Chapter 25: It Is Not the End
It was quiet in the clearing.
James stopped breathing.
This had to be a dream. That body laying on the ground, with still-bright red hair covering her face, couldn't be Lily. They couldn't be in this field in the middle of the dark forest.
Any second, he was going to roll over and wake up and Lily would be curled up on his side, still fast asleep. The boys, including Peter, would barge into the room and start talking about pranks. Then Lily would kick the boys out and then she would snog him until they realized that they were late for breakfast.
James squeezed his eyes shut, praying it was a dream. When he opened his eyes and she was still there on the ground, his knees gave out and he screamed.
The sound was piercing and broken. His body shook as he gasped for air.
Tears began to leak from Remus' eyes as his knees gave out at well. He put his head on James' shoulder in comfort.
Bellatrix rolled her eyes, threw Lily's wand over her shoulder, and put a hand on her hip in disinterest. "I thought that would be more fun."
James looked at her with murder in his eyes. He jumped up so unexpectedly that the Death Eaters holding him weren't fast enough to hold him back, and he body-slammed Bellatrix.
She gave out a strangled shout when he landed on top of her.
"James!" Remus shouted.
Since James' hands were still tied behind his back, the only thing he could think of to do was slam his shoulder into her face.
She screeched in pain as the hard bone of his shoulder collided into her mouth and nose.
Then the Death Eaters finally managed to yank him back up and away from her.
Bellatrix stood up and wiped her lip. When she found her hand tipped in blood, she pulled out her wand and growled, "Crucio!"
James writhed, gritting his teeth to not growl in pain. He would not give her the satisfaction.
"Stop this!" Remus growled at her.
When she did not hear him shout in pain, she snarled again, "Cruc-"
Her wand flew out of her hand and onto the ground next to her.
She whirled, growling, "Who did that?"
The Death Eaters eyed each other nervously, not sure who did it and not wanting to be punished.
Someone cleared their throat.
The mass of Death Eaters parted to reveal a lone figure on the other side of the clearing.
"Sorry to steal the show," the person looked up, smirking with no humor, "cousin."
"Sirius," Bellatrix spat, "come to die?"
Sirius shrugged, "No. I've come to kill."
Bellatrix hissed when figures started to walk out from behind tree trunks. "What is this?"
Alice stepped forward to stand next to Sirius, her wand pointed at Bellatrix. "Payback."
Surrounding the Death Eaters were the hundred students who Alice, Frank, Marlene and Benjy had convinced to help them. Alice let out a small smile of pride when she saw all them with the wands up, ready to fight for their friends.
"Scared, Lestrange?" Marlene taunted.
"Far from it." Bellatrix picked up her wand and shouted, "Attack!"
Death Eaters pulled out their wands and the clearing became alight with the sparks of spells.
Various shouts and screams could be heard as Sirius fought through the crowd to get to Remus and James.
"Remus!" Sirius shouted frantically, finally reaching the two boys and pulling Remus to him until they were kissing each other hard.
"Sirius," Remus sighed between the kisses, "You're here."
Sirius pulled away quickly to untie the ropes around Remus' wrist. "I'm here."
Together, they untied the ropes around James' wrists, but James only knelt on the ground, staring blankly at Lily's body.
Sirius knelt down next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, brother."
James crawled over to her and pulled her body into his arms. "Just...give me some time."
Remus nodded. "We will."
Then Sirius took Remus' hand and they charged into the battlefield.
Remus pulled out his wand and Sirius looked at him pointedly. "Don't ever do that to me again."
"Try to save our friends?" Remus challenged, an eyebrow raised.
"Try to save our friends without me." Sirius replied, squeezing his hand.
A body flew past them and thudded on the ground beside them. They put their wands up.
Benjy sat up from his position on the ground and rubbed his head. "A little help here guys?"
A Death Eater laughed and the three boys turned. Three Death Eaters stalked closer and removed their masks.
