Lily's Final Gift: Part Two

by FlashOfFlame

Sequel to Lily's Final Gift. The story of Lily and James picks up from where the previous chapter left off. Do read Lily's Final Gift before you read this one. Please Read and Review! Thanks, FlashOfFlame

29. Chapter 29

Thanks for the reviews, Nupurlath, CB and CHARLES. I appreciate that!

Nupurlath: Thanks a lot! I'm glad you pick up on that, because Lily is ultimately Muggle-born and therefore, there just has to be some Muggle culture influence in the story!

CB: Thank you!

CHARLES: Thank you!

Hi everyone, here is chapter twenty-nine. Readers, please review. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. All (well, most, anyway) characters are from J K Rowling's brilliant best-selling series.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

"You'd be surprised at how debilitating self-doubt is."

Lily stood inside the Heads' common room with her eyes closed, willing her mind to stay calm. On three, then, she thought, one – two – "Scutum Elementis!" she shouted, but to her frustration, nothing happened. "Argh!" she exclaimed, shaking her head. Why wasn't she able to cast this stupid Shield?

It had been a couple of weeks since Emily had shown them that incredible demo with the Elemental Shield. Lily had been itching to try it out, and they'd spent the next two lessons doing exactly that – but no one had been able to cast it, and it was driving her mad. It shouldn't have to be so difficult! she thought, I can cast the Fire Wave to perfection, and manipulate it into any form I like… So, why can't I make this work?

However, everyone seemed to be having as difficult a time as she was, which was a bit of a relief. Emily had told them that casting the Shield for the first time required some powerful magic, as well as a calm mind, completely focused on the objective… The second part wasn't the problem, for they'd been studying Occlumency for a while now. What frustrated Lily was the fact that try as she might, she'd failed to make even a wisp of a Shield appear from her wand…

She looked at her watch; it was nearly eleven, almost time for her patrol with James. She shook her head; he was probably still talking to Ashley Bond… He'd mentioned to her during dinner (which had been rather late that night) that he was planning to talk to her, to sort out their problems once and for all. She'd resisted the urge to say 'Finally!' to him as she'd heard that; she'd been telling him for months to talk to Ashley, to no avail. Well, I suppose he had to figure that out on his own, she thought…

It didn't look like James was going to show up in time for their patrol that night, though. Well, I guess I'll just patrol on my own today, she thought as she put her wand back into her pocket and made for the door, only to let out a startled gasp as a regal silver swan materialised in front of her and said in Liz's voice, "Open the door, I'm standing outside!"

Frowning, Lily obeyed, wondering what on earth was Liz doing here at this hour.

"Evening," said Liz brightly as Lily stepped outside the HQ. "I'm subbing in for James tonight – he's attending to some business with –"

"Ashley, I know," said Lily, nodding. "He was quite confident that he'd be back before eleven, though… Wonder what's taking him so long? It shouldn't have been more than half an hour, right?"

"Well, it was already past ten o'clock by the time everyone went to their common rooms after dinner," Liz pointed out. "It was quite late, after all, what with the celebrations due to our narrow, thrilling victory…" She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I was just lazing around when I got a Patronus from James ten minutes ago, asking me to take his place if I was available."

"Right," said Lily, still frowning as she nodded. Why hadn't James told her about the change of plans?

"James probably didn't tell you because he thought he could make it – until the very last minute," said Liz, as if reading her mind. "Then he must've realised he'd be running late, so he asked me if I could go instead…"

"Stop the Legilimency," said Lily dryly, relaxing at once. Liz laughed and said, "I don't need to do that to know what you're thinking – I know you, see?"

"Too right you do," said Lily, smiling at her best friend. "Shall we, then?"

"Yup," said Liz, and the two girls exited the Heads' Office. They began to walk along the corridor, and Liz said, "So – some match, eh?"

"You said it," said Lily fervently. "We came back from the brink – though Black's brother deserves most of the credit."

Liz nodded. "He did catch the Snitch – shame he couldn't catch it two minutes earlier, though –"

"Well – we won, didn't we?" said Lily, shrugging.

"All the same," said Liz emphatically, "It was really tense. And James missed a penalty. James, of all people!" she exclaimed, evidently still in disbelief.

"He got distracted," said Lily, shaking her head. "Poor thing – he tried to pass it off as inconsequential during dinner, but I could see that he was putting up a brave front. He's finding it difficult to live with the fact that we almost lost 'coz he, the great James Potter, missed a penalty…"

She smiled, but Liz didn't. "C'mon," she said, "You know this is a big deal for James –"

"I know, I know – I was just joking," said Lily quickly, mentally reprimanding herself for having forgotten how seriously everyone except her seemed to take Quidditch. "He was explaining it to me – why he got distracted, see? He said he had to talk to Ashley right away – it was messing up the team, and he wasn't enjoying playing for Hogwarts anymore. He said it was worse than in our fifth year when you and Marlene were – y'know…"

Her voice trailed off, and Liz snorted. "Well, he would think that," she said, "He wasn't directly involved with the unpleasantness back then… But he is now, and I'm glad he's sorting it out. We can't continue like this…"

"Ashley's penalty was something else, though, wasn't it?" said Lily admiringly.

"Yup," agreed Liz. "In that moment, I wouldn't have dared to do that – but I suppose she must've prioritised scoring a sure penalty versus a conventional one. Oh, yes – if executed perfectly, Die Kühne is a sure penalty," she added, in response to Lily's inquiring look, "But it's best described as a high-risk, high-reward penalty – 'coz it can go disastrously wrong."

"I see," said Lily, nodding. "Oh, and incidentally, why didn't Claire start the match? And why did she come suddenly come in to play midway through?"

"She was injured during practice," explained Liz. "So Rowle started – but he called James a blood traitor during a timeout, and Ashley kicked him out. That's when Claire subbed in." There was a hint of derision in Liz's sea-green eyes. "Scumbag," she added, evidently referring to the big blond Slytherin.

"Hang on," said Lily, furrowing her brow, "Ashley kicked him out? She actually kicked him out?" Her eyes were wide with disbelief.

"Yep," said Liz, with a slight smirk. "I couldn't believe it either – I mean, I knew she's not like the rest of them, perhaps 'coz she's a half-blood and all… But to kick her own teammate out for essentially sticking to the House philosophy is an admirable action in itself."

"Agreed," said Lily, mentally resolving to be nicer to the Hogwarts Captain from now on; she'd been a little cold towards Ashley during Potions and Prefect meetings, in part due to James. "I just hope she hasn't antagonised her entire House because of that… I'm glad James is talking to her, at any rate," she added, her respect for the Hogwarts Captain rising.

"Yup – we can't go on like this," repeated Liz fervently.

Silence fell between them, and Lily mulled over whether she should tell her best friend about what had happened between her and James following the New Year's party at Potter Mansion. After all, Liz had been honest with her – she'd told her about her first time with Black, hadn't she? Well – perhaps she deserved to know about her and James, then…

"Liz," began Lily, "There's something I have to tell you." She could feel herself blushing slightly, and resolutely looked ahead of her – anywhere but at her best friend.

"What is it, Lily?" Liz asked, with a tiny hint of worry in her voice. "Everything all right?"

"Yes, yes," said Lily quickly and reassuringly. "Everything's fine – this is about James."

"All right," said Liz, and Lily could hear the amusement in her tone. "Is this the moment when you finally come clean about what happened between you and James at Potter Mansion?"

"What?" Lily yelped, turning to face her best friend and going beetroot red. "You know?"

"So – it's true?" Liz asked excitedly. "You shagged James?"

"Urgh, here we go again!" exclaimed Lily. "Keep your voice down – and please don't use that word!"

"Right, sorry," said Liz, grinning widely. "So – you and James, ah – made love?" There was a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Urgh – somehow, that's even worse," said Lily, making a face. "How did you know?"

"I didn't – until you just confirmed it to me," said Liz, smirking. "Sirius asked James the first time they met after the party –"

"I know," said Lily, cutting across her best friend, "James mentioned it to me a couple days ago –when Black prodded him, he denied anything had happened. He reckons he was quite smooth and convincing."

"Well, smooth – yes," said Liz, her mischievous grin growing wider, if that was even possible. "Convincing – not so much. Sirius said he was too smooth with his denial. Too smooth – ergo, he had to have been lying."

"That's a new one," said Lily dryly. "Too smooth, really?"

"I agree – it's a stretch," said Liz, with a little chuckle. "But it was enough to convince Sirius that he was lying… He's been badgering me to ask you to confirm it since then, and I politely but firmly told him to bugger off. I wasn't going to pry – unless you yourself told me."

"Thanks," said Lily softly, squeezing Liz's hand gently. Liz nodded and said, "Look, I knew you'd come to me when you were ready to talk about it – I just had to wait, see?"

"How confident," said Lily, with a little smirk.

"Well – was I wrong?" retorted Liz, winking at her.

"Touché," said Lily, nodding. "Thing is, we haven't really discussed whether we'd tell anyone, so I may be breaking James's confidence here…"

"He'll get over it," said Liz dismissively. "He adores you!"

"He does, doesn't he?" said Lily fondly, as her mind went to all the nights they'd spent together once school had reopened… They'd had sex on several occasions, and each time had been better than the last. The fact that she and James were hopelessly in love with each other just enhanced the magic… She'd been careful to cast a Contraceptive Charm every time, too. She didn't want any unwelcome surprises…

They turned a corner, and Lily was rudely shaken from her reverie as someone yelled, "Impedimenta!"

Instinctively, she cast a non-verbal Shield Charm around herself and Liz, and the Impediment Jinx harmlessly bounced off it. "You all right?" she asked Liz urgently, and her best friend nodded; Lily quickly turned ahead to see who had cast the Jinx at them, and wasn't surprised to see four Slytherins from their year – Mulciber, Rosier, Wilkes, and – her eyes widened – Snape.

