:(

I'm very sorry for the lateness of this update, but there has just been so much going on in my life right now. I was taking a breather over the holiday break since I was thinking about just uploading monthly anyway, but then my dad passed away and things just got way crazy at my house. So I've been dealing with so much of that aftermath that I haven't been able to think about anything else. I'm finally trying to get my life back into some kind of normal, so I decided uploading a chapter would be a good place to start.

I hope that you guys are still out there waiting to read. I also haven't gotten another permanent job, so I may be able to upload every other week like before. This way I have something to look forward to doing.

Kam, lol, you're so hard on Peter. He hasn't done anything wrong...yet XD

Lily-Luna, welcome! Glad you're enjoying the story so far :)

Raven that flies at night, welcome to you as well :D Everyone should ship them, they are perfect XD

Dee, hi there and welcome :D I'm so flattered, I'm happy you like my story that much ^^

katiek121, omg, the rest of this season of Sherlock. It's been really crazy O.O

Thanks so much to those of you who have been waiting for your patience as always. I'm so glad to have wonderful readers like you. Love ya!

~SXS

FOR WARNINGS AND DISCLAIMER, SEE FIRST CHAPTER AN.

"You know, you promised that we'd get Evans to like me this year," James said one day in March, opening one eye from where they'd been closed in concentration. He was sitting on the floor in another attempt at meditation but his mind was obviously elsewhere.

Sirius, across from him and reading aloud from the meditation book, paused and lifted his head. With everything else they'd been up to he'd almost forgotten the Evans Coming Around Initiative. He raised a brow. "I thought you didn't want me to help anymore because I'm no good with romance?"

"I'm not saying that you should be the spearhead of the operation." James looked at Remus, lounging on his bed with a book to distract himself from getting too antsy over the progress his friends were (or were not) making. "Moony is now the most experienced, so I'm relying on his newly acquired wisdom."

Without taking his eyes off the page, Remus said, "Prongs, I'm not a love expert any more than Sirius is. But I have told you before what might enhance your chances."

James let out a whiny moan, and his whole body flopped forward dramatically. "I have a better chance of dismantling their friendship altogether." His head suddenly popped up again but Remus was quick to snub any stupid ideas with a firm 'NO'.

"Well, let's see," Sirius said, sitting back on his heels to think. "Getting her alone didn't help. Mary obviously wasn't able to change her mind. Artificial poetry was a bust." He ticked off each of these attempts on his fingers. "And we know befriending or eliminating Snivellus is out of the question." He pursed his lips. "I'm at a loss."

James looked hopefully towards Remus, but the werewolf honestly had no ideas of his own. The messy-haired Marauder had gotten off to a bad start with Lily from the very first day of first year, and it was hard to say whether or not anything could change her mind or convince her to give him a serious chance. Even trying to undo the damage of bullying her best friend.

Remus looked at him sympathetically. He understood exactly how he was feeling, unbeknownst to the bespectacled boy, but the difference was that he'd accepted the fact that nothing was likely to ever come out of his feelings for Sirius. It wasn't healthy to pine after something that you simply couldn't have. "James…" he started as gently as possible. "Have you ever thought that maybe it just isn't meant to be with Lily?" James frowned deeply, but the werewolf held up his hands, placating. "I'm just saying, you shouldn't have to trick a girl into seeing your merits. Romantic interest should be natural, for both parties. You shouldn't have to try so hard."

"Is that why things didn't work out with Mary?" Sirius asked.

Remus blushed lightly. "Sort of." That and the fact that he was (still is) in love with his best friend.

James's expression turned reluctantly thoughtful. He pursed his lips. "The universe does seem to have it out for us," he murmured, thinking back on his continued inability to talk to Lily without something going wrong. He sighed lowering his head. "Maybe you're right." There was an unexpected resignation in his tone. "I guess I was putting off admitting it to myself."

Sirius, also empathetic to the situation, moved to his side and put an arm around his shoulders in comfort. "Hey, this is a good thing. Now you can go after all those girls you've been holding back on."

"That's true," James said with a subtle nod, and already the melancholy was melting off of him. "Yeah. There's a whole school full of girls besides Evans. I'll bet there's plenty of eligible ladies who have been dying to get a piece of James Potter." He ran a confident hand through his mop of hair.

Sirius and Remus glanced to each other with light smirks. They couldn't be sure how long that resolution would last, but it was a step in the right direction after nearly four years of swearing Lily would 'come around'. "Well, that's…mature of you, James. I think," the latter said.

