James And Lily Forever

James stood nervously in a tent, adjusting his suit and trying in vain to smooth down his hair. This was it. His wedding day. He'd never been so scared in his life. A large silver mirror stood before him, quietly pointing out his faults.

"Your suit isn't straight," it murmured squeakily. James frowned and twisted it round. Glancing up again, he saw as Sirius, Peter and Remus enter, all grinning at him in the mirror. He smiled back and turned shakily.

"You alright, Prongs?" Remus asked, warmly clapping him on the shoulder.

"Yeah," James squeaked. He quickly said it again gruffly. The others laughed.

"So this is it," Sirius said.

"The big one," Remus reminded him.

"The ultimate decision," Peter grinned.

Sirius took him by the shoulders. "The final plunge."

James frowned at them, twisting away. "Thanks guys."

They grinned at him and all pulled out their wands, stepping to the mirror.

"Aedifico Crocotula!" Sirius cried, and his robes became black and silken. Remus and Peter repeated the spell on their own robes, to the same affect. James looked at them nervously.

"Is everything ok?"

"Yep," Sirius said proudly, "All sorted and perfect and organised and anything else it'll take for me to say to make you stop panicking."

James grinned. "And have you checked on Lily? Is she alright?"

"Yeah. She's really beautiful. Oh, but her father's in there now telling her it's never too late to change her mind," Remus said. James looked up, scandalised.

"What?!"

His friends laughed at him. James paused, and then realised. He scowled at them.

"You know, I really don't appreciate that you guys," he muttered. Peter grinned at him.

"So let's hear these vows you bailed out of you own stag night to write."

James took the folded parchment nervously out of his pockets. Sirius grabbed it from him and glanced at it, shocked.

"Three pagess?!" he cried, stuffing it back into James' hand.

"... Yeah..." James said slowly.

"You don't think that's a bit long?" Remus asked carefully.

"Yeah," Sirius said, raising his eyebrows pointedly. "You want to make it as quick as you can so she has as little time as possible to realise she's marrying an idiot."

"Don't tease him, Sirius!" Peter said, holding back a smile.

"Yeah, Sirius," Remus grinned, "Lilly already knows he's an idiot. I think she finds it endearing."

James sighed, trying not to laugh, and affectionately bode them, "Shut up!"

"You're hair's sticking back up!" the mirror cried. "I think it has a problem with gravity."

James spun around. "Shut up!" he wailed at it.

Peter came forward. "Your mirror seems to have a bit of an attitude problem," he observed. James let out a wail and flung his head onto Peter's shoulders tragically.

"Why is Lilly marrying me?! Seriously, why? She must be insane, what the hell is she thinking?!"

"We've been asking ourselves the same thing," Sirius said. Remus hit him in the stomach and walked forward, taking James decisively by the shoulders and giving him a small shake.

"She was thinking," he said, "that maybe this funny, loving, kind, affectionate guy actually loves me as much as I love him, and would make a great husband and father."

"Not that any of us are in a rush to have any mini Potters running round," grinned Sirius.

Peter smiled at James. "And if she does get sick of you, you two can just get divorced. Simple!"

The marauders laughed. "Yeah!" James cried, suddenly reassured.

"Oh," Remus said. "Before we forget."

Peter dashed out of the tent at a nod from Sirius. He came back in, levitating a large elaborate mirror in front of him.

"The Mirror of Erised," Sirius announced grandly. Peter placed it down in front of the other mirror.

"Eh?" James asked, frowning slightly.

"Look in it," Remus said.

"I hope it's more agreeable than the mirror behind it," Sirius smiled at him.

Slightly nervous and more than a bit confused, James slowly stepped forwards and stood before the mirror.

"I don't get it," he said after a moment of gazing at himself.

"What don't you get?" Peter asked in surprise.

"It's just me, just my reflection... it's not telling me what's wrong with me or whatever I guess... is that all it's meant to do?"

The others did not respond, but all exchanged knowing glances. Each of them knew that there was nothing James wanted at that moment than to be stood there about to marry Lilly. They smiled and decided to let James figure that out for himself.

Sirius glanced at his watch. "About time we should be going. Come on, James. You ready?"

James stood there nervously, smoothing down his hair and looking around.

"This is it," he muttered.

"This is it," Remus said, putting an arm around James comfortingly.

"This is it," Peter said, walking to the flap of the tent, beside Sirius. Remus steered James to the others, and then stopped. They all looked expectantly at James.

Sirius gave him an encouraging smile. "This is it."

James closed his eyes, breathed in deeply, and stepped out of the tent.

"Let's do this."

