A/N: So this is actually the second version of this chapter. The first one was pretty much deleted in it's entirety, and I'm much happier with this one. But it did mean I took a long time to update, so apologies for that.

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The dining room door slammed shut behind Marlene, and she stamped over to where James was writing a letter at the dining room table and glowered at him. When this failed to gain his attention, she vanished his chair.

'Marlene, what the bloody hell...'

'Put a sock in it Potter, I'm talking now.' Marlene crossed her arms and stared down at her favourite cousin as he lay sprawled in the floor. 'When are you going to sort this out with Lily?'

James pushed himself to his feet and scowled as he pulled another chair over and sat down again. 'When she's stopped being so mental and I can actually get her to spend more than thirty seconds in a room with me. And when I've worked out what's got her so mad in the first place. And if I can arrange it so she misplaces her wand for half an hour, so much the better.'

Marlene sighed and lowered her wand. She pulled the chair alongside James out and sat down next to him. 'I know you aren't thick enough not to realise what you did James.'

'Alright, maybe I should have mentioned to her that I was reconsidering joining the auror department. I just didn't want to bring it up until I'd had a chance to think it through properly. Is that such a bad thing?'

Marlene bit her lip and gave her answer some careful thought. 'Maybe not, if you were dealing with someone else. I can appreciate that you were just trying to get your thoughts in order before you guys talked about it. I get that. But Lily...Lily feels like you're shutting her out, and James, if there is one thing that scares her it's being shut out by someone she loves. Think about it. Her sister, her former best friend? Two people who at one time meant the world to her just turned their back on her, and she's terrified that it will happen again. Lily sees this as an indication that she isn't important enough for you to discuss this with her.' She paused for a second, then decided that she might as well give him both barrels while she was here. 'And much as I love you James, quite frankly you seriously fucked up with your response.'

He dropped his quill and ran his hand through his hair. 'I know, alright? I know I said the stupidest possible thing, I know that I made it all worse. But I can't…fix it if she won't let me.'

'Have you tried?'

He actually looked outraged at that. 'Of course I have! Did me standing outside our bedroom door for Merlin knows how long last night escape your attention?' He picked up his quill again and fiddled with it. 'I'm thinking that perhaps she doesn't want to fix it.'

'That is the dumbest thing that has ever come out of your mouth Potter, and believe me it's got some competition.' Marlene's response was fast, and laced with sharpness. 'She loves you, and she's hurting, and where are you? Sitting in the dining room avoiding the issue.'

'Marlene, she doesn't want me around her right now. Shouldn't I respect her privacy and give her some time and space?'

'No.' Marlene reached over and took the quill from his hands, leaving his fingers with nothing to occupy them. 'No, I'm telling you what you should be doing James Potter, and that is making it clear that you aren't giving up on her!'

He looked bemused, and Marlene sighed and decided to take pity. 'Look, I'm not going to say that this whole thing is your fault because I've been around enough of your fights to know that it's rarely entirely one person's fault alone. You're a pair of stubborn, hot-tempered, pig-headed gits, and I don't doubt that you both said and did things you regret. Hardly be the first time would it? But the thing is, one of you has to make the first move towards fixing it, and I am telling you now, that for the sake of Lily's mental state it should be you. She loves you and she'll get over the row, but she won't get over you not fighting to fix it. She'll assume that you don't want her anymore, because that's what she's come to expect from people she loves.'

James stared at her for a moment. 'Well, shit.' He shoved himself up from the chair and stalked out of the room, and she heard the sound of his feet stamping up the staircase and then distant bangs that sounded very much like someone hammering on a door. She grinned to herself.

'Missed my calling obviously.'

Sirius came wandering into the room looking perplexed. 'Any idea what's the matter with Prongs? I passed him on the stairs, said good morning and got what I can only describe as a growl in return. And now he's trying to batter down his own bedroom door.'

Marlene stared at him. 'Don't tell me that you managed to completely miss the fact that James and Lily had a massive row last night?'

'No, I noticed.' Sirius picked up a lock of her hair and toyed with it. 'I just assumed that they would have shagged it out already. They usually do.'

Marlene frowned. 'Think this one is a bit too serious for make-up shagging.'

