Hello everyone!

Alright, chapter thirty-six here. I won't bore you with author's notes. I will just say that this is the final chapter of this story.

A HUGE thank you goes out to all my reviewers, who make me feel absolutely wonderful when they review. If you write, you know what a thrill it is to get reviews. So, big thank you to PottedLilies, SecretlyAGryffindor, xExpectoxPatronumx, ane27, purple, Sarahrules336, Lilla Black, harrypotter713, missivypotter, LeonObrenov, MyTinyDancer, and EnglishGrlVerity. Thank you so much for your reviews!

And thank you to everyone who added this story to their favorites/alerts lists. I sort of feel like it is my duty to let you all know that, as of chapter 35, this story has reached 77fav's and 89 alerts. That is absolutely wonderful because I've never written a fanfiction before, and that's some of the best encouragement and compliments ever :D

And, I've never done chapter dedications before, and I probably won't do any again, so this is a special honor. I would like to dedicate this last chapter to PottedLilies, who is absolutely wonderful. She was my very first reviewer, and she has given me very intensive reviews for every chapter. Thank you so much for all the encouragement, Kayla!

So, here it is, the last chapter of Unforgettable.

I hope you enjoy.

xxxxxxx

"Is it really over?" Alice whispered, breaking the silence.

We all shuffled our feet, looking at the ground and refusing to break from the tiny circle we were standing in. Lily still had a vice-grip on my hand.

"He said it was, didn't he?" Peter asked, somehow unsure if he had heard right. I could understand where he was coming from. I mean, we've been doing this for so long that it's hard to believe.

"I think it really is over," I told them. After a moment it occurred to me to add, "I'll transfigure the couches, everyone should sleep here tonight."

Lily nodded, "And then we can all go visit Remus tomorrow and tell him what happened."

Sirius looked around at us all, then his face split into a grin. "Well, since you two have this all figured out, I guess the only thing left for me to worry about is NEWTS."

Lily let out a tentative giggle at his attempt to lighten the mood, and I started transfiguring beds. We were all asleep by midnight, hoping to make up for the night before.

xxxxxxx

NEWTS were almost too easy. I sat there for a week straight with exam papers on my desk and practicals to attend, but none of it was difficult enough to even hold my attention. I was finished with every exam nearly two hours early, as were all the others. I suppose those practice sessions that Dumbledore put the nine of us through really paid off in the end.

So anyways, we ended up bewitching the spare bits of parchment and passing notes. I spent most of the time drawing pictures of tiny golden snitches, but every so often I would join in on the note passing.

Of course, every so often Sirius would refuse to let me doodle and opt for dragging me into the conversation.

Hey, Prongs – SB

Hey Padfoot – JP

So I was thinking, we're not gonna need the Marauders' Map anymore – SB

That's true. Why, what are you thinking? – JP

I looked over to his desk to see him grinning down at his parchment.

I'm thinking we shouldn't be so selfish as to take it with us – SB

What? We worked hard on this map!

What about our kids, Padfoot? Second generation Marauders should have the benefit of the map too – JP

Well it's not like I'm planning on burning it, Prongs. But I was thinking we should put it somewhere for them to find – SB

How so? – JP

Well, if they're true Marauders, they should be able to find it, right? – SB

Well, I dunno. It would depend on where you put it. Hogwarts is a big place, you know – JP

Oh, I know. I didn't have to look up to know he was grinning madly. But there's one place that only a true Marauder would frequent enough times to find it – SB

I grinned.

You're right – JP

xxxxxxx

Sirius was waiting for me as everyone started filing out of the exam room for the day. I refused to call it the Great Hall because I wasn't usually that bored in the Great Hall. Food generally provides some distraction, you know.

But anyways, he was waiting for me, and when Remus and Peter caught up to us we filled them in.

Remus had grinned. "Excellent! When do we do it?"

"The very last night, I think. The night before we board the train back. I want to say my goodbyes to it."

Sirius laughed at me. "Getting a little sentimental, Prongs?"

"Well he probably wants to watch Lily's dot one more time," Peter piped up. "That used to be as close as he could get to her, most days."

