one in the same, really. They love each other deeply and I hope they continue to live with love and happiness, but most importantly, with each other…for with each other, they have it all. To Rose and Sirius!" She also raised her glass and was also mimed by all in attendance.

The reception had much dancing and food and happiness. Sirius and Rose were going to be staying the night at Hogwarts, as were the rest of their wedding party. They had no time for a honeymoon just yet, as training couldn't be missed, but would have one sooner or later. They didn't really care, so long as they were together. They made it to their room and spent the night enjoying being a married couple.

The next morning they went to the flat rather early to get ready for training. Over the next week they were still in a state of blissful spirits. Sirius kept referring to Rose as Mrs. Black. They were extremely happy; they were content as could be with the world. They couldn't wait for their friends to get married and have a similar sense of joy and peace with the world.

March

-Lily's POV-

It was early March now, Saturday the 2nd to be exact. Lily awoke to the sound of an owl pecking at the window. Who sends an owl at two in the morning? She got up and opened the window for the blasted bird to come in before everyone in the house was awoken by it. She untied the scroll and noticed it was Dumbledore's writing. She quickly unfurled the parchment and sent the owl away with a small treat. She quickly read through the note, then again thinking she'd read it wrong. She woke James up then started getting ready quickly. She had to see Dumbledore straight away.

-James' POV-

"James! James, wake up! We have to go see Dumbledore immediately!"

James sat up quickly. A visit to Dumbledore? Early in the morning? Lily sounding panicked? He wasted no time in questions and got dressed and went with her to the floo in their living room as it would be quicker than apparating to Hogsmeade. When they got to Dumbledore's office, he told them to sit down and he looked very serious.

"Lily, James. I'm sorry to have awoken you so early, but what I've got to say can't wait long. Steps must be taken. Lily, I was informed a short while ago that there had been a Death Eater raid in Surry." Uh oh, James thought, isn't that where Lily's parents and sister live? "Lily, you're parents house was set on fire and there were two bodies found inside. They have been identified as your parents; we have not been able to locate your sister. Have you any idea where she might be?"

"Yeah, she should be safe. She was going on a ski trip with her fiancée. Professor, my parents; they're really gone?" She sounded shocked, on the verge of tears. James grabbed her hand.

"I'm afraid so, Lily. It looked as though they had been hit with Avada Kedavra, then they burned in the houses conflagration. I'm terribly sorry this has happened. If there's anything we can do. I'll let the muggle police know where your sister is so they can inform her of the incident."

"Thank you, professor." She was crying now, James felt so helpless to do anything so he pulled her over to sit on his lap so he could cradle her in his arms. Dumbledore left them, saying he'd give them a moment alone. They must have sat there like that, Lily crying on James' shoulder, for hours. Dumbledore finally came back in, Madame Pomfrey in tow.

Madame Pomfrey insisted that Lily go to the hospital wing for a calming draught and some more sleep, so James offered to carry her there. When they got there all their friends were waiting, having flooed directly to the hospital when Dumbledore told them of the news. He laid Lily down on one of the beds and began walking away, but she pulled his hand and asked him to stay so he lay down next to her and held her in his arms. Madame Pomfrey came with the calming draught and the dreamless sleep potions that were used often in cases of grief. Lily took them and began to drift off, when she was completely asleep he went to talk to the others.

"She got an owl this morning from Dumbledore, requesting an immediate meeting." He began relating the information to his friends who were all sitting down on a couple of beds, except for Peter who hadn't been told yet. Sirius said he was going to get Regulus and Rose and Holly went with him. James sat and talked idly with Alice, Frank, Remus and Rina for a while. They were eventually joined by the others, who then joined in on the idle talk. Some food was brought up from the kitchens and they ate in a solemn silence, waiting for Lily to wake up. She finally came round at about two in the afternoon and James went to her side at once.

She started to cry again so they gave her another calming draught but let her stay awake this time. It was after supper that they went home to let Lily rest some more. They had taken a few bottles of dreamless sleep potion upon Madame Pomfrey's insistence that Lily would need them for the next few nights, and she was right. For the next few nights, Lily couldn't get to sleep without one. She continued going to training, but James noticed she was distracted most of the time.

-Lily's POV-

Lily was sitting in the living room the evening of March 17th, five days before her wedding. She was still very upset by the loss of her parents. Their funeral had been two weeks ago and James had been there for her the entire time. This had strengthened her resolve to marry him on Saturday. He had offered to post-pone the wedding until she was feeling better, but she had insisted upon keeping their date. She was so glad she found such an understanding man; he was always making her fell safe and comfortable. Training was going well, she was still a little distracted but James had begun taking better notes for her to use since hers had been terrible at best the past few weeks.

