Hey! This is the sadly last and final chapter of Not What They Expected sob . Hopefully, you'll like reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
I've fast-forwarded the story to a time when they are already working, assuming that Auror training takes only a month or so.
Now, this is the first and last time I am going to put a disclaimer. It refers to all my chapters.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and the other characters. All I own is Alyssa Calloway and Stacie Morisson. The rest belongs to the genius, J. K. Rowling.
Chapter 14
For All of My Life
For all of my life, you are the one
I will love you faithfully, forever
For all of my life, you are the one
I give to you my greatest love
For all of my life
A few months later……
Lily was sitting in her desk in the Ministry, finishing a report regarding a new Death Eater attack on a Muggle town that had happened a few days ago. As she reread the facts, she thought to herself, "I hate this. Voldemort's murdering completely innocent people every week. What kind of a sick, twisted mind does he have, anyway?"
She laid down the piece of parchment on her desk, trying to block out the images of the countless people Lord Voldemort, a dark wizard on the rise, had mercilessly tortured and murdered. That was why she had decided to become an Auror. She wanted to help stop this bloodthirsty maniac.
The frown she was wearing suddenly turned into a smile, however, when she saw James, who was still her boyfriend, approach her from his desk at the far end of the room. "Hey there" she greeted when he was in front of her.
"Hi Lily" he said, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. "Listen, I was wondering if you'd like to go out tomorrow?" When Lily nodded, smiling, he continued, "Alright then. 7:30 sound okay?"
"Sure" Lily said. Despite his cool façade, she couldn't help but notice a slight hint of nervousness in his voice. Most unnatural. Nevertheless, she shrugged it off.
James smiled, said, "Perfect. I'll pick you up then. Oh, and as to where we're going, it's a surprise". Just as Lily was about to say something, Sirius suddenly appeared in front of them.
"Hey Lily" he greeted. Then, turning to James, he said, stupidly forgetting that Lily was in front of them, "Mate, we'd better go if you want to get everything ready for tomorrow when you prop----"
Knowing what Sirius was about to say, James quickly interrupted, nervously laughing, "Yeah, sure, Sirius, let's go. Bye Lils. See you later". And with that, he gave her one last smile before he and Sirius Apparated away.
Once they were gone, Lily thought about James's odd behavior. "I wonder why he's looking a little nervous. And why did he interrupt Sirius? I wonder what he was about to say." Lily mused to herself. Sighing, she shook her head, picked up her quill, and went back to work.
..------..
It was finally Saturday, and Lily was in her bedroom, fixing herself up for her date. After a long time of deciding, she had finally picked a spaghetti-strap dress that fell just around three inches below her knee, in the lightest shade of green that accented her emerald eyes, with a sweater to match. She had always liked dressing up a bit when it came to dates with her boyfriend.
As she fixed her hair, she couldn't help but feel that tonight was going to be different. "I wonder what's going to happen tonight? He only told me what time he's going to pick me up, but not where we're going to go. James always tells me where we're going to go before hand" she thought to herself.
The sound of the ring of the doorbell broke her thoughts. That must be James, she thought. She checked herself in the mirror one last time, grabbed her handbag, and went out of her bedroom.
She opened the door and saw James, smiling and holding a bouquet of lilies, her favorite flower. The two said hi and kissed each other on the cheek, then the two went back inside her house. James handed the lilies to her, saying, "Usually, people say, 'a rose for a rose' but, in this case, I think the phrase more appropriate is 'a lily for my Lily'".
Lily smiled, traces of laughter in her eyes. She took the lilies, and placed them in the vase nearest to her. She always placed the flowers James had given her in that particular vase, as he was the one who had given the vase to her in the first place.
"Shall we go?" James asked.
"Sure" Lily said. She locked the door from the inside, knowing that they would Apparate, as they usually did. "Where are we going, exactly?"
"You'll find out in a while. Come on" James said, taking from his pocket a smooth, round stone. In response to Lily's raised eyebrow and confused expression, he added, "It's a Portkey. Don't worry, this is authorized by the Ministry. We'll use this to get to our destination. This way, where I'm taking you is still is a surprise".
Lily nodded slowly. This evening is getting more interesting by the minute. James held out the stone and they both laid a finger on it.
"One, two, three…" James muttered quietly. As soon as he said three, there was a quick flash of bluish light, and the two were gone.
..------..
They were in some sort of corridor, the only sources of light being the torches. "This place looks oddly familiar" Lily thought, her head still spinning from the Portkey experience. Turing to James, she said, a puzzled expression on her face, "James, where are we? I hope this corridor isn't your 'surprise place'".
