PREVIOUSLY ON "LOVE AND OTHER DISASTERS": James told Lily Nate was wrong for her (very publicly and loudly), Lily started to have doubts about Nate, they rowed and then he called her a "mudblood", Snape tells Lily that James fancies her, Mary and Remus' relationship is crumbling, and Sirius and his brother Regulus are on opposite sides and do not speak.

The Chase and The Fall

(James Potter)

You wouldn't be surprised to hear that this was the first time I'd literally run after Lily Evans.

In the beginning of our not-friendship, there had been many "Go away Potter"s followed by a charming (or so I liked to kid myself) chases involving me and said redhead. But soon those turned into full out fights, challenging the other to see which one would back down first. And usually it would go on until a third force (usually a teacher or one of her mates) would step in and end it. That was just our routine.

"Evans! Evans, seriously! Stop!"

I watch her red hair flash around the corner, and I run toward her.

"Go away Potter, I don't want to talk to you."

I huff. "Well I want to talk to you! Bloody hell woman, where did you learn to run that fast!?"

"Go away I said!"

"Evans, when have I ever listened when you told me that?!" I yell up to her. She keeps running. "Evans!" I yell down the corridor as a mop of red hair swishes around the stone corner. "Seriously Evans, slow down!"

She runs out to the staircases, but just as she gets there the stairs change, leaving her with nowhere to run. "God damn it."

"Ha HA!"

"Congratulations Potter. You've cornered me." She says angrily. "Now, what do you want?"

I'm a little afraid now, her eyes have the same crazed look they had in them that time I commented on her arse.

One day in fifth year, I'd told Sirius that Lily's arse was an "apple butt". She's whipped around so fast it made my head dizzy, and punched me so hard she broke my nose. I remember lying in the Hospital Wing, embarrassed, impressed, and to be honest, a little turned on.

Merlin what's wrong with me?

"Uh, nothing. Just… you, er, left your potion book back in the classroom and we have that essay due tomorrow and I thought for sure you'd need it so –"

I'm rambling. She still looks angry. Her hand reaches out and sharply snatches the book.

"Why so pissy?"

"Eloquent, Potter. Your powers of investigation are astounding." She says. "I am pissy because just when I thought you weren't a complete ponce, you proved me wrong!"

She acknowledges what happened after the match. It had been somewhere over a week since it had happened, and I'd kept my distance. I rather wanted to pretend it didn't happen, just so we could back to being friends. I rather missed her. I rather wished that if I had just kept my mouth shut then she would have been smart enough to figure out those faults about Nate herself instead of ignoring them just despite me.

Not that I knew she was doing that. I didn't know anything.

"So telling the truth is wrong?!"

"Telling the truth how you did in front of all those people so very publicly and loudly was wrong." She says.

"What was I supposed to do? Watch you rot in a terrible relationship? We are supposed to be friends." I say, voicing my reasons.

She cocks her head. "Really? I was a bit confused due to the fact that we haven't spoken in a solid week and three days."

For a moment I was about to smile. She was counting the days?

"You didn't say those things I said about him weren't true." I say slyly.

She looks down at her shoes. "Some of the issues you brought up did have some truth in them." She says quietly.

My heart leaps a little bit. So she wasn't as daft as I thought.

Well, I never thought she was daft! She was brilliant, after all. But I hadn't expected her to actually take what I had said into stock. She was just that stubborn.

"Are you going to break up with him?" I ask cautiously.

Her eyes flash a warning. "Don't, Potter. Don't."

I keep my mouth shut, just because we're already on shaky ground. By this time the stairs have returned, and Lily takes a step down. Then she looks back, and smiles a lovely sort of half-smile.

"Thanks for the book, though."

I slipped on a pair of shoes as I hurry out the door with Sirius. It's late at night and the two of us skipped dinner, so Sirius talked me into walking him to the kitchens. When we were younger we always used the invisibility cloak, but now it feels like we know the route so much we don't need it.

Quidditch has been harder lately, and I'll be the first one to admit to almost falling asleep in my oatmeal during breakfast because of the amount of all-nighters pulled in attempts to get a higher potions grade. We both saunter down the darkened halls in silence. There's not many out tonight, only a couple of fifth years we passed snogging in the alcove near the stairs.

It's not until we round the corner that we hear whispering coming towards us. Moving back silently into the shadows, the paintings around us squint at the bright light coming from one of their wands.

They come around the corner, and by the light from their wands, I can see that it's Snape and Regulus, Snape walking swiftly ahead of him and Regulus tagging along behind. I feel Sirius tense next to me, and set a warning hand against his arm.

