Title: Light

Author: Amelia Bedelia
Chapter Eighteen: Royal Flush

AUTHORS NOTE: Nothin' here – not much at the bottom either! Enjoy!



Chapter Eighteen: Royal Flush



"I remember."

Lily froze, a frown stuck on her face. "What did you say, James?"

"Lily – I remember you!" He grinned as his fellow classmates stared incredulously at him. "Hey, Padfoot - " Sirius' eyes widened at the use of his confidential name – "we need a new prank for Transfiguration class, alright? And you, Remus." James turned his head, nodding towards him in the turn. "We still on in two weeks?"

Remus laughed loudly, holding his stomach as James referred to their late night travels as the Animagi and werewolf. "Wouldn't miss it," Remus replied.

Lily squealed, throwing her arms around his neck. "You're back! I was so worried I'd never have the real James again…"

"Hold it there, tiger," Sirius laughed. Remus stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Lily's waist, yanking her off of James. "He may be back, but he still needs air to breathe."

Breanna snickered as James blushed, sliding her arm around Remus', holding him close to her side.

Lily rolled her eyes at Sirius, grinning like a maniac.

"Beg your pardon," Madame Pomfrey said loudly, pushing Bella and Lily out of her way, hurriedly. She opened a drawer, digging through it frantically. Sighing, relieved, she found a green liquid. Madame Pomfrey spun around, heading straight towards Sonetra, knocking Lily onto James' bed.

She uncorked the potion just as Dumbledore walked into the room, Bella and Peter on his heel.

"Sirius," Bella whispered, completely ignoring the commotion on the opposite end of the room. "Are you any better?" she asked, gently touching his rib cage.

He laughed and pulled Bella's hand away quickly, holding it in his own. "I don't think I'm the one you should be asking," he replied, gesturing towards James.

Bella's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "What?" she questioned, eyeing Lily curled up in James' lap.

"I remember who everyone is now," he chuckled.

"Really?" she said, grinning.

"Keep it down!" Madame Pomfrey screeched irritably.

"Poppy," Professor Dumbledore said calmly, "she's gone."

"No," she stubbornly refused, stirring the liquid solution again. Hastily, Madame Pomfrey pried Sonetra's stiff jaw open and poured small amounts of the green bottle down the teacher's throat.

The room silently held their breath. Soon, the green substance overflowed, forming a thin line trailing down the side of her cheek, onto the clean pillows.

"Madame," Dumbledore whispered, "I think you need to stop – this is all a fruitless attempt at the inevitable. She is dead."

Pomfrey gave a loud sigh and pulled a curtain around the bed, cleaning up.

The students gave each other looks mixed between relief that a Death Eater was gone, and shock, seeing as she was a teacher that everyone in school knew.

"Whoa…" Lily muttered, frowning. "I never thought she would ever – die."

Breanna nodded, shrugging.

"Wait," Bella interrupted, ruining the solemn mood. "So… You just got your memory back?"

James smiled. "Yeah."

"Just like that?" Frowning slightly, he looked over to Lily and back at Bella. "I guess – why?"

She shrugged. "I always thought that your brain was triggered with a memory and everything came back then." Bella's eyes glowed as she tried to figure him out. "James, what happened just before your memory came back?"

"I, uh…" James put a hand to his mouth, gasping slightly. His eyes darted to the white curtains surrounding Sonetra's bed, and back to Bella's inquisitive face. "Nothing," he rasped, struggling to swallow correctly. "Just talking to Sirius and Lily – that's all."

Lily blinked and turned to look at James, suspicious. "You need to get to bed – it's been a long day," she said, grabbing him by the hand and dragging him out of bed.

"Er – yeah. 'Night, all!" he yelled over his shoulder as he was pushed through the swinging doors and into the hallway.

"You little liar," Lily laughed, poking a finger in his chest.

James smirked. "You just know me way too well."

"Is that a good thing?" she asked slyly.

"Of course, it is," he replied, nudging her in the shoulder playfully.

Lily laughed. "So – going to spill your secret anytime soon?"

James nodded, becoming serious. "When I got my memory back, was at the same time I saw Professor Sonetra lying in the Hospital Wing."

"You mean to tell me," Lily exclaimed, outraged, "that your memory was brought back by that horrid teacher and not even Sirius or Remus?" She glanced away, hurt skirting across her face. "Or me?"

James shook his head as they jogged up a staircase. "No, Lily – but I think I know why it was her and not you."

Lily looked up at him hopefully.

"My last memory – you know, before I was knocked out – was a vision. Course, after my vision was finished, I tripped and landed on the table." Lily laughed softly, but without a trace of humor shown on her face.

James continued. "I saw Sonetra being killed by Voldemort himself. The ugly hag…" he added coldly, as an afterthought.

"What – why was she killed?" she asked.

James scratched his head. "He said he was looking for someone and threatened Breanna's parents – along with that other woman in their department – if they didn't tell who it - "

"Breanna's parents? They're alive?" Lily laughed loudly, bouncing up and down excitedly.

James nodded, smiling. "Anyway – Voldemort killed Sonetra for not obeying him exactly as he said."

The pair stepped into the Gryffindor common room, Lily continuously giggling. "Finally, some proof they're alive!"

