A/N: Hello my lovelies! I am back with Chapter 25 for Book 2! How have you liked it so far? Remember to leave a review in the comments! I am here to share some exciting news! As much as I love this story, I've been aching to play around with some new things in the world of Harry Potter. I will be writing a crossover but I refuse to tell you what Harry Potter will be crossing with. LEAVE YOUR GUESSES IN THE COMMENT SECTION!

Y6: Marmalade Filled Fish

When he was with her, there was no need to find something to talk about. Words bubbled out of his mouth and when his words ran dry, he saw no reason to upset their perfect silence. They were in that perfect silence now. Her face had a glow as the sun reddened her cheeks and nose. The small breeze ripped her hair from her face. He watched her as she watched the lake.

They were doing the just friends thing for now. However, that was not what he wanted.

"I think we should try being more than just friends," the words slid from Sirius's mouth with ease.

Cara's ears perked and her eyes squinted as if she were looking out into the deep unknown. He knew when she didn't immediately respond, his idea was rattling in her head. But he could tell she wasn't thinking of the pros.

"Think about it, we could try and rekindle the mad and passionate love we once shared in the cold summer nights. The only thing keeping us warm was our burning love," he was laughing as he said it, but it didn't last long, "Car, if you don't want to... we don't have to."

"I mean," Cara paused as her lip was torn apart by her teeth. A piece of her wanted to be with him, another feared that they might fall into their previous relationship where one hardly spoke to the other. He was worth the shot, "I want to. I really do, I'm just scared I guess. It's not like we haven't tried being more than just friends."

"Yes but you have to admit that what stood in our way wasn't a barrier easily hurtled," Sirius shrugged as he hoped she would be able to move past what had happened last time.

When Cara looked at him, she didn't see a friend. At seventeen, she saw the boy she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. His long black hair was tied back into a pony tail as a few strands stuck to his face in this beautiful heat. He laid on one elbow, his thumbs twiddling together in a way that made Cara smirk. He was absolutely beautiful. Then his gray eyes looked into her and she found herself saying, "Promise me that it will last longer than our previous attempt."

Sirius chuckled softly, "It will last."

Cara pulled her eyes away as a redness livened her face and her heart was swallowed. Sirius watched it all unfold in front of him. Apart of her turned slightly pink as she smiled softly to herself. He reached out and grabbed her hand, he rested his head on the grass. As his fingers massaged her hand, she found herself entwining their fingers. She closed her eyes and pulled his hand into her lap. Her fingers traced his veins as he smiled up at her. When she caught his eyes, Cara couldn't help but smile as well. Like magnets, she found herself being pulled into him. Bending over, she pressed her lips to his.

She pulled away slowly, her smile unable to hide. He looked in her eyes and at her lips. She didn't kiss him again.

His eyebrows rose as he cheekily said, "I've a nice view of your baps."

Cara pulled away and laughed, "For Merlin's sake, Sirius!"

Her laugh was like a song, he said, "And now I've got an interesting view of your bogies."

Her eyebrows shot up, she grabbed her nose and slapped him, "Oi you wanker!"

He laughed as he propped his head back on his hand. Cara refused to look at him but he knew as she stared into the lake that it was he who her smile was meant for. Had it not been for Remus and Moira walking by at that moment in a rush, Sirius would've sat with her in to the night.

"I have to go," he said wearily.

Cara frowned, "But we've not been here an hour."

"I know, I know," he sighed as he pulled himself to his feet, Cara remained seated, "I have a meeting to attend to."

"A meeting? With whom?"

"Oh if I tell you that," he knelt down his face inches from hers, "Then I'd ruin the dark and mysterious part of me that drives you absolutely mad."

Cara's head turned to one side and she moved closer to his lips but made sure not to touch them, she whispered, "Mad?"

His eyes were at her lips now, he meant to answer with a final "mad", but his word was lost in her mouth. He kissed her once more before he left and when he did finally have to go, she was smirking and gave him a slight shove.

"Get on with your day, marauder," Cara laid back on the grass, the grass mixing with her hair, her eyes admiring the sky. It took all of him to stop looking at her and he met with his mates.

...

