And here it is, finally. The very end.
...And now I'm constantly typing and backspacing, thinking of something inspirational to say.
Let's just settle with: I hope you guys liked this as much as I liked writing it. But the fact that everyone reviewed so regularly and so faithfully and so completely awesomely shows that you did. Thank you guys, SO much. Without you, this story would have been worthless.
Thanks to Siriusly in Lurve, Superhero 11, xXMizLilyEvansXx, A Morning Star, fromfirsttolastxx, prettypicking, HPITBBE, NeverQuitDreaming, prongster, Yumi'Mii-chan'Masumoto, CherryChance, Pyromaniac-Girl, MrsEmmetCullen-Bamber, NoNot, Jenny Barrow Loves Her Bee, Hannah In Wonderland, vampire-luver101,You're Just As Sane As I Am, Marteczka's Quill., Lady of the Deep, TinkerBella24Gerf, TmoVie, EatenByFlowersAndStillLaughing and the various anonymous reviewers. You guys are, as I've said countless times before, simply AWESOME times a gazillion. Thank you thank you thank you thank you.
Epilogue
James Potter lay on the couch in his living room, staring at the ceiling and remembering.
He remembered Lily telling him a few days after their second kiss, that they had finally discovered why her father, Richard Evans, had killed himself. It turned out that he had been part of the Order of the Phoenix, an organization which believed Lord Voldemort to be returning to power and was preparing to fight against him and his followers. They sent messages to each other in secret and held occasional underground meetings to confer what their next move would be. They also had spies amongst Voldemort's followers, and as it happened Lily's father turned out to be one of them – he had collected much valuable information in his mind, and although he had been sure he had shared it with no one at all, the Death Eaters somehow got wind of it and set out to hunt him down.
Lily had paused at this point and sniffed so forcefully that James was alarmed; and naturally concerned, he had tried to convince her to tell him about it later when she was more comfortable – but stubborn as always, she had shaken her head and insisted that she finish the story now.
Because of the Order's various connections, Lily's father learned about the impending attack of the Death Eaters. James was now marveling at the irony of what had happened next: Richard had committed suicide, and in doing so, he had broken one of his own golden rules – that when Death knocks at your door, you must leave the house with him and take with you all the dignity you possess. But the irony lay in the fact that at the same time he had been following another of his rules: that you must protect your family – always, without exception – even if you have risk your life to do so, because at the end of the day they are the ones who will stand by you when you have lost everything else.
Even after all these years, James was amazed by the bravery of Richard's final act. He might have thought it undignified, but James greatly admired him for the intentions behind it and still regretted deeply that he had never been so fortunate as to meet the estimable man. At the same time, however, he was grateful to Richard, because his life lessons had brought James and Lily closer than the former could ever have hoped for. The effects of these lessons combined with the tragedy of her father's death had also encouraged Lily to restart the Order of the Phoenix, and James had stood by her resolutely in her decision while she gathered more members.
James sighed. He was slightly frightened of ultimately having to make the same decision for his own family. But he also knew that if it came to that, then that was what he would do. Because he loved his wife and son, more than he had loved anything in his lifetime.
He smiled when he remembered the story of how they had met and all the drama that had transpired afterward. And through it all, Lily's notes. They had had a good laugh about it later when he had reminded her that the poem had been originally addressed to a man from a man. And then Lily had shown him the last two lines of the poem, and he had smiled.
He had it memorized. He never wanted to forget the reason they were together. Now, as he closed his eyes and replayed their sweetest kiss in his mind, he also recited the poem under his breath, slowly, careful not to trip over any of the words.
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds to shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thy growest: –"
But he stopped there, because suddenly an unfamiliar sound reached his ears, and he shot up off the couch and knew in his heart what was about to ensue. He sprinted into the hall in a last desperate attempt to close his house and family off from whom he knew was going to enter. He shouted at the top of his voice, so that Lily, who was in the kitchen, could hear him:
"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off –"* He could hear the baby crying at the urgency in his voice.
But then James came to a stop, because he now found himself looking up at the sneering face of Lord Voldemort, and fear seized him and he was unable to move or think or breathe.
The Dark Lord lifted his wand, a smile curling his cruel mouth.
"Avada Kedavra!"
And then, in the fleeting moment he watched the green beam of light hurl itself his way as if in slow motion, James Potter whispered a string of words that no one would hear. They were two lines from a poem, a beautiful poem whose flowing words were heavy with shining memories of Lily that he would not forget even after his lips had uttered them for the very last time.
"So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and gives life to thee."
I like to think that maybe those lines helped to save Harry. Just a thought :P
REVIEW! And thanks a million, again!
*JK Rowling's line, not mine.