I could feel my face getting redder at that, and it didn't help that Lily and Alice were waving in our direction and trying to catch up with us.

"Well," I said, trying to save face, "This is probably the best thing I've ever managed to create at Hogwarts. I want to give it a proper goodbye."

"You'll be sleeping with it tonight, then?" Sirius asked, barking out a laugh, "How's Lily going to take it when you kick her out of bed in favor of a piece of parchment?"

Just then, the girls reached us and Lily smacked Sirius upside the head. He yelped in surprise and turned to see her standing behind him. "Keep your voice down," she scolded, "People will think we're shagging when you put it like that. And what's this about sleeping with a piece of parchment?"

Sirius muttered something about how the two of us should be shagging and how he would have exploded if some girl tried to make him wait that long.

Remus managed not to laugh, but he couldn't keep the smirk off his face. "James is having a little trouble letting the map go."

"Ah," she said, turning to me. "Well, James, it won't be of any use to you anymore. And it's such a wonderful piece of magic that it would be a shame to take it with you."

"That's exactly what I said!" Sirius said, happy to have her on his side. "Taking it with would just be selfish. It belongs here, where future mischief-makers would be able to make good use of it!"

"Really, James," Lily said as we finally managed to make it out to the grounds, "the map isn't going to be the best thing you ever accomplish. You can leave it here."

I pouted. "I know it's not the best thing I'm ever going to accomplish," I whined loudly, "but it's cool!"

She just laughed and wrapped an arm around my waist. "Whatever you want to do, sweetheart."

"Well you better decide quickly, James," Alice pointed out. "We only have two weeks left, and then the graduation ceremony."

"Two weeks that should be filled with Hogsmeade visits, I think," Remus said, smiling across the grounds and waving to Isabella. "And the map will come in handy for sneaking off, so you have some more time, Prongs." Remus started snickering, "You know, to say your goodbyes."

I gave him a glare but deep down I knew I was being ridiculous. It was only a piece of parchment, after all.

And Remus was right, we would still need it for sneaking off to Hogsmeade. We definitely deserve a few butterbeers—and any firewhiskey that we can slip past Lily—after this past year. I'd be lying if I said it hadn't exhausted me.

We all settled down against a tree and I laid back against it, pulling Lily with me. I breathed in her lovely scent and felt all my muscles relax. Looking around at all their smiling faces, I knew that these last two weeks would be the best of our time at Hogwarts. It was time for some fun.

xxxxxxxx

"Shh, Lily, stop giggling," James whispered into my ear, "Filch is only two halls away."

"Well then stop tickling me," I giggled back, trying to inch away from him under the cloak. He wasn't having that. He pulled me closer and wrapped his arms around me again.

"Hush," he murmured, "We'll get through the passage and then we won't have to worry about him anymore."

He dragged me along to a statue of a one-eyed witch, and then he tapped her hump, muttering something under his breath. To my surprise, the hump started to open, and soon it was wide enough for us to step through.

James checked the map again, then pulled the cloak off and stepped into the opening, pulling me quickly behind him.

xxxxxxxx

"Honeydukes?" She whispered next to me.

"Yep," I answered, stowing the map into my pocket and throwing the cloak back over us. "Now, be perfectly quiet until we leave the shop. If you want chocolate, we can come back in and get it, alright?"

She nodded, so I led her up the stairs. We slipped out of the shop and around the corner fairly quickly. When we came back out onto the street, fully visible, we bumped into two people that I wasn't expecting to see.

"Oh, erm, hello, Sirius, Marlene," Lily said awkwardly. I think she probably felt a bit embarrassed by Sirius's evil grin.

"What's this, Lene?" Sirius said, not taking his eyes off of Lily's reddening face, "Are the Head Boy and Girl sneaking out to Hogsmeade? Tut tut, they could have your badges for this, you know."

"Oh, giver her a break, Sirius," I teased him, "We could easily say that we saw you sneaking off and we wanted to see what you were up to."

He composed his face in a mask of mock betrayal. "Prongs! You wouldn't!"

