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The final year of Hogwarts was stressful enough without the added factor of a burgeoning war going on in the wider wizarding world. James observed with a laid-back posture the love of his life, his girlfriend Lily Evans who had her nose stuck in a tome larger than she was. He ran his hands through his black hair and tried to focus on his own book. He was long overdue for some recreational hours and he suspected that Lily could do with some too. Their tests were only a week away and his entire year was looking considerably ragged. Looking at the clock over the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room, he stretched and yawned. It was well past ten in the evening and they had been studying since dinner.
James pulled his glasses off and rubbed his eyes before replacing them on his head. His eyes fell on Lily and he chuckled as he saw her eyes drift shut for a moment before she jumped awake.
"Lily love, let's call it a night."
Lily shook her head. "No, I want to get a bit further in this before I call it a night."
James pulled himself closer to her at the table where they had been studying. "You have been sleeping for the past ten minutes. You won't remember any of this now anyway, so let's put the books away and cuddle for a bit before bed," he said, kissing her cheek and closing her book for her when she didn't give up much of a fight.
"Oh alright… but we need to study more tomorrow… the mock exams for our N.E.W.T. s are next week, we don't have a lot of time…" she said, placing her hand over her mouth to stifle a yawn. "We need to be prepared for what's out there too…"
James nodded solemnly. "Yes, but we can do nothing about that now, come on." He began packing both their bags as Lily sat gazing at him. She had been studying a lot, and he was starting to see her starting to break. They both needed an evening off, a chance to relax and enjoy each other's company which wasn't a 'romantic' study session.
They lasted for about twenty minutes before James was forced to send Lily to bed after she had dozed on his shoulder for most of it. As he viewed her stumble up the stairs, gears began to turn in his mischievous brain. He needed to call in the troops.
With a sudden second wind, James bolted up the stairs to the seventh year boys dormitory. Arriving in front of the door, he burst through the doors, forgetting/ignoring the fact that it was now ten thirty in the evening and that his friends might be sleeping.
"Marauders! Gentlemen! Friends! I have need of ye!" he called at the top of his voice.
Sirius was the first to respond who had been awake but barely. "Yes sire, what do you need?"
Remus and Peter had been asleep. Remus, while looking haggard, wasn't annoyed at being awoken. Peter on the other hand, looked like he could have killed James.
"What is it, James?" Remus asked in his usual gentle manner. He sat up and lit the candle by his bed by running his hand over it.
"Couldn't it have waited until morning?" Peter groaned, pulling his pillow over his face and turned away. James shrugged and turned to both Sirius and Remus, he would catch Peter up in the morning.
"Guys… I need to plan something with Lily… the date of a lifetime. She is long overdue some relaxation time and I want some time for just the two of us," he said, talking at just over a whisper now, as if afraid that Lily was in earshot, even though he knew she was long gone in the land of nod now.
Sirius cheered, which caused a disgruntled groaning coming from Peter. He shrugged and muttered "Sorry Peter!" before turning back to James and Remus. "So, what's the plan, how can we help?"
"Gentlemen, I have gathered you as you have a specialised set of skills, which I expect you to utilise to help me achieve my quest and to woo the sweet lady Lily," he whispered before giving his friends their instructions.
Xxx
The next morning, James stumbled into breakfast to find Lily in an awful mood. He plopped down next to her and kissed her on the cheek. "Morning, love," he said while trying to surmise what was wrong.
"Morning," she said and handed him the Daily Prophet. That explained it. The front of the paper read:
MUGGLE FAMILY MURDERED IN DEATH EATER ATTACK
He scanned the paper and noticed that this family lived the town over from Lily's parents, no wonder she was in a bad mood.
"Love, I am sure your parents are fine," he said, placing a hand over hers, squeezing it softly. "How about I get my parents to monitor them? in the background so as not to alert anything to anyone suspicious." He smiled when he saw Lily gave a small smile, that was more like it. She had enough to worry about with exams without having to worry about her family too.
"Thanks James, that would be great, just to give me some peace of mind." She squeezed his hand back before taking her hand back and finally started eating some breakfast. After they both ate their fill, he took a deep breath and asked, "Hey Lily, how about we do something different tonight? We have been studying every night for the past week, we could do with a break." There he had asked, but now came the hard part… the answer.
Lily looked like she would say no for a moment, as James guessed that she was torn between wanting to relax and needing to study. "Alright, what did you have in mind?" she asked, a curious smile graced her lips.
"That is for me to know and for you to find out," he said with a wink and kissed her on the lips. "Meet me in the entrance hall before dinner and dress warmly." He kissed her once more before rising from the table. "I'll see you later," he said as he headed out of the hall to send an owl to his parents and to prepare, the evening would be epic.
Xxx
After sending the owl, James met up with his fellow marauders to go over the plan. After he had informed Peter of his task and talked Sirius and Remus through theirs, he went about his day as usual. They still had a full day of classes to get through first, but James found himself nervous, more nervous than he had even been in his whole life. He tried to tell himself, it was just a date, he was going to show his girl a good time and give her some well-earned R&R, but his mind drifted all day. Luckily his professors thought it was pre-exam nerves. Soon, but not soon enough for James, the day was over, and he could prepare.
