Arrival Unexpected

Molly M. Johnson Molly M. Johnson 5 2 2003-02-06T01:13:00Z 2003-07-17T22:49:00Z 15 8090 46115 384 92 56632 9.3821 150

Title: Arrival Unexpected (1)
Author name: Molly Moon
Author email: psycha@chartermi.net
Category: Romance
Sub Category: Suspense
Keywords: Sirius James Remus Lily Peter
Rating: R
Spoilers: SS/PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, QTTA
Summary: Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot & Prongs are in their sixth year at Hogwarts; someone who was once outside their circle is now at the center of it. And the Dark Lord has a new cruel method of attack.
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author Notes: Compliments to my two Beta readers, Kristin (Queen of the Fizzing Whizbees) and Jen (my darling sister-in-law, with whom I've spent way too much time on the phone with lately.) If you think that what you've read is any good at all, the credit for making it readable goes to them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Arrival Unexpected

Chapter One

"Would I be the one you seek?
"Mild and meek like the girl next door?
"Don't you realise
"I may be an angel in disguise?
"It's lonely to be free
"But I'm not a man's toy
"I'll never be"

-- "That's Me", ABBA

The blond haired boy looked up at his companion and gave a slight whine. "C'mon... we've been at this all day... I don't want to be late."

The other boy smiled down at him, momentarily taking his eyes off his quarry. This boy was tall for his age and already resembled the man he would become. In fact when people looked at him they seldom saw a boy of sixteen at all, but a nice young man whom one would never suspect of following a teenage girl through the back streets of Diagon Alley for the last two hours. Such was the misspent youth of Sirius Black, though one was more apt to find the girls following him than the other way around. His black hair fell to the nape of his neck, and was for the most part, pulled back into a small and neat ponytail; his face was very well defined, handsome but not in a pretty-boy sort of way, and more often than not, he wore dastardly smirk on it that could make any girl go weak at the knees.

The girl turned into another shop, and Sirius reached down and dragged his friend along with him into the main of the sidewalk again. Peter went along with another well-timed whinge but said nothing. Sirius knew that Peter wouldn't leave his side... the smallish boy was uncomfortable whenever he was on his own. Being small and soft-spoken, Peter made an excellent target for bullies, but so long as he was with Sirius or one of the others, no one bothered him. The girl stepped out of the shop after a few minutes, her back still facing them. Sirius drew in a sharp breath, and started forward towards the girl. Peter began to snicker, which stopped Sirius long enough for the girl to start her brisk walk again.

Sirius cocked his head in her direction. "Will you look at that...?" he said, seemingly to Peter but really to no one in particular. The girl was wearing a pair of Muggle bell-bottom jeans, the truly delicious kind of jeans that hung so low and so tight that you could imagine about every contour that the material was hiding. Her red hair was so long that it just about masked the short top that she was wearing. In fact, if one had any imagination, which Sirius Black was proud to remind himself that he did, it was easy to picture the luscious creature not wearing a top at all. Of course, that lovely image was punctured every few feet when the girl's arms would swing a certain way and he could see quite clearly the puffed out cotton of her sleeves.

While Peter had crossed to the other side of the street, gazing longingly into the windows of a small candy shop, Sirius looked between the two people for a moment and then went over to stand with Peter. He could see her just as well from this side of the street, he thought to himself and it looked less obvious when he followed parallel to her rather than from behind.

He could see her a bit better now... though her long hair was still hiding most of her face. He bent down, pretending to tie his shoe and stared up at her. Just the tip of a slightly upturned nose was visible at this angle, but he could see a silhouette of pouty lips through her hair when she stepped into the sunshine. This is painful, he thought, as his eyes wandered down the rest of her profile, his heart jumping a beat when he saw that the small Muggle top she was sporting indeed that small. The material was all cropped together and stopped right underneath her breasts, which bounced ever so slightly as she walked. Perfect he thought, just perfect while his eyes followed the pendulous motion of her hips as she walked on ahead of them.

Peter came out of the sweet shop (Sirius hadn't seen Peter go in, but who could blame his inattention?), and gave his friend a short kick in the arse. "We have to goOooOooOOo..." Peter whinged again. "We have to meet them in 10 minutes. I don't want to miss seeing the rolling coasters!"

Sirius let his eyes return to the swinging hips of the girl on the other side of the street. "No worries," he said sounding casual. "We're heading in the right direction anyway." He pushed Peter on to walk ahead of him, knowing that Peter would spot James and Remus long before he ever bothered to take his eyes off the red-haired beauty.

Sure enough, just as the girl had stopped to browse the latest wizarding magazines out in front of Flourish & Blotts, Peter's chubby little hand jutted up into the air, waving frantically. Two tall, gangly boys stood outside the walled exit of the Leaky Cauldron, a block and a half away. The brown haired one, Remus, returned Peter's wave. The other boy wore glasses and had black hair that never sat straight. James was waving too, Sirius noticed, but it wasn't at them. Sirius turned his eyes back to the direction of his friend's wave and let out a surprised gasp when he saw the red-haired girl waving back. She had picked up her large green bag, throwing it over her shoulder, and set off in the direction of his friends.

Sirius looked again, not quite understanding, but was off and running towards the girl before anyone could say "hinky-punk". James may very well be his best friend and was certainly the closest thing that Sirius had ever had to a brother, but damn it- he'd seen the girl first! He wasn't going to stand by and watch another unsuspecting maiden get sucked in by the boyish charms of James Potter.

Their friendly rivalry had been going on almost from the moment they had set foot on the Hogwarts' Express six years ago. The two black haired boys complimented each other very well... and usually when it came to girls, there was no competition... the girl obviously preferred one of them over the other. Where Sirius was dashing and a bit of a heart breaker, James was kind and attentive. If James broke a heart, he had certainly never meant it. Sirius on the other hand, was very casual with everyone's feelings... leaving not a few girls crying on the wayside of life when he had gotten bored with them.

She was just twenty feet from Remus and James now; indeed the two boys had started to step apart as if to let her pass. Sirius let his mind race as fast as his feet. Perhaps he hadn't seen her wave; perhaps she was just getting ready to leave through the Leaky Cauldron. He speeded up again, determined to make his claim on the girl before she reached his friends. Remus was now smiling widely at the girl, who definitely looked as if she was about to stop in front of the boys now.

James had looked back up and was giving him an odd stare. The girl was much shorter than either James or Remus, the top of her red-hair not even casting a shadow on either of their chins.

Sirius was running all the way up to them now, like a fizzing whizbee. The girl's green bag flashed at him, like the red cape of a matador urging him on. He stopped so fast that he had almost fallen over. He reached out and threw a hand around the girl's waist, steering her beyond his friends and towards the wall of the Leaky Cauldron. It was delicious to finally touch her bare skin, having watched it sparkle in the sun all morning. From somewhere far away, he heard himself speaking. "Now, now, lovey... you don't want to waste your time with those boys, let's just go for a walk and find a nice dark corner in the pub to get to know each other." He reached into his back pocket, drawing out his wand to open the wall into the Leaky Cauldron when he felt the girl go stiff next to him.

An ice-cold voice growled out of those pink pouty lips. "Mr. Black, remove your hand from my hips before I remove it from your arm." Sirius heard a snort of laughter from over his shoulder. James was grinning madly at him. He started to remove his hand, but it apparently wasn't fast enough because the girl had swatted sharply at his knuckles with her wand. Sirius looked at his red knuckles in confusion, glancing from the sniggering James to the smirking Remus before finally letting his gaze fall down to the red-haired girl.

There she was in all her glory. Long red-hair that fell halfway down her back, tiny little nose that turned up ever so slightly at the end, full and pouty pink lips that were slowly turning into a snarl and those unforgettable- and until now unseen- green eyes that were glaring at him with something akin to disgust freckled into them.

All at once, recognition made his mouth, his heart, and a few other body parts that were connected not in some small way to his ego, drop with a nearly audible thud onto the ground. "Evans?" he said, taken aghast. He had stepped back from her in shock just as Peter walked into the foursome, grinning as madly as James. As soon as the word was out of his mouth, there was no doubt about it. This girl, this goddess in the bell-bottoms that he'd been following all morning, was Lily Evans: Prefect of Gryffindor and all around bookish prat. His eyes made one last slide up from her painted toes to her breasts, stopping there long enough for him to mumble "Does your mum know that you're out dressed like this?" before she thwapped him again across the knuckles with her wand.

She spun around on one of her high-heeled sandals now and faced Remus. She gave him a quick hug about the neck and smiled. "Happy Birthday, Remus! Glad you could make it out today... I heard you were sick again. Terrible thing to be sick during summer break." She turned from him and faced Peter, extending a hand to him and greeting him just as politely, but not as warmly as she had Remus. Finally she turned back and faced him and James, who was still giggling. Tears where in fact welling in James' eyes, so hard was he trying to restrain his humour to mere giggles. Lily sighed and put one hand on her hip, looking at both of them sternly. "Mr. Potter... Mr. Black... I was told that you would both be on your best behavior today. In fact that's the only reason this invitation was extended to you." She shot a glance back towards Remus, who was shrugging apologetically. "For the sake of our mutual friend, do not make me regret this."

James stopped giggling and Sirius finally picked his jaw up off the ground. They couldn't have been snapped into sobriety faster if she had just taken fifty points from Gryffindor. James looked down at his watch, saying "Well, we better get going, the train to Drayton Manor leaves in half an hour." James stepped forward and tapped the appropriate bricks, the wall of the Leaky Cauldron falling away magically to allow them entrance. James made a grand gesture towards the opening and let his mouth slip into a small smirk as he said "Ladies first..." Lily rolled her eyes at him and stepped into the dark pub, Remus and Peter following behind her. Sirius met James' eyes for the first time during this whole scene, and both broke out into wide grins again. James swung his arm around Sirius' shoulders and whispered "For what it's worth mate, I didn't know that mothers let their daughters dress that way either."

* * *

Sirius was staring out of the window rather sulkily, James observed. Remus was sitting between Sirius and Peter, talking animatedly with Lily, who was, he supposed, sitting next to him. If one could call sitting as far away on the other edge of the seat with her green bag placed securely in the middle, sitting next to him. Well, James thought, and not without a tad of sympathy for Sirius, she may not look like Lily Evans, but there is no mistaking that attitude.

The truth was, he'd never even seen her outside of Hogwarts, or the Hogwarts' Express. Maybe she did look like this all the time. James stole a glance in her direction. It wasn't that he disliked her in anyway, he mused, it was just that she was so often in the wrong place in the wrong time that she got into his (and Sirius') way whenever they wanted to have a spot of fun- fun that would lead to ten or fifteen points being taken away from their House if they ran into the perfect Prefect. The perfect Prefect indeed... Lily's hair was usually drawn back into a bun so severe that it could make Minerva McGonagall envious. She wore a pair of square glasses that were so hideous, that you just couldn't look at her without feeling bad. He'd heard her say to another girl a few years ago that they were reading glasses... which in his mind, explained why he'd never seen her without them at school, since she always had her nose in a book.

She was laughing at something that Peter had just said, and had placed a hand on Peter's knee in an affectionate gesture. Peter flushed several shades of pink and James exchanged a mischievous look with Remus. She had always gotten on well with Peter, feeling simpatico with someone who was so often himself the target of other people's jests; but until last year, when Remus had been made a prefect along with her for Gryffindor House, she'd never really had any friends. Lily Evans was the only Muggle-born student in their year. That and her intelligence had kept many people from befriending her. She had never seemed to mind, he thought, but it was obvious after the last year that she was indeed, desperate for companionship. Guilt twinged in the back of his mind as he realized this. He and Sirius had spent no small amount of time in the last five years using Lily Evans as target practice for many of their schoolboy pranks.

Remus and Lily made good friends though-- and while Remus had always kept his distance from most people, because of what he was, James found it rather refreshing to have seen his friend hanging out with someone other than him, Sirius or Peter. There was even some talk amongst his friends that Lily knew what Remus was. His absences to Prefect meetings had always been covered up with a few well-chosen words by Lily, and according to Remus, she had never asked why. James pondered this for a moment. The fact that Remus Lupin was a werewolf attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was a closely guarded secret. If the students (or their parents) had found out, Remus would be forced to leave. And that Lily Evans, the perfect Prefect, was covering up for his friend's illness was no small surprise. She had over the years reported every little rule that he and Sirius had been caught breaking. It would only make sense that she would report something as dangerous as a werewolf lurking amongst the student body.

But she hadn't.

She was reaching into her green shoulder bag now, and pulled out a small gaily-wrapped package with a card and handed them to Remus. The sun was hitting her face in such a way that it made her eyes look like sparkling emeralds. Her lips broke out of their tiny pout and into a small smile. Remus took the package and blushed slightly himself. Sirius and James had spent most of last spring quizzing him as to whether or not he fancied her, and he swore that he didn't. Indeed, whenever the rest of them talked about girls, Remus would just get this faraway look in his face, as if it were a luxury that he couldn't afford. Perhaps it wasn't. The transformations that Remus went through every full moon were painful to his body and soul. Until last winter, when after three years of working on the spells, Sirius, Peter and James had managed to become Animagi - transforming themselves into animals that were safe from the threat which Remus posed. Now, come the full moon, in the forms of a black dog, a rat and a stag, the three of them accompanied Remus into the wee hours of the morning. Remus had greatly changed from this gift; he seemed to be walking around lighter than before, not so alone. James had suspected that that new freedom was part of what had led Remus to accept Lily's invitation last month to enter the Muggle world on his birthday and go to an amusement park. James had been visiting when the note had arrived by owl, inviting Remus and Peter to come and stay with her family for a weekend to go to Drayton Manor. Remus had accepted almost immediately, adding a request that James and Sirius be allowed to come along too. James wondered if she was regretting her choice to invite them yet.

Sirius finally turned away from the window, and nudged Remus in the ribs. "Go on then, let's see what your girlfriend got you for your birthday, Moony." Three male heads snapped at Sirius for a brief moment, just long enough to let him know that he'd slipped up. 'Moony' was their nickname for Remus, a play on the cause of his monthly condition. They'd called each other by their nicknames before in public, but not in such close quarters with someone who might know or suspect what Remus was. While Lily Evans had been loyal to Remus in the past, until they knew what she knew, or didn't know, there was no reason to push their luck.

"Sirius Black," Lily glared at him again. "You know perfectly well that I'm not dating him... Prefects aren't allowed to date each other."

"Yeah, well..." Sirius crossed his arms and glared back at her. "He's not a prefect anymore, is he? Got the letter last week!"

"What?" she gasped, and looked at Remus for confirmation. Remus nodded. "But how? Who?" she stammered, sounding as if someone had just died.

"Snape." Remus muttered, almost growling the word. There was really no other explanation needed; the prefect of Slytherin House had been gunning to get Remus out since his first absence. Lily threw her hands up in disgust and cursed under her breath. All four boys looked at her, shocked once again by her sans-Hogwarts behavior. Remus snorted loudly. "Don't worry though, Lil... He's going to wish that he'd never opened his mouth once he sees who Dumbledore's chosen to replace me."

Lily leaned forward putting her hands on her knees, contemplating the situation. Remus' eyes glinted mischievously, and flicked toward James just long enough for her to notice it. She snapped back up, sitting as straight as she did in any class and goggled at James Potter. "You?" she gasped. James nodded, mildly amused. "But you..." she stammered, "You love breaking rules! Can we really expect you to take points away from someone like him?" She stared accusingly at Sirius, who was gaping at James as much as Lily was. "Someone like him when they get caught snogging up at the Astronomy Tower?!?"

"Absolutely, " James said, putting on his most sincere face. "Particularly if he doesn't have any pictures of said snogging for me." Sirius kicked him hard on the shin. "Hey now... I know I haven't told you... but really, Sirius... wouldn't that have taken all the fun out of losing your first five points for Gryffindor?" James grinned and they all broke out snickering. "Open the gift already, Remus" James said.

Remus opened the card, reading it briefly before ripping into the wrapping paper. A long thin box was soon unveiled, and as Remus lifted the top off of it, three sets of eyes on the opposite side of the booth went wide. Peter's lip began to twitch, a nervous habit the boy had had all his life, as he stared down at Lily's gift. Sirius just shook his head ever so slightly. Remus looked well and truly panicked now. James darted his eyes over to Lily, who was studying each of their reactions very carefully. A silent alarm went off in the back of James' mind. She's up to something, he thought as he saw Remus holding the box out towards the two of them. Inside of that long, innocent looking box was a man's bracelet... a silver bracelet.

"Really... Lily..." It was Remus' turn to stammer now. "You shouldn't have... I mean... it must have cost..." He continued mumbling for a few moments, his face growing whiter and whiter, knowing that she would expect him to put it on and realizing that there was no way that as a werewolf he could wear it. Silver would burn his skin, as surely as would any flame.

Lily clucked at him and snatched it out of the box. "No bother at all! I told you I have an uncle that works in a jewelers shop." She readied the latch and reached out to put it on his wrist. All at once, three sets of arms reached out to block her even as Remus sought to pull his arm away. Lily Evans was small and quick though, and snapped the bracelet onto Remus' wrist, sitting back with a satisfied smile.

Remus didn't move for a second, his face contorted as if in unimaginable pain. Then, his face went blank. He turned his wrist backwards and forwards, letting the bracelet flop around it. He stared at it amazed. It didn't hurt, not one bit.

"Well of course it doesn't hurt!" Lily said her voice full of pride looking at him in full understanding for the first time. "Its white gold. You don't really think that I'd be so dull as to give a werewolf a silver bracelet?" They all gaped at her. This was it, thought James, she's tricked us all into giving away what she only suspected. Clever witch, very clever witch.

She put her arms back behind her head, staring up at the ceiling. "Looks just like it though, doesn't it? I'd gotten it to try and put a subtle cork in that git Snape, but since you're no longer a Prefect maybe he won't be snooping after your little secret so much anymore." She grabbed Remus' hand and adjusted the bracelet so that the clasp hung under his wrist. "You do like it though? You didn't seem the ring or earring type, and no one that looks at it will ever think it's anything but silver."

Remus looked at her, true affection shining through his eyes. "Its perfect, Lil... but how did you know?" His voice was near breaking, partly from emotion and partly from fear that if she had noticed, that someone else might have too.

She shook her head, red hair flying about her like gentle flames. "Well," she replied, placing her hands on her hips rather dramatically. "You don't think that you're the only one that suffers from the monthly curse of the Moon, do you?" Her green eyes swept across all of their shocked faces, grinning wildly at them.

It took two beats for the joke to sink in, but when it did Sirius was the first to burst out laughing, James and Peter taking up the slack right behind him while Remus, poor Remus, turned five shades of red covered his face with his bangled wrist. Lily stood up and planted a kiss on his forehead, leaving behind the pink gleam of her lip-gloss. She smiled radiantly at the group of them, and announced loudly that she hoped he'd have a very happy birthday.

James looked at her again, smiling this time in earnest. Remus just might, he thought to himself, he just finally might.

* * *

Click, click, click. As the roller coaster inched its way towards the first peak of the ride, Remus Lupin felt his heart thumping hard beneath his chest. It was a very jerky machine, and being that the hills and valleys of the ride were built on wood, all of these bumps and creaks didn't make him feel any better. It wasn't as if the Muggles that had built this thing had safety charms on it, and it certainly looked as if it could collapse at anytime. Nevertheless, when he finally reached the front of the line, he'd climbed into the cab without a word of apprehension. Peter had climbed in next to him, the two of them staring at the backs of the heads of James, Lily and Sirius in the car ahead of them.

The two black haired boys had not so subtly drawn him away from Lily and Peter once they had arrived at Drayton Manor, a Muggle theme park outside of London. Each had, in an unplanned and exuberant way, asked if he was ready to have a go at the indomitable Lily Evans, who not an hour before had revealed that she not only knew that he, Remus Lupin, was a werewolf and a danger to her very life (well, at least for a few days every month), but didn't care in the slightest. In fact, she was striving to help him keep that secret.

Have a go at her? What was she, the latest model of broomstick? He couldn't say this out loud of course, being that James and Sirius were well, James and Sirius. So he'd just said that he'd never looked at her that way, and really wasn't interested in starting. Sirius looked so happy that Remus thought he might explode like a Filibuster Firework. James just raised an eyebrow at his brown haired friend.

"You sure, Moony? I mean, that bracelet... she does seem to fancy you..." James had said, ignoring the look of disappointment that crossed Sirius' face.

Remus shook his head and smiled sadly. "She doesn't look at me any differently than you do, James."

"Well," snapped Sirius. "Since we all know that James is just corking to have a snog with you, that settles it then, doesn't it?" He punched James playfully on the arm and trotted (Where the hell did Sirius Black learn how to trot, thought Remus.) back to where Peter and Lily were standing in line for some confection called 'Cotton Candy'.

James grinned at Remus. "We better catch them up then, I don't particularly think that our Ms. Evans is safe with the hormones of Padfoot running rampant today."

Remus gave a small smile. He looked off into the distance, spying Lily giving Sirius a sharp taste of her elbow when he stood too close behind her in line. "She really doesn't like him, you know... should be fun to watch." He glanced mischievously at James. "Not that she likes you much either, Mr. Potter" He imitated Lily's inflection of the last two words perfectly. Whenever Lily was upset, she used someone's surname. It was a sure sign of her dislike that she'd never called James or Sirius by their given names in five years. Not that his friends had given her any reason to like them. He looked off into the Cotton Candy line again, thinking to himself that Mr. Black was certainly trying to make up for any lost love.

"Yeah, well..." James mumbled. "Since we're both prefects now, I suppose I should learn to at least get on with her civil-like." He shuffled off towards their friends, and Remus couldn't help noting that the backs of James' ears were turning slightly pink. James turned around, as if he felt his friend staring at him. "You sure... you know... I mean, just look at her." And they both did, neither boy failing to appreciate the way that her bell-bottomed pants hung just above her hips. James let out a low whistle.

"Don't tell me now," Remus had said. "That you plan on chasing her around the whole day too?"

"Oh please..." James said it like a swear word. "You know I'd much rather have a snog with you, Moony! In fact," he continued, grabbing Remus by the arm and pulling him towards the men's bathroom. "Come give us a kiss now, birthday boy!"

Shrill laughter caught his ear just as he was trying to pull Remus into the smelly outdoor lavatory. "Quite a let down from the Astronomy Tower, but then Remus never seemed the romantic type." Lily was looking at them desperately trying to keep a straight face. "Remember those photos yourself, Mr. Potter, or it will be 10 points from Gryffindor once we're back at school." She let out a catcall, encouraging the two boys to do a few things that James hadn't even done with a girl yet. Remus pulled out of his grasp and started laughing at him. All four of them were in fact laughing at him, and it was only then, in the depth of his embarrassment that James Potter realized that he had fallen to the ground of the men's bathroom, landing squarely in a puddle of ... something.

Lily reached down and offered James a hand up. He took it, and turned a shade of crimson that even Godric Gryffindor would have been proud to wear. Sirius looked completely torqued off. Exponentially more so when James had, upon seeing Sirius' reaction, offered Lily his arm to walk through the park on. She'd taken it without any trace of interest or embarrassment, turning to the rest of them with a flip, "Well, are you coming or not?"

Whatever gauntlet Remus had thrown down from his lack of interest in Lily, it had most assuredly been picked up by Sirius and James. Sirius was definitely interested in the petite fireball, Remus mused as the roller coaster continued to click its way up to the crest, but what was James doing? James wasn't fawning over Lily in anyway. He was really just treating her like a normal person. Perhaps that was the real shock, that suddenly, Lily Evans was a normal person to them. Of course, normal people didn't get offered James Potter's arm, or get to hear all of his Quidditch war-stories.

Both James and Sirius were talking bravely about dives they'd taken on their broomsticks during Quidditch when Lily took a moment to turn around just as the top of the roller coaster's first hill was in reach. "I don't think they have any bloody idea what's about to happen, do you?" She winked at him conspiratorially. Remus grinned, unsure if he had any idea of what was about to happen. Without warning, the roller coaster began to plummet towards the earth. In the car in front of him, two very panicked and very masculine screams burst into the air, accompanied by the shrill laughter of a little redheaded vixen who was throwing her hands up into the air, thoroughly enjoying the thrill of the ride.

* * *

It took four more roller coaster rides, two trips down the log flume and a rather nasty bit of business on the tilt-a-whirl where Sirius had turned very green afterwards, but by the end of the day, there was a marked improvement in the relations between Lily and the two black-haired youths, Remus noted. He'd observed it before, that girls could be easily swayed through pity (in fact, he'd often thought that that was the only reason any girls ever spoke to him, because he was so sick so often.) but even he was surprised to see Lily wondering if Sirius was going to be okay, making those motherly clucking noises that girls seem to be born knowing how to make. She'd told Peter to go and fetch a drink of water for Sirius and had sat down on the park bench next to him, stroking his hair gently, assuring him that it would be all right.

He and James stood a bit away from the scene, both feeling rather noxious themselves after seeing Sirius get sick. James had a funny look on his face as he watched this little scene unfold. He didn't look at Remus, but whispered to his friend almost inaudibly, "Has she always been so nice?"

Remus gave a slight nod and whispered back. "Yeah… Its just hard to notice it when she's yelling at you for slipping Liver-flavored Botts Beans into her dessert." James gave him a guilty look, and Remus sighed. "Look James, I know how ridiculous this is going to sound, but I have to know. What are your intentions toward Lily Evans? Are you just acting up today for Sirius' benefit?" The question had been bothering Remus for a few hours now, but it still sounded invasive when he asked it. It wasn't as if he wanted Sirius or James to go back to the way it had been, sticking wads of Ever Blowing Bubblegum into Lily's hair and other more nefarious tricks. Lily was his friend, as much and any of the other boys present had ever been, and now since he didn't have to hide his secret from her any longer, she felt like more than a friend… more like family.

He waited a beat for James to answer, and then noticed that it would not be forthcoming. Peter, followed by Lily and Sirius, who was leaning rather melodramatically on Lily's shoulder for support, was coming over to them. Sirius threw a wink at James, as his arm slid down from Lily's shoulder, attempting to reassert its earlier position about her waist.

Once again, a resounding thwap reddened Sirius' knuckles. His hand quickly removed itself and shoved its way into a pocket at his own hip. Lily pushed her way between Remus and James, taking the lead of their little group again, muttering something about 'boys' underneath her breath. Just as he turned to catch up to her, Remus saw James return the wink to Sirius.

"Potter, do you have the time?" Lily called out ahead of them. James was the only one of the five wearing a Muggle watch. It was a Mickey Mouse watch that his father had given him several years back. James' dad had had a real fancy for Muggle cartoons, something that he passed on to his son.

"Nearly seven P.M. now." He replied, noting that she had at least dropped the 'Mister' from his name. He wondered if Sirius was now just 'Black' as well, or if his recent imitation of an octopus had lost him that honor.

Lily nodded, saying to no one in particular, "We best head back to the lockers then and get our bags. Dad will be picking us up in a half hour." She stopped, pointing to the general direction they must turn down.

Peter was standing next to her now. They began walking towards the entrance area and the other three boys followed them. "Lily…" it wasn't quite a whine the way he said it, but it was very nearly so. "Will we have dinner, then… when we get to your house?"

Lily gave him an odd look, wondering for a second if Peter thought that Muggle families didn't feed their guests. She smiled gently. "Yes, we're picking up pizzas on the ride home. And I made a cake last night for dessert." Her eyes moved back to Remus, grinning. With all that was going on, it seemed as if his birthday, the reason for this motley ensemble was forgotten. She waited for him to catch up and took him by the arm, walking the rest of the way to the lockers with him. Remus was one of Lily's favorite people in the whole world, but if you had asked her why, she wouldn't have had an answer. She was glad to have him with her today; all in all, it hadn't been too painful to let Potter or Black come along for the ride-- even if they were behaving like characters from a badly written beach movie.

They unlocked the two lockers they had rented, five bags appearing from within and then going over five sets of shoulders. She'd been surprised that they'd done so well when dressing like Muggles. Even Peter, who she knew got abysmal grades in Muggle Studies at school despite her efforts to help him study, had not looked so out of place in his Hawaiian shirt. When she'd gone to the bathroom earlier, a girl that had followed her in had asked about it, but Lily had just told her that he was an American on holiday and that seemed to satisfy her curiosity. The shorter boy (who was still taller than her) could have passed for a Yank after all, she mused. His normally dusky blond hair had grown very light in the summer sun, and his skin was turning a nice shade of brown. Must be nice, she thought, being able to get a tan. As a redhead, she'd never had that luxury. Lily considered herself quite lucky in that she wasn't the freckling type, but having the skin the same shade as an eggshell wasn't really all it was cracked up to be.

As they stood at the front gate, waiting for her father to pick them up, she noted that neither Potter nor Remus had acquired summer tans either. Remus probably didn't get out in the sun much, being sick so often, she mused. Potter was so tall though that one would have thought that he'd be very tan indeed, the sun hitting him first and whatnot. She stole a glance at the last of their quintet, Sirius Black, who thankfully was not glancing back at her. She had no idea what he was on about, fussing over her all day. Of all of them, he was perhaps the darkest… his skin seeming to absorb the sun even as they'd walked about the park today.

Potter and Black… inwardly, Lily shook her head. Certainly, there were girls at school who would go into fits when they realized that she'd had them both to herself all weekend. It had been a fun time so far, she couldn't deny that, but she had no expectations as to the future of their seeming friendship. They just liked causing trouble too much to be trusted, and to someone like Lily Evans, whose grip on the wizarding world only felt secure when the rules were strictly observed, it just didn't mesh.

The sky was just starting to turn a pretty shade of rose, as they stood by waiting for their ride. Black made a noise, and they all looked at him. "So…" he said, looking at her quizzically. "You're dad is alright with all of us staying over?" She could see from the looks on the rest of their faces that this was a question they'd all thought of at some point or another during the day.

Lily smiled brightly, meeting his eyes. "Absolutely. Its amazing what one is allowed to do when they have the complete trust of their parents." She gave him a smirk, as if to say that rule breaking wasn't all the greatest things since Chocolate Frog cards. Her dad's van was pulling up now, the bright blue letters spelling out "Evans' Greenhouses" seeming to continue in motion even as the van itself pulled to a stop. "Besides," she continued, "If any of you muck this up too badly, we'll just feed you to Petunia." She pulled open the side door and ushered the boys in. Lily climbed into the front seat, giving her dad a peck on the cheek as the introductions were made.

"Who's Petunia? Her dog?" she heard Peter whisper to Remus as the van started off down the road to Cicely's Garden, the village that she called home. She remembered Remus saying that Peter had a fear of strange dogs.

"Worse," replied Remus, a touch of amusement in his voice. "It's her sister."

* * *

The dinner had gone really well, Lily's dad knowing enough about Quidditch to keep Potter and Black talking (and behaving) throughout. Her dad had offered, after the cake was finished and the ice cream was put away, to start up a fire out in the pit in their back yard. Remus had been helping her gather up their dishes when she ushered him outside, saying that since it was his birthday he had no business helping out. She set several plates into the sink and started the water running, leaving her hand under the spray to wait for the temperature to rise. She stood there, lost in thought, staring out the window as the other houses on her block lost lights one by one, some sort of internal neighborhood clock signaling them all to bed.

Lily turned, intending to pick up the last of the dishes but instead smacked right into James Potter, her nose hitting him squarely in the chest. Her hand reached up and covered said injured feature.

He stepped back and smiled at her. "I put the rest on the counter," he said, gesturing to the pile of dishes on her left. Why hadn't she noticed that he'd come up behind her? She must be more tired than she thought. "You wash, I'll dry?" he offered. She nodded, giving him a small smile, and they worked in a very comfortable silence for the next quarter hour. Lily was rinsing the last of the glasses when she saw a set of headlights pull into the driveway.

"Oh no…" she said, muttering a few choice curses under her breath. Not thinking, she leaned her head against his shoulder, feeling very defeated by this turn of events.

"What is it?" he asked, gazing down at the mass of red hair that was propped up next to him.

"Petunia." She said it just like a swear word. She had taken a step back now, grabbing a towel and drying her hands. "She promised that she wouldn't be home until tomorrow morning." Lily threw the towel down onto the counter, repeating the phrase "she promised" in a very accusatory manner. James was having a hard time not breaking into a grin. Lily looked positively childlike, stomping around the kitchen, red hair bouncing up around her. Behind him, the kitchen doorknob turned. Lily gave him a quick shove out the back door, towards the fire pit and his friends. He caught just a glimpse of the infamous Petunia before the door shut behind him.

Peter, Remus and Sirius looked at him quizzically. Mr. Evans however, seemed to have surmised the situation as soon as his two daughters had started shouting. He bolted into the kitchen, giving the boys a terse wave goodnight.

The boys would have liked to think that they weren't eavesdropping, listening to the two sisters fight vehemently in this kitchen. But soon enough, it was apparent that they were the cause of the fight. Indirectly of course, but nonetheless, Petunia Evans was mortally offended at their presence in her house. When her father reminded her that she had moved out last month after graduation, Petunia had broken into tears, and that seemed the end of it. Lily's father had taken Petunia up to her old bedroom and was trying to calm his eldest daughter down.

The boys exchanged glances; even Remus, who knew Lily the best of all of them, had had no idea that her sister had hated anything to do with magic. Indeed, it sounded as if Petunia felt that her life were in immediate peril at the thought of four underage wizards in the family home. The boys looked up as one a few minutes later when Lily appeared at the back door, carrying five bottles of soda and a bag of marshmallows. She had a very tired look on her face. When Sirius stood up and took the bottles of soda from her, placing a comforting hand on her back, she didn't put up a fight and let him lead her down to a spot between him and Remus at the fire pit.

Remus took the bag of marshmallows from her and Peter offered to go and get some sticks to roast them on. Lily told him where some skewers were in the garage and he went to fetch them. Remus opened the bag and tossed a marshmallow to Sirius, who was explaining to Lily that wizard marshmallows started shouting when they got burned black by a fire. She gave a small laugh, but any of them could see that her heart wasn't really in it. She just stared off into the fire as they passed around the bottles of soda and then the skewers and marshmallows.

A half hour passed in this sad quiet. James stood up and threw another log into the fire pit, sending flickering ash into the air. Lily was looking up at a lighted window on the second floor of her house. After a few minutes, it went out. Lily looked back down at the ground, poking the fire with her skewer.

"She's so difficult…" Lily said finally. "I thought, that once she'd gotten her own place, that home would be a bit more peaceful. That summers wouldn't be so bad." She looked at Remus, as if she was talking to only him. "But I'm still just her freakish little sister, and now that she's engaged to that git Dursley, she treats me as if I have two heads. Do you know that she asked Mum last week if I had to go to the wedding?" Remus put his arm around her, not knowing what to say. "I mean… really…" some of the sadness was leaving her voice now, slowly being replaced by the kind of fiery indignation that only a redhead could muster. "As if I would ever purposefully try and hurt her, I mean we're sisters after all. If it wasn't for the fact that I was a witch, Petunia may not even be here today. She was about to get hit by a car when my powers showed themselves for the first time; I levitated her up and out of the way. But she's been terrified of me ever since. She's such… such… such a fucking Muggle!"

Whatever seriousness the group had fallen into evaporated at these words, the pure ridiculousness of them sending the four boys into fits of laughter. Lily pulled away from Remus, grinning slightly to herself. James stood up, fetching another log and throwing it onto the fire. "She looks like Snape's mum," he offered. They all laughed again, the full insult of the words hitting its target. "Is she adopted?"

"I wish." Lily said. Peter pointed out that she had her dad's red hair and Lily nodded, explaining that Petunia took after their mum.

"Where is your mum anyway?" Sirius asked.

"She's in London, visiting my aunt Daisy. That's how I got to Diagon Alley this morning." Lily explained. "She'll be back around noon tomorrow, she's meeting with Petunia to discuss some wedding arrangements." Lily glanced up towards the darkened second story window again, with not a small touch of anger in her bright green eyes.

Across the fire pit, Peter's mouth was twitching at the edges. "Lily, Petunia and Daisy… What's your mum's name? Rose?" The boys broke out snickering again.

Lily grinned, poking at the fire. "Marigold." She replied.

Sirius let out a small guffaw. "And she married a man who owns a greenhouse?" The boys laughed again.

"Oh please," said Lily, pointing to the boys on either side of her. "I'm sitting between the Dog Star and one of the founders of Rome, and you're making fun of my family's names?" She laughed with them this time.

More marshmallows were roasted, and a few more bottles of soda were drunk, but eventually the fire and the five of them burned down. Lily was the first to stand up, announcing that she needed some sleep if she was to deal with them in the morning. There was no hint of annoyance or dislike in her voice though. She gave Remus a tight hug and a short peck on the cheek good night, waving to the rest of them as she stood at the door.

"Don't we get kisses goodnight too?" asked Sirius, a look of pure mischief on his face.

Lily just sighed and shook her head. "Not tonight, Sirius, I have a headache." Remus and Peter started laughing again, Sirius shooting James a triumphant look after being address by his given name. He was just about to point out that fact to his black haired friend when Lily appeared at the door again. "Oh and James, thank you for helping with the dishes. I forgot my manners what with all the goings on earlier." She gave a little shrug and waved to them one last time.

Remus couldn't read the look that Sirius and James were exchanging, and he wasn't sure he wanted to. It had been a very nice day, and there was the promise of tomorrow being equally pleasant. Peter seemed to be thinking along the same lines, for not long after he asked, "So what are we doing tomorrow then?"

"Swimming," Remus replied. Lily had written him about a small lake nearby that had some hot springs in it.

The boys sat in silence for a moment before James asked a question that had popped into each of their minds. "Think she'll wear one of those Muggle suits, what's it called - a bikini?"

Sirius stood up, walking over to James and said in a very serious tone, "We can only hope, mate, we can only hope."

* * *

The question of the bikini was never to be unveiled that summer however, as the boys awoke to an onslaught of rain. After a very tense breakfast, in which Petunia had attempted to stare each of them into submission, the boys had decided to just head back to London early, opting to catch a few hours of browsing Diagon Alley before their families picked them up. Lily had at once looked both sad and relieved. The drive from the Evans home to the train station was a quiet one, and the goodbyes were short. They would, after all, be seeing each other in just over a week on the Hogwarts Express, at the start of their sixth year of school.

Even so, it was with a measure of sadness that the faces of the four boys looked out their windows down to the red haired girl that was standing on the platform, waving goodbye. Once she was out of site, they settled back into their seats, Remus and James sitting on one side, Sirius and Peter on the other. Peter looked at Remus helplessly, trying to figure out how to stop the stare down that had started between Sirius and James. Both boys wore slight smirks on their faces, arms crossed over their chests, eyes locked with each other. Several minutes passed like this, until finally Remus threw his hands up into the air shouting, "Merlin's beard! Will you two look at yourselves? Two days ago you didn't even want to come with me because Lily Evans was going be there, and now you look ready to have a wizard's duel over her! I mean, really…" Remus ran his hand threw his thick brown hair, part of it standing on end when the movement ceased. On his wrist, Lily's bracelet gave a small jangle, breaking Sirius and James out of their respective trances. "She's my friend." Remus declared. "In fact, she's the only person that has ever sought me out as a friend not because of who I was friends with, but in spite of it. And she's a very good person, she doesn't deserve to be the prize in the latest competition between Sirius Black and James Potter."

James looked at him, his face unreadable. "Remus, I swear, there is no competition. I know that she's not a prize, because I know that I can't 'win' her. I have no intentions of chasing after Lily Evans this year. If Padfoot wants to, that's up to him, but I swear to you that I won't be chasing her at all." Remus looked at him, giving a slow nod of approval to his friend. He had the feeling that James was saying exactly what he meant, but meaning a lot more than he could say. He saw no hints of a lie on James' face. But there was definitely something more there; he just couldn't put his finger on it.

"Besides," Sirius added, speaking up at last. "Prefects can't date each other!" He said the last part in perfect imitation of Lily's declaration on the train from yesterday. James and Sirius exchanged one more tart glance before they allowed Peter to change the subject.

Remus felt his throat tighten slightly as he looked at James, remember something else that Lily had said to James not long after her Prefect comment. 'But you… You love breaking rules!' Remus looked long and hard at James, who was now shuffling the cards for a game of non-exploding Snap (they were still pretending to be Muggles after all). He certainly does at that, Remus thought answering Lily's echoed voice in his head, he most certainly does.

* * *

James and Sirius sat alone in the Leaky Cauldron, waiting for Sirius' mum to pick them up and take them back to the Black home. They hadn't said much since Peter and Remus had left, resigning themselves to browsing through their new schoolbooks they had picked up that day.

After ages of silence, Sirius spoke up. "So, were you telling the truth back on the train… you're not interested in this new and improved Lily Evans?" Sirius kept his eyes locked on his book, trying to make the comment sound as casual as possible.

"Well, that's not what I said now at all, is it?" James replied, looking at Sirius with a smirk. He ran a hand through his unkempt hair, taking off his glasses to clean them off on his robe. He had Sirius had changed out of their 'Mugglewear' as soon as they'd returned to the Alley.

"You said…" Sirius repeated, his tone slow and deliberate. "That you wouldn't be chasing after her. You promised Remus that there was no competition."

"I won't be," James said. "And there isn't. Competition implies that there is a prize to be given at the end. And right now, either of us would be lucky if Lily Evans even gave us the time of day. Whatever I want, and I'm admitting to nothing, from Lily… it has to be earned from her. Not won by out-doing you."

Sirius nodded. He understood James perfectly. He didn't agree with his friend's assessment of the situation, but he understood it. "Well, I am going to chase. And I intend on having her on my arm for the Yule Ball this year." They had learned just a few weeks before that there would be one this winter; unlike other schools, Hogwarts only held formal dances during special occasions. This year was the silver anniversary of Albus Dumbledore's ascension to the position of Headmaster.

"I wish you the best of luck, you'd make a smashing couple." James said, no hint of malice in his voice. "Albus would be more than happy to see another two of Gryffindor's brightest get together. Since you're so sure of yourself, why not just make out the wedding invitations now?" There was just a hint of amusement to his voice, brought out in the face of Sirius' chronic over-confidence. James could never resist poking a few holes into the hot-air balloon that was his friend's ego.

Sirius brushed this commentary aside. Changing the subject, he looked at James and said, "Have you heard from him lately?" Sirius was referring to Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts and legal guardian of James Potter since the death of James' parents last summer.

James shook his head. Dumbledore was at the forefront of the battle against the supporters of Lord Voldemort, a dark wizard that had begun the climb to power a few years back, leaving in his wake a field of broken families, like James' own who had chosen to fight and die rather than be subjugated to the whims of a mad-man. The Potters had always been a very powerful wizarding family, tracing their lines back several hundred years in the small community of British wizards and witches. Unlike many of the old families though, the Potters felt that while interesting, their heritage didn't give them any more privileges than Muggle-born or half-blood wizards and witches. Indeed, James' father, Henry Potter had been campaigning to get the Ministry of Magic to relax some of its restrictions on the types of work that a Muggle-born could apply for after finishing school. James had always assumed that it was his father's political ambitions that had made him a target. Why Lord Voldemort had chosen to kill his mother at the same time was beyond his understanding.

Dumbledore had been waiting for him outside of the family Manor house that summer night when James returned from a regional Quidditch play-off with Sirius. Dumbledore refused to let James inside, taking it upon himself to move all of the boy's things to his new home. James had always known that his parents were friendly with the man he only knew as his Headmaster, but that night he learned that Albus Dumbledore had agreed many years ago to be James' legal guardian should anything happen to his parents. They'd never mentioned it to him, because they assumed it would never be necessary for Albus to take up the job.

James had always thought it ironic that although those born with magical blood lived longer than any other humans, they had a much greater chance of dying young. His parents were in their late fifties when they had died, the great green glowing skull of the Death-eaters hanging over his house as their final calling card.

Albus Dumbledore was a different kind of person though. There were no curfews or chores (He had a rather blustery House-Elf named Mindy that cried if anyone tried to do them.) James didn't see much of Dumbledore at all when he was 'home' on breaks or during summer holiday. And while James always found his freedom in the household refreshing, he was more surprised by Dumbledore's impeccable sense of timing. James had found that whenever he needed to talk to the old man, even if he had no idea where he was or when he'd be back, that Dumbledore had a way of finding him. Dumbledore always made time for James, and while James missed his parents terribly, knowing that their friend was here for him made the pain much easier to bear.

James continued to stare off into space. Sirius didn't bother to break his friends reverie until he saw his mother come through the door. It was time to go home.

Molly M. Johnson Molly M. Johnson 2 2 2003-07-18T00:30:00Z 2003-07-18T00:32:00Z 17 8693 49555 412 99 60857 9.3821 150

Title: Arrival Unexpected (2/?)
Author name: Molly Moon
Author email: psycha@chartermi.net
Category: Romance
Sub Category: Suspense
Keywords: Moony Wormtail Padfoot Prongs Lily
Rating: R
Spoilers: PoA, GoF
Summary: Emotions are on the rise as our students return to Hogwarts – Banter abounds even as a new method of attack from the Dark Lord comes into play and when he least expects it, Sirius gets kissed.
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Notes: More thanks to Jen, who laughs at all the right parts and was the inspiration for my ABBA quotes. And to Kristin, for keeping score during my banter fests while writing this chapter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter Two

"A man like that is hard to find
"But I can't get him off my mind
"Ain't it sad?
"And if he happens to be free
"I bet he wouldn't fancy me"

-- "Money, Money, Money", ABBA

Lily Evans stood on the edge of Platform 9 ¾ and attempted to heave her heavy school trunk onto the train. She wasn't having much of a go at it though; Lily didn't even break five and a half feet in height, and the trunk and its contents probably equaled double her weight. From its cage on the side of the platform, her Sooty Owl, Circe, let loose a series of encouraging hoots.

Leaning up against the back of her trunk to keep it from sliding back off the train, Lily sat down, stuck a finger into Circe's cage and tickling the beautiful gray-black bird under its chin. She'd gotten it as a gift from her parents for making Prefect last year; her dad had braved Diagon Alley all by himself to place the order for the Australian owl. He had suggested that Lily name the owl 'Orchid', but Lily had by then enough of floral names. Circe took her name from Greek Mythology, the daughter of the sun god, Helios and a nymph named Perse.

With a sudden thunk, Lily found her head no longer leaning on her trunk, but lying on the foot of the train. She looked up, seeing the upside-down profile of Sirius Black lifting her trunk into place as if it weighed next to nothing. He leaned down after securing it, hands on his knees, and looked at her most amusedly. "Need a hand up? That won't be the most comfortable place once the train starts moving." He extended a hand down to her and pulled her into an upright position. She reached off the edge of the train, pulled Circe onto the Hogwarts Express and turned to face Sirius Black.

"My hero," She said dryly, but let a small smile slide through. He grinned at her, opening the door to the next car. She walked through it, and was surprised to find that it was empty. Not so unusual, she told herself, you were at the very end of the train. Most students liked to sit towards the front, hoping to get the best selection from the Snack Cart when the witch brought it by later in the day. Sirius took Circe's cage from her and invited her to sit down. Lily made a bit of noise about needing to go to the Prefect's cabin, but Sirius dismissed that with a broad gesture.

"You have to be a Prefect for the whole rest of the year," he told her, using what he thought was his most charming voice. "Just sit here for a bit and slum about with us mortals." Circe gave another approving hoot, which Sirius acknowledged with a nod and set her cage down on the bench opposite of Lily, as if that settled the matter.

Traitor, Lily thought, as she stared into the black eyes of her beloved pet. Taken in by a few charming words and a bit of flashing teeth, are we?

Sirius sat down not opposite of her as Lily had hoped, but right next to her. She was pinned between the window and him. If he insisted on making conversation, she was going to have to turn her head and sit talking to him with his face less than eighteen inches from her own. Which was of course, probably what he wanted. She still didn't understand what had brought about the sudden change, and she didn't know if she ever would. Like most girls her age, she couldn't look at herself objectively, the girl she saw looking back at her in her mirror didn't resemble a double-ended newt, but Lily certainly didn't think that she was worthy of the attentions of the two most sought after boys in her year. She'd thought long and hard about the events of the previous weekend, deciding finally that James and Sirius had gone out of their way for Remus' benefit. Remus was nowhere in sight now though, a thought that left Lily a tad unnerved.

Sirius was now stroking Circe under her chin, while the great black owl cooed softly at him. "She's absolutely gorgeous." He said, looking at the owl with candid admiration. "She's not native though, is she? I've never seen anything like her in all of England." Circe fluffed her wings a bit, taking pride in the compliments.

"She's an Australian Sooty, they live along the southeastern coast of that continent." Lily replied, rather tersely.

"Long way from home, are we?" he continued, addressing the owl instead of its owner this time. Circe let out the sweet sounding hoot, a sort of 'whi, whi, whi' that was native to her species, enjoying the attention. "What's her name?" he added after another moment of caressing the owl.

"Circe." Lily said immediately. "She turned men into pigs."

Sirius bellowed out a laugh. "Nice name. I'll have to watch myself around her I guess." He flashed Lily another grin. She found herself chiding her own rude behavior. Sirius was being very nice to her, and she wasn't extending him the same courtesy. He certainly had a way with animals, and she reminded herself that Circe was a fairly good judge of character, having given her sister a sharp nip the one time Petunia had tried to pet her. She told herself to relax; she'd have enough to worry about once they reached the school.

Once she let her guard down, Lily found that he made rather enjoyable, if slightly over-attentive company. They passed the next hour amiably enough, chatting about teachers and gossiping about students. Sirius was just finishing telling her a very funny story about a prank from the year before involving Severus Snape, a bottle of shampoo and several shrunken Dung Bombs, when the door to their car opened, and three familiar faces popped in.

Peter and Remus sat down on the bench opposite of her and Sirius. James remained standing. He had already changed into his Hogwarts robes and was wearing his newly attained Prefect badge. He kept adjusting his robes, as if the weight of the badge was making them lay lopsided.

"Hullo!" said Peter, in his merry little voice. "Given up the glasses and the bun for good now, have you?"

She smiled at him, waving to the others. "Mum got me contacts as an early birthday present." Four confused faces looked back at her. "Uhm, it's a Muggle thing... instead of having the glasses outside of your eyes, you have them laying right on the lens." It was a simple explanation, but it seemed to intrigue the boys, who leaned in to look for these miniature glasses that were lying in her eyes. "As for the bun," she shrugged. "We'll see. I promised Mum I'd try and look a bit more like a young lady this year, instead of an old librarian." Chuckles echoed throughout the train car.

"Did you get the owl?" James asked, giving her and Sirius a truly mischievous grin. The morning after the boys had left, a barn owl had appeared at her window, tapping it softly until she opened it up and let it in. Attached to its leg was a small package containing what looked like an ordinary tube of lip gloss and a note that read: Slip this into your sister's purse with our compliments, James & Sirius.

Although the innocuous gloss smelled divine, like vanilla and oranges, the note was enough to stop Lily from testing it out on herself. She'd been on the receiving end of their pranks enough times to know that it was either charmed or imbued with a nasty bit of potion. Instead, she'd heeded their advice, and slipped it into Petunia's purse when her sister had shown up later that day. It had been all Lily could do not to break out into laughter when Petunia's mouth had exploded with a rash of cold sores later that afternoon.

"That was absolutely brilliant!" She exclaimed to the boys now, having forgotten about the incident until James brought it up. "She still had them when I saw her on Saturday too, she's positively miserable." Lily was smiling-- really smiling, Sirius noted for the first time in the whole trip. She positively infected the room with her good mood.

Peter had opened the latest addition of the 'Daily Prophet' and was reading quietly to himself. His lips moved as he did, another nervous habit that the chubby boy had. His face went slightly white. "What's wrong," James asked. "They recall all the chocolate frogs?"

Peter shook his head and held the paper out for the rest of them to see. The headline read: Two More Sleeping Children Found. The story went on to describe how the young children of a prominent wizarding family, the Malkins, had been found ensorcelled into a deep sleep. No known charm, spell or potion had been able to wake them. This was the third such attack in six weeks. Powerful dark magic was suspected, the article said.

"Well really," said Remus rolling his eyes. "What kind of wizard would do such a thing except a dark wizard? Dark magic suspected indeed."

"I heard my mum talking about this the other night," said Peter. His mother was a mediwizard with the Ministry of Magic. "She said those other kids that have been attacked have some very strange symptoms. Vines or roots or something keep growing up around their feet. They had to prop the first few up finally, so that their faces wouldn't be grown over."

"Why not just prune them back?" Lily asked.

"They did! But the vines grew resistance to it; when the sheers stopped working they brought in Herbologists from all over England to try and prune them with spells." Peter's hand slashed through the air, making a cutting motion. "That worked for a while too, but now, nothing. They're afraid," Peter was whispering now. "That the children will die soon."

"Bizarre." Sirius said. "Wonder what that Voldemort is planning... I mean, why kill them slowly? He usually just barrels in with his minions in tow and slaughters the whole family." James winced. "Sorry, wasn't thinking."

James jerked his head towards the cabin door. "The rest of the Prefects are waiting for us, Lily; you better change into your robes and we'll head down. They seem to think that the term won't start until they've had a meeting about it." Lily rolled her eyes at James, standing up to retrieve her travel bag from the overhead compartment.

Change of clothes hanging securely over her shoulder, Lily bid the rest of the boys farewell, asking if Sirius wouldn't mind keeping an eye on Circe until they got to Hogwarts. "No problem, Lil." He replied, adopting Remus' name for her. "I hope your meeting goes well." Lily waved and left the cabin, James stopping only for a moment to give Sirius an ironic smirk before he followed her.

After they'd gone, Remus gave Sirius a small kick to the shin. "When I went to my first Prefect meeting last year, you told me that I was a traitor to the cause, and that you hoped we all ate bogie flavored Beans for lunch."

"Yeah, well," replied Sirius. "People change."

"Sure they do," said Peter, his face flooding with amusement. "Particularly if other people change into low riding bell-bottoms and crop tops." Sirius had stood up, intending to shoulder his own travel bag but instead threw it into the small blond boy's lap. Peter let out a painful sounding "oof" as the bag hit him and then continued laughing.

"Well, if that's all it takes..." said Remus who was standing up now himself. "I'll just have to see if Lil will loan me that outfit." He put his hands on his hips and struck a pose. "What do you say, Padfoot? Would I be snog worthy then?"

Sirius rolled his eyes as he took the bag back from Peter and pulled out his school robes. "Not even close, Moony. But I hear that Snape is awful lonely lately, have a go at him."

* * *

At the very front of the train, as the door to the first passenger car opened, Severus Snape let out a low hiss of disapproval. James Potter had just walked in, followed by Lily Evans-- the last two Prefects to join the meeting. While the representatives of the other houses greeted these two tardy members happily, Severus Snape just glowered at them both.

Snape was a very pale boy, but it didn't make him look sickly. His eyes were pure steel, and seemed to catch everything that went on around him. He pushed a strand of his chin length, greasy black hair back behind his ear, looking hard at James Potter, who was staring back at him with equal resentment.

For many hundreds of years, there was no love lost between Gryffindor and Slytherin Houses at Hogwarts; and since James and Severus played on their house Quidditch teams (the positions of chaser and keeper respectively) their dislike embodied that ancient feud. Severus took it as a personal affront each time James scored on him, regardless of what he said in public about the rest of his Slytherin teammates not doing their jobs well-enough. The fact that his arch-nemesis was now a fellow Prefect was just another canker to Severus. He acknowledged rather reluctantly to himself that Potter had the intelligence required to represent any of the four houses of Hogwarts, but it was Potter's total indifference to the rules that in Snape's mind made the tall boy completely unsuitable for the job. Not to mention the fact that Potter was an arrogant prat.

He was also surprised to see the other 6^th year Prefect of Gryffindor, Lily Evans, talking amiably with the Potter boy. He'd always admired, though never given voice to that admiration, that she had no compunction about taking points away from her own house whenever she'd caught a member of it breaking any of the school rules. For being a Muggle-born witch, he had admitted to himself on several occasions that she wasn't that bad. Being that she was Muggle-born however, Lily was put into a category just above goblins in the opinion of any decent witch or wizard from Slytherin House. There were no exceptions to this rule, ever.

The Head Girl, Justice Munroe from Ravenclaw, was clearing her throat now. The room settled down and gave her its full attention. She welcomed the new Prefects and introduced them all, as well as herself and the new Head Boy to each other. James tried to pay attention as she explained their duties and the rules of giving away or taking away points from another student, but he couldn't keep his mind on it. He could feel Severus Snape glaring at him, and while this was not a new sensation to James, being in such close quarters with the Slytherin Keeper and not having a broom to whack him with just felt wrong. James heard Justice say something about alternating weekends between the fifth and sixth year Prefects to stand watch at their house gates. James looked up, not recalling this being a Hogwarts policy and not looking forward to having to be on duty every other weekend, when he could be doing something much more fun with his time.

"It's a new policy," whispered Lily, who seemed to have a knack for mind reading. "What with all the attacks by that Dark Wizard and his followers, Dumbledore felt it best to try and keep the student body on a shorter leash this year." Indeed, James remembered that death had come directly to Hogwarts' neighborhood last year when a family of six had been cursed to death down in Hogsmeade, the wizarding village that bordered Hogwarts. Lily nodded at him, remembering it herself. "McGonagall wanted to cancel all trips to Hogsmeade this year, but Dumbledore wouldn't have it. Something about the black market price of sweets from Honeydukes going through the roof. What do you think he meant by that?" she asked quietly.

James grinned and muttered under his breath, "Ask me some other time." He and the other three boys had been smuggling bags of candy into Hogwarts since James and Sirius had discovered a secret passageway that led right into the basement of the sweet Shoppe in their first year. They made a nice bit of extra Sickles from the affair, and while they did it less frequently now, he wasn't sure that it was something Lily should know about. No point in letting her in on all our secrets, he thought. His mind raced for a second. The quartet was going to have to have a talk about Lily Evans, he realized. There were a lot of secrets that she might just be clever enough to figure out, if given enough time in their company.

Lily had turned her full attention back to the meeting, voicing a few concerns herself on a variety of matters. He watched her while she spoke, her little red eyebrows furrowing in frustration at the thought of the traditional hazing some of the first years would get later that evening. Her face was very easy on his eyes. Her hair might not be pulled back, and the glasses have been thrown away, but this girl in front of him was most certainly the Lily Evans that he'd known for the last five years at school. The carefree nature that they'd been allowed to glimpse at her house seemed to be packed away with the rest of her summer things. Lily Evans may be the smartest witch in his year, James mused, but she still has a thing or two to learn about having fun. He remembered the stares of near-awe that she'd not seen as they'd made their way up to the front of the train. Not a male member of the student body at Hogwarts had failed to notice the way that Lily Evans had blossomed since last school year. Even Snape was looking at her with something less than his usual glare of disgust in his eyes. He saw Snape's eyes move down from Lily's face (she was still listening raptly to the Head Girl speak) to her shoulders, back and legs, settling for some time on Lily's exposed and shapely ankles. Well, thought James, this is a disgusting turn of events. Watching Snape watch Lily was making him ill, but James couldn't pull his eyes away, feeling that if he did that Snape's slimy eyes might take in more than they should.

"Well, I'm glad that's over," said Justice, the meeting coming to an apparent end. "Now for the important stuff..." James groaned inwardly, not imagining what else there was to discuss. Justice reached into a bag and pulled out her money pouch. "Five galleons say that Sirius Black is the first person to lose house points. Any takers?"

* * *

The start of term feast had gone about the same as it always did, Lily reflected as she led the last of the first year Gryffindor girls to their dormitory, the tower that would be their home for the next nine months. She'd noticed a few curious sidelong glances at her when she accepted the seat at the Gryffindor table between James and Sirius that had been offered to her, but other than that, nothing to note. She'd had a good time sitting with the boys, Remus and Peter sitting on the opposite side of the table from them, everyone talking exuberantly as the Sorting took place. She even laughed a few times when she heard James and Sirius speculating which of the first years would be good prospects for next Year's Quidditch team. Next year? She thought to herself, they haven't even held their first practice of this year yet.

She closed the door to the first year's dorm behind her and made her way down the stairs to the Gryffindor Common room. She plopped down into one of the big comfortable chairs by the fire and closed her eyes for a minute. Sleep sounded so good, but she reminded herself that she still had to make rounds outside of the tower. Everyone had been accounted for at evening check-in, but that was seldom the case for long in Gryffindor House. She was just wondering where he was, when she saw the portrait door swing open, and James Potter walked in. He crossed over and sat in the chair next to hers, handing her a mug of steaming hot chocolate.

"Where did you get this, at this time of night?" She raised a suspicious eyebrow at him.

He took a sip from his own mug and stared into the roaring fire. "Prefect's privilege." He replied, a small smirk crossing over his face.

Lily was about to chide him for being out after hours, but instead just replied "Oh, never mind... this is too good to pass up. I don't even want to know where you got it."

"The where is easy enough, it's the how that is the trick." James grinned at her again. Maybe it's the 'why' too, Lily remarked to herself, but then she just shook her head and remembered that while his behavior was markedly different from last year, it wasn't as if he was acting like Sirius had been. He's just being friendly, she told herself, be friendly back. Don't be so suspicious; you'll be spending a lot of nights like this in the next year.

They finished their drinks and exited Gryffindor tower, talking about nothing in particular while they walked the halls. She asked James if he was upset that Sirius had been selected as Quidditch captain over him, and he replied vaguely "No, I think I got the better end of the deal." When she gave him a look that asked what he meant, he'd just gestured to the wide empty hallways and said, "It's a bit like having the run of the school, isn't it? I never have to worry about getting caught out after hours again." Lily clucked at him, disapprovingly. "Oh please," he said, giving her a slight shove with his elbow. "You have to admit, for as much of a pain as this job is, it does have some bloody brilliant perks."

Lily smiled. "I suppose, it is very nice having your own bedroom."

James grinned evilly. "Nice private place for all of your amorous adventures with the Gryffindor men?"

Lily coughed and gave him a wink. "Who said I've been kissing anyone from Gryffindor?"

"Good evening, Ms. Evans, James," said an aged voice from some distance behind them. "Quiet first night? Yes, I suppose it would be. Give them a week though, and these halls will be filled with students running rampant each night." Dumbledore paused, pulling several pieces of candy out of his pocket, handing one a piece to James and Lily. "Professor Flitwick tells me that you've applied to take some advanced charms coursework from the Ministry, Ms Evans. I was going to call you into my office tomorrow, but now seems as good as time as any. Your request has been approved. Thanks in no small part to the efforts of the late Mr. Potter." Dumbledore bowed his head towards James, acknowledging the recently passed law in his father's memory. Lily flushed again, not knowing what to say. Dumbledore turned and addressed James now. "If memory serves, you have a free period after lunch tomorrow, correct?" James nodded. "Good, come to my office for a visit then, I feel like I haven't seen you all holiday. I shall pretend to be quite shocked by any mischief you feel the need to confess to." Dumbledore tipped his hat and walked away, disappearing around a corner.

Lily and James had started walking quietly back towards Gryffindor Tower. "He's right you know," Lily said, a touch of admiration in her voice. "Because of people like your father, I have a chance to be a full-fledged citizen in the wizarding community. You must be very proud."

James nodded. "He was a very great man. He always said that there was a difference between doing what was right and what was easy. Dumbledore says it too."

"What do you think that they mean by it?" Lily asked.

"Ogre Swill" At the sound of the password, the portrait of the fat lady swung open. "It means," he said looking at her straight in the eyes. "That sometimes breaking the rules is the right thing to do, Lily."

