Authors Note: There is a sexual scene in this chapter. You will know when it is coming if you have any sense of foresight at all. It is still T, though I do admit I have slightly liberal definitions of the ratings . Enjoy reading :)

-SQ

Disclaimer: Just in case you missed it the last forty-nine times, no, I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter Fifty: Almost Final Goodbyes

As the end of May approached Lily felt like she had finally struck a balance between Cassie, her friends, and her studies. Of course this balance would go to hell in a few weeks' time when NEWTs descended upon them, and then not matter in the least after she, Dawn, Marica, Hugo, and Trinity had graduated, but for now it was nice. The weather, too, was nice, which led to as much time as possible being spent outside by the lake. It wasn't quite warm enough for swimming yet, but it was perfect weather for relaxing on the green lawns in front of the castle.

"Now that the Quidditch season is over I don't know what to do with myself," said Dawn, who was lying on the grass on her stomach, receiving a backrub from Hugo, who was seated beside her.

"You could always try studying," said Marica, at the same time that Lily said, "You seem to be managing to find things to occupy yourself with."

Dawn blew her bangs out of her eyes. They fell right back down to where they were before. "Having a boyfriend with strong Quidditch-player hands does have its advantages."

"Maybe I should date a Quidditch player," mused Aaron. "A famous one, so he could buy me all the designer clothes I wanted…"

"And take them all back when he got tired of your obsession with Muggle musicals," said Bryan.

Dawn and Aaron looked at each other.

"Take back your mink, take back your pearls, what made you think that I was one of those girls?" They sang in unison.

The rest of the group rolled their eyes.

"It's a good thing Aaron's not straight," said Trinity, "or you'd have a real run for your money there, Hugo."

"I could win out over Towler any day," said Hugo confidently.

"You think so?" said Trinity.

"Definitely."

"You willing to put that to the test?" said Marica.

"Of course."

"Alright," said Lily, smirking, "go find a good looking guy to flirt with."

"Erm, on second thought, let's assume it's a tie," said Hugo hastily, as everyone else laughed.

*****BWST*****

Perhaps Aaron wasn't going to be hooking any famous Quidditch players any time soon, but it appeared that someone else Lily knew quite well was about to tie the knot with one.

"Merlin's beard!" said Lily as soon as she had read the letter Dominique's owl had deposited beside her breakfast a few mornings later.

"What is it?" said five curious voices.

"Domi's marrying Gwendon Jones!"

"Gwendon Jones?" said Dawn incredulously. "The Gwendon Jones? Nephew of Gwenog Jones, formerly of the Holyhead Harpies, and most promising up-and-coming Quidditch player of the year?"

"Erm, I guess so?" said Lily. "He's a friend of James's. He was on the Puddlemere United Reserve Team, but this season was promoted to the—"

"We know," said Cassiopeia, Dawn, Marica, Aaron, and Bryan impatiently.

"Your cousin is marrying him?" said Aaron incredulously.

"That's what her letter says," said Lily, passing it to him.

"I didn't even know they were dating," said Cassiopeia.

"Neither did I," said Lily. "They met at the Puddlemere United Reserve Team New Year's party and seemed to hit it off, but I didn't know they were actually dating."

"They've only known each other since January?" said Marica. "Isn't it a bit soon for them to be getting married?"

"Well I certainly think so," said Lily. "But obviously Domi and Gwendon don't. She says the wedding's going to be …" she scanned the letter again, "on September fifth."

"Why are they having after term starts?" said Bryan.

"Because after this year no one in our family will be at Hogwarts anymore," said Lily.

"Oh," said Bryan. "I suppose that's true. It's weird to think that all of you guys won't be here next year."

"Depressing topic alert! Depressing topic alert!" said Dawn, waving her hands manically around her head. "Let's talk about this wedding. What else does she say in the letter?"

"No much," said Lily, "just that they're getting married on September fifth and the official invitation will go out soon."

"Do they need a wedding planner?" said Aaron. "Because I'd be more than happy to volunteer for the position, for a very minimal fee…"

"I don't know!" said Lily, laughing. "I'll ask Domi more about it when I write her back. "Right now we should get to class before we're all marked late."

*****BWST*****

June came rolling in, and with it the stress of upcoming exams, especially for those who were taking their OWLs and NEWTs this year. The weather turned quite suddenly gorgeous, but Lily, Cassiopeia, Dawn, Marica, Hugo, and Trinity were too busy studying to enjoy it.

