Chapter 25

Lily reflected on her life at Hogwarts as she packed to go home and say goodbye to Hogwarts forever as a student.

In Lily's 6th year, she was a prefect as well as Remus. The year passed pretty uneventful if you can call any year uneventful when you have 4 Marauders and a Lily around. She had always been escorted by a Marauder, Raye, or just any person who was going the same direction. Then, in this past year, she was titled Head Girl, and James had been Head Boy.

She had a few visits from Voldemort; even though the Marauders had done their best to never let Lily alone. Voldemort found little spaces of time that Lily was alone to visit her to ask the question he had asked ever since that first time when Lily was in her 5th year. Lily and answered every time that she hadn't had enough time to think, and that she was not fully sure yet. Voldemort had caught what she was doing about the third time she had said it, but Lily amused him so he played along with her, knowing that if he ever tired of her he could just kill her.

On a more normal subject, Lily was off to stay with her Grandmother Lilac with whom she had stayed with over the past couple summers ever since her parents had been murdered. She was a nice lady, but she was getting on in age, and was slowly becoming invalid.

"I'm sure going to miss this place." Lily told Raye, who was putting all her stuff into her trunk.

"Oh I know!" Raye exclaimed, "Me too! It's been, like, our home for the past 7 years."

"6 for me." Lily corrected her friend.

"Oh yea." Said Kay, who was also packing, "How does it feel to be out of school at the age of 16 Lily?"

"Weird, but I'm not 16 anymore girls." Lily said, "Today's my birthday. So now I'm 17. I'm going to really miss you guys though. And I wonder how James and I will be after today."

Raye and Kay exchanged crafty glances while Lily was absentmindedly stared off into space looking at a picture of herself and James at their 7th year graduation dance. They had heard rumors about something.

"So what's going on with you and Malfoy, Kay?" asked Lily, tearing her eyes away from the picture.

"I'm not really sure. He lives quite close to me, so I don't think that we'll have trouble seeing each other." She turned her attention to Raye. "And you and Sirius?"

Raye frowned. "Oh I don't think we'll have much trouble seeing each other."

"Why?" asked Lily and Kay,

"I'm breaking up with him."

"WHAT?" Lily stood up knocking some things on the floor that were in her lap. "Why?"

Raye sighed. "I knew this would happen."

"Just tell us." Said Kay.

"Sirius and I didn't ever have that spark between us like you and James, Lily. Or even, I hate to admit this, you and Malfoy, Kay. We tried to go out even though we didn't have the spark, but it was never fine and dandy. And when we leave, it'll be so hard to see each other, that it just won't be worth it." Raye flopped backwards on her bed.

Lily shook her head. "I don't think that's true, and I think that you are going to hurt Sirius very much doing this, but it's your choice."

Kay tried to change the subject to a lighter note.

"So what are you girls going to do for a living now that school's out?"

Raye shrugged. "I'll probably work as a waitress somewhere for a while until I get my plans together."

"Lily?" asked Kay.

"I've talked to Professor Dumbledore, and have learned that professors Driskill, Dowling, and Jennings are both retiring from Hogwarts, and so three teacher positions are open. I have applied for Professor Jennings' job as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. And if not that, then Professor Dowling's job as the Care of Magical Creatures professor."

Kay's eyes opened wide.

"Do you really think Dumbledore will let you teach? You're so young! Especially to be a defense against the dark arts teacher!"

Lily shrugged. "You know Dumbledore, he always makes the best choices, and if he says that I shouldn't teach because I'm too young, I'll go along with whatever he says."

"Deep Lily; deep." Said Raye. "But you still haven't said what you're going to do Kay."

Kay thought for a moment. "Well. I'm not really sure yet. I want to do something where no one will see me." She paused a minute before continuing. "I'll probably work at some small shop near my town or something."

Lily and Raye grunted to show they were listening while attempting to shove their trunks closed.

Kay brightened.

