Dear Reader,

Thank you so much for your reviews and all your commitment throughout this fic. And yes, I admit the ending sucked. Thank you for telling me what you all really thought. I admit I didn't do a very good job on the chapter, I was in such a hurry to finish, and I apologize for this. As a result, I am reposting the last chapter. Hopefully, this one will be up to your standards.

Much Love,

Your Great Escape

y.g.e.

"So, what'ya doin'?" Sirius asked snidely, watching as the pair pulled away.

"Plotting your demise," James said, grinning. "Now go study for your NEWTS, alright?" He and Lily went back to planning, finally pulling a theme together, planning music, decorations, everything. It was done by that night, leaving them both time to cram for exams the following week.

The week was really long for the Marauders. They had to plan their end-of-year prank, study (somewhat), and help Remus figure out how on earth he was going to tell Grace about his furry little problem. Finally, though, their last tests were over, and the entire school was lying out by the lake, sleeping or talking or studying for something else.

James watched as Grace came down, sunglasses perched on her head, making a bee-line for Remus. Moments later, Moony stood up, strolling casually towards the girl. "I have something to tell you. Let's walk."

And they did, away from everyone, where no one could hear what he had to say – he made sure of it. "Look, Grace. I think there's something you should know about me, but you can't say a thing to anyone, and… I don't know. I just…"

"Tell me," the girl assured him, wrapping an arm around his waist.

"I'mawerewolf," he said, so quickly that the words were strung together.

"I know," Grace replied, planting a kiss on his lips. "I noticed you were always sick on the full moon, and I thought… I had hoped you would tell me." The girl led him back into the castle, holding his hand, her head resting on his shoulder. Remus was grinning broadly, glad that everything had worked out at least for him.

.y.g.e.

The night of the dance, everything was perfect. James had managed to convince the marauders to do a rather harmless prank, but one that would make the night perfect. Eventually, he and Lily had decided on a 'blue' theme. There were blue curtains on the great Hall, blue roses in the middle of each white-covered table, a blue carpet leading down into the hall. There was blue cheese, blueberries, a giant blue cake on the dessert table. The Bluebloods were playing at the other end of the hall when James walked in, Lily Evans on his arm.

"You look amazing, you know," he told the girl, giving her a good look up and down. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, two curls hanging out in front of her ears. She wore a bright blue strapless dress, a silver locket around her neck, as well as silver heels that Lily knew she would soon have to take off.

"As do you," the redhead replied, smiling. All their hard work had paid off, and apart from a few remarks about Ravenclaw, everyone was enjoying the dance. And James looked amazing in his dress robes, and Grace and Remus were finally happy together. It was the perfect conclusion to the perfect year. Except James. He didn't seem to see the danger in taking their relationship outside the school. It was practically taboo now, as she was muggleborn, and he was pureblood. It was completely impossible.

"Can I get you a drink?" he asked, and when she nodded, he went off to get her a butterbeer. He returned a few minutes later, as the ceiling began showing the meteor shower that the Marauders had bewitched earlier. James and Lily made their way outside, watching the silver streak across the sky.

"Lily?"

"Yes?"

He conjured a rose, placing it in her hand. "When this rose dies, so will my love for you." She smiled; the rose was glass. The girl planted a kiss on his forehead, sliding her hands into his.

"James, you're the sweetest boy I've ever met."

"Really? If I recall, I'm also the most immature."

"I haven't said that since fifth year!"

"It made quite an impression," he grinned, reaching into his pocket, pulling out a small object that fit in the palm of his hand. "Lily, can I ask you something?"

"Anything." She was sweating, looking at him. What was that in his hand?

"Normally, I would have waited longer," the Head Boy began, clearing his throat. He continued, his voice getting stronger. "But I love you, more than I could ever love anyone else. I'm a blood traitor. I don't know how long I'll live after we graduate, but I want to be with you forever. So, I guess what I want to ask is, will you marry me?" He held out the ring for her to take. It was gold, with a princess-cut diamond. It had been his grandmother's, a family heirloom for generations and generations.

Lily put a hand to her mouth in shock. The ring was beautiful, and he was amazingly sweet about everything. How could he ask her this now? After she had decided what needed to be done in order for them both to survive? "James," she whispered, staring at him for a moment. "I can't. I'm sorry." The grin slowly faded from his face, as they stared at each other. "You should go."

He did. He went back to the common room, pulling a spare bottle of firewhiskey out from under the bed, taking a drink out of it. He had thought she would ask for a little more time. James Potter didn't think that Lily Evans would just leave him right off the bat. It was obvious to him that she didn't want anything to do with him now. But what had he done wrong? The Head Boy replaced his dress robes with jeans and a tee-shirt, and flopped back onto his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Five minutes later, the door slowly opened and shut. "James?" It was Sirius.

"What?" the youth asked bitterly.

"You missed the real prank."

"What'd you do?"

"Made the cake explode. It was wonderful. Dumbledore was cutting it, too."

"Sounds great."

"What's wrong? Why are you up here alone? And why aren't you wearing your dress robes?" Sirius cracked a grin. "Oh, did you and Evans finally sleep together?"

