Disclaimer: This story is going to hurt me more than it will hurt u

prologue

theme:

[ every little thing she does is magic.

sleeping at last ]

"I thought she'd be here," Lily says for what seems like the thousandth time. A truly pained expression written plainly on her face. "She - I know our relationship has always been rocky, but..."

It's my wedding day. It's my wedding day and our parents are dead and only one of my sisters are here.

Lily is too kind to list Petunia's ever growing transgressions aloud, but her younger sister is not.

Sighing, paired with a weary expression, Poppy Evans brings a tissue to wipe at the make up smudging just beneath the lovely bride's emerald eyes. "I warned you not to get your hopes up. Petunia has never been the type to compromise, you know that."

"I'm her sister!"

"I know," Poppy offers, smiling sadly. "I know. It's okay, it's going to be okay, I promise. You're still going to have the big day of your dreams. Shouldn't you be thrilled? Come on, then," the brunette girl nudges her elder sister's shoulders, playfully. "Let's see a smile."

"..." Lily stares at her, mouth set stubbornly in a scowl, before cracking just a smidgen. "...I suppose you're right. This isn't the time to be moping... It's just..."

"You have every right to be upset, Lily," concedes Poppy, playing with a stray curl and tucking it behind Lily's ear. "But we both know that you deserve to be happy today... If tomorrow you want to spend the beginning of your honeymoon moaning about how awful Tuney is, then that's up to Potter to deal with."

Her sister laughs a little at that.

"That is, assuming, you won't be otherwise occupied."

"Poppy!"

"What? You're about to be a married woman," she remarks slyly. "Or have you forgotten?"

The conversation slows after Lily casts some sort of spell to seal her makeup that Poppy can't even begin to fathom, whilst the other bridesmaids crowd the room and make busy work for themselves in getting ready. Alice is the only one that Poppy is really familiar with, out of all of Lily's school friends, so she slides off to converse with her while Marlene and Emmaline gush over how beautiful of a bride Lily makes.

"Never let me agree to be a Maid of Honor again," Poppy says dryly, smoothing out the creases in the long skirt of her dress. Alice smiles knowingly. "Especially not for a...wizarding wedding. I'm at a bit of a disadvantage here."

"You've done wonderfully. I know Lily is thrilled with the arrangements."

"And Potter?"

Alice's responding laugh is giddy. "I honestly don't think he cares one way or another, as long as he ends up married to your sister."

"True enough," murmurs the youngest Evans, glancing sidelong at her sister laughing with her friends. She's only met Potter a handful of times, the rehearsals for the wedding aside. A good man, she remembers she decided nearly at once. Hair's a bit of a mess, and he has an awkward sort of sense of humor, but maybe that's a wizarding thing?

He loves Lily, she knows. And that's all that matters.

That's enough.

One of James' ushers takes her by the arm with a wry smile. She returns it, though worry settles in her gut at the nearly exhausted expression that overwhelms his usually handsome face. "Alright, Lupin?" she whispers, as they wait to enter. His eyes are trained on Marlene and James' best man, almost intently, before he smiles sheepishly at her inquiry.

"Just a bit tired. Been an experience, hasn't it?"

Relieved, Poppy grins back."It'll be over before you know it. Then... back to the usual." Something sinks in her gut as she realizes that their 'usuals' vary drastically. She'll go back to studying for final exams, and Lily will, hopefully, live out the fairytale she'd always dreamed of as a little girl. It wouldn't be difficult for her to forget Poppy entirely, like Petunia was trying to do to her...

Lily wouldn't do that, she chides herself firmly. She'll write just like always. You're being silly.

"Alright, Evans?" Remus echoes back, and though his tone is light, he does look genuinely concerned.

A bit startled, Poppy huffs a laugh quietly. "Just a bit tired."

"A'right, you two're up."

"Ready?" Lupin asks grandly, as though she isn't already attached to him at the arm.

"As ever," she affirms, feeling a bit sick with nerves.

And together they go, floating as gracefully as they can manage with their marginal height difference. James beams at his dear friend and as they draw nearer to the end of the aisle, he smiles crookedly at Poppy herself, running a hand through his already tousled locks.

"You had better fix that before Lily shows up," she suggests, feigning a severe expression.

Remus snickers at James' stricken expression before letting her go. And as Poppy takes her rightful place beside Marlene, she notices bemusedly, that Potter has enlisted the help of his best man to quickly tidy the state of his hair.

"Oh, honestly," Marlene sighs, but she's smiling fondly.

When Lily does enter, the room goes silent. James cries, but he is hardly the only one.

What should feel like a beautiful beginning feels like a bittersweet ending.

The reception is, perhaps, the most bizarre experience of all. And considering the company she kept during the planning of this wedding, that's saying something. Lily and James' first dance is more of a group event, and nearly all of her wizarding friends join in. It's too elaborate for Poppy to really identify if the origin could even be vaguely... normal? Muggle? Is that the word?

Lily beams the whole time, though, and that's enough.

Also, instead of the usual suit and tie attire, most of the guests are adorned in colorful robes. It's odd, but in a sort of enchanting way. Poppy has never seen such a collective gathering of such strange people but it's as pleasant of an after party as she's ever seen.

