After writing the note, Lily lay in bed for what felt like hours, but she wasn't sleeping.

Quite honestly, she felt happier than she had in ages, and she wanted to savor the joy and excitement that seemed to be pulsing through her veins. She no longer felt hollow or heavy-hearted; instead, she felt like the old Lily. She could take on the world and win.

It was all because of a grumpy James Potter who had been inexplicably charming and an engagement ring in a box resting on her stomach.

Lily hadn't been able to decide what to do with the ring. At first, she had wanted to put it on her finger, but then a rather romantic thought crossed her mind: she could wait until she saw James, and he could put it on her finger. With her mind made up on that, Lily had put the box in her nightstand drawer.

But it seemed to be chanting her name, begging her to take it out. Well, in reality, she wanted to see it again. It was almost unbelievable that she was actually engaged. Lily hadn't told any of her dorm-mates, even though they had been dropping questions and giving her surreptitious looks. Starla was the only one to ask her point blank, and Lily had given her a bland smile and said 'you never know what you'll hear'.

Lily didn't want to talk about it with people she wasn't close to. It seemed too private and too personal. It was hers.

So, instead of propping the box open on the edge of the table, she rearranged her alarm and stacked some books to make a little spot to tuck in her ring.

And she stared at it with a huge grin on her face.

"Just put it on, already," Millie grumbled from the next bed.

"I'm trying to resist."

Millie actually smiled and whispered, "You won't last the night."

"Don't make it even harder. Millie?"

"Hmm?"

"You'll come when we get married, won't you?"

"Of course I will."

"Promise?"

"Yes. You're my best friend, Lily. Even though I don't like the person you're going to marry, we're still best friends."

"I'm glad."

"I am too."

Lily smiled and rolled onto her stomach to stare at her ring. It wasn't long before she picked up the box and took the ring out. She turned it in the near darkness and watched the ring glint in the sparse light. Lily wasn't able to resist it anymore; she slid the ring on her finger for the first time.

"Fit?" Millie asked, sounding rather satisfied. Of course, her prediction had been right; Lily couldn't resist trying it on.

"Yeah, but I wonder how."

"Maybe his special talent is judging ring sizes."

"Maybe so. I think I'm going to leave it on."

"I'm sure that'd be fine. Not to kill the happiness, but can we go to sleep now?"

"I suppose so. Millie?"

"Yes, Lily?"

"Please be happy for me."

"I'll try. As long as you're happy, I'll do my best to be happy for you."

"Thank you."

It was awhile before Lily fell asleep; she couldn't restrain her imagination. Long, drawn out scenes played in her mind. They were of a wedding and thousand other images of her future with James.

Millie fell asleep just a few minutes later, but in those few minutes she couldn't help but worry about Lily and the mess she was undoubtedly getting herself into. Something was going to have to be done.

James opened his bedroom window late on Wednesday night when an owl flew into it with a rather nasty thud. The owl collapsed onto the floor and half-hearted hooted.

"Pathetic," James muttered, picking the owl up and setting it on his dresser. A strong gust of wind brought in a substantial amount of rain, and he hurried over to the window to block out the storm. He felt a little more sympathetic to the owl's exhaustion. "Rough out there, was it?"

The owl hooted with a bit more force.

"I thought as much. Well, let's see what you have." James untied the soggy roll of paper and laid it out to dry before going back to the owl. He brought some old owl pellets and a bowl of water for the bird, and as a last thought set a towel for it to nest on, or whatever it was that owls did. James found his glasses and went to examine the note, wondering what moron sent an owl in a rainstorm without protecting the parchment with a spell.

It really was a wonder that people that couldn't think to use simple spells got out of Hogwarts and lived in a dangerous world. Really remarkable.

"Lumos," he grumbled, causing the candles in the room to flicker on. Then he groaned when he saw the ink running in streams on the paper. Getting up in the middle of the night to a nearly unconscious owl, only to have to restore the note didn't help his mood. Not to even mention the fact it had been four days since he bared his soul to Lily without even the slightest indication of a reply. "Restoro."

The purple ink slowly dried and reformed the original words. The handwriting looked familiar, but it was too neat to belong to one of his friends. After just a few words, though, he recognized Lily's handwriting. His stomach clenched and the room began feeling a bit overheated.

