The light from their clasped hands glowed yellow. Neville couldn't believe it. It had been a surprise to realize that there /was/ a fourth Marauder. And they were /alike/. Too alike to make the bond work; a flaw which was almost a shame, in Neville's opinion. Really, wouldn't it be great to have a friend, someone just like him, and be... brothers, or something, as well?

Neville had always wanted a brother. Always, as long as he could remember. He didn't really have the desire for parents that Harry had, not exactly, but he did long for family just as well. It seemed a betrayal to wish for parents, when he so often visited his own - on holidays and once a week all summer - so he didn't. He had more than his share of aunts, uncles, and, well... Gran, so he wasn't looking for anything like that either.

But a brother - wishing for that was... different. Acceptable. And this, this whole thing, time travel and bonds and all, could give him that, give him someone who was like him - at least in some ways. Who would accept him, without him trying to be someone else entirely. The yellow glow faded, and the other boy caught Neville's eye and grinned. The boy... no, Peter, his name was Peter. Peter Pettigrew - who would've, one day, in another time line, stand up to a far-more-powerful Sirius Black, for the sake of his friends. Someone whom Neville'd always admired - and they were alike.

Neville was startled back out of his thoughts when Peter let go, flashing him one last half-shy smile, and Hermione signaled Lilly up in his place. Lilly seemed nervous about the blade, though less so than when she'd tried the bond with Harry. Neville, himself, wasn't quite entirely certain about this whole knife-in-flesh thing, and it really rather did sting. He might even have called it painful, once... but that was before being held under the Cruciatus by his parents' tormentor. Now, the cuts bothered him only about as much as the scratches and such he often got from the more active of the plants he tended. Truth to tell, this wasn't really any worse at all; at least it didn't itch, as plant-scratches were prone to.

The glow wasn't nearly as bright, this time, as it had been when he and Peter joined hands, but Neville still wanted to look away, despite some odd compulsion to stare. He felt an almost moth-like draw to the light, and wondered if it were an effect of the spell. Nervousness edged into his mind, though it was much less negative than yesterday, when he'd been certain that Harry and his father, and Hermione and Lilly, would bond. Granted, when he'd found out Hermione and James had bonded, he'd assumed Lilly and Harry would simply turn out to be a match. But they weren't, and that gave Neville an odd sense of hope. That, and discovering there was a fourth Marauder.

Beyond everything, though, some small part of his mind was wondering what exactly the strength of the light meant. He considered asking Hermione, but then decided he'd rather not listen to her condescending tone - and he was certain she'd be condescending. Then again, he doubted he'd figure it out on his own. Besides which, figuring it out would take research, and he didn't have the tim - actually, hid did have the time. All the time he needed.

And Neville, for the first time, realized exactly what had happened, what an incredible opportunity this could be. No-one knew him, knew any of them, here. For Harry, who'd always been famous, it was surely a let-down, a disappointment, in that respect. No matter what he'd done in the past, none of that counted, now, not for anything, because here, he hadn't saved anyone from anything. He hadn't even as much as won a Quidditch match, to the people in this place and time. Sure, he had a chance to get to know his parents and all, but Harry'd always been surrounded by people, and Neville doubted that the other boy could even see past what he'd lost to realize what he'd gained – at least not yet.

For Hermione, it would be even worse. Because the things Hermione had done, the things that made her her, were things that no-one would count for much if they couldn't be proven. Harry could at least tell the stories of the things he'd done, and even if not everyone believed him, those that mattered to him would. And those that didn't believe, they'd at least think, hey, that was a great story. But what did Hermione have? Harry, and that's it. Not one single point of a single perfect grade she'd ever earned was recorded here. Her parents weren't here, nor would she ever be able to explain to them what had happened, as, since she wouldn't be born, it was unlikely they'd even have a magical child. They would be all-muggle, and telling them as much as "I'm a witch", let alone "I'm your daughter from the future", would be a crime against the international statue of secrecy. One worthy, at least, of a few months in a ministry holding cell. And if the truth were found out for telling her parents, all of their lives would be forfeit.

