the_debt_of_time

"Is that what you tell my brother anytime he walks around shirtless?" Mia asked,
daring her friend to argue with her.
"What's this?" Mary's eyes lit up once again. "James Potter has a tattoo?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "It's just a bunch of flowers."
"A bunch of lilies," Mia said with a grin.
"You two are so lucky," Mary announced dramatically.
Mia and Lily shared a look and both laughed. Mary certainly was one for theatrics,
but neither could argue with her. They were indeed incredibly lucky, tattoos or not.
"Frank would never get a tattoo. He hates needles," Alice said and then hesitated a
moment before speaking once more. "But... he did get something else quite permanent."
"Better than ink?" Mary asked curiously, rolling over on her bed just as Alice
extended her hand toward her friends. The sunlight breaking in through the window shone
over a sparkling ruby on her finger.
"Merlin!" Mary squealed and fell off of her bed in the process with a loud thud. She
quickly recovered, jumping to her feet and snatching Alice's hand to examine the jewel.
"Look at the size of this thing! He really asked you to marry him?"
Alice beamed brightly while nodding.
"Congratulations!" Mia grinned, pulling her friend into a tight hug. "I'm so happy
for you! How did he ask?"
"Fumbled a bit, nervously," Alice replied softly, smiling the entire time. "You know
Frank. He was really sweet, though. Apparently, he had to fight his mum and uncle for the
ring." She studied it with downcast eyes. "It's been in House Longbottom for centuries."
"It's so lovely," Lily said admiringly. "I can't believe you're engaged."
Mary winked at her. "We told you that wizards work fast."
Suddenly a bit pale, Lily's eyes widened. "Do you think that James would...? Oh
no, I can't even start thinking like that."
Alice laughed softly. "My guess is you'll be engaged by summer."
Mia threw in her two Knuts worth, "I'm going to say by this time next year."
She could have done the Arithmancy equations, consulted tea leaves, or even looked
into a crystal ball, but in reality, all she had to do was take Harry's birthday, subtract nine
months, figure out how long it would take to plan a wedding, and then add what she
thought would be an adequate amount of time for Lily to fret.