James decided waiting for each word to unfurl would probably send him into a panic attack, so he went over to his own bird, Damon. "Think she'll say yes?"

Damon was in his pre-glory stage. He was no longer a mangy looking chick, but he still hadn't developed the legendary crimson plumage. Despite the awkward stage, the bird was smart. He cocked his head to the side, but didn't reveal his thoughts in an expression.

"Thanks for the help."

James walked down the narrow staircase to the kitchen for a glass of water. He stood, staring around the room, imagining what it would look like with Lily in it every day.

Rather magical, most likely.

Deciding not to get ahead of himself, James went back upstairs to read the note, although perhaps not knowing could be better than his answer.

I'll meet you at ten on Saturday at Caprice's. I'll be the redhead with the rather pretty engagement ring.

Love,

Lily

James grinned. He had to tell somebody about this. Sirius and Remus both had girlfriends who may be sleeping over, and James would prefer to avoid that sort of situation. That left Peter, who lived in a rather raunchy, albeit cheap, part of London. Excellent.

James pulled on the robes he had worn the day before and apparated to Peter's one-room flat. Personally, James couldn't imagine living there, but Peter seemed to love it. Not surprisingly, Peter was still up, watching his neighbors across the street through a pair of Muggle binoculars.

"Hey, Peter, I'm here."

"James! Marvelous to see you. Grab a pair and come look at this. A couple across the way are in one hell of a row."

Peter had developed a rather frightening fascination with watching his neighbors in an apartment building across the road. It was a hobby that earned him all amounts of heckling from his friends. James had to admit, though, that it was interesting, so he picked up Peter's extra pair and went to the window.

"Wizards really need to develop some sort of device similar to this," Peter said.

"Whatever you think," James laughed.

"Blimey! Did you see her throw that bowl at him?"

"Lucky she missed."

"What brings you out of charming Grantham at this time of the night?"

"Lily wrote me a note," James said, purposely keeping his voice cool. Peter wouldn't be able to see his lurking smile as long as the couple across the street were yelling.

"And?"

"I'm meeting her on Saturday. She said she'll be wearing the ring."

Peter lower the binoculars to stare at James. "Congratulations! I can't believe you weren't dancing through my door."

"I didn't want to appear foolish."

"Well, aren't you excited?"

"That doesn't even begin to describe it."

Lily didn't actually wear the ring to class until Thursday. For the beginning of the week she just slept with it on or wore it when nobody was around, but as the weekend and her meeting with James drew nearer, the more attached she grew to the little gold band with a diamond on it.

On Thursday morning, she decided not to take it off. After all, soon enough she wouldn't be able to keep the engagement a secret. However, the ring seemed more than a bit conspicuous as she sat at the Gryffindor table for breakfast.

"Finally decided to keep it on?" Amos asked with amusement in his voice.

Lily couldn't help but wonder if she had hurt his feelings. She opted for a small smile and a shy nod. That was pretty safe. Thankfully, nobody made a comment about her new jewelry during class or during any other meal that day. In fact, nobody even acted like they noticed, other than a few long glances, until that evening when she was getting ready to close her bed curtains.

"Oh, come on, Lily. You don't actually think you can go to bed without showing us the ring, do you?" Starla said just when Lily thought nobody would even notice.

"I had decided nobody noticed," Lily said humbly.

"Yeah, you're quite the innocuous personage here. Nobody notices the Head Girl at all, do they?" Millie asked.

"I never know what to expect."

"Well, we expected you to start passing the bloody ring around immediately." Jeanne said.

"And while we're looking, tell us how he asked you."

"Was it terribly romantic?"

"One knee and flowers?"

"Did he give you liquor?"

Lily laughed. Getting her completely pissed was one way James could go around proposing. "It wasn't anything special."

"Of course it was, Lily," Millie said with a sly smile. "Go ahead and tell them. It's your duty as the first of us to receive a proposal.

Lily looked around warily and four anxious and excited faces, and then Millie's expression of satisfaction.

