Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Lily and Petunia or any other characters you may recognize throughout this story. I also don't own the wizarding world or basically anything else you recognize from the Harry Potter series. That all belongs to the wonderful goddess of writing, J.K. Rowling. So don't sue me!

A special thanks to everyone who volunteered to be my new beta, I now have four! This chapter was beta-ed by the wonderful Lina, so lots of thanks to her.

A/N: Look at how quickly I updated. :) I'm hoping to get back to my weekly updates, but it's never a guarantee. Anyway, I'll get right into the thank yous and then onto the story.

Rebecca Lynn: Yes, that is why James is in the chapter, because I love you. It has nothing to do with the plot of my story, it is all because of you. :) Ha ha! I'm glad you liked Remus in that chapter, I did too. Anyway, I know you will love this chapter, and I almost dread your squeal-filled review. :)

Misting Morning: Aw, I'm sorry about your friend's sister's boyfriend. He sounds like a jerk. And that sucks that her sister didn't stand up for her. I'm in an interracial relationship too, and I know firsthand how much prejudice you can encounter, but I don't know what I would do if I got it from my own family. Anyway, I'm glad the situation came off as realistic at least. I hope you like this chapter.

Krisalyn: Yeah, Petunia likes Vernon, but at the same time she has someone else in her heart still. You'll find out more on that this chapter. As for Peter, I do plan to let you all know when he turns traitor. The books have actually given us a pretty set time of when he crosses over and I have an event planned that will mark that. I'm planning on some sections to be in Peter's perspective, so we'll get inside his head. And as for liking him, I want you to like him. I love my Peter. I think he's an awesome guy, which is how I think he was before he turned traitor and that's why it was such a huge betrayal. Remember, the Order knew there was a spy among them and they never suspected Peter, that shows that he had to have been very trustworthy. Sucks that I have to follow canon, 'cause I like Peter the way he is now.

Draco's-Lil-Honey: Thanks for the honest opinion on Dumbledore. I went back and forth with whether or not I wanted him to do that, but I don't think it was him intruding in as much as he was explaining why Amelia got all excited like that. And then I just couldn't see him passing up the opportunity to embarrass Alice as well. I don't know, maybe I read too much fanfic and now have an altered view of Dumbledore. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, and hopefully the lovely headmaster will seem more in character.

Radioactivekitten: Sorry I made you procrastinate on your homework. I'm glad you liked the James and Lily moment. And them dealing with being apart is totally and completely taken from my own life, so hopefully it came off as genuine! Anyway, make sure to watch out for those yorkies next door, they could be plotting to take over the world. :) Hope you like this chapter.

Lovely-Lina1985: You compliment me too much. Seriously, my head is so huge right now! As for Remus' mission, would you kill me if I told you I wasn't entirely sure what it was? Ha ha! Seriously, I never really planned to elaborate on it, though I do have an idea of what it could have been, so I suppose I could put that in there at some time or another. Thanks again for beta-ing this chapter!

Gangtsagirl15: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. And once again thanks for offering to be my beta. You get to edit the next chapter. Yay! Hope you like this chapter.

Rinnington: If you thought the teaser was cruel before reading the chapter, you're going to think it was extra cruel once you've finished. You'll see what I mean. I'm glad you liked Tullia. I wasn't sure how she would go over with everyone, but I just knew that she worked with Lily. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter.

Light of Earendir: Ah, Ruby Chubb. See, I get confused when people go and change their pen names! Anyway, I'm glad you liked the last chapter and hope you like this one too.

Tornbetween: Hey, welcome to my story! Thank you for the praise. I'm glad I was able to make you like a Marauder era fic. I actually have a few reviewers here who don't usually like those, but like mine, so that makes me feel good. I hope you continue reading the story and continue liking it. :)

Lion of Gryffindor: I'm glad you liked Lily's reaction to Vernon. There's a little bit of her feelings toward him in this chapter as well. As for James in a dress, well you'll find out what that's all about soon. Hope you like the chapter.

