Chapter 14

Threats and Proposals

With the ball over, the fifth and seventh year students found themselves in the final stretch before exams. Stress levels led to breakdowns and blowups, with several episodes of hexes flying in the corridors between classes. Lily, though, managed her stress fairly well, but the last thing she wanted was more added to it.

The usual flutter of wings announced the arrival of the mail during Thursday's breakfast. Several students looked up, hoping for a delivery, while others seemed quite surprised to find they had letters.

Lily rewarded the owl that landed in front of her with a bit of toast as she removed the parchment from around its leg. She hadn't been expecting anything, but she didn't mind surprises. Breaking the plain wax seal holding shut the folded parchment, she gaped at the single sentence contained. Her breath caught in her throat and she felt much the same way she had when McGonagall had told her about her parents' deaths. Her body felt suddenly cold and her hands shook, the letter fluttering back to the table.

James, noticing the sudden change in her body language, bent closer to read what had upset her. 'Prepare to die, Mudblood,' stood out against the tan of the parchment. It was signed, not with a name, but with a symbol: Voldemort's dark mark.

James jumped to his feet, fist crushing the note. For a second Lily thought he was going to hex Snape, who had called her 'mudblood' on several occasions. Instead, he walked briskly to the front of the Great Hall, placing the crumpled note in front of Dumbledore, who sat peeling a soft boiled egg. Lily looked down the Gryffindor table and saw two Muggle-born first years crying. Similarly shell shocked students stared at each other at the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables.

Dumbledore's chair scraped against the stone floor as he stood, his egg forgotten."May I please see, with a show of hands, how many students received this disturbing letter this morning?" He threw the crumpled parchment into the air, where it instantly enlarged so the entire Great Hall could read the words. Amid many shocked gasps, two dozen shaky hands reached into the air. "Prefects, please take all members of your houses back to your common rooms. Do not leave until your head of house gives you permission. I'd like to see all staff members in my office, now."

The packed Gryffindor common room rang with voices as the students waited for word from Professor McGonagall. It took fifteen minutes for Lily to convince a sobbing, terrified first year that she would not be murdered the moment she stepped outside the common room. Lily eventually left the girl in the care of friends, and joined James, Sirius, Peter, Remus, and Anne, who mulled about angrily in the corner next to the fireplace. All throughout the common room, agitated students paced, many with wands out and at the ready. Lily hadn't loosed her grip on her wand since leaving the Great Hall.

"Bastards," Sirius spat. He hadn't said much else since leaving the Great Hall.

Lily agreed with his assessment. "I wouldn't care so much if it was just me they targeted, but to send death threats to eleven-year-olds, I could just…." The anger prevented her from forming any more words, as a few dark sparks spouted from the end of her wand.

"Bastards," Sirius muttered again.

"We know, Sirius," James shouted in frustration, slamming his fist down on top of the fireplace mantle. He was not taking the threat on Lily's life very well, wanting nothing more than to hex someone just so he would feel better.

"Why would Voldemort do this?" Anne questioned. "Surely the Daily Prophet will get wind of this, and once word gets out, it will serve just to make people dislike him even more."

"He could care less whether people like him," Remus responded grimly. "This is about fear." He waved an arm toward the common room. "See how well it worked? He's managed to make us feel vulnerable in one of the safest places in Britain. And the out cry from the rest of the wizarding world won't be as strong as we'd like. A fairly sizable percentage of the population believes Voldemort will not bother them as long as they keep their noses clean. Fear will keep them silent, even if they feel outraged. Too many people just hope Voldemort will go away without them having to do anything about it. And the others, well, there is still too much prejudice placed on blood purity."

When Professor McGonagall finally entered, the common room fell instantly quiet. Her mouth set in a grim line, but her face softened slightly when she glimpsed the tear stained faces of several students. "First, I want to remind everyone that, at the moment, there is no safer place for you than Hogwarts. Every Muggle-born student in the school received this letter, leading us to believe this was more of a scare tactic than an actual threat. However, the staff has agreed that we can not take any risks, thus all further Hogsmeade trips have been canceled. In addition, until the Ministry of Magic supplies us with extra external protection, the grounds will be off limits, this includes Quidditch. All Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology classes will be guided to and from the school by a staff member. If you receive any more threatening letters or feel threatened by any other students, please come see me immediately. Now, please prepare for your second period classes."

