The Marauders: Year Seven Part Two

Welcome to the Dark Side

There was a light snow falling, making the world look like the snow globe that James Potter had once given Lily Evans during their fifth year. It was Christmas, and the moon was full, bright, casting the entire world in silver-white glow that seemed to ring, like Christmas ought to do. Somewhere, far off, a church was clanging it's bells and there was families shouting goodbyes at a house down the street from Lily's house. She laced her fingers through his, watching the snow flakes as they came fluttering peacefully down from the sky, creating a sheet of white that covered every thing gently. Their footprints faded away down the sidewalk from the way they'd come, and Lily stared up at him as they stood in front of the Evans's yard, in a pool of streetlamp light, facing one another, their noses pink from the cold.
 
James reached up and tucked a stray hair over her ear. His palm to the side of his face now, he hesitated from drawing back, and instead splayed his fingers over her cheeks. "Happy Christmas Evans," he said, softly stroking her skin.

"Happy Christmas," she answered, and they kissed, long and slow, their mouths warm compared to the cold outside, their breath rising up in one great cloud from their kisses.

James reached into the pocket of his coat with his free hand as their lips were locked. He fished about as their lips moved and noses bumped. "Evans...?" he asked, breaking up the syllables between kisses.

"Hmm?" she hummed against his mouth and it tickled his lip.

"I have something to ask you," he said, drawing back as he pulled his hand from his pocket.

"What -oh- Oh!" Lily squeaked as he stepped back and dropped down to one knee before her. Her eyes went extremely wide. "What - what're you doing? Potter, don't you bloody dare --"

"Evans, will you --" and he opened his hand, holding up two tickets, "-- go to the cinema with me on Wednesday?"

Lily stared at him, kneeling there before her, his hands cupped and raised up with the tickets in them, his eyes glimmering with mischief and his mouth curved into a playful smirk, tooth hung up on his lip. She reached down and smacked his shoulder. "Oh my GODS. Get up, you bloody arsehole!" she cried, laughing with nervous relief, "Bloody hell. You nearly gave me a heart attack, you wretched, awful toerag." She whacked his arm again for good measure as he got up, laughing and ducking away from her playfully, though she wasn't hitting hard enough to hurt him at all.

James was grinning uncontrollably by now, knees wet from the snow. "What did you think I was going to ask, Evans?"

"You bloody know damn well what I thought you were going to ask me!" she answered, still kerfluffled.

"Calidumareum," James said, aiming his wand at his knees as he snickered quietly at Lily's utterly flustered state. He nodded toward the house ever so slightly. "I reckon if nothing else I've at least given your sister a right twist in her knickers," he said.

Lily looked at the house to see the curtains of the wide living room window swishing in the aftermath of being recently let go of. "Blast," she breathed. "I can just about imagine the temper tantrum that's being thrown in there right about now."

James laughed loudly. "Serves her right for spying on us."

Lily swatted him again, "You bloody bastard, I can't believe you did that."

James's face was one of pure delight. "It was ruddy good fun, honestly." He shook the tickets at her. "Seriously, though, Evans. Keep Wednesday free?"

She took the tickets from his hand, unfurling them from the grip he'd had on them in his laughter, and read outloud, "Star Wars: A New Hope!" She looked up at him, grinning. "Oh you know I've been just dying to see this!"