Chapter 43 The Best-Laid Plans
The former Gryffindor seventh years scattered somewhat for the approximate month until they received their NEWT results. Remus returned to Ireland with Kathleen so that he could meet her family, Frank and Alice went on holiday to Italy for ten days and were planning to visit Frank's family in Lancashire when they returned. Dorcas went home to her family in Dorset, and Peter went on holiday to Bath with his mum like they did every year. Morwenna, Sirius, James, and Lily returned to their respective homes in London. Since receiving his unexpected inheritance, Sirius could now afford a flat in London and was in the process of looking for one and nearly always insisted that James accompany him. Since James refused to be separated from Lily for long, she often came too, as did Morwenna, who spent a good bit of time on her own while her granny was busy at the Ministry.
Mr. and Mrs. Evans were clearly delighted to have Lily home again and had surprised her with a new car in honour of her leaving Hogwarts. Lily passed her driving exam a week or so into the holiday and insisted upon driving her new car everywhere. James and Sirius were initially very skeptical about riding in a Muggle car that had no spells on it whatsoever and was driven by Lily as opposed to a Ministry chauffeur, which was the only sort of car they'd encountered up 'til this point. But soon James and Sirius were completely obsessed with cars and driving to the point of reading Muggle car magazines, begging Lily for driving lessons, and devouring such wizard titles as: So You'd Like to Get Around the Muggle Way: Muggle Travel with a Wizarding Twist, Your Muggle Car and You, and 101 Simple Spells for Your Automobile. Sirius even began shopping round for a motorcycle.
Finally Sirius found a flat in Diagon Alley about two weeks into the holiday. He was jubilant and immediately began making plans for when he and James would move in and made it the coolest bachelor flat ever seen by wizardkind.
Lily and her parents went on holiday to France at the end of the week and James and Sirius went to the Potters' country estate. James moped about the house for the first few days 'til Sirius had enough and walloped James with his broomstick. Naturally, a fistfight ensued, and finally James and Sirius emerged, Sirius grinning in spite of his split lip and bloody nose. At least James was back now.
"We're going to have to look into some Unbreakable Charms for the furniture in our flat," Sirius said as he and James righted the table they'd knocked over during the course of their disagreement. "Maybe Lily can help us out with that."
James grunted but made no real reply, his face carefully neutral. Sirius eyed his best mate closely.
"All right," he sighed finally. "Out with it, then."
James fidgeted, running his hands through his hair, before taking a deep breath. "Ahmmmmph," he said, covering his mouth with his hand.
"Wha'?" Sirius cocked his head.
"I said I can't come live with you," James repeated uncomfortably.
"Oh," Sirius replied, fighting for nonchalance. "Well, that's all right, really it is."
"It's not that I don't want to live with you," James explained earnestly. "It's just – well – I'm hoping to live with Lily."
"That might be good," Sirius said kindly, though it was clear he was disappointed. "If you're both really lucky, maybe that sister of hers – what's her name? Begonia? – will disown Lily entirely for living in sin with a wizard." Sirius grinned, but it lacked something somehow. "Have the pair of you found a place yet?"
"Lily doesn't know anything about it yet," James gulped, took a deep breath, and blurted: "I'm going to ask Lily to marry me."
Sirius didn't say a word, he simply fumbled for the chair behind him and sat in it abruptly. "M-Marriage?" Sirius stumbled over the foreign word. "You W-WANT to get M-MARRIED? What brought THIS on? Wait a minute – Lily isn't sprogged up, is she?"
"No!" James exclaimed, glaring.
"Then why?" Sirius was still having trouble grasping such a notion. "I mean, this is so – sudden. We've got our entire lives, why in Merlin's name would you want to get married now?"
"I've been in love with Lily since I was eleven years old, Sirius," James snapped. "Explain to me how this is sudden."
"How can you be so sure that this is the right thing to do?" Sirius pressed the matter.
James sighed and sank into a chair before beginning. "When I was trying to decide between playing Quidditch and being an Auror, I ran into Dumbledore. I asked him what he thought I ought to do, and he said that all anyone could do was choose something that mattered to them and see what happened. So I went back to the dormitory and was lying in bed thinking about everything, about Voldemort and the attacks, and Lily and you and my parents. A lot of wizards lead short lives with everything the way it is now, and I was trying to decide what would make me happiest just in case my life does happen to be a short one. And the first thing that came to my mind was Lily. She's what matters most to me and I want to spend my life with her, however long or short that ends up being."
A long and awkward pause followed James' speech. James stared at his shoes, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. If even Sirius couldn't support him, he didn't care to consider what his parents might say.
"When are you going to ask her?" Sirius asked finally.
"After I get my results," James said a bit defiantly. "I reckon I should have a job at least before I ask her."
Sirius snorted at this but was otherwise silent for another few moments.
"What're you going to say?" Sirius asked, grinning. Relieved, James grinned back, dumb with relief until Sirius repeated his question.
"Oh," James paused thoughtfully. "I have no idea," he admitted in a small voice. At this Sirius got to his feet and pulled James up as well.
"Don't worry about it, mate," Sirius said cheerfully, putting a comforting arm round James and steering him out of the room. "We've got loads of time to work on it."
It was now the middle of July and the former seventh years began to watch anxiously for any sign of owl post. Nearly all of the former Gryffindors had returned from their holidays now in preparation for the job hunt that would take place after the NEWT results arrived.
James was doubly anxious, both for his NEWT results and Lily's return from France. He and Sirius had returned to the Potters' London house and were still working on his proposal speech, Currently, they were on draft # 23, but James still wasn't satisfied.
He woke up early on the morning of the 16th, rather ridiculously excited for Lily's return later that day. James bounded down to the kitchen and narrowly avoided being dive-bombed by a brown owl delivering two envelopes. Recognizing the crests, James snatched the letters from the table.
"Oy! Sirius!" James bellowed with blatant disregard for anyone who might be sleeping. "NEWTs are here!" He waited impatiently until a bleary- eyed Sirius stumbled down the stairs, Mr. and Mrs. Potter on his heels.
"Go on then, boys!" Mrs. Potter urged. Needing no further encouragement, James and Sirius tore simultaneously into their letters, read silently, and swapped over to compare before handing the parchment to Mr. and Mrs. Potter, both wearing identical smug grins.
Their NEWT results were extremely similar, and, more to the point, extremely good; they'd be able to become Aurors.
Mr. and Mrs. Potter were almost as excited as they were, Mr. Potter clapping the boys on the back and pumping their hands, Mrs. Potter kissing their cheeks, both exclaiming their congratulations all the while. Mrs. Potter than made an enormous celebratory breakfast, and James and Sirius sat round in the kitchen basking in the adulation until it was time for James to go and meet Lily.
