A/N: Thank you all again for your reviews, as always reading them made my world happier. My list of favourite people is now a lot longer, but don't worry guys, it's still very exclusive.

Somebody asked me how much longer this story has to run, and I thought I'd answer here in case anyone else was wondering; I originally planned for it to cover the whole of seventh year up until they left Hogwarts, and I think that's probably still going to be the case. However, I love the characters so much that I may write a sequel that runs right up to Harry being born - I don't think I can bring myself to write their deaths :(

If you have time to leave a review or something to let me know if you would be interested in reading a sequel, please do so! I have a couple of other ideas for fics that I might get out of my head first (I like to write one at a time if I can), but I'll always come back to Jily and it might be nice to try a post-Hogwarts story.

Anyway, enough of my long-winded rambling: new chapter! We've done enough frolicking through romance-happy-land for now, it's back to the plot. Yes, there's a plot - I just get carried away by Jily sometimes. No wonder this story is longer than I thought it would be.

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The smoke spewing from the Hogwarts Express smothered the platform, making it impossible to see further than a few feet away. Students, family members and pets milled around alongside the train, getting in each other's way and generally causing chaos, and the occasional flash of coloured light through the smoke suggested that not all students were taking the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery very seriously. The day was cold and dreary and the sky had been threatening more snow all morning, but despite the chill the atmosphere on the platform was cheerful as students greeted each other after the Christmas break, comparing presents and exchanging stories.

'How did I get stuck with both our trunks?' demanded Sirius as he lugged them along, battering his way through the crowds as he followed Marlene's swinging blonde hair and bright red coat down the platform. She was sliding easily through the crush of bodies, her agile, seeker-trained form neatly sidestepping any obstacles in her path as she searched for familiar faces, her booted feet practically skipping as she moved lightly along.

'I think a better question would be: why are you moving them by hand?' she asked sweetly, throwing him a mischievous wink over one shoulder while stepping around two third years wrestling a large orange-coloured cat into a basket without so much as breaking pace. Sirius stopped dead and stared down at his hands, each of which was firmly grasping a trunk handle.

'Well…bollocks.' He dropped both cases with a thud and pushed his dark hair out of his grey eyes before pulling his wand from the pocket of his long navy coat. One quick swish and flick had the trunks levitating along behind him as he hurried to catch up with Marlene, who had joined Frank and Alice where they were standing near the front of the train. He boarded the train long enough to scare a couple of second years out of his preferred compartment, and to offload both trunks into it, before heading back out to join his friends on the platform.

'Got a compartment.' He grinned at Frank, who rolled his eyes, presumably well-aware of Sirius' approach to guaranteeing a compartment by now.

'So, been a few days since we saw you - how did the "meet-the-parents" visiting go?' asked Sirius, grin still in place as he observed Alice's face set itself into a slightly annoyed expression as her foot started tapping in response to his question.

'Alice was just filling me in about that.' Marlene smiled at her friend. 'Your parents have met Frank before though haven't they?'

'Yeah, but at the time they weren't exactly sizing me up as boyfriend material were they?' Frank answered before Alice could, his expression slightly aggrieved. 'It wasn't official. Anyway, Alice thinks I got off lightly.'

'He did.' Alice spoke in extremely grouchy tones that were unusual for someone with such a naturally cheerful disposition. 'My parents already know him and his family, and they obviously liked him. His mother on the other hand...'

'Likes you as much as she would like anybody who was dating me.' Frank interrupted before Alice could get any momentum going; good-natured as she generally was, Alice had a very piercing voice if you let her build up to an outburst and her temper was famous for being downright evil if you provoked it enough. 'She's just worried that you're going to distract me from my studies and stop me from becoming a world-famous auror.' He grinned at her as he poked at her sides and stomach; she slapped his hands repeatedly until he grabbed her by the arms and pulled her in close for a hug.

'Anyway' he mumbled into her hair 'she doesn't have to like you. I like you.'

'Gross.' commented Marlene, her lip twisting into a slight grimace of disgust at the display of affection.

'I think he's been spending too much time around James.' replied Sirius, his arm snaking around Marlene's waist.

'Speaking of James, what's with that?' Frank released an arm from Alice long enough to gesture towards Lily and James who had arrived unnoticed at some point, along with Peter. The three of them were talking quietly together just a few yards away, paying no attention to anything but their own conversation.

