A/N: I said I might post part three tonight, and here it is! I wish more people would read it...it's short, but I guarantee y'all will like it.

Part Three: The Assignment

Sometime after the emergency meeting, a few select sixth year students were trudging along the dank, torch-lighted path to the dungeons for their NEWT potions class.

"I can't stand this class anymore, Moony!" James said to his fellow Marauder.

"Well, you're the one who wanted to become an Auror," Remus replied.

Having entered the classroom, James and Remus sat down at a table behind Lily and her Ravenclaw friend Dorcas Meadowes. James propped his head on his hand and sighed, staring into Lily's fiery locks. "I guess it's not too terrible to endure."

"You, my friend, are completely hopeless," said Remus, chuckling.

Then the Potions Master, Professor Geoffrey Solomon, walked into the room, black robes billowing out behind him. He stood in front of the chalkboard and began to speak.

"Two months," he said. "Yes, that is the amount of time you and a partner will have to brew your next assignment, which will count heavily toward your score for this term. This not a NEWT grade, but keep in mind your future employers will look not only at your NEWTs, but at other information as well, including recommendations from your former professors. I happen to consider every grade you have made for this class when I write my recommendations.

"The potion you brew is strictly your choice, but make sure you stay in the allotted time frame.

"And I shall be selecting your partners."

No one retaliated at the professor's orders; many feared his wrath. The houseless (he had not attended Hogwarts) man would not show mercy to any of his students, much less partiality. He scanned the students with a beady eye.

"Nott and McKinnon…Bones and Fenwick…Lupin and Snape"—James heard a faint groan to his left side—"Meadowes and Dolohov…Evans and Potter…"

James's eyes widened as he heard this last bit. Surely his ears had deceived him?

But then he witnessed Lily repeatedly banging her head on the table in front of her, and he knew it must be true.