Graduation was scheduled to start at 4 o'clock. All of the graduating
students were seated in four sections in front of a large stage that was
set on the quidditch field. The sections were for each of the houses,
Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. In the stands were the
other students and the graduates' families. Well, most of them. Lily's
sister, Petunia, her only living relative now, refused to come.
All of the graduates were present, with the exception of one: Severus Snape. James, Sirius and Remus all seemed to notice this immediately, and started smirking.
Lily hit James' shoulder to stop him from laughing out loud, which unfortunately caused Sirius and Remus to burst out laughing.
They only stopped when Dumbledore stood in front of a large podium and started to speak.
"It has been seven years," Dumbledore began, "since you all first set foot on the Hogwarts Express from Platform 9 3/4, not knowing what your future at Hogwarts would bring.
"Some of you came from families of Witches and Wizards who could be traced back centuries. Others of you joined us from the Muggle world, as you were the first in your families to show signs of true magic. In either instance, it is a proud moment for me to be standing here in front of you.
"Today marks the beginning of the next chapter of your lives. It is up to you to decide where you will go from here, but I have every faith in you all that you will choose wisely and carefully, and make honorable choices that will shape the future of the wizarding world for generations to come.
"That having been said, I am pleased to introduce this year's class Valedictorian, and first Hogwarts student in the past decade to achieve a perfect score on her N.E.W.T.S., Miss Lily Evans!"
There was a roar of applause, particularly from a certain Gryffindor, as Professor Dumbledore helped Lily onto the stage.
"Thank you, Professor," Lily began. "Thank you everyone. Hogwarts has been my home for the last 7 years of my life. I have learned more about the world, magic and life than I ever would have imagined possible.
"I have made friends that I know will last a lifetime, learned many lessons the hard way, and enjoyed every minute of it. Hogwarts has seen me through many milestones in my life, overcoming personal tragedy, and the greatest triumphs. And then, just when I thought that things couldn't get any better, they did.
"I am not leaving here alone. I have my friends, and now a family as well. I met my fiancé here, and I look forward to starting my life with him.
"So, I would like to leave you with these words. Every day is a new beginning. Today, as graduates, we move on to the next task, but we must be sure to keep in mind all of the valuable lessons that we have learned in our time here. We will all meet again, I am certain of it. Congratulations, everyone!"
"And now, it is time for the ceremony. If the graduates from each house would please rise and step onto the stage," Professor McGonagall instructed. Everyone did as they were told, as a large mirror appeared on the stage.
"The first to step through will be Lily Evans!" said Professor McGonagall. "Now, don't be nervous, dear," she said more quietly.
"Alright," Lily whispered, taking a deep breath. She stepped forward and into the mirror. To her surprise, she came out on the other side, no longer wearing her Hogwarts robes, but instead new robes, and had a diploma in her hand as well.
She grinned back at James, and walked off stage.
When James walked through the mirror and came out the other side he was met with wild cheers from his friends, fiancée and family. He immediately ran over to Lily and swept her up in his arms.
They were soon joined by the rest of their friends.
"Just Slytherin is left," commented Sirius.
"I know... I can't wait for Malfoy to cross through... it's just too bad Snape couldn't be here as well," said James.
"Oh no... what are you going to do?" Lily asked, with growing concern.
"You'll see," the three troublemakers grinned.
"Lucious Malfoy," said McGonagall's voice. He stepped toward the mirror, but rather than coming out on the other side with black robes on, his were bright pink, and fireworks were set off around him. Sparklers spelled out "I wish that I could have graduated from the Gryffindor House! Then I wouldn't feel like such a loser!"
James, Sirius and Remus all lost it. They were laughing so hard. Even the girls couldn't completely stifle their laughter. Come to think of it, nobody could, except Lucious and his family.
"You'll pay for this, Potter," Malfoy said under his breath as McGonagall cleared away the mess.
"So it wasn't a wasted two months, after all, huh guys?" asked Jem.
They shook their heads. "Well worth it, the laying low. Nobody suspected a thing..." James trailed off.
"At least now I know where you ran off to yesterday," Lily said, trying to stop smiling. It seemed that nothing could ruin this day for her.
That night, at Lily's request, the Gryffindor graduates all went out to celebrate. They didn't go into Hogsmeade to the Three Broomsticks though, where all of the other graduates were. Oh, no. Lily had a much more interesting idea for them. They went to Hogsmeade, but only to travel somewhere else by floo powder. In fact, the next thing they knew, they were all in muggle clothing at a muggle pub in London.
"This round is on me," Lily said, excitedly. It had been a long time since she was able to use muggle money.
