Games2011 ♥ FIC: That One Perfect Day [PG]
Title: That One Perfect Day
Author: pencil_gal
Team: DOE
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 2,451 words
Warnings: N/A
Prompt:
Summary: Lily and James' wedding day.
That One Perfect Day
Lily Evans (soon-to-be Potter) stood in her old bedroom in her parents' house, looking at herself in the mirror. She almost didn't recognise herself in the white, lace-covered gown with the small white flowers studded in her hair. Or maybe it was the smile she was wearing.
It had been a long time since Lily had felt this happy, not since they had all begun fighting this war. James and she had been hesitant to even continue with the wedding ceremony considering the dark days they were currently living in. But it had been Dumbledore himself who had finally convinced them. Lily could still clearly remember the Professor's words to her, “In these uncertain times, my dear Miss Evans, we all need something to celebrate. We all need a little happiness in our lives, you and Mr Potter especially. So if the two of you want to get married, then you should most certainly celebrate it.”
Dumbledore had been right, of course. There had been little to celebrate within the Order lately, the last had been Frank and Alice's wedding, and even that had been over a year ago now. Perhaps it was a little bit selfish of her, but Lily wanted to have her one day of happiness. And so, three months after her conversation with Dumbledore, here Lily stood on her wedding day, in a beautiful dress, only an hour away from becoming Mrs Lily Potter.
“Lily dear,” she heard her mother call up the stairs, “are you almost ready? We shall have to leave soon, if we're going to arrive on time. You don't want to be late to your own wedding, you know.” Lily could hear her father chuckling at her mother's words. No doubt Petunia and that annoying, priggish husband of hers were shuffling around downstairs, looking sour as always.
“I'm coming now, Mum,” Lily replied, poking her head out the door.
She turned back around to pick up her bouquet from the bed, before glancing at the mirror once more. This was the last time she would see herself as Lily Evans. The next time she saw her reflection it would be Lily Potter staring back at her.
She smiled at the thought.
***
Lily glanced out the car window and smiled as she saw that it was beginning to snow. Just when she thought the day couldn't be any more perfect, this made it so. With a happy sigh, Lily relaxed back into her seat and let her thoughts drift as her parents spoke quietly to each other in the front seat of the car.
They were having the wedding at a small wizarding hotel owned by a friend of the Potter family. Lily knew that Order members had been travelling to it all week, laying more and more protection enchantments on and around it. No safety measures had been spared, Dumbledore's orders. He had even insisted on everyone travelling by Muggle means to the hotel so that no one would be able to track them there magically. It was only going to be a small wedding though, only Lily's family, James' family, and everyone in the Order that could make it (a few were currently out on missions and so it would be too dangerous for them to return), and so all the extra precautions that had been taken should be more than enough to keep everyone safe. At least, Lily hoped so anyway - if Voldemort or the Deatheaters were to attack it would be her parents, Petunia and Vernon that would be most at risk with no way to protect themselves.
Lily ran her fingertips across her dress and tried to turn her mind back onto happier thoughts. Voldemort didn't deserve to have even a second of her time today. As she traced her finger around the lace embroidery, Lily chuckled lightly as she remembered what her friends' reactions had been when she told them that she planned to wear a Muggle dress. They had thought she was crazy and had tried to convince her to go for more traditional wedding robes.
Of course, Lily herself had originally planned to wear wedding robes. She had even taken her mum along with her to Madam Malkin's to try some on. Her mum had been enthusiastic about it, but after they had left Diagon Alley and were heading home through Muggle London, they had happened to pass by a bridal shop. And Lily had seen the wistfulness in her mum's eyes as she glanced at the dress in the window. It was at that moment that Lily had changed her mind, and decided to opt for a Muggle gown for her wedding.
It had only then occurred to her that her parents might see her marriage as Lily slipping even further away from them. It wasn't that they didn't like James, in fact her mum and dad absolutely adored him. But by marrying a wizard, it was cementing Lily in a world that her parents would never be able to completely understand. Lily knew they would never say anything to her about it, but she was sure that on some level they did feel this way. And so Lily had wanted to show them that she hadn't forgotten who she was. She might be a witch, but she had spent the first half of her life as a Muggle and that was her heritage. Lily would never be able to give up the Muggle world completely, and she wanted to give her parents that reassurance. Even if it was through something as minor as wearing a Muggle wedding dress.
Lily knew she had made the right decision as soon as she saw her mum's eyes brighten at Lily's suggestion that they should go into the store and have a look at their selection of gowns.
Her mum turned around and pulled Lily out of her thoughts. “We're almost there,” she said. “How do you feel?”
