Disclaimer: Characters and settings are property of J.K. Rowling. What you don't recognize is mine. And I wish I owned the Marauders (specifically Sirius and Remus) but most unfortunately, I do not. L

X-X-X-X-X

"Janine's been gone an awfully long time," commented Lily. "Hasn't she?"

"Yeah, she has been," agreed Marlene, frowning down at her enchanted pink diary, which trilled, "Come on now, dear, you must have something to write!" The door opened, admitting Alyssa and Jen.

"Where've you two been?" asked Lily.

"Library," replied Jen briskly. "We have that stupid Herbology quiz tomorrow, remember?" She nodded. "But you've probably already studied." Again, Lily nodded. "Whatever. I checked out this book on Magical water plants – think it'll come in useful?"

"Probably. We went over a few of the more dangerous aquatic ones last week, so they're likely to be on the quiz. Say, did you see Janine down in the library?" added Lily casually. "She said she had a study session with a Ravenclaw."

"Janine?" replied Alyssa, puzzled. Alyssa had been a bit moody for the past week, but she seemed to be cheering up – at least around her friends. Nothing, however, could make her forgive Remus. "No, we haven't seen her since breakfast this morning."

"No Ravenclaws, either," added Jen with a face. "Most people are having fun – I mean, it's Sunday, right? But we've been in the library for the last couple of hours. Mostly a few Hufflepuffs… but Bellatrix Black was there, holding court." Jen grimaced at the thought of the 'Queen of Slytherins,' seventh-year Bellatrix. She'd gone out of her way to torture the girls (and even the boys, sometimes) of Gryffindors, particularly the sixth and seventh years. "If she wants to be Queen, I wish she'd do it somewhere else so we don't have to look at her ugly face."

This, thought Lily, was not strictly true. Bellatrix was indeed beautiful – if you were drawn to the dark and hard sort of beauty. There were rumors that Bellatrix was indeed insane – and she may very well have been, but Lily avoided her at all costs. If you weren't one of her underlings, Bellatrix was trouble, no matter what house you were in.

"Anyway, Janine wasn't there," finished Alyssa after a slightly disturbed silence.

"Really," said Jen, with a snort. "Janine, in the library? That will never happen."

"Then where is she?"

X-X-X-X-X

Over the next few days, Janine disappeared on and off. Nobody knew where she went; Lily went so far as to ask James, who went so far as to accost Snape in the halls and ask him. Snape, being the congenial, polite person that he was, replied with a, "Piss off, Potter," and a cold promise to hex James if he ever bothered him again.

Janine was being secretive on the subject, insisting that she had to 'study' with her unknown-Ravenclaw friend who somehow managed to remain nameless until the last morning of classes. "At least tell us who this strange Ravenclaw study partner of yours is," persisted Marlene. "Just a hint." Janine ignored her. "If he's just a study partner, what's the problem with telling us?"

"Fine!" she finally snapped, looking irritated. "It's Andy, all right! Andy Cobalt!" Fiercely, she glowered around at her friends and looked at her breakfast plate, scowling.

"I always thought you were a better liar than that," said Lily casually. Janine looked up from her plate, glaring at her friend. "Andy Cobalt is a Hufflepuff."

X-X-X-X-X

For a while, it seemed as though the Marauders would never make up. It was like there was a line that could not be breached between them – on one side were Sirius and James, and on the other was Remus. Only Peter seemed to be able to walk across the middle, and even then he did it infrequently. He preferred to stay out of Sirius and James's way, preferring Remus's company. It was no secret among the four that Peter blamed Sirius for telling Snape and James for siding with him, just as Remus did.