"But Sev, I can't just go and ask him." Regulus' voice echos through the halls. He sounds distinctly whiney, not like his usual quiet lilt.

"Black, I am your superior. I gave you a task to perform and expect you to follow it through. Do not forget that I am the one Lucius takes his reports from." Snape sniffed. "And don't call me Sev."

"Sorry. But why can't you do it yourself?"

"I will pretend I did not just hear that insubordinate tone. And I prefer not to get my hands dirty."

"But... but why don't you just ask them for it?"

Snape walks with a straight back, purposefully not looking at Regulus. "They take their orders from Lucius as well, but since this is not a direct assignment from the Dark Lord, I do not have any authority over them."

"But won't they just do it as a favor? Aren't you friends?"

Snape snorts. "Regulus, don't be naive. Friendship does not exist in the world we are building. Only power."

The two figures reach the stairs and descend out of earshot. I hold Sirius back a minute after they've gone, and then release away from the wall.

"What the hell was that?" Sirius fumes, starting pace around the hall.

"Snape's planning something." I say. "And he needs help."

"But from who? And why's Regulus getting involved?" Sirius asks frantically.

"Padfoot." I say firmly. He stops abruptly. "You can't -"

"James. He's just a dumb kid. He doesn't know what he's getting into."

"We don't know if he's actually 'getting into' anything." I say reasonably.

"Snape mentioned You-Know-Who. You heard him." Sirius says bitingly, shoving his hands into his pockets. "It sounds to me like he's Snape's bitch."

I say nothing. Sirius is funny when it comes to his brother. He acts like he so blindly hates him all the time, yet still makes sure to keep tabs on him. He always had. From snippets I've heard about Sirius' family life before Hogwarts and the rare interactions between the two of them, I'd gathered that they had been quite close. Sirius, leading the way banging pots and pans, and Regulus following along, grinning just to be invited along. They loved each other in their own way.

Then came the separation, the running away, the picking sides. War was stirring, there was no doubt in that. And they found each other on different sides of the battlefield.

Fighting with Sirius about Regulus was futile and exhausting.

"I'm not hungry anymore." Sirius mutters before moving back into the shadows.

I receive an owl that morning with Lily's side of the Heads work, saying that she apologizes for not being able to attend our meeting. She hasn't been in the office at all and I haven't seen her anywhere out of classes. I can tell she's avoiding me, but her and Nate don't look like they're talking either.

During Potions he walked up to her desk for a moment, but she turned away, and he walked back to his desk. I can't figure out what's going on between the two of them. She'd admitted to him being wrong for her, and she seemed to be ignoring him. What was happening? Lily was smart, why would she stay in a situation that was bad for her?

I asked Remus for advice, but he merely said that sometimes when people are in a harmful situation, they can't see it. Only those on the outside can. But I don't think that's right, or else why would she not be talking to him?

I'd resolved to get over her at the start of the summer. Where had that gone?

Out the window the moment she wanted to be friends. Had I no spine?

To be fair, I had stayed strong for a solid few weeks. Yes, I think it was around that long.

Maybe Lily and I were never going to be together. Maybe I should have just accepted that.

I snort at myself. No matter how many times I'd repeated that to myself, here I was, pining after her once more. I was an attractive-looking seventeen year old boy thoroughly in love with a girl I had little to no chance with.

I shook my head. I wasn't just any seventeen year old boy. If there was one thing I ever learned from my father, it was to never give up and go after what you wanted. It was one of the core Potter beliefs. "Fortune favors the bold", "the reckless die young but the cautious do not live at all", all that. And wow, did I want Lily.

Maybe what I should accept was that I would continue chasing lovely Lily Evans until she was mine.

Sirius stares at his desk, eye brows furrowed and silent. He's been like this since we'd heard the exchange between Snape and Regulus, seemingly normal except for a few dark comments and certain times he would just go quiet for a while.

A quiet Sirius Black was never natural or good.

It was true, I had thought about the conversation, what Snape's plan could have been, who he needed. But it was just Snape, and I had other things on my mind.

It's a practical day in Transfiguration, turning daffodils into ducks. Easy. I transfigure them quickly, as does Sirius. Usually we take days like this to goof off after finishing our work, but he just stares at the desk.

"Padfoot."

He looks up. "Hmm?"

"You alright mate?" Peter asks from behind us.

