Author's Note: Thank you all for reviewing! As most of you are probably writers, you know how rewarding it is to get reviews, so I ask you all to please leave something, positive or negative. And since I'll be returning to school on Sunday, the chapters may be few and far between but I'm going to try my hardest to spit one out at least every week or so. Why can't there be another day in the weekend?! Honestly now kids…whoever created the calendar sucks. If I were to go back in time and sit with the Greeks or whoever, I would definitely vote on Friday being a day in the weekend because honestly, no one puts an effort into Fridays anymore. You know you just sit at your desk at school or in your cubicle and count down the hours until you can go home. Anyways…on with the story!

Disclaimer: Yup, I own every part of Harry Potter…wait, no…that's JK Rowling.

"I know the pieces fit cause I watched them tumble down, No fault, none to blame it doesn't mean I don't desire to Point the finger, blame the other, watch the temple topple over. To bring the pieces back together, rediscover communication."
-Tool "Schism"

Chapter Three: Schism

The next day, James awoke very early, far before the sun had even began to think about appearing. He didn't even have to pull himself out of bed before he hastily put on his robes and walked down to the common room, intent on keeping himself busy until eight o'clock, when he could finally go the Hospital Wing.

As he walked into the common room, the fire automatically lit at the timing of his presence and James walked over to a corner and slumped down into a chair. He didn't want to see what he looked like in the mirror, although he could care less. James knew his hair would be sticking up in all directions, as usual, but he also could tell that there were deep bags under his eyes and that his lips were cracked in some spots. His throat felt like it was on fire but he soon forgot about it as he replayed the events of the night before over and over in his head.

After he had left Dumbledore, James had done what the Headmaster had said: he went to go help Professor McGonagall. But on the way there, something peculiar had transpired:

"Snape…what are you doing here?"

James had run into Severus Snape, another sixth year, but belonging to the house of Slytherin instead of Gryffindor, sitting on the stairs leading down to the lake and acting as if nothing had happened.

"Well, if it isn't the Quidditch Hero himself, except this time you lost your stupid game over a stupid mud blood-"

"Don't you dare call her that you slimy-"
"Or what," Snape said. He stood up, daring James like he had asked. "You'll jinx me? I wouldn't try…I know a few jinxes myself, ones you wouldn't be able to find in most standard teaching books."

"I don't doubt that Snivellus…but why don't you go crawl into that black hole of a Slytherin common room before you end up bludgeoned like LeRoux, except this time you're nose won't be broken…I'll rip it off."

"Temper, temper, Potter," Snape said, striding past him in a few long, yet slow steps. "You would do well to save your strength for the…events ahead."

James turned around quickly, but Snape did not comply, instead, he kept his back to Potter, only rotating his head slightly so the profile of his hooknose could be seen rather plainly. "What events?"

"The Quidditch match," Snape said, as if this had been the event he had been talking about the whole time. "I daresay you'll need the vigor, as you can't rely much on your brain."

James had taken enough, he grabbed Snape by the top of his cloak so suddenly that even Snape seemed a little taken aback. "If you ever insult Lily, my friends, or least of all, myself ever again…the only thing people will have left to remember you by is your grave in Knockturn Ally."

Snape just smiled, that creepy upturned frown of his, and James released his robes, careful not to get any filthy Snivellus grease on his hands. Snape just held his eyes to Potter before he slowly turned around and strode down the hallway towards the dungeons.

As James looked back on that, something just occurred to him: Why had Snape been sitting undisturbed on the steps, as if he had just come from watching the whole Giant battle? Although he knew that Snape had not fought against the teachers and students of Hogwarts, not defending them would be just as horrible. James wouldn't have put it past him. The anger quickly subdued as he looked up to see Sirius emerging from the dormitory stairs. He walked over to where James was sitting and threw himself into a chair next to his best friend.

"Couldn't sleep either, I suppose," he said, yawning. "I've been up half the night just thinking…and I never do that." After James didn't laugh, Sirius sighed a very undramatic, unSirius sigh. It was real. "I think Peter's going to be okay. He was just knocked out. I think all the baby fat on those bones of him protected all that really mattered anyways. We should be able to see him when the Hos-"

"Padfoot," James began and then went into the story of how he had seen Snape sitting on the steps outside of the hall.

"I think you're right, mate. I bet Snivellus just sat on those steps, swimming in the hope that we would all die." Sirius just sat in that chair for a few moments before he slammed his fist onto the table, awakening James completely. "I really, really hate him."

