AN: Epilogues will take place in different points of time for the characters.
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Here We Go Again
Epilogue Part 2: Wide-Eyed Lover
POV: Lily
The sound of giggling women and loud noises of affection filled the atmosphere surrounding the quaint cottage on top of a lonely cliff not too far from a massive chunk of ocean. The sea mist was the perfume of the day, and the music was composed and provided by the waves crashing into the bottom rocks of the cliff.
It was a perfect spring day for the celebration of a life to come.
"That is so adorable," gushed my cousin Victoire as she held up in the air a tiny, beautiful, white lace dress for all eyes to see. "It's absolutely perfect."
"Of course it's perfect," I replied, crossing my arms and leaning back against the armchair I was occupying in the midst of the huddle around Victoire. "I chose it. I have impeccable taste."
"Excuse me?" countered Lucy, who was now frowning at me.
"Okay. Fine," I grunted back in an attempt of an apology. "Lucy picked it out because I hadn't the time for it—but I still paid for half of it, so technically, it was all my doing because she wanted to get you nappies."
Victoire laughed at the story as she carefully placed the dress back into its gift bag. "I love it, girls," she said kindly. "Thank you. But, honestly, couldn't you cheap witches have gotten separate gifts?"
"We barely had enough sickles for the dress put together," I defended. "Might have escaped your noticed that we're still in school and we don't have jobs. Besides, Mum and Dad are stingy when it comes to allowance lately since they are off spoiling Al for becoming the youngest Unspeakable in history. Biggest thing to happen to the Potter family since Dad himself became the youngest Head Auror in history. James gave them their first grandchild so he's off the hook, now I've to beat them out. No pressure."
I could hear my mother's eyes rolling in the background.
"I get a reasonable amount of allowance," interjected Lucy, distracting from my own story, "but I must admit that I am saving for my summer holiday with Lorcan. We are going to Peru for a research expedition. Should be fun, actually."
"Oh, so fun," mocked a fiery redhead on the right side of Victoire. Dominique knew how to execute an encouraging smile and still have the perfect amount of snark to get her teasing across. And she did so while holding her adorable, two year old son (Dustin) on her lap. "I'm sure you and Scamander are just going to have a memorable time being dirty...Because you'll be covered in mud and dirt, not actually rolling around in the sheets."
Lucy sent her permanent, disapproving frown at our cousin. However, it was the person beside her who decided to speak up and counteract Dominique's cheap innuendos.
"Be nice, Dom," Molly said sternly in defence of her little sister, "you know this means a lot to her. You cannot make fun of Luce for having her priorities straight; she's accomplished so much at just seventeen than anyone in our family has at that age."
"My dad defeated Voldemort at seventeen, actually. People would say that's the single most important thing in the last century," I interjected, but just recieved a weak round of laughter by other guests.
"Dad trusts her judgement enough to let her go off for three months with her boyfriend for a reason. He's proud of her for always thinking straight—as am I. If she wasn't, well...Then she'd be like me: a struggling single mother," sighed Molly as she gazed down at the one year-old girl that was sitting at her feet.
As powerful as the Weasley genes are, Molly's little girl resembled the rest of our family: red hair, pale skin, and freckles (the only difference that the girl's eyes were a shade of blue that were not alike Uncle Ron and Uncle Charlie's, but a particular stormy kind that we were sure came from her unknown father). Perhaps it was something that bothered Molly, seeing as she always wanted to break away from the mold of our clan, but if it did she kept that to herself. All her problems, all her troubles, the reason why she ended up alone raising a daughter was locked away in a vault. The only person who knew the truth was Teddy, but he turned out to be quite the secret-keeper that not even Victoire could get it out of him.
Of course, the family tried getting it out of her (Uncle George and Uncle Bill had gone on a rampage, demanding details so they could go de-bullock that man who left her) but Molly never budged. She always would just pull her daughter (Sidney) close, kiss the girl upon her head, and say her same old phrase: 'It doesn't matter if he's gone. Sid's mine. I'll defend her.'
Never quite the one to handle emotional moments, Lucy blinked at Victoire and Dominique with an urging for their assistance. Lucy never knew exactly how to handle Molly's sudden reminiscing of her predicament and always seeked aid from others instead of letting her heart and love for her sister and niece guide her (I reckon Luce just didn't want to say the wrong thing, because she wasn't good at comforting people, but sadly came off as indifferent about Molly's situation).
