A/N: I haven't posted in years. Literally. God... how do I even begin talking about my absence?

I never gave up on this story but I did lose motivation for an exorbitant amount of time. I know exactly what I want to happen and have everything planned out, but getting the mojo to write it seemed impossible for so long. Somehow I've found that mojo again and I'm running with it, running with it for as long as I can.

Again, I know boatloads of information about HP have come out since I started and then took a hiatus from this story. I will incorporate what I can but if it doesn't align with what I already had planned in my head, or what I already wrote in this plot, can you nonchalantly ignore it? Just for this fic (?)

Thank you for understanding. Thank you for encouraging words. And thank you for reading.


Who's To Say?

Chapter 49

The Head Boy told the Marauders about Lily's encounters with Snape and the mystery witch when they came through the portrait hole and joined him at the table. Remus was shocked and Sirius asked how and when they were going to punish Severus for calling Lily a tramp. James grudgingly told them what he had promised her but insisted he was not letting it go without reacting in some way. He had declared he would not get into trouble over it, not remain utterly silent.

The major problem James had was that every class he shared with Snape, he shared with Lily as well. He knew he wanted to corner the Slytherin and berate him with all kinds of terrible words but the question was when. The Gryffindor decided to do it when there was a decent amount of commotion happening in the classroom, so he decided to do it during Charms. James maintained a watchful surveillance on Snape while the students practiced and Flitwick moved exuberantly among them, and when he saw the other boy break away from his friends and move to another part of the room, the captain was quick to follow. James moved as if his feet were on fire.

"Where'd James go?" Peter pondered, startled his partner had seemingly Disapparted.

"Uh oh…" Remus commented, gazing and raising his hand to point. They looked and saw their roommate approach Snape with his wand and squared shoulders.

"Yes!" Sirius exclaimed, face lighting up.

When Serverus turned around he found himself face to face with the Head Boy, who was staring at him with noticeable anger. He jumped a bit and then instinctively thought of his wand, which was back with his Housemates.

"What in Salazar's name do you want?" Snape spat, scolding himself for not having his wand.

"What you wanted yesterday from Lily: to talk." James hotly replied. The Slytherin felt his stomach drop. She had told him…

"I don't-" Snape began.

"Shut up! Just shut the hell up!," the captain barked, "I am going to make this very fast and horribly clear. It is now my turn to tell you. You will stay away from Lily and that's all there is to it. I won't say it again. You've already hurt her twice and if you do it a third time I will go to Professor Dumbledore myself and give him my badge, because I know what I will do to you will be drastic. So, the next time you decide to target her, I'll see it as a sign that you don't care about your well being and I'll take care of if for you."

That unique mixture of anger and grief hit Snape again, and before James walked away he cried out:

"You know nothing about her!"

"No, Snivelly, it's obvious you never did," the Chaser answered.

Lily had noticed her boyfriend's brief absence and when he returned she had questions just like the Marauders of what "that had been about", although she sounded suspicious and warning. James did not lie to them. While he omitted what exactly he had said to the Slytherin, because of the red head's presence, he made no qualms that the conversation had been about her.

"You promised me you wouldn't do anything," she reminded him in an even tone.

"And I didn't do anything. He's uninjured." James replied.

Lily did not speak to him for the remainder of Charms or during their next class. By late afternoon, however, the two had spoken at length about his confronting Snape and honoring one another's requests. James continued to stubbornly insist that he would do whatever she asked of him but could never be idle when someone was hurting her, no matter what the circumstances. Lily reasoned she was probably overreacting to the situation, still raw from her talks with Severus and Dorcas, so let it drop. She had no energy or desire to be on the fence with her boyfriend, too.

The first career consultations were scheduled for that Friday, the last Friday of the month. The school's seventh years were reminded about them on Wednesday and were told they would be taken out of class at different intervals to meet with their House heads.

"Spend all of tomorrow considering your interests and goals. These meetings are not to be taken lightly." McGonagall had alerted.

The Gryffindors talked about their career possibilities with each other on Thursday night, before Quidditch practice and afterward. The oddity of it all, though, was that group's cohesiveness had changed since Monday, and it revolved around Dorcas and Lily. The latter had no idea if anyone else had noticed the shift in dynamics because no one had mentioned it in any way. It appeared to be up to chance if Dorcas would be among them when all ten spent time together; she was hanging out with teammates more but if she was with the seventh years she totally ignored Lily and kept the interactions with James minimal. When it was just the witches, the Chaser was more likely to stay even with the Head Girl present, yet persisted in acting as though Lily were not visible. It broke Lily's heart but she had no way of knowing how to fix it.

