Sunset

"Ow. Ow.  Ouch,  Marlene!"

"Darling, if you move it's only going to hurt more."

Lily clutched her head and gave Marlene a wounded look. "You're killing me here."

"Grace will have my head if your hair isn't manageable, it's important." said Marlene, patting her own perfectly styled dark hair. "That's why she sent  me . All your other ladies in waiting are useless with this stuff."

"What do you mean, 'other'?" asked Lily, frowning. "You're no servant, Mar, and it's not that important. It's just-"

Marlene yanked a curl free from Lily's failing bun and ringlets situation. "Not important! Not-it's your  wedding !"

"Not really." said Lily. "The ceremony isn't until next week."

"Your engagement banquet then." said Marlene primly. "More or less the same thing. All the delegates who are going to miss the ceremony will be present and you're expected to mingle." She ran a brush through a section of Lily's hair, twisting it and pinning it up. 

"I like mingling." said Lily, raising a mirror and checking Marlene's work. "It's no big deal, really."

"I mean all the delegates, darling." answered Marlene, a crinkle of worry appearing between her eyebrows. "From all three Houses, not to mention the Muggle kingdoms-"

"Which I am on  excellent  relations with." said Lily. "The Houses, though, that may be an issue. I was given some back information on the nobles but not on the Houses themselves." she looked up, worried. "You don't think I would, er, improperly mingle if I don't."

Marlene cast a setting spell on Lily's hair, and then plopped down on a chair next to her. "Never fear, I was taught by Binns. I know my House history."

Lily grinned. "And this is why you're my favorite. So Gryfindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Hit me."

"Let's start with Ravenclaw. You know of the Lady Emmeline Vance? She was chosen of all her brothers and sisters for being the most, uh, what do Ravenclaws say? 'Intellectual'. Right. Rubbish in my opinion, but Emmeline's nice. If you meet her just be yourself. She'll probably want to talk about experimental Charms."

"Oh, I love experimental Charms!" Lily exclaimed. She stopped at the look on her friends face. "Oh, shut up. Hufflepuff?"

"Ah, here we got the Diggory's." said Marlene, flashing a grin. "Handsome lot, they are, always nice. Lord Amos is taking over for his father this year, he just turned of age. I'm not a fan, he's a bit pretentious, but he's kind to most. His mother, Carol, she's sick. I wouldn't bring her up much."

"Of course." said Lily. "And Slytherin."

Marlene pursed her lips. "I'm not a fan of Lord and Lady Black, but it's their cousins you need to watch out for. Narcissa, Andromeda, and Bellatrix. Nasty bunch. The largest party tonight is from Slytherin, I believe they're bringing all the minor nobles as well."

"Black, that's like Sirius, then, right?" asked Lily. To say that she didn't care for the Black family was kind of an understatement, they were known for terrorizing the local Muggle towns.

"Yes, only less charming and more evil." said Marlene. Lily raised an eyebrow.

"Charming?"

"You be quiet, Princess, or I'll Charm your hair blue."

Queen Grace took Lily by the shoulders as they were about to descend. "I have all my faith in you, my dear. You'll be absolutely lovely, I know that."

"Thank you, your Majesty." said Lily. "I am a little worried, but I think I can do this."

Grace smiled, and Lily was taken by her nearly wrinkle free features. "You will be fine." she said. "Now, remember. Two steps, pause, smile, and step."

Lily nodded. "You made me run it with you a thousand times last night, I think I can walk down a staircase without fouling up."

Grace winked, and as the herald behind the called for her and the king, patted Lily on the shoulder. "Don't mess up then, dear."

She took the king's arm, and smiling, exited through the double doors out into the grand staircase. The House delegations waited below.

Lily felt and arm slip beneath hers and smiled. "Hullo, James."

"Hey." he leaned over to kiss the top of her head, but Lily batted him aside.

"Marlene would murder me if a single hair is out of place, I'm not going to risk it."

James laughed. "That's probably smart." He stepped back, gesturing to his robes. "How do I look?"

She gave him a once over. James had been forced into dark red and gold dress robes, complete with  frill . "Like you'd rather be drawn and quartered. But lovely, nonetheless."

"And you always look beautiful, so I wouldn't need to compliment you here, right?"

Lily rolled her eyes, but grinned. "Cheeky."

" Smooth ."

"Your Highness!" called the herald. "You two are up."

James offered Lily his arm, and she took it. They had hours of 'the proper way to hold your partner's arm as to not seem indiscreet' lessons as well. They lined up at the door, Lily absently making sure her hair was in place. She was wearing green and gold, and hoped they didn't clash while next to each other. The doors swung open on their own accord, and she could hear the herald behind them: "Newly betrothed, their Highnesses Prince James and Princess Lily!"

Lily took the first step, and stepped out onto the first step. She heard a bottle smash somewhere in the crowd, and hoped it wasn't because the two of them were awful together. James, exuding his aura of calm grace, grinned down at her,and tightened his grip a little. Lily smiled back as she paused, and then took another step. He wouldn't let her make a fool of herself, at least. Wasn't that what marriage was supposed to be, anyway?

He broke the glass of champagne.

