Lily stormed up to James in the Entrance Hall before breakfast. He was in a small circle talking with Sirius and Peter and had Lily not been angry with James she may have noticed their tired eyes or the fact that Sirius had a busted lip or she may have even noticed how James winced when she shoved him.

"You stood me up!" she accused when he faced her.

"Lily, no - No! I swear, I didn't mean to-"

"Didn't mean to?" she repeated. "You told my friends that you were standing me up!"

James cocked his head, deliberating, "Yes, but I mean I didn't - I wanted to talk to you but you were in the shower and so I told them. If I'd spoken to you, I would've told you what was happening."

"And what was happening?"

James looked around. Students were coming in and out of the Great Hall like cars on a busy street, some had stopped to look at their little show. He grabbed her arm and dragged her into the closest broom closet as she complained, "Ow! Stop manhandling me! I can walk!"

He closed the door behind them. "It was a full moon."

"A full moon," Lily repeated. "What's that got to do with — oh!" Her face released the tension and became smooth again as she realised.

"Yeah."

"Oh." She looked at him sheepishly. "Sorry. I should've known you'd had a good reason. I should have realised that it was a full moon."

"Ah well, not everyone worries about when the full moon is. I forgot myself until about ten o'clock. I really wanted to talk to you last night," he told her.

"Me too. I - I've missed you," she whispered softly as James looked at her with a small smile.

"Me too. I'm sorry about, well, everything mean that I said. I just got angry because you were putting yourself in danger and you didn't trust me enough to at least come with you."

"You would've come with me?"

"I would've tried to persuade you not to but if you were persistent, yes, of course I would've come with you, Lily. Together or not at all."

Lily pushed up onto her tip toes and pressed her mouth hard against James, grabbing a fistful of James' hair, her other hand grabbing his shirt, pulling him down to her her. She pulled back, leaning her forehead on his.

"I'm sorry I lied."

He kissed her. "Please don't do it again."

"Promise." Lily kissed him again. "Fancy a walk around the lake before we go to Hogsmeade?"

James nodded, "A bit presumptuous. What if I don't want to go to Hogsmeade with you?" he teased and in response. Lily snaked her arms around his torso and pulled him closer, kissing him, long and slow and-

"Is my kissing really so bad that you're wincing!?" she asked pulling away.

"Maybe," he said with a cheeky grin.

"Jems!" She hit his stomach lightly and James sucked in his breath as pain shattered through his abdomen. She looked at the spot she hit as though trying to see through his shirt. "What's wrong? Why are you in so much pain?"

"You hit hard," he offered.

"I could punch you with all of my strength and it'd be like a fly landing on you. What's wrong?"

"Just a little sore from last night, I guess," he answered hesitantly.

Lily narrowed her eyes at him and she went to pull his shirt up but he batted her hands away. She glared at him and he resigned. She swiftly lifted his shirt up, her eyes bulging at the big, ugly bruise stretching across his abdomen. "Bloody hell, James!"

The skin on the left side of his stomach had turned a plum colour, and large band-aids were placed in some spots. "It's nothing," James insisted. "It'll heal within a few hours."

"James, you have to go see Madam Pomfrey," she told him as she inspected the bruise closely. "That looks really bad."

"I've had worse. We know how to heal these kind of things. It just takes a few hours for the paste to take effect. Trust me."

Lily bit her lip looking at the bruise unsurely. It looked mean, all dark purple and green. The kind of bruise that takes weeks to heal.

"James, are you sure? This looks bad."

"Yes, I'm sure," he assured her, cupping her face to force her to look at his face. "We're not stupid, love. I think of everything, remember?"

"That's up for debate. Forget about a full moon much?" she teased.

"I promise, I'm fine."

"You'd tell me if you weren't?"

"Of course."

Lily glanced down at the bruise again. "How?" she asked, letting her fingers lightly brushing over it.

"Remus threw me into a tree."

Lily gasped, "James!"

"I'm fine. It happens. He doesn't know what he's doing."

"Can we please go get this looked at by Madam Pomfrey? Please!"

"Lily, I promise, I'm fine and if we go to Madam Pomfrey, she's going to start asking questions and I can't exactly tell her that a werewolf threw me into a tree when I was a stag!"

Lily bit her lip. "Fine. But if it's not better by the end of the day, I'm taking you to Madam Pomfrey myself."

James nodded, "You won't need to because it'll be like it was never there."

"I'll be the judge of that."

James tugged his shirt back down and caressed Lily's face. "Well, since you're hurt … want to just lay in bed all day together?"

