Okay, this is my very first fanfiction ever written. I'm not sure exactly how well it will go. I'm on break right now so I haven't gotten a friend to read it yet, but I will eventually. Anyways, if you read this, please respond.
Characters you don't recognize are ones I made up. The ones that you do were created by J.K Rowling.

Chapter One:

A young woman, sixteen years of age, walked down the hallway with an air of grace and elegance. Her fiery red hair billowed out behind her as she strode by. An outsider would say that this girl looked to be very prideful and confident. And they would be right.
As she strolled on down the hallway another girl with layered, light brown hair and brown eyes joined her.
“Hey Lily.”
The young woman slowed her pace. “Hi Sarah. How’ve you been?”
“What? Since ten minutes ago? Absolutely splendid if you must ask.”
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Lily’s lips. “You found Nathan, did you?”
“Yes I did. He was outside the transfiguration classroom with one of his friends. Lily, he actually smiled at me when I walked by,” said Sarah dreamily.
Lily couldn't help but laugh a little. “Congratulations. I’m glad that he is finally noticing you for the great person you are.” There was a faint trace of sarcasm in her voice.
Sarah beamed. “Thanks Lily, that means a lot…oh yeah, James is looking for you.”
The smile slipped off Lily’s face. “Joy…Now I’m glad that I left while you were looking for Nathan.”
Sarah sighed, “You know Lily, we’ve been best friend since we first met on the Hogwart’s Express. So, that’s six years. Six years of being in all your classes. Six years of being in the same dormitory, with beds next to each other and six years of James chasing after you. We know everything about each other. But the one thing I never understood was why you don’t like James Potter.”
Lily scowled, “I don’t know why I have to explain this all the time. He just annoys me so much. We are not suited for each other. We are polar opposites.”
Sarah smirked. “Yeah, how so?”
“Okay, say that we are given a Defense Against the Dark Arts spell to research for homework. I’ll go to the library and write about its origin, effects, and uses. Potter will find some little kid and use the spell on him to see what happens.
“Yeah, but you both still get good grades nonetheless. Think about it Lily, he has been after you for six years now. The school year is nearly over, so soon to be seven, and you haven’t given him a chance once.”
“I don’t think not getting me is upsetting him too much,” said Lily icily. “He has had plenty of girlfriends over the years.”
“Yeah, but not the one he wants,” pointed out Sarah.
“You don’t get it Sarah,” started Lily in a brittle voice. “He is just so full of himself. Just because he is smart and a good quidditch player does not give him the right to act like he is above everyone and hex people just because he feels like it.”
“He hexed Snape that one time he called you that foul name.”
Lily stared at her. “He didn’t just hex Snape. He turned him into a slug.”
“Well the slime did match his hair somewhat…”
“Listen, I don’t care about Snape, or what he calls me. He could swear at me day and night for all I care. But what Potter did dropped him down to Snape’s level. I don’t understand why he even likes me."
“Well,” said Sarah. “He did mention last year that he adored your thick, red hair and he could stare into your green eyes all day...that has to count for something.”
Lily laughed mirthlessly. “I wonder if it would be a shock to Potter if I came back next term with my hair cut and dyed brown and brown contacts lenses.”
“God, don’t even joke about that,” came a deep voice from in front of them.
There stood James Potter in the flesh.

He was leaning against a wall eating an apple. His hazel eyes were full of laughter and his hair was messy and stuck up in the back, as usual. Beside him stood Sirius Black, whose black hair fell gracefully over his eyes. They had been talking when they had heard Lily’s comment as she walked by.
Lily eyed him. “You never know Potter. I am able to do whatever I want with my physical appearance. And beside, if it will drive you away, then I might as well do it.”
“Ah, but I know you won’t Evans, I know you too well. You’ll get bored without me around,” said James slyly.
“Fat chance,” said Lily shortly.
“So Lily,” said James, “How about you and me go get some lunch together?”
“No, Potter.”
She didn’t even hesitate. He had asked her so often that it was pretty much a ritual.
“How about we all catch some lunch then,” suggested James, motioning towards the Great Hall.
Sirius turned to face him, “Can’t mate, sorry, I gotta go make up some test for Binns. I don’t get why we have to learn about things that are past and people that are dead…”
James looked at Lily out of the corner of his eye and then said, “Sirius, mate, it’s so we don’t make the same mistakes in the future that we did in the past.”
“James, that was probably the most intelligent thing I’ve heard you say, “said Sarah sweetly, nudging Lily.
“Oh yeah, a real Einstein,” muttered lily sarcastically.
All three of them looked at her. “Who?”
“Never mind.”
“Okay, anyways James,” began Sirius. “So, I’ll probably be staying at your house for the better part of the summer. My uncle Alphard agreed to lend me some gold when I come of age so that I can get my own place.”
“That’s great Sirius. You’re welcome at my house any time. My parents especially like when you come over for Sunday lunch.
Lily’s eyes narrowed. She was curious about this transaction, but she didn't want to be rude and pry into business that wasn’t her own.
After Sirius departed James turned to Lily and Sarah and asked, “Will you two fine ladies like to accompany me to the Great Hall?”
Sarah began to say something, but Lily discreetly stepped on her foot and said, “We’re on the way to the library for some last minute studying before Slughorn’s final exams."
James studied them with one eyebrow slightly arched, “Well okay, I’ll see you in potions.” As Sarah and Lily started walking away James’ voice rang out, “Hey Lily…”
She turned and eyed him haughtily. “Yes Potter?”
He smiled his smile that made most girls lightheaded. “You’ll fall for me eventually.” Then he turned and strode away before she could utter a word.


Chapter Two:
“You should have seen the look on her face when I said that.”
It was lunchtime and James was reciting what had just occurred to his other two friends, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew as they ate scalding hot vegetable soup and white bread.
Remus gave a heavy sigh. “You probably just made her mad, James.”
James scowled at him, “You’re ruining my moment, Moony.”
“If you want her to like you, you need to be sincere and compassionate. Show here that there is more to you then meets the eye,” suggested Remus.
Peter started nodding in agreement.
“You don’t think I’ve tried?” snarled James. “Every time she is around me I can’t resist trying to make her like me. It’s like I loose control of my actions and either do or say something stupid that makes her hate me more.
“You know what we are going to do?” said Remus with a smile. “We’re going to find someone to turn you into a gentleman.”
“What about him?” asked Peter pointing to someone behind them.” He usually has a girlfriend.”
They looked over their shoulders to see Sirius running across the Great Hall in their direction. He slid along the bench towards them. He was going so fast that he crashed headlong into them and fell sideways into the food, upending the large soup bowl that rained down right on James. He was covered head to foot in scalding hot broth and carrots, among other vegetables. He opened an eye and say the Marauders falling over themselves with laughter. The rest of the Great Hall had gotten to their feet to see the commotion and now they were taking pictures. James laughed and poured the rest of his soup on Sirius’ head. He got up and headed to his dormitory to change his clothes.


Lily and Sarah headed back to the Gryffindor common room.
“We should have just eaten lunch with him,” Sarah grumbled. “He could probably see right through your lie. You’re top in Slughorn’s class. You don’t need to study for your exam. Besides, that’s all you were doing last night.”
Lily wasn’t listening. She was beside herself with rage, “I cannot believe that he had the nerve to say something like that. Fall for him? He could have had the decency to let me respond. But, no, he is so stuck-up that he had to make sure that the last word was in his favor,” Lily kept ranting, “He is so cowardly that he can’t have an honest conversation with me. He has to make himself feel superior by pushing down others.”
Finally she said in a low voice, “James Potter, I will never fall for you.”

When they reached the portrait hole Lily was still fuming. Sarah decided to take a chance and say, “Lily, calm down. I’m sure James was just playing around.”
They walked into the common room, which had only a few people, and took the two armchairs by the fire.
Lily sighed. “I don’t know why I’m so mad. I just wish that he would give up on me. I can’t wait to go home for the summer and forget about him.”
“Well,” began Sarah cautiously. “He obviously likes you a lot...What if he is really nervous and can’t control himself around you? Maybe if you gave him a chance he would calm down around you and act more civilized.”
Lily looked at her friend with raised eyebrows, “It’s James Potter. It’s just the way he is. Can you honestly see him of all people nervous?
“Well, no.”
They heard the portrait hole open and both turned to see James stumble through the opening. He appeared to be sopping wet and covered in what appeared to be little bits of food. When he saw them sitting in front of the fire he waved and started walking towards them.
Lily scowled.
“So how are you ladies?”
Lily got up, walked past him, and headed towards her dormitory.
James reached out and took hold of her arm.
She tried to pull herself free but he held on tight, “What is the matter with you?
She faced him, her face full of pure hatred, “Potter, just leave me alone. You think that you’re so high and mighty, but it’s really just hot air. I thought that you would have the sense to realize that if you wanted to go out with me then you might have to change a little, you know, maybe deflate your head a bit, but obviously, you don’t have the sense God gave a goat. God, you make me sick.” With that she kicked him in the shins with all her strength. She was tired of this. Couldn't she live her life in peace without James Potter?
He grunted and let go of her. She ran up the stairs into her dormitory. Sarah gave James a terrified look and then ran up after her. He swore and then began to run up the stairs. Within the first few steps the stairs turned into a slide. He tried to climb up the slide by bracing his hand and feet against the side of the wall. He inched up very slowly. Several times he fell and slid all the way to the bottom. He finally got to the top of the first landing and saw that there were several more staircases before he would get to the sixth year girls.
Already exhausted from his first climb and still wet he gave up and slid down to the common room. When he got up to his dormitory he changed his clothes and lay down on his bed, thinking about what had happened.


Lily sat on her bed and stared at the wall ahead of her. She had surprised herself with what she had said down in the common room. She had always refused Potter, but she had never been downright cruel, well, at least not to his face. She and Sarah sat on the bed in silence as they listened to James try and climb the slide. When he eventually gave up Sarah said, “He must really like you Lily.”
“Don’t remind me,” said Lily miserably. “Only a week until term gets out. I can’t wait.”
“Maybe he’ll change,” said Sarah hopefully.
“We’ll see.”
“Tomorrow’s the last Hogsmeade trip. We’re going right?”
“Of course,” said Lily, glad for the change of subject, “Emma and Alice are coming with us too,” referring to two other girls in their dorm that they were friends with.



I'm sorry, this is about half of chapter two. I intended on copying the whole thing. (I have about three chapters written). But I ran out of time. I have to get off the computer...

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Okay, here's the rest of Chapter two and Chapter three. Please read it and tell me what you think.


Suddenly Lily leapt to her feet. " Oh my God, Sarah, I forgot to tell you!"
"Tell me what!?!"
Lily rubbed her temples. " I can't believe I forgot to tell you something this important...I forgot..."
"What is it?" Sarah shouted throwing a pillow at Lily.
"Okay, So I was talking to Alice yesterday after charms. She said that her boyfriend wants to go to Hogsmeade with her, but he also wants to spend time with his friends, since it is the last trip before the summer."
"Understandable," said Sarah.
"Well, as you know, Alice is dating Frank Longbottom. She told me that Frank and all his friends are going to accompany us to Hogsmeade so that everyone can have their way. And Frank is best friends with..."
"Nathan," breathed Sarah.
"Exactly."
Sarah was silent for a moment and then, "Oh my God Lily, what am I going to wear?"
Lily laughed and threw a pillow at her friend. Of course Sarah would think of that first. " Don't worry. We'll wake up early tomorrow and work on it. But right now, we have to get to potions."
They checked themselves in the mirror and then headed down to the common room. When they got down to the first staircase they noticed that they were stairs again, but there were sticky handprints on the walls from the soup on James' hands where he had gripped the walls to support himself. When they saw the handprints, they looked at each other, and burst out laughing at the absurdity of it all.



James sat on the alcove by the window. He pulled up his trouser leg and saw that where Lily had kicked him had turned dark with a tint of purple around the edges. At that moment Sirius, Remus, and Peter burst into the room.
"Wow," cried Peter in a shrilly voice. "That was so funny, wasn't it?"
Their eyes fell on the bruise on James' leg.
"Whoa mate," said Sirius. "Soup doesn't bruise."
James looked up at him. "That's true, but Lily does."
"Evans did that!?!"
He nodded.
Sirius held up his hands in a surrender position. "There's no way I'm messing with that girl again."
Remus eyed him. "I told you she'd be mad."
"Shut up."
"What would she be mad about?" asked Sirius curiously.
James told him what he said to Lily.
"Whoa, and that's how she reacted?!"
"Well, when I got to the common room she was there with Sarah. When I got there she looked mad, so she got up to leave. I grabbed her arm and she tried to break free. I wouldn't let go, so she yelled at me, and then kicked me."
"What did she say?' asked Remus.
"I don't remember all of it. There was a part about being full of myself, full of hot air, deflating my head, oh, and apparently I don't have the sense God gave a goat."
"Is that so?" asked Sirius. He looked like he was going to burst out laughing.
"Oh, and Remus, She said that if I wanted to go out with her, I'd have to change."
Remus raised an eyebrow, "Really?"
"Yeah, so, I got it all figured out. When I come back next term, I'm going to be completely different, a real gentleman."
Sirius and Peter looked at him in shock.
"Hey man," said Sirius, "What if we don't want you to change? We like you the way you are. You shouldn't change for some girl."
"I happen to agree," said Remus. "Is it worth changing your entire personality just to make a girl happy? If she doesn't like you the way you are then she's not worth it."
James held up his hands. " Guys, you are blowing this way out of proportion. I'm not going to change completely. I'm just going to try and train myself to keep my head when I'm around Lily. I mean...you know how I can't stop myself from showing off when I'm around her. If I can, I'm going to try and cut back on that."
"Prongs, why do you even like her?"
James groaned. He ran his fingers through his hair. "God, I don't know. She's just perfect. She's so different from the stereotypical teenage girl. Not fussing around all the time with cosmetics and appearance. She is beautiful and smart. She doesn't try to put herself forth. She isn't overly flirtatious and she is confident," he paused and sighed, "She is amazing."
The other three boys looked at each other with raised eyebrows. They didn't know what to do when one of their friends was lovesick.

Chapter3:
"Let's go to potions," said Sirius quickly.
The others agreed and they walked down to the common room. They arrived at the portrait hole just as Lily and Sarah got there.
The boys went first. James held open the portrait for the girls to climb out.
"Thank you," they both muttered.
"That's a good size bruise you put on my leg, Evans."
Lily turned and surveyed him, "I used to play football."
"What's football?" asked all four boys at once.
"A muggle sport where you kick the ball through goals," she said shortly. She and Sarah continued to walk to potions. They quickened their pace slightly so that they wouldn't end up walking with the boys behind them.
They reached Professor Slughorn's classroom and took their seats and set up their cauldrons. Lily pulled out her ingredients and arranged them in an orderly fashion. She looked up at Sarah and noticed that she was white with nervousness. She caught her eye and gave her a reassuring smile. They were soon joined by Alice and Emma, who took the seats opposite them.
Lily looked up in time to see the marauders troop into the classroom. Most of the girls looked up and tried to catch the eye of at least one of the boys. James looked straight at Lily and smiled at her, earning her scowls and glares from the other females in the room. They took the seats behind her table, but James took the seat that gave him the perfect view of Lily while he worked.
"Okay," said Slughorn jollily, clasping his hands together in front of him, "This is your last class with me, so let's get started. For the first part of the exam there are thirty-six questions that you will have to answer about certain potions and ingredients."
A groan ran through the classroom at the amount of work than was given.
"And then," said Slughorn, raising his voice slightly higher to accommodate the babble of voices that had broken out, "I have twenty potions written on pieces of parchment in this hat; one for each of you. When you are done with your fill in questions simply raise your hand and I'll let you pick a potion out of the hat. Once you have a potion you may go over to that shelf and get the red book. It has steps for every potion, but nothing else, so don't think you can use them for anything else. Oh, I should warn you now, there is a spell on the parchment that will keep you from changing the potion written."
Louder groans broke out this time.
"This is a NEWT class," said Slughorn, "You all signed up for it. This is what you need to know to go on to your further occupations. Now get to work."

James furrowed his brow and looked down at his paper, 1) State the effects and properties of a Polyjuice Potion.
He recalled he and his friends had tried to concoct a polyjuice potion in their fourth year. The potion was supposed to be thick, but not have the properties of wet cement. They figured that it was unsafe to drink, so they had ended up disposing of it. He grinned and wrote his response. The questions were long and exhausting. They ranged to every type of potion and their ingredients. When he got to the last question: 36) What are the properties of moonstones and their uses in potion making? He scribbled his response and looked up at Lily. She was nibbling on the tip of her quill as she thought about a question. Suddenly her eyes brightened and she scrawled down her answer. She looked up and saw him staring at her. He quickly gave her a thumbs up sign. She raised her eyebrow skeptically at him and continued on with her test.
Lily wrote the answer to the last question and put her hand in the air to get the potion she was required to make. James Potter and a slimy boy in the corner, Severus Snape, joined her. Professor Slughorn smiled with glee and walked over to Lily. She put her hand into the hat and pulled out a slip of parchment. Slughorn peered over her shoulder. "Ah, Miss Evans, you got the most advance form of the Draught of Living Death. Good luck."
He walked over to James and he too put his hand into the hat and pulled out a slip. "Draught of Peace," he read aloud.
"A very difficult potion Mr. Potter. I hope you do well." James nodded and set to work as Slughorn headed over to Severus Snape, who got Pelex Phelectics, the exact opposite of Felix Felicis, causing bad luck.



James was sweating slightly from the heat emitting from his caldron. He added the last ingredient and gave the last few stirs counter-clockwise and the surface turned silver and shiny and a slight mist came from it. He gave a huge sigh of relief and sat down. He reread his instructions to make sure he did everything correctly. Then he pulled out a flagon and ladle. He collected a sample, corked it, and wrote his name on it. Upon placing the flagon on Professor Slughorn's desk he pulled out his Transfiguration book to study for the final on Monday.



He and his friends made their way to the common room. They found seats in the corner around a coffee table.
"That was so hard," squealed Peter. "My potion was emitting orange smoke and green sparks."
The other three boys burst out laughing.
"Come on Wormtail," cried Sirius. "It wasn't too bad. All you had to do was follow the directions in the book."
"But that was the difficult part."

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edit: Psh, it takes me five months to realize that I said soccer in this chapter...when the british call it football. I'm pathetic, I know.

Okay guys, here's chapter four. I like to call this the girly chapter of the story. Every girl has the same moments indicated in this chapter. Don't lie...haha. Not too much plot here, it just sets up the next chapter. Tell me what you think please.


Chapter Four:
Lily awoke the next morning to find Sarah shaking her. She opened one eye and saw a thin line above the distant mountains where the sun was rising. She rubbed her eyes and looked at her friend, “You just deprived me of two hours of sleep. What’s the reason?”
Sarah looked excited, “We have to get ready for Nathan!”
“When you say ‘we’ you mean ‘you’, don’t you?”
“Well, yeah, but you’re going to help me, and besides…you never know who you’re going to meet down there.”
Lily closed her eyes for a moment, “I’m not even going to think about what you’re implying. Okay, if we’re going to do then we have to be quiet,” she motioned to the sleeping girls around them.
Sarah looked like she was undecided whether to be nervous or excited, “Okay, Lily, I want you to pick me out the perfect outfit.”
Lily gave her friend a hopeless smile and threw her covers back and walked to the closet between their two beds. She riffled through the clothes hanging up.
She paused and looked at Sarah. “Judging from Nathan’s previous girlfriends I think he likes a casual sort of style. So, here, how about these long jeans?”
Lily dug around some more. She began pairing certain shirts together and looking at the effect on Sarah.
She finally sat back on her heals with two shirts in her hand.
“Okay, first put this on,” she said handing Sarah a black tank top. “Then put this over it,” she then handed Sarah a maroon tee-shirt that extended three inches past her collarbone. Once both shirts were on, Lily observed that the black extended a few inches past the maroon.
“Okay,” she said. “That fits nicely. Now, how about this necklace?”
Sarah was handed a silver chain with a single pearl in the center of it.
Lily sat down on her bed. “That should take care of your outfit dilemma Sarah.”
“Oh my God Lily, thank you so much. What should I do for shoes though?”
Lily laid back on her bed, “Uhh, I don’t know…let me think…not sandals, not heals, not boots. What kind of sneakers do you have?”
“I dunno, I have these running shoes and these Converse.” she held up a pair of green, low top converses.
Lily took them and muttered an inaudible spell while swishing her wand. The shoes then matched the maroon shirt.
“God Lily, you’re amazing. This outfit is perfect…Do you really think that this will work?”
“Well,” said Lily. “We can only hope. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going back to bed.”
Sarah grabbed her arm. “You can’t! We have to get you ready too.”
Lily shook her head. “Oh, no, I don’t need primping. I’ll be fine.”
“But it will fun,” protested Sarah.
“No, honestly, there’s no need for anything.”
“Come on Lily, please.” Sarah screwed up her face and pouted.
Lily sighed, “Oh, alright.”
“YES!” Sarah nearly screamed.
Emma and Alice both sat up in bed, looking dazed. “What are you so happy about Sarah?”
Sarah gave a huge smile. “Lily Evans here has agreed to let me get her ready for the trip to Hogsmeade today.”
There was a sudden squeal and the two girls threw back their blankets and leapt out of bed. “Ooh, can we help Sarah?”
“Please?”
“Please?”
Sarah grinned. “The more the merrier.”
“Oh my God, this is going to be so much fun!”
“Oh yeah, she’s going to be so pretty when we’re done…”
Lily smiled nervously. “Come on guys. Don’t get carried away…I don’t want to appear too done…”
“Oh shut-up Lily.”
“It’s the last event until break!”
“Take a walk on the wild side.”
“Haha, yeah Lily…”
Lily sighed, “I don’t exactly have a choice.”
The room was soon a blizzard of articles of clothing strewed along the furniture. Lily had never been one to overly fuss with her clothing. She spent enough time to look decent, but she didn’t use excessive energy doing it. The fact that she had finally allowed the three other girls to prepare her had been a major step.
“Okay guys,” said Lily when she got a chance to talk. “What do you plan on doing?”
“Well,” said Emma with a slight singsong voice. “We are going to make you look gorgeous for James…”
Lily stood up so fast that she sent a pile of clothing tumbling from her lap. “What did you say?”
Emma gave her a sly smile, “James Potter. Of course you know him. Tall, dreamy, quidditch captain…”
Lily cut her off impatiently. “Yeah, I know who he is. But what does he have to do with me?”
“Well,” continued Alice. “All the sixth year Gryffindor boys will be meeting up with us at Hogsmeade. So that’s Frank, Nathan, Remus, Peter, Sirius, and James.”
Lily kicked the bedpost and then swore when she felt the pain. “Why does he have to ruin my day. I had planned to spend the day with you guys, not with Potter and his minions.”
“Oh, calm down Lily. There will be a lot of us. It’s not just you and him. And besides, he’s not going to meet up with us until noon-ish.
Lily sighed. “I just have a feeling that things will go wrong.”
“You know, you don’t have to talk to him…”
“That’s true, but what am I going to do if he talks to me, which he will. I don’t want to be rude and ignore what he says…”
“Then…when you reply to him keep it short and simple. You don’t have to keep up a conversation with him…”
Lily rolled her eyes, “I’ll try. I want to be focused on having a good time. I’ll try not to worry about Potter too much.”
“That’s the spirit,” said Sarah.
“Hey Lily…” asked Emma.
“Yeah?”
“If you don’t want James can I have him?”
The other three girls burst into laughter.
“What?” asked Emma. “I’ve never seen a guy as good looking as James Potter.”
“Well,” put in Sarah. “Sirius Black could give him a run for his money.”
“But what about Nathan?” asked Lily.
Sarah shrugged, “I’ll take what I can get.”
Lily opened her mouth in mock surprise, “No!” as the girls started laughing again.
“Now you Lily,” said Alice, “should take what you can get…James Potter…A hundred girls would kill to be in your position.”
Lily laughed along with the other girls. “I’m fine, thanks.”
“Suit yourself.”
They dressed Lily in jeans and an emerald green tee shirt over a white tank top to better bring out her eyes. She reluctantly let them dust powder on her face. They let her hair run down her back and face in soft waves.
Lily stopped them before they got too carried away, “This outfit is fine. Simple and casual.”
“Oh come on Lily,” said Sarah holding an armful of scarves.
“No, we’re done. Let’s go to Hogsmeade now. We want to spend as much time there as possible.”
The girls grabbed their things and hurried out of the room.

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Yes! I was able to post the chapter. So I'm still on the track of a post a day. Sorry I couldn't do it earlier. My mother decide to take the whole family shopping...
Anyways, this isn't the best chapter, but it will do.


Chapter Five:

James sat up in bed and waited a moment to let the drowsiness leave his head. A devilish smile flittered across his face. He pulled out his wand and thought levicourpas in his head. There was a white flash and suddenly all five boys around him were hoisted in the air by their ankle as if by an invisible cord. There were yelps as the boys realized what was happening.
“God James,” croaked Sirius. “Do you have to do that to us every time you are excited about something having to do with Lily.”
“Which is around twice a week,” said Nathan, his messy, dark brown hair askew across is light eyes.
James smiled and muttered the countercurse, causing all the boys to fall into a heap on their beds, “Up men, we have a very important Hogsmeade trip today. Let’s go.”
There was an instant uproar.
“Wait a minute James…we have to get ready…”
James turned around impatiently and surveyed the mass of people behind him. Half the boys were still in their boxers.
He sighed. “Oh alright…”
“What’ s the rush anyways?” asked Frank. “You’re not meeting up with me and Nathan until noon. We have plenty of time.”
“I don’t want to miss one second of Hogsmeade,” said James innocently. All five boys snorted.
“Wants to catch a glimpse of Lily before she leaves is more like it,” said Sirius.
James rolled his eyes.
When the boys finished dressing they headed down to the common room, just as the girls were coming down.
“See what I mean?” asked Sirius gesturing towards the girls. They boys began laughing.
Since Alice and Frank’s relationship had recently evolved into more than friendship, Lily was forced to walk down to the Great Hall with them. As soon as they got down there Lily pulled Sarah to the end of the Gryffindor table. When they sat down Sarah crossed her arms, “It wouldn’t kill you to sit with them.”
“That’s now why I pulled you over here. I wanted to talk about Nathan.”
“What about him?”
“I just wanted to tell you to try and stay clam when you’re around him today. Pay attention to him, but not too much.”
Sarah nodded, “What else should I do?”
“Make polite conversation, but don’t start overly flirting with him. Try to find something you both like to talk about. Oh, and compliment him once in a while. Guys seem to like compliments.”
“That they do,” said James as he sat down next to Lily.
Lily looked up at him. “What do you want Potter?”
He put his arm around her shoulders. “Just thought I’d see what you’re talking about.”
Lily removed his arm, “We aren’t talking about anything that concerns you.”
James grinned. “Talking about Nathan, are you?”
“What gave you that idea?”
“Well, it’s either that…or you’re talking about me. I happen to love compliments.”
“We are not talking about you!”
He turned to face Sarah. “Face it Sarah. Everyone know you like him. Well, except Nathan. But that’s always typical.”
“You’re not going to tell him are you?” gasped Sarah.
“No.”
“Really?”
“Upon my honor,” he said with a smile.
“We’re screwed,” sighed Lily.
He turned to face her, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Lily raised her eyebrows skeptically, “You don’t have any honor.”
“Do too.”
“Prove it.”
James got up to leave, “Oh I will, someday…” He left.
They ate a hasty breakfast and when they were joined by Emma, Alice, Frank, and Nathan, they set off towards Hogsmeade. Lily kept a close eye on Sarah to make sure she controlled herself with Nathan. So far Sarah had managed to act sophisticated and humorous while talking. They laughed together and seemed to enjoy each other’s company. When Lily was confident that Sarah would do well on her own she went and talked with Emma.
“So how are you Emma?”
“Pretty good. Kind of sad that the year is nearly over. I won’t see you guys for a while.”
“But you’ll get to see your parents.”
“That’s true. But I prefer to spend time with my friends then with them. They aren’t the most exciting folks.”
“That’s umm…unfortunate,” Lily wasn’t exactly sure how to respond to the comment. They got off the topic and began talking about their recent finals.
After a while they decided to split up; Alice with Frank, Nathan with Sarah (She looked absolutely delighted) and Emma with Lily.
They agreed to meet at the Three Broomsticks at 11:45.



Meanwhile the marauders were spending time in Zonko’s filling up on joke products to last over the summer.
“So James,” asked Remus, “What do you plan to do about Lily when you see her later?”
“I don’t know. I’ll be friendly with her…and maybe if we hit it off then we’ll go do something together, but there’s no chance of that happening.”
“Good plan,” said Peter.
“Should I get her flowers?” he asked to no one in particular.
“No,” said Remus. “Save that for when you go on a real date with her. Giving to them to her now would just make the situation awkward.”
“How do you know so much about women anyways?”
“It’s just common sense.”
“Hmph.”
Sirius looked at his watch. “It’s 11:50. Let’s wrap things up here and then we can head over to the Three Broomsticks.”
They bought their share of dung bombs, frogspawn, and other mischief making objects that would keep them happy for days on end.
They walked out of the store laden with bags and they somehow were able to walk to the Three Broomsticks. The crowded pub only made it harder for them to walk while balancing their bags. They finally found the rest of their party in the back, around a table. There were some appetizers on the table and everyone was clutching a frothy mug of butterbeer.
After everybody greeted each other and exchanged a few pleasantries James moved to set down on of his bags. While in the process knocking Lily in the head with the other one.
“Oww…”
“Sorry Evans.”
Behind his mountain of bags Sirius caught James’ eye, winked and gave him the thumbs up sign. He took one of the bags out of the crook in his arm. “Here Evans, this one is for you.”
James gave him a quizzical look, but didn’t object.”
Lily took it and pulled out an object that looked a bit like a flute, but with a bulge in the middle.
“What does it do?”
Sirius put down his remaining bags to help her. He positioned the device so that it was perpendicular to her mouth.
“Now blow.”
Lily looked at him uncertainly, but then blew into the instrument.
There was a sound like a small explosion and a large amount of pink goop flew out of the end and hit Sarah, who was directly across from her, full in the face. All six boys doubled over in laughter.
Sarah first sighed and then after rubbing it out of her eyes, began laughing. She pulled some of the stuff off the side of her face and threw it at Lily.
She gasped when it hit her face. It was slimy and wet and had a faint odor to it.
The boys laughed harder.
“What are you laughing at Black?” asked Sarah with a faint smile. He too received a face full of the contents from the joke shop product. Peter gave a high pitched giggle. Sirius looked at him and poured Nathan’s butterbeer on his head. In the process of doing that Sirius knocked James face first into the table. Remus looked on, shaking his head.
Soon all the boys were either throwing food and drink at each other, or clutching a chair to stand upright because they were laughing too hard.
Lily motioned to the other girls to follow her. They quickly stood up and began to head towards the entrance. Before Lily could take four steps James grabbed her arm, “Hey Lily, how about we do something this summer?”
She looked up at him, “How many times do I have to tell you Potter? No.”
With that she and the other girls left the pub.

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Yeah, I got chapter six up. I'll start chapter seven later tonight. Hope you all like this...


Chapter Six:

The rest of the school term passed without incident. Before she knew it Lily was packing her trunk to leave the school for the holiday. It took an hour of hunting down all her spell books and spare socks. It took a particularly long time to find her wand cleaner, but eventually found it lodged under her mattress. After squeezing everything into her trunk she headed down to the common room with Sarah.
“You’re coming over this summer Lily,” said Sarah.
“Of course.”
“I can’t believe we’re actually leaving.”
“Two months without Potter.”
“Is that all you ever think about?”
“He’s tormented me enough this year. It’s what pops into my mind when I think of summer break.”
They got into the carriages that took them to the Hogwarts Express.
Upon finding a seat they were joined by Emma and Alice. They spend the morning discussing their plans for the summer. Sarah talked about Nathan for a full twenty minutes. Apparently while at Hogsmeade he had made it clear to her that he wanted to see more of her over the summer. After they got food from the trolley Nathan and Frank came into their compartment. Lily talked with Emma while the other members in their area paired off in discussion. When they reached King’s Cross station they disembarked from the train struggling to keep a hold on their trunks. Lily gave hugs and said goodbye to all her friends. After promising to write she started to head out of the station. James Potter stepped in her path. “You’re not going to say goodbye?”
She looked at him with her eyebrows slightly raised, “I’ll see you in a few months.”
“That’s a long time.”
“You’ll get over it.”
“What if I get killed over the break. You’ll be sorry then.”
Lily laughed. “What are the odds of that? You’re going to live a nice, long life.”
“Well…can I have a hug then?”
She looked at him for a minute. “Maybe next year.”
“I’ll look forward to it.” He walked away.
Lily headed over to the parking lot and found her parents and sister waiting for her by their car. After delivering a few kisses and greetings she loaded her trunk in the back of the car and got into the back seat with her sister, Petunia.
“So how was your term?” asked her father.
“Absolutely marvelous. I learned so much.”
“It’s a shame that you weren’t able to make it back during Christmas and Easter holiday.”
“I’m sorry Dad, NEWTs classes are very hard and I needed to get a lot of work done.”
“Well I’m sure that it will all pay off soon,” said her mother sweetly. “It’s good to have you home.”
“Thanks Mum.”
Lily turned to face her sister. “So how was your school year?”
“It was the same as any other year…”
“How is Henry doing?”
“We broke up.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Are you doing alright?”
“I broke up with him. He was too clingy, couldn’t go five seconds without me. It was too much to handle.”
“How did he take the news?”
“He started crying right in front of everyone.”
“That must’ve been terrible.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore. I found myself another man. One that is much more confident and will be able to look after me.”
“What’s his name?”
“It’s Vernon Dursley. He goes to Smeltings.”
“I see. What does he look like?”
“He has black hair and the most attractive moustache that anyone could have. You’ll meet him tonight. He’s coming over for dinner.”
“I can’t wait.” She really did try to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.
“What about you Lily,” asked her mother from the front seat. “Have you met an attractive young man at your school?”
“I don’t have a boyfriend,” said Lily shortly.
“You must’ve had one at some point,” said her mother. “A pretty girl like you.”
“There weren’t any that were significant in any way, and none of them lasted too long.”
When they reached home Lily dragged her trunk up to her room and unpacked her belongings. She sat down at her desk and wrote a long letter to Sarah. After a while Petunia walked in. “Vernon is going to be here soon. Please dress nicely. Oh, and don’t you dare mention that weird school you go to. I told him that you go to a boarding school in France.”
“Petunia, I don’t speak French.”
“Well…neither does he. So make something up. Hurry and get ready.”
When the door closed Lily put on some formal clothes and headed downstairs. As soon as she had settled herself down on an armchair with a magazine the doorbell rang.
“Lily, can you get that,” her mother called from the kitchen, where she was preparing dinner.
Lily stood up and smoothed her black, knee length skirt. When she opened the door an uncommonly overweight man stood there. He had a very wide face with a mop of black hair on top. There was a very bristly, thick moustache above his upper lip. He had stuffed the rest of his body into a suit. In his pudgy hands he held a bouquet of roses.
“Can I help you?” asked Lily nervously.
His mouth moved into what appeared to be smile. Lily couldn’t be sure, he had too many chins .
“Ah, you must be Petunia’s sister, Lily. She did mention that you’d be arriving home from France today. It is nice to meet you.” He held out a fat hand that had sausages for fingers.
Lily managed a weak smile as she grasped his hand and shook it. “Yes, I’ve heard so much about you. It is a pleasure to meet you. Please, do come in.”
As soon as Vernon walked into the room there was a squeal and Petunia hurtled down the stairs and embraced her boyfriend. Lily was afraid that her slim sister would be crushed by the volume of the man holding her. But thankfully, she was alright.
They all headed to the dining room and settled around the table. Lily’s mother brought out a platter of roast beef that smelled heavily of seasoning and had juice oozing from the sides. This was followed by a large bowl of salad, baked potatoes, and a loaf of heated garlic bread.
Everyone helped themselves to the food before them, Vernon taking more than anybody.
“So Lily,” he asked after swallowing a slab of roast beef half the size of a fist. “You must tell me. What was it like going to school in France?”
Lily looked at him over her glass of water. “Well, it was difficult because I didn’t know the language too well when I got here, so it was hard to study and pay attention in class. But overall, it was an excellent learning experience.” She snuck a look at Petunia who discreetly nodded her head in approval. During the rest of the meal Vernon talked about himself. How his father was president of a business called Grunnings. How he has been saving up money to get his life going. He has been getting top marks in school and his parents were going to leave him a lot of money.
After he and Petunia walked out the door Lily helped her mum with the dishes and then went up to her bedroom. Upon glancing out the window she saw Petunia and Vernon kissing by his car. Lily rolled her eyes and pulled down her shades. Between Petunia and Vernon, Lily had the feeling that this was going to be a long summer.



James walked through the front door of his house with Sirius in tow. His mother cam bustling out of the pantry, “Oh James, it is so nice to see you. How was your term? Do you want something to eat? I can fix you up something…”
James held up his hand. “No mum, it’s alright. I ate a lot on the train…”
She looked behind him. “Sirius, Dear, it’s good to see you back again. Feel free to stay as long as you’d like.”
“Thank you Mrs. Potter. I won’t intrude more than I have to.”
“Don’t be silly. You’re always welcome here. Are you sure you want to stay in James’ room? I could fix you up the guest room…”
“Thank you Mrs. Potter, but there’s really no need. I’ll be fine.”
They headed upstairs and when they reached James’ room they dumped their trunks in the corner. James walked over to his closet and pulled out a cot. “Is this even comfortable?” he asked Sirius.
“It’s fine,” assured Sirius.
“So I think Lily’s warming up to me,” said James after a moment.
“How do you figure?”
“Well, today, when I talked to her at the station she actually laughed a little.”
“But she wouldn’t let you hug her.”
“But she didn’t snap at me like she usually does.”
“Have it your way.”
They were quiet for a moment. “How do gentlemen act Sirius?”
“God, I don’t know. Don’t’ they bow and hold doors open, that kind of stuff?”
“Well, how do you act when you’re around your girlfriend?”
“Uhh…Like myself. I don’t know. I’m single at the moment…You should ask Remus. He knows a lot of stuff about being polite and gentleman-ly.”
“He comes for a visit in two weeks. He can help me then.”
“Is Wormtail coming?”
“No. He’s got other plans.”
“That’s too bad. We could have reformed him too, so he can get a date once in a while.”
“Yeah,” he paused. “So…you’re single. Why’s that? What happened to Rebecca?”
“I don’t know. She started getting really serious. Wanted to get married and have kids. Started hinting to me to get her a promise ring.”
“You didn’t like her like that?” asked James quietly.
“Well no, she’s really nice and pretty and I really liked her, but I don’t think she’s someone I’d want to spend the rest of my life with.”
“Don’t worry Padfoot. You’ll get married and settle down someday.”
Sirius nodded. “Yeah, us marauders are going to grow old together.”
They laughed.



TWO WEEKS LATER

Sirius and James sat at the kitchen table playing a game of Exploding Snap. Just as James was putting on his final card Remus trooped in holding a suitcase and looking travel worn. The boys jumped up and helped Remus bring his bags and settle down in the guest bedroom. Once they were ready they sat down on the sofa in the living room.
“Okay, so what are we going to do?” asked Remus.
James cast Sirius a nervous look. “Help me change for Lily.”
Remus raised his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
“I want to be able to be polite and all that stuff…”
“I see.”
“Okay, go.”
“Well, let me think. Maybe it would help if you didn’t assume that you could get any girl you want…stop hexing people whenever you see them…Lay off Snape once in a while…when you see Lily don’t try and show off…just act relaxed, have normal conversation with her…”
“Okay…”
“How about we do role playing. Sirius, you be Lily.”
“No.”

Several hours later James collapsed on the sofa. “Remus, do you think I have it?”
“You’re doing better. I think the key to this is to just try and treat her like a normal person. Talk to her like you’d talk to anybody. Don’t try and flirt with her. Just try and be friends.”
“But I want to be more then friends.”
“Friends is a lot closer then where you are now. If you see her at King’s Cross on September first then greet her, ask her about her summer, keep going. Don’t ask her out. Just be nice.”
“I’ll try.”


So there it is. It was kind of sad writing about the marauders living old together and how sirius will settle down, james live a long time...so...sad irony? I dunno.

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This one isn't as long, but it's up, and that's the good part. I hope you enjoy.
I'm excited...it's Christmas eve...
Chapter Seven:

Lily sat on the bed at Sarah’s house. She was staying there for the remainder of the holiday and they would be going back to school together in a week.
“So, is Petunia going to marry this guy?”
“I don’t know. I hope not. Imagine what their kid would look like.”
“Oh, gross.”
“But they really do seem to like each other. He’s come over nearly every day. He’s been trying to get me to teach him French.”
“What did you do?”
“Made up a bunch of words. I hope he doesn’t meet a Frenchman and use them. It could be embarrassing.”
“But it would be funny.”
“That’s true.”
At that moment two tawny owls flew in through the open window and dropped two letters on the bed. They drank some water from Sarah’s owl’s bowl and swooped through the window again.
Lily picked up the envelope addressed to her. The letter said that there were three new spell books and she needed dress robes for the graduation ball. She picked up her envelope again and noticed that there was still something in it. She shook it into her palm and out fell a badge along with another letter that said to meet up with the head-on in the first compartment on the train to tell the prefects what to do.
When Sarah saw the badge she squealed. “Oh Lily, I knew you’d get that. Congratulations.”
“Thanks. But that means I won’t be in the same dorm with you anymore. I’ll have to stay in the head dorm.”
Sarah grasped her hand, “But you’ll come and visit every day, and we’ll go and visit you all the time.”
“Well, that’s good. I wonder who the head boy is…”



James stood there in shock holding the head boy badge in his hand. He was unable to respond to Sirius calling his name. Finally Sirius came barging into the room and grabbed James by the shoulder. “What’s the matter? Are you deaf or something? I must have called you-” he stopped short when he saw the badge in his friend’s hand.
“Head boy?” he asked weakly.
James managed a weak smile. “So now what?”
Sirius regained his composure and sense of humor. “So now it seems like you’re the head of the school.”
“But I’ll have to stay in the head dorm…”
“That would be cool. A whole common room to yourself. We can visit you whenever we want. We’d get the whole place to our self.”
“And the head girl,” put in James.



Lily and Sarah headed to the scarlet Hogwarts Express with their trunks on trolleys. They met up with Emma and Alice and put their trunks above the seat of their compartments.
After the train started moving they stood around for five minutes and talked about their summers, when Lily remembered that she had to go to the first compartment. She opened her trunk, pulled out her badge and hastily pinned it on as she strode down the aisle to the compartment. When she reached the door she smoothed down her hair and rearranged her face into a cool, relaxed look. She slid open the door and strode it. There stood James Potter. She looked at him curiously, “What are you doing her Pott-” her eyes fell on the badge on his chest, her eyes widened, “You’re…you’re…you’re…head boy?!”
Lily had thought about who the head boy would be, but James Potter was the last one on her mind.
He smiled and turned to the prefects who were regarding them with curiosity. “Everyone, Please meet the new head girl, Lily Evans.”
“Lily regained her composure. “It’s nice to meet you all.”
James continued, “As I was telling you before Miss Evans here came in, your duties consist of keeping the other students in line. Filch has about three hundred items that are banned and it’s your responsibility to keep an eye out for them and confiscate any that you see.”
Lily decided that she had to say something. “Prefects are allowed to take points from houses, but if either I or Potter here, hear of you abusing that power we can easily take the privilege from you.”
“That’s right.”
Lily pulled out a few slips of paper from her pocket, she handed a different one to each pair of prefects. “Those are passwords to open your houses. Be sure to tell everyone in your house. We don’t want any first years to wander around the castle at night.”
“Now here’s what you have to do now,” said James. “You just have to patrol the aisle every once in a while. Break up any fights. Make sure people stay in the compartments, and check the closets for snogging couples. Tell them to stay in the compartment if they want to engage in that sort of activity.”
The prefects laughed and then filed out to go back to their friends.
James turned to face Lily. “So, how was your summer?”
She looked at him, “It was alright. How was yours?”
“Good…Sirius came to stay.”
“How much trouble did you cause? The two of you together is pretty deadly.”
“Surprising little. Now that we’re able to use magic outside of school life has been easier.”
“I’d imagine.”
“Yeah, I could turn Sirius’ orange juice into liquid soap with almost no effort.”
Lily cocked an eyebrow. “I see. I’ll see you in Dumbledore’s office after the feast.” She left.



James headed back to his compartment to find Sirius, Remus, and Peter eating snacks and sweets.
“So who’s head girl?” asked Remus.
“Evans.”
Sirius gagged on his chocolate frog. “You’re kidding.”
James shook his head.
“You and Evans both living in the head dorm. That’s going to be difficult,” said Peter.
“No,” said James matter-of-factly, “It’s going to be a chance to change.”



Lily stormed into the compartment with her friends, “ Potter’s head boy.”
“No!”
“He is.”
The three girls smirked.
“What’s so funny?”
“Well,” said Emma. “You’re going to have to live with him in the head dorm.”
Lily slumped in her seat. “I hadn’t even thought of that. You guys are coming over every day so I don’t have to be alone with Potter and his friends.”
“Don’t worry Lily,” assured Sarah. “We will.”
“What did he say?” asked Alice.
“Asked about my summer…”
“So…he was polite?”
“I guess…well, polite for him at least…”


Please respond once you've read this...happy holidays...

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This chapter was pretty fun to write. But I still need you guys to tell me if it is any good.


Chapter Eight:

After a very long and scrumptious feast Lily bid her friends goodnight and head out the side door towards Dumbledore’s office. Since this was the first time she had been alone that day she began to think about everything that had taken place. She could not understand what Dumbledore was thinking at giving Potter the powers of a head boy. He would definitely take advantage of it. It would just make it easier for him to torment people who were irritating him. Potter would know the passwords to all the common rooms. So nothing would stop him from shaving Snape’s head, or putting him in a magically induced coma or something. And then, the most puzzling question of all…Why was he being polite to her on the train? That was very unlike him. She closed her eyes and furrowed her brow, she didn’t feel like trying to think about it too hard.
When she reached the stone gargoyle she reached into her robes pocket and pulled out the letter again. From the content written she was able to deduce that the password was ‘sugar quill’. Upon saying it the gargoyle came to life and jumped aside, allowing her to pass through the door. She walked into a circular room that had many books lining the walls and tables set up with trinkets and devices.
“Good Evening, Miss Evans,” came a quiet voice from the corner.
Lily jumped and turned to face Albus Dumbledore. “It’s nice to see you Professor.”
Dumbledore looked at the door. “As soon as Mr. Potter figures out the password from the letter we can begin.”
As if on cue the door slide open and James stumbled in. “Evening Professor…Evans,” he nodded to her.
Dumbledore beamed, “Good Evening James, I’m glad that you could make it.”
Lily merely nodded at him.
Their headmaster was known for being brilliant, yet a little bit mad at the same time. He seemed to know a lot more then he ever let on and occasionally had unexplainable bursts of happiness. He clapped him hands together, looking delighted. “I must say, I am very happy about my choice for head boy and girl this year. I know that the pair of you will do your jobs remarkably. You are going to have a lot of responsibilities this year,” his voice suddenly became more serious and lowered slightly, as if making sure no one but them could hear. “As you may have heard, a very powerful wizard naming himself Lord Voldemort has moved himself into the area and has brought it upon himself to rid the land of all muggles, muggle-borns, and what they deem to be, blood traitors,” Lily flinched a little but Dumbledore continued on. “Lord Voldemort has countless people working for him, whether it be by force…or their lust for power. They call themselves the deatheaters. They kill and torture mercilessly. I have long suspected that Voldemort has certain students within Hogwarts brainwashed with the allusion of power and importance. These students will do whatever their master asks without hesitation,” he paused, “During your nightly rounds I want you to note any suspicious behavior that you observe and report your findings to me.”
James and Lily nodded silently.
Dumbledore went on. “You will also be responsible for giving the prefects their duties and pretty much keeping the students in line.”
Lily and James nodded again.
“Your dorm is located on the fourth floor behind the picture of the two crowns next to each other. The password is metamorphagis. This year’s head boy and girl are being given more responsibilities then last, but I have a feeling that the two of you will be able to pull it off,” he pointed towards the door with a twinkle in his eye.
They both gave their hasty good-byes and headed out the door. James looked sideways at Lily as they walked along. What he saw startled him. She looked somewhat afraid and unsure of what to do, an emotion he had never seen her express. Then it hit him. Lily was muggle-born. He realized that he had to say something. But what? He bit his lip nervously and tried to remember his lessons from Remus. He realized that if he said the wrong thing then she would just get mad at him and he didn’t want that. He slowly took a deep breath. “Don’t worry Lily.”
She looked up at him, startled. “what?”
“I…” he faltered. “I don’t want you to worry about Voldemort.”
Lily laughed, but with no humor in her eyes. “Well, that’s going to be a bit difficult, seeing as my entire family is at risk, don’t you think?”
“Well, I’m not saying that it’s a problem, but I don’t want to see you upset because of it…It’s a sad sight. I’m sure your family is strong. They’ll get through it.”
Lily looked slightly taken back. “I see, but don’t worry about me Potter, I’ll be fine.”
They reached the portrait hole and James said the password half heartedly, as though expecting it not to work. But suddenly the crowns interlocked with each other and the picture swung forward, revealing a brightly lit room.
James walked forward hesitantly with Lily close behind him. The common room had sofas and chairs spread out everywhere, and a roaring fire on one side. There were two desks facing each other from opposite sides and bookcases lined the wall. Portraits of the four Hogwarts founders hung on the walls, one on each. The walls had decorative curtains of red satin and there was a large window at the far end looking over the Quidditch pitch. This window had an alcove to sit in full of throw pillows. There were two doors opposite each other that led to the bedrooms, each having a plaque engraved with their names, followed by whether they were head boy or girl. Lily gasped when she saw the room. In front of her James was equally awestruck.
“Pretty good place,” said James.
Lily nodded in agreement and went to look around the room. James did the say. They began opening doors to look through the rooms and examining the drawers in the desks. James was looking through the books. He picked up a book discussing different types of transfiguration and began to read it when Lily’s voice rang out, “Hey Potter…”
“Yeah?” he replied absentmindedly.
“There’s only one bathroom. What are we going to do about that?”
He looked up from his book. “I dunno…we can take turns. You know…always remember to know, that kind of stuff…”
“Okay…” she said hesitantly. “Just remember to knock…”
“Yeah, okay,” he said, going back to his book.
Lily sat down at her desk and pulled out some parchment and a quill. She wrote a letter to Sarah telling her how to get to the head dorms so that she could visit in the future. There was no way she was going to spend the year in this room with Potter. She would need to have her friends there to help her keep her head with Potter. After a while she stood up and stretched. “I’m going to bed Potter…”
He nodded, still absorbed in his book, but when she stood up he suddenly spoke. “I got a proposition for you…”
Lily looked at him quizzically, wondering what he could possible want from her. “What about?”
He carefully marked the page in his book and set it down carefully on his desk. He got up and walked around the desk, trailing his fingers lightly along the surface, “See, the way I see it, we’ve known each other for what? Seven years now? That’s a long time. I think that over the years we have both grown older, wiser, and more mature. We now handle situations differently now, then we would, say five years ago. We have learned a lot from our mistakes and can take bigger steps to new possibilities. I think that since that has happened we can act more civilized towards each other and I don’t think that we should be so crude as to call each other by our surnames.”
“You do, do you?”
“Yes…come on, you have to admit…this is getting pretty old. What do you say?”
Lily looked at him with piercing eyes that seemed to be probing him. This was the last thing that she had expected him to say. It was as though he was trying to be nice. Like actually trying to understand her better. She searched his hazel eyes for any form of deceit, but she found no lie in his words.
“Alright, James, I’ll do it.”

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ha, skipped a day...but here's chapter nine. I've wanted to thank everyone who has replied since I started this...it's a good inspiration...

