A/N: Incredibly long author's note coming up. You have been warned.
Sooo: five months, 36 chapters, more than 200,000 words and over 400 reviews. I can't quite believe that this story ended up here. It was originally going to be ten chapters of approximately 2000 words each; I planned a short story and somehow appear to have written a novel.
I cannot thank you all enough for taking the time to read, and for your reviews and support throughout the course of this story. Having never written anything before, it's been surprising to me that anyone has any interest in reading my writing, so any confidence that I have found in my abilities has come from all of you. YOU ROCK.
This chapter contains drunken Marauders, a fair few tears, a little nostalgia, some very important conversations and a little something that I think a few of you have probably been waiting for. I'm not going to lie, I made myself cry more than once writing this one; I just hope it's not a disappointment. The structure is a little different than usual, but I thought it suited the final chapter. Little suggestion; when you get to the last section when James and Lily leave the party, try listening to 'Question' by Old 97s.
And finally, this last chapter of TT has a few dedications:
To hplover1234567, for being the first ever follower and first reviewer of this story.
To SuperCara, who always seems to pick up on the little things.
And to ClaireBear1982 and MaryLouise1996 for their tireless and continuous reviewing, right from the early days of this story.
Thanks everyone. Let me know if I make you cry too.
X
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The minute hand ticked onto the twelve, and the bushy-haired examiner straightened up at the front of the room as he checked his wristwatch before speaking.
'Quills down everyone.'
The slight feeling of tension in the room dissipated, to be replaced by a more relaxed air, and the sound of quill scratching across parchment ceased, swiftly supplanted by the noise of more than a hundred students gathering their belongings. The examiner gave a quick twist of his wand and the examination papers flew from the desks to the front of the room where they sealed themselves into a leather briefcase.
'Thank you, you may go.' The small man gave a brief smile to the room in general as it began to empty. The noise level rose as students began to hustle their way out of the room, singly or in groups, some talking loudly, others deathly quiet.
'And we're done!' Sirius whooped as they left the Great Hall. He did an odd dance around Remus, waving his hands in his face until Remus punched him in the arm. Sirius, never one to be put off by anyone else's lack of enthusiasm, continued his dance as he made his way to the main staircase well ahead of the rest of them, garnering odd looks from a number of the younger students, who nonetheless accepted his odd behaviour unquestioningly.
Lily watched him with amusement as she followed along behind him in the midst of a group of their friends. 'He's irrepressible isn't he?'
Remus laughed. 'He's just glad to be done with schoolwork. You just wait; it'll hit him later that he actually has to leave Hogwarts now, and then he'll drink too much and start crying.'
Lily looked up at James for confirmation. He grinned down at her. 'Moony's right. He's all chirpy now because he doesn't have to do schoolwork anymore. Once he actually thinks about it and realises that we're really done with Hogwarts, he'll probably have a bit of a breakdown.'
Lily shook her head. 'I'll never get used to you lot. You're so weird.'
'We prefer to think of ourselves as "interesting"'. Peter piped up from behind her. 'Prongs, party in the common room?'
James looked down at Lily, eyes pleading and she huffed a sigh. 'You don't have to give me the kicked puppy look. It's not like I'm a total spoilsport.'
'Is that Lily-speak for "okay"?' he asked hopefully.
Lily looked up at him, her expression lightly amused. 'Anyone would think I was the only voice of authority around here. Yes James, we can have a party in the common room. Usual rules still apply.'
'What rules?' Alice turned her head to look over her shoulder at Lily, but it was James who answered with a grin.
'Lily's rules: Remus keeps track of the alcohol; no-one under the age of fifteen gets any; third years and younger have to go to bed at twelve.'
Alice raised her eyebrows questioningly at Lily, who shrugged.
'What? I was never going to be able to stop them from having parties, so I settled for damage limitation. We compromised.'
'When did this start? And why didn't the rest of us know about it?' Alice still looked a little confused.
'Lily and I worked it out in fifth year when we both became prefects. We didn't want to be arguing over things all the time so we came to an agreement.' Remus answered lightly. 'I explained it – in short, easy to understand sentences – to my three idiot mates, and lo and behold! Three years of parties without argument. The rules never affected any of you lot, so you probably never even noticed them.'
Alice accepted his explanation and turned back to watch where she was walking, though she still looked slightly baffled.
'Anyway, I'll round up Padfoot and go get some supplies.' Peter edged past Lily, James and Remus, eyes searching for Sirius. He finally spotted him dancing Marlene around in circles on the main staircase. 'Looks like he needs to work some energy off anyway. Taking the map, alright Prongs?'
He pushed forward, nudging his way through the crowd until he caught up with Sirius, grabbing his arm to get his attention. As soon as he recognised Peter, Sirius fell to his knees in front of him and began to sing the school song, arms outstretched as he serenaded his now somewhat flustered friend.
'Bloody hell.' Lily's voice sounded to be somewhere between amused and appalled. 'I vote Remus deals with him later. It's like he's on drugs.'
James threw an affectionate arm round her shoulder. 'Not to worry love. He'll be crying into his butterbeer come eleven o'clock.'
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'Iss just…Hoggy, Hogs….thish place' Sirius waved his arm around in an attempt to indicate the castle 'it'sss my home, you know?'
Mesmerised, Lily nodded her understanding as Sirius continued his monologue without waiting for a response.
'Prongsies house iss great. It'sh brilliant, fantastic, brilliant.' He frowned. 'Did I shay brilliant?'
Lily nodded again, apparently rendered incapable of speech by the train wreck occurring in front of her eyes. She watched as Sirius endeavoured to pour himself another drink, missed totally, pouring the liquid all over the table, then attempted to swig from the glass he'd just completely failed to re-fill. He went cross-eyed as he tried to examine the contents of his empty glass from a distance of a few centimetres, before he gave up and reached for the bottle again.
He took a swig from it, and Lily winced at the sheer amount of alcohol that disappeared down his throat. She wasn't exactly sober, and given that James was dancing with Frank, Alice was drawing on Marlene's face and Mary was trying to teach a fifth year how you made margaritas, she assumed they weren't either, but nobody else in the room seemed to be approaching the same level of drunkenness as Sirius.
'But it'ss not the same. Thish, thish was the first place I was happy, and I'll mish it, you know?'
Lily nodded again. She most certainly did know, but she wasn't going to attempt a semi-serious conversation with him in this state. He carried on talking, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she wasn't listening to his nostalgic, if slightly confused, recounting of their sorting. She was just wondering if she could levitate him up the stairs to his bed without him noticing when salvation appeared, in the form of the other three Marauders.
'Told you he was pissed,' said Peter, unable to keep the amusement from his voice, which carried only the slightest hint of inebriation. His grin spread even further as Sirius suddenly launched himself at Lily and held her tight to him in a death grip.
'Lily! Tiger-Lily, my prec…preshi…special flower! I'll mish you mosht of all!'