Sirius and Remus immediately glared at them. In the center of the three was Lucius Malfoy, and at his sides were Fenrir Greyback and Peter.
Malfoy tsked and drawled, "Sirius...Black." He shook his head. "Actually, I shouldn't call you Black because you would tarnish the purity of that name-"
Sirius shouted, "Stupefy!"
Lucius managed to block it at the last second. He glowered at Sirius. "How dare you-"
Sirius narrowed his eyes. "It doesn't matter what you call me, because I am going to make you regret ever hurting my friends."
With that he ran forwards and started shouting spells against Malfoy.
Remus turned to Benjy. "Can you handle Greyback?"
Benjy nodded and raised his wand.
Remus turned and met eyes with Peter. The boy stared blankly as Remus walked forward.
"I don't want to hurt you, Peter," Remus said softly, "I just want to know why."
Peter shot a spell at Remus, who had to jumped out of the way to avoid the spell.
Remus clenched his fist and shouted, "Impedimenta!"
Peter darted out of the way.
Remus shouted, "What happened to you?"
Peter shot a spell at him, but he blocked. "We were your friends, Peter! We were your friends for seven years! Does that mean nothing to you?"
Remus put up a shield when Peter shot another spell at him again.
Peter narrowed his eyes. "You mean the seven years where you all basically ignored me?"
"What?" Remus furrowed his brow. "We never ignored you!"
Peter rolled his eyes. "Don't lie to me! Tell me if I'm wrong. None of you even cared about where I was at all this year! While you were busy sucking off Sirius' face, James was off fawning over Lily!"
Remus faltered. Could it be true? Remus' shoulders sagged when he realized that Peter was right. Peter had been by himself while Remus and Sirius and Lily and James had gotten together. Everyone had someone. Except Peter. Their quiet, shy friend that they had brushed off to the side once romance became a part of their lives.
Remus looked at Peter with pained eyes. "Peter, you're right. I am sorry-"
Remus shouted in pain when Peter shot a spell straight into his chest, sending him back into the trunk of a tree. He lay in a ball on the ground, clutching his throbbing side.
"Shut your mouth, you liar!" Peter growled. "If you cared about me, you would have gotten out of Sirius' pants and-"
Sirius ran into him and shoved Peter to ground. "Don't talk to him like that, traitor."
Remus staggered to his feet and stumbled over to pull Sirius off of Peter.
"Don't hurt him," Remus reasoned, "It's because of us that he is who he is now."
Sirius clenched his fists. "It's because of him that you could have died tonight. He made his choice and now we have to make ours."
Sirius turned but Peter had already run away.
Sirius made a move to go after him, but Remus put a hand on his shoulder. "There are more important people to deal with."
Remus squeezed his shoulder. "We can deal with him later."
Sirius nodded grimly and the two turned to fight the rest.
James managed to stand up with Lily in his arms and her wand in his hand.
As the students and the Death Eaters continued dueling, James walked to the edge of the clearing where there was no fighting.
Almost robotically, he sagged against tree trunk, sliding down until he sat on the forest floor with his legs stretched out and Lily's body in his lap.
Sobs overtook his body as he squeezed her closer to him.
"I'm so sorry, Lily!" He cried, "I'm so sorry! I should have protected you!"
He buried his face into her red hair, the locks growing damp from his tears.
The cries and shouts of the students in battle echoed through him as he cried for her.
He smoothed her hair back so he could see her face. "I wasted so much time, playing games with you for seven years. I should have been honest. I should have taken you seriously. I'm so sorry, Lily, my love."
James kissed her forehead. "This is all my fault," he whimpered.
His head sank down onto her chest and his sobs began anew.
Then his head shot up, his eyes wide and frantic.
It couldn't be possible.
He put his ear on her chest. There was a faint thumping noise in the spot where her heartbeat was.
James' hands shook as he fumbled for his wand.
He didn't want to hope, but he couldn't help hoping anyways.
He tried to keep his hands steady as he whispered, "Enneverate."