'What?' Sirius looked at his best mate who was smiling at Peter as he explained something with dramatic arm gestures, Lily standing next to him with her head thrown back as she laughed. It all looked pretty normal to him.

'That's the furthest apart they've been in days. I can't remember the last time I saw them together and they weren't touching.'

Alice frowned along with Frank. 'They don't look like they're fighting though. They're just a bit distant.'

'Oh that.' Marlene shook her head. 'They're being prudent apparently; trying to keep the gossip to a minimum until they decide it's a good time to go public.' James' hand reached out and brushed over Lily's upper arm briefly, and she smiled at him faintly, a light blush spreading over her cheeks that was visible even from where they stood. 'As you can see, they're not very good at it.'

'Don't know why they're bothering.' Sirius wrapped his arms around Marlene's waist and rested his chin on her shoulder, eyes narrowed as he observed the couple. 'Everyone gossips about them anyway, may as well give them something to really gossip about. Who cares what they think?'

'That approach may work for you Sirius, but Lily has always hated people speculating about her and she's more insecure than she'll ever admit. She feels judged, constantly. People talk about her blood-status, her looks, her grades, her Head-Girl position.' Alice leaned into Frank's shoulder. 'She just wants to keep one little bit of her life to herself.'

'I get that. But people are going to talk about her and James anyway. Maybe it would be easier to just openly admit to it; if nothing else, the gossip might be more accurate.' Frank mused, nuzzling at Alice's hair as he spoke.

'It's not just about the gossip; let's face it, there is never going to be a "good time" to go public because there will never be a point where those two aren't going to be of interest to the population of Hogwarts. It's more than that.' Marlene spoke quietly, and it was all the more effective for it. Three heads turned towards her curiously and she bit her lip and looked upwards while she considered her words carefully. When she spoke, it was slow and deliberate.

'This is between us okay? No running off to tell your idiot of a best mate.' She elbowed Sirius in the ribs and he feigned a hurt look. Taking in her sober expression, he mimed zipping his mouth closed and raised an eyebrow expectantly. Marlene pursed her lips as she scrutinised his face and must have seen sincerity in his steady gaze because she continued speaking.

'She's scared. We're all pure-blood, and we may have to deal with the "blood-traitor" thing, but we've never had to deal with the kind of insults and abuse Lily takes sometimes, and we have no idea what it's like. She's afraid that if James is with her openly, he'll come in for the same kind of abuse, the same kind of targeting. She'd never admit it, but she's terrified he'll be hurt because of her, or that it will all become such a strain on them that they go back to fighting all the time.'

Sirius whistled, a low-pitched burst of sound. 'So hang on; James has no idea she feels like this?'

'Wouldn't think so, unless he's that good at reading her.' Marlene answered. 'She's never actually told me in so many words; I just know what she's like about this stuff. I doubt she can even admit it to herself, let alone anyone else; she'd see it as being weak.'

'That is…well, it's fucked up, is what it is.' Sirius answered, a grim expression settling on his face. 'Prongs may not say it, but I can tell that he doesn't appreciate this discretion thing. I mean, he'll do it because, hey its Lily and what she wants, she gets, but you know him. He wears his heart on his sleeve and he's going to act like her boyfriend whether they're admitting it or not; not to mention he'd be royally pissed if he thought she was worrying about him. I give it two weeks before he's announced it to the school somehow, deliberately or not.'

Frank turned his head so his cheek rested directly on the top of Alice's head and his eyes looked straight at Sirius. 'Ten galleons he doesn't even make it one week.'

'Sucker bet.' Alice laughed as she watched James snatch his hand away from the small of Lily's back, as if it had taken him by surprise that it had ended up there.

'I'll take it.' Said Sirius. 'Prongs has got some impulse control. Just not a lot.'

Frank stretched out his right hand and Sirius shook it. Marlene shook her head in exasperation. 'If they find out you're betting on them…' she trailed off, the warning implicit in her tone.

'Not like it's the first time.' said Sirius lightly, no trace of shame in his voice; Frank at least had the grace to look a little sheepish as Alice pulled back to stare at him incredulously. Marlene rolled her eyes and headed for the train, muttering under her breath about the varying stupidity of her friends.