"So what are you going to say tomorrow when McGonagall asks what your career preference is?" the red head questioned, leaning over her Astronomy book with folded arms and looking at James.

"Well I'm still not entirely sure, but I think I've narrowed it down," he notified, one of his own textbooks open in front of him.

"That's progress since yesterday afternoon, then."

"Yeah. I thought about it a lot during practice. Actually messed up a play because I was a little too preoccupied with it."

The couple sat at a table by itself in the common room. It was a few minutes past 11 o'clock and they had drifted away from their friends, whom sat in a circle on the carpet with homework strewn around them as they spoke. Dorcas was with them but Remus and Marlene were not, both retired to their rooms.

"So what'd you come up with?" the witch asked.

"I think I may follow in Frank and Alice's footsteps," the Head Boy exhaled, raising his arms up to stretch them, "Being an Auror is pretty wicked."

"Ooh, a lot of hard work… I could see you doing that. You'd be good at it!"

James grinned, and when his arms came back down he took her hand in his.

"Right in the center of the action." he commented.

"And what else did you think of?" she wondered, watching their interwoven fingers.

"Well… it seems kind of frivolous and selfish. That's why I'm hesitant to mention it."

"What is it?"

James took a minute before answering, but when he did he was looking at her with a very sincere, pained expression on his face.

"I'd love to work for the Magical Sports Department at the Ministry. Being on a professional Quidditch team would be perfect, but I don't even need that. I just want to be close to it all," he shared.

"James, how is that selfish?" Lily probed, smiling.

"Sometimes I think what right do I have to pursue a career in sports during these times? Yes, it's what I love, but is it going to make a difference? You-Know-Who is gaining power in our world and things are only getting worse, it seems. When I get out of here I want to do something that matters- I want to fight back. I want to fight for what I know and love. So, not sure if I can do that on a broom."

Lily stared at him, their hands still connected, moved by his words. He was doing it again: being amazing without realizing. Conversely, before she could say a word or do anything, he was speaking again.

"I tried to ask Dorcas about what she's expecting for tomorrow during practice, but she rather avoided talking to me. All of practice she did that, actually. I mean, she listened to drills and such but… it was the same on Tuesday as well," James revealed, "Is she okay? She hasn't seemed like herself- have you noticed?"

Lily peered over at the group of her peers, a bereaved jolt going through her. Yes, she had very well noticed this and knew why, but she could not tell him about it. It was Dorcas' business and therefore her right to disclose, and the Head Girl did not want to make the predicament worse by opening her mouth.

"Yes, but… she hasn't said a word to me," the witch reported, looking at her textbook.

"I don't know what's going on. I may have to corner her again if it keeps up. It's strange when she's off," he exhaled. Lily did not answer.

Sirius was the first Gryffindor to be called for his career consultation on Friday, as the teachers were going in alphabetical order. Professors Sprout, Flitwick, Slughorn, and McGonagall had substitutes that day to accommodate the event, and Sirius was summoned half an hour into the first lesson along with Edward Cabbot, Bruce, and Avery. The lions had promised that they would speak to each other about the outcomes of the meetings once everyone had seen McGonagall after the final class of the day.

The consultation lasted 30 minutes and when Lily was called for her appointment she was a bit nervous.

"A talented witch like you is made to do anything!" James bid while she prepared to leave the classroom, gathering her things.

When the red head arrived at McGonagall's office the door was closed so she knocked.

"Come in, Ms. Evans," her Head of House instructed.

She obeyed and saw the older woman seated behind her grand desk once she entered. The professor was not wearing her hat, which was out of the ordinary indeed.

"Good morning." McGonagall greeted, looking at her approvingly.

"Good morning professor." Lily said warmly.

"Please, sit down. Would you like a biscuit?" The Animagus pointed to a tin that was to her left and held shortbread cookies.

"Oh, no thank you. I'm still full from breakfast!" the teenager notified, sitting in the chair and dropping her bag.

"Apparently Mr. Black was not. He ate five."

Lily grinned, thinking this sounded about right. Sirius was never one to pass up food, especially if it was free.

"Now, Ms. Evans, have you used the past few days to think about this meeting?" McGonagall went on.

"Yes," she affirmed, nodding her head.

"What are your favorite subjects here at Hogwarts, Ms. Evans?"

