Sirius Black didn't know a lot about the world but there were a few things he was certain about and one of those was that James Potter would rather jump off the Astronomy Tower than harm a hair on Lily Evans' head. James Potter would rather serve his own beating heart for dinner than leave so much as a bruise on Lily Evans' arm. James Potter would rather castrate himself than curse Lily Evans and you get the point.

"Sirius, you know I didn't do this?" James asked weakly.

"I know mate," Sirius assured him. "I know but until Lils wakes up, it's your word against his."

James breathed in deeply. "Why hasn't she woken up yet? It's been hours."

"Madam Pomfrey said it's perfectly normal. She lost a lot of blood."

"Who's with her?"

"The girls, Remus and Pete."

James nodded. At least she had people around her. "Where've they got Brown?"

"In a room like yours."

A room like James' would consist of an unused teacher's office with a squeaky bed and tiny bathroom. The rules of the room were simple: You were not to step one foot outside the threshold.

"But don't worry, Lily will wake up and she'll set things straight. I don't think anyone actually believes you fatally cursed Lily Evans."

James ran a hand through his hair. "This is Mia Scott all over again."

"Don't say that," Sirius snapped. "Lily will wake up and she'll set the story straight."

"Sirius, I was passed out for Merlin knows how long! He could've confunded her or wiped her memory! Hell, he could be the reason why it's taking her so long to wake up!"

The door opened to reveal Professor McGonagall. "It's been twenty minutes, Black. Times up."

"If she wakes up tell her-"

Sirius put a hand on James' shoulder, "I will."

Marlene sat with Adaline in a plastic chair watching Lily's chest rise and fall in slow rhythms. It was odd that Lily should have to be in such a state not only once but twice within the space of weeks and it hit Marlene that not only was it odd but it was entirely unfair. A lot of things were unfair like the fact that James was locked up in some room that acted as a glorified prison cell instead of here by Lily's side.

"It wasn't James."

"Obviously."

"But I can't imagine Brown doing this either."

Adaline sighed. "I know but James definitely didn't."

They fell into a quiet after that and Marlene continued to watch Lily and she wondered what would have happened had James not been there to fix her, of course, Brown was spouting out that he had healed Lily but it was off when it came out of his mouth — she suspected that McGonagall thought so too.

Lily would've died as horribly and as alone as Charlotte Blake. Lily would have died way before the world was ready to say goodbye and Marlene wondered if that feeling creeping into her skin was the exhaustive knowledge that life was so very short. The realisation was perhaps as monumental as one could imagine and it wasn't so much a realisation as it was a question. Just one big question: if I were to die tomorrow, would I be happy with my life?

Marlene supposed she'd had a relatively happy life. She had memories of a fantastic childhood, friends that had become family and she did well in school. But just because it was happy didn't make it meaningful. She'd never done anything of grand importance. None of them had. They were only seventeen, of course they hadn't and that's what made it all the more unfair. It was why Lily had to wake up.

Marlene wasn't sure when but at some point she dosed off only to be awoken some time later by Adaline, who nudged her and said, "She's awake!"

They both jumped out of their seats to see Lily, her eyes opening.

"Marls? Della?" she managed to croak, her green eyes flickering between them.

"Hey, how're you feeling?"

How was she feeling? She saw James raise his wand and then blood. She felt like she needed to throw up.

"What happened?" she asked, she wanted to sit up but her limbs felt like logs so she remained lying down.

"You were attacked again," Adaline answered.

"Move aside," Madam Pomfrey commanded, pushing Marlene out of the way. "Are you in pain?" she asked Lily.

She shook her head. "Who attacked me?" She didn't miss the glances her friends shared. "Who?"

"Well, Brown is spewing some ridiculous story that it was," Marlene looked over at Adaline who nodded, "That it was James."

The image of James raising his wand, saying the spell, struck in her mind again but the image was blurry, like she was looking at it through a haze. The memory didn't fail to send a shiver down her spine no matter how many times she tried to deny the memory.

"But James is saying that it was Brown."

Alex Brown. They had been talking about Brown before, before, well she didn't know before what but they were talking about … but what were they saying … something about a textbook. It all seemed so distant.

