As their final year passed, James and Lily became increasingly closer than most school romances ever did. Everyone, even a begrudging Snape, had to admit that they weren't just school sweet hearts and that they would probably end up spending the rest of their lives together. Some were upset by this, though those people were mainly the ones who wanted to be with one of them. James and Lily were happy and in love and that was all that mattered to them. They didn't care about anything that anyone else said to them. In their eyes so long as the two of them, their families and their friends were happy, the rest of the world could shove it. James was so over the moon about everything that, for a time, his grades slipped but Lily and Professor McGonagall managed to wake him up by threatening to stop him from playing Quidditch. Towards the end of the year, right before their NEWT exams, James woke up one morning with his mind set. All he had to do was talk to a couple of people first…

James was quiet during breakfast that morning and Lily wasn't the only one who noticed and who was slightly worried. Sirius and Remus shared a look before turning to Lily, who merely shrugged at them. None of them said anything, partly because they knew he wouldn't answer them but also because he looked so… strange. All through the morning classes James was silent and actually did the work he was set without making any smart-arsed comments. The teachers picked up on it but they chose not to say anything for the same reasons as Lily and the boys. Finally, Sirius and Remus got the chance to speak to James alone when Lily had Care of Magical Creatures and they had a free hour. The four of them were sitting in a circle on the floor of the Gryffindor boy's dorm room because the library had been weirdly noisy. Sirius elbowed Remus in the ribs.

"Ahh, James, we were wondering, is everything okay?" Remus stammered out.

James seemed a little confused at first but then he understood what had been said. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just having some trouble writing this damn letter."

"You're worried about a letter? Who's it to?"

"No-one. Listen, I wanted to talk to you guys about something." James took a steadying breath and then, with his eyes focused on the floor, spoke very quickly. "I've decided, just this morning, to do something that I really want to and even if you guys don't think I should I'm going to because I want to and I'm gonna ask Lily to marry me and there's nothing you can do about it."

A stunned silence followed James proclamation as the three boys tried to figure out what he'd actually said. James glanced up at them but quickly looked down again.

"You want to propose to Lily?" Remus said slowly. James nodded without looking up. "And the letter?"

"I want to ask Lily's parents for permission." James spoke meekly. He looked up and saw that Remus looked very happy, Peter seemed slightly confused, and, as expected, Sirius was simply staring.

"Well, I think it's brilliant, James." Remus smiled kindly at him. "And I'm sure that Jack and Rose will give you permission. No matter what you write in the letter. Congratulations, Prongs."

"I hope she says 'yes'. She hasn't been saying that to you for long." Peter said.

"Thanks, Wormy. I think." James smiled at Peter's way of congratulations. He then turned to Sirius who wasn't looking at him. James glanced at Remus, who nodded.

"Come on, Pete. I need something from the library." Thankfully Peter got the message and the two of them left.

"Sirius?" James spoke softly. Sirius sighed and looked up. "Mate, you're my best mate and I want you to be okay with this. I want you to be happy for me."

"I am happy for you, James. I just… I don't know. Don't you think that you're moving a bit quickly? You've only been dating since Christmas."

"I know but I love her and she loves me. What more do we need?" James watched as Sirius closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. "Unless you know some reason why I shouldn't marry her? Padfoot?"

"No, of course not." Sirius ran a hand through his hair and stood up. Sirius went over to the window and leant against the frame. James stood as well but remained rooted to the spot. "It's just that for years, you were so broken up because Lily refused to go out with you. She finally agrees to go out with you only a few months ago and now you want to propose. I know you love her, mate, but are you sure that you're not moving too fast?" Sirius fell quiet and kept looking out the window.

"Yes, I'm sure. There's a war going on and I don't think that I'm going to see the end of it. I know you think I will, you think we all will, but deep down you know that one, if not all of us, won't make it. And I don't want to die without having married her. I don't want to die at all of course, but I especially don't want to die without having been with her as more than just boyfriend/girlfriend. Why can't you understand that?"

