Preview:

Only a few seconds after they both disappeared out of the hall, the majority of the students in the dining area heard James' booming voice shout out, "Peeves, put down the water balloons!" right before a couple of loud SPLASH! sounds were heard.

"And you think she believes that?"

"I think she wants to believe it," Dumbledore answered, staring out the window of his office, his hands clasped firmly behind his back.

"But Albus," said Minerva McGonagall from her place in the corner of his room, near the bookshelf Lily had been inspecting yesterday, "Do you think it wise to fill Miss Evans head with lies at this point in time?"

Dumbledore turned around, "Miss Evans is a special student, Minerva, as I'm sure you already know. Tops grades in her lessons, exceptional confidence and kindness..." Dumbledore started to sort papers on his desk as he took a seat at said desk, "With those wonderful qualities, it's no wonder why she is one of the most perceptive students residing here at Hogwarts."

Minerva stared unmoving at the Headmaster, curious as to his point. When times like this came upon those who encounter said Headmaster, the best thing to do was listen carefully.

"Working with children really is an interesting part of life…you're learning while they learn. I've simply conducted a tiny experiment with Miss Evans…I gave her a simpler solution to her problems, curious as to what she would believe. The harder one, or the simpler one…she chose the simpler."

"But, Albus do you know the harder solution?" inquired McGonagall. She, along with every other teacher at Hogwarts was desperately curious about what really happened between Lily and the Unforgivable Curse. It seemed that Hogwarts wasn't solely a foundation of student gossip, but educator gossip as well.

"I daresay I do not, Minerva," replied Dumbledore, glancing through a book of prophecies.

Later that night, Dumbledore sat at his office desk, writing diligently on a piece of parchment, with a brown owl waiting patiently by his side. Behind him, his window showed a bright, almost full, moon, surrounded by numerous twinkling stars. The breeze coming from the window flickered some of the candles lit variously around the room, giving off a cozy, calm atmosphere. The only sound in there was the consistent scratching of a quill on parchment, with the occasional 'hoot' from the owl. Of course, there was also the murmur of voices coming from some oil paintings hanging around his room.

The Headmaster finished the letter with the flourish of his signature, and placed his quill back into its proper place. He slowly picked up a small, manila envelope- just like the ones Hogwarts letters come in- and put his own letter into it. The owl hooted again and Dumbledore started to tie the letter to the animal's leg, whispering something to it. If owls could nod, that one would have right before it flew out the open window behind Dumbledore.

Suddenly, the murmur of voices seemed to have been getting louder. Though, unlike the paintings, the voices were coming from outside the Headmaster's office, and seemed to be getting gradually louder every second. Soon, someone from the other side of the office door knocked. With a flick of his wrist, Dumbledore's door swung slowly open and about eight or so teachers filed into his room, some bickering with one another, others seeming as calm as Dumbledore was.

With a small smile, and a twinkle in his eyes, Dumbledore stood up, and clapped his hands twice, gaining the room's attention. With a flourish of both his hands, his desk transfigured into a larger table with nine seats waiting to be sat upon. "Have a seat, professors," he said politely, taking the one at the head of the table. "I trust you know what the subject of this meeting is. You've all been doing what I've asked?"

"Albus, as I stated last time, I simply do not have time to look after a bunch of gallivanting trouble-makers," began Professor Zimmermen, the Potions professor tersely.

Dumbledore looked at him over the top of his glasses. Professor Tallow, the Herbology professor, saved him the trouble of replying by saying, "If we don't look after them now, Jacob, there will be an even bigger mess than there already is."

"Who knows what could happen next if we don't monitor them," Professor Flitwick squeaked in agreement.

"I've been watching these students for two days now, Albus, and absolutely nothing out of the ordinary has happened. No wandless magic, no violent tempers-though this lot seems to have taken quite a liking to horsing around, "Professor Kettleburn chimed in.

"There, see," Professor Zimmermen exclaimed, letting his cruel, careless face disappear for a moment as he gazed at Kettleburn with slight respect, "nothing out of the ordinary. Whatever happened with Miss Evans the other day was simply…nothing. She and the others show no potential of manifesting anything of extraordinary nature. There's simply no point of observe those five anymore."

"As I seem to recall," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye, "there was nothing in my orders to keep an eye out for any strange occurrences. At the present moment, the only thing I want you all to worry about is making sure Misters Potter, Black, Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ms. Evans don't come across any danger. I'm sure it's no mystery, seeing as how every student in the entire school has noticed, those five are prime targets for Voldemort," he concluded, completely ignoring winces and slight shrieks from some professors upon hearing that dreadful name.

