Title: Glass Hearts
Rating: PG-13
Summary (of chapter): James asks Lily an important question. The seventh years enjoy the last of their time at Hogwarts.
Dear Mr. Evans,
Hello, this is James Potter. Thanks for letting me stay at your house and all.
Dear Mr. Evans,
James Potter here. How are you? That was a great wedding. Speaking of weddings,
Mr. Evans,
This is James Potter. I hope you and your wife are well!
Dear Mr. Evans,
How are you? This is James Potter. I enjoyed the wedding. It was nice getting to know you and your wife. I'm actually writing about Lily, though. I wanted to ask your permission to ask her to marry me. I really love your daughter and I'd do anything for her. Write me back whenever you can.
Thanks.
James Potter
After crossing out the first three, James finally wrote the fourth. He read the letter over again and again. It was short. Maybe it was too informal. He looked over at Sirius, who was sleeping on the desk. Professor Flitwick was going a little long today. He seemed to be trying to cram as much into their minds as he could before NEWTs two weeks away.
He leaned forward. Remus and Lily were sitting in the desk ahead of them. "Remus," he whispered. He slipped the letter to him. "Don't let her see it." Lily rolled her eyes.
He saw Remus lean over the note and read it. He didn't do anything for a moment, and James wondered if Remus thought he was a complete idiot. Marriage. Asking Lily to marry him. What was he thinking, anyway? She would say no. She would break his heart and run back to Snape. No. She couldn't go back to Snape. But really. They'd been together what, eight months? Had it even been that long?
Remus turned around in his seat, looking at James with wide eyes. "Are you shitting me?" he whispered.
Lily looked at Remus sharply. James was sure she wanted to see that letter. He held his hand out for it. "Is it okay?" he asked.
Remus handed him back the letter then turned his attention back to the front. Over James's letter, the one he had taken so long to write, Remus had written three giant exclamation points, the ink blotting and bleeding over his words.
James glared at the back of Remus's head. When Flitwick turned to write on the board, he leaned forward again. "You ruined it!" he exclaimed. Peter and Lily were now trying to figure out what the fuss was about.
"I was surprised," Remus said indignantly. "Tell Sirius." He hit Sirius on the head. Sirius awoke with a snort. Professor Flitwick looked at their rows, but the five of them tried to look natural.
"What?" Sirius said, rubbing his head. "I was catching up on some sleep, thanks."
James slid the letter over their desk. Sirius stared at it. "I can't read this," he said flatly.
James rolled his eyes, turning the parchment over to write on the back. I'm going to propose to Lily.
Sirius read the words. His eyebrows slowly traveled up his forehead. He looked at James, then pointed at Lily with a questioning look on his face. James nodded. Sirius pointed to his ring finger. James nodded again.
Sirius stared down at James's note again, then began laughing silently. "What's so funny?" James asked, hitting him in the shoulder.
Lily looked over her shoulder, narrowing her eyes. "Do you mind?" she asked.
"Is there a question back there?" Professor Flitwick asked, looking at them.
"No," Lily said. "Sorry, professor."
Flitwick continued as Sirius doubled over in his seat, laughing quietly. James took the note from him, annoyed. Sirius grinned at him. "It's a great idea," he said quietly. "It's just really funny, too."
"Hilarious," James said, glaring at him.
"Do it," Sirius said. He paused, then his eyes twinkled. "Tonight."
"No," James said. "I'm sending her dad a letter."
"Oh, right," Sirius said, looking at the back of Lily's head. He leaned forward and flicked Peter in the ear. Peter winced, then looked at Sirius. Sirius waited for Flitwick to turn, then inconspicuously whispered something in Peter's ear. James watched as Peter's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He looked at Lily, but Sirius said something else, and Peter looked away quickly.
"If he tells her, I'll kill you," James said.
Sirius just grinned, leaning back in his chair. James sighed and began another letter. Well, now he had to ask her or they'd never let him live it down.
Lily could tell something was a little bit off. She didn't know what exactly, but James was acting odd. Peter had been avoiding her for a few days, too. Sirius seemed overjoyed about something – he would whisper in James's ear and then his bark-like laugh would fill the common room or he would grin at Remus during class or randomly start singing about love. Remus seemed the only normal one left.
