First off I want to apologise a ton for not updating in months! My life has been an absolute nuthouse! I swear, I'm so happy to have actually finished this one though. I do believe that I love James Point of View better, but you really should check out Lily's at Always Waiting!

Again, I'm so so sorry, its been so long. Well, as they say, better late than never. And, if you could please, REVIEW! Everyone knows how much they like to see them in their inbox when they get up!

So, I proudly present to you, the final installment in Forever in the Wings.

AsItThunders

So It Begins

I finally pulled away after oxygen became a necessity. She looked so beautiful with the rain running down her face and her hair tightly curled down her back. And now, after seven years, she and I were together. Lily Evans had finally given in to James Potter. I pulled her small hand and placed it in my own. I felt my stomach clench tightly as she gave me the most brilliant smile ever as we made our way up to the Great Hal for dinner.

Lily took my attention completely as we walked down the halls hand in hand. The feel of her warm little hand in mine was something I'd always imagined. The smell coming off her skin was heavenly, a soothing mixture of wild flowers and that delightfully refreshing, clean smell of a summer's day. A day on the beach. She consumed my attention so that there was nothing else in the world but her. A few long strands of her gorgeous red hair were resting on my shoulder where she had her head rested.

Lily, on the other hand, wasn't looking at me. Her penetrating green eyes were sweeping the hallways with an occasional smirk gracing her perfect lips. I followed her gaze and saw clumps of students huddled together, whispering, occasionally looking at us in worry. I nearly laughed. All the of my old fan girls were glaring evilly at Lily. Ha, they get what they deserve. Everyone knows I've fancied Lily since the second year. Other people were staring at our intwined hands and heading for classrooms for running up staircases. What? Did they think a bomb was going to go off or something? Now if Padfoot and I had been walking down the hallway with those types of smiles on our faces, that would be sign to start running for cover.

I gave a little snicker when I saw one or two girls crying in an alcove as we passed. This was bloody ridiculous. I saw Lily look up at me and give a little grin. I leaned down and whispered in her ear, her perfume that was Lily Evans, overwhelming me. "They're all waiting for you to start hexing me." she gave a small, unlady like snort of laughter, and I continued to laugh along with her, noticing the lovely harmony they made together.

Apparently, we'd stayed out later than I'd intended because there were only about twenty or so odd people still eating in the Great Hall. Everyone was watching us with confused looks on their faces, some looking at their watches, and all of them deep in conversation.

Man, Sirius was going to flip out. He'd been convinced after the incident at the lake in fifth year that Lily would never fall for me. Remus had been certain through everything that Lily would eventually one day see my side of the story and that I really did love her. He was one of the reasons I had changed the way I did. The werewolf had advised me that Lily would be able to see past my mistakes of the past if I put a better foot forward and showed her who the real James was. Not Hogwarts' James, but Lily's James.

I heard Lily laugh mirthfully and looked down at her in question wondering what had made her suddenly burst out. She got onto her tiptoes and whispered in my ear. I couldn't stop the shivers of delight that trailed down my spine. I had waited so long for her to act this way with me, and now, finally, after seven year, it had happened. "Dumbledore and McGonagall made a bet on us. Dumbledore won." I smiled. Good ol' Dumbledore would. He always managed to see things and had seen Lily and me together. I looked at the wise old Professor and he winked at me. He knew I was silently thanking him for never giving up on me. The white haired teacher turned back to conversation.

I watched Lily as we finished the walk to the Gryffindor table. She seemed happier than usual. I knew she'd been down a bit after her mother and father had died and to make matters worse, her sister had abandoned her as well. And for weeks, I'd watched her in the Head's Common Room sit there and stare into the fire, sometimes a tear would trickle down her cheek and sometimes she fell asleep. But, slowly she started to allow me to sit closer and closer to each time I caught her down there until she finally spilled to me what had happened. I think that was moment she really accepted me for who I had become and not who I'd been. Now, she practically glowed with happiness. Her long, gorgeous red hair was curled perfectly around her face, and her emerald eyes were alight with a new mirth I hadn't seen in a while. She seemed happier than I'd ever seen her.

When we were finally at the table, Alice and Remus were digging into their meal and having a conversation. However, I caught them glancing at us once or twice and knew they were both secretly thrilled by Lily's acceptance. Padfoot, on the other hand, looked like he was about puke or faint, or both. He just sat there and stared at us with his mouth hanging open. And then, his face pulled up into that face he got when he was trying to figure out the name of the girl he was going out with for the week. One he rarely got during classes. He turned to Remus. "Moony, what day is it?"