James waited on the Evanses' front walk for only a few minutes before their car pulled up and Lily jumped out and hurried toward James. As eager to see Lily as she was to see him, James met her more than halfway and pulled her into an enthusiastic embrace.
Lily looked wonderful; her fair skin was slightly brown from her holiday and her hair was as gloriously red as ever. More importantly than that, Lily appeared more relaxed and happy than James had ever seen her at home; clearly Petunia's absence agreed with her.
Mr. and Mrs. Evans tactfully left them alone after the first half- hour or so, giving Lily and James the much desired chance to catch up. Lily's NEWT results hadn't arrived yet, but she admired James' and listened to him enthuse over them, rolling her eyes only when his ego became overinflated to an unbearable level. Finally, James rose reluctantly to go, having promised his mum that he'd be home for the dinner party his parents were throwing that night. Lily walked him to the door, and after a good fifteen minutes of good-byes, James finally Disapparated.
After watching him go, Lily closed the door behind James and leaned against the wall, a rather bemused grin on her face. This didn't last long, however; the door had barely closed behind James when a large tawny brown owl swooped in through the open window and dropped two envelopes into Lily's hand before perching attentively on the windowsill. Lily flipped the letters over; one had been stamped with the Hogwarts crest. Clearly this contained her NEWT results, but the other bore the Ministry seal. Lily quickly tore into the Hogwarts letter, sighed in relief, and smiled widely. She'd done better than she'd expected to in Astronomy, and she'd received an Outstanding in Charms; her results were more than adequate to apply for the Committee on Experimental Charms. Lily then turned to her Ministry letter more slowly.
"Dear Miss Evans," the letter read.
It has come to my attention that you have performed exceptionally well on your NEWT level exams in general and on the Charms exam in particular. Congratulations on these achievements.
"Therefore, I would like to meet with you to discuss a Charms-related career path. If you would be amenable to that discussion, please send a reply with the owl that delivered this letter. I look forward to meeting you.
"Sincerely,
"Caradoc Dearborn"
Lily glanced over the letter again, considering. It was all rather cryptic, and Merlin knew that it wasn't safe to meet strangers anymore. Still, Lily's curiosity got the better of her and she penned a reply for the owl to take. The owl was off like a shot and returned within the hour carrying another letter, this one naming a specific place and time, the statue on the Atrium level of the Ministry at one o'clock on Monday afternoon.
James, Sirius, Frank, Alice, Dorcas, and Remus, all of whom had received sufficient NEWTs to qualify, were taking Auror entrance exams all day on Monday and had arranged to meet Lily, Morwenna, Kathleen, and Peter at the Leaky Cauldron later. So Lily Flooed into the Ministry for her appointment alone, landing in a dusty heap inside one of the fireplaces.
Coughing and sputtering, Lily didn't notice that anyone was there until a voice said "Miss Evans?" and a hand stretched out to help her up. Still coughing, Lily looked up to find a rather elderly wizard smiling down at her with no little curiosity. She accepted his hand up and stepped from the fireplace. "I'm Caradoc Dearborn," the wizard continued as he ushered her toward the gate where the watchwizard waved them through with a "Good afternoon, Mr. Dearborn."
"So – er – you wanted to speak with me?" Lily ventured at last.
"All in good time," Dearborn replied cryptically. He led the way down the corridor past the lifts and into what appeared to be a small office. Dearborn flicked his wand at the door and muttered an incantation Lily didn't catch under his breath.
"I'm sure you are wondering why all of this – ambiguity – is necessary," Dearborn said knowingly as soon as they were settled.
"Yeah, a bit," Lily admitted.
Dearborn chuckled. "Well, as I mentioned in my letter, I was quite impressed with your NEWT results, particularly your Charms marks. Or more accurately, the examiners who witnessed your exam were impressed enough to bring you to my attention. In fact, they all agreed that in their very long careers – more than one hundred in one case – they'd seen perhaps two wizards whose abilities in Charms equaled yours: Professor Flitwick and Professor Dumbledore. After hearing this, I arranged to see your results, which were every bit as good as the examiners had speculated they would be. Then I spoke with Professor Dumbledore – he's an old friend – and he assured me that you do indeed possess the necessary temperament as well as the skills."
"The temperament and skills for WHAT, exactly?" Lily cut in, highly uncomfortable. The way Dearborn spoke so casually of arranging to see her test results before she herself did and examiners reporting back to him about her was beginning to make her rather suspicious.
"Why, the personality to be an Unspeakable," Dearborn replied mildly as though they were discussing some utterly mundane and non-classified subject. "I am the head of the Department of Mysteries, and we are in dire need of someone of your talents."
"To do what?" Lily eyed Dearborn warily.
"Let me explain," Dearborn waved off Lily's hostility, which, when she thought about it, she supposed he must encounter rather regularly in his line of work. "A team of witches and wizards within the department have been working for some time on various charms to be used in the fight against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. For reasons of secrecy, I can't tell you any more than that. But I know a good deal about you, Lily Evans, besides your NEWT results. You've had some experience with Voldemort and with the Death Eaters yourself, even with the Cruciatus Curse. No one needs to tell you how dangerous and utterly without conscience they are, nor do I need to tell you how powerful that makes them. We need people like you: brilliant at Charms, proficient in Defense Against the Dark Arts with a bit of practical experience in that area as well, and motivated to take part in the fight against Voldemort and his followers," Dearborn paused abruptly. "You may of course walk out of this office right now and never hear from me again," he continued on a different note. "Working for the Department of Mysteries is difficult; we have many secrets to keep. We can't afford to take on anyone who doesn't truly want to be there. You may take some time to consider this proposition, of you like, and contact me at a later date."
Lily sat back in her chair, head whirling with everything that had just been said. She fixed Caradoc Dearborn with an assessing gaze. He had called Voldemort by his name, not the ridiculous You Know Who so many wizards used with increasing frequency. She couldn't exactly say why, but somehow Lily trusted him. And the work he'd described; it sounded as though she was being presented with a chance to make a real difference in the ongoing fight against Voldemort, a chance to protect people like James and her parents and friends doing what she was best at.
"I don't need more time to consider," Lily announced finally. She offered Dearborn a brilliant smile. "When do I start?"
Lily ducked into the Leaky Cauldron a few minutes after five, breathless after hurrying out of the Ministry. She'd spent the rest of the afternoon filling out endless forms, most of which repeated the words "secrecy," "discretion," and "classified material" over and over again. Silly though it was, Lily had almost expected some sort of initiation involving blood oaths and secret handshakes. Instead, a perfectly ordinary- looking witch gave her the forms and a quill and left her to herself to read and sign them before taking her back to Dearborn's office so that he could sign them and explain such mundane things as lunch hours and pension plans. Apparently being an Unspeakable wasn't going to be as glamorous as she'd initially thought.
