N/C: here's your Plot Special with a side of cookies. Yeah, this took me way too long to get up, and I apologize. I got at least halfway through, scratched it, and rewrote it no less than six times. One time I even finished a version before I decided it was badly done. But here is the finished product... I've varied a lot from my original story-plan with this chapter, but in a lot of ways, it improves the plot (IMHO). Reviews for my trouble... maybe?

Origins: Rowling receives all rights to this here dingy.

Recap: Jewels "fillered shamelessly" (cheers, Amanda). There was Quidditch, which Gryffindor lost because James was taken out at the last minute. Everyone's mad. The end.

N/C: Saw GoF on the 18th! In my opinion, it was really awesome. Go see it, if you haven't, because it's a surprisingly good adaptation. Fred and George get credit for all Marauder-ness, because they inspired me. Originally, the chapter started with more of Lily and her friends, but I decided- due to said inspiration by F&G in GoF- that the world needs more Marauders. :-P

Chapter 10- All Hallows' Eve

"'Suspension of disbelief' is like believing that self-control exists with Jack and Sawyer on the Island..." –Anna (as an answer on her Lit test)

---

"Admit it, Moony. Just admit it. It won't kill you, will it? Four little words..."

"It wasn't all that"

Sirius let out his signature bark-like laugh, interrupting his friend. "You're in denial, Moony! Say it."

Remus shook his head and rolled his grey eyes. He was smirking, nevertheless.

"He's a bleeding chicken, Prongs," laughed Sirius again. "He's afraid to say it!" James laughed along with Sirius. They were strolling down the first floor corridor, on their way to class on a bright Thursday morning.

"I'm disappointed in you, Moons," sighed James, mockingly. "A coward? We have a coward among the Marauders."

"Hey, don't forget Worms," joked Sirius, nudging Peter, and grinning. "We have two cowards among Marauders. It sort of hurts, doesn't it..." he grasped at his heart dramatically.

"We should expel them!" James declared.

"And chop off their heads!"

"And force Remus to admit it. Four little words, Moons! That's all we ask!"

"'Moons?' Where does this 'Moons' rubbish come from?"

"Dunno. Go with it."

"Stop digressing!" accused James. "C'mon. Admit it, Moony, or we'll chop off your head."

"And you'll be forced to spend the rest of your days moping like Nearly Headless Nick," reiterated Sirius.

"Sod off, you two."

"Moony!"

"Fine," sighed Remus, as he rolled his eyes for the second time. "I'll say it, okay?"

"Good. Say it."

"I will."

"Then do it."

"I will!"

"Today, preferably..."

"I will!"

"Then do it!"

"Okay, okay: that was g..."

"Brilliant, Moony!"

"But it wasn't!"

"DENIAL!"

Remus rolled his eyes yet again. "Fine, fine, fine. That was brilliant."

"'Bloody brilliant!'"

"But it..."

"Say it, Moony!"

"Your prats."

"Moony!"

"Dammit. Fine. That was... that was bloody brilliant! Happy now?"

James and Sirius were too busy cheering and shaking each other's hands victoriously to answer. "We're so proud!" Sirius pretended to sob.

"Our Ickle Moony is all grown up!" James pronounced.

"It's beautiful!"

"Spectacular!"

"Wonderful!"

"Momentous!"

"Unforgettable!"

"Amazing!"

"Spectacular!"

"I already said that..."

"Well it's doubly spectacular, then!"

Sirius punched the air and did some sort of dance that sent Remus and Peter into peels of laughter. James joined in the dance, which only made them laugh harder. "He... admitted... to... our... brilliance... Prongs!" gasped Sirius through laughs.

"We're... successes!" agreed James, also laughing.

"I didn't admit to your brilliance," Remus contradicted. "I admitted to the brilliance of bewitching the second floor suits of armor to chase Mrs. Norris about."

"Denial!" chorused James and Sirius, still dancing. People laughed as they progressed down the corridor, but only in the all-in-good-fun sort of way, rather than making fun of them. Severus Snape scoffed and rolled his eyes as he passed, but did not interfere, for Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was passing as well.

"If you look to your left, you can see the Village Idiots performing their native dance," cut in a sharp voice. James stopped dancing and found himself face to face with Lily Evans, whose eyebrows were raised, though her green eyes betrayed reluctant amusement.

"If you look directly in front of you, you can see the Resident Slut being bitchy as usual," retorted James, far too cheerfully.

Lily shook her head and rolled her eyes, baring a striking resemblance to Remus as she did so. "Head meeting tomorrow at seven, Potter," she said, the ends of her mouth twitching.