"Well, I think he was really nervous, so I can't imagine it came out quite like it was supposed to," she said slowly, hoping she could leave it at that. She could understand why James proposed the way he did; he had seen his parents own loveless marriage, and if he felt strongly enough to want to marry her, than it was a rather heartening sign indeed. Other girls might not think it was such a romantic gesture.

"So what exactly happened?" one girl pressed.

Lily tried to put it in the best possible light by saying, "He told me he bought a house, and he thought I would like it. He asked me if I wanted to move in once Hogwarts is over, and before I came back to the castle, he handed me the ring and told me it went with the house." Of course, she had to edit out the part where she left Hogsmeade, thus breaking school rules.

This time five sets of eyes blinked owlishly at her.

"I know that doesn't sound charming and romantic, but all that really matters is that he did, in effect, ask me. In his own way. Besides, we're talking about James; face it, I was lucky he didn't use sarcasm in the course of it."

That of course, made sense to all of them. Most people had at one time or another irritated James Potter, and most certainly, he had informed them of that fact.

"You two really are an odd couple," Starla observed. She didn't say it to be mean; she was merely pointing out a fact.

"He doesn't have to be perfect, just perfect for her. I think they're good for each other." Jeanne said.

"Thank you, Jeanne," Lily said, and she felt tears welling in eyes. For some reason that seemed like the most sincere and kind thing anyone could've said to her.

"It's the truth. Now pass me that ring."

"Nervous," Sirius asked, watching as James went through a series of frantic attempts in order to tame his hair.

"What do you think?" he hissed.

"She already agreed to marry you, and I don't think she's so shallow she'll change her mind based on your hair today."

"I can't take any chances."

James would be meeting Lily in just one hour, and he was at an unknown level of anxiety. Either one of them could have misinterpreted the other's actions, and the whole thing could be down the drain. James didn't think he could live if that was the case.

Lily was getting very good at sneaking out of the castle. Using James Invisibility Cloak and the map had been very simple. She had avoided a whole herd of second years, and that was no mean feat. She was so good that she had broken her own personal record for getting out of the castle (32 minutes) and arrived at the café ten minutes early.

Apparently James had been the recipient of good transportation also, because he was opening the door as she walked up. He entered without seeing her, and she silently followed him in.

He went to stand at the hostess desk, and while he was waiting to be seated, Lily quietly walked up behind him and placed a hand on his arm. "Hey, guess who."

James turned to face her quickly, and a smile instantly crossed his face, but hesitation and wariness followed quickly. "Hi."

They each stared at the other. Neither of them knew what to say, and both of them hoped the other would speak first to set the tone. In the end, they were saved by the hostess who walked up and said, "Table for two?"

"Yes," James answered, and they silently went to a table. Lily hunkered over her menu, pretending to concentrate on selecting a breakfast dish. James, on the other hand, held his menu up so that it covered the lower half of his face.

Neither of them said anything until Caprice came out with a brilliant smile on her face. "Aha! I knew it wouldn't be long until the two of you were back. I see that Lily has a smashing ring on her finger, so it appears best wishes are in order."

"It appears so," James murmured, looking at Lily. "Thank you."

"What do you kids want? We're still serving breakfast, but I might break schedule if you want a sandwich. Our special today would be bangers and mash."

They each placed their order; waffles for James and eggs over easy for Lily.

And then they went back to staring at everything besides each other.

"Has is occurred to you," Lily finally asked, "that it was rather foolish of me to sneak out of Hogwarts, only to stare out of a window and not even speak to you?"

"It had occurred to me, but I didn't want to say anything."

Lily smiled and rolled her eyes, "Somehow that does not surprise me."

"You were the one to summon me, so I assumed you had a reason."

"You told me to owl you when I made a decision, and we could meet in Hogwarts. I made a decision and owled you. So, technically, I really think you were the one to summon me."

James narrowed his eyes, and he hated to admit she had a point. So he didn't. "What, exactly, was your decision?"

Lily fought the urge to roll her eyes again. "Really, James, what do you think my decision was?"

"Sometimes I have no idea what crosses your mind."

Breaking with the mild sniping, she abruptly smiled. "Of course I will."

"Marry me or move in with me?"

"Both, silly. What did you think was going on?"

James mumbled something incoherent.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

"Whatever you say. Did you pick out the ring all by yourself?"

