A/N: One-shot for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments), Assignment #5: Ritual & Ceremonial Magic: Handfasting, Task 1: Write about a marriage or union.

Warning: very mild swearing

The events of this story take place immediately after the situation detailed in OotP, chapter 28: "Snape's Worst Memory." Severus has just unsuccessfully tried to apologize to Lily.

Disclaimer: I do not approve of the Marauder's actions.

"Did you make him go away for good this time?" Mary asked when Lily came back into the Gryffindor common room, fuming with anger.

"I don't want to talk about it," Lily snapped. She stormed off up the stairs and into their dorm room. She quickly brushed her teeth, avoiding to look at herself in the mirror. Had she been wrong to tell Severus to go away once and for all? No, definitely not. He'd taken it too far this time, calling her that awful word. Mudblood. Then again, she had laughed at the sight of him dangling in the air upside-down, his knickers on display for everyone to see. Had he seen her laugh? Was that why he had been so angry at her? She didn't think it was funny anymore, but the mental image gave her a mad urge to burst out with hysteric laughter. She shook her head to get the image out. She had to stop thinking about it. It was done. Severus would have to leave her alone now. If she didn't have to see him anymore, she wouldn't be reminded of that awful display again.

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"Who was that outside the door?" James asked, craning his neck to see Lily storm off towards the girl's dormitory. "Do you reckon I should go up to comfort her?"

Sirius let out a snort of laughter. "You know you can't get up there, mate. The stairs will chuck your horny arse right off."

"Right," James said sheepishly, running his hand through his hair absent-mindedly. Then, he shouted, "Oy, Mary! Who was that out there?"

Mary approached James, a mischievous grin on her face. "Who do you think?" she said.

James' face slackened. "Don't you mess with me now, Mary!"

Mary's grin widened. "I promise I'm not messing with you."

"What did she say to him?"

"I'm not sure, but I will find out. I'm pretty sure that they are done, though. Snivellus won't be able to come back from this one."

James jumped up, pumped his fist in the air and clapped Mary on the shoulder. He said, "Put in a good word for me with Lily, will you?"

Mary nodded. "I'll go up there right now."

Turning to his friends, James took a deep breath. "My highly esteemed colleagues in mischief," he said with an air of gravity, "The thing we have been waiting for is imminent. The Snivel will soon be ejected from Lily's life. It is time for phase two."

Peter gave a celebratory whoop, Sirius nodded appraisingly and even Remus cracked a thin-lipped smile.

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When Lily woke up the next day, she felt light and serene. A second later, she remembered what had happened. It was like her blood suddenly turned to molasses, making her heart feel heavy and stealing her every wish to get out of bed. Well, her last exam was over, so she didn't have to get up. At least then, she wouldn't have to see Severus. She could hardly bring herself to think his name. Maybe, she'd just go with 'Snivellus' from now on. She'd called him that yesterday, for the first time. She had wanted to hurt him and it had worked. By the look on his face, it had broken his heart. No, no, no, stop thinking about it! He's dead to me!

Lily groaned. Maybe getting out of bed wasn't such a bad idea after all. She could talk to people about the exams, go to sit by the lake with her friends, take a walk with Mary – anything to distract her from yesterday.

Lily gave her friends a small smile when she sat down for breakfast at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. Mary moved along the bench a little to make room for her.

Lily said to her friends, "Sorry for storming off like that yesterday. I needed time to think."

"No need to apologize!" Joanna said. The others nodded. Mary put a hand on Lily's back, saying "I need to tell you again how incredibly relieved we all are that you are finally free from Snivellus! We were so afraid he'd lure you into his Death Eater schemes."

Hearing that her friends had been thinking about her in this way, had probably talked about her while she wasn't around, made Lily realize how utterly foolish she had been all these years. She put her face in her hands. "I feel so stupid," she moaned. "I should have listened to you much earlier than this!"

"Hey, it's okay!" Mary stroked Lily's back. "You got out of that toxic friendship, that's all that counts. You can look forward now."

Giggling broke out among the girls. Lily looked up, confused that her friends would laugh about this. Her eyes widened when she saw the real reason for the giggling: James Potter had sat down opposite her. He said, "Alright, Ev— I mean, Lily?"

Lily scowled at him. He was just as much to blame for what had happened yesterday as Severus was. She was about to tell him to get lost when Mary gently stepped on Lily's foot. "Give him a chance," Mary whispered almost inaudibly.

Mary had come to the dorm room a few minutes after Lily had stormed off, to comfort her. Mary had also hinted, not very subtly, that Lily should lean in to the idea of going out with James. "He's such a dreamboat! And I'm sure he'd do anything you ask him. He'll change for you, I guarantee it. He's crazy about you!" Lily had said that she'd think about it, mostly just to make Mary stop pestering her.

Lily now looked at James, who grinned at her sheepishly. She did notice the absence of his friends, and that he didn't play with a Golden Snitch for a change. James lifted his hand to his head but then awkwardly brought it back down to scratch his ear. Lily was under the distinct impression that he had just resisted the urge to mess up his hair.