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'What does Remus want anyway? I mean, a meeting on the first day back? And he was awfully agitated on the train, and he didn't turn up for dinner.' Lily desperately rooted through her wardrobe for her jumper, red hair falling around her face as she bent double to reach the very back of the shelves.

'I have no idea.' James' tone was amused as he scrutinised his girlfriend's figure as she leaned into the cupboard, pulling out and discarding clothes as she searched for the one item she wanted. Her hair was loose and it moved gently around her head as she leant forward, and it was taking quite a lot of self-control to keep from crossing the room so he could run his hands through it. 'I also don't know why you need a specific jumper to go to a meeting. Especially since it's in our common room.' He rested his elbow on the door frame and put his hand on the back of his head as he watched her, unable to keep the smile off his face.

'Don't be a git. It's my favourite jumper, I don't like not being able to find it.' Lily's words were muffled, but there was a hint of laughter to them that James loved; he lived to put that little bit of happiness in her voice.

'You could wear one of mine.' He offered, tilting his head to one side to better observe the curve of her hips. 'Then, after the meeting, I could take it off again.'

Before Lily could respond to his suggestion there was a loud bang from downstairs, which they both correctly identified as the door to their common room being slammed violently open, and then the voice of Sirius drifted up the stairs.

'You two better be fully clothed this time!'

'We were fully clothed last time!' James bellowed back, his eyes never leaving Lily as she turned around, waving her grey jumper triumphantly before tripping over a discarded shoe that had hit the floor during her frenzied search. She caught herself before she fell, but ended up hopping a few paces on one foot before she could steady herself fully. He bit the inside of his cheek to hold back a laugh, and she sent him a mock frown when she saw his smirking face.

'Only just!' Marlene's voice came floating up, laughter echoing through her words. James rolled his eyes and held out his hand for Lily's. She finished pulling her jumper over her head and took his outstretched hand, and he took the opportunity to pull her close to him.

'We'll finish this discussion about appropriate clothing later Miss Evans.' He ran his lips from the corner of her mouth to her ear and murmured the words into it.

'I look forward to it.' She breathed in response and his mouth turned up into a grin before it landed firmly on hers.

They arrived in the common room moments later to find Marlene and Alice setting out snacks on the table; Sirius was laying along the couch, hands resting behind his head, legs fully outstretched. Lily took one look and sat on his feet; at least he'd thought of taking his shoes off.

'Anyone else would get a slap for that Lily.' Sirius didn't even open his eyes as he spoke.

'How did you know it was me?' She sounded genuinely curious, and James saw Sirius' lips twitch as he held back a smile.

'You smell of coconut and vanilla. Trust me, Prongs has gone on about how fantastic you smell enough that we've all noticed it by now.'

Lily blushed furiously, much to the apparent amusement of Marlene and Alice, and Sirius was obviously encouraged by their laughter, because he continued.

'And that's not all we've been subjected to over the years you know; I've listened to hours of him waxing poetical about your abilities at charms, how you're so pretty when you're annoyed...'

'All right, if you're going to take the piss, I'm off to the kitchens for drinks. I'll be back before the meeting starts.' James headed out the door, letting it slam shut behind him and mentally cursing the day seven years ago that he'd first sat next to Sirius on the Hogwarts Express.

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Balancing several bottles of drinks in his grasp and trying to keep out of sight under his invisibility cloak, James swore under his breath as he heard the sound of voices heading towards him. If he hadn't had the drinks he might have been tempted to ditch the cloak and just brazen it out; he was Head Boy after all, and it was before curfew; no-one would question why he was wandering around the dungeons with absolutely no reason to be there. As it was, the fact that he was carrying enough drinks for more than twenty people might raise some eyebrows, so he figured it was best to place himself in an alcove and wait for whoever was coming to pass.

His grip on the bottles tightened slightly as he recognised the skinny frame of Severus Snape. He rounded the corner into the corridor where James was pressed into a niche in the wall and looked around; when he was satisfied the corridor was empty, he gestured to somebody out of James' eye-line.

The bulky figure of Graham Nott came around the corner, followed closely by a much shorter boy with dark hair and extremely familiar features. James drew in a sharp intake of breath as he recognised Sirius' brother.