James shrugged, scoffing slightly. "If that's what you call it…"

Lily paused, watching James. "Why would it not be called proof?"

James sighed, dropping onto the couch lazily. "Do you remember my first vision?"

Lily nodded, sitting on the arm of the long couch. "You said that Breanna's parents and the other woman were murdered. But, of course that's obviously not right, seeing as they're alive. It was just a mistake."

James shook his head frantically, looking at Lily. "No," he said sharply. "There are no mistakes – I can't afford to have mistakes."

Lily laughed slightly. "It's fine, James – one small mistake. And it was fixed in the end. So it's no big deal."

"That's exactly where you're wrong, Lily, this is a huge deal. Imagine what would happen if there was another 'mistake' like that. Or," he said, "it may not have been a mistake at all."

"What are you getting at…" Lily muttered, leaning closer.

"I mean," James whispered, "Voldemort, might actually know that I can see him whenever he uses an unforgivable curse. Maybe the first vision was all a set up."

Lily gasped, realizing the actual problem. "And if it was a setup, who was it Voldemort really killed then?"

James shrugged. "Useless Death Eaters. Or maybe just Muggles found at the wrong place and wrong time. My guess is he used a Polyjuice Potion that stayed in effect after they were killed."

Lily shook her head, disbelieving.

"I only hope Voldemort doesn't know about my 'gift' and everything was really setup for the Ministry of Magic to find their bodies, instead of setup for me." Lily nodded, understanding his problem. "And now you know why I was so frustrated the other night when everyone found out her parents were alive."

"Oh – right…" Lily blushed as the night's memories flooded her thoughts. "Yeah, I bet that was pretty bad."

"Yeah, it sort-of was."

"Yep."

The room began to grow silent with an awkward air falling around them. James cleared his throat, hoping to fill the silence.

"So…"

Lily looked at James. "Yes?"

He shrugged, no words coming to mind.

"Um… Maybe I should go to bed," Lily said softly, feeling highly uncomfortable around James now.

"No!" James quickly jumped up, blocking her path. "I mean – have a seat. Tell me what's happened since I was unconscious." He pushed Lily onto the couch, sitting beside her. "Tell me all about your big date with Charles."

Lily's face heated up in embarrassment.

"Whoa," James said, smirking slightly. "Either he gave you one hell of a kiss or something; otherwise you wouldn't be blushing so much."

Lily shook her head, putting a hand to her forehead.

"Lily?" James whispered, touching her cheek gently. "What's wrong?"

"We broke up."

James' eyes widened as her eyes welled with small tears. Carefully, he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. Lily dropped her head on his chest and sniffed, feeling James begin to stroke her hair behind her ear. "What happened, Lily?"

"It just didn't work out – he wanted Liz, that's all."

James frowned. "I'm so sorry."

Lily shrugged, laughing weakly. "The funny thing is today – right before you woke up – I found Charles kissing Liz! In front of my own eyes!" She giggled, attempting to shake off her grief.

"Lily, you're hysterical – stop acting tough."

Lily covered her face, laughter turning rapidly to sobs. Slowly, James pulled her hands away and held her delicate fingers within his own.

James spoke. "So he… cheated on you?"

Lily nodded, eyes closed. Before any sobs continued, she threw herself face first into James' shirt, taking him by surprise.

"It'll be alright, Lily. It's over now."

Lily nodded as James kissed her hairline.

The little bastard… He's going to pay…

Remus

"My, my, my…" Breanna giggled. "They certainly wanted some time alone – and rather quickly, I might add."

"Oh, leave those two alone!" Remus scolded, jokingly. "At least be kind enough to make fun of them when they can be here to defend it."

"Aw, take away our fun, why don't you, Remus?" Sirius barked, laughing. He immediately stopped, cringing. "Damn ribs…"

Dumbledore walked swiftly to their sides, towering over them. He gestured toward the hallway. "If I may?"

The group nodded, following their headmaster obediently. Sirius used his arms to pull himself up, but stopped, gasping sharply. "Professor, I'm going to have to pass on this one."

"Ah – of course," Dumbledore said, smiling kindly. "I shall speak to you later, seeing as you are incapable of mobility."

Sirius nodded and closed his eyes, sighing deeply.

"Now," Dumbledore said, standing with his hands behind his back as the door swung closed, "I heard from a source that you thought Professor Sonetra was a Death Eater due to a note you found…?"

Breanna nodded and rummaged through her pockets, finally pulling out a battered up, slightly ripped piece of paper.

Dumbledore read it, his eyes traveling over the words – several times, in fact. "No denying it's her handwriting."

Breanna allowed a smile on her face, crossing her fingers that Dumbledore would be on their side.

"However," he said, cutting off her hopeful thoughts, "this does nothing now."

"What do you mean this does nothing?" Bella hollered, jabbing at the note. "It's all right there! You even said it's her handwriting!"

"But this does not prove she is, in fact, a Death Eater."

Remus started to think. "Wait – wait a second. If she was a Death Eater, there would be a Dark Mark on her arm, right?"

Bella's eyes widened and she jumped up and down on her heels. "Yes! Just go check her arm, Professor Dumbledore, you'll - "

"No."

