::Midnight Lily::

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter – it belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter Twelve (Final Chapter)

Lily's heart pumped slowly within her chest, it was a new feeling for her to feel so nervous about a ball. Probably because all the dates she ever had were fixed by her friends. But this time it was different. This time she knew who her date was and that she would be in charged of what was going to happen for once. Her friends wouldn't even have a clue that she had found a date. She had never told them. Lily found it best to have them not know about it for once. The situation was complicating. How would they feel if they knew she was dating him?

Was this how Lily from the story felt? That she was going to have the time of her life and that she'd live happily ever after? But that wasn't true. Lily hadn't known that a kiss would break the spell. She had thought that she would turn into a pumpkin at the stroke of midnight.

Lily stroked her own red hair and looked at her grim reflection in the mirror. That is exactly what will happen tomorrow night, she thought. At the stroke of midnight I'll be gone. I'd have graduated. Then no one will ever see me again. I'll turn into a pumpkin. The very thought of it was depressing. She didn't even know if James was the one either. They may not even be together. He may not be as …

"Are you still sulking by that mirror?" Sabina asked, walking in from the common room. Her face was flushed from the excitement of the party that was being held downstairs. "Just come downstairs and share a couple of butterbeers with us! Stop worrying about tomorrow!" She pulled Lily's hair back, away from her hands, and gave her an encouraging smile. "You'll always be beautiful, Lily, and I'm sure that the rest of your life will be just that."

Sabina had no clue what was bothering her. "How about you?" Lily asked modestly, turning the subject to Sabina.

"What about me?" Sabina asked shocked.

"You're always so happy and perfect," Lily replied. "You always look great; and you're always so friendly."

"Stop comparing with me," Sabina fussed, sitting down on her own bed. "Besides, I was a complete train-wreck when Sirius dumped me, I knew that it was going to happen sooner or later, but it still came as a great shock to me. I made a complete fool of myself, trying to ask for him back. I knew that I never could have him back. It was all over but I wanted it to stay."

"And how do you feel now about him?" Lily asked, turning slightly to see Sabina smile.

"I feel like a wall has been broken from the narrow space I had been given – I can finally breathe again," she laughed. "Sometimes I see him and wish that we were back together. And other times I don't mind seeing Katie and Sirius together at all. We're still good friends, but we somehow knew earlier on that we could never be together." She stood up and walked towards the door. "It's all worked out in a way. Sometimes I regret the things I've said and done, and other times I don't have a care in the world."

"Like now?" Lily commented.

"Like now," Sabina agreed. She turned the door knob and glanced back at Lily. "Do you honestly want to stay here all night?"

Lily took a final stare at herself in the mirror. "No," she said. "I'd rather come downstairs and celebrate with you."

Sabina gave her an encouraging smile. "That's more like it."

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The next morning Lily woke up with a nauseating headache, which probably came from too many portions of sweets and butterbeers. She sat up to see that almost everyone was still asleep in their beds. Instead of staying in bed, Lily stood up, took her night robe and then made her way down into the Gryffindor common room. It looked like a waste bin after last night's celebration. The only person there, other then Lily, was James who sat on an armchair by the empty fireplace.

He turned around and gave her a welcoming smile. "That was some party last night, hey Evans?" he asked with a small smile.

"I guess so," Lily said, smiling a little too. She walked over and sat down beside him. "Did you honestly prepare all those fireworks last night?"

"Yep," James said complacently. "You should have seen Peter trying to set one on fire, it was hilarious."

Lily laughed at the very thought of it. "I bet it was; I was busy upstairs, talking to Sabina," she explained. She gave a loud yawn and James followed suit. How late had it been before she had decided to turn out? But looking at James she could see that he had slept a lot later then she did.

"About what, may I ask?" James said inquiringly.

"None of your business," Lily replied, grinning. "Besides, you'd fall asleep half-way through my explanation anyway."

"That's true," James candidly said. "I won't deny that."

They both laughed together.

Lily leaned forwards to stare oddly at him. "Have you ever had cold feet, Potter?" she asked.

"Of course," James said. "Especially when I walk bare footed in the snow."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Who in the world walks bare footed in the snow?" she asked.

"I do," James said, smiling. "But not often, as I said, I get cold feet and it isn't nice." They both snorted.

"Not any other time? Like before the Graduation Ball perhaps?" Lily suggested tensely.

"You're having second-thoughts of going with me, aren't you?" James said, his face fell suddenly and he turned serious.

"No!" Lily exclaimed hastily. "I mean, I'm not going back on my word, I'm still going with you. It's just that I'm not so sure that it is the right thing to do." She looked away quickly. The gaze that James was giving her was daunting. "I guess that it's my friends' words creeping into my head again."

