Chapter 36: The Last Song

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"No one looks good in a graduation cap."

Sirius was not going to argue with James on this matter, but it didn't stop him from staring at himself in the mirror and frowning in disgust. He reached up and nudged the side of the dark blue flat cap and scoffed. "Do we really have to wear them?"

James didn't answer. He had already answered the same question four times that afternoon and he was not going to answer again. Instead, he rolled his eyes and pointed to his watch. "You won't have to wear it if we're late," he offered as he made his way to the bedroom door.

Sirius pouted and ripped the cap from his head, then picked up his bagged gown as he and James headed out of the house. The drive was short and all Sirius could think about was how dreadful the flat cap made his hair look. Twice Sirius voiced this aloud and twice, James pretended not to hear.

The moment Sirius stepped out of James' car outside of the Milton school auditorium, he was engulfed in a flurry of white. Remus' gown puffed up around him as he wrapped his arms tightly around Sirius' neck and hugged him close. "I can't believe this!" he cried out, excitement dripping from his every word.

Sirius grinned and returned the embrace, burying his face deep into the curve of Remus' neck. "You certainly sound happy. I thought you'd be crying over this," he said against the boy's skin.

"He's all cried out," Lily voiced as she stepped up behind the boys and made her way towards James. "He spent the last hour wiping his eyes. You're getting him after two energy drinks." She let out a quiet laugh and gasped as James pulled her into his arms.

"Hey," Sirius muttered as his eyes fell over Lily and he finally took in Remus' appearance as well. "Why do you two have white gowns?" he asked with a huff.

"'Cause, they're smarter than us," James teased as he popped the trunk and grabbed up his and Sirius' dark blue gowns. "Let's get changed and get in there." Before Sirius had a chance to speak, James added in, "Yes, you have to wear the hat."

Long. Boring. Uncomfortable. All words that could be used to describe the tediousness that was High School graduation. Being one of the first through the line to get his tassel moved and his diploma handed over, Sirius found himself growing weary and tired as he watched the other students move across the stage. It wasn't until he sat up to watch Remus receive his sheepskin that Sirius felt the full emotional impact of the ceremony. Tears sprang to the boy's eyes as he watched Remus duck his head so that the Principal could move his tassel from one side of the boy's cap to the other.

Sirius cursed the existence of alphabetical order as he turned in his seat and beamed a teary smile at his boyfriend. The sight of Sirius' face once again made the overly hyped up Remus start to cry. He pressed his palms to his eyes and begged for it to stop before he had to make his Valedictorian speech. A few long, soothing breaths and a whispered pep talk from the near-by James was all the boy needed to hold his head high as he stood in front of the class and delivered his speech.

As the graduating class all gathered in front of the school to take what seemed like two-hundred photos, Sirius and Remus came together to stand. They wrapped their arms around each other, then took time to each hug their fellow classmates. Despite his insistence that he hated his flat cap, Sirius could not bear to let his fingers release it as the others all flew into the air with a victorious shout from the entire class. The boy hugged his hat to his chest and leaned into Remus' arms.

No one could throw a party like a Potter. That was a fact.

Owing to the warm evening, the entire graduating class was spread across the Potters' front lawn enjoying a party that none dared to report as too loud. Former students danced and drank, all celebrating the end of their High School lives. Half of them wept over the ending of such a huge part of their lives, while the other half couldn't stop yelling with joy.

Though one would expect James Potter to be over the moon with excitement at finally being free, instead the boy was curled up in a lawn chair, wiping tears from his eyes and clutching an untouched beer. Lily slipped herself into the boy's lap and gave him her best try at a sympathetic face. It was difficult, because the girl was leaping inside about High School being over. James put his drink on the ground and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's waist, burying his face into her shoulder.

"I thought you'd be happy about this," Lily whispered as she rubbed her hand over the boy's arm and kissed the top of his head. "You don't even like going to class," she added with a laugh.

"I know," James muttered. He sniffled a little and tightened his hold on Lily. "I don't like sitting in class, but I like going to school. All of our friends and...what if we never see them again?"

"James, you're gonna be sharing a room with Sirius at UCLA. You're gonna see your friends again. Prewett's going there too and so is Alice. You got along with her just fine." Lily frowned and cuddled against the boy in an effort to comfort him.

"But you won't be there. You'll be all the way in France," he sneered. "I don't see why you gotta go out of the damn country. There are great schools in this country."

"It's only for a year," Lily sighed. "Then I'll be back. This is good experience. Seeing the world and all that. We've been over this."

James made a small, childish snort and squeezed his girlfriend. "Yeah, you say it's for a year, but then you'll get there and you'll be taken in. Six months from now, you'll be sipping wine and going to art parties and moving into Pierre's loft but you'll insist that it's just to save money and then a few weeks later, I'll call and you'll be laughing and I'll hear some guy in the background yelling come back to bed, senorita."

