Style, a harry potter fanfic

A/N: This is also posted on my tumblr, ohdeerjily, but I thought I'd put it on here too. Enjoy!

Midnight, / You come and pick me up, no headlights

Lily surveyed herself in the mirror one last time before tiptoeing down the spiral stairs to the Gryffindor common room. James hadn't arrived yet, but she hadn't expected him to. She perched herself on an arm of one of the sofas, legs crossed and fingers twisting nervously. She looked down at the skirt Marlene had chosen for her. Was it too short? Too tight? Not short enough? She picked at the hem, tugging it down and then pushing it back up.

"You look beautiful," a voice rumbled in her ear.

Lily let out a squeak of surprise and turned to see James standing behind her, his hands snaking around her waist.

"Are you ready?" he asked, taking one of her hands and helping her stand.

Lily nodded; together, they climbed through the portrait hole and walked quietly down the corridor.

A long drive, / Could end in burning flames or paradise

Ginny felt Harry's hands squeeze her waist tighter as they flew over London, gliding through clouds so as not to be in the bright, city lights.

"Are you sure you don't want me to fly the rest of the way?" he asked, his breath tickling her cheek as he leaned forward.

"No, I can manage," Ginny murmured. "The Burrow's not too far away."

Harry didn't answer, but his grip on her relaxed slightly and his fingers ran up and down her sides. Ginny shivered slightly and felt herself blush, happy he couldn't see her face. It was horribly embarrassing how much of an effect he still had on her, after more than four years of dating. It was like she was still eleven years old.

Fade into view, oh, it's been a while since I have even heard from you (heard from you) / I should just tell you to leave 'cause I / Know exactly where it leads but I / Watch us go 'round and 'round each time

"Where are we going?" Lily asked dubiously, her hand holding firmly onto James' as he guided her through the castle.

James threw a smirk at her over his shoulder, his free hand moving to ruffle his hair but stopping. "It's a surprise," he said, grinning at her look of annoyance. "I thought it had been a while since we've done anything special."

This drew a wistful smile from Lily. She tucked a piece of curled hair behind her ear. "It has been," she said quietly, thinking over the last few months. They had been terrible, terrible months, full of awful news of attacks, students jeering at her in the corridors, and constant worry over what would happen in two weeks, when they left Hogwarts forever and were out in the world without protective walls around them. But through all the darkness there had been James, whose crooked smile and laughing eyes she would follow to the ends of the earth. Lily felt a tiny pebble of guilt stir inside her as she remembered the danger James put himself in just by being with her. There had been times she had thought of breaking it off, just to save him from his own noble self. They had had that argument thousands of times, and each time it ended the same: James shouting that she was the best damn thing that had ever happened to him, and Lily sobbing that he was the best thing in her life and she just wanted him safe.

You got that James Dean daydream look in your eye / And I got that red lip classic thing that you like / And when we go crashing down, we come back every time / 'Cause we never go out of style / We never go out of style

Ginny landed gently on the front lawn of The Burrow. She and Harry dismounted and quickly stowed the broom in the shed before hurrying inside. In the front hall, Ginny checked her appearance in the reflection of a flower vase. Her lipstick hadn't smeared, thank Merlin. Though usually not fond of red lipstick as it clashed with her hair, she had worn it tonight because she knew Harry liked it. She peered over her shoulder and saw him staring at her with the same idiotic smile he had looked at her with when he was sixteen and they were sneaking around Hogwarts searching for places to snog without being interrupted by Ron.

He had grown up nicely, Ginny thought, grinning to herself. She still remembered the scrawny twelve-year-old boy who had fascinated her so much. Behind her now stood a tall, rather handsome man, his messy black hair looking purposefully disheveled and his body strong and wiry instead of knobbly. His face no longer wore the haggard expression which had clouded it so often in his youth; now, his startling green eyes roved over her with undisguised joy. Ginny thought she would never tire of seeing that expression on Harry Potter's face.

You got that long hair, slicked back, white t-shirt / And I got that good girl faith and a tight little skirt / And when we go crashing down, we come back every time / 'Cause we never go out of style / We never go out of style.

Lily watched James without bothering to hide her admiration. He had obviously used a liberal amount of Sleekeazy's in his hair, as the usually unruly, black mess had been slicked down. He had forgone his usual wizard's robes and wore only a pair of trousers and a white t-shirt which clung effortlessly to his lean chest. A familiar flutter filled Lily as her face broke into an unrestrained smile. Merlin, she loved this boy. She didn't think there would be a day she didn't. As James led her across the grounds, through the warm June air, Lily thought back to the arguments that had erupted between them. They always ended the same, with the two of them wrapped up in each other's arms, never wanting to let go and wondering what on earth they had been arguing about in the first place. They always came out of the ring stronger than they had gone in.

