For the life of her, Lily could not get this questionable situation out of her head. What were the Slytherins doing after hours? How come they no longer seemed afraid of the rules? How had that midnight scene happened if only Regulus had been inside and throwing potions bottles around? Even Petunia Evans would not have fallen for a supposedly-magic trick like that.

It stymied the Marauders as well. James and Remus were mostly focused on the idea of accomplices, and the means by which the Slytherins went about their mischief. Lily thought that it was this that mystery rendered Peter Pettigrew nervous and frightened. He spent more time glued to the hip of another Marauder. Peter must have been pushed around and tormented before, so Lily reasoned that he was simply hearkening back to harsher times. On the bright side of everything, Arkie Philpott now waved whenever he saw her or James, and Arkie became a very popular first year.

On the dark side, Sirius was livid. He had previously tripped, ridiculed, and sneered at his younger brother whenever he had seen him. His inclination to do these things had almost doubled. James told Lily after breakfast the next morning that it was all he could do to keep Sirius from going straight to the Slytherin rooms and killing his brother where he slept. Apparently, Sirius's fury had been unspeakable when he had heard about Regulus and Arkie (Remus mentioned lightly that the house elves would need to reupholster his pillows, and mend the wood of his bedposts.) Lily found out firsthand when Sirius came up to her during lunch in Great Hall.

"Had a nice time last night, Lily?"

"You heard what happened, Sirius," Lily replied. She was weary and drained, both from the antics of yestreen and her late night of Herbology stuffing. The load of work dropped on the seventh years that morning by Professor McGonagall and Professor Grubbly-Plank was both a cruel and unusual measure previously unseen by the horrified seventh years.

"I did hear of it," Sirius said grimly. His clenched hand drew Lily's female instincts for trouble like flames draw moths.

"Sirius, what is that in your hand? Something that will get you and James expelled?"

"Nothing so bad…" Sirius paused, and offered a smile. "They're for Regulus. A bag of peanut biscuits. Part of a master plan, you know." Lily squinted suspiciously.

"Hmm…I guess there's nothing so very bad about biscuits, except obviously that you're bringing them to your brother. They're not enchanted?"

"No."

"Poisoned?"

"No."

"Portkeys?"

Sirius could only laugh in response.

"No, Lily. No Portkeys. As much as he deserves it, my brother will not be transported to the forests of Albania if he touches these biscuits."

"Good. Okay then." Seconds later, Lily's salad lunch was interrupted once more by Remus, who skidded into the hall looking extremely harassed.

"Where's Sirius?" he said abruptly.

"Why?"

"He took the peanut biscuits my mum sent me."

"So what?" answered Lily offhandedly. She was pouring over her Transfiguration notes when seconds later, she was roused by the shrieking yells coming from the Slytherin table.

Regulus Black was acutely allergic to peanuts. His throat was half closed before his writhing body could be taken to the Hospital Wing.

"Padfoot!" exploded James as the Gryffindors walked to Potions. Sirius' face was impassive. "You could have killed your own brother just now! Didn't sixth year teach you a bit about—"

"He wouldn't have kicked it from peanut biscuits, Prongs," Sirius replied coldly. "Besides, Moony did try to stop me. I take all the responsibility."

"But would you have taken the responsibility if Regulus had keeled over?"

"Then I would've taken all the credit. And this is nothing like sixth year, Prongs."

"Let's keep it that way and not go off with these half-arsed plans again—"

James continued to expound for the rest of the day, alternating between gnashing his teeth and berating Sirius. For his part, Sirius was as deadpan as could be. Nothing about his actions seemed to greatly trouble him so that when Regulus walked into the Great Hall for dinner with a fierce glare, Sirius only smiled politely and kept at his stew.

Lily had nothing to say, feeling there were some areas that she ought not traverse this far into her relationship with the Marauders. She found it hard to have an opinion on what Sirius had done, only knowing it confirmed her notion that it would be highly unwise to become a dark witch if she were to remain alive until bedtime. It was probably Sirius whom Dumbledore should have recruited to police the school, and not Lily. He would have done something a little more tangible than she had in the Potions chamber, which was more like a ridiculous fiasco every time she mulled it over.

That evening, Lily skived off the Slug Club dinner to watch the Gryffindor Quidditch practice with Marlene. She sat far up on the sidelines, bundled in her comfiest cloak and scarf and clutching her Potions diagrams that she ought to have been studying. Watching the fliers circle the paddock again and again was soothing somehow, and Lily was greatly relaxed as her eyes lazily followed the smooth flight of James'.

He was flying marvelously, like always. James treated every practice like a match, and every match like the Quidditch World Cup. Lily knew well enough that any coherent conversation would need to be got out of James after the Quidditch fever left his brain. Her boyfriend was the most competitive person she knew (with the possible exception of Petunia, who might have given James a run for his money in a gardening tournament).

