She was trying not to cry as Lily curled her hair.

She was just thinking about Hogwarts, and about everything she'd been through here. I mean, seven years ago she hadn't even known such a school existed, and in her time here she'd loved every single second.

And now, she was about to leave, and seek a career in the wizarding world.

She'd wondered about being an auror. She had the skills for it, and the ambition, but it wasn't what she wanted to do, not really.

She loved quidditch more.

So, after graduating Hogwarts, she was going to join a professional quidditch team. The Holyhead Harpies, her favourite, were a valid option. James had almost screamed when she told him this, and she'd just laughed.

James was becoming an auror. They'd both been equally as surprised at this choice, but he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps, and he could get the grades for it without even trying.

Alice wanted to be a healer. She aspired to work at St Mungo's hospital, helping people and making them better. Azalea thought it was the perfect job for her, and didn't hesitate to tell her so.

Louis was going to the Ministry of Magic. He was being an apprentice to one of the heads of departments, and was going to work his way up the ranks. Their whole group knew he would be amazing at this, due to him being the level head of the James/Fred/Louis trio for their entire time at Hogwarts.

As for Fred, he was going to work at his dad's joke shop, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. He was a natural at joking and pranks, so everyone was completely in favour of this, knowing one day, he'd take over the shop himself.

"Come on, don't start crying now, your makeup'll get ruined," Lily said, pulling Azalea back to life as she continued to curl her hair.

Their whole dorm was a mess. Their trunks were only half packed, and all their makeup was scattered across the floor. Azalea and Alice were both getting ready, and Rose and Lily had volunteered to help them, because they weren't going to the ball itself.

"No, but when I tell you you're breathtaking, believe me," Lily told Azalea as she finished with the curls, beginning to pin her hair up up in the style she wanted.

"Thanks, Lils," Azalea smiled slightly.

"No problem," Lily shrugged. "Anything for my practical sister, right?"

The girl in front of her rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the warm feeling in her chest as she said this.

"Of course," smiled Azalea. "You know I'd do anything for you too, right?"

"Yep, I do," smirked Lily. "And just so you know, I wouldn't have wanted anyone else as my sister."

The girl smiled warmly, unable to believe how far they had all come.

By the time she and Alice were ready, the ball had probably started. However, Azalea couldn't help but just stop for a second so the two could admire themselves in the mirror, and she honestly felt like sobbing at the sight.

Alice looked better still. She was wearing a lovely purple dress with a sleek skirt and corset bodice, and it looked stunning on her.

"You two are gonna make some enemies," chuckled Rose as they looked at them.

"Let's hope not," Alice looked around at Azalea, who was on the brink of tears. "Lea, what's wrong?"

"I just-" Azalea bit her lip. "It's been an amazing seven years, Alice, and I wouldn't have wanted to do it with anyone else. I love you so so much."

Alice smiled slightly, saying. "I love you too, Lea."

The two girls hugged tightly, trying not to smear their makeup.

"Right, come on!" Lily joked with them. "You need to get to this ball at some point!"

Azalea and Alice laughed, pulling away from each other as the blonde offered the redhead her hand. "Together?"

Azalea grinned widely. "Together."

✾✾✾

Her dramatic staircase ended up being the dormitory one.

Alice had gone down with Fred, both of whom didn't have a date and had agreed to go together. James, however, had waited for his girlfriend in the empty common room, standing up when he heard her heels on the stairs.

Azalea felt kind of self conscious as she walked down the stairs. James was the only one in the common room, though, and he was looking at her as though she was the oxygen he breathed and the sky to his earth.

(She looked beautiful. So beautiful he forgot how to breathe. I mean, yes, the dress made her look hot, but that wasn't what he cared about. It was just the way she carried herself, the way she looked so natural yet he knew she was wearing makeup, the way he loved her so so much and knew he'd made more than the right decision by dating her).

Azalea stopped at the bottom of the steps, saying lightly. "Well, I hope you're looking at me like that because I look alright, rather than cause I have food in my teeth."

"Are you kidding me right now? Azalea you- you look beautiful," he told her, almost lost for words. "Breathtaking, even."

The girl smiled, tears coming easily but managing to hold them back.

"I love you," she told him. "And, uh... you don't look too bad yourself."

He was wearing a set of deep black dress robes, and his hair was just as messy as always. His handsomeness was something Azalea had (annoyingly) never managed to ignore, and this was no different.