Bella spun, looking at Breanna slightly. "What do you mean, 'no'?"

Breanna's face had gone back to its normal pallor from the past few weeks. "I mean, when a Death Eater dies, their Dark Mark is removed from existence. It's the only kind thing he's ever done for his Death Eaters – let their name be cleared instead of dragging it through the dirt." She shrugged. "Although, it was mainly for Voldemort's benefit as well. Whenever a Dark Mark is removed, Voldemort must also feel it – therefore, he knows when one of his kind is killed."

Remus' jaw dropped. Dumbledore smiled. "My dear, where did you learn this extensive knowledge?"

She shook herself from the slight trance she was in. "My parents."

Dumbledore nodded, continuing to look at the sixth years happily. "You all have been of great assistance. I'm terribly sorry that Professor Sonetra could not be proved guilty of any crime. However, she is also dead and proving her guilty would do nothing."

Bella agreed, understanding. "I guess."

He turned to face Breanna. "I hope to find your parents back at home – healthy and happy as they always were. But I must ask you not to inform the other students unless absolutely necessary. It could…" He threw around his hands, looking for the right word. "Well… Cause a panic over something that's already been done. If the time comes for everyone to know, they will be informed." He gestured towards the stairs down the hall. "I suggest you get to bed, now."

The four students nodded obediently.

Dumbledore smiled down at them as they left. "Too responsible for their own good…"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=Sirius=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Mr. Black," Dumbledore boomed, smiling as he entered the infirmary again.

"Hey, Mr. D., how's it going?" Sirius said smartly, grinning as Madame Pomfrey rolled her eyes, exhausted.

"I'm rather well, although I would prefer you call me Professor." He leaned in and whispered. "If anyone else heard you, they might actually think I'm more of a friend and unable to punish them effectively anymore, yes?"

Sirius smirked and lowered his voice as well. "No offense, Professor D., but if you're in the slightest bit hinting at James and my self, you are sadly mistaken."

Dumbledore nodded, acting serious. "Yes, you two would be a lost cause, wouldn't you?"

Sirius laughed and spoke as Madame Pomfrey swept back into the room with a small glass in her hand. "You know, Professor, I have to say - "

Dumbledore cleared his throat and looked pointedly at the nurse.

"Here, Black," she said, forcing the liquid down his throat. "You're in for a rough night."

Sirius nodded.

"Of course, you already know that, what with all of the bones you're already broken," she muttered to herself, walking around the bed to fix Sirius' bed sheets.

Dumbledore chuckled softly. "Thank you, Poppy, for all of your assistance. I must, however, ask for some privacy to speak to the boy alone."

She bowed her head quickly and left the room, closing the door to her office behind her.

"She seems to have gotten rather comfortable with you, Mr. Black."

Sirius' lip curled, smiling slightly. "Yeah, we've had several chances to get to know each other." He reached for a glass of ice cold water and downed it in two gulps, sighing heavily. "Did you know her husband cheated on her with her own best friend? And she gave up men altogether, being the reason why she buckled down on her magical healing studies and came to Hogwarts?"

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, slightly amused. "I did not know that, as a matter of fact."

"And," Sirius continued, setting down his glass and crossing his arms over his chest, looking relaxed, "did you know her brother was murdered by Voldemort three years ago?"

Dumbledore nodded. "That, I did know, as much as I wish I didn't. He was a year away from becoming a Herbology teacher here, too. Good man."

Sirius tilted his head back, his smile gone. "I'm glad she's gone."

Dumbledore smiled sadly. "Mr. Black, you're a smart young boy, aren't you?"

Sirius looked puzzled for a split second, wondering if his headmaster was actually talking about him – Sirius Black. Sure, he had some of the highest grades in their class, but he had never thought of himself as smart. He had been called funny, been called brilliant (in the case of a highly thought out prank), and occasionally people even commented on his wonderful personality. But no one had ever said he was smart, before. Shrugging, Sirius saved his thoughts for later. "I guess," he answered.

"Then you understand we can't do anything in Professor Sonetra's case. She is gone – even proving she's a Death Eater won't get us anywhere or do us any good."

Sirius lowered his head, mumbling, "That doesn't mean I don't hate her for what she did to us."

Dumbledore nodded, understanding that they had perfect reasoning to dislike the teacher. "You probably figured out what we said out in the hallway, didn't you?" he asked.

Sirius picked up his wand, twirling it expertly between his fingers. "Listening charm," he said, grinning broadly. "What can I say, it kills me I can't be everywhere at once."

Dumbledore laughed. "I figured you might do that – you're highly predictable sometimes, Mr. Black."

Sirius shrugged again as the comment Dumbledore made got into his head, making him uneasy. He dropped his wand on the side table.

"I just have one question before I depart."

"Shoot," Sirius said loudly, crossing his legs comfortably.

"You and Miss Figg saw these Death Eaters, correct?"

Sirius nodded.

"Outside?"

Sirius nodded.

"And it's nearly midnight?"

Sirius nodded.

"Would you explain why?"

"Professor, you've just asked three questions – all that I've answered – and you only asked me to answer one."

Dumbledore laughed. "One more?"

Sirius shrugged. "Alright, then."

