ChapterOne

"Three may keep a secret if two are dead."

- Chinese Proverb

"Don't do it, Prongs."

James hesitated, his wand poised over an intricately folded piece of parchment. "Why? What could go wrong?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Don't you remember what happened the last time you tried to send her a note this way?" James made a face, wrinkling his nose in distaste. "Aurora Flume followed us around for an entire week because she thought your heart burned with an insatiable-"

"What's your point?" James asked, annoyed.

"You don't tend to have to best aim with these things," Remus replied, giving their potion a quick stir. "I'm just looking out for you." The sound of a dozen bubbling cauldrons filled the dungeon as the students let their Shrinking Solutions simmer.

"That was just a fluke," James said, adjusting a small fold on one of the wings. "Someone opened a window and blew it halfway across the common room." He glanced around at the cold stone walls. "No windows in here." He grinned as he eyed the red-haired girl sitting two tables up, her head bent low over her potion's manual.

Remus sighed, resigned. "Whatever you say, Prongs. Whatever you say."

Pushing back the sleeves of his robe and placing his masterpiece in the center of the table, James gently prodded the folded parchment. With a soft green glow, the bird sprang to life, gently flapping its wings as it rose high above their heads.

"Ha!" James exclaimed as it fluttered toward the front of the room. "I told you it would-" But James faltered as the note hitched and took a wobbling dive to the left. "What the hell?" James said, glancing around the room. His hands curled into fists as he spotted a tall blonde boy in the far corner, his pointed face upturned as he blew a steady stream of air in the direction of James' wavering parchment. "Oh that slimy little prick," James whispered furiously, snatching up his wand and pointing it at the flyaway note.

But it was too late. With a final shudder the bird plummeted straight down, landing with a small splash in the center of Lily's cauldron.

"Oh, shit!" James exclaimed, his voice barely above a whisper. "Oh, shit."

"What is it?" Remus asked, looking up from the freshly crushed beetles in front of him.

James motioned frantically toward the front of the room where Lily's potion had turned a sickening yellow. Lucius had his hand clamped tightly over his mouth, his shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. "Oh, dear," Remus said as Lily's potion began to boil, emitting a bitter smelling haze that began to fill the room. Her long hair flew wildly about her as she flitted up and down the table, her partner vacillating between madly flipping through the textbook and staring incredulously at their ruined potion.

"Not to worry, not to worry," Professor Slughorn called, waddling over to Lily's table. He glanced into the cauldron, waving the pungent mist from his sight as he grabbed a ladle and scooped the soggy parchment from the bubbling mixture. The mist immediately dispersed, and with a short wave of his wand the yellow liquid vanished. "Don't be discouraged, Miss Evans," the professor said, chuckling merrily. "We must all make mistakes sometimes!"

Lily gazed down at the sodden parchment for a split second before whipping around to glare at James. He ducked his head, gathering up his books as the bell rang in the distance. He stood and put on his most winning smile, reaching out to bar the door as she left. "Say, Lily," he said, lacing his voice with charm. "How can I make it up to--" But she ducked under his outstretched arm, storming past him as she disappeared into the throng of students moving toward the Great Hall.

"Hey--wait!" James shouted, following after her. He stood on his tiptoes as he reached the Entrance Hall, scanning the large crowd. He saw a flash of red slipping out the front doors and he sighed, mentally kicking himself.

A weak September sun filtered light down upon the grounds as students milled about during their lunch hour. He spotted Lily off to his left, heading toward a small beech tree in the distance. "Oy! Lily!" He rushed to catch up with her. "Would you just-"

"What, Potter?" she said, whirling around to face him. "What do you want now?"

"It was an accident, I swear-"

"Oh I'm sure it was," Lily said, placing her hands on her hips. "But that's the problem with you--it's always an accident. Like that time you tried to turn my hairbrush into a dove and it went mental and tried to peck my eyes out? I was in the Hospital Wing for three days."

"But this time it really was an accident!" James cried, taking a step toward her. "That git Malfoy-"

"Don't blame this on someone else!" Lily snapped, her green eyes flashing.

James frowned, crossing his long arms over his chest. "Fine, see if I ever do anything nice for you again."

"Ugh!" Lily cried, throwing her hands in the air as she turned her back on him and stomped away.

Don't do it, Prongs, he said to himself. Don't go after her. Turn around, walk away. Let her cool off. James sighed, raking a hand through his messy hair.

He followed.

Sirius smiled, watching the rock he'd just skipped disappear under a large tentacle. He leaned back against the tall oak, turning away from the lake to scan the grounds. In the distance he could see a tall boy chasing after a flaming redhead, waving his hands emphatically as he spoke. Sirius shook his head, sighing. "Oh Prongs, when will you learn?"