Lily had left the library in a rush. Her startling red hair was tied in a knot on top of her head as a halo of frizz circled her face. She struggled to toss her books in her bag as she rushed to catch the staircase before it moved away. Catching the case and jogging on up, Lily looked to squeeze her last book in her already-too-full bag. The book was a children's book, one Muggles read. Paddington Bear was a book Lily's father read to Tuney and her growing up. Earlier in the school year, the students of Muggle Studies 232C were assigned to write an essay on Muggle authors or books and their effects on Muggle culture. Lily had originally planned on writing an essay on Jane Austin, the author of books like Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. In fact, she had all but turned in that essay. She reread both books within the two weeks she had to do it and scrawled out the reasons as to how Austen's books portrayed women and the overcoming of classes. Just the morning before the assignment was do, Lily sat with her friends: Marlene, Dorcas, Emmy, and Mary. She had a slice of toast and went to spread marmalade on it when she suddenly remembered the book her father read her. She went through the day thinking about the book, unable to stray away from the intriguing idea of writing about it. Lily was sure someone would cover Austen, she was a well-known Muggle author. But what of Michael Bond? He wrote a fantastic and creative child's story about a bear in rain boots and coat who ate marmalade and was very polite and yes! Any professor would find it more interesting to read of someone new and unfamiliar to them. Bond's story was well-known, incredibly popular; but who would ever think to write about it for a Sixth Year project. Lily ran to her room digging through her trunk searching for her magic bag. Before Lily left for her fifth year, she spoke with Professor McGonagall for charming her bag into expanding to carry all of her stuff that would need moved as her Aunt Lenny left behind her small flat for a house. Though McGonagall forbade Lily from performing magic as she was underage, McGonagall enchanted a bag and sent it back with the owl. So that day, Lily moved the book from storage into her bag for classes. Even after the essay was turned in and graded, Lily kept the book in her bag. Whenever she was in the Library, she set it out occasionally opening the book to read. It was the only time when she could remember how her father's voice sounded: soft, yawning, but always happy to be there with the two. Lily had taken it out so much, there had been a few times when she'd forgotten it behind; but it was always there when she came back... always.

The book wasn't very big but her textbooks had swallowed all the space. Just when she thought she had it, Lily suddenly came crashing down. Her book flying out of her hand, her bag breaking, Lily's elbow slammed against the stairs. Six years... six years, she managed to make it without ever falling in to the missing step. Today was not her day. Her arm ached as she pulled her leg free, luckily no one had been around her as she fell.

"Oi, Evans!" Lily face-palmed as she recognized the voice instantly. Potter.

Her best idea was to pretend she had not heard him. Quickly, Lily grabbed her bag cradling it like a baby and began to jog back up the stairs; this time, she was careful as to where she stepped. He called her once more, and then again. When Lily made it to the corridor leading to Gryffindor Tower, she picked up her pace. Her arm stung as the broken strap flew alongside her.

"EVANS!" she heard him call again.

There was no way to escape the embarrassment; it was inevitable now. No matter how fast she ran, The Fat Lady would surely be slow to open. Lily bit into her lip and slowed her pace. When she came to a walk, she looked back at him.

"Oh Potter," Lily stuttered out, "I- erm- didn't hear you."

He jogged up to her, not even slightly out of breath, "I called you half a dozen times."

"Like I said didn't hear you," Lily smiled and tried to leave.

"Oi," he said and walked alongside her, "are you alright? That was a mighty fall you had there."

"Oh that, that was nothing. I feel absolutely fine, perfect even," Lily had wondered why she sucked with the english language. Couldn't she have come up with a more realistic sentence? Something simple like 'Yeah, mate, I'm fine,' or 'Barely felt it.' No... nope. Lily was 'absolutely fine' and that fall 'was nothing'... clearly she had made a bigger arse of herself before.

James chuckled, "You're embarrassed."

Lily rose an eyebrow. What did James Potter know about her feelings? What had she had to be embarrassed for? Lily could've gotten away with it if it weren't for him and his meddling, love-crave obsession. "I most definitely am not."

"...She says as a blush creeps up her neck," James smirked.

"I am NOT blushing," Lily had cursed herself from pulling her hair from her face; a curtain would have been helpful.

"Blushing... Red with embarrassment... either way, it's nothing to fret about. Do you know how many times I lose a foot in that damned step? The worst is right after a Quidditch match. You are all in a herd of people and you can't see where you walk at all because of the cloaks... and boom! Either you are the one in the hole or you are one of the dozen people falling over the guy in the hole."

Lily laughed lightly, "Well, I wouldn't have been embarrassed if you had not acknowledged the incident at all. No one else saw it, why couldn't you play along?"

James smiled and shrugged, then realized he was holding something of hers, "Your book! Fell right in front of me, that's why I looked up."

"Oh!" Lily quickly snatched the child's book from him even more embarrassed he had caught her owning such a thing.

"That's the book you wrote about in Muggles Studies, right?"

Lily gulped and ran the book over with her thumb, "Yes, it is."

"What are you doing with a children's book?" he wondered.

She searched in the distance for a reasonable excuse, "I- rem- must've left in my bag."

