"I CAN'T STUDY ANYMORE!" Sirius yelled, frustrated as he threw down his quill, ink from the tip of the quill spattering his paper. Sirius let out a dog-like snarl as he reached for the paper, muttering a spell underneath his breath in an exasperated tone as he siphoned the dark liquid from his work.

Peter looked up from his parchment, resting his head on his hands as he looked up through his hair at Remus. James, seeing Peter, did the same.

"What?" Remus said, feeling rather confused as they all looked at him with pleading expressions on their faces.

"Do you think we have to keep studying? Can't we take a break?" James said, his voice tired and longing as he glanced backwards towards the window, the bright blue sky tantalizing and enticing to their exhausted bodies.

They were studying for their N. E. W. T.s (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests), the dreaded exam that would prove to be disastrous while studying. Many seventh-year students had chosen not to take them, as they were optional but necessary if pursuing a Ministry job. Under great distress, the Marauders had decided to undergo them, as they knew that they might need N. E. W. T. scores to do certain jobs within the Order of the Phoenix.

They sat, the windows in the Gryffindor common room thrown open, allowing the warm breeze to whisper seductively throughout the room. The boys lay haphazardly on the floor, books and scrolls opened and scattered around them.

Remus pulled himself up off the ground with a grunt, stretching his sore arms before looking back to his friends. Remus sighed, knowing how they felt. These exams were pushing their limits, with insane homework loads in the previous weeks to stressful studying requirements that drove Remus to the edge. The outdoors were tempting, and not even forty-five minutes before, Lily, Alice, and Frank had succumbed to it and abandoned studying for the day and fled to the lake.

The Marauders had let Remus be in control of their studying, as he had excelled in many of his classes. Remus assumed that they were letting him make decisions for once because they didn't know how to study well themselves. After all, it had been Remus who had forced them to study for the O. W. L's, and all of them had gotten excellent marks.

Remus tossed his head back, his curly brown hair flopping as he raked his hands through it. "Fine. . ." Remus said, knowing he shouldn't but unable to resist. He was tired of studying, too; his head ached, and he was sure that the ink jammed beneath his nails from spending so many hours writing would never go away. The allure of bright sun and fresh air was intoxicating.

Sirius kneeled, suddenly energized at the prospect of going outdoors. The boys clambered towards the portrait hole, their homework deserted and soon forgotten.

They raced down the shifting staircases, their voices echoing off the stone walls. Feet flying, they catapulted down corridors, whooping, earning a "shush!" from a passing classroom. James practically howled with laughter as he careened into Remus, sending an airborne Remus soaring towards Sirius. Sirius stumbled backwards into Peter, and soon they were all overcome with hysterics. They tumbled into the Great Hall, laughing and shouting joyfully.

Remus pulled himself up, his hair tussled and his robes askew. Their explosive entrance had left a few first-years staring open-mouthed in their wake, scandalized. Remus knew that the Marauders had this effect on people- they were the golden boys, always happy and laughing, somewhat a legend at Hogwarts. Remus was still amazed that he was part of this- how did he get so lucky?

Staring down at his best friends, Remus suddenly wished that he could be like one of those first years, so he could have seven more years to look forward to. Though at the moment, their energy level was more that of an eleven year old, and not that of a seventeen year old, things had changed.

After their N. E. W. Ts, their time at Hogwarts would be over. Just a few days left to pack and say goodbye, and then they would be gone. Remus didn't want to picture what that would be like. What would he do without the Shrieking Shack every month?

Remus yawned, tripping over his own feet as he plotted lazily out of the Great Hall. His N. E. W. T had taken up the entire morning, and most of the afternoon. His brain felt muddled, pulled and stretched after hours of being quizzed. James, Peter, and Sirius followed him, all looking dazed but relieved that it was finally over.

Remus had been one of the first to be tested; he had been escorted straight from breakfast to a waiting room, where he muttered spells underneath his breath and strained to remember exactly when to add porcupine quills to the Drought of Living Death. Was it before heat or after heat?

After what seemed like too short of a wait, he had found himself with an examiner, who made him boil potion after potion and recite spells until his mouth hurt from talking. At last, after Remus had managed to charm the Porlock to dance, he had been allowed to go.

The Marauders stumbled down the steps and out onto the lawn. Bright sun shone down on them, making the blue sky seem still and quiet. Clumps of students were spread across the grounds, but the Marauders bee-lined for the lake, where the rest of their friends had taken refuge underneath a willow tree. Lily, her red hair framing her face, turned around and waved at them, her smile visible from many feet away. Remus made towards her, but only managed to go a few steps before James stopped them.

"Wait! Wait, please, just for a minute." James said, his voice wavering.

Remus spun around, confused. James had been oddly quiet the past few days; Remus had pegged it to exam stress, but he could now see that that wasn't the case. James looked nervous, something that made Remus's stomach pitch.

"What?" Peter said, looking at the lake longingly as James slowed them down and forced them to step in close. Remus was sure they looked quite strange; a huddle of white button-up shirts and bent heads.

James gulped, reaching his tanned hand into the pocket of his robes. Sirius looked at him doubtfully, his silver eyes narrowing and then widening as he worked to put the pieces together. James pulled something out of his pocket, and Remus felt his mouth drop open as he looked at the gold band that James had in his palm.

"Woah," Peter said, voicing what they all were thinking. James was doing exactly what Remus had predicted; James was going to ask Lily to marry him.