"Sunshine should be illegal until after exams are over," said Hugo, staring morosely at the golden light filtering through the library window.

"Our exams or regular year exams?" asked Cassiopeia.

"Ours, naturally," said Hugo.

"What are you planning on doing once you graduate, Lily?" asked Trinity, flipping through her Astronomy book and running her finger down her chosen page.

"I'm not really sure, honestly," said Lily. "It would be great if I could find something that had to do with potions and magical creatures. Oh, and I'll probably finally learn to Apparate. What about you?"

"I'm not a hundred percent sure either," said Trinity, "but being a curse breaker for Gringotts sounds really cool."

"Hugo and I know what we're going to do," said Dawn. "We're going to play Quidditch. We're just waiting to hear back from the different reserve teams."

"What if you end up on opposing teams?" asked Marica.

Dawn and Hugo both shrugged.

"What would be new about that?" said Hugo.

"And you, Marica?" said Dawn. "What's your plan for after graduation?"

"I think I'd like to go into experimental Charms and theoretical Artihmancy. And I may come back to teach at Hogwarts at some point."

"Wow," said Trinity, whistling. "Way to make my brain hurt. I'm planning on going into the Ministry."

"Talk about your brain hurting," said Hugo.

"Isn't most of your family in the Ministry?" said Trinity.

"Which is exactly why we're not going into it," said Lily and Hugo at the same time.

"Please can we go back to studying before those third years come along and disrupt us yet again?" Marica pleaded.

"I like Bry and Aaron," said Cassiopeia mildly.

"Oh, I love them," said Marica. "But you do have to admit that they make studying rather difficult."

*****BWST*****

In spite of the presence of the two third years, the five seventh years and one fifth year all got in a good amount of studying over the next couple of weeks. Granted, Marica's definition of a "good amount" of studying was quite different from, say, Dawn and Hugo's definition, but when exams rolled around the prevailing mood was the simple wish to get them over and done with.

"I can't believe these are the last exams we will ever take at Hogwarts," said Lily, shaking her head as the six Gryffindors headed down to breakfast on the first day of OWLs and NEWTs.

"Are you sorry?" asked Bryan.

"Merlin no!" said Lily.

"You won't be sad to leave us?" said Aaron, making a pouty face.

"Of course we'll be sad to leave you," said Dawn, ruffling his hair and making the boy squeal in dismay and whip out his compact mirror to fix it. "We just won't be sad to leave our exams and schoolwork!"

"Well, technically some of us will still have to pass exams to enter our chosen field," said Marica.

"Not us," said Hugo.

"What about try-outs?" asked Trinity.

"Not the same," said Dawn.

After breakfast the seventh years and fifth year headed toward their respective exams while the two third years started in the direction of their class.

"Are you nervous?" Trinity asked the others.

"A little," admitted Lily, "but there's nothing more I can do but take the exams."

"Naw," said Hugo.

"Well I am," said Marica, twisting her hands in front of her. "And you should be too! Our futures rest on the fate of these exams!"

"You'll do splendidly like you always do, Marica," said Dawn with a roll of her eyes.

"And what do Dawn and I need with NEWTs?" asked Hugo. "We're going to play professional Quidditch."

"It's always a good idea to have a back-up plan," said Marica.

She was spared Dawn and Hugo's retorts by their arrival at the first exam room: Tranfiguration.

"Good luck!" said Lily to her friends as they found seats and sat down. A hush fell over the room as the examiner stepped to the front.

"You are about to take your written Transfiguration NEWT," said the examiner, a very fat woman with a husky voice that squeaked every few words. "There will be no talking, no looking at other students' papers, and no employment of cheating devices of any kind. If you attempt to use such methods you will be caught. You may begin."

*****BWST*****

NEWTs were a lot like OWLs, only more difficult. Lily knew she had done quite well on some, and not as well as she would have liked on others, but there was nothing she could do about it now but wait for her results. When she and Cassiopeia had both finished their final exam (Charms practical for Lily, History of Magic for Cassiopeia) the two of them headed outside to enjoy the bright sunshine sweeping over the grounds. Dawn, Marica, and Trinity still had their Herbology practical, along with many of the other seventh years, Hugo had disappeared with a group of Slytherins, and the rest of the school was still in classes, so Lily and Cassiopeia had the grounds largely to themselves.