* * *

Lily looked absolutely exhausted when Sirius spotted her sitting down at the end of the Gryffindor table for breakfast the next morning. She was also sitting all by herself. Old habits must die hard, he mused. Ducking around two confused looking first years, Sirius made his way down the great hall to sit next to Lily. She waved at him, failing to stifle a yawn as he sat down.

"Trouble sleeping?" he asked.

"Something like that. I was up all night with James." She was too tired to even notice that he'd flinched at what she'd just said. "One of the first years," she continued, her explanation being much more palatable than what was running through his imagination. "He just broke down. I don't think he realized how very far Hogwarts can be from home. James spent an hour trying to calm him down, and then he finally woke me up for some help. We must have sat up with the poor little thing until four a.m. And once he did fall asleep, it wasn't even in his bed. We'd all been sitting on the couch out in the common room talking when the little tyke fell asleep leaning on me." She let out a sigh, and yawned again. "James brought out pillows and blankets though, and we made the best of it." She chuckled. "You should have seen how wide the boy's eyes went when James was talking Quidditch with him. He looked at James as if he were some kind of god."

"Well, I am... didn't you get the memo at the meeting yesterday?" James Potter sat down opposite her and Sirius at the table. He was failing quite miserably at stifling a few yawns also. "I saw him just a minute ago, he sends his most cordial thanks to the girl with the 'sweet-smelling hair'." Lily made a mock curtsey and laughed. James looked at Sirius now, saying "You should have seen them last night, all curled up, two heads of red hair sticking up from under the covers. It was unbearably cute." James rolled his eyes and grinned at Lily, who threw a piece of toast at him. "They looked like brother and sister." James took the piece of toast and took a hearty bite out of it. "What was his name? Weasel?"

"Weasley," Lily corrected taking a long drink of her mug of coffee. "Bill I think. Or maybe it was Will. Alliterative names sound so odd on the tongue. Don't you agree, Peter Pettigrew?" She turned smirking and faced the blond boy that had just sat down next to her.

"Huh?" Peter asked, looking confused. "Who was the weeper? That little red head?" Sirius nodded and they all turned just as Remus saddled up next to James, swearing under his breath.

"Doesn't that just figure?" He reached into his book bag and drew out a Galleon, handing it to Sirius. "I'm not betting against you anymore this year, I swear." Remus glanced at the others a look of exasperation clouding his face. "He has never missed on a call like that."

Lily let out a small gasp, finally understanding. Her face twisted up in anger and she turned on Sirius. "You... you bet on things like that? On little boys' tears? That's perfectly horrid." She stood up now, starting away from the table. No one but Sirius had the guts to look at her.

"Its not as if I was the person that made him cry," he began, shocked to find himself trying to explain away something that he really felt didn't need explaining. "This is something we've done every year, since our own first year."

Lily spun back around, holding her wand so tight it looked like she was ready to throw a jinx at Sirius. "Five points from Gryffindor." She growled at him and headed out the door.

"For what?" he called after her.

"For being an insensitive prick!" She was shouting back at him now, and quite a few of the students had stopped talking to listen.

Sirius swore under his breath and looked at James. "Can she do that?"

"I hope not," James replied. "I had five galleons that Davey Gudgeon would be the first person to lose house points."

* * *

Lily managed to avoid the four of them for the rest of the day. She'd taken her lunch outside; Tuesdays were her short days for classes and she had fallen asleep under a large oak tree. She woke up several hours later with a slight start when Circe landed gently on her lap.

She gave the black owl a pat on the head and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. It dropped something onto her lap and called her to attention with a sharp hoot. Lily looked down and saw a short white rose with a note wrapped around the stem lying on her lap. She picked it up, and unraveled the note, which was unsigned, but with its simple exclamation of 'Sorry!' there was no doubt who it was from. Lily grumbled under her breath, crumpling the paper up and throwing it over her shoulder, the white rose following it not long after. Circe gave sharp hoot of disapproval. Lily brushed her off her lap and stood up, picking up her book bag and heading back towards the school.

She hadn't gone ten feet when Circe landed on her arm again, shoving the flower at her. Circe dropped it into her hand. Lily cursed and threw it away from her again, saying, "I don't want it Circe!" when the owl flew off after the discarded rose once more. This odd spectacle, a sort of accidental game of fetch, continued right up to the main door of Hogwarts. Finally, Circe had flown out in front of her, still holding the rose, determined that her mistress would take it before she went back inside. "You don't understand," Lily was trying to reason with the stubborn owl now. "You delivered it. I don't want it. Even if I throw it away, you've still done your job."

"I think she understands better than you do actually," James Potter had managed to sneak up on her again. He was wearing his Quidditch practice uniform and looked very tired. He probably hadn't had the luxury of an afternoon nap, she thought. He bent down, and took the rose from Circe, who was hooting animatedly at him. He never took his eyes off the owl, nodding and making agreeable noises until Circe was done 'talking' at him. "She says you're being a stubborn priss." Lily's jaw dropped open and then clenched back up tightly ready to retaliate. James held up a hand, stopping her before she started. "She would also like to know what the difference is between Sirius laying odds on which of the first years would start to cry and the Prefects betting on which student would be the first to lose House Points?" James and Circe looked up at Lily expectantly. Lily mumbled a few things under her breath but finally had to admit that when it came right down to it, there was no difference. "Well then," said James smiling at her and Circe. "There is no reason for you not to take this beautiful flower, is there?" He held it out to her, and Lily was about to speak again when James stood up. "Look, you were right this morning, Sirius is an insensitive git, but he sent your lovely owl out here with the rose to show you that he can be more than that." He held the rose out to her again. "If you'd like to start proving to the rest of the world that you can be more than a stubborn priss, I suggest that you accept it and come join us all for dinner."

Lily gaped at him, and then broke into a slow laugh. James smiled at her and reached down, tucking the white rose behind her left ear. From the ground, Circe let out a gentle hoot of approval. "Sorry," Lily said to her. She looked up again at James, eyes full of admiration and amusement. "Did she really say all that?"

"Course she did." He replied, bowing to Circe as she gave one last hoot before taking off. "She says you need to loosen up too."

"Oh really?" Lily said, cocking an eyebrow at him. "And just where did you learn to speak to Owlish?"

"Long story," replied James, having no desire to reveal his secret status as an Animagus to her. "She really loves you though. She said that too."

"Hmm..." Lily said, watching Circe fly up to the Owlery, her large black wings casting a shadow over them as she rose into the sky. "Is she saying anything else that I should be aware of? Giving away any of my secrets?" Lily smirked at him as he opened the door for her.

"Well, we did ask her a few, uh, delicate questions. She's pretty tight lipped when she wants to be though." Lily didn't believe a word that he said. James gave a soft chuckle and then asked, "Do you really own a bikini with the Union Jack on it?" He took off running as soon as he'd said it, just barely escaping the first punch that she threw at him. Her face wore a mixture of shock and anger as she chased him all the way to the Great Hall, shouting curses at him the whole time. He stopped and spun around, right in the doorway, waiting for her. She was still charging at him, when he ducked down just the right moment and her stomach slammed into his shoulder. He was up and standing before she even let out a grunt; he was carrying her like a knapsack, slung over his shoulder into the Great Hall.

She heard the mumbles and laughter before she could see it. Mostly all she could see was the outline of Potter's ass beneath his tight Quidditch trousers. She was blushing furiously, cursing herself silently for being in such an undignified position and then cursing herself doubly for thinking such undignified thoughts while in said position.

After what seemed like minutes, he arrived at his destination and set her down. He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her around, so she had to meet the grinning faces of her fellow Gryffindors. "Found her outside, sleeping under a tree." He was speaking to Remus and Sirius, trying to keep his voice from breaking into laughter. "She's awful scrawny, and she makes all sorts of horrible noises. But she puts up a good fight and is kind of cute. Can I keep her?"

* * *

The first few weeks of term passed by very quickly. After the shock of seeing the prim and proper Lily Evans accompanied almost everywhere by four of the school's most notorious troublemakers had worn off, two very interesting things happened. The first was something that James and Sirius at least, had expected; the other boys their age were starting to vie for Lily's interest. Lily was perplexed when people who had spent years avoiding her gaze came up to her, offering to carry her books, or places to sit during meals. By the second week, she became flat out annoyed; James felt privileged to have witnessed one of her outbursts. A seventh year from Hufflepuff named Anton had caught her around her waist as she came out of the History of Magic classroom, asking if she had any opinions about the validity of the 1739 Love Potion Prohibition Act.

Lily had spun on her heels, facing the boy. She gave him a very large eye roll and then snapped. "Think you're clever don't you? Hoping to catch a girl off guard by talking about love and potions and the tawdry romances of days gone by?" She pointed a finger menacingly at him. "Well, for your information, no girl has ever come out of one of Binns' lectures hot under the collar. Why don't you go and sit next to the Quidditch field and see if you can't get a snog out of one of the player's leftovers?" She'd stomped off at that, and James had heard the youth mutter the word 'Bitch' under his breath as he watched her walk away. He may have been upset by her disagreeable attitude, but it hadn't stopped Anton's eyes from watching the gentle pendulum motion of Lily's hips as she swept down the hall.

The second change was much more of a surprise, though it probably shouldn't have been. Sirius and James were both spending a lot of time with Lily, and between Quidditch practice and homework, there wasn't any time left over for the rest of the female population. Several other girls from Gryffindor that had become accustomed to devoting a few hours every week to flirting with them became quite put out. Finally, they accosted Lily in the girls' lavatory; by the time she'd made it down to breakfast in the Great Hall after enduring a half hour tirade, she was practically in tears. She sat down next to Remus and he put an arm around her, prodding her gently to find out what was wrong.

Lily explained what had happened in great gasps between her stifled sobs. Her face was turning very red around her nose and eyes, but she never actual broke down and started crying. "Pick one of you they said. How ridiculous. As if a girl can't have male friends. Its not as if," she said, point across the table to where James and Sirius were sitting. "I was keeping you both locked in my room from dusk till dawn trying to see how many different ways three people could play hide the hamster." Lily had the rather shocking habit of saying the very first words that popped into her mind whenever she was upset. Sometimes, as was the case that day, it was too much. Peter broke out into a great roaring guffaw and knocked over his glass of pumpkin juice. It spilled all over Lily's lap, and she started cursing again.

"C'mon," said Remus. I'll walk you back up to the Tower so you can change and then we'll head off to Arithmancy."

James and Sirius watched her leave and then exchanged a meaningful look. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Prongs?" Sirius asked, a dark look covering his eyes.

James nodded. "Let's get to it." He waved at Peter, who was still mopping up pumpkin juice. "We'll catch you up later, Peter."

They were all sitting in Potions class when the fruit of Sirius and James' morning labors began to bear. The school nurse, young Madam Pomfrey had come into the class, and asked their professor, a small dour woman by the name of Hawthorne if she had a rather large quantity of dried mugwort. The woman got up from her desk, stepping over a large creeping vine that wound its way up a leg of her desk and went to fetch it, asking what it was needed for.

"Ten cases of the worst cold sores I've ever seen," the nurse had replied. She looked across the faces in the classroom, giving all the students a rather sour look. "And the way things travel" she said the word with a great deal of disgust, "in this school, it will be an epidemic by Monday morning." She took the package from Professor Hawthorne and left.

Lily looked around the room; she hadn't noticed it before, but there were quite a few empty seats in her potions class. Most of those missing were Gryffindor girls. She turned around in her seat and stared at James and Sirius, who both were looking at something very interesting on the ceiling. Remus chuckled next to her. She gave him a disapproving glare. "Don't look at me like that," he whispered to her. "I had nothing to do with it. Its not my fault they've appointed themselves the guardians of your honor."

Guardians of my honor indeed, Lily thought to herself. We'll just see about that. There was an hour left of their double Potions class, and it gave Lily ample time to think of exactly what she wanted to say to both of them. She managed to catch James' eye as the class was dismissed, and he hung back, waiting for her. Sirius had practically bolted out of the dungeon door however, making due haste to the Quidditch field for practice.

Lily had just opened her mouth to speak when an icy voice broke the stillness behind them. "Careful Potter," Snape said giving Lily a very haughty glare. "There may not be enough mugwort in all of Hogwarts for whatever her kind carries." Laughter echoed in the dungeon halls from a few other straggling Slytherin students. James looked as if he was about to do something that she would regret, so Lily grabbed his hand and pulled him down the corridor and up the stairs.

"Ignore him," she said under her breath.

"What right has he to talk to you like that?" James asked, still very angry.

"None." Lily replied. "But he wasn't talking to me. Snape is a complete git, but until today he's never insulted me once. Do you see what that means?" James had a thick, unreadable look on his face. "It means that he said that just now to get a rise out of you. I don't think he really means it."

"He still needs a swift kick to the-"

"James," she interrupted. "You can't get into a fight with another Prefect. Especially over something that doesn't affect you personally. Now I've told you, it doesn't bother me. Just let it go." She put a hand gently on his elbow, trying to reassure him. "Better yet," she added after a minute, "Save it for the Quidditch game. The first game is only what, two weeks away now?"

He nodded, giving her a small smile. Without warning, he reached up and brushed his fingers against her cheek, pushing a wayward lock of red hair back into place. His hand must have stayed there just a moment too long; when her face began to blush, he pulled back and started off towards the Quidditch field. "Got to go, going to be late for practice." He looked back at her now from a safe distance. "See you at dinner?"

Lily nodded back at him and waved. Underneath her robes, her heart was still pounding hard against her chest. Severus Snape crossed the hall, sneering at her disapprovingly the whole time. She found herself glaring back at him, hoping that he'd end up with a bad case of cold sores.

* * *

Quidditch practice was not going as Sirius had planned. He was missing a Chaser and his Seeker. Well, it's not exactly your fault, he told himself, who knew that so many girls shared lip-gloss with each other? He saw James down on the field below, mounting his broom and taking off towards him with a burst of speed.

"Where is everyone?" James asked, straightening his glasses as he pulled up along side of Sirius.

"Infirmary." He replied, giving a small helpless shrug. "Don't know if there is much point to it today..."

"Might as well keep the team out here though." James gave Sirius a sly grin. "They can't catch cold sores when they're on broomsticks."

After an hour and a half of flying around, the remnants of the Gryffindor team headed to the locker room. Sirius set down his beater's club and started to take off his padding. His other beater was on his way to the infirmary, having broken out into a rash just before the end of practice. James was sitting on the bench next to Sirius, polishing his broomstick and plucking off a few wayward ends of it.

"Full moon tomorrow night," he said to James, giving him a knowing look.

James nodded, setting his broomstick aside. He looked around and then whispered to Sirius, "I've been thinking about that. Lily expects Remus to be gone, for obvious reasons, but what about the rest of us? Its not like she won't notice if we're all gone. But if one of us stayed behind..."

"He could keep her occupied, while the others were off 'marauding'." Sirius' eyes twinkled at James. "Do you have Prefect watch this weekend?"

James shook his head. "No, but I looked ahead and I do for the next two full moons. If you wouldn't mind, I'd appreciate it if you opted to stay behind this time."

Sirius grabbed a towel and headed toward the showers. Over his shoulder he said, "A night alone with Lily? Oh alright, twist my arm then."

When they arrived at dinner, they found Lily sitting with Peter. She had a slight furrow to her eyebrows, and appeared to be worried about something. James sat next to her, and Sirius sat next to Peter opposite them.

"Remus isn't feeling well, he went to see Madam Pomfrey." Lily said, answering the question before it could be asked.

Surrounded by the rest of their housemates, there wasn't much they could say on the subject. After a few minutes of awkward silence though, James raised his hand to his mouth as if to cover a cough. Very quietly, he spoke to Lily. "There's nothing to worry about. He's very well protected."

Lily fidgeted in her seat and then whispered back. "I know, but I just can't help but worry. I feel just awful that he has to go through this alone every month."

Sirius must have heard what she said, because he shot James a warning glance. Lily was just too smart and too sympathetic to Remus' plight. A voice in the back of James' mind told him that if they weren't careful, Lily would soon be suggesting that they all become Animagi to help Remus out. James nudged Sirius with his foot under the table. Better sooner than later, he thought, and waited to see how their plan would unfold.

Sirius was watching Lily eat. Her hair kept falling in front of her face and she was getting quite annoyed with it. Dainty, he thought, she's very dainty. She looked up at him and smiled. "So what's going on tonight, Lil?" he asked, hoping it sounded casual.

Lily gave him the eye. "Didn't you hear? I'm meeting Severus up at the Astronomy Tower at midnight. I plan on having my way with him." Peter giggled. "He'll put up a fight of course, but that's half of the fun. I figure a few well-timed Restraining Charms should do the trick."

Sirius pushed his plate away. "Thanks a lot, I'll be lucky if I ever want to eat again." He pointed a finger at her. "You're a sick puppy, you know that? I can't think of a more disturbing mental image."

"How about Snape having it off with your Mum?" James offered.

Sirius swore and threw a crumpled napkin at James' head. Lily continued laughing. "Really though, what are you doing tonight?"

Lily shrugged. "Nothing I guess... same sort of things we do every night, study a bit, play a few games, plot the overthrow of a world government. Why?"

"Thought we could go up to the library and start work on that essay of McGonagall's. Should be pretty quiet up there tonight, start of the weekend and whatnot." Take the bait, he thought willing her to believe what he said.

"Sure, why not?" She turned and looked at James. "You going to come too?"

"Nah, don't think so." James looked very casual. He was having a much easier time lying to Lily than Sirius was. "I'll just lounge about the Common Room with Peter all night."

Lily looked back and forth between the two of them. Peter's eyes followed hers, trying to discern any suspicion she might be harboring. Finally she nodded, adding that she wanted to head to the library anyway to check on the history of some Cleansing Charms she was working on.

Sirius smiled at James. James smiled at Peter. Peter just smiled. The game was on.

* * *

Lily was leaning forward, her right hand propping her head and her left hand twisting a lock of hair into a curl as she read. Sirius sat across the table from her, his feet up on the table and his chair tilted precariously back, looking as if it would tip over at any minute. Their table was set in front of a large window in the library, looking out onto the school grounds and the Forbidden Forest. They'd been there for nearly three hours now, studying in relative silence. Another hour and the library would close for the night. Sirius glanced out the window, hoping that James and Peter were out of the castle and on their way to the Shrieking Shack even now.

Lily yawned and gave a small stretch. She laid her hands out in front of her and set her chin down on her book, looking at him. "I think I've had enough of this for the night, want to head back to the Common Room and see what Peter and James are up to?"

A glimmer of panic made Sirius' heart miss a beat. He closed the book in his lap and said, "Not really, but I could use a walk. Want to head outside and take a stroll by the lake before we have to go in for the night?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment and then nodded. "Might as well, not going to have too many more nice days like this, are we?"

They packed away their books and made to leave the library. Two fifth year girls from Hufflepuff entered just as they reached the exit. Both of them looked at Sirius and started giggling. He flashed a flirtatious smile at them and waved. Lily had kept walking, and was now waiting outside of the library for him. He ran a hand through his wavy hair, tousling it back into place. She was looking deep into his eyes, with a small crooked smile on her face. It made him a bit self-conscious; he shoved his hands into the pockets of his robes and muttered "Something wrong?"

"Just enjoying the spectacle of you and your fan club," she replied, eyes glinting. Sirius made a noise in mock protest, while Lily just laughed and looped her arms through his, walking down the hall. "You know... I always thought that you had blue eyes... but really, they're a very pale gray. Almost like a polished steel."

Sirius felt himself flush. He didn't say anything. There was something about the way Lily had been looking at him that made him feel as if he'd just walked in to a crowded room completely naked. When she was laughing, her eyes crinkled in a way that made you want to laugh with her, but when she was like this, in a quiet contented mood, she was something else entirely. She was so beautiful that it almost hurt to look at her. Other thoughts occurred to Sirius as they exited the castle; things like, the more he got to know about her, the more he really liked her and that despite spending so much time with her, that she wasn't turning out to be a bore like so many other witches her age were. Lily was no shrinking flower; she was very different from other girls. Whereas other girls would pick and barely eat their food when there were boys around, Lily ate with gusto. She didn't care if her hair was perfect when they saw her (Sirius, in fact, thought that it looked best at the end of the day, when the wind was done blowing it about, giving Lily an unearthly, airy look.) or if she had her make up on. Aside from her light pink lip-gloss, Sirius wasn't even sure if she did wear make up. Even when she was upset at him, Sirius found himself irresistibly drawn to her side. He found himself wanting to make her happy, and being happy whenever he knew that she was.

What is going on in my head, he asked himself. Take my shirt off, put me on a balcony and I could be the male lead in one of those smutty Sickle Press novels that middle age spinster witches buy, he thought. Well, the shirtless and balcony might not be too bad, his mind continued rolling into a more seedy corner of his imagination, especially if Lily was there...

She stopped in back of a bench that over looked the lake. He sat down on the bench, but Lily didn't join him. Instead, she said "Sirius Black! You're ears are bright pink. What on earth are you thinking about?"

He looked over his shoulder; her emerald eyes were sparkling at him, ready for a bit of banter. Without thinking, he answering honestly. "You," he said, the word barely a whisper. Two small rose-colored circles appeared on her cheeks. This was obviously not the answer she'd been expecting. She blinked a few times in rapid succession. "Come sit down with me Lily." She looked ready to bolt. She was looking into his eyes again, which were pleading with her not to run away. Cautiously, she sat down next to him, crossing her legs at the knees and putting her hands protectively on top of them.

"You know, I don't think I've seen the Giant Squid yet this year." She was fumbling for conversation, and avoiding his eyes now.

"Sod the Giant Squid!" Sirius said. He took her hand into his and held it against his knee. She wouldn't look at him, but she didn't pull away. The profile of her face gave away nothing of what she was thinking. With his wrist against hers, he could faintly feel her pulse; it was racing almost as fast as his. He couldn't take his eyes off of her though. After a few minutes, she starts to physically shake. Then a small sob shook her whole body. Finally, she pulled her hand away from his and covered her face. She was crying.

He tried to put an arm around her, unsure of what had gone wrong, but she stopped him. "Don't," she stammered, "Just don't."

"Don't what?" he whispered, not understanding.

"Don't make me look like a fool." Pain flowed out of her eyes, and when he didn't have a response ready, she sobbed again and stormed back to the castle. Sirius pulled his hand down over his face trying to wash away some of his confusion over what had just happened. He sat alone for a few minutes, and then walked slowly back to the castle.

He passed by James' private room on his way up to the sixth years' tower. Tacked to the door was a small piece of parchment that read 'Need someone to talk to - I'm in my room. - L'. He stared at it for a long time. Finally with a determined look on his face, he tore the note off the door and marched back down toward Lily's room.

The hallways of Gryffindor Tower were quiet; most people were still down in the Common Room. He stood outside her door for a moment before he knocked. Soft steps approached the door, and then she opened it. Her eyes were red with tears and her nose had gone all blotchy. She gave him a surprised look and made to shut the door. His hand shot out just in time to stop it. With his other hand, he reached out and lifted her chin up. He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers; it wasn't a kiss, it was too brief and too gentle for that. He took a step back, his eyes looking at her in a sad way.

"Of the two of us," he said tossing her crumpled note to James to her, "You're not the one that looks like the fool." Without another word, he walked away, and Lily closed her door again.

* * *

James Potter was having a very odd day. He'd been up most of the night running amok with Remus and Peter, and was very tired for Quidditch practice the next morning. When he showed up fifteen minutes late, Sirius had actually yelled at him. Later, during a defense practice for the beaters, he'd sworn that Sirius had actually let a Bludger hit him in the stomach. The blow had sent James whirling, and he took a time out down on the ground. Whatever was making Sirius hot under the collar though, he seemed to have worked it out before the end of practice. He was his usual quirky self when they got back to the locker rooms.

"Any problems with Lily last night?" James had asked.

Sirius gave him a blank look. "Not at all," he said. "I don't think we have to worry about her suspecting a thing."

They left the locker room and headed up to the castle. When Sirius turned up a set of stairs toward the Tower, James asked if he was coming to lunch. Sirius shook his head and mumbled something about needing to do some reading for Transfiguration. James went on alone to the Great Hall.

Lily sat sullenly at the far end of the hall. She was sitting alone. Peter must still be sleeping off last night, James thought. Peter was always more tired than the rest of them after their outings; James attributed it to the fact that as a rat, Peter had to work harder to keep up with the rest of them. Many times, Wormtail would cling to the back of either James or Sirius while they ran. James sat down next to Lily and poured himself a glass of milk.

"Knut for your thoughts," he offered when after a minute she hadn't said so much as hello.

"How was practice?" Lily asked, ignoring his offer.

"Fine." He said simply. "How did studying go last night?"

James could have sworn that he saw her blush before she turned back and started to push her food around her plate. She shrugged, as if that was an answer and then asked him if he thought Remus would be back in classes by Monday.

"Maybe, maybe not." Even once Remus had returned to a proper human form, it sometimes took an extra day for him to sleep off the exertion that his transformation entailed.

Lily's head bobbed up and down; James couldn't tell if she was listening to a word that he was saying. Finally, she said, "Where were you last night? I couldn't find you when I got back to the tower."

Thinking quickly, James replied, "Peter and I went down to see Hagrid." The Hogwarts' Gamekeeper was a giant of a man, the size of his body matched only by the size of his heart. "He fed us some of his homemade fudge and we had to sit there until it had settled enough to walk home."

Lily gave a small snicker. "Did you know that when we arrived off the boats during first year, that he carried me into the Great Hall on his shoulders? I was very short then," James raised an eyebrow, as if to say, 'And you're not short now?' but Lily ignored him. "And I didn't want to miss anything, I kept whining about not being able to see. Then these two huge hands picked me up and I could see everything. It was great."

"I've never seen you down to visit him," James said.

"Well, I don't go. I've never been the social type." She pushed her hair back behind her ears and whispered under her breath, "It was a lot simpler that way too, I think."

James put a hand gently on her shoulder. "Are you sure that everything is okay?" he asked quietly.

"Fine" she replied, stretching the word out. "Just brilliant. Where are Peter and Sirius anyway?"

"Pettigrew's still sleeping, lazy git that he is," He threw Lily a sideways smirk, and was pleased to see that she returned it. "Sirius went back up to the Tower after practice, said he had some reading to do."

"Hmm," she said thoughtfully. "A nap sounds delightful." She stood up, getting ready to leave. "Catch you up at dinner then, James?"

"Sure see you then." Maybe the full moon effects normal people too, he mused.

At dinner, he noticed that while Sirius and Lily were talking, they weren't talking to each other. He was trying to think of ways to find out what was going on when Justice Munroe plopped down next to Lily, looking quite frazzled. "Your fifth year Prefect, Annalise, is up in the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey is holding all the students with cold sores hostage until she gets this epidemic under control." Justice threw her hands in the air. "Its not like it's the Black Death, its just bloody cold sores. Anyway, can you fill in for her tonight, take her rounds?" Lily nodded and excused herself from the table. She and Justice left the Great Hall talking rapidly.

"Well," said Peter, "That will keep Lily occupied all night. Going to sneak out with us then Sirius?"

Sirius looked as if he really wanted to go, but he instead he said, "No, better stay behind in case she comes looking for any of us. If you don't mind though James, I'd like to get out of here Sunday night."

"Not a problem at all. The other Gryffindor Prefect will probably have cold sores by then anyway." James grinned.

Sirius Black spent an entire Saturday night sitting in the farthest corner of the Common Room alone. He was trying to read, but it wasn't going so well. He kept running the evening before over in his mind. Somewhere in the back of his head he knew that he was waiting for her to come back to the tower. Eventually, he was the last one in the Common Room, everyone else having gone off to bed. Most of the lights had been turned off already, and the shadowy corner obscured him when she came in. Before she noticed him, Sirius shut his eyes, feigning sleep.

He could hear her moving closer. Then her footfalls stopped just short of the chair he was lounging in. He kept his breathing as even as possible. He could smell her hair, so near she was. It was like fresh-picked lavender. He heard her moving away from him, and his heart started to ache again. He should have said something, should have tried to talk to her about yesterday. He cursed himself for being a stubborn fool. Then he felt the gentle weight of a blanket being laid over him, and felt her hand brush his knee as she pulled the blanket up to his chin.

She paused for a second, her face just inches from his. He heard a rustling in her robes, and then heard her whisper the words 'Nox Totalus'. From behind his eyelids, he saw the Common Room go completely black. Her fingers were in his hair now, sending goose bumps down the back of his neck. She leaned in towards him, and kissed him softly on his lips. She pulled back, watching him. He could feel her eyes burning into his skin. Let her think I'm still sleeping, he prayed, I can't look at her right now.

She leaned in again, kissing him slightly harder this time, and against his will, his lips responded to hers. She pulled back, jumping away. She stood there for a minute, studying his supposedly inert form, and then he heard her turn to leave. "Dream well, Sirius," she whispered as she left the Common Room.

And of course, he did.

Molly M. Johnson Molly M. Johnson 2 1 2003-07-18T00:32:00Z 2003-07-18T00:33:00Z 18 8480 48336 402 96 59360 9.3821 150

Title: Arrival Unexpected (03/?)
Author name: Molly Moon
Author email: psycha@chartermi.net
Category: Romance
Sub Category: Suspense
Keywords: Lily James Sirius Remus Peter
Rating: R
Spoilers: SS/PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, FB, QTTA
Summary: Teenage Angst - it's not just for breakfast anymore. Lily turns seventeen, Gryffindor plays Slytherin and Mr. Padfoot gets his belly rubbed.
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Shamelessly stole a few lines from 'Empire Strikes Back'-- I promise that the words 'I'm your father' have nothing to do with it though.
Author notes: Thanks to my sister-in-law/beta Jen, for diligently finding new ways to kiss and grope. (That just sounds awful, doesn't it?) And to Kristin, whom I hope feels better soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There were five days left until Gryffindor's first Quidditch game of the season, and there were three days left until Lily Evans' seventeenth birthday. Both events, and the preparations they entailed, were keeping the quartet on their toes during the first days of October. It was a Monday afternoon, and Sirius was planning on sneaking into Hogsmeade with Remus to do some shopping for Lily. James would be keeping Lily's nose firmly in a book at the library while Peter snuck into the Kitchen to make arrangements for a cake with the school House Elves. The boys exchanged triumphant looks when they met back up at dinner that evening: everything was going according to plan.

There was another project that the boys had been working on for a few weeks, but it wasn't making much progress. Lily had almost caught them that last Sunday night when Sirius and Peter had been sneaking off to Remus while she was on rounds with James (he'd been right about the other Gryffindor Prefect, who disappeared during breakfast that morning, running to the Infirmary). Sirius and Peter were sneaking out of the castle, under James' invisibility cloak, when Peter had gotten the hiccups. They echoed up and down the silent halls, and the noise caught Lily's attention. She bolted out from around the corner, peering across the hall. Sirius had slapped his hand over Peter's mouth, trying to stifle the sound. With each escaped hiccup, she moved closer to the invisible, fearful boys, using the reverberating sound as a kind of reverse sonar. She was standing not four feet from them when James arrived on the scene, making enough noise for Sirius and Peter to depart post haste.

It had been too close for comfort. They decided that they needed some kind of spell to warn them when Lily, or any authority figure was too close, so they could duck out of the way. They'd been debating how to go about it for weeks, when Remus finally hit upon a solid idea.

"You know how my Mum has that clock that tells her where anyone in the family is? We need something like that, but small and portable." He had said.

"If we listed everyone in the school though, that would be too big, even if it was just on a piece of parchment." Peter pointed out. "And if it only listed Lily, or all the prefects and teachers, that wouldn't cover all the options for getting caught, would it?"

"What we need," said James scratching his head as he thought out loud, "is something more localized. Something to tell us who's in the same area of the school that we're in at the time. Something..."

"... Like a map!" Finished Sirius thoroughly impressed with the idea. "That way it could be kept on a small piece of parchment, and would still alert us to anyone that could cause us trouble."

"I dunno..." said Remus, "I once heard Dumbledore say that he didn't even know all the rooms in this school. How are we going to map it?"

"Details," said Sirius, waving a hand dismissively at him. "I think that if we can put some of the essence of the school into the paper, it would map itself."

"After that," added James, who was equally enthused by this idea, "its just a matter of teaching the map to 'see' people."

"What if someone else should get a hold of it? We should make it so only we know how to use it." It would be a lot of work, Remus knew, but then most things worth doing were.

"We'll just add a few of our own brand of Encryption Charms," said Sirius, with a mischievous grin. "Put a bit of Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs into it."

Their course decided, the research began. Again, they found themselves having to try and keep Lily occupied while some of them worked on this. They distracted her in pairs, two of them working in the library or when they could bring books back to the Tower, in James' room; the other two went about life as normal, studying, playing games and chatting it up with Lily each night. So far, she hadn't suspected a thing.

Lily hadn't said a word to Sirius about the kiss she stole from him that Saturday night; in fact, when he'd tried to get a moment alone with her to speak about it, she'd pretended that she didn't know what he was talking about, and quickly changed the subject. Since then she'd made sure that, despite Sirius' best efforts, he didn't have so much as a minute alone with her. She was just as friendly with him as she was with the other three. As far as Sirius could tell, she hadn't talked to anyone else about it either. He was sure that if Remus had been told, he would have said something. If she had talked to James about it, Sirius felt that he would have seen it in his friend's eyes. It irked Sirius to no end that everything with the five of them seemed to be blissfully normal.

Sod normal, he told himself. He was rather irritable over the whole thing, never having to wait so long for a girl to fall under his spell before. When the tension got to be too much, he turned his frustrations into new methods for torturing Severus Snape.

The Prefect of Slytherin House was not having a good time of it lately. His feet would jumble under him unexpectedly, making him fall flat on his great hooked nose. Twice in as many days, Snape found that his books started to sing loudly whenever he opened them. Once, when Sirius was feeling particularly nasty, he'd sent Snape a fake Howler, which exploded into high-pitched screams asking if he still wet the bed and if he was still sleeping with his ickle teddy-goblin when the Slytherin had opened it at breakfast.

None of these distractions however, stopped Sirius from thinking about Lily for too long. He considered the situation carefully, and then just a day after he and Remus had snuck into Hogsmeade, Sirius made his way back into the wizarding town, intent on doing some shopping of his own.

* * *

When James was done with classes that afternoon, he went looking for Lily. He found her sitting on a bench that overlooked the lake, wearing a look so serious on her face that even Peeves the Poltergeist would have thought twice about disturbing her. He sat down next to her. "You been out here long?" he asked.

She shook her head. "The castle felt so stuffy today. I needed some fresh air. Fancy a bit of a walk?"

They chatted about classes and upcoming tests for a bit. She was smiling, but James noticed that her shoulders were still as tense as they had been when he'd found her on the bench. "So," he said determined to get it out of her this time. "Are you going to tell me what's been bothering you lately?"

"You can tell?" she asked, looking a bit defeated.

"It's all in your posture," he explained. "But I don't know if anyone else can see it." He tapped his left temple meaningfully. "Years of Quidditch practice: you learn to look at how an opponent is holding themselves to know where they're going to fly to next." She gave a small smile. "You know Lily, if you don't want me to, I won't tell the others. You can trust me." He gave her a small but wicked grin. "Prefect's privilege."

"I do trust you James," she said softly, looking down at the ground.

"What about the others? Do you trust them enough to talk about this? If not me, at least talk to someone." He was starting to think that maybe he didn't want to know what was bothering her.

"Oh, I could tell Remus anything I think. Peter... well... he's Peter... not much for heartfelt talks and meaningful discussions, is he?" she scuffed her shoes against the ground.

"What about Sirius? Do you think you could trust him?" Their conversation was starting to take an interesting turn. They'd stopped walking now, and stood halfway between the Quidditch Field and Hagrid's hut.

She scoffed. "Yeah, about as far as I could throw him." Lily flexed her muscles and laughed. She looked up at James, saying, "It's the kind of problem that a woman doesn't want to talk to a guy about, and that a guy never wants to hear about anyway... Know what I mean?"

"Oh!" exclaimed James, blushing ever so slightly. "Maybe you should uhm... talk to Madam Pomfrey..." If James had been a mouse under Lily's foot, his voice couldn't have squeaked more. "Or uhm... write a letter to your Mum?"

Lily stifled a smirk and nodded. Better that he think she was having a feminine hygiene problem, than know that she was waging a battle against her own hormonal impulses. In the back of her mind, she imagined his reaction if she spoke the truth: Really James, I'm up late at night imagining what Sirius would look like wearing nothing but his beater's club and an appropriately placed Bludger. Makes it awful hard for a girl to study. No, she thought wickedly, sometimes a lack of truth that isn't a lie is better than the whole truth.

They started up their walk once more. James was looking up at the clouds when he noticed a great black owl flying out of the Owlery. He pointed at it and asked, "Isn't that Circe?"

Lily looked up and nodded. "Yeah, I think it is. Where is she going?" Two sets of eyes following the flying loops that the bird made, until it landed just out of the reach of the Whomping Willow. James' heart skipped a beat, as his mind put the pieces together, understanding what was about to happen.

"Will you look at that!" exclaimed Lily, heading towards her owl and the animal that had just appeared seemingly out of thin air between the trees. If he had had a choice, James would have run in any direction but the one that Lily was scurrying off in. As it was, he had to do his best to diffuse the situation. Circe had taken off before they reached her, clutching something tightly in her talons. Lily called after her, but the bird either ignored her, or didn't hear her.

The great black dog, however, did.

It sat on the ground as if frozen there, tail between its legs. Lily kneeled down on the ground a few feet from it, calling it over to her. James stood behind her, smirking at the dog. Well, he thought, you've gotten yourself into this mess; let's see how you play it off Padfoot.

The dog crept slowly towards her; she held out a hand to him, to let him sniff her so he wouldn't be afraid. Padfoot's eyes looked up at James, almost pleadingly, but finally, sensing that James wasn't about to help him, he gave her outstretched hand a sniff. That was all the encouragement that Lily needed, and she wrapped her hands around the dog, scratching his neck and back affectionately. "He's just beautiful! Have you ever seen a coat like this on a dog? He positively shines." She breathed.

"I'd be careful, he probably has fleas." James said, standing above Lily and Padfoot, trying to keep a straight face.

"Hmm" she said thoughtfully. "He doesn't have a collar; do you think he's a stray?"

"Most definitely," said James. "Probably a mutt too; I'd bet his mother never even knew who his father was." The dog started barking at him at that, letting loose a few meaningful growls as well.

Lily looked between the two. "Don't tell me that you speak to dogs now too, James." She said it playfully, but her gaze on him was intense.

Think before you speak, he told himself. "Well, its not to hard too understand the lesser animals," he replied. Padfoot's back leg was twitching animatedly as Lily scratched his ears. "Take this fellow for instance." Padfoot lay down on the ground, and Lily was rubbing his belly in long slow strokes. "It's obvious that he's desperate for attention, so he snuck onto the school grounds and sought out the prettiest girl he could find. And Viola, a few cowering glances with those great puppy-dog eyes and he has you at his mercy." James grinned. "I wouldn't be surprised if he let you do that all day." The dog glared at James. "Come on, Lily. Let's head back. I told Sirius that I'd wake him up in time for dinner tonight."

Lily gave the dog one last affectionate pat on the head and started back towards the castle with James. James saw the dog go racing off towards the Quidditch lockers at breakneck speed and chuckled to himself.

Somehow, Sirius did manage to make it back into the dormitory before they did-- and when they knocked on his door, he even managed a convincing yawn. Lily was heading back to her room; she was going to take her book bag to dinner so she could head straight to the library from there. Once she was out of sight, James put a finger under Sirius' chin and scratched him with mock affection. "You were such a good ickle doggie. Yes you were," he cooed at the disgruntled looking lad.

Sirius slapped James' hand away, blushing furiously. "Do you have any idea how demeaning that was? I feel positively violated!"

James threw him a wicked grin. "Yep. You looked like you were really suffering from those vicious belly rubs. Especially when your tongue started to hang out of your mouth and your eyes rolled back in your head." James clucked at Sirius, "I bet you hope that you never have to endure such indignity again, right?"

Sirius slapped James' shoulder, gave him a wide grin and said "Actually... I wouldn't mind getting a collar, some dog tags and directions to a park filled with nubile young women for Christmas this year."

* * *

Of the four of them, Peter was having the hardest time not saying anything to Lily about her birthday. They'd taken careful precautions to ensure she didn't know that they knew it was her birthday. She hadn't told any of them that it was coming up. Remus remembered it because Lily's owl, Circe had delivered a large cake to her last year, which she had shared with him. This year, there would be no packages by owl post though. Sirius and James had spent the better part of Tuesday night up in the Owlery convincing Circe not to bring anything to Lily the next day, because it would be more fun if she waited until they sent for her.

When nothing arrived at breakfast, Lily had looked unperturbed. By lunchtime, she looked slightly sad. At dinner, after the owls had made their drops to the students, James had heard her mumble 'Not even a bloody card' before she excused herself from the table. Tears were welling up in her eyes. The boys waited a minute and then followed her back up to Gryffindor Tower, hiding carefully out of sight.

From around the corner, they watched as she struggled with the lock on the door to her room, a small stream of curses escaping her lips. James had put the locking charm on it himself; it wouldn't open until the pass code was given. When she kicked the door, they all broke into fits of laughter. Lily shot around the corner, glaring at them accusingly.

Remus smiled at her, pulling her back towards her door. "Take your wand out, touch it to the door and tell the truth." He said, still laughing.

"What truth?" she asked.

"Tell the door what day it is!" Peter said, grinning widely.

Lily's top lip twitched. She realized now that she'd been had. She sighed and pulled out her wand. "It's Wednesday, the sixth of October and I want in my bloody room!" she said stubbornly.

More laughter from the four boys, Sirius told her to try again.

"Its my birthday, open up," she mumbled, a touch of defeat in her voice. The door swung open, Lily walked in and let out a gasp. Balloons covered the entire ceiling flashing different colors as they bobbed up and down, streamers were draped across the walls spelling out the words 'Happy Birthday' like a neon sign, and sitting on her bed was Circe, a pile of presents next to her. The boys followed her in.

"Happy Birthday Lily!" Peter shouted, relieved to finally be able to say it. "There's a cake too, on your desk!"

Lily buried her head in Remus' chest. "You didn't have to do this," she told them.

"Oh please," said James, an air of mischief about him. "We didn't do this for you; we just needed an excuse for a party."

"And a chance," Sirius added, "to search your room for that bikini that Circe keeps talking about." Circe started hooting, and they all laughed.

It was well after midnight when the boys finally bid her goodnight. She'd given each of them an exuberant hug and a kiss goodnight on the cheek as they'd left. Lily chuckled to herself, remembering how Peter had snuck back in behind Sirius trying to get an extra kiss. Lily was attempting to pick her room up the old fashioned way, but it was slow going. Finally, she pulled out her wand and said "Pugare!" A stream of white sparkles floated out of the end of her wand. As they spread out into her room, they gathered up all the bits of torn wrapping paper and all the dirty dishes, putting all her chairs and pillows back into their proper places before they faded into the night.

There was a tapping at Lily's window. Circe was perched outside, and there was a small package attached to her leg. Lily opened the window and Circe fluttered over to her bed, sticking her leg out so that Lily could unburden her. "What is this?" Lily asked. In reply, the owl hooted softly and then after giving her an affectionate nip on the arm, flew back out the window.

The package was wrapped in simple brown paper; there was no address, return or otherwise on it. She unwrapped it, and in the box was a small vial of coarse dark gray powder and a note. Setting the note aside unread, she uncorked the vial and gave it a sniff. It smelled of burnt ash, but nothing sparked her memory. She picked up the note and unfolded it; in a deep red ink were words written in a very familiar script:

If there is one that you desire,

Throw a bit of me in fire.

Then say his name, but do not wait-

Come morning it will be too late.

Sirius Black, she said to herself, you certainly have an odd way of giving a girl an ultimatum. She picked up the vial again, looking at it more closely than before. Floo Powder, she thought, recognizing it finally. He's probably sitting down in the Common Room now. Each of the Prefect's rooms had their own fireplace, but the actual dormitories were heated by a ventilation system from the main fireplace in the Common Room of each house. Lily thought over her options carefully. She had decided the day after she had kissed him that she didn't want to date him (if in fact, that was what he even wanted from her). He was very handsome, with his wavy black-brown hair and his pale eyes, but he was also impulsive, loud and when he wanted to be, very cruel. The times in the previous five years that he had made her cry were uncountable. The simple fact that he knew how to hurt her eliminated him in Lily's mind from ever being anything but a friend.

She did really appreciate his friendship though, and that was what was so hard about all of this. She mulled going down to the Common Room to speak with him. Better to bring him up here, she thought, he's probably expecting that anyway. No need to have it out with him in the Common Room, where anyone could walk in at anytime. She went over to her desk and pulled the chair over in front of her fireplace. Lily uncorked the bottle again and said "Sirius Black" as she tossed its contents into the fireplace. The fire turned a dark green, his features slowly emerging from the flames. There was a soft smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. Unbidden, her heart floated higher in her chest like a Fizzing Whizbee as he stepped out of the flames and into her room. The pale gray pools that were his eyes looked down at her, leaning in slowly to give her a kiss. She threw a panicked hand into the air, accidentally bopping him on the nose with the motion. "Sorry," she mumbled, as he rubbed the bruise appendage. "Look, I just brought you here to talk; take a seat." She pointed to the chair.

The dopish grin fell from his face, but he took the offered chair and sat down. He looked very... scared; he was staring straight at the floor now, a slight blush colored his cheeks and he seemed determined not to look at her. This is going to be harder than I thought, Lily realized. She took a deep breath and began to speak. "I know that this is my fault. I don't know what came over me. I had no right to kiss you that night, and I'm sorry. I never meant to give you the wrong idea."

"No," he said softly. "There is no fault, there is no blame. Don't make it sound as if this," he gestured between the two of them, looking at her in the face finally "is a mistake. I wanted to be kissed, Lily. I want to be kissed again too. I... I can't think of anything else I want more in the world right now." He stood up and took a step towards her. She took a step back.

"Sirius," her heart was racing as she looked into his pleading eyes. She moved backwards again, trying to put as much distance as she could between his lips and her own rampaging hormones. "It would never work, you and I, we're much too different." A voice asked her if she was saying that for his benefit or her own.

"Opposites attract," he said moving closer to her.

She had backed herself into the wall.

"I... I only date nice boys," she stammered.

"I'm a very nice boy," he replied. His hand was caressing her cheek now.

Breathe, she told herself.

"No, you're not - you're -"

She never finished the sentence.

His lips fell on hers and it was all but over.Gentle kisses silenced all her well-planned arguments and her best intentions. Her hands were pressed against his chest, trying for abrief moment to push him away. As she succumbed to his kisses, her hands tightened into fists. All of a sudden, she was pulling him towards her by his robes- with a fiery passion that had transfigured her to her core.If this surprised him, he didn't show it. With one arm, he picked her up and set her on the edge of the windowsill. They were nearly eye level now.

He broke off for a moment just to look at her, his eyes shining with joy and hunger. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her again, slowly and gently. She raked her teeth across his lower lip, releasing a guttural almost animalistic growl from the back of his throat. She was wrapping her legs around his waist, pulling him hard towards her once more. Lily's lips strayed from his, exploring his jaw, his neck craving to devour skin, his scent. She inhaled deeply, taking in the light smell of cinnamon and sandalwood that was uniquely his. She kissed him once more on his jaw line, moving her lips onward to his earlobe, and locking them around it, switching deftly between gentle nibbling and harsh almost angry bites.

The noise in Sirius' throat turned deep. He took another step back, looking at her as if he couldn't believe it was happening. "Lily," he murmured into her ear. "My Lily..."

Her small hand wriggled through a gap in the buttons in his robe. Her fingers slid around to the back of his neck, forcing his mouth back down to hers. She dragged her fingernails sharply down his back and when he gasped in shock, he felt her lips break into a small smirk beneath his.

His own hands began to explore her pale skin, surprised once more when his probing fingers met not resistance, but encouragement. Things were starting to spiral beyond his control, and when her hand started to creep down into his trousers, he stepped back.

"I... I have to go," he said it like an apology.

"Will you come back?" she asked, there was just a touch of fear on her face.

"Of course," he said, giving her a winning smile. "We have to finish that talk we were having about how much you don't want to kiss me."

* * *

Lily was the last to arrive at breakfast the next morning. Her face was bright and perky as she took a seat between Peter and Remus. Sirius cocked an eyebrow at her, but all she said to him was "Pass the pumpkin juice, will you Sirius?"

Pass the pumpkin juice indeed, Sirius thought. Well, if she wants to play it cool, I can do that. "Sleep well last night?" he inquired cheerfully.

"Yep, went straight to bed after I -" she was giving him a funny look, turning her head to the side till it was parallel with her shoulders. "What the bloody hell is that on your neck?"

The other three boys were looking at him now as his hand rose defensively to the collar of his robes, but it was too late. "He's got a love bite, he has!" Peter said just a bit too loudly.

"Oy," said Remus. "A large one at that too... looks a bit like the profile of the Minister of Magic." Sirius blushed to the roots of his hair. They were all speculating on the girl in question, and he was surprised when Lily threw out several suggestions as to who the culprit might be. What is she on about, he wondered.

He was starting to think that they'd never let up about it when the owl post arrived. A large brown barn owl dropped a newspaper towards them that James caught deftly without ever looking up. James unfolded it and began reading.

"Hey, two of those sleeping kids woke up," he announced.

"Yeah," said Sirius, who was as usual reading the paper over James' shoulder. "But one died the night before."

"So what was it that finally woke them up?" asked Remus.

"Apparently they don't know," James said, still scanning the article. "They just woke up, several hours after the other one died. All three children were from the same family." He set the paper down. There was a sad, faraway look on his face.

"Why kill one but not the others?" This was from Lily, who looked as if she was trying to solve a particularly hard Arithmancy problem.

Remus shrugged, "Who knows the inner workings of the mind of a Dark Wizard?"

The first bell chimed just then, calling them to class. Lily was struggling with her book bag. "Here," offered Sirius as the others rose to leave. "I'll carry that for you."

She heaved it up and over her shoulder, "No need, got it now. Thanks though." They exited the hall, the others some distance ahead of them. Sirius grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop. She turned and looked at him.

"There something going on here that I don't know about?" he whispered to her. "I mean other than the fact that you seem to think it was another girl that gave me this blasted love bite."

She smirked at him, "Well, its not like I want them to know that it was me... why didn't you use a healing charm on it this morning? I had to use three with all the havoc you caused last night."

He gave her a sly grin. "I didn't even know it was there till you pointed it out." He moved towards her, intending to give her a kiss.

She took off down the hall, calling at him behind her, "Come on, we're going to be late."

The whole day went like that: Sirius attempting to publicly display his affection for Lily, and Lily somehow managing to escape his clutches. By the time he hit the Quidditch field for practice, Sirius was very distracted. His whole game was off, and from the way that James was looking at him Sirius wasn't the only one that had noticed.

"You do realize that we have a match tomorrow? Against Slytherin?" James said pointedly.

"Yeah, I think I heard something about that." Sirius gave James a slight eye roll. "Don't worry about it, I'm just a bit distracted today."

Everyone was always tense before a match against Slytherin; the ancient school rivalry tended to bring out strong emotions. Both sides had been sporting their house colors all week. There had also been more open hostility in the halls of Hogwarts, and not a few points were lost in the shuffle.

Sirius pulled his shirt off, grabbing a towel to head to the showers. James stepped in front of him. "Whatever you say, mate." James poked a finger into the deep purple love bite on Sirius' neck. "Just remember to keep your focus on the game tomorrow and not on... other things."

"Aren't you going to ask me about it?"

Sirius and James had always shared their trysts before, and while he didn't want to answer any questions, it just felt wrong not to say something to James.

"Nope." James was pulling off his own shirt now, tossing it into the locker.

"Why?" asked Sirius, looking slightly surprised.

James passed by Sirius, heading into the showers. He didn't even turn around when he replied, "Because I'm happier not knowing."

* * *

Lily had insisted that Sirius wait in her room while she made her rounds with James that night, saying that it was easier for him to sneak in early right under everyone's noses than to duck in late, when it would look suspicious. He'd agreed, but didn't let her leave until she gave him a kiss.

He looked about the room. In many ways, it was similar to his shared room up in the turrets. The ancient wooden floor creaked in all the right places, and the dark gray stones that made up the walls looked familiar as well. Mostly though, the room was uniquely Lily. There was a Muggle (nonmoving) lithograph on the wall behind her four-poster bed that had several dozen strangely dressed people standing behind a large drum that read 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'. In the foreground, spelled out in flowers were the words 'The Beatles'. Sirius stared at it for a long time. I hope she didn't pay too much for this, he thought as he studied at all the costumed Muggles, they spelled the word 'beetles' wrong.

A half-hour went by, then another. He sat in front of the fire, replaying the evening before in his mind. When he got sick of sitting, he walked over to her mirror and fussed with his hair a bit. The mirror appeared to be rather scandalized by his presence there, asking if he realized that this was a girl's room. He ignored it.

Her trunk was propped open at the end of her bed. He'd already glanced into it several times while he was waiting. He went over to it again; its contents were divided neatly in half - wizard robes on one side and Muggle clothing on the other. The temptation to delve inside was overbearing. His desire to touch anything that was hers weighed against the knowledge that she could very well be back at any second. A mischievous smile flicked across his face as he made up his mind; he pulled his wand out of his pocket, pointed it squarely at the trunk and said "Accio bikini!"

The clothes in the trunk shuffled themselves about a bit, but after a moment two small garments flew out and into his hands. The material was soft, almost slippery between his fingers. He went over to her bed and laid it out. Sure enough, there was the red, white and blue of the Union Jack, its patterns displayed prominently where her breasts and hips would be if she were wearing it. Many words and images popped into his sixteen year old mind, with one continuing to rise to the forefront: It was so small. He couldn't take his eyes away from it. How can she wear this out in public, he thought, it barely covers anything!

Of course, said the small voice in his head, that was the beauty of it too. He had to give it to the Muggles: they'd created something that showed basically everything while still leaving much to the imagination. His imagination was still going full-steam ahead when he heard her outside of the door a few minutes later.

He looked around frantically. No time to put it back, he thought, and sat down on her bed, the bikini hidden beneath him. She walked into the room and smiled, closing the door securely behind her. "Sorry about that," she said as she walked over to him. "We found half of the Slytherin team having a pre-game snog-fest up at the Astronomy Tower." She sat down on his lap, kissing him on his neck. She pulled back after a moment and said "You look like a boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar, what have you been up to?"

"Nothing!" he said, hoping it sounded convincing. She stood up, and took his hands into hers, trying to pull him up to his feet. His rear end stayed firmly planted on the bed though. She was smirking at him now. She took out her wand and pointed it at him. He gulped.

"Don't make me do this the hard way," she grinned. He was about to protest his innocence again when she flicked her wand "Mobilicorpus!" His feet lifted up off the ground and his whole body moved about two feet to the left, to where her wand was pointing. She picked up the bikini, held it right under his nose and said, "You went through my things?" Amazingly, she didn't sound angry - yet.

"No..." he replied, looking guilty. "I used a summoning charm over your trunk, just to see if it was in there." He shrugged apologetically. He looked down at the ground for a moment, then back up at her, giving her a set of well-timed puppy dog eyes.

She laughed, sitting down next to him on the bed. "Well, I hope you don't have some raunchy idea that I'm going to try it on for you. Because I'm not, not after the way you've behaved tonight."

He leaned in, and whispering into her ear. "And what do I have to do to earn that privilege?"

She giggled and pushed him down into the pillows at the head of her bed. Instead of answering his question, she crawled on top of him, curtains of red hair cascading around their faces, and kissed him hard on the mouth.

It was time to go all too soon. He had to get some sleep tonight, he told her, Quidditch game tomorrow. "Do you think you'll win?" she asked, head still leaning against his chest.

"Of course we'll win!" he sounded shocked that she even had to ask. "We'll probably shut them out."

"Confident little man aren't you?" she smirked.

"Always..." he said, getting up off the bed. He started to straighten his robes.

She reached down the side of the bed, picking the discarded bikini up off the floor. "Confident enough to lay a bet on it?"

He turned, looked at her, and then at the bikini in her hands. "Are you saying... that if we win tomorrow, you'll try it on?"

"No. I'm saying that if you shut them out I will," she licked her lips and grinned at him. "If Slytherin scores, no deal... it's a draw then."

"And if Gryffindor loses?" He was sure he didn't want to hear the answer.

She tossed the bikini at him. "If Gryffindor loses, then we'll see how good you look in it, won't we?"

* * *

It had always seemed like a crime to James that classes were even held on the day of a Quidditch match. He could be out polishing his broom, or working on cornering while flying, but instead, he was sitting in Potions class with a smug looking Sirius Black parked next to him. From the moment Lily had pointed out the love bite on Sirius' neck the morning before, there had been little doubt in James' mind as to how it got there. He couldn't bring himself to be mad about it. Sirius was very good at getting what he wanted, and James was very pleased to see Sirius happy.

There was no change in Lily, however. She was acting as if nothing had happened, even though something obviously had. Did she not want them to know? Why keep it a secret, he wondered and not for the first time. After spending so much time alone with her in the last month because of their Prefect obligations, James had thought that he had a good idea who Lily Evans was. This didn't seem like her at all. Above all, he prized her honesty in their friendship. Everyone has secrets, he thought, but this seems to be a silly one to keep. There wasn't much that James could do about it though, aside from wait and watch.

Professor Hawthorne was holding up several recent copies of 'The Daily Prophet'. "Its not often," she said, "that the study of Potions or Herbology coincides with current events. As you may or may not know, the children that were attacked with this mysterious sleeping curse were also attacked in a more subtle way. Roots started to grow up out of the ground at their feet, binding them to the place they stood. Various potions and other means have been used to attempt to halt its growth, to no effect." She set the papers down and started passing out small boxes to each student. "These are samples of said root, which Professor Sprout and I have procured from the Ministry in order for our sixth and seventh years to study." She returned to the front of the classroom, a sneering grin on her face. "I do not expect that any of you should prove so clever as to find the solution where hundreds of the best minds in the Ministry have failed, but we are interested in seeing what information you can gather on this plant, and if it would have any uses or merits of its own in an apothecary. You will also find a list of the potions that the Ministry has tried thus far, I suggest that you make yourselves familiar with the brewing of these potions."

All the students stared at their boxes, not particularly keen on touching them. "I have assurances," said Prof. Hawthorne, gauging the reaction of her class, "that the plants are completely inert now. You will have a month to work on this; your findings will replace your end of the month exam for October for this class as well as Herbology." Happy murmurs filled the classroom as the bell rang.

As the students made their way back up to the main floor of the castle, a few snide remarks were once again exchanged between Slytherin and Gryffindor. Severus Snape said something that made James raise his arm, ready to hit him. A small but firm hand on his shoulder stopped him. Snape laughed and waked away with his housemates. From behind him, Lily whispered, "Don't let him get to you, that's what he wants."

James let out a low growl and pulled out of her grasp. "One of these days though...." He promised.

"Why not find a way to get under his skin instead? Distract him from his game," Lily offered. Remus and Lily were escorting him and Sirius to the main gate, where the latter pair would exit to the Quidditch field.

"Any suggestions?" he asked.

"Wink at him," she said, grinning wickedly. "That seems to distract at least half of the student body at Hogwarts."

Sirius was laughing, as was Remus. Lily was holding James' gaze. There was an air of extra confidence about her now; Sirius gave her that, James told himself. Instead of making her seem the braggart, as Sirius often did, it added to her quiet beauty. She was still quick to anger, you could see that in her eyes, but now... she seemed much more in control.

James shrugged "I'd rather just hit him with a broom." He clapped Sirius on the back, and they left the castle behind.

The game was held after dinner that evening, and it seemed as if the whole school had come out to watch. Lily sat up in the Gryffindor section, between Peter and Remus. On the field far below, the referee blew his whistle, and seven streaks of crimson flew up into the air. On the far side of the field, the Slytherin team took flight as well. Two lines of Chasers glared at each other, eyes darting back down to the ground where the referee waited for the right moment. Suddenly, the Quaffle was tossed into the air, and the game began.

Slytherin took first possession, its chaser deftly dodging the Bludgers that Sirius and the other Gryffindor Beater, Arrand Findwinder, were pelting at him. The chaser, a Slytherin sixth year who looked like his parents met at a family reunion, got close enough to the Gryffindor goals to attempt to score, but was blocked with ease by their Keeper, a fourth year girl named O'Reily. With a triumphant grin, she tossed the Quaffle to James, who took off towards the Slytherin goal posts in a burst of speed.

He rolled to his left, dodging a Bludger and a Slytherin chaser to boot. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the Seekers for each team hovering high above, trying to spot the Golden Snitch. James veered back to the right, heading straight for Snape and the Slytherin goal posts. Snape was glaring at him, ready for the throw. Lily's pre-game advice flashed in his mind. James raised his right arm, ready to throw. As he released the Quaffle at Snape, he blew Snape a kiss. Confusion, followed by disgust flashed on Severus' face, but only for a moment. It was enough; Gryffindor scored.

James turned his broom, heading back to midfield. He smiled at the sound of the cursing Snape behind him. Slytherin had possession again, since James had just scored, but it didn't last for long. Sirius had managed to knock the Quaffle out of the hands of Slytherin's captain, Prunella Brautgaarder who could have passed for a member of the German Olympic swimming team. James went into a vertical dive, catching the Quaffle and then throwing it to Meg Surrey, another chaser for Gryffindor. The two beaters in green were accelerating towards her, like dragons spying a sacrificial virgin snack, looking to pin her between them and regain control. Sirius smacked a Bludger hard, hitting one of them in the back and giving Meg enough room to score. The score was twenty to zero now.

Before the end of the first hour, Gryffindor was leading by seventy points, and Slytherin had not managed to answer a single score. O'Reily was deflecting all attempts beautifully. She had control of the Quaffle again, and tossed it high in the air to Surrey who reached the midfield. before a Bludger knocked it out of her arm. She was wincing; the blow landed on her elbow. James looped through the air and snatched the Quaffle out of the expectant arms of a Slytherin chaser. Throwing on another burst of speed, he headed for Snape. He feinted to the left and threw the ball through the far right goal. When Snape gave him a steely glare, James just winked at him.

Two more attempts to score from Slytherin had been denied before James found himself racing towards the goal posts once more. Snape caught the Quaffle and handed it off to one of his Seekers. James made a quick but very suggestive gesture with his hands, pointing between him and Snape. That was the final straw apparently, for seconds later Snape's broom was zooming away from the goals and towards James, who ducked out of the way just in time to see the two Seekers diving towards the stands. The Golden Snitch was hovering over a group of Hufflepuffs, who hadn't seen it yet and were frantically diving to avoid being hit by the speeding Seekers.

Two roars of approval boomed through the Quidditch stands at once, and for very different reasons. At the Gryffindor end, a chaser had just squeaked the Quaffle past O'Reily, scoring for Slytherin house for the first time; in the stands, the new Gryffindor Seeker, an amazing second year student named Crius Smythe, was holding his arm high in the air. He'd caught the snitch; Gryffindor won.

The referee blew the whistle; the game was over. James flew down towards the ground, intending to join his celebrating teammates, but he never made it. Just fifteen feet from the ground, he felt a large whack at the back of his skull and everything went black.

He woke up a few minutes later, surrounded by his teammates. The sounds of angry screams filled the air. James propped himself up on his elbows, looking around. Professor McGonagall was yelling at Snape, who was protesting his innocence. An accident, James heard him say, that's all it was. Sirius was staring down at him, a worried expression on his face. "You okay?" he asked.