Lily followed James down the stairs. "Where are we going?" she asked.
"I can't tell you," James said, taking her hand.
Lily rolled her eyes. "You know, I could be studying right now," she said. NEWTs were less than two weeks away. They reached the entrance hall. The sun had already set. The stars were coming out as the night grew darker.
"But then you wouldn't be with me," James replied. She saw his grin in the dark.
They approached the lake. "Lumos," James said.
In his wand light, Lily could see a boat on the shore, its rope tied to one of the trees. She smiled. "Is this one of the boats the first years use?" she asked.
"Yeah," James said.
Lily walked closer as the water lapped the edges of the shore. "Are we going to get in it?" she asked excitedly.
"Yeah," James said, grinning. He grabbed a lantern that had been waiting for them and untied the rope. He took his shoes off and rolled his pants up. "Get in."
Lily sat in the boat, taking the lantern for James. He rolled the rope up and put it in the boat. Then he pushed it off the bank. He stepped in the water, but got into the boat. It swayed, then steadied. Lily let out a laugh. "This is cool!" she exclaimed.
James got the oars out and started oaring them towards the middle of the lake. "Are you going to push me in and leave me?" Lily asked.
"No way," James said, winking.
Lily could see the reflection of the moon and the stars on the still surface of the lake. As the boat moved through it, they disrupted the image of the sky above them, ripples spreading out. She looked up at the castle, the grand image with its many windows and towers. "This is crazy," she said. "How did you get this boat?"
"Hagrid," James answered.
"Does McGonagall know?" Lily asked, grinning.
"I don't know."
Lily leaned down towards the water, running her fingers through the cool water. "Can you believe we only have a few weeks left?" she said with a sigh.
"I know," James said. "We're almost done here."
"So, what's up with you guys lately?" Lily asked.
"What do you mean?" James asked.
Lily rolled her eyes, tilting her head. "You're all acting weird," she said. "What is it that you've gotten into this time, hm?"
"Nothing."
"You're leaving early to fight, aren't you?" Lily asked. "Sirius bribed Moody into letting you skip training."
"No," James said, laughing. "Come here, I'll show you."
Lily sat up, smiling at James. He took a small bundle out of his pocket. He started to unwrap it. In the dim lantern light, Lily saw a small box. She paused, her heartbeat kicking up. "Oh, James. . ." she trailed off.
He opened the box up and a diamond ring looked up at her. She covered her mouth in shock. "I want to marry you," James said quietly.
Lily looked at James. "Honestly?" she asked.
"Yeah," James said, nodding. His voice constricted. "I love you, Lily. I know we haven't been going out that long, but I want -"
Lily cut him off, putting her fingers to his mouth. "You're serious?"
"Of course," James said. He laughed a little bit, wiping tears off his face. Lily let a smile came onto her face. It was the first time he had cried in front of her. She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips.
"I just. . .you're not joking?" Lily asked.
"No!" James said, laughing again. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
Lily grinned. "Okay," she said. She started nodding her head. "I love you, James. Of course I'll marry you."
James motioned to her hand. He slipped the ring onto her finger. Lily felt her heart trying to escape from her ribcage. The diamond was beautiful, a dainty thing that looked perfect on her hand. She threw her arms around James. "Oh, gods," she said. "This is amazing, James."
The stars twinkled down on them as the boat floated around the surface of the lake lazily, holding Lily and the boy who held her heart.
Sirius pulled back James's curtains. "Prongs, did you do it?" he asked while James tried to hide from the sun. "We waited until two for you. Were you consummating the marriage?"
"Go away," James mumbled, pulling the covers over his head.
Peter and Remus came on either side of him. "Did she say yes?" Peter asked.
"Where were you all night?" Remus asked. He tugged on the comforter, pulling it down so James was forced to look at the three of them.
"Everywhere," James said. He stretched his arms over his head and then stared at the top of his four poster. "She said yes."
"You're shitting me!" Sirius exclaimed. "Was she good?"