Andromeda, next to him, gasped, and quickly cleaned up the mess with her wand. "Honestly, Severus, show some decorum."

He nodded, humbled, and stared at the newly engaged couple as they beamed at each other.

That was Lily.  His  Lily. They had heard a Muggle princess had been engaged the Potter boy, but he had assumed-what were the chances? That it was the girl he used to play with? She looked gorgeous, her hair was gleaming like fire, and her unusually pretty eyes were only brought out by the color of her gown. 

"Disgraceful." muttered Bellatrix from his other side. "So the Potters  do  marry for looks, then. It doesn't matter if the bride is a filthy disgusting Muggle."

A wave of rage shook through him. How dare she insult Lily? "You must not have been paying attention, Bella, apparently she's quite accomplished in magic."

"Impossible. Even if she had a spark of stolen magic in her, she cannot possibly compare to one of  us . And what are you doing, arguing in her favor?" said Bellatrix, shooting him a dark look. 

"Nothing." said Severus hastily. That 'us' was a barely veiled threat, a reminder that he wasn't as pure as the rest of them. He could still play the game, though, enough to get him here with pretty much no royal blood in him. Lily, on the other hand, was born with everything. Beauty, grace, money and prestige, and look, wow, she even had magic powers! The girl lived a charmed life, complete with a marriage to Prince Charming. But Severus knew, better than anyone, that Prince James was no fairy tale prince. He could make her see that, if he dared reveal himself. Even now, the sappy look in her eyes as she gazed at him, it was enough to make bile rise in his throat. Lily was a smart girl. She'll find his true colors soon enough. 

The princess tore her eyes away from that prince of hers to rake the crowd with her gaze. Severus saw her grin grow broader as she made eye contact with a pretty brunette on the Gryffindor side. He saw her find the visiting Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff dignitaries and quickly give them a calculating once over-and he had to hide a bitter smile. So she had gotten even more clever, it seemed.

And then Lily looked directly at Severus, and he seemed to freeze. Her eyes widened, her grip on the man next to her tightened, and Severus waited for a heartbreaking second-would she recognize him? He did look different, and would she be happy to see him? After leaving so abruptly from his father's mother country, he hadn't attempted to contact her once. But her pasted on stage smile broke, and Severus suddenly felt as though he couldn't breathe until her face broke out into the widest, most genuine smile he had seen from her all evening. Lily winked at him, and directed her gaze forward once more, smiling all the while. 

Severus could truthfully say that he had never felt the way he did just at that moment. There was nothing, nothing that could feel as good as prompting a genuine smile from Lily Evans. But then she reached the bottom of the staircase, and there was applause, and James whispered something in her ear that made her laugh as she curtsey'd to the crowd.

Severus felt a smile he hadn't been aware of melt off his face. 

Lily was seated next to Sirius and James, just as she had been the night she arrived at Hogwarts. However, it was Marlene and not Remus who sat across from her, next to Peter. James had mentioned something about the noble feeling under the weather that night. 

"That went well." said Sirius. "I commend your gait, Lily flower."

Lily laughed-somehow she couldn't seem to be annoyed at him tonight. "An awful nickname, Sirius, just awful." she sobered, and touched his hand. "Um, about all this, are you doing alright?"

He shrugged, purposefully nonchalant. "What, just cause my Muggle murdering family's in the crowd? No. I'm fine. If I weren't, I wouldn't have come."

Lily frowned as Sirius gave a flippant wave to what seemed to be his parents. They scowled. "They seem like they make that expression an awful lot."

He gave her a small smile. "They do, Flower. They do."

Lily patted his hand once more, and turned to James, who was regarding her with a curious expression. "What?"

"Nothing." said James. Sirius and Peter exchanged knowing looks, and positively beamed at Lily. The girl in question rolled her eyes. 

"Anyway, you lot, what do you know about the rest of the delegation from Slytherin?" asked Lily, a spark of excitement driving into her. 

Sev was here! She had seen him and he had smiled at her, and Merlin she hadn't seen him in years. A smile blossomed on her face-she just couldn't stop smiling she was so pleased-as the Marauders grimaced. 

"Well, there's the Malfoy's." said James. "Lucius and Narcissa-though Narcissa's still a Black, they were betrothed last month. And the Greengrasses, just the two ladies in purple there."

"And then my family." said Sirius. "Walburga and Cygynus, parents of yours truly, my soppy little brother Regulus, and the cousins. Bellatrix, Andromeda, she's alright, and Cissy too, I suppose."

Lily frowned. "And Severus?"

Several things happened at once. Marlene's nails dug into the wooden table, nearly slicing them. Peter pushed his chair back from the table. Sirius and James both coughed up their pumpkin juice, though James managed to avoid any landing on his robes. Lily stared at them all, confused.

"How-" spluttered James. "-do you know Severus Snape?"

Her frown deepened. "He's my friend. You know, the one I told you about? Back when I was a kid, Sev taught me about magic."

James' glasses were in danger of slipping off his nose, his eyes were so wide. "Uh."

"What's the big issue?"

"I know you said you thought he came from Slytherin," said Sirius, shaking his head, "but I never thought he would be  Snivellous ."