"I know. I'm just brimming with maturity since I hit puberty," James said with a grin.

Just then the door to the room burst open and Peter came in. "Hey mates! I think I found out something useful!"

"Hey, Pete. Where have you been?" James asked.

"Ahh…" That made Peter stop for a second, flushing. "J-Just doing a little studying, that's all. But I think I know where we can find the spell to put ourselves in the map."

At this, Sirius perked up. "Do tell."

Peter moved to sit down on his bed, crossing his legs. "I was in the library and I overheard someone talking about being sent to Dumbledore's office and talking about what it looked like inside. There's shelves upon shelves of books we haven't been able to look at."

James nodded, his eyes going a bit distant as he started to think. "Dumbledore's like a hundred years old. I bet he's picked up a lot of ancient texts. One of them has to have the spell the Founders used."

"Plus we haven't been able to explore his office to draw it on the map," Sirius added, grinning eagerly. "It's perfect!"

Remus, however, wasn't getting his hopes up just yet. "There's just one problem. How are we supposed to get into the Headmaster's office without getting into massive amounts of trouble?"

Sirius snapped the book closed, and popped onto his feet. "Moony, you always doubt. When will you realize that we can do anything?" He put his hands on his hips and struck a pose not unlike a superhero in a Muggle comic book.

Remus had to admit, they did have a fantastic track record for getting done whatever it was that they needed to in order to achieve their goals. Compared to some of the things they'd pulled off, sneaking into the Headmaster's office was child's play. "We're going to need a hell of a distraction."

The dark-haired boy beamed. "That's my little troublemaker."

.:~I~S~S~:.

It didn't take long for the Marauders to formulate a plan, but they had to wait a while for all the pieces to fall into place. So it was that during the first weekend of April, James, Peter, and Remus found themselves sitting in a second floor corridor, near a tall, winged gargoyle statue that they had learned was the entrance to Dumbledore's office. They huddled together under the cloak, which was only able to cover them fully because they weren't standing.

Suddenly, Professor Flitwick rushed past the invisible boys and up to the statue, whispering a password which caused it to spin upwards, revealing spiral stairs which he quickly climbed. They looked to each other with grins, knowing that Sirius's distraction must have been working.

Though it was risky, the absentee Gryffindor was currently leading a well-trained hippogriff around the Saturday-empty halls with a bucket full of steaks that he'd acquired from the kitchens. Being the most adept in Care of Magical Creatures, Professor Grubbly-Plank allowed Sirius to interact with some of the more advanced beings in her menagerie. Which was how he'd come to befriend the young animal and learn the best ways to keep him in line. They were a very proud species, but make a polite first impression and offer them fresh meat and they'd become your best friend. To James's surprise (but not Remus's), Peter had managed to recruit Mary to their cause. She had informed Flitwick about the rogue hippogriff, setting the wheels in motion.

It was less than a minute before Flitwick was scurrying back down the stairs with Dumbledore trailing behind. The Headmaster actually looked rather calm, in spite of the Charms professor's frantic attitude, and even paused for a second near where the boys were crouching. They held their breath as he almost seemed to look right at them, before he carried on.

They couldn't wait for the hall to be cleared before they made their move, as the stairs were likely to close again, so the three of them scrambled up and did their best to keep their ankles from showing. The staircase was long, and they only just barely made it to the top before it began to descend.

Taking off the cloak, the trio found themselves on a small landing with a wooden door. James took out his camera, which he'd asked his parents to send to him just for the occasion (not that they actually knew what he was doing with it). They didn't have enough time to thoroughly study the spell if they found it, or to copy it down, and they certainly weren't going to take the book out of the office, so this was their best option. Peter was prepared with a measurement spell and a notebook to jot down important features for the sketch. He was already noting how many stairs they'd climbed. Remus stepped forward and opened the door.

The room was high-ceilinged and large, made of two circles that melted into each other like the pieces of a snowman. Around the first circle they had entered, glass cases covered the walls, filled with all sorts of instruments and artifacts that certainly only Dumbledore knew how to use. Higher up were portraits of former Headmasters, all of whom were looking curiously at the intruders, but said nothing. Five steps led up through pointed archways to a circular platform where a huge, ornate wooden desk sat. It was flanked on either side by floor-to-ceiling bookshelves crammed with a library covering a wide range of subjects and age. There were also curved stairs on either side, leading to another platform which must have been the Headmaster's quarters.