It continued that way until Friday morning, the day before the train would leave for the holidays. Sirius was going to spend the holidays at James's, as was expected, and Peter promised that he'd pop by later. As to Remus…

"So, are you coming to my place over the holidays?" asked James tentatively that morning, sliding into a seat beside Remus, who just looked up at him with an expressionless face. "Of course, it's perfectly fine if you don't want to," he added hastily. "I just thought…"

"I don't know. It seems like a bad idea to drop in on your parents like that…"

Emboldened by the fact that Remus was now speaking to him (which was an improvement), James cut him off. "It's fine! They'll love having you there! You've stayed with us so often, it's like you're a second – no, wait, third – son to them, and they won't mind you being-"

"A werewolf?" James looked taken aback, momentarily stunned. He'd actually been about to say, 'being there,' but obviously that wasn't what Remus had in mind. Remus glowered at him as James's mouth opened and closed. Very suddenly, James was glad that he'd left Sirius up in the tower with strict instructions not to arrive for another five minutes. Remus's look and tone were bitter. "Don't tell me Sirius haven't told them. And what with Sirius having been living with you since June… well, he had no qualms about telling Snape."

"I… er…" James hung his head. "Sorry, mate. He was stupid. And he knows it. And I… look, Sirius is like my brother, and… And…" He trailed off. Remus had always finished his sentences before.

But he didn't this time. "And?" he prompted coldly.

"…And I'm sorry. We both are. Sirius never meant to hurt you, and I didn't want to divide us like I did. But it's just… Sirius and I… we're… okay, look. There's really not much else I can say."

"No. There isn't." Remus sighed. "I hate you, James." James sighed, too. "I hate you because I can't stay angry at you. It's a wonder that Lily's resisted your charms thus far. Although it might have something to do with your inflated head…" James looked up, to see a tiny smile on Remus's face.

"You forgive us?" he asked hopefully.

"I suppose so. I can't forget, though." Remus was serious again. "What Sirius did was… pretty unforgivable. Things won't be the same again, you know. And you did side with Sirius, and you have to admit he was in the wrong. But I'll try my best to forgive."

"We'll never do it again," swore James. "Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever…"

"I get the point." James closed his mouth. "And yes, I'm coming, if it's all right with your parents."

"All patched up, then?" asked Peter, plopping down beside James and pulling a plate towards him, immediately heaping it with food.

"All patched up," said Remus firmly. "Where's Sirius? I want him to know that we're all right again… well, sort of."

"No idea where he is," said Peter, wolfing down food. "We started off down here together and then he stopped, turned 'round, and said he had something to do. That was about ten minutes ago."

"Ten minutes?" asked James in disbelief. "How thick are you? Don't tell me you got lost on the way down here again… honestly, mate, it's been six years, you ought to know where it is by now…"

"Ha-bloody-ha," said Peter with a grumpy look. "No, but I saw Bellatrix Black, Evan Rosier, and Antonin Dolohov having a very secretive discussion. I eavesdropped a bit and then tried to find another way to get around them. One of the bloody staircases switched on me, though, and I somehow ended up on the eighth floor, and had to find my way down again."

"Find anything good?"

"No. Just that Garnet's been awfully secretive around Rosier lately. Apparently, he hasn't gotten a decent snog in weeks." James and Remus gave him disgusted looks, but Peter was in his element, speaking of gossip. "Then they talked about using Margaret Blair – you know, the rather sluttish seventh-year Slytherin? Right, well, using her to make Garnet jealous."

"Yes, Peter, we know who she is," said James wryly. "And I suppose Margaret Blair is rather sluttish… in the way Evans is rather bookish… or the way Alyssa is rather angry at – oh, sorry, Moony." He flushed.

"S'all right. I don't think we could've had much of a relationship, what with her hating werewolves and all…"

At that precise moment, Sirius bolted through the doors, looking handsomely disheveled. They stared as he attempted to tame his black hair into some sort of state and straighten his tie, redoing the knot. "'Morning. We all sorted out?" he asked, short of breath.

"Yep, all sorted out," said James. "Where've you been?"

Sirius didn't answer; his mouth was stuffed.

"Look, here come the girls," said Remus. Unsurprisingly, James's hand jumped to his hair upon seeing Lily. Remus rolled his eyes and dug into his breakfast again.

"So, what are you lot doing for the holidays?" asked Jen, pulling a napkin towards her and beginning to doodle on it. Her friends were mostly subdued, except for Marlene, who was sitting further along the table, beside Fabian Prewett.

"Going to Janine's," said Lily, pushing her food around her plate with a fork. She looked up. "You?"

