1. One Shot by iruthb
Sirius rolled his eyes. 'She is in love with you, that much is obvious. Why would she say no? I mean, apart from the fact you're an egotistical git!' he replied, earning himself a smack around the back of the head. 'Hey!' he protested, still smirking.
James just shook his head in disbelief. Sirius turned to look down the street, his dark eyes twinkling in the moon light. 'Doesn't Snivellus live near here, Prongs? I think I'll drop in, see if I can take down any of his Death Eater buddies.'
James frowned. 'Don’t do anything stupid tonight, Padfoot. I'm not coming to save your butt if Snape beats you up.' That wasn't strictly true; James would go and help out his friend no matter what, even if that meant missing his chance to ask Lily the question. At the same time, James doubted that if Voldemort, or even a large concentration of Death Eaters, was in the area that he would be able to help much.
'We're talking about the same guy, right? Sneering, stupid, creepy, ugly Snivellus?' Sirius asked drily. James gave up on dissuading his reckless friend and, taking a deep breath, he took a step towards Lily's house.
'Good luck mate!' Sirius said, surprisingly serious, before Disapparating away. James walked to Lily's front door, which had a wreath hanging on it, and knocked against the wood, feeling the tiniest bit nervous.
The door swung open, showing an older woman with hair the exact shade of red as Lily's but streaked with small amounts of grey. 'You must be Mrs. Evans. I'm James Potter...' he began, drifting off into silence as she looked at him. After a second, she smiled warmly, and welcomed him in.
As James stepped into the hallway he glanced around, taking in what her house looked like. The hall was covered in warm cream coloured wallpaper, with many photos decorating the well-lit walls. They weren't Wizarding photos, so the people stood still inside them, frozen in an eternal moment of happiness. There were pictures of Lily as she grew up, from a young child with a huge, toothless grin to a recent picture of her in a stunning green dress, clearly attending some kind of wedding. She had changed a lot throughout the years, but one thing was consistent in every one of her photos: her bright green eyes.
James' eyes were pulled away from the pictures by the sound of someone walking down the stairs. Lily was beautiful in a comfortable beige sweater and a darker skirt, looking casual but still striking. James noticed she was wearing the golden necklace he had given her for her last birthday.
'Hey Lily, you look beautiful,' he commented, and hugged her tightly, before releasing her and giving her a grin. James wanted to say more, so much more, but didn't want to give a bad impression to her parents, especially with his current plans, so he was playing it safe.
Lily introduced him to her father and led the four to the dinner table, where a delicious roast dinner was served. As they talked, James found that Lily's father was very clever, very friendly, but also very protective of his daughter. After a few minutes of intense questioning, he seemed satisfied with James, or something he had said, and leant back into his chair. Lily's mother was also very intelligent, and knew far more about him than he'd expected. Clearly Lily had told her every anecdote about him for several years. James wasn't sure whether to be disgruntled or complimented.
After dinner, they moved into the living room, where a fire was crackling next to a colourful Christmas tree. In here there were more photos, but is time it wasn't just photos of Lily and Petunia. There was a whole range of still photos of extended family and friends. There were also several cards decorating the mantel place, with various Christmas wishes written inside them. James smiled as he recognised his, which was closed firmly; when open, it sang various Wizarding Christmas songs, mostly by A Murder of Crows, a music band which Lily loved.
The conversation dwindled until the four of them were sitting in companionable silence, watching the dancing flames. The small box in James' pocket weighed the same as a hundred Giants, and he was surprised it hadn't torn a hole in his pocket yet. He glanced towards the three Evanses, only to see that Lily's mother was watching him, a smile on her face. It felt as if she had performed legilimency on him. Maybe she was secretly a witch, maybe she knew exactly he was there, maybe the instant he asked he would be hexed into next week, maybe-
Don't be ridiculous, James scolded himself. Lily is Muggle-born. Taking a deep breath, he took Lily's hand into his own, and stroked it gently with his thumb. Lily looked up at him, and smiled, her green eyes glowing, reflecting the golden flames. James felt his heart speed up a fraction. Clearing his throat awkwardly, James stood up, still holding Lily's hand. She looked confused, but both her parents were looking at him expectantly. Merlin's pants, why on earth was he so nervous?
Telling himself to get a grip, James addressed Lily's parents, 'As I'm sure you both know, me and Li- I mean, Lily and I have been dating for more than two years now. I love your daughter very much, she's beautiful, clever, friendly, smart, attractive, –' I'm rambling, he thought, shaking his head slightly, unable to look into Lily's eyes. She still looked confused, but there was dawning understanding in her eyes, which was frightening, 'and I think she's brilliant. So, Lily Evans -' He knelt down, forcing himself to look in her eyes as he reached into his pocket, and pulling out the velvet blue box, he continued, '- will you marry me?'
There was a heart stopping silence. Not betraying anything in her face, Lily stared in his eyes, almost searching him for something. After a moment, she seemed to find it, and, breaking into a grin, she said, 'Yes!'
They kissed. It wasn't passionate, or fiery like their previous kisses had been, it was gentle, and loving, and although it seemed to last forever, it ended after a second. And, most importantly, it was appropriate in front of her parents.
James fumbled open the box, and slipped the silver ring, decorated with a diamond surrounded by small rubies, onto her finger. He was laughing with joy and Lily was joining in, and in the background, so were her parents.
After several minutes the joy became more silent, just expressed in smiles and grins, though that made it all the louder.
Eventually, it was time for James to go. As he slipped on his cloak, he turned to kiss Lily, once more. She opened the door for him, and gasped as she saw the flurry of snow falling from the sky. It was settling on the ground fast. Just then, the clock began chiming twelve. James grinned at the perfect Christmas, and stepped outside.
'Goodbye, James Potter!' Lily called, and he turned to face her, grinning.
'Goodbye, Lily Potter!' it sounded perfect, sliding off his tongue like honey, 'Merry Christmas!'
'Merry Christmas!' she replied.
James turned away from her house, grinning, and feeling as light as a feather. Casting a quick Warming Charm, he spotted a big black dog watching him from close by. 'She said yes! Lily Evans said yes!' he yelled, and the dog ran towards him, barking and jumping. James caught his muzzle and kissed the dog on its long nose, caught in the joy of the moment.
'If you're going to cheat on Evans, please don't do it with a mutt.'
A sarcastic voice said behind him, and James whirled on the spot, to see Sirius. His momentary embarrassment of getting the wrong dog was instantly forgotten.
'Sirius, I'm getting married!'
'I know, I heard, but there's some deaf lady in Australia who didn't. And, I'd prefer it if you didn't kiss me too. Sorry mate, I'm just not that into you.' James would have made some biting comment, but he was too euphoric to do so, so just hugged his best friend, thrilled.
The euphoria spread to Sirius, too, and within moments they were both laughing, their cheerfulness echoing down the street, barely muffled by the snow.
It was, James reflected, a perfect Christmas. And it had only just begun.