Sorry guys, my beta disappeared on me (hoping nothing serious), but I couldn't keep you waiting any longer! (That's an okay excuse, right?)

Chapter 10 - The Best Policy
(7th year)

James was getting annoyed. Here he was, having an identity crisis and his three very best friends were in no way helping. Even being a 21 year-old in an 11-year old's body hadn't seemed this life-altering. And instead of reassuring him that he would always be the consummate prankster, the Marauders were in complete hysterics.

"Stop laughing you berks," he said finally.

"Whatever you say," said Peter as the laughter died down. But then he added, "Sir," which got them all going again.

"I hate you all. Worst. Mates. Ever."

Just when he was trying to decide which hex to use on them, they calmed down.

"What do you reckon Dumbledore was thinking making you Head Boy?" asked Peter. "Always knew he was barmy, but do you think he's gone around the bend?"

"Well, the Slytherins are all out, seeing as they're all future Death Eaters," started Sirius.

"And the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff have never really been willing to stand up against the Slytherins bullying of the younger years" Said Remus.

"Actually, some of them may be just as dark as the Slytherins. I've spotted a few Ravenclaws reading some very dark texts…all in the quest for knowledge, of course," agreed Remus, with an eye-roll for emphasis.

"Which leaves the four of us," Peter deduced. "I don't have the grades. Remus is out of commission several days a month, and Sirius almost got Snape killed. Er – not that he didn't deserve it, but from an objective point of view, student death is generally not looked on favorably."

Sirius proclaimed loudly, "James Potter, Head Boy! At least he doesn't kill people." He thought for a second then added a salute that kicked off another round of laughter at his expense.

James decided on the tickling hex. They'd still be laughing, but he could console himself that it would at least be at their expense, rather than his.

~AUF~AUF~AUF~AUF~

"Oh, are these your transfiguration notes. Brilliant, I was going to ask you if I could borrow those." Lily said reaching down to the rolls of parchment her fellow head had just dropped on their shared study table before reaching back into his bag.

"No – Wait. Don't!" But she was already unrolling the page.

He didn't think. He just reached over and yanked the notes from her hand.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. It was nothing. Let's just forget it. Please."

"Why do you have my name scribbled all over your notes?"

Shrug. "Everyone doodles in class," Then more defensively, "Not like there's a rule against doodling your name, is it!?"

"But, I thought – Wasn't it all a joke?"

"Wasn't what a joke?"

"You don't like me. You hate me. You just liked getting a rise out of me! That's why you kept embarrassing me and calling me stupid nick-names."

James could do nothing but stare with his mouth gaping. Eventually he found his voice. "What!? You… Stupid nicknames? No! That's what you thought? You actually thought I didn't like you."

"Well why else would you keep asking?"

"Lily, I've known since – well, for years that you were the one for me. I wasn't trying to embarrass you. I was trying to impress you."

"No! You went out with Holly Poundstone last year."

"It was ONE DATE!" James defended. "And I didn't even want to go. Sirius talked me into it. He – um – he said it might help you see me as actually date-able."

"Oh." She sank down onto the couch and James followed suit trying to

"Is that why you always said no? Because you thought I didn't mean it?"

"Well that – and you were an arrogant bullying toe-rag."

James looked at his feet and nodded his head, before a little kernel of hope popped into existence somewhere deep in his chest. "What would you say if I asked you now?"

She blinked as though it was a novel concept. James held his breath, nursing that little kernel, as she mulled it over. After what felt like ages, but was probably more like fourteen seconds, she gave a slight shrug with her right shoulder, but she was grinning a bit.

He turned toward her and when she didn't move, he grabbed her hand, urging her to turn towards him. She kept looking down, though, and he felt daring, so used a finger to lift her chin.

"Lily, would you go out with me next weekend?"

She grinned a little slyly, and for the briefest of seconds, he worried that she was having him on, but then she was nodding. "Okay."

"Okay?" James couldn't have stopped the smile if he'd wanted to. "Okay?"

Lily laughed lightly "Yes, James. Okay."

She was grinning and his smile reached his ears and they were still so close that before he knew it was kissing her. It only lasted a second, but James knew it was the start of something that while not quite inevitable, was always meant to be.

~AUF~AUF~AUF~AUF~

"I'll be back in just a mo' with those butter beers. You two just keep cozy." Madame Rosmerta turned with a wink to Lily, who had James' arm around her shoulder. The couple both blushed a little.

When Lily looked up, James was looking over her head with an oddly pained expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" She glanced over her shoulder to see Sirius, Peter and Remus quickly look away, so she turned back to James.

"They're just being idiots. Tying to embarrass me."

She strategically angled her spoon to catch the reflection of the Marauders making kissy faces at James. "What exactly is the nature of this idiocy?" she questioned still staring at her spoon.

"Well it's our third date."

She gestured for him to explain further.

James cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Well…typically…a couple would – They've been known to, well, kiss on a third date."

This was doing nothing to clarify things for her. "But we already kissed. Before our first date. Why do they care about this date?"

James gasped dramatically in shock. "I'll have you know that I, Lily, am a gentleman. I would never kiss and tell!" He dropped his bravado for a moment. "Especially with you."