"Gotcha," James said, bowing slightly.

Sirius and Remus snorted behind him, and he aimed to kick one of them. Judging by Sirius's vehement "Ouch!" it was Padfoot that James had hit. The non-injured Marauders laughed, and Lily deemed to try not to react.

"See you, 'round," she said nonchalantly, turning and walking (not dancing) in the direction the Marauders had been heading.

When she was gone, the other three Marauders fell into pace with James, who was now searching through his book bag for something.

"A cozy little head meeting with Evans, eh?" taunted Sirius.

"Psh... oh yeah. Evans," muttered James, rolling his eyes. "What a bird, eh?" The others laughed again, in an overall cheerful mood. James began searching through his book bag. "I forgot my Herbology book," he announced finally. "I'm gonna go get it."

"I'm not going back," said Peter flatly.

"Just save me a seat," James called over his shoulder, as he turned and sprinted back up the corridor. He was forced to pass through the second floor corridor on which he had wreaked havoc earlier, was cornered by Filch, given a detention for the following Monday, and finally made it through to the staircase upwards.

"Hey, Prongs! James! Prongs!" came a muffled sounding voice suddenly, which caused James to jump. He looked around, but no one was on the stair with him. "James Potter!" pressed the voice.

Comprehension dawned on the Marauder, and he opened his book bag quickly, searching through it again. He located a mirror in an inconspicuous pocket on the left side of the bag, and pulled it out. However, when looking into the mirror, James did not see his own reflection staring back at him. Instead, he saw Sirius.

"Finally!" complained Sirius's face.

"I'm sorry- disembodied voices are so common with me, I can never tell where they're coming from," James replied sarcastically.

"Speak to the nurse about that one, Mate," said Sirius through the mirror; "But not right now, 'cos I need you to stop by Slughorn's potions stores once you've got your Herbology book."

"What for?"

"To nick some Kneazle hairs for the Felix Felicis we owe Frank Longbottom."

"Why do we owe Frank Longbottom Felix Felicis?"

Sirius's eyes tried to communicate something that he could not quite articulate with his mouth. "You know… that thing last week in Charms..."

"Oh right! But why don't you stop by Slughorn's stores?"

"You're closer. And I don't want to be late for first period..."

"Whereas it doesn't matter if I am," James countered, cocking an eyebrow.

"More or less. Will you do it?"

If it had been anyone else, James would have said flatly and firmly "no." Unfortunately for him, it was not anyone else, and he did, in fact, sigh and say: "Okay, okay. Kneazle fur for Felix Felicis."

"Say that five times fast," laughed Sirius.

"Fur for Felix Felicis. Fur for Felix Felicis. Fur for..."

"Never mind. People think I'm talking to myself in this damned mirror and giving me funny stares."

"They're always giving you funny stares, Padfoot."

"Shut up. I've got to go. Bye."

"See you later." James replaced the mirror into his bag, looked about to make sure no one had seen him speaking to a mirror, then continued upward on the stair. Instead of going strait to the seventh floor, towards Gryffindor Tower, James took the fifth floor- the Potions department.

Professor Slughorn's most private potions stores (he had several stores) were on the other end of the General potions classroom. James came to the spot in the middle of the corridor where this was located, and peaked through the slightly open door. No class was in session, and Slughorn was standing near his desk, conversing with Mr. Korcesh from the Ministry of Magic, and Professor Praedam of Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Undeterred (in fact, very far from deterred), James opened his all-purpose book bag, glad that he had remembered- on this particular day- most of his items, necessary for havoc-wreaking. It took only a moment to locate a silvery, fluid cloak folded inside. Checking his surroundings once more, James saw that no one was about in the corridor (breakfast, though over for most, was still in session for some, and classes didn't start until nine). Then, he pulled the cloak out of his bag, and pulled it over him.

If someone had happened to be in the corridor, they would have seen James disappear into thin air. It was an invisibility cloak that he wore.

James drew his wand, and, slipping his hand under the cloak, into the visible world, pointed it at a hinge of the classroom door. "Finite Aquamentis," he whispered, and a slight squirt of water covered the hinge. James repeated this on the other two hinges, then replaced his wand in his pocket.

The door opened noiselessly, and Slughorn, Korcesh, and Praedam did not notice its movement of another few inches. James slipped inside and moved quietly across the room. Again, he repeated the action of moistening the hinges of the door- this time to the Potions stores. Having long-since mastered the unspoken spell, James unlocked the door silently also, and crept inside.

He looked about for the Kneazle hairs, not paying any attention to anything that the adults were saying.

