Evans

The speed with which Alphard Black and Charlus Potter had shoved through the marriage contracts was almost shocking and it would have drawn a lot more attention if many other families weren't doing the same thing. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was stepping up his attacks on muggles, muggleborn and supposed blood traitors by the day. Fear was haunting the wizarding world and many families who already had contracts on the books were marrying off their offspring before it was too late. James and Sirius had been accepted to an internship with the Auror department because Frank Longbottom was marrying his betrothed, Alice McKinnon, and they were taking time off for a honeymoon. She and her sister Marlene were both outspoken female members of the Order and they'd become quite close to Lily. James frowned slightly. He and Lily had been dating for a year. He still wasn't exactly sure how the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing worked with muggles, but he knew how he felt about Lily. However, James wasn't sure that the Evans family kept lawyers on retainer to draw up betrothal contracts. They would probably think he was crazy or something. In the wizarding world, anyone of legal majority could go to the Ministry of Magic and apply for a marriage license. The Ministry would then check and make sure that the persons applying were free to do so i.e. had not entered into any previous bonds or oaths before it would issue a license. The reason everything took so much longer among the purebloods was the bickering back and forth between lawyers about the rights and inheritances of every person involved in the marriage and any viable issue that might be produced. Then all of the contracts had to be submitted to the Ministry and entered just in case there were other open contracts already listed. It was an incredibly tedious process and one of the least popular jobs in the Ministry. James would be able to skip all of that with Lily.

"My Own?" James poked his head into his sister's room. She glanced up from some papers she was going over and smiled at him.

"Yes, Jamie?" She asked curiously, tilting her head to one side. He came fully into her room and shut the door behind him.

"Do you know anything about muggle courtship rituals?" He asked in a rush, his face a deep red. Hermione beamed, a smile so wide it made her joy palpable.

"I do," she said after a moment. James nodded.

"They don't use betrothal contracts, do they? I mean, Lily found the whole thing with you and Sirius to be so odd. She had no idea what you were talking about half the time," James muttered rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, we can talk to father, and we can draw up a modified contract: in the event of your death she won't have inheritance rights, she'll receive an allowance, and your son will inherit everything on his majority. That should satisfy Daddy and Mum. They're fairly old-fashioned about things like that," Hermione said firmly. James frowned.

"Why can't I just marry her?" He demanded. Hermione sighed heavily.

"Jamie-love, look at it through Mum's eyes. She has no family, no status and no dowry. If she were marrying into the Blacks the head of the House would insist on her marrying a lesser son and that the marriage be listed as morganatic with the Ministry. I personally agree with Lucius, she most likely has squibs in her family tree, but we can't prove that. I can tell by the look on your face that you disagree…violently. Fine. Let me talk to her with her parents. If we can provide a nominal dowry, or prove her lineage then Mum won't object to full status. Does that make you happy?" Hermione asked with a weary sigh. James frowned and really looked at his sister. She looked pale, ill.

"My Own, are you well?" He asked with concern. She smiled weakly.

"I'm fine, Jamie. Perhaps I'm spreading myself a bit thin," she said quietly. He snorted.

Sirius hates that Ladies' Aide Society," he told his sister flatly. "He says he hasn't seen you in two weeks. You're driving him spare, love."

"I'll take a break, I promise," Hermione said earnestly. "Just…let me meet with Lily's parents. Oh! I'll need the Potter rubies. That should make the Evans sit up and realize that you're serious."

"He's not Sirius," Sirius began from the doorway. Hermione held up her palm, a pained expression on her face.

"Do not," she said sharply. Sirius gave her puppy eyes, she sighed and held out her arms. He scooped her up and put her on his lap.

"Missed you," he murmured while he whuffed her hair. She rolled her eyes at James. Sirius was ridiculous when he was separated from her for extended periods. His animagus side always came to the fore, he would sniff and nuzzle her for the next hour while he cuddled her. Once he was satisfied that she was safe and healthy, he would snog her senseless.

"Good," she murmured back. "You are taking me to see Lily."

"Now?" Sirius demanded irritably. Hermione kissed him on the nose.

"Yes, now," she said firmly. He sighed heavily and she thought she heard something derogatory about the Ladies' Aide Society, but she ignored it.

The Evans home was rather nice, by muggle standards, Hermione realized. She was holding a small, carved wooden coffer in her hands and Sirius walked with her toward their home. They were both dressed in muggle clothes. He had on a perfectly tailored dark suit and she was dressed in beautiful Chanel suit. Her wild curls were tamed by spell into a smooth chignon, and she had white kid gloves on. Her betrothal brooch with its rubies winked on her lapel and the large ruby of her pendant was also clearly visible. Sirius and Hermione appeared to be an incredibly attractive, insanely rich couple. He knocked smartly on the Evans' door. Petunia Evans opened the door and her mouth dropped open at the sight of the both of them.

"Are Mr. and Mrs. Evans at home?" Hermione asked in her aristocratic accent. Petunia nodded dumbly and held the door open wider so that they could enter.

Hermione's heels clicked on the hardwood floors and Sirius followed her closely, his hand at the small of her back. Hermione glanced out through the French doors in the living room and realized that Petunia was having a lawn party to which she had obviously not invited her sister. She turned back to the Evans who were sitting in their living room and looked up in surprise at unexpected guests.

"We apologize for the intrusion," Hermione said politely. "I had no idea that you were entertaining today, forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive Hermione," Mrs. Evans said warmly. "You're a good friend to Lily and we love having you. This must be your fiancé, Mr. Black. Lily's told us all about you both. She says that she has a special role in your engagement party."