Sirius closes his eyes for a moment and then turns to Peter. "Yes Peter, I'm fucking dandy. Your powers of observation would baffle even the most perceptive." He snaps.

Peter recoils in surprise and moves back to Remus.

"What's with him today?"

Before Remus can shrug, Sirius jumps up.

"Were you even listening when James and I told you about my brother? No, you were too busy stuffing your goddamn face like always." He hisses.

The class quiets, and Peter looks like he's just been burned. Remus is staring down painfully. I move to touch his arm, and he shrugs me off, walking out of the classroom altogether, ignoring the "Mr. Black! Come back here! Where are you going?!" From McGonagall.

None of us bring up the outburst that happened in Transfiguration for the next few days. Peter and Sirius still eat and sit with Remus and I during meals and classes, but Peter doesn't speak. I tell Sirius to apologize to him, but he just ignores it and leaves the room. Sirius speaks normally, but just to Remus and I. People notice this, and when Isabel inquires about it, all of us are silent.

She's been sitting with us during meals as well, since Halloween. She says Mary is still peeved at her for changing her costume, rolling her eyes whenever she speaks about it.

"Seriously? You boys are acting strange." Isabel says, tilting her head at us. "Something wrong, Pettigrew?"

He says nothing, but stares at his plate. It's full, but cold from the time it was sitting out all morning. I look at Sirius. He juts out his jaw and stares at above Remus' shoulder. It's getting to be as bad as after the prank Sirius pulled in fifth year that exposed Remus in wolf form to Snape, which was a dark time for the Marauders.

Sirius finally looks at Peter. "Look, I'm sorry Pete."

Peter shrugs. "It's fine."

We are all still quiet. Isabel shrugs as well and turns back to her breakfast.

Things do start to go back to normal though, as long as no one mentions Regulus or Snape. Sirius is rather cruel when he gets in a mood, it's a dark part of my best mate that I hate seeing. Peter and Sirius treat things like it never happened, and they're back to spending time together during their free periods while Remus and I are in class.

I know neither of them have forgotten anything.

But it's the Marauders, and we're brothers. Squabbles and spats don't have a way of sticking with us. Though it does leave some unresolved, untouched feelings, it's better, I suppose. It took Remus a long while to trust Sirius again after the prank, and although this was on a much smaller scale, Peter was obviously hurt by it.

I tell Peter that Sirius was just angry and the anger wasn't directed towards him, and he nods his head and runs out of the dorm, still tying his tie.

The full moon comes sooner than expected. This time we chose to explore a bit more of the forest, which is rather exciting. As a stag, I love to run through the trees, using the branches as obstacles. Sirius always runs behind me, slobbering everywhere. Peter always scampers along somewhere behind us, and catches up when we stop.

Remus was rather cautious as a wolf tonight. He doesn't follow the rest of us quickly or burst out of the door as soon as we let him loose. Luckily, because of this, he only gets a few scrapes and bruises from the transformations, and none of us are even scratched.

Like usual, the night ends, we take Remus back to the Shack, and the three of us go on our way.

The really strange thing that happened was after I visited Remus after classes the next day.

The three of us usually take turns visiting Remus while he's recovering, just to make sure he's alright. He also insists on seeing that each of us are alive (which is something I find a little annoying, simply because I insist that everything's alright and we don't get seriously injured and when we do it's for a good cause and such).

I sit in the stool next to his bed, giving a little wave to Madam Pomphrey before giving Remus his assignments from classes. We discuss trivial things for a while, and then I hear a voice from behind me.

"Oh, hi Remus. And James."

It's Dorcas. Usually no one can see Remus, as he has his own little private partition of the hospital wing that shields him from anyone casually coming up here, but today they're pulled back.

Dorcas stands staring at both of us, clutching her arm.

"What's wrong with your arm?" Remus suddenly asks.

She inspects it. "Spell gone awry. Just a minor burn, I came up to get some lotion... Sirius just told me you'd left to see your ill mother..."

"Yeah, he was on his way but then contracted a nasty fever. Couldn't go." I say before Remus can start blabbering. For a boy who has such a well-kept secret, he is rather rubbish at lying and excuses.

Dorcas narrows her eyes slightly for a moment, before deciding to believe me. Then, Madam Pomphrey comes bustling out of her office, sending a half-glance to Remus.

"Hello dear, what's the matter?"

"I was practicing with Professor Flitwick and I accidentally set it on fire." Dorcas says, laughing a little at herself. "Can't imagine how."

Madam Pomphrey smiles at her kindly, leading her away from Remus hurriedly. I see her look over her shoulder a couple times at Remus, before Pomphrey shuts the doors behind them.

