Here it is, the last chapter.

You'll notice I get into more depth with Lily than I do with Snape, but there was a lot to write about, more than sitting in the Great Hall. All in all, I'm pretty satisfied with this.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Lily Evans was not in a very good mood. She had woken up late and scrambled to get dressed, but only when she was standing in front of the Transfiguration classroom did she remember that today was a Saturday. Scowling, she had turned to begin the walk back to the Gryffindor common room, when her way had been blocked by Severus Snape.

Lily didn't know how she felt about Snape. A part of her still hated him for calling her 'Mudblood' and going off with his little Death Eater friends, but another part mourned-mourned for the days lost and forgotten. Earlier in the year, on the Hogwarts Express, Snape had approached her and asked if they could try to be friends. Lily couldn't say no, as she had missed their old friendship dearly, but things were not the same.

"Hi, Lily," Snape had said. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, Snape," she had snapped. Snape looked taken aback for a moment as Lily continued, "Why are you up here, anyway?"

Snape smiled softly. "I'm coming up from the Great Hall, Li-"

"It's Evans," She had hissed before brushing past him, not giving him time to answer. A part of her felt bad for the way she had treated him, but then she remembered all those years of how he had treated her the same way, and she felt Snape could deal with it a little.

Now Lily was sitting in the Gryffindor common room at a table off in the corner, furiously scribbling on a piece of parchment. She had Charms homework due Monday, and Lily had always thought it was better to get things out of the way-

A laugh sounded, making Lily pause. A loud, boisterous laugh that she would know anywhere. Glancing up through her fringe, Lily watched as James Potter and the rest of his group of friends entered through the portrait. James appeared to be laughing at something Sirius had said, and was now smiling. His eyes scoured the common room, and before Lily could look down, they landed on her. He smile was warmer this time, and Lily allowed a small one back before he and the rest of the Marauders continued on their way.

Lily had been getting along much better with James this year, being forced to share Head duties together. Upon working with him, she had found out he was not the original prick she had thought, and was actually very funny, sweet, and kind, as well as caring. Lily had found out she liked him quite a bit.

Another laugh, but Lily kept her eyes on her parchment. No need to get worked up over a little crush, she thought. James was already dating someone-that sixth year Gryffindor whose name had slipped her mind-anyway.

Another laugh, and Lily just had to look up. James was grinning and chatting with the Marauders, and now Frank and Alice, who were happily dating, had joined the conversation. Marlene and Mary were starting to drift over as well. Lily forced her eyes down. No. She had to finish this.

"Hey, Lily!"

She looked up. Alice was motioning her. Lily blinked.

"Lily!"

With a sigh, she quickly shoved her parchment and quill into her bag, deciding she wasn't going to get any work done anyway.

"Lily!"

Lily glanced over. The other Gryffindors were starting to pay attention. Lily loved Alice, but honestly, sometimes she was just a bit too loud. Just a bit. Frank was the calm one, while Alice really didn't mind making a scene.

Walking over, Lily was very aware of the eyes of James Potter on her, but she ignored them, instead focusing on her brown haired friend.

"Yes, Alice?" Lily finally asked when she had reached them. Alice used her thumb to point to the person that currently held Lily's affection.

"Talk to James," Alice said. "He's the one with the idea."

Lily knew it wasn't just because James 'had the idea', but because Alice was also very aware of Lily's crush on him.

Lily glanced at James, trying not to stare. "Yes? What is it? Please do hurry, I've got Charms homework I need to finish-"

James grinned at her. "Lily," he said, "can't you just finish it later? Oh, that's right, I forgot. That's all it is with you. Study, study, study."

Lily couldn't get mad at someone who was so cute. Instead she switched her gaze to a different Marauder. "Remus?"

"James wants to have a snow fight," he said tiredly. "Although I'm not quite sure it's the best idea-"

"Of course it is!" Sirius said strongly. "Just ask Peter-"

"Sure," said the blonde, blue-eyed boy, in answer to Sirius. Peter looked at Remus. "Of course it is."

Lily ignored Sirius and Peter, instead staring at James and Alice in bewilderment. "You called me over from important homework…for a snow fight?"

Marlene grinned at her friend. "I know! Isn't it great?"

Lily was now looking at James.

"Look, Lily," said the black haired boy, "I know it isn't exactly your idea of fun, but I thought you might want to get out a little, you know? Have fun with your friends and everything."

