A/N: This is quite a bit longer than my other attempts and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it so reviews would be lovely!
Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling.
Within a few weeks of graduating, Lily moved out of her parents house. Not because they argued, she loved her mother and father dearly, but because she wanted to keep them safe from the war and the reality she lived every day. Lily did not want them to know the magical world she had chosen was filled with people who called her mudblood and wanted her dead. She didn't want her parents to worry, nor did she want them to be in any danger. They were oblivious. As far as Mr and Mrs Evans were concerned their youngest daughter was like any other recent graduate, eager to make their mark on the world but too poor to realize any of their dreams and too inexperienced to acquire a proper job.
In order to continue this illusion, Lily continued to work at her parents pub. She knew they thought they were doing her a favour, giving her a little extra money while she made it on her own. She had never told them just how rich James was, or that he was supporting her entirely (not to mention Sirius, Remus and Peter also) because that would only lead to more questions, questions about why and what they did with their time and Lily knew her parents would not cope with the answers. Instead, she showed up for her shifts, happy to help in any way.
Lily did all the things any normal 18 year old would do. She introduced her parents to her boyfriend, James who they seemed to like even though they were both so young and already living together. She told them stories about her other flatmates, Sirius, Remus and Peter, accentuating the drinking and mischief making while skipping over the hospital trips and terrifying near misses. Carefully, Lily wove a web of deceit in order to shield her parents from the truth. As far as they could tell, her life revolved around her job, her boyfriend and her friends and that was just the way she wanted it.
The Pub the Evans' family ran was one of those local places where the regulars congregated daily to talk and argue over who owed whom a beer. It was a family place where every one looked out for one another. Because of this the regulars took awhile to warm up to James. He had an air of affluence about him that put off the labourers and factory workers that populated Cokeworth. They were suspicious of the outsider who Lily had met at her school for gifted teens they were told she had attended. To them, Lily would always be the sweet, young red head who helped her parents doing dishes and poured their drinks. She was the one who let them choose the records played and made excuses to their wives about why they were late and she was not to be stolen away by some southern boy with too much money and not enough sense.
"Oy, what do ya see in speccy anyways, Lil?"
"Never took you for the type that runs for the rich blokes ay, Evans"
Lily laughed the comments away, knowing full well that the second they actually talked to James and saw that firstly, he was an alright bloke who loved a good laugh and secondly that he meant well by their Lily, everything else would be water under the bridge. She was right, of course and after only a few visits James was playing pool and downing beers with the locals.
One warm day in the middle of October, James came to pick Lily up after work. He slipped in a little early and ordered a pint from one of the new girls before taking a seat at the bar. Lily hadn't noticed him yet which gave him the chance for a sneaky stare. He decided that without a doubt there was nothing more attractive than a bird who can pull a pint, especially when that bird was Lily Evans. He watched her chat casually with the locals as she flicked the beer taps and tilted the glass just so. She was wearing a black shirt sporting the Guinness logo which was slightly too big and slipped off her shoulder revealing a sliver of bright green which he knew to be the strap of her bra. Her hair was pulled back in a large braid and her jeans seemed to hug in all the right places.
James shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, hoping to clear his mind of all improper thoughts. Sirius had a theory that all fathers of teenage daughters could practise legilimancy and after meeting Mr. Evans, James was inclined to agree.
Lily, having noticed James bounded over and leaned over the bar to give him a quick kiss.
"Heya, Potter. You here to take me out?" She asked, smiling.
"Yup, that's the plan. You reckon these idiots can spare you?"
"Hah! They've no choice, I've been here all day, Mum had me cleaning since sunrise. Let me just grab my bag and we'll be out." Lily pulled her large handbag out from underneath the bar, waved goodbye to those still working and joined James. She wove her fingers between his and together they headed out into the humid night.
Outside and away for eavesdroppers and prying eyes, the joking air between them evaporated and the reality of why James came to fetch Lily sunk in.
"Dumbledore needs us for a raid tonight. Somewhere in Wiltshire, I'm not sure exactly but we're meeting at headquarters in half an hour."
Lily nodded and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, taking one for herself before passing them to James. Her face was stoic and she looked so different from the girl serving drinks only minutes before. James took the cigarette gratefully and fumbled for the lighter in his pocket as Lily sank down onto the grass.
"Not much point in going home, is there?" said Lily.
"Nah, we could get something to eat though, maybe," James replied, the idea of food turning his stomach.
"Not hungry," she said.