It was a cool autumn evening, and the sun was sinking slowly in the sky, leaving streaks of soft pinks and oranges in the sky. A few traces of stars could be seen higher where the sky was morphing into a subtle velvet blue. The altar further up the field was just in front of a long, wide stream, which quietly sang as it trickled over the pebbles and stones. Crickets chirped happily in the grass and birds hid away in their trees and bushes, whispering tunefully to their mates. James walked forwards towards the altar, flanked by the marauders. They made their way through the aisle in the white garden chairs that Dumbledore had charmed for them, until they reached the altar. It was tall and white, adorned with pink roses, white lilies, and bluebells. The sweet scent of them filled the air. The priest smiled and nodded at James whilst Remus and Peter wished him luck and took their seats. Sirius took his best friend's shoulder bracingly.

"It'll be fine."

James nodded, unable to speak. He turned to look at the guests. Professor McGonagall gave him a small wave and Dumbledore gave a grin and winked. James smiled weakly and turned back to Sirius, who took James' hand and thrust something into it.

"You forgot these."

James looked down. His vows. He nodded.

"Thanks."

Sirius nodded in reply.

Just then, Mrs. Evans came running out of the second tent and came down the aisle quickly. Stopping, she murmured into James' ear,

"She's about to come out. You look after my darling, James. I couldn't have asked for a better man for her."

James nodded dumbly and Mrs. Evans slipped into her seat, tears sparkling in her eyes. From nowhere, music came slipping through the air, smooth and gentle. Everybody turned to the tent expectantly. James gulped and Sirius took hold of his shoulder bracingly.

The white flap of the tent fluttered teasingly for a moment, when at last, Lily emerged. James' heart skipped a beat and he put his hand to it subconsciously. Lily was radiant. Her long white dress wrapped around her slim body perfectly, showing off her curves. The sweeping neckline remained modest and the dress sparkled slightly, as though somebody had scattered a casket of stars over her. As she realised everybody was looking at her, a soft blush adorned her features and she swept a long strand of red hair out of her face. The wreath of small white flowers that crowned her waved their petals as a teasing breeze swept her hair back into her face. Lily gave an embarrassed smile to James, and her green eyes locked onto his brown ones. They sparkled with happiness.

Holding a bouquet of flowers to match the ones on the altar, Lily took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment. Exhaling slowly, she opened her eyes again. James believed it was the most beautiful sight in the world. He smiled at her. Smiling back, Lily finally took her first step forwards, emeralds never leaving tiger stones. As she made her way up the aisle, her dress sweeping the grass gently, everyone's gaze followed her. Murmurs were caught on the wind, and floated to James with the music.

"You look beautiful!"

"I'm so proud of you, Lily."

"You and James... always knew it!"

James grinned at Lily. She smiled and bit her lip slightly, a nervous habit James had come to know and love.

At last she reached the altar. She and James gazed at each other for a moment. They were all the other knew, and were all the more blissful for it.

"You... you look... you're amazing," James murmured. Lily grinned at him.

"You mean I look amazing?" she corrected him softly.

"No." He smiled and took her hand. "You are just... you're amazing."

Lily let out a half sob of emotion, and squeezed his hand back, their fingers entwining. At last, they tore their gaze from one another and turned to the priest.

"Are we ready to begin?" he asked, smiling down at them. James and Lily glanced at each other again, smiled and then turned back to the priest. Wordlessly, they nodded.

Throughout the sermon, Lily and James cast sidelong glances at each other. Occasionally, their eyes would meet and they'd smile. Two lovers sharing a secret that no matter how many people they told, no one would ever truly know but them.

The priest turned to James.

"You have written your own vows?"

"Yeah... I mean, err... I have. Yeah," James stumbled. Lily turned to him, surprised.

"Oh, James!" she whispered. He smiled at her, and letting go of her hand, he fumbled around in the pockets of his jacket before finally finding the one with the parchment. Lily giggled at him.

Sirius sighed. "I should have kept a hold of them, eh?" The congregation gave a small laugh before settling back into silence. James unfolded the paper noisily whilst everyone waited in, an expectant hush resting over them. James' eyes scanned the parchment up and down, frowning slightly. Lily inclined her head to the side and raised her eyebrows. She put her hand gently on his arm.

"James?" she said softly. James looked up. Her sparkling green eyes soothed him, and he relaxed.

"Lily, I spent all of last night writing these vows for you. It's just like... no matter what I said, or how I phrased it, I just wasn't saying enough. I ended up writing three sides of parchment. Probably longer than any essay I ever wrote while I was in school." Everybody laughed again. "It says around abouts what I want it to, but it's just so... so much." James screwed up the parchment and dropped it to the floor, taking Lily's hands in his own. Sirius quickly relieved her of her flowers so James could hold her properly. "The vows I wrote are going on about how you make me feel and what I want for us because of how much you mean to me. Probably why its so long really, cos there's just not enough paper in the world for me to write it down. We'd all suffocate of lack of trees before I'd gotten it all down on parchment. So I guess... all that I really want to say, is that I'm completely in love with you, and have been for as long as I can remember. And my promise to you, cos what I've said cant really be counted as vows I guess, is that... I always will. I love you Lily. More than anything."

