An Engaging Conversation

Lily woke up the next day to her telephone ringing. She sat up as a splitting headache settled over her. What a great way to start your eighteenth birthday, she thought bitterly to herself, with a hangover. She reached toward her bedside table and grabbed the phone.

"Hello?" she answered groggily.

"Happy Birthday, darling!" said Mrs. Evans in what Lily thought was a very loud voice for so early in the morning.

"Thanks, Mum." Lily said as she laid back down in her bed.

"So how does it feel to be eighteen?" said Mrs. Evans in a highly enthusiastic voice.

Lily smiled to herself; the only thing that she could feel was her head throbbing.

"It feels great"

"So what are your plans for the day?"

"I'm not sure, but James said that he has it all planned out, which, between us, is a little scary" Lily laughed.

"Oh..." said Mrs. Evans in a knowing voice.

"Do you know something that I don't?"

"No, no, of course not, Lily,"

"Uh huh" Lily didn't believe her mother for a second.

"Well, I'd better let you go. I know that you've got a big day ahead of you"

"So you do know what he's got planned!" Lily exclaimed in triumph.

"Goodbye, Lily. I love you." said Mrs. Evans as though she hadn't heard Lily's last remark.

"I love you too, Mum. Bye."

Lily heard the line go dead and hung up the phone. That was a little more than weird, she thought, how could my mum know what James and I are doing today when even I don't know?

Slowly, Lily dragged herself out of her bed and into a nice, long, hot shower.

000

Lily was sitting at her kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee when her phone rang for the second time that morning. She stood up to answer the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Lil, it's me."

"James? How – you don't have a phone in your apartment – how –"

"I'm at a pay phone. Anyway, I'm taking you to lunch today, and you should wear your black dress."

Lily was more than a little confused. "Why do I need to dress up?"

"Just because...I'll be there in an hour."

"James–"

"And Lil, Happy Birthday."

"Thanks, James, but what is going--"

"I'll see you in an hour." Then the line went dead.

Now Lily was extremely confused. What the hell was going on? Did everyone know something that she didn't?

Even though she was very confused, and slightly afraid, Lily managed to get ready when James arrived.

She heard the doorbell ring and hurried out of her room with her make-up on, hair done, strap-less, knee-length, black dress on, and carrying her black, unrealistically painful, high-heels in one hand. She opened the door and felt her breath catch in her chest. James was running his hand through his untamable black hair. He was wearing a pair of black dress pants, a white, button-up shirt, and black tie, and looked stunning. He was carrying a bouquet of pink stargazer lilies.

"You look beautiful," he said as he stepped into the apartment. "Happy Birthday, babe."

"Thank you," she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "You don't look so bad yourself"

He put an arm around her waist, pulled her close, and kissed her deeply.

Once they had broken apart, James handed Lily the lilies and said, "And these are for you."

"Oh, James, they're beautiful! Just let me put them in a vase before we go." Lily dropped her shoes in one of the chairs at the table and went into the kitchen to find a vase. She put on her shoes, and when she came back, she found James glancing around her apartment looking slightly anxious.

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

"Yeah, I'm fine" he said, smiling slightly.

"So where is it that you're taking me, anyway?"

"Giovanna's" he said simply.

Lily felt her jaw drop. "That new Italian Muggle restaurant that's just a block away form here?"

"Yeah,"

"But – it's nearly impossible to get in! I know, I've tried."

"They don't take reservations and they open pretty soon, so we'd better get going." said a smiling James as he opened the door for Lily.

000

Because the restaurant was only two blocks from Lily's apartment, they decided to just walk. It was a rather small restaurant, so Lily and James waited by the bar until their table was ready.

"So what do you think of Remus and Elizabeth?" asked Lily.

"I'm kinda surprised. I mean, he's had a thing for her for a while now, but I'm kinda shocked he did something about it."

"I never knew he liked her. How long?"

"A few months"

"And you never told me?" said Lily, trying to sound offended.

"He made us promise that we wouldn't tell anyone"

"But he let you tell me that he was a werewolf?" she asked quietly. She had expected James to come back with some witty comment, but he didn't say anything. He was looking at something behind Lily, with a face of slight shock.

"James? You okay?"

Still, he did not respond. Lily turned around to see what James was looking at. What she saw made her want to break something. Her sister Petunia, who she had not spoken to in over six months, and her husband Vernon were giving there name to the hostess. Lily couldn't believe it, of all the restaurants in London, they, the bloody Dursleys, had to pick this one.

"I've got an idea," said James quietly as he put a protective arm around her waist. "We'll go back to your place, and we'll order some take-out food." After Lily nodded numbly, he continued, "I'll be right back,"

He left their place at the bar and Lily watched him walk to the hostess, careful to avoid Petunia and Vernon. James was saying something to the hostess, who nodded. Then James nodded to Lily, who took it as a sign for them to leave.

She rose from her chair and made her way to the door. Lily kept her eyes on the floor; the last thing she wanted to do was start a fight with her sister in the middle of a Muggle restaurant. She felt someone bump into her shoulder and spun around to give them a dirty look, but she found herself face to face with Petunia.

Petunia looked at Lily with a completely shocked expression, while Lily looked at her with anger flickering in her green eyes. Lily wanted nothing more than to punch her sister in the face, but gained some self control and turned around and left to meet James at the door.

000

The first thing Lily did when she and James reached her apartment (after taking off her high heels, of course) was head for the phone and order take-out, and since the place was right down the road, it would be there in about fifteen minutes. She walked into the living room to find James lounging on the couch, his collar unbuttoned and tie loosened.

Lily curled up against him as James ran his fingers through her dark red hair. They stayed like this until someone knocked at the door. James got up and answered it; it was their food. He brought it back to the living room were they ate on the couch.

Out of the middle of nowhere, James started to laugh quietly.

"What's so fun?" asked Lily, smiling slightly herself.

"Of all the restaurants in London, no, not just London, in the bloody United Kingdom, your sister and her husband pick the one that we went to."

She smacked his arm playfully. "Well, I'm glad one of us finds it amusing." she said, laughing slightly.

Then James's face turned suddenly serious and slightly nervous. He got off the couch, stood directly in front of Lily, and held her hands in his. She looked at him in confusion.

"Lily, I love you. I've loved you for my whole life, even if I just realized it this past year. We have our whole lives ahead of us to be together. But things are changing; we may not have forever in front of us. Which is why I have to do this now." James took a deep breath before he kneeled on one knee. Lily realized what he was going to say about a second before he did.

"Will you marry me?"

"Yes," said Lily breathlessly as tears formed in her eyes. She grabbed James tie and pulled him into a deep kiss.

Once they broke apart, James reach into his pocket and pulled out the most beautiful ring Lily had ever seen. It had a silver band, one large diamond in the center and two slightly smaller ones on either side. As he slid it onto her left hand, tears were falling freely from Lily's eyes.

"So, should we go tell everyone now or should we wait 'til tomorrow?" James asked.

Lily grinned before she kissed him again. "I think they can wait," she whispered seductively.

A/N: Hellooo! I just want to tell you guys that this will most likely be my last update before the release of the eagerly anticipated Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. And for the week after July 16th, I'll be (and you probably will be too) reading and re-reading book six. My next update will probably be around the 23rd, give or take a few days. Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed! You guys rock!