A/N: I truly, once again, apologize! I had a trial project, three tests, an essay, and God knows what else! But I'll make it up to you somehow, I promise. Sorry!

As to this chapter. It's necessary, but not necessarily exciting. It really helps develop the story, but I guess it's not the best chapter. I don't really like it, but i hope you all like it.

Thanks to all the readers and reviewers, and special thanks to: miwako, FiveByFive13, emmys, redcrushedvelvet, Kates Master's Sister, windstar, Valandar, ellieo, Tauril Hawk, and everyone else that reads my fanfiction! I love you all! Happy Holidays!

November, 1974

A New Friendship

Remus was back on his feet in no time, and things ran as smoothly as ever. The four friends now had a bond stronger than anything did, completely unbreakable. They always told each other that they would stick by each other, through the thick and the thin, the highs and the lows. Before now, it was just words. Now, it showed in their actions.

Though the friendship of the marauders grew stronger with every passing day, the same could not be said for the world around them. The war that was raging in their world was growing more ominous, to the point where children were dragged out of school as they found out that their parents had been murdered.

But it seemed nothing could dampen the spirits of the Marauders. It was right before Christmas break, and exciting things were taking place around the castle. The first Quidditch game of the season for the Gryffindors were coming up, and everyone was riled up and incredibly excited.

"The nerve of that Snivellus!" Sirius fumed, walking through the dormitory doorway on a Sunday afternoon.

"Uh oh," Remus smiled calmly. "What did he do now."

"He ducked when we aimed a spell at him," James said regretfully, coming up from behind Sirius. He grabbed his broom from the corner of the room.

"The shame," Remus said, laughing.

"So who did you hit instead?" Peter asked interestedly.

"Bertram Aubrey," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "That geek of a kid."

"McGonagall saw it all," James said. "Double detention."

"So what happened to dear old Bertram?" Remus asked, amused.

"James and I were practicing the head-swelling charm," Sirius shrugged. "Of course, Snivellus was our first test subject, but hey, Aubrey worked as well…"

"You should have seen him," James said, guffawing. "His head swelled to twice the normal size."

"His head was bigger than James's," Sirius said, laughing. "And I didn't think that was possible."

"Nice," Remus said sarcastically. "So, when's detention?"

"Tonight," Sirius said.

"I thought you had a Quidditch practice tonight, James," Remus frowned.

"Well, Sirius is having his detention tonight, I'm having it tomorrow," James said, grinning.

"How did you manage to weasel out of this one?"

"Mind you, I'm doing triple detention tomorrow night," James shrugged. "But McGonagall was almost nice about it. I think she cares about the Quidditch team as much as you or I do."

Peter laughed. "Wow. I never knew that."

"Me neither," James grinned. He glanced at his watch. "Speaking of which… I should be down on the Quidditch field soon. This is our first and last practice before our first game."

"Yeah, and I'll head on to detention," Sirius shrugged, grinning. "Can't wait to clean more bird dung out of animal cages."

"Sounds like fun," Remus said sarcastically.

"Are you coming with me?" James asked him.

Remus shook his head. "I'm going to help Peter practice that Transfiguration spell. It's going to come up in our O.W.L.'s, you know."

Sirius groaned. "Those stupid tests?"

"They aren't stupid," Remus reprimanded, while James sniggered.

"Whatever you say, Moony," Sirius said, shrugging.

"Right," Remus said, rolling his eyes. "You guys need to get going."

"Okay, see you," James said, heading out the door with Sirius.

Once outside of the common room, James and Sirius separated. James clutched his broomstick as he walked down to the field, heart pounding nervously. It felt like his first Quidditch practice, and in essence, it was… it was the first Quidditch practice with him as captain.

"Why am I so nervous?" James asked himself, frowning.

Trying to lighten his nerves, he hummed to himself on the way down.

"Nice music, Potter," a voice said cheerfully from behind James.

James jumped a mile, and turned to see Marcella walking towards him, broom in hand. "You scared me," he said, half-agitated, half-grateful to see her.

"Sorry," she said, laughing, catching up to him.

