Chapter 7, the longest chapter yet! Please review, it's very much appreciated!


We descended the staircase together, our dates waiting in the common room for us. The boys were dressed in their finest dress robes and scrubbed up very well. Other girls were eyeing them appreciatively and sending us death glares.

James' eyes widened when he caught a glimpse of Lily. He struggled to remain calm and managed to kiss her delicately on her hand. She smiled radiantly at him.

Remus' mouth actually dropped open when he saw me. He pulled me into him.

"You look gorgeous", he whispered into my ear. He nipped it with his teeth. I grinned and hungrily attacked his lips. He eagerly responded and ran his tongue along my lower lip.

"Um guys, we kinda have to go to the Great Hall now", James said, scratching his head. He looked around for assistance. Sirius came to his rescue.

"Oi! You two over there, either get a room or come with us now!" Sirius ever the sensitive one roared at us from beside Marlene. I groaned with embarrassment and hid my face in Remus' chest. He laughed.


The Great Hall had been decorated for the occasion. Hagrid had placed a dozen of the biggest Christmas trees strategically in the room. Professor Flitwick had decorated them artistically, charming them to quite literally sparkle. Long tables heavily laden with the House Elves' hard work outlined the perimeter of the room. There was a stage prepared for the music. The ceiling mimicked that of a snowy day and fairies flew about sprinkling everyone with glittering fairy dust.

The dance floor was already crowded with people, waiting for the music to start. At precisely eight o'clock, the orchestra began to play a waltz.

"Want to dance?" Remus asked me.

"Of course, but you know me, I'm a rubbish dancer." I pulled a face.

"I'll lead you, just try not to step on my feet too much", he smiled, and then he adverted his gaze to his feet. "Well toes, it's been nice knowing you!"

"You arse!" I complained, half-heartedly hitting his arm. He winked and picked up my hands, putting them around his neck. He rested his hands on my lower back, pulling me close to him. We swayed on the spot for several minutes. He rested his chin on top of my head. We fitted together like a jigsaw puzzle.

"Hey Rem", I whispered.

"Yeah."

"Look how rubbish Lily and James are at dancing!" The couple were attempting some lively step but were failing miserably and clearly having the time of their lives in doing so. Lily's face was alight with excitement and James was roaring with laughter, his dimples visible even at the distance. Their faces were slightly red with exertion. They were in a world of their own and looked as though they were having the time of their lives.

"Can we do that?" I asked, sounding like a toddler.

"We can try", Remus chuckled, and casting one last sympathetic look at his toes, he launched me into an elaborate spin. I shrieked as he ducked me so low that my shoulder tapped the floor. He tossed me from one move to another and slowly I began to relax and truly enjoy seeing the lighter side of Remus which had almost disappeared with all of the stress we were submitted to.

Suddenly I found myself in the grasp of a grinning Sirius Black. He was a very capable dancer thanks to Walburga Black's dancing tutor and had no problem holding a conversation whilst whisking me through a lively tango.

"Amy", he whispered, "We've just hatched a plan for a bit of a prank." I grinned at him.

"Great, what is it?" I replied under my breath.

"We're going to…make an ice-rink. In the Great Hall. In ten minutes." His smug smirk led me to believe that it was his idea. If this worked out, we would never hear the end of it.

"Ok, do the others know?"

"Yeah, I just told them. Decided to leave the other girls out of it though. Secrecy is key to a good prank and Godric knows, Evans would probably tattle to McGonagall." His eyes flashed nervously to the stunning redhead. I rolled my eyes.

"We can trust Lily you know. And we could do with her charms skills for this one. Sure we can transfigure the floor but we need charms to keep it cool enough so that it won't melt. She's a natural, come on." I pointed out. He sighed heavily, I knew that I had won him over. "Great!" I beamed, "I'll go tell her now."

