Marry Me, Evans

"Jesus Christ, Padfoot, keep it down, you idiot!"

Sirius seemed startled to have his heartfelt wailing cut short and feigned hurt at James' words. "I was serenading you!" he protested.

"Is that what you call it?" Remus asked drily. "I've heard cats howling that sounded better than that."

"A cat? Seriously, Moony? A cat? You insult me!"

Remus sighed. "Would you prefer me to say dog?" he suggested.

Sirius gave a sharp nod of his head. "Yes. Yes, I would."

"All of you, cut it out!" James hissed, slicing his arms through the air in a gesture meant to silence them. His heart was pumping with a combination of fear and adrenaline at what he was about to tell them, but he needed their undivided attention first.

"Why?" Peter asked innocently—his first words since they'd arrived.

Sirius deliberately glanced towards the door of James' bedroom, ajar, and broke out into a smirk. "He's worried we'll wake Evans up."

"Lily isn't here."

"Oh, sure..."

"She isn't!"

"Where is Lily?" Remus asked curiously, looking around the apartment as though she was bound to appear at any moment.

"I told you, she isn't here!" James was getting impatient and frustrated now.

"Why not?" Sirius demanded.

James blinked in confusion. "Well, why would she be? She doesn't live here, you know."

"I just assumed, now we were out of Hogwarts, you two would be succumbing to those seven years of sexual tension we all had to suffer through."

Three different things happened. Peter went red and stared down at his shoes, James seemed torn between wanting to both slap and high-five his best friend, and Remus said in a shocked voice, "Sirius! That's disrespectful—Lily was Head Girl."

Sirius looked amused and shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, my naive Moony," he chuckled. "James was Head Boy and we never respected him. "

"Yes, but still—"

"SHUT UP!" James screamed, finally losing it. "All of you just shut up and listen to me for one minute!" His chest was rising and falling with each heavy breath. The remaining Marauders all fell silent, looking deeply apologetic.

"Sorry, James," Remus mumbled.

"So, what is this about?" Sirius demanded, brightening up again. "'Cause I've got important stuff to do, y'know!"

James narrowed his eyes. "Like what, exactly?"

Sirius folded his arms, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Leaky Cauldron... business," he said mysteriously.

"You mean you're chatting up drunk girls," Peter said under his breath. Sirius neither denied nor confirmed what his 'business' at the Leaky Cauldron was.

"Look, we've been out of Hogwarts for two months now," James went on, ignoring their former comments. "And... bad times are coming."

Remus cast his eyes down sadly, whilst Peter shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

Sirius, as usual, seemed disinterested. "This isn't going to be some sappy, motivational crap, is it? 'Cause Prongs, I love you and all that, but you can save that for Lily."

James' chest tightened at the mention of her name. "The reason I wanted to talk to you all... is about Lily, actually. The reason I called you over today was because I want to ask your advice on something."

Sirius broke out into his playful bad-boy smirk again and slapped a hand down on James' shoulder in a brotherly manner. "Oh, Prongs," he teased, "if it was bedroom advice you wanted, you should have just called me straight away. I mean, I'm no expert, but I bet I know exactly what Lily's—"

"I want to marry Lily!" James burst out, eyes wide, before Sirius could go any further. Then, more calmly yet with deep certainty, he said, "I love her. I know we're young, but I love her and I know there's no one else out there for me." He took a shaky breath. "I want to ask her to marry me."

Sirius retracted his hand like James had just announced he had some sort of contagious disease. Peter was white with shock—the very notion of asking a woman to marry him! Remus, the most sensible of the four, looked stunned. After the initial shock of it all, his face fell into a concerned frown.

Sirius could do nothing but gawp at his best friend as though, all of a sudden, he was nothing but a stranger to him. "Marry Evans?" he asked for clarification. "You want to ask Lily to marry you?"

"Yes," James said with confidence. "I've been thinking about it a lot," he admitted, straightening his glasses in a bashful way.

"Marriage?" Peter squeaked, but nobody paid him any attention.

James looked to Remus, the one he trusted to give him the most sensible response. He seemed hesitant. "Are you sure about this, James? I mean, have you thought it all through properly? It's just... you're so young, and you and Lily haven't been dating for that long."

"But I love her!" James cried in defence. "I've loved her for years now, and I'll love her until the day I die! And for all we know," he added quietly, "that could be a lot sooner than expected."

The four young men all glanced downwards, reflecting on the approaching dark times. It was inevitable, after all. Dumbledore had already entrusted them into the Order of the Phoenix.

