Never Together, Never Apart

The sky loomed ominously; heavy clouds, saturated with water, were to burst soon. Thunder was heard from far away, long after lightning, but soon to come in its shattering light near the dark Shrieking Shack. Loud yells penetrated out from it, scaring the residents of Hogsmeade even more than they were before.

Inside, in a dusty room, two fiery people were at the cause of the noise and disturbance.

"Why are you so nice to Snape?" growled James.

Lily gritted her teeth in anger, enunciating each word carefully, trying not to lose her temper more than she already had. "Because I give second chances."

James abruptly stood up, and swiftly knocked the vase full of dried, pale white flowers to the ground. They crashed, tinkling in a luminous sound that frightened Lily. But what frightened her the most was the way James looked at her, in disgust.

"You're a hypocrite!" he roared, his hazel eyes burning into her frightened green ones, "What about me? I asked for one, damn it, and you won't let me show you how I've changed!"

He rushed out of the room in fury, slamming the door behind him. Lily sat there, too shocked to move, until she felt the silence penetrate into her very soul, and she rocked over and over, crying. Crying. Who knew that Potter could actually make her cry?

“It's all my fault,” she whimpered to herself, “I messed up our friendship.”

But her train of thought was interrupted as started to sing to herself, singing wildly, unsure of what she would say next after she sang the last line.

“The glistening tears you brought in your wake,
they were close to heart,
and I didn't know I had made such a big mistake.
Dumb; that's me. You were smart,
I didn't let you care,
I should just let you have a fresh start
Even though you were always there
Guess I can say I understand the star chart
I know you said you would always care
I didn't understand
Just thought you just were trying to be heard to bear
But now I understand- it has to do with the left hand
If we marry
We'd probably get a kid named Harry,” she finished.

Lily laughed, in bursts of maniacal, quick gasps.

"Marry! Harry! Berry! Nary! Dairy!" she screeched, "No, no! It's nary marry, nary have a dairy Harry! Dairy, deary! Get it?" She cackled to herself, body shaking with convulsions...

Lightning illuminated the dark room in the Shrieking Shack, as true screams of anguish came from it. Rain poured down, slamming against the windows, drumming a constant beat into Lily's mind. It was a fast paced tempo, full of relentlessly smashing drums and banging cymbals.

It was the music of the unloved, screeching and scratching in Lily's ears.

In a quaint, two-story house in Surrey, a near-petrified person woke up from their fitful nightmare. Patting her face, as if making sure she was alive, the person took a deep, shaky breath.

“It's alright, it's alright,” Lily comforted herself, “It was all just a nightmare...”

Lily opened the curtains that surrounded her bed and swung her feet down into the slippers that waited for her, perfectly in place. Standing up, she looked at the clock that flashed `Go back to sleep! It's 1:45!'

Shaking her head with annoyance at the reprimanding clock, she slipped on her bathrobe and shuffled down the steps to her family's kitchen. Lily saw at first glance that the room was empty.

Good, she thought.

She placed a teakettle on the stove, and then, after it had reached the stage of a steaming boil, she seeped the leaves.

Boiling, kind of like Potter's anger, a voice in her mind burst out.

No, no, no! Not that brat!

You're a hypocrite... a hypocrite. Lily could swear she heard him in her head, taunting her.

What did that dream mean?, she questioned herself.

Does it matter?, another part of her shot back.

Yes, it does, a last conscience told her.

Her hair fluttered slightly as a wearied sigh escaped her mouth.

Should she give him a second chance?

-->

CHAPTER TWO

Lily may not have realized it consciously, but the dream in the Shrieking Shack held a certain few important memories for her. The memory of when she had seen the change in Potter when he had saved Snape was quite heavy on her mind. So was when she had finally seen who Remus was - a werewolf.

After last night's nightmare, a turning point for Lily, she hesitantly opened up her kindness to include, subconsciously, another person - James. Too bad her conscious mind still had a grudge against him.

Lily hadn't been able to get to sleep, so she sat downstairs in deep silence. The grandfather clock in the entranceway rang solemnly, eight times.

It's eight in the morning? I've been up all night?

She sat up, putting her cold tea cup aside, and looked at the wall calendar. She remembered that yesterday, she had been there, eagerly counting off the days until school started, but today... Wait a moment. Lily squinted at the calendar, wondering if she was reading it wrong.

Today is not Thursday... Is it? It can't be! That means it's... September 1st!

With a yelp of surprise, she bounded up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

“Mum! Dad!” she cried, “it's eight! It's September First! I need to get to King's Cross!”

She darted into her room and surveyed the mess. She had been trying to pack last night, until she had gotten too sleepy to work any further. Exhausted, she had crawled under her cool sheets, leaving her trunk unpacked, except for the few textbooks that lay inside. Now, she needed to pack, and quickly, at that.


Later, she stood in front of the gateway leading to Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

“This is my last year at Hogwarts,” she said glumly to her parents while saying good-bye to them.

“You didn't think you would be a first year forever, did you?” Mrs. Evans smiled at her, wiping a tear off her cheek.

“Oh, Mum,” sighed Lily, “what am I going to do without you and Dad?”

Mr. Evans's eyes crinkled around the edges, “Why, you're going to send us lots of owls, telling us how well you're doing, of course!”

Lily smiled, eyes filled with tears, “I'll miss you two.” With that, she pushed her trolley through the wall and stared up at the Hogwarts Express.

Six years down, one to go. Plus, this year I'm Head Girl. It can't be that bad.

Lily pulled her heavy trunk onto the train, grumbling at the weight, “It's so heavy. Why didn't I think of putting a lightening charm on it?”

Suddenly, the trunk became as light as a feather, and she managed to pull it up. Unfortunately for her, she ended up falling down as a result.

