Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the intellectual property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of J.K .Rowling. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

I've combined my Arithmancy Assignment 8 for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with Competition for Hardcore Marauder fans(unusual prompt 11.)

Sandy and Emma, thanks a bunch for your help making this make more sense. A special thanks to Raven for beta-ing this.

Zehnaseeb

Lily's POV

The station was bustling with people as students ran here and there with their respective trunks and pets. Parents fussed over their children while vendors tried to get people to buy their products. I looked around with wide eyes at the people wearing garish clothes bustling around me.

Just before me stood the glistening, red train that had captured my eyes; the one I had to board. The Hogwarts Express was written in bold gold letters across the top of the locomotive. Plumes smoke arose from it in great, swirling puffs. On every car was the Hogwarts coat of arms.

Then, someone jostled me, making me move further and snapping me out of my haze. I had just entered the platform nine and three quarters, after a tearful separation from my parents on the muggle counterpart of the station.

I pushed my trunk towards a train car's door I spotted, which had a lesser crowd than others. I tried to heave my trunk over the steps once I was through the door.

"Ugh! You stupid trunk! Come on, move! Just a little bit." I wasn't even able to move it an inch. I pushed a strand of hair out of my face. Just then, a hand closed around the handle and just beside mine. With seemingly no real effort, the hand hefted the trunk onto the train.

I looked up at the face of my savior. He had beady, blue eyes and blond hair which suited his pale, alabaster skin. I moved aside to let him in and expressed my gratefulness.

"Thanks a lot for helping me. My name is Lily Evans. What's yours?"

He shuffled his feet nervously as he blushed and said, "Lily? That's a pretty name. My name's Peter Pettigrew."

It was my turn to blush. "Thank you. I hope we can be friends. Are you in first year, too? Gosh, I'm so nervous. I hope I get sorted into Gryffindor." I had went on talking, asking him questions and not giving him the time to answer through my nervous babble.

That was how I met him; the love of my life.

Peter had always been a quiet kind of guy. Compared to James's and Sirius's boisterous behavior, he faded into the background. Even Remus was more outspoken than him. After getting sorted, we had not been able to talk much.

Halfway through our second year, he had ask me for help with charms. That was how we came to be friends. Severus had reluctantly agreed to allow him in our study sessions. During our sessions, we found he was brilliant at Transfiguration. We didn't mention any other Marauders during these times. Severus tolerated him only because Peter had never bullied him or laughed at him.

During those Hogwarts days, we usually met at the library, sometimes going to Hogsmeade or walking around Black Lake. We hadn't exactly hid our friendship, but we also hadn't acknowledged it in front of anyone else, either.

After a horrible fight with Severus at the end of our fifth year, he found me in our corner of the library. He just took a seat in front of me, quietly. After some time, he commented, "You know, the book isn't going to read itself." I had been staring at the same page and reading the first paragraph over and over.

I looked at him in surprise, for he never spoke without prompting. He accompanied me to the Gryffindor Tower, where we found Severus sitting there and ready to apologize. Peter had stopped, but I had stormed up to the girls' dormitory before any of them could say a thing.

The next few days I had stuck by Peter; not talking with anyone. Peter did his best to cheer me up. He'd shown me some awesome places around Hogwarts which could only be found if you looked for them. We even went to visit Hagrid, the gamekeeper of Hogwarts.

The Marauders had been the most surprised by this, apparent, new friendship. As Peter sat by me, they thought they were also allowed to. Years later, Sirius had told me it was the best prank pulled on the Marauders, albeit unknowingly, on how they hadn't caught our friendship before. I was surprised Remus didn't catch my smell or Severus's around Peter.

It was Peter who finally convinced me, after three weeks, to forgive Sev for his mistake. He explained typical male psychology, that Sev must have felt humiliated after the prank pulled on him by the Marauders. Me coming to his rescue didn't help the matter, much. He had lashed out unthinkingly. I thought it over and over again, and couldn't find fault with his theory.

The next day, I'd gone up to Severus, whacking him across the head with my book. "Don't you ever do that again!" And pulled him in for a hug. He was about to apologize again, but I cut him off saying he should be thanking Peter. I could see his newfound respect for the guy standing behind me.

The Marauders, especially James and Sirius, had been offended by Peter's apparent betrayal and had started to ignore him. Sirius had gradually come off it and started talking with me, again. I'd found he was a good guy, for whom his friends came first. James had continued to hold a grudge, but as Sirius was his brother in everything but blood, he would sit with us.

It was then I started developing feelings for Peter. Perhaps, even before that. I realized how Peter towered over me, with his six foot height. Not to mention how my body responded when he entered the room, how my breath would quicken or how I felt hot and cold at the same time when we sat close to each other. Then there was how his silky blond hair fell across his eyes in that sexy way.

But I didn't want to ruin our friendship and so I didn't tell anyone. Besides, I didn't know if he liked me or not. Last I knew, he had a crush on a pretty Hufflepuff, a year below us.

One day just after exams, we had been walking around the Black Lake, as we usually did, to just talk. I had been telling Peter how angry I was with James and Sirius for using an illegal spell on Bertram Aubrey, who was a Ravenclaw in the same year as us. They had gotten themselves a double detention with Professor Binns.

