A/N: Sorry about the very long wait, guys. I've been having exams non-stop. We've got hols now. I hope you like this. R&R, please!

Disclaimer: Of course I don't own all this. I mean, how could you even doubt?

CHAPTER 2: EVENTS

Things began to happen in fourth year. All this is strictly in confidence, remember. Our partners in Charms were made permanent for the year, and I got James; Lily, Remus; Phil, Sirius and Julia, Peter.

Then Phil, who had been proclaiming herself to be immune to all kinds of romance dancing around our year since Valentine's Day last year, succumbed to the very thing herself. She fancied Sirius.

When Lily and I found out, we were aghast. We couldn't believe it. This was Phil – Phil who never went back on her word. Here was she admitting the very weakness herself. It took us a whole night to get used to it. Then we became as all friends do – teased her whenever we could without giving Sirius the least clue. It was rewarding to see Phil go beet red at every seemingly 'innocent' remark.

I think Remus noticed it as well; he was observant. He and I had never been on speaking terms until now, and then one day after Potions, he suddenly caught up with me who was walking alone (Phil and Lily were walking with the completely oblivious Sirius and James), and said to me, with a backward glance at them, "It seems as if one of my friends has found himself an admirer. Don't you agree?" This with a cheeky smile! I tried my best to ignore him, and when he persisted, I decided to startle him, "Remus, where do you go every month?"

He stuttered, he stammered. His mother was ill, aunt was sick, grandmother was not feeling well...

It was clear as a charm was that he was lying, but I didn't pester him. I knew I would find out, eventually...

But as it was, I found myself wanting more and more to get to know the real Remus, the one he always kept behind the curtain. But I couldn't, and it made me feel frustrated and sad at the same time. I knew he could be a friend like I had never had, apart from Lily and Phil. Because somehow, I felt he had something more to offer; maybe I imagined it. It was probably because of his permanently sad eyes.

I did find out that year. I found him being 'smuggled' down through the Whomping Willow one night by Madam Pomfrey. I stayed for a while near the Willow, and heard howls that made my hair stand on end. Then I checked the charts and found that he was always ill during full moon time. I had found out his secret, at last.

But it didn't make me afraid of him. I think I felt that the real Remus was the one who was at new moon time and that the werewolf was only a split personality. In fact, it interested, fascinated me more. I now knew why he was so tired all the time, and it made me feel sorry for him. But I tried not to feel sorry, because many people, including me, don't like it when people are sorry for them.

I began to notice that James went slightly red whenever Lily smiled at him, when she handed him her Charms notes (he was her partner for fifth, the current, year; mine was Sirius – Phil didn't like that!), when she hugged him after winning a Quidditch match, when she said good morning to him. I had a feeling he had caught a little bug. But I let it go.

We all of us did well in the O.W.Ls that year. James and Sirius got ten O.W.Ls apiece, without even seeming for work for them, Phil and I got 11, Lily and Remus got 12 (Lily gloated for nights!), and Peter got seven O.W.Ls.

That was the year, I remember, that Lily and James fought their worst battle. It was just after the Charms O.W.L Theory exam. James was taunting Severus Snape, as he always did when he got a chance. Lily, being the nice and the decent, had tried to stop him, and snubbed well and truly for her try. Snape called her a Mudblood, and that is one thing she had no curt remark or weapon against. James was valiant in supporting, but was snubbed too, by Lily.

James was always annoying Lily by asking her out. And she was... aggravated, annoyed and very displeased. But it was good entertainment for all of us!

I have forgotten to mention Quidditch. It ruled part of our lives at Hogwarts. James was captain and star Chaser, Sirius was Beater. Phil was a Chaser. The rest of us avidly followed Quidditch. Every single Gryffindor-Slytherin match was charged with electricity, for Gryffindors and Slytherins had always been foes. And as Sirius said, "Foes we will be, world without end. Amen." And the Quidditch Cup stayed in Professor McGonagall's study. She was pleased! It was a mark of how happy she was with us that she didn't interrupt our party in the Common Room until 6 in the morning!

Life was fun for us. And I think, in all our fun times, we forgot about what was happening in the outside world. I say outside world, because it really did seem like that. Inside Hogwarts, we rarely worried, unless some tragedy hit us directly. And that had not happened yet. But we watched our other batch-mates suffer greatly, and I think that was when our resolve strengthened. For we never forgot that the power that had been given to us was coupled with great responsibility. Responsibility of that kind is hard to shoulder, as Professor Dumbledore, looking graver than ever, told us often. But then, we all knew where our power was to go. James, Sirius and I were bent on becoming Aurors, Lily was to be a highly qualified Healer, Phil and Remus were going to be Professors, spreading all the knowledge that they had acquired. Peter never mentioned his dream, though.

But all of this was thought and talked about only in passing. Inside the school, we were more worried about grades and Quidditch and about the doings of our own batch mates. The only time we ever felt something akin to horror, pity, sadness and righteousness was when we opened the Daily Prophet at breakfast. The front page was always painful. And always would be. That was what kept the fire inside our hearts burning well enough for us to keep our goals well in sight. And we worked towards them, slowly and silently, but purposefully.

Thanks to my reviewers:

What It Feels Like For A Girl - Thanks for beta-reading this. Actually, LotR is fantasy, the wizarding world exists! Let's just take it that way for this, shall we?

smileyspiritprincess - Thank you!!! I find third person harder. Let's just teach each other how to write in first and third, shall we? I have reviewed the Malfoy fic of yours; I love it. I adore Angst and Romance! ;) Sorry for the delay, though

MissMoony16 - Hope this doesn't dash your 'high expectations.'

Whitepaw - Sorry this took so long. Hope you like this.