"What're you lot doing here?" Liz asked aggressively from next to her, wand raised. "You're out of bounds after curfew – detention to you all."

"We have a Prefect with us," Mulciber pointed out, a sinister grin on his face that made the hair on the back of Lily's neck stand up. "And more importantly, we don't care." The other Slytherins guffawed stupidly, but Snape's visage remained cold and impassive as his midnight-black eyes bored into Lily's own.

"Regardless," she said, narrowing her eyes, "A Prefect needs a Head student's permission to be out of bounds after curfew. You never took my permission," she addressed Snape directly. "In such circumstances, therefore, if a Prefect awards detention to you, you're bound to do it because it'll be reported to your Head of House –"

"Your pretty friend here will never remember awarding it, Mudblood," said Wilkes, his eyes glinting with evil amusement. "Or anything else, for that matter – Obliviate!"

Lily immediately raised a Shield Charm around herself and Liz, but she needn't have bothered; Liz deflected the jet of white light with a rather lazy flick of her wand. "You're pathetic," she said disdainfully, "To think we've been studying non-verbal spells for more than a year now – and you still have to shout out the incantation! Aren't you teaching your friends anything at all, Snape?" she added, throwing him a look of intense dislike.

"None of your business, Huntington," he snapped rudely, and Lily shuddered to hear the coldness in his silky voice. She knew that her former best friend was probably the most dangerous of the four – the most skilled with magic, at least. Her grip tightened around her wand; she was ready to react at a split-second's notice…

"Oh, but Severus has taught us a few tricks!" said Mulciber softly. "In fact – it was his idea that we lie in wait tonight and have a little fun with Potter and Miss Mudblood…"

"Don't use that word, Mulciber," said Snape, with authority in his voice. Lily stared accusingly at him, but he held her gaze defiantly.

"I'll say what I like, Severus," said Mulciber, a momentary flash of anger appearing in his eyes. However, a second later, the bestial grin was back in place. "So, as I was saying," he continued softly, "You disrupted our plan, Mudblood, by bringing along your pretty friend instead – but she'll do nicely. Let's see – how 'bout a little demo of a trick I taught Severus?"

He pointed his wand at Liz, and a second later, to Lily's utmost horror, her best friend started walking towards him, her face blank.

"No – Liz! What're you doing?" Lily shouted in alarm. This seemed horribly like the Imperius Curse – but she had no way of knowing for sure. "See what catching someone off-guard can do, Mudblood?" taunted Mulciber. "A mere Confundus Charm, and this pretty lass will do whatever I want her to! How 'bout – say – a little bit of fun in that broom closet over there?"

Lily's fury broke, and she fired a couple of non-verbal Stunners at Mulciber; however, his cronies came to his defence at once, including Snape. "Don't even think about it, Mudblood," said Rosier, as the Stunners bounced harmlessly off his Shield Charm, "Or – the consequences will be dire."

"Is that so?" sneered Lily, and with a swipe of her wand, began to duel. Rosier and Wilkes fired spell after spell at her, forcing her on the defensive as she deflected their attacks, looking for an opening, and noting with a little sense of relief that Snape, at least, wasn't attacking her. Her mind was desperately looking for a way to help Liz, who had almost reached the perverted creep that was Pernicus Mulciber…

"Good," said Mulciber, ignoring the flashes of light around him. "Now, my pretty – take off your robes," he commanded Liz, and Lily's fear went up a notch. Would this thug stop at nothing to humiliate Liz? What was he going to do with her? And why couldn't she break through the defences of the two goons duelling her? Tears came to her eyes as she slashed and twirled her wand desperately, trying to finish off Wilkes and Rosier in order to assist her best friend…

"Go on, then," she heard Mulciber say, "I haven't got all night, make it quick!"

"Gladly," said Liz, much to Lily's astonishment; she, Rosier, Wilkes and Snape stood rooted to the spot, flabbergasted, as in one swift, fluid motion, Liz slammed her palm against the bottom of Mulciber's nose with an incredible amount of force. Lily heard a crack as Mulciber fell backwards, screaming in pain – it seemed like Liz had broken his nose.

Wilkes and Rosier let out yells of fury and pointed their wands at Liz, who stood defenceless in that moment, and Lily reacted on instinct – she raised a Shield Charm around herself and Liz before darting forward and pulling her best friend towards her. Liz herself cast a Shield Charm as a jet of blue light from Rosier's wand narrowly missed her. "That does it!" she screamed, enraged, "Torrensum!" at the same time as Lily shouted, "Flammunda!"

Both Elemental Waves made contact, but rather than extinguishment of the fire or evaporation of the water, the two Waves fused together into a powerful jet of bubbling, boiling water, and proceeded to wash over their opponents, who let out incoherent yells of pain. Lily and Liz stood uncertainly as the steam cleared to reveal Mulciber, Wilkes and Rosier on the ground, screaming due to being scalded. Snape, however, was still on his feet, albeit with an expression of fury mingled with fear on his face. It looked like he'd managed to escape the jet of boiling water, which was hardly surprising, considering his proficiency with magic…

"Had enough or d'you want some more?" Liz shouted, but Lily was beside herself with rage. "WHAT THE HELL D'YOU THINK YOU'RE PLAYING AT?" she screamed at her former best friend. "D'YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR FRIEND JUST TRIED TO DO TO LIZ?"

Snape flinched instinctively, and Liz placed a restraining hand on Lily's arm. "Lil – I'm fine –"

"I DON'T CARE!" Lily yelled, quite unable to think clearly. "HE – HE –"

"Lily, I'm fine – I'm fine!" said Liz urgently, now pulling her into a quick sideways hug. Taking charge of the situation at once, Liz added to Snape, "You – take your filthy friends to the Hospital Wing. Detention to you all, and I'll be reporting you to Professor Slughorn. Now – get out of my sight before I hex you!"

Lily inhaled several deep, calming breaths as a momentary flicker of defiance appeared in Snape's eyes; for a second he looked as though he had other ideas. "No," said Liz, shaking her head and tightly maintaining her grip on Lily's shoulder, "Don't even think about it. You're a disgrace to what it means to be a Prefect, Snape – now, bugger off!"

But Snape wouldn't move. "How is this any different when Lupin just let Potter and his cronies attack me?" he snapped. "If you recall, Potter suspended me in mid-air and tried to take off my pants! How was this any different?"

Lily's fury went up a notch, but she forced herself to take in another deep breath as Liz said calmly, "It's different – 'coz unlike you, Snape, I'd look damn good without my clothes." Her voice dripped with acid as she continued, "But more importantly, it's different, because – James and the others neither used Dark Magic, nor were they budding Death Eaters wanting to purge the world of Muggles and Muggleborns." Lily shuddered at the force in her best friend's voice – and in that moment, she knew that Liz was dangerously close to losing control, too. "I'm going to say this one more time, Snape – bugger off, and take these pieces of shite with you. NOW!"

She screamed out the last word, and Snape obeyed; with a wave of his wand, he placed Silencing Charms on his whimpering friends, before walking away, levitating the others behind him with a Mobilicorpus Charm. Liz let out the breath she'd been holding and slowly relaxed her grip around Lily. "You all right?" she asked.

There was a second of silence, following which Lily burst into a storm of passionate crying over Liz's shoulder… The past few minutes kept flashing in front of her eyes: Liz, being Confunded (possibly Imperiused?) and forced to walk towards Mulciber, as she, Lily, duelled two others, unable to do anything – anything – to help her best friend… And then Mulciber asking Liz to – no, she couldn't think about that. What would he have done to her? Her tears increased at the thought, so upset was she that something horrible had nearly happened to Liz, and it was her fault…

"Ssshhh, it's all right – it's all right," said Liz soothingly, patting her head and pulling her into a warm embrace. "I'm all right… That goon said he used a Confundus Charm, but it was an Imperius Curse – I'm sure of it, 'coz it got past my Shield Charm," she added darkly, and Lily drew back, her fear going up a notch. "But he didn't do it well," said Liz quickly and reassuringly. "It was rather weak – nothing compared to Bellatrix's Curse last year, see? I threw it off within two seconds, thanks to all the Occlumency we've been learning…"

Lily let out a little sob, and Liz patted her back. "I'm sorry I put you through that," she said softly, and Lily heard her voice break a little. She looked up and saw Liz's sea-green eyes full of tears. "I know how – how horrified you must have been, seeing me walking up to him like that, unable to help 'coz those goons had you outnumbered, and throwing all the Dark Magic they knew at you… But it was the only way." She lowered her eyes. "In that moment, I knew that if I could get close enough, and get him to lower his guard – well, let's just say I saw an opening, and I took it. I never meant to terrify you like that." She looked up, tears rolling down her cheeks, and it was Lily's turn to hug her.

"I know," she said, trying to be comforting. "I know you didn't mean to scare me…"

"I saw an opening," repeated Liz thickly. "I hit him on the nose with a palm strike – Emily said it's a technique quite useful with Muggle duelling, see? If you do it hard enough, you can actually break someone's nose and tear their eyes out… It's all connected, apparently."

"Urgh," said Lily, making a face as she drew back. The picture Liz was putting forth was nauseating…

"I didn't do it hard enough," Liz said wryly, with mock-thoughtfulness. "I only managed to break his nose… Maybe it was because I used my left hand, see? I'm right-handed…"

"Your left hand still packs a punch," said Lily. "All that Quidditch, throwing the Quaffle with either hand – I don't think I could've hit a punch as hard as you did."

"I disagree," said Liz. "You train with us – push-ups build strength in your chest, shoulders, and to an extent, your arms. I wouldn't want to be in the vicinity of your punches…"

Lily gave a wet chuckle. "This Muggle duelling technique have a name?" she asked curiously.