The room was completely silent for a minute, no one seeming to come up with anything worth saying. Dumbledore only smiled slightly at the more pale faces. Just as Professor Dixon, the Astronomy teacher, opened her mouth to say something, a few 'hoots' came from outside Dumbledore's office window. Everyone turned and Professor Dixon's mouth shut.

A white owl swooped in the window, carrying a letter. The creature seemed to shudder and hoot again. Dumbledore's smile widened and he stood up. Turning to face the professors, he said simply, "That will be all for now. Thank you Professors." With a swoosh of his hand, the door to his office opened slowly once more. One by one the professors left, all staring curiously at the white owl. McGonagall opened her mouth and Dumbledore raised a hand to prevent her from speaking, "All will be explained in time, dear Minerva."

Pursing her lips, McGonagall reluctantly left the office, staring back at the white owl like her fellow teachers. Chuckling slightly, Dumbledore turned to face the owl and grabbed the letter from it. He had some unfinished business to attend to.

The following day, Remus left for the Hospital Wing again. James, Sirius, and Peter had slept in late, regardless of the fact that it was a Wednesday and they had missed two of their classes. Of course, anyone who knew about the sensitive situation that came up every single month would have understood. James, Sirius, and Peter needed the extra sleep; they'd be up all night come tomorrow. When it came to helping friends, there should be no limitations. Seeing as how Lily had missed her chance at becoming Animagus, she had no plausible reason to skip classes (though, even with a plausible reason, she still wouldn't have done it.)

So, Lily directed her helpfulness of these incidences to taking great notes for her friends…as well as coming up with brilliant and creative excuses to give the professors about her friends' and boyfriend's absences. Although, this time, coming up with good excuses seemed rather difficult compared to previous times. Something was going on with the professors, it was obvious. That day in Charms, Lily supplied Flitwick with a valid (or in her case, it was considered valid) excuse about the three of them coming down with a nasty cold due to the recent rainstorm they had gallivanted in a few nights ago- Lily never had to give excuses for Remus; the administration already knew. This time, though, Flitwick almost seemed frantic when he didn't see the boys in his class, and Lily's explanations didn't seem to suffice.

But, Flitwick, seeing no reason why he shouldn't trust his number one sixth year pupil, reluctantly began the lesson, leaving Lily to mull over his reactions with confusion. Why did he seem so nervous? He had always bought her excuses with no doubt. Why was this time any different?

By the time the lesson had ended and everyone was striding off toward the door in dull anticipation for their next class, Lily was still bewildered. In fact, she was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice a growing snag from the seam of her book bag. She was quite surprised when the entire bottom of said bag split right in the middle of the corridor. With a sigh, she rolled her eyes slightly and bent down to retrieve all of her fallen quills, parchments, ink cases, and textbooks. She politely shooed away the offers to help from her various peers and acquaintances. No need to cause the tardiness of someone else too, seeing as how she wouldn't be making it to Potions anytime soon.

Just as she was reaching over to grab a lone piece of parchment with tons a tons of tiny print on it, Lily's hand brushed against something else. She paused, and then moved aside some concealing objects that hid her target. There is was. The locket Sirius had given her for her twelfth birthday…the locket that had caused a great amount of danger to her and her friends just a few short months ago.

She hadn't thrown it away like Headmaster Dumbledore had suggested. But she never again wore it around her neck. If Voldemort had found out she still had this…who knows how that might work out to his advantage. Since Lily had been close to unconsciousness when she heard the finer details Dumbledore had left out when he explained it all to her, Lily wasn't completely sure what Voldemort would plan if he knew of her continual possession of it.

She didn't know why she had kept it. Maybe it was because up until the day after Dumbledore had explained all that had happened to them, Lily had never once taken it off. Somehow, it had become secondnature to just put it on…but now Lily didn't feel comfortable with doing that. The next best thing was carrying it around with her everywhere, just not on her.

By the time Lily had gathers all her stuff to her, and she had placed a fixing charm on her book bag, the crowd in the corridor she was in had dispersed, leaving only she and her bag. Biting her lip as shechecked her muggle wrist-watch, Lily stood up slowly. Swinging the bag over her shoulders, she jumped in surprise and fright a few bright flickers of light lit up the corridors followed momentarily after byenormous cackles of thunder. What happened to lovely, sunny weather around here? She'd been back to school for close to a month now, and almost every day, a rainstorm occurred.

Mulling over the fact that her stomach felt as though she were going at an amazing speed down a rollercoaster, Lily moved her feet quickly, wanting to get out of the incredibly spooky corridor and into the Potions classroom as soon as possible. Suddenly, she heard noises, sort of like footsteps, from behind her. Not ceasing her quick strides, Lily looked over her shoulder, brows furrowing when she saw no one there.

