Chapter 16: To You I Belong
A/N: Here it is!!! The final chapter, hope you enjoyed this story. -Sniff, sniff-Sheds tear- I really liked this story, and I'm gonna miss it. Anyways, onward!
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Whenever dawn turns to night,
And all the dreams sing their song,
In the daylight forever,
To you I belong.
-To You I Belong by B-Witched
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(A/n: Ok, if this wedding reception sounds cheesy, I'm sorry, I haven't been to a wedding since I was like…I don't know when, but I was relatively young, like ten or so, but anyways, I don't remember much about the wedding or the reception, so I apologize if it sounds cheesy)
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The bride and groom and their guests arrived at the ballroom where the wedding reception was to take place. The room was beautiful. Lily and James hadn't seen it; it was their friends' job to decorate it. Lily and James took their seats up at the table designated for them, and their guests mingled around the room, some dancing, some talking with other people. Many of them came to talk with the bride and groom, until dinner was announced. Later after dinner was served and consumed, it was time for toasts. Alice stood up and once she held the attention of everyone in the room, she said,
"I remember the first time I met Lily Evans, now Lily Potter. We met the first day of Hogwarts in first year on the train. We became friends quickly, and were soon joined by Isabelle. We were forever best friends, and still are, even though there are only two of us left. That first day on the Hogwarts Express was also when we met James and the Marauders. And something about that meeting gave Lily a bad impression about James; I don't even remember what it was now. Since that day, James would try and get Lily to go out with him, and every time she'd turn him down, which usually ended in a slap on the face for James. If you would've told me then that we'd be here today, toasting to their marriage, I have to say I would've agreed with you. These two were meant for each other since the first day they met. So, to Lily and James Potter, may you have a happy life full of joy, good times, and no more fights." Lily blushed slightly and smiled, while her husband laughed along with everyone else. Everyone said,
"To Lily and James!" Sirius stood up and said,
"Ok, now I'm not the best at speeches, but since I'm the best man, I guess I have to. I've known James for as long as I can remember, and I've known Lily since that first ride to Hogwarts. It wasn't until seventh year till I actually got to know the nice side of Lily Evans, the kind that calls you by your first name; actually, to tell you the truth, I didn't even know Lily knew any of the Marauder's first names growing up; the kind that doesn't yell, the kind that my best friend fell in love with. They faced challenges as kids, quite a few run-ins with Voldemort," Most of the people in the room flinched at the mention of Voldemort's name. "And I know there will be more to come. But you'll face them together, and survive them all, so in fifty years, we can come back for your anniversary. To Lily and James, two of my best friends, may you both live long, happy lives together."
"To Lily and James." Alice stood up again and said,
"If there are no more toasts, then I think it's time for the happy couple to have their first dance as husband and wife." Music for the song started up, and James stood and took Lily's hand and helped her up. They walked out to the dance floor and Lily wrapped her arms around James' neck, and James wrapped his arms around his bride's waist. As they danced, to Lily it felt like everyone else had dissolved, and the only two people left were her and James. Lily leaned her head on James' shoulder and said,
"I could go on like this forever."
"Well, good, because I plan on keeping you forever." Lily smiled.
"This is the first song we danced to, do you remember?"
"Yeah, I do. It was labeled "our song" wasn't it?"
"Something like that." She sighed. "I don't want this night to end."
"Well, the night has to end sometime, but the dance'll go on forever."
Rain fell down
You were there
I cried for you when I
hurt my hand
Storm a-rushing in
Wind was howling
I called for you, you were there…
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"You never told me." Lily said to Alice a little while after she and James finished their dance.
"Told you what?"
"You said you were going to tell me something after the ceremony."
"Oh. I did, didn't I?"
"Yes, what is it?"
"Ok, I'm going to have a baby."
"Oh my God, that's great! When?"
"Sometime in July or August."
"Oh my God, that's so great!"
"Yeah, I just found out yesterday."
"Have you told Frank yet?"
"Yeah, last night I did."
"What'd he say?"
"He's thrilled."
"Oh my God, I can't believe this, this is great!"
"I want to ask you something. Since you are one of my best friends, would you and James be the godparents?"
"Of course."
"And you don't have to make me and Frank godparents of your children, Sirius would go insane with jealousy if you did." Lily laughed.
"Well, it's still too soon to be talking about kids. I doubt we'll have kids for another year or two." Alice shrugged.
"Maybe so." James sat down next to Lily and Alice, and Lily said,
"We're going to be godparents!" Sirius, who was standing close by, dancing very closely with a bridesmaid, only caught the last part of Lily's sentence and stopped dancing and said,
"What, you're going to be parents? Already? I call godfather."
