Del stared at the ceiling, playing with James's hand in hers. He placed a kiss on her head as he pulled her closer to him, "Tomorrow."

She nodded, "Tomorrow."

"Are you nervous?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "I mean, a little?" She let out a sigh as she shifted slightly so she could get a better look at him, "But you'll be with me. I'll be okay."

He nodded, placing another kiss on her head, "It's funny that you say that considering a week ago you wouldn't even talk to me."

"Hey," she said in reply, "You weren't talking to me either."

"But that was only because you weren't talking to me."

"This isn't going to go anywhere," she informed him and he nodded in agreement.

They both remained silent until James spoke up,
"You don't have to do it."

"James-"

"Just, hear me out, okay?" he requested as he sat up slightly, forcing her to sit up as well. She reluctantly turned to face him. "Snape is going to be there. They don't need two of you."

"It's more complicated than that."

"It doesn't have to be."

"I already have them Mark, James," she reminded him. "If I back out of this, everyone who's name was on that list is dead." Even though one already was.

"What about you?"

"You do realize I'd be the first one they'd kill, right?"

He groaned, leaning back on the arm of the couch in defeat, "I hate this."

She frowned, "I do, too." She placed a quick kiss on his lips, "I'll be fine, okay? I'm gonna figure out their dirty secrets and I'm gonna report them to Dumbledore and we're gonna win. This will all be over soon enough."

He nodded slightly, leaning forward and kissing her again. A silence lingered in the air, neither one of them wanted to break it as she leaned back so that he was holding her again. Neither of them wanted to say that there was a chance they wouldn't make it out alive.

The following morning was complete chaos. Del watched in amusement as the girls in her dorm ran around, checking to make sure they weren't forgetting anything. They were all teary and emotional. And just as they had for the past seven years, they ignored Del sans a few phrases like 'get out of my way' or 'move it, cripple.' Somehow, even though she wasn't on crutches or in the wheelchair, she was still considered a 'cripple.'

"Del!" Cynthia shouted and Del jumped, immediately pulled from her thoughts. "I got the internship!"

Del raised an eyebrow at this and Angela came to a stop next to Cynthia. "Like I was saying," Angela began, slightly out of breath, "You never told her."

"Oh," Cynthia said before turning to look at Del. "Well, I applied for an internship at Mungo's to trail a healer and I got it!"

"That's amazing," Del grinned as she stood up and pulled the girl into a hug. She had almost forgotten that some people had planned a future that didn't involve the war.

"And there's something I wanted to tell you," Angela announced as she turned to face Del. Del looked up and the girl continued, "I'm moving to America."

Del was surprised by this, "You are?"

"I need to get as far away from here, the people here - my family - as I can get," she explained. "And I was talking to Dumbledore and he said they could use an Ambassador over there so I volunteered."

Del smiled, "As long as you're happy."

"I'll write all the time," Angela informed her, "And I'll come to visit."

"Oh, maybe we can come to you!" Cynthia exclaimed. "We could have, like, a girl's weekend! I've always wanted to see America."

Del nodded, "Yes, that sounds perfect." She looked between the girl's, "Salazar, I've been an awful friend this year but I'm going to miss you two."

Angela and Cynthia swiftly pulled Del into a hug. "We were the bad friend's," Angela countered. "With everything that you went through...We should have been there."

"And everything with Axel..." Cynthia trailed off, squeezing the girl's tighter. "I'm so sorry."

"No, no more apologies and you are not allowed to cry," Del ordered. "Because if you cry then I'll cry and then we'll miss the whole graduation ceremony."

"We're gonna be late if we don't hurry!" Cynthia announced and they were quick to grab their hats from their areas and make their way out of the dungeons.

They made their way outside where there was a crowd of students adorned in red, green, blue or yellow, suited specifically toward their house colors. Del searched the area with her eyes, trying not to be too obvious. She caught James's eyes and smiled slightly when she realized he had already been watching.

He discreetly waved at her and she waved back, her smile growing as her brother turned and saw her. She grimaced as he dramatically waved at her and she awkwardly waved in return.

"Merlin, your brother is such a dork," Angela informed the girl. "I definitely won't miss him or those other Marauder's."

Del snorted at this, "Don't let them know that people actually call them that. It'll inflate their ego."

She felt her pocket warm up slightly and she grew confused as she reached her hand in her pocket. She felt a piece of paper and looked down to see that it read, 'The tree by the lake -J.P.'

She looked over at where James had been and saw that he was already gone. She dismissed herself from her friends, claiming she had to use the restroom before she made her way to the requested location.

"Hey," she greeted with a smile as she carefully made her way through the grass. She really hated heels. "I thought we were meeting after?"

He pulled her in for a kiss and held her close to him, "We are. I just wanted to talk to you about something before."

"Is everything okay?" she inquired and he nodded but he also looked like he was about to throw up.

"Everything's fine. I know we aren't really anything, not labeled anyway, but..." he trailed off and she watched him in slight amusement. "Move in with me," he requested, "We're all moving into a town house of sorts so we'll be near each other anyway and there's really no reason you should have to get your own apartment and-"

"James," she interrupted and he stopped talking. "I'd love that."

He grinned, "Really?"

She nodded with a laugh, "Yeah."

"Great, perfect, that's great."

"James?"

"Hmm?"

"We're gonna miss the ceremony."

"Oh, shit."

They both quickly made their way back to where the Seventh Year class had gathered, both of them taking different routes to avoid suspicion.

