Chapter 31: The Beginning of the End

"Oh man, oh man. Oh no. Where is it? Where is it?" She screamed.

"Lily, I think we need you over here!" Another girl called, glancing around worriedly. I smacked a hand to my forehead.

"Alice, calm down, it's in your hair already." I told her, trying to hide the amusement in my voice. I put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Her eyes widened as she rushed over to the full length mirror and breathed an audible sigh of relief.

"I'm just nervous. I'm sorry." She said, giving me a small smile. I went to stand next to her.

"Yeah, and you should be. Today, you become Mrs. Alice Longbottom!" I told her dramatically, grinning widely. I was at Alice's wedding, and have been for the last few hours. As Maid of Honor, I had to help her get ready.

"Oh man…I've wanted this for so long…and it's just…nerve-wracking, you know?" She breathed, turning to me, a mixture of fear and joy apparent on her face.

"The best Auror in the Academy…nervous? We're all doomed." Emmeline Vance snickered from behind us. She was one of Alice's friends at the Auror Academy and was the one that called me over before.

"Shut it, Vance." Alice laughed shakily.

"Alice, honey, are you almost done? The wedding's going to start soon!" Alice's mother asked, coming into the room. She looked Alice over and tears sprung to her eyes. She and Alice met half way in a tight embrace, both women trying hard not to cry. Quickly, the pulled apart. "Oh, honey, I'm sorry! I'm not supposed to be making you upset today!" Alice's mother said with a watery smile. She bit her lip to keep from tearing up once more. She looked around at the rest of us. "The rest of you are ready then?" A chorus of 'yes' filled the air and she nodded. "Okay, Lily, dear, you're first in line, and the rest of you behind her, in height order."

"Okay, okay. It'll be fine." Alice whispered to herself as I passed by. She was hyperventilating. I smiled.

"It'll be great." I promised her, before slipping on my shoes and starting a line near the door. The rest of the girls followed me and we all looked at Alice and her mother expectantly. They smiled at each other and hugged one last time.

"Enjoy this day, honey." Her mother said, before giving her arm a squeeze and rushing out the door.

"Well, I guess you guys follow me, then?" Alice said, biting down on her bottom lip. I laughed and nodded, motioning for her to leave the room before me. She inhaled, stood up taller, raised her head higher, and walked out the door. I followed her, and the rest of the bridesmaids followed me.

The wedding was taking place outside. The hotel next to it was letting them use it for eating and dancing afterwards, and for getting ready for the wedding. We walked outside the hotel and we were immediately ambushed by a camera.

"Some warning would've been nice, Peter!" I groaned after recovering from the initial shock. He gave me an apologetic smile.

"Sorry." I rolled my eyes. Peter was chosen as the photographer, since for some odd reason, he had talent with a camera. "Okay, I need all of you to line up in front of the hotel." He instructed, which was something totally new for him. Only on rare occasions did Peter tell anyone what to do. We wordlessly did what he was told. "Uh…say…cheese?" He offered, a humorous glint in his eyes. I snickered and earned confused glances from the other girls, but only Peter knew what I was laughing about and smiled at me when I met his eyes.

"Cheese!" We said together. He snapped a picture, and then two more.

"Alice, are you ready?" Alice's father asked, coming towards us. She took another breath and looked him square in the eye.

"Yes, daddy, I am." She told him, making his eyes water. The tears started to fall quickly. "Dad, you're making me jealous. I can't cry, but you can!" She said, her voice quavering a little.

"Come, dear. Frank's waiting." He whispered to her, and I almost starting crying myself. They linked arms and we started walking towards the altar. Peter soon fell in step with me.

"Cheese? Couldn't think of anything else?" I joked.

"I need to embrace the inner rat, Lily." He chuckled.

"James, Sirius, and Remus already here?" I asked him, hoping they'd turn up on time.

"Yeah, we came here together from Prongs' house." He explained. "They also told me about your guys' motorcycle shenanigan. And the fight afterwards." He told me, cocking an eyebrow. I sighed.

"What'd they tell you?" I asked, fearful of the answer.

"Well, Padfoot told me you have a killer right hook." He laughed. "Didn't exactly expect that from you." Yeah? And I didn't expect to have a one-on-one conversation this long with you, either!

"James is just lucky that I never resorted to using it on him." I snorted.

"Okay, Peter, can you stay here, and capture as much as you can?" Alice said, turning around to face him.