“Nervous,” Lily replied. “Excited.” Her mum smiled softly at her and Lily grinned back. “But mostly I just feel happy.”
***
Lily was right. The ceremony had been perfect. And beautiful. And everything she had always dreamt of having when she was younger.
She sighed happily as she swayed in James' arms on the dance floor. The only dark spot in Lily's happiness at that moment was the knowledge that she wouldn't be able to have as much time alone with her new husband as she would have liked. James was due to leave on an Order mission the day after tomorrow, which was why they weren't able to have a proper honeymoon. Not that Lily really minded, she knew that there was no possible way for them to have a honeymoon with the war on. It would have been nice though if they'd been able to have more than two days as man and wife before one of them had to leave on a mission again. But despite that, she was determined not to let it spoil her day. Today and tomorrow with James were going to be as happy as Lily could possibly make them (to make up for the worry and the fear and the anxiety that she knew would come after).
From her position on the dance floor Lily could see her parents dancing together a little ways off. I hope James and I are still as happy together in another twenty-five years as they are, she thought. She could also see Petunia and Vernon still sitting down at their table, looking vaguely uneasy among all the witches and wizards. Lily could see Petunia tapping her feet to the music, and though she knew her sister would never admit it to anyone, Lily also knew that her sister wanted to dance. “James,” she murmured, “could you steer me towards my parents for a second?”
James nodded and together they danced over to Mr and Mrs Evans. “Hey Dad,” Lily began, “I think you should suggest to Vernon that he ask Petunia to dance.” She gestured to the couple and Mr and Mrs Evans immediately saw what their daughter had as well.
Mr Evans tapped his nose and said, “Leave it to me sweetie.”
Lily covertly watched as her father approached Vernon, and then, a few moments after her dad had moved away again, Petunia and Vernon made their way onto the dance floor. Happy that her work was done Lily and James moved away to their own spot again.
Lily was about to lay her head back down on James' shoulder when she felt him nodding to someone behind her. She glanced back and saw Sirius disappearing into the hotel. “Where's Sirius going?” she asked. Lily then added suspiciously, “He's not planning a prank, is he?”
“I doubt it,” James replied. He could see that Lily wasn't reassured so he added jokingly, “He wouldn't be willing to risk your anger.”
Before Lily had any more time to think about it, James twirled her around and dipped her, making her laugh loudly. “I love you Lily Potter,” he stated as he pulled her back up.
She placed a hand against his cheek. “And I love you James Potter.”
***
The hotel had an unbelievably early check-out time. And as much as Lily would have liked to continue sleeping in the car ride back to her parents' house (they needed to return the car that her dad had left so they could get home), she knew that James couldn't drive. She asked him to poke her any time it looked like she was getting too drowsy, so that she wouldn't fall asleep at the wheel and kill them both. All this time fighting Voldemort and then to die in a car crash. That would just be sheer stupidity on their part.
Of course, Lily was already regretting that she had asked as James had already poked her in the arm five times, and they'd only been driving for ten minutes. “Do it again,” she snapped, “and you lose that finger Potter.”
“Hey, you're the one that asked for it, Potter,” James replied with a smirk.
Lily's irritation immediately evaporated and she glanced at her husband with a smile. Her husband. She was officially Lily Potter now.
The rest of the drive was spent in an easy, contented silence. Lily, though she knew a lot more about cars and driving than James, still wasn't the best of drivers and so needed to keep her concentration on the road. Meanwhile James kept himself occupied by fiddling with the radio and heater knobs. James glanced over at his wife as they approached Mr and Mrs Evans' house. “Is it alright if we don't hang around too long?” he asked. “I've got a surprise for you at home, and honestly I'd just like to be alone with my wife, if that's okay with you Mrs Potter.”
“Oooh, a surprise!” Lily grinned. “I like the sound of that.” She pulled into her parents' driveway and parked the car before looking over at James. “We'll just pop in for a quick cup of tea, then we can go home.”
“Perfect.” James leaned over to give Lily a quick kiss, and then jumped out of the car into the cool, winter air.
After the cup of tea and quick chat about the wedding, Lily and James were ready to get home. With a quick Apparation, they were almost there. Lily couldn't stop thinking about what her surprise might be. The best surprise would be if James didn't have to leave tomorrow, but she doubted that would happen. She wrapped her arms around James, trying to absorb some of his warmth, as they walked through the small village of Godric's Hollow. “So can I hear more about this surprise?” Lily asked.
James chuckled. “We are literally only a few steps away from the house. I know you can wait that long, Lily dear.”