'She's going to live with you, you complete dingbat!' James slurred his words slightly but seemed otherwise alert and aware. He leaned forward and prised Lily free from his hands. 'And you are absolutely wasted mate.' He tugged Sirius to his feet and pulled his arm around his shoulder, gripping his waist to hold him up as he swayed into his side. Lily's mind flashed back to the day in Potter Manor when she'd seen him do the exact same thing after Sirius had been caught in the explosion and had staggered home injured. The sober part of her brain wondered just how much time he'd spent holding Sirius up over the years to be able to do that so easily and unthinkingly.
'Bloody fuck!' Just as James began to swear and stagger slightly under the strain of supporting a friend who was being extremely un-cooperative, Remus grabbed Sirius from the other side, as Peter prudently relieved him of his wand.
'Ten thirty.' Said Remus looking at his watch, squinting a bit as he tried to focus through slightly tipsy eyes. 'Seems we both had a bit more faith in him than he deserves Prongs. I owe Pete three galleons.'
'You bet on your friend's drunkenness?' Lily asked incredulously.
Peter grinned. 'We bet on everything Lily. I thought you knew that. I knew he'd get pissed extra quick tonight, after what happened with the map.'
James' head whipped round. 'What about the map?'
Peter winced. 'He said he was going to tell you. He didn't?'
James shook his head, and Peter peered at him. 'Are you sure? You are pissed, you might just have forgotten.'
James scowled. 'I'm not that pissed. He hasn't said anything to me about the map. Moony?'
Remus shook his head, and he and James looked back at Peter, who shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny. 'Well, we were on our way back from Hogsmeade with the supplies, and we were just coming out of the passage – the one behind the one-eyed witch – when we saw Filch coming on the map. We managed to close the passageway and keep the stuff hidden, but Sirius couldn't hide the map in time. Filch confiscated it.'
'Filch what?!' James shouted. He noticed the curious looks being aimed his way, and lowered his voice before he spoke again. 'Filch has the map? Our map?'
'Yeah, but he doesn't know what it is!' Peter spoke hurriedly. 'Sirius managed to lock it, he thought he was confiscating a blank piece of parchment. He was just being a git.'
James and Remus were rendered silent for a few moments, until Remus eventually spoke.
'Look at it this way mate; we're leaving in a few days, so it's not like we'd have much need for it in the future is it?'
'I know Remus.' James answered, his tone a little sad. 'It was just such a good piece of magic. And it would have been nice to keep it.'
'It would.' Remus reached around a now semi-comatose Sirius to slap James on the back. 'But think of it as our legacy; leaving it behind for future generations yeah?'
James grinned at him. 'Well, when you put it like that Moony…'
Sirius groaned and James raised an eyebrow. 'Right, he needs to sleep it off. Come on mate.'
Lily and Pete walked ahead of them, clearing any obstacles off the stairs as they went, and James and Remus supported Sirius' weight as they hauled their drunken friend up to his dorm.
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Lily slid into her seat at the breakfast table and adjusted her school robes. Alice flashed her a quick grin.
'Late down aren't you? Last day and all, I thought you'd be sat here bright and early.'
Lily attempted to straighten up her tie and glared at Alice. 'I might have been, if I had been left alone to my own devices. As it was, I had to get a recalcitrant Head Boy moving as well, then help him kick his idiot mates out of bed. Needless to say, it delayed me.'
'Oh.' Alice sounded disappointed. 'I was hoping you were late and dishevelled for much better reasons.' She winked and Lily groaned at the implication.
'Seriously, why are you lot under the impression that James and I spend every spare moment shagging?'
'Because you probably do.' Sirius threw himself down onto the bench opposite, teeth flashing as he smiled at her.
'We do not.' Lily glared at him, but felt her expression soften immediately when a gentle pair of lips landed on her cheek and then moved up to whisper in her ear.
'We do in my dreams love.' James kept his voice quiet and low, and he admired the blush that spread across her cheeks as he sat next to her and began to tap his fingertips on the table impatiently. Alice raised an eyebrow at Lily's sudden lack of composure but diplomatically remained silent on the subject.
Sirius, on the other hand, smirked and opened his mouth, but he was thankfully cut off before he could speak by Dumbledore standing up at the teacher's table and raising his arms for silence.
'So, we come to the end of another school year! The last day is always a bittersweet one.' The Headmaster spoke cheerfully, but there was a solemn edge to his tone. He lowered his arms and looked down at the table briefly before he continued in a more subdued voice. 'Most of you will return in September, to continue your studies and to re-join your friends here. However, we say goodbye to our seventh year students, and possibly to some of our fifth and sixth years as well.'
He paused and observed the roomful of students with a degree of melancholy in his expression. 'This has been a difficult year for all of us; more so, I admit, for some than others. I wish I could pretend that it will be the last difficult year you will suffer through, but alas, this is unlikely to be the case. We all have hard struggles ahead of us, and we can only hope that we are able to meet them, and that by fighting back against the darkness that threatens our world, we will keep it at bay.'
He paused, and his gaze drifted around the room again. 'I encourage you to consider your futures carefully. I'm sure you are all aware that a number of your fellow students made some very large decisions this year; decisions that will have very large consequences, and repercussions that will follow them for the rest of their lives. Please, I beg you, do not make rash decisions of your own; some things, once done, cannot be undone.'
There was a moment of silence as Dumbledore's words seemed to hang in the air. Then he smiled unexpectedly.
'Difficult as this year has been, it has also been uplifting in many ways; new friendships have been formed, old prejudices overcome and I am proud to say that many of my students have displayed a spirit of unity and bravery that is seen only rarely. If we have demonstrated one thing at Hogwarts this year, it is that we can achieve far more together than we can apart. If you take only one lesson from this year, let it be an understanding that together, we are more than the sum of our parts.'
He lifted a glass from the table and held it in front of him. 'Now, all that remains is to wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday, and to bid a fond farewell to those who are leaving us; I believe we will miss you far more than you will miss us.'
He raised his glass, and the rest of the room hurried to follow suit. Lily felt tears beginning to sting at the back of her eyes, and she leaned back towards James, knowing that he would respond in the way she wanted and wrap his arms around her. She felt his arms encircle her, and she closed her eyes and relaxed into his hold, until she felt a warm hand cover hers where it lay on the table. Opening her eyes, she met Sirius' silvery-grey ones looking at her with concern; she turned her hand over in his grip to give his a reassuring squeeze and he grinned back at her. He pulled his hand away just as the food began to magically appear on the table, and she rested her head against James' chest for just a few moments more before she allowed him to let go of her. He offered her the plate of omelettes that had appeared alongside his elbow with a tentative smile, and she reached out for one, offering her own smile in return. She glanced round to look at all of her friends, gathered at the breakfast table one last time; some were crying, some laughing, others focused on piling as much food as possible onto their plates, but they were all there, sitting together in a way they never would again.