He nearly dropped his wand when he saw her eyes moving beneath her eyelids.
"Lily?" He whispered, his eyes wide.
She shifted in his arms and he gasped, gently shaking her awake.
Slowly, her eyes slid open and her brows furrowed softly. "James?"
Hot burning tears trailed down his face and he grabbed her shoulders and embraced her.
"Y-you're alive!" His voice shook as he exclaimed breathlessly, "You're alive."
Her arms reached around to embrace him as well as she cried, "I am so sorry, James! I should have listened to you when you said it was too dangerous."
James kissed her cheek. "What matters is that you're alive. I love you, Lily."
Tears streamed down her face. "I love you, too, James."
She pulled back, confusion in her eyes. "Why am I alive?"
James shook his head. "I-I don't know...I heard her say the killing curse and I saw it hit you."
Lily's eyes turned to the battle in front of them. "It can wait. You must tell me what's going on."
Alice, Frank, and Marlene stood with their backs to each other as they dueled with the Death Eaters.
All around them were students valiantly fighting against the Death Eaters. But their numbers were dwindling. More and more students were becoming injured or being knocked unconscious.
This was bad.
Alice shouted over her shoulder. "We need a new plan! They are going to corner us soon! Where are Sirius, Remus, Benjy and James?"
"Here" Benjy croaked, clutching his arms, which was bleeding. Marlene gasped and bounded forward towards him. "Benjy!"
"I'm okay," he managed, "It's just a scratch. Might need some stitches, though."
"We're here, too." Sirius and Remus appeared as well, dirty but relatively unscathed.
"She's alive!" They all turned to see James running towards them holding the hand of a girl with red hair. "She's alive!"
They all gasped. The girl who was with James was indeed Lily Evans back to life.
Alice and Marlene started to cry as they raced forward to embrace her.
Tears fell from Lily's eyes as well when Remus joined them.
Alice pulled back and said, "You're alive! How is this possible?"
Lily shook her head. "I don't know, but I am so grateful to see you all here."
Together, they all surrounded Lily to embrace her.
But their joy was short-lived.
The fighting had stopped.
They looked around the clearing to see that the students had moved to their side of the field while the Death Eaters moved to the other side.
All the students huddled together and tensed as if they were all waiting for something.
Something was coming.
Slowly, the Death Eaters knelt to the ground.
The students looked at each other quizzically, but then froze when a dark figure entered the clearing from the side of the Death Eaters.
He removed his hood, and collective gasps could be heard across the field.
"Master," Bellatrix bowed.
Frank turned to Alice. "We're leaving. NOW."
James turned to Lily and kissed her hard before pulling out his wand and pushing her in the direction of Alice and Frank.
Sirius did the same to Remus. "Go."
Lily clutched James, refusing to let go. "I'm not leaving you. Never again."
Remus pulled out his wand. "I'm staying."
Alice dug her heels into the ground when Frank tried to pull her away. "I'm staying, too." Frank's eyes were stony, but he let her go and stood in front of her to protect her.
Marlene squeezed Benjy's hand. "You're not getting rid of me either."
Voldemort stepped forward slowly, his expression unreadable.
His eyes narrowed when he turned towards Bellatrix. "Is the reason that you were late to the gathering?"
His voice was hard and steely, as if he was reining back anger.
Bellatrix withered under his gaze. "I-I apologize, Master. We planned to make quick work of the evidence, but they brought reinforcements." She pointed to the students, many of them stepping back in fear of the Dark Lord's gaze.
While Voldemort looked at the students in irritation, Lily looked around at the students in admiration. They had come to save her and her friends. They had risked their lives for their Head Students. She was not going to let their sacrifices mean nothing.
She stepped forward, surprising everyone and herself, and pointed her wand directly at Voldemort. "Get out of our school or else."
Voldemort took slow steps forward until he stood in the center of the field, right at the border between the Death Eaters and the students.
"You have gall," Voldemort replied. "Do you have any idea who I am?"