"We didn't shag, you idiot," James said. "We stole the map back from Filch, we snuck into Honeydukes, we got drunk on butterbeer –"
"You should have stopped at she said yes." Remus laughed.
Sirius dug into his trunk and brought out some firewhiskey. Remus Conjured up four glasses. "A toast!" Sirius yelled. "To James and Lily!"
Sirius was pretty sure Lily and James had never looked so happy. The dolts were in love. Lily showed her ring off to whoever asked, her face lit up when someone gave their congratulations, and she didn't study for NEWTs all day. James stared at her like there was no one else in the world. He hardly believed that it was real; he kept asking his mates to pinch him.
Seeing his two friends so happy gave Sirius a sense of guardianship. He knew life after Hogwarts was uncertain. James had taken care of him for years – had accepted him as a Gryffindor, had kept him out of trouble, had loved him as a brother.
A group of them by the lake, Sirius watched as James lay his head in Lily's lap and she started to play with his hair. It was his turn now to look after James.
Lily told Marlene and her roommates about James's proposal. The boys sat by quietly as her smile lingered. Remus was playing with the leaves from the nearby tree, weaving them together into a shape. Peter snickered occasionally at the comic book he was reading.
Sirius saw a group of girls walked by. Jewel walked with them, her blonde hair longer than he had remembered it being. He thought about the thing with Candace, how he and Jewel fought the day after that and he joined the bachelor's club – Remus and Peter had accepted him graciously.
Remus poked Sirius in the ear with a leaf. Sirius hit him on the knee, making Remus laugh. James had fallen asleep, so Sirius rolled over onto his stomach and hit him on the forehead. James snapped awake. Their laughs filled the air, leaving their mark on Hogwarts forever.
Lily closed her eyes against the warm summer evening air. The air was echoing with cheers celebrating the last day of exams ending. The Quidditch pitch was full of people flying to blow off what they had kept inside of them for the past month. There were parties going on in the common rooms, and students running everywhere.
To her surprise, she wasn't too worried about her NEWTs. She had done pretty well other than a few potions facts. What did it matter, really? She would soon marry James and the two of them would start a life together. She would go into training to become a Healer in the fall. It didn't seem real. She would be leaving Hogwarts . . . she wouldn't ever be back to the castle as a student. She thought of her memories here of friends, boyfriends, fighting, classes, learning, reading.
"Hey, Red!"
Lily nearly jumped out of her skin. She looked up and saw Sirius walking over to her. "You seen Remus around?" he asked.
Lily shook her head. "After the Transfiguration NEWT, I think I saw him with Marlene," she said.
"Yeah, she's missing, too," Sirius rolled his eyes. "They're back at it again, I suppose."
Lily shrugged. She doubted it, honestly, but who knew for sure? There was an air of abandonment around Hogwarts, something beckoning them to unleash and be free before the end of their childhood. "Where are James and Peter?" she asked.
"The Gryffindors are worshiping James back at the pitch," Sirius said. He brushed his hair out of his eyes with a nod of his head. Gryffindor had won the Quidditch cup last Saturday. "What are you doing out here?"
She was sitting outside by the greenhouses, facing towards the sun. "Waiting for the sun to set," she said.
"Mind if I join you?" Sirius asked. He didn't wait for an answer as he plopped into the grass next to her.
"We're really going to leave in a week," Lily said, sighing a little bit. "We have to be adults after this."
"Yeah," Sirius said. "One week of freedom left before we're hurled into hell and war and responsibility."
"I'm sort of scared, I guess," Lily said.
"You shouldn't be," Sirius told her. "Evans the genius. You're going to be fine."
Lily straightened her legs out in front of her, looking at her feet. "You think so?" she asked.
"Yeah," Sirius said. "You've got James, haven't you?"
"Yeah," she said, "I guess he's all I need, really."
"That's almost sickening," he said.
With a roll of her eyes, Lily looked over at him. "Almost," she said.
It was silent for a moment. Lily picked up a handful of grass and started to play with it. "Do you think real love is possible for two eighteen year olds?" she asked.
"You tell me," Sirius said.
