21

James gave Professor Fletcher's cryptic piece of information a lot of thought the following morning. He had withheld telling Sirius, Remus and Peter for reasons unknown even to himself. He had made up some excuse that Fletcher had tried to bargain with him to not tell Dumbledore about their little run-in. Sirius in particular had looked sceptical, but they had not pushed the matter.

Now at breakfast, James sat idly poking his food with his fork while everyone chattered around him. He glanced up to see Lily and Snape sitting together at another table, engaged in heavy conversation.

'I'd love to know what he said to her to make her forget about his interview with the Prophet,' Alice Dearborn said icily from down the table. James glanced at her to see she was following his gaze. 'I've never seen anger to equal Lily's that day.'

James smiled faintly. 'I don't know. When you've known someone as long as they've known each other, you can look past their faults, I guess,' he said.

'Well, that's a load of dragon dung,' Sirius snorted. 'We've known Snivelly for four years, and I've yet to see a redeeming quality. Maybe if he showered it would shine through,' he added after a moment to a chuckle from the table.

Alice looked sympathetically at James. 'I think it's a matter of time before it runs its course, myself,' she said.

'Of course,' Mary McDonald chimed in from where she sat next to Peter. 'There's always the possibility that your opening might never come up, James. Maybe it's time to broaden your horizons,' she added.

Marlene, who was snuggled up under Sirius' arm, rolled her eyes. 'You're absolutely shameless, Mary,' she said.

'I'm confident and I know what I want,' Mary declared. 'Not unlike a certain star Quidditch player.'

James smirked. 'What does Frank have to do with anything?' he said nonchalantly, causing Alice's head to whip around. Frank chuckled. 'Sorry, Mary, but you're barking up the wrong tree. I've only got eyes for Evans.'

'And if she never comes around?' Mary replied.

James shrugged. 'I feel confident she will,' he said.

'So what's wrong with me saying the same thing about you?' Mary asked.

'Nothing, I suppose,' James said, smiling now.

'What is it you're always saying? You're like the ocean, slowly eroding her over time? Well I'm twice that,' Mary declared.

'She certainly has your confidence,' Remus muttered around a mouthful of steak.

Sirius frowned at him. 'How did you get steak for breakfast?' he asked.

'The house elves must like me better than you,' Remus quipped with a shrug. 'So did I hear right, Frank? You and Alice are in separate alliances for the Combat Championship?'

Alice and Frank exchanged a glance. 'We're exploring options,' Alice said slowly.

'The only thing more transparent than this little arrangement is the air we are currently breathing,' Marlene said sarcastically. 'Don't think for a second that we're fooled. We know your loyalty is to each other.'

Frank chuckled. 'But does the rest of the school?'

'After your show on the Quidditch Pitch last year?' James asked, instantly causing Alice and Frank's faces to turn red. 'I'd wager that yes, the whole school knows where your loyalty lies.'

Alice cocked an eyebrow. 'And yours?' she said. 'Have you tried to convince anyone that you won't be in an alliance with these miscreants?'

'The term you're looking for, my dear, is Marauders,' Sirius said with a wink. 'And we don't see the need to hide behind fake alliances. We're confident enough in our own ability to win,' he said as he puffed out his chest importantly.

'Now who has James' confidence?' Peter muttered, causing Mary to snort her milk.

James shook his head. 'Stop bringing this back to me,' he said with a laugh. But he cast another glance up at Snape and Lily. Snape was in the middle of saying something, and for one moment, Lily's eyes flicked to James. Her face had been screwed up in concentration as she had watched Snape speak, but then she saw James who offered her a smile. Her face suddenly relaxed and a small smile returned his way before she turned her attention back to Snape.

Momentarily buoyed by this, James followed the others off to class for the morning. Schoolwork was going much as it had gone for the entire year, with the various teachers instructing them on various forms of combative and defensive magic. Professor McGonagall was teaching them defensive transfiguration, how to transform various objects into distractions to allow one to get away. When James was able to turn simple wall torches into fizzing whizzbangs, McGonagall had awarded Gryffindor ten points (and also been forced to chase off Argus Filch who had complained about fireworks in the corridor).

Professor Slughorn was teaching them some rather explosive concoctions. 'Do not underestimate these—potionry can still be an effective tool in a battle,' he stated.

'He's an effective tool,' Sirius had muttered under his breath, causing James to laugh so hard that he had poured a bit too much of the tentacula venom he had stirred into their potion, causing it to explode rather loudly. After Professor Slughorn had managed to stop hearing a high pitched ringing, he had told them they would receive detention for a week.

'No Felix Felicis this year to help you, Potter?' Snape had whispered snidely as they exited the classroom. Sirius—whose face was still blackened from the explosion—swung wildly and caught Snape on the chin with a punch. The two engaged in a spirited tussle before Slughorn managed to intervene. Snape had a swollen lip and Sirius' short was torn.

'Evidently, you are in need of a detention as well, Severus,' Slughorn said with a note of disappointment in his voice. 'You will join Sirius and James in my office after classes have concluded for the day.'

Lily looked at the three of them with some dismay. James was thoroughly amused by the situation, but Sirius and Snape were eyeing each other with intense loathing.

Perhaps the most surprising class was Charms, where Professor Flitwick astonished everyone by showing off his collection of duelling trophies. He was a champion dueller who had won nine consecutive titles in Southern Britain before he had retired from the contest. He invited the students to challenge him, and it became something of a game. Most of the class was not able to even come close, except—not surprisingly—Frank, Sirius and James. Two surprises did emerge, though, in the forms of Lily and Marlene, who both managed to keep Flitwick on the defensive for a few moments before he disarmed them.

