Tuesday May 3

- Lily -

Lily was lining up for Charms when Potter tried again to apologise to her. Lily merely raised her wand and said, "Silencio."

Potter, not missing a beat, pointed his own wand at his throat, and he must have used a non-verbal counter-spell, because he tried again.

Lily, prepared for this, said, "Langlock," sticking Potter's tongue to the roof of his mouth. Potter's eyes widened as he tried to unstick it. Lily ignored his attempts as she filed with the rest of the class into the Charms classroom.

Quite possibly Potter put up with his cursed tongue for the whole lesson, unless Remus knew the counter-spell. Lily really needed to learn to use non-verbal spells for her jinxes, she decided. It would make them harder to reverse. Lily spent a good Charms lesson conducting a choir of dancing quills, and sailed off to lunch before Potter could interrupt her again.

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Lily was coming to experience less anxiety leading up to Care of Magical Creatures classes. She and her friends crossed the lawns after lunch, only to find the paddock empty again. The sky, however, was not empty. Several hippogriffs, both large and small, were soaring among the midday clouds. The class was just pointing them out to each other when Professor Kettleburn strode out of the barn, looking grumpy.

"Yes, yes," he said, seeing the direction of their gaze. "Some… inconsiderate seventh years didn't latch the barn door properly last night. Imagine my surprise to see a third of our herd swooping overhead this morning. And now way of getting them back," he grumbled, checking his class notes, "since they only roost at night. I assume the babies escaped and their parents let themselves out of their stalls to join them. So," he announced, "these lucky people will get to clean our saddles for us this lesson while the rest of use have one more grooming lesson."

"Saddles?" Black asked, a trace of panic not quite hidden in his voice.

"Relax Black," said Professor Kettleburn, "we'll be doing some trotting on the lunge rope, all four feet firmly on the ground. That's not til next week anyway, next lesson you'll just practice sitting on your beast, firmly tied to the rail. But," he consulted his notes again, "not you, Black. You'll be cleaning tack with Potter, Evans and Catchlove."

"But-" Lily went to protest.

"Evans, your hippogriff is flying around up there," Professor Kettleburn said, jabbing his finger at the sky. "What do you want me to do about it?"

Lily glowered.

"Right," the professor said, "everyone else, bring out your beasts, same as last lesson. You four, come with me."

Professor Kettleburn led Lily, Greta, Potter and Black to the back of the barn. Laid out on a long bench were six saddles. "Right, you clean this lot, rub in the leather treatment, polish them up, and then swap for the other six." Professor Kettleburn banged two large bottles onto the table, followed by a pile of cloths. "Any questions?"

"Er-" Greta began.

"Good," said Professor Kettleburn. "I'll be outside making sure none of our other charges get away."

Lily and Greta exchanged a look. On the opposite side of the table, Potter and Black did the same. With a sigh, Lily stepped up next to a saddle.

Greta was examining the two bottles. "Leather sealer and polish," she announced. "What do we use to clean the saddles, then?"

"Magic?" Black suggested drily. Greta glared, picked the saddle next to Lily's, and vanished any dirt or dust with her wand. Lily did the same, grabbed the bottle of leather treatment and a cloth, and got to work. Scrubbing at the saddle was mildly cathartic, especially if she imagined it was Potter's face.

"So, Catchlove," Black said after a minute. He'd vanished the dirt on his saddle but hadn't picked up a cloth yet. "What are you wearing to the ball?"

Greta shot Black an odd look.

"Why do you care?"

"Just making conversation," Black said casually.

"Pfft," Greta said. "Dress robes."

"Yeah, but, what type?"

"Invisible ones," Greta said, smiling sweetly and batting her eyelashes in a mockery of flirting.

Potter coughed in surprise. Black smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"I'd like to see that, Miss Catchlove."

Greta rolled her eyes. "What you want, Black, is someone to flirt with to pass the time we're stuck together."

Black shrugged. "Who's to say you don't want the same thing?"

"Maybe I do," Greta said, "just not with either of you."

Black shrugged again and turned to Lily. "And what are you wearing to the ball, Evans?"

Potter, halfway through treating his saddle, paused to shoot Black a look. Black failed to notice.

"I'm not going to the ball," Lily said firmly, not looking up from her work.