They reached a small clearing just outside of the Forbidden Forest when James stopped and turned around, his hazel eyes gleaming as he grinned at her.

So it goes / He can't keep his wild eyes on the road / Takes me home / Lights are off, he's taking off his coat, hmm, yeah. / I say, "I heard, oh, that you've been out and about with some other girl, some other girl."

Harry shrugged off his jacket and held his hand out to take Ginny's.

"You look beautiful tonight," he said quietly when he returned, putting a hand out to cradle her cheek.

"Are you saying I don't look beautiful every night?" she responded cheekily, giggling at the look of consternation which crossed his face.

"No, no! That's not what I was getting at at all, just—"

"Harry," Ginny said gently, putting a hand to the back of his neck and drawing him close to plant a kiss on his mouth. "Hush, I was teasing. Although," she grinned wickedly at him and pulled away, "I do remember you saying something a few years ago at Hogwarts about Cho Chang being the prettiest girl in the school."

He smiled sheepishly at her and ruffled his hair. "I was fifteen and stupid, Gin. And I hadn't seen you in that lipstick yet."

"So I'm only prettier than Cho Chang because of this lipstick?" she asked, smirking as Harry's triumphant expression slipped into one of horror.

"No! I—er—you're—well, you're the most beautiful girl in the world, Ginny, you have to know that—"

"I know," she sang, kissing him lightly again. Her hands crept to his neck, and then up to tangle in his hair as she pulled him closer, her mouth pressing harder against his, her lipstick staining his lips.

This time it was Harry who pulled away, his face slightly dazed.

"I have something to show you," he said, taking her hand in his and leading her towards the back door.

He says, "What you've heard is true but I / Can't stop thinking about you," and I... / I said, "I've been there, too, a few times."

"Do you like it?" James asked hopefully as he gestured towards the clearing, where someone had placed a blanket and candles and a basket of food.

"I love it," Lily breathed, kissing him gently on the cheek before sitting down.

James sat across from her and took both her hands in his. "I—I just want to say something, Lily," he murmured, his face screwing up in a look of uncharacteristic nervousness.

"Can it wait until after we eat?" Lily asked, eyeing the food in the basket beside her.

"No, it can't," James said, giving her a small smile and squeezing her hand. "I'm afraid it's rather important."

"Oh—okay," Lily faltered, her mind reeling as a thousand possibilities presented themselves, each worse than the last.

"Lily, I—I don't know where to start," James said, letting go of one of her hands and reaching up, presumably to ruffle his hair, but stopped as he seemed to remember it was slicked down. "I, well you know what's going on outside of Hogwarts. You know what's happening and you know what people think—"

"James—"

"No, please, let me finish." His eyes pleaded with her and Lily lapsed into silence as she watched him, torn between anxiety and admiration. "Lily, I just need you to know that no matter what I'm going to fight in this war when we leave here," James said, his voice growing stronger as he spoke. "I know it's dangerous and I know you want me to be safe, but I have to do something, I have to be out there. Especially when you—when you're already in danger. I can't just sit back."

Lily's breathing slowed as she watched him. A faint mist covered her eyes and her heart soared. Despite the danger she knew would come, despite her fierce desire to keep him safe, hearing James say he wanted to fight, that he wanted to fight for her, filled Lily with overwhelming love.

"I understand," she said, moving closer, the tears falling down her face. Lily ignored them. She leaned closer and wrapped an arm around James' neck, pulling his face close to hers to capture his mouth.

"I love you, Lily," he murmured against her. "And that will never change."

'Cause you got that James Dean daydream look in your eye / And I got that red lip classic thing that you like / And when we go crashing down, we come back every time / 'Cause we never go out of style / We never go out of style

"Where are we going?" Ginny asked in a hushed whisper as Harry led her into the back yard. It appeared to be deserted, with only the quidditch hoops keeping them company.

Harry didn't respond but led her to the large willow tree at the edge of the property, under which they had spent countless hours watching clouds, sharing secrets, telling stories and occasionally snogging. Its branches waved lazily in the still summer air.

When they stood under the tree Harry turned; his face held a mixture of excitement and fear.

"Ginny," he said, his green eyes locking onto her brown ones. "I—I'm kind of rubbish at telling you how I feel, and you know that. But, er—oh sod it." He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Ginny Weasley, I love you. You're rather brilliant, and the most beautiful witch I've ever seen, and my best friend, and the only person I've ever loved and—"

Ginny gasped as Harry sank down on his knee, fumbling in his pocket. After a moment he extracted a small, velvet box, which he opened carefully. Inside sat a ring; it was a silver band with an emerald at the center, surrounded by smaller, exquisite diamonds. Ginny felt her heart pound in her throat as she looked between the ring and Harry, whose face had gone beet red.