"Thanks," James smiled. "And I love you too, Azzie. Always."

He reached for her and she came forwards, allowing him to kiss her and thanking Lily for the non-transferable lipstick.

"Trust me, you'll need it," the girl had said with a smirk whilst Azalea rolled her eyes.

"Right, come on," Azalea said, pulling back before she could get lost in him. "We have a ball to get to."

James smirked. "I thought you'd never say."

✾✾✾

The great hall looked amazing.

Up the back, there was a huge bannner reading YEAR OF '24, and the whole room was decorated with banners and stuff like it. The ceiling still looked like the night sky, and all the floating candles were lit. There was a dancefloor in the middle and a load of tables around it. Up the back was the buffet.

People were everywhere. They were dancing, some were at tables, some were eating, some were talking at the buffet. The teachers were all mingling and talking to each other and students, and everyone just looked happy.

As soon as Azalea and James entered, they got a huge round of applause. They knew why it was, of course; because of the tournament, and neither minded.

However, when they saw their friends; Alice, Fred and Louis, sat at one of the tables, they made an immediate beeline for them.

"Hey, guys!" Louis grinned.

"What time d'you call this, eh?" Fred joked.

"It's okay, Freddie, they probably just lost track of time," smirked Alice, causing her best friend to roll her eyes.

"Alright, alright!" She said, grinning slightly. "Are we gonna dance or what?"

And they did. They got onto the dance floor just as a rock song was starting, and all sung their lungs away as they jumped up and down. Azalea's feet were killing her, but she didn't care.

Part of her, the part that was still eleven years old, couldn't believe she was here, in her last days at Hogwarts, dating James Sirius Potter. Part of her could very much believe it, but the other part just couldn't. She knew she had matured in ways eleven year old her would never have thought of, but she supposed that was just a part of growing up.

And as a slow song came on and some people filtered off the dancefloor, leaving James and Azalea alone, the two of them just connected, her arms around his neck and his on her waist.

"I'm getting deja vu here," James smirked, referring to their brief stint dancing together at the Yule Ball.

"Yeah," shrugged Azalea. "You know, uh... that was the night I kinda first realised I had feelings for you."

James looked at her, kind of surprised. "Seriously? That soon after, y'know..."

She understood he was referring to Lauri, yet just nodded.

"Yeah," she said. "It just made me realise that you would do anything for me whether we were fighting or not, and it made me realise how I was catching feelings."

James shrugged slightly. "Well, you know when I caught feelings, and it was a long time before that."

"Yeah, it was love at first sight for you, you idiot," smiled Azalea, her cheeks flushing slightly as she remembered that fateful day on the Hogwarts Express.

"I think I deserve some kind of medal for sticking with it that long," said James. "I mean, come on, I kept trying to get you for seven years and I finally did! Like, that's got to be a record."

"What? A record for being desperate?" Azalea smirked.

"Okay, okay! But you came round eventually," James shrugged. "Couldn't resist my charm."

"Nah, I just wanted to be sisters with your sister," Azalea joked.

James rolled his eyes. "I always knew you preferred Lils to me."

"Yeah, obviously," Azalea joked. "But, uh... she's down in the snogging department."

"Oh yeah, Edwards?" James grinned.

"Of course," smirked Azalea, as he leaned down and she reached up and their lips met.

Soon enough, another rock song came on and the two of them left the dancefloor, heading up to the buffet to get some food.

"Azalea, James!" Teddy caught them there, grinning widely as he leaned out of his conversation with Neville and Hagrid, both of whom turned as well.

"Hey, you two!" Hagrid said with a grin. "Well done for the tournament!"

James grinned. "Thanks, Hagrid."

"Yeah, you're a chip off the old block, you are," Neville said with a small smile, before his gaze slid to the redhead. "And Azalea, well done in keeping James in check all these years, we couldn't have done it without you."

Azalea giggled slightly, shaking her head. "Well, he kept me in check as well, sometimes, it was a two way thing."

"Hell yeah!" James grinned, before Teddy ruffled his hair and he tried to throw him off. "Teddy, get away! You're gonna ruin it!"

"Awww, did I ruin Jamesie's hair?" Teddy asked in a baby voice, and the boy just rolled his eyes.

"I'm seriously going to kill you."

"You do that, dear brother," smirked Teddy.

Azalea laughed as she watched James throw Teddy a discrete middle finger, turning and grabbing her hand before heading back to the dancefloor.

