Lily Evans stared into the mirror across her. Her mind was spinning with thoughts of her upcoming dinner engagement with James Potter. She had known him for what- eight years now, and just realized how wonderful a wizard he was.
Lily crossed her tiny room and slid open the closet to search for something to wear. What would she wear? A sleek black cocktail dress or a navy blue high-waisted skirt with a ruffled button down shirt? After all, she had never been to Remy's before. From the reviews in the Muggle papers and the feedback from her parents, it was the high quality, classy French restaurant settled into the very heart of London.
She slipped on the black dress and, after coming to no decision as to what to do with her long red hair, clipped it back. Lily chose her favorite black heels, and settled on not breaking her neck while going down the stairs and pushed the button to the elevator. She looked around at the meticulously arranged hallway with its marble table and various orchids. She had bought a one-bed one-bath condo just outside of London after she had left Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, since Petunia still lived at home.
James, on the other hand, had already bought a house in Godric's Hollow, right across the street from Bathilda Bagshot, the famous magical historian. He had already started his training as an Auror alongside Sirius Black, but Lily couldn't deny the fact she was terrified by the thought of him coming face to face with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Even the thought of all the Aurors in the world against You-Know-Who sent chills down her spine.
Lily set down the street at a brisk pace, making sure that no one should see her. She turned left into a dark, quiet, and rather smelly alleyway, where she often Disapparated so Muggles wouldn't notice the disappearance of a woman into thin air.
She reappeared on an unlit street corner. There was not a sliver of moon in the dark blue that settled as a backdrop against the city lights of London. Big Ben was like a giant lighthouse, looming out of the fog, illuminating those around it. The early summer air was cool but not humid; just right for a romantic night on the town.
Lily walked a block towards the general direction of their meeting spot, at the intersection of Sycamore Avenue and Willow Street. As she walked several more, she thought it would have been better to Apparate straight there. After all, who would see her, in the mobs of tourists and the commotion of the city? Lily tried to find James in the swarm of happy faces all around her for ten minutes until she bumped into a man and dropped her purse. She knelt down to pick it up.
"Oh, I'm so sorry."
"Oh, no,- James, I've been looking for you forever!" chastised Lily as she stood up. "Oh, um, I just had a little errand to run for Dumbledore, and—."
"Ooh, what kind of errand?" asked Lily.
"Oh, something for the Order, you won't miss it at the next meeting."
"Why can't I hear it now?"
"Because."
Lily put her hands on her hips and showed an exaggerated pout.
"Because I love it when you're mad." James grinned.
"I don't know how many times you've said that." Lily smiled too.
James embraced her and their lips touched. Lily hadn't felt this relieved since, well, since they could last go out together, just themselves. She felt like she had been juggling bricks, and had finally dumped them on the floor. All the stress of her family, her two jobs, the Order of the Phoenix, and You-Know-Who himself left her with little sleep at night.
As they walked toward the Remy's, they tried to catch up with each other.
"So how's training been going? Are you and Sirius keeping up?
"Yup. We're doing Disguises now. How's the BS going?"
Lily giggled at their little joke. She was a secretary (for now) for Arnie Crawford, one of the wizards who was part of the International Confederation of Wizards, British Seats. "Yeah, the British Seats are going pretty well. In fact, the whole world is going pretty well, except for the fact that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is taking over the wizarding world!"
"Shh, I don't want to ruin our night discussing what we will at the meetings. Tonight will just be you and me," said James.
"Okay." Lily murmured.
Lily found the restaurant to be quite enjoyable, with tall, wide wooden doors, fancy windowpanes, candles, and of course, the mouth-watering French cuisine. But her attention that night was focused on the man sitting across her.
"So, have you heard anything from Lupin yet?" asked Lily.
"No, but Dumbledore thought he had gone into hiding. Things aren't going well for werewolves, either," explained James.
"How about Peter? What's he been up to lately?"
"Eh," James shrugged, "he's got his own place in Birmingham. I see him every morning. He works in the Floo Network Authority, remember?"
"I remember."
"I think the five of us, no- Hagrid too, should get together at my place sometime. We hardly see each other out of work and the Order."
"Mmm-hmm."
"Oh yeah-Sirius was out the other night, and a modeling agent happened to come across him."
"Yeah? Did he sign a contract?" Lily giggled. The idea of Sirius modeling for Muggles seemed pretty ridiculous. "Not yet. But you know what that means?" James asked. Lily shook her head. "Well, you could quit your Muggle job. That way we can have more time to spend together," James answered himself. For the past few years, when You-Know-Who became more and more powerful, it was hard to get Muggle money, which wizards and witches had become dependent on. They used it to buy their houses or pay the rent, buy food from the Muggle market (after all, where would they get it from?) or paying the various Muggle bills and taxes (they still lived in England, and had to deal with the government taxes). Using Muggle money made them look more normal than paying for their groceries with a large gold Galleon. When Lily bought a condo, she took up a second, Muggle job in a coffee shop, and worked there three times a week. Although there were a many wizards who relied on Exchangers, or so they called them, to cash in wizard money for Muggle money, Lily did not want to take the risk. James, however, did. They took in Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts, shipped them to a foreign country where You-Know-Who was less powerful, where they exchanged them for their Muggle currency, and shipped it back to England, where it will be exchanged from Muggle dollars to Muggle pounds (or something similar). It was a very long process.
Lily contemplated it. It was very inviting. But she couldn't put Sirius in that kind of danger. Even though modeling was relatively easy (or so it looked), but if Sirius were caught- she didn't want to think about it. "No, James, I need that job to keep my condo. Besides, I couldn't put Sirius in that kind of danger."
"C'mon, you don't need your condo, you can move in with me!"
"Nice try, James."
"No, I'm totally serious. And then I could see you more often!"
Lily laughed. "I'll tell you if I'm having any financial troubles." But when she actually thought about it, Lily didn't know when she would be with James like this again.
"Hey Lily, have you ever tried escargot? I dare you to try one," James grinned boyishly. "I will if you will," Lily giggled. As the waiter approached the table with a hot plate of escargot, Lily began to have her doubts about the dish. It was still in its shell!
"Okay, we're going to eat this on the count of three," said James. Lily lifted it up and scrutinized it. She placed it in her mouth, and was seized by an immediate desire to spit it out and wash her mouth with soap. It wasn't that it tasted bad, no, it tasted like garlic and butter. It was the mental dislike of having a snail in your mouth. She choked the chewy little piece down and realized that James was having the same trouble, and was coughing while growing red in the face.
"Well, who knew you could find that in your backyard!" said James. Lily laughed. She picked up another piece, and, against her better judgment, ate it. "See?" Lily said, "it's not all that bad. After getting around the fact that it's a snail."
Their date went on, and Lily found herself wishing it would last forever. But she did not know when she would see him next. "So when do I get the honor of seeing you next?" asked James. Lily snapped out of her trance and was surprised James was thinking the exact thing she was. They settled on a park bench in a little park, and James put his arm around her and pulled her closer. "Oh, I don't know, maybe a week or two. When I'm less busy."
"The thing is, I don't want to wait two weeks. I don't want to wait until the next Order meeting." Lily stared into his hazel eyes and searched for what he was getting around to. James clasped her hands in both of his. "I want to see you in the morning when I wake up, and watch the sun go down with you. I have lived a life that any man, Muggle or wizard, would die to have. And it's all because of you." James knelt on one knee and pulled out a small box. "Lily Evans, will you marry me?"