"No," I said, watching Lily and Marlene walk off. Apparently Sirius hadn't noticed yet. "But our girls would."

He whipped around, and saw them heading away. "Oi!" He called, "Where're you two going?"

"We're getting butterbeers," Marlene called back, not bothering to stop walking, "You two can join us if you like."

By the time we caught up with the two of them, they were already asking Rosmerta for a table.

"Make that a table for three, Rosmerta, dear," Sirius said, leaning over the bar and giving her a smile.

"Three, Padfoot?" I asked, "I was hoping for a seat too, you know."

"Oh, you'll get one. Lene's going to be sitting in my lap."

Wow, not even the slightest bit of embarrassment from him. Marlene was a different story. She blushed red right to the roots of her black hair and stammered to the barmaid, "A table for four, please, Rosmerta."

Sirius smirked at that and slipped an arm around her waist. She blushed even deeper red, but she didn't push him away.

Lily rolled her eyes at that, but took my hand and followed Rosmerta to the booth she led us to.

I love Rosmerta right now. Booths are perfect for cozying up to your girlfriend.

I made a show of bowing Lily into the booth, but when I slipped in behind her with a smirk on my face, I'm sure she knew I cornered her. She blushed immediately.

Sirius and I grinned at each other. We've never double-dated before, and admittedly we didn't do it on purpose this time either, but I'm pretty sure this is going to turn into a competition.

Actually, I'm absolutely sure that we're going to have a competition. And the competition is going to be who can get their girl to blush the most.

Sirius made his move, gazing at Marlene and sweeping her hair behind her ear. She blushed lightly and gave him a smile.

Oh, is that how it's going to be?

I scooted a bit closer to Lily, wrapping an arm around her waist and kissing her cheek softly, letting my lips linger on her skin for a moment. She blushed. I knew she would. Ordinarily, something like that wouldn't faze her, but in a crowded bar…

We kept at it for a good twenty minutes at least, until Marlene looked as though she had put on too much blush and Lily looked like she had sunburn from her cheeks to the roots of her flaming red hair. She had turned that color and stayed that way when I took care of a spot of whipped cream that had gotten on the corner of her mouth.

I had taken care of it by kissing it off.

Needless to say, I was winning. Sirius might know how to make any girl blush, but I know how to make Lily blush.

"James," she finally begged in a low undertone, hiding behind her butterbeer, "Please stop."

I groaned internally. Of course she would ask me to stop when I was winning.

"Alright," I said softly, squeezing her hand under the table. "I'm stopping now."

"Thank you," she sighed, burying her face into my sleeve and sighing in relief.

Wow, I didn't think it would bother her that much. I mean, she usually likes it when I make her blush.

When we all decided to leave the tavern, I called for Rosmerta to add the bill to my tab and then led Lily out onto the main street.

"We'll see you two back at Hogwarts, yeah?" I said to Sirius and Marlene, who promptly waved goodbye and walked off. I took Lily's hand. "Come on, I know you want to go to the stationary shop, love."

As we walked in that direction, she asked the question that I was hoping she wouldn't.

"Hey James? What were you and Sirius doing in the Three Broomsticks?"

"Erm…drinking butterbeer?"

"James," she said, her tone telling me that she wasn't having it.

I sighed. How am I gonna spin this now?

"Well, I was trying to prove a point." Yeah, this could work if I do it right.

"A point?" she asked, taking the bait.

"Yeah. Well, you know, Sirius prides himself on being able to make any girl blush…"

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, I was just proving that I don't need to know one hundred and one failsafe ways to make any girl blush. I know how to make you blush."

Her cheeks tinted a little again. I knew they would. And when she looked up into my eyes I knew I was forgiven, too.

She reached up and gave me a soft kiss.

"Come on, love," I told her, "Off to Inkwells and Wordspells."

She smiled. "Alright. And then we can go to Zonko's, if you like."

I grinned. "I love you, Lily Evans."