"A coward who hides behind his army while threatening the lives of innocent wizards and witches?" she growled.
Voldemort's eyes narrowed. His eyes darted down to Lily's hand intertwined with James'. He looked into her eyes and she fought not to flinch, her mouth in a hard line as she kept her wand pointed at him.
"You'll soon regret that, girl," Voldemort growled and pointed his wand at James. "Avada kedavra!"
But she was prepared this time, shouting, "Protego Maxima!"
A shield wrapped around all the students huddled behind Lily, several of them nearly shrieking in shock.
When Lily let the shield come down, all the Death Eaters flooded towards them like a stampede.
The sides of the battlefield collided and she darted into the mass.
"Lily!" James shouted, searching for her, but she was too far gone into the crowd of fighting.
Lily made it to the center where Voldemort stood. "Expelliarmus!"
He deftly blocked her assault and laughed. "Petulant girl! Did you think that you could disarm the most powerful wizard in the world?"
She grit her teeth. "You will never be the most powerful wizard in the world. Not as long as there are still people willing to defy you and your ideals."
Voldemort circled her and she did the same, her wand pointed at him.
He growled, "Miss Lestrange told me about you. The mudblood who didn't know how to mind her mouth. Stupefy!"
Lily darted out of the way and shouted, "Petrificus Totalus!"
He put up a shield and blocked it. "You are like a rat! All mudbloods are, sneaking into the wizarding world, learning our spells and using our wands! You're all thieves! Levicorpus!"
Lily gasped as he was suddenly hanging upside down, her wand falling out of her hand and onto the ground. She wriggled around, trying to escape his hold, but his magic held her.
He sneered as he stepped closer to her dangling figure. "What are you without our magic, girl?"
Lily tried not to let his words affect her, but they did. Was she truly nothing without magic? What was she then, if she was not a witch? Was being lucky enough to perform magic the only special trait she possessed?
But then she looked out at the battlefield, at all the people that she loved fighting for justice. She realized that even with or without magic, with or without pure blood, she was still a person. A daughter, a sister, a friend. A lover. And that was all that mattered.
She grinned at Lord Voldemort. "I think you underestimate me. Muggleborns don't need magic to take you on."
And then she punched him right his face. He howled in pain as she fell back onto the ground, grabbing her wand and shouting "Expelliarmus!"
His wand sailed out of his hand and into hers.
Wandless and in pain, he stumbled back until tripped on his own feet, landing on his bottom.
Lily stood above him, her wand still pointed down at him. "Unlike you, I won't let my blood status define my worth. I am the only one who decides my own worth."
"Freeze! Drop your wands and put your hands up!"
Lily looked up to see several figures running out of the forest and into the clearing. She breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed their Auror badges.
But the relief faded away when she felt Voldemort grab his wand from her hand and disapparate.
She cursed, but turned back to the battlefield to help the Aurors capture the remaining Death Eaters.
James pushed through the sea of dueling Aurors and Death Eaters, running rampant looking for Lily.
"Lily!" he shouted, "Where are you?"
He shouted in pain when he was suddenly hit in the back with a spell. He groaned, but got to his feet to face his attackers.
His jaw clenched when he realized who they were.
Bellatrix smirked, saying, "What do you think we should do with him, Wormtail?"
Peter didn't answer, only glaring at James.
James gripped his wand tighter. "Do you ever shut your mouth, Lestrange?"
She scoffed in irritation.
James narrowed his eyes. "I am going to make the both of you pay for what you did to Lily."
Bellatrix cackled, "And how do you expect to do that? Are you going to torture us? No amount of pain is every going to make me regret killing her."
James relied, jaw clenched, "As much as I would love to do the honors of torturing you until you beg for death, I would rather let justice have its way with you."
Then he shouted "Locomotor mortis!"
Both Bellatrix and Peter shouted in surprise when their legs locked, rendering them unable to stand or run. They both fell to the ground.