"Why do you always ask if I have chosen something by myself?"

"Do I ask that?"

"Just about every time I show you something. My parents' house, and then my house, and now the ring."

"Ahhh, well, you have to admit, James, that you've furnished them in a style that doesn't seem to fit your mood."

"Which would be?" he asked.

"You're sarcastic and pessimistic."

"You make me sound so wonderful."

"You are! I'm terribly fond of you, but to me, it seems that darker colors would fit better."

Lily watched as he set his jaw and began looking very stubborn.

"Fond is not going to cut it, Lily."

"Excuse me."

"If you don't love me, now would be an appropriate time to say so, because I will not marry anybody who doesn't love me. There are absolutely no exceptions."

She was so stunned by his announcement that she couldn't even begin to formulate a response for a minute. Her necessary metabolic actions carried on, but almost everything else stopped entirely. Of course it made sense, though, that he would feel that way. Twenty years observing a marriage full of bitterness and dislike would make him run from anything remotely similar. Just seeing the intensity in his face while he waited on her answer helped her know what she felt. "James, I do love you."

"But?"

"There are none."

Immediately the wariness and hesitation she had seen earlier drained from his face, leaving only the closest emotion to pure happiness she had ever seen on his face. Lily knew that was why she loved him. He needed her more than anyone and was happier with her more than anyone. She had no illusions, though, that he would say the same thing to her so readily. James guarded himself thoroughly, and she imagined it would take him awhile to realize he didn't need to around her.

James surprised Lily by picking up her palm and kissing it.

Lily very nearly melted out of her chair.

"I chose the decorations for you."

"Huh," she asked dimly. Who knew having your palm kissed could simultaneously deaden a few hundred brain cells?

"My rooms at my parents' home and the house. I told the decorator and the realtor I wanted bright colors. Lily colors."

There went some more brain cells.

Luckily, Caprice came floating by with two plates of food. "Here you go." Apparently she took in Lily's slack-jawed expression, because she said, "I see you two are getting along a bit better now. New couples are always a bit awkward at first."

Silence again covered the table while they ate, but this time it wasn't so awkward.

"You never answered my question," Lily remembered.

"What question?"

"Did you choose the ring by yourself?"

"Is it that important?"

"Not really, I was just curious."

"I found three I liked, but I couldn't decide between them. Most everybody knew what I was planning, so I had Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Aubrey come by and check it out. Remus went to clear stuff out of the shack, and while he was talking to you, I was getting the ring."

"So that was what was in the bag!"

"That was what was in the bag," he confirmed. "Do you like it?"

"Tremendously."

"I'm glad."

Lily's heart felt extremely heavy as Honeyduke's came into sight. Sighing, she said, "I'll see you in three weeks."

"I'll be at King's Cross."

"You don't have to meet me. I know you still have Healer classes, and it's really not a big deal for me to take the Knight Bus or Floo from The Leakey Cauldron."

"I have no doubt you're going to make a lot of your friends and family mad because of me, so the least I can do is be there when you get off the train. It's depressing not to have anybody there when all your friends run to their families. Besides, you'll probably need someone to remind you to levitate you trunk."

"Haha." Sometime during the conversation Lily had wrapped her arms around his neck and he had pulled her close to him. Lily definitely lost a few brain cells during the kiss that ensued. She was actually fairly sure she lost the majority of her thinking processes. James still had his light vanilla scent and Lily's thoughts turned to a wicked nature.

"Hmm," she murmured, "I believe I like that."

"I know I did."

As much fun as prolonging the moment could be, Lily didn't relish the thought of a public scene. "I should go."

"I suppose so."

She placed a lingering kiss on his cheek and pulled away, but her fingers laced with his even as she backed away. "Bye, James. I love you."

"I love you, too."

"I think I know that. You don't have to tell me, but I'm glad that you did."

"That's part of the reason I did."

They stepped into an alley and Lily pulled James's Invisibility Cloak out of her knapsack. "Am I covered?"

"As far as I can tell."

"Alright, bye."

James heard her take a step, and without thinking, he said, "Lily, be careful."

"I will be, James."

For reasons he couldn't explain, James had the feeling getting back into the castle wasn't going to be as simple as getting out.