"No problem," he said. The duo started walking together. "So where are you going?"

"Same place you are," she smiled. "Quidditch pitch. Quidditch practice, oh Quidditch captain."

"Right," James said, rather sheepishly.

There was a silence.

"So… the pink's wearing off," she said, amused.

James flushed. "I guess." His skin was a definitely lighter pink for the past couple of days. Though it hadn't completely worn off yet, he was glad to see it go. He was tired of people calling him the Pink Puppet.

"Looks better now," Marcella grinned.

"Hey, lay off the skin, will you?" James said testily.

"Sorry," she said, laughing. "And I promise I won't call you the Pink Puppet."

James cracked a grin.

"Now there's that famous Potter smile," she said. "Haven't seen it in a while."

"Really," James said, amused.

"Yeah. By the way, is your face okay? What happened?"

Confused, James reached up to touch the scar on his face. "Oh. Yeah. It's healing. Uh, I accidentally tripped," he offered lamely.

She nodded, not wanting to press the matter further.

"Nervous?" he asked.

"Of what? First Quidditch practice of the season?"

"I'll take that as a no," James said.

Marcella laughed. "You can take that as a 'hell yeah'."

"Really?" James asked, surprised. "I don't take you to be the type that's scared of anything."

"Not scared, per se," Marcella said thoughtfully as they rounded a corner. "Nervous. Actually, I take that back. I am scared that I'll mess up and be thrown off the team."

"You won't be," James said, albeit grudgingly. "You were the best Chaser we had in the tryouts."

"Do I sense resentment in your tone?" Marcella said, smiling.

"Maybe," James said, smiling uncertainly back. "Maybe I'm jealous."

"And why would you be jealous?"

"You flew better than me at my tryouts," James said, grinning.

Marcella laughed. "Oh, is that it? Well, I'm sorry to burst your bubble. In all honesty, though, I've never seen a more brilliant Seeker in my whole life."

"Thanks," James said, feeling himself smile at that comment. "Still scared?"

"A bit," she admitted. "My parents always believed I would turn out a strong girl, you know. Brave. Fearless. Believe it or not my name means 'warrior'. But I learned that fear is fine. In fact, fear makes you stronger, because of that sense of pride and rush of excitement you feel when you conquer your fears." She paused, her brown eyes smiling. "So I'm going to go into this practice scared and nervous, but I'll come out stronger and better for it."

James stared at her, impressed. "Wow," he managed to say.

She laughed.

They walked in silence for a while, and they were nearing the doors of the castle. As they pushed the door open, James felt the urge to talk to her about something that had been bugging him.

"Can I tell you something?" James said.

"Yeah," Marcella answered.

"I thought it would be awkward having you on the Quidditch team."

She nodded, dark hair swishing in the cold winter wind. "That's completely understandable."

"It is?" James asked, surprised.

"It's about Lily, right?"

James nodded.

"Well," Marcella said thoughtfully. "I thought it might be. You see, I had the exact same thoughts."

"You did?" James asked, even more surprised.

She laughed. "Yeah. I did. Look, you and Lily don't like each other. That's understandable. I've had to watch you guys squabble and prank each other for five years."

"So you had doubts about joining the Quidditch team?"

"Absolutely," Marcella nodded. "Awkwardness is a huge stepping stone to get over. I was having second thoughts about joining, mainly because you were still pink. Dislike for me tempered with the skin might have given me a huge disappointment as to my chances of joining the team."

"I'm not that biased," James said snippily. "I know a good Quidditch player when I see one."

"Well I know that now," Marcella said. "I didn't know much about you, James. And I'm glad you let me on the team; we get to know each other better."

James smiled. "Yeah. My feelings exactly."

Finally the duo had reached the Quidditch field. The rest of the team was assembled there, broomsticks in hand.

"Right," James said, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. "This is our first and last Quidditch practice before our first game. We have a great team assembled here, and I'm absolutely confident we can bring home that Quidditch Cup!"

The rest of the team cheered.

