A/N: Hey guys! I'm back again with what looks to be the last chap. Boo:( So, without further adu, I give you Plan Z!

Plan Z: The End

I was standing by the black lake, using my wand to summon flat stones and then attempting to skip them across the surface. It was becoming increasingly difficult. Every time I happened to glance down at the bank where Lily saved my life, I'd feel a constricting feeling somewhere in my gut, and I'd look away quickly, usually tanking several rocks afterward. To make matters worse, Sirius was on the other side of the lake with Mary, and they were having a very heated er- conversation.

I skipped a rock five times and silently congratulated myself. It's sad, but that was my record. Presently I heard Mary's voice drift across the lake. "Ouch! Sirius what the hell?!"

Then I heard Sirus's coy reply, "It was a horsefly."

"ON MY ASS!"

I grinned and chuckled to myself. I was surprised to hear I wasn't the only one laughing. I turned around quickly and my smile disappeared. It was her.

"Oh. It's you." I said coldly, turning away.

I heard muffled footsteps as she came to stand next to me, but I didn't turn around. "Yes." Said Lily, "It's me."

I didn't say anything, she went on timidly, "So I talked to Stacy…"

She trailed off. "So?" I said, looking down at the rippled surface of the black lake.

"And er- she well… she made me realize some things."

I rolled my eyes, but I don't think she saw me.

"And well… I think I owe you an apology for jumping to conclusions about you and her."

"Hmmm…" I said curtly, "Jumping to conclusions. That's what you call throwing a fit and calling me a womanizing rat bastard and Stacy a ditsy blond slut. How nice." My lips curled into a sneer and I turned to look at her.

As I spoke she looked down at the ground. I couldn't see her face, but I could tell she was in bad shape. Her usually smooth and silky hair was knotted and thrown into a lazy ponytail. She was wearing a ratty old T-shirt and even shabbier jeans. Her shoulders were slumped in a thoroughly depressing manner, and her skin looked incredibly pale and delicate.

I felt my heart nearly twist in a knot when I saw her like this, but my anger had not dissipated by any means, so I continued frowning at her.

She kept her head down and spoke to the mossy ground, "I know, you're absolutely right James. I am so, so, so, terribly, terribly sorry."

She said it in a quaking voice, as she stopped to breath I realized that she was about to go into a long gushing, kiss-up apology, and I didn't want to hear that from her. "I don't have to listen to this." I snarled, and then began walking away from her.

I didn't hear her follow me. It wasn't until I was about five or six steps away that she tried to call me back. "Wait James. Please. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! I should have never doubted you. And I should have never listened to Rita Skeeter!"

The name Rita Skeeter jolted me like a bucket of icy water. "Did you just say Rita Skeeter?" I asked, not quite able to keep the anger out of my voice, before turning around.

I was met by her brilliant green eyes, which were gushing out tears like a waterfall.

"Yes James. Yes. She told me you cheated on me with Stacy, but I should never have listened to her. Never in a thousand years. She just wanted to split us up to get back at us for that pocket book incident. All that just for a stupid pocketbook." She stopped for a minute to wipe her eyes, and I remained rooted to the spot. "And I don't know why I listened to her James. It's just been so confusing over the last few months. Ever since you came along, it's like nothing is simple and logical anymore. The more time I spend with you, the more my world gets thrown out of balance. I've told you things I'd never say to anyone else. I've done things I never would have done if it weren't for you. I've trusted you like no one else. You scared me half to death, because I didn't want anyone to get too close to me. The last person I became attached too, well she died. And then my older sister, whom I'd always looked up to, she abandoned me. I didn't want that to happen with you. I tried to push you away, but it didn't work. You were just too damn persistent. And then I realized it. The reason you scare me so much is because… well you're you. You're James Potter. You can be annoying and arrogant at times, but above all…" she took a deep breath and plunged on, "I think, somewhere along the course of this year, I fell in love with you James."

When she said those last few words, it was like a tidal wave of emotion washed over me, and left me standing there, blinking stupidly in the fading sunlight at an anxious Lily. I looked her over. She wasn't crying anymore, but her face was tear stained and some flyaway wisps of hair were sticking to the salty streaks on her face. She didn't look like the Lily I knew at first glance, but then I caught a glimpse of something like defiance in those beautiful emerald eyes of hers, and I knew that every word she'd just said was true.

"C'mon Lily. Lets sit down." I said, because she looked on the verge of tears again.