"What?" Black yelped, playing up the dramatics. "But every girl dreams of going to a ball."

"I've been to balls," Lily said drily. "More than I care for. I don't need to go to another one."

"But-" Black started again. Lily pulled out her wand.

"Don't make me hex you," she said.

Black barked a laugh and gave her an evil smirk. "Oh, Evans, don't start something you can't finish. Prongs might allow you to tie up his tongue, but I promise you I won't take a curse from you lying down."

Lily frowned and glanced at Potter. Potter looked uncomfortable but didn't comment.

Black wandered off to look at the other inhabitants of the barn. Potter finished his saddle and moved over to start on Black's.

"How do you do that so quickly?" Greta complained, pausing in her polishing to stretch out her arms. Potter shrugged.

"My family breeds horses. Its just a hobby, but you get used to working with tack."

"Oh, that's right," Greta said, "I remember now. You got Lily a horse for Christmas."

Lily shot Greta a dark look. Greta sighed and picked up her cloth again.

Potter glanced at Greta, leaned forward over the table, and said to Lily, "Evans, I'm really sorry-"

Quick as a flash, Lily picked up her wand and said, "Langlock."

Potter sighed, closed his eyes as though praying for patience, and pulled a note out of his pocket. He tried to pass it to Lily but she refused to take it. Potter moved around the table, placing it on the saddle in front of Lily. Lily shoved it off. Potter replaced it. From the first line, Lily could see that it was an apology. She had no desire to hear, read or have to deal with Potter's apologies.

Lily turned around and headed off to the other end of the table to work on a different saddle. Potter started to follow her. Sick of the game, Lily turned around, pointed her wand at his legs and said,
"Locomotor Wibbly."

Potter's legs collapsed under him and he went sprawling to the floor.

"Nice," Greta said appreciatively, turning to look. "The Jelly-legs jinx. Well balanced if you ask me – not too heavy handed, but nothing that says 'I don't mean business,' either."

Potter glared at Greta from the barn floor. Greta shrugged at him.

"Your words, not mine."

Black strolled back into view, spotted Potter, and sighed.

"Prongs, you've got to stop falling for these chicks."

Black pointed his wand at Potter and said, "Finite Incantum."

Potter, looking irritated, snatched up his apology and got to his feet. He returned to the table, shoved a polishing cloth at Black, and set to work on a new saddle.

Black put a half-hearted effort into his work, keeping up a steady flow of conversation with Potter in a low voice. Occasionally Potter shot Black a dark look, or gave an involuntary chuckle, but they boys ignored the girls. Lily caught Greta looking at Black several times but she didn't comment.

What felt like hours later, Professor Kettleburn returned to inspect their progress.

"Not bad," he declared. The other students began to lead their hippogriffs back into their stalls. Lily cleaned her cloth with a spell, folded it, and returned it to the centre of the table. Greta did the same. Lily was gratefully making her way back to the castle for a well-deserved rest when Potter jogged after her.

Lily turned on her heel, wand at the ready. Greta put her hand on Lily's arm. Lily shot her an annoyed look and Greta sighed, removing the hand. Lily had told Greta she wasn't taking any crap from Potter, and she'd already told him to leave her alone, apology or no.

"Evans," Potter said, coming to a stop in front of her. "Please, just give me the chance to explain."

"Explain why you won't respect my wishes? I asked you not to talk to me Potter. Are you incapable of understanding that?"

"No, I just… I don't want to leave things like this between us."

"That's a shame," Lily said, unmoved, "because I do. And as far as I can see it, this whole thing between us has been dictated by you so far. So now, it's my turn."

Lily turned to leave. Potter started striding after her.

"Evans, wait-"

Lily turned and said, "Mimble Wimble." Her wand shot a white beam at Potter's mouth.

Potter stopped, clutched his throat and said, "Ev, Ev, Ev, Ev. Wai, wai, wai."

Potter's eyes widened as he stammered past his tongue, which had curled up at the back of his throat. Trying not to look like she cared at all, Lily turned and headed back to the castle. It was a few steps before Greta joined her.

"That was a bit harsher than usual," Greta said, her tone ambiguous.

Lily shrugged, presenting a carefree façade.

"I warned him multiple times yesterday and today. If he can't leave me alone, the consequences are on him."

