Hello! Enjoy the chapter. There's only 2 chapters left in this story, sadly, resulting in 30 chapters, but don't worry, I have decided to definitely pursue the sequel, so it's not over, but this particular one is.
Melody 106- HEHE I was going to have Tonks say exactly that, but, I decided against it :P
Looney3- don't thank me it was really my pleasure (:
Soccergal18- I got it to you in time :D haha. Have fun on your snow day. And he did spit out I love you by accident.
J.L Keating- Yes I had to leave it at a cliffhanger! It's like you don't know me ;)
ClaraMay- I know it seems a bit strange, but I kind of wanted to portray them as meant to be, sort of. And Remus has liked her subconsciously for a while. I tried to capture some of that confusion about the short time in THIS chapter, so I hope that clarifies a bit (:
Anana53- haha it is a GREAT movie. I actually liked the second one with the circus as well (: it was cute
HAPPY FANFICTIONING!
Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER STOP ASKING ME
Previously:
"Don't tell me then," she teased, taking his hand and dragging him into the Common Room, and Remus laughed.
"I love you," he chuckled, and then froze as he realized what he had said, and as Tonks stopped walking, turning around to face him with large eyes.
I. Am. An. Idiot. Remus yelled at himself, inside his head, as he looked into Tonks's face. She looked confused, scared and extremely gleeful at the same time, impossibly enough. What was it about her that was getting to him so much? It was irritating. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about how it was such a coincidence that she had walked over to them when he had asked Lily who would want to date a werewolf. He had been smiling ever since they had spent time that afternoon, even if it had only been for a few minutes. And he had had so much fun dancing with her, and bickering with her. How am I such a sap? Isn't falling in love supposed to be, dramatic? Complicated? A long process?
"Remus," Tonks breathed, and Remus shook his head quickly, placing his hand on her mouth.
"It slipped out?" he said weakly, and he could see Tonks grinning up at him through her eyes. He could see the cheeky retort her brain was cooking up and smiled to himself. Or can it just click, like this?
"I'm sure it did," Tonks said, nodding seriously, and Remus grinned, grateful that she hadn't pushed on what he claimed to have accidentally slipped out.
"It did, I swear," he said, placing his hand on his heart, "Marauders honour"
"I may be a second year, but I'm not stupid enough to fall for that," she said, rolling her eyes and Remus gasped.
"Marauders honour is a legitimate thing to swear on," he argued, as he and Tonks began to, slowly, make their way to Gryffindor Tower. Tonks looked up at him skeptically, "It is!" he insisted. Tonks looked to ruffled hair, to extremely honest and earnest eyes, and wanted to cry internally, but smiled.
"Okay, I believe you," she said genuinely, and Remus smiled smugly.
"That's because I'm always right, get used to it," he said, and then bit his lip as he realized what he'd implied. He felt his stomach drop as he realized, that in the future, as it would never happen now, she wouldn't be able to be with him. He wouldn't let her. They weren't going to get married, or have a kid, or die together. This would just be forgotten.
"I will," Tonks said quietly, looking down at the floor, and Remus shook his head.
"No," he said, and saw Tonks's head snap up and he ended up looking in her eyes.
"No?"
"No," he repeated, shaking his head, and Tonks's eyes narrowed.
"And why is that?"
"Because!"
"Because what?"
"I'm not good for you!"
"What do you mean you're not good for me? I think I know what's bloody good for me!"
"I'm not it!" Remus yelled, frustrated that she wouldn't listen, upset that he wasn't good enough for her, and furious that she was going to end up with someone else. He had finally found someone, and he didn't want her because of his condition. He didn't want to ruin everything for her. Poor James, he thought randomly, remembering how James had always been depressed about Lily. He had never fully understood.
"How do you bloody know? You can't say that because you've never tried being it for me!" Tonks screeched, clenching her hands into fists and stomping her foot, tears glazing her eyes.
"And I'm never going to Tonks! It's not okay for you! Believe me, I want to," he said, saying the last part quietly, as he looked down into Tonks's eyes. Tonks looked up at him, scrutinizing him, and felt her heart melt as she realized he actually did want to, and wasn't just trying to let her down easy. She saw a deep sadness in his eyes, and frowned slightly.
"Then take the risk," she said, "What's life without risks! You're a bloody Marauder I thought you would've thought the same thing," she grinned, and Remus cracked a smile.
"Shame on me," he muttered, shaking his head, and Tonks giggled, "I cant take that risk Tonks, I don't want anything to happen to you," he said, and Tonks sighed.
"Remus if it's about your problem I don't care," she said, and Remus looked up at her, shocked, "I eavesdrop," she shrugged.
"You know about my, erm, furry little problem?" he asked, and to his surprise, Tonks burst into laughter.
"What some deranged Guinea pig? No I know about your, monthly problem," she said, and Remus grinned.
"That's the furry little problem."
"Who the bloody hell decided to call it that?" she snorted, and Remus grinned.
"James,"
"Of course," she grinned, and then looked up at him, "And I really don't care"
"Tonks you're 12, you don't understand the…the…the repercussions of dating a…someone like me," he said, and Tonks glared up at him.
"I may be 12 but I'm not an idiot," she said, crossing her arms, and Remus shook his head.
"I'm not suggesting you're an idiot," he said, and Tonks huffed, "I'm just saying that it's not safe," he said. Tonks opened her mouth to argue, but Remus put his finger on her lips, "Not going to change my mind here Nymphadora," he said, and Tonks's eyes predictably widened.
"Bloody hell Remus someone could hear you!" she hissed, looking around, and Remus snickered, "And if you want to call me by my first name, shorten it will you? To something less embarrassing!"
"I like you're name actually," Remus said, and Tonks snorted, "I do!"
"Whatever, I'm not letting you call me it," she declared, and Remus sighed.
"Why not?"
"You wouldn't want anyone calling you that if your stupid mother decided to name you Nymphadora of all things," she grumbled, and Remus bit back a laugh, deciding to cooperate with the girl he had somehow come to love.