Lily blinked. She thought he would have told them. She wouldn't have even been upset if he had. He just kept surprising her. All the time.

Maybe it was her turn. She smiled. "Wait here. I'll be right back."

From across the Three Broomsticks, Moony, Wormtail and Padfoot watched as Lily approached them.

"Good morning, gentlemen," she greeted. "I'd like to invite you to join us at our table."

The three marauders shared looks with one another. Remus, the more sensible of the three, finally spoke up. "We couldn't possible intrude on your date."

"Oh, come on now. None of that. You've already distracted him. Besides, it'll be easier for you to mock him from there. Come along then."

She just turned and walked back to the table, clearly expecting them to follow her. So they did, each telling himself that there was good reason to do so, and not just because she told them to.

Lily sipped her butter beer as the three newcomers got settled; Peter and Sirius took the other side of the booth, while Remus pulled a chair up.

"Now then, James tells me you three have certain…expectations for this date. I think it would be best if we just get past all that nonsense, don't you?"

They were confused but nodded.

"Excellent," Lily smiled. Then placed both hand on either side of James' face and proceeded to snog him senseless.

When she finally pulled back, James was in a daze, Sirius eyes were as wide as Peter's open mouth, and Remus looked particularly uncomfortable.

"How was that? Meet the Marauder approval."

"That," started Sirius, "was a bloody brilliant first kiss! Kind of awkward to do it in front of us, though."

"Did that feel awkward to you?" James smiled like the idiot in love that he was and shook his head. Lily smiled back at him.

"I suppose it would've been if it had been a first kiss." She noted that they looked skeptical. "Oh boys, I'm sure you of all people know that Prongs here can keep a secret. So there'll be no need to mock, or assume from now on, I'm sure."

Their ears all perked as she used his Marauder name, but didn't comment on it. It's not like she couldn't have just heard one of them use it along the way.

"Point made," said Sirius raising his bottle to her briefly, "And I'm sure Jamie-boy wouldn't mind if you made a few more points that way."

Lily and James both laughed lightly and with the ice broken, conversation flowed easily, from Quidditch, to muggle sports, to class and a truly nasty upcoming test the following Friday.

"Alice said they're planning to throw a party afterwards, to let off some steam. Would you do the head girl a favor and not bring any firewhiskey this time? The younger students don't know how to control themselves, and then I have to spend my night taking care of them."

The table was silent. "What?"

"Nothing, love. It's just that we won't be attending the party. We have plans."

The entire afternoon, Lily and James left their hands intertwined under the table.

"Oh, um, oka- Oh!" She looked as if she had just solved an arithmancy equation. "Right, of course you can't go. I remember you telling me the other day." She lied.

Remus could have sworn he saw her eyes flit to glance at him from the side. And his heightened senses picked up on her increased anxiety, though he was surprised that he couldn't smell fear. And James looked confused, though he didn't contradict her obvious lie.

"You told her, didn't you?" Remus hissed at James.

James shook his head emphatically.

"No! He didn't. I swear he didn't. I figured it out on my own."

"How?" inquired James.

Sirius narrowed his eyes and hissed, "Snivellus!"

"What? No! Well, I mean, he did have his theories. But no real proof and I figured it out before that anyway," she turned back to address Remus and put a hand on his arm. "And I promise you that I never added to his theories and usually tried to change the subject or something. Even when we were badmouthing these guys."

"You badmouthed us?" asked Peter.

Lily glanced at Peter before listing all reasons, while ticking them off her fingers, "You insulted and hexed my best friend. A lot. From day one. Seemingly for the hell of it. Along with the rest of his house. Lost us so many house points that we lost the house cup. Twice. Yes, I counted." She turned to James now, "Meanwhile embarrassing me on a weekly, if not daily basis. Even after he…after we fell out, it took almost a year and a half to warm up to you jerks," she stated bluntly and without remorse before taking a sip of her butterbeer.

James frowned, but didn't say anything. Peter had the decency to look ashamed. Sirius looked like he wanted to defend himself, but had to acknowledge she had a point. Remus just kept his eyes locked on her hand, which was still on his arm.

Lily shook her head when they didn't reply. "Look, that isn't the point. To answer your question, I just happened to enjoy doing my Astronomy homework while sitting at the window during a full moon. I thought it made it more…magical," she blushed. "I saw you walking off the grounds with Pomfrey often enough that I eventually noticed the pattern."

"And," she continued, "I don't know how you all help him or anything. But I do know that every month now all of you disappear completely. Remus is the only one that doesn't attend classes, so I'm assuming he's the only one with lycanthropy. But he seems healthier and happier when he does come back, so you must be doing something."

They all seemed a bit calmer now. Particularly that she didn't know they were all illegal animagi.

She addressed them all. "And now you know that I can keep a secret, too."

Sirius smirked into his glass then, "For six years, anyway."

~AUF~AUF~AUF~AUF~

Lily returned to the heads quarters to find a very messy common area and an incredibly frantic James.

"No no no no no no no! It can't be gone. It just can't be! I had it. I swear."

"What are you on about? And how did this much stuff come out of one trunk, anyway?"