No, it was Neville, himself, that was the lucky one this time. The pale, white light surrounding his and Lilly's clasped hands seemed a beacon of hope, now. Not because he thought this particular bond would work, not really, but because one of the tries was bound to work, and then he'd have a chance at… well, at anything. Maybe he'd ask Dumbledore to let him in with next fall's first years. He could be anyone and anything he wanted to be, and there was no-one who could even tell him what to do. Not until he found someone to bond with, anyhow, and even that person would only be a brother or a sister – he might be adopted by their parents, true, but even then…

Right then the light shifted, turning to blue. And some part of Neville that he hadn't ever quite understood just... clicked. He was compatible with someone. With Lilly, with Harry's mum, and he wouldn't be left out. He wouldn't even be the last one to find someone to bond with. And in that instant, he felt as though he were both more an individual, and more a part of something greater than himself, than he ever had before.

He smiled straight at Lilly, intentionally showing his relief on his face, and saw a matching relief in her face. He squeezed her hand just slightly before releasing it, in a gesture of friendship, and she smiled, nodding.

Lilly… her, he'd accept as a sister. He'd listen to her counsel, even follow her advice if it made sense. He might even become closer to Harry's mother than Harry himself, and some part of him that had always envied the boy-who-lived was pleased with, even proud of that. A sister, then, and maybe even a brother.

As he settled back into a couch, Neville's eyes returned to Peter, only to find that he was being watched as well. He wondered exactly what he had in common with the boy across from him. The spell didn't indicate exactly how alike they were, only that they were too alike to form the bond. It almost seemed Peter knew what he was thinking, as he flashed him a huge grin, and motioned for the door. They each shifted position slowly, and one-at-a-time, both grinning as they realized they were equal masters of being unnoticed, even amongst those they counted as friends.

Neville felt an almost entirely odd sense of anticipation and excitement, as he took the final few steps towards the door, watching the rest of the room for their reactions. It had been a long time since he'd been really /excited/ about anything. Oh, he'd been - enthusiastic might be the best word - about herbology, or specific experiments. Now and again, he'd been excited when an experiment had gone well, or some such.

But right now - this was different. Not only was he intrigued, excited... but the excitement was feeding on a matching one he could see in one last flash of a grin before Peter slipped out the door. Whatever their other similarities, they were both, obviously, looking for friendship. Cautiously checking the room before following through the door, Neville couldn't help but grin in return, as they came face to face in the hallway.

"So, where should we go?" Peter asked in a whisper.

"Uhm, actually... " Neville began, quietly "you'd know better than I would."

Peter looked surprised. "Oh. Er... I guess I might. I don't usually... that is I'm not really, er..."

"The one people tend to ask?" Neville questioned.

"Yeah... or, at least, sort-of."

"Me, neither."

The silence that followed wasn't wholly uncomfortable, as they stood there in the hall, studying each other. Each was so used to following that they weren't quite sure how to lead - or where to lead to, now they had the chance. Neville broke eye contact first, staring off to the side a moment. Eyes fixed on a spot on the wall - that really rather looked a lot like all the spots beside it - he cleared his throat nervously.

"I've got a room. Um, a set of rooms, you know. Here. Where we could go. That is, if you'd like? Er, I mean to say... " Neville broke off and ducked his head.

"Yeah." Peter spoke quietly, and met Neville's eyes steadily when he looked up. "Sounds great." Neville smiled and turned towards the stairs. As he reached the landing, the other boy spoke again. "Only... is there any food? I missed breakfast."

Neville's smile broke into a grin, as he looked over his shoulder and nodded. "Yup. We can summon a house elf, and they'll bring anything we want. C'mon, it's great!"