As they walked into the house, James stepped behind Lily and placed his hands over her eyes. Lily smiled as James began to lead her, blindfolded, towards the back of the house. “I know you really wanted to have a honeymoon,” James began, “and I know you really wanted to go somewhere lovely and warm and sunny.”
At this Lily tried to protest. James just laughed and continued, “Don't try to deny it. I saw the brochures for Greece and Australia that you thought were safely hidden under the bed.”
Lily let out a huff of indignation but didn't comment.
James' voice turned slightly serious. “I'm sorry we couldn't have the honeymoon you wanted, or even a proper honeymoon at all. So I decided to get you the next best thing.” He removed one hand from her eyes in order to open the back door. Lily would have tried to sneak a peek then but James had shifted his other hand so that it covered both her eyes. He knew her too well. They stepped out onto the back verandah and James said, “Ready?”
“Just show me already James.” She was starting to get a little bit impatient.
James chuckled and finally took his hands away from her eyes. Lily blinked, thinking she was imagining things, and then, when she was sure that she wasn't, all she could do was stare at the backyard in wonder. Where there should have been snow, there was sand. And there were deep blues waves lapping against the shore, a few metres in front of her. And above Lily's head, where there should have been winter clouds heavy with snow, all she could see was the sun and a bright blue sky.
“I figured, if we can't go to the beach,” James commented from behind her, “then I'll just bring the beach to us.”
Lily was still trying to take it all in. “How did you do this?” she breathed. Then it all started to click into place for her. “Wait. Sirius...” Lily turned back around to James.
He nodded. “This is where he disappeared to last night during the party. I sent him back here to fix it all up for us. The spell only lasts for twenty-four hours, so I say we get swimming. Care to join me?”
Lily wrapped her arms around James' neck and kissed him long and hard. “Thank you,” she said as she pulled back slightly.
James winked. “Love you too.”
Please take a quick minute to rate this fic! Results will be secret, and contribute to the overall performance of Team Doe or Team Stag in the Lily/James Games 2011. Only community members can vote; but joining the community is open to all and will only take a quick minute!
For your vote to count, you must fill out BOTH parts of the poll. The first will rate the author's utilisation of the prompt. The second rates your overall enjoyment of the story. Please use only integers when rating the submission. For further information about voting, please see this post.
Poll Lily/James Games 2011 - That One Perfect Day
Author: pencil_gal
Team: DOE
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 2,451 words
Warnings: N/A
Prompt:
Summary: Lily and James' wedding day.
That One Perfect Day
Lily Evans (soon-to-be Potter) stood in her old bedroom in her parents' house, looking at herself in the mirror. She almost didn't recognise herself in the white, lace-covered gown with the small white flowers studded in her hair. Or maybe it was the smile she was wearing.
It had been a long time since Lily had felt this happy, not since they had all begun fighting this war. James and she had been hesitant to even continue with the wedding ceremony considering the dark days they were currently living in. But it had been Dumbledore himself who had finally convinced them. Lily could still clearly remember the Professor's words to her, “In these uncertain times, my dear Miss Evans, we all need something to celebrate. We all need a little happiness in our lives, you and Mr Potter especially. So if the two of you want to get married, then you should most certainly celebrate it.”
Dumbledore had been right, of course. There had been little to celebrate within the Order lately, the last had been Frank and Alice's wedding, and even that had been over a year ago now. Perhaps it was a little bit selfish of her, but Lily wanted to have her one day of happiness. And so, three months after her conversation with Dumbledore, here Lily stood on her wedding day, in a beautiful dress, only an hour away from becoming Mrs Lily Potter.
“Lily dear,” she heard her mother call up the stairs, “are you almost ready? We shall have to leave soon, if we're going to arrive on time. You don't want to be late to your own wedding, you know.” Lily could hear her father chuckling at her mother's words. No doubt Petunia and that annoying, priggish husband of hers were shuffling around downstairs, looking sour as always.
“I'm coming now, Mum,” Lily replied, poking her head out the door.
She turned back around to pick up her bouquet from the bed, before glancing at the mirror once more. This was the last time she would see herself as Lily Evans. The next time she saw her reflection it would be Lily Potter staring back at her.
She smiled at the thought.
***
Lily glanced out the car window and smiled as she saw that it was beginning to snow. Just when she thought the day couldn't be any more perfect, this made it so. With a happy sigh, Lily relaxed back into her seat and let her thoughts drift as her parents spoke quietly to each other in the front seat of the car.