Sirius had taken over all of the cooking, not letting her lift a hand to help at all. He had made her some of her favorite chocolate chip cookies; that she herself had taught him to make. Her other friends had been doing things to help her out as well; she didn't feel that she deserved such treatment, but every time she tried to refuse politely they insisted and told her to go rest. She was rested enough for the next ten years; she wanted things to go back to normal now. She decided she would make an announcement tonight over dinner, as everyone had gotten of early and she didn't foresee them stopping unless she asked them forcefully.

Sirius was, as usual, making supper. It was ready, or so his shout that spread through the house led her and everyone else to believe. She walked to the kitchen to meet her friends for some dinner. They began eating and Lily decided it was time to speak up.

"Sirius, this is wonderful."

"Thank you, I try." He was being sarcastic, but of course he did try. "I'm glad you're enjoying it. I decided to try something new tonight. I put some garlic in the spaghetti sauce."

"Really, well it's a nice addition. Look guys, I have to say something. I appreciate you all being so nice and all, but I need things to get back to normal. I need to start doing stuff again or I'll go stir-crazy. I don't need any more rest, and I'd like to pick up my share of the chores and note-taking. I love that you guys are there for me, but I need to start moving on." She said this with a lot of gratitude and conviction in her voice. She was determined to start things back to normal.

"Well then, if you're sure you're ready, I could use some Wolfsbane for Thursday." Remus was obviously giving her a chance to back out if she didn't want to brew it.

"I'd love to, Remus. It's not a problem at all." She said this with relief in her voice at finally having something to do. "I'll take care of the dishes, and then I'll go start on it straight away." When she got up to do the dishes, James got up to help her; they always did the dishes together, he'd just been taking their turn by himself lately. They finished up rather quickly, with some flicking of soap bubbles included. She went to begin the potion, feeling useful for the first time in days. Remus came with, as he liked to watch the potion brewing and to help whenever possible. It was still being helped, but it was a step up from doing nothing at all.

-James' POV-

Ow, was James' first thought upon waking. They'd had a night full of drinking last night, as his send-off to the married world. He went to the bathroom and took a headache potion as he'd forgotten his anti-hangover potion the night before. He took a shower and put on some jeans and a t-shirt and went down to breakfast. His friends were all sitting over large cups of coffee.

"Morning guys," he greeted his friends, who all glared at him. "What, no headache potions for you all? I've got some extra in my bathroom if you want." Remus and Frank immediately got up and raced to the stairs to get to the potion. Sirius was just grinning over his batch of eggs and toast.

"I tried to tell them to make some a few days ago, remembering my own bachelor party, but they wouldn't hear of it. I had some in my room left-over from that. Peter's still asleep on the couch; I didn't have the heart to wake him up; at least not without you." Peter had also come for their little soirée. Regulus wasn't 'allowed' to leave Hogwarts, so Sirius had apparated him back at about 3 this morning to Hogsmeade where he snuck back in.

"Ah, well. When do they ever listen to the voice of experience? So, we'll be leaving for Hogwarts in a few minutes, right?" The girls had spent the previous night at Hogwarts as they had for Sirius' and Rose's wedding. They were having group best men and maids of honor as well; in fact, everyone had decided that was the best way to go about it.

"Sure thing; just as soon as those gits get themselves back down here. Let's go get Peter up, shall we?"

-Sirius' POV-

After waking Peter up, they all apparated to Hogsmeade and made the short trek up to the school. They went to the same room as before to get ready in. It was a Hogsmeade day, and the younger students had been told to stay in their dorms just like for his wedding so they were to be uninterrupted. They went in and put on their dress robes; Sirius and James had merely switched their dress robes as they wore the same size. All the guys wore green ties and had some type of white lilies in their lapels. James had on a white tie and the same type of flower adorning his lapel. They finished getting ready at about 10:00, so they still had a half-hour to go until they were required downstairs. They'd pass the time playing muggle cards like last time.

-Rose's POV-

She woke up and smiled. She wasn't going to be the only married woman in the apartment anymore. It was Lily's turn to tie the knot. She got up and found Lily waiting for her to get ready down in their common room. They'd had similar arrangements to last time, this time Lily got her own room. They went down to eat with the others and Rose noted the decoration.

It was very similar to those of her own wedding. There was white fabric draped along the walls and emerald green material draping from the ceiling beams. There were calla lilies in the centerpieces at the tables on top of white linen. It was beautiful, to say the least. They ate quickly and went back to their room to get ready. From what Rose had heard, Lily had asked her sister to be one of her bride's maids and her sister had agreed rather reluctantly to do so. Rose had also overheard Lily asking Moody to walk her down the aisle as he had for Rose. Moody had agreed readily, having had suspicions this would happen after Lily's parents had been murdered.