Alicia: Don't worry, I already know what's going to happen to Petunia's wand. Got it all planned out up here ::taps head::. Ah, thanks for catching that mistake. I'll go back and change it at some point, but it's a big pain to change a mistake once the chapter is already posted, so it may be a while. And that was a very Sirius-esque move that Remus pulled, huh? I'm sure Sirius was very proud. Hopefully I updated soon enough for you. :)

BaZoRRo: Well, when you leave lots of reviews, you get a big reply! :) Anyway, I'm glad you liked this chapter. Remus is pretty awesome when he's happy, huh? Wish I could keep him that way. Oh well. Hope you like this chapter.

Bernie: I'm glad you liked the last two chapters. As for your question, there is a little something to do with Severus in this chapter, and yes I will be addressing his switching of sides. That is a MAJOR plot point in this story, and it will be coming up very soon. So yay! Not-really-good-but-at-least-not-super-evil-Severus will make an appearance! Anyway, hope you like this chapter.

Angel of Ravenclaw: Wait? Are you new to my story or did you used to be Angel of Slytherin? I'm confused. If you are new, well, welcome to my story! As for being my beta, that position is more than filled, but thanks for the offer. And I hope you enjoy this chapter.

And on with the story!

Chapter 38: Engagements

"This is so frustrating!" Petunia cried, throwing her wand down on the ground.

Petunia had been going to her magic lessons for a little over three months and she felt like she hadn't improved in the slightest. Dumbledore continually told her that she was progressing at a surprising rate and that she must come to terms with the fact that she was not a Witch and so would not pick things up at the same rate that, for example, her sister would.

She knew this was true, but Petunia wasn't used to failing. She usually excelled at everything she put her mind to, so it was more than a little frustrating.

Dumbledore levitated Petunia's wand back to her and said, "Maybe we should take a break."

Petunia nodded, taking a lemon drop that Dumbledore offered to her.

"I just don't understand why I can't do such simple spells. I mean, this wand has to be pretty powerful and yet I can't control it. Maybe Mr. Ollivander made a mistake giving it to me."

Dumbledore shook his head and said, "The wand chooses the person it feels it is best suited for. That is your wand, and in time you will learn to control it. Give yourself time."

A sigh escaped Petunia's lips as she nodded. Part of her knew it would take time, but the other part of her wondered if it was even worth it. How exactly was knowing how to levitate a feather going to protect her against Death Eater attacks?

"Once you learn to control your wand for basic spells, we will begin on spells that will serve as protection for you. Nothing too advanced, just some basic shield Charms and maybe a few defensive Charms. Just enough that should give you sufficient time to get out of any dangerous situations."

How . . . ? Petunia began thinking before a smile spread across her face.

"You know Professor, you could just ask me what I'm thinking instead of using your little mind reading trick. It's much more polite," Petunia said, grinning up at the man she had grown rather close to over the past few months.

Even when Petunia was at her very worst, he always seemed to believe that she could succeed. It made her feel good to have someone who had so much hope for her around.

Dumbledore just smiled, a brief look of embarrassment crossing his features. But rather than acknowledging what he had just done he said, "So did you find anything interesting in the latest reports?"

At this question, Petunia perked up a bit. Dumbledore was referring to her assignment for the Order, something that had served to increase her confidence in herself and help her realize that she really was an asset to the organization.

Several of the Order members were in charge of observing people they worked with who were suspected of working for Voldemort. They would keep detailed notes of what they saw and at each meeting, Dumbledore would collect these notes and give them to Petunia. Her background in psychology as well as the fact that she almost had a sixth sense for knowing what a person was thinking made her a perfect candidate for reading the reports over. There was also the fact that since she was rather distanced from the wizarding world, she didn't have many preconceived notions about the witches and wizards being spied on.

