Chapter Forty Three

"Hey, sweet heart." Lily smiled up at James as he approached her little table in The Three Broomsticks. She stood to greet him with a hug and a kiss.

"Hello, my dear Lily flower." he smiled mischievously, taking his seat.

"All right, what's all this about, James?" she asked. "I need to get back to the office. Mr. Nichols doesn't like me being gone to long."

"You know, if I was in that man's shoes, I wouldn't let you out of my sight for very long either."

Lily blushed. "But you're not, now tell me what's going on."

"Be patient - two butter beers, please." He told the waitress and she walked away. "We may be legal age to drink, Lily, but that will always remain my favorite drink."

"I whole-heartedly agree." Lily smiled and two butter beers were placed in front of them.

"Here's to overage-butter beer-drinking." James chuckled, lifting his glass.

"Here, here," Lily giggled, clinking her glass with his.

After James took a long swig of his drink and let out a large breath, he looked over at Lily with total seriousness. "So you remember that article in the Daily Prophet, about pulling all the Aurors out of the field?"

"Outrageous and completely unnecessary." Lily said firmly.

"Yeah. I feel the same way. But I already talked to Fudge yesterday and he said he's not going to budge on this one."

"Bloody idiot." Lily muttered.

"Indeed." James smiled. "But he told me while I'm studying, he'll have a job for me as his assistant."

"Well, that was nice of him. But was that your big news?" Lily asked impatiently.

"No, just wait," James smiled, then he grew serious once more. "I was talking with Remus the other day, and he had just spoken to Dumbledore about the situation." Lily nodded.

"Well, it seems that more than one person disagree with the Minister, some are Ministry members, others not. But Dumbledore's trying to get them all together, some sort of secret meeting being held, to discuss the protection of the wizarding world, because the Minister is refusing to do so."

"How intriguing." Lily said. "Who all is going to be there?"

"I'm not really sure, but I do know that both Sirius and Remus were going. Plus, those two Ministry members, Arthur Weasley and Alastor Moody are going to be there. I mean, they're not quitting they're jobs, but apparently they also believe that the Minister isn't being sufficient enough. And that Moody guy, I tell you what, he has a mouth like no other. Swearing like a sailor with an attitude to boot."

"Maybe not a crack pot old fool after all?" Lily snickered.

"Well, I only met him the other day, but I guess he's all right." James said. "Dumbledore's the one trying to get the whole thing organized, and the Marauders are going so I was hoping..." his voice trailed off.

"You were hoping..." Lily asked.

"You wanna come with me?"

Lily grinned as his smile, still acting like a shy school boy. "Of course, James. I'd love to. Completely agree with the cause."

"Whew." James said in relief, kissing her cheek and sitting back in his seat. "I was afraid you'd be livid."

"Voldemort killed my parents, James, and now he's after my life. Of all people, I will be there."

"Of course."

"Just tell me when and where."

"It's planned for December 17th and this Weasley guy has a giant house out in the middle of nowhere, so they thought it was perfect when he offered it."

"Great. We'll be there."

"You know, I hear that he's some kind of muggle nut, so you two will get along nicely, I'm sure." James chuckled.

"Oh, ha ha." Lily smirked as she stood. "Thanks for the drink, darling. But I've got to be getting back to work." She leaned over to kiss him quickly, but he placed a hand on her neck, holding her close for a much longer, thorough kiss.

"James," Lily giggled in his kiss, "Not in public."

"I don't care if everyone in the world knows how much I love you, Lily flower." James said sweetly, placing one more kiss on her lips and she smiled at him. "Besides, if you'd prefer we not do this in public, we can get a room. I say this calls for a good snogging session."

"I'll come over tonight, love. I promise." she said in parting.

"You're cruel, you know that?" he called after her in a pout.

"Yes, I do know. But you love me anyway." she grinned at him over her shoulder, then disappeared out into the town.

"Indeed." James smiled to himself.