"What was that?" Sirius looked up to see Emme strolling toward him, her dark hair pulled back from her soft face. A thin blonde trailed close behind her, looking nervous.

"Hullo, Emme," Sirius said, flashing a smile. "And who have we here?"

"Oh, this is Amanda Young," Emme said, dropping her satchel as she sank to the ground. "We have double Divination together with the Ravenclaws; she'll be joining us for lunch. Amanda, Sirius Black."

"Nice to meet you," she said, clutching her bag in front of her as she sat down. Sirius inclined his head toward Amanda just as Remus came into sight, wiping the back of his arm across his forehead.

"Hey," he said as he neared them, looking more than a little tired.

"Hey, Moony," Sirius said, scooting over to make room at the base of the tree. "You're just in time to meet our new friend." He waved his hand with a flourish and added, "Amanda."

"Hey," Remus said, extending a thin hand in her direction. "Pleased to meet you."

She took it, smiling awkwardly. "Moony, is it?"

Sirius laughed, shaking his head. "Only to some of us. To everyone else, he's just Remus." She raised her eyebrows and Remus shrugged, smiling.

"Where's James?" Emme asked.

Remus sighed, shaking his head. "There was a bit of a mishap in Potions today--"

"Yeah, I saw him trailing after Evans when the bell rang," Sirius said. "What now?"

"He was trying to send her a note, and Lucius Malfoy went and-"

"Did I hear someone say my name?" The four Gryffindors looked up as Lucius approached, his arm around the waist of a beautiful blonde with high, arrogant cheekbones.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Narcissa said, scanning the small group.

"A half-blood and two blood traitors, it looks like to me," said Bellatrix, throwing her dark curtain of hair over her shoulder as she joined her sister.

"Yes, but it seems there's been a new addition to the nerd herd," Narcissa continued, eyeing Amanda with distaste. "So what are you--half-blood? Muggle born?" Amanda fidgeted, lowering her gaze. "Oh, God, cousin," she said, her eyes floating to Sirius. "You really have lowered your standards, haven't you?"

"I don't know, I think it adds diversity," Bella said sarcastically, scrutinizing the tall blonde, "adding a Mudblood to the mix."

Emme gasped quietly as Sirius leveled his gaze. "Haven't you anything better to do?" he said, raising his eyebrows. "Like, say, showering? Reapplying your eyeliner? Snogging Snivellus?"

"Watch it," she sneered, fingering her prefect's badge. "I would hate to have to send my own flesh and blood to detention." She tilted her head, contemplating the thought. "Or maybe I wouldn't. But it's best not to try me."

Sirius rolled his eyes, scoffing. "Yeah, because our family ties are so strong. Thankfully I only inherited the name--not the smell." He wrinkled his nose as Narcissa scowled, taking Lucius' arm as they stalked away.

"Bella, dear," Sirius said when she didn't follow them. "Don't stay on our account. They may start greasing each other's hair without you. "

"I'd be careful if I were you," Bella hissed, taking a step toward Sirius. "We wouldn't want it to slip to all the parents that your mate here has a bit of an issue with lycanthropy, now would we?"

Amanda's head snapped up as the color drained from Remus' face. Sirius shot to his feet, a low growl issuing from his throat. "Sod off and go buy yourself a backbone before you start spreading that rubbish."

Her lips curled back in a cruel smile. "Don't worry cousin, I haven't told anyone," she said, relishing Sirius' panic. "It's my ace in the hole; it'll definitely give me some credit toward becoming Head Girl, don't you think? If I've just eradicated a dangerous werewolf from our prestigious student body?"

Sirius opened his mouth to retort but then paused, staring at her peculiarly. His face split into a wide grin as he stepped back, nodding. "Whatever you say, Bella."

"What are you smirking at?" she demanded. She sniffed at the air, which was suddenly filled with the acrid smell of smoke. "What in the bloody--ow!" She yelped as the tips of her hair burst into flame, singing her shirt sleeve. With an irritable wave of her wand she doused the fire, glaring at them as they snickered behind their hands. "Detention, all of you," Bellatrix said, gripping her wand tightly as she stalked back toward the castle, a strand of her hair still smoking feebly.

"Nice one, Remus," Sirius said, sitting back down beneath the large oak. "Hellfire? We haven't used that in a while."

"Me?" Remus asked, frowning. "I thought that was you?"

"What? No," Sirius said, perplexed. He glanced over at the girls in time to see Amanda stowing her wand in the folds of her robes. He raised his eyebrows, impressed. "Amanda?"

She grinned, shrugging one shoulder. "Sorry about the detention--but I couldn't help myself."

"Not to worry," Remus said, waving his hand absently.