Sirius spun around and glared at him. "I do understand it. I get it, Prongs, you want to be with her. You want to be able to finally call her your wife. And, you're right, we won't survive to see the fucking end. None of us will. Wormy won't because, let's face it, he won't know what to do without the three of us. Moony won't because he's a werewolf. And as for you and me, hell, we won't live because we'll be too busy protecting everyone we care about to even think about ourselves. So, don't tell me that I don't get it. I know what it's like to not want to die without having done everything you wanted to do. There's so much crap that I wanna do but I know that I'm never going to have the chance." Sirius sat down on his bed heavily and buried his face in his hands. James stood chewing his lip for a minute before sitting down with a sigh. "Don't lecture me. Please, James. I don't want to hear it. If you want to marry Lily now then I'll be okay with it. And I'm not just saying it. I mean it. I'm okay with it and I'm happy for you. Now, she just has to say 'yes'. Good luck with that, by the way." Sirius smirked at him but looked away too quickly for James' liking. There was a terrible sadness in Sirius' eyes, not to mention in the way that he was holding himself.

"Thanks, Paddy. And I'm not going to lecture you, that's Moony's job. I just… I don't know. I'm sorry for what I said. But you know, I reckon there's still time to do some… how'd you put it… crap?" Sirius muffled a laugh. "Unless, the crap you want to do, can't be done?"

Sirius let out a great sigh. "It's Regulus. I mean, what else is new, right? It's always Reg. He's going to join them and there's nothing I can do."

"Maybe, just maybe, you need to let him decide for himself. Give him the facts without forcing your own opinions on him. At least, that's what Moony and Lils would say."

"Maybe you're right. I don't know." Sirius ran a hand over his face and then seemed to pull himself together. "So what have you written in that letter so far."

James smiled and picked up the piece of parchment he'd been writing on. "'Dear Mr and Mrs Evans, I hope this letter finds you well.' That's all I've got."

Sirius laughed and took the parchment. "Pathetic. First of all, they've told you time and again to use their first names. Maybe you should start there." He handed back the parchment and placed a hand on James shoulder. "They'll give you permission, mate. For some twisted reason they actually like you."

"Thanks a bunch, Padfoot. Any other bright ideas?"

"Nope. You're on your own for that. Ask Moony, he'll come up with something good. I'm happy for you, mate. And I do hope that she agrees."

"Thanks."

…

"He's fine, Lily." Remus whispered.

Remus and Lily were sitting together in their Ancient Runes class. Lily has asked Remus what was wrong with James and it was blindingly obvious that she didn't believe his answer.

"Come on, Remy, please." Lily clutched his arm and squeezed lightly. "I'm worried about him. He's been quiet and distant all day. I've never seen him like this."

"I have." Remus muttered. He hadn't meant for Lily to hear him.

"You have? When?"

Remus sighed but decided that he may as well answer. "When you kept refusing him."

"Oh. But I haven't refused anything." Lily said. Remus smirked and cocked an eyebrow at her. "What? Oh, you're worse than Sirius." Lily had turned bright red. She ducked her head as Remus laughed at her.

"Something funny, Mr Lupin?" Professor Babbling asked.

"No, Professor, sorry." Babbling nodded and continued with the revision lesson. "Honestly, Lil, he's just worried about… exams." Remus wasn't entirely sure if she would buy it. Lily seemed to consider it for a minute before nodding and returning her attention to the lesson. Remus sighed and relief and made a mental note to tell James that Lily was worrying about him.

…

Dear Jack and Rose,

I hope that this letter finds you healthy and happy. No doubt you won't be surprised to hear that Lily is making sure that we are all studying long and hard. I'm not sure if she's already told you but on top of studying and her Head duties, Lily is helping several other seventh year students, including my friend Peter, to study for their exams.

I wish that I was able to discuss what's in this letter with you in person but I'm a fairly impatient kind of person and I couldn't wait for the holidays.

