Lily Evans hummed a song she had heard on the radio a few days earlier. She was sitting at a bar in The Three Broomsticks was bustling with all kinds of people who had come to Hogsmeade to finish their holiday shopping. Lily had finished her own, one present left for a person only she knew about. So now she was just sitting there, sipping her thawing Butterbeer, and waiting. Her scarf and gloves sat on the chair next to her, reserving the seat for someone special.

Rosmerta, the proprietor of the cozy bar, looked up from her work “Okay there, Lily?� she asked with a smile.

The redhead looked over at the woman. “Yes, in fact, I am.� She took another sip of her drink, looking expectantly at the door as a cold gust of air blew in. It was only a group of fifth years from Hogwarts that shuffled in, wearing the blue colours of Ravenclaw. Lily sighed.

“Expecting someone?� asked Rosmerta. Lily nodded.

“It’s not that Potter boy, is it?�

The young woman glared good-naturedly, at Rosmerta. “Why would it be a bad thing to be waiting for him?�

Rosmerta put her hands on her curvy hips. “You’ve been waiting here for three hours, declining four other men to sit by you. Who else would it be?"

Lily stuck out her chin stubbornly, ignoring the question and looking at the door again. An older couple shouldered their way through the crowd, laughing and smiling with each other. Another sigh escaped her mouth, and Lily slumped on her stool. What was taking him so long?

Rosmerta laughed. “Ha, I was right! You are waiting for him!�

Lily gave her an ugly look. “Shove off, Rosie, would you?�

Rosmerta sniffed. “You just have to make even an insult nice, don’t you?� she said with raised eyebrows. She walked away without even waiting for an answer, and Lily rolled her eyes. Rosie never changed.

Life was, in fact, waiting for ‘that Potter boy’, as her friend had called her date — James Potter, star Quidditch player at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. They were a mere two years out of their seventh year, and he had said that he would meet her at the Three Broomsticks. He had yet to show up, though, and she was beginning to get worried. Auror training wasn’t starting again until the spring, and his family was miles away. What could be keeping him, she wondered.

It had taken Lily a long time to announce her love for the regressive boy. He had been trying to get her to go out with him for years, ever since their fifth year. They had been Head Boy and Girl together, though she had really expected Remus to Lupin to assume the position. She laughed now at how much she was disgusted with sharing the prestigious position with him, and how he ended up being the one thing that kept her from turning in her badge. Unfortunately, she had to turn it in at the end of the year anyways, but it was fun, working with James for the first time.

Thinking back, she wondered if it had been their fourth year when it had all started. That year, the Marauders—James’ little group that consisted of Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin, James, and Sirius Black—had dared each other—mainly James and Sirius, who were the most handsome of the group—to get a girl from each house to go out with them. Lily was, of course, part of the joke, as James got her to meet him in the very same spot she sat today. But, before the Hogsmeade weekend even started, one of the girls Sirius had asked out heard another bragging about going out with James Potter. All eight girls involved were furious with the two over-confident fools, and it got back at them after much planning.

Oh, what a trick it was! Lily had forgotten the main details—she had only been vaguely part of it, being asked out the day before the weekend they were scheduled to go—but it was still fun to think about. All of the girls ganged up on them one day after classes, and though it wasn’t original, using one of James’ own spells, they hung James and Sirius over the frothing water of the lake. Both of them were deathly afraid of water, and the girls found it fun to see their surprised faces as they hung by their ankles above the giant squid, who joined in after a while, also having a disliking for the boys.

Then it had become their sixth year. That was the first time Lily had ever received detention—she remembered it was for messing with the Marauders. She and her best friend Mia had been dared to sneak into the boys’ dormitory and take something, as further payback for their previous two years of misery. Lily had taken James’ invisibility cloak and hid it under her bed. Professor McGonagall had eventually figured it out and given her detention for stealing. Mia was spared the detention, but she was forced to write lines, because she had only helped.

James, coincidentally, had detention the same night, and so Lily and he had to help the caretaker Filch clean out one of the old classrooms, which Lily predicted to be a disaster waiting to happen.