"How about Dora?" he asked, and Tonks grinned at him
"I can live with that, you're the first one to come up with it,"
"Really?"
"Yes"
"I should get the house cup for that," he said sarcastically, and Tonks laughed. The two made their way to the portrait hole and the fat lady looked down at them.
"Hello Remmy," she said, batting her eyelashes, and Remus chuckled. Tonks narrowed her eyes and said the password, "Alright, good night darling," she said, blowing a kiss to Remus, who laughed and walked through the portrait hole.
"Do you boys have to be so bloody good looking?" Hestia was grumbling to Sirius as they made their way over to the seventh years. Hestia and Sirius, and James and Lily were dancing next to each other.
"What's wrong with our devilishly good looks?" James asked, earning himself a pinch from Lily.
"Potter, it's a wonder you can get out of bed your head is so inflated," she muttered to him, and James grinned.
"Ah Lily, are you getting nostalgic?" Sirius teased, and Lily aimed a kick at him, "BLOODY HELL Lily-petal, you're wearing bloody heels!" he whined, letting go of Hestia and leaning down to rub his shin.
"I didn't kick you with the heel!" Lily squealed.
"I can vouch for that," Remus said, and the four of them turned up to grin at him.
"MOONY, THAT'S MEAN!" Sirius whined, stomping his foot, and Tonks giggled, "Hello darling," he said, offering Tonks his most charming smile, and James raised his eyebrows as he saw Remus's face go dark, just like his did when Sirius flirted with Lily.
"Thank you Remus," Lily grinned, and Remus smiled back at her, "Hi Tonks," she said, smiling at her, and Tonks beamed.
"Hi Lily,"
"It's Lily-Petal," Sirius said, glaring at Lily, and Lily's jaw dropped, before she turned to her best friend.
"I cant believe you said that in front of him!" she yelled, pointing her finger at Hestia accusingly, and Hestia hid behind Sirius, who looked down at her.
"Hest you realize she's more likely to hurt me right?" Sirius squeaked, and Hestia grinned into his back.
"That way she'll get it all out on you so she wont hurt me," she laughed, and the others laughed.
"I love you too," Sirius said sarcastically, crossing his arms across his chest sadly.
"Well that also solves a problem of hers," James said, and Sirius turned to gawk at his best mate.
"ARE YOU SAYING I'M A PROBLEM?" he yelled, and James bit his lip, as the rest of them laughed.
"That's not what I meant Pads!" he said defensively, hiding behind Lily, who crossed her arms and looked at Sirius threateningly. Sirius, scared of Lily, took a step back, "I have a bodyguard," James whispered to Remus and Tonks, who sniggered.
"Manly Prongs," Remus chuckled, and James's jaw clenched, and he stood up straight, walking out from behind Lily.
"I'm a man," he said, and Lily grinned, kissing him on the cheek.
"Yes you are," she said, and James winked at her.
"I DON'T WANT THOSE BLOODY NASTY DETAILS!" Sirius screeched, and Lily and James turned bright red, throwing nasty looks at Sirius.
"THAT'S NOT WHAT WE WERE SAYING!" Lily yelled, and Sirius grinned at her cheekily.
"Your flaming cheeks suggest something else," he winked, and Lily flushed even deeper. Tonks was enjoying herself, hanging out with these seventh years. They made her feel like she belonged.
"Well maybe you are a bloody problem," Lily said, and Sirius raised his eyebrows, amused.
"Are you suggesting that you should get rid of me?"
"Maybe we should just throw him to the throngs of girls, he'll be gone in seconds," Tonks said, and they all turned to look at her incredulously, before erupting in laughter.
"I like you," James said, wiping his eyes after they had calmed down, and Tonks grinned.
"Yeah you're not so bad kiddo," Sirius said, ruffling her hair, and Tonks screamed, as did Hestia and Lily.
"WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?" Hestia yelled at Sirius, walking over to fix Tonks's hair. Lily turned to look at Sirius.
"I am disappointed in you," she said, before turning around to help Hestia fix Tonks's hair.
"Kiddo?" Remus asked, and Sirius shrugged.
"Everyone needs a nickname," he grinned, and Remus rolled his eyes, grinning. Once the girls had effectively and successfully rescued Tonks's hair, they walked back to their respectful boyfriends. Lily wrapped her arms around James' torso and buried her face in his cloak.
"What's with the sudden love?" James teased, wrapping his arm around her, and Lily grinned up at him.
"Savour in it, it doesn't happen very often," she laughed, and James shook his head fondly. Remus watched the two of them longingly, his eyes flickering to Tonks, who was watching the same couple.
"SO WHAT WAS THE OTHER PROBLEM?" Sirius yelled, and Hestia, who had been leaning on him, jumped.
"Sirius bloody Black what is wrong with you?" she screeched, and Sirius grinned sheepishly. Hestia stuck her tongue out at him and walked over to James and Lily. She tugged Lily away from James and put her arm around her. Lily looked at Hestia irritably and Hestia grinned at her, "If I'm devoid of boyfriend, you are too," she declared, and saw James narrow his eyes at him, "You need to learn some balance," she said, and Lily snorted.
"I have balance. I'm not dating Sirius Black, that's all the balance I need," she grinned, looking at Sirius cheekily, and Sirius pretended to look offended.
"Ah well," he said, giving up the act, "At least I know you want to date me," he winked, grinning at James, who laughed.
"Okay Padfoot,"
"Are you suggesting that you're a better catch than me?"
"I don't need to suggest it"
"BLOODY HELL PRONGS YOU'RE THE WORST BROTHER EVER!"
"I don't think the best brother ever would say they were the less attractive one," Remus pointed out, and Sirius turned to glare at him.
"You're an ever worser brother"
"Worser?" Tonks asked, not used to Sirius's made up words.
"Yes, that is a word," Sirius said, and Tonks frowned.
