A/N: First of all, I am so terribly sorry for the very long delay in updating this story! I hope you will forgive me! I've been spending all my free time with my boyfriend, and things at work have really picked up, so I haven't had any time to work on my stories!

I do hope this longer chapter will appease you and not make you hate me! It's not totally long, but it's longer than the last two or three chapters. PLUS-things start 'heating' up this chapter! I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 14

It had been three weeks since James had agreed to help Lily with Snape, but they were no closer to recruiting him as a spy. James had suggested jinxing him in the hallway between classes, and dragging him to an abandoned classroom where Lily can talk to him. Lily immediately shot that idea down with a glare so cold; James almost felt his blood freeze.

Whenever Lily even came close to Snape, he'd sneer at her and turn away. She was sure it also didn't help that James was with her whenever she tried to talk to him. Lily thought that with this weekend being Halloween, and a trip to Hogsmeade, it would be a good time to try to talk to him again. Surely there was somewhere they could go to talk, and she could make sure James was occupied. Because she knew that Severus would never speak to her if James was around.

Sirius was also having a difficult time with convincing his own brother to become a spy. They never spoke, not even when they had gone home for the holidays. But now that Sirius had been cut off from his family and spending the holidays and breaks with the Potters, the chance to speak to his brother were even slimmer than before.

He knew that if he approached Regulus out of the blue, he would suspect something was up, and blow him off right away; he'd be on his guard after that. Sirius thought long and hard about what he should do. Unknown to him, his chance would come that afternoon after his Charms class.

Professor Flitwick had called Sirius back to ask him about his missing essay, so his friends had already left for the Great Hall for lunch. After Sirius rushed through his already planned excuse for not turning his essay in, he was excused by an irritable looking Flitwick, and rushed out of the classroom, running right into his brother.

"Watch where you're going!" Regulus growled.

"Sorry Reg! You know how I am when I'm late for a meal," Sirius said casually, slipping into his usual self he used to be with his brother before they had started school, and they had drifted apart.

For a second Regulus' face calmed, as if he too were remembering the old days where they would be with each other 24/7. If Sirius had blinked, he would have missed the look on his brother's face, before it slipped back into a scowl. He started walking away, before hesitating for a moment. He turned his head a bit and said, "Be careful Sirius," before continuing down the hallway.

It took a few seconds for Sirius to comprehend what Regulus said, before he took off after him. But after rounding the corner, his brother was nowhere in sight. Sirius knew the halls of Hogwarts like the back of his hand thanks to the Mauraders Map he and his friends created. So he knew there were no hidden corridors in this part of the castle. Realizing he had lost Regulus with no idea where he went, Sirius made his way to the Great Hall. Realization hit him when he realized that Regulus had actually acknowledged him. But had he given Sirius a warning, or was it a threat?

He thought about how Regulus had said it. It must have been a warning; he could hear the urgency and almost fear in his voice when he said it. He had also said it quietly, as if someone might over hear it.

He barely noticed when he reached the Great Hall, but when he got there, he suddenly wasn't very hungry. Still thinking about what happened between him and his brother, he went back up to the common room.

oOo~oOo~oOo

James was worried. He knew Sirius had been asked to stay behind to talk about his missing essay, but that had been two hours ago. He had missed his next two classes, and when McGonagall had asked him where Sirius was, for the first time he could honestly tell her he had no idea. She must have sensed that James was worried, and dropped it. He and Remus shared a glance.

Remus was a bit nervous as well. Sure it was normal for Sirius to miss class, but he would never miss a meal. As soon as the class was over with, he and James were the first ones out of the classroom and ducked behind a tapestry.

James pulled out the Maurader's Map. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he murmured and tapped the map with his wand. Immediately, the walls of Hogwarts appeared on the parchment, with all the names of the students and staff. He and Remus searched the entire map for their missing friend.

"Where could he be? Honestly, when I get my hands on the prick," James said.

"James, he could be hurt for all we know," Remus said.

"Yeah, well serves him right for making us worry!" James said angrily.

"Wait! Look, he's in the common room!" Remus said, pointing to Sirius' name.

"The common room?" James exclaimed. "He better have a good excuse!" He said before storming off to the common room.