Chapter Nine:

James sat up in bed, yawned, and stretched. He had stayed up late the night before and hadn’t really looked around his room. When his eyes adjusted to the light he took a long look around him. He was in a red, canopy bed with long maroon drapes falling around him. There were mahogany tables and dressers lining the walls. Above his dresser a gold rimmed mirror hung on the wall. He pulled on some clothes, followed by his school robes. He carefully pinned his head boy badge to his chest. He picked up his book bag and headed out his room door, wanting to run a wet comb through his hair. He knocked on the bathroom door and then walked in. He ran his comb under the faucet and began trying to make his hair lie flat.
“It’s not going to work you know…” came a voice from the door.
Lily was leaning against the doorway, watching him. She was dressed in her Hogwarts robes and had her schoolbag slung across her shoulders. In there arms she held all sorts of bathroom supplies. There were soaps, lotions, hair care products, and cosmetics. “It’s always going to be messy,” she continued.
He worked on with the comb. “I would rather it be stylishly messy…then bad messy.” He flicked some water at her with his comb. “What is all that stuff you’re carrying?”
Lily walked past him to the sink next to his. “Just the stuff I need in a bathroom,” she began setting up the soaps and lotions.
James looked at the load, shocked. “Do all girls need all that in a bathroom?”
“No, most girls need more.”
James’ eyes widened. “Well, if you’re setting up your stuff, can I set up mine?”
Lily looked at him with a slight smirk on her face, “Well, James, you got some mascara and eyeliner in that room of yours?”
“Ha-ha, no.” He left and came back carrying some soap, a toothbrush and toothpaste, a razor, and shaving cream,” he set them up on his side of the bathroom.
Lily finished setting up her supplies neatly and then walked out of the room. James followed her, he offered his arm. Lily looked at him skeptically, took his arm, straightened it out, and put it back at his side. “We’re going to breakfast.” She headed out the portrait hole with him at her side. As they walked down to the Great Hall they decided that Lily would take the first shift and James the second in terms of patrolling the corridors at night.
“I don’t know,” said Lily quietly, to make sure no one could overhear. “If what Dumbledore says is true, then what happens if someone jumps out and attacks one of us?”
James shrugged. “Just start yelling as loudly as you can and wake up the whole castle.”
“Do you know how stupid we’d look?”
“Oh well, it would save you from an attack…”
They reached the Great Hall and Lily bid James goodbye and went to find Sarah, Alice, and Emma. She sat down with them an loaded her plate with eggs and bacon. She looked up to see all three girls staring at her.
“What?”
“You came down here with Potter…”
“Yeah.”
Their eyes widened, “What do you mean ‘yeah’? What happened between the two of you?”
Lily looked at them with a frown on her face, “Nothing. We just decided that if we are going to have to share the head dorm then we are going to have to try and act civilized towards each other.”
Her friends gaped at her. “You’re kidding!”
Lily began to loose her temper. “Guys, it is not that big of a deal.”
“You’re right,” said Sarah. “Feel free to date him…”
Lily gagged. “Date Potter! Have you lost your mind? That is absolutely insane.”
“Same old Lily,” sighed Emma. “maybe you should give him a chance…bow that you have to work with him…”
“No!”
“Well, what happened last night?”
“He just said he didn’t want us to call each other by our last name. Not that big of a deal.”
“Was he nice?”
Lily shifted uneasily. She didn’t know how to answer that because she couldn’t figure out to describe how he had acted. “I guess. Not necessarily nice, more like…direct, to the point.”
“I see.”
Lily wanted to direct the conversation away from James. “You guys are all coming over the head dorm after lessons. Okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Definitely. What’s it like in there?”
“It’s absolutely amazing. It’s a room fit for royalty. I can’t wait until you guys see it.”
Professor McGonagall made her way to the group of girls, holding a stack of blank schedules.
“Ah, Miss Evans, our recipient of the headgirlship, a difficult position, but an excellent choice nonetheless.”
“Thank you Professor.”
McGonagall looked at Lily’s folder. “I see that you are applying for all the classes you did last year…charms, potions, transfiguration, defense against the dark arts, herbology, and arithmacy. And of course you qualify for all of them.” She tapped the schedule with her wand and it was suddenly full of the courses and their descriptions. The other girls received their schedules and they all headed to their first class, potions.
“You know what’s really lousy about having potions first?” asked Lily as they headed down to the dungeon.
“What?” asked Alice.
“It’s freezing in the morning and the dungeons are even colder.”
The other girls agreed.



By the end of the day Lily and her friends were exhausted. All their teachers had spent at least ten minutes at the beginning of the class talking about the importance of their seventh year in regards to their NEWTs. The teachers were trying their best to make sure the students got as much knowledge as they were physically able to. Slughorn had the class start the base for the Wolfsbane potion. In Transfiguration they began working on exceeding complex human transfigurations. In Charms they were learning how to hear people talking from long distance. In defense against the dark arts they had advanced past nonverbal spells and they were moving onto wandless spells, incase they were attacked and disarmed. It was extremely difficult and it was said that only a handful of people could fully accomplish it. Lily had a load of books in her arms, along with several folders of paper. She was leading her friends back to the head dorms when she rounded a corner and walked straight into someone coming from the opposite direction. She fell over backwards and all the books rained down on top of her. The papers all came out of order and scattered and slid all over the marble floor. Emma and Sarah set down their stuff and pulled Lily to her feet. Alice scrambled around picking up the stray papers and books.
In front of her Severus Snape got to his feet with a sneer on his face. His black greasy hair fell over his eyes. It didn’t fall gracefully and elegantly like Sirius’ did. It just looked like a mess, “Watch where you’re going Evans. Being head girl doesn’t give you the authority to run into people.”
Lily rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say Snape.” She took her books from Alice and continued walking.
“I don’t see what Dumbledore is playing at making a mud blood head girl,” he called after her.
Lily kept walking. They reached the portrait of the two crowns and walked into the common room. Lily’s friends looked around the room, stunned at its formality.
“I can’t believe that you actually get to stay here,” said Alice, looking around.
They settled themselves on a couch. Lily pulled a mahogany table into the middle so that they could work an talk at the same time.
“Can you believe how much homework we can?” Emma grumbled as she pulled out her books, parchment, quill, and ink.
They all followed suit and began talking and working.
“So Sarah,” asked Lily. “Have you talked to Nathan?”
Sarah beamed, “I ran into him on my way to muggle studies. He asked about my summer and said we should hang out at the next Hogsmeade trip.”
“That’s great!”
“So,” said Emma. “Quidditch tryouts are this coming weekend. Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and then Slytherin. Should we watch?”
Lily rolled her eyes. “You can see everything from that window over there.”
At that moment James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter walked in. The latter three of the four gasped when they walked in. Sirius tipped an invisible hat to the girls sitting there. “So, how was your first day back?”
For some reason Emma blushed and giggled affectionately. “It was marvelous. How was yours?”
Sirius grinned and sat down next to her. “Pretty good.”
James looked eager to join them but Remus discreetly pulled on is sleeve and whispered, “Don’t appear too eager. Let’s go sit over there,” the other three boys took some chairs around a table in the corner. They pulled out their homework. James was bored, he took a bouncy ball out of his pocket and threw it back and forth against the wall. “Hey Moony…I want it to be a full moon. When’s the next one?”
Remus looked irritable. “Next weekend...Sunday I think.”
“Cool.”
“You’d think so, wouldn’t you?”
James looked a little sheepish, remembering having to watch his friend’s painful transformation. “Sorry.”
“What’s going on between Sirius and Emma?” asked Peter.
They looked over and saw Emma and Sirius laughing together. James and Sirius had been best friends since they were three years old…and he had never seen a look on his friend’s face quite like that one.


Well there it is...let me know what you think please...

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Okay, thank you to everyone who was waiting paciently. It's not too long but the next chapter is should be long. I have a favor to ask. If you ever notice that one of my lines brings the person out of character you have to let me know immediately. Because my main goal with this is to keep everyone in character. Thanks!

Chapter Ten:

Lily cast an annoyed look in James’ direction. She and her friends had just come back from the Gryffindor quidditch tryouts. James, as quidditch captain, had chosen a few new players, but when it was the Ravenclaw’s turn for tryouts he and his friends had come back up to the head dorm. Now they were all gathered around the window watching the Slytherin tryouts.
“That guy cannot fly!”
“Look, he fell off.”
“Oh my God, I think they’re going to crash…”
“Oww, that looked like it hurt.”
“Are arms supposed to point in that direction?”
“They’ll send him to the hospital wing.”
“Look at Snivellus’ skinny legs.”
“They could probably snap like toothpicks.”
“Guys, be nice, it’s not his fault…”
“Not his fault? He’s a git.”
James pulled out his wand. “I think Snivellus needs some air.” He swished his wand and a strong breezed hit Snape, causing his broom to go off course and his robes to fly over his head.
“Let’s set his broom on fire.”
Sirius pulled out his wand, but Remus stopped him. “No. That could be dangerous.”
“So?”
“So…we could get more then just a detention.”
Lily glowered in their direction and turned to her friends. “What gives him the right to do that?”
They shrugged. “Snape deserves it.”
“He’s head boy! He can’t just go and cause someone harm.”
They looked over at James who was making Snape spin in circles. When Snape finally managed to land his broom he was so dizzy that he walked into one of the quidditch hoop poles. They boys burst out laughing. Sirius had tears leaking from the corner of his eyes. Remus was trying his hardest to look on disapprovingly, but he was doing a bad job at it.
Lily crossed her arm and leaned back in her chair, glaring at him. When she couldn’t stand it anymore she got up and strode over to where the Marauders were sitting. She crossed her arms and stood behind them as they craned their necks to look out the window.
“Are you guys ever going to leave him alone?”
They turned.
“Why should we?” asked Sirius.
“Because he hasn’t done anything to you.”
“Sure he has,” said James, his hand going to the back of his head. “He’s the biggest prat that has walked the earth. Haven’t you seen him? During his free periods he goes to the library and reads books talking about the Dark Arts and what they’re used for.”
“What he does doesn’t concern you. Just let him read the book. It doesn’t give you the right to curse him. And you’re head boy. You’re supposed to set a good example.”
James looked at her skeptically. “Okay, I’ll make you a deal. I won’t ever harm old Snivellus down there again…if…you’ll agree to spend some time with me outside of class.”
Along with the marauders, all of Lily’s friends were watching what was happening in front of them. They looked a little fearful of the reaction from Lily.
“No!”
“Why not?”
Lily looked like she was near the end of her rope. “Will you ever get it through your thick skull that not all girls want to go out with you?” She stormed into her room and slammed the door behind her.
James stood there dumbfounded. How was he going to get her to give him a chance?
He looked over at Lily’s friends; they were all looking at him with smirks on their faces. Sarah rolled her eyes. “You’re really bad at this, James.”
Remus shook his head. “I agree. Did you just forget everything I told you over the summer?
James sighed. “Yes.”



Lily sat in her room scribbling an essay that was due next week. She wrote with furious intensity. She was interrupted by a tapping on the window. She looked up and saw an owl holding a letter in its beak.

Dear Lily,
Your father and I hope that your term has started out alright.We know that you will make us proud. The purpose of this letter is to inform you that your sister has received a marriage proposal. The man in question is Vernon Dursley. He has promised us that he will care for and support Petunia. Vernon is using that money he has saved up to buy a house. I was able to persuade your sister to plan a spring wedding so that you can come down for a few days during your Easter break. Unfortunately, Petunia has chosen someone else to represent her maid of Honor, but is having you attend nonetheless. I will write to you when I have more details. Can’t wait to see you!
Love,
Mum


James and his friends were sitting on one of the couches while Lily’s friends sat on one across the room. Suddenly the door burst open and Lily came running out clutching a piece of paper in her hand. “Sarah! Sarah! Petunia is going to marry Vernon! My mum just sent the letter. They’re engaged.”
“No way!” Sarah squealed and jumped forward and grabbed the letter, scanning it.
When she put it down she looked at Lily. “Your mum makes it seem like Petunia doesn’t want you at the wedding.”
Lily shrugged. “She probably doesn’t. But my mum wouldn’t let her not invite me. But as long as I show up dressed normally she won’t complain too much.”
Sarah looked disgusted. “Your sister needs to get over herself. You should show up in wizards robes and see what she does.”
Lily shook her head, “No. I don’t want to ruin her wedding.”


Again, it's short, but more later. Please leave feadback here:
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okay chapter eleven. sorry bout spelling and grammar. I'm in a huge rush. happy new years. I'll reply to your feedback later


Chapter Eleven:

The next day was Sunday. Lily walked out of her room to find James sitting in a chair, absorbed in a book. He looked up at her and acknowledged her by nodding his head. She returned it and then walked into the bathroom to use the shower. Twenty minutes later she walked out fully dressed, wringing her hair with a towel. James watched her carefully over the top of his book, looking for any sign that she was still mad. He noticed that she wasn’t scowling anymore. That had to be a good sign. He had been planning on apologizing all morning. He knew that he had to or things would be awkward between them. But now that he had the chance he didn’t know how to approach the subject. He couldn’t figure out the right wording. He knew what he wanted to say, but it was like his brain couldn’t put it into workable sentences. When she began walking back to her bedroom James knew that his only chance was slipping through his fingers. It was now or never.
He swallowed his pride. “Sorry,” he muttered.
Lily froze in her tracks, he hand on the door knob. James couldn’t see, but her eyes were wide in dismay. Her whole body went rigid. James Potter apologizing? The thought was unthinkable. He had been one of the only people whose pride matched her own. And for him to unwind it now was…was…mind-blowing.
She turned abruptly. “I beg your pardon?”
James regained his confidence now that Lily had actually replied. She could have kept walking, but she had chosen to hear him out. “I…I’m sorry that I put you in a difficult position.” He shifted uneasily and rubbed the back of his neck. “It was wrong of me and I ask for your forgiveness.”
It took all of Lily’s will to stop her mouth from dropping open. There’s no way that this could be happening. It all seemed unreal, somewhat like a dream. Part of her wanted to start laughing, but the other part knew that James was dead serious. Slowly that reality of it all began to blossom inside her, until it penetrated her entire body. Until she knew for sure that this was really happening. She found herself nodding. “I’m sorry too James, I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that.”
He grinned and held out his hand. “Truce?”
Lily hesitated and furrowed her eyebrows. “What does it consist of?”
James thought for a moment and then shrugged. “I dunno…I guess that we could just respect each other. Be polite and courteous to each other…What do you think?”
Lily studied him with piercing eyes. “Okay.” She grasped his hand and shook it.
He looked at their interlocked hands and a big smile lit up his face. “Good. And…I’ll try my hardest to hold my tongue when I’m around you.”
A very faint smile curved at her lips. “That’s all I ask from you.”



“So, she forgave you?” asked Sirius, lying on his bed, sucking on a sugar quill. They were in Gryffindor Tower in the boy’s dormitory, all crowded around Sirius’ bed. Candy wrappers and scrunched up balls of parchment littered the floor around them.
“Yeah.” James was lying on the floor next to the bed.
“That’s good,” said Remus. “Maybe things will look up between the two of you from now on. As long as you watch what you say you should be fine.”
“I got some advice for you Mate,” said Sirius, taking the sugar quill out of his mouth. “Maybe next time you decided to curse old Snivellus…you shouldn’t let Lily see you. She might soften towards you faster if she didn’t know that you were attacking Snape all the time.”
James opened his mouth in protest, but Remus cut him off. “Sirius is right. She’ll think of you a lot better.”
He nodded. “Okay, I’ll try.”
Remus looked out the window. “The moon should come out in about two hours. Thanks for coming with my tonight guys.”
Sirius grabbed his shoulder. “It’s really no problem Moony. We’ve gone with you every full moon since our third year…and we still will.”
Remus managed a weak smile.
James jumped to his feet and swore. “I have to patrol the corridors after Lily. How an I going to do that and come with you guys at the same time? What would happen if Lily finds out I didn’t do it? Our whole secret will be blown.”
“Well you don’t have to go. You could stay here and come next ti-…”
“No! I have to come. I’ve always been there and I’m not going to miss it because of some effing Head Boy duty.”
“Well then how are you going to do it?”
James rested his head against the wall and thought about it. “Well…if I told Lily that I was spending the evening with you guys and then would patrol the castle straight from here then I could go down with you guys and then take a quick look around the castle on my way back to the head dorm. She would never know…”
The boys frowned. “That could work, but we have to be very careful. Lily is smart, make sure she doesn’t catch you in a lie.”
“Right. I’ll bring the cloak and map. I’ll be back at nine. Then we can leave.”
Ten minutes later James was sprinting back to the head dorm. He skid to a halt outside the entrance and after saying the password, ran inside. Lily was sitting at her desk copying some text from her charms book onto her essay that would be due next week.
“Hello James,” she said, not looking up.
“Hey, umm,” he tried to remember what he was supposed to say. “I’m going to go back to Gryffindor tower to spend the rest of the evening with Sirius, Remus, and Peter. I’ll start my shift patrolling the castle straight form there. So don’t worry if I don’t come back.”
Lily set down her quill. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
He rolled his eyes and ran into his bedroom and began hunting through his trunk. He finally found his silvery invisibility cloak and the map he and his friends made. The map showed every detail in the castle, along with where everyone was. The cloak had been given to him by his father, from when he had used it at Hogwarts. He shoved them in his pockets so that Lily wouldn’t see and ran out again, ignoring Lily’s look of bewilderment.
He ran back to his friends. They watched him anxiously as he climbed through the portrait hole and when he made it over to where they were sitting Remus stood up. “I’m going to Madam Promphy in the Hospital Wing. I’ll meet up with you guys later.” He walked off with a grim look on his face.
“Poor guy,” said Sirius, pity etched on his face.
James and Peter nodded in agreement and then got up and inconspicuously headed out the portrait hole. When they got to the front door James looked over his shoulder to make sure the corridor was deserted. He took out his invisibility cloak and draped it over their shoulders. James and Sirius both had gotten so tall that they had to stoop to make sure the feet hid their feet. Peter was pretty stout so they didn’t have to worry about him too much. They struggled to keep their step inline with one another. They opened the door and slipped off into the night.

They stood about five hundred feet away from the Womping Willow and watched as Madam Promphy sprinted away as the moon came into full view from behind a cluster of clouds. They could do nothing by watch in horror as one of their best friends turned into a full blood werewolf. His face contorted and lengthened until it was a snout with inch long teeth and a keen sense of smell. His eyes turned unfocussed and bloodshot.
“Showtime,” muttered James under his breath.
They pulled off the cloak and emptied their pockets, leaving the contents under a bush so that they wouldn’t get lost during the night’s events.
“Okay go, Peter,” said Sirius.
Peter began shrinking and acquiring pointed features. A long, bald tail jutted out from his backside. As a rat he started scampering towards the Womping Willow. James and Sirius started after him, taking on their transformations as they ran. Sirius’s face contorted to a muzzle, his hands and feet turned into paws. Once his appearance matched that of a black dog he began to run on all fours. Meanwhile James’ arms and legs thinned and grew hooves. Antlers started growing out of his head and he took on the features of an elegant stag.
Peter ran ahead of them and slipped under the willow’s swooping branches. He began climbing up the trunk and pushed the know above the entrance hole. The tree immediately froze in place and the rat slipped through the hole.
James and Sirius ran up to the werewolf and began herding it towards the entrance of the Womping Willow. As a werewolf Remus did not recognize his friends and didn’t have any control over his own actions. His instinct told him to bite and scratch. He retaliated against the dog and stag, lashing out at any that came too near. As animals, Remus’ bite did not effect them as it would effect a human. They had an immunity to it. They went in again and tried to usher their friend to the opening. Remus took a swipe at Sirius; his claws cutting through his side. The dog howled at the attack and backed up a few steps, blood dripping out of the deep wound. James took that opportunity to push the werewolf forward with his antlers. They were five feet from the entrance, but they couldn’t get Remus to go down. When James pushed harder Remus growled at him and bit one of his legs, right above the ankle. Sirius came up and pushed the werewolf and it slid through the hole. Sirius and James quickly followed, both panting heavily. They knew that if they hadn’t been there then Remus would be a lot worse and cause more harm then he already had. They found Peter perched on a bedpost, next to Remus, who was lying on the bed scratching up the mattress so that more stuffing came out. James and Sirius were so tired and sore that they both flopped down on the floor.

James awoke with a start. He was sore everywhere. He had fallen asleep on the floor of the shrinking shack, still a stag. He looked around. Everyone around him was asleep. He crept out the door and up the stairs and looked at the sky through the entrance. It was still dark but he could tell that the sun would come up in a bout two hours time. They had to get back in the castle before anyone woke up and noticed that they were gone. He went back to the room where everyone was sleeping. He began prodding Sirius with his hoof and they went over to Peter and did the same. He found a dusty section in the corner and checked over his shoulder to make sure Remus was really asleep before he turned back to human form. He quickly scrawled in the dust,
Hey Moony,
We had to leave early to get hack to the castle. Had fun last night.

-Prongs, Padfoot, and Wormtail
He turned back into a stag and led his friends out the door and to the bush where they left their stuff. All at once they turned back to human form. Sirius grinned. “That was a lot fun. Can’t wait until next month.”
The other two boys agreed. James pulled out the map and touched it with his wand. “I solemnly swear that I’m up to no good.”
Spidery lines appeared on the parchment. No one was lingering around the entrance hall so it was safe to go in. They quickly donned the invisibility cloak and rushed back into the castle. James pulled off the cloak once they were inside.
“What are you doing?!” gasped Sirius.
James smiled, “As head boy I want to be sure that I don’t catch the two of you out of bed at this hour. Now let me escort you back to Gryffindor Tower.”
He grabbed them both by their upper arms and marched them back to the portrait hole. They had to yell ‘mandrake juice’ for ten minutes before the fat lady woke up. Then they had to stand there for another five minutes as she told them off for being out so late.
“I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” said James. He winked and walked away.
He was just outside the entrance to the head dorms when, perfectus totalus, rang through the air.

it was going to have more but I had to cut it off there because i had to go. i'll write the rest tomorrow...who do you think it is? feedback please

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Okay here it is. Pretty cool stuff. Bonding.


Chapter Twelve:

James, caught off guard, didn’t have a chance to block it and his arms, legs, and jaw snapped together. He began falling backwards, he tried to brace himself for the fall, but couldn’t. He hit the ground hard. He saw nothing but stars for a moment, but it passed. A rough pair of hands pulled him up and leaned him against the wall. He saw Severus Snape’s greasy nose inches from his own.
“I knew that if I waited here long enough you’d come back from your werewolf friend,” he said in a snide voice.
James remembered the events from last year. Snape had been very curious about where Remus went each month. Sirius had told him that to find out all he had to do was push the knot on the Womping Willow and go down the tunnel. Of course Snape tried it. When James had found out that Snape would meet a full bred werewolf he ran after him and tried to pull him back. He couldn’t let Snape see him in animagus form so he had to do it while running the risk that he could be bitten. He nearly had been, but he had managed to get Snape away before any harm befell him. But Snape did glimpse Remus…and Dumbledore made him swear not to repeat what he saw.

“You’re not so brave when you’re by yourself,” Snape continued. “Always had to have your friends around so you could show off your nonexistent talent.”
James’ eyes narrowed and he struggled against the spell holding him. It wouldn’t budge. Snape eyed him loathingly and then punched him three times in the side of the face with quick succession, and once again in the stomach. Blood began pouring from his nose and he couldn’t breathe for a minute. It surprised him how much strength Snape had. He had always considered him to be weak and scrawny. He knew that Snape was trying to get a reaction out of him, but he refused to allow even the smallest grunt out of his mouth.
“That’s for messing up my quidditch tryouts.” Then he kicked him right were Remus had bitten him around the ankle. It started bleeding again. James still wouldn’t allow any sound to come out of his mouth.
“Now I’m going to leave you here so that when the entire school wakes up they will see their Head Boy beaten and bloody. They’ll know that you’re not as infallible as you make yourself appear. They’ll know that when you strut down the hallways you really have no power and it’s all just a show. Your reputation will be diminished in the course of five minutes. About how long it will take for the news to travel around the school.” Snape sneered. With one last venomous glare he spit on James and walked away.

James knew that he would never hate anyone as much as he hated Snape. This was beyond low, even for him. He cursed Snape with every swear word he knew, and then made up a few. After a while he realized that he had to pay attention to the task at hand. There was no way he was going to let the whole school see him like that. Blood was still dripping from his nose, staining his face and front side. He struggled trying to do nonverbal and wandless spells until his face turned purple. But it was useless. He had no control of any movement. He imagined Lily’s reaction when she walked out of the head dorm to find him plastered to the wall like salami. He would have no chance with her, now that he would be the laughing stock of the school. After about twenty minutes of standing there contemplating exactly what was going to happen, he strained to try and move some part of his body. The spell had lessened very slightly and he was able to move his right hand a half an inch to the left. He felt the very tip of his pinky graze the very end of his wand through his robes. It wasn’t much, but it was something. He summoned all his willpower and thought the counter curse as thoroughly and directly as he could. It was as if invisible ropes had finally been cut from him. He was able to move again, but his whole face was sore and bruised, along with his stomach. His leg was sensitive to touch and throbbed whenever he put weight on it. He muttered the password and slowly limped forward.



Lily awoke with a sudden start. She had begun patrolling at ten o’clock until her shift ended at eleven. She had gone back to the head dorm and gone to sleep assuming that James had taken over until his shift ended at midnight. But as she sat up in bed she had a feeling that something wasn’t right. She looked out the window; dawn was approaching. Lily groaned and tried to go back to sleep. She wanted to get as much rest as possible. Right before she drifted off she heard something come into the common room. Lily was so drowsy that she figured that it must be her imagination. But then the noise came again…but it sounded like the thing was moving very slowly, as if they didn’t want anyone to know that they were there. She realized that she had to do something. Someone could be trying to break in. She slowly slid out of bed and picked up her wand from the bedside table. She cautiously opened the door, afraid of what she’d find out there.
“Lumos,” she whispered.
There stood James, covered in dirt and blood.

“Oh my God James, what happened?” She ran over to help him walk.
He unsuccessfully tried to smile, “Go back to bed Lily, I’m fine.”
“Don’t tell me you’re fine. You’re covered in blood!” She ran into the bathroom and began wetting towels.
“It’s not that big of a deal Lily,” he called after her. “I just had a little reunion with Snivellus.” It was half the truth. But he wasn’t going to tell her about Remus…and she wouldn’t have bought that he fell down the stairs.
“Well then why didn’t you start yelling and wake up the whole castle?” asked Lily, coming out with an armload of damp towels and a bottle of peroxide. She threw one to him and he began gingerly wiping his face. “He paralyzed my entire body. I could barely blink.”
She started soaking cotton balls with peroxide. “Then how did you get out?”
“Nonverbal spells.” He eyed the bottle of peroxide. “Don’t start pouring that muggle medicine on me!”
She looked at him skeptically. “Unless you want to admit to Madam Pomphry that you got beaten up by Snape then you’re using this. It prevents you from getting sick.”
He reluctantly rolled up his sleeve and held out his arm. She began dabbing at the cuts and abrasions lining his arms. He sucked in his breath slightly and the unexpected sting and fizzing. Lily conjured some ice out of thin air, wrapped it in a towel and handed it to James to ease the swelling around his face.
He closed his eyes and allowed the ice to relieve the pain. Lily’s voice broke the silence. “Hey James?”
He kept his eyes closed. “Yeah?”
“Did you say Snape did this all to you?”
“Yes,” he said absentmindedly.
“But this is a bite on your ankle. It doesn’t look human…”
James sat up quickly and pretended to look at it curiously. “ Oh yeah…that…well I…In care of magical creatures the other day Professor Kettleburn had these animals that we had to feed. One of them clamped down on my leg. When Snape kicked it, it started bleeding again. No big deal.”
Lily looked at him suspiciously. She didn’t fully believe he was telling her everything, but she didn’t have anything to prove that he was lying. “I see. It looks painful.”
He put on a brave sort of smile. “Nah.”
“Are you going to report Snape?” asked Lily.
“No.”
“Why? He could get in a lot of trouble for attacking the Head Boy.”
“I’m not a snitch. Besides I don’t have anything to prove it.”
“Well, what are you going to tell the people who ask you about what happened to your face? That’s a good size bruise,” she smiled. “I could but some makeup on it for you…”
“Uh…no, that won’t be necessary. I’ll just tell them I fell down the stairs.”
Lily smirked, “Like they’ll believe you.”
“Who are they going to believe? Me, the headboy…or that slimy git, Snivellus.”
She held up her hands and stood up. “I give up. I’m getting dressed. I advise you to take a shower.”

Okay tell me what you think. good? bad? More soon. Happy New Years...
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Okay, here's chapter thirteen. It was originally going to be longer but I really wanted to get it done. So the next part will go in the next chapter.

Chapter Thirteen:

Lily sat on her bed thinking to herself. Why had she helped James? She quickly ruled out the option that she liked him. She was definitely certain of that, although she could not deny that he had changed. He was different. He wasn’t the same person who had chased after her everyday, making snide comments. This year he seemed a lot more collected. He was more mature and finally, after six years, had started treating her like a normal person. It was really something. The realization hit her like a rock. She was tolerating James. She had actually accepting him as an acquaintance, maybe even a friend…no, no, after six years of arrogance, acquaintances was as far as she was willing to accept. But then, why had she helped him? It was because he was hurt. She wasn’t going to walk past someone who was bleeding on the carpet. Satisfied with her answer she began picking out some clothes.
Lily walked out of her room fully dressed with her school bag slung over her shoulder just as James came out of his room rubbing his head with a towel. Although all the traces of dirt and blood were gone from his face, there was still a mass amount of purple bruising.
“Are you sure they’re going to buy your tripping down the stairs story?”
“Of course,” he checked his watch. “It’s getting late. Classes start in fifteen minutes. I want to get something to eat beforehand. Let’s go.”
They were interrupted by a frantic knocking on the portrait hole door. Lily went over to answer it and Sirius, Remus, and Peter ran in towards James.
Peter gasped. “Merlin, it’s true!”
Lily walked back into the room with her arms crossed, a knowing look on her face. “What’s true?”
Sirius looked at her, and then back at James. “Everyone’s talking about it in the Great Hall! Snape said that you tried to attack him last night and he beat the **** out of you.”
Lily look at him with one eyebrow arched slightly, “I told you falling down the stairs wouldn’t fly…”
“We didn’t believe him,” said Remus quickly. “But we came here to check on you anyways… and well…your face…” he trailed off.
James swore. “Now what am I going to do?” he looked around the room. “I forgot my Transfiguration book,” he muttered before stalking off to his room leaving his friends and Lily behind. Sirius started to go after him but Remus held out his arm. “Give him a minute.”
They heard footsteps at the doorway and saw Emma, Sarah, and Alice walk it. They hurried over to Lily and started whispering. “Is it true?”
“Snape said James fought like a girl…”
“It was quite offensive actually.”
“Did he really start crying?”
Lily looked up and saw that James’ friends were watching her closely, also wanting to know the answer to these questions.
She sat down on the couch and they all gathered around her. She threw a nervous look at James’ closed door and back to all the eager faces surrounding her.
She lowered her voice. “Okay, here’s what he told me. Apparently he was heading back to the head dorm from spending the early hours of the morning with you guys,” she motioned towards Sirius, Remus, and Peter. “He was right outside here when Snape jumped out of the shadows and paralyzed him with the Petrificus Totalus. So, yes, Snape did beat up James. But he couldn’t even fight back. It wasn’t a fair fight…”
Sarah looked at her in horror. “Oh how horrible. I feel so bad for James…”
Lily agreed. “Yes it was terrible…but tell me.” She directed her gaze towards the three boys in front of her, “What were you guys doing so early in the morning. James didn’t get back until nearly six in the morning…”
The boys looked at each other nervously. Sirius cleared his throat. “Oh, we were just going over old times. Discussing old memories. Before we knew it the clock read five thirty in the morning.”
Lily knew that they weren’t telling the truth, but she also knew that they wouldn’t tell her anything.
James came out again carrying his book. “Okay, I think I know what to do…”
“What?” asked Emma.
“Okay, what if I were just to play it like everything’s normal, like nothing happened?”
“People would still laugh at you…” said Peter.
“Well what else could I do?” asked James irritably.
“I know that there’s this stuff that you can buy that gets rid of bruises,” said Sarah. “But I don’t have any…”
James’ face lit up. “But Madam Pomphry does.”
“How are you going to get across the school without anyone seeing you?”
James immediately thought of his invisibility cloak. Lily didn’t know about the cloak so he couldn’t do it in front of her. He put on a big smile and discreetly winked towards his friends. “Why don’t you guys go to class. I don’t want you to be late on my behalf.”
Lily and her friends gave him weird looks, but then left anyways.
As soon as they left James turned towards his friends. “I’ll go under the invisibility cloak to the Hospital Wing. You guys will go with me and distract Madam Pomphry while I look for the stuff that makes bruises go away.”
“That could work,” said Remus slowly. “But we’ll have to do it fast. We want to get back so that everyone can see your face looking normal…Hurry, let’s go…”
James bolted back into his room and came back a second later holding the silvery cloak in his hand. “Okay, stay close to me. I don’t want us to get separated. But if we do just go to the Hospital Wing and keep Madam Pomphry away from her office.” He threw the cloak over his shoulders and began walking towards the portrait hole. The other boys hastened to follow him, trying to keep up with where he should be. They hallways were crowded as students stood around and talked with their friends. James had used the cloak so often that he was able to glide underneath arms and around outstretched fingers. When he reached the Hospital Wing he saw Sirius, Remus, and Peter panting behind him.
Sirius winked towards his friends and then staggered into the room before him. He threw his hand across his forehead dramatically. “Oh, Madam Pomphry, I don’t feel well at all. I think I’m going to…going to—.” He collapsed to the floor.
The startled nurse dropped her papers on her desk and hastily ran over to help Remus support the unconscious Sirius to a bed.
James silently slipped into the office and began frantically looking at the labels on the bottles. There was something for every malady and injury that was possible, but he couldn’t find anything for bruises. From the other room he heard Madam Pomphry call over her shoulder. “I’ll get a potion that will bring him back. It will just be a minute.”
James was able to close the cabinet doors stand under the cloak just as she came bustling in. She opened the medicine cabinet and began expertly moving bottles around. She pulled out a tall, blue container that was etched with silvery letters, Revivo. When she left James started breathing again. He walked over to the cabinet and saw to his delight that when Madam Pomphry took out that big bottle it had a smaller container behind it that said Bruise Away. He grabbed it and hurried over to the mirror.
He checked over his shoulder and saw that the nurse was busy with measuring out the potion for Sirius, who was lying on the bed with a very convincing ‘knocked out’ look on his face.
James took off the hood of the cloak so that just his face was visible and rechecked the label to make sure it really was for bruises. Then he hastily began applying it all over his face. Before his eyes the bruises began to shrink and the color began to blend in with his normal flesh tones. Within a span of twenty seconds his face looked back to normal.
He walked back out just as Madam Pomphry was trying to force Sirius’s jaw open. “This I one powerful boy. I don’t see how he’s able to keep it shut, seeing as he’s unconscious.” She tried pulling some more but Sirius was putting up a good fight. Around him Peter and Remus were trying to hold in their laughter. James decided that since his friends did him a favor he’d do them one. He made sure that no one was looking and then pulled off the invisibility cloak. He strode over to where they were all gathered, “I thought I might find you guys here. Did Sirius eat something funny for breakfast?” He tipped a large wink towards Remus and Peter. Madam Pomphry didn’t notice.
At these words Sirius twitched and wearily opened his eyes. He put on a groggy voice and said, “What happened?”
“You fainted dear,” answered Madam Pomphry kindly. “I think you’d better stay a while—,”
“No!” said Sirius, looking faintly alarmed. “I…I just stayed up late last night. It won’t happen again.”
The nurse looked at him doubtfully. “Be sure it doesn’t. Well, off you go.”
They hid their smiles as they walked out of the Hospital Wing.

Okay, tell me what you think here. Is there anything wrong with these scenes? Anything abnormal or out of character? I need to know...Hope to post more later...
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Okay, this chapter is really short. It would have been longer but I'll just add more into the next chapter. I wanted to get this up today.

Chapter Fourteen:

“I nearly had a heart attack when she said that she was going to the back room,” said Peter quickly.
“Yeah, I know,” said James. “I’m glad I heard her say it, otherwise, I don’t know what would have happened.
“Your face looks perfectly normal James,” said Remus. “Everyone is noticing.”
It was true. As the four of them walked through the hallways on their way to potions people were stopping in the middle of their conversations and looking at his bruise-free face. Nearly every person had the same reaction. They would turn and stare at him. Then their eyebrows would furrow and it would take about a second for it to click into place. And then finally they would turn to whomever they were speaking with and start whispering.
“That Snape guy must’ve been lying—,”
“Where are all the bruises?”
“If Snape kicked his *** then why can’t we see it?”
“His face looks perfectly normal. That idiot Slytherin with the greasy hair planted some fairytale in our head. What kind of loser does that?”
James couldn’t help but smile as he heard the whispers raging around him. He had outwitted old Snivellus…and all it had taken was a cloak and a few loyal friends.”



Lily and her friends sat down in the dungeon with their cauldrons set up in front of them. Class was going to start in a few minutes. Lily caught Sarah’s eye and rolled her eyes towards Snape. He was sitting across the room talking very animatedly to the people sitting around him. He was repeating his version of the story yet again.
“So I was walking back to the common room, just minding my own business, when Potter jumps out of the shadows and tries to hex me. His aim was way off and it went above my head. Then he disarmed me. So I went up to him and before he could react I knocked the wand out of his hand and hit him in the side of the face. Then he tried to hit me back but he missed again. So I kept hitting him and he began crying. I think he might have actually called for his mum at one point. But either way, it was pathetic.”
The people around Snape began to laugh.
“He must have looked really messed up,” said one Slytherin boy, named Crabbe.
Snape smirked, “Oh he was. Wait until you see him. After this he doesn’t deserve the title as head boy.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Lily shook her head in disgust, turned towards her friends and mouthed. “Can you believe him?”
They rolled their eyes and nodded their head in unison.
Lily stopped short. Was she feeling sorry for James? The arrogant, bullying, over ego James? In their fourth year James had replaced Snape’s cereal with hamster droppings, making him the laughing stock of the school. He had covered the entire spectrum when it came to humiliating Snape. Surely James deserved to be humiliated back at least once? But then why did she feel terrible when she thought about him walking around the school with his face smashed up? Why did she feel sick whenever she saw the triumphant look on Snape’s face? She closed her eyes. Am I seeing James as a normal person? This was bad. The person she had sworn to hate for all of eternity was finally starting to get to her. She sighed and rubbed her eyes, this was not going well at all.
Just then Remus and Peter walking into the room and took their seats. The Slytherins surveyed them with smirks on their faces.
“Where’s your friend?” asked Snape, twirling his wand between his fingers. “Hiding out in his common room? Too cowardly to show his face?”
“No,” came a voice from the doorway. “See, I wanted to give you time to spread your story. That way you’d look even more pathetic.”
Snape’s wand clattered to the floor when he saw James walk in through the doors with a clean face, Sirius walking behind him with a smug look on his face.
The people in the room looked incredulously at James. They had gone through the whole morning listening about how he was beaten bloody. Now when they saw him looking perfectly normal they realized that Snape had made it up. The comprehension hit the entire class at around the same time. They all turned their head slowly and looked at Snape, who was staring at him in disbelief.
Lily raised her eyebrows and settled back to watch the show that was about to unfold.
Snape tried to sneer. “What’d you do? Get some girl to put some makeup on it for you?"
James rubbed his face and then showed his clean hands to him. “Nope. I didn’t have any bruises to begin with. You’re just an old fraud Snivellus…”
Snape started sputtering. He looked around at the students watching him, “It did happen. He probably just did something to make it go away.”
James smiled and shook his head. “No. I woke up this morning looking perfectly normal. Wish I could say the same for you, Snivellus, but then, you’ll never look normal.”
The students began laughing. The other Slytherins looked at Snape in horror. Crabbe nudged Snape and muttered, “Why’d you say you beat him up when you didn’t?”
Snape looked outraged. “I did! That ******* just did something to heal himself.”
The people at his table began edging away from him, muttering under their breath to the students sitting next to them.
Snape looked around with a fallen look on his face and then turned to face James and gave him a look of pure hatred. James grinned back at him and took a seat with his friends.

Okay, again I appologize for it being short. I'll get right back to writing the next chapter and I hope it will be up soon.
Please post some feedback, it would really help...
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I was surprised how fast I had this chapter done. It just flowed out of me...weird. Oh, and Isort...no problem.


Chapter Fifteen:
James sat in his room. Peter and Remus sat next to him. They couldn’t sit in the common room, in case Lily and her friends walked in and overheard them.
“Do you really think that this is necessary?” Remus was saying. “I think that you embarrassed him enough in class this morning. I mean, now the whole school is talking about him.”
James shook his head. “No, in class I just pointed out that he had gotten the facts wrong. Now, we are going to get revenge. The two situations are completely different.”
Remus sighed, giving up. “Well, what are you going to do? You’ve probably already done everything imaginable.”
James closed his eyes. “I’m not sure yet. You got any ideas Wormtail?”
Peter looked up from his transfiguration homework, his watery eyes darting around. “What if you stole all his clothes?”
“Nah, He could borrow from someone in his dormitory…”
“We could put hair dye in his shampoo.”
“No, he could change it back. Besides, he never takes a shower.”
“Put that stuff that makes you go to the bathroom all the time in his food.”
“That won’t humiliate him. It’ll just make him be late to all of his classes.”
“Why don’t we just let it go,” suggested Remus from behind his Defense against the Dark Arts book.
James stuck out his leg and pulled up his trousers, exposing the raw flesh above his ankle. It was very swollen and purple. “Every time I take a step I get a memento that I need to make that slimy git suffer.”
Remus looked at him. “If Snape were to try and get you back for every prank you ever pulled on him then you’d be in considerable danger.”
James sighed and laid back on his bed. “This is different Moony. We never caused Snivellus real physical harm. It was all a joke.”
“Whatever you say.” Remus returned to his book.
James fingered his bedspread. “This is boring. Where is Sirius?”
“I don’t know,” said Peter, “He just walked off after lessons.”
“Now that I think of it” said Remus. “He was looking pretty down all afternoon. He was staring out the window the entire time.”
James shrugged. “He probably went to go find Emma to ask her out.”
Remus arched a tawny eyebrow. “He wasn’t looking out the window in a daydreaming sort of way. He looked like he was thinking really hard.”
“He was probably thinking about how he was going to ask her out…”
“Well, she’ll probably say yes,” said Peter. “Girls always say yes to him.”
“Well I can’t wait until he comes back,” said James, lying down again. “He probably has better ideas about what to do with Snape.



Lily sat with Emma and Sarah in the Gryffindor common room. Alice was off with Frank and his friends. Lily sat and worked on her arithmacy homework. It was getting terribly difficult.
Sarah broke the silence. “So Emma. What has been going on between you and Sirius Black? Has he asked you to the next Hogsmeade trip yet?”
Emma looked slightly flustered. “No he hasn’t. Where did you get the idea that he would?”
“You guys just seem to get along really well. His eyes light up whenever he sees you.”
“No they don’t.”
“Stop being so modest Emma,” put in Lily. “He might like you.”
“He doesn’t.”
“Have it your way.”
“Look who’s talking Lily,” cried Emma, causing several nearby first years to look at them and then edge away. “The boy that every single girl at this school dreams about having wants you, and only you. In case you haven’t noticed, he has broken up with every girl he dated. Including,” her voice lowered. “Yours truly.”
Lily remembered when James and Emma had gone out in their third year. It had been young love, but Lily remembered how devastated her friend had been when she found out that James had merely used her to get to Lily…unsuccessfully. Emma had long gotten over James and they still got along fine. She was still able to joke about wanting to go out with him, but Lily still felt the guilt of being the source of her friend’s sorrow all those years ago.
“So do you like him?” Sarah asked Lily briskly.
“Who?”
“James.”
“No.”
Both girls looked at her doubtfully.
“I don’t! I have a mutual respect for him.”
“Yeah, whatever. One day you’ll fall into his trap.” said Emma.
Lily grinned and said brightly. “Maybe. But I haven’t yet, and that’s what counts.”
They talked for a few more minutes until Lily stood up and began to pack her bag. “I have to run by the library on my way to the head dorm. I’ll see you guys at breakfast tomorrow.”



When Lily got to the library she began walking down the rows in search for the book she needed to write her transfiguration essay. She walked up and down the aisles looking for something that would explain complex human transfigurations. She finally found a thick silver volume right at her eye level. She pulled it off the shelf and looked at the space where it had been and noticed that she could see all the way though to what was on the other side of the shelf.
Sirius sat at a table secluded in the corner.
He did not look well. His face was all white and all his school supplies were spread out in front of him, but he was staring blankly at the wall in front of him. Lily wasn’t sure if she should walk up to him, but curiosity gripped her so she decided to.
He didn’t notice as she appeared from behind the book cases and began to approach him. Finally, when she took one of the seats at his table he looked at her with sullen eyes.
“Is anything…err…the matter Sirius?”
He rubbed his eyes. “I’m fine. Thanks for asking Evans.”
Lily looked at him skeptically. “Come on. You and I both know that’s not true.”
He regarded her with an unreadable gaze, “I can’t tell you. You’ll have to report it.”
Lily bit her lip. Something terrible must have happened to have had this much of an impact on Sirius. He was not himself at all. Lily decided to try and coax it out.
“Okay. How about I make you a deal? You tell me. Then you tell James and let him be the judge of whether Dumbledore should know. I promise that I won’t interfere with his decision making.”
Sirius looked at her with the same unreadable expression. “Can I trust you?”
“Of course.”
He sighed and tilted back his head and looked at the ceiling for a moment before turning back to her. “Okay. Well, after lunch I went to go to the bathroom before classes started again. I decided to use the one by the left side of the Great Hall. I walked in and there were about six or seven Slytherins already there. My brother was in the middle of them.
Lily knew Sirius’ brother…Regulus. He was a cold-blooded Slytherin. She remembered overhearing Sirius tell James that every Black in his family had been in Slytherin and how he had nearly been disowned for being sorted into Gryffindor. She nodded her head for him to continue.
“Regulus had his robes pushed up and he was showing all the other Slytherins there the dark mark that Voldemort had branded onto his arm. I mean, he’s only sixteen; he can’t have possibly enslaved himself to Voldemort. I knew my brother wasn’t the smartest guy, but I thought he’d have enough sense to stay away from there.”
Lily gasped. “I’m so sorry Sirius. What are you going to do?”
“There’s nothing I can do. Mum and Dad will think it is a brilliant idea.”
Lily’s eyes widened. “Your mum and dad? Surely they would object?”
“No. They would not.”
“But why? Don’t they know that he will be killing innocent people? What if he gets caught and goes to Azkaban. Or, what if he gets killed?”
Sirius gave a short, humorless, laugh. “According to my mother and father, muggles, muggle-born, and blood traitors all deserve to be rid from the Earth. They don’t believe that they’re innocent. According to them, they are just as guilty as someone who committed a murder and then should be condemned to death. And if Regulus died my parents would see him as a martyr of some sort.”
Lily grimaced, imagining what parents like that would be like. “It must’ve been a huge shock to them when you were sorted into Gryffindor.”
Sirius gave a wry smile. He seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, as if remembering exactly what it had been like. “Oh it was. My mother wrote me a long letter cursing me and calling me a blood traitor. Actually, it was a howler. But James managed to deactivate it just in time.”
“How’d he do that?”
“He put it in a bucket of water. So when it screamed only bubbles came out of its mouth.”
“Hmm. That’s some quick thinking. I don’t know how you can stand living with your parents…no offense or anything.”
“Oh, none taken. I ran away when I was sixteen. I was fed up with them.”
“But where’d you go?”
“James’ place. I was already like a second son to his parents, so it didn’t really matter.”
Lily fleetingly remembered the conversation she had heard between Sirius and James at the end of the previous year.
“Do you love your brother?”
Sirius paused. He looked very unsure of himself. Did he love Regulus? He was a living reminder of the life that he had hated. But then, he was his brother. They were close in age so they had grown up playing together. Before they had left for Hogwarts Sirius had regarded Regulus as a friend, alongside with James. This was when they were so young that they were ignorant to what was going on in the rest of the world. Before they had begun to get their own opinions on certain matters. Regulus had always been the favorite between his mother and father, but Sirius didn’t envy him for that. As his younger brother grew older Sirius began to see what kind of person he was becoming, he had a severe hatred for all but faithful purebloods and was constantly studying the dark arts, sometimes alongside Snape. Sirius remembered when he was fifteen, and Regulus fourteen. Regulus had announced at the dinner table that he wanted to join Voldemort when he was older. Sirius had choked on his water glass, but his parents had smiled and applauded politely. He never really thought that Regulus was serious. But when he saw the skull with the snake coming out of its mouth etched on his brother’s forearm, that’s when it really sunk it what kind of family he was apart of.
He looked at Lily. “I don’t know. He’s my family. But it’s weird. I don’t have any affection for my mother of father, but Regulus is my brother. I guess I care about his wellbeing, very deep down…”
“Well, you obviously do, otherwise you wouldn’t feel so upset about what he has become.”
“I suppose.”
Lily reached out for his arm and said calmly, “You are not you brother, nor your parents. We do not think any lower of you from their deeds.”
He grinned appreciatively. “Thanks.”
“Do you want to go back to the head dorms? You can hear what James has to say.”
“Okay.”
They both pushed back their chairs and gathered up their stuff before starting to walk back.
Upon entering the room James, Remus, and Peter hurried forward. “Did she say yes?”
“Who?”
“Emma.”
“To what?”
“Asking her out.”
Sirius looked bewildered. “What gave you the idea that I’d be asking her out?”
“James’ face fell. “Wait. You didn’t?”
“No…”
“Then where were you?”
Lily began to head back to her room so that she could give Sirius privacy, but then his voice rang out. “Hey Lily...”
She turned to face him. “Yes?”
“Thanks for listening.”
She smiled. “Anytime.”



Okay, Please please please tell me what you think. This one is longer. If you guys have any advice or suggestions, then write it down here:
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Okay, here you go! Sorry it took a while. Thank you to everyone who has been posting feedback.



Chapter Sixteen:
“So what are you going to do?” Sirius had just finished explaining the situation to his friends.
James was unsure of what to do. “I don’t know. Dumbledore will want to know that there’s a Death Eater running around Hogwarts. But, I can probably delay his finding out.”
Sirius knew that this would be coming. “What would be the use of delaying it?”
“I could give you time to talk to Regulus. Maybe you could figure out his motive and try and get rid of it.”
Sirius shrugged. “I suppose that I can try, but it won’t do anything.”
“I think that James has a point,” said Remus. “Maybe you’ll be able to talk Regulus out of it.”
Peter sat in the corner, his shifty eyes darting back and forth between the speakers. “What were you doing with Evans, Padfoot?”
James turned towards Sirius. “Yeah. What were you doing with Lily?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I was in the library thinking about what to do when she walked in out of nowhere and we started talking,” he paused, “It wasn’t half bad. She was very good at understanding and listening. Took off a lot of pressure…”
James eyed him closely. “So…nothing happened between the two of you, right.” (There you go amanda1212)
Sirius looked slightly amused. “With Evans? Are you kidding me?”
“Oh yeah. I forgot…You want to go out with Emma.” It wasn’t a question.
Sirius struggled to look confused. “What makes you think that I fancy her?”
James shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe the fact that you can’t seem to keep your eyes off of her. You know, she’s not bad…I did date her…”
“We know,” said Remus. “And we know what you did to that poor girl. You should consider yourself lucky that she still speaks to you.”
“That was a long time ago,” said James, sobering up at once. “I was young and stupid then. God knows that I’ll never take advantage of a girl like that again.”
“He must be serious,” said Sirius, half mocking him. “If God knows and all…”
“Shut up.”
“So Sirius,” chimed in Peter. “Are you going to ask out Emma? Hogsmeade is the weekend after this coming one. I heard that Nathan is going to ask Sarah…”
Sirius rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “I don’t know. Maybe if we’re talking. But I’m not going to go up to her and ask.”



The next morning Lily walked down to the Great Hall by herself and joined her friends. “Where’s Emma?” she asked, noticing her friend's disappearance.
They pointed down the table and she saw to her surprise that her friend was pouring over her Charms homework with Sirius at her side. He was reaching across her and scribbling out bits and pieces with his quill.”
Lily turned back to her friends with an amused look on her face as she began loading her plate with eggs and bacon. “How did that happen?”
Alice shrugged. “I don’t know. She just went down there to get some cornflakes and the next thing we knew they were sitting there by themselves working on homework.”
“Hmm. Good for her. Maybe she’ll get lucky.”
They were halfway through their meal when Emma walked back over to them, holding her books across her chest and positively beaming.
The girls pounced on her as soon as she sat down.
“What did he say?” exclaimed Sarah.
“He wants to meet up at Hogsmeade,” said Emma nonchalantly. “But he says he will see me at the after party of the first Quidditch match. He says that they’re playing Slytherin—,”
“No!”
“Yeah I know. I thought we’d play Ravenclaw first, not—,”
“Not the bloody Quidditch match,” cried Sarah. “Sirius Black wants to spend time with you!”
“Yeah. I suppose that will be interesting.”
Alice sighed. “You and your modesty.”



Sirius walked down the hallway. Classes had just ended and he was heading back to the Gryffindor common room. He had left his Defense Against the Dark Arts essay to the last minute and now he had to scramble to finish it. Remus wouldn’t let him copy, so it was up to him to get it done. He sighed. Remus and his ethics.
He was about fifty feet from the library when he spotted Regulus walking out, hastily shoving two books into his bag while looking over his shoulder to make sure no one saw him leave. Before the books vanished into his canvas bag Sirius spotted the golden seal that meant they were from the Restricted Section.
He spotted his brother and said cheerily. “Hello Sirius.”
“Regulus,” he acknowledged him curtly before he grabbed his younger brother’s upper am and guided him to a more secluded area. “So that’s how you’re getting attention now…by getting yourself branded.”
Regulus’ smile quickly faded from his face. “It’s not what you think.”
Sirius crossed his arms. “This is exactly how I pictured you ending up. So dimwitted that you enslaved yourself to Voldemort to feel important…killing innocent people just because they are different—,”
Regulus cut him off. He had taken the criticism without flinching. “You don’t understand Sirius,” he lowered his voice to a whisper. “The Dark Lord has powers that we can only dream about. But these powers only know terror and destruction. He himself believes that he is doing the right thing by turning the wizarding world thoroughly pure. Have you not noticed? There is the Dark Lord and his supporters. Then there is the Order and their supporters.”
Sirius vaguely remembered a group known as the Order of the Phoenix that worked to defeat Voldemort. Regulus continued, “Both of these sides believe that they are doing the right thing. They each believe that the other is wrong. And they each work to rid the world of the other. There is no good side and bad side. They are the same, each with different morals and beliefs. The Dark Lord knows no good or evil. He only believes in power. Everyday he grows stronger. In the end it doesn’t come down to which side you choose, but what you deem to be righteous.”
Sirius stared at his brother incredulously. “He has brainwashed you into believing his lies. He is slaughtering innocent people. You obviously chose wrong.”
Regulus gave him a level look. “Maybe not,” he lowered his voice so low that Sirius had to strain to hear him. “I think that I may have found out something about him that could change everything. That could change fate itself. Something that only a very powerful wizard could accomplish. This could be the key to his downfall.”
Sirius was bewildered. “Whose side are you on?”
Regulus laughed. “I am on my own side. I do what I deem to be righteous,” he said using his own words.
“Well, what did you find out?”
“I am not going to say. I haven’t enough proof to claim anything. It is nothing more than a hunch. But, don’t leap to conclusions too quickly. You should have at least a little faith in your brother.”
He walked away leaving Sirius more confused then ever.

