A/N: Usual disclaimers apply.

A big thanks to everyone who added this to their favourites/alerts, and thanks for the reviews. I usually reply to all signed reviews, so if I haven't replied to yours, I apologise and offer you compensation in the form of virtual Smarties cookies fresh from the oven.
This week is half-term, so I have been typing a-plenty and hopefully there should be more chapters soon, both here and on my other 'fic (The Other Chosen One). Hopefully you will enjoy them.

Also (first time I've had to do this!), I would like to thank the reviewers who are not signed in, and here is a good place to do so.
Isabelle: Thanks for your kind words, I'm glad you liked the story so far and I hope you continue to read it.

And on with the chapter.


The light pierced through her closed eyes, and Lily furrowed her brow to try and stop it from hurting so much. Groaning, she rolled over and slowly opened her eyes to adjust to the brightness of the hospital wing.

Considering how early in the morning it was, it was very bright. Lily was the only person on the ward, and with nobody there to distract her, she began to think. It was weird how much of this year had been spent in the hospital wing, either because she was lying on a bed or because she was sitting worriedly by Sev's bedside. Hopefully, she mused, with James and Severus being friendly now, that would mean they would all spend less time visiting the matron. A smile crossed her lips as she thought back to the previous night and how both boys had sat beside her bed, talking to her and not teasing each other. It was the start of a new era.

Madam Pomfrey dismissed Lily from the hospital wing before 9am, so she had time to race down to breakfast to find James and Severus.

She didn't even have to go as far as the Great Hall before she found the boys. They were walking up the marble stairs, arguing over what to bring her for breakfast.

"But porridge is easier to eat than toast!" James said, gesturing to the bowl in his hands.

"Potter, I've known Lily since first year, and I've never known her to eat porridge," Severus scowled at James.

"Fine then. But I still say pumpkin juice would be better for her than tea, Sniv."

Severus opened his mouth to retaliate, but was interrupted by James calling brightly, "Here's how we sort it. Lily, would you prefer toast or porridge, and tea or pumpkin juice?"

Severus turned to look at Lily, eyebrows raised.

"Toast and juice, please. Thank you for asking, James," she said, running down the stairs.

Severus eyed her with concern when she jumped the last two steps and landed, grinning, in front of the boys.

"Are you well enough to be bouncing around like that?" he asked.

Lily laughed, "Lighten up, Sev. If Madam Pomfrey decided I was fine, then you have to trust her judgement. So what's on the agenda for today then?"

James thrust the goblet of pumpkin juice into Lily's hands. "Well, since the exams are over and it's Hogsmeade weekend, we were thinking of heading down there," he said, mussing his hair up in the way that always annoyed Lily.

She scowled, concerned. "We? As in, all three of us?"

"Six," Severus corrected. "Potter is insisting that Black, Lupin and Pettigrew join us."

Her eyes widened. "Is that possible?"

James grinned mischievously. "Well, we'll soon see, won't we?"

--

It was the oddest, yet best day of her life.

Everyone seemed to get along well enough with each other, nobody hexed anybody else, and Lily got to spend time with all of her friends without having to worry about upsetting anyone. The group spend almost an hour in Zonko's, with James and his friends stocking up on tricks of all sorts and Lily making them promise not to use their new purchases on Severus. From there, they visited the Three Broomsticks, where they each got a bottle of Butterbeer and James and Sirius made the barmaid, Madam Rosmerta, laugh out loud by doing impressions of various teachers at Hogwarts. The impressions were so good that she even offered the group a free round of Butterbeers.

It seemed almost too good to be true.

It was late afternoon when the crowd left the bar and walked back up the main street of the small village. Lily was walking hand-in-hand with Severus, and James and friends were behind them. Suddenly, there was a shout from behind. Lily spun around to find Peter on the floor and Sirius doubled up with laughter.

"What did you do to him?" she accused.

Sirius straightened up and wiped his face with the back of his hand. "Didn't do anything. He fell over. Isn't that right, Prongs?"

