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Part I: Love

The first snowfall of the year occurred the night before the first Hogsmeade weekend. A light dusting of white flakes covered the Hogwarts grounds. Looking out the window at the peaceful and serene grounds, it was hard to believe that there was an evil wizard running around collecting followers. The deranged man seemed to be all the Daily Prophet could talk about, but many Gryffindors had already made up their minds about him.

"If you ask me," Sirius said as the snow fell to the ground outside. The group of seventh years was sitting around the fireplace. "If this guy's anything like my parents and my bloody family that's following him, he's a complete nutcase. Besides, he's afraid of Dumbledore! How much harm can he do?"

"Apparently, a great deal," Remus replied, holding up that morning's paper. On the front was a picture of a village that had been decimated. "Nutcase or not, he knows what he's doing. He's starting to kill people now, not just put them under the Imperius Curse to get into the Ministry."

Sirius shrugged. "So, we'll take him out. It's like the Slytherins versus everyone else," he said, throwing a quill into the fire. Peter squeaked in approval.

Lily didn't know what to think. Voldemort, as he was calling himself, had declared revolution against the Ministry of Magic in her first years at Hogwarts. At first, it didn't seem as if he was going to succeed, but now the numbers of his followers, Death Eaters as they were called, were increasing. The number of attacks was multiplying by the week. It was only now that the students of Hogwarts realized how terrible the situation was becoming. Michelle, who was seated beside Sirius, and Ivy, who was beside her, began talking with Remus and Sirius about the possibilities of Voldemort reaching Hogwarts.

Sirius placed his arms around Michelle's shoulders and her eyes widened slightly, making Lily smile from her place across the room. Michelle still had it bad for Sirius. "Don't worry," he said delicately. "We've got Dumbledore; he won't show his face around here anytime soon."

Lily looked up at James. He hadn't spoken and was looking pensively into the fireplace. She touched his arms, but he continued to stare absently into the cackling flames. She glanced back to her friends and saw Sirius had noticed James's quiet behavior as well.

"What's the matter, Prongs?" he asked quietly.

It almost seemed that James wasn't going to answer, but after a long pause he looked up at the group. "I'm just trying to remember something," he said, shaking his head. "Do you remember, Padfoot, when Dumbledore came by the house two summers ago?"

Sirius nodded. "What's that got to do with Voldy's run for Minister?" he said, joking around with the situation at hand. Remus rolled his eyes and shoved the boy's arm.

"They said something about an Order. Remember?" James asked. Sirius nodded and James looked around the room. "Anybody know what that could be? Dumbledore wanted my parents to join it, whatever it was." No one had a clue and James continued to stare into the fireplace. Lily sighed, patting his knee gently.

The room became silent and Lily looked up. All the noise of the older students playing chess and the younger students looking excitedly out the window had ceased. Lily turned and followed their gazes. Cecily was standing in the doorway, looking at the group with scorn. She glared at the three girls sitting with the Marauders before huffing past them, storming up the stairs.

"What's her deal?" Sirius sneered.

Lily, Michelle, and Ivy opened their mouths to answer, but they were cut off. "It's just the way she is," James replied.

All three girls looked curiously at James. He looked away from the fire and gave them a small smirk. "She's always thought she was better than everyone else," he said. "Her parents raised her on a pedestal."

"How do you know?" Ivy asked curiously. "She was never that way around us."

He shrugged. "Her grandparents were friends with my parents or something like that." He shook his head. "We were all spoiled rotten, but Cecily made sure everyone knew who she was. She always had to have everything first, everything her way, and if it didn't she got bent out of bloody shape and started screaming."

Lily looked at the stairs that Cecily had stormed up. She had a feeling that there was more to the story than James was letting out. She wanted to know and thought it might give her a hint as to why she hated the Marauders. Going up at that moment would have been a terrible idea as Cecily's mood was dangerous. The three girls looked at each other, each realizing they would have to stay in the common room until she calmed down.

"So, what are we doing tomorrow in Hogsmeade," Sirius asked, not realizing his arm was still draped over Michelle's shoulders.

Ivy's eyes lit up. "Oh, can you imagine how cute it will look! All snow covered and all!" she squealed happily. There were various chuckles at her outburst, but Ivy smiled dreamily, not taking in any of their comments. She was off in her own world, imagining Hogsmeade covered in snow.

"Well, I was hoping to stop at Honeydukes," Michelle said. Lily nodded.

After agreeing, Sirius turned to face James and Lily. "Are you two going off by yourselves then?" he asked.

Lily looked up at James and giggled. He had his eyebrows raised in wonderment. "This is our first real date, Padfoot!" he exclaimed. "We don't want you lot hanging around."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Wouldn't want an invasion of privacy, now would we? It's not like you guys don't ever have a time to be alone. You patrol together by yourselves, and then you got that fancy common room, which you don't seem to use." He smirked. "If I were you, I would be in there every day, but apparently you enjoy our company too much to use it. And now you're telling us you want to be alone."

James rolled his eyes and Remus patted Sirius's shoulder once before standing. "You can count me out of your little group as well, Padfoot," he said with a yawn. "I don't think I'm going into Hogsmeade this time."