As I'm sure Lily has told you, I've been in love with your daughter for years. And, despite the constant rejections, I never gave up on asking her to go out with me. She was of the belief that I was an 'arrogant toe-rag'. I can assure you that I'm really not. Something tells me that you both know of some of my past exploits, as I call them. These exploits were my attempt to get Lily to notice me, but in the end they just made things worse. I don't like hurting people and I have never intentionally done so. The pranks that my friends and I pull are harmless fun, though Lily didn't always see it that way. However, times have changed and she has actually helped us with some of our more elaborate stunts, but she has never gotten in trouble for them. She's much too clever for that, as I'm sure you're aware.

Once I have graduated Hogwarts I plan to become an Auror, which means that, along with Remus and Sirius, I will be hunting down Dark wizards and witches and thereby protecting everyone I care for, which does, of course, include your daughter. My parents have decided that should I manage to become an Auror they will buy me an apartment in London, though I do have enough money to buy one on my own. It's kind of a tradition in my family to buy something massive for someone who achieves their dream career. It may sound somewhat strange but its tradition and I get a free apartment out of it. I have enough money to support myself and those I care for and enough to buy anything and everything that is needed for the apartment and that includes bills.

The reason that I'm writing to you is to ask you for your permission and blessing to marry Lily. I know that we're only seventeen and if you don't want me to propose to her while we're still so young I will understand, though I'm not entirely sure if that will stop me, and I apologise in advance if that's the case. I can promise you that I will look after Lily for as long as I live, no matter what happens. I have always and will always love her with my whole heart, which she stole from me a long time ago. Everything I own is for her. I want to spend the rest of my life with her and I swear that I will never hurt her and I will protect her with everything I've got. There is nothing that I wouldn't do for her. Please give me your blessing and permission to marry your daughter.

Yours Sincerely,

James David Potter

…

In the end, James had written the letter without help and he was quite pleased with the end result. Remus had offered to read it once he was finished to check everything, but James politely refused. Once he had sent the letter it was an anxious wait for the reply. Every morning at breakfast James would look up to search the flock of incoming owls for his own, desperately hoping for the letter and permission. The engagement ring he had bought with his mother's help was hidden in Remus' trunk, waiting the day when it was needed. James' thoughts constantly turned to the simple yet elegant ring in its plain box.

It took a whole week after James had sent the letter for him to receive the reply. When his owl landed he quickly grabbed the letter before Lily had a chance to look at. Sirius gave James an encouraging smirk and nodded towards the doors with a question on his face. You wanna get out of here? James nodded in response and watched as Sirius got to his feet and climbed up onto the table.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, come one, come all, and see the Amazing Sexy Sirius perform death defying acts!" As Sirius continued his announcement and performance James snuck out of the Great Hall and into the Head dormitories to read the letter.

…

Dear James,

Firstly, we would like to say that was nice to get a letter from you and apologise for taking so long to reply to it. No doubt you've been losing sleep over this. I want to explain that it only took so long because we wanted to get the wording right so that everything we want to say is clear and concise.

I want to thank you for asking us permission. Vernon did no such thing and perhaps it would have been better if he had, mainly because we wouldn't have given them our blessing. One day when you're a parent, you will understand why it is so important to us to be a part of our children's lives, especially when it comes to making big decisions, such as marriage. The fact that you took the time and effort to write such a lovely letter to us means a lot.

Lily has always been our favourite. We know that parents shouldn't have a favourite but there it is. Lily is our favourite and the youngest and is therefore still our baby girl and she always will be. When we found out that Lily was a witch somehow we knew that we would lose her to magic, and we have in some small way. Although she will always be our daughter there are just some things that she won't be able to talk to us about because we won't understand. When she got that letter we hoped and prayed that she would meet and make friends with people who would be able to explain things to her and help her whenever she needed. This isn't to say that we aren't proud of her or that we aren't happy for her. We are incredibly proud of her and we wouldn't want her to be anything else than everything she is.