She turned to her left to see James and Sirius suddenly embroiled in the middle of a discussion, waving their forks at each other as they tried to argue their respective points; Remus was trying his very best to ignore them and Peter was staring at his plate as he tried not to laugh. If she looked to her right, she could see Mary giggling as Marlene teased Alice and Frank. She felt a sudden smile break out on her face; she might have been leaving Hogwarts, but she was taking some wonderful parts of it with her.
Feeling unexpectedly light-hearted, she dug into her breakfast, half an ear on James and Sirius' argument, and the rest of her attention on Marlene's description of the state of Alice's hair that morning. A few moments later the mail arrived; there was far less than usual, since the vast majority of parents wouldn't send anything this close to the end of term, knowing that they would soon be collecting their children from King's Cross. There was still some for the teachers though, and some late deliveries for some of the pupils as well.
To the surprise of everyone, including Lily herself, an owl dropped down onto the table directly in front of her, and she stared at it, her face registering her confusion as she took the roll of parchment it carried and offered it a piece of toast. The bird took the titbit thankfully, then immediately flew back out.
She unrolled the parchment and scanned through it, her face clearing as she read. James eyed her change in expression, and when it became apparent that she wasn't going to offer an explanation without prompting, he spoke in a deliberately careful voice.
'Interesting letter? Odd to get mail on the last day of term.'
'Yeah, I know.' Lily pursed her lips as she rolled up the letter. She turned to him and touched his face briefly with the tips of her fingers. 'Have we got time to take a walk when you're done eating? I want to tell you about this.'
James' fork stopped in mid-air as he studied her expression carefully. A little concerned, a little excited. He dropped his fork onto his plate and stood up, holding his hand out for hers. 'I've got time now.'
Lily looked up at him, and seeing nothing but genuine interest and attentiveness in his expression, she slid her hand into his and allowed him to help her to her feet. They began to wander out of the Great Hall, ignoring the curious looks being directed their way.
'Are you sure you had enough breakfast?' asked Lily, swinging their joined hands slightly as they left through the main entrance and began to walk down the steps.
James grinned at her. 'Yeah. Besides, I plan on pretty much buying out the trolley on the train, since it's my last chance and all.'
She had to laugh at that; it was such a stereotypically Marauder way of looking at the world. 'Good to know you'll be on an enormous sugar high by the time I get you to my parent's house.'
He laughed and they walked a little further in silence. They'd reached the edge of the lake before Lily began to speak again.
'The letter was from a friend of Professor Slughorn.'
James raised a curious eyebrow, but remained silent.
'I spoke to him - Professor Slughorn - a few weeks ago, about the possibility of becoming a potioneer? It's not an easy thing to get into anyway, and with the spread of prejudice against muggleborns, well, I wasn't sure it would be possible. But then I thought about what you'd say, how you'd think I shouldn't give up on something before I started, so I asked him, and he said he'd write to a few friends and see what he could do. I asked Dumbledore as well, and the Order doesn't have a potion-brewer at the moment, so that's another thing.'
She realised that she'd begun to babble slightly, so she took a deep breath and rushed her next sentence out. 'And the letter was from one of the people he spoke to offering me a position as a trainee at his apothecary's. You know, brewing stock potions and maybe even experimenting to improve them or create new ones.'
She stopped there, waiting for a reaction. There were a few silent moments before James turned his head towards her. 'Would I know the apothecary?'
Lily nodded. 'It's Mulpepper's.'
His eyebrows rose. 'The one on Diagon Alley?' She nodded again.
He blew out a breath and stopped walking, tugging on her hand so she'd turn to face him. To think he'd been worried that the letter had been bad news in some way. 'Well, that's great Lils.'
Her smile lit up her face. 'You really think so? I mean, I don't have to decide just yet of course, but I thought you might be upset that I hadn't discussed it with you.'
'You're discussing it with me now.' He pointed out.
'I know, but still. I thought you might be put out with me.' She looked down at the ground as soon as she'd finished her sentence, obviously still worried about his reaction.
'For having a mind of your own? Give me a little credit Lils.' He reached out a hand and gently pushed her chin up. 'I'm not saying I wouldn't go off the deep end if I found out you were doing something incredibly dangerous or reckless without telling me, but you do have the right to make independent plans for your own future.'
She smiled up at him. 'I know. I also know I wouldn't love you if you were the controlling type. But…I feel like you get some say in this; it's your future too. I mean, it's our future.'
Her voice was shy and quiet as she spoke the words that made James' heart soar, that made him all the more certain about the decision he'd recently made. He knew exactly where his future lay. He let go of her hand and stroked a thumb along her cheekbone, and his next words were as quiet as hers had been, and as unexpected.
'Do you know where we are?'
She looked round quickly, and her eyes registered that they had stopped under a beech tree; the same beech tree that the Marauder's had been sat under on a long-ago day, right after an exam, the same beech tree she must have sat under a hundred times since, with or without them. Her lips curved into a sad smile at the jolt of recognition.
'Yes.'
James removed his hand from her face and looked round, his eyes finally coming to rest on the lake. 'This is where things changed for me. That day in fifth year, when Snape used that word, and you looked so hurt…that's when the war became real instead of an idea.'
He turned his head back to face her again. 'And this is where you called me out on the way I'd been behaving, and you were right because – and I'll be honest with you here, Evans – I could be a complete dick at times. I like to think I'd have grown up anyway, even if it hadn't happened, but you…'
He trailed off for a moment and shook his head, an involuntary smile spreading across his face. 'You gave me the push I needed when no-one else would, and I fancied you long before that, but that day…that was when I first thought I could love you. Because you were beautiful, and brave, and loyal and determined, and everything I could ever want. And that's what I did fall in love with; all the little things that make up Lily Evans.'
She looked up at him with tearful eyes, and he reached out to wipe them with his thumbs, but she batted his hands away and stepped closer to him, reaching up to lock her arms round his neck. One of the tears finally fell, leaving a track down one cheek, and he ached to kiss it away but he wasn't sure she wanted him to.
'James.' She used her hands to pull his face down to hers. 'A lot can change in two years huh?'
He nodded, his eyes still tracing the line of that tear. Part of him was struggling hard not to just blurt out the words he so desperately wanted to say right then, in that moment. She lifted herself up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek before lifting her lips to his ear.
'I'm glad it did.'
They ended their final morning as Hogwarts students under the spreading branches of the beech tree by the lake; a place which, while it contained both good and bad memories for them both, was irrefutably one of their places. They ended it wrapped in each other's arms, whispering in each other's ears.