Potter's parents pull her aside briefly, offering her gratitude for her work, which is more than a little startling. They look a little older than her own parents were before their passing. Still, Mrs. Potter is stunning with stark black hair pulled into an elegant twist and her deep ruby robes.

"Oh, but you are darling, just like your sister," she insists. "I've been told you were in change of the floral arrangements? They are simply magnificent."

If Poppy blushes at the compliment, it doesn't seem to deter the woman whatsoever. "I'm actually hoping to become a florist once I've finished school," she admits shyly.

"Florist?" Mr. Potter ponders.

"Something similar to a herbalist, dear."

"Ah. Well, if you do half as well as you've done here tonight, I'm sure you'll find no trouble in your endeavors, Miss Evans."

"Thank you," Poppy squeaks out, almost completely mortified at the praise.

Soon enough, though, they are drawn away to go fawn over the happy couple, thankfully. A dull set of green eyes scan the dance floor, and Poppy catches the eye of a bubbly Alice dancing with her husband, Frank. Alice winks at her conspiratorially. She offers her a thumbs up, though she's not sure if the gesture is lost on the born-witch.

"Come on, then," a familiar voice says from behind her. Poppy jumps, and suddenly she can hear the melodic laughter of her older sister.

"Lily," she sighs, exasperatedly.

"You can't stand in this corner all night... And I know you're too shy to ask anyone to dance, and your glaring is going to scare any potential suitors off, so let's go," and with that, Lily tugs at her hand and pulls her to the makeshift dance floor.

"This is embarrassing," Poppy grumbles, though she follows Lily's movements almost automatically. Ingrained instinct from when Petunia would make her 'play the prince' when they all pretended to attend a grand ball, like in Cinderella. "I'm leading."

"Of course," Lily snorts, but she's still positively glowing.

They follow the music a bit awkwardly. She can see James and his best man following their steps almost sarcastically. The best man even demands to be dipped at one point, causing Lily to roll her eyes dramatically. "The pair of them, I swear."

"He's a wizard, too, right?"

"Hm? Oh. Sirius. Have you two really not met?"

Poppy shrugs. "He wasn't my walking partner, and had little to do with the decorating, so it never came up?"

Lily nods in understanding. "Yes, he was in our House at school. He's practically James' brother. He's a terrible flirt, so I'm a little glad you aren't acquainted."

"Right," and with that admission, Poppy is a little glad, too. "You're happy, then?"

"Ecstatic."

"Even with Tuney being Tuney?"

Lily purses her lips, but nods once more." Even with Tuney being Tuney."

"I met Potter's parents."

"Oh?"

"His mother called me darling," Poppy scrunches her nose up, and it's a miracle they haven't fallen out of her head by now, because Lily's eyes roll towards the ceiling once more.

"You are darling."

"You have to say that, we have the same genes."

"- Excuse me, ladies? May we cut in?"

Poppy's blood goes cold, but when she sees that 'Sirius' has his mischievous eyes on Lily, and James has his hand out to her, she calms. Lily glances at her, silently questioning. Poppy merely nods. This is fine, he is her brother now, after all.

"Alright, Mrs. Potter, let's see if you've improved since Hogwarts," Sirius drawls, smirking. Lily makes a face at him but accepts his open hand regardless.

"Don't call her Mrs. Potter, sounds like my Mum!" James calls after them, and Sirius' barking laughter echoes throughout the hall. Shaking his head of unruly hair, he turns back to Poppy with a charming grin. "Anyway, shall we?"

"We shall," Poppy says dryly, taking his hand and allowing him to lead.

"Bit weird to have a sister now," he remarks, glancing down at her.

"Bit weird to have a wizard brother and sister now."

"Fair," he laughs. "Suppose this was a harrowing experience for you? Still, I'm glad you made the most of it. I know it made Lily happy." The knowing look he offers her tells Poppy that he knows all about Petunia.

Poppy shrugs, smiling a little sadly. "It's what sisters do."

"Hmmm," James hums, eyes trailing over to where Lily is animatedly snapping at his best man, whilst he grins at her like the cat who got the cream. "Just like school," he chuckles.

"They didn't get along?" She knows that Lily had vehemently denied having feelings for James for years before finally accepting the truth, but she had always heard little about her other attachments.

"She didn't like any of us. Aside from Remus, I guess? Arrogant toe-rag, I believe, is the term she used for me... Sirius usually got something more creative, and colorful."

Poppy snorts, clearly reminiscing upon the clever insults thrown her way during childhood arguments.

"Her temper is unrivaled," James agrees, getting a misty look in his eyes. "I love that woman."

"I hope so. You just married her."

"I did, didn't I? Blimey."

"Are you going to cry?"

"...No."

Poppy grins, as the song comes to a slow close. "You are, but I won't tell if you don't?"

His returning watery grin is enough to quell any remaining fears she had.

Lily's going to be so happy.

That's enough.

AN;

This was just the prologue, normal chapters should be a bit longer generally !

Please keep in mind, I'm gonna have to play w/ canon A LOT to get where I want this to go. So bear with me? (This timeline is gonna be a hot MESS)

++ I'm not tagging the planned main ship bc I want it to be a surprise but it's not Sirius/OC even tho that's what it probably seemed like (and will continue to seem like for a while) sorry I'm baiting the dog lovers. I played myself. I said it'd be a mess so if you choose to stick around regardless that's on u ok bye