A/N: Honestly - This is insane. I had a secret goal to at least tie the number of people's 'Favorite Story' list my super old story, The Rivalry of James and Lily, is on with this story. And last chapter did it! So thank you so much readers! Now, if only all of you would review, too. ;)

So, as I promised, this is the first story that I'm actually finishing, and for real, I'm like, 'Wow, that's the end!' Translated, that means I lied last chapter - no, there will not be 15 chapters. This is it! The end! I hope you've liked it. :) Goodbye from James, Lily, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Kylie, Britta, and Snape! They really enjoyed meeting you!

The Chauvinistic Stag

Chapter 14

"Um. Hi?" Lily said, breaking the thick silence underneath the table.

"You- but- Remus said- WHAT?!" Sirius stuttered.

James smiled sheepishly at his friend. "Remus lied."

Sirius turned around and looked at Remus, who was still grinning gleefully. "Well, the secret's out."

"And it was sooooo obvious," Britta interjected. "Can't believe you three didn't notice it before."

"But I thought Lily hated him!" Kylie exclaimed.

"I did," Lily replied.

"Obviously not any longer," Sirius mused. He crawled over to James and patted him on his back. "Well, give me some details. Is she worth the four years you've been in love with her?"

"Way to be awkward, Padfoot," James replied, rolling his eyes, and pushing Sirius away with his shoulder.

"Awww come on! No kissy kissy smoochy smoochy details? I could tell from that snog earlier that definitely wasn't the first time," he winked.

"I'm very sorry for him," James said to Lily, ignoring Sirius completely who was now making kissy faces and smoochy noises.

Lily laughed, picked up some pumpkin, and rubbed it into Sirius's hair.

"Hey!" Sirius yelped. "No fair!"

"Come off it, Padfoot. You so deserved that," James laughed.

"Oh yeah? I deserved that? Hrm, maybe, but you've opened up a can of pixies now!" Sirius replied. And he started scooping up a dangerous amount of pumpkin guts.

"Ehem," boomed a magnified voice. "Students of Hogwarts."

Lily, James, Britta, Peter, Remus, and Kylie poked their heads out from under the table. Dumbledore was standing up in front of the high table, trying to get the students' attention.

Lily suddenly felt something cold, slimy, and gooey slide down the back of her neck and into her robes.

"Eww!" she squealed. And almost as instantly, James, Britta, Peter, Remus, and Kylie were squealing or squirming, too.

"Please take your seats," the headmaster said, as Lily looked behind herself to find the obvious culprit. Sirius was snickering triumphantly.

The pumpkin guts slid slowly down her back, making her wriggle uncomfortably as she tried to take her seat. Sirius sat across from her, beaming.

"And that's a can of pixies," he mouthed to the whole group, nodding his head gleefully.

"Ridiculous, Sirius," Kylie muttered, doing a sort of shimmy in her seat, trying to get the goo out from behind her shoulder blades.

Sirius looked at her, then looked at James and Lily, who were both now squirming, laughing, and holding hands across the table, then looked back at Kylie.

"You love it," he said.

"Ha," she replied, still squirming and now rolling her eyes.

"You don't love it?" he asked.

Kylie looked at him. What was he getting at? "Ummmm."

"If you all don't mind," Dumbledore's voice commanded, "I'm going to clear away the mess that has been made so that we can dive into pudding and the wonderful store in show for us." He motioned to the skeletons lined up around the hall. A few were now quite orange. And with a flick of his wand, the pumpkin disappeared.

Sirius kept his eyes on Kylie, and she kept her eyes on him, but neither said anything. Kylie had no clue what Sirius was playing at or what he could be thinking. As there was no longer any goo behind her shoulder blades, Kylie should have been able to sit still, but she again squirmed uncomfortably in her seat.

*****

The news that Lily was James's girlfriend came as a shock to everyone, though the news was not taken as dramatically as the couple had imagined. Many students watched them with intrigue when they walked together down the hall, and some even said such things as, "About time," or "What a surprise," when they passed by. All in all, going public was having a perfectly acceptable impact on their relationship. In fact, being able to interact in public, and show that they actually liked each other, was probably benefiting their relationship far more than Lily had anticipated.