"Listen," he said, "I've meant to apologize for yesterday. We were a little riled up after the exam and old Sni—Snape always rubs me the wrong way. Him and his little Death Eater friends."

"He was alone yesterday," Lily remarked drily.

James lifted his hand again, but put it in his neck this time. He seemed to be searching for a reply. "Yeah, well, a little reminder that he's on the wrong path is always good, you know."

Lily scoffed and shook her head.

"Look," James pressed on, "I realized that yesterday probably was a bad time, but I really meant it when I asked you out on that date. I would really love to go out with you. Please? I promise you won't regret it. If you don't like it, I vow to never bother you again. What do you say?"

"I gave you my answer yesterday!" Lily snapped and stood up from the table, although she had barely eaten anything. She needed to be alone. Everyone wanted something from her. She walked, her feet carrying her through the castle almost on their own, until she reached the astronomy tower. It was hardly ever used during the day, and everyone who didn't have lessons would be outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. Here, she could be alone and think.

While Lily resented the way James and his friends chose to deliver their "reminders" to Severus, she had to agree with James that Severus was on the wrong path. She had tried to turn him off that path for so, so long. But despite her best efforts, he had gotten deeper into it each year. Her anger from last night bubbled up again. How dare he ask for her forgiveness when he'd passed up all the opportunities he'd had to be a better person? How dare he implore her to not end their friendship when she had told him a hundred times that his Slytherin friends were a problem for her? He had brought all this on himself. Lily had half a mind to march down to the Slytherin common room and tell him off again, say all the things her mind hadn't been clear enough to say yesterday. But then she'd have to see him. And she didn't want that. Surrounded by his stupid friends, he would probably try to be a big man and call her names again. How could he? How could he, how could he? Lily's rage turned into white hot fury.

She stood up and started pacing. She felt so helpless, it was all so unfair! She had always protected Severus, had always been there for him, had stood by him when no one else would. And this is how he thanked her, by humiliating her in front of everyone?

A thought stopped her. Severus deserved to hurt as much as she had yesterday. And what better way to hurt him than to go out with James?

Lily went downstairs again and out the main entrance to find Mary sitting by the lake with some friends. Lily stopped at a small distance and beckoned for Mary to come to her.

"Hey," Mary said, "Are you feeling better."

"Yes, lots, actually. I've made a decision. Could you tell James to come see me in private? And make sure that he knows that he can't tell anyone about this, least of all his friends. If I hear that he's been bragging about this, I'll never so much as look at him again."

Mary was only too happy to pass on the message. Within an hour, everything had been arranged – Lily would go on a date with James Potter the day after tomorrow.

When the night of the date arrived, Lily was strangely nervous. How would James behave? Lily hoped that she hadn't made a terrible mistake in agreeing to the date. Hopefully, Mary was right and Lily could get James to be a bit less air-headed, at least for this one night.

When Lily arrived at the room that James had prepared for their date, she had to admit that he had pulled out all the stops. He smiled pleasantly and held the door open for her. The room that Lily stepped into had been transformed into something resembling a small Italian bistro. Candles in long holders basked a round table covered in a white tablecloth in their soft light. On the table, two settings were laid out, complete with round-bellied wine glasses on thin stems. Lily stood, rendered momentarily speechless at the simple elegance of it all. James took this moment to walk to the table, pull back a chair and invite Lily to sit. Lily followed the invitation. James wasn't even being an ass about it. He seemed genuine, a little nervous, even. All of a sudden, this felt like very much like a real date to Lily. Maybe, she should abstain from criticizing his behaviour, just for tonight. James sat down opposite her.

"Thank you for coming," he said.

"Thanks … for inviting me. It's all very pretty. How did you do this?"

"I have some good connections in the Hogwarts kitchens."

Lily was surprised to hear this. She had never even thought about the fact that there were kitchens in Hogwarts. The conversation came to a halt. Lily gave James a stiff smile. What should she say next? Unbidden, an image of Severus popped up in her mind. She pushed it away. Somehow, it seemed wrong to confront James about his behaviour after he had gone to all this trouble to set up such a nice date.

James broke the silence, saying, "Er, before we start with the nice part… I meant to say something. I realized that I have not exactly been the kind of person you deserve. It's just that I liked you from the first moment I saw you. I wanted you to notice me so badly that I suppose I went overboard every now and then…"

"Right," Lily said. And, before she could stop herself, "It was not at all flattering to be treated like a prize to be won, you know." She was scowling at him again. There went her resolution to keep the evening's conversation topics on the light side.

James grinned and shrugged. "I just tried everything I could think of." Lily kept scowling. James' grin faltered and made way for a more humble expression. He looked at Lily earnestly and said, "I really am sorry if some of it came across as disrespectful. I do respect you. I respect you more than anyone else."

