Part 3, the final part! Enjoy the fluff! Reviews are appreciated! x

By the time the entire party was seated on their appropriate tables, in their appropriate seats for the wedding feast it was 2:30pm.

"I'm starving." Sirius moaned as he watched the head table being served food first.

"Oh shut up." Marlene told him, though she was looking about herself for any sign of food.

The room was filled with excited chatter, the glorious smell of fantastic food and soft music that was being played in the corner by a live band. The round table that James was sat at was split in half, the three girls on one side and the four boys on the other. Lily sat between Dorcas and Marlene, Remus beside Marlene, Sirius next to Remus and James on his left with Peter beside him.

The table was toward the back of the room, family closer to the head table, but it gave the group a freedom to be a little rowdy without disturbing the family.

"Now that they're married does it mean that Alice will get special circumstances to leave school?" Peter asked while swigging some of the fancy elf-made wine that kept refilling in the glasses on the tables.

"Apparently so!" Dorcas said giggling over her own glass, as puddings were placed down onto the table before them.

"No way!" Sirius said, his lighting up at the thought. "So little Miss Fortescue gets to leave school whenever she wants so she can go and fuck Longbottom?"

"Shh!" Lily hissed at Sirius as some of the guests from the next table along turned looking shocked.

"Yep! And I think you'll find she's Mrs Longbottom now Sirius!" Marlene corrected.

"Did she tell you this? I mean about being able to leave Hogwarts?" James asked the girls.

"Yeah she did. Tells us everything." Lily replied, and James noted the pink flush in her cheeks, though she wasn't the only one who seemed to be flushed from the alcohol on the table.

"No wonder she said yes." Remus remarked, his cheeks pink and a sleepy grin on his face.

"She said it would have been too hard to go a whole year without seeing him." Lily told the table while happily eating the chocolate looking pudding.

"Come on! She could have seen him every Hogsmede weekend and the holidays too. It wouldn't have been a whole year!" Sirius accused pointing a finger at Lily.

"Give it a rest Black." Dorcas told him while Lily rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. I'm still jealous though."

"Jealous of Alice banging Longbottom?" James asked with a laugh, elbowing Sirius in the ribs hard and making him slop some of his drink onto the once white linen.

"Oh yeah! I'd give Longbottom the fuck of his life!" Sirius announced loudly just as a glass was clinked loudly from the head table and everyone turned toward it. Alice and Frank were giggling in their centre seats at Sirius' comment as Mr Fortescue began the speeches that lead into the wedding cake being cut and then the first dance.

Almost every single guest, save for a few of the more ancient and frail looking family members, were stood on the edge of the dance floor watching as Alice and Frank Longbottom held each other close while they danced to a slow song, they were both smiling softly and Frank was whispering in Alice's ear making her grin and giggle.

"She looks so beautiful." Lily whispered to Marlene. James was stood behind her, she'd been behind him but hadn't been able to see due to the amount of people and so he had tugged her in front of him, he could see perfectly well over her short height, even in a pair of heels.

As the music ends and moves onto another piece the dance floor fills with couples, everyone taking the opportunity to hold one another close after witnessing the beauty of the love between Alice and Frank.

"Lily-." James began only to be cut off as Sirius pushed past him and took hold of Lily's hand before dragging her onto the dance floor, him walking backwards and grinning widely at James before placing his other hand on Lily's waist and spinning her off around the dance floor.

James just stood watching them, his best mate and Lily flying around the dancefloor, Lily laughing in his arms, her hair flying with the velocity that Sirius was creating in their movements.

He knew he shouldn't be angry. It was stupid. Sirius didn't like Lily like that…hell he didn't like any girl like that, but still…he felt the impending doom of jealousy rise in him, just as it always did where Lily was involved. He hated it, partly because he knew how much Lily hated it, but he couldn't stop the way it bubbled under the surface.

Turning his back on the dance floor he moved back to the table where Remus was sat, nursing a glass of amber liquid.

"What's that you've got?" James asked as he fell into the seat heavily.

"Ogden's Finest." Remus replied, grimacing through the burn that the drink caused in his throat. "Want one?" He asked James.

James nodded and Remus revealed a hip flask from the jacket pocket that was placed over the back of his chair. James grinned, that hip flask had witnessed a lot of moments between the four marauders. He quickly transfigured one of the wine glasses on the table into a tumbler and held it out for Remus to pour the whiskey into.

"Where's Peter?" James asked taking a long slug of his drink.