"What is this, Potter?" Bellatrix screeched.
James rolled his eyes and pocketed his wand before dragging them by their hair to the nearest Aurors.
"Let us go!" Bellatrix shrieked.
He shoved them to the feet of the nearest Aurors and watched them get dragged away.
"James!" He turned to see a grinning Sirius and Remus run up to him. "We did it!"
Alice bounded up with Frank, Marlene and Benjy. "I knew that we could trust Severus!"
James rose an eyebrow. "Severus?"
Alice nodded. "Frank asked him to contact the Aurors."
"James," someone said softly.
He whirled to see Lily standing alone, dirty and disheveled but alive.
He ran her, pulling her into his arms.
They continued to embrace each other long after the Aurors finished capturing the Death Eaters.
Morning, Monday, March 13, 1978
Classes were cancelled as news spread about what had happened in the Forbidden Forest the night before.
The Great Hall was being used as an infirmary, for the Hospital Wing was not large enough to support all the students were required medical attention.
Lily herself sat in a cot. Although she wasn't wounded, James insisted that she be examined. James at on a chair next to her cot while her friends stood around her, waiting for the nurse to come back with her results.
"James, I am sure that I am fine. Another injured student might need this bed," said Lily.
James shook his head, refusing to listen.
Lily sighed, "James-"
"Actually, Miss Evans, there is something we should discuss."
They all turned to see Headmaster Dumbledore arrive at the foot of Lily's cot.
"Hello, sir," Lily greeted, "What is it that you wanted to talk about?"
He gestured toward a piece of parchment in his hand. "A nurse informed me that she told her that you were hit by the Killing Curse last night, is that correct?"
Lily frowned, but nodded slowly. "Yes, sir, but I don't understand why I am not dead."
He nodded. "Can you re-tell me what led up to the incident? And don't leave out any details."
She told him how they broke into the Slytherin dorms, were captured, and then ended up battling Death Eaters in the middle of the Forbidden Forest at night.
He listened intently throughout, only interrupting to ask for more specific details.
When she had finished, Headmaster Dumbledore rubbed his beard in contemplation.
Then he asked, "Whose wand did Miss Lestrange attempt to kill you with?"
Lily shriveled back, remembering. "Mine, sir."
He picked up her wand, and examined it. "What is your wand core, my dear?"
"Unicorn hair," she answered, unsure what her core had to do with why she didn't die.
He nodded knowingly, before saying "Do you know what unicorn hairs are known for, Miss Evans?"
She shook her head.
He answered, "Wands with unicorn hair cores tend to the most faithful to their owners. Therefore, when Miss Lestrange attempted to kill you, the wand recognized that it was its owner on the receiving end of the spell. Consequently, it did not kill you."
Shock laced everyone's face. Lily's brows furrowed as she contemplated this.
James stood up and clasped Headmaster Dumbledore's hand. "Thank you, sir."
Headmaster Dumbledore smiled, clapping a hand on James' shoulder. "You are welcome, my dear boy."
He looked at all of them. "You all deserve a thank you for what you all did last night."
Lily looked down at her lap. "But we failed, sir," she said, tears beginning to form in her eyes, "All the students captured by the Death Eaters are dead."
Headmaster Dumbledore moved so that he stood next to her and clasped her hands. "My dear girl, you are not at fault for the crimes of others."
He patted her cheek. "You found out about the injustices that they were committing and took action. That is more than I can say for many witches and wizards."
She let out a small smile and nodded.
He let go of her hands and said, "I am proud of all of you."
With a final nod, he walked away.
Midday, Tuesday, March 14, 1978
A crowd of students and professors in black clothing stood outside in front of 22 burial sites.
Lily and James walked together, her in a black dress and James in black robes.
Remus and Sirius trailed behind them, also wearing black robes.