"We practically live there," Sirius finished, shrugging one shoulder. The two boys held each other's gaze, seemingly having a silent conversation between the two of them. "I'm starving," Sirius said, standing abruptly. "What do you say we grab some lunch, Emme?" She stood and followed him as he headed toward the castle, whispering furiously as soon as they were out of earshot.

Remus cleared his throat, looking away from Amanda. "Don't believe anything she said," he said, beginning what sounded like a well rehearsed speech. "Bella has this thing about-"

"Don't worry," Amanda said. "I've been on the other end of the Bella canon, I know how that can be." She smiled at him reassuringly. "She's a pathological liar."

"She really is," Remus said, heaving a sigh of relief. "She's such a pain in the arse."

"That's an understatement."

Remus hopped up, offering Amanda a hand. "Shall we join the others in the Great Hall? I'm starving."

Amanda accepted his hand, but shook her head. "No, I better get to the library; I've got some studying to do. But thanks."

"Do you think she bought it?" Sirius asked Remus.
"I hope so." He poked at his food with the gold fork. "Even if she didn't, she won't tell anyone."
"And what makes you say that?" Sirius asked, raising his eyebrows.

Remus shrugged, not looking up.

"Well, let's just hope she believed you," Emme said, ladling some stew into her bowl.

"And if she didn't, we'll take care of it," Sirius said, grinning as he twirled his wand between his fingers.

"Take care of what, now?" said a voice from behind. James squeezed between Sirius and Emme, wiggling as he pushed them apart.

"Done stalking Lily, are we?" Sirius said.

James scowled at him. "It's not stalking if she knows I'm doing it."

"Oh no, it's still stalking," Emme said, dodging the handful of grapes James flung at her.

"When are you going to give it up, Prongs?" Sirius asked, shaking his head. "If she hasn't come around yet, I doubt she's going to."

James frowned, lowering his head as he stared at his plate. "She called me… arrogant," James said in a quiet voice.

Emme raised her eyebrows. "Imagine that."

"I really think she meant it this time."

Sirius shook his head. "Sorry, mate, but I think she's always meant it."

"Shut it," James said, glaring over at him. "All I did was--"

"Listen," Emme cut in to stop the situation from escalating, "while you were playing a borderline criminal version of hide-and-seek, Bellatrix let it slip that she's privy to Remus' condition."

James' head snapped up, his eyes wide. "She what? But how?"

"We don't know," Remus said, sighing as he leaned his elbows against the table.

"And unfortunately, she happened to let us know in front of someone else," Emme said, biting her lip.

"Who?"

"Amanda Young."

"Who?"

"Honestly, James, do you pay attention to anyone outside of The Marauders?" Emme rolled her eyes. "She's a sixth year Gryffindor. The quiet blonde girl who--"

"Oh, her," James said. "I thought she was a mute."

"She's just shy," Emme said. "Not everyone parades around the castle like a walking fanfare."

"What's that supposed to mean?" James said defensively.

Before Emme could respond, Remus interrupted. "She was talkative enough to cast the Hellfire charm. You should have seen Bellatrix's hair…"

"That was pretty good," Sirius said, nodding. "Got us detention, though."

Remus shrugged as he said, "It's not like we wouldn't have gotten there on our own, anyway."

"So what did you tell Alyssa?" James asked.

"Amanda," Emme chastised.

"Whatever."

Remus sighed. "I just told her that Bellatrix was full of it; she wasn't hard to convince, it seems like she's had some run-ins with Bella before."

"Which I'm not sure is a good thing," Sirius said, leaning back in his seat. "Oy, look Prongs, there's Lily. How about you--"

"Padfoot," Remus said, giving him a stern look.

James grumbled something unintelligible, stabbing at a piece of roast turkey on his plate.

"Aww, James, don't let it get to you," Remus said.

Sirius clapped him on the shoulder. "If at first you don't succeed, try again."

"And again," Emme chimed in.

James glared at her as he shoved a spoonful of potatoes into his mouth.

"Just forget about--" Sirius began, pausing as an idea sprang to his mind. "Forget about it. Bloody hell, that's it."

"What's it?" Remus asked as the bell gonged in the distance.

Sirius shook his head. "I'll tell you about it later, I've got to run to class." He grabbed his bag from the floor as he stood, joining the throng of students pulsing out of the Great Hall. "If I'm late again Professor Merrithought may murder me."

Remus watched him go, his mind burning with curiosity.

"You cannot be serious," Emme said, staring at Sirius incredulously. They were gathered at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, waiting for Amanda to join them for detention.

"Why not?" Sirius asked defensively.

"Because Memory Charms are incredibly difficult," Remus intoned, frowning at his friend.

"Not to mention dangerous," Emme added.

