Wow, this chapter came rather quickly. Once again I own no rights to Harry Potter. All opinions and OC's are my own.

January

Remus felt his heart sink when the next Hogsmeade trip was posted. After ten years Remus practically had the moon phases memorized and could calculate them for the next ten years if you gave him enough time. Madam Pomfrey never let Remus so much as leave the castle the day of a full moon, as if she were afraid he'd try to brave it alone in the woods and take off into the night.

"It's alright Moony, we've been to Hogsmeade loads of times," James said sitting on the edge of Remus's bed and slinging an arm around his shoulder. He hated how gray his friend was starting to look with the oncoming full moon.

"We don't even like butterbeer that much," Sirius supplied, sitting on his own bed across from Remus.

"Speak for yourself," muttered Peter, but he didn't say anything further when he received a dangerous glare from both James and Sirius.

"Really, guys, it's the first trip to Hogsmeade after the winter holidays and I know you both haven't spent any of the money you got for Christmas. Go on without me, I'm gonna hang out with Poppy." All four boys grimaced at the thought of purposefully spending a day with the school's healer. Tough as she was, they liked Madam Pomfrey, especially since she always chalked up the injuries Peter, James, and Sirius got after a full moon to foolishness that only Remus could have prevented.

"We'll bring you back sweets from Honeydukes. Boat loads of chocolate!" Peter said cheerfully having taken his invitation to already head out the door.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" Sirius asked searching Remus's eyes for any hint that he was needed.

"Look if you want to sit around all day and watch me sleep," Remus said stubbornly, not breaking eye contact with Sirius, who finally looked to James. James heaved a sigh and said, "Alright, we'll go and we'll see if Rosmerta can get us some warm butterbeer to bring back for you."

"Thanks Prongs."

The boys left the dormitory and Remus resolved to take a nap to avoid thinking about missing a trip to Hogsmeade, especially since his grandmother had sent him a bit of gold so he could get something for himself, specifically the "Harmless" Hexes to Pester Your Friends book he had his eye on at Zonko's. Lying in bed, however, Remus felt terribly awake. He rolled out of bed and did what every other sad sap that couldn't go to Hogsmeade did; he gathered his books and went to the library. He didn't even make it halfway there when he stopped by a window and looked out onto the melting snow. He could see a few stragglers making their way down the path that Hagrid had shoveled as a flurry of snowflakes blew off of a nearby tree branch. Remus was miserable and the crisp air blowing through the cracks in the window did nothing to ease his growing nausea. But suddenly it wasn't just nausea, Remus had reached the point of distinction where he knew, without a doubt, that he was going to actually vomit. He ducked into a nearby classroom and prayed there would be a garbage pale he could gracefully empty his stomach into. There was, and he did, and he said sadly with his face still half in the pale, "Scourgify," and the only remaining evidence were the tears running down his face.

"You know, it's not becoming of a young man to cry," a snooty voice behind Remus said. In fear he turned thinking he may see a professor, but was greeted by Nearly Headless Nick.

"No?" Remus responded angrily wiping the tears off his face. "What about a young werewolf on the day of a full moon?"

"Oh dear, Mr. Lupin, I did not realize it was you! Forgive me, there have been rumors amongst the ghosts about you, I apologize," Nick said bowing low and grabbing his head at the last moment to keep it from flopping over.

"S'alright," Remus said wiping his nose on the sleeve of his sweater, "You won't tell the other ghosts will you? If people knew- I- They'd probably have me kicked out." Nearly Headless Nick floated closer to Remus and placed an icy cold hand somewhere just below the top of Remus's shoulder in what he assumed was a sign of comfort.

"My dear boy, I won't breath a word. On my honor!" Nick said raising his left hand up in the air with his right hand on his heart. "May I ask, though what you are doing without your rowdy band of brothers?"

"It's a Hogsmeade day and Madam Pomfrey won't let me out because of-" Remus's voice traveled off as he waved his hand vaguely towards the sky. "She told Filch and everything."

"Well, there are other ways of getting into Hogsmeade than past Filch," Nick said with a smirk, "Tell me boy, have you been acquainted with the one-eyed witch with the hump-back?"

"Oh my goodness!" Lily said with a start, nearly spilling butterbeer over the table. Marlene and Moira looked up at Lily expectantly and she continued, "Oh I've just remembered what I was supposed to do today! My father's birthday is next week, I have to get him a gift."

"But Lily we have to head back to the castle in twenty minutes," Marlene said looking at the clock over the bar in the Three Broomsticks.

"Could you mail order him something from the Daily Prophet?" Moira suggested.

Lily shook her head and said, "No, I saw this brilliant paperweight with moving constellations that are accurate to the date in Dervish and Banges. It'll only be a minute, I'll meet you back at the castle." Lily took one last swig of her butterbeer and headed out the door. Just as she was exiting the Three Broomsticks, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were entering and they were huddled so close, talking excitedly they didn't even see Lily as she left. She didn't entirely mind. Lily really didn't have time to do the weird sort of polite dance her and James had taken to since November. She couldn't deny that his growing interest in school, and wavering interest in playing pranks on the underclassmen was impressive to her. She also could not deny that he was infuriatingly handsome as he had started to grow into his big head and gangly limbs. Fighting with James constantly was damn near exhausting and putting her pride aside and seeing him and the other Gryffindor boys as allies in the stormy climate of blood supremacy really only benefitted her. To think a year ago that she'd nearly consider James a friend now would've been preposterous to her, of course if someone told her the awful things that would transpire between her and Severus she wouldn't have believed them either.