James stood up, trying not to look as wobbly as he felt. He nodded at Sirius as Meg Surrey looped herself under his shoulders, leading James towards the lockers. Once he'd confirmed James' well being, Sirius took off running towards Snape, who ducked behind Professor McGonagall. It took all of the Gryffindor team, and a few seventh year students that had come on to the field, to keep Sirius off of Snape. James turned his head back towards the lockers, smiling softly to himself.

"Need anything, Potter?" he heard Meg ask. "Anything I can do for you?"

"Yeah," James said, rubbing the back of his head. "The next time I feel the urge to flirt with Snape, don't let me."

* * *

Guilty tears filled Lily's eyes while James told her why Snape had attacked him on the field later that night, when all of Gryffindor was celebrating their victory in the Common Room. James was being treated like a war hero, everyone asking to see the bump on his head. The only person that got more attention was young Mister Smythe, who was blushing furiously from all the praise on his great catch of the Golden Snitch.

"I am so sorry, James." Lily said, for about the hundredth time that night. "I never thought-"

"Will you let it go, woman!" he was laughing at her now, impossible to contain it any longer. "Just the look on his face the first time I blew a kiss at him made this" he pointed to the rather large bump on the back of his skull, "more than worth it. Madam Pomfrey says that no damage was done; she told me I had a thick skull."

"That he does," chimed in Remus looking equally amused at Lily's guilt. "It's amazing that he has any room for a brain in there at all."

"Well," said Lily, clucking at him maternally. "At least let me get one of the other prefects to fill in for you tonight, you should be resting."

James considered it for a moment; the idea of skiving off his Prefect duties was appealing, but he figured that if he did Lily would just worry more, thinking that he was actually hurt. "No need," he said finally. "The walk will do me good."

They left the clearing of the Common Room to Annalise and Gregg, the other fifth year Prefect, and exited out the portrait door. James could have sworn that the Fat Lady winked at him as they rounded the corner. Lily saw it too, and was chuckling softly. Near the entrance to the Great Hall, they met up with the two Hufflepuff Prefects on duty that night, who informed James that Snape had lost thirty points for the 'love tap' on the Quidditch field. They had a good laugh over it, and then went on their separate ways once more.

He walked with Lily in silence for a while, enjoying her company. She stopped in front of a large window on the second floor that overlooked the main grounds. He stood next to her, and then stared down at her face until, blushing slightly, she looked up at him. "Anything you want to tell me, Lily?" She cocked an eyebrow at him questioningly. "About you and Sirius?"

The color rose in her cheeks. "He told you then, did he?"

James shook his head slowly.

"You... you mean you just guessed?" James nodded, holding her gaze. Lily made a small shrug and looked back out the window. "It's nothing really. Just a fringe benefit to our friendship." She was wringing her hands. "I'm not his girlfriend if that's what you're thinking."

James scoffed. "You're really something else, you know that? I'd like to see you tell that to him, even if you are doing a smashing job of convincing yourself of it."

"It's just kissing," she protested. She could feel him staring at her.

"Not to Sirius, and you bloody well know it." He retorted, poking her in the shoulder for emphasis. "He's done everything but follow you around on bended knee these last few days."

"Oh please," she muttered annoyed at this turn of events. "He's dated half the girls in our year. I have no desire to walk down the hall and let people speculate as to when he'll get bored with me."

"So you'd rather be the girl that he was snogging behind closed doors?" James asked. "That's real dignified, Lily. You know that you deserve better than that."

"And what if that's all I want? Hmm?" she turned and faced him again. "Can't a girl enjoy a snog just for snoggings sake? Or do I have to walk around and sigh with a dreamy look in my eyes all day," She was poking a finger into his chest now, pushing him backwards, "just because Mister James fucking Potter thinks that that is how I should behave? Things are just the way I want them to be, and no one is getting hurt, so just stay the hell out of it, will you?"

"No, I won't." His eyes went cold as he looked at her, anger building up inside of him. "Because you know that someone is going to get hurt, you're just determined to do everything you can to make sure that it isn't you." She shoved him aside and started to walk away. He grabbed her by the arm and spun her around, so that she was facing him again. "If you are so sure that this is what you want, then you owe it to Sirius to tell him." She rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "The longer you wait, the more you'll break his heart in the end."

"Why do you keep pushing me into his arms? Every time I turn around you're there to recall all his good qualities." She threw her hands in the air. "Why do you want to see us get together?"

"What I want," he glowered down at her, "Miss Lily fucking Evans, is to see you happy, in spite of yourself and regardless of all the little lies you tell yourself to justify what you are doing." He pushed her shoulders, making her take a few steps back from him. He took a deep breath before speaking again, trying to swallow his anger. "You have come so far in these last few weeks, I'd hate to see you shut life out again." He reached out, offering her a hand. "Could you get hurt? Yes, but you could even if you never laid eyes on Sirius Black again. That's what life is about, being happy, getting hurt and looking for happiness again. It's like that ride at Drayton Manor, the rolling coaster."

"Roller coaster," she corrected.

"Roller coaster," he repeated, giving her a small smile. "The point is, that until you get on the ride, you'll never know what it's going to be like."

She took his hand, and they started walking back down the hall. She slid her arm up after a moment, until it was looped through his. "I don't know what I want," she said after a short distance. "And you're right, I don't want to get hurt." She took a deep breath. "Does he know how lucky he is to have you for a friend?"

James shook his head, giving her a small smile. "Not a clue," he said. "Though with the spell you have on him, I doubt if he even remembers my name at the moment."

Lily blushed, giving him an exaggerated eye roll. After a few moments she spoke again. "It is rather nice," she mused. "Having a boy pay attention to me. But really, I don't know about Sirius... I mean, he's an amazing kisser," James groaned, as if to say that he didn't need to know that. "But if it doesn't work out, what about the rest of us?"

James stopped walking, turning to face her. "Is that what you're afraid of? That Remus, Peter or I wouldn't like you anymore?" Her face was shadowed, but he still saw the small nod that she gave. "Lily, even if you tore my own heart out of my chest, stomped it into the ground and then ran off to the waiting, albeit greasy arms of Severus Snape," he gave her an exaggerated grin, "I'd still want you in my life."

Lily laughed, "Oh right, as if I could ever hurt you."

Funny, he thought to himself as they continued patrolling the halls, it seems like you've done nothing but that lately.

* * *

Lily didn't come down to breakfast on Saturday, or lunch. Before dinner, Remus knocked on her door. "Who is it?" she asked from behind the door.

"It's Remus... are you okay?" he asked trying not to sound worried.

"Fine," she replied, still not opening the door. "Just feeling a bit off, feminine troubles." Ah, the old excuses, Lily mused, still the best way to get a bloke to lay off you for a while.

"Oh," he replied, blushing slightly. "Do you want me to bring you up some food?"

"No need, I still have sweets in here from my birthday. Just need a bit of a lie-in." She cracked the door open and smiled out at him. "Thanks for asking though, Remus. I'll be down for breakfast tomorrow, I promise."

Remus gave her a small wave and headed down to the Great Hall. He reported Lily's condition to the others and started to fill his plate with food.

James watched Sirius from across the table; Sirius looked like he had a lot on his mind. James considered telling him very briefly about his talk with Lily the night before, but decided against it. Lily had left him last night saying that she was going to do a lot of thinking about 'this whole thing' as she referred to it, and he felt that she deserved time to make up her mind. It hurt him though, to see his friend pining for her. It hurt even more, realizing that Lily would probably choose to be with Sirius, and that he would soon be the one pining from afar.

Well, he told himself, its not as if you offered her another option. He'd told her the truth last night, when he'd said that he wanted to see her happy. What he hadn't told her was that he was starting to realize how happy he would be if he was the one to bring that joy to her life. It was amazing, he decided, how one person could so turn your life around. There really wasn't any rhyme or reason to it either; she was beautiful, there was no question about that, but it was the things he was learning about her as a person, like how naïve she was in matters of the heart that endeared her to him. He adored the sound of her laughter, and how quick her temper (and her wit) was when she was provoked. She wasn't like any other girl he'd ever known.

With a pang of regret, James wished that his father were still around, so that he could talk to him about Lily. His dad would have understood why James felt the need to just stand by, instead of actively pursuing Lily like Sirius was. Nothing is ever easy, he said to himself. His father's laughter echoed in his memories, and he heard his dad's voice saying 'Nothing worth it ever is.' He recalled his father talking about his mother, before they'd been married. 'Why James,' he'd said, 'Maddie drove me absolutely corking mad, but when she smiled, none of it mattered. And as long as she keeps smiling, none of it ever will.' Madeline Potter had been sitting by the fire that night, and rolled her eyes at her husband, telling him that if he wanted to see her smile some more, he'd go in and clean up the kitchen for her.

Unlike so many boys his age, James was never ashamed of the open affection his parents displayed for each other. That's how it was in the faerie tales, he'd told himself as a child, after the words 'Happily Ever After'. His parents had been together for many years, but still looked at each other like nervous teenagers. Was it so wrong, he asked himself, to want the same thing? Was he crazy to hope that he might have something so enduring with Lily Evans?

More importantly, he mentally retorted, how much of a git are you for wanting such a thing while your best friend in the whole world sits across the table from you, head over heels for the same girl? James gulped back his guilt. The truth is, he said to himself, that you know you will never step up while Sirius still has a chance. And it was probably better this way, standing aside, not chasing after her as he'd promised. Bollocks, he thought after a moment, you may not be chasing, but you certainly are waiting for her, and that can be just as bad.

James excused himself from the table, claiming that he needed to go and study. He went back to his room and buried his face into his pillows, trying very hard not to see her face behind his eyes, and trying even harder not to hope that she dropped Sirius on his arse the next time she saw him. Just wait and see, he told himself as he drifted off to sleep, just wait and see.

After breakfast the next morning, James realized something: Whenever you're waiting for something good to happen, time stretches on forever; whenever you're expecting the worst, it happens before you've finished blinking. Such was the case with Lily. She'd marched into the great hall that morning, looking bright eyed and smiling widely at all of them. She took a seat next to Sirius, who had his hands folded on the Sunday edition of the Daily Prophet, skimming the scores of the international Quidditch matches from the day before.

Without a hint of shame or hesitation, she'd slipped her hand under his, holding it firmly. With her other hand, she poured herself a glass of orange juice, while they'd all stared at her and Sirius.

Sirius looked as if someone had set off Filibuster Fireworks in his eyes. His smile took up his whole face, and with a bit of daring, he had leaned over and given Lily a small peck on the cheek. She'd turned and smiled back at him, asking how his morning was going.

Remus and Peter were giving the new couple curious glances, but Lily just ignored them. James didn't think that Sirius even knew that Remus and Peter were still at the table; Sirius never took his eyes off Lily throughout the whole breakfast, afraid that she might vanish again if he took the time to blink.

James thought that he'd put on a good face, laughing at all the right times during the conversations that morning, but inside, he was a mess. Before he realized it, he'd agreed to go up to the library with her and Sirius to work on some Defense Against the Dark Arts essay. Just great, he thought, cursing himself for not paying more attention. I'd rather watch Snape take a shower than watch Lily cuddle up to Sirius all day.

In the end, the five of them had gone to the library together. They passed by Justice Munroe on their way in, who was sound asleep in her Herbology book. The options for mischief against the snoozing Head Girl were discussed until Lily came back carrying a book on vampires and had given them a good tongue lashing for it.

The worked for several hours, until Peter pointed out with a small whinge that it was time for dinner. They packed up their books and made their way out of the towering stacks of books. Lily stopped right before the door, and pointed to a table. There was Justice, still sleeping, oblivious to the world around her. "Hold up a second," Lily said. "I'm going to wake her up so that she doesn't miss dinner."

Lily prodded Justice gently in the shoulder, whispering her name. No reaction. She said the Head Girl's name louder, tapping her on the top of her head. "Sound sleeper, isn't she?" Lily said, looking amused.

James took a step forward, pointing at something on the ground with his wand. "Someone go get Dumbledore," he said.

"What is it?" Lily asked, moving around the table to see what the fuss was about.

Up through the floorboards, dark green vines were growing around Justice Munroe's feet.

Molly M. Johnson Molly M. Johnson 2 0 2003-07-18T17:15:00Z 2003-07-18T17:15:00Z 18 8185 46657 388 93 57298 9.3821 150

Title: Arrival Unexpected (04)
Author name: Molly Moon
Author email: psycha@chartermi.net
Category: Romance
Sub Category: Suspense
Keywords: Lily James Sirius Remus Peter
Rating: R
Spoilers: SS/PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, FB, QTTA
Summary: The attack that put the Head Girl into a cursed sleep sends most Hogwarts students running for cover and others looking for answers in unusual places.
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author notes: *merp* Kristin *merp* I'd thank Jen too, but she's still upset about my last dedication to her I think ;)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The castle became a flurry of action in the hours after the discovery of the sleeping body of Justice Munroe; once Dumbledore had questioned them to his satisfaction, Peter, Remus and Sirius were sent back to Gryffindor Tower while Lily and James were told to gather the other Prefects for an emergency meeting. The instructions that they were to pass on were simple--no one was to leave their Common Rooms until the heads of the Houses gave the word.

Marius Finke, the Head Boy from Hufflepuff, pointed out that Justice had a younger sister, Honora in his house; he offered to bring her up to Dumbledore's office so the Headmaster could give her the news. James gave Lily a telling glance, and although neither of them said a word about it, they were not surprised when they learned later that Justice's sister had also been found in a charmed sleep in her bed. For all the things they didn't know about these attacks, there was one blatant commonality: All the children in a magical family were attacked at the same time.

Shock moved through the assembled Gryffindors like a wave crashing on the shore when James and Lily gave the news an hour later. There had always been the feeling among the students that regardless of what was going on in the rest of the world, when you were at Hogwarts, you were safe. Justice was also the oldest person to be attacked; the rest of the victims had all been under ten years of age. 'Why' was the most popular question, followed quickly by 'How'? Fear was everywhere; many of the students already had powerful reasons to fear the wrath of Lord Voldemort and his minions; like James, their families had been affected personally as the Dark Wizard pushed the limits of his power. As the speculating whispers filled the Common Room, many expressed their fear that He Who Must Not Be Named would soon be unstoppable.

James and Lily stood in front of the portrait door--it was the only way to ensure that no one left. Lily didn't think that anyone would try, gauging from the reaction's fallout alone, but she felt it was better to err on the side of caution. Slowly, the Gryffindors retired for the evening until only Peter, Remus and Sirius held vigil with Lily and James, waiting for news from the head of their house, Professor McGonagall.

Peter yawned four times in as many minutes, and Lily told the three boys to go to bed, saying either she or James would bring word when and if it came. Remus and Peter obliged, heading up the stairs, but Sirius hung back.

"You sure?" he asked, worry radiating from of his eyes. "You think it's safe for just two of you down here?"

Lily put a hand on his arm, patting it reassuringly. "Don't you worry, I'll protect James for you." She gave Sirius a small smirk and pushed him towards the staircase.

James was pushing two chairs over to the doorway. "If you want, you can head to bed, too. I'm not the least bit tired and I don't mind sitting up."

Lily planted herself firmly in the chair and replied, "Didn't you hear what I just said? I'm protecting you tonight."

"Oh really?" James said, a bemused look on his face.

"Yes, really." Lily held up four fingers. "There have been four attacks so far, all on children of old wizarding families. No Muggle-borns have been attacked at all. Assuming that this is part of a Modus Operandi, I'm perfectly safe; it's you that needs to be guarded day and night."

James stared at her, surprised once again by capacity of her cleverness. He continued to ponder this in silence and then looked up at her, startled. "Do you think that Voldemort is trying to extort something from the parents, using the children as leverage?"

"Could very well be," Lily replied, tapping her fingers against the arm of the chair. "Remember that article about the two kids that woke up? Didn't their sibling die the night before?" She leaned towards him and whispered, "What if the other two woke up because the parents gave Voldemort what he wanted after his curse killed their child?"

James drew in a sharp breath. It made too much sense to him. "Then the real question is... What does he want from the Munroes?"

Lily gave a small shrug. "Could be anything--from loyalty to an actual item, couldn't it?" She was quiet for a second, thinking carefully. "If it's something tangible though, it must be something that the family protects very well; if it was something that they just kept on their mantelpiece, you'd think that Dark Wizards would just storm in and take it with none of this "behind-closed-doors" bargaining."

It was nearly four in the morning when Professor McGonagall entered through the portrait of the Fat Lady, informing them that there was no change in the condition of the Munroe children and that students were restricted to the dorms indefinitely. The strict woman looked very tired as she continued: "We've excused all the Prefects from their morning classes, so I suggest you get what sleep you can. I'll see you both in Transfiguration tomorrow after lunch."

James and Lily pushed the chairs back to their proper places in the Common Room. James headed toward the boys' stairs, stopping when he realized that Lily was following him.

"What are you doing?" he asked her as he yawned sleepily.

"I told you before, I'm protecting you." She had a fiercely determined look on her face; he found it almost laughable.

"Lily, if you're safe because you're Muggle-born, then I'm safe because I don't have any parents," he told her matter-of-factly.

"No, you're wrong," she insisted. "You're probably in more danger than anyone in the whole school."

"And just how did you reach that conclusion?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Well," she retorted, sounding as if it should be obvious to him. "If somebody wanted something from Dumbledore, it would be you that they'd attack, wouldn't it?"

* * *

The week following the attack had been exceptionally long for Lily Evans. Despite having spent a considerable amount of time explaining to Sirius that it was very likely that she wouldn't be next, he had insisted that one of the four boys accompany her during all waking hours. By mid-week, Dumbledore had removed the restrictions on the students, but Sirius had flat out refused to lift the guard he'd placed on Lily. Peter following her all the way to the Prefect's bathroom on Thursday had been the last straw. Gnashing her teeth the way her Grandmother Kristin did when she was angry (or trying to get her dentures to stick in place), she told all of them, in no uncertain terms, to back off or else.

Happy to have a moment alone, Lily made her way back to the scene of the attack: the library. Madam Pomfrey had moved Justice and her sister, Honora down to the Infirmary on Sunday, so Lily sat down at the very desk where she'd found the sleeping Head Girl. Several students goggled at her as they passed by, looking at her as if she was sitting on someone's grave.

Lily had given a lot of thought to what she and James had discussed that first night and had decided that instead of trying to work out how to solve the problem, she'd try and discover the reason that these particular families had been attacked. If Voldemort was trying to get a ransom from the parents, there might be a pattern in what he was after. She had had to ask Madam Pince to go back into the archives, but eventually Lily found what she was looking for; sitting before her on the table was the first book in a volume of three titled, 'Wizard Genealogy in England, Scotland and Ireland'. The book was massive; it would never fit in her backpack. With a bit of persuasion and a lot of good luck, Lily had convinced the dour librarian to let her check out all three volumes of the book. She couldn't carry more than one at a time, but after three trips the books were sitting on the desk in her room up in Gryffindor Tower.

She opened the second volume and flipped its pages until she found the name 'Munroe'. A passage read: Munroe, Emile and Patricia (Rousse) - married July 1950, two children Justice (1959) & Honora (1964); Munroe, Franklin and Margot (Bittermann) - married December 1927, one child Emile (1929) It went on like that for pages, giving little or no biographical information on the family. It hadn't occurred to her how much cross-referencing she was going to need to do. Lily pushed up her sleeves and settled at her desk for a long night.

When she joined the boys at breakfast the next day, she was surprised to see how animatedly they were discussing something. She took her seat next to Sirius and asked what was going on. James tossed the morning edition of the Daily Prophet to her. On the front page were headlines detailing a double attack: Four young children of a wizarding family outside of Yorkshire had been found in the cursed sleep, and both children of the Malkins had died the previous afternoon. Lily pushed her plate away; her appetite disappeared as the weight of the news sunk in.

Peter was speaking to her. "What isn't in the paper though, is that the Malkins were killed this morning themselves! The Ministry found them just before dawn, Dark Mark hanging over their house and all." She was about to ask how he knew this when he started to speak again. "Mum was one of the mediwizards on the scene, as if there was anything they could do for that lot. She owled me this morning about it."

James refilled his glass of pumpkin juice. "So," he said "If we were right about this being extortion, then it would seem that the Malkins had refused to pay the price."

Sirius nodded gravely. "They did pay the price though in the end, didn't they? Voldemort doesn't like not getting his way." He turned his face to Peter. "Your mum said that the house had been torn apart, right? Ransacked?"

Peter nodded and then whispered, "She said that You-Know-Who had ripped the very walls apart. She was surprised that the house was still standing."

Remus muttered something under his breath and then said pointedly at Peter, "Look, just say his name will you? Sound it out: Vol-de-mort. This You-Know-Who business is stupid. I mean, really... Who ever heard of being afraid of a name?"

Peter blushed slightly and replied. "Lots of people won't say his name," he gave a small pathetic sniffle. "Most everyone is terrified of him."

"Oh yeah? What are you then, a man or a mouse?" The reply was out of Remus' mouth before he'd had a chance to think about what he was saying. James gave Remus a swift kick under the table and quickly changed the subject.

In Potions class that afternoon, everyone was looking as if they were sitting on Pepper Imps; the classroom was alive with activity, the students taking a much keener interest in their research on the mysterious vine since the attack the weekend before. Slytherins and Gryffindors were even sharing their findings with each other, recognizing the gravity of the situation.

Still, it was quite a surprise when Severus Snape walked over to Lily, asking if he could make a copy of the work she had done on the reproductive nature of the plant. "Certainly Severus," she replied, handing him her three foot long scroll on the subject. "Think you could get it back to me by the Prefects' meeting on Sunday though? I'm expecting an owl from my dad about it by then."

Snape raised a shocked eyebrow at her. "What would an ignorant Muggle know about a cursed vine?" The words were out of his mouth before he realized it. Behind Lily, two chairs pushed back, James and Sirius were on their feet, itching for a fight.

"Nothing probably," Lily said, attempting to diffuse the situation. She could see from the look in Snape's eyes that the question had been an unconscious reflex; he looked almost contrite now. "But my dad is a professional gardener and his opinion on the nature of the plant itself could prove useful."

Snape nodded, taking the scroll from her and promising her tersely that he would return it during the meeting. After he had left, Lily turned to Sirius and James. "Sit down will you? You look like the guards in front of Buckingham Palace minus the wooly caps." She looked pointedly at James's unruly hair, "Maybe." Reluctantly, the two twitching wizards sat back down.

As soon as the bell rang however, James and Sirius were ready to pounce. Snape happened to be one of the first ones out of class that day, and the two boys were close on his heels. They cornered him just as he reached the top of the staircase out of the dungeons.

Lily grabbed Remus' hand and pulled him down the corridor, trying to catch up and stop the impending fight. They arrived just as Sirius had begun to yell at Snape.

"If I ever hear you speaking to my girlfriend like that again-- " he yelled.

"Oh," sneered Snape, snapping up the information like bait on a hook. "Evans is your girlfriend now? Well I suppose that I shouldn't be surprised; you've had every other decent witch in the school now, haven't you Black?" Snape sneered at Sirius again. "You were bound to start slumming sometime."

Sirius opened his mouth to retort, but James stopped him, pointing down the hall. Behind Snape, Professor McGonagall was approaching them with a good deal of speed to her gait. She came to a halt in front of them. "Students, disperse!" The circle that had formed around the three black haired boys melted back into the hallway. The deputy Headmistress took an extra moment to glower at Snape, Sirius and James before speaking. "Two of our Prefects fighting... and at a time like this." She sounded very disappointed. "I should give the whole lot of you detention, just to prove a point." She caught sight of Lily and Remus hanging back behind the others and turned on them. "Ms. Evans, Mr. Lupin, I said disperse!"

Lily and Remus headed towards Gryffindor Tower, never risking a glance back as McGonagall continued to lecture the boys about arguing in the halls.

"Do you think they'll get detention?" Lily asked after she gave the password to the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Dunno," Remus shrugged. "But I hope that James is smart enough not to wink at Snape again while McGonagall's there."

* * *

Lily gave Sirius a kiss goodnight, and shoved him playfully out her door. He tried to look hurt, but it didn't work very well, before long his face broke out in another wide grin. He'd barely stopped smiling since last weekend when she'd unexpectedly taken his hand at breakfast. It was true that the recent attacks at the school had him worried, but they could not repress his childlike joy whenever Lily was at his side.

Sirius started up the staircase to his dorm and then stopped halfway, heading back towards James' room. They hadn't spoken about Sirius' new status in Lily's life, and he wanted to know if James was okay with it. James could be quite the brooder when he wanted to be, Sirius mused. James had appeared happy enough for them throughout the week, but Sirius couldn't help but recall their conversation in the Quidditch locker room the night before their game against Slytherin. 'I'm happier not knowing,' ...and though Sirius hadn't seen James' face when he had spoken, he hadn't needed to know his friend was harboring feelings of more than friendship for the sprightly young redhead.

He knocked twice on the door; from within, James' voice rang out clearly, "Come in," almost sounding as if he expected a visitor. Sirius opened the door; James was sitting with his desk chair pulled up to the edge of his bed, his feet propped up by pillows, looking up from his book. "If you've come for a goodnight kiss, you're looking at the wrong Prefect."

Sirius gave a snort. "Had one already. We haven't really talked since--"

"I'm happy for you," interrupted James. "And I'm glad that you're making her happy too."

His words hung in the air for a moment. The two boys regarded each other carefully; Sirius walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. "She's amazing, isn't she?" he said, eyebrows rising slightly.

"Yeah," James agreed. "But be careful, she's still very..." his nose wrinkled, searching for the right word. "Naïve. She thinks that she's ready to take on the world, but she's barely broken in her first broomstick, you know?"

Sirius nodded. He was surprised at how easy the conversation was. He chided himself mentally for it; in the end, they both wanted what was best for her, didn't they? With a flicker of pride, an inner voice reminded Sirius that at present, she'd chosen him as the best thing for her. His eyes flicked back at James, who looked suddenly pained, as if the converse of Sirius' own thought was in his mind. "She's very proud of you, you know. I don't think she thought you had it in you to be a Prefect. She keeps calling you a 'natural leader'. Said you did a brilliant job keeping the younger students calm after Justice was attacked."

James gave a small shrug, "I told them that as Gryffindors' it was their job to set a brave example for the rest of the school." James smirked. "And once Lily walked away, I told them that a certain Prefect of Slytherin House had started crying for his Mum when he heard the news. Apparently, they had no desire to emulate him."

Sirius gave a small guffaw.

James stood up and went over to his desk. He rummaged through several books on top of it before finding what he wanted and bringing it over to Sirius. "Have a look at this," James flipped the book open and pointed at a page, indicating that Sirius should read it.

Sirius' face contorted as he stared at the book. "I can't make it out, what is it?"

"A medieval book of spells." James had a knack for languages. "This one in particular is referred to as the Chastity Charm." He made an amused snort. "When the master of a castle would ride off to battle, he'd cast this spell to ensure the virtue of the women he left behind. It kept all unwanted visitors off his property, in more ways than one."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "What? You think I need one for Lily?"

James gave his friend a small whack on the head with the book. "No... Here," James reached down and picked up the small leather-bound codex that he'd been reading when Sirius arrived. James' fingers deftly skimmed the pages until they stopped, pointing again at something for Sirius to read. Sirius wrinkled his nose again, unable to understand the words on the page. "Oh come on," James chided. "Its Latin! We had four years of it before we even came to Hogwarts."

Sirius studied the page hard. Finally enough words were recognizable and he announced, "It's a countercharm to that Chastity spell, isn't it?"

James nodded. "Every spell that is cast and made to stand for a good deal of time will develop weaknesses," Sirius nodded at this, it was first year Charm coursework. Like a willow tree, a good charm had to be able to bend in the wind, otherwise it could be broken; in order to bend, some parts had to become weaker, like the branches on the end of the tree.

"This countercharm seeks out those weak points and stretches them further until a small breech is made. The suitors were able to get into the castle, and no one was ever the wiser."

"So?" asked Sirius, still not catching on.

James let out an exasperated sigh. "Have you been able to hold a thought in your head since she started kissing you?" Sirius opened his mouth to reply, but James continued. "I think that this countercharm is what we need to make our map. They used to put the charm on a ring, or something that could be worn on a person, and use it like a dowsing rod to guide them to the weak points in the barrier; it would be easy enough to enchant a piece of parchment instead. And rather than probing for holes in the security spells of the castle, we have the countercharm look for the gaps between the security people." James gave Sirius a self-satisfied smile, proud of his work for the evening.

Sirius was intrigued; he stared at the Latin text again. "This is good," he said, looking at James with admiration. "This is very good." He studied the codex again; "It's all right here really, just need to change a few of the suffixes to suit our needs."

"Seems fitting too," James said "That the mischief makers of one era should have their knowledge refurbished by the next."

Sirius snorted, "Considering that this is a counter to a Chastity Charm, I'd say that the writers of it were up to a bit more than just mischief, James."

James shrugged, lying back on his bed, a crooked grin spreading across his face. "Maybe... but then with a little luck, we could be too."

* * *

James let his mind wander throughout the entire Prefect meeting on Sunday evening. There wasn't much to pay attention to anyway; only four students had been caught out after hours that whole weekend--an all time low for Hogwarts. Instead of listening to Head Boy Marius Finke drone on about how tragic the attack on Justice was, James reflected on the afternoon's progress with the map.

He and Remus had been studying up on encryption charms, and a few of the practice spells that they had cast had gone horribly wrong. Currently, James' Herbology book was sitting on his desk with a large length of twine binding it shut. If anyone got within four feet of it when it was not thusly bound, it started shouting jinxes at them. It seemed to know quite a few nasty ones too, James reflected, recalling the dancing purple daisies that had cropped up on Remus' arm as they tried to regain control of the enchanted object.

James felt the glare of two angry eyes burning into the back of his head. He turned his head until he saw Snape's sneering smirk. James suppressed the urge to laugh as schemes to swap his Herbology book with Snape's flickered in his mind. James swiveled his head back around; the Head Boy had just asked him a question. "Uh... would you mind repeating that?" he mumbled, clenching his fist as he heard Snape snigger behind him.

Fortunately, Finke was a real piece of fluff; if he had two contemporary thoughts in his head at once, Marius would have fainted from sheer exertion. "I was asking if you and Lily wouldn't mind working the Halloween weekend for Annalise and Gregg, they need to brush up for their O.W.L practice exams on the first of November."

James looked over at Lily, who tilted her head in such a way that he knew she was leaving it up to him. Three weekends in a row of Prefect duty sounded pretty bad, but when James remembered how awful studying for the O.W.L.s was last year, he agreed to fill in. Lily smiled at him; apparently he had made the right choice.

Finke made a note of it and then announced that the meeting was done. The Prefects milled about for a while, enjoying the company of the few people in the school who they knew wouldn't be cursing them as soon as they turned their backs. James saw Snape walk up to Lily, handing her the scroll he'd borrowed earlier that week. Snape bowed his head almost formally to the Gryffindor Prefect before he slunk out the door. Lily slid over to James.

"How are you doing tonight? I feel like I haven't seen you all weekend." She said merrily.

"Fine; had lots of studying to do."

Lily put her scroll in her backpack, and they exited the Prefect's Lounge. James shoved his hands in his pockets. "How was your weekend off? Hope you got in some good snogging in with Sirius, considering that you'll be up with me for the next three."

Lily rolled her eyes at him, but her cheeks turned slightly pink. "I'm okay I guess... actually, I'm famished." On cue, her stomach growled. "I'd kill for a hot fudge sundae."
James tut-tutted her. "You'll spoil your dinner..." Her stomach made pleading noises again, causing her to giggle. James grabbed her shoulders and steered her away from the staircase that would lead them to Gryffindor Tower.

"Where are we going?" She looked slightly perplexed.

"To get you that sundae," he replied. After a few twists and turns through the corridors, they stood in front of a very large painting of a bowl of fruit. James reached up and tickled the pear. Giggling, the painting swung open to reveal a passageway. She let out a small gasp as he pushed her inside. As soon as they crossed the threshold, four House Elves wearing tea towels with the Hogwarts emblem ran up to them.

"James Potter!" one of them exclaimed, "What is you needing us to get for you, James Potter?"

"Two hot fudge sundaes, if it's not too much trouble, Fiddy." James was smiling at the House Elf like an old friend.

The other three elves scurried off to fill the order. "Never any trouble for you, James Potter!" Fiddy craned his head as far back as it would go, trying to look James in the eye. "You is not coming down to the Kitchen as much as you used to. We has been worried that you is not getting enough to eat!" The elf gave James an appraising look. "You is looking just fine though, James Potter, but Fiddy thinks you is getting taller again."

It took two House Elves a piece to deliver the extra large sundaes to them; scoops of vanilla ice cream were pilled high above the rims of the bowls, with steaming hot fudge oozing down them like lava from a volcano. Sitting precariously atop the mountains of ice cream were a half dozen or so cherries, so ripe that Lily could have sworn they'd just been picked. Lily thanked the elves as she relieved them of their burden, and then looked to James for what to do next.

"Say, Fiddy" James peered at him from around the side of the bowl. "Would you mind if Lily and I ate these here? It's a bit much to carry back up to the Tower."

Fiddy walked them over to an empty table in the Kitchen, saying, "The Miss is named Lily? Fiddy is hearing this name before, Fiddy thinks." He closed one eye and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. His eyes grew wide, "Is this Miss the Lily that was giving James Potter detention last Spring when Mister James was taking food from the Kitchen for his sick friend?" Fiddy gave Lily an accusing glare.

"One and the same, Fiddy." He gave Lily a poke in the arm. "Don't worry though, I think she's seen the error of her ways." This seemed to satisfy the house elf, who bowed to them both and went back to preparing dinner for the student body of Hogwarts.

"Sick friend?" Lily raised a questioning eyebrow at James.

"Remus," he replied. "I was bringing him a tray of soup and sandwiches, after the full moon. He doesn't... eat too well while he's... you know..." A very guilty look clouded Lily's face. James picked up his spoon and scooped up a bite of ice cream, holding it at her mouth. "Don't worry, what's past is past. The future is at the bottom of this ice cream bowl." She opened her mouth and let him feed her the ice cream, eyes twinkling at him.

After a half-hour of gorging themselves on the frozen feast, Lily and James could barely move. "There is no way," Lily said, surprised at the effort it took to speak. "That I can climb four flights of stairs up to the Tower now; I won't be able to eat again for a week."

"Don't let them hear you say that," whispered James. "They'll start leaving food outside your door or in your room if they think you're not eating."

With great effort, Lily reached down into her bowl and pulled up her last remaining cherry. "Want to see a trick that my aunt Daisy taught me when I was a little girl?" James nodded, and Lily popped the whole cherry, including the stem into her tiny pink mouth. Her cheeks swished from side to side, and then up and down. She reached into her mouth and pulled the cherry stem back out through pursed lips. It was tied into a neat little knot.

James just goggled at her. She handed the stem to him and he held it in front of his wide eyes. "Lily, that's...."

"Amazing?" she offered, taking pride in her accomplishment.

"Sinful was the word that came to mind actually." James gave her a lecherous grin. "Will you promise me something?"

Lily nodded at him.

"Promise me you'll teach my wife that trick someday." He was still staring at the cherry stem when she punched him playfully on the shoulder.

* * *

Remus Lupin tossed and turned in a fitful sleep. He was sweating profusely; his bedcovers were wound around his legs like knotted rope. With a gasp, he flung himself back, avoiding some unseen nightmare and landed on the floor with a loud thud.

He stood up, disengaging from the blankets and let out a low growl. There were still three days before the full moon, but already he could feel it pulling at the werewolf inside of him, calling to the darker side of his nature. His heart pounded against his chest; fear still fresh from his nightmare. Remus ground his teeth together, trying to drive it back, but the voice deep inside him beat against his temples, saying one word over and over - Bite.

He looked around at the other sleeping sixth year boys. There were only six of them in the dormitory now, since James had his own room as a Prefect. The others were still blissfully asleep; they didn't dream of blood and the moon, as he did. Remus threw a robe on, grabbed a book to read and went downstairs to the Common Room.

He sat down in one of the large comfy chairs in front of the fireplace. No one else was in the room of course; it was nearly dawn--all normal people were asleep. For as long as he could remember, Remus Lupin had wished for nothing more than to be a normal boy. There was no cure for a werewolf bite, no treatment to prevent his monthly transformation into the great gray beast with menacing yellow eyes who would attack and rip at any human he encountered--friend or foe. He would live with this curse for the rest of his life; he would probably never marry or have children, for fear of passing his malignancy on to another generation.

He had it better than most of his kind though, and he was thankful for it. He had parents that loved him regardless of the monster that lurked inside of him; he had friends, amazing friends, three of which had taken a dangerous course to ensure that he wasn't alone during the long nights of the full moon. The fourth friend, Lily Evans, was a mystery unto herself. She didn't know that James, Sirius and Peter transformed into animals to be with Remus. Many times during the previous year, Remus had tried to pull away from Lily's friendship, seeking to protect her. She was stubborn though, and when she finally learned the truth about him that previous summer, she'd accepted it without question. He knew that she would do anything to protect him, just as the other boys would have. For that, he loved her unconditionally. Not a romantic love, he told himself, but more like a brother loved his sister.

Lily had seemingly found romantic love in the oddest of places, in the arms of his friend, Sirius Black. Remus could understand the physical appeal that the wizard with the wavy black hair held for her, but he was shocked to see how well they were getting on personally. He would never have admitted it aloud, but he didn't think it could last very long. Both were very pigheaded; it would be easier to talk a Cornish pixie into wearing a frilly pink tutu than to steer either one of his friends from a course of action. Lily didn't have a truly cruel bone in her whole body, but Sirius had several and didn't mind using his muscles to flex them. It would end badly, he heard a voice in his head saying and not for the first time. It would end very badly.

As he turned to the marked page in his book, he reminded himself that it wasn't that Sirius wasn't a good person, it was just that he was... young. Young, smart and handsome--the world of women revolved around the whims of Sirius Black. It was hard not to envy him in many ways. Remus ran a hand through his own wiry brown hair. He knew that he would never attract the female of the species as Sirius did, or even as James did for that matter. James Potter had a set of what Remus' mother would have called 'quiet good looks'. All that James had suffered in the last year, with the death of his parents, could be seen in his eyes. Remus had seen girls sigh as they looked into them. The fact that James was a star Quidditch player didn't hurt either.

No, Remus told himself for the millionth time in his life, you were meant to be alone. He yawned as he began to read, and very soon, he fell back asleep in the quiet solitude of the Common Room.

"Lupin..." Someone was poking Remus in the arm. "Oy, Lupin! Wake up, its time for breakfast." His eyes opened grudgingly. The chubby, smiling face of Peter Pettigrew stared back at him. The world of the blond boy was separated into three distinct parts--breakfast, lunch and dinner. Remus rubbed the sleep from his eyes and headed down to the Great Hall. Peter followed behind him; that was what Peter did best, Remus mused, follow. It wasn't an unkind thought; Remus considered Peter to be as true of a friend as any of the others--it was the truth though. Peter didn't lead; he didn't shine on the Quidditch pitch, in the classroom, or in the eyes of any girls. Instead, he followed in the steps of his friends, feeling secure in being someplace that he knew they'd been before.

Though he hardly thought it possible, Remus was more tired after he ate. He considered skipping his first class but then he saw the worried emerald eyes of Lily. With great effort, he smiled at her, trying to show her that it wasn't that bad yet.

By lunchtime though, it was. James told him to go back to the Tower and catch a bit of sleep in James' room. Lily and James would make excuses to the teachers for the classes he missed. He trudged down the stairs from the Astronomy Tower when the pain hit him in the stomach like a Clenching Curse. He fell down the last four stairs, knocking his head hard against the marble floor. Just before he passed out, he saw the sun glinting off the silver-colored bracelet that he wore on his wrist.

When he woke up, he was in the Infirmary. The cold, white walls of the sterile room were on intimate terms with Remus Lupin. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, and the movement was enough to attract the attention of the school nurse, Madam Pomfrey. She spent several minutes fussing over him, telling him that he should have come straight to the Infirmary if he was already feeling the pangs of his monthly change. She promptly denied his request to eat in the Great Hall, telling him that he needed to get all the rest he could before the waxing of the moon. She brought him a tray of steaming tomato soup, tea and crackers to eat instead.

She came back for the tray after a half-hour, carrying half a glass of a sleeping draught.

"Madam Pomfrey, where's my bracelet?" Remus asked.

"What bracelet?" she said. "You weren't wearing one when you came in. Perhaps it fell off after your fall down the stairs?"

"Maybe... Who brought me in, by the way?" Remus hated the thought that he might have lost his gift from Lily.

"A Prefect of House Slytherin," She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Snape was the name, I believe."

Remus sank back into his pillows. This was not good, not at all.

* * *

Lily was relieved when Circe returned Friday evening with a letter from her father; she'd been expecting it on Sunday and when it hadn't arrived by Wednesday she was starting to think that the idea of having him look at it was a bust. The envelope was thick with notes from him, though. Circe dropped the letter during dinner, and Lily made it through the first page and a half before darting out of the Great Hall to head for her room and her own notes.

She was scribbling connections between the magical and normal properties of the plants at a frenetic pace. The knocking on her door turned to a pounding before she stopped long enough to answer it. She let a perplexed Sirius and James into the room and then returned to her writing.

"Everything okay?" asked Sirius, moving over the desk to read over her shoulder.

"Yes." Lily replied tersely. Her nose was so close to the parchment that every so often a spot of undried ink would attach itself. She soon had a collection of dark black freckles.

"We have to start rounds in an hour and a half," James said.

"Do you think that you could get Annalise to fill in for me? I'm quite busy right now." She never took her eyes off the paper.

Sirius and James exchanged a worried look. Lily had never even skived off a single class, no matter how sick she was. That she would try and get out of Prefect duty was unthinkable--it could only mean that whatever it was she was working on was very important.

"Annalise is doing O.W.L practice exams, remember... Last I saw her she had a dazed sleepless look in her eyes still." James gave a slight frown. "If you would tell us what you're working on, maybe we could help you to finish it up-"

"No, no, not yet... I need to think." She sucked on the end of her quill, and then looked over at them finally. "Alright then, come back when it's time for rounds. We'll talk about all this then." Having dismissed them, Lily returned to her scribbles. Sirius shrugged his shoulders; he and James left the room.

They crossed the balcony overlooking the Common Room to the boys' corridor and entered James' room.

"Must have been some letter her dad sent her." James sat down on his bed, while Sirius pulled a chair up next to it. "Think that he could have identified it when all those wizards at the Ministry couldn't?"

Sirius stared thoughtfully at the patterned quilt on James' bed. "Anything's possible. Muggles have ways of identifying things that wizards won't deign to use... microscokes and the like."

"Microscopes," corrected James. "Even so, why not share the news with us?"

Sirius gave a soft shrug. "You know Lily; she likes to be sure of what she says before she speaks. Even in class she's never been one to venture a guess, it's all or nothing with her. I'm sure this is just a quirk along those same lines."

James nodded. "Fancy a game of gobstones 'till its time for my rounds?"

"Hmm... No, I think not. I'm going to go and sneak off with Peter to the Shrieking Shack now. Lily's distracted enough that she won't even notice I'm gone, I reckon." He stood up and headed to the door. "See you tomorrow," he called as he closed it behind him.

When James knocked on Lily's door ninety minutes later, there was no answer. He let himself in, guessing that she was still working like a maniac. She was, but she stopped when he came in. She gave him a weak smile, "Tempus fugit, eh?" The entire end of her nose was now covered in black ink.

James chuckled, and pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket. "Hold still." He held her chin in place and wiped the ink off her nose as best he could. "I'd spit on it like Mum used to, but I don't know if you'd appreciate it anymore than I did when I was a child."

She took the kerchief from him and dipped it in a glass of water she had on her desk. Small black swirls gravitated to the bottom of the glass from where ink had washed out of the dainty cloth. Lily gave her nose a few furious scrubs, and then presented her face to James for approval.

"Better go and finish the job in the mirror," he said, still chuckling. She got up and obliged him, handing the handkerchief back to him when she was done.

She put her hands on her hips and twirled around before him. "Am I presentable now?"

He wrinkled his eyebrows as he appraised her. "Could be worse," he said with a grin.

Lily cuffed him hard on the arm and then headed out the door. James followed her out of the room. Once they cleared the commotion of Gryffindor Tower, James gave a tug on the sleeve of her robe. She turned and faced him.

"You planning on telling me what your dad wrote?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, with a sly smile. "After you take me to the Infirmary."

"The Infirmary?" James gave her a puzzled look. "You know that's not where Remus is, they keep him in the Shrieking Shack during his change."

"I don't want to see Remus, though I expect he'd be more useful right now than the rest of you..." Her eyes were twinkling in a most unusual way. "I need to see Justice and Honora."

"Are you daft?" was all he could manage after the shock wore off. "They're in a room protected by safety charms, you know that. We can't get anywhere near them without every teacher in the school rushing to intercept us." He tilted his head, giving her a quizzical look. "Why do you want to see them anyway?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "It's not really them I want to see but that vine. My dad thinks he knows what it is, but I need to confirm if it has certain other traits that may not have been published in the Daily Prophet."

"Well, if that's the case, let's just go straight to Dumbledore and give him the information." James started to turn in the direction of the Headmaster's office, but Lily pulled him to a stop.

"I will, but not until I'm sure. Think of how foolish it would sound without proof to back it up. I doubt that Professor Dumbledore would even take the information from a student seriously." She said.

"You don't know Dumbledore," retorted James. "He doesn't judge people by their age, he judges them by their actions."

"Well, we can't disturb him at this time of night anyway..." Lily was making excuses now.

"Oh please," James gave her an eye roll. "He's my guardian; I can go up to his office anytime I want. And unless you give me a reason not to, I'll march you up there right now."

"James," She turned on a bit of the old charm, batting her eyelashes gently at him. "I just want a look... I can break the safety charms, I've been studying how in my advanced Charm coursework from the Ministry. Now if you'd just loan me your invisibility cloak..."

"How the bloody hell do you know about that?" This was a piece of information that James guarded very closely. The cloak was a family heirloom and invaluable to James in more ways than one. He had made Remus, Sirius and Peter promise not to reveal its existence to Lily; it was his choice to let her in on it. But now, somehow she knew.

She snickered softly. "For every time I caught you out after hours last year, there were three times that I didn't catch you, but I knew that you were there. The only real option was an invisibility cloak. There are potions that would accomplish the task, but it would be too tedious to brew it so often, plus if it had been a potion, the smell would have filled all of Gryffindor Tower."

"But how," he persisted, "did you know I was there in the first place?"

"Apples." She said, as if that settled the matter.

"Apples?" He looked truly confused now. He could feel his heart beating in his ears. She was really too clever for her own good, he reminded himself.

"Yes, apples. You smell like apples whenever you're nervous." She smirked broadly at him. "Kind of like now."

James blushed slightly.

"Look, it's not really the point, but because I could smell apples, I knew it had to be you out, even if I couldn't see you. Now can I borrow the cloak?"

"No," he stammered, moderately embarrassed. Before the conversation could continue, they spotted two cloaked figures far down the hall heading up to a staircase that lead to the infamous Astronomy Tower. They took off after them at a brisk pace.

Once they had led the amorous pair of Ravenclaws back to their dormitory, James walked a bit ahead of her, mumbling to himself.

"What are you on about?" she asked.

"I'm cursing the fact that I've managed to stink up the halls for all these years, and no one ever told me about it till now." His hands were shoved firmly into his pockets, and he was slumped over, giving him the look of a hunchback.
Lily laughed out loud. James spun around and looked at her, highly annoyed that she found this so amusing. She looped her arm through his and said, "James Potter, you may have Quidditch eyes, but I have a gardener's nose. And you don't stink. It smells very sweet actually, reminds me of Springtime." James blushed to the roots of his hair; Lily inhaled deeply through her nose and flashed him a smile. "There it is again, apples!" She laughed again, and when he didn't join her, she reached over and tickled him until he did.

He pulled away from her and held up his hands. "Okay, okay... enough tickling, I'm over my Midnight Sulk now."

"Good," she said as they started walking again. "Now, about that cloak..."

"Forget it," he replied. "I won't even consider it until you tell me more about whatever you think you know." There was a stern finality to his voice that no one could miss.

Lily looked about the halls slowly. "Alright then, but not here. Let's head up to the Prefect's lounge, it should be empty now with everyone on rounds."

The Prefect's Lounge was about the third of the size of a normal Common Room but had basically the same accoutrements--several desks, a few large armchairs and a games table that had a top that could be flipped over depending on whether you wanted to play a game of chess or gobstones. James hadn't spent much time in the room, but it was comfortable enough. The fire was set to a low roar, which made the room slightly chilly. James pointed his wand at it, and the flames darted up, casting a warm orange glow around him and Lily.

She sat across from him, with her legs tucked up under her. The hair on the left side of her face flickered gently from the breeze of the nearby flames. There was something about redheads and fire, James mused admiring how the colors of the flames and the tints of her hair complimented each other. In stark contrast were her green eyes, which were locked on his in a self-assured manner. Pay attention, Potter, he told himself, unaware that the soft scent of apples was filling the room.

"Once upon a time," she began, causing James to give a snort of laughter. "There was a vine that was unique to the forests in and around London. It's documented as far back as some early Roman expeditions, though they called it by a different name then. This vine was a dark green, with maroon colored thorns; it grew up and around the base of oak trees and intertwined itself with hawthorn bushes. It didn't have leaves; it was a carnivorous plant. It had small cups in which it would catch insects to feed on. They were a dark pink, and looked like lips." She puckered at him, illustrating her description.

James gave another chuckle. "And what was this plant called?"

"Shush, I'm getting to that." She pushed a lock of stray hair behind her ear. "Now, this plant survived very well for thousands of years, until the onset of the Muggle Industrial Revolution. Soon, there was so much pollution in the air from all the factories that the bugs that the plant thrived on died out or moved on, which lead to the eventual death of the plant. Have you ever heard of a 'London fog'?" James shook his head. "Well, the fog from the pollution was so terrible, that it even killed people. So things like bugs that also needed oxygen to breathe didn't stand much of a chance." She gave her shoulders a small shrug. "Anyway, as far as anyone knew, the vine had died out. The last recorded sighting of it was back in the late 1870's. Until now, that is," she pulled a small box out of her robe, opening it to reveal her sample of the cursed vine from Potions class. "Its Latin name is 'Nepenthes Anglia Nimue' more commonly called, 'Nimue's Embrace'."

"Nimue's Embrace," repeated James, staring at the slice of vine, which did indeed have a thorn on it of deep maroon. "Like after the sorceress Nimue?"

Lily nodded. "So named because of the attachment it would form to oaks and hawthorns, both of which are purported to be the eternal resting place of the wizard Merlin, whom Nimue cast into an ensorcelled sleep after he taught her his magic." She scratched her head thoughtfully, paused for a moment and then continued. "At least, that's how I remember the myth... the actual wizarding history of Merlin is quite different from his roll in Muggle mythology. Which is why I need Remus, he's a fan of that sort of thing--knights, dragons, the whole Arthurian legend as it's known to the non-magic world."

James bit on his bottom lip as he mulled all this new information over. "So how did your dad recognize it if it's supposed to be extinct?" he asked finally.

"Part luck, part obsession. He also does conservation work, and he uses examples such as this to illustrate why we need a more strict pollution control. But he's not sure that it is Nimue's Embrace. It's just a hunch based on what he could observe and what the articles from the Daily Prophet clippings I sent him said." She leaned in towards James, smiling at him conspiratorially. "Which is why I need to get down to the infirmary to see if it has the carnivorous cups on it. They weren't mentioned at all, but it could be that the Ministry didn't release that information, or that the plant hadn't grown enough to acquire them yet. I'm sure that it does have them though, I mean the look of the plant and the tale behind its name just fits too well, don't you think?"

"Yeah," agreed James. "It does seem a bit too much of a coincidence... But I'm still not loaning you the cloak." He had to get her off the subject of the cloak, he realized. The cloak wasn't even in the castle at the moment; it was stored safely away in the Shrieking Shack for Sirius and Peter to use on their return trip to Hogwarts. "We need to take this to Dumbledore now."

"But James," she began.

"No 'buts,' Lily," he gave her a stern look. "This is serious business and not the sort of thing you want to get caught at. It's not like sneaking sandwiches out of the kitchen. If we were to get caught, they could likely suspect us of trying to harm the Munroe girls."

Lily scoffed. "Will you listen to this? James Potter trying to talk me out of breaking rules. The same James Potter who just a few weeks ago was telling me that there is a difference between doing what is right and what is easy."

"And right now, they happen to be the same thing. Going to Dumbledore is the supercedes the easy thing to do."

She rolled her eyes at him.

"We don't know anything about the magical properties of this plant, Lily. For all we know, it could have been enchanted with some kind of intelligence to attack anyone that got too close to the truth about what it was. Listen, I know that you'd rather be sure about your father's findings first, but Dumbledore will understand, even if you're wrong." He stood up, and offered an outstretched hand to her. "Come on now," he coaxed. She took his hand and let him lead her to the door. "Ever been to his office before?"

"No," Lily admitted. "Is it very intimidating?"

"Not at all," James said, smiling at her. "Unless a bird exploding into flames upsets you..."

* * *

Thankfully, Fawkes, Dumbledore's pet phoenix, was nowhere near his molting stage. The beautiful red bird let out a few twinkling high notes of greeting when Dumbledore led Lily and James into the room. Dumbledore sat at his desk while James and Lily each positioned themselves in a high-backed leather chair.

James watched with mild amusement as Lily wrung her hands nervously as she explained the contents of her father's letter and the conclusions she had drawn from them. Dumbledore listen attentively as James had predicted he would; the old wizard waited until she was done before speaking.

"Ms. Evans, I would be glad to conduct you and James to the Infirmary," He stood up at this and motioned them to follow. "I must admit that during my examination of the plant, I did not see these cups that you mention, but I do not claim to be infallible. If it is correct, your information will prove priceless in our battle against this newest form of attack by Voldemort."

The trio walked in near silence to the Infirmary. As he opened the door, Dumbledore put a wrinkled finger to his mouth. "We must try not to wake Madam Pomfrey. Even though I am Headmaster, she is rather jealous of her domain; however, this is something that should not wait."

They passed down a long row of beds, all of which were empty, and came to a large door at the end of the hall. Dumbledore drew out his wand and swished it in a spiral motion at the door. With a creak, it opened for them, and they went inside.

Justice and Honora Munroe were suspended about a foot off the ground, dark green vines curling up and out of the floor, encircling their legs. The vines had grown so that they already reached Honora's knees and Justice's mid-calf. Lily took a step towards them, but Dumbledore raised a hand and pointed to a nearby table. "You will find that there are a pair of Dragon-hide gloves there, I would prefer it if you put them on, Ms. Evans."

Lily nodded and slipped the gloves on. She bent down and picked up one of the vine's tendrils at Honora's feet. Turning it over slowly in her hand, she found what she wanted and more: The vine did indeed have the small pink cups that were native to Nimue's Embrace, but instead of trying to capture insects, the lip-like cup had attached itself to the young Honora Munroe. Lily gave a sharp gasp, and motioned to James and the Headmaster to take a look.

"They're much tinier than Dad said they would be; these are only about a half inch long. They should be three to four inches with a half-inch diameter on the cup. Otherwise, they are identical to his description." She pulled gently at the cup, but it would not be dislodged from Honora's ankle. She let it go, turning slightly white. "Do you think that it's drinking her blood?"

Dumbledore looked thoughtful for a minute. "No," he said finally. "That is something that we could have detected. We have monitoring charms on both girls, and aside from being asleep, they are perfectly healthy." Dumbledore knelt down next to Lily, pointing to the base of the plant. "There, that appears to be a bud of one of those cups. Since it is not attached yet, perhaps we could make a cutting of it. James, would you grab a scissors off of the table please?" James stood up and picked the scissors from the table, kneeling back down to hand it to Dumbledore. He cut the bud off and set it aside. "Now, if you would Ms. Evans, please find another such bud and cut it off as well. I would like you to send the second one off to your father. Perhaps there is more he can tell us about this strange vine." The old man stood back up as Lily made the second cutting. "I'm afraid I must escort you out of the Infirmary now, there is much to be done tonight. Thank you very much for your work, Ms. Evans. If you learn anymore, come to me at once. James can give you the password to get up to my office."

After they parted Dumbledore's company, it felt like a very long walk back to Gryffindor Tower. Finally, curiosity won out and James asked, "Why didn't you mention that you think that these attacks might be about some kind of extortion?"

"I thought about it," Lily admitted softly. "But I'm still working on the family histories of those that were attacked..."

"Family histories?" James goggled at her. "What are you looking for exactly?"

"Any mention of some magical item that was entrusted to the family, something that Voldemort would want that they wouldn't give up willingly." She gave a tired sigh. "It's a lot of work though, tracing all the family lines and there's been no sign of any such item yet. I'm probably wrong about it, which is why I didn't say anything."

"Maybe you're just looking in the wrong place," he offered. He ran a hand through his crooked black hair. "Look, let me help you tomorrow, I don't have much for homework this weekend."

"Okay. I must admit it is getting a bit beyond what one mind can keep track of." She sighed again. "Its just frustrating that there is so little that we know for certain..."

"Well," said James, with a bit of his old mischief. "I think its certain that you're going to get an 'A' on your Potions paper. Should drive Snape off his box when he learns how smart Muggles can be."

Molly M. Johnson Molly M. Johnson 2 0 2003-07-18T17:16:00Z 2003-07-18T17:16:00Z 20 8704 49614 413 99 60929 9.3821 150

Title: Arrival Unexpected (05/10)
Author name: Molly Moon
Author email: psycha@chartermi.net
Category: Romance
Sub Category: Suspense
Keywords: Lily James Sirius Remus Peter
Rating: R
Spoilers: SS/PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, FB, QTTA
Summary: Work on the map takes an unexpected turn for the impatient Sirius Black. While Remus and Peter try to undo the damage that Sirius has done, James is forced to relieve the loss of his parents when tragedy strikes.
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The 'apple scent' mentioned previously is an attribute of the scions of Anael, from Jacqueline Carey's 'Kushiel Trilogy'. Read it immediately.
Author notes: Pun dedication to my ever-faithful Beta Kristin, with love from Godiva Filanthropos. I would dedicate something to my *other* beta Jen, but she still hasn't sent me new photos of my nephews yet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

But I think you don't know that I exist
I'm the quiet kind
From the day when I first listened to you
You've been on my mind
You don't care
It's not fair
And you're only smiling
When you play your violin

"Dum Dum Diddle", ABBA

Remus was released from Madam Pomfrey's care on Monday afternoon, and as he made his way to the Great Hall, he joined his friends just as they were sitting down for lunch.

Lily made a patting motion at the free seat next to her and Remus sat down.

"Feeling a bit like your old self again, Remus?" she asked jovially.

He nodded as he filled his plate with food. Without intending to, his eyes slide over to the farthest table in the Great Hall; Remus scanned the length of the Slytherin table until his eyes met those of Severus Snape. It appeared that Snape had been watching him for sometime. Remus looked back down at his plate and began to eat.

"Did I miss anything of note in Herbology today?" He fidgeted slightly in his seat.

"Not really," Lily said to him. "James forgot his Herbology book again... And the Professor announced that we'll be having a test on the magical properties of Far East Spices next week." Having given her report, she shrugged noncommittally.

Remus gave James a small smirk across the table, doubting that his bespeckled friend had 'forgotten' his Herbology book at all--unless of course James had found a way over the weekend to make it stop shouting curses at people. Remus rubbed the arm that had sprouted dancing flowers last week because of the offending book.

James returned the amused smirk, "Say Remus, what are you doing after dinner? There is a project that Lily and I are working on, and we could use your help." While Remus had been indisposed, the game of keeping Lily busy while half the quartet worked on the map had taken an interesting turn. .

"Nothing planned, but I am going to conk out early for some extra sleep tonight. Where are we meeting?" he asked.

"We'll meet up in my room," Lily said. "It will take a bit of explaining, but I think you will be able to tell us a few things we haven't been able to figure out yet." Remus gave her a questioning look but knew that no response would be forthcoming when conversation turned to the upcoming Hogsmeade weekend and other trivial things.

At some point in this erstwhile conversation, Remus decided that he needed to speak to Snape to find out if the other boy had Lily's. As the bell rang calling them back to classes, Remus excused himself from his friends and made his way over to the sour looking Prefect.

Don't make it an accusation, he told himself one last time as he tapped the Slytherin on the shoulder. The best way to deal with anyone from Slytherin House was to appeal to their ego, compliment them, and cajole them into thinking that helping you was in their best interest.

Snape turned around and looked at him with a sneer. "Is there something that you need, Lupin? Or have you just decided to make my day worse by having to look at you?"

Nothing is ever easy, said a voice in Remus' mind. "I... uh... just wanted to uh... thank you for getting me to the Infirmary last week. That fall down the stairs knocked me pretty hard."

"Its part of the job," Snape pointed to the badge he wore, with a large shiny 'P' engraved on it. "Don't think that I was doing you any sort of favor."

"Well," Remus sighed, looking slightly flustered, "I also wanted to ask if you noticed a bracelet on the ground when you found me. I was wearing it when I fell, but it wasn't there when I woke up." He gave a small shrug. "It was a gift from a friend, and I'd hate to lose it."

"Silver chain... on your right wrist?" Snape raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, that's it. Did you pick it up by chance?" Maybe this was going to be easier than he'd thought.

"I don't pick up bits of trash, Lupin. There was no silver chain there." Snape sneered. "I've seen you wearing it before, though. Made you look like a girl--you're better off without it." The slimy git laughed at his own pitiful attempt at an insult and walked off.

Remus let out a deep sigh. No, he reminded himself, nothing was ever easy.

* * *

Sirius and Peter were lying on the floor of James' room, a dozen or so ancient spell books scattered around them. Since James, Lily and Remus were working on the puzzle of the vine, it had seemed the logical thing to have Sirius and Peter work on the map in the privacy of the Prefect's room. Currently, the two boys were trying to find the proper Latin words to use to alter the Chastity countercharm, and it was slow going, too. Neither excelled in Latin--Sirius was excellent at the casting of any spell, and was usually able to master the technique without any effort, but he sometimes wondered if that wasn't more of a curse than a gift. Since everything came to him so easy, he found the study of the theory of spell creation and alteration tedious. His frustration at the tedium was only enhanced by his impatience to see a project completed.

He slammed the book in front of him shut, sending dust into the air. He coughed, and Peter chuckled at him. "Oh sod off, Pettigrew." Sirius turned over, his back laying on the floor now. "You're not enjoying this anymore than I am."

"Nope," agreed Peter, giving him a chubby smile. "Not one bit."

Sirius picked up his latest version of the altered spell. He read each word over carefully. It looked perfect enough to him.

"Enough reading." Sirius stood up and went over to James' desk, grabbing a piece of parchment off it. "Let's give this a try."

"But, don't you think we should wait for Remus and James? What if something goes wrong?" Peter bit down on his lower lip anxiously.

"What could go wrong? It's a countercharm to a spell we haven't even cast... Plus I'm sure that I have this translation right." He cast a hover charm on the blank piece of paper, and it floated level with his chest. "Besides, once this part is done we can go down and work with the others; no offense Peter, but you're no where near as cute as Lily."

"Oh..." said Peter breaking into a grin. "So that's what this is about." The blond boy closed the book in front of him. "Who would have ever thought that Sirius Black would be at the beck and call of just one witch?"

Sirius wrinkled his nose, giving Peter a lewd hand gesture. "I'm not at her 'beck and call'."

Peter started to giggle.

