TRENTE QUATRE

all's well that ends well to end up with you!

THE DAY OF the ball finally arrived. James had to practically restrain Lily that morning from immediately getting out of bed and checking over the plan for the millionth time. 

"Just one more time," Lily moaned as she struggled against James's arms that were firmly wrapped around her waist.

"No," James replied. "You already checked over everything around thirty times yesterday. Nothing has changed, I assure you." 

He tugged her waist so her back was against his chest. He pressed a kiss to her shoulder, to the side of her tank top strap.

"You don't know that," she replied.

James turned her around in his lap as they looked into each other's eyes. She instinctively ran her hands through his hair, causing him to close his eyes and smile blissfully. She relaxed slightly at the sight. 

"You don't know that," she repeated quietly. 

She moved her hands from his hair to the sides of his faces as she ran her thumbs along his cheeks as a small smile took its place on her face. He reached forward, causing her hands to fall to her lap as he pushed her hair away from her face.

"I can see you're really worried," he replied quietly. "But you've prepared this brilliantly and you've thrown parties before — "

She opened her mouth to protest, but he didn't let her.

"And I'm going to listen to you, but not your objections, ok?" James continued quietly. "Because you're not doing this alone nor are you ever going to do this alone, ok?"

She stayed quiet, nodded at his words and looked at her hands.

"Hey, look at me," he gently coaxed as he used one of his hands to gently tilt her chin up.

"I'm sorry," she whispered through a couple of tears. "It's something totally — "

"Don't say that," he said firmly. "This is not something you can control — you know that — so I'm not going to let you apologize for it."

"Right," she muttered awkwardly as she looked back down. 

She instinctively wanted to say sorry, but knew he wouldn't let her, so she stayed silent. 

"And I'm here, always," he finished quietly as he saw her smile, even though she wasn't facing him. "There's that smile." 

She sunk down and wrapped her arms around his chest as he laid back in bed. She smiled as he ran a hand up and down her back as she let out a deep breath. She hummed absentmindedly as she drew circles on his torso.

They lied together in peace as the birds sang and the early morning sun peaked in through the windows. She calmed her breathing and closed her eyes again, snuggling into him. She couldn't see it, but she could tell he was smiling too and the very thought made her smile brighter.

She loved being this happy.

"Besides," she mumbled. "We have exactly a month left of our 7th year."

"Only a month of childhood left?" James exclaimed. "That can't be right!"

"I'm not ready to grow up," Lily mumbled. "I just want to stay here forever. Stay like this forever. Not have to worry about things like jobs and kids, but just be here with the Professors and set meal times and screaming first years and you."

"I want to stay here too, my love," James said quietly. "But time has a funny way of moving quicker in the moments you don't want it to."

"It's so unfortunate," she pouted. "I just wish I could go back to the start all over again. All the way back to un." 

"Un?" James asked.

"One, in French," Lily clarified.

"That ... makes sense," he said with a laugh that showed his dimples.

Lily laughed at the feeling of his stomach vibrating. She turned so her head was on top of it as she stared up at him, her eyes smiling. 

"Think of how far we've come," Lily said dreamily. "Remember when I asked you to study with me?"

"And we were writing the essay about Basilisks, and Lysander hadn't turned it in, but you thought it was me?" James asked as Lily nodded. "And then we did the essay on unicorns together." 

"I remember being so jealous because Professor Clearwater told you what the next topic was, but she didn't tell me!" Lily exclaimed as she descended into laughter again. 

"Or what about the picnic?" James asked.

"Oh the picnic!" Lily exclaimed. "That was really the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me."

"Only for you, Lily flower," James mumbled.

"Where did you come up with that nickname?" Lily asked softly.

"Dunno," James shrugged. "Just kind of came to me one day. Almost like in a dream."

"Weird," Lily mumbled.

"Or Nyah's party," James said, snapping Lily's thoughts back.

"I remember you made really good drinks," Lily said with a smile.

"And you almost kissed me," James hummed.

"Right," Lily retorted. "Sure."

"You did!" James protested. "Wow you do not handle your liquor well if you don't remember that."

"James, I don't remember what I had for breakfast yesterday," Lily shot back. "Is it that surprising?"

"Or when you said James for the first time," James said dreamily.