When he located the necessary potion ingredient, James reached to the top shelf for the vial that contained the strands of fur. He obtained it easily, but as he did so, he noticed something that made his heart skip a beat.

Slughorn's voice grew louder and closer.

"I don't know, Becket," he was saying; "I can't see a reason for the Ministry to hang about so. It's almost as if Hogwarts is taunting Him."

James checked to make sure that the cloak was completely covering him, and moved as far back into the corner as he could, which was somewhat less than he hoped due to the many shelves of supplies. Slughorn's voice spoke again, and he was obviously moving closer and closer to the cupboard.

"It's almost like daring Him to try something, isn't it?"

James held his breadth, for anyone could still hear him under his Invisibility Cloak. "I disagree," stated Korcesh predictably, and from the sound of it, he was a bit farther off. "The danger hasn't passed at all- inside or outside of the castle."

"And having aurors and such here provides quite a sense of security," agreed Praedam's voice. Slughorn grunted, and he was clearly right outside the door. James hoped desperately that he did not intend to search about the stores for anything. He could see nothing through the slightly ajar door.

"Maybe, maybe," mused the Potions master, and he pushed the door to the stores shut. He did not comment on the fact that the door had not been closed, which led James to assume he had closed it namely out of habit.

James sighed, partially out of relief and partially out of irritation. He wondered regretfully how long it would be before he was able to sneak out.

"I simply believe that the danger has passed," Slughorn was continuing, still just outside.

"You speak ignorantly," pointed out Korcesh.

"Why would He continue to attack Hogwarts?" asked Slughorn. "He failed the first time, didn't he? Though, I admit, that was something of an anticlimactic attack."

"Anticlimactic?" asked Praedam's more distant voice, surprised.

"Poor vocabulary use, I suppose," reiterated Slughorn. "'Unimpressive' would be better, I think."

"Unimpressive?" Praedam croaked again, beginning to sound like a parrot. "I don't see how! He attacked the school! There were so many injured..."

"But none dead," Slughorn persisted. "There's got to be a reason for that, eh?" He began to move away from the storeroom.

"Perhaps they're waiting to take over," said Praedam, a hint of amusement detectable in this voice.

"Or perhaps," said Korcesh, "waiting to attack again and destroy. Weaken first, then obliterate. I'm sure that this isn't over," he added darkly.

"I don't know about that," said the Dark Arts teacher. "But the Ministry influences definitely should stay. Like I said... a sense of security. False or not..."

"Not," said Korcesh firmly.

Slughorn's chuckle was heard. "Everyone thinks their own job is the most important, Gilbert," he said, presumably to Korcesh.

"Of course," Korcesh replied. "I have to go now, though. Patrols of the grounds are in a few minutes, and Moody should have the second report on the forest search this morning too." There were footsteps, then the sound of a closing door, as Korcesh apparently exited the room.

James breathed more freely, as he began to see a glimmer of hope that he would be able to escape soon. "Why do you want the Ministry's people to leave, Horace?" asked Praedam, when Korcesh had gone.

"I don't feel any more secure with them here," muttered Slughorn. "They only guard the outside of the castle."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It may be the inside that's dangerous."

"Do you think there's... there's someone who ought not be here... inside Hogwarts?" For the first time, Praedam's voice betrayed apprehension. He cleared his throat nervously.

"I don't know," Slughorn admitted. "But Dumbledore sees it as a possibility. It could be anyone too... a student, a staff member..."

"Even you, Horace?"

"I don't think so," Slughorn said, chuckling. "But I could be mistaken. Perhaps you, Becket?"

There was a pause in the conversation, and James wished desperately that he could see the expressions on the two professors' faces. "Oh my- I have class in a few minutes," Praedam exclaimed suddenly. "I've got to get upstairs- or downstairs... wherever I am these days..." he laughed slightly: "Be seeing you, Horace."

"Goodbye, Becket," replied Slughorn, his voice losing it's thoughtfulness. When Praedam had gone, James heard what he hoped was Slughorn sitting at his desk.

Very quietly, the Head Boy drew his wand again, and magically unlocked the relocked door. He pushed it open as unobtrusively and slightly as possible, and saw through the sheer cloak that Slughorn was, indeed, deeply involved in some papers at his desk.

He crept across the office, exited, and as he continued down the corridor, was fairly certain that he heard Slughorn close the door with a slam, and curse about the "damned doors in this office."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Damn door!" swore Lily, holding her left ring finger tightly in her right hand, having just had the greenhouse door close on it.

"Sorry," said Severus Snape sarcastically, as he pushed past her.