"Er – Katare, I think," said Liz, sounding a little unsure. "Emily said it's Japanese –"

"D'you mean Karate?" asked Lily, with a little giggle. It never failed to amuse her when her magical friends messed up simple everyday things in the Muggle world…

"I believe I do," said Liz, with faint amusement, "But enough about that… Did you see what our Elemental Waves did? Water and Fire combining to form – boiling water?"

"Oh – yeah!" said Lily; she'd forgotten about that. "So," she said, frowning as she realised something, "It seems plausible that a combination of Elemental Waves may be something far better than the constituents. Today's example is one – and there's another!" Her tone became excited as she added, "James pumped Air into my Fire Wave when we were trying to hold off some of Jugson's goons that night in Swansea! It made my spell stronger!"

"Interesting," said Liz, with a little smirk. "I'd love to discuss this more – but right now, we need to report these thugs to Professor Slughorn – and incidentally, are you OK enough to continue this patrol?" Her sea-green eyes were wide with concern, and Lily nodded reassuringly. "Yeah," she said, "It was a bit of a shock, seeing you walk towards him like that – but now that I know you were faking it, I'm all right."

"Good," said Liz, giving her a little smile. "And again – I'm sorry I put you through that," she added, bowing her head.

"Hey – no harm, no foul," said Lily, squeezing Liz's hand gently. "C'mon, then – let's continue, and at the end of the patrol, let's report these thugs to Professor Slughorn."

"I doubt anything will happen to them," said Liz cynically as they walked. "Mulciber used the Curse non-verbally, which means there's no shred of proof that he used it. Yeah, I know magic leaves traces –" she added as Lily opened her mouth to mention exactly that, "—but if the Curse is so weak, I seriously doubt it'll have left a trace."

"All the same, we should talk to Madam Pomfrey," said Lily. Liz nodded, and the two of them continued to walk along the corridor. Lily noted where they were; they were quite far from any of the common rooms, meaning that the ruckus they made was unlikely to have been heard by the rest of the castle. Those creeps planned this out to the letter, she thought bitterly. They knew we'd head here tonight – their plan was to attack James, but that didn't happen… She frowned. Had it really been Snape's brainchild? Her eyes narrowed… That overgrown bat, she thought savagely. She knew he hated the fact that she was going out with his archenemy, but he'd lost the right to have a say in who she dated two years ago, when he called her that horrible word…

"Earth to Lil," said Liz, bringing Lily back to the present. She gave Liz a distracted smile and said, "Sorry, I was just thinking…"

"Knut for your thoughts," said Liz promptly, and Lily sighed before explaining her train of thought to her best friend. "So, to sum up," she said at the end of her monologue, "They planned this – they admitted as much. And I've seen James come off worse after being at the wrong end of Snape's wand – which is why, I'm somewhat relieved that he didn't participate in the battle tonight."

"Rubbish," said Liz, "He may not have raised his wand, but he was as culpable as the others… Mulciber may be the de facto leader of these clowns, but Snape isn't far behind. He's the best at magic among the four of them, at any rate," she acknowledged.

"I agree," said Lily. "Y'know, Snape can actually invent Spells… He invented that Langlock Hex, the Muffliato Spell, and that Levicorpus Jinx, to name a few."

"He invented Levicorpus?" Liz asked incredulously, and Lily could tell that she was impressed.

"Yup," she said, "He certainly did – and what's more, he's come up with shortcuts in Potions for as long as I can remember. They always seemed to work, too…"

"Well – inventing Spells and Curses indicates incredible magical ability," said Liz, with grudging admiration. "Heck, even I've not been able to invent any Spells –"

"Did you try to do that?" Lily asked curiously.

"That's beside the point," said Liz, with a mischievous little wink. Lily laughed and said, "Well – I dunno… I think we could too, if we tried hard enough. Snape may have gotten a head start, but we'll catch up…"

"I hope you're right," said Liz, "Coz Snape is an opponent I'd rather not face right now – until I'm ready, that is."

"What?" Lily asked in astonishment. "Really? What happened to the Gryffindor courage?" she asked dryly.

Liz snorted and said, "People have the wrong idea of Gryffindor courage… We tend to be brave, but we don't charge headlong into danger. At least, most of us don't… Unfortunately, our boyfriends don't fall into the logical, rational category," she added slyly, with a wink at Lily, who laughed. "Well – they've certainly shown a tendency to act impulsively," she said. "Remember when James's parents had been kidnapped, he wanted to go to their aid alone? I mean, come on!" she exclaimed. "Use your bloody head, James! How was there any chance you'd have walked out of that alive – considering so many of those goons were using the Killing Curse indiscriminately?"

Liz shuddered. "That still gives me the chills," she said, "There were a couple times when jets of green light missed me by an inch –"

"Yeah, I know the feeling," agreed Lily. "Plus, the Curse itself – when that jet of light passed by me, I definitely felt a whoosh. It was like a powerful, sinister force…"

"There you are!" someone exclaimed as they turned a corner. To Lily's surprise, it was James, with his wand raised – and he was flanked by Black, Remus, Peter and even Ashley Bond, all of whom were looking intensely relieved. "You're all right!" James exclaimed, closing the distance between them quickly and hugging Lily close. "Oh, thank God!"

"Ouch, James – easy with the squeezy!" Lily said, her voice muffled within James's muscular chest. He drew back at once, and Lily let out a sigh – out of the corner of her eye, she saw Black and Liz locked in a passionate embrace, too. "What're you doing here?" she asked James, focusing on him. "Didn't you ask Liz to sub in for you?"

"Long story," said James, "But – you all right? Sirius said you two were in –"

"Danger," said Ashley, stepping forward. "I was with Potter when Black's Patronus told us to meet him pronto, that the two of you were in danger –"

"Sirius grabbed me and Pete, and we rushed to your aid at once," said Remus, and Peter nodded vigorously from next to him. "But – by the time we met James and Ashley, there was nothing to worry about – you were fine!" His mild voice carried a note of admiration. "Where are Mulciber, Snape and the others? Did you chase them away?"

"Snape?" James exclaimed in anger. "You didn't say –"

"Must've slipped my mind," said Black, his hands clenching into fists.

"What's going on, Lil?" James asked her urgently. "What happened?"

Before she could respond, however, Liz said simply, "We were attacked." She drew back from Black. "It was indeed Mulciber and his goons – Snape included – but we managed to drive them away!"

"That no-good, overgrown bat!" James exclaimed savagely, his face black as thunder. "I'll teach him a lesson he'll never forget!"

"Oh, relax!" said Liz, rather airily. "It's a long story, but the bottom line is – we're fine, and we managed to put all of them except Snape into the Hospital Wing!"

"H-how?" said Black, his eyes wide. "It was two-against-four –"

"We're just better than you boys when it comes to duelling," said Liz, her eyes carrying a glint of mischief. "I'll explain later," she added quickly as Black opened his mouth to argue, "We're all right now…"

"Can you give me the short version, at least?" asked Ashley, who had been listening to them silently. "They're from my House, after all – I'll need to report them."

"Leave that to us, Captain," said Liz, with the teensiest note of derision in her tone as she spoke the last word. Ashley didn't seem to catch it, for she shook her head and said, "I'm only Captain on the pitch."

"No," said James firmly, much to general surprise. "You're Captain everywhere."

Ashley blushed slightly, and Lily smiled; it appeared as if Ashley and James had finally buried the hatchet. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Black, Peter and Remus giving James confused glances, and felt a slight twinge of superiority – it looked as if James had only told her that he was going to talk to the Hogwarts Captain.

"All right, then," said Ashley, bringing Lily back to the present, "You can report them, Liz. I'll take my leave now…" She paused, before adding, "It may be a good idea for you all to stay together for the rest of your patrol…"

"We'll be fine, Captain," said James, giving her a mock-salute. She rolled her eyes, but James's tone grew serious as he continued, "Oh, and one more thing – as we discussed earlier, please be careful. Your benching of Rowle may have more consequences in your House –"

"And as I told you, Potter – I can take care of myself," Ashley cut across him, her blue eyes intense. "I appreciate your concern – but I did what was right, and I honestly don't think that the rest of the House will go against me for that. Slytherins aren't all biased and bigoted, you know," she added. "The House gets a bad name because of a few stupid people – but rest assured, I'll be fine. I have friends there who will come to my aid, and I can spin several rolls of yarn to convince my Housemates that I'm as anti-Gryffindor as they are," she added wryly.

"What sort of yarn?" Lily asked curiously.

"Irrelevant," said Ashley, with slight smirk. "Well – I should get going. See you later!" She gave them all a little wave and walked away, her wand out. Clearly, she wasn't going to take any chances…

"Well – now that I'm here, I can take over this patrol," said James. "You lot can go back to Gryffindor tower – and thanks for subbing in, Liz," he added, and Liz gave him a little nod of acknowledgement. "If it's fine with you, we'll stick around," she said, "It'll give us a chance to hear what you discussed with Ashley, and we can tell you how we got rid of Mulciber and company."

"C'mon, Lizzie – the man was giving you a hint that he wanted to be alone with his girlfriend!" said Black, his tone teasing. Lily blushed as Peter sniggered slightly, and Remus said, "Is that a hint that you want to be alone with Liz, Sirius?"

"Moony, my man – no one knows me better than you," said Black, giving him a little wink. Lily laughed, but for once, Liz didn't join in. "I wasn't kidding – we should stick together for now," she said seriously. "Snape and the others are in the Hospital Wing, but we shouldn't take any chances."

"Ugh, fine," said Black with a mock-sigh. "But we will never speak of this again… Sirius Black, on a Heads' patrol?" He made a small retching noise. "No way!"

