A/N: Twenty chapters! This is a milestone, you guys! This is also around when I realized that this story was gonna be waaaay longer than I initially thought, which tends to be the story of my life with this stuff. Anyway, this chapter is a little shorter but it's also one of my favorites so far. Let me know what you think of it and thank you for sticking with me for twenty chapters!

LG14, Poor Sirius indeed! I'm glad no one seems to be turning on Marlene. Thank you for your review! .Princess, hi again, nice to hear from you! Glad you're enjoying the story. ForeverACharmedOne, that song was 100% in my head when I posted that chapter, haha. And yeah, I'm sure it won't be the last of the awkward drama in this story! Vivi, oh, I have plans for dear Sirius, don't worry!

"You want a bet? You've got a bet."

Chapter Twenty: All Is Fair

Lily and Emmeline made their way down the twisting steps of the Divination tower, class now over. Emmeline was softly nodding along as Lily spoke, eyes fixed on the stairs.

"…I mean, at least there were no marriage predictions today, there's that," Lily said, shoving her divination text book in her bag as she went.

"Mmhm," Emmeline said.

"And you and Dumbledore both seem to be in good health, just in case your pendulum was right. I hate that it was right about Remus, it's got me kind of panicked about the Potter stuff, but, you know, I was thinking about it and James Potter isn't exactly an uncommon name."

"Mmhm."

Lily frowned, glancing Emmeline's way curiously. "Am I boring you?"

"No, no, you're fine," Emmeline said as they reached the bottom of the tower.

"Are you okay? You seem sort of… off lately. Your answers are really short and all," Lily said.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Emmeline said. Lily was unconvinced.

"You sure? You know you can talk to me," Lily said. Emmeline simply nodded. "Are you nervous about choir? I know you said they made some comments about your Killer Queen performance."

"Yeah, yeah, it's just choir," Emmeline said, waving her hand as though to wave Lily's concerns away.

Lily eyed her friend suspiciously, stopping in their commute to properly face her. "Really, Em, what's wrong?"

The two girls stared each other down for a moment. Who would give in first? Would Lily stop asking what was wrong, or would Emmeline finally admit something was? Who was more stubborn?

Emmeline sighed heavily, seeming to decide it wasn't worth the energy to keep denying anything. "I don't want to talk about it now, here," she said. Lily nodded.

"Meet me in the trophy room after class, no one hangs out there," Lily suggested. "And we can talk?"

"Yeah, okay," Emmeline said. She sounded reluctant.

Odd, usually Emmeline didn't fight so much about telling Lily or Marlene or Dorcas what was bothering her. She might curl up into herself, whine into the table at a meal, and catastrophize, but she would usually talk to them.

"Okay," Lily said, offering her a friendly smile as they began to walk again.

"Your fiancé doesn't seem to be around today," Emmeline observed as they began descending the grand staircase. James hadn't "accidentally" run in to them during their commute from Divination in a while now.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Maybe he decided to cut it out after I told him he was being creepy."

"That's good," Emmeline said. "He's capable of learning."

"Only so much," Lily said. "That and I'm sure Black needs him more than I do right now. They should honestly just forget me and Marlene and date each other."

"I mean, they'd make a lovely couple," Emmeline said.

They reached Lily's floor and she bid Emmeline farewell as the other girl headed for the dungeons. Lily slipped inside the Transfiguration classroom, settling into her spot between Marlene and Severus.

Marlene was doing everything possible not to look in Sirius' direction, which was a bit difficult seeing as he and Remus were seated in the row directly in front of them.

Lily herself had been struggling with staring at the back of Remus' head recently, an activity she once rather enjoyed.

The Marauders were unusually silent themselves, James working on a drawing and the others simply toying with their books and notes, careful to keep their gaze straight ahead.

It was so quiet and so awkward.

Lily glanced Severus' way and offered him a friendly smile. He was intently taking notes already and didn't notice. Lily sighed, setting up her quill and parchment.

She never thought she would miss Marlene's banter with Sirius. The current quiet was tense and abnormal. She wanted to talk with Severus, break the silence, but dared not interrupt his mad note taking.

The bell rang and McGonagall began her lecture.

They had been quizzed on their last transfiguration the previous class and were due to start learning a new one today. This would be the last one before midterms.

Today would be mostly note-taking and a demonstration from McGonagall (and some smug answers from James Potter who would already consider himself an expert). They would likely get a writing assignment and properly practice the spell themselves next class.

