You Make Me Lovely

Thoughtfully

"Moony, what're you doing here?" James asked, surprised to see his friend at the door.

"I'm helping you get ready for tonight," Remus replied, walking into the kitchen and taking off his jacket. James followed closely behind.

"Where's Sirius?" James asked. He got out two cups for coffee, filling both of them and setting them on the table. "I thought he was coming with you." Remus shook his head.

"He's at the doctor. He said he'd be here once he's done." James nodded before standing up and leaving the kitchen, returning a few minutes later with a box in hand. Remus rose his eyebrows. "What's in the box?"

"It's everything Sirius and I have planned so far. I figured we would just pick up where he and I left off," James said, taking various pieces of paper out of the box and handing them to Remus. "We've determined that it would probably be best if I stuck to something a bit more subtle." Remus nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, considering your track record for going all out on things isn't too good," he joked.

"Well we can't all be great at things, Moony."

~~~~~~~~~~

Sirius hated hospitals. The way they looked, the way they smelled, everything. Now that he thought about it, he didn't really like doctors much either. He wasn't entirely certain of this last one, though, since his doctor seemed like a decent person. He was broken out of his thoughts at the sound of someone knocking on the door and walking into the small room. "Nice to see you again Sirius."

""Hi," Sirius muttered, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. He really just wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible so he could get back home. He promised James he would help him with his plan, so this needed to go by without a hitch.

"So, how have things been going for you recently?"

"Uh, fine I guess," Sirius mumbled, unsure of where this was going. All he wanted was for the doctor to say that he was doing fine so that he could leave and go back to his friends.

"That's good." Sirius nodded. "I'm looking at your chart and it seems like you're making progress. Granted you're still not where you should be, but you're getting there." Sirius' face turned a deep scarlet.

"Oh, uh—"

"You shouldn't feel discouraged," Dr. Riley cut in, noticing Sirius' expression. "Be proud of what you're doing." Sirius nodded.

"Be proud of myself?" he asked. The doctor nodded. "Why?"

"Because, Sirius, recovering from an eating disorder is really hard." Sirius still didn't look convinced. "It's a slow process, and it may seem like you do all this work and yet nothing gets better."

"I just feel like I'm trying but it's all for nothing," Sirius responded. The doctor nodded in understanding.

"I get that you feel this way, but sometimes it's these moments when everything seems like a losing battle that it's most important for you to try. Now this may sound a little odd, but have you ever thought about going to talk to someone about what's going on? Someone to help you through this?"

"Do you think that would help?" Sirius asked.

"Well I can't speak for you personally, but it really helped me in the past and I think you should consider looking into it." Sirius nodded his agreement. "But for now just focus on the progress you've been making, and I'll see you soon."

"Okay," he got up to follow the doctor out. "Oh, and Dr. Riley?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

"No problem, son."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How about taking her ice skating or something?" Remus asked later that evening as he, James, and Sirius sat on the sofa. The three boys had been discussing James' plan for the past few hours and it seemed like they were finally getting somewhere.

"I don't know," James started, giving his friends a weird look. "What if she doesn't like it? You know she broke her arm skating when she was a kid? What if it brings back bad memories?"

"Mate, you've literally found something wrong with everything we've suggested," Sirius sighed, running his hand through his hair in annoyance. "We're running out of ideas." Remus nodded in agreement.

"Sledding!" James suddenly shouted, getting the other boys attention.

"Sledding?" Remus asked, confused. James nodded quickly. "What about sledding?"

"I can take her sledding and then propose to her while we're there. It's brilliant!" before either boy had a chance to ask their friend if he was sure about the idea, James was already picking up his phone and texting Lily.

"So, we're all gonna show up to watch this happen, right?" Sirius whispered to Remus. "Because I know Marlene and Dorcas aren't going to want to miss this."

"Of course," Remus whispered back, laughing.

.

"Not that I'm not having a good time, but why did we come sledding?" Lily asked as she and James stood at the top of a hill the next night. "I thought you didn't like winter?"

"I like winter," he scoffed, shaking his head at Lily. "I just thought it'd be fun to do something different." Lily considered this for a few moments before nodding and nudging James to the edge of the hill.

"I guess you're right," she said. "And since you're right, I'll let you go first."

It was only 15 seconds later at most when James made it to the ground. He looked up to see Lily still at the top, laughing and waving to him. He quickly motioned for her to come down. This is it,he thought, feeling for the ring in his pocket. This is the moment I've been waiting for. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't noticed Lily's sled coming right towards him until he was being knocked off his feet. James could've sworn he heard someone laughing, but quickly dismissed it. "Sorry," she muttered sheepishly, getting off the ground and wiping the snow off of herself. When James didn't respond she turned to his in confusion, gasping when she saw him down on one knee. "James—"

"Lily, I've loved you since the day we met. I know you didn't always feel the same way, but I always knew that we were gonna spend the rest of our lives together. You're my best friend, and I couldn't imagine my life without you. So, Lils, will you marry me?"

"Who would've thought that James Potter was such a romantic," Lily laughed. James didn't remove his hopeful gaze from her. "And yes, I'd be honored to marry you." James immediately brought her into a kiss, breaking away a few moments later and sliding the ring onto her finger.

"Finally!" they heard from behind them, causing the couple to jump in surprise. The sound was coming from the bush near them and they were about to say something when they heard someone else say "Dorcas, shut up!" followed by some very loud shushes. James laughed quietly to himself before walking to the bush and looking behind it, spotting they're friends.

"Hey guys," Marlene said, face turning scarlet. "Fancy seeing you here." Upon hearing this Remus facepalmed, prompting Sirius to hit him on the arm.

"What are you all doing here?" Lily asked. Instead of answering her question, Sirius walked over to James, arms crossed and a glare on his face.

"I thought I was your best friend," he said, pretending to wipe a tear away.

"Pads, Lily may be my best friend, but you're always gonna be my soulmate."