Chapter 54- Wedding
Lily sat up in bed on a chilly Saturday morning in late November, and
propped her back up with pillows. She
began to think to herself about the past few weeks. She and James’ relationship had suddenly
become a lot more passionate. They were
so much different than they were back at fourteen.
Every hormone in Lily’s body buzzed around James... he was the only
person that ever made her feel the way she did.
How much longer will kissing
satisfy our relationship? Lily wondered absently. I care about him so much…but we have about seven more months of
schooling left…and that’s not including the schooling James will need to become
an Auror. I wonder what I will do with
my life…will I be a good mother? How will the decisions I make in life right
now shape my life in the future? Will not taking that NEWT Potions class
seriously affect the choices in careers that I have left?
Lily’s many thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. “Good morning,” she called from her bed.
The door swung open, and James stood in his pajamas and a warm
bathrobe. “Good morning, Lil! Have you
looked outside?”
Lily got up quickly and looked out the window. It was snowing very lightly. “The first snow of the season,” James said
with a smile.
Lily opened the window and stuck her hand out, catching a few flakes on
her hand. “I love snow,” she said
softly.
Just then, a rather harried looking Hermia flew with a disgruntled air
through Lily’s window, and stuck out her leg, so Lily could untie the letter.
“Oh, it’s from Petunia,” Lily said contemptuously, noticing the writing
on the cover. “No wonder Hermia’s looking ruffled.”
Hermia flew with a hoot out the window, undoubtedly up to the warm
solace of the Owlery.
Lily, meanwhile, began to open the letter. “It’s an invitation,” Lily announced, “to
Petunia’s wedding.”
*~*
Somewhere in
“Where are all my bridesmaids?!” the blonde horse whinnied
contemptuously.
“Petunia, dear,” Charisse began in her usual calm, silky tone, “we went
over this ten minutes ago. They’re all
dressed in your sister’s bedroom…all we’re waiting for is your sister.”
“Why do we have to hold up the whole bloody wedding for that brat,
anyway? Why did I even
have to invite her?!” Petunia asked in her usual tone, the tone that
meant a tantrum was about to explode.
Charisse obviously scented danger, because her tone became even more
caring and sympathetic, and she replied, “Because she’s your sister, dear. Friends come and go, but family- jus sanguinis, love. Law of the blood. You are related for all of your lives, and
I’ll be damned if my daughters will hate each other while I have anything to
say about it.”
Petunia sulked for a few moments in her frilly white dress, and then
jumped up like she had been burned. “MUM! You didn’t remind me that I can’t sit
down in this!! Oh, no! Now it needs to be steamed!”
Petunia then began to sprint down the hallway towards the bathroom,
hair flying out of the intricate French twist she had had done earlier that
morning, but she didn’t make it all the way to the bathroom before a loud thump
was heard downstairs.
*~*
“Ow, James, get off!” Lily grunted, shoving the ebony-haired boy
face-first into the carpet.
“OW, Lil! That hurt!” James protested.
She smiled at him, “Oh, no it didn’t, stop trying to get pity.”
“How do you know it didn’t hurt?” James asked,
sticking out his bottom lip in protest, and desperately trying not to smile.
Lily laughed, “Just because I know you that well, I suppose.”
James leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss and replied, “Yup, that
you do, I suppose.”
Charisse chose that moment to glide down the stairs in her usual
graceful manner. “Oh, Lily, thank
goodness you’re here! Oh, James! How good of you to come!”
James smiled at Charisse and replied, “Oh, it was my pleasure!”
“IS THAT HER?!” a rather obnoxious voice screamed from upstairs.
“YES! STOP SCREAMING!” Charisse replied. “Lily, dear, come with me, we need to get you
into one of the bridesmaid dresses, and get you ready. James, make yourself
at home, dear.”
Lily looked at James with wide eyes, seeming to convey a message
without words- it was going to be a very, very long day.
*~*
Hayden soon went downstairs, tired of the endless screaming of
Petunia’s high-pitched bridesmaids, and found James sitting on the couch,
looking quite bored.
“Hi there, James.
How’s life?” Hayden asked conversationally.
“Pretty decent,” James replied with a smile. “How about yourself?”
“Ah, well, if Petunia didn’t have such high-pitched friends,” Hayden
paused and lowered his tone to a whisper, “life would be quite a bit better.”
James smirked. “I agree.”
“Are you going to the wedding, James?”
“Yes, I mean, Lily asked me to…”
“Oh, no, that’s not what I meant,” Hayden chuckled as James looked
rather unsurely back at him. “I meant you’re
not exactly dressed for the occasion.”
