━━━━【 EPILOGUE 】━━━━
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TODAY WAS THE DAY. Laurel stood in front of a floor-length mirror, staring at herself. She had kicked out her family, Dominique, Callen, Roxanne, and Lily from her dressing room for a minute to have to herself.
⠀⠀The dress was gorgeous. The square neckline brought out the best of her broad shoulders, displaying her necklaces. The fabric shimmered white, but under different lights, it looked like a pale mint green underneath. She had chosen this dress for that very reason. Her arms were covered in long bell sleeves, with a v-shaped back, the skirt cascading down her legs into a waterfall-like train. Her favorite part? The entire dress was covered in flower embroidered designs. It really couldn't get more Laurel than this.
⠀⠀She was marrying James. She never thought she would get to think those words. But here she was, getting ready to start their forever together (not as if they hadn't already). He had proposed four years after they began dating again. He hadn't given her an engagement ring. He knew her too well. They had woken up one morning in their London apartment and all he asked was Will you marry me? and Laurel said yes! without hesitation. She didn't care about a ring. She just wanted to be with him.
⠀⠀As Laurel stood in front of the mirror, she pulled something out of her dress pockets. It was a tiny folded paper that was fading and yellow with age. She unfolded it, finding the note James had written about her back when they were sixteen. It was the one she had stolen off his bedroom wall. She had found it while going through her piles of old letters in their apartment a few weeks ago, wondering if he had ever noticed its absence.
⠀⠀Now she was here, reading it again on her wedding day. It was enough for Laurel to know that his feelings would never change. Still, she was nervous.
⠀⠀Since New York, Laurel quit working for the Ministry. She now spent her days as a normal Healer at St. Mungo's and James remained an Auror, slowly rising in the ranks. Tien, James' supervisor, had retired at the close of the New York case, while Howard was sentenced to life in the American wizarding prison. His daughter, Linnea, was under the care of her nanny, Mrs. McHane. As for Gwynin, she found a cure for Red's pain, and they both formed a friendship. James still kept in touch with them, but he knew he would stay in England for a long time.
⠀⠀In the last four years, Laurel had never known more happiness. When James and she had arrived back in London, they shocked the press into a frenzy. James Potter left for Now York? They came back together? Oh! To swoon!
⠀⠀According to Evan, Phillip had gone back to America with his family and quit his job at the company. But she didn't really care. James was her entire world and she would hold fast to it.
⠀⠀Laurel folded the paper back into her pocket. Adjusting her self in the chair, Laurel decided to leave her long blonde curls down, putting on a crown of white baby's breath, which settled nicely on her head. Laurel put on lipstick that was a light shade of red, slipping on her shoes. Putting on her jewelry—the pinecone necklace from her grandmother, the gold rose and crescent moon charm necklace from her parents, the cork necklace, the massive sun earrings she had never gotten rid of, and her many rings—she let only her parents in.
⠀⠀"My Little Leaf," Rolf said, wrapping his arms around his daughter in a bear hug. "You look beautiful."
⠀⠀"Thanks, Dad," she said, hugging him back. She could feel the crown crushing under his tight grasp but maybe she didn't really care.
⠀⠀"Not exactly my taste," Luna said, in a good-hearted manner, reaching to fix the flower crown her husband had half-crushed. "But, Laury, you look wonderful." She stroked her daughter's face, smiling. Her silvery grey eyes shone.
⠀⠀"Thanks, Mum," Laurel said.
⠀⠀Luna studied her daughter's face. "You're nervous, aren't you?"
⠀⠀"Maybe a little."
⠀⠀Luna looked at her husband, both sitting their daughter down. "I suppose you're nervous you're getting married to the wrong person."
⠀⠀Laurel nodded. Her mother's intellect never failed to penetrate any sort of human emotion.
⠀⠀"That and...Mum...I just wish I were more like you. Not a care in the world for what people think of you."
⠀⠀"Laury," Rolf chided, squeezing Laurel's hand lightly, "you're already so much like her. Beautiful, smart...kind beyond measure."