"Excuse me?" said Lily, frost entering her voice. "What did you call him?"

"Lily, Snape hasn't exactly been the nicest person since you've last seen him." said Peter. "In fact, he's been a right arse."

"Understatement of the century." said Sirius.

"He's my friend."

"You haven't seen him in years, though!" said Peter.

Lily turned to James. "James?"

He looked dark, she realized, drawn and angry. "He's done some bad things, Lily. Things that-that may be okay in Slytherin, but that we don't stand for. I don't know if he's changed from when you saw him last, but he isn't the type of person you should get involved with."

"I just can't believe it." said Lily, shaking her head. "We were  best friends , I owe him everything. What did he do?"

"Just drop it." Sirius said darkly. "He's not worth it. Neither is the company he keeps."

She opened her mouth to argue-of course Sirius would be bitter, he's a Black himself, but the others should behave a little more maturely. Just what was  this mysterious dividing event between the Marauders and Sev, because she wasn't having it. It was true that she had known Sirius and Peter and all for a very short time, and that she hadn't seen Sev for an even longer time, but they were going to come together or at least clue her in.

"Lily, James, dear?"

They looked up to find the king and queen smiling by their chairs. "It's time to proceed into the ballroom, if you'd like to lead?"

"Of course." said James quickly. Lily took his arm again, a little less happily than before, but graciously nodded and walked with him through the double doors and into Hogwarts' main ballroom. This  was   her engagement party, after all. Sirius sauntered after them, not bothering to ask a lady(Marlene raised an eyebrow) for accompaniment, and Peter took Marlene's arm. Music was already playing, and Lily, James, and the king and queen all took their positions to open up the floor with a traditional("Boring, right?" said Sirius. "This is why I don't dance.")  waltz. 

Dancing with James, Lily found, was like dancing with an off time metronome. He was just a second faster than she, and while both of them moved very gracefully, Lily had to laugh at how it must look.

"We're rather awful at this, aren't we?" she said.

James looked taken aback."This is the best we've ever got it! And we are not awful, Flower, I am. You're lovely."

"Oh, really, James, please tell me that nickname didn't wear off on you too." said Lily. James spun her, and as their hands touched once more, Lily continued. "Tell me, then, does this count as fun?"

He laughed. "For me? My definition of fun includes getting drunk on the Astronomy Tower, if you remember correctly."

A hint of a blush hit her hard. "Shut up. It was a spur of the moment kind of thing."

"And marrying me?"

Lily blinked. He sounded...serious. Almost worried. They took another spin, and Lily stepped a little closer than would be technically proper to her partner. "I'm in love with you. You must know that. That wasn't spur of the moment, that was the literal opposite, James, you exploded pudding on my face."

"I remember." he said, smiling softly. "I love you too."

More and more couples began to join them on the polished floor. The youngest Diggory-Amos?- asked Lily to dance with him, and after obliging realized she never wanted to do it again. However, he was a gentleman to her, despite knocking the heel off her foot more often than not. During a brief reprieve from dancing, Lily found Lady Emmeline, an found that talking about theoretical and experimental Charms  did  give her the Ravenclaw seal of approval. James came to join her as the two women discussed the negative effects of Cheering Charms and their similarities to Felix Felicis,casually throwing an arm around Lily's shoulders.

Emmeline, a tall stately woman of about twenty five, smiled at him and nodded graciously. "Prince James, good to see you well."

"And you, Lady Em." he replied. "So you've met Lily?"

"She's clever." said Emmeline, winking at the red faced girl. "More clever than you, for certain. I've never seen such enthusiasm when it came to mundane charms."

"Opening and closing a drawbridge takes a great amount of physical strength." argued Lily. "Inventing a charm for it, where it may be common place here, is actually probably really hard. And I'm not  more  clever than James, just-slightly, I suppose."

Em raised an eyebrow. “And modest.” she swept her skirts out in a wide curtsey. “I hope to see you soon, Princess. Goodbye, James.”

“Bye, Em.” said James, waving.

“I like her.” said Lily. “Much more than I liked the Diggory's.”

“Leave it to you to force a good impression via Cheering Charms on our guests.” said James. “Come on, Sirius and Peter are over there.”

“Where is Remus tonight, anyway?”

“Sick.” said James shortly. “He's not too, er, stable when it comes to his health, so he gets sick a lot. We'd be with him right now, but mum refused to move the party and he said it would be okay if we missed one time-”

“That's sweet.” said Lily, patting James' arm. “I had no idea he got sick so often, though. I'll bring something for him tomorrow morning, when everyone's hungover and won't notice it.”

“I did notice you weren't drinking, love.” said James, grinning. He nudged her side. “Strange, coming from a closet alcoholic-”

Lily gave a cry of indignation, and pushed him. “You-” she paused, giggling, as several stern faced ladies passed her with raised eyebrows. “You arse.” she continued in a whisper. “That was one time, you pushed the drink in my hand, and if I remember correctly you were twice as drunk as I was that night.”

“Yeah, but you kissed me first.” laughed James.

“You're the worst and I hate you.” said Lily promptly.

“Prince James.”