"Bastard," Lily murmured after him.

"You called?" came James Potter's voice from behind her.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Shut up and don't talk to me," she snapped. "My finger hurts, this blouse it uncomfortable, thanks to your being five minutes late for class we have an extra two feet of parchment for that damned essay, and thanks to your being without an Herbology book we hall have another extra six inches!"

James was not Lily's favorite person at the moment.

"Cheerful today, aren't we?"

"As always."

They walked up in pace together towards the castle. Or at least, James kept up with Lily, who was trying to ditch him.

"Why are you following me again?" she demanded presently.

"Well, I have some news that might interest you, but if you're going to be bitchy about it, then I guess I wont tell..."

"Alright then- don't."

Lily continued to walk. James hurried after her.

"Alright, alright..." he continued, "if you're going to keep bothering me about it... it has to do with certain... occurrences... on September the First." He finished with relish.

Lily looked over her shoulder at him. He was on lower ground, for the path from the greenhouses involved traveling a fair distance upward to the castle. She raised her eyebrows expectantly.

James said nothing, and continued to walk however, until he was farther in front of her. She rolled her eyes. "Fine," she muttered, walking up after him. "What is it?"

The Head Boy looked about shiftily, then said: "You know the only reason I'm telling this to you is that I swore not to tell anyone else about the whole... thing..." Lily nodded in understanding. "Well," James continued, excitement in his voice mounting; "I sort of... overheard... some things in Slughorn's office..."

"What were you doing in Slughorn's office?" Lily asked suspiciously.

"Nicking potions supplies."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"I don't know. Why aren't you surprised?"

"Shut up. Go on."

"Which do you want me to...?"

"Potter."

"Okay, okay..."

James proceeded to relate to the suspicious Head Girl the details of what he had overheard while trapped in the potions cupboard. When he had finished, they had reached the Entrance Hall of the castle, and James turned to face Lily, his face teeming with as much enthusiasm as had been in his voice.

Lily was something less than excited.

"Why were you stealing Kneazle hairs from his private stores? There's plenty in the student cupboard!"

James rolled his eyes. "Is that all you got out of my story?"

"Yes... well... no. I see why you've got light brown hair on your robes... though, that may not be from a Kneazle..." She brushed off the few hairs from his shoulder. "And how did you get in without being spotted?" The Head Boy had consciously left out the bit about his Invisibility cloak.

"You're impossible," James stated. "Don't you get it? Slughorn thinks there's a spy at the school!"

"Lovely!" said Lily sardonically; "what do you want me to do? Invite the guy for tea?"

"I know who it is!" James added. Lily's expression of irritation and mocking faded seamlessly into one of shock.

"Who?" she asked eagerly, her eyes clouded with wonder.

"Praedam," James replied impressively.

For a minute, Lily was fully ready to believe this. But that minute passed quickly and silently, and skepticism filled the Head Girl once more. "What makes you say that?" she asked, continuing to walk again.

James followed, frowning. "I don't... I don't exactly know. I just... well... the only time Praedam seemed even remotely anxious was when Slughorn implied that he suspected there was someone dangerous inside the castle. And the silence in the room when Slughorn jokingly accused him... I would have killed to see Praedam's expression."

"So what you're really saying," said Lily, "is that you don't 'know who it is' like you said, but you have a suspicion."

"Sure, why not?"

"That's hardly damning evidence," Lily pointed out. "And if he were a spy for V-Voldemort... wouldn't he want the Ministry to leave?"

"But the Ministry doesn't have aurors planted inside the castle... he'd be safe, so far. Korcesh isn't the most competent guy in the world, and, except for occasionally Moody or Bright, no one else from the Ministry comes inside the castle. All Praedam would have to worry about- as a spy- would be Dumbledore."

"Oh is that all?" mocked Lily.

"And," James continued, ignoring the interjection; "he mentioned- Praedam mentioned- a 'false sense of security.' With the Ministry here all the time, it makes people relax."

"I don't know about that..." lied Lily. In truth, she did know about that. Only last week, people had begun pleading her to intercede with Dumbledore for a Hogsmeade visit. A month ago, people had been apprehensive about going down to the greenhouses. They entered the common room.

James raised his eyebrows. "Can we forget for a second that this is me- James Potter, archenemy- speaking, and you can believe me?"

"This has nothing to do with the fact that I hate you," Lily said, a faint flush coming to her cheeks, which James suspected was anger.

"Then what does it have to do with?"