Remus sighed before he started folding the parchment up. He froze when he saw two names by each other in a classroom. He blinked a couple times to make sure he was really seeing what he was seeing. The names were still there for a second more before they went separate ways. He glared at the map before rolling it up. It took a lot for Remus to get mad, but when it came to his friends, he would do anything to keep them safe.

He reigned in his anger. He wouldn't let James know just yet. He rushed after James, and caught him at the portrait hole.

"Sirius Black, you better have a damn good reason why we haven't seen or heard from you in over two hours!" James shouted at Sirius, who was sitting on the couch in front of the fire.

Sirius looked up and looked around, noticing a group of fellow Gryffindors giving wary glances at James and Sirius. "He said Sirius Black, not you lot!" he shouted at them, causing the group to send him a glare before leaving the common room. "Something happened today, and I don't know what to make of it," he said as soon as the portrait closed.

James suddenly lost his anger at Sirius' words and he and Remus walked over and sat around him. "What happened Sirius?" James asked with worry in his voice.

"I ran into Reg, literally."

Remus raised an eyebrow at James. "Yeah, that is mighty suspicious," James said with a chuckle.

"There's more you prat," Sirius said, sending a slight kick at James. "I made a joke about missing a meal, and for a second, it seemed to relax Reg. Like, for just a second, I saw the old Reg. He started walking off, but he stopped and said something."

He trailed off, and finally Remus asked, "Well what did he say?"

"He said 'be careful Sirius.'"

"Right…" James said, not understanding why that was so important.

"You don't get it. It was the way he said it. It was like an afterthought. He said it quietly, like he didn't want anyone but me to hear it, and there was no one else there. I think it was a warning."

"A warning for what?" Remus asked.

"I don't know! That's what I've been thinking about for the last two hours, apparently," Sirius said, looking at his watch.

"Blimey, Sirius thinking seriously about something for over two hours. I must be dreaming," James chucked.

"James this is serious," Sirius said.

"I know you are," James said, laughing even harder.

"James, that's enough. What if it was a warning? We need to figure out what the warning is for," Remus said.

"Oh come on! He's obviously setting you up for something. Make you be overly cautious, and then nothing will happen! You're worrying about nothing," James said before the portrait opened.

Lily, Dorcas, and Marlene walked in and saw the boys. "Ah, now here are some brilliant birds who will tell you, you are worrying over nothing," James said.

"Who's worrying over what?" Lily asked, sitting by James and leaning into him, as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Sirius here ran into his brother, and Reg said something that's got Sirius' wand in a knot."

"What did he say?" Dorcas asked.

"It was a warning. He told me to be careful."

Lily suddenly started choking.

"Lily, are you okay?" James asked, patting her on the back.

"I'm fine," she said, getting control over her breathing again. She looked back at Sirius. "He said that to you?"

"Yeah, why?"

Lily looked at all her friends, and noticed that Remus was glaring at her, which was unusual. Remus was always so nice to her, even before she finally conceded and started dating James. "I-it's nothing. I just find it odd that he would say that if you two don't even speak to each other," she said casually.

She noticed Remus' glare harden at her, but the others seemed to not notice. "She has a point," James said.

"Yeah, well I'm still going to keep my head up and ears open. In these times, we kind of need to," Sirius said. The others silently agreed.

oOo~oOo~oOo

Halloween weekend finally arrived, and the trip to Hogsmeade was underway. Lily was walking with her friends, laughing and enjoying the day. But in the back of her mind, Lily was thinking about what Severus had said to her. She had finally had a chance to talk to him alone after pulling him into a classroom and locking the door. He had sneered at her, but she refused to back down.

"Severus, I am-I-I don't really know what to say. I know you hate me, but-"

"Why him?" he whispered so quietly she almost missed it.

"E-excuse me?"

"You heard me. Why him?" he asked, his eyes ice cold on her. "You've hated him for years, and all of a sudden you're dating him?"

"I-it's complicated. Look, I didn't pull you in here to talk about James and I. I-I have an offer for you," she said.

His face suddenly relaxed and became concerned. "With what?"

Lily took in a deep breathe before she continued. "Severus, I know where your loyalties lie at the moment." His face hardened again. "But I know where your heart really belongs. I know you don't really want to follow Voldemort," he hissed, "and I know that given the chance, you will come to realize you're on the wrong side."