"Off talking to some distant relative he knows that's here." Remus said with a wave of his hand and then a mischievous smile lit up his face. "Ah, explains the look of murder on your face." He told James raising a glass in a mock salute toward Sirius and Lily who were chatting and dancing not too far away.

James sighed and looked away from the couple into the amber drink in his glass.

"You can get so stupid about her, you know." Remus commented.

"I know." James mumbled swigging the remains of his drink before holding his glass out once more.

"Well, stop it." Remus told him simply before standing up, dropping the flask into James' lap and making his way onto the dance floor and joining Sirius and Lily, who pulled apart at his appearance and began dancing as a group.

James poured himself another glass and sat back watching the three people on the dance floor. He could feel his heart almost pushing him to join them, but he still hadn't recovered from his bout of insecurity, which is what it all was really about when he thought about it. He wasn't sure he was good enough to even want Lily never mind have her reciprocate his feelings.

"Oi, wanna smoke?" Came Sirius' voice from above him. James looked up to find his best friend stood right in front of him, cigarette dangling from between his lips, lighter in one hand, jacket being flung down onto the table carelessly.

"Yeah." James drained the contents of his glass, stood feeling the slight buzz begin to make itself known in his brain and followed Sirius out into the evening.

It was still light, the sun still setting slowly clouds rolling in and making it darker than it usually would have been at 9:00pm in July.

"What's got your wand in a knot? And if you say my dancing with Lily, I'm going to hit you." Sirius said seriously. James knew better than to test that theory.

"Nothing." James sighed lighting his cigarette and leaning against the side of the building.

"Give it up. Everyone could tell you were pissed that I danced with Lily before you. Even Lils noticed." Sirius told him, inhaling deeply and pulling his tie a little looser from his neck.

"She did?" James asked curious.

"Yeah, you know we were talking about you in there. She kept smiling and telling me how she thought you'd grown up and how maybe she'd grown up too." James was clinging to his every word, each one puncturing the little bubble of self doubt that had grown within him.

"Really?" He could hear how pathetically hopeful he sounded but he really didn't care.

"Yes you great sap!" Sirius told him, laughing and taking a long, hard drag.

"Sorry, you know I don't mean to get like this…"

"I know."

"Hey Sirius have you seen James?" Came Lily's voice from beside him, hidden from his line of sight in the doorway to his right.

James watched as Sirius smirked, threw down his nearly finished cigarette and moved in through the door.

James could hear him whispering quietly to Lily before her head popped around the side of the doorway.

"James!" She said with a grin.

"Alright Lils?" He asked attempting to still play it cool, taking a drag from his cigarette.

"I'm perfectly well." Lily said as she stepped down from the doorstep and leant her shoulder against the same wall James was leaning on. "Are you enjoying the wedding?" She asked, looking at him closely.

"Yeah…I am." James told her with a soft smile, not really looking at her. He feared he'd become too distracted to carry on a conversation like before.

"Got over your hissy fit have you?" She asked jokingly.

James laughed despite his embarrassment. "Yeah. I have." Was all he said in reply.

"Good. May I?" She asked holding out her slender fingers toward his lips where his cigarette hung, they were mere centimetres away and James noted the slightly chipped red nail polish on her nails.

"Lily Evans…who'd have guessed!" James said in mock shock as he handed her the cigarette and watched her carefully now, turning his body to the side, mimicking her own stance against the wall of the building.

Her hair had fallen out of the earlier curls, flattened somewhat, her lips had lost the pale lipstick that had once been there but she was bright eyed and pink cheeked and the most delightful thing James had ever seen. The sight of his cigarette between her lips made his heart soar.

"It is a muggle habit you know." She told him, puffing out smoke away from them.

"Just a shock is all…our very own prefect…smoking outside at a wedding." He told her. "Sounds completely made up if you ask me."

"Well it's not." She told him holding out his cigarette to him once more.

James moved his head down, taking the proffered cigarette between his lips, grazing them ever so gently against the pads of her middle and index finger in the process.

He heard Lily's sharp intake of breath and watched as she pulled them away quickly, her eyes flickering to his own and away again like lightening.

James didn't say anything, just stood back up to his full height and inhaled quickly, his face turned upwards to the ever-darkening sky.

"H-have you come up with an answer then Potter?" Came Lily's tentative voice from beside him. Looking down he noted that she wasn't looking at him, she was staring raptly at her hands where her thumb was rubbing her middle and index fingers gently.

"To what?" He asked stupidly.

"What would you call me if I'm not a bad habit?" She asked, and he noted that she had a smirk on her lips, though she still avoided meeting his gaze.