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Lily slid her hand into James' waiting one, feeling their palms make contact as she stepped from the Hogwart's Express onto Platform 9 ¾ for the last time. She glanced over one shoulder and saw Marlene step off behind her. If she looked around she could see dozens of people that she knew, several that she loved, and her heart ached at the change that was happening in her life. Change was necessary she knew, and it could be a good thing, but that didn't make it any less painful right now. She'd thought that she'd said her goodbyes to Hogwarts, but apparently there was still more she needed to let go of. She squeezed James' hand tighter and was grateful for his presence yet again; he was steady and warm and somehow incredibly soothing to be around. His thumb stroked patterns on the back of her hand as they weaved their way through the crowd.
They waved at people they knew, they stopped and hugged others, and Lily felt that burn behind her eyes over and over again as she said goodbyes and mouthed the formula phrases.
Keep in touch.
Don't forget to write to me!
We'll meet up soon, yeah?
Good luck!
I'll miss you.
Well-meaning words she knew, but too many of them would become broken promises soon enough, and the thought made her even more tearful than she already was. She almost broke entirely when she saw James saying goodbye to the three members of the Quidditch team who'd be carrying on without him next year. She wasn't sure who looked more upset; James at giving up Quidditch or the other three for losing a Captain they idolised. She held back her tears and carried on in what seemed like an endless round of goodbyes.
Eventually she found herself on the edge of the platform, surrounded by a small group of her closest friends. She looked round at the people stood with her – James, Sirius, Marly, Alice, Remus, Peter, Frank, Mary, Julia – and knew that she trusted every one of them with her life.
They all stood there for a moment, all of them tearful as they looked at each other, staring as if they were trying to memorise the moment for posterity. Sirius pulled his card feather from his pocket, his expression unusually solemn. To Lily' surprise, the rest of the group followed suit; James had apparently shared his idea for a symbolic moment to mark their joining of the Order, and Lily found that she approved of that, very much. This group had gone on a real journey this year, and it seemed only fair that they end it together, and start a new one together.
They held their cards up, and drew their wands until they were all stood, card in one hand, wand in the other.
'Ready for this everyone?' asked Remus with a small smile. They all looked round at each other for a moment, and then cards began to light up until they were all nothing more than black ashes on the wind. They stood and watched the embers blow away until nothing was left in sight, and then they began to go their separate ways, on the understanding that they would all see each other soon; this was not a goodbye.
Finally only Lily and James remained, and they made their way slowly to the apparition point, their trunks floating along behind them. James looped an arm around her waist and she leaned into his side and allowed herself a few moments of sadness for the things she was leaving behind. By the time they reached the apparition bays she was feeling better, but she still held on firmly to James, who took the hint and gripped her tight, holding her close as he took her to her parent's house by side-along apparition, unwilling to let go for the time being.
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The front door slammed shut, and Rose Evans heard her husband's deep voice talking, followed by the distinctive creak of the garage door opening. Lily's laughter rang out in response to something he'd said, and she smiled to herself at the sound of her daughter's cheerful mood.
She'd been happier this year, in a way she hadn't been for a long time, Rose had noticed that much. She'd come home at Christmas lit up with the happiness, and she'd been practically incandescent with it when they'd been at the Potter's for New Year. It had wounded her a little, to see her daughter fit in better with another family than she did with her own, but that little sting of hurt was overshadowed by the relief that she was so obviously truly comfortable with herself, and with what she was, for the first time that Rose could remember.
Then at Easter she'd invited James to stay so she could watch him with her daughter again, and she'd seen what was between them, and it was not only obvious and undeniable, but it already appeared unbreakable. Lily was so much more herself when she was with him, and he watched her when he thought no one was looking, and somewhere along the line she'd understood that she had been exactly right about why her youngest daughter was so happy these days.
So she'd acted on the impulse when it struck her, and she'd given James a not so subtle nudge. She assumed he hadn't acted on it yet - she couldn't imagine Lily keeping something like that from her - but she knew he would, and from what she had seen it would be sooner rather than later.
Having Lily home for the last few days had been wonderful, and had reassured her that she had been exactly right; with James here with her she had all but glowed the entire time, and even her rows with Petunia seemed to have been tempered, either by Lily's greater happiness or by the presence of a handsome boy.
'Hey Rose.' As if he'd been conjured up from her thoughts, James swung into the kitchen, offering her one of those heart-stopping smiles. 'Thought I could smell coffee.'
Rose smiled at him; a smile of sheer affection and gratitude. 'You're almost as bad as Lily.'
She pulled another cup out from the cupboard, filling it from the pot before passing it to him. He smiled his appreciation and began to add sugar - but no milk - to his drink before sliding himself onto one of the kitchen chairs, pulling the day's newspaper towards him across the surface of the table. She watched him as he ruffled his hair with one hand and took a sip of hot coffee before speaking again.
'Mind if I hang out with you for a bit this morning?' he asked as he folded open the first page. 'Lily went with William to collect…whatever they were supposed to be collecting, I stopped listening…and apparently, I'm more likely to be a hindrance than a help.'
Rose almost managed to cover her snort of laughter with a cough. 'She always could be a trifle blunt. Gets that from her father.'
James grinned at that, and Rose felt that surge of affection for him again; for this laid-back, messy-haired boy who made her daughter light up. 'Well, their loss is my gain; I'm sure you're better company than my grouch of a husband anyway.'
James took a sip of coffee. 'I know better than to respond to an opening like that.'
Rose turned away to hide her smile, dusted her hands off on a tea-towel which she then threw over one shoulder before picking up a plate and waving it under his nose.
'Here, try a cupcake. Lily used to love them when she was little so I thought I'd make some.'
James smiled his thanks as he put down his mug of coffee and took a cake from the plate, idly pulling the paper case off. He bit into the cupcake almost absent-mindedly as he returned to browsing over the newspaper. He chewed for about three seconds before looking at the remnants of the cake in his hand and then back up at Rose.
'Oh Merlin. Marry me.'
She giggled. 'If a woman can have you for a cupcake, I'm surprised there wasn't a baking club at Hogwarts.'
'This is not a cupcake Rose, this is…well, it's heaven in a paper case quite frankly.' James demolished what was left of the sponge cake and picked up his mug. 'You'll have to teach me how to make them, since Lily reliably informs me that the only thing she's worse at than flying is cooking. I suppose it's a good thing that I'm relatively competent in the kitchen.'
Rose's eyebrows climbed. 'You cook?'
James grinned. 'You look almost as surprised as she did when she found out. But yeah, I can cook.' He reached out and pinched another cupcake, grinning at her when she pretended to swipe at his hand with her tea-towel.
'In case you hadn't noticed, I have a bit of an appetite. I was politely informed by my mother - at quite an early age, I might add - that she did not exist purely to indulge my appetite, and if she cooked for me whenever I was hungry she'd never get anything else done. I was told in no uncertain terms that if I was going to eat her out of house and home, the least I could do is learn to fend for myself.'
Rose picked up her own coffee cup and leaned back against the kitchen cabinets, her face set in an easy smile. 'I enjoyed meeting your mother very much James, and every story I hear of her, from you or from Lily, makes me like her even more. She raised a wonderful young man. I look forward to us all being family one day.'