'No such thing as an argument that can't be fixed by shagging.' Sirius let go of her hair and offered her his hand to pull her out of her seat. 'And I can promise you that whatever else they do to fix this - talking, negotiating, making promises that may or may not be kept, whatever - sooner or later shagging will be involved, and I'd just as soon not be here when they get to that bit. Let's go out.'

'Where?'

'Any-fucking-where. I just can't deal with the epic love story at the moment.'

Marlene laughed. 'You are the least romantic person in the world.'

He scoffed at her. 'You can't tell me that you want that. The drama, the fights, the worry; even with all the good stuff that you get, it doesn't seem like enough to make up for the lousy times to me.'

'I'm not saying I want that for myself.' Marlene linked their arms as they strolled out of the house. 'I like what we have. It's fun and it's comfortable and it's something good in this crappy world. I'm just saying that I can see the appeal of what they have, that mad, all-encompassing dependence on each other. I can't rule out the idea that I might want to get serious like that one day.'

'Just not now.'

She squeezed his arm. 'No, not now. I'll have time for all that later. For now...well, we're good aren't we?'

He grinned down at her and dropped a kiss on her temple. 'Yeah, I think we are.'

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James hit the door with the flat of his hand for what he swore would be the last time. 'Lily, that's it okay? I get that you're pissed at me, and you have every right to be, but I am not going to stay out of your way and let your deranged brain talk yourself out of our relationship for a minute longer okay? So either this door unlocks in the next thirty seconds, or so help me I will open it by any means necessary.'

There was no sound of movement from behind the door. He knew she was listening, had checked the door to see if she'd cast silencing charms or imperturbable charms, and she hadn't. There was no magical barrier between them, just an inch and a half of solid wood. When he'd counted down his thirty seconds and had heard nothing from within the room, he shrugged and lifted his wand. 'Okay then. I hope you aren't too fond of any of your belongings, because I'm not guaranteeing that there won't be any damage once I'm through getting in there...'

The door clicked open. Just a fraction, just enough to demonstrate that it wasn't locked any more, but not enough to let him see in. He pushed it tentatively, and it swung under his touch.

Lily was sitting on the bed, feet tucked up under her and her favoured red and gold blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her hair was tied up in the messiest plait James had ever seen, and her face was puffy and marked with faded tearstains. There was a bag open on the floor, and a few items of her clothing were half hanging out of it. His heart sank.

'Packing?' He asked, trying to make it sound light-hearted but aware that he was failing miserably.

She bit her lip for a moment, then spoke quietly. 'I started to last night. As you can see, I didn't exactly get far.'

'Why not?'

She jerked her head up sharply, and he raised his hands and took two steps towards her. 'I don't mean that I want you to. You have to know that I don't. I just...you were so angry with me that I was actually a little surprised that you were still here this morning.'

She shrugged, her expression still guarded. 'I guess I realised that I didn't actually want to go.'

He took another two steps. 'I don't want you to go either.'

This time when she looked up at him he could see the tears in the corners of her eyes. 'Lily...don't. Please don't cry, I hate it when I make you cry.'

She nodded, and he watched her hold back the tears. He took the last few steps to the bed - their bed, please let it still be their bed - and perched on the edge, leaving a respectful distance between them.

After a moment or two he began to speak. 'I didn't ever mean to shut you out. I didn't even realise that I was. It just jumped into my head at the meeting the other week, that there were a ton of people there from the DMLE. That all those people, whose job it is to catch dark wizards, still felt the need to work for a secret organisation because the Ministry isn't doing enough. And I thought...is that where I want to be? In a department so hamstrung by the ineffectiveness of the Ministry that it's employees are taking matters into their own hands anyway? And it's not like the Order even needs contacts in the DMLE, there must be at least seven people in there already, and they're all higher up and privy to more information than I would be. I'd be stuck in training for months, even in the accelerated programme.'

He hadn't looked at her once during his little speech, but he knew her well enough to know that she would be looking directly at the side of his face, that she'd be biting her lip and probably tugging on a loose strand of hair. She did those things when she was concentrating, when she was listening hard and trying to understand. How could he know her so well and still screw things up so badly?