"Lily," James said softly. "Sometimes you have to take chances. Sometimes you have to close your eyes and plunge yourself knee-deep into situations – because if you don't do it, then you'll never know what it is like. You've always spent your life in shallow waters, and you've never decided to discover what the deep end is like."

"Please don't James," Lily moaned. She was sick and tired of his lectures; she was sick and tired of everyone's lectures as a matter of fact. "Please, stop your ranting, I don't need this. I want to make my decisions."

"You have to learn that it isn't always the end of life," James sighed. "Because sometimes it can be the beginning of it, but you'll never know if you never take that chance." He gave her a reassuring smile.

"James," Lily muttered faintly. She looked for a new approach to take his reprimands. "How can you rest your life upon so little trust?"

"Because I make the trust possible," James replied shortly.

"How can you dive into something when you don't know the consequences of it?" Lily asked.

James didn't answer. Instead he just stared at her for a while.

"You seem to be scared to even believe in yourself," he said finally. "You ask so many questions that you want answers from and yet some don't even have answers." He stood up and gave Lily a brief kiss upon her forehead. It wasn't something he did often to a girl. Most of the times he'd go for a full-mouth approach but Lily was different, and the situation was different. "But I don't want to bother you so much. I don't care if you're this cautious about these types of things. One is because; it adds a little zest into a relationship. Number two is that, I'll be there to help you through anyway – because I want to and, as hard as this may sound, I really like you."

The word love slipped off his tongue in the last minute.

James walked out of the portrait hole, leaving Lily within the depths of her thoughts.

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Later that evening, the seventh-year girls of Gryffindor grouped together in their dormitory to prepare for the Graduation Ball. The five of them were all nervous, but none of their nerves could be compared to Lily's which shook her into angst. Her hands were paler then ever – and they trembled every time she moved them.

"What's wrong with you?" Charlie asked with a furrowed brow. She combed her hair with a stiff brush. "You don't have a date."

"I know," Lily said, playing along. "It's just hard to think that tomorrow we'll be leaving this place for good. I mean, it'll never be the same if we ever come back to Hogwarts, we won't be students then at all."

"Hallelujah!" Katie shouted with glee from her side of the dormitory. "What did you think Lily? We'd be students here forever?"

"No," Lily agreed. "But it's just hard to think of."

"Then don't think of it," Amber said simply. She was unfolding a stunning deep blue dress robe made of velvet with satin trimmings. "Do you think Wade would notice if I wore this again?" She held up the blue dress robe. "I mean, I've worn it thrice already, but that was last year."

"He won't notice anything," Sabina said promptly. "Do you think that boys even notice what we wear? They're only thinking if they look nice and whether we look nice."

"They would notice," Katie pointed out. "If we wore a paper bag to the Graduation Ball."

The girls laughed easily.

Lily unzipped her suitcase and took out a plastic bag from the furthest region of her bag. She had been saving it for someone to go with – someone special for the Graduation Ball. That moment came now. Her friends noticed it too. Lily only took out this dress robe if it was for some really, really, really, special occasion. That's probably why she had never taken it out before, only spoken of it.

"Is that the robe? The one you've spoken about yet never shown?" Katie asked interestedly. They crowded around her bed as she pulled it out of its cover. It was emerald green, one that suited her eyes completely. A spell had been cast upon it so that it shimmered around the person who wore it. Lily held it up gently for her friends. It felt silky to the touch, almost like a wave upon the ocean. "It must have cost a fortune."

"I bought it in the first year, for my sister actually, but she never took it," Lily said despondently. "So I kept it for me instead, it was too long for both of us anyway. I had added two spells on it since then; one to make it feel silky, before it was rough to the touch, and the second was to make it sparkle a little. I over did it a bit."

"No you didn't," Sabina said with awe. "It looks so perfect for you – I bet you'd be just like Midnight Lily tonight and everyone would turn their head to look at you." She looked scared to touch it, as if it would be ruined if she did. "All the boys will want to dance with you, and all the girls will be jealous."

"But you told me that you'd never take this out unless it was for something really, really, really special," Katie said intriguingly. "What's the occasion?"

"I guess that I just need this tonight," Lily admitted. It was true; she could barely stand straight, James Potter – that was all she was thinking of – him. "I mean, how long can I wait to wear this? By the time I do, it would be too tight to even fit." They all nodded in agreement. Lily changed into a white dress her Mum had bought last year. It was laden in pearls and lace – what Midnight Lily would have probably worn. Lily used a charm to make it fit on her to the exact measurements. Then she placed the emerald dress robe on top of it.