----

Lily and James showed up almost late for the meeting at the "Burrow" and were greeted by unfamiliar faces. Eventually they found not only Remus and Sirius, but Alice and Frank, all huddled in a corner. It appeared that they were the youngest of all the people in attendance, aside from the three red-headed children that look under ten, running around the house. They all greeted and chatted on as Dumbledore made his way to the front of the large room. Everyone grew silent as he cleared his throat.

"Welcome, one and all," Dumbledore began. "Thank you all for your interest and for coming tonight, though I must also thank Arthur, for his willingness to be of service and opening his home to all of us tonight. I see many familiar faces," he nodded towards a group of older people, "and many of my pride and joy from Hogwarts are here as well." he winked at the younger crowd, who smiled broadly. "Whoever you may be, you have come to answer the threat of Lord Voldemort."

Many men cringed at the name, and many women gasped.

"Dumbledore," Arthur hissed from the front row. "Would you mind not saying... his name?"

"Oh, do forgive me Arthur, I apologize." Dumbledore corrected himself. "The threat of the Dark Lord."

"It's ridiculous." said the groggily voice of Alastor Moody. "Fudge is so worried about protecting our world, yet he takes out our one source of protection."

"With no one to keep him at bay, he'll go on a rampage, killing anything and everything he wants." Lily said loudly in a firm voice. "He's relentless, and he doesn't care about anything but his goal of clearing out all dirt blood and taking over."

"Thank you for your input, little girl." said a grumpy voice from the back of the room. "But who invited the nursery?"

There were a few light chuckles, but Lily was red faced and fuming. Before she could let out a slew of well chosen words for the impertinent man, Arthur Weasley stood.

"Do hold your tongue, Sturgis. Especially when you don't know what you're talking about." Arthur nodded towards Lily, and she beamed, grinning gratefully.

"Come now, Arthur." said the man named Sturgis Podmore, who had a square jaw and looked no more than ten years older. "You know just as well as I do that this girl is fresh out of Hogwarts. What could she possibly know about You-Know-Who?"

"Plenty more than you or I is certain, Sturgis." The man in the back only snorted as Arthur continued. "This 'little girl' is Lily Evans, and she has twice in her short life come face to face with You-Know-Who, most recently a month go when her parents were murdered and she was kidnapped from her very home."

"That's her?" he asked in shock, and others turned to look at Lily in disbelief.

"Yes, Mr. Podmore, it was I." Lily retorted. She couldn't take it any longer. "Inches, mere seconds from death both times." She took James' hand in her own then and held it firmly. "You-Know-Who has confided in me his deepest darkest secrets for world domination, thinking I would take it to my grave, but instead, I barely made it out by the skin of my teeth. So as you can see, I may be more dependable than you thought."

"I... I didn't know..." Sturgis stammered.

"Well, hopefully you'll learn not to make judgements according to age, Mr. Podmore."

"Indeed, Miss Evans." he smiled. "But I also learned not to upset a fiery little red-head like yourself. My head may be bitten off as a result."

Everyone chuckled then, and Lily couldn't help but smile. "Indeed, Mr. Podmore."

"Forgive me, Miss Evans. And Dumbledore, I apologize. Please continue."

"Not a problem, Sturgis, Miss Evans." Dumbledore said, a twinkle in his eye as he smiled at Lily.

"Yes, we must proceed, though I must stress to all of you the seriousness of this situation. Miss Evans experience, for example. After most muggle killings or attacks, most do not come out alive. Miss Evans is very lucky to be alive, though she should feel safe and welcome in such good company." Then James squeezed her hand and she smiled.

"But it is also one of the very reasons for this meeting. With less active Aurors, not only our world, but the muggle world is at risk of attacks and will become threat to Vol... to You-Know-Who. There have already been too much evidence to the muggles of our existence , we're getting too close becoming exposed and discovered. That's a risk we simply cannot take."

