A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed...

"Never underestimate the Marauders. They themselves probably don't know the full extent of the havoc they can wreak."
--On the Marauders (general truth)

CHAPTER SIX
(sparks)

"Wasn't it obvious that Wormtail was the traitor?" Harry asked.

He, Ron, and Hermione were enjoying butterbeer in Hogsmeade. The sight of a black dog on the street made Harry nostalgic, and they had fallen into a discussion of the Marauders.

Ron nodded vigorously. "I know! On one hand, we have Sirius Black, James Potter's best friend and one of the most popular guys in school. On the other hand, we have Peter Pettigrew, a weird bloke who kept following them around. But who gets blamed as a traitor? Sirius!" And Ron shook his head with all the wisdom of hindsight.

Hermione snorted. "Honestly, Ron, there are so many flaws with what you just said that I don't know where to begin."

Ron scowled. "What flaws?" He turned to Harry.

Harry shrugged. "Hermione?"

She sighed. "When we were staying at the Blacks' manor, I had a few talks with Sirius. Mostly about the Marauders. And first of all, Wormtail wasn't just some loser who followed the rest of the Marauders around. He was their friend. And second, there was no choice as to who was the traitor. They thought they knew who it was."

After a moment, Harry nodded. "Professor Lupin."

Ron looked appalled. "You mean Harry's father and Sirius and Wormtail all thought that Professor Lupin was the traitor?"

"Yes." Hermione took a sip of butterbeer. "When you think about it, it was actually very logical. Remus Lupin was a werewolf. Remus Lupin had a reason to want to rebel against the racism of the Ministry of Magic. Werewolves had publicly sided with Voldemort during the war." She paused. "The real choice was as to who was going to be the Potters' Secret Keeper -- Sirius or Wormtail?"

Ron looked confused.

Harry explained. "Sirius thought that Voldemort --" Here Ron and Hermione tried not to wince, but Harry ignored them. "-- he thought that Voldemort would go after him for sure. That's why he insisted on making Wormtail my parents' Secret Keeper. He reasoned that Voldemort wouldn't expect that. And also, when Voldemort went after Sirius, no matter what tortures he came up with, he wouldn't be able to betray his best friends."

"Poor Sirius," Ron said, looking depressed. "Poor Moony."

Hermione glanced at Harry. "Actually, there was one more reason why the Marauders thought Professor Lupin was the traitor."

Ron and Harry waited expectantly.

"He had a history of betrayal," Hermione said simply.

"Betrayal?" Harry blinked.

Hermione cleared her throat. "It was so short-lived that it was quickly forgotten by everyone except the Marauders."

"What betrayal?" Harry asked, growing impatient.

Hermione hesitated, studying Harry.

"According to Sirius, for a time - even though he knew how infatuated James was - Remus dated Lily."

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"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Lily replied automatically. But when she glanced at Mara, whose face was full of worry, she remembered that it was her best friend she was talking to. So she added wryly, "Well, besides the fact that the juice I had for breakfast had something in it that made me dizzy for hours, and that someone stole my Potions book, and that I was hexed so secretly that I didn't realize I had orange teeth until everyone was laughing – I'm fine."

Despite herself, Lily grinned. "And notice that all that happened before lunch time. Never underestimate the Marauders. They themselves probably don't know the full extent of the havoc they can wreak." But Lily's anger towards the Marauders was cooling down. There had been a definite decrease in the number of pranks being pulled on her since her near-drowning, and more and more people were starting to talk to her again.

Lily and Mara were sitting in the Great Hall, eating lunch. Mara sighed. "That was a stupid question, Lily. I'm sorry. It's just that you've been acting so secretive lately…"

Lily released a sigh of her own. Mara knew nothing of Severus or Lucius or the plan to bring down the Marauders. Lily had been hoping to keep her friend out of it in case the Marauders ever decided to strike back, but since she was no longer taking part in the scheme, that was a moot point. She decided it was time to tell Mara.

If nothing else, she could at least get some advice on how to tell Severus and Lucius that she had changed her mind. She wasn't going to admit it, but she was growing more and more worried about how they would react. She was a key element in their plot – in fact, without her, the plan was virtually useless. She knew they wouldn't allow her to back out easily.

"Well," Lily said slowly, "I have been keeping a few things to myself…"

Mara leaned forward, and Lily told her everything, leaving out the details of the plan itself. She didn't want it widely known that Remus was a werewolf, so she only said that she had no stomach for the plan and wanted nothing more to do with it. As she spoke, her friend's eyes grew bigger and bigger.

When she was done, Mara looked horrified. "Oh, Lily – those Slytherins aren't going to let you off that easily. You have to tell them as soon as possible."