"Not enough evidence!" insisted Lily, feeling that there was at least partial truth to this. The evidence wasn't overwhelming. James cocked his head suspiciously. "Okay, and the fact that I hate you..."

"But look at it this way," argued James, lowering his voice, so as not to be noticed by the few others in he Common Room. "It's likely whoever the spy was would be on the platform during the attack, right? To see how things go and make sure none of the grunts broke ranks and such?"

"Alright, I'll grant you that. Was Praedam there?"

"Mhm. I thought he was a Ministry guy at first, 'cos I didn't recognize him, but he was dueling just like the rest of the staff..."

"McGonagall was there, and McGonagall probably wants the aurors to stay..." said Lily, "does that make McGonagall a spy?"

"This happens to be Praedam's first year at the school, no?"

"Yes, but in case you haven't noticed, we haven't been too lucky with Dark Arts teachers..."

"Right, but this has never happened before... death eaters attacking Hogwarts, I mean."

"Hogsmeade," Lily corrected.

"Right. Even still... Voldemort's been around for almost seven years... well, he's had political power for almost seven years, anyway. Why wouldn't he try this before? Hogwarts has always been a bit of a threat."

"I know it's weird," Lily said- hands on hips; "but there's a million possible explanations that don't even have the word 'Praedam' in them."

"Mmm... true, but a couple thousand of them have the word 'spy' in them."

Lily arched her eyebrows. "If you went off and told all that stuff to the auror Moody... or even if you told you're beloved Keira Brighton- let alone Dumbledore or McGonagall- they'd say exactly the same thing as I am... and you'd get in trouble for eavesdropping."

"I wasn't going to tell th..."

"Liar," Lily interrupted. She smirked slightly.

"Okay, so I was. But what do you suggest? C'mon... you can't completely ignore it."

"No?"

"No."

Lily sighed. "We should simply keep an eye on Praedam," she said finally. "If he acts suspiciously, then we can do something drastic..."

"Like what? Kill him?"

"Search his office, maybe..."

James rolled his eyes. As he walked away to the boys' dormitories, he looked over his shoulder and said: "You and I have very different views on what 'drastic' means."

Lily privately agreed.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

There is a thin line between "keeping an eye" on someone, and stalking them. James had long ago seen the line, completely disregarded it, hopped over, and started sprinting.

Lily had walked obliviously over it.

Friday was Halloween. Lily, along with Eden, Lexi, Frank, Alice, Leander Vireo (Alice had broken up and gotten back together with him twice in the last month), Eddie Bones, and Abby Shaw (Lexi's fifth year sister) trudged along the second floor to breakfast that morning.

"Halloween is vastly superior when there's a Hogsmeade visit attached," sighed Lexi regretfully.

"Mmm..." was the general murmur of agreement.

"If there was a trip today, where would you guys all go?" Eden asked sadly.

"Three Broomsticks," replied Frank and Alice in unison.

"The bookshop," sighed Lexi. "Or Honeydukes."

"The Hogs Head," said Eddie.

"The Shrieking Shack," said Leander, with a significant glance at his girlfriend, which she did her best to ignore, or at least privately rationalize. The path that led to the "most haunted spot in Britain" was a renowned snog spot.

"Honeydukes," Abby Shaw said definitively. "I haven't had any chocolate in months."

"What about you, E?" Lily asked.

"Corona," said Eden, sighing again.

"Corona?"

Eden smiled. "It's the best shop in the world... the Marauders showed it to me in fourth year."

"I would never have guessed," Lexi murmured wryly.

"Shut up," said Eden, rolling her blue eyes; "what about you, Lilith?"

"I don't know," shrugged Lily. "Anywhere- everywhere..." she trailed off, her eyes having landed on someone she particularly wanted to observe.

Professor Praedam was passing them on the staircase, but he was moving away from the Great Hall. "Good morning, Professor," Lily said, gauging his reaction.

"Good morning, Miss Evans," replied the Professor, bowing slightly. He showed no signs of jumpiness or anxiety that James seemed so insistent that he have.

"What, no breakfast?" she asked of him, before she knew what she was doing.

Teachers tended to like Lily, and it was due to this that she could tease and banter with them. Even the stiffer, new teachers, like Praedam.

"I'll be down in a bit," Praedam said, smiling uncharacteristically at her.

"I'll miss you until you do," Lily said, grinning falsely over her shoulder at the passing Professor Praedam. 'Merlin, I feel like E...' This was an oddly more of an Eden-esque conversation, but it wasn't so unusual. And she was growing paranoid about Praedam anyway. Perhaps this was because of the randomly significant looks that Potter kept sending her. Damn him.