"No, no, we're not going to be parents," Lily said, motioning to herself and James, "Alice and Frank are going to be, and we are going to be their baby's godparents."
"You're going to have a baby Alice?"
"Yeah, I am."
"You picked James as the godfather of your baby instead of me? What's wrong with you?"
"Yeah, but you're supposed to be godfather of James and Lily's baby when they have one."
"True." Sirius' bridesmaid friend cleared her throat and said,
"Um, are we going to keep dancing?"
"Oh, right, sorry love." They went back onto the dance floor. Alice laughed.
"Ok, seriously, how many women has he been with?" James shrugged and said,
"I dunno, I lost count years ago."
"Pretty much every girl in our year in Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor can say they went out with him," Lily said.
"I can't."
"Neither can I. Isabelle on the other hand…" James laughed and said,
"Hey, I'm proud of Isabelle. To keep him for as long as she did, it's like a miracle or something." They were silent for a while until Lily sighed and said,
"God, I miss her." James and Alice sadly nodded.
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Whenever dawn turns to night
And all the dreams sing their song
And in the daylight forever
To you I belong…
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"So much for two years." Lily muttered as she came out of the bathroom after throwing up breakfast. She flopped down onto her bed and stared up at the ceiling, thinking of her situation. She had only been married for five days, and already she was pregnant. She and James had to come home from their honeymoon because Lily was sick, and it wasn't until the day after they came back that she found out she was pregnant. She had only told Alice, and was still deciding how to tell James. She looked around the room, and listened to the sound of silence. She had the whole house to herself; James had Auror duties. She slowly rolled out of bed and went downstairs, creeping down each step. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Lily sped up slightly, trying to get to the door.
"Who is it?" She said as she reached the bottom step.
"It's Alice."
"Just a second, I'm coming…slowly." Lily finally reached the door and opened it. Alice smiled at her, and Lily returned it with a weak one.
"You should be sleeping, Lils, you look like shit."
"Gee, thanks, you're such a great friend." Lily said sarcastically.
"I see being sick doesn't affect your sarcasm." Lily smirked.
"Oh come on, Lils, you act like you're not happy about having a baby."
"I can't have a baby now."
"Why not?"
"I haven't even been married for a week!"
"So?"
"So, I can't have a baby!"
"You're forgetting, Lils, it's not like you're going to have your baby a week after you've been married, you'll be married for nine months when your baby is born. If you're worried that James won't be happy about this, that's a bunch of crap. I know James, and he'll be ecstatic about being a dad."
"But it's in danger."
"Of what?"
"Voldemort. It'll be the son or daughter of a Potter. Voldemort will be after it."
"You're well protected now, and so will your child. You want my advice?"
"Not really."
"Well, I'm giving it to you anyway. Tell James. He needs to know, it's his son or daughter too."
"I know, I know. So what'd you come over for anyways?"
"To keep you company. See, we'll be two pregnant witches together. God help our husbands." Lily laughed.
"Thank you."
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"So, how's the wife, Prongs?"
"Still sick."
"Still? Has she seen a healer?"
"Yeah, but she won't tell me what's wrong."
"Why not?"
"I don't know. But I have an idea of what's wrong with her."
"What?"
"I think she might be pregnant."
"Already? Nice job, Prongs."
"Yeah, she's been throwing up all morning lately, and this morning she fainted when she got out of bed. She's hiding something from me, and I bet that's what it is, because if it was life threatening, she would've told me when she got back from the healer."
"Why do women keep this stuff from men, why don't they just come out and tell us?"
"Why? Did you knock a girl up or something, and she won't tell you?"
"No! At least I hope not. It's just you see this all the time in movies and such. The woman never tells the man anything."
"Since when do you watch movies? Oh, let me guess, a muggle girl you were dating?"
"Yeah. But anyways…yeah."
"I don't know why they never tell us anything."
"Is she thinking you'll be mad about it or something?"
"I don't know, I never have quite figured out how Lily's mind works."
"I think you should go home, ask her about it."
"That'll be a weird start to a conversation."
"Not if you aren't stupid about how you start it."
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"James, I have to talk to you."
"What about?"
"I should've told you earlier, I don't really know why I didn't, but it's just that…"
"Lily, you're rambling."
"I know."
"Just come out and say it."
"I'm pregnant." James grinned and took Lily in his arms, spinning around with her. She laughed.
"James, stop it, you're making me nauseous." James stopped spinning and put his wife down.
"This is great, Lils."
"You're not mad?"
"Why would I be mad? I'm gonna be a father!"
"But it's really soon after we've been married."
