A/N: Yay, I got so many reviews! I'm so happy! Yay, I can't believe it! Okay, that's enough exclamation marks! Now that was really stupid. But I'm so happy you guys like my story. Now, before I get too excited, here's Chapter Five.

*

"Lily, are you awake?" Severus asked urgently.

"Huh?" Lily muttered groggily.

"Oh, thank God you're okay!" he said, bending over her bed.

"Sev, it's you! What are you doing in the Girls' Dorm?" Lily asked shocked. Severus looked down at her. She tried to get up but he forced her back down.

"We're not in your dorm, nutcase. We're in the Hospital Wing. At least, you are – and you will be for the rest of the week – and I came to see how you were. Don't you remember anything?" he asked her, less worried about her condition.

"What's there to remember? Oh! The game, it's all coming back… Oh no, Owen's going to kill me! What day is it, Sev?" Lily said, suddenly sitting bolt upright.

"It's Thursday, but what does that have to do with anything? If you're wondering about the game against Gryffindor, it's been postponed. They were going to play against Ravenclaw but Potter's stupid friend decided not to. Said the team would rather play against us. Don't know why… They probably wanted to avoid playing altogether – stupid bloody gits."

"Yeah, you're right," Lily said, looking down at her knees. She rested her chin on her knees, put her arms around them, and sat staring into space.

"Lils, what're you thinking about?" Severus asked gently, sitting on the bed next to her.

"Oh, nothing really, I'm just recollecting what happened on – when was it – Saturday," she replied. Severus raised an eyebrow at her, but she just smiled back. She hadn't lied to him, unlike he thought. She guessed that he didn't know everything that had happened that day. But she remembered very well.

She recalled everything – the grin, the wink… even the touch on the face. She replayed his voice in her head again and again. He had been genuinely worried about her, hadn't he? And what had her teammates done? They had just stood around her, whispering in shock at seeing him approach her out of the blue. Lily vaguely remembered hearing Vicky go and call the old school nurse, Madam Pomfrey, to help Lily. She also remembered that James had stayed with her even when her teammates had left. After a while, some friends of his had called him to leave. Before leaving, he had moved her hair aside once more – this time his hand brushed against her cheek too.

Unconsciously, Lily moved her hand up to that cheek. Her fingers ran down it till they came to her lips. Lily smiled to herself. There was something about that Gryffindor. There was something about him that made her heartbeat quicken and her mind spin.

But he was more than just that. He was something more important. James Potter was the one to change her life forever.

*

Lily lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She had come back from the Hospital Wing yesterday – a week since the Quidditch practice. She couldn't go to sleep. She hadn't been able to last night either, or the night before that. In fact, she hadn't been able to ever since Thursday – when all sorts of thoughts about a single Gryffindor had rushed through her.

James Potter – to her the name meant everything in the world, and yet it was only two words – James Potter. Ever since waking up in the Hospital Wing, she hadn't been able to sleep, she never felt hungry or thirsty, and she could never even think straight without thinking of him. She was constantly reminded of his soft brown eyes behind thin black frames that made her heart melt, and of his black hair, that was constantly a mess, and of his forever-smiling lips and his playful eyebrows… It had to be a dream. How could there even exist a creature of such beauty and talent?

It wasn't just his looks that she was constantly reminded of. If she had talent on the pitch, it was nothing compared to James. He flew as though there was no broom to speak of. He soared gracefully through the air, like a condor that had no wings. He would simply glide, as though he was doing some sort of ballet of the air. His discretion when diving and scoring was so precise, that she felt that he was more of a supernatural being rather than a human being like she and her friends and everyone else in the school. But more important than that, he was James Potter, the man of her dreams.