'Well?' asked Snape, his eyes narrowed as he observed his fellow Slytherins.

'I'm not sure. I mean, I don't know.' Regulus replied nervously, his hands twitching nervously as he tried to avoid Snape's eye.

'You don't know.' Nott sneered. He gave Regulus a rough push, smirking as the smaller boy stumbled into the wall.

'That's enough.' Snape's voice was quiet, but full of an authority James hadn't expected. 'In case you'd forgotten, you and Avery didn't exactly cover yourselves in glory in Hogsmeade. We were unable to complete the plans because of your incompetence.'

Nott glowered at him, but kept his mouth shut. He held eye contact with Snape for a moment then looked away, the arrogance on his face unaffected by the rebuke. Snape looked briefly at Regulus and then waved a hand in Nott's direction. 'Go and wait around the corner.' Nott looked at him sharply, his outrage written on his face.

Snape huffed his displeasure and rolled his eyes. 'I said: go and wait around the corner. Don't make me ask again.'

Nott remained still for a second, then turned sharply on his heel and headed back around the corner. Snape's eyes followed him until he was out of sight, then he turned back to Regulus, his face softening slightly as he looked at the younger boy.

'You need to decide. I thought this was what you wanted.'

'I did!' Regulus burst out. 'I mean, I do.' He looked down at his hands as they nervously twisted round each other. 'I just…I don't know, this seems so risky, right under Dumbledore's nose.'

'Under Dumbledore's nose is the point Regulus.' Snape spoke softly, but his tone was hard and unbending, a hint of steel underlining his every word. 'What did you think we were doing here? Did you think that attracting the Dark Lord's approval would be without risk?'

'I just… I thought…' Regulus trailed off and took a deep breath. 'It's different than I thought it would be.'

Snape looked at him appraisingly before nodding. 'Yes it is.' He said nothing else, just waited for Regulus to speak. His eyes darted left and right, and he licked his lips nervously before asking his question in a low tone that was little more than a whisper.

'Do you regret becoming…involved in this?'

Snape seemed to consider for a moment, his eyes staring off into space. He couldn't possibly have known that he was staring directly at James, who would have sworn at that moment that he could see just a flicker of remorse in his eyes before they iced over and snapped back to Regulus' face.

'No.' His tone gave no indication of the conflict James had seen in his eyes. Regulus folded his arms and closed his eyes.

'My brother…'

'Doesn't give a damn about you.' Snape interrupted, his face settling back into that familiar sneer that James knew so well. 'Him and Potter and the rest of them, they're all the same. They care about their looks and their groupies, nothing else. He doesn't worry about you, why should you worry about him?'

Regulus kept his eyes closed, his knuckles turning white as his hands gripped the sleeves of his robe at the elbows. 'Tell me again what you need me to do.'

Snape nodded his approval slowly. 'I'll need to check over the plan again…but your part should be simple enough. And it won't be for a while anyway.'

He began to walk back the way they had come, and he gestured for Regulus to come with him. 'There are other things you can work on in the meantime. Avery and Nott have some…interesting tricks to teach you. You'll find them worthwhile, and they'll make you extremely useful later on.'

Their voices disappeared as they rounded the corner out of view, but it took James a minute to come to his senses and start moving towards his room. His mind was racing as he ran through the conversation he'd overheard, trying to make sure he'd understood it accurately. Two things he was sure of: one, he was going to have to speak to Sirius privately before he let anyone else know, and two; it was going to be incredibly hard to keep him from trying to kill Snape when he did find out.

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Lily was worried; James had come back from the kitchens white as a sheet and had barely said a word since he'd arrived. He'd answered her whispered questions with short, one-word answers and had seemed oddly distant; he fidgeted constantly, his hands restlessly moving, running through his hair, drumming beats out on his knee. She'd even noticed Sirius giving her concerned glances, as obviously confused at the change in James' attitude and demeanour as she was.

The two of them were sat directly in front of the fire on the large rug, Sirius and Peter to their left and Emma to their right. James had been staring at the crackling flames for almost five minutes now, and nothing Lily said or did could divert his attention for more than a few seconds. She was sat so close to him that their legs were touching – she was all but in his lap – and he gave no indication that he'd even noticed her proximity, whereas in normal circumstances he would probably have brushed his hand over her hair repeatedly and made several lewd suggestions in her ear by now. Instead he just stared and fidgeted, seemingly unconscious of what he was doing. She felt panic rising in her throat as she wondered what in Agrippa's name could have happened to send him into this kind of melancholy stupor.