I put a hand on her shoulder and gently steered her to the bank under the beach tree, where she had saved my life barely a month ago. We sat down. I crossed my legs, but Lily kicked off her flip-flops and dangled her feet in the water.

"So." She said.

"So." I agreed.

Lily looked down at her toes, "I was wrong about Stacy. She's actually really nice. And smart. She's top of her class you know."

"Yeah. I knew that. She's also a prefect, head of the chess and gobstones club, and keeper for Slytherin. She's an absolute perfectionist. Kind of reminds me of you actually. That's why I wanted to go to the dance with her. I figured if I couldn't be with you, might as well be with someone like you."

Lily smiled slightly. "Yeah. And you think she's hot."

I didn't know what to say to that, so I settled for the truth, "Sure. But I still like red-heads better."

Lily rolled her eyes. I smiled at that, because it was such a Lily-ish thing to do. She was back.

We sat on that bank in silence for a long time. The air became colder as the sun slowly set, and I wrapped m arm around Lily and pulled her close to me to keep her warm. She didn't resist, on the contrary, she put her head on my shoulder and sighed contentedly.

The sky was streaked with pink and orange, then deep red, and finally blue and purple, before the sun finally set, casting the grounds in darkness. "We should probably head in." I said somewhat sadly.

"Yeah probably." Said Lily, but neither of us moved.

After a few moments, Lily finally broke the silence, "So you uhhh… you forgive me then?" she asked timidly.

"Yeah. Of course I do Lily." I said.

"No. Not just for today. I mean for everything. Turning you down all those times and insulting you. I shouldn't have done that."

"I deserved all the insults Lily and- wait a second…" Something in the back of my mind clicked. "Did you just apologize for rejecting me?"

"Yes."

"Does that mean what I think it means?"

"What do you think it means?"

I crossed my fingers in a childish gesture of good luck. Fortunately, it was too dark for her to see me. "That you want to be my girlfriend?" I asked.

I could almost feel her blushing in the darkness. "Yes." She said simply.

My jaw nearly dropped off my face, "Wow Lily… After all this time and hard work. And all I needed to do was burn a hole in a vindictive journalists pocketbook and invite a Slytherin to the dance. Geeze… If you'd just told me this beforehand I would have-"

"Oh just shut up and kiss me!"

I didn't need telling twice. I stopped talking immediately and leant forward slightly, perhaps a bit too eagerly, because our foreheads collided painfully.

"Oww James!" Said Lily, jerking her head quickly so that her lips came to rest near my ear.

"I love it when you say that." I said softly, moving my head more slowly this time, so as to avoid collision.

"Say what?" She asked, her lips now mere inches from mine.

"My name." I said simply, inching forward slowly, ever so slowly.

"James?"

I could feel her breath on my lips, they were so close, impossibly close. I raised my hand and cupped her face in my palm, gently caressing her smooth cheekbones, "Yeah baby…"

I could almost feel her eyes rolling. I went to close the distance between us, but found she'd already done just that.

We shared one long, sweet, lingering kiss before she pulled away slightly, teasing me.

She put a finger to my lips, tracing them. "You know, I think I like that. James. It sounds nice. James and Lily…" She trailed off musingly.

I lowered my head, and my lips found skin, probably her neck. I began trailing kisses along there, and Lily lets out a moan of pleasure. When I reached what I presumed to be an earlobe, I pulled back and whispered huskily into her ear, "What about Lils?"

I felt her shake her head, then she seemed to remember that it was pitch black and she said softly, "Nah. Just Lily's fine with me. I love it when you call me Lily."

I smiled to myself in the darkness, "Well play your cards right tonight babe, and you might just have me screaming your name."

She snorted and shoved me playfully. I put my hand behind me to keep balance, and found nothing but air, and then icy water. There was a soft splash and Lily let out a gasp.

"James are you-"

"Just my hand." I said quickly. "I forgot we were next to the lake for a second there."

"Oh sorry. Me too."

I pulled her face towards me, she allowed herself to fall forward slightly and enveloped me in a gut-wrenching kiss. When we finally pulled apart, we were both gasping for air.

"Hey wait a second…" I said slowly, "I just remembered something."

"Hmmmm…" Came Lily's reply.

"The last time we were here, you pushed me in the lake, almost drowned me, kissed me like the dickens and then left."

"Oh yeah, sorry 'bout that." Said Lily quickly, kissing me again

I broke away from her after a few seconds, "And know what else I just realized?"

Lily sighed. "What James?"

"That I haven't gotten even with you yet!"

