*cues dramatic music* And here we have the end of the adventure of Lily and James' teen years! Do read the author's note at the end and see what I'm planning to do next.

Legacy

The large pendulum at the front of the hall swung hypnotically from a magically suspended platform, its movements tantalizing. It was taunting her, questioning her with her painfully evident spare time. Lily had finished too quickly, much too quickly. She had to have checked her answers at least five times by now. A few seats in front of her, James sat slouched against the back of his chair, he seemed to have just finished but he made no move to check his paper. Lily watched with morbid fascination as his robes creased at the shoulders when he lifted his arm to ruffle his fingers through his hair.

As if he could sense her gaze, his back stiffened ever so slightly before he turned his head just enough for Lily to catch a perfect side view of his features. His hazel iris twinkled in the corner of his eye as he caught her curious gaze—and then the cheeky bastard grinned at her. In the most horrid of circumstances, he'd managed to look completely carefree. The anxious knot in Lily's stomach untangled and the weight in her chest lifted. The corners of Lily's mouth had just begun to twitch when Professor Slughorn poked James in the side of his head with a rolled up scroll.

"Eyes up front, Potter." The professor said with disinterest.

Lily stifled her smile into her fist as she ducked her head and flipped idly at her test, pretending to be checking her answers while her eyes wandered back towards James. Through her lashes, she watched him settle into his seat as if he were planning to live in it. His back pressed into the back of the chair and then his arms came over his shoulders, fingers intertwined at the back of his head while he squirmed to get comfy.

Watching his calm indifference in James and feeling the sheer cockiness rolling off of him in waves had the most soothing effect on Lily. Suddenly, her worries seemed pointless and silly. She couldn't wait for the damn pendulum to stop swinging.

…

As soon as the students were allowed out of seats, Lily had found herself being seized by the wrist before she could push her chair in. "Run." James hissed urgently and Lily had panicked for a moment before she caught a glimpse of his cheeks strained with a grin and laughing eyes.

"James!" Lily gasped in confusion, trying to keep up with his pace.

A dark figure shot past them and Lily was barely managing to keep on her feet at the pace they were moving. She caught a glimpse of Sirius' dark waves swishing wildly as he sprinted for the door. His laughter echoes across the walls of the hall, prompting questioning looks from their curious peers. "Hurry, Lily!" James urged and Lily quickened her steps.

They had only just taken their first step past the grand doors before a sound that resembled a bomb went off behind them. Lily gasped and halted her steps. Her abrupt stop effectively jerked her hand out of James' hold as she turned to look behind her. The giant swinging pendulum at the front of the hall had morphed into the largest dung bomb Lily had ever seen. It swung as it would a regular pendulum. Their teachers had stopped the arrangement of their exam papers to stare at the god awful sight.

Professor Slughorn's face had twisted up in disgust. "What in Merlin's-"

Just when Lily thought it could not get any worse, smaller dung bombs began to peel from the large one, shooting off in random directions before bursting into fiery explosions of a stench so foul, Lily had felt it on her face. The clouds of stinky doom engulfed the vast majority of their peers, prompting loud curses and shrieks.

Lily was seized by her forearms and tugged urgently away from the door. "Trust me, you don't want to be here for the second part." James said urgently into her ear, his face red from the spasms of laughter that wracked his body. Lily stared at him, wide eyed and in disbelief. She knew she should be severely cross with him but she felt nothing but liberation. Their last examination had just ended, they were no longer students, no longer bound to the rules of Hogwarts. They were no longer head boy and girl. They were James and Lily, and just that.

"I can't believe you just did that!" Lily yelled over the chaos.

"Poisonous toadstools don't change their spots." James laughed so light-heartedly, Lily felt what was left of the pressure weighing on her shoulders dissipate. For the first time in a long while, Lily wasn't thinking about her future, fretting over her results or pondering about the job opportunities for muggleborns. She allowed herself to be led forward by James, because it didn't matter where they went from there, she promised herself that they would always be together.

As they rounded the corner of the corridor, they stopped when they clapped eyes with a rather peculiar scene. Remus and Sirius seemed to be busy patting down Peter, tugging on his robes and pockets as if they were searching for something. "Lose something, boys?" James asked breathlessly, his grin spread wide on his cheeks.

"Wormtail the wanking wonder over here lost the bleeding map." Sirius growled in annoyance as he ripped the robes from Peter's shoulders and gave it a shake, looking towards the ground to see if anything fell out.

"I'm s-sorry, James." Peter stammered, looking quite troubled.

"You mean, the Marauder's Map?" Lily asked with gasp, looking at James to gauge his reaction to this news. Losing the map meant losing all the world the Marauders had put into making it, it held more fond memories than use at this point; however, losing it could be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands. Much to Lily's surprise, James didn't seem bothered by it.

"Bollocks to the map, it's of no use to us now, isn't it? We're free men!" he exclaimed excitably to his friends and then glanced sheepishly at Lily's raised-brow look. "And lady. A beautiful, clever lady." He raised their joint hands to kiss her knuckles.

Lily twisted her expression to glare at him, causing James to feel mildly discomforted before she squealed and launched herself into his arms. "No more assignments, tests, or disapproving teachers." Only them and where they decide to go from there.

James squeezed her against him until someone cleared their throat. They turned simultaneously to find everyone staring at them. Embarrassed, Lily pulled away only to have their head badges caught in each other's robes. Clumsily, both Lily and James moved to untangle them only to have each other's fingers get in the way of actually accomplishing the task.

"Oh give me a break, you two are going to give me a rash!" Sirius laughed and suddenly the whole group was cackling with laughter. James couldn't help but think back to how this began, how their fates had been sealed together the moment he had put on that badge.

