I Object

It was a beautiful wedding, she couldn't deny that even if she tried. She had not wanted to come, she had dreaded this day since she received the laced invitation. Since her whole family was going she couldn't just skip it, it was her cousin's wedding, after all. It killed her to witness it, this was the wedding that she had dreamed about since she was a young child. The same location, the same color theme, and the same groom.

Teddy was all that she wanted, all that she needed, but he never knew. She had liked, no loved, him since she was ten and he was nineteen, that was seven years ago. Age did not matter to her, a silly number would never get in the way of her love for him. What was nine years anyway? Nothing, in Lily's opinion. She didn't know why she was in love with him, she never had actually thought about it. Was it his ever-changing hair, his goofy smile, maybe it was his twinkling eyes. No, those things were nice but they didn't matter to Lily, it was his personality. He could make a whole room of serious people laugh with just one joke, he could put her in a good mood no matter what was wrong with her. Teddy was intelligent too, he had everything she looked for in a guy. But it did not matter anymore, he was not hers and now he would never be.

Victoire had got to him first, her charm and flawless looks were enough to win any man over. That was what Lily never understood, she could have had any guy that she wanted, why did she have to pick Lily's Teddy? They were a cute couple, well everyone else thought so, but they never could get along like Lily got along with him. Victoire would never understand Teddy like Lily did, Lily was sure of that.

So there she sat, on a chair surrounded by her family, watching her one and only love marry her cousin. She wanted to be happy for them, she truly did, but she just was not able to. She was jealous of her cousin, she hated to feel that way but she knew it was true. Victoire was the only person in the world that could make her jealous, and she despised that. She didn't want to feel that way, she loved her cousin but her love for Teddy overrode it.

"Does anyone object to the union of Teddy Lupin and Victoire Weasley?"

There was her last chance to stop this nightmare, to confess her true feelings to Teddy. She pushed herself up from her seat slowly, she could do this, she had to do this. If she didn't, she knew that she would regret it for the rest of her life. Almost to her feet, the strap of her silver high-heel shoe caught itself in her folding chair, causing her to trip and fall roughly to the ground.

Everyone looked over at her to see what the loud noise was about, Lily was so embarrassed, she could feel her cheeks turning as red as her hair. She rose to her feet, brushed off her deep blue dress robes, and cleared her throat. She had to do this, she could not just let Teddy slip through her fingers without a fight, he meant too much to her. Lily looked nervously around at all of the people staring at her, she was never one to talk in front of crowds.

She felt Ginny tug on the hem of her robes and whisper "Sit down," but she just shook her head and ignored her mother.

When she spoke her voice was little more than a squeak, just loud enough for everyone to hear her, "I object."

A hushed gasp traveled around the group of people and then the whispers started. Lily just blocked the voices out and focused on what she wanted to say.

Teddy looked at her, his face taking on a puzzled expression and he dropped Victoire's hands. "What do you mean?" he called out to her, his voice sounding confused.

"I…uhh…I…I love you, Teddy. I have always loved you and I always will," Lily told him, tears streaming down her freckled face. She could hear a faint buzz of people talking but she couldn't see them, all she could see was Teddy.

He looked at her awkwardly, his eye brows raised and his eyes widened, not sure what to say or what to do. He glanced back at Victoire, whose shocked look was quickly exchanged for one of outrage. This scared Lily, she had hoped that he would have said that he felt the same way and call the wedding off, but he didn't speak a word. All he did was look at Lily and then at Victoire, dumbfounded.

Then her conscious came into play, she was wrong to do what she just did. Victoire and Teddy were happy and she just made herself look like an idiot in front of her whole family. He didn't like her, if he did then why would he be marrying Victoire? "I'm sorry," she said, directing it more towards Victoire than anyone else. Pushing her way through the rows of filled chairs, she reached the aisle and ran towards the door.

Once she was away from everyone, she broke down crying, causing her mascara to trickle down her face. She needed to leave, she couldn't stay here in this nightmare any longer. Twisting on the spot, she Apparated to the first place that appeared in her mind.

When she landed, she felt the sand against her toes and relaxed a little. She took a deep breath and the smell of the ocean filled her nose as the warm summer breeze swept through her dark red hair. The ocean was one of her favorite places to be, this spot was extra special because it was Teddy who showed it to her. Lily took a few steps forward and sat down on a large grey boulder.

She was so mad at herself, she didn't know what had came over her, why she had acted like that. Teddy loved Victoire and Victoire loved Teddy, why did she feel that she had to change that? She would just have to realize that that was how it was going to be and live with it, despite her feelings. She knew that she should not have ruined their wedding, it was not the time or place to tell him how she felt. She had plenty of chances to before he got engaged and she blew every one of them, but that was her fault.

There was a loud popping sound a few yards behind her and an oh-so-familiar voice called out, tentatively, "Lily?"

She didn't turn around, she knew exactly who it was. Lily listened as the light thuds of footsteps approached her and then he appeared in front of her. He was still wearing the wedding robes that Victoire had chosen for him but his hair was different, it was now a red that was the same shade as hers, where at the wedding it had been its usual turquoise. He spoke, his smooth soft voice was like music to her ears, "We really should talk, you know?"

Lily shook her head, she didn't need to talk to him, she already knew what he came to say. She was too young, she was too much like a sister to him, or something like that, and she was not in the mood to hear it. "There is nothing to talk about. I made a complete fool of myself and ruined your wedding. I'm sorry and I understand if you are mad."

Teddy chuckled at her and replied, "No, Lils, I'm not mad at you. I just really wish that I could have known this sooner than on my wedding day, it would have made things so much easier."

"Why does it matter?" she asked him, irritated. She knew that he didn't feel the same way she did so why did it matter when he found out?

"Well," he said, flashing her his perfect smile that usually made her go weak in the knees, "I can think of three good reasons why it matters. One, if I would have found out sooner, you wouldn't have made a 'fool' of yourself. Two, I would not have had to wear these ridiculous robes," he paused and looked down at his formalwear in a disgusted manner. "And most importantly, three, I would have known sooner that I wasn't the only one who felt that way."