Their Seventh Year

Ye olde chapter of extreme clichedness!  Maybe I liked the idea, maybe I just got lazy and couldn’t think of anything original, but I ended this chapter with a super-cliché.

Now, the question of a sequel.  This is a hard question, and the short answer is, not now.  At the moment I’m having job stress, taking a writing class, and doing Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month: 50,000 words in one month) in November.  I started a sort-of sequel, but I doubt this crowd would like it because it is set in the last year of James and Lily’s life, and it’s going to get pretty dark and depressing, and there are only 4 chapters done and I don’t see myself doing any more soon (because of the busy).  But, if you want to read it, you can read those 4 chapters at fanfiction-dot-net, where I am also MetroDweller.  It’s called “Rising Darkness”.  I may post it here if I ever finish it, but that seems unlikely now.  Also on that account, which I can’t post here because of the ship restrictions, is the first chapter of a story about Sirius and Arianna, who I see having a long but dysfunctional relationship, called “Divided Loyalties”. 

That’s all for me.  Thanks for all the wonderful and lovely feedback, it’s great to know what people think!

Chapter 40- The End and New Beginnings

7 years ago:

James was getting a little worried. His entire life, for as long as he could remember, he’d been looking forward to going to Hogwarts, but so far he hadn’t found anyone to sit with on the train. He knew he couldn’t sit with any of the older kids, he knew that just wasn’t done. Finally, near the end of the train, he came to a compartment that was almost empty. Just one boy sat in it, alone, and he looked like he might be a first year too. He didn’t look very friendly, his arms were crossed over his chest and he was staring moodily out the window from under longish straight black hair. Still, James didn’t want to go on standing in the hall.

“D’you mind if I sit here?”

The boy barely glanced at him, but then lifted one shoulder in a sulky kind of half-shrug. James dragged his trunk in and let it fall to the floor with a thud, and then studied his companion for a moment. The boy didn’t even glance at him, but James figured maybe he was just shy, so he stuck out his hand.

“I’m James Potter.”

The boy narrowed his eyes, stared at James’s hand, looked him up and down appraisingly, and then seemed to come to some sort of decision. He took the offered hand.

“Sirius Black.”

That accomplished, James took the seat across from his new acquaintance. Feeling slightly awkward and unsure of what to say, he fell back on a subject of interest to eleven-year-old boys everywhere.

“D’you like Quidditch?”

Sirius’s face brightened considerably. “Yeah! What’s your team?”

“Appleby Arrows!”

Sirius made a derisive sound, but James didn’t mind, there was no malice in it. “Mine’s the Holyhead Harpies!”

“I sure wish First Years could be on the house teams! Which-“

“Is it okay if we sit with you? Everywhere else is full.”

The boy in the doorway was definitely a First Year, with brown hair that fell over his forehead and clear brown eyes. He looked delicate, and was a little on the short side, and though he had spoken confidently, he looked nervous, as though afraid they might say no. They exchanged a glance, and decided he was okay.

“Sure, but who’s we?”

The brown-haired boy turned, looking around as though he expected someone else to be there. Then he sighed and said “Oh come on then, they won’t bite.”

Hesitantly a tow-headed boy came through the door, but it was the other boy who spoke up.

“I’m Remus Lupin, this is Peter Pettigrew.”

“I’m-“

“James!”

He was jerked out of his fond memories of their first train ride by a well-aimed shoe sailing across the room and knocking him in the had. It was only natural he should be thinking about their first day now, on their last night at Hogwarts. He threw the shoe back.

“Daydreaming about his precious Lily?” teased Peter.

“Nah, I was just thinking about when we first came here.” He sat up.

“I remember someone pushed me in the lake.” Peter replied, scowling. “I never did find out who that was. I still think it was Snape.”

Sirius was bounding impatiently from one foot to the other. “Come on, enough with the Memory Lane, we have a feast to go to and I’m hungry!”

“All right, all right, let’s go.”

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

As they waited for the feast to begin, Lily could not help but remember her first day at Hogwarts, which was also the first day she had met James Potter.

As they stepped off the train into the twilight, Lily tried not to stare. The girl she had met on the train was from an all magical family, so a magical train station was nothing new to her. Lily was trying to act just as uninterested.

“What house do you want to be in?” asked her as they hopped off the train. “Do you know the houses?”

Lily nodded. “I read a book about it. I think Ravenclaw and Gryffindor sound like the best. I’d like to be in one of those.”

“I know I’ll be in Gryffindor!” Said a brash voice behind her. They turned and Lily saw a skinny boy with messy hair and glasses.

“Nobody knows what house they’re going to be in until they’re sorted.” She replied, not liking his arrogant tone. She had read that in her book, and as far as Lily was concerned, books were the ultimate authority.

“Well, I know,” he retorted. “Both my Mom and Dad were in Gryffindor, and my Grandad was in Gryffindor. Almost everyone in my family was in Gryffindor.”

