Wonderful

James drummed his fingers on the doorframe around which he had just peeked his head. "Lils, if you don't stop dawdling we're going to be extremely late."

Lily turned from her wardrobe with a small smile. "What makes you think, after all these years, Sirius is going to care if we're late?"

"Because--it's his twenty-first birthday party. A man doesn't turn twenty-one everyday."

"Why would it matter to Sirius which birthday it is? You know he's just having a party because it's an excuse to get everyone blown away."

James shrugged. "I don't like being late, that's all."

"No," she said, looking away from him to pull a dress out of the closet, "you just don't want to miss any of the fun. And, while I'm thinking of it - are we going to tell anyone about--?" She stopped short and put a hand to her flat stomach, glancing down at it with a beaming face.

James, too, smiled excitedly, but quickly masked it. "I dunno. It's Padfoot's birthday; I wouldn't want to steal his thunder."

"His 'thunder', James? Well, I suppose you might have a bit of a point, as much as I hate to admit it. Anyway, what am I going on about? You said yourself I'm dawdling. Now out!" she said, ushering him out of the door, "I have to decide what to wear."

Forty-five minutes later, Lily came out wearing a flowing emerald evening gown, eye shadow of the perfect shade, blush matching the shade of her kissable lips. Her look was completed by an elegant top do crowning her vibrant auburn hair with several beautiful tendrils hanging loose to frame her face.

"How do I look?" she asked, stepping into the front room where James was nearly asleep.

He turned to look at her, and was surprised by such a transformation from his plain, I'll-think-about-looks-later wife's usual appearance to this... striking woman. He could hardly remember a time she looked so beautiful. Not even on their wedding day.... James contemplated the thought that perhaps the glow of a mother-to-be was what made the difference.

Lily frowned at his silence, having taken it negatively. "Should I change...?"

"No! No, you look wonderful, Lily. In fact, we could just stay here and ditch Sirius, if you wanted..."

Lily laughed and gave him a playful shove. "As tempting and seductive as your compliments are, I'm afraid I'll have to decline." Then, slipping a gloved hand in James' as he stood up, she said, "Let's go."

It's late in the evening; she's wondering what clothes to wear.

She puts on her make-up, and brushes her long blonde hair.

And then she asks me, "Do I look alright?"

And I say, "Yes, you look wonderful tonight."

Ted Tonks, the husband of Sirius' cousin, Andromeda, threw open the door, wine glass in hand, when James and Lily arrived on the doorstep of his new flat in central England.

"There you are! We were about to get worried, y'know. Thought you might have splinched or something dreadful."

James merely nodded; Ted was probably the only one worrying, as his pessimism nearly rivaled that of Mad-Eye Moody. Yet he was fun, even for a cynical Muggle-born.

"Where's Sirius?" James asked, clutching in one hand a package not much bigger than a jewelry box. In the other, his fingers were laced between Lily's.

"Mingling somewhere; probably handing out drinks. Where else?" Ted replied. His eyes lingered for a second, not at all in perversion, but in admiration, on Lily, who did not seem to take notice.

When they entered and attempted to find Sirius, James felt a rush of pride as heads, men and women alike, turned to stare at his wife. Sirius' flat was large, two stories tall, and very spacious as Sirius owned very little furniture; to say that the place was packed with people (some of whom James had never seen, and very much doubted whether Sirius had, either), was a hefty statement. Every time Lily asked to get by someone, she always got a delayed response due to their lingering eyes.

"Sirius!" said James once they had found him flirting with a blonde who appeared to be very much on the thick side.

"Prongs!" he responded, ignoring the girl beside him. "Where've you been, mate? Ted was about to send out a search party, I believe." He stopped to glance at Lily. "Merlin's beard, you look beautiful."

She smiled and blushed slightly; James and Sirius beamed. "Thanks, Sirius. But don't be insulted if I say that doesn't mean much coming from you."

Sirius feigned offense. "Lily Potter! I haven't the slightest idea what you're on about." He grinned. "How are you two doing, anyway? It's been almost two weeks. You know what it's like...." He was, of course, referring to his assignments for the Order.

"Well," James inhaled deeply and then continued in a tone belonging only to proud parents-to-be, "the three of us are doing just fine." He enveloped Lily in his arms, placing his hands on her stomach.

Sirius blinked, having not caught on at first. And then he broke into his largest smile yet. "You're expecting? You? That's great and all, but Lily, I must warn you that this boy couldn't keep a rat alive for more than a month. Come to think of it, nor could he keep an owl, a cat, a jarvie...."

"Oh, shut up," said James, wearing a good-humored scowl.

"Anyway, congratulations. Is this a secret or can everyone else know why she's looking so good tonight?"

Lily shook her head modestly. "It's your party."

"Well. In that case, I'm off to spread the news." He turned his attention back to the blonde, who had been staring off somewhere in the crowd. "Let's go, doll."

"Are you having a good time?" asked Lily as she and James turned to locate another of their friends to talk to.

His hazel eyes sparkled down at her. "I'm having a wonderful time."

We go to a party, and everyone turns to see

This beautiful lady that's walking around with me.

And then she asks me, "Do you feel alright?"

And I say, "Yes. I feel wonderful tonight."