"So today, we're going to have a scrimmage," James said. "Chasers, you're going to work on getting the ball past Perry, and Perry, you need to try and defend the goals. Beaters, practice aiming, not at the players, but aim at not hitting the players. Don't hit too hard so no one will sustain a serious injury if you aim misses. And I'll release the Snitch and weave through you all for a while. Okay?"

The team cheered again. Soon, they were off.

James observed from afar as the Chasers worked to try and put the Quaffle through the hoops. Though the brilliance of his old teammates weren't there, the team still had some amazing plays.

James marveled at the endurance and willingness of his players, especially Marcella. Daniel accidentally hit her twice; once in the arms and once in the stomach, but she just kept playing like nothing had happened. In face, she, Amber and Balin scored over three hundred points on Perry.

Perry was having problems. It seemed that the easiest of saves he fumbled, and the hardest of saves he managed to conquer.

"Alright everyone, that's enough," James called after two hours. The team landed on the ground and assembled before him.

"That was brilliant," James said sincerely. "Keep this up, and we'll slaughter Slytherin. Perry, can I see you for a bit?"

"Sure," Perry nodded.

As the rest of the team left, James pulled Perry aside. "I noticed you were having some problems with the easier saves," James began. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Perry hung his head. "I know. I'm sorry," he said sadly. "I'm so frustrated… I just can't do it."

"But you've made some of the most spectacular saves in the history of Hogwarts Quidditch," James said encouragingly. "Is there a specific reason that you can make those amazing saves, but not necessarily the ones closer to you?"

Perry looked thoughtful. "Well, I guess I'm just more scared of the Quaffle when it's coming at me and zooming so close to me. I know that after, what, three years of Quidditch, I shouldn't be so afraid, but it's an odd feeling that I can't let go of."

James nodded. "Well, maybe there's something I can do to help with that."

"Really?" Perry asked, looking surprised. "I thought you were going to kick me off the team."

It was James's turn to look surprised. "No!" he said. "I wouldn't do that. I think you're a brilliant Keeper, but we just need to work on some distancing. Do you have some spare time right now?"

Perry nodded. "Sure."

"Okay, then I'm going to aim some Quaffles. Try to defend the goal as best as you can."

The two boys ascended their brooms and zoomed into the sky. James, though out of practice as a Chaser, was still able to aim incredibly well. Pretty soon, he confirmed that the only way Perry would be able to make saves was if he stood out of the way as the Quaffle came toward him.

"Perry, can we try something?" James called out.

"Sure," Perry said, flying toward James. "What's the plan?"

"Do you think maybe you could always fly about five feet above the goal posts?" James said. "Maybe the Quaffle will never come close enough for you to fumble it."

"That's a good idea," Perry said, nodding his head. He flew back to the goalposts, except now he floated above the three hoops. "Here?" he called out to James.

"A little higher," James shouted.

"Here?" Perry shouted.

"No, a bit more," James called back. Perry flew a little higher, now looking uncertain. "Perfect," James said loudly.

Hoping that this new strategy would cure Perry of his problems with the Quaffle, James took a deep breath, threw back his arm, and released the Quaffle. He watched, as if in slow motion, as Perry magnetically moved to ward the Quaffle from above, and stopped it far before it could even reach the goal area.

"I did it!" Perry gasped, looking surprised.

James beamed and cheered. Looking now more confident than he ever had been, Perry again went to his spot above the hoops. James tried a completely different shot, but Perry caught it easily.

"Brilliant!" James said as he and Perry descended to the ground after half an hour. James was ecstatic. He tried every single brilliant shot that he could muster, and only two made it past Perry. That boy was like a magnet to the Quaffle. "Brilliant! That was great! I'm wondering how Chasers at the tryouts even get one Quaffle past you."

Perry laughed a rare laugh. "I guess I try less," he shrugged. "And remember, the easy saves I fumble. But mostly, they really and honestly were brilliant. Especially that Marcella girl… her aim is amazing."

"I agree with you there," James said, smiling. This time, there was no grudge in his voice. He truly appreciated Marcella on his team.

He waved goodbye to Perry and headed up to the Gryffindor tower alone with his broomstick.