"NO, YOU IMBECILE!!" James roared, sitting up. Then, quietly, "We broke up."

"Why?"

"She doesn't want to get married, or something. I never bothered to ask. I don't want to know. I'd hate to think that she never loved me."

"She loves you."

"Then why am I up here all alone?"

"I dunno. I'm up here all alone." Sirius grabbed the firewhiskey bottle off the table, taking a drink. The thought of Kim still overwhelmed him. Besides, being drunk was always fun.

"That's different."

"Maybe."

"So what am I supposed to do now?" James asked, opening another bottle of firewhiskey. "She's gone, we're all leaving… I never thought she would break up with me because I proposed. And after all that bullshit about not wanting to hurt me." He downed the entirety of the bottle, listening to Sirius' futile attempts to comfort him, and fell asleep almost immediately.

.y.g.e.

Lily and James barely spoke through the rest of the term. She knew she had hurt him, but she had to. There hadn't been a choice in the matter, given what the death eaters would do to him for marrying a muggle born. And so she avoided him, and sat silently in the compartment on the trip back to King's Cross station. It had only been nine months earlier that they had argued here, and she had hexed him.

James Potter was, in fact, poking her, when she awoke to all the familiar sounds of the Hogwarts Express. Lily brushed his finger away impatiently, trying to slip back into the dream. Oddly enough, she wanted to know what happened next. But why would she want to know something like that? It wasn't as if she actually wanted to shag James Potter. He poked her again. "Potter. Enough."

"I'm not touching you," was the seventh-year's only reply, and his customary smirk returned to his face once he had gotten a reaction out of the object of his affections, as he liked to put it. James watched, amused, as Lily rolled her eyes at him, sighing with exasperation. It was an obvious ploy to buy time in order to come up with some clever remark.

Or that was what the Head Boy thought until he heard what the redhead had to say. "Potter, stop it."

He almost laughed at the thought. 'No,' Prongs answered silently, continuing aloud. "Sorry, you're far too pokeable." His finger jabbed in Lily's direction once more, and once again, she failed to avoid it.

Gracefully taking the hit, she raised one eyebrow at James, a habit he found quite attractive. Of course, Lily hadn't spent nearly enough time around him to know this, and if she had, she would have broken the odd habit immediately. "Pokeable?" she inquired, puzzled by the word. "What in Merlin's name is that supposed to mean?"

Potter didn't miss a beat, and poked her once again. "It means that I'm not touching you." He smirked, satisfied with the reply, as well as with Lily's reaction. He liked seeing her get mad, for some odd reason. Maybe it was more attractive to him. Maybe he liked the fire in her personality. Maybe he was used to that being the only reaction he ever got out of her. Abruptly, James found her wand directly under his nose, staring down the highly-polished wood.

"I'm warning you, Potter. Don't push it." The Head Girl glowered at her new, unwanted colleague, not quite sure that he would leave her alone.

"Head Girl." He smirked, a facial expression that she hated more than anything else about him. Except maybe his I'm-all-that attitude and his hair that always refused to lay flat. "What're you gonna do?" He stood up, his lanky body stretching to a height of six feet. Deftly, James reached down, his fingers closing around her wrists, pulling her to her feet. Now that both of them were standing, two things were clear: Lily didn't look too intimidating, her head barely reaching his chin. "You might get in trouble," the seeker murmured in his warm, pleasant voice, as he felt the tip of her wand against his chest.

"Then again, I might not," Lily replied, confident that he wouldn't say anything. He never did, and no one else was around to see her do this. He felt his fingers jab once, simultaneously, into the one point on her side that could make her shriek, and that was, indeed the last straw. Regaining her composure, Lily narrowed her eyes and spoke the words to the first hex that came to mind. "Sanguinem Mittere!"

Somehow, they had come full circle, without anything really changing. And it depressed Lily. After all this time, they hadn't done anything. All their hard work had meant nothing in the end because they couldn't be together. She felt something cold and wet trickle down her cheek, and her hand flew in panic to her face, flicking the tear away and turning to stare out the window. James remained absorbed in his book; she hoped he hadn't seen. She had kept up the act of hating him for six years – why couldn't she do it now?

Finally, the train came to a stop, and the busy platform nine and three-quarters came into view. James was already leaving, his trunk floating behind him. Lily quickly followed suit, taking two steps for every one he took. "James!" He turned easily, his eyes full of the hurt she had caused, and something else… hope? She hoped it wasn't – she would hate to have to take that away, too. Nonetheless, she flew into his arms, hugging him tightly. "I'm sorry… I didn't want it to happen like this, but…"

"We could still go back, Lily," he said softly, slowly returning her embrace. "It's not too late…"

"We can't," she replied, stubbornly. "It's too dangerous." She watched his face fall, and pulled out of his arms. "I'll miss you." She kissed his cheek, her vision going blurry. And the next thing he knew, she had vanished through the wall that led to the muggle world.

.y.g.e.

The end.

P.S. There's a sequel. Indestructible. Check it out.