"You realize you're flirting with a seventy-something?" Eddie asked.

"I wasn't flirting," laughed Lily honestly. "Spying" maybe, but not flirting. Not that she could tell Eddie that. They came to the grand staircase that came into Entrance Hall. Lily thought quickly. "We don't have any classes first period, right?" she asked.

No one replied.

"You guys are so helpful," she said sarcastically.

"Sorry gorgeous, but you're the one who knows the schedule," Eden apologized dispassionately.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Save me a spot," she said, directing this to Eden more than the others, for Eddie and Leander were Ravenclaws, Frank and Lexi were bound to sit together, Abby would be with her fifth year friends, and Alice was likely to sit with her boyfriend.

"Mhm. Where are you going?" inquired the blonde.

"I forgot something in the dormitory," Lily lied vaguely over her shoulder. She hurried back up the corridor she had just come down. If her friends were suspicious or curious, they did not say so.

Once out of sight, Lily broke into a sprint, curiosity mounting. She and her friends had been a few minutes late for breakfast... why was Praedam leaving now, though? Dumbledore had promised a particularly grand Halloween breakfast, to make up for the lack of Hogsmeade trip. The breakfast was supposed to be as grand as Halloween supper- the famous, highly anticipated feast. The whole castle would be down there this morning... so where was Praedam going?

The dark figure that was clearly Praedam came into view several flights up. Lily could recognize his wobbly walk, and the intricate, grand robes he wore, even at this distance. She quickened her pace as she saw Praedam continue upward.

Flight after flight... he was climbing awfully high.

Lily, being rather fast, and much younger, soon caught up to the point where she was only one flight below him. And then, Praedam got off the stair at the seventh floor corridor. Lily stepped quietly after him, and, when she too entered the corridor, she saw Praedam walking along the deserted corridor much more quickly than before. His walk was no longer vaguely unstable or wobbly.

The Head Girl followed cautiously, ducking behind a suit of armor, or tapestry here and there, just to make sure Praedam didn't turn around and notice that he was being followed.

And then, mid-corridor, he stopped. He did not turn at first, and Lily ducked behind the threshold of a door, just peaking around the edge to see what he did. His head turned so that his profile alone was facing Lily, and his face showed concentration, as if he was listening carefully. Lily was not breathing, and it was the knowledge that she was completely silent that caused her to listen closely too.

There were voices coming from the door behind her.

"I won't cover up for you any longer, Michael," came a woman's voice. The harsh tone, though trying to whisper, was unmistakably the Herbology teacher, Professor Grossman's.

"Cover up, Adelaide?" came Professor Silth's silky voice. But how could that be? Professor Silth's first name was "Damien."

Grossman could be heard scoffing. "Yes, cover up. I knew I'd seen you somewhere... the name may have changed... Michael... and your hair is black now... and the face... slightly different maybe. But I know who you are..."

Footsteps sounded, and Lily suspected someone was pacing. She was forcefully reminded of James's own eavesdropping escapade only the day before. "Adelaide... you're being..."

But what Professor Grossman was being was suddenly an unimportant issue to the seventh year girl. Lily had glanced around the corner and saw Professor Praedam coming down the corridor. He couldn't be more than two yards away, and Lily was trapped between the conversation she'd been listening in on, and the Professor she'd been following.

Praedam walked slowly and quietly, and his eyes were facing towards the threshold now, which Lily had ducked behind. In another minute, she would be visible to him. She thought fast, and did the only thing that came to mind.

She turned, so that she was facing the door to the office, and knocked on it.

Silth's voice, which had been halfway through a silky excuse, suddenly broke off. "Who is it?" he said, his voice more silky than usual.

Praedam appeared at Lily's shoulder.

"Why, Miss Evans," he said, surprised. Lily turned to face the Dark Arts teacher, just as Silth opened the door, demanding, once again, to know who was at the door. "I didn't see you there," Praedam continued. "When did you come?"

"May I help you?" Silth asked, looking less slick than Lily thought she had ever seen him.

Distracted by the two questions, and the rush of lies that came to her head, Lily stammered for a minute. "I-er... I wanted... sorry, I wanted to ask Professor Silth a question." She turned to the Ancient Runes professor.

"Oh... er... you... you haven't been waiting long, I trust?" Silth asked, about as unsure sounding as Lily.

"I only got here a moment ago, why?" asked Lily innocently. Her lies grew progressively more convincing. "This isn't a bad time, is it? Are you busy with something?" She pretended not to know that Professor Grossman was in the office.