"And it's not only the muggles we're worried about here." Arthur interjected. "Because I am a pureblood going back generations, but I am no where near becoming a follower of You-Know-Who. I would never want any harm to come to anyone in our world or the muggles. Most of you know I'm quite fond of them and I study them." There were light chuckles and Lily was surprised. She thought James had simply been teasing her. "But I feel at risk of an attack myself, and if that's something I can prevent by joining in ranks with all of you, then I feel like that's a necessity, to protect my family, in the least."

"Indeed. Thank you, Arthur." Dumbledore said. "That is the very cause of this meeting. If the Ministry refuses to offer us the protection we need and deserve, then he leaves us no choice but to take it into our own hands. It must stay secret, not only from the public, but also from the Ministry. Are we all clear?"

Lily looked around in surprise as everyone in the room, including both Arthur and Moody, the Ministry members, nodded firmly. Lily nodded in solemn agreement.

"Very good. Now, let's continue."

----

"Oh, Lily," Alice sighed dreamily. "I never would have imagined I could be this happy."

"I know what you mean," Lily grinned.

"Of course, you've got James. But Frank... he's so... perfect. I mean, no one's perfect, but he's... perfectly imperfect..."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Lily giggled.

"Well, I don't know.... he's not drop dead gorgeous, and for that I'm glad. He's a little shy, and less refined than I would have liked... But Lily, when he holds me or looks in my eyes and tells me he loves me... that just makes up for everything."

Lily smiled. Yes, James also had his flaws. Maybe he was too rowdy, and also less than polished to say the least. But she could hold nothing against him when she was in his arms.

"Oh, Lily, you'll never believe it!" Alice said, lowering her voice. "Just yesterday, he brought up the 'M' word!"

"What word is that? Menstrual? Make-out?"

"No," Alice smiled, then leaned over and whispered, "Marriage."

Lily gasped. "Did he really?"

"Yes, he really did." There suddenly tears of joy in Alice's and she tried to swallow them but the excitement overcame her. "Oh, Lily. I love him so much and I can't think of anything that would make me happier."

"Oh, Alice!" Lily smiled, surprised at the tears that had suddenly stung in her eyes as she pulled her dear friend into a hug. "I'm so happy for you."

"Don't get happy just yet. He only mentioned it, then he blushed and changed the subject, because hadn't realized what he'd said."

"Oh, but if he didn't mean for you to hear about it yet, maybe he has big plans for you."

"I hope so!" And they both quietly squealed with delight.

"And what's all the ruckus about over here?"

Lily and Alice turned to see Frank walking towards them and Lily stood to greet him with a hug.

"Oh, nothing." Lily smiled. "Just girl talk, idle gossip, secret here and there."

"Well, I hate to pull Alice away from her very bestest friend," Frank said in his best impersonation of a 'girly' voice, "But I do have to get her home to her parents, or they might think I'm up to no good."

"Well, I'll let you take her now." Lily told him, then leaned in to whisper. "But next time I see you two, you better not have ant more secrets, and there better be a big surprise that belongs on her left ring finger."

Frank looked at Lily in shock, and Lily almost laughed when his face turned red. "And it's true, James can vouch for me when I say... sometimes being up to no good isn't so bad." Then with a grin on her face, she waved goodbye to them both, as they walked to the large fireplace and Floo'ed home.

Lily then scanned the room for James, because it was indeed getting late, and Lily was tired after such a long meeting. She finally spotted him, standing by the wall talking to Arthur and Molly.

"Yes, Fudge used to be a wise old man." Arthur was saying.

"But age has finally caught up with him?" Lily smiled as she walked up to them.

They all laughed, remembering the earlier comments about age in the meeting, and her pulse sped as James wrapped his arm around her waist.

"You of all people should know, Miss Evans, age holds no boundaries." Arthur said genially.

"Well, maybe a few..." Molly said, poking her husband in the side.

Suddenly, two young red-headed boys ran by. "Bill! Charlie!" Molly said sternly.

The two boys stopped instantly, almost toppling all over each other.

"What did I tell you about running through the house when we have company?" she reprimanded.