"Charms. And Potions. I love both."

"And you happened to get 'O's in both for your OWLs- excellent," McGonagall relayed, examining a piece of parchment, "In fact, you received nothing less than 'E' for any of the exams, which is superb. You're an exemplary student in general and your professors have nothing but praise for you."

"Thank you." Lily remarked, trying not to blush.

"Your marks ensure that your career opportunities are ample and I have much faith you will do as well on your NEWTs at the end of this year. Those hold significant weight and require more preparation than OWLs, as I'm sure you know."

"Yes."

"So what are you interested in pursuing once you leave Hogwarts?" the professor asked, studying her student.

"Well," the Head Girl started, formulating her thoughts, "I want to stick with what I enjoy and am good at, but I want to help people as well. I-I thought about working at St. Mungo's, maybe being a Healer. They use Charms and some concoct potions."

"So the field of mediwizardry."

"Yes. Or, I thought if that didn't work, I could work in an apothecary…"

"Well I prefer your first option and believe you would excel." McGonagall revealed, something of a smile on her face as she opened a drawer on her desk.

Lily smiled herself and a moment later the professor had papers out. The pair discussed mediwizardry, Healing, and St. Mungo's for the remainder of their time together. Lily was given written information about it all and the requirements to begin such a career, as well as homework.

"The next time the Heads will meet with seventh years for this purpose is right at the start of second term. We expect you all to have shadowed a witch or wizard in your field of interest, for one day, during the winter holiday. More explicit instructions on how to arrange that are in your packet, but feel free to come to me if you need additional help." McGonagall explained.

"Okay." Lily stated as she put the parchment into her bag.

"One more thing, Ms. Evans, before you go…. You know of the current state of the wizarding world in Britain, due to one, specific individual. Our outlook is becoming bleeker, more prejudiced as fear spreads. You are very likely to encounter this firsthand as you begin reaching out for your career, inquiring about opportunities. I want you to be aware of this but rise above it with the courage I know you possess."

Lily gazed at the older woman before her.

"I'll be ready," the girl promised, nodding once. McGonagall blessed her with a caring smile.

Whereas Lily had been the first of the girls and second of the Gryffindors to see McGonagall, James was the last of the boys and second to last of his House. (Alice was the final lion). He was summoned while in Herbology, the same time as Snape, and they eyed each other distastefully as they prepared to leave. As the Head Boy passed his girlfriend on the way out, she reached and grabbed his left hand imploringly. He appeared a tad surprised.

"Lil-" James commenced.

"Let him go out first, yeah?" she requested, peering up at him.

He set his jaw as he looked at her, then his gaze sought out Snape. The Slytherin was halfway out the greenhouse but he sent James a vicious glare before he was gone.

"I was just going to ask him what his career aspirations are," the captain defended. Lily gave him a look.

James ran into Peeves on his way to the Transfiguration professor's office and, consequently, he was late. He knew this would perturb the woman and she did seem irritated when he stepped inside her office.

"Mr. Potter, you are eight minutes late." McGonagall noted with narrowed eyes.

"I know- I'm sorry professor! It was Peeves. He was trying to unhinge the hourglasses and was doing a good job of it," he explained, sitting down hurriedly.

"That damn poltergeist!," she mumbled, shaking her head. James smiled, "No mind, I suppose. Would you like a biscuit?" She pointed to the tin and he nodded eagerly, grabbing two.

"Thanks! Sirius said they were delicious."

"Family recipe."

"Can I have it?" James inquired, munching on a cookie. This remark caught McGonagall off guard and she did her best to not snort in amusement out loud.

"So, have you given sufficient thought to this meeting, Mr. Potter?" the Animagus posited.

"Yeah, I reckon so."

"And what are your favorite subjects here at school?"

"Transfiguration, without a doubt. Then Defense," he attested.

"Well, I am honored you thoroughly enjoy my class and it certainly shows. You received an 'O' for it in OWLs, as well as Defense, and you've never done an assignment that earned anything lower than an 'E'. You obviously have mastered the subject. In fact, you and Mr. Black were only 12 when you surprised me with your prowess for Transfiguration." McGonagall stated.

James was grinning widely. If you only knew the extent of it, he thought.

"And I expect you to continue to do remarkably well, especially when it comes to NEWTs. They are more severe and vital than OWLs and I want you- you and Black- to not take them lightly. More studying, less lounging about this time."