"The teachers were rather hoping you could help them straighten the story out."

Adaline sat on the edge of the bed. "Do you remember anything?"

Lily bit her lip. "I — we were walking and then we - we-" James raised his wand and then blood. Lily shook her head. "I think I've been confunded," she whispered because she knew James would never hurt her. "Everything is so confusing."

"Miss Evans," Madam Pomfrey came back, "Auror Pierce is outside. She wants to talk to you."

Lily shook her head. "No, no, I want," James. "Can I speak to Sirius?"

"She's awake?" she heard someone ask outside.

"That is none of your concern, this is ministry business-"

The doors were pushed open and revealed Sirius himself. He looked around widely, his eyes hovering over the curtains drawn around the bed where no doubt Remus Lupin slept off the full moon unaware of the soap opera Hogwarts was currently experiencing, but then he found Lily and a relieved smile crossed his face.

"Padfoot," Lily murmured as he came over to her and sat at the end of her bed. "Padfoot where's Prongs?"

Sirius looked up at Marlene and Adaline. "Can we get a minute alone?"

"Mr Black, Auror Pierce-"

"Can wait," Lily interrupted. "I don't want to answer any questions yet."

Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips. "Very well. I will tell Pierce to come back later."

Madam Pomfrey swept outside, shutting the door behind her and Marlene and Adaline gave them space.

"Sirius, I think I've been confunded. I — everything is hazy."

He sighed. "James thought you might've. Tell me everything you remember. Take your time."

Lily nodded. "I remember the announcement and James and I were sent to search the towers for stray students. We were in Gryffindor Tower and we found a textbook … this is where it starts getting hazy."

"Take your time," Sirius encouraged.

"I think it was a potions textbook, a stolen textbook … and then I have a memory of James pointing his wand at me and saying the spell but it doesn't feel right … James would never do that. What happened?"

Sirius told her the story James told her and then, "He has his mirror on him."

Lily looked at him and without needing her to ask, he handed his mirror over.

She hesitated before speaking but she told herself she was being stupid and asked the mirror, "James?"

"Lily?"

"James!" relief flooded through her at the sight of James' face.

"Thank Merlin, you're all right," he whispered. "Lily, Brown's sprouting some horrendous bullshit-"

"I know," Lily cut him off. "I know. He confunded me."

"How do you know? Did Madam Pomfrey…?"

"No, it's just … everything's hazy. I remember us finding a textbook and then you're pointing a wand at me but I know it wasn't you." She was surprised at the certainty in her own voice but no sooner had she said it did she realise that of course she knew it wasn't him.

"How?" he asked.

"The memory is … weak," she decided. "It's like a bad dream, something from a different reality … Pierce wants to question me but I told Madam Pomfrey that I'm not ready."

"What are you going to tell her?"

"I'm not going to tell her anything … not until I get my memories back." That woman had a grudge against James ever since he proved innocent the first time he was accused of hurting Mia Scott, she would not be foolish enough to tell Pierce that she had a hazy memory of James attacking her. Nor did she want Pierce to poke holes in her story or to say that Lily was in denial. She wanted her memory of that night clear and crystal. It would be the only safe way of getting James out of this mess.

None of the adults could know she'd been confunded. They'd only prod and poke at her story.

"How are you going to get your memories back?"

"Sirius."

Sirius grabbed the three thickest books he could find on confundment charms and checked them out of the library — "I didn't realise there was an assignment on confundment charms," Madam Pomfrey commented.

"There isn't," Sirius supplied. "Personal project."

He carried them to the Hospital Wing where he sat by Lily's bedside for three hours reading about confundment charms and more specifically how to break one. He didn't know how confident he felt poking at her brain but she wanted her memory of the previous night and she was going to get it.

"Anything?" Lily asked after a while. Her eyes had a hint of hope and he breathed heavily.

He shook his head. "Just a bunch of stuff on how a confundment charm is performed." But he still read over it. If you wanted to break something you had to understand how it worked first.

"Pass one of those books over."

Sirius shook his head. "You're supposed to be resting."

"Reading is resting."