"There was one report that I found most intriguing. Marlene McKinnon has been watching Griffith Travers, and she's noticed some rather odd behavior. Most of it seems completely normal to the average person, but one thing in particular has me worried."

"And what is that?"

"His eyes. In her last report she said that she noticed his eyes sometimes looked different when he looked at certain people. So this time around I told her to pay attention to which people he looked at like that. She gave me a list and now that I've looked at it, I noticed something that set off an alarm in my mind. When he talks to any of the Muggleborns in the office, he squints at them, when he speaks to any of the Purebloods who openly denounce Voldemort, he stares them straight in the eye, almost defiantly. And when he speaks to any of the other Purebloods, he looks at them the way any normal person would look at anyone else."

"What do you think this means, Petunia?"

"Well, and this is a complete conjecture, I believe that he squints at Muggleborns, because he feels he is better than them. Squinting implies that he does not want to look at them, that by looking at them he will somehow tarnish his eyes. He looks Purebloods straight in the eye, because he knows that they are equals, however, he is internally challenging them, because they do not see him and themselves as superior to the Muggles and Muggleborns. As for the people he looks at as normal, they may be completely harmless, but they may also be potential Death Eaters, so should probably be watched," Petunia explained, handing over a list of names.

"Well, Petunia, this is quite impressive. Your observation skills really are coming in handy, and I may have to consider putting you on observation duty of an actual suspect."

Petunia's eyes went wide. She was honored that Dumbledore felt that she would be able to handle such a task, but at the same time she was rather frightened of spying on potential Death Eaters.

Seeing the look on Petunia's face, Dumbledore added, "Of course, we will wait until you have mastered some of the protective Charms before we put you in such a position. So, what do you say? Back to work?"

A look of relief spread across Petunia's features and she nodded in determination. She would learn how to protect herself with magic if it was the last thing she ever did.

Lily wondered if she had an important enough position in the Ministry to allow her diplomatic immunity. And if so, would that immunity cover torturing a Muggle. She knew that it, of course, wouldn't. But she had a feeling if she brought Vernon into her trial, the Wizengamot would commend her for her restraint.

It was yet another Saturday afternoon and she was once again forced to spend it with her sister and the ever-annoying Vernon Dursley.

Lily loved spending time with her sister, but lately she was the only person she had been able to spend any time with. All of her other friends were just too busy with work, and of course James was still away at Auror training.

She knew that he was supposed to come back sometime in October, and it was now mid October, but she didn't know the exact day he would return.

Vernon was just getting into yet another annoying rant when a knock at the door saved Lily from having to listen.

"I'll get it," she cried, jumping up from where she had been sitting on the floor, looking through some of Tullia's notes on a Charm they were working on.

Lily threw open the door without checking to see who it was and let out an ear-splitting scream. Petunia and Vernon were at her side almost instantly, but calmed down a bit once they saw that rather than being attacked, Lily was attacking the dark haired man at the door.

Vernon had a disapproving look on his face. "I assume that is your sister's boyfriend?"

Petunia nodded, a wide grin on her face. It had been nearly two and a half months since Lily had last seen her boyfriend on her birthday, and she had missed him like crazy.

Lily finally pulled herself off of James and turned around grinning. Even the annoying look on Vernon's face couldn't get her down. In fact, she decided that she should probably introduce the two.

"Sorry guys. James, this is Vernon Dursley, Petunia's boyfriend, Vernon this is James Potter, my boyfriend."

They shook hands, though Vernon still had an odd look on his face. Finally, Lily got frustrated and asked him what was wrong.

"Er . . . Lily, why is your boyfriend wearing a dress?"

Lily swung her head around and saw that James was, indeed, wearing his robes. And to a Muggle, wizarding robes looked remarkably like a dress. In all the excitement of seeing James, she hadn't even realized he was wearing them.

"Er . . ." Lily said, unable to think of any kind of excuse.

