Disclaimer: I own next to nothing.

Author's Note: How long has it been since I've uploaded? A year? Maybe two? No, it just feels like it's been that long. It's insane. I'm really sorry about the slow update. I was grounded during the summer, and then school started and I had all this homework to do. But hopefully I'll be able to start updating a bit more, now. I'll try my best, anyway. Besides, the fic is almost over.

But then I have the sequel to work on, right? Right.

Chapter 13: The last trip.

The sun shone brightly in through the windows of the school. Birds could be heard chirping from somewhere far away. When Lily sat up and peered out her window, she noticed that there wasn't even a cloud in the sky. It was the perfect Saturday morning, even better than usual because it meant a break from the exams they'd been having all week, the exams which would continue over the next one as well. It was just the right kind of day for their last trip to Hogsmeade.

Without even bothering to stretch or yawn, she dashed into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She tried to be quick, lathering shampoo into her hair, but she just couldn't rush through the shower. The heat of the water pounded onto her shoulders but it was soothing and relaxing and she had to slow down and enjoy it.

Once the warmth had unclenched every muscle in her body, she stepped out and draped a towel around herself so that she could brush her hair and teeth and dress before she left the bathroom. Finally, once she had finished, she walked out of the bathroom, swung her bag over her shoulder and with one last glance out her window, she walked down to the Great Hall to join her friends for breakfast.

She found Louise and Victoria sitting at their usual spot at the end of the table. They weren't eating, however. As Lily drew closer she saw that they were poring over a muggle fashion magazine, one from the bottom of Lily's trunk.

"What are you doing?" Lily asked, sitting down across from them and eyeing them.

They ignored her.

"Hello?" Lily said, frowning. She pulled the magazine away from them and quickly read the headline. Ten things to know if YOU want to set some one up.

"Setting some one up?" Lily asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Louise flushed, but Victoria didn't falter. She snatched the magazine back. "Just muggle rubbish, Lily Billy. We're only reading it for fun."

"Sounds like so much fun." Lily laughed.

"So…Last Hogsmeade trip ever." Louise said. Lily guessed she was trying to change the subject.

Lily sighed. "That's true."
"Well," Victoria said, taking a brighter side to the conversation. "We better make it a good trip, then."

"What should we do?" Louise asked.

"I don't know." Victoria shrugged. "We'll figure it out as we go."

"We're leaving soon?" Lily asked.

Louise nodded. "And I think Professor McGonagall said something about staying an extra hour or something."

"Good. The longer the better." Lily grinned.

Victoria smiled. "One more week."
Lily nodded. "One more week." She agreed.

--

"Are you sure you don't want to spend the day with your friends?" Claire asked as she and James walked out of the Great Hall. "It is the last trip."

James smiled and squeezed her hand. "I'm absolutely sure."

Claire smiled back, obviously satisfied. "What do you want to do?" she asked.

"Whatever you want. Maybe we can walk around, then go for something to eat?" James said with a shrug. They caught up to the back of the line of students and followed the slow moving crowd out of the school.

"That sounds fine with me." Claire said. "I don't care where we go, as long as the we is still a part of it."
James grinned.

The village of Hogsmeade seemed to be absorbing the sun. It was always a beautiful place, a warm and familiar place, but today it seemed even better than usual. Students were rushing around, laughing and chatting and just being happy to be away from their studies for a day, but none of them look more pleased than the seventh years, for this was the last trip they would ever take as students to the village, and they were determined to enjoy it.
After walking around for a while, admiring the main street of Hogsmeade, James and Claire settled down at a table in the back of the Three Broomsticks. James bought their drinks from the counter and brought them back to their table, placing one in front of Claire and another in front of his seat before he lowered himself into it across from her. She smiled in thanks before taking a sip, and when she looked back up, she found that James was staring at her, half a smile on his face.

"What?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

James laughed and shook his head. "Nothing, nothing." He said. "I was just thinking."

Claire put down her drink. "You've been doing that a lot lately. What are you thinking about?"

He sighed. "A lot of things. Exams, leaving Hogwarts, us." He elaborated.

"Us?" Claire asked.