Lily shoved a spoonful of food into her mouth, but it was tasteless. "I know. I –"

A bell rang, signaling that lunchtime was over. It was time to head for their afternoon classes.

The two girls stood up to leave, still talking. Mara made Lily swear to tell her everything tonight, and Lily said to Mara anxiously that if she wasn't back in the Gryffindor common room by 8:00 PM, it meant that Lucius and Severus had pulled some sort of stunt, and Mara was to check the infirmary immediately. If Lily wasn't there, then Mara was supposed to look for her everywhere, starting with the dungeons. At that point Mara laughed, and told Lily to stop being so ridiculous. The Slytherins weren't that evil.

But Lily only stared darkly. "You wouldn't think that if you knew what they're capable of and willing to do to the Marauders."

Mara sobered immediately. "Then tell me, Lily - I won't blab, I swear -"

By then they were in the corridors. They were separating for their next class – Mara to History of Magic, Lily to Arithmancy. Their conversation was cut short when Mara bumped into one of the Marauders. Literally.

"I'm sorry," Peter said, stepping back to let the girls pass.

But Mara didn't move. Though she had never been a war freak, Mara was protective, and she could be vicious when someone she cared about, like Lily or Diana, was threatened. Seeing a chance to vent out her worry and anger over what her friend had gone through, Mara eyed the Marauders, and said loudly, "You should be. This is all your fault, you know."

It was clear that she wasn't talking only to Peter, and the Marauders exchanged glances. Lily elbowed her friend. "What are you doing?" she hissed.

Mara didn't look at her. "The four of you are unbelievable," she announced. "Don't you ever think of the consequences of your actions?"

"Not usually, no," Sirius said with his best smile, in a charitable mood because he had just gotten a date with a pretty sixth year girl from Ravenclaw.

Mara ignored him. "One of you could get hurt, you know. Some of the people you hurt aren't the type to take it lying down." She paused. "I'm serious. You're not invincible."

And having said her piece, she started to leave. Lily, wincing, went after her.

But Remus had realized that Mara knew about Lily and her short-lived alliance with Lucius and Severus. He stiffened.

Turning, he reached out and grasped Lily by the arm, tugging her back to face him. He said, with unusual sharpness, "Have you told Mara everything?"

Lily looked up at him, comprehension in her wide green eyes. She knew what he thought. Quietly she said, hoping the others wouldn't hear, "No – Remus, she doesn't know, I didn't tell her…"

She trailed off, willing Remus to understand. And he did. Feeling that his secret was safe, he gave her a brusque nod.

For a moment, they stood there, arrested. Staring at each other. Lily felt a flush creep up her cheeks as she thought about what had happened the last time they were in this position.

Perhaps Remus was thinking about it too, because his gaze softened. He released her arm, but neither of them moved. Lily's flush deepened when she caught herself hoping that he would kiss her again. And not on the cheek this time.

Finally, Remus turned away. Lily hesitated, then did the same. Making an effort not to lookback, she walked slowly down the hallway, Mara at her side.

Her friend was looking oddly at her. "Lily – what was that all about?"

Aware that her cheeks were still red, Lily shrugged with what she hoped was nonchalance. "I don't know what you're talking about."

It was clear Mara didn't believe her, but there was no time for more conversation. Lily hurried down a corridor, and Mara looked after her, then went down another.

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James scowled at Remus. "What was that all about?"

Remus looked slightly discomfited – rare for him. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Moony –" Sirius hesitated, then plunged on. "You and Lily, mate. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there seemed to be sparks between you."

Remus instantly relaxed, looking relieved. "Sparks?" He smiled. "There were no sparks."

" Sparks were flying all over the place!" Peter exclaimed.

James looked irritated. "Will you shut up, Wormtail?"

They reached their next class, Herbology. Still glowering, James marched into the classroom. Looking hurt, Peter followed.

Sirius held Remus back before he could enter. Only he, it seemed, had noticed how serious it was, whatever was going on between Lily and Remus. James was merely annoyed, Peter had observed without understanding, but Sirius felt that something more was going on.

He cast a furtive glance at James, who was sitting down, and said softly to Remus, "Seriously, Moony – what's going on?"

"Nothing," Remus said. Too quickly.

Sirius frowned. "For a moment there, mate, it looked like you were going to kiss her."

At that, Remus got a strange look on his face. "Kiss her?"

Absently, without replying, he went to his seat and sat down. Looking askance at him, Sirius followed.

A/N: This will probably be my last update for awhile, because I study in a boarding school where our sadistic houseparents refuse to let us use the Internet without a form signed by about twenty different teachers, and then only for an hour. What can you accomplish in an hour, I ask you?
Ugh, it's so easy to hate school. Summertime has ended in the Philippines. Back to classes for us Filipinos, depressing as it is...