Greta neither agreed nor disagreed, and Lily put the matter out of her head. She would do what it took to get Potter to leave her alone. Even if a pit of guilt was roiling in her stomach.

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.

It wasn't exactly a calming way to end the day. Lily and Greta were joined in the library by Alice and Mary to finish their next piece of Care of Magical Creatures study. Lily was not looking forward to sitting atop her hippogriff, even if she wasn't moving. Lily made it through dinner and through the common room, finally reaching the seclusion of her dorm. Intending to curl up with a good book, Lily pulled back the hangings on her four poster.

What she found was a note on her pillow. Lily scowled. Had Mary or Alice put it there for Potter? Or had he found a way to breach her privacy entirely?

Because the note read,

Evans,
I'm sorry for embarrassing you on Sunday. That was never my intention.
I wasn't making fun of your muggle song – I thought it was good, which is why I was singing it to you.
I agree that it would have been better just the two of us, but you must admit that scenario was a bit hard to imagine, especially as you were refusing to leave your dorm.
I understand that my attempts to cheer you up and win you over have not been successful thus far. I do not want to upset you, so I will respect your wishes and give you space – for now.
I'm not giving up on us forever, though.
One day, you and I will be great together.
With hope,
James Potter

Lily screamed in frustration when she got to the end of the letter.

Alice raced in from the bathroom.

"Lily! Are you alright?"

Lily, busy trying to suck air past the knot of fury in her throat, thrust the letter at Alice. A thumping on the stairs told Lily that Greta had heard her outburst too, and was coming up.

"But, isn't that what you want?" Alice said, confused, looking up from the letter.

"Keep reading," Lily said through gritted teeth. Alice looked down again. Greta entered, glanced at Lily, and crossed the room to read over Alice's shoulder.

"Oh," Alice said softly as she reached the end. Greta, on the other hand, shrugged.

"He's going to give you space for a while. That's more than you were getting, right?"

"Why can't he just give up?" Lily moaned, sinking onto her bed.

"I don't think it's in his vocabulary," Alice said sympathetically, perching beside Lily.

"Just great," Lily breathed, too angry to shout. "I get the boy with the highest perseverance, so I can't get rid of him."

"Most girls would kill to have someone that in love with them," Greta said.

"Yeah, and I'd kill to get rid of him," Lily said, flopping back onto the bed.

"Well," Greta said conspiratorially, "I've heard Avery, the younger one, is pretty good at getting things done."

Alice looked horrified. Lily sighed.

"No, if Potter needs doing away with, I'd better do it myself," Lily said drily. Sarcasm was her only escape for now. "We can't trust an accomplice not to tell anyone."

Greta laughed.

"That's my girl. And never fear. If you end up with a body that needs burying, that's what best friends are for."

Alice looked unsure whether to be shocked or amused. Lily rolled over to pull some pyjamas out of her trunk.

"I do know this," she said wearily, heading for the bathroom. "I'm done with today."

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- Remus -

The Marauders had locked the door of their dorm, something they only did a couple of times a month – when they were planning their next full moon adventure.

James and Sirius had insisted on telling Remus what they had planned for tonight, despite the fact that if he stayed much longer he would be late meeting Madam Pomfrey in the Entrance Hall.

"So," Sirius said, rubbing his hands together as the Marauders sat in a circle around the Map. "We'll be going into the mountains beyond Hogsmede-"

"Really?" Remus interrupted. "You know how I feel about Hogsmede. Anyone could be out on the streets-"

"That's why you've got us, Moony," James said, clapping a hand over Remus' shoulders. "And don't worry, we'll keep you right away from the village."

"Yeah, have some faith, Moony," Sirius added.

"Why can't we go back into the Forest?" Remus said grumpily. "At least I'm not a danger to anything in there."

"Or the hills beyond the lake?" Peter piped up.

"The hills?" Sirius scoffed. "That's so last year, Wormtail. There's nothing remotely dangerous to any of us in the hills."

"Maybe not to you," Peter muttered.

"Well there's plenty of deadly creatures in the Forest," Remus said, "myself included."

"Nah, come on Moony, live a little," James said, his eyes shining with excitement. "They say there're dragons in the mountains."

