This is it, Lily thought, this is the end. I must have died sometime in the past three months, and this is hell.
Ten feet away, a cover band warbled out a very slightly off-key version of –Dancing in the Moonlight.†Lily resisted the urge to drop her head into her arms. I want to go back to Hogwarts, she thought miserably.
She wondered, not for the first time, if Petunia had done this on purpose--planned her wedding for September 1st. But no, Lily knew better than to give herself that much credit. Petunia had no idea what today meant.
But here it was, the first September 1st in seven years that the Hogwarts Express was pulling away from Platform 9 ¾ without Lily aboard.
Instead, she was sitting alone at a round table under a white tent in the backyard of the Dursley family country home.
Wearing an ankle-length orange taffeta dress with ruffles and bell sleeves that clashed horribly with her hair.
She snuck a look down at herself, and scowled. The dress had appeared at her bedroom door a month ago, with a note from Petunia that had said, simply, I’d love for you to wear this to my wedding. Lily had realized that the dress was hideous, of course, but she’d thought it a peace offering; perhaps even a bridesmaid dress. But no, the bridesmaids--all small and blonde, like her sister--were dressed tastefully in a pale pink that complimented both Petunia’s ensemble and her complexion. And Lily, with her red hair and tacky orange dress, stood out starkly, the wild younger sister that Petunia must have told everyone she was.
And this, of course, was Petunia’s revenge. It was not enough that Lily was here alone--oh no. She had to look ridiculous as well.
Lily shifted in her seat, sighing. Because, of course, Hogwarts wasn’t the only thing she was missing this September 1st. She missed James so much it was like a physical hurt--something heavy on her chest that made it hard to breathe. She found this irritating, of course--You’ve never been the type whose happiness depended on some guy, she’d chided herself on multiple occasions, and while it was true, it didn’t make her miss him any less. And not just James, but all of them; she was hounded constantly by memories of Sirius bouncing exuberantly around Gryffindor Tower, of Remus concentrating over his Potions cauldron, of Mary waving her hands excitedly while talking rapidly about her latest conquest, of Alice sitting in the grass, the Forbidden Forest behind her, making a cheeky comment that surprised them all into laughter. Even Peter, though they’d never been close, or even more strangely, Leda, and sometimes Annabelle, just because they had been such a constant over the past year, and Lily could hardly imagine a different life.
Lily had seen James once over the summer, and it had been a fiasco--and the reason for Petunia’s current antipathy. Petunia had been running in and out of the house all summer, flustered by wedding plans, too busy for anything. She hadn’t been back to their childhood home much, Lily’s parents had informed her, instead spending much of her time with Vernon’s family, and indeed it was mere coincidence that she happened to be there when James had come for his only visit.
They hadn’t gotten along. James had, of course, charmed her parents completely, but Petunia, who was not delighted and fascinated by all things magical, as her parents were, was wary of him from the start. Vernon--who Lily was somewhat miffed to discover knew all about the Wizarding world, or at least as much as Petunia would tell him--happened to be in town, and although both sisters tried to get out of it, their parents insisted that the two happy couples go out for dinner together.
Awkward from the start, with Petunia sullen and Lily anxious, the dinner soon degenerated into nothing more than a spitting contest as James and Vernon sized each other up and decided they did not like what they found. They had barely sat down when Vernon had begun grilling James about what kind of car he owned (–Well, it’s called a Silver Arrow, you see--might be a little delicate for a man of your…taste.â€). By the time they had ordered, Vernon was speculating loudly on the uselessness of wizards in –normal†society, convinced they had to sponge off the government for money (–Oh, I don’t know,†James had mused, –I’ve got a fair amount of gold buried underground.â€). They barely made it halfway through the meal. James was unable to control his amusement and derision, Vernon was unable to control his rage, and after twenty solid minutes of sniping, Vernon swelled like a bullfrog, grabbed Petunia by the hand, and marched from the restaurant. Lily, quite to her embarrassment, had burst into tears.
James had, to his credit, had the grace to look ashamed of himself. –I’m sorry,†he said, patting her uncertainly on the back. –He just--well, I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to him, I promise.†He had hesitated. –Although…maybe I shouldn’t come to the wedding?â€
He had been right, of course he had. Lily didn’t want to make any more waves with Petunia than she already had. But siting now, alone at this table in her hideous orange dress, she wished he had come.
She sighed, her cheek in her hand, feeling particularly sorry for herself, when a dog suddenly stuck his head out from beneath her tablecloth and rested his chin on her knee.
–Oh,†she said, surprised but delighted to have suddenly found a friend. –Where did you come from?â€
She scratched him gently behind his soft black ears. Most of him was still under the table, but she could feel his tail beating against her legs, his whole body wiggling in excitement. –Don’t tell me you belong to the Dursleys,†Lily murmured. –They’re much too proper, you’re nearly the size of a bear--â€
She stopped abruptly, her hand slipping off the dog’s head. He whined slightly, but her eyes narrowed. –Sirius?†she hissed.