“Ouch!” she cried, “How did that happen?” A shadow rested on her face, and she looked up in surprise.

“Are you okay?” James Potter, the same James she had the nightmare about last night, extended his hand to help her up. His dark, messy hair was as uncontrollable as always.

Second chances, second chances. He should try a shorter hair cut.

“Thanks!” Lily smiled so genuinely, that even she was surprised. James smiled, pulling the redhead up to her feet.

“Need help carrying this to your compartment?” James asked, tapping Lily's trunk lightly with the tip of his shoe.

She shook her head. “It's alright, I'm right here.” She pointed behind her, to the door that stated regally, HEADS AND PREFECTS COMPARTMENT.

“Me too!” James grinned happily.

“Oh, are you looking for Remus?” Lily asked politely.

See, I'm being nice!

“No, see here Evans, Dumbledore chose me,” James pointed to the shiny Head Boy badge Lily had failed to notice.

“You!?” she sputtered, temper taking control. “Potter? Bullying toe-rag Potter? Did you take Remus's badge?”

“No, he didn't,” a calm voice replied, “Dumbledore believes he met the qualifications better than I did.”

Lily smiled at her werewolf friend; he seemed rather tired, for the full moon had just been a few days ago.

“Remus!” she greeted, and clambered over her trunk to help Remus pull his up.

“Of course you're friends with my best friend,” shouted James, unable to control his anger, “But what about me? What about the Head Boy? I asked you the last day of school to give me another chance!”

It's just like my nightmare! But real!

“No, no, James!” Lily tried to sedate him, “that's not the way it is!” It was too late. James had stormed into the Heads Compartment and had locked the door behind him with an angry bang. Sliding to the floor, frightened and pale from the words James had so quickly thrown at her, she breathed shakily, in and out.

“Remus, I thought this was going to happen. I had a nightmare last night of him yelling at me!” she cried softly. “I don't usually worry about what other people think of me! But James is going to be Head Boy, and we're going to have to spend the whole year planning and having meetings together!”

“Dreams about James?” Remus cocked his head, and let out a chuckle.

“No,” she shook her head. “Nightmares!”

Lily felt Remus slide down to the ground, which shook as the Hogwarts Express tooted, which signified that it was going to start its journey towards Hogwarts. He wrapped his arm around Lily, who was shaking.

Lily gave him a sad half-smile, "God, I'm pathetic. I can't believe I've managed to get James to hate me!"

"Come on, no use crying over spilled milk," Remus pulled Lily to her feet. "Now, let's get you to James to apologize."

Second chances, second changes. There are changes in everyone, even Potter. Even me.

Lily jabbed her wand at the lock that separated her and James. "Alohamora." A sullen pair of hazel eyes narrowed when she entered the compartment.

"Look who it is," James frowned, as he watched them come in.

"I'm sorry!" Lily pleaded. She rushed in front of James and took his hand, ignoring the tightening of emotion in her stomach.

He shook his head, and wrestled his hand out of her grip. "You think you can continually get away with saying nasty things like that to me? Every single year?"

Lily shook her head, trying to state her hopeless case logically. "No, I didn't mean-"

"Sure, sure," James rolled his eyes, "Of course you didn't mean it. But I'm sure you're just putting that act so everyone will think you're oh-so-nice and you can stay as popular as you are."

"But-"

"But what?" James shot out. "You're nothing but an inconsiderable, two-faced fake!" With that, he stormed out, shoving through the crowd of wide-eyed prefects that stood shocked at the open door.

Lily stared at them in surprise and then started yelling at them shrilly, "Go! Go off and patrol the halls!" They quickly scattered, scared by the wild expression on the Head Girl's face.

Remus stepped in, "Lily, it's okay, just give him some time to cool off."

"You were the one who suggested apologizing to him in the first place," she accused, trying hopelessly to plant blame on him.

“I didn't know that you affected him that much,” Remus told her sadly.

“I do?”

“You didn't know that?” Remus smiled, “After six years of fancying you, I doubt James will ever give up on you. Sure, he himself may stop mentally liking you, but in his heart, he knows he still feels for you. It's just the difference of him not yelling out to the world about how he likes you that has changed.”

I didn't know I was that hard to get over. But come to think of it, that's quite funny.

“Lily, don't laugh at him,” Remus broke her train of thought, “He'll be ignoring you for quite a while.”

“What?” cried Lily, shocked. “`Quite a while?' But there are so many things I need to plan with him! We can't work together as Head Boy and Head Girl if he isn't talking to me!”

Remus sighed, “Once he's mad, it takes quite sometime for the Potter temper to wear out.”

Lily and Remus sat glumly in the Head Compartment, each occupied with their own inner demons.

I've got to make sure my schedule is on task. I can't let James ruin my day! Or my year, come to think of it.

He likes me. Still. Can't he get over me? Wait. James might not like me because of what an idiot I've been today. . .

Remus stared out the window, continually lamenting to himself over the horrors of being a werewolf and the problems of being the best friend of the one that was obsessed with the same girl that he fancied.

“Remus, you know you don't have to sit with me. You can go back to Potter and Black and Peter if you want to, ” Lily told her friend.

Remus looked at her, amused. “And leave you here alone? What kind of friend would do that?”

Lily smiled back gratefully, forgetting that she had made plans to meet with her own friends.

They sat there, side by side, playing Wizard's Chess and eating Honeydukes chocolate to pass the time.

When the train finally stopped, Lily found her trunk right where she had left it.

The house elves will take care of it.

She left it there and followed Remus to one of the horseless carriages. Hoisting herself up, she sat next to Remus on the seat without looking up. When she did, she gasped in surprise.

“Oh, James!” Lily cried.

“Don't `Oh, James' me,” James growled, “And when were we on a first-name basis, anyway, Evans?”