"Are you sure?" asked Jem.
"Of course!"
Two pitchers of beer arrived at their table, with 8 frosted pint glasses.
"Bottoms up!" toasted Lily. Everyone else followed her lead and took a drink.
"Wow! Those muggles don't have it so bad!" said Remus, taking another swig.
The night continued on like that, everyone laughing and enjoying themselves, taking turns buying rounds of drinks.
After about 5 rounds, everyone was feeling rather... happy.
"This is great!" yelled Sirius. "Why didn't we ever sneak out to a muggle pub before?"
Everyone laughed. "I know!" agreed James. "We definitely have to start doing this regularly."
James was sitting with his arm around Lily. She gave him a kiss on the cheek when from out of nowhere they heard a voice from behind them.
"Lily Evans? Is that you?" said a male voice.
Everyone turned to see who was talking.
"Um, yes?" she said, cautiously. "Do I know- Grady!" she exclaimed. "Oh my god! It has been forever!" Lily jumped up and out of James's grasp to hug the strange man. James could feel his blood start to boil.
"I can't believe it's actually you! How are you?" Grady asked. "I have been hoping to run into you forever!"
"It has been years... I'm good... just graduated from school... what about you?"
"Same, I'm heading off to University in the fall though."
"Really? That's great..."
James coughed rather loudly.
"Oh, right! James!" Lily suddenly realized she wasn't the only one there. "Grady, this is James," and she started to go around the table, "Jem, April, Sirius, Virginia, Remus and Peter. We all went to school together."
"Hello," said Grady.
"Hey," "Hello," "What's up?" everyone piped in.
"Well, this is Grady. He and I went to school together, before I... transferred!"
"Oh! A muggle schoolmate!" James declared, rather loudly. Lily shot him a very mean glance that managed to silence him. Sirius and Remus started snickering.
"Won't you join us?" April asked, forcing Sirius to move over.
"Um, sure. Let me just let my friends know," and he walked away for a moment.
"What the hell did you do that for, April?" James demanded.
"He's cute!" she answered. "So why not?"
"This is just so random, running into him here. It's been so long, I've nearly forgotten my life from before Hogwarts..." Lily trailed off.
Lily sat back down next to James and poured herself another pint.
"Why didn't you tell him?" he asked.
"Tell him what?"
James's eyes grew wide, as did everyone else's at the table.
Lily looked around at them. "What?"
"About me? About us?" He grabbed her left hand. "About that?"
"Oh, James, don't worry. Honestly, as if I'd forget about you..."
"Well, just make sure it comes up in conversation now, cos he's coming back."
"Hi again.. sorry that took so long," Grady said awkwardly.
"That's alright! Have a seat!" April offered, patting the now empty chair beside her.
"Thanks," he replied, sitting.
"So, you know Lily from when?" asked Remus.
"We used to go to school together... then her parents said she transferred to a boarding school in France."
"France?!" Sirius started laughing, no doubt thinking of Beaubaxtons. Grady gave Lily an uneasy look. She smiled in response and he felt more at ease.
"I just can't get over how good you look, Lil. The years have been kind to you." He winked at her.
"You don't have to say that." Lily felt James squeeze her hand rather tightly. "OK," she muttered to him before turning back to Grady. "Things are going really well... between graduating and-"
James cut her off. "And getting married, we've got our hands full." He grinned, seeing Grady's stunned expression.
"You're married?"
"No, not yet. Just engaged. In fact, we need to set a date still..." James stated very matter-of-factly.
"Oh, well that's good then," Grady retorted. "There's still hope for the rest of us." He winked again.
James couldn't handle this. He instinctively reached for his wand, but for some reason it wasn't there. He looked at Lily who nodded, whispering "Don't even think about it, I have it and you're not getting it back until we're out of here."
So, since he couldn't use magic, he jumped up and punched Grady in the nose.
The girls screamed and Lily was trying to pry James off of her childhood friend, but she wasn't strong enough. Something had come over him. Sirius and Remus finally had to pry the two apart.
James shouted, "You stay away from her or I will make the rest of your life miserable!" With that, he grabbed Lily and stormed out.
"Jesus Christ, James! What the hell was all that about?!" she yelled in the street.
"What do you think? He was flirting with you and you were playing along!"
"You canNOT be serious about this. You honestly think that if I was going to flirt with another guy that I would be stupid enough to do it with you sitting right there?! Give me a little credit at least!"
"And why should I? That little bastard would have been all over you if it was up to him!"
"I cannot believe that we are arguing about this! I love YOU, James. NOT GRADY. This was the first time I've seen him in OVER SEVEN YEARS. So you know what? I'm going home now. And you, you need to get over yourself."