"He's so annoying sometimes," he said.

"Yeah, you would know," was her reply.

✾✾✾

"Attention, seventh years!"

Her feet were aching by the time McGonagall called everyone to attention at midnight. She'd spent most of her time laughing and dancing, and hadn't really payed attention to the blisters forming on her feet.

She turned her body, positioning herself so her legs were across James' and her back was rested on Alice as she listened to the headmistress.

"I just want to say how proud I am of all of you," she began, smiling brightly round at all of them. "I still remember the day you all came to Hogwarts as first years, and I cannot even find words to express how far you've come since then."

"She means you, James," Alice whispered, causing Azalea to laugh.

"I wish you all the best of luck for the future, and I can only hope that Hogwarts has prepared you thouroughly for it," the headmistress went on. "You are all capable of so much, and I hope you know that."

Azalea smiled slightly, looking up at the woman and feeling the tears coming.

"But I would like to give a special congratulations to two of you," McGonagall continued, causing the girl to frown. "The two that, despite all odds, competed in the Triwizard Tournament this year and won. They worked together, most of the time, and managed to achieve more and more as they completed each task. So congratulations to Azalea Edwards and James Potter, the winners of this year's Triwizard Tournament!"

Azalea smiled warmly at James as they got clapped and cheered for, attention on them for a second. She didn't really know if McGonagall needed to give them a special mention, but enjoyed it nonetheless.

"So, as we come to the end of this wonderful night, on the eve of your final departure from Hogwarts, I want you to think about all you imagined you'd do when you first walked these halls," McGonagall said once the clapping quietened down. "Whatever that is, I hope you have achieved it and achieved it to the maximum, making the most of your time here."

Azalea smiled at Alice, both of them knowing that they'd done all that and more in their short seven years at Hogwarts.

"I hope you are all successful in whatever you choose to do, as I know you will be," smiled McGonagall, as she added the finishing touches to her speech. "And I hope you always come back to Hogwarts, wherever you are."

As she finished, Azalea was gone, tears in her eyes and her hands shaky as she clapped.

The headmistress was right, after all.

She would always come back to Hogwarts, no matter what.

✾✾✾

"I hope your night was amazing," James whispered to her in the dark common room that night, after everyone except them had gone to bed.

Azalea smiled, wrapped up in his embrace at the bottom of her dorm stairs, nodding. "Of course it was."

"Good," James smiled, as she pulled back so he could look at her.

And there, looking up at him, seeing everything in his eyes, Azalea said. "You know, I'm really glad you signed us up to the tournament."

James smiled slightly. "Obviously. What can I say? I'm a catch."

Azalea rolled her eyes. "Okay then, have your moment."

"No, seriously though," James' face became more meaningful and his blue eyes sparkled as he looked at her. "I... I love you so much, Azalea. I'll love you forever."

That word, forever, made Azalea feel like she was about to melt.

Forever meant, like, marriage. Marriage and kids and growing old together. And to be honest, she didn't hate the idea of any of that.

So she smiled. "I'll love you forever too."

And as she leaned up to kiss him, she regretted nothing. She knew he'd always be with her, and so would Hogwarts.

Forever.

✾✾✾

She'd felt a bittersweetness in her heart as she wandered the Hogwarts halls for the first time, and she'd almost cried as they'd rode the boats they first arrived on in first year back across the lake to the station.

Now, they were on the train in their compartment, where it all began.

They were all there. Azalea, James, Alice, Lily, Fred, Louis, Rose, Hugo, Albus, Scorpius and all the other partners. They were squished in, and Azalea, Lily and Alice were all on the ground, Azalea sitting in between her boyfriend's legs whilst James played exploding snap with a few others above her.

She was just watching everyone for a minute, looking around at the pure happiness on everyone's faces. Well, until she looked at Alice, who was smiling tearily at her.

"What?" She asked with a small laugh.

"Nothing, just... we did pretty good, didn't we?" Her blonde best friend smiled warmly, causing both of them to remember the day they met on the train, just two girls of eleven.

"Yeah," Azalea smiled. "We did."

And that became even clearer as the snap pile exploded in front of her and she screamed, James snickering above her.

"James!" She yelled, once she'd calmed down, rolling her eyes and shoving her boyfriend, despite also loving him.

James only had one reply, his smirk making her confuse him for the boy she'd once met for the first time here, but the love in his eyes bringing her back to that moment.

"All's fair in love and war, Edwards."