The Way It's Meant To Be

Lily awoke, not at all refreshed. It didn't matter that she'd gone to bed early. She knew today was the day she'd change the course of her life and in the process change the course of two others. Emma and her other roommates were still asleep. She got up and went to the bathroom slowly, going through the motions of brushing her teeth, looking in the mirror briefly and stepping in to the shower. She stayed under the hot water for what felt like hours. She thought of playful, hazel eyes and intense, grey ones. She thought of two sets of dark disheveled hair. She thought of the last two guys who had meant everything to her. After today, there would only be one and she knew the other would be heartbroken. She was aware of this, not because she was conceited, or thought too highly of herself, but because both had had the fearlessness to open their hearts to her. Oh what a horrible position to be in.

James awoke, a smile on his face. It was routine nowadays. He had always been a morning person but ever since he and Lily had gotten together, he had been so much happier waking up. It was just that now, reality was finally better than his dreams. He poked Sirius who groaned and pulled his pillow over his head. Moony and Wormtail were already stirring, rubbing their eyes sleepily, not at all looking forward to their day, jam packed with classes. James didn't much mind, he knew he'd see Lily soon. He went quickly through the motions and after showering and dressing returned to the room to see Padfoot was the only one not awake or getting ready. Strange. He and Sirius had always faced the mornings with such gusto. Moony and Wormtail were more sullen or quiet because it took both boys much longer to be awake and alert. He and Sirius were always awake, raring to go, ready to have some fun. James started bouncing on Sirius' bed until his friend finally sat up and shot him a disgusted look. James laughed and left him to face the morning, while he headed downstairs to see his Flower.

Sirius awoke at the jab of James' finger. He refused to move. He wasn't quite ready to face the day. His dreams had troubled him all night and the thoughts of Lily's decision haunted him even more. He smiled into his pillow slightly remembering their conversation. Yes, it had been difficult and exhausting and emotional and intense but at the end, he knew what would happen. He could feel it in his bones and he was content with the decision. He lay in bed a while longer thinking, until soon, he felt James bouncing on his bed. Something in him switched on and he sat up, shooting his friend an angry look. It had no effect, James just laughed as he always did and left to go to breakfast. For some bizarre reason, Sirius desired very much to drown himself in the shower.

They were all at breakfast and there was a noticeable stiffness. Remus watched Sirius, Lily and James very closely. The two boys appeared to be acting like nothing was different, or strange except that Sirius had glanced at a quiet Lily four times already in two minutes out of the corner of his eye. Remus saw James slip a hand closer to Lily and he knew they were holding hands under the table. He noted Lily's change of expression and had a sudden panic in his chest. What would happen when all was said and done? Although he hadn't been told, his intuitive nature had made him realize that something epic had happened yesterday. Sirius had told Lily. He was sure. He glanced at Peter and Emma who seemed completely oblivious to the seriousness of the breakfast. James had the same look. It must be nice to not know. Remus felt horrible knowing as little as he did, he couldn't imagine how Sirius and Lily were feeling. Lily looked more thoughtful than he'd ever seen her and also seemed like she was nervous and dreading a confrontation. She kept briefly glancing at James and looking horribly depressed. Sirius, appeared relaxed to people who didn't know him. He had his signature look of indifference on his face as he rocked on the back legs of his chair. If James hadn't been so in love with Lily and worried about why she was so quiet this morning, he would've noticed, like Remus did, that his best mate was fidgeting constantly. He looked like he was plagued by something. Remus wondered if he was regretting the betrayal.

Emma had noticed that Lily was particularly quiet. She noticed the small reactions she had to James whispering to her or pushing her hair off her eyes and sighed. Their relationship was so different to hers and Amos'. She believed her relationship to be perfect for her but James and Lily were different. She excused herself from her friends to go sit with Amos for a while before class. She didn't want anyone to know just yet but she was pregnant. The baby would be due a few months after they left Hogwarts and so she was using some of the best concealment charms she could come up with. Amos and she would be taking their family to a remote place in London. She wanted to get away from the war, the best she could. She needed to protect her child. Of course it meant she may not see Lily or the Marauders again, but somehow she knew they would understand. This was the war after all.