James just nodded his head, "I know, Padfoot. We all do. It goes beyond whatever he's done in the past. He's totally obsessed with the Dark Arts."

A few minutes in silence and then Sirius began rubbing his forehead, as if a thunderstorm was at the corners of his temple. "Did you get to see Lily yet?"

"No, not yet. Madam Pomfrey would have nothing of it."

"Yeah, well…you know her. She practically threw a bottle of Skele-grow at me when I just asked nicely."

"It's only because you cause about a quarter of the injuries that turn up in the Hospital Wing," James half-laughed, the first time since yesterday afternoon. It seemed like forever ago, even though the memory was still searing in his brain…but for a moment he was trying to forget.

"A quarter?" Sirius questioned, sounding absolutely astonished. "I'll have to disagree with you. I claim, at the very least, a third." They both shared a good laugh on that one. After settling down, Sirius decided to turn, well, serious. "Well, before all the destruction and mayhem started, did you get to talk to Lily?"

James took in a deep breath. "Sort of."

"How do you sort of talk to someone?" James just shot Sirius a look. "Ah yes…well it is Lily so I'm guessing that she ran circles around you until you stood there looking like a complete idiot."

"How'd you know?" James said sarcastically. "And it wasn't an idiot so much as an asshole."

"That far into the dark abyss, eh? Well, what did she say to make it that bad?"

"She told me that it didn't matter how much Lance made her cry because it doesn't compare to the oceans she cries for me…or something to that extent."

"Blimey, Remus was right. She does have you by the balls, mate." James just sat there, quiet. He was looking for a little bit more than crude honesty. But, as always, Sirius complied to his unspoken request. "I know this might not help much, but you're not an asshole. You're a teenager and we're going to screw up every now and again. I mean, this is when we make mistakes, figure out what works and what digs us to our graves earlier then imagined." James sat there, looking at his best friend, not knowing what to say except knowing that he was right. Sometimes he couldn't believe at how adept Sirius was at telling you exactly what you needed to hear. "But if she wants to let you go over a row you had with that troll of a boyfriend of hers, then maybe you should start considering other options." Uh…sometimes he was adept. Other times…not so much. "Just kidding, Prongs!"

At that moment, Remus stumbled down the stairs. He stopped at the bottom and looked at the two. "It's seven-thirty and you're both up? Did Azkaban freeze over?"

"Not yet," Sirius said, laughing. "We were just discussing Peter's well-being and…Quidditch."

"Oh really," Remus said, dragging another chair over to the table. "So Padfoot, what kind of odds do you think Puddlemere United has for competing in this Lily Evans…I mean, World Cup." Sirius started laughing.

"That obvious, eh?"

"Not really, it's just that your voice has a way of carrying itself."

"All the way to the dormitory?" Sirius questioned, smiling.

"No, but I'd have to say to the first fifth or sixth step," James said, beginning to smile as well. It was times like these he was thankful for his friends. They kept his head on straight and his brain from exploding…his heart from imploding with guilt and grief and now the added frustration with what was going on at Hogwarts, not to mention the outside wizarding world.

"So," Remus said, looking to his watch. "It's nearly seven-thirty. I'm sure by the time we get to the Hospital Wing-"

"That leaves about fifteen minutes to badger Madam Pomfrey to let us in early," Sirius finished.

"Right, let's go," James said quickly, wanting to see Peter and especially Lily. They set off for the Hospital Wing, which was a good fifteen minutes away and after a five minute stint with Peeves, they finally saw the familiar doors leading to the place where they, themselves, had been quite a few times. Upon further discussion, James and Remus decided that Sirius should stand in the back, seeing as how they thought that Madam Pomfrey would not like to be greeted first thing in the morning with a smiling Sirius Black.

Remus stepped forward and rapped on the door after all agreeing that since he was now a prefect, he would make the best impression at nearly eight o'clock in the morning. They heard the quick and pointed steps of Madam Pomfrey clicking their way towards the door. It flung open and they tried not to make their faces show any change at her appearance. It seemed like every hour had inflicted ten years on her life. James wondered if all the teachers looked a thousand years older.

"More injuries?" She asked, scanning each of them over for any wounds, even Sirius.

"No, we're fine," Remus said, and now the Hogwarts Nurse looked much younger with a rage deep inside. Moony went to the task of calming that straight away. "But it's important that we see Peter Pettigrew and Lily Evans."

"I didn't let you see them last night…what makes you think I changed my mind today?"