James chuckled and said, "Don't worry. This corridor leads to where I'm really taking you. To be honest, I'm surprised you don't recognize it. Anyway, come on, let's go".
Taking Lily's hand, the two made their way down the corridor. When they were almost at the end, James stopped which made her stop too. "Close your eyes" he said. Still wondering what was ahead, she obeyed. James led her a few steps forward. When they stopped, James said, "Alright, now open them". She obeyed. What she saw enthralled her.
Before her was a beautiful garden, its stone steps littered with rose petals. In the center of it all was a picnic blanket with a picnic basket and a bottle of wine. The crescent moon and the countless stars shined down on them. Hundreds of luminescent lights hung around the place, making one wonder if they were suspended in mid-air or if they were actually fairies. Soft music played in the background.
With a jolt of realization, she realized where she was. "No wonder this place looks kind of familiar" she thought as they walked to the 'picnic area'. "This is the place James took me after our first date!"
They sat down and began to enjoy their picnic- style dinner. While they were eating, Lily had a smile on her face as she remembered the time they had spent here during their first date:
The two were sitting in the garden, admiring the view of the setting sun. They had just finished their first date at Hogsmeade and, much to Lily's pleasant surprise, James had taken her to this wonderful place.
"It's so beautiful" Lily sighed as her eyes looked around the garden and finally settling on the view of the setting sun.
"Yes you are" James said absentmindedly. Lily smiled at him which made him go out of his dreamland. They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments, before Lily spoke.
"This is such a great place. How'd you find it?" Lily asked.
"I found it a year ago. I liked to go here when I wanted to think by myself".
"And your thoughts were about……?"
"You, of course, and how I was ever going to get you to go out with me" James said, grinning. Lily gave him a playful shove. Then he added, "Listen, Lily. This place…I've never told or brought anyone here. Just you. You want to know why? It's because I love you. But still, I always promised myself to save this place for a very special person, and to bring that certain someone here only on a very special occasion. Like a first date".
Lily was too busy smiling and caught up in her own thoughts to hear James mutter to himself, "Or when I finally ask you to marry me. Whenever the hell that is".
"Lily, are you alright? You seem kind of quiet" James said, jerking her out of her thoughts. They had finished their food and were sitting in comfortable silence.
"Oh, nothing. Just remembering our first date, you know, the last time you took me here" Lily replied. "Actaully, now that you think about it, I remember that you said that you'd only bring me here on a very special occasion. And no offense or anything, because this whole date has been wonderful, but it's just, I don't remember anything very special happening worthy enough for you to take me here".
James took a deep breath. He discreetly reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box, although Lily didn't see it. "Actually, there is".
"Really? What is it then?"
He took another deep breath. This was it. The moment he had waited for all evening. "Lily," he said, "I love you so much. I don't think I can imagine life without you. Will you make me the happiest person on earth and marry me?" With that, he presented the box to her and opened it to reveal a gold ring with a single diamond solitaire.
Happiness overwhelmed her. She opened her mouth to speak, but her voice was stuck with emotion. Faint traces of happy tears appeared on her eyes.
"Um, Lily? Now would be a really good time to say something" James said, a touch of nervousness in his voice and using the same line he had used when he had confessed his love for her months ago.
Finally Lily found her voice. "I guess there's only one thing I can say," she said, saying the same words she had said during that night, her voice full of emotion, "Yes. Yes, I will marry you, James".
When she uttered the words that made him so happy, the two shared a sweet kiss. When they broke away form each other, James happily sipped the ring on Lily's finger. From the background, the music played was the chorus of the song that described perfectly how the two were feeling and thinking at this moment.
When Lily's Evans and James Potter's gazes met, they needed no words to describe how they felt; their eyes, as people had often said were the windows to their soul, full of love, said it all.
"I love you" James said, hugging Lily tight.
"I love you too. Forever" Lily replied, hugging him back.
They spent quite some time there, talking, and thinking only about the life they had ahead of them. They knew that challenges and trials would happen for sure, but it was all right for them; they knew that they would always face it together, hand in hand. They knew that, now that they were engaged and would get married in a matter of time, they would be together forever, with only death to set them apart.
-♥-The End- ♥-
Hello to everyone again! So, my story is finally done! I just want to say thank you to the following people:
My best friends, Tabby who co-wrote the story A Dream Come True with me , and Reina, for helping me think of ideas.
To all my readers and reviewers! Thank you so much for having the time to read and review my story! I'm glad you liked it.
I really appreciate it. Hope you take the time to read my other stories as well. Good-bye and thank you! Now, this is angelstarshine, signing off…..