Peter knew more than any of them could give him credit for. Being the 'quiet' Marauder, he had learned to notice much more than anyone knew. He had learnt many tricks from his 'friends' and now they would finally get what was coming to them. His whole Hogwarts life had been thwarted by living in the shadows of his more popular, outgoing friends. He had tried repeatedly for their approval but James and Sirius particularly, never gave him their full attention or respect. He knew deep, deep down that they would do anything for him, because that's what Marauders did. But it wasn't enough. He wanted to be needed, respected. That's why he'd gone to Him. He gave Peter all that his school friends would never have. It was easy to hide. Going to remedial classes, spending time with the Slytherins in the dungeons. It was very easy. No one would ever suspect that he, Peter Pettigrew was capable of fooling or out-witting his more intelligent friends.

The Dark Lord had showed him so much is the few months Peter had served him. More than Sirius, James or even Remus would ever have bothered to help him with. For once in his life, some day, Peter Pettigrew would have his chance at glory. And then they'd all regret ignoring him. He stared with hidden dislike at Evans. She had always been so nice to him, but it felt forced. She teased him now, just as much as the others. Deep down he was afraid of hurting any of them. But just as they were, he was afraid for his life. It was just easier to be on the side that had the advantage. The werewolf would almost certainly be suspected as the spy when the time came to question loyalties. And after it all, Sirius Black the man that had already betrayed his best friend in a way, no matter how much he hadn't wanted to, he would be the one who lost it all. Peter felt a tug of regret, Sirius could have avoided this if he hadn't fallen for Lily, but now he'd just made it easier for Peter. The only one who would never be suspected as smart enough was Peter. Sirius was of course an easy scape-goat. He had plenty of Dark Wizarding roots. All Peter had to do now was wait. Wait for his glory. Soon, any regret or doubts he had would dissolve to nothingness as he fell more and more under the intoxicating spell of evil.

"Flower, what's on your mind?" James asked as they walked towards Potions, hand in hand.

"It's nothing," she answered quietly. "Let's talk later" she said with a tiny, nervous smile.

He nodded, suddenly flooding with worry. He looked into her eyes and suddenly knew what to expect. He wished he'd been able to describe how much he loved her yesterday, he felt that could've made all the difference and he hadn't even realized. He knew it was now or never with Lily, and it was completely in her hands. Would she want to be with him forever, just as he'd whispered to her when he thought she was asleep? He was never good with words, that was more Sirius' expertise. He didn't do it much but when Sirius really needed to, he could explain anything in crystal clear detail. James was sloppy about things but it didn't mean he knew or felt any less. He didn't know why but yesterday had had an epic feel about it. Every conversation, realization, movement had felt like it would effect everything from here on out. As he pondered he and Lily's fate, every question suddenly flooded to him all at once. So much would change. How would they handle it?

"Good Morning class!" Slughorn said in his pompous voice.

"Good Morning" The seventh year Slytherin and Gryffindors droned back.

"Today we will be making a simpler version of Amortenia. It won't have the full effects of the real potion, but it can be completed in the two hours and a half hours we have allotted for this class. Turn to page fifty-seven."

The class half heartedly flipped to the potion and looked at him expectantly. Slughorn always had something silly up his sleeve when it came to partnering in this class.

"Now, I have your names in this hat and you will pick your partners that way."

Everyone nodded while some scowled. Both houses were hoping they would not end up with someone from their rival house.

"Severus" Slughorn said inclining the hat towards the greasy boy. He scowled with distaste and fished a name from the hat. Reading it he said in his dignified, condescending voice,

"Gray"

Emma glanced at Lily who was staring at her fidgeting hands worriedly. Emma hated Snape. She had even when Lily had been friends with him. She gulped and went over to where he sat. He looked at her through cold eyes and Emma caught disappointment as he looked at Lily.

"Pettigrew"

Peter pulled out a name.

