Ch. 28 Wedding Bells

Lily sat in front of the large vanity in the bride's room of the chapel. Alice stood behind her, doing Lily's hair. She used her wand to pull pieces out and place them where they were supposed to go and curled several pieces to frame Lily's face. Alice was Lily's Maid-Of-Honor.

"How does it look?" Alice asked, grinning proudly at her work. Lily's eyes clouded with tears. Alice's face fell. "You don't like it? Oh, Lil, I'm so sorry. I'll fix it, what do you not like?" Alice asked frantically, picking up her wand again.

Lily laughed. "No, Ally, it's perfect. It couldn't be more beautiful."

"Then why are you crying?" Alice asked, bending down so that she and Lily were face to face.

Lily sighed. "I'm frightened, Alice. I know it sounds silly, but this is just such a big thing. It's scary and wonderful and nerve-wracking and exciting and tense and thrilling. I don't know which emotion to feel." Lily tried to smile, but ended up crying a bit more.

"Lily, darling," Alice said, "don't cry. It's your wedding day. You're supposed to be happy."

"Oh, I am! Alice, I am happy. I'm so happy I don't know what to do with myself. I love James very much, you know that. It's just such a rush of emotion." Lily smiled, trying to make her friend understand. "And, I love my hair." Alice giggled.

"Now, let's get you into some makeup, eh?"


James paced around the room in the back of the chapel where he and the groomsmen were getting ready. "Bloody hell, Sirius. Quit pacing around the room. You're making me nervous." Sirius only grinned.

"I've been sitting here for the last five minutes, James. You're the one who's pacing like a caged tiger."

"Well, cut it out," James replied, shortly.

"Personally," Sirius said, "I don't know what you're worried about. You and Lily belong together." James grinned.

A knock sounded at the door. "Come in," Sirius called.

Arabella Figg entered the room. "There's five minutes until the ceremony starts," she announced. Bella was serving as Lily's other bridesmaid, along with Dorcas Meadows, a Ravenclaw who had been a year below Lily and James at Hogwarts and with whom Lily had shared a nice friendship.

"Thanks," Sirius said, glancing out of the corner of his eye at James, who had turned a terrible shade of gray. He was too stiff to even move.

Arabella nodded and left.

"It's time to go," Sirius said. Remus, who had been sitting in the back, quietly reading, stood and took one of James' arms. Sirius grabbed his other arm, and they lifted James off the ground, carrying him into the chapel.


Eventually, James managed to get to the end of the aisle, though he was still oddly pale. Sirius, Remus, and Peter stood next to him, all serving as groomsmen, with Sirius as Best Man.

The bridesmaids walked down the aisle in their pale lavender dresses, Alice in the lead. Everyone in the church stood as "The Wedding March" began to play.

When Lily entered the church, there was a collective intake of breath. The only way to describe her appearance was ethereal in every way. The train of her pure white dress billowed behind her, sewn perfectly by Emily. Lily's bouquet was made up of white and lavender carnations and roses. Her green eyes were shimmering with tears of joy behind her veil as she walked slowly towards James. Lily was unaccompanied as she walked down the aisle. No one, she had decided, was good enough or special enough to take her father's place and to give her away.

When Lily appeared, James' doubts and worries all seemed to disappear. His pale face regained color, his heart ceased its pounding, and he remembered why he was doing this to himself. His heart was filled with that ultimate sort of love that is only found when a person is near his or her sole mate.

Lily took a deep breath as she reached the end of the aisle. It was all down hill from that point on; with James standing next to her, Lily was convinced that nothing about the rest of the day could be less than perfect. James took her hand, bringing it softly to his lips and kissing the back of her palm. They turned together to face the ministry official who was to wed them.

They had decided months earlier to write their own wedding vows.

"I, James David Potter, take you, Lily Patricia Evans, to be my lawfully wedded wife. I will support and hold you through all of the hard and easy things. I swear never to raise a hand or wand against you. I swear that I will never stop loving you until my dying day. You are my soul. You hold my heart."

"I, Lily Patricia Evans, take you, James David Potter, to be my lawfully wedded husband. I will stand dutifully at your side as your wife and as your partner. I will be faithful to you in everything I do, not only as your wife, but also as you friend and companion. I stand next to you, as your equal in everything, ready to support you when you fall and knowing that you will be there to catch me if I do. I will always be yours to have, to hold, and to love."

Sirius presented the rings, grinning. James took Lily's ring in his hand. It was a small and dainty band with their names and the date engraved around it. His hand was trembling as he held hers.

"With this ring, I thee wed," he said, gazing into her eyes, his own burning with intensity. Lily took James' ring. His was the same as hers, but slightly larger.

