A Royal Affair

Prologue

King Albus and Queen Minerva of Gryffindor had always longed for a child, and there was much rejoicing within the kingdom when their son, Crown Prince James, was born. Thus began a search throughout the kingdoms, to find a perfect bride for their only child. Their personal healer, Madam Poppy Pomfrey, informed both the king and queen that it would be unlikely that Queen Minerva would ever have another child. King Albus, with his blue eyes twinkling, informed both the healer and his wife that one son was more than enough, and so the search for the perfect princess for their son continued.

When James was eighteen, Albus and Minerva found who they believed would be perfect. She was the only daughter to the Crown Princess Helena of Ravenclaw, and her husband, Baron Savaric of Lochaber. The Crown Princess's mother, Rowena, and her husband, Geoffrey, Prince Consort, still ruled the Kingdom of Ravenclaw jointly, while Crown Princess Helena and Baron Savaric awaited their turn. Princess Lily was the youngest child and only daughter of the Crown Princess and the Baron; she had three older brothers, Hugh, Robert, and William, and so was not needed to remain in the kingdom to take it over upon the occasion of her grandmother and mother's deaths.

Crown Prince James and Princess Lily were permitted to write one another as soon as the betrothal agreement was made and the engagement announced. Their wedding was set for the end of June, and Princess Lily was due to arrive to the Kingdom of Gryffindor just three weeks before the scheduled day. Crown Prince James, when he was not writing to Princess Lily, was dueling with his two closest friends, Sirius Black, Earl of Grimmauld Place, and Lord Remus Lupin. James, Sirius, and Remus had been comrades since their youth, due to Sirius's father, Orion, and Remus's father, Lyall, being close to King Albus. With their wands at the ready whenever possible, the three men would laughingly proclaim that they themselves were the victor, but none of it mattered, for they all would fight fairly and justly.

Sirius's own betrothal was announced within months of Princess Lily's arrival to the Kingdom of Gryffindor, and it was to be a young lady by the name of Gwenog Jones, only child and therefore the heir of her mother and father, formally known as the Viscount Stuart and Viscountess Hestia Jones, of Holyhead. Raven-haired Lady Gwenog was Welsh on her father's side and Irish on her mother's side, and absolutely loved the outdoors. Once he was sent her portrait, Sirius proclaimed himself in love with the black-haired, dark-eyed beauty, and James and Remus couldn't have been happier for their friend.

Remus said that, although he was indeed supportive of James and Sirius's upcoming wedded bliss, he did not believe that the marriage game was for him. At the various celebrations in the months leading up to James's wedding, both James and Sirius attempted to dissuade Remus of his opinion. They spent hours telling him how to walk, to converse with noble women, and even practiced the dance steps with him. When the nights in question came, Remus behaved and danced impeccably, but none of it mattered. After each entertainment, masked ball, or festival that the Kingdom of Gryffindor had, Remus always claimed that no lady had effectively captured his attention, and James and Sirius finally gave up their attempts to convince Remus that wedded bliss could be a wonderful thing. Remus had a cousin somewhere who had married young and had produced a houseful of children and, with his own parents having died, he had no one breathing down his neck to agree to a marriage. Perhaps, James and Sirius reasoned, Remus wanted to be free, and although he was considered a handsome man by some, many could not get past the scars on his face, put there during a rather dangerous hunt by a massive wolf, which James and Sirius had promptly slaughtered for hurting their friend.

When the month of June arrived, the final preparations for Princess Lily of the Kingdom of Ravenclaw were in full swing. James was given an entirely new wardrobe, and his wedding robes were in their final stages of fittings. James had balked to both his mother and father, thinking that it was tedious to stand there for hours on end while the court seamstress, Madam Malkin, took his measurements or cut a thread there, and wondered why Tailoring Spells could not be utilized. Queen Minerva smiled indulgently at her son, while King Albus informed him that not a stone should be unturned when it came to his wedding for, until he had children of his own, it would be the most important day of his life.