He stood in front of the mirror in a set of muggle clothes he had bought while visiting Lily last summer. A pair of jeans, a simple shirt and a woolly jumper. Smart Casual was what Lily called it and that was the expectation he had for the night; it was an informal evening with a special purpose. He checked his pockets to make sure he had everything and gave his hair another once-over before heading down to the entrance hall.
Lily was already waiting in the entrance hall when he arrived and was a vision in a long, green, woollen dress that matched her eyes. She was bundled up with a Gryffindor hat, scarf, gloves, and her school cloak. Her eyes lit up when she saw him approach and James couldn't resist leaning down to kiss her.
As they broke apart, Lily looked over him and asked, "So where to?"
James smiled. "We are going stargazing," he said, taking her hand as they started walking out of the front doors of Hogwarts and onto the grounds.
Lily looked at him in disbelief. "Are you mad? It's freezing out there, practically a blizzard." She pointed with her free hand to the slurry of snow that whirled around in front of them.
"Well… yes but don't worry I have made preparations." James winked. Lily giggled and allowed herself to be guided to their destination.
The winter landscape unfolded in front of them as James led her to the very tree where he had hung Snape upside down, the spot that had ultimately led to his redemption and their relationship.
"What are they doing here?" Lily asked, pointing at three freezing Marauders who stood waiting for them.
All three boys were bundled up in their coats, a layer of snow gathered on top of them. James laughed as they approached. "Why didn't you cast a warming charm?" he asked.
Peter shrugged. "We wanted to wait until you got here to cast the spells."
At that, Sirius and Remus pulled out their wands and began muttering a series of spells. Peter likewise pulled out his wand and conjured a blanket and a picnic basket. A dome started to form over them, and warmth spread as the dome sealed itself around them. Remus, Sirius and Peter were on the other side of the dome and they waved to the couple, Sirius performed a jovial salute and bow combo before they left the couple on their own.
Lily looked at him with a look of mild bewilderment. James chuckled, he laid the blanket on the ground which now was devoid of snow and then invited her to sit with him. "I asked the boys to help me prepare, I wanted tonight to be perfect." He handed her a steaming cup of hot chocolate once she had sat down and removed her gloves. "Peter secured this spot for me after classes, Remus sweet-talked the house elves to prepare this basket for us and Sirius got us permission to be out late by wooing the lovely Professor McGonagall," he explained. "Plus, Sirius and Remus are great with heating charms and wards, I had just expected them to do this before we got here," he said with a slight hint of annoyance, but he shook it off.
"Well this looks amazing," Lily said as James continued to take item after item out of the basket and laid it out in front of them. "Plus, what a view." She gestured to the view of the snow-covered grounds and castle and the frozen lake. It was like something out of a Christmas card.
They helped themselves to some warm Cornish pasties and chips and steaming hot chocolate pudding for dessert. Once they had eaten their fill, James placed the plates back in the basket, leaving out a selection of snacks at their feet. He placed the basket behind them and conjured a large pillow. With a not-so-subtle yawn, he brought his arm around Lily and then pulled her to lie down next to him, both of their heads on the pillow. Their view now filled with a multitude of stars. "Wow, the stars are bright today," he said, pulling her closer.
"Mmm," she murmured as she cuddled him. "I haven't had Astronomy in years, but I used to love that class, staying up… looking at the stars, put everything into perspective."
James nodded. "Yes, our problems seem so small when looking out into the universe. Like we can do anything… as long as we don't lose that perspective."
Lily turned to look at him. "What do you mean?"
He rolled onto his side and gazed into her warm green eyes, getting lost for a moment. He grabbed her hand and kissed it. "We mustn't forget what is important in this world… Life… friendship… love." He crossed the gap and kissed her while rummaging through his pocket. She noticed this of course.
They broke apart and she asked, "What are you doing?" James lifted his wand and words appeared in the sky, like the stars were spelling it out for her.
"Lily Evans, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?" It read and she gasped. James in the meantime had pulled a small box out of his pocket. He pulled them both into a sitting position and smiled nervously. "Well…. What do you say? Will you make me the happiest man on this earth?" The silence was killing him as he opened the small box where inside was an elegant diamond ring with two small emeralds on either side.
For what seemed like an eternity for James was finally brought to an end by a tearful "Yes… yes, I'll marry you…" His heart flipped and he felt like king of the world. His hands shook as he took the ring out of the box and placed it on his future wife's finger, his face broad with the biggest smile ever to grace his lips. He kissed her passionately as they heard cheers coming from further down the lake. Sirius, Remus and Peter took hidden behind a poorly made fake bush and were jumping for joy. The three wizards pointed their wands the sky and said something, the couple couldn't hear as the starry sky behind them exploded with fireworks. There were hearts, stars and phrases like 'Congratulations', 'Prongs is a dead man", and 'Lily and James forever.'
Lily giggled as they laid back on the pillow, her hand tracing the ring on her finger as they watched the stars and the fireworks and for that night, exams and the coming war lay forgotten. They were getting married and they wouldn't lose perspective of the important things, like their love.