"There is nothing wrong with you," muttered Victoire to Molly.
"She's right," added Dominqiue. "You are strong and capable and amazing—Just look at the precious creature you're raising. Merlin knows if I had to take care of Dustin on my own he'd have green hair and be tattooed, and I'd be hitting the bottle every hour. But you have your wits about you, Molls, and that's something to admire."
Molly reached down to finger a strand of her daughter's hair. She smiled, and then said, "Shall we get on with the presents?"
Immediately agreeing on that, Dominique whipped out her wand and pointed it at the direction of the kitchen. It took about two seconds for a giant box to come whizzing out; the speed and action were unpredicted that some people were lucky enough to dodge it on time before it clunked them on the head.
"This is Dustin's gift to his Auntie Vi," informed Dominique to Victoire's guests as she made the box carefully land on her older sister's lap. "He's quite the sentimental little lad, actually. Isn't that right, love?"
Dustin blushed as every eye was on him. "You like, Auntie Vi," mumbled the little boy shyly before he turned around to hide his face into Dominique's shoulder.
Victoire grinned largely at her nephew and sister before tearing into the wrappings of her gift. As she did so, my eyes caught sight of a particular witch I had been avoiding for ages now. She looked just as she did the last time I saw her, around the ending of my Fifth Year; she was still beautiful, still tall, still had cascading dark hair, with the widest, brightest eyes anyone ever had—except, she looked just as that last time I saw her, miserable and with her mind lost somewhere a few galaxies away. And if I were to be honest, perhaps that was the reason why I avoided her side of the room, avoided seeing her, because I knew that where her heart should be there was nothing but crushed fragments that no longer knew how to come together.
Evanna Nott sat beside Gracen Goyle, perfectly aware of her friend's misery. I knew enough of Nott to know that she was the type of person to share her friends' pains and joys, but lately there was nothing that diminished her happiness (considering that Evanna and Freddie were now living together and she was fast becoming a respected Ministry Official).
Evanna tapped Gracen on her knee, then pointing her finger to Victoire; bringing Gracen and I back into the present moment.
"Dom," breathed Victoire softly after spending a while scavenging through the tissue paper that came inside the box for decorative and mocking purposes. "It's so beautiful."
My eyes zeroed in on a silver locket between Victoire's fingers. The charm was a dainty heart that had an opening through the middle; once my cousin opened it, the two sides of the heart had magicked photographs of two little girls. One was Victoire, blonde hair glowing white with the light of the sun, while the other was Dominique, her hair burning orange like the fall of lava from a volcano. Both girls were laughing, their happiness contagious, as they waved their little hands at whomever took the picture. When Victoire closed the locket again, thin, cursive golden letters in French formed the sentence 'soeurs à jamais' (sisters forever).
"Oh, 'Oney!" gushed Aunt Fleur at Dominique's unpredictable kind gesture for her older sister. She was standing behind the huddle of women, in the middle of my mum and Aunt Hermione, all three of them looking proud at the two veela descendants. "You two warm zee 'art in my chest!"
As it was expected, Aunt Fleur couldn't contain her joy so she marched over to Dominique and embraced her tightly, trapping poor Dustin in her act.
"Mum! Stop! Get off!" protested Dominique while her child laughed at his grandmother.
Opening the door of Shell Cottage, a blue-haired bloke strolled his way into the house followed by a group of boys with sneering grins and hysterical laughter as they pushed their way into the crowded living room.
"Greeting, ladies," said Teddy. "Hope we haven't missed any of the fun."
"Lupin," grunted Molly, "Did I not tell you that a baby shower is meant for girls only? Or are you back to your phase of wearing Aunt Ginny's dresses and you haven't told me about it?"
Trying to ninja his way to his girlfriend, Freddie stopped in his tracks to turn around hastily and gasp at Teddy. "Say it ain't so, Ted!"
"It's not," growled my adoptive brother. "I was six and it was Halloween! Molls and I were going to ask for sweets around a muggle neighborhood but I didn't have a costume, so I borrowed Mum's dress! I went as McGonagall!" He then turned his glare back at Molly. "How long did you want us to get lost for, anyway? This is my wife's baby bath thing, I have every right to be here!"
Through the crowd of people now invading Shell Cottage, I managed to see the person I'd been avoiding make her way silently and undetected into the kitchen. I knew I should have stayed sat where I was, especially because it was a celebration for Glorie Remy Lupin, my niece-to-be in just three months, but I couldn't shake off this pressure in my chest that told me to go into the kitchen.