By the end of the week, she was ecstatic. Once more, however, her friends were starting to worry. No matter how much she was into studying, she never skipped meals or was in lack of sleep. Now, however, she seemed as though she wasn't even in her right mind. She was constantly humming, smiling, singing, and even though she was extremely malnourished, she seemed to be happier than she had ever been in her entire life. The teachers seemed to be indifferent, but all of her fellow Slytherins were surprised at the sudden change in her behavior. It was as though she had changed overnight. In fact, she had stopped being the tomboy she normally was and had started being nice to everyone. This made Severus extremely mad, even though he was glad that she was happy, because he felt it was letting down the reputation of the Slytherin House.

"Lily, will you please tell me why you're so happy all of a sudden? You haven't eaten in a week, unless you count the candy from Honeydukes when we went last weekend. Please tell me, Lily! You're getting on my nerves," Martha begged her two weeks later.

"I'm not happy. I'm on top of the world!" Lily said, as she did a little spin where she stood.

"Lily, I beg of you, please tell me why you're, uh, 'on top of the world' before I tell Severus something you won't like!" Martha said. This brought Lily to her senses. No matter how much she thought of Severus as her older brother, she was just a teeny bit scared of him. He had a big temper.

"If I tell you, will you promise to keep it a secret?" Lily asked her quietly. She knew what Martha's answer would be, but if she didn't ask usually, Martha would rush to Severus immediately.

"What's there to keep a secret about? You aren't pregnant or something, are you?" Martha asked doubtfully.

"Oh, of course I'm not, silly! How could I be? I'm only fifteen, idiot. But will you keep a secret?" Lily asked again, slightly put off that her friend could even think such a thing.

"Oh, alright, I'll keep a secret. But Lily, please don't tell me you're on drugs, or you're doing something you shouldn't be doing, because if you are, Severus is going to kill you. I'll probably kill you too, come to that," Martha said, seriously. But Lily just shook her head. Both Martha and Severus had threatened to kill her many times. It was just the Slytherin nature to be violent. She often did it too.

"Sev won't do anything. He's too sweet. Just tell me one thing. Is it a crime to be in love?" Lily asked with her head cocked to one side.

"You're in love with Severus! Why didn't you tell me? You know he's been fawning over you since second year! You could have told him too!" Martha squealed, shaking her head at her friend's stupidity.

"Oh, shut up Martha! I'm not in love with Severus! That's disgusting. He's not the kind who someone could really think of that way. He's too, well, he's too brotherly. It's like he and you make up for my parents. But no, I don't care for him like that. But answer my question or I won't tell you the truth," Lily said.

"Well, no, I don't think it's a crime, as long as you're not being a traitor or something like that. Now tell me!" Martha shrieked.

Lily thought for a while. Martha had a tendency to twist one's words when she didn't understand, and at a time like this, Lily didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea. She paused before speaking again. "Would you be a traitor if… you were in love with someone outside your house?" Lily asked slowly.

"Lily, are you saying that you're –" Martha began, but stopped when she saw Lily nod slowly.

"Oh, Lily, how – could – you, how could you?" Martha choked.

"You said it wasn't a crime. I just couldn't help it. He was just so nice, and his looks were simply, oh, I don't know. And if you'd seen him fly, you would have fallen for him too. He's just amazing, Martha. You don't get it. You're not a flier. How do I explain it to you? Um, think of it this way. You know the Muggle pastries I got you – the ones with the cream filling inside?" Lily said. Martha was a sucker for food.

"Oh, the ones you called twinkles?" Martha asked.

"They're Twinkies, not twinkles, silly. Well, yeah, I'm talking about those. Well, remember how you felt the first time you bit into the creamy part, how you felt like you were in Paradise?" Lily said. She saw the dreamy look that came into her friends eyes at her words.

"How could I forget? Muggles really deserve a lot more credit then they get. I wish you could get twinkles at Honeydukes. But what do they have to do with anything? And who is this Mystery Man anyway?"