James joined Lily on the ground and looked out at the road in front of them. He would never admit it but he hated pulling Lily out of her muggle life. He hated that she had this other world where she was perfectly safe, where she was surrounded by people who wanted to protect her and no one was trying to kill her and that every day she turned her back on it to fight in a war. Of course, James understood why, she fought for the same reasons he did but it didn't stop him from wishing that he could leave her in that pub with the regulars and her loving parents while he fought for the both of them. Not that James would ever tell Lily any of this, he knew she would yell, say he was being sexist and that she was just as desperate to keep him safe and out of harms way. That was the problem with love in war time, it made them both painfully aware of the lengths they would go to make sure the other was safe.
He threw his cigarette butt into the gutter and pulled Lily closer, placing a kiss into her bright red hair. It smelled of grease, beer and cigarettes but underneath this he could still make out that sweet, slightly spicy smell that made his mind swim and his knees weak. God, he loved her so much it almost scared him.
"You ready to go?" She asked, turning to look at him.
"Yup," he said, sounding braver than he felt.
She took his hand, gave it a small squeeze and wordlessly they apparated to the Order headquarters.
They appeared in the backyard of a small house. The sun was setting and the sky was streaked with orange. They walked quickly towards the backdoor slipped through into the kitchen. The young couple was greeted with the usual cluster of Order members making small talk attempting to forget they were minutes away from risking their lives yet again. James spotted Sirius casually flirting with Hestia in the corner and the Fabian brothers joking with Remus. Peter wasn't here, he noted and assumed that meant he was on guard duty near Hogwarts. They moved deeper into the room and grabbed a couple of seats at the dining table where Mad Eye was sitting surrounded by charts and diagrams. The others joined them and quickly fell silent so Mad Eye could explain the plan.
It was a rescue mission. Marlene McKinnon and Benjy Fenwick had been captured three days ago and were being held by Death Eaters. Earlier today they had finally been able to locate the two Order members and finally they could save their friends.
Moody divided them up quickly, making sure to separate James and Lily, and one by one they apparated away, arriving in a large field half a mile away from a small shed which they knew to contain Marlene and Benjy. Lily and Gideon moved first, they were the best at defensive spells and would be able to eliminate the most risks before the second group broke into the shed. The pair moved quickly and quietly, neither of them made a sound and James couldn't help but think that even Mad Eye would be proud of Lily's stealth. The two made it to the shed quickly, disabling the protective enchantments and signalling the others to go inside while they stood watch.
Then all hell broke loose.
Death Eaters materialized from all sides, crowding around the small group. Curses flew through the air, James ducked narrowly missing a dark red jet of light before firing another back in the same direction. It met it's mark and a tall masked figure fell to the ground. It gave Lily and Gideon a chance to rush into the shed and grab Marlene and Benjy. James watched Lily run in before another curse shot past him and hit another Death Eater.
Seconds later, Gideon reappeared with Marlene and Benjy before apparating them to safety. It was a mess, they were outnumbered and immediately everyone knew their only chance was to retreat. Hestia pulled Remus out of the way of a jet of blue light and side-alonged him away before he was in any more danger.
James saw what the others doing but he was not leaving without Lily. That was not an option. He sprinted towards the shed when all of a sudden he was hit, the world spun and he was on the ground. The cloaked figures were circling around him, closer and closer but he couldn't move. They moved slowly, obviously aware that he was trapped, they laughed cruelly and James struggled against whatever curse that left him bound to the grass below.
He was going to die, James thought. He was going to die and he didn't know where Lily was. He was going to die and she would be left alone here at the mercy of these men. This thought filled him with rage, panic and fear. He fought harder, trying to move his hand so he could use his wand. He needed to find Lily.
Then, in a split second a large black dog broke through the crowd of Death Eaters. Sirius jumped, landed on James and transformed so quickly James didn't realize what happened. He was on the floor of the Order headquarters and able to move before he realized what Sirius had done.
"What the fuck? What were you thinking?" James bellowed. "Lily's still there!"
The realization dawned on Sirius's face. He had obviously thought Lily had escaped with Gideon.
Sirius reacted first, knowing what he would try and grabbed James's wand and stuck it in his pocket. James felt the movement and lunged, attempting to grab it so he could apparate back but Sirius was bigger and pinned him against the wall.
"I have to go back...I have to fucking find her," James said, his voice thick with panic.
"No you don't!" Going back would be suicide! James, I know -"
"No you don't! She's out there, she's surrounded, she's..." James trailed off, the reality of the situation setting in.
"Lily's capable," Sirius said quietly. "She can fight, but you going back, that's fucking ridiculous. They'll be expecting you, they'll kill you before you can blink. We need a plan...or something. James, you cannot go back right now, I just saved your fucking life. You need to stay here. At least until we figure something out."