The couple turned, startled by the quiet call. The voice belonged to an incredibly tall, slender woman in Slytherin green. James raised an eyebrow, and stepped closer to her.

“Look, it's probably a bad idea for you to be talking to me right now. Or him.” said James quietly. Lily blinked in confusion.

The woman plastered on an obviously fake smile. “What ever do you mean? I'm just wishing the happy couple well, as is completely proper and, in fact, expected of someone of my station.”

James sighed. “Meda...”

“James, please.” said she, shaking her head. “I need to speak to him.”

“With Regulus here? With Bellatrix here?”

“He's my cousin, and I miss him.”

It suddenly dawned on Lily who this person was and who she wanted to see.

“They'll skin you alive, Andromeda.” said James. “If they even see you talking to Sirius. Hell, they'll probably harp on you for not immediately turning your nose down on Lily, here.”

Andromeda blinked, and looked down at Lily. “Oh, I'm sorry. I've been so rude, I never introduced myself.”

“That's alright, it's Lily.” said Lily, concerned. She glanced at James. “You know just as well as I do that it would be child's play to cause enough diversion for a short conversation.”

He sighed, reluctancy in every move. “There's too much on the line, for Meda and for Sirius.”

“I don't know about that.” said Andromeda. “I-”

“Andy, where have you gotten to-oh.” The pale skinned Narcissa had found them, her sister behind her. Bellatrix grinned, showing all of her teeth.

“Oh, so you were mingling.”

Somehow, Lily thought, that simple sentence was more damaging than any insult. She wet her lips and smiled at the Black sisters. Lily swept her skirts apart and curtsied low. “Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Bella's smile didn't shrink. “Princess Lily. Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials, from the proud house of Slytherin.” she turned to James. “And you, James, you've certainly grown up. I see you following your parent's footsteps soon.”

He frowned. “My parents?”

“Yes. So progressive of you, your mother would be proud.”

James' face was slowly turning red, but Lily stayed him with a cautionary hand. “Well, we love to make a statement.” she said dryly. “I didn't catch your name?”

“Bellatrix Black. My sisters Narcissa and Andromeda. Andy, you were just talking to these two, weren't you? I hope you offered your congratulations.”

The never ending smile was beginning to unnerve Lily. Andromeda didn't meet anyone's eye. “Yes, of course. Where's Reg?”

“With Snape, no doubt.” said Bella, tossing her long, curled hair. Lily felt her breath catch as she realized how similar the woman was to Sirius. They had the same features, the same nonchalant drawl, but Sirius had none of the bite that his cousin toted like armor. “What does it matter?He'll be fine as long as-”

“Oh dear.” said Narcissa, pointing. Off the side of the dance floor, Peter seemed to have an arm wrapped around Sirius' torso, trying to keep him from spitting at a smaller boy-Regulus, Lily realized. Sev was hanging behind the younger Black, brow creased in worry.

Bella sighed. “Prince James, restrain my blood-traitor cousin.” she said, sounding bored. “I'll deal with the welp.”

“James-” Lily started, but he had already rushed forward, power walking through the crowd. The Blacks followed them, Andromeda shooting Lily an apologetic glance. She wkas about to start after them, but familiar voices behind her called out her name. Lily sighed, groaned, and spun on her heels.

“Hullo, Petunia.”

Petunia Dursley, blonde hair piled atop her head and off her incredibly long neck, made a gesture to her lilac gown. “Well?”

Lily pushed her irritation out of the way when she realized what her sister was getting at. “I chose that gown for you!”

“That you did.” said Petunia curtly. “I thought it fitting. Walk with me, Lily.”

Lily glanced over her shoulder. “Um, there is actually an issue that I should probably deal with-”

“Lily.” said Petunia frowning. “Do you know how long the carriage ride here was? Walk with me.”

She sighed, but followed the blonde back through the crowd.

“I didn't have the opportunity to speak to you about all this.” said Petunia.

“About all what?”

The older girl glared. “Your wedding, Lily. I've gone through it myself, so I know what it's supposed to be like. And anyway, it's not like you gave your family much a choice-”

“Excuse me?” asked Lily. “Mum and Dad approved this! Wholeheartedly, the Potter's are a high caliber than we are, and I'm in love with-”

“They are not higher caliber.” spat Petunia. “When are you going to grow up, Lily, it doesn't matter how you felt about the boy you met two weeks ago-yes, I know that's when you wrote home for permission. We are not like them.”

Lily went pale. “You mean-because you're not magic.”

“So you consider yourself one of them, now?” asked Petunia. “This is all nonsense, Lily, and I don't want to be part of this family. This world.”

“That's your choice then, isn't it.” said Lily coldly. “It wasn't mine to be born with magic.”

Her sister looked away, cheeks flushing. “You didn't have to marry one of them.”

“And you didn't have to marry a disgusting baron for his money, but you did that anyway.”

Petunia gasped, taking a step back. “How dare you!”

“I'm done here, Petunia.” said Lily. “There are people on the other end of the room who think just as you do, but they want to kill us all with blood and fire and I have to go and stop my fiancee from setting one of them off, so just-just enjoy the party. Give my best to our parents.”

