Chapter 2-

"Thank you Professor!" Sirius grinned again, "I must say I enjoyed that speech very much… nice to know you do have a fun side after all," the guests laughed a hearty, wedding laugh, which echoed around the golden tent, "In all Sirius-ness Professor McGonagall was a huge part of our education at Hogwarts, and I would like to say a huge thank you to her, Professor Dumbledore and Professor Slughorn for making it here today."

The wedding guests all clapped, and there was a shout of, "First serious things you've ever said in your life Padfoot!" from Remus.

"Now, my story takes us forward several years to the fateful day on which Lily finally realised that the hatred for Jamie she had always felt wasn't hatred but urr… love? Yeah…" Sirius looked sceptically at his notes, "Yeah… anyway, so, if I remember rightly, it was the day of a Hogsmede visit in our seventh year…"

…

"Stop pining, Prongs," Sirius prodded his best friend hard in the shoulder with his wand, "Get up, get dressed, and turn that frown upside-down, its HOGSMEDE DAY!"

"How do you know I'm frowning?" said a muffled voice from under James' pillow, "You can't see my face."

"And I'm sure if I could, the gloom would kill me on the spot," Sirius resumed his prodding of James, "We can go to see Madam Rosmerta… and go to Zonko's to stock up on dungbombs."

James removed his face from under his pillow, to reveal a large frown. He put on his glasses, cleared his throat and said pompously, "I'm Head Boy now Padfoot, I'm far too mature and responsible to engage in such frivolous affairs as buying dungbombs."

"You didn't say that last weekend when we snuck out of school to buy them… you're only saying this because your precious Lily flower will be able to see your pattern of expenditure if you go to Zonko's today," Sirius grinned at him, "Now get dressed at least, if I stare at your glorious, half naked body for any longer, I will have to have a very long, cold shower."

"Ha-ha," James grabbed a shirt and jumper from his trunk, "you're such a witty fellow Padfoot."

"Well I do try," Sirius replied.

"Why are you two being weird?" Peter piped up from his bed next to James'.

"It's sarcasm, Wormy," said James, clearly it was common for their friend not to understand their conversations, "We've told you before."

"I'm not stupid, you know," Peter said grumpily.

"Of course not," Sirius said patronisingly, "You're a fucking genius, mate."

At that moment, Remus Lupin stuck his head through the door, "Ah, good, James, you've stopped moping. Just to let you know that Lily has already gone to Hogsmede with Richard Bradley, so the coast is clear for you to leave without shame."

"I have no shame, only pride," James grinned sadly, "Ugh. Richard Bradley's a smarmy idiot. Why does she prefer him to me?"

"Because, my friend, she is secretly in love with you, but can't admit it to herself yet, and so is making up for it by going out with that idiot," said Sirius.

"Really?" James asked hopefully.

"No, you dick," Sirius slapped him around the head, "She has no feelings for you, but clearly likes him, so you need to get your sorry arse out of bed."

"I'm already out of bed," James grinned.

"Don't trample on my point."

"Now that you two lovers have stopped your quarrel, can we go?" Remus asked, "It's starting to snow and I want to get to Hogsmede in this lifetime please."

The four friends put on their Gryffindor scarves and winter cloaks over their muggle jeans and jumpers. They traipsed through the common room, but not before they could gloat to the first and second years that were stuck behind in the Gryffindor tower, too young to be given to privilege of a Hogsmede visit. The walk down the driveway was bitterly cold, with the blistering wind making their faces so raw that they were forced to use their scarves at a shield and sacrifice their sight. When they finally arrived in Hogsmede, they headed straight for the Three Broomsticks to see Sirius' favourite barmaid, Madam Rosmerta.

"Afternoon boys," she smiled broadly at them, "the usual I presume?"

"Of course," Sirius grinned his most winning smile at her, "We'll be in that booth over there," he pointed to the corner, and turned with a wink.

"Is all the flirting strictly necessary, Padfoot?" Remus asked in despair.

"Well, if it gets me a free Butterbeer, always," Sirius replied.

"Also, you must remember that it's Padfoot's life dream to, get behind the bar with her, if you know what I mean," James winked at his best friend, and the four of them began to laugh whole heartedly. Suddenly, James stopped laughing. His attention turned to the entrance to the pub, through which Lily had just exited, alone.