"It's not a dress. It's a flame-retardant coat. Didn't Lily tell you that I'm training to be a fire fighter? That's where I've been for the past few months."

Lily looked at James in shock. She didn't even know he knew what a fire-fighter was, let alone be able to come up with a believable lie involving them. Though she was glad he did, she really didn't want to have to use a memory charm on Vernon If he ever found out he'd probably die of the shock of having something 'abnormal' done to him.

. . . On second thought, maybe that wasn't such a bad idea.

Though, by the look on Vernon's face, he didn't quite believe James and was probably already putting him on his list of things to complain about. Lily sighed. She didn't think she would ever be okay with Petunia being with this close-minded git.

Oh well, at least she wasn't marrying the guy.

"Oh! My! God! Petunia!" Lily shrieked, calling for her sister to join her in the living room.

Petunia ran in from the bathroom, still clad in only a towel after her shower. "What? What happened? Who's hurt?"

"No one's hurt. But . . . here I'll let Alice tell you," Lily said, hardly even able to form words, moving aside so that Petunia could talk to Alice in the fireplace.

Rather than saying anything Alice just held up her left hand and grinned.

"OH! MY! GOD!" Petunia said, sounding astoundingly like her younger sister. "Alice, you get your butt over here immediately so that I can give you a congratulate you properly."

Alice smiled once more, before her head popped out of view. A moment later, she was standing in front of the two girls, smiling more than Lily had ever seen her smile before.

Both girls grabbed Alice's hand and examined the ring approvingly.

"When did he ask?"

"Did he get down on one knee?"

"Did you cry?"

"Did he cry?"

"Was it completely and totally romantic?"

Lily and Petunia fired questions at Alice so fast the girl thought her head was going to spin out of control.

Laughing, she said, "Okay, okay. Calm down and I'll tell you the whole story."

The two sisters complied and led Alice over to the couch so she could be more comfortable as she recounted the story.

"He had just come back from Auror training. I was in the kitchen making dinner. You guys know that I've been living at his place ever since Remus moved into the flat Amelia and I had been sharing. They wanted me to stay, but I told them that they wouldn't be properly living together unless they were living alone together. Besides, I was pretty sure Frank was going to ask me to move in with him once he returned from Auror training."

"And he did! Along with asking you to be his wife!" Lily squealed, unable to contain her excitement.

A faraway look came into Alice's eyes before she shook herself back to reality.

"Sorry. I just realized that I'm going to be Frank's wife," she giggled before continuing her story. "Anyway, so he comes in and he pulls me into one of the tightest hugs ever. He tells me how much he has missed me and how glad he is that he'll never have to leave me for so long ever again, since this was his last year of Auror training. Then he goes on to say that he realized that he hates every moment that we're apart and that he never wants to be apart from me again. Then he got down on one knee, and by this time I was crying, and he says that he wants to spend the rest of his life with me, and he asked me to marry him. And I obviously said yes. That was a few hours ago. I flooed Amelia and told her and Remus, and then I flooed you guys.

Lily and Petunia both sat there staring at Alice in awe. One of their friends was getting married. She was actually getting married. She would be someone's wife. She would have a husband. And in a few years, she may even have a child. It was just so surreal.

"Well, we are both so happy for you!" Petunia said, pulling the girl into a hug.

"Have you decided on a date?" Lily asked.

"Lily! Come on, they've been engaged for three hours. Give the girl a break," Petunia said, laughing at her sister.

"Well, actually, we have," Alice interjected. "I know it's fast, but we set a date right then and there. It's going to be on Saturday, December 17."

"Wow. That's really soon," Petunia said.

"I know, but we're just going to have a small ceremony. And actually, I kind of wanted to run something by you, Lily. We're only having one attendant each, and you know it was really hard for me to pick between you and Amelia, but Amelia and I have always been a little bit closer, and since neither of us could really break into the best friend role that Petunia here has held for years, so you won't be upset that I asked Amelia and not you, right?" Alice said very quickly in one breath while looking at the floor.