The quiet in their little corner did not extend to the rest of the room; the assembled teenagers were loud and boisterous and smatterings of laughter mingled with general chatter as everyone greeted each other after the holidays. Recognising that James was in no condition to take charge of the meeting as he usually did, and that she was totally useless thanks to her borderline panic attack over his sudden change of mood, Lily gestured frantically at Sirius, who got the point immediately and promptly stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled.

The noise died down quickly, and everyone settled down as Remus stood up and moved to the front of the room.

'Uh, thanks for coming guys.' He cleared his throat. 'I know it's the first day back and everything, but this is kind of important. At least, I think it is.'

He picked up a file from the sofa behind him and glanced once at Julia; she gave him an encouraging smile. None of this went unnoticed by Lily, who felt a small smile break out on her face, despite her unease over James' current behaviour.

'Ok.' He took a deep breath and began to talk. Lily registered again how compelling Remus could be when he was speaking about something he considered important; he became very invested in his topic and his vehemence was passed on to his audience. She had a fleeting thought that he ought to become a teacher, and resolved to discuss it with him at some point.

'We all saw the strange stuff that was happening last term; the fights in the corridors, the hexes no-one could recognise, the slogans on the walls. Add to that the inferi on the train, the dementors in Hogsmeade and the fact that we know the Death Eaters are recruiting from Hogwarts and it's worrying.'

He paused for a breath and looked to Julia, who seemed to sense he had become a little tongue-tied for the moment as she stood and moved over towards him before beginning to speak rather shyly.

'We thought, initially, that there were probably two separate reasons for what was happening. One: that creating an atmosphere of fear at Hogwarts would make it easier for the Death Eaters to recruit, since people would be afraid to turn them down, and two: that some of the Death-Eaters-in-training here were either getting their kicks, or practising their hexes – or both – on students.'

Lily hid a smile despite her rising anxieties; Julia was such an obvious Ravenclaw. She spoke in a clear, exact tone of voice and her points were made with precision, and just the right amount of force. No doubt a serious amount of research had gone into this and that – partially – explained all those hours she and Remus had been spending tucked away together in the library. Only partially though, and Lily was still determined to get to the bottom of that. Later.

The blonde ran a hand through her hair and continued to speak, a trace of nervousness creeping into both her voice and her posture. 'We still think those things are probably true, but we think there's a third reason for all this happening.' She blew out one long breath, as if she was mentally preparing for what she was about to say.

'We think they are trying to get Dumbledore fired.'

There was a moment of shocked silence, then an explosion of sound as everyone began talking at once. Lily was stunned into immobility, and she felt James' nervous fidgeting falter and stop as the impact of Julia's words sank in for them both. Despite the worry that she felt at the suggestion of Hogwarts without Dumbledore – absurd at the best of times, but unthinkable in the current situation – she felt a small surge of relief that the news had at least provoked a reaction from James.

Surprisingly enough, Emma – pretty, bubbly, ditsy Emma - was the first to recover some semblance of sense, and she stood up and yelled for quiet. The noise in the room died down quickly as she glared round at everyone, arms folded and her displeasure clear on her face. 'I for one am interested in hearing how you two came up with this idea, so please continue with what you were going to say while we all shut up and listen for five minutes.' The last few words were delivered in a cutting tone that silenced even the most vocal of the people sat in front of her. Apparently satisfied with her work, she sat down with a bump, and Remus stepped forward again.

'I know it sounds mad. But it really makes a lot of sense when you stop looking at everything that's happened individually and put it all together.' He pushed a lock of sandy-blond hair out of his eyes and made eye contact with Lily, who nodded her approval for him to continue; James was paying attention now, and anything that encouraged him to focus was great as far as she was concerned.