"Hmm, sounds too good."

—

James and Lily weren't the only ones who'd decided to avoid Hogsmeade that day.

Marlene and Adam hid themselves up in the Astronomy Tower, where they were free to make out and talk without interruption and without the risk of being found out.

Adaline and Thomas had snuck into the Boat Shed and slipped a boat onto the lake, snuggling under a heavy blanket together as they shared a bottle of firewhiskey.

Remus Lupin spent the day in the Hospital Wing. Peter decided to keep him company.

Alice met Frank in Hogsmeade but then he apparated her away to London when no one was looking.

It just so happened that the only two people in Hogsmeade that day, were Ella and Sirius and as fate would have it, they bumped into each other in the Three Broomsticks.

"Fancy a table together?"

Ella was about to decline but she saw one Michael Putley with Anna Kit draped across him and decided it would look less pathetic if she seemed to have a companion that could be misconstrued as a date. Bonus points that it was one Sirius Black, one of the fittest blokes in the year.

"Sure."

They walked to a booth together and sat opposite each other.

"Where're your mates then?" Sirius asked.

Ella pulled a face. "Marlene's on some mysterious date … again. Della's with Plunkett. Lily's with James. Alice is god knows where with Frank. What about your mates?"

"Remus is visiting his mum, Peter's doing something unimportant and James is taking up residence in the dorm with Lily."

"Remus' mum sick again?"

Sirius shrugged. "She has an illness that fluctuates unpredictably."

"You know, we like to bitch about how terrible our families are, we don't even realise that there could be worse things."

"Like what?" Sirius wanted to know.

"Like a parent being sick all the time. Like a parent dying." Remus and Lily popped into her mind. "She cries sometimes, at night when she thinks everyone's asleep."

"Lily, I presume."

"It makes me feel guilty because here I am hating my parents all the time and Lily wishes for just one more day with her dad."

"You play the hand your dealt."

"Poetic."

"What was in the letters?"

Ella looked down. "Buy me a drink and maybe I'll tell you."

So he did and she did.

"Money isn't everything," Sirius consoled.

"Never said it was," Ella agreed, "But my dad's an idiot."

—

In the afternoon, Alex came to the boys dormitory and all but kicked Lily and James out much to James' annoyance. Lily didn't mind too much though, she wanted to go for a walk around the castle — the sun had started to shine through the clouds.

"Oh come on!" Lily begged, "Please!"

"Lily, I'm not really up for it. I'm tired."

They were lying down together on a couch in the common room, in front of the fire. "We've been lying down all day!"

"And the other stuff," he reminded her, "You can't forget the other stuff because it's tiring especially if you've been up all night." Lily pouted and James groaned. "After dinner?" he suggested and Lily smiled happily.

"Perfect," she agreed. He kissed her head and his eyes were drooping when a large group of people entered the common room. It was a coincidence that all of them happened to enter the Gryffindor common room at roughly the same time.

"Told you they made up!" Sirius exclaimed loudly, nudging Peter's arm.

"I didn't say they hadn't," Peter cried alarmed.

"What did you guys do all day?" Remus asked, sitting in the armchair. James observed that whilst he still looked tired, colour had come back to his face.

Lily shrugged again, "Not much really," she said and then pointedly, "How was your mum?"

"She seemed better," Remus shrugged.

"Tell us if you need anything," Lily told him.

"That's why he has us," Sirius pointed out.

Nate and Marlene came in together and Lily raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were on a date, Marly?"

"I was," she confirmed. "I just bumped into Nate on the way up."

"Where was this date anyways?" Ella asked. "I didn't see you in Hogsmeade … or Nate for that matter."

Marlene shrugged, "We were exploring the woods around the Shrieking Shack."

"Romantic," Peter commented. "What about you, Nate?"

"I was in the library. Charms homework."

"How come you guys never became friends with Alex?" Lily asked changing the subject and also thinking that if they'd been friends she would still be in James' bed, laying down comfortably in the quiet.

Sirius shrugged, Peter stared blankly and James said, "I don't know. It just didn't happen."

" Anyone know where Alice is?" Adaline inquired.

"Hell if I know," Ella grumbled. "She dumped me in Hogsmeade for Frank."

"I saw her heading into the Great Hall," Peter provided. "Shall we go for dinner?"

The group all agreed but dinner, was interrupted with an announcement, like the one they had in Potions when Mia Scott was attacked.

"All students are to return to their common rooms immediately and are to wait instruction from their Head of House."

The announcement, however, was not made by Dumbledore. It was an unfamiliar, husky voice. The announcement repeated. Dumbledore stood up at the front of the hall.