"Mum, Bill was chasing me with one of dad's exploding contraptions. I didn't want him to blow my arse off." said the younger boy.

"Charlie!" Molly almost shouted. In embarrassment, Arthur pulled both his sons aside and quietly escorted them to their bedroom. As they made their way, however, they gently shoved each other, muttering things like "Tattle-tail," "Prat," and "Git," under their breaths.

"Great kids," James chuckled. "I would love to have a few as rowdy as that."

"They are a handful," Molly said, shifting a red head on her hip. "Especially when Arthur keeps his muggle artifacts all over the house and sets such a bad example for them, as you can see."

"No, ma'am." James argued. "Those are the kind of kids I would love to have wild and crazy just like me."

"And who is this?" Lily inquired about the sleeping baby..

"Ah, this blessed child in Percy. He's not nearly as bad as those two were, thank heavens."

When Arthur returned from the boys bedroom, Lily smiled. "I wanted to thank you for what you said earlier, Mr. Weasley. You don't even know me, yet you stood up for me, and I was very grateful. I was about to let out a few words that I know my parents would not have approved of."

"Oh, but sometimes they're necessary," he smiled. "And please call me Arthur. If we're going to be together in this fight for our lives, we must dismiss such formalities. I'm Arthur and this is my wife, Molly."

"Pleased to meet you both," Lily smiled.

"And is this your husband?" Molly asked, referring to James.

"James?" Lily asked incredulously. "Oh no, ma'am..."

"Not yet anyway." James interrupted, and Lily felt her heart melt as she gently squeezed her side.

"Very nice, James," Arthur chuckled.

"I must tell you, Molly," Lily said trying to change the subject, "I do love your house. It's so homey and original. Will all our meetings be held here?"

"Well, thank you, dear." Molly blushed slightly. "I'm not sure about all of our meetings, but you all are welcome over any time you wish."

"I've decided to have a chat with Dumbledore and Moody, and we'll come up with the name and regular meeting times and places. It should all be owled to you shortly." Arthur said to James.

"Very well." James replied. "Are you ready, Lily flower?"

"Oh, I couldn't possibly leave." she grinned. "Everything about this place makes me feel right at home." Because there is nothing homey about living with Petunia, she thought bitterly.

"Oh, Lily dear, I've just had the most wonderful idea." Molly started gushing suddenly. "You should come over tomorrow for tea, and we can plan a little Christmas gathering for our new little group here."

"That sounds terrific!" Lily said.

"Arthur, can we please?" Molly turned to her husband, batting eye lashes beggingly.

"Well, I don't see why not, Molly dear." he grinned down at her, kissing her quickly.

"Oh, Lily, you must come over tomorrow. We can have this party ready in no time."

"And just out of curiostiy..." Arthur began, "Your parents, may they rest in peace, they were muggles, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Wonderful. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions, for research purposes, of course. Maybe tomorrow when you stop in."

"Of course."

"Oh Lily, don't listen to him." Molly chuckled. "He's been going on about this new found 'rubber duck' for days."

Lily smiled then bid them all farewell. What a charming family, Lily thought. Then before she stepped into the fireplace to Floo herself home, she turned to James.

"Tell me James, what exactly did you mean when Arthur asked if you were my husband?" she asked him tenderly.

"Just what I meant, Lily flower." he smiled and kissed her lovingly. "I'm not your husband as of yet. That's all."

Lily smiled as she stepped into the fireplace. That was just the answer she wanted to hear.

----

A/N: This calls for a party - I've just passed 600 reviews! Man, I love you guys soooooo much! Thank you for all the marvelous reviews! You're all the best and you keep me posting more. I LOVE YOU ALL!!! -grin-

So here's the next chapter. I'm hoping to add lots more fluff soon with all the romances, and I hope that you all can get into it, aside from all the broing-but-necessary stuff.

If you guys have any questions, please email them to me, so I can get back to you. And I post once a week, for anyone who's wondering.

-hugs everyone- Review please! I love you all! -grin-