Jen shrugged. "Apparently, my mum thought it'd be fun to drag the family off to Brazil, of all the bloody places. You know her – always into Botany and Herbology and all that. She's obsessed." James leaned closer, listening in. "I'll be at Janine's for the Masquerade, of course."

"Masquerade?" asked Lily quizzically, looking at Janine, who was glaring sleepily at her food. "What Masquerade?"

"Didn't I tell you?" asked Janine, seeming to wake up out of a trance. "It's a family tradition that the Garnets have – sort of a New Year's Party. Everybody comes in disguise. You'll be one of the first Muggleborns we've ever had," she added matter-of-factly. "I'm usually not allowed to go – it's generally an all-adult sort of thing, but Dad always was an old softie when concerning me. He said we're old enough, and Perry's mature enough. Besides, he knows if he doesn't behave himself, he'll get a whipping from Mum."

"Is it true that pureblood families whip their children when they're out of order?"

"Oh, sure. Assuming that the particular family is living in the Medieval Ages, of course. No, seriously…" She grinned. "Most families don't do that anymore. It's just an expression."

"Ah."

"Janine…" began Jen slowly, her eyes narrowing. "What's that you've got on your neck? Is that a hickey?" Janine's hand clapped to her neck, and Jen snorted. "You're so gullible," she cried. "I knew it! Who is it?"

"There is no it, thank you," said Janine, lowering her hand. "And don't scare me like that."

"You've been single – at least, publicly – for weeks," said Alyssa, looking interested and awake now, leaning closer. "Come on, we're your best friends – tell us!"

"There's nobody!" snapped Janine irritably, glowering at her food again. "Now please leave me alone, all of you!"

James sat back in interest. "Wonder who she's off with now?"

"What do you care?" asked Sirius, still shoving food into his mouth. "You're too hung up on Evans to notice any other girls, anyway."

"Fair point," said James, grinning. "But I was just curious."

"Well, stop being curious," said Sirius irritably. "If she's not going to tell her own friends, what makes you think she'll tell you?"

James looked injured. "I'm her friend! We practically grew up together!"

"So? I've known her my whole life, too, and she used to hate me."

"Yeah, but…" Sirius stood up. "…Where are you going?"

"Get to class early. Bye." Dropping his spoon in his empty porridge bowl, he grabbed his bag and strode quickly through the doors.

"Well, what the hell was that all about?" James looked irritably at Peter, who appeared as clueless as he was, and then at Remus.

But Remus had a shrewd, calculating look on his face as he watched their fourth counterpart leave.

X-X-X-X-X

"Finally!" said James, leaping out of bed. "It's Saturday, and we're going back to the Estate! Right, Padfoot?" He waited, but there was no answer.

James looked around quizzically – it was quite early, and Peter and Sirius' velvet curtains were drawn shut. Only Remus's appeared to be open, the sheets and blankets neatly folded, the bed made – just as Remus always left it. Remus often arose early, asking his friends not to follow him – and they never did.

It was understandable that Sirius was not yet awake – he was a heavy sleeper, and rarely woke up for anything. In fact, the only way James had ever been able to get up was by whispering one of two things: "Oy, look at all that food!" or "Oy, look at all those naked girls!"

But what did puzzle him was that Sirius's usual, chainsaw-like snores were absent. Frowning, James went to Sirius's bed and yanked the curtains open.

Sirius's bed was empty.

Moreover, it was neatly made, rather as though nobody had even slept in it. James frowned, staring down at it. He went to Peter's bed, shaking his other friend awake. Peter sleepily sat up and yawned widely. "What time is it?" he asked grumpily.

"Eight. Get up."

Moaning, Peter flopped back in bed, trying to muffle James's voice with his pillow, but James grabbed his pillow and blanket and threw them on the floor. "James, go away," he mumbled. "I'm trying to sleep."

"No, you're not. You're awake now – so get up. Where're Moony and Padfoot?"

"How the bloody hell should I know? Go 'way!" He groped for his blanket, grumbling incoherently. "Gimme my pillow and blanket, Prongs," he ordered irritably.

"No. Now get up."

Still complaining loudly, Peter rolled out of bed, landing on his backside on the ground, glowering up at James through his mussed fringe. "What do you want?"

"Where are Moony and Padfoot?"