"So what? That doesn't matter. All that matters is that we're together and I love you. You know, this is the coolest feeling in the world."
"I know, once I got over some of the shock I started feeling that way too."
"I love you, Lily." He kissed her.
"I love you too, James."
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Beside the sea
When the waves broke
I drew a heart for you in the sand
In fields where streams
Turn to rivers
I ran to you, you were there…
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"The other day I was interviewing job applicants for the post of Divination teacher. And there was this one applicant I thought would be terrible for the position, but that was until she had the signs of making a true prophecy as I was leaving." Dumbledore pulled out his pensieve and showed the memory of meeting with his job applicant to Lily, James, Frank and Alice. A small scale of a woman draped in many shawls with thick glasses that made her eyes look extraordinary large came out of the pensieve.
"THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD APPROACHES…BORN TO THOSE WHO HAVE THRICE DEFIED HIM, BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES…AND THE DARK LORD WILL MARK HIM AS HIS EQUAL, BUT HE WILL HAVE THE POWER THE DARK LORD KNOWS NOT…AND EITHER MUST DIE AT THE HAND OF THE OTHER FOR NEITHER CAN LIVE WHILE THE OTHER SURVIVES…THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD WILL BE BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES…"
"This prophecy could be about either one of your children. It's come to the fact that certain precautions must be taken to ensure your safety. I'm thinking you should use the Fidelius Charm. Choose a secret keeper, and make sure you choose someone you can trust."
"Sir, is there a specific date that this witch was talking about?" James asked.
"It's as the seventh month dies, so I'm assuming probably July 31st." James nodded slowly.
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"Lily, if you're going into labor, you have to have the baby today."
"Well, I can't control when he or she comes, James." Lily said through gritted teeth as another contraction hit her. She saw the worried look on her husband's face and said,
"Pray that it'll be a short labor then, James. Just pray." Sirius and Remus came back with a healer and Peter in tow. James came downstairs as the healer went upstairs. James paced in the living room; Sirius, Remus and Peter watching him go back and forth. James stopped pacing, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. Remus said,
"Everything'll be fine, Prongs. A lot of labors take less than a day. Your baby'll be born today."
"I hope you're right, Moony."
"So have you figured out what you're going to name him or her?" Peter said. Sirius looked at Wormtail and said,
"Where have you been Wormtail? They've told us so many times already."
"You know I've been busy."
"But that's always your excuse. Lily doesn't even keep that busy, and she was all work and no play, until she went out with Prongs."
"Like Lily said before, Padfoot, this isn't Hogwarts anymore, this is the real world, life isn't just about pranks and jokes," Remus said.
"So, anyways, what are you going to name the baby?" The three of them looked at James, who wasn't paying attention, just pacing. Remus said,
"If it's a girl, they're naming her Faith Gabrielle, and if it's a boy they're naming him Harry James." Peter nodded. There was silence for a while; the only sound was of James's pacing. Sirius said,
"So, Prongs, what are you hoping for, Harry James or Faith Gabrielle?" James shrugged, but didn't answer.
"Ok, Moony, what do you think it'll be?"
"I don't know, but Lily's thinking it's a girl, and she of all people should be able to tell better than the rest of us."
"I hope it's a boy, to take after Prongs." James smiled halfheartedly.
"I don't care really what it is, it's my son or daughter, I'll love him or her the same."
"But what are you secretly hoping for? Cuz' we all know that answer is for Lils." James grinned.
"I'd like to name it Harry James Potter, cuz' he's named after me." They all grinned.
"But no, I was serious about that it doesn't really matter what the sex of the baby is."
"I'd like to see James raise a girl, it'd be funny," Wormtail said.
"Yeah, we'll let you know all about it in Christmas letters, Wormtail," Sirius said sarcastically.
"Sirius, shut up. Leave him alone," James said shortly yet sharply. There was another silence until Sirius said,
"Well, whatever it is, boy or girl, I hope it isn't cursed with your hair." James gave a weak smile. Remus said,
"And if it has to be black, then hopefully it won't be as messy as yours."
"You know, I was just thinking, what are we going to do about the next generation of Marauders?" Sirius said.
"What?"
"Well, I mean, we can't leave little Prongs Jr. to carry on by itself."
"Well, you get on that then, you can make sure he or she has at least the best friend."
"No thanks, that involves marriage and commitment." Remus snorted.
"What about you, Moony, you can get the girl that'll provide the world with another second generation of Marauder."
"Yeah right, I'll get to that then. Just find me the girl who wants to be married and have kids with a werewolf."
"Ok, how about Wormtail then?"
"I haven't been out with a girl in a long time." It was silent yet again, then Sirius said,
"Ok, let's just hope that somewhere out there is a couple of kids who will take our place as havoc wreckers." All four of them grinned.