Sirius considered and then levitated a book over to her and she too started reading. Lily Evans was no brick and he'd take her insight if he could.

Marlene found Nate at the Gryffindor table at breakfast. He was unsuspecting as one usually is at breakfast and she sat next to him. She nudged him.

"Hey," he greeted like he would when they were just friends. But they weren't just friends anymore and life was too short and if she were to die tomorrow, she'd want the world to know that she'd snogged Nate McKinnon because she figured she was only seventeen and fine, she hadn't done anything particularly interesting or meaningful in her life. But she was dating Nate McKinnon and that was interesting and meaningful to her.

"Hi," she said and then she planted her lips on his in front of the entire school. It wasn't a particular romantic kiss, just their lips mashed together for a few seconds to get the message across and the people around them caught sight, some staring.

She pulled back and turned to her plate, helping herself to some eggs and toast. She had no doubt that the news would be all over Hogwarts by first period.

"What happened to the master plan of keeping this secret so we could still have sleepovers?"

Marlene shrugged. "Life's too short." Marlene noticed Alice staring at them, her mouth agape. "Hey, Alice. Nate and I are dating, by the way."

"I knew you had a crush on him," she whispered. "No one is that neurotic."

"I was not neurotic. He was dating a fifth year!"

Adaline sat down at the table. "She isn't back onto the 'Nate dated a fifth year' thing is she?"

"Oh no, she's surpassed that," Alice said, seeming to have gotten her mind back. "She's into the 'snogging Nate at breakfast' thing now."

Adaline looked at the two, surprised. "You two snogged?"

"Multiple times," Nate confirmed.

"Do you need us to do it again?" Marlene asked.

"Might prove helpful."

Marlene looked at Nate who shrugged and they leaned in and kissed for a few seconds, this time a little more passionately than the first time, their mouths moving softly against each other in sync.

"Okay," Adaline said throwing a grape at them to break them apart. "Wow. Did not see that coming. I mean I figured you had a crush on him but I also figured you'd be painful about it and you'd do the thing that you do."

"I don't have a thing!" Marlene complained.

"You do," Alice, Adaline and Nate said all at the same time.

She nudged Nate, "You're supposed to be on my side."

"Just because we're dating doesn't mean I'm going to be nice."

"Charming." Marlene bit into a piece of toast. "What's the Lily schedule today?"

"Sirius is working out a way to un-confund her so we have been asked to stay away," Adaline informed her.

"Oh. And she's sure she's confunded?"

"She's sure," Alice confirmed. "What I want to know is why Brown would want to frame James."

"Other than to save his own neck?" Nate asked.

"No, Alice has a point," Marlene frowned. "This isn't the first time he's tried to pin it on James."

"Mia Scott," Adaline realised.

"Shivers, I'd almost forgotten about that," Nate frowned. "That is interesting."

"I was thinking," Alice proposed, "How about we go have a little chat with Alex Brown during first period?"

Marlene bit her lip, "I don't know, Al. No one is supposed to talk to Brown without a teacher."

"And do you really think Brown will talk in front of a teacher?" Adaline raised her brow. "I'm in."

"I — all right," Marlene sighed. "For Lily and James."

They hung back after breakfast, waiting for most of the teachers to leave the Great Hall before slinking out. Adaline had to admit, it was thrilling to hear the warning bell for the first lesson of the day and not hurry off to class, like a true act of rebellion but even more satisfying because it was for a good cause.

"Della?"

She froze and cursed. "Go on ahead," she told her friends before turning to face Thomas. "Hey." She plastered a smile on her face to match the smile that crossed his face.

"I thought I could walk with you to Transfiguration," he said brightly before leaning in to press a small kiss to the corner of her lips.

She smiled uncomfortably. "Actually, uh, we aren't going to class."

A puzzled look crossed his face. "What? Why?"

"I just, er, can't."

She looked behind her to where her friends waited for her.

"Yeah but why?"

She looked at her friends again. Marlene shook her head. "I can't say. I'm sorry!" She grabbed his hands, squeezing them before running off, leaving Thomas alone in the Entrance Hall greatly unsatisfied.

"I don't like lying to him," Adaline muttered to Marlene as they walked briskly through the corridors.