He carried on talking, knowing that she would expect a full explanation. And that she deserved one. 'And I started to think that maybe I should just work for the Order. I don't need to earn a wage, so that's a moot point; I'm in the lucky position of being able to choose what I want to do. The Order doesn't need me to be in the department, they need people ready to fight, and I can do that. And that was the whole point of joining the aurors for me. It wasn't about a career, or the wages, or having the job title. It was about being able to do something, something real. And the more I thought about it, the more I became convinced that I could do that better with the Order and Dumbledore than I could with the Ministry.'

He fell silent, wondering if he'd articulated his feelings at all, and after a moment Lily cleared her throat.

'Why wouldn't you just tell me you were having second thoughts? Did you think I'd try to change your mind? That I'd be angry? What James? I don't understand. You just...started avoiding me.'

He studied the backs of his hands intently. 'Please don't take this the wrong way, but... I didn't think actually think about telling you at all. I genuinely didn't realise that I was shutting you out.'

'It wasn't that I don't think your opinion is important or anything, it was that I really, really didn't think there was anything to discuss until I'd at least managed to get my thoughts in order. I...like to know my own mind on a subject before I talk to someone else about it. I wanted to be able to explain to you, properly, what I was thinking instead of just babbling at you. I wanted to be sure I could make you understand. I never, never intended to shut you out, or make you feel like you aren't hugely important, because you are. If you tell me now, after listening to how I feel and why I want to do this, that I'm being stupid, and explain to me exactly why it would be a huge mistake not to join the Academy, then Lil, I would listen to you. I'm not saying that I would just do what you told me, but believe me when I say that you are the only person in the world whose opinion gets as much weight as my own when it comes to decisions about my life.'

'So...you wanted to make sure that you had clear, reasoned arguments before we discussed it. And you wanted to make sure of how you felt before you brought it up, because what would be the point in discussing it if we didn't need to and it was all moot.'

James took a second to think over what she'd said, and then nodded. 'Yes, that's exactly it.'

'Then all you had to say was that you had something on your mind that you weren't ready to talk about yet. I would have been fine with that James. I just...you made me feel like you didn't care about what I thought, or how I felt. You...you made me think that you don't love me enough to include me in your life.'

The tears were actually falling now, and he didn't think he'd ever felt so fucking helpless. 'Lily. Lily, please don't sweetheart. Lily.'

He gave up and reached for her, twisting his body around and tugging her towards him, recognising that he might well be asking for a hex; a hex, he could privately admit, that he probably deserved. But she didn't reach for her wand, she just lowered her head to the crook of his shoulder and allowed him to pull her in close.

'Lil, I love you. I really do. And I was an absolute arse for the way I acted, but I honestly, genuinely never thought for a second that I could be hurting you by acting that way. I never thought for a second that you could imagine that I don't love you with every piece of me.'

Her arms lifted out from under the blanket to wrap around his neck, and the jolt of relief he felt at the sight of her engagement ring sparkling on her finger was almost like a physical blow. He hadn't even realised until that point that he'd been afraid that she would have removed it, and that might have meant that he couldn't fix this. That horrible thought had settled into the back of his brain the moment she'd said it last night.

He ran a hand up her back to tangle in her hair, and pulled her a little tighter into him. 'Please tell me we're okay Lil, because I can't handle us not being okay...'

'We're okay.' She murmured into his neck. 'We'll be fine, as long as you can get it into your thick skull that all you have to do is let me know that you aren't ready to talk yet, but you will be at some point.'

He squeezed her a little tighter and buried his nose in her hair. 'How about you get it through your thick skull that I love you and I will always care about what you think and how you feel? I'm not like your sister or Snape. I'm never going to wake up and decide that Lily Evans isn't going to be part of my life anymore. I love you, and I want to marry you.' He paused for a second. 'Are we still getting married Lily?'

'Yeah.' She lifted her head off his shoulder and sat back a little in his grasp. 'Yeah, we're getting married.'