"Left it in your bag? Evs that would be in there for months."

After a moment of hesitation, she simply shrugged, "Whoops...?"

James smirked and swallowed a laugh, "You're an interesting fish, you know that, Evans?"

No, Lily had most definitely never heard that phrase, "I'm an interesting fish?"

"That's a muggle way of putting things. I thought you just compare things to animals," he said as if it were obvious. Because of course Muggles were known for comparing their love for chicken noodle soup to that of a cat sleeping, why wouldn't an embarrassed Lily be compared to an interesting fish.

"I have no idea what you're on about."

"Fish, you know. It's like when there is a really nice looking girl, and the Muggle boy says 'what a nice fish'," James was running his hand through his hair again forcing it in ways it wasn't meant to lay.

"You mean 'bird'? Men call women birds," Lily frowned in confusion.

"No that's the wizard way, I thought. Like I call girls birds, but you know a Muggle born would say fish."

He had completely lost her. Whatever the conversation was about had vanished into his utter stupidity, "What the hell are you on about?"

"You know what, just forget it about it," James shrugged, "Anyway... we were talking about your massive and super embarrassing fall."

Lily rolled her eyes knowing he was teasing to get a rise out of her, "No, Potter, we were talking about your love of fish."

His laugh was quite loud, had she not expected it, it may've startled her. Lily smiled as he raked his side, "Oh Evans, you're too much. You're..."

"...an interesting fish?" she smirked and he chuckled again.

"Yes, a very interesting fish," James was first to the portrait hole, "Mango Marmalade."

Lily clutched the book tighter as he said the password. Paddington Bear loves marmalade, she reminded herself. James had noticed the way she held on to the children's book, a tight grip as if it was the most important book she carried. He wondered if he should ask her about it again.

As James ushered Lily in, he decided there was nothing to lose in questioning her, "So do you normally forget books in your bag?"

Lily didn't turn back to face him, "Oh you know, Potter... it happens."

"Do you really not want to tell me why you keep it?" Lily could feel James's smile as he tried to goad her into telling him.

"I just forgot about it, Potter."

"Well... you know, Evans," they stepped in to the Common Room, James had hardly notice Sirius cross them and head to the dormitory; they followed him blindly, "my favorite book is The Adventure of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle."

"I'm not familiar with the book," Lily frowned as they took to the staircase to James's room.

"Seriously?" he said surprised, when he delved in to the plot line, his eyes were squinted, he spoke with his hands, and there was an excitement in his voice that made Lily smile, "It's about a French Muggle who gets in to all these crazy adventures usually in the Muggle world; but my favorite has to be the one where Martin wanders in to a Wizarding pub. So he sees some magic done by Artemis the Dancing Devil. She hypnotizes men in to doing these crazy things like a robbing banks or jewelry stores. Now he thinks she's just your typical witch, but keep in mind that he doesn't even know we're real at this point. So the lad is going absolutely bonkers. He tries to tell the Muggle Aurors-"

"The police?"

"What? Yeah, yeah," he waved her off trying not to get distracted, he opened the door and they stepped in, Sirius and Peter were the only ones there, "So he tries to tell them what's going on, but they think he's a nutter."

"Is this Martin Miggs again?" Peter groans.

"Shut it, mate," James says and continues as he sits on the floor, "So Martin as to take down this witch all by himself. And spoiler alert, she isn't just a witch, she is Veela. It's a mad story, satisfying read, I tell you."

Lily smiled pretending she had completely followed the entire thing but she kind of lost him after the Dancing Devil thing.

"Martin Miggs is a shite comic series," Sirius said, "Adolphus the Auror is much better."

"Oh," Lily smiled, "It's a comic book?"

James could see Lily was wanting to laugh at him, he rose his eyebrows, "I don't think it's so funny, Evans. You've been reading a Muggles children's book for months now."

"I... I wasn't reading it! I told you I left it in my bag," Lily argued.

James rolled his eyes, "Okay, Evs, whatever you say."

"Anyway," Lily crossed her arms as she leaned on the wall opposite Sirius Black, "has anyone seen Remus and Toomey?"

"They were going back in to the castle the last I saw," Sirius said, "should be here by now. They left before me."

"Oh yes," Lily said remembering, "How was your morning date with Cara?"

Sirius rolled his eyes, "It wasn't a date, Evans."

James and Peter chuckled, as Lily went on, "Oh I'm sorry. How was your casual, not-a-date-but-still-very-romantic stroll with the oh-so-pretty Cara Connors this morning?"

Peter burst out into a harder laugh as James shook his head with delight.