"Well, it was more omission of the truth," Marlene consoled but that did not make Adaline feel much better.

"Besides, it's for Lily," Alice supplied.

"Yeah but he doesn't know that."

"Hey, do any of you actually know where Brown is being kept?" Nate pointed out.

"An unused teacher's office, isn't it?"

Alice looked at Marlene alarmed. "There are like fifteen to twenty unused ones all across the castle!"

"Okay so this may take longer than one class."

Out of all the absurdities that have ever happened in James Potter's life he never imagined that being accused of attempted murder not once but twice would be one of them. Nor did he think he'd ever have to sit in front of a gloating Auror Pierce ever again.

She was as cold as he remembered. Ice blue eyes with no hint of thawing out. Pin straight hair, blonde enough to be mistaken for a Malfoy. A face so sharp that not even a smile could soften it up … not that James had ever seen the woman smile but he had an imagination and he imagined that someone like Auror Pierce did not know the meaning of the word happy or love. If she did, she would not be sitting here accusing James of trying to kill Lily.

Apparently, Auror Pierce also had an imagination though and apparently that did not bode well in James' favour.

"I imagine that you had thought you'd deceived everyone," she said, resting her chin on her bony hands. "The only question I have is why Miss Evans covered for you after the first allegations."

"She didn't cover for me, I didn't do it."

Auror Pierce shook her head. "No. You see, I think you threatened Miss Evans and she told a lie, gave you an alibi but Miss Evans, star student of Hogwarts, started feeling guilty. I think she threatened to tell the teachers and that's why you tried to kill her."

"I didn't try to kill her," James said, his hands balling up into white fists. "I saved her. Twice. All you have is speculation."

"I have a motive," she corrected. "Your wand was examined, Mr Potter. The slicing curse came from your wand and the healing spell came from Mr Brown's."

"And if you examined them properly, you would also know that the skin gouging spell came from Brown's wand and that Brown has a chunk of his nose missing."

"Proves nothing," Pierce brushed aside, "The spell could've rebounded."

"That's ridiculous!"

"I've seen crazier things happen. Unfortunate accidents happen in an altercation."

"How far back did you check his wand?" James questioned.

"The last ten spells."

"Check further and I'm sure you'd find the slicing curse that had Steven Nettles in the Hospital Wing last night."

"That's a confident accusation."

"It's not an accusation, it's an informed fact. I didn't hurt Lily. She's my girlfriend and we are happy!"

"Really? Because Professor McGonagall tells me that you two were heard fighting in the corridors after curfew a few nights ago."

James shook his head. "Not that it is any of your business but we made up on Sunday morning and all of our friends can attest to that."

"Convenient for you that you just happened to make up right before she was fatally wounded."

James narrowed his eyes. "Auror Pierce, Lily and I are in a very happy relationship, I am not denying that we don't fight and bicker sometimes — I would be more worried if we didn't — but we are happy and I would rather face Voldemort himself than hurt a hair on Lily's hair."

Auror Pierce pursed her lips at the declaration of devotion that a seventeen year old boy seemed to have to another girl. "Let's get on with your official statement."

Ella was apathetic when Thomas Plunkett plopped into the seat next to her seeing it as an invasion of her personal space she coughed, pointedly.

"Don't you have a girlfriend to sit next to?"

"So you don't know?"

"Know what?"

"Your friends are skipping class."

"Why?"

"She wouldn't tell me. I thought you would know but looks like you're even more out of the loop than I am."

Ella frowned. She had seen all the girls — except Lily — in the dormitory and they hadn't mentioned anything about skipping class.

"Miss Dearborn, are the rest of you're Gryffindor classmates going to grace us with their presence this morning?" Professor McGonagall asked her and Ella looked around. She was the only one from her dormitory and only the second boys dorm was there minus one Nate McKinnon.

"Our bathroom flooded just after breakfast, the girls are trying to put it right," Ella covered. "And I know Sirius Black felt ill this morning."

"And what about Nate McKinnon and Peter Pettigrew? Are they also ill?"

"I, uh, I think that they-"

Just then, Nate burst into the classroom with Peter not far behind. "Sorry, Professor. A first year was a little lost."

