Hello everyone! First of all, sorry about the lack of italics in chapter 92. That will be fixed as soon as this is posted. I don't know why, sometimes ff removes them.

Next, sorry for the slightly late update! I was ill on Sunday and had no time yesterday, so you get a Tuesday update. Next one will be in 2 weeks (fingers crossed).

Now, time for every reviewers favourite part, their shout-outs! Thank you so much to Saum the Smol Teddy, Datmad, xxxQueenxxx, Nikoo, Nik1804, lizyeh2000 and Cae-Leigh Anne for reviewing!

My usual beta, VidereLux is busy with school, so sorry if this isn't up to scratch! Hope you enjoy the fluffiness of what is James Potter.

James yawned for the eighth time in fifteen minutes, keeping his jaw clenched shut so that people wouldn't notice. Once was acceptable, twice was tired, but eight was just rude. Even James knew that.

'Are you all right, James?' Mrs Evans asked.

Maybe somebody noticed.

'Oh, fine,' he waved an arm, nearly knocking over the tray the waiter had just brought to the table.

'Lily, why did you have to bring this buffoon?' Petunia asked, pursing her lips as she noticed the altercation.

Of course Petunia noticed. She had the eyes of a hawk, and the nose of one too.

The conversation – already stilted to begin with – came to an abrupt halt. Mrs Evans looked apologetically at James, before shooting a stern look at her eldest. Lily opened her mouth to reply, just as the waiter served their meals.

'Steak!' Vernon said eloquently, not waiting for Lily and Petunia to receive their pasta before tucking in.

James felt his stomach rumble – how long had it been since he had last eaten? – but patiently waited. At least he could say one thing about Vernon – he made James look good in front of Lily's parents. He remembered being so nervous the first time Lily had introduced them and nearly laughed aloud. Now, he felt almost as comfortable with them as with Lily herself.

'James, eat before it gets cold,' Lily told him, unfolding her napkin and laying it on her lap. 'I'm sure they'll have our food up in no time.'

James glanced at her parents, more out of a wish to show up Vernon than looking for consent. When they both nodded, he descended upon his food, devouring it as quickly as was socially acceptable. The meat melted in his mouth, and it was all he could do not to sigh into it as he ate.

Good thing I ate that ice cream with Regulus in the end, he thought. I don't think I could have waited otherwise.

By the time Lily and Petunia's dishes had arrived – ironically, they were the same – James was calmly cutting the end of his chicken into small, manageable pieces. After all, he didn't want to be sitting around twirling his thumbs as the rest of them ate.

'Vernon and I want to have a white wedding,' Petunia gushed between bites. 'I want everything to be traditional. I want Dad to walk me down the aisle, I want a bouquet of white roses on every table, I want to have it in the summer and I want to have it in a castle. But most of all,' she said, eyeing James as he innocently chewed on his last chip, 'I want it to be normal.'

'Honey, I don't think that weddings in castles are really the norm,' Mr Evans started, before he was cut off by Vernon.

'She means she doesn't want any of their lot near the ceremony,' he rumbled, wiping mustard from his moustache.

James stuffed a bread roll into his mouth to prevent himself from saying anything, wondering what to do. He knew that Lily didn't like him to rise to the bait, but he was too tired and too angry to reign himself in for much longer. They had listened to Vernon drone on about drills for half an hour, in the hopes that Petunia would reconcile with her sister, but he wasn't going to let Vernon insult them all dinner.

Mr and Mrs Evans said nothing, being too polite, but both were shooting disapproving looks at Petunia, who merely shrugged.

'How can I be sure they won't have any "accidents"? She's a freak,' she motioned towards her sister, 'and he's from their world. What am I going to say to our friends? That he's some kind of… unemployed, fumbling magician? I don't want them anywhere near the wedding, let alone involved in the preparations!'

That was it. James gulped, waiting for the bread to slowly slide its way down his throat, but it was too late.

'Excuse me,' Lily said in a choked voice, standing up abruptly. 'I need to…'

However, they never got to hear what she needed to do, because at that moment she let out a loud sob and ran in the direction of the ladies' bathroom.

'Petunia!' Mrs Evans said reproachfully, before running after her younger daughter.

James was done playing nice with these people.

'Excuse me,' he repeated Lily's words, putting his napkin back on the table. 'I'll be back in a few minutes.'

Once outside, James called Sirius on the mirror. The latter appeared immediately, despite having said that he would be sleeping. He looked worse than James felt.

'Code red, Padfoot. I repeat, we have a code red.'

'Code red,' Sirius repeated, his eyes suddenly becoming bright and clear. 'On my way.'

His image faded, and soon James was just looking at his own reflection once more. Pocketing the mirror, he went back inside to look for Lily. He bumped into her just as she emerged from the bathroom, still sniffing a little, rubbing her red eyes.

'You were right, James,' she said miserably. 'Let's just go.'

'All right,' he said, playing along for the moment. He took Lily's hand. 'Let's go and get our coats.'

He just hoped that Sirius would be able to walk quickly. There was an Apparition point not far from the restaurant that Lily had told him about, just in case Death Eaters decided to ambush the couple, but James didn't know if Sirius would be able to gather everyone in time.

He crossed his fingers behind his back just in case.

'I'm sorry, Mum, Dad,' Lily started, her tone tired and defeated. James felt his heart break a little bit just at the sound of her voice.

'No, I'm sorry, Lily,' Petunia interrupted. 'I should never have invited you in the first place. I knew that you would ruin this evening. You always–'

Just then, a loud voice carried through the restaurant, cutting all possible conversation and making the guests look around for the cause.

'I've got a cauldron full of hot, strong love!'