Lily was quite sure she did not like this boy. She was about to respond but they were interrupted by a tall and very pretty blond girl who Lily guessed was at least a third year.

“Sirius.” She seemed to be talking not to the boy who had spoken, but to his friend. “Where did you go? Auntie told you to stay with us so you don’t mix with the wrong sort.” Her eyes ran over them disdainfully. “But I see it’s too late for that. Come on. I’m going to tell.” She reached for his arm. He jerked away.

“Leave me alone Narcissa.”

“He has to go on the boats with the other First Years.” Lily announced, proud that she was able to contribute something. But the blond girl gave her a look of pure contempt.

“Don’t tell me what to do Mudblood.”

Lily was not sure what she had been called, but the others all gasped, and the boy with glasses stepped forward. “Don’t call her that!”

The girl flounced away, and they all got on the boats and Lily nearly forgot about the incident, but for years afterwards, even when she hated James Potter because he could be a spoiled, arrogant bully, she remembered that he had stood up for her.

As food appeared on the golden plates she came back to the present and gave her boyfriend a smile. Who would have guessed…

James was looking more than a little smug as the House Cup was announced. She had to give him credit, since the Gryffindor team’s Quidditch victory had gone a long way towards helping them win. She leaned over and kissed his cheek in congratulations while the Gryffindor table cheered loudly and most of the others clapped politely. James seized her and kissed her soundly, to the even louder cheering of the rest of the Seventh Years at the table. They did not begin to quiet down until Dumbledore stood up at the staff table.

“Yes, yes, congratulations to Gryffindor. And so another year is ending. I know you’ve all learned a great deal. For some of you it has been a year of triumphs, for others, a year of tragedy. I will not lie to you all; the wizarding world is facing dark times. None of you can be unaware of the rise of a dark wizard called Lord Voldemort. You have all felt his presence, some more personally than others.” His eyes ranged over the Great Hall, seemingly at random but also picking out many of the students who had lost family already. “I believe that not so far in the future, you will each have to make a choice. For some of you it will be easy, for some of you it will be harder. I believe in each and every one of you to make the right choice, whether or not it is an easy one.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

They all sat around on their beds, suddenly unsure of what to do with themselves.

“So, do we just…go to bed?” Peter asked.

“I don’t think I can sleep. Besides, it’s just graduation. We can sleep through the speeches.”

“Hey, I’m making one of those speeches!” James protested.

“My point exactly.”

"Everything is going to change, isn't it?" Peter asked, suddenly sounding very frightened.

"No." Remus shook his head solemnly. "A lot of things are going to change. We're not going to live together anymore. We're going to have homes, and jobs, and eventually...some sooner than others...families. But one thing won't change. We'll always be friends."

Sirius was shaking his head. "Friends doesn't say it. I have lots of friends. We're brothers, and the kind that go deeper than blood. Forever."

"Forever." James echoed. Close though they were, they were not given to serious conversations, or to showing emotion, but at that moment it no longer mattered. He felt an unexpected lump in his throat.

Sirius cleared his throat nervously. "I know I've never...said this, but I've never thanked you guys...for being there for me. Even after I left home, I've never had to feel like I didn't have a family."

James leaned over a squeezed his shoulder. They weren't going to hug or anything, they were still eighteen-year-old males, but the gesture said the same thing.

"While we're on the subject," Remus spoke quietly, his eyes on the carpet, "I want to thank you guys for being my friends. A lot of people wouldn't...after they found out...and a lot of people wouldn't have done what you have, with the transformations. I mean, becoming animagi…”

“We’re not most people.” Sirius replied. “And friendship goes both ways Mate. I mean, James would still be single without your advice.”

James rolled his eyes, and then grew serious. “We’ll always be friends. At least we can count on that.”

Sirius jumped up. “It’s not like we have to get all weepy about it. Not like we’re girls. Let’s go get something to eat, down to the kitchens one last time?”

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

They came back from the kitchens with as much as they could carry, having bid a very weepy crew of house elves good bye for the last time. In the common room they found Lily, , and Flora gathered there, in front of the fire.

“Couldn’t sleep.” explained as they joined them. “And I guess we don’t have to ask where you were.”

“We had to say good bye to the house elves.”

James joined Lily on the couch. “Want an éclair?”

She shook her head, but seemed agreeable enough as he put an arm around her.

“Well, I can tell you one thing. There will never be another school year like this one,” James announced to all of them. “I mean, you’re really never going to be able to find another Head Boy and Girl who are so brilliant, so talented, so incredibly attractive…”

“I do worry about McGonagall though,” Sirius said gravely. “What will she do when there is no one to give her a stroke on a daily basis?”

“Well, since we’re all here, I propose a toast.” Remus produced a bottle of champagne. “Assuming our Head Boy and Girl do not object, that is.”

James snorted, but Lily gave him a regal sort of nod. “I won’t tell the Head Girl Remus.”