"It's so strange to think of being at Hogwarts without you," said Cassiopeia softly, leaning her pale blonde head against Lily's shoulder.

Lily swung their hands, which were laced together. "I'll come and visit you as much as I possibly can, I promise. And I'll write you every week."

"Not every day?" said Cassiopeia teasingly.

"My life isn't that interesting," said Lily.

"Everything about you is interesting," said Cassiopeia.

Lily stopped and brought her girlfriend around to face her, cupping her slender face between her hands. "Well, if I'm interesting then you must be fascinating."

The two shared a sweet, lingering kiss and then continued their tour of the grounds, not returning to the castle until the sun was beginning to set and it was time to go in for dinner.

*****BWST*****

The final weekend of term at Hogwarts was also the last Hogsmeade weekend of the year. The combination of the end of exams and the promise of gorgeous weather had nearly the entire student population, and a good portion of the staff as well, turning out for the trip.

Unfortunately, the promised good weather only lasted until mid-afternoon, when the skies suddenly opened up in a torrential downpour that had everyone unlucky enough to be outside drenched within seconds.

"Where did this come from?" shouted Marica, arms up over her head as she ran toward the nearest shelter—Zonko's joke shop.

"Hell if I know!" said Trinity, her arms in a similar position.

"Let's find somewhere less crowded," said Lily as she saw the number of people already crammed into the store.

"But it's pouring down rain!" protested Dawn. "We're already soaked!"

"So a little more water won't hurt us any," said Hugo. "I'm with Lily."

This was the majority opinion, so the group veered away from the main street and toward the less populated area of town.

"Where are we going?" asked Louis, uselessly pushing his dripping blonde hair out of his eyes.

"That is a very good question," said Aaron.

Cassiopeia squinted through the downpour. "The Shrieking Shack, it appears."

"Isn't it haunted?" asked Bryan, sounding scared.

"No," said Lily. "That's just a legend."

"Explain once we're inside, Lily," said Dawn, dragging on her friend's arm.

Hugo led them to a place where the boards on the side of the old house had rotted away. Soon all nine of them were inside the dark, musty interior of the Shrieking Shack.

Lily looked around. Everyone was wringing out their sodden clothes and hair.

Trinity rubbed her arms. "It's cold in here."

"And kind of spooky," said Aaron.

"Are you sure it's not haunted?" said Bryan, looking around with wide eyes.

"There are a lot more ghosts in Hogwarts than have ever been here," Lily assured him.

"There is a rather impressive history to this place though," said Hugo, taking a seat on an old barrel.

"Really?" said Trinity, also taking a seat. "I've only heard parts of it."

"I haven't heard any of it," said Bryan.

"Lily, Hugo, and Louis know the most about it," said Marica.

"Story time!" said Aaron, settling himself cross-legged on the floor and looking expectantly at the three in question.

Lily shrugged and rubbed her hands over the fire Cassiopeia had conjured on the floor in front of them. "Well, I don't really know how it got here in the first place, but the rumor of it being haunted started when my grandparents were at Hogwarts. One of my grandfather's best friends, Remus Lupin, who was also my eldest brother's biological father, used it as a safe place to transform into a werewolf."

"A werewolf? !" gasped Bryan.

Lily, Hugo, and Louis nodded.

"Wicked!" said Aaron.

"That's where the rumor if it being haunted came from," said Hugo. "Remus Lupin would come down here once a month and turn into a werewolf. The screams and crashes and other noises the villagers heard were made by him, not ghosts."

"The Whomping Willow was planted over the entrance on the Hogwarts grounds to keep anyone from entering accidentally," said Louis.

"After he left the school the rumor persisted," said Lily, "even though no more 'ghosts' were heard inside the shack. As far as I know no one else used it until Sirius Black, my dad's godfather, brought my dad and Hugo's parents down here and they discovered that he wasn't a traitor and that Peter Pettigrew was."

"It was also the place where Voldemort kept his snake and killed Severus Snape during the Battle of Hogwarts," said Louis.

By now the two third years' eyes were as big and round as saucers.

"Wow…" breathed Bryan.

"Brilliant!" said Aaron.

"I think it's stopped raining," said Cassiopeia.

It had, and so the eight Hogwarts students bade Louis goodbye (not without kissing on Marica's part, though the others reminded her that she would soon be free once again to see him, and on a more regular basis) and trudged up toward the castle to change out of their wet clothes.