"Why were you outside past midnight, Mr. Black?"

"We were on a walk. That's all."

"Mr. Black, I'm going to pretend you were merely watching from a window and couldn't sleep," he said, "instead of looking for an excuse to break the rules and 'walk' with your girlfriend."

Sirius turned red, blushing. "Yes, sir."

"Believe it or not, this old dinosaur once used to be a teenager, too, "Dumbledore said, referring to himself. "I'll let you know – I had my share of girlfriends. And in my day – we didn't 'walk.'"

Sirius let a small smile crawl onto his tomato red face, trying not to laugh aloud. "Yes, sir," he repeated, watching the infirmary doors close behind the headmaster.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Lily!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lily woke up in a surprisingly good mood. She hopped in the shower and dressed in the normal Hogwarts uniform, pulling her hair up into a pony tail for a change.

"Morning," Breanna said through a mouthful of toothpaste.

A loud thump sounded on the other end of the room. Lily raised an eyebrow, amused, as Bella untangled herself from the covers on the floor. "Yeah, thanks for waking me up, guys…"

"No problem," Lily smirked, picking up her bag. "I'm going to find James – meet you at breakfast."

She bounded down the stairs, finding a pale, thin boy sprawled across the couch, a magazine under his head.

"Remus?" Lily gently prodded him awake.

"No – wait - " Remus sat up quickly, the cover of the magazine sticky to his face. "Lily," he sighed, peeling Triple M off his cheek. "How are you?"

"Sorry to wake you up," Lily muttered, looking apologetic. "I at least thought you might want to know – classes start in a little while."

Remus blinked several times, adjusting to the bright light that had filled the common room. "Right – thanks."

Lily smirked. "Oh – and do you, by chance, happen to know where James is?"

Remus sucked in a deep breath and hollered. "James!"

Lily rolled her eyes. "I could have done that."

"But you weren't smart enough to, were you?" Remus pointed out, grinning. He then shrugged at her after hearing no response and stood up, heading towards the boys dormitories. "Doesn't sound like he's up there."

Lily nodded. "Thanks."

She left through the portrait of the fat lady and made her way through the halls. Once inside the Great Hall, she noticed James, sitting next to Peter.

"Morning!" she said, happily, plopping into the seat beside him. "I'm starving! Feels like ages since I had a decent meal."

James nodded.

"Oh, these are for you," Lily said, giving James the bottle of pills Madame Pomfrey had given her, for James.

He nodded again, his mind somewhere other than the present.

Lily looked from his face, to his empty plate, then back to his face. "James, what's wrong – you haven't eaten anything." She allowed a chuckle. "That's not normal."

He shook his head and forced a smile. "No, no – I'm just fine. How are you?"

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Ok, James, don't know what's going on here…"

He glanced at the Great Hall door again and looked at Lily, smiling genuinely this time. "Sorry, Lily – I'm a bit out of it this morning." James looked down at the food, grinning. "Looks great, doesn't it?" He helped himself to several pieces of toast and a large stack of pancakes and picked up a bottle of syrup, pouring the rest of its contents onto his food.

Lily held a hand out, stopping his fork from digging in. "James – what's gotten into you?"

"Nothing, Lily, it's alright!"

She sighed and flopped a pancake on her plate, seeing she would get nowhere with this conversation.

James continued turning around all breakfast whenever someone stepped through the entrance. As breakfast ended, his toast had one bite and the pancakes were left untouched on his plate.

-----------------------------------James-----------------------------------

" – page four hundred and eighty-two!" Professor McGonagall shouted at the mass of sixth year Gryffindors as they filed out of the classroom, James in the lead.

He had been waiting all day – all day – to be free of classes. He had another priority on his mind at the moment.

There he is.

James set off at a fast walk, finding his target in the bustling crowd. He cut in front of his path, glaring.

"Kroyce."

Charles took a step back, slightly confused. "Potter…"

"We need to have a chat."

Liz stepped up and eyed the two. "James, what's, uh… What's going on?"

James didn't answer her. "You know why," he hissed, looking directly at Charles.

"I know what?"

James shook his head, unbelieving. "Don't even pretend you don't know why I'm here."

"Look, if this is about Lily - "

"You're damn right it's about Lily!"

Charles took in a deep breath, sighing heavily. "I didn't mean to hurt her – I fully intended - "

"I don't care what you 'fully intended' to do, Kroyce. You hurt her and that's all that matters to me," James cut in.

"Look – Liz and I got back together and I was going to come back and tell Lily right after it happened!"

"You cheated on her!" James shouted, shoving Charles' arm.

Charles seemed to be jolted. "I would never cheat on her – she's a wonderful person. But you seem to need me going out with her to realize that yourself!" He pushed James back, cornering him against a wall.

James burned red. He'd had it – that was the last straw.

Angry, James lost control, swinging his fist to collide with the side of Charles' face.

Stunned, Charles froze, reaching up to his face. He blinked and looked back at James. "That's it."

James was thrown to the ground as Charles pulled back his fist and punched him repeatedly.

Their bags were dropped during the fight onto the floor, ink bottles and quills spilling out and breaking. The two boys continued rolling on the floor, ignoring Liz's protests to stop fighting.