He winked at her while Sirius was staring at him in admiration. “How’d you get that?”

“Skills, Padfoot, that you cannot even imagine. There is a reason I’ve spent less time in detention than you.”

James conjured glasses for all of them, and when they all had one, he raised his slightly.

“To our shared past, and to a shared future.”

“To good friends, and fighting the good fight.”

“To remembering the good times, and the best friends.”

“To the victory of the good guys, and a world free from fear.”

“To finding our destiny while remembering where we came from.”

“To the greatest minds of our generation.”

“To new loves, old friends, and happy memories still to be made.”

Lily smiled, raised her glass to touch James’s. “To our own happily ever after.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Sirius knew he had been putting it off, he had to talk to her, rather than simply ignoring the fact that he was leaving. And since it was literally the last few hours before they got on the train, he really couldn't put it off any longer. Their relationship was still more or less secret. Less so on his part, although his friends might look askance at it they would not really mind. Her situation was different, he knew it could cause her very real trouble, so he couldn't very well approach her in the Great Hall.

She met his eyes across the hall, gave the slightest raise of her eyebrows, and then made some excuse to her housemates and walked out. Sirius pushed back his chair.

"I'll be right back. Five minutes."

Peter started to say something, but Sirius never found out what it was because James kicked him hard and said, "Sure Mate, no problem."

She was waiting for him just outside the door, and he took her arm and pulled her out of the plainly visible entryway and down a deserted hallway. Two young Ravenclaws stared at them, but scurried away when he gave them a look.

"You're leaving today."

Normally, he would have made a comment about that blazingly obvious observation, but for once it didn't seem appropriate to joke. He nodded.

"Well, then...is this over?"

"We never even decided what this is." he pointed out.

Her eyebrows drew together in a frown.

"But it doesn't have to be over," he went on, "it will just be harder to keep a secret."

"People will talk."

He shrugged. "I don't care what people think."

"My family-"

"I definitely don't care what your family thinks." he interrupted.

"I care what my family thinks!" she snapped back. "I know you ran away from home and that worked for you and that's what's best for you, but I'm not you and that doesn't work for me. I'm not like you, maybe I'm not that strong or maybe I'm just as bad as they are, but I can't...not for...I just can't have them hate me...I..."

"Okay, okay, Shh." Nothing terrified Sirius more than a crying girl, so he pulled her into a tight embrace. He was slightly surprised when she didn’t resist.

"D'you hate me now?" Her voice was muffled against his chest.

"No, no I don't hate you. It would be simpler if I did. But listen, if you don't want to take on your family, that's fine. We'll just keep it quiet."

"How?"

"You are seriously underestimating my genius. I’ll make it work, if it’s what you want.”

He felt her nod. “It is.”

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

They stood in the entrance hall, their trunks had already gone, and they were just waiting for the carriages. James was excited; he was looking forward to seeing his parents, looking forward to introducing them to Lily, looking forward to moving into his own place, and looking forward to beginning Auror training, no matter how tough Frank claimed it was. In short, he was looking forward to everything that being an adult entailed. But he was also sad to leave behind Hogwarts, he had grown up here. He had to be sure he was leaving nothing unfinished.

He looked at Lily, though her hand was clasped in his she was talking to Alice about their plans that summer and how glad she was that her sister would no longer be at home. He simply looked at her for a moment, and thought about the years he had known her. In their first year, she had been a bright, sometimes a little too bossy, muggle-born girl. At the time, he’d had little interest in girls, but had been aware of her, even secretly thought she was pretty. In his third year, girls had suddenly become a lot more interesting to him and all his friends, and he had decided he liked her. Unfortunately, she had not felt the same way and he’d spent the better part of four years convincing her he was not the arrogant prat she thought he was. Finally, she had come around, and James had to admit the past few months had been the best months of his life. He could no longer imagine his life without Lily in it, and he didn’t want to try.

There was something that had been floating around James’s head for a few days, and he had not been able to put his finger on what it was. Now he realized something that he could not leave undone at Hogwarts. He knew that he loved Lily, he knew that he was a better man with her, and he knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. They were young, perhaps too young, but the world was uncertain and that, to James, was a reason not to wait.

The carriages pulled up in front of the school and they all started to file out. Lily glanced at him, smiled, and squeezed his hand.

“Ready to go?”

They stepped out onto the steps in front of Hogwarts. It was a beautiful day, crisp, clear, and bright, and James paused for a moment in the doorway, and decided. He pulled her back.

“Lily, wait a moment.”

She stopped, and then turned and gave him a quizzical look. “James? Is everything all right?”

He nodded, took a deep breath, and remembered, despite the fact that he was almost sick with nervousness, that he was supposed to be on one knee.

“Lily, will you marry me?”

He looked up at her, and saw emotions flash plainly across her face- surprise, disbelief, joy, and then, a calm, sure, serene smile.

“Yes James. Of course, yes.”

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The End.