Still, Lily was excited. The salary was quite good (apparently the Ministry didn't expect secrecy, discretion, and classified materials to come cheap) and the work sounded fascinating. The part that really concerned her was explaining her new career path to her parents and boyfriend.
Late though Lily was, said boyfriend had still not arrived, nor had any of the others sitting for the preliminary Auror exams. Puzzled, Lily made her way over to Morwenna, Kathleen, and Peter, who'd secured a large table in a corner of the pub. By the time they'd exchanged greetings and preliminary questions about the holiday, the pub door had been thrown wide to admit James, Sirius, Remus, and Dorcas.
The foursome staggered in, all of them wearing glazed expressions that had traditionally been reserved only for History of Magic exams.
"That bad, was it?" Morwenna asked, wincing sympathetically as they fell into chairs. Dorcas managed a nod.
"Well, I'm sure you lot did brilliantly anyway," Kathleen comforted her friends as she kissed them all on the cheek with the exception of Remus, who received a much more enthusiastic greeting as he slumped into the seat next to hers.
"What happened to Frank and Alice?" Lily asked, glancing round.
"They said they had something to take care of," James replied. Inspired by Remus and Kathleen, he mustered up the energy to give Lily an equally enthusiastic greeting before slumping exhaustedly in his chair.
Before anyone could speculate about this any further, the door opened yet again to reveal Frank and Alice.
"Sorry we're late," Alice said as they sat down.
"Everything all right?" Morwenna asked, eyeing them narrowly.
"Just a bit of paperwork," Alice shrugged.
"I've never seen anyone look that happy about paperwork," Peter observed.
"What sort of paperwork was it?" Kathleen asked curiously.
"Well," Alice glanced at Frank, who nodded slightly. "We had to hand in a copy of our marriage certificate. Frank and I got married!"
"WHAT?!" Morwennna and Kathleen shrieked simultaneously. In answer, Alice brandished her left hand with a flourish, displaying a shiny ring. The table erupted with noise as everyone began asking questions at once.
Eventually the story came out; they had done it in Italy, Frank and Alice explained, while they were staying at Alice's cousin's summer home in Venice. "The time just felt right," Alice summed up succinctly. They'd planned to get married someday, this way they'd been able to be married with no fuss from either of their families.
"And how are they taking the news?" Morwenna wanted to know. She, James, Sirius, and Lily all winced at the thought of announcing such news to Mrs. Longbottom.
"My brothers are getting used to the idea," Alice replied. "And Frank's family – well –"
"My dad's happy for us," Frank interjected, "and my mum – er – she's getting used to the idea too," he finished lamely. "But she's throwing us a reception next month," he hastened to add. "Everyone's invited, of course." Lily, Dorcas, Morwenna, Remus, Kathleen, and Peter readily agreed, and James and Sirius, after an elbow in the ribs and a filthy look respectively from Lily, agreed as well.
"It's so romantic," Kathleen sighed, leaning back against Remus. "Why don't we elope in Italy?"
"Because we don't have any money," Remus pointed out practically. Kathleen scowled, but before she could say anything, Alice broke in.
"At least the pair of you have a flat," she pointed out. "That's more than Frank and I have. We're staying with my brothers 'til we find a place."
"Which will be soon. REALLY soon," Frank muttered grimly.
"It's not that bad," Alice snapped back. "It's a good bit better than staying with your parents; your mother has got the most grating – "
"Er, you and Kathleen are getting a flat together, Remus?" James interjected hastily before they were all caught in the middle of a marital spat. Truth be told, he felt a bit crestfallen that he wasn't the only one thinking about long-term commitment. In fact, it looked as though he'd have to join the queue.
"You too, Moony?" Sirius was plainly unnerved by all of the committing that was occurring before his very eyes.
"You didn't tell us that," Peter pointed out.
"Well, we just decided," Remus muttered. He flushed a bit but was undeniably happy. He and Kathleen exchanged a glance that caused Sirius to turn away in disgust, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "nauseating" under his breath. He also refrained from touching anyone for the rest of the night, as though fidelity might be catching.
The rest of dinner was spent catching up with everyone's doings over the holiday, more talk of Frank and Alice's wedding and its aftermath, and a description of Remus' meeting with Kathleen's mum, dad, and younger brother and sister (absolute monsters, Remus called them later in private).
As there was so much news that Lily considered to be more important, she decided not to announce her new job to everyone tonight. However, when conversation turned in that direction, she inadvertently blurted it out.
Everyone who'd taken the Auror exams that day spent a good bit of time discussing how difficult they'd been, and Peter, whose NEWTs hadn't been quite good enough to qualify, sulked a bit at this, not looking forward to having to find some other sort of job. Kathleen was looking for work too, and Morwenna was taking some time off to decide what sort of job she wanted to get.
"What about you, Lils?" Dorcas wanted to know. "Have you heard from the Charms committee?"
"No, but I did accept a job offer today." The words just tumbled out of Lily's mouth.
"Really?" James grinned at Lily, taken aback. "Congratulations! What're you going to be doing?"
Might as well finish it, Lily told herself grimly. "I'm going to be working in the Department of Mysteries," she replied.
"WHAT?!" James spat out his drink. "But that's dangerous!"
"This from the person who's planning to become an Auror," Lily shot back. Everyone else at the table was regarding the tabletop quite studiously.
This exchange quickly deteriorated into a somewhat heated argument that finally ended, with Remus and Sirius' help, in an agreement to disagree about career choices.
Despite Lily's announcement, which had cast a decided damper over James' mood, the party continued late into the night. Nobody wanted to go, now that they were out of Hogwarts, they were all well aware that this could be one of the last times they all gathered together like this
James, Sirius, Remus, Dorcas, Alice, and Frank all received the results from their preliminary Auror exams on Wednesday, and all of them, with the exception of Remus, were offered positions and told to report for training on Monday.
Through his dad, James knew that the Ministry was desperate for new Aurors; ever since Crouch's decision to authorize Aurors to use the Unforgivable Curses two years ago, more and more Aurors were being killed in their battles with the Death Eaters. In the past, the Ministry had been so selective about taking on Aurors that it wasn't unusual for a year to go by without them accepting any, but now they took on as many people as possible who had the NEWT marks and could pass the exams. Also, to accommodate the need for new Aurors, Crouch had cut Auror training from three years down to a mere year and a half. The Ministry was losing its fight with Voldemort and his followers, this was the desperate but undeniable truth.
Therefore, the only reason that the Ministry had refused to take on Remus, who had the marks and intelligence to make it as an Auror under normal circumstances, was because of anti-werewolf prejudice. He had to know that this was the reason, everyone did, but James never heard Remus complain. He was nothing but happy for his mates and went about looking for another job very matter of factly. But James was sure that it had to be making him sick on the inside.