"And it's not as if I'm marrying her... we're just dating. She's no different than any other girl." This was a lie, and Sirius knew it. He had always appreciated how Peter had looked up to him in the realm of all things female though. He couldn't have Peter think he'd turn into a nancy-boy just waiting to be cuckolded. And it wouldn't hurt to make a private show of flippancy to Peter, would it?

"So, if she walked in here right now and demanded that you abandon the rest of us and spend the next several hours snogging her up at the Astronomy Tower, you'd be able to resist?" Peter was smirking at him still.

Memories of Lily's kisses floated in the back of Sirius' mind until a dark blush colored his cheeks. "Of course. Friends always come before girls, and that's all that Lily Evans is - a girl." Sirius drew out his wand. "There are always more girls to kiss. Now, let's do this thing."

"Sirius, let's just wait--" Peter was taking a step back away from him, knowing that no words of wisdom could steer the young dark haired wizard from his chosen course. He wished he could run and get the others from Lily's room, but it was too far away.

Sirius touched his wand to the paper; he closed his eyes, going over the words for the spell once more before he began to speak. He kept the pace of the words slow and even, and soon enough, the magic started: A dark red cloud of smoke oozed out of the end of his wand, encircling the parchment that hovered in front of him. As he began the second stanza of the spell, bright blue sparkles replaced the red cloud, dancing merrily on the blank page. Sirius fought to keep Peter's mocking jests of his feelings for Lily out of his mind. He spoke the last words of the countercharm, which sent a bolt of white light out of the end of his wand. It bounced off the paper harmlessly, rebounding on Sirius and knocking him violently to the ground.

Peter ran over to Sirius, who was creating new combinations of swear words even as he stood back up. "I told you..." Peter began but was silenced with a sharp glare.

Sirius went over to the mirror, examining himself for any damage. No boils, bruises or third eyes had appeared. "Doesn't seem to have done any harm, though," he muttered under his breath. "The damn spell probably doesn't work at all."

Peter sat down on James' bed, pulling a chocolate frog out of his robe pocket. He took a bite out of it, tossing the card over his shoulder; he had three 'Gifford Ollerton, Giant-Slayer' cards already. "You were lucky," he said through a mouth full of food. "You could have lost a body part, I've never seen a spell rebound with that much force."

Sirius shrugged. "Aside from the landing, it didn't hurt at all. I've taken worse hits from a Bludger." He picked up his translation of the countercharm from the floor. "Going to have to have James take a look at this, I have no idea what went wrong." He walked over to the door. "I'll go see if we can't borrow him for a few minutes, Lily said it was Remus' brain she wanted to pick tonight anyway."

He knocked on her door, and when it swung open, he broke into a grin as he saw two emerald eyes looking back up at him. . Lily let him in and he saw Remus and James surrounded by books on the floor, much as he and Peter had been in the other room.

"Say, James... Peter and I need you for a bit, can you come back with me?" What he really wanted to say was 'Could you two bugger off so I can have some time alone with my girlfriend?' but he bided his time. Lily had been so occupied with her work on the vine that Sirius was starting to feel a bit neglected.

"What are you working on tonight?" Lily asked, flashing him a smile that made him weak at the knees.

"History of Magic homework. Dull stuff, but there is a bit of a Latin translation that Peter and I can't figure out." Lying to her was a lot harder than lying to Peter about her, Sirius realized.

Lily nodded at him, satisfied with the answer. James stood up, excusing himself and headed to the door. Sirius pulled the door shut behind them, giving Lily a quick peck on the cheek as he did.

It sounded like a clap of thunder in the corridor.

The force sent Sirius crashing back into the wall, and as Lily threw the door back open, a worried expression was on her face.

"Are you okay? What happened? What was that?"

Sirius just stood there for a minute, blinking furiously. James stared between the two of them, trying to figure out what had just happened, and Lily came out into the hall, giving Sirius a very stern look.

"I... I'm fine," he said finally.

"Gosh Lily, I had no idea that you had that kind of effect on him," James said, trying to make light of the event. Lily was still staring at Sirius, trying to figure out if it was a joke or not. She was squinting her eyes at him now; she knew that something was up, but she didn't have a clue as to what it could be.

"Just playing around, Lil..." he stammered, putting on a mischievous grin. "Though I didn't expect the joke to make such an impact." He rubbed a hand on his sore bottom.

Lily looked back into the room; she knew that whatever it was that they were on about, it could wait. Remus had already returned to reading. "Well, behave yourselves now... I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow." She waved them off and closed the door behind her.

Once they were alone, James turned his wide, questioning eyes on Sirius. Sirius, once the coast was clear, let his lip tremble and mouthed soundlessly to James 'I don't know!'

James pursed his lips, shaking his head. "Let's get back to the room, and then you can tell me what you've been doing tonight."

Sirius walked in step with James, whispering "If that's the result of a peck on the cheek, I'll be spending a lot more time in the Infirmary."

* * *

"Oh, my god..." James was still staring at Sirius in disbelief. "What were you thinking?"

Sirius let out a sigh.

"This isn't the Standard Book of Spells that you're messing with here--this is very difficult magic." James remonstrated, shaking Sirius' translation in the air for emphasis. "You used the wrong pronouns and possessives throughout this whole casting. Do you even know what kind of a spell you were messing with?"

"After what just happened in the hallway, I think I have an idea..." Sirius cursed again under his breath. Peter was cowering on James' bed; he didn't like to see the two boys fight.

"Look, there must be a way to fix it..."

"Hopefully there is," James said. "But it's going to take some time to figure it out." He put his fist to his forehead, pounding gently on it. He took a deep breath. "Okay, we need to know the extent of the damage you've done first."

"How do we do that?" Sirius smirked at him. "It's not like I can invite Lily in here and try various... activities with her."

"No, I think we have a good idea that Lily herself is off limits until we can manage to counter the Chastity spell that you've set on yourself." James frowned.

"I still don't understand how the countercharm could set off the actual spell," Sirius said.

"Like I said, it's all in your muddled translation." James held the paper out to Sirius, "Instead of enchanting the paper to look for a charm that was cast, you sent it to look for a charm that you cast. When it couldn't find one, the countercharm cast the spell for you to complete the cycle of the spell that you set into motion--with you as its target."

Sirius thought about this for a minute. "So, does that mean the paper is enchanted now?" He went over to the waste paper basket, retrieving the parchment he'd attempted to charm. He straightened it out, trying to remove all the wrinkles.

It was still blank.

James joined him, staring at the paper. "It should be..." James looked back at the translation of the spell that Sirius had cast. He nodded slowly as he read it, then took out his wand and touched it to the paper. "Tell me what you've seen," he said to it.

An invisible hand seemed to start writing on the page. In letters that resembled Sirius' own handwriting, the following words appeared: The subject kissed Lily Evans on the cheek at half past ten, and was punished for his indiscretion.

"Oh, my god..." Sirius stared at the parchment. "Punished?"

"I think you better sit down, Sirius." James directed his shocked friend to a nearby armchair, taking the parchment back from him. "Okay... We need to see how deep this bind it has on you goes," James let out a snort of laughter. "I can't believe I'm about to say this..."

Sirius just stared at him.

"Close your eyes, and imagine that Lily is here, naked."

Peter promptly fell off the bed with a loud squeaking snort.

"What?" Sirius goggled at James. "You have to be joking."

From his new spot on the floor, Peter sputtered out a reply betwixt his squeaking laughter. "He's not... The spell may well recognize a 'sin of the mind'" Peter snorted loudly, "as well as a 'sin of the body'." Peter was quoting lines from the actual Chastity charm, the book lying open on his lap. He returned the lewd gesture that Sirius had given him earlier that evening, still sounding like a mouse mating with a pig.

"And if it does?" Sirius asked, his rear end still aching from when he had been 'punished' for kissing Lily.

"Well," James said. "You're sitting down, so it can't throw you too far, can it?"

James took a step back though, just in case.

"Just relax, and think of Lily... it's not like it's that hard to do."

Sirius closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he recalled that first night in her room, the scent of her hair, the hunger in her eyes and the way that her skin felt when he put his hand up her robe--

A spark of white light appeared around Sirius' hand. He jumped out of the chair and started cursing; he shook his hand until the shock of the pain wore off. Behind him, James and Peter were laughing uproariously.

"This is not funny." Sirius glowered at them both.

James was staring at the enchanted parchment again. Shaking with laughter, he held it out for Sirius to see: At quarter after eleven, the subject had impure thoughts about Lily Evans and certain unmentionable parts of her anatomy. The subject has been properly castigated.

Sirius swore under his breath, shoving the paper into his pockets. "Look, let's just find a way to undo this..."

James attempted to put on a serious face. "I told you, this is really complicated magic." He pointed over to his desk where his Herbology book was still tightly bound to keep it from shouting curses at passersby. "Remus and I still haven't found a way to fix that mess, and that was just an encryption charm."

Sirius threw his hands in the air. "I cannot stay like this."

Peter and James started sniggering again.

"How am I going to explain this to Lily? I can't just stop kissing her; she's my bloody girlfriend. She... expects certain things..."

James and Peter lost all control at this, doubling over in fits of laughter.

Sirius clocked James hard on the arm. James managed to swallow some of his humour and replied, "Well, you're going to have to think of something to say to her. And you're going to have to make her believe it. We can't tell her about this map business; she's the reason we're trying to make it in the first place."

Peter was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down his chubby cheeks. "This is priceless," he gasped. "There are priests that can have more 'impure thoughts' than Sirius!"

Sirius turned away from them. "I'm going to bed. We'll work on this after classes tomorrow." He started out the door.

James called after him, "Watch those dreams tonight, mate. You don't want to wake up to another shock."

"Yeah," chimed in Peter with a wicked grin. "Who knows what people will think you're doing when those white sparks start flying out of your blankets in the middle of the night."

Sirius slammed the door behind him. He was muttering under his breath when the pain seared through his hand again. He pulled the enchanted parchment out of his pocket, staring at it in disbelief: At eleven twenty, the subject was punished for thinking that James Potter and Peter Pettigrew should engage in immoral relations with barnyard animals.

* * *

Sirius discovered over the next two days through a lot of trial and error (more error than he would have liked, as his hand was very sore by now) that if he focused on something really foul, like a screaming banshee or Severus Snape's face, that he could do very mundane things--such as hold Lily's hand. It was tough work though, and by Thursday evening, he was near a breaking point.

He ducked out of the way just as Lily had tried to give him a kiss in the library. Her pouty lips turned into a nasty frown, and she asked him to explain himself.

He had rehearsed this monologue in his head, "Lil... I just want to take things slow for a while." He gave her a soft smile, brushing his hand against her cheek while desperately trying to imagine that it was Snape wearing her Hogwarts' uniform--hairy, spindly legs and all. "You mean more to me than any other girl I've ever been with. I want each moment to be special." His mental image of Snape changed so that the greasy haired boy was now wearing a certain someone's Union Jack bikini; Sirius felt his stomach lurch and tried to keep the smile on his face. "And I can't think of any better way to show you how much I respect you as a person than to let things cool off for a while, so that you know I'm here with you because I like you as a person, and not just because of... other things."

Lily slowly tilted her head at him, eyes going wide. She spun on her heels and stomped away from him; she got halfway down the corridor before she turned around to shout at him. "Bollocks!" she continued cursing under her breath all the way up to Gryffindor Tower. Sirius followed her at a safe distance back to her room, where she promptly slammed the door in his face.

Sirius took a deep breath and knocked gently on her door. "Lily... c'mon... open up," he whispered. The cracked open just enough to reveal an angry green eye and half of a sour frown. "Can I come in?" he said in his sweetest voice.

The eye glanced around, looking up and down the halls. She glared at him and again. "Alright, but I'm only letting you in if you promise to tell the truth."

Sirius took a deep breath and nodded. The door opened, and the angry eye disappeared from view, allowing him access to the room. Lily stood next to her desk, hands crossed stubbornly over her chest. "Let me explain," he began, flashing her what he thought was a sincere smile.

Lily scoffed. "Explain is a good word... retract might be better." She waggled a finger at him. "If you expect me to believe that you, Sirius Black--known by everyone in this school for his escapades up at the Astronomy Tower and for a lesser known incident involving three different witches hidden in three different classrooms last May Day--if I am supposed to believe that that same Sirius Black wants to 'take things slow' and respects me in more than a carnal sense, you've fallen off your broomstick more times than I've thought."

For some reason, this offended him. "Lil... you really do mean more to me than anyone I've ever met." He was surprised at his own sincerity.

"Be that as it may," She gave him a long slow eye roll. "The fact is that since that little 'joke' of yours on Monday night, you haven't dared to so much as look at me in an ungentlemanly manner. No offense, Sirius, but its not as if I started dating you so I could spend my evening hours listen to you talk about Quidditch."

"So is that all that I am to you?" His mouth dropped open slightly. "Just your everyday average snog?"

Lily smirked at him, giving her eyes time to take in the whole of his body. Sirius flushed under her scrutiny. "There is nothing average about you... but it's the everyday part that I'm really starting to miss." She reached into her pocket and drew out her wand. "Now, we've done this the hard way before... and you remember how that ended... Make it easy on yourself this time and just tell me the bloody truth."

Sirius glanced between the outstretched wand and Lily's determined face. He took a deep breath, willing himself to think of the right thing to say for once.

Too late though, Lily was never known for her patience. She flicked the wand at him and said "Accio tie!" The red and gold tie unknotted itself from around his neck and flew into her waiting hand. A crooked grin crossed her normally angelic face.

"Accio robes!" Sirius watched in horror as his black robe unbuttoned itself and floated over to Lily. He did a quick mental count: he had eight items of clothing left before he was completely starkers.

Her wand flicked at him again, "Accio--"

"No wait!!!" he all but shouted the words at her.

She lowered her wand arm. "I'm listening."

Before he could think about it, the truth came rushing out. "Last year, James, Peter and I became Animagi so that we could keep Remus company during the full moon. Everything was working out better than we could have imagined until you came into our lives. After nearly getting caught by you on our way to the Screaming Shack, we decided that we needed something to warn us as we snuck out of the castle. Peter and I were working on a translation of one of the spells for it when it rebounded on me on Monday night. As a result, until we can figure out how to undo it, I can't touch you or even think about you in a romantic fashion without experiencing a good deal of pain or getting blown across the room." Sirius took a deep breath, waiting for her reaction.

Lily stared at him, dumbstruck for several moments. She spoke in a slow, icy precision, "Get... out... of... my... room." She just shook her head and turned her back on him.

Sirius reached out and touched her shoulder. "Listen, I know that you're upset... we shouldn't have hid it from you--"

"You are unbe-fucking-lievable you know that?" she snapped at him, flinching her shoulder out of his grasp. "It was bad enough that you fed me all that crap about respecting me and taking things slow, and now I'm supposed to believe a story that is so ridiculously impossible..." She turned and faced him, mouth agape. "I have no idea what is going on here, and why you feel that you have to tell me bold faced lies to hide it, but I can tell you one thing with certainty Mr. Black." She shoved him hard towards her door. "Until you see fit to tell me in something other than faerie tales, I don't want to speak to you at all." She pointed at the door. "Now get out!"

The door slammed hard behind him. He stared at it for a long while before heading up to his dorm room. In the back of his mind, he heard Remus mumble 'Nothing is ever easy...'

* * *

Lily spent every minute that she was not in class in the Prefect's Lounge that Friday; James had given her a valuable piece of knowledge when he had shown her how to get into the Kitchens, and she made ample use of it that day. Instead of taking her meals in the Great Hall, where she would have had to endure Sirius' pleading eyes, the House Elves had eagerly filled her knapsack with food, and she ate it alone in lounge.

Before dinner, a few Prefects had stopped by the room, and Lily was cordial but distant. Annalise had even asked if there was anything she could do to cheer her sixth year counterpart up. When Lily maintained that nothing was wrong, Annalise let out a snort of laughter. "Come off it, Lily... half the school is talking about it. Sirius Black has been walking around all day, looking as if you kicked him in the--"

"Thanks 'Lise," Lily muttered. "It's fine though. Off with you now; if I remember, you have your practice exams on the First."

Annalise made a gagging noise, and then waved at Lily as she left.

About an hour after dinner, Lily heard the door open again. She peeked over her shoulder and saw a tall wizard with black hair striding into the room. His face was in shadow, but Lily knew who it was: she'd been expecting this visit for sometime.

"Don't you even make any excuses for him, Potter." She said warningly.

The black haired boy that took the chair next to hers though was not the prefect from Gryffindor but rather one from another house entirely.

Severus Snape smirked broadly at her. "I have to say Evans, I've heard my fair share of insults in my day, but never have I been called something so cruel as 'Potter'." Snape shoved his hands into his hair, making it stick up in all directions the way that James' unruly locks did.

Lily chuckled, surprised to find that Snape had a sense of humour. She had rarely spoken with the sour looking youth during her time at Hogwarts. Slytherins as a rule reacted to her in one of two ways: They either insulted her to her face; or they gave her a wide berth, choosing to ignore her existence. Aside from a few comments that Lily was sure were intended for the benefit of James and Sirius, Snape's regard of her had fallen into the latter group.

"Not a bad presentation you made today in Potions, Evans." Snape had almost managed to say the words without sneering--almost. Even more surprising than his tone were the words themselves. The greasy haired boy prided himself on his command of that wizarding art; Snape might have been best known at school for knowing more curses than an angry Scottish Quidditch fanatic, but it had always seemed to Lily that his real love could be found at the bottom of a boiling cauldron. Lily couldn't have been better complimented if her Potions Professor had spoken the words herself.

"Thank you Severus," She gave him a half smile. "Come up to do some studying before rounds tonight?"

He nodded. "Usually no one is up here on a Friday evening." He gave a small shrug. "Its nice to have a place to enjoy some privacy out of the dorms. Not that the dorms are that private, mind you; even though a Prefect gets his own room, anyone can come and interrupt at anytime." He gestured around the room. "This is a nice change from that."

"That I can appreciate." She let out a long sigh, thinking back over the events of the last twenty-four hours.

Snape stood back up. "For tonight, I relinquish my sanctuary to you." He gave her a gentlemanly bow. "Anyone that can reduce Sirius Black to a sniveling pile of angst deserves such a reward."

Lily gave a soft snort of laughter as Snape was heading towards the door.

"Severus?"

The thought had just popped into her head, and she might never have a chance like this again.

He stopped and faced her.

"Can I ask you something?"

He gave her a slow, suspicious nod.

"Go ahead, Evans."

Lily took a deep breath. "Do you really hate Muggles?"

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. He moved slowly back over to where she sat, trying to surmise her reason for asking such a straightforward question. When he realized that there was nothing but genuine curiosity staring back at him, he replied: "It is a hard thing to explain... especially to one born of Muggles, such as yourself. There are a lot of things that I hate: the fact that my people have to hide themselves and their powers; that we must watch from a far while the Muggles pollute the world with their factories and smoke; and that even as we sit here, Muggles stand with their fingers poised over buttons to launch weapons that could destroy the whole world."

He pointed a pale finger at himself. "For whatever reason, my people were born superior to the Muggles; we were meant to rule them, and in millennia past we have. In order to save the world, we should take the reins of power once more."

Lily blinked several times. "You sound a bit like a vampire, trying to make a case to round up the mortals like cattle."

Snape gave a soft shrug. "From their point of view, that argument is plausible. I have no intention of becoming a bloodsucker's midnight snack though; if it came to that I would fight."

"And you think that the Muggles wouldn't?" She gave her head a small shake. "I don't claim to agree with what you say, Severus... but I can at least understand some of your fears. Thank you for being honest with me." She looked thoughtful. "I suppose, that if it's a question of power with the Muggles, then it must be a question of loyalty with someone born to Muggles--like me, right?"

A smirk crossed his face as he nodded. "And where do your loyalties lie, with us or with them?"

Lily thought about it for a few minutes.

"I will always be loyal to my friends and to the idea that doing the right thing is the best thing."

Snape snorted a laugh. "A very politic answer Evans, you should go to work for the Ministry."

"Lily," James Potter stepped out of the shadows, glaring at Snape. "It's time for rounds, are you ready to go?"

He had entered the room silently sometime during the conversation.

How does he do that, she asked her self for the umpteenth time that year. She got up, giving a small wave to Snape and pulled the glowering James out of the lounge.

"How could you even listen to him?" James was seething.

"He's not entirely wrong; there are Muggles that would blow up the world without a second thought... but there are wizards and witches that would gladly do as much damage for their own reasons." She shrugged her shoulders. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely, as they say. No one knows what one will do when his or her way of life is threatened. But there will always be people, magical or non, that will push others to that limit."

"Yeah," growled James. "And Severus Snape is one of them."

"Oh please," Lily scoffed. "Severus Snape is no Lord Voldemort."

"Maybe not, but if you think that he wouldn't sacrifice you or your family in the name of acquiring that precious power he was just describing to you, then you're not nearly as clever as I thought," growled James, shaking his head.

"Well," Lily replied in almost a whisper. "Let's hope he never has to make that kind of choice."

* * *

With the Hogsmeade visit the next day, the school was full of jumpy young wizards and witches; all the Prefects were kept on their toes as students snuck in and out of their houses until the wee hours of the morning. Once it grew quiet, Lily and James stopped off at the Kitchens for a snack, both planning to sleep through breakfast before leaving the castle that afternoon.

The Common Room was empty when they came in, each carrying a small plate of assorted cheeses and crackers, along with large glasses of milk. James set his tray down on a table and pulled out a chair for Lily. She took it gratefully; her feet were horribly sore from running up and down the stairs to the Astronomy Tower all night.

After a few minutes of idle chatter, Lily laid her hand on top of James'. "I want to thank you."

"For what?" James looked confused.

"For not defending him," she shrugged. "It wasn't something I wanted to hear last night."

"Sirius said a few things that he shouldn't have, and it's not my place to apologize for him." James gave her hand a small squeeze, and took another bite out of a slice of cheddar.

When Sirius had told him what he had said to Lily, James completely lost his temper. He spent several hours reminding Sirius that what they had done, becoming Animagi in secret, was illegal and that he had risked getting not only himself, James and Peter expelled, but also Remus-- for he had broken his word to Dumbledore each time he had ventured out of the Shrieking Shack with them. Sirius had been very lucky that Lily found the truth unbelievable; James didn't think that they would be so lucky again.

"Even so," she continued. "I appreciate it."

"Well, I hope you're not planning on hiding in the Prefect's Lounge for the rest of the year, seems that it gathers more unseelie characters than the Hog's Head pub."

James cringed inwardly, remembering the conversation he had interrupted just hours before between Lily and Snape.

"At least Snape is honest," her lips turned upside down. "That's more than I can say for Sirius at the moment." Lily gave herself a good shake, trying to rid her mind of thoughts of the well-built Mr. Black. "Are you going to Hogsmeade with him and the others?"

"We don't have any plans," replied James, "but we usually spend most of the day in the Three Broomsticks. Why?"

"I wanted to do some shopping, and I could use the company." She popped another cracker into her mouth.

James snorted. "You mean you wanted to do some shopping, and you could use someone around to keep Sirius off your heels."

Lily smiled coyly. "Well, maybe that too. What do you say, are you up for the job?"

"Might as well." James took a small amount of pleasure knowing that it would be a great thorn to his big-mouthed friend to see Lily walking around with him all day. In James' mind, Sirius deserved a bit of punishment (including any shocks he might get from the bind the Chastity charm still had on him). James, Remus and Peter had decided not to tell Sirius they had found a reversal spell for the charm just yet; they all felt that Sirius needed to learn a lesson from the trouble he had so narrowly avoided. Seeing James and Lily together would be a bit like adding extra credit to that lesson.

"Right then," Lily yawned. "I'll stop by your room around one, and we'll head down." She stood up, pushing her chair back into place. Lily walked around to his side of the table, leaned down and gave James an affectionate peck on the cheek.

"See you then," James heard himself saying. Well, he thought rubbing his thumb gently across the spot where her lips had just touched him, if my assignment is to keep Sirius away from Lily, who's to say that I'm not getting a bit of extra credit myself? With a self-satisfied smirk, he got up from the table and made his way up to his room and his waiting bed.

* * *

When Lily asked me if I wanted to go shopping, James mused, she should have said 'Would you like to spend a few hours sitting in an uncomfortable chair while I try on every piece of clothing in Gladrags Wizardwear?'

Despite his discomfiting seat, he decided that he really shouldn't complain as it hadn't been that dull of a day: Lily had tried on nearly every formal gown in the store, seeking James' opinion on each. When the other witches from school realized that they had the eyes of handsome young wizard at their disposal, they had all begun to parade in front of him in their would-be Yule Ball dresses. James had walked a fine line between honesty and kindness the whole afternoon as he offered suggestions to the crowd of giggling girls. The way they had taken his advice to heart had given his ego a long-overdue boost: he realized that he'd spent almost two months waiting for Lily to notice him, and as yet another slender witch threw him a flirtatious wink, he wondered if all this waiting was indeed worth it.

Lily breezed past him on her way into the changing room once again. "This is the last one, I promise!" she said as she shut the door behind her.

"Good, because I can hear a bottle of Butterbeer singing 'O Danny Boy' to me all the way from the Three Broomsticks." James fidgeted once again in his chair, happy to know that he would soon be removing his rear end from it.

The door to the changing room opened, and Lily stepped out. She was wearing a strapless gown of a deep emerald green; the fabric shined and almost sparkled in the light of the store, just as her eyes did. The corseted top hugged every curve on her tiny body, while the length of the dress stretched down to the floor making her look like a misplaced faerie princess. Whoever had made this dress, could only have made it for Lily. James couldn't imagine that it was possible for anyone to look more beautiful.

"It's completely worth it," he whispered under his breath, answering the question that had been nagging at him all day.

"What?" Lily had heard him. "What's worth it?"

"Uh, the dress... whatever the price, it's worth it." He stood up and walked over to her. "No one should ever wear that dress but you, Lily."

Lily's face blushed a deep red. "Thanks." She reached around and looked at the price tag again. "I don't know though, it's a bit expensive and it's not like I even have a date for the Yule Ball anymore, if I ever did."

"Lily, if you don't buy that dress, I will." His face was very serious, and he couldn't take his eyes off hers.

"Really James, I don't think it's your color at all. Though I must admit, I'd love to see how you'd fill out this bodice." A wicked grin broke through her blushing face. She spun around, looking at herself in the mirror again. "I think you're right though. I will buy it. Who knows if we'll have another Yule Ball before we graduate? If I don't have a date, I can always go stag."

Or you could go with one, James replied mentally. James made up his mind then and there--if Lily wasn't back together with Sirius before the first of December, he would ask her to the ball.

Lily changed back into her clothes and paid a very happy saleswitch for the dress. She held up her nearly empty coin purse. "I think you're going to have to buy the Butterbeers, James. That dress tapped me out."

"Alright then, but for every one I buy you, you owe me a dance in that dress." James winked at her as he led her out of the store.

"Easy enough," she replied with a smile. "Have you figured out who you're going to ask yet?"

Yes, he wanted to say, but she's too thick to realize it. "Haven't given it a thought really."

"Must be nice to be a guy," Lily mused as James held the door to the pub open for her. "Its all the girls have been talking about since the start of term." She wrinkled her nose. "Gets annoying fast too. I don't know where they all get the energy to flounce around like that." She gestured to a few straggling witches that were still in the pub. "Flock of giggling dingbats, most of them are. You know," she said as he directed her to an empty table. "Meg Surrey wouldn't mind if you invited her..."

"Meg?" James furrowed his eyebrows. "She's a nice enough girl, and a great Quidditch player, but..." ...she's not you, he finished silently. He shrugged at Lily. "It's a lot of bother, isn't it? I don't think of Meg that way and I wouldn't want to lead her on."

James excused himself and went to order their drinks. The barkeep was a shapely witch in her late twenties named Madam Rosmerta, who always had a wink and a smile to spare for James whenever he stopped by. She swept over to their table shortly after to deliver their Butterbeers. James watched her sashay away, surprised to see an almost jealous look on Lily's face when he turned back to the table.

"Everything okay, Lily?" he asked gently.

"Hmm? Oh, fine." She blinked a few times and then changed the subject.

Five bottles of Butterbeer apiece, and it was time to go. Lily threw down a few coins as a tip onto the table. "I guess that's five dances I owe you," she replied slyly. "You know, if neither of us gets a date, we might as well go together. I was going to ask Remus to be my backup, but the dance is only two days before the full moon." She looked up at him, waiting for an answer.

"Works for me," he said, trying to sound casual. 'Backup' might not have been the term he would have chosen to describe himself, but it was a means to an end. "You coming down to dinner tonight?"

Lily shook her head. "I'm going to get some sleep before rounds tonight, the Halloween feast is tomorrow and things will probably be as hectic as they were last night."

James nodded. A pleasant silence and a cool autumn breeze marked the rest of their walk back to the castle. James realized that he enjoyed the quiet moments shared with Lily almost as much as the conversant ones. And sometimes, he thought, people can say a lot more when they don't say anything at all.

* * *

The Halloween feast was halfway over when Lily and Remus came bustling in, arms laden with scrolls and books. They never glanced at either the Gryffindor table, or at their waiting friends giving them very curious looks; instead, they strode up to the head table where all the teachers sat.

Remus and Lily leaned in whispering to Dumbledore; the ancient wizard nodded and gestured for them to follow him out of the Great Hall. Up and down darkened corridors they walked, until they reached a statue of a gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the Headmaster's office.

"Peanut Brittle" whispered Albus Dumbledore. The gargoyle jumped aside, and the three of them climbed the stairs to his office.

As soon as they were seated, Lily and Remus launched into an explanation of what they had discovered that afternoon; after endless hours piecing together the Munroe family history, they had discovered that nearly fifteen hundred years ago an ancestor had been entrusted with the keeping of a piece of the Staff of Merlin.

Merlin had been the last wizard to rule in any part of the British Isles; as he grew older he decided that it was no longer in the best interests of the magical community to reign over their Muggle counterparts. He chose a successor, a young Muggle lord named Arthur and stayed on for many years as King Arthur's advisor. When it became apparent that as long as witches and wizards lived openly in Britain that Muggles would always seek them out to solve their problems, Merlin had gone before Arthur's court, holding his great staff--which was really a giant wand of focus--and smashed it into pieces. From that point on, the British wizarding community retreated to the realm of myth, as so many other magical communities around the world had before them.

The staff was said to have been broken into seven pieces, and over the years many people had claimed to own a piece of it--in fact, it was often speculated that if you laid all the splinters and pieces of wood that were supposedly from the Staff of Merlin end to end, that they would stretch from Hogwarts to Diagon Alley.

Apparently though, the Munroe family did have a piece of the staff and had guarded it carefully through all the passing centuries. Once this first connection had been made, Lily was sure that it was only a matter of time until they discovered that the other families attacked had also possessed a piece of the staff--or a fake that was so old no one (including the family) knew it wasn't real.

And this, they explained to Dumbledore, was the reason for Voldemort's attacks. Once finished, Lily and Remus waited for Dumbledore's response.

"You are both to be commended for your diligence." He gave them both a gentle smile. "However, the Ministry and I had concluded as much after the second wave of attacks. I fear that the Ministry's insistence that the Malkins turn their piece of the staff over to us was what brought about their deaths." The twinkle in his eyes faded slightly.

"Well, at least it's safe from Voldemort now," offered Remus weakly.

"Yes," muttered Dumbledore. "As safe as any other log on a fire..."

"Pardon, sir?" Lily couldn't believe that they would attempt to destroy a piece of the Staff of Merlin; magical properties aside, it was a valuable symbol of wizarding history.

"The portion that the Malkin's held was a fake, Miss Evans. Unfortunately, by the time the Ministry discovered this, it was too late." The Headmaster crossed his hands and laid them on his desk. He looked at the two of them for a moment and then asked, "Do you know why Voldemort is trying to gather the pieces of the staff?" His words were casual, as if he was asking them a question in a class.

Remus nodded. "The Staff of Merlin was a wand of focus." He reached into his pocket and held up his own wand. "Our wands each have a single core within them, the particular combination of the core and the wood relate to the kind of magic a witch or wizard has a natural affinity for. A wand of focus has many cores, and allows the user to excel at almost any type of magic, whether the talent is there or not."

"The Staff of Merlin, which was passed down to each generation of wizard rulers in his line, was rumored to contain nearly a hundred different cores." Lily added. "The few wands of focus that have survived the ages only have three or four, but with the Staff of Merlin, a powerful wizard would be nearly unstoppable."

"Very good." Dumbledore gave them a smile. "Professor Binns couldn't have said it better himself."

"Excuse me, Professor..." Lily half raised her hand.

"But if you knew that it was pieces of the staff that Voldemort was after, why not publish that knowledge so that the families could protect themselves?"

"Think of how long it took you to find out what it was that the Munroes were protecting, Miss Evans," replied the Headmaster. "And that was knowing that there was something to look for within that family line; the greatest protection that can be offered to the families that have not yet been attacked is their anonymity. Centuries obscure truth, and I believe that if we had asked the families to come forward, it would only have served to hasten Voldemort's attacks on them. As it is, he has only been limited to attack those he has discovered."

Lily nodded. "What about the families that have been attacked? You said that the Malkins turned their piece over, even though it was a fake... Have any of the others secured their parts of the staff with the Ministry?"

"Alas, no," the old wizard said with a small sigh. "They were asked, but after what happened to the Malkins they refused."

"So..." Remus was rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "That means that the family whose children woke up--the Panges, wasn't it? That they must have turned their piece over to Lord Voldemort, right?"

Dumbledore nodded again. "They never acknowledged to have had a portion of the staff, but yes... since they are the only ones to have awakened, it is safe to assume that they gave into his demands after his curse killed the eldest of their children." Lily noticed an odd look cross the old man's face, and she couldn't tell if it was anger or sadness. Or perhaps even pity.

"I think," the old wizard continued, standing up behind his desk, "that we should end our interview here for the day. There are questions that you would soon ask that, for your own safety, I should not answer. Miss Evans, has your father made any more progress with his sample of Nimue's Embrace?"

Lily shook her head. "No sir; my owl, Circe, is at home with him now. I've told her, if he has anything to report, to take his letter to you directly."

"Thank you Miss Evans." Dumbledore walked over to his door and held it open for them. "I trust that Mr. Lupin and yourself need not be reminded that this information should remain as private as possible." They both nodded at him, knowing that it would go no further than their circle of friends, all of whom had put some amount of time into the genealogy work over the last few days. "I am sorry that you missed the feast, would you like some food sent up?"

"No need, we'll just stop by the Kitchens and--" Lily clamped her hand over her mouth shocked that she had just revealed her knowledge of the secret passageway into the school Kitchens.

Dumbledore chuckled.

"As you wish... and give my regards to Fiddy when you stop by."

* * *

If Sirius had thought that life with Lily not speaking to him was bad during the days that she had avoided him, he soon learned that it was much worse once she had resumed her spot amongst the boys. All the meals they spent together, as well as all their time in the Common Room or in the library, found him facing her cold indifference--while the others were treated as if nothing unusual was going on. It was as if he was invisible.

Several times over the next week, he had tried to speak with her; Lily usually just walked away without acknowledging his presence. When Sirius had grabbed her arm after Transfiguration class, intending to hold her in that spot and make her listen, she had whipped out her wand and thrown a Lip-Locker curse. Then, she had stared off into the distance until he released her, so she could move on.

It took less time for Remus to remove the jinx than it had to get Remus to stop laughing about the fact that Sirius had been cursed.

The only positive effect of Lily's scorn was that he no longer risked any shocks from the Chastity Charm. Sirius was spending every free moment looking for a reversal, but so far he'd had no luck. Peter, James and Remus were supposed to be helping him, but they were conveniently occupied whenever he asked. Sirius strongly suspected that they were still upset with him for his revelation to Lily, but there wasn't much he could do about it but keep apologizing; after all, she hadn't believed him (thankfully, he reflected).

An odd turn of events in the Common Room on Thursday evening had revealed just how deeply Lily's anger ran. She was sitting in a corner, playing a game of gobstones with Peter when two of her fellow sixth year girls joined Sirius on the couch.

Petra Kensington was a bubbly girl with a head full of dark blond curls and not much else; her accomplice was the shapely Godiva Filanthropos, who was known for being very free with her... endowments. Sirius had spent not a little time with each of the girls on occasion, neither had the ambition or interest in being tied down with him. This had always suited Sirius just fine before, but now all he really wanted was to get back in Lily's good graces.

Petra leaned in on one side of him, while Godiva leaned in on the other. Godiva ran her hand slowly through his wavy black hair, an action that not only sent shivers down Sirius' spine, but also forced him to imagine Severus Snape wearing a pink nightgown with fluffy bunny slippers. Petra reminded him in whispering tones of previous trysts and suggested that the three of them take a bit of a walk.

Sirius had blushed at the thought. In low tones, he replied that he wasn't available, thinking to settle the matter.

Godiva had laughed out loud, drawing attention to the sitting trio. "Oh please," she replied in her beautifully accented voice. "She told us today. Lily said you are on the market again, and she asked us to keep you company." Godiva pointed over at Lily and then waved at the red haired girl, who returned the wave with a wicked smirk.

Petra's hand had found its way up his robe to his bicep, and was caressing it gently. Even if he had wanted to go, he couldn't have, so Sirius pushed both girls aside and stomped out of the Common Room.

As he was climbing the stairs, he heard Lily shout over to his would-be seductresses, "Don't worry ladies, he'll crumble within the week."

Even after a night's sleep, her words still burned as harshly as an Acid Pop from Honeydukes. It was a great relief when Peter told him at lunch that they'd found a reversal spell and that James and Remus were set to perform it tonight. Finally, he was going to have a chance to undo all the damage he had done.

* * *

James was sitting across from Albus, chatting amiably about trivial events in his life when they heard the soft tapping noise at the Headmaster's window. James leaned over and saw a large black owl perched on the ledge. Dumbledore let the bird in, and it hopped onto his desk.

"Circe, what are you doing here?" James asked. The Sooty owl looked exhausted, and after Albus removed the letter tied to her leg, fluttered over to James' lap.

"Your Miss Evans told me that I might expect her to show up, should her father make any further progress on the vine." He opened the letter up, adjusting his half moon spectacles and began to read.

On his lap, Circe let out a few whimpering hoots and then covered her head with her wing. Before James could decipher what was wrong, Dumbledore stood up.

"I'm afraid I must cut our visit short today James and ask that you leave." The old wizard tucked the letter in his pocket and ushered James and Circe (who hopped on to James' shoulder when he stood up) to the door.

"Is everything alright?" he asked as they reached the door.

"No, I'm sorry to say it's not." Albus sighed deeply. "I will explain it all later, but there are arrangements for Miss Evans that I must make immediately. I will call you back once I have seen her off."

James walked down the staircase, Circe whimpering in his ear the whole way. Once the gargoyle jumped back into place, he took the beleaguered owl up another staircase to a balcony that overlooked the Headmaster's office entrance.

It took a bit of prodding, but finally the great black owl told him in a string of sorrowful hoots what had happened: The night before, Marigold Evans and her daughter Petunia had been arguing about plans for Petunia's impending nuptials. During the heated shouts, Marigold had had a heart attack. She was rushed to a Muggle hospital, but had passed away that morning. Lily's father had sent Circe off with the news and was requesting that his daughter return home for the funeral and to be with her family.

It was as if the world had stopped and rolled backwards for James.

In stunned silence, he watched the corridor below as Professor McGonagall led a perplexed looking Lily into the Headmaster's chambers.

James knew what was coming next.

Every moment of the night of his parents' death flashed before his eyes. He saw Dumbledore standing out in front of his house, Sirius Black holding him back as he tried to run towards it.

He saw Albus' lips move silently in his mind as he told James what had happened, and what was going to happen.

James remembered being cold--it had been a hot summer day, but his heart had frozen the minute he knew that he'd never hear his parents' playfully bickering again or see his dad sneak a kiss from his mum when they thought no one was looking.

McGonagall was leading a sobbing Lily out of the office now. James gave Circe a reassuring pat and then sent her on her way. He then followed the forms of the teacher and student as best as he could from his vantage point on the floor above.

James ran to a window that overlooked the front of the school. His normally stern Transfiguration teacher was opening the door of a horseless carriage and gently helping Lily into it. Minerva McGonagall leaned into the carriage, and gave Lily a comforting hug. As the carriage took off towards Hogsmeade, the Professor turned back towards the school, and James saw her wiping tears away from her own eyes.

They must be sending her back on the Express, thought James. His memories flashed onward--seeing Sirius' Mum waiting for them at the door of his friend's house, remembering how it had felt when she had embraced him, holding on for dear life as the fifteen year old wizard in her arms shook violently. Before he had even realized that he was moving, James found himself in front of a statue of a hunchbacked hag. He took out his wand, uttering the password almost silently.

Once he was in the dark passageway, he broke out into a run. His heart pounded against his chest as the images of his parents' funeral burst into his mind. He had cried that day; in his shock, he hadn't shed a single tear before that moment. But as he saw them being laid to rest for an eternity together, knowing that they would never be without each other, he had cried.

Henry and Maddie Potter had never spent more than a night apart in all the years they were married, and it was a small relief to their only child that they would never be separated again.

James exploded out of the front door of Honeydukes, turning quickly towards the Hogsmeade train station. He could see her getting out of the carriage now, walking towards the platform. The train had just pulled up, and she was shaking so hard she could barely walk; James ran over to her.

Lily turned and looked at him through tear-filled eyes. He pulled her to him, holding her lovingly as the sobs wracked through her, as he had once been held. He stroked her hair, but said nothing. Slow, silent tears ran down his cheeks; the conductor called out "All aboard", and Lily pulled back from him.

"James... I... I don't... I can't..." The pain of her loss flowed out of her eyes, pleading with him.

"Don't worry Lily, I won't leave you alone." He directed her towards the train, giving her a hand up as they both boarded it. They entered the nearest cabin and sat down together. James put his arm around Lily and she buried her face in his chest, tears flowing freely in the safety of her friend's arms.

They sat together in silence for all the long hours of the ride. Lily never retreated from his embrace, and James never let her go until he passed her on to her father outside of the magical wall that led to Platform 9 ¾. Lily turned as her father led her away, "Does it ever get any easier, James?"

"No," he shook his head, wiping away a few more of his own tears on the sleeve of his robe. "It just gets further away."

Title: Arrival Unexpected (06/10)
Author name: Molly Moon
Author email: psycha@chartermi.net
Category: Romance
Sub Category: Suspense
Keywords: Lily James Peter Sirius Remus
Rating: R
Spoilers: SS/PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, FB, QTTA
Summary: Shared pain form a deep bond in the friendship of Lily and James, can Sirius handle the competition, even if it's just in his mind? Meanwhile, a letter from home makes Peter twitchy.
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author notes: Dedicated to my *special* Beta Kristin, who rides the Little Yellow Bus and recently won a contest in East L.A. for 'Lewdest Hand Gesture'. To my sister-in-law Jen (she finally did send me the photos) who nags like a professional if I don't update the story regularly. Never would have made it this far without their encouragement and the kind words of my repeat reviewers (QuidditchQueen8, GryffindorGal, LilSilverPhoenix to name a few). It's good to know that people are reading the story. Thank you for staying with me through this; we're halfway home now. Please let me know how I am doing if you haven't stopped by yet. All comments and critiques are welcome. Unless you are a member of the "Society for the Prevention of Cruelty Against Sirius Black"... then I'm not at home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Memories, good days, bad days
They'll be with me always
In these old familiar rooms
Children would play
Now there's only emptiness
Nothing to say

"Knowing Me, Knowing You", ABBA

Remus snapped awake when he heard Sirius pacing around the room. He stretched his arms high above his head, trying to push back the ebbing tide of sleep. Pulling himself up from the chair in front of the Common Room fire, he heard his back crack and pop in several places. His lower back was very sore; he'd been sitting up with Sirius most of the night, waiting for James and Lily to get back.

Wiping the sleep out of his eyes with a half-clenched fist, he looked around the room. Peter was still fast asleep on the couch, snoring gently. Remus envied his oblivious friend, wishing that he could sleep as well. He probably could be asleep, he reasoned, if it wasn't for Sirius. The normally mischievous glint was gone from Sirius' face, replaced with a look that walked a thin line between worry and anger.

When Lily and James hadn't shown up for dinner, the remaining trio was nonplused; any variety of things could have kept them away. Once it was apparent that James wasn't going to be meeting them to help with the removal of Sirius' Chastity Charm, slight worry set in. They had searched all the usual places: the library, the Kitchens, the Quidditch pitch--James was nowhere to be found. When they returned to Gryffindor Tower, they had sought out Lily only to find that she was gone as well. That moment stuck out in Remus' memory; it was if a dark cloud had passed over Sirius' face.

A few minutes later, they had run into Annalise and Gregg as the two fifth year Prefects were getting ready to go on weekend rounds. The Prefects informed them of what Professor McGonagall had passed on to them: James and Lily had had to leave the castle, and would be gone at least for tonight, possibly the whole weekend. Gregg and Annalise would have to cover rounds for them. Nothing was wrong that the Prefects were aware of, though they said that McGonagall looked a bit more tired than usual.

Those facts would have been enough to satisfy Peter and Remus - as long as McGonagall wasn't worried, why should they be? James and Lily would be returning soon enough to fill them in. Sirius was a different matter though. If you'd have told him that his mum ran off with the Minister of Magic he wouldn't have looked more scandalized. It took a bit of talking, but finally they'd gotten him calm enough to let them work on removing the charm.

James had given them the password to his room on the first day of classes; they retreated to the privacy of their absent friend's bedroom in order to perform the removal spell. It hadn't been easy: The spell required two wizards to perform, which they had planned on being James and Remus. While Peter was there to substitute, he wasn't their first choice for a number of reasons. In the end, it had all worked out fine, excepting for a few mispronunciations on Peter's part that had temporally changed Sirius' hair into a bouffant.

After that, there wasn't much they could do but wait.

First, they'd waited in James' room. Sirius pointed out that none of James' clothes or items were missing. Remus thought that that could mean one of two things: Either James hadn't gone very far from the castle or he hadn't planned on going. Neither option seemed pleasing to Sirius, who was looking more like a hungry hag every minute. It was such a different attitude for Sirius to display that it took Remus a while to place it, but finally he realized that the self-assured Sirius Black was slowly turning green with jealousy.

Remus had tried a few times to console his friend, as had Peter. Peter really wasn't the consoling type though--his attempts at flippancy with such comments as 'Well, its not like they would have eloped without telling us' or 'Don't worry, if they were just out for a shag they'd have been back long before now' had only increased the frustration in Sirius' pale eyes.

When Peter had pointed out that Lily wasn't Sirius' girlfriend anymore anyway, therefore Sirius shouldn't worry about it so much--that had been the last straw. Without so much as removing his wand from his robe pocket, Sirius had made a bottle of ink explode on James' desk in frustrated anger. Peter kept to himself after that, and once Remus had cleaned the mess up as best he could, he'd dragged Sirius down to the Common Room. Remus felt that Sirius had only come with him because from that vantage point, they would see James and Lily as soon as they returned from... wherever.

It was well after four in the morning now. At first, they'd kept busy with games of chess and Exploding Snap, but eventually Remus and Peter had just retreated to pieces of furniture to try and get some rest. Sirius showed no signs of fatigue. He rotated between sitting in front of the entrance to the Tower, glaring at the door and pacing the floor of the Common Room, as he was now.

Remus walked over to the frazzled looking young wizard. "Sirius, you should just go to bed. We all should just go to bed." An unplanned yawn punctuated the last part of Remus' statement.

Sirius just shook his head and stared at the door.

"Listen," Remus put a hand on Sirius' shoulder, pushing him gently down into a nearby chair. "Whatever it is, it can wait till morning. We know that they're safe. There's no need for all this."

Cold eyes looked back up at him. "No. I'm waiting," was all that Sirius would say.

Remus gave a small grunt of disapproval. "You heard what Annalise said, they may not even be back today." He gestured to the empty Common Room. "Are you planning on waiting here all weekend?"

"If that's what I have to do," Sirius replied tersely.

Remus considered the situation for a minute. It was obvious by now that no matter what he said to Sirius that he would continue to think of things that James and Lily could be doing that weren't remotely connected to their actual activities, whatever that may be. For the first time in his life, he blessed the fact that he didn't get involved in such entanglements. Reason never dominated the impassioned mind, he mused.

He returned to his chair in front of the fire and closed his eyes again. He knew that he could have gone back up to his room to get some real rest, but he thought that it might be a better idea to continue Sirius' vigil. If James or Lily did return this morning, neither of them should have to face Sirius' wild accusations alone.

Slowly his mind went blank and Remus drifted back off into his uneasy sleep, blissfully ignorant of the stoic figure of a well-built young wizard poised to pounce as soon as the portrait door swung open.

* * *

The sun was just rising off the horizon as the Hogwarts' Express pulled back into Hogsmeade station. The trip back had been easier in some ways for James but much harder in others. Lily wasn't with him, first of all; there was no one to hold on to as the ghosts of memories floated through his mind. About halfway through the trip, it had also occurred to James that he was going to be in a great deal of trouble when he got off the train. He'd violated innumerable rules by breaking out of the castle and accompanying Lily back to London; James was not the least bit surprised to see a figure in dark purple robes with a long beard as he stepped off the train.

Albus Dumbledore appraised his young charge with a cold look. James stood next to the old wizard in silence for a moment and then met his icy blue eyes with a determined voice. "I am sorry, Albus," he said pointedly. "But there was no way I was going to let Lily make that trip alone. I accept whatever I've got coming from all of this, but don't blame Lily. She didn't ask me to come, and even if she had told me to stay, I wouldn't have."

Dumbledore nodded then gave James a curious look. "I would like you to explain how you found out about the death of Miss Evans' mother. Professor McGonagall insists that no one spoke to Miss Evans from the time she left my office until Minerva saw her off at the gate."

James swallowed a small smirk as best he could. "A not-so-little bird told me."

Albus gestured that they should begin walking back to the castle. No horseless carriage was waiting to carry them back to the gates; apparently, Dumbledore wanted the time to talk to James. "Ah yes, I presume that would be the same bird that informed me of your flight from the castle." The two wizards exchanged a small smile. "Circe is a very clever and very caring owl, but not even she could convey to me how it is you walked through a wall."

James gave a small shrug. He had no intention of revealing his knowledge of the various secret passages around the castle, not even to Dumbledore. He'd rather serve a month of detention in the school laundry starching Severus Snape's underwear.

Dumbledore glanced up at his tall companion. "James, as your parents'--and I hope your--friend, I can understand what you did; however, as your guardian and the headmaster of your school, I can not condone it. As kind as your behavior was, it was reckless." He stopped along the path back to the castle.

"I expected that, and I am sorry if I worried you," James replied, meaning every word of it. "How am I to be punished?"

"How did you feel when you found out Miss Evans' mother had passed away?" Dumbledore's voice was even, betraying nothing.

"I remembered all of it--from when my parents were killed," James said slowly. "I remembered things I had forgotten and saw things I never want to remember seeing. It was like losing them all over again." James could feel his heart dropping once more even as he described what it had been like; the pain of loss was still burning to be unleashed.

"And yet, you chose to go to your friend, knowing that her pain and tears would fuel your own?" The old wizard started walking, more slowly this time.

"Of course," James replied instantly. "No one should have to go through that alone. As hard as it was, it would have been harder to stand by and do nothing when I knew that I could have at least done what I did." James gave a small shrug, pushing away a tear that had started to slide down his cheek.

"Our hearts find ways to bring us more punishment and pain than even old Argus Filch could devise," mused Dumbledore. "You will not be punished by myself or Professor McGonagall, though I wish to impress upon you the fact that you should have let me know where you were. With the attacks on the school, even an old man who has seen too much can find new fear for those he loves." A frail looking hand patted James on the shoulder amiably. "However, I think you shall find that there are others who have been looking for you and Miss Evans all night, and their fears may not be so easily allayed."

With a small shock, James remembered that he, Remus and Peter had promised to remove the Chastity Charm from Sirius yesterday. James had been so worried about Lily and so resigned to his own impending punishment that it had slipped his mind. No doubt, the three young wizards were quite curious as to where he and Lily had disappeared.

The rest of their walk back up to the castle was in silence: James was lost in memories of his own loss and the recent loss that had come to Lily's heart, while Dumbledore regarded James with a small amount of well-hidden pride. Doing the right thing was never easy, but it was even harder to do when it exacted payment from your own soul. That James was man enough to pay that price so willingly renewed the old wizard's faith in humanity not a small bit. Unbidden, Henry Potter's face flashed in the ancient wizard's mind, and he knew that his friend would also be proud of the son he had raised.

They parted ways at the castle gate, and James promised to come and see Albus sometime during the weekend. Exhaustion was finally settling in. James had been awake for nearly a whole day now, and he longed for nothing more than to go to bed. As soon as the portrait to Gryffindor Tower swung open though, he knew that sleep was going to have to wait a while yet. Sirius Black stood at the entrance, arms folded crossly over his chest. James opened his mouth to greet Sirius, but Sirius pushed past him, throwing the portrait door open and looking maniacally out it down the hall.

"Where is she? Where's Lily? Where have you two been all night?" Sirius had turned back to James, his eyes wild and wide-awake. Over by the fire, James could see another figure stirring to wakefulness. Taking in the sounds around him, James realized that all three boys were there waiting for his return, although only the one in front of him seemed to feel that it was a matter of dire urgency that James explain himself.

James brushed past Sirius and headed for the stairs. Sirius clamped a hand onto James' shoulder and spun him around. "We know that you were gone with her; McGonagall told the Prefects you left the castle. Now where is she, Potter?"

James was at his wits' end. Of all the greetings he'd been expecting upon his return to the castle, this wasn't one of them. Well, if Sirius wants to think that I've been up all night in that way, he told himself, let's just give him something to think about. "She'll be along shortly, Black." James allowed an amused smirk to creep across his face. "You have no idea how hard it is to remove a gelatin stain from satin underwear."

Right after Sirius' fist slammed into his face and right before he blacked out, James heard Remus cursing gently under his breath as the brown haired boy crossed the room. "Nothing is ever easy, but do you have to make it harder on yourself James?"

* * *

Sirius sat in the far corner of James' room, glowering at James' inert body as Remus levitated it onto his bed. Peter stood next to him, biting his lower lip. He had promised Remus that he would stay seated until James had been given a chance to explain, but Peter still had his wand out, ready to stop Sirius in his tracks should he feel compelled to negate that promise.

Remus looked over his shoulder at Sirius. "I'm going to revive him now, so just keep your mouth shut, will you?" Sirius grunted something that resembled agreement, so Remus held his wand out over James once more and murmured "Ennervate!"

James groaned slightly, propping himself up on his elbows. He looked around the room rather dazedly and then focused on Sirius. "I can't believe you hit me..."

Remus stepped in between their line of sight. "James, Sirius would appreciate it if you would recount the events of last night for us. And no embellishing for the moment please."

The boy who was recently a punching bag snorted. "Yeah, I bet he would."

James threw his legs over his bed and sat up straight. He pushed Remus out of the way, and pointed a finger at Sirius. "I had no idea that you could be such a stupid, pigheaded git."

"And I had no idea that you'd run off with my girlfriend as soon as my back was turned," Sirius retorted accusingly.

"Is that what you really think?" James was ready to throw a few punches of his own now. Sirius just stared at him. "Seems that last I recall, your 'girlfriend' was throwing hexes at you after Potions yesterday, when you tried to take her hand after class." James started to stand up, but Remus pushed him back down on the bed. "I doubt that Lily would have cared if she'd run off while you stared after her; there was no need to wait till your back was turned."

"I knew it!" Sirius was ready to jump out of the chair, but Peter leveled his wand to Sirius' face. "I knew that you were just waiting to have a chance at her; was it hard being so high-minded these last few weeks, knowing she had chosen to be with me instead of you? How much did it hurt to see the girl that you claimed was 'just a friend' in my arms?" Sirius gave James a sneer that would have made Severus Snape proud. "I'm sorry if my back hurt your knife, Potter, but did you really think we wouldn't notice that you two had run off?"

James rolled his eyes and looked at the ceiling. "Are you done playing the martyr yet?" James paused a moment, then stood up. "Because if you are, there are a few things that you need to know. First off, being Lily's friend has been more rewarding to me than any other friendship I've ever had in my life, including yours. She makes me want to be a better person, and if all I ever have with her is that friendship, I will be grateful for it." He started across the room, fighting against Remus who was trying to push him back to the bed. "But if you think that we were engaging in more physical relations last night, you're in for a real shock."

"Explain away then," Sirius smirked sarcastically. "I've been up waiting for this all night."

James turned to Remus. "Let the record show that Mr. Black has his head firmly planted inside his arse." James grew somber, staring coldly at Sirius for a full minute before speaking again. "Lily's mum died yesterday. I was in Dumbledore's office when Circe brought the news." He paused again, feeling oddly pleased at the shock that registered on Sirius' face. "I snuck out of the castle to ride back on the Express with her.

"I remember what it's like to lose a parent," James' voice turned to ice. "I lost two in one moment. There was no way I was going to let her make that long ride home alone, so I went with her." His posture relaxed slightly, feeling redeemed under Sirius' blanching face. "After all, that's what friends are for."

Remus put a hand on James shoulder. "You did the right thing," he murmured, trying to take the last of the tension out of the room. "How is she holding up?"

James let out a long sigh and turned to face Remus. "About as well as can be expected. She cried all night, we both did." James snapped his head back to Sirius. "And that's all we did."

"James, I'm--" Sirius began, but was shut out by a glare from James.

"Just get out of my room. Last night was longer than any of you can imagine and the last thing I was expecting when I got back was this." Peter and Remus moved towards the door. Sirius went over to James, readying himself to speak again. "Black, get out. Now. There is nothing I want to say to you and nothing you can say that I want to hear."

After James shut the door behind them, Sirius turned a guilty face to Remus. "I've really fucked this up, haven't I?"

"Well," Remus said, putting aside his own worry for Lily for the moment. "If you were hoping that James would be happy that you punched him and then accused him of snogging Lily behind your proverbial back, I think you're going to be very disappointed."

"Poor Lily," added Peter, looking on the verge of tears himself. "I was just a kid when my dad died, but I remember feeling like the sun would never shine again."

Remus nodded, and the two boys started off towards their dorm room while Sirius hung back, staring at James' closed door. How could you have been such an ass? he asked himself. He remembered the hours James had spent at the Black home after James' parents had died. He wanted desperately to apologize to James now, to tell James that he was grateful that Lily had had a friend there with her. But he had just said a lot of things... things that he couldn't take back. He walked towards the staircase, feeling a bit like his own bright star was losing some of its luster.

* * *

Lily Evans looked exhausted as she climbed into the horseless carriage that would carry her back from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts' castle. She had no words to describe how painful the last few days had been. The funeral had been horrible: Her father looked as if he had died himself, and Lily had been tricked into a fight with Petunia.

Her eyes narrowed at the memory of her sister's accusations. What good was it being a witch, Petunia had sneered at her, if Lily couldn't even do anything to save their mum? What were they teaching her up at that school, how to pull a rabbit out of a hat? Petunia's words had hit too close to home; Lily couldn't help but feel guilty for not being there when her mum was dying. There should have been something she could have done, and if she hadn't been halfway across the country when it happened, maybe there could have been.

Even more painful than her own guilt had been the look on her father's face when he'd found them fighting. Charles Evans had always been the peacekeeper in the family, stepping in when any of 'his girls' took things too far. This time though, he just stared at them as they shouted at each other. They stopped as soon as they realized that he was there, and he just walked away in silence when the war of words ceased.

Petunia had been polite after that, at least when there was an audience. She had invited her father to join her for Christmas with her fiancée's family and had reluctantly muttered that Lily was welcome to come, too. Lily snorted, remembering how Petunia had dug her nails into Lily's arm as soon as they were alone, telling her younger sister that it would be much better for their father if he was allowed a 'normal' holiday with a 'normal' family. Petunia let go of Lily when the younger sister said that she planned on staying over at Hogwarts' for Christmas; anything would be better than enduring more of Petunia's choice of a 'normal' life.

Vernon Dursley had stayed well away from Lily while she was home. He was a large man, especially when one considered how young he was; at twenty-three he carried the weight of a small elephant. Lily often thought that his enormous mustache could have acted as a trunk if given enough encouragement. He was, like her sister, concerned more with appearances than with what was actually going on. He boasted to family members that they needn't worry about Petunia, that she would be well taken care of now that her mother was gone. When he had offered to take care of Lily's father should he 'not snap out of it', it had taken all of Lily's willpower not to turn Vernon's green necktie into a boa constrictor.

As much as she hated to admit it though, her father was greatly changed. Without his wife, Charles Evans seemed to face the world in a slumber, unaware of how to take care of mundane things about the house--he had never done a scrap of laundry in all the years they were married. By the time Lily got home, her father had managed to dye all of his crisp white shirts pink by washing a red shirt in with them. She had hated having to leave him so soon, but Dumbledore had arranged for her to catch a Portkey back to the Three Broomsticks from the Leaky Cauldron on Monday, and the time had passed before her eyes.

The carriage pulled to a stop in front of the castle's main gate. She passed by bustling students on their way to and from classes as she retreated to Gryffindor Tower. What had seemed so normal just a few days ago now seemed pointless. Who cared if you were late for a class? What did it matter if you turned your homework in on time? It didn't stop the world from turning or parents from dying.

She felt eyes staring at her as she crossed the Common Room; she had started crying again. She pushed past two third year girls and climbed the stairs to her room. There were a lot of things she should do now that she was back: She wanted to thank James for being there for her, she needed to talk with her Professors about the classes she had missed, and she should send Circe back to her dad with a note saying that she'd made it back alright. As she collapsed on her bed trembling with tears, none of it mattered though. Her mother was gone; the rest of the world could wait a while longer.

Someone was tapping her on her shoulder. Lily lifted her face up from her pillow and looked around the room. It was dark out now; she'd been asleep for hours. Remus Lupin sat on the edge of her bed, looking at her with his tragically beautiful copper eyes. She sat up and threw her arms around his neck, the tears rolling down her cheek almost instantly.

"I'm so sorry, Lil..." he whispered. He patted her gently on the back. "Is there anything I can do? It's time for dinner now, but we didn't think you'd want to eat in the Great Hall tonight. Do you want me to bring you up some food?"

We? Lily looked around the empty room. Her door was ajar, and she could just make out three shadowed figures behind it. She nodded slowly to Remus. "I would appreciate that," she whispered "But if it's okay, I still want to be alone for a while." She disengaged her arms from Remus' neck and he stood up. As he reached her door, she said, "Could you ask James to stop by later though?"

Hearing his name, James popped his head through the door. He gave her a sad, understanding smile. "I'll stop by before bed tonight, Lily. If you need anything, I'll be in my room after dinner."

Lily nodded, giving James and Remus a small wave as they shut the door. She fell back onto her bed with a soft thunk.

She was already fast asleep again when Remus returned with her dinner. The wiry brown haired boy pushed a lock of red hair out of her eyes, thinking that it was better this way. Whatever dreams haunted her now, they were better than the cold reality she'd have to face upon waking. He knew this from personal experience; a line from Shakespeare floated into his mind as he closed her door behind him. 'To sleep, perchance to dream...'

No amount of sleep would change the fact that Lily's mum was dead, just as it never changed the fact that he was still a werewolf whenever he woke up. It did make it easier though, and no matter how harsh his own reality was, Remus found that his dreams were still full of hope--enough hope to keep him getting up in the morning.

All he could do now was pray that Lily found that hope as well.