"I'm afraid it is," said Silth, also resuming composure. "I was about to have a meeting with Becket here." Becket Praedam looked confused for a moment, and though the look was brief, Lily was certain she'd seen it.

"Will you excuse us, Miss Evans?" asked Praedam, giving her an odd look. Internally, Lily was shaking. Externally, she looked slightly disappointed. She gave herself points for her acting at least.

"Oh, of course. Sorry, it was just about the extra credit assignment Professor Silth gave us for Runes. I can dig up Remus and ask him though. Sorry, Sirs..."

She turned and high-tailed it out of there as calmly as possible.

"A meeting?" came Praedam's hushed voice through the corridor. Silth shushed him, and Lily exited the corridor. She waited on the stair, however. Neither Praedam nor Silth appeared, but it was not they that she was waiting for. Finally, the one that she was waiting for arrived.

Lily, who was on the landing just below the sixth floor, saw Professor Grossman exit and set off down the stair. Lily hurried down the stairs quietly and inconspicuously (she hoped). She made it to the Entrance Hall, and chanced a look over her shoulder as she entered the Great Hall. Grossman was exiting the castle through the large doors that led out to the grounds.

Sense overcoming her curiosity, Lily took a seat at the Gryffindor table, near Eden, who was sitting with the Marauders.

She did not dare to speak to Potter.

After a few minutes, Professor Silth appeared and took his seat at the Staff table.

A few minutes after that, Professor Praedam came.

Professor Grossman did not come to breakfast that morning.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Okay, so rewind... Professor Praedam was talking to Grossman..."

"No.Grossman was talking to Silth."

"Right. Okay. So Grossman 'knows who Silth is' which is apparently someone other than Damien Silth..."

"Yes, and his first name is Michael."

"Okay, so what's the point?"

Lily rolled her eyes at James's stupidity. "Oh come on!" she pleaded, not in the mood for James's stubbornness. "You must be thinking the same thing I am! What if..." they were in a deserted classroom, but Lily lowered her voice anyway- "what if Silth is the spy?"

James paused, and Lily could tell that the idea was not an alien one to him. He had been thinking the same thing. "I don't think so..." he began slowly.

"Why not?" demanded the Head Girl, completely thrown off.

"Because... because Silth doesn't seem... he doesn't seem like the death eater type."

Lily stared. "Correct me if I'm wrong, Potter- but did you just say that 'he doesn't seem like the death eater type?' Because that sure as hell sounded like what you said, which is absolutely inane! 'SEEM LIKE THE DEATH EATER TYPE?'"

"Bloody Gulping Galloping Merlin Gargoyle Hell, Red! There maybe have been some people in Antarctica who didn't hear you!"

"There isn't anybody in Antarctica!"

"Well then even they heard you!"

"That doesn't make any sense, Potter. And don't call me 'Red.'"

"You're changing the subject!"

"No, you're changing the subject!"

The Head Boy and Girl glared at each other, and retreated to opposite sides of the empty classroom. "I still think it's Praedam... what else would he have been doing on the sixth floor?" James said finally.

"You only think it's Praedam, because I think it's Silth, and you hate me!"

"And you only think it's Silth, 'cos I suggested it was Praedam, and you hate me!"

"Well you... oh never mind."

"Silth doesn't strike me as anybody clever enough to be a death eater," James pressed.

Lily raised her eyebrows, as was becoming a common habit with her when conversing with Potter. "Well he'd be a pretty useless spy if he 'struck you' as being one, wouldn't he? And we've got something on Silth, which is more than we can say for Praedam: he's pretending to be someone he isn't."

"Which doesn't make him a Death Eater, Red. It makes him someone who is pretending to be someone he isn't. And how does Grossman know him, anyway?"

Lily shrugged. "More importantly, why doesn't Dumbledore know all this?"

"Mmm... it's a very impractical time for him to stop being omniscient."

"Mhm."

"But really," James continued presently, "I can see Praedam fooling Dumbledore better than Silth."

Comprehension dawned on Lily. "Oh I get it!" she exclaimed suddenly, standing up and crossing the empty room to the desktop that James sat on. "You like Silth, because he's nice to the Marauders and didn't put you in detention for sneaking dungbombs into Snape's book bag the other day."

"Do not!"

"Do too! Merlin, Potter, you're predictable."

"Predictable? Look who's talking, Miss-I-Wont-Suspect-The-Teacher-Of-My-Favorite-Class!"

"Potter... Charms is my favorite..."

"Ya, right..."

An unfortunately brief silence followed, as the two collected their thoughts, suspicions, conspiracy theories, and various angry thoughts against each other in their respective heads. "Alright then," James said, getting up from the desktop suddenly. "I'm off."