They all did their own hair, as it was a simple enough styling. They straightened their hair and pulled it back, half-up half-down. They got into their dresses when they were done with their hair. The dresses, a beautiful shade of emerald green, were wonderful. They were floor length silk. They had a scoop-neck with a slight draping of fabric hanging from the low cut back.

Then they helped Lily with her hair, a more intricate styling yet still rather simple. They put loose curls in her long red mane of hair and left it down. She began putting on her dress. It was white satin with an a-line skirt. The top half had a v-neckline in the front and in the back it cut a v down to the middle of her back. The straps were about an inch thick. The dress had some white-on-white embroidery on the hem of her skirt, that of lilies. It looked absolutely magnificent on her. Her veil was floor length with flowers along the edging. It was attached to a tiara that had been a gift from her mother when she and James had announced their engagement. The tiara had fit perfectly upon her head and the encrusted diamonds sparkled in the light. She put on her shoes and was ready to go.

Moody came to the door and escorted Lily down the corridor. Rose thought she overheard Lily thanking Moody for walking her down the aisle. They got to the entrance hall and met the men waiting outside the doors.

-James' POV-

They left for the Great Hall at 10:30 and James walked up to the front. He saw his parents sitting near the front talking and laughing jovially. He also spotted the Weasleys and the Prewetts, Molly's siblings. He saw the teachers, some Aurors, some of his classmates, and some people he went to Hogwarts with. Dumbledore had entered, he noticed, and was saying something to McGonagall who then walked out the doors and came back a moment later nodding to Dumbledore. The doors opened and he saw his friends begin walking down the aisle, but he had eyes only for Lily. He waited and saw her begin walking down the aisle with Moody and vaguely noted everyone standing up.

She looked beautiful. He smiled at her and she smiled back at him. She got to the front and took his hand after letting go of Moody's arm. They turned to Dumbledore and he heard everyone sitting back down. Dumbledore began the ceremony with a smile on his face.

"We are here today to witness the marriage of Lillian Elizabeth Evans to James Henry Potter. They will now recite their vows, as is tradition. Lily, you may begin."

"I, Lily, ask you, James, to be my husband as my friend and my love. Together we will dream, we will stumble but restore each other, we will share all things. Our miracle lies in the path we have chosen together. In the future, happy occasions will come as surely as the morning and difficult times will come as surely as the night, but we shall weather them together. I enter into this marriage with you knowing that the true magic of love is not to avoid changes, but to navigate them successfully. I humbly give you my hand and my heart as a sanctuary of warmth and peace." She turned to Rose and took the white-goldband and placed it upon his left hand's ring finger. "Just as this circle is without end, my love for you is eternal. Just as it is made of incorruptible substance, my commitment to you will never fail. I choose you as the person with whom I will spend my life. I will stay with you as long as we shall Live, freed and bound by our Love."

James then recited his own vows and waited for Dumbledore to continue.

-Lily's POV-

James had just finished his vows and Lily couldn't have felt any happier, except maybe if her parents were there. Dumbledore continued with the ceremony.

"Having said that, I now pronounce you husband and wife in the name of Man, Merlin and Magic; you may now kiss your bride." Lily and James kissed each other gently on the lips for a long moment, enjoying the embrace with an extreme sense of contentment. When they broke the kiss, Dumbledore went on. "I give you Mr. and Mrs. James Potter!" They turned to the crowd, receiving applause. The stepped off the platform and waited for McGonagall to transform the platform to their table. When she did, they didn't even bother with sitting down but began to dance to their song; Count on Me by Jefferson Starship. After their first dance as Mr. and Mrs. James Potter, they went to sit down and await the inevitable speeches. As she suspected, Sirius and Rose were up first. They were giving their speech together, she saw. This ought to be interesting, she thought to herself plastering a smile upon her face.

"We've decided to not embarrass Lily and James too much, as a wedding gift." Sirius began. "We'll just say a few words about their lives that I'm sure they've forgotten about by now. The first time that Lily met James in fourth year, I could tell she was trying to not hex him. He came up and started hitting on her; it was rather funny for the viewers of this spectacle. Anyhow, James was unsuccessful in his attempt; and every other attempt after that for the next two and a half years. He finally managed to ask her out successfully, a good distraction for the prank we would pull on him later that day. So, Lily and James…head boy and girl…began dating. It was no surprise to any of us as we had seen them together and knew it was meant to be from the first. Now, they're married and still as perfect for each other as they were then."

Rose picked up the speech. "We hope you guys are as happy as we are. We know you will be, as long as you remember the important things such as; compromise, good pranks on others, laughter…which incidentally shouldn't be hard as James is quite funny to watch brew a potion… and love. We wish you all the best in the future and hope you get all you want out of life. A child would be good, say with James' hair and Lily's eyes. Can you all imagine? A miniature James, it'd be a sight to see. I can picture it now, Professor McGonagall chasing young Potter down the corridor after pulling off some prank. What a sight that'll be." By the end of their speech, everyone was laughing at the prospect of a young Potter at Hogwarts, all accept for McGonagall who was grimacing at the prospect of another prankster.