James nodded and she looked as though she'd have liked to know more, but she decided not to ask and said, instead, "What are you doing after Hogwarts?"
Again, James sighed. "I don't know. That's mainly what I've been thinking about, but I can't seem to make up my mind." He then smiled. "But I suppose I've got a bit of time, right?"
Claire nodded and smiled back.
"What about you?" he asked.

Still smiling, she took another sip of a drink and only answered when she put the drink back down on the table. "Journalism." She replied. "I'd like to work for the Prophet, but I think they only take the top writers."
"You'd be good as a journalist." James said. "I think the Prophet would take you, maybe not right away but they would eventually."

Claire smiled and shrugged. "I hope so."

James downed the last of his drink and pushed the empty bottle aside. "Shall we keep walking?"
Claire nodded, already finished with her drink and got to her feet. James took a few steps forward before he stopped and waited for her to catch up. Once she was beside him, he put his arm around her waist and pulled her up against his side as they left the Three Broomsticks and set off down the street again.

--

Past the main shops and pubs and crowded roads of Hogsmeade, a little further even than the Hogs Head, was a small patch of grass under a towering tree whose branches hung low and stretched far. It was here that Lily and her friends found comfort. There was a red and white blanket stretched out underneath them and a small wicker basket in the middle of the circle that they formed. There were also several bags around them, filled with their purchases from earlier that day and each of them were holding their own sandwich in their hands.
Victoria snorted through a thick mouthful of hers. "You can't be serious." She said once she had swallowed.

Anna laughed. "I am. The wedding's this summer, and I've been asked to be a bridesmaid, can you believe that?"
Louise covered her mouth to stop the giggles there. "No, I can't. I can't even believe that there's some one out there willing to marry him."

"Oh, come one. He's not that bad." Lily said, rolling her eyes.
Anna stared at her. "'Not that bad'? Lily, this is Calum we're talking about. My brother. The one who told me that I wouldn't be able to get through the barrier on the platform my first day because I was too small."

Lily laughed. "Alright, I get it."

Anna sighed. "But you'll all come, right?" she asked, looking at all of them. "To the wedding?"

Victoria nodded, speaking for the others as well. "Of course. You think we're going to leave you all alone in an awful bridesmaid's dress?"

"Of course not." Louise said, and they all laughed again.
"But you might have to pay us." Victoria added, wiggling her eyebrows.
Anna shook her head. "I'd be willing to. Without you guys, this thing is going to be a nightmare."

They continued eating in silence for a while, simply enjoying the company and the change of scenery. None of them could believe that this week was going to be their last week at Hogwarts, the school that had been their home away from home since they were only eleven years old. They couldn't believe that after this week, they would be out of school, having to make their own decisions, having to really live their lives. It was a scary thought.

--

"Shouldn't we be getting back now?" Claire asked, watching as the rest of the students filed into a disorderly line behind the caretaker, ready to go back to the school for the night. She looked away for a moment, and peered up at James, who still had his arm tightly around his waist. She was surprised to see that he had his trademark grin on his face, that one expression filled with such a great amount of mischief. She couldn't help but smile back.
"What are you thinking?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" he asked, feigning innocence, but he laughed when she gave him a look that made it clear that she didn't believe him. "Come on." He then said, letting go of her waist and grabbing her hand instead, dragging her along after him as he walked away from the crowd.

Claire looked confused. "What are you up to?" she asked. "The line to go back is the other way."
"I know." James smirked.

"We're not going back, are we?"
Still grinning like a fool, he shook his head. "Not right now, anyway. We're for a walk."
Claire stared at him. "We just went on a walk."
"A different walk."
"Different?"
James ran a hand through his hair. "Well, the same kind of walk…in a different place. Come on."
Though she had no idea what the strange boy was up to, she followed him as he took off in a different direction than the rest of the students.

--

"Where are Potter and Austen going?" Louise hissed to Victoria as they caught up with the departing crowd. She made sure her voice was low enough so that Lily didn't hear.
Victoria narrowed her eyes, and stopped twirling the strand of hair that she had woven around her finger. She wrinkled her nose as she spoke.
"Beats me. But I'd bet my best shoes that whatever they're up to, it's not good for our plan to fix the James and Lily problem."

Author's Note: Well, this chapter was pretty short, pretty uneventful, and the update was reallllly slow. So, my bad. But I promise the next one will be loads better. At least, I hope it will be.
Thank you for reading. Read and review, please and thank you.