Lily's eyes glistened as tears welled up inside them throughout his speech. She couldn't speak for a moment, and just looked into his dark eyes, trying to form comprehensible words in her head.

"And yourself Lily?" the priest asked, smiling down at the young couple from the altar.

Unable to look away from James, Lily said, "I.. I didn't know we were writing our own."

"Would you like me to read the set ones?" he asked, taking up the bible quickly and flicking through it, but Lily quickly shook her head.

"No. I'll manage." She smiled at James. "I..."

James ran a hand through his hair, trying to smooth it down. Lily brought up an arm and grabbed his wrist quickly.

"I love you James. Just the way you are." She brought his arm back down and he grinned at her. "Don't ever try to change yourself, because I couldn't love you any more if I tried. Do you remember when you were injured playing quidditch last year?" James nodded. "I hated you then. I hated you because I loved you so much that it hurt. But, that's just the way love makes you feel, I guess, and I'm glad that I'm so lucky as to experience it. With you. And... and I promise you that I will always love you, because just the same as I couldn't possibly love you any more, I know that I could never love you any less. You are perfect to me."

She sobbed the last sentence, and James gently wiped her tears away with his finger. Bringing up her hand, Lily held his hand to her face gently. James blinked back his own tears, and taking her hand in his, they both turned back to the priest. He smiled at them, quickly wiping his eyes.

"If anyone knows any just cause why you may not be lawfully joined together in matrimony, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

The crickets continued to chirp and the birds sang while the stream bubbled merrily before them, but no one spoke up.

"This is it," Lily said, looking ahead and biting her lip.

"This is it," James replied. He gave her hand a squeeze, and they both looked at each other.

"The rings?" the priest inquired. Sirius and Remus got to their feet. Reaching into his robes, Remus handed Lily a golden ring. It was plain with a simple inscription inside it.

Sirius handed James a plain silver ring, much smaller to fit Lily's slim finger. On it was a simple diamond, and on the inside was a similar inscription.

Turning, they each slipped the rings onto their loved ones finger.

Lily exhaled, half laughing, and James became suddenly aware of how beautiful she was. Both stood restlessly, excited, only holding the other loosely by the fingertips.

"By the power vested in me..."

James and Lily fell into each other, almost simultaneously. They kissed passionately, the excited buzzing feeling of their first ever kiss flooding them, making them want each other all the more.

The priest laughed with the congregation. "I hereby pronounce you husband and wife".

James and Lily came apart, surprised to see the congregation standing, laughing and applauding. They looked at the priest, grinning embarrassedly.

"You may kiss the bride," he said with mirth.

Lily and James turned to each other once more, smiling. Lily bit her lip and James laughed. Grinning, they leant in on one another slowly and their lips brushed gently.

The guests began to cheer loudly, applauding and laughing. Lily and James laughed out of sheer happiness.

"Oh my god, James!" Lily squealed, turning to him.

"We're married!" James cried.

"We're married!" Lily laughed.

"We're married!" they both shouted out to their guests. The marauders and Lily's parents were dashing forwards, Mrs. Evans crying happily.

"Oh, Lily sweetheart!... James! That was beautiful! I'm so proud of you!"

"I don't believe my little girl's all grown up!" Mr. Evans said, hugging his tearful daughter. He shook James' hand fatherly.

"Kiss for the best man!" Sirius cried, hugging Lily tightly. She laughed and kissed him on the cheek, whilst he kissed her on the other. Remus came pushing through.

"Well done, Lilly! Not many would go through that with Prongs!" he laughed.

"Leave him alone!" Lily laughed, giving Remus a kiss too.

Sirius saw Peter's arm reaching through the mass of people, and managed to pull him through.

"Congratulations, Lily!" Peter squealed excitedly.

Lily grinned at him. "Thanks, Peter!" Sirius grabbed her by the waist and spun her round into James' arms, then peered over their heads.

"Pictures!" he cried.

Remus, Sirius and Peter leapt into several shots, and the Evans' strode in and out of several.

A while later, when everyone had calmed down a little, Mrs. Evans turned to James.

"So, with the exception of what you and Lily are wearing, is this usually what wizard weddings are like?" she asked, her eyes shinning with curiosity. A large red firework shot up into the night sky, exploding above their heads. Each spark turned into another firework, each a different colour, and exploded loudly. At last, they stopped multiplying and the sparks fell, turning into bubbles and glitter as they drifted to the ground. Behind the altar, Remus let off another one, whilst Sirius and Peter wrestled, laughing. Peter slipped into the stream and shrieked.