Lily turned her gaze to James. "Well, what did he do to Peter?"

James became very interested in his shoes right then, muttering something that Lily couldn't hear.

She kept trying to catch his gaze for a few more minutes, but failed. Eventually, she turned back to arrogant youth standing beside James. "Sirius, this isn't funny you know. You could have really hurt Peter!"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Give over, Evans. It was only a bit of fun. Maybe you should try it once in a while and then you'd understand what all the fuss is about. I didn't even push him that hard, and I was laughing at the stupid look on his face - not the fact that he has no balance or co-ordination."

"Sirius, don't," a small voice pleaded. Peter picked himself up off the ground and dusted his robes down. "She was only trying to be nice because she's not used to us and she doesn't know how we like to muck around. Isn't that right, Lily?"

Grateful that someone was standing up for her, she nodded. "Yes. Sorry. I've just never been friends with such odd people."

"It's okay, we understand what it's like to associate with people like us," Sirius replied, looking as handsomely arrogant as ever. He looked around, trying to find something worthwhile to do, someting to make their last trip of the school year memorable. The Shrieking Shack was right behind him, and he sensed the opportunity to challenge Severus in front of Lily. "Let's explore the Shack before we go back. It's supposed to be really haunted, and if we don't get eaten by one of the ghosts, at least we'll have some great stories to tell the third years in September to try scare them away from here."

James agreed to this with much enthusiasm and Severus, knowing that they were trying to annoy him, agreed just as quickly. Peter was keen to do whatever his friends though was fun, and quickly voted to explore the Shack also. Lily and Remus were not so keen.

"I don't like it. It's too creepy. What if something happens to us? Nobody would ever know we were up there," she pointed out, gnawing at her bottom lip in anxiety.

"That's all part of the fun, Evans," James said from inside the fence where he was lounging casually.

"James, please. I agree with Lily. Tell Sirius it's a bad idea," Remus pleaded.

Sirius snorted. "Like Hell it's a bad idea."

"Yes, it's probably the best idea he's ever had. We should savour the moment," Severus said icily.

The two glared at each other for a long time, while Lily and Remus continued to plead with James.

Finally, exasperated, Lily threw her hands into the air. "Fine! Do whatever you want, but it's your own stupid fault if something happens!" She stalked off back towards school. Remus stood between the group by the fence and Lily, torn over what to do.

James leaned in to whisper into his friend's ear. "Don't worry, Mooney, we'll have Snivelly back out again. Besides, we need to check that it's safe for exploring tonight. You go back to school and keep an eye on Evans for me."

Remus stared worriedly into James's face, trying to make sense of the situation. Finally, realising he could do no more than what his friend had asked, he nodded.

"Good. We'll see you later then."

Remus nodded again and tore off up the main street after Lily.

The four standing by the fence surrounding the Shack watched the two Prefects leave. When they were out of sight, Severus turned to the other three boys. "Let's get this done with, so I can get back to the important things in my life."

--

The Shack was cold, dark and dusty. There was plenty of furniture strewn about, but not one piece was intact. Chairs were missing their backs and arms, tables were missing their legs and Severus was certain that the plump armchair in the furthest corner was help up by something that it should not be held up by. The curtains which hung on the windows were moth-eaten and filled with Doxys. The wallpaper was faded and peeling. The carpet was torn up, and in some places the floorboards were also missing. What little carpet covered the floor was stained black with dried blood. The whole house had an air of depression and disuse about it. He inhaled. It even smelt of depression, of damp and cold and abandonment.

Trust Potter and his friends to come up with an idea like exploring this place.

He crept along the narrow corridor to a staircase which led upwards. His eyes had not yet properly adjusted to the darkness, yet he couldn't hear any movement from above, so he was certain that the three Gryffindors were not yet in the upper parts of the house. Carefully, he ascended the stairs, taking care not to make too much noise and give away where he was. His eyes had still not adjusted to the darkness when they were assaulted by a blinding red light.