A Special Evening

This is for the Hogwarts Summer Funfair Jukebox event.

Riiing! The ringing phone interrupted dinner in the Evans' home.

- "Don't worry, Mom, I'll answer it."- Lily Evans, Charms mastery student, stood up and picked up the phone.

- HELLO! I AM JAMES POTTER! IS LILY EVANS AT HOME?!- Lily winced as she heard the (very) loud voice of James Potter. She was beginning to regret introducing him to muggle technology.

- Yes, this is Lily talking.

- Oh! HI LILY! HOW ARE YOU DOING?!- James shouted through the phone again.

- I'm fine James, Thank you. But...- she didn't get to finish the sentence.

-REALLY?! THAT'S GREAT!-

-James...- Lily tried to talk.

- I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT THE MUGGLES INVENTED SOMETHING LIKES THIS! THIS IS LIKE FLOO-CALLING! BUT WAY MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE! - She was getting annoyed. Behind her, Petunia seemed to be stiffling giggles.

- James...- She tried again.

- I CAN'T WAIT TO TRY THAT...AUTOMOBILE THINGY THAT YOU SHOWED US! - Oh, Merlin, NO!. Why did I do that? Lily thought in despair.

- ARE YOU FREE TOMORROW NIGHT?!- She could feel her ears ringing.

- Yes, I'm free tomorrow night, but...- James interrupted her, again.

-GREAT! WOULD YOU- this time it was James who got interrupted.

- JAMES!!!!- Lily finally snapped. - I can hear you just fine if you speak normally. There is NO need to shout.-.

OH! SORRY LILY!... I mean, sorry. - James spoke in a moderate voice now- Umm, I was wondering...ifyouwouldgoonadatewithme.- He told her hurriedly.

-What? Sorry, James, I didn't understand what you said.

Breathe, James, breathe. You've been dating Lily for 2 years now. Why are you so nervous?...Oh, right, because of THAT. James was beginning to get more and more nervous, so he decided to ask her before he chickened out.

- Would you go on a date with me? Tomorrow?- This time, he spoke calmly.

- Tomorrow? Sure! I don't get why you were so nervous.

- Yeah, I guess it's because I haven't seen you in a while.

- James, we saw each other last week.

- Umm...anyway, I'll come for you tomorrow at seven. Wear something fancy. Bye!- and he hung up. Lily just stared at the phone, then she shrugged and went back to dinner.

*On James' side*

- You told me I had to shout!- Moony (A.K.A. Remus Lupin) was backing away from an irate James.

- It was just a joke! Even you have to admit it was funny!- Remus said. Then, he gulped as he saw James' face. - I'll help you with the date, just don't kill me.-James huffed, but nodded.

- Fine, but if I end up pranked, I'll tell Lily who ate her chocolate frogs in 7th year.- Remus paled at the threat and shook his head franticallyas he thought Well, there goes my idea of turning his hair pink for a day.

*The next day*

- Do I look fine?- James was panicking, he looked at his watch and paled. It was 6:45.

- You look fine, Prongs.- Remus said for what he felt was the fifteenth time in 10 minutes.

-Here, don't forget this.- Sirius shoved a little box into James' hands. -I arranged something special. -At the suspicious oooks thrown his way, he added- The owner of the restaurant owed me, so I asked him to play a special song, Lily's favorite song, you can do what you wanted to do after that.

- Thanks, Padfoot, I owe you one. - James told him gratefully.

- Yes, yes, hurry up, you don't want to be late.- Remus hurrued him up.

- Don't worry, we'll be watching you.- Sirius called after him, and James' last thought before he apparated was Wait, you'll what?.

James stood before Lily's house. He took a deep breath and knocked. When Lily opened the door, his breath was taken away.

-Hello, James- She smiled at him. She was wearing a sleeve-less dress with black lace details, her hair was partly held at the back with a white lily-shaped brooch.

- Hello...you... look beautiful. - suddenly James was feeling under dressed. He was wearing simple dress robes similar to a muggle tuxedo.

