A/N: Each of these chapters gets a bit longer, I swear. It's the blasted holidays. I have no obligations, thus no pressure to go to sleep at a reasonable hour, and thus...here we are. Hope you don't tire!

* Disclaimer: I still own absolutely nothing.

…

The next Tuesday, Lily was put into a Ravenclaw prefect rotation because Remus had gone home to visit his mother. Since first year, Remus Lupin's mum had been suffering from a debilitating disease. Lily had always assumed it was cancer, but the handful of times she had brought it up to the wizard, he had avoided all questions. When Lily had been made prefect, McGonagall had held a special meeting with her instructing the young witch to practice grace when it came to Mr. Lupin's attendance. She didn't offer much information regarding the situation, but merely asked for Lily's patience with her partner. Of course, for Lily, there was never a question of whether or not she would treat Remus kindly. Regardless of the group he generally associated with, Lily had always counted him as a close friend and someone she greatly respected.

"Frankly, I don't know why we should have to pick up the slack on Lupin's laziness," the Ravenclaw sixth-year girl whined as she walked down the corridor, her male counterpart and Lily in tow.

"His mum is sick, Geneva," the wizard sighed, sounding as if this conversation had occurred before.

"So he shouldn't have agreed to a position he couldn't properly fulfill!"

Lily's ears burned as she listened to the witch prattle on about Remus. "He's doing the best he can. Besides, I don't mind picking up a little extra work every once in a while."

"Well, it doesn't just affect you, does, it Evans?" the girl snapped, before whispering "lumos" and pointing her wand toward a hidden alcove. "Because of your partner's absence, Wilder and I have to cover double the area of patrolling."

"She can't do it alone, Geneva…" the boy pressed.

"Well, why not? It's Gryffindor's problem, so let's leave it to Gryffindor."

"It's not safe for her to do rounds alone."

Lily walked between them, feeling odd that they were talking about her as if she did not exist. She was about to voice this concern when Luke Wilder cut her off.

"She's a muggleborn, it's too dangerous for her."

"What?" Lily froze, whipping her head toward the tall boy.

Luke's eyes widened. "No, no, I didn't mean it that way…I just meant—"

"Well, how did you mean it, Wilder? I'm a perfectly competent witch…even if I am muggleborn."

"I know that, Lily! Of course I know—"

"Merlin, so dramatic." Geneva contributed, with disgust, as she continued to walk down the corridor.

"You want it to just be Ravenclaw?" Lily spat, past the point of rationality. "Fine. Have fun." She turned on her heels and marched back down the hall, no real location in mind.

As she marched down the long, dark corridor, her frustration only grew. She had poured almost six full years of hard work into this school and people still didn't see her as a fully-fledged witch. It was in moments like this that she was reminded of the gravity of this reality and exactly what it meant for her outside of the walls of Hogwarts. Within the castle, the prejudice was limited to name-calling and the occasional hex, but outside…there was a full-out war going on.

"You're lost, Ginge," a familiar voice rang out. Lily's head snapped up, looking for the source. Sirius Black stepped out from behind a statue, smirking and handsome as ever.

Lily's eyes narrowed. "Leave me alone, Black."

"Well, good evening to you, too." he said, easily, sauntering over to her. "You don't look too good."

"Thank you," the redhead hissed. "What are you doing out after curfew?"

"What are you doing out after curfew?"

"I'm a prefect," Lily reminded him with a menacing glare. "I had rounds."

"Me, too."

Lily rolled her eyes, continuing her destination-less walk down the hall.

"You really shouldn't be walking the castle alone at night, y'know?"

Lily turned on him, enraged. "Because I'm a muggleborn?!"

"No," Sirius piped, unfazed. "Because of werewolves."

Lily bit back a strangled chortle of laughter. "Werewolves, right." She shook her head in exasperation, picking up the pace.

His long legs easily fell into step with her strides. "Where are you going?"

"Back to the common room."

"No, you're not, the common room is that way."

"Get off my back, Black."

Sirius grinned. "Hey, that rhymed."

She ignored him, continuing to walk in silence.

"You're not going for a walk outside, are you?"

"No, I'm not going for a walk outside, I don't enjoy breaking the rules like you idiots."

"Harsh, Evans," he feigned offense, before pressing on. "But are you sure? Not just telling me that to ditch me?"

Lily paused her march, sighing. "No, Black," she said, turning to look at him with unmasked curiosity. "Why does it matter?"

His mouth twitched. "Just wondering."