Lily ignored the second question, and said, "His smile, and his grin – I got weak at the knees. If Owen hadn't pinched me, I probably would have fallen off my broom then and there. And it's not as though he hates Slytherins or anything. Well, maybe he does but he seems nice enough. Okay, forget nice – he's the best thing that could ever have happened to me. Really, Martha, I'm serious," Lily said looking her friend straight in the eye. "And it's not as though you're completely innocent either, Miss Summers. Do you remember the Gryffindor you dated in second year? Wasn't his name Black? He's the Gryffie captain, isn't he? Oh, and he's also Potter's friend…" Lily added, but at her last words, she winced.

"Potter – Lily, you can't be serious! How can you even think of that asshole? Severus hates him; you know that. So does Lucius. Lily, I – I don't know what to say. I expected better of you. Most of the time, it's just a matter of House lines – you know, Snakes keep to themselves, Gryffies stay with other Gryffies, and same with the Hufflepuffs and the Ravenclaws. You know – the whole 'birds of a feather flock together' thing. But in this case – I guess you really can be a traitor to your own kind in such a situation. Lily, please don't do this. You're just going to hurt yourself in the end," Martha said slowly, but forcefully.

Lily looked at her friend. She was literally begging her to change her mind – her eyes glistened with tears that Lily had never seen before. Her eyes searched Lily's face for some sign that Lily had given in. But Martha was too late. Lily had lingered on her dreams too much. There was no going back now, and Lily told her friend so. Martha just shook her head. She was about to speak, but Lily cut her off.

"Martha, if I could make you feel what I feel, I am positive that you would understand. But I have no power to make you do so. But I beg you; please do not repeat any part of this conversation to anyone. Severus will kill me, Owen will say I'm a weakling, Vicky will hate me, Lucius, and Narcy will abandon me – and all the other Snakes will detest me. They'll think I'm not strong enough to be a Slytherin," Lily said.

"What about me? What do you think I'll do?" Martha asked harshly, glaring at Lily.

"Martha, I thought you were – my friend. Aren't you going to help me?" Lily asked, astonished.

"Help you do what – make a fool of yourself? No thanks, I'll pass on that generous offer, Your Highness." Martha got up and made her way to the door of their dorm. Just as she was about to exit, she turned around again.

"Lily, there's just one thing I want to say. You're making a big mistake. Think of what you could have had. Severus isn't all that bad. He loves you – more than any Gryffindor ever could, and more than any living thing ever could. He's done so much for you, and how do you pay him back? You pay him back by getting infatuated with his archenemy." With those words, she left the room, leaving Lily alone. But Lily wasn't just alone in the room – from the moment Martha walked out, Lily was to be alone in the world of Hogwarts as well. That is, until she figured out where her true friendships lay.

*

"Prongs, you're doing it again," Peter called.

"Sorry, Wormtail, but now, I'm not worrying, so you guys can die happy."

"Very funny, James… now do you mind telling us what you are thinking about?" Sirius asked.

"I think you should know, Padfoot. You were there when it all happened."

"Don't tell me you're thinking about that girl again. I'm telling you, she's a Slytherin just like Snape and all the other brainless gits that he calls friends."

"Look at it this way, Prongs. What are the chances that she's going to like you back? If she hangs out with Snape like Padfoot says she's probably going to hate us as much as he does. Think logically for a change, old fellow. You aren't a prefect for no reason at all. Use your brains while you still have them."

"But Remus, what if she isn't like that? We're all prejudiced against Slytherins. There are probably an odd few – just a few, mind you – that are like us. They can't all be brainless gits who'll end up on the Dark Side. No, guys, listen to me. I think – no, I know – that I'm thinking a lot more logically than you guys are right now.

"Think about it. This whole idea of all Slytherins being bad, and all of them hating Muggleborns, and all this stuff, it's just a big stereotype. Sirius, you dated that girl in second year. Was she all that bad? The only reason you dumped her was because she was a Slytherin. If she had been in any other house, you'd probably have kept her till now. Remus, you're a werewolf. Voldemort wants werewolves over on the Dark Side, because they're considered Dark creatures. But you aren't evil. You're the smartest wizard in Hogwarts that I know. Peter – you've been teased by nearly everyone in school because of your height, but have you ever been teased by a Slytherin other than Snape or Malfoy?

