Hero of the Story || James Potter x Hermione Granger Fanfiction

43 | who knows how long i've loved you

xxxxiii.

who knows how long i've loved you

(I Will by The Beatles)

__________

July 31, 1979

"Lily?"

Hermione cracked the door open and peeked inside. Her eyes widened upon beholding her best friend. Lily was clad in a simple, lacy wedding dress, with flowy short sleeves and a neckline that formed a deep V, enough to tease a hint of her breasts. Her usually straight hair was curled into smooth waves, and she wore a crown of white lilies on top of her fiery red hair.

"What are you doing just gaping out there, Hermione?" Marlene McKinnon cheekily asked, her hazel eyes glittering with amusement.

"Hi, Hermione," Lily shyly said, cheeks reddening in embarrassment at being gaped at.

The brunette's eyes filled with tears as she shrank the distance between her and her best friend. She threw her arms around the chuckling bride. "You look so lovely today, Lily. Honest," she sniffed.

"Why are you crying?" Lily cried, slightly pulling away from Hermione to glare at her through watery eyes. "The wedding hasn't started yet! Blimey!"

"Please don't start crying," Mary greeted as she entered the room too. "I don't want to cry yet." Her pretty blue eyes also shone with unshed tears, and laughingly, Lily ushered the blonde towards them to join in the hug. Only Marlene was tear-free, highly amused at the girls' antics.

"Save the sappiness for the wedding march," Marlene sighed, the corners of her mouth twitching into a fond smile. She pried Hermione and Mary away from the bride and grinned brightly at Lily. She reached forward and fixed her flower crown, before holding both of her hands. "Severus Snape is one lucky bastard."

Hermione grasped Lily's arm with blatant seriousness on her face. "If he hurts you, I know how to throw a mean Bat-Bogey Hex," she offered, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"Oh, oh, she surely does!" Mary exclaimed, followed by a laugh.

"Not if I punch him in the face first," Lily joked.

Marlene snorted. "That's the Lily Evans we know and love, all right," she said.

Their conversation was halted as another knock came from Lily's door. It cracked open and Mrs. Evans' face peeked inside. "All set, girls?" she asked, her smile widening when her eyes landed on her daughter.

Lily nervously laughed and smoothed invisible wrinkles in her dress. Hermione caught her hand and gave her a comforting squeeze. "You look perfect, Lily," she reassured. "I'm sure Sev won't be able to keep his eyes off you."

Her emerald eyes glittered with tears once more, but the smile on her face stretched far and wide like the horizon. Lily looked marvellously glowing and Hermione genuinely only felt happiness for her best friend today. She tried to trample away the memories of another emerald-eye boy who occupied the deepest recesses of her brain, knowing that her current best friends' happiness mattered today more.

Then, with a deep inhale, Lily declared, "I'm ready."

-ooo-

Lily and Sev's wedding took place in a quaint garden near Hogwarts. Seeing they both lived in dreary Cokeworth, with a polluted river and an abandoned factory as the main attraction, they had both agreed they should search for a place that was closer to the place they considered as their second home.