"There'll be plenty of broom cupboards on the way," said Peter impishly. "You can –"

"Ew, get your head out of the gutter, Pete," said Liz, blushing crimson as everyone else hooted with laughter. "It's not like we spend every spare moment snogging!"

"We don't?" Black asked, raising his eyebrows with mock-confusion as everyone guffawed even more. Liz rolled her eyes and said, "Urgh, you lot are all the same… Sometimes I wonder why I'm going out with you!"

"It's 'coz I'm your Blackie," said Black, moving forward and giving Liz a quick peck on the cheek which seemed to mollify her somewhat. James and Remus exchanged amused glances, and Lily said, "Well – if you've finished your public displays of affection, shall we continue with our patrol?"

"Miss Prissy is at it again," said Black, sticking out his tongue at her. Rolling her eyes, Lily said, "C'mon, everyone – we don't need to see Black stuff his tongue down –"

"That's right, we can do that on our own time, right, Blackie?" interrupted Liz, her sea-green eyes dancing with mischief.

"That's my girl!" said Black cheerfully, and Lily shook her head as they all took off, Peter and Remus chuckling behind her. "You can start, James," she said to her boyfriend, "Tell us how you and Ashley Bond are suddenly best mates." She smirked.

James snorted and said, "Well – there isn't much for me to tell, really. I went off to meet Bond in the chamber off the Great Hall, and waited for a few minutes – she was late, she finally arrived at ten-forty-five, which left me no choice but to ask you to take my place, Liz."

Liz nodded. "Continue," she said.

"Well, when she arrived, I jumped right into it," said James. "It went like this…"

XXXXX James's POV XXXXX

"You're late," said James, with a slight twinge of irritation; Ashley had reprimanded him for being late during their first ever meeting when they held the Hogwarts Quidditch team tryouts, shouldn't she be more particular about time? Not bothering to hide the displeasure from his voice, he added, "What kept you?"

"My apologies," said Ashley, and to her credit, she did look a little ashamed. "I was just about to come and meet you when a few sixth-years from my House thought it clever to try and hex me – I guess they were retaliating for Rowle. Anyway, after I hexed one bloke's hair off and hit another with a Jinx that caused his toenails to grow with an alarming rate – they grew wary. I told them to get lost, that they'd be receiving detention, and if they tried to attack me again, I'd be kicking Rowle off both teams."

"Nice," said James, appreciation replacing the irritation in his tone. "And –" he paused and winced slightly at the memory of his confrontation with Rowle during the match that day before continuing, "—thanks for sticking up for me earlier today. Not that I needed it, I've been called a lot of names before, but it meant a lot, what you did. It was mighty grand of you," he added sincerely.

"Thanks," said Ashley, a hint of pink on her cheeks, "But I didn't do anything anyone else wouldn't have… Besides, Rowle had it coming to him. The stupid tub of lard needed to be put in place – the only reason he's in the Slytherin and Hogwarts teams is that he's a good Keeper."

"Yeah – that's fair, I suppose," conceded James. There was a pause, following which Ashley said, "So – why did you want to talk to me, Potter?"

James sighed inwardly; she was quite late, and he'd decided that he wasn't going to step out of this room until he'd sorted it all out with her. "Just a minute," he said; whipping out his wand and concentrating hard on a message for Liz, he thought, Expecto Patronum! The silver stag burst out of his wand, and he watched it gallop out of sight noiselessly before turning back to the Hogwarts Captain. "I just sent a message to Liz, asking her to sub in for me tonight," he said. "'Coz I don't think I'll make it in time for my patrol –"

"Again, my apologies," said Ashley, a little contritely, but James waved his hand dismissively. "I'll get right to it, then," he began without preamble. "Well – I wanted to tell you that you're not doing your job as Captain, and it's tearing the team apart."

He hadn't meant to say it so baldly; Ashley's flaring nostrils were evidence enough. "I also asked for this meeting so that we could put this issue to bed – so, please – hear me out," he added quickly, holding up his hands. She sighed and motioned for him to continue, her face inscrutable.

"Look, I know you're a good Captain," he began. "You have a strong knowledge of tactics, excellent technique, and you're sportsmanlike – you've always played Quidditch with the right spirit. But – you're not leading from the front here. Even tonight, you seemed a little lost, and yet, you never came to me, your deputy, for assistance. You made me Vice-Captain, remember? And my job is to assist you – I've been trying to do that as much as I could, but you've kept shutting me out, and it needs to stop."

Ashley remained silent, and James ploughed on, "I think I understand what's going on here. You'd asked me during our first meeting itself whether you could count on me to keep things in the Hogwarts team from boiling over due to inter-House rivalries – and yet, in our very first match against each other, I failed." He lowered his head; waiting for her had given him a little time for some soul-searching, and he'd mentally gone over every bit of friction he'd had with her, finally coming to the realisation that the trouble had started after the Gryffindor versus Slytherin match. At the time he'd marked it down to her being a bad loser, but he understood now that he hadn't done his job as Gryffindor Captain, too. "I should've done a better job keeping Sirius in check," he acknowledged. "He's a passionate bloke, and he can come off as brash and harsh at times. I tried to make amends to address the issue, but you sort of stopped talking to me after that. Even at Durmstrang – what I did was wrong, but I was furious. I know that doesn't justify it – but I felt that you overreacted, and the team was – is – definitely weaker without you. I was even more furious that you put yourself before the team – 'coz in my book, as Captain, the team always comes first."

"It does in my book, too," she interrupted testily, but James held up a hand. "Please let me finish," he said politely but firmly, and she sighed again and motioned for him to go on.

"Our practice sessions have been quite tense," he continued bluntly. "We aren't really acting much like a team, and I thought that you should've been the one to address that as Captain – but you never did. Today's match – let's just say luck played a huge role in us winning it. We didn't deserve to win, honestly – they were the better team. But – it should serve as a wake-up call for us. I know that there's still camaraderie between us somewhere – you not reprimanding me after missing a penalty tonight is evidence of that – but we need to find it, and we need to do a better job as a team. And – as for whatever I've done – I'm sorry," he added, his voice full of genuine regret. "Sincerely, this time – and it won't happen again."

He paused and gave her an expectant sort of look, waiting for her to respond. Dinner with Lily's cousin Matt had helped him see things with a new perspective – oh, he was sure that she felt threatened by him, but then again, if he'd not given in to the intense Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry, this situation might never have arisen… Well, at least I'm trying to make things right, he thought. I came here tonight to settle our differences once and for all… I don't expect us to be the best of pals, but a cordial camaraderie would be sufficient for team unity… He gazed right at her, but her face was still inscrutable. Well, I've done my bit, he thought. The Quaffle's on her side of the pitch now…

A silver swan glided into the room at that very moment, and spoke in Liz's voice, "On my way to the HQ." He felt relieved at once; he didn't want Lily to go alone on their patrol, and it was great that Liz had stepped up. He turned back to Ashley, whose piercingly blue gaze was directly on him. "You make some valid points, Potter," she said at last. "It's true that I was angry that you didn't keep your mate in check when Slytherin and Gryffindor played each other. It's also true that I didn't say anything even when you approached me multiple times – I was furious, and in no mood to engage with you after that match," She looked away.

"And I told you, I'm sorry!" said James emphatically, but she looked right back at him and held up her hand. "My turn to talk," she said evenly, and he went silent at once. "You see, you didn't do the one thing I'd asked you to, and that led me to question my own leadership," she began. "It shouldn't have happened – but I did wonder for a time if it would've been better had you been made Captain. Scratch that – when the tournament was first announced, even I expected you to be chosen as Captain – didn't you?" she added shrewdly.

"I did, yes," admitted James. "I was surprised at first, but I talked to Dumbledore later that evening, and he explained his reasons. Believe me, I was perfectly happy to play under you –"

"And yet, after that Slytherin-Gryffindor match, because you didn't keep your best mate in check, I let myself believe that despite seniority, you didn't respect my authority," Ashley cut across him. "I thought you'd lead a mutiny against me, see? I thought you were a real prick!" she added feelingly.

"I would never try to overthrow –" began James heatedly, but she cut him off. "Oh, I know that!" she said, waving her hand dismissively. "That still didn't stop me from thinking it, though – you'd be surprised at how debilitating self-doubt is. Plus, the fact remains that you're an excellent Chaser, Potter – probably the best Chaser at Hogwarts right now. Don't let that get into your head," she added wryly.

"Bit late for that," deadpanned James, and she rolled her eyes. "Anyway," she continued, "Matters came to a head at Durmstrang." She looked away. "When you said those things to me –" she gave him another piercing look, James realised (with a little pang of shame) that her eyes seemed a bit moist, "—I was seething, and I acted impulsively. I realised the stupidity of it when the other Slytherins sided with me, loyal folks that they are," she added. "But by then it was too late. I'd put my own interests before the team, and because of that – I'm much more to blame for that defeat than you are. You performed most admirably, given the circumstances."

James acknowledged the unexpected praise, and Ashley continued, "There were several times when I thought about having a nice little discussion with you, or to tell you off – but I didn't. It was my own ego that got in my way, and I sort of resigned myself to the inevitability of you replacing me. My heart wasn't in it anymore – but all that changed tonight." She looked directly at him. "We were a starter down, and Rowle was messing things up. We somehow made it to the shootout – and when I messed up my first penalty, I just went deeper down my little hole. I was sure that after tonight, Madam Hooch was going to replace me with you. But then – you missed your penalty, too, and it suddenly hit me."

"The Quaffle?" said James, with a mock-thoughtful expression. "Blimey, I didn't miss it by that much!"

"Ugh," she said, rolling her eyes as he snickered. "Anyway, it hit me – that you were human, too."

"Last time I checked, I was definitely not a Hippogriff," said James dryly.