"Hm…" James stalled, taking one last drag on his cigarette before dropping it to the floor and stamping it out. "You're something I want…you intrigue me Lily, keep me on my toes, catch me off guard…I want to get to know you, so much more." He told her quickly, the words flying from his lips, he knew it was the buzz of alcohol that was flying through his system that had caused such honesty to burst out, but at that moment, he was glad that it had.

Lily looked up, her emerald eyes staring fondly into his own, a smile pulling at the corners of her lips. James was in complete shock as her small hand quickly reached out, grasping his tie once more, but this time pulling at it, until he had to move his head down, down until she stopped pulling as it reached the same level as her own. Her other hand reached up as well, though this once came to rest on his cheek as she leant forward and pressed her lips to his.

James had never felt shock like this. His body was frozen, he stood paralysed against the stone wall, his hands in his pockets as Lily's soft lips touched his own, as her thumb stroked against his cheekbone gently, leaving a tingling trail where she touched.

Just as quickly as she had initiated it, she pulled away with a soft sigh.

"Sorry." She whispered, still gripping his tie.

"No! No-no-no-no don't be sorry." James whispered, voice hoarse, finally freeing his hands from the depths of his pockets and holding onto her waist gently. "You have nothing! I…Do it again?"

She laughed then, her face close and James could smell wine and cigarette smoke on her breath. "Not demanding or anything are you?" She joked.

"I feel like I wasn't at all present for that last kiss…" He told her noting how she bit into her bottom lip…he wished he could bite it.

"Mmmm, I have to tell you that you definitely were."

"Nah, I think I left the solar system." He told her with a grin, pulling her gently closer with his hands on her hips.

"Well then who did I…kiss?" She seemed to stumble over the word, as though she couldn't quite believe it herself.

"Ahem!" A feminine voice coughed behind them. It was Dorcas, hair wild around her face and a smug grin she was trying to quell.

Lily pulled away quickly, dropping her hands from his tie and James let her go, his hands slipping from their very comfortable position.

"Interrupting am I?" Dorcas asked raising her eyebrows.

"Shut up." Lily muttered before hurrying up to her, taking her arm and scurrying back inside where the music had grown louder and hit a quicker pace.

James let his head fall back against the stone wall. He couldn't believe it. She'd kissed him. Lily Evans had kissed James Potter!

He was grinning like a madman when he entered the townhall after smoking another cigarette, in the hopes that it would calm his nerves. He spotted her almost instantly, her red hair flying about her once more as she danced with Alice and the rest of them. Sirius had lost both his tie and jacket now, his shirt untucked and his hair tied back out of the way, Remus' jacket was still absent but his tie was slung low around his neck and the top two buttons of his shirt were now undone, Peter was still fully booted though his hair was stood on end. Dorcas had at some point rid herself of her shoes, Marlene had flung her hair up into a messy bun on top of her head that bounced around chaotically with each mad movement of her dancing and Lily, she shone so beautifully still, her hair wild around her, almost static her eyes shining brightly as they caught sight of him. James chucked his jacket onto their empty table and hurried over, joining in with their raucous dancing that consisted of jumps and spins and just living. They danced for the rest of the night, well past 1:00am when Alice and Frank left until they were told that it was over, they'd have to go home. The group of sweaty seventeen year olds left into the darkness of 2:14am, meandering their way back to the Fortescue's house where James, Sirius, Remus and Peter would floo home and Lily, Dorcas and Marlene were spending the night.

Jame and Lily didn't get another moment that night, if they'd have tried harder perhaps they could have done, but just being in the presence of their friends, just living in the moment they let the night disappear and it was only after Remus, Peter and Sirius had flooed away and Marlene and Dorcas had gone upstairs to get ready for bed that they found themselves alone.

"Were you drunk before?" James asked suddenly, voicing what had been niggling in the back of his mind since she'd kissed him.

"A little." She told him honestly. "Still am."

James nodded, head falling before reaching into the pot on the fireplace and grasping a handful of floo powder.

"But it's what I wanted, still do." She told him grinning and quickly stepped forward, wrapping her arms about his neck and, once more, pressing her lips to his. And James kissed her back, his hand coming to the back of her neck, holding her there as he pressed his lips back against hers, feeling her sigh softly against him as one of her hands ran softly through the mess that was his hair.

She pulled back to look in his eyes. "Write me?"

James grinned, "Absolutely." He told her before turning around to face the fireplace and throwing down the floo powder and disappearing through the grate, thinking only of the fact that he had to concentrate on what grates were flashing past his line of vision but all he could honestly focus on was Lily, the feel of her lips, her body pressed softly to his and the smile that had lit her up afterwards.