Lily stormed off toward the Leaky Cauldron where they had arrived without even looking back.
All of the graduates were present, with the exception of one: Severus Snape. James, Sirius and Remus all seemed to notice this immediately, and started smirking.
Lily hit James' shoulder to stop him from laughing out loud, which unfortunately caused Sirius and Remus to burst out laughing.
They only stopped when Dumbledore stood in front of a large podium and started to speak.
"It has been seven years," Dumbledore began, "since you all first set foot on the Hogwarts Express from Platform 9 3/4, not knowing what your future at Hogwarts would bring.
"Some of you came from families of Witches and Wizards who could be traced back centuries. Others of you joined us from the Muggle world, as you were the first in your families to show signs of true magic. In either instance, it is a proud moment for me to be standing here in front of you.
"Today marks the beginning of the next chapter of your lives. It is up to you to decide where you will go from here, but I have every faith in you all that you will choose wisely and carefully, and make honorable choices that will shape the future of the wizarding world for generations to come.
"That having been said, I am pleased to introduce this year's class Valedictorian, and first Hogwarts student in the past decade to achieve a perfect score on her N.E.W.T.S., Miss Lily Evans!"
There was a roar of applause, particularly from a certain Gryffindor, as Professor Dumbledore helped Lily onto the stage.
"Thank you, Professor," Lily began. "Thank you everyone. Hogwarts has been my home for the last 7 years of my life. I have learned more about the world, magic and life than I ever would have imagined possible.
"I have made friends that I know will last a lifetime, learned many lessons the hard way, and enjoyed every minute of it. Hogwarts has seen me through many milestones in my life, overcoming personal tragedy, and the greatest triumphs. And then, just when I thought that things couldn't get any better, they did.
"I am not leaving here alone. I have my friends, and now a family as well. I met my fiancé here, and I look forward to starting my life with him.
"So, I would like to leave you with these words. Every day is a new beginning. Today, as graduates, we move on to the next task, but we must be sure to keep in mind all of the valuable lessons that we have learned in our time here. We will all meet again, I am certain of it. Congratulations, everyone!"
"And now, it is time for the ceremony. If the graduates from each house would please rise and step onto the stage," Professor McGonagall instructed. Everyone did as they were told, as a large mirror appeared on the stage.
"The first to step through will be Lily Evans!" said Professor McGonagall. "Now, don't be nervous, dear," she said more quietly.
"Alright," Lily whispered, taking a deep breath. She stepped forward and into the mirror. To her surprise, she came out on the other side, no longer wearing her Hogwarts robes, but instead new robes, and had a diploma in her hand as well.
She grinned back at James, and walked off stage.
When James walked through the mirror and came out the other side he was met with wild cheers from his friends, fiancée and family. He immediately ran over to Lily and swept her up in his arms.
They were soon joined by the rest of their friends.
"Just Slytherin is left," commented Sirius.
"I know... I can't wait for Malfoy to cross through... it's just too bad Snape couldn't be here as well," said James.
"Oh no... what are you going to do?" Lily asked, with growing concern.
"You'll see," the three troublemakers grinned.
"Lucious Malfoy," said McGonagall's voice. He stepped toward the mirror, but rather than coming out on the other side with black robes on, his were bright pink, and fireworks were set off around him. Sparklers spelled out "I wish that I could have graduated from the Gryffindor House! Then I wouldn't feel like such a loser!"
James, Sirius and Remus all lost it. They were laughing so hard. Even the girls couldn't completely stifle their laughter. Come to think of it, nobody could, except Lucious and his family.
"You'll pay for this, Potter," Malfoy said under his breath as McGonagall cleared away the mess.
"So it wasn't a wasted two months, after all, huh guys?" asked Jem.
They shook their heads. "Well worth it, the laying low. Nobody suspected a thing..." James trailed off.
"At least now I know where you ran off to yesterday," Lily said, trying to stop smiling. It seemed that nothing could ruin this day for her.
That night, at Lily's request, the Gryffindor graduates all went out to celebrate. They didn't go into Hogsmeade to the Three Broomsticks though, where all of the other graduates were. Oh, no. Lily had a much more interesting idea for them. They went to Hogsmeade, but only to travel somewhere else by floo powder. In fact, the next thing they knew, they were all in muggle clothing at a muggle pub in London.
"This round is on me," Lily said, excitedly. It had been a long time since she was able to use muggle money.
"Are you sure?" asked Jem.
"Of course!"
Two pitchers of beer arrived at their table, with 8 frosted pint glasses.