Lily laughed and said, "Of course I don't mind. That just means I get to enjoy all the pre-wedding festivities without actually having to plan any of them!"

Alice smiled, looking very relieved and then turned to Petunia. Once again, she looked a little nervous as she said, "And Petunia, I know that your boyfriend is a Muggle, but we're going to have a Wizarding ceremony, since neither of us really have any Muggle friends or relatives. Is it okay that you won't be able to bring him?"

Petunia nodded and said, "That's fine. He probably wouldn't like going to a wedding where he didn't really know anyone anyway. Not to mention the fact that even if you had a Muggle wedding, there would still be Wizards showing up in robes and he would think they were dresses."

At this, Lily started cracking up, and Alice looked confused. When Petunia gave an account of James and Vernon's meeting, Alice began laughing as well.

"He must have been pretty confused."

"No, he just thought James was some sort of freak," Lily said, with just a touch of bitterness in her voice.

Alice seemed to sense the underlying tension growing in the room and decided that then would be a good time for her to make her retreat. She gave both girls one last hug, they each took one last look at the ring, and then she left the two sisters to stare at each other in awkward silence.

Word of Alice and Frank's engagement spread, and when Lily and Petunia arrived at the Order meeting later that week, everyone was gathered around the happy couple, offering their congratulations.

Lily could see that Marlene McKinnon was practically tearing Alice's hand off her arm as she swung it this way and that showing everyone the ring. Lily just shook her head and grinned.

Marlene was one of the more rambunctious members of the Order. She was four or five years older than Lily and the others and could always be counted on to break any tension during the meetings with some loud comment or another. She and Alice had become especially close over the past couple of months, and Lily was not the least bit surprised that the elder woman seemed almost more excited than Alice about the engagement.

"I've been telling Frankie for ages that he had to ask this girl to marry him, but he kept saying that he wanted to wait until she was done with school. Now I could not understand that one bit. After all, Marty and I got engaged in our fifth year at Hogwarts and were married three weeks after graduation. Now it's five years later and we have three munchkins at home. It would only be two, but my twins decided they would rather be two than one," Marlene said, though no one was really listening.

Marlene had a tendency to talk for the sake of talking, and everyone loved her for it, but after a while, people just learned to tune her out.

"So Frank, when are you and Alice planning on having kids?" Marlene asked, as Frank walked over to rescue his fiancee.

Frank paled a bit and said, "We aren't planning on having kids for at least a couple of years Marlene. We're both still rather young."

"Pish posh, I had Richie and Willy when I was just 18 years old, and that's how old Alice is. She'd have her first when she was 19. Just, I have to warn you, don't have twins your first time around. It's hell. And then, twins in general tend to be little terrors."

"Hey!" Fabian Prewett spoke up, "I resent that comment. And if my brother hadn't have just gone to the loo, he would resent it, too."

"What would I resent?" Gideon Prewett asked, taking a seat next to his brother.

"Marly here is trying to say that twins are terrors. And I have to disagree; we were never terrors," Fabian said, with an adorable pout on his face.

"Well brother, we were pretty much a handful. And look at Molly, her twins aren't even born yet and they're already causing her problems."

Lily smiled at the two. She took an almost instant liking to them, because they reminded her so much of Bill Weasley, who was their nephew. The Molly they were referring to was their sister, Bill's mother, who was pregnant with twins.

"You talked to our Molly-wolly?" Fabian asked with concern on his face. "How's she doing?"

"Okay. She just said that these two little terrors inside her are kicking and punching up a storm. They're way more active than Bill, Charlie, or Percy were."

"Sounds like we got a couple of Beaters to follow in their dear Uncles' footsteps. No one can beat Prewett twins!"

