This is the cutesiest thing I have ever written.

And I think that's all I'm even going to say.

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The wind was rattling incessantly at the last few fading leaves of fall when Lily finally arrived at the small park just outside of London. She shivered, wrapped comfortably in a worn brown jacket and soft scarf, looking around to spot her boyfriend of almost a year and a half now, James Potter.

Lily gave a small smile as her eyes searched the unfamiliar park for him. He obviously hadn't made it yet and she would have seen him because she was quite certain she had gotten the location right. It wasn't as if there were any other parks in the area.

She looked around curiously, while wandering aimlessly around the park, wondering why he had wanted to meet here. Observing the quaint stone benches and perfectly pruned bushes that were set artistically around the winding pathway gave her a sense of internal peace that was rare in such times as the ones she was living in. A generation so full of war and death afforded little time for such niceties as peace.

Lily took a seat on one of the small, gray benches that she had noticed earlier, her eyes still sweeping the area for any sight of the boy—no man, who had asked her to come here. Instead of his familiar black tuft of hair all she saw were the crisp, brightly painted leaves of autumn falling to the ground lazily, as if they didn't want to leave the tree they had grown on yet. She fancied herself, for a brief moment, to be one of those last few desperate leaves, hanging onto the tree that had fostered it all through its life, until finally free-falling to its own death onto the ground in defeat. Would she give up as those leaves did or hang on tenaciously until at all possible? It was so hard to ask these questions when everyone that she had grown up with was dying around her. The only steady presence in her life anymore was James, the rest of her friends flitted inconsistently in and out of the windows of her life. Nothing was as it used to be in their Hogwarts days. No one even seemed to want to grow attached to anyone these days, they were too afraid of what might happen if they did.

It was so hard to remain cheerful, or even hopeful, but somehow James managed them both, which was nothing short of amazing. Everyone who knew him was inspired to keep hoping because of his attitude and Lily was proud to stand by his side. She knew now, no matter how hard she had denied it at first, they were always meant to be together.

A rustle of leaves that reached her ears caught her attention and she looked for the source knowingly. It had to be James that the awkward gait belonged to; she knew the sound too well to be wrong. Sure enough, he came into her sight a moment later with an apologetic grin on his face.

“Hey, sorry I'm late. I meant to be here early but I got held up doing something,” he said in a rush as soon as he got near enough for her to hear him. Lily smiled at his nervousness. He was always like that when he was late. She always thought it was a habit he never got out of after she stopped getting mad at him for being late to the Head student meeting at school.

“It's fine, James,” she replied quietly. Lily looked at him curiously. He seemed to be agitated more than usual at being late. He had his hands stuffed deep in his pockets and she could see his left hand fiddling inside the pocket with something that most certainly wasn't his wand because he always kept that tucked in his back pocket. Lily narrowed her eyes, something was most definitely up.

“Would you care to explain why you had me come all the way out here now?” she asked, setting her curiosity aside for a moment. Her eyes focused on his face which he was trying his best to twist into a calm expression. It wasn't working.

“Well…I…I-uh, found it a few years ago and thought you would appreciate the quiet since you've been so stressed lately.” His voice was surprisingly steady for his face looking so shaky. Lily had never seen him so unsettled…not even when N.E.W.T.s were a week away and he hadn't studied at all for them yet.

She rose from the bench to stand beside him and he caught her hand in his with a small tremor of a smile. She suppressed a giggle and squeezed his hand, knowing it was nothing too serious that was plaguing his mind at the moment or he would be brooding instead of anxious. He returned the squeeze and cocked his head to the open field that lay at the end of the pathway they were standing on.

“Come on, it's almost time,” he whispered, with a wink. Lily gave a small breath of laughter at the motion and let herself be dragged behind James' eager direction willingly.

The field that he led her too was beautifully picturesque. It was full of soft meadow grass that was damp with the rain that had recently abated and the smoky smell of wet foliage hung in the air. There were a few flowers that poked up through the grass here and there but only enough to add a dab of color to the verdant grass.

James picked one up with a flourish and handed it to her with much ceremony. He then gestured to a comfortable looking patch for her to sit on and once he saw her settle down, he took a seat next to her.

“Am I supposed to be seeing something special or just enjoying the scenery?” Lily asked, breaking the silence between them.

“For now, enjoying the scenery. I'll tell you when you need to look somewhere in particular,” he replied with a grin. She noticed that his nervousness seemed to have disappeared.