"So, er, Ginny, will you marry me?"

You got that long hair, slicked back, white t-shirt / And I got that good girl faith and a tight little skirt (tight little skirt) / And when we go crashing down, we come back every time / 'Cause we never go out of style / We never go out of style

James pulled away from Lily gently, one hand still clasped over hers. Slightly confused, Lily watched him delve into the pocket of his trousers, extracting a small, glistening object. The light from the candles reflected off his wire rimmed glasses as James shifted, moving so that he sat on one knee.

Lily's mouth opened to form a small 'o' and her breath hitched as James looked up, his hazel eyes glowing as he smiled nervously at her. Parts of his hair had overpowered the Sleekeazy's and stuck up, though Lily rather liked it that way; the white t-shirt shone by the candlelight and Lily didn't think she had ever loved another person as much as she loved James Potter at that moment.

James opened his hand to reveal a ring, a simple golden band with a shining, exquisite diamond sitting in the center. Lily's eyes widened and she opened her mouth, her answer ready to drop.

James spoke before she had a chance, his mouth twisting into the smile she had grown to adore. "Lily Evans," he said slowly, his hazel eyes locking onto her green ones, "You're brilliant, and the most beautiful witch I've ever seen, and my best friend, and the only person I've ever loved, and—"

He didn't get the rest of the sentence out as Lily launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face into his shoulder as the word "yes" fell from her lips.

"Evans, this doesn't work if you don't let me ask the question," James said with a laugh, cradling her cheek with his hand and moving back to look at her.

"Well, go and ask it then," Lily said, her mouth trembling slightly as her eyes sparkled eagerly.

"If you insist," James said, smirking at her. With some difficulty, as she still had her arms wrapped tightly around him, James managed to lift the ring up between them. "Lily Evans, will you marry me?"

"Yes!" she cried, her face breaking into a dazzling smile. "Yes, yes, yes," she said, punctuating each acceptance with a kiss. "Yes, of course I'll marry you."

Take me home / Just take me home, yeah. / Just take me home / (out of style)

"Yes!" Ginny cried happily.

Harry stood up, a stupid grin plastered on his face. Gingerly, he took Ginny's small, freckled hand and slid the sparkling ring on her fourth finger.

When that was done he looked around the yard, the smile still not fading. "She said yes, everyone!" he shouted. "She said yes!"

Ginny's eyes widened as out of nowhere, people appeared, undoing their disillusionment charms. First Ron and Hermione next to the bushes, then her mum and dad on the other side of the willow tree, then George and Percy by the house, then Neville and Luna. All wore smiles, though she noticed her mum's face was streaked with tears.

"Congratulations, dear," Mrs. Weasley said thickly, enveloping first Ginny and then Harry in a tight hug. "Your father and I are so very happy."

"You'll take good care of her, Harry?" Mr. Weasley asked, his own eyes suspiciously watery. "You'll look after my little girl?"

"Of course, sir," Harry said gravely, trying and failing to wipe the smile from his face. He wrapped an arm around Ginny and pulled her close. "The way you and Mrs. Weasley have looked after me all these years."

"Oh, I'm so excited for you two!" Hermione cried out, running towards the couple with a rather mad smile on her face.

"I'd rather it was you than anyone else," Ron said half-grudgingly, though his mouth curled upwards in a smile as he held out a hand which Harry shook. "Congrats on not being rejected though, mate."

"Thanks," Harry said, unfazed by Ron's reaction.

"When will the wedding be?" Luna asked, smiling. "Not August, I hope. That's the month when you're most likely to be attacked by nargles."

"Er, we'll figure that out later I suppose," Ginny said before hugging her friend.

"Shall we go inside for a celebration drink then?" George asked after he and Percy had given their congratulations.

As they ambled back to the house, Ginny glanced down at her left hand, which was now decorated with the beautiful ring. Her other hand found Harry's and she entwined her fingers with his. He was wonderful, this boy who she loved more than anyone, the man who had become her home.

Lily settled down onto the blanket, her hand firmly clasped in James'. Her face was lit up in happiness and excitement as she looked over at James, the wonderful boy who she loved more than anyone; the man who had become her home.

"I love you," she whispered, so quiet she wasn't even sure he heard her.

James squeezed her hand, his thumb running over the cool metal on her fourth finger. "I love you too," he responded, and Lily could hear the smile in his voice.

"This will be a lovely story to tell our kids one day, won't it," Lily said happily, looking up at the inky night sky as though she were in a dream.

James let go of her hand and put an arm around her shoulder, drawing her close and kissing her on the temple. "I plan on telling our kids this story every day, love, he whispered, his fingers playing with the ends of her hair. "I want them to hear it so many times that when they propose they'll use the very same words without even realizing it."