"Yeah, I will." He told her, "And thanks for asking me to do this," he added. "It was nice of you. Oh, and have fun."

"Thanks Peter!" She smiled, and faced her father once more. "Okay, I'm ready." She said, inhaling once more. The music started playing, and as we all walked out to towards the altar, I spotted James, Sirius, and Remus sitting in one of the middle rows. I winked at James as we passed, and he blew a kiss to me while Sirius and Remus were rolling their eyes. We reached the altar and stood in perfect formation, as was practiced. Then, Alice and her father started walking down the aisle, both wearing huge grins. Alice's father took the hand that he was holding, and placed it in Frank's hand, who looked up at the both of them with an equally wide grin. He looked at Alice in a way I can only describe as the way James looked at me.

I found my heart melting, and I looked out towards James, only to find him staring back at me. His face brightened up when he saw I was looking at him and his smile only got wider. I averted my gaze to Remus, who appeared to be staring between me and James the entire time, a knowing smile playing on his lips. Sirius was being anything but serious, and decided to spend this time playing with his hair. Peter was snapping picture of the wedding, from a ton of different angles. I couldn't help but feel momentarily proud of him. He was growing out of his awkward phase! Hell, I'd even had a conversation with him! Maybe I could work on getting him some more girl friends…and then actually get him to go on a date!

"I do." Frank's husky voice brought me out of my reverie, and I returned my gaze on the reason I came here.

"I do." Alice said, and by the tone of her voice, I could tell she was smiling. The wizard waved his wand over Alice and Frank, and a shower of small, silver stars fell on them, circling around their two figures. Their lips met, and applause erupted from everyone around them. They pulled apart, and looked out towards everyone, both wearing identical grins. Balloons popped and dozens of doves flew out of them. More silver stars flew on the both of them, and formed a little bubble around them.

An hour later, I found myself seated at a round table with James, Remus, Sirius, Peter, Fabian, and Gideon. James was sitting next to me, with Sirius on the other side of me.

"So how's Hogwarts, guys?" Fabian asked from the other side of James.

"Good." Was our unison reply. He and Gideon raised an eyebrow, as if asking us to say more. It was James who chose to expand on that.

"Everything's as it was before. Nothing's really changed. Slytherins still hate the rest of the school, still rounding up Death Eaters. Everyone's going about their daily business." James shrugged.

"They're still attacking us for no reason." Sirius offered.

"They attack you guys?" Gideon asked, his eyes wide and fearful. We shrugged.

"It's nothing much, really. Just a few nasty words exchanged, maybe a few spells here and there." I told them dismissively.

"Still, that's more than what we had to deal with!" Fabian argued, and Gideon was nodding with him.

"Except for being pureblood Prewetts in Gryffindor, you never really did anything to offend them. You kept your pranks spread out everywhere, you didn't dock points off of them (since neither of you were prefects), and really, the only times where you actually targeted them was during Quidditch matches!" Remus pointed out.

"Look at us! We've been picking on Snape since day one, made him lose his friendship with Lily, our pranks are only targeted towards them, our team's extra-vicious when we're playing against them, and to top it off, I, Sirius Orion Black, from the so-called Noble House of Black, am a Gryffindor. I killed the Toujours Pur idea there." Sirius explained quickly, with a hint of a proud smile on his face.

"You make a good point." Fabian said, nodding his head a bit.

"And, then there's Lily, all smart and everything…best in all of our classes-" James started.

"Well the classes James isn't best at!" I interjected. James rolled his eyes.

"She's best in all of our classes and she's muggleborn. It kinda killed their pride, there." James continued.

"You guys are going to be pretty good Aurors when you get here." Fabian told us, looking at us, more impressed than he was before.

"Definitely. Wait till Moody gets a load of them!" Gideon snickered.

"Moody? You can't be talking about Alastor Moody?" James asked, his eyes wide. Gideon nodded.

"The very same!" Fabian said.

"The best Auror of our age, apparently." Gideon continued,

"Even after Kingsley!" Fabian chirped.

"Where is he?" James asked, looking around. They shrugged.

"Not here." They replied together.

"He doesn't stop a day to get off of duty!" Fabian said.

"We think he sleeps there." Gideon added with a nod.

"Lily, why don't we go dance?" James offered abruptly, standing up. I looked past him to the dance floor. It was fairly filled, so no one would notice me dancing badly. I took his hand and he led me there. Alice and Frank were in the middle, foreheads pressed against each others, and staring at each other, hardly even blinking. James put his arms around my waist and pulled me closer, and I put my arms around his neck. We started swaying to the music, and it was nice, even though I can't dance.

