Disclaimer: See Prologue

A/N: My exams are over so I feel free to write this.

For a moment Harry stared at Grimmauld's inhabitants, sitting beside one another on the sofa and laughing. How could they laugh? There was clearly a very disturbing mental issue that appeared to be the elephant in the room; an elephant that only he could see.

"I am Spartacus?" he repeated, slowly. "What the hell is 'I am Spartacus'?"

Lupin shook his head. "It would take too long to explain. It was a film that Lily had made us watch and it was so appalling that we made it an in-joke." He grinned. "Don't look like that."

Harry forced his eyebrows down. "Sorry. I just-" He stared down at another picture of his parents, arms around one another. His father was smiling like his Christmases had come at once and his mother blushed, laughing occasionally. "She liked really bad Muggle stuff, yeah?"

Lupin frowned. "Well, no. She liked Muggle films, yes. Sirius here regularly sat down to watch some with her. He was pretty eager if they had been banned in the majority of places but - and I'm risking my very life here - he once watched 'Sleeping Beauty' with her when he wanted to know what Disney was." Lupin was almost immediately set upon by a heavily upholstered and extremely ugly cushion that Sirius claimed to know nothing about. He flung it off, coughing as the dust clogged his airwaves. "She told us that Spartacus was iconic and Sirius - who thought iconic meant 'filmed at the Playboy mansion' - was especially keen."

Harry smiled. "So she was setting you up then?"

Sirius shivered. "Oh yeah. I had no idea that Laurence Olivier was going to come on to a pre-pubescent boy. She failed to mention that when she made me popcorn."

Lupin frowned. "Pre-pubescent? That was Tony Curtis, idiot!"

"Remus, his name is irrelevant."

"He was thirty-five!"

Sirius fell silent. He took a deep breath and said, "So, Harry, what have you got there?"

1978

"I don't have anything to say," said Lupin, accepting tea gratefully. "My dad used to say that I couldn't force a woman to love me-"

Sirius laughed. "Oh, is this more of your old man's wondrous advice?"

Lupin smiled sadly. "Yeah. Well, it'll get a bit repetitive. He's not around to give any more."

James clapped a hand on his shoulder so hard that Lupin jumped. "It's good to get away from it all, Moons. You can come here any time, right?"

Lupin nodded. "Thanks."

"So what did you dad used to say?"

Lupin shook his head. "It doesn't matter. It's irrelevant really. It was just something that you made work. He said that I couldn't force her to love me but I could stalk her until she was too scared to say no."

James raised his eyebrows. "Sometimes, mate, I wonder what your dad was smoking. Still though, he has a point."

"I thought you'd say that, yeah."

James sighed. "So what shall I say?"

Peter smiled. "Well, - and this is just a hunch - maybe 'will you marry me?'"

"But this time," said Lupin. "Don't tell her she reminds you of a jacket potato."

Sirius nodded. "Yeah, women don't take that sort of thing very well. Believe me, I know. I had to dodge a butter knife last time."

Peter laughed. "You didn't say 'jacket potato' though, did you? No, you said 'ham joint'."

"Are you sure you even want to get married?" asked Sirius. "I mean, where will I live? Did you know, in some countries, marriage is what they give to shoplifters. And you might like her now but-"

"Sirius, will you shut up!"

James' eyes were wide. "No, he's right. I mean, what do I know about marriage? I've never been married before."

Lupin smiled grimly. "Sometimes, I find my thoughts drifting happily back to funeral arrangements. James, if you don't get in there and ask her then I will."

James' jaw dropped. "You want to marry Lily?"

Peter rolled his eyes. "I can't take much more of this, honestly. If you're going to ask her then bloody well ask her."

Sirius sighed. "Have you bought the ring?" James nodded. "Less than a month ago?" Another nod. "Take it back then, they'll give you your money b-"He was silenced by a glare from an unimpressed Lupin. "I was joking!"

"I'm sure you were," said Lupin dryly. "And you used up your monthly joke allowance with 'Jack the Kipper'. You know what, if you think she's like a jacket potato then tell her. Tell her how you feel about her."

James bit his lip. "Do you think it'll work?"

"You're not conning her, James. You're proposing."

"Same thing really."

"Sirius!"

"Sorry."

The sounds of Lily humming filled the next room and Lupin raised his eyebrows at James who took a deep breath and nodded once.

"Are you going to go?"

"In a minute."

"If you're going, go."

She was wearing his favourite angora jumper, the same green as her eyes. She ceased her humming, sensing him in the doorway, and turned to smile. "You have got so much junk! I don't know what we're going to do with it when we start using the spare room."

He rolled his eyes. "Lils, I told you, don't come between a man and his useless crap. It's like asking me to choose between you and my God. You just can't win." He licked his lips. "Well, actually, you can. That's what I came to talk to you about."

Lily frowned. "God?"

James clicked his tongue. "No. I know you kept telling me it was too soon but I would actually like forever to start at around about…er…now. I think we both know that I'm not what you might call a patient man." He glanced back to the kitchen and wished he was still there with his friends. "Look, I love you. You're like breeze in August. You're like a jacket potato in November when I'm cold and wet. You're like an insurance claim to a desperate man. You're like after-sun when I've been roasted alive. You're-"

She quirked an eyebrow and immediately James fell into silence. "What's this leading up to? Are you trying to sell me something?"

He frowned. "Not that I'm aware of."

"Are you trying to talk me into having children with you?"

"Most definitely not."

"Is this another proposal?"

"Well, yes."

She smiled softly. "It's the best one yet, I'll give you that."

James sighed. Whatever he was about to say was snatched away by a kiss that seemed to last forever - which was probably the result of not breathing beforehand. Certainly, he was giddy but he was also fairly sure that he was turning blue.

He gasped for breath. "So, was that a 'yes' kiss or a 'sorry, I'll pack now' kiss?"

Lily grinned at him. "I don't know myself yet. I haven't seen the ring."

"Shit. Sorry. It's upstairs."

She pressed her lips together to stop the smile spreading too widely. "I'll have it later. Don't worry."

"No, that's why accio was invented."

CLICK!

"Give me my camera back!"

Lily's mouth dropped open and she extracted herself from her fiancé's arms. "How long were you there?"

Sirius smirked. "Put it this way, we knew before you did."

"An insurance claim to a desperate man?" Lupin repeated. "James, you need serious help of the professional variety."

"But she said yes, Remus! She said yes!"

Lupin nodded. "I know. Didn't you hear Peter's squeals?"

"Thanks, mate!"

"No problem, Peter. Better I tell people than Sirius or he'll turn it into an anecdote and you'll never live it down."