A/N – Imagine the Soap Opera narrator's voice. :-)
Previously on Thrice Defied
"Lily, I have taken you around today and showed you some of the spots that just your mere existence have made special for me. Reminded you of just a few of the special things we shared and let you in on some memories that are special to me that you didn't even know about. I want you to know that you're truly the only person in the world who has ever made me feel the things that I feel for you."
He reaches out for her hands. "You mean more to me than my own life. I love you more than I can ever begin to describe."
He gets down one knee, still holding her hands in his. He sees the look of shock, mixed with things he can't comprehend in his own nervous state, cross her face.
"I don't ever want to know, Lily, what it would be like to live without you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
He lets go of her right hand and reaches into his pocket to pull out the ring that his father had given him.
"Lily Anne Evans, will you marry me?" He asks, looking up into her face, holding out the ring for her to see.
Lily's heart has stopped beating.
Yet, her mind is still screaming its joy. She looks down at the man she loves, kneeling in front of her. She stares into his hazel eyes, seeing the love, excitement, nerves and fear in them. She vaguely recognizes that he is holding out a ring for her, but all she can focus on is his face. Nearly a half of a second passes before something clicks into place in her brain, making her thoughts coherent again, but the only thought that registers is yes. Instead of calmly voicing this thought she nearly screams it.
"Yes!" She says and a wide grin crosses his face as excitement and love beat out the other emotions in his eyes.
"You will?" He asks.
"Of course I will, James!" She says, her excitement still making her voice an octave higher than its usual tone. He stands up and wraps his arms around her waist lifting her into the air as he kisses her deeply.
"I love you so much, Lily." He tells her, still not setting her down.
"I love you." She says, wrapping her arms around his neck, not letting his lips leave hers for too long.
Finally he sets her down and gazes directly into her eyes. "You have no idea how happy you've just made me." He tells her and motions for her to sit down on the bench. "Do you want me to put the ring on?" He asks with excitement barely contained in his voice.
"Oh, yes! Of course!" She says and holds out her left hand for him. She had almost forgotten about the ring. She was so lost in her own thoughts about what had just happened, her own excitement overtaking everything else. "It fits perfect." She says staring at it amazed.
"It's magical. It automatically sizes itself to the wearer." James explains. "It was my grandma Potter's. My dad gave it to me when I told him that I wanted to propose to you. He said he couldn't think of any other person better fit to wear it."
Lily smiles at him and looks down at the ring again, really taking in its beauty. It's a shiny gold band with a beautiful carat sized diamond in the middle with three tiny emeralds on either side. "I know I shouldn't be surprised by this after all this time, but is the also goblin made?" She asks looking over at him.
"Unlind's famous forged gold, made specifically for my Grandma in 1890." James explains. Lily shakes her head, unable to believe that this is real.
"It's so beautiful, James."
"I am glad you like it. I was so worried that it would be out dated. My mum told me that she didn't want to wear it because it didn't match the times when she and dad got married." He tells her.
"Well I'm glad she didn't want it, because I love it and if she had it, then I may not have gotten it." Lily says, smiling smugly at him.
"Trust me love, my mum would have given it up for you." He says smirking back. Lily chuckles a little. "Are you happy?" He asks wrapping his arms around her just as he had done the night they first kissed.
"Happy doesn't even begin to describe what I'm feeling." She tells him and snuggles her head into his chest. "I love you so much, James." She reminds him, looking up to see his eyes burning with emotion.
James leans down and kisses her passionately, as if trying to convey all his joy and excitement about the engagement in just one kiss. Lily returns it with the same ferocity and soon she finds herself wishing they were vertical. James moves his lips to her neck and she smiles remembering where they are. We need a bed. She thinks and in the corner appears the same white four-poster that had appeared the night they found out they are soul mates.
"I like the way you think." James whispers in her ear before lifting her up, much the same way a groom lifts his bride, and carriers her to the corner. He lays her gently in the center of the large bed and positions himself next to her, leaning down and kissing her neck again.
"I'm so happy you said yes." He tells her moving his lips to hers and kissing her softly. Lily can't think of a good enough response for this because she is so beyond happy herself so she just moves her hands up to tangle in his hair.
A while later James collapses onto his back next her, panting from the ecstasy that had just overcome them both. He reaches out and puts his arms around her and she snuggles into his bare chest. She can hear his heart still beating rapidly and she can tell that its pace matches her own. She isn't sure why, but she feels like that might have been the best orgasm she has ever had.
"I think this may have just won out as the greatest day of my life." She says as she kisses his chest.
"Mine too." He tells her while tracing light circles along her naked back. They lay there for a while not speaking, just enjoying their happiness.
Lily replays the day for herself in her mind. James is so romantic. Every time she thinks he can't be any more romantic, he is. She plays his words in her head over and over again. Then she remembers something that didn't seem to matter in the moment, but now she is curious about. She leans back slightly letting her head rest against his arm now so that she can look up into his face.
"Earlier, when we first got to the Room of Requirement, you made it your bedroom for us." She says and he nods to let her know he is following her. "Well, you said that the room is important to you for another reason, besides the obvious one."
"It is." He says smiling at her.
"What's the other reason?"
"That room is special to me, not only because of the night we really gave ourselves to each other, but also because I was laying in that bed with you the first moment I realized that I wanted you to be my wife." He tells her.
