Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.

A/N: Last chapter of this fic. I'd really appreciate any feedback you can give me. Also, I'd really appreciate if everyone would check out The Crime of Count Morano, the prequel to this and The Essence of Terror.

"What we are losing, ever seems to us the most precious." – Matthew Lewis, The Monk

As James and Morano started to talk, Lily tried to think of what she could do to prevent anything from happening to James. Her eyes landed on the letter opener she had set on the bottom shelf of the end table next to the couch. If she could just reach it with her foot . . .

After much stretching and struggling, she managed to knock the dull knife onto the floor and bring it towards her. She scooted around as much as she could, for her bindings restricted movement, and, little by little, brought the letter opener to her hands, and she began to saw at the ropes desperately. The process was made even more difficult due to her sweaty palms. She could not let James die, especially not if he thought her responsible.

Finally, as she heard herself declare that she wanted to go to Azkaban, she succeeded in cutting through the ropes that bound her. Quietly, she removed her gag and analyzed the situation. Morano thought she would not be able to move. She had to use this to her advantage.

She quickly and quietly rose to her feet. With the aid of the soft carpet, she sneaked towards the pair.

She watched in horror as her image cocked the gun pointed at James. As James proclaimed, "You're not Lily," she took her chance and rushed at Morano.

James watched in astonishment as some invisible being tackled Lily to the ground, kicking the gun as far away as possible. As the real Lily yanked off the Invisibility Cloak, James began to understand what may have happened. He now remembered where he had seen that glint of gold before. He rushed to Lily and pulled her into a tight embrace.

As they clung to each other, Lily started to cry, repeating, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, now" he reassured her.

A groan from the floor brought the pair back to reality. The figure on the floor began to twitch and resume the form of a tall, slightly emaciated man. James quickly approached Morano and punched him, rendering him unconscious. Lily grabbed their wands from the counter and stunned and bound the man lying on her living room floor.

That done, James went to the fireplace, threw in some Floo powder, and stuck his head in, calling for the Auror department of the Ministry.

A mass of Aurors arrived immediately and were stunned at the sight of a man they believed to have been dead for nearly a year. They vowed that this mistake would not happen again. Morano was to be sent directly to Azkaban without a trial.

Later that night, sitting on the coach in Lily's flat, James decided to go ahead and do what he had intended to do that evening. He pretended to drop something on the floor, and got down on the floor to look for it. Lily started to stand up to help him when he grabbed her left hand, which had a few scratches from the letter opener, and asked her to marry him, presenting her with a beautiful ring with emeralds surrounding a large central diamond.

Lily laughed happily. "Of course, I will marry you." She paused and blushed for a second. "I was actually going to ask you the same thing. I even asked Sirius for moral support."

"When did you ask him?"

"About a month ago."

"No wonder he laughed at me. I asked him to come with me to pick out the ring a couple of weeks ago, and the whole time he seemed to be laughing at some private joke."

Lily looked at her new fiancé and burst into laughter. "You know, I think we should get married next Halloween. After all, it's a great day for significant, life-changing events."

FIN.