James looked up sharply. His eyes searched her face for an obvious sign of her mood. Nothing in her face suggested they were doing anything more than talking lightly, but he felt the seriousness of the conversation even if she didn't. He looked down and kept his gaze focused on the back of his hands as he phrased his next sentence carefully.
'I got the letter you wrote me at Easter. I just wanted to say that…I've given it a lot of thought. And…I hope that we'll be family one day too.'
Rose smiled at him.
'Why don't you tell me some more about your family James?'
They were still sat together in the kitchen, talking and laughing when Lily and William arrived home more than an hour later. Lily appeared in the doorway, and Rose didn't miss the way James paused mid-sentence and looked up when he heard her, eyes suddenly only for her; she crossed the room and slid into the chair next to him, offering him a smile, and he answered with a grin of his own before continuing with his anecdote about his father teaching him to fly, his hand reaching for hers in a motion that was obviously both habitual and instinctive.
Rose smiled again, and pretended she hadn't noticed either the gesture or the blush it had raised in Lily's cheeks.
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Two days later, Rose had taken Lily shopping and Petunia was out - again - leaving James alone in the house with William Evans. Lily and Rose had both said he was welcome to come, but the idea of clothes shopping wasn't exactly appealing, and he'd been waiting for an opportunity to speak to her father privately ever since they'd arrived.
Aware that he was about to have one of the more important conversations of his life, he took several deep breaths before he knocked on the door of William's study and pushed the door open. He poked his head round and found William re-organising boxes on one of his shelving units; the older man seemed slightly sheepish at being caught in the middle of such a task. He put down the box he was holding and straightened up before speaking.
'If I don't tidy up my study, Rose does it for me and she throws stuff away – useful stuff – and I can't find anything for weeks anyway.'
James nodded his understanding of the dilemma. 'My dad hides stuff all over the house because he's convinced that my mother is on a mission to throw out all his stuff.'
A brief smile flashed across William's face before he composed his features back into a more neutral expression. 'Women can be odd creatures. But then I'm sure you're aware of that.'
He turned back to his shelves and pulled out another box. He remained quiet for a minute, just to see if James would speak first, but eventually he found the silence uncomfortable and he spoke again without looking up from his task.
'Did you need something son?'
He turned around again at the sound of James clearing his throat nervously. 'I just wanted to talk to you about something.'
'Oh?' William put the boxes back down and moved towards his desk, perching on the edge of it. 'Spit it out then.'
James paced nervously for a moment, but William decided the best course of action was just to let the boy speak in his own time. A moment or two of silence followed, when he perched and James paced, until eventually the dark-haired boy stopped and squared his shoulders as he faced him.
'I feel a bit strange having this conversation. I don't really know if I'm going to say the right thing, but I appreciate you taking the time to listen anyway.'
He looked at William, almost as if he was waiting for permission to continue, and he inclined his head ever so slightly to encourage him to continue.
'I'm going to ask Lily to marry me.' He straightened up and looked William squarely in the eye, only the faintest hint of a tremor in his hands. 'I'm not going to ask for your permission because, quite frankly, this is the twentieth century and Lily makes her own decisions. And, if we're being completely candid here, I'd still ask her whether you gave it or not.'
He paused for a moment to draw breath and then continued. 'But I am going to ask for your approval, and your blessing. Not because either of us need it, but because I think we'd both want it.'
William didn't move from his position and his posture remained unchanged, but he narrowed his eyes at the boy in front of him. 'Have you spoken to her mother about this?'
'Yes.' James spoke firmly and kept his eyes locked on William's. 'I have. And based on our conversations, and the fact that Rose gave me her mother's ring at Easter, I think I can safely say she approves.'
William couldn't quite hide the hint of shock he felt at that. 'You're going to use her grandmother's ring?'
James nodded, one hand flying to his hair in a gesture that William recognised as being a characteristic reaction to nerves.
'Yeah.' He felt a little self-conscious about that; his reasoning was intensely personal, but Lily's father deserved to hear it. 'I think she'll appreciate it. She'll like having the family connection; she feels a little…cut off from you all sometimes. I think using a ring from your family to invite her into mine is a nice sort of symbol you know? She's not giving anything up, she's combining two separate parts of her life, and I think she'll prefer to think of it that way.'
William stood and moved around his desk, dropping into his chair and leaning back. He tapped the fingers of his left hand on the desk while he turned appraising eyes on the young man in front of him. 'Clever boy aren't you?'
James shrugged. 'So some people say. I just know Lily.'
'Yes, you do don't you?' William murmured. 'I'd noticed that myself.'
James grinned suddenly as he remembered his conversation with William on New Year's Eve.
'She knows I love her, I've told her that much. And she knows I've liked her for a long time, though I'm not sure she really comprehends how long. But I'd, uh, appreciate it if you could keep the bit about wanting to marry her to yourself for a while.'
'And why would you want me to do that?'
'Well, you see, I haven't actually managed to broach the subject with Lily as yet. And er, if she hears about it from someone else and gets it into her head that I'm trying to push her or manipulate her...well, then she'll make up her mind to go hell bent in the other direction just to be stubborn about it...and I'm sure I could change her mind eventually, but I'd rather not have to nag her into marrying me...'
'Bloody hell, you really do know her don't you?'
'Why the rush?' William asked suddenly, breaking the contemplative silence that had fallen between them briefly. 'You're both only eighteen, you've got all the time in the world.'
James blew out a breath. 'Well, we have and we haven't.' He looked seriously at William. 'How much does Lily tell you about the magical world?'
'Not an enormous amount.' William admitted. 'She tells us about school and lessons, but she doesn't talk much about your…Ministry or what she'll do after school or anything.' He paused for a moment before he spoke again, more quietly this time. 'I think she avoids the subject to try and keep the peace. Petunia isn't exactly keen on the topic.'
James nodded, his expression tinged with compassion and a little sadness but he deliberately didn't address the subject of Lily's difficult relationship with her sister. 'I'm sure she just doesn't want to worry you, but I feel like I need to put my decision in context for you. If we could keep this discussion between us?' He looked at William questioningly, and waited for the other man's curt nod before he continued.
'I imagine that she doesn't tell you much about our world partly because she doesn't want you to worry, but also because she probably doesn't know all that much. Hogwarts is very…isolated from the rest of magical society.'
He paused and waited for William to nod his understanding.
'In a lot of ways, our world is similar to yours; there's the Ministry who make laws and enforce them, we have a legal system and our own hospitals and sports leagues and education system, all separate from yours, but all along rather similar lines.'
He looked up at William again, and the other man gestured slightly impatiently for him to continue speaking.
'So, that's all fairly irrelevant I guess. What I'm trying to say here, what's important, is that our world - for all the magic in it - is a lot like yours; and it's just as full as prejudice and problems as yours.' He took a deep breath. 'And right now it's at war.'