"Trifidus Scissium!"

James and Charles were thrown to opposite walls, split from each other.

"Ow – shit." James rubbed the back of his head, sitting up. He looked over and saw a bright flash of red hair before he was on his feet and being dragged to the nearest prefect bathroom.

"Lily – what are you doing?"

She pushed him against a wall, concern in her eyes. "Are you alright, James?"

He shrugged, reaching up to his nose. He pulled his hand away and saw a stream of blood. "I guess I feel fine…"

"Good," Lily said sharply, turning around to pull out several paper towels from the dispenser. She shoved a fistful into James' hand. "Those go on your nose." She tilted his head back slightly, putting the paper towels in his hand to his nose. He held them there as Lily used her own paper towel, cleaning off his lip.

James swallowed, feeling the distance between them grow smaller.

Hastily, Lily pulled away and grabbed another paper towel. She sighed loudly, holding his arm out in front of the light. A long gash ran down his forearm, apparently from a piece of glass or a quill he had rolled over during the brawl. She ran some water over the paper towel and dabbed at the cut gingerly.

James sucked in his breath.

Lily stopped and looked up into his face. "Don't even start complaining, James."

James looked down. "What – why?"

She rolled her eyes and continued cleaning his arm, refusing to look at him any longer. "James, why on earth did you even start a fight with him to begin with? And," she added, jabbing a finger into his chest, "it better be a good answer."

James scratched his head, feeling a bump from when he had been thrown against the wall from Lily's spell. "I'm sorry, Lily, I just didn't like seeing you get hurt."

Lily dropped the paper towel into the sink and put a hand on her waist, glaring up at him. She had the upper hand. "James – I'm a big girl! I can stand on my own, I don't need you to fight my battles! And I don't need a prince!"

"I just - "

"No!" she shouted. "I can't believe you would go out of your way to purposefully fight him! That's so childish! I never would have thought it from you!"

James dropped his head slightly. "I'm sorry."

"No kidding – you had better be! Do you think you even solved anything?"

James shrugged.

"Did you honestly think beating him up would fix anything?"

James shook his head. "I got so caught up in everything," he mumbled.

Lily sighed again, reaching for the paper towel. "I'm split," she muttered, talking mainly to herself. "On the one hand, I'm shocked you would ever do this to defend me. While on the other hand, I'm almost flattered you did." She smiled slightly.

James pulled the wad of paper towels away from his nose momentarily, feeling no blood any longer. "Lily, it kills me to see you hurt. I can't stand it when anyone does that to you – that was just my way of…" James shrugged again at a loss for words. "Getting back at them for hurting you, I guess."

Lily nodded, not looking at him any longer. "James, when you put your heart out on the table, there's no guarantees in the game of love – it's like poker" She smiled. "You may end up with a royal flush, winning everything, while, again, you might only have an ace high – and lose. Charles – he just wasn't my royal flush."

She carefully removed the paper towel again and took out her wand, muttering, "Fasciola." A white bandage shot out of the end of her wand, wrapping snuggly around James' wrist. He flexed his hand, testing the durability of the bandage on his arm.

He turned and stared into the bathroom mirror, scrutinizing himself. "Man, I look awful." Lily stood by his side, looking at him in the mirror.

"That's a nice shiner you've got there," she commented, smirking slightly as he reached up and touched his left eye, cringing. "If you had thought twice about getting into a fight, you might look a bit better."

James chuckled, looking down at his robes, noticing the ink marks smeared on his outfit. "I better go change, huh?"

Lily nodded, agreeing with him. "That'd be a good idea."

"Thanks, Lily. You know, for getting me patched up and all."

"Don't," she said, pointing a finger accusingly in his face, "think you're getting out of the dog house this quickly. I know you meant well…" She left the sentence to hang in the air.

James sighed. "Yes ma'am."

Bella

Sirius Black. Animagus! Can you believe it? I never thought I would ever see the day he would break the law like this to help out a friend.

A werewolf! I must admit, now I see him in a completely different light. Not that I want to, of course, it's just… To think, a boy I've known since age eleven, if not controlled, could kill any one of us in a moments notice!

But Sirius! He –

"Bella!" Lily yelled, pulling her diary out of her hands. "I've said your name three times!"

"Oops," Bella muttered, grinning sheepishly. "Can you give my diary back now? Please?"

Lily tossed it back onto the bed, allowing Bella a chance to mark her spot where she left off.

"So?" she asked, looking up after storing her diary in a desk drawer. "What's so important you needed my attention this very minute?"

Lily sighed and flopped onto her bed and pulled a pillow over her eyes. "Do you know what James just did?"

Bella smirked. James, James, James – all she ever talks about… "What did he do?" she asked, attempting to sound interested.

Frustrated, Lily threw her pillow to Bella, who caught it, sitting up. "You remember, I told you today that Charles and I split up."

"Of course," Bella replied, evil thoughts about Charles running through her mind. She stood up and sat on the side of Lily's bed. "What – did he say something to you?"

Lily shook her head, breathing in deeply. "I told James we had split up as well, and he had the nerve to track him down and start a fight with Charles!"

Bella's eyes widened, not expecting this answer. "He hexed the Head Boy?" she asked astonished.