"Avery" he said quietly and the Marauders looked at him apologetically. They then watched with warning eyes as the very muscular and evil looking Avery grimaced at Peter.

"Lupin"

"James Potter" Remus read off the paper he'd picked. He smiled gratefully and James grinned, moving to Peter's seat. Sirius and Lily did not look at each other.

Soon, there were four Slytherins and Lily and Sirius left. Their friends watched them, hoping for their sake they were paired with each other. For the first time in their lives however, inside it seemed like Sirius and Lily would've rather been paired with Slytherins.

Nott was soon paired with a big, ugly but rather tame Slytherin called Marquis. And that left Goyle to chose the deciding paper. He sniffed in what one could assume was a happy way and said "Crabbe" leaving the Gryffindors sighing with relief and Lily and Sirius to finally look at each other. Sirius stood and walked to her desk without returning the grin James had sent him. His friend didn't notice because he was now grinning at Lily who smiled back as she bit her lip.

"Get to work!" Slughorn announced, clearly no noticing the tension in the room with the Slytherins and Gryffindor mixed groups and strangely, Sirius Black and Lily Evans

"H'lo" he said quietly as she scanned the ingredients.

"Hi"

"So…" he began awkwardly.

"Oh come on Sirius, let's not ruin a perfectly good potion with solemn conversation" Lily said looking at him with a shy smile. His heart leapt and he grinned.

"We'll talk later ok?"

"Yeah…we need to" he replied glancing at James who was watching them strangely.

"What's on with Lily and Sirius?" James asked Remus who was cutting up some ingredients.

Remus shrugged. "Haven't a clue…why?"

"They're acting strange. Did they have a fight or something, do you know?" James asked trying to put on an indifferent voice as he ground up some thistles.

"You ought to ask them," Remus said trying not to give anything away with his tone. He needed to make sure he didn't get involved. He didn't want to betray Sirius or James' trust.

"You don't suppose…" James began, his eyes growing dark. "Oh…no" he whispered to himself.

Lily and Sirius were laughing and Lily had a faint blush on her face. Her expression sobered as she turned and saw James watching. He left his expression unreadable. For the first time in weeks he was forced to face reality. Sirius looked like he was very much still in love with Lily. He wasn't angry with him…he probably would've had to do the same thing if their roles had been reversed. After all the three of them had been through, it only made sense that it would come to this. A decision. James could only hope Lily would chose him. They both stood a fair chance. Lily was Lily…it was important to not keep wondering. He knew, like they did, by the end of the day, one of them would be with her for sure. He just wished he knew which one.

"Mate…" Sirius began that evening in the common room. James knew he was going to meet Lily.

"I know Sirius…" he said quietly.

"You what?" Sirius said glancing at Remus who shrugged.

"It's hard to forget her isn't it?" James replied and Sirius nodded. Of course James knew. James was the smartest one of them all. James knew Sirius better than anyone else. It could've never been a secret.

"Thank you for sparing my feelings" James said nonchalantly but the look he gave Sirius said something different.

Sirius nodded. "I didn't want this to happen"

"I know.."

"No one's been chosen yet"

"Yeah…well, swear this won't change things…"

Sirius shook his head violently. "Nothing could change the Marauders Prongs"

James smiled and nodded. "Well...you should...go"

Sirius nodded awkwardly. "Yeah, catch up with you later mate."

Lily was waiting for him outside by the tree. She was pacing back and forth, wringing her hands together.

"Dumbledore's going to need a new lawn Lil," a voice said jokingly. She spun around, thinking of the smell she had smelt in the Amortenia this morning. She looked at Sirius, his hair disheveled, his grin unfaltering and couldn't help but smile. As he looked at her and she looked back, their eyes did the talking. Tears had begun to fall from her sparkling eyes and she rushed to him and they embraced, Sirius holding her tightly in his arms. Finally she looked up and into his eyes. The movement of her head changed and indicated her answer and now Sirius finally knew. He hugged her again, sighing and smelling the same scent, which had drifted from the Potion earlier today.