"Is that really such a good reason for getting married though?" Remus asked. "Because of the possibility that there might not be another chance?"

"I can't think of any better reason," James said, perfectly stubborn.

Remus sighed. Reasoning with James Potter had never been an easy task, especially when he had his mind set on something. "Then what about Lily?" he tried, feeling desperate. "Have you considered how she'll react to any of this?"

James narrowed his eyes. "Are you saying she doesn't love me? That she wouldn't want to marry me?"

"I've no doubt that Lily loves you. It's just... it's such a huge step. Marriage is a big commitment, James."

"Don't lecture me about commitment," James protested. "I'm not Sirius—I've been faithfully in love with Lily since I was fifteen! I know what this means. I know it's a huge step. But I'm ready for it." He puffed his chest out as if to emphasise his point. "What do you think?" he demanded, rounding on Peter.

The mousy boy let out a terrified squeak. "I—" But that was it.

"Sirius?"

Sirius seemed to snap out of his daze immediately. He had been lost in a haze of confusion, trying to make sense of exactly what James had just announced. All the light-hearted playfulness had been drained from him. It was only in rare times when they saw the elusive 'serious Sirius,' and this was one of them.

He regarded James with grave sincerity, staring deep into his eyes, trying to convey as much meaning as possible. "You really want to marry Evans?" he asked.

James matched his friend's sincerity in his own expression. "I honestly do."

Sirius placed a hand on each of James' shoulders, deepening the gaze. "Are you sure about that? Really sure? As in... sure sure?"

James very nearly laughed, but he forced himself to be as serious as the other boy was being. "Positive."

Sirius nodded for a while, letting the words sink in, and then he was pulling a startled James into his arms, enfolding him in a bear hug and thumping him on the back. "Then I'm in!" he cried enthusiastically, though it was somewhat muffled by the embrace. With as much force as he'd reeled him in with, Sirius was suddenly forcing James back, holding him at arm's length and giving him that same meaningful gaze.

James was alarmed.

"I get to be Best Man, right? Right?"

James burst into laughter.

"Lily hasn't said yes yet," Remus reminded them.

"Dibs on planning the stag party!" Sirius roared with excitement, completely ignoring Remus. "STAG! Prongs—stag!" And the old Sirius was back, giddy with excitement, laughing uproariously at his own humour.

James looked just as thrilled. "So you'll really support me?" he asked uncertainly, almost as though he couldn't quite believe it. "You're not going to tell me I'm making a huge mistake? That I'll be giving up a life of girls and freedom and general bachelor-ness?"

"Oh, please, we can't all live like me."

James couldn't help but grin, a deep genuine smile stretching from ear to ear. "Moony?" he asked, the smile being replaced with a look of worry.

"It pains me to say it," Remus said, "and by Merlin's beard, I hope Lily forgives me but..." he sighed, "I will support you, James."

James pumped a fist into the air with excitement. And, without really noticing or caring that Peter hadn't spoken up and pledged his allegiance, said, "Well, that was the easy part. Now all I need to do is get Lily to say yes..."

They all reflected on the problem at hand, lost in thoughtful silence. Until finally Remus asked, "Have you at all considered how you might ask her? Or even when?"

James blinked. "Well, I'll probably say a load of romantic crap and then, like, get down on one knee."

Remus rolled his eyes. "Lily's a lucky girl," he muttered under his breath.

"I've got it!" Sirius announced with a snap of his fingers. "None of that romantic drivelling—she'll see right through that, and Merlin knows you're bound to screw it up."

"Hey!" James said reproachfully.

"Evans isn't like normal girls," Sirius went on. "She knows you—she doesn't want romance! She wants straight-to-the-point, no-messing-around honesty. Don't do one of those flaky little speeches. Just give it to her straight-up!"

"What exactly are you suggesting?" James asked suspiciously.

Sirius looked thoughtful for a second, and then, startling them all, dropped down onto both knees, stretched out clasped hands before James and cried, "Marry me, Evans!"

"Isn't that a bit... desperate?" Peter asked.

Sirius got back to his feet, brushing his clothes down as though it has been the most casual thing in the world. "He is desperate—just look at him!"

James glared at him. "I am not going to do that."

"I would certainly advise against such an, err, dramatic approach," Remus suggested. "Though Lily certainly isn't like most other girls, I don't think a bit of romance would go too unappreciated..."

"James doesn't know how to do romance!" Sirius protested. "Look at the botch job he made of actually getting Lily to go out with him after what, four years?"