"And what good will a dog, a wolf and a stag be against a dragon?" Remus asked drily. Usually he was the most dangerous thing out in the night. He didn't fancy coming up against a dragon.

"Don't be stupid, Prongs," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "There aren't any dragons. But I've heard there's a vampire out there. Not to mention hinkypunks and a banshee. Just the ticket to get the blood pumping. And we'll be well away from the village in minutes," Sirius added, catching sight of Remus' face.

Remus sighed. "Fine. But you'd better both stay with me. Anyone – anyone human – could be out in those mountains. It's camping season after all."

James and Sirius both snorted.

"Who'd go camping in those mountains?" Sirius said.

"Relax, Moony," James said. "We won't see anyone. Trust us."

"Fine," Remus said again. "I guess I'll see you at the Willow."

Remus got to his feet and the others leapt up to join him.

"Wait!" said Sirius. "Secret handshake."

Remus, tired and dreading yet another transformation, reluctantly went through the complicated steps of their four-way secret handshake.

"What's up, Moony?" James said, seeing his friend's expression. "Normally you're as pumped as we are."

"Normally we're going into the Forest," Remus said, darkly.

"Nah, never mind. You'll have fun. You wait and see," Sirius said, clapping Remus on the shoulder as he headed for the door. Remus made his way down through the common room alone, his small suitcase held in one hand. He had to keep up appearances.

Thankfully, the Gryffindors were now used to seeing Remus depart semi-regularly, and no one asked where he was going. Remus made it to the dark silence of the corridors gratefully and began trudging down to the Entrance Hall.

Remus was done with today. The day of the full moon, while not as bad as the day after, was always like walking through quicksand. The difference was, tomorrow Remus got to spend recovering in a secret alcove of the hospital wing. Today, he'd had to wade through his classes. Care of Magical Creatures had been particularly bad – not only was it difficult to stay awake through a manual rather than mental task, his friends hadn't been around to help him.

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.

And now Remus was alone again. Madam Pomfrey had met him at the front doors of the castle, and was now watching Remus walk towards the Whomping Willow. Remus had insisted on this since fourth year – it was too much like he was ill if she needed to walk him all the way to the tunnel. And what Remus actually needed to face the transformation was a feeling of inner strength.

Levitating a stick at the secret knot in the violent tree, Remus waited for the Willow to freeze and ducked down the hole at its base. He scrambled along the earthy corridor below. Each month he had to bend over just a little further as he grew taller.

Remus reached the empty house at the other end and sighed, turning to take in all of the boarded up windows, the dusty floorboards, the wrecked furniture. This part was always the worst. Waiting alone for the transformation. The other Marauders couldn't risk sneaking in until Madam Pomfrey was definitely gone, so Remus sat on an upturned crate and stared at the four walls of his prison.

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- Sirius -

Padfoot whined in anticipation. Prongs nudged him with his tall shoulder. Padfoot's tail whacked the grass. He loved a good romp with his mates.

Padfoot, the huge bear-like dog, and Prongs, the large noble stag, were waiting in the shadows of the forest for Wormtail the rat and Moony the werewolf to appear.

Sirius, James and Peter had transformed minutes ago, having finally been able to creep out of the front doors, Sirius and James under the invisibility cloak, Peter already in his rat form.

Now Wormtail streaked across the grass back to the safety of his larger friends. In the distance a wolf baying at the moon set the furs on the back of Padfoot's neck on edge. He returned a howl of his own, while Prongs pawed at the grass.

A moment later, they caught sight of the werewolf, dark, shaggy and lanky in the moonlight. Padfoot and Prongs sprang forward. One on each side of Moony, they shepherded him towards the school gate and the village of Hogsmede beyond.

Moony was usually most himself just after the transformation. The longer he spent in wolf form, the harder it was for his human mind to remember details of his human life. However when his friends were with him, things seemed to remain clearer.

So Moony led them down the track towards the village, all three of the larger beasts sprinting at full stretch, enjoying the freedom of the night, the wind, the stars, the power of their own muscles as they pounded the earth and flew past the trees.

At the rise just before the village, Moony halted. He lifted his wolf nose and sniffed the air. His head suddenly snapped to the side, narrowed eyes fixed on a nearby house. A thin growl slipped from between his teeth, so different to the deep rumble of Padfoot's or a real wolf's. So much more sinister.

