Chapter Eleven: Graduation
By Natali, the LIBS of RoseLibs
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*_On The Hogwarts Express…_*
"That's it, guys," J. Mo sighed, squeezing Sirius's hand tighter. "That was the last time we'd ever be at Hogwarts as students."
Lily wiped away a lone tear. "It's been fun, hasn't it?"
"Great. But I, for one, will not be back any time soon," Meggie informed then, filing her nails. "It always got in the way of me and my boyfriend."
"Wow, school getting in the way of a life, go figure that out, huh?" Remus teased, leaning back in his chair. "Though I'm not too upset either. No more Shrieking Shack for me."
The Marauders shared a look between themselves. No more running around as animals either…
The Divines shared their own looks, but they were smiling devilishly. They'd done their prank on McGonagall just three days before graduation, and it had beat the Marauders' by far. In fact, the boys were still a bit sour with them.
At breakfast one morning, they'd flashed a very large picture of McGonagall as a baby, naked on a beach somewhere, by enchanting the enchanted ceiling to do that as the professor entered the Hall. And just in case no one had gotten the picture…
Lily smiled as she remembered the fit McGonagall when after the first minute, the baby head was replaced with the professor's current face.
Seeing what she was thinking, James snapped, "We would've done something better to beat you if we'd had time! You guys took the coward's way out!"
Lily, J. Mo, Brandy, and Meggie smiled sweetly at him, replying in unison, "Genius knows no time nor limit."
Sirius whistled, looking out the window as the wild country of Great Britain flew by. "You know, somehow I think our kids are going to being menaces to society."
"Damn bloody right," Brandy said proudly, winking at Remus, who blushed. "We'll take them by storm. And Meggie's kids will be menaces with fashion sense."
Meggie scoffed. "Have a child and ruin my great figure?" She threw her head back and laughed. "Yeah, right. I'm adopting. Way later in life."
They laughed, for now avoiding the topic they knew was all in their minds: Twenty years from now, would they still be friends?
*~*
Later, as Lily lay down with James on his bed in his new flat-their new flat-she'd answered that question for herself. It didn't matter if they were still friends. They were good enough friends now that it would never matter in the future; if one of them needed the other, they'd be there, friends or not.
"Lily?" James asked, interrupting her thoughts.
"Yeah?"
"I want to marry you."
She rolled onto her side so she could look him in the eye. "Me too. I want to marry you, too."
He gathered her close to him and placed his lips on hers, trying to show his love for her as best as he could. "Not just yet, though. There are still a few things I need to work out. Like how I'm going to make a living, and-"
Lily pressed a finger to his lips. "Hey, no worries," she smiled. "We've got all the time in the world."
*~*
-_Many Years Later…_-
In a room, in Gryffindor Tower in Hogwarts, lay the orphaned eleven-year-old "boy who lived", dreaming of what his life could some day hold, on his first night in Hogwarts. His future best friend slept beside him, snoring loudly, also dreaming sweetly.
In yet another room, in that very same tower, lay a brown, bushy-haired girl who would one day hold his heart as well as his trust.
And soon, very soon, they would take on the darkest wizard ever to have walked the face of the earth, and come out on top.
You shouldn't gamble with Fate… lest Fate gamble with you.
*~*_The End_*~*
-A/N: Now, that's it, guys!!! That's the end. Of course, it's been a great pleasure writing this, and I'm so glad it's gone so far. Now, as I'm sure you're all wondering, why are we ending this?! Before you throw tomatoes and other objects at us, please understand that there just isn't enough time. I'm going to be starting tenth grade on August the 15th, and it looks like it's going to be a demanding year once more. Two honors classes, and yearbook, which is probably worse than all of them combined. Rosie, too, has a lot going on at that end of the US, so it's just better to end it while we can still come out on top.
We will be, of course, thinking of doing a sequel once everything settles down. Or I am, at least. So look for that in the future.
For the last time, I'd like to thank everybody who reviewed. You made it so great, and your feedback was awesome. We'd really appreciate it if for the last time, you gave one last review and let us know that you liked it. You guys will always have a special place in my heart, as will this story.
Who knew not paying attention in health class last year would have so many benefits, LOL?
With all my love,
Natali
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