"I love you, James Potter."

xxxxxxx

I sat on the couch in the Head's dorm, looking wistfully at the map. I had it open, watching the dots move around on it one last time. My eyes found Lily's dot, as they were so accustomed to doing, and I watched it as it sat in the Gryffindor common room with Alice and Frank.

I sighed to myself.

I really was being ridiculous.

I mean, I used to watch her dot because that was all I could do with her. And now I have the real Lily Evans. I shouldn't be stalking her dot.

But, if I was being completely honest, that wasn't the only reason I was going to miss this map. We did this together. It was one of our best accomplishments. I mean, we've done a couple of things to top it, like becoming animagi and dealing with those git Slytherins, but really this was quite a feat. And this map helped us with accomplishing both those other things, might I add.

There are more memories on this parchment than in the rest of the England for me. Every late night kitchen run, or Hogsmeade visit, or run around the Forbidden Forest with Remus…they're all here, on this ratty old piece of parchment.

I mended the edges of the paper lazily, like I had done a million times already. After all, it was getting a bit ragged, and if it was going to last for another fifteen years then it should be mended right now.

I stopped, looking down at the parchment again.

Just because I want to leave a map behind doesn't mean that I have to leave this map behind.

I glanced at the boys' dots and found that they were still sitting in our old dorm. Then I hurried upstairs and grabbed another piece of parchment. Rushing back down my staircase, I pulled the real map toward me and laid the fresh parchment next to it. I pulled my wand out of my pocket before I sat down.

Closing my eyes, I did my best to remember what it was that we had done. I remember the general outlines of course, transcribing an old map of Hogwarts that we found, and then adding the secrets that no one else knew…that wouldn't be necessary this time. I could just transcribe the map of Hogwarts, secret passages and all, from the Marauders' Map. But how did we get the moving dots?

Think, James, think.

How did we get the dots to move? And how on Merlin's green earth did we manage to get the map to work for all generations? The first years were on the map just as plainly as everyone else, and we certainly didn't add them ourselves…

I remember.

Ha. Another spell that involves an actual emotion. Funny how the older we get, the more the spells depend on ourselves this way.

We needed to feel love. The eternity of the emotion. We had our brotherhood then, and we managed to cast the spell together. We had enough power to do it that way.

But I'm older now, and I have more love. I understand how the emotion is limitless, not just from them, but from Lily too. I can do this on my own.

But a quick glance down at the original map showed that the boys had just left the Gryffindor common room and were headed my way. I grabbed both pieces of parchment and ran up to my dorm with them, thinking the whole way. I tried again what I had tried that night. I transcribed the map easily enough, but then I took a deep breath and tried to plunge myself into eternity.

Waving my wand over the parchment, I kept my eyes closed to avoid looking at potential failure. But to my delighted surprise it worked. I glanced at both maps, identical to each other but for the exceptional amount of creasing on one of them, and saw that the boys would be here in less than five minutes. So I hastily cast the concealment spells, easier even than the transcription of the plain map. Then I charmed it to open and close to the proper words and I stuffed both maps into my pocket just as I heard voices drifting up the stairs.

"Prongs? Are you up there?"

"Yeah, Moony," I called down, "I was just grabbing my cloak."

"Don't bother, we'll just Disillusion ourselves," he called back, obviously at the foot of the stairs.

Good point. I dropped my cloak back into my trunk and came down the stairs as calmly as I could with the replacement map out. "Ready to go?" I asked, tapping the parchment and thanking Merlin that it was working properly.

"Yeah, mate," Sirius said, already preparing to Disillusion himself. "On three?"

"One," I said, and everyone raised their wands, "Two, three."

And then we were all invisible. Even Peter managed it.

We used the map to guide us down to Filch's office, rushing along the corridors that were devoid of people. It was hard to find them on such a nice day, and it was far from curfew. Lots of people were still milling about.

"Alright," Sirius whispered as we hurried down another empty hall, "Filch usually goes out to clean the Entrance Hall around now, we should be clear for his office."

"What does the map say, James?" Peter asked.

"He's definitely in the Entrance Hall," I confirmed as we went down three flights of stairs. "We're clear. And this is our stop."