As Lily took notes, her mind wandered to Emmeline, wondering what she could be so upset over. Maybe the handful of teasing comments she had gotten since singing for the Gryffindors had gotten less passive and more aggressive. Lily passed a brief glance toward Severus, hoping that if that was the case, Emmeline would at least let her help.

If it was something else, something complicated and odd like Marlene and Sirius' situation, Lily wasn't so sure. She hated that Marlene was so down about it but had no idea how to even approach it.

Lily didn't like Sirius much and had a hard time wrapping her mind around missing his friendship and presence. She supposed she understood the notion of sleeping with him, as he was good-looking, but Lily had no idea how to help Marlene or make her feel better.

It frustrated her greatly, seeing people she cared about upset and not being able to help them. All she could do was listen to Marlene say repeatedly that she was a horrid person and assure her that she was not.

Lily just wanted to do something. Her mother always said that if you could help someone, you should. True, it didn't always work out, but Lily could hardly stomach not trying to make something better if she was fully able to do so.

Ever since she had borrowed those comics from Remus (which she still needed to return), she kept thinking of a single quote, "With great power comes great responsibility."

She hadn't expected to connect with Peter Parker when she started reading his story. His guilt over inaction, though, and his insistence that it was his duty to use his talents to protect others, hit very close to home.

She remembered with a soft sigh that she was only five galleons away from a sneakoscope for her parents. It was a start, at least.

Her eyes fell on the Marauders again. Remus, who looked horribly pale and exhausted, but didn't need to add worry over his mother to his plate since his father was a wizard and knew how to protect her. Awkward Peter, whose muggle father was not in his life and whose witch mother could care for herself. Handsome Sirius, whose biggest problem in the world right now was the fact that a girl had turned him down. His family had enough money and status to make any problem go away.

And then there was James, who was much the same. She frowned slightly, wondering if James Potter ever had a problem in his life. She wondered if he ever had to save money for something, or if he ever for one moment worried about the well-being of his family. He had no reason to. He was rich, he was pureblood, and he was naturally talented.

Jealousy settled in the pit of Lily's stomach and she tried to ignore it. Resenting their good fortune would not make her family any safer. It wouldn't make her friends any happier. It wouldn't make Remus like her any more.

It would just bring her more problems.

So Lily tried not to think of James' comments from the other night about how rarely he studied or how his parents often went on holiday to Greece and France where they had vacation homes. She tried to listen to McGonagall instead, tried to leave thoughts of who she was and what she was and what she was or wasn't doing to assist everyone behind for now. She scribbled down notes about wand movement.

Soon enough, McGonagall wrapped up her lecture and reminded the class of the reading and writing assignment before tapping a stack of parchment on her desk. Their quizzes from the previous class fluttered down in front of each student, face down.

"Do study the questions you missed, they will be on the midterm in some form," McGonagall said as the bell rang. Lily flipped her quiz over to see her score. An E, exceeds expectations.

"Hmph," Marlene said, showing Lily her mere Acceptable.

"How'd you do, Prongs?" Sirius asked James from up ahead of them.

"How do you think?" James grinned, holding up his quiz triumphantly. O, outstanding.

"Aw, we match," Sirius said, holding up his own O quiz next to James' for comparison.

Severus scoffed, still packing his bag. Lily spied his E score before he shoved it into his text book.

"Problem, Snivellus?" James said, sliding his things into his own bag. Lily sighed.

Why did James Potter have to let everyone know that he got top marks without even trying? Why did he and Severus need to get into confrontations about it so much?

They were both beginning to annoy her.

"Ever heard the expression, 'the pride comes before the fall?'" Severus said dryly.

Without missing a beat, Sirius responded, "Ever heard the expression, 'lather, rinse, repeat?'"

Snickers could be heard throughout the students still in class.

"Actually, the quote is 'Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall,'" Remus said, losing his balance slightly as he slung his book bag over his shoulder. He looked slightly nauseous. Peter reached over to steady him. "Er, not that it changes the meaning that much."

"When did you read the Bible?" Peter said, cocking a brow.

"Boys," McGonagall said, having spied Remus losing his balance. "Take Mr. Lupin to the hospital wing."

"I'm fine, Professor—" Remus started.

"Take him to the hospital wing, please," McGonagall said sternly.

"Yes, Professor, on our way out," Peter nodded.

James wasn't listening, he'd walked over to talk to Severus directly.

"Anyway, if you can't handle me being better than you at something, you might want to just drop this class next year," James shrugged. Lily rolled her eyes; there was that haughty spirit. "Hopefully no one else feels that way, though, or I'll be the only one left on the roster."