"In what dictionary?"
"I'll have to buy you a copy," Sirius said thoughtfully.
"I think The Idiots Guide to Idiocy is sold out," Lily said, and they laughed.
"SO what was the problem?" Tonks asked, honestly curious, and Sirius looked at her happily.
"I FOUND SOMEONE WHO THINKS LIKE ME!" he said, pointing between him and Tonks frantically.
"I'm insulted," Tonks muttered, and Sirius looked at her incredulously.
"EVEN MY FAMILY HATES ME!" he whined, and then bit his lip.
"They hate me too!" Tonks said, and Sirius grinned.
"Touché," he said, happy again, and Tonks grinned.
"I can't believe we're related," Tonks muttered, and Sirius stuck his tongue out at her.
"Aren't you ecstatic?"
"Absolutely," Tonks said sarcastically, and Sirius grinned.
"So the problem!" he whined, turning to the girls, and Hestia sighed.
"The problem is that James, Remus and you are too bloody good looking!" she whined, and Lily nodded.
"Why was HE first on that list?" Sirius yelled, and James grinned proudly.
"Because he's the best looking," James said, and the girls snorted, "LILY!" Lily grinned at him cheekily and then nodded towards Remus, who laughed.
"Whatever," Sirius said, "Why are my devilishly good looks, and Prongs and Moony's somewhat good looks, a problem?" he asked, and the two boys turned to glare at him.
"BECAUSE," Hestia yelled, exasperated, and turned to Lily, who sighed.
"Do you know how irritating it is to have girls glare at you all the time? And look at your boyfriend all the time?" she asked, and Hestia nodded enthusiastically in agreement. Sirius and James looked around and saw the girls looking at them. Remus ruffled his hair as Tonks shrugged, obviously knowing already.
"They plot our deaths too," Hestia said, then looked at Lily, and the two girls started to giggle.
"That was so funny!" Lily said through hysterical giggles, and James frowned down at her.
"What happened?"
"We were in the bathroom," Lily started, but was cut off by Sirius,
"Together?"
"Head out of the gutter Sirius," Remus muttered, and Sirius winked at him, before turning back to the girls.
"We were in the doorway, and we heard them speaking. They were trying to remember how to brew a poison and they had discussed they were going to give it to me, and then after I was gone, give it to Hestia," Lily continued, as if she hadn't heard Sirius. The two girls were crying of laughter by now, and the boys had smiles creeping up on their faces.
"And…and Lily here. They were like 'so wait, is it roots?' and Lily was like 'no it's scales,' and winked and walked out, giving them two weeks detention," Hestia choked out, and they all burst into laughter.
"I wouldn't let them hurt you," James said, pulling Lily away from Hestia and wrapping his arms around her from behind. Sirius grinned at Hestia, who sighed and walked over to him
"You're supposed to say something nice like that," she pointed out, standing in front of Sirius, who pretended to think.
"I'll pay more attention to you than them," he promised cheekily, and Hestia giggled. Sirius grinned and kissed her on the forehead, "Hestia you're it for me," he whispered, so only she could hear, and Hestia flushed happily.
"HELLO!" Alice said happily, stumbling over to them, and they all turned to look at her incredulously.
"She had 3 bottles of Firewhisky," Frank muttered, holding her elbow as Alice grinned around happily. Lily and Hestia laughed.
"I LOVE DRUNK ALICE!" Hestia yelled happily, and Lily nodded.
"ALICE!" Lily sung, and Alice turned to look at her.
"Lily-pie! Like Mag-pie! Maybe we should have named you Mag. No, then Potter couldn't have bewitched the sign to read 'Evans go out with me'. But wait wouldn't your last name be the same?" Alice rambled, as they all laughed at her.
"Maybe we should get you to the dorm," Frank chuckled, leading Alice to the stairs, and then freezing, "Yeah I cant do that," he said, and they laughed.
"Take a broom mate," Sirius said, and Frank raised his eyebrows.
"Tried and tested," Hestia said, and Frank laughed.
"No way?"
"Way," Sirius nodded, and Lily snorted.
"Way?"
"Way," Sirius said again, and Lily laughed.
"What time is it?" Tonks asked, before yawning.
"It's her bed time!" Sirius yelled, and Tonks narrowed her eyes at him, "Love you too," he grinned, and Tonks rolled her eyes.
"Oh Merlin! It's 4:30!" Lily squealed, paling, "It's time for bed," she said to Sirius, who sighed.
"Fiiiiiiine," he whined, "Oh no, this is the ending of our last party at Hogwarts," he said, and the seventh years looked at each other. Tonks felt her stomach drop, she wasn't going to have them to hang out with next year, not that she had much this year, and she really regretted it.
"Are you ready?" James asked, looking from his best mates, to Hestia, to his girlfriend. They all looked around one last time, and nodded, "WAIT!" James yelled, pulling out a camera.
"James what is that?" Hestia asked, and Lily's eyes widened.
"Is that my muggle camera?" she asked, and James grinned.
"Told you I'd get your photo album done. I have most of the pictures, just the last few need to be taken," he winked, and Lily looked up at him tearfully.
"DON'T CRY, you can't have runny makeup," Hestia chastised, and Lily chuckled a watery chuckle.
"Ready?" James asked, holding the camera, and Lily shook her head.
"You have to be in the picture too!" she squealed, "Are you in none of them?"
"No, I'm in most, I asked everyone to take," he grinned, looking around at his friends, who winked at Lily.
"Really? Thanks you guys," she said, and they shook their heads.
"No she's right though James, you should be in the photo, I'll take it," Tonks said, and walked over to James, snatching the camera.
"Thanks," James grinned at her, and walked over to wrap his arms around Lily. The five of them squeezed together.
"Three, two, one," There was a bright flash and the Gryffindors stood frozen. That was their last party.
"WAIT, WAIT, one with my camera!" Sirius yelled, pulling a camera out of somewhere, "Now we have a muggle and a wizard one," he grinned, and they all grinned at him.