So I got up from my seat, and tried my best not to get noticed by anyone as I made my way in.
Gracen Goyle was leaning over the sink, breathing in and out like she was having a panic attack. Her back was rigid, her hands were balled into fists, and she was paler than usual. There was so much uneasiness etched across her face, but it could never conquer over her heartbreak.
Two years ago, at the ending of my Fifth Year, right when I had made peace between myself and Liam, Gracen decided to end her relationship with Liam out of the blue. At first, I didn't know much of the details, seeing as we went straight for summer holidays and everyone went their separate ways. I did see Gracen in passing once on the train ride back to Platform 9¾, and she had such devastation on her that I thought someone close to her had died, but the curtain to the compartment was shut instantly and I figured Liam was with her because I heard sobbing right the second after.
It wasn't until the end of July that summer that I saw Liam: It was Dad's birthday celebration and everyone who was in with the Weasley/Potter clan was invited (since Dad had once again avoided death, Gran and Mum decided that it was cause for a giant party). Liam was mostly beside Scorpius or Al that night, and I stuck to Hugo and Roxy. At a point during the party, I went inside the house and to my bedroom; before I made it to my door, I saw Al's bedroom door open and Liam sat in my brother's bed, his head hung low and the atmosphere filled with suffering.
A part of me wanted to leave him alone, but I couldn't. I sat next to him, holding my breath, and I felt time pass so slowly by us that I thought we had been caught in a pause. It wasn't until he inhaled deeply, turned his neck to the left to look at me that he spoke: 'Grace broke up with me.'
'Why?' I'd questioned in such a low volume because I'd been frightened to ruin the situation between both of us. It had been the first time in a while that we were alone, seeing as the previous time I had butchered it and made him so angry at me he never spoke to me again.
'She says you love me,' then the conversation I had with Goyle popped into my head that moment, because I had told the Ravenclaw how much I loved Liam, but how I wanted him to be happy with her and not me, 'and she says that I love you still. Grace wants me to forgive you so we can be together again...She set me free to be with you.'
'Liam, I—'
'But the thing is, Lily,' he interrupted me, 'I forgave you long before, that's why I went into a relationship with Grace. I fell for her. She is beautiful and sweet and kind...I wanted to be with her, truly. When she was breaking up with me, I told her exactly that. I begged her not to. But she said I would always love you more than I could ever love her.'
My heart had been in pieces ever since I had forsaken Liam to Gracen Goyle, but I had been on the road of trying to fix it. The progress hadn't been much, of course, because I still thought about him day and night, minute after minute, and dreamt of being back in his caring arms—but as he spoke about how he'd fallen for Goyle, the pain came back to life. I had known Liam liked her, but having him declare it to me was torture.
'I couldn't leave it alone, though,' Liam had continued, 'so I looked for her. I wanted her in my life, Lily; she was so good to me. We were so good for one another. I think that is why she decided to still be friends. We've spent time together since the breakup, either hanging out at her house or going to Muggle London for trips to museums or to eat...The more time I spend with her, the more I can see she loves me and how I love her.'
'Then why aren't you with her?' I had whispered to him. I found a tiny spark of selflessness and I fueled it for him. I didn't want to hear how he loved Goyle, I didn't want to know that while I was missing him he was spending his time with her, but he wasn't mine for me to reproach his actions. He was free. 'If you love her, Liam, if she loves you...Then try harder.'
Liam stayed silent for a minute. His brown eyes roamed my face for a few seconds, but then they made their way to my eyes and penetrated straight through them. There was something in his gaze, something that was searching desperately for the cure to his pain. And the ironic thing was that he had everything that could ease mine.
'Maybe,' he breathed, 'Maybe if you didn't exist, Lily, then maybe...But she's right. I love you more. Because even though I want to be with her, your face sneaks into my dreams at night and when I wake...All I want to do is be with you. And Gracen does not deserve that. I could rip out my heart and extend it to her, but she knows that it is already owned by you. It always has been... So that's where we are now, realizing that friends is all we could be. Because we can survive that way, Lily, but the only way you and I can survive is if the other doesn't exist...But you do, and I love you for it.'
That night didn't end with a kiss that mended all broken hearts and stitched up open wounds—rubbish like that only happened in romance novels and in muggle films. Instead, Liam got up from Al's bed and left me alone. I didn't see him until two weeks after that.
