"I'm going to be expelled, right?" Lily asked Marlene. She'd barely managed to keep the letter from the Improper Use of Magic Office hidden from her mum and Petunia. As soon as she had returned to Hogwarts, though, she'd pulled Marlene aside in their dormitory to show her the letter.

Marlene's eyes darted over the crisp parchment. "Expelled, probably not," she said. "That would be a bit extreme. But they might snap your wand."

That was even worse. "You're joking."

"I don't think it'll happen," said Marlene, placing the letter back in its envelope. "But you should be prepared for the possibility. Hagrid keeps his wand in that umbrella of his — maybe you should start carrying around a parasol, just in case."

Lily couldn't breathe. "But — that doesn't make sense! It's not like I whipped out my wand in front of my extended Muggle family. All I did was Apparate, for God's sake. I didn't hurt anyone."

Marlene raised an eyebrow and looked pointedly at Lily's left foot, which was still missing its little toe.

"Except myself," amended Lily. She made a mental note to see if Madam Pomfrey could repair her Splinched foot.

Marlene looked thoughtful. "Something does seem odd, though. Usually the Ministry sends a warning letter before jumping straight to a hearing."

"That figures," said Lily. "My first time doing magic outside of Hogwarts, and they're going to snap my wand." She frowned as a thought occurred to her. "Hang on. Potter and Black do loads of underage magic outside of school, don't they? Why haven't they ever had a hearing?" Surely the Ministry should have snapped Potter's wand several times over by now.

"Come on, Lil," said Marlene. "You already know why, don't you?"

Lily wanted to scream. She settled for flopping angrily onto her bed. "Blood status."

"Exactly," said Marlene. "The Ministry is desperate to prove that Muggle-borns can be productive members of wizarding Britain. They have to make an example of you. Imagine what You-Know-Who's supporters would have said if the Ministry had let you off with a warning."

"Probably something about Muggle-borns having no respect for wizarding laws," muttered Lily.

"You see?" said Marlene. "The hearing gives the Ministry the appearance of coming down hard on Muggle-borns, which appeases You-Know-Who's followers. It'll probably be just for show, though — I doubt they'd actually snap your wand. You'll probably end up with a fine."

That didn't make Lily feel any better. "Brilliant. A fine. I'll just withdraw some gold from my family's Gringotts account — oh, wait."

"Don't worry about that," said Marlene. "Seriously. If you need Galleons, I'll gladly help you out." She looked suddenly thoughtful. "Do you mind if I talk to my dad about this whole hearing thing? He works in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, he might have some advice for you."

Lily sighed. She really didn't want news of her upcoming hearing to spread. "That's fine. But don't tell anyone else, alright?"

After classes that evening, Lily arrived early at the hospital wing for her apprenticeship. To her relief, the infirmary was empty.

Madam Pomfrey looked up from the potions she was shelving, surprised. "Lily. I wasn't expecting you for another half an hour."

"Thought I'd come a little early," said Lily, "I, erm, seem to have a bit of a… medical problem. Bit of a sensitive subject. I was hoping you could fix it."

Madam Pomfrey's demeanour changed completely; looking suddenly concerned, she gestured for Lily to sit down on the nearest bed,. "Of course, dear, of course," she said gently. She ran her wand over Lily's wrist to check her humours and clicked her tongue at the results. "Yellow bile, with a touch of blood… just as I expected. Forgive me, Lily — I should have gone over this topic with you sooner. Foolish of me to think that because you are young, there was no rush…" She shook her head, seeming disappointed in herself.

"It's really quite alright," said Lily, hoping to reassure her. They'd only started Apparition lessons a few months ago, after all. How was Madam Pomfrey to know she'd Splinch herself so quickly? "I've done it successfully a few times, but I haven't had much practice. Really wasn't expecting something like this to happen, though… I guess I was just overconfident."

"It's not your fault," said Madam Pomfrey sternly. "I keep telling the Heads of House that we need to educate students on this matter… Teach them about the birds and the Billywigs, you know, so they don't experiment on their own…"

Lily blinked. "Beg your pardon?"

"It's disgraceful," continued Madam Pomfrey, who was now searching through the medicine cabinet. "A few Heads of House agree with me, but Sprout and Slughorn are reluctant. 'Let kids be kids', they say. As if they've forgotten what it was like to be teenaged and full of hormones!"

Lily began to suspect that she and Madam Pomfrey were referring to two entirely different things. "Madam Pomfrey," she said slowly, "I Splinched myself."

Madam Pomfrey stopped rummaging through the medicine cabinet at once. "You Splinched yourself?"

"Yeah, I left one of my toes behind." Lily smiled mischievously. "What did you think I was talking about?"