"Three, two, one,"
"CHEESE!" Sirius yelled, and they all burst into laughter, holding onto each other. Lily felt tears run down her cheeks as she realized she wasn't ever going to do this again.
"I'm going to miss this," she whispered, and James, being the only one who heard her, looked down at her.
"Me too Lils, but we're all going to be together forever, laughing at that idiot," he said, squeezing her, and Lily smiled up at him.
"And I get to keep you?" she asked, and James smiled down at her, leaning his forehead against hers.
"Always Lils," he whispered, and Lily smiled up at him. She reached up and kissed him quickly, before getting down, wiping her eyes delicately as to not mess up the makeup.
"Okay, I'm ready for this party to be over then," she said, taking a deep breath, and shaking her head.
"Ready to send it off?" Sirius asked emotionally, looking around at the festivity, "Who thought this was going to be so hard?" he choked out, and they looked at him. Lily walked over to Sirius and wound her arms around his torso.
"We'll do something in your new flat," she grinned, and Sirius laughed.
"Yes, we will do that," he said, and cleared his throat. Lily let go of Sirius and walked over, taking James's hands, "Let's all face each other," Sirius said, turning around. The five of them stood in a circle, Tonks didn't want to intrude, and walked over to Maria. The five looked at each other, taking everything in, "Shall we?" Sirius asked, pulling his wand out. Lily reached down her dress and pulled the wand out, and Sirius grinned cheekily, as James's eyes widened.
"Where else am I supposed to put it?" she hissed at the boys, who snickered before turning back to the middle of the circle.
"Now, we're making fireworks, that read 'Marauders and Marauderettes, 1979'," Sirius said, and the girls looked up at him tearfully, "You think you aren't one of us now?" he asked, looking at the two girls he loved most in the world. They grinned at him, and Lily brought her hand up to wipe a tear.
"LILY YOUR BLOODY MAKEUP!" Hestia hissed, and Lily chuckled. The boys smiled, looking at their girls.
"Sorry,"
"Stupid," Hestia said fondly, squeezing Lily's hand. The five of waited until the song had ended, looking around, taking it in, as well as each other, before sighing.
"Ready?" James choked out, and they all nodded.
"We're going to be together forever," Lily said, "All of us," she said, looking around, and they all nodded, "Then I can do this," she said through her tears, and they nodded, in agreement with her.
"Three," Sirius said
"Two," Remus managed to get out
"One," James said in a husky voice, coated with tears. They all twirled their wands at the same moment, and extraordinary fireworks went off. Everyone in Gryffindor Tower stopped, and turned to look at the fireworks.
Marauders and Marauderettes, 1979
The five of them looked up at it proudly, grinning, their faces coated in tears. Frank and Alice came down the stairs and looked up at it, smiling. Peter, who was sitting on an armchair, felt his tears well up as he saw it, and rubbed his eyes. The Gryffindor Tower erupted in applause and cheers. Frank, Alice and Peter reached them, and together, they held hands, and took a bow. The girls and Frank let go, leaving the four Marauders. They clapped as the Marauders looked at each other, before taking their bow.
"I LOVE YOU ALL!" Sirius yelled, and Lily found herself laughing, along with all the other seventh years, all of them laughing through their tears. Some things were never going to change.
The next morning, they walked down to breakfast, not feeling the same sadness they had felt the previous night. They had all learnt to accept it, and Sirius had decided to throw a massive party at James's house, in the ballroom after they graduated, making all of them feel better.
"Morning!" Lily said happily, sitting down next to Sirius, who grinned at her and kissed her on the side of the head in a brotherly manner. James grinned and sat down next to her.
"What, no murdering Sirius for kissing your girlfriend?" Remus winked, and James laughed.
"I figure if he kisses mine, I'll kiss his and we'll be even," he shrugged, and Remus laughed as Sirius stuck his tongue out at his best mate.
"I don't love Lily-flower that way," he said, and James grinned.
"I know, or else I wouldn't have allowed you to do that," he shrugged, and Sirius smiled.
"HELLO!" Sirius yelled, and they turned around to see Tonks and Maria passing by. Tonks grinned.
"Hi," she said, and looked down at Remus, who felt his stomach jump as he looked at her.
"Hello," he said, and Tonks grinned down at him.
"Hello to you too," she said, "This is my friend Maria," she said, introducing her to the seventh years, who smiled at her
"NEWT SCORES!" Alice yelled, sitting down, and Lily dropped her fork.
"WHAT?" she screeched, and Alice nodded.
"THEY COME OUT! TODAY! MCGONAGALLS GOING TO GIVE THEM TO US! I'M SO SCARED!" Alice screeched, and Lily started to rock back and forth.
"T-T-T-T-T-Today?" Remus choked out, and Alice nodded somberly. James and Sirius looked nervous as well, but as usual, did something else to distract themselves, in this case, plotting.
"What are you plotting?" Hestia asked irritably, scared for the NEWT grades.
"It's the end of the year Hest, what do you think?" Frank asked, sitting next to James, and James grinned at him.
"Good boy," Sirius said, and Lily giggled, "Why is she giggling? Oh my Merlin she's being a girl! It's so scary! She's giggling! JAMES HELP!" Sirius yelled. Everyone had already been laughing halfway through his little rant, and James took a deep breath, and looked at Lily, who wasn't here.
"Lils?" he asked, looking around, "Where's Lily?" he asked, looking at Hestia and Alice, who were looking at the spot in amusement. Hestia sighed.
"Lily that's mean," she said, pulling her wand out and pointing it at the spot where Lily was, and Lily reappeared.
"DID YOU DILLUSIONIFY YOURSELF TO FREAK US OUT?" Sirius screamed at Lily, who grinned and nodded. She was sitting in between Sirius and James, and felt the glares from them boring into her. Remus was sitting across from her, and she could feel his as well.