*****BWST*****

"It's so weird to think that after we get on that train tomorrow we're never coming back."

Lily, Dawn, Marica, and Paloma were in the seventh year girls' dormitory, packing their things into their trunks. Brandi and Tamzen had, unsurprisingly, left as soon as Lily, Dawn, and Marica had entered, saying that they had 'things to do' and would finish packing later.

The other three looked at Dawn, the one who had spoken.

"It doesn't seem real, does it?" said Paloma, waving her wand at the pictures attached to the wall above her bed. They floated down into a neat pile inside her trunk. "I know that this was my last year at Hogwarts, but I don't believe it."

"I know exactly what you mean," said Marica, pointing her wand and sending a stack of books flying into her own trunk. "It's sad to be leaving, but it's exciting too."

"I just…don't feel like an adult," said Lily. "I don't feel like I should be leaving school yet and choosing a career and trying to find a job. I don't even know how to do any of that."

"Louis managed it," said Dawn, "so it can't be that difficult."

Lily laughed. Marica looked annoyed, though whether it was because Dawn had just insulted her boyfriend or because she hadn't thought of it first was anyone's guess.

There was a soft knock on the door and a voice that was by now familiar to everyone in the seventh year Gryffindor girls' dormitory said, "Lily? May I come in?"

"Of course," said four voices at once, and Cassiopeia stepped into the room, cocking an elegant brow at the other three inhabitants.

"I wasn't aware that you had all changed your names to Lily."

They all laughed, but Lily quickly stopped due to the lump in her throat. Of all the things that were hard about leaving Hogwarts, this was going to be the hardest of all: leaving her girlfriend. Of course they'd see each other on school holidays, and hopefully on some Hogsmeade weekends, but it wouldn't be the same as seeing each other every day, knowing the other was just a few doors or a few floors away at all times.

"Can you spare a moment to walk with me, Lily?" asked Cassiopeia.

"Sure," said Lily. She laid the set of robes she had been holding down on her bed (hers for only one night more, after seven whole years of sleeping there).

Lily followed Cassiopeia out of the dormitory, down the stairs, and out through the portrait hole into the corridor before another word was spoken.

"I'm going to miss you," said Cassiopeia softly.

Lily uttered a little cry and gathered her girlfriend up into her arms. "I'm going to miss you too."

"I know the real goodbyes aren't until tomorrow," said Cassiopeia. "But the Hogwarts Express doesn't leave much opportunity for privacy and intimacy."

"No," said Lily, smiling into the other girl's silky-soft hair, "it really doesn't. So what did you have in mind?"

"Well," said Cassiopeia, "a last, moonlit stroll around the grounds would certainly be romantic, but getting caught out of bed after hours certainly wouldn't, and it is almost curfew for me."

"Right," said Lily, "yours is an hour earlier than mine, isn't it? I'd forgotten… I'm sure the room of requirement could make it seem as though we were outside."

"Great minds think alike," said Cassiopeia, drawing slightly away with a soft, sparkly-eyed smile.

The two girls walked hand-in-hand to the seventh floor.

"What should we ask it for?" said Cassiopeia, looking at the blank stretch of wall that concealed the entrance to the Room of Requirement.

"A romantic outdoor location perfect for our last night together at Hogwarts?" suggested Lily.

"Sounds good to me."

They walked past the stretch of wall once, twice, three times. After the third pass a large wooden door appeared where there had been only nondescript gray stone a second earlier.

"After you," said Lily.

Cassiopeia opened the door and stepped through, closely followed by Lily. They were met by a warm breeze and the smell of earth and trees. It looked like someone had taken a chunk of the Hogwarts grounds and transplanted it into the Room of Requirement. The two girls wandered around for a while before settling themselves down on a mossy patch near the middle of the room.

"Are you nervous about leaving?" asked Cassiopeia, her head in Lily's lap as the older girl ran potion-weathered fingers through her hair.

"Terrified," admitted Lily. "I know change is necessary, but I've never been someone who goes looking and wishing for it. For the most part I'm content with things just the way they are."

"Soon there'll be a new "just the way they are" for you to be content with," said Cassiopeia.

"I hope so," said Lily. "How about you? Are you nervous about me leaving?"