Marlene clapped from next to Lily as Emmeline managed a difficult pass to James, who made a complicated looping maneuver and slipped right past Warty Harris. He ought to play for England, thought Lily idly. After Hogwarts. Lily smiled as she thought how that thought would go right to James' head. But why not? Why, then she'd be dating a famous Quidditch player. Unless they were no longer dating—but no. Of course they would be. Then again, they might not be dating if they were already—

"Wake up, Lily!" cried Dorcas as she hurried into the stands, still clutching a letter of Fabian's in her gloved fist. Lily leaned back just in time to avoid an errant Bludger that Mallory Twiddle went tailing after apologetically. Dorcas nodded in a self-satisfied way and sat next to Marlene to watch Emmeline's vicious Keeping techniques.

"Twiddle!" called James with some ire. "It might be best to keep the Bludgers from going outside the pitch when we play Hufflepuff on Saturday—"

"I'm trying!" responded Twiddle plaintively. He took a swing at the Bludger that pelted it straight into the frozen ground. "I can't see anything in this light!"

James sighed, perturbed that the sun would persist in setting even during Quidditch practice.

"Fine. Bring it in!" he called out, and within two minutes Lily was on the pitch watching James swear at the Bludgers and wrestle them into their crate. She was laughing far before it was over, and James needed to shoot her an irritable look before Lily stifled herself.

"Nice practice, James."

"Eh," he waved, picking up the crate containing the enchanted equipment. "We could use more Beater work obviously, but the formation flying is better now. If that git Twiddle could get his glasses fixed, we'd be on our way to the House championship…" Lily let James carry on for a long time before she realized, once in the castle, that he was not leading them to the Portrait Hole.

"James," she interrupted, sidestepping his rant about Dirk Cresswell's blind spots, "where are we going?"

"To Dumbledore's," he said, surprised. "Professor Vector gave me the message. I did tell you, didn't I?"

"No." Lily fixed him with a green glare. James sighed.

"Slipped my mind, didn't it?"

"Yes."

"Well sorry. I meant to say something but—"

"I get it, James," replied Lily. He was as absented-minded as the proverbial professor if there was Quidditch involved. "No harm done."

"Excellent," he grinned. "Password's Licorice Wand." A massive gargoyle statue before them slowly revolved in place as the gateway to Dumbledore's chambers opened. Lily had never been in the Headmaster's office before, and she would have given her supply of sherbet lemons to know if James had known the password already before Professor Vector had told him. Within minutes, they were sitting down to hot tea in front of the Headmaster's desk as the wizard himself smiled from his chair. An empty bird perch stood behind him and he tied a rolled scroll to it as Lily looked on interestedly. The Headmaster of Hogwarts did not likely own a common barn owl.

"The tea is to your liking?" Dumbledore asked pleasantly, conjuring up a fat, white teapot with pink floral patterns. "I can pour some more if you'd like."

"No thanks. I'm, er, fine," said Lily awkwardly. "Sir." She sipped from the pale china and looked around the office. The walls were covered with portraits of sleeping, mumbling, and chattering witches and wizards, all many years dead and all the former Heads of Hogwarts. A witch with a thick, gnarled wand winked at Lily with her misshapen eye. Lily smiled with considerable hesitancy.

"To business, then, although I'll take some more Earl Grey myself." Dumbledore refilled his cup and took a sip. "Ah! There is nothing quite like a warm cup of tea. I think you've realized, however, that the reason I've called you here is nothing like a warm cup of tea."

"Mmmhah," rumbled James noncommittally. Lily simply nodded. Dumbledore paused delicately and the silence stretched thin before he continued.

"I have some news for you both. My contacts from outside of Hogwarts have sent me some directives, warning me among other things to guard my students against Lord Voldemort's influence. Do either of you have any idea what that might mean?"

Lily opened her mouth to speak but James got there first and answered, "Recruitment grounds." Dumbledore nodded. Lily was horrified.

"But why would he want kids, sir?" she asked. "Why students?"

"For the same reason I want you, Lily," said Dumbledore gently. "You are young. The youth are the future, and what better to do than to brainwash the young? Voldemort knows this, although he still places too much stock in important names and well-known families. Names only become important after those who bear them are given a chance." He cleared his throat.

"All of this is politics, however. I shouldn't want to trouble you with my own contributions to the battle against Voldemort."

"But we'd like to know," replied James yearningly. Lily peered over at James, wondering if it was his desire to fight or his desire to help that prompted his interest. Dumbledore pursed his lips into a smile.

"And that would detract from your studies, which certainly you must like even more." James gave a snort of derision. Dumbledore chuckled softly.

"Your time will come, James, and probably sooner than you'd like. No, it is best if you know as little as possible for the present. I do not say that you will be in the dark forever." Dumbledore looked pained. "We'll need every helping hand before long, even if it should come in the form of a werewolf's paw, or as large as my head and attached to a giant's arm."