"Bottoms up!" toasted Lily. Everyone else followed her lead and took a drink.
"Wow! Those muggles don't have it so bad!" said Remus, taking another swig.
The night continued on like that, everyone laughing and enjoying themselves, taking turns buying rounds of drinks.
After about 5 rounds, everyone was feeling rather... happy.
"This is great!" yelled Sirius. "Why didn't we ever sneak out to a muggle pub before?"
Everyone laughed. "I know!" agreed James. "We definitely have to start doing this regularly."
James was sitting with his arm around Lily. She gave him a kiss on the cheek when from out of nowhere they heard a voice from behind them.
"Lily Evans? Is that you?" said a male voice.
Everyone turned to see who was talking.
"Um, yes?" she said, cautiously. "Do I know- Grady!" she exclaimed. "Oh my god! It has been forever!" Lily jumped up and out of James's grasp to hug the strange man. James could feel his blood start to boil.
"I can't believe it's actually you! How are you?" Grady asked. "I have been hoping to run into you forever!"
"It has been years... I'm good... just graduated from school... what about you?"
"Same, I'm heading off to University in the fall though."
"Really? That's great..."
James coughed rather loudly.
"Oh, right! James!" Lily suddenly realized she wasn't the only one there. "Grady, this is James," and she started to go around the table, "Jem, April, Sirius, Virginia, Remus and Peter. We all went to school together."
"Hello," said Grady.
"Hey," "Hello," "What's up?" everyone piped in.
"Well, this is Grady. He and I went to school together, before I... transferred!"
"Oh! A muggle schoolmate!" James declared, rather loudly. Lily shot him a very mean glance that managed to silence him. Sirius and Remus started snickering.
"Won't you join us?" April asked, forcing Sirius to move over.
"Um, sure. Let me just let my friends know," and he walked away for a moment.
"What the hell did you do that for, April?" James demanded.
"He's cute!" she answered. "So why not?"
"This is just so random, running into him here. It's been so long, I've nearly forgotten my life from before Hogwarts..." Lily trailed off.
Lily sat back down next to James and poured herself another pint.
"Why didn't you tell him?" he asked.
"Tell him what?"
James's eyes grew wide, as did everyone else's at the table.
Lily looked around at them. "What?"
"About me? About us?" He grabbed her left hand. "About that?"
"Oh, James, don't worry. Honestly, as if I'd forget about you..."
"Well, just make sure it comes up in conversation now, cos he's coming back."
"Hi again.. sorry that took so long," Grady said awkwardly.
"That's alright! Have a seat!" April offered, patting the now empty chair beside her.
"Thanks," he replied, sitting.
"So, you know Lily from when?" asked Remus.
"We used to go to school together... then her parents said she transferred to a boarding school in France."
"France?!" Sirius started laughing, no doubt thinking of Beaubaxtons. Grady gave Lily an uneasy look. She smiled in response and he felt more at ease.
"I just can't get over how good you look, Lil. The years have been kind to you." He winked at her.
"You don't have to say that." Lily felt James squeeze her hand rather tightly. "OK," she muttered to him before turning back to Grady. "Things are going really well... between graduating and-"
James cut her off. "And getting married, we've got our hands full." He grinned, seeing Grady's stunned expression.
"You're married?"
"No, not yet. Just engaged. In fact, we need to set a date still..." James stated very matter-of-factly.
"Oh, well that's good then," Grady retorted. "There's still hope for the rest of us." He winked again.
James couldn't handle this. He instinctively reached for his wand, but for some reason it wasn't there. He looked at Lily who nodded, whispering "Don't even think about it, I have it and you're not getting it back until we're out of here."
So, since he couldn't use magic, he jumped up and punched Grady in the nose.
The girls screamed and Lily was trying to pry James off of her childhood friend, but she wasn't strong enough. Something had come over him. Sirius and Remus finally had to pry the two apart.
James shouted, "You stay away from her or I will make the rest of your life miserable!" With that, he grabbed Lily and stormed out.
"Jesus Christ, James! What the hell was all that about?!" she yelled in the street.
"What do you think? He was flirting with you and you were playing along!"
"You canNOT be serious about this. You honestly think that if I was going to flirt with another guy that I would be stupid enough to do it with you sitting right there?! Give me a little credit at least!"
"And why should I? That little bastard would have been all over you if it was up to him!"
"I cannot believe that we are arguing about this! I love YOU, James. NOT GRADY. This was the first time I've seen him in OVER SEVEN YEARS. So you know what? I'm going home now. And you, you need to get over yourself."
Lily stormed off toward the Leaky Cauldron where they had arrived without even looking back.