He followed instinct and leaned in to press his lips gently to hers. The relief he felt when she shifted slightly to kiss him back was almost overwhelming, and without even thinking about it he tightened his grip on her and pulled her closer until she was sitting directly in his lap, her body pressed tightly up against his. Her hands wandered into his hair, and his slid down her back until they could find the hem of her shirt and slip underneath to bare skin.

She shuddered a little, then tightened her grip on his hair and bit his lip. He broke the kiss long enough to roll them over until he hovered over her, supporting his weight on his outstretched arms. Her hands travelled under his shirt, and he obligingly used one hand to pull it over his head before capturing her mouth again. Her hands pressed against his warm, bare skin, and he pulled his mouth away from hers to pepper the skin of her neck with little affectionate pecks.

'James...hold...hold on a minute...door.' Lily managed between moans.

He bit down on her pulse point. 'Screw it, everyone's out.'

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'This is really dumb, you do know that?' Lily knew she was grousing, and that she probably didn't have any right to, but she couldn't help it. She really, really did not want to spend a day immersed in flowers and cakes and overly-bouffant bridal gowns.

'How is starting to plan for your wedding dumb?' Alice asked pleasantly, her good mood apparently unassailable today. Presumably her excellent NEWT results and acceptance for a trial to enter the advanced auror programme had a lot to do with that. The fact that Frank was in the same boat probably had even more to do with that cheery disposition.

'Ah, ignore her.' Marlene waved a dismissive hand. 'She's just grumpy because for the first time in a week and a half she's not in bed with James.'

'Hey!'

Alice sniggered. 'You have been pretty closeted recently. Or so I hear from your housemates, having not heard directly from you in more than a week. You know, because of all the time you've spent locked away with James.'

'Yeah, yeah, you're both hilarious. Really, an absolute riot.' Lily scowled at them both. 'And yes, I'm aware that James and I have been a little...secluded recently, but we had a pretty major fight alright? We're putting ourselves back on an even keel.'

'I didn't know you could use sex for that.' Marlene avoided Lily's half-hearted punch and grinned wickedly at her. 'If you're going to deny it sweetie, work on your silencing charms. My room is next to yours.'

Lily flushed and Alice intervened, ever the peacemaker. 'Here, this florist looks nice.' She grabbed Lily's hand and pulled her in, Marlene trailing along behind.

Lily was starting to look a little pale. 'Look, we're jumping the gun a little here girls, aren't we?'

Alice looked amused at the beginnings of panic on Lily's face. 'Planning a wedding takes quite some time you know. Even with magic involved.'

'Especially a big, traditional wedding.' Marlene added helpfully. 'You know, with hundreds of guests and lots of traditions to incorporate and the such.'

'Oh bloody hell.' Lily could swear she could actually feel her chest constricting.

'Lily, would you calm down?' Alice patted her hand placating. 'You don't have to pick anything today. We're just looking.'

'But we don't even have a date yet.' Lily protested weakly. 'I have no idea what I'm looking for.'

'Well then, maybe this will help.' Alice said brightly. 'Maybe we can pick some colours you like, and then you can decide what season they'd suit best and get married then.'

Lily just looked confused. 'What? What do colours have to do with seasons?'

Alice and Marlene exchanged pitying looks. 'Well, let's say you decide on pale blue for the bridesmaids.' Marlene waved a hand. 'That would look lovely in winter, you could use lots of icy colours, but if you wanted pink, then that might look nicer in spring you see?'

Lily looked, if anything, more horrified at that. 'I hadn't even considered that kind of thing! You have to have themes don't you? Everything has to match, the dresses and the flowers and the cake...I feel sick.'

Alice looked positively alarmed now. 'Lily don't worry! Like you said, you haven't set a date yet, you've got no deadlines. It doesn't matter if you don't see anything you like, we're just looking for ideas.'

She looked helplessly over Lily's head at Marlene, who stepped forward and placed a reassuring hand on Lily's shoulder. 'Don't worry about it sweetie. You don't have to have a theme, things don't have to match, you just pick the things you like best. It's your wedding. Anyway, even if the worst happens and you decided to change the entire colour scheme on the day of the wedding, we'll just put everyone to work on charming everything to the new colours. It'll all be fine.'

Lily took one or two deep breaths. 'Okay. Okay, panic averted. Why is this whole thing so stressful?'

