A Beautiful Year
Shaylagh McCole
A girl of seventeen made her way up the stairs to her dorm. She was rather pretty, with long red hair that glimmered in the light. Her eyes were emerald green and were windows to the heart of the life she lived. The tears running down her red face didn't even make a dent in the large amount of beauty the girl held.
As she continued to ascend the stairs, she thought about all that had happened to her this year. When she walked in the large wooden doors almost ten months ago, she never would have imagined that by the time she walked back out them, her life would be perfect.
She had made two new friends that year, Erin and Addison. Both of them were beautiful people both inside and out, and made her feel special when she was with them. She felt as if she could tell them anything and they would understand how she felt. Both of them shared the same emotions she had within.
Her Head Girl duties kept her occupied many hours day and night, but she enjoyed it nonetheless. She loved the look on the younger students when she helped them to solve a problem, or when she greeted them in the halls. She loved the time she had to herself when she was patrolling the school grounds at night, even when she did catch the trouble makers.
Most of all this year, she loved James. She loved every aspect of him all the way from his messy mop of hair atop his head, to his toes as they wiggled in the sand. He had a certain way of holding himself that showed his pride without looking arrogant. Even his smile was loveable as it often strayed off to the side of his face.
The beginning of their relationship had been shaky, as the two hadn't bothered to settle the differences they held between them. She had thought then that she couldn't be open with him, and often felt like she was encaged. No other guys would even dare talk to her as she was thought of as 'Potter's girl.' Not even a month later she had broken it off.
Seeing his hurt expression when she had uttered the words "we're over" had broken her heart almost as much as it had broken his. She knew she had made the right choice then. She thought for sure he was just 'another guy' and it would be easy to get over him like she had so many times before. That was back when she didn't believe in true love.
She had dated a few other people then. She didn't even think twice about accepting each time someone asked her, but the thought of the messy-haired James always lingered in the back of her mind. It seemed he wasn't just another guy.
Three months later, when it seemed even James had almost given up all hope, the young Quidditch player had fallen off his broomstick in the middle of a game and was seriously injured. At the moment she thought she had lost him forever, was the moment in which she realized how much she cared for the boy. She had almost lost him, and never again would she let him go.
Even Sirius, who had been positive the two would end up together, had found it a complete surprise when the couple was found sitting together at the breakfast table the first morning after James had been let out. Little did he know, that would be simply the first miracle in the relationship between the two.
As all couples did, Lily and James had their fair share of ups and downs. They were often found arguing in the Common Room, but always seemed to sort everything out in the end. They became such a perfect pair, that even the teachers smiled as they walked by knowing how happy each was with the other. Soon they were known as Hogwarts's 'it couple.'
Despite all that had happened, every happy story does indeed have an ending. To Lily Evens, this ending was approaching far to fast. As she found herself at the top of the staircase leading to her room, she noticed her tears flowing down as fast as ever. She wasn't sure whether she should be happy of sad, but she did know that she would miss what she had now.
This final year at her favorite school had been a beautiful one indeed. She had learned so much, and yet found herself feeling weak as her adult life drew near. She knew, though, that whatever happened to her, whatever the future had in store, she would always be happy. She would always have James.