There was more dancing, a couple more speeches, many kisses and a lot of laughter. It was, all in all, a great evening. Lily and James exited to many wolf-whistles from Sirius and Remus, Rose and Rina slapping their arms to get them to quiet. They went up to their room and enjoyed their first night as a married couple.

April

-Alice's POV-

Alice was so excited about her wedding day. She woke up smiling with anticipation of the day ahead of her. She couldn't wait to marry Frank. She got up and got dressed in some jeans and a tank-top that said 'Sweet and Toxic' and had a picture of a skull with a rose over its eye socket. She'd gotten it at a muggle store while shopping with Lily and Rose one day. She went down to get some breakfast with her friends before the ceremony. Since the ceremony didn't begin until mid-afternoon, she had plenty of time to get ready. The Great Hall wasn't even decorated yet, though she was looking forward to seeing it when it was finished. She had had the same idea for decorating the hall as Lily and Rose; it had worked so well for them and there wasn't much you could do with such a large hall without being ostentatious and gaudy. After breakfast they went for a walk around the grounds.

First all the girls, sans Holly who was still with Regulus in the Great Hall, went to the Black Lake and sat under the beech tree on the bank. They talked for a while before going to visit Hagrid at his hut; they hadn't visited with him in ages, they stopped going regularly last year because of NEWTS and spending time with each other. They all felt a little guilty about not visiting more often, but they couldn't undo it. On the way there, Alice could have sworn she saw a group playing quidditch, but thought that there must be a team practice today and that the students would be in their dormitories before the ceremony began. When they go there, he was out back by his garden patch holding his pink umbrella that held his wand. He looked up when he saw them, smiling under the mass of brown hair that was his beard.

"Oh, 's you lot. Hav'n' seen you'n a while, 'ave I? Fang misses jumpin' on Sirius. So, wht're you lot up ta now? Not breakin' more rules I 'ope."

"Oh, just the usual stuff; mayhem, chaos and pandemonium, except now we're wreaking our havoc on the greater wizarding world. Sorry we haven't visited much. We're horrible friends, we are. We're here for Frank and Alice's wedding. You should come up, we didn't see you at James' and Lily's wedding; nor to mine and Sirius'. We've missed you terribly, you know." Rose said, making Hagrid blush a deep shade of burgundy.

"Well, I ha' work to do, ya kno'. I'll see wha' I can do tho', I'm not makin' yer promises tho'."

"Oh, that's wonderful Hagrid. I hope you can make it, it would mean the world to us." Alice said this, with a smile on her face and kindness in her voice.

"Yeah and, whether or not you can come, Sirius and I will come down later to talk to you and play with Fang. So, we'll see you again no matter what, all right?" Rose assured him.

"All righ'."

"Good, then we'll see you later Hagrid." With that last comment from Rina, they departed for the school to check out the Great Hall really quickly before going upstairs. It was decorated with varying shades and textures of blue fabric hung and draped about the hall, the most prominent being her favorite; sapphire blue. There was some white mixed into the drapery as well, though not as much. The tables, adorned with white tablecloths and candles, had centerpieces with calla lilies interspersed with bits of lavender placed in silver vases. It was absolutely magnificent! The girls then went up to their temporary dorm room to begin getting ready as it was now Noon and the wedding began at 3:00. They got up to their temporary common room where Tammy, Alice's cousin, was waiting along with Holly. Tammy was going to be one of the bride's maids for Alice, she was partnering up with Peter for the occasion. They began getting dressed, Alice was first today. Her dress, white silk, fit her perfectly. It had a floor length skirt and the top half was made of a sturdier material, though not so sturdy as to detract from the overall appearance of fragility that her dress held. The top was a strapless bodice with white embroidery on it. It was laced up in the back with white silk ribbon that trailed down a foot or so. She wore flat white shoes with the same embroidery as her bodice on them. Her hair was pulled up into an elegant bun with a few strands of blonde hair hanging around her face gracefully. Her veil was shoulder length and was draped from her bun.

The other women had on their sapphire blue dresses. They had spaghetti straps attached to the blue silk. The front had a square neckline and the back had cloth covered, blue buttons from the waist to the top of the material which went to mid-back. Their hair was all done up the same way, straightened and left down. She liked the simplicity of it.

Once they were ready, they headed for the great hall. Excitement was coursing through Alice's veins as she walked the all-to-familiar corridors with her arm locked in her father's and her friends trailing behind her as she had done for most of them. They got to the entrance hall and waited for the cue to begin the procession of the wedding party. Her friends began walking in. She turned to her father and gave him a radiant smile that showed him just how happy his little girl was, though not so little anymore. They waited for McGonagall to give them their cue and walked in when the doors opened. She immediately looked to the front where Frank was wearing a content smile upon his face as well. She beamed at him and walked down the aisle with her father. When she got to the front, she let go her father and took Frank' hand.