"Think about it, guys. I never told you this, but I met her in the library the day I figured out what was going to happen. The truth is, she was searching for something like this too, and she was the one who figured out. I was – well, I was eavesdropping, really. I made a racket by accidentally knocking over one of the shelves, and Lily and her gang saw me. All of 'em were real weird – the girls too – and Snape and Malfoy were really starting to get on my nerves. But she just, like, waves her hand and they shut up. She talks to me, nice like, you know, and it's as though I've known her all my life. She even recognized me. Would you forget a Slytherin chick who was both pretty and recognized you? And if you'd seen her fly, you wouldn't forget her in a jiffy. Really, if she were a Gryffindor, Padfoot, you'd ask her to be captain. You saw how she flew on Saturday. Even Ireland can't fly like that.

"Come on, guys. I don't feel like this just for the hell of it. I feel as though it's my fate to fall for her. She needs something like this to get known. She's amazing but no one knows it because she's a Slytherin. I want to do something, but I don't know what. You guys understand, don't you?" James said.

For a moment, Peter, Sirius, and Remus just stared at their friend, allowing his words to sink in. Peter's mouth was wide open, Remus' brow was furrowed, and Sirius started to shake his head.

"Bloody hell, that's pretty deep stuff. But I guess it's got to happen to someone, doesn't it? I'm just glad it isn't me," he said.

"Yeah, Sirius is right – that's – that's intense. But James – think about it. Even if she is all good and everything, what's the possibility that she'll – um – share your feelings?" Remus said.

James frowned. He had prepared himself for their rebuttal – but they had agreed to what he was saying. That wasn't good – if they agreed with him, there was something definitely wrong – with him. He pondered Remus' question for a moment, and then responded.

"I never said I wanted her to feel the same way. That's not what I want at all. I mean, I do want her to like me at the very least – it would be torture if she didn't – but if she doesn't, I can settle for friendship or something. If she hates me… well, that's her choice, I guess, and I can't do anything about it." James looked at his friends. Peter was scratching his head. He opened his mouth, as if to speak, but then shut it again, so James continued.

"Guys, this may sound weird, but I have a feeling that I'm supposed to like her, as though it's my fate or something. And I know that she likes me back – maybe not in the same way as I like her, but she does like me. I can feel it – in the way she looks at me, the way she talks, the way she acts – it all fits in. And she needs me – well, not necessarily me but she needs someone to help her get where she belongs. She isn't a Slytherin at heart at all. She's just – Lily, just Lily."

"Prongs, you better go and get her soon, or else I'm going to go insane what with all the stuff you're talking about. You've changed a lot in the past few weeks, do you know that?" Sirius said, slapping his friend on the back.

"Oh yeah, one day you were the big Quidditch star – the next minute you're ready to fall at her feet," Remus said, chiming in.

"Shouldn't we go for lunch? I mean, it's three thirty already…" Peter squeaked. His three friends looked at him.

"It isn't three thirty – it's six fifteen. And we had lunch four hours ago. Peter, are you okay?" James said unsurely.

"I'm fine!" Peter said, getting up suddenly. He ran out of the room quickly. As short and stocky as he was, Peter was pretty fast at running, even if he was a slow thinker. But recently, his friends had noticed a steady change in their friend. He seemed to be getting sick very often, but being his friends, they didn't ask any questions.

"Okay, then… what was that all about?" Remus asked.

"I have no idea. Hey, weren't we going to do some prank or other on the Slytherins? What happened to that?" Sirius said suddenly.

James groaned. "Jeez, Sirius, please change the damn thing. I really don't want to go through with that…"

"Hey, maybe we can change it… Now that we've figured out your real ailments, why don't we incorporate them into the plans?" Sirius said, grinning evilly.

"What exactly do you have in mind, Sirius?" Remus said cautiously. "Isn't having James sneak into the Slytherin dorms bad enough? What else could he possibly do?"