⠀⠀Luna smiled, kissing her husband on the cheek. She turned back to her daughter. "You know, when we got married, I realize I did care. But I only cared about what he thought of me. Even then I only cared about what I thought of me."
⠀⠀Laurel nodded slowly as her mother continued. "You can either go about this world and care too much about what people who don't know you think of you, or you can forget about it and marry the person you love."
⠀⠀The blonde didn't say anything, listening intently to her mother's calming voice. Luna smiled.
⠀⠀"What do you think of you?" she asked.
⠀⠀At her age of 25, Laurel was used to her mother asking questions like this, but she hadn't really thought about it in a way that she was now.
⠀⠀"Erm...I think...we deserve this," Laurel said slowly. "I've spent the last four years dating James again. Rebuilding. And we both deserve to marry and be happy forever."
⠀⠀Luna laughed. "I asked about you, silly."
⠀⠀Laurel hesitated.
⠀⠀"I suppose...I deserve this. I picked the right person, otherwise, he wouldn't have come back to me the way he did," she said. She genuinely believed it. Her mother squeezed her hand and already, Laurel was feeling so much better.
⠀⠀Callen literally squealed so loud when she saw Laurel, while Lily beamed at her. Dominique and Roxanne stood off to the side, staring at her pridefully, like they were saying 'yeah, I helped dressed her. I knew what the hell I was doing and I was right.' Lysander walked in last, slightly out of breath. There was a small fire on the tip of his suit jacket, which he extinguished quickly.
⠀⠀"Lysander?" Rolf asked warningly. "What did you do?"
⠀⠀"Not me!" Lysander exclaimed like a child as if he wasn't approaching his thirties. "The garden gnomes here are...ferocious."
⠀⠀"I'm inclined to believe you," Luna said heartily. They all laughed.
⠀⠀"You look great, by the way," Lysander said, hugging Laurel.
⠀⠀"Now for the finishing touch," Lily said dramatically, reaching for the long gold veil that sat on a chair. The redhead had grown almost taller than Laurel in the last few years, easily sweeping the veil across her soon-to-be sister-in-law's head. The veil seemed to be covered in gold stars, glistening in the light. It fluttered down on top of the flower crown and cascaded down around Laurel's shoulders, making her look like a literal Greek goddess.
⠀⠀Everyone was speechless.
⠀⠀Then Dominique spoke. "James is going to cry his eyes out."
⠀⠀Dominique was never wrong. When Laurel has appeared with her parents at her sides to walk her down the aisle, James tried so hard to keep it together. But her beauty...she wasn't even trying...hit him like a tidal wave, catching in his chest. He broke down quietly, his face turning red as he cried. All Laurel could do was smile and cry as well. She was really marrying the love of her life. Her soulmate.
⠀⠀James wore his best black robes, trying to do something with that unruly black hair of his. But one could only do so much to fight their genes. Besides, Laurel didn't care—he was smoking hot to her either way.
⠀⠀When they reached the front of the room, Hermione Granger stood to officiate the wedding. They decided to exchange pre-written vows to each other here and then their personal vows in private. When so much of James' life was out in the open, he wanted some things to be kept between them. They had both longed for a smaller and more private wedding, but when you're the firstborn Potter child, those things don't come by easily. If they could've, they would've eloped and been done with the matter, but here they were. They had both come to peace with it, figuring that whatever the circumstances, they wanted to get married, whatever way possible.
⠀⠀Now they stood in front of each other, holding hands, exchanging vows, tears brimming their eyes. It was happening. Her face was obscured by the gold veil, but he could see her red-lipped smile and bright blue eyes staring into his. If he could, he would've melted on the spot.
⠀⠀James slipped a gold wedding band on her left ring finger, her hands steadying his as he shook with excitement. Laurel did the same with him, squeezing his hand lightly as they turned back towards Hermione. She finally said the words that James had longed to hear from the moment Laurel had walked in.
⠀⠀"I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride." Hermione smiled brightly.