Okay there you go. I know, this chapter is based on the popular theory that Regulus is RAB. So, I decided to take a chance, even if I could be wrong.
So, please leave me feedback about this. It will help a lot. Thanks!
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I haven't posted in a week and a day. I'm sorry. My computer is barely allowing me to get on this site. And it took awhile to really get this chapter going. But I finished it last night and typed it this morning. I must say, It has been pretty depressing writing about James as a chaser and not a seeker. But I saw the fact on several different fansites, so I had to go with it. Well, it's a longer chapter...and that's good..



Chapter Seventeen:

It was Saturday.
The first Quidditch match was scheduled to play.
James sat at the long table. He had been chewing the same piece of sausage for the last five minutes. It was pretty much a tradition to be nervous the first game. But as the captain, it was exceptionally bad.
At half past ten he and his fellow teammates rose from the table and headed out to the locker rooms, listening to the “Good Lucks” ring through the hall. They began changing into their scarlet Quidditch robes silently. They heard the rest of the school trooping by on their way to the bleachers.
James walked to the front of his teammates, held his hands behind his back, and cleared his throat.
He surveyed the six students in front of him. This was only his second years as captain and he was convinced that there would never be a better team in the entire history of Hogwarts. Sixth years, Connor Marsh and Mark Vivain were his fellow chasers. Fifth year, Collin Binds and third year Samantha Bellsworth were his two fabulous beaters. They were the two new editions to the team. His old beaters had graduated, but the replacements were absolutely superb. Fourth year, Vincent McArthur was his keeper. He had one of the best arms in the school, but he refused to go out for a chaser or a beater. He had insisted on the keeper position. So now they were settled with him throwing the quaffle to the others side of the field. James’ fellow seventh year, Nathan Larrek was the Gryffindor seeker. He had the perfect build, slim, lightweight, and exceedingly good eyesight. Hogwarts had never seen a chaser quite like James Potter. He had a knack for suddenly appearing in unexpected areas and then scoring. His trusty Nimbus 1990 obeyed his every thought and he seemed to have an inhuman ability when it came to flying. He could dodge any object in his way and maneuver under and around the other players with ease. The team was proud to call him their captain.

James began packing up and down in front of his teammates. “Okay guys, we’ve trained hard for this. I plan to leave this school claiming the victory of playing on the team that won the Quidditch Cup in 1977. This is our year! Now let’s go out and show the school that we are as good as ever.” He thrust his fist in the air, shouldered his broomstick and headed out to the field, the rest of the team marching behind him.
Upon walking onto the field James looking into the stands and saw Sirius, Remus, and Peter holding up a large banner with the Gryffindor lion painted on it. Remus had performed some charm that made the lion look as if it were letting out a silent roar. He looked rather pleased with himself. He scanned the crowds some more and saw Lily, Emma, Sarah, and Alice sitting higher up in the stands watching the two teams approaching from opposite sides of the field.
He promised himself that he would not make a fool of himself in front of Lily.
James inhaled. It felt good to be on the Quidditch pitch again. He loved the thrill of playing the game and rushing through the air at break-neck speeds. He listened as Madam Hooch gave her usual speech regarding a non-cheating and clean game. He gave the Slytherin captain, Henry Willus, a stiff handshake. When Madam Hooch blew her whistle both teams kicked off hard from the ground, spraying dirt in all directions. James felt the familiar rush of air around him. Madam Hooch began letting out all the balls.
The snitch was visible for a fraction of a second before it disappeared.
The bludgers took off, spiraling through the air.
When the quaffle was thrown twenty feet in the air Connor leapt forward and grabbed it a second before one of the Slytherin chaser did. He dodged a bludgers and streaked off toward the Slytherin goal posts.
The familiar commentary done by sixth year, Stanley Riley, kicked into place. “And there goes Marsh with the quaffle. He passes to Vivain. Oh, no, the Slytherin defense in surrounding them. Wait, they’re…they’re…they’ve dropped the quaffle.”
The quaffle had dropped about ten feet before any of the other team noticed. Connor and Mark looked triumphant. Before anyone could react James sped through and knocked the quaffle through the goal posts with the end of his broom.
“Potter Scores! I don’t think any of us were expecting a move like that. It seems the Gryffindor team has some tricks up their sleeve. Okay, Slytherin chaser, Malonie, in possession. He’s dodged both bludgers and he is heading to score. He’s going to have to get past the keeper. Yes! I don’t believe it. He’s saved it. Now, on with the game…”

Half an hour later James called a timeout. He and the rest of the team landed at the far end of the pitch.
“We’ve been tied at sixty points for the last ten minutes. It seems that the Slytherin team has gotten some decent players. Nathan, have you seen any sign of the snitch?”
Nathan looked grim. “Whenever I see a flash of gold it disappears again. And Willus is always on my tail.”
James sighed. “Okay. Collin, Samantha, I want you guys to posses the bludgers. I want them to always be in your area. I don’t want the Slytherin team to get hold of them. If Slytherin is in possession then hit the bludgers toward them. But if Gryffindor is in possession I want you guys to hit the bludgers toward Willus.”
His teammates nodded.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
Within the next five minutes Mark and Malonie had both scored, tying the team at seventy points.
James looked up at Nathan, who was still hovering fifty feet above the game. He was scanning the entire field for any hint of gold.
James looked back in time to see the quaffle heading towards him. He needed to back up to catch it. He turned to try and catch it but there was a solid wall of Slytherins blocking his path. He made a split second decision. It had been a move he had been practicing. It wasn’t fully perfected, but it was desperate circumstances. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Nathan dive to something at the far end of the field. James sped upwards, putting his broom in a vertical position. Midway up he kicked off his broom and back flipped through the air over the Slytherins’ head while grabbing the quaffle out of the air and then landing on his broom that was waiting for him on the other side. He sat down and streaked off towards the Slytherin goal posts. He flew over the stands, knocking Snape in the head with the end of his broom. He slammed the quaffle through the hoops just as Nathan pulled out of his dive with the golden snitch clutched tightly in his hand.
Stanley was having a field day over the intercom, “Unbelievable! James Potter sticking a stunt like that…and creating enough of a distraction so that Nathan Larrek could get the snitch. Who would have thought!?! Gryffindor wins two hundred thirty to seventy!!”
They heard him still shouting the results as the team headed back to the locker room.

James grinned as they pulled off their Quidditch robes. “Well done guys! That was absolutely amazing. We sure wiped the smirks off those slimy Slytherins’ faces.”
“You did good yourself James,” said Nathan. “Where did you learn that flippy thing?”
“I kind of made it up over the summer. I must have fallen sixty times…and I kept landing on Sirius. He couldn’t catch me right…I was surprised that I was able to do it.”
They headed back to the Gryffindor common room just as Sirius, Remus, and Lupin came back holding armloads of food.
When they saw the team Sirius hissed. “Are there any teachers with you?”
James looked at him funny. “No. Why?”
Sirius looked relieved and called over his shoulder, “Okay. You guys can come out.”
From around the corner came about two dozen house elves, all holding food and drink in their arms. Remus looked on disapprovingly as Peter ushered them into the common room. They sat down their food and then left.
James couldn’t help it. He burst out laughing.



Lily sat next to Sarah in the Gryffindor common room. She watched as the boys started arm wrestling. Butterbeer wasn’t strong, but Lily had a feeling that some of it was laced with Fire whiskey and that some of the Gryffindors were experiencing double vision. She probably should have been handing out detentions, especially when she saw one of the prefects totter by, a butterbeer clutched in his hand, but she decided against it.
She turned to Sarah. “Did you enjoy the game?”
Sarah grinned. “Yes I did. Thank you for asking.”
“I bet you especially liked that dive.”
“It wasn’t bad. Well what about you? Did you enjoy the game?”
“It was entertaining.”
“Oh I’m sure you thought it was.”
Lily turned and saw her smiling. She decided to change the subject. “Is Alice off with Frank again?”
“Yeah. They went for a walk. Wouldn’t it be romantic if they got married?”
“Yes, I suppose it would. They do look happily together.”
Sarah sighed dreamily. “Yeah. They do,” her voice suddenly became more somber. “Did you read the Daily Prophet this morning?”
“No, I didn’t get a chance. Did something important happen?”
“Well, it says that there have been sixteen muggle deaths in the last month. They suspect that that wizard…Lord…something…is behind it.”
“Lord Voldemort?” asked Lily.
“Yes. That’s it. They also say that there have been another twenty something unexplainable disappearances. They think that he’s behind it too.”
Lily looked horrified. “Can’t the ministry stop him?”
“They’re trying. But they can’t contain him. He’s too powerful. It’s devastating what he is doing.”
Lily closed her eyes and tried not to worry about her family too much. She opened them and scanned the room. Her eyes fell on the couple sitting in the corner across from them.
She nudged Sarah and pointed. “Is that Emma over there? The girl sitting with Sirius Black.”
Sarah looked too. “Yep. That’s her. About time.”
They watched the couple talk together. They seemed to be very comfortable with each other. Emma said something and Sirius put on a mock-offended look. Neither of them spoke for a second, and then Sirius leaned forward and kissed her. Emma looked surprised for a moment, but then smiled and said something, causing both of them to start laughing.
Sarah and Lily looked at each other, both grinning.
“It seems out two parties have finally united,” said a deep voice from above their heads.
Both girls looked up and saw James standing above them, clutching a drink, also looking at Sirius and Emma.
There was a faraway look in his eyes. He was talking to them, but then it seemed like he wasn’t, somewhat more to himself. He swished his drink around absentmindedly, still looking at Sirius and Emma. “He really likes her, you know. You should see his eyes whenever we mention her. It’s like a spark has gone off.”
Lily and Sarah looked at each other uneasily.
James swayed slightly, his voice tapering off at the end of his sentences. “He is very lucky…to have someone there for him…somebody to turn to…to talk to…I suppose I env—,”
He was cut off as Nathan ran up and clapped him on the shoulder. “Did I ever congratulate you on that back flip stunt you pulled?”
James suddenly snapped back to reality and his eyes became more attentive to their surroundings. He smiled. “Only about six or seven times now.”
Nathan grinned too. “Ha Ha. But seriously James, It was really amazing!”
James sat down between Lily and Sarah. “You weren’t bad yourself, Nate. That dive was brilliant. Willus nearly crashed into the ground when he tried to follow you.”
“No. That was nothing compared with what you did. That’s probably never been done in the history of Hogwarts, maybe even the history of Quidditch.”
“No…”
Lily, who had been watching the conversation as if she were watching a tennis match decided to say something. “Is this really how boys talk to each other?”
“What do you mean?”
Lily arched an eyebrow. “It seems to have the same structure as certain conversations girls have. See, one girl will compliment another and call her slim or pretty. That girl will deny it and throw the compliment back to the first girl, who will deny it, and so on. It’s kind of like what the two of you are doing, except with athletic abilities.”
Sarah laughed. “Wow, you’re right Lily…”
The boys looked horrorstruck at the thought of being compared to the female race.
Lily looked up and saw Nathan looking at her friend curiously. He cleared his throat. “So…umm…Sarah, would you do me the honor of allowing me to escort you to the drinks?”
Sarah smiled and took the arm that he offered her. They walked off together, leaving James and Lily.
She turned to him. “It seems everybody is pairing off tonight.”
James smiled and put his arm around her shoulders. “Yeah. Pretty soon only you and me’ll be left. Then who are you going to pair off with?”
“Very funny James. I’m not pairing off with anybody, considering that half the people in this room are slightly intoxicated. And please remove your arm. I don’t want people to get the wrong idea.”
He retraced his arm and grinned at her. “Yes. Everyone does seem to be paired off. Let’s see,” he began ticking people off his fingers. “Emma and Sirius finally started going together. Sarah and Nathan. Mind you, I’ve been waiting for that day, so he’s stop moping around the Quidditch field during practice. Alice and Frank. Well, they have been together, so that doesn’t fully count. Those two fifth years. They keep denying their relationship, but I’ve caught the two of them snogging three times while patrolling the castle. Remus is helping that sixth year with her homework. Give them fifteen minutes. Those two fourth years. That sixth year and that fifth year. Oh, and there’s Peter flirting with that third year. Typical. Those two fourth years—,”
“How exactly do you know the relationship status of every single Gryffindor?”
He looked at her, slightly surprised. “You know that tapestry on the second floor.”
“Yes.”
“Do you ever look behind it during your rounds?”
“No. Why would I?”
“It’s a secret corridor. You find a lot of couples there.”
“Seriously?”
“Yip. It’s pretty interesting to see the variety of students in there.”
Lily rolled her eyes. “Okay…Are you going home for the Christmas holiday?”
“Nope. I’m going to stay here with Sirius. What about you?”
“My mum’s going to be up to her neck in my sister’s wedding plans. I really don’t want to participate in that. Like I want to spend two weeks trying on frilly dresses. I’ll just buy my own over the Easter Holidays. I’m going to spend Christmas here.”
“Ha. We can have our own Christmas celebration.”
At that very moment a sixth year hobbled over, very unsteady, and vomited on the floor next to the couch where they were sitting.
Lily jumped up and smiled at James. “Looks like your Head Boy duties call. I’m going to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She quickly ran out the portrait hole, leaving James standing next to the boy retching on the carpet.


Haha...Please post feedback. I would really appreciate it. Thank you
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Here is the next chapter. I'm really nervous about it. So please read and respond. Thank you.


Chapter Eighteen:

The rest of the term passes more or less without incident. James had gone up to Dumbledore’s office to inform him about Regulus Black. Dumbledore had been interested in that particular bit of information, but he didn’t think it was necessary to take any immediate action. He just requested that James and Lily keep a close watch on him.
James never did cease his taunting of Severus Snape. He was just more conscious about where he did it. He never could stop himself from muttering a trip jinx under his breath when Snape passed by. There had been an incident where his hair had caught fire. When questioned, James repeated stubbornly that Snape’s hair was so greasy that the sparks emitting from his cauldron had ignited his head. After that, the matter was dropped. But as the weeks wore on, his pranks had become less and less severe. Something that Remus was quick to comment on, with a proud look oh his face.

Also, as the term went on, deaths and disappearances started becoming a daily ritual on the front page of the Daily Prophet. Dumbledore never acknowledged the news, but the students frequently saw him conversing in low tones with other teachers, the Prophet leaning against a pitcher of orange juice. Every day brought more attacks, each more gruesome then the last. The wizarding world had grown to fear the man naming himself Lord Voldemort so much that they would gasp and flinch whenever his name was brought up. Most people were insisting that his name were not used in their presence. They preferred that he were referred to as You-Know-Who.

The students began huddling together on their way to class, as if they were afraid that Voldemort would jump out, kill them, and then melt back through the walls. Dumbledore seemed to be afraid of the same thing, for he was giving the castle special precautions and insisting that no student leave the front door after five thirty. This new rule made it exceptionally hard for the Marauders to get outside of the castle to be with Remus. They eventually just tied a bunch of old sheets together and hung them outside the prefects’ bathroom. When it wasn’t being used James stored it underneath his bed.

The last week of term everyone was taking tests. Seventh years had it especially hard, for they would be taking their N.E.W.T.S in six months. But after their exams they were given their reward, the Winter Holidays. Most students were torn between the two choices. They wanted to go home and see their families, to make sure everything was alright. But they also wanted Dumbledore’s protection at Hogwarts. In the end, the two sides were fairly even.

Hogwarts was always breathtaking around the winter time. Trees lined the walls of the Great Hall. Tinsel was around every doorway and mistletoe hung at various places on the ceiling.

Lily was in a very good mood as Christmas day approached. Alice was going with Frank to visit her parents. Emma and Sarah were going to stay at Hogwarts. Sirius and James would be staying, as Remus and Peter went home.



It was the day before Christmas. Lily, Sarah, and Emma sat up in the head dorm, sipping from steaming mugs of hot chocolate. Outside, they heard the muffled yells as James and Sirius had a vicious snowball fight.
“So, how do you think you did on Slughorn’s final Lily?” asked Emma.
“Alright, I guess.”
“Yeah right. He probably passed you with a hundred and fifty percent. He absolutely adores you.”
“No he doesn’t.”
Sarah gave a loud cough that sounded suspiciously like. “Slug Club.”
Lily blushed. “Those are ridiculous. I never go.”
Each of her excuses was feebler than the last. But after she had taken her test he had make her promise to attend his new year’s celebration.
Lily jolted back to reality as she heard Sarah speaking. “…so sweet. He holds the door open for me and acts like a real gentleman.”
“That’s nice,” said Emma smiling. “He must be really something. I remember now. He was different last year…”
“How so?” asked Sarah.
“Well,” said Emma, looking thoughtful. “He was a bit cocky last year. Kind of like how most sixteen year old boys are. But he’s much more considerate this year. Him and that James Potter. They’re both changed a lot over the summer. Don’t you agree Lily?”
“I suppose,” she said rather stiffly.
“Yeah, I get what you mean,” said Sarah. “Especially James. Don’t you remember how crude he was last year? Couldn’t do anything without mouthing off. But now he’s more reserved and he actually thinks before he speaks. A bit strange really.”
“Well, I think it’s a good improvement,” said Emma. “And of course Lily has noticed.”
Lily looked at her friend with raised eyebrows. “What are you talking about?”
“Oh come on. Don’t pretend that you haven’t noticed that he is completely different now. I mean, you guys have lived in the head dorm for what? Four months now? He shaves in front of you. You can’t ignore the fact that he has changed.”
“Even if he has, it doesn’t make any difference.”
“Whatever you say.”



The next morning Lily awoke to see a pile of presents at the foot of her bed. She threw back her blankets, sat up, and felt the familiar feeling of dizziness that occurred when one got up too quickly when awaking.
The first parcel was from her mum and dad. They had sent her an embroidered black, knee length skirt and a few berry pies, along with a note explaining that Petunia hadn’t found the time to get a gift out to her. Alice had given her a large boxful of deluxe sugar quills. She received a book explaining difficult charms work from Emma. Sarah had given her a pair of black sequined flats. At the bottom of the pile she picked up a small rectangular package that had written on it in delicate calligraphy, To: Lily, From: James

As head boy and girl she had thought it would be only polite to get him a present. At their last Hogsmeade trip when she had done all her Christmas shopping she had picked out a plain, dark blue neck tie for him. It wasn’t much, but she figured that it would suffice.
She picked up the parcel and untied the red bow around it. When the wrapper fell away a small black box was revealed. Her eyes widened when she lifted the lid. There, nestled in cream colored satin was a necklace with a diamond shaped emerald in the middle or the silver chain. It was lined with tiny, silver, diamonds. Lily reached over the side of her bed and pulled out her wand. After a few quick spells he came to the conclusion that the stones were real.
She set the necklace in front of her and stared at it. How was she supposed to respond to this? She couldn’t wear it. Could she? No. It would make it seem like they were going together…which they weren’t. Ever since that evening of the Quidditch tryouts he had not asked her out again. Was this another form of it? No. It was just some jewelry. It doesn’t signify anything. It was something one friend gave to another. ****! Did she just refer to James Potter as a friend!? God no!
Lily leapt out of bed, grabbed the necklace, opened the door, ran across the room, and knocked on James’ door.
She heard moving around and then the door flew open, revealing James, standing ankle deep in wrapping paper, and if possible, his hair even messier than usual.
“Hey Lily,” he greeted her. “Cool tie. Just don’t have anywhere to wear it.”
She smiled weakly. “Ha-ha, no problem. Listen…” She held up the necklace. “This is really beautiful…but I can’t accept it. I mean, it must have cost a fortune and all…”
His face fell slightly. He kicked a pile of wrapping paper out of the way and conjured a chair with his wand. “Have a seat.”
She hesitantly walked into his quarters and set the necklace down on the table by the door before sitting down. He sat down in a chair next to her. “Okay, why can’t you accept it?”
Lily sighed. “It’s far too expensive for me to wear. I mean, how would I look walking down the hallways in that?”
“Well, you have a fair point. But, I want you to keep it. You don’t have to wear it. But…keep it; just in case something comes up that you need some formal jewelry for. Please.”
“But James, really,” she hesitated and then swallowed. “We’re acquaintances…maybe…maybe kind of friends. But this, it’s too much. People…People could get the wrong idea.”
James looked slightly amused. “And what would that be?”
She scowled at him. “You know what I mean.”
He raised his hands. “Just take it Lily. You don’t have to do anything with it. Throw it out the window. Give it to Sarah or Emma or anyone. Just…please don’t give it back.”
She sighed. “Alright. I’ll take it.”
She rose from her chair and started towards the door. James started after her to walk her out. He stumbled over the box of joke products Sirius gave him, threw out his arms and braced himself against the wall, one on either side of Lily.
She was startled by the sudden movement.
She looked up into his hazel eyes, and he looked back at her. Suddenly it was like a thick fog was clouding her brain. There was a slight light and the sound of faint music coming from within the fog. She kept hearing different phrases from her friends.

Of course you know him. Tall, dreamy, Quidditch captain…

A hundred girls would kill to be in your position…

You can’t ignore the fact that he has changed…

Maybe you should date him…

The pressure built as she looked into his eyes.

Six years he has chased after you…

He’s changed…

He’s changed…

He’s changed…

And then everything stopped.


yes, they kissed. Phase one is done. Need feedback please.
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So, this is the beginning of phase two. I have two issues to address. One, this has been the longest I've ever gone from not posting a chapter. I'm very ashamed and really sorry that it wasn't put up sooner. Two, I have never gotten so much feedback for one chapter. It was amazing. I hadn't been on the computer in a week and then when I logged on I was simply astonished. So, this is to thank everyone who left feeback...and everyone who just read the story.
You know, it's weird thinking about not writing about them hating each other...hmm...well, this chapter doesn't have too much to do with James and Lily, well it kind of does, but it also addresses other issues that have come up in the Harry Potter books.



Chapter Nineteen:

The students of Hogwarts could not believe their eyes when they walked out to breakfast that morning and saw their Head boy and girl sitting next to each other at the table, James with his arm around Lily.
Sarah and Emma gave each other knowing looks when they saw the couple, but sat down and started talking as if nothing were out of the ordinary.
Sirius came out with Nathan, since Peter and Remus had been gone. When he saw his best friend sitting with Lily Evans he tripped over his shoes, but managed to turn the near fall into a graceful misstep.
He and Nathan took their seats and then said, “Well, this is one hell of a get together, isn’t it.”
“Suppose so,” said Sarah, with a very faint trace of laughter in her voice.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” said James, tipping Sirius a large wink when no one was looking.
After breakfast everyone went back to the Gryffindor common room together. They sat down in front of the fire.
“I can’t believe that we’re going to graduate in six months,” said Sarah, leaning back in her seat.
“Tell me about it,” said Sirius. “D’you guys have any idea what you want to do when you get out of this school?”
“Well,” started Nathan, looking thoughtful. “I was thinking about something in the spell-creation field. It seems cool to have the ability to make up your own spell…and then have it legalized so that other people can use it too.”
Sarah nodded. “Yeah, that would be interesting. I kind of want to do something having to do with the interaction with wizards from other countries. I’ve been trying to learn some other languages in my spare time.”
Sirius’ bark like laugh echoed through the common room. “You’re learning languages in your spare time?! I’m having trouble keeping up with this language…What are you going to do James?”
James shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe an auror…But I hear that there’s this elite secret organization that basically does the same thing as an auror, but goes a little more in-depth. They go to greater lengths to catch dark wizards. And this group hasn’t been approved by the Ministry or anything. I kind of want to find out more about that.”
“Well, how are you going to?” asked Lily. “If it’s secret?”
“I’m not exactly sure yet,” said James thoughtfully. “Maybe I’ll ask Dumbledore. I bet he knows about things like this.”
“True,” said Sirius. “Well, Mate; if you find out more about that, let me know because that does sound interesting…”
“Yeah. That Voldemort guy really gives me the creeps,” said Emma, “They’re starting to say that he is unstoppable. Nobody in the Ministry can control him, not even Dumbledore.”
“You have no faith in wizarding kind, do you Emma?” asked Sirius. “There’s bound to be some guy who will come along who will have the strength to challenge Lord Voldemort. We just have to be patient.”
“From the way things are looking now,” started Sarah. “It looks like a lot more people are going to die before that guy comes along…or girl, it could very well be a girl.”
“Aren’t you optimistic,” said James, rolling his eyes.
“What I don’t get,” put in Nathan. “Is why people are calling this guy you know who.”
“Exactly,” said Sirius. “People are already afraid as it is. Being afraid of the name is just going to make them more fearful of the actual person.
As he said this and icy clump suddenly formed in his stomach. He had been forcing the thought to the back of his head for the last couple months…but now, as the discussion loomed in front of him, he could not ignore it any longer. This person, Lord Voldemort, who was just as human as Sirius was, was bringing terror and destruction to the world around him. He was killing hundreds of innocent people for a cause that was not a cause at all. And right there, obeying his commands and helping distribute the fear was his brother, Regulus. It was a sickening thought. The massive size of the issue was finally blooming inside of him. He had to talk to Regulus again, before he ruined his life.
“— and then the muggles will notice if something is up,” Emma was saying. “The entire International code of Secrecy will be breached, causing who knows how many more problems.”
“Tell me about it,” said Lily. “And then…it all leads back to Voldemort. You can take just about any problem right now and trace its origin back to Voldemort. I really just want to stop him…”
“Hear, hear,” said James, slouched in his seat. “God, let’s get off this subject. Voldemort’s just a depressing guy in general. Personally, I can’t wait for that Hogsmeade trip the weekend after next…”
And so the six of them continued their conversation for the remainder of the morning and into the early hours of the afternoon. Finally, Lily stood up and claimed to have homework. Sarah and Emma hastened to accompany her back to the head dorm.
As soon as the portrait slammed shut Sirius took Lily’s empty seat and grinned at James. “So, you finally got Evans to go out with you. I have to admit that I am quite astonished. Do tell what happened.”
James looked slightly embarrassed but it passed in a second when he looked at Sirius and Nathan. “Okay, it was absolutely amazing. I swear I’m still having trouble believing it really happened. It was miraculous—,”
“God James, cut the ****,” said Nathan, rolling his eyes. He turned to Sirius. “It must have been really something…I mean seriously…he’s babbling.”
“Okay, okay,” said James. “So she came into my room to return my Christmas present—,”
“Why?” interrupted Sirius. "Didya get her something kinky?”
“No. I just got her a necklace and she didn’t want to accept it. So, I finally got her to take it and as she was leaving I tripped and kind of crashed into her—,”
“Ha-ha, nice…”
“So she was kind of trapped and then there was about two second when we just looked at each other—,”
“Awkward…
“And then we kind of kissed.”
“How’d she act afterwards?”
“I dunno. She looked kind of shocked, as if she wasn’t quite sure if it was real or not. I think that she was surprised that she had let her guard down. But, then she smiled, which was a good sign—,”
“Well yeah, she could have slapped you across the face.”
“But she didn’t. Then we kind of talked for a few minutes and then walked down to breakfast.”
“Well, now that it’s finally done we can stop worrying about it,” said Nathan.
“What do you mean?”
“Come on Prongs,” said Sirius, looking at him skeptically, “We’ve all been standing on our tiptoes…waiting for this time, we had a feeling that she’s crack any day now. About time, really. We were starting to have doubts…”
James felt slightly embarrassed at the thought of being analyzed so closely.



Meanwhile, Lily sat with Emma and Sarah in the Head dorm, “— so we both did it at the same time.”
The two girls listened carefully as Lily finished her narration of the event that morning.
“So, we finally have the ending to this everlasting love story. Seven years of catching an episode here and there…and now it’s over…” said Sarah with a sigh.
“Nah,” said Emma. “It’s just the beginning. Now the episodes will come closer together. The ending’s still far off…”
“Writing a novel on my life?” asked Lily, grinning.
‘But of course,” laughed Sarah, “Who wouldn’t want to know the story of James Potter and Lily Evans?”
“Very funny…”

Several hours later Lily got into bed and pulled the blanket up around her chin. Her thoughts flickered towards James. It was an odd feeling, thinking about them together. She had rejected him so many times that whenever his name popped into her mind it was automatically associated with denial. That had to stop. Lily laid there. She hoped that she had made the right decision. Well James, she thought to herself, Everyone says that you’ve changed. We’ll see. Now is your chance to prove yourself.
She suddenly had a flashback to the end of their sixth year. When James had come up to her and Sarh before they left for Hogsmeade. When Lily had questioned his honor. She remembered his response oh too well. His face leering in front of her, full of laughter yet serious at the same time.
Oh, I will.


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Phew, I finally finished the chapter. I kept the wait down to a week, I'm so glad. Anyways, thanks for reading the chapter.




Chapter Twenty:

When term started again Alice, Nathan, Remus, and Peter came back. They did fairly well at hiding their shock when they saw the newly formed couple. On their way to potions Remus and James walked a bit behind the crowd.
“So, what finally tipped the boat?”
James smiled. “You know, I’m not really sure. I guess it was a gradual process. We got together on Christmas Day…it was great.”
Remus looked very pleased. “See, you treated her like a person and it worked. How do you feel?”
“Like I’m at the top of the world.”
“Good.”
James gave him a sidelong glance. “So you still seeing that sixth year I saw you with at the party after the first Quidditch match?”
“We’ve kept in touch,” he replied shortly.
“Have you been seeing each other?”
“Occasionally.”
“What’s her name?”
“Lana.”
“Oh yeah. Is the relationship going anywhere?”
“I don’t know. She’s been amusing me, but we’ll probably break up around the end of the year…”
James looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “Yeah. You just look like you’re dying to prevent that.”
He shrugged. “I don’t feel too much commitment right now. I mean, Lana’s amazing and all, but not someone to grow old with.”
“Well, it's really your choice.”
“I have a feeling that you, James, are going to be to only one of us Marauders to really settle down with a girl.”
“Remus, come on…Wait! I know what the problem is. You and Lana are too similar…always studying and acting all noble. When you do get a girl she’ll be your wild side. You know, with neon hair or something. Ha-ha. And Sirius, well, he’s too cocky to ever really settle down. I mean, imagine if he were forced into a jail cell or something…he’d explode from the boredom and not having the ability to move. Hopefully he and Emma will have a good chance together.”
“That’s true. Personally, I think it’s this war that is causing everyone to suddenly pair off. Everyone’s afraid that they’re going to die and eloping left and right. It’s an absolute madhouse.”
“It is quite an extraordinary adventure,” replied James.



The day of the next Hogsmeade trip everyone was being checked and double checked to make sure no one was dealing with illegal substances. There were secrecy sensors all around the magnificent pair of oak doors in the Great Hall. When the group of seventh year Gryffindors made it out they chatted merrily as they walked up the road towards the village. As they walked Lily grasped James hand and interlocked their fingers. He was slightly shocked, for she had not shown too many signs of affection. He had always been the one to make the first move, but he caught her eye and gave her a dazzling smile that lit up his entire face. This was going to be fun.
They arrived at the Three Broomsticks and took a large table in the back and Remus offered to buy the lot tankards of butterbeer.
The first few minutes of the conversation were spent exchanging pleasantries with one another. After Remus brought the beverages it was a roaring tirade arguing about the capability of certain Quidditch teams.
“No!” cried Frank, pounding his fist on the table. “The only reason the Wasps have been doing so poorly this season is because their keeper can’t tell one end of the broom from another—,”
“Nah,” said Sirius, tossing his hair out of his eyes. “It’s the beater. What’s his name?...not Ludo Bagman…the other one…Harry?...Henry?...Well whoever he is…he keeps knocking his own teammates off their brooms. Personally, I think some people are taking turns confunding him before the games. But his performance has been downright sloppy.”
“Well that’s true,” put in Peter. “But honestly, the Seeker is the only player that really matters…and theirs is just lousy.”
Before anyone could respond Remus sat back in his chair and said, “Let’s just agree to disagree and just say the Wasps are a bad team in general.”
“But that’s not true,” said Frank. “I’m sure with a little work—,”
After a minute James got up to demonstrate an obnoxious version of a catch the Keeper had attempted. As he reached to the right he lost his footing and fell into the table, causing everyone to fall over themselves in laughter.
Finally Sirius sat up, whipping away the tears from the corners of his eyes. “God, I’m going to **** my pants. I’ll be right back.”
Soon after he departed Frank, Sarah, Alice, and Nathan decided to go out and get some shopping done.
“So,” started Lily. “How’s everyone’s term going so far?”
“Dull,” said Emma. “I’m not getting this Defense against the Dark Arts ****. I know that N.E.W.T s students are required to learn a Patronus, but I can’t get anything other than that silvery stuff…”
Remus cocked an eyebrow and said with an amused smile. “It’s not too difficult. Just think about Sirius. I mean, he’s a happy thought, right?”
“True. I’ll try it.”
“Hey Remus,” said Lily, nodding to someone over his shoulder. “I think your girlfriend’s looking for you.”
He turned and saw Land standing at the doorway, her lank, blond hair framing her heart shaped face. When she spotted Remus she smiled, waved, and started to head over .He turned back around and looked at James, who had one arm lying gracefully on the back of Lily’s chair. He was tipping his own chair back on two legs and eying Remus with a sardonic smile playing around his face.
“Hi guys,” she said, taking Frank’s empty seat.
They greeted her and began talking about the latest news.

Sirius walked out of the restroom, having fully relieved himself. He looked over and saw that Lana had joined them at the table. A lot of students were now trickling into the Three Broomsticks. He looked out the frosty window and saw Regulus scurry by, his hand deep in his pockets and his chin tucked down to his chest to battle the increasing wind outside.
Sirius started to follow, but then looked back to the table his friends occupied. He watched as Lily and Lana threw back their head and laughed at something Emma had said. They wouldn’t miss him.
He flipped up his collar and then stalked out of the shop. He stayed about five hundred yards away and watched as Regulus walked to the other side of the village and slipped discreetly into the Hog’s Head. Sirius fought with himself for a moment and then followed. He swung through the door just in time to see that Regulus was the only customer and was talking intently with the barman He looked vaguely familiar, but Sirius couldn’t quite place him. He was washing several scotch glasses in an extremely filthy water bucket.
“—explains why he doesn’t look human anymore. The process would cost the spell caster massive physical and emotional strai—” They stopped at the sight of Sirius.
He took several awkward steps forward. “Hey fellas. I just fancied a drink. You don’t mind do ya?” He took a seat on the barstool next to Regulus “You know…you left me hanging during our last conversation. I kind of want to finish it…Two butterbeers please,” he added to the barman, sliding four sickles across the counter.
The old man cast him an irritable glare and then slid over two grimy bottles, and then busied himself with something in the back room.
Sirius took a sip from his drink and then looked at his brother. “You don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into.”
Regulus gave him an annoyed look. ‘When will you stop getting into my business. This doesn’t concern you.”
“Doesn’t concern me? Every day the Daily Prophet brings more news of the crimes Voldemort and the Death Eaters are causing.” He paused and narrowed his eyes. “What you are causing. You, my brother who I grew up alongside with.
Regulus scowled. “God Sirius, it’s not that simple. You can’t walk out on the Dark Lord.”
“Well,” said Sirius impatiently. “What did you find out about him?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Last time I spoke to you…you mentioned that you found out something about him that could lead to his downfall.”
Regulus kept his face heavily guarded. “I’m still researching.”
“What are you looking for?”
“It’s nothing.”
Convinced that he wasn’t going to get anymore out of his brother, Sirius changed the subject back to its original topic. “I can’t believe that you’re doing this.”
“Don’t lecture me about morals, Sirius,” snapped Regulus. “You can go on living and spending time with your half-blood friends. Your half-blood girlfriend. That mudblood, Evans girl. But leave me alone.”
“Just because you’re pure blood doesn’t mean that you’re superior,” said Sirius coldly. “There’s nothing I can do to change that. But it doesn’t mean you can go around killing people who aren’t like you. It’s disgusting.”
“You know. There’s more to people than meets the eye. Don’t judge me by who I swear loyalty to, for it could be a completely different situation altogether. I think what I am doing is right. You don’t exactly have grounds to make an accusation because you don’t know the whole story.”
Sirius looked furious. “Then tell me the whole story.”
“Just know that I am more than you think I am. You and I, Sirius, are closer in personalities that you may think.”
“I’m not like you at all.”
“Maybe I’m more like you.”
I doubt it,” Sirius said as he stood up to leave, his face murderous. “I don’t kill people for the fun of it.” He strode out of the pub and slammed the door behind him.


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Here's the next chapter. Thanks for reading!



Chapter Twenty-One:
“Where did you go earlier?” asked James as they walked back up to the castle.
“I was having a chat with my dear bother,” replied Sirius icily.
“Are his views still the same?”
Sirius nodded curtly.



Severus Snape sat in a high backed chair in the nearly empty Slytherin common room. The fire was reflected in his black eyes. He pressed his long fingers together in his lap. An open letter sat on the table in front of him. Another yellowing piece of parchment sat next to the letter. It was a decoder. Each letter of the alphabet was given a symbol; each matching a symbol in the letter. The portrait hole opened. In climbed Rosier, Wilkes, and Avery, followed by Regulus Black, who was looking somewhat unhappy. The others seemed to be smiling at a joke one of them had told. Upon walking over, they took seats around Snape. A few seconds later Rodolphus Lestrange came down from the boy’s dormitory, pulling a giggling Bellatrix Black along with him. They also took seats with the others.
“A letter,” he said promptly, gesturing towards the parchment in front of him. “has arrived. Our master has sent word through one of his most faithful servants, Lucius Malfoy. It contains our instructions.”
The others murmured, keeping their eyes fixed on the letter, as thought it would suddenly come alive and throttle them.
Snape lowered his voice. “You are all familiar with the story of the foundation of this school…”
They nodded.
“It is said that the founders were at one time friends. Everyone worked in harmony and everything was peaceful. But then there came that fateful day that all four of them disagreed on who to let into the school. As you know, the biggest disagreement was between Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin, whose friendship was utterly and thoroughly destroyed because of the argument. The next part of this tale was never proven. It is said to be an urban legend. They say that the quarrel ended with a duel between the two founders. Gryffindor pulled out a magnificent ruby encrusted sword, while Slytherin fought with a simple rapier. It is said that when Gryffindor had his opponent pinned he lost control of his sword and dropped it. Before he knew it Slytherin had the sword pointed at his neck. No one is sure of what transpired during that time, what was said and done. But, right before the fatal blow was struck, Gryffindor made the sword disappear with a puff of smoke. With that, Slytherin packed up his things and left and thus, ending his part in this story. Nobody knows where the sword is. It is rumored that Gryffindor hid it somewhere in the castle; to appear when a righteous student is in need of arms. Our mission,” said Snape, his eyes glinting. “Is to find that sword and present it to the Dark Lord.”
“How do we know that it exists?” asked Avery sharply.
“The Dark Lord is convinced of its existence,” said Snape matter-of-factly. “and I think we can all agree on saying that it is unwise to not trust his judgment.”
“But how are we going to find it,” asked Rodolphus incredulously. “It could be anywhere. This castle is enormous. It could have been transfigured into something else…or invisible.”
“Yes, that might propose a problem,” said Snape, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “But I think we have to find out more about the sword and Godric Gryffindor to find it.”
“True,” said Wilkes. “But what does want it for?”
Snape looked around awkwardly. “He did not disclose his purpose for the sword, just his wish for us to find it,” he regained his confidence. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. There are seven of us in total. You guys, Rodolphus, Wilkes, Rosier, and Bellatrix. You guys will go to the library and read up on the matter. Avery, Black, you and I will watch Dumbledore. One day we’ll start talking to him. We’ll bring up the sword in casual conversation and see what he tells us.”
More nods.
“We’ll meet us again in a few weeks.”



“What’d you get for number nineteen, Lily?”
Lily was leaning against James’ knees, her herbology homework in her lap. “Umm…I think you need to grab its tentacles to stop it from trying to strangle you. They you reach your hand in the opening and pull out the pods before it clamps down on your arm.”
He kissed the top of her head affectionately. “Thanks a million.”
“No problem.”
“So, what’s new?”
“Eh…not much…I got a letter from my mum…”
“What’d she say?”
“Just reminded me to get a dress soon for Petunia’s wedding and I have to be there by April fifteenth.”
“But isn’t the wedding the seventeenth?”
“Yeah. But the fifteenth there is going to be a bridal shower for my sister. And that’s when Vernon is going to have his Bachelor’s party…and then the sixteenth is the rehearsal dinner. It’ll be insane.”
“I’ll bet.”
Lily thought for a moment. “Hey, I have a crazy idea…”
“The world’s full of them.”
“Why don’t you come to Petunia’s wedding with me? That way I wouldn’t feel completely out of place.”
James’ face lit up. “Really? Do you seriously want me to go?”
“Yeah! Of course, it’ll be fun.”
“Well…okay!”
“Great. I’ll send a letter to my mum tomorrow to tell her that you’ll be coming. Oh, and that’ll work out nicely. When I’m at the bridal shower you can meet Vernon at the Bachelor’s party.”
“Should I be exited or not that I’ll be meeting your brother-in-law?”
Lily gasped. “Oh my God. I haven’t even thought of him as my brother-in-law yet.” An amused look came upon her face. “Vernon Dursley…is quite a character. He is quite sure of his goals and plans…”
“Well then, it should be fun.”
“I suppose so, if Petunia’ll hold her tongue.”
“What do you mean?”
She looked at him quizzically. “Don’t you know?”
“Don’t I know what?”
“That Petunia and I are not as close as we once were.”
“Why not?”
Lily sighed. “It’s the whole Hogwarts thing. It’s abnormal to her. She cares a lot about what people say about her. And she shudders to think about what people would say if they knew about me, or if she was somehow associated with something out of the ordinary.”
“That’s horrible…”
“Yeah, but I got used to it,” said Lily sadly.
James reached down and turned her around so that she was facing him. “Frankly, I don’t know what there is to hate,” he said as he kissed her.

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Okay look, I'm grounded and am not sure when it will be over. So...I'm kind of violating right now. This is to let you know that if worst comes to worse then I'll have a friend of mine post for me or something...and just warning you know...she's terrible at spelling. Anyways, I'm still continuing to write the story and I have posted below what I have so far for Chapter Twenty -Two...It's not that much...but it's something...


Regulus Black, Avery, and Severus Snape sat in the back of the library a few weeks later. They had about ten more minutes before it was time for curfew. Madam Pince was hovering nearby, straightening a towering stack of books and shooting the boys a very nasty glare every now and then. Avery looked out the door and saw none other than Albus Dumbledore stolling by, humming to himself as he stirred what appeared to be hot chocolate. He caught the eyes of the boys around him and gave a discreet nod towards the door. Then he stood up and said loudly, "C'mon guys, let's turn in...we can finish the rest of this homework tomorrow."
Snape and Regulus stood up and shouldered their bags. They quickly walked out of the library and started in the direction of the headmaster.
Snape worked to make it look as if they were going to walk on past, but then knocked his shoulder into the arm holding the hot chocolate, sending it flying all over the marble floors.
Snape clapped a hand over his mouth. "My God, Professor. I am so sorry. We were just on our way to our common room. We didn't want ot be caught out of bed..."
"Accidents happen Severus," said Dumbledore mildly, clearing up the mess with a wave of his wand."It is easy to miss a step when one is admiring the splendor of the castle."
"Very true, Sir, very true," said Snape hastily. "It is astonishing what the four founders were able to create."
"Yes, astonishing," murmered Dumbledore. "Simply astonishing..."


I'm sorry it's short...but please leave feedback nonetheless...
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I am no longer grounded. I'm so sorry that this chapter took forever to post, but here it is. It's the rest of Chapter Twenty-Two. Please read and respond thanks.


“Sir, if you’ll pardon me for asking,” began Snape.
“One should never feel guilty for asking a question Severus. If you were to go through your entire life without asking a thing then you’d find yourself very ignorant indeed.”
“Yes…very true Sir. But I am very curious as to what became of the four who created this school. Their story seems to be one of much excitement and I would love to know what happened.”
Dumbledore looked at him for a moment over his half-mooned spectacles. “Their story is one of the most elaborate and intricate of their kind. In fact, it is actually many stories all weaved and tangled together. To tell it to you three boys would take the rest of the night and the better part of next week.”
“Well we don’t have to hear all of it Professor. In fact, I was actually most interested in learning about the artifacts left behind by the founders. I understand they all left an item that meant something to them.”
“Yes, I suppose they did. Why don’t you three come along to my office? I do not have the ability to detect your feelings on the matter, but I am slightly uncomfortable standing in this drafty hallway. Follow me.”
They quickened their pace and eventually got to Dumbledore’s office and entered at his heels. They boys took the seats that surrounded Dumbledore’s desk in a half-circle.
“The artifacts left behind,” he began. “All reflected their owners one way or another. I presume that you know what Salazar Slytherin left behind…”
“A locket,” replied Regulus, his eyes glassy, as if they were in another dimension.
“Precisely,” said Dumbledore, his half-moon spectacles twinkling in the candlelight. “A locket is supposed to encase something that you would wish to keep safe and discreet. Salazar was a man of many secrets, many of them still unknown today. The locket reflects his personality accurately. Would you agree?”
The boys nodded their heads in unison.
“It is rumored that Helga Hufflepuff left behind a double handled tea cup,” continued the Headmaster. “And that does seem to resemble her nicely. You see, she had a knack for anything quirky or somewhat unusual.
“And Gryffindor?” asked Avery hastily. Snape kicked him sharply under the table and Avery quickly extended his question. “And Ravenclaw?”
Dumbledore pressed his long fingers together and looked at them pointedly. “I am unsure of what possessions belonging to Rowena Ravenclaw are left today. Rumors have met my ears, but each seems more unlikely then the next. The ministry is in an upheaval because wizards and witches have been showing up every few weeks claiming that they own Ravenclaw’s drawers of something of the sort.”
“You don’t say,” said Regulus tensely. “Is Gryffindor the same way?”
“Didn’t you boys listen to the sorting hat’s song this year?”
“Oh yeah,” said Regulus. “It claimed that Gryffindor took it off his head and made it able to think for itself. But was it true?”
“It was indeed.”
Snape sighed. They weren’t getting anywhere. He decided to take a chance and bring up the sword. “Sir, I heard that there was a duel between Gryffindor and Slytherin and Gryffindor preserved his sword somewhere.”
A barely noticeable glint of triumph sparked in Dumbledore’s eye, but it was gone before anyone noticed. “A sword did you say? I do not recall having heard of that.”
The boys exchanged uneasy glances.
“Are you sure?” asked Snape, trying to sound confident. “I thought it was a story that everyone knew. How Gryffindor and Slytherin both dueled. Slytherin got a hold of Gryffindor’s sword, but right before he could kill him Gryffindor made the sword disappear to some unknown place…”
The corners of Dumbledore’s lips tilted slightly into a faint smile and he said lightly, “Good Gracious. I have not heard that portion of the tale, although it does sound terribly exciting. But, I do not think that the sword exists.”
“How can you be sure?” asked Avery sharply. “Sir.”
“One can never be sure of anything Mr. Avery. Even when everything adds up and seems to make perfectly clear sense, a twist will be thrown in. I can confess that I am not sure. But I am saying that the idea seems improbably. I would not waste my time with it.”
“Right,” said Snape tensely.
‘Well, you boys should probably get up to your beds,” said Dumbledore.



Five minutes later Snape, Regulus, and Avery were on their way back to the common room.
“Well,” said Regulus heavily. “That was a dud.”
“God, how are we going to get the sword now?” asked Avery. “How are we going to explain to him? He’ll get so angry.”
“We’ll simply explain to the Dark Lord that Dumbledore said it didn’t exist,” said Snape.
“Ha, good luck with that.”
They hurried away before anyone could notice Lily Evans standing in an alcove around the corner.



Lily hurried back to the head dorm. She began knocking on James’ door frantically.
Finally he opened the door with his hair sticking up at all ends and his glasses askew across his face.
“What?” he asked groggily.
Lily told him everything she had overheard while patrolling the castle.
James was suddenly more awake. “I think we should tell Dumbledore this. He’d want to know. Let’s go. I’ll go with you…”

They hurried down the corridor and after saying the password, knocked on the door.
“Come in,” said a light voice for inside.
They entered to room to see Dumbledore standing over an oval basin, pulling what looked to be silvery hairs from his head and letting them fall gracefully into the bowl, before they swirled into nothingness.
He turned to face them. “I take it that you have witnessed something that you believe upsets the balance of this castle.”
“How did you—“
“My dear boy, why else would you call on me at such an hour.”
“Err. Right. Well, actually, Lily saw something.”
Lily stepped forward, “I was doing my rounds around the castle when I saw those Slytherin boys…Snape…Sirius’ brother, Regulus, and that Avery boy. They were upset because you hadn’t told them anything useful concerning some sword. They said that they had to report back to the Dark Lord.”
“Yes, I know,” said Dumbledore mildly.
“Well y—wait, you know? How could you possibly know?”
“Mr. Snape has been struggling all term to master Occlumency. His performance has gotten remarkably better, but there are still gaping holes. He was trying so hard to get me to tell him about Godric Gryffindor’s sword…that he forgot to shield his mind and I could see it written plainly.”
Lily stared at him. “Well, what are you going to do?”
“Absolutely nothing.”
“But Sir, there are Death Eaters running around the castle doing Lord Voldemort’s will. Shouldn’t we do something?”
“If Lord Voldemort were to find out that we suspected his servants then they would be harshly punished for not staying is disguise. I told them that the sword did not exist with the sole intention of driving them from trying to find it.”
“So the sword does exist?”
“I believe so.”
“What does he want it for?” asked James.
“That, Mr. Potter, we can only guess at. You can leave the rest to me. Thank you for reporting. Good night.”

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I am proud to say that it has been three days since I last posted. So I was thinking. I realized that if you take out the death... Lily and James' story is terribly cliche. There are only so many possibilities when it comes to making up situations following the plot line. Anddd...I realized that even though I tried really hard, a lot of my ideas aren't original. I never really took anything intentionally (minus headdorms) but I know nearly all my ideas have been used before. I dont' know where, but they have. I mean, they must have. (there are hundreds of thousands of l/j fanfictions) So basically, about a week ago, I was feeling extremely guilty (haha) and have decided to send out an apology to any story that somehow shares an idea in this one...whether I know about it or not...(this paragraph is it) wow, did that sound sappy, haha, anyways, here's next chapter!



Chapter Twenty-Three:

By April the weather had begun to warm up, letting the students sit outside while conducting their studies. Peter was shocked to find out that their N.E.W.Ts would be taking place in approximately two and a half months. Lessons were getting continuously harder, causing a few panic attacks and bursts of tears. Yet the teachers remained firm, claiming that all the material would be present on the Final Exam. Defense against the Dark Arts, in particular, had really stepped things up a notch. Reports of murders and kidnappings were still in the news paper daily, if not more frequently and also appearing in the Evening Prophet. It became a ritual for students to check both editions of the Prophet to make sure nobody they knew were missing or dead. Ever so often a student would rise from their table, ashen faced, clutching a copy of either a letter or newspaper clipping, and hurry out of the room. Easter Break was approaching. Lily and James had both signed up to leave back to the Evans household. Sirius would be staying at Hogwarts with Remus, while Peter went home to his mother. Sarah would also he beading home to see her father and older brother.



Lily sat in the library trying to do her Astronomy homework. She had to mark the moon’s position against Mars for every week the past three months. It was long, tiring work. She first had to find out the moon’s position for every day during that time. It was easy after she figured out when the full moon took place. Lily dipped her quill in the inkpot and wrote down eh dates on a scrap of parchment, so not to forget them. She scratched her head and looked at them, trying to backtrack and determine when the half moon took place. Suddenly a huge realization took place in her head, feeling somewhat like an electrical shock. She stood up so fast that the force nearly sent her chair flying across the room. Disregarding this completely, she looked around the library, finally zeroing in on Remus, sitting at the other side of the room, absorbed in a book. She quickly walked over to where he was sitting and took the seat opposite him.
He put down his book and looked up, “Hey Lily. What’s up?”
“Hi Remus. What have you been up to lately?”
“Not much. I came in here to get a head start on my N.E.W.Ts studies…but I found this book on exotic creatures that is really interesting.”
“Hmmm…fascinating,” then she said cautiously, “How’s your mother? You've been seeing her every month, right? Has she been getting better?”
Remus looked slightly uncomfortable, “Well right now she is pretty neutral, not getting better or worse. The healers haven’t been able to tell us anything new. But we’re keeping our hopes up that she’ll get better.”
“That’s good is she staying at St. Mungo’s?”
“Uh, well, actually she’s staying at our house and healers have been coming out to see her.”
“That’s convenient.”
“Yes, I suppose it—,”
“She’s not sick, is she?”
“He looked at her and frowned, “If you knew that then why did you ask about her?”
Lily took a breath, “Just wanted to hear your story…”
“Well I hope you’re satisfied,” he said curtly, “Just say it.”
“Say what?”
“Come on Lily. I’m dangerous to be around. I really don’t care. Really.”
Lily looked at him sharply, “Do you honestly think that I would desert you because of this. I’ve known you for what? Seven years now? I know you’re perfectly normal. Nearly.”
Remus looked slightly happier and smiled, “You’re a good person Lily. James made a good choice.”
She blushed slightly, “So they all know. James, Sirius, and Peter?”
“Yeah…you have no idea how much they’ve made things easier.”
“What do they do?”
“Um…well…see the Womping Willow is where I am at the full moon.”
“Huh, no kidding? That’s pretty ideal. Convenient.”
“Yes. Well, my friends, you see, they are very good friends, so they’ve managed to keep me company during my transformations…”
Lily looked slightly shocked, “Isn’t that dangerous? What if you bit them? Wouldn’t that make them a,” she looked around quickly and lowered her voice to a nearly inaudible whisper, “werewolf?”
“That would be true,” said Remus slowly, “If they were human.”
“What are you saying?” asked Lily, confused, “That’s I’m dating a red-legged tree frog or something…”
“Stag.”
“Stag what?”
“A stag,” said Remus, lowering his voice, “A stag is what James’ animagus form is.”
This caught Lily off guard. “Are you serious?” she asked incredulously.
He nodded.
“The other boys too?”
He nodded again.
“My God. You boys are certainly smarter than I give you credit for.”
“Thanks.”
“So they’re all illegal.”
“Well, you know James and Sirius. Anything legal is considered nerdy and goody goody, too shabby for their style.”
“Well, I suppose that’s true.”
“You’re under oath now, Lily. You can’t tell anyone.”
“No, of course I won’t.”
“Good. Thanks.”