Gideon grinned and said, "Well, they'll technically be Weasley twins. But it's all the same isn't it? They're basically guaranteed to be redheads!"

Lily grinned at the two. They both had red hair very much like their nephew. Apparently, everyone in the Weasley and Prewett family had red hair. When Molly and her husband, who Lily believed was name Arthur, had started dating, the twins had done a full family tree search to make sure the families weren't related. At least that's what they said.

"What are you grinning at, Beautiful," a voice behind Lily said.

Lily turned and planted a kiss on James before saying, "I was grinning at those two devilishly handsome men over there. Jealous?"

"Of those two? Never. I know you like them tall, dark, and handsome," James said, running a hand through his hair.

It still amazed Lily that a gesture that used to annoy her to no end was now the most adorable thing in the world to her.

After giving James a kiss she turned to the twins and said, "Hey Gideon, Fabian, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, James."

Both men stood up to shake James' hand.

"So this is the boy who has captured young Lily's heart?" Fabian said, studying James. After a few moments he turned back to Lily and said, "Come on now Lily. You turned me down to stay with this guy? Look at him, I'm twice the man he is."

Lily giggled and James frowned slightly. Fabian had taken to flirting with her at just about every meeting. The first time he had been serious, but after she told him she had a boyfriend, he had just continued to do it for fun. However, James did have his slightly jealous side.

She placed a hand on his arm and said, "He's kidding sweetie. And once you get to know him you'll learn to understand when he's joking . . . Meaning, you'll learn that nothing that comes out of his mouth is serious."

"Who's talking about me?" Sirius said, walking up to the group.

Lily groaned and said, "Sirius, what did I tell you about making stupid puns on your name?"

Sirius grinned and said, "I actually wasn't. You said that nothing that comes out of his mouth is serious, and I assumed you were talking about me. Not because of my name, but because of my nature."

She rolled her eyes and said, "I have a feeling that I'm going to regret this, but Sirius, this is Gideon and Fabian Prewett."

The three men shook hands and suddenly Lily's attention was drawn to her sister, who was looking horrified.

"No! Lily, you did not just introduce those two to Sirius! What were you thinking? We're doomed," Petunia said, joining the group, though she had a smile on her face.

Sirius' happy expression faltered for a moment as Petunia brushed by him to give the twins a hug, but it resumed almost instantly.

"What's the big deal about introducing us?" Sirius asked.

Petunia turned to him and said, "Because these two are possibly the only people on this planet who are bigger troublemakers than you and James."

At this all four men's eyes seemed to light up.

"What have you done, Lily? What have you done?" Petunia said, shaking her head.

Lily had her head down in her arms and only Petunia could understand her mumbled reply, which was something along the lines of ending the world as they knew it.

Fortunately, before the four men could properly begin to conspire, Dumbledore called the meeting to order.

James and Sirius were introduced to the bunch, as well as a couple of other Aurors who had been away at training. Lily was also glad to see that Professor Meadowes was in attendance. She had been at Auror training for the past four months as well, just so she could refresh her skills. Overall, the meeting was rather uneventful, and Lily was glad that for once, there were no death announcements.

Petunia sighed.

She didn't know what she was doing. Well she knew what she was doing, she just didn't know why she was doing it. Well that wasn't true either, she knew why she was doing it. She was doing it because she still cared about him. That's what she was confused about. Why? Why did she still care about him after everything he had done to her.

She sighed again, and stared at the piece of parchment in her hand.

It was November 14. Severus' birthday, and she was holding in her hand a letter to him. Now she was just trying to figure out whether or not she wanted to mail it.

She opened it and read it over for the hundredth time.

Dear Severus,

I know I'm probably the last person you expected to hear from, and probably the last person you wanted to hear from, too, but I've wanted to write to you for a while, and your birthday gave me the opportunity. Happy Birthday, by the way.