"Well, if you must know, it went very well," Sirius said, "in fact, so well that she has agreed to be my girlfriend."

"What was she before?" Peter asked.

"They were just mates," Lily said and then laughed.

"Oi! We were!" Sirius argued.

"You guys haven't been 'just mates' since you were... what? Fourteen?" Lily said.

"More like first year," James smirked.

"You guys are wankers, the lot of you," Sirius rolled his eyes and sat on his bed.

Peter was just about to say something when Remus and Moira stepped in to the room.

Lily smiled to Moira, "How's your week been?"

Moira shrugged, "I've just been studying a lot. For end of the year examinations, you know."

Lily nodded, "Ergh... Believe me, I know! I think I'll be dead before I take my Potions exam."

Moira awkwardly laughed and Remus sighed, "Can we just get on with it?"

Lily gulped, "Right, okay... Well... Tonight is the night."

"Toomey, are you sure you want to do this?" James didn't want her doing this simply because her boyfriend's mates wanted her too. He needed to remind her that she still had a choice.

Moira nodded, "Yep."

"Okay," Lily said, "I think it's best if we just go over the plan once more and then we remain in here for the rest of the day."

"Why?" Remus asked, "Why should we stay in here? It's just going to give us mad anxiety before it happens."

"We'll get it either way," when Sirius said 'we'll', everyone knew he specifically meant Moira, "we might as well go through it together. Plus if we're the only ones who know and we all stay in here, there is absolutely no way word will get out."

"No one here is a rat," Remus sneered.

"Well..." Peter said but the others hadn't been paying attention.

"I didn't mean it like that," Sirius said, "I agree with Evans is all."

"Whatever," Remus rolled his eyes and sat on his bed.

Lily went over the plan again, James and Sirius cut in to fix her mistakes. It wasn't clear how they all would go unnoticed or how they would get out if things went wrong. Lily and Moira went off the promise that the marauders had a plan. Though they wouldn't tell the girls, Remus reassured Moira it would be alright. It was the look in James's eyes that convinced her not to worry. So she moved on. When she finished, they were all sat in a circle.

It was just after half day and they still had hours before they would carry out their plan. James broke out the stash of food the marauders stole from the kitchen. Sirius brought out Peter's cards of exploding snap. And for nine hours, they slept, ate, or played cards. When the clock struck nine, Lily stood up.

"Just one more hour, and we should move in to positions," Lily said, "Is there anything else we need to do?"

Everyone shook their head, they were ready.

Lily asked her once more, "Are you sure Toomey?"

"If you keep asking me, I'm going to back out on you," Moira said slightly irritated, "I'm ready."

"I just wanted to remind you that it is your choice," Lily said.

Moira nodded, "I know."

"Alright," Lily left the boys' room to put her broken bag back into her dormitory, an hour late, she meant them in the Common Room.

The room was packed, and they quietly snuck out. None of Lily's friends had even noticed. They walked down to the lower floors. When they were just two floors above the dungeons, they split up. Remus, Sirius, and Peter waited in a nook on one side of the floor with the Marauder's map clutched tightly in Remus's hands. James and Lily went to the other side, James hid his invisibility cloak in the pocket of the cloak he were; Lily had no idea. Moira waited in the corridor, her eyes shut tight, her hands sweaty.

They remained like that for nearly two hours, Moira's head swam with second guesses. Her position changed: standing, sitting, standing, leaning against the wall.

When Remus whispered to the others, Moira had been pacing.

Remus said, "Here they come."

"How many?" Peter asked.

"Four," Remus breathed shakily, and unconsciously touched his scarred cheek, "Snape is one of them."

Sirius sent off a ray of light. When Moira saw it, she stood straight up. It was the signal, they were coming for her now. James placed a hand on Lily's shoulder as she clutched her wand tightly ready to pounce. Minutes later, they heard the voices. Four, Moira could make it out. Four different voices, four paces of walking. Her heart rose in her throat. Sweat beaded off her hands and forehead. Her throat ran dry and as badly as she wanted to grab her wand, she promised Lily she wouldn't until after she was hit with a spell. But it was the spell that Moira worried about. Yes, it was Hogwarts, but how far were these Slytherins willing to go?

When Moira saw them, she stood her ground, she did not run. When they laughed, when their mouths twisted in to threatening smirks, she stood a bit taller. When the first spell came flying at her knocking her down to the ground and sending a shock up her spine, she waited to fight back.

A/N: Okay that is all for now! Next chapter should be up soon! (hopefully). Remember to review! And leave your guesses in the comments: what story/tv show/movie, do you think I am going to do a crossover with? I'll probably announce the answer in the next few chapters! Please keep reading, thank you all