Now that he had a job officially, James had decided that the time was ripe to make his move and propose. He and Sirius had gone ring shopping, and after hours of looking, he'd finally found the perfect one. It wasn't as enormous and splashy as James would've liked, but somehow he knew that Lily wouldn't want a ring that was too ostentatious. He still wasn't quite satisfied with his speech, but he asked Lily to go to dinner with him on Saturday anyway, figuring that he had the entire rest of the week to work on it.
And work on it was just about all he did. James saw Lily only twice between Wednesday and Saturday, a new personal low for them, so he could devote more time to rehearsing the speech, deciding what he would wear, polishing the ring, and obsessing over the whole night in general. Sirius was fairly certain that he was going mad, and offered to propose to Lily for him if he'd only shut up about it. However, after witnessing his friend's sorry state, Sirius relented and put up with James' obsessing, relieved beyond measure that he now had his own flat to escape from James in.
Finally, Saturday arrived. James spent much of the day reading over and over the final draft of the speech, even though he'd long ago committed it to memory. Round four o'clock Sirius Apparated over t offer moral support. Remus and Peter, whom James had been forced to let in on the secret after they'd caught him practicing his proposing skills on Sirius, were close behind him, and the four Marauders spent the next four hours coaching, helping, and advising James. Confidence bolstered considerably through his mates' efforts, James Disapparated with a pop for Lily's house at ten to eight, ring stowed safely in his pocket.
Unaware of the significance of the night herself, Lily's Saturday had been much more relaxed. She, Alice, Kathleen, Morwenna, and Dorcas had gone shopping to find something for Alice to wear to her new mother-in-law's reception. Because it was Mrs. Longbottom, it went without saying that the outfit needed to be perfect.
Lily was ready in good time, so when she heard the telltale popping noise outside and the knock on the door, Lily dashed downstairs to open the door herself. "Hi," she greeted, giving James a rather restrained kiss as she wasn't quite sure if anyone was watching them.
"Hi," James replied bemusedly. He looked slightly dazzled for some reason Lily couldn't fathom, and they stood in a rather awkward silence for a moment. "These are for you," James said at last, holding out an enormous bouquet of red roses.
"My favorite," Lily said, offering James a blinding smile that made his stomach wrench. "They're perfect; thank you."
It was exactly the right thing to say; after hearing the word "perfect," James felt distinctly better.
"But of course," he smirked with false arrogance, just to have the pleasure of watching Lily roll her eyes at him. However, she excused herself to store the flowers and say good night to her parents without further comment.
As soon as she left, James took the opportunity to try and get a grip on himself. "Right then, Potter," he muttered, looking in the glass, "if you can survive an encounter with Voldemort, pass an Auror exam, and enchant two thousand Cornish game hens to duel with Hogwarts' student body, you can do a little thing like propose. After all," he told his reflection philosophically, "it can't be any harder than it was to convince her to go out with you."
"Who are you talking to?" James yelped in surprise when he heard Lily's question.
"Just – er – myself," he said in what he hoped was a nonchalant tone. "Let's go, shall we? We don't want to be late." Lily eyed him suspiciously but elected not to comment.
James had elected, after much thought, to take Lily to Camelot, a posh wizarding restaurant in an affluent Muggle neighborhood only a short distance from the Evanses' house. Muggle area or not, Camelot was one of the most popular places for the affluent in the wizarding world to go. When Lily saw where James had taken her she raised her brows higher still but again kept silent.
Finally, they were settled at a secluded corner table, the nearby wall sconces and hovering candles casting dim but flattering light onto their table. In the early stages of his planning, James had thought to wait 'til after dinner to pop the question, but as the time drew nearer, James knew that he wouldn't be able to wait that long. He gulped; this was it. He, James Potter, was about to propose to Lily Evans.
"Lily?" James' voice came out as a whisper. He cleared his throat again.
"Yeah?" Lily glanced up. "Are you all right? You look – "
"Yes, yes, I'm fine," James waved away her concern. "Lily, I – that is – there's something I want to – "
"James! Lily!" Cursing under his breath, James turned to see Frank and Alice coming toward them.
"Hi!" Alice said warmly, kissing each of them on the cheek. "Are you out celebrating your new jobs too?"
"Yes," Lily answered before James could think of some way to signal to Frank and Alice to go away.
"Have you been here before?" Frank asked. The waiter had pulled up chairs for Frank and Alice now, and James would have dearly loved to tear off his head and force-feed it to him, then do the same to Frank and Alice in turn.
The other three talked easily, apparently unaware of James' silence as he tried frantically to think of a way to get them to leave. He had just decided to go and ask the maitre d' to tell Frank and Alice that they had an urgent message when an unusual noise that sounded very much like screaming coming from outside attracted his attention.
"Where is that coming from?" Alice asked. Many of the other diners were glancing about nervously as well. Ignoring good manners for the moment, James strode over to the window and peered outside, Lily, Frank, and Alice following in his wake.
"I can't see – "James began, but he never finished that particular sentence, because just then the windows on the other side of the restaurant broke with a resounding crash, scattering bits of glass over everyone.
"Death Eaters!" a hysterical middle aged witch shrieked, pointing. "The Death Eaters are here!" As if to confirm her words, two masked figures were clearly visible through the broken window. One swept the spectators a mocking bow while the other one simply waved cheerily and smiled before they hurried away. This was all the excuse the restaurant's patrons needed; there was instant pandemonium as everyone struggled toward the exits simultaneously.
"Why are they leaving?" Alice asked as she watched the two Death Eaters go warily.
"Muggles," Lily exclaimed suddenly, jumping up. "They're not attacking the restaurant, they're terrorizing the Muggles in this neighborhood." Face pale, she started determinedly toward the mob by the nearest door.
"Lily! Wait!" James cried after her, panicking a bit at the thought of losing Lily in this crowd with Death Eaters about. "I'm coming with you."
"And so are we," Alice added determinedly, and Frank nodded his agreement. Together, wands drawn, the four of them set out to do what they could to thwart the Death Eaters' attack.
I was wrong, James thought grimly as he pushed his way through the queue and felt the ring heavy in his pocket. Six years of trying to persuade Lily to go out with me hasn't got anything on this.
Having made their way outside, Frank, Alice, Lily, and James sprinted toward the source of the screams.
Yes, James reflected sadly, proposing was turning out to be loads more difficult than he'd planned on.
Author's Note:
Sorry to be so late with the update this week; sometimes, unfortunately, other things have to take precedence over fanfiction, much as I might wish they didn't.
On a happier note, Priori Incantatem has been nominated for a Twisted Colours Fan Fiction Award. There's a link to the site on my author page; it doesn't appear to be the sort of award where you vote, but you can become a judge or nominate something else. I'm really excited to be nominated; thank you to whoever nominated me! I'm flattered. =)
As always, thank you to everyone who reviewed; I have the best readers ever. Hope you enjoy the chapter, and as always, I'd love to hear what you thought.