Lily walked into the Head Dorm and found James on the couch reading his potions book. She sat down next to him, “You’re a really good friend James.”
He put down his book and looked at her, “You know, I thought we’d advanced a little past friends. I mean if that’s all you consider us then that would make these last few months sort of awkward…”
She laughed and knocked him on the shoulder, “I meant what you do for Remus. It’s really nice of you.”
“Oh…you…you know about that?”
“Yeah. He told me in the library.”
“Look, I knew I didn’t tell you…but—,”
“You shouldn’t have told me…and I’m glad you didn’t. It would have made you a bad friend. You should never betray your friends…no matter what the reason is.”
“O-okay,” he looked happier, “You really scared me there…calling us friends and all. For a second I thought it was your way of breaking things off…”
“No…but we are friends…of a sort. That’s all a relationship is…an extended friendship.”
James stretched out his feet and put them on her lap before adding, “With more privileges.”

Thanks for reading! Quite intersting, don't you think. haha. Please leave feeback here:
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I think that this has been my longest chapter yet. So, I know that my last few chapters haven't been too good because they weren't very intersting, but had to be put in the plot somewhere. I don't know if any of you guys will like this chapter, it hardly has anyting to do with the central plot...but I had a ton of fun writing it. I think it may be my favorite to write...so far, even if it isn't informative. The thing is that, I kind of brought Petunia and Vernon slightly out of character. Maybe it's fine and just me...but that's how I see it. Uh, there is some slight alcohol abuse in this chapter...Well tell me what you think.




Chapter Twenty-Four:
Peter, James, Lily, and Sarah boarded the Hogwarts Express to return home for Easter Break. That afternoon was passed with multiple games of exploding snap and an everlasting game of chess between James and Sarah. The train arrived in the station at a quarter after three.
After saying a hasty goodbye to Sarah and Peter, Lily hurried James along and went to pick up their trunks, “The bridal shower starts in an hour and forty five minutes. We have to move.”
“Calm down.”
“Tell yourself that once you’ve met my sister and Vernon.”
Lily led him over to a middle aged couple who were waiting by a shiny, silver car.
Introductions were made all around.
“Well Mrs. Evans,” said James, looking her in the eye as he shook her hand, “I have heard a lot about you and your marvelous cooking…”
The older lady gave a tinkery laugh, “Oh…well…I don’t want to brag, but I’ve been told that I make a good peach cobbler.”
“Well, I would love to be your official yet unofficial taste tester.”
Mrs. Evans smiled at him, “In that case we had better stop by the grocery store.”
“Ah, Mum, no, not now,” complained Lily, “Petunia’s thing starts in and hour and a half. We already have to rush as it is.”
“Oh alright…”
“Well James,” said Mr. Evans as they got in the car, “I know this was a bit of a rush for you. So I rented you a suit the day before yesterday. If it doesn’t fit then…well…we’ll think of something…but hopefully it will fit.”
“Sounds good. Thanks that will make things a lot easier.”
“So what’s the plan?” Lily asked her parents.
“Well, you and James will get ready at home. Don’t worry. It’s not too formal. We’ll drop James off. Vernon has this room booked in the country club. And he knows you’re coming James, dear, so don’t worry about that. Actually, he is looking forward to meeting you. Lily, the girls are meeting at a restaurant in the middle of town. We’ll drop you off there.”
“Great…” James wasn’t sure if everyone caught the sarcastic note in her voice.

An hour and forty five minutes later everyone was back in the car. They were running late and everyone was hurrying. James was in slacks and a button up shirt. He had neglected the task of tucking in his shirt tails. Lily was in a dark blue top and a flow-y knee-length black skirt.
She looked nervous as they pulled up where James would be getting out.
“Remember,” she told him, “Just play it normal. Way you’re from Scotland or something and that you know me from boarding school in France. Oh, and please please don’t perform any magic at all.”
“So I’m playing a muggle?” asked James, “No offense Mr. and Mrs. Evans…”
“Exactly. Don’t draw too much attention to yourself—,”
“Let him go Lily,” said Mr. Evans, “Just enjoy yourself James.”
He tipped an imaginary hat and strode up the drive into the building.



Lily said goodbye to her parents and headed towards the restaurant door. It was one of those five-star Italian restaurants. She smoothed her hair and skirt and set her face in what she hoped would be an amused grin. Then she opened the door and walked in.
Petunia was sitting at a large round table, surrounded by eleven other girls.
“Ah…Lily,” she said with a false smile, ‘At last you’re here. We thought you might not have been able to make it.”
“Yes, Petunia, well the train from France,” she put as much emphasis on that word as possible, “was delayed. But don’t worry. I just got James squared away and then I hurried over here.” She took the only seat available, between two girls with very blond hair.
The had obviously been there a while because there were several champagne bottles littered around the table.
“Who’s James?” they asked.
Lily looked up. All the girls were listening. Petunia looked annoyed.
“Um. Just this boy who came home with me from school.”
“Is he your boyfriend?”
It was weird fro Lily to think of James Potter as her boyfriend. The boy she had sworn to hate but grown to have affection for. He really had changed a lot. It was quite remarkable.
“Yes he is,” she said firmly, looking everyone in the eye.
“What does he look like?”
“Uh…black hair, brown eyes…He’ll be at the wedding…you can see him there.”
Thankfully, the conversation moved away from James when the food came.
Lily chewed on a piece of garlic bread as Petunia told everyone how she had met Vernon for the fourth time, “—and then that manager gave me whole milk instead of non-fat milk. So I was hurrying to get out of that dreadful store when my cart ran into Vernon’s. Apparently, he had the same problem I did. They also had given him the wrong milk—,”
“Petunia, darling,” said a lady with curly brown hair whom Lily recognized as one of her sister’s best friends all through high school. Lily gave the woman props for interrupting her sister while she was in her stride, “I know that this is your bridal shower, but I want to think of it as more of a bachelor-ette party. This is basically your last night an unmarried woman. We should hit the town and have some fun. I know that there is this club a few streets over. Do you want to go check it out?”
Petunia pursed her lips, “Do you have any idea what people would say if they saw us there? We would be the disgrace of the neighborhood.”
“Yes, but didn’t Vernon by a house outside of London for after you’re married? So who cares? You’re just going to move away and never going to see anyone from the neighborhood again. Let’s live a little.”
Lily knew that her sister rarely drank and the half glass of champagne she had consumed had left her pink in the cheeks and curious for adventure, “Oh, alright.”
Lily stood up first and offered to pay the bill. Then everyone walked three bocks to the club slash bar.
It was crowded inside and soon all the girls were at different corners of the room. Lily promised herself that she’d stay sober for the sake of getting her sister home.

Two hours later Lily sat in the corner holding a glass of water. She had kept her promise so far. No alcohol. Petunia, on the other had, was a wreck. Lily watched as her sister played a game of Quarters across the room. She had missed the pitcher eight times in a row.
Six misses later Lily knew she had to do something. She stood up and walked over to her sister, who missed the pot yet again and was gulping down another drink.
Lily gently tried to pull her up, “Petunia, I think you had enough to drink tonight. Let’s go sit down.”
One of the men that was also playing the game stood up, “If she wants to stay let her stay. It’s her choice.”
Lily scowled at him so fiercely that he recoiled as she led a very unsteady Petunia over to a table in the back.
“My God, Petunia. We should go home. Mum’ll probably die when she sees the state you’re in—,”
“I really like The Beatles,” said Petunia suddenly, “Their music is really…good…”
“Hmm…well…yes, they are a fine music group.”
“That one song…She’s leaving home…It’s my favorite…”
“Oh, really?” asked Lily, trying to sound interested, “The one where the girl runs away because her parents don’t pay her any attention?”
“She’s eloping,” said Petunia, slurring her words, “It’s a lot more romantic to think of it that way.”
“If you say so.”
“Petunia started to sing softly off-key.
“—Wednesday morning at five o’clock as the day begins…
Silently closing her bedroom door…
…Leaving the note that she hoped would say more—I kind of think the girl could be like me…”
“No kidding,” said Lily dryly.
“—she’s leaving home after living alone…for so many years—Mum ‘n’ Dad always liked you better. T’was like I was the other daughter or something.”
“That’s not true,” said Lily abruptly. The fifteen plus glasses of liquor were taking their effect on Petunia.
“Just because you’ve got special abilities. Why should I give a damn? So what if you can turn into apples into oranges or whatever? You’re abnormal. Why does everyone see that as such a good thing? It’s disgusting.”
The words stung like a slap. She looked at her sister incredulously. It’s because she’s drunk. Lily told herself, Very very drunk.
But the truth was staring at her straight in the face. It was that night that Lily realized things between her and her sister would never truly amend.



Meanwhile, James was sitting among a crown of boys discussing politics. Apparently there was an election going on in some foreign country that was causing an upheaval. He stifled a yawn as a rather large man took the seat next to him.
The man looked at James and puffed out his chest, “I don’t believe I’ve met you before…and to be quite frank, if you’re crashing then I think you ought to leave.”
“I’m not crashing!” he held out his hand, “I’m James Potter.”
“Ah, Lily’s boyfriend?”
James swelled with pride at being thought of like that. All his hard work had finally paid off, “Yes, that’s right.”
“You should have said so,” said the man, shaking his hand, “Vernon Dursley.”
“Oh…you, you’re Vernon Dursley.” James personally thought that the man next to him was very lucky to even be getting married.
“So you got to school in France…with Lily.”
“Yes,” said James pointedly.
“It must be nice there.”
“Very.”
“That’s good.”
There was a silence and then James said, “Where do you plan on moving?”
“Well, there are a lot of abnormal people in London. So, out of the city.”
“London’s not too bad. Actually, I find it extraordinary compared to France.”
“Yes, it is nice, but,” he lowered his voice, “But the other day this American woman walked up to me and asked where she could find the Leaky Cauldron. She had on some funny cloak.”
James tried to look dumbfounded, “Maybe she was on some of that home grown stuff if you know what I mean.”
“Err…right…but the point is that Petunia and I want to move somewhere away from all that nonsense. We want to live a normal, ordinary life.”
James’ liking for the man had decreased slightly, “Where do you have in mind?”
“Well, we were looking at houses in Little Whinging, Surrey and they do look promising.”
“Nice, nice…So this is your bachelor’s party?” he asked, motioning to the men around them who were conversing in low tones. A few waiters walked around in pressed shirts, serving cubes of cheese to the guest.
“Er…yes…”
“It’s kind of…uh…dry…don’t you think?”
“What would you suggest?”
“Well see, the way I see it, there should be some music playing…and toasts going…and maybe some, dare I say, laughter.”
Vernon looked at him, “Well maybe there could be some background music. Would you like to do that?”
“Uh…sure…but see, I’m not as familiar with these British artists. I have a friend who is in town tonight. Would you mind if I gave him a call to come over? He could help me out.”
“Well I suppose if he dressed for the occasion then it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Okay, I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

James crossed the street into the next building and locked himself in the bathroom. He pulled a square mirror out of his pocket.
“Sirius Black,” he said clearly into it.
A second later Sirius’ face was grinning at him, “Hey Prongs! I love the muggle attire.”
“Ha-ha, very funny, but look, you know that Bachelor’s party I told you about?”
“Yeah, with Lily’s fat, future brother-in-law.”
“Exactly. Well, his party is so boring that it’d put werewolf Moony to sleep.”
“Ouch.”
“So I was thinking—,”
“Wow, that’s a shocker. You thinking…”
“Shut up. What’s Remus doing?”
“He’s been studying the whole time. It’s no fun. He’s still in the library.”
“Good. Okay, here’s what you do. Go past Hogwarts’ boundaries and disapparate here. Vernon said I could ask my friend to come.”
“He knows you’re a wizard?”
“No, I told him you’re in town.”
“Scandalous.”
“Okay, you have to wear semi-formal muggle clothes. You have some right?”
“If I don’t then I’ll just nick something from Moony.”
“Right. So after the party you’ll just disapparate back to Hogwarts. I’m going to move the mirror so you can see where you can appear.”
“Okay.”
James slowly revolved the mirror around the room, “Got it?”
“Yeah. Be there in five minutes.” He was gone.
James paced the bathroom until Sirius finally appeared with a crack. His outfit was similar to James’ except there was a red tie around his neck.
“Sorry I’m late. Apparently there’s this bar across town that has the same bathroom as the one here.”
“Were you seen?”
“It’s a bar. There was this guy puking in the toilet, but I doubt he noticed me.”
“Good. Let’s go.”

They went back to the bachelor’s party and over to the sound system.
“God, who are these people?”
Sirius and James were riffling through the records behind the speakers. The two boys had grown up listening to the WWW and other wizarding bands. There were unfamiliar with the artists in front of them.
“Cream, The Kinks,” said James, riffling through the stack, “Pink Floyd, The Who, The Beatles…What kind of names are these? They sound so stupid.”
“I’ve heard of Pink Floyd,” said Sirius, “I went out with that Ravenclaw muggle born last year. She really liked them…”
“Did you ever listen? Were they any good?”
“All those muggle listening devices go haywire around Hogwarts, remember?”
“Well do you trust her judgment when it comes to music?”
“I guess. Just play it. If it’s terrible we’ll take it out.”
James got the record player started and a fast paced song began to play. The volume was turned down so no one could really hear it.
One of the men stood up from the couch and tapped his glass. Everyone stopped to listen.
“Tonight is the night that we honor Vernon Dursley, who has wandered through life and found himself a woman he wants to make his wife. Vernon is about to enter life a married man. Tonight we celebrate that and release him from bachelorhood.” The man sat down.
Sirius whispered something to James, who smiled and nodded and then stood up, clearing his throat.
“For those of you who don’t know me, my name is James Potter. I just met Vernon tonight and he is a very charming man.” He walked over to where Vernon stood.
“On a scale of one to ten, how high is your adventurous side?”
“Oh, err, um, well to be completely honest…I would be comfortable with staying in the same rut for the rest of my life. So probably a four or five.”
“This is your party, right?”
“Right.”
“This is the day you leave bachelorhood, right?”
“Right.”
“To be married?”
“Right.”
“So, why not leave with a bang?”
“Ri—what?”
“Like…we could get some fireworks going and some dancing started…”
“Um…well—,”
“Great,” James picked up a glass from a passing waiter, “To the future groom.” He drank.
As if on cure, Sirius turned up the song louder so that everyone could hear it.
“We should start dancing,” James told the group, moving with the beat, “Come on, don’t be shy…”
He danced by Vernon so long that he eventually started nodding his head very subtly to the music.
"There we go!” James shouted. He moved onto the next group of people as Sirius also started jumping around, trying to get people to dance.
As James was trying to get a man to move he saw Sirius trying to teach another person how to freak dance. They caught each other’s eye and started laughing.

An hour later most of the people in the room was laughing and dancing along to the music. Sirius had managed to get a few fireworks and had set them off above the building. The two boys stood in the back of the room, surveying the effect of their work.
“You know,” said Sirius, “Muggles aren’t that bad.”
They started laughing again.


You have got to love James and Sirius. Well, I do anyways. So the song is She's Leaving Home...by The Beatles... So, please please leave feedback:
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This chapter was going to be a lot longer, but I got really frusterated and have decided to cut it in half because I wanted to get something up today, even if it is shorter than I intended. I will get to work on the second half soon. The beginning was very fun to write...I think I was in a really good mood when I wrote it. So...enjoy!


Chapter Twenty-Five:
The next day James and Lily were peeling potatoes by the sink. The rest of the family had gone out for last minute grocery shopping. They had figured it would be easier to make their own food, rather than hire a caterer. Already dozens of pies were on the counter-tops. A large ham was roasting in the oven, several more were sitting in the refrigerator. Mrs. Evans had allowed Lily to perform a small charm that allowed the refrigerator enough room for all the food. James’ potatoes were going to be mashed, while Lily’s would be made into salad.
“So does Petunia remember anything?” asked James, flicking a potato skin off his wrist.
“Nope, she came down before you woke up. She was so hung over that she nearly fell down the stairs. This was before Mum and Dad woke up so she had time to take some aspirin. Then she barges into the kitchen and demands to know what she did last night.”
“What’d you tell her?”
“Just that she couldn’t walk and slurred her words a lot.”
“Ah, kept the truth from her.”
“Like I was going to tell her that she started to sing, brought up the fact I was a witch, and then insulted me.”
“You have a point.”
“What about you? You started a dance party?”
“It was classic.”
“If anyone saw Sirius—,”
“He made it to and from Hogwarts unseen.”
“What happened to keeping a low profile?”
“Well, I thought about it…but honestly, can you see me, James Potter, keeping a low profile?”
“Whatever…”
“Come on. Admit that it was funny.”
“No.”
“You know that you wish you were there.”
“I do not.”
“Lily, no one wants to miss watching Sirius teach some guy in a suit how to freak dance.”
“Fine, it was funny.”
He grinned at her, “Can I ask you something?”
“If it has anything more to do with last night then I will murder you in your sleep.”
“No you won’t. The sight of me sleeping would be too much to handle. My sexy frame would drive you mad…”
“God, shut up! Just ask the question.”
He started dancing around the room, “You know that’s what you were thinking.”
“Don’t flatter yourself James.”
He picked up his potato peeler again, “Okay, here’s what I want to know. Why in the name of Merlin are we not using magic on these potatoes?”
“A neighbor could be spying on us through their windows,” she said simply.
“Fine, we’ll pull the blinds.” He walked over to the window and pulled drapes to cover them. Then he pulled out his wand and flicked them at the potatoes, which started peeling themselves.
Lily laid down her knife, “Fine.”
James walked over to her, “You know that you were thinking about me sleeping.” Before she could answer he leaned her over his arm and kissed her.
The pulled apart when Petunia walked in five seconds later, a grocery bag in each arm. She hauled them onto the counter and looked at them frostily, “Please do not engage in sexual conduct while in my kitchen.”
“It’s my kitchen as much as it’s yours, Petunia.”
“True. But seeing as you’re only home two months of the year I hardly think you have a right to call it yours.”
Lily flushed.
James stepped between the two sisters, and put on a high-pitched voice, “I am not feeling the love between you two.”
“Shut up Potter,” snapped Petunia.
James put on a mock offended look and said sarcastically, “Dear Lord. I was hoping I’d never see the day where one of the Evans flowers called me by my surname.”
“Look Petunia,” said Lily patiently, “I know you’re under a lot of pressure being a bride and all, but I’m trying to help you.”
“Fine,” snapped Petunia, “Mum and Dad are out getting the cake. You two take my car and pick up the bridesmaids dresses and accessories. You did pass you’re driver’s test, right?”
“As you said earlier,” said Lily, starting to panic, “I am only home two months of the year. I never even got formal instruction. Witches and wizar—,”
“Do not use that terminology in front of me. Didn’t Dad ever teach you?”
“A few lessons. But I only got the basics, I never even got behind the wheel!”
“Well mum and dad say you’re extremely smart. Go figure it out.”
“I may be new with these muggle things,” said James, cutting in, “But is it really a good idea to let Lily drive your car when she’s never done it before?”
“It doesn’t matter,” said Petunia, waving her hand, “Lily was going to get it anyways. Vernon bought me a new one.”
“How thoughtful,” said Lily dryly.

Ten minutes later they were sitting in the front seat of the car. Lily had already checked her mirrors several more times than necessary and she was clutching the wheel so tightly that her knuckles were white.
James looked at her uneasily, “Are you sure you can do this?”
“Yes. I’ll be fine.” She hit the gas and the car shot forward and then came to a screeching halt when she stepped on the break.
James looked more nervous, “You sure?”
“Yes! I am quite capable of driving a car James.”
“Well just know that if we die than I am very glad that I will be dying next to you. I will not go any other way.”
“That is very sweet James. But honestly, have some more faith.”
After twenty painful minutes of screechy starts and stops they reached the designer’s office. Another twenty minutes they were rumbling home. But the time they pulled into the driveway James thought he must be the luckiest man alive.



The wedding was due to start in fifteen minutes. The rehearsal the night before had gone rather smoothly, apart from Vernon’s father who had just gotten false teeth and wasn’t used to them. He had nearly choked to death on a meatball that hadn't been thoroughly chewed. Everybody had just stared at the old man, not exactly sure what he was doing, until James had the sense to whack his chest. The meatball came flying out of his airway and landed in his water glass.
“How’d you know how to do that?” Lily had asked him later.
“In our fourth year I took muggle studies so that I could learn more about you.”


Lily wished her sister good luck and then took her seat in the audience with James. Finally the music began to play and Petunia walked down the aisle, her bony face hidden behind a lace veil. Mrs. Evans already had tears leaking from her eyes.
Vernon had managed to find a suit that fit his size and was already standing in front of the minister, preparing to take Petunia from her father. Mr. Evans lifted the veil, kissed his eldest daughter on both cheeks and then took his seat next to his wife and grasped her hand reassuringly. The minister started his speech.
Lily found herself drifting in and out of his words. The man had a droning, flat sort of voice that didn’t give off too much emotion. He acted as if he had just been paid to be there and wasn’t uniting the couple in holy matrimony.
Lily felt herself tuning out the man and drifting off. Suddenly she snapped her eyes open, She couldn’t fall asleep at her sister’s wedding.
As she sat there listening to the man’s words she found herself thinking about marriage…and more importantly, the being sitting beside her. She really liked him. Would she go to any length for him? She didn’t know. He had changed so much. She was now seeing a side of James that she didn’t think existed. It was interesting to see how far they had both come. But her mind kept coming back to the same question: What did she want for the future? She was not sure what she wanted to do with James, or what her exact feelings were for him. She liked him, she knew that, but what puzzled her was how much. He always laughed with her and was polite to everyone who knew her. She suddenly remembered that afternoon so long ago…

You’ll fall for me eventually…

The look on his face when he said that…his smile was so sardonic…so, so knowing…it was like he knew that one day she would take the chance to be with him. He knew that she would one day realize her wrong and make it a right. Lily decided not to think anymore about the past or future and just enjoy the present.
The minister was finishing up his speech and the soon to be couple was looking very nervous.
“—I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
Lily and James joined in with the clapping that soon sounded. They grabbed each other’s hands and followed the crowd outside the church. There, Petunia and Vernon were waving to the crowd. The wind was picking up and people were trying to either keep on their hats or hold down their skirts. Lily’s hair was blowing everywhere. Leaves were raining down from nearby trees. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Petunia throw the bouquet of white roses over her shoulder. The wind caught it and knocked it into Lily’s chest before falling neatly into her arms.


I know, kind of boring...but next chapter should be intersting.
I appreciate all the feedback I got for the last chapter...and ALL chapters. It has really improved my writing.
http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13280
ekkk, I feel bad for it being so short. I'm going to try and write super fast...

You know, I lied...I think this has been my longest chapter to right. I slaved away over this chapter, literally. I can't get to the computer this story is saved on so I've had it on a disk. So yesterday I was typing it up and when I went to save it my disk overloaded and my computer crashed. So today I had to retype the whole thing...again. But luckly, I had my handy dandy notebook! I don't think I've ever had a chapter with SO many good spots to leave it off. But I finally found a good one. Tee hee. Thanks for reading!




Chapter Twenty-Six:
James walked into the reception hall, Lily on his arm. His suit’s sleeves had been a little too long, but overall, it was fine. He felt somewhat out of place in the room, where everyone was in formal wear with stiff bowties. He yanked at his tie to loosen it. Beside him, Lily was a vision in a cream dress with silver stitches.
Fifteen minutes later Lily got her sister alone in a corner.
“So Vernon is apart of the family now.”
“Yes,” replied Petunia stiffly.
“When do you plan to tell him about me…and James?”
“Hopefully, he will never have the misfortune of finding out.”
“Do you mean to tell me that you’re going to go through the rest of your life lying to your husband?”
“We’re moving away Lily. We’ll start over and you and your abnormality will no longer be in our life.”
That hurt. She couldn’t use alcohol as an excuse this time. Lily struggled to keep her voice even, “I traveled here to attend your wedding and you tell me that!”
“Lily, I am not going to deal with this right now. I just go married. I’m going to have a good time.”
“I wish you luck with that.” She walked off.
Meanwhile, James sat at one of the circular tables that had been set up in the reception hall. He looked around and when he saw that no one was watching, put his feet up on the chair next to his. All this wedding décor around him was making him seriously consider marriage. In his fifth year he had decided that if Lily would have him then he would make her his wife. But would she have him? That was the question. They had had the title of boyfriend and girlfriend for almost four months. But they had known each other for seven year. Even if it wasn’t on an affectionate basis, they had still lived in the same building together. For the last eight months they had slept about thirty feet apart.
It was at that moment that James concluded that he would marry Lily Evans.
His thoughts were paused when he saw the one and only girl break away from the crowd and storm out the door into the garden.
James quickly jumped up and walked out after her. He found her wandering up and down the flower paths. It was really a lovely sight to see Lily amiss a crowd of roses. He fell into pace beside her and took her hand, “What happened?”
She shrugged, “It’s just Petunia. I hate how she makes me out to be some sort of monster.”
James looked horrified, “She said that?”
“Well, no, but she implied it. So what if I’m a witch? I’m still human.”
“Let’s try and look at it from her point of view,” said James patiently, “You get a letter from this school claiming that you’ve got special abilities. Your parents think it is some sort of miracle from God or something. During all this excitement Petunia is pushed into the shadows while attention is pointed towards you.”
Lily gaped at him, “I didn’t want it to be like that. I swear. I couldn’t help that. It sounds like I’m the villain or something. But I’m not.”
“But that’s how Petunia sees it, remember?”
“That’s horrible. What should I do?”
“Try and find her alone. Talk to her about it and try to work things out.”
“Okay.”



The wedding reception ended with several bangs of confetti and the guests finally left. After about half on hour of cleaning up Lily convinced her parents to go home and let her, Petunia, Vernon, and James finish up. The four of them had changed into street clothes to make moving easier. The boys picked up several trash bags and left to walk around the block in search of a dumpster, leaving the sisters.
Lily was folding all the tablecloths when she decided to talk to Petunia and iron things out.
She sat down and called over her sister, who was wiping down several tables with a very determined look on her face.
Petunia threw down her rag and huffed over, “What?”
“I think I get it now.”
“Get what?”
“You were never very fond of me after I got accepted into Hogwarts, remember. I just don’t want you to hate me because I’m different.”
Petunia glared at her, “I do not want to talk about this right now.”
“Well I do. I don’t want you to move away thinking of me like this. Let’s discuss it.”
“There’s nothing to discuss.”
“Yes there is! I know that you were pushed to the side when Mum and Dad found out that I was a witch. I just want you to accept it and see me as an equal.”
Petunia was starting to get angry and her voice rose slightly, “Just stop Lily! I will never see you as the same person you were seven years ago!”
“Why not?!” shouted Lily, “I am the same person—,”
“You were not the same person,” Petunia’s vice had gotten higher than her sister’s, “You disappeared off to that accursed school and came back waving some bloody stick around like you expected us to warship you like some sort of demigod—,”
“I did not! I wanted things to go back to exactly how they had been before I had left! But no, you completely avoided me and treated me like I was some sort of contagious disease.”
“You would have done the same thing,” Petunia shrieked back, “Mum and Dad talked about you constantly. They had a countdown on the refrigerator from the first day you left. Every time we had company over I could see them struggling to not talk about how proud they were of you. It was revolting.”
“It’s not like I wanted them to do that!”
“Oh please,” shouted Petunia, laughing sardonically, “You enjoyed every minute of them fawning over you when you came back over the summer. Don’t try and deny it!”
“That’s not TRUE!” screamed Lily. No less than six of the wine glasses sitting on the next table exploded, sending shards of clear glass flying in every direction.
‘How did you do that?” came a voice from the doorway. Lily and Petunia spun around. Vernon and James were back.

Vernon was the one who had spoken. He had gone white and was pointing a finger at Lily, “You’re ten feet away and I swear on my life nothing touched them.”
“It must have been the vibrations in her voice,” said James quickly, although he was looking at Vernon with a very amused expression on his face, “You know when sound waves are the same pitch they can cause glass to break. That’s probably what happened here.”
“That could be true…but I saw a demonstration of that process last year. The person has to remain with the same pitch for twenty of so seconds and it has to be a lot louder.”
‘Well then you have me stumped.”
“You should just tell him,” Lily whispered to Petunia out of the corner of her mouth.
“No.”
“You’re living a lie.”
“You’re such a bit—,”
“If you don’t then I will.”
“You won’t dare!”
Lily raised her eyebrows and turned back to the boys, “It’s a bit of a magic trick. Petunia knows exactly how it works and would love to explain it.”
James looked even more amused as he and Vernon turned to look at her sister.
“A magician never reveals their secret,” she said quickly, flushing.
“Ah, come on,” said Lily with fake cheerfulness, “We can make an exception this time.”
That’s when Petunia lost it. She stepped forward, shoved her sister and screamed, “Why are you trying to ruin my life?”
Lily pushed her back, “I’m not! I just want to be apart of it.”
James stepped forward and grabbed both girls by the arm; “ I’ll hex both of you if you don’t stop.”
“What is going on?” asked Vernon, looking alarmed, “What is hexing?”
Lily looked at her brother in law, panting slightly. Her hair had fallen around her flushed face, “Here’s the thing Vernon…my sister is slightly embarrassed to be in known contact with me. I’m not as ordinary as I may appear.”
The man paled and looked between the two girls, slightly edging away from Lily, “Petunia, Dear, what does she mean?”
The elder sister brushed her hair out of her face and crossed her arms. She swallowed several times before speaking, “Lily doesn’t go to school in France. In fact, she doesn’t speak French—,”
Vernon puffed himself out, “She doesn’t, does she?”
“No, she and this…this boy,” she indicated towards James with a snarl on her face, “Are…are…are…” She faltered, sagged her head, and waved her arm at them, as if exhausted and utterly spent.
James took it as a sign to continue, “We are witch and wizard.”
For a span of about five seconds everything was dead silent…until Vernon cleared his throat loudly, “I beg your pardon. What exactly are you?”
“Witch and Wizard,” repeated James, “We got to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We learn and study about magic and how to use it.”
“God, I think I had too much to drink. I’m hearing everything wrong…”
“It’s true,” said Petunia hoarsely.
Vernon looked at them horrified, before taking several steps away.
“I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t want you to leave me because I had a strange family.”
He put his arm around his wife, “I happen to know that you are perfectly normal, even if…others…aren’t. There are a lot of things that aren’t hereditary—,”
“You know,” said James loudly, “We’re still here…and pardon me for pointing it out…but you have known us for a while now…and you never thought we were weird until we told you that we were different. Why is it such a big deal now?”
Vernon took a deep breath, “My wife and I do not like to associate ourselves with anyone or anything abnormal—,”
“What is the matter with you?” interrupted Lily, looking at him incredulously, “James and I are not abnormal. Just because we’re not like you doesn’t mean we should be shunned aside.”
Petunia pointed a shaky finger at Lily. Her voice was low and her face deadly, “I got married today. I plan on living the rest of my life as directly and normally as possible. That means it will not include you.”
Tears sprang to Lily’s eyes, “I hope you enjoy it then and get your wish.” She ran out of the building and down the street.
James turned to face the newly married woman, “How could you say that to your own sister?” He pulled his wand out of his jeans and waved it around threateningly, “I should curse you right here and now.”
Petunia closed her eyes and then opened them again, “Tell Lily that I don’t ever want to see her again. She is done ruining my life.” Little did she know that she’d get her wish.



James walked down the street in search of Lily. He finally found her in a park a few blocks away. She was sitting on one of the swings and crying into her hands.
James went and stood in front of her and pulled her up, “Your sister is the biggest prat that I ever had the misfortune to meet. Don’t listen to anything she says.”
That just made Lily start crying harder into his shoulder.
“I just wanted us to be normal sisters,” she choked out.
“See, that’ll never happen. Petunia is normal, but you…you are extraordinary. Your sister will lead her same boring life, while you deserve to be shown off to the world for everyone to see.”
Lily eventually fell asleep, her head dropping onto James’ chest. He sat down on the ground by the swings with her in his lap. The sky was very beautiful that night with no clouds and starts glittering everywhere. There was a slight breezed causing the trees to sway back and forth. But James wasn’t looking at them. He was only interested in the girl lying in his arms. He stayed awake just to watch her sleep.



About an hour until sunrise Lily awoke with a start. Her neck was cramped from the awkward position she had slept in. She sat back on her heels and surveyed her surroundings. James was asleep, resting his head against of the oth poles holding the swings. At the sudden weight change be woke up quickly. He yawned and rumpled his hair, “Hey Beautiful. Feeling better?”
Lily stood up and pulled up James, “Yes. But I think we should go back to Hogwarts this morning. We can apparate outside the boundaries.”
“Uh…okay, if you want to.”
“We’ve got to get home. Mum and Dad cannot know that we were out all night! Come on, we’ll climb up the trellis under my window.”
“Why don’t we just disapparate there?”
“Because anyone could see! Let’s go.”
But James held onto her arm, “We’re half way across town. We can’t walk. Your parents probably expected your sister to give us a ride home on their way to the airport.”
He was carefully mentioning Petunia. And sure enough, at the sound of reference to her Lily’s expression became wooden and she said bitterly, “We’ll disapparate.” She muttered a few things under her breath. James managed to catch a few phrases, “…We’ll see…that’ll show her…”
They ran to a nearby clump of bushes. Lily grabbed James’ hand and disapparated.
A second later they were standing in the middle of Lily’s bedroom.
“Okay,” she whispered, “Go back to your room and pack your things. When you hear my parents go downstairs wait until you hear me go and then follow.”
“Okay.” He started to walk towards the door.
“Wait!” She grabbed his arm and held him back. She then wrapped her arms around his neck and closed the gab between them. She felt James jump from the sudden intimacy, but then he put his arms around her waist and kissed her back, holding her tight. (I just want to point out that it would be a little weird for me to put an extremely detailed make out scene right here because I haven't done that at all in this story. It would be kind of strange to start doing that out of the blue. But you never know, maybe it'll happen in a later chapter. I guess you'll have to read to find out. ha)
Lily pulled away about five minutes later, panting slightly, “Thanks for everything.”
“N-No problem,” said James shakily.

*

Half an hour later James went downstairs and saw Mrs. Evans making a pot of coffee. Lily was sitting at the table with a piece of toast in her hand.
“But Lily. You shouldn’t go so soon. We were going to drive up to Petunia and Vernon’s new house tomorrow. We were going to tidy up and plan flowers before they got back.”
James saw Lily’s eyes narrow before she answered, “Mum, NEWTs are coming up. I want to get a good job so I have to do well on these tests. You do want me to be successful in life, right?”
“Well, that’s true. But honestly, why don’t you just stay until we visit your sister’s house?”
“No, I would prefer to just leave now. We’re ready to go already. I have a lot to do.”
“Well, if you insist. But we’re really going to miss you.”
After a few more pleasantries Lily and her mother hugged each other. Mrs. Evans turned to James, “It was such a pleasure to meet you James, Dear. You are welcome to stop by anytime. The door is always open for you.”

A few minutes later the young couple was standing in the middle of Lily’s bedroom.
“Why don’t I guide you,” said James, “I know your mind is pretty full right now. We can do side along.”
“Uh. Okay.” She clamped her hand on his arm.
Lily instantly felt the sensation of being shoved head long into a pip. She was being squeezed from all angles.
Suddenly is stopped. She felt a breezed blow through her hair. There was a pleasant smell in the air. Lily looked around. She wasn’t sure where they were, but she knew for sure it wasn’t where they were supposed to end up.


I haven't done a REAL cliffhanger in a pretty long time. I kind of like this one. It's so weird. I've been planning this chapter since the very beginning...and now that I've finally written it...phew. Feedback please!
http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13280

Okay, so here's the long awaited chapter. Personally, I think it is very boring and you guys will see that where they were is not that big of a deal. It's kind of short, but I'll try and post more soon! Thanks for reading!





Chapter Twenty-Seven:
Lily looked around again. They were standing in the middle of a field, a house was about a hundred feet away.
She looked at the boy next to her, ‘This isn’t outside Hogwarts’ boundaries, is it?’
“Nope.”
“Do you know where we are?”
“Yip.”
“Are you going to tell me?”
“Yes.”
She waited a couple seconds, “Then why aren’t you telling me?”
“You haven’t asked the question yet.”
“Okay…James, where are we?”
He grabbed Lily’s hand and started pulling his trunk towards the house, “Home sweet home.”
“This is where you live?”
“Why? Does it not appeal to you?”
“No…it’s very nice. I really like it.”
The house was regular two story building with a to of windows on every side. It stood in the middle of a grassy field with its nearest neighbors about a quarter mile down the lane. There were trees with hammocks strung between them and a large porch was out front with a swinging bench.
They arrived on the front door and James pounded a large silver knocker.
A few seconds later there were footsteps and the door swung open, revealing a blond woman about Lily’s height. She looked to be about five to ten years older than Mr. and Mrs. Evans.
The woman beamed, “Oh, James, what are you doing home?”
“I just thought I’d pay a visit to you and Dad on my way back to school. And, I had to introduce you to my girlfriend, Lily.” He pulled Lily forward.
She held her hand out, “It’s very nice to meet you Mrs. Potter. I’ve heard a lot about you and your marvelous cooking.”
James remembered saying that to Mrs. Evans and smiled.
She ushered them inside, grinning, “Ah, Lily, you’re too kind. But honestly, if that’s what James is telling you then I’m afraid you have a faulty informant.”
They sat down at the kitchen table and Mrs. Potter handed them a glass of milk along with a plate of cookies.
When his mother’s back was turned James eagerly grabbed one, took a bite, and promptly choked on it. Lily stifled a laugh as he spat it out into his napkin, while winking at her at the same time.
“So how long have you two been seeing each other?” asked Mrs. Potter, turning around.
“Four months in about a week,” said James proudly.
“Marvelous! Let me go get your father. He’s upstairs getting ready to go to work.” She hurried off.
Lily turned to James, ‘She is very nice. I really like her.”
“Good. I knew you would. You guys are very similar.”
“Are we?”
“Yeah. You both have a lot of pride and nice to everyone around you…except me…you’re both very smart…and extremely confident.”
“Okay…thanks…What does your dad do?”
“Uh…he’s an auror at the Ministry. I think he’s Rufus Scrighmore’s partner.”
‘Wow. He’s high up there.”
“Yeah. We’re lucky that he’s home. He usually goes for a few days at a time. A few weeks if he’s on a major case. But you know, with Lord Voldemort around there’s a lot of work to do.”
“Right. It’s a dangerous job. But didn’t’ you say that you wanted to do that when you got out of Hogwarts?”
“Sort of. But remember the Order of the Phoenix?”
“Oh yeah.”
“I think I definitely want to do that.”
“Are you going to ask Dumbledore about it?”
‘Yes. You should do it with me Lily. I think you’d do good with that.”
“Hmm…maybe. I do want to help those poor people.”
“Let’s look into it next time we see Dumbledore.”
They heard footsteps on the stairs and quit their conversation.
Mrs. Potter re-entered the room followed by a tall man whose graying hair stuck up in the back just as James’ did. Even though his face was lined one could tell that it had once looked just like his son‘s.
He grinned and held out his hand towards Lily, “ I’m Mark. It’s a pleasure to meet any young lady my son brings home. But you, my Dear, are extraordinary.”
“Thank you Mr. Potter…”
“Please, Mark.”
“Well, Mark, James tells me that you’re an auror. That seems like an exciting career path.”
‘Yes, I like giving back to society. I learn a lot every day. It’s fascinating.”
“Well that’s good.”
“So I assume you stopped by on your way back to Hogwarts.”
“Yes. We’re going to study for our NEWTs,” said Lily.
“And I have to train for the House Cup,” said James, “It’s next Saturday. Gryffindor against Slytherin. We’re going to dominate.”
‘Ah, well good luck.”
“So we should be heading out. I just wanted to check on you guys…make sure you’re holding up the fort.”
The four of them walked to the door. Mrs. Potter gave them both hugs and Mr. Potter shook their hands.
James walked ahead and Mr. potter uttered to Lily, ‘I expect you’ll be apart of the family soon. James has brought home girls before. But you should see the way he looks at you when you’re not looking. I’ve never seen that expression on his face before.”
Lily blushed, “Well then I guess that means I will see you some more.”
He winked at her.
Lily and James waved good-bye and then disapparated.
They reappeared in Hogsmeade and then made there way up to Hogwarts.
After entwining hands James asked, ‘What did my dad say?”
“Oh, nothing, just that he enjoyed meeting me.”
“Hmm…let’s go to the common room and surprise everyone that we’re back.
They walked past an alcove and saw Sirius and Emma glued together. They were so busy that they didn’t notice James and Lily walk by, smirking.
“Oh they’re so cute together,” said Lily, after they had gotten out of earshot.
“Yeah. Sirius needs someone like Emma to keep him sane. He’s gone through a lot and I know she takes a lot off of him. It’s a good thing.”
“I know. His mother sounds terrible.”
“She is. I met her a couple years ago. She’s very full of herself and the pure-blood mania is disgusting. But Sirius is nothing like them. He’s a good person.”
“Yes he is.”


No cliffhanger this time. I'm sorry that it's so short, but I'll start writing the next chapter straight away. Please please please post feedback. It's really been helping!
http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13280

Ah, I remember the days when I was posting a chapter a day. Now I'm back at it...well for now. Spring Break. This chapter is longer....but not as long as I would like it. But I'll try and post soon. yay!


Chapter Twenty-Eight:
Emma lay in her bed tossing and turning. She had woken up suddenly and had not been able o gall back asleep. There were probably a few more house until the sun rose. There seemed to be a million things on her mind. NEWTs were nearly upon them. School would be out in about two months. She would be don with school, forever! What would she do with her life once she had graduated? And now on that subject, what about the graduation ball? Then there would be summer and she’d have to go back to see her parents. Her mum would pretend to be interested in what happened at school, but she would secretly be counting down the days until her only daughter moved out. The woman had wanted sons. Emma was one of the youngest. She had three older brothers and one younger one. Her younger brother, Michael, went to Durmstrang because he had wanted to go into more depth with the Dark Arts. But as she was surrounded by overachieving males, Emma was pushed to the side. And then there was Sirius…Sirius had made her feel special and important. But would he be apart of her future, or would he abandon her after graduation? Then she went back to graduation. Her grades were above average and she could probably get almost any job she liked. But what did she like? She didn’t fancy a job at the Ministry, too many rules and regulations. Besides, all those men were old and corrupt. They used bribery to get certain laws passed…or restrained.
All these thoughts ran through Emma’s head, one after another, repeating over and over again. She cursed and rolled over, fluffing her pillow up and pushing her hair out of her eyes. She pulled the blankets over her head. What was that tapping noise? With a silent scream of frustration she threw off her blankets and sprung out of bed. She pulled a jacket on over her tank top and strode over to the window, intending to throttle whatever was making that accursed noise.
Emma froze. Sirius’ face was grinning at her. He was balanced on a the ledge and gripping the window frame with his hands. She looked around and when she saw the other girls were fast asleep, Emma quietly edged the window open and climbed on the ledge next to her boyfriend.
“Hey there love.”
“Hi,” she said quietly, pulling her jacket closer around her shivering body, “I can’t believe you climbed all the way up here to see me.”
“What can I say? I couldn’t sleep and you kept popping up in my mind, so I decided to come and see you.”
“Are we just going to stand here?”
“Nope. Follow me.”
He led her down to the first story roof and then climbed into one of the trees next to the Ancient Runes department. Holding onto her hand, Sirius helped Emma get her footing next to him. Together they climbed down the landing on the dewy lawn.
Hand in hand they walked across the grounds. Leaves crunched under Emma’ bare feet as the grass tickled her ankles. They stopped at a clearing by the lake between two trees. Sirius took off his jacket and laid it on the ground for Emma to sit on and not get wet.
“What a gentlemanly thing to do Sirius.”
“Only the best for my lovely lady.”
Then sat in silence for a moment before Emma broke the silence, “I was awake before you came.”
“Were you?”
“Yeah. I was thinking.”
“Were you thinking about life after Hogwarts?”
“That was part of it. How’d you know?”
“I think that every single seventh year in this castle will have a sleepless night around now while thinking about their future.”
“Really?”
“Mhmm. Remus has had three in the last week. I’ve been waking up to see him pacing the room, muttering to himself.”
‘That sounds like him.”
“But he’s one of the best friends a guy can have. If you’ve ever got a problem or need to talk to someone about something, go to Remus. He’ll have the answer.”
‘But what about James?”
Sirius smiled, “James is James. He is indescribable. I’ve known him my entire life. We grew up zooming our toy trucks into each other. I know that last year he was really cocky and arrogant…”
“And crazy for Lily,” put in Emma.
“Yes, and crazy for Lily. But he’s changed a lot over the last year. Sometimes I miss the old James who was always playing pranks. We had so much fun together. But I think that I have changed along with him.”
“You have. You’re much more charming and mature.”
“Thanks. But see. After I came to Hogwarts Regulus wasn’t much of a brother anymore. We had drifted apart. So James kind of became a brother to me. That’s how close we are. We could talk for hours at a time. Lily yesterday, when he and Lily came home. We sat in James’ room and he told me everything that happened.”
“Oh yeah. Lily told Sarah and me what happened. You started a dance party?”
“It was classic. But anyways, I think James wants to marry Lily.”
“That would make sense. They really like each other. I hope they do.”
“She would make James very happy.”
“Does he love her?”
“I don’t know. I think he does but hasn’t admitted it yet.”
“We’re going to keep this to ourselves, right?”
“Yeah, we probably should and let the natural process take its process.”
“What’s Peter like?” asked Emma, “You talked about James and Remus. But what about Peter?”
“Uh, Peter’s alright. He kind of needs some independence. He doesn’t really have his own distinctive personality. Like, look at Remus; he’s a walking brain. It’s the way he is and he refuses to be any other way. That is why we like him so much. He’s confident with himself and refuses to be anything but. And Peter…well Peter is more of a ‘follow the crowd’ kind of guy. But don’t get me wrong, he’s a good person and all…he’s just a little different.”
“Yeah, I kind of get that impression of him.”
‘Most do.”
Emma laid back and rested her head on her arms, “You know, I don’t’ know what I am going to do when I get out of school.”
“Me neither. But I want to join the Order with James. But he wants to do it full time. But I don’t’ think I can do that. So I’ll probably have to get another job.”
“Yeah. I was thinking that maybe I’d try and get a job at Gringotts.”
“Work with the goblins?”
“yeah, I did pretty good with arithamacy this year. I could probably be a clerk. But if you join the Order then I kind of want to, too.”
“It’s dangerous business.”
“What’s life without a bit of risk? I want to help people. See, I couldn’t be an auror because my grades aren’t good enough. The Order doesn’t require certain grades, does it?”
“I don’t know. James and Lily are going to ask Dumbledore about it later today. Then they’re going to report back to us. I know Alice and Frank are also interested…and Remus and Peter will probably do it too.”
“It’s a good cause.”
“That it is.”
“I’ve got another question.”
“Shoot.”
“What’s going to happen to us after graduation?”
Sirius paused, “I’m hoping things will stay the same. If we both were to join the Order then we would still see each other a lot.”
Emma looked at him, “I get a weird feeling whenever I look at you.”
Sirius looked concerned, “Is it good or bad?”
“Good. I feel very happy and yet very calm. Bubbly if you will.”
He put his arm around her shoulder, “I think I feel it too.”
“What is it?”
“I dunno. Maybe love?”
“That would make sense. I think I probably do love you?”
Sirius stopped. A few girls had told him that before, but he hadn’t felt it back. Now he did.
“Me too.”
They sat there and watched the sun rise.


You'll understand later in the story why this chapter is somewhat important. But remember, Sirius and Emma's relationship is older than James and Lily's...I just haven't shown it as much as I should have. So, I know that it's pretty cheesy...so don't kill me for it. I'm sorry it's not too long but Please leave feedback. I appreciate all of it!
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Still a bit short, but I'm posting more often, right? that's good. Thanks to everyone who left feedback last chapter!


Chapter Twenty-Nine:
Lily and James made their way to Dumbledore’s office later that day.
They entered and saw the headmaster standing over a stone basin an looking at something in it. Upon seeing the Head boy and girl he set the basin in a cabinet and closed the door.
“What do I owe this pleasant surprise?”
“We got back to the castle yesterday and I have come by to see if anything new has happened that we should be aware about,” said James.
“Well Mr. Potter. There has been no change within the castle. The only differences have been outside in the wizarding world.”
“What’s been going on?” asked Lily.
‘Have you not read the papers, Miss Evans? The man naming himself Lord Voldemort is becoming more powerful and has eluded all possible means of capture. Terror rakes the wizarding community. Each person believes themselves to be the next victim of this man.”
‘That’s one of the reasons we’re here, Sir” said James, “About six months ago you let slip a mentioning of the Order of the Phoenix.”
“Did I? Well then, it is my greatest hope that you did to run to the Ministry with the news.”
“No, of course not, Sir,” said Lily, “Just to our friends. They, along with James and I, want to join.”
“The order is for overage witches and wizards who have left school.”
“Well, yeah,” blurted out James, “We want to do it after graduation. We want to help.”
“Who are the people in question?”
“Uh, me and Lily,” said James, “Sirius, Emma, Remus, Peter, Alice, and Frank. I’m not really sure about Nathan and Sarah. I think they’re semi interested.”
Professor Dumbledore pressed his long fingers together, “So in shorter terms, all of the Gryffindor seventh years.”
“Uh, yeah.”
“You have to remember, Mr. Potter, that is one thing to want the glory of being in the Order, but another thing completely to realize what it means to serve and fight. We do not look at grades because test scores do not matter. What matters is the amount of courage and bravery one has. Would you be willing to sacrifice your life for the one you love? For your friends and the community around you? Would you be willing to sacrifice your life if it would restore peace to the world around you?”
“Professor Dumbledore,” said Lily, calmly, “We want to help. We know that if you be dangerous and we’re willing to take that risk.”
The old man sighed, “I realize that there is no way to stop you. Next Saturday you and your classmates report to my office at nine o’clock at night. If anyone asks the head boy and girl are escorting students to my office.”

Lily and James nodded and headed back to the Gryffindor common room. They opened the portrait hole and were surprised to see all the seventh years sitting together, waiting for them to come back. The two of them went over and sat down on the sofa.
“So what did he say?” asked Emma.
“He wants us to see him on Saturday night at nine o’clock. And bring all of you guys. He’ll probably talk to us then,” said Lily.
“Did he mention what the requirements were?”
“You just have to have left school,” said James, “He also said that to join the Order you just have to have bravery and courage. We have to be willing to die for what we believe in. Can you guys do that?”
“Of course,” said Sirius, holding Emma’s hand, “I would rather die fighting than any other boring way.”
“So, is that what we’re all going to do?” asked James, “Are we all going to join the Order?”

“I don’t know,” said Nathan, “It doesn’t really appeal to me, but we’ll keep secret about you guys.”
“We?” asked Alice.
“Me and Sarah.”
James raised his eyebrows, “Okay, that’s fine. So I’ll see all of you next weekend…after the house cup.”
He stood up, along with Sirius, Remus, and Peter, “We’re going back to the head dorm. See you guys later.”
Five minutes later they flopped down on James’ bed.
“You know,” said Sirius, “We haven’t pulled a prank on Snivellus in a long time. What do you say?”
Remus rolled his eyes. James checked to make sure that the door was closed tightly, “I’m in.”
“So, what do we do?”
“How about,” started James, “We hire some exotic dancers under his name.”
“Sirius started howling with laugher, “That would be really funny. But there’s a lot of ways that could go wrong. We need something simple, yet disastrous to him.”
“Imagine if we somehow find some way to give him turrets?”
“You can’t give someone a mental illness,” said Remus, rolling his eyes.
“Wait!” said Peter. Everyone turned to look at him, “What if we send him something like twenty howlers tomorrow at breakfast. We can disguise our voices and write a bunch of insults. They’ll all go off at the same time and make a huge commotion.”
“That,” said Sirius, rubbing his hands together, “Is the most brilliant idea you’ve every come up with Wormtail.”
The boys spent the next hour writing on different pieces of paper.
James nibbled on the tip of his quill, “What do you think of The grease has stiffened your hair so much that the scissors would break if you tried to cut it.”
“Nice,” said Sirius, “I put, The reason your nose is that shape is because your mother dropped you on your face when you were a baby and you broke your nose…and she never bothered to have it fixed.”
The boys all burst out laughing. Even Remus started chuckling slightly, “You guys are horrible…but I’m friends with you anyways.”
“It’s because you know that you can’t live without us.”
James and Sirius pulled out their wands and began performing the charm that turned them into howlers.
“Okay guys,” said James, “Lily cannot find out that it was us. I worked really hard to get her to go out with me…and I’m not going to loose her. So, when the howlers go off we only start laughing after everyone else does. Then we start naming out people who could have done it.”
“But that’ll take away the fun,” complained Sirius.
“Just do it.”
“Fine.”

