Chapter 3:
The Beginning and the End

"Lily? Lily?" jenny yelled as Janet waved a hand in front of Lily's face. "LILY!!!"

"Oh!" The red head jumped. "Sorry guys. I...er...spaced out." She muttered.

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon and they were sitting underneath a tree near the lake.

"I think I know why." Jenny beamed and jabbed her thumb over her shoulder. Sure enough, there they were, on the other side of the lake, the infamous marauders.

Lily turned red as Jenny and Janet smirked at her.

"No! I was just thinking about….my…uh…my…charms essay! Yeah! My charms essay." She said. The two other girls rolled their eyes.

"Lily, you're hopeless!"

Meanwhile on the other side of the lake, James absent-mindedly played with the golden snitch he nicked earlier. He almost let the snitch slip away from him when he happened to notice his beloved red-head chatting animatedly with her friends. He sighed sadly and watched the girl of his dreams standing up and walking farther away from him and into the castle. Maybe that's just the way it is. Maybe he's destined to simply love her from afar, forever entwined to the vision of the one he loves most walking away from him, eternally dreaming of a romance story that was never going to happen, constantly suffering from nostalgia and incessantly badgered by the melancholic truth. But still, there's no harm in trying one last time…..

Lily opened the door to the empty dormitory, thinking of finishing some schoolwork when she saw something on her bed. It was a single, long-stemmed red rose with a note.

I'll be waiting at the Astronomy Tower.

As soon as she read the note, she sped out the door. Her mind was racing through the possibilities as to who this person is. Then, something clicked in her mind.

It was him.

The necklace, the chocolates, the rose; all these gifts came from him. Why didn't I realize it before now?

Lily's heart was beating furiously against her rib cage as she reached the door to the tower. She stood motionless, her hand on the cold metal of the doorknob.

James was leaning on the railing of the astronomy tower. He was wringing his hands because of the cold and the fear that was building up in his chest.

She's not going to come, is she?

James sighed as he watched the sunset. He was unaware of the opening and closing of the wooden door. Unaware of the stranger who was now currently watching his silhouette against the orange and pink sky.

"You know – one loves the sunset when one is so sad." A voice came from behind James, startling him.

"Lily…"

The red-head walked up to where James was standing. In silence, they watched the sun go down the horizon.

"I love sunsets." James said abruptly.

"You sad?"

"Aye."

"And, pray tell, why is Mr. Potter feeling melancholic?"

"Well, you see…" Lily made a sound of acknowledgment to show that she was listening and urged him to continue. "Mr. Potter is currently lamenting on the fact that maybe his beloved redheaded damsel doesn't feel the same way about him."
There was an awkward silence as the pair gazed at the stars that started to appear in the endless night sky.

"Has Mr. Potter asked this redheaded damsel how she feels about him?" Lily asked.

"I'm afraid not. But by the looks of it, it might end up in rejection."

"And why is that?"

"Every time Mr. Potter opens his mouth or pulls an innocent prank, the feisty damsel seems to have the terrible urge to bite his head off." James smirked.

"Well, Mr. Potter was probably doing something stupid." Lily argued indignantly

"But Mr. Potter was only doing it to catch the damsel's attention."

"But Mr. Potter already caught the damsel's attention." James stared at Lily, unsure of what he just heard. "From the very first time the damsel laid eyes on Mr. Potter, she was already smitten with him. She discreetly watched Mr. Potter's every move, struggling to fight her adoration for the charming lad. But no matter what she does, no matter how much she degrades him and treats him badly, he always comes back to her with a necklace, a box of chocolates, a rose, sometimes even with a witty remark or some sweet random ramblings that makes her heart melt and she falls deeper in love. The damsel just said that Mr. Potter was an egoistic moron because she wanted to keep her feelings clandestine. I guess it doesn't matter now because I'm standing here in front of you, pouring my heart out." Even if the moon and the stars were the only sources of light, James could see that Lily had turned scarlet. James chuckled softly.

"Lily…" James gently placed a hand on her cheek. "You mean the world to me and finding out that you feel the same way about me is sheer bliss." James held her hand and pulled her closer.

"James…"

"I love you Lily Evans….Always have and forever will."

Under the stars and the moon, enveloped by the caring arms of the eventide, they kissed.

And everything was perfect.

A/N: The line "You know--one loves the sunset when one is so sad" is from the book, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Its a really good book. Anyway...this is the last chapter! Hope you guys liked it. hehehe! please review!!! pleeeeeease? pretty please? you know you want to!