A/N: This is it guys. This isn't a joke, not like before. Sorry it took so long to get out, it took a lot of effort. So.. just read and enjoy and I'll see you on the other side.

Lily

Time passed in the same way. We fought, we made up. The snow that so violently fell to the ground before it melted and turned into slush, moving out of the way for the budding spring flowers. At times, the distance between us grew to much. Not physical so much as emotional, the way we couldn't show more than platonic attraction outside of the little office or when we got time alone in the dorms (which was very rare indeed).

Remus watched us with a knowing smile, knowing that the pats on the arm and lingering stares for just one second too long meant a lot more than friendship. Sirius and Alice stayed oblivious, caught up in their own problems, not that I could blame either of them. The war grew quickly, expanding and blowing up like a powder keg and suddenly my life filled with prejudice more each day, whether it was just a nasty glare from a Slytherin or the spiteful spitting of the word mudblood to me as I passed a Ravenclaw in the hallway.

My sister wrote just as rarely and my parents seemed quite ignorant to the danger they were in, no matter how many times I warned them what was happening in the wizarding world. James was there always, though, at the end of a bad day. His arms waited open for me to fall into as we would share our worries and hopes for the future, mine always ending in how I would help, how I would change the world when I became an Auror.

That dreamed changed, though, when in early May, I met with Dumbledore, being offered a position in the Order of the Phoenix. The offer was hard to refuse, when he looked at me over his half moon spectacles, using words like revolutionary and monumental. Even then, I bit my lip and told him I would have the think about it, though never mentioned a word to James about accepting the offer, even when he told me of the own THE OWN WHAT...? he had gotten, immediately saying he would join.

I sit on my bed now, my things packed away as once again, I am ready to leave. This time, it's not just for the summer, for a Quidditch Camp I can't afford, but rather for the real world, never to return to Hogwarts again. I sit with an envelope in my hands, one that holds the answer to my future. Either I got accepted or I didn't, I think to myself, unsure of how to process everything going on. It's coming to an end, and I haven't even determined a second of my future. Not my job, nor my living space.

"Just open it," I whisper into the empty air around me, completely alone. Suddenly, the urge grows to be too much and I rip open the envelope, my hands shaking with tremors as I clutch the folded sheet of parchment.

After a moment of heart racing, body shaking, I unfold it and let my eyes scan the top sentence.

Dear Ms. Evans, we would like to congratulate you on your acceptance in the Ministry of Magic's prestigious Auror Training program for the 1978-1979 school year...

It goes on, but I can't read it any longer through my blurred vision, as well as it slipping from my slick-with-sweat hands. I crawl up onto my bed, pressing my back against the wooden backboard and taking a deep breath. I made it, I got everything I wanted in life.

Why don't I feel different?

It is a question that hits me from all angles, crushing down on me like the walls were closing in. Just at that moment, I hear the whoosh of a broom and a knocking on the door.

"Lily?" a voice calls tentatively, one I immediately recognize as James.

"Yes, come in. I'm alone."

He swings the door open and sees me here, shell shocked expression, and rushes to my side.

"You okay? You look like you've seen a Chimaera?"

"I got in," I whisper, almost inaudibly.

His facial expression grows, from shock to pure joy. He grabs my hand and pulls me into him for a bone crushing hug.

"I knew you could do it, I knew it. You are just so damn smart. Honestly, I never doubted you for a second."

I shake my head, stopping him in his tracks, before blurting out, "I'm not accepting it."

James pulls back and looks at me as if I've gone insane (which I might have) and says, "Are you joking? Lily, this is an amazing opportunity, why wouldn't you take it?"

"The Ministry is corrupt," I point out, "And I doubt the training center is any different. James, I can't help the Muggles and Muggle-borns when I'm stuck in some bloody training center for a year. I want to go, now, I want to fight him. I want to join the Order with you."

And right at that moment, he looks at me with this look, this look that fills him to the brim and shimmers behind his hazel eyes. It's one for a love, of affection, but most of all? Pride.

"You are the most courageous person I know," he mutters into my neck, leaning down to give it a kiss.

"I want to move in with you," I continue, "If I can still take you up on your previous offer?" Nodding energetically, he opens his mouth to say something but I continue. "We need to tell your dad. I can't keep hiding this. I want to show everyone how much I love you."

James stands there and I relish in the intermingling glow we are both radiating with. I wrap my arms around his neck, with his on my waist and slowly sway to the beat of a bright future.

"How did I end up with someone like you?" he asks, his lips hovering only a millimeter from mine.