And with that, they dashed down the steps, oblivious to the red-haired girl that was smiling at them from the doorway she'd just come out of, or of the conversations that were going on back in the room they'd just left.

This had to be the oddest day of her life so far. It had been perfectly normal, perfectly ordinary, until dinner. Just three hours ago, Lilly had been sitting at her customary spot in the Gryffindor section, eating a perfectly ordinary, if no less good for being typical of Hogwarts' food, dinner. Then, professor Ressell, the head of house, had come to the table, to talk to the remaining member of the Marauders. Mildly curious, she'd listened in, assuming the four boys - or at least the missing three - were in trouble. While this was hardly unusual, considering the groups' trouble-making tendancies, professor Ressell surprisingly turned to Lilly when she was done, and included her in being called to the Headmasters' office.

Startled, to say the least, to be included, she'd gathered her things and stood almost mechanically. The walk from the great hall to the Headmasters' office was a blur in her mind, and the conversation with the headmaster had been truly odd, even for him. The only thing that kept Lilly from panicking was the proferred Lemon Drop, which, for this once, she'd accepted. The sweet-sour flavor had brought her enough focus to realize that the headmaster was asking something of her, that it involved the odd visitors from lunch along with the missing Marauders, and that, whatever she chose, he would fully support her decision.

She honestly wasn't quite certain how she'd arrived at the upstairs room where the tests had been performed, either. In fact, the only thing that had snapped her out of her reverie had been coming face-to-face with that arrogant, cruel, prideful prat; James Potter. And, of course, he'd been in the midst of one of his favorite past-times aside from creating trouble in others' lives: telling about trouble he'd made in someone's life. In yet another story of how the "great" James Potter had picked on "Snivellus". She'd almost turned and left right then.

Only the young girl at her side had kept her from leaving. The second major shock of the evening for Lilly had been the discovery that /someone/ else, in all the world, disapproved of James Potter. Or, at the very least, of James' idea of "fun". It had been enough to get Lilly's attention, right along with the way the girl, whom Lilly had thought looked too young to have even started Hogwarts, took charge of the room. The boys - all the boys, for there were two in the room that Lilly didn't know, had quieted immediately, responding to the other girl as though her command were quite unqestioned.

The third great shock, or, perhaps more accurately, series of shocks, had been the story Hermone told.

Those words had to be the most shocking, most amazing, of any Lilly had heard in her life. They answered questions, true, making sense of little things, but had begged so many more questions in return that she couldn't even sort them out well enough to start asking. Time had seemed to run in great, bounding leaps from there, slowing down when they checked the bonds, while she was entirely lost in thought for the rest of it. When Lilly had found out she was compatible with one of the time-travelers, she'd been relieved. At least it answered one whole series of questions, even if, now, she faced the decision on whether or not to follow through with any of this.

Which brought her right to where she was, now, settled on a couch in the darkest corner of the room. The furniture had a decidedly Slytherin feel, here, but just now Lilly found comfort in the deep shadows. She wasn't hiding, not exactly, and even if she were, she'd be hiding from her own feelings, not from others. But she was also too uncertain to really feel comfortable in the boisterious Gryffindor section, and the blood magic of a few hours ago - or however long it was, she really wasn't sure - weighed far too heavily on her mind for the lighthearted, innocent look towards Neville's dorm.

Which left two sections. And Lilly wasn't quite certain why she chose the Slytherin over the Ravenclaw, only that there was something... soothing, and powerful, that no other place she'd ever been or seen had managed to posess. And she'd been contemplating that choice in location for at least an hour - in order to avoid thinking about the really important things. This whole thing was too much, really. Although - she'd always felt rather bad for Peter, tagging along after James as he did. And this other boy, Neville, he seemed of the same sort - good-hearted, but not confident enough in himself to shine. Together, they might just find themselves; they'd gotten a good start, earlier, from what she'd seen after the meeting.