"When was that?" Lily asked, confused.

"When you met my parent's at Ted and Vic's wedding," James replied.

"Well I couldn't have said Potter," Lily replied. "There were at least 5 Potters within 3 feet of me." 

"Or when you came over for Christmas holiday," he said, diverting the conversation.

"Don't change the subject," Lily gasped. "We need to address this."

"I'm changing the subject," James said with amusement laced in his voice.

"James!" Lily shrieked as he started to tickle her. 

She doubled over and fell on her side as she laughed endlessly. 

"You ... you ... you can't j-j-just tickle me ... when you ... want to win!" she exclaimed through her laughter.

"Says who?" James roared as he grinned evilly at the tearing-up girl.

"F-fuck you," she managed to get out as he stopped tickling here.

"Come over here and do it yourself, coward," he said with a smirk.

"Those are some brave words coming from you," Lily shot back. 

He rolled his eyes and flopped back down on the bed, crushing her.

"James!" Lily exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

"You can't leave now," he mumbled as he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her shoulder.

"We have a ball to set up for!" she reminded him.

"To hell with the ball," he murmured. 

"To hell with that ball?" Lily repeated, her voice becoming slightly crazed, as she turned over to face him. "To hell with the ball?"

She smirked evilly and started to tickle him in his moment of weakness. He jerked away, but she kept at it as he descended into laughter. Tears were streaming down his face as Lily was relentless. 

"Karma's a bitch!" she announced as she sat back.

He stayed laughing a little bit, on his back on the bed as she sat up near the end of it. She smiled at the sight, leaned forward, and quickly pecked his lips before jumping off of his bed and running into her room. 

She sighed as she heard the door click behind her, set her head back against it and smiled.

She quickly got ready for the day — putting on jeans, a loose, white button down and a bandana to hold back her hair. 

She grabbed her color-coded binder full of tabs on things that needed to be done and walked out of the door, ready to go.

"You know you could have done that much more efficiently with magic — " James commented, looking at her binder.

"Shut up James," she said as she passed him and walked out the door.

She reviewed the plans another time as she walked towards the Great Hall. 

"Ah Ms. Edwards!" McGonagall called as she exited the Hall, her billowing cape behind her. "There you are!"

"I'm so sorry, I'm late Professor," she apologized. "James should be down shortly."

"Oh never mind," Minvera tutted. "Everything is on schedule."

"Thank you, Professor," Lily replied with a smile. "May I go and check everything?"

"I'd expect you'd like to, excuse me," she mumbled in reply as she hurried away towards a gaggle of first years who were planting a dung bomb.

Lily entered the Great Hall ( which had been taped off due to preparation for the ball that night ) and saw house elves, prefects and professors putting up various decorations. She flipped through her binder as she checked off each decoration, foodstuff, chair and table that was being placed correctly. 

She hummed to herself as she heard her boyfriend run into the hall, not even having to announce his arrival — he was loud enough.

"Holy shit!" James exclaimed. "This looks wicked!" 

James stared at the various moving parts in awe. He'd seen the plan drawn and bullet pointed on paper, but seeing it happen in real time was different and so much more incredible. 

Lily, however, was too busy instructing two Hufflepuff prefects on how to place the light fixtures. Due to her planning and some magic, the Great Hall had been turned into a Viennese ballroom. 

The house tables had been transformed into ornate white and gold benches and red upholstered chairs for people to sit on. They were pushed to the sides to create a large dancing space.

The floor was now a birch hardwood rather than the normal stone. The top of the walls were laced with golden crown molding. The walls, themselves, were broken into decorative sections, each painted white and embellished with golden archway as well as golden floral designs on them, encased in gold-trimmed rectangles.

Each archway revealed a large alcove that was painted baby blue and held a light pink upholstered couch. In between each archway, there were light pink columns that separated them. High up on each of the columns were ornate, golden glass sconces.

Surrounding the archways and the doors to the Great Hall, pink rose vines crawled over them, the green vines hanging with leaves sprouting from them.

And finally, the ceiling was transformed to hold a light blue base decorated with cherubs and the illustrated story of the founding of Hogwarts. Hanging in the middle was a large, golden chandelier. 

The atmosphere was classic, but not forced and reminded Lily of a painting she'd seen in an indie museum with her parents.