There was silence for a moment, and then: "Don't you dare James Potter!" she cried shrilly, the panic evident in her voice.

But it was too late. I had already started to push, and unfortunately, I had failed to take into account that Lily was practically on top of me, so naturally she dragged me into the freezing cold water along with her.

We hit the water with a soft splash! Weboth immediately came to the surface, sputtering for air. Lily was talking, but I could only make out a few words here and there, "Could have drowned… So cold… Dark… Someone could hear us…"

But I cut her off with a quick kiss, miraculously managing to find her wet and swollen lips in the dim light of the crescent moon. I wrapped my arms around her, tugging us closer, and she raised her hands entangled them in my soaking wet hair.

We stood there in the sludge and freezing cold water for God only knows how long, making out passionately. Eventually I think her knees gave out or something, because I felt her stagger, and then melt into my arms. Thankfully her weight wasn't much because of the water. I decided to tease her slightly by leaning towards the water, and the top of her head grazed the glossy surface. "James!" She cried pulling away, while simultaneously stepping back into the sludge and pushing me back towards the water.

In my surprise she managed to dunk my head under. I came up spluttering and heard her sweet, melodious laugh.

Oh yeah… I thought, Well two can play at this game… Her laughter began to die down, so I lunged at her before it became impossibly to discern her relative location.

My hand landed at the top f her head, and I pushed her under, sinking below the surface along with her.

When we came up she was in my arms. "No fair." She said quietly.

"Alls fair in love and war." I quoted facetiously.

She snorted, nuzzling her face into my neck. I felt a tremor pass through her body and was sure she was shivering, "You're cold," I said, "Lets get out of here."

I slogged over to where I thought the shore was, thankfully found it ok and hoisted Lily up.

She sat on the bank and waited while I scrambled up to her. "We should probably head in." She said.

I nodded, wondering how on earth we were going to find our way back to the castle with no light. Lily answered my question easily. "Lumos." She muttered, as if reading my mind.

Her wand tip ignited, and the area around us was cast into sharp focus. The first thing I noticed of course was Lily, soaking wet, in a baggy T-shirt. Now that's hot!

She noticed me staring at her chest, and her eyes widened. "Hey!" I said, "I'm your boyfriend now. I'm allowed."

"That doesn't make you any less of a perv." She said, and cast a spell which immediately dried both of us off.

"Um thanks." I said.

"Don't mention it." She smirked. "Lets go."

I loped my arm around her shoulder and led her back towards the castle.

/-o0o-/

It must have been well past midnight by the time we reached the common room. This was definitely against the rules, but somehow I found I didn't quite care. The nights events had filled me with a sense of reckless excitement and rebellion. I felt unbelievingly happy and refreshed (probably because I just got pushed in the lake) but yet I was tired. I hadn't slept a wink the previous night. I was now nearing about 36 hours sleepless.

"I think it's time to turn in." I said to James.

For a second I saw a flicker of disappointment cross his face, but he soon replaced it. "Ok Lily. Wanna come up to my dorm?" He waggled his eyebrow suggestively.

"With your perverted roommates, I don't think so."

We shared one last, lingering kiss by the light of the common room fire before we broke apart and went our separate ways. I was halfway up the stairs to my dorm before I looked back at the boys stairwell. James met my eye and winked before opening his door and walking inside, I rolled my eyes and kept going.

When I reached my dorm, I was surprised to find all the beds empty. Alice and Mary were gone, but I thought I knew exactly where to find them.

Quickly I brushed my hair and teeth, washed my face, and changed into PJ's. Then I grabbed my wand and headed out the door.

I headed up the stairs to the boys dorm and gently pushed the door open. Mary and Alice were there alright, both curled up asleep in Frank and Sirius's beds, is was kind of cute actually. Remus and Peter were both asleep as well, Peter snoring quietly.

I heard running water, James was probably in the bathroom washing up. I walked over to the only vacant bed and sat down to wait.

He came out a few minutes later, and when I saw him I had to make a conscious effort to keep my mouth from dropping open. He was only wearing a pair of checker-print boxers and nothing else, giving me a good look at his well-defined and muscular chest. I let my eyes roam, fascinated as he walked out of the bathroom and yawned, spreading his arms out and causing his muscles to stretch and constrict like rippling waves.

He noticed me staring and smirked. "You like what you see?" he asked cockily.

I rolled my eyes in response. "Hey, just returning the favor."

He smiled, and then his eyes darted towards his bed and then to me. "You're on my bed." He said a bit unsteadily.