They were having the wedding at a small wizarding hotel owned by a friend of the Potter family. Lily knew that Order members had been travelling to it all week, laying more and more protection enchantments on and around it. No safety measures had been spared, Dumbledore's orders. He had even insisted on everyone travelling by Muggle means to the hotel so that no one would be able to track them there magically. It was only going to be a small wedding though, only Lily's family, James' family, and everyone in the Order that could make it (a few were currently out on missions and so it would be too dangerous for them to return), and so all the extra precautions that had been taken should be more than enough to keep everyone safe. At least, Lily hoped so anyway - if Voldemort or the Deatheaters were to attack it would be her parents, Petunia and Vernon that would be most at risk with no way to protect themselves.
Lily ran her fingertips across her dress and tried to turn her mind back onto happier thoughts. Voldemort didn't deserve to have even a second of her time today. As she traced her finger around the lace embroidery, Lily chuckled lightly as she remembered what her friends' reactions had been when she told them that she planned to wear a Muggle dress. They had thought she was crazy and had tried to convince her to go for more traditional wedding robes.
Of course, Lily herself had originally planned to wear wedding robes. She had even taken her mum along with her to Madam Malkin's to try some on. Her mum had been enthusiastic about it, but after they had left Diagon Alley and were heading home through Muggle London, they had happened to pass by a bridal shop. And Lily had seen the wistfulness in her mum's eyes as she glanced at the dress in the window. It was at that moment that Lily had changed her mind, and decided to opt for a Muggle gown for her wedding.
It had only then occurred to her that her parents might see her marriage as Lily slipping even further away from them. It wasn't that they didn't like James, in fact her mum and dad absolutely adored him. But by marrying a wizard, it was cementing Lily in a world that her parents would never be able to completely understand. Lily knew they would never say anything to her about it, but she was sure that on some level they did feel this way. And so Lily had wanted to show them that she hadn't forgotten who she was. She might be a witch, but she had spent the first half of her life as a Muggle and that was her heritage. Lily would never be able to give up the Muggle world completely, and she wanted to give her parents that reassurance. Even if it was through something as minor as wearing a Muggle wedding dress.
Lily knew she had made the right decision as soon as she saw her mum's eyes brighten at Lily's suggestion that they should go into the store and have a look at their selection of gowns.
Her mum turned around and pulled Lily out of her thoughts. “We're almost there,” she said. “How do you feel?”
“Nervous,” Lily replied. “Excited.” Her mum smiled softly at her and Lily grinned back. “But mostly I just feel happy.”
***
Lily was right. The ceremony had been perfect. And beautiful. And everything she had always dreamt of having when she was younger.
She sighed happily as she swayed in James' arms on the dance floor. The only dark spot in Lily's happiness at that moment was the knowledge that she wouldn't be able to have as much time alone with her new husband as she would have liked. James was due to leave on an Order mission the day after tomorrow, which was why they weren't able to have a proper honeymoon. Not that Lily really minded, she knew that there was no possible way for them to have a honeymoon with the war on. It would have been nice though if they'd been able to have more than two days as man and wife before one of them had to leave on a mission again. But despite that, she was determined not to let it spoil her day. Today and tomorrow with James were going to be as happy as Lily could possibly make them (to make up for the worry and the fear and the anxiety that she knew would come after).
From her position on the dance floor Lily could see her parents dancing together a little ways off. I hope James and I are still as happy together in another twenty-five years as they are, she thought. She could also see Petunia and Vernon still sitting down at their table, looking vaguely uneasy among all the witches and wizards. Lily could see Petunia tapping her feet to the music, and though she knew her sister would never admit it to anyone, Lily also knew that her sister wanted to dance. “James,” she murmured, “could you steer me towards my parents for a second?”
James nodded and together they danced over to Mr and Mrs Evans. “Hey Dad,” Lily began, “I think you should suggest to Vernon that he ask Petunia to dance.” She gestured to the couple and Mr and Mrs Evans immediately saw what their daughter had as well.
Mr Evans tapped his nose and said, “Leave it to me sweetie.”
Lily covertly watched as her father approached Vernon, and then, a few moments after her dad had moved away again, Petunia and Vernon made their way onto the dance floor. Happy that her work was done Lily and James moved away to their own spot again.
Lily was about to lay her head back down on James' shoulder when she felt him nodding to someone behind her. She glanced back and saw Sirius disappearing into the hotel. “Where's Sirius going?” she asked. Lily then added suspiciously, “He's not planning a prank, is he?”
“I doubt it,” James replied. He could see that Lily wasn't reassured so he added jokingly, “He wouldn't be willing to risk your anger.”