"I have really, really low standards," I giggle, before he crashes his lips into mine and I pull him closer, licking my tongue across the back of his teeth and moaning into him.

He groans, "I want all of you, every little piece."

I hesitate for a moment, trying to figure out if he is saying what I think he is. "Everything? All the way?" I verify. He nods, obviously nervous from the way he runs one hand through his hair and adjusts his round glasses.

"Okay."

James

I know that I have no other option except admitting to my dad what's going on with me and Lily, especially the whole joining-the-Order thing. Who knows how he would take that. Don't get me wrong, it's not as if my dad is against fighting against You-Know-Who and his followers, but I'm sure he would prefer something much more "practical" and less "dangerous." But I was firm on my decision. I know that what I really want-no, need-to do was fight alongside Lily. And if my dad was going to put up a fight about it, well then so was I.

Still, this thought doesn't make me any less nervous as I return home with Sirius at the end of the school year. Since I was well aware of how my dad would be finding out about my relationship with Lily later that night, our farewell at Platform 9 ¾ was...daring, to say the least. But I still think back on it and can't help but smile, feeling the familiar lightheadedness I get whenever Lily is involved.

I told Sirius that I'd meet him at the Apparation point and stood by Lily and her trunk, smiling down at her.

"We'll see each other soon," she said, and my hand instantly jumped to my hair as a kind of reaction.

"I know," I mumbled. "Although whether or not you'll see me in one piece, I'm don't know." She rolled her eyes as if to tell me You'll be fine, but I didn't give her a chance to speak. "Could I see you tomorrow?" I asked.

"Careful there. You don't want to look too desperate."

"Right, that's why I said tomorrow. I want to see you later tonight, but I'm willing to wait all of tonight and much of tomorrow. See what I did there?" Now she laughed, although it didn't go without an eyeroll.

"You're ridiculous, James Potter."

"I know. But you love me anyway." And before she could utter another word, I swept her off her feet, dipped her down low, and kissed her passionately without giving a second thought to the people around us. Who, by the way, I could hear giving audible gasps along with practically feeling their stares on the two Head Students. Those two crazy teenagers, they were probably thinking. Can't they learn to keep their hormones in check while in a public place? With young children in the vicinity, no less?

But frankly, who cared what they thought? All I was concerned about was the taste of Lily's lips and the feel of her hands in my hair and the sound of the orchestra playing-er, well, that bit might've been in my head, but the rest wasn't.

When we finally pulled apart and I set her back upright on her feet, all she said was, "So tomorrow will definitely work."

"Looking forward to it."

"As am I."

"Until tomorrow, then."

"Right. Tomorrow."

And without another word, the two of us turned on our heels and walked away. I could feel the stares of my fellow classmates, friends, Quidditch players, everyone, probably thinking, Since when would Lily Evans actually let James Potter get away with kissing her? Really, their facial expressions were quite hilarious. But none as much so as Sirius's, who just looked at me and said, "Did I miss something?"

I shrugged and replied, "A lot. But I'll fill you in later." And on that note, I grabbed my trunk and his wrist and Apparated home, suddenly filled with the extremely nostalgic feeling of knowing that this would be the last time I came home after another school year at Hogwarts.

And now here I am, sitting with my parents at our kitchen table, trying to find the right words to say what I need to. My mother and father look at me expectantly, but my mum's facial expression is so much more softer. Hopefully she'll understand the words I'm about to say.

"I'm back together with Lily," I say quickly, but not too much so that they can't understand.

"You are?" both of them exclaim, although with much different meanings behind them.

"Oh, that's so exciting, James! I know how upset you were when the two of you broke up, and I'm assuming that you're much happier now, right?" But I don't answer her, instead keeping my gaze locked on my dad's as he takes a very deep breath and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"James, I thought we discussed this..."

"Discussed what?" my mother asks, looking confused and slightly suspicious. Both Dad and I avoid eye contact with anyone, suddenly finding extreme interest in the floor, the soup stain on the table, the pots hanging over the stove. Dad sighs and begins to speak.

"After Lily came over for dinner last summer, I spoke with James in my office. Don't misunderstand me, I did like Lily, but I was afraid that her being a Muggle-born wouldn't do my or my family's reputation any good. I was also just trying to look out for my son's safety. Given this whole war going on, who you associate yourself with is extremely important today. And James being associated with someone of her blood status...I didn't want to take that risk. I didn't want there being any chance of my son getting hurt."

Even though it reminds me of how furious I was when I first heard it, my heart softens at my dad's closing words. I guess he was just looking out for me...in his own awful, twisted way. I glance over at Mum, whose facial expression conveys shock and...well, and utter rage.