That shut her up. And, everyone else in the carriage, which was the rest of the Marauders, looked at her with questioning eyes.

“What did you do to him?” mouthed Sirius. Lily shrugged, unable to keep the miserable expression off her face.

I should just resign from my position, Lily thought woefully, as she walked up the steps behind the just as gloomy James, no, Potter.

After the Start of the Year feast, she received a summons from Dumbledore's office; it was the time for the yearly Heads meeting. They would have to meet all together, Dumbledore, James, and Lily, but the tension between the Heads was so heavy that even Dumbledore could sense it. Being the smart person he was, he asked to see each Head separately. James went first, and came out a while later, scowling at the ground.

“Come in, Miss Evans,” Dumbledore called.

Lily stepped in, gazing around the headmaster's office. Portraits surrounded the walls, and most of them were snoring. She could swear that some of the portraits were watching her.

“Please,” the headmaster motioned to a pouf that sat in front of the desk. “Sit.”

When Lily finally settled in the chair, eager to hear what the headmaster had to say, Dumbledore started talking.

“Animosity within a house, and between the Head Boy and Head Girl, is not too uncommon,” he started, tapping his nose with his fingers, “Though I do try to discourage it.”

“How am I to know what is right and what is wrong?” Wrinkles appeared on Lily's forehead, and Dumbledore reached over his desk and smoothed them out.

“There, there, don't worry,” he told her, and then he cleared his throat.

“Old habits are hard to break,” Dumbledore replied, looking for something in desk, "I, for example, cannot live without my lemon drops."

"But, Professor, my problem isn't lemon drops, or -" she looked, exasperated at the candy that Dumbledore offered out to her with an outstretched hand and shook her head - "or chocolate frogs!"

"Well, now," Dumbledore replied, eating the chocolate frog that Lily had declined, "when you were little, you were able to ride your bicycle, right?"

"Yes," nodded Lily, but worried that Dumbledore was going off topic again, so she added, "but this doesn't have to do with bicycles -"

"Miss Evans," Dumbledore said, "before you ride a bicycle, what do you do?"

"Put on a helmet?"

"Yes, but before that," he said, gesturing the 'before' with his hands.

Lily thought about it.

What goes before a helmet,
when you ride your bike?
is a....
this answer should be as easy as one-two-three,
it's a t-r-i-k-e!

"A tricycle!" Lily shouted, happy to have found the answer.

"Yes, yes," Dumbledore nodded, "It is one of the basics for learning how to use a bicycle."

"Oh," breathed Lily, "I'll be nice and start talking to James more, and then I can be friends with him!" She stood up, knocking over the chair she had been sitting in. Dumbledore nodded, pleased that she had figured her dilemma out.

"Thank you, Professor!" Lily grinned, hugging the surprised headmaster. After opening the door and darting out, she ran excitedly down the moving stairs to find the Head Boy.

-->

After her discussion with Professor Dumbledore, Lily was more than ready to find James. . .

“Potter! Potter!” she called, wandering through the halls. Where was that boy anyway?

“James, wait up!” she yelled, seeing a mop of black hair disappear around the corner.

She sped up towards where he had disappeared, and turned the corner.

James was leaning against the wall, eyebrow crooked. He let off an air of coldness, as he watched her look nervously at him. “What?”

The frigid tone set Lily aback. “I'm sorry for being so mean, and so rude, and Iwanttobeyourfriendnow.”

“What was it that you said?” asked James, still as cold as an iceberg.

“I really want to be your friend,” Lily said, blushing scarlet. She looked like she was on fire; her hair and face both deep shades of red.

"But I don't like watching people get hurt, so promise not to pull any pranks on Sniv. . .Snape, okay?" Lily asked.

Lily stared at the ground, now unsure of what to say. She jumped when a hand was stuck out in front of face. She grasped it with hers, shaking James's hand firmly.

“You know if you'd had an arm wrestling match, you'd probably win, don't you?” James said, smiling.

Lily blushed, her cheeks as red as a rose.

The next morning found Lily shoveling sugar into her porridge, and just as quickly into her mouth. Humming to herself, she smiled as she made her way through the overflowing bowl.

Marlene McKinnon, a dark haired friend of Lily's, slid onto the bench next to her.

“This isn't good,” Marlene said, pointing to the rolled up newspaper that she had pushed towards the smiling Lily.

Lily set down her spoon, and picked up the Daily Prophet, and with a practiced snap of her wrists, opened up the front page.

MUGGLES ATTACKED
Auror investigations have turned up empty handed in a series of attacks over the past seven years.
On September 1st, an attack on a Muggle house occurred, and after further investigation around the crime scene, it seems to have been by a group of criminal witches and wizards. This is a part of a series of attacks, seeming to grow more and more frequent and destructive. Ten Muggles were killed, five injured, and a large amount were needed to have their memories erased.

Lily stared at Marlene, shocked and worried.

“My. . . parents. . .,” she said, her eyes wide with fear, her mind rushing into twenty directions, yet her feet were unable to move.

“They're alright,” comforted Marlene, motioning to a list of the injured and deceased Muggles. Lily scanned the list, and sighed.

“But it's still getting worse and worse, starting with our first year here,” Lily said, scanning the Great Hall. None of the other students seemed to be caring about the Daily Prophet- after the number of attacks, the students were no longer interesting in receiving news of death and destruction, daily, for seven knuts. Only the staff members had Daily Prophets amongst them, and Lily saw Dumbledore shake his head in sadness.

-------

James looked up at the bleary Hogwarts sky. The clouds seemed to be mirroring the lumpy porridge on the Hufflepuff table, and it left James feeling unsettled. Why couldn't the great hall have cheery weather, even if it were raining cats and dogs outside? Grumbling, he made his way to the other Marauders, where they sat at the end of the Gryffindor table, surrounded by other seventh years.