Headmaster Dumbledore stood on a makeshift stage on one side of the field and he cleared his throat to say, "My fellow students and staff, it is with great regret that I begin today's ceremony. On Sunday evening, we lost 22 of our students at the hands of Death Eaters. They had planned to manipulate our students and then flee. While we were successful in capture a majority of those responsible, we were unable to prevent the loss of these students."
Lily hid her face in James' shoulders, hot tears streaming from her eyes onto his robes.
Headmaster Dumbledore continued on. "But we must not let their deaths be in vain. They were intelligent enough to find out what the Death Eaters were doing and brave enough to stand up to them. We must not lose hope."
The ceremony went on. Each student was laid down into the ground and then given a eulogy by a loved one.
Even after the ceremony ended, James, Lily, Remus, and Sirius lingered. Several people did as well. As the sun descended and dusk arrived, they still stood there.
Lily was still holding James' hand when she noticed Severus standing by himself, mourning the burial sites.
Lily disentangled from James and slowly walked over to Severus' side.
If he noticed her presence, he didn't say so.
They stood side by side in silence until Lily said, "Thank you for alerting the Aurors, Severus. Alice told me what you did."
He turned to look at her, and eyebrow raised. "You don't hate me?"
She tilted her head in confusion. "Why would I hate you?"
He turned back to the burial sites and sighed. "I can't help but feel partially responsible for this."
She didn't know if he meant this as in responsible for the deaths of the students or responsible for what happened at the end of 5th year.
She followed his gaze and looked out at the burial sites as well. "Alice told me you didn't help them because you wanted to. You helped them to protect someone."
She didn't notice his ears redden.
She hesitantly put a hand on his shoulder. "I can't fault you for that."
He nodded rigidly.
They remained standing there until the sun had set and night set in.
Night, Saturday, April 15, 1978
A month has passed since the battle in the Forbidden Forest.
Remus lay in his bed, Sirius curled up against his side. He stared up at the canopy above his bed.
Net to him, Sirius started shifting in his sleep. Remus looked down to see a grimace on Sirius' face. Sirius started whimpering and jerking around.
Remus sat up and shook him. "Sirius? What's wrong?"
Sirius' eyes shot open. They darted around until they fell onto Remus' worried face.
"R-Remus," he rasped.
Remus smoothed the sweat on Sirius' brow. "What did you dream about?"
Sirius grasped Remus' hand. "It was you."
Remus an eyebrow. "What?"
Sirius trembled as he said, "In my dream, they killed you instead of Lily."
Remus' shoulders sagged as he cupped Sirius' cheek. "I am here."
Sirius continued on. "We were running late that night, trying to get all of the students together so that we could confront the Death Eaters in the forest. We still had to contact the Aurors, but none of us were eager to leave someone behind while the rest went into the forest, Then Snape volunteered to stay behind and wait for the Aurors while we left. If he hadn't volunteered and we waited until the Aurors came, I don't know what would have happened to you and James."
Remus pulled Sirius to him until his face rested in space between Remus' shoulder and neck.
Sirius' voice shook. "We got there when Bellatrix tried to kill Lily. All I can think of now is what if it was you instead of her. We would have been too late to save you."
Remus rubbed Sirius' back as he processed this and thought of what to say.
When Remus finally spoke, he said, "I am here. That didn't happen, and it never will."
Sirius looked up. "How can you be so sure?"
Remus kissed his forehead. "Because we will protect each other. I will never let someone threaten your life and you will never let anyone threaten mine."
Sirius sat up and his shoulders shook as he sighed. "We can't protect each other from everything all the time. What if, one day, something happens?"
Remus rested his shoulder onto Sirius'. "You know, I used to think the same thing about my lycanthropy."
Sirius turned to look at him. "What do you mean?"
Remus sighed. "When I got onto the Hogwarts Express for the first time, the first thing I thought about was how afraid I was. I was scared that I would end up hurting someone. I almost walked off the train to go back to my parents and ask them to homeschool me instead."
Sirius tilted his head into confusion. "What made you stay?"
Remus intertwined his fingers in Sirius'. "You did."