"Er, yes," Hermione said blankly while Old Hermione rapidly translated everything in her head for her. Sirius looked confused. She patted his hand comfortingly, and then made formal introductions between all of them. When she was through she turned to Mrs. Evans. "Is Lily free?"

"Petunia, dear, go fetch your sister," Mrs. Evans said firmly. Hermione smiled at the parents of her friend.

"You have a study, don't you Mr. Evans? Perhaps we could all retire there once Lily has joined us," Hermione suggested smoothly.

"What on earth do they want with Tuney's freak sister?" Hermione heard a loud, nasally voice say, followed by a fit of giggles. She automatically put her hand on Sirius' wand arm.

"Not here," she hissed at him. He growled at her and she shook her head. Mr. Evans had been scowling toward the patio, but he turned and smiled at Sirius.

"I think I like your fiancé already," he said cheerfully. Hermione smiled weakly and pushed Sirius toward Mr. Evans' study.

"Hermione? Sirius? Why are you here?" Lily asked curiously. Hermione smiled warmly at Lily and Sirius gave her a cheeky grin.

We're here to find a solution to a rather sticky wicket as you lot say," Hermione said as she set the wooden coffer on the desk.

"What would that be, Miss Potter?" Mr. Evans asked curiously.

"Well, in the wizarding world there are families that are the equivalent of nobility. We don't have titles, but it amounts to the same thing. There are estates, inheritances, money, and all of it is jealously guarded by armies of lawyers. It takes them four years to hammer out the betrothal contracts so that the happy couple can get married," Hermione explained carefully, looking at Lily's parents since she already knew all of this. "The bride and the groom each bring something to the marriage that will be given to any issue. I have four dower properties that I hope to pass on to my children. Sirius has several properties as well. We each have monies that are listed on our betrothal contracts. Sirius has gifted me with a plethora of jewels. I'm wearing only a small sample of what he's showered me with during the course of our courtship."

"That's fascinating," Mr. Evans said slowly, obviously confused. Mrs. Evans had majored in Medieval Studies.

"Lily doesn't have a dowry," she gasped, staring at them. "Someone…what…wants to offer for her?"

"Yes," Hermione said with a slight smile at Lily who blushed furiously. She might have been horribly insulted by this whole process if she hadn't been friends with Hermione. That friendship had helped her to view the wizarding world as different. This visit by Hermione and Sirius showed how much Hermione cared about her. She was obviously trying to help, trying to smooth the way for her.

"Well, what would be considered a healthy dowry?" Mrs. Evans asked speculatively.

"Property is always good," Sirius said automatically. Hermione glared at him.

"We have a small property…well…it's a cottage really. I inherited it from my grandmother, it's in a place called Godric's Hollow," Mrs. Evans said slowly. Hermione and Sirius stared at her in such obvious shock, their eyes widening and their mouths dropping open that Mrs. Evans turned to her daughter for an explanation. Lily shrugged and shook her head in confusion.

"Potter Manor lies quite close to Godric's Hollow," Hermione said faintly. "It's a magical community. I…I…Lily we have to see your grandmother's parents. Do you have a family tree anywhere?"

"I think so. Ah, here it is. Huh. Deucedly odd last names. Her mother was a Bones and her father was a…Bagshot?" Mr. Evans read carefully. Hermione paled and so did Sirius. Then they looked at one another and smiled.

"Well, that will make things much easier. Lily, your grandmother must have been a squib. We'll have to check the Ministry records. That little cottage, if you're willing to make it Lily's dowry, will be perfect. We brought this to prove that we were serious about the matter," Hermione said happily. She opened the coffer to reveal small, velvet lined trays that contained the Potter rubies.

"If Lily would like to choose a piece that appeals to her?" Sirius asked her courteously. Lily picked a ruby and diamond bracelet. Sirius smiled gently at her. "It doesn't have to be a bracelet for the first gift, love."

"I know," she said softly. Sirius picked it up and fastened it around her wrist gently.

"I must go home and speak to Daddy and Mum. I'm sure they'll want to contact their lawyers, and then they'll come visit you with James. I know this may seem odd to you, but please know that it will be very odd for my parents as well. This isn't exactly how we normally do things, but…well…James doesn't like to be told that something can't be done," Hermione said with a slight smile at Lily who blushed furiously.

"James knows that muggles use rings to symbolize intent to marry," Sirius said to Mr and Mrs. Evans. "He plans to give her one, in case you're worried, but these betrothal jewels say the same thing to our lot."

Well, to be honest, these are the Potter rubies, which normally only the wives wear," Hermione pointed out to her soon to be betrothed. "He's stating emphatically that he's marrying her. Anyone who sees that bracelet will know exactly what it means. They'll treat her as though she's already Mrs. Potter."

"Your father's going to have a fit," Sirius said staring at Lily's wrist. He'd assumed that they were betrothal jewels.

"Oh, I'm sure he will, but he loves Lily and he'll be happy once he's had a chance to yell a bit," Hermione said with a slight smile. Mr and Mrs. Evans smiled, too.

Lucius is going to be absolutely insufferable when he finds out that Lily's not a muggleborn.

Do you have to remind me? I never saw that coming. Not in a million years. Do you suppose that little cottage is where they lived, in the original timeline? The Dumbledore family lived there; it would give the Headmaster greater access to them. I think we heavily veto that this go round.

Yes, I had to remind you. Yes, I think it is the cottage that Harry lived in when he was a baby. It looked adorable in the pictures; I can see why Lily loved it. I agree, tell Lily and James there was a vision and they can't live there. Well. They can after we kill Voldemort.

Good. As long as we agree.

I'm just glad you're speaking to me again.