"No – oh, no, no, no!" Lily shouted, her voice rising slightly. "It was a fist fight!"

"James did what?"

"Exactly what I'm thinking!" Lily exclaimed, slightly irritated.

"He's never done that before – not even to Snape."

Lily nodded and began pacing the room.

"Well," Bella continued, shrugging, "I think it's sweet."

Lily's jaw dropped. She managed to barely register what Bella had said when whispering, "You think what?"

Bella smiled and moved back to her own bed, taking out her pocket-sized diary. "Yes, well, I think James standing up for you was romantic."

"How can you think fighting someone – physically hurting them – is romantic?" Lily asked, dumbfounded. "I can understand the fact he was trying to – to – avenge me or something, but honestly! To go out of your way and intentionally hurt someone?"

Bella smiled secretly. "He's never fought anyone before, right?"

Lily nodded, dropping into a wooden chair by one of their dressers.

"Then why would he choose this moment above all others to pick a fight?"

Lily shrugged and sighed, shaking her head. "Tell me oh great know-it-all."

"This means James is feeling something for you! He doesn't see you as just a friend anymore, if you catch my drift…" Bella giggled, pulling her legs onto the bed, hugging them close.

"Oh, please, I've heard this a million times before – one million and one won't change my thoughts."

"Lily, just hear me out!" Bella protested. "Things are different now, you're not enemies anymore."

Lily stopped her complaints and protesting and sat silent, listening.

"James has been with you nearly every minute he can since our break. You've been completely oblivious to the signs he's giving you! Blushing whenever you're near, doing things especially for you; this is just another thing to add onto your 'wall of James'!" Lily shook her head as Bella continued. "Are you blind, woman?"

"Bella, he doesn't feel that way about me."

"Oh, come off it, he's head over heels for you!" Bella crossed her fingers, hoping for a confession from Lily any minute now…

"No, Bella, he's not. A-and," she stuttered, standing and jabbing a finger in the air, "even if he was, I could never go out with him and let my heart be ripped to shreds! I won't settle as a trophy girl!"

"But you won't be, because he likes you, Lily, maybe even loves you!"

"Stop it, Bella; he won't ever feel the same!"

"Lily, he - " Bella froze, eyes wide. She stood, walking in front of Lily, smiling kindly. "Feel the same?" she repeated.

"Yes," Lily blurted out, crossing her arms over her chest stubbornly and blushing a furious red. "It like James, I'm finally admitting it – are you happy now?"

"Happy? Am I happy?" Bella laughed and gripped Lily's upper arms, grinning. "Lily, this is great! You two will be wonderful together!"

"Now you've got to swear – you can't tell anyone."

"Deal," Bella said eagerly, acting like a child.

"Not even Sirius."

Bella's mood dropped. "I can't tell Sirius?"

"Not even Sirius," she repeated.

Bella huffed. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Bella grumbled and walked back to her bed. "You just had to take all the fun out, didn't you?"

Lily grinned. "I guess I'll let you tell your diary all about my love life with James Potter." She laughed. "Speaking of which, what was so important that your quill was moving fifty miles per hour and you were ignoring me earlier?"

Bella's eyes lit up, excited. "You remember, last night with those Death Eaters Sirius and I found – they never actually saw him."

"Course," Lily replied, raising an eyebrow. "I just assumed you two were hiding.

Bella shook her head. "Oh, no, Sirius attacked them – with his own, bare paws." Bella giggled, laughing as Lily stared blankly at her, clearly not understanding the joke.

"Paws? What are you on about?"

"Sirius," Bella whispered, "is an Animagus! He can turn into a dog!"

Lily nearly felt her eyes bulge out of her sockets. "Your nutters!" she shouted. "That's illegal! He would never risk that much!"

"He did!" Bella said, grinning. She sounded almost proud of Sirius. "That was rather sweet, also, what he did, you know."

"What he did? Bella – will you stop with the cryptic messages already and explain what happened?"

Bella raised an eyebrow, slightly confused. "You mean James never told you? I would have expected by now you would've known - "

"Told me what, Bella?"

"Uh-oh…"

Lily slammed a fist on her bed mattress angrily and walked swiftly from their room, knocking on the sixth year boys' dormitory door less than seconds later.

"Open up!" Lily shouted, pounding again.

The flung open. Lily swallowed as James appeared, ushering her inside, while holding an ice bag to his eye. She also noticed he had still been in the process of changing his ink stained clothes, and now had no shirt. She blushed deeply, looking away. "Lily, what's wrong, what happened?"

Boom.

Lily rolled her eyes, smirking at the sight before her. James seemed to still be a mess, now pulling a plain t-shirt over his head, Remus was unmoving on the bed, studying the night's homework, and Sirius and Peter were covered in ashy soot, laughing hysterically from their newly finished game of exploding snap.

"What's wrong, Lily?" James repeated, slightly baffled as to why Lily would even want to speak to him after what had happened earlier… He touched his bandage, flinching from the memory.

"Oh – right." Lily put a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes, laughing as if a joke had just been told. "Sirius," she said, opening her eyes, "what loony stories have you been telling Bella?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked, grinning as he stood next to her and wiped his face clean.