A full month passed so quickly neither James nor Lily could believe it was already the first week of December. It was a Saturday, and a thick layer of snow was gleaming outside in the dawn light and a toasty fire was crackling invitingly in the common room. James sat on one of the squishy couches with his arm around her, while she had her legs draped across his lap. It was early, barely 7 am, but James and Lily had developed a habit of waking up early before the rest of the students to get some quiet alone time together.

"Sick of me yet?" James asked jokingly, as he played with her fingers in his own.

Lily shrugged. "Not quite. I think I can tolerate, oh, maybe another week with you."

"Just a week?" James asked.

"Okay, maybe two," she replied.

"You know, you don't make it very obvious when you're being sarcastic. If I didn't know you better, I'd think you are being serious," James said.

"Who said I'm being sarcastic?" Lily replied.

"Aren't you?" James asked.

"Okay, yes," Lily conceded, smiling.

"Good," James replied, and he leaned forward and kissed her.

When he pulled away, she looked at him thoughtfully. "I like you, James. A lot. The only way this relationship is ending is if you want out."

"I definitely don't want out," James smiled. "I won't ever want out."

"Ever? That's an awfully big commitment after just a month of dating," she laughed.

"You'll agree to it one day, too," he replied slyly.

"Oh really, James Potter? And what makes you so sure?"

"You like me. A lot," he laughed.

"Well said," she laughed back.

He kissed her again, and then she laid her head on his shoulder. After a few moments of silence, she spoke again. "I definitely don't want to live without you, James."

James smiled and stroked her hair. "And I refuse to live without you," he said. "Let's die on the same day, okay?"

Lily lifted her head and laughed at him. "That's morbid. But yes, okay, deal." And she held out her hand and he shook it.

"And what are the two love birds up to so early this morning?" Sirius called as he pranced down the stairs. James and Lily both looked up at him, and James raised his eyebrows.

"And what are you doing with so much energy so early on a Saturday morning?" James asked in reply.

"My first Saturday without a detention! I woke up and my body just screamed, 'Freedom!'" He threw his arms up in jubilation and Lily laughed at his antics.

Sirius had a playful smile on his face. "So what are your plans for the day? Hogsmeade? Snow fight? Pranking? Eating?"

"I don't think we'd thought that far ahead," Lily said, glancing at James for his opinion. He shrugged in response. And then they both looked up at Sirius.

Sirius frowned at his two friends, cuddling so close and happily on the couch.

"I want that," Sirius said, suddenly.

"Want what?" James asked, confused.

Sirius ignored his question. "Lily, will you go get Kylie for me?"

Lily looked up at him startled. "Er, okay," she replied. And she got up and walked up the girls' staircase. Sirius remained standing and began to pace around the common room floor.

"What's up, Padfoot?" James asked.

Sirius ran his fingers through his hair. "Identity crisis," he replied.

******

Lily walked over to Kylie's bed and shook her gently.

"Kylie," she whispered. The blonde head slept on.

"Kylie!" Lily said a little louder.

Kylie's blue eyes fluttered open. "Lily?" she asked groggily. "Wassamatter?"

"Sirius wants to talk to you," Lily said.

Kylie sat up alert. "What do you mean he wants to talk to me?"

Lily shrugged, and began walking towards her bed to take a seat. "Got me. But if I were you, I'd brush my teeth."

"What?" Kylie asked confused, swinging her legs over the side of her bed and walking to the bathroom.

"Well, it means either one of two things. One being, your breath smells, or two being, I think he might kiss you."

"What!?" Kylie yelped.

Lily laughed. "Kidding. He just asked if I would come get you. He didn't give me any hints what about. But he's definitely had his eye on you lately, if you haven't noticed."

"Oh I've noticed," Kylie replied, though with difficulty as she now had her toothbrush in her mouth. And then she began frantically brushing her teeth. She disappeared for a moment, and emerged from the bathroom looking flustered. "What do I wear?"