All I knew from that night then on was that Liam and I could have a chance to truly fix things, but Gracen Goyle sacrificed her heart so that I could have what she wanted the most in the world. And she was still suffering for it two years on.
I owed her.
"Do you still hate me?" The words came out of my mouth without restraint.
Goyle was still hunched over the sink, breathing in and out deeply, but when she heard my voice she stopped. She held her breath for a few seconds. The silence multiplied with the immediate tension in the air.
Slowly, she turned to show me her glistening gaze. "Do you still hate me?" she asked in return, a knot in her throat.
"Why would I have any reason to hate you?" I questioned.
"I see the way you look at me, Lily. You try hard to act like I'm not around, but I'm always around, aren't I? You go on holiday, and you know that Liam and I are spending time together. You know that when you're at school that he's with me...But he's my friend, Lily." Tears began to fall down her cheeks. "I'm not giving that up for you, too. I just can't. Don't make me."
It took some incredible strength from Goyle's part not to break down sobbing, I could see that. Many times I was in her place so I knew; I knew that all that she wanted was to fall onto her knees and bawl her eyes out, or maybe until there was no more heartache to cause her tears. But there was always going to be a pain in her heart.
"I know you're still in love with him," I told her without an accusatory tone.
"And I shouldn't, I know," she replied honestly, "but I cannot control it. It's been two years now, but...I can't forget him. Whenever he is near me, my heart soars and my souls comes alive... But believe me, I'm trying not to."
And, strangely, I did believe her. Because Gracen Goyle was, compared to me, a damn saint. She was honest to the core. Just as she was, Liam was too.
"Part of him stills loves you too, I reckon," I said the words that I never dared to say aloud, words that were so unholy, so painful, but they were a truth I couldn't shake off. "I see it in his eyes. It's not the same affection as when he looks at Harper, and we both know how much he loves her...With you, it's like a longing. A deep nostalgia he can't seem to shake off. Sometimes I'm afraid he made the wrong choice when he let you give up on your relationship."
"He can never miss me as much as he misses you," she said back. "He's been waiting for your Seventh Year to be done with more so than you, I believe. He tells me he misses you, you know. He has all these plans for you two when you're finally done with Hogwarts. Every hope and vision involves you, Lily, not me. He didn't make the wrong choice."
"What of your plans, then, Goyle?" I asked. "What of your plans with him?"
The dark-haired witch smiled sadly at me, new unshed tears made her gaze glitter. "Distance," she said the word like she was torn with relief and hatred. "I was accepted as a young diplomat in Democracy, the equivalent to the Ministry in America. Liam doesn't know, of course, but I'll tell him soon. I leave in June. I've got a month left with him, then after...After I promise to really get over him, Lily."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Returning to Platform 9¾ after the Easter holidays were always different than at the start of September. Upon the very first trip to Hogwarts, whilst waiting for the train to board and take off, students were nervous and excited, parents were afraid and nervous too—but by this point in the school year, mostly everyone was dreading the ride back.
Students groaned at the thought of returning to final exams and final projects, especially after a week of leisure and delicious food and sleeping in and no itchy school robes. Parents were no longer saddened to see their children leave, or nervous of what could await their new year of school; instead, they gladly loaded their children's trunks, muttering parental lessons, and quickly took off even before the Hogwarts Express left.
In my past six years of doing this, I was usually the same as my fellow students; now, however, I was perfectly aware that it was my last trip back to Hogwarts. I would only board the train once more for the platform, and I would take it as a graduated student of the school. There was quite a heavy nostalgia stuck to that thought.
"I'll be counting the days, love," said Roxy to Zabini as she spun on her heels to turn to her boyfriend. She flung her arms around his neck and pulled herself close. "Please miss me."
Zabini blinked at Roxy's sudden movement, looking not so sure on what to do for the first second. It was true that he and my cousin had a sickly sweet relationship that was constantly drenched in the cliche, but for some reason he seemed bothered by it.
"I always miss you, Rox," he finally said as his arms went around her waist. "You know that."
Roxy tore away her face from the crook of his neck, eyeing him suspiciously. "Are you sure?" she asked with a slight frown. "Because ever since you have been working with that new business partner your days are incredibly occupied, you hardly respond to my letters. If you fancy her just tell me, I can date someone else, Lucas."
Zabini's emerald eyes went wide. "What are you on about?"