Lily headed down the street towards Dervish and Banges with her head down and the hood of her cloak up when she heard an oily voice she knew all too well.

"Narcissa, please don't cause a scene," Lily heard Severus say in a very bored tone. Considering she and Severus hadn't spoken since earlier in the semester when he had tried to reconcile the whole 'Mudblood' incident, Lily didn't know what stopped her, perhaps it was the fact that Narcissa Black, a very composed and proper seventh year was sobbing in the alleyway at Severus's feet.

"Don't you dare stand up for him, Snape. He treats you like garbage too!"

"Narcissa, keep your voice down." In response Narcissa let out a decent wail of anguish that ended in a frustrated roar. "He is your fiancé," Severus continued in an ever more controlled tone. Lily knew that tone, he was getting frustrated, if Narcissa pushed him more he would snap.

"'No wife of mine will be tied to blood traitors!'" Narcissa said in a deep voice, probably imitating Lucius Malfoy. "Severus, she's my sister," Narcissa now pleaded.

"She ran off with a mudblood," there was that awful word rolling off his lips so casually now. "Lucius knows that will look bad for him and You-know-who. Narcissa I really can't help you when you're carrying on like this, it is extremely unattractive." Lily could hear the sneer in his voice and wondered how often he spoke with it now, as if he were so above everyone else. She heard footsteps and she knew he was coming back onto the street. Lily hurried down two stores and pretended to be very fascinated with the potion bottles in the window. She was grateful that that was believable.

"Lily?" Severus said gently on his approach. She turned and looked at him with a neutral expression, but said nothing, and he took the hint to keep walking.

Lily still had to pass the alleyway to get to Dervish and Banges and couldn't help but look down the way to see if Narcissa was alright. She wasn't. Narcissa Black was curled up between two rubbish bins sobbing heavily into her arms. Lily simply couldn't keep walking without doing something even though she knew there was a chance the interaction wouldn't end well.

"Erm, hello," Lily said hesitantly as she approached. Narcissa looked up and there were dark streaks down her usually pale cheeks. Her face was terribly blotchy and her nose was visibly runny, until then Lily had never seen Narcissa with so much as a hair out of place.

"Oh, great, come to mock me Evans?" Narcissa said miserably, her voice cracking. She came from one of those terribly wealthy pureblood families that looked down their noses at anyone who didn't have the same stringent views as them. Narcissa's oldest sister, Bellatrix, had been an absolute terror and was known to torture younger students, especially muggleborns, which Lily had somehow thankfully avoided. Her other sister, Andromeda, kept to herself and never had a bad word said about her besides complaints about her family in general. Narcissa was part of a serious pack of degenerate sixth and seventh years in the Slytherin house, some of which clearly emulated Bellatrix and her pureblood mania. They were the ones who always harassed Lily and gave her a hard time when she excelled in classes more than them. Narcissa always seemed above it all, with her nose turned up, she never took part, but she never stopped it either.

"Have you had another row with Malfoy?" Lily asked carefully, crouching across from Narcissa.

"Another?" Narcissa's narrowed her eyes then rolled them with as sigh as if she had nothing left to lose. "Yes," she said, "I've had another row with Lucius. He wants me to cut off ties from my sister because she married a muggle-born. Mother's already cut her out of the will and my other sister- gods if she finds her- she'll kill her. I mean really kill her." Narcissa started crying again, making awful sounds as she tried to catch her breath and stop herself.

"Do you have a sister, Evans?" Narcissa asked looking at Lily, really looking.

"I do."

"And do you get along?"

"No, I'm afraid we don't. She thinks I'm strange, that this whole magic thing is a tarnish on the family." Narcissa laughed at this because they were in complete opposite situations.

"Would you do anything for her despite that?"

"I would," Lily answered honestly. She still loved Petunia very much, despite how much she pushed Lily away.

Narcissa nodded somberly, "I would do anything for my family, destroy the world if it meant they'd be safe, but Lucius doesn't understand that. His only loyalty is to himself, not even to me." Narcissa wasn't crying anymore, she looked angry, she looked dangerous, if only for a moment and then she instantly withered. "It's not safe, we have our sides and we have to hope we're right. I'm not brave, I can't do anything for my sister and her mudblood husband." Narcissa quickly looked up at Lily and said, "I'm sorry. You say the word in the comfort of your friends so often you forget that its inappropriate." And just like that, Narcissa rose and rolled her shoulders back, lifting her chin just a bit. She fixed her makeup and looked Lily dead in the eye, "We've had a brief understanding in a time where I showed uncharacteristic weakness. We are not friends, do not talk to me unless completely necessary." Narcissa got nearly all the way to the end of the alley before she turned and spoke in a rushed voice, "I see why Severus is enamored with you, but your unprejudiced heart will get you killed in times like these." And with that Narcissa Black was gone.