Dumbledore began the ceremony; "We are here today, as we have been many times this year, to witness a marriage. This marriage, between Frankford Melville Longbottom and Alice Karen Smith, shall begin with their recitation of vows. Alice, if you would begin."

Alice said her vows with a calmness that couldn't quite belie her passion. She had complete conviction and unutterable amounts of love in her voice as she proclaimed every one of her vows to Frank, all the while looking in her loves eyes as though they were alone in the world.

-Frank's POV-

Frank woke up at 11:00 with a hangover that, while not that bad, was still a hangover. He got up and took some potion to relieve his pounding head of pain. Whence he was done, he took a shower and readied himself for the trip to Hogwarts. He was a bit queasy yet, so declined any late breakfast. All the guys left their flat and apparated to Hogwarts around noon. They had a few hours until they had to even begin getting ready. Sirius suggested a quick game of quidditch to be greeted with enthusiasm by all. They split up into teams of three; James, Remus and Peter and Sirius, Frank and Regulus. They each had a keeper, seeker and a chaser. It wasn't too far from an actual game, just lacking beaters; Frank had thought on that with relief, as he didn't want to end up in the hospital wing on his wedding day, Alice would kill him mercilessly.

The game was indeed a short one. James, Remus and Peter won by 150 points. James had beat Sirius to the snitch by about two seconds. They had been tied at 40 points when the snitch was caught. Sirius had tried to do a Wronski Feint, and done it well, but was unsuccessful because James had already seen the snitch elsewhere and didn't fall for it.

They trudged back up to the castle and took turns at the showers. They got dressed and had another twenty minutes until they had to get down to the Great Hall. They played some muggle poker; Sirius called it Texas Hold 'Em, for the short amount of time they had left. When it was 2:30, they made their way downstairs and Frank left the others for the front of the hall. He saw it was full of people; his mother, some professors, Hagrid, some Aurors, and some classmates from Hogwarts and from Auror Training. He walked up to the front and waited for Dumbledore, who arrived shortly and informed him of the ceremonies beginning in about three minute's time. He was looking forward to this with all his heart; no doubts overcame him at any point.

Their friends came in and shortly after came Alice. She looked stunning. She walked up to him, smiling all the while, and took his hand. Dumbledore began the ceremony, and then Alice said her vows. When she was done, he began his own vows. He said them all with a light heart and a complete sense of rightness in his mind telling him that there was no other woman for him on the planet. When he finished his vows, Dumbledore concluded the ceremony.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife in the name of Man, Merlin and Magic. You may now kiss your bride." Frank and Alice shared a short, gentle kiss. "I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Frank Longbottom!"

They left the platform to a lot of cheering and applause. Once the platform was transfigured, they sat down to have some supper before the dancing began. Once finished eating, they danced for a while; they basked in the glory and radiance of their first dance as a married couple. Then there were some speeches, Remus went first.

"I've known Frank and Alice for Merlin knows how many years. They began dating in fourth year, already knowing that they were right for each other. They didn't dither on and on about silly things like the rest of us, they just knew they were right for each other. They've been happy ever since, a happier couple I don't know that I've seen. They work well together in every possible sense. They complete each other in ways that most don't find in a partner. I would like to wish them a lifetime of happiness and love which, I'm sure will come their way. To Frank and Alice!"

They enjoyed a long evening of talking, singing, eating, dancing and drinking. They were rather tired, but hit a second wind around 11:00 when Sirius began break dancing under the influence of firewhisky. They left their reception that evening content with the world.

May

-Rina's POV-

It's my wedding day…I'm getting married…I'm so happy…I can't wait; Rina thought to herself in a sing-song voice. She had a large, elated grin on her face, and nothing could ruin the euphoric mood she was in. She was putting her light, casual robes. It was May 11th and Rina was to marry Remus today. She couldn't wait; the joy inside her was spilling out unable to be contained. They were all at Hogwarts already, even the guys, because they had all spent the day before there talking with Dumbledore about…no, not today; it's my wedding, it can wait, she told herself. She really didn't want to think about the past evening. She moved on to the business of getting some lunch. She didn't believe in that nonsense about 'the couple not seeing each other before the wedding' so she wasn't worried about meeting Remus downstairs for some food. She walked down with her friends, all nearly as excited as herself for the fourth wedding in the past five months.

They got to the Great Hall to be greeted by the guys. She looked around for Remus, but didn't see him.

"Where's…" she began to ask about Remus' whereabouts, but was cut off by James.