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James sat on the floor of the hallway leaning against the wall next to his bedroom door. His three friends sat close by, neither one of them said anything. It had been an hour since James stopped checking the time, and he had no idea what day it was, only that it was dark. Suddenly, the door opened. James looked up to see who it was. The healer smiled, leaned down and beckoned with her finger,
"Come here, there's someone you have to meet." James got up and followed the healer inside. Lily was lying on their bed, eyes closed, but when she heard the door shut again, she slowly opened her eyes, and smiled when she saw her husband. He came over and planted a kiss on her forehead. Lily said sleepily,
"James, you have to see him, he's beautiful."
"He? It's a boy?"
"Yeah." The healer came over, holding a blue bundle in her arms. She smiled as she handed James his son, and she left. James sat down next to Lily on the bed and they sat admiring their baby. He was the exact replica of his father, black hair and everything. Lily said,
"It already looks like he'll have messy hair like yours." Little Harry slowly opened his eyes and they were bright green like his mother's. James said,
"But he has his mum's eyes." Lily shook her head slowly and sighed.
"He's gonna need glasses then."
"Well, Harry James, according to certain Marauder friends of mine, you're to follow in our footsteps when you go to school."
"Oh, God help us. I can just see the letters from McGonagall coming in already. I feel sorry for the teachers. Though, I hope if he does follow in the Marauders' footsteps, I hope he at least torments Snape."
"Of course. If he's my son he will." James smiled and said almost tearfully,
"I can't believe that anyone can love someone that they just met this much." Lily smiled and planted a kiss on her son's forehead. She said,
"I know what you mean." The door opened, and the rest of the Marauders came in. Sirius held out his hands and said,
"Let me see my godson." Lily and James laughed, and Lily said,
"Why are you so convinced that you're his godfather?"
"You wouldn't do that to me." The new parents sighed.
"I guess if you want, you can be godfather."
"Good. Now can I hold him?" James handed his son to Sirius. Sirius said,
"Harry James Potter. It has a nice ring to it, like the name belongs to a famous person." He said to Harry, "You'll be going places, kid." A sudden thought came to James, something he forgot hours ago.
"What time is it?" Remus looked at his watch.
"Quarter after midnight."
"What time was Harry born?" James said. He looked at Lily and she hesitated before saying,
"The healer told me: 12:00 A.M., July 31st."
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Whenever dawn turns to night
And all the dreams sing their song
And in the daylight forever
To you I belong
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"James?" She called out. James came and met her at the foot of the stairs and said,
"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off…" He was cut off by another crash.
"Lily, GO!!"
"I'm not leaving you." She said weakly.
"You have to, take Harry and go, I'll be fine." He kissed her quickly, their last kiss. Then a door was blown off its hinges and Voldemort came in. He looked at the worry on the Potters' faces and laughed. James yelled again,
"Lily! Go!" Lily ran out of the room, but not before she heard,
"Where's the boy?"
"You'll never have him, I won't let you kill him."
"You can't protect him if you're dead, James." James threw the first curse, the Cruciatus Curse. Rules of the Ministry didn't apply when fighting the Dark Lord. Voldemort dodged it, and sent the same spell at James. They went back and forth throwing spells at each other, until Voldemort got James with the Cruciatus Curse. Lily heard her husband's screams of pain and ran back into the room just as Voldemort lifted the curse and James was weakly standing up. Voldemort, taking advantage of James' momentary weakness, pointed his wand and shouted,
"Avada Kedavra!" A jet of green light flew out of his wand and hit James squarely in the chest. Lily screamed and watched in horror as her husband fell to the ground, dead before contact with the floor. Voldemort turned his wand to Lily and said mockingly,
"My condolences to the widow. Now, where is your son?" For the first time since the first crash, Lily heard Harry's screams from upstairs. She whispered,
"Harry." She sprinted out of the room and into her son's room, her vision partially blinded by tears, and not being able to get the picture of James falling to the ground dead out of her mind. Lily reached Harry's room and pulled him out of the crib. At the sight and touch of his mother, Harry's cries slowly subsided.
"Shh, shh, Harry, it's alright, mummy's here. Stop crying please sweetie, we'll be found." She grabbed a quilt out of the crib and took Harry and hid in a corner out of sight of the door. It seemed as though Harry almost understood that this wasn't a time to cry, it was a time to be quiet, because his cries stopped. Lily held her son close to her, tears rolling down her face, praying that Voldemort wouldn't find them.
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I ran to you, you were there…
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She heard the door slam open, and she silently gasped. She placed a hand over her mouth so Voldemort wouldn't hear her loud breathing and give them away.