They discovered Peter and Remus sitting together in the kitchen with Fabian and Gideon Prewett. Though times were tough and getting tougher by the day and the foursome were some of the key figures in fighting Voldemort, none of them seemed to be thinking of anything but having a good time. Remus was the only one in a chair; the other three sat on top of the counter throwing back what looked like both Butterbeers and Firewhiskeys. As Remus was the only person facing the doorway, he stood up and pointed. The other three were either too drunk, or simply did not care, to turn around. Instead, they kept laughing loudly and drinking from the several bottles laying on the countertops.

"Look who's decided to show his face," he said with a quiet laugh. "Hello, Lily." He paused to take in her appearance. "Have you always had that dress?"

She smiled as she had done for Sirius and shook her head. "No. I got it just for Sirius." She chuckled. "Of course! I got it for my sister's wedding last year." She frowned, as her sister had only invited her because had she not done so, the other guests might have thought something was wrong between them--and Petunia could never have something like that.

"So," said Remus with a smile, ignoring her good-natured jibe. "I've heard the big news. And I'd like to be the first--or, well, at least the first werewolf--to congratulate you."

The three of them laughed; he had always taken his lycanthropy lightly on the surface.

"How'd you find out so fast? We just told Sirius naught but about two minutes ago...."

"Exactly," he said, as if that explained it. "So, Lily, how far along are you? Picked out any names?"

"Just a couple of months... and no, we haven't known long enough to start things like that."

James watched the two of them talk away, content just to watch her facial expressions, to know what she's really thinking when she generalizes statements; to read her thoughts, Legilimens or not. He loved her more than she could possibly know, and tonight was wonderful simply because of that fact. She was perfect and imperfect; beautiful and simple; amazing and terrible. She was everything he needed at once, but did he show his emotions often enough? Sure, they were happy, having had hardly any real arguments between them, let alone fights. He felt a surge of pride like he hadn't felt in a long time, and, impulsively, grabbed her shoulders and kissed her romantically while Remus cocked an eyebrow.

"I love you," he whispered, allowing their foreheads to meet. "I love you, I love you, I love you."

"What brought that--" Lily began, but Peter and the others had finally noticed their presence:

"Oi! James!"

I feel wonderful because I see

The love light shining in your eyes

And the wonder of it all

Is that you just don't realize how much I love you.

It was nearing three in the morning when Sirius's alcohol supply was depleted and the random guests had left. By that time, the only people left were the James and Lily, Remus, Peter, Fabian and Gideon, Ted, and the blonde Sirius had been walking around with all night, whom James learned was called Candi. Sirius really had awful taste, he had decided upon hearing this.

Though Lily had asked him to have a good time and to "get his party out" before he had to grow up, he only went out into the party a couple times. Before, he had been excited to enjoy Sirius' party; he now only wanted to spend time with Lily. And for some reason, that was okay, even to the James Potter who, a year ago, wouldn't have given anything to miss a drink with his best friends. That's not to say he didn't drink a few with Peter, who stayed in the kitchen until he slipped into an alcohol-induced blackout.

"How're you doing?" she asked him.

He winced slightly at the volume of her voice. "Still hurts," said James, referring to his head, which was pounding as a result of a spot too much to drink.

Sirius and the blonde came giggling in, arm-in-arm. It was very evident from the disinterested-but-drunkenly-intrigued look on the face of the former.

"James!" he said loudly, his arm wrapped tight around Candi's waist. "I invi'e ya here and ya spend all ya time in here with these losers what don' even wanna have any fun." He grinned at Lily and James.

"Paddy," said James in his most convincing best-friend-with-reason tone, "I think you've had enough, mate."

"Nah. Hey, here's an idea! Let's go for a spin on the motorbike ya got me! How 'bout that? Eh?"

"NO!" said James, Lily, and Remus in almost perfect unison.

Remus stood up, as always, to put a hand on Sirius's shoulder. "Hey. I have an idea too. How about you and your friend go upstairs and sleep it off, and maybe in the morning we can all take turns. It'll be fun then; daylight and all. And sobriety is always a plus."

Sirius nodded somberly, turned to the blonde and headed toward the stairs.

"Of course, there's no chance he'll feel like it tomorrow with the level of alcohol he's had." He smiled to himself then glanced at Peter and the Prewetts, all of whom were passed out. "That can't be good."

"D'you think they're all right?" asked Lily, unsure whether to laugh at her friends or pour buckets of ice water on them until they came to. "Maybe we should move them. I doubt kitchen counters are the best place to sleep."

Remus smiled again. "It's fine, Lily. I wouldn't want you to get any stains on your dress." His eyes traveled the length of her clothing once more in pure admiration.

"Hey, mate, that's my wife," said James, before realizing he had spoken too loud and rubbing his temples.

Lily smiled understandingly up at her husband. "Are you ready to go home then?"

"And ruin all of your and Moony's fun? Never!" He winced. He was now quite sure his head would explode.

"You're ruining nothing of mine, James. Go home. You deserve it."

"C'mon." They said their goodbyes to Remus, who was left with three unconscious companions. "Joint disapparition, I think?"

"Right. Splinching is not my idea of fun tonight." He took her hand, beginning to beam uncontrollably.

"Lils?"

"Yeah?"

"You were wonderful tonight. Really."

It's time to go home now, and I've got an aching head,

So I give her the car keys and she helps me to bed.

And then I tell her, as I turn out the light,

I say, "My darling, you were wonderful tonight."