The next morning the marauder’s exchanged looks as they sat down at breakfast. They played it normal and started up a regular conversation with the girls.
Then the post came.
Owl after owl pelted at Snape, until there were not less than thirty-two howlers sitting on his plate.
Exactly four seconds later it sounded as if a bomb had gone off. The disguised voices of Sirius, James, Peter, and even Remus started screaming out insults. It all blended together and was so loud that many of the glasses on the table broke.
Two minutes later it was over. Everyone was dead quiet.
James looked over at Sirius and saw that his friend was biting his lip so hard to keep from laughing that he was bleeding.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, a kid at the Ravenclaw table started laughing. The whole hall joined in.
The marauders let loose. Sirius and James were falling over each other, laughing so hard that they were crying.
Finally they sat up and turned to the girls.
“I wish that whoever did that had let me in on the secret,” said Sirius, wiping his eyes.
“I know!” complained James, ’They were brilliant. I guess someone’s taken over out position here. We’d better find out who it is.”
“I bet it was that kid at the Ravenclaw table who had started laughing first. We should mug him.”
The girls never found out who the real culprits were.


Here's a bit of comic relief. Just as I was finishing up this chapter I nearly started cracking up. I was picturing Sirius biting his lip to keep from lauging. Well, at least I thought it was all pretty funny. So please leave feedback! Thanks.
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Yay, another post! I can't believe that it's chapter thirty already! It's longer...exactly 1906 words. I threw in a bit of a twist with things. Thanks for reading!


Chapter Thirty:
James sat on the bench, Lily’s good luck kiss still lingered. The only time he had been this nervous was when he had first kissed Lily. It was the day of the House Cup…and all the weight fell on the captain. He had left breakfast early and come down to the changing rooms to be there before anyone else. Not only was this the biggest game of the year, but it was his last quid itch game for good. Sure, he could still fly around with his friends, but there would be o more competing…or the glory of winning.
At that moment the rest of the team walked in. They were supporting Nathan, who looked dazed. They laid him down on the bench.
“What happened?” cried James, running forward.
“”We don’t know,” said Connor, “I think he was confounded. We w-”
“WHAT?!” roared James, “What are you talking about! Who did it? Are you sure?”
“We were walking past the Slytherin table on the way down here. It was their captain, Willus, and this other guy I didn’t know. He had long black hair…that guy who go the howlers last week…”
“Snape!’ hissed James. He bent down towards his seeker, “Can you stand up Nathan? Can you play?”
“Of course I can,” he said, slurring his words. He stood up and walked straight into a row of lockers and bounced back. The other team members caught him and sat him back up.
“He can’t walk!” cried James, “Much less fly! The teachers won’t believe us, they’ll think he’s drunk!”
“The confundous charm isn’t usually this strong,” said Vincent, ‘Victims should at least be able to walk.”
“I think Snape and Willus hit him at the same time and the charm doubled,” said Collin.
“We can’t play without a seeker. Should we forfeit?”
“No! We are going to play.” James checked his watch, “The game starts in thirty minutes. I’ll be right back.”
“Where’re you going?”
“To have a friendly chat with the other team.”
He walked down to the Slytherin locker rooms. Without hesitation he pushed open the doors, walked in and shoved Henry Willus hard in the chest with every word, “You. Confunded. My. Seeker!.
The Slytherin captain smirked, “What ever gave you the idea that we’d do that?”
“How low do you get? Why couldn’t we just play a fair game?!”
“The game will be perfectly fair.” Willus held out his hand mockingly, “Best of luck Potter.”
James spit at his feet, “We don’t need luck. We have talent, unlike those who have to cheat to attempt to win.”
He stalked out, slamming the door behind him.
The school was making their way down to the bleachers. James made his way over to the Slytherin side of the pitch. He received hisses, scowls, and catcalls as he walked by. He spotted Severus Snape sitting in the fourth row, a green scarf around his scrawny neck. James stood in front of him and pulled out his wand.
Snape eyed him, “I knew you were stupid Potter, but not stupid enough to attempt cursing me in front of all the students and teachers.”
“I’m not going to curse you. I just wanted to make sure you knew that you’re the foulest thing that walks this Earth. You could disappear forever and no one would care. And you know what? Even if you did mess with my seeker, we’ll still win.” He left.
He walked back into his own changing room to find a rest of his team sitting there with Nathan.
“What are we going to do?” asked Mark, “There’s no way we can win. A confounds charm doesn’t wear off for a few hours.”
“Yes there is! We can still win,” said James, pacing up and down in front of his team, “Listen, we are going to attempt something that has never been done in Hogwarts history.”
“We’re listening.”
“The snitch is worth a hundred fifty points, right? The quaffle is ten points per shot. We’ve all trained very hard for this. Vincent, you can not let the Slytherins score. Connor, Mark, you guys and I will possess the quaffle and score as much as humanly possible. Collin, Sam, kill those snakes with the bludgers…and if you can’t hit them with a straight shot, hit the bludgers at Snape and make it look like an accident. And Nathan,” he looked at his seeker uneasily, “Try and stay on the broom.”
“Are you saying,” started Vincent slowly, “That we’re…”
“Exactly,” cut in James, a wild glint in his eyes, “We are going to score more that the snitch is worth. Who cares is the other team gets it? Collin, Sam, are you guys any good at math?”
“I guess, yeah.”
“Okay, then you know if the score is 0-160 and the Slytherins get the snitch then we win.”
“Yeah.”
“And if the score is 20-180 and they get the snitch then we win.”
‘Yeah.”
“So you also know that if the score is30-150 then we lose.”
“Yeah.”
“You guys have got to know the score at all times. If we’re in a position where we’ll lose if the Slytherins get the snitch then keep an eye on Willus and if he looks like he’s seen the snitch hit him with a bludger.”
“Got it.”
‘Okay guys, can we do this?”
‘yeah.”
‘Vincent, what are you going to do?” asked James.
“Not let the Slytherins score.”
James walked over to Nathan, “Hey Mate, you going to be okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” He attempted to stand up. He walked a few unsteady steps and then fell over.
“If we can pull this off then it would be a miracle,” said Samantha.
“Oh we will,” said James, “We are the team of 1976. Let’s go.”
They grabbed their broomsticks, helped Nathan stand up, and headed out to the pitch. The crowd roared as they walked out. Three quarters of the stands was dressed in red and gold. But then there was the Slytherins at the far end. James could see Snape’s deformed nose even from that far away.
Nathan turned to looked around and then fell on his face. The crowd laughed.
The two captains faced each other as Madam Hooch stood next to them, “Captains, shake hands.”
The two boys bared their teeth and grasped hands so tightly that several members of the audience flinched. But apparently, both boys had pretty dense bones, for their fingers remained intact.
Madam Hooch got on her broom with the balls under her arm, ‘Three…Two…One.” She gave a shrill blast on the whistle.
Nathan sot straight up and wobbled on his broom. Vincent flew straight over to his goal posts and began circling around them. Madam Hooch released the balls. The snitch was visible for a split second and then it disappeared.
Stanley Riley started his commentary, “And Gryffindor is in possession. Potter passes to Marsh, who ducks under the Slytherin defense. He passes to Vivain, who has thrown it to…wait, no one’s there…wait! Marsh is back. Gryffindor SCORES!”
Connor had knocked the quaffle with his broomstick ends into the far right hoop.
The Slytherin keeper, Adam Larson threw the quaffle to Malonie, who turned to find someone to pass to. He threw the quaffle towards Matt Anse, but before the pass was completed James grabbed the ball out of the air and streaked off towards the Slytherin goal. He spiraled like a bullet to avoid a bludger, then got past the keeper and scored. It was now 20-0. James sighed, they had a long ways to go.
An hour later James called a time out. The team landed on the Gryffindor side of t he pitch, sweating and breathing heavily. The team had been doing well. Vincent had stopped almost all the balls that had passed him. Connor, Mark, and James had kept the quaffle with them for most of the game. The score was now 40-180.
“Okay guys,” said James, “You have been playing excellently. We only need to score two more times and even if the Slytherins do get the snitch we’ll still win.”
He walked over to Nathan, who looked slightly better, but was still very unsteady. Over time the crowd had begun to notice that the Gryffindor seeker was slightly out of it. They had pointed and laughed and James was determined to show that they could still win.
“How’re you doing, Mate?” he asked, clapping Nathan on the shoulder.
“Better. We have to kill those Slytherins. I can barely walk.”
“Okay, let’s go. Keep playing how you did before.”
They got back into the game. James grabbed the quaffle and was immediately surrounded by the Slytherin chasers. His eyes sought out Mark. He pulled at his left ear. James smiled and dropped the quaffle and Mark knocked it into the goal posts. 40-190.
What James saw next made his heart stop. Willus was diving towards something on the ground. No! Not now! We need one more goal. Suddenly, the snitch flew of into another direction. Willus sped after it.
“Hey James! Wake up!” It was Mark, he was white faced and holding the quaffle. “Let’s go. Shield me.”
Together they made their way towards the goal. Suddenly, the snitch was right in front of them. Willus was closing in. They were right in front of the Slytherin goal and the keeper was also headed towards them.
James looked around and did a double take. Nathan was speeding towards them, unsteadily and in a zigzag motion, but towards them nonetheless.
James took the quaffle from Mark and threw it towards the goal. Just as it left his fingertips there was a stunning five person collision. It was a sickening thud. For the two seconds they were suspended in mid-air the Gryffindors were attacking the Slytherins. They were all clawing each other trying to reach the snitch.
Then they were falling.
Right before they hit the ground everything stopped. James looked around. His face was two feet from the earth and he appeared to be suspended in midair.
Suddenly the spell was released and the five boys fell to the ground, their broomsticks fell beside them.
Dumbledore was walking beside Madam Hooch, who looked outraged, “Such disgrace! Fighting like a pack of hyenas!”
Dumbledore held up his hand, ‘It was an accident, I’m sure.”
“Okay, who has the snitch.”
Most of the people in the crowd stood up.
Henry Willus held out a heavily scratched hand that was holding the golden ball. A loud groan ran through the crowd and cheers developed from the Slytherin side. This brought the score up to 190-190.
“Wait a second,” said James, “Right before we fell I threw the quaffle…and I think it made it.”
“It did!” shouted Connor, who had landed beside them, “I saw it go in.”
“I believe that I saw it go in too,” said Dumbledore merrily.
Madam Hooch furrowed her brow, “Well headmaster if you did indeed see it go in then that would bring the score to 190-200 and that would mean…”
“GRYFFINDOR WINS!!!” shouted Riley into the microphone.
The stands erupted and the students started filing down onto the field. They lifted the Gryffindor team onto their shoulder. James turned to see Lily running towards him, her hair streaming behind. She hugged him tightly.
“Party in the common room!” shouted Sirius.
Overall, James couldn’t help but feel that it was a good game.

I know you guys wanted to know about the whole Dumbledore and Order thingy..but that'll be next chapter. Well, I hoped you guys liked this chapter. Even if you didn't...still leave feedback and tell me!
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DD's-man-through-and-through, Don't worry about it. You're not the first who's done it...and a mod will probably move it to my feedback eventually. Thanks for reading!

Okay, so here's the next three chapters. yes, you read that correctly...I am now posting three chapters at once. I would do four...but I thought the fourth deserved a post within itself...so that will come tomorrow. Thanks for taking time to read this.



Chapter Thirty-One:

By 8:30 the party was still in full swing. Nathan was able to coordinate himself and everyone wanted to talk to him and his turnaround at the end of the game. Sirius had gone off to the kitchen and come back balancing a large load of food behind him with his wand.
James was sitting on the couch with Lily, “What was the first you thought when I fell off the broom?”
“That I should have taken a life insurance policy out on you so that I could get some money.”
He laughed and put his arm around her, “It’s so nice now that I can put my arm around you without having to protect my privates.”
“Very true. What time is it?”
He checked his watch, “8:45.”
“We should get people together to go to Dumbledore’s office.”
“Oh, right. You get Alice, Franks and Sarah. I’ll get Sirius, Remus, and Peter. We’ll meet by the portrait hole.”
Then minutes later they were all there.
“Okay,” said James, “Let’s go. Everyone’s too busy to see us leave.”
They pushed open the portrait and crept out.
Five more minutes and they were outside Dumbledore’s office. They entered. The headmaster set down his quill and looked over his half-mooned spectacles at them.
“Ah, Mr. Potter, Miss Evans, I take it that these are the people you told me about.”
“Yes Sir.”
“Well then, come on it and have a seat.” He conjured several more chairs. Then walked in and took the seats he offered. Dumbledore flicked his wand and the door shut. He flicked it again and the bolt slide into place.
“It would be unwise to be overheard,” he said, “Now, Mr. Potter and Miss Evans here have informed me that it is your wish to join the Order of the Phoenix. A bold move.”
The group murmured their agreement. Sirius spoke up, “What positions are there in the organization?”
“I’m glad you asked Mr. Black. We are just trying to make sure Voldemort’s plans don’t’ get carried out. There is a lot of spying and sneaking around involved. We try and throw Death Eaters into Azkaban. Our overall goal is to capture Lord Voldemort, but we haven’t had much luck so far.”
“Hmm,” Sirius grunted.
Dumbledore reached inside his drawer and pulled out an empty milk bottle. He checked his pocket watch and said, “If you all will place a finger on this glass bottle.”
They scrambled around each other to all fit around the milk container. Ten seconds later James felt the sensation of being pulled forward by the navel. Suddenly they were all standing in a dusty parlor. There was a dirty window at the right side that overlooked a busy street outside. A locked cabinet stood beside the window. The kids looked around.
“Where are we?” asked frank.
“We,” said Dumbledore, walking out the room and beckoning them to follow, “Are at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. Probably one of the most hidden buildings in London.”
“What are we doing here?” asked Emma.
“I’m going to introduce you to everyone. There’s a large meeting tonight and nearly everyone’s going to be here. If you will all follow me, they’re in the kitchen.”
He pushed open the door and went inside. The kids looked at each other and then walked in after him. There had been a chatter of voices, but they had abruptly stopped when everyone appeared. James had never seen such an assortment of people all gathered in one room…an they were all staring at them, a slightly mistrusting look in their eyes. There were some who were older and had looked somewhat hardened. But the majority was young…people who looked like they had just graduated. Everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably.
“You promised us recruits, Dumbledore,” growled a man with grizzly gray hair, “Instead you bring us a group of teenagers.”
“Ah, Alaster,” said the headmaster pleasantly, “But there are the recruits. Once they have graduated from Hogwarts it is their wish to join the organization. I believe that they will be capable of more than you think.”
“Hmph,” the man grumbled and sat back in his chair.
“And now for introductions,” said Dumbledore, “Frank Longbottom, Alice Mitchells, Lily Evans, Peter Pettigrew, James Potter…”
“Your father works with Rufus Scrighmore?” growled the man in the corner.
“Y-Yeah. He’s an auror…”
“A good one too,” said the man, “He hasn’t been in work thought. His wife says he’s ill.”
“He is?”
“Anyways,” continued the Headmaster, “This is Emma Shalet, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black…”
“Wait,” started the man again, “Black? The ancient pureblood family? Slytherin every generation?”
Sirius flinched slightly, “Yeah…”
“What are you doing here?”
Dumbledore interrupted yet again, “Sirius is a Gryffindor and he is here because he wants to fight the opposing side. Now, let’s carry on with introductions.”
He pointed to the grizzly haired man, “This is Alastor Moody…”
“The auror!?” exclaimed Frank, running forward and shaking his hand enthusiastically, ‘It’s an honor Sir. I’ve heard so much about your work…”
“And this,” continued the headmaster, raising his voice slightly, “Is Dedalus Diggle.” He
pointed to a man with a violet top hat.
He waved merrily, “It’s nice to meet you guys.”
“This is Elphias Dodge,” The man had on an oddly shaped hat.
“…Rubeus Hagrid, Hogwarts gamekeeper.” An abnormally large man with long, wild, bush black hair waved to them and then recognized the Marauders, “You four? I o’ly hope you di’nt burn down the forest when I was gone.”
“…Sturgis Podmore, Emmeline Vance, Edgar Bones, Caradoc Dearborn.” The four of them smiled and waved.
“…Benjy Fenwick, Marlene McKinnon, Dorcas Meadows, Gideon Prewett, and Fabian Prewett…” More waves.
“So,” said Dumbledore, clapping his hands together, “Now everyone is acquainted. Maybe we can give the children a taster of what’s coming…”
The woman named Emmeline Vance laid out a map on the table and marked six red Xs in various places.
“These are the last places that You-Know-Who was seen. He killed two people here,” she pointed to the marking towards the far left.
“I think he was trying to pass through this town quietly,” she said, motioning towards the next one, “But someone spotted him on his way out and they tried to stop him. You-Know-Who killed the person and made a bit of a mess out of it.”
Emmeline motioned to the other Xs, ‘He killed people in all these towns…but I don’t know why.”
“Were they wizards he killed in those towns?” asked Sirius.
“yes. In these towns they were wizards.”
“Well,” said Sirius, “Maybe he’s trying to build up his army…and killing those who refuse him.”
“That could be possible. It’s a good idea. But how do we stop him?”
“Post guards in all the cities?” suggested Frank.
“Not enough people,” growled Moody, “Wizards don’t grow on trees.”
“Could you set traps for him?” asked Remus.
“We’ve tried. He’s too smart for them.”
“Well,” said Dumbledore, “We’ll leave you to continue this meeting. I’m sorry that I cannot stay, but I have a duty to get the children back to school and make sure it’s still standing.”
He ushered the eight of them out, “Now where has that milk bottle gotten to…”
Five minutes later they were standing back in Dumbledore’s office. The headmaster clasped his hands together, “That was a taster of what the Order does. Does the idea of joining still appeal to you?”
Everyone murmured their approval.
“After the group of you graduate you will receive more information. As of now you are not members and cannot be told everything.”
“Of course,” said Remus.
‘Now, back to your common room.”
They made to leave.
“Oh, and Mr. Potter.”
James turned back around.
“That was an excellent Quidditch match if I do say so myself. A very spectacular final goal.”

Chapter Thirty-Two:
As they rolled into June the air began to warm up and the students began trying to spend as much time outdoors as possible. Unfortunately for the seventh years, NEWTs were upon them. Teachers were trying to push so much now material on them that about one out of every ten students were having panic attacks. Amelia Bones, of Hufflepuff, burst into tears in the middle of Transfiguration and proclaimed herself so stupid that she should just drop out and sell herself into prostitution.
The Slytherins had remained unusually mellow since they lost the house cup. Snape avoided the crowds and stuck to shadows and corners where no one would notice him. Regulus, also seemed to have disappeared. Sirius had been meaning to talk to him again. But whenever he saw his brother, Regulus seemed to vanish into thin air.
Lily was in a frenzy. She was studying before breakfast, during breakfast, between classes, at lunch, at dinner, after dinner, and into the night. She was getting, maybe six hours of sleep a night. It had become common for James to wake up and hear the scratching of her quill.
Finally, one night, he couldn’t’ take it anymore. He threw off his covers and walked out to their common room.
Lily was sitting in of the velvet lined chairs and copying text out of one of the books.
James took the seat next to her, “You are going to pass the NEWTs with three hundred percent. Everyone knows that. Go to bed.”
“I can’t! I heard writing things down helps you remember them. I’m going to try and re-write this textbook.”
“Oh no you’re not,” he pointed to the parchment, “It doesn’t work I you’ve written the same line eight times and too tired to realize it.”
Lily realized her mistake, “Fine. I’ll go to bed.”
“Thank you. Your eyes are very pretty…they don’t need bags under them.”
“Shut up.”

The next morning the examiners came. Lily had been reading the latest news about an American senator who had apparently been acting under the Imperius Curse.
There were about twenty examiners in total. A short lady knows as Marchbanks seemed to be leading the pack.
That night it was silent in the Gryffindor common room. Fifth years would be taking their OWLs and the prefect were snapping at the younger students to be quiet.
At ten o’clock Lily and James bid goodnight to heir friends and headed back to the head dorm. Lily took the seat by the fire and James took the one opposite her.
They spend the next two hours quizzing each other and going over their notes, some of which were several years old.
Finally James stood up, “Let’s go to bed. We want to be refreshed for the exams. It won’t do any good to fall asleep while writing.”
Lily sighed and put aside her Defense Against the Dark Arts book. She stood up, “Fine.”
“Honestly, you’re just like Remus. I’m surprise that he hasn’t killed himself falling down a staircase because of the books in front of his nose.”
“Whatever. These are the test that determine our future. If you fail then you end up living in a cardboard box downtown London.”
He kissed her forehead, “You’ll do fine. Your future is set.”
“I hope so. Good night.”
Everyone was frantic the next morning. No one had much more than a spoonful of porridge before setting the bowl aside and sticking their nose back in their books.
Remus and Lily were practicing nonverbal spell together and passing a sugar spoon back and forth through the air, occasionally adding a summersault of back flip.
Sirius was working on endurance, so he had been levitating his orange juice glass for the past ten minutes, and he was muttering the steps to making polyjuice potion at the same time.
James was practicing human transfiguration. He was changing the way his hand looked, making it look furry and then scaly. When no one was looking he flicked his wand over his shoulder and pretended to be dumbfounded when everyone started laughing at Snape when the hair in his nose began growing at an extreme rate.
Peter, Sarah, and Frank all had their Defense Against the Dark Arts books out and they were quizzing each other about the properties of certain jinxes an curses, while Alice, Emma, and Nathan compared History of Magic notes from the last three years.
Finally, when breakfast was over al the students left the hall, leaving the fifth and seventh years milling around and biting their nails.
The seventh years began their NEWTs with the written portion of Charms, followed by the practical. Then there was herbology out in the greenhouses. Sirius had nearly been strangled by Devil’s snare, until Remus set fire to it with his wand. Apart from that and a few scratches thing went smoothly. Their last exam for that day was Care of Magical Creatures. Professor Kettleburn overlooked as the students went to different stations with different magical animals. Nathan fell victim to a foot long vicious, blood sucking spider. The exam had to be halted for twenty minutes as the examiner flipped through a creatures book in search of a remedy to Nathan’s hand, that had turned a dark brown color and had become crusty, flaking slightly. And then, finally, that was over.
After dinner everyone went back to their dormitory for more studying regarding the next day’s exams: History of Magic, Astrology, and Transfiguration.
After their first exam (History of Magic) Lily and James were waling hand in hand to lunch. Sirius ran up behind them and put an arm around each of their necks.
“You know question forty-eight?”
“Which one was that?”
“The one that asked what Anna Bana had to do with passing the merpeople legislation. You know how I remembered he answer?”
“How,” asked James.
“I remembered the lesson. It was during our fifth year and we had made fun of her name, remember?”
“Oh yeah! Anna Anna bo bana fe fi fo fana…ha-ha…good time.”
“Then I started thinking…”started Sirius.
“That’s a surprise,” said Lily, rolling her eyes.
“Funny enough,” continued Sirius, “I remembered your saucy tongue that day Miss Evans.”
“Oh yeah? How nice of you to say so.”
“Mhmm. I remember that day because Jamsie her asked you out.”
“Honestly Sirius,” laughed Lily, “There were so many of those that it’s hard to keep track.”
“True. But this time James went up to you and went ’Lily lily bo bily fe fi fo filly. Go out with me Lily.’”
James laughed, “Oh yeah! I remember that. And then Lily, you go ‘Remus told me you were almost named Chuck.’”
‘Did I?” she asked.
“Yeah,” said James, ‘And then I go, “What does that have to do with anything? And then you say, ‘If that had happened then It would make it much easier to tease you.’”
Sirius laughed, “And then James goes, ‘How so?’ Okay, and Lily, you go, ‘Whenever you ask me out I could just say Chuck chuck bo buck fe fi go **** yourself.” Sirius started laughing, “And then James goes, ‘So is that yes or no to the date?’”
Lily started laughing, “I remember that now. I was in a really bad mod that day. So Sirius, you remembered all that from a test question.”
“That’s right, ma’am.”
“You have more brain power than I give you credit for.”
‘That’s a compliment coming from you, Lily. Makes you remember all the good times we had, doesn’t it?”
“If you say so. Let’s go get some lunch so we can study for our next exam…”



Tow, long, painful days later they only had two more subjects left: Potions and Defense against the Dark Arts.
Professor Slughorn stood by as the seventh years brewed different potions and remedies.
As they were leaving he stopped Lily, “I know that you will do spectacularly, Miss Evans. I’ve said it once I’ll say it again, you would do will in Slytherin house.”
Lily frowned, “No thank you Professor .Their tastes aren’t exactly my style.” She walked away before he could respond.
Defense Against the Dark Arts was probably one of their toughest NEWTs finals. James suspected that this was because the examiners wanted to make sure they were competent in all areas of that field so they wouldn’t fall easy prey to Lord Voldemort. Two hours later he emerged with his hand cramped and his head pounding. The test had poked and prodded at every part of his brain, draining him of all the knowledge that it was capable of holding.
But he smiled anyways, they were done and testing was over.

Chapter Thirty-Three:
It was the day before graduation. Their NEWTs results had come a week ago. The Gryffindor all passed with fairly good scores. Tomorrow, they would graduate and then that night, there would be a ball celebrating it. Then the next day they would be back on the Hogwarts Express, pursuing their futures.
Now, all the seventh year Gryffindors were sitting around the fire in the Head Dorm.
‘So this is it,” said Emma heavily, “We’re all going our separate paths and everything is going to change.”
‘Not necessarily,” said Rank, “I mean, we’re all staying near London, aren’t we?”
“Yeah…”
“Then we’ll still see each other walking around town. Some of us ill get jobs concerning the ministry. Maybe some downtown London or Diagon Alley.”
“It won’t be the same as actually going to school together. But, you know, maybe it’s good now that we can go out and pursue our dreams.”
‘Exactly,” said Lily, encouragingly.
“I really like to cook and back,” said Emma, “My aunt just died and left me some money. Maybe I’ll rent out a flat in Diagon Alley and start a bakery or café.”
“We’ll be your first customers. It’s a good idea.”
They spend the rest of the night going over old memories they all had shared.
…James sinking through the trick step on the first day of school…Lily not being able to find the platform and having to ask four boys her age…Sirius picking a fight with seventh years during his first week…Remus breaking it up…Emma turning Professor Flitwick’s hair green with yellow stripes…Sarah accidentally standing under the mistletoe with that weedy Slytherin, Nott…Peter wetting himself when he tried out for the Quidditch team in their second year…Nathan attempting to his James with a wet towel in the locker-room, but then missing and hitting himself…Frank and Alice first getting caught together behind the tapestry on the second floor after hours…Sirius and James sneaking back into the castle after a late night roam around and getting stuck in the window…Remus coming to try and help them …Professor McGonagall catching all of them and giving them detention for a week…The Marauder’s many attempts to sneak into the Forbidden Forest and the getting chased away by Hagrid every time…Sirius pushing Lily into James in their fourth year, resulting in the two of them falling down he stairs and ending up in the Hospital Wind for the night with broken arms…That day at Hogsmeade when Lily had blown into the strange instrument Sirius had given her, resulting in the pink goop flying everywhere…Good times.

Good times…That’s what Lily thought as she crossed the floor in her pressed ,black robes. She accepted the certificate of Graduation, shook hands with Dumbledore and all her teachers. Behind her, everyone was clapping and her befriends were whistling and calling out.
When everyone quieted down Dumbledore spoke, “It has been under request that I call out these four people at the same time. I was told that one would not come up without the others. So, without further ado, I give you Sirius Black, James Potter Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew.”
The four marauders stood up as the crowd around them cheered and whistled. They trooped up to the stage together, all with their arms around each other’s shoulders. Lily noticed that the Slytherins were staring determinedly at the back of the heads of the people in front of them. The boys took their certificates and tripped over each other shaking the hands of all their teachers. It may have been a trick of the light, but Lily thought that the teachers looked rather sad to see the famous four go.
They sat down again and James showed his certificate to Lily, “See, they spelled my name right. I mean, think about Snape. They’re probably going to write Severus Snape…but it should be Snivellus Snape.”
‘Oh be nice, James. He’s graduating. You are both mature men and an handle things without name-calling and curses.”
‘I will if he will,” James said, and then added, “Maybe.”
“Oh, I’m getting ready for the ball in the girl’s dormitory tonight. I assume you’ll dress with your friends?”
“Yeah, probably.”
“Okay. So I’ll see you down in the Gryffindor common room later.”
“Can’t wait.”



You should all know that this took forever to type up!! I'm sorry if there's a few spelling mistakes...I tried to find them all. You should know that as I was putting in the italics markings I saw that instead of a "short lady known as marchbanks" I had accidentally written "a hot lady known as Marchnbanks" My spellcheck must have autocorrected it to say that...I'm so glad that I fixed it. I shudder to think of what my feedback would say if I hadn't caught it. Okay, so if you could please leave feedback, that would be lovely. Here's the link:
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I had fun writing this chapter and I was really tempted to just post it yesterday...but I resisted the temptation and am not posting it.


Chapter Thirty-Four:
James stood in front of the mirror, knotting his tie. He sighed heavily and yanked at the blue material. His hands were clammy and he couldn’t get it right.
He turned around miserably, “Remus, I can’t get this bloody thing to work!”
Remus, who had been buttoning up his collar, walked over and began tying the tie.
“You nervous?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t see why, Mate,” called Sirius. He had been ready for fifteen minutes and he was sitting on his bed, reading the newspaper and eating an apple, “I mean, if you want to marry Lily then just ask her. No big deal.”
“Who said anything about that?”
“Oh please Prongs, everyone knows it’ll happen sooner or later. Right guys?”
“Right,” called Peter, Nathan, and Frank at the same time from the other side of the room.
‘Well, are you going to propose to Emma?”
Sirius tore off another chunk of apple with his teeth, “Maybe someday, but not today.”
“And why not?”
“I don’t feel like it.”
James turned back to Remus, “What’s going on between you and Lana?”
“I broke things off,” he said mildly.
“Why?!”
“Remember when you first started going out with Lily I told you that Lana wasn’t the right person?”
“When did you do it?”
“Two weeks ago.”
‘And you didn’t tell us…why?”
“I don’t know. It was no big deal. To tell you the truth I kind of forgot about it…with NEWTs and everything…”
“God, you are one terrible lover, Moony,” called Sirius.
“So, no date?” asked James.
‘Nope.”
“Come on, you need one. Me and Sirius’ll find someone for you.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll find someone when I get there.”
“What about you Peter?” asked Sirius, “You want us to hook you up with someone?”
“Too late now,” he said sadly, ‘It’s okay. I’ll do what Remus does.”
“You tie’s done,“ said Remus to James.
“Lily gave it to me for Christmas.”
“And you’re just now wearing it?”
“Well, I didn’t have it at her sister’s wedding…and there was nowhere else that was formal.”
“Well it’s nice of you to wear it now. I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.”
“Are you trying to soften her up so she’ll say yes?” asked Nathan from his side of the room.
‘No I am not, thank you,” said James irritably, “Is it a crime for a guy to try and look nice for his girlfriend. And for your information, I’m not proposing tonight.”
“Sure you’re not,” said Sirius, winking.
James sighed, “Let’s go down to the common room and wait for the girls.”
They had reached the door when Remus called out, “OY! Guys with dates, turn around.”
Everyone, except Peter turned around; Remus threw them all wrist carnations, “Put these on the girls.”
Sirius saluted him, “We’d be lost without you Mate.”
Remus handed James a rose and smiled, “You’re proposing. Take something extra.”
James looked furious, “I never said I was!”
The boys just laughed and walked out of the room.
“Hey Prongs, try some of my cologne,” Sirius called from the staircase, “It’s on my bedside table.”
They all started laughing again.



Lily played with her hair. She couldn’t figure out what to do with it. She had on a white dress that hugged her curves and then fell freely from her waist to her ankles. The straps on her shoulders were three quarters of an inch across. The neckline was straight across and there was a green ribbon tied around her waist. A couple of flowers had been embroidered at the hem of her skirt in green thread.
“What do you think I should do with my hair, Sarah?” she asked.
Sarah, who was in a dark blue dress, turned and studied her friend.
“I think you should leave it down and just tie these ribbons in it.” She threw a green ribbon at Lily followed by a silver one, “Twist them together and tie them around your head.”
Lily tied a bow at her hairline and then pulled it to the nape of her neck. Her thick, red hair fell down to the middle of her back in soft waves.
“I cannot believe you are going to the ball with James Potter,” said Emma from across the room where she was pulling on a red spaghetti strap dress that flowed out from the waist.
“What do you mean?”
“It seems like it was just yesterday that you swore to hate him for all of eternity. And now look, you’re all dressed up to be with him.”
“You’re right,” said Lily, turning towards the door, “This is so stupid. I’m going to go break up with him right now..”
‘No!” screamed Emma, Sarah, and Alice at the same time.
Lily turned back around, smiling, “Gotcha.”
She sat down on Sarah’s bed, “I don’t know. I think James changed a lot .Well maybe we both did. He shaped up and deflated his head…and I learned to accept him for his faults.”
“Very nice,” said Alice, “We knew it’d work out eventually…”
Lily walked over to her jewelry box and looked inside. She moved aside the silver pin her mother had given her when she turned sixteen. Underneath was the necklace James had given her fro Christmas. In the light the green emerald showed much more brightly then the rest of the jewelry in the box. Lily had never worn it…not even tried it on. She had put it in with the rest of her necklaces and bracelets and forgotten about it. Now, she knew it was the right occasion for it to be worn. She pulled it out and fastened the silver clasp around her neck. It matched nicely with the dress.
“Emma pulled her around, “My God, where did you get that? It’s gorgeous.”
“James gave it to me…”
“When?”
“For Christmas. This is the one I told you about.”
“This was the necklace! You said it was pretty…but this one fits your personality so well…it’s amazing!”
“She’s right,” said Sarah. She paused for a minute, “So I have an announcement.”
“What is it?” asked Lily, taking a drink of water.
“Nathan asked me if we should get married one day.”
Lily gagged on the water and spit it out on the floor, ‘You kept that quiet!”
“What did you say?” gasped Emma.
“That it would be nice to do one day.”
“So…wait,” said Alice slowly, “Was it a proposal…or not?”
“I think it was more of a promise for a proposal.”
“Ah…so things are getting serious?” asked Lily.
“I guess…”
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t want you guys to get too excited over it. There wasn’t anything final about it…”
Lily pulled on a pair of white two inch heals. She turned around, “What do you think?”
“Stunning,” said Sarah, “Us?”
“Marvelous. Let’s go.”
They walked out the door and down to the common room. There the boys were waiting on the couch in their suits. Sirius pulled Emma forward and spun her around a few times.
“Everyone’ll know that we’re together,” he informed them, “Emma’s red dress matches my tie.” He flipped up his collar and tossed his hair out of his eyes, “Our outfits are matching.”
“Good for you Sirius,” said Lily sarcastically, “You’ve finally learned your colors.”
James pulled Lily a few feet away from the crowd and slipped the corsage on her wrist. He handed her the rose, “My God, you’re beautiful.”
“Thank you James. You look pretty sharp yourself. If I’d known you were going to wear the tie I go t you then I would have gotten you a better one.”
“I like it the way it is.” His eyes fell on the diamond around her neck and his heart skipped a beat, “Y-You’re wearing the necklace I gave you?”
“Yip,” Lily laughed, “I thought this was a special enough occasion. It called for formal jewelry.”
“Well, I think it makes you look very beautiful.”
They walked back to the rest of the group.
As soon as they came back everyone immediately looked down at Lily’s left hand…and when they saw nothing there they looked slightly disappointed, but then masked it with a smile.
“So, shall we go?” asked Remus.
“We shall,” said Sirius, Emma on his arm.
He tipped James an enormous wink and then led the group out the portrait hole.


lalalalalala...interesting...thanks for reading...feedback please.
http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13280

Phew, here it is. The next chapter. Thanks for reading!!



Chapter Twenty-Five:
When they reached the Great Hall they saw that there were about twenty round tables. The group of Gryffindors all sat down at one table and helped themselves to the food sitting there. Candles and lanterns hung on the wall, the flame casting dancing shadows on the wall. Each of the four walls had one of the house colors, along with a picture of the founder and animal mascot. The teachers were also present and sitting at one large table at the back of the room.
After a while everyone got up to dance, leaving James and Lily sitting at the table together.
James sighed and rubbed his face. Sirius had been winking at him all through dinner and kept nodding discreetly at the girl seated next to him.
“What is it?” asked Lily.
“Oh…nothing. It’s just so overwhelming thinking that we’re leaving this school for good tomorrow morning.”
“I know! I mean, Hogwarts had been my home for the last seven years. It’s going to be sad seeing it go.”
“Yeah, but we’ll move onto bigger and better things, right?”
“Of course.”
“You know, you look very beautiful tonight, Lily.”
“You have got to stop saying that.”
“Why? It’s true. You outshine all the girls in this room.”
“That’s not true. All the girls in this room worked hard to look nice tonight. If you give me credit then you should give all of them credit.”
“Oh stop with your bloody modest Lily. One day I am going to show you off to the world…”
“Why?”
“Because, you’re smart, beautiful, creative, friendly, and courageous.”
“How exactly am I courageous?”
“Uh, you went out with me, didn’t you?” asked James with a smile, ‘That day in my room…you took a chance and see, it’ gotten us far.”
“Hmm…you have a point.”
“Remember when you used to hate me?”
“Vividly.”
“Do you think you made the right choice of going out with me?”
“James, if I thought it was the wrong decision then I wouldn’t be here now, would I?”
“True…So what are you going to do once you get back to your parent’s house?”
“Move out.”
“Just like that?”
“They’re going to insist on visiting Petunia and Vernon…and I really do not want to do that.”
“Yeah. That wouldn’t be good.”
“So, I’ll go home and spend one last night with my parents. Then I’ll pack up my stuff and rent a flat somewhere.”
“Where are you going to get the money?”
“My parents have a set amount o money that they plan to give me when I move out. I can probably go to Gringotts and get it changed into wizard currency.”
“And you’re going to find a flat just like that?”
‘remember when Emma said that she was going to open a bakery in Diagon Alley?”
‘yeah.”
“She was serious. She looked in the prophet this morning and saw a place she wanted for a reasonable amount. She sent a letter saying that she was willing to rent it. She got an owl back about an hour before we got ready for the ball. The place is hers. She said I could room with her until I get a place of my own.”
“Where did Emma get the money?”
“Well, she didn’t pay the rent in the full. It costs about a hundred galleons a month…and then she needs money to get the bakery started. She paid about seventy galleons and that was from her savings. I think Sirius said he’d give her money to start off, but I don’t’ know if she’ll take it. If I room with her then I probably could help her too. Nothing is really definite right now…”
“Well, if she’s any good at cooking then she’ll have no problem. I could stop there every morning and buy a pastry or something…”
“Yeah, that would be nice…So what are you going to do?”
“I’ll probably move in with Sirius. He’s got this place lined up for him. I think it’s the same one he had last summer, but he only had it for something like half a month because he was staying at my house most of the time.”
“Won’t he go home?”
“He’s not welcome at his house.”
“What? I knew that his family wasn’t very decent, but they wouldn’t kick out their own son, would they?”
“Sirius ran away.”
“Oh…where’d he go?”
“My house.”
“Wow. You two are like brothers.”
James smiled, “That’s a compliment. But then some uncle of his left him a bunch of money when he died so Sirius could get his own place…but he still practically lives at my house. My parents sort of adopted him as a second son. But when I move out we’ll still room together.”
“I’m glad. The two of you shouldn’t be separated…it could be disastrous.”
“Ha-ha…Let’s go dance.” He held his hand out to her.
She stood up and took the hand he offered. He led her to the dance floor where Sirius and Emma were dancing so wildly that everyone had backed up into a ring around them. James pulled Lily through the group of onlookers and began trying to match Sirius’ style of dancing. The four of them must have looked crazy trying to do the quickstep and the twist at the same time. The people watching began clapping and cheering them on. James and Sirius both spun out te girls and traded partners.
“Hello M’dear,” Sirius said to Lily as he spun her under his arm, “You look ravishing tonight.”
“Thank you…as do you.”
Sirius bent her backwards and then brought her back up, still dancing wildly, “Soyougettinmarried?”
“What?” she asked him over the noise.
Sirius started making his arms go back and forth and started jumping up and down, bringing his knees up one at a time to his chest, “Uh…nothing.”
They switched partners again and Emma was with Lily…and James with Sirius.
The latter two were shaking their hips around in a way very similar to the muggle king of rock, Elvis Presley.
“For God’s sake prongs, why don’t you ask her already?” The crowd and music was so loud that no one would overhear them.
“I never said that I was going to ask!” cried James, “I don’t want to rush things.”
‘Bull. What are you afraid of?”
“Oh, I don’t know…rejection!”
Sirius’ bark-like laugh overpowered the music for a couple of seconds, “You were rejected six years straight and it never seemed to bother you…you just tried again until you succeeded.”
“Well…for some reason tonight doesn’t seem right.”
“Oh please,” said Sirius, mixing together the sprinkler and the funky chicken, “Everyone’s dressed up…there’s candlelight and music…the vibe is perfect.”
At that moment the song stopped and the four stopped dancing. Lily pushed a strand of hair out of her face and took a bow along with everyone else.
The band that had been hired to play struck up a slower tune. James led Lily to a different part of the floor and put his hands at her waist, “Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?”
“Once or twice.”
“I’m going to miss not sharing the head dorm with you.”
“Me too. We created a lot of memories.”
James watched as Remus waltzed by with a pretty Ravenclaw in a pale yellow dress. He was dancing with every single girl in the room! Lady’s man!“That we did. It’s going to be sad seeing it go.”
“God, you know what I’ve realized? All we’ve talked about the last few days is our future. We should focus on the present.”
“You’re right. But I think the future is on everyone’s mind right about now, I mean, with finishing school and all.”
“Yeah, it doesn’t seem healthy. When you suffer from too much stress your body produces excess adrenaline. That mixes with your cholesterol and can cause heart disease.”
“Uh…okay…I love your random spurts of smartness.”

At midnight the ball was supposed to be over, but the teenagers kept partying until 2 AM…until Dumbledore marched in clothed in a purple dressing gown, and insisted that they go to bed. The marauders ended the night with countless bangs o sparks from their wands and burning ‘1976’ in all the tablecloths and napkins.
Lily overheard Professor McGonagall saying to Professor Flitwick, “I should give them detention, but then I don’t know why I’d bother. I’m rather fond of them.”
James and Lily said goodnight to their friends, who where trying to conceal their disappointment.
They walked back to their dormitory and took one last look around the castle.
He gave her a long goodnight kiss. Then he pulled away, took a deep breath and said, “Lily Evans…”
“Yes James Potter?”
“I-I t-think I love you,” he stuttered.
Lily stopped. A year ago if she was told she’d date James Potter and fall in love with him, then she would have hexed the person into oblivion. But now, seeing the new and improved James Potter, things were different. He cared about her as a person, not as a thing. He would go to any length to protect her.
She gave him a hug, “I love you too.”
“I have waited seven years to hear you say those words.”


I know you guys were expecting something...er...else, but that's not going to happen yet. James was telling the truth when he said he wasn't going to...But I did have fun writing this nontheless...espcially James and Sirius' dancing antics. So, even if you're disappointed, much like Sirius, Remus, Emma, Sarah, Peter, Nathan, Alice, and Frank were...please leave feedback.
http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13280

Eh...I changed my mind...I was going to post this chapter with another one...but I wanted to get something up today...this chapter is really short. I was just about to go ahead to something else...but this idea popped into my head and I had to do it. It's sort of a transition chapter. I'm working on the next chapter...but vacation ends today and I don't know when I'll post again...hopefully soon! Again, sorry it's so short.



Chapter Thirty-Six:
James lay in bed, listening to the wind blow outside. He couldn’t help but feel that a great achievement had been accomplished. Hard work does pay off. He had done it.
There was a scratching noise coming from what seemed to be under his floor. James cautiously go tout of bed and listened carefully for the sound. It came again, louder this time. It seemed like something was rustling around under the floor.
Then, without warning two square feet of the floor fell away and Sirius Black jumped up through the hole, “My god, that took forever.”
James stared at him, flabbergasted, “You just came through my floor!”
“Yeah, sorry about that. And you say that you know all the secret passages in this school.”
“I…what?”
“There’s a tunnel from the boy’s dormitory to the head boy’s room.”
“No there isn’t. We created the map…and that’s not on it.”
“Well, you’re right.” Sirius smiled, his white teeth gleaming in the darkness, “I just made it.”
“Y-You just made the tunnel?!”
“Yeah. Turns out that there’s a roomy passage between these two floors. Very convenient.”
“Uh, okay, Why are you here?”
“I figured that since this is our last nigh tin the castle we should have one last roam around.”
“Where are Peter and Remus?”
“They’re asleep. They dropped off as soon as we got back form the ball. It’s like they’re dead or something.”
‘They’re not, are they?” James asked, alarmed.
‘Nah, they’re breathing. So, what do you say? Let’s have a look around…or has the headboyship turned you straight?”
James grinned, “Of course I’m coming. I’d never turn down that chance for that. God, I can’t believe that we don’t have the Marauder’s Map anymore. Stupid Filch.”
“Yeah, well, we memorized it anyways. Let’s go.”
James eased open the door leading out of the Head Dorm, being careful not to wake up Lily.
Once out in the halls the two boys started dancing around in the corridors. They went one floor at a time and visited every room. They fond a place in the corner, out of the way and carved their initials into the wood.
‘This way we’ll always be remembered,” explained Sirius.
Finally, at around 4AM they had reached every unoccupied room in the castle.
The two boys sat down next to each other in front of the library.
‘We’ve been through a lot together, Mate,” said James, clapping his friend on the shoulder.
“You’re telling me, I mean, we went through our teenage years together…the years that are supposed to be the most difficult. I think we found ourselves and came to terms with our discoveries, don’t you?”
“Yes. I couldn’t have done it without you Padfoot. I rally appreciate that you stood behind me all those years when I chased after Lily.”
“They were fun. I can safely say that when I grow old and gray I’ll be happy with what I did with my life. Nothing will change that…ever.”
“Ha-ha. I agree. When we’re old grandpa’s sitting on the porch in rocking chairs and going over old memories. We’ll have so many stories to tell our kids and grandkids. I can’t wait to see their faces when they hear it all.”
“Ah, me neither…it’ll be extraordinary. I hope that our adventures are always remembered,” said Sirius, grinning.
“Oh, they will be. No child of mine will go through Hogwarts without finding the secret passages out. It would be a disgrace.”
“That it would,” agreed Sirius, “You know, I really did think that you were going to ask Lily tonight. Everyone did.”
“But why?”
“We’ve all seen the way you look at her. It’s written all over your face that you want to spend the rest of your life with her…and quite frankly, I think she wants the same thing.”
“I told her that I loved her tonight,” said James quietly.
“What did she say?”
“She said it back.”
“You’re set. You should ask her. Do you have a ring?”
“Sort of. Remember how I went to my parent’s house?”
“Yeah.”
“Well after I got back to Hogwarts I found this ring in my pocket. I think my Dad must’ve slipped it in. He really likes Lily.”
“Was it pretty?”
“Definitely. Real silver and real diamonds. Last week I sent tit to get engraved. I got it back two nights ago.”
“What’d it say?”
“I fell for you and will love you forever.”
“Aww…little Jamesie is showing his romantic side.”
“Oh, shut up. What about you and Emma? Don’t you want to marry her?”
“I think I do. But not now, I want to wait until she’s stable with the bakery before I throw a wedding on top of it all.”
“That’s good. So what’s going on with the place we’re going to stay in?”
“Uh, I think we got it. It’s about a block from the Leaky Cauldron, so we’re close to the girls…”
“Good.” James leaned back his head, “I don’t really want to leave all the memories at this school.”
“Yeah, well, we can create more memories,” said Sirius.
“How long have we known each other?”
“Well, since we were three…so fourteen years.”
“I’m an only child…so I always sort of considered you my brother…”
Sirius was quiet for a moment. “Well in that case…” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a pocket knife. He nicked his thumb and it started bleeding, “We should become blood brothers.”
He handed the knife to James. James looked at it uncertainly and then cut his own thumb.
The two boys grinned. “To the future,” they said together and stuck their thumbs together.


I need to show a think between James and Sirius to show how good of friends they are. Sorry it's short. I'll try and post soon!
http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13280

First of all, I want to appologize. This chapter has been done since Sunday, I just haven't found the time to type it up and post it. But here it is! This chapter...was interesting. I kept changing my mind about things and a lot of revising was done. Well, just read it and you'll get what I mean.




Chapter Thirty-Seven:
Lily stood in the head dorm beside James. Their trunks were at their feet.
“So this is it,” said Lily, “We’re leaving…going to pursue our lives.”
“Well,” said James heavily, “We’d better get going. We’re meeting everyone in the Great Hall.”
They slowly walked down to the first floor, taking care to look at all the portraits and sculptures.
After breakfast the seventh years once again shook hands with all the teachers and got into the horseless carriages. They watched soundlessly from the back window as the castle they had once called home got smaller and smaller. Before long, it was swallowed up by the mountains and vanished from sight.
Lily laid her head back against the seat, “One day we’ll go back.”
“We will,” Nathan agreed.
They bunch of them managed to squeeze into one compartment on the Hogwarts’ Express.
“I think,” said Remus, “That we had a good year. I mean, no one is injured…or sick. We all passed our NEWTs and graduated.”
“I like your optimistic views,” said Sirius, clapping his hands together.
James stared out the window as the rest continued to chat and talk. He was somewhat scared of entering the real world. He’d have to focus on keeping a roof over his head, food, and clothing. He’d have to get a job. The Order was a non-prophet organization; he couldn’t build a living off that. After he and Sirius got situated they’d go job-hunting together. Maybe they’d go to the ministry and look around for openings. He’d think about it tomorrow.
There was something pushing against his leg. James hand brushed against the ring as he pulled out an envelope. It was addressed to him from Dumbledore. He wasn’t exactly sure how it had gotten there, but he figured that the headmaster had used some sort of magic to make it appear in his pocket. James didn’t exactly like the idea of someone being able to rummage around his pockets without his permission, but he shook off the thought and unrolled the parchment.

Mr. Potter—
Please bring yourself and all the others willing to join to Order to the Leaky Cauldron in one week’s time at one o’clock.
Happy Holidays and hope to see you soon,
Albus Dumbledore.

James showed the letter to the other people in the compartment. Sarah suddenly because very interested in the nails on her left hand and Nathan was staring out the window.
“Maybe we’ll become official members of the Order this time,” said Peter hopefully.
“Keep your voice down.” Remus motioned towards the door, where several fifth year Hufflepuffs were walking by.
“He’s probably going to show us where it is,” said Sirius, “I wonder if there’s some sort of oat you have to take…”
“Like an unbreakable vow?” asked Alice.
“Maybe, but those are extreme. If you break one of those then you die…there’s no turning back.”
“Well extreme cases cause for extreme measures. If someone ratted out the Order to Voldemort then a lot of important people would die,” said Emma.
“Maybe there is no oath,” said Lily, “I mean, people who join the Order are very passionate and devoted to the cause. I think they’re rather die than reveal confidential information. And Dumbledore founded it. He’d know who was worthy and who wasn’t.”
“At least we’d hope so,” said Remus, “I wonder if we’ve got spies in Voldemort’s ranks…”
“I dunno,” said James, “We can ask Dumbledore next week. But Voldemort and the Order probably both have spies in the Ministry.”
“Of course we do,” said Frank, “Remember that Alastor Moody guys. He’s one of best aurors there is. Nearly half the cells in Azkaban are full because of him…and to be working alongside him will be such an honor.”
“Are you and Alice going to be aurors?” Lily asked.
“We’re going to try,” said Alice, “We need a year or two more training to become qualified.”
“Oooh,” said Sirius, laughing, “More school.”
“Yeah, but it’s a good career path. It’ll be worth it.”
“True, you guys will do good with it,” said Emma.
They spent the rest of the train ride talking about how they were going to spend the remainder of the holiday. Sarah would be traveling to Italy for a couple weeks and Remus would be leaving for a trip to Moscow in a few weeks. Alice would be going to visit her brother in the United States, where he was married and had a three-month-old baby daughter. Nathan was going with Frank to a Wasp’s game in Spain. Peter was going to help his mother move into a smaller house.
The train pulled into King’s Cross Station at half past three and everyone filed out carrying their luggage.
For a span of about five minutes everyone was hugging each other goodbye.
“Did you ever think,” Sarah whispered in Lily’s ear, “That we’d ever he hugging the Marauder’s goodbye at the end of term?”
“Nope,” she whispered back, “And I Never thought I’d end up dating James Potter either, but here I am.”
“I like the improvement.”
“Me too. Everyone’s happier.”
After a few more rounds of hugs and promises to write, the groups started trickling out of the station.
Lily and James walked together, dragging their trunks behind them. Sirius, Remus, and Emma walked a bit behind them, talking and joking around. Nathan and Sarah walked about twenty feet in front of James and Lily, their arms around each other. Frank, Alice, and Peter were walking about twenty-five feet to their side.
James took Lily’s hand; “Remember last year when I came running after you, wanting a hug goodbye?”
“Yeah.”
“I was pretty stupid last year.”
“You knew what you wanted and didn’t rest until you got it. It’s not necessarily stupid.”
“So you’re moving in with Emma and I’m moving in with Sirius…”
“—Yeah, probably tomorrow afternoon—,”
“Okay.” He suddenly heard Sirius’ voice in his head nagging him to do it. He didn’t want to think what ‘it’ was.
“—We can see each other then—,”
“Uh, right…”
“—We can meet at the Leaky Cauldron…the four of us—,”
“Sounds good…” The voice continued.
“Say around three o’clock—,”
“Alright.”
“I’ll see you later th—,”
It was like a small explosion had gone off in James’ head and he cried, “I THINK WE SHOULD GET MARRIED!”