⠀⠀James turned back to the goddess before him, his fingers gingerly lifting the gold veil over her head. She was beautiful as ever, a smile on her face, one that he would fall in love with over and over again. The world around them seemed to melt away as Laurel looked into his brown eyes. Reaching for her face, he didn't have to say anything for her to read his eyes. I love you. She smiled, I love you too.
⠀⠀He pressed his lips on hers then, in the way that she would never get tired of. His mouth was gentle, drawing her closer to him, both smiling as they kissed. Everyone in the room cheered. As they pulled apart, they were showed gold confetti and flower petals. James swept her off her feet, carrying her down the aisle, a big grin on his face. When they reached the middle of it, he set her down, pulling her in by the waist and kissing her again.
⠀⠀They had never been happier in their lives.
⠀⠀Later, when they finally got some privacy as everyone else was dancing, they escaped to a room to exchange their personal vows. But James was too busy kissing his new wife for them to get any of that done.
⠀⠀"James-" Laurel said, giggling between kisses, "James...stop, seriously! We have vows to exchange."
⠀⠀James pulled away from her, sighing exasperatedly. "Fiiiine, Mrs. Potter."
⠀⠀"You know I'm not changing my last name," Laurel reminded him as she pulled him to the sofa in the room.
⠀⠀"I know," James shrugged. "But can I still call you that?"
⠀⠀"As long as I can call you Mr. Scamander," Laurel negotiated playfully.
⠀⠀James thought about it for a second. "You have a deal if I get a kiss."
⠀⠀Laurel chuckled, leaning over to kiss him on the mouth. She pulled away, but James grabbed onto her arm. "One more?"
⠀⠀She shook her head disapprovingly but had a smile on her face. She just had to oblige, pecking him once more.
⠀⠀"Okay, now we can do whatever you want," James said, his arm winding around her waist affectionately.
⠀⠀"I've written it all in a letter here," Laurel said, suddenly shy as she gave him a navy blue envelope.
⠀⠀He chuckled as he examined the envelope. "Blue? Just like—"
⠀⠀"When you wrote to me from New York. Yeah," she said quietly, blushing a little. "That's where everything began again. For us."
⠀⠀He kissed her on the cheek, opening the envelope and then handing the letter inside back to her. "Can you read it for me?"
⠀⠀Laurel hesitantly took it back in her hands. She had written this weeks ago, so she couldn't remember what she wrote, but she knew the gist of it because it had been written from the depths of her heart. She meant every word of it with her entire being.
⠀⠀Unfolding the letter, she cleared her throat, her eyes scanning her handwriting. Laurel began to read.
⠀⠀James. My James. My Pudding Boy,
⠀⠀⠀⠀I don't know if you believe in fate, but I know that something has thrown us apart only to pull us back to each other again and again. You know, there's this tale of soulmates being bonded with a never-ending, never breaking, never failing red string tied to the ends of their fingers. No matter how far apart they are from each other or who else they fall in love with, their souls are always tied together.
⠀⠀⠀⠀That's what I think you and I have. That's why I asked for the red line inside our wedding bands. You and I...we're soulmates. You know me like nobody else, understand me like nobody else, love me like nobody else.
⠀⠀⠀⠀I spent so long wishing I hadn't been so stupid to let you go, that it has always been you, that I would've been able to spend even more time with you by my side, but now...I have you with me. Forever. And I wouldn't trade you for anything else in this world. You are my world. And I will never do anything to jeopardize you or what we have.
⠀⠀⠀⠀You, James Sirius Potter, are the king of my heart. I promise to stay by your side forever, til death do us part. I promise to take care of you always, to love you when you don't feel loved, to remind you when days are rough. I promise to protect you from the harms of this world, to cherish you for the rest of my life and yours. Everything I have is yours. Everything I am is yours. I am yours. I promise you will never have to think twice about it.
I love you.
Here's to forever and ever,
Laurel
⠀⠀Laurel looked up, finding James' brown eyes shining. He was smiling, his fingers running across her cheeks, cupping her face. He kissed her, as if he hadn't kissed her so many times already, whipping the air out of her lungs, yet at the same time, breathing life into her.
⠀⠀They pulled apart, smiling at each other fondly. She put her letter back into the envelope, slipping it in James' hands.