"He knew you wouldn't follow the tradition about waiting for the ceremony to see each other, so he stayed in the room and had some food brought up from the kitchens. You see, he was raised as a muggle of sorts so he was brought up to believe in that tradition. I know where you're coming from though, I thought it ridiculous as well but I wasn't going to argue with Lily about something so important to her."

"Yeah, same with Rose," Sirius continued. "I wouldn't have had the foggiest notion about doing that if she hadn't insisted upon it. I still don't really get it." He said the last with a pensive expression on his face.

"He does, however, wish to let you know that he is looking forward to this afternoon with great fervor and cannot wait to see you. He barely kept himself from leaving to see you this morning." Frank concluded.

"Thanks," Rina said with a slight frown. Oh well, she thought to herself, I won't let it get me down. I'll get to spend the rest of my life with him, after all. She smiled again at that thought and went to eat with her friends. Half-way through their meal, the professors came in and began decorating the hall. They hung cloth of different shades of yellow; amber, gold, corn-silk and goldenrod. The hall looked wonderful, everything was done up perfectly. They were then kicked out so the tables could be changed around, but she managed to see the crème colored tablecloths and the centerpieces made of white and yellow roses before leaving.

The entire group walked about for a bit before the guys left to keep Remus company per request of the bride-to-be. The girls all walked about the grounds for about a half hour before having to go and get ready. They walked back up to their temporary common room and waited for Marsha Johansen, one of Rina and Remus' fellow obliviator trainees whom Rina had become good friends with in the past months. She was going to be Peter's partner for the procession in the ceremony. She got their shortly and the girls began dressing.

The maids-of-honor wore silk dresses. They were floor-length and strapless. The dresses were amber and the top half had pale yellow embroidery along the edging of the top. There was a slit on the left that went up to their knees. In the back, there was a faux lace-up of amber ribbon that trailed down about 18". Their hair was put up into buns with a single strand of straight hair hanging down on the left side framing their faces. Each woman also had a small yellow rose placed in their hair behind their right ear. They looked wonderful.

Rina had on a strapless, white dress. The top half, hade of satin, was embroidered with off-white roses on vines. The bottom half, silk, went to the floor and trailed behind her about a foot or so. Her dark red hair was curled ever so loosely and left down dangling at her shoulder blades. She wore a veil that went to her lower back and was attached by magic. It was a plain veil; it had three layers the top-most layer was embroidered along the edges with the same off-white roses on vines. She also adorned the pearls that her recently deceased grandmother had given to her. The earrings, necklace, and bracelet matched her gown beautifully.

Rina heard a knock on the portrait and saw her father waiting.

"It's time, dear. You look lovely." He said upon entering the room.

"Thank you daddy. Let's go, I'm ready now."

They walked down to the entrance hall and the ceremony began. The couples all walked in and Rina awaited her turn. When McGonagall opened the doors she began to cry tears of joy. She walked up the aisle with her father. She saw her brothers; Matthew, Christopher, Michael, Thomas and Joseph. She was the youngest, which made it hard for her; being a girl didn't help either. They had all started teasing her when she began dating Remus, but she had withstood it with ease; after so many years of her brothers she had gotten used to being teased. When they met him, they liked him at once and approved of him for their baby sister. Then they found out he was a werewolf and almost had fits. They'd gotten over it though, after much screaming and yelling and prodding on her part, and had welcomed him back into their good graces. Her brothers were all chummy with Remus now, she suspected it was because they didn't want her screaming again but she didn't care why they were nice so long as they were.

She stopped peering at her brothers and took the next step up the aisle with her father. Her parents had been fairly receptive to her telling them of Remus being a werewolf, not saying anything crude or impolite. They just asked if she was still happy and said that that was all that mattered to them. She looked at her father again and smiled. Her mother was sitting up front, she saw, smiling at her with tears of joy in her eyes as well.

She looked to the front with her next step and spotted Remus for the first time that day. He was standing on the platform with Dumbledore. Both were smiling, but now she saw him she only had eyes for Remus, her Remus. She smiled at him through her tears and he smiled back.

Rina and her father finally made it to the front after what seemed an eternity. Rina took Remus' hand at once, letting go of her father. When she looked into Remus' eyes, she felt pure, unadulterated joy.

-Remus' POV-

Remus woke up and went down to their temporary common room. He didn't even bother getting dressed as he was planning on spending the morning in the common room. He called down to the kitchens for some breakfast and was brought some eggs, toast, pancakes, bacon, sausage, French toast, cereal, porridge, orange juice, coffee and pumpkin juice. In short, it was enough to feed an army; or at least Sirius and James. Speak of the devils; he thought his friends walked down.

Sirius immediately walked over and grabbed some toast, as did James.

"Morning Remus," Sirius greeted in-between bites of toast and gulps of pumpkin juice.