"Hestia I'm melting," she squealed, and Hestia laughed, as the three boys' murderous looks melted as they tried not to laugh, "Dillusionify?" she asked, turning to Sirius, who grinned and shrugged. Lily noticed that the second years were still standing awkwardly and smiled at him, "This is rude, sit down," she said, gesturing next to Remus, and Tonks laughed.
"Took you long enough," she said sarcastically, and Lily grinned at her. Maria looked nervous.
"Hi Maria," Lily said politely, and Maria smiled at her shyly.
"Hi Lily,"
"HELLO!"
"Sirius!" Lily said, turning to whack him in the arm.
"What?"
"You're scaring her!"
"No, I'm breaking the ice," he said, and Maria burst into laughter, "SEE IT WORKS!"
"MARIA I LOVE YOUR SHOES!" Hestia squealed, and Lily turned to look at James, who grinned.
"Hestia!"
"What?"
"You're scaring her!" James said, mimicking Lily, and Hestia burst into laughter, as did everyone else, including Lily.
"Yeah, I'm not scared anymore," said Maria, visibly relaxing.
"Good we're not very scary," Sirius said, and Lily snorted, "WHAT?"
"Never mind," James said, covering Lily's mouth, and Lily laughed. She turned around to face him and grinned up at him, "You should thank me, I just saved your voice a lot of yelling," he said matter-of-factly, and Lily grinned.
"Thank you James," she said, and James sighed.
"Lily-flower, that is not how one thanks ones boyfriend," Sirius chastised, and Lily turned to look at him, amused.
"And how does one thank ones boyfriend?" she asked, and Sirius huffed, looking frustrated, as all five girls smirked.
"Well, one must say thank you," he started, and Lily burst into laughter, "I WASN'T DONE SHUT UP TOMATO!" he yelled, and Lily grinned, and stopped laughing, "and then one, meaning you, and Hestia by the way," he added, winking at his girlfriend, who rolled her eyes, and got back to her food, obviously having heard this before, "you must wrap your arms around your boyfriend's neck and pull him in for a good snog, then, once snogging has ceased, one must say thank you once more. Depending on the boyfriends satisfatorifying levels, he shall say whether or not he needs more thanking," Sirius said, and Lily giggled.
"Satisfatorifying?"'
"IS THAT ALL YOU GOT OUT OF THAT?" he yelled, and Lily laughed.
"No I heard everything"
"Now do it," he said, pushing her, and she looked up into James' laughing eyes.
"Thank you," she said, and Sirius grinned.
"Very good, now…"
"SIRIUS, I can't do this with you TELLING me what to do," she hissed, and Sirius snickered, as did Remus. Lily wrapped her arms around James neck and pulled him down, just as the instructions had said; after all, Lily Evans always followed instructions. James put one hand in her hair and one on the small of her back, holding her to him, and deepened the kiss. Lily gasped as his tongue entered her mouth and kissed him back harder. Once they broke off, Lily frowned, trying to remember the next step, "thank you?" she said, turning to Sirius, who nodded.
"Satisfatorifying levels?" he asked James, who laughed.
"That was good…for now," he said, and Sirius winked.
"That's my boy," he laughed, and then grimaced, "Remind me to never make them do that at the table again," he told Remus, who laughed and nodded.
"That looked like a great snog," Hestia said, looking at the two of them in awe, and Lily flushed.
"Were you watching us?"
"We all were," Alice shrugged, and Lily looked at James, who grinned. Lily looked over at the second years that were still gaping at her, and grinned. They snapped out of their trance and smiled at her sheepishly, getting back to their food. Lily turned back to her bacon and toast, and practically inhaled it she was so hungry.
"I haven't seen Pete around in forever," she said, and James nodded.
"He said he was going to be busy this week," he said, and Lily nodded.
"NEWT STUDENTS!" They jumped to see McGonagall walking towards them, holding official looking envelopes in her arms.
"Oh Merlin," Lily breathed, grabbing James's hand. They all looked at each other worriedly, "Good luck," Lily squeaked.
"Good luck," they said together. McGonagall stopped and then looked curiously down at the second years.
"Morning Ms. Tonks, Ms. Beckly," she said, confused, and Sirius grinned.
"We bought pets!" Sirius said happily, winking at Tonks and Maria, telling them it was a joke.
"Mr. Black," McGonagall said sternly, and Sirius winked.
"Minnie love, I am about to graduate, tomorrow actually, so you may as well call me Sirius now," he winked, and McGonagall flushed as the NEWT students and the second years bit their lips to stop from laughing.
"You will always be Mr. Black," she said sternly, and Sirius waggled his eyebrows.
"You like it that way? Not bad Minnie, not bad, it's a lot more kinky," he winked, and McGonagall turned a brilliant shade of scarlet. Lily was laughing so hard her stomach was starting to cramp from holding it in.
"Anyway," McGonagall said, clearing her throat, and turning away from Sirius, "here are your NEWT results," she said, gesturing to the envelopes, "The envelopes also contain the programs which are willing to accept you after you graduate," she said, looking around, and their eyes widened, "So congratulations, all of you already have jobs," she smiled, and Lily's eyes widened.
"Did everyone get accepted into something?" Alice asked fearfully, and McGonagall nodded.
"Everyone," she said, and turned to look at Remus, nodding, and Remus grinned, "seated in front of me got accepted into amazing careers," she said proudly, "Even you Sirius," she winked, and Sirius's jaw dropped. Lily laughed and pinched Sirius on the cheek. She had to hand it to McGonagall, she knew how to play, "Congratulations, and it has been a pleasure teaching…most of you," she said, looking pointedly at the Marauders, who grinned at her cheekily. She handed the envelopes out, and then walked away. Lily looked down at her envelope nervously.
"Good luck," Remus muttered, before ripping the top of his envelope. The second years watched quietly as all the seventh years looked down at their grades.
