Mischief Managed
Sirius managed to get along pretty well over the weekend leading up to graduation, though the once cheerful spark in his eyes seemed to have been extinguished. He, like everyone else, busied himself with preparations for the Graduation Ball, though James, Remus, Lily, and Jocelyn knew that it was only to take his mind off of Shayna.
The day of the ball, Lily was nervously curling her auburn hair and putting on her makeup, all the while reciting the speech that she, as valedictorian, would have to make. Jocelyn was next to her, also applying her makeup and checking herself nervously in the mirror. Lily, who was ready before Jocelyn, waited for Jocelyn to finish straightening her hair (by magic, of course) before starting down the stairs leading to the common room, where James would be waiting.
Finally, they walked down the stairs. Halfway down the stairs, Lily caught site of James, who, from the angle he was standing, could not see her. She noticed how his hair was still as untidy as ever, and how its messiness contradicted with his crisp new dress robes. When she stepped down the stairs, he handed her a small jewelry box. She opened it and saw two pearl earrings that matched perfectly with her dress. "They're gorgeous!" she said, putting them in her ears.
"That's why they match you so perfectly," James said sincerely, though not without his famous Marauder smirk.
Lily laughed. "Let's go?" she suggested, blushing.
"Can I escort you?" James said regally, winking and holding out his elbow for her. She grasped it lightly, and they walked together out the common room, with Jocelyn and Remus talking cheerfully behind them. "You look beautiful," James whispered in Lily's ear.
"Don't I always?" Lily said cheekily. "And thank you."
They walked to the Great Hall doors and opened them, the summer breeze blowing around them lightly. The sky was a clear, crisp blue. Students were already beginning to file out onto the lake.
"HOLY MERLIN!" Jocelyn exclaimed. "THE BALL IS ON THE LAKE?"
"Yeah," Lily said. "Pretty cool, huh?"
"It's great," Remus said, looking at Jocelyn.
"Lily, you need to go, you're making the speech, remember?" James reminded her, smiling.
Lily smiled and walked ahead of them, towards where all their professors were standing. "Hello, professors," she said, smiling.
"Hello, Lily," Professor Dumbledore replied. "Are you ready for your speech? I think everybody is here now."
"Yes, I am," Lily said. "Where should I stand?"
"There is a raised platform towards the edge of the lake where you can stand," Professor McGonagall said, smiling.
"Thank you." Lily smiled and walked towards the platform. She walked up the small steps leading to the top of the stage, accompanied by Professor Dumbledore.
Dumbledore looked at the sea of seventh year students and smiled jovially. "Hello, everyone, and welcome to your Graduation Ball. I have watched each and every one of you grow to become the young adults you all are now; your skills have improved, and you have learned to master your talents and your situations better than I ever could have hoped. And now, so I don't take up too much time away from your celebrations, Lily Evans, class valedictorian, will make her speech."
"Er—hi, everybody," Lily started, uncertainly. "Standing here, in front of you all, is a place I never thought I would get to. Crossing this lake at the beginning of our first year was no easy feat; we were all small, nervous, and didn't know what to expect. We soon learned that magic is not all about loud bangs and flashy colors, but skill and concentration. We levitated feathers, turned pincushions into porcupines, and befriended one another. And, in my opinion, that is the most important thing we have ever accomplished within school walls.
"This is it. From now on, we no longer have our professors to guide and teach us, or to give us house points or help with our spells. From now on, when we do something, we do it virtually on our own. And we take pride in what we do, because in some cases, no one else will.
"Having lived my first ten years without knowing or believing in the Wizarding world, getting my Hogwarts letter was an extraordinary experience for me. Coming to Hogwarts has been a life-changing experience for me. I've given up many things to come to this school, but I've gained so much more. I've gained friends, powers, and an experience that I wouldn't change for anything in the world, as I'm sure you've also gained.
"So, today, when we raise our glasses, we raise them to seven years of experience. Seven years of friends. Seven years of magic that our wands cannot make; only our hearts." Lily smiled. "Thank you." She stepped off the stage as everyone clapped for her.
The Weird Sisters walked onto the stage, and played first a slow song. James walked over to Lily and smiled. "Lily, will you dance with me?" he asked, taking her hand.
"Of course," Lily giggled, walking out onto the dance floor. James wrapped his arms around her waist, and Lily placed hers around his neck. They swayed slowly to the music, not paying attention to anything around them.
"So, Lily, did you think about what you would like to do after Hogwarts?" James asked, spinning Lily around.
"I want to be a Healer," Lily replied.
"Where are you going to stay?" James asked her, putting his arms once again around her waist.
"I don't know," Lily answered, frowning. "I forgot about that part of leaving Hogwarts."
"I know," James smiled. "You'll stay with me…won't you?"
"Of course!" Lily laughed. "I'd love to."
"Glad that's settled, then," James said. He kissed Lily's cheek as the song ended. "Let's go sit? Remus and Sirius saved us one of those big tables."
"Okay," Lily said, and she and James walked off of the dance floor and to the table.
Jocelyn, Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus sat around the table in a circle. "Let's make a toast," Jocelyn said, raising her goblet. "To Hogwarts!"
"To seven years!" added Sirius, raising his glass.
"To magic," Remus said, also raising his goblet.
"To friendship!" Lily exclaimed, raising her arm to join the others.
"To never having to do homework again!" James shouted, raising his goblet, as everyone laughed.
They put their goblets together at the center of the table and spoke in unison, "Mischief managed!"
The EndA/N: THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH TO EVERYBODY WHO READ MY STORY! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Thanks to you guys, this is the first long story I have ever finished. Ever. And you did that. So I thank you guys very very much for all your reviews.
A brief explanation for why I ended it here: I didn't want to write about them getting married or having Harry (because that would just be awkward for me), and writing until where they die would just be way to sad. And, I actually thought of this ending while in the car listening to one of my favorite songs, though I forgot which one…I thought it was cute, so I wrote it.
So, thank you once again and review these last two chapters. And you might be wondering why I decided to make Shayna a Death Eater? Well, Sirius is single in the books, so I had to think of a way to make him single, and this is what I came up with because I love plot twists. I'm very mad at Shayna though. Lol. Review, please, and tell me what you think about my story!