Before Lily had any more time to think about it, James twirled her around and dipped her, making her laugh loudly. “I love you Lily Potter,” he stated as he pulled her back up.
She placed a hand against his cheek. “And I love you James Potter.”
***
The hotel had an unbelievably early check-out time. And as much as Lily would have liked to continue sleeping in the car ride back to her parents' house (they needed to return the car that her dad had left so they could get home), she knew that James couldn't drive. She asked him to poke her any time it looked like she was getting too drowsy, so that she wouldn't fall asleep at the wheel and kill them both. All this time fighting Voldemort and then to die in a car crash. That would just be sheer stupidity on their part.
Of course, Lily was already regretting that she had asked as James had already poked her in the arm five times, and they'd only been driving for ten minutes. “Do it again,” she snapped, “and you lose that finger Potter.”
“Hey, you're the one that asked for it, Potter,” James replied with a smirk.
Lily's irritation immediately evaporated and she glanced at her husband with a smile. Her husband. She was officially Lily Potter now.
The rest of the drive was spent in an easy, contented silence. Lily, though she knew a lot more about cars and driving than James, still wasn't the best of drivers and so needed to keep her concentration on the road. Meanwhile James kept himself occupied by fiddling with the radio and heater knobs. James glanced over at his wife as they approached Mr and Mrs Evans' house. “Is it alright if we don't hang around too long?” he asked. “I've got a surprise for you at home, and honestly I'd just like to be alone with my wife, if that's okay with you Mrs Potter.”
“Oooh, a surprise!” Lily grinned. “I like the sound of that.” She pulled into her parents' driveway and parked the car before looking over at James. “We'll just pop in for a quick cup of tea, then we can go home.”
“Perfect.” James leaned over to give Lily a quick kiss, and then jumped out of the car into the cool, winter air.
After the cup of tea and quick chat about the wedding, Lily and James were ready to get home. With a quick Apparation, they were almost there. Lily couldn't stop thinking about what her surprise might be. The best surprise would be if James didn't have to leave tomorrow, but she doubted that would happen. She wrapped her arms around James, trying to absorb some of his warmth, as they walked through the small village of Godric's Hollow. “So can I hear more about this surprise?” Lily asked.
James chuckled. “We are literally only a few steps away from the house. I know you can wait that long, Lily dear.”
As they walked into the house, James stepped behind Lily and placed his hands over her eyes. Lily smiled as James began to lead her, blindfolded, towards the back of the house. “I know you really wanted to have a honeymoon,” James began, “and I know you really wanted to go somewhere lovely and warm and sunny.”
At this Lily tried to protest. James just laughed and continued, “Don't try to deny it. I saw the brochures for Greece and Australia that you thought were safely hidden under the bed.”
Lily let out a huff of indignation but didn't comment.
James' voice turned slightly serious. “I'm sorry we couldn't have the honeymoon you wanted, or even a proper honeymoon at all. So I decided to get you the next best thing.” He removed one hand from her eyes in order to open the back door. Lily would have tried to sneak a peek then but James had shifted his other hand so that it covered both her eyes. He knew her too well. They stepped out onto the back verandah and James said, “Ready?”
“Just show me already James.” She was starting to get a little bit impatient.
James chuckled and finally took his hands away from her eyes. Lily blinked, thinking she was imagining things, and then, when she was sure that she wasn't, all she could do was stare at the backyard in wonder. Where there should have been snow, there was sand. And there were deep blues waves lapping against the shore, a few metres in front of her. And above Lily's head, where there should have been winter clouds heavy with snow, all she could see was the sun and a bright blue sky.
“I figured, if we can't go to the beach,” James commented from behind her, “then I'll just bring the beach to us.”
Lily was still trying to take it all in. “How did you do this?” she breathed. Then it all started to click into place for her. “Wait. Sirius...” Lily turned back around to James.
He nodded. “This is where he disappeared to last night during the party. I sent him back here to fix it all up for us. The spell only lasts for twenty-four hours, so I say we get swimming. Care to join me?”
Lily wrapped her arms around James' neck and kissed him long and hard. “Thank you,” she said as she pulled back slightly.
James winked. “Love you too.”
Please take a quick minute to rate this fic! Results will be secret, and contribute to the overall performance of Team Doe or Team Stag in the Lily/James Games 2011. Only community members can vote; but joining the community is open to all and will only take a quick minute!
For your vote to count, you must fill out BOTH parts of the poll. The first will rate the author's utilisation of the prompt. The second rates your overall enjoyment of the story. Please use only integers when rating the submission. For further information about voting, please see this post.
Poll Lily/James Games 2011 - That One Perfect Day