"Well, since he has to go into the boys' dorms and the girls' dorms, why don't we do something to each?" Sirius said.

"Will you just get to the point, already?" James asked. He hated it when Sirius got strange ideas – they always turned out bad – for James.

"Well, I'm guessing you've heard all the rumors that that bloody git Snape has some sort of passion for Lily, correct? Well, why don't we put the rumor to the test?" Sirius suggested.

"Listen – I'm not doing anything that's getting Lily in trouble," James said dangerously.

"Whoa, okay that rules out Plan A. I was thinking that we could write some sort of a love letter to Snape that suggested – only suggested – that it was from Lily. But I guess that won't work. Do you want to do it the other way around? Only if we do, we have to put Snape's name on it…"

"I guess the latter could work, but what about the rest of the plan?" Remus asked.

"We'll still do it. Only we'll use the sixth years instead of the fifth. Oh yeah, James, you asked me some time ago for a list of Muggleborns in fifth year or something like that. There are only four – one in each house. The Gryffindor is Janice – you know that. Then the Ravenclaw is Dan Daley and the Hufflepuff is Horace Wesley." Sirius said slowly – avoiding Slytherin.

"That's three. You said there were four – one in each house… You mean there's a Slytherin too?" James said in surprise.

"That's what I said… and, James, it's her…" Sirius said slowly.

"Her – you don't mean – Lily?"

"That's exactly who I mean. It's strange, isn't it?" Sirius said.

"Not at all – I told you she needed me. I know what's going to happen – I told you, didn't I? I guess I didn't…"

"What didn't you tell us?" Remus asked.

"I didn't tell you that – well, Voldemort's after Muggles and Muggleborns more than anything. And Lily's a Muggleborn no matter what anyone says or does. It's probably why her parents were killed. I didn't know they were till that Saturday when I was in the Hospital Wing with her. She was mumbling something about her parents dying and a bunch of awful stuff in her sleep. It was horrible sitting there and listening to her – bloody horrible."

"You know, Prongs, I reckon you have a chance with her. You're probably the only Gryffindor that's ever spent five hours at her bedside when her own friends were elsewhere…"

At Sirius' words, James couldn't help but smile. But he grew serious again quickly.

"Uh, let's get back to the stupid prank, shall we?"

"Right on – uh, where were we?" Sirius asked.

"We decided to forge a letter from Snape to Lily – or should it be a diary entry?" James asked.

"No, we'll stick to the letter," Remus said immediately. "Snape might not have a damn diary. And a letter would be easier to send. We can always slip into Hogsmeade and get an owl from the post office there."

"Yes, teacher," James said, grinning.

"Okay, and James – you're doing the clothes stuff, right?"

"Do I have a choice?" James said dully.

"Let me think… no," Sirius said stiffly.

"So should I plant the letter? I can help out James too," Remus, suggested.

"You're willing to go through a bunch of girls' lingerie to help me out?" James said in surprise.

"Who said we were using lingerie?" Remus said rounding on Sirius.

"Uh, it would make more sense to stuff a couple of bras into some guys' pillowcase rather than a sock, wouldn't it?" Sirius said.

Remus pondered for a while and then said, "That makes it look as though they've like, done it or something."

"That's the point, pea brain!" Sirius yelled.

"Jeez, you don't have to insult me. It's not my problem if I don't have a one-track mind like you do." At these words, Sirius grinned at his friend. Remus had been telling him that he had a one-track mind ever since they had met in first year. Sirius did tend to think of rather vile and perverted things every now and then.

"People, can we get back to the plan? I want to get this bloody stuff over with as soon as possible," James said.

"Okay, let's plan out what to write in the damn letter. Remus, you've got neat handwriting – why don't' you write the letter? You could probably forge any Snakes' writing."

"You should talk. How am I supposed to forge his writing if I've never even seen it before?" Remus said fervently.