"Morning guys," he greeted back, grabbing his orange juice just as James was about to snag it from the tray. "You can have the coffee," he said at the look on James' face, pointing to the coffee cup also on the tray. "Besides, aren't you guys going down for lunch now?"

"Yeah, but we can't eat on an empty stomach; can we?" James inquired, as though it were obvious. "Can I have your sausage?"

"Go ahead. Hey, tell Rina that I'm looking forward to later and that I can't wait to see her; would you. I'm not going down because I know she'll be there and we can't see each other before the ceremony."

"Why? I still don't get that stupid tradition. What's its purpose, anyway?" Regulus inquired.

"Well, old muggle tradition states that if you see the bride before the wedding you'll have bad luck in your marriage. It goes back centuries; it's believed to be true. It's one of the more prominent muggle superstitions. I was raised muggle, so I'm going to follow it; no matter how silly. Anyway, tell Rina I'll see her later."

"You know what I've concluded about the word 'anyway'? That it's a way of telling people to fuck off." Sirius said this with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"What? What'd you smoke this morning and why didn't you share?" James asked, sounding disbelieving.

"Well, think about it. When you're talking to someone and you get bored with the conversation and are looking for a way out of it, what do you say? You say, as does everyone else looking for an escape route from a bad topic, 'Anyway'." Sirius was now speaking with great fervor and amusement. "And not just in a regular tone of voice, either. It's said with a stressing on the first half, like so… 'Anyway'. Then, if someone's really annoyed, they throw a glance over their shoulder as if looking for a physical way to escape. I find it highly amusing. You might as well say, 'you're annoying, fuck off'."

"You're so weird, Padfoot." James said.

"But seriously, wasn't Moony getting annoyed with us just now? And didn't he sound like he wanted us to go? I know I'm not imagining this. Besides, it's not as if I'm offended, I just find it amusing. Ask the ladies later, I'm sure they'll agree."

"Anyway," Regulus said, joining in the soon to be over conversation just to piss them all off with his last statement. "Let's go eat. We'll send Rina your regards, don't fret. We'll be back up later." On the way out of the portrait hole, Remus overheard the discussion continuing. "I agree with my dear brother, saying 'anyway' in that tone is another way of telling someone to fuck off. It makes perfect sense. I mean…"

When they were gone, Remus finished his breakfast in peace then began to play solitaire, a game his mother had taught him as a child. The guys came back about an hour later, continuing their earlier discussion. It seemed that Frank had sided with Sirius and Regulus while Peter was still neutral, it also seemed as though James was about to be swayed when Remus decided to interrupt their argument.

"So, how was brunch?"

"Oh, it was alright. Rina seemed disappointed you weren't their but she got on well enough." James answered, apparently grateful for a change of subject.

"All right then, we have about two hours until we have to go down to the entrance hall. I vote we play some exploding snap to pass time until we have to get dressed and go." Frank suggested.

"You lot go ahead, I'll watch and see who loses their eyebrows first." Remus declined to play, knowing that it was likely he'd lose some hair if he were to play as he was horrible at the game. The guys proceeded to play several short games of exploding snap, Sirius and Regulus winning them all. They all went up and got ready and went down to the entrance hall twenty minutes before the ceremony was to begin, Remus taking his place at the head of the hall at once.

He waited, and after five minutes or so Dumbledore came in. He said that they would be starting early as everyone was ready. The doors opened and his friends began walking in. The doors closed again temporarily, and when they opened he saw Rina. He was enthralled by the sight of her. She walked up to him, smiling all the while. He returned her smile with ease. She walked up to him, ascended the couple of stairs of the platform and took his right hand. He saw she was crying, tears of joy he hoped, and wiped them away gently with his left thumb.

Dumbledore said the beginning of the ceremony, with a new twist this time. "By now, we should all know why we're here. Remus John Lupin and Sandrine Violette Stone will be reciting their vows post-haste; as I'm sure you're all looking forward to cake. Sandrine, if you would proceed."

Rina recited her vows flawlessly and with a great amount of love in her voice. Remus then recited his vows, also lovingly and without error. Dumbledore concluded the ceremony after that.

"In the name of Man, Merlin and Magic, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride." Remus didn't wait for him to finish his sentence before kissing his new wife passionately. "I give you, Mr. and Mrs. Remus Lupin! Enjoy your cake everyone!"

They stepped down and the platform was transfigured. Remus and Rina attempted to sit down but were stopped by their friends who insisted they dance to their song first. They danced to the song, Heaven Knows by The Grass Roots. When they sat down the speeches began at once, James and Sirius stood up at once. They didn't look surprised that it had happened so Remus assumed they were giving a joint speech.

"We all have good things to say about this couple…" James began.

"But there's not enough time in the day for all their good deeds and their happy story…" Sirius continued, starting the trade off of lines.

