Under a beech tree by the west side of the lake, the six spread out the comforter on the dewy grass. The morning was warm, but not stiflingly so, as they settled themselves.
"I really thought Mrs. Norris was going to catch us," Natalie laughed.
Lily sniffled. "That was the last time Mrs. Norris would almost catch us at four in the morning!"
"That has to be the creepiest cat in the world," Peter said, shivering. "Cats freak me out."
Sirius grinned. "I don’t like cats either, but I think in a different way, Wormtail."
"Hm. I like cats," Remus said. "Not as much as chocolate, though," he amended.
"I never knew you were a cat person," Natalie said.
"Ah, it’s only because of Miri and her cat," Lily teased.
"Ickle Remmykins and cats go good together," James pronounced.
"Well," Remus corrected automatically. "Go well together."
"Good; well. Bite me," James said.
"I’d really rather not, thanks," Remus replied. "I’ll leave the gnawing on you to Lily."
"But.. but.." Lily said, blushing. "I don’t ‘gnaw’, per se."
"Oh, come off it," Sirius grinned. "We saw you two on the Marauder’s Map snogging in the passageway behind the mirror on the third floor."
"How do you know we were snogging?" James said. "We didn’t make the map to show what people were doing in, erm, great detail."
Remus said, "Probably due to the fact that when you finally came back, James, you claimed you were taking care of some Herbology extra credit, helping Professor Sprout, and were attacked by devil’s snare around your neck.."
"Although, last time I saw the marks devil’s snare made, they didn’t look that much like hickeys," Peter said wryly.
"So," said Lily loudly. "Natalie, where did you get the blanket?"
"Sirius’s bed," Nat said, smiling innocently.
Sirius glared. "No respect," he said.
"Well, you’re not going to be using it again," said James.
Natalie sniffled, this time, continuing in Lily’s previous thread. "This is the last time we’ll ever be sitting under a beech tree by the side of the lake on Sirius’s comforter watching the sun rise over the forbidden forest!" The two females embraced.
"See?" Remus asked. "I’m not a girl. I don’t get weird like this."
"This is the last time Remus will ever call Lily and Nat weird!" Sirius cried, pretending to sob.
"No, I’m certain there will be plenty more opportunities to do that," James said.
"And who says you don’t get ‘weird’?" Lily asked. "What about when I asked to see that letter from Miri, and you ran up to your dorm room and locked the door?"
"I was young and confused," Remus said.
"That was a month ago," Natalie said flatly.
"I’m still confused, then," Remus countered.
"Well," Natalie said, "what about all those excuses you made before we knew you were a werewolf? Let’s see whose funerals you went to: your great- uncle Boreas, your aunt Ariadne, your cousin Shasta—"
"Which I still say isn’t a name," interrupted Sirius.
Lily continued. "Then there was your long-lost half-brother Romulus, your other cousin Ledo, your great-grandmother Filia—"
"Again," said Sirius, "those last two are not names."
"And then it really started getting weird," Nat said. "Like your great- second-cousin thrice removed, Tarquinius."
"Not a real relationship," said Sirius, "or a real name."
"When your grandmother Gaia died twice, and then you claimed that both your grandmothers had the same name," James said, "we thought it was a little fishy."
"I felt really bad for killing her off twice," Remus confided. "She always gave me chocolate."
"Probably so you wouldn’t eat her," Lily said.
"That didn’t work, anyway," said Sirius. "He washed the fifth Gryffindor boy down with dear old Granny Gaia."
Remus fell back on the comforter. "She was too stringy, anyway. I only ate her leg."
Peter scooted away from him.
"It was a joke," Natalie said.
"Besides," Remus said evenly. "That’s why I started eating chocolate. Because, you know, I crave fresh meat."
"When we say that," Sirius said, "it’s funny. But when you say it, it’s rather creepy."
"I hereby declare that joke officially dead," James said.
"I win," Remus smiled, eating another chocolate frog.
"No, you can’t say ‘I win’ unless you’re sitting on someone," Lily said.
Peter scooted further away.
"Fear not, Peter, I shall not sit upon you," Remus said.
"Maybe chocolate makes him philosophical," said Sirius.
"Or at least it makes him use big words," James replied.
"That would certainly explain it," said Natalie.
"You know, I’m right here," said Remus.
"Maybe he’s just naturally like that?" Peter inquired.
"No. People don’t naturally use the word ‘shall’, or make a difference between ‘well’ and ‘good’. It’s definitely the chocolate," affirmed James.