That night, Lily had learned that love came in strange packages. Inside, James Potter was a sweet, humorous young man who just wanted a true friend. In return, James had found Lily Evans a smart, funny girl with an attitude much like his own. Oh, how much fun they had that night, giving kindling to the spark they had had for years. Soon a royal bonfire was going, which they had found never to be doused.

The door slammed open again, making Lily look up and revealing the wet, muddy ground outside. It was near Christmas, and no snow had graced the ground for more than a day. That was unusual, even for the United Kingdom.

It was not James who walked through the door, but Sirius Black. The black-haired, skinny youth had a grin on his face and laughter in his eyes. He sat down on the other side of Lily, slipping off his heavy coat as he did so, greeting her.

“Hey-ho, Evans!�

Lily laughed. “Can’t you say hello like a normal person, Sirius?�

Sirius shrugged. “Never tried it, but it does seem rather entertaining. My way is just so boring, don’t’cha think?� He winked, chuckling outright.

Lily crossed her arms. “Won't you ever grow up?�

“Why, yes!� replied Sirius. “I could. But that wouldn’t be any fun, now, would it?� He ruffled her hair, making her squeak. He called over a waiter and ordered himself a Butterbeer.

“Do you know where James is?� asked Lily, straightening out her messed up hair with her fingers.

“No clue,� said Sirius, taking a long draught of his drink. “He said he’d meet me… here…� He sent a side-glanced at Lily. “Do you think…?�

“You think so, too?� gasped Lily.

“What do you think?�

Both turned to see a young man standing there, his black hair messy and dark eyes sparkling. His black coat was wet, soaked down to the very fabric. He shook water from his hair and took Lily’s hat and gloves off his seat. He pulled her into a hug, kissing her passionately on the lips. Lily revered in the warmth that spread between them, the stubble on his chin tickling her face, while she heard Sirius make a gagging sound.

“PDA!� he cried. Walking by, Rosmerta smacked him on the head. He rubbed the sore spot, feeling a small bump form. He called, “What was that for?� as she walked away. Rosmerta just laughed and called back,

“For being your usual idiotic self!�

Lily giggled like an overexcited schoolgirl. “James…� she sighed, spinning nervously on her stool. “Took you long enough, didn’t it?�

James grinned widely. “I had a little…detour, shall we say!�

Lily rolled her eyes. “Spare me the story telling, James, and get on with it!�

In the silence that followed, Sirius, mouth gaping, watched his best friend get down on one knee. In a gruff bass voice, he began to sing.

“My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to…�

“Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small, you’ll never need to carry more than you can hold,� continued Lily, her voice a high soprano.

“And while you’re out there getting where you’re getting to, I hope you know somebody loves you.� James slipped a box, covered in a bow, out of his jacket. Slowly he opened it up, unveiling a sparkling diamond ring inside. “And wants the same things too,� he sang softly.

“Yeah this,� sang Lily, and they sang together, the very last line,

“Is my wish.�

By now the whole place was silent, looking expectantly at the eighteen year old couple.

“Lily Evans,� said James. “My wish is to spend every waking moment with you. I don’t want to waste one second without you in it. Will you marry me?�

Lily couldn’t speak. This was so… unexpected. She was speechless. Should she say yes? Did she want to live the rest of her life with this man? Ever since that fateful night, two years ago that answer had been questioned. She just had to say it.

Taking a deep breath, Lily whispered softly, “Yes!�

A cheer was taken up with everyone in the room, even the Hogwarts students and those who didn’t have a clue what was going on. Whoops and hollers gave Lily a headache, but she didn’t care as James slipped the ring on her finger. The couple fell into a long, timeless hug, snogging in public, not a care in the world.

They paused when a little boy cried, “It’s snowing!�

Everyone crowded around the windows, and Sirius stared wide-eyed out the frosty pane. “What the boy says is true! Look!�

James and Lily rushed to the window and they, too, gasped along with the rest as little fluffy white stars fell from the sky, dancing between the raindrops. The snow piled up before their very eyes, first one inch, then three, and then five.

“Well, would you look at that?� breathed James. “Just in time.�

That night, Christmas Eve, it finally snowed after weeks of rain, and Lily Evans was in heaven, feeling like she could never fall off her cloud.