"Prefects! Please lead your houses back to your dormitories! Your Head of House will be up shortly to take a roll call! Head students, please meet the teachers in this chamber," he gestured to a door in the corner of the room.

The Great Hall filled with activity. Prefects shouting instructions, students asking questions. James and Lily looked at each other, dread filling them.

"Another attack," Lily realised sadly. "We better go."

"Evans!"

Lily turned and saw Henry Adams, a prefect.

"Henry, James and I have to meet Professor Dumbledore."

"I know, where's Remus?"

Lily looked at James, "He's not at Hogwarts," James jumped in. "You and Strite are in charge. Make sure you get everyone to the common room."

"I suggest two of you lead and two of you round up," Lily told him. "Go!"

"Come on." James grabbed Lily's hand and together they pushed through the crowd until they reached the chamber. A fire burned in a stone fireplace and a circle of teachers stood around in front of it, discussing something.

"Ah, James, Lily," Professor Dumbledore greeted. "Unfortunately, there has been another attack."

"On who?" James asked at the same time Lily asked, "Are they okay?"

"Mr Steve Nettles. He was found by an auror. He is being looked after by Madam Pomfrey."

"So he's alive?" Lily breathed out in relief.

"Yes."

"How can we help?"

"We need to search the castle and make sure all students are back in their common rooms. The two of you will assist the teachers."

Lily and James nodded just as Professor McGonagall barked, "You two can search the towers! Come back to this room once you're done."

Lily and James nodded and left together, James slipping his hand in Lily's. They had both been stunned into silence. Another student going through what Lily went through. It wasn't fair.

"At least they found him in time," James murmured.

"Thank Merlin for the aurors."

"I should keep a better eye on the map. If I was just watching the map, I would know who it was."

"James you can't watch the map, twenty-four seven."

"I can try."

"The teachers will find out about it."

"Maybe but it's worth it if I find out who it is."

They climbed up the Grand Staircase, stopping when the stairs decided to move to a different landing. "I just hope Nettles is okay. We should go visit once he's feeling better. Scott and Rogers came to visit me."

"Did they?" James asked surprised, the stairs moving back to the landing they needed.

"Yeah. We shared our stories, you know, that sort of thing. Told me I would be okay and that the scar isn't too bad to deal with-"

"You still cover your neck."

"I don't like to see it. Haven't a clue what I'm going to do when the weather gets warmer. I can't keep wearing scarves and turtle necks."

James stayed silent. The scar wasn't so bad. It was a thin white line going across her throat, barely noticeable but he didn't quite like to look at it either. It made everything that had happened to her real.

James kissed her hand, wishing that it had never happened to her. They searched all the rooms in the North Tower and then crossed over to the Ravenclaw Tower. They reached the top of the Ravenclaw Tower to find nothing unusual and quickly made their way to the Gryffindor Tower, leaving the Astronomy Tower for last. Halfway up the Gryffindor Tower, Lily spotted a textbook on the ground. It lay open, it's cover facing up and Lily bent down to pick it up. It was an Advanced Potions textbook and she turned it over.

Their were scribbles all in the margins in writing so familiar Lily could've spotted it blind. In the right top hand corner was a spell. 'Sectumsempra — For Enemies'.

"James," she called softly and he came over. "It Snape's. He told the truth. He really did lose his book."

"No, that's Alex's."

"James, that's Snape's writing and see," she pointed to where the spell was scribbled in, "That's the spell."

James grabbed the book off of Lily. He could've sworn James had seen Alex reading a Potions textbook just like this one. "I swear, it's Alex's," and then it dawned on James. "It's Alex."

"What?"

"Snape said the book was stolen, not lost. Alex stole it. Alex was the only other person who knew the spell."

Lily looked at James like he'd cracked. "I'm not sure, James … you can't even be sure that Alex was using this textbook. I mean, we all had the same textbook last year and this is Alex we're talking about! He barely muttered ten words to me when I stayed with you guys for those couple of weeks. He's so quiet."

"It's brilliant," James said amazed, "He planned it out so meticulously. No one would even suspect him — look at you, the evidence is right in front of you and you're doubting it!"

"Because this isn't evidence, James! You can't incriminate someone because they may have stolen a textbook."

"Did you see Alex at dinner tonight? Because I didn't."

Lily went silent for a moment. "Okay, yes and he - he left for the bathroom in Potions-"

"And on the day Rogers was attacked, he was 'sick' and didn't go to class."

"Oh. My. God. I - it's Alex. He's the one who's been attacking everyone. He attacked me."