Adjusting her bag on her shoulders a little unnervingly, Lily unconsciously quickened her pace. She was only a few feet away from rounding a corner when she heard the noise again. Again, she repeated her actions of looking over her shoulder while all but jogging. And, again, she saw no one there.

A thought filled her head at that moment. Now, fully stopping, Lily turned all the way around and said loudly and defiantly, "Peeves. You stop that right now!" That had to be the answer. Peeves. He was only trying to scare her.

Though, as the minutes passed slowly, with Lily only moving her gaze around the long, dark hall, Peeves had not come into sight…

It wasn't Peeves. If it were, he would have shown himself immediately after Lily had ordered him to. If there was one thing you could count on about the annoying little poltergeist, it was that he loved attention. If he was recognized as the purpose of a prank or annoyance, he would have gladly accepted his scolding.

If it wasn't Peeves, maybe it was another ghost playing a trick on her. Peeves wasn't the only ghost to cause trouble. "Nick!" Lily called out hopefully. No one answered. "Bloody Baron!" she called out after a few minutes. Swallowing, Lily turned back around, keeping her gaze on the corridor walls. Maybe she was just being paranoid. After all, it wasn't everyday she was alone in a dark corridor, hearing strange noises. If she was in a dark corridor at all, she usually had one of the Marauders there with her.

Again, she heard those unsettling noises. Not caring at all now if she was being foolish or not, Lily started running. Too many horrible things have happened in this castle for her not to be frightened. Her hair blew against her face and she held onto the straps of her bag to keep it from falling off. The footsteps only seemed to intensify.

Lily was on the verge of tears, her heart beating wildly in her chest not only from the running, but from sheer terror. What if it was Voldemort or one of his Death Eaters.

Just a few more halls…then she'd finally be at the Potions room. Just a few more halls.

Lily just rounded a corner when she bumped into something. She let out a terrified shriek. The unknown obstacle grasped her wrists and Lily screamed even louder, her face twisted into a horrified expression, thrashing around, trying to getaway. Tears flooded her eyes, blurring her vision.

Through all her screaming, Lily heard one small, distinct, comforting voice. "Lily. Lily, calm down. What's wrong?"

She calmed significantly. Opening her eyes, she blinked back the tears and looked at her wrists. Two hands were gently engulfed around them…two familiar hands. Her eyes traveled upward and she found herself staring into the brown eyes of her boyfriend.

"James," she whispered, calming all the way down.

"What was with that bloody fit, Lily?" Sirius asked with wide eyes. He'd never seen her loose it that way. Lily turned her gaze past James' shoulders, spotting her two tired looking illegal animagi friends.

She looked over at Peter for a minute before turning to look over her shoulder, James' hands still wrapped around her wrists. Finally, she replied shakily, "Ever feel like you're being watched?" Seeing James' brows furrowing, she went on, "Or followed?"

James stared at her, finally letting go of her wrists to move his hands up to the sides of her face. "What are you talking about, love?"

Lily wiggled out of his grasp, flailing her arms to the empty corridor behind her. "Just now…I heard footsteps…but I never saw anyone!" To add a dramatic touch, lightning struck at that moment followed closely by a loud boom of thunder. Lily jumped, almost loosing her balance from the heavy loaded bag on her back. James reached out and helped steady her. Sirius walked a little ways away from them, one of his hands hidden in the depths of his robes, no doubt gripping his wand cautiously. Peter stared curiously around him, more confident than he would have been standing alone in a corridor like Lily had just done.

James gave her a look before mimicking Sirius' actions and inspecting the corridor. Lily receded up against the stone wall, her bag preventing her back to touch said wall. She drew her arms up to hug her torso, shivering uneasily. She and Peter had a slightly tense staring contest while waiting for the two others to return.

After a few minutes, both James and Sirius returned, not showing any signs of coming across anything unusual.

"There's no one in this passage, Flower," Sirius said with a calm shrug. Lily swallowed and nodded wordlessly.

James chimed in softly, "You were probably just imagining things," he took a long look around the setting around them and continued with a sigh, "And in a corridor…completely alone…a huge thunderstorm…" he turned back to Lily, "No wonder you were frightened."

Lily, not looking at any of them in the eye, said quietly, "What if it was Voldemort."

Sirius immediately replied, comfortingly, "I'm sure Dumbledore's placed tons of charms around here to keep him out."

"What about his Death Eaters? Lily asked, staring blankly at a crack on the stonewall across from her.

"Them, too," Sirius quickly answered.

Her eyes abruptly snapped up to his gaze, "He couldn't keep Malfoy out."

James shifted uncomfortably while Sirius coughed slightly, grinding his feet on the ground. Peter was looking between the two of them as though silently pleading one of them to come up with an answer and a reassuring word.