"You knew you wanted to marry me back round your birthday?" She asks amazed.
"No, Christmas." He corrects. "I knew that very night, Lily. I knew then that you're the only one I ever want to share something like that with. Knew that you are the only one I want to be with, forever." He explains and Lily can feel her heart racing again. Then another piece of the night clicks into place, another piece that hadn't mattered until she really thought about it.
"You said your dad gave you this ring." She says and she sits up on her elbow now to look at him. He smiles weakly at her and reaches up to stroke her cheek.
"He did. That first day at my parents' house over Easter break. When I pulled him aside, that's why. I told him that I want to marry you. I was just looking for his blessing, but he gave us so much more, Lily." He tells her. Lily can feel the tears in her eyes again.
"Won't your mother want to keep this, as a memory of him?" She asks him holding up her hand with the ring on it.
"Lily, she doesn't need a ring to remember him by. Besides it was never her ring in the first place, remember. He wanted you to have that ring, wanted me to give it to you." He says. She can see how hard it is for him to talk about his late father, hear the sadness in his voice as he dredges up these memories.
"I'm so sorry, James." She says as she realizes that she has brought these painful memories into their perfect evening.
"It's quite alright, Lily. I'm glad you asked about this. I want you to know that he truly loved you like a daughter. It's sad that he didn't make it to see us actually get married, but it's good to know that he knew before he died that I would ask you." He says smiling at her. "I think he would have been happier than anyone to hear our news." He tells her with a smile. Lily smiles too and moves her hand up to meet his where it rests on her face.
"I'm glad that he knew as well." She tells him. He gives her a soft kiss and she lays her head back down on his arm but he continues to stroke her cheek. "Does your mum know as well?"
"Yes, dad told her that night. She's been writing to Padfoot for weeks asking him if I've asked you yet." He chuckles. "I'm afraid she might be a bit unbearable when I tell her you actually agreed to marry me." Lily laughs too.
"At least she's excited. I'm a bit nervous to tell my parents. Engaged to be married at eighteen, they may not approve." She says, voicing her main concern.
Most people in the Muggle world would say that they are too young to get married. She doesn't know what age is acceptable for witches and wizards to wed. She had never thought much about it. She figures that as soon as her classmates find out, the rumors will fly that she is pregnant.
"Don't be nervous, your parents took it well enough. Well, your dad did anyway. I didn't see your mum's reaction." He says fairly.
Lily looks up at him shocked. "My dad knows?"
"Of course. I had to ask for permission to marry you, didn't I?" He says with a little chuckle, holding her hand in his.
Lily's taken back to years ago when she and Petunia would watch old movies. The man would ask the woman's father for her hand in marriage. Lily smiles. He really is an old-fashioned gentleman, though most traditions in the wizarding world seem old-fashioned.
"He gave it then?" She asks.
"Yeah, he didn't even give me a hard time about it either. I asked him the last night of our stay at your parents place. When we were out in the garage, you know. He said he could see how much I care about you and he knows you'll be protected and loved with me. He said I made it really easy to say yes." James says with a smile.
Lily too smiles. James already took care of her biggest worry. He truly does know how to make her happy. "Well I'm glad you asked then." Then after thinking for a moment she asks, "What would you have done if he said no?"
James seems to ponder this for a moment. "Honestly, I would have been upset and tried to do whatever I could to change his mind, but in the end, nothing would have been able to stop me from spending the rest of my life with you." He tells her and she kisses him. He always knows what to say.
"Good answer." She compliments him. "So, our parents already know. Is that why you wanted them to have that dinner so badly?" She asks him, yet another thing finally making sense. She feels like it should have been obvious. How could I have missed all the signs? I was so busy trying to get him to pick up on mine, I was missing his!
"Actually that was your mum's suggestion. She asked me about it the night before we went to Petunia's house. My mum has been asking for months of course, ever since she met them at King's Cross." He says with a chuckle. "My plans just seemed to add to everyone's desire to get together." He explains.
"And you mentioned Sirius before. I assume he knows as well?" She asks and James nods.
"I told him and Moony the day after my birthday and then I told Wormy first day back after break." He explains. "All three of them were supposed to help me keep everything private tonight, but as you could see with Honeyduke's and the common room, it didn't work so well with just Wormtail. I bet it would have been a lot more romantic if it had all been private." He says looking wistful.
"This day was more romantic than I can even say." She tells him and he seems to swell with pride. "But we could have been in the middle of the crowded Night Bus and I would've still said yes."
James smiles at her and kisses her forehead. "Remember last weekend when we had that row about me lying to you when I snuck into Hogsmeade with Moony?"
"Yes." What does that have to do with anything?
"Well, the reason why I lied, and then still refused to tell you the truth, was because I had snuck into Hogsmeade to make sure that Rosmerta knew to reserve the right tables and to bribe the guard at Hogsmeade station to let me take you back to the train today." He informs her.
Lily is stunned. "So, all this suspicious behavior last few weeks, that's all because of today?"
"Yeah, I didn't realize I was being so obvious about it though." He chuckles.
Lily thinks back over all the things he had done that made her wonder what was going on with him. It's relieving to know that he was just trying to surprise her with the proposal. "So, when you told me you tripped over your trunk and cut your arm, what really happened?" She asks and he laughs.
"That one is a little embarrassing." He admits.
She looks up at him and grins. "What is it?"
