It's finally here! The end. There is a bit of strong language, so if that offends you, here's your warning. It's also quite emotional—you may need a tissue! I'm posting this and the epilogue at the same time, so I'll catch you at the end!

The Special Two

Chapter 26

"Psssst! Lily!" Sirius tapped her on the shoulder, trying not to wake the other girls.

She cracked open one eye groggily.

"Come here!" He tugged on her hand.

She didn't know why, but reluctantly, she did as he said, trying not to jostle Emily, and followed him out into the dark, empty common room.

"Hi."

"Hi. You do know it's…" she checked her watch, "four o'clock in the morning and we have exams tomorrow. Er, today."

"Yes. But with your newfound bout of rebellion, I thought you might enjoy being part of our 'Last Hurrah Prank.'"

Realization dawned on Lily's face.

"You want me to do a prank with you?" She was holding in her excitement. She'd never been asked to do so before, and had never really had the desire. But for some reason, she found herself excited for this.

He nodded excitedly. "We're going to give the school one last laugh at the Slytherins. Let's go!"

"This is the happiest I've ever felt in my life!" Sirius cried, leaving the Great Hall after their N.E.W.T.S. were over.

"Why? Because you're done with school forever, or because your prank idea went over so well?"

This sent him into hysterics, remembering Snape trying to explain to the proctor how someone had done something to all of his clothes that caused them to make rude noises whenever he moved, the proctor trying to kick him out, and the students stifling laughter every time during the three hour exam that he shifted even the slightest bit.

"Both," he said dreamily.

"I still can't believe you didn't invite me!" Anna scolded.

"Lily hadn't ever gone before, and I had to satisfy her new appetite for troublemaking!"

"I've got an appetite for you to satisfy," she said seductively, dropping her scowl.

He grinned, pinning her against the wall.

"Mr. Black! Miss Scott! That is quite inappropriate behavior for the school corridors!"

"Sorry, Professor McGonagall!" Anna cried, pulling away from her boyfriend.

McGonagall just walked away with a raised eyebrow.

"Anna?" she looked up with a frown, hearing the strange tone to Sirius' voice. It reminded her too much of the first time he told her he was in love with her.

"What?"

"Would you join me tonight? I have a special night planned for us."

She laughed, and he suddenly felt silly for being nervous.

"Of course!" She exclaimed. "As long as it ends with what we were so rudely interrupted from doing a minute ago."

"Of course!" He mocked her excited, high-pitched tone.

She slapped him on the arm. "Let's go find everyone else, Pad."

"Pad? No. These nicknames are sacred. They are not to be tampered with. Especially when they are defiled by putting them on even ground with female hygiene products."

"That's not fair. Remember that month when I was irritable and you kept calling me 'testy' but everyone thought you were referring to the noun, not the adjective? No. I get to call you Pad if I want."

When they entered the common room, they were shocked to see Lily wiping her eyes on her sleeve, surrounded by their other friends.

"Lily!" Anna cried, she and Sirius hurrying to her side. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm just so sad it's over! I can't believe we'll never have another class or exam again…I'm going to miss it!"

"Ew," Sirius proclaimed, losing interest in her.

Anna calmed her friend, shooting a glare at Sirius, who was now across the room, starting a game of Exploding Snap with James.

"You can't honestly be sad about never having to take another exam again," Anna joked with her.

"Mostly just that it's ending. Us being together every day…what's going to happen?"

"That's the last thing you should be getting upset over, Lil! Even if we don't talk all the time, you'll still know that you're my best friend and I love you, right? Plus, we agreed not to do this!"

Lily smiled through her tears. "I love you too."

They sat down and watched the boys finish their game. Lily and James still had a lot of tension, but they would at least speak civilly to each other now, if the conversation called for it.

When the game ended and James' eyebrows were singed, Remus said, "let's eat! A celebratory feast. For surviving seven years of sch—"

"Torture." Sirius finished.

Everyone cheered and jumped up.

"As lovely as this sounds, though, Anna and I are going to have to take a rain check. Prongs, buddy, I'm going to need to borrow your cloak," Sirius said, looking around to make sure nobody unwanted was listening.

"Sure, let me go get it from my super secret hiding spot that none of you have ever found in seven years!"

"Don't worry about it, I'll go get it," Sirius ran toward their dorm. James stared after him with his mouth open.

"I'm pretty sure he's known about it since the first time you put anything there," Peter told James.

"Don't worry," Remus said, "he hasn't told us where it is. But he has read some of the letters from Lily that you keep there. I had no idea you had a side like that to you, Lily!"

"Here we are," Sirius pushed open the door to the cellar of Honeydukes. "This is the VIP entrance to Hogsmeade."

Anna laughed and they left the invisibility cloak in the passage, walking through the dark streets of the village, laughing and carrying on. Sirius kept anxiously feeling his pocket for the small box that held the most important promise of his life.

"Does it seem eerie to you?" Anna asked Sirius, holding his hand tightly.