"I know you're in here, Lily. You can't hide from Lord Voldemort. If you come out now, and give the boy to me, I swear I won't kill you." He walked around the room, his footsteps making hollow noises on the wooden floor. So many thoughts ran through Lily's mind. James was dead. Peter betrayed them. They should've chosen someone else. It was Sirius's fault for suggesting Peter as their secret keeper. The love of her life was dead, and soon she and her son might be too. She kissed the top of Harry's head and more tears streamed down her face. She silently vowed that if she ever survived this, she'd personally hunt Wormtail down and kill him. All of a sudden, everything was silent. There were no more footsteps. Lily didn't know whether Voldemort had gone into another room, or was still in the same one. She looked around the corner slightly and saw he had left the room. She slowly crept from the corner. She didn't want to go downstairs, she didn't want to see James' body, but she knew she had to to leave the house. She slowly crept down the stairs, skipping the steps that creaked. She missed the one at the bottom of the staircase and winced as she knew Voldemort heard her. She saw James' body lying on the floor, his eyes, once full of life, humor and love, were now empty and glassy. In a flash, Voldemort was behind her at the bottom of the stairs. Knowing she was cornered, Lily held Harry protectively and said,
"Please, don't kill my son." Voldemort laughed.
"Please, not Harry, please not Harry. I'll do anything, please don't hurt my son."
"Give me the boy, stand aside girl!"
"Please, have mercy."
"Stand aside you silly girl, stand aside!"
"Please, have mercy, don't hurt him; kill me instead."
"Stand aside, give me the boy!" Losing his patience, he pointed his wand and yelled,
"Avada Kedavra!" A jet of green light erupted from his wand as it did when he performed it ten minutes ago. Lily screamed, Harry cried, and Voldemort laughed as the light hit Lily and she fell to the floor dead. Harry cried as he was dropped to the floor, still in his mother's arms. Voldemort turned his wand to the child, and yelled,
"Avada Kedavra!" The same jet of green light exploded from the wand and hit Harry's forehead, making a
quick motion across it, cutting a lightning shaped cut into his forehead before rebounding off of him and hitting the
spell's caster. Voldemort screamed in pain and disappeared. All that was heard were Harry's screams and cries
of pain.
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Whenever dawn turns to night
And all the dreams sing their song
And in the daylight forever
To you I belong
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James was waiting for Lily when she arrived. He hugged her and kissed her forehead as she cried.
"Everything'll be alright, Lily."
"This wasn't supposed to happen, James, we were supposed to be able to raise Harry, to live long and happy lives."
"Life doesn't always turn out the way we want, Lils. But hey, we're together right? Even if we can't be there with Harry physically as he grows up, we'll be with him anyways, right?"
"Right."
"I love you Lily."
"I love you too, James." James and Lily turned, and saw Isabelle and their parents waiting for
them.
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To you I belong
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Eighteen years later, James and Lily were watching their son getting married. It started to rain as they came out of the church. Harry looked up at the sky in disgust, annoyed that it was raining on his wedding day. Lily and James smiled as Hermione said,
"They're happy tears, Harry. Happy tears shed by your parents, by Sirius, and all those people in heaven, who wish they could be here." Harry smiled and kissed his bride and they apparated to the ballroom where their wedding reception was.
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At the reception, after the maid of honor and the best man made their toasts, Remus stood, holding his glass up and made his toast,
"I feel guilty about being here today. I feel guilty that I get to be here seeing Harry getting married, when his parents can't. But I know they'd be happy to see how their son turned out, and happy that he met the perfect woman for him, and that they love each other more than anything. To Harry and Hermione, may you live a long and happy life together."
"To Harry and Hermione!" Ginny stood up and said,
"Ok, are there any more toasts?" No one stood up to make one.
"Ok, then it's time for the bride and groom to have their first dance as husband and wife." Harry stood, took Hermione's hands in his and helped her up and they went out onto the dance floor. Tears welled up in both James and Lily's eyes as the song started up.
Rain fell down
You were there
I cried for you when I
hurt my hand
Storm a-rushing in
Wind was howling
I called for you, you were there…
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To you I belong.
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THE END
A/n: Oh my gosh, this is a super long chapter!! But it's a good one to go out on, I guess. Hope you enjoyed my story; I loved writing it!!! Now I'm all sad that it's over. I hope you liked the way I wrote this chapter, I thought it'd be cool as I had originally thought about making this story a songfic rather than a fanfic. By the way, the song belongs to B*Witched. Please read and review!!! Hope you enjoy!!!
Love y'all,
Husker-fan-2006
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
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