Cassiopeia nodded and turned her head to press her cheek into the palm of Lily's hand. "I'm afraid it'll be like first year all over again. My girlfriend and all my best friends are leaving."

"Except for Bryan and Aaron," said Lily.

"True." Cassiopeia sighed. "Has Scorpius ever told you about when he left for school the first time?"

"Scorpius and I may no longer hate each other, Cassie, but we're hardly on a share-stories-about-our-childhoods basis."

"After he left for his first year at Hogwarts I didn't talk for four days. I cried myself to sleep every night. The school finally let him come home for the weekend. He made me a calendar showing exactly when he'd be home again. We wrote letters back and forth nearly every day for that first year. You have to understand, I'd never been separated from my brother before that."

Lily slid down to the mossy floor beside Cassiopeia and wrapped the smaller girl into her arms. "I love you."

Cassiopeia's silver/blue eyes, which had drifted closed as Lily trailed teasing kisses down the side of her neck, opened, reflecting the stars on the ceiling above. "You do?"

"Of course I do."

"I love you too."

Lily pushed her hands up under the sides of Cassiopeia's shirt, lifting herself slightly off the ground and then lowering back down so that she was chest-to-chest with her girlfriend. "Is it bad that I want to see you naked right now?" she asked huskily.

"I don't see anything wrong with it," Cassiopeia whispered, "I'd rather like to see you naked too."

With that fact established, they set to work on making their wishes a reality, fingers slipping under shirts, trousers, skirt, bras, and pants to peel off clothing and expose soft, supple skin.

Lily bit her lip. She had known Cassiopeia was gorgeous, but Merlin, she was gorgeous; from the gleaming hair on the top of her head to the soft down between her legs through the creamy curves of her inner thighs and the graceful points of her toes, she was gorgeous. Lily reached over pulled her girlfriend's hair out from under her shoulders, arranging it in a halo around her head.

"Touch me," whispered Cassiopeia. "Please…touch me…"

Lily ran the palms of her hands over Cassiopeia's flat stomach, the curves of her inner thighs, the rounds of her breasts. Cassiopeia shivered underneath her touch, raising herself onto her elbows to press her lips to the place where Lily's neck met her shoulder.

Lily rocked backward, pulling them both into a sitting position; Cassiopeia put her hands on Lily's shoulders to steady herself. Lily lifted the smaller girl by her hips and settled her onto her lap. Their lips met again, sucking, lapping, biting, their chests were tender and firm against each other. Then Cassiopeia let her tongue drift down from her girlfriend's lips to the hollow of her throat, across her breastbone, and into the hollows of her armpits, making her giggle.

"May I…do this?" she asked, her voice breathless and uncertain.

"Yes," moaned Lily, "yes, don't stop…it feels good…"

"Do you remember the party…my…fantasy...?"

"Of course I do, just keep going."

Cassiopeia obliged, exploring every last crevice of Lily's body with her tongue, saving the best and most intimate for last.

"If I go there…you know what it means…" said Cassiopeia, hovering inches above Lily.

"I know…" said Lily. "I'm ready if you are."

"Me too," said Cassiopeia.

After Cassiopeia was done with her ministrations, the two girls lay on the soft floor, spent, for an immeasurable amount of time. Eventually Lily rolled over and slowly and leisurely ran her own tongue along the entire length of Cassiopeia's body. It was different this time; gentler, less fiery, but no less pleasurable.

Another uncounted amount of time passed and then Lily asked, "What time is it?"

"Late," answered Cassiopeia. "After two."

"How do you know that?"

Cassiopeia shrugged. "I just do."

"Do you just want to sleep here?"

"Better than getting caught in the corridors. Especially looking like…"

"We just got it on?" suggested Lily.

"Exactly."

"I need to be up in time to finish packing."

"What time?"

"Eight?"

"Alright."

"I don't even have to ask if you can do that without an alarm clock, do I?"

"No."

Lily smiled and rolled over so that she and Cassiopeia were snuggled into each other's arms. "Good night, Cassie."

"Good night, Lily."

"Sweet dreams."

"With you here? Always."

AN: THIS IS THE SECOND TO LAST CHAPTER! I repeat, there is only ONE more chapter after this one. I know, it's insane to think that this fic is finally almost over, when it seemed like it would never end. But it is ending, very shortly. So enjoy it while it lasts and review it while you can. Thank you for following me, Lily, Cassie, and the rest on this journey which is now nearly completed.

-SQ