"Yes ma'am," the captain said, wondering if this would come to fruition.

"So tell me what you are interested in pursuing once you leave school, Mr. Potter," she prompted.

"All right. Erm… well, I thought of an Auror; I know it's what Frank and Alice want to do. Working for the Law Department and going after dark wizards would be great, especially in these times. I think it's surely needed and I figure I might be good at it."

The professor nodded as she slowly opened her drawer.

"I think it'd suit you as well, and your parents would be quite proud. Also, as you mentioned, these times do require more to come forth and be proponents for what is right, although it is no easy task." McGonagall explained.

"I know." James muttered, reflecting on what he had told Lily in the common room.

"Do you have any other professional considerations?"

The Chaser looked at her. The idea of Quidditch flashed rapidly, vividly, in his head once before he bit it adieu. What good was Quidditch in a world governed by terror?

No," he asserted.

"Very well," she replied.

James left his consultation with a lot of information about Aurors and the knowledge that the process to become one was extensive and arduous. He was eager to speak with his roommates about the day and this happened after the final class of the day, during the downtime before dinner began.

"Did anyone else eat the biscuits?" Sirius wondered, arms out and looking around at the boys. They were in their dormitory and the speaker sat on his four poster.

"Yes!" confirmed Peter.

"Fantastic." James supplemented. Frank laughed and Remus smiled a bit.

"Okay, so what are we going to be when we grow up?," Sirius questioned, "Frank, I took your idea."

"Me too," the Head Boy smiled.

"Wicked, you two!" Frank grinned.

"Three Aurors, ha! Cool." Sirius commented.

"No way! You three will get to train together…" Peter observed, sounding wistful.

"There's no guarantee we'll get accepted into the program, Pete." Frank alerted.

"Yeah. It's anything but easy." Sirius said.

"And then you have to make it through training!" added James.

"Oh, you lot know you have what it takes. You're strong, all of you. You'll make it," Peter assured, appearing somewhat subdued now, "And you can all shadow together over the holiday…"

"How brilliant would it be if we did make it?" Sirius posited, smiling at his best friend.

"A nice, big 'bugger off' to Moldymort!" James remarked.

"Nice name," smirked Frank.

"Please, feel free to use it."

"Well, what did you talk to McGonagall about, Peter?" Sirius asked.

"Not being an Auror, that's for sure," he sighed, "I didn't have as many choices as you four, I reckon."

"Why?" Remus asked, speaking for the first time and peering at him as he sat hunched over the side of his bed.

"Because I'm not as smart or as fast, or as good with magic!"

Remus merely shook his head as James said:

"Not that again, Wormtail."

"But it's true! McGonagall feels the same way from what I can tell, even though she didn't explicitly say it. She didn't need to. She said a job in the Department of Magical Transportation or the Administrative Registration Department would likely fit me, or working with the Prophet." Peter reported.

"As a writer?" Sirius questioned, looking confused.

"No. Background work, office things… along those lines."

"What do you want to do?" Frank probed.

"The newspaper would be all right- it's well known. But a department job would probably be better. She wants me to consider both, which means two shadows."

"Maybe you'll have chosen by then," shrugged James.

"Well, what about you Moony? How was your consultation?" Sirius asked.

"It went as expected." Remus answered in a placid voice.

"What'd you decide, then? Genius professor, new owner of Flourish and Blotts-" the captain started.

"Take over Pince's post!" Peter interjected.

"Or maybe he'll run his own chocolate shop!" Frank mentioned.

"Yes to all of the above!" Sirius exclaimed.

Remus gave a tiny smile at the fun his friends were having but it was short lived.

"Nothing so glamorous," he revealed in that same placid tone.

"So what'd you talk about?" James pondered.

"Doesn't matter. It's not happening yet anyhow."

"But we want to know." Peter asserted.

"I don't even know, Peter. It's not final; it's why it's called a consultation." Remus replied.

"Stop being a smart arse and tell us." Sirius smirked.

"There's nothing to tell."

"So, what- you stared at McGonagall for half an hour, is that it?"

"If I say yes will you let it be?" Remus responded, staring at his dorm mate. His voice sounded tight and, while he was sitting up straighter, his hands were clenched.

"Moony, just-" the Head Boy initiated.

"I don't want to talk about it, all right?! Accept that!," the prefect half shouted, "Merlin!..."