Listen, for all I know, you threw this away as soon as you realized it was me writing it, but I need to say a few things. I know that we ended on bad terms, and as much as I want to be mad at you, I'm not. I can't imagine how you felt when you learned that your mom died, and I don't blame you for freaking out. I know that you're involved in some bad stuff right now, and as much as everyone else believes you are bad, I don't. I've seen the real you. I've seen your heart and I know that the Severus I knew, the Severus I loved could never be what you have become. Deep down, I know my Severus is still alive and I hope that one day he'll be able to come back to me.

Anyway, I don't know if any of that meant anything to you, but just whatever you do, please take care of yourself. I know that you've done some bad things, and as much as I want to hate you for doing them, I can't. And if anything were ever to happen to you, I don't know what I'd do. No matter what, just remember that I still love you, and I think I always will.

Love Always, Petunia

She folded the letter once more, and sighed . . . again. She finally made a decision and nudged Artemis awake. The small barn owl was not happy at being woken up, but once she saw that Petunia wanted her to deliver a letter she ruffled her feathers happily. It was rare that Petunia sent letters by owl any more.

"You remember Severus, right? Well, find him and give this to him," she said, giving the owl a treat and sending her on her way.

Once the owl was out of Petunia's sight, she began to feel a little nauseated.

"What have I done?"

"I think I' m going to vomit," Alice said, looking about as white as her robes.

"Honey, just breathe," Lily said, fanning Alice with a napkin while Petunia got her a glass of water. Amelia was busy trying to fluff the bride's veil.

"What were we thinking? I mean, we're so young," Alice said, near tears.

Petunia took Alice's hand and lead her over to a corner of the room. Amelia looked a little annoyed, as she had finally gotten the veil just right, but bit her lip and followed.

"Amelia, do you love Frank?" Petunia asked bluntly.

"What? Of course. I love him more than anything," Alice said.

"Do you think there is any chance that there is anyone else out there for you? Can you see yourself with Frank thirty, forty, fifty years down the line?"

Alice took a deep breath and looked Petunia in the eye, her eyes sparkling with unbridled emotion. "There's no one else for me. I see Frank and me together for all eternity."

"Well then why should it matter that you're young? You love him today and you'll love him forever, so you might as well start your life together now," Petunia said, pulling Alice into a hug.

Alice had tears streaming down her face as she embraced Petunia and said, "Thank you so much. And you," she said, turning to Amelia and smacking her on the arm, "You're the Maid of Honor . . . Shouldn't you have given me that speech?"

"Eh, I'm not good at the emotional stuff. I am good at this though," Amelia said, shrugging before taking out her wand and muttering a spell to clean up Alice's mascara streaked face.

Alice looked at herself in the mirror before smiling her approval and giving Amelia a hug as well.

Petunia rolled her eyes and said in a mock hurt voice, "Well honestly. I convince you that this wedding is a good idea, and the woman who makes you look pretty gets the praise."

"Never underestimate the power of beauty, Petunia," Lily said, grinning. "But come on, we have to go get our seats. Remember, we're not actually a part of the wedding."

Alice gently smacked Lily's arm as she left, knowing that the redhead was only pretending to be hurt. After all, aside from actually being in the wedding both Evans sisters had pretty much been involved in everything. Alice couldn't believe that the months had gone by so quickly, but here it was . . . her wedding day, and now that Petunia had gotten things in perspective, she couldn't be happier.

"I'd like to thank Frank and Alice for asking me to be a part of their special day, and I'd also like to thank them for arranging for me to walk down the aisle with my sister. That won't leave any emotional scars at all," Edgar said, making everyone laugh as he gave his speech.

"Hey don't worry Edgar, once I get my psychology degree, you know my couch will always be open to you," Petunia called out.

Everyone had been having a grand time making fun of the fact that Edgar was Frank's Best Man while Amelia was Alice's Maid of Honor. They hadn't really thought about it when they made the decision. It was pure coincidence that Edgar was Frank's best friend and Amelia was Alice's, but it had been rather cute to see the brother and sister walk down the aisle, arm in arm.