"With this ring, I thee wed," she said, her voice barely above a whisper because of the intensity of the passion she felt radiating from her husband.

"By the powers…" Lily and James were lost solely in each other as the official spoke. Their eyes never moved from one another until James finally heard the words "You may kiss the bride." James lifted her veil with one shaking hand, wrapping his other around the small of her back. Lily placed her arms around his neck, and they shared a gentle kiss, tender and warm.


The wedding reception was held in the beautiful gardens of Potter Manor. Lily and James Potter sat, holding hands, in the center of the head table as their friends toasted them and wished them well. Sirius's toast as Best Man had gone surprisingly well. He had wished his best friends happiness in the best, least vulgar way he knew how. He had decided to sing a song.

"Did you ever know that you're my hero?
and everything I would like to be?
I can fly higher than an eagle,
for you are the wind beneath my wings.

Did I ever tell you you're my hero?
You're everything, everything I wish I could be.
Oh, and I, I could fly higher than an eagle,
for you are the wind beneath my wings,
'cause you are the wind beneath my wings.

Oh, the wind beneath my wings.
You, you, you, you are the wind beneath my wings.
Fly, fly, fly away. You let me fly so high.
Oh, you, you, you, the wind beneath my wings.
Oh, you, you, you, the wind beneath my wings.

Fly, fly, fly high against the sky,
so high I almost touch the sky.
Thank you, thank you,
thank God for you, the wind beneath my wings.
"

Everyone toasted and clapped, laughing their heads off at the fact that, oddly enough, Sirius had a decent singing voice.

Emily now stood, gently tapping her spoon against her champagne glass. "If everyone will quiet down as Mr. And Mrs. James Potter share their first dance together as husband and wife" A soft tune began to play and James took his wife's hand, leading her onto the dance floor as a soft song began to play.

"Oh, my love
my darling
I've hungered for your touch
a long lonely time
and time goes by so slowly
and time can do so much
are you still mine?"

James and Lily revolved slowly on the dance floor, gazing into one another's eyes. Lily's began to mist slightly out of passion, love, happiness, and a sheer overload of emotion. James moved one hand slowly up from the small of her back to cup the back of her neck, gently tilting her head for a soft kiss.

"I need your love
I need your love
Godspeed your love to me
"

Lily lay her head against James chest as they danced, slowly revolving and swaying to the time of the music. James held her tightly, almost possessively, resting his chin atop her head, his eyes closed. He could almost feel the beating of her heart against his chest.

"Lonely rivers flow to the sea,
to the sea
to the open arms of the sea
lonely rivers sigh 'wait for me, wait for me'
I'll be coming home wait for me

Oh, my love
my darling
I've hungered for your touch
a long lonely time
and time goes by so slowly
and time can do so much
are you still mine?
I need your love
I need your love
Godspeed your love to me
"

The music faded out, but Lily and James remained together, barely even noticing that the music had stopped. Another slow song began to play and other couples joined them on the dance floor. Lily and James did not leave their own, private world with each other. They stayed close, savoring one another, dancing for the first time as husband and wife.

A while later, Lily was dancing with one of Fabian Prewitt's nephews, an adorable little boy named Bill. He giggled almost nonstop as the bride led him in dance. At the end of the song, James stepped up to the microphone.

"If everyone will quiet down for a minute," he said, his eyes focused only on Lily, who stared back at him with his own love and admiration reflected in her eyes. "I would like, with the help of my friends Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Peter Petigrew, to present one of my wedding gifts to my bride. This is to you, Lilyflower, for the people who couldn't be here today."

Remus, Sirius, and Peter pulled microphones out from backstage and Remus sat down at the piano, adjusting the height of the microphone. Then, they began to sing, barbershop quartet style.

"You are my sunshine

My only sunshine.

You make me happy

When skies are gray

You'll never know dear

How much I love you

Please don't take my sunshine away.

The other night dear

As I lay sleeping

I dreamed that you were in my arms

As I awoke dear

I was mistaken

And I hung my head and cried

You are my sunshine

My only sunshine

You make me happy

When skies are gray

You'll never know dear

How much I love you

Please don't take my sunshine away.

I'll always love you
And make you happy
If you will only say the same
But if you leave me
To love another
You'll regret it all some day;

You are my sunshine,
My only sunshine.
You make me happy
When skies are grey.
You'll never know, dear,
How much I love you.
Please don't take my sunshine away.

You are my sunshine,
My only sunshine.
You make me happy
When skies are grey.
You'll never know, dear,
How much I love you.
Please don't take my sunshine away.

Please don't take my sunshine away

Please don't take my sunshine away."