"Hang on a sec. I need to get something," James said suddenly. He ran up to their dorm and started rummaging in his trunk. Sirius and Remus were wondering what he was doing when they heard a bang and a cry from James. They ran up to their dorm to see him sitting on the bed massaging his foot with his trunk wide open.

"What the hell happened here?" Sirius asked.

"I was getting something from my trunk, but as I was dragging out from under my bed, I dropped it on my foot. But here – this is what I wanted to show you. Does this help you at all, Remus?" James asked smugly. He was holding out a little piece of paper. Remus snatched it up, giving James a funny look. He looked down at the paper skeptically. But within seconds, his face changed completely.

"Crikey, where the hell did you get this, James? We don't even have to do the bloody prank now! This is all the proof we need!" he shouted.

"What does it say? What does it say?" Sirius asked excitedly. He was jumping up and down in a way that reminded James of a small boy.

"It's a small piece of something like a diary entry… or a letter… And it's definitely been written by Snape since it has the first two letters of his name at the end. And it has Lily's name on it in a number of places, each time with some sort of design around it…"

"Give me the damn thing, already! Bloody hell… you're right, Remy. This is – perfect… we could just plant this… But James, where the hell did you get this?"

"Snape dropped it in the Hospital Wing when he went to visit her. I picked it up when I went last Tuesday, but she had already left," James said, grinning. "But what does any of this letter-writing business have to do with my 'ailments' as you called them?"

"Simple – unless Lily likes Snape in return – which I highly doubt unless she's a stupid brainless git like he is, no offense – she'll most probably like him a lot less than she does now. In that case, you have an added advantage – she'll no longer be as friendly with Snape anymore, which gives you a better chance to get her down," Sirius explained.

"I don't like that idea. I mean, it may not work, and I don't care about that, but I feel as though we're hurting Lily by making her lose a friend so that I can make her like me. I doubt she'd like me any more – most probably less – if she knew that I was behind everything," James pointed out.

"Okay, so then… Jeez, you really like her, don't you?" Sirius said amazed at how persistent James was.

"Bloody hell, Sirius, haven't you gotten anything into your head? Ever since I saw her in the library, I haven't been able to sleep properly…" James exclaimed.

"Oh, Jamesie is in love…" Sirius teased.

"Oh, shut up."

"You are mucho in love, boy."

"I said shut up."

"Hey Remus, have you heard the news? Prongsie boy's in love…"

"Shut the bloody hell up!"

"Whoa, slow down before you hurt yourself. I was just teasing you a bit, that's all. There's no need to get worked up."

"What do you mean 'no need to get worked up'? I have every reason in the world to get worked up! How the hell am I even supposed to get to talk to her? Wait – Pete, where's Pete?" James said suddenly as he jumped off the bed.

"He ran out a few minutes ago, remember? What's he going to do anyway?" Remus said.

"Peter may not have intelligence equal to yours, but you're forgetting one thing. Who's the biggest snoop in school? I mean besides the Moore sisters."

"Okay, so Peter's a big one for extracting information from people and delivering gossip. How's that going to help?" Sirius asked, leaning against the bedpost.

"He can get me Lily's phone number. Or else he can give me the Slytherin password – I'll need the latter anyway. Otherwise, he can give her something. But no – I can always send her an owl…"

"Uh, how is he supposed to get all of those things?" Remus asked skeptically.

"He has a sister in Hufflepuff, doesn't he? Well, the Hufflepuff table is right next to the Slytherin one, so I'm guessing – well, he's really short, and he could always slip under the table… no problem there…"

"James, you're fantasizing about things nearly impossible. What are the chances he's going to agree to doing this? You're forgetting a couple of things too," Sirius put in as he sat down.

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"Peter happens to be the biggest coward in the entire school. And he also happens to be the biggest mouth, too. He knows about you and Lily, so if he's caught snooping, he'll probably give the most interesting show and tell the Slytherins have ever seen. And you're going to be toast."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. This stinks…" James said, kicking the bedpost. He sat down grumpily on the bed, next to Sirius. Remus sat down next to him silently.