The witch thought to continue her interrogation for a moment, but realized she didn't have the energy nor patience for an argument. If Sirius was intent on her not going outside, chances are there was a justifiable reason, and…for tonight…that was enough. She yawned, stretching her arms above her head. "All right, Black, you win. I'm going to bed."

A small smile appeared. "Brilliant, I'll walk with you back."

"Black, I just said that—"

"I trust you! I'm headed back that way, anyway, though." he explained, quickly.

She paused. "Okay."

They walked in silence for a few moments, neither being willing to cut through the awkwardness as they both considered the past month. Lily broke first. "I uh…saw that you stopped sleeping in the common room…"

He shot a questioning glance at her, but seemed to find the authenticity he was looking for and replied, "Yeah, Dictator Potter decided to let me have my bed back."

"Well, that's…good…right?"

"I guess," he said, quietly, eyes back at his feet. The silence resumed.

After a few moments, he stopped walking, turning to the smaller witch. "Listen, Evans, I'm sorry I was a prat and pressured you about the letter. I know how it feels to have family issues and want to just deal with it on your own and I'm sorry I pressed you."

Lily looked at him for a moment, emerald meeting steel. "You're apologizing?"

He scratched his neck, nervously. "How did I do?"

She looked at him for another extended moment before a grin broke out. "Absolutely rubbish."

His face froze for a moment, waiting for an angry outburst or snarky comment, before mirroring her own joy, with a beaming smile of his own. "Well, I think that—"

"I'm sorry, too," she blurted, words slurring together quickly. "I shouldn't have snapped at you when I knew you were just trying to be nice." Her grin grew. "I should have given you some grace knowing that was a new thing for you." A bark of laughter escaped his lips. "Sooo…friends?"

"Friends."

…

"C'mon, Pete, it's almost time."

Peter shifted, nervously. "Couldn't we ask Padf—Sirius—" he quickly amended at James's glare, "to come out with us? Just for tonight…"

"No," James barked. "We can handle it without that traitor."

"Prongs…" Peter winced. "Last month…he almost…things almost got out of hand."

"We can handle it," James repeated through his gritted teeth as he grabbed the invisibility cloak from his trunk.

"I'm too small to do anything, really, and you're just not limber enough to—"

"Peter!" James sprung up from his bed. "If you want to stay in here and sleep in your cozy bed waiting up for Sirius, then be my guest. I, for one, have a friend who will be painfully transforming into a murderous beast any second now, biting and tearing at his own skin if no one is with him. My mate needs me and I am going."

Peter paused for a moment, eyes wide before squeaking, "Okay, I'm coming."

James nodded, harshly. "Let me just check the map before we go." He unrolled the crinkled parchment. "Filch is at the east end…McGonagall's in her office." He continued to mutter the locations of various Hogwarts staff under his breath before pausing, abruptly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose and squinting toward a spot on the map.

Wormtail noticed. "P-P-Prongs? Is everything all right?" He shifted closer to the tall wizard, struggling get a glimpse of the map. "Are we going to be caught or—"

"No, Peter, we're fine," he said, absentmindedly. "Sirius and Lily are together."

Peter's eyes widened once again. "Oh."

"Never mind," James waved off, folding the map up and shoving it into his pocket. "We have to get out there. Get under the cloak."

As the two boys descended the stairs a couple moments later, familiar laughter travelled up the staircase from the common room.

"You're joking!" Lily's distinct giggle could be heard. James's chest did a small constriction as he was reminded that he had never been the source of that angelic sound. Then, he immediately willed the constriction to go ahead and fully collapse his lungs since he had actually just used the words angelic sound to describe her laugh ad felt that the only suitable punishment was death.

"Swear to Merlin," Sirius's voice followed through his own chorus of guffaws. "Didn't even realize that his eyebrows were green, too!"

James and Peter continued their silent descent into the common room, swinging behind the couch where Sirius and Lily were laughing, toward the portrait hole.

"I remember that! I thought it was an artistic statement of some sort!"

"Well," a smirk could be heard in Sirius's voice. "He is a Hufflepuff."

A new howl of laughter from both teens ensued as James pushed open the portrait.

"Who's there?" Lily had suddenly jumped from her spot on the couch, aiming her wand toward the cloaked boys, who had frozen midstep in their exit.

Sirius rose, as well. "Lily, what are you looking at?"

Her eyes didn't move from the boys. "The portrait hole. It's open, don't you see?" She squinted toward the hole, obviously baffled and suspicious.

Peter glanced at James, looking for a cue. James's mind rushed with various scenarios, but all of them ended in an argument, points being docked, and Remus transforming alone. He looked back toward the sofa and could have sworn that Sirius's eyes locked with his.