⠀⠀"It's your turn," Laurel said, poking him gently.
⠀⠀"I doubt mine will top yours," James chuckled, rummaging through his pockets. Laurel wondered if they were enchanted to be bottomless pockets. Her thoughts were confirmed when James stuck his entire arm in his pocket, rummaging around. Laurel had to laugh.
⠀⠀"Ah! Here it is!" James said excitedly, pulling his arm out, along with a terribly wrapped box. "Open it."
⠀⠀"Your vows are a present?" Laurel asked, holding the tiny package in her lap.
⠀⠀"Just open it, Rels."
⠀⠀Casting one more confused glance at him, she unwrapped it, opening the lid of the box.
⠀⠀"A notebook?" she asked quietly, pulling out the blue leather-bound journal that sat inside.
⠀⠀James nodded, turning serious, his grasp on her waist tightening. "Everything I vow to you in our marriage is in here. Everything you ever need to know is here. I love you has never quite covered what I feel for you, but everything I've ever written here does."
⠀⠀She flipped it open. On the first lined page, she found James' faded slanted handwriting: Dancing With An Angel. December 27th, 2021.
⠀⠀"Is this...is this from—?"
⠀⠀"Our sixth year. Yeah," James answered, chuckling. "Every poem. Every letter. Everything I've ever written to you or about you. All of it is here."
⠀⠀The folded note seemed to feel heavy in her pocket. "Not all of it," she said.
⠀⠀"What do you mean?"
⠀⠀Laurel pulled the note out from her pocket, holding it up. "I'm surprised you didn't notice. I stole this off your wall all those years ago at the Christmas party."
⠀⠀"You mean the night we almost kissed—?"
⠀⠀"Before Lily interrupted," Laurel chuckled at the memory. "Yes."
⠀⠀James took the folded note from her hand, opening it up. His eyes fell across his own words, a little chuckle emitting from his throat. He turned to her, a smug smile on his face. "You sneaky woman."
⠀⠀Laurel just smiled innocently. James shook his head, feigning disapproval, reaching for the notebook in her hand. He slipped the paper inside, waving his wand so that it was now part of the journal.
⠀⠀"Now," James said, handing it back to her, "it's complete."
⠀⠀She grinned, kissing him, long and hard on the mouth. As she pulled back, she reached to fix some of his stray hairs, smiling a little wickedly.
⠀⠀"We should get back," she said, grabbing his hand and slipping the notebook in her pocket, "before they think we're—as they say—consummating our marriage a bit too early for their liking."
⠀⠀James smirked a little. "You know I wouldn't mind if we did that earlier and again later."
Laurel just laughed, pulling him out of the room, back to the celebration.
⠀⠀It was the best night of their lives.
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JAMES SIRIUS POTTER stood at the doorway to his backyard, looking on at a blonde woman, his wife, stood in front of a painting easel, basking in the spring sun with paint palette in her hands. The sun seemed to pour its refulgence into her gold locks, dancing on her skin, almost blinding him. Even in her paint-covered jeans, tank top, and messy ribbon-weaved hair, she was beautiful.
⠀⠀Everyone said Laurel looked like her mother. The spitting image of her mother really. The older she got, the more everyone said she looked like Luna. But to James, she was just Laurel. Especially every time she hit him with her sea-blue eyes.
⠀⠀Laurel Scamander, he thought, smiling quietly to himself. Ten years later and nothing about how he felt for her had changed. Nothing about her had changed, except perhaps her maturity and the weariness of life taking a toll on her features (his too). But even then, she was still his Laurel. And he was still her James.
⠀⠀Ten years later, James had quit his job as an Auror, turning to write as a profession. As it turned out, both wizards and Muggles really enjoyed his poetry and stories, and to be honest, he enjoyed writing more than he enjoyed solving the Ministry's mysteries. Laurel supported him every step of the way, despite the initial pushback from his father. But eventually, Harry accepted the idea as well, finally retiring from the Department of Aurors to teach at Hogwarts as their longest-standing Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. James thought it suited his father quite well.
