The Last Night

Remus looked around the Common Room, his face somewhat drawn downwards. A numb silence had swept over the student body there, mainly made up of seventh-years. All eyes scanned the room's walls, taking in every last detail that they could drink in. The portraits that adorned the walls were smiling sympathetically, and Remus gave small smiles back, as his own green eyes scanned the room. "This is it." He muttered, blinking up at the room, "The last night that we'll ever sleep in this room." His words broke the silence, though no reply was given to him. Remus hadn't expected any. No-one knew what to say, do, or think. Around the embers of the fire, there sat the Marauders and Company. Remus and Sirius sat hunched together; James and Lily were sat holding hands; Marlene and Emmeline were almost in tears; and Peter was sat closest to the fire, staring deep into the smouldering flames.
"Yeah." James finally replied, though his words were bare, and devoid of the usual cockiness that filled them. He and Lily seemed to hunch closer together. Remus didn't blame them; they were all feeling insecure. All of them knew what world they were about to enter. Dumbledore had talked to all of them, about the War… About the Order of the Phoenix. They were going from being students, to being soldiers.
"We're just… Kids." Emmeline put their thoughts into words, though none of them looked at her. If any of them met another's eye, they knew the façade of confidence would drop. "We're seventeen… And we're all going off to fight a war. Why?"
"Because there is no-one else to fight it." Remus answered, and finally looked at her. They all looked to him, and the expression on his face screamed of maturity beyond his years, not helped by the various scars and lines that were already there. "And because there is nothing else to fight for. Voldemort cannot win." He heard the gasp that followed the name, from Emmeline, "Might as well call him his name, Emm. He's going to try and kill you, either way."
"Remus is right." Sirius finally spoke. The usual confidence had gone from the raven-haired boy's voice, and it was oddly empty, "We have to fight. Because they're fighting and, if we don't… They'll win." Remus stared at Sirius, and nodded solemnly, "And, if they win, we're dead. This world is dead, because there will be no magic. Not our magic, anyway. They will use spells, yes..." Sirius looked about to finish his sentence, but stopped short.
"But not love." Lily finished for him, and moved a hand to pat his, "Not love, which is magic in itself. The speech Dumbledore gave, when we first got here. I remember it, too." She gave a gentle smile.
"I don't think it's ever been more relevant." Remus nodded slightly.

"What's going to happen?" Peter asked. His voice was even meeker than usual, and Remus turned to look at him. He looked almost tearful, and Remus felt sympathy drop deep within his stomach, "To us, I mean…"
"We join the Order, Petey." James turned to him, and gave his winning smile. Remus, however, could see the forced nature of it. He understood; smiling seemed almost an impossibility right now, "We fight for the good guys. We win." The confidence was also back in James' voice, though it seemed oddly strained; almost desperate.
"And what then?" Marlene asked, tilting her head at James, "What happens after we win, if any of us are still alive to see that day?" She asked of him. Her voice seemed almost confrontational, and Remus turned his eyes back to the fire.
"We rebuild. We make a better world and, most importantly, we make sure this never happens again." James' voice was low, and he clearly had confidence in them. "And we will be alive to see it, all of us." James looked at them, and fought back a choke. Recently, he had been forced to consider his friends' mortality, and the glaring threat of it owing to recent events. He refused to allow them to die, however. He couldn't live without them.
"There's always another monster." Marlene said, and turned her eyes away from James. She appreciated the sentiment behind his words, though she couldn't bring herself to believe them. It all seemed so… Difficult. Emmeline was right, they were only children. Children, who were now tasked with fighting a war for their entire world, and with winning, "And there'll always be another monster." Her voice was barely a mumble, though it could be heard throughout the entire Common Room. Thankfully, only a few other students were there. None of them could have known what the group was discussing.

Once more, they fell into a comfortable, if somewhat mournful silence. "Last night." Remus muttered again. Truly, he couldn't believe the words were leaving his mouth. The place had been home for seven years, and Remus had never comprehended leaving it. Of course, he knew he'd have to, one day; he just never realised it would come this quickly, or under these circumstances. Remus' eyes swept across the paintings once more, many of whom were now beginning to fall asleep. Night had set some long hours ago, though none of the students sat around the fire even felt a hint of tiredness. All that could be heard for a while were their shaky breaths, as all tried to contain their emotions, at leaving their home.
"We have to be strong." Lily finally said, louder than any of them had dared speak before, "For everyone. We can't give up." All eyes went to her, and she gave a small, encouraging smile to them all. "We have to fight, for everyone in our world, in the Muggle world, and the people who'll be born into either. We have to keep going."
"And what if we can't?" Peter asked, tears springing to his blue eyes, "What if we can't keep going?"
"Then we'll keep going for you." James answered, looking at Peter.
"We're all in it together, Petey." Sirius gave Peter a smile, the first smile Remus had seen Sirius give since they'd left the Great Hall, "For better, or for worse."
"Most likely worse." Marlene commented, drawing a genuine laugh from them all, despite themselves. Even Peter found himself laughing at the comment, and they all settled into another silence.
"Marry me."

The words were quite unexpected, and all eyes turned to find the source of them. Despite the predictability, none of them quite expected to find James Potter's mouth moving, as he stared at Lily, eyes deep and clearly enveloped.
"Wh-What?" Lily asked, feeling all noise evaporate around her, and blushing lightly.
"Marry me." James repeated. The cockiness in his voice was, this time, not replaced by emptiness, but by a deep passion, and a soft touch to the words, "Marry me, soon. Because… Sirius is right. We're in this together, all of us. But… Marlene's right, too." The consideration of his next point seemed physically painful to him, "We might die. And I will not die… Not being able to call you my wife." He paused, and glanced at Sirius and Remus. Remus looked stunned, while Sirius was grinning wider than James had ever seen it. He also threw a sideways smile to Peter, who was blinking rather rapidly.
"James…" Lily didn't look hesitant. She seemed, in fact, to be having trouble comprehending what she was being asked. "This isn't too sudden?"
"Not to me. I've been in love with you for seven years… Lily Evans, will you marry me?" He asked, and kept his eyes fixed firmly on her.
"Yes."