(Note from the author: These are not my characters, my world, or my situations. They all belong to J. K. Rowling, and are protected by copyrights.)

(About Moody's Eye: Yes, I am aware that he did not have his eye at this time in the canon. This is the one thing that I am taking liberties with, and will not change. I mean, what's Moody without his eye? For dramatics, I kept it.)

One year ago, if you had told James Potter that he would be proposing to Lily Evans, he would have thought you to be a little off kilter. He also would have proceeded to hex you.
But one year had changed their lives.
They were young, as we all are at one time in our lives. They had the world closing in on them, and they were suffocating. In the world of Voldemort and death, nothing was too soon. They had learned to live when they could, and not take any time for granted.
One more week until they would be set free with the rest of the Order members, and then the real adventure would begin.
James couldn't die without showing Lily that indeed, he wanted to marry her, and that he truly did want to spend the rest of his life with her.
They had gone to Hogwarts, and found themselves in the room filled with fireplaces and Portkeys. Lily had taken his hand as they crawled out of the hearth, and he brandished his Invisibility Cloak.
"Come on," he said, "Let's get going. We've got four hours before Moody sends the Ministry on us."
They ducked under the cloak, and quickly made their way out of the room. There was Madam Darsing, holding the keys to the door. Her hair had grown gray, and her skin had sagged. Her muscles from her Quidditch playing days had slowly beefed, and now she looked very past her prime. There had been a rumor going around school when they left saying that she would soon be retiring. Another excellent Quidditch player by the name of Rolanda Hooch would be taking her spot in a year's time.
Lily covered her mouth to muffle her breathing, but James flipped the Cloak off of his head, and smiled.
"Thanks for letting us in, Madam Darsing," he said.
"Ah, nah nahd teh thahnk meh," she said, "Ah knah thah yeh wood geh tahgahthar. Ah knah it."
She gave out a sob, and took a particularly large hankerchief from her pocket. Lily gave her a look, and then turned to James.
"What did she say?" she asked.
James shrugged, and then said to Darsing, "Thanks again."
The two of them continued down the corridors that they hadn't seen for months. But James still had the entire school mapped out by memory. He had been one of the writers of the Marauder's Map, hadn't he?
He led Lily up a staircase, and down the long corridor. Gryffindor Tower would now be behind them, to the left. That meant that he had one more staircase to climb up.
The school was abandoned, except for the few teachers that continued to stay on for the holidays. No students running free. No Mrs. Norris and Filch scavenging the halls, no anything. They no longer belonged to this place, and they no longer had to worry about intereference. It was only James and Lily.
Nothing else in the world matterd.
"The Astronomy Tower isn't this way," Lily said, keeping close.
"I know," James said, looking for the staircase.
"Well, isn't that where we're going?" she asked, as he caught sight of what he was looking for, and turned to the left.
"No," James said, "Not tonight."
Up the staircase they went, the torches lighting their way. Lily had never seen this place before. She stared around in fascination as James led her down the darkened corridor.
"Where are we going then?" she asked. There was a dead end ahead of them. Where were they heading? Lily looked to James, but he had stopped in his tracks.
"Just wait a minute," he said, putting out a hand to stop her. His hand was shaking.
Why was he nervous?
"Now, don't move," he said, "Wait here with the Cloak."
James stepped out of his cover, and walked to the dead end. Lily watched in fascination as he shut his eyes, and took a breath. He then turned around, and walked back to her.
"What are you . . ."
He didn't answer her. He just turned around again, and went back to the dead end. Then once again, he walked back to her.
James opened his eyes, and smiled.
"All right," he said, "It's ready."
"What's ready . . ."
And then she saw it. A large door where the wall had stood. She stared at it in complete shock. But James had seemed to expect it, because he took her hand, and walked over to it, beaming.
"There's a room that Peter found when we were younger," he explained, as he reached for the door knob, "And we found out that this room has magical powers. It becomes whatever you need."
Lily blinked, and then watched as James opened the door wide, to reveal a beautiful sight that only could have come from a dream.
The room was blue, draped with dark drapes and curtains. A large window stood on the opposite end of the room, taking up the entire wall and showing the beautiful moon and stars outside. A fireplace, crackling with the warmth of a hot summer's night, stood on the left wall, and illuminated the blue room with its flames. Fireflies danced around in the air, brightening the small round table that was set for two. Dinner plates sat in front of the chairs, and hovering candles were placed in the middle of the sparkling tablecloth. Violins sounded in the background, from a source that she could not see.
And on the wall opposite of the fireplace, stood a small fountain that spurted water like a small waterfall, magical lights throwing the reflection of the ripples onto the ceiling.
Lily gasped as James shut the door, and led her to her seat. She was awestruck as she sat, and took her embroidered napkin from her table, and placed it on her lap.
"This is . . . amazing . . . Oh, James, it's just like it was out of a storybook," she breathed, "How did you manage all of this?"
"Magic," he said, as he looked down at his food. Just what he wanted, "You like it?"
"I love it," she said, "Oh, God, James . . ."
"We only have four hours," he said, "Better get started eating."
Lily smiled, at the thought of Moody barging into this room, and swatting at the fireflies with his wand, after hexxing the fountain.
"What's this all about, James?" she asked, picking up her fork.
"Huh?" James said, his head shooting up to look at her. He looked very nervous now.
"Well, I know that you wouldn't just do all of this for a regular date," she paused, "What happened?"
"Nothing happened," James said truthfully, and wiped his mouth with his napkin, "I . . . I just thought that maybe we could spend some time together . . ."
"James?"
"Yeah?"