Prongs nudged Moony with his shoulder, and Moony snapped back at him. Padfoot barked, bounding ahead to the west of the village. Moony turned his narrowed eyes on Padfoot, who gambolled back towards him, then away again.

Padfoot's enthusiasm was infectious. With a last look at the village, Moony leapt down the side road after Padfoot. Prongs kept close beside him on the right, to prevent him darting off among the sleeping citizens.

They were halfway along the length of the village, passing back gardens and hedges, when Moony stopped abruptly, Padfoot and Prongs outstripping him by a hundred metres in a moment. Wormtail caught up to him, then backed away from the werewolf he now found himself alone with. But Moony wasn't interested in a rat. Werewolves had a taste for only one kind of flesh. Human.

And in the garden to his right, a little old wizard was picking pond weed by the light of the full moon. Moony licked his lips. Padfoot and Prongs had skidded to a halt and were rushing back, but they were several seconds away. The werewolf lowered his body to the grass, slinking towards the low back fence. Wormtail, his rat eyes wide with fear, hesitated, then flung himself through the fence at the wizard, squeaking loudly.

The wizard started, shook off the rat, and looked up. Right through the fence to the huge yellow eyes and dripping fangs beyond it. Moony growled and the wizard fumbled in his robes, drawing his wand in a trembling hand. The werewolf hesitated. The human side of his brain knew exactly what a wand could do, even to a werewolf.

The hesitation was all Padfoot and Prongs needed. They skidded back beside Moony, closing in behind him and to the right. The dog and the stag bumped and pushed Moony away from the little old man, whose eyes were as wide as saucers, watching the odd spectacle.

Padfoot was panting in an odd laughing rhythm. Moony howled as they ran, a disappointed sound, but he was now running himself more than being pushed by the others. They had almost reached the safety of the mountains, when an odd sound met Padfoot's sensitive ears.

He paused, and so did the stag and the werewolf. On the hilltop at the edge of town, near the Shrieking Shack, were two men. Or boys. Or young men. Padfoot peered more closely. One of them, his white-blonde hair distinctive in the moonlight, was Lucius Malfoy. The other, dark haired and scowling deeply, was Rudolphus Lestrange, a Slytherin graduate of last year.

Prongs nudged first Moony then Padfoot. Padfoot knew Prongs was right, they had to keep moving, get Moony away from people. Padfoot gave a last look at the suspicious pair. And he saw Lestrange hand Malfoy a note, clear as day in the bright light of the moon, even from this distance. Malfoy took the note, held it in his hand, and began walking back through the village streets. With a crack, Lestrange disapparated.

Padfoot stood frozen. A note! Malfoy had received a note from Lestrange. Padfoot needed to know what was in it. He took a tentative step after Malfoy. A set of sturdy antlers barred his way. Padfoot looked up into Prongs' long face, the brown eyes stern as he shook his head, jerking his chin at Moony. The werewolf sat shivering at the base of the mountain, yellow eyes turned toward the village, teeth clenched as though barely stopping himself leaping after Malfoy.

Padfoot whined, then made up his mind. He wouldn't be long. He darted around Prongs and leapt down the road to the village. Behind him, Moony howled long and loud. The sound cut off suddenly, as though someone had bumped into him, trying to push him further from the village.

Malfoy hadn't gone far up the road. He was still clutching the note in his hand. Padfoot considered just running up and snatching it with his teeth, but he knew that would attract too much attention. Not to mention Malfoy wouldn't think twice about hexing a stray dog that attacked him.

Knowing he was wasting precious time, Padfoot stopped between two houses and transformed back into his human form. Sirius grabbed the wand that was strapped to his leg and whispered,
"Wingardium Leviosa." With the carefully controlled levitation spell, Sirius snatched the note from Malfoy's hand, as though a sudden gust of wind had plucked it free. The note floated high out of Malfoy's reach, twisting and jerking as though on a breeze, and fluttering down next to Sirius' foot in the dark of the alley.

Sirius holstered his wand, transformed back into Padfoot, and grabbed the note in his teeth, ducking down the alley between the houses into the road parallel to Malfoy's. A curse shot past him in the dark, but it missed. Padfoot darted between houses and streaked off towards the mountains, where a baleful howl called him back to his duty.