"Oh, Remus, why not?" Michelle asked.

He smiled at her. "I'm not feeling too well, is all," he responded, tipping his head to his friends and walking out of the room with a quick goodnight.

Remus had been awfully pale, Lily thought while watching his retreating form. He had purple bags forming under his eyes that looked like horrible bruises and had been tired for the past few days. Remus, Lily had deduced, was a very sickly person. The only part that didn't quite fit was his body. He wasn't the frail boy she'd think he'd be for getting sick every few weeks.

"So, I guess that leaves me, you, Pete, and dreamy over there," Sirius told Michelle, nodding his head to Peter and Ivy, who had shaken out of her trance.

"Pads, honestly," James groaned. "If we must, we'll start out with you."

He shook his head. "No, don't do anything on my account!" he said looking away from James in mock anger. Then he turned to James with a smile. "You should know by now, Prongsie, I'm only kidding! You and your little Lily-flower go have a fantastic time," he said with a smile. "Michelle and I will head up the single Marauders group!"

James looked at Lily and mouthed watch this. She stared at him in confusion until he turned away from her to Sirius. "Well, I never thought I'd see the day that Sirius Black wasn't dating anyone," he said slyly.

Sirius, who had turned to talk to Michelle, looked up at him. His nostrils flared and Lily could have sworn she saw him twitch. "Prongs, don't you dare!" he hissed.

James looked back at Lily before smiling at his friend. "I was just thinking, Padfoot, it's been a while. How long?" he asked. Sirius didn't respond. Instead he glared at James, who continued speaking. "April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November. Wow, that's eight months! Impressive. There must be someone special that you're nervous about."

Sirius stood immediately, giving James death glares. "That's it, I'm off to bed." He turned to Michelle on the couch. "I'll meet you here tomorrow morning," he told her before casting another glare at James. Peter stood, scurrying off after Sirius.

Watching Sirius go up the stairs, James smiled. He stood and kissed Lily's forehead. "I better go up before he decides to jinx my bed," he said with a grin. He turned and nodded to Michelle and Ivy. "Girls," he said, acknowledging them before running across the room and up the stairs.

"What was that all about?" Ivy asked once James had disappeared.

Michelle looked down. "Didn't you hear? Sirius has found himself a girl," she sighed, leaning against the couch solemnly.

Lily watched her friend, not knowing what to say. She knew, as James had told her on one of their patrols, Sirius liked Michelle, but she didn't think it was her place to tell her friend. James had told her in complete confidence that she wouldn't say anything, and it wasn't for her to say anything. James was doing his best to push his friend, as the scene had shown. Lily knew that Sirius would tell Michelle when he was ready.

"He loves her, he really does," James had said. "But, I think he's scared. He's hurt so many girls in the past; he doesn't want to do the same to her. Plus, he's not a big commitment guy, so it'll take some getting used to on his part."

It took all Lily's strength to keep her mouth shut, but luckily Ivy rescued her from saying anything. "Oh, come on, Michy!" she exclaimed. "If he's got an eye for anyone, it's you."

Michelle shook her head and stood. "Maybe it would be in my best interest to forget about him."

"I wouldn't do that just yet," Lily said quietly as her friend passed. She noticed Michelle hesitantly pause momentarily before continuing on her way to the stairs. A smile spread across her cheeks, knowing Michelle had heard her.

Lily turned to Ivy, who had turned her attention to the cackling fireplace. "So, how's that boyfriend of yours?" Lily asked. She hadn't talked to Ivy alone in a long time. Ivy smiled, her eyes watching the flames.

"Chris? He's wonderful!" she stated happily. "I just received an owl from him today in fact. I'll be able to see him over Christmas break."

"That's wonderful, Ivy," Lily replied, thinking about her own upcoming Christmas break. Her parents had written back to her a few days prior telling her they would be pleased to have James over. Her father even added his own note at the bottom.

Telling Ivy she was going to bed, she stood and walked up the stairs. When she arrived at the door to her dorm, she pushed it open slowly and entered. The bathroom door was shut, white light escaping from under it. Cecily's curtains were drawn around her bed. Lily approached her bedside table and held the letter in her hands. She skimmed through her mother's neat script. Finally, her eyes rested on the unique handwriting.

Lils, I think this will be a fantastic holiday for all of us. I can tell from what you say that your James won't let Vernon go on about anything. It'll be nice to have someone tell him off. Your mother's told me I'm not allowed to anymore. I've convinced her to keep his arrival a secret because I agree that the looks on their faces will be priceless. Don't get me wrong, I love your sister, but it's time someone wiped that smug I'm-better-than-you grin off her face. It's not your fault she couldn't go to Hogwarts.

I can't wait to see you, Lily-pad. Behave these last few weeks – not that you wouldn't, my darling. And, as your mother said, we can't wait to meet the boy who's stolen your precious heart. He's already better than the Dursley boy and I haven't even met him. I shouldn't say that about your sister's husband, but I can't help it. You understand, Lils.

I love you, Lily – Dad

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