* * *

Lily popped the last of her sandwich into her mouth and got up to answer the knocking at her door. There was a small smile on her face as she turned the knob, but it faded fast when she saw who was on the other side of the door.

"Sirius..." she whispered. He looked a mess; his hair was disheveled, his robes were buttoned wronged and his eyes... they were creased with red lines, just as hers were from crying. She leaned against the door to shut it, whispering "I can't do this right now..."

He pushed his way into the room easily, shutting the door behind him. Lily stared down at the ground, unwilling or unable to look at him. "I thought you might want someone to talk to, or just some company. I know you're still mad--"

"No," she breathed. "I'm not mad anymore, it's not worth it." She walked over to her bed, leaning back against her pile of pillows. She was tired again suddenly; she'd been expecting him to show up eventually, but she wasn't ready for it yet. There were a lot of thoughts in her mind about him over the last few days, a few of them were very pleasant... but in the end she'd found an unexpected truth, and she wasn't able to share that with him yet.

He crossed the room, sitting on the floor by the edge of her bed. He was tall enough that when he leaned his head back, it was on the bed next to her legs. He reached up and took her hand in his, stroking the palm of her hand gently with his thumb. "I'm sorry Lil, about everything," he murmured. "I'm so sorry about your mum..." He brought her hand to his lips, kissing each of her fingers that were curled around his.

She burst into tears again, pulling her hand away and covering her face with it. He moved on to the bed, embracing her as she cried. She slumped into his arms, not caring what he thought, just grateful that someone was there to hold her. Several minutes passed insensibly for Lily, but slowly she became aware that he was whispering to her. She strained to hear his words over her own strangled sobs.

"...Love you. It will be alright, I'll be here as long as you need me." Sirius felt Lily go stiff in his arms. He pulled back, looking at her. "Are you okay?"

Lily nodded at first, and then shook her head. "I... I don't feel so good. I shouldn't have eaten." She nodded towards the half-empty plate of food that Remus had left for her.

Sirius glanced around the room. "Do you want a glass of water? I can go and get you one, it will only take a minute."

"No," Lily wiped her eyes with the palm of her hand. "I think I should just lay down. I have to be ready for classes tomorrow... and it won't do to go like this." A noise, somewhere between a laugh and a sob escaped her as she fell back into her pillows.

"Do... do you want me to stay? Till you fall asleep?" He brushed his hand softly against her cheek. "It's no trouble..."

Lily shook her head. "I'll be fine, Sirius. I'll see you in the morning." She turned over, her back facing him now. "Goodnight."

Sirius stood up, took out his wand and flicked it towards the candles on her desk and whispered "Nox Minimus." All but three candles in the room went out, leaving Lily with enough light to move about the room, and enough darkness to fall asleep.

As he pulled her door shut behind him, he saw her fragile silhouette shake as she started to cry again.

Sirius pulled back the covers on his own bed and crawled into it. He could still feel her in his arms as he lay down to sleep, and the reality of her absence brought him a touch of physical pain. As he drifted off to sleep, he promised himself that he would speak with James first thing in the morning and try and make things right between them. Lily was right; it wasn't worth it to stay mad, and Sirius just hoped that James felt the same way.

* * *

Nine o'clock came and went, but James never knocked on her door. Lily was sitting at her desk now, staring at one of the flickering candles. Her eyes were dry finally; her whole body felt numb. She looked around her room--it was past midnight now. She'd lost three hours watching the tiny flame of the candle.

She changed into her nightgown and went to lie on her four-poster. She sat down on it instead; she felt horribly alone suddenly. James must have fallen asleep, she told herself. She couldn't imagine that he would have not stopped by otherwise. She remembered how he had cried on the train and suddenly was awash in guilt. It must have been terribly hard for him, having lost his own parents only a year ago.

She threw her bathrobe on, and crept down the hall towards his room. She would apologize to him and thank him, and then leave him to sleep. It was a compulsion for her; if she had been rational enough to think about it, she never would have woken him up. But in her mind, it couldn't wait until morning.

She knocked on his door--no answer. She tried the knob, and felt the door swing open. In the armchair next to the fire was the sleeping figure of James Potter. His head was tilted back, mouth open and snoring slightly. There was an open book on his lap, but his arms were flung carelessly over the sides of the chair. Lily stood over him for a moment, just watching his chest rise and fall as he slept.

Lily picked the book up off of his lap, and set it over on his desk. She noticed that his Herbology book was there, bound tightly in twine, but she was too worn out to wonder why. She crossed back over to James; his prostrate form looked so inviting. She wanted to just crawl up into his lap and fall asleep with her head against his shoulder, like she used to with her Mum when she was a child.

James wouldn't mind, she told herself, James would understand. She just wanted to feel safe, and she could think of no safer place in all of Hogwarts than in the arms of her friend.

He groaned softly under her weight as she sat down in his lap. Reflexively, his arm swung around her waist cradling her gently as she laid her head against his chest. She took his other hand in hers, holding the intertwined hands against her breast. James wouldn't mind at all, she thought as she shut her eyes, glad that she hadn't disturbed his sleep. James will understand in the morning.

They awoke with a start; it sounded as if someone had just set off a Filibuster Firework outside the door. Lily opened her eyes briefly and then shut them again. James blinked several times and then turned his face, his nose brushing against hers. "Lily?" How had she gotten here? And what was she doing sleeping on his lap? he wondered.

Lily murmured morning greetings, and then nuzzled back against him, unwilling to wake up yet. James shifted his weight so that she had to sit up on her own, or risk falling off the chair. One eye popped open, looking at him most curiously. "When did you get here?" she asked as she stifled a yawn.

"Lily, you're in my room..." he chuckled softly. "I think I should be asking you that question, not the other way around."

Her head snapped up and looked around the room, when she realized that he was right, she tried to stand up, but succeeded only in falling flat on her ass. "I... came down to apologize last night... and to thank you, for staying with me on the train..." James stood above her now, holding out a hand to help her up off the floor. She let him pull her up, blushing furiously as she remembered crawling into his lap last night. "I'm so sorry... I wasn't thinking; I just didn't want to be alone."

James gave her a filial kiss on her forehead. "It's okay, Lily... I know what it's like. There's nothing to apologize or thank me for... it was just a confusing way to wake up." He gave her a small smirk. "Pleasant, but confusing."

She was still turning deeper shades of red. "I should be going..."

"Yeah, we have to get ready for classes," he agreed. "I'll see you down at breakfast."

Lily nodded, and hurried back down to her room. James sank back into his armchair after she closed the door. He smiled; waking up with Lily Evans in your arms was a good way to start the day. Whatever else might happen, he didn't think that it could break his good mood.

James was still smiling when he sat down across from Sirius at breakfast. The two boys had spent most of the weekend avoiding each other; neither wanted to deal with the words that had been spoken when James returned Saturday morning. Forgiving Sirius for having an overactive imagination seemed the right thing to do now, so James greeted him cheerfully.

Sirius returned his greeting with a grunt, but didn't look up at James. He was poking holes into his fried egg until the yolk ran out over his plate. James wrinkled his nose at the sight of it; he hated runny eggs.

Sirius picked up a piece of toast and soaked it in the yolk. "How can you eat it like that?" James asked for the millionth time in their friendship as Sirius popped the sopping yellow toast into his mouth.

Sirius gave James a childish look, smacking his lips wide apart as he chewed so James could see the egg-soaked toast turning into a lump of brown-yellow goo in his mouth. James turned away, sticking his tongue out slightly as he poured himself a glass of pumpkin juice.

Lily and Remus arrived at the table; Remus sat down next to Sirius, who was trying to swallow the wad of food in his mouth. Lily sat down on the other side of Sirius, coloring slightly as she waved good morning to James.

James smiled back, pouring her a glass of pumpkin juice. He set the pitcher back down on the table and turned to his right to greet a sleepy looking Peter, who had just sat down next to him.

Lily let out a small gasp. Four sets of eyes turned to her, and then followed her pointing finger to the small bruise on James' cheek. "What happened?" Her eyes were wide. "How did you get that?"

"Sirius punched him," Peter replied drowsily, then cringed as three pairs of angry male eyes glared at him from around the table. Remus gave Peter the obligatory 'think-before-you-speak' kick to the shins under the table as Lily turned two furious emerald eyes on Sirius.

Sirius opened his mouth to speak, "It was--"

"--an accident," finished James. "We were just playing around." Lily turned her eyes on him, appraising the situation. James flushed hotly under her stare.

"Apples..." she muttered under her breath. James looked down, studying the tablecloth. Lily turned to Remus, "And since when does mentioning an accident earn poor Peter a swift kick under the table?"

Remus looked away.

"That's what I thought." She turned back to Sirius; there was less anger in her eyes now, but more steely resolve. "Fine then, if it's not a big deal to you all, then it's not a big deal to me."

She swallowed the glass of pumpkin juice in one gulp. Lily stood up, throwing her book bag over her shoulder. "I've got to talk to a few Professors, so I'll see you all in class later."

The four boys watched her sashay out of the Great Hall. Peter started apologizing profusely; he was just too tired to think about what he'd been saying. Remus told him not to worry about it. After a moment or two, they noticed that James and Sirius had locked eyes. Peter stuck out a chubby little arm and waved it between their faces.

"Not again," muttered Remus. "Listen, she's not mad... she's still too upset about her mum to worry about a little something like this. Both of your secrets are safe."

"Both?" James and Sirius said at the same time, unlocking their eyes long enough to raise two pairs of curious eyebrows at Remus.

"Yes, both" swore Remus, standing up now and hauling his knapsack up off the floor. "You should both be happy that Lily is blissfully clueless that Sirius is an obsessively jealous arse and that James is secretly pining away for her."

Both black haired boys opened their mouths to speak again, but Remus waved them off, exiting the Great Hall in long strides.

A thick letter dropped onto Peter's plate. He picked it up, looking at the return address before stuffing it into his pocket. James raised an eyebrow at him. "Just a note from Mum," he replied with a shrug.

"Sleep well last night, Potter?" Sirius inquired through pursed lips, locking eyes with James once more.

Ah, so that's it, thought James. He was the slamming door that woke us up.

"Just fine," James replied, trying to keep the color out of his cheeks. After another moment, he looked away from Sirius' accusing glare, pushing his plate away from him as he got up from the table. "I'm not hungry anymore. I'll see you both in class later."

Sirius stabbed repeatedly at another defenseless egg yolk. Peter watched with worried eyes as he ate. Finally, the bell rang, calling them to classes. Sirius muttered something under his breath as they got up to leave. Peter gave a whinging sigh; it was going to be a long week.

* * *

As the days passed, Lily slowly came back to herself. At first, she'd just stare off into space, letting the boys lead her from class to class. If they put food in front of her, she ate; if they put a book in front of her, she'd read it. On Thursday, Peter actually got her to laugh when he tricked Sirius into sitting on a piece of pie at lunch.

Her tears, when they came, were quiet now, rolling down her porcelain cheeks like drops of ice. She didn't shake anymore as she cried. It didn't matter who was there, just so long as someone was there if she needed to be held.

Sirius and James had kept up their cold indifference, speaking to each other only when it was needed. If Lily noticed, she didn't care. Peter and Remus were growing more frustrated at the situation, and it soon became apparent that they weren't the only ones aware of the change in the double act of Potter and Black.

Meg Surrey strode up to the quintet during dinner on Friday. She leaned in, pointing an accusing finger at James and Sirius. "Whatever it is," she growled, "get over it by next week. We're playing Ravenclaw, and we can't afford to lose since they beat Hufflepuff by three hundred points last month."

Sirius gave her a wide-eyed stare. Meg was normally the most jovial person on the Gryffindor team; he couldn't recall her ever having said an unkind word before. He saw James nod to her and then go back to shaping his mashed potatoes into a small statue of a cauldron.

Meg continued to stare at Sirius. "Don't worry, Surrey..." he said smoothly. "I have my priorities straight."

"Ha!"

Everyone turned and stared at Lily. She blinked at them a few times and then went back to eating her food, offering no explanation for her sudden outburst.

When they returned to the Common Room after dinner, James excused himself to take a nap. He asked Lily to wake him up before rounds; they were making up the ones that they missed the weekend before. Lily nodded, and sat down with Peter to play a game of wizard's chess. Neither of them was very good at it, so the games tended to last a long time.

Half way through the game, Remus sat down next to them holding out the evening edition of the Daily Prophet. On the front page was a photograph of a small baby sleeping in a crib; at its feet, two tendrils of a dark green vine were curling around the baby's toes.

Lily grabbed the paper out of Remus' hands; she scanned the article quickly. Across from her, Peter had turned a sick shade of green.

"There has to be more we can do," Lily said. A sort of fierce light shone out of her eyes.

Perhaps this is what she needs, thought Remus, something else to focus on. "What do you have in mind?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said honestly. "But I have no intention of sitting here doing nothing anymore." She tapped her fingers against the chessboard, causing protest from a bishop as the motion jostled it onto a different square. "My dad had requested some old books from a horticulture school... maybe they've arrived now. I'll send Circe off tonight for them." She looked at Peter. "Have you heard from your mum lately? Does she have any more information for us?"

"No," Peter whispered hoarsely, color rising in his cheeks. "I haven't heard from her since last week."

"That's not right," said Remus. "I remember you got a letter from her on Tuesday." Remus gave the blonde boy a quizzical look. "Did you forget?"

Peter fidgeted in his chair. "Uh.... Yeah... You know me, 'Forgetful Peter'." He forced a chuckle. Lily tilted her head at him. "It was just a reminder that my uh... niece Emily has a birthday at the beginning of next month." Small beads of sweat were forming at his hairline.

"I didn't know you had sibs," Lily said. Her heart went out to him; whatever was making him so twitchy must be pretty important if he wouldn't talk about it. Of course, she reasoned, no one was talking to her about much of anything these days--everyone was handling her with kid gloves. She resolved to do better as a pang of guilt hit her in the chest. Everyone has problems, she told herself.

"Yeah, an older sister and two older brothers," Peter said, grateful for the change of subject. "The youngest is fifteen years older than me; it was more like growing up with extra aunts and uncles than with sibs." Peter shrugged. "I'm an uncle twice over now. It's a great job," he flashed Lily a quirky smirk. "No diaper changing and I get to buy them the noisiest, most obnoxious toys. I was planning on getting Emily a set of self-playing drums. Payback for when her mum turned my toy train into a vampire bat."

Lily smiled. "There will be absolutely none of that when I have kids," she said.

Remus grinned mischievously at her. "What? Uncle Remus can't get the little tyke a deck of Extra Loud Exploding Snap?"

Lily rolled her eyes, returning the smirk. "Let's just wait till he's old enough to walk for that, okay?"

"He?" Peter joined in the grinning. "You're so sure you'll have a boy?"

"Oh yes," A dreamy look settled on Lily's face. "Just one child too... I've known that since I was a little girl... I dream about holding him sometimes."

Sirius slid his chair over to their table. "Any decisions on who the father will be yet?" he asked.

Lily blushed as his eyes met hers. "Nope. I haven't a clue." She stood up. "I probably haven't even met him yet." She winced inwardly as she saw the smile fade from Sirius' face. "It's nearly time for rounds, I better go wake up James." She waved as she crossed the room and headed up the stairs.

Remus turned his smirk to Sirius. "Does the word 'subtle' mean anything to you?"

"Nope," Sirius took Lily's seat at the chessboard, putting Peter into checkmate with one move. "Lily Black..." he whispered under his breath. "Has a good ring to it, don't you think?"

Peter snorted as he set the board up for a new game. "There's about as much chance of Lily marrying you as there is of me becoming the Dark Lord's pet rat."

Sirius pelted Peter with a pawn. "There are worse things that could happen to a girl than spending the rest of her life with me," he said defensively.

"Yeah," retorted Remus. "She could marry Snape."

* * *

Lily stopped running. She leaned over, hands braced against her knees, trying to catch her breath. Some yards ahead of her, James stopped as well, turning around to look at her.

"You okay?" He didn't even sound winded.

"Yeah... let's just let them go though." They'd been chasing two unknown students up and down the corridors for the last five minutes. "Nowhere in the description of this job did it say that athletic ability was required." Lily walked over to a nearby bench and collapsed into it.

James sniggered as he sat down next to her. "Why Lily Evans," he exclaimed. "I do believe that you are letting two students run amok after hours. Whatever will the other Prefects say?" James poked his tongue into his cheek and rolled his eyes at her.

"I have no idea," she shook her head as she chuckled. "But I'll say that anyone that can move that blooming fast deserves to go amok, running or otherwise." She gave an indifferent shrug. "It's not like it really--"

"--Matters anyway," finished James with a smirk. "You've been saying that a lot lately."

Lily nodded, closing her eyes and staring up at the curved ceiling. "Many things that I thought were important now seem... trivial." She pointed down the empty hall. "They're just out to have some fun, who am I to stop it? Who knows what will happen to them tomorrow?" She sighed. "If there is one thing I've learned from all this, it's that there are no guarantees. Any of us could die at any moment, so why waste the time that we have?"

James raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, that's a very stark way to view it, but you're not entirely wrong." James took her hand. "You shouldn't live life because you're afraid of dying, Lily. You should embrace life for what joy it can give you, not for what you're afraid that it might take away." He turned her chin to his face. "There are a lot of things that do matter Lily, and a lot of people that you matter to."

Lily's eyes locked with his for a long moment, and then roamed down to the fading bruise on his cheek. "Are you still going to tell me that that doesn't matter?" James flinched as she put her thumb to the tender bruise. "What happened while I was gone last weekend, James? I know that you were lying when you said it was an accident."

James took a deep breath. "I said something stupid... and Sirius had been thinking some equally stupid things." He released her hand and pointed at his cheek. "This is the result. It's really not a big deal, Lily."

"Oh, of course it's not," Lily rolled her eyes at him. "That's why you two have barely spoken this week." She pursed her lips. "I've been in mourning James, I didn't go deaf or blind."

James wasn't sure how to reply. He certainly wasn't going to relate the events verbatim, but maybe it was time to clue Lily in on a few things. Finally, he asked her, "What do you think we were fighting about?"

"Well," she said after a moment's contemplation. "I don't think you got him worked up enough to hit you while discussing the best model of racing broom." She looked down at the ground. "Given the events of Friday, I'd guess that it would have something to do with the fact that you and I were mysteriously absent all night." James nodded slowly. "Well, once you explained though, that should have been the end of it, right? Why have you two been so cold this whole week then?"

James chose his next words carefully. "Do you remember what woke us up on Tuesday morning?"

"Yes," Lily replied instantly. "A loud noise, like a door slam--Oh dear, was that Sirius?" Lily saw what it must have looked like from Sirius' point of view: Lily in her bathrobe, curled up on James who had his arms around her, both of them fast asleep.

James nodded. "Considering how he feels about you, it was natural that he would be... upset."

"Yes... I've been meaning to have a talk with him about that." Lily wrinkled her nose. James watched her carefully, looking for any sign as to whether or not the impending conversation would make Sirius happy or sad. She blushed as she felt his eyes on her face. "Well, I'll burn that bridge when I come to it, I just don't have the strength yet."

They sat in silence for a while, each consumed by their own thoughts. James saw a single tear running down Lily's cheek, and took her hand into his, giving it a gentle squeeze. She leaned towards him, and he planted a loving kiss on her forehead. There were so many things he wanted to say to her, about loss and love, fear and hope. The words stuck in his throat, though. Instead, he put his forehead against hers and leaned nose-to-nose.. She giggled as he gave her an Eskimo kiss, rubbing his nose against hers playfully.

"Well, well, well," Their heads snapped apart at the sneering voice of Severus Snape, who was standing with another Slytherin Prefect passing judgment on the situation. "I had heard that you and Black shared everything, Potter, but I had no idea that there was enough of Miss Evans to go around." Lily flinched. "Do you make her shower before you trade her off? Or do you enjoy getting Black's sloppy seconds?"

James flew out of his chair faster than a Fanged Frisbee. His fist slammed into Snape's hooked nose with a loud crack, sending the Slytherin Prefect backward onto his arse with an audible thud.

James stood ready to deal another blow; Lily stood up behind him, hands over her mouth.

"That's it, Potter..." Snape sneered. "Fif--"

James kicked the prostrate boy in the stomach, stopping Snape's retort mid-word. "Don't bother, Severus." James leveled his eyes on the female Slytherin and then looked back at Lily. He drew out his wand and pointed it at himself. "Fifty points from Gryffindor, courtesy of James Potter, for giving the sixth year Slytherin Prefect something he's been needing for a long bloody time." He spun around and grabbed Lily's hand, pulling the shocked girl down the hall.

He didn't stop until they stood outside of the portrait of the Fat Lady. He breathed through his nose, flaring his nostrils out like an angry dragon. He was furious at himself for losing control like that, for letting Snape's vile words hit too close to his own fears.

Lily shook her head slowly. "Oh James... I can't believe you did that. You shouldn't have--"
James pushed her against the wall, pinning her arms over her head with one hand. He slammed his other fist against the cold stone. When he kissed her, it was not tender and loving as he had imagined it; he was full of anger and need. His lips imparted this to hers, stealing her breath away before she could give it to him. As the red haze faded from his mind, he found that her mouth was responding warmly to his. Her tiny doll-like lips buried themselves into his, sucking and probing with as much unleashed wrath as his own. He pulled back in shock; it wasn't supposed to be like this. He didn't want it to be like this, not with Lily.

"I shouldn't have done that either." There was still a touch of anger in his voice. "But that's another thing that needed to be done for some time now."

Thoroughly shocked, Lily stared down at the ground and finally remembered to breathe again.

James turned to the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Inflatable Monkeys" he whispered. As he stepped into Gryffindor Tower, he looked back at Lily. "I... I'm sorry."

The portrait slammed shut behind him, leaving Lily alone in the hallway. She let her body slide down to the ground, pulling her knees up to her chest, clutching them protectively. What am I going to do now? she asked herself as the tears began to fall down her cheeks. Oh Mum, I wish you were here...

* * *

By the next morning, it was widely considered that James had lost the best fifty points in the history of Gryffindor House, and he received a warm round of applause as he sat down to breakfast. James gave his adoring crowd a mock bow as he plopped into the seat next to Sirius, who was smiling at him for the first time in a week.

"Where's Lily?" James tried to sound casual, but the truth was since he'd left her last night, his stomach had been twisting into knots. He couldn't believe that he had actually kissed her, in anger no less. Equally unbelievable was that she had kissed him back. Hadn't she? He replayed the kiss again in his mind: Her mouth had drawn tight under the force of his lips at first, then as her body relaxed, her lips had most definitely pushed back against his. He'd felt her mouth open, and her tongue had just touched his when he'd pulled away.

James shivered pleasantly. He looked around, to see if the others had noticed. In blissful ignorance, Peter, Remus and Sirius continued to eat.

"She's not feeling well this morning," Remus said after taking a drink of orange juice. "Girl troubles," he added with a shrug.

Peter gave a loud snort. He flushed slightly as the three boys looked at him questioningly. "Well, that's just what she says, isn't it? If Lily really had her period--" Peter's cheeks turned cherry pink at the word, "--each time she claimed that she did, she'd be a medical oddity." Peter gave a small shrug. "It's just something that all girls say when they don't want to be bothered by guys."

James exchanged looks with Sirius and Remus. It had never occurred to any of them to doubt Lily's claims. Peter's explanation made too much sense to be ignored.

"I'll go talk to her," Sirius said as he stood up from the table.

James grabbed his wrist, pulling him back down. "No, let Remus. It... might be easier if it was him." The last thing James needed was for Lily to tell Sirius about kissing him last night, whether she was upset or delighted by it.

"Gee, thanks for volunteering me, James." Remus rolled his eyes, flicking a crumpled napkin at him.

Sirius gave James an odd look as he sat back down. "We have Quidditch practice this morning," James explained, thankful that he had remembered it. "Who knows how long Lily will want to talk?"

Sirius nodded.

Remus drew out his wand and conjured up a tray. He piled all sorts of breakfast treats on to it and headed back to Gryffindor Tower.

Balancing the tray precariously on one hand, Remus knocked on Lily's door. Lily opened the door a crack, looking from Remus to the tray of proffered food.

"That's really sweet, Remus," she said, giving him a smile. "But it's not necessary. I just want to lay down for a while... until I'm feeling more like myself."

Remus smirked at her. "Yeah, whatever. Let me in, Lily." She gave him a puzzled look, which he returned with a melodramatic eye roll. "The game's up. Peter cracked your secret 'girl code'. He says that if you really had 'feminine troubles' as often as you claim, you'd be a medical mystery."

Lily gave a snort and didn't stop Remus from pushing his way into the room. He nearly dropped the tray when he saw what was laid out on the floor: Cakes, pies, boxes of candies in all sizes and shapes as well as several plates of cheese and crackers and a large pitcher of Butterbeer. He looked between his sad platter of dried toast with assorted jams and the sumptuous spread on the floor. With a laugh, he sat the tray down on her desk.

Lily smirked at him. "What? Didn't you know that House Elves deliver?"

Remus shook his head in amazement. "How did they get all this up here without anyone noticing?"

Lily pointed to her fireplace. "When I showed up there last night, I was crying again. I asked for a bit of sweets to take the edge off." She smiled. "Fiddy sat patting my hand for about a half hour and then told me that they'd used the intra-castle Floo Network to bring the stuff into my room, and would I like to use the Kitchen fire to go straight back there."

"This," Remus said, gesturing around the room, "is a 'bit of sweets'?"

Lily laughed, sitting down on the floor. "Near as I can figure, the elves decided that if a small amount would help me take the edge off, then a larger amount would cure the problem entirely." She cut into a dark chocolate cake that was topped with a thick glaze of cherries. "Want some?"

Remus didn't need to be asked twice. He joined her on the floor and began sampling the various delicacies. He leaned back on his elbows after he poured himself a tall mug of Butterbeer and cocked his head at Lily. "So why were you crying last night?"

Lily looked away, giving him a small shrug. "Oh... you know, the usual," was her laconic reply.

"Of course, since today is filled with such usual things..." Remus shook his head at her. Lily shut her lips tightly around a truffle. "Not talking, eh? Alright then, let me tell you what I know." He took another drink from his mug. "Snape said something last night that made James punch him--no one seems to have all the details, but the general consensus is that he deserved it. You admit to crying, and to sneaking off to the Kitchens by yourself. After Peter revealed your little feminine ruse, Sirius offered to come up and talk to you, but James stopped him and instead of coming up himself, James sent me up here to see if you were okay."

"Well," Lily said in a muffled voice; she had just taken a large bite out of a very chewy caramel. "That's a mouthful."

"Yes it is," Remus agreed with a smile. "But it points to a few assumptions about last night. Whatever happened after he punched Snape, he didn't think you'd want to talk to him about it and he certainly didn't want you to tell Sirius." Remus pointed to all the food on the floor again. "Judging by the fact that you're set to skip meals for a good two or three days in here, I'd say it's a safe bet that you have no desire to face James either." Remus finished off the Butterbeer, and then reached for the pitcher to refill his mug. "Considering that it's James, and not me that you've spent most of this term confiding in so far, I'd wager that something very interesting happened last night."

"Fascinating deductions, Sherlock." She gave him a sardonic smile. "I never should have given you the complete works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for Christmas last year."

Remus gave her a polite golf clap. "And your skills at dodging questions have vastly improved, Miss Evans." His copper eyes twinkled mischievously at her. "If you get any faster at turning a conversational corner, we'll have to start calling you 'The Ruby Snitch'."

Lily gave a resigned sigh. "James was really mad last night, after what Snape said... I started to tell him that he shouldn't have done it and..." Lily shrugged.

"And?" prodded Remus.

"And he sort of... I mean in a way... I'm sure it wasn't intentional..." Lily stammered.

Remus tsked at her. "Just spit it out, woman!"

"He kind of kissed me." Lily bit down on her lower lip, wrinkling her eyebrows. The whole thing was still very confusing to her. One minute James had been flattening Snape's nose and the next he'd engaged her in a short but rather pleasing bout of lip locking.

Remus stared at her for a moment. "So... you were crying because he kissed you?"

"Yes, well... no, not really. It was more like... I don't know." Lily looked genuinely confused now. "I'm not mad about it, I just wasn't expecting it."

Remus nodded slowly. "What now then?"

"Well, that's the thousand galleon question isn't it?" Lily frowned. "I've been avoiding Sirius because I didn't want to, I mean, I just can't deal with his... affections, and now apparently I have to avoid James as well. Unless," Lily raised two hopeful eyes to Remus, "it was just a momentary lapse of reason. Do you think--"

"What? That James could have been so mad at Snape that he decided to take it out on your lips?" Remus laughed, while Lily turned crimson. Remus took her hand in his and whispered, "Think again, Lil."

Lily was staring at their hands, at least that is what Remus thought. "Remus, where's your bracelet?"

Remus retracted his arm, clutching his empty wrist protectively. "I've been meaning to tell you about that." He explained how it had disappeared after his tumble down the stairs prior to the last full moon, and how he suspected that Snape had pocketed the bracelet for whatever ill-gotten reason.

Lily nodded attentively throughout his explanation, and then stood up, heading for the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked Remus.

"To get your bracelet back--after what he said last night, Snape owes me." She opened the door. "Stay here, I'll be back in a bit."

Remus stared at the closed door, thinking that he'd give all the gold in Gringott's to know what it was that Snape had said.

* * *

Lily was pleased to see that her first thought had been right; sitting alone in the Prefect's Lounge was a bandage-nosed Severus Snape. Lily drew her wand out, holding it behind her back as she approached him.

Snape looked up from the book he was reading, giving her a particularly nasty glare. Lily smiled as sweetly as she could, saying "Don't worry Severus, I've had my morning shower." Snape opened his mouth to reply, but Lily held up a hand. "I'm not here about that. I could care less about it."

Snape narrowed his eyes questioningly. "What do you want then Evans?"

"You have the bracelet that I gave Remus for his birthday; I want it back. Now." Snape opened his mouth to deny it, but Lily leveled her wand to his face. The greasy looking boy flinched as she tapped her wand against his injured nose. "Did you know that I've been studying advanced Charm coursework with the Ministry this year? No? Very interesting spells," Lily gave him a cold smile. "I've learned all sorts of charms dealing with the perception of truth..."

"What has that got to do with anything?" Snape sneered.

"It's funny how news travels in this school, isn't it? Everyone knows that James punched you last night, but no one knows why or what was said." Lily gave a small shrug. "It would be very easy for me to spread a rumor about what happened, and since I was there, it would be believed." She thwacked her wand against his nose again. "It would be just as easy for me to lay a charm on you that would prevent you from denying whatever I said."

"You'd get caught--you can't cast spells like that on other students." Snape was starting to look nervous though.

"Very doubtful, since part of the charm prevents you from telling anyone that it was cast." She smiled at him. "So tell me Severus, how would you feel if the whole school found out that you'd bared your soul to James Potter last night, begging him to take you in his arms and make you a real man?"

Snape blanched. "No one would ever believe that..."

"Wouldn't they?" Lily asked. "Its not like you have a queue of former girlfriends about to deny your private predilections, do you?" Lily gave him an icy glare. "People believe what they are told, Severus. And unless you give me Remus' bracelet right now, I'm going to tell them that you pleaded with Potter to play poke the pickle with you last night."

Snape's mouth dropped open. He goggled at her in disbelief.

"I'm waiting..." she growled. "In case you haven't heard, redheads aren't known for their patience."

Snape glanced over the edge of his chair. "It's there, in my backpack."

Lily gave him a moderately cheery smile. "There's a good boy. Now take it out slowly, and hand it to me." Snape obeyed, dropping the bracelet into Lily's open hand a moment later. Lily placed the bracelet into her pocket. She backed away from him slowly, never removing her wand from its target. As her hand latched on to the doorknob behind her, she swished her wand through the air. "Orate Arcanus!" she said in an even voice.

A stream of purple sparks shot out of the end of her wand, weaving their way across the room to Snape. The magical lights shot down his throat, making him gasp for air.

"There now," Lily said with a smile. "Even if you wanted to, that will prevent you from telling anyone about our little talk." She gave him a merry wave as she left. "Remus will be so happy that you found his bracelet; thanks for taking such good care of it."

Snape sneered around the empty room. He kicked the chair in front of him. She may have gotten the bracelet back, he reminded himself, but he was about to get the last word. Snape allowed himself a small but triumphant smile, then furrowed his brows in confusion: What the hell had she meant by 'poke the pickle' anyway?

* * *

Lily was surprised to see Remus standing with James and Sirius in the Common Room after she returned from her talk with Severus. The two black haired wizards were still in their Quidditch uniforms. No one smiled or greeted her; there was a very somber air to their usually merry company.

James came over, putting an arm around her shoulders. "You better sit down for this Lily," he whispered.

Lily's eyes darted around in a panicked confusion. Something was wrong, something was very wrong. "What is it?" she asked in a small voice.

"It's Peter," explained Sirius. "He went up for a nap after breakfast and..."

Sirius was interrupted by the worried figure of Professor Minerva McGonagall walking backwards down the stairs. They all turned and watched as she levitated the sleeping body of Peter Pettigrew across the Common Room and out the portrait door.

Lily was struggling to breathe; one of their own had fallen into the clutches of Lord Voldemort.

Molly M. Johnson Molly M. Johnson 2 1 2003-07-18T17:18:00Z 2003-07-18T17:19:00Z 18 7964 45396 378 90 55749 9.3821 150

Title: Arrival Unexpected (07)
Author name: Molly Moon
Author email: psycha@chartermi.net
Category: Romance
Sub Category: Suspense
Keywords: Lily James Remus Sirius Peter
Rating: R
Spoilers: SS/PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, FB, QTTA
Summary: Lily makes an important connection about the mysterious vine; Gryffindor gets ready to take on Ravenclaw even as two of its best players take on each other.
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Shamelessly stole a quote that John/Aeryn shippers will recognize from "Farscape". If you don't know what that means, ignore this.
Author notes: Beta Kristin is going to pummel me for submitting the chapter so soon after the last one. She thinks that I should stretch out the time between chapters and make the few readers I have suffer. If you disagree with her, leave a note on the review board under this chapter's thread. As always, thanks to Kristin and Jen for putting up with my inane ideas at all hours of the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Like an image passing by
My love, my life
In the mirror of your eyes
My love, my life
I can see it all so clearly (see it all so clearly)
Answer me sincerely (answer me sincerely)
Was it a dream, a lie?

"My Love, My Life", ABBA

All personal feelings had been set aside to work on a way--any way to wake Peter up from the cursed sleep. The four of them sat in Lily's room going over every note they had made about the mysterious vine known as Nimue's Embrace. Rolls of parchment and piles of books had replaced the buffet that had earlier covered Lily's floor; the sweets were set against her windowed wall now and were made use of whenever one of them was feeling a bit low on fuel.

The three adolescent wizards sat sprawled amongst the clutter while Lily was perched atop her desk. She and James had done a very short version of rounds that night; in the hour that they had been gone, they hadn't seen anyone but the other Prefects out of dorms. The news of the attack on Peter had set the student body into a quiet mood once more--and that was fine by James and Lily, who wanted nothing more than to get back to the Tower to continue working with Remus and Sirius. The worried friends shouted ideas out as they popped into their heads, the merits of which were discussed, debated and inevitably set aside.

Sirius flipped over onto his back, stretching his arms out above him. He tried to stifle a yawn, but the noise echoed throughout the room.

Lily set the book she was reading down in her lap. "Sirius, go and get some sleep." He opened his mouth to protest, but she held up a hand: "If you're tired, you're not thinking well, anyway." She looked over at Remus, taking note of the deep black circles under his eyes. "You too, Lupin."

"Go kip in my room," James offered. "We'll wake you up if we find anything or in a few hours otherwise. Then Lily and I will catch a bit of sleep."

Remus nodded drowsily and headed towards the door. Sirius stopped about halfway. "Maybe we should just call it a night?" He gave a small shrug, his eyes darting suspiciously to James for a second. "Start fresh in the morning."

"No," replied Lily and James at the same time. James gave a small smirk and nodded for Lily to continue.

"James and I would be up this late normally because of rounds... It's midnight now," she seemed to be calculating something in her head. "We should be able to work until six a.m. or so; we'll wake you up then, and nap till noon ourselves."

After the door shut, Lily hopped off the desk and lay out on the floor next to James. She kept rubbing her eyes as if something was in them. James gave her a quizzical look. "It's my contacts... I'm not used to having them in this long," she replied. She crawled over to her trunk at the end of her bed, dug around for a few moments and then drew out a battered looking glasses case. "Time for the old stand-by," she whispered as she walked over to the mirror.

"Do you want me to leave while you do that?" offered James, looking slightly uncomfortable.

Lily gave a small snort. "I'm taking out my contacts, James, not taking off my knickers."

James blushed slightly and gave her a small frown. "Well... I don't know what's involved in it."

"Watch and learn," Lily tilted her head towards the ceiling, pulling back the lid of her right eye with her thumb and forefinger. With her other hand, she reached up and touched the edge of her iris. A second later, she held the contact out to him. "That's it. And my knickers are still exactly where they were when I started," she added with a smirk.

"Nothing to it, it would seem." He adjusted his own glasses as they slid off his nose. "Maybe I should get a pair."

"No; you look much better with glasses," Lily replied without thinking. She blushed instantly.

A tense moment of silence followed as she put the contacts into a cleaning solution and then sat back down on the floor.

Lily opened the case, and pulled out her glasses. She brushed the loose strands of her hair back behind her ears and set the glasses into place, blinking a few times as the world came back into focus.

James smiled. "Those aren't the glasses that you used to wear."

Lily shook her head, returning his smile. "When I got the contacts, I had to get my prescription updated." Her new spectacles were of a thin wire frame, oval in shape and silver in color, complimenting the soft angles of her face. "We donated the old ones to a Muggle charity that takes old glasses to Third World countries." Lily gave a small snort. "Somewhere in the jungles of Borneo there is a poor girl wearing those awful thick-framed square glasses. I wish Mum would have just let me smash them..." Her eyes grew sad for a moment, and then she went back to reading.

They continued their study in silence for another hour, until it grated on James' nerves. He set his book down, and held his chin up on stacked fists. "Lily?"

"Hmm?" She didn't take her eyes off the page she was reading.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for yesterday." He held his breath, waiting to hear her response.

Lily turned to the next page, still reading. "Yes, I heard you the first time."

"First time?" he asked. "I just said it now."

She set her book down and looked him right in the eye. "Actually, you said it after you kissed me last night, right before you went back into the Tower." She was simply stating the facts; there was no other reaction on her face.

"Right..." James breathed through gritted teeth. He picked his book back up.

Lily continued to look at him, though.

His face was growing pink under her stare. Finally, he glanced back up at her.

"Why?" she asked in a small childlike voice.

He studied her for a moment; there was a touch of fear in her eyes. "Why what?"

Her nose twitched slightly. "Why did you kiss me?" Why are you asking this, she scolded herself. There are more important things to think about.

James swallowed hard. There was a strong temptation to say 'Because it was the best way to shut you up.' But he rejected the idea of flippancy. "I told you that night... it was something that I'd been wanting to do for a long time."

Lily blinked slowly, accepting what his words meant. The only reply she could muster was "Oh." She picked her book back up and started reading again.

After several painfully silent minutes, James forced himself to speak again. "Lily, let's talk about this. Please don't be mad..."

"I'm not mad, James." She stood up to retrieve a scroll from her desk. "But I'm not going to talk about it."

James could feel tears welling up in his eyes. "Let me guess," he said rather sourly. "'Its just not worth it', right?"

Lily put her hand over his, patting it gently as she lay back down. "James, it's not like that at all. It's just that there is only room in my mind for one troublesome young wizard at a time."

James scoffed. "Sirius Black."

Lily shook her head, pointing to all the scroll and books on the floor.

"Peter Pettigrew," she corrected and went back to reading.

* * *

When classes started again on Monday, they trudged through as best as they could. By Tuesday, it was rather like trying to get a dragon to take something for a nasty case of heartburn. Homework seemed redundant; the four of them got some of the best marks in their year, and there were a lot more important things they could be doing instead of studying. Not surprisingly, it was Sirius that found the solution to the problem of how to deal with their daily studies.

"Look, aside from Lily's advanced Charms and Remus' Muggle Studies coursework, we all have basically the same classes." He grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill, scribbling furiously as he spoke. "Here's what we do, we each take a course and do the work for it. The others can copy it; as long as the homework is rote, no one will notice that we all get top marks." He pointed the end of the quill at James. "You take Herbology, Remus can take Potions, I'll do Transfiguration and Lily can do Arithmancy."

"Er..." James gave Sirius a have-you-forgotten-something sort of look. Sirius raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"I still haven't found my Herbology book," James uttered to the floor.

"Oh, yeah... Well, we could just get Peter's out of his trunk for you," offered Sirius. In a quieter voice he added, "He won't be needing it for a while anyway."

Silence was unconsciously observed for a moment. Remus looked over at Sirius, "Does Peter still keep all letters from home in his trunk? I'd like to take a look at that last one he got from his mum... he seemed a bit off after he read it."

"Yeah, the letters should be in his mum's old jewelry box." Sirius snorted. "Ridiculous thing for a bloke to carry about, but it does keep other people away from it."

"Oh!" exclaimed Lily. She jumped up and sprinted over to her own trunk, digging inside until she found what she was looking for. "I'd completely forgotten about this." She held up Remus' bracelet, twirling it about her fingers with a slight smirk. "I had just gotten it back from Snape when we got the news about Peter."

Remus held his hand out, and Lily tossed it to him. Light glinted off of it as the interlocking chains flew through the air. It landed on the edge of Remus' fingers for the briefest second before the bracelet and Remus fell to the ground, letting out an agonizing scream.

He clutched his hand to his chest, tears blurring his vision. James, Sirius and Lily were at his side in an instant. In a pain-scorched voice, Remus muttered "Silver..."

Sirius snatched up the bracelet and glared at it. "I'm going to kill Snape for this." He stood up and headed for the door, intent on doing the deed as soon as possible.

James grabbed his arm, stopping him. "Think for a second... Remember that talk we had at lunch today about how Snape kept smirking at us--we thought it was because of Peter being attacked." James shook his head. "He's been waiting for this; it will prove that he's been right about Remus."

"Listen to James," Lily was on the floor next to Remus, arms around her friend. "The best thing you can do, Sirius, is to figure out a way to get that bracelet back to white gold." She took out her wand and glanced up at James. "We'll have to heal him ourselves; I'd bet a thousand galleons that Snape is watching the Infirmary for Remus to show up. Can you transfigure some parchment into bandages for me?"

James nodded and went over to her desk, pulling some blank pieces of paper out of a drawer. Sirius laid the bracelet out on her bed, studying it. Lily turned her attention back to the quivering Remus.

"I can suppress the pain, but I need to see your hand," she murmured gently. Remus gave a sharp nod and let her pull his hand away from his chest. The links of his bracelet were burned across his fingertips and palm, like a brand. The welts were already blistering. He cried out when she brushed her wand over them, whispering the incantation to dull his suffering. His face relaxed as her words wound around his injury, soothing them with her soft voice.

When it was done, Lily grabbed a few pillows off her bed and made Remus lie down. Once he was settled, she turned to Sirius and James: "I can't heal that like a normal burn, the magic that repels a werewolf from silver is something more complex than that." She looked thoughtful. "Last year, I had a book out of the restricted section for Defense Against the Dark Arts that should have the answer. Can one of you get it for me? I need to stay here to recast the anesthetic charm, it only lasts for a few minutes."

Both black haired boys offered instantly, then smiled at each other.

"I should go, a Prefect out after hours won't get into trouble." James said. "I'll take the cloak for getting into the library itself."

Sirius nodded. "I need to get a book from my room to fix this," he pointed at the bracelet. "Alchemy is a tricky bit of business, I'm surprised that Snape was able to manage it by himself."

"He might have had help," Lily shrugged "which is an even better reason not to take Remus to the Infirmary." She looked at the stricken boy lying very still on the floor with his eyes closed and shook her head in disbelief.

"I can't believe Snape took things this far, I never would have thought him capable of hurting Remus or anyone like this." She paled slightly. "If it had been another day or two, closer to the full moon, Remus could have lost his hand from the burn."

James' eyes went ice cold. "Snape is capable of much more than this, Lily. Don't ever think otherwise. If he had found out about how well his little trick worked, he would have done all he could to get Remus expelled."

Sirius nodded in agreement. "Don't worry though, he'll get what's coming to him in the end. That's a promise."

"What's the name of the book, Lily?" James had his hand on the doorknob, ready to leave.

"It's called 'The Maladies of Magical Creatures'. The author is Wimperton Wissel, and the book has a blue leather binding." Lily saw Remus twitch out of the corner of her eye, and she readied her wand to cast the charm again. "Go now," she instructed. "The more I have to cast this charm, the less effective it becomes."

Sirius and James left post haste, parting ways at James' door.

"Be careful," Sirius said looking slightly worried.

"Book from the restricted section? Piece of cake." James gave him a reassuring smile. "Need anything else while I'm out?"

"Yes," Sirius said with a nasty grin. "But I don't know where you'd get a goat, a ball of yarn, a bottle of Mrs. Claggy's Super-Adhesive Goo and Snape's favorite issue of PlayWizard magazine at this time of night."

* * *

Lily had placed Remus into a charmed sleep so that she could work on removing the burns from his hand. It took her several hours; but in the end, she had mended his skin so well that no trace of bruise or blister could be found.

Sirius let out a low, admiring whistle when she pronounced the work finished. "That would make a few mediwizards I know proud."

The silver that Snape had covered Remus' bracelet in was nothing more than a thin coating of silver leaf; no knowledge of alchemy was needed to alter the bracelet back to its original state, just a fine chisel and a steady arm. After Sirius had removed all of the leaf, he dipped the bracelet into a concoction he and James had whipped up to test for silver content. There was no reaction as the bracelet dropped into the cauldron; it was safe for Remus to wear it again.

Sirius bent down and fastened it around the wrist of his sleeping friend. "We'll have to make sure that Snape sees him wearing it tomorrow." Remus stirred slightly as Sirius snapped the lock on the bracelet.

Lily gestured for James and Sirius to follow her outside. As she shut the door behind them, she whispered: "We might as well let him sleep in there tonight. The Somnus spell will wear off once he's had enough rest."

James nodded his head in the direction of his room down the hall. "Should we go work a bit more on Nimue's Embrace then? Or just call it a night?"

"I'm not anywhere near tired," replied Sirius.

Lily's eyelids were starting to droop. "I can stay up for a bit longer, I guess." She shrugged her shoulders sleepily as they walked down to James' room.

James pointed to the book in his hands. "I should get this back to the restricted section before morning," he said. "Why don't you rest on the bed till I get back?"

Lily nodded as he opened the door. Sirius followed her in, saying "I'll start working on compiling our notes from last night."

Lily crawled up into James' bed, slumping into the pile of pillows. She grabbed one and put it over her face, to block out the light in the room. James waved at Sirius and shut the door quietly, leaving them alone in the room.

Sirius unrolled a parchment, laying it on the floor in front of him. He drew out his wand, whispering a few choice words to it; the tip of the wand turned a bright yellow. Sirius began to read, running the tip of the wand over words he wanted highlighted as he came across them. When he was done with the first scroll, he grabbed a blank piece of parchment, laying it on the floor next to the highlighted scroll.

He tapped twice on a section of highlighted material, and then tapped his wand once on the blank piece of paper. Translucent copies of the letters floated up into the air and over to the empty paper, where they settled back on to the sheet as if they had just been written there. Sirius worked diligently at his copying and pasting, until the sound of snores broke his concentration.

Lily's foot was twitching in her sleep. She'd thrown the pillow off her face, and her mouth hung open. Another snore echoed through the empty room. Sirius chuckled to himself, amazed that tiny little Lily could sound so much like a sleeping giant. She yawned as she slept, causing Sirius to yawn as well.

He stood up and walked over to the bed. Before he had time to think about what he was doing, he stretched out on the bed next to her, curling up next to her like two spoons in a kitchen drawer. He put his arm around her petite waist, and felt her unconsciously lean back into his embrace. He buried his nose in her hair, inhaling the soft scent of lavender that emanated from the red locks.

Sirius had barely slept since Peter's attack and aside from occasional bursts of energy, he was starting to wear thin. He felt so relaxed with her in his arms--it was as if he was a child again, and she was his teddy bear. He closed his eyes, hoping to catch a few minutes of peaceful rest.

* * *

The gate to the restricted section was wide open. James had been sure that he'd closed it behind him when he left; you could never be sure when the Filch would decide on a surprise inspection, it was best to cover your tracks. James shut the gate behind him and walked into the dark stacks of ancient books.

He reached out from under the safety of his invisibility cloak and slipped 'The Maladies of Magical Creatures' back into its slot on the bottom shelf of the third stack. As he stood back up, he notice that there was another figure in the restricted section, heavily shadowed about two stacks over from where he was.

James held his breath, peeking at the person through the gaps in the bookshelves. It wasn't Filch; this was not the spindly figure of the Hogwarts' caretaker before him. Whoever it was, they carried a little extra weight around the middle. James edged toward the end of the bookcase, hoping to get a better look. His shoe squeaked against the wooden floor as he moved.

The figure spun around, looking for the source of the noise. Seeing nothing, but obviously not wanting to take the risk of being seen, the unknown person shoved a book back onto the shelf and darted through the gate to the restricted section and out the library door.

It had been too dark to ever see who it was. After waiting a moment to make sure that they weren't coming back, James slipped over into the stack the person had been browsing. Books on Herbology and the uses of particular plants filled the shelves.

James grabbed a book that was sitting at an angle, askew from its brethren on the shelf. The dust that should have been surrounding the book was missing; this was the book that the mysterious person had been browsing through: The book was bound in black leather; there was no title on the binding or on the cover of the thin codex.

James hesitated for a minute.

Books in the restricted section were well known to have wards on them; one might shout at you if you opened it without permission, another could snap shut around your fingers, as if it were trying to bite you. James looked down at his watch, noting that the gloved hands of Mickey Mouse were indicating that it was half-past three in the morning. If he took the book back with him now, he would still have time to put it back before Madam Pince opened the library at eight a.m.

It took him almost forty-five minutes to get back to Gryffindor Tower--Filch was still patrolling the halls. That old git really needs to get a hobby, James thought ruefully.

As he climbed the stairs to his room, he heard muffled shouting. He sprinted forward.

"--don't know what you were thinking! Move your hand right now! Let me go!" came Lily's sour sounding shout from behind his door.

There was a loud thud followed by a whimper that sounded suspiciously like Sirius as James opened the door. Lily was frowning down from her vantage point on the bed at Sirius, who was sprawled out on the floor.

"Lily, just calm down." Sirius snapped back. "I just wanted to get some rest, I didn't think you'd mind if--" He shut his mouth mid-sentence, looking over his shoulder at James, who was staring at them both.

Lily jumped off of the bed and walked over to James, standing just in front of him but still facing Sirius. "Well I do mind," she said in a fiery voice. "What reason have I given you to presume that your place would ever be next to me in a bed?"

Sirius flinched. "You've given me plenty of reasons, just none lately. We need to talk about that..." He turned to James. "Would you mind leaving us alone for a while?"

Before James could answer, Lily was cursing again. "I mind. The last thing I want is to be alone in a room with you right now." She turned to James and pointed a finger back towards Sirius accusingly. "He had his hand on my--"

James held up a hand for silence. His heart was racing for several reasons, the least of which was that he needed to get them to calm down enough to look at the black leather book with him. "If you two don't stop yelling, you'll wake up the whole Tower," he grumbled in a low voice. "Either forget about it, or take the fight somewhere else," he held the book out to them. "I need to work on this fast and get it back to the restricted section before Madam Pince opens the library up."

Lily looked curiously at the book and then at James. Sirius would not be so easily swayed however. He all but crawled over to Lily's feet.

"Despite all that has happened," he spared a second to glare at James, remembering how he had found them sleeping together on the armchair just the week before. "I still think of you as my girlfriend. I've done a lot of stupid things lately and I'm very sorry." He took Lily's hand in his, holding it tenderly as if it might break. "Let's go talk about this, please."

Lily stared down at him for a moment; her face had turned to a mask. She grabbed the book out of James' hand and sat down at his desk, turning her back to them both as she studied the outside of the book.

James put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Maybe you should go get some sleep," he whispered as kindly as he could. "She's in no mood to listen to you, obviously."

Sirius snapped his shoulder out of James' grasp. "Is that how it is now?" He glared between the two of them. "Just been waiting for her to give me the final brush off, eh James?"

Lily snapped her head around at that, glaring at both of them. "Regardless of popular opinion, I'm not here to satisfy either of your raging hormones right now." She stood up, gesturing to the school robe that she was wearing. "Does this look like lacy lingerie and fishnet stockings to either of you? Do I look like a witch that hangs out in the Hog's Head pub, trading a grope for a galleon? Honestly," she rolled her eyes. "Between Potter's lips and Black's roving hands, I don't know how I get anything done--"

"Potter's lips?" Sirius looked incredulous as he snapped his head back to look at James. "You kissed her? You snogged my girlfriend?"

James heard Lily cursing herself under her breath. James met Sirius' shocked stare, but said nothing.

"It wasn't like that," Lily said finally. "We just kissed once, after he punched Snape--"

Sirius gaped at her. "So what was it then, a reward for a punch well thrown?"

James wished that Lily would stop while she was ahead, otherwise he felt sure that his face would be connecting with Sirius' fist very soon.

Lily marched to the door, black book still in hand. "I'm going back to my room, I'd rather sleep with Remus." She stopped briefly when she realized what she'd said, cursing herself again as she slammed the door behind her.

Sirius continued to glare at James. "How could you kiss her? How could you do this to me?"

When he thought about it later, James had no idea why he did it. Maybe it was the thought of the impending Quidditch match and how he had treated his rivalry with Snape in the last game. Maybe he was just sick of listening to Sirius and wanted to do something to make sure the screaming git went away. Maybe he wanted to make Sirius mad enough to do something, to answer any guilt that was lurking in the pit of James' stomach.

James grabbed Sirius' face between his hands and gave him an exaggerated kiss right on the lips. "There, now we're even. Though I have to say, Lily's skin is a lot less scratchy than yours is..."

He was lucky, he mused later. He'd been able to get the whole of his sarcastic comment out before Sirius punched him in the nose.

* * *

If he'd been in a boxing match with an acromantula, Sirius's ego couldn't have been more bruised and battered. James was the only one sitting in their regular section at breakfast that morning; and instead of subjecting himself to Potter's company, Sirius had taken a seat a few feet away. He was sitting among a few of the fifth year girls, including his Chaser, Meg Surrey. Every witch present was very friendly to him, but Surrey kept glancing down to James and giving Sirius an odd look.

He saw Remus enter the Great Hall alone a few minutes later. Remus did not see him and sat down next to James. They were talking; Sirius strained to listen.

"No," Remus said with surprise, "she wasn't there when I woke up. That was almost two hours ago too. I checked back after I showered and she wasn't in her room then either; I assumed she'd been with you and Sirius all night. Where is he anyway?"

James pointed down the Gryffindor table, and from the corner of his eye he saw Remus give him a small wave. Sirius returned it and refilled his glass of pumpkin juice, trying to look as if he wasn't eavesdropping. One of Meg's friends told what must have been a funny joke because the rest of the girls giggled. After half a beat, Sirius forced a laugh as well.

James and Remus talked in whispers for the rest of the meal. During his first class, Sirius sat away from Remus and James, choosing the company of a few young ladies from his own year instead. They had a double course of Care of Magical Creatures on Wednesday mornings, and a few dark haired Ravenclaws were more than happy to show him the finer points of the jarvey--a large ferret like creature that eats gnomes. Sirius was surprised to find that the animal could talk. It was spitting out misaligned insults faster than Severus Snape. The ladies all thought this very funny and he found himself escorting two of them (one on each arm) back to the castle after class.

Behind him, he heard James say to Remus: "If she's not in Transfiguration when we get there, I'm going to skive off and go looking for her."

Sirius reviewed his last class in his mind; Lily wasn't there and he'd never known her to miss a single class. Either she was really upset or--Well, he didn't want to think about the 'or'. He realized that he didn't really want to think about Lily at all, but that she was just there in his mind. Why had she been so cold last night? What exactly was going on with her and James? Did she even care about Sirius at all anymore?

None of these questions had ready answers and the asking only served to darken his mood further. He excused himself from his Ravenclaw companions and headed towards McGonagall's classroom. He could hear Remus and James chatting behind him still.

"If Pince notices that that book is gone, whoever I spotted in the restricted section last night will know that someone saw them. I have to get it back..." James said in a hoarse whisper.

Sirius walked into the classroom. It was already filled with his fellow Gryffindors, but there was no sign of a short redhead anywhere. Sirius took his seat. Remus popped his head in, looked around and disappeared again for a minute. When he reentered the classroom, he was alone.

When Professor McGonagall called James and Lily's names, she was surprised to find that both of her sixth year Prefects were missing. Her normally impassive face registered the reaction for a brief moment. Perhaps she's wondering if something is wrong, Sirius thought. He was starting to wonder himself.

What was this book that James kept talking about? He dimly remembered James showing it to them last night, but couldn't recall what was so important about it.

Remus was sitting next to him now; when the chance arose, Sirius asked him about the book. Remus never took his eyes off the front of the classroom, where McGonagall was showing her students how to change an old pillbox into a peacock. When the stern woman turned her back, Remus replied "There was someone else in the restricted section last night. James didn't see who it was, but he scared them off. He grabbed the book they were looking at to see what it was about, but Lily ran off with it last night... after the... uh... fight."

And no one had seen Lily since, Sirius thought. He was tempted to bolt out of the classroom to look for her himself. McGonagall probably wouldn't have been too pleased with that though. Sirius stayed seated but let his mind wander.

Lily was an enigma to him; unlike any of the previous girls he'd dated, she didn't demand that he leave his friends behind--her friends were his friends. She never fished for compliments or asked for gifts. During the more private moments that they'd shared, she hadn't held anything back... it was he that had always stopped things before they went too far. But now... now she didn't seem to care one whit about him. If he had gone looking for her, it probably would have angered her.

James would find her though, and she would be happy to see James. Sirius tightened his fist under the table. He saw them together in his mind's eye, holding each other and laughing at him. Laughing because he was alone.

No, he corrected suddenly. She's not with James. Not yet.

Sirius remembered Peter mocking him the night that the Chastity Charm had rebounded. It would be so much easier, he told himself, if she was just a girl. Just a girl like any other, that Sirius could set aside when things got too complicated. Lily Evans was like a compulsion though, and he couldn't give her up willingly.

After Transfigurations, it was time for lunch. Sirius followed Remus down to the Great Hall; James had planned on coming by here to tell Remus if he'd caught sight of Lily. The gangly bespeckled boy ran in just before the end of the meal.

"I can't find her anywhere," James said to Remus. "The only places I haven't checked are the girls' washrooms and Albus' office."

"Grab Annalise after lunch," Remus suggested. "She can check the girls' bathrooms and the private washroom for the female Prefects for us."

Sirius nodded. "Don't tell her anymore than you have to, though. Just say Lily was sick last night, and we're worried." He gave a small shrug. "If she's avoiding us because of... last night... that's probably what she'd tell 'Lise herself."

"And if she's not there, we'll go to Dumbledore," James decided. "Maybe that book was more important that I thought--maybe whoever--"

Sirius shook his head, feeling bad for James for the first time in a long while. "This isn't your fault," he said, following James' train of thought. "And until we know otherwise, we have to assume that she's fine."

The three boys dragged Annalise from washroom to washroom. There was no sign of Lily anywhere. Finally, there was only the Prefect's bathroom left.

She went inside. Remus fidgeted with the bracelet on his wrist. James stood stock still, staring at the door, willing Lily to be right behind it. Sirius paced up and down the halls.

A high-pitched scream echoed off of the porcelain walls of the bathroom and out to their ears. They threw the door open, running inside. Remus caught Annalise by the shoulders as she was running out. The fifth year Prefect was crying and pointing behind her.

Lying on the floor next to the roman style bath was the body of Lily Evans. Her eyes were glassy, they stared up into the ceiling motionlessly. Her red hair was strewn about her like a pool of blood; Lily's mouth was agape. Sirius stared at her for a long moment; her chest did not rise or fall, she wasn't breathing.

In slow motion, he and James rushed to her side. He saw James lean down, putting his ear to her mouth to try and listen for a breath. Sirius took her wrist, hoping against hope to find a pulse. After a minute, he laid her hand across the black book that was on her stomach.

James looked at him, tears in his eyes. The black haired boys rose together and headed for the door. They told Remus and Annalise to stand guard outside of the Prefect's bathroom; they were going to go get Dumbledore.

Lily was gone.

* * *

It was like bursting through a wave after being under water. Her first breath filled her whole body; she could feel it invigorating her down to her toes. There was no stream of consciousness in her mind yet though, just the command to breath and live.

Slowly she became aware of the sounds of muffled cries. She looked around the bathroom; it was empty. Putting the black book into her pocket, she stood up and walked over to the door. Yes, there was someone on the other side of it... no two people, both crying.

Panic set in; what if they had seen her? She'd waited until after breakfast to try the spell up in the Prefect's bathroom just for that reason. If it worked, well... it could give someone quite a scare. She bit her lip and then opened the door.

Remus was standing a few feet away, holding the sobbing Annalise. Oh dear, Lily thought as she watched Remus' eyes go wide with shock, this is not good. Annalise turned towards her; the fifth year girl went ghost white as she screamed and pointed at Lily. Lily threw her hands out in front of her, about to tell the girl that everything was fine when Annalise fainted into Remus' arms without decorum.

Well, thought Lily wryly, at least she's not screaming like a banshee anymore.

Remus was still staring at her dumbly. "We saw you... we thought you were dead."

"I'm not," she replied simply. "Did anyone else see?"

Remus eased Annalise up against a wall, nodding slowly at Lily. "Yes--James and Sirius went to get Dumbledore."

Lily drew in a sharp breath and took off running. Remus grabbed her arm, pulling her in for a tight hug. "Remus, I'm fine--but I have to stop them before--"

"I know, and I expect a long explanation later." Remus released her, tears rolling down his face. They made his eyes shine like a polished copper kettle. "Whatever it was though, never do it again." He pushed her off, and she started running once more. "Lily, don't ever die again."

Lily found James and Sirius just as they entered the corridor with the gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's office. They were walking slowly, numbed by what they had seen in the Prefect's bathroom. She didn't stop running until she crashed into them, sending all three of them sprawling on to the floor.

Lily had twisted her ankle during her graceless landing. She rubbed it gently as the two young wizards stared at her. She blushed guiltily under their shocked gaze. "So," she said flippantly. "Come here often?"

Sirius scooped her up in his arms, squeezing her so tightly she thought she might be sick. "Merlin's beard, what happened?" he said breathlessly. "We thought--"

"Shush," Lily hissed. "Not out here." She turned to James. "Did you tell anyone else on your way down here."

His face was immobile. He just stared at her. Lily wrenched herself free from Sirius and crawled over to him. Taking his hand into hers, she whispered, "It's alright James, I'm fine." James looked down at their interlocked fingers, then back up at Lily's face.

Lily glanced around the hall nervously; someone was bound to walk by and notice how odd this scene was. She pulled herself up, wincing as she put her weight on the injured ankle. James stared at the ankle for a moment, then stood up. He was still mute as he picked her up off the floor, carrying her away from Dumbledore's office.

"James, put me down..." she pleaded. "I can walk, please... it's just a turned ankle." She looked back over her shoulder to Sirius, her eyes pleading with him for help. Seeing none forthcoming, she turned back to James. "We have to get back up to Remus and Annalise, I have to think of something to tell her about all of this... no one can know about what happened in there today."

