Author's Note: Written for…

Ludo Game Challenge. Prompts: melted chocolate, party, "I found him face down in a puddle"

A Demigod Wizard's Duel at the Hunger Games Competition. Task:Write a romance fic about your Rep. (Sirius) Prompts: springtime, strawberries, "Do you really think that?"

Rock-Paper-Scissors Challenge. Prompt: "Are you taking his side over mine?"

Pick a Number Challenge. Prompts: Lily/Sirius, Historical!AU

The Title Challenge II. Title: Headed For Happiness

Summary: Victorian!AU

Lily meets a strange man outside her sister's wedding. Lily/Sirius.

Headed For Happiness

The wedding of Vernon Dursley and Petunia Evans was quite possibly the most extravagant affair of the year and looked forward to by the hundred and fifty friends and family members who were honored to receive an invitation.

Lily probably should have been one of them. The wedding was the end of six months of staying up late to sew and alter the bridesmaid dresses, a year of seeing her sister through tedious wedding preparations, and nineteen years of having to share a bedroom with manic Petunia. Plus, if her parents were to be believed, it was the night she'd meet her future husband.

Despite everything seemingly going for her, Lily couldn't stand to be in the same room as the happy couple for more than a couple of minutes, lest she get the urge to tell the groom off for being a pompous idiot.

She managed to escape outside after dinner, just as the speeches were starting. She couldn't bear to listen to her father talk about how happy he was for Vernon to join the family.

It was a cool evening. It had been a cloudy and rainy for most of the morning and afternoon, but Lily had always loved springtime. She sat on the front steps of the house, nibbling on a strawberry with melted chocolate that she'd snatched on her way out the door.

She'd only been outside for half a minute when she heard a groan. It was low and she could barely hear it above the music from inside, but it sounded human. She followed it down the road a bit until she reached what she would have thought was a dead body were it not from the near-constant moaning.

"Oh gosh, are you okay?" She rushed to the man's side and rolled him over to get a look at his face. It was only after she touched him that she realized he was sopping wet from lying in a puddle.

"Tripped," he mumbled, running a hand through his shaggy black hair.

She thought he might be homeless with the long, dirty hair and disheveled clothes and the slight whiff of alcohol, but the neighborhood never had any problems with vagrants before…

"Lily?"

She met his eyes but didn't see anything familiar in them. Beneath the dirt and grime, she decided he might be handsome.

"I'm sorry, sir, have we met?"

"Lily, it's me, it's…" he heaved a sigh, trying to sit up. He was wobbly; drunk, she decided. She had to keep a grip on his arm to keep him from falling over again. "Sirius Black," he finished, searching her face for some sign that she recognized him.

The name was definitely familiar. The Blacks had lived down the street from Lily's house when she was a child. She could still vividly recall Mrs. Black's screech as she called for her boys to come inside. The horrid woman scared every child in the neighborhood except for her eldest, who Lily remembered climbing over fences and hiding in bushes and causing all sorts of trouble. It was easy to see the boy she remembered in his man.

"It's been ages," she breathed, smiling gently. "Where have you been? I heard you ran away…"

"I did!" he nearly shouted. Lily shushed him quickly. It was still early, but she wasn't keen on the idea of having to deal with neighbors right now. He lowered his voice slightly as he continued. "Regulus is dead. Had to come back for the funeral. It's tomorrow."

"Oh, Sirius, I'm so sorry."

He shrugged and repositioned the shirt on his bony shoulders, as if the idea of his brother being dead didn't really bother him so much as sitting in wet clothes.

"Is it a bit chilly, or is it just me?"

Lily bit her lip, looking between Sirius and her house. Her father would be angry; Petunia would throw a fit. But she couldn't leave him out here.

"Come on," she said, trying to pull him to his feet.

"Where are we going?"

She got him up and then dragged him, stumbling, to her house.

"We've got to get you into dry clothes before you catch a cold."

He looked up at the house skeptically. "You're having a party?"

"My sister's wedding. They won't mind you coming in, I promise," she lied, tugging on his sleeve gently.

As expected, Petunia nearly fainted. Everyone else seemed to be leaning more toward bewildered as they watched Lily stumble into the house with the wild-looking man.

"Lily, what on earth?" her father squeaked out.

"It's Sirius Black, Daddy. Orion's older son, remember? I found him face down in a puddle," she explained hastily. "We have to help him – get him some clothes."

Her mother was always good at making the best of every situation. She distracted everyone while Mr. Evans took Sirius upstairs to change.

Lily waited at the bottom of the steps, trying to act as though she wasn't possibly seeing what a grown Sirius Black looked like all cleaned up.

"Lily, dear, can I have a word with you?" Petunia whispered, and didn't wait for an answer to pull her sister into the kitchen and away from all the guests.

"Is something wrong, Tuney?" the younger girl asked sweetly. She prayed the use of her sister's nickname would soften her a bit. No such luck.

"Wrong? You brought a dirty vagrant into the house on my wedding day, Lily. What were you thinking?"

"I … he needed help. He would've caught his death if I left him out there."

"He's a runaway and a drunk – death would have been a kindness."

"Petunia, please. His brother just died, he's upset. And everything is fine. The reception is lovely, it hasn't been ruined. Sirius will be gone in a few minutes."

"Are you taking his side over mine?" her sister wailed, sending their mother bustling in.

"Petunia! It's not polite for the bride to hide away from her guests. Now, go mingle. I need to have a word with your sister."

Lily waited until her sister was out of the room before groveling.

"Mum, please, I was just trying to do the right thing-"

"I know, darling, I know. I would have done the same thing," the older woman assured her, brushing back the girl's wild hair.

"You're not upset with me?"

"Of course not. And neither is your sister – not really. She'll calm down after the stress of the wedding is gone, you'll see. And she'll warm up to Sirius in time."

"I'm not so sure. He'll probably be gone again after Regulus' funeral." It was strange how sad it made her to admit that. It wasn't as if she and Sirius had ever been close.

Her mother smiled. "Perhaps he will, or perhaps he'll stay. I can't imagine why he'd want to leave when you and he would make such a marvelous match."

"Mother!" the girl scoffed, but the idea stuck with her. "Do you … really think that?"

"Darling, were I twenty years younger and unmarried, I wouldn't waste any time second guessing my feelings when a man such as Sirius Black nearby and available," she advised, pushing her youngest into the den where the man in question stood in clothes that were a size too big, chatting with Vernon and several of his old school chums.

"Best go save him from boredom, dear."

Lily let out a nervous sort of giggle before rushing off to interrupt them.