James looked down at himself, he didn’t see anything wrong with his
appearance, and he was dressed in his best pressed wizards’ robes.
“Come with me, James,” Hayden said, taking pity on the boy. “I’m sure I have something we can fix to fit
you.”
*~*
When both Lily and James were dressed and ready later that morning,
they met downstairs.
The bridesmaid’s dress was, truth be told, rather ugly. Pink.
Lily wrinkled her nose in distaste at the frilly frock, and looked at
James and shook her head hopelessly. “Farrah Fawcett couldn’t make this
thing look good.”
James quirked an eyebrow. “Who?”
Lily smiled. “Never
mind. You look nice, by the way.”
And James did, he was dressed in one of Hayden’s nicer suits, which he
had used a bit of magic to make fit him properly.
“Is everyone ready?” Charisse asked, hurrying down the stairs. “We have to get in the limousine…it’s time to
go to the church!”
“Do you have any idea what you’re doing?” James whispered in Lily’s
ear.
“Nope, missed the rehearsal last night… oh, well, hopefully we didn’t
go over anything important,” Lily whispered back with a smile.
Scooting into the limo, Lily sat next to James, as far away from her
sister and her sister’s idiotic bridesmaids as possible.
*~*
It felt like a lifetime elapsed in that one limo ride, that ride of
endless blonde chatter and sullen stares from Lily, but actually only a few
minutes had passed before they arrived at the church. Petunia got out last, all the bridesmaids,
James, and Lily’s parents exiting before she did. This was, in part, to give her a bit of a
grand entrance, but also because nobody wanted to wait to try to get the dress
through the limo door when nobody was there on the other side to help pull her
out. Lily smirked as her parents each
took one of Petunia’s arms to help pull her dress through the door. Petunia just had to get the dress with the most layers of tulle that the shop
permitted in one of their wedding dresses.
It was a beautiful dress, but Petunia would probably be knocking people
over all night with her dress alone.
All of Lily’s party gathered in the back of the church, trying to calm
Petunia down before the big event- she had just realized that her perfect
French twist, was, well, no longer perfect.
“Lily, dear, we’re one short on escorts,” Charisse said, out of breath
at the back of the church.
“Oh, that’s okay, mum, you really didn’t need me to be a bridesmaid
anyway, I can just sit this wedding out. They’ll be others,” Lily said with a hopeful
smile.
“Don’t be silly, you’re her sister. You’ll simply have to go down
solo.”
“Alone?! What?!” Lily asked in outrage. She couldn’t believe her luck, she was forced
to come to her sister’s wedding, stuffed into the most ugly dress she’d ever seen
that was one size too small- so she couldn’t breathe, and she now she was
expected to go down the bloody aisle alone!
“Don’t be silly, Mrs. Evans,” James intervened. “I could escort Lily.”
Charisse smiled. “Oh, would you, James? That would be absolutely
wonderful, thank you!”
Lily smiled at James after Charisse had left, and said softly, “Thank
you.”
“You’re welcome, Lil.”
*~*
The actual wedding was something of a blur for both James and Lily; all
that they could remember was walking down that aisle together. Lily felt something that day, almost
familiarity. It wasn’t totally familiar,
but it was a feeling telling Lily that the situation she was in- walking down
that aisle- would definitely be happening again. But she would be dressed in a much more
flattering color, of course. To James,
Lily just felt right on his arm like this, this was what he had been missing
for the past two years or so that they had been fighting. Life just hadn’t been the same without her,
and he was so glad and grateful to have her back.
As with most big events, it is really the after-party that is the fun
part. All the stress over with, and the
fun finally begins. So was the case for James and Lily.
Sitting at the high table with Petunia,
“James, will you dance with me?” Lily asked softly as the opening
chords played through the speakers.
“Of course,” he replied, taking her hand, and leading her out to the
dance floor.
When
you’re down and troubled,
And
you need some loving care,
And
nothing, nothing is going right
Close
your eyes and think of me
And
soon I will be there
To
brighten up even your darkest night
Lily began to hum along, swaying in rhythm with James. Their eyes met, and Lily smiled.
You
just call out my name
And
you know, wherever I am,
I’ll
come running
To
see you again
Winter,
spring, summer or fall,
All
you have to do is call
And
I’ll be there
You’ve
got a friend.
“This song came out when I first started Hogwarts,” Lily whispered
gently in James’ ear. “It’s one of my
favorites.”