The former Gryffindor seventh years scattered somewhat for the approximate month until they received their NEWT results. Remus returned to Ireland with Kathleen so that he could meet her family, Frank and Alice went on holiday to Italy for ten days and were planning to visit Frank's family in Lancashire when they returned. Dorcas went home to her family in Dorset, and Peter went on holiday to Bath with his mum like they did every year. Morwenna, Sirius, James, and Lily returned to their respective homes in London. Since receiving his unexpected inheritance, Sirius could now afford a flat in London and was in the process of looking for one and nearly always insisted that James accompany him. Since James refused to be separated from Lily for long, she often came too, as did Morwenna, who spent a good bit of time on her own while her granny was busy at the Ministry.
Mr. and Mrs. Evans were clearly delighted to have Lily home again and had surprised her with a new car in honour of her leaving Hogwarts. Lily passed her driving exam a week or so into the holiday and insisted upon driving her new car everywhere. James and Sirius were initially very skeptical about riding in a Muggle car that had no spells on it whatsoever and was driven by Lily as opposed to a Ministry chauffeur, which was the only sort of car they'd encountered up 'til this point. But soon James and Sirius were completely obsessed with cars and driving to the point of reading Muggle car magazines, begging Lily for driving lessons, and devouring such wizard titles as: So You'd Like to Get Around the Muggle Way: Muggle Travel with a Wizarding Twist, Your Muggle Car and You, and 101 Simple Spells for Your Automobile. Sirius even began shopping round for a motorcycle.
Finally Sirius found a flat in Diagon Alley about two weeks into the holiday. He was jubilant and immediately began making plans for when he and James would move in and made it the coolest bachelor flat ever seen by wizardkind.
Lily and her parents went on holiday to France at the end of the week and James and Sirius went to the Potters' country estate. James moped about the house for the first few days 'til Sirius had enough and walloped James with his broomstick. Naturally, a fistfight ensued, and finally James and Sirius emerged, Sirius grinning in spite of his split lip and bloody nose. At least James was back now.
"We're going to have to look into some Unbreakable Charms for the furniture in our flat," Sirius said as he and James righted the table they'd knocked over during the course of their disagreement. "Maybe Lily can help us out with that."
James grunted but made no real reply, his face carefully neutral. Sirius eyed his best mate closely.
"All right," he sighed finally. "Out with it, then."
James fidgeted, running his hands through his hair, before taking a deep breath. "Ahmmmmph," he said, covering his mouth with his hand.
"Wha'?" Sirius cocked his head.
"I said I can't come live with you," James repeated uncomfortably.
"Oh," Sirius replied, fighting for nonchalance. "Well, that's all right, really it is."
"It's not that I don't want to live with you," James explained earnestly. "It's just – well – I'm hoping to live with Lily."
"That might be good," Sirius said kindly, though it was clear he was disappointed. "If you're both really lucky, maybe that sister of hers – what's her name? Begonia? – will disown Lily entirely for living in sin with a wizard." Sirius grinned, but it lacked something somehow. "Have the pair of you found a place yet?"
"Lily doesn't know anything about it yet," James gulped, took a deep breath, and blurted: "I'm going to ask Lily to marry me."
Sirius didn't say a word, he simply fumbled for the chair behind him and sat in it abruptly. "M-Marriage?" Sirius stumbled over the foreign word. "You W-WANT to get M-MARRIED? What brought THIS on? Wait a minute – Lily isn't sprogged up, is she?"
"No!" James exclaimed, glaring.
"Then why?" Sirius was still having trouble grasping such a notion. "I mean, this is so – sudden. We've got our entire lives, why in Merlin's name would you want to get married now?"
"I've been in love with Lily since I was eleven years old, Sirius," James snapped. "Explain to me how this is sudden."
"How can you be so sure that this is the right thing to do?" Sirius pressed the matter.
James sighed and sank into a chair before beginning. "When I was trying to decide between playing Quidditch and being an Auror, I ran into Dumbledore. I asked him what he thought I ought to do, and he said that all anyone could do was choose something that mattered to them and see what happened. So I went back to the dormitory and was lying in bed thinking about everything, about Voldemort and the attacks, and Lily and you and my parents. A lot of wizards lead short lives with everything the way it is now, and I was trying to decide what would make me happiest just in case my life does happen to be a short one. And the first thing that came to my mind was Lily. She's what matters most to me and I want to spend my life with her, however long or short that ends up being."
A long and awkward pause followed James' speech. James stared at his shoes, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. If even Sirius couldn't support him, he didn't care to consider what his parents might say.
"When are you going to ask her?" Sirius asked finally.
"After I get my results," James said a bit defiantly. "I reckon I should have a job at least before I ask her."
Sirius snorted at this but was otherwise silent for another few moments.
"What're you going to say?" Sirius asked, grinning. Relieved, James grinned back, dumb with relief until Sirius repeated his question.
"Oh," James paused thoughtfully. "I have no idea," he admitted in a small voice. At this Sirius got to his feet and pulled James up as well.
"Don't worry about it, mate," Sirius said cheerfully, putting a comforting arm round James and steering him out of the room. "We've got loads of time to work on it."
It was now the middle of July and the former seventh years began to watch anxiously for any sign of owl post. Nearly all of the former Gryffindors had returned from their holidays now in preparation for the job hunt that would take place after the NEWT results arrived.
James was doubly anxious, both for his NEWT results and Lily's return from France. He and Sirius had returned to the Potters' London house and were still working on his proposal speech, Currently, they were on draft # 23, but James still wasn't satisfied.
He woke up early on the morning of the 16th, rather ridiculously excited for Lily's return later that day. James bounded down to the kitchen and narrowly avoided being dive-bombed by a brown owl delivering two envelopes. Recognizing the crests, James snatched the letters from the table.
"Oy! Sirius!" James bellowed with blatant disregard for anyone who might be sleeping. "NEWTs are here!" He waited impatiently until a bleary- eyed Sirius stumbled down the stairs, Mr. and Mrs. Potter on his heels.
"Go on then, boys!" Mrs. Potter urged. Needing no further encouragement, James and Sirius tore simultaneously into their letters, read silently, and swapped over to compare before handing the parchment to Mr. and Mrs. Potter, both wearing identical smug grins.
Their NEWT results were extremely similar, and, more to the point, extremely good; they'd be able to become Aurors.
Mr. and Mrs. Potter were almost as excited as they were, Mr. Potter clapping the boys on the back and pumping their hands, Mrs. Potter kissing their cheeks, both exclaiming their congratulations all the while. Mrs. Potter than made an enormous celebratory breakfast, and James and Sirius sat round in the kitchen basking in the adulation until it was time for James to go and meet Lily.