"Nasty thing, this weather," he announced to them, sliding onto the bench.

Remus shrugged, "At least we can study for N.E.W.T.S. without having to be distracted by beckoning blue skies."

"How can you be so damn optimistic?" grumped Sirius, who seemed barely awake.

James sighed, and leaned over the table to reach the biscuits. He looked down the table, and saw Lily smiled at her friend, and James swore that he had never seen a more beautiful thing. Her eyes sparkled with green delight, contrasting with the gray sky, and her hair seemed to be like a sun that light radiated from.

"Oi, Prongs," Peter called to him, shaking him out of his revere.

"What?" James asked, unsure of who was talking to him.

"I was just asking whether we should do another prank on Professor McGonagall," Peter grinned, his cheeks round and eyes shiny with excitement.

"Sure, let's," nodded James, and Sirius finally woke up from his half-sleep.

"Hooray!" Sirius grinned childishly.

The Marauders laughed and began to brainstorm, and James quickly stored away the memory of Lily's smile, in a dusty corner of his mind, full of recollections of his favorite memories.

“Fireworks?” grinned Peter.

A splendid show of multi-colored, twisting and bouncing fireworks popped into the pranksters' minds.

“Wait- no, we're settling off those in Snape's cauldron today,” cautioned Remus. Sirius and Peter promptly rolled off of their bench and began to slap the stone floor in laughter.

“Sure won't have any greasy hair anymore,” tittered Peter.

“He won't have any hair if the spell works right,” snorted Sirius.

“Just what did you add to the fireworks?” asked Remus, and James, stared inquisitively at them.

“First class is Potions,” laughed Peter evasively, and scurried out of the Great Hall.

“What is it that you two are planning without us?” asked James, turning to Sirius. But it was too late, as Sirius had already dashed out of the Great Hall, right behind Peter.

James felt a sinking weight in his stomach as he and Remus went after his friends, but he just brushed it away as a case of cramming too much food in his stomach at once.

How wrong he was.

-------

“Accio fireworks,” whispered Sirius. Not much later, a knobbly package zoomed close to the floor, through the Potions classroom doorway, and into Sirius's awaiting hand.

“Padfoot- you've got the `special' fireworks, right?” asked Peter. Sirius nodded, patting his rather lumpy pocket.

Lily turned around from her cauldron and looked wonderingly at the Marauders. The door had opened; no one had come in or out...

No, he wouldn't dare...

He would dare. A shower of sparks was sent over the Slytherin desks and Lily didn't wait to see the results. She rocketed out of her chair, and sped towards James.

“James Potter, what have you done?” she shrieked, oblivious to the laughter coming from the Gryffindor students and the howls of the angry Slytherins.

“Did you like it?” he beamed, watching the sparkling, glittering and festive fireworks coming out from a rather pale-face Severus Snape. Suddenly, he realized Lily's threatening tone of voice, and turned towards her, just as she reached out to grab his collar

“I didn't like it at all!” she screeched. “I was going to be your friend, but you decided to celebrate it with another of your nasty tricks!”

Lily continued yelling over the bursts of fire works. “You said you wouldn't, you promised!” With a swish of her wand, she banished the fireworks, but not before a large `Snivellus Loves Lily' flashed in red and pink.

Luckily for James, Lily didn't see. Unluckily for James, she heard about it later.

------

Lily nearly tore the door off of its hinges as she angrily entered her Transfiguration classroom, cursing under her breath.

“Damn that silly boy, damn him,” she muttered, flinging herself into her seat and getting out her notes.

“Lily, how can you walk that fast?” panted Marlene, collapsing into the stiff wooden chair next to Lily.

“Oh, sorry about that,” Lily turned to the girl, smiling apologetically at her. Her mind was still a storm cloud of anger, though.


Lily Evans had never been more upset in his life. Well, maybe she had been more upset when the biased Potions teacher had taken off points for `Not washing the cauldron clean enough', but that didn't matter. But why did James have to mess up their repaired friendship?

“Why?” she murmured to herself, in a barely audible voice.

“What did you say?” asked Marlene, who was now taking parchment and ink out of her bag, and placing it carefully on the desk. She flicked a few stray hairs out of the way of her dark eyes.

“Oh, nothing,” replied Lily airily. “Just some little thoughts.”

Thoughts as little as Hagrid, that's for sure, smirked Lily. Lily glanced out of the window, and noticed the morning gray fog and rain were rolling away, enticing cheery sunlight to dance across the dewy greens.

“Treat by Toleration,” wheezed her dog-eared planner, as she copied down Marlene's notes on the Potions homework.

“You're still using that?” chuckled Marlene, remembering the long-ago first year Christmas they had shared together, and Marlene had given that to her.

Lily nodded, listening to the planner announce her night's schedule. “... Potions homework after dinner, Prefect Meeting at nine...” Lily groaned.

Marlene looked on with a knowing smile. “Treat by Toleration,” she sang gaily. Lily grumbled at her friend, slumping with her head in her hands.

“By the way, did you know what the last firework said, after you left?” Marlene questioned, biting her lip in worry that Lily would tip into more animosity towards Potter.

Lily shook her head. “What did it say?”

Marlene felt regret pour into her body; down to her very toes. “Well. . .”

“Well?” Lily repeated Marlene's word in a questioning tone.

`Snivellus Loves Lily, was what it said,” Marlene said bluntly and timidly went on to describe the colors, and everyone's reaction.

To Marlene's utter amazement, Lily let out a snort.

“The Marauders seem to be losing their touch,” she declared loudly, aiming her voice towards the back of the Transfiguration, where the Marauders usually sat. Remus and Peter were sitting there, but James and Sirius were gone.

I guess that's a good thing, though, Lily thought. Then I won't have to transfigure his nose into a stick.