I heard the scuffling of shoes as we all stepped off the stairs and onto a landing with which we were all far too familiar. I tip-toed to the door.

"It's locked," Remus whispered.

"Alohomora," Sirius whispered, and the lock sprang open. He laughed quietly. "You'd think it would be harder than just plain old Alohomora."

"Well, he's a squib, Sirius, it's not nice to make fun," Remus reprimanded.

"Moony, mate, I think you're allowed to make fun of anyone when you're sneaking into their office. Except maybe Dumbledore."

Ha. That's Sirius for you.

"Alright, everyone shut up," I said, glancing in the room.

Damn! Mrs. Norris is actually sitting in there for once!

"Quiet as you can be," I murmured in my lowest voice, "Mrs. Norris is here."

"What? She's never in here! Doesn't she have other students to chase?" Peter complained.

"Not today, apparently," Sirius said, "although I've always suspected that she was part Kneazle. Maybe that's why she's just smart, you know?"

I shrugged, then realized that they couldn't see me.

"You ready, Prongs?" Remus asked.

"Yeah," I whispered, glancing at the map one last time to be sure that Filch was still on the other side of the castle. "Alright, I'm going in."

I wiped the map clean, then stuck the map in my pocket so that Mrs. Norris wouldn't see a piece of paper floating across the office in thin air. But I'm not entirely sure how much she saw or didn't see, because her eyes managed to follow me across the room.

I picked a cabinet that was marked 1960-1970. The old cabinet drawer creaked as I slowly pulled it open, and then I heard the dreaded meow.

Filch was always there moments after she meowed.

"Hurry up, Prongs!" Sirius hissed, knowing the danger as clearly as I did.

I wrenched the drawer open and, making a last minute decision, slipped the original map into the first few files, praying that Filch never had a reason to open this cabinet again. Then I slammed it shut and said, "Everyone out!"

Our feet thundered down the hall and around a corner, bringing us to a staircase that had just stopped on our floor. We all ran up it, not realizing that Filch was on his way down.

I decided to cut my losses and just bolt past him, and from the sounds of the footsteps behind me, the others did the same. We didn't stop until we reached mainstream corridors, and then we snuck into a boys' loo to make ourselves visible again.

"Oh, bloody hell," Sirius moaned, "We left his office open!"

Shit.

"That's okay," Remus said, panting a bit. "He already knows someone was in there because of Mrs. Norris. But he has no idea it was us."

"I really hope you're right, Remus," I said, leaning against a sink, "Because I'd like to graduate this year."

I can't believe that I gave up the real map.

But hopefully our kids will have as much fun with it as we did.

Is that a little too nostalgic?

xxxxxxx

The last couple weeks of school passed nicely enough, and it was definitely a relief to be able to walk the halls without having to wonder if someone was going to pop out from a corner and cut open all our innards. We still had to walk in groups, of course, but with the weather turning nicer more people were out and about, meaning the Slytherins wouldn't try anything for fear of disclosing their identities. They were still trying to operate in secret, after all.

But all too soon, those final two weeks had passed. Two glorious weeks of nothing but milling about with James and the others, laughing and joking and denying the fact that we had to leave so soon. I was laying in his arms just two days before the graduation ceremony, sipping smuggled butterbeer on the couches in the Gryffindor common room. We spent less and less time in the Heads' dorm, lately. I'm not sure why, really.

I closed my eyes and laid my head back against his chest. That felt better than I ever would have thought it should, but I wasn't about to complain. And the companionable silence was easy on my ears.

"Hey guys," Peter said quietly.

There were a couple of 'yeahs?' and everyone looked at him.

"We're leaving Hogwarts soon."

Yeah, we are.

"Well spotted, Wormtail," Sirius said, flopping back down onto the fluffy rug he had conjured.

"Well, I was just wondering…what are we going to do once we're gone?" He asked, his voice losing its timidity and gaining a certain trace of fear.

There was a moment of silence, where no one knew what to say. And then I felt James's voice rumble against my back.

"We're going to stick together, just like we are now."

"Who knows what that will bring," Remus commented, laying back further into the sofa. "I don't even want to think about what happens when we leave."