'Okay, let's look at what's happened since the start of this year. Inferi attacking the train. We don't think that it was a serious attempt – numbers weren't enough to overwhelm us and we got away pretty lightly in terms of injuries. Dementors and Death Eaters in Hogsmeade; again, they could have done a lot more damage than they did. All the kids who've been cursed in the corridors, some really badly and by curses that are far worse than you'd expect a school kid to be able to inflict. None of these things separately seem like much, and they certainly didn't achieve anything by doing any of them, but taken together they make it seem like the school is out of control.'

Julia stepped forward again; she took the file from Remus and opened it, pulling out a sheaf of newspaper cuttings. 'And that's exactly what the Prophet has been reporting. Look at these headlines, and some of the things that are being reported.' She began to pass out the cuttings, reading some of them out loud as she did so.

"Is Dumbledore Losing the Plot?"

"Another Attack at Hogwarts"

"Staff Powerless to Protect Students"

"Student's terrorised on the Hogwart's Express"

"Pupils Left Defenceless on Hogsmeade Visit"

The articles were, if anything worse. Lily read through them with a sinking heart; she couldn't deny that Remus and Julia had a point. Every single one was critical of Dumbledore's stewardship of the school; some complained about his choice of teachers or prefects, others criticised his timetabling, his curriculum, his organisation of visits off school grounds.

There were articles relating to Dumbledore's other roles as well; his speeches to the Wizengamot as Chief Warlock were heavily disparaged and his proposals to the International Confederation of Wizards sneered at and dismissed. If she was just an observer in all this, if she only had the Prophet to inform her on what was going on, she'd probably have lost faith in Dumbledore by now; they'd made him sound like a raving lunatic.

Lily looked up at James, and couldn't help but feel a shocking jolt of relief when she realised that he was looking right back at her. His expression was slightly horrified, but he looked himself again; alert and perceptive. He reached for her hand tentatively and gave it a contrite squeeze, his eyes offering her an unspoken apology for his odd behaviour. Remembering his promise to always tell her things, she dug below her insecurities and reminded herself that she'd believed him then and she believed him now. When he was ready to talk about whatever it was, he would.

'So.' Remus' voice was quiet, but it was nonetheless heard by everyone in the room, and silence fell over the group more easily this time. He waited until everyone had settled down and the rustling of paper as people passed the clippings around died down before he spoke again.

'That's what we've been looking into. I mean, the inferi and the dementors, fair enough that's definitely newsworthy, but why are they going for this angle? Why aren't they questioning how the dementors ended up outside of ministry control, or attacking the auror department for not doing more to tackle the use of inferi? They're specifically targeting Dumbledore as a blame figure. And since when did they care about prefect appointment or timetabling problems, or internal discipline issues? This is character assassination, nothing else.'

'The thing is…' Julia spoke up, slowly but with increasing confidence in what she was saying 'what we initially couldn't figure out is what they were specifically trying to achieve. We know Voldemort considers Dumbledore a threat, so obviously he wants him out of any positions of power, and this is a pretty cunning way to go about that – undermine him. But we think there's another layer to this; getting him removed as Headmaster leaves the position open for them to fill it with a Death Eater, or at least someone under the Imperius. That puts the entire school directly under his control, for whatever purposes; I'm sure I don't have to draw you a picture.'

Grim expressions had settled on most of the faces in the room as the potential seriousness of what was being discussed really began to sink in.

'You might be right about this.' Frank's voice came from somewhere to Lily's right, but she couldn't see him from her position on the floor. She heard the creak of floorboards as he stood up and then he came into view as he moved towards Remus and handed back the stack of newspaper clippings. 'But it's probably worse than you've suggested.'

'How could it possibly be worse?' Mary sounded incredulous, but she leant forward in her armchair, making it clear she was interested in hearing the answer.

'If they can oust Dumbledore, they don't even need to fill the job with a Death Eater. They have Death Eaters, or at least wannabe ones who'll do the same job already here anyway; the people who are carrying out the curses and painting slogans on walls. Can you imagine what they'll be free to do if they're not looking over their shoulder for Dumbledore all the time? No matter who they appointed, no-one else could do a better job. Imagine the things that have happened this year, but ten times worse and ten times more often.' Lily didn't think she'd ever heard Frank sound so grim; there was no trace of his usual cheerfulness in his voice.

'And that would make Hogwarts an even better recruiting ground.' Alice chipped in now, her voice steady and firm, but with a definite hint of uneasiness to it. 'No-one to run to if they come and ask you. Nothing to stop them doing whatever they want to you if you say no.'