Del was quick to take a seat next to her brother. "Nice of you to finally join us, sis," he said in a teasing manner, "You know who else was-"

"Shut it," she warned and he surprisingly obeyed. Or maybe it was because the ceremony started.

The ceremony was surprisingly long even though there were only sixty students in the graduating class. The teacher's were overly sentimental.

Eventually, they made their way through every name and the class through their caps up in the air. Sirius swooped his sister up into a rather dramatic hug and she hugged him back with a roll of her eyes.

"Let's go find everyone," Sirius suggested as he grabbed her hand.

"I'll meet up with you," she said as she felt her pocket warm again. He nodded, releasing her hand before making his way through the crowd.

She pulled it out, expecting it to be from James but her heart stopped in her chest as she read it. 'You are to 'fight' with the Order.' She frantically looked around until her eyes landed on Snape's. He appeared both confused and terrified.

They both made their way to each other and he was quick to hand her his not. "Why would he change the assignment?"

Del nibbled on her lip as she scanned the note. 'Fight with your true alliance. We have a new plan for you.'

"I - I don't know," she shook her head. She looked around anxiously, "There are a lot of people here."

"What do I do?"

"You do what it says," she informed him. "We stick to our plan."

The two had both had their doubts about Dumbeldore's intentions and had decided to - more or less - take things into their own hands.

"Li-"

"I'll tell her, I'll explain it to everyone," she informed him. "Remember you don't have to hurt anyone. Just-" She didn't get the chance to finish though because there was a cracking noise and suddenly people were screaming.

Del shared a look with Snape before they both quickly parted ways. She was quick to dodge the 'spells' shot her way. None of them were deadly.

She eventually found her brother who had just conjured a shield between him and an older woman who had fallen. "Sirius," she said and he shot her a glance before focusing around him, dodging spells.

"Did you know?"

She shook her head, "Not technically. I found out a minute before."

"And?"

"Well I'm with you, aren't I?"

"Where's Snivellus?"

"The circumstances have changed," she explained. "I'll tell you later but let's focus on staying alive for now?"

"Good plan," he agreed.

"Where is everyone?"

"You mean where's James?"

"No, I mean everyone."

"He was with his parents."

"His parents are here?"

"You think they'd miss his graduation?"

"Fair enough."

For reasons unknown to them, the Death Eaters began to vanish. Del looked around and saw that Snape had gone with them. She let out a breath before she searched the area. She sprinted toward James as soon as she saw him.

He looked up as though he could sense her coming and immediately closed the distance between them. He held her close against him, burying his face in her neck, "Merlin, I was so worried."

"I'm just glad you're okay," she replied. "Everyone's okay, right? I mean-"

"I think so," he replied. "I made my parents apparate the second the fighting started, much to their dismay."

"Good, that's go-"

"Del!" Lily exclaimed and Del grimaced. "Where is he? Where's Severus?"

Del pulled away and frowned as she addressed the group, "We have a lot to talk about."

Lily was absolutely devastated to find out that Snape's orders had been changed and he wouldn't be able to be with her. At least not all the time. Del almost felt guilty when her and James explained that they were actually in a relationship - or something like that.

The following day on the train home, Lily opted to sit with the girl's she had roomed with. She apologized but explained that she needed to be distracted and was worried that if she was with them, it just might be more of a reminder that Snape wasn't with her.

Del's sight caught on something at the end of the corridor and she turned to James, "I'll be back, alright?" He glanced down the corridor and saw what she had seen. Regulus. He nodded, entering the compartment without her.

She walked the distance between her and her brother and he smiled at her. "Reggie," she greeted and she quickly pulled him into a hug despite it being completely out of character for them. He tensed slightly but eventually relaxed, squeezing her slightly. "Be good out okay? And I mean stay out of trouble. And stay clean? Or at least as clean as you can."

He squeezed his eyes tightly and she held him closer, "It'll be okay, alright? Everything will be fine. We're gonna make it out of this and when we do, we'll be a family again."

"Del-" his voice broke and she fought back tears.

"It's going to be okay," she reassured him, pressing her cheek against his shoulder. It felt like just yesterday when he was still looking up in order to see her. "You're going to be okay, I'll make sure of it."

"I'm scared," he admitted, his grip tightened around her.

"I know," she replied. "I love you, Reg, remember that."

"I love you too," he informed her. "And Sirius. Tell him-"

"I will," she nodded vehemently. She pulled away, holding his face in her hands. "Merlin, since when did you get so big?" she asked and he laughed as she wiped away his tears with her thumbs. "I should go. Stay clean."

He nodded and she released him before she forced herself to turn around and walk away, leaving him behind knowing there was a large chance she would never see him again.

Del entered the compartment to find that Sirius, Remus and Peter had all fallen asleep. The three of them were entangled in a way she hadn't even realized was possible.

James reached out for the girl and she immediately went to him. He wrapped his arms around her and she rested her head on his shoulder. They remained silent until James broke the silence.

"I love you, Del," James informed her and she let out a faint gasp at the words. She turned to look at him in surprise and he shook his head. "Don't - You don't have to say anything. Really. I know you, well, I know, I guess. You don't have to say it back."

"James," she said and he looked up at her, "I love you too."

He let out a breath, "You do?"

She nodded, raising her hand so that it rested on the side of his face, "I do." He grinned and her expression mirrored his own as she leaned in and rested her forehead against his, "I always will."

"Good because I'm not letting you go anywhere," he replied as he pulled her toward him, pressing his lips to hers.

And despite everything, with James holding her friends fast asleep across from them, everything felt like it might just be okay. Even when it was more likely that it wouldn't be.