B/A/N- Bloody Author’s Note (I swear I’ll be brief)- If you don’t know what I mean by the title, (you probably do and are wondering why I’m babbling) this is what Kat (my best friend who I based Emie and Avie on) and I call love and all that romance stuff…it just seemed like an appropriate title for this chapter.  Sorry if this chapter is overly mushy, it was kinda hard to write for me…I really had to write exactly what I’d want a guy to do for me, so it was REALLY difficult to write. I hope you like it, anyway!

Chapter 16: Love and All that Mushy Stuff

            Lily was walking on air, she was “the intended” of James Potter, and damn, was it a good feeling.  She was on top of the world, and all of Hogwarts had suddenly started worshiping her overnight.  First years scattered to let her through, and even sixth and seventh years came up and openly congratulated her in the halls.

“Oh, wow,” said Avia in a hushed voice. “Was that…”

“Eleanor Allman?  You bet,” answered her twin quietly.

“Who’s Eleanor Allman?” Lily asked, clueless as usual.

“Seventh year Ravenclaw, Head Girl, most popular girl at Hogwarts,” said Avie.

Lily answered in awe, “Wow…”

            The days were passing by like minutes until September the 25^th.  Lily was very curious to see how James would ask, now that she was basically sure he would.  Knowing James, it would be spectacular.  It was only September 24^th now, and Lily impatiently looked at her watch again.  1:43 pm, read the clock face.  It was mid-afternoon, and Lily was bored out of her mind in History of Magic.

“Princess!”

Eagerly, Lily turned around to see a note on the desk directly behind her, and James two desks back, looking self-satisfied.

So Princess-

Can you meet me in the common room tonight at around 9? I have something I need to tell you, it won’t take very long at all. But it’s VERY important! Please remember!

See you then…can’t wait! -James

Lily read his note with surprise; normally he always at least told her what he wanted to talk about.  But she decided he sounded very urgent, so she quickly wrote on the back of his letter:

Of Course, James…I wouldn’t miss it for the world- Princess and tossed it back to James.

James read it and a sigh of relief formed on his face.  Everything was going to plan…this was perfect.

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Lily sat in a cozy armchair by the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room.  It was about 9:30 at night, and James was late…again. Lily sighed, and thought about the next day.  James hadn’t even mentioned the fact that she wanted her anniversary on Christmas, maybe he had forgotten.  Or maybe he didn’t care.  Or maybe he didn’t even want to go out with her in the first place! Oh no, no, Lily decided, she was getting carried away.  She should just calm down…deep breathing…whew. 

“Lil?” said a quiet voice behind her, jerking her out of her thoughts.

“James!” she exclaimed happily, and then remembered she was angry, and scolded, “you’re late. AGAIN.”

“I know, I know, sweetie…I’m sorry, the guys were asking for some…help…on….Transfiguration homework.”

“Uh-huh,” said Lily, with a sweet smile that suggested she knew more than she let on.

“Okay.  What I wanted to tell you is that tomorrow will be a long day for you, and to get some rest.  Also, you’ll find my invisibility cloak in your dorm when you wake up tomorrow.  Please carry it with you at all times… you don’t know when you’ll need it…” James gave her a sly grin, hugged her goodbye, and ran up to his dorm.

Lily was thoroughly confused, and sat aimlessly watching the flames a bit before going up to bed.

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Lily awoke at 6:30 am the next morning, just like every other morning.  It was just like a regular morning, smelled the same, looked the same, Emia and Avia were still asleep.  However there were four small changes to Lily’s everyday routine life.  James’ Invisibility Cloak was folded carefully and set on top of her trunk, her clothes and her robes were all laid out for her as well (apparently James wanted her to wear something in particular), and there was a note and a deep red, long-stemmed rose on her bedside table.

Lily smiled and picked up the rose.  It was a perfect deep shade of red, and at a vibrant stage of life.  Lily Evans smelled the beautiful flower, and after she was satisfied that its scent was as good as its looks, opened the note. 