"Something about – well, call me crazy for even thinking this is serious, but - "

"Spill it," James cut in.

Lily said her words all in one breath. "Bella thinks you're an Animagus."

The room fell eerily silent. Remus dropped his book, allowing it to fall and hit the floor with a deafening thud. "I – I beg your pardon," Sirius said in a voice a few octaves higher than his normal range. "A what?" he asked, his face pale.

Lily narrowed her eyes at Sirius, worried now. "You – no you can't – you're not really a - " She gave up, darting her eyes from face to face, looking for a sign that it wasn't true. "You're an Animagus, aren't you?"

Sirius shrugged and dropped the washcloth he had been holding onto the floor. Within the blink of an eye, Sirius was no more – all that remained in his spot was Padfoot. His muscular dog-form looked up at Lily, leaning his head to the side, and then bowed his head in defeat. A sort of weak whimpering noise echoed through the room.

Lily squealed and jumped backwards, gripping onto James' arm in an attempt to keep a grasp on the reality she felt slipping from her reach.

Sirius grew into his human form, smiling, almost, apologetically.

"And – you!" she shrieked, rounding on James. "You let him become an illegal Animagus?"

James shook his head, stepping away from Lily. Instantly, he, too, had transformed, this time into a brilliant white stag, along with a full head of antlers.

Lily found no words. She even found it hard to breathe, seeing as her breaths were more like gasps of air. She looked helplessly to the two remaining Marauders, their heads drooped as well. Swallowing, Peter morphed into a small rat, scurrying around the floor of their dormitory.

Lily backed away, tripping over her feet as fast as she could, landing on James' bed, directly across from where Remus sat. Hurriedly, Lily pulled her feet up, shuddering. "Well," she muttered as the three boys returned to their normal state, watching her moves very carefully. "Go on," she said firmly to Remus, face determined. "What are you, then, Remus? A – A lion or something?"

Remus merely shook his head sadly.

"Lily, I am a werewolf."

Lily felt as if the walls holding her world up were falling down. These boys – she'd know practically her whole life – they had secrets, ones they had kept hidden for years. They weren't supposed to keep secrets from her; they were friends! Nothing was how it all was supposed to be…

"I am the reason they became Animagi in the first place."

"'A werewolf, when in the company of an animal during the full moon, finds itself at ease and free of all pain and torment,'" Sirius quoted from their old Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook.

"'A werewolf cannot bite an animal effectively unless the animal is a human,'" James continued, quoting from the same book they had used third year. "We've all got that chapter memorized, Lily. We had to read between every single line to double check our assumptions on what we had been planning on doing that year."

"It was a risk we were willing to take," Sirius said, smiling. "And, no," he added, "my girlfriend is not loony, she was, in fact, telling the truth."

Lily felt tears fall from her eyes, but felt a belly-full of laughter hiccupping through her tears.

James crawled onto the bed behind her and wrapped his bandaged arm around Lily's shoulder, using his other to wipe away the tears.

"Sorry, Lily."

Lily nodded silently and readjusted her position, leaning in on his shoulder and closing her eyes.

James raised an eyebrow and looked at the other Marauders, each of their faces suppressing a smile.

"Lily?"

"You've been in enough trouble today as is, James," she muttered, smiling.

James laughed, seeing she was in a better mood, her tears gone. "Hey – they were the ones who broke the promise and told their girlfriends about our 'secret identities,'" James argued, smirking. "I would have, but I wanted to keep a promise for these boneheads over here."

Lily laughed. "It's alright. I forgive you."

James grinned. "Thank you, Lily, how could I ever live with myself without you forgiving me."

Lily poked him in the stomach. "Hey – you're still in the dog house for the fight, James."

He rolled his eyes. "I expect I'll be out soon enough."

"Oh, really?" Lily sat up and narrowed her eyes, smiling. "We'll see about that one…" She stood up and left the room, sauntering out slowly. She had left the bait, dangling in the air, waiting for a fish to catch.

James laughed loudly, jumping up from his bed, taking the bait eagerly.

Once the door closed, Sirius rolled his eyes and smacked himself in the forehead.

"What now?" Remus asked, clearly unfazed by what had just happened between the two.

"Those two!"

Remus nodded, urging him to continue.

Sirius sputtered. "Those – two!"

Remus nodded again. "We've heard that part already."

He pointed at the closed door, face amazed. "I swear – they are the only people in the world who don't realize what they have!"

Again, Remus nodded. "Padfoot, I've known that for quite some time now. You just need to – well, just sit back and relax. Wait for their time to come – it will come, and when it does, it will come naturally."

The door swung open and Bella bounded in, grinning.

"Sirius, we're going to play Charades."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "What is happening?" he shouted. "First, Lily comes in yelling at us about becoming Animagi, and next thing you know, she's flirting with James!" Sirius leaned in closer. "By the way – that was your fault for telling Lily, thank you very much."

Bella smiled, innocently. "What can I say – I thought James would have told her by now. I didn't realize she hadn't already known."

Sirius shook his head irritably. "And after this happens, instead of being very apologetic, you want to play Charades?"

Bella nodded eagerly.

"Forget it!"

"Sirius!" she whined, latching onto his arm. "Come on – just one game. I'll go first."