She turned and stomped off, a curl of red falling from her elaborate updo. Lily restrained her swears, and quickly marched to where Sirius and Regulus looked almost ready to come to blows.

“-don't care what you do.” Sirius was saying. “As long as you stay away from me.”

“I don't have a problem with that.” said the small, dark boy. “You're the one shoving your shame in our parent's faces.”

Sirius growled, and James gripped his shoulder. “Padfoot,” he started in a low voice. Lily wished Remus was present.

“It's Regulus, isn't it?” said Lily loudly, stepping forward. “I don't think we've met. I'm Lily.”

James and the rest of the Blacks stared at her incredulously, and Lily waited with bated breath, her hands curled in the folds of her gown. Finally, Regulus took a step back and bowed to her.

“Very nice to meet you.” he said quietly.

The tension diffused-Andromeda took Regulus by shoulder. “We should go see Aunt Walburga.” she said, powerfully steering him away from the crowd. Bellatrix nodded at Lily.

“That was decent of you.” she said. Lily smiled softly, and the Black sisters turned to walk away. They weren't far away enough for Lily not to hear the hissed “-for a Mudblood.” that followed.

“Leave it.” she said to James and Sirius.”It's fine. Where did Peter go?”

“Mar got him out of there.” said Sirius.

A soft cough drew her attention to the remaining Slytherin in the vicinity. Lily gasped, and turned to Severus-she had forgotten he was still there!

“Sev!”

“Hello, Lily.” he said, voice as muted as it had been all those years ago.”It's good to see you again.” Severus tossed a look at James and Sirius. “Though I had hoped for different circumstances.”

“I agree, reuniting in the middle of a blood status war must be uncomfortable.” said Lily, laughing. “How much trouble will you get in if the Bigot Sisters see you talking to me?”

His lip quirked. “Not much.”

James and Sirius stood behind a beaming Lily, flanking her. “Snape.” said James, in what must have been an attempt at being cordial. “Good of you to come.”

Severus raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

Lily's smile faded as she realized that this was probably a bad idea and an even worse situation. “Um, Sev, listen, we'll talk later. James and I need to close the ball, it's late.”

James gave a start, and checked the massive clock on the far wall. “You're right, that explains my mother yawning pointedly every time she comes near me. Lily?”

She nodded, and took his arm. They walked off to the center of the room, preparing for their announcement, but Sirius stayed behind.

“You're going to stay away from her.” he said neutrally, staring straight ahead.

Severus scoffed. “Didn't know you were her bodyguard, Black.”

“I'm her mate.” said Sirius. “And I know she thinks she knows you, but it's going to be abundantly clear that you don't give a shit about her when you have to choose between my family and her. Oh, put your wand away, man, we're in public.”

Snape had indeed slipped his wand out of his sleeve, and he glared at Sirius with unbridled hate. “It's you lot that are no good for her.”

Sirius blinked, and his eyebrows inched upward infinitesimally. A slow grin spread across his face. “Oh, no way. You're in lo-”

“Shut up.”

Sirius laughed, loud and confident. “No, I don't even have to threaten you now, Sniv-you must know you have no chance with her, she's getting married to James. And that's why you're going to stay away, because you can't possibly fathom how bloody embarrassing it'll be to be around Lily right now.”

“You know nothing.”

“I'll see you later, Snape.” said Sirius, confidently. “Or maybe I won't. Your call.”

“Oh, you look lovely, Lily!”

Lily twirled, watching the white skirts billow out behind her. “Yes, it is quite nice, isn't it?”

Marlene had her hands clasped at her mouth, watching Lily's dress fitting with teary eyes, Lily poked at the zipper of the dress.

“Thank Merlin for magic.” said Lily. “I don't know how I gained so much weight.”

“You didn't, really.” said the dressmaker. “But it was fitted to exactly your size two weeks ago, so even a slight change makes quite a difference.”

Lily laughed. “No need for the assurances, Madam Malkin. Mar, what do you think about the lace? Too much skin?”

“Not enough, more like.” said Marlene. “You have lovely shoulders. The dress is allowed to be semi transparent. Spin again, will you?'

Lily did.

“Lovely. Absolutely.” Marlene laughed. “Oh god, can you imagine what James is going to look like when he sees you?”

Lily, staring at the looking glass, saw herself turn red and immediately looked away. “And what are you wearing, then, Mar?”

“Red, I think. Velvet, with black undertones.” said Marlene. “I'm trying my best to outshine you, darling.”

“Well, do you really want to go into what Sirius would look like when he sees-” Lily was cut off as Marlene tossed a pillow at her face. Madam Malkin looked scandalized.

“Ladies,” said the cool voice of the queen, as she stalked in. “Let us behave like adults. Who are about to be married.”

“I'm off the hook then, Grace?” said Marlene cheerfully.

Grace gave her a look, and smiled. “Well, that's not what Sirius wo-”

“I hate you both.”

Lily burst into laughter. Grace crossed over to her, motioning for the girl to hold her skirts and spin. Lily obliged, and Grace gasped.

“Oh, that's perfect. James might go comatose if he sees you.” said the queen, smiling. “You are beautiful, Lily.”

“Thank you, your Highness.”

