Chapter Eleven: The Wedding

The world shrieks and sinks talons into our hearts. This we call memory.

-Tim O'Brien, Tomcat in Love

Time was moving quickly, or at least that was what Hermione told herself. The days blurred together until James and Lily's wedding finally came along. It had seemed that Hermione was becoming very accustomed to this life. She hadn't had any memories come back for a while, but it had for the most part stopped bothering her.

The day of James and Lily's wedding arrived too quickly. There was a rush of last minute planning and a few panicked moments on Lily's part. The wedding was to be held at James' parents' house, in their garden outside. Hermione met Mr. and Mrs. Potter about a week before the wedding, and found that they were exceedingly kind people, who treated all of James' friends like family.

It was to be a small ceremony, with a few relatives and some of Order members. The flowers Mrs. Potter ordered had been specially selected to a red and gold theme. It was quaint, but seemed to work quite well for James and Lily.

Before she knew it, Hermione was putting her dress on, which matched Marlene and Alice. It was a long gown in the same simple fashion that Lily's was, a red color that went along with the Gryffindor theme.

They arrived early, and the ceremony passed quickly. Remus, who was a groomsman, stood across from Hermione with a quaint smile on his face. He was dashing, and Hermione quite liked the way he looked in a suit – which Lily and James had ultimately decided the men should wear as opposed to dress robes.

After the ceremony, what Sirius declared as "the real fun" came along. The Marauder in question had decided that as the best man, it was his job to make the wedding as fantastic as possible.

The reception was set up with many tables and chairs in the garden of Mr. and Mrs. Potter's house. The scenery was a beautiful place to have a wedding. Hermione found herself at the head table, along with Marlene, Remus, Sirius, Alice, Peter, James and Lily, and then of course their respective parents.

Remus pulled her chair out and she smiled at him. He was rather charming at the moment.

"Moony," Sirius said urgently from down the table, "we need to prepare the toast."

Hermione quirked a brow as recognition flitted across Remus' face. "Of course," he said, rushing off to follow Sirius.

"Sirius has been planning this toast for weeks," Marlene mumbled, apparently having heard the conversation. She sat beside Hermione, looking beautiful in her matching red dress. "I'm quite suspicious about it," she added, eyes watching the boys as Peter joined them.

Hermione chuckled, "well I think we'll just have to outdo them with a toast of our own." She wasn't much for competition, but she was sure she could write quite a speech if she wanted to.

"Sounds like a plan," Marlene said covertly, "I tell Alice to prepare herself."

Hermione was left to talk with Mrs. Potter for a while. The boys put together speeches and the festivities soon began.

oOo

Sirius cleared his throat in an attempt to get the attention of the party. If Hermione guessed, she would say there were a little over fifty people. It was rather small for a wedding, but felt very appropriate.

Sirius stood up on a small podium that was located near the head table and cleared his throat again, louder this time. Peter and Remus were standing behind him, smug grins on their faces.

Everyone quieted down after a moment. Most had dispersed into conversation. Hermione had noted that more than enough alcohol had been set about the area. She doubted everyone would stay sober for long… and that wasn't always a good sign for the marauders….

"I would like to make a toast," Sirius announced loudly, raising a tall glass of champagne in his hand. The room was completely quiet at this point, watching the suspicious looking boys.

Remus and Peter both stepped up beside Sirius, glasses in hand. To Hermione's left, Marlene was muttering something about outdoing them.

Sirius looked to the other two and then began, "James and Lily, congratulations." He ran a hand through his hair in a fashion that vaguely resembled James. "After all these years, Prongs, I never thought Evans would actually give your sorry arse a chance…"

James, who sat beside Lily, began to boo Sirius.

"Alright," Remus stepped up, "I think what Sirius is trying to say is that we didn't expect you two to find happiness with each other, but now I think we've all realized that the two of you are perfect."

"And James, we will never forget that time you decided to take Ancient Runes just so you could be in class with Lily," Sirius cut in.

Lily furrowed her brow, giving James a disbelieving look. Hermione sighed, knowing that the toast was probably only going to go downhill from here.

"Or the time you made us follow Lily all around Hogsmeade just so you could be sure nobody asked her to the Slug Club Christmas party," Peter continued.

"You know…" Sirius murmured, "now that I think about it, you were really quite a stalker."

James was blushing, and Lily was laughing wildly along with the rest of the crowd. Well, at least she wasn't reacting angrily with the news.

Remus seemed to be joining in on the fun now, "Of course, there was also that time when you got a black eye when we lost that Slytherin Quidditch game and you refused to go to classes the next day to avoid Lily seeing you like that."

The audience was roaring. Hermione looked to Marlene who shrugged and gulped down her champagne. It was looking like it would be pretty tough for them to outdo the boys.

The toast continued with a recollection of the many stories of James and Lily, and by the end, the couple in question appeared to have lightened up. They both laughed along as Sirius gave the final toast.

A few moments later, Hermione found herself being pulled up to the podium along with Marlene and Alice. She could hear Sirius cheering them on somewhere in the background.