"Never — never you mind." Madam Pomfrey set a few potions back into the cabinet, looking flustered. "A subject for another day. Let's have a look at your foot, then."

The spell for reattaching Splinched parts was surprisingly simple. Lily, who was very grateful to have all of her toes back where they belonged, spent the rest of her shift in the hospital wing feeling highly amused about the misunderstanding.

Her amusement vanished, however, when she read the notice that had appeared on the board in the Gryffindor Common room. Their Apparition instructor, Wilkie Twycross, was offering extra Apparition practice in Hogsmeade that weekend for students who were already of age.

Marlene, who wouldn't be seventeen until June, nudged her side. "Why do you look so glum? You get to go Hogsmeade again! I'm so jealous. Zonko's has the best Stink Pellets, and it's been ages since I've been…"

"That's not it," said Lily. She lowered her voice. "What're the chances that Twycross has contacts in the Improper Use of Magic Office?"

"Ah." Marlene made a sympathetic face. "Quite likely, actually."

"Think he'll hold that against me?"

"Only one way to find out," said Marlene, and she wrote Lily's name on the sign-up list. "Swing by Zonko's for me while you're there, will you? I'll pay you back."

That Saturday, those who were going to Hogsmeade for Apparition practice met in the Entrance Hall. Instructor Twycross was waiting by the oak doors, surrounded by five Aurors who were to escort them to the village.

It soon became clear that Instructor Twycross had heard that Lily had Apparated illegally, and he was none too happy about it. "Lily Evans," he said, reading off the roll call.

"Present."

He trained his pale grey eyes on her. "How unexpected. I was under the impression that you believe yourself to have already mastered the art of Apparition."

Lily's cheeks grew hot. "I guess I still have more to learn, sir."

"Indeed," said Instructor Twycross. "How's the foot?"

Lily could feel the other students staring at her. She wished she could sink into the floor and die. "Never better."

A few girls from Slytherin snickered behind their hands; beside them was Severus, whose heavy brow furrowed as he stared at her.

Lily turned her back pointedly and took Mary by the arm. "Distract me. Quickly."

"Er," said Mary, "do you know Priyanka Patil? She's Parvana's sister, in Hufflepuff — I heard a rumour that she's got a date with Peter Pettigrew this weekend."

"It isn't a date," said Parvana, who had apparently overheard them. She walked next to Lily as Instructor Twycross led them out of Hogwarts and down the winding path to Hogsmeade. "She's already seeing Archie Bellchant, in Ravenclaw. Peter's just helping with her astrology homework for Divination."

"Oh," said Mary, sounding disappointed. "Poor Peter. Does he know?"

Parvana glanced towards Peter, who had jumped on James' back and was hanging on for dear life as James and Sirius raced towards Hogsmeade. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "I don't spend much time with him anymore."

That's right, thought Lily. She'd heard that Parvana and James had broken up after the match with Hufflepuff, for which she was secretly glad. She felt much more comfortable around Parvana now, for some reason. Probably because she was no longer afraid that she'd walk in on Parvana and James doing stretching exercises.

"What did Twycross mean, anyway?" Parvana asked Lily. "About your foot?"

"Oh," said Lily, and she reluctantly told Parvana and Mary about what had happened over the Easter holidays.

When she had finished, Mary was gaping at her. "A hearing? At the Ministry?"

"Shh!" said Lily, looking around. Nobody else seemed to be paying attention. James was laughing loudly at Sirius, who was, obnoxiously, Apparating ten feet ahead of the group and waiting for them to catch up before Apparating away again. "Don't spread it around, alright?"

"Never," said Mary. "God, that's so unfair, isn't it? Marlene does loads of magic at home, and she's never gotten so much as an owl for it."

"I know," said Lily miserably.

Once they arrived in Hogsmeade, they were joined by even more Aurors, who had been waiting in the Three Broomsticks. Professor Twycross gave the group of students strict instructions: they were to stay on Hogsmeade's main street at all times and were not allowed to Apparate past the Three Broomsticks.

Lily, Mary and Parvana went to practice by the post office. Mary had managed to Apparate twice during lessons, but had Splinched herself both times and was developing a bit of a phobia of Apparition as a result. While Parvana helped Mary practise her pivot, Lily tried to Apparate from the post office to Zonko's. She overshot the mark a bit, though, and ended up on a side street, past the Hog's Head Inn.

Considering she was out of bounds, she began to walk back to the main street, but when a group of students emerged from the Hog's Head, she stopped in her tracks. Apparently, Mulciber's gang were more concerned with having a pint of mead than Apparition practise.

Don't let them see me, she thought, and she turned on her heel. Without a destination in mind, though, she merely managed to tumble into a dustbin.

Severus glanced over at the noise. His dark eyes widened at the sight of her.