"Oh yes! Did I tell you guys? I'm changing my name!"

Lily glanced over to show that she was interested.

Kay did a drum roll on her bedpost with her hands. "Narcissia!"

Raye burst into a coughing fit to cover up her laughter.

"Why would you want to change your name to that?" she asked.

"Lucius liked it." Kay sulked.

Raye burst out into peels of laughter, rolling off her bed.

Kay looked ruffled. "You are so immature Raye." She said as she threw a pillow at Raye.

"Come on girls." Said Lily, picking up her trunk, let's go.

While Kay stood up, Raye said, "Hold on a minute." And she went to the edge of her bed and pointed her wand at the bottom of it, and said, "Engrave."

At the corner of her bed appeared a little sun.

Raye smiled at her work, and picked up her trunk to go.

"What was that about?" asked Kay.

"Oh, just something for the school to remember me by. Even if barely anyone will see it."

The three girls went out of their rooms and down to the Great Hall where they would meet the Marauders. (And on Kay's part, Malfoy).

Lily shrunk her suitcases and put them in her pocket. While they went down the corridors, Lily said, "Well girls, we have our wizarding diploma. Now we don't have to go a whole summer without doing magic."

"You're right!" exclaimed Raye, also shrinking her suitcase. "But I'm keeping all my school books, because I can't remember all the spells we've ever learned."

"Me too." Agreed Kay.

They neared the Great Hall, and Kay stopped.

"So I guess you guys don't want to sit by me and Lucius on the way home huh?"

Lily and Raye shook their heads slowly.

"Sorry," said Lily, "But we don't like Lucius; you know that."

"Yea, because he's a stupid retard." Raye added.

Kay shook her head. "Raye, sometimes I wonder how you'll do in the real world."

Kay gave both Lily and Raye hugs, and went off to find Malfoy.

"What if she marries that git?" asked Raye, not expecting an answer and not getting one.

When they found the Marauders, they all went outside and got into a couple carriages.

Lily, James, Sirius and Raye in one, and Remus and Peter got in one with a couple of newly graduated Ravenclaws.

Lily sighed. "I still can't believe that we're done with school. I mean, it's over! No more, gone, done with, out of here, we're never coming back, it'll never see us again,"

"We get you're point Lily." Interrupted Sirius.

Lily stuck her tongue out at him.

"Sirius." James whined, "I wanted to see just how many phrases she could come up with."

"You guys are so immature." Said Raye, rolling her eyes.

"And I remember someone saying the exact same thing about you not five minutes ago?" teased Lily.

Raye shrugged and smiled. "Actually it was about 10 minutes."

Lily noticed that Sirius had tried to put his arm around Raye, but she shrugged if off her shoulders.

When the carriage stopped, the four got out, and went into the train that was waiting for the students.

For a while, the Marauders and the two girls sat in silence as the train left, and it was well on its way before anyone said a word.

No one had said anything about Lily's birthday, and she was just thinking of bringing it up when Raye grabbed Sirius by the arm.

"I need to talk to you."

Sirius complied, and went with Raye out of the compartment.

Conveniently, Remus and Peter needed to get something to eat, and that left Lily alone with James.

They both waited for a second, and then James broke the silence.

"Lily," he gulped, "I need to ask you a question."

Lily tilted her head to the side. "Sure."

James smiled and got down on the floor on one knee.

Lily gasped; just realizing what James was about to do.

"There's a reason I haven't mentioned you're birthday. I wanted it to be a surprise, and I am really surprised that it is still a secret to you when almost everyone else in the school knows, so... consider this a birthday present. Even though it would be more of a present to me, okay I'm rambling. I'll get to the point. Lily, I love you, and I have for a few years; you know that. But now, I want to prove that love to you." He took out a small black box. "Lily, there's no one else in the world that I would rather spend the rest of my life with then you." He opened the box to revel a beautiful diamond ring. The diamond was in the shape of a lily. "Lily Marie Evans, will you marry me?"