'Continuing in that vein' Peter spoke up from beside Lily 'they don't even need to get rid of Dumbledore. If they can get enough parents to think he's gone barmy they'll start withdrawing their kids anyway, and then they'll be at home and twice as vulnerable because they aren't here.'

A gloomy silence fell amongst the group; apparently no-one could think of anything further to add to the discussion. Or perhaps, Lily thought, they just didn't want to depress themselves any further. Feeling James' hand holding onto hers and his knee bumping against her leg, she found herself feeling more optimistic about the situation than she had any right to, but it still worried her, and the concerns raised tonight were going to cast long shadows over the coming term. It was left to Sirius to sum up the general mood of the room, in his usual succinct style.

'Happy fucking New Year everyone.'

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The meeting had long since broken up and the majority of people had gone their separate ways; the few of them who were left were sat in small groups talking quietly. James had been chatting to Emma and Mary about some of their relatives in other houses who had some concerns of their own, but noticing that Sirius had moved away from Marlene and was now standing by himself near the fire, he excused himself and moved towards his best mate.

'Padfoot?' Sirius' head jerked up from watching the flames and his eyes were strangely unfocused for a moment before they sharpened up and honed in on James. His worry must have been obvious on his face because Sirius narrowed his eyes and a slight frown settled onto his handsome features.

'Something wrong Prongs?'

James bit his lip, then snorted quietly as he realised what he'd done; must have picked up that particular nervous habit from Lily. 'I'm not sure mate. I need to tell you something, but I don't want to make it sound worse than it is, and I want you promise me you're going to let me explain properly before you over-react.'

'Is this to do with your weird behaviour earlier on? You freaked Lily out totally you know, I was getting some right panicked looks thrown my way.' Sirius looked round the room until he saw her and he quickly gestured for her to join them. She abandoned her conversation with Peter and Frank and headed their way.

'I was going to tell you first, let you decide if you wanted to let other people know.' James knew he sounded slightly irritated at the way this was going, and he was. He was trying so damn hard to be everything that everyone wanted him to be, and he felt like he was always getting it wrong, always misjudging situations. He used to be so good at deciding on the right course of action; when did everything get so complicated?

Sirius snorted. 'Like you aren't going to tell our little Lily anyway.'

James squirmed, a little uncomfortable at feeling that he was once again being torn in two directions by his differing loyalties to his best mate and his girlfriend. 'Well, yeah, but I'd have cleared it with you first. If you wanted me to keep it to myself for a while, I would. You know my confidence is a given.'

'Yeah, but save your breath and say it once.' Lily arrived and Sirius threw an arm round her shoulders. 'Here she is, the love of my life!' he announced dramatically. Lily rolled her eyes at him, but put her arm round his waist affectionately as she looked at him questioningly. 'Prongs is about to tell us why he was acting like such a sodding nutter earlier on.'

James blew out an exasperated breath, looking at the ceiling for a moment in an attempt to control his temper. He lowered his eyes and he met Lily's concerned gaze. He smiled to let her know that he wasn't annoyed at her then began speaking carefully.

'When I was on my way back from the kitchens I came across Snape and Nott; I was under the cloak, so obviously they have no idea they were overheard. They were discussing some "plans" that they have; they were talking about attracting the approval of the Dark Lord. We all know who that's got to be right?' Sirius and Lily nodded, and James couldn't help but notice that she had paled slightly. He reached for her free hand and held it firmly in one of his; having your suspicions about someone was one thing, but to have something so unpleasant confirmed for you had to be unsettling.

'They were saying that the whole point was to carry out the plans under Dumbledore's nose; I think Remus is definitely onto something.' James paused, aware he was giving them a rather abridged version of events, but unwilling to venture his personal interpretation of Snape's mental state.

'Not sure why you felt the need to discuss this with me separately mate.' Sirius seemed a little confused. 'We probably need to let the others know; Remus at least since it lends a bit more weight to his theory.'

'I know, and I will.' James collected his thoughts and plunged on; this was going to be the difficult bit. He settled on the blunt approach. 'I just wasn't sure whether to tell everybody that your brother was with them.'

Sirius' face went blank. 'Reg?' Lily tightened her grip on his waist in compassion. 'Reg was with that pair of gits?'