His arms wrapped around her and she leaned back into his embrace comfortably looking at the horizon which was still streaked in a washed out blue from the rain. His hands rubbed along her legs soothingly and she smiled to herself at the familiar movement, watching his hands move back and forth and feeling a complete sense of contentment within herself.

He cleared his throat after what seemed ages and gently shifted so he point out to her a direction in which she should look. Her eyes aligned to his hand and saw the sun begin to come out from under the lingering clouds to begin to paint the sunset in pastels. The soft pinks and yellows were dainty in their beauty but completed the picture of the horizon wonderfully.

She took a sharp intake of breath at the sight and a smile spread across her face as James rested in chin the slope of her shoulder to share the view.

“James, it's so beautiful,” she whispered, breathlessly. He smiled against her neck and planted a soft kiss on the skin that was uncovered.

“I thought you'd like it,” he said hoarsely, as if he'd lost his voice because of her amazement. His hand came up to stroke her hair and she turned to face him slowly, resettling herself on the grass.

“Thank you,” she said, swallowing hard. She knew that sooner or later they would have to go back to the real world. The one that was full of death, but she wanted to stay here in this tiny spot of untouched beauty that James had showed her forever.

“Let's take a walk,” he suggested, sensing Lily's feelings about leaving. While one of his hands clung to Lily's, the other went back to fiddling with whatever was in his pocket. Her eyes were drawn to it again and this time she couldn't resist showing her curiosity by raising an eyebrow.

“James…what is so interesting in your pocket that you have to keep fiddling with it?” she asked teasingly, knowing that he most likely wouldn't tell her until he was ready to. His hand stopped immediately and was pulled out of his pocket. His face flitted nervously again and his grip on her hand tightened momentarily.

“Um…nothing,” he choked out. His eyes wouldn't meet hers and he stopped walking, his feet shuffling.

“Why is nothing making you so uncomfortable?” Lily laughed at his unease, making a feigned grab towards his pocket. He jumped away quickly before she could come close to reaching inside and his eyes met hers with quite a serious tone all of a sudden. She stopped at the shift in gears and a new sense of quieted curiosity grew in her.

“Lily,” he said softly, as if he couldn't quite find the words he needed. “I need to ask you something.”

“Of course, James. You know you can ask me anything,” she murmured, almost worried at what was going to be asked of her. What could possibly put that look at his face?

He swallowed visibly and her eyes swept his figure. Lily now noticed his hand had strayed to his pocket again and this time instead of playing with whatever was in there, he pulled it out. He now held a tiny black box covered in velvet that made her breath catch.

Now she knew why he had been nervous all night. The backs of her eyes began to burn with unshed tears because of the expectation that was building within her. Lily's eyes were completely fixed on the box he held, terrified of what it might hold…terrified of what it might not hold.

He cleared his throat for the second time that night and Lily's eyes fled from the box to his emotion-filled hazel ones.

“James…”she started, but he hushed her with just a look. She stopped and stared at him in shock for another few moments before realizing that he had knelt before her.

Her hand flew up to cover her mouth as he grasped the other one with his own. The tears that had been gathering at the backs of her eyes began to pool and slide down her face.

“Lily, will you marry me?” James asked. His voice was rough again but this time with emotion. Lily reached out to run her fingers through his hair before answering him. The words that she wanted to say weren't even close to coming through her shocked brain.

“Oh, James…of course I will,” she finally choked out, her tears flowing without reign now. The smile that lit James' face at the sound of her answer rivaled any that Lily had ever seen before and he rose quickly from his position to wrap her in his embrace and spin her around in joy.

Lily laughed freely, wiping the tears from her face and sniffing. She clung to James fiercely, never wanting for him to release her from his euphoric grip. He was planting kisses over any of her skin that his lips could find until he finally found his way to her lips.

The world seemed to stop for them as they stood in that small park that seemed to be forgotten by any other soul that night and Lily wondered fleetingly if there would ever be a night more perfect than this one had been for her.

She decided to herself that there never would be as James at last remembered he had dropped the ring box in his haste to embrace her and he looked until he found it so he could place it gently on her finger.

No, no night would ever be more perfect than this one had been and no man could ever be more perfect for her than James Potter was.

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*grumbles* I don't like the ending…I'll probably change it later, but I need to post this before it gets lost in the cobwebs of my computer again.

Part of it was written almost a year ago, so excuse any inconsistencies and then please be so kind as to tell me. ;-)

Now be a darling and review! :-D