"Way ahead of you," Lily said, and she threw a pair of jeans and a sky-blue sweater on Kylie's bed.

"Thanks," Kylie said appreciatively.

Within a few minutes, both girls were walking downstairs. James was still sitting on the couch, but Sirius had disappeared.

"Where's Sirius?" Lily asked, her eyes glancing around the room. There were still no other students awake.

"He went upstairs. Said he had to get something," James replied. Lily walked over to James and sat down beside him. Kylie stood awkwardly at the foot of the stairs for a moment, then followed Lily and sat down opposite her and James in one of the scarlet armchairs.

"Do you know what he wants?" Kylie asked James.

James shrugged. "That, apparently."

"What's that?"

"Got me," he said.

"You're helpful," Kylie replied.

"See, with her I can tell when she's being sarcastic," James then said to Lily.

"I'll take note," Lily replied.

"Good," James nodded. "Wait a minute - you're being sarcastic again, aren't you?"

Lily laughed.

Kylie shook her head at James and Lily's stupid conversation, but was happy for them nonetheless that they seemed so contented. She was also practically dying of curiosity as to why Sirius needed to talk so bloody early on a Saturday morning.

The boys' dormitory door opened and Sirius shuffled out clutching what looked like a picture in his left hand. He bounced down the stairs with the same enthusiasm he had had when he had first woken up, and when he spotted Kylie, his face split into a large grin.

"Morning!" he said, cheerfully, walking over to her.

"Morning," she replied, though not without a hint of hesitation in her voice. Sirius threw the picture into Kylie's lap.

"What's this?" she asked, but when she looked down she couldn't suppress a giggle. She tossed the picture over to Lily, who barked with laughter, before handing it off to James, who turned beet red.

"Sirius, I'm going to kill you," James muttered, shaking his head. It was a picture of James from the end of last term. He was in his dormitory, and he had chess pieces climbing all over his body, an expression of immense pain evident in his eyes and an expression of irritation etched on his face obviously towards whoever was snapping the photo. "You said there was no bloody film in that camera."

"I lied," Sirius replied, beaming.

"Too much of that going on these days," James grumbled. "What in Merlin's name did you bring this down here for?"

"To make a point to Kylie," Sirius said, and then he handed her another piece of paper.

"Ways to improve my chances with Lily Evans," she began to read, and looked up at Sirius confused. "Sirius? Why are you showing me this?"

Sirius laughed. "Read number ten, then look at the photo."

"Improve at chess," she read. "Ah, this is James's."

"What?" Lily asked, and Kylie handed her the paper. James tried to snatch it in their transfer, but failed.

He folded his arms across his chest. "You were never supposed to see that," he said to Lily while glaring at Sirius.

Lily had fallen victim to a fit of giggles. "So how about a game of chess?" she hiccupped.

James smiled slightly. "You're not mad? Or disturbed? Or creeped out?" he asked.

She shook her head, still giggling. "James, it wasn't exactly a secret you liked me, given the number of times you asked me out every week. I'm just surprised you'd leave something like this lying around with someone like Sirius living in your same dormitory."

"He's supposed to be my best mate, you know," he replied, again glaring at Sirius.

"But it's hilarious," Sirius responded. "And it'll make my point."

"So make your point then," James replied.

"Hm, maybe I should talk to you in private," Sirius muttered to Kylie, but more to himself. "Meh, you'll tell Lily everything anyway, then she'll tell James, so whatever. Okay, here goes," he smiled.

And he turned to Kylie. "Kylie, I'm not James." He said this with finality, like it was a statement that explained everything.

Kylie looked at him confused. "Um, yeah, I've noticed."

"I won't ever be James," he continued.

Kylie just looked at him baffled, completely unsure of where he was going with this.

"I won't ever do that," he said, pointing to the list and photo.

Kylie just continued to look at him confused.

"Are you okay with that?" he asked.

"Um, yeah?" Kylie responded.

"Good," Sirius replied, happily. "Well then that's settled."