"Lily what the hell this is incredible," someone gasped behind her.

Lily turned to meet the wide-eyes of Nyah Thomas standing next to James, who was still admiring the work.

"Ny! You're not supposed to be in here!" Lily exclaimed.

"I'm not supposed to be in a lot of places, but when has that ever stopped me?" she breathed out as she admired her sister's hard work.

"Well, thank you, but the professors and prefects had just as much to do with it," Lily replied bashfully.

"Yeah but you planned this whole thing," Nyah gasped. "Your mind- I swear. It looks like one of those ballrooms when Ben and I went to the ball season in Vienna."

"Really?" Lily gasped. "That's what I was going for!"

"Well you hit the mark!" Nyah exclaimed with a grin. "Come on! You have to get ready!"

"Everything's still being set up!" Lily exclaimed. "You go ahead. I'll be in your dorms in a moment."

"You're going to Nyah's?" James asked and Lily nodded her head. "That's a relief because I forgot to tell you that the lads were coming to ours to get ready."

Nyah suppressed a smile at how much they acted like they'd been married for thirty years with kids and a retirement plan. Lily, however, smiled at the mention of 'ours' not just 'the dorm' because that's what it had been. 

Perhaps it was because they were given permission to personally design elements of it, but that only went so far. Some of her patronus-producing moments had happened in the dorms or rather, 'their's'. 

"They're almost finished, Lil," James tried to reason. "You planned it so well that everything's ahead of schedule!"

"But I should stay until the end," she protested. "And besides, there are prefects here and it's not fair if they're not allowed to get ready — "

"It's not their last month here," Nyah retorted. "I'm sure they'll survive." 

Nyah and James shared a look as Nyah grabbed her hand and dragged Lily out of the Great Hall. James was soon to follow, but instead of heading to the Gryffindor dorms, he headed to his own. Lily protested the entire way, but Nyah was unrelentless in her mission for the girl to have a good time.

"Nothing you say will change my mind," Nyah sang. "And remember — I'm stronger than you. You don't work out."

"Fuck you," Lily grumbled yet she stopped struggling against Nyah's grip. 

"All bark and no bite," Nyah teased.

Lily just frowned as she was dragged into the Gryffindor common room and up the stairs. They reached the top to find the girls. Estelle and Ruby were already waiting for them. Nyah's roommates had kindly let her have the room for getting ready ( and kindly meaning after some bribery and begging ). 

Their dresses were hanging and Ruby had transfigured trunks into beauty tables and small beauty bags ( with their necessary products ) sat on each table. It looked straight out of a movie musical. They were white tables with dainty gold mirrors on them and a big space waiting for their skincare and makeup products ( which Nyah had taken the liberty of retrieving for each girl ). Their shoes were lined up at the door one after the other and there was a record player in the corner with a stack of records next to it filled with ABBA, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, The Beatles and Ella Fitzgerald. 

Ruby giddily put a record onto the table and danced around as "Love Story (Taylor's Version)" blessed the air. Lily laughed as she sat down and brushed her hair. Nyah was next to her, holding different flowers to her hair, trying to see which ones she was going to wear that night.

Estelle twirled Ruby around as they bathed in the golden sunlight. Lily hummed as she applied different mousses to her hair, so it would stay slightly wavy and looking nice the entire night. However, at the bridge, they all yelled the lyrics, everyone getting up ( whether they had a flower, hairbrush or can of mousse in their hand ) and danced with each other. 

As "Hey Stephen (Taylor's Version)" came on next, the girls all made their way back down and started to get ready. Estelle curled Ruby's hair and put small crystals all over, so her hair looked like the night sky and Lily helped Nyah with her blush ( as after two days of watching Vogue beauty videos online during holiday, Lily declared herself the blush queen and insisted on doing all of theirs ). 

They all hummed along and occasionally twirled one another as they got ready and soon they were finished.

Estelle was the first to bound out the door with a dramatic, coral eye look. The top was yellow then it descended into orange and then an orangey-red with swooping, black eyeliner. She had on a mint green tea length dress. It was lined with chiffon, the outermost layer being doted with silver circles. The top was tighter with a sweetheart neckline and had straps that were thinner than the dress and tied in a bow at the tops of each of her shoulders. She had opted out of wearing heels and instead wore black combat boots. 

