CHAPTER NINE: WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE?
The rest of the holidays passed quickly and happily, and it wasn't long before Mr. Potter was driving them both to London to meet the Hogwarts Express, which would drive them back to Hogwarts along with the other Hogwarts students who had gone home for Christmas. On the way there, Lily and James secured their own compartment, and James spent most of the journey telling her about the various secret passages he, Sirius and Remus had discovered and how they had gone on to write the Marauder's map. It was hard to find some privacy to talk about such secret things, though, as random students kept bursting in on them to say hello.
Perhaps it was those students who spread the word, for practically as soon as James and Lily had stepped foot in the entrance Hall, everyone seemed to know they were back together. The standard reaction was a hearty, "good for you two!" and slaps on the back. They went back up to Gryffindor Tower, where a lot of Gryffindors had already congregated. Most people were lazily enjoying the last day of the holidays, finishing off their Christmas sweets by the fire and idly struggling to do last minute homework, too involved in their activities to notice Lily and James walk in. They found Sirius, Remus and Evelyn in their usual corner with Jack O'Kelly, who was acting very strangely. "Hello," he giggled in a squeaky voice. "I am…the green goblin who lives in the pantry!" he dissolved into chuckles. Sirius and Remus grinned at each other. Sirius held out a glass of mead. 'Want some more, jack?"
"I don't know dear," jack hiccuped, "Do you think I can hold it?"
"Oh, we think you're fairly capable," Remus cajoled. "Come on, just one more glass…"
"You know, I really should object to you boys getting' my brother drunk," Evelyn said, examining her fingernails.
"So you've said," Sirius chuckled, as Jack downed the glass of mead.
"Where'd you get that mead, anyway?" Evelyn asked lazily.
"Ah- we finally cracked that "water to rum" spell we've been trying to do since first year," Sirius said, sniggering.
"Well, in that case, why aren't you drinking it yourselves?"
Sirius gasped and looked in horror at Remus. "Hey- she's right! Why aren't we drinking it ourselves?"
Remus shrugged, looking bewildered, "I don't know, it was your idea!"
Lily and James exchanged a look as Evelyn chuckled.
"All right," said James, 'What's going on here?" They looked up, mutual expression of astonishment crossing their faces. "James!" Sirius and Remus cried, both leaping to their feet. They looked at each other.
'I didn't know everyone got back today!" Remus cried.
"Oh Christ, is it the start of term tomorrow?" Sirius groaned. James grinned.
"You look…different. Did you get a haircut?" Evelyn asked, looking suspiciously at him. "Oh!" her jaw dropped as she saw the hand he was holding, and the person it was attached to. "Lily!"
There was a brief silence into which Jack gave yet another high pitched giggled and swayed in his chair and Sirius and Remus kind of gaped at them.
"Are you…are you two-" Sirius started, but just then the portrait door swung open and a group of third years spilled in.
"Hey, you'll never guess what we saw on the train back!" one of them yelled into the lazy conversation that filled the room, "James Potter and Lily Evans are back together!"
"No way!" someone else cried, and there was a sudden burst of lively conversation.
Sirius looked at James and Lily.
"Oh. Well I guess that answers my question. Nothing's more reliable than Hogwarts gossip," he said, rolling his eyes.
"Oh! James and lily!" someone cried, pointing them out. The common room, as one, turned to where James and lily stood, hand in hand, and burst into applause. James and Lily looked at each other again and exchanged identical smiles of exasperation and rolled their eyes.
James sighed. "Okay!" he yelled over the applause, "Settle down everyone." He waited for the applause to stop. 'Yes, we are back together, all right? I'm glad you're all happy for us, but really, it's not like it's your business." He gave the common room occupants a grin, however and then said, "even though I know it will be."
More cheers. Someone yelled, "Kiss!" and then the rest of the house soon picked up the chant. "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" Sirius was louder than anyone. James turned around to give him a dirty look, but suddenly, Lily pulled him down to her by his school tie and kissed him, right there, in front of the whole of Gryffindor. The applause was tumultuous- James couldn't help grinning. They broke apart, still grinning stupidly at each other as Sirius yelled for silence. "OY! QUIET FOR A BIT!" the rest of the house stopped cheering and settled their gaze on Sirius, who came and put a hand on James's shoulder. "Right. To be frank, I've had a shit of a year so far mainly because of these two being so full of angst and infecting me with it. Now they're finally back together, and everything seems to be okay, and it's the last day of holidays, our last chance to have a bit of fun before school starts again- I'd say it merits a good party, don't you?"