'Not to sound critical Lil, but you've always been a little high-strung haven't you? Always got worked up over your exams and stuff.' Alice waved a yellow flower of some type under her nose. 'What do you think of this?'

'It's yellow. No.' Lily batted her hand away. 'And I am not high-strung!'

'I bet James would beg to differ.' Marlene offered a purple and white nosegay in Lily's direction, and was rewarded with a wrinkle of her nose and a shake of her head. 'I swear he's aged ten years since he started dating you.'

'Why don't you just get Dorea to plan it for you?' Alice asked as she inspected a display of roses.

'Because I'd like to keep the guest list under five hundred.' Lily rolled her eyes. 'I love Dorea, and her party planning is amazing but you have to admit she doesn't exactly do understated and simple.'

'Well what about your mum?'

Lily hesitated. 'Well, that's just a little complicated.'

'Then we'll discuss it over ice-cream.' Marlene headed for the door. 'I think we've exhausted the possibilities in here anyway, since you seem not to like flowers at all, and you don't seem keen on colours either.'

'I'm just particular!'

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'That's a pensive look.' Peter strolled into the kitchen and pulled a mug from a cupboard before availing himself of the tea Lily had left on the side under a warming charm.

'Is it?' Lily rolled her engagement ring between her fingers, watching the diamond flash every time it caught the dull light.

Peter stirred his tea, ignoring the face Lily pulled at his three heaped spoons of sugar. 'You and James are good right? I mean, we all assumed…'

'We're good.' Lily reassured him. 'Great even.'

Peter slid into the chair opposite her. 'Then why are you sitting in the kitchen by yourself, with half the lights turned out?'

She shrugged. 'Just thinking.'

'About?'

Giving up, she leaned back in her chair. Peter could be horribly persistent and unreasonably perceptive at times, and she'd learnt that it was usually easiest to give in and spill everything to him; he could always be trusted to keep things to himself if you wanted him to. While the four Marauders were very different in most ways, one of the things they had in common was an unswerving loyalty to their friends.

'The wedding, and how much trouble it's going to be.'

Peter lifted one eyebrow. 'Why trouble?'

Lily leaned forward. 'Because I hadn't really thought about it before, but…I'm muggleborn Pete. My family are all muggles. And James' family, and pretty much all our friends are wizards. I'm not sure that there's any way of including both sets of people in this wedding.'

Peter leaned back in his seat and looked at Lily appraisingly. 'Shouldn't you just be worried about what you want for your wedding?'

She snorted. 'I don't give a damn, that's half of the problem. I don't see what difference it makes what flowers we have, or if the ribbons on the cake match the ones on the chairs. I just want to get married to James, and to have the people who are most important to us there.'

'Well, then, do that.'

'Not that simple Pete.' Lily rose to refill her mug of tea.

'Of course it is.' He stood up and drained the last of his tea. 'You're the one making it difficult, worrying about what the right thing to do is. You and James are such a pair of people-pleasers. If there's anything in your lives that you get to be selfish gits about, it's your wedding. Plan it however the hell you want, invite who you want and screw everything else.' He dropped his mug in the sink and patted her shoulder as he passed her on the way to the door. 'Night Lil.'

'Hmm. Night.'

She mulled it over for a while, then pushed her chair out decisively and headed upstairs. She paused outside Remus' door and knocked firmly, and it opened almost immediately.

'Everything okay?' Remus smiled at her.

'Yeah. Yeah, fine. I was just…can I ask you something?'

He opened the door wider and gestured for her to come in. Remus' room always made her smile; you would have thought that of the four of them Remus would be the tidiest, but that title actually went to James, which she was thankful for since she had to share a room with him. Remus was so organised in everything he did that it always came as a shock to her to see his clothes in haphazard stacks and parchment strewn everywhere. He was also the only person in the house to have posters of muggle bands and musicians, and it amused her no end to see images of Neil Young and The Who next to his lunar charts and Quidditch banner.

She perched on the edge of his bed and looked up at him as he stood in front of her with a quizzical expression.

'I was just wondering, since you're a half-blood…how do your parents, like, mix their families? Without breaking the Statute of Secrecy I mean.'