"Okay", he agreed reluctantly, "But be quick about it. Meet us by the tree decorated with gingerbread men in three minutes." I met his earnest silver eyes, nodded briefly and made my way through the dancing students to where Lily and James were dancing. I shot James a glance and indicated towards Lily. He frowned with confusion.

"Lils, we need your help", I said to her. She was beaming with happiness.

"Sure, what do you want me to do?" I crossed my fingers for good luck.

"We're going to transfigure the floor into an ice-rink and we need you to charm it so that it won't melt." I said it quickly as though to soften the blow. I waited for the explosion but when I looked up she was still grinning.

"I'll do it", she agreed. There was a mischievous glint in her emerald eyes. James' eyes widened and his mouth opened. I wasn't too surprised though, I knew that Lily was a Marauder at heart.

And then James pounced on Lily and did what he had been wanting to do since he had first laid his eyes on her.

He kissed her.

Everone watching fell silent, waiting to see how Lily would react. The redhead astounded everyone by responding eagerly to James' surprise attack.

"Em guys, break it up, you can finish that up later. We have an ice-rink to make!" I hissed. They pulled apart, red faced and smiled at each other.

We joined the rest of the Marauders and quickly discussed a plan. It was brilliant. We got into our respective positions around the hall. I quickly transfigured my shoes into skates.

"Glasseo", we chanted quietly as the clock struck ten. Minutes later, the floor took on a glossy sheen and students were tripping left right and centre, arms flailing, shrieking and eventually laughing. Having copied my skate idea, the Marauders and Lily skated gracefully onto the ice. We kept our balance and put on a rather good performance for the shell-shocked crowd. Then Professor Dumbledore transfigured his shoes and he too began to dance on the ice. Everyone else followed his lead and soon we were all having the time of our lives.

Unfortunately, our success was short-lived when a livid Filch grabbed James and I roughly by the arm. There was practically steam coming from his flaring nostrils.

"Come to my office. Now." He seemed beyond anger. He could barely get the words through his gritted teeth. He released us and pushed the six of us in the direction of the door. I exchanged a worried look with Remus who seized my hand for comfort.

We trailed towards the caretaker's office. The silence was deafening. You could cut the tension with a well placed diffindo.

I was chewing on the inside of my cheek, wondering what horrors that Filch would have in store for us. Then an idea hatched in my mind. An idea so ludicrous that it would work. It wouldn't get us out of trouble, but it would help…someone…some day.

We entered the caretaker's dimly lit, grubby office. I deliberately positioned myself as close to the desk drawer as I could.

"Offenders: Potter, Black, Lupin, Griffon, Evans, Pettigrew. Crime: turning Great Hall into an ice-rink. Suggested Punishment: Beheading. Allowed Punishment: Detention with Hagrid in Forbidden Forest. Yeh's won't like it in there!" He was grinning like a maniac. I fought to keep my expression neutral. The Forbidden Forest couldn't scare the likes of us!

I edged closer to the desk. I quickly and silently nicked the parchment from Remus' pocket. He frowned and sent me a questioning look. I made a shush gesture and winked to reassure him. He looked sceptical.

Ever so slowly, I opened the desk drawer and deposited the Marauder's Map in it. I pressed two fingers to the map, bidding it farewell and wishing it the best on its future unpredictable journey.

Eventually, Filch let us go.

"What the hell did you do?" He whispered fiercely. The others were looking on in confusion.

"I can explain", I said in a steady, smug voice.

"Why the hell did you put the map in his drawer?" He hissed. The Marauder's expression darkened. Lily looked confused.

"Em, can someone tell me what's so special about this map?" She asked. James launched into an explanation, sending me death glares.

"Look, what use would the map be to us once we leave Hogwarts? I figured that if I left it in Filch's drawer than it will end up in a pranksters hands. Who else would break into his drawers?" I explained. Comprehension dawned on everyone's faces. Lily looked slightly in awe of us.

The Marauders Map would end up in good hands.

The Marauders' legacy would live on.