Meanwhile, Katie had just fastened her crème-pink dress robe on with a silver brooch of a flower. She turned to see Lily staring and gave her a soft blush. "I guess it doesn't look that good, does it?" Katie asked weakly.

"You look great," Lily reassured Katie. "I'm just not sure if I look great." She took a brush and combed her hair until all the tangles were removed.

"Apparently you never looked at your reflection in the mirror," Sabina said. She walked over and pulled Lily's hand over to the nearest dressing table. "There, take a good look at what Midnight Lily looked like that very night."

Lily turned her head and looked at the beautiful, unknown girl that stared back at her. Her hair was silky and slightly tousled atop her hair in an enigmatic way; and her dress robe, it matched her eyes to an exact point. The white dress added a touch that any other gown in the world couldn't. It added a sort of feminine touch to her. Lily looked down at her and smiled slightly.

She looked perfect – almost. "I don't have any shoes!" She cried out in anguish as she looked down at her bare feet. Cold feet. "I didn't even think of that! All I have are school shoes and my sneakers!" Lily looked at her friends in defeat. "I don't think I'll be able to go." She sat down cautiously on her bed and looked at her feet. She was having cold feet alright – and literally.

"Don't be like that," Amber said sympathetically. "One of us must have a spare pair of high heels or something…"

Charlie looked at Lily kindly and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I only brought one pair for myself, I don't think you'd fit in my sized shoes anyway," she remarked. "Why don't you just wear your sneakers anyway? Boys never notice – I think Sabina has a pair – she must, I mean, she wears so many anyway." Sabina did have a pair. But they didn't fit. Her feet were too big as well. It was remarkable how tiny Lily's feet truly were. As if they shrink instead of grow.

"I have a pair," Katie said, out of the blue. "They couldn't fit me thought, they were too small. But I think that they're just the type to suit you." She took out, from underneath her bed, a pair of heels made of glass. "I bought them some time ago in the fourth year, should have known they were too small." She laughed and passed them over to Lily.

They fitted perfectly.

"I should have told you the whole story, the real story some time back," Katie said all of a sudden. "The real girl, Cinderella, her fairy godmother created her a beautiful gown with slippers, a coach out of a pumpkin and horses out of mice. When midnight struck she ran from the ball, as her fairytale could only last that long. She left behind her a glass slipper. The Prince went out to find Cinderella, he had no clue on where she lived or even what her name was, all he had was the glass slipper – and it only fitted her feet."

"It's like the story," Lily smiled.

"And I'm the fairy godmother," Katie laughed. "You keep the shoes." Tears, barely visible, softly fell from her eyes.

"Oh, thank you so much!" Lily exclaimed. She walked over to her best friend and gave her a hug. To have a fairy godmother like Katie may not suit the tale, as Katie could not be a mother yet, but it was the next best thing to Lily.

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It was hard to tell what had happened in the beginning of it all. Lily and her friends had made their way down the stairs. Each of them was looking for their dates (or in Charlie's case a place to sit.) Lily was left on her own as the rest of them walked off to dance. Then she felt a soft and gentle tap upon her shoulder. She turned around to see James, in deep blue, standing behind her. He was just how she imagined her Prince Charming to look like. But there was something different about him then all the other amazing guys – he was beyond amazing.

"You made it," he said with a smile. "Even if you had cold feet."

Lily's face broke into a forthcoming grin. "You can't even begin to imagine," she laughed. "But you look great – you even straightened your hair – if that's possible." They both smothered their chuckles as Snape walked by, eyeing James resentfully.

"You look stunning," James commented. "A little bit different too."

"I'm taking my chances as they come," Lily explained.

"Then would you take a chance on sharing a dance with me?" James asked sincerely. The song that was being played by the band was more of a good feeling song then a romantic song. Just what Lily needed.

"Sure," she said with a short smile.

He held out a hand and Lily took it. The warmth, the feeling of it was welcoming. James led Lily towards a corner of the floor. "I don't feel like being in the spotlight tonight," he whispered into Lily's ear.

"That's good," Lily whispered back. She felt as if she could melt into his arms. It was strange. She had hoped to find someone who would love her for who she was at the beginning of that year. But she had already found him. Even though he had been a little arrogant and conceited he still loved her. It was James. He was everything at that moment. Every piece of her was within him. He, unlike some people, had shown her how to just have a good time and not to worry about the consequences.

The time passed by as she swayed gently in his arms. They exchanged few words as none were needed. But the words that they did pass made the other laugh or feel better. The songs were just whispers within their ears. They could hear nothing except the breath of the other. That was the only music they needed. The mutual force of attraction between them was everything at that time.

"What time is it?" Lily asked, for all she cared, she didn't want an answer. Only the sound of his voice.