'They were pushing him to make a decision; make up his mind about what he wanted. They didn't say it outright, but…I think we all know what they want from him.' James trailed off, knowing there was nothing else he could say that could make this any better.

'They want him to be a fucking Death Eater.' Sirius' voice was more bitter than James had ever heard it before. 'My mother will be so proud. Never mind that the bloody idiot will probably end up dead! He's such a moron!' He turned and pulled out of Lily's grasp, kicking the nearest chair as he moved. He stood still for a moment, facing the wall with one hand fisted in his hair. He suddenly turned and walked past them both, heading for the door. 'I'm going for a walk.'

Lily moved to head after him, but James pulled her back by their still-joined hands. 'Leave him love. He'll go and punch something, or go for a run. He took it better than I thought he would anyway.'

Lily turned back towards him, her face a picture of misery and concern. 'You're sure he'll be okay?'

'Course love. I know Sirius' temper well enough. He just needs a bit of time for it to sink in; then he'll probably find Regulus and beat the crap out of him. Doubt it'll help any, but Sirius needs to feel like he's tried everything to keep his brother off that path.'

He looked at her pale face and slightly reddened eyes with concern, reaching a hand up to stroke her cheek gently. 'You look worse than he does actually.' He took a breath and asked the question he really wasn't sure he wanted an answer to. 'Upset about Snape?'

'No, not really.' The calmness of her tone surprised him, and a close look at her expression told him she wasn't lying. She looked at his curious face and continued. 'It's not like I didn't know. It was a bit of a shock to find out how deep he's gotten himself into this, but…he made his choice. Made it a long time ago and now he has to live with it. It's not my problem.'

James tugged her closer for a quick kiss, relief washing through him. It wasn't just that he was thrilled she was no longer friends with Snape – though he was – it was that she had come to terms with his betrayal and he was no longer able to emotionally punish her. Even putting his personal jealousy aside, that friendship had been toxic for her and she was well rid of it.

He noted her continued nervousness though, and cupped her face in his hands to hold her eyes on his. 'In that case, want to tell me what's really bothering you if it isn't Sirius or Snape?'

She sighed. 'I don't want to James, but I have to.' He kept his hands where they were, and ran his thumbs gently over her cheekbones in attempt to reassure her that it was okay for her to tell him whatever she needed to.

'Remus just told me…after your broom broke during that Quidditch match he was concerned about how it happened; after all, it's a good broom, it's practically brand new…and let's just say Remus has a suspicious mind okay? Anyway, the point is McGonagall had Flitwick examine it…and it was sabotaged.'

'It was what?' James' hands dropped from her face as his brain tried to process the words.

'Someone cursed it, weakened the magical core. Whoever did it couldn't have known when it would break, it would depend on how much you'd used it. It could have gone in training, or if you were flying by yourself; the fact that it broke in that match when there were so many people there probably saved you. Flitwick said it was an extremely complicated and accomplished hex; he doesn't know of any student with that kind of ability, so our suspect list consists of exactly the same names as usual.'

James regained a little of his sense and moved backwards to sit in an armchair before he fell over. 'So…do you think it was specifically aimed at me?'

'Yeah.' Lily followed him to the chair and sank down into his lap. 'Seems you've managed to upset someone besides me for a change.' He let out a strangled sort of laugh and she snuggled down further. 'We actually don't know whether this was just part of their fear-mongering campaign – let's be honest, death of a student would be great for that - or if it was personal. But it can't have been random. You're the only person here who flies a Comet 220 – probably the only person who can afford one just for Quidditch – so whoever did it would have known it was yours.'

She somehow managed to worm her arms around his back and tucked her head in under his chin. 'So, I'd be grateful if you'd keep your new broom in here from now on; I don't want to have to scrape your remains off the ground, thank you.'

James wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair - inhaling the scent was strangely soothing. 'New year, new problems apparently.'

He felt her turn her face so it pressed against his chest and her words came out muffled by his shirt. 'So it would seem.'

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A/N: Thanks for reading; thoughts, comments, questions and criticisms are all welcome.

I didn't do a huge amount of proof-reading or editing on this one because I wanted to get it posted (I hate keeping you guys waiting), so apologies for any errors.