"You'll be alright, Moony," Sirius promised earnestly. "We all will."

I knew he was wrong.

He wasn't lying. No, he meant it with all he had. Sirius Black would have defended us all with his life, I have no doubt.

But we won't be alright.

I just know it.

I'd rather not think about it though, not when I could be spending these last couple days with the semblance of optimism and security in my hands.

"Have you packed?" James murmured low enough for only me to hear. My eyes closed with the ecstasy of feeling his voice rumble through me again.

"Yes," I murmured softly. "And I've got all of your stuff put away, too."

"Oh, thanks, sweetheart, you didn't have to do that."

"It's alright, love. It took all of two seconds with the charm I learned."

His arms squeezed me a little tighter and he placed a sweet kiss on my neck.

"Mmmm, you're welcome," I said quietly. I felt his smile against my skin.

When I tuned back in to the others' conversation, it made me laugh.

"Oh come on! You have to wear a shirt and tie tomorrow!" Alice was trying to convince them.

"You really do," Sirius said, backing her up. "Come on, you know all the girls will fawn over you if you wear a tie—"

"Sirius, I have a girlfriend! Blonde, blue-eyed, kinda short, remember?" Remus said, not sure whether he should be annoyed or amused.

"Yes, and I'm sure she'll appreciate your wearing a tie to the graduation ceremony tomorrow," Alice said in a much lower voice. Evidently screaming hadn't done the job, and she had reverted to cajoling and persuasion. "In fact, I know she will. I'm sitting here hoping that someone in Hufflepuff tells Frank to wear a shirt and tie to the graduation ceremony."

"I'm sitting here hoping someone tells him to wear pants," James said into my ear. I giggled.

"Well, I'd like you to wear pants, James," I said quietly.

I could sense his mischievous grin. "Only for you, dear. Of course, I would take them off for you too, if you asked nicely enough."

"Maybe later," I flirted, deciding to shock him, "but the entire graduating class does not get to see my boyfriend without his pants."

Normally I would have slapped him, but I found I didn't mind the comment all that much. Really, if anyone could say that to me, it would be James. Out of all the boys I've dated, which is really less than a handful to be honest, I trust him completely with everything I have. I'm just not sure that I'm ready for…you know…yet.

He was shocked, I could tell, even though I still hadn't turned to see his face. I could feel it in how his arms had suddenly stiffened and tightened around me.

"Well I didn't mean later today, James," I said, trying to inject some exasperation into my voice. Honestly, he was ridiculous sometimes.

"Right, right," he said, loosening his grip on me slightly. "I just got a little carried away."

A little carried away?

If I was talking to him about…well, what I was talking to him about…getting a little carried away just wouldn't do.

Not at all.

I would have to find a way to fix that. Maybe a new, summery nightgown. Yeah, that would be a good idea. He warned me that the nights get hot at Potter Manor, after he invited me to stay with him, of course.

Yes, I think I will get a new nightgown.

Maybe something green.

And very, very short.

xxxxxxx

Graduation day dawned bright and clear.

Actually, it barely bothered to dawn at all and when it did it was gray and cloudy. But I always read about how monumental occasions always happened on bright and clear days so I was rather hoping that one of those days would be today. I should have known better. This is England, after all.

Oh well, a girl can dream.

Anyways, Alice and I were rushing around my room, where she had slept the night before, attempting to be dressed and down to the ceremony on time.

"Do you think they'll still set up on the quidditch field?" She asked, a little worried.

"I don't know," I said, casting a glare at the murky sky outside my window. "Seems like it would be easier to just move to the Great Hall, wouldn't it?"

"Oh, but they've got a reception in the Great Hall, remember? And then they have to clear it out for everyone to get organized to board the train."

I let out a huff. Well, there goes the idea of curling my hair, then. "Do you think they'll do it on the quidditch field? I mean, really?"

"Well," Alice said, fiddling with the hem of her scarlet and gold graduation robes, "I suppose they could easily cast a charm to keep the stadium dry, or something along those lines…"

She trailed off doubtfully as we both glanced out the window again, and then I turned back to my vanity.