'Very good,' Flitwick said after he helped Marlene to her feet, she having been knocked flying into a fluffy mattress that had materialized out of thin air after Flitwick had caught her with a disarming spell. 'You have all shown tremendous adaptability. That will be a great asset in the Championship!'

Frank was busy packing his bag. 'Did you get to take part in one, Professor?' he asked.

'Oh yes,' Flitwick said dreamily. 'It was the best of times…duelling was a bit more of an art form in those days. Not at all what it's like now. It was respectful, civil. A gentleman's way of solving a dispute,' he said in a firm voice.

Lily chuckled. 'Yes, very gentlemanly to blast one another to bits,' she said.

Flitwick smiled up at her. 'You may scoff, but it's the niceties that must be observed,' he said. 'Keep practicing! Every day counts if you want to win the Championship!'

As they left class, James caught up with Lily. 'Alright, Evans?' he asked brightly.

She looked at him with a sly smile as they walked. 'Better than you, I'd imagine,' she said. 'You will leave Sev in one piece, won't you?' she asked.

'I wasn't the one who tried to pull his lips off of his face,' James remarked. 'That was all Sirius.'

'Sirius listens to you,' Lily pointed out.

'True. But when he gets angry, he doesn't listen to much of anything,' James said with a laugh.

Lily sighed. 'Just try not to exacerbate anything today…I've finally gotten Sev to a point where steam doesn't come out of his ears at the mention of your name.'

'Well that just won't do. If I can't make someone's ears steam, what's the point in even being here?' James joked.

As they walked down the staircase towards the main hall, Lily glanced at him. 'Are you alright, Potter?' she asked.

'Sure. Why?' James asked.

Lily shrugged. 'You just seem…off.'

'In what way?' James asked. 'And how am I when I'm on?'

Lily laughed. 'I can just tell that something's amiss. Am I wrong?'

'No, you're not wrong,' James admitted. 'But I'm sincerely flattered that you pay enough attention to me to notice changes in my mood. I mean, we haven't even really conversed for weeks, so you must have been paying real close attention—'

'Don't make me regret asking, Potter,' Lily said. Her tone was warning, but she was smiling slightly.

James glanced around, stopping and stepping to the side of the hall, grabbing Lily by the arm and bringing her along with him. 'Can I tell you a secret?'

Lily looked sceptical. 'You have a secret?' she asked. 'You haven't told the Marauders?' she asked, emphasising the word 'Marauders' with disdain.

'No, I haven't told them,' James said quietly.

Lily looked serious now. 'What's up?' she asked.

'The night that Hogsmeade was attacked…it was all a diversion. The Death Eaters were trying to lure the teachers away from Hogwarts so that they could attack the school once it was unguarded,' James said in a hushed tone.

Lily's eyes went wide. 'How do you know this?' she asked.

'Dorcas told me,' James said.

'Is that all?' Lily aksed.

James sighed. 'No,' he admitted. 'The reason that it never happened is because someone in the Death Eater camp tipped off the Ministry about the attack.'

'That's lucky…' Lily said.

'Extremely,' James replied. 'A massive coincidence, wouldn't you say?'

Lily frowned. 'You think it was intentional.'

'I don't think, I know,' James said with a sigh. 'And I have an idea as to why.'

Lily raised her eyebrows. 'Why?'

'Me,' James said.

'You?' Lily asked, astounded.

'Me,' James said. 'Fletcher told me last night that the reason they got the tip about the ambush was because of me…but that was all he knew, and I don't really know what to make of it,' he said. 'I didn't tell the others because…well, I didn't want them to worry.'

Lily looked at him sympathetically. 'James, they'd want to know. They're your friends and they're always there for you.'

'I know but…' James stopped. Did he really want to mention Snape's visit in the hospital wing to her? After all of his talk about getting her to be friends with him again—and she did seem happier now that she as—did he really want to risk damaging that for her again? '…I've just been thinking…what if I'm putting everyone I care about in too much danger—by being me?'

Lily blinked. 'What are you saying?'

James inhaled deeply and tried to stomp out his fear that Lily might echo Snape's sentiments. 'I've kind of been in the spotlight a bit,' he said slowly. 'What if by defying Voldemort…by so openly challenging him…I'm risking the lives of everyone I know? What if my friends get hurt? My family? Or you?'

He had half expected Lily's face to flush red in the fashion it usually did, but instead, her eyebrows simply raised. 'Do you see an alternative?' she asked. When he said nothing, she grabbed his shoulder. 'Potter, you and I disagree on a lot of counts,' she said slowly. 'But there is nothing—absolutely nothing—for you to be ashamed of. If I could have, I would have been right there alongside you at the trial defending your actions against Rochefort. I was right there beside you defying Voldemort. I would do it again, and again, and again. There are some things in this world worth dying for, Potter,' she said fiercely. 'And dying to protect people from a monster like Voldemort is one of them.'

James blinked, his heart swelling within his chest. 'You think so?'

'I know so,' Lily said strongly. 'And you do too. People who would just stand aside, try to let Voldemort win…people worried about self-preservation…they're just cowards, Potter. And you are not a coward. Do you understand me? If there's one thing you have my respect—no, my admiration—for, it's that you're not a coward.'

James was at a loss for words. He opened his mouth to speak and closed it numbly.

Lily squeezed his shoulder. 'Tell your friends what's happened,' she said. 'And never doubt yourself again.'

With that she walked off, leaving James standing there. Where before there had been worry and fear, he now felt a swell of pride. Without mentioning Snape's name, James had confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt that Lily agreed with his course of action, and found Snape's to be just as cowardly as he did.

'I love you, Evans,' he whispered under his breath, uttering aloud for the first time what his heart had known for three and a half years.