Good Morning, Beautiful!

            I watched you for awhile as you slept…wow.  But I didn’t want to wake you, so I’ll explain your rules on paper.  Think of this as a treasure hunt.  You don’t know where it will end at, and you don’t quite know the prize, but you know the adventure will be quite worthwhile. The clues might get harder as time goes on, just a warning, Lil. Here’s your first clue-

Skating on Wire

Like I’m on Fire

Played by Four,

Or Even More,

Find me near a Toilet Room,

As that Rose begins to Bloom.

            Lily nodded after finishing reading his first clue, and took the clothes he laid out for her with her to the shower.  She changed into the jeans and sweater James picked out, and realized that she was wearing the outfit she wore on their first date.  “He remembered,” she sentimentally thought to herself.  She carefully folded up the clue, and stuck it in the pocket of her jeans.  Lily slid the Cloak gently into her bag, and headed off to find the next clue.

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Lily was walking aimlessly down the Charms Corridor, talking to herself about the clue.

“Okay. There’s wire, furious motion, many possible players…and it’s near a toilet room.  A…bathroom, maybe? I dunno. I’ll keep thinking…let’s see. If it’s wiry, then there are…strings.  If there are strings and it’s played, it’s a musical instrument. That means…”

And with that, Lily frantically dashed to the Music Room.

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“How long do you think this will keep Lily busy?” James asked a contemplating Sirius.

“Oh for at least a couple hours, we just need her out of our way long enough to plan tonight.” Sirius answered confidently.

“So, you know what you’re doing right?”

“Of course,” said Sirius.

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“Okay,” said Lily as she caught her breath in the Music Room.  She ran up several corridors and flights of stairs to get here quickly.  “Multiple players, strings…got to be a violin,” she decided.

She opened the violin case, and there was her next clue.  But it wasn’t a riddle; at least she didn’t…think it was.

After Lily sorted through the paper, she realized there was a riddle. There were mainly different names of cities everywhere, but there was a small piece of blue parchment folded in the corner of the case.  She took it out and opened it.

Ah, Lily, always observant.

This next hint is fairly straightforward.

What is something that you can find places like these on?

However, you won’t need just any one, you’ll

Need the one in my Family.

So, in short, your task is finding it

In our Room.

Good Luck.

Lily sighed loudly; she was expected to FIND a MAP in their ROOM?! There was simply no way.  She would have to allot herself like an hour to do that task. Suddenly the bell rang to get to class.  What day was it anyway? Wednesday. Oh crap! Herbology was her first class! That was all the way across the castle!! Lily would have to run.

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“Where’s Lily?” James asked the Marauders.  All of the Marauders knew what day it was, and they helped James plan it.  This would be the most amazing prank ever.

“I dunno, maybe she got into the treasure hunt,” suggested Sirius.

“Yeah, she must’ve,” whispered Emia, hearing the boys’ conversation, “because when we woke up the rose was put in a vase by her bed and she was completely gone. She didn’t go to breakfast either.”

A panting Lily ran into Herbology, and had both feet right inside the doorway when the tardy bell rang.

“HAH!” a maniacally happy Lily shouted, before collapsing from exhaustion. She had run all the way from the Music Room, and now she was about to pass out.

“Come on, Lil,” said James, helping her up, and setting her gently in the seat next to his.

“Have you gotten any farther in your riddles?” he whispered to Lily quietly.

Lily nodded enthusiastically, and then said, “I REALLY don’t want to have to go through your bedroom for that map, that’s gross.  You guys are pigs!”

“Well, that’s why it’s probably the most difficult task, dear.”

Lily sighed, “Fine…this prize you talked about better be well worth it.”

James winked, and replied, “Oh, it is. Believe me, it is.”