NASTILY EXCRUCIATING WIZARDING TESTS
Pass Grades:
Oustanding (O)
Exceeds Expectations (E)
Acceptable (A)
Fail Grades:
Poor (P)
Dreadful (D)
Troll (T)
JAMES POTTER HAS ACHIEVED:
Charms: O
Defence Against the Dark Arts: O
Divination: E
Herbology: O
Potions: O
Runes: O
Transfiguration: O
James grinned down at his results and then exhaled, feeling a huge weight shift off his shoulders, he peered over at Lily's expression as she read her results.
NASTILY EXCRUCIATING WIZARDING TESTS
Pass Grades:
Outstanding (O)
Exceeds Expectations (E)
Acceptable (A)
Fail Grades:
Poor (P)
Dreadful (D)
Troll (T)
LILY CLARE EVANS HAS ACHIEVED:
Charms: O
Defence Against the Dark Arts: O
Divination: O
Herbology: O
Potions: O
Runes: O
Transfiguration: O
"If you're disappointed I'll kill you," Sirius snickered, looking down at Lily's results. Lily grinned and stuck her tongue out at Sirius. James laughed and looked down at Lily's and rolled his eyes. Of course.
"How did you manage an O in Divination of all things?" James asked, and Lily laughed.
"It was easy," she shrugged, and Sirius snickered, "How'd you do?" she asked. Both boys showed her their grades and Lily grinned. They had achieved the exact same thing, "You are too alike," she giggled, and James and Sirius hi-fived over her head.
"PRONGS! WE GOT ALL SEVEN NEWTS!" Sirius said happily, and James grinned.
"Who would've thought?" Remus grinned.
"How did you do?"
"Pretty well," Remus said modestly.
"All O's," Tonks reported from his side, peeking at his parchment, and Lily grinned at her as Remus looked down at her exasperatedly.
"Hest?" Lily asked, looking over at her best friend. Hestia let out a sound like choking, and Lily looked at James worriedly. Remus leaned over to look and laughed.
"What?" Sirius asked, his eyes on Hestia.
"She's afraid because she got everything O except an E in Divination," Remus said, rolling his eyes, and Hestia's eyes widened.
"I CANT BELIEVE IT!" she squealed, and Lily grinned at her best friend. Alice and Frank had gotten the same as Hestia, so they all grinned at each other.
"We're done with our education!" Sirius said happily, and they all grinned.
"Did you read your job letter things?" Maria asked, and they all looked at each other, before simultaneously diving into the envelopes, causing the second years to chuckle. Lily pulled out her letters and found 8.
"Merlin," she squealed, and James laughed, pulling out 7. Everyone else, except Lily and Remus, had seven letters and looked down at them excitedly.
"OH MY MERLIN NO WAY!" Hestia screamed, and Lily grinned at her best friend.
"You didn't?"
"I DID!" Hestia squealed, thrusting a paper at her best friend. Lily squealed and looked down at the paper
Ms. Hestia Jones
Congratulations on being accepted to work at The Daily Prophet. It is a real honour to be assigned this job, as it is not offered to everyone. We sincerely hope you will come work with us,
Ms. Rita Skeeter
"CONGRATULATIONS!" Lily squealed, throwing herself onto her best friend. Sirius grinned down at the letter and winked at Hestia, who blushed happily. Lily sat down and looked through her letters, before freezing, "I. Got. In," she said, and James leaned over, grinning.
"Me too," he chuckled, kissing her on the forehead, looking down at his own letter from Auror headquarters.
"ME TOO!" Sirius said happily, "WE'RE GOING TO GO TO SCHOOL TOGETHER AGAIN!" he said happily, and Lily narrowed her eyes at him.
"Sirius Black, you are not going to be pulling pranks there," she said, and Sirius rolled his eyes.
"Yes mom"
"I GOT IN TOO!" Alice squealed, and Frank grinned, "DID YOU?" she asked, looking at Frank, who nodded gleefully, "MERLIN WE DID IT!" she yelled happily, throwing her arms around him.
"Moony?" James asked, looking at Remus, who was staring at the parchment with wide eyes. Remus wordlessly handed Lily the parchment, so that all three of them could read.
Mr. Remus John Lupin,
Congratulations, you have been accepted into the Auror program. You are probably a little shocked, due to your situation, but the way I see it, lycanthropy is nothing to be ashamed of, but to be used. Congratulations.
Alastor Moody
"REMUS!" Lily screamed, and Remus nodded, grinning. James and Sirius grinned at each other, and then at Remus, who looked like he was going to explode of joy. They had all gotten everything they wanted, how could anything go wrong. Lily turned up to look at Dumbledore, who winked at her and gave her thumbs up.
"We're graduating tomorrow," Lily said, looking at James that night in the Heads Common Room.
"That's weird," he muttered, and Lily laughed. Just then, the door burst open and all their friends flooded in.
"Hi," Lily smiled, still sitting on James.
"HELLO!" Sirius said happily, sitting down next to James. Lily giggled and got off James, and walked over to hug Hestia. Hestia hugged Lily back and they all raised their eyebrows at them, "I don't understand," Sirius said, turning to James, who grinned.
"Me neither, mate," James said, messing up his hair as he watched the still hugging girls.
"They're freaking out," Alice said, watching her friends.
"So they're hugging?" James asked, with an adorably confused expression.
"They're two halves of a whole," Alice smiled, and both Sirius and James gasped.
"WHAT?" Sirius yelled, and the girls jumped apart, turning to grin at him.
"Sorry Sirius," Lily grinned, and smiled sweetly at James.
"I'm not going to apologize," Hestia said, "Lily's my other half. You guys are just our partners," she said matter-of-factly and Lily grinned.
"I can live with that," James shrugged, and Hestia squealed, clapping.
"Fine," Sirius huffed, crossing his arms.
"You're my other half Padfoot," James nodded reassuringly, and Sirius grinned, cheering up considerably.
"You're mine too Prongs," Sirius said. Lily watched their teasing expressions, and saw the depths of trust and truth behind their words. Only the Marauders, she chuckled to herself.