"So we'll select certain aspects of their young adulthood to embarrass them with…"

"It all began on a bright, shiny, red train called the Hogwarts Express one fine September day some six or seven years ago. Little Remus and Little Rina were walking into the station, both ridiculously early…"

"…When they ran into each other. Facts are scarce, but from what we've heard Little Remus had just gone through the barrier and had paused to look at the train; a mistake we've all made once or twice. Not two seconds later Little Rina came barreling through the barrier full-boar and sent Little Remus flying…"

"She immediately went to help the poor fellow up, offer him a hand. They got to talking, and spent all their time before their other friends got there talking about how irresponsible we all were and how we'd probably miss the train…"

"They maintained their friendship; though not the best of friends, they didn't shun each other either. When the train ride to seventh year came round, Little Remus had worked up the courage to ask Little Rina to go out with him…"

"Little Rina, of course, said yes…"

"And, as you all know, they lived happily ever after; or so we hope."

"To Remus and Rina!" they shouted simultaneously, raising applause, cheering and agreement form the crowd.

The rest of the evening was spent in joyful frivolity. There was dancing and music, food and drink, talk and fun. Remus and Rina enjoyed themselves to the fullest that evening, enthralled by each others presence. They left their reception looking forward to their first night as a married couple; having thoroughly enjoyed their first afternoon and evening they couldn't help but look forward to many more firsts as a married couple.

June

-Regulus' POV-

It was June, and Regulus was going to be graduating Hogwarts that afternoon. His brother, girlfriend and friends had all come to the school that morning to partake in some graduation day festivities. He would be leaving with them that evening. But that evening wasn't what he was looking forward to, it was the afternoon that interested him. The ceremony had ended a short while ago, not as long as last years because of a lack of interruptions from Sirius. They were done eating as well, but it was only 2:00 in the afternoon. Regulus couldn't wait another moment.

He tapped Holly on the shoulder and took her hand when she turned to him. He led her away from the group and over to a deserted table. They sat down next to each other and he gazed into her eyes. He thought that she already knew what was happening by the look in her eye, but he didn't want there to be any doubt so he knelt down in front of her and pulled a box containing a silver ring with a diamond atop it out of his pocket. He opened the box and held her gaze; she smiled and nodded her head then hugged him tightly. They remained embraced for a while, until Holly pulled back and smiled at him again and kissed his forehead.

He put the ring on her finger, smiling broadly, and they walked back over to the table where their friends sat waiting for them. Holly held up her hand and they all congratulated the newly engaged couple. Holly got a group hug from all the girls while Regulus was almost knocked over by the force of the guys patting him on the back and shoving him good-naturedly. They all sat down once more, now a current of joy and excitement running through their group. They had some more to drink then went up to the castle to retrieve Regulus' belongings from the Head Common Room where he'd left them.

He took one last look about his room from the previous year and walked out hand-in-hand with Holly, Sirius was hovering Regulus' trunk in front of them. They got to Hogsmeade and apparated to their flat, Regulus anxious to get settled in again. They had a busy week ahead; Sirius, Rose, James, Lily, Frank, Alice and Peter were graduating from Auror training on Monday, Rina and Remus were graduating from Obliviator Training on Wednesday, and Holly had her graduation from Healer Training on Thursday. They all went to bed fairly soon as they were going to visit the Potters tomorrow at their manor.

They had a busy week ahead, that was for sure, but they enjoyed a short stint of conversation before finally turning in. Regulus was looking forward to his new life, he wouldn't begin his own training until September and he planned on enjoying his last summer without a job.

A/N: Alright, hope you enjoyed the chapter. The lyrics for Some Kind of Wonderful by Grand Funk Railroad are from the version off of the Sounds of the Seventies: 1975 album. They lyrics for You're the One by The Vogues are from the version off of their Greatest Hits album. I got the wedding vows off of a web-site, i just compiled a mixture of my favorite vows to get the ones in there. I do not own these songs or vows any more than I own Harry Potter, so not at all. Also, I'll not be doing detailed sex scenes, so use your own imagination if you want to picture those. Lots of weddings, I know, but again…it had to be done. It was a small sacrifice for the greater good of the plot, in my opinion. I think it was still passable though. I realized that I made a mistake in an earlier chapter; I put the song Hungry Like The Wolf by Duran Duran in chapter five, but it wasn't written until 1983 and the chapter took place in 1978, I must have read the date wrong, so we'll just pretend that for that chapter it was written in the mid-seventies. Sorry for all the fluff, it was necessary for weddings though. Next chapter shouldn't have as much, but no promises as of yet. The next chapter will be up a lot more quickly…I hope. My sister and dad are going to Sturgis for a week, so it's just my mom and I. I've babbled on enough now. Reviews and suggestions are welcome as always.