Remus nodded his understanding – in fact, given that this was Remus he probably understood more than she particularly wanted him to – and pulled out his desk chair to sit down.

'To be honest, they don't really. We tend to see the two sides of the family separately. I mean, it's not a problem from the point of view of Dad's family, because of course they know about muggles and they know not to give anything away. But I guess they just think it's better not to tempt fate.'

'So the two halves of your family don't mix?' Lily asked, her heart sinking a little.

'No, not really. Immediate family yeah, because there's no secrets to be kept there, but to be honest I can't remember the last time we had a family gathering with extended family from either side.'

'Huh.'

Remus looked at Lily carefully. 'Have I said the wrong thing?'

'No.' Lily summoned up the ghost of a smile for him. 'No you were honest, and that's what I wanted. Thank you.'

She stood up and moved towards his door, but he caught her arm gently as she moved past him. 'Lily, if there's something wrong you should really talk to James. Especially since you just got over a fight about not talking to each other.' He looked at her pointedly, and she flushed.

'Right. Talking to James. Yeah.'

He released her arm and she hurried out of the room, throwing him a faint smile as she went. She went directly to her and James' room, flung open the door and went in. Before she lost her nerve, she closed her eyes and blurted her thoughts out.

'I want a really small wedding with just close friends and family, and I don't care where it is or anything. The only thing I really want is to pick my dress. Oh, and I don't want any lilies within a mile of it.'

She opened her eyes to see a somewhat baffled James standing frozen by their bookcase with a book on common healing potions open in his hand. 'Okay?' He ventured, closing the book and placing it back on the shelf.

'That's it?'

He hesitated. 'Wait, was I supposed to disagree?'

'Well, I thought you'd be a little more…opinionated on the subject to be honest.'

They eyed each other cautiously for a moment, before James broke the silence. 'Well, what if my opinions are the same as yours? That it would be nice to have a small wedding.'

'Well, why didn't you say so earlier?' Lily challenged.

'Why didn't you?'

'I hadn't thought about it before!' She protested, and he couldn't help but laugh at her expression which appeared to be two-thirds relief, one third outrage.

'Neither had I, to be quite honest. I mean, I want to marry you Lily, I just hadn't really given all that much thought to the…logistics of the whole thing. We can do this any way you like.'

'Really?'

He sat down on the bed and grinned. 'Small. Nothing extravagant. Close friends and family. No lilies. Got it.'

She hesitated for only a moment before she crossed the room and straddled his lap. 'There's just one more thing to add to the list. Well, two actually.' She amended.

James looked up at her expectantly, his hands stroking the thin strip of exposed skin on her back between her shirt and her jeans.

'We should have a wizard ceremony, because more of our guests are going to be magical than not.'

James nodded. 'Okay, if that's what you want. I don't have a clue what muggle ceremonies are like, but we could have one if you wanted.'

'No. Our lives are in the wizarding world.'

'Okay.' James stretched up and pecked her lips. 'Wizard ceremony, only close friends and family, no lilies, keep it small. Wait, there was something else wasn't there?'

'Yeah, sort of.' Lily's fingers played with the round neck of his t-shirt. 'Soon?'

James frowned at her. 'Soon what?'

'I want to get married soon. The sooner the better.'

He stared up at her, and for a moment she was worried he was going to tell her that she was being crazy but then his mouth stretched into a wide grin. 'Have a date in mind?'

'I'm thinking Halloween.'

James' eyebrows shot up. 'That is soon.'

'Well, it's kind of already a special day for us.' She ran a hand through his hair. 'Or did you forget that little broom ride already?'

He grinned up at her. 'No, I hadn't forgotten. But actually…I think I preferred November 1st. Halloween didn't feel all that real until I woke up the next day. How about November 1st?'

She smiled. 'November 1st is okay by me.'

He put a hand on the back of her neck and pulled her face down to his. 'Are you sure? It's just…it's not much time, even for a small wedding. Barely two months.'

'I know.' Lily bit her lip then blurted out the rest of the thoughts that had been jumping up and down at the back of her mind all day. 'But I'd have a lot more time to plan it if I wasn't doing my potions apprenticeship.'