…

It was springtime. The ice had all but melted away and the skies had been cleared specially for today. It was a big day for the students of Hogwarts and it was an especially important for Lily Evans. Why? Because it was graduation day for the seventh years and awards day. And as head girl, she was required to make a speech alongside James as head boy. They had practiced the speech about a million times together and Lily, a million more on her own.

All students were required to be in attendance by 9 in the morning and Lily was running a little late. As she walked briskly down the hall with a fishbowl in her hands, she could hear her friends walking behind her and could feel their confusion when she took the next turn in the corridor instead of walking on. Both she and James had decided to spend their last nights in their old dormitories. "Um, Lily?" her ex-roommate, Marlene McKinnon called out to her. "Helloooo to Lily Evans!" she called out again and Lily spun careful but swiftly on her heels to turn and look at her.

Dorcas Meadowes pointed straight down the corridor. "Great Hall's this way, Lily." She stated.

Lily raised her fishbowl up as if that explained it. "I'll meet you guys there. I just need to drop this off."

Dorcas placed her hands on her hips and looked even more confused. "You're going off to drop off a fishless fishbowl? Come on, Lily, you're going to be late! It's our big day!" she protested.

"I know, I know." Lily placated and then glanced back to the corridor behind her where sat a small water-closet like office that she absolutely had to visit before her time as a student ended. "You go on ahead, I'll run and catch up!" and Lily turned before her friends could protest any further.

Reaching the office, Lily shifted her hold on the fishbowl to one hand so she could knock on the door with the other, despite knowing she wouldn't get a reply. The office door would be unlocked anyway, so she pushed open the door and let herself in. She glanced at the door that led to the teacher's private chambers to check if the handle had moved. Once she confirmed that Professor Slughorn wouldn't catch her in here without permission, Lily stalked over to the dusty old desk and placed the fishbowl full of water in the middle of it. Lily then reached into her pockets to pull out a card and her wand.

Slowly and carefully, she placed the tip of her wand just shy of the top of the water in the bowl. Like she had practiced, she conjured a petal, carefully enchanting each and every detail of the magic. Once she was finally satisfied, Lily leaned the card against the bowl.

…

Severus gripped his arm as he walked down the hall, the searing pain of the mark had yet to fade. Today was the day everything would begin. His life would come to an end. James Potter, no longer a bother. And then there was Lily. The dark-haired Slytherin boy glanced up to the front of the room where Lily stood with a wide smile on her face, her shoulders brushing with Potter's as she began her part of the speech.

Again, we find ourselves at the end of another year but on the edge of a brand new beginning. But to some of us, our new beginning would start in Hogwarts next year. To my fellow seventh years, I am both proud and sad to tell you that our chapter in Hogwarts has come to an end—at least as students.

…

As he swept the floors outside the Great hall, Filch scoffed at the doors. The only good thing he thought that came from the end of term was when the students left. A soft mewl sounded from the floor and the bitter old caretaker glanced down to see his beloved cat. Except, she had something in her mouth.

We've learned all we could and now it is time for us to venture from the place that we've known as our home for the last 7 years. I understand that this can be a tad intimidating for us. To have to take this step up in our lives and honestly, I am just as afraid, if not more afraid, of what the future has in store for us.

In the mouth of his dear Mrs. Norris, was a yellowed set of parchment. "What is it, my love?" he cooed as he leaned down to pluck the find from his cat's mouth. He inspected the parchment closely, flipping through the abundance of pages to find that they were all blank. He would've thrown it away but there was something about it that made him decide against it.

But it is alright to be afraid. It is only natural for us to feel fear for that of the unknown. The wisest man I know once told me, 'There can be no bravery without fear.' And this may seem a little biased for me to say but: The great will be brave. Those who will succeed, they will do so with the weight of fear—and a little luck.

Opening his drawer, Filch carelessly flung the blank parchment into it and slammed it shut without another thought. He would hand that to the headmaster tomorrow. For now, he needed to go to the trophy room to make room for new awards. Cursed students.

So, to all my graduating friends, I bid you the best of luck in your future endeavors. To have hope and find love. To always remain true to yourself and never let someone else talk you down. To have courage and make mistakes. A part of our legacy will always be with Hogwarts no matter who we become or where we end up. I thank you, my dearest professors, on behalf of all the students, for helping us through this chapter in our lives. And for the patience you have shown us in passing on your profound knowledge.

…

Lily had ended the speech and the room erupted into applause. This was truly the end of their time in Hogwarts and she couldn't help but get a little teary eyed. James had engulfed her into a comforting hug and the crowd began to awe and coo at their display. Professor McGonagall was wiping hurried at her eyes as she clapped. Dumbledore stood on his feet as he applauded her along with the lot of the Gryffindor house members. Even though a vast majority of the Slytherin house refused to raise a hand for Lily, there were some who were openly applauding her. This was their legacy. Now, on with their future.

…

That spring morning, Horace Slughorn lifted the card to his face and smiled fondly at the fish swimming merrily in the bowl. The card was not signed by a name, but he knew, from the magic and the handwriting, exactly where it came from.

His name is Francis.
Thank you for everything, Professor.

Fin.

A/N: I absolutely loved writing this, the roller coaster of teenage years was interesting to experiment with. Now, I am thinking of writing a sequel feature Lily and James as newlyweds. (I know! The fluff and drama potential is too real!)

I haven't quite drafted out a plan for it so I'm putting that idea on hold for the moment as I am also thinking about writing a Ironman fic featuring Pepper Potts and Tony Stark (Yes, I do realize that their characters are very, very similar to Lily and James, and not just in looks) I think it's becoming a thing for me.

ANYWAY! Put me on your alert list and you might just find a new adventure waiting for you in your email.

-ManicFreedom