James ignored her, speaking to Sirius instead. "I'm taking her back to her room, go and fetch Remus and Annalise, will you?"

Sirius nodded solemnly, turning away from them at the next corner. James continued to carry her like a rag doll all the way back to the Tower; Lily gave up pleading with him after a few staircases, resigning herself to the indignity of being conveyed home in such a manner. She gave a self-depreciating wave to the staring people in the Common Room as James took her up the stairs.

James gave her door a small kick, forcing it open. He laid her down gently on her bed, taking a seat next to her. Finally, he looked at her. Lily felt horrible; his eyes were filled with pain. She opened her mouth to speak, but he put a finger to her lips.

"I never saw my parents, after they'd been killed by 'Avada Kedavra'... I saw them at the funeral, but they'd been fixed up by then." His voice was barely audible, and it shook as he spoke. He didn't blink, just stared at her, piercing her soul with his sorrowful eyes. "I read everything I could about the spell after that; I spent hours on end imagining how they must have looked afterwards. No blood, no signs of a struggle--just dead." He swallowed. "Dead because I wasn't there, because I was off watching a stupid Quidditch match with Sirius that day. Dumbledore knew that I blamed myself, but nothing he could say could change that feeling in the pit of my stomach that I had let them down." He closed his eyes. "When I saw you lying there--it was just how I had always imagined it would look like. You were gone; it was just your body left. I thought," he was struggling to choke back his tears. "I thought I had failed you too."

Lily was crying now, her guilt coming full circle. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in the crook of his neck. She apologized over and over--agonized by the pain she had caused him. By the pain she had caused all of them, she chided. Remus, Sirius and even Annalise had been affected by her experimentation with the charm she'd found in the black book.

Remus and Sirius entered the room. Lily released James, running over to apologize to them. She was sandwiched between the two of them, both boys holding onto her for dear life. When things calmed down, Remus explained that Annalise was resting in her own room. The girl had accepted that Lily was alive, and would wait for the explanation of her apparent demise there.

The boys allowed Lily to excuse herself to go talk to the girl; she returned a few minutes later looking like a great weight had been lifted off her shoulder.

"What did you tell her?" Remus asked.

"The truth mostly," Lily replied. "I said I'd been working on a charm for my Ministry studies and it worked a little too well." She sat down on the floor next to the three boys. "The part about it being school work is a lie, but the rest is factual enough." She gave them a half-hearted smirk.

James shook his head at her; he looked like he was still in a state of shock. "What possessed you to work a charm that would make it look like you were dead? What kind of charm is it?"

"It's called the Possum Charm," she pulled the black book out from her robe. "It's very old... it's not even a native European charm. The Native American wizards created the spell based on way the opossum would play dead to avoid becoming some predators next meal." She flipped through the book until she found the spell, and then passed it to Remus. "A few of them used it to escape from their conquerors. When the first European witches and wizards immigrated to America, they translated the spell for their own purposes. It turns out it has some interesting side effects."

"Like scaring the bloody hell out of your friends?" inquired Sirius.

Lily flushed scarlet. "Well yes, there is that... and the fact that the charm has no time limit made it unreliable. The magical medical community stopped using it in the late 1700's because it was thought that they'd accidentally buried a few people alive."

James was reading the book now. "'Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati' - 'When all else fails, play dead'?" He wrinkled his nose at her. "So aside from premature burial, what good is this spell?"

Lily allowed herself a small smile. "It's supposed to reverse the effects of any spell that has been cast on the person 'playing possum'. The act of feigning death with this spell is so complete, that it tricks any other spell cast on the person into completing its cycle." She nodded towards the book. "There isn't a lot of documentation there, and since it hasn't been used in several hundred years its possible that it wouldn't work but..."

Remus smiled back at her. "You think that this Possum Charm could release the victims of the cursed vine?"

Lily nodded, then held out her left hand. "I hexed myself before I tried the charm. This arm was covered in slimy green scales." She twirled it in front of the faces of the three boys. "Not a sign of them now though." She looked over at James, who had finally started to relax. "How did you find it anyway?"

James briefly explained his encounter with the unknown person in the Library the night before. Lily nodded gravely, snatching the book out of Sirius' hands.

"Well," she said solemnly. "That explains this." She turned the book a few pages and showed them where a page had been torn out. "It's the last page about the Possum Charm. Whoever you interrupted last night must have been trying to remove all evidence of the spell, James."

"I guess we know for sure now that Voldemort has someone working for him at Hogwarts," Sirius added. They'd suspected as much since the attack on Justice and Honora Munroe, presuming that such a powerful curse couldn't be cast from a distance.

"Why didn't you wait for us to try the charm out?" There was a touch of angry accusation in James' voice. "You said yourself that there is no time limit on the spell--you could have been buried alive."

Lily gave a sheepish shrug. "I left a note in my pocket..."

Remus snorted. "What did it say? 'Please don't bury me; I'm not dead. PS - I'm sorry for skipping classes?'"

Lily stood up, and took the note from her pocket. "'I solemnly swear that I, Lily Evans, am not dead. I'm just playing possum. Please dust me once a week until I wake up.'" She waited for them to laugh, but they just gawked at her.

She stuffed the note back into her pocket and muttered, "Well, I thought it was funny at the time."

Sirius stood up, motioning for James to follow him. "Quidditch practice." He said, answering a question that Lily was about to ask. "Don't do anything stupid until we get back." To Remus he said: "And don't you let her out of your sight."

James lingered after Sirius had darted out of the room. None of this was sitting well with him. He stared at Lily for a minute, furious that she had done something so stupid, taken such a risk without anyone there with her. And yet, he was relieved--she was safe and healthy and she may have just found the key to saving Peter. He looked over at Remus, who took the hint and excused himself from the room to get his books.

James stood up and held Lily tightly when she crossed over to him. It took all of his strength to keep from crying again. Never let her go, he thought to himself, then she can't get hurt. Just hold on to her.

That wasn't who Lily Evans was though; she wasn't the kind of bird that could sing in a gilded cage. She broke free of his embrace sooner than he would have liked and looked up at him with tear-filled eyes.

"I am so sorry... If I had thought for a second that anyone would have found me, I never would have done it." She wiped a tear off of her cheek, sniffling slightly. "It was just a test."

"You should have waited for us," he replied softly. "If not Sirius or I, then Remus. You shouldn't have done it alone. I can't even explain how much it hurt to think you were--I care about you too much, Lily."

Lily gave a small sob. "I know, I'm so sorry..."

James tilted his head down towards hers. He kissed her forehead as he had so often done before, then her tiny nose that turned up ever so slightly at the end. He kissed her gently on each cheek, tasting the salt of her tears. His hand reached out, tilting her chin up towards his lips. She stiffened in his hands, waiting for it to happen. She closed her eyes.

His lips were just millimeters from hers now. She could feel it as he drew in a deep breath. When he spoke, she could feel the vibrations of the words hitting her skin.

"Don't ever do it again." He loitered there for another moment, ever so close to her but still much to far away. When he shut the door behind him, Lily all but fell onto the floor.

Don't ever do it again. An odd thought occurred to her as she tried to catch her breath: Maybe he hadn't been speaking to her; maybe he'd been chiding himself.

* * *

Quidditch practice had been an exercise in how to vent frustration for James and Sirius. Both seemed possessed of a fever as they executed their practice moves high above the Quidditch pitch. Their teammates were happy to see them so in tune with the game again; since Peter's attack neither boy had had their hearts in the practices and most of them were worried as to how it would affect their performance against Ravenclaw on Saturday. Making things more difficult was the obvious fact that the two boys were fighting. Everyone relaxed as the two wizards worked in a sort of tandem that the team hadn't seen in weeks; for the moment at least, peace was at hand.

After their showers, both boys packed up their equipment slowly. They seemed to be waiting to have a chance to be alone. Once everyone was gone, Sirius turned to James.

"I don't want to fight about this anymore," Sirius said, sounding very worn out.

James nodded his head. "Me neither. We've been friends too long to let something like this come between us." He gave a weak shrug. "When Lily is ready, she'll make her choice and--"

"Hold on a second," interrupted Sirius. "I know that you have feelings for her... but Lily is still mine. There's no choice for her to make. She's upset right now... Once I can talk to her though, it will be just like it was."

James gave his head a soft shake. "You still don't get it, do you? She's not a prize or a possession. She's a person." Sirius rolled his eyes, but James ignored him. "She does not belong to you. And in case you haven't noticed, she doesn't want much to do with you lately." James smirked broadly. "Or did you push yourself off the bed in a vain attempt to keep her from sullying your virtue?"

Sirius clenched his jaw tightly. "I won't ask you to stay away from her; Lily wouldn't accept that anyway. But I thought that you were man enough to step back and let things take their course."

James threw his hands up in the air. "Where have you been? Haven't you been paying attention? Things are taking their course--but it's not you that is steering the ship."

"And I suppose," Sirius said sarcastically. "That you are the captain?"

"No, you stupid git--Lily is." James took a deep breath, trying in vain to calm himself. "It has always been a question of what Lily wanted for herself, and she's only now starting to figure it out. For years, she hid behind her image of being the perfect student, the perfect Prefect." James stuffed his Quidditch trousers into his bag. "Now she's facing herself for the first time, and learning that nothing is as easy as it seems. When her mum died, she was forced to grow up in ways you can't imagine." With a spark of inspiration, he added, "It would be like trying to play Quidditch after playing Quodpot for years."

"Regardless of the game, James, there should only be two teams on the pitch, not three." Sirius said pointedly.

James kicked a locker. "There is only one person on the field--Lily, and she's the one making the rules for the bloody game." He never should have started a sports analogy, he realized. Sirius already thought of this as a competition. "If you can't accept that this isn't about you and me, that its about what Lily needs to make Lily happy, then I don't know what to say to you."

Sirius sat down on the bench, shoving his Quidditch bag onto the floor. He'd never seen James so impassioned about a girl before. Sirius knew he still had a trump card to play though. He didn't want to say it--he'd never said it before, but it looked like the only way. He knew James was too honorable to push past the limits of such a declaration. He took a deep breath, staring down at the floor. "James, I think that I love her."

"Well," said James, tossing his bag over his shoulder. "That's the difference between you and me then, isn't it?" He started towards the door. "I know that I do. Beyond hope. The problem is that until I get a sign that she loves me back, I don't dare do anything about it." He stared at Sirius for a minute. "I never want to be in your position, having to second guess her feelings for me. She'll come to it on her own, or she won't come to it at all. She can't be forced into it."

"Didn't you hear me?" Sirius was shocked. "I said I love Lily."

"Oh, I heard you alright." James had his game face on. "But the real question is do you have any idea what the words you just said mean? What will you do in a month or three when you get tired of playing on the same field day in and day out? What will you do to Lily if you force her hand in this, and try to decide the course of her life for her?" James opened the door. "Don't you ever say those words to her, unless you mean them, Sirius. Love is a sleeping dragon--don't tickle it."

* * *

The frown on Remus' face was sliding further down his face. He was still reading a book that he and Lily had managed to find in the Library on Native American Animalistic Charms. He looked much older than seventeen with the deep creases of his frown, Lily mused.

"You know, my Mum used to say if you keep making faces like that, it will stay that way." She smiled mischievously at him.

Remus snorted. "It's true you know, at least in the wizarding world." Lily rolled her eyes. "No, really. When we're young, we can't control our magic... and sometimes things like that happen." He shrugged. "It's called the 'Face Freezing' jinx. Easy enough for any mediwizard to fix, but right embarrassing for the kid that has to walk into a hospital with his tongue stuck to his nose."

Lily laughed. "I suppose that something horrid happens to one's mum if you step on a crack in the sidewalk too?"

Remus shivered. "Don't even joke about that... it's not funny."

Lily blinked a few times, trying to decide if she should laugh or not. "Anyway, what's in that book that's making you look so upset? We should be celebrating; Peter will probably be awake by tomorrow morning."

"I don't think so," said Remus, shaking his head. "This book doesn't even tell you how to do the charm, it only references it as 'a failed spell' of 'no practical use'."

Lily pursed her lips. "But we know how to do the spell. We even know that it works, thanks to my little experiment this morning."

"Yes, yes..." Remus muttered. "But do you realize that the Possum Charm is an Unrepeatable? A spell that can only be cast once on a person?"

Lily blanched slightly. "It didn't say that in the black book."

"It was probably on the page that got ripped out," Remus gave her a stern look. "What's with you lately? It's not like you to jump into something like this without thinking it through."

"I thought I had thought it through." She wrinkled her nose. Remus was right; she wasn't thinking the way she should be. The fight the night before with James and Sirius had kept her off-kilter for almost a whole day. She'd been so sure of her course when she entered the Prefect's Bathroom this morning, but everything seemed muddled now. "Even if we can't cast the spell again, why does that mean we can't use it on Peter and the others?"

"It doesn't mean that we can't, it just means that we can't yet." Remus said, looking at her a bit like an impatient professor.

"If we cast it..." Lily spoke slowly, as the realization hit her. "And they wake up, there's nothing to keep Voldemort from attacking them with the vine again."

Remus nodded. "There are a lot of other risks to this spell too--for one, we don't know how it will interact with the vine. That's not some jinx from third year; the vine is powerful Dark Magic." Remus set the book down. "But basically, until we are sure that they won't be attacked again, we can't do anything."

"Oh, is that all?" Lily said wryly. "No problem, I'd planned on ridding the world of the Dark Lord next month, but I think I can squeak it into my schedule this week."

Remus chuckled. "It comes down to two things: We need to ensure that Voldemort will never reassemble the Staff of Merlin, and we have to discover who is working for him in Hogwarts."

Lily crossed her arms over her chest, pouting unabashedly. "It would be easier to fix Snape up to win Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile award."



Molly M. Johnson Molly M. Johnson 2 1 2003-07-18T17:19:00Z 2003-07-18T17:20:00Z 18 7846 44727 372 89 54927 9.3821 150

Title: Arrival Unexpected (08)
Author name: Molly Moon
Author email: psycha@chartermi.net
Category: Romance
Sub Category: Suspense
Keywords: Lily James Sirius Bikini
Rating: R
Spoilers: SS/PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, FB, QTTA
Summary: The Full moon rises on Hogwarts, bringing with it a heartfelt confession from Lily to the local animal population. In other news: the forces of Darkness start to feel threatened by some meddling kids
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author notes: Sending faerie kisses out to Jen and to Kristin (who now has the first chapter of her own fic "Gorgon's Wake" up on Schnoogle under the name Alexandria -- Go read and review for my darling beta!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you were lonely, you needed a man
Someone to lean on, well, I understand
It's only natural
But why did it have to be me?

Nights can be empty, and nights can be cold
So you were looking for someone to hold
That's only natural
But why did it have to be me?

"Why did it have to be me?", ABBA

"But he's not family, Headmaster," Madam Pomfrey scowled with the look of a bear that had been disturbed in the middle of winter. She cast another dour look at James, who was standing on Dumbledore's right.

"Not by blood perhaps," said Dumbledore thoughtfully. "But Peter and James have been friends for years. I can even recall," he added with a smile, "a certain nurse who was very impressed by the diligence in which three boys hovered outside of the hospital wing when James broke his leg a few years ago."

A light pink colored Madam Pomfrey's cheeks, but her eyes were still determined against the course at hand. "Yes Headmaster, but this is a much more serious situation--"

"Yes it is, Poppy." Albus looked at her over the rims of his half-moon glasses. "And it's the fact that this is so much more serious which inclines me to allow James a visit with his friend." He crossed his arms over his chest, taking on an air of authority that normally never crossed his brow. "Now, do move aside. It will only be for a few minutes and I shall wait outside the room the whole time."

The young nurse bit her upper lip and nodded. She stepped to the side, allowing James and Albus to pass but followed close behind on their heels. Dumbledore removed the security wards around the room and opened the door for James. "We'll be out here when you're done," the old wizard said kindly.

James nodded and went in, closing the door behind him. A gasp caught in his throat as he looked about the room. He'd known what to expect, having seen what the Munroe sisters looked like, but it was still a shock to the system. Peter dangled in mid-air, head resting on his chest as if he'd fallen asleep while practicing levitating Charms in Professor Flitwick's class.

The vines were grown around his ankles, holding him securely in place. James glanced over at the Munroe girls; the cursed vine had grown up to Justice's mid-thigh now--and on little Honora, they covered her to her belly button.

Time was growing short for the Munroe children.

He remembered suddenly what Remus had said about the Possum Charm--as an Unrepeatable, they only had one chance to use the spell to break a person free from the vine. Eventually, one chance would have to be used just to keep the vine from killing any more children.

Oblivious to James' inner turmoil, Peter snored softly. James switched his focus onto the person of his sleeping friend. Was Peter dreaming? What did he see as he endured the sleeping curse? James made a soft prayer to all the gods he had ever read about that Peter's dreams were peaceful. He hoped that his friend was able to escape mentally, if not physically from the brutality of Voldemort's dark magic.

"Sirius and I aren't really fighting anymore," he whispered softly to the inert form of Peter Pettigrew. Peter would be glad to know this. James wasn't sure if the blond boy could hear him, but there were a few things that he wanted to say.

That's why he was here.

"Lily's doing much better now; I think having all of this--" James gestured to the three immobile figures in the room "--to worry about is taking her mind off her Mum's death. She's--I mean we're all working on getting you out of this, Peter." James scuffed his shoe against the tiled floor. He felt a bit foolish; none of the others knew that he was here. This was just between him and Peter. "We're closing in on it, too. I promise that we'll have you back to your old self in time for the holidays."

James moved in closer to Peter. Hanging as he was in mid-air, the short boy was nearly the same height as he was now. James leaned in and whispered, so that only Peter would be able to hear (if he could hear anything at all, and if there happened to have been hidden listeners): "The full moon is this weekend, Wormtail. I wish you could be out there with us; I'm sorry this happened. I know that you were probably trying to protect your family, but I really wish you could have trusted us with this secret." James shrugged. "Maybe you didn't tell us because you wanted to protect us, too."

James smirked slightly. "If it makes you feel any better, Sirius and I are going to be drawing lots to see which one of us has to take the beating from the Whomping Willow to open the secret passage up. Without you there..." James felt a lump in his throat.

"Without you there with us, it won't be the same."

James took a step back, closing his eyes against the burning tears that blurred his vision. He waved weakly as he turned from the sick room and left, hoping to leave his worries and fears behind as he shut the door. Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey were waiting for him.

James kept his eyes on the floor.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Albus said nothing but put his hand on James' shoulder, leading him out of the hospital wing. There were things that each wizard wanted to say to the other, but they walked in silence. Dumbledore escorted his young ward to the portrait of the Fat Lady, who curtsied when she saw the Headmaster. Dumbledore tipped his hat to her and left James to return to the Tower, alone, with whatever thoughts were in his mind.

* * *

"Miss Evans, what on Earth is your owl doing here?" Professor Hawthorn had a look of severe irritation on her face. Circe had shown up just ten minutes before the end of Potions class with a large package for Lily. Circe now sat on the edge of Remus and Lily's desk, chewing some dried flobberworms that they were supposed to be using in an anti-allergy potion.

"I'm so sorry Professor," Lily replied, blushing furiously. "She knew I'd been waiting for this package, though and must have decided that--"
"What could be so important as to interrupt my lesson?" The portly middle-aged witch scowled, making Lily feel all of three inches tall. The professor walked over to Lily and pointed at the package. "Open it up then, Miss Evans. Let's all see what your owl thought--," she said, spitting the last two words with great distaste, as if she couldn't imagine an owl thinking, "--was so vital as to disrupt my teaching."

Lily pulled gently on the twine that held the brown paper wrapping shut. The whole class, Slytherins and Gryffindors alike, was staring at her now. Pushing the wrapping onto the floor, Lily revealed that the package contained several old Muggle books--all of which she had requested from her father, for her continuing work on Nimue's Embrace.

Professor Hawthorn held up a dusty book and showed it to the class. Lily was about to speak when she realized that her Potions mistress had flipped the antiquated book open--to a page that her father must have marked for her.

"'Nepenthe Anglia Nimue, also called Nimue's Embrace, is known to be extremely sensitive to sunlight,'" quoted Professor Hawthorn. She scanned down the page, her eyebrows furrowing so deeply into her forehead that it soon appeared she had one long eyebrow covering both eyes. "Miss Evans, unless I am mistaken, this topic left the classroom at the end of last month. Why are you still pursuing it?"

"Well, you see... Uhm... my father..." Lily was floundering. She knew that if she admitted to still working on it, that Professor Hawthorn would mock her in front of the class. The Potions mistress had normally been even-tempered and fair with her, but since her report on the cursed vine, Hawthorn had been much more irritable. Lily had heard her scolding Snape after classes on the day they received their marks: Hawthorn had been very disappointed that a Muggle-born witch had upstaged her best student. Snape needed to set a better example for the rest of Slytherin House, she had said. He would do so or it would be to his detriment. Lily had an idea what that detriment might be--Snape considered himself to be a shoe-in for Head Boy next year, but if the head of his own House didn't throw her full support behind him, it wouldn't happen.

Professor Hawthorn was still staring at her; Lily desperately tried to think of a suitable answer, when Remus cleared his throat and grabbed another of the delivered books off of their desk. "Pardon me, Professor, but Mr. Evans sent these books to Lily on my behalf." Lily shot him a grateful look. "See, I'm doing a project for Muggle Studies on the relationship between Muggle mythology and Wizarding history and I thought--"

Professor Hawthorn set the book back down on the desk, rolling her eyes at Remus. "As fascinating as I am sure your report is, Mister Lupin, the fact remains that we are here to study potions."

"Of course Professor, my apologies." Remus stuffed the books into his knapsack, bowing his head in deference to his Professor.

Hawthorn shot another disgusted look at Circe. "Miss Evans, get that owl--OUCH!" Circe gave the professor a hard nip on the finger as Hawthorn pointed at her. Circe was hooting animatedly now, while Hawthorn looked ready to strangle the black owl.

Luckily, the bell rang. Lily scooped Circe up into her arms and withdrew from the dungeon classroom, apologizing to Professor Hawthorn once more as she shimmied out the door. Lily didn't slow down until she had climbed the stairs into the main corridor, well away from her Potions teacher. James, Sirius and Remus pulled up behind her shortly after.

Circe was still hooting. Sirius looked at her for a minute and then said, "She doesn't like Hawthorn much, does she?" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw James nodding in agreement.

"She doesn't trust her." James said simply as he patted the owl on the head. "She wants you to stay away from her."

"Oh wonderful," Lily said, cursing slightly. Lily looked at her owl; Circe was very tired from her long trip, she needed to be fed, watered, and then sent straight to the Owlery for some sleep. "Come on you," she said, scratching the beautiful black bird under its chin. "Let's find you a mouse, and I'll tuck you in after." Remus tittered softly behind her. Lily turned and flashed him another grateful smile. "Thanks for that save back in the classroom; I had no idea what to say to Hawthorn. You covered it very well, Remus."

"It begs to be asked then," came a sneering voice from behind the quartet. "What he was covering up for you, Evans?" They turned as one and faced Severus Snape, who had a look of sour satisfaction on his face.

"Sod off, Snape." Sirius growled. Mentally, he hoped that Snape would say enough to give him a reason to beat the slimy Slytherin to a bloody pulp, but he held himself in check for the moment.

Lily shrugged her shoulders. "Oh you know me, Severus," she said dryly. "Just trying to save the world as usual. It's a family trait, kind of like how you inherited that dried cobra up your arse from your dad." Lily held two fingers out in front of her mouth, like a serpent's forked tongue, and hissed lewdly at Snape.

James snorted and gave Lily a gentle shove down the hall. She walked along next to him, leaving Sirius and Remus alone with Snape.

"By the way," Remus said, smiling at the Slytherin Prefect. "I wanted to thank you for finding my bracelet. Lily said you took good care of it for me." He held out his wrist and showed the bracelet to Snape, whose eyes pinched together angrily at the sight of it. Remus clapped Sirius on the shoulder, "Come on; let's catch them up. I'm a bit peckish myself."

Sirius smirked at Remus as they turned away from Snape. "You want to swallow a live mouse too? Should we have Circe save one for you?"

"Absolutely," Remus said with a sinister grin. "Better to have a wriggling mouse in your stomach than a writhing snake in your arse."

Severus Snape cursed loudly and slumped off in the other direction. Someday, he thought ruefully, they all would regret the way they treated him. Someday.

* * *

Lily knocked lightly on James' door before she came in. Sirius and he were still reading the books her father had sent, and both boys were sprawled out on the floor; Sirius was lying on his back, left knee crossed over his right knee to form a leggy triangle. He had one arm behind his head, like a pillow. The other arm was being used to turn pages in the book that was propped up against his knees. A wisp of sleek black hair had settled on his cheek; he still took Lily's breath away. Whether he knew it or not, Sirius Black looked most edible to her when he wasn't trying to. It was a shame really, she thought, that things had gotten so out of hand with him. It would have been fun if...

James sneezed, drawing Lily's gaze and thoughts away from Sirius. Two very different black haired boys--best friends--and both sent various unladylike thoughts running through her mind. James was lying on his stomach, with his elbows perched under his chin. His glasses were slowly sliding off the end of his nose. Her eyes slid down the length of his out-stretched body. His robed were tucked under him, highlighting the curves of his bottom.

Lily flushed slightly. Was she going crazy? She had no delusions about her interest in the male sex; Lily knew that girls were just as likely to have raging hormones as boys were. This was getting to be a bit much, though. It was like something in her had cracked that night when the three of them had come to words. When Sirius had laid next to her in James' bed all she could think of was--

"Lil?" Sirius tilted his head back, looking at her upside down. "You okay? You look a bit pink."

James turned and looked at her now, too. "Did you get Remus to the hospital wing without any problems?"

"Yes, fine." She walked over to James' window. "It's horribly hot in here, mind if I open this up?"

James smirked slightly. "Yeah, go ahead." He shot a mischievous look to Sirius. "I don't think she's feeling well. Must be more of those feminine problems we hear so much about."

Sirius snorted, setting the book down beside him as he sat up and faced Lily. "What's on your mind, Lil?"

"Nothing," she replied tersely. She crossed over and reclaimed her seat at James' desk, fanning her face with her hand. She opened her book and tried very hard to concentrate on the words on the page.

"I wouldn't say that nothing is on your mind, Miss Evans." James had his hands on her shoulders, massaging them gently. She could feel the color rising to her cheeks again.

Sirius sat down on the desk, cocking an eyebrow at her. He pushed the book she was reading off the table. When Lily looked up at him to protest, he caught her chin with his thumb. Sirius leaned down and gave her a long, languid kiss.

Behind her, Lily felt James slide down to the floor. He was kissing her gently on her neck now, nipping at her collarbone every so often. The sensation of two sets of lips against her skin was amazing, Lily mused strangely complacent. Just when she thought that it couldn't get any better, four rough male hands began to--

James gave her shoulder another hard shake. "Lily, wake up." She had fallen asleep in the book she was reading. "You need to go back to your room now; Sirius and I have to get some sleep before the game tomorrow."

Lily reluctantly opened one eye; both boys were standing over her looking very serene. "Sorry about that," she said as she straightened herself up. "How long was I out?"

"Just over an hour," Sirius offered her a hand and pulled her up out of the chair. He stared at her for a second. "You okay, Lil? You look a bit pink..."

Lily turned bright red, full remembrance of her dream falling on her as hard as a batch of Hagrid's infamous fudge. She threw her book bag over her shoulder and headed for the door. "Just fine," she muttered, reaching for the handle.

"Wait a second," James had one hand on his door, keeping her from opening it. Lily glanced up at him, her eyes focusing on his lips long enough to make her blush an even deeper red. "You never said if you were coming to the game tomorrow." Lily had protested earlier that with Remus and Peter occupied as they were, she wouldn't have anyone to keep her company in the stands.

"You have to go, Lil," said Sirius, striding up behind her. "We all need a break from this work. Promise me you'll come?" His eyes were shining down on her, giving him the appearance of a little boy asking for his favorite treat right before dinner.

Lily's heart was pounding in her chest. Did they have to stand so close? Her reality and her dream seemed to be blurring slightly. She felt as if she would faint soon if she didn't get away from them. Quickly, she flashed them both a grin. "Of course, I'll come. Wouldn't miss it." She leaned over and gave Sirius a peck on the cheek. "Good luck." She turned to James; since he was so much taller than her, her lips landed squarely on the nape of his neck. "You too."

Lily rushed out the door, leaving the two wizards staring bewilderedly at each other.

"Do you have any idea what all that was about?" James asked, looking quite confused.

"Not a bloody clue," replied an equally puzzled Sirius. "She was mumbling in her sleep--did you manage to catch any of what she said?"

James shook his head. "Not enough to make sense of it anyway. I heard your name and mine and then some odd words... I think it was French."

Sirius stared thoughtfully out into space for a moment. He shrugged finally and headed for the door. As he pulled the door shut behind him, he said "Odd that she kissed us both, don't you think? She's barely let either of us touch her since... well..."

"Yeah," agreed James. "Must have been some dream she was having."

Down the hall, a young red haired woman was dunking her head repeatedly into a bowl of very cold water, muttering something about the full moon and a fever under her breath.

* * *

Spinning his broomstick back and forth in between his palms nervously, Sirius stood in front of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and studied each of his teammates. Arrand Findwinder was tapping his beater's club against the palm of his left hand; he was a stocky seventh year boy; and since this was his second to last game, he was itching for a win. Sitting next to Arrand on the bench was Meg Surrey. She wore a merry smile; anything the world would throw at her, the spunky Chaser was ready to catch. Leaning sleepily on Meg's shoulder was third year Chaser Andy Willoughby, a Muggle-born wizard who dreamed of playing football before he'd discovered his magical ability.

Crius Smythe sat on the floor. This was only his second game on the field; in sharp contrast to Findwinder, Smythe looked nervous enough to lose his breakfast. Gryffindor's Keeper, Sorcha O'Reily, seemed aware of her younger teammate's fears. She leaned down and patted him reassuringly on the shoulder. The lean sixth year girl glanced up at Sirius with a meek grin. Sirius returned it and let his eyes cross over to James, the final Chaser of the Gryffindor team.

James looked expressionlessly back at him. If James was ever nervous before a game, you never saw it. Potter had the perfect game face. The truth was James rarely had anything to be nervous about; he'd been riding a broomstick before he could walk.

The team waited expectantly for their captain's pep talk. Sirius felt all of their eyes on him suddenly and stopped fidgeting with his broomstick. When the team had faced Slytherin in their first match of the year, inspirational words had come easy to him. That was before Peter was attacked, though--before he'd won and lost Lily in his foolishness and before he and James had come to such a difficult place in their friendship.

"Ravenclaw has a wicked team," he said slowly. "We all know that we can't afford to lose this match if we want the Cup; they pummeled Hufflepuff in that last game. As it stands, we're down by seventy points to Ravenclaw." Sirius took a deep breath; this was information they all knew. They'd been berating each other with it for weeks.

"We have to play this game as if we're playing for the Quidditch Cup itself. There is no room for mistakes."

Sirius looked down at Smythe. The second year boy was slowly turning a sickly shade of green; he knew that most of this game depended not only on his ability to catch the Snitch, but to catch it at the right time. "Make sure we're at least fifty points up, Smythe," Sirius repeated for the hundredth time. If they could beat Ravenclaw by at least two hundred points, it wouldn't matter if Slytherin beat Ravenclaw next Spring or vice versa. Gryffindor was a shoe-in to beat Hufflepuff, whose team was plagued by injuries.

It all came down to this game.

Sirius looked over his team once more. "We are the better players. Never forget that. Ravenclaw has a tendency to come on strong for the first hour of a game, but they can't maintain their energy. Don't let an early lead get you down."

He reached down and picked his beater's club up off the floor. "Right then," he said, offering a hand to Smythe. He pulled the young boy up off the floor, wondering if he had ever been this young. There was only four years separating them, but what a world of difference it made. With a pang, Sirius realized that the only time he'd ever felt as nervous as Smythe looked was during the last few weeks with Lily.

Sirius got onto his broomstick, and the rest of the team followed suit. Swallowing back his thoughts of Lily, Sirius smirked down at Smythe. "Remember--fifty points up before you get the Snitch." Smythe nodded weakly. "Otherwise, I'll be using you as the target next time Arrand and I do beater's practice."

The second year boy looked wide eyed at Sirius Black, his face going from green to ghostly white almost instantly. Andy Willoughby punched Sirius hard on the arm, and shook his head. "Ignore him, Crius. He's all talk and no substance. He'd never use you as the target."

Arrand gave a small snort of laughter and swished his beater's club through the air. "Course, we wouldn't. You're small enough that we'd use you as the Bludger instead of the target."

As Crius Smythe proceeded to get sick all over the floor of the locker room, Meg Surrey was kind enough to remind Sirius that driving the Seeker to nausea was not part of the captain's official duties to the team.

Sirius looked back at James and shook his head. This was not a good sign.

* * *

Annalise offered Lily a seat next to her in the Gryffindor stands. Lily took it with thanks, grateful that she wouldn't be sitting alone as she had feared. It was odd; a year ago she wouldn't even have thought twice about being alone at a match. Now it was just a painful reminder about how much things had changed.

Not all the changes were bad, Lily reminded herself; but especially since the death of her Mum, she hated to feel alone in a public place. One of the boys was usually with her wherever she was; it was just an odd twist of fate that both Remus and Peter were indisposed, leaving Lily without a friendly face for a security blanket. Her left eye twitched as she thought about them. At least Peter was most likely blissfully ignorant of his problems; Remus had to face the worst part of what he was everyday. When the moon transformed from a poetic sliver into a full murky orb, Remus had to face it alone.

She wished there was something she could do for him. She knew that the Ministry of Magic was continually funding projects for research in the areas of controlling and curing those unfortunate enough to survive a werewolf bite; perhaps she'd look into joining one of those groups when she was done with school. True, she was much better at Charms, but there was nothing saying that the Department of Experimental Charms didn't have an area specializing in werewolf research.

Lily had decided in her second year that she wanted to work for that department. Of course, she realized soon after that as a Muggle-born witch, she couldn't work for the Ministry of Magic. She was a second-class citizen of the wizarding world; the best she could hope for was to find work in the private sector. Until the end of last summer, her dreams had seemed foolish. But then a law had been passed; a law that had been the life's work of James' father. In the eyes of the Ministry at least, she was now an equal.

James... Lily gave a small inward sigh, and then scolded herself. With all that she should be thinking about, all she could think about was one of two devilishly good-looking dark haired wizards. She really needed to find a way to stop this.

She needed to be in control.

The game was starting. Seven figures in blue flew out of one side of the pitch, matched by seven in red on the opposite side. After a moment, all hovered over the middle of the field. The referee tossed the Quaffle high into the air, and it was as if a Filibuster Firework had exploded.

Players darted this way and that, seemingly without reason. It always took Lily a few moments to adjust her eyes to the fast paced game. Eventually, she spied the Quaffle in Chaser Surrey's arms as the girl raced towards the Ravenclaw goals. Meg's attempt to score was swiftly denied though, and the Keeper in blue, Sophie Redlin, passed the Quaffle off to one of her twin male Chasers. The McQuire twins were mirror images of each other; if one had a mole on his left cheek, the other had it on his right. According to Annalise, who was whispering in Lily's ear, Matthew McQuire was right handed while Michael McQuire was a lefty. There was a very odd grin on Annalise's face, making Lily wonder just how well she knew the two handsome fifth years from Ravenclaw.

Cheering broke out from the Ravenclaw stands; one of the McQuires had just scored. Lily had no idea which one it was--she'd been listening to Annalise at the time and hadn't seen which hand the Chaser had thrown with.

James took possession for Gryffindor. He faked a pass to his fellow Chaser Andy, which was so convincing that Willoughby stopped mid-air to figure out where the Quaffle had gone. James was just getting ready to throw the Quaffle for a score when one of the Ravenclaw beaters smashed a Bludger into his back. James dropped the Quaffle. Ravenclaw Chaser and Captain Moira Jansen retrieved it in short order.

Jansen was a petite seventh year witch with short, black hair and a wicked grin. As Sirius attempted to corner a Bludger to pelt at her, the brazen girl flew in a loop around him. Lily could see Sirius scowling from her spot in the stands. He hated to be teased. In another moment, he had even more to scowl about as Moira scored another ten points for Ravenclaw.

For two hours, it went on like that. Gryffindor only managed to answer one for every three Ravenclaw goals. The score was now one hundred-twenty to forty in favor of Ravenclaw.

Hisses irrupted from the Gryffindor stands as Moira Jansen managed to pass another Quaffle by Sorcha O'Reily. Lily suppressed a chuckle; bravery and daring might be the qualities that the Sorting Hat espoused for Gryffindor House, but somewhere along the way someone should have mentioned to it that those who sported the red and gold were not good at losing.

Sirius had called a time-out; the Gryffindors met up on the ground, and it appeared that Sirius was screaming furiously at them. Lily strained her ears but could hear nothing over the noise from the stands. She watched as his apparent tirade continued, locking her eyes on James' face to watch his reaction.

He had none; James wasn't looking at Sirius at all but appeared to be staring right back at Lily high above in the stands. Her heart began to race, as the distance between them seemed to disappear. She felt that she could reach out and touch him. She saw him smiling at her from the pitch and then turn his attention back to Sirius.

Annalise had said something to her. Lily struggled to recall the words; the brown haired girl had asked her something about the Yule Ball.

"Come on, Lily... you can tell me." Annalise nudged Lily's ribs playfully. "Who're you going to the Ball with? I know that you have a dress."

"I don't have a date, 'Lise, honestly." Lily shrugged her shoulders. "I'll probably go without one. It's not like I have to have a bloke on my arm to walk into the Great Hall."

Annalise gave her a sharp look, as if Lily had just told her that she hated butterbeers. "Sirius hasn't asked you?"

"No, I told you before. We're not dating anymore. We're still friends," she added quickly, seeing the look of disbelief on Annalise's face. "But no more than that."

Annalise rolled her eyes. "Sirius seems to hope otherwise."

Lily nodded. "I keep meaning to talk to him about that..." Lily shrugged. It was odd talking to another girl so candidly. It was a lot different from talking with Remus or James, or even with Sirius with whom her conversations had always been slightly banal. "Honestly though, he's just not the sort that a girl can tie down."

Annalise shot her an impish grin. "There are spells for things like that... if that's what you're into."

Lily chuckled and pushed Annalise away playfully. "Oh 'Lise, that's not the issue; I have a large supply of Stolbury's Stolid Binding String and Parcel Protector."

"And just who's package are we protecting?" asked Annalise with a cocked eyebrow.

Cheering erupted around them. James had just scored for Gryffindor. Lily jumped out of her seat and screamed along with the rest of her housemates. The crowd mentality set in for a moment: if they could just cheer loud enough, the team would win. When Ravenclaw retorted with another score, though, Gryffindor's reverie was broken once more.

Lily's eyes followed James as he soared through the air. His face had a grim sort of determination on it; he snatched the Quaffle out of the hands of Jansen and headed back towards Ravenclaw's Keeper.

Lily's cheeks flushed; she could feel Annalise staring at her. Lily ignored her until James had scored another ten points for the red and gold. Once Ravenclaw was back in possession, Lily raised a questioning eyebrow at the fifth year Prefect.

"What about Potter?" Annalise asked with a smile.

Lily opened her mouth to reply, but then covered it with her hand, pointing off towards the Ravenclaw locker room. The blue clad Seeker, Fae Froud, had landed squarely on the ground, hand held high in the air. Inside of her tight fist, Lily could see a glint of gold. Ravenclaw won: three hundred to sixty.

Her housemates returned to the Tower in a numb silence; Gryffindor was virtually out of the running for the House Cup. Lily reached her room and grabbed her book bag, intent on getting some studying done in the Library. As she exited through the portrait of the Fat Lady, Annalise's unanswered question echoed in her mind:

What about Potter?

* * *

When Lily returned from the library a few hours later, she felt as if she'd been thrown into the role of Baby Bear for a children's theatre production of 'Goldilocks'.

Someone's been messing with my door, she thought.

Indeed, the door was slightly ajar and there was a rather large, muddy fingerprint on the knob. She entered her room cautiously, keeping her hand on the pocket where she kept her wand.

Someone's turned off all the lights! It took Lily half a minute to adjust to the darkness well enough to make her way over to her desk and set her book bag down. She said the simple spell that should have relit all the candles in her room, but something was blocking it. Someone else had placed a very strong darkness charm on them.

Lily cast her eyes slowly around her room. The curtains around her four-poster bed were pulled shut; ever since she had moved out of the girls' dormitory, Lily never used the curtains for privacy. As she crept towards the bed, she saw the hem of a deep crimson robe peeking out from under the curtains. With an inward giggle, the phrase 'Someone is sleeping in my bed!' jumped into her mind.

By this time, she knew who it was of course. Of the four people that had ever been in her private room, only one was so brazen as to crawl into her bed when she wasn't there. Several options of retaliation jumped into her mind: She could transfigure her mattress into a child's wading pool. Or perhaps she'd conjure up a few dozen snakes to keep presuming young wizard company under her covers. Maybe the best way to deal with the overbold Sirius Black was to dive into bed with him, call him James and ask if he had brought the chocolate syrup with him this time.

Lily smirked to herself. The last option was rather appealing, but then she remembered the black eye Sirius had given James and paused. She knew that he would never hit her; whatever else he was, Sirius was at least that much of a gentleman. But it did occur to her that James had gotten punched because he had deeply wounded Sirius' feelings. Lily didn't want to do that, at least not intentionally.

She pulled back the curtains, crossing her arms over her chest and stared down at him. Sirius smirked back up at her and sat up on the bed. He was still wearing his Quidditch robes.

"Fancy seeing you here," she said with an eye roll. She nodded towards his crimson and gold robes. "Get lost on the way to the locker room?"

Sirius had a very odd smile on his face. If Lily had been a sheep, she would have been afraid. "Nope. I came to talk."

"Ah... and in order to talk, you needed to break into my room and stink up my sheets with your smelly Quidditch uniform, eh?" Lily looked highly amused.

"Of course," Sirius replied smoothly. He thrived under this sort of banter. "Are you going to stand there all day, or are you going to give a poor bloke who just ruined his team's chances at the Quidditch Cup a conciliatory kiss?"

Lily snorted loudly. "I'm going to stand here all day. But if it would make you feel better, I could give you a polite golf-clap for breaking and entering."

Sirius patted the spot next to him on the bed. "Sit down, Lil. I want to show you something."

Lily laughed again. "Oh I just bet you do." She shook her head. "You could come up with a slightly more subtle line at least."

Sirius stood up and walked over to Lily's desk. "Right then, I'm all the way over here now." He twirled around, showing that he wasn't even in arm's length of Lily. "Now will you sit down? It's perfectly safe."

Lily backed up and sat slowly down on her bed. "What exactly are you on about, Sirius?"

"Well, I've tried begging, pleading, bribery and other sneaky ways to get your attention, but none of them worked. Whenever I wanted to talk, you didn't. So after our stunning loss to Ravenclaw this afternoon, it occurred to me that a little abject-humiliation might just work." Sirius was struggling to keep a straight face; Lily couldn't tell if he was about to laugh or cry.

"Abject-humiliation, eh? Like what?" Lily leaned forward slightly; her interested was piqued.

"Like this," he replied dramatically. His hands pulled apart the front of his Quidditch robes, sending several buttons shooting across the room.

Lily gasped; her hand shot up to cover her mouth. After another few seconds, her hand continued upwards to cover her eyes. She couldn't help it though; she peeked again just to make sure she wasn't imagining things.

Standing in the middle of her bedroom was Sirius Black, wearing her Union Jack bikini. He filled it out in ways that Lily was certain no god had ever intended. While the overall effect wasn't bad, there was really only one thing Lily could think of saying.

"Feeling a bit cold, are we Sirius?" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she began laughing uproariously. He'd been right. This was abject-humiliation personified. Who knew that it had such hairy legs?

To his credit, Sirius let her have her laugh, bearing it all with a grace she wouldn't have thought he could muster. Once the tears of laughter had stopped rolling down her cheeks, he sat down next to her on the bed. He had an uncharacteristically serious look on his face.

Sirius leaned in to kiss her, and Lily let him. While his lips caressed hers, his eyes searched her face for something. He pulled back, hand still on the back of her head ready to pull her in for another kiss. "I love you, you know," he said softly.

"I know," Lily replied, voice full of kindness. "That's the problem."

Sirius dropped his hand. "How exactly is that a problem?"

Lily smiled weakly; she'd been dreading this conversation for days. "I wasn't honest with you or myself about what I wanted. I did what I thought I was supposed to do, when I assumed the role of your girlfriend."

"Assumed the role?" Sirius was confused. "I don't understand. What are you saying, that you never cared about me at all?"

"Oh no," Lily replied instantly. "I care about you very much; you're a wonderful friend."

Sirius winced at the word.

"Don't look like that," Lily chided.

Sirius took a deep breath. "Were you ever attracted to me?"

Lily laughed. "That was the problem really: I was so attracted to you that I let my 'raging schoolgirl hormones' do my thinking for a while." She patted him on the back. "Rest easy, Sirius. Even dressed as you are, any girl would jump at the chance to have five minutes alone with you in a broom closet." She gave him another quick appraising look. "In fact, I can think of several that would be more encouraged by your current attire."

Sirius pulled his Quidditch robes tightly around him. He looked quite abashed. After a very silent moment, he asked, "So... are you saying that you were just after me for my body?"

Lily snorted again. Biting hard on her lip to keep from laughing, she replied, "Yes. You could say that." Stifling her giggles, she added: "And I'm very sorry for using you thusly."

His face flickered between anger and amusement; clearly he'd never been on the receiving end of this situation before. He looked at her face, studying the wicked curve of her smile and the mischievous glint in her eyes. "You know," he whispered roughly, leaning towards the nape of her neck. "There's nothing saying that if that's all you want, that some arrangement couldn't be made."

Her vision blurred slightly as she felt the heat of his breath on her neck. Luckily, her resolve remained. She shook her head at him. "I wish it was that simple, but if we did... I really don't want to hurt you, Sirius. And knowing how you feel about me, well, I'd just be taking advantage of those feelings. I'd never be able to return them."

His eyes said it all. He finally understood. "Why not?" he asked meekly.

"I don't know," Lily replied honestly. "Trust me though, it's not you; it's me."

An odd look crossed his face. His lip twitched several times and then he started laughing.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

Sirius took a deep breath. "Do you have any idea how many times I've said those very same words to a girl?"

Lily shot him a wicked grin. "The irony of this situation had crossed my mind, yes." She retracted her grin into a questioning smile. "Do you think we can still be friends?"

Sirius broke out laughing again. "Yeah, I think we have to. Seeing you everyday might keep me humble."

Lily giggled. "Somehow I doubt that. Your adoring female fans have been waiting with bated breath to boost your battered ego back up to intolerable levels."

"Mind if I keep your bikini though?" he asked.

Lily looked at him suspiciously. "Whatever for?"

"Well," Sirius said, looking more like his usual wicked self than he had in weeks. "I want to transfigure it into a Muggle T-shirt that says 'Lily Evans used me for a Snog and all I got was this lousy T-shirt'." Lily roared with laughter once again. Sirius continued grinning. "I think you owe me that much."

* * *

She could feel the cold November air against her skin as she opened the door to the Owlery. Moonlight shone into the turret from the many exit windows, lending an odd luminescent quality to the room. She shut the door behind her and stared up into the rafters.

"Circe?"

Lily couldn't see her Sooty Owl, but at the sound of her name, the great black bird fluttered down to Lily's outstretched arm. Circe leaned in, brushing her feathery cheek against her mistress' smooth one. Lily scratched Circe under her chin affectionately. "I'm going to take a walk around the grounds, want to join me?"

The owl hooted, giving its approval. They made their way back down the rickety staircase of the Owlery, and out of the building. Strictly speaking, Lily shouldn't be out of the Tower at this time of night. Even as a Prefect, there were rules she had to observe, but she needed to clear her mind and a bit of fresh night air sounded like it would do the trick.

Once they were away from the castle, Circe flew up above Lily's head. The Australian owl was close by but wanted to stretch her wings. Lily smiled enviously. She was stretching her own she supposed; neither James nor Sirius knew she was out here alone. As he had left her room earlier that night, Sirius said that he wanted to spend some time alone with James, to try and sort things between them out. Lily had vowed to stay out of the way... she just hadn't mentioned that she wanted to stay well out of the Tower as well.

Lily looked up at the moon. It would be well and truly full tomorrow, but by her eye, tonight was close enough. Somewhere in Hogsmeade, Remus was changed from his usually sober self into a beast that brought terror to the hearts of all children--Muggle and magical. In her mind, she could hear him chiding her for being out by herself after hours. She wasn't really alone though, she reasoned. Circe was with her, circling high above, hoping to catch sight of some errant rat or mouse that was scurrying about the school grounds.

She thought about the strange events of the last week: Peter's attack, the Possum Charm, Sirius' experiment with abject-humiliation. Her last private conversation with Remus lingered in her mind. She wasn't acting like herself. A month ago, she never would have considered leaving the castle after midnight, and yet here she was. What had changed? What was different?

Lily sat down on a bench in front of the lake. It was mostly frozen over now, and the Giant Squid had probably settled down for a long winter's nap. She heard Circe land behind her, accompanied by the crunch of tiny bones. The predator had caught its prey, completing that particular circle of life. Lily glanced over her shoulder, catching a glimpse of the black owl as she snacked on a dormouse. Lily smiled and remembered the look of disgust on Petunia's face the first time her sister had witnessed the fruits of Circe's appetite. No matter how she had tried to explain it, Petunia couldn't understand this was part of who Circe was. The beautiful bird, normally so stoic, had to engage in the act of hunting to be who she was.

But, Lily asked, turning her reflection inward once more, who was she? The starting answer was easy: She was a witch, first and foremost-- and an above average one at that, at least when it came to Charms. Lily was proud of this, but even if she hadn't been one of the top students in her class, she still would have taken pride in being a witch. Her parents had been proud of it; her mother fully embraced the idea that her youngest daughter would never lead a normal life. You'll never be a housewife whose greatest thrill in life is spying on her neighbors, Marigold had confided. You're special, Lily, don't be afraid of it.

But she had been, for years without ever realizing it. Lily had walked the line between the magical and the Muggle world like a circus performer danced on a tightrope. She couldn't do that anymore. She needed to commit to one life or to the other. It wasn't a choice to be made, though; it was an action she needed to take. She couldn't try to be something that she wasn't. No matter how much she wanted to, she would never be the sister that Petunia wanted. It was time to stop trying; if Petunia couldn't accept her the way that she was, so be it. It was time to let her go her own way.

Circe hopped up into her lap, prodding Lily's hand with a well-placed nip to encourage her mistress to pet her. Lily obliged. James' face flashed in her mind as she recalled how he had stared at her after her 'recovery' from the Possum Charm. He couldn't fathom why she had put herself at risk with an untested charm; Lily understood herself now however. She had wanted to take the risk. She wanted a small taste of danger. Sink or swim, she had wanted to see it through on her own.

Her father had always teased her since she was a young child that eventually she would grow into the temperament that her hair color promised of her. Perhaps she finally had. Maybe with the loss of her mother, the desire to live life had finally been set free, as surely as her hair had when she stopped wearing the severe bun that had previously marked her as such a serious child. Without her mum, there was no one to tell her she was too young or that she was growing up to fast. She had to grow up fast now. Who knew how long she had left?

She could hear James berating her for maintaining that outlook, but she felt justified. Lily could admit that she was afraid; being a Muggle-born witch in an age where Lord Voldemort and his supporters would kill her out of hand for the chance of her birth made her afraid. But she wasn't going to hide under the covers like a little girl scared that the boogieman was coming for her. She would continue on, fighting the Dark Lord as she could. In her heart, Lily believed that good would triumph over evil. It was an age-old story--and it was up to the wizards and witches of her generation, perhaps, to write their own happy ending.

Lily pondered her own chances at happiness. There was a thin dream in her mind, a wish that she couldn't yet give voice to. She knew what she wanted, with the same clarity that she knew she would work on experimental Charms for the Ministry. Her inner rages of denial had died the night that she'd fought with James and Sirius.

It was the thought of fulfilling that dream that filled Lily Evans with terror. She had felt so free lately, was she really willing to give all that up? Did she even have to?

There was a long howl in the distance. Lily turned, and her eyes searched for its source.

At the edge of the Forbidden Forest, she saw the figure of a huge animal.

She couldn't quite make it out; she stood up, jostling Circe onto the ground, and started to walk towards it to get a better look.

At first, she thought perhaps it was one of the centaurs that she had heard lived in the forest, but as she inched closer, she was able to discern a large rack of antlers from the shadows.

A majestic stag stood at the edge of the forest, staring at her.

Her head would have only come up to its shoulders; it was a giant animal that carried itself with an air of royalty. Without thinking, Lily curtsied to it. The stag nodded its head in her direction and approached her cautiously.

It was maybe fifteen feet from her now. A mass of dark, unruly fur surrounded its neck and the top of its head. The eyes of the stag were huge, and when Circe landed in front of it, Lily feared a moment for her beloved pet. The stag snorted at the owl, sending clouds of warm air out of its nose. Circe hooted happily in response, fluttering up to sit astride the stag's back.

"Hello," Lily said quietly. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the beast. It was looking at her in the most familiar way, as if they were on intimate terms. But Lily had never been this close to a wild stag in her whole life, she was sure of it. "You remind me of someone..." she said finally. It was a silly thought, but there it was.

Circe began to hoot from her spot on the stag's back. The stag turned back and looked at her, nodding his head so low that his rack of antlers nearly touched the ground. Circe flew off of the stag's back and onto Lily's shoulder. The stag turned to leave.

"Wait!" Lily said, feeling rather foolish. "I don't want you to go."

The stag turned and looked back at her, waiting.

The stories of the ladies of Avalon with their loving homage to the Great Mother and her lover the Stag Father fluttered in Lily's mind. Was this some magical creature? Could this be a god of days gone by? Could this wise looking denizen of the forest answer the question that she'd been afraid of asking herself?

"What do you do," Lily whispered, "when you love someone, but you're afraid that that love might swallow the person you are?"

The stag stared at her, as if trying to reason out what she was asking of it.

"I mean," she continued, staring at the stag's familiar black mane. "Is it possible to love someone and still be yourself? Would I still be Lily if I allowed myself to love--"

Two wild howls shattered the silence of the night. The stag looked back at the forest and then nodded at Circe. The owl flew off Lily's shoulder and back towards the school. Lily's head turned to follow her pet for a second before she looked back at the stag.

The stag was racing away from her, towards the Forbidden Forest, towards the howls that still hung in the air. With no other options before her, Lily turned away and walked back towards the castle.

Circe left her at the door to the entrance, choosing to fly back up to the Owlery. Lily made her way back to Gryffindor Tower, trudging up the ancient staircases slowly. Up ahead, on a landing between stairways, there seemed to be a heated argument going on.

"Ma'am! Take your hands off my frame this instant!" squealed a portrait of a courtier. A woman was bent over, looking under the painting for something on the wall.

"Professor Hawthorn?" Lily was standing behind the Potions Mistress, trying to figure out what she was doing.

The professor jumped at the sound of her name, banging her head against the back of the portrait and causing more indignant protest from the ruffle-necked courtier. Hawthorn turned and looked, raising an eyebrow at Lily.

"Miss Evans, what are you doing out after hours?" she asked sourly.

"I had to go to the Infirmary," Lily lied. "For some feminine supplies." There is really no situation for which that excuse can't be abused, Lily thought wryly.

Professor Hawthorn nodded, waving a hand at Lily as if to dismiss her.

"Are you looking for something Professor? Do you need any help?" It wouldn't hurt to try and get back into Hawthorn's good graces. The Head of Slytherin House had always encouraged students to brown nose.

A dark smile twitched on the portly woman's lips. "No, Miss Evans," she said darkly, narrowing her eyes at Lily. "There is nothing that you can help me with. I suggest you get back to your House now, who knows what kind of foul creatures come out at the full moon."

A shiver ran through Lily's body as she turned her back to the Professor and continued on to the Tower. Perhaps she was imagining things, but Lily could have sworn that her Potions Mistress was making a thinly veiled threat.

* * *

Lily woke up early on Sunday morning; the sun was just rising and there were several hours left until breakfast. She walked over to her desk and sat down. There was a tattered looking jewelry box sitting on it; James had left Peter's letterbox for her to go through. He and Sirius had attempted to find the letter that Peter had received from his mum in the days before his attack but found the task impossible. There were no dates on the letters, and they were in no apparent order with in the box. Some were lying on their sides, others were stacked one on top of the other.

Lily lifted the lid and pulled the letters out. There must be close to a hundred of them. Luckily, Peter's mother had a very distinct script and Lily was able to sort out the letters from her in short order. Now she had only thirty letters or so to go through.

Mrs. Pettigrew wrote very long letters, often explaining in lurid detail the problems that the family cat, Sir Tonbey III, was having with his bowels. Lily was just about ready to give up when a post-script at the bottom of a letter detailing Sir Tonbey's most recent hairball caught her eye.

Lily bolted out of her chair and ran down the hall to James' room. She pounded on the door until the exhausted boy answered and then pushed her way in, waving the letter in front of her like a flag.

"What is it?" James mumbled in a very tired voice.

Lily folded the letter in half, so that the post-script was the first thing he would read. "I need to talk to you about last night. Can you get Sirius down here right away?"

The two sentences didn't mesh well in his mind, but James warily took the letter from her, reading it through half open eyes. As the words of Mrs. Pettigrew penetrated the cloud of sleep around his mind though, his lids receded, giving way to a look of shock. "I'll go and wake up Sirius." James said and then gave Lily an odd look. "Maybe you should go back to your room and rethink your attire before we get to work."

Lily raised a questioning eyebrow as James threw on his robe and headed to Sirius' dorm room. Once he was gone, she realized that she was standing there in nothing more than a thin satin chemise and a pair of ratty old boxer shorts. She rushed back to her room, bunny slippers clopping unabashedly on her feet.

Molly M. Johnson Molly M. Johnson 2 0 2003-07-18T17:21:00Z 2003-07-18T17:21:00Z 19 8123 46304 385 92 56864 9.3821 150

Title: Arrival Unexpected (09)
Author name: Molly Moon
Author email: psycha@chartermi.net
Category: Romance
Sub Category: Suspense
Keywords: Moony Wormtail Padfoot Prongs Lily
Rating: R
Spoilers: SS/PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, FB, QTTA
Summary: Rivals of all shapes and sizes are forced to unite to keep the peace at Hogwarts; a traitor will be revealed and an enemy will be looked at in a new light, if he’s allowed to live that is.
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author notes: Sorry for the delay -- Life took priority this last month.
Much thanks to Kristin who is not only the world's best Beta, but a wonderful friend. If nothing else has come out of this story, at least I was able to connect with you.

And to Jen, who is both the embodiment of patience and nagging all at once. Loff you both muchly.

One Chapter Left...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You better take care
Never walk alone after midnight
If you don't believe it
You better beware
Of me

I am behind you
I always find you
I am the tiger
People who fear me
Never go near me
I am the tiger

--"Tiger", ABBA

"Do you think Peter knew what it was?" asked Sirius as he studied the note from Peter's mother. They had all asked this question before, after Peter was first attacked. Sirius was holding Mrs. Pettigrew's letter now, and unprompted, he read the end of it out loud once more:

Love, Mother

P.S. Peter, if something should happen to any of your nieces or nephews... I shall be called upon to ask you to retrieve the family heirloom from its hiding place at Hogwarts. You do remember where our vault is, don't you dear? Behind a certain painting?

Try not to worry though, darling. I'm sure that everything will be fine; the Ministry seems to have things well in hand. Please remember to pick up some Cockroach Clusters for Sir Tonbey the next time you are in Hogsmeade.

"He had to know that something important was in the castle," Sirius shook his head wearily.

"Who knows what the staff looks like, though," Lily put in from her place on James' bed. "Could be just a bit of wonky looking driftwood for all we know. I mean, it is over a thousand years old." She shrugged her shoulders. It did seem rather farfetched that Peter would have no idea what his family was protecting; yet, it didn't seem proper to berate a boy who was currently in a cursed coma.

James was sitting backwards in his desk chair, arms folded across its tall wooden back. He kept running his hand through his hair, as if trying to make it lie flat for the first time in his life. "You realize what this means--what we're about to tell Dumbledore?"

Lily nodded gravely. "We're about to accuse a professor of betraying the school."

"It's more than that, Lily." James let out a long sigh. "Hawthorn's been here almost as long as Dumbledore has been headmaster." He ran his hand through his hair again. "Hell, she was the first teacher that he hired."

"It really doesn't fit," Sirius said, looking equally confused. "Hawthorn has testified against Death Eaters when they've been brought to trial. She's often the one that the Ministry asks to administer the Veritas Serum. She's been proudly serving the Ministry since her daughter disappeared in Greece a decade ago." Sirius wrinkled his eyebrows. "She has no love of Muggles, but she doesn't seem the Dark Arts type to me either. She's already lost too much because of Voldemort." He looked at the note again and then at Lily. "Are you sure of what you saw? Tell it to us again."

Lily flung herself back onto James' bed. Staring up at his ceiling she repeated what she had seen when she came back to the castle after her midnight walk: How Professor Hawthorn was looking underneath a painting, how the Professor had startled when Lily had spoken to her and how menacing her words to Lily had been when Lily left.

Both wizards shook their heads in dismay. It should add up, but--like a stubborn Arithmancy problem--it didn't.

"Maybe it was just a coincidence," offered Sirius.

James shook his head. "No, I don't believe in coincidences. We have to accept for the moment that it is Hawthorn and work from there." He glanced at his watch, noting that they still had an hour before breakfast. "Let's just set that aside for now, and focus on the location of the piece of the Staff."

Lily rolled over, rearranging herself so that she was lying on her stomach facing the boys. "Have you ever heard Peter talk about a family vault? Or a particular painting?"

"Not in my memory," admitted Sirius. "And it definitely seems like the kind of thing he would have bragged about. Peter never could keep a secret for very long, particularly if it was something as impressive as his family using the school as a hiding place."

Lily looked at James, waiting for him to answer. He wore a look of fierce determination on his face that she'd seldom seen off the Quidditch pitch. James met her eyes and shook his head again; he couldn't recall anything about a vault behind a painting either.

"Right then," Lily could feel them going in circles. They didn't have much time left: although the trio had agreed to try and work out what they could, they resolved to take this new information to Dumbledore by breakfast regardless of their results. "Let's work with what secrets you can remember Peter telling you... maybe there is a hint somewhere in there."

The two dark haired wizards exchanged a look. Both sets of lips remained shut.

"What?" Lily asked incredulously.

"Well," said James, fidgeting slightly. "There are things that Peter has shared with us over the years that it might not be entirely appropriate to share with you."

"Oh please," Lily swore. "I don't want to know when he nicked his first nudie magazine or who his first crush was on. I was referring to things of substance... Hasn't he ever told you about a crazy family member or an ancient family hero?"

"Well," Sirius grinned wickedly. "He did mention in second year that his sister used to baby-sit for ickle Severus Snape." James snorted, nodding at the memory. "Said the bastard had the dirtiest nappies of any kid she'd ever seen. His sister thought they were replacing his applesauce with curry."

Lily shook her head. "A curry filled nappy doesn't tell us where we should be looking, Sirius."

"No," he agreed. "But it does tell us where not to look, doesn't it?"

* * *

Not a half hour later, the gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the Headmaster's chambers jumped aside.