"Don't act like you know me. I thought I knew you, but I was wrong," he said.

"Stop turning this back on James and I!" She yelled, getting frustrated. Exhaling, she said, "Look, I just want you to know that when you realize you made a mistake in choosing the wrong side, you can come to me, or even Dumbledore. I'm not giving up on you," she said.

Severus looked conflicted, and Lily had hoped that what she said would make a difference; that he might change sides. Suddenly, he glared at her again and said, "Are you done?"

Lily sighed heavily and lowered her eyes before nodding. Severus strode towards the door but hesitated at opening it. "You need to be careful," he said quietly.

Lily's head snapped up. "What?"

Severus turned around and with his eyes he pleaded with her. "You need to be careful. Don't be reckless." Before Lily could ask him what he meant, he flung open the door and stormed away.

Lily hadn't understood why he was telling her to be careful. But when she heard that Regulus had told Sirius the same thing, she couldn't help but think that something terrible was going to happen.

She had been on edge since then. Jumping at every noise, and always looking over her shoulder, she could barely even sleep at night.

She hadn't told her friends about her encounter with Severus, not even James. James was the only one who knew about her assignment from Dumbledore, but she thought he might take offense that she didn't involve him in talking to Severus. She also hadn't missed the glares she got from Remus. She didn't know what she had done to him, and she was going to try to talk to him alone about it today.

"Lily, let's go, we're going to the Three Broomsticks," Marlene said, breaking Lily out of her thoughts.

Lily smiled and nodded before walking with her friends towards the Three Broomsticks. Suddenly they heard shouts and screaming coming from down the road. "What-"

"Death Eaters!" James yelled. Coming up the road were figures dressed in black cloaks and silver masks, blasting buildings and wreaking havoc on anyone they passed. He and the boys grabbed the girls and pulled them towards cover. "Stay here," he said.

"What?" Lily grabbed James' jacket and pulled him towards her. "I am not going to hide here like a coward while you go out and risk your life," she said through gritted teeth.

Without thinking, James pulled her to him and kissed her hard. Pulling away he said, "Merlin, I love your Griffyndor spirit!"

"Guys! This isn't the time!" Remus shouted, sending a jinx at a passing Death Eater.

"Right! Stick together; always have someone at your back," James said, grabbing Lily's hand and pulling her around the corner of a building.

"James," Lily gasped, gripping his hand tighter. James looked toward where she was looking and saw two Death Eaters had a group of third years backed into a corner. Before he could say anything Lily was already running toward them, firing hexes and jinxes at the Death Eaters. James suddenly had a flashback of Lily risking her life to save the children at Hogwarts when they had gone into the future. Again, he was feeling the dread of what could happen to her.

"Lily!" He ran after her, but saw two more Death Eaters coming toward him, cutting him off from Lily.

Lily was holding her own with the two Death Eaters. She maneuvered herself to where she could protect the children better, and with them behind her and her shields she threw up, she ushered them to hide behind a blasted wall. "Stay here and stay hidden," she said, before going on the offensive and sending hexes at the Death Eaters.

"The mudblood has some tricks up her sleeve," hissed a voice behind one mask, after she sent a rare spell she had read about at him. It sounded familiar to her, but she couldn't place it.

He sent spell after spell after spell at her, and she could feel her strength draining. He suddenly sent an orange spell at her, and it bounced off her shield, hitting the building behind her.

James had taken down one Death Eater, and was still battling hard with the other one. He tried to keep Lily in the corner of his eye, making sure she was alright. Suddenly, he heard a loud explosion from the direction Lily had been. The Death Eater he had been battling stopped and looked at rising flames and the debris falling, before running away.

James suddenly couldn't breathe. He didn't see the two Death Eaters run; all he could see was fire and debris. "Lily," he gasped, running over to try to find her. The flames were building, consuming anything it touched. "No, Lily," he whispered between sobs. He fell to his knees, tears running down his face. He barely heard his friends approach him; he barely registered what they were saying to him.

"James," Sirius said, grabbing his face, looking into his tear filled eyes. "James, where's Lily?" James started crying and sobbing again, looking past Sirius at the flames. Sirius turned around. "Oh no."