"You really woke me up to ask me if you not being James is okay?" Kylie said with eyebrows raised.

"Well, no, not exactly," he responded.

"Sirius. What is it you are so inarticulately trying to say?" Kylie asked.

Sirius smiled slightly as he took a deep breath. "You sure you're ready for this?" he asked.

"Fire away," she replied.

"Okay," he responded, pausing for a moment before continuing. "Okay, James - James here is cut out to be a boyfriend. Well, a boyfriend to Lily. That photo and list there prove how dedicated he has already been to her. And I, well, I don't have anything like that to show you."

"I know," shrugged Kylie.

"But I - I want a chance," he stated.

"What sort of chance?"

"A chance to be with you."

Kylie's eyes widened in surprise, then she glanced at James and Lily, who were both looking at her in surprise, too. Kylie opened her mouth to respond, but no sound came out. She then suddenly stood up and walked over to him. She punched him on the arm.

"Ow! What the bloody hell was that for?" he yelped. "Here I was expecting you to dive into my arms lovingly."

"Did someone give you a love potion? Or is this a dare? Or are you confunded?" she asked.

"No, this is the truth, Kyles," Sirius replied honestly.

"Then what changed your mind? I thought you - what was it you told me end of last term? - oh yeah - ' you don't do girlfriends,'" she responded.

Sirius looked at James and Lily, then back at Kylie. "I suppose they did," he said, referring to James and Lily.

Kylie looked over at James and Lily, too, who shifted slightly uncomfortably. This conversation had at first been funny, but it was turning far more serious and seemed like it should be private. Kylie sighed.

"I'm not Lily, Sirius," she stated.

"I know," he beamed. "I wouldn't want you if you were ('No offense, Lils,' he added, and Lily shrugged in response)."

Kylie stood standing facing Sirius completely emotionless for a moment, but suddenly, her face broke into a smile, too.

"I know you're going to break my heart," she said, still grinning.

"Probably," Sirius agreed jokingly, but he knew there was an element of truth behind the statement.

Kylie bit her lip for a moment, knowing that if she didn't give Sirius a chance, she'd always wonder what could have been between them. And so, she held out her hand, as if to shake his. "Let's give this a try," she said.

Sirius looked down at her hand and laughed. "You want to give a relationship a try, and you try to kick it off with a hand shake? Not going to work for me," he said. And he grabbed her outstretched hand and pulled her body up to his.

Sirius glanced at James and Lily. "I think we may need privacy now," he said with a boyish grin.

"Yep!" James said quickly, helping Lily to her feet.

"Breakfast?" she asked.

"Sounds great," he replied. And the two shuffled rapidly out of the portrait hole. Sirius and Kylie were already sharing their first kiss (as boyfriend and girlfriend) before the portrait was shut.

*****

When James and Lily walked into the Great Hall, they weren't the only ones there. Snape was sitting with Nott and Avery, their heads bent in deep conversation. A group of Ravenclaws was also sitting at their table, down at the end closest to the teacher's table. They had books spread out around them, definitely living up to their brainy reputation.

Snape looked up when James and Lily walked in, catching Lily's eye. His face remained expressionless, but Lily knew that hers did not. She realized that since today meant she had been in a relationship with James for more than a month, it also meant that her friendship with Snape had been disbanded more than month. She gave him a small smile, which he looked like he almost tried to return. But then he looked at James, who at that moment had grabbed Lily's hand to lead her to the Gryffindor table, completely oblivious of Lily and Snape's interaction, and his expression turned stoic. He reverted his attention back to Nott and Avery, and began whispering rapidly, never looking at Lily again.

Lily felt a pang in her stomach as she let James lead her to the table. She missed Snape, but as soon as James sat down opposite her and looked her in the eyes, Snape left her mind. She was James's, completely.

"So what do you make of those two?" James said, referring to Kylie and Sirius. He began helping himself to a healthy portion of eggs and bacon.

Lily shook her head in disbelief. "That was possibly the strangest way to ask a person to be a girlfriend I have ever seen. Thank you, James, for not being that weird. - Or wait, maybe you are that weird," and she pulled out the list and picture that had been in her pocket, laughing.

