I can't believe there's only a few more chapters left! Yikes!

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Chapter 38

B.A.T.s

When Dumbledore and Moody led them back up to the school, the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon.

"I've called your families." Dumbledore told them. "And I'm sure that they'd like to see you. And then I'm willing to bet that the Daily Prophet would like a word or two."

"Yes, Professor." Lily and her friends muttered.

Walking down the marble stairs, many Ministry Wizards and Witches watched them carefully and all were wearing smiles. Lily took a deep breath, and looked around at their suitcases piled high with spell books, and magical instruments. Dumbledore led them all the way outside, where the sun sparkled down on the dew-covered grass.

And there were her friends' families. For a moment, a disappointed Lily had almost thought that Petunia and Vernon might have shown up. But she didn't know any of them, except for Belle's parents who gave her a tight squeeze and told her how happy they were that she was all right.

Lily stepped away from the hugging and kissing relatives, and headed toward the lake. Everything was safe now--she was safe, her friends were safe and Hogwarts was safe. For now, at least. When the glimmering lake came into view, she saw someone else there. He was standing with his legs shoulder-width apart, and his hands behind his back. Lily knew only one person who could stand so still--

"Amos Diggory." She said with a grin. He abruptly turned around, and his face lit at the sight of her. He rushed over, and pulled her into a hug.

"God, I've been worried." He said. His voice sounded slightly deeper, and he definitely looked older with a goatee growing in, but his smile was exactly the same.

"Are you alright? You're not hurt at all?" Amos asked her.

"No, Diggory, I'm fine." She laughed. He held her at an arm's length, and looked her over.

"You look just how I remember you." He decided. "Only a little older, and a little sadder. And reasonably so. God, I've missed you." He said, pulling her into another hug.

"I can't see why the Ministry would assign you here…" Lily teased him, withdrawing from his clasp.

"Well… I wanted to see you." Amos replied. "Listen, there's something I've wanted to ask you."

"What?" Lily asked, a small lump forming in her throat.

"I know that you'd be going home to an empty house this summer, and I just thought that… you might want to come stay with me for awhile." Amos suggested. "I mean to say, until you know what you want to do, now that school will be over with."

Lily paused for a second. Live with Amos? After her encounter with James just the night before, the idea didn't sound quite as appealing as it would have two days ago.

"I'll have to think about it." She answered. "But right now, I think I just want to go home for awhile."

"If that's what you really want, Lily." Amos shrugged. He paused in thought. Apparently, this conversation wasn't going how he expected. "How about I put in a good word for you at the Ministry? Maybe you could get yourself a job there and…"

"That sounds really nice, Amos. But I just want a few weeks to get my life in order before I decide anything life changing. You understand, don't you?"

"Right, of course! Anything, Lily." Amos said with a smile. But it slowly faded, as he grew more serious. "I know that you think my intentions are to marry you, Lily, and I won't lie--I still love you. But I respect you, and your choices. So I'll go at your speed, and we'll just be friends. Good friends. Nothing more. That I swear to you."

"Thanks Amos. I really do appreciate it." She grinned.

"And I'm very glad that you're safe." He said, putting an arm around her as the two of them took a walk around the lake.

That morning was actually very pleasant. Even with the strange adventure of the night before, everything seemed calm and peaceful. If Lily didn't know better, she would have never thought that the biggest villain of the century had visited their school, and was now off to Scotland through a fireplace.

Lily and Amos spent the morning catching up, while her friends and their families talked over the events of the previous night. Peter was the only one who talked to the Daily Prophet that morning so when the paper arrived the next day, the accounts were pretty surprising.

"Everyone was really scared," Peter Petigrew, a student attending Hogwarts told the Prophet, "Well, except for me and James Potter." The six students were all returned to the school safe and sound, but how did they escape? "Well, James, Lily Evans, and I had been plotting how to get out of a tight spot for some time before the actual encounter. See, we decided that Lily should make a run for it, since chances are, he wouldn't keep such a close watch on the two girls. Well, our thoughts proved correct, and Lily successfully found help for us-- though we had the situation entirely under control."

"Under control, my ass!" Belle scoffed. "Jesus, he was likely to blow off Sirius's head if you hadn't come in with those Aurors, when you did!"

