"Headmaster!"

"Professor!"

"Dumbledore!"

Dumbledore turned around when he heard 3 of the 4 marauders' voices echoing down the hall. There they were, running along the hall towards him. He was currently waiting outside the hospital wing for word on Lily's condition. When James got there first, then Sirius, then Remus, and finally Peter still running a few feet behind, they were all panting and gasping for breath. They could all see that the twinkle that usually settled itself in the Headmaster's eyes was gone. All they saw in there was worry and concern.

"What can I help you with boys?" the old man asked them.

"Sir, we were all talking about Lily and everything that had been happening. Something is going on with everyone in this school." James said. Dumbledore looked curiously at them, not fully understanding what James meant by this.

Seeing Dumbledore's puzzled expression, Remus took charge and said, "Maybe we should start from the beginning."

Dumbledore nodded and said, "Yes, I think that would be wise. I have noticed some strange behavior directed towards Miss Evans these past few days. Does that have anything to do with what you're going to tell me?"

"That's precisely it. It all started with my last transformation." Remus said.

"I came into the common room last week. I was incredibly angry about what I had just heard from Malfoy. He just finished telling me that he knew about Remus' transformation." Dumbledore furrowed his eyebrows in concern at this, "Anyway, he told me that Lily had told him that afternoon about Remus' secret. I was shocked and mad that Lily would do something like that. I told Sirius what I had heard and he and I confronted Lily about it. She denied telling Malfoy," James looked at the ground, tears filling his eyes, "but we didn't listen. We believed Malfoy, and so we broke off our friendship with her."

"Who told Mr. Malfoy about Mr. Lupin?" Dumbledore asked. Peter squeaked.

"I-I did, Sir." He answered, "I didn't mean to, it just slipped out. He and some of his friends cornered me in the halls. I was quite frightened, and I used my only defense I had. I tried to intimidate them. I told them that my friends would protect me and they better leave me alone. They laughed and said that James, Sirius, and Remus didn't scare them. Then I told them that James could beat them at Quidditch, Sirius was a lot stronger than them, and... I accidentally said that Remus was a werewolf."

"I see." Dumbledore replied, "I can assure you, Mr. Pettigrew, that they will be punished for bullying. Now, on with the story."

"Yes, anyway, when we broke off our friendship with Lily, we stopped talking to her all together. Well, James and I did. We decided to not tell Remus about what happened; he's got too many things to worry about all ready, and it we thought it would've just 'killed' him to know that Lily told. So, we ignored her. The weird part, though, is that everyone in the school started to treat her horribly. For really no reason at all, since we didn't tell anyone about what happened." Sirius said.

"So you see, Headmaster, everyone is acting rather odd, don't you think. One day, Lily's the most popular girl in school, and the next, it's like everyone hates her." James finished.

Dumbledore looked baffled at the end of the story. "Well, Mr. Potter, that does explain a lot." He stopped talking and appeared to be deep in thought; "I wonder..." he trailed off, looking as though he just figured something out.

James saw this look and said excitedly, "What? What is it, Professor?"

Dumbledore just said distractedly, "Hm? Oh boys, I have something I must do right now; you wait here if you'd like, and find out more on Miss Evans condition." Then he added in a slightly mysterious voice, "I think there's more to this story than meets the eye." Then he walked off.

That left the four guys alone waiting to hear news on their friend.

~*~*~*~

After Dumbledore left James and his friends, he walked swiftly up to his office. Once there, he rushed to one of his bookshelves and searched for something in particular. Finally, he let out a triumphant 'ah-ha!' He took what appeared to be an old tattered olive green book from its spot on the shelf and walked over to his desk.

Flipping through the pages, he finally came to the one he wanted. After reading more and more through that page, his eyes showed more understanding and he knew exactly what was going on in his school right behind his back. At that moment, Professor McGonagall appeared at his door.

"Headmaster, any news on little Miss Evans?" she asked, worry etched in her voice. Dumbledore looked solemn when he heard the words 'Miss Evans'.

He sighed and said tiredly, "I'm afraid not, Minerva. Poppy has yet managed to stable her."

"What happened out there, Albus? Couldn't you have stopped her fall?" McGonagall asked, confused.

"I daresay I tried. It appears that Miss Evans had dark magic upon her, making it impossible for me to levitate her."

McGonagall gasped, "You mean, this was all planned?!"