In usual Hogwarts fashion, the school could talk of nothing more than the threats for the first half of the day. Professors, already irritable about the threats, became even more irate as students kept whispering and passing notes in class. Gyffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff students took it upon themselves to ensure no harm befell their Muggle-born peers, huddling close to them while walking between classes, the Great Hall, and their common rooms. Even Lily had her own little guard, made up of her fellow seventh years. Slytherin house, recognizing a volatile situation, kept to themselves for most of the day, and held back their usual insults. This was unfortunate for James, who itched for Snape to utter one wrong word so he had a reason to try an Incontinence Jinx he'd recently discovered.

However, by the end of the day, life at Hogwarts slowly returning to normal. Enough time had passed between breakfast and dinner that a couple sixth year Gryffindors felt it was safe for them to complain about the cancellation of Hogsmeade visits. "I don't know why they can't just tell the Muggle-borns to stay here and let the rest of us go, it isn't as if they'd attack us, we're purebloods." However, they discovered very quickly that such comments were still out of line, as James finally got to try out his new spell.

That evening James pulled Lily aside in the common room. He settled her into a chair as far from most of the other occupants of Gryffindor tower as possible. "Have you thought any more about moving in with me?"

Lily noted that this time he didn't dance around the term as he had when he had first introduced her to the idea. She had thought about it, spending many nights mulling it over in her head. "James, it isn't that I don't want to move in with you, but…"

He opened his mouth to interrupt, but she placed a hand over his lips.

"…but I need to feel like I'm independent, an adult."

"You are an adult," James interrupted, pulling her hand off his mouth. "It's very adult to move in with someone."

"I don't mean it like that. I need to have a job, pay my own bills and live in my own place. I know I am technically an adult, but Hogwarts still coddles me. I mean, the house elves cook, clean, and even do my laundry. If I move in with you James, it's just going to continue." She once more covered his mouth with her hand. "You're going to say I can be plenty independent living with you. But are you going to let me pay the bills? Split the cost of living? It's going to feel like you are taking care of me."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Because I think relationships should be equal. We should take care of each other, not just one way."

"Then that's a no, you won't move in with me?" The sheer disappointment on his face nearly broke Lily's heart.

"Not right after school, but that doesn't mean never," she soothed, placing a hand gently on the side of his face. His clenched jaw radiated tension through his face.

"What if I moved in with you?" he asked desperately. "We would share all the expenses, I swear. Would you agree to that?"

"James, you have a perfectly good house…"

"Would you agree to that?"

Lily sighed. "James, this is about what happened this morning, isn't it?"

"I liked the idea of living with you before," James replied, "for my own selfish reasons. But after today, I don't want you living alone for your safety. I can't take that risk. If someone were to take you away from me.."

"James," reasoned Lily calmly, "even if I hadn't gotten that letter this morning, I will be targeted for helping Dumbledore. We both know the risks we are taking in openly fighting the Dark Lord. If Voldemort wants me dead, he'll send death eaters after me even if I am living with you. If they are strong enough to get past my wards and protection charms, they're likely powerful enough to kill us both."

"But I'd be there!"

"To do what, James, heroically hold them off while I escape? I don't run from dark wizards. Life wouldn't be worth living if it meant sacrificing you."

"Lily, my love, I feel the same way. Can't you understand then why I want to always be near to you? Is there nothing that can change your mind? What if...what if we got married?"

Lily froze, feeling as if she had been hit with a full body bind. "My god, you're serious about that," she finally responded, "aren't you?"

He nodded and her brain finally started functioning again. Marriage? They were too young. They hadn't been dating nearly long why did the idea give her a thrill she had never known?

"So?" James coaxed.

She blinked at him, almost ready to say 'so what?' before she caught herself. He wanted an answer? Now?

"Lily?" The wrenching sadness in James' voice tore at Lily's heart. He wouldn't meet her gaze, as if he already knew she would say no.

Lily finally found her voice. She lifted his chin, forcing him to meet her eyes. Then, with a cheeky smile, bought herself some more time to think. "James, Potter, don't think you're getting away with proposing like that. No ring, no down on one knee, no 'you would make me the happiest man alive if..." I want the Prince Charming proposal, and only then will you get my answer." She kissed him, but slipped out of the chair before he could say anything in reply.

It was only later, after she had escaped to the girls' dormitory, that she realized she had essentially accepted his proposal with that little spiel. There was no way she could say no if he actually went through with it. For some odd reason, however, she found that didn't bother her. James Potter wanted to marry her. The idea made her so giddy an obnoxiously large grin graced her face every time she thought about it, which was so often Anne began questioning if she had been sniffing Potions supplies.