"Well," James continued to Remus. "Professor Dumbledore said we could visit them last night and-"

"If Dumbledore said it was alright then he must have his reasons," Madam Pomfrey said, surprising all three of them, but not looking any less angry at the sudden disturbance from her work. "You can come in BUT-" She added, before they rushed passed her and through the doors. "Keep your voices down and if you so much but utter the word 'Giant' in MY Hospital Wing then I'll force feed you Gillyweed and shove you into the lake." Was it just James or was every teacher using threats lately? He shrugged it off since they all seemed to be under quite a lot of stress with the end of year exams and now with the Giant Incident.

They followed Madam Pomfrey through the row of bed, curtains up on every side, shielding some of the worst cases from view. James's stomach dropped into his intestines. What if Lily was behind one of those? But that was stupid, he told himself. She had just been in shock. She should be sitting here, waiting for them to come.

Madam Pomfrey stopped at one of the beds with a curtain around it. She talked to them in only hushed, yet harsh whispers. "He was having nightmares all night, disturbing the Evans girl next to him." James's eyes quickly dashed to the sleeping figure behind the curtain that he could not see. The only thing visible was a lump at the end of the bed under a blanket, presumably her legs. "Poor girl couldn't sleep. Though I doubt that was from Pettigrew's dreams." Her eyes flickered to each one in turn, as if instilling into their souls what she said next. "You have no more than half an hour in here before you're going to have to leave." James felt like arguing the point, thirty minutes wasn't nearly enough time. But he felt speaking would cause him to be in another one of these beds. "After such you are expected to report back to your dormitories where you will begin packing before a late breakfast at ten o'clock."

"Packing?" Sirius questioned, careful not to raise his voice over a whisper.

"Yes, Mr. Black, packing," Madam Pomfrey answered, still in that angry voice of hers that none of them recognized at all. "The Minister of Magic seems to think that you all need to go home immediately."

"But why?" Remus asked. "Hogwarts is safer than anything out there," he said, gesturing to a window. James could see the dark tops of the Forest in the background… "Even if a bunch of G-…I mean…you know…things broke into the castle. Imagine what will happen back at our homes."

"Don't think that hasn't crossed Professor Dumbledore's mind. He tried to insist that you all stay here but the Minister won't have it! He's already sent owls to everyone's parents telling them what happened, even before the Headmaster could write to them himself. The Minister has gone and gotten everyone into a downright state of paranoia. Talk of Dark Lords and…" Madam Pomfrey stopped herself and suddenly her emotional rant had piqued and a few tears escaped. "Just…just forget all of that! Now, remember, half an hour or I'll chase you out!" She said, walking away from them, shaking her head and mumbling to herself all the way to the Hospital Wing door again, where she answered the knocking of an equally distressed Professor Sprout.

"What was that all about?" Sirius asked. "The woman almost burst into flames."

"Don't know," Remus said. "But if we're leaving Hogwarts and the Minister doesn't think this place is safe with the most powerful wizard in existence, then-"

"Nothing must be safe anymore," James finished looking at both of them. "You two stay here with Peter. Padfoot, tell Moony about the Snape thing-"

"What Shape thing?" Remus asked, looking to James and then to Sirius.

"I'm going to talk to Lily and hopefully-"

"Uh…I don't know if that's going to be entirely possible," Sirius said, looking beyond James to behind the curtain where Lily was. James turned around and if it was possible, his stomach sank even lower than his intestines. He stepped to the right a few more steps to take into view all of Lily's bed and there…

Lance LeRoux was sitting in a chair next to Lily and whispering to her something that James could not hear. If only he had gotten there quicker, James thought. He had been up all this time, why hadn't he just stormed to the Hospital Wing and demanded to Madam Pomfrey to be let inside? He watched as Lance talked to her, holding Lily's hand, touching her hair. James was supposed to be there. He was her best friend, after all, not some uncaring twit who would leave her behind in a few months for the next girl that gave him one bit of attention. James was more than upset, more than angry, he was completely heartbroken and hating himself more by the second.

Lance must have felt a pair of eyes on him, burning through his skull because he looked up and their eyes locked in a deadly dual. Lance didn't look so upset as he did angry, and perhaps even jealous. But this quickly faded into a slight and sickening smile, which also washed out as fast as it had appeared. With one deliberately slow move, Lance found the curtain behind him and wrapped it around Lily's bed. She was gone.

"Prongs-" Remus had started but James was still looking at the curtain. When he looked to them, there was nothing on his face but hurt.

"Come on, let's see how Peter's doing," James said and without another thought to it, James grabbed the curtain and opened it to the fourth Marauder.