Dwelling on Dreams (A Marauders Fan Fic)

Petunia and the Order

“You look beautiful Lily!” smiled her mother as she came downstairs. Lily was dressed in a deep red dress which clashed perfectly with her hair, and she looked incredibly elegant. “Petunia looks… stunning as well; I just came back from seeing her. She’s a bit stressed but that’s only to be expected. After all, you only get married once. I just wish your father was here to see this,” her mother said, slightly teary.

“How are her bridesmaids?” Lily asked quietly, still upset that Petunia had refused to have her as one.

“I’m sure they’re alright,” smiled her mother kindly. “It really is such a pity that Petunia didn’t ask you to be one of them. I tried to convince her to but…” she trailed off as she remembered how adamant Petunia had been that Lily would not be her bridesmaid; it had taken all of her persuasive power to have her agree to even invite Lily, but her younger daughter didn’t need to know that. “It’s almost time for the ceremony. Where is this boyfriend of yours? I want to meet him before I die.”

“That’s not funny Mum,” Lily said as she glared at her mother, refusing to accept the certain future they all knew was coming for her. “He said he’d meet us soon,” she said as she checked her reflection in the hall mirror. “I thought that you were going with Petunia?”

“Yes but I didn’t want to leave you on your own. The car’s picking me up in a couple of minutes; I just want to meet James first,” she said with a smile.

Lily opened the door and they walked out, down the stairs outside their house. As she reached the street a loud crack reverberated throughout the street. “Oh no!” cried Lily, frantically looking up and down the road for signs of anyone else; fortunately the street was clear. “James!” she hissed as James walked towards her. “You can’t just Apparate onto a Muggle street! You could have been seen and then you’d be put on trial by the Ministry!”

“Relax Lily, it’s fine! No one saw me!” he said as he kissed her. “Now, how about this wedding then? I hope there’ll be Firewhiskey!”

Lily laughed as she replied, “I doubt it. It’s not exactly a Petunia drink!” Their conversation was interrupted by Lily’s mother hurrying down the path, beaming at James. “Oh it’s lovely to meet you!” she cried as she embraced him. “Lily’s always talking about you! I’m so annoyed I didn’t get to meet you when you met Vernon and Petunia,” she said, making Lily turn a delicate shade of pink while her mother chattered on, only stopped by the arrival of Petunia’s car which she clambered into with a wave. “See you at the wedding dear!”

“I wish we could Apparate in front of Petunia!” moaned Lily as the bridal party drove away, being vindictive for once in her life. “She would have a heart attack.”

“I can’t believe that she didn’t want you to be one of her bridesmaids,” said James comfortingly as they pulled their wands out once the car had disappeared round the corner.

They materialised at the back of the church in a small graveyard, the sound of their Apparition masked by the chatter of the guests, before walking round to the front slowly and blending in with the crowd. Out of all the guests gathered there, it was obvious which ones were related to the groom. Lily’s mother waved the magical couple over to where she stood talking to two large blonde women, both the size of a tree and with barely any neck to speak of. Both of them were dressed in tweed suits and practical shoes, and were exactly the type of person one would expect Vernon to be related to.

“Oh darling! When did you get here?” asked Lily’s mother as they approached. “This is my youngest daughter Lily, Petunia’s younger sister, and her boyfriend James Potter.”

“Nice to meet you,” they grunted while James and Lily smiled at them.

“This is June and Marjorie Dursley, Vernon’s mother and sister,” said Lily’s mother with a smile.