A/N: Holy Moley. I'm so sorry this has taken two weeks to finally get out to you guys. Life has been incredibly hectic as of late, and school is as demanding as ever. Let's just say I cannot wait for Thanksgiving break. Only two months to go! Anyway, I have a long list of reviewers to thank so let's get right to it, shall we? My awesome, fabulous, hugely entertaining friends: mayannabeth, ToxicAndTheFluff, SilverHeart87, XritaskeeterhatersX, Pokoton, Mental-Craze, istolethecookie, JuJu Kitten, Kenzie Alyssa, elliey black, Jenn222, Lkay09, Aurora White, avatarluv97, peacelovebooksx107, crazymacky, Nightlight753, MedzR3, sugarrush12, Heimarmene, Frenzied Warrior, Almost Genius, TheHollyWand, theUnknownMarauderette, OttoIsMyDog, Aimee, Greengirl17, LilyLolaLulu, Anonymous, Lily-Evans-James-Potter, Izzy Lois Skywalker, AshleyPotter, and finally, Moonfrost127.

I can't even begin to express how thrilled I am with the outcome of this story, and I have you guys to thank. "Roughing It" never would have been what it is without all of you helping me out. I hope you all have had as much fun reading this story as I have had writing it, and I would like to thank each and every one of you for your support.

With that being said, I present to you the final chapter of "Roughing It"… (:

Disclaimer: I still own nothing.

Chapter 14: Knee Deep In a Puddle of Love

"You know, I'm not really sure why you needed to follow me," I muttered, marching down the dark trail with one hand fixed tightly on my wand and the other buried in my coat's pocket.

James just shrugged and grinned sideways at me. "Lily. How am I going to be sure you really proved it if no one is there to witness it?"

"Relationships are built upon trust, James," I pointed out with a cheeky smirk.

"I thought we were 'just friends'?" he shot back, raising his eyebrows. "No wait, let me rephrase that. I thought we were just very close 'friends'?"

Oh yeah, close friends. Close friends that established a no shirt rule. Close friends that like to back each other against trees. "A friendly relationship is still a relationship, James," I snapped, glaring at the light cast in front of me. Stupid git, pointing out the technicalities no one even cared about.

"Right," sang James, drawing out the word.

He was about three quarters of a second away from getting punched in the nose by one testy redhead. I ground me teeth together and continued to glower at the ground in front of me.

"So…"

I rolled my eyes. He couldn't stand a few short seconds of silence, could he? "What?"

"Do you have a plan?" asked James, turning to glance at me with a concerned frown.

"Pssh, of course I have a plan," I muttered, shaking my head. "I'm…the queen of plans." I grimaced and glared up at the stars. The queen of plans? Merlin, that was the stupidest thing I'd ever heard.

"Can I hear it?" he prompted, smirking at me like he knew I really didn't have a plan.

"No!" I snapped, narrowing my eyes at him. "It's a secret."

He raised his hands in mock surrender, eyes wide, and mumbled something I couldn't hear. "Touchy, touchy," James said under his breath.

We stepped into the familiar clearing and looked around us. It was mostly dark; dim lights shone in a few tents though it was way past curfew. My eyes wandered over to where Slytherin's dark tents were pitched, and I could feel James watching me. I didn't know which tent belonged to Snape, or if he'd even be inside of it, but I had to give it a try.

I chewed on my bottom lip, forehead creased as I stared at the group of tents, willing Severus to pop out of one. James reached for my fingers, and curled his own around them gently. His dark eyes searched my face.

"Lily." He gave my hand a soft squeeze as he spoke softly in my ear. "You don't have to do this. This is stupid. I never should have challenged you to do something like this."

I didn't have to do it. James told me so. But then why did I still feel like I was obligated to prove that I didn't love him? And then I understood: I was never doing this for James. I was doing it for myself. No, I didn't love James not yet, anyway but I knew were could never be just friends. And that's why I was doing this. I needed to prove to myself that there was no one else, as cheesy as that sounded.

I gave him a small smile and shook my head. "It's okay." I nodded toward his empty tent. "I'll probably be a while," I hinted, glancing pointedly at the tent.

He gave my hand another squeeze, and planted a soft kiss on my cheek. A pleasant tingle crawled up my spine. "Saying 'I love you' right here probably wouldn't be the best idea, yeah?" he asked with a weak chuckle.

I shook my head meekly and watched his retreating back as he disappeared into the tent, then took a deep breath and faced the row of tents in front of me. There must have been some sort of spell for this kind of thing, but I was too nervous to recall it at that moment. I crept up to the first tent and ever so carefully, peeled the rain fly away from the back window.

"Sev?" I whispered into the plastic window, holding my lit wand up to the window. I peered into the cramped sleeping quarters and promptly let out a hushed squeak. Holy mother of Merlin, that was definitely not Severus. I wasn't exactly sure who it was or what gender, but he-she was certainly not a peaceful looking sleeper. Even in a deep sleep the unknown person looked positively murderous. He-she probably snored in Unforgivable Curses.

I carefully replaced the plastic cover and backed away from the tent…right into something rather bony and thin. Another squeal escaped my mouth, and I had to clamp my hand over my mouth to keep from full-out screaming at the poor thing.

