A/N: Sorry, I wasn't sure if I was going to write this or not, but going back to look at the ending of the last chapter, I kind of owe it to you guys. That last line was pathetic and crappy. SO, by popular request, the epilogue. I hope that it is not too… weak? Is that the word I am looking for? I hope it is what you expected.
Epilogue
Lily stood between her classmates, stepping forward to the podium that was positioned between her peers and the rest of the wizarding community. She straightened her shoulders, and smiled. Her eyes closed for a minute and she was back on the platform nine and three-quarters. She was eleven again, small, and her eyes were wide with wonderment. Lily smiled again.
"Parents, family, faculty, and my dear peers," Lily said as she glanced down at the scroll she had written just the night before. Lily smiled, thinking of that night. She and James had gone wondering again, trying to steal away the last moments of youthful indiscretion before this momentous day. She had pulled this speech together at the last moment when she had awakened in James' arms again that morning.
"Today is a momentous day for us all. Wrought with uncertainty and darkness, we worry as you, our leaders do, and we fear what we do not know," Lily said. She thought about the attacks on the Potters and knew that there were at least a dozen or so peers who stood behind her without their parents in the midst of this supposed joyous occasion.
"The future is not perfect, as we all know. We will try, though. We are the future, and we plan to use what we have learned here at Hogwarts to overcome the darkness and evil that spread among our kind," Lily said forcibly. She could hear Sirius behind her, tucked neatly between Narcissa Black and Bellatrix Black. Lily nearly laughed. How unalike the two sisters were, and how unlike they were to Sirius.
Lily had gotten to know Sirius as she and James had grown closer, and she had decided that perhaps he wasn't nearly as bad as she had once thought. However, a bit of a goof off, Sirius could step up and be a man when he needed to be. Lily was thankful for Sirius' ability to be mature.
"Each of us who stands here on this stage before you serve as a reminder that life will continue on. Even in the darkest of times, there is light. The friendships we have made while in attendance here at Hogwarts will hopefully be with us forever. The love we share must continue on if we are to succeed," Lily said as she looked out at the faces of her professors.
Lily wasn't lying. She intended to continue her relationship with James after they left here. They had already talked about sharing a flat near the Auror Training Academy in south Wales. The prospects of waking up with James, possibly in his bed, every single morning with out fear of getting caught had heat rising to her face.
"May we be as great for the next generation of witches and wizards as you all have been of us. May we thwart evil and encourage love, respect, and tolerance in this tumultuous world we all live in. May our children walk these halls and hear not only of the great sacrifices that we have made, but of the ground we have won," Lily said firmly. She forced a genuine smile as she looked at the families of the suspected death eaters among them.
"So, I present to you, our esteemed leaders in love and in life, the class of 1977," Lily said proudly. The cheers were deafening as the class of 1977 threw up their pointed caps into the air. Sparkles of red, silver, and blue shot out from the wands of each and every graduating witch and wizard.
"Very nicely done," James whispered in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her tightly. Lily grinned and playfully pushed him.
"No thanks to you, James," Lily said as Remus and Sirius joined them.
"Kept you out too late last night?" Sirius asked grinning. Lily laughed and hugged him and Remus both.
"And this morning. I don't know why, but I am going to miss the dickens out of both of you," Lily said through her smile and tears.
"Lord, here come the water works," Sirius teased though his voiced seemed oddly thick.
"We are going to miss you too, Lily," Remus said as his eyes seemed brighter too.
"What are you guys blubbering about?" James asked as he hugged Sirius and Remus tightly. "There is always Aurors Training Academy. We will see each other all of the time."
"Yeah, but with Lily moving in, you won't have time for the boys," Sirius teased with a playful pout.
"Awe, Sirius," Lily said smiling. "You know, we will always have a place in our home for both you and Remus."
"Yeah," James teased. He looked at Lily mischievously. "We both have always wanted a dog for a pet."
"Very funny guys," Sirius said as Lily, James, and Remus roared with laughter.
"Well, here we are. The four orphans," James said quietly as they looked around at the other students being held and hugged by proud family. "We should be the saddest among us, but I feel strangely happy."
"It's called love, James," Lily said as she stepped into his arms. She tilted her head up to let him kiss her. "It's not perfect, by no means, but it is love none the same."
"That is where you are wrong, Lily," James said. She looked at him curiously, having not really taken to him contradicting her.
"I am wrong?" Lily asked. James grinned.
"Yup, because anything that has to do with love and you is simply perfect in my eyes," James said smiling. He leaned closer to her ear. "That is why I think you should say `yes'."
"Yes?" Lily asked confused.
"I haven't even asked yet, but ok," James teased.
"What are you talking about?" Lily asked impatiently. Sirius and Remus grinned and pointed to the sky. Lily looked up to the sky above the trees of the forbidden forest to see hundreds upon hundreds of fairies flying in formation.
"Lily, will you? Will you marry me?" James asked as he looked at her. She hesitated, looking from the sky where the words were written and James' hopeful face.
"James," Lily started as she struggled with the words. She was speechless. James frowned. "No don't, I mean yes. Yes I will marry you, of course, just no, just don't frown!"
James let out a cry of celebration and scooped Lily up in his arms, giving her a proper, slow kiss. The girl that he had pined for and loved since he was eleven years old had said yes to him, again, and this time it meant forever.
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