"In bed, like we should be?" suggested Peter grouchily. James glared at him; he sighed. "Seriously, mate. I've no idea."

"Well, it's not like Sirius to get up unless someone's said 'food' or 'naked girls.' Which means we have to find him."

"If you want to know where he is so badly, why don't you just look for the bloody map?"

Oh. "That's right, look at the map," said James, rifling through his trunk, sounding for all the world as though it'd been his idea in the first place. "Wormtail, it's gone. Did you take it?"

Peter rolled his eyes. "Yes, James. I took it, and then suggested that you look for it. Exactly."

James threw his arms up in the air. "Then where the hell is it?"

"Didn't it occur to you that Sirius and I didn't want to be found?" asked Remus from the doorway, his eyebrows raised. "Anyway, we're here now. And we've only got two hours until the train leaves, and this dormitory is a sty. So unless you want to leave half of your things behind…"

The boys set to cleaning their dorm up (which meant throwing what was needed in the trunks and shoving the rest under the bed). James sidled closer to Remus. "Where were you?" he asked in a low voice. Remus hummed a tune off-key, pretending not to here. "Oy, Sirius!" he bellowed (causing James to wince). Remus gave him a friendly smile. "Sorry about that," he said loudly. "Sirius, is this yours?" He held up a Puddlemere United jumper that he'd dragged out from underneath his bed. "It's not mine," he added for clarification.

Sirius approached and inspected it, sniffing it gingerly. Finally, he handed it back to his friend, showing Remus the 'JP' marked on the tag. Remus grinned sheepishly. "Er, right. Here you go, Prongs." He tossed it in James's face – James wrinkled his nose at the smell. How long has this thing been under there, anyway? Ugh. Better ask Mum to wash it… "Happy Birthday."

Knowing that he wouldn't get anything out of Remus, he turned to Sirius and opened his mouth, when Remus said casually, "I received a letter from my mum," he said casually. "She's sick." He saw their looks. "Don't look at me like that. She really is sick, this time. And anyway," he added irritably, "the Full Moon was a little while ago, or were we so busy pretending to hate each other that you didn't notice me missing?"

James and Sirius exchanged guilty looks, but said nothing.

"Anyway, she's asked me to visit. Is it all right if I show up at your house for the second week of vacation? Besides, Gavin – you remember him? He's visiting."

They did remember Gavin, of course. He was Remus's first cousin. There was a drastic age different between the two (twelve years), but they were nonetheless very close. Gavin lived in Australia, as a vampire hunter, or so he said in his infrequent letters. The boys often enjoyed Gavin's letters to his younger cousin, for they were filled with mysterious tales. Remus always made a point of gathering them around the common room fire and reading them aloud. James suspected that Gavin was embellishing his adventures quite a bit, but that was all right. They were interesting to read.

"Bring him when you come, would you?" asked Sirius hopefully. "We can have an evening of laughs when we hear of his 'adventures.'"

"How much truth do those adventures hold, anyway?" asked Peter, pausing in the act of throwing a screaming yo-yo (which Sirius had wisely silenced their first day back) into his trunk.

"Very little, I expect," said Remus with a grin. "But that's all right. If he wants to make himself out to be some big hero, far be it from me to stop him." His three friends smirked at him. "Anyway, apologize to your mum for me. I feel awful, but I don't know how sick Mum is, so…"

"It's fine," interrupted Sirius, looking as though he were determined to be a good friend after his past transgressions. "Come whenever you can, all right? Jamsie and I will keep your room ready."

Remus's eyes were a bit distant. "Thanks," he finally said. James bit his lip. Remus was trying his best, but even after he had 'forgiven' them, he seemed to be finding it more and more difficult to connect with Sirius. James hoped very much that it was just a phase, but he had a feeling that whatever distance had been created would remain for a long while to come.

"No problem," said Sirius uneasily.

James felt a sense of an awkward silence coming on, so he clapped his hands loudly. "So!" Sirius and Remus jumped at the sound, as though they'd forgotten that they were not alone in the room. "Shall we get on with this packing, then?"

X-X-X-X-X

"That's not fair!" cried Janine, glowering at James. "You never lose!"

