Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to write/post this, but I didn't feel inspired until now for some reason. Also, thanks so all who have reviewed this story, I really appreciate it! Now, on with the story!

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The next few weeks passes by quickly for Lily, James and the rest of the gang. Between classes, studying for their NEWT examinations and a new attack in the Daily Prophet nearly every other day, there was hardly time for anything. Before they knew it, exams were over and only one final day remained at Hogwarts.

"I can't believe it's over," Lily said. She was lying in the grass near the Great Lake with James, staring up as the clouds drifted away.

"Stop saying that," James moaned as he rolled over onto his stomach. He pulled out a blade of grass from the ground and began to rip it into tiny pieces.

"But it's true," she argued.

"But I don't want to think about it."

"Fine," she said and rolled onto her stomach as well. She grabbed the newspaper from her bag. On the front page the headline read "You-Know-Who Strikes Again."

James glanced at the paper and sighed, "For a beautiful June day, this really depressing. I mean, we're leaving Hogwarts tomorrow. Another muggle was attacked yesterday, and that's the world we're heading off into."

"It sucks."

"Yes it does," he agreed.

"So let's not talk about it then," Lily suggested and tucked the paper back into her bag. She rolled back over again and stared up at the clouds before pointing upward and asking, "Does that one look like Sirius to you?"

He looked up and laughed, "You're off your rocker, you know that? It's just a cloud."

"No, I'm not kidding. It is so him. See it? There are the eyes, the grin, and the long hair. It's Sirius Black," Lily insisted.

"Jeez, always talking about me, Lils. James, mate, you'd best watch your back," a new voice said. Sirius walked over and stood above the young couple, blocking the sun from their eyes."

"Shut up, Sirius," Lily joked.

"You say that now, but we all know you love me."

"Don't flatter yourself," she joked.

"What's up?" James asked, now sitting up.

"Just wanted to make sure we're still on for tonight," Sirius answered, a new serious tone in his voice.

"Of course we are."

"Good, see you then. In the mean time, control your girlfriend, I think she's making a pass at me," he joked.

"Go away," she whined as she shot him a fake angry look. She then turned toward James and asked what on earth they were planning on doing.

"Can't say," he replied. "It's a Marauder thing."

Knowing that it wasn't worth the effort to force it out of him, she let it go and simply ignored that fact that the Marauders were probably doing something against school rules later that night. Instead, she opted to enjoy the remaining time she had with James at Hogwarts. After all, who knew when she would see him next?

"That one definitely looks like a lion," James suddenly said, pointing to the sky.

"No, not a lion. It looks like a dog, you're just blind."

"I'm not blind," he said and rolled closer to her. He propped himself up on his elbows and smiled down at her. He placed a light kiss on her lips and smiled at her again.

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Later that night, once Lily and James each went their separate ways, James and the rest of the Marauders set out on one last adventure. They packed up their necessary supplies and grabbed the invisibility cloak and map before setting out into the night once again.

The castle was dead that night. They could have easily made it outside without the map or cloak. Once out of the castle, they lugged the giant chest and shovels toward their favorite tree, right by the lake. Once there, Sirius dropped his half of the chest on the ground with a loud thud, which was followed by shushing from the three other boys.

James threw the cloak on the ground and looked at his three best friends. He tossed a shovel to each of them and said, "Here we go." He was the first to move forward and force his shovel into the ground. He stepped on the edge of the blade, forcing it into the ground. He then put all his effort into lugging the grass and dirt into a small mound. The other three boys each followed suit. They spent nearly an hour digging until it was finally large and deep enough. Next, James and Sirius lifted the chest into the ground, the lid still open.

Meanwhile, Remus and Peter conjured a small fire, using magic to keep it hidden from the distance of the castle. It provided just enough light to make out each of the four boys faces.

"Boys," James began, "We've known each other for the past seven years, some may even say that they were seven sacred years. At the end of our first year, we made a pact to join together on the last night ever at Hogwarts and celebrate our lives as the Marauders. So, we are gathered here to do just that… Sirius, you go first."

Sirius produced what appeared to be a muggle water gun from his robes and threw it into the chest. "This is from our first prank," he explained. "Those Slytherins never saw it coming."

Next, Remus threw in a photograph of the four of them. "The only friends who ever accepted my secret."

Peter then tossed in the written instructions about how to get into the kitchen late at night for a midnight snack, something the fours boys did more than once during their time at school.

Next, James took the Marauder's map out of his cloak pocket. For one last time, he said, "Mischief Managed" and the ink from the paper disappeared from sight. He tossed it into the chest with their other sacred belongings.