If
the sky above you
Grows
dark
And
full of clouds
And
that old north wind begins to blow
Keep
your head together
And
call my name out loud
Soon
you’ll hear me knocking
At
your door
James smiled down at Lily with the cheesy smile that meant he was going
to say something, well, cheesy.
“I’d pound your door down if you needed help, Lil.”
Lily chuckled softly and rolled her eyes in response.
You
just call out my name
And
you know, wherever I am,
I’ll
come running
To
see you again
Winter,
spring, summer or fall,
All
you have to do is call
And
I’ll be there
You’ve
got a friend.
James caressed her hand with his, and smiled broadly down at the
redhead in his arms. When had everything changed? When did I stop
living for pranks…and living for her?
Ain’t
it good to know
That
you’ve got a friend
When
people can be so cold
They’ll
hurt you, yes,
And
desert you
And
take your soul if you let them
But
don’t you let them…
Lily gave an involuntary glance up at the High Table where Petunia and
You
just call out my name,
And
you know, wherever I am,
I’ll
come running
To
see you again
Winter,
spring, summer or fall,
All
you have to do is call
And
I’ll be there
You’ve
got a friend…”
(“You’ve
Got a Friend”, Carole King, “Tapestry” Album, 1971)
Lily’s eyes were closed and her head nestled on James’ shoulder when
the song ended, her left hand holding his, and her right around his shoulder,
she was totally comfortable.
The next song was fast paced, though, so James gently led her off the
dance floor.
Lily looked very tired from today, so James asked if she would like to
go outside and talk a little. (The
endless toasts and kissing of Petunia and
She nodded gratefully, and they went out to the courtyard in the back
of the reception hall.
*~*
C’mon, James, you can do this, a
reassuring voice in the back of his head chimed in.
One of her delicate hands was held in his as he led her outside, to a
bench in the middle of a gorgeous courtyard.
The courtyard was in full bloom, odd for the season, but it was, nonetheless.
As the courtyard had a tent set up above it (in case the weather turned sour,
which was not unusual for this season), lilies and various other slightly
exotic flowers were set in vases all around.
“I’ll be right back, okay, Lil?” James asked quickly, sitting her down
on a bench.
She nodded her very confused assent, and he ran off.
*~*
Five minutes later, James returned with one of the most beautiful
bouquets she had seen. A single,
gorgeous lily stood proudly in the center, surrounded by one white rose, one
red, two pink, and thirteen yellow.
“Is there a method to this madness, James? Or were the red, white, and
pink bushes just not particularly flowering this time of year?” Lily smirked
softly.
James blushed, but replied, “No, they were, and yes, there is a method
to my madness. There is even a purpose.”
“Well…what is the purpose?” Lily asked impatiently.
“I can’t tell you that.”
“Why?”
“Shush, Lil, you’re ruining a potentially great moment to remember.”
“What?”
“Never mind. Okay, the roses.”
Lily knew he was trying to sidetrack her, but she allowed him to do so
because she wanted to know what the roses meant anyway.
“The yellow, thirteen of them, are for the years I didn’t know you…I
regret not getting to know the amazing person that you are sooner, so I chose
yellow. I don’t particularly like yellow.”
Lily nodded and smiled in response.
“The one red is for the year we dated in fourth year, and how amazing
it was.”
Lily eyes seemed to glaze and she nodded.
“The two pink are for the years we were apart. You and I both don’t like pink…I think that
sums that up.”
Lily smiled and looked down at herself in Petunia’s bloody bridesmaid
dress….gods; it was truly the ugliest thing she had ever seen.
James took a deep breath to steady himself, and set the vase to the
side, taking out the lily and the white rose.
“Lily, this lily obviously symbolizes you. Not only by name, but look at it…it was the
most proud of the bunch. There were ones
cut longer that would have stood out more, but this one attracted me just the
way you did. You’re not overly full of
yourself, you’re gorgeous but you don’t flaunt it and you certainly don’t spend
all your time in front of a mirror. This
lily is so like you, and I could not resist putting it in.”
James laid it gently across Lily’s lap, and moved forward.
“The white rose, it’s youthful, and hasn’t gotten close to maturity
yet. It is just a bud, beginning to
open. This rose, symbolizes my hope for
our lives in the future. I believe that
a future together is the only right thing to do, because I love you more than
anything. This will sound sappy; Lil,
but I adore you, everything about you. I
hope that you feel the same way.”
Lily just nodded, and tried to stand up and kiss him through her happy
tears which were freely flowing now, but James just shook his head, subtly
telling her to sit back down…he wasn’t quite done yet. Lily did so in obedience, and looked up at
him in confusion…what could be left to say?