She jumped into Josie's arms ( who was waiting down below in a pink suit ) and kissed her quickly before she waited, polaroid camera in hand, for the other girls to come down. She reached over and squeezed Charlie's hand ( she had a feeling that Ruby was the next to come down and she knew that Ruby looked away due to her own efforts ). 

As expected, Ruby was the next down and Charlie couldn't help but stare as he teared up a little bit. She slowly descended the stairs in silver heels. She flicked her hair back a little — one side was pinned back with a silver star clip and the other side curled out. She had on a minimal amount of makeup — the usual for her. She lifted her floor length, dusty blue dress as she walked down. Like Estelle's, it was mostly chiffon with a sweetheart neckline and a tighter top. The bodice of her dress, however, had quarter sleeves made of sheer, star embroidered chiffon that covered the top of her chest and arms. The back laced up with a silver ribbon, but the lacing stopped where the starry chiffon started ( which buttoned at the top ). 

Her and Charlie smiled at each other as they whispered sweet nothings to each other and he tried to wrap his head around the fact that this was his girlfriend. Even though they'd been dating for a while, he'd swear to everyone that asked that he fell in love with her again when she came down the stairs. He fiddled with a silver bracelet that he'd gotten her for the occasion and put it on her wrist with her graceful guidance. He kissed her forehead as they turned around to see Nyah slamming the door open and walking out.

Ryan hollered from the bottom of the stairs as she strutted down the stairs ( as she should ) in a 30s style golden, silk dress. It had a relaxed fit bias cut bloused bodice and long, slightly flared sleeves. It had a cinched waist, a long train and stylized buttons down each side of the dress. There was a sunflower embellishment made of the same golden silk at the chest. The dress hung nicely on her, the collar exposing her collarbone and a pearl necklace that Dean had gotten her for her 16th birthday. Her hair was in a bantu knot out and adorned with daisies. She walked down in matching gold square-toed block heels. 

She smiled like the sun as she approached Ryan, who gave her a bouquet of yellow roses ( as he had known she was wearing gold ). She smiled and giggled a little as she accepted them. She turned to the stairs as Ryan wrapped his hand around her waist. James wasn't there as there had been a mix up with the drinks ( and he'd wanted everything to be perfect for Lily, but he also didn't want her to stress, so he'd taken care of it himself ). 

So, Lily peaked out, slightly disappointed that she didn't see him, but also slightly relieved lest she actually live through her fear of tripping on her dress and falling down the stairs. Her hair was down and a little curly from the mousse she'd put in. Her white dress flowed a little with the breeze as she descended down the stairs. Out of nerves, she fidgeted with the key on a golden chain around her neck. She walked down in simple, baby pink sandal heels and let out a deep breath when she made it safely to the bottom.

"Where's James?" she asked, confused as she turned to Ryan.

"Said something about butterbeer?" Ryan said with a shrug. "I'm sure he'll be there and have a heart attack when he sees you."

"Thanks Ryan," Lily replied with a warm smile.

The couples and Lily all walked out of the Gryffindor common room to be greeted by the masses of other students who were also attending the ball. Lily smiled and her heart swelled as she saw everyone dressed up ( and in things they felt comfortable in ). The group chatted merrily as they headed towards the Great Hall.

Lily's heart swelled even more as she heard the gasping at her hard work. Everyone was stunned, even Lily herself, at the magical sight before them. Everything was perfect. Lily had on a wide grin as her eyes searched for James.

She spotted the back of his curls and tuxedo talking to Professor McGonagall across the room. She bit her lip excitedly as she bid farewell to her friends and quickly walked towards him. Along the way, people congratulated her efforts and admired her dress. She smiled brightly at every compliment, but excused herself to find James everytime.

That was, until, in her haste, she ran into a vision in green. Immediately recognizing the jumpsuit, Lily squealed and looked down at Lily Luna's wrist, which was adorned with both bracelets.

"Do you have a preference between the two?" Lily asked excitedly as she took in Lily Luna's look.

"Honestly anything at this point," Lily Luna informed her with an earnest nod and a silly smile.

"Well, my darling, you look incredible," Lily exclaimed excitedly.