"That needs to be disposed of," James laughed with her. "That's incriminating there."

"No way! This is proof of how crazy you've always been about me. I'm keeping it forever," she replied.

"Forever, eh? Didn't take me long to get you on the forever mentality, did it?" he smiled.

"Ha-Ha," she replied. "Oh! I just remembered, I need to pick up those lists to tally who's staying at Hogwarts for Christmas from McGonagall's office."

Sirius and Kylie then walked through the door, and made their way over to James and Lily, hand-in-hand.

"I think I'm going to go do it now, before I get too distracted by those two," Lily said.

"You want me to come with you?" James asked.

"Don't be silly. You just started eating and I'll be back in just a minute," she replied. And she got up and smiled to Sirius and Kylie as they passed. "I'll be right back!" she told them.

Lily quickly walked to McGonogall's office and grabbed the lists that had been left in a folder next to the door. The corridors were still deserted, proving the castle was definitely very sleepy this Saturday morning. Just as she was turning back, she heard footsteps echoing down the hall, and she looked up to see a dark head approaching her.

"Hi," said Snape.

"Hi," Lily responded, startled he was speaking to her.

They stood there for a moment in silence, looking at each other. Lily shifted uncomfortably, dying to know what Snape was thinking and why he had followed her. His expression was completely unreadable.

"I want to ask you something," he said.

"Okay, go ahead," she replied.

"Do you love him?" he asked.

"What?" she said, surprised.

"Do you love him? James?" he clarified.

Lily looked at him stunned for a moment. That was not a question she had been expecting.

"I - I," she stuttered. Then she closed her mouth and stayed quiet a moment.

"I suppose I do," she finally said.

A flicker of sadness passed across his eyes, but in a blink it was gone. He nodded his head, and with a wave of his cloak, he was striding past her down the hallway toward the Slytherin dungeons. Lily stood frozen for a moment, realizing she had forgotten to breathe during their conversation. She heard more footsteps coming down the hall and looked up to see another dark head approaching her.

"You look like a doe in headlights," James told her.

Lily smiled, and shook her head. "I thought you were going to stay and eat breakfast," she said.

"I missed you," he replied, and he pulled her into a hug.

She nuzzled her face against his chest, and instantly, all bad feelings dissipated. She hugged him for a few more moments, reveling in the sense of warmth and security his hugs brought her. She began to pull away, but he pulled her closer and bent over slightly bringing his mouth next to her ear.

"And I love you, too," he whispered.

She pulled away quickly. "You heard that?" she asked.

James smiled and nodded. He tilted her chin up to his, and kissed her lightly. "And it's something I hope to hear forever," he said, once he had pulled away.

Lily smiled as she looked into James's eyes, nodding her head slightly, and realizing with positivity that she was in fact in love with him. It no longer felt remotely strange to have feelings for James. In fact, being with him felt just blatantly right. And really, to Lily, forever felt like the perfectly reasonable amount of time to be with him. He held out his hand, and she took it, and together they walked back to the Great Hall.

A/N: The end!!!!! I truly hope you enjoyed the whole story! And please, especially if you're reading this (which means you've probably read the whole story), write a review! I've spent, oh, like 50 hours writing this story, so please take 5 seconds to review in return. :D Seriously, you can submit good or bad thoughts on the story, I don't care – both will help me become a better writer. Thanks!!

Just as an FYI, I'm thinking about carrying on 'A Muggleborn Slytherin' as my next quest. If you like this story, and want to help me decide what I should write next, could you check out that story (it's only one chapter ~ 4,000 words) and let me know what you think of the intro? I will love you!

And finally, to my regular reviewers, you guys know who you are, THANK YOU sincerely. You have brought many smiles to my face and you are the reason this story is completed.

Lol, and my dog, Lily, is jumping all over me right now. I think she's trying to keep me from finishing! Haha. Okay, I'm done rambling – I think I'm just delaying because I will miss you all. :) It's been swell, really. Later days…