Lily could come up with a hundred examples of why that simply couldn't be the truth. But she was tired of fighting him. Here he was, trying his best to be considerate. Maybe, she should wipe the slate clean. Truly give him a second chance. She took a deep breath and said, "Thank you for saying this. I… accept your apology. I guess that I have also made mistakes in the past. I realized that they can happen while the person who makes them thinks they are doing the right thing. So, I'd like to try a fresh start."

James seemed relieved. He smiled broadly and bent down retrieve a bottle of wine from Merlin knows where. He uncorked the bottle with his wand and poured some of its content into both wine glasses. He raised his glass. Lily mirrored him. "To fresh starts!" James said, and Lily moved her glass towards his, making a sonorous ping reverberate through the room.

After their starter course had appeared, Lily decided to treat James like someone she had just met. After all, that's what "fresh start" meant, didn't it? She said, "So… where did you grow up?"

James told her about a town called Godric's Hollow. Lily was impressed to hear that also the Dumbledores had a house there. And as s if being practically neighbours with Dumbledore wasn't enough, Bathilda Bagshot, whose name Lily recognized from History of Magic, also lived in James' hometown.

"Wait," Lily said after a minute. "'Godric's Hollow'? As in, Godric Gryffindor?"

James grinned so broadly that the corners of his mouth almost reached his ears. His somewhat inflated ego started to make sense – after all, he lived in a town that had brought forth one of the founders of their school, as well as a few other extremely important wizards.

Lily asked about James' parents. To her surprise, his smile faltered. He said, "They have wanted a child for a very, very long time. They'd given up hope, but then I came along."

"But that's wonderful, isn't it?" Lily asked.

"Well, yes and no. It's just, they are quite old already. People keep asking me whether they are my grandparents and where my real parents are. Plus, older witches and wizards are very susceptible to diseases. I heard that there was an outbreak of Dragon Pox in Scotland. I hope the Ministry gets it under control before it spreads far enough to reach my parents."

Lily nodded pensively. Her grandparents on her father's side had both died from influenza some years before. She knew what it felt like to lose loved ones to a disease. It had to be so much worse if one had to be worried about one's own parents. She said as much to James. He sighed and said, "It's alright. I kind of got used to worrying about their health whenever some disease pops up among British wizards. In a way, I have been mentally preparing myself for them to die for a long time."

James' voice had gotten very quiet. He kept his head down, pushing his food around on his plate and Lily wondered whether he was swallowing back tears. A rush of sympathy made her put her hand on his, saying, "That must be so hard. I'm sorry to hear this."

James shrugged and said, "I guess that's why I stick with Sirius, Remus and Peter all the time. They are kind of my replacement family. But, you know, I would also like to start my own family as soon as I can. I always wanted to have children while I'm still young."

"That sounds lovely," Lily said. James looked up at her and gave her a smile like she had never seen on him before. Full of warmth and understanding. It made her blush. She pulled back her hand and quickly looked down so he wouldn't see her face redden.

James said, "Talking about family – would you like to come visit me this summer? It's only a week before the term ends and I'd hate to think I couldn't see you all summer long."

Lily didn't answer straight away. Whenever her girlfriends had asked her this same question, she'd made up a reason why she couldn't visit them, or vice versa – so that she wouldn't have to tell them that she spent her summers with Severus. But those times were gone. She wouldn't have to hide or lie anymore. Her summers where hers now, to do with as she pleased. She felt a sudden rush of freedom and happiness as she smiled and said to James, "I'd like that. I'll ask my parents first thing when I come home and I'll write to you with their reply."

James' grin was back, but this time, Lily didn't mind it. They continued their dinner, and the conversation moved from Lily's family and her Muggle childhood to the O.W.L. exams and their plans for their future after Hogwarts. As it turned out, she and James had a lot in common. And he was so easy to talk to. Lily began to understand why so many girls liked him. But James had never gratified any of them with more than a few friendly words. Despite of his immense popularity, he had never been a big flirt – only with her, Lily. Suddenly she realized how wonderful this actually was. Something inside of Lily melted; something that had been hard and unyielding before was now soft and mellow.

Way too soon, it was time to go back to the Gryffindor common room. Before their date, Lily had planned to tell James that they couldn't go back into the common room together. But now, she wanted to be seen with him. Wanted the other girls to know that they could spare their efforts.

As expected, the two of them drew quite a few looks when they climbed through the portrait hole one after the other. Lily felt a dozen pairs of eyes burn into her skin when she wished James a Good Night.

Fifteen minutes later, Lily lay on her bed. So much had happened today, so much had changed, that her mind was reeling. She thought about James, the way he'd looked at her, how pleasant their conversation had been. She closed her eyes and found herself wondering how James' lips would feel on hers. Somewhere at the back of her mind a thought of Severus scratched at her beautiful dreams. But she shut it down. Severus was out of her life. She was finally on the right path. Her path towards a future with James.

Thank you for reading! If you liked this story, please check out my finished story "Return of the Prince" (~95,000 words): s/13380741/1/Return-of-the-Prince