Lily Luna laughed, "me? Look at you!"

"Excuse you!" she gasped. "Do not put down your own beauty!"

"You look like you're about to get married," Lily Luna said smugly as they looked at Lily's outfit. "Alice!"

The brunette whipped her head around and turned to see the two Lily's. Lily smiled brightly at the sight of her and the blonde boy from a couple months ago. 

"Alice you look amazing!" Lily exclaimed as she looked at Alice's light purple dress. "You look like an angel!" 

"Well I feel like one!" she exclaimed breathlessly. "Everything looks incredible Lily!" 

"Thank you!" Lily replied with a kind smile.

"Where's James?" Alice asked.

"I think he's over there," Lily Luna replied. "You have to go over! He's going to drop dead at the sight of you!" 

"Oh tush," Lily waved off. "I'm sure he'll be just fine, but I really should go find him. I heard there was a problem earlier and we should sort it." 

"Off you go!" Alice exclaimed as she shoved Lily towards James's general direction. 

Lily giggled as she left the two and walked towards him again. She held her breath excitedly as she tapped him lightly on the shoulder. He continued talking as he turned around, but stopped immediately when his eyes fell on her.

Oh.

Small tears welled in his eyes as he struggled for something to say. He kept opening and closing his mouth as it suddenly felt dry. Lily blushed madly and giggled at the sight. 

"Hi darling," she said softly as she tilted her head to the side.

"Hello sunshine," he replied at the same volume. "You're shining brighter than any ray of sunshine I've ever seen. Did you know that?" 

"Only when I'm with you," she whispered as she stared into his eyes.

He turned around and collected himself, doing a snoopy dance inside, and saw Annabelle. How fitting. Much to Lily's confusion, he walked over to the girl in the plum colored dress. He kneeled down and slipped off one of his rings. 

"Second time's the charm?" he asked as he got down on one knee. "What about it Princess Annabelle?"

"I think your queen's waiting for you," she replied with a smile. 

"Think so," he said. "I'm scared. She's too radiant for me."

"Fake it until you make it?" Annabelle suggested.

"Not with the way I feel about her," he replied softly with a shake of his head. 

"I'm sure she feels the same way," Annabelle replied as she looked up and saw the look on Lily's face. "Take the leap, Prince James." 

"Thank you, m'lady," he said as he kissed the back of her hand and got back up, facing Lily. 

He walked back over, transfiguring the ring so it was smaller. He smiled softly at it, the memories flooding back to him. 

"Looks like someone can tame the great James Sirius Potter after all," she said as they both got deja vu. 

"Only you, my flower," he replied. "How about it?" 

He slid the ring onto her right ring finger as her cheeks glowed pink. She admired the ring and shook her head at his antics. She reached up, placed a hand on his cheek and softly kissed his lips. She pulled away all too soon for James's taste, but they were in public, so a certain amount of restraint needed to be exercised. 

With a flash, Nyah took another polaroid with a smug smile on her face. They made it too easy for her.  

The instruments in the band, one by one, started to sound and they started to play a waltz, per McGonagall's request. James placed a hand on Lily's back as she put one on his shoulder and he took her other hand in his. Neither of them really knew how to waltz, but they were having fun trying. 

He spun her around as she tilted her head back in laughter. He smiled brightly as he couldn't take his eyes off of her. The crowd split to make way for the couple as they admired their youth and exuberance. 

No one could tear their eyes away. They were giving off a kind of energy. It was almost a glow that drew in everyone in the room. 

But the thing was, that glow had surrounded their entire time at Hogwarts, but no one had taken the time to notice it. Not when Lily's hair flashed red in the sun or when James's laugh sounded oddly familiar as it rang through the hallways. Except for moments like these when they were quintessentially Lily and James.

James spun her around, the two of them alone on the dance floor until Fred and Lorcan joined them. Minerva McGonagall smiled delicately as she watched the two couples and she let out a long, deep breath.

Scorpius and Albus joined them as well as Ryan and Nyah, Estelle and Josie, Henry and Will and Ruby and Charlie.

Neville walked over and held out an arm to McGonagall, who looked down in shock and looked back up with a small smile.

"I'm going to sit this one out, Mr. Longbottom," she said.