He kissed her on the forehead and responded, "no, you're just not used to seeing it with so few people. It's always like this when we come out at night with Remus. And of course, lately with the attack and such."

They heard a crash and jumped, whipping around, and ducking just in time as a flash of light shot at them.

Sirius pulled Anna behind him and reached in his pocket. "Shit!" He yelled. "I left my wand in the common room. Give me yours."

She did so without arguing. She knew he was better in combat than she was. Her mind was racing. If it was Death Eaters, they were doomed. There was no way for anyone to know they were in trouble, unless a villager woke up, but few people were staying there anymore since the last attack. She gripped Sirius tightly, slightly comforted by his body heat and smell of his cologne.

A dark hooded figure came around the corner and Sirius yelled "Stupefy!" The man fell, but more came out behind him.

"Anna, run!" He grabbed her hand, shooting spells over his shoulder. They ran, but ended up in a corner. They were surrounded by the few that made it past Sirius' spells.

"Tell us what the Order of the Phoenix knows!" One of the hooded men shouted. Sirius deflected an unexpected spell nonverbally.

"We don't know anything about an Order of the Phoenix," Anna spat, Sirius pushing her further behind him.

"What was that, beauty?" The man walked forward, putting his hand on her cheek. She jerked away, but Sirius smacked the man's hand. "Don't touch h—AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" He fell to the ground, tortured.

"STOP! STOP HURTING HIM!" Anna screamed in a hysterical panic.

The man stopped, looking up at Anna with the slightest hint of interest in his face. "He can go free if you agree to come with me," he chuckled an evil laugh, leering at Anna.

"Never!" Sirius shouted, getting to his feet again. He grabbed Anna around the waist, shooting a hex sideways at the hooded figure.

"You'll pay for that!" he cried, sprouting burns all over his skin.

"I'll take care of that," came another voice that sounded chillingly familiar to the couple. Sirius spotted the white blond hair underneath the hood and his suspicions were confirmed. "How about taking her life?" Malfoy raised his wand.

Anna gripped Sirius, looking deeply into his eyes. "I love you."

A green flash of light hit Anna and she crumpled in Sirius' arms.

"No! No!" His breath stopped coming. He was trembling and radiating something he had never felt before. "NOOO!" He forgot about the Death Eaters surrounding him, and gripped Anna's body. He felt the ground shaking beneath him, and he pushed the strange heat from his body. He caught a wave of dim light propagating outward out of the corner of his eye, and saw the hooded men fall to the floor with cries. He held Anna tight and kissed her over and over as if it would wake her. "Annie. Come on. I love you. You can't go." He heard a bunch of pops, heard surprised mutters, shocked cries, and felt a large pair of arms pull him away from her. He struggled for a moment, yelling out, until the world slipped away and darkness came over him.

He opened his eyes to too bright lights and groaned. Why was the Earth moving? What happened to him? He felt like he had been hit by the Hogwarts Express. His eyes were adjusting to the light, and he recognized where he was: nearing to the Gryffindor common room. He was being carried by Hagrid. Suddenly, he recalled the last few minutes of his awareness and promptly vomited on Hagrid's moleskin coat.

He lifted his head pitifully. "I—I'm…" He couldn't finish, as if he were being gagged.

Hagrid's teary eyes shone with grief. "'S Okay. Knickers." The Fat Lady swung open. The other Marauders were the only ones in the room. Hagrid brought Sirius to the couch and set him down as the others gave him a look of confusion.

Sirius curled up in a ball and shuddered continuously.

"There was another attack in Hogsmeade," Hagrid told the boys. Before he could get the words out, they knew. "Anna was k—killed."

Sirius let out a yelping cry.

"Fuck." James jumped up and went over to Sirius.

Remus collapsed into his hands, shaking silently.

Peter sank back into his chair and massaged his temples.

Sirius didn't move from his position, convulsing, so James settled for putting a hand on his back. Sirius, though he couldn't feel much, felt the love, shared grief, and sympathy the touch emanated.

Nobody spoke for a moment. When someone did, everyone else jumped.

"We should get him to a bed," Remus, who had composed himself, spoke softly.

Together, James and Remus lifted him and began up the stairs to their dormitory.

They placed him in his bed, which smelled of Anna's perfume, and he vomited again. "Evanesco," Remus recited calmly. "Padfoot? Can you hear me?" Sirius showed no sign of acknowledgement.

James pulled his hair in the agony that he was feeling for his friend.

He jumped again at the sound of someone coming to the doorway behind them. He turned around to see Lily.

"Fuck," he said again.

James hardly ever used language like this, so Lily understood the situation to be serious automatically. Everyone except Sirius, who was still shaking, stared at her, and her eyes welled up with tears.

"What? What's going on?" She whispered.

Even after the turbulence they'd gone through recently, James still loved Lily more than his own life and did not want her to feel the pain that was about to engulf her.