"I did trip and fall on my trunk but it was because I was practicing how I was going to propose. You know, one knee, two knees, standing, sitting… I was getting a feel for how I wanted to do it."
Lily laughs and he does as well. "I love you, James."
"I love you too."
There is nothing left to say. He had completely erased all of her worries. She feels as if nothing else matters. The ever looming war, the rest of the school, her family, their friends, the Order… nothing. Nothing matters to her in this moment except James and their happiness over promising to be together for the rest of their lives. Eventually she falls asleep on her betrothed's chest hand clamped in his.
James wakes to the sound of running water, which confuses him for a moment. He sits up, blinking the sunlight out of his eyes as he puts his glasses on. Looking around the room he notices a door that hadn't been there last night. The water stops and James realizes what must have happened.
"Lily?" He calls and the door opens and a tuft of sopping wet hair appears in the doorway before Lily, wrapped in a fluffy looking white towel.
"Morning." She says, smiling impishly at him. "I didn't want to walk down to breakfast this morning wearing the same clothes with my hair a mess. So, the room provided." She explains, happily pointing to the wardrobe.
James chuckles. "Good thinking. Think that wardrobe has extra clothes for me?"
"I think it may." She says in mock thoughtful voice.
He gets up out of bed and she wolf-whistles at him as he makes his way to the shower. "Behave or you may just need another shower." He warns her and she giggles.
When they're both showered and fully clothed James reaches for her hand and they leave the Room of Requirement. He feels the ring around her finger as she clasps his hand.
"Does it feel strange?" He asks her. She looks over at him confusedly, almost panicky, so he elaborates. "Sorry, I meant does it feel strange to be wearing a ring now?" He asks, pulling her hand up to his lips.
He sees the relief on her face as answers. "You know, I was thinking about that in the shower. I thought it would feel weird, but it doesn't. It almost seems like I should have been wearing it before, and my hand felt weird without it. Does that make any sense?" She asks looking up at him, he can see her need for him to understand in her eyes. He smiles and gives her hand a squeeze.
"It makes perfect sense." He says. She smiles.
They fall silent for a moment, and he wonders if she is worried about what is waiting for them in the Great Hall. Surely all their friends will be waiting to hear Lily's answer. "Are you worried?" He asks her.
"About what everyone is going to say?" She shakes her head. "I was at first, but then I decided it doesn't matter. We're in love and we know that we are made for each other. Why should they care if we want to spend the rest of our lives together?" She says waving her hand dismissively. He nods.
That is exactly how he feels as well. He's sure that their engagement will be the talk of the school for the rest of term, but it matters little to him. They can say what they want to say, he'll marry Lily no matter what. They'll be together forever and nothing anyone says will stop them. Only, for James, forever with Lily still wouldn't be long enough.
They enter the Great Hall and see their friends at their usual spot. Suddenly something occurs to James. "Want to play a prank on our friends?" He asks Lily.
She smiles wide. "Of course."
"Alright, follow my lead." He whispers and they take their seats.
"Well?" Sirius practically shouts the moment they sit down.
"We don't really want to talk about it, mate." James says reaching to grab some pancakes. He's trying his hardest to sound sulky, but it's difficult to do when he's actually so ecstatic. Sirius' smile falls from his face comically. James almost gives up the joke, but he holds it together.
"Don't want to talk about what?" Beth asks, looking between Lily and James and Sirius. Apparently Mary didn't fill her in.
"Nothing Beth, leave it." Lily says in a slightly embarrassed voice. James makes a mental note to compliment her on her acting skills.
Peter looks at James sadly and asks. "Did she turn you down again, mate?" James feels Remus kick Peter under the table. "Ow!" Peter says leaning down to rub his shin. "I just asked what we're all thinking." He says defensively.
"Well, maybe if you lot," James begins pointing to Remus and Sirius, "hadn't landed yourselves in detention things would have been different." He tried to sound angry, but he's so close to laughter as he watches their horrified expressions.
Lily almost breaks but luckily she composes herself in time so that no one notices.
"James, I told you my answer would've been the same no matter what." She says in flat, detached voice. James almost laughs at the completely dumfounded look on Sirius' face.
"But, you're still… together?" Mary asks sounding completely perplexed.
"Well they obviously don't want to talk about it, so let's just leave it." Remus says.
"No, it's ok Moony." Lily says looking at James and he gives her a nod. "Of course we are still together, because…" She says and James smiles widely as he looks back at his friends.
"We're getting married." He tells them bringing his and Lily's clasped hands up onto the table so that everyone can see the ring.
The eruption of noise from their friends turns almost every head in the hall.
"I knew it!" Sirius shouts standing and up and thumping James on the back. "I knew she couldn't resist you, Prongs."
"Congratulations!" Mary says hugging Lily.
"Let me see the ring!" Beth demands pulling Lily's hand across the table.
As they begin to eat James let's his eyes wander the hall. Dumbledore catches his eye and nods, raising his goblet in James and Lily's direction. James smiles broadly at the old man. He feels strangely reassured by this gesture from his headmaster. He lets his eyes continue to roam, he sees people staring and pointing in their direction and he knows they had all heard.
His eyes fall on the Slytherin table. He sees Snape sitting completely still, staring directly at the ring on Lily's finger. His gaze shifts to James and their eyes lock. Snape's expression turns murderous as he gets up from his seat. For one wild moment James thinks that Snape is going to come over to them, but he just races from the hall. James feels the tiniest bit of sympathy for the boy he loathes. He doesn't even want to think about what it would feel like to watch Lily get engaged to another man. It would be worse pain than the Cruciatus curse he thinks.