"Come on, Professor," Neville replied softly. "When will you find a place like this and a good reason?"

McGonagall relented and took his arm as he led her out. After the 7th years and some of the professors joined in, more and more people started to waltz out of sync with each other, but joyfully nonetheless.

The music's beat started to pick up and soon it was no longer a waltz, but more a typical party in the Gryffindor common room, but with posher clothing. As the band started to play 'She's So Lovely' by Scouting for Girls, James spun Lily around repeatedly as they made their way over to their friends. 

They all laughed and danced together throughout the entire night, Lily and James keeping an eye out to make sure that everything was running smoothly. They laughed and ate the petit fours that Lily had insisted on ( because they're classy, right? ). 

About halfway through 'Do the Hippogriff' ( which was a throw back that was requested by Professor Longbottom ), Lily squeezed James's hand three times, gaining his attention.

"Alright, Edwards?" he asked, instinctually.

Lily got deja vu at all of the times he'd asked her that in passing back when he was still a dick and she was still cold. A small smile found itself on her face at all of the memories that had come flooding back. 

"Alright, Potter," she replied. "However, I could be better..."

"And how's that?" James asked.

Lily smiled mischievously, grabbed his hand and led him quickly to the entrance of the Great Hall. She reached down and slipped off her shoes, her hand still in James's, and continued out of the hall. 

Once they'd cleared the professors, she broke out into a run in the empty castle. Her angelic laugh floated through the air and echoed against the walls. James ran after her, still hand in hand, like a lovesick puppy. He'd follow her to the ends of the earth if it meant feeling her touch one last time. 

The stone was cool under Lily's feet as her dress fluttered behind her as they ran, filled to the brim with joy. James brought out his wand, pointed it at her shoes and suddenly they were gone, presumably back in their dorm. 

They eventually started to slow ( as Lily, who was in no way athletic, didn't have the stamina to keep going and still be able to breathe ) and soaked up the moonlight and empty castle. Everyone was so excited that they had all crowded into the Great Hall, leaving the castle by itself. 

And as everyone knows, an empty castle in the dead of night, in a ballgown and with your lover is the quintessence of life. 

They could still hear the faint music coming from the Hall and Lily hummed as they walked down the corridor. They had been wandering around aimlessly for a while until Lily got an idea, picked up the front of her dress and quickly walked over to the staircase. 

James followed her as she picked up speed again, confused, yet determined to follow her. He eventually caught up, grabbed her waist, picked her up and spun her around. She laughed in shock, her face bright red as she turned to face him.

"Where are we going, Lily flower?" he asked softly as he gazed down at her, illuminated by the moonlight. 

"To the Astronomy Tower, mon amour, it's empty and you'll be able to see everything tonight," she replied excitedly. 

"Everything?" James asked with a cocked eyebrow and a smirk.

She nodded enthusiastically, but then slowed it when she realized what he was insinuating and her face fell.

"I hate you," she grumbled. 

"Oh?" he asked as he cupped her face in his hands. "You hate it when I do this?"

He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. When he pulled away, he set his forehead against hers. He closed his eyes, savoring the moment and ingraining every little thing from the way she looked to her perfume to how soft her lips were in his memory. Because when he was old and senile, he wanted to remember this night. 

Lily reached her head up and kissed his forehead before taking his hands down from his face and into her own.

"I don't hate it when you kiss me," she said with a smile. "In fact — quite the opposite, I'm afraid." 

"Don't be afraid," he whispered. "Didn't like it the last time you were."

"I can't promise that," she whispered. "But I can promise to love you until the last sunset."

"Alright then," he replied. "To the Astronomy Tower?"

"To the Astronomy Tower," she said with a grin as they took each other's hand and walked side by side. 

They played small games as they walked — who could go the longest without stepping on a crack or jumping from square to square. They both giggled as they did so. Soon they reached the empty tower and they ran up the stairs, Lily's dress flowing behind her as James stayed behind her incase she tripped.

When they reached the top, they were amazed at what was. The universe seemed limitless and infinite. The expanse of the tiny flickers of light, casting their glow down on them was vast and bewitching. Lily smiled childishly as she stared up, but he could only stare at her. 

The way every single celestial body lit up her eyes and made her smile, like, well, starlight.