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After classes were over, at about three that afternoon-

“Okay, NO prize is worth THIS!” screamed a disgusted Lily, as she sifted through moldy socks and sandwiches in the Marauders’ room, in search of that damn map. 

A half hour later-

“A-ha! Here it is!” Lily shouted triumphantly.  There was a riddle attached to the map too. It said:

I love the way you look,

Your visage makes everything perfect.

Step into the Room of the Looking Glass,

Make your face immortal in its Walls.

She noticed that there was a “Mirror Room” on James’ map, and she immediately knew that was what he was referring to.  Lily quickly set off for the Mirror Room at around 4 pm.  She walked quickly, with short little steps.  The map said that the Mirror Room was in a turret in the East Wing.  The East Wing was a corner of the castle where few students ever went, as the Slytherin common rooms were in the East portion of the castle, but in the dungeons.  Lily silently wondered why no classes were ever really taught in the East Wing…she never saw anything happening here.  So naturally, she had no idea there was a Mirror Room in Hogwarts.  But she had a feeling James knew that Lily didn’t know of its existence, and that that was precisely why he picked it.

            Soon she came to the portion of Hogwarts where the map said the Mirror Room would be.  There was a suit of armor, looking as peaceful as anything.  Lily looked down at the map, what should she do now? The map had nothing, so she politely said:

“Excuse me, good sir, but would you be so kind as to help me?”

“Why, anything for a maiden as lovely as yourself.  Hair so fiery, eyes so emerald, I wonder if you are the one spoken of by the four.”

“The four, sir?”

“They are a few of my friends, in Gryffindor I believe.”

“Yes, the Marauders are who I assume you’re speaking of.  I believe James, their leader, brought me here through riddles.”

“Well, why, my dear?”

“Um…we’ve liked each other for a while,” she mentioned, blushing, “and…and I told him I wanted my anniversary on Christmas…at least the monthly one anyway.”

“Ah,” said the knight with a slight chuckle. “Now that I think of it, James did ask me to let you in once you arrived…I hope you do very well with him, and good luck on your treasure hunt, lovely maiden.”

The knight opened up to reveal a small hallway.  Lily smiled and thanked the knight, and walked slowly down the hallway.  She emerged in a dome-shaped room, and three doors were in front of her, the left one was green with a sign that said “Alice”, the center one was blue with a sign that said “Sweets”, and the right was red with a sign that said “Dawn”.

“But…which one leads to the Mirror Room?” she asked out loud.

A beautiful nymph in a painting on the wall smiled, “It’s not that easy, dear.  This takes concentration and logic, because once you are inside a certain room, that exit fades away, and only one that leads back to the Gryffindor side of the castle is left. However I will give you two clues that they told me.”

“Okay,” said Lily.

“Number One: It all depends on what you consider the most appropriate portion of your relationship, it’s not about which sign is most related to mirrors…and that is EXTREMELY important.”

Lily asked “Most APPROPRIATE? What the hell does that mean?”

“Hey, honey, don’t shoot the messenger,” said the nymph irritably.

Lily sighed and gave a nod, and the nymph continued.

“Number Two: Think about all of the events that these signs hint at, and when you’ve finished doing that, try to remember which one involves the most food.”

Lily sat down in a chair and rolled her eyes, she bet Sirius and Emia came up with the last clue. Well, she reasoned with herself, she had to get this right.  She refused to walk all the way back over here if she got the wrong door and ended up back in Gryffindor. No, she would get it right.  Well, the Alice reference was talking about getting James to go to the kitchens…and the riddle he just gave her.  That had too much to do with mirrors; Lily seriously doubted it was that one.  And Sirius had gotten his way again in “Alice”’s door coloration. 

Lily looked intently at the other two.  “Sweets” was all one referred to, and “Dawn” was the other. 

“Hmm...” she thought out loud. “Well, dawn is referring to our midnight meeting, after the first kiss.  ‘Sweets’ is talking about Honeydukes…our…first…date.”