Lily couldn't help herself. "You really think no one in this class can compare to you?"

"What can I say?" James said, smirking that irritating smirk of his. "I can do these spells in my sleep. Don't beat yourself up too much about it, Evans, you're in the majority."

"Don't beat myself up over…? What? Trying?" Lily said, annoyance growing stronger every second.

It was one thing for everything to come easily to James Potter, it was another for him to brag about his sheer luck and privilege to be born in to a rich, pureblood family.

"The concept of working for something is lost on him, Lily," Severus said.

"No, just the concept of being bested in this class," James said.

"So, you're saying, no matter how hard anyone tries, no one will ever beat you in this class," Lily said, entirely irritated to even be having this conversation, to even be playing into his hand and speaking with him. She had better things to do, she needed to go meet Emmeline, and yet James Potter's head continued to block out the sun.

"Well, Sirius has tied with me a few times, at least," James said casually. "But no, no one's better."

"Do you—do you try to be condescending and conceited or does that also come naturally to you?" Lily asked.

"Why so angry, Evans? It's not bragging if you back it up," James smiled.

"So, if someone else got a higher score than you on the next quiz, you'd have to admit you're insufferable and not the best," Lily said.

"No one's gonna do that," Peter said, having resigned himself to being a crutch of sorts to Remus, who was leaning heavily against him. James and Sirius seemed quite amused at the notion of someone beating James.

"I will," Lily said at once without a second thought. Severus and Marlene eyed her in surprise. "I bet you I get a better score."

"Really?" James laughed. "C'mon, Evans, you're not stupid."

"That's exactly my point," she said.

That smirk she hated so was still fixed on his face as he leaned in closer to her. "You want a bet? You've got a bet."

"Great," Lily said.

James held out his hand to her. "Fifteen galleons says I beat your score on the next quiz."

"Fifteen galleons?!" Marlene repeated. Sirius, Remus, and Peter were even eying James in shock.

"What can I say? I'm confident," James said. That smirk taunted her so. That mischievous glint in his hazel eyes. Oh, how she wanted to best him, to knock him down a few pegs, to wipe that stupid smirk from his stupid mouth.

"Fifteen galleons," she said, shaking his hand but briefly.

"How I wish I didn't have to rob you, Love," James said, taking one of Remus' arms and slinging it over his shoulder before heading to the door of the classroom, the other Marauders at their heels.

"What happened to ignoring them?" Severus said once they were out of earshot.

"I didn't hex them," Lily huffed. "I'm just going to destroy that smug son of a bitch with my mind and take his money."

"You know he's gotten straight O's in this class since first year, right?" Marlene said. "What about your sneakoscope?"

"You're still saving for that rubbish? I told you, Death Eaters don't care about your parents," Severus said.

"Well, you would know," Marlene mumbled. Severus glared and opened his mouth to reply but Lily cut him off.

"I can beat him," Lily said. "I just have to study. And then I'll have more than enough for the sneakoscope."

"I mean, maybe if this was charms or potions," Marlene said. "You might as well have challenged him to a one-on-one Quidditch match."

"I'm not terrible at Quidditch," Lily said defensively. "And I always get good marks in this class."

"Lily, you're so smart. But I mean… I'd never challenge you at charms and I'd never challenge James at transfiguration," Marlene sighed.

"The greater the risk, the greater the reward," Severus shrugged before walking off to meet his housemates.

"You really don't think I can beat him?" Lily said to Marlene.

The blonde frowned. "Well. Um. You know what? I'll help you study. Yeah, we'll make flash cards, I'll quiz you, we'll go full Ravenclaw on this bitch."

Marlene was now nodding enthusiastically and smiling nervously.

"Thanks," Lily said.

The Marauders had hardly gotten out of earshot from the rest of the class when Sirius said, "What the fuck was that, Prongs?"

"Just a friendly wager with dear Evans," James shrugged as best he could with Remus' arm over his shoulder.

"Fifteen galleons is not a friendly wager," Remus said.

"I thought you wanted Evans to like you," Peter said.

"And what better way to show her how smart I am? Girls like Evans love a great mind," James said.

"Everyone knows you're smart, you dolt," Sirius said. "Girls don't like to be made to feel stupid."

"Not stupid, never stupid, just… not as smart as me," James explained as they headed up the stairs toward the hospital wing. Remus was clinging to the railing with his free hand as they went.

"So your plan, then, is to make sure she knows that no matter how smart she may be, she cannot compare to you," Remus said.

