"Lily, are you in?" Remus called as he entered her small flat, tucking his key into a pocket as he glanced around Lily's flat, unsure of what he was looking for. Stretching tiredly, he glanced at Lily's old clock; the hand resting firmly on the 5 dial taunted him as he frowned, exhausted from the full moon only one night before.
A tearful phone call less than five minutes earlier had been rather nondescript, but enough to worry him into visiting at this unsocial hour; aside from some waterlogged hiccups, he hadn't been able to decipher much meaning from Lily's words - she sounded far from the composed young woman he had become friends with. "Here." A small voice called out from the bedroom, a tearful gasp following. Jogging towards the bedroom worriedly, Remus exhaled thankfully when he found Lily alone, blood free and seemingly uninjured. Tear tracks travelled down her face, and she had hugged her knees in towards her chest.
"Hello Lily." Remus smiled softly, kneeling down to sit next to his friend. "What's happened, is everyone okay?"
"Yes, yes, Remus, of course everyone's okay." She sniffed, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
"Well then. Not to point out the obvious or anything, but you don't look very happy." Remus replied, handing her a tissue which she accepted thankfully.
"Its just - oh, it sounds so silly!" Lily cried, blowing her nose sadly. "James came over last night, it was our three year anniversary since we said I love you." Remus nodded, prompting Lily to continue. "I really really love him, and I saw the box, and I thought -" It was at this point Remus spotted a small jewelry case, clutched tightly in Lily's fist. Leaning closer, he frowned, peeling the box from her fingers. Lily sniffed once more as he opened the box, brow raised as he spotted its contents.
"My former future husband didn't buy me an engagement ring, it's a necklace!" Lily cried once more, placing a hand over her mouth. "And I love the necklace, I really do, but the second I saw the box I thought I was about to become Mrs Potter-to-be, and now I'm not!"
"Lily, James will most definitely propose sooner rather than later. He loves you, and doesn't need a piece of paper to prove that just yet." Remus reminded her softly. "And it most definitely is a nice necklace. I'm surprised James could choose such a beautiful piece."
"Its my own fault, I suppose, I did drop a few hints about the necklace last time we went shopping." Lily blushed, taking the necklace off Remus and admiring it. "He really does love me, I know that, but I wish..." Her smile wavered for a moment. "...I wish we could make it official."
"I understand." Remus smiled, giving her a brief hug from their seated position. "Come on, its still early. Try and get a few hours' sleep, and we will talk more in the morning." Remus helped Lily stand, guiding her over to her bed and tucking her in before he let himself out, sighing into the night.
His work wasn't done yet.
"James! You here?" Remus called as he let himself into James' flat, a grunt from the bedroom revealing his location. Walking in calmly, Remus smiled as he spotted the sleepy form of his friend sprawled out on the bed.
"Choo doing here? Its 6am!"
"Love has no concept of time." Remus sighed, looking round the room until his eyes spotted the object he was looking for. Walking over to James' old Hogwarts trunk, he flipped the lid open, sighing as he dropped to his knees and began rummaging.
"Whaddayadoin?" James frowned, wrapping a sheet around his waist and standing up, walking towards where Remus knelt. "Choo looking for?"
"... this!" Remus grinned as he pushed himself upwards, rising onto one knee as he flipped open a very small box. Smiling contentedly, he turned the box towards James, revealing a beautiful golden ring.
"Why Remus, I had no idea you felt that way!" James grinned, swooning dramatically. "But whatever shall we do about Lily?" Swatting James in the stomach, Remus closed the box, pushing it into James' hands tightly.
"You complete and utter dolt." Remus stated, waving towards the bed in an effort to make James sit. James obeyed, lowering himself down carefully. "For the last eight years of my life, I have had to deal with you telling me how utterly perfect your precious Lily is on a daily basis, if not more frequently. You have had that blasted ring in your possession since fifth year, ready so that when dear Lily is finally ready to accept you into her life permanently, you can propose.
"Lily is now finally ready to have you as a husband, after 3 years of being together, and yet you still haven't proposed. Haven't even thought of proposing, since that ring was buried so deep in your trunk, and you've mentioned nothing to either myself nor Sirius. I am here, at this Godforsaken hour of the morning, in an attempt to show you the error of your ways." Remus sighed, leaning against the door frame.
"So... what am I meant to do?" James asked, glancing at the box in his hands.
"Either propose, or prepare to be very very annoyed when Lily accepts the first marriage offer that comes her way from someone else." Remus stated, glancing towards the heavens for help with these half wits.
"I guess I best go propose then!" James grabbed some clothes, throwing them on haphazardly as he moved towards the door. "Cheers, mate!" James clapped a large hand on Remus' shoulder, apparating immediately to Lily's flat in order to make a fiance out of his girlfriend.
Sighing tiredly, Remus closed the trunk, walking through to the living room and lying upon the couch in the hopes of finding even a few minutes of blissful, mind numbing sleep.
Remus sat between Sirius and Peter upon the wedding table, smiling and laughing as the speeches were made.
"I planned the proposal meticulously for a month before the event." James grinned, bowing towards a glowing Lily, who wore the beautiful necklace that had caused so much distress a few months earlier. "I even went so far to give Lily a necklace in a ring shaped box the night before, just to make the real proposal feel even more special. I of course, needed no prompting. The second I realised Lily would happily have me in her life forever, I dived into my trunk, grabbed the ring and began preparing..."