Remus' head lolls back on the pillow and he lets out a deep breath.

Before I can say anything else, the doors open again. But this time it's Professor Ashford. He walks purposefully over to us, and stands next to me.

"Hello Professor." Remus says, always the polite.

"Hello Mr. Lupin." Professor Ashford turns to me. "Mr. Potter, I wonder if Mr. Lupin and I might have a chat in private? If you don't mind? I realize it's terribly rude to force you to leave a sick friend..."

I get up from the stool heavily, nodding at Remus. "It's no problem Professor. See you, Moony."

As I left the wing, I thought about what Professor Ashford would have wanted to speak to Remus about. Surely he wasn't in trouble, maybe he was receiving some grant or award. That would be like Remus.

Glancing out the window as I walk up from the wing on the first floor, my eyes are idly drawn to a head of dark red hair walking across the grass.

Leaning in and staring down, I see that it is indeed Lily, but she's walking with a blond bloke.

Not just any blond bloke. He smiles at her, and I catch a glimpse of his face. Nate fucking Hogan.

I stare into the fire blindly, letting my mind go blank and my body muscles relax and sprawl out. Sirius says I need to relax more. But considering how tense he's been lately, I don't think he's in a position to give advice.

No, no. No more thoughts about anything. Just blind staring. Mind blank. No happy places where you frolic through a field of daisies with a dark-red haired girl and then end up making passionate love and then punching blond gits in the face, nor sad, depressing, soul-crushing reality. Just... complete nothing

Out of the corner of my eye, I see a pair of legs stand next to couch. They're girl legs, and I'm about to tell Isabel to go away, before she speaks.

"What's got you down chum?" Mary's voice asks.

I don't break eye contact with the flames, but I feel her sit down next to me, and kick her feet up next to mine. I'm not in the mood to talk, but I'm depressed, and misery loves company. And an ear to complain to.

"She's never going to break up with him." I say mostly to myself. It is an acceptance.

Mary scoffs, making me cock my head at her and break my gaze at the fire.

"Have you bloody seen the way she looks at him? She must bloody love him." I say dejectedly.

"Open your eyes Potter. She doesn't love him." Mary says, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

She sighs, and pats my shoulder.

"Lily's… complicated. She's dating Nate because he's attractive and good-natured –"

A scoff escapes my lips.

"Sorry." She says, shifting a little in her seat. "Anyway, she's dating him because he's got good qualities, and he seems like the guy every girl should want. Also… he's easy. He's an easy, stable, dependable choice. You, James Potter, are none of those things."

"What do you mean?"

"Have you ever thought that you maybe sometimes objectify her?" She asks timidly.

"What?!"

Objectify her? Me?!

"I'm not saying that you actually think that way! I mean… it's just… sometimes, in the past, when you've done the whole grand-gesture-asking her out thing… it just sort of seemed like you were doing that to be funny or to get attention."

I stop. "Well –"

"James." She cuts me off.

"Alright. It does seem like that." I admit. "But that's not –"

"I don't doubt you. I'm just saying… you're not exactly a stable choice. You're a wildcard, and that scares her." Mary explains. "What if she suddenly did fancy you, and then found out that she was just a game to you?"

"Wouldn't she think that after a solid few years of getting repeatedly turned down and rejected, if it was really a game, I wouldn't have just given up?"

Mary shrugs. "Look, I'm not her. I'm just saying, it's definitely a worry."

"Why are you telling me this?" I ask suspiciously. Not that I don't trust her, it's just I don't really see why since Lily and her are such good mates.

"Because we're friends." Mary says, grinning. "And I like you a hell of a lot more than Hogan."

I smile back at her.

"So you're saying I've got a chance?"

She looks up at the ceiling reluctantly. "I'm going to be completely honest. I'm not exactly sure… all I'm saying is that Lily most definitely does not love Nate, and that you shouldn't throw yourself out the window."

It's late at night when Remus is finally discharged from the hospital wing and comes into our dorm.

"So, what'd Ashford want?" Peter asks. Remus sits down at the foot of his bed, leaning his head in his hands. He looks like he's about to throw up.

"Well, first he said that he knew about my lycanthropy." Remus says quietly. "He also told me how he was actually related to the werewolf that bit me when I was a boy, Fenrir Greyback. He was his cousin. His family was pureblood, and he ran away from his money and arranged marriage after he'd graduated Hogwarts. Then, he took his love-of-his-life wife's last name, moved to a muggle suburb, and got a job teaching here."