Lily sighed. "Where are you getting this snow, anyway?"

James smirked at her. "Were wizards and witches, Lily. I think we can create some snow." At Lily's eye roll he added, "It's also been snowing since about five in the morning."

Lily looked at him oddly. "And how would you know that?"

"I know things. Look, Lily, please?"

Lily sighed. Resisting was hopeless when James used that face.

"Alright, alright. Fine, okay? I'll go outside, but only for a bit."

James grinned at her again while their friends cheered. The nine of them began moving towards the Fat Lady's portrait, Alice tugging at Lily's arm the whole time.

A few minutes later they stood in front of the doors that led outside.

"Alright," Remus looked at each of them. "Everyone knows how to cast warming charms, right?"

Everyone said 'Right' except Sirius, who threw Remus a sarcastic look. "Remus, we've been here for seven years. I think we'd know how to cast a warming charm."

"Oh, I know," Remus replied, "I just thought you might need a review, Padfoot. No one really knows how much knowledge sunk in."

Sirius grumbled and hastily cast the charm while everyone else laughed. As the nine of them walked outside, James and Lily hung back.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" James said to her quietly, looking slightly nervous. "I mean, I don't want to force you-"

"Of course you didn't," said Lily. "It was of my own accord." My own accord that I fell for you, Lily thought.

James looked at her and nodded, and not a moment later everyone was outside.

"Okay, we need teams," said Frank after a short silence. "But there's an uneven number of us."

Alice grinned at her boyfriend. "Oh, you can go join that group of prats that call themselves men, Frank. I think us girls have got it covered."

Frank smiled at her and nodded, and as he walked off to join the Marauders, Lily thought she heard the distinct call of 'Whipped!' in the voice of Sirius Black.

Alice turned to the other three girls with a grin. "Alright," she said, "does anyone have a plan?"

"You mean just throwing snowballs like crazy and hoping they hit their target won't work?" said Mary, to laughter from the girls.

"No, probably not," Marlene said with a smile. She glanced at Lily. "Lil? Do you have a plan?"

"I think so," Lily answered. "Alright, so instead of Mary's original plan, how about we use magic? I mean, we're witches, right?"

"Magic?" Mary echoed. "Lily, are you sure? It seems more like for 'that group of prats that call themselves men'-"

"And Frank," Alice added.

Mary ignored her, "-to do."

"Exactly," said Lily. "They're expecting us to play by the rules, whatever they are. But we need to be sly about our magic. We can't just make it obvious we're casting spells to help us win. I was thinking two of us make and throw the balls, while the other two are in charge of casting. Does that sound alright?"

"Not the worst idea I've ever heard," Alice commented. Lily sent her a mock glare.

"Alright. How about Marlene and I do the casting, while Alice, you and Mary do the making and throwing? Though, Marlene and I will have to make and throw a few, so we don't look too suspicious."

"Alright," the other three nodded agreement, and when they looked over at the boys, it seemed they had finished planning, too.

"I wonder if they even did plan," Marlene had muttered to Lily as the girls separated, "Sirius probably told them to throw wildly or something, the idiot."

Marlene and Sirius had a love-hate relationship, which consisted of on and off dating. Lily presumed that they were no longer dating, and were now in the 'hate' part.

"Are you girls ready?" called James.

"We're ready!" Lily yelled back, and suddenly balls of snow were flying everywhere in each and every direction. Lily could not tell which snowball belonged to which side.

Spotting Mary throwing a snowball, Lily cast Wingardium Leviosa in it and guided it through the air until it hit Sirius on the nose. Marlene grinned at her and cast a quick charm of her own, the Bat Boogey Hex, to make the snowball's attack double. Lily watched as she guided it to smack into Sirius.

"Lily!" Marlene suddenly yelled, making Lily turn and get a face full of snow. Wiping her eyes, she spotted James Potter's smirk and narrowed her eyes. No matter how much she fancied him, Lily would get her revenge.

Rolling up her own snowball, Lily threw it, casting Wingardium Leviosa and a quick speeding charm to make it go faster. James noticed it and cast Protego before it could hit him. This made Lily's annoyance with him rise even more, as he stuck his tongue out after he had cast.

Trying out what Marlene had done to Sirius, Lily threw a snowball with Wingardium Leviosa and the Bat Boogey Hex attached to it. James managed to dodge, but the Wingardium Leviosa charm kept it flying, and Lily got a hit on his ear. James glared at her playfully and tossed another snowball at her.