Speaking of Peter, though, he'd be missed soon, along with the rest of the Marauders. He might not be too noticeable by himself, but the lot of them together were, and when the other three had disappeared, people had taken note of the fourth still being there. Now that he wasn't... well, they'd just better get going back.

Withdrawing herself from the corner of the couch, Lilly set off purposefully in the direction of Neville's rooms. It was rather a distance; this place was almost a whole school in and of itself, rather much for just the four living there, or even the nine that were now present. As she got close to halfway across the massive common area, just as "Slytherin" was beginning its rather odd blend with "Hufflepuff", she caught sight of something... almost glowing, off to her right. It was... odd, sort of, and it drew her in the same way the light from the bond-spell had. Cautiously, she walked towards it, realizing as she came closer that it was in the exact center of the room.

It was a table, only it was unlike any table she'd ever seen. Lilly couldn't help but feel it was alive, unknowingly echoing Hermione's sentiment of a few days before. Both the black-and-white of the far end of the table, and the shining gold-and-silver of the near end fascinated her, though the chairs in the middle seemed almost dull to her by contrast. They lacked the simplistic, clean-lined beauty of the far chairs and the intricate workings of the near, but it was something more than that, the feeling that had drawn here here seemed to come from those chairs, and just those chairs. In fact, it came from two chairs specifically.

Fire and light. Odd, that... especially seeing as the two chairs were so exactly opposite, yet the two things so closely related. Just as she made the connection, though, the pull seemed to fade, and the table looked ordinary, or rather non-magical, enough - if no less beautiful.

Shrugging it off, Lilly went to fetch Neville and Peter. Just as she reached the stairway down, however, the two she was looking for topped the steps. They didn't look particularly surprised to see her, though they might just have not noticed her yet, so lost they were in their conversation. Just then, though, Peter proved her wrong, looking past his companion to nod at her.

It was such a small thing, that nod. Just a gesture of acknowledgement, that anyone might use. But coming from Peter...

It had to be the most self-confident thing she'd ever seen him do. Not worshipping someone, not hiding, not running, not stopping his conversation or stuttering over his words. The change was amazing, and it had only been a few hours. A feeling of complete rightness passed over her, then, and made Lilly's mind up for her – she'd bond with Neville. No more questions, no more worrying, at least not about that. This thing, the whole time-travel business, it had to be meant-to-be. She'd not stand in the way of something that was already having such positive effects.

Almost as though sensing her decision, Neville turned to her and smiled brightly.

"We need to be going to the dorms, before someone gets even more suspicious." He said.

"I know." Lilly replied. "In fact, I was just coming down to get you. Or, rather, Peter."

"Actually, we're both going." Peter replied. Then, more to his companion than to Lilly, he added "We have a discussion to finish."

The shock of hearing him speak for himself so firmly nearly overrode the oddness of the sentence, but Lilly sorted herself out in time to ask "Er, why? I mean, won't that complicate things more, when someone sees Neville? In the Gryffindor dorms?"

"Actually, I'm going to Polyjuice myself as one of the other three – I think the best idea would be to go as Remus." Neville said.

"He's quiet enough that no-one should notice a difference in behavior," Peter put in, "and everyone will just assume that James and Sirius got themselves into trouble on their own, and are serving detention or something. It happens all the time, and it's not like they'll mind people thinking that."

Lilly had been shocked enough times that day, that she didn't even bother questioning why Peter, so notoriously horrible in Potions, or Neville, who'd made the mistake in a Potion that had landed he and his friends here, assumed they could correctly use, or even find, such a complicated Potion. She simply nodded. "I suppose we'd better go tell the others, then, and see if Remus will give you a hair."

A/N: if you didn't read it in my bio, updates are slow because my beta is forcing me to write a new fic. Read there for further details.

2 A/N: if this isn't L/J (it was originally intended to be, but I just got this idea...) would everyone kill me and then stop reading? Or stop reading and then kill me?