"Okay, look, thanks for the advice and all that," James said sarcastically, cutting in, "but I think I can handle this by myself, okay? Lily Evans is about to be wooed! And for your information, I can do romance!"

"It's beautiful!" Lily gasped. The sunlight bounced off of her hair, making it gleam like fire, and a look of awe had spread across her face at the sight of the lake—it looked like a mirror, glistening in the autumn sunlight. Crisp brown leaves were beginning to fall from the trees, but the grass itself was still green and lush, beautifully harmonising with the sun as it hung in a cloudless sky.

"It's, err, it's not the only thing," James said, nervously running his hand over the small box that resided in his coat pocket, just checking it was still there.

Lily dragged her gaze away from the beautiful vision of the lake to grin at him. She was truly beautiful. He let out a shaky breath.

"Lily," James began awkwardly, taking both of her gloved hands in his own. "I, err..."

Lily's grin melted into a frown. "Is everything okay?" she asked, concerned.

"Everything's great!" James assured her. "More than great—in fact, it's wonderful! Delightful! Simply, err... splendid!"

The concern only deepened. "You're acting... strangely."

James gulped. "I'm just—well—you make me nervous," he said, feeling somewhat pathetic. Where was the usual James Potter confidence and charm? Why did he feel so shaken?

Lily looked amused by this. "I make you nervous?" she echoed.

James could feel an irritating lump in his throat, which he was struggling to remove. "Lily," he said again, trying to force confidence into himself. "I love you. You know that, right?"

Lily blushed, her cheeks turning as red as her hair. "I was certainly hoping that was the case," she laughed.

"Why?" James asked stupidly.

A confused giggle escaped Lily's lips. "Well, I suppose, because I love you."

James perked up at that. "Great! That's—that's really great!"

Lily laughed again. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine," James declared, actually beginning to relax. He needed to stop delaying but, oh, why was this so difficult!? "Okay." He took a deep breath and gave Lily's hands a gentle squeeze. "Lily," he announced for the third time. "We've, err, we've been dating for about a year now, and I—I know we're young," he stuttered, "but I've known for a while that I love you, and that... that I will always love you."

Lily didn't say anything—only blushed again in that adorable way that she did.

This was it, James thought. Get down on one knee. Say it now!

But something in the background glimmered and caught his eye. Looking beyond Lily and her frame of beautiful auburn hair, James saw, to his disbelief, a rowing boat making its way across the centre of the lake, with three distinct figures sat in it, seemingly observing the couple with great interest. Three very familiar figures, James thought furiously.

"Oh, for goodness sake," he hissed under his breath.

Lily looked alarmed. "What?"

"Huh? Oh—nothing! No, I just thought I saw something, but I was"—James gulped, letting his eyes wander back to the rowing boat—"I, umm, I was mistaken."

"Well, what was it?" Lily asked, panicked.

James waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, just a dog... A filthy, disgusting, mangy dog that doesn't know how to keep out of other people's business!" he spat through gritted teeth. "But, err, where were we?" he asked, nervous once more.

Lily was observing him with even more concern. "You were saying something about being in love with me," she prompted.

"Oh—right—yes!" James cleared his throat again. "So, I, err..." He was nervously bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, constantly distracted by the rowing boat, always there in his peripheral vision. How was he supposed to be relaxed now? He was going to kill Sirius when he next saw him…

James focused his attention back on Lily. "I want to... I want to..." What was Sirius doing now? Making some kind of gesture? James couldn't tell if he was offering a thumbs-up or else some obscene gesture.

"What?" Lily Prompted. "You want to what?"

James tried to force Sirius and the Marauders from his mind. "I want to bed you!" he cried out desperately.

"What?"

"Wed you! I—I meant wed you, I swear!" Now he had gone as red as her hair. "Lily, please," James begged, the appalled and alarmed look on Lily's face unsettling him greatly. "I... want..." he said weakly. He took one more glance at the rowing boat full of Marauders, one more glance at the disgusted look on Lily's face, and finally cried in despair, "Oh, forget it!"

Throwing away all of his dignity, all of his class, and all of his futile attempts at being romantic, James dropped down onto both knees, stretched out clasped hands before Lily and cried out in the most humbling, desperate voice a man was capable of, "Marry me, Evans!"

Originally written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition Season 2—Finals Round 1

Team: Holyhead Harpies
Position: Captain
Task: Include the line, "Are you sure about that? Really sure? As in... sure sure?"