"That's because he cheats," said Sirius with a sly grin, looking at James and Janine's fifth successive game of Exploding Snap. "You're better off playing chess with Moony."

"But he wins all the time, too."

"True. But he doesn't cheat." James elbowed Sirius to make him shut up. He was glad Janine had dragged her friends into their compartment. Although it meant they couldn't discuss anything secretive, it was more fun. Besides, Lily was immersed in a book not far from him, ignoring everyone, as everyone was ignoring her. And the others were being so loud (somehow, Janine, Alyssa, and Sirius had gotten into a raucous argument that was sure to attract attention up and down the car) that nobody would notice if he went and talked to her. He fell into a seat beside her. She didn't even take notice.

"So, are you going to the Garnets' New Years Masquerade?"

Startled, Lily jumped, allowing her book to fall from her hands to her lap. She stared at James in surprise, forgetting to scowl at him. "Sorry?"

"I said, are you going to the Garnets' New Years Masquerade?"

She frowned. "How do you know about that? James Potter, if you've been eavesdropping on our conversations, I'll-"

"Relax. My parents go every year, so naturally, I'm going to go keep Janine in line and make sure she behaves herself." Lily snorted, as if that was highly unlikely (which it was). James grinned. This was an improvement from how things normally went between them. "I was just curious if you were going to go."

"Yes, I am," she finally replied. "But Janine's going to have to explain all those ridiculous rules to me – she says there are a lot."

"That's because her grandparents are going to be there," explained James. "They're old blood – you know, old blood, old money, that sort of thing – so they're huge sticklers for protocol. Her parents are nice, though-"

"I know. I've met them many times. The five of us go to one another's houses every holiday," said Lily, gesturing at all her friends. She gave him a puzzled look. "Didn't you know?"

"Er… no." He stared at her, wondering if she'd slap him this time if he kissed her. She seemed to read his mind; she scowled.

"Don't you dare," she said in a low, threatening voice. "Or I'll hex you into next century, and once you're there, I'll send a curse that will put you six feet under."

James winced. Yeah, she'd slap me. "I wasn't going to," he lied. She gave him a skeptical look. "I wasn't!"

Very suddenly, Alyssa plopped between them, wriggling until James scooted over. Damn it, he thought irritably. Couldn't you just stay away, Comforts?

"What are all the serious faces for?" she giggled. "Cheer up! No homework for two weeks!"

Lily rolled her eyes and picked up her book. James ran his hand through his hair in frustration, staring at her for a few moments, but she didn't look up again. He sighed. "Oy, Janine, want to play Exploding Snap?"

"No. You cheat. And I'm busy." And she was – she was playing chess with Remus, and losing horribly. "I have miserable luck," she groaned as his rook captured her queen.

"No, you don't," said Peter cheerfully. "But Remus pretty much never loses." He looked thoughtful. "No, that's not true. He never loses."

"Gee, thanks," said Janine, and pulled Jen down next to her. "You play," she grouched, and snatched Sirius's Quidditch Magazine away from him ("Hey!"), nestling into a chair and staring at a page (James somehow doubted that she was reading.)

"Doesn't take losing very well, as you can see," said Marlene with a smirk. Jen, too, was losing horribly to Remus. "Move over, and let me play," she ordered. Jen was quite happy to give up her seat.

James watched the game. (Remus won.)

And from the corner of her eye, when nobody noticed, Lily watched him. She allowed a small smile to flit across her face. And then she returned to her book.

X-X-X-X-X

A/N: Oh my gosh, I'm SO sorry for taking so long with the update! First I had writer's block, and then I wrote and rewrote this chapter about fifteen times (that's actually NOT an exaggeration). I really want to thank everyone who's stuck with me thus far, and I hope you'll continue to read! As you can see, Lily's beginning to like James a bit more… only half a year (in their time, anyway) until I can write as much LJ Fluff as I want! Whee! Okay, yeah… Thanks for sticking with me. And it's finally occurred to me that this story doesn't have much of a plot, but oh well. This story is going to go all the way until the end. Life-size wolf cubs (or are they wolf pups? I've had this argument with my mother and brother so many times) and life-side cuddly black dogs for all my reviewers! Peaches