"Come on," James said, changing the subject, "Why don't we head down to the kitchens, seeing as how we're all already twenty minutes late for Potions anyway."

Lily gave him a shaky smile. Sirius and James exchanged looks before James moved towards Lily, reaching a hand out to her. Lily dropped her arms down to her side. She jumped a foot into the air and Peter gave a slight shriek when another clap of thunder shook them. James closed the distance between him and Lily, engulfing her hand in his reassuringly. Behind the two of them, Sirius could be heard quietly criticizing Peter to be a man.

It turns out that James had been right all along, and Lily had been overreacting. Not a single mysterious incident happened for quite some time. In fact, things had been incredibly boring. Rumors had grown dull; classes were the same. Though, James and Cassandra were always quite interesting when they received issues of the Daily Prophet. One never would have guessed, but the two of them had something in common besides their fathers working together: They shared an immense dislike for the new, unbelievably popular minister of magic. Continually, they would rant and rave like spoiled children when reading about the ministry's latest actions… Well, Cassandra would rant like a spoiled child and James would object quite loudly and knowledgably to anyone that would listen. Usually, Lily got stuck with that job seeing as how every other person had given up trying to calm him down when he was in that mood.

Sitting in the Great Hall, the five friends watched as Flitwick and a few other teachers decorated the large hall with Christmas décor. To normal students, this brought much joy and glee. To Lily, every time she saw Professor Tallow flick her wand and light some candles on the trees, it was like someone had lifted a ten pound weight on her heart. This would be the first Christmas in six years Lily wouldn't be spending with the Potters.

A familiar squawk filled her ears and the other occupants in the Hall. The arrival of the post that day began with a large, white owl swooping in through the ceiling. The creature's color of coating matched the sparkling snowflakes enchantingly falling from the ceiling. Other owls fluttered in, the darker colored ones sporting contrasting white flakes hooked onto their feathers.

One of these said brown owls headed in the Marauders' direction. Lily's heart fell as the owl dropped a crisp, white envelope on top of the textbook propped open in front of her.

"Ah," James said in a fake elated voice, wrapping an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders, "Another delightful letter from Auntie Catherine."

He winced as Lily elbowed him in the ribs while she grabbed the letter. Remus and Peter looked up from their chess game and Sirius tore his gaze away from a brunette from Ravenclaw. Lily opened the envelope and spread the letter onto the table, taking a quick scan of it. The boys stared at her curiously until she finally finished the letter, rolling her eyes.

"Go on, then, Lily," urged Peter with hungry, curious eyes, "Read it out loud."

Sighing, Lily flicked her hand to James, indicating him to read it. She planted her chin under her hands and leaned onto the table, looking over at a fully decorated tree.

Shrugging, James took his arm from around her shoulder and picked up the letter, cleared his throat dramatically.

"Dear Lily," he began, comically giving them a toothy grin similar to Lockhart's prized smile, "Your uncle and I have discussed it thoroughly, and we've decided that you shall take a taxi to the estate. We're both are too busy to come and pick you up on that day, seeing as how your uncle will be retrieving your grandparents and cousins from the airport that same day.

As stated in the last letter, we would all very much appreciate it if you left your "supplies" at that "school" of yours. Bring only the necessities and do try to appear presentable upon your arrival. Grandmum Maratha has expressed her wishes to see your potentially beautiful red hair in a proper style dissimilar to those horrid braids.

Best wishes until your arrival,

Aunt Catherine."

James dropped the letter, took out his wand, pointed said wand at the letter, and muttered a spell. Instantly, the letter turned into a dungbomb. Carelessly, he threw it over his shoulder.

Lily fingered her red locks, her face scrunched up into a pout. "I haven't wore those braids since I was nine."

James patted her shoulder and said with a cute grin, "And they certainly were the cutest things, those braids were."

"She really is a lovely woman, isn't she?" stated Sirius, he and the rest completely ignoring the newest defined stench coming from the Slytherin table.

Amidst the shouts and protests of the Slytherins, Lily 'humph'd and crossed her arms over her chest, leaning into James' embrace once more.

A/N: Hey, surprised to hear from me again, eh? As some of you may have wondered, no I have not died. I actually have no plausible excuse for such the long wait other than the fact that I've been working on my website...that's right! I, LilyPrincess (A.K.A: Leslee), have built a website. It's not entirely finished, but it's got a pretty good start. So, check it out if you'd like.

Also, I feel the need to do a bit of advertising for a friend of mine. Any of you readers out there interested in a role playing game? The link to the site will be up in my profile soon, so feel free to check it out! I've already got three characters there, so go ahead and join as well. I think it'll be fun.