"So…what's going on?" a deep voice spoke up. It was shaky and lacked the confidence of the boy who usually strutted around Hogwarts without a care in the world. Sirius and Lily spun around, still clinging to each other and both looked at James. Now, he knew too.

Three Years later

"You look beautiful Lils, you have nothing to worry about" Sirius said pushing her auburn hair off her eyes.

"I'm bloody nervous" she said looking at him for support.

"Why?" he said with a care-free laugh. "It's the way things are supposed to be…"

"I know…but doesn't stop my nerves! Anyway, look," she began as she knocked back a glass of Gillywater for her jitters. She straightened the white veil perched on her head and smoothened out the ivory of her elegant bridal dress robes. "Thanks, but kindly get out now…everyone will have your head if they find out you've been in here!"

"Oh that bad luck stuff is rubbish!" Sirius said pouting and standing up.

"Not the reason or the point!" Lily said indicating the gillywater.

"Fine, fine. I'm going to find James…he'll give me something stronger than Gillywater for MY nerves!" Sirius laughed.

"Oh stop it you! You know as well as I do, that you're not in the least bit nervous" Lily said glaring at him.

"What can I say Lily, I'm just cooler than you are" he teased before heading outside.

"What were you doing?" Emma said, narrowing her eyes at Sirius. Amos was at a conference and couldn't make it but Emma was holding a handsome two and a half year old in her arms.

"Nothing…nothing" Sirius said tickling Cedric.

"You get back to the Groom's room – Stay away from the bride until after the Wedding!!" Emma warned, waggling her finger at him.

"Blimey…Cedric, you tell your mum to smile more won't you? Now you all live so far away, we never get a chance to tell her off ourselves!" Sirius said as the boy laughed and clung happily to his mother. Sirius then ran away quickly, dodging the hex Emma sent after him.

He then hurtled face first into James who was looking at him with a grin. "Why mate, we were beginning to think you'd run out on us…." He teased.

"I would never! I can't miss this, it's the best day of my life!" Sirius said grandly pulling James into a bear hug.

"And so, I would like to propose a toast…to James Potter the best friend I have and will ever have and Lily Evans…the only girl I've ever loved" Sirius said happily. Some of the wedding guests looked on rather awkwardly but Lily and James were laughing wearing the biggest grins anyone had ever seen.

"And honestly, I cant say I'm not happy that the better man won," Sirius said inclining his glance to James who smiled and nodded gratefully. He and Lily kissed softly before she raised an eyebrow and said,

"Oh and I was just a prize to win was I?"

More people laughed. This really was a strange wedding, horribly awkward and confusing. The only people who understood were those who sat at the Wedding Party table. The people who understood the relationship those three shared.

Sirius grinned as everyone clinked their glasses together and took deep sips of their drinks. He sat down and began talking to Dorcas Meadowes, his date for the night. As he chatted to her, he saw out of the corner of his eye that Lily and James were dancing. They looked happier and more in love than they had ever looked and Sirius was happy too. She had made the right decision all those years ago. Of course James had been scared she'd pick Sirius. Of course Lily may have briefly considered it. But Sirius…he always knew she'd pick James, no matter how much he'd wanted otherwise. Maybe he'd thought that fate didn't exist before, but now he was sure. Lily and James were proof of fate. Although sometimes he still pined for her, all was over and done with. And while he might never find another woman to love the way he loved Lily, he was happy to see her and his best friend sway perfectly to the music, completely enraptured in one another. Together, forever.

The way the world was meant to be.

A/N: And here is the end of my tale. This final chapter was difficult, I wanted it to be up in the air and confusing about the decision til the very end. I hope it went alright. I really appreciate all your support throughout the story, you guys have been the ones which constantly made me want to update and keep writing. I really enjoyed Before James and will miss it...I hope you guys loved reading as much as I loved writing. Please feel free to have a look at my other stories or let me know if you'd like me to tackle a different pairing. Thanks again, you've been wonderful.

Much love,

Pam