I'm supposed to be doing my homework. And here I am, writing a story. *sigh*

I hope you enjoy this one-shot. Don't forget to leave a review behind! Reviews make me smile :)) No flames, but constructive criticisms are welcome.

This one-shot is not beta-d, so pardon me if there are any major mistakes. If you find any mistakes in general or anything that seems to be confusing, inform me and I'll edit it ASAP.

Enjoy!

All Good Things Come to an End

Summary: It is the last day at Hogwarts for the graduating batch, and Lily Evans decides to take a walk around her sanctuary for the last time.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this following one-shot. They belong to J.K. Rowling. Though there's this teeny-tiny part of me that wants to say "BACK-OFF, THEY'RE MINE!". But no, very very unfortunately, they're not.

Thump!

Smack!

Boom!

It was a mess in the seventh year girls' dormitory. Books were spread everywhere, clothes were being chucked without thoughts, and the girls were trying to cramp into their trunk the souvenirs they got from their Professors. Sadly, there was no way they could do that with magic.

Lily and her roommates had procrastinated packing their trunk. It kind of signalled the end of their carefree days. They had completed their N.E. a little over a month ago, and had spent the remaining term partying and having fun like never before. Only on their second last day at Hogwarts did they realise the finality of it all. No more eating in the Great Hall, no more Qudditch matches, no more late night talks in dormitory, no more prowling around late at night. No more Hogwarts.

Lily heaved a huge sigh, and made to walk out of the dorm.

"Where are you going?" Mary asked, while forcing another skirt in her already overflowing trunk.

"For a walk, I'll be back soon" Lily said, and walked out.

She took slow and deliberate steps, walking along the corridors that she remembered running along all these years. She saw a broom cupboard on her way, and blushed. That was where she and James had spent hours snogging.

She had no idea where her legs were taking her. She just walked on, fondly remembering some memories as she passed by a certain spot. Finally, she reached the lake.

The scenery was beautiful. The lake that stretched beyond the castle, all the way to Hogsmeade. And the mountains right behind that town gave the whole place an elegant look. She always loved coming here. This was where she came when she felt like giving up. This was where she came when she felt like hexing James Potter into oblivion. This was where she came when she wanted to take a breather. It was so peaceful.

Nothing like the world outside the walls of this castle.

Lily shuddered at that thought. Voldemort was gaining strength day by day, and she knew she was in danger. She was a muggle-born after all. She never felt threatened when she happily spent her time studying and running about at Hogwarts. It was safe here. And now she has to leave this safe sanctuary. But she had confidence in the skills this school had imparted on her. She'll survive.

The wind blew softly against her fiery red hair, and Lily decided to lie down on the soft grass for while. The warmth of the sun reached her skin, and she closed her eyes, savouring the moment. Just then, she felt someone blocking off the sun's warmth. She opened her eyes, only to look right into the face of the Head Boy.

"James! What are you doing here?", Lily asked, surprised. How come James always knew where to find her?

"Mary said you went for a walk, and well, let's just say my heart followed you here" James replied cheekily, grinning.

Lily rolled her eyes. Trust James to give such sappy reply.

James sat beside her, and both of them stared at the lake, each lost in their own train of thoughts.

"Gonna miss this place, huh?", James broke the comfortable silence after sometime.

Lily nodded. "Everything's going to change, isn't it?"

"No, not really. You're still going to be the brightest witch of our age, and I'm still going to annoy you", James said, smiling.

Lily chuckled.

And before they knew it, they were reminiscing about the eventful times they had at the lake.

"Remember the time Sirius jumped into the unfrozen part of this lake in the middle of winter? Goodness, he takes a dare really seriously", James said, shaking his head.

"Well, he is Sirius", Lily used that pun. She never got tired of it.

"And I also remember a certain redhead accepting my proposal for a date" James suggestively said, wriggling his eyebrows at her.

Lily blushed. "I thought I might give you a chance!" she said, before adding, "I can also recall you attempting to conjure a bunch of lilies to impress me back in our third year, when I still hated you. You ended up sprouting water from your wand and drenched me!" Lily said, laughing at how James blushed.

"Hey-", James started but was cut off by an all too familiar voice.

"Oi! Planning to resume packing or are you gonna spend your lifetime there?"

Both of them got up and turned to see Sirius Black strutting –yes, there was no other way you could describe the way he walks- towards them.

"Just talking Padfoot. Are you done with your packing?" James asked him as they started to make their way towards the castle.

"Nah, who wastes time packing. I paid one of the house elfs to do it for me last night" Sirius grinned.

"Sirius! You are not supposed use the Hogwarts elfs for your own use!" Lily exclaimed indignantly.

"It's not like as if the Professors are going to punish me for this, Lils. We're leaving tomorrow, remember? And even if they decide to punish me, I wouldn't mind adding another detention to my already record-breaking number of detentions. Right James?" Sirius replied with a lazy grin, and the two Marauders laughed.

"Fine, suit yourself" Lily huffed playfully. When they reached the castle, Sirius turned to James.

"Prongs, I need to meet Anna now. Need to...uh...say goodbye", Sirius said, smirking to hint something only his best mate could understand.

"Riiiight, that gorgeous blondie. Have fun!" James clapped him on the shoulders and Sirius soon disappeared around the corner.

"I'll go and finish up my packing now, see you at dinner" Lily said to James, who nodded and gave her a kiss before muttering something about heading to the kitchens. He was always hungry.

Before heading back to the Gryffindor Tower, Lily tuned back once more to see her favourite place. She was going to miss this place. She was going to miss the Professors. She was going to miss the best Headmaster Hogwarts has ever seen. She was going to miss laughing at the ridiculous jokes and pranks the Marauders did. It was the best seven years of her life, and she will take the memories with her right to her grave. However much she felt a part of her wanting to spend more time at Hogwarts, she had to go on and make a life in the world outside this sanctuary. And she will do just that. After all, all good things come to an end, don't they?

End

Liked it? Yes? No? Review and tell me. :)

I love reviews. A minute or so, that's all it takes to review. You'll make me smile for days if you review. Hehe.

Oh, and found the "Everything's gonna change" part familiar? I got it from the last part of the GoF movie. Thought it'd fit this part well.

Thank you for reading!

~nsk-emerald