Ashley ignored the humour and continued, "I realised that while you may be a better Chaser than me, even you aren't perfect or infallible. I don't have to be insecure about you. All the negative stuff in my head – it just went away, 'coz in that moment, I knew exactly how you were feeling."

"Pretty terrible," said James, bowing his head, all traces of humour gone as he mentally rued over his penalty miss. "Especially after you'd told me that both my penalties were surefire goals. I'd let everyone down, see?"

Ashley gave him a wry smile. "I know the feeling," she said softly. "I've been doing that for months – all because of self-doubt, and the stuff that comes with it. You know, I should've been the one who asked you to meet me – but you beat me to it. And for once, I'm glad you did," she said, with another smile.

"One of us had to," James pointed out.

"Yup," Ashley acknowledged. "I'm sorry, James," she added, looking directly at him and surprising him a little as he registered the use of his first name. "I'm sorry I was a stupid bi–"

"The important thing is 'was'," said James, cutting across her quickly.

"Yes, but still," she said contritely, "We could've been so much better had I not allowed myself to think like that. But – better late than never, I suppose…"

"Right," said James, nodding. "I do plan on having a chat tomorrow with Sirius – it's high time I told him to stop acting like a git."

"Thank you," said Ashley, with a little nod.

There was a pause as James mulled over what she'd said. He could understand her line of thinking, though it was regrettable that she hadn't approached him sooner. Well, what's done is done, he thought. We'll both learn from this and work better together… "So – we're fine, Captain?" he said, giving her a searching sort of look. He couldn't shake off the feeling that she hadn't told him the entirety of what had been bothering her, but this much was fine for now.

"Yes," Ashley responded, nodding. "We're fine – and we'll analyse today's match during tomorrow's practice," she continued, her tone suddenly businesslike, "We'll also work on addressing our weaknesses and develop tactics and strategies to avoid a repeat of today."

"Sounds like a plan," said James, feeling genuinely happy about being part of the Hogwarts Quidditch team for the first time in days. "I have a couple of suggestions –"

But at that moment, a silver shape soared into the room and landed directly in front of them. Up close, James realised that it was a dog – a very familiar one, at that…

"Prongs!" the dog spoke in Sirius's urgent voice. "Lizzie and Lily – they're in danger! Sixth floor, Agrippa!"

The Patronus faded away, and James was galvanised into action. "Later!" he exclaimed, before drawing his wand. "Don't be stupid, I'm coming with you," said Ashley firmly, and she drew her wand, too. "Is there a portrait of Agrippa on the sixth floor? And how does Black know where Lily and Liz are?" she asked curiously.

"No time to explain," said James, setting off at a brisk pace with Ashley close behind. "Let's go!"

XXXXX End of James's POV XXXXX

"And that was that," finished James. "We met these three –" he indicated Black, Remus and Peter, "—near Agrippa's portrait, but Sirius said that you were safe, the danger had passed. He was just about to tell us why he sent me the Patronus when we ran into you both."

"I see," said Lily as she mulled over her boyfriend's tale. Turning to Black, she said, "So, you realised we were being ambushed by those sea-gherkins – thanks to that map of yours?"

"What? Yeah," said Black distractedly; clearly, he'd been hanging on to James's every word. "It showed that those slimy gits had the two of you outnumbered… I grabbed Moony and Wormtail and alerted Prongs at once, but by the time we rendezvoused, the danger had passed! Incidentally – what happened? How did you get rid of them?" he asked, his voice admiring.

"First things first," said Lily. "You just happened to be staring at the map when Liz and I were patrolling? Being a little clingy, Black?" she added, her voice teasing.

"I wasn't being clingy!" Black protested as everyone laughed. "I usually do that… Wormtail, Moony and I take turns inspecting the map every fifteen minutes when you and Prongs are patrolling, don't we, boys?" he added to Peter and Remus, as if daring them to contradict him.

"Amusing as it is to tease Sirius for being clingy," said Remus, smirking, "It's true. When you and James are on patrol, Lily, we have the map handy for anything out of the ordinary – you can't be too careful, can you?"

"Blimey, even I didn't know of this!" exclaimed James, and Lily raised her eyebrows; up until now, she'd thought that James had put the Marauders up to this. "Well – in any case, it's good to know that you lot have our backs!"

"Always, mate," said Black, grinning.

"In fact, he was checking the map every five minutes tonight," said Remus, with a meaningful glance at Liz. Black blushed, and Peter sniggered before saying, "Nah, Moony – more like two."

"Aww, how cute – look how much you care!" said Liz in a mock-sweet voice, making Black blush even more, much to Lily's amusement. "Yeah, go ahead, laugh," said Black with as much dignity as he could muster, "But – look how useful that turned out to be! We were able to arrive quickly – not that it mattered, though. C'mon – tell us already! How did you get rid of them?" he added curiously.

"Yeah – enough chitchat," said James impatiently. "Just tell us what happened!"

And so, with a feeling of trepidation, Lily began to relay what the Slytherins had done… How Mulciber had tried to possibly Imperiuse Liz, and gotten his nose broken in the process… How they'd hit the Slytherins with boiling water and chased them away…

James and Black's faces wore similar expressions of rage when she finished telling their tale. Remus's mouth was set in a thin line, while Peter looked affronted… Lily felt somewhat gratified at how furious they all were on her and Liz's behalf. "This is insane," hissed Black, "I'm going to the Hospital Wing right now – and I'm going to hex those bashi-bazouks so badly that they'll be crying for their mummies for the rest of their lives –"

"You'll do no such thing, Blackie," said Liz firmly. "Look – nothing happened! We're fine, we took care of those creeps –"

"All the same, you should get yourself checked for lingering after-effects, Liz," said James, with forced calmness. "And while you're at the Hospital Wing, you can hex those bleeding –"

"All right, that's enough," said Lily, placing a gentle hand on James's shoulder. "I don't think hexing anyone is going to solve anything, James… So please, just let it go. There's no point – we'll report them, they'll get detention, and with luck, they'll even be suspended!"

"They should be expelled," said Remus, with uncharacteristic viciousness. "Mulciber used an Unforgiveable Curse –"

"We think he did," corrected Liz quickly. "It got past my Shield Charm, but that's the only evidence I have. I felt a blank sort of sensation – but it didn't last for more than two seconds, see? I don't need Hospital Wing –"

"Rubbish – I'm taking you there, now," said Black firmly. Turning to them all, he added, "You lot – we'll see you later. Moony, Wormtail – keep these two safe, yeah?"

"No problem," said Peter confidently. "Don't worry, mate."

"Right," said Black, nodding. "Oh, and Prongs – you and I are going to have a talk tomorrow about me acting like a 'git', apparently."

"Count on it," returned James. Shaking his head, Black gave them all a final nod before gently taking a faintly protesting Liz away with him. Smiling, Lily linked her arm in James's, and the pair of them set off, with Remus and Peter following. The rest of their patrol passed by without incident, and Lily and James bade goodbye to Remus and Peter at Gryffindor tower before heading towards the HQ.

As they walked, Lily cast a worried sort of glance towards James, who had been unusually quiet. "Penny for your thoughts, James," she said, and he seemed to come out of a reverie. "Oh, nothing," he said, "I'm just thinking of ways to retaliate against Snape and those other Ostrogoths –"

"D'you even know what 'Ostrogoths' are?" Lily asked with a giggle.

"It's one of Captain Haddock's insults," said James, smirking. "Thought you'd know that –"

"Not what I meant, idiot!" she exclaimed, and he laughed. She continued, "The 'Goths' is a name for several nomadic tribes that lived in Continental Europe during the ancient and medieval periods. The Ostrogoths were the eastern branch of the Goths from the second to the fifth century. The reason why Captain Haddock uses it as an insult – is probably because they were once vassals of the Huns, who were barbaric invaders attacking and pillaging the Roman Empire."

"Thanks for the history lesson," said James, a twinkle in his hazel eyes. "This is relevant, because…?"

"Because," she said, as if explaining something to a small child, "You should know the meaning of a word before you use it!"

"Blimey, Lil," he said with a snort, "D'you think I care?"

"I do," said Lily, shrugging and sticking her tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes and said, "Anyway – like I said, I was thinking of ways to retaliate against those baboons." He looked right at her, and his eyes were filled with fury. "While I admit that I went too far that day we bullied him in the castle courtyard," he said, with a hint of regret, "I have since done nothing of the kind. To think that he used that as an excuse to try taking off Liz's clothes – with that other miserable moron daring to use the Imperius Curse, no less – there will be retribution, and there will be loads of it." His eyes were narrowed behind his glasses, and his mouth was set in a thin line.

Sensing danger immediately, Lily said, "Hey – calm down, OK?" She squeezed his hand gently. "If it was the Imperius Curse, they will surely be punished," she continued, her voice fierce. "I'll be reporting them tomorrow, at any rate." She sighed; she still couldn't get the picture of Liz walking blankly towards Mulciber out of her head. He seemed to sense her distress, and he squeezed her hand gently as they came up to the portrait of Antoine l'ambiteux in the Heads' Office; he gave the password, and they entered the HQ with a feeling of relief.

"Well – c'mon, then," he said, giving her a mischievous wink, "It's been a rough night, but nothing a nice, warm cuddle can't fix."

"My room tonight," she said, smirking and trying to ignore the momentary gleeful and excited flutter of her heart. "I need a break from the woody smell of your broomstick." She gave him a quick kiss which took the sting out of her comment before making her way towards her room, hoping that Liz and Black had made it back to the common room safely… Her grip around her wand tightened as she took it out of her pocket. One day, she resolved. One day I'll know stronger magic than they do, and we'll see who gets the better of who the next time…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"But how could the Diagnostic Spell not detect the Imperius Curse?" said Lily, her gaze confused as she walked along a fourth-floor corridor. It was almost midnight, and she and James were almost at the end of their patrol. Lily felt a tiny twinge of excitement; it was her birthday tomorrow, and she was sure that James and the others had planned a party for her at the HQ… She'd grinned inwardly when Liz had suggested that she hang out with her, Marlene and Mary at Gryffindor tower until it was time for her patrol; that would've given the Marauders time to prepare the HQ for her party…

"Search me," said James, breaking into her thoughts as he shook his head. "What did Liz say?"