"Keep your voices down," Sirius said, glancing around. "It wouldn't do us any good to have her hear our plan."

"Our plan?" Emme said, shaking her head. "No, this is your plan. And it's a terrible one. What if something went wrong?"

"Besides," Remus said, running a hand through his hair. "I'm more worried about Bellatrix."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I'm not an idiot, Moony," he said. "We'd have to fix her memory too. But if we get Amanda while she's here--"

As if cued, Amanda ran into the clearing and skidded to a stop, bending over as she tried to catch her breath. "Sorry I'm late," she said, panting. "I lost track of time."

"You haven't missed much," Remus replied, smiling at her. "We're supposed to gather up a few buckets of Flobberworms in the forest." He bent down and picked up two buckets, offering her one. "Shall we?"

The four of them headed into the trees, pausing as they reached a clearing that seemed promising. "Ugh," Amanda said, lifting her foot as a Flobberworm burst under her shoe. "Could these things be any more disgusting?"

As she bent down to pick up a few of his companions, Sirius pulled his wand from his robes and motioned wildly to Remus as he mouthed, "Can I do it? Can I do it?"

"No!" Remus mouthed back, shaking his head.

Amanda, sensing their awkward silence, glanced up to see Sirius spinning his wand between his fingers as he averted his gaze. "Is something wrong?"

"Nope, nothing's wrong," Remus said, smiling at her reassuringly.

"Yeah, forget about it," Sirius said, his eyes boring into the back of Remus' head.

"Look, I can understand that you guys don't trust me," Amanda said, sighing. "But I swear I won't tell anyone."

"Tell anyone what?" Emme said, her voice light.

She sighed, shaking her head. "I'm not stupid. Bella may be a pathological liar, but come on."

The four of them stared at one another in silence for a moment, the tension almost palpable in the damp air. Sirius gripped his wand, lifting it slowly.

"Wait," Amanda said, pulling out her wand. "Stop!" she said emphatically as Remus and Emme impulsively drew their wands as well. "I know what you want to do, and it's not a good idea." She lowered her wand, though she kept it ready in her hand. "There's no need to charm both of us," she continued, shaking her head. "I'm not going to tell anyone else, but you can be sure Bellatrix will."

"How do we know?" Sirius asked, holding her gaze. "How do we know you won't tell anyone?"

"How about a trade? A secret for a secret."

Sirius rolled his eyes, scoffing. "What are we, twelve?"

Remus shot him a warning look. "Let's hear her out."

They stared at the blonde girl for a long moment, waiting.

"Well?" Emme asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Oh, right," Amanda said, taking a deep breath. "I haven't done this in a while, so we'll see how this goes." She closed her eyes, counting to three under her breath. Suddenly, her body began to rapidly twist and contort in a swirl of orange, and within seconds a small fox sat in her place. Emme let out a quiet gasp as a small smile played across Remus' face.

"Interesting," Sirius said off-handedly as Amanda changed back, rolling her shoulders as she straightened. "But what makes you think this knowledge is comparable to what you know?"

Amanda frowned. "How many underage, unregistered Animagi do you know?"

Sirius and Remus shot each other a look.

"And," Amanda continued, her voice tightening as she started to panic, "I'll erase Bellatrix's memory."

Remus' gaze flew to her. "You will?"

She nodded. "Sure. That way, even if I get caught, they can't link it to you."

Sirius glanced at Emme, though he addressed Amanda. "I don't know. Memory Charms are extremely difficult, not to mention dangerous," he said, mocking their earlier words. Emme kicked him in the shins.

"I've had some practice with them," Amanda said simply, turning to Remus. "So what do you say?"

Remus thought about it for a moment. "How are you going to do it without getting caught?"

"Well, I've got Muggle Studies with Bellatrix and--"

"Bellatrix is in Muggle Studies?"

Amanda nodded. "Apparently it was the only elective that could fit in her schedule."

"That is bloody brilliant," Sirius said. "I can just imagine her skin melting off as she touches a Muggle contraption."

"She definitely hasn't been thrilled," Amanda said, laughing. "Anyway, next week we're working with electricity. I was thinking we could say she'd accidentally zapped herself. That could cause a loss of memory, right?"

Emme nodded. "And I doubt the professor would be surprised at her stupidity."

She shook her head. "No, she won't. But I'll need a diversion," she said. "I can't risk someone seeing me do it."

"I can take care of that," Sirius said, smirking.

"Are you really willing to risk this?" Remus asked, staring at Amanda questioningly.

"Are you really willing to risk Bellatrix crying wolf?" Amanda asked. "Besides, is there anything else I could do to gain your trust?"

"No," Sirius said, overriding Remus' objection and ignoring his glare. "There isn't."

Amanda nodded, stowing her wand. "That's what I thought."