"We have to ask the boys if they remember Alex sneaking out at all that night."

"And what about Paris? Do you remember seeing him around?" Lily asked. "Was he at dinner?"

James dragged his hands down his face, "I can't remember! The boys and I were distracted." Lily raised an eyebrow at the word 'distracted'. "We were charming the Ravenclaw benches to jolt, it was quite funny."

"I don't remember either," Lily frowned. She'd been too caught up with Adaline to notice anything else.

"We've got to go tell Dumbledore!"

"Wait, we haven't cleared the Astronomy Tower yet and she's not — there's no concrete proof, James."

"What's the floor got to do with this?"

Lily rolled her eyes, "Muggle saying I guess. There's no solid proof. No one saw who attacked them. There were never any witnesses — you were the closest thing they have as a witness and even you didn't recognise your own roommate! I didn't recognise his voice. It sounds like he's being smart about it. Changing the way his voice sounds, wearing masks. Only attacking when everyone is out of the corridors … what I don't get, I slept on the floor of your dormitory for almost three weeks, why didn't he try to attack me? I was alone with him multiple times in that period."

James shook his head. "You said it yourself. He's being smart, Lily. If he attacked you in the Gryffindor Tower in our dormitory, all five of us would've been prime suspects and once all of us four got cleared, it'd be obvious it was him."

"Yes, it would've been," someone agreed stepping out of a broom closet and Lily froze. It was the same voice. She whirled around, grabbing James' wrist.

—

"Is anyone missing?" Henry Adams shouted across the common room.

Sirius sat comfortably on a couch not paying attention to the panicked talk that caused a drowning din loud enough to cause a migraine. Peter sat next to Sirius.

"Where's Lupin?" someone questioned.

Sirius was about to jump in but Henry Adams beat him to it.

"He's not in the castle at the moment. Anyone else missing?"

"Where's Brown?" Peter asked Sirius.

Sirius looked around and shrugged, "Don't know."

Ella plonked down on Sirius' other side. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What are you doing?"

"Sitting."

"Next to me. Why?"

Ella rolled her eyes. "Because everywhere else is taken."

Sirius glanced around and noticed that was in fact true but that didn't mean he liked it any more. "Look just because I listened about your pathetic family problems, doesn't make us friends."

"Don't flatter yourself, Black. I'm just sitting down."

Adaline, Alice and Marlene all sat on the floor in front of them.

"I can't believe there's been another attack," Marlene sighed.

"I can't believe your little brother gets to boss everyone around," Ella said.

"Blame James and Lily for getting to be out there whilst we're stuck in here."

"Marls?" Nate called a voice of relief as he entered the common room. She turned quickly and smiled. Sirius kept his face passive as he noticed how Nate's hand brushed across her shoulder as he sat down perhaps a little too close to her.

"Say Nate, that charms homework, do you think you could give me a hand?" Sirius asked.

"Uh, why?"

"Well, you mentioned you were working on it today, right?"

"Ah, right but I'm hopeless at charms, you're better off asking Lily."

"'Course I am," Sirius muttered.

Marlene on a mysterious date indeed.

—

Alex Brown stood, quite confidently, twirling his wand in his hands. His school robes hung off him limply and his face had a sort of demeanour about it that made a shiver run through Lily. This wasn't the quiet, hard working Alex she knew. This was the man who attacked her. Who slit her throat open and left her to die. Her grip tightened on James' arm. James pulled her back and she stumbled into him a little before he stepped slightly in front of her, pulling his wand out. Lily did the same.

"I came to retrieve my book."

"It's not yours, it's Snape's!"

Alex rolled his eyes, "Tomayto tomahto. Who in Merlin's name cares how I got the book? Point is, it's mine now and I'll be needing it back."

"I don't think so. You did it. You attacked all those people."

"Mudbloods," he corrected James.

"Witches and wizards," James corrected.

"Blood traitor."

"Murderer," he accused and then he turned his head slightly to Lily, "Go get help."

"She's not going anywhere," Alex said training his wand on Lily. "Now's as good as time as any to finish the job I started on you," he told Lily.

"Why?" Lily asked him. Someone check the map. Check the map. It rang in her head loudly, like she was trying to tell the boys telepathically. Check the map. Check the map. Check the map!

"Why?" Alex echoed. "Why? Because I worked my ass off at Hogwarts every single damn year and I got nothing. I didn't get prefect. I didn't get on the Quidditch team. I don't even get top marks. Because of mudbloods! Henry Adams took my beater position on the team. You and that stupid half-blood werewolf got prefect! A mudblood and a werewolf got prefect over me! Ha! Five generations of my family have been Prefects! And instead it went to some half-blood and the other position, of course, went to a mudblood!"