Remus and Peter were ahead of the dark haired boys, talking animatedly to each other. James and Sirius watched them, the hoarse voice of Moony, and the higher-pitched sounds of Wormtail echoing on the granite walls.

“Do we really need to go to our first day of Transfiguration?” grinned Sirius, trying to pull his best friend out of his dark mood.

“I don't know,” James shrugged, staring at the ground. His hands that were usually messing up his hair were tucked into his pockets.

“I'm sure McGonagall will dearly miss me- but we deserve our first day off,” Sirius said, looking at James hopefully.

James looked at him from the spot where the other Marauders had disappeared around the corner.

A slow grin inched across the spectacled boy's face. “No- I don't think McGongall would mind.”

The mischievous grin faded as it tried to infect the hazel eyes, however.

-------

That was the perfect thing to carve on the tree- L.L.S.

"Padfoot, old man, can I borrow your knife?" James asked his friend from under the shade of their oft-visited beech tree.

Sirius tossed over the always very handy knife he never traveled a step without.

"Thanks," James told him. Sirius smiled at him, but soon went back to tickling the Giant Squid, his body pressed firmly in the wet grass.

James squinted at the signature covered tree. Where was the perfect place to inscribe his thoughts? To the right of a 'A.P.+ F.L. = True Love', and huddled next to a 'Sirius is dreamy!' exclamation, James carefully carved out each letter.

L. For `Lily's'.

Another L. `Lovely'. For her sweetness, for her curt, lovable come-backs, and for all of the times she looked furious but James still liked her for that.

S- for `Smile'. For her mind-boggling, endlessly dazzling, heart sparking smile.

And after James finished carving and watched the clouds float by, he couldn't help but continue to think of the girl. . . The girl that was mad at him again, though.

-------

"James!"

The afore named sat up and wiped the drool off the side of his mouth. He had gone off to dreamland sleep, and had obviously lost track of time. The once-gray-turned-blue sky had dissolved into a gold-red and rather bright sunset.

"Whaatimisit," he mumbled to himself incoherently.

"What?" asked the voice that had woken him up.

James looked up and grinned. "Hey, Evans."

Lily sighed- she hadn't wanted to come down to the lake to wake up James, but he needed to be present for the Prefect Meeting. And Lily never wanted to break a rule.

Lily looked down at the yawning boy, who was tousling around with his hair, "How are you doing, Sleeping Beauty?"

"Fine, fine. I always knew I was beautiful, thank you," he smirked, fluttering his eyelashes at her.

Lily couldn't help but laugh, and a appreciative chuckle floated out of her smiling mouth.

"That's the first time you've ever listened to what I've said," he told Lily.

"It's the first time you've actually said something worthwhile," she replied curtly, but she was still smiling.

"So you do think I'm a Sleeping Beauty?" James asked, his eyes twinkling with delight.

Lily shook her head with a hint of smile at the messy haired boy. She was busily examining the well-carved beech tree.

"What d'you think this means, LLS?" asked Lily, unknowingly pointing to James's recently carved momentum to her. She brushed away the wood shavings attached by a splinter of wood.

"Er...," he trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"Come on, tell me," she told him, poking him with her elbow. Her bright green eyes shined with mirth, ready to here one of the Marauder's infamous jokes..

James couldn't figure out a way to get out of this one, glancing at the stone-still body of his best friend hopefully, but no luck. Unless...

"It means 'Lily Loves Snape.'"

James would have given anything to wipe the disgusted expression off of her face.

-->

“Lily! Lily! Wait!” James shouted, tripping over tree roots that seemingly popped out of nowhere as he scrambled after the infuriated Head Girl.

The trees around the two rustled as the wind skittered and played on the ground, making a leaf float in circles around the empty air. James's foot shot out, and brought the lone pilgrim to the ground. Up his foot went again, and the shoe print framed a cracked, dried red leaf, crumbled amidst the grass.

Lily continued her fast march away from the raven-haired boy. Up the rocks she went, scrambling over the mossy steps.

She felt a sudden prick of wetness on her finger and she lifted her hand to her eye. A rain drop had made its way there - a lonely, fat, wet raindrop. When she whisked the moisture off of her forefinger with a handkerchief found in her pocket, her left fingertips brushed against a lint-covered lemon drop.

Dumbledore, she thought, remembering her conversation with the old, silver-haired headmaster last night. She had to be friends with James, not enemies. In these dark times, especially, it was better to have trustworthy friends than more opposition.

She stopped her fast-paced walk abruptly at the top step. Turning around slowly, she looked down at James. He halted at the middle of the stairs.

“So, Potter,” she said in an even, cool tone, her eyes seeming to be a stormy gray in that moment. “Explain yourself.”

James winced at the sheer intensity of her dagger-shooting eyes and tilted his head upwards, so he was staring at her hair line.

“It. . . really doesn't mean. . . `Lily Loves Snape',” he said in a small voice.

“I figured,” Lily sniffed, and rolled her eyes. James relaxed, if only a little, and focused on her eyes. They were at their usual green, only a little bit darker than before. The floating fall leaves matched her vibrant hair, and James stood, head tilted to the side, watching her.

Lily shifted. She cleared her throat uncomfortably.

“Why is he staring at me?” she thought.

“It means-“James was cut off by the even steps of a tall, dark shadow, contrasting with the yellow light of the opened front doors. The footprints followed each other, one by one, the boots of the tall wizard covered by the flowing star-patterned robes.

“Professor Dumbledore,” Lily greeted, surprised by the entrance of the headmaster.

“Dumbledore!” James said as well.

“Miss Evans and Mr. Potter, the hour of the Prefect Meeting tonight must have slipped your minds. I was waiting, until I realized that you seemed to have started the meeting here on the grounds, without I or the prefects,” Dumbledore smiled, his ever-clear blue eyes sparkling as they always seemed to be.

