The final chapter. Enjoy, and thank you for staying with it the past couple days till it was over! ;)
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters or themes. J.K Rowling does.
After a gruelling week of classes, late night studying and scribbling furiously on parchment, students in Hogwarts were absolutely relieved when the day of the Hogsmeade trip arrived. The deafening Hogwarts entrance was filled to the brim with students– tensions had evaporated and smiles could be spotted on everyone's eager faces. The doors were unlocked and students flooded out triumphantly – much to their delight, the rain had finally come to an end and the sun's rays saluted them gloriously.
Lily watched students hurry out off to the side of the entrance, tapping the toe of her shoe on the ground rhythmically and adjusting her wool hat. She was glad she brought it along – the air drifting in through the doors was quite chilly for a late March morning.
"Ooo, Lily," her friend Margaret McNeil called, edging her way through the throng towards her. Another fellow Gryffindor, Birdie Sergent, flounced alongside Margaret.
"For a girl about to spend the day with James Potter, you're looking pretty bored!" Birdie piped up, rocking back and forth on her heels.
Margaret smiled slyly. "You do know you're the envy of most females today? I mean, just look over there, for instance."
The three girls turned their attention to a pair of Hufflepuff girls at the foot of the door, no older than fourth years, sneaking glances in their direction and giggling frivolously, fluffing heir mousy hair.
"Are they—are they giggling at me?" Lily asked bewilderingly.
Margaret rolled her eyes. "Don't be silly, here they come now." She turned to Birdie. "Our cue to leave. Have fun!" she said, giving her a knowing look before scurrying off.
Lily turned around. 'They' turned out to be the Marauders, ambling towards them and laughing boisterously. Upon spotting her, they paused and formed a tight knit huddle. A second later, they broke apart – the other three slapped James on the back and went ahead. Sirius gave Lily a cheeky wink as they scampered down the opposite hall.
"Shall we?" James said, extending his arm and waggling his eyebrows.
Lily paused, skeptic, before linking arms with him. Together, they walked out into the crisp spring air, following the remaining stragglers out onto the trail towards Hogsmeade.
"Where are they headed?" she asked curiously, in reference to his best friends. "Aren't they attending the trip?"
James eyes gleamed mischievously. "Oh, they wouldn't miss it. They're just up to no good."
Lily shrugged, abandoning the urge to pry. She could feel waves of heat pulsing off him, even though they were both bundled thickly. She snuck a sideways glance at him – his eyes looked tired, dark shadows garnished under them. Feeling her gaze, he blinked down at her.
"Admiring my ridiculously good looks?" he said. Lily could hear the buzz of the packed village already as they made the final turn into the mouth of Hogsmeade.
"Not at all," she simpered, adjusting her woolen hat. "Just noticing those ghastly shadows under your eyes."
"And they're well worth it!" he cried. "You do know it was my birthday yesterday?"
Lily laughed. "Oh yes, the one time of year where Gryffindor tower is rowdier than a zoo and the party only ends when McGonagall threatens multiple detentions on your head? Impossible to ignore."
"Ah," James mused, reflecting on the memory like it was a dear friend. "The best year yet, I'd wager. Except you weren't there!" he shot accusingly, swinging their linked arms.
Lily grumbled. "I may as well have been, it was less than a decent night's sleep."
James laughed genuinely – after a second, Lily was laughing too. It was incredible how infectious she found his laugh to be. There was no denying that when he wasn't hexing innocent students, James Potter was funny, and even nice at times. Their conversation continued light and friendly, with a bit of typical conceitedness on his part. Lily even discovered they shared something they thought was quite amusing – their obsessive love for treacle tart.
"Two Butterbeers," James ordered when they were seated and comfortable in the Three Broomsticks. Lily took off her hat and looked around – the place was packed, typically. Her eyes rested on a slender boy sitting with a group of Slytherins in the far corner. They were talking lowly, some faces shadowed under thick hoods. Severus Snape looked up, and his eyes locked with Lily's. There was something in the blacks of his eyes Lily couldn't pinpoint – he almost looked bothered. Before Lily could react, he glanced away, muttering something to the boy in front of him.
"Don't worry about it," James said, noticing her trouble expression. Their Butterbeers arrived, and Lily snatched hers eagerly, hoping the sweet, warm sensation drowned away her anxiety.
"What are you staring at?" she demanded. James blinked twice, casting his eyes upward. The top of his cheeks were tinged a dull pink.
Lily gaped incredulously. "James Potter, are you blushing?"
He grabbed his Butterbeer and took a sip, blatantly ignoring her question. She leaned forward and smacked his shoulder, triggering a bout of spluttering from him.
"I could have died, woman!" he cried, wiping his mouth.