Grace smile widened. “I have other news as well. The ladies of the Houses will be joining you in an hours time for their own fittings.”

Lily made a face. “All of them?”

“I believe the ladies Andromeda and Bellatrix are the only representatives from Slytherin.” said Grace. “I expect civility, Marlene. And you, Lily.”

“When am I ever anything but?” asked Lily, rolling her eyes.

Grace gave them both that special mother look, before nodding. “Alright dears, I'll see you both at dinner.”

Lily and Marlene exchanged a look. “Ugh.” said the former.

“Ugh.” agreed Marlene.

“How was the dress fitting?” asked James to Lily. They were both perched on the ledge of the Astronomy Tower. It was getting difficult to find time alone now that the castle was so crowded.

Lily groaned loudly, and leaned into James' shoulder. “Awful.”

He grinned. “That bad?”

“You have no idea what trying on dresses is like with Bellatrix Black, honestly.” said Lily. “And all the slipped in 'mudblood' comments, I can't believe we were told to be civil. I nearly punched her in the face.”

“Should've used that hex on her.” said James. “You know the one, that you used on me.”

She laughed. “Bellatrix is a girl, James. She already has to go through that.”

“Debatable.” muttered James, and Lily laughed even louder. He threw and arm around her waist, and she scooted closer to him. “We're going to be married. In like, three days.”

“Yeah.” said Lily softly. “But well, screw the whole marriage thing, really.”

He turned to stare at her in shock. “What?”

“Not like that, you berk, I just mean-nothings going to change. We're going to be the same,it's just one ring's difference. Oh, and I'll emerge a whole lot richer.”

“You nearly gave me a hart attack.” said James. “But you're right. It's still important, to my mother at least. Are you saying that you're stuck with me, marriage or not?”

“You knew that.” said Lily. “Just as your stuck with me.”

They smiled, content, and stared out at Hogwarts from above.

“So, uh,will you kill me if I tell you that I ordered pudding for desert?”

“James.”

Lily slammed the door behind her, locking it both manually and magically, before collapsing next to her bed. She shook the stars from her eyes, and cried quietly, burying her face into her skirts. There was the sound of running feet pattering down the corridor outside, and Lily heard a loud knock.

"Lily?"

James, of course it was James. She did nothing but pull her knees to her chest, resting her face on them. 

He knocked again, harder. "Lily, open to door."

"Prongs, mate, let her alone." said someone else, Sirius. Lily could just see it, James with his face all screwed up, and Sirius's hand on his shoulder. It only made her want to curl up and wither away even more. Phantom pain shot across her chest-but no, that was very real pain, wasn't it?

"Not until I can see her."

"Prongs-James."

"Shove off, Padfoot."

"Move, both of you." said a new voice.

"Wha-"

"Marlene."

"James, if you don't get out of my way in the next five seconds, I swear you'll regret it."

"Listen, Mar, she needs to be alone." said Sirius. "She doesn't want to see us right now-agh!"

There was a loud bang, and strangled cries from further down the corridor. "Doesn't want to see you, you mean." said Marlene primly. "Lily, I'm coming in."

"Go away." Lily tried to throw out, but it came out small and sad. 

There was a click, and Lily remembered that Marlene's forte wasn't just hair, she was also the only person who knew as much as Lily about despelling charms. She had gotten in.

Marlene pushed the door open, and Lily caught a glimpse of James' stricken face from the other end of the corridor, where Sirius was collapsed on him. But she shut the door just as quickly, and crossed over to Lily.

"Darling, what have you gotten into?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Marlene's eyes shone with pity. "I didn't come to talk, I came to heal. Show me, Lily."

Lily reluctantly shifted her hand from where it was sandwiched against her chest. It hurt, and Marlene gasped at the long gash in the front of her dress. Blood shone through the cream cloth, and Lily hung her head.

"I saw you get hit, but I didn't think-" she shook her head. "Okay. I can do something about this, but you'll have to see Pomfrey."

Lily shook her head violently. "I don't want to draw attention to this so close to the wedding."

Her friend furrowed her brow, and smoothed away some of Lily's hair. "What happened, Lil?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Cries of 'mudblood!'  were still ringing in her ears.

Marlene began working on her wound. "Well, when I got there, I saw two of the Black sisters on the floor, Sirius helping James up, and oh, right, Severus Snape shooting some kind of Dark jinx at you. Causing this.

"I don't need help from a filthy little Mudblood like her!"

Lily's eyes burned with tears. "I don't- I never-"

"It's okay." said Marlene. "You're okay. I don't need to know, I get it. We knew something was going to happen with Slytherin House since they got here, and I can assume this much. But Snape-"

"You know her, don't you Severus? You're proper friends-don't make me laugh! The half blood and the filth-"

"How dare you?" Her voice had shook so much. "How dare you, I-"

"Don't speak, Mudblood, it's a waste of my time to even be in your presence."  said Bellatrix, scoffing. Lily's wand was out and her temper was lost, and she knocked both of the sisters to the ground. 

"You filthy bitch, how dare you raise a hand to your betters?"

"You are no better than I, in fact I'm worth twenty of you lot combined. And leave Sev out of your creepy blood pact."