But Lily could only laugh at Peter's foul attempts to land in the spotlight. Unfortunately for him, few believed his gargantuan tale, and preferred listening to James and Sirius's turn of events.

Although, this laid-back time couldn't last forever. Classes started up a day later, and the castle was returned mostly to normal. But all the seventh years had to start preparing for their B.A.T.s, which were to take place within the next week. Test schedules were handed out, and Lily and Belle studied their hardest, and even convinced the Marauders to join them.

"Sirius! Will you please sit still? You're distracting me…" Lily groaned late Sunday night, as she and her friends studied for their History of Magic and Charms exams.

"Can't… keep… still…" Sirius muttered, as he sat on his hands, and made his face twitch. No one found his jokes amusing. "Oh, geeze, guys! It's just a test!"

"One that could decide your future, Si." Belle scolded. "Remus, I don't get how to pronounce this one…"

"Let me see it?" He said, pulling the book towards him."Oh, from the Fiddilus Charm, eh? Okay it's: decisione da proteggere o adenunci." He read.

"Damn, you're good. It's that… protegiry-ism one…"

"Proteggere?" Remus asked.

"Um, all right…"

"Okay, Lily," James said, shoving a history book to her. "Quiz me."

"All right, James. BC, what was so special about dragons?"

"Oh great…um, okay, around 20 BC wizards and witches tried to domesticate dragons to serve their household magical purposes, such as… dragon's scales in potions, dragon's milk for cooking, and dragon hide gloves?"

"Very nice. And Sirius?" Lily said, turning to Padfoot, who was trying to see how long of a pencil shaving he could get before it broke off.

"Hm?"

"Tell me, how did the Centaurs help win the War of Asalan?" Lily asked him. She bit her lip, hoping he would know the answer.

"Oh, that's easy: Even though they distrusted humans, they allowed wizards to ride on their backs to defeat the Goblins that were raiding through the Asalan Village. They learned to use weapons also, so it was like two soldiers in one. Am I right?" Sirius asked.

Lily scanned the page. "Exactly. Wow; I'm impressed, Si."

"See? I don't have to study! Ha ha!" He teased. "Now if you'll excuse me—I need my beauty sleep." He yawned dramatically, and headed up the boys' steps.

"We should all go to bed; it's almost midnight." James said, checking his watch. Everyone agreed, and packed up their books.

The tests were slow, and hard. The Professors had them working from the time class started, until the bell declared that time was up. In history, they had to answer a series of 100 written questions. Charms had them making things disappear and writing an essay on the Fiddilus Charm.

Defense Against the Dark Arts had them banishing unfriendly curses, which Lily and her friends did quite good at--at least, until it came to holding off the illegal Imperius Curse; only James did well on that. In Herbology, they had to watch over a Yelnats Fern, and keep it's water supply just right.

Care of Magical Creatures wasn't very hands-on, but a five-paragraph essay on what sorts of creatures you could expect to meet on a regular basis. Alchemy was pointless, as usual. But Lily and James were more than sure that they passed the 25-question test on crystals and how they are formed.

 In Transfiguration, McGonagall told them to transform an object back to its original state, which Lily had expected. In Astrology, they had to point out certain stars and planets in the night sky, by memory.

Finally, on Friday, they took their last two tests: Potions, and for Lily, Muggle Music—both pretty easy.

But now that the classes were finished, and the grades were being prepared, that meant that this was the last two days that Lily would ever spend at Hogwarts. The thought was terrible, now that it was actually upon her. Now, she wouldn't be able to play pranks on Filch, or even just hang out with her best friends. There were chances that she would see them, when school was out- but Lily couldn't be sure.

Sunday evening was the Graduation Feast, and Lily and her friends were bubbly and excited. They all wanted to make the most of their last few hours together before the first summer of their adult lives would begin.

After dinner was over, Dumbledore stood up to make his customary farewell speech to his school. "This has been a wonderful year." He began. "Though it has had it's rocky points, and it's frightening moments, the road has gone smooth in the end. I wish the best of luck to the leaving seventh years," He said, looking straight to Lily and James. "And good times to the continuing students. Though I fear that the times to come may not be as pleasant as we may hope, I pray that each one of you keeps faith in our Ministry and our beliefs. May you all aspire to be the great beings we have trained you to be, and may you not falter to the side of iniquity."