James sank to the floor, he knew Sirius was right. He knew that he would be dead in a second and would accomplish nothing but he didn't care. Lily, his Lily was out there, alone and possibly dead. The thought filled him with terror and panic and hopelessness and too many other emotions that James couldn't process. He wanted to scream, to yell. He wanted to hurt the people that hurt Lily. He needed to do something. Tears were running unnoticed down his cheek, his hands were balled into tight fists and he had an almost uncontrollable desire to punch the wall.
James was too caught up to hear the door creak open and someone enter. He didn't realize anyone else had entered the room until she ran her soft hand through his hair.
"Hey, hey James, what's going on?" Lily asked softly, bending down to sit next to James.
James snapped his head around. Either he was delusional or Lily was sitting next to him. He chose to believe the latter and wrapped his arms around her, catching her off guard and pulling her onto the floor. James breathed in her smell and kissed every part of her he could find. He dimly registered that he was probably scaring her a little but he didn't care, he was just so happy to have her back, whole and safe.
Finally, James let Lily go and she pounced on the opportunity to speak, "James, James what's wrong? What happened? Was someone hurt?"
"You...you were hurt...I thought..." James's voice trailed off.
"We thought you were taken, Lily" Sirius supplied finally. "You ran inside and we were surrounded and we had to retreat and you didn't leave with Gideon and..." Sirius stopped, unsure of what to say either.
"I was cornered by a couple of guys inside, I had to fight them off before I could get out. There were too many Death Eaters there for something like guard duty, even if they were holding Order members. It was a trap, I'm sure, it was like they knew exactly what we were planning."
"But you got out okay?" James asked, surveying Lily for any cut or scrape.
"Just a few bruises, nothing serious." Lily sounded too casual. To her it seemed as if she had only returned a few minutes later, she didn't understand the panic James had felt. Lily pulled herself up and stretched. "Can we go home or does Moody need us?"
"I..." He wasn't sure, the others had gone immediately to St Mungos with Benjy and Marlene and he was pretty sure they were alone.
"Go home, I'll let Moody know what happened," Sirius said and he pulled the red head into a hug, glad to know she was okay.
Lily held out a hand and pulled James up. "Home?"
"Yea," he said and together they disapparated and appeared in their London flat.
"Are you hungry?" Lily asked, letting go of his hand and moving into the kitchen. James could tell she was trying to act normal for him, trying to brush off the night's events in hopes that he would forget.
"Will you marry me, Lily?" The words slipped out of James's mouth before he could stop them. Lily appeared at the door of the kitchen, a box of cereal in her hand with a gaping look on her face.
"What?"
"I...I thought you were dead, Lily. I know it was only a few minutes and you think I'm overreacting but it was really fucking scary and well, if I can't lock you up in a tower so no one can get to you or make you live with your parents and give up the Order then, well, you have to marry me."
I...your logic is a little flawed, Potter." Lily said, but she was smiling and James was pretty sure she was going to say yes.
"Nope, it's sound, Totally and completely sound." He was grinning now, the tension fading from his body.
"So, because I'm not a princess in some kids story and I'm unwilling to live with my parents above a pub in Cokeworth I have to be your wife."
"Exactly, if you have to go and risk your life on a daily basis I should at least get to be your husband."
"I don't like that you're in the Order either, you're not the only one who wants to lock the other in a really tall tower or cover them in shield charms." Lily said as she moved closer to James and put her arms around him.
"But then, going by my totally sound logic, you should want to marry me as well."
"Well then, you're correct." Lily said, tilting her head up towards James. "If I have to worry about you every single day I should at least get to call you my husband."
James's insides exploded with happiness. He captured her lips in a deep kiss and wound his fingers in her hair. When they broke apart Lily was giggling and her cheeks were streaked with tears of happiness.
"Wow," Lily breathed. "We're actually going to do this, aren't we?"
"Yea" James replied, feeling slightly stunned but so, so happy.
"Lily Potter, it has a ring to it, doesn't it?"
James nodded, unable to speak. He had never heard anything more wonderful in his entire life. Lily wound her fingers through his own and pulled him towards the stairs.
"Come on, James. Lets go upstairs, everyone's out and I think we should celebrate properly." She smiled, her eyes darkened and James thought his head would explode. This girl, this wonderful, brilliant girl was leading him upstairs to 'celebrate', he couldn't believe he could be this lucky.
"Lead the way, Lily Potter," James said, testing her new name in his mouth, it felt so right.
Lily smiled, took his hand and led him upstairs into their bedroom. They might not be able to keep each other safe, James thought, as he followed her. But, for tonight at least it seemed as if having a permanent, solid stake in the others life seemed enough.