William inhaled sharply. 'What do you mean, war? How can it be at war? Wouldn't we know something about it? Hear about it?'
James nodded grimly. 'You probably have. It's just that your newspapers and politicians wouldn't recognise what's going on as acts of magic. They're probably reporting it as accidents, or inexplicable disappearances or something. But it's a war.'
His hand sank its way into his hair again. 'And Lily and I – especially Lily – are smack in the middle of it.'
William's hands were shaking now. 'Why? What do a couple of teenagers have to do with a war?'
'Well, the war is about whether muggleborns – people from muggle families like Lily - should have rights in our society; there's a movement trying to change things so that they don't. But there are also people – like my parents – who are fighting to defend them. Me and her – we're targets because of who we are. She's in danger just for being who she is. I'm in danger for believing that she's an equal – and for loving her.'
He stopped again to draw in a struggling breath before he carried on. 'But I do love her, and I don't care if some bigots think there's something wrong with that. We don't know what's going to happen, but I want to make the most of whatever time we have. So I want to marry her. I don't want to put anything off.'
William leaned forward across his desk. 'Would you still want to marry her if there was no war?'
'Yes.' James answered without hesitation. 'I would. I just might wait a little longer to ask her. Maybe. Then again, maybe not.'
William lifted his head and met James' eyes, and he saw unwavering loyalty and warmth in them. 'Okay, James. You have my blessing.' He reached his right hand out across the desk, and James clasped it in his.
'You take care of my little girl.' James nodded, his hand still grasped in William's. 'And a little bit of advice James? Let her take care of you as well. There's a strength in her that you wouldn't believe.'
James grinned. 'Oh, I reckon I'd believe it.'
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'Where are you off to?' Lily jumped at the sound of Petunia's voice coming from her doorway.
'James' house.' Lily answered without looking behind her, stuffing more clothes into her trunk. 'I'm going to stay for a couple of days. His dad's retiring, and there's a big party.'
She continued to pack, keeping her eyes on her trunk and away from her sister's outline in the doorway. She wondered why Petunia had come to talk to her in the first place, and why she wasn't leaving as soon as she possibly could. Her idle questions were answered when Petunia spoke again. 'Mum wants us to have dinner sometime. The four of us.'
Lily dropped the hairbrush and make-up case she was holding. 'The four of us? As in you and me…'
'And James and Vernon, yes.' Petunia interrupted impatiently.
'Well that's…' Lily sat down on the edge of her bed as her addled brain searched for words to express her feelings. 'That's…unexpected.' She finished weakly.
Petunia snorted. 'It's ridiculous. I don't know why Mum feels we all need to be friends.'
Lily tried her best to keep her expression neutral. 'I'd like to be friends Tuney. I miss you.'
She could have sworn she saw a brief softening of her sister's expression, but it was fleeting and Petunia's face swiftly settled back into its familiar hard lines. 'Yes, well. You made your choices Lily.'
Lily sighed. 'It was never a choice Tuney. I can't ignore who I am.'
'You could have tried.' Petunia glared at her. 'You could have pretended for a moment that your family was more important to you. But no, it was about Lily fulfilling her potential, Lily being allowed to flourish. You left us all behind without a second's thought Lily, so don't ask all of us to make allowances for you now.'
'Tuney.' Lily heard the pleading tone in her voice and hated herself for it, but she couldn't help it. 'Tuney, I wrote, I came home for holidays. It's just a boarding school. Sure, it's a magical one, but that's all. Would you still hate me if I'd gone to a normal boarding school? Is it the magic Tuney, or the fact that I left? Because I can't help either one now, but I'd like my sister back.'
Petunia turned her back and began to step out of the door, but she stopped and spoke without turning back. 'Would you give it up?'
'What?'
'The…magic.' Petunia sounded as if she was choking on the word. 'Would you come home, give it up and be a normal part of our family again?'
Lily sighed, and tried to give the idea some honest thought instead of just reacting. After a moment she shook her head and laughed inwardly at herself; no matter how long she thought about it for, the answer would never be any different.
'I don't think I could. It's so much a part of me now; it would be like cutting off a limb. And I don't know that I could keep it under control if I ignored it; you remember how I used to do things without meaning to.' She paused, unsure as to whether she should continue, but if this was a chance to make her sister see her side, she was going to be honest.
'But the thing is, Tuney, maybe - maybe - I would have tried before. If you'd asked before, I might have been able to cut off my friends and pretend that I wasn't a witch, but that isn't an option for me now. I might have been able to give magic, but Tuney I can't - I can't – give up James.'
She saw Petunia stiffen, but she didn't move and for the first time Lily thought that she might actually be listening to her. So she carried on.
'And I couldn't bring him with me - James is pureblood wizard. He couldn't function outside of the magical world, and he'd have to cut off his entire family. It's not fair.'
She took in a deep breath and spoke quietly. 'Please Tuney, please, don't ask me to choose between my family and this world, and James and the magical one. I…please just don't.'
Petunia remained motionless in the doorway for a moment before she began to walk away again, and Lily slumped down, dejected at being unable to make her sister understand yet again.
'We'll see about dinner; Vernon's very busy so it might have to be after you've moved out. If it is, I'll get mum to contact you.' Petunia's voice wasn't friendly, but it wasn't as overtly hostile as normal either. Lily seized at the potential olive branch.
'That sounds good Tuney. Thanks.'
But the doorway was already empty of her sister's frame, and there was nothing else for Lily to do but return to her packing, with just the faintest hint of hope in her heart.
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'Lily, hold still!' Marlene dropped her wand and used both hands to push down on Lily's shoulders, forcing her back into her chair. Once she was sure Lily had stopped struggling she picked her wand back up and resumed her struggle to style her wavy red hair into an elegant up do.
'I don't think this is really necessary Marls. James just said to wear something nice that I think is suitable for a cocktail party, he didn't seem concerned about making an extra-special effort. No-one's going to be looking at me.' Lily folded her arms across her chest and glared at her reflection in the mirror. Marlene laughed and paused in her ministrations to make eye-contact with Lily's reflection.
'Sweetie, everyone's going to be looking at you.'
Lily's stance lost some of its defensiveness as she looked at Marlene's earnest face. 'Wh…What? Why would anyone be interested in looking at me?'
Marlene sighed and put down her wand, spinning the chair around so that she could actually look Lily in the eye instead of talking to her reflection. 'I didn't really want to have to discuss this with you, but I guess maybe it's better for you to be prepared. This is a retirement party for James' dad, which means all eyes on the Potters. And you, the muggleborn girlfriend of one of the most eligible pureblood bachelors around. You'll be getting a fair bit of attention, not all of it nice.'
Seeing Lily's face pale slightly, she sighed and knelt down in front of her, grasping one of Lily's cold hands in hers and rubbing it lightly to try and warm it through a little.