And for the second time that morning, someone else's boyfriend sat next to Ella.

"Where is everyone?" she whispered.

Nate looked across and saw Thomas. He faced back to the front feinting interest in whatever McGonagall was saying and muttered, "Later."

Ella's foot tapped insistently all the way through Transfiguration as though it would somehow make time move faster and she wished that she had a time-turner so she could-

"Professor McGonagall," Nate called and the Professor stopped at their desk.

"Everything all right?" she asked.

"Actually, it's about Lily," Nate continued carefully. Professor McGonagall quirked her brow so slightly it was almost unnoticeable. "You see, she was up all night last night, she's terrified."

"Terrified?" Professor McGonagall said sceptically.

"Terrified," Nate agreed. "She has this crazy idea that if she knew where Brown and Potter were that she'd feel better … safer. And I know it sounds silly but I guess her emotions are just running a little high at the moment and if that information helps her to get some sleep," Nate shrugged at the end.

Professor McGonagall frowned. "Perhaps Madam Pomfrey should give her a sleeping potion."

"But do we really want Lily to be reliant on sleeping potions, Professor? You know, most people get addicted to them after they've been used after a traumatic experience because they haven't learnt how to deal with the issue at hand."

Ella wanted to roll her eyes. McGonagall was never going to fall for something like that.

"Very well, McKinnon. You may tell Lily that Potter is being held in unused chambers on the third floor corridor and that Brown is being held in unused chambers on the fifth floor corridor."

She swept away without a further word and Ella kicked Nate.

"What the hell is going on?" she whispered furiously because Lily was not having trouble sleeping, trouble remembering maybe but not sleeping.

"Later," he insisted.

"Hello, Alex."

There had been a debate on who should get to speak to Alex Brown and it hadn't taken them long at all to discern that the only person who truly deserved to be the one to do it, was James.

The plan was, despite the lack of a marauder, marauder worthy. It had all the elements of a marauder plan: reckless, insane, and completely mad.

Through casual observation they found out that the two rooms had one ministry official standing guard and thus began the beginning of the plan.

"So what do we do?" Alice asked.

Marlene looked at them like it was obvious. "What a marauder would do, obviously."

And so they spent the better half of an hour devising a plan that ended up being reckless, insane and completely mad but was relatively simple.

At a quarter to eleven on November twenty-eighth, nineteen seventy-seven, Ella Dearborn walked into the fourth floor corridor holding a very full make-up bag, a make-up bag that was not in fact hers. At the exact same time, it just so happened that Alice Vance also entered that very same corridor from the opposite end.

"What are you doing with my make-up?" she asked, her eyes narrowed.

"Disposing of it," Ella replied and from there things escalated until wands were drawn and it was this moment when both Nate and Adaline walked into the corridor together and they decided that help was needed as the two girls threw hex after hex at each other — of course, the hexes missed and harmlessly hit the walls but that was neither here no there.

Nate decided that help could be found on the fifth floor and Adaline decided that help could be found on the third floor. They both managed to stumble across the two ministry officials, how luck of them, and pleaded.

"Please, you have to help! Two girls have gone mad on the fourth floor!"

"Oh, I am so very embarrassed but my roommates are having a feud and it's just gotten out of control on the fourth floor! You have to help!"

Of course, the two ministry officials were reluctant to leave their posts but after another desperate, "Please," they both resigned and followed the two students to the fourth floor corridor.

Here was where Marlene came to play. She'd been hiding around the corner and as soon as Adaline had left with the ministry official guarding James' door, she slipped out and across the corridor entering the room.

"Marlene?" James asked.

"Shh, we haven't got a lot of time. Let's go!" She walked into the room and opened the window though James didn't have a clue why.

"Go? Go where? And why do you have my broom?"

Marlene did indeed have James' broom but she ignored his questions and held the door open. "Come on!" she insisted and James wasn't one to be told twice. He knew a reckless, insane, and completely mad plan when he saw one.

Of course to get to the fifth floor from the third floor they had to go past the fourth floor where Alice and Ella could be seen pleading their case to a pair of ministry officials who could probably not care less.