The world around them seemed to freeze-it was no one but James and Lily, throwing, dodging, hitting, casting, and defending. Each time one of them was hit, the other retaliated, making this mini fight long and hard. Eventually Lily managed to get a direct shot on James' face, causing him to stumble and fall backwards into the snow. Lily looked around triumphantly when she realized there had been no more fighting going on-the other seven had been to busy staring at them.

Lily blushed when she realized this, and looked over at James who had just seemed to notice. Picking himself up, he stood breathing heavily, his face pink with cold, but a wide smile on his face. "So I take it our snow fight is over, then?"

Sirius grinned at his friend, and was about to say something but was interrupted by Remus. "Yes, actually," said the scarred boy, "it's about time for dinner in the Great Hall now."

Slowly everyone came back into motion, and Lily's friends, Frank, and the Marauders began moving across the grounds to go inside. Lily was about to follow them when she felt a hand grasp her arm.

"Wait."

Lily glanced at James and nodded, looking back at Alice. Alice, seeming to notice what was happening, nodded at her friend and winked before running to catch up with the group. Lily looked up to see if James had noticed Alice's wink, but he was only looking at her. Lily blushed, but stared back at him, waiting.

"Come on," he breathed finally, taking a step back. He still had a hold on Lily's arm, which he had just seemed to notice. Letting go gently, he looked at Lily. "Let's go for a walk around the lake."

"Okay."

At first they moved in silence for a while, with the steady sound of snow crunching below their feet. Lily thought she heard James say something about the weather-how cold it was-and it was cold. Lily felt extremely cold, especially in her hands, and then Lily didn't know how it happened, or who had made the first move, but suddenly her hand was in his, or his hand was in hers, and Lily felt bliss-

"I'm sorry," James said suddenly. Lily looked at him, but he kept his eyes downcast on the ground.

"Pardon?"

James cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, Lily, for being such a jerk. Such a…toerag."

Lily smiled slightly but let James continue.

"I know I haven't exactly treated you the best I could have in the past years, and I am so, so, sorry."

Lily squeezed his hand. "It's oka-"

"It's not okay," James said fiercely, and now he was looking at her, and Lily noticed they had stopped. They must've arrived at the lake. "It's not okay, Lily, and you know it isn't. I was a complete prat to you and Severus, and there's no excuse."

The mention of Snape made Lily's heart clench slightly, and made her confused, but she let it go.

There was another pause as both of them stood there, looking over the lake.

"You-you remember that moment in fifth year?" James' voice cracked slightly, and he kept his eyes ahead. Lily frowned slightly but nodded. "I…I am so sorry about that, too. I-I mean, I ruined your relationship with Severus-"

"No you didn't," said Lily quietly. She looked ahead. She could feel James' eyes on her, but she kept looking ahead. "It was bound to happen sometime, better sooner than later. True, I would've preferred it was a different way-" James flinched slightly but nodded, "-but…you couldn't have stopped the thing with Snape and I later. In a way, I'm almost glad it happened."

James kept looking at her. "Why?"

Lily finally looked at him, his hazel eyes boring into her green ones. "Because-" she choked, "Because…because James, if that hadn't happened, you wouldn't have matured. And if you hadn't matured, you never have shaped into this. This sweet, funny, kind, caring guy that I know and love."

Lily widened her eyes slightly, and so did James. She hadn't mean to say that last part. After all, since when was she in love with him? But Lily knew she must be, and as she studied James' features, she wondered why she hadn't realized it before.

There was another short silence. "I'm sorry," said Lily quietly. "I know you probably don't feel that way about me anymore, and with you dating that sixth year-"

James cut across her, and as her spoke, his eyes held a passion she had never seen before. "I've never gotten over you. I'm only dating that girl because I was trying to get over you. I had thought you would never feel that way about me, and-" James broke off. "Do you believe in love at first sight, Lily?"

And suddenly he was kissing her, and she was kissing him, and it was the best feeling ever, better than anything Lily had ever felt before, and she wanted it to last forever-

They broke apart, both breathing heavily. Lily smiled at him, raising her arms behind his neck until her hands were in his black curls. Neither took their eyes off each other. "Yes, James. I do."

Gosh, I am overwhelmed with fluff. Fluffy, fluffy, fluff...

Thanks to you all who took the time to read, review, alert and favorite. Even though this story was short, I still would like to thank you all.

~D