"Yes, I'm afraid there is more to this story than meets the eye, Minerva. Something has been going on in this school without my knowledge." Dumbledore said.

"What do you mean, Albus?"

"Remember the other day when we were discussing how odd things were around here?" he asked.

"Yes." She replied, not sure where this was going.

"I've figured out why the whole school was acting this way." He tapped the book in front of him. "It seems that someone has been using the Agresivio Anguera potion on all the students." McGonagall's eyes widen in astonishment. The Agresivio Anguera potion was a strong liquid that makes a person hate another for no reason whatsoever. Only the maker of the potion can choose who the target of the hatred is.

"Somebody's been using dark magic on 'all' the students? How did they manage to do that to everyone?" McGonagall asked.

Dumbledore shook his head. "That's something we'll have to find out once we figure out who the culprits are. And I can assure you that I will have them expelled immediately. Using dark magic on students is simply crossing the line."

~*~*~*~*~

The guys were waiting for fifteen minutes after Dumbledore left before the door to the infirmary opened and Madame Pomfrey stepped out. She looked downcast with remorse in her eyes. She looked around, expecting to see Dumbledore, instead she saw the boys looking at her anxiously.

"Where's Headmaster Dumbledore?" she asked.

They shrugged, "He said he had something real important to do." Remus answered.

The young nurse nodded. "How is she?" James asked his eyes wide with apprehension.

She sighed and said, "Come with me." She led them over to Lily's bed. Blood drained from James' face when he saw her. Sirius had to look away; it hurt too much to see her like this. Remus clenched his jaw in an effort not to cry. Peter just looked confused. Lily's normal cheerful face was incredibly pale; it looked as though she were dead. She had bandages in numerous places. She had a cast on her left arm. Her stomach was rising and falling in unsteady breaths.

"Well, she's finally stable. She had about five broken ribs, and her left arm was quite a mess, though I'm fixing at this very moment. Though the bruises on her stomach I cannot, they'll have to heal on their own. I've bandaged up all her cuts; she had quite a few from her drop. And I also found some kind of poison in her bloodstream. The cause of it, I cannot be sure. It's a very mild sort of potion. It's made to kill the victim. It almost did." Surprisingly to the boys, her eyes started to fill with tears. She added on shakily, "She was officially dead for about five minutes... but then, 'somehow' she came back to us. That got her out of the danger of the poison."

The four boys looked as though they would throw up. But, James said hopeful, "But... she's alright now, right. I mean... she's in no more danger anymore?"

The nurse sighed sadly and, with her voice quivering, said, "Under different circumstances, she would most likely be just fine...Her head, though, when she fell, I think she must have banged it against a wall, or something, because, she has some... brain damage. She hasn't regained consciousness since her fall." The nurse explained.

"Well when will she wake up?" Sirius asked shakily.

Her silence caused the boys to panic," Madame Pomfrey, when is she going to wake up!?" James asked again, more forcefully.

The nurse sighed sadly and said, "That, boys, is the mystery. I'm not sure when...or if, she will wake up."

Remus asked hopelessly, "C-can't you just...use the Enerviate spell on her? Sh-she 'has' to wake up, Madame Pomfrey!"

Madame Pomfrey shook her head and closed her eyes, "I'm afraid the Enerviate spell won't work to wake her up. She is unconscious due to a non- magic incident. The spell only works if you use it to stun someone or something along those lines." She looked down at the pale unconscious girl on the bed, "We'll just have to pray that she wakes up on her own." With that said, the nurse left the four boys alone to themselves.

James just stared at Lily, tears filling his eyes. He couldn't believe that this is his best girl friend. How could this sweet, innocent angel be in here, in this condition? 'It's all my fault.' He thought to himself. 'If I just believed my best friend, instead of my worst enemy, like I should have, this would have never happened.' They used to be inseparable when they were little; how could he do that to her? She was never anything short of loyal to him all her life, and he treated her like he would have Snape.

The Marauders took seats all around Lily, just staring at her with pale faces. Finally, after 20 minutes of silence, James said quietly, without taking his eyes off Lily, "It's all my fault."

Three heads snapped up in response to James statement.

"James, this isn't your fault." Remus said softly. Then, he looked down at the still form of Lily and whispered, "It just happened."

But James was stubborn and so he shook his head and said louder, angry at himself, "No! It 'is' my fault. If I hadn't listened to Malfoy, we would have still been friends and I would have paid closer attention to Lily at the Quidditch match. I wouldn't have let her risk her life for me if I had been a better friend!"