"I lost the map," he said forlornly, his head falling into his hands before continuing his search and answering her. "An extendable charm. Have a look" James replied absently.

"It's – wow. It's bigger on the inside. It's ACTUALLY bigger on the inside." Lily's incoherence distracted James from his search long enough to look at her curiously.

Her head snapped to her wand, then the trunk, and back her wand again. Her eyes widened comically large and she started laughing like a madwoman,

"Ohmigod – Doctor Who is a wizard!"

James looked askance at his clearly mad girlfriend and she did her best to explain the TV show. As soon as she mentioned time travel, his ears perked up.

"You know, I traveled back in time once." he stated this as if it was just an off-handed comment and not the confession he was hoping it would be, despite the fact that his heart was pounding,

Lily of course thought he was joking but decided to play along. "Oh yeah? Where did you go? Or when, I suppose?"

"I went back to just before we started Hogwarts. Wasn't just a visit, though, like this Doctor bloke does. One way trip I'm afraid. His nervousness was ebbing. This was easy. This was safe. It wasn't exactly the naked truth - all dressed up in jokers clothing. But it was the only way he could think of to tell her the truth without scaring her.

"And how exactly did you manage this incredible leap? Has Professor Flitwick been keeping the Time Charm from us all this…erm...time?"

James twisted up his face. "It wasn't magic, exactly. More of a divine intervention," he nodded, approving of his own description before realizing that more explanation was required. "You see, I died and an angel sent me back in time. Said her name was Ann and that I had to fulfill my fate."

"And what, may I ask, is your fate?"

"My dear Lily, isn't it obvious?" He leaned down to whisper in her ear, putting his hands on her waist in the process.

"It's you."

Lily had never blushed more. Or snogged her boyfriend harder.

…Meanwhile, miles away in a small house near Ottery St Catchpole, a set of red-headed twins were welcomed into the world.

~AUF~AUF~AUF~AUF~

"Well, pass me a scrubber. We may as well get started," sighed Remus.

"Do we have to? I mean, really. What's the worst that could happen? We graduate tomorrow. What could they do to us?"

James rolled his eyes at Srius' whining. "What do you think? They could keep us from graduating. Well. From the ceremony anyway." That's actually exactly what happened the first time around. McGonagall had not had any qualms about keeping Sirius from the ceremony for his transgressions.

Sirius let out a small "oh" and stepped up to clean a cauldron.

"Worth it though," commented Peter with a grin. They all chuckled in agreement.

They had wanted to outdo themselves for their final prank. They had convinced the elves to add polyjuice potion to everyone's drinks at just the right moment. When everyone sipped their drink after Dumbledore's farewell speech they all became someone else. Just one someone.

Now you might think that the Marauders would want to pay homage to themselves, but Remus' werewolf hair couldn't be used. That Sirius thought everyone should be lucky enough to be him (he had, but the others had just rolled their eyes). Or that James would want to pay homage to Lily (he had, but to a resounding NO).

So that night, each student and every teacher became Albus Percival Wolfric Brian Dumbledore. Only with bright, technicolor beards, as inspired by Sirius' metamorphmagus cousin.

Except the headmaster himself, of course, who did not change at all. He did look highly amused, the Marauders noted, as all the other, more colorful, Dumbledores panicked.

Of course, now they were paying for it in detention – cleaning the cauldrons from all the final exams.

"Would somebody please talk?" whined Sirius. "It goes so much faster when I don't have to think about what I'm doing. C'mon, Prongs? What're you planning before we start Auror training?"

"Mainly hanging out with Lily. She wants to show me around muggle London. And then we have her sister's wedding. That's my deadline. I'm going to ask her to marry me, so she'll be able to throw it in her sister's face if she wants."

"You could always do it during the reception. Maybe after the final speech," Sirius suggested. "Better yet; do it during the ceremony. I think I read that muggles have a line about asking for objections." This made them all chuckle. "What about you Remus, find a job yet?"

"No. They all seem quite interested until they get to the pesky little disclosure law." He said this quietly. They had all gotten quite drunk several weeks ago while railing at the unfairness of the situation when Remus' dad couldn't even get him a job in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

A good portion of that time had been spent trying to convince Remus to just lie. After all, if he got caught, he could just throw their own system back in their faces. Some idiot classified werewolves as 'beasts' which, by definition "aren't smart enough to understand the laws of the magical community"…including the very law stating that he had to disclose being a werewolf.

"How about you, Wormtail?" Remus asked, eager to get the focus off of himself.

"Assuming I actually passed, I've got an interview with the Ministry Dispatch."

"I hear that's the shittiest job there is," Sirius smirked.

"Ha ha. Actually, they're switching from using owls to deliver memos to charmed parchment using muggle paper airplanes. I used to make them with my muggle cousins when my Dad took me to visit so I think I have a good chance. Plus, it should be a good central location to keep my ears open for the Order."

The Order. They were all joining as soon as they could. They each had their reasons, but it simply came down to being brave enough to do what was right. They were Gryffindors, after all.

A/N – What do you think? Please review – it might not make me write faster, but it will keep me motivated to finish! Only a few more chapters to go!