Happy tears were streaming down Lily's face as they finished their song. Of course, they weren't the very best singers of all time, but the thought was what counted to her. She couldn't believed that James had remembered the significance of that song to her. It had been months and months since she had told him about.


Flashback


"When I was little, my dad used to sing to me. He always sang the same song. 'You are my Sunshine.' I used to love falling asleep to the sound of his voice." Lily was sitting in his lap on their armchair in front of the fire. James gently threaded his fingers through her hair. They were both groggy, close to falling asleep, but not wanting to leave each other for the night.

"That's sweet," James murmured. He started to hum softly. Lily closed her eyes, listening to the familiar tune.

"Sing it for me?" she asked, looking sleepily up at her boyfriend. James smiled and began to sing softly. She fell asleep soon after in his arms.


End of Flashback


Lily walked up to her husband as they finished their song. James stepped off the stage, and Lily immediately drew him into a soft kiss.

"Thank you," she said, breaking away. "Thank you for bringing them here." James nodded, cradling her against his chest and resting his chin on top of her head.


The ceremony, though beautiful and very fun, had been exhausting. Alice, happy beyond belief that she had been the one to catch Lily's bouquet, had gotten extremely drunk; she had been detailing every embarrassing story about herself and Lily that she could think of. That alone would have been enough to make Lily completely exhausted. On top of Alice's rambling, she had also danced more than she had ever danced in her life, eaten way too much, drunk just enough to give herself a more than slight buzz, and kept Sirius away from the bridesmaids. Lily was exhausted.

She expected that she and James would be staying at Potter Manor for a while before moving out and finding their own home. She had also expected to spend her wedding night with him in some foreign location, perhaps. He had been very mysterious about plans for after the wedding. He had told her, only, that she would be surprised and that she would love it.

"Time to pack," James announced, walking into the kitchen. Lily was standing behind Emily, trying to convince the older witch to let her help with the clean up.

"What kind of weather am I packing for, exactly?" Lily asked mischievously.

"That," James replied, walking over to her, "is a surprise." He leaned down, kissing her lightly on the nose. Lily giggled. "In fact, I think that I'll pack for you, just to be certain you don't figure out our location." James waved his wand several times and a few suitcases appeared on the kitchen table.

"There," he said. "We're packed and ready to go." He kissed his mother on the cheek and grabbed his wife's hand. "We're apparating, so just hold onto me; I'll guide you."

Lily nodded, wrapping her arms around his waist. James quickly sent the suitcases ahead. He pulled Lily closer, hugging her tightly against him as he turned, bringing them to their secret destination.

When Lily opened her eyes, she was surprised to see that they were in an ordinary house. She stood in the living room, admiring the simple, but beautiful furnishings.

"Where are we?" she asked, looking at James.

"We are in a small town just outside of London called Godric's Hollow," James replied.

"Is it a bed and breakfast of some sort?" Lily asked, now very curious and anxious to pry some answers out of her new husband.

"No."

"Then what are we doing here?"

James grinned, spreading his arms out. "Welcome to your new home, Mrs. Potter."

Lily stared at him in simple confusion. He couldn't- no, wouldn't- have bought a house without her. There was absolutely no way.

"What on Earth are you talking about?" she asked, staring at James as if he had lost his mind.

"This house is ours, Lilyflower," James replied, taking a few steps and closing the small distance between them. "I bought it with the money I got from Mom and Dad as a graduation present."

Lily was struck dumb. A house? All their own? She stared up into James' handsome hazel eyes. He nodded slowly, answering her unspoken question. The house was theirs. Lily grinned slowly, then, taking him completely by surprise, Lily squealed, launching herself into his arms and kissing him very passionately.

"So," James asked, breathless as they broke apart, "What do you want to do tonight?"

Lily grinned. "Which way to the bedroom?" James grinned back, picking her up bridal style. He carried her to their bedroom. It, like the rest of the house, was already furnished in a simple, home-y style. Lily loved it.

James gently set his wife on the bed, his eyes blazing as he looked down at her. He joined her after a moment, pulling her close and kissing her hard. They made love for the very first time together in their new home. They knew not, at that time, what things would befall them in the future. For that night, they simply concentrated on one another, giving in fully to the love and passion they had withheld for the past months.


A/N: Well, that's that. This is the final chapter of Lilyflower. For the continuation of this story, please look out for it's sequel Thrice. I hope everyone has enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it! Please stick with me through the next story. I love every one of my readers!

Please R&R. I don't care if you just write "This story sux. I hate it." or if you say "This is cute. I like it." (I prefer the second one, but w/e) Please review!

Love from

Lyny Angell