"I’m still here!" said Remus, sitting up.
"Behave, children," Lily said. "Look. The sun is rising. Watch it go."
The sky above the forest was painted with roseate and apricot streaks; the clouds and trees reflected in the smooth glass of the lake. Remus had hugged his knees to his chest, the early light lending his light brown hair a slightly russet tint. Peter sat cross-legged, his arms bracing him on the grass behind him, his pale hair almost matching the red-yellow hue of the clouds. Lily, her hair sparkling with golden highlights, rested her head on James’s shoulder as they clasped hands and the light glinted off his glasses. Sirius nonchalantly draped an arm around Natalie’s shoulders; she leaned back against him. They watched the sun, sitting in a friendly silence for a while.
Suddenly looking over at Lily and James from the corner of her eye, Natalie grinned, "You two are so cute."
"We try," said James lightly, kissing Lily on the forehead as she blushed softly and smiled.
"It will be very strange," Remus said, "not to have to deal with your constant public displays of affection."
"So, what do you say the chances are that Lily and James will have fifteen miniature Potters gallivanting about?" Sirius asked.
"I’d say," commented Lily soberly, "the chances are about one in I’m going to kick your arse."
"Those are pretty good chances, then," Peter said.
"Speaking of Hell having no fury like Lily Evans," said Remus, "remember that time in fourth year, Flitwick’s class, when James sat behind you?"
"That was one of the worst moments of my time at Hogwarts," Lily sighed.
"I think it was you who told him to go for it, wasn’t it, Padfoot?" Peter inquired. Lily glared at Sirius.
Sirius quickly said, "No, it was all Prongs. Prongs and his sick, sick imagination."
"It’s not my fault!" James protested.
"I still remember your face when you told Miri that James Potter sniffed you," Natalie said.
"Well, because that sounded more dramatic than saying ‘James was sitting behind me in Charms, and I heard a strange noise, and upon turning around, I discovered him holding my hair, sniffing it, and inquiring as to what brand of shampoo I used’," Lily said.
"It smelled good," James said. "And you still haven’t told me."
"James wants silky-smooth hair so healthy it shines," Remus said seriously.
"You sound like a shampoo commercial," Peter said.
James started sniffing Lily’s head, making exaggerated snuffling noises.
"Stop getting high off my head," Lily giggled, pushing him away with her finger on his nose.
"But it’s so fun!" said James.
"Let’s get high off Lily!" Nat shouted.
"No. Mine," said James immediately, clutching Lily’s head in a tight hug.
"Moony, it’s like you and chocolate," said Sirius.
"Except for one key difference: I don’t sniff chocolate," said Remus.
"Or snog it in the passageway behind the mirror on the third floor," Natalie said.
"I would certainly hope not," James said, finally releasing Lily’s head and patting her hair back into place. "It would ruin the mood."
"Because, you know," Lily commented flatly, "that passageway is so romantic."
"Drat. I wish I knew that girls really liked that passageway a little sooner," Remus said.
"Say, perhaps, last year?" asked Peter.
"Last year," said Sirius, "they had the stone wall."
"I still don’t understand how you guys saw us," Remus replied.
"Just because it’s raining doesn’t mean we’re all suddenly blind," Nat said.
"That’s why I use my Invisibility Cloak," James grinned.
"Shut it, James," Lily said, exasperated.
"So that’s why you’re always suddenly disappearing with Lily," Peter said. "Literally."
"Ah, yes," said Remus, "but they still show up on the Marauder’s Map."
"Why don’t you ever tease Sirius and me about making out?" Natalie questioned.
"Because Sirius is always making out with someone," James said. "We’d tease him more if he didn’t."
"It’s part of who he is," Peter said wisely.
"That was deep, Wormtail," Sirius said.
"How come you all have nicknames?" Natalie asked again. "I want a nickname. So does Lily."
"What?" Lily inquired. "No, I never—"
"Yes, you do," Nat interrupted.
"Well, for us, it was somewhat easy," Remus said. "Because of our ‘alternate personalities’," he said, using air quotes, "if you will."
"That makes us all sound like psychopathic murderers," said Peter.
"Fine, then," James said. "Lily, you are now ‘Schmooky’."
A confused look on her face, Lily said, "’Schmooky’?"
"Yes," Sirius affirmed, "’Schmooky’. It fits."
"And Natalie," James continued, "is henceforth known as—"
"’Fizgig’," interrupted Sirius.
"That actually works," Remus said.