"Can you just tell me?" she said, reaching out for his hand. He slowly nodded, and put down his own fork. He cleared his throat, and took her hand in his.
They were so perfect. Soft pale skin, with nails that glistened in the fountain light. The image of her laying there, dead and cold, came back to him . . .
"James?"
James blinked, and threw the memory out of his mind. He wasn't going to think about such things. It was just her and him tonight. The only two that mattered . . .
"Lily," he said, "Ever since I saw you, I loved you. I didn't know how. I just knew that we were meant to be together. It was like it was written out, you know? Like it was meant to happen. Like . . . like no matter what else happened, you and I had to be together. And nothing could change that, because . . . because it was out of a fairy tale. Because when love is real . . . and when love is true . . . there are no rules, and there are no regulations. There's just . . . there's just us, Lily."
Lily nodded, biting her lip. Her emerald eyes were sparkling in the firelight. He felt his throat go dry. This was it. This was the moment that he had been waiting for since age eleven. The little girl with the Muggle bracelets had grown into a fighter. She was so strong. She was stronger than him.
God, he didn't deserve her.
"And that night," he said, looking her in those beautiful green eyes, "That night that I saw you laying there . . . I thought it was over. I thought that everything that I had ever said, or ever did . . . it wasn't enough. I think the happiest moment of my life was when I woke up in the hospital, and saw your bright face above me."
Lily gave a sad smile.
"And I would give anything to have that bright face above me for the rest of my life," he said, leaning closer, "I love you. And I promise with all of my heart that I will protect you, and I will honor you . . . and I will love you . . . for as long as I live. Even longer."
He felt himself kneel out of his chair, and his knee touch the floor. He took the sparkling box from his pocket, and held it in his hands. It was warm, and filled with life. It was the moment.
Lily stared at it, tears welling up in her eyes, as he opened the box to reveal the ring inside.
"And I know that we're young," he said, as she gasped, "And I know that the world's ending. But when love is true, there are no rules."
He took her hand, and squeezed it.
"Lily Evans," he whispered, "Will you marry me?"

"Yes," Lily sobbed, and threw herself into his arms. They kissed, and then embraced each other. He rocked her in his lap, the both of them knelt on the floor. Lily's makeup was strewn over her face as she cried happily.
The violin music continued from the walls, and the flames danced in the fireplace. The world turned and continued on, but for that one moment, Lily and James didn't continue with it. They were alone in this one moment.

And nothing would ever be able to stop that moment for them.
It was just Lily and James. Forever alive in this one second of pure bliss.