"Yeah." I said evenly. "Can I stay here? My friends kind of abandoned me." Here I gestured to Alice and Mary, both sound asleep.

He spared them a quick glance before his eyes came back to rest on me. "Sure. That'd be great."

He grabbed a baggy T-shirt and shorts and put them on, climbing into his four-poster bed. I followed.

We slipped under the sheets and Potter put his arms around me, pulling me close. He was facing me, our faces barely inches from each other, but somehow I found I didn't ache to close the distance. We'd done that enough for one night, and I was tired. It could wait till morning, when, most likely, Mary's squeals would wake us.

"Tonight was absolutely amazing James…" I whispered, even though I didn't think anyone would wake.

"Yeah." He said, "You're amazing."

"And you're a kiss up." I whispered conspiratorially.

He smiled, "I keep forgetting I've already got you. I don't have to impress you anymore."

"What, and you think flattery is impressing?"

"Hey, It worked on all the girls I dated before-" he stopped quickly, realization of what he had just said dawning on his face. "Wait I-I didn't mean that Lily-"

I shook my head and rolled my eyes, chuckling softly, "I'm not like other girls Potter. Get over it."

He smiled, looking relieved, "I know you're not like other girls Lily. You're- your're you. And that's an incredible, wonderful person. I'm so lucky to have someone special like you in my life."

I smiled, "That's cute." I said simply.

"Cute?" he asked, feigning hurt.

"Yeah. Kinda like a Hallmark card."

"You know what's cute?" he asked, without waiting for an answer, "You." He leant forward and kissed me on the nose. It was just a light touch, but it sent shivers through my entire body.

We were silent for a time, but his eyes were still locked on mine and I found I couldn't look away. "So graduation tomorrow…" He trailed off.

I sighed, "Yeah… It's going to be weird being away from school."

"I know. But don't worry. We can apparate now. We'll still see each other all the time. We can even get together with the whole gang. You know, go like- oh what's that muggle game- golding?"

"Golfing." I corrected. "Or bowling or something. Yeah I'd like that. It'd be fun."

"And there's still Frank and Alice's wedding." He said.

"Yeah that's something to look forward to."

"But Lily. I just want to let you know. Whatever happens, I'll always be there for you."

I smiled at him. "You know, you told me that once before, and I believed you. And I still do now. Thank you James."

"You're welcome Lily. I'm going to try to get a job soon. And then I'll get some gold and maybe buy a place where you can move in with me. How would you like that?"

Although I knew I'd like that very much, this conversation was moving a bit too quickly for me. "Just, lets not talk about the future right now. I've spent my entire life preparing for the future, and I'm happy now. In the present. So let's just- you know- live for the moment for a little while. Ok?"

He nodded. "Yeah Lily, ok."

He closed his eyes for a minute and his breathing evened slightly. I was sure he was asleep. I couldn't quite help myself, so I lent forward and whispered in his ear, "I love you James."

He surprised me by cracking an eye open. "I love you too, Lily." He whispered.

He moved his head so that it was touching mine, and we nuzzled each other slightly. Then I closed my eyes and let my head sink into his musty smelling pillow. Within seconds, I was asleep.

/-o0o-/

I watched her sleep for a few moments, just basking it all in. She'd finally agreed to go out with me. Finally. After all these fruitless attempts, and futile conquests. Finally she'd changed her mind. The chase was over, and for that I was grateful.

It may be the end of our time at school, but it was certainly the beginning of something even more special. Tonight was the turning point in our lives. What awaited us out there, I had not the slightest clue. All I knew was that whatever happened, we'd face it together. We made a good team, Lily and I. And I knew that no matter what, I'd always be there for her, and she for me.

You may think I'm being a sob romantic here, but in that moment, it couldn't be helped. I was a man in love, and that's a wonderful thing.

I took one last glance at Lily's peaceful form before I laid my head down and drifted off to sleep.

A/N: Ok peoples. First off, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who has stuck with this story for so long, and especially to those who have left their kind and encouraging reviews. A special shout out to Puppyscruffy and Mel, who have both reviewed EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER! Thanks so much to all you guys, it's a great feeling to know that your work has been read and appreciated. You guys are awesome! You've made writing my first ever multi chapter fic a really wonderful experience;)

A/N2: Whoo that was long! Geesh, I sound like I'm winning an Oscar or something. And just FYI, I've half a mind to do an epilogue, so I'm leaving this story as incomplete for now. Think I should? Drop me a line via review and let me know what you think!

Thanks Again Guys!

-DobbyRoxMySox