Peter had been silent, nodding. Just then, I had looked up at him. The setting sun had caught in his hair, making it look golden and revealing the flecks of green in his cloudy, blue eyes. His watching me intently had made me stop in mid-sentence upon realization. It was at that precise moment, I knew he was the man for me.

Me being the Gryffindor I was, had blurted out, "You look beautiful."

His eyes had widened and stared at me like I had sprouted two heads.

He had joked, "What?! No, no, no, guys aren't beautiful. We are handsome."

And that ruined the moment. "I was joking. Never mind." I shook my head.

During summer vacation, after pouring my heart out to Sev, he just uttered three sentences. "What's the big deal about? It's simple, you propose. You Gryffindors complicate the simplest of things!"

It was the first Hogsmeade trip of our seventh year and the guys had been acting weird that day. I had caught James and Remus staring at me quite a few times, off and on. After we visited Zonko's and Quality Quidditch Supplies, I was absolutely certain something was up.

Just before we entered Honeydukes, I had pushed myself ahead to confront them.

"Alright, out with it. What's going on? Better start speaking before I get it out of you. Is it another prank? I swear, if I hear so much a word, I'll drag you off to Professor McGonagall, personally!"

Sirius put an arm around my shoulder. "Lily-flower, why do you assume we are up to something? We are the most innocent, delightful men you'll find around here." I heard a scuffle behind me, but Sirius kept me from looking.

Just as I was about to enter Honeydukes, he exclaimed suddenly, "Oh, there is Davey Gudgeon. I have to see him for the Quidditch tryouts. See you later." He rushed off as if there was fire behind him. James and Remus followed.

Wait! Remus!?

I looked at Peter in question. "Have you been reminded of a sudden meeting, too?"

Sheepishly, he answered, "No. Let's go inside. We won't get them anything. It'll serve them right."

I giggled, thinking of Remus's crestfallen face. "Yeah."

I stepped inside, the bell ringing above my hell and stopped short. The whole shop was empty, except for the cashier. This place had never been empty. It was always filled to the brim with students stocking up their sweet supply. Peter went in as if it was no big deal.

I hurried to his side, worried about a possible Death Eater trap. He just shook his head, smiling. "Don't you want those chocolate frogs?"

"Peter, how can you be do nonchalant? Our lives may be in danger, here! Let's go outside. I don't like this." I took out my wand.

"Think. Wouldn't the Death Eaters have attacked us, by now? I think all the students must be in the Three Broomsticks. I'm sure they'll be here after lunch hour."

Well, what he said was true. But I was still unnerved. I browsed through the sweets. As I came across the chocolate frogs, I dropped my basket. Instead of the logo, there was my face on the chocolate. Flipping my hair and waving. Below it was written:

Will

You

Be

My

Girlfriend?

-Peter

Each word was on a separate stack of chocolates. I looked at him in shock. He stood there with a blood red rose in his hand. I pinched myself. The guy I had been secretly harboring feelings for was actually proposing.

Peter came forward and dropped on one knee, asking, "Lily, I have liked you for a long time. Will you be my girlfriend? Would you like for us to give it a try?"

I had the most uncharacteristic urge to squeal.

I giddily replied, "Yes, yes, a thousand times YES!"

Just as I accepted the rose, James, Sirius and Remus had appeared.

"Finally! Yippie! Party!" Sirius went ahead and emptied those six stacks of chocolate frogs, and started filling my forgotten basket with all the sweets he could get his hands on.

I sniffled back a joyous sob. "This is what this was all about? Wow, you guys! You are the best friends a girl could ask for!" Damn, those hormones.

I looked at Peter and hugged him tightly. We'd then got rid the others after promising to meet up at the carriages, later, while going back so Peter and I could enjoy our first date.

"Lily? Are you there?" My husband of four years was gazing at me with concern as we enjoyed our tea in the quiet, rainy morning. I snapped out of my thoughts and smiled at him. "What happened? Is something there?" He turned to look behind him to see what I was smiling at.

"Nothing. I was just remembering how we met all those years ago."

"I remember that day. You were so frustrated with your trunk. Instead of trying to get help like a normal person, you kept on trying to lift it yourself," laughed Peter. "You know, I asked the Sorting Hat to put me in Gryffindor. It said I could have done well in any house, except Slytherin."

"I loved how you proposed. There I was, thinking it was an ambush and it turned out to be a proposal. I had decided in the summer to work up the nerve to propose, though I never got the chance." I looked at Peter, lovingly, as I sat my cup down.

I am happy the way my life turned out. I've got my childhood friend, my best friends and my husband right here with me. I have secured the degree of Charms master, though I am on a bit of hiatus awaiting the newest arrival to our family.

I stood up, revealing my protruding stomach. "Shall we go inside, then?"

We are going to name the baby Harry, for a boy, and Marianna for a girl. It's funny, how I haven't even met the expectant child and I love it with every fiber of my being. For now, I am just going to sit back and enjoy my life with family and friends.

The title "Zehnaseeb" means one who has good luck, fated, blessed and along those lines.

This is most definitely the longest chapter I've ever written. I hope you like it. Should I continue? I LOVE reviews...

UPDATE: Grade: 18/20 - O (Outstanding)