"She said that Madam Pomfrey told her that if a Curse is performed poorly, it doesn't even leave a trace sometimes," said Lily. "Weird, right?"

"Definitely," agreed James. "Dad was quite emphatic when he told me that magic always leaves traces… On the other hand, I suppose we should be happy about that stupid git's incompetence."

"Yeah – and that brilliant elephant transformation," said Lily, laughing at the memory.

Mulciber had been awarded two weeks' worth of detentions for his actions that night, while the others had received a week's detention each. They'd also cost their House fifty points apiece, and Snape had been warned that he'd be stripped of his Prefect's badge if he participated in another incident like that. But the icing on the cake had been the Marauders' retribution – which had appeared in stages. Three days after the incident, the four Slytherins somehow grew huge ears, an impressive grey trunk, and large, red-and-gold tusks during breakfast; they'd been unable to speak, too, only trumpeting helplessly while trying to communicate. Professor Slughorn had given them a potion to cure the effects of their transformation, before declaring that the Spell was a powerful one, and it would take at least four hours to wear off, leaving them to endure a rather humiliating morning… Things had only gotten worse after lunch, as they'd been forced to speak only in limericks (and rather rude ones, at that) for the rest of the day, costing their House several more points when they'd inadvertently insulted Professor McGonagall. Lily knew, of course, that the Marauders had been behind the entire incident, but James had remained tight-lipped in response to her questions as to how exactly they'd pulled that off ("Ask us no questions and we'll tell you no lies, Lily," was what he'd told her).

"It was brilliant, wasn't it?" said James, with a crooked grin as he checked his watch. "A dose of their own potion – wanted to humiliate Liz, didn't they? Well – the shoe is on the other foot now…"

Lily laughed; as much as she disapproved of Hexes and Jinxes used solely for humiliation, this was one case she felt it was justified – rather like the time she'd hexed Snape the day after he'd used the Sectumsempra Curse on James last year. She shuddered at the memory before deciding to change the subject. "So, that bit with the combination of Elemental Waves – interesting stuff, eh?" she asked, referring to Emily's explanation earlier that evening, which had certainly been very informative.

James nodded. "Yup," he said, "But I wish my element had been Fire, too – Air seems to have a rather supporting role, doesn't it? A cyclone with Water, an inferno with Fire, a sandstorm with Earth, and a dark storm which renders your opponent blind when combined with Light… Pretty solid, but Fire's combinations are all kinds of powerful!"

Lily smiled a little smugly. "They are, aren't they?" she said cheerfully. "Boiling water with Water, molten rock – or lava – with Earth, an inferno with Air, and blinding flames with Light… A wide range of offensive combinations!"

"True," said James, a little enviously. "What I found most interesting, though –" he continued, "—is that when two Waves combine, the stronger element decides the form that the combination takes… Like boiling water, for instance, due to Water being strong against Fire."

"Yep – just like lava, since Earth is stronger against Fire, too!" supplied Lily. It had been a most interesting session, and she'd hung on to Emily's every word. At the very start of the class, she and Liz had asked the teacher about the effect of Wave combinations, and Emily had proceeded to explain it to everyone else throughout the session, much to their relief (it had been a welcome break from the frustration that learning the Elemental Shield was bringing). Lily had been most fascinated by the dynamics of Elemental combinations – the best combination for each Element just happened to be with the one that covered its weakness – for instance, with Water being weak against Air and Light, Fire and Water made the strongest Water-based combination. That means for me, Air is the best, Lily had thought, mentally revisiting the powerful inferno she and James had conjured up that night in Wales, and how effective it had been in protecting them… Emily had warned them, however, that combining two Waves was no easy task, and that it could take place only if the intent of both casters is a spell more powerful than either of them could cast on their own. "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts," she'd said, before proceeding to praise Lily and Liz for their successful Water/Fire combination.

"Water and Earth combine to form a wave of silty, muddy water," said James, and she turned her attention back to him. "A rather interesting effect, that…"

"Don't forget how Light changes its form depending on whether it's strong or weak against the combining element," she said. "Making the Fire and Air Waves blindingly bright – and making it impossible to know from where the Water torrent and earthquake will hit, owing to the darkness!"

"Yeah," said James, nodding. "I thought those effects are a little weak, to be honest – but I may be underestimating just how debilitating blindness would be while duelling."

"Exactly," said Lily emphatically. "Because the primary function of Light is to render your opponent blind – whether it is through darkness, or a high intensity."

"Fair point," said James, before checking his watch again. She decided to have some fun with him. "Why d'you keep checking your watch?" she asked, with feigned curiosity.

"Er – I'm not," he said, with an unconvincing attempt at nonchalance. "Oh, and here's something interesting I found out while I was at Beauxbatons," he added, clearly trying to change the topic. "Did you know that there is some sort of Language ward over their castle and grounds that allows everyone to understand each other despite speaking in a different language?"

"Ooh, interesting," said Lily, furrowing her brow. "As in, if someone speaks French but the other person is from West Germany, they'd hear the first person speaking German?"

"Spot on, Lil," said James, grinning. "There'll be a French accent to the first person's German, though. It was how I understood what the Beauxbatons players were saying – and I don't speak German, French, or Dutch."

"That's similar to the Hogwarts Language ward, then," said Lily. Her grin widened at the confusion on James's face, and she added, "Well – when Hogwarts was founded, it wasn't like everyone spoke the English we hear today. Nay, there were a load of different dialects – plus, there were several people speaking Welsh and Irish, too. The founders made the ward so that everyone would understand each other – but there's another element to it. You see – the ward takes the intent of the speaker into account. For instance, if two Welshmen want to talk to each other without anyone who didn't speak Welsh understanding them, the ward permits them to do so. But if a Welshman addresses an Irishman in Welsh, the Irishman will hear Irish with a hint of Welsh – provided that he doesn't understand Welsh, of course. It's pretty subtle, really."

"Fascinating," said James.

"It is, isn't it?" said Lily fondly. "It's all there in Hogwarts: A History…" Her voice trailed off as she saw James sneak another glance at his watch, and she grinned. "All right – the game's up, James," she said, with a knowing smile on her face. "Nice try, distracting me like that – but I know there's a party for me at the HQ, isn't there?"

There was a pause as James gave her a look of dismay before sighing and saying, "Ugh, fine – there's a party waiting, all right? Remus was in charge – he and Pete nicked food from the kitchens, Sirius and Liz got some Firewhiskey and Butterbeer from Hogseade, which left Marlene and Mary in charge of decorations. I let them all in just after we left, when I 'forgot' my watch, remember?" he added, with air quotes as he said 'forgot'.

"Yup," said Lily, with a grin wide enough to conceal the slight guilt she felt for guessing what had clearly been a rather elaborate party planned for her. "Er – sorry, I didn't mean to ruin the surprise," she added lamely, but he simply laughed. "I owe Moony five Galleons," he said airily, "The bugger said that you'd figure it out, that there was no need of a surprise party – I said otherwise, but he was right. I guess I overestimated my skills in keeping your mind off any potential parties –"

"Seems so," said Lily, grinning. James checked his watch once again and gave an exclamation. "It's a minute past midnight already!" Pulling her into a bone-crushing hug, he added excitedly, "Happy eighteenth, Lily!"

"'Hank oo, Haymes," said Lily happily, but her voice was muffled by his robes. She drew back as James fished around his pocket for something. "Got it," he said brightly, holding up a little box. "Here – I was planning to give this to you after everyone left, but now is as good a time as any!"

"Blimey, thanks!" exclaimed Lily, a little excited as she took the box. Whatever was in it?

"Wow – these are beautiful, James!" she exclaimed as she examined the pair of earrings inside the box. They were indeed lovely; teardrop-shaped, encrusted with miniature rubies, sapphires, emeralds in concentric circles around a diamond in the centre, and complete with tiny pearls at the bottom of the teardrop lobe. "They're exquisite!"

"Let me tell you the best part," said James with relish. "I researched this spell over the past couple weeks, and finally perfected it yesterday. It's a spell that allows the caster to track the location of the person wearing the earrings – all the wearer has to do is tap the earrings three times, and the caster will understand the wearer's general location, within a two-mile radius, that is. Think of it as a – distress signal, if you will –"

But that was as far as he got, for Lily flung herself at him, her eyes rather moist. To think – that he cared so much about her, that he gave her a gift which would allow her to send a distress signal… She could already see how useful this would be in their future endeavours with the Order of the Phoenix; if she were in a sticky situation, James would find her within minutes…

"Thank you," she whispered. "It's – brilliant… Thank you!"

"You're welcome," he whispered back. They broke apart, and he kissed her gently. Her heart began to race at once, and she longed to tear his robes off, then and there… But she controlled the impulse. They had a party to get to…

"I can teach you that Spell," declared James. "You can cast it on that energy gain locket you gifted me… That way, it'll have a dual purpose, see?"

"Yes – great idea," agreed Lily as she put the earrings on. Linking her hand through his, she said, "Well – ready for the party?"

"Yes – and please act surprised," he said emphatically.

"No promises," she deadpanned, and he rolled his eyes as they entered the Head's Office and made their way to the portrait of Antoine l'ambiteux. "Epeerouge," said James, and the portrait swung forward to admit them into the HQ; the fire was out, and it was completely dark. Then –

"Surprise!" yelled several voices, and suddenly, the room was bathed in light, thanks to someone lighting the fire. The beaming faces of all of Lily's friends came into view as she looked around in wonder; aside from a couple of birthday banners and heart-shaped confetti falling all over them, someone had taken the photograph of her parents from her dresser, enlarged it, and enchanted to make it appear as if her parents were singing 'Happy Birthday' to her. Wow, she thought, That's wonderful!

