Of Secrets and Stags

They had all deserved it. Lily and James had worked their butts off in both training and preparations, and had gotten exceptionally strong together. Remus had made it to where Peter could hold his own, even against James, if his cowardice didn't stop him from doing so. Sirius had actually studied, enough said there. Alice and Frank had gotten immensely good at dueling together, with and against each other. They had all—in some form or another—deserved the graduation dance. So, they all swore to make their last day and night at Hogwarts perfect.

Lily and Alice spent half the day preparing for the dance. Lily had a deep green silk dress that fit her slim figure perfectly. It trailed down to the ground, and was completely nicely with a black sash and black high heels. Her hair was up in a loose bun, with stray strands framing her face. Magic hid any possible flaw in her face and added a smoky green look to her eyes. And, of course, she wore the emerald necklace James had given her.

Alice wore a velvet knee-length red dress that hung tightly to her figure, showing off her curves. She had a golden shawl and heels as well, and was wearing the charm bracelet and her engagement ring, though neither one matched her outfit at all. Her hair was down, a rare thing, and cascading down her back, straight and silky. Spells had been placed on it so that it would stay that way, and wouldn't acquire any knots. Even Lily barely knew how long Alice's hair was—she had only seen it down on a few special occasions, after all.

"Ready to go?" Alice asked Lily with a smile.

"Definitely. I can't wait to see how the boys look," Lily said with a smirk.

The pair walked down the stairs together, Lily in front of Alice. Their boyfriends (the others hadn't bothered to wait) smiled up at their girlfriends/fiancés and complimented them sweetly.

"Lily, you're looking just slightly more magnificent then usual," James offered, grabbing her hand as soon as she was in reach and twirling her into his arms dramatically.

"I guess you look okay," Lily commented with a smirk, though James looked pretty good himself. He was wearing a deep green shirt, kept untucked, to match Lily's, having known that she'd wear green. The rest of his outfit was a regular black suit, and his hair was kept in its normal messy manner.

"Alice…wow…" Frank said dumbly, not being eloquent in such situations.

"You look amazing, too, Frank," Alice said as she threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek sweetly. He looked good himself, though he didn't have the scruffy yet hot look James did. His hair was slicked back, and his red shirt was tucked in and neat. His black suit was unwrinkled and seemed like it had been kept in perfect condition.

"Shall we?" James asked, offering his arm to Lily.

"Love to," Lily replied, taking his arm and walking out of the doorway and towards the Great Hall.

----

They danced the entire night, not much happening aside from that. The girls, even the ones with boyfriends, were either glaring at Remus for being with Sirius or saying much too loudly and excitedly how cute they looked together (being gay girl fan girls). Everyone was shocked when they saw Lily and James still going out. Most of the boys were practically counting on Lily dumping James to ask her out, but ended up with someone else.

It was nearly time for them all to go home, when Dumbledore stood and announced, "This dance was brought to you by the Head Girl and Boy, Lily Evans and James Potter. The Head Boy has requested that they have a special song together, after which Mr. Potter would like to make an announcement. This will be the last song of the evening. Thank you," Dumbledore said before sitting back down. As soon as he sat, a song began to play.

"May I have this dance?" James asked, holding out his hand and giving her a slight bow.

"Like all the others? Of course," Lily replied, taking his hand.

He twirled her so that she was close to him, once again, and whispered in her ear, "No. Not like all the others. Listen to the lyrics…"

She gave two firm nods before closing her eyes and allowing James to simply sway with her as she listened to the lyrics of the song.

Maybe it's intuition
but some things you just don't question
Like in your eyes, I see my future in an instant
And there it goes,
I think I found my best friend
I know that it might sound
more than a little crazy
but I believe...

I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life

There's just no rhyme or reason
Only the sense of completion
And in your eyes, I see
the missing pieces I'm searching for
I think I've found my way home
I know that it might sound
more than a little crazy
but I believe...

I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life

A thousand angels dance around you
I am complete now that I've found you

I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life

I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life

As the song ended, James pulled Lily towards the stage, were the microphone was waiting for him. Lily was amazed that he had planned all this, and gotten it, while training, studying, and preparing for the dance. He paused at the microphone and glanced around at the crowd. He looked at Lily and gave her a small smile before beginning his announcement.

"I, James Potter, would literally like to shout it for the world to hear that I love Lily Evans. However! All I have is a microphone and a stage in front of everyone in my year, so that'll have to do. I… love… Lily… Evans. I know you're all disappointed—Lily Evans is taken. But, there's just one thing I need to know from Ms. Evans herself…" James turned to her and got down on one knee, a lot more dramatically than he did in the snow just six months ago. "Lily Evans, though we've only been going out for six months now, I can't think of a better time to ask this. Will you marry me, the arrogant, selfish prick who wants you all to himself?" He held out a box and opened it, a simply golden ring with a heart embedded into the front of it out to her.

"I… James! Yes!" she cried out, holding back tears as she threw her arms around his neck happily and kissing him on the cheek, holding him tightly.

As James placed the ring on Lily's finger, the crowd burst out into applause (except for the Slytherins, they don't count) and cheers. Alice was screaming at the top of her lungs how proud of Lily she was and Sirius was yelling about how he'd miss him.

"And, with that, my dear students, we'll conclude the school year," Dumbledore said, his eyes not just twinkling but sparkling and overflowing with joy.

A/N: And that concludes Of Secrets and Stags. O.O Oh, the song is "I Knew I Loved You Before I Met You" by Savage Garden. Fitting, eh? XD Well, review:D