"So what are we doing today? Last night before graduation…" Remus said tauntingly, and they all looked at each other.
"Let's have fun," Sirius said genuinely, looking around at all his friends.
"We should get dressed up and walk around the castle for the last time as students," Alice said, and they all smiled.
"That actually sounds like a great idea," James smiled, and they all stood up simultaneously to go get dressed.
The Seventh Year Gryffindors paraded the halls of Hogwarts for the last time as Hogwarts students, laughing, telling jokes, and reliving memories, none of them realizing that, the entire time, there were silent tears rolling down their cheeks, but they weren't sad tears, neither were they extremely happy. How could you leave your home forever?
"LOOK!" Sirius said, pointing to a spot in front of the teacher's high table. They were way past curfew, and had been stopped a few times, but because Lily and James were with them, nobody had been able to stop them, and to be honest, nobody really wanted to. Lily smiled down at the spot, "We got sorted right here," he said, sighing down at the floor, and they all looked at the same spot. Lily remembered the three-legged stool, her nerves, how she had smiled apologetically at Severus and ended up sitting next to Sirius.
"The last thing we do at Hogwarts should be sitting on the three legged stool with the sorting hat again," Remus smiled, and they all grinned.
"I'll go ask Dumbledore," Lily said, and they all turned to look at her incredulously, "What?"
"Lily you've changed so much," Hestia said, putting her arm around her best friend, "I'm so happy," she sighed, and Lily laughed, hugging her best friend.
"We should get to bed," James said quietly, "Big day tomorrow," he grinned around at his friends, who laughed.
"Really?" Sirius asked sarcastically, draping his arm around James' shoulders in a brotherly fashion.
"So I've heard," James said solemnly, and Lily snorted, "That's not very ladylike love," he chuckled, and Lily stuck her tongue out at him.
"Remember this spot?" Remus asked, pointing to a certain seat on the bench. James flushed as Sirius snickered.
"What?" Hestia asked, and Lily giggled, "What?" she asked her beset friend.
"This is where James asked Lily out for the first time," Sirius snickered, looking down at the spot. James grinned at Lily, who rolled her eyes.
"Who asks someone out on the first day of first year and expects them to say yes? Bloody hell James," she said, crossing her arms, and Hestia burst out laughing.
"I remember Lily after that!" she squealed, and Lily flushed, "'Why did he do that?' 'Was he making fun of me?' 'He's rather cute, but, I'm so confused!'" Hestia mimicked Lily's voice, as Lily flushed and the Marauders, minus Peter, laughed.
"Do you remember the way he did it though?" Remus snickered, and James narrowed his eyes at him.
"I didn't take advice from you until third year after that," he grinned, and Remus shrugged.
"It would have been romantic had you not yelled it at her," Remus said, and James flushed.
"I had never asked a girl out before! What do you expect? And then you bloody tell me to serenade to her!" Lily laughed at the memory and wrapped her arms around James' torso.
"If you had been on tune I might have said yes," she teased, and James gasped.
"I was on tune!"
"No you weren't mate," Sirius said, clapping James on the back.
"What song was it again?" Hestia asked, and James flushed, looking down at the floor.
"It was a muggle song," James said, and Lily grinned at him.
"It was so old," she grinned, and James stuck his tongue out at the love of his life.
"It was from the sixties!"
"Still old," she shrugged, and James pouted, "it was cute though," she nodded, and Hestia nodded in agreement.
"Bloody song," James muttered, and Sirius snickered.
"It was so catchy"
"It was," agreed Remus, "We were humming it for weeks"
"Lily, get me new friends," James whined, and Lily grinned.
"No I like these ones"
"Fine," James sighed, as they left the Great Hall, and walked up the stairs, having had moments in every inch of the castle, reminiscing, and didn't need anymore. They had had their goodbye. Now all they had to do was leave. James and Lily had decided to sleep in their old dorms, so they all filed up into Gryffindor Tower, the Heads dorm having been locked up for the night due to the resident's decisions. They walked into the common room and looked around nostalgically. So much had happened here, so many years, "We got together, right here," James grinned, standing a little off to the left of the centre of the common room. Lily grinned and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, "Just like this," he smiled, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Thank you for asking me out James Potter," Lily said, and they all erupted into laughter.
"I never thought I'd see the day," Remus wheezed, wiping at his eyes. Lily grinned up at James, who was beaming down at her. He leaned down and kissed her softly, and Lily kissed him back. It wasn't a passionate kiss, just one of love.
"HESTIA THIS IS OUR SPOT!" Sirius said happily, jumping up and down at a spot that was near where the refreshments table usually was. Hestia grinned and walked by Sirius, who grabbed her around the waist and swung her to him, "Not so fast Jones," he winked, and Hestia giggled.
"That's exactly what you said and did that night," she sighed, and Sirius nodded, before kissing her gently. Remus was looking out the portrait hole, and Lily looked at him
"My place is out there," he smiled, and they all grinned at him. Remus had filled them in on what had happened between him and Tonks, and, although Lily was slightly disappointed about the age difference, Remus had made the right decision.
"I'd tell you to go out there, but Tonks has to be there for that," Lily said, and Remus laughed.
"No," he shook his head fondly, "I think I have to be there by myself," he grinned, before walking out.
"Want us to come?" James asked worriedly, and Remus shook his head fondly at his friends overt worrying. Remus walked out of the portrait hole, ignoring the Fat Lady, who was, as usual, trying to hit on him, as she did with Sirius and James, and stood where he and Tonks had had their conversation, smiling to himself.
"I hoped you'd come here." Remus jumped and looked around to see Tonks, in her pajamas, standing there awkwardly. Tonks walked over to Remus and wrapped her arms around his middle, hugging him. Remus hugged her back and smiled down at her.
"Of course I'd come here," he grinned, ruffling her hair. Tonks shrieked, and jumped away from him, sticking her tongue out whilst fixing her hair. Remus grinned down at her.