The other four were cut off by shock as Remus stood up and stalked around swiftly to his trunk. He yanked out a book then marched back to his bed, throwing himself down and pulling the drapes so that only his shoes were visible. The remaining Marauders and Frank looked at one another with stunned concern but did not utter a word.

Dinner was somewhat of a strained affair shortly thereafter. Remus hardly spoke although he appeared calm and unperturbed, and his roommates were still befuddled by his unexpected outbursts in their quarters. Consequently, the girls seemed to be dealing with their own issues. Dorcas was sitting with them and even talking, but tension was obvious to more than simply Lily. The heads had rounds that night at nine Lily was glad for them; she would get three hours to be with just James, and his presence was even more comforting since she had been forsaken by Dorcas. The pair's first hour patrolling was busy and left little room for chit chat since it was not yet curfew and the start of the weekend, but after 10:30 the castle's activity had settled down.

They discussed their individual consultations in detail but conversation eventually turned to their dorm mates. James told her what his friends had come away with and about Remus' sudden hostility when they had probed him.

"Really? Remus acted that way?" Lily questioned, looking surprised and worried as they traversed the fifth floor.

"Yeah. He's just as capable of a temper as any of us. You girls just don't really see it," the Head Boy responded.

"I wonder why it upset him so much…"

"No idea. Maybe we'll bring it up again after a few days' time, or maybe not. Don't want to risk him shouting again."

"Hmmm," she uttered.

"What about you lot?" James asked.

"Well, Marlene wants to work as a writer for the Prophet-"

"Ha! Maybe she'll be with Peter!"

"Alice is going for an Auror, like you boys…" Lily attested.

"Wicked. Always knew I liked Alice," he grinned.

"And I'm glad because she can watch over you three and make sure you don't seriously injure or kill yourselves."

"We haven't been dating a month and I haven't even told my parents about this Auror thing, and you're already worried about me!"

"It comes with the territory, knowing you," she observed, feeling her cheeks beginning to redden as the captain attempted to gather her in his arms from behind, "Oh! But Mary!"

"Did you just call me Mary?" James wondered.

"No! When we were talking about all of this Mary told us that her father really doesn't want her staying in the wizarding world." This stopped him in his tracks.

"What?" he said, studying her.

"Yes," Lily commenced, countenance becoming sullen, "You know, it's just her and Mr. Macdonald… her mum left them when Mary got accepted to Hogwarts. She couldn't handle having a witch for a daughter, I reckon."

"I didn't know that…. That's horrible."

"It is. Mary says her dad has something against wizarding society for that reason but he'll never admit it. She also thinks the only reason he's let her come to school year after year is because it makes her happy, but she suspects he wants her home again, for good, once seventh year ends. He implied as much this past summer."

"Merlin. Poor Mary," James remarked, frowning, "I doubt she wants to go back to the Muggle world?"

"Not at all. She says she has a year to convince him," the Head Girl relayed. There was a lapse of silence before he wondered:

"Well what about Dorcas? How was her consultation?"

"Oh. Er… I'm not sure. I must have missed when she spoke about it."

This was only half the story. Indeed, Lily had been the last to join her roommates earlier during the day and come when Marlene was talking about the Daily Prophet. But what she did not plan on telling James was that Dorcas had blatantly left the circle when it was the redhead's turn to discuss her career meeting. One second Alice had been enthusiastically telling Lily to tell her story, and the next, Dorcas had noisily pushed back her chair and stood up, effortlessly catching the other girls' attention. She announced she was going to catch up with some of the sixth years before dinner, and when Marlene inquired, "now? But Lily's going to-", the Chaser answered, "yeah. Now" before leaving. And she said it all with a smile.

It was obvious to Lily that Dorcas purposefully left at that exact time and it had stung. The other witches were initially thrown off by the departure and the redhead had to fight off the sensation of water filling her eyes. She had to act composed, like it had not mattered and simply been a coincidence; however, she did wonder when the rest of her dorm mates would realize that her relationship with Dorcas had crumbled to pieces.

"Mmm," the Head Boy uttered, the frown still on his face.

"You could ask her?" suggested Lily, peering at him.

"I don't even know if she would tell me. Maybe I should get Sirius to."

The nature of their conversation had become somber and Lily, for one, did not want this. Enough of her time was spent being melancholy due to Dorcas so her time with James was refuge in a way.

"You know, there is still a bunch we don't know about one another. Little, personal bits," Lily began, grabbing his left sleeve, "We should fix that." He looked at her with interest and then said:

"We should. I wager I know more about you, though."