When she came home from Hogwarts that first Christmas, it was obvious that in the space of a few short months we had already lost her. She was full of such wonder and enthusiasm for this new world and we knew in that minute that we were the only things tying her to this, our, world. We are by no means sorry for that. That Christmas Lily told us about everyone she had met, including you and your friends. Lily didn't really like you from the get go, but you probably know that. She told us that you were the most irresponsible and immature boy she had ever met and that she couldn't ever be friends with you, let alone date you. Yet somehow we both knew then. The way she talked about you, the way she looked when she spoke of you, her very manner betrayed her that very first Christmas. Every letter she sent home mentioned you. Every time she came home for the holidays she talked about you. She very rarely used the nicest terms, but she did say that you were a very good wizard and that didn't actually come as a surprise to her. It seemed that as the months and years passed Lily talked more and more about you. And each time she did, the name calling and the insults became less frequent and the compliments and adorations grew.

You wrote that you have loved Lily for years and, from our perspective (though Lily will probably deny it) she has loved you for as long as you have her. And nothing has ever or will ever change that. And we don't want it to. James, our daughter is a very bright and strong young woman. She knows exactly what she wants out of life and we have no doubt that she will get it. Lily is free to do as she pleases and all that we ask of her is that she keeps herself safe and remains in contact with us. We have never asked anything else of her and we never will. All that we want out of life is to see both our daughters happy, healthy and loved. It would appear that Petunia is at least healthy and loved. Lily, on the other hand, is happy, healthy and loved. We could not ask for anything more and we have you, James, to thank for that.

Although you and Lily are still very young and have your whole lives to look forward to we know that both of you see each other in that future. You have given our daughter everything she has ever asked for and we are sure that you will continue to do so, even if it hurts you. And so it is with great joy and sadness, that we give you our permission and blessing to ask Lily to marry you.

We ask for one thing in return, however. We are not as ignorant of the Wizarding World as Lily would like us to be. We are fully aware of the war that is going on and we know that, unfortunately, Lily has decided that she will fight this Dark Wizard and his followers. We ask that you keep our daughter safe throughout this war and that you make sure she doesn't do anything reckless.

Your future in-laws,

Jack and Rose Evans

…

James finished reading the letter and closed his eyes. He had their permission and Lily had loved him for years. James couldn't have been happier. All he had to do now was actually pop the question.

…

Lily walked out of her very last exam, Ancient Runes, and heaved a great sigh of relief. Next to her Remus was looking the same way that she felt. Incredibly happy and relieved. The Ancient Runes exam had been harder than either of them had anticipated but both believed that they had done reasonably well. Without saying a word both of them headed out into the grounds and the beautiful sunshine. Most of the students were milling around outside as they were experiencing some of the best weather they'd seen for a long time. The sun was out, the birds were singing, no one was fighting or mourning, and everyone was happy. Remus and Lily made their way over to where James, Sirius and Peter were sitting amidst the roots of a large tree. Though Sirius was actually sitting up in the branches of the tree. Every so often he would yell out an insult to one of the Slytherins, who either didn't hear him or ignored him. The latter was the more likely option.

When they reached the tree James stood up. "How was the exam?"

"Horrible." Remus sat down heavily and threw his bag to the side in disgust. "Glad the stupid thing is over."

"It was fine. He's just upset because he hadn't studied one of the languages." Lily laughed. Remus shot her a dirty look and then smiled.

"True but that's his fault." Remus jerked his thumb at Sirius. "He hid those notes."

"Did not. Hey, Mulciber, you stink!"

"Lily, come for a walk." James took Lily's hand gently in his and strode off. James glanced back at his friends who all smiled in encouragement and gave him the thumbs up. Lily followed along, hoping that everything was okay. When James began to go into the Forbidden Forest, however, Lily yanked her hand out of his.

"James, we can't go in there."

"Why not? I go in all the time."