Before he could protest any longer, Bella held up three fingers.

Sirius sat on the end of his bed and leaned his elbows on his knees. "Three words – second word." Bella bit her lip and pulled out her wand. She muttered a soft spell and a red, heart-shaped balloon floated out of her wand. She grabbed the end of the string and poked her finger at the balloon several times.

"Uh… Balloon – red – string!"

"It's a heart," Remus said from across the room. "It obviously means love or some emotion of the heart."

Bella nodded her head excitedly at Remus, looking back at Sirius. He narrowed his eyes. "Heart – no – love – love? Ok, second word is 'love.'"

Bella jumped up and down and held out two hands. She made a growing motion, moving her hands away from each other.

Sirius seemed puzzled. "What the heck is that supposed to mean…?"

"Loves," Remus supplied. "Whenever someone does that, you're supposed to add on the correct ending to the word. In this case, 'love' became 'loves.'" Bella nodded, pointing at Remus eagerly.

Sirius nodded. "Oh, right – ok, I get it." Bella signaled with her fingers again. "First word, first word…" Again, she pulled out her wand and a flower came out of the end. "Flower – white – stem – petal – uh… thorn!"

Bella looked at the flower and back at her boyfriend. "Sirius, there isn't a thorn anywhere on the flower."

Sirius shot her a look. "Well… Roses have thorns."

"Does it look like a rose?"

"No…"

Bella rolled her eyes and stepped in front of Remus' bed. He looked up from his homework and said simply, "Lily."

Comprehension dawned on Sirius. "Oh – right – I get it! Lily is a type of flower – ok, 'loves' and 'lily.' Gotcha."

Bella moved her hands again. "Third word," Sirius said, getting excited. She pointed toward the doorway. "Door – wood – brown – staircase…?"

"No, Sirius! You're awful at this game!" She ran to the door and opened it, pointing down the steps.

"Stairs – common room – Gryffindor!"

Bella turned to Remus, hand on her hip. He just sat on his bed, smirking at the pair. "James."

Bella grinned and turned back to Sirius. Puzzled, he tried to put the words together. "Loves Lily James? Bella, is this another game I'm supposed to do now – that makes no sense."

"Sirius!" she hollered, stepping forward. "You've got it all wrong, you mixed up the words!"

"Lily loves James," Remus said, a grin spreading on his face. "Let me guess," he asked, "she didn't want you to tell anyone?"

Bella grinned. "I found out about five minutes ago, right before I accidentally told her about your little secret."

Sirius came up behind her and tickled her softly on her side. "You have a problem with keeping secrets, don't you?"

She giggled, smiling. "Well, yeah – but it's for the best."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I'm sure it is."



AUTHORS NOTE: NADA here. Just hope you liked it! :D

REVIEW SECTION:

Cat: Haha – Lily and James… Sitting in a tree… K-I-S-S-I-N-G!!! Thanks for reviewing!!!

redheadaquarius: Thank you!!! Hope you liked this chapter as much! And thank you for reviewing!

MuGgLeNeT27: I'm sorry!!! :D Haha! Thanks for reviewing!!!

Hope: Haha – thanks! And thank you for reviewing!!!

BabyD: Well I'm glad if you had to get excited over a fanfic, it was mine! ::grins:: Makes me feel SO proud!!! Haha! Thanks for reviewing!!!

jo: Thank you!!! And thank you for reviewing!!!

canuckaholic: Sorry 'bout the cliffhanger! But thanks for reviewing!!!

sparklenshine: I'm really glad you love this story! :D Makes me feel all special! Haha! Thank you for reviewing!!!

Caroline: I know this wasn't very fast updating – I'm sorry! But thank you for reviewing!!!

joelilmea: Sorry this wasn't too fast! Thanks for reviewing, though!!!

Bekah: Sorry – didn't mean to take to long to update! :D (My bad… Haha!) Thank you for reviewing!!!

Smartypants: Yes, his eyes are brown – at first I said blue, then brown, and I finally just decided on brown after I figured out I messed it up. ::grins:: But they are OFFICIALLY brown. :D Thanks for reviewing!!!

Sicko4u: Yeah, laws against Cedric being in the past… hehe – sorry. :D Just pretend I REALLY put Amos instead of Cedric. (I found myself writing Cedric and having to rewrite Amos later and didn't realize I had messed up earlier without correcting myself – nice job catching it!) And thank you for reviewing!!!

Ashlee: Yes – you must know me too well! ;) Thanks for reviewing!!!

Elise: I'm glad you're a Lily/James person!!! :D I love Lily/James too – it's my life, what can I say? Haha! Thank you for reviewing!!!

Anna Ierse: Sorry – Lily and James will probably hook up more towards the end – BUT, keep your eyes open – the end is near!!! :D Thanks for reviewing!!!

NEXT CHAPTER: No idea. Snape stuff – I originally had that here, but after the story got deleted and I had to restart it, I forgot about it, so I'll try to remember to put it in next time! ALSO, good chance I might skip ahead a few months – towards the end of their sixth year!

THANK YOU, everyone for reading – school's started up again, so the updates won't be fast, not like the really ever were before! ::grins::

THANKS!!!

Yours truly,
Amelia Bedelia