"Call her that again and we'll find out how clean your blood is, you got it?" James growled.

"Terrified," he mocked, a smirk on his face. James lifted his wand but before he could mutter a word, it flew out of his hand and Brown caught it with ease. "Thanks for that. I've been thinking-"

"Expelliarmus," Lily muttered and a wand flew out of Brown's hand, only able to keep hold of one, and James caught it easily.

"Wrong wand, Lils."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she retorted.

"Sectumsempra!" Brown said and her throat slit open.

James caught her as she fell, blood seeping through her fingers.

—

In an attempt to calm the younger students, Sirius Black did what Sirius Black did best. He created a distraction.

"All right everyone, listen up!" he shouted standing up on a small table so everyone could see him. "Exploding Snap tournament! If you want to play, buy in is three sickles and you should hand that over to Marlene who'll be taking everyones names down!"

They waited a few minutes for everyone to decide and Marlene collected the money and wrote down names.

"Spectators are allowed to make bets! Peter will be in charge of that!" Sirius announced once more.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Ella muttered, watching as everyone started their game with their assigned partner.

"Firsties aren't freaking out anymore," Sirius pointed out and true to his word, the first year students, all the students in fact, looked happy as they watched on making bets and cheering on players.

This was perhaps the moment that Ella realised that there was more to Sirius Black than met the eye.

"You're all right, you know that Black."

"Am I usually not all right?" he questioned.

"Don't be cute."

Marlene was chewing her lip when she approached Nate. "Don't you think Lily and James should be back by now?"

"Marls, they're probably just helping the teachers."

"But what if they aren't? What if they're in trouble?"

"Marlene, I say this out of love but this is the thing that you do," Nate told her and she scowled.

Ella pursed her lips. It had been a while and Lily and James should be back. "Are you worried?"

"I don't worry."

"Of course not."

A moment. "Worried about what?" Sirius inquired.

"Lily and James."

"They're just doing Head stuff," Sirius shrugged.

"Right."

—

"Vulnera sanentur … vulnera sanentur … valnera sanentur …" the bleeding slowed but the cut didn't heal completely and James knew it was because of the wand. It's power felt sluggish. "Come on you son of a … Vulnera sanentur … Vulnera senentur … Vulnera sanentur … Vulnera senentur." The skin finally sewed itself back together leaving a mean red line across her throat and James pressed his forehead to hers, her faint breaths comforting him somewhat.

James looked up, his eyes darkening when he saw Brown still standing there. Without a moments thought, James flicked the wand to the suits of armour and no sooner had he done it, had the suits of armour started clapping loudly. Teachers would be coming now. Everything would be fine.

"Confringo!" Brown shouted but James, in an effort to block it only managed to deflect it so it hit a suit of armour.

Bloody wand! "Defodio!" James shouted and a chunk of his nose was gouged out. "Flipendo!" and he was sent flying back.

James knelt beside Lily again, thinking he had time but Brown recovered quicker than he had thought and "Stupefy!"

Everything went black.

Then it wasn't.

"Professor McGonagall! Thank god!" Brown shouted sounding relieved, James still groggy picked himself up off the floor. "Potter's the attacker! I caught him attacking Evans! I tried to stop him and then he attacked me! I tried to help Evans but …"

Lily. James went to sit beside her but Professor McGonagall stopped him.

"Stay where you are, Mr Potter." Her voice was ice.

"Professor McGonagall, I didn't attack Lily, you know I didn't attack Lily! Brown attacked Lily whilst we were walking!"

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips looking between her two Gryffindor students. One of whom, had a history of bullying and the other who had a history of keeping his nose down.

"My office now, Mr Potter," she ordered. "Hand over your wand."

"What about Lily?"

"I will see to it that she gets to the Hospital Wing, Mr Brown seems to have done a good job at healing her wounds."

James shook his head, "No, Professor," his face paled, "You can't believe him, he attacked her and I healed her. I swear, Professor! I — why would I want to hurt Lily? She's my girlfriend! Why would I want to hurt my girlfriend?"

"Your wand, Potter."

James without even looking, handed Professor McGonagall the wand he was holding and said, "Just get her to the Hospital Wing and - and get her friends. She shouldn't wake up alone."

With that, he walked to Professor McGonagall's office where he waited.

A/N: Hi Guys, thanks for reading! Please review, fav or follow!

-Natalie xx