The ceremony had been beautiful and now everyone was enjoying the reception. There was plenty of food and drink to go around and things could not get any better.

At least that's what Lily thought.

She was wrong though.

It was the time where anyone who wanted to say anything could say it, and Lily was a little surprised when James stood up. He wasn't particularly close with Alice or Frank. He knew both of them fairly well, but Lily didn't think he would have anything to really say to them. Of course James was pretty much an attention-whore, so it wasn't that unusual.

"I don't really know Frank or Alice that well. But I was in classes with Alice for seven years, and I got to spend a lovely four months with Frank in Auror training, and I know both of them are two of the greatest people alive. Alice is the kind of person who would give a homeless man food even if it meant she had to go hungry that night. I don't think I've ever met someone with a bigger heart. And Frank? Well, I pity anyone who ever hurts someone Frank loves, because take it from someone who has seen him in action, he's dangerous and loyal. I feel privileged to be able to call them friends and I hope they have a long and happy life together."

Everyone cheered and Lily thought James was done, but was surprised to see that he was still standing.

"Another thing about them is that they are very generous and don't mind sharing the spotlight. I approached both of them with a request and they not only gave me their permission, but eagerly encouraged me to do what I am about to do. So here goes. Now I don't think I have ever met two people more in love with one another than Frank and Alice. If you ever look at them when they think no one is looking, you can see it in their eyes. Love just radiates off of them. But there is actually someone here who may be more in love with someone than they are with each other . . . and that's Me."

Then to Lily's complete shock, James got down on one knee in front of her. She threw a glance towards Alice and saw that she was grinning from ear to ear, tears shining in her eyes.

"Lily," James said taking her hand in his, "From the moment I met you, I loved you. I didn't know it then, in fact if someone would have told me that, I would have told them they were daft, but I loved you. As the years went on, I began to realize how much you meant to me, and I still kick myself everyday for those years where I was so stupid. I sometimes wonder how you were ever able to get over my stupidity and see the person inside of me. I never really thought I deserved you, but you, with your amazing heart, saw who I truly was, and you loved me. Every day you amaze me and I love you more and more, and I honestly cannot imagine my life without you. You are my whole world Lily and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

By this time, Lily had tears streaming down her face, and even though she couldn't tear her eyes away from James' face to look at her sister, she could hear her crying. Lily let out another sniffle as James pulled out a little black box and opened it to reveal a beautiful ring.

James took a deep breath and said, "Lily Evans, will you marry me?"

Lily fell to the floor and wrapped her arms around James and said very quietly, "Yes."

The entire hall erupted in cheers, but Lily didn't really notice any of it as James pulled her up and kissed her. Her head was spinning and she felt like she and James were the only two people in the room. He slipped the ring on her finger as they embraced and when they finally pulled apart she looked at it.

She was engaged. She, Lily Evans was engaged to James Potter, and she knew that life was exactly as it was meant to be.

Of course, whenever things seem to be perfect, there's always something that comes along that manages to tear it down, but for now, things were as they should be, and that's all that mattered.

**********

A/N: Well, I hope you all liked it. This is pretty much the last of the happy chapters. I know I've been saying that, but this time I mean it. Something horrible happens in just about every chapter from here on out, except for one. So yeah, be prepared. We met a few new people this chapter, and hopefully you all love them as much as I do. Uh, I don't know what else to say. The next chapter hasn't been started yet, but it's basically completely planned out in my head. So let's see, what can I tell you? There will be an engagement party where we will see someone that most of you probably thought was out of the story, but I had something planned for this character almost from the moment I introduced them. (I know that's bad grammar, but I don't want to tell you if it's a boy or girl.) And there will be a tragedy. So yeah, something to look forward to. Anyway, I'll try to update again next Sunday, but as always, no promises. :)