"I guess now would be a bad time to mention that I'm joining the Order of the Phoenix..." I say casually, leaning back into my chair and ready to watch this thing unfold.

Dad's head snaps to me, but before he can say anything, Mum bursts out, "You try to keep him from this one thing that makes him happy like nothing else either of us have ever seen, all because you're concerned about our reputation? I can't believe you, Richard! James is allowed to date whoever he wants to, regardless of their blood status, and for you to suggest otherwise simply appals me. And James, if joining the Order of the Phoenix is what you really want to do...well, as long as you know what you're getting yourself into..."

"I do, Mum. Trust me. I need to do this. I can't really explain it..."

"I understand, dearie," she says sweetly, lightly placing her hand on my arm and giving me a kind look. That, however, soon turns into a glare as it's directed at my father, before she says, "I mean, who would I be to keep you from doing what you want? You are a legal wizard, after all. I think you can make your own choices now."

The sarcasm dripping from her voice is actually quite hilarious for me, so I know I should leave before I suddenly burst out into a fit of uncontrollable laughter or something. "Well, er, thanks Mum. I'll be going upstairs."

"Of course, Jamie." My father hasn't uttered a word this whole time, partially because he's still so shocked at my mum's outburst. Neither of us have ever seen her like that before. And it is just awesome.

I quickly dash up to my room, grabbing my wand and a hoodie, before smiling to myself and Disapparating. Because as it just so happens to turn out, maybe I can't wait all of tonight and most of tomorrow to see Lily again...

Lily

"I don't understand. Being an auror is everything you've ever wanted." We're sitting in her house, on the floor cross legged, slowly sorting through her attic. Right now, we are going through an old chest and the only value it seems to hold is the record for amount of dust.

I shake my head, "No, helping the world, protecting people who are discriminated against is everything I've ever wanted. I just... I don't think being an auror will do that for me."

"But Lily... It would be me and you and girl power. We could be amazing together, best friends. And you're going to just give up?"

"You know I'm with James now. You are with Frank. Alice, things are never going to be the same like before." Alice pouts, obviously still perturbed that I had been lying to her about James. Every time his name is mentioned, a frown grows on her face. No explanation could soothe her damaged ego. By before, she knows I mean the summer, the summer where everything changed. We both grew; we experienced heartbreak and loss and what it meant to really become an adult.

"You're moving in with him?" she asks, and I glance up distractedly from the task at hand.

"Yeah," I reply, bobbing my head up and down.

"What's it like?" she says. "What's it like knowing you are with the perfect person for you?"

"It's like..." I trail off, trying to think of how to explain it to her. "It's like... I don't need the ground because I'm too busy floating on air. It's like no matter what life throws at me... I know I'll be okay. Love, with no regrets, it is making me the happiest I've ever been. And right now, we are still in this honeymoon stage, which I know will pass, but that doesn't make it any less sweet. James makes me feel like maybe we can actually win this war. The feeling is..."

"Hope," she interrupts, and I nod at the word choice.
"Hope," I repeat.

Alice looks up at me and takes the photograph from my hands, one too dusty to even make out the figures. When she dusts it off, however, we both find the frame to be empty. It's an ornate frame, with beautiful golden vines wrapping around the outside, with inlaid jewels lining the glass.

"That's a really gorgeous frame."

"Thanks," she says, "It was my Nana's, before she passed away." She traced the inside, her fingertips just brushing the bumpy edges. "Before she... before she went, she used to sit me down on her lap. She'd grab my hands and look at me and says, 'Remember, Allie, don't put all your eggs in one basket.' And I'd just look at her and nod even though I didn't really understand what she was saying.

"I know you don't understand, Lily, but I'm doing what's best for me. I can't give myself to him, he holds too much power to break me. He's this sector of my life that I've found a way to wrap up in a basket and save for a rainy day, when I don't have to keep apart the rain and my tears. You and James are a beautiful couple, Lils, but me and Sirius just never could get it right and I believe there is a reason for that. So, I'm going to marry Frank and I'm going to love him with as much of my heart as I still have. I'm asking you to support me."

Tears form in my eyes but I choke them back, deciding to merely take the frame back from her and nod. I then too traced the outer rim of it, before putting it in the to keep box.

A few months later, when she smiled and said I do, I found the box again. When I brought it to her at the reception, she just shook her head, letting the tears flow freely. She then nodded over to Sirius, who was standing sullenly at the edge of the dancefloor, studying his shoes intently.

I called him over and once he reached me, I held it out.

"What is this?" I just bit my lip and pulled him into a hug, which he gratefully returned.