James is brought back to the conversation at their table by Remus. "Don't complain Padfoot they got us good." He says and James laughs. "You had us going there for minute. I was afraid that Padfoot was going to hex Lily." He tells James.
"You should've seen your face, mate. I thought someone had confounded you." James says to Sirius. They all laugh at this.
"So, how did he do it?" Mary asks. "None of us know the details, he wouldn't tell." She adds shooting James a dirty look.
Lily laughs and starts to explain how he took her to every place that had a significant meaning to them. He's glad that she didn't go into too much detail. He loves hearing her tell the story. She pauses when she gets to the part about the Room of Requirement, because neither Beth nor Mary knew about the place as far as he knew.
"He transformed a class room to look like his back a garden, just like he did on our first date." She tells them. "And he proposed to me in the gazebo where we had our first kiss." She gushes.
Beth sighs wistfully. "I wish Barry was that romantic."
"James is one of a kind." Lily says proudly wrapping her arm around his and kissing his cheek.
Just then the post owls came swooping in and James sees Hamlet and Oscar descending upon them with a large package.
"Were you expecting a package?" James asks Lily.
"No. Were you Padfoot?" Lily asks as the owls set down the parcel knocking over Mary's pumpkin juice.
"No." He says. James reaches up and takes the scroll off Hamlet's leg and receives an affectionate nip in return.
"It's addressed to me." He says unrolling it.
Jamie dear,
Sirius told me that you are planning to propose to Lily this weekend so I thought I would send this along to you. Rose was here on Wednesday for tea and we came up with all sorts of ideas for the wedding.
The contents of the box are mainly for Lily to peruse. If you didn't ask her yet, tell her that the box is for Sirius. But, since I know you, I assume you did ask her, so I will be expecting to hear how you proposed by tomorrow morning.
All my love,
Mum
James shakes his head at the letter. "The box is for you." He tells Lily and shows her the note. She laughs and begins to unwrap the package. Inside are several Muggle bridal magazines, Witch Weekly's Bridal Issue, several pamphlets on venues and another letter.
James looks at the contents and feels his thoughts racing. He hadn't expected the wedding plans to begin the day after he proposed. Remus, Sirius and Peter burst out laughing and he looks over at them confused. "What?" He demands.
"You look as if you just realized you actually have to get married." Remus explains.
James looks over at Lily and she too looks like she's about to laugh. It's true he hadn't given much thought to the actual wedding. He was more focused on the part where he gets to be with Lily forever.
"I just didn't think it would start so soon." He says picking up one of the pamphlets. "Absolutely not, I refuse to get married in a barn." He says showing her the pamphlet he is holding. The front cover is a picture of an old red barn with cows out front. Lily and Mary laugh at this.
"Agreed." Lily says.
When they're finished eating, Lily packs everything back up into the box.
"Let's go out onto the grounds, it's so nice out." Beth suggests.
The others agree and they walk as a group of seven out onto the grounds to laze under their favorite beech tree. James lounges up against the trunk of the tree and Lily rests up against his chest. Sirius sprawls down in front of them looking for a moment like the large black dog that he is. The others form a circle around them.
After a few minutes of idle chit-chat Mary stands up. Everyone looks at her, wondering what's going on. "Last one in has to kiss the giant squid." She announces and takes off towards the lake. Half a beat later Sirius is up and chasing after her.
James makes to stand up but Lily holds him down. She pushes off his chest and takes off. He laughs to himself as he stands up and chases after her. She's in for it now. He catches up to her easily and wraps his arm around her waist. She screeches as he lifts her up over his shoulder. He walks into the lake slowly carrying her above the water. The water's warm for early June so he pulls her back over her shoulder letting her fall into the water softly. He laughs as she reemerges and pushes him playfully.
"Lily, looks like you're the last in!" Mary calls to her.
"You know what that means!" Beth jeers.
"You must smooch the giant squid!" Sirius declares.
"Although, kissing Prongs must be an awful lot like kissing the giant squid, so it should be no problem for you." Remus adds and the others laugh riotously. James swims over to his friend and dunks his head under the water.
After a few hours of swimming they all head back to shore. The light breeze making the air quite chilly so James and Sirius transfigure some rocks into blankets and towels while Lily and Remus put warming charms on them. The girls dry their hair with their wands and the boys head back to the beach tree.
"So, our little Prongsie is getting married." Sirius jokes.
"They grow up so fast." Remus adds in a mock reminiscent voice.
"Are you scared mate?" Sirius asks him.
James ponders this for a moment. He isn't nervous about being married. To him living with Lily, waking up by her side every morning is the best thing he can think of. But, the actual getting married part does worry him a bit. He knows his mother. She'll want a grand affair for the wedding, with loads of people and extremely lavish decorations. James thinks back to Petunia's wedding. He's sure that Mrs. Evans will want the same thing for Lily.
"No, marriage doesn't scare me. It's the wedding that will be the hardest part, I think."
Peter chuckles bitterly and everyone looks at him but the girls approach then and they let the subject drop. James opens his blanket up for Lily and he wraps it around her as she lies in his arms. They are snuggly enveloped in their blanket, chatting, enjoying their last Sunday on the grounds with their friends.