Everyone screeched to a halt. It wasn’t premeditated. It had just popped out.
In front of them Sarah and Nathan wheeled around, their eyes wide. They stood rooted at the spot, watching for the reaction.
Behind them, Sirius, Emma, and Remus also stopped dead in their tracks. They had been talking and laughing. Now they were staring, a smile starting to appear in their faces.
“Way to go Prongs,” Sirius whispered. Then he turned to Remus and said quietly, “That’s ten galleons Moony. I said to give them twenty-four hours.”
Remus checked his watch and then hissed, back, “You made that bet at three-thirty yesterday. It’s three forty-five. You owe me!”
Everyone surrounding the couple had stopped and was watching the scene, holding their breath. They had all been waiting for this day, and now that it was there, they just couldn’t contain their excitement. Sirius looked ready to burst. He was hopping up and down on his feet.
Lily stood there for a second, “W-What?”
James took a deep breath and shuffled his feet, “U-Uh, sorry, it wasn’t s-supposed t-to come out like t-that. I-I wanted it to be m-more romantic a-and all. Y-You se…w-well I…I have a…I have a ring…”
He rubbed the back of his neck and started rummaging around his pants, perspiring slightly. He pulled out the engraved silver band that had seven white diamonds in one even row.
James held it out to her with a shaky hand, “I want you to marry me.”
For a full five seconds there was complete silence. Sirius was still hopping up and down, while everyone else was turning purple in the face from lack of oxygen.
Finally Lily, who was very pale, grinned, “Okay.”
There was a huge group exhale.
“WOOOOOOT!!!” Sirius ran forward with a war cry and ran forward. He jerked both their hands in the air and called out, “I’d like to introduce Lily and James Potter!”


Well, stage two is done. This story has four stages. One and two were the longest. Three, I"m not really sure about the length. But it'll be shorter than two. Stage four is two chapters. So don't worry, there's still plenty of this story left. My friend told me that this chapter was good, but wasn't cheesy enough. But you know, I was trying to keep things semi realistic. I hope you guys liked it. I'm going to go cry now. haha. Feedback would be greatly appreciated.
http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13280

Thanks to you guys who reviewed!! Um, here's the next chapter...It is a sort of transition chapter...Thanks for reading.



Chapter Thirty-Eight:

Lily got in her parent’s car smiling, James’ goodbye kiss still lingered.
I want you to marry me, still lingered in her mind. It all seemed like a dream, not real.
They pulled onto the highway and started for home.
Lily wasn’t exactly sure how to tell her parents, so she just decided to say it like it is.
“Mum, Dad,” she said, ‘James proposed and I said yes. We’re getting married.”
Mr. Evans slammed on the breaks, causing the cars behind them to screech to a stop and start homing and the people in them to start yelling.
“Excuse me,” he said, taking a deep breath, ‘Did you say that you’re getting married?”
“You’re seventeen, Lily. You’re not old enough,” said her mother.
“I’ll be eighteen in a few weeks. You guys liked James. He’s a good man. I just finished school and it’s time that I got my life started. I’m moving in with a friend of mine tomorrow morning.”
“What?! Just like that? We haven’t even gone to see your sister yet!”
“She can come to see me whenever she wants. It’s not that big of a deal. I’ll still come by and visit and all.”
“But Lily. You can’t just leave. You haven’t even consulted us about anything.”
“I don’t’ need to. I can make my own decisions, and I’ve decided to get a place of my own and marry James.”
“But what about this boy?” asked her gather, starting up the car again, “We hardly even know him.”
“Dad, he stayed at the house for four days. You said yourself that he seemed like a polite young man. He respects me and cares about me.”
“Are you sure you want to marry him?” Asked Mr. Evans, sighing.
“Yes, of course.”
“Then you have our blessing. We’ll give you the money we have saved up for you when we get home.”
“Thanks guys. I’ll visit a lot.”
“Bring James by when you get settled in. We’ll all have dinner together.”
“Okay.”



The next morning Lily stood in the middle of the living room, her trunk in one hand, a suitcase in the other, and multiple duffle bangs around her shoulders. Her father handed her a check for five hundred pounds and gave her a hug goodbye.
“You come back anytime you want…and if you ever need anything…or money, then don’t’ hesitate to ask,” said her mother
“Don’t worry Mum, I’ll be fine.”
And don’t forget to bring James by…and visit your sister!”
“I will.” She wasn’t going to visit Petunia if her life depended on it, but she’d bring James by.
“Okay, have a safe trip…we love you.”
“Love you too. I’ll be in touch.” She disapparated.
Lily reappeared outside a small building about two blocks from the Leaky Cauldron. She saw Emma unloading boxes inside.
Lily walked in, “Wow, this is such a cool place…Nice and cozy.”
Emma gave her friend a hug and said, “I know, isn’t it? I can’t believe that we actually own it,” She started walking around the room, “See, I’ve got it all figured out. Little red tables will go on this side,” she motioned towards the right, “And we’ll get dark blue curtains and white tablecloths. The counter will go over there.” She pointed to the left, “It will have a display case so that people can point to what they want. Oh my God, this is going to be so much fun!”
“It is,” agreed Lily, “Umm…where can I put my stuff?”
“Oh right! Follow me,” she started climbing the staircase, “Do you mind sharing a room with me. If you do the we can make room in the storage—,”
“I don’t mind Emma. I did it for seven years…but if Sirius Black is going to constantly be up here then—,”
“Oh, shut up,” said Emma, smiling.
“I’m serious,” said Lily, also grinning, ‘I mean, I don’t’ want to walk in on the tow of you snogging or something…”
‘Now that we’re on the subject of men…I cannot believe that you’re engaged! Soon to be Lily Potter!”
“Yeah, I’ve been having some trouble taking it in myself.”
“This is so exciting!”
“It is.”
“Ah, it seems like it was just yesterday that you were hating him…”



James and Sirius stood in the kitchen. Their things were all packed. Mr. And Mrs. Potter had taken the news of the boys becoming flat mates fairly well. They had expected it anyways. They were thrilled when they heard of the engagement.
“Did you take her on a romantic date when you asked?” Mr. Potter had asked. He had been ill for the past few weeks and he had been spending most of his days in bed.
“Err…no…it was at King’s Cross Station,” said James, blushing, as Sirius sniggered quietly...
“Well, that’s different,” said Mrs. Potter, smiling, “But it does have a romantic touch to it.”
“Okay Mum,” said James loudly, as Sirius laughed, “We’ll keep in touch. I’ll let you know about any wedding plans we’ve made…”
“Be sure to bring this young lady by,” said Mr. Potter, having a small coughing fit, “You boys will need money.”
“Aleina,” he said, addressing his wife, “Give the boys some money and get them on their way.”
“The boys were presented with three hundred galleons to get started. Mrs. Potter gave the two boys hugs good-bye and they disapparated.
The reappeared inside the Leaky Cauldron.
“Okay,” said Sirius, shouldering his bag, “I think the flat is about a block this way.” He started walking up the street. About five minutes later they stood outside a brick building.
“Okay, this is us.” He knocked on the door and an elderly lady appeared.
“Err…Hi,” said Sirius,” We’re here to rent a flat. I think we’ve communicated through mail. I’m Sirius Black…for one room…”
“Ah, alright. Come on in,” she said in a French accent.
The lady led them up several flights of stairs and into a spacious room. There were two beds on opposite sides of the wall. A stove, refrigerator, and sink stood at the far wall. In the middle of the room there was a couch and coffee table. The right wall had a sliding glass door, followed by a balcony overlooking London.”
“This is great,” said James, tossing his bags onto the table, “Nice view, big, and affordable.”
“Yeah.” Sirius pulled out his moneybag and paid the lady one month in advance. James then paid for another month, “We’re set.”
The boys unpacked their things and tried to make thing more homely.
James checked his watch. It was half past one, “You think it’s too early to meet the girls?”
“Nah, it’s never too early to meet the girls.”
The boys laughed, grabbed their coats, and headed out the room.

Yeah, this chapter is pretty boring...but I had to show it. Sorry...I'll try and post soon!!

http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13280

This has taken forever to write...but towards the end I had I had a bit of fun with it. Hope you like...




Chapter Thirty-Nine:

A week passed, and it was time for the group to meet up with Dumbledore. Sirius and James were decked out in jeans and tee shirts. They walked into the Leaky Cauldron and took a table in the corner. Upon ordering a round of butterbeer Emma and Lily walked in the doorway, dressed in tank tops and skirts. They took their seats and were soon joined by Remus and Peter, followed by Alice and Frank, who walked hand in hand together.
“I can’t believe that it’s already been a week,” said Remus, “Out of school and on with everything…strange.”
“True,” remarked Alice,” Frank and I have been accepted to begin training to become an auror. We start next Monday.”
“That’s great!” said Lily, smiling.
“I wonder when Dumbledore’s getting here…” said Peter, glancing at his wristwatch and up to his friends.
“That time would be now Mr. Pettigrew.” Albus Dumbledore materialized next to them, “And now is the time we departed. If you will follow me…do try to be somewhat discreet.”
The group stood up, sliding their chairs backwards on the floor and gulping down the remainder of their drink. Dumbledore was already ahead of them, the top of his pointed hat barely visible through the crowd of witches and wizards. He parted through the crowd with ease and headed up the street, taking long strides as the group of teenagers scurried to hurry after him, trying to memorize the route for future reference.
The headmaster spoke as soon as everyone caught up, “The place that I am leading you to is probably one of the most secure in the world. By joining the Order you are vowing that you will never reveal its location…not that you could…a Fidelius Charm has been preformed—,”
“Excuse me,” interrupted Peter, his face red from exertion, “A what charm?”
“Oh please,” said Remus, rolling his eyes and grinning at the same time, “The Fidelius Charm. It’s when a secret has been concealed inside of a single human being…such as the location of a building. No one can say the direct address unless the Secret Keeper says it. The words will stop dead in your moth. It’s a very complex enchantment…could go horribly wrong.”
“Too right you are Mr. Lupin,” called Dumbledore from up front, “And seeing as I am the Secret Keeper, I doubt anyone will ever know the location of the Order of the Phoenix.”
They walked for about two miles. Lily kept trying to keep track of the streets in her head: left, right, left, left, right, left, right, right, left. Before long they were standing in front of a musky old building that had a spider web of ivy climbing up one side. It looked to be about four stories high and had a jagged porch sticking out of the front, along with a white door in the exact center.
Dumbledore stepped onto the porch and rapped on the door sharply with two of his knuckles.
Everything was quiet for a moment, and then a scuffling sound was heard from the other side of the entranceway.
They heard a gruff voice muttering, “It’s alright. You can open the door. It’s just Dumbledore with that gang of kids.”
There was a series of taps and the sound of several locks clicking out of place. Finally, the door creaked open, revealing Moody standing next to Emmeline Vance, who had her wand out.
Everyone was ushered inside. About half of the Order was gathered around the dining table, all crouched over the same map that was shown last time. There were more red Xs this time around.
“Are you guys all going to pledge in today?” asked the man known as Edgar Bones.
“Looks like it,” said Frank, shoving his hands in his pocket and looking around the room.
Dumbledore left the room and then reappeared holding a leather hound booklet in his hands. “Once all of you sign your name on this page you will not be able to reveal any confidential information. There is a jinx on the parchment to prevent it. There is still a chance to turn back.”
Nobody moved.
Sirius stepped forward first and said firmly, “Where do I sign?”
He grabbed the booklet out of the headmaster’s hand, flipped to the first free page and scribbled without hesitation, Sirius Black.
His name glowed for a moment and then seemed to melt through the paper. A sliver seal that portrayed a wand crossed with a skull replaced it.
James walked up next and signed his name under where the first had been. One by one everyone wrote their names, until there were eight silvery seals lined up in a row.
“Good, good,” said Dumbledore merrily, tapping the notebook with his wand. It vanished into thin air.
He turned to the adults, “They now have full access to everything and are official order members.”
A few people clapped, but then everyone turned back to the map in the center of the table.
“How many more attacks have their been?” asked Emma, studying the map.
“Too many,” growled Moody, “We got some peoples staking out where he’s supposed to be next. You kids sure chose a bad day to enlist. We’re supposed to be on call if things turn nasty and we have to get involved.”
“Wait, are we going to have to fight?” asked Remus.
“There’s a chance,” said Moody, “If they call for aid then yes, you will.”
“Who’s out there?” asked Lily.
“Gideon and Fabian Prewett, Benjy Fanwick, and Caradoc Dearborn.”
Everyone sat in silence around the table, reading over documents and reports that had been scattered around the table.
About five minutes later Dumbledore stood up, humming faintly, “I take my leave now. I have other business to attend to. Can I trust that you can hold down the fort while I’m gone?”
They nodded.
“Good. Then I’ll let you all acquaint yourselves with each other.”
He walked out the door and turned right.
“So, what are you kids going to do about employment?” asked Emmeline.
“I’m going to start a bakery,” said Emma, looking slightly embarrassed.
“Alice and I are going to be aurors,” said Frank.
“Good,” growled Moody, “We need more of them. They’re dropping like flies.”
At that moment the fireplace behind them erupted with a burst of green flame. There was a man’s head floating there. He had messy brown hair, traces of a moustache, and light blue eyes.
There was a cut on his left cheek, running from his eyebrow to his jaw line.
“Gideon!” exclaimed Emmeline, rushing forward, “What happened?”
The man grimaced and started speaking in a hushed voice, “I only just got away. You-Know-Who is here. He brought along a group of his death eaters and they’re attacking everyone.”
“What are they looking for?”
“I’m not really sure. But they mentioned Gryffindor’s sword. Do you think they want that?”
“That would make sense. Do you need backup? How bad is the situation there?”
“Bad. Hurry.” His head vanished and the fire died down.
Moody jammed his bowler hat and looked at the ids, “I hope you guys can do this.” He walked out the front door.
Everyone looked at each other; fear clearly etched on their face. Sirius cleared his throat and then followed.
Moody stopped outside the house, “We’re going to Surrey. 456 7th street to be exact.” He disapparated.



When they got there the battle was in full swing. They could hear crashed coming from inside the building.
Moody turned to the group, “These scums play dirty. Don’t get hit by their spells. We’re just here to capture them. Do you all know hot to perform an anti-disapparation jinx?”
Most of them did.
“Let’s go. Oh, and try not to die.” He walked into the building.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Sirius called after him.

Lily didn’t think she had ever seen something as frightening as what she walked in on.
There were people in hoods firing jinxes off the walls, shattering and burning things.
Lily ducked under a beam of light that nearly took off her head.
She held her wand in front of her as a young female approached her with a mask covering her face.
The two of them began dueling back and forth. The only practice Lily had ever had with jinxing was when she hexed James before they dated.
It took her full concentration to block all the spells being thrown at her. It was like a steady stream of light was coming from her wand. But none of them made contact with her attacker.
There was a disturbance from the back room entrance and as soon as everyone saw what it was they stopped.
A man stood there. But, was he a man? He looked like he had at one time been very handsome, but his looks had become somewhat stretched and distorted, making his face look mask-like. The death eaters went and stood by his side.
Lily was mystified. Who was this man? Everyone, even Moody, was looking at him with a large amount of fear in his or her eyes.
The tall, thin man twirled his wand in his thing fingers. Then he started laughing. It was a high, cold laugh that chilled Lily to the bone. It was at that moment she knew she’d never forget it.
His eyes lingered for a fraction of a second on the teenager’s faces. When he spoke everyone in the room flinched, “So this is what Albus Dumbledore sends to defend the wizarding world. It’s pathetic.”
Caradoc Dearborn sent a spell flying at the man, but he just disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the room, “You cannot capture Lord Voldemort.”
Lily bit her tongue. This was Lord Voldemort?
Voldemort spoke again, “What a range of students.”
His eyes fell on Sirius and then James, “We have the two blood traitors.”
He looked at Lily, “My sources say you’re the mudblood.”
He looked at the rest of them, “and the rest of you are mudblood lovers.”
He raised his wand, but before anything happened the door was blasted off its hinges. Dumbledore stood there, his wand raised.
Voldemort reached forward and pointed his wand straight at Lily’s heart, “Try anything and she dies.”
James stiffened. His eyes turned glassy and everything stopped. Lily, it couldn’t be Lily. This could not happen. They hadn’t gotten married or had kids. They hadn’t taken a walk in the rain or tried to find the end of a rainbow.
Then, without thinking, without hesitating, he leapt at her. Upon sailing by he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her onto the ground.
Dumbledore took that chance and fired a curse.
Voldemort deflected it, grabbed the first person within his reach and disapparated. His death eaters vanished along with him.
James helped Lily to her feet and then hugged her, “Those were the scariest five seconds of my life.”
She smiled, “I’m fine.”
Sirius started at the place where Voldemort had been standing moments before, his face white as death.
Voldemort had taken Emma.



Dear dear...this can only mean trouble. This originally wasn't going to happen...but then I got this idea and thought it'd be a nice twist.
But then again, one defeat...two to go.
feedback would be lovely.
http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.ph...c=13280

I know my last chapter wasn't very well written...but I hope that this one is slightly better. I had most of it done at the beginning of the week...but I just tacked on the ending a few minutes ago. I hope you think it's alright.




Chapter Forty:

James woke up and started at the ceiling. The bed across the room was empty. He sighed; it had been a week since Emma had been taken.
Sirius had not been home since. He was spending all his time at the Order Headquarters. He had been very quiet since her capture. The Order had invited him to join them for meals, but he had politely declined and took his meals in the room that had been set up for him. James had gone up the next day, bringing along some of Sirius’ clothes and personal items.
When he had knocked on the bedroom door Sirius had taken the bag, and thanked him quietly, not meeting his eyes.
“Do you want to talk?” James had asked.
“Not right now.” The door had closed with a snap.
There was still no sign of Emma. She and Voldemort had vanished without a trace. Neither of them had been heard of since.
Fabian Prewett, whom James had become friends with, privately confided in him that Sirius had been up late every night, looking through all the maps and documents, trying to find a pattern so he could track down Voldemort.
Marlene McKinnon had taken a different view on the matter. After offering her condolences to Sirius she had saddled up next to James and said, “Oh, it’s so romantic. He’s searching for his lost love. I’m going to write a novel about this one day.”
James, who had just watched Sirius slink out of the room, his shoulders slouched forward, had not been sure how to respond to that, so he had just grunted and walked away.

Nothing could stop James form feeling extreme guilt about what had happened. If he had not sprung at Lily, Emma might not have been taken. But what if Voldemort had killed Lily? What were the chances of that happening? Would Dumbledore have been able to prevent it? It all came down to chance—It had to be either Lily or Emma.
Did Sirius blame him? The two boys had not really spoken since the time James dropped off the clothes. He tried to recall that day, trying to remember if there had been any accusing glares. Sirius’ look had been blank when they had last met. All the emotions had been concealed, and if James knew Sirius well enough, boxed away. Maybe the blank look had been a sign, telling James that he was no longer wanted as a friend. What if that was it? He could not lose his best friend. Not when things were just starting to become challenging and hard to deal with. Sirius would not do that, would he? But then again, who even said that just because his expression was blank meant he wanted to throw everything down he drain. But what else could it have meant? There was not explanation. It was his fault Emma was gone.
James swore and leapt out of bed, tired of arguing with himself. He pulled on a tee shirt and jeans. He jerked a wet comb through his hair in front of the mirror.
“I’ll just go down and talk to Sirius,” he said out loud to himself.
“Good luck,” his mirror muttered from in front of him, “Seriousness is a hard thing to communicate with. You would be the first to conquer it.”
James grabbed his coat and ran out the door.



Fifteen minutes later he was in front of the Order headquarters. A few leaves flew by as he knocked on the door.
Dedalus Diggle received him.
“How ya doing James? We weren’t expecting you until tomorrow.”
“Oh, well, uh, actually, I fancied a chat with Sirius.”
“Well, that’s not going to happen. He left.”
James turned around to look at him sharply, “What do you mean, he left? He hasn’t taken a step outside in a week.”
“Yes, well, he did this time. He walked out.”
“Where did he go? The market? Will he be back soon? I can wa—,”
“I don’t know when he’ll be back. He took all his stuff with him. He has to come back sometime though—he did sign the book.”
“Wait. Did you say he took all his stuff?” asked James.
“That’s correct.”
“When did he go?”
“About two in the morning.”
“Well, where did he go?”
“No idea. He didn’t say.”
“Why did he leave?”
“He didn’t say. But it was right after we told him we called the search off his girlfriend—,”
“What!” exclaimed James, “You called the search of Emma? Why would you do that?”
“Look James. If You-Know-Who captures you and you aren’t heard from for a week then it’s ninety percent certain that you’re dead.”
“But there’s a ten percent chance she’s still alive.”
“That’s true. But we need the wizards looking for her for other projects. We can’t look for her forever.”
“Did you find any leads?”
“None that was helpful. We really did try our hardest to find Emma. But we haven’t found anything yet.”
“Come on. Keep looking. What if he’s torturing Emma right now? There has to be some way to find her.”
“Voldemort is a cruel, twisted man. He may have tortured her, he may have imperiused her into working for him, anything could have happened to her. The thing you learn in this business, is that not everyone can be saved.”
James sighed angrily, a lump in his throat, “What did Sirius do when he found out? Did he explode?”
“No. He stayed as cool as a cucumber. He went into his room, packed his stuff, informed us that he was leaving…and then walked out the door.”
James groaned, “And you don’t know where he went?”
“No. But he acted really good when we told him.”
“That’s really bad.”



He ran through Diagon Alley and came to a halt in front of the soon to be bakery. Even though the sign said closed he pushed open the door and heard the familiar sound of bells tinkling overhead.
Lily sat at one of the tables, a coffee mug in her hand. She looked a wreck. Her hair had been pulled into a sloppy bun on top of her head. Her clothes were wrinkled and there were dark circles under her eyes.
She took a sip from her mug and turned to stare at him wearily, “Hey.”
“Uh, hey, what happened? You look like you’ve been up all night.”
Lily gave a hollow laugh, “No. Not all night, just since two-thirty in the morning.”
“You heard about Emma?”
“Yes, I did hear a rumor. They say that she’s dead, but I don’t believe it.”
“I don’t want to believe it. But listen, Lily, Sirius is gone.”
She looked at him with a strange expression on her face, “No he’s not.”
“Yes he is. They told him they were going to call the search of Emma and he ran out with all his stuff. You have got to help me find him—,”
“Listen, James, he’s not missing. I know where he is.”
“Yes he i—Y-You do? Where is he?”
“He upstairs,” said Lily simply, taking another sip form her mug.
“You’re kidding.”
“No, I’m not. He’s upstairs, right now…sewing.”
“Sirius doesn’t know how to sew.”
“I know. But he’s getting the hang of it now.” Lily still looked weary and tiresome.
“What is he making?”
She sighed, “He knew Emma wanted dark blue curtains for this bakery—So he’s making them.”
“How long has he been up there?”
“Since two-thirty in the morning…when he knocked on the front door.”
“And you’ve been up since then?”
“Yes. I was keeping him company.”
“How is he? How’d he sound?”
Lily set down her mug and lowered her voice, “He appears to be fine. He hasn’t mentioned Emma at all, just to tell me that they called off the search. He’s been talking about the future for the bakery…everything he wants to do with it,” she lowered her voice even more, “But I don’t think he’s doing too good. It looks like he’s repressing all his emotions, which isn’t very healthy. I tried talking to him about it, but he closed up. I think you should go up and speak to him. It’ll help.”
“He hates me.”
“Where on Earth did you get that idea?”
“It’s just that…well, uh, oh, nevermind.”
“Go up and talk to him right now. You’re his best friend. Go.”
She got up and shoved James into the staircase.
He took the steps one at a time, trying to go as slowly as possible. What was he going to say when he got up there? What state was his friend going to be in?
He took a step into the room and closed the door behind him.
Sirius was sitting on Emma’s bed, a dark blue cloth spread over his lap and around next to him. A needle was poised in his long fingers, a long piece of white thread trailing from it.
James cleared his throat and said, “Hey Padfoot.”
Sirius looked up, his face gaunt and emotionless, “Hey.”
“Sorry to hear about Emma.”
“Thanks.” His voice was dull. The only thing that showed any emotion was his hand. It trembled as he poked the needle into the cloth. That’s when James noticed Sirius’ fingers were smeared with blood. He must have jabbed himself when learning how to sew. Either that, or he was shaking too much.
An awkward silence passed, in which James sat on a chair and watched Sirius make uneven stitches up the side of the material. The air was thick and it just got thicker with every passing second.
Finally, James sighed with frustration and cried out, “I’m sorry Sirius. I know it’s my entire fault that Emma is gone. If I hadn’t been so thick headed. I wasn’t thinking. I was stupid. I just didn’t want Lily to get hurt. I should have thought about what my actions would have caused. But it all happened so fast and I didn’t realize this would have been the result. All the blame is mine and I know I’m a bad friend and you hate me, but I just want you to know that I’m sorry…really, really sorry.”
It had all come out in a rush of words. James stood up and headed for the door.
“What…are you talking about?”
James turned around. Sirius was staring at him incredulously, “Do you honestly think I blame you for what happened? Nothing is your fault.”
“B-But,” he stuttered, “You’ve ignored me for a week…”
“If you think about it the other way around, you were ignoring me.”
“I wasn’t. I wanted to talk.”
“Yeah, well, Emma was gone…and I wanted to find her. I was really confused. I knew that she was still alive…but I couldn’t prove it to anyone.”
“I believe you.”
“We still can’t do anything about it.”
“God, this wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t—,”
“Don’t blame yourself James. You jumped in front of a woman you love to save her. It was a brave thing to do. I would have done the same thing in your position.”
“You would have?”
“Most likely. This has nothing to do with you.”
“Lily said that you weren’t talking about Emma.”
“Did she?”
“It’s not going to help if you pretend it didn’t happen.”
“I want to put it behind me and keep her dreams alive.”
“You’re going to get this bakery started?”
“Yeah. It’s what she would have wanted.”
“Do you think she’s alive?”
Sirius’ hands started shaking again and he stabbed himself with the needle. He took a few deep breaths, “I…don’t know.”
“So, what are we going to do?”
“We?”
“Do you really think I’m not going to do this with you?”
“Well…I just, just want closure.”
“We’ll find out what happened to her.”
“Okay,” Sirius said slowly.
James grinned, “Okay.”
Sirius held up the blob of cloth on is lap, “Do you think Emma would like these.” The stitching was uneven and they rode up on one side, so the bottom edge was slanted.
“She would love them.”
“Good.”
“So…Padfoot, we’re fine, right?”
Sirius grinned, “We’re fine.”


Thanks for reading. Hoped you liked it. It would be greattt if you left feedback.
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Phew, I'm back. First, I wanted to thank all you people for all the reads. I hit double diget thousands last chapter...and I was really excited to find that out. So, thanks for reading! Second, thanks for the reviews...they make me want to upadate as soon as possible.
This is an all-Sirius chapter. No James, no Lily. I have mixed feelings about it. I had fun writing it....but I dont' know if it's any good or not.



Chapter Forty-One:
Sirius sat on his bed and stared at the wall opposite him. James was with Lily at the bakery, making plans for their wedding. It was to take place in about a month’s time.
Thinking about the upcoming betrothal, he could not help but start thinking about Emma—and what could have been. He should have told her that he loved her more often. He should have spent more of his time with her. They had been together for about nine months. Sirius had never stayed that long with a girl before. He had never told a girl that he loved her…until Emma. She was something special—and now she was gone.
He had heard of the cliché, ‘you don’t know what you have until you’ve lost it’. He was definitely feeling that now. He had always fully appreciated his girlfriend, but now he felt like he should have even more. He should have done more for her.
He remembered when he had scaled Gryffindor Tower. He had been lying in bed for hours, his girlfriend popping into his mind every few minutes, no matter how hard he tried to resist it.
Sirius remembered that night as clear as day. How he nearly froze his butt off edging around to the other side of the tower. How he had nearly lost his footing twice.
He remembered the look on Emma’s face when she had seen him. Coming out from the bed she had looked ****ed off, then when she saw him she looked shocked, then her face had broken out into a small smile.
Hey there, Love
That’s what he had said. He wished that he could say it again. He wanted to call her Love once more. That’s what Emma was to him, his love.
Sirius twisted the sheets in his hand. This was because of Voldemort—Voldemort and his death eaters.
He paused for a moment as those last couple words registered.
Death Eaters.
A vision of the dark mark flashed through his mind first.
Regulus Black flashed through his mind second.

His own brother was the key to the inside. Surely Regulus would know if Emma were alive or not. That good for nothing son of a ***** had seen it all, hadn’t he? Sirius would talk to Regulus and see what he knew.
This only left one question. How? He knew the answer, for it was clear in his head, but grimaced thinking about the consequences it could cause.
But still, he had to do it, there was no other way.
He disapparated.



Sirius Black now stood in front of the one place he swore he would never return to, his steel colored eyes boring into the front door, as though waiting for something. Nothing came.
It appeared to be a deserted building. The houses neighboring it were run down little shacks with broken windows, peeling paint, and rubbish piles on the front stoops. It was a quiet street. A broken streetlamp flickered on and off from above and a few birds circled overhead.
The particular house that Sirius was scowling at had a door painted black as midnight. There was silver doorknocker twisted in the form of a serpent protruding from it and no keyhole was visible.
Black curtains covered all the windows leading to the outside world, making the house seem more and more like it only brought death and grieving.
He stood there, and let the wind blow his hand into his eyes. He hands were in his pockets as he stared unmoving at the place he had, at one time, called home—Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. Even the address sounded depressing.
A sort of resentment was building up inside of Sirius. It had been two years since he had last been there. He was pretty sure that after he had screamed at his parents in a rage so terrible that one of the windows had cracked, and stormed out of the house, he was not welcome back. Then again, he did not want to go back. He would be perfectly content with never walking down this street again—to go on with his life without his parents breathing down his neck. But Regulus still resided in the building, and talking to him was the only way he would find out the truth about Emma.
Sirius shifted back and forth on the balls of his feet, still surveying everything with a cold, unemotional look in his eyes. Nothing had changed.
There was no way in hell that he was going in through the front door. His mum might just doe of shock, but then again, that was not necessarily a bad thing. If things went smoothly, then he would be in and out before either of his parents noticed their oldest child.
He walked around the side of the house, making sure to deactivate all the security jinxes his father had set up.
Regulus’ window was directly above him, except it was two stories up.
That is what trellises were for.

He took a firm hold on the skinny piece of wood and stepped up; pausing to make sure it held his weight. It did, but just barely.
He heard the structure groan in protest as he climbed up higher and higher.
Don’t look down, he told himself. Any minute one of the supports underneath his foot could give away, causing him to tumble to his death.
Breathing in and out with a steady rhythm, Sirius climbed up, hand over hand, the ivy covered trellis.
Finally, he found himself staring into his reflection in his brother’s window. The room her peered into was empty.
Perfect. He could slip in, wait for his brother to come back, find out what he needed to know, and then leave.
Keeping one hand on the wooden structure, Sirius pulled out his wand and unlocked the window.
After pushing it up, he hoisted himself through the opening and plopped down onto the hardwood floor of Regulus’ bedroom.
He looked around. An un-made bed stood at the far corner, with legs carved to resemble claws.
An open trunk was by the door, its contents strewed all over the ground. Books, empty potion bottles, papers, quills, brass scales…it was everywhere.
Posters of screamer, wizarding bands decorated the walls, each deciphering a group of crazy looking warlocks with face paint and frazzled hair. Some twirled their wands in their hands, looking bored, while other pantomimed singing into an imaginary microphone, their faces contorted with emotion.
All that was missing was the occupant of the room. Indeed, Regulus was no where to be found among the piles of rubbish.
Sirius took a seat by the desk and picked up the nearest book lying on the ground: The Road to Immortality .
Sirius looked slightly disgusted. He brother was never satisfied with what he already had. He always had to go a little bit farter. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes things just cross the line.
The first chapter of the book spoke of the reasons why one would want to become immortal. The second told of the drawbacks of the process. Why would Regulus be trying to live forever ?
His thoughts were interrupted by the bedroom door opening and the form of Regulus Black walked in. His hair was dripping wet from the shower and an apple was clutched in his hand.
He stared at Sirius for a moment, and then smirked, “You have got a lot of nerve showing your face around here again.”
“I need to ask you something.”
Regulus gave a mock-shocked look, “I never thought I’d see the day that my dear brother set aside his pride.”
Sirius responded by saying something that would cause a troll to gasp in shock.
‘Dar, Dear. What a saucy tongue you possess. The outside world has stolen your manners,” he said smoothly, “Pray tell, does our dear Mum know that you have stopped by for a visit?”
“No…and you’re not going to tell her.”
He moved to pull out his wand, but Regulus beat him to it by drawing his won, “Don’t try it Sir (pronounced ‘Seer’),” he said, using their childhood nicknames, “In case you’ve forgotten, yesterday I turned a year older…and am now seventeen.”
“Aww…so you’re finally a big boy? You know what that means? It means that when the aurors catch you and your Death Eater mates, you will be tried as an overage wizard and sent to Azkaban to rot.”
“Who said I’ll be caught.”
Sirius became more solemn, “I still don’t’ understand why you even joined them. There are two outcomes: death or prison.”
Regulus had a funny look, “Whatever you say, Sir. I know what I’m doing. What is it you wanted to talk me?”
“I want o know what happened to Emma.”
A quick grin flashed across Regulus’ face, but was gone as soon as it had come, “Ah, Emma Shalet. The half-blood. She was a pretty girl—,”
“What do you mean, was?”
“Is…was…what’s the difference?”
“I’m tired of your games Regulus—,”
“What games? I am merely asking a question.”
“Answer mine.”
“Or what? You’ll blast me through the wall? I could block you. Mum’s no help to you. She’d skin you alive—,”
“Just answer the question…and I swear that I’ll leave you alone. I love Emma…and I want, no, need to know what happened to her.”
‘The Dark Lord keeps many prisoners.”
“What does he do to them?”
‘Questions them, asks them to serve for him—,”
“Emma would never work for him—,”
“—and if they refuse he kills them.”
Sirius felt like someone had poured a bucket of icy water on his head, and punched in the stomach at the same time.
“What about Emma?” he asked quietly, “Do you know what became of her?”
Regulus cocked an eyebrow, “I don’t associate with the scum in prison cells. I do not know what happened to your half-blood girlfriend, nor do I care.”
“Well, what do you think ?”
“God, I don’t know, Sirius. She could be anywhere, be doing anything. She could still be in the holding cells, doing the Dark Lord’s bidding, dead. Who knows?”
“Can you find out?”
‘No! I shouldn’t even be talking to you. I-If he knew…”
For the first time in months, Sirius witnessed his younger brother with fear etched in his face.
“What would you have to do if you saw me again?” he asked quietly.
“I don’t know…kill you probably. So, if you value your life. Stay away from me.”
“What did you find out about Voldemort?”
“Stop trying to get into my business.”
“There’s nothing…and don’t you dare lecture me about morals again.”
Sirius ignored him, ‘What you’re doing is wrong.”
“I can’t leave.”
“And why not?”
Regulus spun to face his brother and yanked up his left sleeve to reveal the jet black Dark Mark burned into his flesh, “This binds me to him.”
“So?”
“Get out.”
“No.”
“You asked what I knew about that tramp you were dating. I answered. No leave.”
Before Sirius could answer the door swung open.
“Regulus, Dear, I heard voices. Do you have gue—,”
Walburga Black stood there in a stiff, high-collared dress. Her hair was pulled into a tight bun on top of her head, a lacy cap covering it. This woman had a mouth that was always shaped like a frown, and her grey eyes were dark, hollow, and emotionless.
She stopped when she saw her eldest son standing in the room. For a full five seconds everyone was dead silent.
Mrs. Black narrowed her eyes. “You,” she breathed, her voice a hiss.
Sirius stood rooted at the spot, but forced himself to appear calm, “Me.”
“How dare you show your face in this house again.”
“I had business to attend to.”
“You are a humiliation to the Black family name. Every pureblood wizard knows that you were not of Salazar Slytherin’s noble house. You are not welcome here.”
“I understand that Mum—,”
“Do not call me that. I am not your mother anymore. Orion and I do not raise out children to be blood-traitors.”
Sirius laughed, but with no humor, “Well Mum , It looks like you and Dad failed at that…because look at me, Blood-traitor to the bone, aren’t I?”
He turned to Regulus and said, “So how many innocent people have you killed? I bet you haven’t killed anyone. You’re too much of a coward.”
Mrs. Black went into a rage, “You have no right to speak to him—,”
“No, I do. See, in case you’ve forgotten, Regulus is my brother. I have every right to talk to him.”
“You do not deserve the surname Black—,”
“Like I want it.”
“My husband works hard to provide for this family and you are just an ungrateful little—,”
“Oh wait. Am I back in the family again? Because, and correct me if I’m wrong, it was just a minute ago that you denied my heritage,” said Sirius sarcastically.
“You were disowned.”
“No, see, that makes it sound like you had the pleasure of getting rid of me. Or is that what you told all your friends? Couldn’t bear to shame yourself further by admitting that I ran away?”
With that, Mrs. Black flew at him…all 5’ 3” and 130 pounds of her. She tried to claw at his face and pound at his chest…all the while screaming insults about shaming his purity.
Regulus got between the tow of them and pulled his mother off her son.
Mrs. Black glared at Sirius, “Do not blacken our doorstep with your presence.”
“It’s black enough without me here.” He strode out the door, intending to leave through the front this time.
In the hall he encountered the house-elf that was enslaved there.
Kreacher looked up at him with his big eyes. He began muttering very fast under his breath, “The blood-traitor boy of my mistress is here. He has come back after running away—,”
“Shut up Kreacher!” yelled Sirius, yanking the door open and walking out into the yard, where he disapparated.



Sirius Black sat back on his bed. James was still gone.
He pushed the conversation with his mother to the back of his mind and instead, focused on what Regulus said about Emma.
From what he said, she was most likely dead.
There was tightness in his chest as he realized that he just had to accept it.
Sirius stood up and began pacing back and forth over the floor. He had to get on with his life. If Emma was gone, then she would not want him pondering over it. She'd want him to move on, wouldn’t she?
He came to a halt in the middle of the room, and rested his hands on his head. He was going to put Emma behind him and start anew. If he didn’t’ think about her then she’d eventually fade away. He wasn’t going to let a girl hold him back. He was only eighteen years old…he had his whole life ahead of him. There was still a lot he had to do…and see. He could not do this when his mind was clouded with the memories of Emma. She would have to fade away.
Sirius took a deep breath, and when he exhaled, imagined letting loose of Emma.
Good-bye Love .



That bit at the end is sorta cheesy. Sorry bout that. So, tell me, is it horrible? feedback would be great. Thanks for taking the time to read. I really appreciate it.

http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.ph...c=13280

Phew, I got it up in exactly one week. I thought I wasn't going to make it...but I did!
So, last chapter wasn't too popular, was it? No matter.
This chapter doesn't really have a purpose...but I wrote it anyways. But still read it because the main reason I wrote it was to get Sirius out of his little "angsty phase"



Chapter Forty-Two:

“Aarghh…”
Sirius rolled over on top of James, trying to pin his hands. But James threw him off and tried to get him in a headlock.
The two boys were wrestling around on the floor of the bakery.
Remus was reading a book on a stool to of the way, his feet resting on the countertop, as to keep them out of the way.
He couldn’t help but smile as his two best friends rolled around on the floor. It was slowly beginning of ell like things were back to normal. Peter was still out of town, on holiday in Canada with his mother. Frank and Nathan were at the Wasp’s game in Spain. Alice was still in America. Sarah was upstairs with Lily. But between Sirius, James, and Remus, things seemed almost back to ordinary. They messed around and pulled pranks, jut like they always had. They had already gotten the “prankster” title down at Order headquarters. This had happened when they had gone and turned everyone’s water into vinegar at one of the meetings.

The two boys, who had been wrestling on the floor finally sat up, exhausted.
Sirius grinned and tossed his hair out of his eyes. “Draw?”
“No way. We resume tomorrow.” James spit on his palm and held it out. “Deal?”
Sirius eyed it for a moment…and then hacked up a loogey of his won and slapped his hand into James. “Fine.”
Remus looked up from his book. “That is disgusting.”
James turned to him, grinning, and spit into his hand again. “Here, Moony, tomorrow you will join us. Shake on it.”
“That could be deadly.”
“Nah,” said Sirius, “Let’s do it right now.”
He launched himself at Remus, who dragged down James with him.
Before long the three boys were rolling around again on the bakery floor, upending chairs and knocked over boxes. None of them seemed to have the ability to pin the two others.

Abut five minutes into the fight Lily and Sarah came down to the ground floor, investigating the source of all the grunts and crashes.
They looked at the three boys thrashing around on the floor.
Lily shook her head and turned to Sarah. “See. This is what happens when you leave them alone together. I swear, they’re just like children. They need constant supervision.”
Sarah grinned. “But they do make life interesting. Just knowing them makes me laugh.”
Lily sighed and pulled out her wand. With a loud band and a puff of smoke the three boys were pinned to three different walls, held up by a magical bond.
‘Ah, come on Lily,” complained Sirius, “A winner hasn’t been declared yet.”
Lily pocketed her wand. “I pinned all of you. I win.”
“No fair. You used magic.”
“I don’t care. I’m not going to let you boys single-handedly destroy the bakery.”
“Well,” said Sirius. “There are thee of us…that’s six hands.”
“Wow…you know math too. That’s a shocker.”
James struggled with his bonds. “Love, will you let us down now?”
Sirius inwardly flinched, but put the memory n the back of his mind.
Lily turned to face her fiancé. “I dunno. You stay out of trouble when you’re up on a wall.”
‘Sarah, talk some sense into her!”
Sarah laughed, “Oh, no. I’m enjoying this too much.”
“You can’t keep us here all night,” said Remus.
Lily’s eyes flashed. “Wanna bet?”
‘Come on Lily. Please let us down. My foot’s falling asleep,” called Sirius.
She turned to Sarah. “What do you think? What should they have to do to get down?”
Sarah thought for a moment. “Make them tell a secret.”
Lily grinned. “That’s a good one.” She turned back to the boys. “To get down you have to tell us something we didn’t already know about you…Remus, you can go first.”
“I dunno…uh…when I was seven I accidentally strangled my aunt’s parrot. I didn’t want to get into trouble, so I just put it back in its cage.”
Everyone in the room laughed.
“Come on,” cried Sirius, “That’s not a juicy secret.”
“I don’t have any juicy secrets. Well, I guess I could’ve made something up. What’d you want me to say? That I was schizophrenic and thought people were out to kill me?”
“That would have been more interesting…if it were true, which its not.”
“Okay, okay,” said Lily, holding up her hands. She pulled out her wand and with a small ‘pop’ Remus was released. “Get outta here.”
He stood there for a moment, letting blood circulate to his limbs. He then grabbed his bag and called over his shoulder, “See you tomorrow guys.”
Lily looked at Sirius. “Your turn, Stud.”
James looked outraged. “Excuse me?”
Sarah and Lily both laughed when Sirius winked at them, flipped his hair around, and raised his eyebrows suggestively.
“I don’t have any secrets,” he finally said.
“Bull.”
“I don’t’ think that this is fair,” he said, “This information can be used for blackmail later on.”
“We won’t use it against you,” assured Sarah, “And hurry up. I have to go.”
Sirius grinned. “I scaled Gryffindor Tower once…in the middle of the night.”
“You did?” asked James incredulously, “Why?”
“I took a lovely lady on a stroll around the grounds.”
“Was it fun?”
“Very.”
Lily released him.
Sarah started to walk after him, calling over her shoulder, “I’ll see you later Lily.”
As the door closed Lily saw Sirius put his arm around her shoulder and say, “Ah, it’s just me and you.”
Lily turned back to James. “What is up wit him? He’s acting like…like…”
“Like his usual self?” James suggested.
“Exactly.”
“I think that’s what he wants…for things to get back to normal. He never mentions Emma anymore. I think he’s trying to forget about her.”
“He shouldn’t be…but…never mind. Do you think he really likes Sarah?”
“No. He’s just playing around. Besides, Nathan wouldn’t be happy wit it, would he?”
“They’re not together anymore. Nathan and Sarah, I mean.”
“They’re not?”
“Nope. Broke up last week.”
“But Sarah seemed fine when she was here.”
“She’s nearly over it. She had a lot of ice cream.”
“Uh, are they going to get back together?”
“I don’t’ know. Maybe. Give it time. He’ll begin to miss her…and then come back.”
“Uh…okay.”
“I-I asked her to be my maid of honor.”
“Did she say yes?”
“Mhmm.”
They were silent for a few seconds.
“Hey Lily?”
“Yeah?”
“Can you please let me down?”
“Tell me something that no one knows.”
“But Sirius knows everything.”
“Everything?”
“I think so.”
“Well…tell me something only he knows.”
“Hmm….well…when we were little, around seven or eight, I had a small lisp…and couldn’t pronounce my Rs. I had to go to a speech therapy thing and do tongue exercises.”
Lily started laughing. She didn’t exactly know why, but she was laughing so hard that she fell to the ground and leaned her head against the wall for support.
“Why’d it so funny?”
“Because,” she choked, clutching a stitch in her chest, “I was thinking about what the girls at Hogwarts would ay if I told them that the infallible James Potter had a lisp and was supposed to do tongue exercises.”
“Well, I can talk normally now . Besides, the exercises paid off.”
“How?”
“You know those muggle sweets, jaw breakers?”
“Yeah.”
“Well Sirius and I had a contest to see who could finish there’s first. It was one of the big ones…about the size of an apple. Sirius’ tongue started bleeding because he licked it too much. Mine, however, stayed intact. I won the contest…and all because of tongue exercises.”
This sent Lily into a new set of laughter.
“Let me down now.”
Still laughing, Lily waved her wand and James fell toe the ground.
After he got up Lily fell into his arms and laughed into his shoulder.
James held her at arms’ length. “You know what else tongue exercises were good for?”
“No.” She was still laughing.
“Kissing.”



A bit of humor, yes? I have a few acknowledgments to make...
Sarah...thank you for your input on this chapter...and for giving me a jawbreaker.
Lauren...I'm not thanking you becuase you laughed at me when my tongue started bleeding.
The rest of you...thanks for reading! It would be great if you left feedback!

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Ah, sorry for not posting yesterday. I didn't have the chapter done. I finished this morning and typed it up as soon as possible. I finished about 30 seconds ago. Thanks to all you guys who read and reviewed last chapter. It made me really happy to open my feedback and see your posts. Oh, and Happy Memorial Day



Chapter Forty-Three:

James walked in through the front door to find Sirius reading a scroll of parchment with the Ministry seal on it.
“What’s that?”
Sirius looked up. “Remember when we went down to the Ministry last week to apply for jobs in the Disguise and Concealment department?”
“Oh, right. Did they like our resume?”
“I think so. They want us to go down for training and instruction and everything…”
“When?”
“It just says to come down when convenient. Maybe we should go now to show that we’re punctual.”
“But we’re not punctual.”
“That’s true.” Sirius waved a finger at him. “But they don’t need to know that.”
James grinned. “Very slick. Do you know how much the job pays?”
“Nope. But I think it’s enough to remain living here.”
“Okay good…because we’re building up a debt…with buying food …and the wedding and everything.”
“Ah, yes…the wedding. Have you and the Mrs. planned a date yet?”
“We’re thinking August 21st. What do you think?”
“Wow. That’s soon. A bit over a month.”
‘Well, yeah, but it’s going to be small…nothing too snazzy.”
“Aw, come on. Weddings are supposed to be snazzy. Especially the one of James Potter and Lily Evans—the two star-crossed lovers. We’ll get all our Hogwarts mates together—,”
“Nah. Well, maybe a few. But big weddings cost a lot of money…and that’s something Lily and I don’t have.”
“What about your parents? If I remember correctly, your tush was wrapped in gold-tinged diapers.”
“They were not! Besides, I don’t want to have to rely on my parents for everything.”
“Hmm…well, I still think you should have a big wedding.”
“It’s not going to happen.”
“We can still make it fun.”
James was silent for a minute as he examined the floor at his feet. Then he spoke, “We’ve known each other for a long time…”
“Um…yeah.”
“Will you be my best man?”
Sirius was taken back. “Y-You mean at your wedding?”
“Yeah.”
“I-I’d be honored…but are you sure? I mean, if you want someone else—,”
“No. You’re the only logical choice. It makes sense.”
“Well…alright!”
“So, there’s a fitting about two weeks before the wedding…the rehearsal dinner…the bachelor party…”
“Ooh, that’ll be fun.”
“Oh yes it will…Lily’s having one too—,”
“We should crash it.”
“We’ll see.”
“Do you reckon we should go to this job thing yet?”
“Yeah.” James grabbed his coat. “Let’s go.”




They reached the Ministry at half past two and walked into the atrium. The two boys walked over to the security desk. After getting their wands checked by a beefy man who operated the brass scale, James and Sirius got onto a lift with about eight or nine other wizards. They seemed too preoccupied with their own duties to care about the two teenage boys. One man was holding onto a frog that kept exhaling smoke rings. Another woman’s face was completely obscured from the large stack of folders and papers in her arms.
The lift started downwards. With every jolting stop one of two of the woman’s papers fell to the floor and Sirius was hastily bending down to pick them up.
Finally, level two was the auror office.
“This is probably where our department is,” said James.
They got off the lift and walked to the reception desk, where a young witch with curly blond hair sat. She looked up and her heavily made-up eyes fell directly on Sirius, who, of course, was oblivious and was glancing up at the ceiling with his hands in his pockets.
“Erm,” began James, clearing his throat. “We have an appointment with the head of the Disguise and Concealment department.”
The receptionist tore her gaze away from Sirius and eyed James coolly. “And what is your business with him?”
“We applied for jobs and he wanted us to drop by for training and whatnot.”
“Do you have any proof of that? See, I cannot just let you prance into the head’s office—,”
Sirius cut her off and looked her straight in the eye. “We have a letter.” He rummaged around in his pockets and pulled out the crumpled bit of parchment. He smoothed it out on the counter and shoed it to her. “See.”
The woman took it, taking care to brush her hands against his, and scrutinized it.
She finally stood up and said, “Everything seems to be in order. I’ll go see if he’s in.”
She walked away, putting a bit too much swing into her hips.
“That girl,” said James, shaking his head and grinning. “Thinks you’re a God, Sirius.”
“No she doesn’t.”
“She couldn’t keep her eyes off of you.”
Before he could respond he was interrupted by a slap on the back.
”Sirius! James! What are you two doing in the ministry building?”
They turned to face Frank Longbottom. He was grinned for ear to ear and holding a file folder under his arm.
“We got jobs here.”
“No way! You two are going to be aurors too? That would be really cool.”
“Ah, no, Frank,” said James, laughing. “We wouldn’t want to take the glory away form you and Alice. We’re going to work in the Disguise and Concealment department.”
“They’ve got some pretty trippy stuff in there. You guys’ll definitely have fun.”
“That’s a reassurance.”
“Alright. I gotta go. The training here is really rigorous. See you later.”
He departed, leaving the two boys standing there.
About twenty seconds later the receptionist came back, walking down the hall one foot in front of the other, keeping her back perfectly straight. The blouse she had on underneath her robes was undone several more buttons than necessary. Her hair had been tousled and thrown “casually” over he eyes. Her makeup had been reapplied—and she was sucking in her stomach to make it look flatter.
James rolled his eyes. Sirius still hadn’t noticed anything.
The woman stopped in front of them. She clasped her hands together, making sure her elbows touched, making her cleavage push together. “The head doesn’t seem to be in. You boys can wait here and I can check again in a few minutes.”
She turned to Sirius. “I’m Kerri by the way.”
“Er…Sirius.” He shook her hand.”
“So—,”
James cut her off. “Did you even go and see if the guy was in?”
“Kerri flushed. “Yes, I—,”
“Because it seems like you just made yourself look pretty.”
Sirius’ bark-like laugh echoed through the room.
“Is there a problem here?”
The trio turned around to find themselves face to face with Moody.
Sirius was about to say hello, but was given a warning look from Moody that clearly said, you don’t know me.
Kerri looked shocked at being addressed by a top auror. “Oh, no, Sir.”
He turned towards James. “What is it that you boys need?”
“Uh…we have an appointment with the head of the Disguise and Concealment office.”
Moody cast an irritable glare at Kerri. “Come on. I’ll escort you there, personally.”
The two boys meekly followed after him; passing the fuming receptionist. James couldn’t help but smirk a little.
“Don’t bother with her,” said Moody after they had gotten a ways away. “The only thing she’s good for is wasting time.”
They arrived in front of a polished oak door that had a plaque inscribed with Disguise and Concealment Department.
Moody left them without a word.
James pushed open the door and the two teenagers walked in, immediately jumping backwards as a man ran past them, a file folder in his hand.
“Er…excuse me,” called James. “Could you point us—,” But he was already gone.
They tried again, but everyone seemed too busy to help them.
They room they were standing in was enormous. A lot of the space was occupied by cubicles, where witches and wizards sat. They were reading scrolls of parchment or writing furiously to return a letter. The walls were lined with doors that appeared to lead to separate rooms.
“Excuse me,” said Sirius, grabbing a passing young witch with red hair. “Could you tell us where the head’s office is?”
The woman took one look at Sirius and instantly said, “Down the hall, two doors to the left.”
“Thank you.”
The woman stopped him from leaving. “If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to look me up.” She handed him a slip of paper. “Here’s my card.” She looked at James, who was sniggering behind Sirius. “You boys can share it.” She walked away.
James dragged Sirius down the hall. “We’ve been here five minutes and you’ve already got women falling at you feet.”
“It’s my stunning charm.”
“Shut up.”
The stopped at the door and knocked twice.
“Enter,” called a gruff voice form inside.
They hesitantly opened the door and found themselves facing their employer. He was s stocky man, with brown grizzly hair and a mustache.
“Uh,” began James lamely. “I’m James Potter and this is Sirius Black. We got a letter telling us to come down—,”
“Oh right,” said the man. He motioned towards the chairs in front of his desk. “Have a seat.”
They sat.
“So, you boys are fresh out of Hogwarts…with no work experience.”
“Er…yeah.”
“I must’ve been out of my mind to hire you.”
“Well, Sir,” began Sirius. “You say that you wouldn’t hire us because we have no work experience. But if all employers are like you then thy would all say that they won’t hire us because we have no work experience. So, if that were the case, how would we get work experience to come back to you and say we have work experience…so you could hire us?”
The man stared at him for a moment. They he started to laugh. Loud booms of sound echoed off the walls, rattling the tabletop.
“You’re hired. The office needs humour like that.”
Sirius winked at James, who grinned back.
The man started telling them what the job was about. “Our department is always flooded with aurors who are going out on an assignment. Our disguises range from something as simple as muggle clothing…to as complex as wizards who specialize in the Fidilius charm…and we have everything in between. Our job is to assist those who need protection.”
“How do you know if they need protection, or it they’re just looking for a good Halloween costume?”
“It is usually aurors who escort them in. If we can’t trust the aurors then we can’t trust anyone.”
“What will Sirius and I be doing?” asked James.
“You two will each be assigned a cubicle and can start off with desk work...and helping visitors. That means if any of our upper employees ever need you to get a file or something, then you do it. They also might send you a person or auror to help. They will explain the situation and you can help them figure out the best arrangement.”
“How will we know what to give them?”
“Practice. Watch the wizards around you and you’ll pick up tips.”
“Alright. That sounds good.”
“Let’s start you off at five galleons n hour…and we can go get you a desk.”
James and Sirius followed the man out of the room and back out to the crowded department.
He led them to two empty cubicles next to each other in the third aisle. “These’ll be your stations boys. You start tomorrow.” He strode away.
Sirius looked at James and rose and eyebrow. “He must’ve been mad to seat us next to each other.”