"You know, I never said it back," Tonks said quietly, and Remus's eyes widened.
"Please don't," he choked, and Tonks looked up at him, "It's a little easier, like this, if I don't know that," he said, and Tonks looked at him sadly.
"But I do," she whispered, and Remus looked down at her, remembering the day he had met her after her Quidditch tryout.
"And you know I do too," Remus said, and Tonks smiled up at him.
"I'll wait till I graduate," she winked, and Remus guffawed.
"If you can"
"Remus I can wait forever," she said, and Remus felt the urge to kiss her, but restrained himself. She was, after all, only 12, "Anyway, congrats on the Auror stuff," she grinned, and Remus smiled down at her.
"Thanks," he said, and Tonks smiled at him.
"I'm skipping classes to come to your graduation, so I'll see you tomorrow, or later today," she said, looking down at her watch, and Remus chuckled.
"Don't skip class," he chastised, and Tonks rolled her eyes.
"Sorry dad," she teased, and Remus stuck his tongue out at her, "See you tomorrow," she grinned, before skipping into the Common Room, but not without hugging Remus first. Remus sighed in contentment, realizing he had had a proper goodbye with Hogwarts now.
"Remus?" Remus jumped to see Lily standing outside next to him, "Oh good there you are," she smiled.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, and Lily shrugged.
"I came to check on you," she said, "Sirius and James went up to the dorm after we said goodnight, and Hestia went up, and I was still down when I saw Tonks skip in, so I assumed you'd be out here," she grinned, and Remus chuckled.
"Well you found me,"
"Really?" she asked, and Remus grinned, putting his arm around her and leaning against the wall.
"I can't believe I fell for a 12 year old," he sighed, and Lily giggled, "Oh shut up"
"That's okay, look what I fell for," she teased, and Remus guffawed.
"You're right, you have it worse"
"Then maybe you shouldn't date him." They both jumped as an unfamiliar voice came out of the corridors. Remus pulled his wand out and lit it, and found it radiating on the disgusting face of Avery.
"Avery, get the hell out of here," Remus said dangerously, and Avery ignored him, looking straight at Lily, with a hungry look in his eyes, making Lily feel uncomfortable.
"Avery, you're out after curfew," Lily said in her Head Girl voice, and Avery grinned at her.
"Are you going to punish me?" Remus growled, and Avery flicked his wand, and Remus froze. Lily's eyes narrowed and she pulled her own wand out
"Go back to your common room," she instructed, and Avery shook his head. He took a few steps closer to her, and Lily flinched as Avery grabbed her wrist, pinning her against the wall.
"I've wanted to do this since that day at the Owlery," he muttered, and Lily attempted to push him off her, but she couldn't. Suddenly, Avery was blasted back, unconscious. Lily looked around for her savior, and saw Remus standing upright, glaring at Avery.
"How did you unfreeze?" she asked, and Remus shrugged, looking around.
"Let's go inside, James won't hear of this," Remus said, taking Lily's hand and dragging her into the common room. Lily allowed Remus to lead her back into Gryffindor Tower.
Once the Gryffindors were inside, a figure came out of the shadows, and walked towards Avery. He flicked his wand and the unconscious Avery of his doing, floated into the air, and started to make its way back to the Slytherin Common Room. Slowly, Severus Snape followed the unconscious Avery back to his common room with a slight smile on his face. He had helped Lily Evans. He had helped keep her safe. That was all he had ever wanted.
"James?" James sat up straight, not yet asleep, and looked at the sillouhette of Lily.
"What is it Lils?" he asked, holding his arms out to her. Lily walked into his arms and lay down next to him, cuddling herself into his chest, "What's wrong?" he asked, as he realized she was shaking slightly. Lily shook her head nad wrapped her arms around James, feeling safer.
"I love you," she whispered, nad James chuckled.
"I love you more than you know," he whispered into her hair, and Lily smiled, feeling tears in her eyes.
"I don't want to leave"
"We're not leaving tomorrow, we're graduating tomorrow," he pointed out, and Lily nodded, "But we're ready to leave now, we said goodbye to everything," he said, and Lily nodded in agreement, "So why are you upset to leave now?" he asked, and Lily sighed.
"I don't want to leave you," she said, and James froze.
"Lily, are you breaking up with me?"
"No!" she squeaked, and then covered her mouth as Sirius turned in his sleep, and James relaxed, "I just, I'm going to miss living with you," she said, and James wrapped his arms around her, "I get to see you every second of every day, and I don't want you to forget me because we wont do that anymore," she whispered, and James kissed her forehead.
"Lily, I see you when I close my eyes, I don't think I can every forget you," he whispered into her hair, and Lily nodded. James kissed her softly and Lily sighed in contentment, before standing up, "Where are you going?"
"Back to my dorm," she said, kissing him, "See you tomorrow," she said, and James could see her smile even in the darkness. Lily tiptoed out of the dorm and walked back to hers, to see Hestia sitting awake on Lily's bed, and Alice fast asleep.
"I love you Lily," Hestia said, hugging her best friend as Lily sat down on her own bed, "And we're graduating tomorrow, and I just want to say, that these years wouldn't have been the same without you,"
"I love you too Hestia, and I don't know how I would've survived any of it without you," Lily said, hugging her friend back. The girls sat like that for a long time, just holding each other, before Hestia stood up.
"Good night Lily. See you in the morning," Hestia said, and lay down on her own bed, drawing the curtains. Lily drew the curtains of her four poster bed and closed her eyes.
"Hestia?"
"Yes Lily?"
"I'm going to be an Auror"
"I'm going to be a writer"
"We're going to be okay," Lily grinned into her pillow, and she heard Hestia chuckle.
"Yes, we are."
Hey guys! You all wanted a fast update, well, here it is! This was quite an emotional chapter, and I had a lump in my throat at points. I don't want to say goodbye to Hogwarts! I know I'm not actually there, but, whatever (: Hope you guys enjoy it. Only two more after this!