"That's very admirable of you," a voice said, joining him on his trek back to the common room.

"Marcella!" James said, jumping. "That's twice today. What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you to finish, actually," she grinned, eyes sparkling. "I was up in the stands the whole time you and Perry were having the Quidditch moment."

"Really."

"Yeah," she shrugged. "I was actually practicing a spell on a quill I had brought along, as Lily was at Prefect duty. But mainly, I just wanted to congratulate you."

"On what?" James asked.

"Well, not many captains would be so patient as to spend individual time with the Keeper to make sure their skills were refined," she said, smiling. "It takes a truly dedicated person, and a true friend."

"Thanks," James said gratefully. "That means a lot. I always knew that Perry had it in him, it's just that none of the former captains…"

"Took the time to go one-on-one," Marcella finished. "Like I said, it takes true dedication and friendship."

James paused, unsure of what to say. "Thanks," he finally uttered out.

"No problem," Marcella said.

They walked in silence for a while, rounding the corner. Suddenly a water balloon dropped out of thin air, landing and exploding on Marcella.

"Hey!" she said loudly, her hair dripping wet. "Who did that? That was not funny."

Peeves, cackling, spiraled out from above. "Like my little trick?"

"No!" Marcella said indignantly. "It's freezing outside, and now I am too! I don't want to catch a cold."

Peeves cackled again, and chucked another water balloon at her, which, thankfully, missed.

"Peeves, stop it!" Marcella shrieked.

Relentlessly Peeves bobbed up and down, cackling madly and chucking water balloons at Marcella.

"STOP IT!" James roared, taking out his wand.

Peeves looked surprised for a second, then his face twisted into an evil smile. "Ooh. Potter's sticking up for Greenwald, isn't he?"

"Yes," James said indignantly. "Stop chucking balloons at her!"

"POTTY LURVES GREENY, POTTY LURVES GREENY!" Peeves yelled, spiraling away. "POTTY LURVES GREENY, POTTY LURVES GREENY!"

James cursed loudly. "COME BACK HERE, YOU STUPID –"

"James, stop," Marcella said, though she too looked annoyed. "Peeves will be Peeves."

"I guess," James sighed, clenching his teeth. They could still hear the echo of Peeves as he zoomed across the castle. "Are you okay?"

"I guess," Marcella said. "Just a bit cold… the poltergeist had to drop water on me when it's below freezing outside…" She shivered in coldness.

"Here, you can have my jacket," James said, shrugging it off.

"It's okay," Marcella said, shaking her head. "I'm really not that cold."

"Hey, I know I would be freezing if I was bombarded with water balloons," James said, smiling. "Take it. Please."

Marcella grinned and took it reluctantly. "Are you sure you're not going to be cold?"

"Yeah," James said.

"You and your macho-ness," Marcella laughed. "Well, thank you, James. This is really nice of you."

"No problem. Anything for a friend."

The first Quidditch game for Gryffindor was a bubble of excitement. It would be the first one ever for James as a captain, and he was a wreck. In fact, he was so nervous, he forgot to hex Snape as he crossed his path. Snape took this opportunity to aim a curse at James. Sirius promptly fired one right back at Snape as Snape ran away.

"COME BACK HERE, YOU COWARD!" Sirius roared at the retreating Snape. "YOU GREASY, SONOFA - "

"Leave it, Sirius," Remus said. "It's not worth it."

"James, are you okay?" Peter squeaked.

"I guess," James groaned. There was a fresh scar replacing the one that had just faded.

"You wait 'til I get Snivelly," Sirius growled. "He'll pay for that one."

"He's probably trying to destroy Gryffindor's chances of winning the game," Remus said, clenching his teeth. "The slimy git."

"Wow, vindictive, Moony," Sirius said, grinning.

Peter laughed. James cracked a smile.

"Come on, we gotta get James to the Quidditch pitch," Remus said.

After his friends left him, James sat alone in the locker rooms, unsure of what to do. He was already in his uniform. "I'm shaking," he said to no one in particular. It was true. His hands shook violently as he reached for the broom.