"What have you to say about the subject, Sev?" said quiet Narcissa, a bitter look twisting her face. Bellatrix grinned ferally behind her.

"I don't, we're not-"

"Leave now before I decide to hit you with something worse than a Tripping Jinx." said Lily, not wanting to hear his next words.

"You got the Mudblood fighting your battles, now, right Snape?" hissed Bellatrix. "This is rich."

"I don't need help from a filthy little Mudblood like her!"

It had only escalated from there, and when the boys had gotten to the scene, oh-Lily felt tears streaming down her face. Marlene had her lips pressed together.

"Lily, I love and respect you, but Remus and Sirius are much better at healing charms than I am, and if you don't want the Hospital Wing, you're gonna have to see them."

"I don't know if I can, Marlene."

The dark haired witch kissed Lily on the forehead, pulling her up. "Sit down on a chair, properly, and I'll go get them."

"Marlene-"

But Marlene had already gone to open the door. Lily hurried herself over to the armchair by the window and stared and the pale pink evening sky. 

"I'm going to need Remus or Sirius." said Marlene, her head poked out of the door. 

"Is she-"

"James, please."

"...Sirius?"

"I'll go." said Sirius. He stepped in and seemed to deflate at the sight of Lily's wan form, curled up in the chair. "Let me see." he said gruffly.

Lily allowed him access to the slash across her collar bone. "It doesn't hurt."

"It'll scar unless I can deal with it." he answered. "And your wardrobe doesn't exactly agree with that."

Marlene slipped out as Sirius drew his wand, presumably to talk to James.  Lily blinked, and found that tears were riding in her eyes again. Sirius looked up from the complicated charms he was weaving, and almost seemed to flinch.

"Merlin, are you crying? Please don't-shit, James is going to kill me."

She gave a weak, watery chuckle. "What, uncomfortable around crying birds, are you?" 

Sirius squeezed  her hand. "They're my downfall."

Lily was quiet, and she bit her lip. "Sirius?"

"Yes, love?"

"What happened? With Snape."

He glanced up sharply, scrutinizing her face. "You sure you're ready to hear it?"

Lily gestured at the cut on her chest angrily. "I think it's about time."

"It's not my story to tell, not really." said Sirius gravely. "And I'm not painted in the best light-which is right, by the way. I was awful. But it's Remus you need to speak to."

"Remus?" asked Lily, confused. "Why Remus, honestly I'd have assumed that he'd get along best with Sev-Snape."

"You couldn't be further from the truth." said Sirius. He paused. "They're outside, you know. If you want to talk."

She pressed her lips together. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yes, I'd like to see them, please."

Sirius nodded, letting go of her hand and went to open the door. James, Remus and Peter came bowling in, looking worse for wear and exceptionally anxious. She felt a twinge of guilt that she had caused this worry, and Lily clenched her limbs, trying to appear somewhat normal. James collapsed in front of her and sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Lily."

He looked so tired. "Sorry." she said in a small voice. "I should've-"

"This isn't your fault." said James immediately. 

"It kind of is." Lily caught a glimpse of herself in a mirror, and James wasn't the only one who looked tired. Her skin was paler than normal, her eyes wide against dark circles, and her hair looked and felt like tissue paper. "I just wanted to know what happened. Original sin, and all. Where's Mar?"

"I don't follow." said Peter. "Marlene's working on the cover up situation."

"She wants to know what Snape did." said Sirius. The four of them exchanged looks, and Remus cleared his throat. 

"You have my permission, if you're waiting for it." he said.

Lily frowned. "Okay, now I'm not following."

"Are you sure?" asked James to Remus. 

The brown haired man shrugged. "You're getting married, Prongs, I think we can tell her."

Lily looked at them expectantly as Remus took a deep breath.

"Lily, you might take this the wrong way. In fact it'll be a miracle if you take this well at all-"

"Spit it out, Remus."

"I'm a werewolf."

There was a long pause, Lily's eyebrows flew up, and the Marauders waited with baited breath.

"Right." said Lily. "Um, sorry, one more time-?"

"I'm a werewolf." said Remus, surprisingly patient. "I was bitten when I was a boy, and this is kind of a secret so I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone."

"But where do you go on full moons?" cried Lily.

Sirius nearly fell off his chair. "That's what you're worried about?"

"Well yes." said Lily, a little cross. "I'd be worried if there was a wolf running round the castle once a month, but as far as I know we don't have monthly maimings at Hogwarts. So Remus, you must go somewhere, and that means there must be a place in this castle that I'm not aware of. Which is unacceptable."

"There are...a lot of places you're not aware of." said Remus. "Lily, do you understand what being a werewolf means? I'm not in control of myself on the full moon, I could kill people, are you okay with still speaking to me?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Trust me, what Muggles think a werewolf is is much worse than the Wizarding alternative. Remus, have you ever killed someone?"

"No. But-"

"Then all you've got is the potential to murder." said Lily. "Everyone has that, I could grab those scissors over there and shove them through Peter's neck, because I've got that potential as well. You just have claws, and-and teeth, right? So your means are better than say, a pair of scissors. Because you don't act on that potential, despite your means, that makes you better than us, Remus. I want no inferiority from you, I know how werewolves are treated by the public, you're letting them win if you think a girl who is very much your friend will turn on you for something like this."