At lunch time the girls head into the castle to get some food to bring it out so that they can have a nice picnic. "So what's up with you, Wormy?" James asks as soon as the girls are out of ear shot.
"I just wish I could get a girl to marry me." He says bitterly. James glances at Sirius and then Remus.
"Uh, got someone in mind mate?" Remus asks.
"Don't laugh ok, just hear me out." He says giving them all a pleading look. They all nod and wait for him to explain. "It's Mary." He says looking down at his hands. "She has just been so nice to me the last few months and she always sits by me and hangs out around me. I think she likes me too." He says.
James glances at Sirius. Sirius and Mary have always had some kind of flirty thing going on between them. They would snog sometimes and James suspects they may have even shagged a few times. But they weren't ever serious about each other, as far as he knew.
Sirius' face shows shock and slight indignation, but neither of the others seem to pick up on this though. James is fairly good at reading Sirius' moods and expressions. He can understand. There were never any issues with his and Mary's arrangement before, but if Peter now likes Mary, it would definitely be a problem.
"What makes you think that?" Sirius asks, almost harshly. James throws him a warning glare.
"Like I said, she's just really nice to me all the time." He shrugs. "She always sits by me and walks with me in the halls." James can see Sirius' knuckles going white on his clenched fists.
James hasn't noticed any signs that Mary could possibly have feelings for Peter. She always shows preference to Sirius in these group settings. Hadn't she been Sirius' partner when we played chicken earlier? He wonders thinking back to the water game they were playing where Lily was on his shoulders, Mary on Sirius' and Beth on Remus'.
"I'm not sure mate. Mary isn't the commitment type is she?" James says choosing his words carefully.
"Yeah, she has too much energy to even stay seated for too long. I doubt she'll have the patience for marriage." Remus adds helpfully. "Besides I always thought she fancied Padfoot." Remus says and James smirks. Apparently Remus had noticed something too.
Peter sighs as the girls return with platters of food. Lily comes over and sits on James' lap.
"Close your eyes." She commands. James obeys and she whispers in his ear to open his mouth. He again obeys and she feeds him the most delicious piece of treacle tart he has ever eaten.
"Mm. Desert first." He says opening his eyes. "I like that." He adds suggestively and she giggles moving from his lap to sit at his side between him and Remus.
As Beth hands out plates Mary walks over to Sirius and whispers in his ear. Sirius, looking extremely guilty, closes his eyes. Mary feeds him a bit of an éclair she is holding and then wipes the excess cream from his lips with her finger and then licks it off suggestively. James hears Sirius swallow hard from all away across the circle. It would've been extremely funny if Peter hadn't just confessed what he had.
James looks over at him and sees him watching the interaction with a small smile on his face. Then he catches James' eye and seems to remember something and jumps up. "I, uh, need to go ask McGonagall something." He says and rushes off towards Hagrid's cabin. James looks over at Remus, who looks as he feels.
"What's wrong with him?" Lily asks, watching him walk away.
"I guess he just thought of a question for McGonagall." Remus says with a shrug.
"Don't lie. He was heading off towards Hagrid's, not to see McGonagall." Lily says defiantly.
James leans down to whisper in her ear inconspicuously. "I'll fill you in later, just let it go."
She nods and then listens to Mary. "He's been acting so strange lately."
"I think he fancies you." Beth jokes and all three boys look uncomfortable.
"Nah, he likes that Sheng. Didn't you hear him in the common room?" Mary says barely containing her laughter.
"What happened?" James asks.
"Oh I forgot." Lily says, looking as if she too were trying not to laugh. "You three weren't there. You all had detention, but we were hanging out in the common room studying and Peter fell asleep on the couch." Lily explains.
"I swear he was having a wet dream." Mary says crudely.
"He was mumbling about Sheng in his sleep and Lily had to wake him up when he started to hump the couch." Beth says and the three girls couldn't hold it in any longer. They burst out laughing at the memory.
"Was he embarrassed?" Remus asks.
"Not too bad. We were really the only three around." Lily admits.
"And he played it off like he was just joking." Mary says. The boys erupt with laughter at this.
"I taught him well." James says smiling. "I used to pull that one all the time, remember mates?" He asks his friends.
"Course, how could we forget?" Sirius laughs.
"Prongs, you're lucky she never heard you. You'd smack him if you heard the things he did to you in his sleep, Lily." Remus laughs.
"What makes you think he doesn't do them to me now?" Lily asks, not missing a beat.
Beth and Mary burst out in a fresh wave of giggles. James nods his approval at her words and Sirius falls over laughing.
Remus looks as if he is pondering that. "Good point." He finally concedes tucking into his sandwich.
They finish their lunch and Lily leans into James' chest again.
"I'm going to miss this place." Mary sighs lying back onto the grass.
"Me too." Lily agrees.
Peter returns then and joins the group as if nothing happened and engages the boys in a talk about Quidditch. The girls start talking about wedding details and James hears Beth describe how she wants to get married in a large church. It sounds to James a lot like Petunia's wedding.
"You're so lucky, Lily." Beth says. "At least James' mum likes you. Barry's mum hates me. She treats me like a pariah." She says sulkily. James chuckles.
"My mum loves Lily." He says hugging her closer to his chest. "Remember Padfoot, what she said after Lily's stay last summer?"