When it had become apparent that the trio had no more to contribute, the only thing they could do was to go speak with Albus Dumbledore.

They climbed the stairs quietly; James noted that there were no lights on in his guardian's office. He told Sirius and Lily to stay put while he went to rouse the old man from his private apartments.

Lily flipped through the pages of one of the books she was holding: it was time to tell Dumbledore about the Possum Charm as well. They may not be able to use it yet, as Remus had cautioned; but with a little luck, they would be able to use it soon.

James led Dumbledore out to them a minute later; the ancient wizard was still in his nightclothes. As he unlocked the door to his office, James nudged Lily in the ribs and pointed at the floor. Lily suppressed a giggle; the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was sporting a very familiar looking pair of bunny slippers.

Once in the office, Sirius and Lily took a seat in the large leather chairs opposite of Dumbledore. James stood behind them.

"I would bid you 'good morning' but James says that you come bearing news of the most serious degree." There was no twinkle in his eyes today, just a steely resolve. "Instead, I invite you to speak. I shall endeavor to pay strict attention despite the early hour."

Sirius started the tale, explaining Peter's odd behavior before his attack and handing the Headmaster the letter that Lily had found from Peter's mum. A pair of aged blue eyes read the postscript over twice before looking back up at Sirius.

"We think that this means the Pettigrew's piece of the Staff of Merlin is hidden in the castle. Mrs. Pettigrew expected that she might be attacked, but she had the target wrong. She thought Voldemort would go after her grandchildren, not her youngest son." Sirius looked over to Lily, nodding encouragingly at her to speak.

Lily took a deep breath. "Please understand sir, that what I am about to say makes no more sense to us on the surface than it will to you." She bit her lip. Dumbledore offered her a small smile and nodded for her to continue. "Last night, I snuck out after hours to go for a midnight stroll with my owl, Circe." James cuffed her on the shoulder, as if to say she didn't need to explain that much. Lily smirked up at him. "When I came back to the castle, I found Professor Hawthorn looking underneath a painting on the second floor for something. She wasn't very happy to see me either."

Dumbledore nodded, his eyes growing cooler by the minute. Lily finished explaining in detail what had transpired between her and the Potions Mistress the night before.

When she was done, Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak, but James interrupted him. "There is one more thing, Albus." He grabbed the two books from Lily and laid them on the Headmaster's desk. "The black one I... er... rescued from someone in the restricted section that was ripping out pages." James opened the black book to the pages about the Possum Charm and handed it to Dumbledore. "That charm has the ability to force any curse, charm or hex placed on a person to complete its cycle. We think that that is the reason the book was targeted, because it could be the key to setting those in the cursed sleep free." James nodded towards the other book on the desk. "The second book has more information about the spell. We would have brought it to you sooner, but the Possum Charm is an Unrepeatable, so--"

"Until you could stop Voldemort from obtaining all the pieces of the staff, you held the information back." Dumbledore nodded. "I understand. Did you see who was in the restricted section, James?"

"No, I didn't," he admitted. "But I did see their silhouette. It was the right--er shape to be Professor Hawthorn."

Albus nodded again. "If you could please step outside the office, I would like a chance to contact Agatha--Professor Hawthorn--by fire. I cannot accuse her out of hand, but there are a few questions I would like to ask her."

They stepped outside and waited with baited breath. Lily felt as if a great weight had finally been lifted from her shoulders. It will all be over soon, she thought. Soon they'd have Peter back. As the relief washed over her, several tears ran down her cheek. Sirius was the first to notice that she was quietly crying, and put a reassuring arm around her shoulder. Lily buried her face into his chest, ashamed at her display of emotion yet grateful that she had her friends here to steady her.

James stared at the two of them. Something had changed once more in their relationship. He knew that Sirius had spoken with Lily last night, but his friend had dodged all of James' attempts to find out what they had talked about.

Sirius was running his hand through Lily's red hair now, whispering in comforting tones. James' heart stopped as he looked at them, recalling what Lily had said on the school grounds the night before. She'd had no idea that she was speaking to James in his Animagus form, but from the scene before him, it was clear what she had been talking about.

He would of course, accept it. It was Lily's choice. James wanted her to be happy. 'Go on then, keep telling yourself that,' came a mocking voice in his mind. 'Once you're alone, then you can grieve for what might have been.'

An explosion thundered through Dumbledore's office, shaking the walls around them. All bittersweet visions of Lily were shattered in his mind as James threw the door open and rushed inside.

A very scorched looking old wizard lay against the wall opposite the fireplace. James offered him a hand up, as the old man swatted his head to extinguish his smoldering eyebrows. Once on his feet, Dumbledore began to dust himself off, sweeping the black soot away with an impatient hand.

"Professor Hawthorn cut our conversation a bit short," he said sourly. "I must contact the rest of the staff immediately. No students are to be allowed out of their respective Houses." He turned his steady gaze to the three shocked students that stood before him. "Is that understood?"

As one, they nodded.

Dumbledore went over to his fireplace, tossing a bit of coarse powder into the flames. "James Potter's room," he said in a clear voice. In the flickering flames, the dim outline of James' room took shape. Dumbledore gestured towards the fire, leaving a thin trail of smoke in the wake of his arm. "Once we've tracked Professor Hawthorn down, I'll let you know."

Lily took a step towards the flames and then stopped, turning to the Headmaster. "What should we tell the other Prefects and the students?"

Dumbledore looked thoughtful, which was difficult when one resembled a chimney sweep. "Unfortunately, the less they know for the moment, the better. Tell them that a very dangerous creature is loose in the school." The old man put a hand on James' back, pushing him towards the fireplace. "It's not quite the truth, but it will suffice for now."

They agreed and each stepped into the flames in turn, transporting them back to James' room in Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

Their first hours back in the Tower were spent informing their housemates of the situation and working with the House Elves down in the Kitchens to send up food via the Common Room fireplace. Plates of pastries were grabbed greedily as soon as they were offered through the green flames. The younger students seemed nonplussed for the most part, convinced in the security that they had while in the home of the Gryffindors. The older ones could be seen exchanging dark looks though; they knew that there must be something to worry about if Hogwarts was going into lockdown mode.

Several asked Lily and James for more information; as Prefects, they were expected to be in the know. They dodged the questions as best they could, turning the Common Room over to Annalise and Gregg finally to retreat back to James' room.

James and Sirius were ready to collapse from sheer exhaustion, but the hope of seeing Hawthorn captured and Peter returned to them kept the boys going. Lily looked just as tired, emotionally drained from the long morning. She flopped down onto the armchair by James' fireplace, propping her feet up on a stack of nearby books.

Sirius requisitioned James' bed, handing his friend a few pillows and a blanket when the tall boy grunted in protest. James made due with the floor, feeling too tired to put up a fight for the comfort of his own mattress. Once he had himself situated, lying on his side with his knees curled up under him, James slipped off his glasses. He set them a few feet away from his makeshift bed, fluffed his pillows up once more and closed his eyes for some much needed rest.

Lily watched James covertly out of the corner of her eye. His ebony hair was a mess as usual. A few strands were long enough now that they curved onto his cheek; he would need to cut his hair soon, Lily mused. An image of James as a young boy popped into her head: A little boy fidgeted in a chair while his mother tried vainly to trim his hair. It was all the fidgeting on the boy's part that had made the hair so uneven. Lily chuckled to herself. She knew that such a scene probably had never happened; Remus had once said that much to James' dismay, no amount of Sleekeazy Hair Potion would make his hair sit straight--it just grew that way.

Without realizing it, Lily's head was slowly turning towards James as she studied his face. She envied his long eyelashes. Girls never had lashes that long, no matter what the romance novelists wrote. His face was long and angular, like the rest of his lithe body. He had a runner's physique; Lily wondered what training involved for a Chaser. She knew that he had the appetite of a small dragon; he could, when hungry, out-eat anyone at the Gryffindor table. His body reflected none of this though, and in his Quidditch uniform, you could only see the supple musculature of his thin frame.

Her eyes drifted down towards his hands, which were clutching the one blanket he had protectively, as if Sirius would snatch it away at any moment. He had long fingers, like an artist. His nails were well manicured, an odd attribute for a boy his age.

He wasn't handsome, Lily finally realized. Not in the traditional sense, not like Sirius was. James was very beautiful though, in body and soul. He reminded Lily of a traditional Victorian gentleman, well groomed and mannered, the kind of man that would always have a handkerchief on the ready. She saw the monogrammed linen so clearly in her mind that she wondered if he didn't keep a few in his trunk.

A single tear rolled down Lily's cheek. James was beautiful. He radiated the kind of quiet confidence that drew people to him, seeking to be near him in hopes that some of it might rub off. James always hoped that people would become more than what they were (with the exception of a certain Prefect of Slytherin House) and encouraged them to do what they dreamed and face what they feared.

Lily turned her head away finally; it hurt to look at him too much. After a while, it was like staring at the sun--the rest of the world disappeared in the light. She ached to tell him what she was thinking, that she found him to be more beautiful than any other person she had ever met. Would he understand, though? Could he grasp what was behind the words she wanted to say?

Reflexively, her own words echoed in her mind from the night she had returned to the castle after her mother's death:

James would understand.

* * *

Lily swore vilely as the gobstone squirted its putrid liquid at her. Sirius was roaring with laughter from his spot on the bed; he'd been watching James slaughter Lily in game after game for two hours now. She was not a generous loser.

"It went up my nose!" she squealed, throwing her hand up over the inflicted feature.

James was chuckling to himself, a mischievous light in his eyes as he watched Lily run over to his mirror to clean up her face. An odd mixture of envy and mirth surfaced in Sirius. He could see what was coming; it was foolish that he hadn't seen it before.

Sirius would be lying to himself if he said that he was happy about it. Lily had been right; his feelings for her were getting in the way already. He was glad that she was at ease around him again though; the moments when she had cried in his arms this morning were bittersweet. Her trust was a precious thing, and he didn't want to do anything that would make the red haired girl feel insecure in his presence. That meant that he would have to sit back and watch from a distance as James and Lily became, well... James and Lily.

Lily put her hands on her hips, smirking at James with something akin to frustration in her eyes. "Can't we just play a nice game of Wizard's Chess? Or something else that doesn't involve things that squirt?"

James wrinkled his nose. "I don't think I know any games that would be fun for the loser, Lily." He winked at Sirius. "Black could teach you how to cheat though, you might last longer than fifteen minutes in a match then."

"That last game lasted a half an hour," Lily protested. "And considering that Sirius beat you in five minutes, you're in no position to question my endurance."

Sirius coughed, muttering a word under his breath that sounded quite like "yet". They both stared at him for a minute and then looked away.

"There has to be something that we can play; this waiting is killing me." Lily paced about the room, stopping suddenly when an idea occurred to her. "Have either of you ever played poker?"

Sirius raised an interested eyebrow. "Poke her? What exactly does this game involve and are we required to stay dressed for it?"

Lily picked a pillow up off the floor and threw it at him. "Poker. P-O-K-E-R. It's a Muggle card game." Both wizards shook their heads as they laughed.

"I don't have any Muggle cards, Lily." James said.

Lily headed towards the door. "I do, in my room." She pointed to the clock on the wall. The small hand was a quarter inch away from the word "dinner". "It's nearly time to eat, we better go down to the Common Room. After supper is over, I'll teach you how to play five card stud."

James and Sirius rose and walked over to the door. "Poke her and stud... are you sure that this game requires clothes? It sounds awfully lewd to me." Sirius grinned wickedly at Lily, who was rolling her eyes.

"Actually, there is a version where people play for clothing instead of money, but," Lily leveled a semi-serious glare at him. "I think I'll see how quickly you catch on before I try and find out if you're still wearing my bikini bottoms, Sirius." Lily swept out the door, chuckling softly to herself.

James raised an eyebrow at Sirius. "What is she talking about?"

Sirius put on his most innocent face. "No idea. That girl is as daft as a Leprechaun who's lost his pot of gold."

* * *

"Do you have any threes?" asked Sirius, eyeing Lily suspiciously across the table.

"Go fish," she replied half-heartedly. She was glancing at the clock every few minutes now, as if it would soon give her some important revelation as to what was going on outside of Gryffindor Tower.

They were all getting twitchy. It had been fourteen hours since they were dismissed from Dumbledore's office so that the Headmaster could lead his staff on a search for Professor Hawthorn. Since dinner, James' fireplace had turned green twice. Prefects of other Houses were turning to Lily and James for advice and information. Even Marius Finke, the Head Boy, who should have been directing the Prefects to a course of action had sent his pet owl up to James' room earlier that day asking if they thought that classes would be held tomorrow.

The questions were always the same, as were the answers:

No, they didn't know how long everyone would be restricted to Houses.

Yes, they had been in Dumbledore's office when the alert had sounded.

No, they didn't have any idea what kind of monster it was; just that it was dangerous and loose in the castle.

Yes, they were aware that tonight was the full moon. No, they didn't think that it was a werewolf; the alert had been sounded during the day, after all.

James could feel a migraine coming on. He rubbed at his temples, wondering if he shouldn't call down to the Kitchens for a bit of Willow Bark Tea. The throbbing pain in his head had started shortly after Lily had conceded defeat at poker; James and Sirius had taken to the game instantly. Instead of playing for money (or clothes, as Sirius still wanted to try) they had bet Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. A scant hour later, Lily had lost the entire pile of peanut butter beans she'd hoarded to James. At least, James hoped they were peanut butter flavored.

After the game, Lily whinged about how much her feet hurt, and Sirius graciously offered to rub them for her. James was forced to watch as Lily made all kinds of sultry sounding noises as Sirius' hands worked away at her feet. James found himself starting to wish that Hawthorn would burst into his room and attack them just so he wouldn't have to endure watching Lily enjoy being touched by someone other than him.

But of course, it hadn't happened.

In the interim, Lily had taught Sirius how to play another Muggle card game; it was a children's game and Lily was actually holding her own. James suspected it was because no real skill was involved, but he'd never tell Lily that.

James was pretending to read a book. He was lying on his bed, stomach side down, holding the book out in front of him. This "natural" stance afforded him an easy way to watch as Lily laughed at all of Sirius' jokes without being too obvious about it. She seemed so happy with Sirius, so relaxed. The jealousy was rising like bile from his stomach--foul, bitter and insistent. He told himself to look away, to stop watching the way that her eyes crinkled when she smiled, the way that her hair framed her face like layers of red velvet. He couldn't do it though; he forced himself to watch as the most wonderful girl he'd ever met slipped back under the spell of Sirius Black.

Sirius stood up, excusing himself from the room to see if there were any sandwiches left from dinner down in the Common Room. As soon as the door closed, Lily walked over and sat next to James on the bed.

"Can we talk for a minute?" she asked in a meek voice.

This was it, thought James; she's going to tell you that she's back together with Black and that you can't go around kissing her whenever Snape pisses you off. James bit down on the inside of his mouth until he drew blood. "I'm a bit occupied at the moment, Lily." He nodded at the book.

"So I noticed," she replied with a smirk. "Must be a fascinating book." She grabbed the book out of his hands and turned it right side up. "You might understand a bit more if you read it like this, and try turning the pages more often than once every half hour."

Bugger, thought James.

Lily reached out and ran her fingers through his hair, sending delicious shiver down his neck. She was smiling at him so sweetly. "There is something I want to tell you."

James couldn't take it anymore. Seeing her with Sirius was one thing, but having her be so kind to him was the final straw. The anger inside of him snapped like a Sugar Quill. "Listen. You don't need to spell it out. I know what you're going to say, I've been watching you all day." Lily's cheeks colored. "Quite honestly, I don't want to hear it. You've made your feelings very clear. I'll deal with it, but it doesn't mean that I like it or want it shoved in my face at every opportunity."

Lily's face went ghostly white. She nodded slowly; the tears were already streaming down her cheeks. She went over and sat back down in front of his fireplace, sobbing quietly to herself.

James felt instantly guilty; he hadn't really meant to snap at her like that. He certainly didn't want to drive her to tears. He stood up, intent on trying to apologize, but suddenly his fire roared green.

Snape was on the other end. He sneered at Lily and then at James. "Is there any news yet, Potter?"

"No," James replied sharply. "Neither McGonagall or Dumbledore has contacted us since this morning."

"The other Prefects of Slytherin feel that we should leave our Houses and try to assist the staff." He was staring at Lily, puzzled by her tears. "The werewolf that is--"

"There's no bloody werewolf at Hogwarts, Snape." The thought of reaching through the flames and tearing Snape's eyebrows out by the roots was very appealing.

"You're not a very good liar, Potter." Snape growled. "Where's Lupin?"

"He's in the infirmary," Lily replied instantly. "He's not feeling well."

"Well, perhaps someone should go and check on him," The look on Snape's face told James that the slimy git had been waiting for those words, as if it was an invitation. "With a monster on the loose, he may not be safe there."

"You're to stay in your dorm, Snape." James said icily. "Dumbledore's orders."

Snape shrugged, the green flames skewing his smirk into an evil grin. His face faded back as the fire returned to its normal shades of red and orange.

Lily cursed under her breath, pushing past James to head for his door. Sirius returned just then however, and spun Lily around, keeping her in the room. There was a very odd look on his face, a kind of triumph.

"I've had a thought," he said, looking very proud of himself, seeming completely oblivious to James' anger and Lily's tears.

He directed his attention to James. "Do you remember the first time we snuck into the Kitchens?"

James nodded, not sensing the direction this was taking. "It was after the holidays, first year."

"Do you recall why we snuck into the Kitchens?" There was that glint again. Wherever Sirius was taking James with these questions, he appeared to be enjoying the journey.

"Peter was sick; he wanted something to eat at like four in the morning when his fever finally broke." James was starting to feel incredibly thickheaded. He still had no idea what Sirius was on about.

"And..." Sirius was grinning like an idiot. Lily just stared between the two boys, looking as confused as James felt as she hastily dried her face on the sleeve of her robe.

"And what?" James snapped. "It took us over an hour to figure out how to get the damned passageway open, because when Peter told us where to find it, he never bothered to mention that you had to tickle the bloody pear."

Finally satiated with this response, Sirius sat down at James' desk. "Exactly. And in case you can't recall, James that was the only secret passage Peter ever knew about the castle. The rest we found through trial and error or from other people."

James shook his head, astounded that he hadn't thought of it before. "The Pettigrew family vault must be hidden in the Kitchens."

* * *

It was the first time James could ever remember seeing the lights out in the Kitchens. All of the enchanted torches and candles on the chandeliers had been extinguished, lending an air of foreboding to the normally active and comforting room.

Sirius stepped out of the fire after him, with Lily taking up the rear. Each held their wands firmly in their hands; when they'd decided to explore the Kitchens for themselves rather than wait for Dumbledore to return with news of Hawthorn's capture, all had been prepared to meet danger. If Hawthorn had eluded the staff for this long, it was likely that she was still searching for the Pettigrews' piece of the Staff of Merlin.

None of them however, had expected that Hawthorn's search had led her to the Kitchens before them. --In fact, she might already have the portion of the Staff. Their Potions Professor could at this moment be on her way back to her master, Lord Voldemort.

The three exchanged a dark look of shared fears. James nodded, the full moon reflected in his glasses. It was time to look around.

There were hundreds of paintings in the Kitchens; they covered the walls here just as they did in the rest of the castle. Normally the paintings bustled with activity, but like the room they hung in, the paintings in the lower kitchen--paintings mostly of various foodstuffs with an odd wizard or two--had gone mysteriously quiet.

"Where are all the elves?" whispered Lily. Indeed, none were to be seen. Sirius however found the answer as he tripped over something, landing flat on his face.

"They've all been stunned; I can see three of them on the floor from here." Sirius stood back up, frowning slightly as he realized it was the body of a stunned House Elf that he had tripped over. "Better watch our steps."

"I don't like this..." James looked around the room for any sign of trouble. "Either Hawthorn's been here and already has the Staff, or she's still in here searching for it."

This seemed entirely possible. The Kitchens were nearly as large as the Great Hall and had twice as many crannies in which someone could find shelter.

"We have to find it first then," said Sirius in a determined voice. His pale eyes shifted around the dark room nervously. Shafts of light continually shot about the room like spell bursts, as the moonlight refracted off of the shining pots and pans that hung around the windows. "Then we'll just hide out in Gryffindor Tower until Dumbledore comes around like we planned."

"There are so many paintings though," replied Lily with a touch of despair in her voice. Her words echoed gently off of the walls, a sound that none of them had ever heard before in the normally frenetic Kitchen.

"There will be less once we start searching." James walked over to the wall next to the fireplace and lifted a painting. Sirius and Lily followed suit with Sirius examining the paintings around the sinks and Lily heading to the paintings around the entrance to the Kitchens.

Three quarters of an hour passed without result. Lily was currently hovering high above them, searching underneath the uppermost paintings. Sirius was on the ground, looking underneath hundreds of miniatures of individual pieces of fruit that someone had taken the time to frame and hang on the wall beneath a table. James kept glancing over his shoulder; he had the distinct impression that he was being watched.

"Maybe we should wake up the House Elves," suggested Sirius. "They might know something about this secret vault."

James negated the idea. "Even if they did, they wouldn't tell us. They pride themselves on keeping secrets, remember? That's probably why Hawthorn stunned them in the first place."

"Best to leave them knocked out," added Lily. "They'd only grump at us for messing up the place."

Another half hour passed. James had stopped searching, he was sure that Hawthorn was here now waiting for them to find the vault. He wanted to be prepared for her attack, if and when it came.

A gasp echoed off of the rafters. "Sirius, get over here." Lily held a medium sized watercolor of a seascape in her hands. "Catch this, I think I've found it. I can't work with this painting in my hands, though." She tossed the painting down to Sirius, who caught it deftly. Lily ran her hand over the wall, tracing something with her finger. "Yes, there is definitely something behind the stone, but I can't find a clasp to pull it out."

"Try summoning the stone to you," James took several steps away from his wall, edging towards Sirius.

Sure enough, it worked. A small slab of stone landed in Lily's hand, sending her floating body down several feet with its extra weight. She dropped the stone down to Sirius and whispered "Lumos" so that she could look into the tiny vault better.

She pulled out a parchment, unrolling it and reading it before dropping it down to the ground. "A recipe for Butterbeer." Several other trinkets followed the secret family recipe to the floor of the Kitchens before Lily triumphantly floated back down to the ground.

She held up a rough piece of wood; it was six inches long and rather unremarkable at first glance. Lily turned it on its side, showing the boys what was in the core of the wood.

It was as if someone had stuffed a rainbow into it; the colors swirled around, casting a faint light out of either end of the Staff. Lily was beaming at them. "If that isn't piece of Merlin's Staff, then I'm a Death Eater," she declared.

"No Mudblood would ever be allowed to join the ranks of the Servants of Lord Voldemort, Miss Evans." They spun around, looking for the source of the voice. The speaker was not in question; Professor Hawthorn was indeed still lurking in the Kitchens. "But for fulfilling his needs, he might just permit you to iron his robes."

There was a flash of light from behind James and Sirius fell to the ground, stunned. Lily clutched the piece of wood protectively; James spun around to face Hawthorn. The old witch was ready for him though, he only had time to shout "Lily, run!" before she stunned him as well.

* * *

Lily had always been a quick study; she rarely needed to be given instructions twice. She was already out of the Kitchens when she heard James fall to the floor. She ran up the stairs as fast as she could, hoping to turn the corner before Hawthorn could exit through the painting of the fruit bowl and take aim at her.

The words "where to go" pounded against her brain. She couldn't go back to Gryffindor Tower; the heads of each House knew the passwords to gain entry. Lily refused to endanger her fellow Gryffindors. The private lounge and bathroom for the Prefects was no good either. She needed someplace that would be deserted and hard to reach. Someplace where she could lie low until she could think of a way to contact Dumbledore. Someplace that no one would ever think to look for Lily Evans.

The Astronomy Tower.

It was a comical thought, but it was the only one she could grasp as she ran. Running down the hall, she directed her feet towards the Land of Midnight Snogs. As she turned the corner to the final staircase, she crashed into someone, sending her sprawling onto the ground.

Professor McGonagall looked stunned. "Miss Evans, what are you doing out--"

"Hawthorn is right behind me, Professor," Lily explained in great gasping breaths. "I have the Staff. You have to stop--"

Another flash of light, and Minerva McGonagall fell to the floor unconscious. Lily climbed to her feet and began racing up the stairs. Her hiding place was discovered before she'd even gotten there, but the only alternative was to face Hawthorn on her own. Six years of Dark Arts Defense she might have had, but Lily certainly didn't think she was prepared for that.

Lily blasted the door to the Astronomy classroom open and headed for the balcony. She hid behind a very large statue of a gargoyle, tucking her legs up underneath her. It was only a matter of time now. She knew that Hawthorn would find her; Lily just didn't know what would happen when she did.

* * *

Sirius awoke feeling as if a manticore had just trampled him. Standing above him, looking very displeased at his presence and yet worried for his safety was Albus Dumbledore. As Sirius sat up, he saw James sitting on a bench nearby, looking equally beaten from his own stunning.

"An explanation, if you please." Dumbledore guided Sirius to his feet, sitting him on the bench next to James. A few other Professors were in the room, working on reviving the House Elves.

"We figured out where the Pettigrew's vault was," Sirius said, rubbing a hand on the back of his head. He'd smashed it against the floor rather hard when he'd fallen over. "We came to get the piece of the Staff before Hawthorn could."

"She was waiting her for us though, Albus," added James. "Lily had just gotten the Staff when Hawthorn stunned us both." James stood up, heading for the door. "We have to hurry; Lily was running from her the last I saw."

Sirius jumped up and sprinted to the door as well. The Headmaster of Hogwarts wore a terrifying look on his face. The power of the ancient wizard hung around him like a cloak. He looked at both boys, seeming to take their measure. Finally he nodded and joined them at the door.

"You will stay behind me at all times." Dumbledore didn't look happy about having them with him, but he understood that they weren't about to be left behind. He turned to the other members of the faculty and directed them to start searching for Hawthorn again. The House Elves could wait.

With a speed Sirius hadn't imagined a man of his age could muster, Dumbledore exited the Kitchen.

Lily could be anywhere. Sirius hoped that she was somewhere safe.

* * *

She held her breath as the shadowy figure in the Astronomy classroom magically propelled desks and chairs against the walls. Hawthorn would soon realize that Lily wasn't in there.

The terrified student could look over the edge of the tower wall from her spot behind the gargoyle. Jumping was not an option, though being thrown off felt like a strong possibility. Lily racked her brain, tried to remember any spell that would be useful in this situation.

Inspiration hit like a garden gnome fleeing its gnome hole. She could destroy the Staff with the Repulsive Charm. She remembered Professor Flitwick explaining that while the charm was very useful for getting rid of people that were bothering you, it had the habit of making any object it was cast on explode. Apparently inanimate objects had feelings too.

Lily set the Staff out in front of her, murmuring a hover charm to keep it floating in mid air as she began to chant the words to the Repulsive Charm over and over. She hoped that Flitwick hadn't been exaggerating when he described how a witch from Wales found her best set of china in millions of pieces when she'd tried to Repulse her leftover treacle tart from them.

The shadow in the classroom moved closer to the balcony door.

* * *

James scanned the hallway while Dumbledore revived Professor McGonagall. He had no idea how much time had passed since he'd been stunned; but with each second, he felt that Lily was in more danger. He hoped that McGonagall could tell them where Lily had gone, and as the Deputy Headmistress climbed to her feet, he wasn't disappointed.

"Albus... Lily Evans was running from Agatha," She looked as if she was about to burst into tears from worry. "Lily was running towards the stairs to the Astronomy Tower when she crashed into me--you have to hurry! Who knows what that woman will do!"

Ignoring Dumbledore's previous command to stay behind him, James took the stairs two at a time. Sirius and the others weren't far behind him.

At the top of the stairs, the splintered remains of the door lay scattered before him. James took a deep breath, summoning all his courage, and stepped through the doorway.

* * *

The Staff exploded, hurling Lily out of her hiding place just as Hawthorn stepped onto the balcony. The woman's face was pure fury; she screamed and pointed her wand at Lily. Hawthorn's face said it all. Lily knew what was coming: The Killing Curse.

Redheads do not accept death willingly; hurling the first spell that came into her mind, Lily cast a ball of flames at her Potions Professor just as a bolt of green light shot towards her. Lily jumped out of the way just in time, hiding behind another gargoyle.

Hawthorn took several slow and steady steps toward Lily. Flames were rising up her robes, but the insane woman seemed to take no notice of it. "You don't know what you've done, you stupid girl!" she screamed. "He'll kill me now; the Dark Lord will kill her. I'm no use to him anymore." She thrust her wand towards Lily, sending another bolt of murderous green at her.

The gargoyle exploded in front of her, sending Lily over the edge of the tower wall. As she fell, she saw two things:

The fire around Hawthorn exploded into high flames. The Dark Lord wasted no time in dispensing with those that failed in his service. Agatha Hawthorn roared in pain as the fire licked her skin, condemning her to a slow and painful death.

Behind Hawthorn, just as Lily fell from sight she saw the one person she'd been wishing for during her whole escape--James Potter stood in the balcony door. He stared at her in horror, looking as if he was the one falling to his death.

Lily began to scream.

* * *

Chapter Nine and Three-Quarters

Severus Snape skulked around the school grounds. He was sure that the warning about a monster on the loose referred to Remus Lupin. He'd suspected for years that the boy was a werewolf; Snape had hoped to acquire proof of it by changing Lupin's bracelet to silver, but somehow his friends had helped Lupin dodge that particular ploy.

Now he would capture the werewolf, and prove just how dangerous the quiet, studious and generally harmless appearing Gryffindor was. The thought of seeing Lupin's parents escorting their soon-to-be expelled son home on a leash almost made Snape smile.

Almost.

He had no delusions about how dangerous his current situation was. Lupin could spring out from anywhere and attack him. Werewolves had no mind to speak of when they transformed; they only sought to bite other humans and pass on their curse. Snape needed to keep his wits about him.

If he had to, he knew that he'd be able to kill the werewolf. He almost considered it a perk, albeit a messy one.

Almost.

He knew that Lupin's friends would plague him to the end of his days if he delivered Remus from his monthly torture.

But, he reasoned, 'They already plague me.'

Severus had often suspected that there was something wrong with the air in Gryffindor Tower, that its residents could at once be blissfully ignorant of the beast they harbored in their House and yet have several seemingly respectable and intelligent students befriend the monster.

As if anyone could ever tame a werewolf.

He would be lauded by his housemates for the actions he had taken this night; his place as Head Boy next year would be assured. And there would be one less Gryffindor strolling around the castle as if he owned the place. All in all, it wasn't a bad bargain.

There was a scream behind him followed by a large crash. Severus spun around, expecting to see the dim figure of a werewolf as it attacked someone. Instead, he saw the figure of a girl bounce twice before settling on the ground.

He approached the body cautiously. There was no one else around, no sign of what had made the girl scream. She was unconscious; her right leg was at such an odd angle that Snape knew it had to be broken. She was covered in grey dust and there were cuts all over her legs, arms and face. A long gash along her forehead was bleeding profusely; the blood covered her face, making her all but unrecognizable. Except for the red hair.

Snape cursed softly under his breath. Clearly, Lupin's dear friend Lily had just narrowly escaped a fate worse than death. Snape could see no bite marks on her. Stupid girl, he thought as he picked her up. He would have to take her to the Hospital Wing now. Her injuries couldn't wait for him to continue his search.

He'd been so close to catching the bastard in the act of attacking a student. He seethed with anger. If only he'd gotten there sooner... No matter though, it was obvious from just a glance at Lily Evans that she'd been viciously attacked. Lupin would still be expelled as soon as he returned to his human form.

As he stepped up to the entrance of the castle, the door was flung open. Professor McGonagall and Sirius Black nearly crashed into him in their haste to get out of the door.

"Severus Snape?" McGonagall looked on the verge of giving him a lecture for being out of his House, but then she noticed whom he was carrying. "My goodness, Lily. Is she alive?"

"Yes, Professor." Snape put a look of concern on to his face. It didn't fit well. "Just barely though, if I hadn't arrived when I did--"

"Give her here, you can give me a full report later." McGonagall took the petite Gryffindor in her arms, cradling her like a baby. Without another word, she dashed off towards the hospital wing.

Sirius Black just stared at him. He seemed to be waging some kind of inner battle.

"Lupin nearly killed her." Snape declared, nearly breaking out a grin as a look of astonishment crossed Black's face. "I saved her." It wasn't exactly the truth, but Snape knew that it would goad Black till the end of his days that it was Severus Snape and not him that had saved the apparent damsel in distress.

Black began to laugh.

Snape opened his mouth to ask what the hell Black thought was so funny, but he was slammed against the wall. Black pinned him there with one strong arm.

"If you think that Remus did that, that he would ever harm Lily, then you're more of a daft git than I give you credit for." Sirius let out a low menacing growl.

"I could give a damn if Lupin broke your latest toy, Black. Evans obviously knows about Lupin and by staying by his side, she is choosing her own doom, as are you." Snape hissed at him, his eyes clenching into slits, every feature on his sallow face looking the part of the perfect Slytherin.

Sirius pressed his elbow into Snape's ribcage, and was delighted to hear the captured boy let out a pained sound. "Do not talk about Lily. Don't even say her name; what she did tonight and how she ended up in a bloody pulp on the school grounds has just saved the lives of many children, including Peter and the Munroe girls." Upon finishing his minor rant, Sirius punched Severus in the stomach to emphasize his point.

Snape was able to keep from voicing his pain this time. Sweat was gathering at his brow. "Oh... how wonderful it must be to be Sirius Black... All of his friends are heroes and martyrs. Never mind that they flaunt the breaking of every rule our society has and lie whenever needed to protect each other." Feeling braver than he had in a few moments, Snape glared into Sirius' pale eyes and saw a warped reflection of himself in them. He almost flinched, but instead Snape drew in a deep breath, and spat into Sirius Black's face.

Sirius growled again as he wiped the saliva out of his eyes. When he drew his hand away from his face, all traces of the handsome, gregarious young Gryffindor were gone. The man that faced down Severus Snape now was a bundle of anger, a seething boiling cauldron ready to explode.

"Stay away from my friends," Sirius whispered in a voice that could not be ignored. "Stay away from Remus. Don't think for a minute that I don't know who you are and what you will be." Sirius snarled. "Remus Lupin is an angel on high compared to you, Snape."

"If Lupin is such a saint, then were does he go every full moon?" accused Snape.

"Do you really want to know?" hissed Black.

Severus nodded.

Sirius leaned towards him, whispering the secret into Snape's ear. Leaning back, looking very satisfied with himself, Sirius released his grip on the other boy. "Tell him I'm sorry James and I couldn't join him tonight when you see him. We were unexpectedly delayed."

Black strolled away from him, following in McGonagall's footsteps. Severus cursed under his breath. There was only one way to find out if what Black had said was true.

He grabbed the handle to the massive door, and exited the castle.

* * *

The first thing James saw when he entered the Hospital Wing, was Sirius sitting on a bed. He smiled when he saw James, something that James hadn't been expecting. James had seen Lily fall; he was prepared for the worst. The relief that he felt as Sirius described how he and McGonagall had found Snape bringing her battered body into the castle could not be described with mere words.

Madam Pomfrey was working on Lily behind closed doors so the boys were resigned to wait for more information. Sirius asked what had happened with Hawthorn.

"She just kept burning." James shivered at the memory of the ghastly sight. "No spell that Albus tried could stop the flames. He's still up there now, trying to save her. Though, I don't think she wants to be saved."

Sirius nodded, looking solemn for the first time since James entered the room. After a minute though, the dark irrepressible grin had returned to his face.

"What is that about?" James asked finally.
"What?" Sirius replied, trying to look innocent.

"That face. What is that face about?" James had a feeling that he didn't really want to know but was compelled to ask.

"Snape." Sirius replied simply. "He thought that Lily had been attacked by Remus when he found her."

"And you're smiling about that? Are you insane?" James stared wide-eyed at Sirius, trying to comprehend his train of thought.

"I'm smiling," Sirius said darkly. "Because Snape is about to finally get what he deserves. I told him that if he wanted to know if Remus had attacked Lily then he should ask Remus himself. And then I told him where to find him."

"You did what?" James was on his feet instantly, heading for the door. "Are you fucking stupid? He'll be killed."

"Where are you going?" Sirius called after him.

"To stop you from becoming a murderer before you're eighteen." James slammed the door behind him.

* * *

James wasn't too late. Unfamiliar with the secret passage beneath the Whomping Willow, Severus Snape was walking slowly with only the dim light at the end of his wand to guide him. He spun around as James raced towards him, glaring at James when he grabbed Snape's shoulder and began pulling him back towards the castle.

"Let go of me, Potter!" Snape hissed, struggling to break free of the taller boy's grasp.

"Not a chance. You have no bloody idea what you are getting into." James dragged him a few feet before Snape managed to dig his heels in.

"I know that Lupin is in there," Snape declared. "I know what he is and you can't stop me from seeing it."

"You know that he's a werewolf?" James sneered sarcastically. "Well, you're a blooming genius then aren't you? Did you know that it's the full moon as well? Were you aware that Remus transforms into a beast twice the size of a normal wolf and has the power of ten men?" James shoved Snape hard against the wall. "Have you been informed that when a werewolf transforms on the full moon, his only instinct is to attack any human that he comes across? Or did you think that you were immune to a lycanthropic bite?"

James spun Snape around, facing him in the direction of the Shrieking Shack. "Not twenty feet from here is the door to the basement of the house that holds him during his transformation. That door is the only thing between us and a painful death. Listen, you can hear Remus throwing himself against the door, trying to break it down." James' voice turned to ice. "If you go there, he will kill you. He will rend you limb from limb and not even know he's done it until Tuesday morning. If you want to meet your death, go knock on the bloody door."

Severus Snape had had enough of Gryffindor pride for the night. He threw his foot back and connected with the Potter family jewels, forcing the taller boy to release him for the moment. James landed on the ground, the pain of Snape's low blow evident on his face. Severus turned his face slowly towards his shoulder and let out a low hiss. "Look... how the mighty have fallen..." he sneered. "Lupin is no threat to me, Potter. Did you think that I would go a-hunting without the proper weapons?" Snape slowly withdrew a dagger from his robes and presented the blade to James. "Pure silver... it was my great-grandmother's weapon. She was one of the best werewolf hunters of her day. When she saw a threat, she eliminated it. And now I will do the same."

James struggled to his knees, intent on stopping Snape. Severus raised his leg to kick James once more, but James was quicker this time and caught the boy by the foot, pulling him to the ground. The fall knocked the dagger out of Snape's hands.

James threw himself on top of his foe, pining Severus to the ground. From the shack, he could hear the werewolf--Remus--throwing himself frantically against the door. James reached over and picked up the fallen dagger. He held it over Snape's face and grinned with inspiration. He laid the dagger on Severus' chest and drew out his wand. Thinking he was about to be cursed, Snape began to struggle again. James backhanded him and proceeded with his plan.

Muttering the words that Professor McGonagall had taught him only a few weeks before, James transfigured the dagger into a dormouse, which promptly scurried away. James smiled and stood up.

The door in front of them shuddered once more, and both boys stared at it. A few more slams like that, and Remus would break through. Time was running short. James reached down and pulled Snape up by the robes. "Still ready for your epic battle? If we wait a few more moments, you won't have to bother with the bloody doorknob. We'll be here and Remus will be hungry..."

James threw Snape forward and waited, sure that the other boy would start running back towards the castle. Instead, Snape started walking forward again. James grabbed him by the shoulder and spun Snape around just in time to introduce the Slytherin to his clenched fist.

After he knocked Snape out, James cursed vehemently for several minutes, venting his frustration physically against the damp walls of the tunnel. When he calmed down, he drew out his wand, levitating the unconscious boy into the air and magically dragging him out of the passageway.

Of all the people he'd wanted to save from imminent danger that night, the only one he'd been successful with was the one who would never give a damn about it.

Fate, James thought ruefully as he headed back to the hospital wing, is not without a sense of humour.

Title: Arrival Unexpected (10/10)
Author name: Molly Moon
Author email: psycha@chartermi.net
Category: Romance
Sub Category: Mystery
Keywords: Lily James Remus Sirius Peter
Rating: R
Spoilers: SS/PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, FB, QTTA
Summary: Normal life (such as it is) returns to Hogwarts and the approaching Yule Ball answers more questions for our readers than a crystal ball. The End (Well, what did you expect, I ran out of ABBA song titles.)
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author notes: Please be aware that in a mad fit of giggles I nicked a line from Mulder of Xfiles. Also, all claims to 'making purple' are courtesy of the twisted minds of the Andies (Andrea & Andrew).
Thanks to Krit, Jen and my darling husband for all their loff and support during this process. It was a lot of fun -- Must be time for a sequel!
Many thanks as well to all of those that reviewed - Reviews are what keep us all going!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You're a teaser, you turn 'em on
Leave 'em burning and then you're gone
Looking out for another
Anyone will do
You're in the mood for a dance
And when you get the chance

You are the dancing queen
Young and sweet
Only seventeen
Dancing queen

"Dancing Queen", ABBA

As Sirius Black slumped into the chair, the wide, almost jovial grin never left his face. Had any of his friends been in his current position--seated across from a very stern looking Professor McGonagall--they would have fallen into contriteness, apologizing over and over for what the Professor´s green eyes silently accused.

Sirius Black had been in Minerva McGonagall´s office before, though (in fact, too many times to count). He never bothered to deny what she accused him of anymore; it would insult her intelligence; and despite actions to the contrary, he really did admire and respect her.

It was just a sad fact of life that little things like `rules´ and `regulations´ got in the way of what could have been a truly good friendship.

Sirius, propping his ankle over his knee, looked so relaxed in his repose that Professor McGonagall had to restrain a smirk. No--Sirius Black wouldn´t bother with lying to her. He would stick to what he was good at.

It so happened that Sirius Black was something of a genius at Transfiguration--the very subject that Minerva taught at Hogwarts. It didn´t matter if it was tadpoles into teaspoons or llamas into lawn furniture, if the boy could picture it in his mind, he could do it.

And Sirius Black was known for his... vivid imagination.

Professor McGonagall leaned forward, placing her elbows on her desk and her chin atop her intertwined fingers. She heard her own words echoing back at her from one of her lessons: Transfiguration is the art of taking one thing and changing it into another.

And that is what he would do; that is what he was good at. He would take her accusation and turn it into a justifiable action.

If the boy had been a Muggle, he would have made a damn fine barrister, she thought ruefully.

The simple solution was, of course, not to let the boy to talk while she lectured him and punished him. Trying to keep Sirius Black quiet however was more difficult than trying to get Argus Filch to wish the students a `Happy Christmas´. The young man sitting before her was beyond verbose--he was positively bursting with things to say every waking second.

She didn´t want to hear it. Not really. If she did, she would relent, and then he wouldn´t learn anything from it. On more occasions than she cared to admit, Sirius Black had talked her down from (or at least verbally reduced) punishment.

She sighed heavily and his smile seemed to get wider. Trying to steal herself against the coming onslaught of banter, she told herself that he was already thinking that he was going to get out of this. McGonagall told herself to be strong--She was the head of his house after all. She had to lay down the law.

"You know why you are here, Sirius?" she asked tentatively. The handsome boy nodded amiably, almost encouraging her to continue. "Ignoring the fact that you, Lily and James were all out of your House against orders on Sunday night, you are here in fact to be punished for endangering a fellow student."

Sirius nodded again, his eyes clear and bright.

McGonagall´s mouth twitched slightly. "You told Severus Snape where Remus Lupin is... kept every month. You sent the poor boy into the proverbial lion´s den!" Her voice grew louder, sounding more like the ominous Transfiguration teacher that so many students feared. "He could have been killed, or worse--bitten by Mr. Lupin!"

Sirius Black continued to smile in silence, never letting his gaze fall from the professor´s face.

"Do you deny it?" she asked, dreading the response.

Sirius Black though, remained silent, consigning himself to a small headshake of negation. The smile stayed firmly in place.

McGonagall pounded her fist against her desk in frustration. "But why, Sirius? Surely you must have a reason for it."

In lieu of response, Sirius Black merely shrugged and kept smiling. He ran a very nonchalant hand through his hair as he waited for her to continue.

Her nostrils flared slightly. She wasn´t quite sure how to proceed at this point. This was not the Sirius Black that she was used to dealing with at all. They regarded each other for a few moments across the expansive desk. And then, finally it happened.

Professor McGonagall blinked.

"If you have nothing to say for yourself, then I have no choice but to sentence you to two months of detention. You will report to Argus Filch each night after dinner and work with him for two hours every evening, and four hours each day of the weekend." She picked up the piece of parchment in front of her--the form that she needed to fill out in order to cement his disciplinary action--and then picked up her quill. "Your parents will of course, be told of your actions."

Sirius Black stood up, still smiling and nodded. "Is that all then, Professor McGonagall? May I be excused?"

"Excused to where?" she asked quizzically. This was really much too easy.

"The Infirmary. James and I are taking turns sitting with Lily." Sirius moved toward the door and then stopped. "If you want though, I can wait till you are done filling that out, and I can take it to Filch for you. I realize with all the Ministry officials still snooping around for information about Hawthorn that you are quite busy right now."

"Yes, that would be fine." She picked the quill up again and held it over the page, poised to fill it out. Something stopped her, though. His behavior was so... unnerving. Before she could stop herself, she began to speak again. "Sirius, I´ve just condemned you to two months of evenings with Mr. Filch, a man that no student--and as I remember you in particular--hold no love for. And you don´t have anything to say about it?"

Sirius smiled at her again, regarding her with something that was almost akin to compassion. "Nothing at all to say, Professor. The punishment is really quite lenient, considering what I´ve done."

She set the quill back down. There must be something wrong with the boy. She should take him to the Infirmary immediately. "Lenient, Sirius? Are you suggesting that I should increase the duration of your detentions?"

Sirius scoffed. "Of course not! I was just saying that considering all that happened that night, I feel that I´ve gotten a fair hand in all of this--Lily is alive. Peter and the others are reasonably safe now, and Voldemort no longer has anyone working for him on the staff." He looked down at the floor for a moment. "I deserve to be punished for what happened between me and Snape. It really was a reckless act, and an inexcusable breech of trust."

He raised his eyes back up to meet hers slowly. For the first time it seemed, she saw how tired the boy looked. How much all that had happened had really affected him as a person... and perhaps, just perhaps--looking back at her with his pale eyes--she thought she saw a glimmer of the man he would become: A man that would make any mother proud.

"It was a difficult night for us all, Sirius." Her eyes softened slightly. "Don´t be so hard on yourself."

"But I have to be Professor!" he protested, moving back towards her desk. "I mean, not only could Snape have been hurt, but think what it would have done to Remus! Knowing that he had hurt someone while he was a wolf... it would have just killed him." He drew in a long deep breath, and lowered his head again.

The quill dropped out of her hand. "Now, Sirius... Really... I was there when Severus brought Lily in. The sight of her bloodied up as she was would have unnerved anyone, let alone for one of her close friends to see her like that--so soon after seeing her fall from the Astronomy Tower..."

Sirius shook his head. "That´s no excuse, Professor, and you know it as well as I do. As horrible as it was thinking that Lily might be dead, and then seeing how badly she was hurt, there is no reason that I should have lost control and let Snape get to me the way he did."

"Let Snape get to you?" she asked. "What did he say?"

Sirius waved it off. "It was nothing really. He was just trying to rile me up--saying things about Remus being a werewolf and how Remus had hurt Lily..." He shrugged slightly and shuffled his feet. "Normal Snape stuff. I should be stronger than that. It was just with everything that happened... well, you know."

She did know. She had had Severus in her office just a few hours before, hearing his side of the tale. James Potter had been in the previous night to recount the events as well. There was no denying that the Snape boy could be... annoying. And he certainly knew how to push both James and Sirius´ buttons. To think that he had done so on Sunday night, in light of all that had happened...

Professor McGonagall picked the quill up again. "Sirius, I think that one month of detentions will be more than sufficient actually."

Sirius placed his hand over the parchment before she could begin to write. "No ma´am. I insist that you give me the two months that you originally had planned. I deserve it for what I´ve done, and what I nearly did." He turned his face away from hers. "When I think about what could have happened..."

A small tear rose in Minerva McGonagall´s eye. This was a side of Sirius Black that she had never seen before. The boy was finally growing up. To see such concern for his friends and such remorse over his actions... well, there really wasn´t much else she could do was there?

She brushed his hand away and filled out the detention form at top speed. Signing it with a flourish she handed it to him. And without ever looking at it, Sirius took it from her, folded it in half and stuffed it into the pocket of his robes.

"I´ll take this down to Filch right away." He moved to the door. "Will I see you in the Infirmary later, Professor? Lily is still unconscious of course, but regardless of Madam Pomfrey says, I think that she knows that we´re there."

Professor McGonagall nodded, rubbing a finger across her eyelid and muttering something about how dusty the office was.

As soon as he closed her office door behind him, Sirius took out the parchment and read it over with a very satisfied grin on his face.

Two weeks of detentions with Filch.

As he meandered down to the caretaker´s office, Sirius couldn´t help thinking that it was easier than turning a bumblebee into a bottle-opener.

* * *

When Remus returned to Gryffindor Tower late Tuesday afternoon, there was no welcoming committee waiting for him. Not that he expected one; classes were still going on--James, Sirius and Lily wouldn´t be back for another hour or so. He climbed the stairs to the room that he shared with the other sixth year boys and opened the door. His bed stood against the far wall, calling to him.

He ached for a mid-afternoon nap. His muscles and bones were still sore; the lingering pain reminded him of his transformation. He mentally winced as traces of the wolf´s memory seeped into his consciousness. The beast had been particularly enraged this time, as if something had been dangled in front of it only to be torn away.

Remus crossed the room and sat on his bed. He struggled with the wish that the memories were more coherent. In some ways, it would help him--let him understand things from the wolf´s perspective. In others, it terrified him. What if he woke up one day remembering a savage attack on a child?

He shuddered, repulsed by the thought. The logical part of his mind reminded himself that he was at Hogwarts, and that Dumbledore had taken many, many precautions to prevent that ever happening while Remus was under his care. As he rubbed a hand over the rough stubble on his cheek, the guilty acknowledgement came to him that he threw those precautions to the wind each time he and the other boys broke out of the Shrieking Shack in their animal forms.

And the internal debate began anew.

The midnight adventures during the full moon would have to stop. It was simply too dangerous. Ah yes, but weren´t Sirius´ dog and James´ stag strong enough to control the wolf? Didn´t his friends always keep him from harm?

Remus threw himself backwards into the velvety abyss of his coverlet. Absently, he put a pillow over his head as he had done as a child, hoping that if he couldn´t see what was coming then it couldn´t see him either. Truth, unfortunately, does not follow the same rules of engagement as childhood monsters.

This was the last time.

He wouldn´t leave the shack anymore after this. He would do the right thing and tell the other boys that it was just too dangerous. He would never leave the sanctuary of the Shrieking Shack during the full moon again.

Yeah.

Right.

Deciding to set the debate aside until next month, Remus reached over the edge of his bed and stuck his hand under his mattress. Over the years, he had worked out a system with the other boys. If there were something that they needed him to know as soon as he returned to Hogwarts, they would leave a letter for him under his mattress. It was a good system; the only flaw in it appeared in fourth year, when nearly all the boys had started keeping magazines of a more adult nature under their mattresses. When Remus had mentioned his fear that someone would find one of his notes while trying to find the latest edition of "Naked Nymphs of Norway", Sirius had smiled and said that he had a way to take care of the problem.

Sirius´ solution had been a bitter tasting cure. He borrowed a copy of "Stark-Naked Sorcerers" from his girlfriend at the time and left it under Remus´ mattress. As feared, someone did go looking for midnight reading material. What they found kept them from ever looking under Remus´ mattress again.

As his hand probed now though, he found nothing. No wrinkled magazine of any sexual preference and no note. Perhaps his fears were wrong; maybe nothing of interest had happened during this full moon.

If only he could remember...

The need to sleep won out as he searched his brain for any hint of cause at the wolf´s distress. Eventually, a rough hand shook him awake and tore away the pillow that covered his head. Standing over him was the irrepressible Sirius Black, grinning like a madman.

"C´mon," he whispered, jerking his head back towards the hallway. "James is down in his room waiting for us. We have a lot to catch up on."

Remus stood up slowly. "There was no note waiting for me."

Sirius shrugged. "Too much to write and not enough time to right it. It´s better if you hear it all straight from us anyway. Trust me on this, it was one hell of a weekend."

Silent alarms went off in Remus´ brain. "Is Lily down there too?"

Sirius Black stopped mid-stride. "Lily´s in the Infirmary." Remus´ heart sank in his chest. "She´s been unconscious since Sunday night, but Pomfrey insists that she´ll be just fine as soon as she wakes up. It´s a good thing Lily is so hardheaded."

Remus grasped Sirius´ shoulder tightly, panic coursing through his brain as he recalled his wolfish rage. "Was it... was it me? Did I?" His words were almost in audible.

The color drained from Sirius´ face as their eyes met. "It wasn´t you, Moony. Come down to James´ room and we´ll tell you everything that happened."

They walked in silence the rest of the way, each consumed by their own thoughts. Remus didn´t know what had happened yet, but he had the distinct impression that Sirius wasn´t telling him something--that there was something that Sirius didn´t want to admit.

As they crossed the threshold into James´ room, Remus felt relief wash over him. James looked tired, but the open honesty of his face was unblemished for whatever had occurred during the days of the full moon. James would certainly tell him everything that happened, even if Sirius couldn´t do it himself.

Remus pulled a chair away from the fireplace and sat down across from the boys, who had seated themselves on the edge of James´ bed. The dark haired wizards exchanged a look; Sirius nodded to James, indicating that he should begin the tale.

Remus listened raptly as it unfolded--the discovery of the Staff of Merlin, Hawthorn´s attack in the Kitchens, Lily´s flight, and the fiery demise of the Potions Professor once her Master sensed her failure when Lily destroyed the Staff. Hardest of all was to hear of Lily´s fall from the Astronomy Tower; Remus had to remind himself that she was okay. Sirius had said she was in the Infirmary, unconscious but whole and hale otherwise.

Sirius jumped in at this point, explaining in great detail what had happened the next morning--how the Ministry officials had practically taken over Hogwarts while they searched for clues to Hawthorn´s betrayal. The post-mortem was still going on, many of the staff still enduring the endless questions of the Aurors.

"Why did Hawthorn turn?" Remus asked finally.

James gave his room a long look, as if he was afraid of prying ears. "Dumbledore told us last night that they found some things in her rooms to indicate that she was coerced into working for Voldemort."

"Coerced? How?" Unlike many of his fellow students, Remus was never one to exchange gossip about his professors, feeling that since they honored the secret about his `private´ life, he should honor theirs. He had no idea what could possibly be a powerful enough lure to bring a Hogwarts´ professor over to the dark side.

"About a decade ago," explained Sirius, "her husband and young daughter disappeared while visiting relatives in Greece. At the time, it was widely assumed that Mr. Hawthorn had just run off with the sproglet. Quicker way to end the marriage than a messy divorce."

James nodded. "Albus said it just wrecked Hawthorn. She even took a term off to search for them. About three years later, Muggle police in the area found the remains of her husband in a cave on the seashore. After that, it was presumed that Hawthorn´s daughter and husband had died at sea, while out for a summer cruise. There was no evidence to indicate that magic was involved in his death."

"But they never found the body of the daughter, either. Not even so much as a discarded rattle on the beach ever washed up." Sirius gave a small shrug and looked at James again, waiting for him to finish the story.

"Anyway, Albus told us that the Aurors found journal entries from Hawthorn indicating that she believed Voldemort had been holding her daughter this whole time." James leaned forward, his voice almost a whisper now. "She was willing to do whatever he asked to get her daughter back."

Remus shook his head in disbelief. "I had no idea that Voldemort possessed so much patience... Imagine him holding that poor child this whole time, just waiting for the right moment to use her as bait for the mother."

James shook his head. "Albus doesn´t think so. He thinks that Voldemort just used it as a way of getting to Hawthorn. Like I said before, no trace of magic was involved in Mr. Hawthorn´s death. Whatever else he is, Voldemort is an egomaniac and a Muggle-hater. He would have used magic to kill and not any other means to dispose of the Hawthorns."

Remus nodded solemnly, as the weight of this information settled on him. "So she was just chasing a dream? She betrayed what she believed in for nothing?"

James nodded, his hand playing with his father´s watch on his wrist. "What wouldn´t a parent do, to protect their child?"

The words hung in the air for while. Remus recalled almost painfully all the years that his own parents had searched in vain for a cure, any cure for their beloved son. In the back of his own mind, a question nagged: What wouldn´t he, Remus Lupin, do even now for that elusive cure?

No, he told himself. Never that. It would never be worth it. He couldn´t live with that price.

There was a funny look on James´ face as he stared at Sirius. He appeared to be waiting for something. There was still more of the story to hear, apparently.

Finally, after another few minutes of silence, Remus spoke up. "So how did Lily survive the fall from the Astronomy Tower? What happened?"

"Well," James said after staring at Sirius for a long moment. "She bounced when she hit the ground. Old instinctual wizard defense, you could say. Snape found her."

"Snape?" Remus asked incredulously. "What was he doing out?"

James continued to stare at Sirius, and finally the other boy began to speak. "Dumbledore wouldn´t let us tell the other Prefects what was really going on. He had James and Lily inform everyone that there was a monster loose on the school grounds." Sirius raised his eyes to Remus´. "Snape assumed since it was the full moon..."

"That it was me," Remus finished, shuddering at the thought. "Still though, what was he thinking? Going out at night with a werewolf on the loose..."

"He wanted to find you and kill you," Sirius said slowly, a cold anger rising in his voice. "McGonagall and I reached the door just as he was bringing Lily in. He thought that you had attacked her." Sirius shifted on the bed uncomfortably. "After McGonagall took Lily from him to bring her to the Infirmary, Snape and I had a little talk..."

Remus sat up very straight. "And just what was said during this little tête-à-tête?"

Sirius looked away.

"Sirius, what did you tell him?"

Sirius let loose a low growl, though Remus had no idea who his anger was directed at. "I told him that you would never hurt Lily, or anyone! I told him that he was a fool!"

"And?" Remus asked, standing up. He knew what was coming, but he had to hear Sirius say it. All the odd looks that James had been shooting Sirius all afternoon were leading to this part of the story. His own faint remembrances of the wolf´s rage at being denied its prey suddenly came into focus. Remus didn´t want to know... but yet, he had to.

"And what happened then?"

Sirius slumped forward slightly. "He wanted to know where you went during the full moon each month. I told him that if he really wanted to know, that he´d have to ask you himself."

Remus clenched his fists together tightly, trying to hold in the rage that was welling up inside of him. "So you told him where to find me."

Sirius nodded.

The copper colored eyes that normally looked so polished now turned dull. With his voice like ice, Remus pressed on. "And it´s safe to presume that Snape was sufficiently angry or stupid enough to listen to you?"

Sirius opened his mouth to speak, but James interrupted him. "I arrived at the Infirmary shortly after Sirius did. He told me what happened with Snape and I was able to catch up to him before anything could happen." James reached out, putting a comforting hand on Lupin´s shoulder. "Nothing happened, Remus. I swear, no one was attacked by a werewolf this weekend."

Without taking his cold eyes off of Sirius Black, Remus addressed his next question to James. "How did you get Snape back to Hogwarts?"

Sirius snorted. "He used a little five finger persuasion." Sirius mimed a punch into his open hand. "The git´s eyes are still swollen shut."

Remus turned his head as he stared at Sirius, until his head was level with his shoulder. "You... fool..."

Sirius waved his friend´s anger away. "No one got hurt, Moony. And Dumbledore has talked with Snape. If he wants to graduate, he´ll not say a word about your monthly excursions. Everything worked out just fine."

With one arm, Remus reached out and pulled Sirius up off the bed. His rage emanated from his whole being, like waves crashing against a shore. He held Sirius aloft, in a rare display of his inhuman strength. "Everything," he said slowly, "is far from fine."

James stood up now, trying to come in between the two boys. "Sirius was an idiot, Remus. But he knows that now..."

Remus shook his head slowly. "No, I don´t think he does. I think that Black´s dangling here wondering what I´m so pissed about. I don´t think he has a bloody clue what he´s really done."

Sirius sighed melodramatically, almost looking bored. "Right then, why don´t one of you explain it to me so I can apologize and we can get this over with."

Quicker than a Cornish Pixie, Remus threw Sirius across the room, slamming the bigger boy into James´ wall. Sirius crumpled on to the floor, looking shocked to find himself there. And there was something more in his pale eyes--a glimmer of fear and understanding.

"Remus, I... I´m sorry. I am!" Sirius said quickly. "It was stupid, I know, but no one was hurt..."

"Wrong Sirius," Remus said curtly. "Someone was very much hurt by what you did Sunday night."

A look of confusion crossed Sirius´ handsome face. "Who?"

With a racked sigh, Remus replied, "I was."

James made his way across the room, and offered a hand to help Sirius up. James was wearing a worried form of his `I-told-you-so´ face.

Remus walked over to James´ window and stared out of it a long time. "I trusted you, Sirius. Not just with the secret of what I am, but each month--every time we venture out I place the well being of the world at large in your hands. You were supposed to keep them safe from me. Instead, you sent someone right into danger, with no regard for their life." He turned and faced a much-chastened looking young wizard. "With no regard for what hurting someone would do to me."

Sirius Black was no longer smiling. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came forth.

Remus strode across the room, towards the door. "I trusted you... I won´t let myself make that mistake again." Turning to James, he continued. "I´m going down to the Infirmary to see Lily, do you want to come?"

James nodded and followed him out the door.

Sirius sat back down on the bed. He´d suspected that Remus would be mad, but not that he´d be this upset about it. Trusting me isn´t a mistake, he thought defensively.

He frowned, unsure of how to proceed at this point. He wasn´t used to being wrong, or to having Remus angry with him. Or to seeing Remus angry at all, come to that.

Maybe he had done the wrong thing.

Maybe there was more truth in what he´d told Professor McGonagall yesterday than he´d suspected.

And maybe, he thought as the first twinge of guilt settled into his stomach, Lily wasn´t the only one with an extraordinarily thick head.

* * *

Remus Lupin pulled a chair up to Lily´s bed. Her cuts had been mended and her broken bones had been reset and already healed. She did not look like someone who had recently done battle with the minion of the most powerful Dark Lord in five hundred years; rather, she resembled something out of a fairy tale--a princess who was peacefully asleep, waiting for the right moment to awaken in the arms of her prince.

James Potter sat in a chair on the opposite side of the bed, gingerly holding her hand. There was a look to him that suggested to Remus that James was ready to audition for the part of said prince.

"Does she know?" Remus asked after watching James for a while more.

James made no attempt at dissembling. "No... and she won´t know either. Somewhere in the midst of all this, she and Sirius made up this weekend."

Remus snorted; the sound reverberated gently off the Infirmary walls. "I think not. I know Lily a bit better than you; she was charmed by him for a while, but trust me, she´s over it now. She´s seen Black for what he really is. And it´s not what she wants."

"You´re just saying that because you´re pissed at him right now." James rolled his eyes slightly. "Sirius isn´t a bad bloke and you know it. He´s just..."

"Arrogant, pigheaded, untrustworthy... Oh yes James, women are just lining up for man with those qualities. There is also a six-month reserve list for staying at Azkaban now too. Having your heart broken by an egomaniac and reliving all the worst moments of your life are so in this season." Remus returned the eye roll, exaggerating it this time. "I´m not saying he´s likely to become a lieutenant to the Dark Lord; I´m saying that Lily is smart enough to eventually see past his pretty face. Whatever else you might say, you have to admit that most things with Sirius Black never delve further than skin deep."