Lily coloured, but James didn't seem at all abashed.

“Why don't we have the meeting on our way back to your dormitory? I daresay I remember where they are,” suggested Dumbledore, and his eyes seemed to glaze with memories of the adventures of his long ago school years.

James and Lily nodded and walked into the light-flooded school with him. Shadows from the torch danced along the cold stone walls, and Lily saw a pair of gleaming eyes she recognized as Mrs. Norris's, glaring out at her from within the darkness of a suit of armor's shadow.

Lily let out an exhausted yawn as Dumbledore's words flew around one ear, though the meanings of the sounds did not sink in. They went up the main staircases, around a corner, past a painting of an ocean side landscape that seemed to change constantly between sunshine and flashes of thunder, through hand woven tapestries, and through doorways concealed by stone panels.

She turned her head to the far right, where James walked on the other side of Dumbledore. The hazel eyes, underneath wrinkles of thought, were attentive to Dumbledore's speech. She'd ask James what the headmaster had said tomorrow.

The walk seemed to take forever, until the corridor they were walking in abruptly ended at the painting of the Fat Lady. Smoothing her silk dress with one hand, the Fat Lady nodded respectively at Professor Dumbledore.

“Password?” her voice boomed at Lily, startling her from her nearly asleep state of mind.

“Treacle tart,” James enunciated, and the portrait swung open. Lily turned around, another yawn seeming to be ready to unveil itself.

“G'nite, Professor Dumbledore,” the Head Girl and Boy said. Lily and James stood there, watching the straight back of the headmaster retreat, quietly and very alone, back to his office. The Fat Lady scolded them for keeping her up, so they quickly scrambled into the Common Room.

James and Lily split, separated by the doors that led to the separate dormitories. With a final quick wave and yawn, Lily crept up the stairs, past the rooms of the deep in sleep students. Up she went, past the other years, until she came upon the top of the tower. She reached for the wooden door, slipped in, and collapsed, asleep on the gold-curtained poster bed.

It must have been the deep sleep that made Lily have a particularly odd dream. Lily was in a room of the Daily Prophet, surrounded by clippings of all the chaos. A boy, with jet black hair and extraordinarily long fingers, had caused it all.

Dust formed over the clippings, as if it had been in the far away past. Yellowed with age, they showed a time of dark destruction. How strange it was. Yellow, the colour of sunshine and happy days, was the memory that the bleak times had for remembrance.

“Potter?” she asked the newspapers. The black-and-white pictures seemed to match fair enough.

Lily crept towards the desk with her eyes steadfast on the newspapers. She rifled through the papers, noting the future dates and places. Diagon Alley, Muggle towns - there were attacks everywhere! Even right next to Hogwarts, there was a mentioning of a group of people killed in Hogsmeade. The next morning, Lily woke up with a headache, but with no memory of the dream.

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Lily and Marlene were steadily making their way to Charms, with their scarves tucked around their necks and books heavy in their hands, when someone called to them.

“Marlene, Lily, wait up!” a voice shouted, the sounds echoing on the walls. Lily turned around and smiled at the sight of the brown-haired boy.

“Remus, hello!” Marlene welcomed, pushing her dark-chocolate brown hair out of her face. Remus grinned back at her, his eyes crinkling at the edges. He then turned to Lily and gave a wider smile.

“James won't be bothering you anymore,” he told Lily happily. “He's onto fancying Channing West now.”

“ West?” asked Marlene, turning around to stare at Remus in mid step.

Remus nodded, but watched for Lily's response.

He bit his lip as he and Marlene looked curiously at Lily, who had been extremely quiet as the others conversed. Lily seemed not to notice - she was two steps in front of them, a notable spring in her step.

Marlene laughed, “So you enjoy that he's no longer watching for you?” Remus darted ahead, and courteously opened the Transfiguration classroom door for his friends.

“Oh, I guess so,” Lily nodded, thanking Remus as she flitted through the doorway. James was lounging with his feet on the desk in the back of the N.E.W.T. Charms classroom. Channing, usually called West, was sitting with him, her friends next to her.

Lily felt James's eyes drop to her- after all, she was staring at him. Moving to her desk, she waved at him, smiling politely. James raised his eyebrow, but waved back all the same. Channing, who thought that Lily was waving at her, smiled widely and waved amicably.

Lily sat in the front row seat that would `be her seating arrangement for the rest of this important N.E.W.T.s year', as according to Professor Flitwick. She was perfectly fine with that - she would never want to move too close to James Potter, despite their twisted sort of friendship.

“We'll be learning a useful charm for healing,” chirped Professor Flitwick happily. But then his voice seemed to try to deepen, to tell of the danger of the situation, but all that came out was another spiel of his high pitched words.

The still high tone continued, but the short man frowned with his words. “Due to the continuation of these attacks by the one who is known as `He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named', this charm will help in those times of injury.”

Lily glanced at Marlene. It was strange how the teachers used to fear away from the subjects of the attacks. Now, it was a widespread fear, with Ministry pamphlets being owled monthly and the dementors on the loose. The Daily Prophet brought news of wizard and Muggle death alike.

Marlene raised her eyebrows at Lily, as they began chanting, “Episkey!”

“I'm surprised that the teachers are finally admitting how horrible and close to us this war is. My Muggle next door neighbour's parents were killed. But of course, they thought it was from natural causes. I tell you, being killed by one of those Death Eaters is not a natural cause!” Marlene said.

“D'you think that Hogwarts might be attacked?” asked Linda Brown, leaning across the aisle to talk to Lily and Marlene.

Lily shook her head. “With Dumbledore here, Hogwarts will never be attacked. It's more about the people not at Hogwarts that worries me.”

Marlene sighed. “I hope my family is all right.”