How little Lily knew.
James smiled. “What I’m trying
to say is, is that our life together has always been a given, if you asked
anyone. I hope that what I’m about to do
can be fully appreciated by you, and understood as well-thought-out.”
Lily’s eyes widened, and her tears increased. She was catching on.
James got down on one knee and pulled out a blue velvet box from the
pocket of his tux. “Lily, I’ve been
carrying this around for an age, trying to find the opportune moment. How you looked tonight, that song…it all
convinced me. Tonight was the night. I
will always be there for you, and you will never want for anything. I promise to give you a life full of love for
as long as I’m alive…and longer. Lily,
if there is anything you ever do for me, let it be this. Will you marry me?”
Lily’s broad smile and pouring tears were enough of an answer. She wrapped her arms around his neck in a
crushing hug, and withdrew to examine the blue velvet box, still sitting
innocently in James’ hand.
She opened it, and found a ring and a necklace inside. A necklace? Well, that’s
not in the traditional down-on-one-knee-super-surprise proposal thing…or maybe
I just missed that chapter of the handbook. Lily smirked and giggled
slightly at the thought. Why am I
thinking like this? This is supposed to be the happiest moment of my life, but
I can’t stop giggling!
She looked down at the box and took it into her own hands, pulling out
the ring to read the inscription on the inside.
It was a very shiny silver color, with a single princess cut diamond…just
the way she liked it. Simple and gorgeous. The inscription read, Lily and James – Now to the End of Time.
She smiled at the familiar inscription, remembering something very
similar on the scrapbook they had given to her parents for Christmas in fourth
year.
“It’s wizard platinum,” he said softly. “It will never scratch or dent. It can
survive water and basically any weather, so can the diamond. This ring could last anything, just like our
relationship.”
Lily smiled at how cheesy that sounded, but just how true it was.
“James, what is the necklace for?”
James smiled. “That necklace is much more of an engagement ring than
the actual ring is, Lily. This necklace,
an original cameo necklace from the 1920s, was one of my mother’s. It was her most prized piece of jewelry, and
it was one of her things that I just could not throw away. I want you to have it.”
Lily cried even more at this small speech, and examined the cameo
carefully. Normally she did not like
gold, but there was something about this necklace that drew her to it. The
seeming smile of the woman carved on shell enticed her, as the simple way the
cameo was framed, with a gold design, and strung on a small braided gold chain…it
was a treasure. A treasure Lily would
never lose.
“Would you put it on me?” she said softly. The ring lay forgotten in the box during
this, Lily could tell that this necklace meant so much more than doing this the
orthodox way.
“Of course,” James responded with a smile, though his eyes were glazing
over as well with unshed tears. Lily
pulled her hair to the side and James fastened the clasp securely.
She stood up to face him. “James,”
she said with a smile, “I don’t know what the future has in store, but I’m glad
that you’re a part of it.”
He captured her in a hug, and then kissed her softly. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
Finally remembering one important detail, James broke the hug, and got
the engagement ring out of the box.
Facing her, he asked softly, “May I put it on you?”
“Of course,” she said softly through her tears.
James slid the ring on her right hand. “It’s a perfect fit, Lily, just
like you.”
She smiled at him again and gave him a light kiss on the lips. Their scene was interrupted, however, by Lily’s
parents coming out the back door to the reception hall and into the
courtyard. “Ah,” Charisse said softly to
James and Lily, “I see Hayden and I aren’t the only ones with this idea.”
James and Lily smiled and shook their heads.
“Lily, darling, where did you get that stunning necklace?” Charisse
asked softly.
Lily’s hand flew up to it to run it between her fingers- her right
hand.
Hayden’s eyes widened, “Never mind the necklace, where did
you get that ring? Is that what I think it is?”
James stepped up to the question and replied, “Yes, sir…I just proposed
to Lily. She has accepted.”
Charisse smiled and her eyes glazed over and she ran to the two to
crush both of them in a huge hug. “Hayden,
it looks like we’ll be buying another wedding!”
Hayden smiled weakly at the trio, but thought briefly of how much
Petunia’s wedding had cost, and felt himself getting a bit light-headed.
“Don’t be silly, you two. We’ll
just be having a wedding that we can pay for ourselves. My parents left me a
lot of money, money that I intend to pay for any type of wedding Lily chooses,”
James said softly.
Hayden breathed a sigh of relief, “Oh, I always liked you better than
*~*
B/A/N- to be continued…more on engagement plans, life at Hogwarts…and
an update on all your favorite couples!