Sirius laughs. "Sure do." Sirius says sitting up. "James Charles Potter, if you don't marry that girl I will disown you." Sirius says in an uncanny impersonation of James' mother. Everyone laughs at this.
"So, you see I didn't want to be disowned." He says and Lily chuckles.
"I am lucky." Lily tells Beth. "James' family has always been very inviting. I think his parents secretly wanted a girl." She says with a wink.
"It's no secret." Remus says and everyone laughs again.
A while later Hamlet floats down to Lily, and James chuckles. "What?" Lily asks taking the letter from Hamlet's leg.
"My mum is so impatient. She couldn't wait for me to respond, so she had to send you a letter too." He states, laughing.
"It's for you." Lily says reading the name on the scroll.
"Nah, she only addressed it to me as a precaution. I'm positive it's for you." He tells her and she unrolls the scroll. James reads over her shoulder.
Jamie dear,
I only addressed this to you in the extremely unlikely chance you didn't propose to Lily, so please hand this over to her.
James laughs. "See, I told you." He says. Lily also laughs and the others do too, realizing that James must be right. He continues to read the rest of the letter.
Lily,
I am so glad that Jamie finally had the sense to ask you to be his wife. I would have disowned him if he hadn't.
"Told you!" James says again.
"Sh! I'm trying to read." Lily scolds him.
If you already got the package I sent this morning than you will know that your mother and I have been having weekly teas ever since we found out Jamie was going to propose. I tell you, it was hard to keep it secret.
We want your opinions and ideas as soon as possible so we can start the concrete plans right away. Don't forget to look at venues. We will need to book soon. No one likes a long engagement.
Your mum will be here tomorrow so I really hope to have some of your ideas to discuss with her. And don't forget to tell us how he proposed. He refused to even tell his own mother.
Send Hamlet back with your reply.
All my love,
Your soon-to-be Mother-in-Law
James swallows as he reads this. "So we really do have to start planning today?" He asks Lily.
"Afraid so. I at least have to tell them how you proposed."
"They're going to be unbearable until the wedding, aren't they?" He asks her. They both had almost forgotten that their friends were around them.
"Come on Prongs, you know mum. She loves planning big events like this." Sirius says.
"What did she want?" Mary asks and Lily hands her the note, sitting up to look through the large box of wedding stuff again.
At dinner time the girls decide to take the box back up to the common room before meeting them in the Great Hall. James takes his seat next to Sirius at the Gryffindor table and begins to tuck in.
"Good evening Mr.'s Potter, Black, Lupin and Pettigrew." Dumbledore says from behind him.
"Good evening, Sir." They say in unison.
"James, would it be too much of me to ask to speak to you and Lily after dinner?" He asks.
"Of course it isn't, would you like us to meet you in your office, Sir?"
"Yes, that would be great. Thank you James." Dumbledore says. "Enjoy your meal." He says nodding to each of them in turn before returning to the Head Table.
"Wonder what he wants." Sirius says, his eyes following the old man.
"No idea. Maybe it's Head stuff." James suggests hopefully. The girls arrive then and Lily takes her seat next to him.
"What'd we miss?" She asks scooping herself some potatoes.
"Dumbledore just stopped by. He wants us to meet him in his office after dinner." He tells her.
"Why?" She asks confused.
"Dunno. He didn't say, but I told him we'll be there." Lily just nods, looking as if she were deep in thought.
The rest of dinner passes uneventfully and when they both are done eating they walk hand-in-hand to their Head Master's office.
"Good Evening." Dumbledore says as James and Lily enter his office. "Please sit down." He says and gestures to the chairs in front of his desk. They sit and look at their professor expectantly. Waiting to find out why they were asked to come speak to him.
"I would first like to offer my congratulations. I cannot tell you how delighted I was to hear of your engagement." He says and James smiles over at Lily.
"Thank you, Sir." She says. James reaches over and takes her hand in his. She gives it a little squeeze.
"I must warn you though." Dumbledore begins. "While I, and so many others, see this union as a wonderful occurrence, you will forgive me for saying so, but the Death Eaters will not see it this way."
James just stares at his Headmaster. He knows the Death Eaters won't approve, but why should he care? Their opinion means less to James than a beetle's. What does matter to him is Dumbledore's opinion.
"Are you saying that you don't think we should get married, Sir?" James asks unable to keep the contempt from his voice. Lily looks over at him shocked.
"No, no you misunderstand me." Dumbledore says shaking his head with a small smile. "I merely mean to warn you that Voldemort and his Death Eaters will try to use any means necessary to prevent it from coming to be." He says and James feels a bit more relaxed. "My advice to you would be to not wait too long." James nods. The advice makes sense. He feels Lily give his hand another squeeze.
"I also wanted to give you another warning. As you both know, having faced him yourselves, Voldemort is very cunning. He will use any means to achieve his goals. I only warn you of this because soon enough he will hear of your plans to marry and I believe that once he knows he will try to use you against each other. I warn you of this so that you are on your guard and can hopefully avoid his traps." Dumbledore says and James nods. His first orders from the Order of the Phoenix.
"We will, Sir. Thank you for your warnings and advice. They'll be helpful." He says and Lily nods.
"Yes, thank you, Sir. It means so much to us that you approve of our decision to wed." She says and Dumbledore smiles brightly.