"Do you think she'll say yes?" James said, sounding unsure for one of the first times Remus could remember. He was nervous, Remus realized- it would be impossible not to be. James wasn't sure that Lily would say yes.

Remus, however, knew Lily would. Couldn't James see the way she had looked at him last night at dinner, when he had purposefully gotten whipped cream all over his cheeks so she could kiss it off? Wasn't it Lily who had comforted James after the death of both of his parents? How did James not remember the way that they had curled up on the couch that morning, their feet intertwined as they poured over a Transfiguration book, James making Lily laugh even though she was anxious? Sure, they fought, (and when they fought, they fought), but hadn't they always forgiven each other? Was he oblivious to the way they loved each other more and more after every fight?

"Yeah. She'll say yes." Remus said, quietly, realized the power of his words as they left his mouth.

James looked up at him, his hazel eyes nervous but gratified at the thought that Remus thought so. Sirius nodded, and Peter did too. The Marauders knew how much Lily and James loved each other; it was a surprise that James, the most confident of them all, couldn't see that himself.

Remus couldn't help but be a little jealous. James was the player, the one who never seemed to be satisfied. Until now. He loved Lily enough to want to settle down with her and not be separated. Remus wanted that for himself, though he could never have it.

The boys stepped away from each other, numb with the realization with what James was about to do. This is what James needed- Lily was who he needed. The Marauders kept walking towards the lake, attempting to have normal expressions.

Sirius, going along with the façade, threw himself onto the ground next to Marlene McKinnon, giving her a flirty grin and looking up at her through his dark lashes. Remus sat down, looking at his reflection in the crystal-clear water, the sun reflecting back shards of light that blinded him as he did so. The shade of the tree protected him from getting too hot, and the breeze coming off the lake was cooling and soothed his warm cheeks.

James tucked himself in next to where Lily sat, a small smile on his face as he nestled his head on Lily's shoulder, leaning to whisper something in her ear. His black hair was almost lost in her fiery-red locks, and when he helped Lily to her feet, he reached up to tousle them even more. When they were both standing, James took Lily's hand, and led her over the a tree just out of their earshot. Lily leaned back against it, James standing directly in front of her.

Remus nudged Alice and Frank, who were sitting next to him, and pointed subtly at Lily and James. The six of them watched quietly, trying to listen to snatches of what James was saying. Alice giggled, excited. She and Frank were already engaged, so Remus suspected that she knew what was going on.

James reached up to tuck a piece of Lily's hair behind her ear, his mouth moving as he talked. Lily looked up at him, her green eyes curious as James rubbed small circles on the back of her hands. James was seemingly getting more and more confident as he went on, talking louder and opening up his posture.

"The thing is, Lils, I love you. And I don't know what the future's going to be like, with You-Know-Who, but all I do know is that I don't want to ever be separated from you again. I couldn't bear if things ever went back to the way they were before. I love you, Evans. I love you, Lily."

James was looking at Lily with an expression that Remus had never seen before. James had been completely broken by this girl, in every way possible, and she had used that to make him a better person. James's heart was cracked open and exposed, and you could see how every cell of his body adored Lily.

Lily's eyes were watery. She slipped her hands from James's and ran them up his arms, resting at the base of his neck so she could put her full attention on his words. Her eyes reflected the adoration that James had proclaimed.

"Lily," James said, his voice shaky and thick, "Marry me?"

Lily let out a strangled cry and threw herself at James, her mouth finding his and staying there. James wrapped his arms around her, entangling her in his embrace and hugging her tightly.

"Yes, yes, of course yes, I love you, yes, yes, yes," Lily said, her voice muffled as she broke off the kiss and buried herself in James's chest.

James laughed, his voice happy and loud. He scrunched his eyes closed, his face in her neck as he swung her around and around. Lily giggled, her feet leaving the ground as she swayed, completely safe in James's arms.

Remus was filled with love for his best friends, watching as James slipped the gold ring onto her finger.

Lily and James walked slowly back to the Gryffindor common room, holding hands. The others had already left, purposefully letting them be alone together. James stopped, bringing Lily's hand close to his face to see the way the light reflected off his ring. James kissed the top of the ring, then both Lily's cheeks, then her mouth.

They stood in their embrace for what could have been years. Lily broke it off and grabbed James's hand, pulling him up the staircases and turning the corner, looking for the portrait hole. She was surprised to see a person striding down the hallway in their direction.

Dumbledore was walking towards them, his magenta robes billowing behind him. The Head Boy and Girl stood before him, hands intertwined.

Dumbledore continued to walk, his blue eyes twinkling as he passed them. When he was a few feet away, he said, "Congratulations on the engagement. I do believe Professor McGonagall owes me five Gallons."

With a sly grin, Dumbledore strode away, leaving them smiling abashedly in his wake.

Hey guys!

So... Looks like their time at Hogwarts is almost over! I wanted this chapter to be something sweet before we hit the heavy stuff. JILY! Get excited for the wedding/Harry!

Did you guys like it? If you did, let me know in a review!

Thanks to everyone who has been leaving a review! If you're a Guest- get an account! I have been getting lots of reviews with questions and wanting to know when the next chapter will be published, and I don't have any way to reply! Hopefully I can respond to you guys soon :)

If you guys have any scenes that you want to see, or any questions about the future, please just ask! I love getting requests!

xx

bandeall