All four boys looked thoroughly disturbed. Sirius leaned over to whisper in James' ear. "You rethinking this marriage thing, mate?"

"Nope."

"Good."

"Oh come on." said Lily. She pointed to Sirius. "I said it when we met, didn't I? You'll get no prejudice from me, that goes for all of you." she sent Remus a small smile.

He returned it shyly. "I cannot believe you, Lily."

"Good." she said.

Remus stood, pulling Sirius and peter to their feet. "Then my part is done. James, I'm leaving the rest to you. We should go find Marlene."

"What?" said Lily and James at the same time.

"You want to know about the Snape situation, don't you?"

"Yes but-"

But they had already left. James glanced at Lily, and was shocked to find that she was blushing.

"I really am sorry." she blurted out. "I didn't listen to you, and I kinda messed things up."

"It was going to happen eventually." said James, echoing Marlene. "You want to hear the rest of the story?"

Lily nodded.

"Right, okay, so Snape actually spent a lot of time here when we were kids. Mostly for celebrations, my birthday, my parent's birthdays, you know. We never like him, thought he was kind of a git with an unhealthy obsession with the Dark Arts. And, apparently, Remus. The only people who know about Remus are my parents and Madame Pomfrey, and they don't know we know, so it's a well kept secret. But Snape, I think he may have figured out how often Remus got sick corresponded with the lunar cycle, and put it together from that. He kept making all these sick accusations and threats, like he would tell the whole castle about Moony if-"

"Oh, Moony, I get it now!" exclaimed Lily. She smiled weakly at James' face. "Sorry. Continue."

"So Snape basically was a dick about it, okay? But then, when he started hanging around Reg-Regulus, Sirius started going a little mad. He didn't want his brother mixed up in Snape's crowd, even f he knew it was inevitable. So to get revenge, of sorts, he told Snape where to go on the full moon so he could find Remus and get proof. Peter and I basically sprinted down there, and we had to actually force Snape back out. But...not before he had seen enough. My parents swore him to secrecy, but he keeps lording it all over us. Like he could tell everyone at any time."

Lily had gone white. "Did Sirius really-?"

"We didn't speak to him for ages. Merlin, I've never seen Moony so mad, that Padfoot would even try to weaponize him, it was kind of unforgivable."

"But you did forgive him?"

James shrugged. "It's Sirius. The fight couldn't last."

She nodded. "I understand that." It was difficult to stay mad at Sirius for a long time. "That explains all the werewolf jokes Sev-I mean Snape- was telling the Slytherin party during the ball."

"He was?" asked James, his face turning ugly. "I swear-"

"I can't believe him." said Lily in a small voice. "I thought I knew him so well."

"You haven't really known him since you were a kid, Lil." said James, softening. "You're gonna get past this."

Lily ran a hand through her hair, twisting it between her fingers. "Thank you." she said suddenly. "For saving him, I don't think he's probably ever giving you a word of thanks, so have one from me."

"I don't need it." said James, smiling. He stood, offering a hand to her. "Do you want to-"

"-get drunk on the Tower?" asked Lily, bounding up. "God, yes."

James laughed. 'I was going to say 'see Marlene', but okay. I'm down. Even if it's barely noon."

"She can come too." said Lily. "Let me get cleaned up, I'll meet you up there? Collect your boys."

"Ten minutes." said James,grinning and leaning in to kiss her. 

"Ten minutes." repeated Lily as she pushed him out the door.

Once again, James and Lily ended up being the most drunk and the last ones awake that night.

"You know what I just realized?" asked James, swinging his legs from where he was perched on the edge of the tower. "We're getting married tomorrow. I'm supposed to be drunk without my bride to be."

"And I'm supposed to be having a lady like bridal shower." said Lily distastefully. "I'm not drunk enough for that. And you can still wake up the boys, I mean I thought I was a lightweight, it's barely six in the afternoon."

He burst into laughter. "If we remember this tomorrow, we can lord it over Sirius for the rest of his life."

They glanced back, to where Marlene and Sirius were passed out, nearly on top of each other.

"Ah, at least there's something to look forward to in married life." said Lily. James nudged her, laughing. "James, dear, if you knock me off the edge on the eve of our wedding night-"

He was laughing too hard to listen now, and Lily joined him. The sky ahead of them was streaked with pink and orange, and the dark dusk of twilight staining the edges. Lily sobered, remembering her own tower back home. She could see for miles, but it wasn't nearly as high as this one.At home, she'd be looking at the village, at the grounds. Here, her eyes were always skyward. Maybe that was a plus. "It's beautiful today."

"The sun's going down." said James, slurring slightly. He looked at her, at her hair in the deep red light, and feel for her a little more. Lily's gaze was still trained at the sky.

"We'll be married by this time tomorrow." said Lily. "And then-and then-"

"You won't have to worry  abut anything." said James, completing the thought.

"A toast to no more secrets." said Lily, searching for a bottle of wine. "Or, rather a promise.

"I love you."

"And I, you."

"And I now pronounce you bonded for life, man and wife."