"Dad happens to know Padma Smith," my cousin retorted, "and she told him how her dearest little Kenna is working with you in new propositions for Zabini Corps. She also mentioned how her daughter has developed quite the friendship with Lucas Zabini, and how she wishes you'll ask Kenna on a date. Mrs. Smith thinks there is potential between you and her daughter."
"When did you even find this out?" questioned Zabini. "I was with you all holiday, Rox!"
"This morning," his girlfriend stated, pushing herself away from his hold. "I'm warning you, Zabini, I've got my spies in your office. If you so much as think as having tea in the same room with Kenna Smith, I will escape Hogwarts and blast your manly-bits off. I will not be made a fool of."
I sighed at the threat. Roxy was an incredibly sweet person, considering that she was always happy-go-lucky and never harbored dark thoughts towards anyone; if she was that upset, then the only real outcome of it would be her tears. Roxy was going to cry for days, and I would be the one to hear it nonstop.
I had to resolve the matter before chaos ensued.
"Roxy," I called, putting a hand on her shoulder whilst Zabini looked on quite afraid, "you're already making a fool of yourself. Kenna Smith doesn't like Zabini, or any bloke for that matter. Her mummy dearest just doesn't know it yet. In fact, Smith is dating one of Michael Corner's daughters."
Roxy frowned at me, not with anger but with outraged. "She is? How do you know something that I don't, Lily? You're clueless at this stuff!"
I rolled my eyes at her as a choice of response.
"By this point in our relationship, Roxanne Weasley, you should know that I'm madly in love with you..." Zabini grabbed his girlfriend's hand and led her away from where we were standing.
I only stood alone for three seconds when the universe brought forth a person I hadn't seen in two days. Liam Greengrass was making his way through the crowd inside the platform: his hands were in the pockets of his black trousers, his brown hair tousled with the London winds, and a gorgeous smile on his face as he spotted me not a distance too far.
Not to be biased, but Liam had to be one of the most handsome blokes I'd ever laid eyes on. Especially in that very moment, with his baby-blue button up tightly pressed onto his body, yet the ends untucked and the first three buttons undone. His shiny, black shoes gleamed when sunlight hit them. He was in his professional attire because he spent hours learning business tricks from his Uncle Draco (who had been managing Greengrass Inc. until Liam was of age), but before sunrise broke, he was usually on his way to university to earn his degree.
His busy schedule hardly gave us time to see one another when I went on holiday, and I only counted on exchanged letters when I was at school, or those very odd (yet amazing) times when he met me in Hogsmeade for a round of butterbeers and pub food. Learning to accept that he was moving forward with his life whilst I was trapped in Hogwarts was something hard, but I managed. I had to grow up and release my reins.
"You made it," I said as he reached me. My arms immediately went to wrap around his neck, just as his went around my waist to pull me in.
He pecked my lips with a tender kiss.
"I had to skip out of class in the middle of a heavy lecture, something Professor Weasley was not very keen on."
"Yeah, Aunt Hermione is very picky about that."
"But it was totally worth it," he added with a grin and another quick kiss. "My girlfriend is off for three months. This is important."
The happiness that I felt deep in my core because of his presence was overshadowed by the gloomy thoughts in my head.
I could not stop thinking about my conversation with Gracen Goyle just a few days prior. I hadn't mentioned it to Liam that Goyle and I had shared with one another our feelings for him, because I wasn't sure how he would react if he knew that I harbored these thoughts, these thoughts that told me he still had unresolved feelings for Goyle.
I didn't want him to think I was insecure, but the truth was blatantly obvious—I was insecure. Goyle said she was going to leave for America in just a few weeks, vowing that she was going to cut off ties with Liam for a while in order to get her life straight—but what if it was the wrong choice? What if Liam needed her? What if Liam couldn't let Goyle go? What if the worst thing in the world, a crime against romance, was Goyle's departure? Could I be able to handle Liam realizing that he truly loved her when he lost her?
"Do you ever think," I began, pulling my arms from him so that I could lead him to a corner of the platform, away from eavesdropping ears and lingering stares of Potter fanatics, "that maybe we made a mistake? That you made a mistake in taking me back after what I did to you?"
Confusion flashed in Liam's eyes for a moment. "What? Where's this even coming from, Lily?"
"I'm afraid that being with me was the wrong choice," I whispered. "What if you were destined to go in a different direction? One that involved Gracen? Liam, you two were great together...What if I just ruined that for you?"
He was silent as he contemplated what I said. At least, I assumed that's what he was doing. Then, he reached to touch my face with his right hand, cupping my cheek gently as his gaze bore into mine.