"James, look here. If she really likes you, she won't care how you go up to her and tell her. But telling her is the most important thing. You don't want to keep everything bottled up inside of you, because sooner or later, the cork's going to give way and everything will come gushing out. It's better to keep your mind empty, rather than stuff it with a number of thoughts. I'm not saying you should make a public announcement about it. What I mean is that you should let her know – whether directly or indirectly is up to you. Just don't keep it a secret from her. If she really likes you, then she'll probably be able to sense it the way you can sense her feelings towards you. Just give it a shot, big guy. It'll all work out in the end, you'll see," Remus said softly.

James had been staring at his feet the whole time, but now he looked up at Remus. James had always looked up to Remus – but he didn't dare to tell him so. Remus was like their 'advisor' or something. He could somehow help them to make the right decisions, all the while making it seem as though he was merely giving them short anecdotes and lectures. But James knew that all the help and advice he had given them had been from his own personal experience. Remus already had a girlfriend – but her family had been murdered by Voldemort just last year and therefore she had asked for a break-up – she said that she didn't want him to be in a position to blame himself if she was killed too. Remus knew a lot about problems that occurred in one's social life.

"Remus – you're a lifesaver, you know that? Where'd you learn all this stuff? Is it all from personal experience or are you just some sort of encyclopedia for this stuff?" James asked in wonder. Remus just grinned at him.

"Okay, now that we've all been enlightened by the all-mighty Advisor for Social Ailments, can we start writing the letter?" Sirius shouted. He could never relate when Remus went all teacher-like. James laughed and tousled Sirius' hair.

"Hey, don't do that!" Sirius yelled, and smacked James' hand away. He crossed his arms and frowned.

"Hey, look! Sirius is doing his monkey face!" Remus said, imitating Sirius.

"Shut it, you. Can we just go back to the prank, please?" Sirius begged.

"Okay, let's go back downstairs. James, are you coming?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, hang on – don't want to leave this behind, do I?" he asked, as he picked up the small piece of paper from the floor.

"Oh, hurry up, will you?" Sirius said impatiently.

"Yeah, yeah, we're coming," James and Remus, said together.

The three walked down the stairs together. Remus and Sirius plopped themselves down in front of the fire, but James lingered by the staircase.

"What's wrong, Prongsie boy? Dreaming about your long lost love?" Sirius asked.

"No, I was just wondering – I don't mean to get you guys all worked up over me. I mean, say she does like me; it'll still be the four of us, right? I mean, the four Marauders… we'll stay as a group, won't we?" James said.

Sirius gaped at him. Remus shook his head.

"Do you think we'd give up on you that easily? If you abandoned us, we'd hunt you down like a pair of bloodhounds. Stupid bloody git, do you think we'll let you romance away with some chick and forget about us? What do you take us for?" Sirius screamed across the room.

James grinned. He walked over to both his friends and sat down between them. Sirius rested his arm on his friends' shoulder as though he was an armrest.

"Once a Marauder – always a Marauder… isn't that our slogan?" Sirius asked them.

"We have a slogan?" Remus asked.

"Apparently we do now. Don't worry – I was as much in the dark as you were," James said, winking at his werewolf friend.

"Let's make it a deal. Let's –" Sirius began. But a loud noise made him stop. They all got up and turned around. Peter was lying sprawled on the floor, having tripped when walking through the portrait hole.

"Pete, you're just in time. I knew something was missing – the fourth Marauder! Come on, hurry up!" Sirius called to him. The four boys moved into the second room. As if on cue, all four put their hands together.

"What's going on?" Peter asked.

"We're making a pact kind of thing. The four of us are Marauders, and we have to stay that way forever. None of us is to betray, mislead, or blackmail any of our fellow Marauders. Once a Marauder – always a Marauder… and let's keep it that way."

The four shouted it together, not realizing how strange they would have looked if someone was to walk in, four fifteen-year old boys huddled in a circle, their hands together.

"Once a Marauder – always a Marauder… and let it be that way forever!"

*