Judging by the roars of the crowd, the answer was an affirmative. James, Sirius and Remus disappeared for an hour or so and came back with their arms full of sweets and bottles of butterbeer- but this time, Lily knew how they had conjured up so much food. The Gryffindors partied long into the night, and could have done so until the dawn, but unfortunately, Professor McGonagall came in at about three am and broke it. The next day, teachers were found complaining about the amount of Gryffindor students falling asleep during class. The Gryffindor didn't mind being tired, though- they could never resist a good party, and the reunion of their head boy and girl seemed a sufficient reason as any. "This," Sirius explained to the huskily over breakfast the morning after the party, "is why I am so pleased to be in Gryffindor at this present time," before falling asleep in his bowl of cornflakes.
*
Time went on, of course- but things were different now. James started working to pick up his grades, while Lily made a conscious effort not to stress so much over school work. It was a bit of a role reversal on both their parts but they seemed much happier for it. Almost as though some cosmic natural order had been put back into place, the school seemed so content once more. After all, when Lily and James weren't together, things were just so very wrong.
The year truly was the time of their lives. Their seventh and final year of what had been, for all, an amazing adventure. After all, how could learning magic at Hogwarts not be? They were young people with magic coursing through their veins, with a love of life and a want for adventure. For after all, the deepest magic inside anyone, be they muggle or witch, is the love of life that make us what we really are.
Stephanie Brocklehurst left James and Lily alone after that. The first time Lily saw her again after she and James got back together was in the corridor on the way to Charms- she saw them walking hand in hand, shot Lily the most hate-fIlled look she had ever received, and scurried off. "Oh my," said James, "I do believe she was trying to wish death on you, Lily."
"Hah- she wishes she could wish!" Lily said, laughing it off.
"I'll say," James said. He kissed her tenderly and said, "No one will ever harm you as long as I'm alive," not knowing that only a few years on, he would know just how true that was going to be.
Stephanie Brocklehurst married as soon as she left school, found out her husband was having an affair while she was pregnant with their daughter, divorced him and went back to her maiden name.
Ingrid Bell and Ivan Abbot married of course, and eventually had a daughter named Hannah- how sweet.
Oh yes, Severus Snape, by the way went on to study Potions in greater details and mastered the art of Potions making. As soon as he was named a Professor of potions, he applied for the job of Potions Master at Hogwarts and received it- and also went on to become Head of Slytherin. Greasy man, but smart.
As for Evelyn and Remus, they broke up after the Easter holidays in their seventh year- Evelyn had found out of Remus' curse and, true to her word, promised she would never let it get between them. It was Remus who asked for them to break up, too afraid that he would end up hurting her because of his transformations. They remained friends, though it was heart wrenching for both of them. At twenty, Evelyn O'Kelly married an Irish, muggle man named Seamus Finnigan, who left her while she was pregnant after finding out what she really was. She had a boy, and named him Seamus for his father. (Ha ha, that was twist, wasn't it? Bet you weren't expecting that.)
Remus himself never married- at the advice of Dumbledore, he went on to study and become a Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts. His first real teaching job was at Hogwarts, about thirteen years later.
Sirius had designs on becoming a Quidditch Player- after he graduated from Hogwarts with flying colours in every subject but no idea what he wanted to do, he played for Puddlemere United for quite a while, until he was arrested for "murdering" Lily and James, and also Peter Pettigrew. He was sent to Azkaban for many years, until he escaped using his secret Animagi power and went back to Hogwarts to prove his innocence to at least one person.
And James and Lily, as we know, married and moved to a little cottage in Godric's Hollow. They had a son, and named him Harry James Potter. A year later they were murdered.
Perhaps it was the magic in their veins that made the young witches and wizards of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry so amazingly courageous, passionate and adventurous. But the fact was that Lily and James loved each other in a way that was strong and pure- they had a strong love for each other and their friends, and of course their son, who's mother's love protected him in the face of death itself. James and Lily became renowned in the Hogwarts walls for the strength and purity of their love, and though they died, the mark of their love left itself on their son, and their friends, proving that some love really does live on forever.
THE END