James waited on the Evanses' front walk for only a few minutes before their car pulled up and Lily jumped out and hurried toward James. As eager to see Lily as she was to see him, James met her more than halfway and pulled her into an enthusiastic embrace.
Lily looked wonderful; her fair skin was slightly brown from her holiday and her hair was as gloriously red as ever. More importantly than that, Lily appeared more relaxed and happy than James had ever seen her at home; clearly Petunia's absence agreed with her.
Mr. and Mrs. Evans tactfully left them alone after the first half- hour or so, giving Lily and James the much desired chance to catch up. Lily's NEWT results hadn't arrived yet, but she admired James' and listened to him enthuse over them, rolling her eyes only when his ego became overinflated to an unbearable level. Finally, James rose reluctantly to go, having promised his mum that he'd be home for the dinner party his parents were throwing that night. Lily walked him to the door, and after a good fifteen minutes of good-byes, James finally Disapparated.
After watching him go, Lily closed the door behind James and leaned against the wall, a rather bemused grin on her face. This didn't last long, however; the door had barely closed behind James when a large tawny brown owl swooped in through the open window and dropped two envelopes into Lily's hand before perching attentively on the windowsill. Lily flipped the letters over; one had been stamped with the Hogwarts crest. Clearly this contained her NEWT results, but the other bore the Ministry seal. Lily quickly tore into the Hogwarts letter, sighed in relief, and smiled widely. She'd done better than she'd expected to in Astronomy, and she'd received an Outstanding in Charms; her results were more than adequate to apply for the Committee on Experimental Charms. Lily then turned to her Ministry letter more slowly.
"Dear Miss Evans," the letter read.
It has come to my attention that you have performed exceptionally well on your NEWT level exams in general and on the Charms exam in particular. Congratulations on these achievements.
"Therefore, I would like to meet with you to discuss a Charms-related career path. If you would be amenable to that discussion, please send a reply with the owl that delivered this letter. I look forward to meeting you.
"Sincerely,
"Caradoc Dearborn"
Lily glanced over the letter again, considering. It was all rather cryptic, and Merlin knew that it wasn't safe to meet strangers anymore. Still, Lily's curiosity got the better of her and she penned a reply for the owl to take. The owl was off like a shot and returned within the hour carrying another letter, this one naming a specific place and time, the statue on the Atrium level of the Ministry at one o'clock on Monday afternoon.
James, Sirius, Frank, Alice, Dorcas, and Remus, all of whom had received sufficient NEWTs to qualify, were taking Auror entrance exams all day on Monday and had arranged to meet Lily, Morwenna, Kathleen, and Peter at the Leaky Cauldron later. So Lily Flooed into the Ministry for her appointment alone, landing in a dusty heap inside one of the fireplaces.
Coughing and sputtering, Lily didn't notice that anyone was there until a voice said "Miss Evans?" and a hand stretched out to help her up. Still coughing, Lily looked up to find a rather elderly wizard smiling down at her with no little curiosity. She accepted his hand up and stepped from the fireplace. "I'm Caradoc Dearborn," the wizard continued as he ushered her toward the gate where the watchwizard waved them through with a "Good afternoon, Mr. Dearborn."
"So – er – you wanted to speak with me?" Lily ventured at last.
"All in good time," Dearborn replied cryptically. He led the way down the corridor past the lifts and into what appeared to be a small office. Dearborn flicked his wand at the door and muttered an incantation Lily didn't catch under his breath.
"I'm sure you are wondering why all of this – ambiguity – is necessary," Dearborn said knowingly as soon as they were settled.
"Yeah, a bit," Lily admitted.
Dearborn chuckled. "Well, as I mentioned in my letter, I was quite impressed with your NEWT results, particularly your Charms marks. Or more accurately, the examiners who witnessed your exam were impressed enough to bring you to my attention. In fact, they all agreed that in their very long careers – more than one hundred in one case – they'd seen perhaps two wizards whose abilities in Charms equaled yours: Professor Flitwick and Professor Dumbledore. After hearing this, I arranged to see your results, which were every bit as good as the examiners had speculated they would be. Then I spoke with Professor Dumbledore – he's an old friend – and he assured me that you do indeed possess the necessary temperament as well as the skills."
"The temperament and skills for WHAT, exactly?" Lily cut in, highly uncomfortable. The way Dearborn spoke so casually of arranging to see her test results before she herself did and examiners reporting back to him about her was beginning to make her rather suspicious.
"Why, the personality to be an Unspeakable," Dearborn replied mildly as though they were discussing some utterly mundane and non-classified subject. "I am the head of the Department of Mysteries, and we are in dire need of someone of your talents."
"To do what?" Lily eyed Dearborn warily.
"Let me explain," Dearborn waved off Lily's hostility, which, when she thought about it, she supposed he must encounter rather regularly in his line of work. "A team of witches and wizards within the department have been working for some time on various charms to be used in the fight against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. For reasons of secrecy, I can't tell you any more than that. But I know a good deal about you, Lily Evans, besides your NEWT results. You've had some experience with Voldemort and with the Death Eaters yourself, even with the Cruciatus Curse. No one needs to tell you how dangerous and utterly without conscience they are, nor do I need to tell you how powerful that makes them. We need people like you: brilliant at Charms, proficient in Defense Against the Dark Arts with a bit of practical experience in that area as well, and motivated to take part in the fight against Voldemort and his followers," Dearborn paused abruptly. "You may of course walk out of this office right now and never hear from me again," he continued on a different note. "Working for the Department of Mysteries is difficult; we have many secrets to keep. We can't afford to take on anyone who doesn't truly want to be there. You may take some time to consider this proposition, of you like, and contact me at a later date."
Lily sat back in her chair, head whirling with everything that had just been said. She fixed Caradoc Dearborn with an assessing gaze. He had called Voldemort by his name, not the ridiculous You Know Who so many wizards used with increasing frequency. She couldn't exactly say why, but somehow Lily trusted him. And the work he'd described; it sounded as though she was being presented with a chance to make a real difference in the ongoing fight against Voldemort, a chance to protect people like James and her parents and friends doing what she was best at.
"I don't need more time to consider," Lily announced finally. She offered Dearborn a brilliant smile. "When do I start?"
Lily ducked into the Leaky Cauldron a few minutes after five, breathless after hurrying out of the Ministry. She'd spent the rest of the afternoon filling out endless forms, most of which repeated the words "secrecy," "discretion," and "classified material" over and over again. Silly though it was, Lily had almost expected some sort of initiation involving blood oaths and secret handshakes. Instead, a perfectly ordinary- looking witch gave her the forms and a quill and left her to herself to read and sign them before taking her back to Dearborn's office so that he could sign them and explain such mundane things as lunch hours and pension plans. Apparently being an Unspeakable wasn't going to be as glamorous as she'd initially thought.