The room is silent, you can almost hear the suggestion of people speaking from far away. It's lucky Tom and Frank are out cold, with silencing charms around their beds. The Marauders all gather around Remus as he breathes into his palms.

Sirius finally spoke. "Wow."

"He apologized." Remus says, staring at the crack near the top of the wall where it connects to the ceiling. "He said that he was sorry I was one of the victims his cousin claimed. He told me that potion makers for St. Mongo's were working and doing trials for a potion that might help my condition. If it worked, I wouldn't have to transform during the full moon."

I jump up. "Well, that's great isn't it?!"

Remus didn't look the slightest bit happy. "It won't be even tested on human subjects for another ten years, probably."

"But still, it's hope right?" Sirius offers, patting his back.

He doesn't respond, and puts his hands back in his hands and stares at the floor.

"Is something else wrong?" Peter asks cautiously.

Remus groans and shuts his eyes. "Then Mary came in and broke up with me."

After a moment of shock, Sirius puts his hand out on Remus' shoulder. "Sorry mate."

Besides Peter, neither Sirius nor I had ever been dumped, nor had Remus before now. Peter had been dumped by Fern Cresswell in third year after he spilled juice all over her during breakfast, but that relationship had only lasted a few weeks. Cocky as it may sound, any other romantic entanglements we had gotten ourself into over the years ended in each of us breaking the news to them (even Remus, with his one summer muggle girlfriend before fifth year).

Remus sighs. "Yeah, I knew it was coming. I don't think her and I were ever meant for each other, things were bad."

"Hitting your own thumb with a hammer doesn't hurt any less than if someone hits it for you." Peter says.

We all stare at him. "What? It was something my aunt used to say. Though I don't really think it goes with this situation..."

"Anyway," Sirius starts. "At least it wasn't one of those messy, yelling, public break ups, right?"

Remus lifts his head slowly, staring incredulously at Sirius. "Really Padfoot, that's what you're going to say right now?"

"Look, I'm just trying to look at the bright side."

Remus shakes his head, his shoulders sagging. "I'm going to bed. It's been an eventful night."

"Is there something wrong with Remus?" Frank asks, buttoning up his shirt and motioning over at Remus' still-closed bedcurtains. "Usually he's up before all of us."

"Don't bother him." Sirius says, moving out of the bathroom sleepily. "He's going through some stuff."

Frank nods curtly, and finishes dressing without saying anything else.

I leave the dorm with Tom, Sirius still struggling to button his shirt and Peter passed out against the end of his bed, socks on the floor.

"'Morning Potter. So, have you heard?" Lucas Caldwell asks, falling in step with Tom and I as we enter the Great Hall. Everyone seems to be buzzing today. Though it's always like that, the Hogwarts rumor mill is always turning out something else.

"What?" I answer Lucas.

"Lily Evans dumped that Nate Hogan last night."

My stomach drops. Could he be telling the truth? I scan the room for her head, but don't find it. I do see Nate though, he's eating his breakfast quietly.

"What did you just say?" I ask. Lucas looks a little afraid and shrinks a bit.

"Yeah, apparently he was ranting or apologizing or something and she just dumped him. Around dinner."

"Is that really true?"

"Potter, what's the matter with you?" Doug Lyons says, coming behind Lucas. "What's with the crazy eyes?"

Lucas nods. "I think it's true." He turns to Doug. "Didn't Lily and Nate break up last night?"

Doug shrugs. " I don't know, why?"

"Lyons, did she?" I ask, stepping up closer to him.

"Yeah, yeah, Nate said yesterday. Came up talking to himself about it and shut his curtains up real quick." Doug says.

I grab both his shoulders. "Thank you Doug." I say, taking off back upstairs.

A/N: Hellooooo all! Thanks for all the reviews you left on the last chapter (14 what whaaaat)!

Sorry if this chapter is mite confusing, but I promise it was all necessary. Yes Lily and Nate are finally officially broken up now and probably in the next chapter you will find out why she still stalled after he called her a mudblood.

Also, this chapter was long. Just out of curiosity, would everyone reading this rather have shorter chapters (2,000 - 3,000 words) with less time between updates, or longer chapters (4,000 - 5,000(+)) with more time between updates? I probably will just go rogue and do what I want, but I'm just wondering.

And just a note: i had no idea what to name this chapter so sorry if it's the dumbest thing since crocs.

So again, thank you so much for the reviews, they mean so much to me (:

Please review!