AN: Hey guys! I'll see you at the bottom.


James and Sirius arrived back at Hogwarts three days after the funeral. Lily was glad to see James; not only had she missed him, she had also found it very difficult to manage her duties as Head without him. The idea seemed absurd: Lily Evans needed the help of James Potter to keep students in order.

Lily sat curled up in front of the fire, trying to beat the January frost when the pair entered the common room. All eyes turned to them and there was a wave of whispers and murmurs, no doubt gossiping about his father. There had been two whole pages dedicated to Mr Potters funeral in the Daily Prophet. And another throwing light on his lucrative career and achievements. James met her eye, signaling for her to follow him, and carried on walking toward the staircase leading up to the boys dormitory, away from prying eyes.

James was sitting on his bed when she reached the room. Lily walked over to him and carefully sat down beside her boyfriend. He turned to her, giving her a weak smile. He looked pale, and there were shadows under his eyes. He seemed to have lost a little weight and his hair was even messier than usual. It broke Lily's heart to see him this way. She pulled him into a hug, wrapping her arms around his neck as he held her waist, leaning into her and burying his head in her red hair. They stayed like that for a while and when James finally pulled away, a single tear had escaped his hazel eyes. He wiped it away hastily, muttering something about acting silly and looked down at his lap.

"Hey," Lily said, gently lifting his head by the chin so that he was looking her in the eye. "You're not being silly." He gave her a small nod and almost teared up again. He shook his head and looked at her again, a grin across his face. But there was something different in his eyes. They looked like those of an old man who had experienced a lifetime, who had suffered a lifetime of pain. But what else could Lily expect? Losing a parent, at such a young age, would take a toll on even the strongest.

James didn't talk much that night. The two just lay on his bed in a comfortable silence. The other Marauders were kind enough to not bother them. They next morning Lily was awoken by the sound, or more like the racket, of God awful singing. She groaned and covered her head with a pillow. Suddenly her fluffy shield was ripped away from her grasp and the noise invaded her ears again. She turned over and blinked a few times, trying to adjust her eyes. She was greeted by the strangest sight. James was brushing his teeth while yelling incoherent words which in his head was probably a song while he twirled a pajamas clad Remus around the room. Lily gaped at the friends for a full minute, convinced she was having some horrific nightmare, while trying to recall what she had eaten last night to cause these potential hallucinations. Remus caught sight of her expression and stopped abruptly before erupting into a fit of uncontrollable giggles. He clutched his stomach doubling over, turning pink in the face. James seemed slightly put off at the interruption of his routine but he caught Lily's eye and gave her a stupid, toothpaste covered grin. He then turned around and waltzed into the bathroom like nothing had even happened, leaving a very confused red head tangled in his sheets.

Lily went to her own dorm to get ready and joined James and Remus in the common room before going down to the Great Hall for breakfast. They spotted Alice, Marlene and Sirius at the Gryffindor table and took their seats beside them.

"You look happy," Marlene smiled at James. "Don't get me wrong, it's really nice to see such a bright face in the morning. Unlike these groggy heads," she said kicking Alice and Sirius under the table.

"Thanks," James grinned, and it seemed genuine. "I just realised I can spend my last few months of school moping around or," he turned to the rest of the group. "I could make it amazing and fun for you guys and for me. I guess," he took a deep breath, "my father wouldn't want me to be upset and cry all the time. He'd be disappointed in me if he saw me like that. And I could never bring myself to spoil things for all of you." There was a chorus of ' You could never' and when it died down, he continued.

" I thought about this long and hard last night. Yes, my father is no longer alive. But he is still with me. In here," he said touching the spot on his chest just above his heart. "And he always will." Lily felt her chest swell with pride at his words. James Potter, ignorant, snarky, toe rag of a bully, was, in that moment, one of the wisest people Lily had ever seen.

She grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt, spun him around and pressed her lips to his.

"Get a room!" she heard Sirius yell from somewhere behind her but Lily couldn't care less. She felt James smile, as he pulled her closer.


AN: READ. A LOT OF EXCITING NEWS!

Hello again! Firstly,I just couldn't stand having a sad James. Can you imagine that? One of the happiest, most fun person you know sitting and crying all day? It's heart shattering! I think this is where James' transition from troublemaking kid to kind, gentle human being starts coming to an end. He's still lively and has a sense of humor, but he's more mature now; he's reached a happy balance of all his good qualities.

Secondly, OHMYGOD CHAOPTER 50. WHAT. I never thought this story would turn out to be so long! I literally remember planning it out and thinking it'd be over somewhere around the Chapter 38 mark. This is a personal milestone for me, especially since I highly doubt this will reach 100 :P Wow. I can't believe people read all of it. Like, hi wow you read the words I spew out of my head, you're so nice thank.

Also, it's the stories TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY next month. This has become a part of me. I've been through so much these past couple of years but this has always been there and you guys have always been there. Thank you. I really mean it with everything I have.

I hope this chapter was okay, I'm writing in the story format after almost three weeks. Let me know what you guys thought!

Do any of you have a tumblr account? If so, drop me a PM and I'll follow a bunch of you :) You can check out my other fics if you're interested in YouTubers Danisnotonfire and AmazingPhil. I put up a new one last month.

Thanks so much for reading, it is deeply appreciated. Love each and every one of you. And if you ever have to talk or just want a friend and talk about anything other then what's bothering you, I'm here :) You are not alone. Ever. And you are cared for and you mean something. Take care of yourself.

xx

Hunting Horcruxes