Still, Lily was excited. The salary was quite good (apparently the Ministry didn't expect secrecy, discretion, and classified materials to come cheap) and the work sounded fascinating. The part that really concerned her was explaining her new career path to her parents and boyfriend.
Late though Lily was, said boyfriend had still not arrived, nor had any of the others sitting for the preliminary Auror exams. Puzzled, Lily made her way over to Morwenna, Kathleen, and Peter, who'd secured a large table in a corner of the pub. By the time they'd exchanged greetings and preliminary questions about the holiday, the pub door had been thrown wide to admit James, Sirius, Remus, and Dorcas.
The foursome staggered in, all of them wearing glazed expressions that had traditionally been reserved only for History of Magic exams.
"That bad, was it?" Morwenna asked, wincing sympathetically as they fell into chairs. Dorcas managed a nod.
"Well, I'm sure you lot did brilliantly anyway," Kathleen comforted her friends as she kissed them all on the cheek with the exception of Remus, who received a much more enthusiastic greeting as he slumped into the seat next to hers.
"What happened to Frank and Alice?" Lily asked, glancing round.
"They said they had something to take care of," James replied. Inspired by Remus and Kathleen, he mustered up the energy to give Lily an equally enthusiastic greeting before slumping exhaustedly in his chair.
Before anyone could speculate about this any further, the door opened yet again to reveal Frank and Alice.
"Sorry we're late," Alice said as they sat down.
"Everything all right?" Morwenna asked, eyeing them narrowly.
"Just a bit of paperwork," Alice shrugged.
"I've never seen anyone look that happy about paperwork," Peter observed.
"What sort of paperwork was it?" Kathleen asked curiously.
"Well," Alice glanced at Frank, who nodded slightly. "We had to hand in a copy of our marriage certificate. Frank and I got married!"
"WHAT?!" Morwennna and Kathleen shrieked simultaneously. In answer, Alice brandished her left hand with a flourish, displaying a shiny ring. The table erupted with noise as everyone began asking questions at once.
Eventually the story came out; they had done it in Italy, Frank and Alice explained, while they were staying at Alice's cousin's summer home in Venice. "The time just felt right," Alice summed up succinctly. They'd planned to get married someday, this way they'd been able to be married with no fuss from either of their families.
"And how are they taking the news?" Morwenna wanted to know. She, James, Sirius, and Lily all winced at the thought of announcing such news to Mrs. Longbottom.
"My brothers are getting used to the idea," Alice replied. "And Frank's family – well –"
"My dad's happy for us," Frank interjected, "and my mum – er – she's getting used to the idea too," he finished lamely. "But she's throwing us a reception next month," he hastened to add. "Everyone's invited, of course." Lily, Dorcas, Morwenna, Remus, Kathleen, and Peter readily agreed, and James and Sirius, after an elbow in the ribs and a filthy look respectively from Lily, agreed as well.
"It's so romantic," Kathleen sighed, leaning back against Remus. "Why don't we elope in Italy?"
"Because we don't have any money," Remus pointed out practically. Kathleen scowled, but before she could say anything, Alice broke in.
"At least the pair of you have a flat," she pointed out. "That's more than Frank and I have. We're staying with my brothers 'til we find a place."
"Which will be soon. REALLY soon," Frank muttered grimly.
"It's not that bad," Alice snapped back. "It's a good bit better than staying with your parents; your mother has got the most grating – "
"Er, you and Kathleen are getting a flat together, Remus?" James interjected hastily before they were all caught in the middle of a marital spat. Truth be told, he felt a bit crestfallen that he wasn't the only one thinking about long-term commitment. In fact, it looked as though he'd have to join the queue.
"You too, Moony?" Sirius was plainly unnerved by all of the committing that was occurring before his very eyes.
"You didn't tell us that," Peter pointed out.
"Well, we just decided," Remus muttered. He flushed a bit but was undeniably happy. He and Kathleen exchanged a glance that caused Sirius to turn away in disgust, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "nauseating" under his breath. He also refrained from touching anyone for the rest of the night, as though fidelity might be catching.
The rest of dinner was spent catching up with everyone's doings over the holiday, more talk of Frank and Alice's wedding and its aftermath, and a description of Remus' meeting with Kathleen's mum, dad, and younger brother and sister (absolute monsters, Remus called them later in private).
As there was so much news that Lily considered to be more important, she decided not to announce her new job to everyone tonight. However, when conversation turned in that direction, she inadvertently blurted it out.
Everyone who'd taken the Auror exams that day spent a good bit of time discussing how difficult they'd been, and Peter, whose NEWTs hadn't been quite good enough to qualify, sulked a bit at this, not looking forward to having to find some other sort of job. Kathleen was looking for work too, and Morwenna was taking some time off to decide what sort of job she wanted to get.
"What about you, Lils?" Dorcas wanted to know. "Have you heard from the Charms committee?"
"No, but I did accept a job offer today." The words just tumbled out of Lily's mouth.
"Really?" James grinned at Lily, taken aback. "Congratulations! What're you going to be doing?"
Might as well finish it, Lily told herself grimly. "I'm going to be working in the Department of Mysteries," she replied.
"WHAT?!" James spat out his drink. "But that's dangerous!"
"This from the person who's planning to become an Auror," Lily shot back. Everyone else at the table was regarding the tabletop quite studiously.
This exchange quickly deteriorated into a somewhat heated argument that finally ended, with Remus and Sirius' help, in an agreement to disagree about career choices.
Despite Lily's announcement, which had cast a decided damper over James' mood, the party continued late into the night. Nobody wanted to go, now that they were out of Hogwarts, they were all well aware that this could be one of the last times they all gathered together like this
James, Sirius, Remus, Dorcas, Alice, and Frank all received the results from their preliminary Auror exams on Wednesday, and all of them, with the exception of Remus, were offered positions and told to report for training on Monday.
Through his dad, James knew that the Ministry was desperate for new Aurors; ever since Crouch's decision to authorize Aurors to use the Unforgivable Curses two years ago, more and more Aurors were being killed in their battles with the Death Eaters. In the past, the Ministry had been so selective about taking on Aurors that it wasn't unusual for a year to go by without them accepting any, but now they took on as many people as possible who had the NEWT marks and could pass the exams. Also, to accommodate the need for new Aurors, Crouch had cut Auror training from three years down to a mere year and a half. The Ministry was losing its fight with Voldemort and his followers, this was the desperate but undeniable truth.
Therefore, the only reason that the Ministry had refused to take on Remus, who had the marks and intelligence to make it as an Auror under normal circumstances, was because of anti-werewolf prejudice. He had to know that this was the reason, everyone did, but James never heard Remus complain. He was nothing but happy for his mates and went about looking for another job very matter of factly. But James was sure that it had to be making him sick on the inside.