James shook his head. "I wish that you were right, Remus, I really do. But you didn´t see them together this weekend. And there´s something else," James leaned across Lily´s legs to whisper to Remus. "When we were out on Saturday night, I saw Lily out on a walk with Circe."

At the mention of her name, the great black owl hooted amiably from atop its perch on Lily´s headboard. James smiled up at Circe.

"Pomfrey´s letting Circe stay here?" Remus asked, fumbling in his pocket for an owl treat to give the diligent bird.

James chuckled softly to himself. "Pomfrey doesn´t have a choice. A bowl full of mice couldn´t drag Circe away from Lily´s side. Believe me, we tried it." Circe continued her preening, looking back at the boys to give them a distinctive wink.

The boys shared a momentary laugh, stifling it as soon as they saw the light come on in Madam Pomfrey´s office, just a few yards away from them.

"So, what did you and Lily talk about? Did she actually say that she was taking Sirius back?" Remus raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Lily talked actually, I just listened." James put his hands on top of his head, crooking his fingers in imitation of his Animagus form.

"Ah..." Remus nodded knowingly. "She had no idea then?"

James shook his head. "Not a clue... but she was talking about being in love, and how to express it." James gulped, as though the memory of it was painful. "And then, all day Sunday, the way she was with Sirius..."

"But she didn´t actually say it, did she?" asked Remus insistently.

"She almost did, actually. Sirius had gone down to get some food from the Common Room, and she was about to tell me when..." James´ eyes lingered guiltily on Lily´s sleeping face. "When I sort of, uhm, blew up at her. Told her that I knew what she was going to say and that I didn´t want to hear it."

"And what happened then?" Remus handed Circe the treat he found, tickling the owl under her chin affectionately.

"Well, then we had to run off and save the world, you know how it is." James said with a smirk.

"Ah well, yes, it´s always something isn´t it?" replied Remus with a wink of his own.

The chuckling that ensued was cut short by the appearance of a gleeful looking Professor Flitwick. The diminutive Charms teacher came out of the room where the sleeping students were kept and smiled at the sight of James and Remus.

"Oh boys! Most excellent to see you!!" he enthused.

"Good evening, Professor." Said Remus, bowing his head slightly.

James smiled back, hoping against hope that there was finally going to be some good news. "Everything going well, sir? Have you found a way to wake them up yet?"

Without a hint of anything but glee, Professor Flitwick replied, "Absolutely wonderful Mr. Potter - all of the children that were attacked by the cursed vine are now dead!"

* * *

"Really, Filius," McGonagall eyed her colleague sharply. "I do wish you would have chosen your words more wisely." She was kneeling next to James, who had disregarded all manly tenants for how to behave after receiving such news and promptly fainted.

You mean," Remus said slowly, coming out of his own silent state of shock. "You mean they´re not dead?"

Professor Flitwick fidgeted slightly, blushing furiously under his white beard. "Yes and no. I was told that you lads were the ones that had found the Possum Charm, so I assumed that you would understand what I was referring to." He looked guiltily at the prone James. "For all intents and purposes, they are dead--the vines are starting to fall away from their bodies already, and all of our monitoring charms confirm that there are no signs of life. However," a glint of his former happiness crept back into his face. "We have every hope of them waking up. How long was Miss Evans `out´ when she tried the charm on herself?"

"Nearly seven hours," replied Remus after a moment´s calculation.

Flitwick clapped his tiny hands together. "Most excellent! I expect we´ll have the lot up and around by the weekend."

Madam Pomfrey carried a cold compress out from her office and handed it to Professor McGonagall. After reviving James, the professor promptly applied it to his forehead and instructed him to lie down on the bed next to Lily´s.

The nurse eyed Remus suspiciously for a moment. "Feeling alright there, Mr. Lupin?" Remus nodded. "Make sure you get enough sleep tonight; you know how weak you are in the first days after your... ordeal."

Remus nodded again and promised that he would go to bed shortly.

Professors McGonagall and Flitwick began discussing the duration of the Possum Charm again, quite oblivious to Remus´ continued presence at Lily´s bedside. As quietly as he could, Remus stood up and crossed over to the other side of the bed, where James had been sitting. Now seated between his two injured friends, Remus settled in to his chair. Circe fluttered down and landed gently on his shoulder, giving his ear an affectionate nip.

Remus found himself envying his friends once more. As Animagi, Peter, James and Sirius could all communicate with animals on some level--depending on the power of the wizard and the intelligence of the particular beast. As a werewolf though, most animals were repelled by Remus´ presence. Circe was an exception. Remus reminisced briefly about his childhood, recalling the incalculable times his parents had had to refuse his requests for a dog or a cat. In general, animals didn´t trust him. They saw him as something dark--something to run away from.

Thinking about what Sirius had done this weekend, he wondered if perhaps the animals weren´t right.

An agonized scream shattered the peace of the Infirmary. The Professors spun around immediately, searching for the source of it. Madam Pomfrey lunged out of her office and eyed Remus.

Remus shook his head. "It wasn´t me; it came from in there." Remus extended a long finger and pointed to the door that held the sleeping students.

Drawing out their wands, the adults advanced on the door. Remus stood up and stayed a few steps behind them. Madam Pomfrey opened the door and gasped at what she saw.

Lying on the floor was Honora Munroe, with tears streaming down her face. At the sight of the wand-wielding adults, she let loose another scream that sent James springing out of his bed.

"Get away from me!" the girl howled as Madam Pomfrey advanced on her. Honora´s eyes darted around, taking in the hanging forms of her sister and Peter. "I won´t let you hurt me anymore! Just kill me this time!"

"Honora," cooed Madam Pomfrey. "You´re alright now. You´re safe."

The terrified girl scooted herself across the floor, putting as much distance between herself and the approaching nurse as she could. "No! Don´t come near me!" Her words echoed off of the walls of the stark room, something that seemed to scare her as much as the presence of all these strangers. She looked up at her sister, Justice for a long moment. Tears streaming down her face, her voice changed. "Fine.... Fine then... do what you will to me, but please, please let Justice go! She´s a good person! Don´t you dare hurt her!"

Madam Pomfrey put her arms around the girl, and against her will Honora submitted to the nurse´s comfort. Professor Flitwick stepped further into the room as McGonagall exited, closing the door behind her.

With one hand on her hip and the other pointing to the doors of the Infirmary, McGonagall got her point across. Remus and James made a quick exit.

Once the doors were shut behind them, Remus turned to James. "What do you make of that?"

James shook his head sorrowfully. "I´m not sure... She could have just been confused."

"But it sounded like..." As his words trailed off, Remus sighed deeply.

"I know," whispered James. "It sounded like she´d just woken up from the world´s worst nightmare."

* * *

Sirius sat across from James in the Common Room on Wednesday evening, playing a game of wizard´s chess. He wasn´t trying very hard to win; he was still feeling pangs of guilt about his actions that weekend. And something else was nagging his mind... He realized that he had yet to tell James about his last conversation with Lily on Saturday night. You remember, a mocking voice whispered to him, the one where you were standing about in her knickers and she dumped your arse for good?

As a further bruise to his ego, Remus still wasn´t speaking to him. Well, not really. James had apparently had a few words with Lupin and he was at least tolerating Sirius´ presence now. Their verbal exchanges left much to be desired though--Remus limited his interaction with Sirius to what was only needful: telling him to pass the salt, confirming an assignment for Transfiguration and every once in a while asking him if he wouldn´t mind just shutting the bloody hell up.

The relationship could definitely be classified as strained.

After the loss of a very terrified queen ("You can´t let them take me! You don´t know what those barbarians will do to a lady of gentle breeding!"), Sirius felt ready to broach the subject of Lily and his own embarrassment with James. He opened his mouth only to close it immediately as Professor McGonagall entered the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Black, Potter--Pettigrew has just woken up. He´s asking to see you and Lupin." The Deputy Headmistress hadn´t looked this happy since Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup last spring.

The boys stood up, and James ran up to retrieve Remus from his nap. They followed McGonagall back to the Infirmary, anxious to see and speak with Peter about all that had happened in his absence.

Whatever greetings they had planned for Peter, they soon found themselves trapped into silence at the sight of him. He was sitting up in a bed a few yards away from Lily; his eyes were shrunken back into his head, giving him a hollow, almost starved look. His cheeks were puffy from recently cried tears. He was wrenching his hands in a panicked gesture as he stared out the Infirmary window into the waning moonlight. He turned his head as they approached the bed; his mop of blond hair fluttered with the movement, and the boys noticed that each time he moved, several strands of it fell out.

Peter´s voice squeaked as he spoke, adding to the picture of a young man that has just been through weeks of torture, rather than sleep. "James! Sirius! Remus! Merlin´s beard, thank goodness you´re here!"

Sirius sat on the edge of Peter´s bed while James and Remus brought chairs over to sit on the side of it. Sirius reached over to the bedside table and filled a glass of water for Peter. Peter took it gratefully, drinking it down in three solid gulps.

"Are--are you alright Peter?" Remus asked anxiously.

Peter shook his head. "I don´t know... I´m still waiting to find out if this is real."

Sirius wrinkled his nose. "What do you mean `if this is real´?"

Peter swallowed a breath of air, turning his eyes down at the blanket that covered him. "They tell me that it was all a dream," he said meekly, nodding towards Madam Pomfrey´s office. "But it was so real. And it never stopped, the whole time--the whole time I was asleep."

"What was real, Peter?" James held his breath, dreading the answer.

"The fear, the attacks, the--" Peter stifled a cry. "The pain, James. Everything I´ve ever been afraid of, since I was a child was there to terrorize me... Vampires wanting to suck me dry; Lethifolds coming to eat my very soul; screaming Banshees and toothless Hags standing over me with knives, trying to decide which parts of me would be the best for a gumbo! And He was there too! You-Know-Who... "

Remus´ eyebrows shot into his hairline. "Voldemort was in your dreams?"

"It wasn´t a dream!" Peter hissed. "It couldn´t have been. It was too real... so many horrors..." The blond boy put his face in his hands, sobbing violently. "He wants something from me... I couldn´t stop him--I couldn´t..."

Sirius reached out an arm, patting Peter´s back gently, but no sooner than his hand made contact than Peter recoiled, screaming as if Sirius had hurt him. Madam Pomfrey lurched into the room, glaring at Remus, James and Sirius for disturbing her delicate patient. The boys backed off ready to exit the Infirmary before Madam Pomfrey could start yelling at them, but their escape was blocked by another wretched scream from Peter.

"No! Don´t let them leave! I won´t stay here alone!" the boy cried as the nurse sought to restrain him.

James took a step forward, but Sirius put a hand on his arm. "I´ll stay tonight," he said somberly. Turning to Peter, Sirius repeated his words, as if swearing an oath. "I´ll stay with you, Peter. I´ll protect you. Voldemort will never hurt you again."

Peter collapsed back against the bed with another sob, but had stopped shaking. James and Remus continued to leave the hospital wing, catching a faint echo of what Peter said next:

"Promise me, Sirius... You´re so much stronger than I am... Promise me you´ll keep Him away from me..."

* * *

Sirius was full of more useful information the next morning than the latest edition of the Daily Prophet. He looked like he hadn´t slept at all as he joined Remus and James at the Gryffindor table for breakfast. He seemed to be making up for his lack of sleep with a fullness of appetite.

"Pomfrey gave him a sedative after you left, but it didn´t work--he kept twitching and crying about the pain. Apparently in his dreams they focused on torturing his hands and feet, because he insisted that they hurt. Finally, after swearing that Voldemort was on his way to Hogwarts to attack him again, she force-fed him a potion for dreamless sleep." Sirius glanced around, to make sure that no one else was listening. "But before he fell asleep, he made me swear that I´d kill him before letting Voldemort take him again... Can you imagine?"

James shook his head gravely. "God, I feel so awful. I can´t believe he had to go through that alone."

"It wasn´t real, James." Remus tried to be the voice of reason, ignoring the guilt that he too felt. "And Peter will realize this soon. He just needs time to heal. It´s not our fault."

"I know, but..." James shook his head. He pushed his half-eaten omelette around his plate. Finally, he looked back up at Sirius. "Did anything happen after that?"

"Not to Peter." Sirius leaned further across the table, swearing as he put his elbow into a dish of butter. "Justice woke up around four am, screaming just like Honora and Peter had been. And a few owls arrived from the Ministry hospital announcing that other children had awakened."

"Good gods," whispered Remus. "Did they all have nightmares like Peter and Honora?"

Sirius nodded solemnly. "But Pomfrey thinks that the best way to snap them out of it is to set them back into normal life as soon as possible. Unless he hurts himself again, Peter is going to be released by dinner tonight."

"Hurts himself?" asked James incredulously.

Sirius fidgeted slightly. "He kept biting at his wrists last night. Broke the skin a few times. Like a wild animal in a trap, ready to gnaw off his own hand to get free of what was holding him." James and Remus exchanged a dark, worried look. "Pomfrey will be giving Remus and I a batch of that dreamless sleep potion, to administer to Peter before bed each night for a few days. She insists that there is nothing more she can do for him."

"Well, it´s up to us to bring him back around." James replied, taking up the challenge. "We´ll have to think of things we can do to distract him."

They all nodded, and James reached out for his glass of pumpkin juice. Just as he tipped the glass to take a drink, Sirius spoke again.

"Lily started talking in her sleep last night too." He said with a small smile as James poured the juice over his chin and onto his robes. "Pomfrey says that´s a good sign. She´ll wake up anytime now."

James grabbed a napkin and began to mop himself up. "Will they let us know right away?"

Sirius nodded. "Madam Pomfrey was in a state all night, so I didn´t bother asking her. But Circe and I had a little talk. She´ll fly out and find one of us when it happens."

Their conversation ended there, since they were soon surrounded by a batch of well-wishers for Peter.

As James left to change his soiled robes, he noticed that Sirius was surrounded by a gaggle of girls. He mentally recoiled from the sight, wondering how Sirius could sit there and flirt when Lily--Sirius´ girlfriend, he reminded himself painfully--was still unconscious in the hospital wing. He hoped that Lily knew what she had gotten herself into with Sirius Black. And he hoped that she wouldn´t wake up to a broken heart.

* * *

"Oy! Potter, are you listening to me?" Sirius glared suspiciously at his dark haired companion, who was staring off into space.

James snapped his head over to where Sirius sat at his desk. The three boys were in James´ room, working on homework after classes that day. "Uhm, yes..." James wrinkled his mouth, trying to remember what Sirius had been talking about. Nothing came to mind. "Could you repeat that though?"

"The Yule Ball, you git." Sirius said without malice.

James remembered now. He had allowed himself to drift off because he had no real desire to hear Sirius expound on his plans for that night. That night that he was sure to be spending with Lily. Lily... James´ mind started to wander again as he thought of her, wishing that there were someway that this wasn´t real. That she wasn´t with Sirius and that she was instead with James. It was time to let go of dreams though, he thought with a pang.

"What about it?" he asked, trying to sound casual.

"Moira Jansen or Godiva Filanthropos." Sirius said simply.

Confusion swept over James´ face. He could only manage a monosyllabic reply. "Huh?"

"They both asked me today... Which one should I take?" Sirius was wearing his normal self-satisfied smirk again. "I could wait for more options, I suppose. My newly acquired status as `hero´ seems to have perked the interests of much of the female population." He shrugged, as if this was to be expected. "Didn´t think Jansen would ever speak to me after last year, you remember, the incident in the Greenhouses? She has a wonderfully gorgeous... temper. But then, if I take Godiva, well... She´s a bit of a sure thing."

James stared at him, mouth agape.

"What?" asked Sirius.

"What about Lily?" James continued to stare.

"What about her?" Sirius glanced at Remus, who seemed to be enjoying the spectacle. Looking back at James, Sirius snorted. "You didn´t think I was going to go with her, did you?"

James leapt off the bed, diving at Sirius. Remus jumped up and caught him by the arms, holding him back. James was seething. "How can you treat her like that? She deserves better than you!"

Sirius was the confused one now. "What are you on about?" He stared at James, who was still struggling to break free of Remus. "Lily chucked me the night before Hawthorn´s attack, you sodding idiot."

James relaxed, but Remus held him still. "She what?"

Sirius bristled slightly, not wanting to recount the slight to his ego. "Broke up with me, if that´s the right way of putting it. Told me I didn´t have a chance in hell with her. You mean, all this time you really thought..."

James crumpled to the floor, nodding at Sirius. The memory of his `conversation´ with Lily while he was in stag form replayed in his mind, if she wasn´t talking about Sirius then... James´ face broke out into a smile, as if someone had just cast a hundred Cheering Charms on him. He felt as if Father Christmas had arrived early, as if everything was finally right in the world. It was better than winning the Quidditch Cup, better than scoring against Snape (and a much prettier mental image as well).

All around the room, things began to float into the air. Quills, parchment, and books - anything that wasn´t nailed to the floor was hovering jauntily several inches above where it should have been. James seemed oblivious to this, and continued to grin like a village idiot.

Sirius laughed uproariously.

Remus smirked. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, Mr. Potter. Not up to your usual standards at all, academically or intuitively." He walked over and offered James a hand up, nodding at the clock that Sirius was trying to wrestle back into its proper spot on the wall. "It´s nearly dinner time, we have to go get Peter from the Infirmary."

Remus patted James on the back. James was practically glowing, but then--then he remembered the words he had said to Lily Sunday afternoon in his room, right before Snape had floo´d them for information. The smile faded slightly and all the objects crashed back into their proper places in his room. He just had to explain to her that it was all a misunderstanding...

Remus and Sirius exchanged a questioning look, but followed James as he hurriedly left his room.

Sirius continued to ponder the Yule Ball as they walked to the hospital wing. "Really though, Godiva or Moira?"

Remus snorted sarcastically. "Why not just take them both, oh Dionysus of Gryffindor Tower?"

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "You think they´d go for that?"

Remus shrugged. "You have two arms, one for each girl."

"Yeah," began Sirius. "But I only have one--"

Remus cuffed him hard on the back of his head and sighed. "Let´s try to keep the blood flowing to the brain above your shoulders tonight, shall we?" Under his breath he added, "Should have let James pummel you..."

Sirius rubbed the back of his head, and then in a perfect imitation of Remus muttered, "Nothing is ever easy..."

* * *

"You what?!?" asked James, voice full of shock.

"I want to finish the map," Peter repeated for the third time. It took all the willpower he possessed to keep his voice from shaking. "Tonight."

"But why, Peter?" asked Remus in a patient voice. "After all you´ve been through..."

"It´s because of what I´ve been through!" Peter slammed his fist emphatically on James´ desk. The other three boys jumped slightly, surprised at Peter´s passion. Peter took a deep breath, willing the fear away from his eyes, attempting to control his thoughts. If he could just explain it, they would understand.

He remembered how his mum used to say `If you act like a duck, you´ll get treated like one.´ Well, Peter Pettigrew wasn´t acting like a duck at all, but he didn´t want to act or sound as scared as he really was - otherwise his friends were likely to approach him as cautiously as they would an unicorn. "Look, the spells will tell us who is in the castle and where, regardless of any kind of spell or potion the person uses to disguise themselves, right? This way, I can know if He´s coming for me."

Sirius put a comforting hand on Peter´s shoulder; the smaller boy flinched. "Peter, this is Hogwarts. You´re in Gryffindor Tower. It was all a dream; you´re safe here with us."

"Am I?" Peter stared wide-eyed at each of them in turn. "I wasn´t safe from his servant, Hawthorn, when she wanted to attack me. I was upstairs in my bed." He clenched his fist tightly. He needed to maintain control; this was getting out of hand. Unbidden though, the next words came out like an accusation: "No one could save me then."

"But Peter, you were never attacked by Voldemort. He didn´t torture you. It was just a dream." Remus whispered.

"Was it?" snarled Peter, taking a step towards Lupin. He had to stare up to meet the taller boy´s eyes. "A dream that the Munroe girls happened to have too?" He looked at James and Sirius. Peter knew he had crossed the line now, knew that they all thought he was being irrational. Fine, he thought, let them--not much is rational anymore. "I know all about it. I heard Justice this morning; she was still crying when my potion wore off. It may not have been real in this world, but believe me it was real for those of us that lived it."

There was a long moment of silence after that. James stepped forward resolve filling his eyes and voice. "We´ll do it, Peter. Right now. Tonight."

Peter´s heart slowed slightly. It was still pounding hard against his chest, but it no longer felt as if it were about to explode like a Filibuster Firework. What had Madam Pomfrey said to him as he´d left the Infirmary? `Take it one day at a time dear...´

One day, Peter thought sardonically. I´d settle for one hour of peace right now.

Peter shoved his hands into the pockets of his robes. He knew that they were twitching again. He didn´t want the other boys to see it. He leaned up against the wall next to James´ desk as the other three set to work gathering the supplies needed to complete the map. Remus sat a small pewter cauldron in the center of the floor, casting a small charm beneath it to heat the potion. Sirius went over to James´ trunk and dug out several rolls of blank parchment while James casually flipped through the books he´d been hiding underneath his bed.

Peter was only half listening as Remus explained that instead of one person casting the main spell - the counter curse to the Chastity Charm - that James had reconfigured it to be a four-part charm. Each of them would recite a piece of it, in unison, to complete the puzzle. This, Remus assured Peter, would prevent any repeats of the spell as it had rebounded on Sirius.

Peter allowed himself a small chuckle, remembering how the spell had `punished´ Sirius for his indiscretions. Never one to allow for idleness, Remus set Peter to work on measuring out the size of the would-be map, explaining in boring detail that the laws of Arithmancy dictated that it must be a certain shape and size to keep it from aging and eventually disintegrating as normal paper would. Peter did as he was told, careful to shield his shaking hands from view as much as possible while the others went on about their business.

Behind him, he could hear James and Sirius bickering and laughing. It was a relief to see them back on an even keel. Whatever had been up in the air regarding the affections of a certain redhead seemed to be settled for now. Lily was a nice enough girl, he reminded himself gently, but she wasn´t worth losing one of your best mates over.

James gave a meaningful cough and all eyes focused on him. "Right then. We´ll do the four-part charm to set the map up to see people, and then we´ll use the potion to seal the map from others."

"Sounds simple enough," replied Sirius with one of his classic smirks.

"Not by half," interjected Remus with an impatient sigh. "If we manage to get the four-part charm off before dawn, I´ll be surprised. We have to say four different sets of words in rhythm with each other without falling out of sync or saying the wrong word. That requires each of us to devote a lot of focus." Remus glared slightly at Sirius during the last sentence, as if to say that the handsome black haired boy lacked any sort of focus at all.

Sirius ignored it and turned his grin to Peter. "Have you put your bit into the potion yet?"

"My bit?" asked Peter rather skeptically.

"Just a hair from the top of your head," James said reassuringly.

"Here," Remus walked over to him. "You best let me pull it out, we need to make sure the follicle is attached for the potion to work." Remus hovered his hand over Peter´s head and once Peter gave him the nod, Remus plucked out a thin blond hair with a sharp tug.

"Can I do the honors?" Peter asked, offering up his own shaking hand. Remus set the hair into his palm gently, averting his eyes from Peter´s trembling as soon as the hair made contact.

Doing his best to muster up a flourish, he threw the hair into the cauldron. The potion changed color immediately, from a soft blue to a glowing orange.

James leaned over the cauldron to get a better look. With a loud burp, a bubble of the potion exploded into his face, covering his glasses with sticky orange goo.

Sirius and Peter howled with laughter, while Remus offered James a towel.

"Don´t worry James, it´s supposed to do that." Remus said with a small smile.

"Funny," James replied as he wiped the last of the goo away. "I don´t remember you mentioning that at all. Ever."

Remus´ smile was replaced with an expression of serene innocence. "Must have slipped my mind. Terribly sorry old chap." More laughter came from the directions of Peter and Sirius.

"Yeah, I bet." James heaved a sigh and held a goo-covered hand up in the air. "And now the question is: how do I rid my self of this without betraying my normally cool exterior?"

* * *

Sometimes, Remus hated being right. This wasn´t one of them.

It was nearly dawn now, and they had only just completed the four-part charm. Sirius was snoring softly in a nearby corner on a mock-bed of books and discarded parchment. James was carefully brushing the fourth coating of the potion over the map now, with Peter hovering over his shoulder, desperate to get a peek at it.

Whatever demons his young blond friend had brought into the room that night seemed to be banished for the moment. Peter was focused only on the task at hand, and the coming reward.

Several minutes later, Remus´ ear caught James´ almost inaudible whisper:

"It´s done."

Every part of Remus yearned to be upstairs in his own bed, and yet he felt himself moving towards the center of the room and taking his place at Peter´s side. The minor commotion had awakened the sleeping prince, and soon Sirius Black sat between James and Remus, completing the circle.

James nodded at Peter, who drew out his wand with no longer trembling hands. With a solid flick, he connected wand to parchment and said the magic words.

"I, Peter Pettigrew, solemnly swear I am up to no good."

The map seemed to come alive at this pronouncement; swirls of green and black ink appearing from every corner and quickly tracing their ways around the paper. Long corridors and classrooms came into focus and finally (and most interestingly to Remus) the dots representing people appeared.

Remus snorted with laughter. "Who was the creative git that decided that witches should be pink and wizards should be blue?"

"Bit cliché, yes..." Sirius mumbled with a smirk. "But you have to admit that it has an interesting side effect." He pointed towards the part of the map that represented the Astronomy Tower. There were several sets of pink and blue dots as well as a few larger dots that had two names attached to them, but they were a wholly new color.

"My gods..." whispered James. "They´re making purple."

Peter clapped Sirius on the shoulder jovially. "Congratulations, Padfoot. I do believe you´ve invented a whole new innuendo."

"All in a day´s work." Sirius said with mock humbleness. Nodding towards the map, he added. "Wipe it clean, and see how the encryption works."

Peter did just that, saying the words "Mischief managed" with not a small touch of pride.

"Allow me, Master Wormtail." Remus took his wand out of his pocket. The dark cherry wood shimmered as freshly as it had on the day that he purchased it at Mr. Ollivander´s. It was his pride and joy. With an exaggerated flourish he touched the wand to the map. "I, Remus Lupin, resident werewolf terror of Gryffindor Tower demand that you reveal your secrets to me or suffer a very painful death!"

The map set itself into motion once more, but instead of drawing out the castle, words appeared - each sentence a perfect imitation of its `creator´s´ own penmanship.

Mr. Prongs would like this Remus Lupin to know that he is currently shaking in his Quidditch Slippers in fear of Mr. Lupin´s wrath, but must politely tell him to bugger off.

Mr. Wormtail wonders what Mr. Lupin is thinking, and if perhaps it isn´t `that time of the month´...

Mr. Padfoot wishes to express his most sincere apologies to Mr. Lupin, who has a better chance of getting a Vestal Virgin into bed than he does of discovering the secrets of this parchment.

Mr. Moony believes that Mr. Lupin is quite an intelligent and handsome young man, but must agree with his compatriots and deny Mr. Lupin access at this time.

James laughed out loud. "Intelligent and handsome?"

Remus shrugged, blushing slightly. "At least someone thinks I am. Mr. Moony appears to be a person of impeccable taste."

"And Mr. Lupin appears to have a well-hidden chip on his shoulder," added Sirius with a snort. Standing up with a slow stretch, Sirius headed towards the door. "Time to catch a few winks before classes, I think."

Remus nodded and stood up as well. Peter continued to sit next to James, hand out stretched.

"I´d like to keep that with me, for while if you all don´t mind." A hint of his earlier fear had crept back into Peter´s voice.

James nodded and handed him the map.

As they walked out the door, Sirius leaned in to whisper to Peter. "Just don´t peek at it around the witching hour tomorrow night... If Luck is a Lady, I´m planning on making some purple myself!"

* * *

Everything seemed to be filled with burning white light. It hurt to try and focus on anything, so instinctively she closed her eyes. But the light was still leaking through her eyelids, so she grabbed the pillow from behind her head and threw it over her face.

The pillow?

She struggled for several moments trying to figure out where she was--based on the last thing she could remember, falling off the Astronomy Tower.

She couldn´t quite figure out how the pillow had gotten underneath her head. Certainly Filch wasn´t about to start letting students leave pillows lying about the school grounds... And then she realized that as well as pillows under and over her face, there were also blankets on top of the rest of her.

The Infirmary then, Lily thought reasonably. Or perhaps my own room...

She lifted the pillow off her head slowly, but kept her eyes close so she could adjust to the light. After what seemed like an eternity, she managed to open one eye and get a good look at her surroundings.

High ceilings, stark white walls and dozens of hospital beds... Definitely the Infirmary, Lily decided with clarity.

She turned her head to the right and saw that her bed was close to Madam Pomfrey´s office, but that there was no sign of the overprotective school nurse anywhere. In fact, there was no sign of another soul in the Infirmary at all.

"Well, I must not have made a very interesting patient," Lily whispered hoarsely. She noted that her voice was rough, as if it hadn´t been used in sometime. She looked around a bit more, until her eyes landed on a pitcher of water and a glass on the table next to her bed. "Water..."

As she reached for the glass and pitcher though, a most curious thing happened. The pitcher floated up into the air and poured a suitable amount of its contents into the glass. The glass then disappeared with a small pop and reappeared instantly in her outstretched hand. Lily stared at it for a second before eagerly drinking the water.

Must be enchanted, she told herself - even though she couldn´t recall ever seeing such spells allowed in the Infirmary by Madam Pomfrey before.

Once empty, Lily set the glass down on the table. She reached her arms high above her head and stretched like a kitten just waking up from a long nap. Deciding that it was high time to get out of bed, Lily threw the covers off of her legs and swung them over the edge. Just as she planted her feet firmly on the floor she heard a noise behind her that sounded distinctly like someone making a disapproving noise.

"Wouldn´t do that quite yet if I were you Miss Evans," The tall young wizard shook his head as he strode up to her bedside. "Pomfrey is quite particular about her patients staying where she left them."

Lily let out a small squeal of delight. "Remus!" She stood up and tried to rush over to him, but succeeded only in falling most indecorously onto her rump.

Chuckling, Remus bent down and offered her a hand up back on to her bed. "There you are now." He smiled at her, copper eyes twinkling in the sunlight. "Best stay seated for a bit longer, Lil."

The questions finally exploded from Lily like a Hurling Hex. "Where is everyone? Are Sirius and James all right? What about Peter and the Munroe girls? Did Hawthorn--"

Remus was still chuckling as he sat down on the bed next to her and clamped his hand firmly over her mouth. "One thing at a time, Lil. And try to remember to breathe a bit more often."

Lily pried his hand away and shot him a look of mock hurt. She took an exaggerated breath and then pushed it back out, staring at the brown haired boy the whole time. She raised her eyebrows at him then, saying with very clear facial expressions `Well, get on with it.´

"Everyone is fine. Peter, James and Sirius are in Divination right now; otherwise I´m sure they´d be here too. I have a free period today, so Circe came to find me first to tell me of your recovery."

"A free period?" Lily looked confused. "But then, if the rest are in Divination, it must be Friday."

Remus smirked. "Has been since midnight."

Lily cuffed her friend hard on the shoulder. "I´ve been out for a whole week?" Lily shook her head in disbelief. "It´s what--the 26^th of November?"

Remus shook his head. "Actually Lil, its December 3^rd. You´ve been unconscious for nearly two weeks." Lily´s eyes grew wide. "Well, what did you expect, that was quite some fall you took I hear."

Lily paled visibly as she remembered her fall from the Astronomy Tower--seeing Hawthorn being consumed by flames and James rushing on to the balcony, his eyes wide with horror as he watched her fall. "What happened after I fell?" she said in a quiet voice.

Remus bit his lip. He really hadn´t planned on being the one to tell her. "Hawthorn died. Nothing Dumbledore could do could stop the flames." Seeing the look of horror on her face, he quickly amended that statement: "The ministry doesn´t fault you. You cast the spell, but there was a much more powerful magic at work there. Their inquiry decided that it was Voldemort himself that disposed of her--that he was somehow able to sense that she had failed and killed her to keep her from revealing whatever else it was that she knew."

Lily nodded slowly, trying to keep the guilt from rising from the pit of her stomach. "You said.... You said Peter is in class right now?"

Remus nodded and gave her a small smile. "All of the vine-cursed children are alive, and there is no threat of them being attacked again like that. The Possum Charm worked well, like a charm." He winked at her, and Lily offered him a small smile in return for his bad pun. "The Aurors that searched the castle afterwards found a large vine growing out of a ceramic pot in Hawthorn´s rooms. Once the children were free, they were able to establish that all the other plants were cuttings from that one. It was the last living specimen of Nimue´s Embrace."

"Did they destroy it then?" Lily asked tenuously.

"Had to. Not many Muggle plants are that susceptible to magic--it was the only way to ensure that it couldn´t be used in that way again." Giving her a small grin, he asked. "Do you think your dad will be very upset, what with him being into conservation and all?"

Lily snorted. "Doubtful. Nimue´s Embrace has been dead to the Muggle World for decades--Dad would agree that there just isn´t a place for it there anymore. `Only the strong survive´ and what not."

"Well then," Remus said softly. "He should be very proud of raising a Lily that is strong enough to survive the worst storms..."

Lily looked up at him, smiling.

Everything was going to be just fine.

* * *

"Out, out, out!" screeched Madam Pomfrey, pushing Remus towards the door of the Infirmary. She heaved the door open and was greeted by three grinning faces. She eyed them warily as she threw Remus out into the hallway.

Sirius put a hand on the door, keeping her from slamming it in their faces.

"Don´t even consider it, Mr. Black." She said with a steely voice. "Miss Evans has just woken up, and thanks to the antics of Mr. Lupin here has been overexcited for someone in her delicate state."

The faces of James, Peter and Sirius fell; their smiles replaced by pouting childish looks.

Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips and inhaled deeply through her nose. "You may all visit her on Saturday, but one at a time! I won´t have you all blustering through my Hospital Wing at once." With that, she shut the door, and locked it behind her.

The three boys turned to Remus and spoke simultaneously.

"Is she?" asked James.

"Overexcited?" inquired Sirius.

"What sort of antics?" questioned Peter with a small smirk.

Remus burst out laughing. "Lily is fine. She´s just corking! A little bit on the wobbly side, but that´s to be expected after lying in bed for two weeks." He started walking down the hall; it was nearly time for lunch.

Sirius rushed up to his side, poking Remus in the ribs. "What did you do then, to get Pomfrey so riled up - haven´t seen her so upset since we replaced her eau de cologne with skunk oil in third year."

"Well, it seems that our dear nurse doesn´t agree with me on what consists of suitable entertainment for the bedridden." Remus replied cryptically.

Peter shoved him from behind. "Come off it Lupin, just tell us. We´ve been waiting forever for that redhead to wake up, and now we can´t even visit her properly because of you."

Remus Lupin stopped in his tracks, turning to face all three of them once more. "If you must know then..."

James drew out his wand and growled. "Moony... If you don´t tell us everything right now, I´ll turn you into a roll of toilet paper and spike the Slytherin punch with a Diarrhea Draught."

Remus scoffed. "It was nothing really. Don´t know what the old bat got so worked up about. Lily quite enjoyed watching as I made all the bedpans do the Bunny Hop."

"The Bunny Hop?" Sirius just stared at him.

"Well of course the Bunny Hop!" Remus sounded rather exasperated. "You can´t expect bedpans to do a Meringue or a Samba now can you?" He shoved his hands into his pockets and strode off again towards the Great Hall. "They don´t have the proper equipment."

"But Lily--" James was all but shouting at him now.

"Lily is fine," replied Remus without breaking his stride. "She still has red hair and green eyes. She was laughing and smiling when I left and unless Pomfrey finds a reason to be particularly fussy, I suspect that our Miss Evans will be back in her room in the Tower by Sunday."

James laid a hand on Remus´ shoulder, pulling the boy to a sudden stop. "Did she say anything--"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Yes James, she said quite a few things. She wanted to know if everyone was okay, and what happened after her fall. So I told her." He removed James´ hand from his shoulder. "But if you´re asking if she woke up declaring her undying love for all things Potter, then the answer is no. I dare say she had other things on her mind." With what could only be described as a twisted grin, Remus continued. "But if you like, I could have Circe pass her a note between classes."

James flushed. "That´s not what I meant at all."

Peter chortled. "Of course its not, James. We all know that you´ve been so focused on other things--it´s amazing that you remembered that Lily was in the Infirmary at all."

"Quite right!" added Sirius with an evil grin of his own. "Which is why you keep signing all of your assignments as Lily Evans rather than James Potter."

The scent of apples filled the air as James turned a brighter shade of pink. "I´ve just been worried."

"And I´ve just been thinking..." whispered Peter.

"About what?" asked Remus as he turned to the short blond boy.

"If bedpans can do the Bunny Hop, do you think they could manage a polka as well?"

A serious look crossed Remus´ face as he considered this. "Don´t think so... No arms or the like."

"Hmm." Peter sucked gently on his upper lip as he pondered this obstacle. "Does Hagrid still keep ferrets for his hippogriffs? Perhaps he´d let us borrow a few for some dancing lessons..."

"Dancing ferrets?" Sirius stared at the boy as if he were daft.

"Why not?" Peter replied with a shrug. "Let them have one last tango before they become lunch. We could train them up and set them loose at the Yule Ball."

James shook his head. "This is ridiculous..."

"I quite agree." Said Remus, waggling a finger at Peter. "Ferrets would never tango." He began walking away from his friends, turning back briefly to add:

"But I do think it would be smashing to see them doing a nice little tap number!"

* * *

When Peter left halfway through dinner, none of the other boys thought much of it. It was generally assumed that he was going back to the Tower, either to sleep or to study. After all, he had missed nearly a month of school. Remus, Sirius and James had been helping him catch up as much as possible but it was still rough going for the wizard, whose grades could be described as average on the best of days.

Upon their return to Gryffindor Tower though, Peter was nowhere to be found.

"Right then," said Remus. "Let´s put that map to work and find out where he´s gotten to."

Sirius was already on that, though; he reached underneath Peter´s mattress and felt around for a minute. When his hand returned, it was empty.

"Must have the map with him," Sirius replied simply.

"I´m sure it´s nothing to worry about." James ran his hand through his hair nervously.

Sirius headed to the dormitory door. "I´ll go down to the Common Room, see if anyone spotted him."

Remus took a seat on his own bed, and reached for his Defense Against the Dark Arts text. After a minute of flipping to the chapter on Chimeras, he felt as if a pair of eyes was trying to bore into his brain.

"Bee in your bonnet, Mr. Potter?" he asked with a mischievous grin.

"Remus, I´ve known you for six years now... There is something you aren´t saying about your visit with Lily this afternoon. And from your cavalier attitude, it´s something that you want to say but think it´s much more fun to hide." James´ face was impassive as he said all this, and his eyes never left Remus´ face.

"Really James!" Remus feigned shock. "I swear on my mother´s grave that nothing interesting occurred this afternoon."

James shook his head. "Remus, your mum´s still alive. And pregnant when it comes to that."

Remus snorted. "Don´t remind me, I´m not looking forward to spending the hols with a woman in her first trimester." He made a disgusted face. "I mean honestly, at her age. You´d think either her or my Da would know how to cast a Contraceptus Charm by now."

"At least you won´t be a lonely only anymore." James gave him a soft, envying smile. "But stop trying to change the subject. We were talking about Lily--"

"No, you were talking about Lily. I was dodging your questions. Let´s keep this straight." Remus attempted to return to his reading.

"Why though?" James sat down on Sirius´ bed, across from Remus. "I mean really, you´re my friend. If she said something, you should tell me. Isn´t there a code of conduct somewhere for some such thing?"

Remus chuckled. "Ah yes, Chivalry 101." He rolled his eyes. "Which in this case, protects my conversation with Lily." James stared at him for a minute, and then Remus continued. "She´s my friend as well, remember? Laws of confidentiality apply."

"So she did say something about me?" James asked cautiously.

"Yep." Remus turned the page.

"And you have no intention of telling me what it was, regardless of what bodily harm I may threaten you with?"

"Nope." Remus stifled a snicker.

"Would you accept a bribe?" James tried to make it sound like a joke, but Remus wasn´t fooled.

Remus set the book down and looked at his friend. James Potter, Gryffindor Star Chaser, Transfiguration Brainchild and all around nice guy--James Potter was hopelessly, completely transfixed on one person.

And nothing short of seeing and speaking to her himself would satisfy him. If he weren´t personally involved, Remus would have found this immensely humorous... as it was though....

"Listen, James. You heard Pomfrey. You can see her tomorrow in the Hospital Wing. Alone." Remus paused a moment for the words to sink in. "I care about you and Lily both a great deal, but nothing, and I mean nothing would convince me to drag myself into this more than I have to be. Your feelings are between you and her. No one else."

"Yes, but--"

Sirius Black burst into the room just then.

"We have a bit of a problem," he said in a rushed voice.

"What is it?" Remus set the book down on his bed. Please, he thought, let Peter be okay. We don´t need another emergency just yet.

"No one, and I mean no one saw Peter leave. Meg Surrey has been sitting in the Common Room since this afternoon - didn´t feel well enough to eat dinner. She saw Peter come in, but never saw him go out."

James stood up. "Let´s head down to my room, I´ll grab the cloak and--"

"That´s the other problem," Sirius looked at James. "I checked your room before coming up here. The cloak is gone too."

* * *

Poppy Pomfrey had been full of fret when the unconscious Lily Evans was first brought into her Infirmary two weeks ago. She had taken the position at Hogwarts a few years before to get away from such injuries. She was a highly trained nurse, experienced in triage--which in the magical world meant that she helped the medi-witches and wizards clean up after disastrous attacks of dark magic, or after the Aurors had had a `shoot-out´ as the Muggles called it with the `bad guys´. At age thirty, after only eight years on the job at St. Mungos, she longed for a quieter life.

She should have known better than to expect to find it at Hogwarts.

At first, Lily was a delightful patient. She didn´t complain about pain or the taste of medications. And although unconscious, Madam Pomfrey had the feeling that the girl was quite attentive during the conversations they´d had as she´d cared for her.

Of course, all good things must end. Meaning that Lily was awake now, and demanding to leave the Infirmary immediately.

"I´ve missed two whole weeks of classes!" The young redhead had been droning on this same subject for nearly an hour now. "You don´t understand, you have to let me go, or at least let someone--"

"Miss Evans, I am quite aware of how long you were knocked out!" In fact, Poppy thought to herself, I liked you a lot more that way. "However, until I deem you ready for it, you are to continue to rest."

Back and forth it went, until Madam Pomfrey had had enough and excused herself from the Infirmary. As she exited the Hospital Wing, she locked the doors behind her, knowing full well that if Miss Evans wasn´t attempting to get out, then some of her friends would certainly be trying to get in.

Odd though, she thought as she walked out to the Greenhouses to gather some fresh gingko from Professor Sprout. It felt as if something brushed past me when I left...

* * *

Lily was at her wit´s end.

Logically, she knew that Madam Pomfrey had her best intentions in mind, but realistically all Lily could see was end of term exams looming ahead, two weeks of studying to catch up on and a nurse that wouldn´t budge.

From the other end of the hall, she heard the nurse lock the door.

In a fit of childish spite, Lily picked up her uneaten crackers and threw them across the room.

Except... they didn´t fly right. It was as if they bounced off something that was standing at the end of her bed that she couldn´t see. The crackers landed in a pile at the foot of her bed.

"W-who´s there?" Lily asked wondering if it couldn´t just happen to be the one person in the world she knew who owned an invisibility cloak--the person she was dreading (and hoping) to see.

The light seemed to shimmer for a moment; it was if that part of the room had a small hole open in the middle of it. A second later, the grinning face of Peter Pettigrew shone through, followed shortly by the rest of him and a rather large knapsack that looked very familiar to Lily.

The smile that broke out on Lily´s face could have lightened up a Deathday Party. "Peter, I swear, if that is what I think it is, I´ll buy you a hundred chocolate frogs for Christmas."

The chubby blond boy blushed slightly. "It is, but you don´t have to--Just figured now that you were awake you´d be going crackers in here with nothing to do." He set the knapsack down on her bed. "I nicked Remus´ notes from the last two weeks too, so you know what´s been going on."

"That was thoughtful beyond words--though I hope Remus won´t be too mad." She gestured for him to come sit on the bed, giving him a conspiratorial wink.

"Shouldn´t be, as long as you can slip them back into his room on Sunday. You will be out of here by Sunday won´t you?" He was staring at her face, as if to make sure she wasn´t still hurt in some way.

Lily smiled again, with a slightly sinister edge to it this time. "If I have my way, Pomfrey will be begging to let me go by the first lunch bell tomorrow."

Peter chuckled as Lily fingered through her knapsack. "Did I miss anything? I didn´t stick around in your room too long, didn´t want it to seem like I was prying..."

Lily gave a small shrug. "I do wish I had my wand, but Pomfrey doesn´t allow much magic in the Infirmary anyway, so I´ll have to leave off the practical lessons until I get out." She considered Peter for a moment. "Are you... okay?"

"Not really." He said honestly. "It was horrible, and the worst part it that it wasn´t real to anyone but me. But it was... you know what I mean?"

Lily nodded slowly.

"I just don´t know where I am supposed to go from here." Peter said after a long moment of uncomfortable silence. With a sheepish smile, he added: "It feels a bit like being afraid of the bogeyman being under your bed."

She smiled sympathetically. "Your bogeyman is very real Peter. And lots of us are afraid. We just have to stick together and work up the courage to look under the bed."

He nodded as if he weren´t really listening to her anymore. Everyone was giving him the same kind of answers, and none of them were satisfactory. No words of wisdom made the pains in his hands disappear, or the horrors of his dreams fade from his memory.

He had hoped that visiting Lily would take the edge off. They were never particularly close, but after learning how much her work had aided his `rescue´ as it were, he felt a small debt of gratitude to the girl. Not that she wasn´t a nice girl, she was. Lily was smart, pretty and a reasonably good sport. She was kind to him at unexpected moments. But she wasn´t one of the `boys´. Peter had spent most of this term wondering why this particular girl had been able to get under Sirius and James´ skin so effectively.

There was no answer in the end.

Peter was a follower; that was true. He had no delusions of self-grandeur. But what most people didn´t realize is that if you are following a well-trodden path, you get a good chance to look at the scenery. In other words, Peter Pettigrew was rather good at reading people. He didn´t advertise the ability, or even share his findings with others very often. He just took notice of the information and stored it away until it could be used.

People were so much easier to read than textbooks. Lily, for example: It was a simple jump in logic that once she was awake and aware of how long she´d been knocked out, she would want something to do. Peter remembered even after the death of her mother, the girl hadn´t wanted to lollygag around much. She wasn´t a sulker. Lily would rather do something than nothing. And when one considered how much Lily prized her good grades, fetching her schoolbooks and sneaking them into the Infirmary to her was the simplest course of action.

Unfortunately, this good deed was only a minor diversion for Peter Pettigrew. Soon enough, it was done and the nightmares in the back of his mind started to creep out of their dark corners.

A noise seemed to come from the direction of the door, and they both turned towards it. "Best hurry out, Peter. If Pomfrey catches you in here after hours, she´ll do all she can to ensure you´re the last of the Pettigrew line." Lily pushed him playfully off the bed.

Peter threw the invisibility cloak over himself and disappeared. "Is there anything you want any of us to bring tomorrow when we´re actually supposed to be visiting?" he asked in a hurried whisper.

Lily´s answer was instant. "Butterbeer! And if you can get it, ask Fiddy to make me one of his `Chocolate Ambush´ cakes!"

A squeaky giggle faded down the hall. As Madam Pomfrey unlocked the door, it stopped all together, and Lily was sure that Peter had left the way he´d came.

The look of shock on Poppy Pomfrey´s face when she saw Lily sitting reading her Herbology book was beyond priceless.

"How did you? I told you to stay in bed, young lady!" The nurse was turning a very interesting shade of mauve.

Lily blinked innocently. "I haven´t left this bed by one inch. I heard you lock the door on me. Where could I have gone?"

"But then, where--how?" The nurse pointed furiously at the books in Lily´s lap.

"Well, a very nice female house elf popped in here for some sanitary supplies," Lily made sure that she never broke eye contact as the lie flowed out of her mouth. "And as she was leaving your office, I asked her if she wouldn´t mind popping up to my room for my books." Lily gave the nurse her most innocent smile. "She just poofed right before you showed back up."

Madam Pomfrey stared at the girl.

It wasn´t until later that night, as the nurse was crawling into her own bed that she remembered that House Elves, female or otherwise, have no need for tampons.

* * *

Contrary to what she told her father, Lily Evans wasn´t much for plants. Oh she understood them, and knew how to make them thrive - she had practically grown up in a greenhouse. But like many things that children are forced to learn, it was a talent that she didn´t appreciate.

Consequently, Lily Evans wasn´t much for Herbology either. And according to Remus´ notes, Herbology was the class she was furthest behind it. She yearned to break into Potions, Arithmancy or even Defense Against the Dark Arts, but she knew that if she didn´t do Herbology first, it would never get done.

Madam Pomfrey had tried to turn the lights out on her, but as if the lights were on Lily´s side, they kept coming back on. The nurse was certain that Lily was doing it, until after a thorough search she satisfied herself that Lily had no wand hidden beneath the coverlets. After three unsuccessful attempts at `Nox Totalus´ the nurse had had to settle for a `Nox Minimus´, leaving all the lights off except for the one at Lily´s bedside.

Two chapters left to read, Lily thought encouragingly. She thumbed through the pages ahead, and upon realizing that both chapters were a good ten pages longer than normal, let out a melodramatic sigh.

She shook her head slowly. "I´ve been at this for three bloody hours, and there is still two chapters left. Sprout must have gone daft to assign this much work right before the holidays."

"Well," came a muffled voice from the end of her bed. "That is the general consensus yes."

Lily nearly jumped out of her skin. "Peter, you shouldn´t have come back. Pomfrey will have a fit--"

"Peter eh?" the voice chuckled, the laughter moving from the end of the bed to side. The boy sat down, still unseen aside from the impression that his weight made on the bed.

Lily squinted, as if this would help her see her invisible companion. She looked carefully at the impression on her bed and then leaned forward. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, unaware that her face was just inches away from his. "James..."

The cloak seemed to melt away, revealing a smirking James Potter. "Hullo there, long time no see."

"And much pleasanter circumstances this time as well." Lily returned the smirk. "Though I must say the look on your face as I was falling off the Astronomy Tower was priceless."

James rolled his eyes.

A quiet moment passed between them. "So..." Lily said finally. "Did you come up here to distract me from my studies, or is there a purpose for this visit?"

"Both actually." He flushed slightly and reached into his pocket, pulling out a bottle of Butterbeer. "You requested this, I´m told?"

Lily, who was never a fan of soup, crackers or any other kind of `this will make you feel better´ food, reached greedily for the Butterbeer, but James pulled it back at the last second out of her reach.

"Remember our agreement..." His eyes were glinting mischievously.

"What agreement?" Lily hadn´t a clue what the boy was talking about.

"Every Butterbeer I buy, you owe me one dance." James said smoothly.

Lily leaned back against her pillows. "Ah yes, I remember." She nodded and held out her hand. James extended the Butterbeer once more. "Though to tell the truth, if I don´t catch up on this homework, I won´t be dancing at all that night."

The Butterbeer escaped her grasp once more, and Lily pouted.

James shook his head. "No dance, no Butterbeer."

"James," Lily said rather sternly. "Just give it to me." She knew he was working up towards something, but she wasn´t going to give him any leeway on it. Not after what had happened the last time... Regardless of what Remus had told her this afternoon, she wasn´t ready to bare her soul to James Potter again. Even if it had been a huge misunderstanding, as Remus claimed, it still hurt. Either James was going to do something about `them´ or nothing would happen. She´d told Remus as much as well, and her copper-eyed friend had assured her that he would not say a word to James. Now though, she wasn´t so sure if Remus had kept his vow of silence.

"Nope. Not until you promise to keep the original deal." His voice was playful, but firm.

"Fine! Fine!" Lily extended her hand once more. "For every Butterbeer James Potter gives me, I will dance with him for one song." The bottle was laid into her hand finally; and as his fingers brushed against her skin, it sent shivers up her spine.

"I would be careful with such promises, Miss Evans." The soft chuckling voice came from the end of the hallway. James jumped to his feet guiltily. As the laughter came closer, the serene figure of Albus Dumbledore came into view. "I know the Potter men of old. It would not surprise me in the least to learn that young James here was requesting `A Weekend in Wales´ by Boris Beeflatte."

Lily´s eyes narrowed quizzically. "I´m afraid I don´t know that song sir." Both Dumbledore and James were snickering at this. Apparently, it was a rather funny joke, lost on the Muggle-born witch.

"The song is played in `real-time´, Lily. Meaning that it is actually as long as a weekend," explained James.

"Ah," Lily said simply, blushing ever so slightly. James couldn´t guess though if she was blushing at the innuendo or at her lack of wizarding knowledge.

Albus Dumbledore cleared his throat meaningfully. "James, I realize that Madam Pomfrey told you that you´d be allowed to see Miss Evans on Saturday, but did you think that you´d be allowed to take it this literally?" He grabbed his ward´s wrist and pointed to the clock. Half-past midnight. "You will have to leave now. Miss Evans and I have a few things to discuss." James opened his mouth to protest, but Dumbledore shushed him with the merest of smiles. "You may return at the start of visiting hours, which I believe begin at nine in the morning."

"Better make that ten," added Lily, gesturing to the Herbology text in her lap. "I´m not sleeping till I´m done with this."

James gave her a small wave as he left the Infirmary, staring at her a bit longer than he should have. Clearly, there was more that he wanted to say.

Lily turned to the man that had interrupted her midnight visit. Albus Dumbledore smiled back at her and pulled a chair up to her bedside.

"Most excellent to see you up and around, Lily."

Lily smiled; the Headmaster had never used her given name before. The word betokened a familiarity that she liked, though she could never imagine calling him `Albus´. "I heard that there was a problem in here with the lights..."

"I don´t want them shut off yet, sir." Lily said firmly.

"I understand that. But if you don´t mind, I would like to try it myself." Dumbledore raised his wand.

"Wait - if there is a problem getting them to shut off, how do you know if you´ll be able to get them back on?" Lily really wasn´t ready for sleep yet, and the thought of trying to make due with just a candle to read by wasn´t appealing.

"We´ll cross that bridge when we come to it," There was a finality to Dumbledore´s voice that brooked no argument. Lily nodded and he raised his wand, whispering the words `Nox Totalus´.

The light at Lily´s bedside went out for about five seconds (Madam Pomfrey hadn´t been able to get it to even flicker) and then burned brightly again.

Albus Dumbledore twirled the end of his long white beard between his fingers thoughtfully. "Most curious..."

"Well, yes. It is a bit odd, but I don´t think we´ll have to close the school down quite yet sir." Lily smiled.

Dumbledore chuckled again. "No, I suppose not. Tell me though, has anything else odd happened since you woke up?"

Lily looked thoughtful for a second and then glanced at the water pitcher on her bedside table. It was a little thing, she told herself. Nothing to worry about at all... Certainly nothing worth mentioning to Dumbledore...

"Nothing at all sir." Lily said after another moment. Her eyes didn´t meet his though. "Everything has been perfectly normal all day."

* * *

Lily was most definitely not enjoying her breakfast of lukewarm porridge the next morning when the `epidemic´ broke out. At half-past eleven in the morning, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin burst into the Infirmary, bringing what looked like the entire batch of first year Gryffindors with them. Lily didn´t need her contacts or glasses to see that all of the children were looking very green.

"Madam Pomfrey, hurry!" Remus cried out a bit too dramatically as he swept down towards the nurse´s office by Lily´s bed. "It´s just horrible!"

A look that crossed somewhere betwixt pity and guilt crossed Peter´s boyish face. "The first years... They´re all sick to their stomachs."

"We didn´t know what to do," Sirius chimed in rather somberly. "But we thought it best to get them to the Infirmary right away. There were no Prefects around, so we brought them ourselves."

As if on cue, the gaggle of eleven-year-old witches and wizards began to moan and bellyache about how awful they felt. The nurse pushed the three older boys aside and moved in for a closer look at her new patients.

Quick as a wink, the boys were at Lily´s bedside, failing rather miserably at stifling a trio of evil grins.

Lily rolled her eyes. "What did you bribe them with?"

Remus put on his most serious face. "I don´t know what you´re talking about. All of those children are really and truly ill."

Lily glared at the three wizards in turn and then in an icy whisper said, "You didn´t poison them just to visit me, did you?"

"Heavens no!" scoffed Sirius, looking truly aghast at such a suggestion. "They just ate too much candy..."

"It´s a real shame, too," Peter turned away from the spectacle at the other end of the Infirmary as a redheaded first year proceeded to get sick all over the floor. "Loads of Honeydukes best sweets gone to waste."

Remus patted the blond boy´s shoulder in a conciliatory manner. "Don´t worry young Pettigrew, I´m sure they´ve learned their lesson."

Lily shook her head in disgust and disbelief. "And just what lesson would that be?"

Sirius smirked and sat down on Lily´s bedside. "Never take candy from strangers?"

Remus´ serene expression twitched on his face. "Beware of large baskets of sweets that mysteriously appear in your dorm?"

Peter snickered. "Pace yourself?"

Lily threw a pillow at Remus and Peter, who dodged it easily. With a hefty shove, she sent Sirius sprawling onto the floor. All three boys were giggling rather uncontrollably now.

"Come on, Lil," Remus said after regaining control. "We did this as much for you as for ourselves."

"You made your own Housemates sick for my benefit? Explain how having a gang of gagging first years in the Infirmary is a benefit to me please." A voice in the back of her mind was already trying to decide just how many House Points this stunt was going to cost the lads.

"Well," said Peter with a sly grin. "What with this new batch of patients, Pomfrey isn´t going to want you to stick around much longer is she?"

"Particularly," whispered Sirius with his characteristic mischievous glint. "If a certain redhead puts up a lot of fuss in the next few hours."

All the tallying in Lily´s brain ceased at once. Pomfrey had just been instructing her before breakfast that she was going to have to stay in the Infirmary for another night. If Lily played this right...

A small secretive smile flashed across her face. She nodded at them slowly.

"Right then," said Remus with a smile of his own. The trio of wizards made ready to leave. "We´ll leave you to it."

"See you at dinner!" said Peter with a wink.

"Wait, just one second." The boys stopped and turned to her once more. "Where is James in all of this?"

Sirius shrugged non-committally. "Dunno. He´s been gone all morning."

"Haven´t seen him since last night," added Peter.

Just as another chorus of groaning came from the direction of the first years, Remus said, "We really should be going before Pomfrey pieces all of this together." They started to leave once more, each waving to Lily in turn. "See you later then, Lil."

Once they left, the bemoaning began in earnest and Lily decided that sooner would be preferable to later.

* * *

As it was, it was during dinner that Lily finally found herself returning to Gryffindor Tower. She had briefly considered going to the Great Hall for mealtime first, but the lure of returning to her own room and bed was too great.

Consequently, the Common Room was empty as she entered through the portrait of the Fat Lady. After the afternoon she had spent surrounded by the sounds of sick children, it was a welcome lack of noise. Lily hovered near the fire for a moment, reflecting on how nice it felt to be back. It would feel even better after a proper shower and good night´s sleep in her own bed.

With what could almost be described as a girly squeal of delight, she bounded up the stairs to the girls´ dormitories and her own waiting room. More than just her cozy bed was waiting as she rounded the corner..

"James?" asked Lily curiously. The tall black haired wizard was sitting up against her door, and from the amount of time it took him to stand up as she approached, Lily guessed that he´d been there for some time.

"Took you long enough, didn´t it?" James, now standing, smirked down at her.

Lily smiled. "Sorry to keep you waiting. How long have you been here anyway?"

"Got back after lunch." James replied cryptically.

"Got back from where?" asked Lily. She made a move for the doorknob and James placed his hand on top of hers, preventing her from opening the door. She looked up at him and raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"From... somewhere other than here." He shrugged again and smirked.

"Right... can I go into my room then?" Lily glanced at their hands, and the doorknob they covered meaningfully.

"Not quite yet. Got you a present." With his free hand, James reached into the pocket of his robe and drew out a bottle of Butterbeer. "Remember our deal?"

Lily giggled and took the Butterbeer. "Ah yes, another Butterbeer and hence another dance." She looked up at him expectantly, but James just continued to smile at her. "Can I open the door now?"

"Surely, as long as you understand our deal and intend to keep your promise." James stepped back and gestured grandly towards the door, encouraging her to open it.

"Yes, yes. A dance for every Butterbeer." Lily had her back to the door now and stepped into her room backwards at first. She liked looking at him; it seemed a shame to stop just because she was entering her old familiar room. His eyes were twinkling softly in the dim light of the hallway.

"Best watch your step." James nodded towards the interior of her room.

"What--" Lily spun around just then and her mouth dropped open. On every flat surface, completely filling her entire room were bottles upon bottles of Butterbeer. Her desk was all but invisible under the neatly stacked beverages. The floor was awash with them as well, aside from a small path that had been kept clear so she could reach her bed. "James, what on earth?"

He slid his arms around her, and bent low so that the words came directly from his lips to her ear, like a soft caress. "I don´t want just one dance, Lily. I want them all."

Shivers rushed down her spine, and she flushed to the roots of her hair. The urge to melt into his arms was incredible, but somehow she resisted. "You want them all?"

He spun her around then, so that they were facing each other. James was still holding her. "Yes. Not just one dance, and not just one night of dancing. I want all of them."

Her heart began to race, and her head began to spin. "I see then," She looked up and met his eyes finally. "Is this the part where I am supposed to go weak at the knees?"

James smirked, and pushed a stray lock of red hair away from her face. "Well, you could swoon if you´d rather. But it would make kissing you seem terribly one sided then."

"Kissing me?" Lily feigned shock and tried to pull back. James held her tightly though. "I certainly don´t remember kissing being part of our bargain..."

James leaned in and brushed his lips against her cheek. "It´s in the fine print." He murmured.

"Blasted fine print, catches a girl off guard every time." Lily snorted. She wiggled free of him finally and cautiously made her way across her Butterbeer laden room to her bed. She sat down and surveyed her room again. "This... This is a lot of Butterbeer, James. I... I don´t know if I´m ready to accept all of this."

James snickered at her subtext. "Well, you don´t have to drink it all tonight Lily." He crossed the room and joined her on her bed. "But this is what I´m willing to give. All I ask is that you keep your part of the deal."

"A dance for each Butterbeer." Lily said almost solemnly.

James nodded. "And I promise that as long as you want to dance, I´ll always have a Butterbeer waiting for you."

Tears welled up at the corner of her eyes. "What are you saying James?"

"I´m saying that I love you, you daft witch." He picked up a bottle of Butterbeer from the floor and clinked it against the one that Lily was still holding. "But if you aren´t ready for all of this, then we´ll just take it one Butterbeer at a time."

"One Butterbeer at a time," Lily repeated. She furrowed her eyebrows quizzically. "It´s not addictive is it?"

"Love or Butterbeer?" asked James.

"Either, neither or both!" declared Lily, and in a fit of giggles, she collapsed back onto her bed. James leaned over her, looking deep into her green eyes with a warmth and openness that she hadn´t seen in him before. "I´ll tell you one this though, James Potter."

"What´s that, dear?" He reached up and gently pushed a strand of red hair away from her cheek.

"I think I´m ready for a drink."

And then, of course, she kissed him.

The End