"Where's Bradley?" James whispered to Remus, "I thought you said she was here with him?"

"She said she was?" he whispered back, "I saw them leaving together… she didn't look to happy does she?"

He was right. Lily's face had been red and blotchy, looked as though she had been crying. Richard Bradley suddenly appeared from a booth on the other side of the pub, and burst through the door after her. All of a sudden, James stood up and ran out of the door after them.

…

"… and that was the moment when I realised that James so-called love was more than a crush, that he genuinely cared about Lily, even more than he cared about me," Sirius laughed, "But I'll never forget what happened next…."

"How could you never forget what happened, Padfoot?" James said quickly, "You weren't even there!"

"Well you've told me the story enough times," Sirius retorted, "I might as well have been there!"

…

Once James had left the pub, the cold hit his face again. He wrapped his face in his scarf, and pulled his Invisibility cloak from his pocket, before proceeding with following Bradley down the street, both of them in pursuit of Lily Evans. The odd trio were the only people on the main street of Hogwarts, as the cold had driven all of the other shoppers indoors. James followed Bradley down the street, past Dervish and Banges.

"Stop following me, Richard!" Lily called at him.

"I just want to explain!" Richard sped up to walk in line with her, but she quickened her step. The snow was falling thicker, and there was now a full coat on the road and on the roofs of the ever thinning houses. Lily stopped next to a stile gate to catch her breath.

"There's nothing you can say to me," Lily said, her teeth chattering in the cold, "Just FUCK OFF."

"Calm down, Lils," Richard had caught up to her now, but James kept his distance, not wanting to be heard, "I didn't mean anything by it-"

"-so why did you say it then?" Lily shouted at him, pushing him away from her, "Why in the name of Merlin's fucking saggy left testicle were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that a really like you," Richard leered at her, moving in as though he was going to kiss her, "And when two people really like each other they… you know."

"I'm not like that Richard!" Lily cried, he put his hands around her waist, and she screamed and tried to push him off, "Get off me!"

"Come on Lils," he said, "You know you want me-"

But he never finished his sentence, as a jet of red light issued from nowhere, and hit him squarely in the chest, knocking him out cold. Lily screamed again, as James pulled his invisibility cloak off himself.

"James!" Lily shouted, as he ran towards her, slipping slightly on the snow, "Where the fuck did you come from?"

"Under my cloak," he grinned at her.

"Why were you following me?" she asked him, but she didn't sound angry, more relieved.

"You looked upset, and I don't trust that bastard after what he did to Peters little sister at my parent's Christmas party," James replied, moving closer to her, "But the main reason, is that I love you, Lily, ever since third year… and I couldn't bear to think of you with anyone else, especially not a smarmy git like him."

And just like that, she kissed him, and he kissed her back. They were there for hours, or maybe it was seconds or years, before they broke apart. Richard Bradley remained unconscious at their feet. Their hands were numb and blue from the snow, but neither one cared. Lily's teeth were chattering more than ever, and her entire tiny frame had begun to shake from the cold. James removed his cloak, and wrapped it around her. The cold bit him like a snake, but he didn't care. This was the happiest moment of his life. Together, he and Lily carried Bradley back towards Hogsmede village, leaving him on the porch on the Hog's Head bar.

…

"… and then the two of them returned to the Three Broomsticks, each with a grin as big as the other's, and sat at our booth," Sirius finished, "And the rest, as the most clichéd of us would say, is history. So, if it wasn't for the smarmy git Richard Bradley, we might not be here today! But don't go thinking that that was the last of my James and Lily stories," he continued, "I thought I'd start on a high, and make my way to the lows, and there are a lot of lows," there was a resounding laugh from the guests, "But before that, how about a kiss from the happy couple."

Both James and Lily stood up and kissed Sirius loudly on the cheek.

"Not exactly what I was going for," Sirius grinned, "But appreciated none the less… now, how about the moment when James realised he loved Lily…." the guests cheered as Sirius launched into his next tale.

Personally I prefer this chapter to the last, but as always, you guys are the true judges, so tell me what you think!

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