"About twelve, I think," James replied. He looked down at his watch for the precise timing. "No, it's eleven fifty."

Lily's heart pounded. She'd spent that long with him? The Graduation Ceremony was going to be held at twelve thirty, as she recalled. "Let's go back to the Gryffindor Common Room," Lily said suddenly.

"How about the Ceremony?" he asked, staring back at her.

"We'll come down for that later," Lily said, pushing the thought away. "I just want to see the Gryffindor Common Room at night time for the very last time. If you don't want to come with me, then you don't have to go."

"No," James said. "I'll follow."

They made their way up the stairs and towards the Gryffindor Common room. The rest of the castle was asleep. As they made it into the Gryffindor Common Room they realized that it was completely empty. Everyone else was either fast asleep in their dormitory or downstairs having fun. Lily and James walked to the centre of the room and took two large sighs each. "It's hard to think, that seven years ago, we were right here being introduced to this place," Lily said softly. "And now we're saying goodbye."

James turned to look at Lily. "Just stay here for a second," he said hastily. "I need to do something." And with that he ran out of the common room, up the stairs, in the direction of the seventh-year's dormitory. Lily stared at the clock that ticked upon the wall rhythmically. It was five minutes to twelve. Midnight was soon going to strike. So where was Prince Charming? She laughed gently to ease her tension. This was real life. Not a story. She needn't have to worry about turning into a pumpkin.

She clicked her heels together nervously. She felt like Midnight Lily though. Lily felt like, any moment, the magic would soon be gone and reality would creep up on her. She'd be away from this place forever. She would probably never look at her friends the same way again. Lily felt like she'd never see James again. But that wouldn't be completely true. For some reason, she felt taller then she was used to. As if Lily was growing right before her eyes.

She slipped off Katie's shoes and kept them beside her. She didn't want to be cast away into a spell.

At that moment, James ran back into the common room, carrying a small box in his hand. The clock on the common room wall had made its way to three to twelve. Time was running out. Midnight Lily's spell had been broken at exactly midnight. But Lily had no spell cast upon her, only the spell of a being a puppet slave to her friends and family.

"This is for you," James said. He held out the small box which Lily took tentatively.

"What is it?" she asked with a small smile on her face.

"Why don't you open it and find out for yourself?" James suggested.

Lily opened the box to find a pair of glistening white lily earrings. They were simple and small, yet looked very precious nonetheless.

"I thought you might like to wear this on your wedding day; I just hope that it suits your wedding gown," James explained. "You did say that you wanted a white one, right? Well you can have these to go with it."

"You still remembered?" Lily asked, a little shocked. She fastened them to her earlobes. Why would he even bother remembering something like that? She thought. No boy would even listen to her stupid remarks on the future.

"Since I'm arrogant and stupid doesn't mean I'm forgetful too," he laughed. "Whoever you marry – I'm sure you'll look great with them on."

At that very point in time Lily looked at the clock on the wall. One minute to midnight. Lily placed the small box onto the table and held onto James's hands. They were in the middle of the Gryffindor Common Room and all alone at that. She wasn't sure if it counted as romantic in the Midnight Lily story but it was something. They just listened as the clock ticked by. Closer and closer to midnight.

Lily leaned forwards into James's ear and whispered, "At the stroke of midnight, I turn into a pumpkin and you'll never have to see me again." She felt close to tears and yet she was so happy. Maybe James was the right person to fall in love with. Maybe he had mended the error of his ways and had gone to be supportive and kind. Maybe this was just a dream…

James shook his head. "Don't talk like that," he whispered back. "I don't want you to leave."

Lily glanced reflectively into his eyes. "Why not?"

"Because I love you."

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Final Ending:

The morning before Lily left Hogwarts, she took one of the glass slippers and went to the fountain of Marilyn H. Stimpson. That time she wasn't afraid as she knew that, even if she fell, she'd still be able to catch herself and pull herself up. There, she placed the glass slipper into the water and almost as if it were a reply, an image came to the surface.

It was of two people; a handsome young man and a beautiful young woman, both in their mid-twenties. The young man looked proud and happy, as if he had never felt such an exhilarating feeling, it seemed to be an exhilarating moment. The young woman wore a white gown, a white wedding gown, and beamed. She was carefree and she content. As Lily leaned forwards, trying to catch the face of the young man, the image disappeared. She didn't recognize who the man was, but she was sure the young woman was herself.

When she reached for the glass slipper she realized that it was gone as well. There had been a price to that image, but the price was worth it.

And to finish off this fanfiction, as another fairy tale, I must say four words that close it. I apologize for not saying the four words that should have began the story but, to be truthful, I never knew when Lily's fairytale story had begun.

So I end it at this; where both James and Lily lived happily ever after.

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