"I must say Lily I have never been one for Divination or destiny, but if anything has ever seemed fated to me, it is you and James' relationship." He says, the twinkle once again playing in his eyes. "I recall back in your fifth year you were both called to my office. Lily I believe it was your first visit and James, were we on number six?" He says and James chuckles.
"Sounds about right." James agrees.
"Well, you had gotten into quite a heated argument in your Transfiguration lesson. James, you were shrunk down to about fifty centimeters tall and your fingernails wouldn't stop growing. Lily, your hair was turned an electric blue and you had a tail and whiskers." Dumbledore stops to chuckle at the memory. "I must admit I was impressed with your magical skill.
Then, even after being lectured by Professor McGonagall you were still snapping at each other when you arrived in my office. I will never forget that day. When I asked you to explain yourself James, do you recall what you said?" He asks. James shakes his head. He usually tried to forget his and Lily's rows.
"You said, 'ask her, she is the unreasonable one.'" Dumbledore laughs again. "Then you had another little argument which ended with Lily saying she would rather go on a date with a goblin than with you." The old man says unable to stop himself from laughing. James and Lily both join in.
"She always did come up with creative things she would rather go out with than me."
Lily laughs. "I was running out, that's why I had to finally accept." All three of them were laughing quite a bit.
"I must admit, I always had a feeling you would end up as more than just sworn enemies. I could see the mutual attraction hidden beneath the insults and the anger. It was rather sweet to watch you grow together. I'm not at all ashamed to tell you that I have been rooting for you two for quite some time." He tells them.
Lily smiles back. "That's very sweet of you, Sir. I must say it's good to hear."
"Thank you, Sir." James adds lamely. James is extremely touched by his words and can't think of how to express how nice it is to have him on their side.
"That is all I wanted to tell you." Dumbledore says. "Please don't hesitate to ask me if you need anything at all." He tells them and James and Lily know themselves to be dismissed.
"Thank you again, Sir." Lily says before they head back down the spiraling staircase.
As they walk up to Gryffindor Tower James lets out a small chuckle.
"What?" Lily asks looking up at him.
"I just remembered why you were so angry at me that day back in fifth year." He tells her and Lily smiles.
"Ah yes, I had just dropped my wand." She remembers. "And you came up behind me and said,"
"You know Evans if you go out with me I can teach you how to properly handle wood." He finishes for her and she chuckles. "Turns out, you knew how to handle it just fine without my help." He says and she pushes him playfully.
When they enter the common room they spot Peter and Remus sitting at a table playing chess and they join them. Lily brings over the big box of wedding stuff and begins writing a letter to their mothers. James sits down next to her and reads as she explains how he proposed. She makes it seem so much more romantic than it was. He thinks. He turns just in time to watch Remus' knight capture Peter's queen.
"Alright, I'm off to bed." Peter announces.
"It's only just seven o'clock." Remus says looking amazed.
"I'm knackered from exams and everything, besides, I have a book in the dorm I want to finish reading before we leave school, and you know how I like quiet when I read." He explains.
James calls goodnight to their friend before turning back to look at Lily. She had nearly half the scroll filled up with the details of his proposal. "Lily, you don't have to write them a novel."
"I want them to know the whole story, it's so romantic." She says with a smile.
James rolls his eyes and looks around the common room. Sirius had just entered the portrait hole and James is about to wave his friend over when Mary walks up to him. She whispers something in his ear and then walks out of the open portrait hole. Sirius stands looking torn. Then he heads makes his way up the boy's staircase.
"Oh shit." James says and stands up. "I'll be right back. Marauder thing." He tells Lily before following Sirius up to their dormitory, Remus right behind him. This is going to be a bad one.
"Well that was quick." Lily says as James and Remus return to the common room only five minutes later. "Sirius ran through here like a mad man. So either it wasn't as bad as you seemed to think or now we have to deal with Peter's dead body and Sirius is on the run from the ministry." She surmises smiling at her own joke. James and Remus chuckle.
"It wasn't as bad as I thought. Earlier today, when you lot went to get lunch, Wormy told us that he likes Mary." James explains.
"Mary?" Lily asks astonished.
"That's was our reaction." Remus says. "And, I don't know if you've noticed but there has been something going on between Mary and Padfoot for a while now."
"Oh I've noticed." Lily says. "Heard them in an unused classroom back in fifth year, but I didn't want to let them know I heard them so I pretended I didn't know." She tells them.
"What did I tell you about spying?" James says with a smirk.
"You're one to talk." She shoots back. Remus laughs at their banter.
"Well anyway, Padfoot went up there to tell him about his and Mary's arrangement." Remus says. "That's why Prongs and I reacted so quickly."
"Ah, so what happened? Peter give him the go ahead?"
"No." James says smiling. "Turns out Wormtail never liked Mary. He just wanted Sirius to admit to their arrangement." Lily looks amazed.
"Well isn't he sneaky. I can certainly see why you keep him around." She says with a laugh. Remus laughs as well.
"Now if you will excuse me, I believe I saw a pretty bird visiting Slughorn this afternoon. I need to go stage a run-in." Remus says smirking as he walks towards the portrait hole. Lily waves to him and then turns her attention back to her letter.
"What are you writing about now?" James asks her.
"Just some of my ideas for the wedding." She says distractedly.
"Do I get a say?" He asks and Lily looks up at him.
"I didn't realize you wanted a say." She says. "Most men would hate to be asked their opinions on this sort of thing."
"Well I'm not most men." He reminds her.
