- Lily knew that life was never easy, not for her, or her mother, or her uncle, or anyone who had to endure what they had to. -
For the two years following her seventh year, Lily Black worked full time at the Three Broomsticks, as she was much too young to teach at Hogwarts, even though she had received top marks on her N.E.W.T Exams. It was a particularly hard time for her; she was still living with her mother and she was earning only minimum wage. She wanted her independence and that meant that she had to work twice as hard in order to earn enough money to be able to move out. However, on her twentieth birthday, Professor Dumbledore surprised her with the news that Professor Flitwick had retired and the position for Charms Professor was open. Despite the fact that she was much better at Transfiguration, she took the job and began teaching at Hogwarts once the new semester started.
She soon discovered why her teachers had been so strict with her. Teaching a group of rowdy adolescents was no easy task, particularly when she was ailing from full moons. She found that, at times, she had to be hard on them when the situation called for it. Even so, she became one of the students’ favourite teachers, always trying to keep the class interesting and following in the footsteps of her late uncle, Remus Lupin. She still kept in touch with her three best friends from Hogwarts – Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter. Hermione and Harry had entered the Ministry of Magic, both holding the position of Aurors, while Ron had become a professional Quidditch player, playing for his beloved team - The Chudley Canons. Jacob Lawrence changed his career goal from working in the Ministry of Magic to working at St. Mungo’s Wizard Hospital. On the side he worked tirelessly in finding a cure for werewolves, though all of his efforts proved fruitless. He never did give up hope.
Rachael Lupin continued working at the Ministry of Magic, occasionally taking time off to visit her daughter at Hogwarts. Her visits usually fell around the time of a full moon, when Lily needed her most. Even after Lily was completely cured of her infection from the Wolfsbane Potion (which Lily never touched again) Rachael worried about something coming back, though nothing ever did. Along with taking breaks to visit her daughter, she would use the time to visit her ill mother, Anna Lupin, who died on January 14th 2003, one day before her granddaughter’s twenty-third birthday.
Life was good for all of them, once Rachael and Lily got over losing Mrs. Lupin. For Lily it only got better when Jacob Lawrence proposed to her at the age of twenty-four. Of course Lily accepted gladly and exactly one year later, on July 15th 2005, Lily Black and Jacob Lawrence were married. The wedding ceremony was performed by the pastor at the church that Lily used to attend when she lived with the Jameson Family, whom she still remained in touch with. The reception that followed took place in the Great Hall at Hogwarts, where Professor Dumbledore graciously offered the space to them. Lily, who didn’t have her father, Sirius Black, to walk her down the aisle, was walked down by Mr. Jameson, her adoptive father, and Mr. Lawrence, as well.
Lily continued working at Hogwarts and, when Professor McGonagall relinquished her position as Transfiguration Professor to take the position of Headmaster once Professor Dumbledore passed away peacefully, she offered the position of Transfiguration teach to Lily, who took it in a second. The vacancy for the Charms teacher was filled by Ginny Weasley Potter.
Two years after their marriage, Lily and Jacob welcomed into the world a set of fraternal twin boys. The first boy bore a striking resemblance to his mother; he had green eyes (a trait of grandmother, Rachael) and sandy brown hair. The other bore a striking resemblance to his father with his black hair, though he had the bright blue eyes of his mother and grandfather, Sirius. It didn’t take the two parents any time at all to figure out names for their twins. The two twins were dubbed Remus Michael Lawrence and Sirius Jacob Lawrence.
Lily knew that life was never easy, not for her, or her mother, or her uncle, or anyone who had to endure what they had to. She knew that she would never forget the horrors of the tampered Wolfsbane Potion. She knew she would never forget those who helped her get through it all. As she and Jacob looked at Remus and Sirius, she knew that this was the beginning to a new chapter in her life… a chapter that would be filled with happiness, and no one would be able to take that away from her.