Now that he had a job officially, James had decided that the time was ripe to make his move and propose. He and Sirius had gone ring shopping, and after hours of looking, he'd finally found the perfect one. It wasn't as enormous and splashy as James would've liked, but somehow he knew that Lily wouldn't want a ring that was too ostentatious. He still wasn't quite satisfied with his speech, but he asked Lily to go to dinner with him on Saturday anyway, figuring that he had the entire rest of the week to work on it.
And work on it was just about all he did. James saw Lily only twice between Wednesday and Saturday, a new personal low for them, so he could devote more time to rehearsing the speech, deciding what he would wear, polishing the ring, and obsessing over the whole night in general. Sirius was fairly certain that he was going mad, and offered to propose to Lily for him if he'd only shut up about it. However, after witnessing his friend's sorry state, Sirius relented and put up with James' obsessing, relieved beyond measure that he now had his own flat to escape from James in.
Finally, Saturday arrived. James spent much of the day reading over and over the final draft of the speech, even though he'd long ago committed it to memory. Round four o'clock Sirius Apparated over t offer moral support. Remus and Peter, whom James had been forced to let in on the secret after they'd caught him practicing his proposing skills on Sirius, were close behind him, and the four Marauders spent the next four hours coaching, helping, and advising James. Confidence bolstered considerably through his mates' efforts, James Disapparated with a pop for Lily's house at ten to eight, ring stowed safely in his pocket.
Unaware of the significance of the night herself, Lily's Saturday had been much more relaxed. She, Alice, Kathleen, Morwenna, and Dorcas had gone shopping to find something for Alice to wear to her new mother-in-law's reception. Because it was Mrs. Longbottom, it went without saying that the outfit needed to be perfect.
Lily was ready in good time, so when she heard the telltale popping noise outside and the knock on the door, Lily dashed downstairs to open the door herself. "Hi," she greeted, giving James a rather restrained kiss as she wasn't quite sure if anyone was watching them.
"Hi," James replied bemusedly. He looked slightly dazzled for some reason Lily couldn't fathom, and they stood in a rather awkward silence for a moment. "These are for you," James said at last, holding out an enormous bouquet of red roses.
"My favorite," Lily said, offering James a blinding smile that made his stomach wrench. "They're perfect; thank you."
It was exactly the right thing to say; after hearing the word "perfect," James felt distinctly better.
"But of course," he smirked with false arrogance, just to have the pleasure of watching Lily roll her eyes at him. However, she excused herself to store the flowers and say good night to her parents without further comment.
As soon as she left, James took the opportunity to try and get a grip on himself. "Right then, Potter," he muttered, looking in the glass, "if you can survive an encounter with Voldemort, pass an Auror exam, and enchant two thousand Cornish game hens to duel with Hogwarts' student body, you can do a little thing like propose. After all," he told his reflection philosophically, "it can't be any harder than it was to convince her to go out with you."
"Who are you talking to?" James yelped in surprise when he heard Lily's question.
"Just – er – myself," he said in what he hoped was a nonchalant tone. "Let's go, shall we? We don't want to be late." Lily eyed him suspiciously but elected not to comment.
James had elected, after much thought, to take Lily to Camelot, a posh wizarding restaurant in an affluent Muggle neighborhood only a short distance from the Evanses' house. Muggle area or not, Camelot was one of the most popular places for the affluent in the wizarding world to go. When Lily saw where James had taken her she raised her brows higher still but again kept silent.
Finally, they were settled at a secluded corner table, the nearby wall sconces and hovering candles casting dim but flattering light onto their table. In the early stages of his planning, James had thought to wait 'til after dinner to pop the question, but as the time drew nearer, James knew that he wouldn't be able to wait that long. He gulped; this was it. He, James Potter, was about to propose to Lily Evans.
"Lily?" James' voice came out as a whisper. He cleared his throat again.
"Yeah?" Lily glanced up. "Are you all right? You look – "
"Yes, yes, I'm fine," James waved away her concern. "Lily, I – that is – there's something I want to – "
"James! Lily!" Cursing under his breath, James turned to see Frank and Alice coming toward them.
"Hi!" Alice said warmly, kissing each of them on the cheek. "Are you out celebrating your new jobs too?"
"Yes," Lily answered before James could think of some way to signal to Frank and Alice to go away.
"Have you been here before?" Frank asked. The waiter had pulled up chairs for Frank and Alice now, and James would have dearly loved to tear off his head and force-feed it to him, then do the same to Frank and Alice in turn.
The other three talked easily, apparently unaware of James' silence as he tried frantically to think of a way to get them to leave. He had just decided to go and ask the maitre d' to tell Frank and Alice that they had an urgent message when an unusual noise that sounded very much like screaming coming from outside attracted his attention.
"Where is that coming from?" Alice asked. Many of the other diners were glancing about nervously as well. Ignoring good manners for the moment, James strode over to the window and peered outside, Lily, Frank, and Alice following in his wake.
"I can't see – "James began, but he never finished that particular sentence, because just then the windows on the other side of the restaurant broke with a resounding crash, scattering bits of glass over everyone.
"Death Eaters!" a hysterical middle aged witch shrieked, pointing. "The Death Eaters are here!" As if to confirm her words, two masked figures were clearly visible through the broken window. One swept the spectators a mocking bow while the other one simply waved cheerily and smiled before they hurried away. This was all the excuse the restaurant's patrons needed; there was instant pandemonium as everyone struggled toward the exits simultaneously.
"Why are they leaving?" Alice asked as she watched the two Death Eaters go warily.
"Muggles," Lily exclaimed suddenly, jumping up. "They're not attacking the restaurant, they're terrorizing the Muggles in this neighborhood." Face pale, she started determinedly toward the mob by the nearest door.
"Lily! Wait!" James cried after her, panicking a bit at the thought of losing Lily in this crowd with Death Eaters about. "I'm coming with you."
"And so are we," Alice added determinedly, and Frank nodded his agreement. Together, wands drawn, the four of them set out to do what they could to thwart the Death Eaters' attack.
I was wrong, James thought grimly as he pushed his way through the queue and felt the ring heavy in his pocket. Six years of trying to persuade Lily to go out with me hasn't got anything on this.
Having made their way outside, Frank, Alice, Lily, and James sprinted toward the source of the screams.
Yes, James reflected sadly, proposing was turning out to be loads more difficult than he'd planned on.
Author's Note:
Sorry to be so late with the update this week; sometimes, unfortunately, other things have to take precedence over fanfiction, much as I might wish they didn't.
On a happier note, Priori Incantatem has been nominated for a Twisted Colours Fan Fiction Award. There's a link to the site on my author page; it doesn't appear to be the sort of award where you vote, but you can become a judge or nominate something else. I'm really excited to be nominated; thank you to whoever nominated me! I'm flattered. =)
As always, thank you to everyone who reviewed; I have the best readers ever. Hope you enjoy the chapter, and as always, I'd love to hear what you thought.