A while later, the rest of his team came in. Most looked nervous. Perry looked determined. Amber, Balin, Michael and Daniel looked scared to death. Marcella was trying to mask her nervousness.

"This is it," James said, trying to keep his voice from shaking. "The first game. I know we'll be okay. We've got a brilliant team of players. Honestly. So I want you all to go out there and do your best, and I know we'll win this. Go Gryffindor!"

"Go Gryffindor!" his team yelled.

"Right! We can do this!" James shouted. Most of the nervousness was ebbing away. "Let's go!" James wasn't particularly ashamed of his lame pep talk; in fact, if it put a smile on the face of his players, it would take that much of the nervousness away.

The players flew out onto the field as their names were announced. James saw the familiar poster of his face, upheld by Sirius, Remus and Peter. He shook hands with the nasty-looking Slytherin captain, and let go quickly.

"Players in their positions," Madam Frish yelled. She let go of the Snitch, and James watched as it flew off into the sky. "Aaaaaaand… GO!" She threw the Quaffle into the air.

There was an instant scramble to take control of the Quaffle. James spiraled higher into the air, watching his team anxiously while trying to search for the Quaffle. He saw Amber score a goal.

"Yes," he said to himself, punching the air.

The Slytherins now had control of the Quaffle, and they zoomed toward the Gryffindor goal posts. "What is Perry Tyson doing?" the commentator asked, puzzled. "Is he not even trying to defend the goals?" Perry was floating a couple of feet above the posts, just like he and James had planned. Thinking it would be an easy ten points, the Slytherin Chaser threw the ball at the middle hoop. As if out of nowhere, Perry swooped and caught the ball with one hand.

The Gryffindor section of the stands erupted into loud cheers. "Amazing!" the commentator's voice boomed.

"That's right," James said to himself. "It is."

It was easily the biggest Quidditch massacre ever. Perry was brilliant. He never even let in one goal, and the Slytherin Chasers resorted to cursing loudly and trying to aim Bludgers at him. Marcella, Amber and Balin scored time after time.

James spied the Snitch floating atop of Amber's head. In a zoom of concentration, he sped toward her, and pulled the broom but strategically so as to avoid hurting her head. Immediately, the stands erupted, and the commentator was shouting out the score, "380 to zero!"

Blinded by happiness at the success of his first game as captain, James let out a loud yell of joy and descended to the ground. He saw Marcella land a few feet beside him, beaming with joy. Immediately, as if instinctively, he came over and gave her a huge hug, happy and giddy like a little kid.

"We won!" Marcella shrieked as she hugged him back.

"Only because you and the team were brilliant," James grinned.

"You were too," she laughed.

"Can't argue with you there," James said laughingly, running his hand through his hair.

The usual if-we-win party took place that night in the Gryffindor common room. As usual, the Marauders got the condiments. The house-elves in the kitchen even seemed to expect them now, as they stood with party platters in hand as the Marauders arrive.

"Great game, James," a blonde girl said, giggling as she passed by him. The music pounded loudly in their ears.

"Thanks," James said, grinning flirtatiously back.

Sirius was snogging Nora in a corner of the common room. Remus was at the couches, while Peter was in the bathroom. Remus contemplated talking to Sirius, but didn't want to… disturb him.

Marcella walked up to Remus, a bottle of butterbeer in hand. "James is really over Lily, isn't he," she commented, watching the scene.

"It would seem so," Remus said thoughtfully. "Although, with James, you can never be sure."

"That's true," Marcella laughed. "We've become pretty good friends during the Quidditch season."

"I see that," Remus grinned. "He's a good guy at heart."

Marcella nodded. "He really is."

James passed through the common room, giving high-fives to everyone in sight. He knew that by now, he was sort of a Quidditch hero. He also knew, as vain as it sounded, that girls at school would pay to go out with him. He passed by the blonde and started talking to a group of giggly girls, all who immediately started shamelessly flirting with him, just like they would if he were Sirius.

James saw Lily pass by him and head toward Remus and Marcella. His heart jumped a beat, but he shook he head to himself. I am over her, he told himself over and over. Trying to clear his mind of the red hair and the green eyes, James went back to talking to the giggly girls.