"This is incredible," James breathed, and took a picture. "Even if we don't find what we're looking for, I think this trip was worth it."

"There isn't a lot of time for awe," Remus pointed out, though he was also stunned at the incredible space the Headmaster had for himself. He would have loved to browse the books more leisurely, but they were on a mission. "Let's start looking."

As in the library, there was a rolling ladder, which James used to look at the higher up shelves. Remus remained on the ground as he liked, and scanned the mid-range, and Peter, after finishing up with the measurements, took to the lower. They studied the spines quickly but carefully, once in a while pulling something out that looked promising. By the time half an hour had passed, they started to get nervous, the pressure of the clock bearing down on them. They couldn't be sure how long Sirius could keep Dumbledore from catching the hippogriff. But they'd only managed to look at about a third of the titles, and hadn't turned up anything useful.

James climbed down the ladder. "We can't stay here any longer. Dumbledore could be back any second," he said.

"But we haven't figured anything out yet," Peter said. "What if we stayed until dinner?"

"We can't sit here for three hours," the messy-haired Marauder said. "There's no way he wouldn't find us. We'll just have to come back and try again some other time."

Remus put back the last book that he'd had a chance to look at and sighed. It was going to be difficult to pull off something like this again but they didn't have a choice. He turned so they could leave, but then spotted something out of the corner of his eye, hiding in an arched alcove between two sconces on the wall. "Lads…Why don't we ask the source?"

James and Peter turned towards him, following his gaze to the Sorting Hat itself. The pointed end was sagging slightly, making it look as if it were sleeping. Remus stepped closer and cleared his throat, while James waved Peter towards the office door to be a lookout.

"E-Excuse me?" There was no response. Remus suddenly wondered if the Hat even worked outside of the Sorting ceremony. It might even be that there was a special spell to wake it up. "Um, Mr. Sorting Hat, sir?" He reached out and brushed the tips of his fingers over the brim. The Hat suddenly grunted and he drew his hand back in surprise.

It took a moment for the Hat to rouse itself fully, straightening up and opening its eyes (which were really just folds in the thousand-year-old material). It hummed, curious, upon spotting Remus and James. "Rather bold of you, isn't it? Coming into the Headmaster's office uninvited," it said in its slow, wise tone.

"You're not going to tell on us, are you?" James asked.

"That depends on why you're here," the Hat answered.

"We're looking for a certain spell," Remus explained. "And as it happens you're probably the best resource we have. Do you know anything about the spell that brought you to life?"

The Sorting Hat was quiet for a moment, and its brim shifted as if it were rolling its lips together. "The spell is ancient, highly advanced magic, and not to be taken lightly. Inanimate objects are so for a reason."

James scoffed to himself. "If only it knew what kind of things we've already done." Remus had a feeling that it actually might.

"I promise, we won't use the spell irresponsibly. We're only hoping to put a bit of ourselves into one important project," Remus said in the hopes that the Hat could tell that they were being honest.

The weathered garment regarded them carefully before speaking again. "Ah, yes. This project is rather momentous, isn't it? It will be the savior of more than one life, and provide assistance in desperate times to come." James and Remus exchanged a skeptical look, but didn't question why the Hat would say something like that. They knew that it liked to make ominous premonitions in its songs during the opening feasts, but how would their map wind up saving lives? "Come, place me on your head. I shall share the spell."

Remus hesitated, then picked up the Sorting Hat and put it on his head. Immediately, he felt like he wasn't alone in his mind, just as he had felt on the first of September four years before. The Hat didn't speak, per say, but words did pass into his brain, all related to the spell that they needed and how to carry it out. It was disconcerting, having the knowledge forcibly planted, but when he removed the Hat once more, it was as if he'd been born knowing it.

"Thank you," he said, a bit breathless, and put the Hat back on its shelf.

The Hat's pointed end tipped down for a moment in the closest thing it could manage to a nod. "I share my wisdom in the hopes that it will do you well. And while you are here, let me say this: my small prophecies are not conjecture, but warning. In what lies ahead in your life, do your best to see the truth and follow it. The trials you shall face can be made all the less painful for your efforts."

James and Remus didn't have time to try to decipher what the Hat was saying, and it was quickly erased from their minds, because Peter was suddenly waving at them frantically. Dumbledore was coming up the stairs. They scampered together, draping the cloak over themselves and standing near the door just as it was opened by the Headmaster, who looked none the worse for wear after having faced a loose hippogriff. Before the door could close on its own, the three boys slipped through and onto the landing, safe.