"Well, either way," I said in defiance of the weather, "We can cast drying charms on ourselves, we don't have to count on them doing it. I'm curling my hair."

Twenty minutes later, we were both racing down to the pitch, high-heeled slippers in hand, and we bumped into the boys who were on their way down from Gryffindor tower.

"You girls still aren't down there yet?" Remus asked, his surprise marred slightly by his gasping for breath as we all continued to sprint.

"We're girls," Alice yelled, trying to be heard over the wind as we finally reached the stormy grounds. "What's your excuse?"

I distinctly heard three of the four boys snort. And I am kinda proud to say that I can actually identify who snorted.

"This one," said James, jerking his finger over at Sirius as we ran, "kept trying to fix his hair in the mirror."

"I tried to fix your hair too, Prongsie," Sirius teased, "but don't get snappy with me just because your mop is a lost cause."

"Hey!" James protested, "My hair is not a lost cause! Well, maybe it is, but that's not the point! Even if you had managed to make it presentable, this storm would have mussed it anyway!"

"Which reminds me," Peter said, panting heavily even though James was half-carrying him along, "Why aren't you girls wet? We're soaked to the bone!"

I cast a quick bubble on them just as Alice cast a drying charm.

"There you go," I muttered as we raced into the changing rooms. We nearly ran over all the students who were already there, earning a glare from all four Heads of Houses. We sheepishly went to stand by McGonagall, Lacy, and Malinda.

Wow, Lacy and Malinda. Haven't heard about them in a while.

I was about to say hello when a harassed-sounding McGonagall interrupted.

"Evans! Potter! Have you got your speeches ready?"

"Yeah, I've got it right-oh, bloody hell," James moaned, looking at the paper which was no longer soaking wet, but indecipherable all the same.

McGonagall groaned.

McGonagall.

Yeah, you heard me right.

I nearly laughed but then her glare turned on me.

"Evans?"

"Um, got it right here, professor," I assured her, pulling out my perfectly dry speech.

"Good, good…Potter, try to come up with something."

"Yes, Professor," he said, looking down at his shoes. I decided now would be a good time to give him some support, so I wrapped my arms around his waist and kissed him softly.

"You'll do great, love. Just wing it."

"Right," he said dejectedly. I held on tight until we had to get lined up again, waiting for his tense body to relax. But it never did.

We walked out onto the field, a first for me, but all the clapping and cheering seemed to put James back into his element. The parade marched around to the chairs lined up on the lawn, which was, by the way, kept dry with some sort of faux ceiling.

Well, I suppose it was real in that it was tangible, but it wasn't a part of the actual quidditch pitch, is what I mean. But anyways, the point was we were dry, thank Merlin.

We took our seats, James and I at the front of two rows of Gryffindors since we had to make speeches later, and I caught Sirius winking at James.

Now, I know that they're best friends and between best friends that wouldn't seem odd in the slightest. Especially at an occasion like this when congratulations are in order. But James and Sirius are not ordinary. In fact, it is absolutely something to worry about when one Sirius Black winks at one James Potter, and most especially at an occasion like this when very official people will be doing very official things.

Yes, most definitely something to worry about.

xxxxxxx

"…Head Boy, James Potter!" Dumbledore said to loud applause. I couldn't help but be proud of that. Despite the fact that James got his popularity through…less than noble means…my heart still swells to hear such excitement for him.

And, I'm partly expecting something to happen any second that has Marauders stamped all over it.

"Well, Good morning, everyone. Classmates, Professors, Parents, but mostly classmates," James said with a smile, "We made it! Congratulations class of '77!"

This was met with raucous applause.

Ha! Of course it was, it was James. No one else could have pulled that one off.

We all filed back into the changing rooms while the parents returned to the Great Hall for the reception. And when we joined them about twenty minutes later, with our diplomas in hand, the party really started.

I was busy taking in the lavish decorations when James spotted someone in the crowd and dragged me in that direction. It wasn't until I was being squashed into a hug that I realized that James had brought me to his parents.