Lily quite enjoyed her eighteenth birthday party that night, laughing as a clearly drunk Peter and Black proceeded to dance a slow waltz in the middle of the common room, much to Liz's consternation. The food was excellent (Lily decided to thank the house-elves the next day), and despite her protests, she was made to drink four or five goblets of Firewhiskey with the others, leaving her happy, carefree and rather buzzed, but thankfully still in her senses. I can at least hold my liquor better than Peter, she thought smugly as Peter proceeded to lick the carpet following Black's goading, much to everyone's disgust. "Once a lightweight, always a lightweight," said James from next to her, laughing as Remus dragged Peter away from the sofa which he was trying to lick, too. Liz simply shook her head before downing the rest of her Firewhiskey, while Marlene and Mary snored away contentedly in their chairs. The party began to wind down after Peter vomited all over the coffee table but was thankfully stopped from sleeping in his pool of sick by Remus. James volunteered to clean up as Liz, Black and Remus half-carried, half-dragged the others back to Gryffindor tower, leaving a cheerful and amused Lily in their wake; notwithstanding Peter's drunken antics, it had been a great party… But Lily's thoughts were only on her new earrings as she snuggled up to James that night. Wonderful as they were, she had a feeling that they would come in handy sooner rather than later…

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Lily exited the HQ on Monday morning in early February before pausing near the bulletin board; there was a new notice that hadn't been there the night before. "'Careers at the Ministry'," she read slowly, before scanning the rest of the notice:

Careers at the Ministry of Magic: Apply Now!

It is our great pleasure to welcome graduating witches and wizards into the professional Wizarding world. The Ministry of Magic has always been a place of exciting new opportunities, ranging from the mystic art of healing to the exhilarating thrill of innovation (a full list of open positions has been provided to the Hogwarts Headmaster). Apply now to help make the Wizarding world a better place than it is today! The last date for all job applications is the 31st of March.

Signed: Harold Ewan Minchum, Minister for Magic

Rather cheesy, thought Lily as she read the second notice underneath the first one:

Dear seventh-year students,

A list of open positions at the Ministry of Magic has been provided to each Head of House. If you are interested in a job at the Ministry, please consult your Head of House before you apply. I wish everyone all the very best.

Signed: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

All right, she thought with a sense of purpose. Well – I'm as interested in becoming a Magical Researcher as I was two years ago, so I'd better speak to Professor McGonagall sometime today, she thought, with a sense of purpose. That job will allow me to work on stuff that'll assist with the war, she reasoned as she walked alone towards the Great Hall for breakfast (James had an early-morning tactics discussion with Ashley Bond). I wonder what Liz and the others are thinking?

"So – careers at the Ministry," said Liz the moment Lily sat down. "Should be fun, eh?"

"Definitely," agreed Lily. "I want to apply to the Magical Research Department – it's the only thing, really, that comes to mind as a potential career for me."

"You'd make a fantastic Researcher," declared Liz. "You're so thorough with all your work, you're a natural!"

"It's more than just being thorough," said Lily, blushing slightly at her best friend's praise.

Liz snorted. "You're also brilliant," she said matter-of-factly. "You're usually the one who finds solutions to problems in double-quick time – plus, you usually cover all bases! For example, you're the one who deduced that Marcus Arnold was the one behind all those attacks back in third year – from a rather flimsy bunch of clues, I might add!"

"Nah – that was just pure luck –" said Lily, her face reddening, but Liz continued, "Fourth year – it was you who figured out that the Widerwille Potion was the one behind all the unpleasant stuff that was happening, and what's more, you brewed the antidote, too!"

"I had a lot of help from James with that," Lily said quickly.

But Liz just made a dismissive motion with her hand. "Fifth year," she ploughed on, "You figured out where James's parents had been taken. You broke the code within ten minutes, again from a rather outlandish clue. And last year – when Professor Burke a.k.a. Malfoy was being attacked in Hogsmeade, you understood that her attackers were using an Obice Shield, didn't you? Plus – you knew how to break it, too. And afterwards, you were the one who figured out a bulk of that note which led us to the Sword of Gryffindor – yes, I helped –" she added as Lily opened her mouth to argue, "—but it was mostly you! I'm telling you – you have a natural sense of deduction, and the thoroughness you exhibit in all aspects of your life makes you an ideal fit for the job! You'd be a shoo-in – they'd have to be mad not to hire you!"

"Wow – looks like you've given my career more thought than your own!" Lily responded dryly, even as her face was flushed with pleasure mingled with a little embarrassment.

"Maybe," said Liz, giving her a little wink as she took a bite of her toast. "What other positions are you applying for?"

"Er – I still have to see the complete list, Professor McGonagall has it," Lily pointed out.

Liz snorted again. "Pooh – it's fairly obvious! The Auror Academy, the Healer Training Institute, the Magical Research Division, and a whole host of positions at other departments like Magical Law Enforcement, Magical Games and Sports, International Magical Cooperation, Magical Transportation, Magical Accidents and Catastrophes…" Her voice trailed off, and Lily said, "Exactly! I dunno about any of that stuff, and I think I should read up on every open position before deciding which ones I should apply to!"

"Fine – have your fun," said Liz, with a little sigh. "But mark my words – for you, Magical Research is the best position, while Auror Training or Healer Training are solid options, too!"

"Right," said Lily thoughtfully. "Well – not that I know as much as you about the Ministry, but I feel you'd be perfect at the Auror Academy, or the Department of Magical Law Enforcement – Auror Academy, Hit Witch, it's your call! That's right," she added smugly, "I know that becoming a Hit Wizard or Hit Witch falls under the Department of Magical Law Enforcement!" She mentally thanked Ashley Bond for providing that little nugget of information a few years ago.

"Congratulations," said Liz sarcastically, a hint of amusement in her sea-green eyes as she drank her tea. Lily rolled her eyes as Liz continued, "I was also thinking of becoming a Curse-Breaker – that way, I can put my knowledge of Arithmancy and Ancient Runes to good use!"

"Ooh, sounds exciting!" said Lily as she finished the last of her coffee. "I'll remember to ask Professor McGonagall about that, too!"

"Copycat," said Liz with a mock-frown, before standing up; Lily stuck her tongue out at her best friend before falling in step beside her. She remained deep in thought as they walked towards the greenhouses for Herbology; there seemed to be just too many options for a prospective career that could enable her to assist with the war. She was going to need Professor McGonagall's opinion on what would be the best career path for her…

Professor McGonagall distributed the list of open positions at the Ministry to the Gryffindors that afternoon in Transfiguration and urged them to make a decision regarding the jobs for which they wanted to apply as soon as possible, following which they could collect the relevant application form from her. After a somewhat exhausting lesson involving Vertebrate Conjuration (much to her relief, Lily finally succeeded in making a furry little mouse appear out of thin air), Lily stayed behind after class to ask for Professor McGonagall's opinion on her employment prospects. "I want to make sure I have all the information before I decide what jobs to apply for, Professor," she said earnestly. "As of now, the Magical Research Office is what interests me the most."

"As it did during your Careers' Advice session with me two years ago, Miss Evans," said Professor McGonagall, and Lily raised her eyebrows: the teacher had an excellent memory. "Really, though," continued Professor McGonagall, "It's nice to be thorough and understand what you're getting into, but in my opinion, you should apply only to a handful of these positions. You're amongst the top students at Hogwarts, girl – and your grades have definitely picked up following your OWLs." There was a distinct note of pride in the teacher's voice. "Professors Flitwick and Slughorn assure me that your Charms and Potions work has been nothing short of exemplary, and Professor Sprout told me a week ago that she'd be surprised if you didn't score an 'O' on your Herbology NEWT. I know for a fact that you're in the top three of your Defence Against the Dark Arts class – and even Arithmancy, as Professor Scalar tells me."

"Er – thank you, Professor," said Lily, with an embarrassed sort of smile as she blossomed inwardly with the praise being bestowed upon her.

"As for Transfiguration," continued Professor McGonagall, "You were averaging somewhere around 'Exceeds Expectations' last year, but your spellwork has really picked up this year. I suspect Mr Potter has something to do with that?" she added shrewdly.

"Er – perhaps," said Lily, with an innocent smile rather like James's whenever he'd pulled off a successful prank.

"He's a good sort, is James Potter," said Professor McGonagall, and Lily was surprised to hear the fondness in her voice. "As long as he doesn't do anything idiotic, that is… I must admit that I was rather surprised and a little sceptical when Albus appointed him as Head Boy, but he's really stepped up this year and proven himself to be quite equal to the task. The two of you are well suited for each other." She gave Lily a rare smile, and Lily blushed even further; did teachers even comment on students' relationships with each other? Apparently, they do, said the voice in her head. Well, so long as it was a compliment…

"So," said Professor McGonagall, her tone suddenly businesslike, "As I was saying – if you want a job, Miss Evans, a small number of strong applications should be sufficient. You have the grades to apply for almost any job you like – including the Magical Research Office," she added approvingly, much to Lily's relief. "I have no doubt that you'd succeed there – your aptitude for Potions, Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts will come in handy as a Magical Researcher. Are there any other positions for which you're interested to apply?"