"Toasting time!" Marlene yelled happily. It was at that moment that Hermione realized that the girl was just a little bit tipsy.

Attention fell on the three girls. Hermione and Alice shared a look as Marlene began.

"Lily, I've known you since we were little first years, and I've always wanted what's best for you."

Hermione was a bit taken aback by how solemn Marlene was sounding.

"I used to think James was just a nuisance, but over the years, I've realized… that he's always just been as big of a clown as ever," Marlene started laughing. Sirius nodded at her in agreement. James shrugged and put an arm around Lily.

Alice decided that this was a prudent time to cut in, "James, Lily, we think you're wonderful for each other."

"Perfect!" Marlene chimed.

Hermione found herself nodding in agreement, but them Alice looked at her as if she ought to chime in. "Oh," she mumbled, stepping forward and looking towards the head table. Crowds always made her a bit nervous…

She bit her lip, looking for something to say. Catching Remus' eye, she saw that he was smiling at her admirably. She grinned, finding some words that she had been preparing to say earlier.

"I haven't known you guys for very long… but I've always admired the two of you. You're both wonderful people and amazing friends. I think that the love you two share is something everyone should look for, and I wish you the best of luck…"

She said her bit slightly quiet, but she could tell everyone could hear. James and Lily were both smiling sweetly at her. She blushed and stepped back.

Marlene drunkenly hollered something about dancing and the girls stepped off the stage.

oOo

"Would you like to dance?" a voice whispered in her ear, making Hermione jump. She turned to see Remus, smiling jovially. He looked so handsome when he smiled…

"Of course," she grinned back, taking his hand and pulling him out to the dance floor.

Couples were accumulating around James and Lily. Hermione spotted Sirius, Marlene, Alice, and Frank amidst the crowd.

Remus took her hand in his and placed another on her waist. It was a waltz, quite a nice song. She belatedly realized that she had never really danced with him, and told him so.

"Hmmm," He responded, nodding his head, "well there's always time for firsts."

Hermione quickly raised her head up and kissed him. He seemed to glow with happiness in response. She loved having the ability to make him happy. That was all she really wanted for her friends. They deserved to be happy.

"You look beautiful," he murmured slyly.

"And you look dashing," she replied, following his lead around the makeshift dance floor. He really did… she had always enjoyed the way he looked with his hair slicked back.

They continued on, and Hermione found herself admiring the scenery around. The garden that Mr. And Mrs. Potter had cultivated was really a beautiful surrounding. The sun was just setting in the distance, creating a beautiful auburn sky above the garden.

She looked over and saw James and Lily pass by, giddy smiles on their faces.

"I think they're both very pleased with all of this," Remus commented, noticing her gaze as it followed the dancing couple. "They've always wanted a wedding like this, especially Lily."

She nodded in agreement, "I'm happy for them."

"Me too," he sighed.

oOo

The wedding was drawing to a close. If Hermione guessed, it was sometime around two AM. She yawned, leaning her head against Remus' shoulder. They sat side by side at the head table now. Sometime during the party, seats had been traded. Marlene and Sirius sat together, as did Alice and Frank. Hermione had decided that she might as well just sit beside Remus.

"Tired?" He asked, appearing amused by her place of resting on his shoulder.

"Mhmm," she yawned. Hermione had never been too much of a night owl. She tended to fall asleep with the setting of the sun.

"Lucky for you I think we're finishing up soon." He said, pointing over to the entrance to the garden, where friends and relatives were beginning to leave.

It wasn't much more than a half hour later that nearly everyone had gone. Hermione, Remus, Sirius and Marlene left together, then Disapparated to their separate blocks.

Hermione put her arms around Remus' torso, knowing she was too tired to Apparate herself alone. He pulled them away with a twist and they arrived in an alley near the flat. He put an arm around her and they turned down the sidewalk, heading toward their building.

"I liked hearing all those stories," Hermione murmured, smiling faintly, "about when you guys were at Hogwarts."

Remus smiled as well, a faraway look in his eyes. "Really?"

"Yeah," she paused, "Do you miss it?"

"Hogwarts?" he furrowed his brow, "Yeah, sometimes. Then again, I've still got my friends. They were what really made Hogwarts great."

"You all seemed to have a lot of fun…"

"We did… but sometimes they went a little far of course. They almost killed me with anxiety on several occasions." His expression had darkened a bit. She wondered what he was thinking about that the boys had done… but decided that she probably didn't want to know.

They walked up the stairs hand-in-hand.

"Never the less," he sighed tiredly, "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"Me too," She nodded, following Remus into the flat.

oOo

AN: This update took me too long, and that was because of two reasons: one, I found this chapter very difficult to write; and two, I run for my school's team and we're in season right now. Therefore, running and sleeping take up a lot of my time. Luckily, though, the season ends in less than a week, and from then on out, I plan on weekly updates.

This is also short, which I apologize for. Things really pick up in the next few chapters, and I wanted to separate this part and the next.

Review?