"Lily?" a dark voice asked curiously. A cold, white hand reached for my elbow to spin me around.

"Oh," I breathed, smoothing my hair back nervously, "Severus. It's you." My stomach twisted and knotted and mangled beyond recognition dropped to my toes. I clasped my fingers together and attempted at least a pleasant grimace. "So, er…how have you been?"

He should probably have smacked me for that one. I cringed as he lifted his black eyebrows at me. His lips didn't stray from their thin line, and it was very obvious I was not going to get an answer from him. I really didn't need one anyway. Barely more than an hour ago, I'd basically told him to take his love and shove it where the sun doesn't shine. How did I think he was going to be?

"So…" His fingers itched to his left arm, and I couldn't help but stare. He noticed my gaze and tugged his sleeve further down. I reached for his forearm, and whispered, "Does it hurt?"

Snape slapped my hand away quickly. "Don't touch it!" he hissed menacingly, and for a second, I didn't see the boy with the oversized clothing or the greasy hair or the hunger for knowledge in his eyes; I saw the Death Eater.

I lowered my eyes, and muttered a quick apology. He shifted from foot to foot, his eyes wheeling around the clearing, searching for any potential danger, I guess. "What's your job?" I asked quietly, playing absentmindedly with my fingers. McGonnagal told us to tip the scales, and I had no intention of going back to Hogwarts after this trip without something to show for it.

His Adam's apple was bobbing in his throat, and for just a moment his eyes paused their erratic flitting to look at me. "That's none of your business," he sneered, and his eyes immediately went back to scanning the clearing.

I pursed my lips, and ground my teeth together impatiently. "Sounds like a wonderful job you've got then. Can't even tell the girl you love about your line of work," I spat. It was a low blow-especially the way I said the L-word-but if something was going to work on him, that would be it.

He turned his head toward the trees and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "You wouldn't want to know" to himself. He shook his head doubtfully, his eyes dark with something I couldn't quite put my finger on. "Doesn't matter," said Severus in a low voice.

I folded my arms over my chest and let out an offended huff. "I beg to differ!" Compared to his, my voice sounded like a yell.

He let out a sizzling hiss and glanced at the tents next to us. Everything seemed eerily quiet for a moment, except for the muted snores coming from Slughorn's cabin all the way on the other end of the clearing. I could almost hear James holding his breath in his tent, waiting for me to come back.

I lowered my voice and glared right at him. "How can you say that, Sev? It most certainly matters! You realize what you're doing, don't you? You're helping that…that bastard! You're helping him murder innocent people just because they're different. What happens when he sends you after me, Severus?" I whisper, begging him to see my side of things. "What are you going to do then? Are you going to kill me too? Or are you going to let Avery or Mulciber have me?"

The muscle in his jaw jumped as he gritted his teeth together. "That's not going to happen," he said forcefully, more to himself than to me. "It's not."

I shook my head sadly. "It will happen. It already is."

"No," he said again, shaking his head feverously. "I love you. He will understand that. He won't…"

"Yeah, he sounds like a really understanding bloke," I agreed dryly, raising my eyebrows.

"But…I love you," repeated Snape, sounding genuinely confused.

I smiled wryly. "Prove it," I echoed James earlier words. He just stared at me blankly. "Prove it."

His brow furrowed in confusion, and I used the opportunity to my advantage. I lunged.

Kissing Severus was exactly how I thought it would be and entirely different at the same time. Stilted, awkward, soft. He didn't kiss me back, or maybe he did, and I couldn't tell. Either way, he was clearly inexperience in this particular area of life. The only things touching were our lips, and I was pretty sure my eyes were wide open the entire time. There was nothing. No spark, no passion, nothing. It was the complete opposite of snogging James, and almost unpleasant.

"Lily?" a confused voice called at the same time as another voice said Severus's name.

I wrenched my lips away from his, and turned toward the voice. James was walking our way, looking hurt, mutinous, and absolutely lost all at the same time. I scratched my head, wondering how I was going to get myself out of this one. Severus didn't take his eyes off me as Mulciber himself approached from behind.

James's arm wound around my waist as I reached for my wand, pulling me away from the two Slytherins. "What is going on?" he hissed in my ear. I could hear the disappointment in his voice.

"I proved it," I offered weakly, sinking against his chest.

"What is this?" barked Mulciber, glaring at James and I with such hatred I expected to wilt and turn to dust at his feet.

Snape continued to stare at me, beseeching, as he wiped his lips off with the back of his hand and flung the germs away. He grimaced sadly at me, and shook his head ever so slightly. "Stupid Mudblood bitch," he spat, glancing back at Mulciber, looking for his approval.

Mulciber let out a high-pitched cackle that nearly drowned out my infuriated gasp. James swore loudly, and practically threw me to the side. "You fucking bastard!" he shouted, charging forward, fist at the ready. I let out a scream as James's fist connected with Severus's nose with a loud crack.

"Oh, Christ," I whimpered, watching Snape stagger back toward Mulciber, blood gushing out of his nose. Well, if it wasn't broken before, it definitely was now.