They arrived back at the flat together laughing.
“—Did you see his face after you started talking about work experience?”
“I know. I thought his eyes were going to bug out of his head. But then he started laughing.”
“And that receptionist! What’s her name? Oh yea, Kerri. Ha-ha, we have to pass her every day now.”
“Ooh, that’ll be fun,” said Sirius, laughing and rolling his eyes. “She’ll be the first one we play a prank on in there.”
“Oh yeah…she will. We should steal all her cosmetics and then walked into the office wearing them.”
“Yeah! We will. But after we lose the ‘new guy’ title.”
They were interrupted by a knock on the door.
James bounded forward and yanked it open. “Mum?”
Mrs. Potter walked in. She looked slightly unraveled.
“ ‘Ello Mrs. P. Good to see you,” said Sirius.
She took a seat on their sofa.
“Mum, what’s wrong?” asked James.
She looked at James. “Your father’s dead.”



Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Every time I kill someone off it feels like I'm progressing even further into the story. I'm happy about that, yet sad at the same time. So, if you guys could leave feedback that would be great. I really would appreciate it.

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I feel horribly guilty that it took me two weeks to post a new chapter. I'm really really sorry. But this coming week is the last week of school...and I have finals coming up. Teachers seem to think that since school is ending they should give students so much homework that they can't keep up a social life. So, these last two weeks, I have been studying and doing homework. So, personally, I don't think that this chapter is anywhere near my best work. To make up for not posting...this chapter is longer than usual...nearly three thousand words. But, it's not genious or anything.
I was originally going to give you guys a nice long chapter for a birthday present from me to you. But there's no way I can get a chapter done in four days...especially with finals. So, my early present to you is saying that I've decided not to give up on harry potter stories...and I have another story in the making. Some of you might be excited...yet some of you are probably cussing me out under your breath. It is very different from this one...but, who knows...we'll see how far it goes.


Chapter Forty-Four:
James could not comprehend what he was hearing. This could not be true. Why, he had seen his dad a few weeks ago. He glanced at Sirius, who was ashen faced and looking back at him anxiously. Swallowing, James turned his attention back to his mother, who was slowly becoming teary eyed. “That’s impossible . I just saw him.”
Mrs. Potter struggled to keep her voice even. “H-He was sick. I thought it was…it was j-just a cold.” She broke down right there on the couch, sobbing into her hands. Her son walked over to her side and slid an arm across her shoulders.
Sirius pulled out his wand and upon waving it, three cups of steaming tea appeared on the coffee table.
“The h-healers misdiagnosed him,” she choked out. “They said it w-would blow over and he would be back on his feet soon. B-But then last night when I took him to St. Mungo’s, they said he had the Wizard’s Plague—and that it w-was already too late to do anything.”
“They couldn’t do anything? They’re wizards for God’s sake!”
“Apparently the disease is really rare, and there’s no known cure.”
James’ mind was racing. What was he going to do? He had felt overwhelmed thinking about his upcoming wedding—and now he had to throw a funeral on top of that.
His father was dead…the man that had raised him through childhood. He had taught him how to ride a broomstick…how to set off a dung bomb…EVERYTHING...and now he was gone—forever.
“Okay,” said James, struggling to keep his voice calm. “I’ll take care of everything. Is there someone back at the house?”
“Your Aunt Frella is staying with me.”
“Okay, go back to her. I’ll make arrangements—everything’s going to be fine. Don’t worry.”
He helped his mother up and walked her to the door. “Everything will be alright, I promise.”
After she left he turned to Sirius. “Send an owl to Lily explaining what happened. Send one to Remus and Peter, too.” He paused. “I’m going to take care of this.”



Bells rang overhead when Sirius and Remus stepped into the bakery together. Plans for the shop were coming along. Tables had been bought and scattered around the room. An old, wooden cash register had been set up. Sirius’ hideous curtains were hanging from the windows. Overall, everything looked great.
At the sound of bells Lily Evans came hurrying down the stairs to see who her visitors were. She was dressed in a plaid skirt and black blouse, in respect for the deceased. Her tumbling hair was being held back by a velvet headband.
She led them over to a table and summoned over a tea set with her wand.
“Has James been by yet?” asked Sirius, dropping two lumps of sugar into his steaming mug.
Lily watched them dissolve. “No. I haven’t heard from him in a while now. He hasn’t even stopped by to tell me personally about his father. I just got the letter from you.”
Remus raised an eyebrow. “Funny enough, that has to do with why we’re here.”
“Oh, so you didn’t just want my company.”
“No, we did. But we also wanted to discuss something with you.”
“You want to talk about James?”
“Err…yeah. How’d you know?”
“I just do…so, what’s the problem?”
“He’s not talking to anybody,” spat Sirius, stirring his tea violently.
“Yes he is,” said Remus. “He’s just not talking to anybody about what happened. He’s putting all his energy into plans for the funeral and getting his mum situated…I think that he’s purposely keeping himself busy because he doesn’t want to think about the death.”
“He’s acting like it doesn’t effect him,” put in Sirius.
“But it must,” said Lily, looking surprised. “He can’t pretend that it doesn’t.”
“Of course it does. He doesn’t want to feel the pain, so he stopped thinking about it.”
“But he can’t keep it inside forever.”
“That’s not what he thinks.”
“What are you trying to say? That he’s just going to have the funeral and then pretend that nothing happened?”
“Looks like it,” said Remus grimly.
“Well, what do we do?”
“That’s why we came to you, Lily,” said Sirius, pouring himself another cup of tea.
“I think someone’s gotta talk to him,” she said.
“Obviously. But who?”
Lily thought for a moment, her eyebrows furrowed together as she stirred her beverage. “Maybe if all of us went.”
“We’d look pretty intimidating,” remarked Remus.
“Exactly,” she said. “Okay, here’s what we’ll do…”



James sat at the desk adding a column of numbers together. For some reason the sum never appeared to be right. He ran a hand through his hair agitatedly, propped his elbows up on the table and leaned his chin on them. He had to get the planning done. The funeral was to be held the net day. The flat he shared with Sirius was so full of flowers that it was hard to move around. The Minister of Magic himself had sent a bouquet of Orchids with a card saying that he and his wife would be attending the service together. Several of the aurors that had worked with Mr. Potter had stopped by to offer their condolences personally. James had let them stay and tell stories and he poured them black coffee.
His thoughts were interrupted when Sirius opened the door and promptly knocked over a basket of violets.
“I’m hungry,” he said. “Or as the Spanish say, ‘Tengo Hambre.’”
James looked up. “Where’s you learn that?”
“The girl who works at the café next door. I asked for half a dozen rolls and she enlightens me on a foreign language. Slick, huh?”
“Very,” said James, turning back to his sum of numbers. Ah, he found his mistake. He had forgotten to carry the four. Of course.
“I’m still hungry,” repeated Sirius, crossing the room and sitting on the sofa, “Come on…Vamos, Vamos.”
“Then get some food.”
“I’ve got a better idea.”
James grunted to show that he was at least, partially, listening.
‘Remember the Weasley’s? Molly and Arthur? He works at the Ministry. Got two kids and Molly’s expecting a third.”
“Oh, right,” mumbled James, now adding a new set of numbers.
“Well Molly sent a ham to your mum this morning. Your mum said that she’d never be able to eat it, so she gave it to me. I brought it over to Lily’s and she’s got it cooking right now. Moony’s heading down and I was thinking that the tow of us could go there for dinner.”
“You go Sirius. I have a lot of work to do.”
“Ah, come on Prongs. Peter already cancelled on us because he’s got a date. And you know that Remus can never got off work this early…with taking a job at Gingotts and all. And what about Lily? You haven’t seen her in a while. She wants to hear from you. You’ve got to come!”
“I’m sorry Sirius, but I can’t. I’ve got a lot of plans and arrangements to make.”
“Damn the plans and arrangements.”
‘I don’t have time to—,”
Sirius wasn’t taking no for an answer. He had to follow the plan. He grabbed James’ arm, and before he could protest, disapparated.



Lily sat at the table with Remus. She checked the clock on the wall again. It was a quarter past eight. Sirius should be arriving any minute now, hopefully with James in tow. Together, the four of them would figure things out.
If they didn’t…then, well, Lily didn’t want to think about that.
“This had better work,” said Remus, picking up a roll and biting into the end.
True, they were transporting him against his will. And once he arrived they were going to tackle him, steal his wand, tie him to a chair, and perform an anti-disapparation jinx. But really, it was for his own good. He’d be thanking them by the end.
Lily laughed nervously. “I’m sure he’ll see the humour in all this…one day.”
“There are the key words: One Day.”
Before she could respond there was a loud ‘crack’ and Sirius was standing in the middle of the room, holding onto James’ forearm.
“Showtime,” muttered Remus, leaping forward.
Lily could only watch as the two boys dragged a thrashing third one into a dining room chair and bind him to it with a floral table cloth.
Remus muttered a few words and waved his wand as Sirius pocketed James’.
“What the hell is going on?” James demanded.
Lily walked forward. “It’s for your own good James. This was the only way we could get you to talk to us.”
“What? By kidnapping, disarming, and tying me to a chair?”
“I think that this is an improvement,” said Sirius, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “See, he used to not feel anything …and look! We’ve already made him feel anger.”
“What do you mean I don’t feel anything? I feel a tablecloth cutting off my circulation.”
“And he’s being sarcastic again,” pointed out Remus.
“What are you—,” started James.
Sirius cut him off. “Frustration.”
“How—,”
“We’ve got curiosity.”
“When I get out of here I’m going to kick you where it h—,”
“Ooh, threats. That’s more anger. AND imagination. Although, your threat wasn’t very original. I love this. We haven’t even started the discussion and he’s already oozing emotion.”
James stopped struggling. “Will someone please tell me what is going on?”
Lily held up her hand for silence. “Okay. I am going to release you James. We are going to sit down and eat dinner. We have a lot to talk about.”
“Do we now?” he asked sarcastically.
“Yeah. Your behavior over the last few days has sort of concerned us.”
“Then untie me.”
“I want you to promise that you won’t do anything rash if I do.”
“Promise.”
Lily crossed the floor and undid the knot.
He stood up, grabbed Sirius by the shoulders and tried to shove him into the chair. “—see how you like being forced into a ch—,”
“James!” cried Lily, forcing him and Sirius apart. “You promised—,”
“I had my fingers crossed.”
Lily sighed. “Let’s go eat.”
The three boys situated themselves around the table and waited for Lily to come out of the kitchen with the main course. Everyone was silent when she was gone. James was staring at a bottle of salad dressing, as if willing it to explode.
It hadn’t gotten past rocking back and forth on the tablecloth before Lily emerged from the kitchen, carrying a handsomely dressed ham.
She sat it down in the center of the table and dished a piece onto everyone’s plate.
After sitting down at her own seat she said, “Now…James…as we said earlier, we’re worried about you.”
Sirius and Remus murmured their agreement.
James looked embarrassed. “You shouldn’t be. I’m fine.”
“No…well…you…you.” She turned to the boys for support. “Help me out here guys.”
Remus picked up where she trailed off. “You’re bottling up your emotions James. It’s no use doing that because we both know it’ll all come out in the end.”
“Where on Earth did you get that idea?”
“It’s obvious,” said Sirius, shoveling a piece of ham into his mouth. “You haven’t talked to anyone about your father’s passing. You’re pretending that you don’t care about what happened.”
‘That’s not true. Why would I be making all these arrangements if I didn’t care?”
“Okay, let me rephrase that. You don’t look sad or upset in any way. I dunno, maybe it’s just your way of grieving…but it doesn’t look good.”
“You think I’m not sad about my dad’s death?”
“That’s just how you appear,” said Lily cautiously. “I mean, you haven’t talked to anyone about it. You didn’t even tell me. You told Sirius to send me a letter. We had a right to worry.”
James was about to retaliate when he realized that he information was accurate. “You’re…You’re right. I guess I was being stupid.”
“You were,” agreed Sirius. “But you had a reason to be. Your dad was a great guy. I mean, he was more of a father to me that my own dad was. And judging by the size of the list of people who owled in saying that they would be attending the funeral, I’d say they all feel the same way.”
Remus and Lily nodded in agreement.
“Well, what do you want me to do?” asked James. “Yes, I’m sad that my dad’s dead. You all knew that already.”
“Don’t box away your feelings. Embrace them,” said Remus.
“Stop sounding so poetic, Moony,” cried Sirius, throwing his hands up into the air. “But... he’s right James…as usual.”
“Alright, alright. I get your point. Yes, I’ve been an idiot these last few days…and I’m sorry. Ha-ha. I guess I should be thanking you for getting me out of this rut.”
Remus slapped Lily a high-five under the table.



The funeral took place the next day. It was warm and sunny, but there was a slight breeze that ruffled the leaves along the ground.
James stood in the back room, knotting his tie. He was going to be the one talking about his dad at the service. There were over two hundred people sitting in the pews, waiting for him. He pulled out a few sheets of crumpled paper from his pocket. It was his speech. As he looked at it something clicked into place. He knew what to do.


Lily took a seat next to Sirius. The service was due to start in five minutes, and people were still struggling to find seats. Sirius, Remus, and Peter had reserved a section in the fifth row. They had been joined by Nathan and Frank, who had arrived together.
When Sarah and Alice came they took the seats next to Lily. Sarah was looking everywhere but at Nathan, who was doing the exact same thing.
“How’s James doing?” Lily asked Sirius.
“He was pretty nervous this morning. He’ll do fine, though.”
Peter turned around in his seat. “Blimey! It’s the Minister of Magic.
Several head turned at this comment. It was indeed the Minister, with his wife on his arm, surrounded by a brigade of aurors, to ensure nothing went amiss.
The murmurs died down when James walked onto the stage.
He walked to the podium that was set up in front of his father’s casket.
When everyone was silent he began speaking.
“I want to thank all of you for coming out here today. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is James Potter. I recently got a job at the Ministry…in the Disguise and Concealment department.”
He pulled a leaflet of papers out from his suit pocket. He held them up for everyone to see. “This is the speech I prepared for today. I must’ve re-written it ten times now. My flat-mate can tell you how hard I’ve worked on it…go on Sirius.”
Sirius looked startled at being addressed. He stood up and cleared his throat. “Err…yeah,” he grinned. “James stayed up all night last night revising it….and that’s all he did this morning. It’s gonna be some slick stuff.”
James continued. “So, I have spent loads of time on this speech.” He paused, looked at the papers sympathetically, and then ripped them in half and threw the pieces over his shoulder. “But it’s completely useless…it’s just a bunch of jumbled words that aren’t what I really feel.”
The group of people was watching him with wide eyes.
“My father, Mark Potter, was a great man. You wouldn’t all be here if he wasn’t, right? He, my mum, and I were a terrific family…and we’re going to miss him a great deal.
“I recently graduated from Hogwarts. I was the Quidditch captain there and my team won the house cup this year. I never would have been able to do that if it weren’t for my dad. He taught him how to ride a broomstick. I must’ve fallen off a hundred times before I got it.
“Dad worked at the Ministry as an auror. I think that he’s one of the reasons why our world is safe. I know he’s going to be missed in that department.”
Several of the aurors bent their heads and nodded in agreement.
“…when I first learned of my father’s death I was in shock. I couldn’t believe that it had happened. Afterwards, I kind of shut down. I didn’t allow myself to feel sad about him being gone, I just tried to push it to the back of my mind. Instead, I just pushed myself harder to work on the arrangements. It took me being tackled to the ground and tied to a chair before I realized that I was being stupid. It was an insult to my father’s memory to try and forget about him. My friends helped me realize that.
“So, I propose that we never forget what Mark Potter did for this world. He worked to make those around him better people…and see the joys of living. Remember always…Mark Potter.”
There was silence in the room for a moment, and then a storm of applause broke out. People started standing to clap for him.
James couldn’t help by smile. It was finally done.



So, again, not my best work. But I'd still appreciate some feedback. Thanks! I'm not going to ramble on and on like I did up top. But guess what? I filled my second notebook with this last chapter. So, I'm starting a third...

Feedback please.

HA! School is out...well, it was out last week, but still. This is my first chapter in a new notebook...and a new year. yayay! Well, I wasn't as late with this as I was last time. Three days. Well, I'm trying to post sooner. This chapter's main purpose is comic relief...and the fact that I came up with the idea...and as James says later in the chapter, "I couldn't resist." It doesn't have too much to do with the main plot. But I still really liked it--made me laugh at certain areas.
So, again, my other story has been planned out. I have one chapter done, betaed, and ready to go, but I still dont' know if you guys WANT it or not. Tell me what you think.





Chapter Forty-Five:

James and Sirius were officially apart of the Disguise and Concealment Department. They had been working there for two weeks—and were on fairly good terms with their co-workers. The two boys had quickly learned the rules of the trade. It was fairly simple. They would listen to the client’s story, or in some cases, an auror telling the client’s story, and then they would discuss their options disguise wise. Most of the time they just had to recommend adding a few wrinkles or changing the hair color. But ever so often there was a person in serious trouble. They had managed to tick off a possible Death Eater, or if they were lucky, Lord Voldemort himself. These people needed to learn about the Fidilius Charm—what it was, when to use it, how to apply it, and how to follow it. It was an extremely complex process…and took a very powerful spell caster to complete.
James and Sirius were usually up to their necks in work, but every so often they found a few spare moments to carry on a conversation.
“This place needs more excitement,” commented Sirius one morning.
“That it does,” agreed James, scribbling on a piece of parchment. He thought for a moment. “I say we pull the prank we discussed a couple weeks ago.”
Sirius grinned devilishly. “The top secret one?”
“The one and only.”
“But that is pretty daring, don’t you think? Even for us…”said Sirius.
“Has that ever stopped us before?” James smirked.
“Nope.”
“So what do you say?”
“I say that we’re both going to hell.”
“Does that bother you?”
Sirius tipped his chair back on two legs. “Nope.”
“You know what to do?”
“Yeah. As we head out for lunch I’ll stop and snag it from her. Then we’ll come back from lunch with it.”
James smiled. “Alright.”



Sirius fixed his eyes on the target. She was sitting behind her desk and flattening down her blond, bottle, hair.
He stopped in front of her and smiled as dazzling as he could. “Hey. Kelly, right?”
Yes, they were going to attempt a prank on the one and only receptionist.
She fluttered her artificial black eyelashes. “Actually, it’s Kerri.” She touched his arm lightly and gave a high pitched giggle. “But I forgive you.”
“Are you sure? Because I did mess up your name. If there’s anything I can do to make it up, just ask.”
“Well…in that case…” She smiled seductively. “You can come behind this desk and keep me company.”
Sirius inwardly groaned, wondering what he had gotten himself into.
He matched her smile. “Of course.”



James was sitting on the couch of their flat when Sirius appeared, looking unraveled, but smiling nonetheless. “I got it.”
“Ha, she couldn’t resist your charm, could she?”
“Nah.”
“Is that lipstick on your face?”
Sirius blushed, wiped a hand across his mouth, and muttered. “She insisted on giving me a good-bye kiss.”
“More like a good-bye snog.”
“Oh no way would I let her do that.”
“Yeah, yeah, sure. So, come on, bring out the goods.”
Sirius rummaged around his pocket and pulled out a pencil case, followed by his wand. He tapped the case once and suddenly a bulging, black, bag was sitting on the table.
“Christ almighty!” exclaimed James, leaping up. “That has got to add five pounds to someone. Is it possible to wear that much makeup?”
Indeed, just about every cosmetic known to man was protruding from the sack: Mascara, eyeliner, eye shadow, cover-up, foundation, blush, eyebrow pencils, lip stick, lip gloss, lip liner, bronzer, tanning lotion, lip volumizers, creams, sprays, exc., exc., exc. It was all there.
“No wonder girls take so long getting ready,” commented Sirius, examining a tube of glitter spray. He unscrewed the cap and peered at it. He pushed the button and a whole cloud of silvery glitter shot out and engulfed his face. He immediately dropped the bottle and began swatting at his face and coughing at the same time. “It’s burning my eyes!...and my throat!...and my nose! God, it’s EVERYWHERE!”
James began to howl with laughter at the sight of Sirius flapping around with his face scrunched up.
“So, we’re really going to put all this stuff on?”
Sirius blew his nose into a handkerchief. “Oh yeah.”
“But which one first?”
There were over fifty products scattered over their table.
James picked up a bottle of liquid foundation and hesitantly dabbed a bit on the tip of his nose. “This is so weird…”
Together, the two boys dug through Kerri’s makeup bag and tested her appliances on thief ace. They both brushed a large amount of blush on their cheekbones, turning them bright red. James chose a turquoise blue eye shadow and applied a thick layer all the way up to his heavily lined eyebrows.
Sirius took a midnight black eyeliner and traced the shape of his eyes about nineteen times over. He had also gotten hold of a bottle of a fruity scented perfume…and had some fun spraying it on every surface he encountered.
James spread a lip volumizing gloss over his mouth and watched as his lips magically transformed before his eyes. “Oooh, it tingles…”
“Hey Prongs?” called Sirius, who had been standing by the table and rummaging through what was left of the cosmetics. “What is this thing?”
James looked at the instrument, bewildered. It was about five inches long. On one side there was a clamp…and the other side had handles that resembled those belonging to scissors—except the clamp was rotated so that it was perpendicular to the handles.
“I dunno Mate…but it looks lethal. What do you think it does?”
“Tortures people? Maybe Kerri works for Voldemort and this is an elite weapon.”
“Not likely. She’s not smart enough.”
“Well…what is it? A fancy nail clipper?”
A sudden realization his James. “Oh, wait! I think my Mum’s got one of those…it’s for eyelashes.”
“What do you do? Yank them out?”
“Nah. You curl them?”
“An eyelash curler ?”
“Exactly.”
“It looks like it could be used to wrench out someone’s eyeball …”
“Well, you know women. They have to buy products to make themselves look better…so artificial.”
Sirius opened his eyes really wide and held up the eyelash curler. “Oh, I see. You clamp it onto the hairs like this…and…OWW!”
James looked up from where he was dusting powder on his chin. “What did you do to yourself now?”
Sirius held up the curler. A few dozen eyelashes were hanging from it. His right lid was stripped of all hair. “I just ripped out all of my eyelashes !”
James took one look at him and began to laugh. “I’m sure there are some fake ones around here somewhere,” he choked out.
He reached underneath his chair and pulled out a box of false lashes. He held them out to Sirius. “Here.”
Sirius, massaging his eyeball, took the container grudgingly and attempted to glue one to his eyelid. It wouldn’t stick.
Muttering something about cheap feminine products, he pulled out his wand and magically adhered the fake eyelashes where his real ones had once been.
He bathed them in blue mascara and then dumped the rest of the products back into the bag.
Beside him, James was finishing up with a tube of raspberry colored lipstick.
They looked in the mirror together.
“We look hot,” commented Sirius.
“Hell yes.”
“So we’re really going back to work looking like this?”
“You scared?” James teased.
“Nope…just thinking about how sexy this liner makes my eyes look.”
“Get over yourself.”
“Ha-ha, Kerri is never going to speak to us again.”
“So?”
“Good point. How’re we going to give her bag back?”
“We could just hand it to her on our way in…”
“Yeah…”



The two boys stepped off the lift together, earning themselves several puzzled glances from those stepping on.
The walked straight into the auror department. Sirius set the makeup bag down on the desk, causing the receptionist to look up and gape at them.
“We found this lying around…and couldn’t resist,” said James, smiling and causing this foundation to crack slightly.
An inaudible snarl escaped Kerri’s mouth. She pulled out a black compact and clicked it open. The powder flew everywhere.
The boys hadn’t exactly put her cosmetics back the way they had found them. The eye shadow brushes had been stuffed into the blush. Eyeliner pencils were shoved into mascara tubes, exc.
Kerri looked as if she was going to explode. She tried calming herself by taking a few deep breaths.
Sirius nudged James and raised his eyebrows.
The receptionist let out an ear-piercing shriek.
This caused the aurors to come running over and make sure that someone like Voldemort hadn’t broken it. They were always paranoid. Typical.
Instead, they found James and Sirius covered in half-inch thick makeup, cowering from a fuming, powder covered, woman.
Everyone froze mid-action.

At that moment Sirius’ false eyelashes chose to fall off.

The two boys burst out laughing. Before long they were clutching their sides and gasping for air.
The aurors, satisfied that nothing serious had happened, also began chuckling. A few pulled out cameras and snapped some shots of the boys.
“That’ll be out Christmas card,” one muttered.
Kerri looked humiliated…and everyone seemed to be laughing at her as much as they were at the two boys.
Frank and Alice came forward together to congratulate Sirius and James.
“Just like old times,” said Alice, looking somewhat sad.
“Alright,” came a gruff voice from the back of the crowd. It was Moody. “Back to work. Every minute you stand there someone is dying.”
That seemed to jolt everyone back to reality. They headed back to their stations.
Sirius and James tipped Kerri an imaginary hat and walked towards their own department, already anticipating the laughter they would cause…
The world needed more laughter…especially in times like these.


Heehee, yes I had fun. Okay, so next chapter is the bachelor's party for both James and Lily. Or Stag Party as the brits say (thanks blackfan). Chapter after that is a little surprise that I've been planning for about three months now. So I'm pretty excited for that. I think you will too.


http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.ph...3280&st=405

I really did think that summer would mean tons more posts. Apparently I was wrong.
I'm not too happy with the way this chapter turned out...so criticize it lot...and maybe I'll get an edit up.

Thanks to black fan for helping me with the word "stag night".
Thanks to Lauren for helping me with Lily
Thanks to Sophie for helping me with the wordk "hen night" and James.


Chapter Forty-Six:

One morning James woke up to a particularly loud cheer and someone jumping onto his bed. He put his glasses on and looked up groggily.
Sirius was kneeling on his bed in a tuxedo shirt and his boxers.
“Wassgoinon?”
Sirius leapt off the bed and paced the ground dramatically. “Tonight we are going to release you from many years of dating…so you can devote your heart and soul to a single girl who you have chased for many moons. Tonight is your Stag Night.”
“Will you cut the drama?”
“Prongs, you are the first of the Marauders to ever be engaged and married—,”
“I’m not married yet.”
“In a week you will be.”
“It’s not like I’m the only one. You all will get someone.”
“Well, you’re the first…so it has to be the best.”
“Hopefully it’ll be fun…”
“Fun, no. It’s going to be spectacular…memorable. I’ve got all the Gryffindor guys coming…and a few from Ravenclaw. Some of the guys we work with…and a handful of boys from the Order…and I told them all to bring friends.”
James groaned. It was exactly like Sirius to do that. “So half the people there I won’t know?”
“No…you’ll know them by the end of the night. I took the liberty of filling them in on how Lily hated you…but you kept at it, bla bla bla.”
James rolled his eyes. “Thanks…”
“So it starts at seven at this club I rented out in Diagon Alley…”
“You rented out a club? Where’d you get the money?”
“I had some saved up for this.”
“Wow…thanks!”
“No problem.”
“So…do you know what Lily’s doing for her Hen Night?”
“Well, a little birdie named Sarah told me that the girls are going to be doing a lot of dancing…but that’s all she said.”
James got out of bed and began pulling on his clothes. “This is going to be such an exciting night.”
“Yeah.” Sirius paused. “I cannot believe that you, James Potter, are about to marry Lily Evans!”
“I know…I’m still in shock myself.”



Sirius, Remus, and Peter arrived at the clubhouse early. James and the guests weren’t due to arrive for another two hours. The three boys were going to set up.
“There needs to be a lot of lights,” said Sirius, as they walked in. “So, Wormtail…could you make sure that this place looks spectacular when it gets dark. Get some mirrors set up so that they all reflect off of each other.”
“What type of lights?” asked Peter.
Sirius smiled. “Everything.”
Remus stumbled in through the doorway carrying a large box in his arms.
“Is that it?” asked Sirius.
Remus heaved the box onto the table. “Yeah. I went over to Nathan’s flat and asked if I could borrow all his music for James’ Stag Night. He said that if we broke any of his albums he’d skin us alive.”
Sirius opened the crate. “Isn’t he pleasant? Okay…so get that set up by the music system.”
“What’re you doing to do?”
He patted the bag he was holding. “I’m going to go install my surprise for the future groom.”
“You planned a prank for tonight?!”
“Not so much a prank as a surprise to show my gratitude for having James as a friend.”
“In other words…something big is going down tonight,” said Peter.
“What are you planning, Padfoot?” asked Remus, a smile starting to appear.
“You’ll see. Just hope that the guys who show up are wearing boxers…”



Just about every girl who Lily Evans had ever been friends with had shown up at her Hen Night. That meant the room was packed.
She was the center of attention as she stood off to the side of the room, sipping a glass of sparkling champagne. Everyone was congratulating her on her engagement. They all knew the legend behind James and Lily: his obsession, her hatred, and the relationship that followed.
Sarah and Alice stood in the back of the crowd.
“Can you believe that she’s getting married?” asked Alice.
“I know…and only eighteen years old…”
“But they really do love each other.”
“That true,” said Sarah thoughtfully. “I hope that they’re ready for it…because there’s no turning back.”
“They’ll be fine.”
“You’re probably right.”
“How’s being the maid of honor playing out?”
“It’s pretty cool. Sirius and I are going with them to get the final fitting for the suits and dresses. That’s in four days.”
“That should be fun.”
“I’m excited. I can’t wait to see my dress!”
At that moment Lily popped up out of nowhere. “Hey guys! This night is so amazing.”
“I know! Remember, this is your last night with just us girls. We have to make the most of it.”
“Well…what do you suggest?”
“A dance-off,” said Alice, nonchalantly, after thinking for a moment.
Most of the women crammed in that room had consumed one too many glasses of wine—including the one and only bride-to-be. (Heaven forbid) That was probably the only reason Lily agreed.
Alice and Sarah smiled.
“Alright,” they called over the noise of the crowd. “We’re going to organize a small, friendly, dance competition. So…if you could divide into two teams that would be lovely. Come on…move along now.”
The scent of alcohol lingered in the air as the freshly-graduated young ladies divided into two parties. It took a lot of shoving, shouting, and a mildly sprained baby-toe, but eventually it was done.
Alice worked her way onto the stage and took over the music system.
“Okay,” she called, putting a record into the player and setting up the needle. “We’ll have a simple elimination game. Hannah, MacKenna, you’re up first.”
A lout techno song filled the room.
The girls were too intoxicated to be ashamed of dancing in front of a pack of teenagers. The pre-elimination rounds proved to show some of the strangest dance styles known to man: sprinkler, freak, bump, grind (yes, someone grinded with the air), the crip walk, moon walk, salsa, tango, two-step, swing, polka, and exc.
Some people chose to remain simple and wave their arms around in the air—and yet some waltzed around with an invisible partner. Amelia Bones surprised everyone with her knowledge of the dance, termed. “The Funky Chicken.”
Sarah raised a cheer with her performance of the crip walk. She stumbled a little with the ‘R’, but apart from that the crowd loved her.
Finally, Lily was in the center. When one’s blood/alcohol level is up at a higher point one tends to do things they normally wouldn’t. And that’s what Lily did—she danced.
She swung her hips back, forth, around in a circle, up, and down. Just about ever possible way they could go.
The crowd cheered her along and tried to copy her moves. But it was useless; Lily was on a roll. She got her stomach involved and did a fairly good imitation of an experienced belly-dancer.
Finally, when the song ended, everyone let out an ear-splitting yell. Lily Evans had definitely shown a side of herself that no one knew about.
Alice cleared her throat. “Um…I think we have our winner.”
Sarah gave Lily a hug. “You’re going to be a great bride…especially if you can dance like that.”



Meanwhile, Sirius was about ready to present his gift to the future groom. There had been a large turnout for the legendary James Potter’s Stag Night. The room was pretty much full up to the brim.
Remus had been managing the music system for most of the night…but he had recently handed the reins to Peter as he went to stand by Sirius.
“Is that it?” he asked, pointing to the small box in his hands.
“Yip.”
“Will you tell me what it is?”
“Nope. You’ll see. C’mon, let’s go give it to him.”
The two boys made their way through the crowd towards James, who was sitting on a chair up on a platform and talking to Fabien Prewett.
Sirius turned to face the mass of people behind him. “OY! Listen up…We’ve got a speech to give.”
Everyone quieted and turned to face him. When Sirius Black told them to listen…they listened.
“Alright. Jamsie here is getting married in one week, right?”
The crowd of boys chorused a ‘yes’.
“He’s the first of us Marauders to be married.” He looked over his shoulder. “OY! Wormtail, get over here!”
Peter put the music player on shuffle and scampered over to join his friends.
Sirius continued. “Okay, now we’re all here…So, yeah, Prongs is marrying Lily. Can you believe that she used to compare him to the Giant Squid?”
Several peoples chuckled, remembering witnessing that scene in their fifth year.
“Now they’re going to tie the knot and make little babies.”
A loud ‘aww’ filled the room, causing James to colour slightly.
Sirius held out the box. “And since he’s such a good friend I have prepared this gift for him.”
James laughed. “You shouldn’t have.”
“No, I should have,” said Sirius, grinning. “Mind, you’ll get your real present at the wedding.”
James opened the box, looked confused, and then pulled out a small rubber ducky. “Thanks guys. I really need one of these for my bathtub.”
The crowd laughed.
Sirius grinned wolfishly. “It does the coolest thing when you squeeze it.”
James held the toy between his thumb and index finger and applied a little pressure.
No sound came out. In fact, for the first five seconds, nothing took place.
James had only time to look confusedly at Sirius before it came.
There was a sound like an explosion and the only thing anyone could see was white—white everywhere.
A vault had opened in the ceiling and pipes were protruding from the walls. A thick, white, foam was issuing from them. The fire sprinklers were raining down soap and bubbles. Everyone ducked as they got doused by the foam.
Pretty soon it was four feet deep.
Sirius stepped onto the platform where a stunned James was sitting. He stripped down to his boxers, cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, “FOAM PARTY!”
Then he dove in.
Everyone stood there for a moment, up to their ribcage in foam.
Then, all at once, everyone was tearing off their clothes and throwing bubbles at each other.
Peter scrambled to the other side and turned the knob so the music got louder. The lights he had set up were flashing wildly and making neon colours bounce off the wall.
Then he catapulted himself into the party that was raging below.
People were jumping around and dunking their friends under.
Nathan and Frank got a game of chicken started—and the boys were paring off and piling on top of each other.
The Marauders, all four of them, were in their boxers, their arms around each other, and doing the can-can along with the music.
Remus threw a handful of foam into James’ face. James tackled him and pulled him under the white abyss. There, the two boys wrestled and fought and accidentally inhaled bubbles. Sirius and Peter were laughing above them and throwing the white mass around them at the people floating by.
Finally James and Remus emerged, thoroughly soaked. They were laughing and shoving each other back and forth, each trying to catch the other off balance. Pretty soon, all four of them were roaring with laugher and tackling each other to the ground.
In this moment alone they were carefree and cheerful. They knew that they would never be alone in the world, for they had each other. The power of friendship brought them together with a bond so strong that it could never be severed. It ran too deep. The very natures of their souls were probably intertwined. That was the true meaning of friendship. If everything seemed lost, and all hope seemed gone, then they could look back on this very moment and remember that they were happy. And honestly, that was all they would ever really need, right?


I hope the next chapter will be up soon. I'm itching to begin writing it. Read my beginning A/N for the next chapter. It could explain a few things.

Leave feedback please...even if you hated it.

http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.ph...3280&st=405


Oh...and read my new story. Link in signature.

--the events that take place at the end of this chapter have been planned out for a long time...from the beginning. Don't think I just made it up spur of the moment

--I spent all of this morning planning out the rest of this story. There are twelve chapters left, including this one. After the James and Lily's wedding I will be speeding things up, a LOT. I'm sorry if I don't go into huge detail about their married life. But twelve chapters is what you are getting...and I plan to make them a good twelve chapters.

--I worked hard on this chapter. Tell me if it actually payed off.



Chapter Forty-Seven:

Lily had been pulling on a jacket when she was interrupted by a knock on the bakery door. Upon hurrying downstairs she saw Sarah’s grinning face through the window.
“Hey!” she exclaimed after opening the door. “Is it time to go already?”
Sarah walked in and set her purse down on the table. “Nearly. Just thought I’d stop by so we could meet the boys together.”
“Do we have time for a quick cup of coffee before we leave?”
Sarah checked her watch. “Yeah. We’re due at the shop at 10:00. We have about ten minutes.”
Lily walked over to the coffee pot and poured two mugs of the hot, bitter beverage.
“Cream? Sugar?”
“Black’s fine.”
The two young women sat down at the table and sipped their drinks.
“So, what’s your plan for the bakery?” asked Sarah. “I mean…once you and James are…married, will the two of you stay here?”
Lily frowned. “I’m not really sure yet. I don’t think that I could sell it. Maybe we could live somewhere else but still run it.”
“Do you guys have enough money for that?”
Lily looked down and stirred her coffee. This had been a sensitive topic for her lately. She didn’t want to admit it, but she and James were nearly broke. The wedding had really dried up the well. The both of them had far too much pride to ask their parents for a penny. Lily hoped that it would soon blow over. They’d just have to cut back and save after the wedding. Everything would be alright.
“We’ll manage,” she said shortly.
Sarah shrugged.
Lily, wanting to divert the conversation from her current financial state, changed the subject. “So…what’s going on between you and Nathan?”
Sarah shifted uncomfortably. “Nothing really. We haven’t spoken.”
“Do you want to get back together with him?”
“I don’t know…I-I might have to.”
Lily looked up at her, confused. “What do you mean?”
Sarah bit her lip. “Can you keep a secret, Lily?”
“Sure.”
“You can’t tell anyone. Not James or Alice or Sirius or anyone.”
“Alright…what’s going on?”
Sarah took a deep breath. “I-I think that I might be…expecting.”
Lily blinked, not comprehending at first, but then she understood. “A baby ?”
Sarah nodded. “But I’m not one hundred percent sure yet.”
“And Nathan is the…”
She nodded again.
“Oh…wow…what are you going to do?”
Sarah took a shaky breath. “I-I’m not sure. I’ll have to talk to him. Maybe at your wedding.”
“He’ll understand. He’s a nice guy.”
“I hope so.” Sarah paused, but then smiled. “But it is exciting.”
“It is! You should start thinking about a name.”
“It’s a little early for that,” said Sarah. She stood up. “Come on. Let’s go.”
The two women headed out the door and disapparated.



James and Sirius were standing in front of Pufkin Wedding Apparel, looking bored. Two mannequins stood in the display window, one in a midnight black suit with a silver waistcoat, and the other in a white silk dress with a long train.
James checked his watch. “They’re late.”
“Are you sure that we’re not just early?” asked Sirius, catching the eye of two women walking by.
“Well…we were a little, I guess.”
“What do you expect? Girls naturally take a long time to get ready.”
Sarah and Lily chose that moment to appear out of thin air.
“Not late are we boys?” asked Sarah.
“Right on time,” replied Sirius smoothly.
The four of them headed into the shop together.
An elderly witch hurried out of the back room and called in a raspy voice, “I assume you are my 10:00 appointment.” She looked down at the notebook sitting on her desktop. “Reserved by a Miss Evans?”
“That’s right,” said Lily, plopping down in an armchair.
The woman pulled out a measuring tape. “Who are the bride and groom?”
Sirius pointed to James and Lily. “Those are the lovebirds.” He raised an eyebrow and asked mockingly. “Can’t you tell?”
She brushed past him, pulled out James’ arm, and began taking down measurements. “I have got a good idea for you, Hun. I’m seeing traditional clashed with something exciting and fresh.”
“Err…” James cleared his throat. “Alright, but nothing too much though.”
Sarah laughed. “Is that fearless James Potter afraid of something different?”
“No,” he said quickly. “I just don’t want to stick out like a sore thumb.”
“Oh you won’t,” called the elderly woman over her shoulder as she walked over to a wardrobe standing at the opposite wall. She pulled open the oak doors and rummaged around inside for a moment. She came back carrying a regular, black, wedding style suit: the full jacket, vest, and pants.
“This is what you’ll wear.” She shoved it into his chest and pointed to the dressing rooms. “Go put it on. I’ll make the final arrangements when you come out.”
James could tell that this lady would not take ‘no’ for an answer. He took the hangers out of her hand and closed the curtain behind him.
Outside, the woman known as Ms. Pufkin turned her full attention towards Lily.
“You are a very pretty girl,” she muttered.
Sirius took a seat next to Sarah, crossed his legs, and pressed his fingers together. “No kidding.”
She ignored him again.
“Let me look around in the back room for a dress for you,” she told Lily.
“So where’s the honeymoon?” Sirius asked after she left.
“Italy…for a week.”
“Ah, Moony said that it was nice there…Coliseum’s memorable and everything. But I doubt that you two will get in much sight seeing.” Sirius winked.
Lily tried to refrain from blushing. “For your information Mr. Black , we’ll get in plenty of tours. We’ll take loads of pictures for you guys.”
“Leave out the X rated material.”
James came out of the dressing room just in time to see Lily whack Sirius upside the head.
Sirius looked up and saw James standing there. “Did you see that?” He pointed at Lily. “She’s a danger to society—attacking poor civilians. Who knows what she’ll do next?”
James rolled his eyes. “What do you guys think of this suit?”
Sirius circled him and then sat back down. “Boring.”
“It’s supposed to be.” The owner had come back holding a dress bag in her arms. “That’s why we have to add something to it.”
She held the dress out to Lily. “Go into my back rooms and try this on. I’ll be back in a few minutes to see if it fits. Don’t come out.” She looked at James. “It’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her dress before the wedding.” She then addressed Sarah. “You can go with her though.”
The two girls scampered out of the room together.
The woman turned back to James and began examining his suit to see if it fit correctly.
He lifted his arms. “It feels alright…”
Ms. Pufkin smoothed the front down. “It should. The goblins made the material. You can’t doubt them.”
She pulled at the front of his waistband.
James jumped. “Excuse me.”
The elderly lady gave him a level look. “Look Hun, you’ve got a gorgeous tush, but you’re not my type.”
Sirius fell off his chair, and got up biting his lip. “Sorry. I need some air.”
Before the door fully closed they heard insane laughter coming from the person who had just left the room.
The woman rolled her eyes. “Your friend needs to grow up.”
James managed a weak smile. “That’s Sirius.”
“Alright. Here’s what I’m going to do.” She pulled out her wand and flicked it. The inside lining of his coat was suddenly a light maroon colour. His waistcoat changed to silver and the tie blood red. “How does that look?”
James looked in the full length mirror across the room. “Spiffy.”
“Then you’re set. Bring your friend back in here while I go check on your fiancé.” She left the room.
James quickly changed back into his regular clothes and hung the suit up on a rack by the cash register. He pushed open the door and found Sirius sitting on the ground, still laughing. The people who where walking by were giving him weird glances—as if he were a madman escaped from Azkaban.
“C’mon Sirius. She’s going to fit you next,” called James.
His friend got to his feet and draped an arm over James’ shoulder. “I’m never going to stop laughing.”
“Yeah you will.”
By the time they got back inside the old woman was back with Lily and Sarah, the hidden dress also hanging on the rack.
She made Sirius and Sarah stand next to each other. “The best man and maid of honor have to have coordinating outfits,” she said. “And I think a dark blue would suit both of you. She walked over to the cabinets and pulled out another regular black suit and a dark blue tie. She threw them at Sirius. “Get in a dressing room.”
He opened his mouth to retort, but she cut him off. “Don’t be a smartass.”
He went behind the curtain meekly.
Ms. Pufkin turned her attention to Sarah. “What size are you? Three? Four?”
“Five,” replied Sarah, coloring slightly.
The woman bustled away and returned with a midnight blue strapless dress. The material was silky like and flowed out from the cinched waist.
Sarah’s eyes grew round. “That is so pretty!”
“It should fit—,”
“Excuse me,” called Sirius, sticking his head out. “There’s a bit of a problem with this suit. The top half fits alright…but the bottom…well.” He pushed back the curtain to reveal himself.
The pants part of his outfit was grossly overlarge. They probably would have fit Vernon Dursley.
James started laughing. “Those look great Padfoot.”
Sirius stumbled coming out of the dressing room. “Ha-ha, very funny.”
They were interrupted by the door to the shop flinging open as two men strode in. James instantly recognized them as Kingsley Shacklebolt and Gideon Prewett, two Order members. Even thought they were normally fun to joke around with, today they were all business.
They walked up to the group gathered in the middle of the room and said quietly. “There’s a situation. You guys need to see something.”
“Does it have to be now?” asked Lily sharply. “Can we finish up here?”
“I think you guys will want to see this,” said Gideon. “You can leave your stuff here and I’ll make your purchases.”
“Look,” said Sirius, hopping forward, tugging at the hem of his pants. “We’re almost done. Maybe ten or fifteen minutes. Can’t you guys wait?”
“This is urgent,” said Kingsley pointedly. He looked nervously at Ms. Pufkin, who was standing a few feet away. “We need you at Headquarters.”
James sighed. “Alright…but…” He looked at Sarah. “What about Sarah? She’s not exactly…”
“It has been requested that she come as well,” said Gideon. He turned to speak directly to her. “For your own protection we’re going to have to blindfold you.”
Sarah nodded, looking nervous.
Kingsley pushed open the door. “We have to go. The faster the better.”
“Can I at least change?” cried Sirius.
“No. Let’s go. Gideon will make your purchases.”
The four of them followed Kingsley out of the shop.
Once they were outside James whirled around. “What’s this about Kingsley?”
The Order member shook his head. “I can’t tell you. You will have to see it for yourself.”
“And it is back at headquarters?” asked Lily.
“Precisely,” he replied. He pulled a long strip of cloth out of his pocket and faced Sarah. I’m sorry Miss, but I have to.”
Sarah gulped, but then squared her shoulders. “Okay.”
Her covered her eyes and led her in the disapparation.

The five of them were standing in front of the Order of the Phoenix headquarters. Lily and James helped lead Sarah up the stairs and into the building after Kingsley. Sirius had some trouble climbing the steps. By the time he got up the others were far ahead.
He closed the door behind him and promptly tripped over his oversized suit pants. After he was able to pick himself up and shake the dust from his body the others were heading up the stairs.
He had started to follow when a shriek sounded from the second level, followed by James’ voice drifting down the stairs. “Oh my God…”
Sirius quickened his pace up the steps and turned into the doorway of the study were everyone was standing. James, Lily, and Sarah all turned abruptly to stare at him, pale face. “Sarah’s hand was clapped over her mouth and her eyes were wide. Lily had a tear rolling down her cheek and several more threatening to follow. Even James seemed lost for words as he started at his best friend.
“What’s going on?” he asked slowly, starting to get scared by the way everyone was looking at him. It was so blank, yet full of emotion at the same time. But what was that emotion? He could not tell. They were just looking at him, waiting.
A voice came from the back corner of the room, calling him. “Sirius.”
He turned to the newcomer and froze. His heart pace quickened and a lump formed in his throat. Suddenly he understood why everyone was acting the way they were. At first he thought he was dreaming…but the harder he looked the more he realized that this wasn’t a hallucination. It was real.

It was Emma.





For those of you who think I'm crazy, I'm going for the laugh. Kudos to anyone who can figure out what I mean by that. If you can't, you'll know in the last chapter of this story.

http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.ph...=13280&st=0

Wow, thank you so much for the reviews, guys! I really appreciate them.
Believe it or not, I'm writing really fast. Since I know what's going to happen in the remaining chapters of this story I'm able to go quicker. My goal is to finish this story by July 21st. But to do that I'd have to post a chapter nearly every day. But would you guys be able to keep up? I dunno. Thanks again to all of you who are reading!




Chapter Forty-Eight:

Emma started back and everyone and murmured quietly. “I’m back.”
She didn’t look the same. Her hair was messy and limp. Her face appeared sunken, almost waxy like. But the biggest difference was her eyes. It was like a light had gone out.
Sirius stood there, dumbfounded. They all said that she was dead…gone…no hope. He had lost hope.
Lily was first to break the silence. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and asked the question everyone was thinking. “What happened?”
Emma pivoted her head slowly to face the girl she had grown up with. “I escaped.”
The listened in silence as she told them about being questioned by Voldemort personally about the location of the Order. She had feigned being dreamy and light-hearted so he would think she didn’t know anything. Afterwards, she was locked in a holding cell with about a hundred other captives.
“It stunk,” she said. “People urinated everywhere. They were constantly getting sick and retching all over the place.”
She then told them of how she escaped. A guard was transporting her and about ten others to be questioned again. A guy in the back of the line had tried to make a run for it. The Death Eater had tried to stop him and Emma had taken a chance and had run through the first open door into the night.
“I had no idea where I was,” she said. “So after I had gotten far enough away I was able to disapparate…and here I am.”
“Well w—,” started James, but he was cut off as about half a dozen Order members bustled into the room, followed closely by Frank and Alice. They had all obviously heard the news, and had come to see if it was true.
Moody stumped up to the front of the crowd. “How do we know it’s really her? It’d be nice to have a Death Eater with her identity in headquarters.”
“Ask her something…”
Kingsley cleared his throat. “Name all the people in this room who you went to school with…and their relationship with each other and yourself.”
“Umm…Lily Evans…I went to school with her for seven years. She’s one of my best friends. James Potter…also known him for that long, although I didn’t really become good friends with him until Lily started dating him, which was a shock because she had hated him. Now they’re engaged to be married. Sarah…another one of my best friends. She’s not in the Order so I’m kind of confused on how she got in here. Frank and Alice…more of my Hogwarts friends. They’ve been going out for over two years. And Sirius Black…” Sirius jumped. “James’ best friend and…” She gave a small smile. “…my boyfriend.”
Before anyone could respond Remus ran into the room, Peter at his heels.
Emma laughed: the first true smile they had seen. “Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew are the last two of the Marauders.”
James clapped. “She got it right.”
Moody muttered something to Kingsley, who walked up to Sarah and said, “I’m sorry…but I’m going to have to escort you home.”
Before he could take hold of her arm she ran up to Emma and embraced her in a hug. “I’ll see you in three days.”
“What’s in three days?” asked Emma, confused.
“Sarah grinned. “That is the day Lily Evans becomes Lily Potter.”
She let Kingsley walk her out of the room and inform her of her duty to remain silent on what she had seen.
“Alright,” said Moody after she left. “It is in my opinion that we question you now, but Dumbledore’s orders are that we wait until later tonight when he gets out here. So you are all free to go.”
The room quickly dispersed, leaving the teenagers.
Lily and Alice ran forward and buried Emma under countless hugs.
James laughed. “Perfect timing, Emma…right in time for the wedding.”
Emma shook her head, smiling. “If Moody and Dumbledore let me leave this place.” She looked around. “Where’s Sirius?”
Everyone turned. He was not in the room with them.
Peter piped up. “I saw him leave with the rest of the group.”
“Why would he do that?” asked Emma, sounding suddenly tearful. “I wanted to talk to him…”
“He’s…confused?” offered Remus.
“Why? Did he find someone else?”
“No!”
“Well then—,”
“Look,” said James calmly. “We thought you were dead.”
“Y-You did?”
“They said that there was no hope,” said Frank. “That it was over.”
“Sirius was a wreck,” said Lily quietly. “He m-made you curtains.”
“What? What does that have to do with anything?”
“They week after you were taken,” started James, feeling guilty that he was saying this. “Sirius stayed up late every night ready maps, trying to figure out where you were…and he pretty much shunned everyone. When they told him that you were dead it was two o’clock in the morning. He walked straight to the bakery and made you a pair of blue curtains.”
“Quite stunning,” remarked Lily.
“He made curtains?” asked Emma, dumbfounded.
They nodded.
“But then a couple days later he seemed alright, back to normal,” said Peter. “It was kind of like he flipped a switch. He acted like nothing happened…”
“Alright, alright, but if he was that upset why won’t he see me?”
They all turned to look at James, as if he knew the answer.
He held up his hands in a surrender position. “I dunno…he probably just can’t handle being in the same room with so many people and you. Wait a while…and then go find him. He’s in this building somewhere.”
After a few more minutes of talking and promises to catch up at the wedding, the friends began to trickle away with the excuse of having to go back to work.
Right before James left he turned and said, “Come by our flat tonight. We’ll all have dinner together.”
He left Lily and Emma sitting in the room together.
“So…you’re going to marry James in three days?” the latter asked.
Lily forced a smile. “Yeah.”
Emma caught on fast. “You’re scared to death, aren’t you?”
Lily groaned. “Is it that obvious?”
She nodded. “Why are you?”
Lily exhaled. “I don’t know. It’s such a big commitment. I mean, think about it. I’ll be with James for the rest of my life. That’s a long time.”
“But you love him, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“You answered too quickly. Think about it.”
Lily closed her eyes. James had always been there for her — even before they had started dating. And she knew that he always would.
She opened her eyes again. “I love him.”
“Then that,” said Emma softly. “…is all that matters.”
Lily swallowed, knowing that her friend was right. “Do you think it’s normal to be scared?”
Emma shrugged. “Probably. Who knows? You’re the first of us to eve be married. Do you still want to get married?”
“Of course…I-I just am so nervous. Is it possible to want something but be afraid of it at the same time?”
“Yeah.” Emma looked Lily straight in the eye. “When I was Voldemort’s captive I wanted nothing more than to get out — but I was scared of what would happen after I got my freedom…”
“Makes sense,” murmured Lily.
“Look Lily, you have to get married. I won’t let you not . And I know James is a good man. You have nothing to be worried about.” She smiled. “You’re going to have a happy marriage. I’m sure of it.”
Lily grinned back. “Thanks. You’re going to be able to come, right?”
“I hope so. I’ll just have to talk Moody into it.”
“Easier said than done.”
“True.”
“So…what are you going to do about your knight in shining armor?” asked Lily.
Emma sighed. “I don’t know…go hunt him down.”
“Good luck.”