"Well… yes, I suppose," James frowned.

"And make her pay for the privilege," Peter added.

"Well, it seems fool-proof," Remus said sarcastically.

"Absolutely," Peter said. "Great strategy."

"How are you not getting shagged constantly?" Sirius said.

James stopped walking and turned to fully face Sirius and Peter, Remus still leaning on him for support. "So, you really think this is a bad idea?"

"Yes," Sirius, Remus, and Peter said at once.

"Not to mention, Mr. 'My Father Invented Sleekeazy, So I Have A Big, Fat, Shiny Trust Fund,'" Remus said as they started off walking again. "Lily can't afford it, she's been saving up all semester for a sneakoscope for her parents."

"Why do her parents need a sneakoscope? They're muggles, aren't they?" Peter said.

"Yes, and who are Death Eaters targeting? She's worried," Remus said.

James frowned, his brow furrowed. "How do you know all that, Moony?"

"Because I talk to girls like they're people," Remus said.

"So do I!" James said, appalled.

"Well," Sirius said.

"No, you talk to girls like they're does and you're trying to impress them with the size of your antlers," Remus said, not bothering to beat around the bush with mere hours until the full moon.

"Basically," Sirius snickered. "Your animagus makes so much more sense now."

"So what do I do, call it off?" James said.

"That'll just piss her off more, you already insulted her intelligence," Sirius said.

Peter nodded. "It'll look like you're doing her a favor."

James huffed. "Then what do I do?"

"No idea," Remus said.

When Lily got to the trophy room, she found Emmeline already there, sitting on the floor and scribbling into a small notepad on her lap. Lily set down her book bag and sat down next to her.

"Writing another song?" Lily asked, noting the amount of lines that had been crossed out on the page. Emmeline shrugged, flipping the notepad closed.

"Kind of," she said.

"Ever gonna let us hear any?" Lily said. Emmeline had been scrawling out poems and songs for as long as Lily knew her. The most she would divulge to her friends, however, was the music she composed for the guitar, never the words that went along with it.

"Maybe. Not this one, though, it's… personal and embarrassing," Emmeline frowned, fiddling with the notepad.

"Is it about what's been bugging you?" Lily pried, watching Emmeline carefully. The brunette kept her eyes fixed to her notepad, her frown still prominent.

"Kind of… I guess…" Emmeline said hesitantly. She finally met Lily's eyes and said, "Please, if I tell you, you can't say anything to Marlene. I know you two tell each other basically everything but… please."

Lily cocked a brow. This was about Marlene? Had Marlene done anything recently to upset Emmeline? Lily quickly racked her brain, thinking through their past encounters.

Emmeline had been somewhat short with Marlene, and Marlene had called Emmeline a downer, but that wasn't anything new or uncommon for the two. Sometimes Emmeline got a bit too blunt and realistic, and Marlene wasn't shy about telling her to lighten up. Had Emmeline grown tired of it?

"I won't tell her," Lily said finally, though it felt strange to promise to keep something from Marlene. "What happened?"

Emmeline's eyes had drifted back to her notepad. She took a deep breath before saying, "She had sex with Sirius."

Lily's brow furrowed. This was about Marlene having sex? Lily supposed that made sense, she knew it bothered Emmeline a great deal that boys didn't seem to notice her (and comments about her drunken performance didn't exactly count), perhaps she felt like she was being left behind while Marlene moved forward.

"Don't feel bad about that, Em," Lily said. "She beat all of us to it, and honestly, I think we all knew she would. We've got plenty of time."

"It's not that, I mean… it's not just that," Emmeline said. "It's that she… you know."

"What?" Lily said.

"Had sex with Sirius," Emmeline said softly.

Lily watched Emmeline for a moment, puzzled. Then it clicked. Lily's eyes widened. "You fancy Sirius Black!?"

"Shh!" Emmeline hissed.

"Oh Merlin! This is why you hardly talk around him! I thought you didn't like him," Lily said softly, thinking back to the muttering and stuttering Emmeline would choke out around the boy. "Why do you fancy that git?"

Emmeline sighed. "See, this is why I never said anything."

Lily winced. Fair enough. "Sorry. Why do you fancy him?"

Emmeline fiddled with the hem of her skirt. "He's so handsome, in that glam, punk rocker sort of way."

"You do like boys in eyeshadow," Lily nodded.