"There never was another direction that didn't lead to you, Lily," he said to me, and it was laced with such passionate sincerity. It made tears well in my eyes. He was such a magnificent person, so gentle and with an incredible heart, so loving and so endearing. A part of me was never going to forgive myself for having had let him go—for giving him up like he meant nothing.
"Grace is very important to me," he then added. "She is something that I can never forget. She's in my heart, Lily, I will not lie to you—but you own it. My heart has always been yours. I believe it has been since the first moment that we spent alone underneath the light of the moon all the summers ago."
"But I don't deserve you," I confessed my darkest thought. "I was horrible to you throughout our relationship, especially after we broke up. Liam...I lost my virginity to some other bloke partially to spite you."
Liam's gaze darkened at the reminder.
Of course he'd known of my shameful secret; it wasn't technically a secret to begin with, considering that Slytherin girls circled that little piece of information when Ophelia De la Cruz let it slip after finding out her brother Octavio was spending his nights with me (as if ruining one Potter's life hadn't been enough she had to drag me down too). Liam had obviously been hurt about what I'd done, but he never exactly voiced it to me since we were over and he started dating Gracen Goyle. I knew that it would be a dagger to him, just as much as it would disappoint him. And in the months that it took Liam and I to agree to give our once-failed romance another chance, he kept mum about that little bump in my past involving Octavio. When I told him to say something—anything—about it, he simply replied with, 'That's your business, not mine'.
Though he claimed not to want an explanation about what I'd done, it still took him months to even go beyond a casual peck to the lips and hand-holding. That'd been fine with me at the time, especially because all I wanted was him and his genuine respect and love for me, but eventually his rejection started stinging. Instead of throwing a fit, as I would've in the past, I embraced (though somewhat hesitantly and with frustration) the fact that I needed to earn his trust again.
And I did. He was tender, loving, and beyond incredible in the moment our bodies finally twined together for the first time.
Despite how understanding and kind he'd been about the entire ordeal, I still couldn't forget it. Not when Gracen Goyle was perfect for him, loved him and cherished him, gave him up so he could find his happiness with me, and all I'd done was hurt him in so many ways.
"That's in your past, Lily," he finally said with a sigh. "If you want to make this relationship work—really work—then you have to let that go. I've forgiven you, now it's time you've forgiven yourself."
I knew he was right, but I still needed time to earn him. Or at least give him a shot of happiness.
"I know that I shouldn't say anything, but...Goyle is moving to—"
"Yeah, I know," he interjected, that previous darkened gaze of his dimmed sadly. "She's moving to America. Mister Goyle came to Malfoy Manor to visit Uncle Draco a few days back. Dinner conversation allowed him to tell my uncle how bittersweet his daughter's opportunity abroad is."
I stared into his sad eyes, trying to search for anything that would resemble devastating heartbreak. "Aren't you hurt by it?" I asked him earnestly when I could not find what I looked for.
"She's my friend and I'm going to miss her, but I also know how important this is for her. She's worked extremely hard for this chance. And, yeah, I know her other motive for taking it—to get away from me. I can't say that doesn't hurt me, but I want her to be happy. If oceans between us is what she needs, then I can't interfere."
With another sigh, Liam reached for my face again, this time with both his hands. He took two steps closer to me, our noses almost touching as he looked deep into my eyes. It was a match of brown, but I will swear until the day I die that his was the perfect shade; that his gaze held comfort, bliss, and overwhelming love. It was the paradise people searched for all their lives. It was the warmth I wanted to always feel in this gloomy, wet British weather.
"Listen to me carefully, Lily Potter: I love you. I love you with my entire heart and soul, and you can't change that, even as hard as you're trying now. I know you want me to look deep within me, but I've already done so. And because I have is the reason why I am here, why we are both in this relationship at this very moment. The further I dig, the more I see your name carved inside of me. So stop worrying and trust me, trust this."
His mouth was swift to capture my lips in a passionate, searing kiss. I felt the world explode into fireworks all around us; neon colors taking over the sky and a beautiful melody echo through the atmosphere. My heart sprouted wings and my soul danced inside of me. With one kiss, I saw the rest of my life play out. Everything about what would come for me is uncertain, but his face was always going to be my everyday sun and moon.
I could never let him go. He was mine and I was his. And the trick to being in a relationship was knowing your value, but most importantly, living it while you had it.