"You're off?" enquired Lily, confused. "Off where?"

"Off far, far away from here," shrugged James, hands in the pockets of his uniform slacks. "I don't remember 'espionage' being on the list of Head Boy duties, and I have Herbology in ten minute anyway."

"So that's it? You're just gonna... forget it all?"

James made for the door, and said, without turning back: "In a word, yes."

"Bastard," Lily muttered after him.

"Red," he returned.

"Oh, shut up."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The noise in the Great Hall mounted, as the three-dozen or so students that crowded in the center of it muttered to each other more and more excitedly. Dumbledore stood in the center of the small crowd, with a clear circle about him, in which Professor McGonagall also stood. The two conversed quietly and seriously.

James pushed his way through the gossiping crowd, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. He located amongst the group (which consisted of Gryffindor and Slytherin seventh years, and some fourth years which James didn't know) Eden Dearborn, who was muttering hurriedly with a Slytherin girl.

"Hey, E!"

Eden forgot the Slytherin all-together and pushed her way to speak with James.

"What's going on?" the Marauder asked over the din. "Why aren't we in class? I went down to the greenhouses, but there was no one down there..."

"No one can find Grossman!" Eden replied, running a hand through her windswept hair. "Everyone went down there and the greenhouses were all empty! We waited for a while, and when Grossman didn't show up, we came up here! I went by Grossman's office, but she wasn't there, and someone went to go ask Dumbledore... that's why he came here, where the rest of the class was hanging out... somehow McGonagall found out, and she brought her whole bleedin' class down here too..."

Eden indicated with a wave of her hand to the fourth years that were also clambering for information.

"Why were you so late for class, anyway?" she added suspiciously.

"Busy," James replied dismissively. "Where are Dumbledore and McGonagall?"

"Over there-" Eden pointed to the spot where they were; "hey, wait for me!" She followed as James pushed his way over to the area that no one dared approach, where the two Head professors were discussing whatever it was they were discussing.

He managed to get a spot along the perimeter of the circle, and watched Dumbledore and McGonagall converse with surprising calmness. He had the strong urge to put a silencing spell on the crowd around him, so that he could hear what they were saying.

"What do you think is going on?" Eden asked, to his right. James started; he'd forgotten she was with him.

"I don't know," he replied honestly. "You?"

"I think all the things that have been happening this year aren't coincidences," Eden said sagely. Her eyes were fixed on him and were strangely penetrating.

"W-what are you talking about, E?"

"Well... the obvious of course: this, and the Hogsmeade attack... and the little things in the newspaper..."

"The death threats to the Minister?"

"Mmm... and that Ministry witch who was killed just before start of term."

James was privately surprised at her extensive knowledge. "Obviously Voldemort's behind it all," James said shakily.

"But," Eden replied, "Voldemort's behind a lot of things. What if these particular... incidents...?"

But she did not finish, for at that moment, Dumbledore cleared his throat loudly, and demanded quiet. The room instantly quieted. "Fourth years," he said, "Please go with Professor McGonagall back to your class..."

McGonagall led the fourth years back to her Transfiguration class, which had been interrupted. When they had left, the seventh years came closer to Dumbledore, and watched the Headmaster curiously.

"Seventh years," he said, "Please find a desk, and read through the next chapter in your Herbology book. Then write a brief summary of the chapter."

James looked around him and saw that the house tables had been replaced by rows of desks. Professor Dumbledore sat down at the staff table in the front of the Hall.

The Head Boy took the seat nearest him, and Eden took the one next to him. Sirius, Remus, and Peter finally appeared, and took the three on his other side, and presently, Lily Evans came and sat behind him. People were far too afraid of Dumbledore's wrath to whisper with each other, but they did not actually read. They simply stared at a page in the book, most of them thinking.

After a few minutes, James felt someone tap his shoulder, and turned to see Lily handing him a small, folded bit of parchment. She pretended to work again, as he turned back to face forward. He opened the parchment and read it:

"Potter: how would you like to pull a prank?"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

A/N: so... wow. I'm done. FINAL-FREAKIN-LY! Yaya for me! Okay, well since The-Powers-That-Be have decided that we can't do review responses anymore, I have reply to all the signed reviews I got for chapter 9. Thank-you to Amanda (First person to review the chapter!) and Danni (I'm glad you found it too :-P). Cookies all around!

New chapter is- as of now- to be called "The Offices and What Happened After." (Subject to change without notice :-P)

Happy Reading,

Cheers

-Jewels-