Lily knew suddenly which one it was.  She stood up very quickly and made her way to the center door.  “Oh, bravo!” cried the nymph from the painting.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As Lily entered the “Sweets” door, she thought she had entered a dream.  A thousand pieces of glass reflected her face in all directions. 

Lily breathed, “Wow…James…wow.”

There was a round scarlet couch in the center of the room.  Remus was sitting there, with white flowers.

“Hey Remus!”

“Hi Lil, now let me see here, where’s what I’m supposed to say…”

Remus rustled through his cloak pockets, and found a folded piece of paper.  He read it quickly, and then looked up.

“Oh yes, Lily dear.  James gives his sincerest apology on not being here to wait for you, and tells me to give these lilies to you.  There are seven, one for every day of the week that he thinks about his Princess.  They all have notes attached, he asks that you read them all, and take your time getting to dinner.  That’s where the next clue is.  He says to wash up, get your homework done…and that he can’t wait to see you.”

Lily smiled, and took the flowers.  “Uh, Remus?” she asked.

“Yeah, Lil?”

“How…do you get out of here?”

“Oh. Follow me, Lily.”

Remus and Lily walked out a cleverly disguised door in the back of the room, and went back to the Gryffindor Common Room talking about the riddles and their classes that day.  It was about 5 pm when Lily finally got back to her dorm.  

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            At about 5:45 pm, Lil had finished all her homework, showered, and decided to read the lilies.  She had been saving this till last, she had a firm “save the best for last” policy.  It kept her happy that way, knowing good news could be expected at the end no matter what.  She sat down on her four-poster, next to the lilies.  The lilies looked so serene in the vase with the deep red rose.  She smiled happily, and took the lily that had the “#1” tag on it to read.

“Number One- You have the most amazing eyes I’ve ever seen.  I get lost them every time I see you.  Your pools of emeralds amaze me as much as your personality.”

Lily smiled at this thought, and continued to “#2”.

“Number Two- I would give up anything I’ve ever owned or wanted to own to put my arms around you, and just…be.”

Lily read this and understood, she felt the same way.  How much she wished she could freeze their moments together!

“Number Three- You make me feel okay being myself, I never have to use a façade with you.  Many people may admire me, dear Lily, but few actually know me.”

Lily smiled, she was glad that James finally felt comfortable around her.

“Number Four- I will always be there for you.  When you don’t want me to stick up for you, I’ll still be watching from around a corner…because I’ll always be there.”

Lily felt a tear drip down her right cheek, and she couldn’t stop smiling.  This was so amazing.  Did James do all of this himself?

“Number Five- I know I can trust you with anything…no ifs, ands, or buts.”

Lily laughed, now crying silently.

“Number Six- You know me.  You understand me.  You’re the first girl who’s actually seen my real personality, not looks, or Quidditch position…and you are definitely the first girl that I’ve wanted to like me. Which I hope you do.”

Okay, now she was in hysterics. She was nodding her head vigorously.

“Number Seven- I love you, Lily.”

At this, she smiled and blushed furiously.  My, was she an awkward sight.  She had tears streaming down her cheeks, but she was so unbelievably happy.

The twins took a peek inside the door, and smiled at each other.  It was totally going to plan.

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            Lily was wondering what the hell else the day held for her as she walked into the Great Hall for dinner.  She had spent a half hour getting her eyes to stop being so red and puffy from all the crying.  She was extremely happy, and she did not want the annoying “are you alright” questions pelted at her all night.  When Lily arrived, she saw almost the whole school look up at her.  “I’m not that late, am I?” she asked herself and looked at her watch.  No, she was about twenty minutes early.  Then…why was everyone here? The entire Gryffindor table was…different.  Nobody was sitting where they normally did.  The Marauders, rather than sitting near the High Table to ridicule the teachers, were sitting in the middle of the Gryffindor table.  “Ookayyy…” thought Lily to herself.