Sirius was sitting on the bed in a room on the very top floor of the building. He was still in shock. Emma alive? For the last two months he had been blocking out the memories and emotions concerning his girlfriend. It was simple. If he were to pretend they weren’t there — they’d go away. It seemed easy at the time. But who knew that when he did see her the floodgates would open and every feeling he had been denying would come rushing back? That’s exactly what had happened — and he had no idea how to respond to it. He wasn’t going to rush forward and snog her senseless. Their relationship went beyond all that. And besides, that action didn’t seem appropriate for the moment.
He didn’t want to think about someone hurting her — putting her through pain that she didn’t deserve. She had been alone and afraid all this time, without anyone to comfort or protect her. He should have tried harder, done some —
“Sirius?”
His melancholic thoughts were interrupted by an all too familiar voice at the door. His heart skipped a beat when he looked up and saw Emma leaning against the frame.
“Can I come in?” she asked.
Sirius rubbed his face and nodded into his hands.
Emma nervously walked in and took the wooden chair standing by the bed. She took his hand in her own. “Are you alright?”
He nodded again. “I’m…” His voice came out raspy so he cleared his throat. “I’m fine.”
His girlfriend raised an eyebrow. “Anyone who speaks English knows that ‘I’m fine’ is code word for ‘I’m not fine, but I don’t want to talk about it.’”
“Oh really? Because last I checked one phrase doesn’t suddenly mean the opposite.”
“This one does.” Emma smiled, trying to lighten the mood. “I heard you made me the curtains.”
Sirius shifted his position. “Yeah, they’re hanging up in the bakery window.”
“I can’t wait to see them.”
“They’re not very good.”
“I’m sure I’ll love them anyways.”
Sirius merely grunted at this.
Emma got up and sat on the bed next to him. “Do you not want to pick up where we left off?”
Sirius turned to stare at her. “Of course I do.”
“Well you’re not doing a very good job of showing it. You left me hanging downstairs…and you’ve hardly said anything since I got here.”
He was bout to retort when he realized that she was right. “I’m—I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m doing this. I just feel like this is partially my fault. You should haven ever been taken in the first place…”
“From what James told me, you did everything in your power. Nothing was your fault. I got taken as part of the game.”
“You nearly dying is not a game.”
“It was an analogy.”
Sirius rubbed his face again. “I’m sorry. I just want to kill whoever hurt you — whoever dared lay a finger on you.”
Emma squeezed his hands. “Listen Sirius, what’s done is done. Yes, there were times I wanted die, would have welcomed death. But I learned a lot when I was a captive. For one, the world is far from perfect. Innocent people were dying. Second, I have come to the conclusion that I am willing to die for this cause.”
“No! I won’t let you.”
“It’s fate. If it happens, it happens. You won’t be able to do anything to stop it.”
“What if I don’t believe in fate?”
“Then I’m a martyr for this cause.”
“Is that really how you feel?”
Emma nodded. “But it doesn’t matter. I want thinks to be alright between us.”
Sirius wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and kissed the top of her head. “Everything’s fine.”
Emma laid her head on his chest. “I missed you.”
“Me too.”
They laid there in silence together. It was peaceful.
Sirius finally spoke. “I won’t let anything ever happen to you.”


Wow...what is it? I believe 10 chapters and counting. Next one is the wedding. And I'm so incredibly proud to say that I am ALREADY done with the next chapter. It'll take some time to type up...but it is written out. Nearly made me cry and all. But that may have just been because it was late and my eyes were starting to water. Anyhoo, I'm glad that this whole Emma thing is resolved now. I'm sorry to those of you who told me that the feedback link for last chapter didn't work. Hopefully it'll work this time!

http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.ph...=13280&st=0

Edit: I also wanted to add that I'm incredibly behind on reading fanficiton on this site. I hope to read and review your stories soon. Hopefully tomorrow!

Sorry this is late. It took forever to type up. It's one of my longer chapters. haha. It answers a few questions from the feedback. Hope you like.

I usually try to post my chapters around Noon here...because that's when most people are on. But I'm kind of abandoning that right now...just because I want to get this up. So the only people who are going to read this RIGHT now are those who are actually west coasters like me. The rest of you'll probably see it in the morning. Night.




Chapter Forty-Nine:

The sun was out and the wedding bells were ringing. Today was the day a man and a woman would unite in holy matrimony. Lily Evans was about to changer her surname to Potter.
The couple had decided on a wedding that would take place outside under the trees. About thirty folding chairs had been set up behind the alter.
Two tents were standing about two hundred feet away, one for the bride and one for the groom.
Lily, Sarah, Alice, and Emma were all crowded into one tent. There was enough room, but just barely.
The girls had managed to convince Moody and Dumbledore to allow Emma to attend the service and reception.
Now, Lily was all dolled up in her wedding attire. Her dress was made purely of white satin. It clung to her torso, but then billowed out from her narrow waist and fell in soft ruffles around her feet. The top had a slight curve, but was supported by a pair of half-inch straps.
Emma stood behind her and toyed with her hair. “You still nervous?”
Lily nodded, dusting powder on her nose. “Shouldn’t I be?”
Emma picked up a brush, pulled a few strands of the dark red hair back, and fastened them with a barrette. “Yeah, but you’re making the right choice. I suppose it’s normal to be nervous on your wedding day.”
Sarah, who had been pulling on her maid of honor dress and tying up her hair, stopped to listen to the conversation. “You’re going to be fine Lily. James’ is a good guy.”
“True…but I’m going to be spending the rest of my life with him…”
“So what?” asked Alice. “You make it sound like your life is over, but really, it’s just beginning…”
Lily buried her head in her arms. “You’re right, you’re right. I’m such a horribly person. James doesn’t deserve to marry me.”
“Oh shut up Lily,” cried Emma. “You have got to stop freaking out.”
She grabbed her friend by the shoulders. “James deserved you. You deserve him. There’s no questioning that. Lily Evans, you will be a brilliant wife. Remember that and don’t ever forget it.”
Lily swallowed and then nodded. “I’m sorry. I’m completely losing it. I need to calm down.”
“No. You’re being a typical bride. Now hold still so I can attach the veil…”



Meanwhile, James was pacing back and forth in his own tent. The rest of the Marauders were sitting on a couch and watching him, looking slightly amused.
“You need to calm down,” said Peter.
James didn’t slow his pace. In fact, he quickened it. “I’m about to be married !”
Sirius twiddled his thumbs and asked innocently, “Well, what exactly were you planning when you proposed to her? To go and join a convent?”
“Well…no…but all of a sudden it’s here and I don’t know what to do…”
Remus stood up and blocked James’ path. “You are going to go and stand at the front of the aisle. When Lily comes out you will be married to her. The sooner you accept it, the smoother things’ll go.”
“I can’t do it,” cried James. He made a dash for the exit. “I have to go see her.”
His friends instantly refrained him.
“Bad luck,” chimed Sirius.
“Well, what me I supposed to do? Just sit on my hands and wait?”
Sirius kicked up his feet. “Yep. There’s notin’ wrong with that.”
James knew that he couldn’t sit still, so he resumed pacing back and forth. “What if I mess up my vows or something?”
“You won’t,” said Peter. “You just have to repeat after the chap with the book.”
“Well, what if I stumble…or knock something over…or drop the ring…or…or…oh my God…what if I pass out cold?”
“Then I will personally throw holy water all over you,” said Sirius with a straight face.
“Get your religions straight,” mumbled Remus, shaking his head.
“And if that doesn’t work,” continued Sirius. “I’ll prop you up and finish the ceremony. Although, I refuse to kiss the girl. I don’t think you want to wake up and find that she accidentally married me.”
“Shut up Padfoot,” snapped James, rubbing his face. “Or I’ll give you hell at your wedding.”
“What wedding?” asked Sirius innocently.
“Oh please,” mumbled James. “We all know that you’re going to marry Emma eventually…”
“I second that,” said Peter.
They glared at Remus, who eventually quailed under their stare. “I do too.”
Sirius refused to comment.



The service was about to begin. The organ began to play and James was standing in front of the crowd, waiting along with everyone eels. The couple had neglected to get a flower girl or ring bearer. So Sirius and Sarah proceeded down the aisle, arm in arm and staring straight ahead. Sarah smiled at the groom, her eyes already shiny from unshed tears. She knew deep in her heart that after this day everything would change. Whether they wanted it to or not, it would happen. Voldemort was killing everyone who stood in his way. The Order of the Phoenix was doing everything possible to prevent that from happening, but they weren’t delaying his plans by much. The ministry was corrupt. Bribes and under the table deals were around every corner. Power hungry wizards were in command and making stupid decisions in the war against Voldemort. No matter how things would play out, everything would be different. Sarah knew this. Emma knew this. James knew this. It was possible that just about everyone who had recently graduated Hogwarts knew this. They were smiling, pretending that everything would be fine. But deep down, they knew.

James sought out his mum, and upon catching her gaze, smiled nervously. She beamed back at him and couldn’t have looked prouder. Her one and only boy was about to be married…and to a lovely young lady, no less.
That’s when Lily made her appearance in the back. Everyone stood up and swiveled their heads to cat a glimpse of the bride.
James’ breath caught in his throat when he saw his future wife being escorted down the aisle by her father. Her hair was loose and tumbling around her shoulders. The veil was perched on the very top of her head and the sheer mesh covered her face. If it was possible, her green eyes shined even brighter.
When the pair reached the front Mr. Evans pecked his daughter on each cheek and took the seat beside his wife.
And thus, the ceremony began.
Lily couldn’t think of anything except the man standing in front of her, holding her hand. She didn’t hear what the priest was saying. She kept her eyes focused on James’, as he started back at her with a small smile playing around his lips.
Never in her life had Lily thought she’d be standing at the altar with James Potter. She could not believe how far she had come. It was phenomenal.
“Do you, Lily Evans, take James Potter to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
Lily smiled, feeling a twinge in her heart. “I do.”
“Do you, James Potter, take Lily Evans to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
“Yeah,” said James. “I mean…I do.”
A few chuckles rose from the seated guests.
The priest closed his book. “You may kiss the bride.”
Smiling, James lifted the veil away from Lily’s face. He caught here eye, bent his head down and lightly kissed her.
Above them, the man called, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
James wrapped his arms around his new wife and kissed her hard.
Beside him, Sirius was hastily wiping his eyes.



The reception took place in a cozy French restaurant. There was a long table at one side…and little circular tables surrounding it. The other end of the room was taken up by a dance floor and a stage where a small band was playing old tunes.
Lily examined the rock on the fourth finger of her left hand. She could not believe that this was real — that she was actually married — a wife!
It was absolutely miraculous. Her parents had come by to congratulate the couple…and apologize for her sister’s absence. But really, Lily didn’t care. She didn’t care if her sister were to drop off the face of the Earth. All that mattered was the man in the seat beside her. The man holding her hand.
Sarah stood up, tapping her glass lightly with a fork. “It’s pretty much required that the maid of honor and best man make a speech…and unfortunately I lost the coin toss with Sirius.” She pointed to the black haired man, who winked and waved to the crowd.
Sarah continued. “So…wow…I’m having trouble believing that I’m actually here today. I guess part of me knew Lily and James would end up married done day — but if you saw them at school together…well, you’d have trouble seeing them anywhere together. But here they are…and look how happy they are. I knew Lily made the right choice on Christmas Day. You have to give props to James….to set the moves on Christmas…very romantic. Anyways…” She lifted her glass. “To the bride and groom.”
After the applause died down Sirius stood up and put an arm around Sarah. He rummaged around in his pocket, pulled out a galleon, and grinned. “It was a trick coin.”
The crowd laughed and clapped their hands together.
“Anyways,” the best man continued. “I feel that I’m obligated to give you the history of James and Lily —,”
James groaned.
“— So it was about half way through our first year when James comes back from classes all giddy and excited. It was obviously about a girl. After a lot of pleading I found out he fancied Lily Evans. There was a small hitch — the fact that Lily hated James. And so it was for six years. James asked out Lily. Lily refused. It was pretty much their religion.” Sirius laughed. “Once…I tried to push James into Lily. I guess I pushed too hard because they both fell down the stairs…and broke their arms. I guess my plan sort of worked…they did spend the night in the hospital wing together. Didn’t really change their relationship much. Anyhow, we told James that he should just move on. There were plenty of other nice girls in the school. And he did go out with a few of them — but even then he only had eyes for Lily. And that is probably why his other relationships didn’t work out too well. But that all changed when James and Lily were made Head Boy and Girl at Hogwarts. That eventually brought them together. And here they are…happily married. They’re going to have a great life. Makes me happy to see them happy.” He too raised his glass. “Good luck.”



Sarah sat at the tables and watched as the guest paired off and began to dance. James and Lily looked so happy together. They were laughing, holding each other tight, and looked as if they were ready to dance the night away. Sirius and Emma were nearby — and looked as if they were trying to get a Congo Line started.
She watched her ex-boyfriend talk to Frank and Peter. When he glanced over at her she quickly looked away. She didn’t want to look like she was longing to get back together with him. But she had to. She couldn’t raise this baby on her own. She needed help. But she didn’t want Nathan to get back together with her just because of this. It wasn’t ri—
“Hey,” a voice greeted her from above.
Sarah looked up and was slightly disappointed to see that it was just Sirius. He sat down next to her. “Can I ask you a really personal question?”
Sarah inwardly groaned, knowing that it was about Nathan. “If you have to,” she said.
“Are you pregnant?”
Sarah did a double take at him. “W-What? Lily wasn’t supposed to say anything!”
Sirius looked confused. “Lily didn’t tell me. I could see for myself.”
“How can you tell!? I’m only three months along. I haven’t begun to show.”
He pointed to her plate. “You’ve eaten enough to last you two days. You’re constantly feeling your stomach…certain anatomical parts are larger…”
Sarah instantly covered herself.
“So is Nathan the father?”
Sarah nodded, looking miserable. “But you cannot tell him!”
“I won’t…but you should.”
“I can’t! I don’t’ want to get back together with him just because of this…”
“How do you know he doesn’t just want to get back together period?”
“Why would he? He—,” She stopped and eyed Sirius suspiciously. “Did he say something to you?”
Sirius refused to comment. “You should talk to him.”
He left.
Sarah went back to staring moodily at her boiled potatoes. This was not going well at all. Maybe being a single mother wouldn’t be too bad. True, it would be rough…but she did have friends that could help her…”
“Sarah?”
She looked up to see the one and only Nathan Larrek standing in front of her. She tried to arrange her face in what she hoped was a nonchalant gaze. “Hey…”
“Um…” He scratched the back of his head. “Sirius said you needed to talk to me…something important.”
That little traitor!
Sarah tried to look confused. “Well Sirius doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
“Are-Are you sure? You look…troubled.”
The maid of honor put on a big, cheery smile. “I am absolutely peachy Nathan. Thank you for asking. “
He took the seat Sirius had abandoned. “I really want to help if something is wrong.”
“I’m fine.”
Nathan was silent for a moment. “I want to get back together with you…if it’s alright…”
Sarah stared at him, shocked. Maybe things wouldn’t go horribly. “You do, do you?”
He nodded. “I’ve missed you for a long time. I want to give things another go…”
She found herself nodding along with him. “Alright…”
He put his arm around his on-again girlfriend. “So you wanna tell me what’s bothering you now?”
“Are you sure you want to stay with me?”
He kissed the top of her head. “Of course. I’ll be here with you through anything.”
Sarah sighed. She might as well get on with it. “In that case…Nathan Larrek, in six months you will be a father.”
He stared at her. “You’re kidding me.”
“Nope. I’m pregnant…had it confirmed yesterday.”
“And you’re positive I’m the father?”
“You were my first and only…so yes.”
“Oh…my God.” His face suddenly broke out into a huge smile. “I’m going to be a dad!”
Sarah nodded. “Yes you are.”
He sat there for a minute. “Can we—Can we make James and Lily the Godparents?”
“I think that would be fitting.”
“Well come on then.” He dragged Sarah to her feet and lead her over to where the newly weds were dancing together. Lily and James stopped at the sight of the new couple.
“Ah, I see you two have made up,” said James, grinning.
“Will you two be the Godparents for our kid?” asked Nathan, unabashedly.
“What kid?” asked James, confused.
Nathan put his arm around Sarah and said proudly, “The one my girlfriend is carrying right now.”
Emma, who had been dancing with Sirius nearby stopped dead in the middle of a twirl. “You’re pregnant ?!”
Frank, who just happened to be walking by with Alice turned and stared. “What? Lily’s knocked up already? Jesus…James, you act fast! Haven’t even cut the cake yet…”
James hid his face behind his hand. “No! We’re talking about Sarah!”
“Anyways,” cried Lily, before anyone else could interrupt. “Yes, Nathan, James and I would be honored to be your child’s godparents. Right, James?”
“Absolutely,” he replied.
“So…Lily’s not pregnant?” asked Peter, who had been standing there with Remus.
“NO!” they all cried at the same time.



A while later lily had her hand over James’ as they cut the cake together. They fed each other the first piece and kissed sloppily as bits of the dessert fell everywhere.
A photographer ran by and got everyone to stand together so he could take a picture. James and Lily were in the center. James had his arm around Sirius, whose arm was entwined with Emma’s.
Right before the man took the picture Sirius aid, “So is Lily impregnated yet?”
Everyone started laughing just as the flash went off.



“So, how are you feeling Mrs. Potter?” asked James as they waved goodbye to the guests.
“Absolutely amazing,” Lily replied.




I think I'm going to cry...
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Nine chapters left.
That's not why though.

Thanks for all the reviews last chapter. You guys rock! This chapter...just read it...and review.





Chapter Fifty:

The next few months passed more or less without incident. James and Lily found a low costing flat near the heart of London. It fit them perfectly. It was their hope that they could save up enough money to buy a permanent home. Their cash flow was still low, but they were managing…just barely.
Sirius, not wanting to live alone in the flat he had shared with James, gave it up and moved in with Emma at the bakery. Their grand opening had been a major success and the store was now self-sufficient. The couple’s relationship was still going strong. They didn’t know it, but there was a large bet on their engagement between James and Remus.
Remus was living near Gringotts with a lady friend he had met at work. They were happy together, but nothing serious was going on, as James was quick to comment on.
Frank and Alice were still not engaged. They were nearly done with their auror training and almost qualified for the full-time job.
Peter was working hard at his job in the International Use of Magic Department. He hadn’t been able to fine a girlfriend. His schedule was very full and he was barely making the weekly visits his friends had established.
Sarah and Nathan had patched up their relationship and were now living together on the edge of town. Sarah was seven months pregnant and her stomach and swollen to the size of a watermelon. The proud father of this child was constantly at his girlfriend’s side and went with her to all the healer appointments. They were told that they would be having a baby boy, and he was in perfect condition.
Order meetings were becoming more frequent. Voldemort was becoming even more merciless. According to Dumbledore, he was in a particularly foul mood about something. The headmaster refused to say what, causing a lot of curiosity between members.



Lily and Sarah were sitting at the table together, sipping from mugs of cocoa. It was the middle of winter and nothing felt better than a hot beverage. James was still off at work so the girls had the flat to themselves.
“So have you thought about names yet?” asked Lily.
Sarah smiled. “A little. Nathan and I are having some trouble narrowing it down. We can’t agree on one.”
“Well, run what you have by me.”
“We’ve both decided that we like the letter ‘H’.”
“It’s good to agree on something.”
“We’ve narrowed it down to Henry, Harry, or Harold.”
“All very fine names,” commented Lily. “Which is your favorite?”
Sarah sighed. “I like Harry…but I kind of want to save that for a girl. You know…instead of a ‘y’, I use an ‘i’?”
Lily made a face. “I’ve never heard of that before. Which does Nathan like?”
“Harold.”
“Then why don’t you name him Harold and use Harry as a nickname?”
“Because it’s not the same…”
“You’re hopeless,” cried Lily, throwing her hands up in the air.
“Harold sounds like a teddy bear!”
Lily thought about it. “That’s true…but what do you think Harry sounds like?”
“Oh shut up. I think living with James is starting to rub off on you.”
Mrs. Potter grinned mischievously. “Maybe you’re right.”
“So what’s it like living with him?”
“It’s pretty much the same as the Head Dorm…except we share a room.”
“And a bed,” pointed out Sarah.
“That is true,” came a voice from the doorway.
James had returned home from work. After setting a bag of groceries on the counter he came over and gave his wife a kiss. “And she loves every minute of living with me. Right, Love?”
Lily tried to look disdainful and scold him for eavesdropping, but she couldn’t — the silly look on his face made her start laughing.
“Alright,” said Sarah, standing up. “I’ll leave you two now.”
“Whoa,” cried James, looking her up and down. “You’re about ready to pop!”
“Two more months,” was Sarah’s reply. “I’m due in February. Wouldn’t it be romantic for him to be born on Valentine’s Day?”
“That it would,” said James. “Give my regards to Nathan. Tell him I’ll meet up with him this weekend.”
“Will do.” Sarah gave Lily a hug and left the flat.

Lily was boiling water in the kitchen for dinner when a knock sounded on the front door. She turned the burner on low and admitted a man who was wearing a St. Mungos uniform. “Err…can I help you?”
“Is this the home of Mr. James Potter?”
“Yes.”
“What’s going on?” James came out of the kitchen, a soup ladle in his hand.
The healer stepped into the flat. “I’ve been sent to inform you of your mother’s passing.”
James dropped the ladle and slowly sank into a chair. “How…”
“The Wizard’s Plague,” replied the man, before he could finish the sentence. “She must have contracted it from your father. It lay dormant in her system for months…she recently began showing symptoms two days ago. By then it was too late.”
James stared at him, dumbstruck. “What do you mean, it was too late ? You’re a wizard. You can do magic. Couldn’t you have stopped it?”
The man shook his head. “We have not yet found a cure. The disease has recently mutated…it finds a way to immunities itself against magical penetration…”
James ran his hands through his hair and buried his head in his arms. “No no no,” he moaned. “I can’t do this again…not another funeral —,”
“I’m afraid a funeral is not possible,” interrupted the healer.
Lily looked up, startled. “Why ever not?”
The man looked uncomfortable. “Your mother has showed us that this form of the Wizard’s Plague is highly contagious. And since this mutation has no cure…the head of the department thought it’d be best to cremate the body at once. Your mother is currently buried in the local cemetery. If you wish to add a tomb stone then—,”
“You can’t cremate without my permission,” growled James.
The mad fidgeted. “This was special circumstance. We cannot afford on epidemic of Wizard’s Plague.”
“When did she die?”
“About eight hours ago…”
“And was anybody planning on telling me she was in St. Mungos?”
“She was in a closed ward. Only certain healers could go in…and even then they had to wear protective gear…”
“So she died alone ?” demanded James.
“No!...well…there were Healers with her…”
James didn’t say anything. He just knocked his forehead against the table.
“I have her will with me…” He handed it to Lily and sped out of the room. Lily walked hesitantly over to where James was sitting. She took the seat next to him and took his hand in her own. “It’s going to be alright.”
He looked up. “I’m an orphan.”
Lily wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that. She chose her words very carefully. “But you are surrounded by people who love you. It’s not like you’re alone…”
“My parents are dead !”
“Are you going to forget about them?”
“Of course not.”
“They may have died…but they won’t be forgotten, right?”
James stared at her grudgingly. “True.”
“But it is perfectly understandable for you to be upset. They were very nice people…”
James picked up the will and quickly scanned it. He laughed bitterly. “Well, this takes care of our financial problem…”
“What do you mean?” asked Lily.
“She left me everything. Oh, wait…she says a tenth of whatever’s in Gringotts goes to Sirius. But that’s still a lot.”
“That was nice of her.”
“He was like a second son.” He continued reading. “We get the house and whatever’s in it.”
“What do you plan to do with it?”
He shrugged. “You want to move into it?”
Lily was taken back. “Are you serious?”
“There’s nothing else we can do with it…might as well. It’s roomy…”
“A-Alright.”
James looked down solemnly. “Maybe in a couple weeks? I can get these affairs settled…”
“Are you going to be alright, James?”
He nodded. “They had to go eventually…no one lives forever…”



The next few days passed quietly. James had the gold from his parent’s vault transferred into his own vault. He signed the papers for the house. They were set to move in the next week or two.
Lily was packing up her bathroom supplies when James appeared in the doorway. “I am never going to understand why women need so much stuff in the bathroom.”
His wife crossed her arms. “Most have more…”
“Déjà vu?”
“What?”
“We’ve had this conversation before, remember?” Right when we were moving into the Head Dorm together…”
“Ha-ha, I remember now.”
“Good times…”
They were interrupted by a knock on the door.
“Wow…we are sure a popular couple,” said James, leaving the room to answer it.

It was Kingsley Shacklebolt standing in their doorway this time. He was accompanied by none other than Minerva McGonagall.
“Err…” started James, confused. “Hello Kingsley…Professor.”
“Good Evening, Mr. Potter,” said McGonagall. “I assume Miss Evans is here with you.”
“Actually…it’s Mrs. Potter now,” corrected James.
“Right. Forgive me. One does tend to forget when…” She blew her nose loudly.
“Is anything wrong Professor?” asked Lily, coming out form the bathroom.
Kingsley led McGonagall into the room and the four of them sat down.
“I-I have some bad news.”
The silence that followed was broken by Lily. “What do you mean? What kind?”
“Order members have been monitoring several areas these last few days. Early this afternoon they made a discovery.”
When no one said anything he continued. “On the outskirts of town we found that the Dark Mark had been shot into the air over a small house.”
“Not another one,” groaned Lily. “What is that? Three this week?”
Kingsley nodded grimly. “The two on Monday and Wednesday were close together. This one was twenty miles away. A man and a woman…”
Lily rubbed her temples. She could feel a headache coming on. She went to the kitchen to get some water.
“Have you identified the bodies yet?” asked James.
Kingsley cleared his throat and said very nervously. “Yes we have. Our reports have claimed that the corpses four are Nathan Larrek and Sarah Nealson.”
A loud crash signaled Lily’s water glass shattering all over the floor. She swayed alarmingly and James ran over to help her into a seat. The moment he touched her though, she burst into tears and sobbed into his shoulder.
“Why would he do this?” she choked.
“Dumbledore said that You-Know-Who was trying to force the location of the Order out of them. His spies told him that Miss Nealson went somewhere with a group of known Order members. He tried to get everything she knew out of her.”
James felt like someone had just punched him in the gut. “They didn’t know anything! You blindfolded her, remember?”
“He was under the impression she did. He visited them personally and used legilimency. When that didn’t aid him much he preformed the Cruciatus Curse…”
This only caused Lily to cry harder. “S-S-Sarah was p-p-pregnant!”
James closed his eyes, not able to believe something this horrific had happened — and to two of the kindest people on the planet. It felt like just yesterday he had been joking around with Sarah about her upcoming child.
I’m due in February. Wouldn’t it be romantic for him to be born on Valentine’s Day?
The Cruciatus Curse was one of the worst spells known to wizard kind. The idea of Lord Voldemort using it on an expecting mother…James was overcome with a sudden wave of nausea. And Nathan…Nathan having to watch it…watch his girlfriend cry out…not able to stop it, helpless and defenseless.
Each in turn being tortured for information they didn’t possess…didn’t know…who knew how long it lasted? By the end, death must have been a blessing.
James couldn’t do anything but hold his tear-wrecked wife tightly.
“A-Are you sure the Cruciatus Curse was preformed?” James asked, almost afraid of the answer.
“There were signs of a struggle. When the curse misses its target it leaves a specific scorch mark on the wall or table it touched. The house was full of them.”
James could only gape in horror at the thought…the fear that must have been invoked.
Kingsley and McGonagall stood up. “The service is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.
As the door closed James could only think of one thing. That morning, six months ago when he found that Sirius had run away form Headquarters, Dedalus Diggle had made a startling statement. “The one thing you learn in this business is that not everyone can be saved…”



This time the folding chairs were not set up for a wedding, but a double funeral. About forty witches and wizards had come out to honor Sarah Nealson and Nathan Larrek.
James and Lily sat in the second row along with Sirius and Emma. All were clothed in the blackest of black. Alice, Frank, Remus, and Peters sat in the third row, directly behind the others. Alice had her head rested on Frank’s shoulder, silent tears dripping down her face.
The first row was occupied by the two families, whose grief seemed beyond words. They only stared numbly at the two caskets, as if their penetrating stares would bring their son or daughter back.
Sirius stood up and straightened his tie. He would begin the speech.
When he got to the podium he cleared his throat and silence covered the room — silence that was only broken by a dry sob every now and then.
“Sarah and Nathan were probably two of the greatest people on this planet. They were always there to make you laugh or smile on a bad day. It was their job.
“…Nathan was the seeker of the Gryffindor Quidditch team…a bloody good one too. Led us to victory nearly every time.
“Sarah…she was Lily’s right hand man…and always had something to say.
“She and Nathan were expecting their first child and already quarrelling over a name. I can firmly say that they would have made great parents.
“…The most I can say is that I’m going to miss them a lot. I’ll always remember them.” Sirius rubbed his eyes and then looked up at his friends. “I don’t know what I’m going to do if any more of you leave me.”
He left it at that and stepped off the stage.
Lily met him on his way back to his seat and gave him a hug. “You did great…and don’t worry…we’ll never leave.”




I'm going to go hide.

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Eight chapters left.

Well...this is the biggest gap of time I've ever skipped. Hope you like...




Chapter Fifty-One:

A YEAR AND A HALF LATER

In the time that passed one’s fear only increased. The loss of Sarah and Nathan had jolted everyone back to reality. It was then that they realized the destruction Voldemort had caused.
James and Lily had moved into the manor and were now living comfortably. The money left in the will amounted to a great number. So great, they’d be able to live the rest of their life in ease. Their marriage, so far, was going terrifically. They had one of two fights or squabbles, as any newlyweds would, but they were all evened out eventually — nothing too serious.
Emma seemed pretty keen with business. She and Sirius were still together and running the bakery smoothly. Emma had become rather inventive with recipes…and was having her boyfriend be her taste-tester. The blue curtains were still up.
Frank Longbottom had moved up to become a fairly good auror. Alice wasn’t as widely known, but she did her fair share of work.



James and Sirius sat together at the kitchen able in the Order headquarters. James had a copy of the Evening Prophet in his hands — and was scanning it for any important news.
“Did you ever think it would come to this?” asked Sirius quietly.
James peered over the edge of the paper at his friend. “What do you mean?”
“Here…” Sirius gestured around himself. “Here in the order of the Phoenix…waging war against the most powerful wizard of our time…You married…I mean, can you really believe it? We’ve come so far…”
“I think…” started James slowly. “…that a part of me always knew I’d end up twisted up in this battle somehow. But it definitely is strange sitting it really happen. I guess I knew…but never really believed it. We’re living life on the edge. We never know…we could die tomorrow.”
“That’s a horrible thought…what’s your take on it?”
“On what?”
“Death.”
James furrowed his brows. “I don’t know. I don’t think one really forms an opinion on death until it’s staring them in the face. I’d like to say that I’m not afraid — that I’ll fight to the end, but I really don’t know. I don’t want to leave you guys…but I can’t make a decision until I face it. Until I know where I stand in life.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” replied Sirius mournfully. “That’s a pretty advanced opinion. You could take over as the next Dumbledore.”
He turned to grin at James, but his eyes fell instead on the back of the newspaper. “Speaking of death,” he muttered. He pulled the Prophet towards himself and looked at the obituary on the page showing.
“What is it?” asked James.
Sirius spread out the paper on the table and pointed to the little square box, where the name, Orion Black, was clearly printed in midnight ink. “Dear old Dad finally kicked the bucket.”
“Oh…I’m sorry…”
Sirius gave a wry sort of grin. “Don’t be…he wasn’t much of a father anyways. I mean, you know all about hi s pureblood mania. Besides, he was always at work.”
“But aren’t you a bit upset at all.”
This was a difficult question. Was he upset about his father’s death? He had never really considered his family…a family. They were just too far apart. There weren’t any “I love you” before bed, no hugs before getting on the Hogwarts’ Express, nothing…But then a part of him remembered when he was a little boy and his father had swung him around in his arms. That had probably been the closest they had been to a family….a real one, anyways.
Sirius hadn’t spoken to his father in three years now. They had run into each other once or twice at the Ministry. Btu he tried to duck into the nearest lift whenever he saw his father coming down the hall.
So, no, it wouldn’t be a change to have his father dead. It was pretty much how they had been living — each pretending the other didn’t exist. But…now they didn’t’ have a chance to make up…they probably wouldn’t have anyways…
“Not really,” said Sirius simply. “I’ll get over it.”
James eyed him with surprised, but didn’t get a chance to say anything because just then Remus ran it. “Are you guys coming?”
“What’s going on?” asked James, confused.
“Don’t you remember? Dumbledore said that every single person in the Order is going to be at headquarters today…so we can meet all the foreign contacts and everything. He’s going to take a picture.”
“Blimey,” said Sirius. “Do you think Dumbledore’s brother, Aberforth, is going to come? I’ve heard about him — but never met him. He’s supposed to be a strange bloke, isn’t he?”
Remus shrugged. “They’re all arriving downstairs right now. Come on.”
The three boys ran out of the room and down the stairs. They couldn’t help it. They were excited to be meeting the people who were getting them all the inside information on Lord Voldemort.
They arrived on the first floor and saw a bunch of witches and wizards crowded together in different colored robes. They were all chattering as if they’d known each other forever.
James recognized a lot of them by sight, some he may have exchanged a word or two with.
Lily and Emma came through the front door and joined the men.
“This is exciting, isn’t it?” asked Emma giddily. “Seeing everyone together. Have we all been in the same place before?”
“I don’t think so,” replied Remus. “That’s why Dumbledore insists that we get a picture…so we’re remembered.”
Sirius looked at someone over their heads and called, “Hey Peter! Over here!”
Peter Pettigrew worked his way over to his friends. He had grown taller over the last year and a half…but his hair was slowly thinning out.
“Hey guys. How’ve you been?”
They clapped him on the back.
“Not bad,” said Lily. “I’m so glad that you were able to make it. Just in time for the photograph and everything…”
As if on cue, Dumbledore came out form the entry hall with an old camera in his withered hands.
He stood in front of the assembled group of witches and wizards and waited for silence.
When it came he said, “Everyone standing in this room has at least one thing in common with their neighbors. You’re all willing to sacrifice anything for the good of the world. And for all we know, it could very well come down to that fact.” He held up the camera. “Let us capture this moment in time.”
They all gathered together. Lily and James stood on either side of Peter an all three of them put their arms around each other. Sirius took his place next to James, where he had always stood, and linked arms with Emma. Frank and Alice stood next to Lily. The rest of the Order crowded around them, Hagrid stood in the back corner so that he wouldn’t partially obstruct anyone.
Dumbledore set the camera on a timer and strolled over to join them. He took his place beside a man that he shared somewhat similar characteristics with. James could only assume that this was his brother.
They all looked at the camera lens and smiled as the flash went off. And for that moment, they were happy.



Lily was standing and chatting with Emmeline Vance when Fabian Prewett came running up to the pair of them.
“There’s an abandoned warehouse about a mile away where several witches and wizards are currently staying. They’re on the run from Voldemort. Our sources that that he’s found out about them and is planning an ambush. We’ve got to go and stop him.”
“Whose going?” asked Lily.
“You, James, me, Gideon, Alice, Frank, Moody, and Remus.”
“Now?!”
“No, after tea. Yes, NOW!”
They gathered themselves together and discreetly slipped out of the back door, now wanting to alert the others.
“How many are there?” asked Remus.
“Seven or eight…and maybe You-Know-Who himself. We have to be very carefully,” replied Gideon. “Our goal is just to rescue the others…and if we’re lucky, identify one or two of the Death Eaters.”
“We don’t want to get anyone killed,” growled Moody.

When they were about tow blocks away form the building they stopped.
“We’re going to split up and over al the sides of the building. Get your wands out.” When they obliged he continued. “Alright, Lily Potter, Remus Lupin, you’re to cover the west side. Gideon Prewett and Alice Newport, South. James Potter, Frank Longbottom, East. Fabian, you and I will cover the front. Act with discretion.”
Lily and Remus quietly headed over to the left wall. From what they could hear and see, the place seemed deserted.
“Should I look?” asked Remus, motioning to the window above them.
Lily shook her head and whispered. “You can be sure Moody’ll make the first move. And believe me, he’s got one hell of a war cry.”
Remus smirked. “And so we wait…”
“Wait and watch…nothing seems to be happening.”
Suddenly there was a crash, a scream of fury, and the unmistakable sound of Alastor Moody yelling for action.
“Showtime,” muttered Remus.
He shattered the window with a spell, and he and Lily began shooting jinxes and curses through it.
Few were making contact because they constantly had to duck from the curses being thrown back at them.
Finally, a Death Eater sent a spell at the wall itself, causing it to crumbled and fall in.
Remus pulled Lily back just in time to avoid being crushed by a large cement block.
Coughing, the two of them emerged from the rubble and peered at the battle raging around them.
One thing was for sure. There were definitely more than sever or eight Death Eaters.
Most of the room had dust and bits of debris flying everywhere.
There was a huddled group of four witches and wizards cowering in the corner. One was holding a screaming toddler.
Fabian and Gideon Prewett were standing in front of the group, acting as a shield, blocking all the spells that came their way.
Lily turned to Remus. “I’m going to try and get them out of here. I think Voldemort has put an Anti-Disapparating jinx on the building. Will you guard me?”
They both ducked as a jet of light streamed over their head.
Remus nodded and pushed her forward.
Lily ducked under the jest of light as Remus stood in front of her, deflecting the curses that flew their way.
She reached the nearest person, a middle aged man and yelled over the noise. “Come on! We’ve got to get you out of here.” She ushered them over to Frank and James, who were both standing by Remus, deflecting the spells.
The first three ran out of the hole in the wall with their hands over their faces.
Last of all was the mother with the child. She seemed too frightened to move.
Lily took hold of her arm. “You have to trust me. You’re going to be okay.”
“It’s not me,” the woman whispered. “I can’t let anything happen to my baby.”
“Nothing will happen if you get out of here,” said Lily, trying her hardest to remain calm.
The woman eventually took a hesitant step forward…and then another.
They were almost to the exit when a spell pierced Remus, James, and Franks’ defense.
It sent the woman and child flying in opposite directions.
Lily was able to reach forward and stop the woman from hitting the ground.
Reacting on instinct, Fabian dove forward and broke the toddler’s fall.
Four Death Eaters advanced on him with their wands raised.
The woman was screaming and protesting, but Lily and Remus managed to force her out of the crumbling building.
“Remus, what are we going to do?” cried Lily. She gestured to Gideon and Fabian, who were both fighting off a surround group of Death Eaters. The latter was still holding the screaming child and wielding his wand at the same time.
Remus looked back at her, panic clearly showing on his face. “I’ll get the kid.”
Lily looked horrified. “No you won’t. That’s suicide.”
But his mind was made up. “Not if I run fast enough.”
And he took off at a dead spring. As soon as he came to the battle zone he pulled out his wand and yelled, “Protego!” The shield charm worked for a couple seconds. Long enough for him to grab the kid from Fabian and take off again.
When he arrived back at the exit he found the rest of the Order members he had come along with firing jinxes and stunning spells off.
Moody appeared at his died and pointed. “We have to leave NOW.”
A tall, thin man had appeared at the far end of the warehouse. The hood of his black cloak covered his face. All that showed were his snow white hands that grasped the handle of his long wand. Voldemort, yet again, had joined the fiasco.
He sent a spell in their direction that caused more of the roof to fall in. They had little time.
Remus pulled on James’ arm. “We have to go!”
“We can’t!” cried James. “Fabian and Gideon are still fighting.”
Indeed, the two bothers were still battling. They were surrounded by no less than five Death Eaters., all throwing curses at the boys.
Moody turned to James. “There’s nothing we can do.”

Gideon fell first, a killing curse straight into the heart. Fabian, momentarily shocked, continued fighting. The adrenaline pulsing into his brain kept him going.
Five on one — he too eventually fell along with his brother.
Moody pulled on James’ arm and growled, “Not everyone can be saved.”
James allowed himself to be pulled form the ruin. How many times would he hear those words before the end?



Well, this is my last chapter before the release of Deathly Hallows. I guess I'll tell you my plans...even if you don't want to hear them.
So, tomorrow, I'm going to go through the forum one more time before it closes and type out my theories one last time.
Friday morning I'm going into town and hanging around until the Midnight Release. My friends and I'll scope out the bookstore and see if we need to get in line or not.
THEN, at midnight, I get my copy of the book...read all night...and hopefully will be done by breakfast Saturday morning.
And then I cry my eyes out.
I think I'll write the next chapter to this while standing in line. I have lots of time to kill.
Seven Chapters Left.
Feedback Please.
http://www.veritaserum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13280

I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while
I nearly abandoned this story
But then I changed my mind
Not with seven chapters left

I have finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Finished it early Saturday morning
I will be putting minor spoilers in this story if I can fit them in.
Nothing in this chapter though.
I'll be sure to tell you.
Although Deception will have it's own set of spoilers

I tip my hat to those who died in Harry Potter
And to J.K. Rowling
And to all of you who cried along with me

Hope you like the chapter
I'm not too fond of it myself...
Leave feedback anyways.


Chapter Fifty-Two:

ONE YEAR LATER

The next year that passed was full of catastrophe. Voldemort only got stronger and wizarding kind only gained fear.
The Order of the Phoenix was doing all it could to stop him, but their attempts were fruitless. Voldemort was thwarting all of their plans. The most they could do was hide those in danger.
Ever then, members were dropping like flies. The loss of Gideon and Fabian Prewett hit the Order hard, for the two brothers were very powerful wizards and had helped a lot in the war. Edgar Bones soon followed. He died alongside Caradoc Dearborn at an attack on the Ministry A couple months later Benjy Fenwick was found dead in his house, the green dark mark glittering in the air above the room.
Marlene McKinnon had gone to celebrate Christmas with her family. Lord Voldemort turned up at her home and murdered the entire family.
The losses suffered by the Order only drove them further into the ground.
Everything was spinning out of control…and there was nothing they could do to stop it.



Lily sat at the kitchen table of her home, cross-armed. Two tears trickled down her cheek, into the red hair that framed her face. As soon as they disappeared two more followed. Two things had come for her in the post that day. The Daily Prophet, they got that every day. And a letter from Petunia Dursley. Lily hadn’t seen her sister since that fateful day at Petunia’s wedding reception. A few letters had been exchanged. The last arriving about a month ago, saying that Petunia and Vernon would be expecting a baby.
Though, the one in front of Lily this time didn’t carry as happy of news. According to Petunia, someone had planted a bomb in the Evans household. The explosion had destroyed the house…and destroyed the elderly couple that was living inside.
It only made matters worse when Lily opened the Daily Prophet and found that Voldemort had staged another attack on a house in the very neighborhood Lily’s parents lived. She knew that it was Voldemort who had done it, done it to hurt Lily. Or was it a random muggle attack? Somehow, Lily doubted this.
And now that she knew Voldemort had been behind the murder of her parents, she couldn’t bring herself to tell Petunia the truth: the truth that it was really her fault. As Petunia would put it, her kind had brought this about.
Petunia said that there was no bodies for the funeral, for the house had been reduced to ashes, so they had buried empty caskets.
How could this have happened now? Why had Petunia had the funeral without telling her? That was an ultimate low, even for her sister.
Now she was just like James, an orphan.
Her husband chose that moment to make an appearance.
When he saw his tear-streaked wife he ran over. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
Lily took a shaky breath. “V-Voldemort killed my-my p-parents.”
James looked horrified. “Are you sure?”
She gestured to the papers on the table in front of her. “Petunia said that it was a bombing…but the Prophet says Voldemort murdered a couple in a house on the street where my parents live. I can put two and two together.”
He put his arm around her. “I’m so sorry…”
Lily gave a bitter laugh. “Now we’re the same, you and I, James. We both have no parents. Orphans.”
James took her hand. “Do you remember what you told me when my mum died?”
“Vaguely,” was her reply. She walked over to the ice chest and pulled out leftovers form the night before. She loaded some of the lasagna onto her plate, heated it with magic, and sat down at the table with James.
He continued. “You said that we have each other…and a world full of other people that care about us. And besides, they won’t be forgotten, right? We’ll make sure any kids we have will know about their grandparents, right?”
“I suppose so,” said Lily, forking some pasta into her mouth. “I really appreciate this James, but can I be alone for a minute? I just need to think about a few things.”
“Of course.” He got up, pecked her on the cheek, and went up to his study.

Lily succeeded in finishing what was left in the tray of lasagna and was just starting on the kitchen when Sirius walked into the room. He shrugged out of his traveling cloak and took the seat opposite her. “I heard what happened.”
“News travels fast,” Lily said bitterly.
“Yeah…well, what’re you going to do? Just mope around your house for the next six months?”
“My parents are dead, Sirius. Surely I’m entitled to some mourning time?”
“This is a war, Lily. People die. That doesn’t mean that we stop living each time. We just have to work harder to stop the lunatic causing it. You do want to stop him, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. How could you ask such a thing?”
“I’m just making sure.” He reached over to help himself to some of the chicken sitting in front of lily. She slapped his hand away.
“God…my Mum loved bacon more than any other breakfast.” Lily sniffed and repressed a sob. “…And I keep smelling it everywhere…”
Sirius sniffed the air. “I don’t. When did you last have it?”
Lily blew her nose. “I dunno. Breakfast the morning before last.” She dried her eyes. “Do you want a cup of tea?”
She stood up and shuffled over to the counter top. When she turned around again with two mugs in her hand she found Sirius staring at her intently.
Lily felt uncomfortable. “Is anything…err…wrong?”
Sirius looked up and met her emerald eyes with his gray ones. “You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”
Lily looked shocked. “Of course I’m not!”
Sirius’ bark-like laugh echoed around the room. “How can you be sure? Do you mean to tell me that you and James haven’t…made love?”
Lily blushed scarlet. “I’m not.”
He gestured to the table around her. “You’ve eaten enough to feed a horse. You just said you smell bacon…when no one else can…among other things.” He looked her up and down. “Don’t tell me you didn’t suspect it.”
“Well…I…”
“Didn’t you have the flu last week?”
“Yes…but what does that have to do with anything?”
He leaned back and crossed his arms, a smirk on his face. “It means that a mini-James is growing inside of you.”
Lily swallowed and suddenly felt nauseous. “Do you really think so?”
“Go to the loo, perform the charm, and when it comes back positive go and tell your husband.”
He got up and headed towards the front door. “I think you should name him after me.” And he left, leaving a very confused Lily.
The moment she heard the door slam, though, she grabbed her wand and sprinted into the nearest toilet room.



Ten minutes later Lily knew that Sirius’s suspicion had been correct. She sank to the floor, her back against the wall and closed her eyes. She was going to be a mother….she and James would be parents. For some reason, this made her feel somewhat old. She knew that from this moment on, her life would be changing. For better of for worse, she couldn’t be sure.
After the initial shock wore off, she found herself flowing with pride. She’ d be bringing the new generation.
But then again, would she be able to bring the baby to term? James’ groin had paid heavy consequences when Lily had hated him. Would that affect the baby?
This brought up another issue. How would she tell James? How would he react? Maybe he didn’t want children this early. But then had been married for nearly three year. That was long enough, wasn’t it?
Lily stood up and headed up to James’ study, trying to take as long as possible. She wanted to have a clear head and know what to say by the time she reached the upper floor. Unfortunately, she was as confused as ever when she reached the oak door.
Upon opening the door, she found James sitting at his desk, writing on a long roll of parchment.
“Hey,” he said, looking up. “How’re you feeling?”
“Better,” was her reply. “What’re you doing?”
James motioned to the parchment sitting in front of him. “Attempting to write a novel.”
Lily looked at it curiously. “What about?”
“Our years at Hogwarts.”
“That’ll be quite a tale.”
James rolled up his work and looked at his wife. “Are you sure you’re alright?”
“Yeah.” Lily took a deep breath. “I have news.”
“And what would that be?”
“I…” She paused. “No…we…are g-going to have…a b-baby.”
James froze. His breath caught in his throat. It was his dream to have a child with Lily…and it was actually happening? He couldn’t comprehend it. It was amazi—


“James? James?”
He looked up to see Lily peering down at him; her face looked worrisome.
“What happened?” he croaked. He sat up and found that he had been lying on the couch in his study.
“You…er…lost consciousness.”
“How’d I get on the couch?”
“I dragged you up…”
James jumped up. “Don’t ever do that again! You’re pregnant! You can’t haul around heavy objects!”
“James, I—,”
“N, seriously Lily, I don’t care if the house is burning down and I pass out form smoke inhalation. You are NOT harming our baby.”
Before he knew what was happening Lily had her arms thrown around James’ neck. “So, you’re happy about the baby?”
James held her at arm’s length. “Of course I am! Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Well I wasn’t sure.” Lily let out a dry sob. “Oh James, I was so worried. Remember in our fifth year when I kicked you between the legs...and all those other times. What if the baby—,”
But she stopped when she saw that James was laughing.
After a few moments he managed to choke out. “In our third year was the first time you ever dared harm my…genitals. It hurt so bad that I got Moony to research ways to stop it. He found out about the muggle “Athletic cup”…and I started wearing that. And then whenever you kicked me, I only pretended to howl in pain.”
Lily gasped, and then whacked him upside the head. “You didn’t?!”
“Yip, I did. So our baby will be perfectly healthy.”
Lily sighed. “God, this pregnancy is getting me so hormonal. One minute I’m laughing…and now I’m going to start crying all over again.”
“Why? This should be a happy moment.”
“Because everyone’s dying James! What if I’m killed before the baby comes? All these people are giving their lives for this cause….and frankly, it’s terrifying. I mean, there shouldn’t even be a war! Why can’t everyone just get along? Voldemort’s taking over. Nowhere’s safe. I don’t want to die—,”
“This is what I want you to remember Lily,” interrupted James. “Remember that there was once a time when ultimate peace occupied the world; when everyone used to be happy and carefree. It will always be a cycle: the times of peace and the times of war. It seems to be human nature to feel the need to fight each other over disagreements. But when it looks like you’ve reached rock-bottom and feel like there’s no hope, just remember when everyone was happy. Remember what made people laugh and smile. Even in these days of despair one can still fine happiness and hope in the most unlikely of places. But please, I’m begging you, just remember that there was a time, and one day, that time will come again.”
Silence followed, only punctured when Lily hiccupped.
“That was very poetic, James.”
James tried to laugh. “I’ve been reading up on my T.S. Elliott.” He paused. “But we should be happy. You’re going to have a baby.”
“It is exciting,” replied Lily, giving a small smile. “But you realize we’re going to have to answer the two main kid questions: What happens after you die? And Where do babies come from?”
“I call Where do babies come from,” said James.



There were bits of this I liked...and bits I didn't. Tell me what you think. Criticism is welcomed. Read my beginning A/N.

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Six chapters left.