"I'm asking for your opinion," Lily said.
"You're the one getting married."
Lily felt the small blades of grass on her skin. She tore them apart one by one. She was in love with James. She was going to marry him. She told him she loved him every day, usually more.
"I don't know about you," Sirius said, "but I think it's possible. Sure, we're eighteen, but what's that got to do with it? I've loved, I've hated, I've fought, bled, cried."
In the darkening sunlight, she couldn't see too much of his face. His voice had a certain roughness to it Lily hadn't heard before. It took her a moment to realize it was the same emotion from leaving Hogwarts that she was feeling on the inside. That she had done so much growing up here, but there was more to do outside of these walls with the uncertain future ahead of her.
"We have more," Lily said.
"Years of it," Sirius said gruffly. "After this bloke Voldemort gets killed, the stupid idiot, things are going to be fine. That's what we're all worried about, isn't it?"
Of course he was right. Voldemort and his Death Eaters; tearing apart their world, taking countless innocent lives, destroying the security they had known for years, taking advantage of families and love; they were what really worried her about leaving the safety of Hogwarts.
"You can just tell in the halls or during meals and classes," Sirius said. "People tried to not think about it by studying, and it worked pretty well. I mean, not for me or James, but for everyone else. I'm glad we're leaving, though. I'd rather die fighting than hear about other peoples deaths while being helpless here."
Though she was a Gryffindor, too, James and Sirius had a courage Lily was sure she would never have. She wanted to help people. She wanted to stop the Dark Magic and the killings, but there was a line between wanting to help and being willing to do anything at all.
"You're braver than I am," Lily said simply, dropping the shredded grass back onto the ground.
"Sometimes," Sirius said. "Sometimes not. I wouldn't have the guts to be alone with James's best friend if I was engaged to him."
Lily laughed. "What do you think he's going to think?" she asked, shaking her head. "No offence, Sirius, but not a snowball's chance in hell."
"Right," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "That's what they all say. But few females can resist my charm."
Lily laughed louder, shaking her head. "You're delusional," she said.
Their argument joined the rest of the celebrations and last stolen moments. The sun set as they sat by the greenhouses, one week away from their last day at Hogwarts.
Lily and James followed Professor McGonagall to her office, glancing at each other. They had been headed for the teacher's lounge to help with the seventh year party, but now they were in McGonagall's office.
"Take a seat," McGonagall said, waving with her hand.
There were two chairs across from her desk. Lily had sat here many times, in to talk with her favorite professor. James had probably also sat in here many times, getting yelled at and given many detentions.
Professor McGonagall looked very serious. She took off her glasses to clean them with her handkerchief. On top of her desk lay a Daily Prophet, the latest Dark Mark blaring up at them obnoxiously. She set her elbows on the desk, looking at the two seventh years intently.
"Tomorrow you will be leaving Hogwarts as students," McGonagall said. "I know that you, James, are going into Auror training, and that Lily, you'll be entering training for Healers. I'm proud of both you, and I was very glad to have you as my students."
She paused for a long moment. James and Lily glanced at each other, neither of them knowing where the conversation was going.
"Five years ago, after some of the rumors of Voldemort were confirmed," McGonagall said, "Professor Dumbledore started a secret society called the Order of the Phoenix. This society's sole purpose is to find and destroy Voldemort and his Death Eaters."
Lily's eyes widened. "You mean it's not just the Aurors fighting against him?" she asked.
"No, no, definitely not," McGonagall said, shaking her head. "Dumbledore has known Voldemort for very long, when he was even a student here at Hogwarts. He knows his potential for evil and depravity. This Order has members, nobody but Dumbledore knows how many, who search for Death Eaters, rumors of attacks, and they fight against the Dark Magic that these witches and wizards bring into the world through their greed."
"Can we join?" James asked.
Something like a smile flickered across McGonagall's face. "That is exactly why I have invited you here tonight," she said.
A/N: That's the end of seventh year! Hope you guys liked it! The saga continues here: .net/s/6687099/1/Glass_Hearts_the_Beginning_of_the_End. Thanks for all the admiration and love :)