Lily spent the next half hour discussing her career prospects with Professor McGonagall, following which she'd made up her mind: she was going to submit applications to the Auror Office and the Healer Institute in addition to the Magical Research Office (I suppose Liz does know me extremely well – her assessment was spot on, she thought). Three letters of recommendation would suffice for the Magical Research Office due to her not studying Ancient Runes, but that wasn't enough for Curse-Breaking, much to her disappointment. Still, Professor McGonagall had readily agreed to give her a letter of recommendation, suggesting that she make arrangements to get the others as soon as possible. Lily had already decided to get one from Slughorn (I suppose it was high time I made use of attending his 'Slug Club' parties, she thought wryly), and the third one was a choice between Marlene's Mum and Healer Mildred Rodham. In the end, she decided to go with Mrs McKinnon – but resolved to write to Healer Rodham as a courtesy, seeing that she'd been to one to have pointed out Magical Research as a career to Lily in the first place.

As she left the classroom, she surveyed the three application forms in her hand and sighed… Each of them appeared to be at least four rolls of parchment long and filled with minute writing. This is going to take a while, she thought. It was going to be a tedious process…

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February passed by in a haze of snow, lessons, Order of the Phoenix training and job applications for Lily. It was a tiring month, and she barely got to see James throughout the day besides lessons; he had Quidditch practice about five times a week, and she marvelled at how well he was handling everything that she was, in addition to spending about twelve hours every week flying. However, she knew that while on the surface he seemed all right, he wasn't getting much sleep – indeed, there were shadows beneath his eyes, and he seemed half-asleep during their patrols these days. She thanked her stars for the umpteenth time that they shared living quarters…

The weekend after Valentine's Day had been a Hogsmeade weekend, but she and James had both chosen to skip it, instead spending it in front of the warm fire in the HQ and catching up on their homework. She'd taken to helping him with his Potions homework more often than before, just making sure that he was keeping his head above water… He'd found time to continue coaching her with Transfiguration, too, declaring that her need was greater than his sleep every time she'd pointed out that he'd burn himself out at this rate. While she was worried about him, she still appreciated him teaching her, for he showed a lot of patience as he made her practice the complicated wand movements necessary for Conjuration, ensuring that she had minimal trouble with it in class…

Much to Lily's elation, she'd been amongst the first ones to cast the Elemental Shield during their Order of the Phoenix training session in the last week of February. Liz had been the first, casting a Water Shield the week before for about five seconds before it imploded, drenching her in the process. Nevertheless, Emily had been pleased with her, and encouraged the rest of the class to push themselves more – and Lily had managed to cast it at last, bettering Liz's effort by about ten seconds before the Shield disappeared; however, unlike the Water Shield's implosion, the Fire Shield had literally vanished into thin air – it was as if it had burnt itself. By the end of the lesson, Roger Hathaway, James, Ashley Bond and Karen Norton had been able to cast the Shield as well, with varying degrees of success, much to Emily's excitement. She'd happily announced that they'd be spending March perfecting the Shield, and encouraged them all to practise casting it as much as they could…

Lily heaved a sigh of relief as February finally drew to a close. Gryffindor's match against Hufflepuff was fast approaching, but once it was over, James had promised to lower the intensity of the Gryffindor Quidditch team's practice, even if it was only for a couple weeks… Heaven knows I need a break, Lily thought exhaustedly as she tucked a barely-awake James into bed one night in early March, before snuggling into it right next to him and falling asleep immediately. Slytherin had beaten Ravenclaw narrowly in the previous match, which put them second in the points table behind Gryffindor; however, if the Lions managed to beat Hufflepuff in the match that Saturday, they'd take a virtually unassailable lead for the Quidditch Cup. Then again, the same thing had happened last year, and they'd ended up losing the Cup heartbreakingly on penalties, no less…

Liz had informed Lily that James was still running them ragged during practice, but he'd assured them that there would be no Gryffindor team practice for the two weeks that followed the match (the team had taken that as a strong incentive to keep playing at a high intensity throughout the week). Indeed, James's confidence remained unshakeable as Saturday drew closer, and he was calm as ever as he and Lily played their customary Wizard's Chess match on Friday night. Lily wasn't really trying too hard, but it was made complicated by the fact that James's eyelids started to droop every time she took too long to make a move, resulting in an even match after all. After about an hour, she could see that he was too sleepy to continue – and so, she left their game unfinished and slowly guided him up to his bed before tucking him under his blankets. "Goodnight, sweetie – I love you," she whispered as she kissed his forehead and ran a gentle hand over his cheeks before starting to tiptoe out of the room. Just as she'd reached the door, however, James's sleepy voice called out, "Nnnnn – stay."

She chuckled. "Nah, that's all right – you need your sleep, big day tomorrow!" she said lightly.

"I've gotten used to your presence," he said, squinting at her owlishly (his glasses were on the bedside table). "You always feel nice and warm next to me…"

Blushing, Lily said, "Don't you have other things on your mind?"

"When you're standing there, looking like that – no," he responded with a lopsided grin. She instinctively looked down; she was still in her school robes. Chuckling again, she said, "Oh, come on –"

"Please?" he interrupted, looking so pleading that she just had to grin. "All right, you big baby," she said, chuckling, "Give me a few minutes to change into my dressing-gown."

She shook her head at the wide smile which appeared on his face before going into her room and quickly changing into her dressing-gown, blushing as she did so… You like cuddling as much as he does, said the voice in her head, sounding remarkably like Liz. No point concealing it!

She was back in his room five minutes later, but (rather unsurprisingly) he was already sound asleep. Smiling slightly, she snuggled into bed next to him regardless. He pulled her closer in his sleep, and she happily obliged, settling into his warm embrace… It never failed to make her feel safe and protected, and she placed her head on his shoulder, ready for a good night's sleep at last.

James was his typical silent-and-thoughtful-before-a-Quidditch-match self as Lily walked with him for breakfast on Saturday morning. He spent most of the meal going over some last-minute tactics; Lily noted that Liz, Marlene and Black seemed quite confident, but Hufflepuff were no pushovers. "Their new Keeper is pretty solid," said Marlene as she buttered her toast with some strawberry jam. "Gavin kicked the previous Keeper off the team after their match against Ravenclaw, he was so poor!" She shuddered slightly as she ate, and Lily asked shrewdly, "Still not over your pre-match jitters?"

"Is it showing?" Marlene asked, a hint of worry in her voice. "Blimey, and I thought I'd get used to it after four years, but no – I'm still a nervous wreck!"

"You're exaggerating," said Mary patiently. "You own the pitch once you're on it!"

"Seconded," said Liz. "Don't worry, Mar – James and I are there with you, we'll flatten them today! I guarantee it!" She patted Marlene's hand comfortingly. Looking slightly more upbeat, Marlene downed the rest of her tea in one gulp before standing up. James followed suit, and said, "Well, changing rooms, everyone – c'mon!" He gave Lily a quick kiss on the cheek, and she whispered 'All the best' in his ear before he took off, followed by the team. She gazed at his departing form fondly before going back to her breakfast and pointedly ignoring Remus's smirk and Mary's chuckle.

A couple of hours later, they were all cheering yet another goal from Liz. "Goal! Gryffindor lead Hufflepuff one-ninety to sixty!" shouted Lucas Whitby enthusiastically. "Huntington with her eighth of the match, a fantastic one-two with McKinnon who slipped through an incisive pass – there's nothing Cadwallader can do about that!"

"Yeah, you go, Liz!" shouted Lily excitedly from her seat. Remus and Peter exchanged amused grins, and Remus said with a straight face, "You're cheering Liz's goals more enthusiastically than James's."

She stuck her tongue out at him and said, "Yeah, well – Liz is my best friend!"

"And here I thought that one's significant other was supposed to be one's best friend!" deadpanned Remus.

"And how d'you know that, considering –" Lily returned, before abruptly cutting herself off. She noted the momentary flash of pain in Remus's eyes and felt a pang of guilt. "Sorry," she said in a small voice, "I didn't mean that."

"I know," Remus whispered back, slowly turning away. Lily's heart ached with sadness… She knew that he'd never allowed himself to get close with somebody, and vice-versa – because of his lycanthropy, despite her attempts to convince him otherwise. She knew how much it bothered him, and how hard it was for him to keep his resolve. And yet, she'd nearly thrown it in his face with an ill-advised, albeit malice-free retort…

"I'm sorry," she repeated, noting from the corner of her eye that Peter seemed to be cheering another Gryffindor goal with too much enthusiasm. She appreciated the gesture, and focused on Remus as she added, "I was trying to make a joke, and it came out wrong."

Remus grinned at her, much to her relief. "I know, Lily," he said lightly, "I know you didn't mean that – please don't worry about it." His brown eyes carried a hint of amusement, and he added, "It's all right – a faux pas can happen from anyone, even from Lily Evans, who is, as James would have us believe, unbelievably perfect."

"Funny," said Lily, making a face at him, but at that very moment, Whitby shouted, "And it looks like Nancy MacDonald has seen the Snitch! Head-to-head against Gary Robins, down they go – ooh, that's a fast Bludger from Hestia Jones, and MacDonald is forced off course, she isn't holding back, Jones, is she? And Robins has caught the Snitch! But Gryffindor win, two-thirty to two-twenty – a narrow margin, but just enough!"

The Gryffindor supporters cheered and clapped as the team sank to earth, and Mary rushed off to comfort her sister… But Lily had eyes only for James, who engulfed her into a crushing hug as soon as he saw her. "Close call," he whispered, "But we're still in it – and on course to win the Cup in style!"

Lily's mind went back to what he'd said to her five years ago… When I win the Cup, I want to win it outright – in style, by winning all three matches… Well, he was right, they were bang on course to do that. She hoped fervently that this would be the year that James Potter would lead the Gryffindor team to glory, and grinned as she felt his pounding heart against her breast.

In style…

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Author's Note:

Happy New Year! It's been four years since I started to write this story (counting Part One, of course), so I'd like to take this opportunity to give a huge (and grateful!) shout-out to all of my readers and reviewers. Thank you so much for your support, it keeps me going!

Cheers,

FlashOfFlame