I got sick of Pettigrew, he really annoys me. So he won't be in this anymore, it will be as though he is not part of their group.

It took Lily twenty minutes to drag her feet to the Entrance Hall. She felt as though she was carrying a huge weight on her shoulders, and it was dragging her down. What she wouldn't give to let it all end, to feel nothing anymore. How hard could it be to finish it, to stop the pain, and to drift, without emotion?

Why? She thought, why was she to hurt everyone she ever met? Was she really such a horrible person? Anyone she loved, she made them suffer. Would it be better, for those she cared for, if she just stopped trying? Sank away into an empty shell, never to make tears fall for her again?

The first breath of fresh air as she stepped into the grounds was like the breath of life. It cleared her mind, unclouded her vision, and removed the dangerous thoughts from her head. Lily breathed in deeply, like the air was a drug, or a precious life-preserver. The last trickle of late-comers were jogging own the grounds towards the Quidditch pitch. Lily heard yells and cheering and clapping. The sounds escalated to a roar, and lily knew the match was about to begin. They teams were probably walking onto the pitch now.

"There you are, Lily!" cried a voice. Lily spun around, almost falling over in her haste. Remus caught her before she hit the ground. He looked as though he was about to laugh at her, but then registered the look on her face. He pulled her to her feet, and said, "Right, where is he? I swear this time the slime ball won't get off so easily."

Lily put a hand on Remus' arm. "No," she mumbled, "Leave it." Had this been James or Sirius, they would have not listened. But Remus was definitely different. He seemed to become smaller again, his anger had given him a new height. At Lily's words, he deflated, and relaxed.

"Come on then," he said, putting his hand on her back, pushing her forward a bit, "We're going to miss the start. Lily was grateful he didn't ask any more questions.

They hurried into the stadium, and found Sirius, who had seats and two flasks of pumpkin juice. Right as they took their seats, Madam Hooch's whistle sounded, and 15 brooms rose into the air. The crowd was on its feet screaming, and Lily felt the atmosphere around her heighten.

The first major incident occurred three minutes into the game. Avery, on the Slytherin side, was a beater. He was big and sloppy. As he chased down a bludger, the Gryffindor chaser, Prewett, was zooming in the other direction, Quaffle under his arm. As they drew level, Avery stuck out his bat, and it collided with a sickening crunch into Prewett's face. The crowd watched in horror as Prewett slipped from his broom, and fell, unconscious. Madam Hooch dashed along underneath and caught him on her broom just under a metre above the ground. Play resumed after Prewett was escorted by Professor McGonagall off the pitch. Gryffindor was a player down.

Around twenty minutes in, Lily was watching James closely. He was circling the pitch, with the Slytherin seeker close behind. Suddenly, like an eagle, James dived. He and the Slytherin, who had followed, hurtled towards the ground, gaining speed. Lily spotted the Snitch in a moment where the sun flashed on it, and saw it turn away from the ground. James followed, pulling his broom around. The Snitch sprinted around the edge of the stands, and as James went past, Lily could see the sweat on his face as he flew after it. The crowd was on the edge of their seat. Several times, the Slytherin chasers tried to block James, but he dodged them easily. James was just over two metres above the ground now, and closing in. He stretched out his hand, only centimetres away and-

CRASH. Out of no where, the Slytherin seeker had tried to come in from above had collided with James, who was going so fast, that both players were thrown off their brooms. James' crashed into the ground, while the Slytherin's rocketed away, before slamming into one of the goalposts and whirling into the stands.

Both players were face down in the dirt. The crowd was silent. Not even the players in the air dared move. After a tense moment, James pulled his arm out from underneath him, and, still face down, lifted it into the air. No one could have mistaken what was in his hands. Witch a slow start, a great roar began to grow, as people realised the result. Madam Pomfrey, Slughorn and several other teachers could be seen running onto the pitch, and bending over the two players. Never had a final ended in such an unusual way. The students poured onto the pitch, and, despite a probable concussion and with a large graze on his forehead, the students pushed through the teachers to lift James into the air, cheering his name.

Lily stood slightly back, laughing to herself. Sirius was dancing wildly, and pulled Remus into a kind of twirl, which Remus pulled out of and turned away, clearly embarrassed. The crowd parted slightly. Severus was standing there, clearly watching her. Lily felt nothing of the fear, and hurt that had been dominating her. She smiled, and Snape gave her a quick nod, before disappearing into the pack.

***

"Chuck us another one, Lily, I'm starving."

"God Sirius, don't you think you've had enough Cauldron Cakes for one trip?"

"Evans, this one trip goes for six hours. That's lunch, afternoon tea, and snacks all need to be supplied. Duh."

"Yeah, and we only half an hour in! Save some for later."

"We can always get more. I'm hungry now!"

"Shut up Padfoot."

"You're one to talk Prongs, look how many Liquorice wands you've eaten."

"I said, shut up!"

"Guys!" said Remus, putting down his Daily Prophet, "Do you mind? You make more noise than the Owlery."

Sirius folded his arms over his chest, looking remarkably like a two year old. James stuck out his tongue, and kept playing with the Snitch he had taken as a memento of the Quidditch final. Remus returned to his paper, and Lily saw Sirius steal another cake from their supply.

"So Lily," said James, "Are you coming over during the summer or what? We have another bedroom, Remus can share a room with Sirius."

"You've got to be joking," said Remus and Sirius in unison.

James rolled his eyes. "So how about it? My parents won't mind."

"Thanks James," Lily said, "But I'm going to Australia with my parents. We won't be back until mid-August."

"That's fine! You can still come! Then we'll go into Diagon Alley and you can get your stuff with us!"

Remus ducked his head further behind his paper, and lily suspected he was grinning. Sirius rolled his eyes, but was also trying to suppress laughter, but with less success.

"Okay James, fine."

After passing the next few hours with Exploding Snap and discussing the highlights of the year, it was time to depart. They crossed the barrier into the muggle world together. Lily's parents waved happily. She noticed they were talking to another, older couple. Sirius told her they were the Potters. "What a coincidence," Remus said, laughing.

After hurried introductions, it was time to leave. Sirius and Remus both hugged Lily, before going off with their parents. Lily found herself very close to James. He leant forward slightly, but Lily shook her head, and pulled away. "Not yet," she whispered. James looked into her eyes, shrugged, and pulled her into a hug. Lily was reminded of Dumbledore's words to her. "True friends will respect you, even if you're decisions cause them pain."

"I'll see you in August, Lily." He pulled away, and smiled at her. "Make sure you right while you're in Australia. I can't stand it if I only have Sirius and Remus to talk to."

Lily and James turned to their parents. Lily's mother had taken a shine to James already, but she noticed her father was eyeing him suspiciously. Lily considered her dad to be the king of over-protective fathers when it comes to boys.

They walked out of the station. Lily put her trunk in her car, and moved to get in, but James' hand caught hers. Something round and metal was pushed into her hand. "See you," he said, and shut the door. Lily opened her palm. It was the Golden Snitch.

That's it! The End! Finale! Fini! Complete!

If you weren't paying attention at the beginning of this chapter, I decided to cut Wormtail from the story. He annoys me so much, and having him there would have made it too hard.