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one, ࿐ wedding bells
FINGERS CURLED AROUND a glass of mead, Stevie Monroe stood in the corner of the Potter family's ballroom. Stevie had always known that Lily and James would get married. When they'd snogged in front of the entire Great Hall the last day of term her seventh year, she knew that they would be forever.
The after-party was in full swing. It was a smaller affair, with thirty or so guests, mainly members of the Order, and some from Hogwarts. It was August of 1978, and even fools knew that war was in full swing. The tension was palpable, she could feel it in in her bones when she entered the Ministry every morning.
Which was exactly why Lily and James had gotten married; here was no reason to wait, and they wanted a life together. They were 18, just graduated from school; he'd proposed to her in front of the entire Great Hall the last day of term, and now, not even three months later, they were married.
"May I have this dance?"
Stevie grinned as Frank Longbottom offered his hand. He was wickedly handsome, and had a goofy smile, which he flashed at her, using his free hand to ruffle up his sepia hued hair. His wife, Alice, was a few feet away, chatting with Peter Pettigrew, one of James' friends. They were both aurors, and Stevie worked under the two of them. They were the friendly sort, never piling her with paperwork, but they made sure her training was rigorous.
"Of course," Stevie grinned back, accepting his hand and gleefully following him to the dance floor. Frank was a good dancer, and even if Stevie was clumsy, he managed to keep her from falling as they waltzed.
"You turned 19 a while ago, didn't you? In June?" Frank asked. "Do anything fun?"
"On the tenth," Stevie nodded, as he spun her around. "And not really, most of my friends were in school, or busy. Plus, I had training, and Mad-Eye doesn't care if it's my birthday or not. He did get me a cake though."
"That's nice," Frank smiled, as the song ended. He led her to the punch bowl, and handed her a cup, which she eagerly took, glancing around the room. "Relax, Mad-Eye isn't going to jump out of a corner and attempt to duel you."
Stevie laughed as she thought of two weeks ago, when the auror had tried to disarm her after jumping out of a corner in her office. She'd managed to repeal it with a shield charm, but had been petrified the entire day. As Mad-Eye said, "Constant vigilance!"
She barely realized that Frank had left her, as she clung to her corner once again, sipping at her punch. She managed to finally wander over to Lily and James, who were standing with their parents at the front of the room. "Hey!" she greeted, slinging an arm around Lily, who beamed at her.
"Mom, Dad, James, Mr. and Mrs. Potter, this is one of my best friends from Hogwarts, Stevie Monroe. She's studying to be an auror, and had examinations today, otherwise she was going to be my maid of honor," Lily introduced.