“But you said they're Aurors, shouldn't they be safe?” wondered Linda.

Marlene looked at Linda with askance. “My parents are the ones protecting us from Voldemort! And stop wincing, Brown, it's not like saying his name means he's going to pop up and Avada Kedavra you!”

From right in front of her, Professor Flitwick summoned a trolley of cages.

“These are Professor Kettleburn's hurt flobberworms - they were treated roughly by a class of first years. Your assignment for this class is to heal them,” squeaked Professor Flitwick.

Lily glanced at the flobberworm inching around her desk. It was slowly creeping towards the edge, and with a sudden movement, tumbled down to the dusty floor.

Marlene picked it up in disgust. “Great, now it's gone and hurt itself again!”

At that moment, a note whizzed in front of Lily.

Lily, you don't mind me being with James, do you?

Channing

Lily gaped at the parchment. Lily didn't care about who James was with, he could be with Marlene and she wouldn't mind! Not really, at least. It would bother her if James and West started snogging in the middle of the Great Hall, or in the back of the. . . Charms classroom?

West and Potter were looking rather red-faced as Professor Flitwick reprimanded them. Sirius grinned, catcalling. Peter seemed completely shocked and his jaw was hanging quite limply from his mouth. Remus was shaking his head, chucking to himself.

“Your flobberworm is racing out the door!” Flitwick cried, pointed at the worm inching away on the floor. Needless to say, the speed of the magical animal was far from racing.

Lily turned back to Marlene, frowning. “Can you believe the nerve of him? Honestly, I don't really want to see him snogging her in the middle of class!”

She picked her quill up and scrawled on the parchment.

Channing, don't worry. It's fine as long as your relationship doesn't take away from his Head duties!

Lily

It was strange, though. Lily never really cared about who James dated, so why was his girlfriend asking her for permission?

Then, she grabbed the flobberworm firmly with one hand and began to heal its cuts and bruises.





The second day at Hogwarts had passed them by in a whirlwind of lectures about the seriousness of their N.E.W.T.s year as well as the threat of the Dark Lord. But luckily, Hogsmeade visits were still allowed for sixth and seventh years. The younger years were banned from the wizarding village.

Lily poked her wand at the back of the flyer, applying a temporary Sticking Charm onto the Hogsmeade announcement. Pressing it firmly on the notice board, she stood back and admired her work.

“Evans, you need to bring it a bit more to the right!” shouted a voice. Lily was about to comply, when she realized who the voice was. She spun around and shook her head at the dark haired boy in the corner of the busy common room.

“Sirius Black, do you think I should ever listen to your advice?” she grinned at him, speaking over the murmurs of the crowd.

Sirius laughed loudly, his hair covering his eyes. “It was worth a try!”

Lily slipped onto the plump scarlet couch, next to the studious Marlene. Her friend was busily reading Potions with Purpose, writing an essay for Transfiguration, and muttering a charm under her breath. The fire in front of her flickered with her words.

“Aren't you overwhelming yourself?” Lily asked concernedly.

“No, not really. I was going to try to listen to one of those Muggle audio books, but I didn't have a tape player,” said Marlene, crossing a t.

Marlene was bent on continuing her reputation as one of the smartest witches for her age even after Hogwarts. Lily, on the other hand, was more interested in a Charms-related occupation.

A figure sat on the end of the girls' couch. Lily looked up in the smiling face of Remus.

“Marlene, can I talk to you?” he asked, jerking his head outwards. Remus looked determined, ready for action.

Marlene looked up from her essay and book. “Oh, all right.”

Lily noted the uprising of colour in Marlene's ears.

“Go on,” she pushed. Remus and Marlene slipped out of the Gryffindor Common Room, to the laughter of the Marauders.

Lily frowned. “At least he has the guts to ask someone to Hogsmeade!” she called at them.

“Is that a challenge?” James asked, raising his eyebrow.

“I think Evans is challenging us, Prongs,” agreed Sirius, looking at Lily with a grin.

“Well, I've already won,” yawned James.

“Really?” piped up Peter, jealousy watering in his eyes.

“Yeah, I'm going with Channing to Hogsmeade, I asked her yesterday,” James said loudly, grinning at Lily.

She shook her head, laughing. “Okay, James, you win.”

“Who are you going with, anyway?” Sirius asked, walking towards her.

“Anyone but you,” she retorted, as Sirius sat on the couch next to her.

“What about Peter, then?” Sirius asked in an undertone.

“Are you serious?” she gaped in disbelief. Her mouth dropped open a bit.

Sirius closed it with the tips of his fingers. Lily saw James watching through the side of her eye. Damn peripheral vision.

“No. I already know you're going with Davies,” he said, shrugging. He got up, and wove back to his friends through the busy common room.

Marlene jumped into the couch, where Sirius had just occupied.

Lily brightened. “What did Remus want?”

Marlene's cheeks deepened into a garnet red. “He asked me to Hogsmeade.”

“And?” asked Lily, prodding her to go on.

“I accepted,” replied Marlene, looking at her feet whist blushing madly.

Lily grinned at her friend, smiling with delight.

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The dark stone steps trailed down to the dewy green grass from the entrance, and James trotted down those stairs to meet Channing.

"Hello," greeted Channing, her eyes bright with happiness at seeing James. She smoothed down her dress and made sure her hair was in place.

James grinned back at her, mussing his hair with his hand. "Hullo."

He clasped her hand into his, and she smiled up at him once again.

"You look lovely today," he told her, taking in the Ravenclaw blue blouse and dark navy skirt she wore, and how her brown hair flipped neatly at the ends.

"You do too," she whispered into his ear, slightly shyly. James felt tickled as her breath hit his skin.

He looked down at his wrinkled Pride of Portee shirt and trousers.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked as his feet hit the gray pavement leading into Hogsmeade.