"Why?" Natalie said, suddenly disturbed. "What’s a fizgig?"
"Well," said Remus, "it normally means a flirtatious girl."
"How come Nat gets a fun nickname, and my nickname sounds like some sort of underwater monkey?" Lily protested.
"I’ll trade you," Natalie offered.
"No, you can’t do that," Peter said. "It’s official now."
"Hold on," said Lily, furrowing her brows in concentration. "’Schmooky’ sounds familiar, somehow."
"I haven’t the foggiest idea of how you mean," James said.
"I’ve got it!" Lily cried. "You called me ‘Schmooky’ after you sniffed my hair three years ago!"
Remus stared at Lily. "How on earth did you remember that?"
"Says the guy who remembers every essay he’s ever written," countered Lily.
"Quiet, Schmooky," Remus said with a grin.
"This is payback for the Ickle Remmykins thing, isn’t it?" Nat asked shrewdly.
"I suppose you could say that," Remus said. "Plus it’s fun to say. Schmooky."
"Schmooky Schmooky Schmooky.." James said happily.
"Oh, God," Lily said, covering her eyes with her hand, then looked up with a smile. "Wait, what about Mrs. Miranda Lupin? What nickname does she get?"
"Schmooky?" Remus said.
"No, that’s officially Lily’s," Sirius said. "Hm. This one requires some thought."
"Fizgig?" Peter asked.
"No," said Natalie. "I am the Fizgig."
"I know!" Remus said suddenly, as the others looked at him expectantly. "Miri."
"Talk about anti-climactic," Lily said, rolling her eyes.
"That’s like cheating," Natalie said.
"Fine then, you think of a nickname for her," Remus challenged.
"Um." Natalie thought for a moment. "I shouldn’t be doing this. She’s your wife."
"I can’t imagine her," James said, "with a nickname."
"I prefer to say that she defies being captured by mere words," Remus said with a smile.
"Aw," Sirius said. "That’s really sickening. You two manage to be cute, even when there’s only one of you here."
"What do you expect? He’s learned from the Master of Cuteness," James commented.
"You’re right," Peter said. "I’m so cute, it just goes everywhere."
"That just sounds wrong," Natalie said.
"Anyway," James said, "I was talking about myself." Lily snorted, and James looked mildly offended. "What?" Everyone else laughed.
"Uh, I hate to be the one to break it to you, James," Sirius choked out between laughs. "But you fit more the ‘Master of Being an Egotistical Prat Who Has His Decent Moments’ than the ‘Master of Cute’."
"Hmph." James crossed his arms. "Look who’s talking, Mr. ‘That’s My Favourite Hairbrush’."
"I’d thank you to know that it is quite difficult to find the right sort of brush to maintain my luscious locks," Sirius said.
By this time, the sun was brushing the top branches of the trees in the Forbidden Forest. The giant squid lazily poked a few tentacles out of the lake, seemingly testing the air, then submerging again. Their laughter had also quieted down, and the calls of birds from the forest and the gentle lapping of the lake were the only sounds carried on the morning breeze.
"So," Lily said softly. "This is the end of our last night at Hogwarts."
"Seven years," Natalie sighed.
James cleared his throat. "It’s been good, though."
Natalie started sniffling, and Sirius put his arm around her waist. "It has been good," he said. Nat shot him a dark look, and he quickly added, "I didn’t mean it like that!"
"We definitely can’t lose touch," Remus said. "We’ll get together a lot; talk, stop Sirius from setting things on fire, call Lily and Natalie weird..." At that, Lily and Natalie completely lost their composure and started sobbing. Remus looked horrified. "I’m sorry?"
"We’re just—going to miss—this place—and you guys—so—so much!" Lily said between sobs.
"I think we all are," Peter said quietly.
"Sirius?" James asked, peering at his friend. "Are you.. crying?"
"It’s my allergies," Sirius said in a waterlogged voice, rubbing his eyes ferociously. "Shut up."
"Ah. This proves, conclusively, that Sirius is the girl. Not me," Remus said lightly.
"Oh, wait!" Sirius said, appearing to cheer up slightly. "That would make Fizgig a—"
"No, I’m not!" Natalie said quickly.
"Not Fizgig?" Peter asked. "But you are." Natalie sighed exaggeratedly. "I don’t get it," Peter said.
James patted Peter on the head. "I’ll explain when you’re older."
"And anyway, it’s not like there won’t be anything left. We’ll always," Remus said, "have s’mores."