"It's probably just the fat lady, Evans. I don't see anyone."

"No," she supplied, voice wavering with doubt and paranoia. "She can't open it from the front without a password. Someone opened it…from in here."

"Think of what you're saying, Ginge. We've been down here for half an hour and no one has come through."

Lily's eyes faltered. It was obvious that she was having a difficult time denouncing his practicality. "I'm going to check."

Sirius grabbed her shoulder, quickly, but gently. "You sit, barmy witch. I'll check." Lily hesitated, but relented, falling back onto the couch as the dark-haired wizard walked toward James and Peter.

Sirius made his way to the portrait hole as the other two boys held their breath. Sirius raised his wand and muttered, "Aparecium!" loud enough for Lily to hear before leaning dangerously close to the boys and hissing, "Go." Peter looked to James with his eyes wide before James nodded and stepped through the portrait. Sirius moved to stand in their place, closing the portrait behind them and saying, "I don't see anything, Ginge. Must have been a fluke."

…

The next morning, all four marauders were missing from breakfast. Lily felt a quick twinge of curiosity but decided against investigation in lieu of sausage. She was earlier than Anna and Mary, but she spied McCall already seated, so she sat in the vacant spot across from the auburn-haired witch.

"Morning!" Lily said, cheerfully, sliding onto the bench.

McCall looked up from her plate in surprise before settling into a small smile. "Good morning, Lily."

"No post yet?"

McCall shook her head, giving her attention back to her sausage and beans.

"How are you?" Lily meant it sound more casual than it came out.

"I'm…all right," McCall said slowly, focusing on her fork.

Lily reached for the pitcher of coffee and poured some into her mug, brandishing her want to do a quick heating spell of the beverage. It had always baffled Lily that the wizarding world made their coffee in pitchers and periodically reheated each individual cup instead of steeping a full pot. "No word from Olive?"

The witch shook her head again.

"Well, I'm sure she's okay. The professors would have told us if anything terrible had occurred."

This didn't seem to console McCall, but Lily simply sighed, giving up on her attempts at conversation and choosing to redirect her strength toward her plate.

…

"Out," Healer Harding instructed, no trace of pity in her dark eyes.

"But, Healer, we only want to see—"

"No," she insisted, firmly. "We go through this every month. Mr. Lupin is not allowed visitors for 24 hours!"

"We have his homework! He needs us!"

"He most certainly does not. Sirius Black already brought him his homework, but nice try."

This succeeded in immediately stopping James's pleas for entrance into the hospital wing. His eyes clouded as he stepped toward the witch. "Healer Harding, did you say Sirius Black was here?"

"Indeed, I did."

"And you let him in to see Remus?"

"Of course not!" she shrieked in her trademark bird-like voice. "He snuck in!"

James seemed to consider this for a moment, shooting a dark glance at Peter. "All right, we'll be back tonight."

"Very well, very well, now hurry along. You'll miss breakfast!"

…

For some reason, Lily had a difficult time focusing during the school day. Exams were upcoming and she could really use the practice in Transfiguration but she found that her eyes kept trailing to James. The Marauders sans Remus had turned up in Charms immediately after breakfast and made no mention of their skipped meal. Now in Transfiguration, Sirius sat at his seat in the far-left front corner of the room, while James and Peter occupied their typical second-row center desks.

Ever since her conversation with Remus, Lily was having a difficult time anchoring her thoughts when she was near James. The breakthrough about his parents and his career dreams had stuck out for some reason and she couldn't seem to push the wizard from her mind.

Remus's challenge for her to have a real conversation with the boy also pricked at her head.

"—and the correct incantation is?" McGonagall's voice cut through her thoughts. "Anyone?" The Transfiguration professor's lips pursed as she folded her hands in front of her, obviously not moving on until someone volunteered the answer. "Mr. Wood?" Lily's heart sank as the older witch began sniffing out victims. Transfiguration was easily Lily's worst subject and she hadn't even read the chapter she was supposed to read. The professor called a few more students before settling on, "Mr. Potter."

It was more of a statement than a question. Everyone knew how frustratingly adept James was when it came to transfiguration.

"I…I don't know, Professor," he answered, quietly, his eyes dropping to his desk. Lily's own eyes scrunched as she studied the boy. In her six years of knowing the wizard, a statement as uncertain as "I don't know" had never been uttered from the lips of James Potter. As she continued to watch him, she noticed a fresh, green bruise on his left cheekbone. There was a badly patched gash behind his ear, too.

