With only three weeks left until graduation, everyone was getting a little stressed. Beth felt she couldn't possibly contain her excitement about her engagement much longer—plus her friends were getting suspicious. She was acting happier than ever, and both girls were starting to wonder why. Remus however insisted on keeping the engagement secret. He was concerned about Lilly—he wasn't sure that James was going to propose after all, and if both of her best friends married his best friends and she was left out in the cold, she would surely feel horrible. Sirius and Jessie went along happy as usual. They didn't act as though they were engaged, althought they were, making no plans, but enjoying their last few weeks at Hogwarts. Lilly was stressed. The graduation plans were killing her, she was so tired, she fell asleep the moment she curled up in James' arms at night—just as she had done during the Yule Ball. James was stressed as well—but for completely different reasons. He didn't want to hurt Lilly, but he wasn't ready to get married yet—he was just a kid. At night when they were in the common room, with her curled up asleep in his arms, her hair blazing red in the firelight, he felt as though he could stay that way forever. But during the day, when he was out playing Quidditch and joking around with Sirius and Remus, marriage was the last thing on his mind. Lilly pushed ahead with her work as usual. She wasn't really ready to get married, she wanted to wait for awhile, but knowing that James loved her enough to propose would have been wonderful. She was so confused, so lost whenever he was around; she never knew what to do. As graduation approached the six seniors watched each other and waited; praying for time and patience and understanding.
The night before graduation, the girls were cleaning out their dorm rooms for the last time—removing any sign of their existance. The walls they had taken all day to paint a dark purple with glow in the dark painted stars had to be returned to it's Gryffindor Lion Red, their posters had to be taken down, their clothes, linens, and toiletries packed, their photos and special momentos had to be taken off the shelves. While Beth and Jessie went on one last run to Hogsmeade with their dates, Lilly carefully placed the pictures of her friends she had collected over the past few years into a box in her room. She stopped for a few moments to look at them; A picture of Jessie and Beth throwing pillows at each other, with their hair in curlers and cotton balls wedged between their drying polished nails—taken in fifth year—made Lilly stop and watch for a moment. The two girls waved up at Lilly, then resumed their fight. Lilly placed the card in the box and took another one off the shelf. This was one of all six of them, taken before she and James had started dating earlier this year. Remus and Beth were smiling at each other, Sirius and Jessie snogging as usual, and she and James were sneaking nervous glances at one another. She laughed quietly and picked a bundle of pictures tied together with string—the ones of her and James. Sirius had snuck downstairs with his old wizard's camara and taken a few pictures of her and James on the sofa in the common room. There was some where she was asleep in his arms, others where he was kissing her, others where they were just downright flirting. While the James in the picture leaned over and tickled her ribs, she smiled, remembering how great he was. She heard someone coming up the staircase, so she shoved the bundle into the shoebox and slammed the lid over it.
"Hey." James said, coming around the corner from the staircase. Lilly turned around and smiled at him, putting the box on her bed and pulling herself up off the floor.
"Hey, why aren't you with Sirius and Remus?" Lilly asked after he gave her a quick kiss before sitting on her bed. He pulled her towards him so she sat on his lap. She smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck.
"They're with Jessie and Beth, meaning no date—no friends. I almost asked that hot Slytherin, Narcissa, to go with me—" He whispered into her ear. Lilly turned around and slapped his knee, lightly, but slapped it all the same. "Hey! That hurt!" James always pretended to be hurt when she hit him, even though they both knew it didn't hurt him in the least.
"That was cruel." Lilly pouted and started to get off his lap. He grabbed her waist and pulled her back down.
"You didn't let me finish…I was going to say—'but she'd be nothing compared to you; I'd miss you too much." He kissed her lightly on the lips.
"Oh James—please. That is such a line." She laughed, but returned his kiss with a few more of her own. After a brief make-out session, James knelt by Lilly on the floor and picked the box up from where it had fallen after being knocked off the bed. He glanced at the pictures, rifling through them quickly until he came to a picture Lilly had taken when she was younger.
"Lilly? This is me playing Quidditch in 4th year. Why would you have this? You hated me in 4th year!" He said, showing her the picture. She took it and blushed.
"James, I've had a horrible crush on you since you saved me from dancing with Severus Snape at the Yule Ball, and probably before then." James grinned and squeezed her waist.
"So—you er—had a crush on me for three years? So I'm a dream come true?" He growled in her ear.
"Yes…" Lilly said, turning around and kissing him on the lips, throwing her arms around his neck and savoring the moment.