"So the Ministry is still claiming that Voldemort is a wizard's problem," said James swiftly. "My dad told me that they won't consider an alliance with the goblins or giants even though Bagnold reckons that Voldemort has approached them any number of—"

"Pardon me, but your fountain of information never ceases to amaze me, James," smiled Dumbledore. "It may also be said that goblins are known to be treacherous and unlikely to form a wizarding alliance. Then again, it is true that Gringotts is possibly as secure as the Ministry itself. Or Hogwarts, for that matter. Millicent Bagnold is in my opinion going through a rough patch after the death of her nephew this summer. But I did not ask you and Lily here to debate goblin liaisons, James. I would like to speak to you about this school.

"It has come to my attention that certain Hogwarts students have been implicated—due to their whereabouts over Christmas holiday—in several incidences that are not altogether wholesome. I have defended up until now every single student in this school. Most vigorously, I might add. However, I am unwilling to do so if it seems as if there is evidence of guilt." Dumbledore leaned in closer, prompting Lily and James to do so as well. The only sound was the whirring of the gently spinning silver device on his desk.

"A first year was overhead, Lily, talking about you. And how you and James apparently defeated Slytherin's ghost in Professor Slughorn's Potions chamber. I must say, you are two of the most popular Head Boys and Girls that Hogwarts has seen in a long time. You seem to have gained a following, Lily." She blushed and turned her eyes away. James looked proud for reasons she could not understand. Dumbledore smiled diplomatically.

"I see that Arkie has not yet approached you with his gift of Chocolate Frogs. I'd expect those sometime soon. But this brings us back to the matter at hand. What was Professor McGonagall to do when she observed this conversation taking place? She knows and I know and presumably you know that Salazar Slytherin ceased to live in the dungeons sometime before last night. So what did prompt this type hero worship, this admiration which you, James, have been the center of before?" A cold red rush of blood burned James' cheeks.

"At first, Minerva suspected some sort of prank. But none of Severus Snape's friends had come down with the measles, or an extra appendage, or a biting quill; and they are the usual…recipients of your mayhem.

"Then Madam Pomfrey revealed that Regulus Black had been in the Hospital Wing for an afternoon, recovering from an allergic attack. Nothing too troubling for a witch of Poppy's caliber, but serious enough for his symptoms. At this point, I might have taken some luxuries with my theory, but I suspected that you were not behind it and that this was not this event that had prompted young Arkie Philpott to spin your graces to his Transfiguration class. May I ask if I have been correct so far?"

Lily had no idea what James was feeling, but she was certainly flabbergasted. This meeting was never one that could have imagined, and she was grateful once more that she had never tried to undermine Dumbledore on any occasion. Lily nodded.

"Yes, that's it exactly."

"Mmm, I was afraid so. But I suppose it would be better not to prosecute Sirius Black for this? I feel like he might have had good reason."

"How do you know that he did it?" demanded James incredulously. "Did Regulus say—"

"Always ready to attack, aren't you?" quipped Dumbledore. "No, I believe Regulus Black felt the situation was too embarrassing to warrant prompting further inquiry. But everything about the allergy speaks of a sibling feud. Why, there was one time my brother Aberforth—"

"Sir, I'm sorry," said James, sounding nothing of the sort. "But does this mean that you know about what happened on our patrol?"

"Only as much as I could get Arkie Philpott to tell me, but I believe it was enough," answered Dumbledore. "From what I heard, I made two excellent choices last year in your appointments. It would be lying to say that I wasn't a tiny bit pleased. I won't ask for any further details from you."

"But we can tell—"

"No, Lily," Dumbledore replied gently. "Before it might have been different but say nothing to me now. If you tell me, I shall be forced to act immediately as Headmaster, which may not be in any of our best interests. Here is, I hope, an acceptable course of action. I shall want to be informed of any more nighttime incidents. Equally, I cannot allow Sirius Black further leeway in dealing with his brother. The staff is capable of handling one sixth year, and he will need to keep his…inclinations to himself."

"But you don't know what Regulus did—" James began hotly. Dumbledore raised his hand with decisiveness.

"Nor can I know, James." His voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper. "The maxim is to keep your enemies closer than your friends. I now have both on my hands. What good would an expulsion do to possible Death Eaters? It would put them directly in contact with Voldemort. Any chance of putting their information to use would be gone. Think, James, with your head and not your heart. The choices we make are not always easy."

Lily caught a movement to her left and picked her head up to see the subjects of each portrait craning towards the conversation. An old man tutted at her. Dumbledore sat back mildly.

"Finally, faculty members will be in control of the rounds for the next month or so. I do not want to put too much on your respective shoulders with your N.E.W.T.s approaching very rapidly."

"Professor, we can handle our rounds," said James determinedly. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.

"Whether you can or cannot is out of the question. Mr. Filch is fixed in his belief that you have been loosening the chandelier each and every night, and this will be a chance to prove your innocence."

It might have been this last admission that made Lily decide—after much deliberation throughout the week—to never again doubt Albus Dumbledore.

I know it is dialogue heavy, but I'm happy enough for all the time that it took. Chapter Three has been redone, and I promised my friend that I'd get this story out before my snow day was over.

THANKS TO EVERYONE, EVER.