"And his hair, Merlin, his hair! And he's smart, but he's so… casual about it? Half the boys in my house have to go out of their way to use big words and make sure to remind everyone that they're smart, but, I don't know, Sirius doesn't have to prove anything. He just… he just is. He's so comfortable with who he is," Emmeline said, looking off as though she were lost in thoughts of the boy. "And I know you don't agree, but... I do think he's clever. And funny."

"Yeah well," Lily shrugged. "A lot of people think he's funny."

"Yeah, and a lot of people think he's handsome. And it's not like any part of me really, truly believed I had a chance with him. He was… he's like a rock star. Unobtainable, handsome, a safe fantasy," Emmeline said.

"Don't put him up on a pedestal like that, Em, he's not some untouchable god or something. He's just a person. A handsome person? Sure. A confident person? Absolutely. But don't build him up to be something more than that. You could date him, he'd be lucky to date someone like you," Lily said, sliding her arm around Emmeline's shoulders.

Emmeline shook her head. "I liked daydreaming about him because there wasn't any risk involved. Then Marlene would kiss him and say it was no big deal and I'd feel so… I don't know, frustrated? Because in my head I can talk to him but in practice my mouth doesn't work. Meanwhile, she got to snog him and it didn't even mean anything to her."

"And then she slept with him," Lily frowned. That had to sting. Emmeline nodded, eyes watering.

"He likes her. She's special to him and she just—she just couldn't care less and slept with him like it was no big deal and I guess for her it wasn't but I just—it's not—" Emmeline stuttered, wiping at her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Em, that's rough," Lily said.

"That would be bad enough, but at least before I could pretend, you know? I could pretend there was a chance of Sirius liking me, but if he likes Marlene? If that's his type? I'm not Marlene. She's confident and tall and blonde and tan. She plays Quidditch, she's not afraid to talk to anyone. She's beautiful and everyone knows. Who wouldn't want her? I can't compete with that," Emmeline dug through her pockets for a tissue to wipe her nose.

"Don't compare or compete with Marlene," Lily said. "People like different things. You think David Bowie is attractive but he doesn't do anything for me or Dorcas or Marlene. Marlene might be pretty but that doesn't mean that you aren't. Besides, I'm sure she's not exactly Black's favorite person right now."

"It just—it isn't fair! And I know that sounds stupid and childish, but she can have any boy she wants and she goes off and has sex with the one I like when she has no romantic feelings for him. And I feel like I can't even get mad about it because it's not like I ever said anything to you guys about it."

"No, I get why you're upset," Lily said, tightening her grip on her friend and setting her head on her shoulder. "You and Marlene can both do better than Sirius Black, for what it's worth."

"I feel so stupid sitting here crying over him. He hardly knows that I exist and I think about him so much," Emmeline said, leaning into Lily as she wiped at her eyes again.

"Aw, he was pretty impressed with you at the party," Lily said, hoping it would help.

"Great," Emmeline groaned. "He notices and is impressed when I'm drunk and not acting myself."

"He noticed and was impressed because you're funny and talented, Em. You just showed it a bit more when you had a few shots," Lily smiled. "You keep working on your solo and get comfortable performing sober. Sirius Black will be kicking himself for not noticing how great you are sooner."

Emmeline snorted.

"Really!" Lily insisted. "Don't build Black up to be some kind of rock star. You're the one that can sing. You're the one that can play guitar. You be the rock star and let the boys do the pining."

"But Lily! Don't you remember? 'Girls don't play rock and roll,'" Emmeline said, mocking Eric Schnell with a scoff.

"Girls have hands and vocal cords, so fuck yes, they do," Lily grinned. "Besides. You're a Killer Queen."

Emmeline finally smiled, eyes still red and puffy. "You know, I don't know how you guys put up with giving me a pep talk every other day."

"Because you're worth the pep talks and one day you'll realize that," Lily smiled. "Besides, you threatened to beat up Remus for me, this is what we do."

"You know what? Fuck the 'Marauders.' They're nothing but trouble," Emmeline sighed. Lily groaned.

"I might have bet Potter that I could beat his score on our next transfiguration quiz," the redhead said.

Emmeline leaned away from Lily at last to cast her a questioning look. "Why didn't you just challenge him to a one-on-one Quidditch match?"

"That's what Marlene said," Lily sighed.

"I guess we're spending the next few days studying for transfiguration, then," Emmeline said.

"See, this is what I mean. You threaten to beat up a boy for me, I give you a pep talk, you help me with the ill-advised bet I made," Lily nodded.

"So, what you're saying," Emmeline said. "Is that we're the only ones willing to put up with each other."

"Pretty much."