"She's letting you go."

James

I've just returned from spending another fantastic day with Lily-showing her around the seaside Muggle town I grew up near-to find Sirius lying on the floor of our bedroom with no shirt and an old record player I didn't know we had playing what I assume to be Pink Floyd-he likes to play it whenever he's feeling down. I personally before this awesome wizarding band, The Flobberworm Project, for all of my emotional needs. Recently I seem to be living their song "She Hit Me with Her Stunning Charm." It's so cheesy. But it's so true.

What am I even talking about? Oh, right. Sirius.

"You okay, mate?" I ask him, referring to his position on the floor. He doesn't respond for a few moments, but right as I'm about to shrug it off and let him be, he says, "It's a funny thing, love is. I really can't think of anything as wonderful, terrible, and downright weird as love is."

"Okay, who are you and what have you done to Sirius Black? Cause the Sirius I know would never have it in him and make a statement as true and philosophical as that," I snicker.

"I've just...realized things, recently."

"Oh, yeah? What kind of things?" He sits up off the floor and leans against his bed.

"While I was in Diagon Alley heading to Gringott's to get the money Uncle Alphard left me in his will, I, er...I saw Alice there. With Frank. They were shopping together. Just...just walking around. Window shopping and such. And then I realized...that they worked. Alice and Frank are really good for each other. Probably more that she and I could ever have been. I don't think either of them saw me there, and I didn't approach them or anything. I just...observed."

"And?" I ask. "What was it that you observed?"

"How natural they seemed around each other. How easy and simple it really was. Things with me and Alice were never easy, were never simple. And I get that now. I realize that we weren't what each other needed. Sure, we had a spark. Sure, there were strong feelings behind that spark. But I think it was a good thing that it didn't grow to be much more."

"Huh. Wow. That's..."

"Oh, but I'm not done yet." Sirius grins, but it fades as he sighs. "I think she'll...I think Alice will always hold a place in my heart. I'm still not sure if I'll ever come across a girl that'll make me feel the same way Alice did. But I've realized that I could never really give her what she needs. She needs simple. She needs safe. Frank can give her that. And if I'm keeping her from what she needs...more importantly, what she wants...well, I can't do that. I have no right to do that. So I think I've moved on. Or, if I haven't yet, I will be."

I'm speechless. I really have no words after that soul-baring speech. I just sit there, staring at this suddenly extremely wise man I call my best friend, who does nothing more but stand, pat me on the shoulder, and tell me he's going to take a shower.

Once I'm in the room alone, I start doing some thinking of my own: what was the difference between their relationship-Sirius and Alice's-and me and Lily's?

Sirius and Alice are extremely different. Anyone can see that. Sirius is radical and reckless, Alice is reserved and hesitant. Both are brave, but in opposite ways. But not just that, they're also just so different in the way they need to live their lives. Alice needs to know that at the end of the day, everything will be fine-that she and the ones she loves are going to be okay. Sirius lives for not-knowing, and that's the main reason they didn't work together, I think.

For everything Sirius and Alice don't have in common, me and Lily have something that we do. Both of us are more than ready to fight for what we believe in, no matter what it takes. The future scares us, but we know it's coming fast. We know we need to be ready for it, even if we don't know what it will throw our way. This is something that both excites and terrifies us, these little uncertainties that we have to overcome. These little riddles we have to solve. These little mountains we need to climb. And the best part is, we know we'll do it together. No matter what life throws at us.

Starting with the apartment we're moving into next week.

A/N: So... yeah, that's it. We were planning on doing a whole death eater kidnapping but it just didn't feel right, the message and plot line we had originally came up with had been completed and there were other things to be written. Er... there are a few things I need to say. 1) I want to that EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU who read, reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story. Without you, I doubt we would have written this story. So, thank you, we love you more than ANYTHING. 2) Thanks to Debbie, who encouraged this and whatnot. You are the best (: 3) So... sequel. I'm not sure if there is going to be a sequel for this story. I'd love, love, LOVE to write one, but time may not permit it. Atleast not right away. But if you want a sequel, tell us in the reviews. I don't want to write one if it's not wanted! 4) Just because this story is ending doesn't mean others aren't starting! There is actually going to be a new, collab WIP on this account now that this story is ending, one called (500) Days of Love, written by Maddy and myself (Robin). It's a Jily fic based off the movie, (500) Days of Summer. The first chapter of it is already posted on this account so if you have a chance, I'd love if you would check it out. Um... I think that's it... Thanks so much for reading, I will respond to ALL reviews for this last chapter through next week!