Lily strode up to Marcella and Remus, lips pursed.

"Hey Lily," Remus and Marcella said at the same time.

"Marcella, I need to talk to you," Lily said abruptly.

Marcella looked surprised. "Oh, okay. Excuse us, Remus."

"No problem," Remus said.

Lily led Marcella up the stairs to their dormitory. Once inside, Lily shut the door.

"Lily," Marcella said, laughing nervously. "You're scaring me. What's wrong?"

"It's about James," Lily breathed. "Marci, I'm worried about you."

Puzzled, Marcella frowned. "Wait, what? Why?"

"You know, it's James Potter," Lily said hesitantly. "I don't know… are you guys friends?"

"Yes," Marcella said defensively. "So?"

"Well, I don't know… don't you think he's… unstable as a friend?"

Marcella stared at her, shocked. "What do you mean by that?"

"I'm just saying you should watch yourself," Lily said.

"Lily," Marcella said, trying to stay calm. "Do you honestly think I can't watch out for myself?"

"Well, no, it's now that…"

"You don't trust James Potter," Marcella said firmly. "You don't like him, isn't that right? And now you're trying to prohibit me becoming friends with him?"

"No!" Lily said indignantly.

"Come on, Lils, don't deny it," Marcella said. "You don't like James Potter."

"The heck I don't!" Lily said loudly. "After everything he's done to me, and you, how could you still trust him enough to be friends with him, Marcella?"

"What about Snape?" Marcella countered. "He's just as bad as James. You know, I've kept my mouth shut about him, but don't you think now that you're being very hypocritical?"

"That's different!" Lily sputtered. "Sev and I have been friends for years, even before Hogwarts-"

"That may be true, but that doesn't excuse the fact that he's rude and up to his neck in the dark arts. I don't understand why you still talk to him."

"That's beyond the point! That's-"

"Lily," Marcella said calmly. "Stop being a narrow-minded jerk."

"What did you just call me?" Lily asked, eyes wide.

"A narrow minded jerk," Marcella repeated. "You're not stopping to see the point! If James was truly so bad, why would he have friends at all?"

"That's beyond the point," Lily said madly. "But why on earth would you be friends with him, of all people?"

"Are you implying that I have a bad choice in friends?" Marcella said indignantly. "Lily! This whole conversation is preposterous! I understand that you don't like James Potter, but that doesn't mean I can't be friends with him!" Marcella made a move to stride out of the room.

"No, Marcella, stop," Lily said, tears glistening in her eyes. Marcella sighed, then stopped.

"Yes?"

"I'm just worried that he'll, oh, I don't know, hurt you," Lily sighed.

"Hurt me?"

"Yeah."

Marcella gave a weak laugh. "Lily, I never ever plan on going on a date with him, if that's what you mean. I realize that you're looking out for my best interests, but I thought you'd know me well enough by now to know I can take care of myself, Lily.""

"Well, about the whole dating thing, I heard something around the castle about you and James..." Lily said hesitantly.

"Oh, so that's what this is about," Marcella said. "You can put those worries away, Lily. They were simply the works of Peeves. I have no intention of anything more than friendship." She shuddered. "It's too odd to think about."

"Then that makes sense," Lily said in relief. "But, it's still James," she added. "Still be careful."

"Maybe it's time to move on," Marcella said gently. "Past the Amortentia incident. Past the bitterness. These past few days I've spent plenty of time with him, and inside of the tough marauder façade there's a caring, sweet guy, who'll do anything for his friends. You see the way he helps Peter, Remus and Sirius. He's loyal, and a true friend. I trust him, Lily," Marcella said firmly. "Please respect my decision."

There was a pause.

"Of course I do," Lily said, smiling. "But I'm still not forgiving Potter. And I feel so stupid; of course you can take care of yourself, Marci. Forgive me?"

"Always," Marcella laughed. She opened the dormitory door. "Maybe one day you'll become friends with him too."

Lily paused, then smiled. "Maybe. But I find that highly unlikely."

Laughing, the two girls walked out of the room, arm in arm.