"Yeah," James said grinning, "Pretty much."

James and Lily got up at last, and began to dance, slowly rotating, pressed into each other warmly.

"James! Lily!" Sirius cried, rushing over with Remus and (a very wet, cold and shivering), Peter.

The newly weds stopped and turned. "Yeah?" James asked, smiling.

Peter looked up, accidentally flicking water onto Lily.

"Ooh! Sorry, Lily! Accident!" he gasped. Lily grinned.

"Don't worry. And I wont ask."

Sirius pulled their hands apart and waved their left hands in the air proudly, as though he had created them.

"You two checked out you inscriptions yet?" he asked slyly. Remus grinned behind him, and Peter sneezed.

"... Inscriptions?" Lily asked, surprised. Curious, James eased the rings off of their fingers and passed Lily hers.

"James and Lily forever?"

Sirius beamed.

"Consider it our present to you," Remus grinned. Peter nodded, shivering.

Lily and James glanced at each other. Sirius looked appalled.

"Don't you remember? All through Hogwarts, it's what James infuriated us with."

"All the time," Remus added.

"Oh my god, they're right!" Lily cried. "You wrote it on notes and then levitated them into my bag and onto my desk during lessons! Oh it was annoying!"

"And he wrote it on tables."

"On homework."

"On books."

"On clothes."

"He spelt it out with enlargened chess pieces once across Griffindor common room once!"

"Enough!" James cried, laughing. "I guess I've always just had a gift for telling the future, eh?"

Lily hit him and the group of friends laughed.

"Thanks so much you guys, it's really really sweet!" Lily said gratefully, slipping her ring back on and admiring it. James nodded in agreement.

Just then, Mr. Evans strode up to the group. He glanced at Peter.

"I wont ask."

Peter shrugged, sighing. Grinning, Sirius and Remus took sips from their glasses of champagne. Mr. Evans turned to James.

"So, James. Now Lily is your responsibility... look after her."

"Will do, sir!" James smiled and turned to Lily. "Not to worry." Lily grinned.

"Well when you set off on your honeymoon tonight, I daresay it's inevitable that you're going to want to deflower her."

Sirius sprayed out a mouthful of champagne in shock, and then doubled over with laughter. Remus began to choke on his drink, spluttering and gasping, clutching onto Peter's sleeve. Peter merely stood dumbfounded, a small smile beginning to form.

"Dad!" Lily cried, mortified, whilst James stood staring at Mr. Evans, a blank expression of shocked panic on his face.

"Too late, sir!" Peter piped up, causing Sirius to laugh all the harder.

"Peter!" Lily wailed.

Remus at last spat out his champagne, and breathed heavily, trying to calm himself. Struggling to walk, Sirius made his way over to James, and clutched onto him to prevent himself from falling. He looked up into James' startled face, laughing so hard that sound was beyond him.

James mouthed wordlessly for a moment before finally being able to form comprehendible words.

"N... no, sir! No! O... of course not, I-I would never dream of... err... of disrespecting her like that... I, um... no! I..."

"Oh shut up, James," Mr. Evans said, unable to hold back a smile. James shut up immediately. "It's ok, I was just going to say that Lily's my baby, and I love her to bits. And if it really honestly has to be anyone... I'm glad it's you."

"Thank you, sir, but really, I mean it... I would never..."

"You can stop, James," Mr. Evans sighed.

"Oh god thank you!" James gushed with relief.

Lily smiled at him, biting her lip.

"Thanks, dad."

Mr. Evans nodded, then looked down at Sirius, a cross between concern and curiosity on his face. Sirius lifted his head again, his face wet with tears. Between laughs, he managed to gasp,

"I cant... breathe.... Help me... help!... it hurts!.... Stitch in my side!... oh my god, help... it hurts!"

Remus grinned and came forward, closely followed by Peter. They took Sirius by the arms and helped him up. James adjusted his collar as Sirius finally released his sleeve. Winking at James and Lily, Remus and Peter walked across the field after Mr. Evans, struggling with the hysterical Sirius, who kept wailing, "Stitch!" in between gasps.

James and Lily laughed. A chill wind blew and Lily shivered. James led her over to the chairs and sat down, pulling her onto his lap. She smiled and he wrapped his arms comfortably around her.

"James," she murmured.

"Yeah?"

"... We're married."

James paused. "I know... Mrs. Potter."

Lily looked at him. "I guess I could get used to that," she smiled. "Husband."

"Wife."

They looked at each other for a moment, and James leant forwards and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

"Lily and James forever," he whispered to her. Lily smiled and closed her eyes, resting her head on his. James lay his head on her chest. They both smiled to themselves. Lily and James forever.