-Well- Lily raised an eyebrow, amused by James reaction- Are you going to stand there all night?-. That seemed to shake James out of his dazed state.

-Of, of course not.- He offered her his arm, as soon as she took it, he turned on his heel and apparated with her.

They arrived at a fancy restaurant called Le Fleur Blanche. Lily gasped at the sight. It was beautiful, with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, in the center there was a space for dancing, everything seemed so...fancy.

- James...this is too expensive. - She said worriedly to James.

- Nothing less than what you deserve.- He answered her. She blushed and went with him, following a waiter that guided them to their table.

All in all, it was a wonderful dinner, they talked and laughed all through it. As time passed, James was beginning to get more nervous, and kept glancing at the stage where a band was playing.

- Ahem, testing, testingJames whipped his head in the direction of the voice. Sirius was standing there, in the middle of the stage , holding his wand as if it were a microphone. Remus, and Alice and Frank Longbottom where also there. - This song is for James and Lily over there- he pointed in their direction and James hid his face in his hands. At least, until he heard the music.

Sirius: I can see what's happening

Remus (What?)

Sirius: And they don't have a clue

Remus:(Who?)

Sirius:They'll fall in love and here's the bottom line

Our trio's down to two.

Remus:(Oh.)

Sirius: The sweet caress of twilight

There's magic everywhere

And with all this romantic atmosphere

Disaster's in the air

Alice: Can you feel the love tonight?

The peace the evening brings

The world, for once, in perfect harmony

With all its living things

Frank: So many things to tell her

But how to make her see

The truth about my past? Impossible!

She'd turn away from me

Alice: He's holding back, he's hiding

But what, I can't decide

Why won't he be the king I know he is

The king I see inside?

All: Can you feel the love tonight?

The peace the evening brings

The world, for once, in perfect harmony

With all its living things

Can you feel the love tonight?

You needn't look too far

Stealing through the night's uncertainties

Love is where they are

The boys: And if he falls in love tonight

It can be assumed

His carefree days with us are history

In short, our pal is doomed

James and Lily were gaping at them.

-James, what is the meaning of all this?- Lily asked confused.

When Sirius said he prepared something special, I wasn't expecting this! James thought, but he gathered courage and stood up from his seat. Lily frowned in confusion. Then James kneeled in front of her. Her eyes widened in understanding.

-Lily Evans- James cleared his throat as he fumbled with the box in his hands. Then he opened it, revealing a beautiful gold ring, with a ruby in the middle and little emeralds around it.- Would you do me the honor of marrying me?- He was blushing beet red, but he managed to keep his eyes on her.

-Yes, yes! - She cried happily and flung her arms around him. He whooped and stood up with her. All of their friends came around nd congratulated them. Then James proceded to slap Sirius on the head.

-That was for not warning me- He told Sirius, when he protested indignantly about the slap.

The evening ended well, with all of them being shooed out of the restaurant by a very irate owner. (Apparently, they were doing too much noise)

-Hey, Sirius, how did you manage to get the owner to allow you to do that.- Lily asked, before James apparated her home.

-Well, you remember my aunt Cassiopeia?

- The one that kept blackmail about every single person in the wizard world?- Remus asked. Sirius grinned evilly and said.

-Who knew a restaurant owner could have so many secrets.

Everyone shook their heads in amusement. After saying goodbye, all of them headed home.

James and Lily stood outside Lily's house.

-Thank you James, this was a wonderful date.- Lily looked fondly at the ring in her hand.- Even if we got kicked out of the restaurant.

James laughed and kissed her

- I want to stay the rest of my life with you- James looked at her straight in the eye.- I love you, Lily Evans.

-I love you too, James.

A beautiful, dream-like evening. Too bad those happy feelings wouldn't last forever. A war was brewing, and they were going to be in the very middle of it.

The End.

A.N. The trio part in the song is a reference to the fact that Remus, Sirius and James were bachelors. The "past" part was a reference to James and the rest of the Marauders bullying Snape during their time at Hogwarts. I don't own Harry Potter or the Lion King's song Can you feel the love tonight.