"No you won't," Lily said pointedly.

"How do you know? You don't know that; you could fall for some guy over there," he argued.

"I know that because senorita is Spanish, James." Lily giggled for a moment until she saw the horrified and broken expression on James' face. "I'm kidding," she laughed, putting her hands on James' cheeks. "Well, no, senorita is Spanish, but I'm not gonna fall for some guy. I know it because I love you. Look at me," she snapped when the boy dropped his eyes. "I. Love. You. Only you. It's always been you and it will always be you. How can you now know that by now?"

"Because I've treated you like crap, Lily!" James closed his eyes tight and leaned his face into the girl's neck. "I've been an awful, rotten, horrible, scummy, crappy, horrible -"

"- You already said horrible. -"

"I've been double horrible." James looked up into Lily's emerald eyes and smoothed her hair back out of her face. "You know that I'm gonna spend every day making it up to you, right? I'll never take you for granted again; I'll never forget how important you are. I just hate that it took almost losing you to make me see that."

Lily pouted her lips and mussed up James' hair, then leaned forward and gave the boy a soft kiss. "Everything's going to be just fine between us," she whispered against the boy's lips. "I promise. And I don't break promises, do I?"

"You never break promises," James answered dutifully.

A loud groan and the sound of someone falling onto the ground beside the lawn chair brought James and Lily's attention away from their intimate moment. "Sirius, are you alright?" Lily asked, staring down at the boy who was now sprawled on his back.

"I'm fine," Sirius muttered. He laid his head back in the grass and looked up at James. "Whatchoo crying about?" he asked, lifting one eyebrow at the boy.

"He's upset about me leaving," Lily answered.

"Still? Dang, James, you've known for months, why are you still upset about that?" Sirius asked as he made an attempt to sit up.

"You're still upset about Remus," James pointed out with a smug look.

"That's different, he's leaving for like four years and then who knows where he'll go after that." Sirius stretched his arms up over his head and yawned. "Besides, I'm not upset. I know everything will be fine." He dropped his arms and frowned as his eyes scanned over the party crowd to find Remus. "Where the hell is he, anyways?" he asked with a snort.

"You lost him?" Lily laughed as she turned around in James' arms and leaned her back against his chest.

"I didn't lose him," Sirius snapped. "I just don't know where he went is all. We got split up by your dad," he added, directing the last bit towards James. "Mister P probably hauled him off to show him his stethoscope or something."

"Hey, my dad isn't like that," James called out, narrowing his eyes at the other boy. When he received two shocked glances from both Lily and Sirius, he couldn't help but break a smile. "I'm only kidding. I know what a stethoscope is," he said with a laugh. "I can't believe you two think I'm that dumb. After all, I'm not the one who got his head stuck in the towel rack beside my pool." A sinister smirk crossed over James' lips as he slowly looked towards Sirius.

"You promised you'd never tell anyone about that!" Sirius cried out.

"Tell anyone about what?" Remus asked as he knelt down beside Sirius and gave the boy an expectant stare.

"Nothing," Sirius muttered at the same time that James began to speak. "We were nine and Sirius bet me twe- Ow!" James' words were cut off by Sirius slamming his fist into the boy's shoulder. "Down you go," the messy haired boy told Lily before dumping her over onto the ground and diving at Sirius. "You're gonna pay for that!" he cried out as he tackled his friend to the ground and rolled over him. "You deserved it!" Sirius cried out with a barking laugh as the two launched into a play fight.

"It's so good to see them back to normal," Lily sighed as she got off the ground and took James' abandoned chair.

"Well, they aren't back to normal, exactly," Remus pointed out. When Lily gave the boy a questioning look, he continued. "Well they aren't like they were before. Don't you even remember the end of the year party last year?" he asked.

"I remember we got in a fight," she whispered.

"About Sirius," Remus finished.

"Because you're a stubborn ass," Lily added.

Remus twisted his lips and smirked at the girl. "I'm gonna miss you," he told her.

"Yeah, I'm gonna miss you too. But...we still have all Summer."

A Note From the Author: Wow, to say this chapter took forever to put out would be an understatement. Sorry about that, guys. Moving on, I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. It wasn't my favorite by far, but the next one should be better. A lot of American based traditions in regards to Graduation in this chapter. I wanted to keep the scene small since I know a lot of my readers aren't American and won't really get all the references. Feel free to ask questions if you're curious.

Also, just because the title is that, doesn't mean it is the last chapter. It is in regards to the Last Song of their high school careers. Still several chapters to go! Thanks for reading. :D –Jenna