Muttering an encouraging "blood is for the weak", Mulciber pushed Severus back toward a very angry James. His face was red, his glasses skewed, and his knuckles were white. He cocked his arm back, ready to throw another right hook at Snape.

"James!" I screeched, latching onto his arm, holding it back. "Stop!"

He turned to face me, wide-eyed, mouth agape. "Didn't you hear what he called you?" asked James incredulously.

I smiled softly and touched his cheek. "I'm sort of used to it by now," I explained with a careless shrug. The words weren't what hurt: it was the person who had said them. I cupped his face with my shaking hands. "Just let me take care of it, yeah?"

James glanced over his shoulder at the Slytherins and lowered his voice. "Lily, I let him get away with it in fifth year, and I'm not letting this go again."

Smiling, I assured him, "Me neither."

He raised his eyebrows at me suspiciously, but moved aside. Holding my wand tightly in my hand, I stalked past James. "Clean yourself up, Snape," I snapped, flicking my wand at him, washing the blood off his face. "100 hundred points from Slytherin house for insulting the Head Girl."

"Of course you wouldn't take any away from your angelic boyfriend for assaulting a fellow student," sneered Mulciber, spitting at me.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Fifty for backtalk."

I could just imagine the looks on the faces of all the students back at Hogwarts watching the little emeralds drain from their container. We were probably going to have a lot of explaining to do to Dumbledore when we got back, but the students would be pleased.

"Oh, and one last thing," I continued pleasantly. Shifting my wand to my left hand, I dragged my hand back and let it spring forward to connect with Snape's cheek. A resounding smack echoed through the clearing. "Have a nice life, Severus," I said, turning on my heel.

"That looks like it hurts," I murmured quietly, brushing my fingers over James's red knuckles. We sat across from each other on our plush sleeping bags in the cramped tent. The others had followed us from the lake back to the campsite with all of our things, somehow knowing we wouldn't be camping out after everything that happened. Mary, Alice, and Marlene had excused themselves to Emmeline and Dorcas's tent. (The two had been mysteriously missing from the past days' activities, but assured us they'd been behaving themselves).

James offered me a small smile. "It's not so bad," he said, grabbing my fingers and holding onto them. "How are you?" His hazel eyes bore into mine, searching.

I shot him a questioning look. "I'm fine…"

He raised his eyebrows doubtfully at me. "Lily, as much as I hate him, he was your best friend. You can't be fine after something like that." When I didn't answer, he let go of my hand, and began pacing the length of the small tent. "This is my fault. I shouldn't have forced you to do something like that."

I rolled my eyes. "James, stop it."

"I'm a bloody idiot, aren't I? You've only been telling me that for years, and I just now understand why. Sodding hell. You hate me, right? Merlin, you hate me. This is all my fault. Damn it. You hate me."

Watching him mutter to himself, I pursed my lips to hold back my grin. "Shut up."

"Sorry?"

"I said shut up!" I exclaimed with a disbelieving laugh. "You are not an idiot-well, some of the time you are, but that's not my point-and this is not your fault. Well, if you weren't so ruddy charming we probably wouldn't be in this position in the first place… But again! That's not my point." I shook my head, and patted the spot he'd been previously sitting. "Here, sit down. Now listen to me. You told me before that I didn't have to do anything I didn't want to. But I did it anyway. I did it because I needed to know. And I'm glad I did."

James stared at me for a while, tilting his head to the side. "You don't love him." I shook me head eagerly. "But you don't love me either…"

Oh Merlin. Here we go. "James! I only just realized I bloody fancied you two days ago! Things don't work that quickly!"

"Still," he muttered, hanging his head.

I sighed. "Jesus, how do I explain this?" I glanced around, looking for something to help me out, but nothing came. "If love was a…puddle-"

"Dear mother of God," groaned James, burying his head in his hands.

I shot him a stern look, and continued. "If love was a puddle, I'd be about knee deep right now. And with every minute I spend in the rain, this puddle is growing, but instead of fetching an umbrella and getting the hell out of there, I wade in a little further…and then a bit further…until I'm drowning. Maybe with some help, I can get out, but I'll never be completely dry again."

I paused and sneaked a peek at James's face. He was staring at me like I had gone completely mad. He gulped, opened his mouth to say something, and immediately shut it again. This went on for a few moments before he finally worked up the nerve to say something.

"Did you just compare me to rain?"

Avada me now. "That's what you got out of that? Really?"

James fell backward onto the sleeping bag and let out a bark of laughter. "I'm sorry, it's just-you make love sound so depressing!"

I pursed my lips and leveled him with a glare. "James?"

"Yeah?"

"Just shut up and kiss me."

James grinned, and reached his hands out to cup my face. "Gladly," he murmured, pressing his lips against mine.

A/N: That is all for now, lovies! (: I just want to say one last thank you to everyone who reviewed, subscribed, or added this story to their favorites list. It truly has been a pleasure. As for Gerald, I think he's going to be put on a very strict diet after this chapter. But I know he's very grateful to all of you for being so wonderful to him these past few months.

How do you feel about one last hurrah for Gerald and me? Review!

Much Love,

Jessie