"Yeah, from years of spying and stalking!"

"I prefer the term 'observing', Lily," James corrected, laughing.

"I noticed certain things about you as well! I mean, you may not have been my favorite person in the world but six years is a considerable amount of time to know someone. You learn things, even if it's unintentional," she explained.

"Really? So tell me something about myself that you noticed."

"Your favorite color is blue."

The captain appeared shocked, then impressed, and finally humbled by her answer. It was quiet for a moment before he spoke again.

"What's yours?" he asked in a gentle voice. She gazed at him with surprise.

"You don't know?," Lily replied. James shook his head and she smiled sweetly, "It's yellow."

"That seems fitting."

"What's your middle name?"

"Charlus. Family name that's cropped up over generations," he remarked.

"It sounds regal!" she attested.

"That's what purebloods think they are!"

"Well, mine's Clarice. Not as dignified."

"Of course it is- it flows beautifully! Lily Clarice Evans…" the Head Boy stated, peering at her and smiling. She did not stand a chance against that smile and fell victim once again, taking his hand in hers which happened to delight him.

"We should do this every Friday night on rounds." Lily mentioned.

"No objections from me." James commented, kissing her right temple and lightly squeezing her fingers.

"By the end of the year I'll know you better than even Sirius!" This earned a hearty laugh.

"He might have something to say about that!" the young wizard countered.

It was Saturday afternoon and Remus was wandering through the school, hands in his pockets. He had goal: to find Abigail so they could talk. In the meantime, he had been mulling over the preceding day as it had been tense and caused him to evaluate the direction of his life. He had not been looking forward to his career consultation like many of the other kids in his year and meeting with McGonagall had solidified his weariness. The prefect believed his future post-Hogwarts became grimmer with each passing day and any hope he had for goals had rapidly deteriorated. Remus felt it was going to be essentially impossible to secure a respectable job upon graduation, and though his appointment with his Head of House had only confirmed it. McGonagall informed him that employers could not directly ask if he had lycanthropy and he was not mandated to reveal this, which he already knew. Technically there were laws to prevent workplace discrimination against werewolves but they were arbitrary and for show.

"The problem and injustice of it all lies in the few days you would need off every month for your physical ailments. Virtually no employer wants to allow its employee to be absent from work once a month, every month, for any amount of days. And if you asked for this accommodation they would question why you need it…" the professor had relayed.

"Then they'd figure out what I am, and definitely not hire me. It would come out regardless." Remus had bitterly finished.

It was a catch 22. As a werewolf, his career possibilities were laughable. A new potion called Wolfsbane meant to greatly aid the transformation process had been invented just the previous year by an ambitious wizard named Damocles, and, originally, it had given Remus quite a bit of hope. Conversely, after researching the complexity of crafting the potion and securing its incredibly expensive ingredients, that hope had been dashed. Until society changed its perception about those with his condition, Remus was going to be ostracised in nearly all areas of his life and it filled him with despair. McGonagall had explained that he still had choices and there was enough work for him to consider once he left school but he was not convinced. He did not believe his interests or strengths would be included in the limited choices but he had said nothing and let the witch advise. By the end of the half hour Remus had been assigned two shadows, like Peter, but the heavy realization had already sunk in.

Thinking about occupational disadvantages had led Remus to think about other aspects of his life lycanthropy adversely impacted, and he had arrived at romance. (This was, in fact, why he was currently seeking out Abigail). While he was not totally inexperienced in dealings with girls, he had consciously avoided romance when he could and for very valid reasons. What witch would happily go out with a werewolf? Remus did not believe he could share this significant aspect of himself with others and this was profoundly inhibiting for relationships. (The Marauders were a different case, as they had forced the truth from him). How could he have a girlfriend if he had to keep an important portion of his life hidden? He could not and it was why he had never tried. However, this was not to say that he did not want a partner… it was simply not an option for him, even with the witches said to have liked him during this time at Hogwarts. So, he had to straighten things out with Abigail and indirectly inform her that nothing could, or would, happen for them. Destined to be poor and alone- my future is just too bright, the prefect thought somberly.


A/N: Fairly short chapter, I know. To make up for it, I'll post the next in 2 weeks.

I know the Marauders didn't get formal jobs after Hogwarts because of the Order, and I intend to keep it that way, but I'm sure when they were in school they didn't foresee this and had ideas about what they [would have] wanted to do.

I'm really excited I'm posting again, actually. I hope I don't disappoint.