James slumped down next to Sirius after watching Lily retreat to her dormitory. He mulled over his own sudden suggestion of marriage in shocked silence. Wasn't he at the age where the mere mention of marriage sent him screaming in the other direction? Yet, as surprising as his own words had been, he didn't mind they had suddenly spilled out. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Lily Evans, otherwise he never would have asked her to move in. Commitment didn't scare him, as long as it was Lily he was committing to. He smirked as he thought of his dozen or so ex-girlfriends who had charged him with that very crime. Wouldn't they be surprised to find him engaged before the school year was out?

"Why do you look so cocky?" Sirius inquired as he finished the last line of a Transfiguration essay.

Expecting enthusiastic responses from his friends, James replied, "I think I'm going to propose to Lily."

Remus' transfiguration book slipped out of his hands, knocking over Sirius' ink well, sending a black tide across the table. None of the boys moved to clean it up. Peter's mouth fell open, the stolen scone he'd been munching on falling into his lap. With a snap, Sirius' quill broke in two as his fingers closed around it.

"You're thinking of doing what?" Sirius finally choked, looking as if he'd give up his entire inheritance to hear James say 'just kidding.'

"Asking Lily to marry me," James repeated, watching Sirius warily. "What are you doing?" James finally asked, as Sirius pinched his own arm repeatedly.

"Hoping to wake up from this nightmare," Sirius responded, giving himself one last hard pinch.

"What is so nightmarish about me getting married?" James demanded, rekindling his bad temper from the morning's events.

"We're supposed to be bachelors," Sirius replied hotly, "you and me. We decided in fourth year that when we graduated we'd get a place somewhere and live the glorious lives of bachelors together. We're eighteen and you want to throw away your freedom and get married?"

"First," James replied through gritted teeth, "we had barely gone through puberty when we made that deal. A lot of things have changed since. Second, we're going to be fighting Voldemort and you still expect us to live the glorious lives of bachelors? We're going to risk our lives, but eighteen is too young to get married? Third, I love Lily. I don't see it as throwing away my freedom."

Sirius' face suddenly lit up. "I get it! She cut you off, didn't she, after that one night? Are you really that desperate to get back into Evans' pants?"

In a flash, James jumped to his feet, his wand pointed at Sirius, who had also drawn his wand. Half a second later Remus was between them, a hand pushing against both their chests, keeping them from hurling hexes.

"You swore, Sirius," spit James. He swished his wand under Remus' arm, but missed. A brick exploded as the jinx hit it, sending a group of third years running.

Bellowing, Sirius tried to retaliate, but also missed, setting a sofa cushion on fire. Peter yelped, jumping up and mumbling "Aguamenti."

"Enough," Remus shouted, and with two quick flicks of his wand, James and Sirius' arms snapped to their sides, useless. With a shove, he pushed both men onto opposite sofas. "Sirius, that comment was completely uncalled for. I suggest you go cool off in the dormitory." Remus flipped his wand again, and Sirius' arms sprang apart.

Glaring and Remus and James, Sirius roughly grabbed his books and parchment and stomping his way up the boys' staircase.

"Way to be the mother, Moony," James complained. "You should have just let me at him."

"He's your best mate. I'm not letting you hex him."

"You heard what he said, he deserves a good hex. Honestly, what did he expect me to do when we graduated, dump Lily and go gallivanting around as a bachelor?"

"Actually, yes, I think he did."

James stared a Remus incredulously for a few seconds. "Doesn't he know how serious Lily and I are?"

"Even I didn't know how serious you and Lily were until you mentioned marriage. You have to admit it's a bit sudden. You haven't been dating all that long, and you aren't renowned for having deep, long lasting relationships. And for Sirius, well, there are mud puddles deeper than the relationships he's had, so I don't think he can even understand what it feels like to want to spend a lifetime with another person."

"I can see your point," conceded James. "It still doesn't excuse what Sirius said. However, I'm no longer going to hex him, so please release my arms."

Remus flicked his wand, releasing James from the arm-locking jinx.

James flexed his elbows, getting the blood flowing again. "Were you always this reasonable, or is it just a side effect of your furry little problem?"

Remus smirked. "It's the trade off for loosing all capacity to reason once a month. I'm full of it the other twenty-nine days."

"So, all reasonable one, what am I going to do about Sirius?"

"You should let him cool down. I'm going to go try and talk to him." Remus began walking toward the boys' staircase.

"Hey Moony, one more question," James called, "who's Prince Charming?"