"I can't believe that soon, we're going to be starting our last year at Hogwarts? I mean can you believe it?" I sighed, shaking my head a little. James chuckled.

"Not at all. I mean, two years ago, I was sitting on my bed, moping about how you hated me." James told me. I rolled my eyes.

"I was moping about how I hated you." I snickered.

"Glad things have changed?" He murmured, leaning down closer to me.

"Yeah." I whispered back, sealing the space between us. We quickly pulled apart, since we were in a public place.

"Hi!" Sirius said from next to us, and I jumped.

"Merlin, don't do that!" James gasped, breaking eye contact with me. Sirius snickered.

"I scared you guys!" He laughed, going into hysterics. James and I exchanged a worried glance. I took my arms away from James' neck and he reluctantly let go of me.

"Sirius, are you okay?" I asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. He turned towards me, his dark eyes lit.

"Everything's great!" He assured me with a nod. I smelled the alcohol in his breath.

"How many?" I asked tiredly.

"I think I had six or seven." He responded, tilting his head a bit. "Oh look! There's Moooony!" He exclaimed. He shrugged my hand off his shoulder and tried to run over to Remus, who was looking frightened.

"He's drunk?" James guessed, throwing an arm around my shoulder.

"Yeah." I responded, smiling at Sirius' attempt to serenade a tomato-red Peter.

I sighed and fell back on to my bed. Summer was almost over, only a month left. Only a month until my last year. Only a month until I'd have to start studying for N.E.W.T's again. Only a month until I left my parents behind again. But this time, it'd be the last time. After that, I'd be back here for good. Or at least until I get myself a job and find myself an apartment.

"Lily, come down here!" My mum called. I sighed and picked myself off the bed. I skipped down the stairs and walked into the kitchen. It was weird not having Petunia here.

"Yes?" I asked, walking over to the counter where she and my dad were.

"A letter came for you." My dad answered, pointing to the letter a few feet away from him. Just by the color of the envelope and the handwriting on the front, I knew who it was from.

"It's my Hogwarts letter!" I exclaimed, rushing over to it. Both my parents came over and stood behind me. I turned the letter over in my hand, and the Hogwarts seal was on the back. I smiled nostalgically and undid it. I missed that place. I took out the first piece of parchment and opened up so I could read it.

Dear Miss Evans,

I'm proud to inform you that you have been chosen as this year's Head Girl. As a prefect, you have shown your excellent ability to lead and help others while maintaining your own problems and also your grades. This is a remarkable feat that only the best of people can accomplish. I hope you accept this offer. I will be awaiting your reply.

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

Grand Sorcerer

Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Order of Merlin First Class

I reached into the envelope and took out the shiny badge. It was silver, and it had the words "Head Girl" carved into it.

"Wow, he has a lot of names!" My dad said. My mum shot him a glare.

"Honey, our daughter was just made Head Girl, and you're concerned about her headmaster's names?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"I mean…uh…congratulations, Lily." He corrected himself, patting me on the back, blushing slightly. I laughed.

"We can get you all new robes, and everything!" My mum squealed.

"Mum, I haven't grown at all since we got new robes last year! I'm fine, honestly!" I told her. "But if you really did want to buy me something…I was hoping for-"

"Another book?" She guessed, her face falling slightly. I nodded enthusiastically.

"That's m'girl!" My dad laughed, patting me on the back again.

"LILY!" A voice shouted. I jumped a foot in the air and accidentally dropped my letter and badge. I quickly picked it up and put it back on the counter next to me. I turned around, putting a hand over my speeding heart.

"Merlin, don't do that!" I shrieked. It was just James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter. It didn't appear that James heard me. He ran over, picked me up and spun me around. "What?" I asked, laughing. He had a huge, broad smile.

"Guess what! Guess what! Guess what!" He yelled, putting me down. He started jumping up and down like a five-year-old.

"What?" I asked, simply to humor him.

"Look at it! Look at it! Look at it!" He yelled again, shoving a piece of parchment in my face. I rolled my eyes and took it from him. "Read it! Read it! Read it!"

"Okay! Okay! Okay!" I mimicked, causing everyone else to laugh.

Dear Mr. Potter,

I'm very proud to inform you that you have been chosen as Head Boy. You have exhibited the qualities required to become an excellent Head Boy, and I know you will do well. Congratulations!