She laughed, chortling. "Would you rather I say you look despicable?"

“Yeah, tell me I look awful, then, if you really think I do,” he replied. “But you know, I can only take so much before I'd need someone to nurse, mind you.” He winked roguishly and Channing grinned back at him, but not before the horrid imagine of Madam Pomfrey attempting to shove a potion down his throat popped unwillingly into his head.

James opened the door of the Three Broomsticks for Channing and guided her to the usual booth in the back, where a coat hanger blocked the main view. It was a perfect place for privacy, unless you had the Marauders for friends, of course.

As soon as the couple had slid into the seat, Channing still clutching James's hand, Sirius and Peter had bee lined over to them.

"D'you know that too much snogging can result in Snogititis?" smirked Sirius.

"No, but I do know that being bothered can result in a nasty hoof in the arse," James replied under his breath, just loud enough so that Sirius could hear.

Sirius, hands over the bottom of his jumper, scampered out of the Three Broomsticks.

"Eek!" squeaked Peter a moment later, realizing the intent of James's message and he quickly scuttled out of the Inn after Sirius.

"Get yourselves out of here," shooed Madame Rosmerta, trying to frown but failing miserably at the ruckus the Marauders seemed to always create.

The bell on the oak door emitted a loud 'clang' and left James alone from his friends, with Channing, in the dark, private corner.

"So, what shall we do?" he asked, eyeing her lips interestedly.



A few tables away, a dark-haired Ravenclaw noticed the exchange of affection.

"I never knew that Potter and West even fancied each other,” Davies wondered out loud.

Lily looked over and realized what her date was referring to.

"Is that really James?" she asked, surprised. There was no doubt that it was indeed James Potter. The hand in the hair, ruffling it up as usual left no other possibility.

Honestly, why is he playing with his hair while he is snogging, out of all things?, Lily wondered to herself.

Lily surprised herself further as she realized that for once and maybe even forever, his attention wouldn't be on her. Lily had been with Davies since the end of last year, but she wasn't the one passionately wrapped up in a booth, was she?




Elsewhere, wandering amidst the crowds of Hogsmeade were Remus and Marlene. They seemed to be going nowhere particular, but Remus knew they were heading towards his favorite place in Hogsmeade- Honeydukes.

They had been quiet, as though the footsteps of the crowds scuffled around them and people chatting to one another could carry out more than their words might. It was their first date, together or with anyone else. Both had never took romance as one of their priorities, and in that pushing away one of the most fulfilling - and heartbreaking - parts of life until now, awkward, short conversations resulted.

Lily. Lily could be described in `P's', Marlene thought sadly. Pretty, popular, perfect Lily. And I'm anything but a `P' sort of person. I'm an `M'- Marvelously morose mystery.

Meanwhile, Remus had similar thoughts of his own. James, Sirius, and Peter are so easy to get along with, it is no wonder that I cannot find a thing to say to Marlene. What could I say- `I like chocolate'? I'm a miserable social failure- that's what I am.

“Honeydukes chocolate is very good,” Remus said out loud, wincing when Marlene cast him a quizzical look. “Do you want to go get some?”

Marlene nodded. “Oh, I really like the Honeydukes chocolate, too. It makes me feel warm inside.”

“Isn't that funny,” Remus replied. “It does the same to me too, but James, Peter, and Sirius have all told me I'm off my rocker.” He turned a deeper shade of red as he mentally slapped himself for what he had said. Don't make fun of yourself! That's the one thing you are never suppose to do!

“That's simply awful! You're nothing like that. I think you're very nice to talk to and nothing close to senile.” Marlene couldn't help but speak in a matter-of-fact tone.

How nice it is to find words on my tongue, words that can fly out so easily without care! Remus thought happily, as they entered Honeydukes.

Remus and Marlene made their way to the chocolate piled slab upon slab, on top of a bright green painted table. Remus shook his head at how gaudy the table looked in such a ridiculous colour, and Marlene quickly agreed. They smiled at each other, paid for their chocolates, and were quickly on their way out.

They had their hands full of chocolate and eyes full of each other. Sirius, who was hidden behind the door with Peter, smirked. He elbowed Peter. “Look at this.”

Sirius stealthily stuck his foot outand and was already laughing as Marlene fell.

She curved forward until she met the ground, and there Marlene crumpled into a slump.
Remus slipped down to where Marlene lay.

"Sirius, you git! She hit her head on the cobblestone!" Remus growled, as he frantically tried to revive her.

Lily, with Davies in tow, rushed out of the Three Broomsticks at the sound of the commotion. "Let me through! I'm her friend!"

"What happened to Marlene?" she cried, shoving past Sirius, who stood gaping at his damage.

Remus looked up at her worry eminent in his eyes. “Please tell me you know how to revive someone.”

“We're learning that next week, in Charms,” Lily moaned, frowning as she racked her mind for anything that could help her best friend.

"Help! What's a reviving spell?" he asked the curious crowd that had gathered around.

Clunk. Clunk. A caped man made his way through the throng of people. “Move! Out of my way!”

He looked old to Lily, with grey, hoary hair that lay a bit above shoulder length. The part of his face that was not covered by his wild hair was scarred and slightly weathered looking. One of his eyes was patched, with a faded felt triangle over placed over the eye. On alternating strides, a hollow `Clunk' was emitted from one of his feet.

Upon reaching the center of the circle, the man fixed his unpatched eye on Marlene's still body, then turned his head to look at Lily and Remus.

“What happened?” he asked gruffly as he leaned down.

“She was tripped and hit her head on one of the stones,” Remus replied. “Do you know how to revive people?”

The man growled at Remus. “Revive people? Why don't you know? You need to know these things. What have you been learning at Hogwarts all of this time? And why did she let someone trip her? It's called CONSTANT VILIGANCE!”

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