But even the Marauders were sitting differently. Rather than the usual:

 

The Marauders had sat down today so James was facing them.  There was an empty seat next to James, obviously reserved for her.  Lily walked to it carefully, not wanting to slip and fall while every pair of eyes in the Great Hall watched her.  James stood up as she entered, and came up to her to lead her to her seat.  He turned to her and smiled. 

“Did you like the riddles?”

“I loved everything.  Remus said the final clue would be tonight.”

“And it is, my dear.”

Twenty minutes later, dinner had started.  After they were all finished eating (even Lily), James caught the eyes of Remus and Sirius, and they nodded back to James.  Sirius and Remus quickly whipped out their wands and muttered a few choice words under their breath.  James did the same.  Emia and Avia looked very excited but tried their best to contain themselves.  The normally starry sky of the Great Hall started raining.  Everyone looked up and smiled, they all seemed to know what was going on.  That is, except the Slytherins.  They were getting rain in the form of bubotuber pus, no doubt Sirius’ idea.  However, for the other three houses, it was raining…

“Lilies,” said Lily with a smile. “This is amazing.”

“No, you’re amazing,” with that, James gave a quick nod to Remus.  Remus shot a spell at the corner of the room, which sent the empty tables on their way to the sides of the room.  Remus struck up a tune, a classical one. 

“The Knight Errant,” breathed Lily.

“Yes,” replied James, taking her hand and leading her to the center of the room. For the second time since she had met him, James used the Sonorus charm on his voice.  Lily gave him a questioning look, and he took her hands into his as the music continued to play.  The whole High Table was watching now, Dumbledore watched with a bemused smile, and though McGonagall looked stern, seemed to hint at a smile at James and Lily.

“Lily,” said James’ voice, magnified to ten billion times its normal magnitude (B/A/N- okay so I’m exaggerating.).  

“Yes?” she asked, pretending to be surprised at what he might say.

“I know you told me that you wanted our monthly anniversary on Christmas.  That’s why I waited to ask you this.  But I wanted at least something about today to be a surprise to you.”

“Everything was, James.  The rose, the riddles, the lilies, THESE lilies,” she said with a laugh. “And about those lilies, James…”

“Yes?” he asked in a hopeful manner.

“I-I…loved…them,” she said.

“Oh.  I mean…that’s good.”

“And I…love you.”

“Really?”

“Of course…this would be a peachy time to say something in response, James.”

“I love you, Lily, you know that.”

James looked at the crowd with a goofy smile while the lilies continued to waft down on him and Lily, and told them that Lily loved him! Everyone started clapping, well, except the Slytherins.  But even Dumbledore and McGonagall joined in the merriment.

“So, Lily…does this mean you will be my girlfriend?”

“Of course it does…on one condition.”

“Anything,” said James with a huge smile.

“You have to keep writing letters to me…and oh yes, you have to give me a kiss.”

James laughed, “Wouldn’t dream of doing anything but.”

James kissed Lily in the center of the Great Hall, with lilies falling everywhere, with the music they loved playing softly in the background, with the entire school watching, and with Dumbledore clapping.  After the kiss was over, Lily took James’ hand and held it up in the air with hers, all for effect of course.  It looked like James had just won a sports event or something, but the crowds ate it up.  The clapping continued, getting louder.  Catcalls could be heard from Emia, Avia and the Marauders, and James laughed, Lily blushed. 

Soon, a bright tune started, perfect for the waltz.  James silenced his voice, and said, “May I have this dance?”

“Of course,” Lily smiled.

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            As Lily would look back on her life, that was probably her favorite moment.  Someone was showing her how much she meant to them, in front of an entire public.  James was everything, and Lily cared about him deeply.  And that, my dear readers, is how James became a couple with Lily.

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What do you guys think? Hopefully not too mushy…sorry if it was, I just wanted her day to be *sigh* perfect.