'Sweetie, it's nothing to worry about. James is going to stick close to you I'm sure – Merlin knows it's hard enough to pry him away from you on a normal day – and they'll be plenty of people that you know, and plenty who will be nothing but nice. I just want to make you look as fantastic as possible because I want you to walk into that Ministry party looking amazing, and stuff their bigotry straight back down their throats. I want them to choke on it. I want them to be stunned at the sight of you, walking in on James' arm, more beautiful and more powerful than any of their precious purebloods.'
She sighed and squeezed Lily' hands a little tighter in hers. 'Just, let me do that, okay? For you and for James.'
Lily looked at her best friend, staring back at her so sincerely, and she slid off the chair onto the floor and put her arms around her. They stayed that way for a moment, kneeling together with their arms wrapped round each other, before Lily pulled away and climbed back into the chair.
'Okay Marls. Do your worst.'
Marlene smiled and picked up her wand, returning to the task of styling Lily' hair. 'Have I mentioned that it's really cute that you quite often slip and call me Marls now?'
She flicked her eyes up to the mirror and met Lily's reflected gaze again; the redhead quirked a questioning eyebrow and Marlene grinned as she carried on teasing and styling. 'Marly. That's what you – and all the girls really – have always called me. But every now and again you call me Marls, which has always been James' nickname for me; and sometimes you use the Marauder nicknames for them too. It's sweet. You're picking up his habits.'
'Shut up.' Lily blushed and looked down at her hands, studiously ignoring Marlene's giggles behind her.
Half an hour later, Lily was so bored she almost cried with relief when Marlene announced she was done with her hair. She admired the elegant twist that Marlene had created, lavished her with slightly insincere praise, and was just about to scrabble out of her chair when she was firmly shoved back down as Marlene produced a make-up case the size of a small hippogriff.
'Really?' She groaned. 'I'll just use a charm. A glamour charm. They work really well.' She looked up at Marlene, hope tingeing her voice.
'And they wear off.' Said Marlene firmly. 'Ten more minutes Lily, that's all it will take. It's not like I'm going to cake you in it.'
She let out a grumpy sigh, but gave up and allowed Marlene to attack her with a combination of brushes, sponges and powders.
True to her word, Marlene took less than ten minutes to make-up Lily's face to her satisfaction.
'Right. Done. Dress.' She ordered imperiously, pointing towards the dress bag hanging on Lily's bedroom door. She got up and grabbed the bag, holding it up and biting her lip nervously.
'You're sure about this? You don't think it's a bit…'
'No. No. No. I think it's perfect, and if you don't put it on right now I'm going to full body bind you and dress you like a doll so help me.'
Lily wrinkled her nose and rolled her eyes to express her displeasure but grabbed the dress bag and headed for the bathroom opposite. She'd no sooner shut the door and dropped her dressing gown off her shoulders than the door swung open again to admit Marlene, who was waving a small bag at her. Lily squeaked and grabbed at her dressing gown, but Marlene simply rolled her eyes and held out the bag.
'These too.'
Lily reached out for the bag and peeked inside, eyes taking in the ivory coloured lingerie before closing the bag again immediately and looking up at Marlene, eyes wide and cheeks flaming.
'Marly…'
Marlene held up her hand to forestall any discussion. 'No arguments Lily. A dress is only as good as its foundation; good underwear is essential. Put. Them. On.'
The door shut behind her and Lily was left alone to dress herself. She emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later and dashed across the corridor back into her room, feeling quite self-conscious about her dress. Once again chosen by Marlene against her better judgement, her dress was midnight blue silk, short and strapless. It was beautiful - and Marlene had been right about the underwear – but she couldn't help but feel that it was a little modern and daring for a ministry party, especially when she didn't particularly want to attract attention. Of course, Marlene had specifically said that she did want Lily to attract attention, so that probably explained that.
Her room was now empty; Lily wandered over to her bed and picked up her blue clutch before gathering her courage and heading to find Marlene. She'd only gone a few steps along the hallway when she heard her name called; she turned and saw Marly heading towards her, her scarlet red dress clinging to her slim frame. Her friend smiled as she caught up to her and linked an arm through hers.
'Knew I was right about that underwear.' She grinned at Lily. 'Don't forget to tell James that I said he was welcome.'
'Marly!' She tried her very best to sound shocked, but there was a definite grin tugging at the corners of her mouth.
Marlene's lips curved up into a smile. 'Oh, don't even try to pretend that he's not going to be seeing it later. At least make sure everyone sees how amazing you look before you let Potter drag you into a closet to do incredibly depraved things to you.'
Lily huffed out an exasperated sigh. 'There will be no closets Marlene, we will be at a Ministry function. James is hardly going to try and rip my clothes off in a building full of dignitaries is he?'
Marlene snorted as they rounded the curve of the hallway and stepped onto the staircase. 'Please. You probably can't even begin to imagine the number of dirty little fantasies he's had about you, and he's going to take one look at you and mentally replay them all.'
'Thank you. I think.' Lily looked a little uncertain and Marlene laughed at her.
'It was a compliment. His jaw is going to drop when he sees you. He gets all gushy over what you look like when you've rolled out of bed in old pyjamas, so Agrippa only knows what he'll do when he sees you in that dress.'
They'd reached the bottom of the staircase and James came out of the family sitting room doors just as they stepped off the final stair onto the marble of the hallway floor. He stopped dead in his tracks and stared.
'Holy fucking hell.'
Marlene gave Lily a triumphant smile and sailed past James towards the room he'd just left. James stepped slightly closer to Lily, his movements hesitant, as if he thought she was a mirage that would disappear if he got too close.
'Lily.' He breathed her name and took one step closer. 'You look…I don't have words.'
She smiled uncertainly. 'Marly picked it out; I think it's a little daring.'
He reached out for her hand and she entwined their fingers without hesitation; he pulled her a little closer again, enjoying the scent of vanilla and heat that rose from her skin. 'I think it's amazing, incredible, gorgeous. I know I told you to wear something nice, but I'm not sure I meant something phenomenal. You look beautiful; I'm going to be hexing blokes away from you all night.'
Lily giggled and felt herself relax as he took the final step towards her.
James thought she was beautiful.
He liked her dress.
He looked at her like she mattered.
And, she thought, as his lips ghosted across hers, he kissed her like they were the last two people on Earth.
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James' arms tightened around Lily as they turned another slow circle on the dance floor, both of them oblivious to the looks they were getting, whether they were disgusted, indulgent or amused. Neither of them could bring themselves to care right at that moment.
Marlene had been more or less accurate in her guesses about the evening; they'd been watched non-stop since they arrived, and Lily's appearance had indeed caused a few whispers, but she had stuck close to James, and by and large the people who had stopped by to talk to them had been completely pleasant. There'd been a number of hostile looks though, and a fair few barbed comments; enough to make James' fingers twitch towards his wand a few times. Still, they'd finally hit upon a solution that suited them both; they'd headed for the dance floor, firmly enveloped themselves in each other's arms and ignored absolutely everybody and everything around them.