The ceremony continued deep into the night. They all took turned throwing tidbits of their lives into the chest. It became filled with old prank supplies, pictures, and Sirius even put in ten galleons with a note attached for directions to treat them all to butterbeers whenever the chest was opened next.

Finally, once all of their most treasured belongings were inside the chest, the closed the lid. With a magical enchantment, the boys made a pact, one that would last their entire lives. The chest was to be opened in exactly ten years. They would all know when and where to come, a nagging feeling in their stomachs would ensure this. However, if any of them ever broke their friendship pact in any way, the chest would resurface by itself and be exposed for anyone to see.

"This is it then," Remus said as he looked down at the closed chest. He couldn't see it now, but he knew that a large M was placed on the top of the chest. Surrounding it was engraved sketches of a wolf, dog, stag, and a rat.

"You know, it's kind of like the end of the Marauder age," Sirius said after they finished moving the dirt back onto the chest and were wandering back toward the castle. "No more Hogwarts."

"What is this school going to do without us?" Peter wondered aloud.

"Well, the teachers are going to have a little bit of peace and quiet," Sirius joked.

"Really though, do you think anyone will ever live up to the Marauder name?" Peter asked.

"No," Remus answered. "No one can ever duplicate us, that's why we're the Marauders."

"Yeah, this is it. This is the end of an era," James said. They walked back to the castle in silence, all lost in their own worlds. No one wanted it to be true, but it was the end of an era. They were leaving their safe haven of Hogwarts behind and advancing on towards the real life, filled with war.

Once back in their room, James decided he had one last thing to do that night. He grabbed his broom and opened the bedroom window, with just barely enough room to squeeze out, he flew out into the open sky.

He flew low to the ground at first, searching the ground for the perfect stone. Once he found it, he raced upward, knowing exactly where he needed to be. Knowing he only had one shot at this, he took the stone and hauled it at the window. He saw the formerly dark room instantly become bright.

The window then opened and Lily hissed, "Who's there?"

"Who do you think it is?"

"James, you nearly gave me a heart attack. You know my bed is right next to this window," she said.

"I know, but I wanted to see you," he replied.

"Wait a minute," she said and disappeared from his sight. She reappeared again, although her pajamas were replaced by jeans and a t-shirt.

"Want some help?" he asked as he hovered next to the window.

"Yeah," she answered as she snuck out of the window and onto his broom. They had done this so often that she was no longer afraid of the dangerous drop below them. She trusted James to help her out the window and onto his broom.

Once safely on the broom, clutching him from behind with all her might, they began to fly into the night sky. The air felt refreshing against Lily's skin and crisp in her lungs. Her grip eventually loosened and without saying a word, they flew over the Forbidden Forest and above the castle for nearly an hour before settling down in the Quidditch Pitch.

They sat on the very top row of the stands and watched as the sun started to rise. It must have been about five o'clock in the morning, but neither of them cared at that moment. The scene in front of them was amazing; the sky was a brilliant mixture of orange, red, yellow and blue.

Lily leaned her head on James's shoulder and said, "What am I going to do without you?"

"You're not going to be without me," he whispered and cupped her face in his hand. "I promise."

"I'm still scared."

"So am I."

"Really?"

"Just don't tell anyone," he smirked.

A few moments of silence passed before Lily said once again, "I know you've told me a million times that we'll still see each other all the time and everything will work out…"

"And it will," he said, interrupting her.

"But…"

"Live with me," he said, once again cutting her off mid-sentence.

Lily was at a loss for words. She couldn't tear her eyes from him, trying to find some aspect of a joke, but could not find a single trace of it. He was being sincere about this. He wanted to live with her.

"James," she began. "It's more complicated than that."

"I already asked your parents if it was okay."

"What?"

"I sent them a letter and they agreed. And Sirius and Remus are going to live together, that's been their plan for the past month," he calmly said, despite his rapidly beating heart.

"How long have you had this planned?"

"Since that day in the Hospital Wing," he answered. "You don't have to though, if you don't want to, I'd completely understand. I mean, it's a lot to ask of you."

To stop his rambling, Lily leaned forward and kissed him sweetly on the lips. "Yes," she said as she pulled away from him. "I would love to live with you."

James grinned at her and she smiled back at him. As they watched the sunrise together, hand in hand, they both knew that it truly was the end of an era, but it wasn't the end; it was only the beginning of something new.

THE END

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Author's Note 2: Hope you enjoyed the story! Please review!