"I'm writing about colors for bridesmaid's dresses right now. I want them wearing dark green with gold sashes and you and the groomsmen in gold tuxes with green ties. Only your tie will be white." She says.
"Sounds good. I will need three groomsmen obviously, with Sirius as Best Man." He tells her.
"Obviously." She agrees.
"So that is Mary and Beth for you and who else? Will you ask Petunia?" He asks skeptically.
"I know it sounds crazy, but she is my sister. I want her at our wedding." She says. He nods.
"I understand. She'll come around." He says smiling.
"Petunia will be my Matron of Honor, if she shows, if not Mary will be Maid of Honor. And I don't know, maybe I will ask Tilly to step in as the third bridesmaid."
James chuckles at her joke. "I'm sure you will figure it out." He assures her.
"I have narrowed it down to these few places as to where we could have the actual wedding, here tell me what you think." She says handing him the brochures. She watches his reactions closely as he leafs through the stack.
"Why are you so interested in this?" She asks him. "Aren't grooms supposed to be passive and just agree to whatever the bride and the mother's decide?" She says with a smirk. James turns to face her setting down the brochures.
"Lily, this day will mark the beginning of our life together. I want it to represent us, not our mums and what they think a wedding should be. I want to do it our way."
"I like that." Lily says and leans in to give him a quick peck. "Can I run an idea by you then?" She asks him.
"Of course." He tells her.
"Ok, well I know it sounds silly, but when I used to picture us getting married we were –"
"You used to picture our wedding?" James cuts her off smirking.
"Every little girl pictures her wedding day." She tells him exasperatedly.
"But you said when you used to picture us getting married, not when you used to picture getting married." He says teasingly.
"Can I finish please?" James motions for her to continue with her idea, still grinning like a madman.
"Like I was saying, I always imagined that we'd get married outdoors. I think we should have to be a summer wedding." She says.
"That's a great idea. I would love to get married outside." He tells her.
"What about in your back garden?" Lily asks looking up at him, hoping she didn't sound crazy. "In the gazebo." She adds.
The picture had been forming in her mind for months. She and James, standing in the white gazebo, white lilies hanging from all the railings, James in a gold tux, her in a white dress, it was so beautiful to her, fit them so perfect. She wonders if he would like it.
James grins at her again. "I think that is an absolutely brilliant idea Lily."
"Really? You do?"
"Of course! I can't believe I didn't think of it." He says. "There is no better place for us to get married than the place we had our first kiss, our first date, and the place where I proposed. I love it." He tells her.
Lily lunges at him wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him close. James smiles and wraps his arms around her. She pulls back and gives him a deep kiss. "I love you." She tells him.
"Well that's good, because you'll be my wife soon." He tells her and she laughs.
She sits back in her chair properly again and pulls the letter to her. "Well, now that we got the basics out-of-the-way, the rest should be really easy to do." She tells him taking all the stacks of brochures and throwing them into the bin.
"Are you sure we'll have enough time?" James asks concernedly.
"What do you mean?" She asks confused. They had over a year to plan everything else. "You want to get married this summer?" She asks, his words sinking in. She had been expecting him to want a long engagement so as not to feel rushed.
"Why not?" He asks shrugging. "We want a summer wedding, it's nearly summertime. Do you not want to get married so quickly?" He asks, looking mortified.
She thinks back to James' mum's letter from this morning. She said that no one liked a long engagement. Then she remembers Dumbledore's warning from earlier that evening. He had told them not to wait too long, that the Death Eaters would be looking for any way to stop them getting married. "No, I want to marry you as soon as possible." She tells him and his face relaxes.
"Are you sure? We can have a long engagement if you want." He tells her. She shakes her head.
"No, I don't want to wait too long." She looks up into his eyes. "It's just, soon we'll be out there fighting and I don't want something to happen to either one of us before I ever get to know what it feels like to be Lily Potter." She tells him and he seems to swell with pride at her words.
"Lily Potter." He repeats. "I like that… a lot." He says leaning down and kissing her again.
When they break apart he nods over to her letter. "Are you going to be finishing that anytime soon, or can we head to bed. I'm beat." He tells her. She smiles at him.
"I'm almost done, I just have to add the bit about what we just talked about, but you can go on up to bed. I'm sorry I wore you out last night."
"It's quite alright. You can wear me out like that every night." He says in a husky voice. She smiles but shakes her head.
"Go up to bed, James. I'll see you in the morning."
"You're not coming with me?" He asks in a pouty voice that she makes her smile.
"No, I told you I want to spend this last week in the dorm with Mary and Beth, besides, it's inappropriate for the groom to sleep with the bride before the wedding night." She tells him.
James looks taken aback. "What?"
"You heard me. No sex until after the wedding." She almost laughs at his shocked expression.
"But, last night –"
"Last night was a celebration."
"Can we celebrate again tonight?" He asks with a smirk.
"No, tonight isn't a special occasion, James."
He looks sulky. "So, the wedding is tomorrow, right?"
Lily laughs. "It's not that bad!"
"If you say so, but honestly I think you'll break first."
"Is that so?" She asks, almost challenges.
"It is." He leans forward again and kisses her deeply before placing a peck on her ear. "Night love, dream dirty things about me." He whispers before heading up to his dormitory.
A/N – Well, I hope you like it :-)
Thought and feedback and lovely reviews are always appreciated.