"Yes, I know, but…"

"We'll be fine, Lils. Trust me." James took Lily's hand again and continued walking. The two of them walked for some time until they reached a beautiful glade which was filled with sunshine giving it an ethereal quality. James let go of his Lily's hand and walked away from her. He was breathing slowly and deeply in an attempt to calm his nerves. Lily, for her part, stood still and silent, watching him closely. Finally he turned around and walked over to her. He reached out and took her bag off her shoulder, placed it on the ground, and held both of her hands.

"James, what's going on? You're scaring me."

"I want to show you something. But first, conjure your Patronus."

"Ok-ay." Lily took out her wand and brought forth the silvery doe. James smiled and took out his wand. An incredible silver stag came forth. "But I thought you Patronus was a…"

"Swan? Nope. I don't know what happened when we had that Charms duel. No, this is my actual Patronus. See that, Lil? Yours is a doe, mine's a stag. Always has been, just like yours has always been a doe, right?" Lily nodded but stayed silent. She wasn't sure where James was going this. "You managed to produce a corporeal Patronus before me. You did that before I got my Animagus form, which is a stag. It's always been that way. The Stag and the Doe. Me and you. I don't generally believe in fate and destiny and all that crap, but even I couldn't deny that we've always been meant for each other." James fell silent and the stag slowly disappeared. Lily allowed the doe to disappear as well and stowed her wand in her robes. James put his in his pocket and waited.

"I… well, yes, I suppose you're right. Though I've never actually thought about it before. James, please, you're still kind of scaring me."

"Sorry, I don't mean too. I'm just a little… wound up, is all." James turned away again and began breathing in a very deliberate way. He turned around again, took Lily's hands, and launched into his speech.

"Lily, I have loved you for longer than you know. I just never realised it before fifth year, and I wish to Merlin that I had. Everything I did, the rule breaking, the pranks, it was all to get your attention because I loved you. I just didn't know it then. And once I did realise I prayed every night that you would go out with me, even if it was just the one date. All I've ever wanted from you is for you to say 'yes'. And when you finally did, I could hardly believe it. I thought that I was still slightly concussed and that's why I had to ask you again just to be sure. I still can't believe you said it. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and it feels as though all of this has been the most amazing dream. But then I see you when I go downstairs or I feel you next to me in bed and it hits me. Every single day it hits me that I'm lucky and that I'm blessed. I don't know what I did to deserve you but whatever it was I'm glad that I did it. I've never been this happy and worried at the same time. I'm happy because you finally love me back. And I'm worried that one day either you'll stop loving me or someone will take you away from me. And I won't let either of those things happen. I don't know what I'd do if you left me, but I know damn well what I'd do if you were forcefully and suddenly taken from me. But I don't want to think about that. Lily, everything that I have is yours. Everything I can give you, I will. Whatever you ask for, I'll go to the ends of the earth to get it for you. There is nothing that I wouldn't do for you, even if, ultimately, it hurts me to do it. I can't imagine my life without you in it and I don't want to try. I love you more than I can put into words. I know that you don't need someone to care for you and look after you, but I will. I'll care for you, I'll look after you, I'll provide for you until the day I die. And believe me I'll be first. Because I'll be damned if I let you die before me. Lily Rose Evans, will you do me the great honour of marrying me?"

James then pulled a plain box out his pocket and opened it to reveal the most elegant and simplistic ring that Lily had ever seen and dropped down on one knee. The ring was a simple band of gold with a large princess cut diamond resting on top. Thin straps of gold held the diamond in place. Lily looked into James' hazel eyes and dropped to her knees in front of him.

"James David Potter," Lily was struggling to keep her tears at bay. "You have given me so much over the past few months and I could think of no better way to spend the rest of my life than with you. I love you so much that sometimes it hurts when I'm not with you. I don't know what I would do without my great protector. So, my answer is yes."

James slipped the ring onto Lily's finger and as the dying rays of the sun hit the beautiful glade, the two lovers embraced.