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

Grand Sorcerer

Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Order of Merlin First Class

"You're Head Boy." I said, putting down the letter on the table next to my own. I blinked a few times, trying to comprehend this. I spun around. "But…But…I was so sure…" I said, glancing at Remus, and then back to James.

"What is with everyone today? Is no one happy for me?" James yelled, throwing up his arms. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Padfoot wasn't exactly cheering at the news, either." Remus explained, jerking his thumb in Sirius' direction.

"Well, you did predict this would happen." I pointed out.

"We're going to leave you kids alone." My mum interrupted. I bet she was just disappointed James didn't hug her. They both left, and three pairs of confused eyes were on me.

"Don't you remember?" I asked them all. They shook their heads. I sighed. "It was a long time ago, back at the end of fifth year, the day after term ended. You," I said, pointing at Sirius, "Were being dramatic. You were saying how being with me would cause James to go all goody-two shoes. And then he'd stop pulling pranks. And then he'd become Head Boy." I explained. Remus was the first to remember what I was talking about.

"Oh yeah! I remember now!" He laughed, slapping a hand to his forehead. "You brought this on yourself, mate!" Remus laughed, clapping Sirius on the back.

"But why were you upset?" I asked.

"Why weren't you happy?" Sirius shot back with a raised eyebrow. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I asked first." I told him.

"No, I actually want to know, why weren't you happy?" James said to me, crossing his arms over his chest and raised his eyebrow. I groaned and looked to Remus and Peter for help.

"Sorry Lily." Remus said sheepishly.

"Yeah, you dug yourself this little hole here." Peter shrugged.

"Fine. But don't be mad at me." I told James. He seemed to consider this for a moment. He bit his lip.

"Okay." He said after a while, but looked a bit fearful, probably wondering if he really did want to know or not.

"Well…" I started, but paused, to glance at the three eager sets of ears behind me. I took James' hand and led him into the next room, the living room. I took out my wand. "Muffliato." I muttered.

"Lils!" James gasped. I shrugged.

"It's a useful spell." I said defensively. James shook his head and laughed. "Okay." I took a breath. "Well, you…don't really…didn't, I mean…with all those…and no responsibility…really, it was only until I came in…I mean…I'm not making much sense." I sighed, slumping down on the couch. How was I going to say this without sounding like a complete idiot? James stared at me for a bit before sitting down next to me.

"I think I get it." He told me after a little. "You've worked so hard for this, and this is all you wanted for such a long time. And then now, I come along…being irresponsible for the better part of my years there. And just as easily get something that you've worked so hard for, especially since I didn't even work towards it. And, I'm not even a prefect." He said emotionlessly.

"I mean, you obviously did work, you're the captain of the Quidditch Team! You're as qualified as any of the prefects. But…it's just…everything else you said…" I muttered, putting my head in my hands.

"I know, Lily. And I mean, I don't know what else to say…I did have thoughts this summer, about how nice it would be, working alongside you. But I didn't actually think it would happen." He muttered. I looked up at him to see his hand running through his hair. I sighed again.

"I don't hate you for this, James." I told him lightly. His face brightened considerably. "You didn't go to Dumbledore and ask him for this." I sighed. "But it's just a little hard to accept."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." He muttered. "It's like when I first got on the Quidditch team, back in second year. I was really happy, and it was great. But then I saw that there were people who tried out because they were bored…and people who didn't want to be on the team nearly as much as I did…" He sighed. "I get what you're saying, I really do."

"I thought Remus was going to get it." I confessed. He nodded.

"So did I." He told me. "But, I guess with his whole werewolf thing, Dumbledore decided it wouldn't be a good idea." He shrugged.

"Yeah, that makes sense." I agreed.

"So, everything's all good?" James asked hopefully, giving me a half-smile. I smiled back.

"Of course." I responded, giving him a quick peck on the lips. I took his hand and dragged him up. "Finite Incantatem" I muttered.

"Does that work?" James asked, tilting his head a bit. I laughed.

"I'm not sure…I'm just hoping it does." I smiled. We walked back to Remus, Sirius, and Peter.

"Everything sorted out?" Remus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah." James and I responded together.

"Great, so Lily-flower, you got any food?" Sirius asked, looking around the kitchen.

A/N: So this turned out much shorter than I originally planned it to be...Whoops.

Please review!

Until next Friday,

Love,

SAM :)