Lily turned to James, comprehension dawning on her face. Of course she would recognise Sirius's voice. She opened her mouth, but James quickly shushed her, squeezing her hand in anticipation.

'And it's bubbling for you.'

Sirius came into view, dressed in the leather jacket he donned when they went motorbiking together, giving out red roses to every female in sight with a wink. A little girl of nine giggled as she accepted the flower in amazement.

'Say Incendio, but that spell's not hot."

A female voice joined in, and James had to stop himself from bursting into laughter at Vernon's outraged expression. His friends had been practicing the cheesy ballad for a while, but the reference to magic in front of Lily's sister and her fiancé made his song choice all the sweeter.

'As my special witch's brew!'

Marlene came strutting into view, her bright red lipstick matching her dress. James couldn't believe how awake she looked after the night they had had. Her eyes were shining as they both approached the Evans' table, much to the horror of Petunia.

'Don't you be afraid, come take a sip

Of this steamy tasty treat."

As Sirius and Marlene came to a stop in front of Lily, Remus and Peter started up through the rows, placing wreaths of lilies on every table.

'What's in my cauldron of hot strong love

Will make your life complete!'

Sirius and Marlene finished their duet with a bow just as Remus and Peter arrived behind Vernon and Petunia. Mr and Mrs Evans were laughing, both at the ridiculous song, and at their daughter's embarrassed grin that seemed permanently fixed on her face.

'James,' Lily said, half-joking and half reproachful.

James had no intention of letting Lily finish that sentence.

'Since your dear sister and her lovely fiancé seem unaware of your most perfect qualities, I have taken the liberty of putting together a group of witnesses,' he announced, loudly enough for the entire room to hear. He had to adapt his original speech a bit, but it was worth Petunia and Vernon's reactions. There was nothing worse for them than social embarrassment. 'Sirius, if you would like to start.'

'Evans,' Sirius proclaimed theatrically. 'In the seven years that I have known you, you have never once paused in the defense of others, even if the ones doing the bullying were friends of yours. You have always stood up for those who cannot stand up for themselves, for justice, and for what is right.' He bowed. 'I am proud to say you're my friend.'

Sirius turned to Remus, who took a spare chair and stood on it. Lily gaped at the actions of whom she had thought to be a demure friend, then hid her face between her fingers, peeking out to look up at the Marauder.

'Lily,' Remus declared. 'In the seven years that I have known you, you have never once judged a book by its cover – both literally, and figuratively. You stayed my friend where someone else might have fled, due to my… background,' he remained vague. 'You are an uncommonly kind person, especially considering the fact that you're willing to date this buffoon I call a friend,' he gestured towards James, to several titters around the restaurant. 'I feel privileged to have made your acquaintance.'

He stood back down, to be replaced by Peter. Lily had taken her hands away from her face by now, and looked at the third Marauder with a sort of benevolent gaze, not quite smiling, not quite frowning.

'Lily,' Peter pronounced with an air of grandeur. 'In the seven years that I have known you, you have never given up on anyone. You tutored me through half of my fifth year, and all through my sixth and seventh, where someone else would have told me to abandon my subjects. You see the best in everyone, even the worst of humanity,' he paused, tears in his eyes as he gathered his strength. 'I don't deserve to have had a teacher like you.'

He got down from the chair, accepting the tissue Remus had seemingly – and most likely – conjured out of nowhere, blowing his nose noisily as Marlene stepped to face her old roommate.

'Lily,' she said quietly, smiling as she took the other girl's hands within her own. 'Where do I even start? In the seven years that I have known you, you have been my roommate, my confidant, my best friend. You lighten up every room you walk into, and you make it so easy to be jealous of you, but very hard to hate you. You're the only person who outwits my sarcastic jokes and,' she stared Lily in the eyes, 'I feel blessed to call you my best friend.'

After a long moment in which Lily hugged Marlene and Mrs Evans hushed Petunia, James tapped his girlfriend on the shoulder. She turned, most likely expecting what James had in store for her, with a radiant smile on her face. James was just happy to have his Lily back the way she should be.

'Lily,' he said, his voice cracking. 'What can I say that hasn't already been said by these wonderful people around us? In the seven years that I have known you, I have loved you for every single day. Some may call it crazy, and some may call it obsession – I know you have many a time – but I knew that it was destiny. There is no one in the world who could even come close to the amazing person you are, and if I were to let you go, then I would regret it every day of my life. I promise that I will never take you for granted, that I will cherish every day we spend together, that I will never stop trying to make you as happy as you deserve. So much that,' he paused, taking a deep breath and kneeling down as he opened the small box that he had been keeping in his pocket for the past six months, 'I would be honoured if you allowed me to call you my wife.'

'James,' Lily said, and this time her voice cracked with emotion. She enclosed his hands with her own, pulling him up to kiss him. 'You're such a cheesy doofus. You know I hate big things. Of course I'll marry you.'

As Lily talked, James had started to second guess himself, wondering whether it was the wrong time, wondering whether she hated everything, wondering whether he had put too much pressure on her with a public proposal. In the end, it took him several seconds to process her words, but when he did, he let out a whoop and kissed her again, more soundly this time.

He was vaguely aware of some applause coming from around him, and Mr Evans sniffling a little, but everything seemed to fade as he concentrated on sliding the slim silver band on Lily's finger, the pink diamond glinting in the light. He looked up to see her green eyes glinting with tears, only realising that he was crying himself when his vision became too blurry to see straight.

'Thanks for saying yes,' he admitted as he hugged her again. 'I was scared you wouldn't.'

'It might have taken me a while, but I will never stop loving you, James Potter.'