"Mrs. Potter, how nice to see you again," I gasped, trying to get my nose away from her perfume and give myself a chance at oxygen. "And Mr. Potter, glad you could make it."

Finally, I managed to extricate myself from Mrs. Potter's limbs, only to find myself engulfed in another hug. Fortunately, Mr. Potter had the respiratory sense to keep his hug brief.

"Wonderful to see you again, Lily, dear," Mr. Potter said, giving me up to James's hold, "How was the rest of your semester?"

"Oh, it was nice, thank you—"

"Prongs! Dance time!" Sirius yelled from about ten feet away, effectively blowing a hole through my ears.

"See you in a bit, Mum, Dad," James said quickly, dragging me off to the dance floor with Sirius.

We weren't very long on the dance floor when we found that the graduation dress robes we wore were very hard to dance in. In fact, all our classmates were already taking theirs off. I went to follow their example when James stopped me.

"Er, not a good idea, love," he said right into my ear, presumably to that no one else would hear.

"Why not?" I asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Erm, just trust m—"

Suddenly a loud roar drowned him out. People were glaring upward at the ceiling of the Great Hall, which was dark and murky, just like the sky outside.

And, just like the sky outside, it was raining.

Not a pouring maelstrom, but raining pretty hard none the less.

"Wha—"

My words died in my throat when I saw the new things that started pouring from the sky.

"Er, yeah," James said, running his hands through his hair nervously and glancing about. "You know how Sirius is in Muggle Studies?"

"Yes," I said, figuring I knew where this was going.

"Well, erm, the professor used a new expression the other day and Sirius sort of took a liking to it," he admitted slightly sheepishly, although I knew that he was prouder than he let on. He had a slight grin playing at the corners of his mouth.

And I couldn't blame him really. It was quite the sight.

I would bet my last sugar quill that half of our graduating class couldn't do the magic that they had done. Along with the raindrops that now poured freely from the ceiling, there were cats falling as well, which all seemed to shriek and vanish just before hitting the ground. They had, however, managed to knock a few people to the floor on their way down.

"Sirius must have heard the phrase wrong," I laughed, looking around. "It's supposed to rain cats and dogs."

"Oh, he heard it right," James said, laughing. "But he just wasn't willing to let dogs fall from the ceiling. And then Remus said that was probably for the best, since dogs are bigger than cats and might actually hurt someone, and then Peter and I had to admit that Remus had a fair point…"

He rambled for another minute or so, but the rain, and my annoying immunity to it, gave me an idea. I watched his lips for a moment before vanishing both our robes, allowing the rain to soak through our hair. I danced with him in the rain for a while, as it didn't seem to show any sign of stopping soon.

I wondered if I had the guts to actually do it. There was one time, when I took Alice to the muggle theater over the summer, that we saw a show where the main characters kissed in the rain. At the time it had seemed silly, after all they could catch cold!

But now it seemed oddly enticing.

And those lips of his…well, they're always enticing.

So I pulled him down to me, and pressed my lips to his. Something about the rain made me forget that I was in a room full of professors and classmates and James's parents, and I kissed him as hard as I could. I gave way to all my passion, and hunger, and lust in that kiss, and it felt like the world should have stopped after such a perfect moment.

The world, in fact, did not see fit to stop. When we broke apart, after who knows how long, the party was still going on, the rain was still coming down—without any more cats, thank Merlin—and the only one who had noticed our vertical wrestling match was Sirius, who let out a loud wolf-whistle.

James grinned at Sirius while pulling me closer into his chest.

"What do you think," he said into my ear, having to talk loudly because of all the noise, "Time to go home?"

"Yeah," I told him, looking up into his amazing hazel eyes. Those eyes were always home, from the first time I saw them. I hadn't understood the feeling of safety then, but I knew it now. "Definitely time to go home."

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I'm not sure what to put here. I don't think I should put 'The End,' because this is most definitely not the end of their story (there will be a sequel soon) but this is the end of Unforgettable. So, I guess I will go with what I've always put at the bottom of my chapters, which is, I hope you liked it! And please review!