The dog gave a soft woof, and she felt his tail wag faster. She had only seen him in his dog incarnation a handful of times, so she didn’t feel bad for not recognizing him straight off--indeed, she wasn’t even still convinced it was Sirius. But all of a sudden, she found herself scanning the tent for all the places a rat might hide. Servers were walking through the tent, clearing plates, and her gaze locked on one familiar, sandy-haired young man whose back was to her. She was half out of her seat when she heard a voice behind her ask, –May I have this dance?â€
The dog barked once, quietly, and then disappeared under the table as Lily turned, scarcely believing it, to see James standing behind her, his hand outstretched.
For a moment, she just stared at him, all the air gone from the room. He looked lean and elegant in a Muggle suit, straight-backed and smiling. His hair, however, still stuck up in the back, as untamable as ever, but it didn’t ruin the effect, instead giving him a softness that made her ache.
–What--†she breathed, –what are you doing here?â€
–Come on, Evans,†he smiled. –You really think I was going to make you do it alone? I just had to call in some reinforcements.â€
She just continued to stare at him.
He raised an eyebrow at her, adjusting the buttons on his jacket self-consciously. –So are you going to dance with me or what?†he asked, wiggling the fingers on his proffered hand. –My arm’s getting sore.â€
She slid her hand into his, rising to her feet, still speechless.
–Why are you looking at me like that?†he laughed, then sobered. –It’s the outfit, isn’t it? Muggles put themselves into the silliest things.â€
–No,†she said vehemently, shaking her head. –You look--you don’t look silly.â€
She saw his eyes flicker up and down her own ensemble, and she groaned and pushed him in the chest. –Not a word,†she said. –I know I look awful, but--â€
He chuckled as he led her out onto the dance floor, his hand going to her waste. –You don’t,†he said.
She raised an eyebrow at him.
–Okay, okay,†he amended. –The dress is awful--â€
–Petunia gave it to me,†Lily muttered.
–I figured,†James said, grinning. –But it didn’t work.â€
Lily looked up at him and he rolled his eyes. –Oh, please,†he said. –You and I both know exactly what she’s trying to do, and it didn’t work. Because the dress may be awful…but you’re beautiful.â€
Lily mimed gagging onto his feet, and he laughed. –Okay, okay,†he admitted. –That was cheesy. But also true. She doesn’t hold a candle to you, even in that ridiculous…thing you have on. You’re beautiful. Deal with it.â€
She stepped into him as the music changed, feeling suddenly at home. –I’m glad you’re here,†she said, –even if you had to sneak in.â€
–Me, too,†James said. –Even if I did hear your new brother-in-law refer to me as an ‘amateur magician’ when I walked past him.â€
Lily groaned, burying her face in his chest for a moment. When she emerged she saw her parents waltzing together a few feet away, looking blissful, and she laughed. Over James’s shoulder, she could see Petunia and Vernon dancing as well. Petunia caught her eye across the dance floor and glared at her before scowling at the orchestra. For a moment, Lily felt a twinge of guilt, but then James hand tightened in hers, and she couldn’t regret anything. And suddenly, she recognized the song the band was playing, and she choked.
–No wonder Petunia’s so put out,†she muttered, and James looked at her quizzically. –Oh, right,†Lily amended. –You wouldn’t know the song, it’s Muggle music--Frank Sinatra?â€
James shook his head. –Sorry,†he said. –We don’t get a lot of Muggle music.â€
–Well,†Lily told him. –This song? It’s called ‘Witchcraft.’â€
James laughed out loud, his hand creeping around her waist to the small of her back, and she leaned forward, resting her head against his chest.
–What can I say,†James whispered into her hair. –I’m charmed.â€
Back in the corner of the tent, the sandy-haired server set down his tray and laid his hand on the table. A moment later, a brown rat had scampered across the table’s edge and run up his arm, disappearing into his pocket and then poking its head out. For a moment, the two of them just stood there, and then Remus let out a short, sharp whistle.
Sirius, who was lying on his back a few feet away, paws in the air, while a small clump of giggling children rubbed his belly, jumped to his feet at the sound of the whistle and trotted over to Remus and Peter. Remus patted him on the head as Sirius sat at his friend’s feet, and the three of them looked over to the dance floor, watching James and Lily turn slowly to the music. Peter squeaked happily from Remus’s pocket, and Sirius’s tail swept the floor.
–Well, men,†said Remus finally, –I think we can congratulate ourselves on a job well done.â€
And one by one they turned quietly into the shadows of the tent, disappearing so sleekly and so suddenly that it could have been magic.
Stars Apart by Willow Rosenberg
Chapter Notes: anddd this is it! Thanks so much everyone for your patience, and I hope you like it:) There is going to be a third (and final!) installment in this little trilogy, but it might be a little while before I start posting it. Because my life is kind of transitory right now, if I started posting it updates would probably be pretty sketchy/inconsistent. I know how frustrating the delayed updates were for this story, and I don't want to do that to you guys again, so I plan to get a decent way into the next story before I start posting, so there's some buffer there. Hope that's good for everyone, and thanks to all of you so much for reading!! xxx---------------------------------------