James finally stirred and lifted his head from where it rested on top of hers. 'Bored yet?'
Lily snuggled her head tighter against his chest. 'Of this? Not really.' She felt James' laughter reverberate through his chest and his lips swept briefly across her hair.
'It's late.' He murmured. 'A lot of people have left. We can get away with sneaking off now, proprieties observed and all that. If you want.'
Lily tilted her head back to make eye contact. 'Do you want to go?'
He lifted a hand away from the small of her back and gently placed it on her cheek. 'I think I'd like to be alone with you.'
Her lips curved. 'I think I like the sound of that.'
He chuckled at that, stepped away from her and took her hand, leading her back over to their table which was currently only occupied by Sirius and Marlene; James left her at the table and headed off to let his parents know they were leaving.
She grabbed her clutch and tried her best to ignore the knowing smiles that she was getting from Sirius and Marlene; rather predictably, Sirius was the first to give up on subtlety. 'You and Prongs leaving already?' He smirked at her and she tried to look irritated, but couldn't really hide the little smile that was playing on her lips.
'It's actually quite late you know. And yes, we're going now. We'll see you at home.'
Sirius' lips quirked when she referred to Potter Manor as home, and he would have said something further if James hadn't re-appeared at her side and taken her hand. 'Ready?'
She smiled up at him. 'Absolutely.'
They wondered out of the room, and although Lily was confused when they walked straight past the apparition points and the floo connections, she assumed that James had arranged an alternative. It wasn't until they stepped outside into the cool air that he stopped and turned to her, his face arranging itself into a brief frown as he saw a shiver run through her. He pulled his wand out and whispered a warming charm, his expression relaxing as he saw the slight tension leave her shoulders. He held a hand out towards her.
'I thought…it's a nice night, I thought maybe you'd want to take a walk?' He sounded oddly nervous for some reason she couldn't fathom, but Lily ignored it and slipped her hand back into his, smiling at him as she did so.
'That'd be nice.'
They strolled in silence for a while, enjoying the summer air and the quiet feeling of connection that came from having their hands joined as they walked together. For security purposes the party had been held in a manor house in the middle of nowhere with extremely secure wards, and access had been by invitation only. Only once a guest had produced their invite would they be allowed to apparate or floo in, and the grounds of the house were completely cut off from the rest of the world. No-one else in attendance at the party seemed to feel the need to walk in the night air, so James and Lily were totally, blissfully alone as they walked quietly, neither saying a word for quite some time.
They'd just reached the edge of a formal rose garden, it's flowers filling the air with their heavy scent, when James stopped suddenly, pulling on her hand to stop her with him.
'If I don't do this right now, I'm going to lose my nerve entirely.'
Lily looked at him, her eyes enquiring as they took in the signs of his increased nervousness. 'James?' she asked tentatively. He took a deep breath and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small velvet box before he dropped to one knee in front of her.
She clapped a hand over her mouth as she suddenly realised what was happening, and her heart sped up so much she thought it might break right out from behind her ribs and leap through her chest. She looked down at him, at his bright eyes - still sparkling hazel, even in the dim light of the moon - at his messy hair and glasses, and his ridiculously tempting lips.
And she waited.
He ignored his pounding heart and racing pulse, and tried to focus on keeping his hands from shaking. He took in her face looking down at him; the pale skin, the green eyes that all but glowed in the starlight, the pink lips that she bit when she was nervous. She wasn't biting them now. And she was beautiful, and brave and brilliant.
So he asked.
'I thought a lot about how to do this. I weighed up all the grand gestures in my head you know? Should I do it in a restaurant, hide the ring in a glass, take you for a walk on the beach, spell out the words in fireworks in the sky?' He gave a shaky laugh at that and ran a hand through his hair in that old, familiar gesture before taking a deep breath and continuing. 'And then I realised I already knew how to do it. Like this. Just the two of us here, because it's only the two of us who matter. Simply, because this is simple, Lily. It's the simplest thing in the world. I love you, Lily Evans, and I want you to stay with me always. And I want you to do it as Lily Potter.'
He opened the box, and Lily felt her eyes fill when she saw that he was offering her her grandmother's ring, nestled snugly in white silk.
'Will you marry me?'
She looked from the ring, to his face, and back again. She blinked, trying to force back the tears that wanted so desperately to pour out. She gave one little sob before she choked out her answer.
'Oh God, James, of course I will.'
He was on his feet in a second, pulling her into his arms and kissing her furiously, fiercely.
'I love you.' He whispered the words against her lips, and they sounded reverential, almost like a prayer.
'I love you.' She murmured them back as she pressed up against him, pushing herself up on her tiptoes for better access to his mouth. She kissed him senseless, and he kissed her right back until they were both breathless and punch-drunk. When they eventually broke apart and stood with their foreheads touching, James stooping slightly and Lily still on her tiptoes, he whispered to her again, his words tickling the delicate skin of her ear.
'Give me your left hand.'
She removed it from his neck and brought it down slowly until it was held between them. He reluctantly released his grip on her and took her left hand gently in his right; he used his other to slide the ring into place, then raised her hand to his mouth and placed a lingering kiss over it.
'Too late to back out now.' He lifted his lips to her temple. 'There's no escaping me anymore.'
Her smile grew even wider as they stood there, joined by their hands and bound by a simple twist of gold and diamond. 'I'd never want to.'
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A/N: Well, Lily had to have the last word really didn't she? Honestly, how many of you thought James was going to propose under the beech tree? I almost changed the plan as I was writing it, it just seemed like such a good moment, but I resisted the temptation.
So that's it. Turning Tables is officially finished, BUT there will be a sequel. It's possible it may become a trilogy looking at the amount of notes I've already made for it. (Brief spoiler: I've already plotted 16 character deaths. Yeah. I think it's going to have to be M rated.) It's not titled yet, but I will be starting work on it in the next few weeks, and I will probably start publishing it in early June (sooner if I can). I will try and remember to add an author's note to TT so you'll know when it's up.
In the meantime, I'm also turning my Jily one-shot (New Year) into a multi-chap, so I'll be working on that if you're interested, I've got a few more plot-bunnies to turn into one-shots and I've kind of plotted a Harry/Ginny AU that I can't decide whether to write or not. I also have quite a lot of fics to catch up on myself ;D
Thank you again for every review, follow or favourite and I really hope that most of you will be joining me for the sequel. I'm on Tumblr as scared-of-clouds if you want to chat, ask a question or follow for updates or whatever; there's a link on my profile. And I will ALWAYS respond to asks over there, or PMs if you want to message me on here.
Lots of love to all of you wonderful, amazing people.
Nikki
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