Sirius jerked back. "Me?"
Remus nodded. "I was about to get up when a handsome boy and his friend asked if they could sit with me. I was surprised that I said yes without thinking twice. That handsome boy introduced himself as Sirius Black and his friend was James Potter. I recognized your last names and thought you would tease me for my lycanthropy, but you were both funny and kind to me. You made me feel alive and accepted. I realized then that I didn't want to be afraid anymore."
Sirius looked at Remus with shock and awe before he swooped down and kissed him.
Remus reciprocated, running his hands in Sirius' silky hair.
Sirius pulled back only to save "I love you, Remus Lupin," before kissing him again.
He trailed his lips across Remus' jaw, nibbling his ear, causing Remus to gasp.
He peppered kisses down Remus' neck, his hands playing with the collar of Remus nightshirt before pulling away to asking, "Is it okay if we go further tonight?"
Red blush flowered on Remus' face when he answered, "I thought you wanted to wait until it felt right."
Sirius trailed his fingers down Remus' shoulders and arms until he reached Remus' hands. He pulled them up to kiss his fingers. "This feels right, does it not?"
Remus, mesmerized in the sight of Sirius' lips kissing his palms, replied breathlessly, "Yes."
Sirius' hands moved to Remus' waist to pull his nightshirt off. Remus raised his arms up and shivered as the material trailed up his skin.
They slowly undressed each other.
When Remus laid down and Sirius got on top of him, Remus whispered, "I love you, Sirius Black."
In the Head dormitory, James jerked awake, tensed and sweaty from the nightmare that he just had.
He turned over to see if Lily was asleep and was not surprised to find that she was gone. He put on his glasses, grabbed his wand and a blanket, and went to where he knew she would be.
There was a slight breeze at the top of the Astronomy Tower when he got there. He could see her bright red hair blowing in the wind as she sat on the floor, looking up at the sky.
He sat next to her and wrapped the blanket on their shoulders. She leaned into him, but did not say anything.
He kissed her temple. "You're going to freeze if you keep coming up here at night."
Lily continued to look up at the stars. "I don't care."
James tried to joke, "You should. Who will listen to my jokes if you aren't around?"
Lily didn't smile.
He sighed. "Sitting up here isn't going to bring them back, you know."
Lily didn't answer.
James looked around until his eyes landed on her wand, which lay on the ground at her side. He picked it up. "Hey! I know what will cheer you up. Why don't we practice those tickling charms that I told you about? The first person who lets out a laugh loses!"
Lily shrunk back, looking away from him.
James rubbed a hand over his face. "Lily, you haven't used your wand since Headmaster Dumbledore told us about the wand core. That was weeks ago. Why don't you use your wand?."
Lily looked down at her lap for a long time before saying. "My wand has killed people, James. It killed people and it spared me and I can't help wishing that it had killed me, too-"
James jerked back. "Don't say that!"
She continued on. "Or better yet, it should have spared them and just killed only me! I should have saved them, but instead I am the reason they are dead!"
James gripped her shoulders. "Do you even realize what you are saying?"
Lily didn't answer, tears running down her cheeks.
"Lily, there is nothing you can do for them now. There is no way that we will ever know what would have happened if things were different," James said, wiping her tears away. "We can only remember what happened and continue living. I promise you, Lily, we will avenge their deaths."
Lily hid her face into James' shoulder. "It hurts."
"What does?" He asked."
"This sadness," she replied, "I don't know how to make it go away."
He pulled her close to him, not knowing what to say.
Afternoon, Friday, May 26th, 1978
Lily walked up the stairs of the Gryffindor boys dormitory wearing her Gryffindor colors. Today was the last Quidditch game before the summer holiday. She was sad that her time at Hogwarts was coming to a close, but she knew that she would have James and her friends and her life still after they graduated.
She knocked on the Sirius' and Remus' door. "Guys, it's time for the last Quidditch match. James is already down there getting ready."
When she received no answer, she tried to door knob. It was unlocked, so she opened it.