Moony looked somewhat startled by the question. "The sixteenth of April, why?"

Padfoot smirked at us, and I stared down at him incredulously. Oh, the wonders of Sirius Black. "That's funny guys," he said motioning down to our intertwined hands, "but you're off. April Fool's was two weeks ago. You can stop now. Man, that would've been a really good one though, Prongs. Why didn't you think of it before?"

I laughed and felt Lily shiver next to me. I smiled harder, still overwhelmed by the effect I had on her. But, like I said before, the wonders of Sirius Black. He was thick when he wanted and extremely perceptive at other times. This was one of the former times. "Padfoot, mate, we know what day it is." Remus and Alice cracked identical amused grins. They both loved it when Sirius was made a fool out of.

"Well, then…why…I…you mean…going out?" And then, to my greatest astonishment, Sirius Orion Black, fainted right there in the middle of the Great Hall when he heard that I had finally gotten Lily Evans. Lily gave a little snicker, and Moony and Alice turned back to look at us after glancing for a few seconds at Padfoot with his face in his food.

"Alice," Remus said, with a decidedly uncharacteristic sly tone to his voice that had rubbed off on him after being a Marauder after seven years, "you owe me to galleons."

"What!" I nearly shouted. "You two made a bet on us too?"

Even I couldn't contain the small little smirk that fell across my face as I watched the two of them. Moony would. Alice feigned hurt. "What? You think I would stoop so low as to place a bet on two of our best friends?" I was amazed that she even managed to sound offensive. I don't think Sirius could have pulled it off better.

I looked down at Lily for a split second and saw the laughter dancing in her emerald green eyes before she tore her gaze away from mine and looked back over at our two, well three if you counted Siruis, friends, smiling somewhat smugly over their meal. "Yes!"

"Alice, you were seriously betting that I couldn't make Lily fall in love with me? At least Remus knew better. " Good ol' Remus had always had faith that Lily would eventually see what who I really was if I let her.

Alice just gave a small shrug and a rather smug smirk as she looked at Lily. "I thought I knew my best friend better, but then, I guess I don't. By the way, who else bet on you two?"

I laughed again, sneaking a peak up at the staff table and watching as Dumbledore lifted his goblet to me in congratulations, as though he always knew I would end up with Evans as mine. Sometimes he seemed a bit off, but he had amore pure hear and wise mind than any I'd ever see. I was zipped back into the conversation as I heard the sweet melody of Lily Evans' voice. It was an old instinctual reaction that I had so that I always heard her wherever she was. "Dumbeldore and McGonagall," she said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Alice and Remus burst into laughter. "Well, Sirius at least seemed to be the only one who didn't see it coming. Apparently everyone else did."

I looked back over at Moony as he spoke. "It was going to happen sometime," he said as Alice gave a little nod.

Remus had told me over and over that if I really and truly liked her, it'd be okay. Then, I'd confessed that I really and truly loved her. That shut him up pretty fast. I guess he'd never heard of a 17 year-old falling in love. But it happened, and I do love her with all my heart. My last breath will be for her. That seems a little over dramatic, but I know there's no one else that I could even stand to have.

"Well," Lily began," I looked down at her again and saw those green eyes flashing with an indescribable emotion. "I guess I finally cracked." She grinned up at me, and I felt a thousand different feelings at once. I finally had convinced my Lily Evans that I loved her and she really did love me. I knew she did. I smiled as wide as was possible. She had no idea how happy I was.

Lily looked radiant at my grin. I leaned down and whispered in her ear where only she could hear me. "I'm glad you did," and then I pulled her lips up to meet mine.

"I love you," I whispered softly when she broke away, and for a moment she just looked at me. "If you don't-" She'd have no idea how hurt I'd be if she didn't love me, but then again, she'd only accepted to liking me this year, much less loving me.

Her green eyes were smoldering as she stared firmly up at me. "Are you kidding, James? I love you too, I just didn't want to admit to it," and then she crashed her mouth to mine, and I was in heaven again.

I guess my time for the stage had come. I was leaving the wings.

Yeah, I added some onto the end, and I know it was a little rushed and squished, but I wanted to get that in. Chessiness ending, but we all need a little cheese in our lives, along with cliche!

Anyway, thank you to all of you who reviewd both and for always being there. Hope this meets your standards for this story!

Again, please review!

Lots of love to all my readers,

AsItThunders