⠀⠀Somewhere in the last ten years, James and Laurel had adopted Linnea, due to Mrs. McHane's death. She was about sixteen now (and a piece of work, but of course they loved her anyway), about to finish her education at Hogwarts. Other than Linnea, Laurel and James hadn't really wanted more kids. Harry and Ginny kept hounding them for more grandchildren since Albus and Scorpius couldn't exactly have their own, and Lily refused to have kids. Luna and Rolf seemed to be fine, considering Lysander and Roxanne had three of their own already. But James and Laurel had both simply had laughed it off and said eventually they would, but now that they were in their thirties, they thought it was time they were both ready for more. They had been trying for the last two years, to no avail.
⠀⠀Even so, they didn't let it get the best of them, staying as happy as possible within their marriage and with each other. And right now, standing there looking at her while she painted, James thought to himself that perhaps it wasn't so bad that it was just him, her, and Linnea. Life was good and having more kids could make it better, but now it was already the best.
⠀⠀He twisted the gold wedding band around his left finger, a habit that had grown on him. It was a reminder that she was his and he was hers, no matter what, no matter how hard life got. It was an unbreakable vow that they would never leave each others' sides.
⠀⠀Smiling again, James headed towards Laurel, enjoying the soft grass underneath his feet. Laurel was so focused on her painting she didn't even notice him until he wrapped his arms around her, lightly kissing her exposed shoulder.
⠀⠀"Oh!" she exclaimed. Then she smiled. "Hello, James."
⠀⠀"What are you up to, my love?" James asked. The painting was taking form in shapes of blue and beige, but he couldn't really make it out.
⠀⠀"Painting the seaside," Laurel said, painting a careful stroke of blue that James thought looked like her eyes. "From our honeymoon."
⠀⠀"We should go on another one soon," James said.
⠀⠀"We could. But they need me at St. Mungo's," Laurel reasoned.
⠀⠀"No, they don't. I need you more," James argued like a child, his grip on her waist tightening.
⠀⠀"You have me to yourself every day and every night." She chuckled.
⠀⠀"That's true." He kissed her neck, sending tingles down her spine. "But I don't want work in the way."
⠀⠀"Maybe we'll take a vacation soon," she settled, adding another stroke of paint to the canvas. "No promises though."
⠀⠀"I'll take it."
⠀⠀They stayed like that for a minute, James watching as the painting came to life before his eyes. God, how was she so talented at everything?
⠀⠀Then she placed her paint down, turning to him, kissing him lightly, smearing his skin with paint as she held his face. He didn't mind.
⠀⠀"I have a surprise for you," she said.
⠀⠀"A surprise?" he asked, his brown eyes glimmering excitedly. "It isn't my birthday yet."
⠀⠀"Just listen," Laurel said. She reached into her pocket, pulling out some tube-like contraption. It looked intimidating, like a thermometer that Muggles used, except there were no numbers in the middle of it. Just two red lines across the white oval in the middle.
⠀⠀"What's that?" he asked, taking it from her hands. She was smiling, not saying anything as he looked from her to the plastic contraption. "Two red lines means...oh, Rels." He looked up at her, finding her blue eyes shining.
⠀⠀"I'm—we're? Parents?" James stammered out, tears forming in his eyes.
⠀⠀"Yes!" Laurel said excitedly, wrapping her arms around him. He held her tightly, his body shaking as he cried happily. They pulled apart and James grabbed Laurel's face, kissing her hard. He was so happy that he couldn't stop kissing her.
⠀⠀As they finally pulled apart, Laurel hit him with her blue eyes, causing his insides to melt all over again, as if it was the first time she had done that to him. Just like that, it was like James was back in his teenage self, seeing her and her eyes for the first time. There was no going back. Even at fifteen, he knew a future without her was never an option.
⠀⠀She grinned at him again as he stared, his brown eyes wandering her face. He pushed the little lock of blonde hair from her face, smiling back at her. In her blue eyes and beautiful smile, all he could see was an angel. His angel.
⠀⠀And Merlin, she was radiant.
▬▬▬▬▬▬「 THE END 」▬▬▬▬▬▬