She gasped and immediately covered her eyes. "Oh Merlin, put some clothes on!"
Remus blushed from under the covers while Sirius answered, "Excuse me, who do you think you are interrupting our bedroom activities?"
Lily turned away and huffed, "The girlfriend of your best mate, who is about to have a Quidditch match that we're are going to be late to if you two don't get dressed right now!"
Sirius grumbled, but got up and started get dressed. Remus sat up in the bed. "Sorry, Lily."
When they finally made it to the quidditch pitch, the stands were already packed with excited students. They managed to find seats next to Alice, Marlene, and Benjy.
Before long, a horn blew and the two teams, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, entered the pitch. Everyone cheered and Lily joined in, but something was off. James was not flying with the Chasers. He came out last, and his uniform was the uniform of a Seeker's.
He looked around until his eyes landed on hers and winked.
She brushed the thought of him being a Seeker away and blew him a kiss.
Another horn blew and the game commenced.
Throughout it, Lily's eyes darted between the main action of the Chasers to James as a Seeker.
She noticed the exact second that he spotted the Snitch. He perked up, gripped his broomstick and shot for it. He smirked as he shot past her, arms outstretched to catch it.
The crowds started to notice as well and the cheering grew louder. She watched him stretch ever farther on the broom until he closed his fist and froze.
He opened his hand and then thrust it into the air, showing everyone that he got it. Everyone stood up and clapped, screaming and cheering as the gold of the snitch shone in the sunlight.
Lily jumped and cheered, clutching Remus' and Alice's hand.
James flew to the ground, jumping off of his broom with a grin on his face.
Then, a fellow team member ran up to him and handed him a microphone.
Lily furrowed her brows. "What's going on?"
James tapped the microphone to check it and then spoke into it. "Lily Evans, can you please come down here?"
Lily looked at her friends, but they also looked confused.
She shrugged, but made her way down to the field.
When she stood in front of him, she asked, "What's going on ?"
He didn't answer, only putting a hand up to silence her. Then he kissed the Snitch.
"James, what are you doing?" Lily shouted, "You don't know how many germs are on that thing!"
James shook his head, showing her the Snitch. She looked down at it and tilted her head in confusion when she was it start to open. Then she saw was inside.
"James!" she gasped, putting her hands up to cover her mouth.
James reached inside the snitch and pulled out a dazzling diamond ring.
Then he got down on one knee.
The crowd started to cheer.
James looked into her eyes as he spoke into the microphone. "A month ago, you told me at the top of the Astronomy Tower that you have this sadness and you didn't know how to make it go away. At the time, I didn't either. But I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life making it go away. I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy. I will fight the sadness away for you every day, for as long as it takes to make you happy."
Tears formed in her eyes and leaked out onto her cheeks.
James continued, "I have been in love with you ever since I saw you in that train compartment when were were only 11 years old. I knew from the day that I met you that my life would never be the same. You are the light of my life, Lily, and I want to make sure you never forget that."
He held up the ring. "Lily Evans, will you marry me?"
Lily nodded quickly, sobbing, "Yes, yes, yes! Yes, James, I will marry you!"
He slipped the ring on her finger quickly before jumping to his feet and kissing her.
The crowd erupted into applause and cheers.
Lily pulled away and they walked together off the field.
She looked up at her friends in the stands and the man at her side and smiled.
Lord Voldemort was still out there, but she was going to make sure that he could never take this away from her.
For those that don't know, this is the final chapter of this story. I can't believe I made it.
Thank you to every reader, reviewer, follower, and favorite. I wish I could list all of you, but that would keep us here all day. You are all the sweetest, kindest, and most dedicated fans I know and I promise to continue writing.
I have amazing things in store for the future, such as more Harry Potter stories, Percy Jackson stories, A Court of Thorns and Roses stories, Miraculous Ladybug stories, and even a Booktube channel, so if you are interested, check out my profile.
Once again, thank you for reading.