McGonagall seemed taken aback as well. She paused with her eyes on James for a moment before blinking and turning back to the class. "Very well," she began, disappointment evident in her voice. "Since it appears my assigned readings were not taken seriously last night, you can all present ten inches of parchment on chapter sixteen tomorrow." Groans could be heard throughout the room as Professor McGonagall returned to the front of the room. "Quiet! This is a classroom, not a circus. Put your wands away and pull out your quills. It appears we are not prepared to do wandwork today."

…

"Thirty minutes. That's it. He needs to sleep, do you boys hear me?" Peter and James nodded profusely toward the healer before jumping around her and rushing to their bed-ridden friend. He was sitting up, appearing to be boosted by every pillow in the wing. Looking around, the boys noticed he was the only student in the wing and it seemed as if he had taken full advantage of this fact.

"Got enough pillows there, Moony?" James grinned as Remus looked up from his book with a start.

"I didn't think—oh Merlin." he stopped speaking abruptly, eyes widening in horror. "James, your face…I didn't…"

James turned his face to the right, shielding Remus's gaze from his bruise. "Nah, this is from the willow. Gave me quite a good womp last night, isn't that right, Peter?" The lumpy boy nodded, profusely…nervously.

"James," Remus groaned, struggling to sit up higher off the pillows. The bespectacled boy rushed to help him but Remus held his hand up, eyes wincing closed. He sighed as he relaxed into his new position. "James, this can't keep happening. It's getting worse…"

"It's fine, Moony. It was just a bit of a rough night. We've had plenty of rough nights!"

"Prongs," Remus fixed him with a glare. "Every moon this term has been rough. It's only gotten worse. Did I...get onto the grounds this time?"

James stared at the quilt as Peter fidgeted.

"Merlin," Remus's crystal blue eyes widened again. "I could have…if I'd…no." A shadow passed over his face before his features hardened. "That's it. Y'all can't keep doing this. No more."

"No offense, mate, but you do realize that you have absolutely no ability to stop me, right?"

"James," the werewolf implored, desperately. "The two of you aren't enough. I came out of the forest last night. That's all well and good when we've got a dog who can keep up with me and cool me off. But a rat and a deer?"

"Stag."

"What are you going to do, antler me?"

"We hold our own! We just have to be more careful. Maybe staying in the shack would be a good…"

"James, if you try to make me stay in the shack when I'm transformed, I'll kill you. I know I will. I…the werewolf…he knows what it's like to roam and he's never going to be okay staying in that shack again. Not with y'all there. You have to let me transform alone."

"Moony," Peter piped up. "We can't do that, mate…"

"You can and you will," Remus insisted. "I did it alone for years, I'm certainly capable now. It's just too dangerous without all three of you."

"Everything we do is dangerous, Remus! You're our brother, we're not going to let you—"

"This isn't open for debate, James!"

"If you would just be sensible—"

"I'm the only one who is being sensible here—"

"You're not thinking about this all the way—"

"I'm a werewolf!"

"We can't leave you—"

"You're sounding like Sirius!"

James's mouth hung open, unsaid words evaporating. His face hardened. "What?"

Remus closed his eyes, in an effort to garner patience. "You're valuing the fun of my condition over human life. It sounds an awful lot like Sirius gambling Snape's life."

James reeled back as if he had been slapped. The prefect's words stung more than the physical gash he had given his friend the night before. He sat in silence, unsure of what to say.

"He came today," Remus said, quietly. "Sirius. He came this morning."

James chose not to explain his conversation with Healer Harding earlier, eyes not leaving the hospital quilt.

"Wanted to check in on me. Brought me some breakfast." Remus sighed. "It's been four months and I'm not going to pretend like I still hate him. I don't think I ever hated him."

The Quidditch captain continued to sit in silence, mulling over his friend's words.

"I think I'm ready…to forgive him."

James's eyes shot up at this. "What?"

"He'd do it for us."

"I don't care. Remus, he—"

"I know. But I'm just tired of all of it. I know I should still be angry, and maybe a small part of me is, but when I see Sirius, I don't feel rage, I just feel…sadness. It's not the same without him, you know it isn't the same, James."

"Yeah, I know." He paused for a moment before meeting the eyes of his hospitalized friend again. "But that's just not enough for me."

...

A/N: James and Lily have a real life conversation in the next chapter! Big stuff.

Huge thanks and lots of love to all of you who have taken the time to review. I never knew that my joy could be tangibly expressed by the ping of my email telling me I have a new review on here. xoxo