"She is always doing this! Do you know how many new eyeliners I have had to buy in the last year? Do you? And they aren't cheap either!" she told the ministry official who was pinching his nose. "Thirty galleons a bottle!"

"Your fault for buying such expensive rubbish and then leaving it all over the vanity like you own the place!" Ella retorted. "I mean seriously! Everyone else packs their things away, I don't see why you can't!"

"Oh, that's rich coming from you!" Alice shouted, "Your stupid poster of The Fire Dragons roars — roars! — Do you know how many nights it has woken me up but you don't see me throwing it out without asking!"

"Typical," Ella accused.

Marlene suppressed a grin as she led James up another stairwell, their voices fading.

"Where are we going?" he hissed. "What's going on?"

"You're going to have a chat to Alex Brown."

And so they found the room Brown was being kept in and it was, as they saw to it, unguarded and James slipped inside with his broom without issue with Marlene staying outside as a look out.

And here they were.

"Hello, Alex."

Lily sat cross legged on the floor, ready to get the image of James cursing her neck open out of her head.

Sirius stood behind her, his wand trained on the centre of her head and he closed his eyes in concentration and muttered the spell.

Lily screwed up her face in pain, apparently it hurt to be un-confunded.

Sirius was glad he kept his eyes shut because he didn't know if he'd be able to keep his concentration if he saw her tortured expression.

Lily's eyes widened as memories flooded back in.

Sirius stepped back as he finished the spell.

"Well?" he asked expectantly.

Lily pressed her hands to her temples, trying to rub the headache away.

"Well?" he repeated, impatience lacing his voice.

Lily looked up and smiled weakly. "Brown's a son of a bitch," and the story came spilling out and she finished with, "Get Pierce here."

"How'd you get into my room?" Brown asked, and James detected a hint of fear flash across his face.

"Teleported," James said sarcastically. He pulled up a chair and sat down opposite Brown. "The real question is, why are you framing me?"

"So I don't get the blame for it."

James shoo his head, "Nah, I don't reckon that's quite it. You see, with Mia Scott you could have picked anyone in this entire school and yet you chose me. Why?"

Brown seemed to consider something for a moment and then, "Isn't it obvious?" he asked. "I hate you. Everything always came so easily to you, quidditch, marks, friends, girls. Everyone likes you except the Slytherins and I spent a good amount of time wanting to be like you until I realised the Slytherins might be onto something.

"You are a conceited, inflated egotistical sod! You think you are better than everyone else and you step on anyone who is below you … you're the leader of your little band of marauders and even though we shared a dorm you never looked twice at me. You decided I was unworthy and now, this is your karma."

James narrowed his eyes. "That's it? Because we aren't friends you've decided that my punishment is Azkaban." James almost let out a laugh. "You're actually fucking mental! You do realise your little story isn't going to hold up in a trial? You didn't do a very good job confunding my girlfriend because as soon as she woke up, she knew that what she remembered wasn't right. They're working on breaking your little handy work right now but even without Lily, all they'd have to do is examine the spells you've performed in the last month. I don't know how far into the Dark Arts you've explored but I do know that there should be a few sectumsempra spells-"

Whistling sounded from the corridor, curtesy of Marlene, and James stood, walking over to open the window, the brisk air sending goosebumps up his arms.

"The only one who'll be receiving karma, is you and I think you'll find that you'll be the one in Azkaban."

With that James jumped out the window and onto his broom. With no difficulty at all, he spotted the only open window on this cold November day and flew in, closing the window behind him and stuffing the broom in the closet before jumping on the bed as though he had been there the whole time and not a moment too soon because the door opened and the ministry official, Albert, surveyed the room before nodding, seemingly satisfied.

"Tough day, Bertie?" James asked.

Albert did not answer, he just closed the door and a grin spread across James' face.

Author's Note: Hi Guys! Sorry for the really delayed update :/ I've been heaps busy with uni and work but here it is.

I also wanted to ask, do you guys prefer if this is a Jily lives AU or for it to end on Oct 31st with the Jily death?

Currently it's written as a Jily lives AU but I've been having second thoughts on whether I should change it.

Thanks for reading!

-Natalie x