A/N: Prompts and competitions listed down at the bottom, so as to not give anything away. Thanks as always to my wonderful team and friends on the forum for constantly supporting me.

Lily Evans and the Engagement Ring

Lily had always thought of herself as a feminist.

Her Dad and she had gotten into so many arguments over the dinner table about equal rights and a woman's place in the world; she'd long lost count. Disappointingly, the Magical world, whilst so progressive in some instances, was at times just as backwards as the Muggle one.

It was that constant sense of conservatism which permeated so much of Wizarding society that had left Lily in two minds, a mess of indecision.

At first, proposing to James had felt like a brilliant idea. He always made remarks about how he didn't deserve her, how she could have any man she ever wanted and this way there was proof that she chose him. It also let her have control of the situation which Lily secretly appreciated. More than anything, she loved him and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.

To now have cold feet felt so disgustingly cliche, frankly she was annoyed with herself.

The call had come from the jewellers that the ring she'd chosen was ready. There were charms woven into the gold itself and runes she had engraved on it but now it was placed inside an oh-so-typical small black velvet box and Lily found herself overthinking everything. Exchanging rings was a Muggle custom, whilst in the Wizarding world according to what she'd read and heard from Dorcas, you made vows that were magically binding.

What if James hated the idea? She'd met his parents, she knew the pureblooded world he'd been raised in.

Lily spun on her heel and paced up and down the apartment corridor once again. She had been walking up and down, needing to move, scared to think about what her nerves might mean. They were so young, the war was getting more and more severe. Lily had already put wards around Petunia's home, not that Petunia knew that. She had gone, wrapped in James' Invisibility cloak which he'd lent her.

She would have done the same for parents, if they'd been alive.

She and James, they had become two halves of the same whole. They knew so much about one another, she even knew his middle name that had taken Sirius three years to discover.

As soon as she thought his name, Lily froze on the spot. No one knew James like Sirius — which meant Sirius would be able to gauge what her boyfriend's reaction would be if she went down on one knee.

Not that that was how she was planning to propose — Lily was nothing if not creative.

Some of the nerves abated as soon as she decided she would go and see Sirius. Lily Evans was always calmer when she was woman on a mission.

Several years ago Lily would have laughed in the face of anyone who even implied she and the eldest Black could have a civil conversation, nevermind consider each other the closest of friends.

She had thought him chauvinistic, egotistical and rude — no doubt he would have had a few choice words to describe her too. Stuck up and a 'moody cow' if memory of one particular argument served her right.

Then in their seventh year Lily and James started dating. Jealous marred anytime the two spent together, with James being pulled from pillar to post desperately trying to appease both of them.

Marlene had talked to Sirius.

Remus had forced Lily to hear him out with the help of a Full Body-Bind.

Nothing had worked until most of their house and yearmates had thought it futile, many Gryffindors becoming extremely adept at Shield Charms as duels between Lily Evans and Sirius Black were the sudden norm. One particular fight went down in Hogwarts infamy, with Lily being physically restrained after Sirius vanished her hair, Lily screaming "Move away from the door and let me at him!" as Sirius barricaded himself in the boys' dorm.

As cheesy as it always felt when Lily thought about it, the Christmas holidays had changed everything.

James had gone with his family to visit relatives in India and Sirius hadn't wanted to stay in his apartment by himself. Lily on the other hand had nowhere else to go. Her parents had passed away the year before, a car accident that had driven her and Petunia even further apart. It had gotten to the point where they barely even spoke, Lily sending Christmas cards and no longer expecting a reply.

By some bizarre twist of fate, Lily and Sirius had been the only Gryffindors to stay over the Winter Holidays. They had finally talked, with the help of some cheap alcohol Sirius produced (Lily didn't ask where from), and by the time the rest of the school came back it was to find Sirius and Lily thicker than thieves. When the Marauders and her friends had asked what had happened, neither really divulged. All they said was that they'd found some common ground.

She smiled to herself at the memory, particularly of how McGonagall had been most unimpressed to have Lily join forces with the Marauders, not that the Professor could ever prove it. Pulling herself together, Lily told herself to focus on the task at hand. Gripping the velvet box tightly she apparated outside of Sirius' apartment with a neat crack.

He came to the door in sweatpants, looking like he'd just gotten out of bed.

"Lils, it's… Yeah no, feel free to just let yourself in," he muttered as she pushed past him and fell onto the sofa before getting back to her feet again, needing to pace, needing to expel some of her constant nervous energy. Sirius had barely closed the door before Lily spoke quickly, the words almost blending into one.

"Do wizards and witches exchange rings? I was going to propose but I think he'll hate it. I hate being indecisive but I love him and I don't want to ruin it. You're always good at being blunt and cutting through the crap, what do I do?"

Sirius blinked and waved his wand, the kettle switching on, tea bags floating to drop into two large mugs.

"I'm making tea, unless you want something stronger? I'm also going to just put some clothes on and then you can tell me everything. But Lils, you wouldn't be able to ruin it. What you and Prongs have is sickeningly wonderful."

He got dressed and she ended up cooking them bacon sandwiches after explaining about the ring. For every reason Lily came up with, Sirius rebuked it. He loved the idea of engagement rings, finding it fascinating and after several hours Lily felt ready.

"If he says no he'll come here. Just look after him for me," she said softly, her nerves getting the better of her briefly once more.

"Love, I'm not even going to both responding to that," Sirius said gruffly, pulling her into a hug and kissing her forehead. "You're an amazing woman if he says no I'm going to curse him until he looks like a creature even Hagrid couldn't love."

Lily threw her head back with her laugh and when she apparated away Sirius was grinning at her, wishing her luck. No one else would have listened to her whilst telling her she was ridiculous in quite the same way. There wasn't anyone else she trusted with something that really mattered.

James was home when she got back and looked up in surprise.

"I didn't realise you were out, I've just walked in the door," he explained and Lily smiled at him, pulling him close and kissing him softly.

"I just went to see Sirius. James, shall we go for a walk? I have an idea."

That evening, Sirius was just about to go to bed when an owl tapped at his window. The letter was small, just a scrap of paper with one sentence on it.

He said yes.

A/N: Written for Round 12 of the QFLC, I'm Beater 1 for the Montrose Magpies.

I chose Lily and Sirius and had to write a fic based on a platonic friendship.

Other prompts used were:

- Name (word)

- 'Move away from the door and let me at him!'

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Also entered in 'The Fluff vs Angst Competition' for Team Fluff.

And in 'Lamia's Title Competition' for Week Two