They sat in total silence except for the occasional 'beep' sound on Lily's heart monitor. Then, finally, Sirius spoke up and said bluntly, "That's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard, James."

James looked up, startled at what his best friend said, "What?" he asked, tears still in his eyes.

"Lily would have risked her life for you anyway, even if you had a chance to stop it, which you didn't." Remus started.

"Why did she have to do it!? I did nothing but treat her horribly and then she still almost 'kills' herself for me! Why?" James whispered the last word, a tear making its way down his face.

"Because you're her best friend. Lily's the kind of person that can forgive and forget so easily; it doesn't matter what you did... what we did." Sirius explained sadly.

"She's the best person I know. She didn't deserve this. All because of that 'stupid' bludger." James added bitterly.

Remus looked thoughtful, "Do you suppose the bludger was fixed." The others looked questionably at him so he added, "I mean, it was going 'a lot' quicker than a normal bludger... and it looked as though it was headed straight for you, James. That's probably why Sirius and my brooms wouldn't work right. Is that what happened to your broom?" he asked James.

"Yeah. I couldn't move it. And I think Lily realized that." James answered.

"There's just one thing that bothers me. Why couldn't Dumbledore stop Lily's fall? I'm sure with his power he could have levitated her or something." Remus said.

"I k-know w-why." Peter stuttered, speaking for the first in a while. The three boys whipped their heads to face him. They forgot he was even there.

"Why, Peter?" Remus asked.

"I-I overheard Dumbledore talking t-to Madame Pomfrey. H-he said that s- someone put a d-dark spell on her." Peter explained.

The other three looked alarmed. "So not only was someone trying to kill James..." Sirius started.

"... But they were 'also' trying to kill Lily." Remus finished.

"But 'why'?" James asked.

"That's the big question." Remus answered.

Just then, the doors opened and Dumbledore came in. Madame Pomfrey was at her desk working on some paper work; but she got up and walked over to him when he entered.

"How is she, Madame Pomfrey?" they heard him ask. She said a few things and they saw his face look older by the minute. When she finished talking, and with a heavy sigh, he walked over to the other four boys.

"Hello, James, Sirius, Remus, Peter. Why don't you all go and get some rest. It's getting pretty late." Seeing James open his mouth to protest, Dumbledore added, "I'll be sure to tell you the moment anything changes. But for now... get some rest." He repeated.

The boys nodded and left the hospital wing, reluctantly. When they were gone, Dumbledore turned his attention back to Madame Pomfrey, who was checking over Lilly again.

"Did you find out who did this, Albus." The nurse asked, still a little upset over what has happened.

Dumbledore sighed heavily again and said, "Yes, Poppy. It was who I feared it would be. Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Avery have been accused and proven guilty of poisoning both Miss Evans and Mr. Potter's drink and putting a spell on every student in this school."

The nurse looked confused for a moment, "Albus? They said they poisoned 'both' Miss Evans and Mr. Potter?"

"That's right, Poppy." Dumbledore said, knowing where she was going with this, he added, "Miss. Evans apparently saw someone put the substance in Mr. Potter's drink and she must have distracted him from drinking it. The point of the matter is, he didn't drink his pumpkin juice, but she, in fact, did."

Madame Pomfrey shook her head sadly.

"They were also guilty of cursing the bludger that was out of control and also of putting a dark curse on Miss Evans." He went on. "Since they are underage, they cannot be sent to Azkaban, but I did punish them to the best of my ability."

~*~*~*~

So they got expelled for all their crimes they've committed in a matter of weeks, forbidden to ever return to school at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N- how's that chapter? I'm SOOOO sorry for the wait. I haven't been feeling well lately and I finally got around to getting this chapter done just this morning. Thank you for my reviews everyone!

* "Oh, my little Jamsie Wamsie. Don't let a stupid 'mudblood' get you down like this."

* "We've expelled the person responsible for this."

* "Good riddance." "See you when we catch you to put you in Azkaban,
Lucy"

* "Students, I'm very sorry to say something terrible has been going
on in this school without my knowledge.

* Tears made their way down some faces at that moment.

* The whole school wore black.

* "Has she woken up yet?"

* "James. You gotta get out of here. Get something to eat... do
'something'!"

* As James, Sirius, and Remus walked out onto the Quidditch pitch,
they saw something that made their hearts skip a beat.

* "This one's for you, flower." He whispered.