She smiled blithely, causing him to shoot her a contemptuous look. He downed the rest of his Butterbeer, and leaned back, grinning intensely at her.
She took another large gulp, narrowing her eyes at him from over her cup. Upon placing it down, James burst into laughter, winning him the startled looks of several people nearby
Lily froze. "What?"
James nearly had tears in his eyes. "You—you have a moustache—enough to—to give Slughorn a run for his m-money!" he laughed, losing his breath.
Lily wiped her mouth with her jacket sleeve, horrified. "You didn't have to announce it to everyone, you prick!"
She downed the rest of her drink and got up, grabbing James' arm and weaving through the crowd, embarrassed. She didn't want him to see her face for a moment, because it was clear that, as hard as she was trying to conceal it, Lily was laughing inside too.
James picked up a bag of gummy worms off a Honeydukes shelf, examining it curiously. "How about these?" he asked Lily.
Lily gave him a sour expression. "No, those are the kind that squirm around in your month."
"Hm," James said, mildly impressed. Padfoot will definitely like these, he thought, holding on to them.
A stout little boy no older than five squeezed by him and snatched three of the gummy worm packages. A woman hurried after him as he dragged them off giggling.
"Oh Eugene, put those down!" she cried, running after him.
James stifled a snort. "What a terrible name, poor boy. Definitely going to get teased about that later in life," he said.
Lily chuckled, her eyes raking the shelves. "Oh don't be mean, it must have some kind of meaning for the family."
James shrugged, following her. "If I had a kid, I would never curse him with a silly name like Eugene."
"What would you name him, then?"
James paused, pondering for a moment. "A good name would be...hm... Harry. Yeah, Harry."
"Harry. Harry Potter. Has a nice ring to it, I guess..." Lily grabbed a bag of Bertie Bott's and turned to him. "Okay, I think this will last me a while," she announced, letting him look inside her bag. There had to be at least two dozen different types of candies and chocolates stuffed inside.
"Nah, I think you can do with a few more," he said sarcastically, paying for them up front and holding the door open for her.
"Hey you're the one who insisted I buy something," she said, swinging the bag back and forth as they made their way back up to the castle.
Though James was dead tired, he couldn't have asked for a better day. Being around Lily was a lot better than he had ever bargained for – he found himself laughing with her countless times, albeit sometimes at her. He'd grown noticeably closer to her in the past few hours, and he could see that she was enjoying herself too.
He glanced sideways at her – her cheeks were slightly pink from the cool temperature, and her emerald-green eyes were brought out even more with her green wool hat. Beautiful, he thought.
Except he didn't think it. "What did you say?" Lily said, gazing up at him as they trekked on.
James felt heat rush to his face at his aloud comment. "Nothing," he muttered, looking away.
"No, what did you say," she insisted, stopping them both.
Perhaps she already heard it, James thought anxiously. "It's nothing new that I fancy you, Lily."
She blushed and gazed away, which James found peculiar for some reason.
He smiled slowly, running a hand through his hair. "You've never reacted like that the thousand times I've told you before," he pointed out slyly.
"I never fancied you back those times," she said gently.
James looked at her in awe, placing her heavy bag of sweets on the ground. "Y-you actually mean that?"
Lily's lips twitched in a smile. "I don't joke around, Potter."
She stepped close enough for him to smell her sweet, familiar scent. James took a hand and placed it lightly on her cheek, gazing intensely into her jewel-like eyes, the ones he found more stunning than anything else in the world.
If his conscious were Sirius, he'd be silently yelling "hold nothing back!"
James hesitated, then leaned forward, kissing her lightly at first – in a lightning fast response, Lily wrapped her arms around her neck and pressed her lips firmly against his with undeniable hunger. James felt the heat pulsing off her and pulled her against him tighter, nearly lifting her off her feet.
The heated embrace seemed to last forever before Lily broke it off much to James' disappointment. He panted, looking down at her with a love drunk expression.
A flustered Lily looked pleased with herself. "Back to the castle, then?" she said simply.
Rather saying anything, James nodded, still disoriented. He grabbed the bag of sweets off the ground and swung an arm around her shoulder. He may have looked confused, but inside, James felt like a million fireworks were ignited at the once, and could probably outdo any New Year's displays.
"Mission?" Padfoot asked later that night in their dormitory. Moony and Wormtail leaned closer, waiting for a reply.
James grinned. "100% Complete."
And that's the end of that! Please review it, comment, and I would love feedback! Thanks a lot, guys :)
Also: I plan on starting a proper story soon with quite a few chapters (romance/suspense), and I'm excited - does anyone have a particular ship you think I should write? I'm willing to try anything (except slash.. LOL).