"There are seven in total if you include the one under the Whomping Willow!" Remus whispered excitedly pointing to parts of the map. "Nearly Headless Nick reckons Filch knows about this one," he continued pointing to a path off a fifth floor corridor, the rest he said should be good to use. The one on the third floor that I took into Honeydukes took ages, though, I'm wondering if any of the others are more direct."

"Moony this is a game-changer!" Sirius said, unable to contain himself he planted a big wet kiss on Remus's cheek, which turned bright red immediately after.

"The marker for the Room of Requirements has disappeared again," Peter said dully dropping a finger on the map.

"Ruddy thing," James said under his breath as he brandished his wand, "We know where you are!" he yelled in frustration before saying the incantation to put the general location of the Room of Requirement back on the map.

"What's up with you, mate? You've been weird since holidays ended," Sirius said looking at Peter who didn't seem the least bit excited about Remus's discovery.

"S'nothing," Peter said huffily, "Surprised you even noticed me, s'pose it's cause Evans and the McKinnon's aren't around." Before Sirius could ask him what he was on about, Lily, Moira, and Marlene walked up to the table and sat beside Remus.

"Oooo is that the infamous 'Marauder's Map'?" Marlene asked peering over Remus's shoulder just before James vanished the images on the parchment.

"'Marauder's Map?" Moira repeated inquisitively.

"Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs have created a most bewitching instrument to aid in varying degrees of tomfoolery and high jinx," Sirius said puffing out his chest proudly.

"That's you four, though, isn't it? You use those stupid nicknames all the time," Moira said looking at the boys wondering if they could really be that full of themselves.

"They're not stupid nicknames!" James said, obviously wounded, "And we've put a lot of hard work into this thing; it deserves a little respect." However, the parchment still lay blank on the table and James didn't seem to realize it was hard to admire something you couldn't see.

"Come on Potter, I've shared with you, why can't you share with me?" Lily asked, supplying a forced pout.

"It's a work in progress, love, and it's too powerful for your mortal eyes!" Sirius said waving the now blank parchment in front of the girls' faces.

"How'd do you fancy a stroll in Hogsmeade whenever you'd like, Evans?" James said leaning closer and raising an eyebrow, "the map could take us there."

"Would I have to go with you?" Lily asked innocently.

"Of course!" James said happily.

"Then I'll pass." Lily and Marlene burst into laughter.

"Fine! I didn't want to show you my life's work anyhow," James said sadly folding up the map.

"Hold on, Potter, are you serious? Is there a secret way out of the castle?" Lily said, no longer joking around.

"There might be several," Remus said in a tone that tried to be casual, but he was still brimming with excitement.

"I hate admitting it, but you lot really are rather brilliant," Lily said honestly.

"Well, Pete wasn't much help," Sirius said looking over his shoulder, expecting an insult in return from his friend, but Peter was gone.

"He didn't even stay for breakfast," James remarked, "That's not like him."

Breakfast appeared and Moira took this as a cue to head back to her own house table. After breakfast came the post. There was nothing special for Moira, but there was however a copy of the Daily Prophet she hadn't ordered. She unrolled the newspaper and was greeted by a photograph of her father, her Aunt Muriel, Marlene's father, Richard, Aela and her father, John. They were all waving and smiling, but their smiles seemed forced and it wasn't until Moira's father pointed up at the headline above them that she actually read it.

Muggle-born Quidditch Prodigies Bamboozle Great Britain

Moira looked up briefly to see that many students were reading the same article. She scanned the first and last paragraphs of the story as they were always the most important and read a few of the bolded quotes. Her stomach turned. The gist of the article was that there was some kind of foul play involved with the "McKinnon Quidditch dynasty." There was no way that muggle-borns could be that good at a completely foreign wizard sport without the help of-

"Felix Felices?" Moira shouted, but continued to read on silently. All the quotes were from purebloods that worked at the Ministry, the same men that would've liked her father's job to go to someone with a better bloodline.

"Moira, this Rita Skeeter's a hag. No one reads her stuff, don't get too worked up," Edgar Bones, a seventh year and Moira's Quidditch captain, said to her as he folded his own copy of the Daily Prophet and laid it on the table.

"It's the front page story, Edgar," Moira said feeling the blood drain from her face, "They just targeted my family as very important muggle-borns. Do you know what kind of people work at the Ministry?" Moira and Edgar looked over their shoulders at the Slytherin table and nearly every one of them was staring back at them. They turned quickly back around.

"Now, Moira, I'm not going to pretend like we didn't just see them all staring at you just to make you feel better," Edgar started slowly, "But maybe you should go over and sit with your brother and just know that if you need me for anything, I have your back, and I'm sure Celeste will too."

Moira rose from her seat and made sure not to look back at the Slytherin table. She knew what they did to people like Lily, and standing up for Lily was easy, but she wasn't sure she was ready to stand up for herself.

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