She was staring at him expectantly, waiting for him to tell her. He opened his mouth to speak, but when he tried, nothing came out.

Remus, once again, stepped up. "Lily," James shifted his weight. He wanted to be there to support her when she heard the news, but didn't know if she would want him. "Anna was killed tonight."

Lily felt like a giant wrecking ball hit her in the chest. She couldn't breathe. She gripped at the doorframe. She didn't know where her feet were anymore. Her knees gave out, and all she knew was that she didn't hit the ground. She found her breath again and it was coming too fast. The room spinning around her slowed down and she focused on Remus' face. He was supporting her. Her eyes wildly searched for who she wanted. They found Sirius first. He looked terrible. She started to rush toward him but wobbled. She was confused. Was he okay? Was this real? Was she going to be okay? Did she comfort Sirius or become consumed in her own grief? Would she ever make it out of the sea of her pain? Would she ever be able to even feel it? How was she even able to process all of this right now? She frantically searched the room for some answers. Her eyes landed on James. Everything became crystal clear. He was the answer. She wrenched her arm out of Remus' grip and fell into James' arms. Still in shock, she looked up at him with apologetic eyes that said 'Forget everything, I just need you.' He breathed into her hair as he pulled her close. He held her together as she fell to pieces. And she was eternally grateful for that.

Sirius vaguely heard Lily's breakdown and it pierced him like a sharp knife right through his heart. If he even had one anymore. The shuddering had subsided, replaced with weeping, and he was not trying to hold back the tears that gushed down his face, or the sobs that ripped through him.

Lily heard him and she, who hadn't been hit by the crying yet, pulled James' hand and led him over to Sirius' bed. Lily crawled in next to Sirius, snuggled up next to him, and wiped some of his tears away. She hugged him as tightly as she could while he was curled up in a ball, and James laid back on the bed on the other side of her.

He swallowed back waves of emotion, trying to be strong for Lily. He wasn't one for publically displaying emotions anyway. But he realized they were all in the same situation, and now was the time to feel vulnerable. He pulled the curtains shut around the three of them, and laid back on Anna's pillow, pulling Lily to his side.

She pressed her body close to his, and reached out a hand to hold Sirius'.

James

God,

I know I don't usually keep in contact with you, but our lives are falling apart before our eyes and we need some help.

I lost an amazing friend today. We don't have the details yet, and I don't know if we will for a while. Even when Sirius gets better again, I'm not sure when he'll be ready to talk about it.

I'm really worried about him. He looks terrible. He can't speak or make eye contact or move, it's almost like he's lost inside of himself. He's probably trying not to feel. I know I am. But it's going to hurt more when the full weight of the tragedy hits us.

I loved Anna, but she was everything to him. It's going to be a rough process.

And Lily. Beautiful Lily. I can tell she's not sleeping because her silent sobs keep shaking me. She'll be okay, I think. She's a tough girl. And I'll be here for her as long as she wants me. I know what I did wasn't fair to her, but it's not like I did anything wrong, really, and I think we've realized there are more important things in life. Like life.

Me? I'll be okay. I've gotten pretty good at handling disaster. We can't change it, so we might as well celebrate our lives and hers while we still have the chance.

I don't mean to point a finger here, but why Anna? Why like that? The phrase too good to be true comes to mind. Her life was just getting better. She was happy. I guess the rest of us shouldn't get too used to it.

Shit.

Lily

Why is my mind still working like this? I am perceiving everything when all I want to do is shut it out.

Peter's rhythmic snoring is really getting on my nerves.

I can hear Remus tapping on his bedpost, obviously unable to sleep, like the rest of us.

I can tell James is awake because he keeps sighing every so often, and stroking my hair.

Sirius' trembling is rocking me and his constant weeping would have made it impossible for me to sleep if that job hadn't already been taken by the force of my misery. I'd always been a quiet crier, thank God, because I had no intention to join in on our own little version of beat making.

I keep squeezing Sirius' hand every half hour or so to make sure he's still responsive, and he gives me a feeble little squeeze back. At least it's something.

His life is shattered. Anna meant a lot to me. She was my best friend. She made me who I am. But he put so much into their relationship. They'd practically been together for their whole lives. He's going to have some major adjusting to do. If he makes it through.

It's hard to think that she won't ever be there again for me to go to in the middle of the night with my boy problems. She isn't ever going to ask me for help on her charms homework again. We won't ever laugh together again. Will I ever laugh again anyway?

Peter let out an unbelievably loud snore and James took off a shoe he hadn't even removed and chucked it at Peter through the curtains. The snore shuddered to a halt.

I turned to James to smile and thank him, but I couldn't find it in me even to make the corner of my lips turn up. The thought that I wasn't able to smile made me cry harder. He cradled my head to his chest and I couldn't stop the sorrow that an invisible dam had been holding back in me from rushing out. "I love you," he whispered quietly into my ear. He was everything I needed.

Sirius