He pulled back and stared at her. 'You had to fight really hard to get that apprenticeship. Slughorn had to pull for you and everything.'

'I know.' She sat back on her heels and picked at the end of one of his sleeves. 'But the things you said the other day got in my head. About doing something to make a difference? I want to do that too. I want to work for the Order with you. What is the point in me working in the apothecary's and learning how to brew all those potions if the world goes to hell in the meantime and I can't even get work because I'm muggleborn? We fix the world first, then we have all the time in the world for careers.' She grinned at him. 'Besides, you need me, let's not pretend otherwise.'

He laughed at that. 'Well, that's pretty undeniable.' His hands rose to cup her face. 'Are you doing this for the right reasons Lily? Because getting married fast, having a small ceremony and working full time with the Order are all things you want?'

'Yeah.' Her hands rose to cover his. 'What's the point in waiting? Let's get on with things James.'

'Whatever you say sweetheart.'

Her shirt was half unbuttoned by the time Marlene walked past their bedroom door, still slightly ajar from Lily's mad charge in, and she slammed it closed with a huff and a loud warning about silencing charms.

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Frank leaned against the wall and tried very hard not to bite the inside of his cheek. It was a nervous habit that he knew he ought to break, not least because on days like this he did it so much that it felt like he was gnawing through his own skin.

He checked his watch for the fifth time in as many minutes, and went back to staring at the ceiling and trying not to worry. A loud creak alerted him to a door opening, and he looked quickly down the corridor to see Alice quietly shutting a door behind her. He straightened up and waited.

Her face was oddly expressionless as she walked up to him and stopped just a few feet away. 'How did it go?'

Her voice was quiet, and Frank hesitated before he answered. 'I start the advanced placement course in ten days' time.'

Alice nodded slowly. 'That's good.'

'It is?' Frank answered, still uncertain about her mood.

'Oh definitely. I'd have hated it if I was starting without you next week.'

His face split into a wide grin as he stared at her. 'You mean you…'

'Oh, I kicked arse.' Alice nonchalantly examined her fingernails before she dropped the casual act, grinned hugely and threw herself at him.

He caught her and spun the two of them around on the spot. Moody stomped past and glared. 'Make the bloody most of it, you won't be so happy once training starts. You'll be too tired to be happy.'

Frank stared at his retreating back. 'Well he's even more of a delight than normal today isn't he?'

Alice waved a hand dismissively. 'I'm pretty sure he's still grouchy about the fact that he didn't get as many applications as he was hoping for. The department's up against it, and he needs more bodies. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure he was expecting to get either James or Sirius, if not both, and he didn't get either.'

Frank frowned. 'Yeah, I wasn't surprised about Sirius, but I was about James.'

Alice shrugged. 'He's always been unpredictable. Even more so than Sirius really. Anyway, we should send an owl to Dumbledore, let him know our plans.'

They began to wonder down the hallway to the main exit of the Ministry testing facility. 'What about everyone else?' Frank asked.

'Marlene has an internship at the Prophet starting next week, Mary got the place she wanted at St Mungo's, and actually I think she's started already. Sirius, Remus, James and Lily are all officially unemployed through choice, and Peter has swung a job in the Leaky Cauldron. Apparently Dumbledore's been trying to get someone to keep an eye on the comings and goings in Diagon Alley for a while, and Pete just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Oh, and Lily said Julia has taken an internship at a hospital in France, just for a few months.'

'Blimey.' Frank blinked. 'How do you remember all that?'

Alice shrugged. 'Dunno. Natural ability?'

Frank threw an arm around her shoulder and squeezed. 'I swear, you'll never stop impressing me.'

'You won't be saying that when I'm kicking your arse six ways from Sunday once we've started training.'

'We'll see sweetheart. We'll see.'

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A/N: Quite a few people asked why I was having James and Lily plan out careers since according to JKR they never worked in the traditional sense, and this is why. Because while we know they are going to end up working full time with the Order, they didn't. They didn't even know it existed until relatively recently in this timeline. They had plans for their lives, and they gave them up; it's part of their story, and personally I think it's important to note how much they gave up.