Lily muttered something quite foul under her breath. He had better not try to talk to her.

Severus looked back at his mates, neither of whom had noticed her. Avery was trying to Apparate, mug still in hand; his eyes were squeezed tightly shut as he concentrated. Mulciber was coaching him, his back to both Severus and Lily.

Severus must have taken note of their distraction, too: he spun around and began to stride towards her.

Lily wanted nothing to do with him. She took off, wishing her shoes didn't click so briskly against the cobblestone street. Mulciber and Avery were bound to hear her, but Dervish and Banges' was around the corner, if she could just make it there —

"Lily," said Severus as soon as they had turned onto Hogsmeade's main street. He was still several feet behind her but gaining quickly.

The sign for Dervish and Banges' was swinging back and forth in the wind. Lily didn't slow her pace. "Leave me alone."

"I just want to talk."

Lily groaned. It had been a mistake to go to his house over the holidays. She'd given him false hope. "I have nothing to say to you."

"Why not?"

He was so close he could have grabbed her by the back of the robes. There was no point in running further, so she stopped and turned to face him. "Because we're not mates, alright? I might have talked to you over the holidays but I don't want to talk now."

Severus was out of breath. He pushed his lank hair away from his face. "Not even about — about Dearborn?"

"Especially not about that."

"Why not?"

She couldn't believe she had to spell this out for him. "Because, Sev. You don't respect me."

"I — of course I respect you!" he spluttered. "Out of everyone, you're the most — of course I do."

Lily crossed her arms. "You put your hands on me. I was going to leave and you grabbed me."

"I'm sorry," said Severus at once. "I shouldn't have —"

"You should know better," said Lily, talking over him. "You think you have the right to put your hands on people? What about what your dad does to your mum, is that alright, too?"

"I — I do know better. It was a mistake. I'm so —"

"That's not the worst of it," she hissed. "You tried to use your mind magic on me."

Severus went pale. "I… you knew?"

"Your eyes got all funny," she said. "It wasn't exactly subtle."

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to know —"

"—What I know? But I didn't want to tell you that. So you thought you'd take it from me?"

"No," said Severus, shaking his head. "It's not like that, it's not as invasive as you're making it sound —"

"I don't believe that for an instant," said Lily. "Go back to your little mates. I don't want to talk to you."

"Lily. We could work together —"

She hated the way he said her name. "Not a chance, Snivellus," she said scathingly. "Now leave me alone."

"I…" Severus faltered. "Yes, of course. I'll just — I'll go back." He looked at her pleadingly, as if expecting her to change her mind.

Lily narrowed her eyes. "Go on, then. Leave."

Severus opened his mouth, then shut it. He backed up a couple of steps before turning and walking away. His tattered, oversized robes billowed behind him like a black cloud. Like smoke in the shape of a skull. Lily stayed where she was, arms crossed, until he was out of sight.

That Sunday, James and his friends spent the afternoon refurbishing the Shrieking Shack. It had been Peter's idea: the Shack had taken quite a lot of abuse over the past year, as it no longer had to withstand only a hungry werewolf, but three other animals as well.

James put himself in charge of wallpapering what might have once been the sitting room. He'd picked a floral print with a garish yellow background. He thought it was soothing.

"That's horrid," said Remus, nodding towards the wallpaper. He was carrying a bucket of nails, as he and Sirius were on the furniture-mending committee.

"I think it's nice," said Peter from behind the piano. His job was to keep them entertained by playing increasingly poor versions of their favourite songs, since they had forgotten to bring Sirius' record player. "It adds cheer."

"Just what this place needs," said Remus. "More cheer."

Sirius appeared in the doorway, levitating a mangled chair above his head. "That wallpaper makes the Shack look even sadder somehow. It's like painting the cells of Azkaban pink."

"You lot can shove it," said James, continuing to plaster the walls. "You're going to love the sitting room when it's finished. Just you wait."

"Oh, is this the sitting room?" asked Remus. "I always thought it was the kitchen."

"The room across the hall's got a sink in it," said Peter. "I think that one's the kitchen."

"Nah, that's the loo," said Sirius. He guided the chair to the middle of the room and sat on it. Even though the chair was missing three of its four legs, it somehow supported his weight. "Have we got anything planned for this evening?"

"I do," said Peter smugly. "Priyanka and I are going to the Astronomy tower. She wants to look at the stars." He waggled his eyebrows.

"A date?" asked Sirius.

"Well… in a manner of speaking —"

"She's already seeing that bloke Bellchant in Ravenclaw," said Remus as he laid down on the couch. "Very kind of you to offer to help with her Divination homework, though."

"Not a date, then," said Sirius. "Cancel it."

Peter banged his fist on the piano, which emitted a few terribly discordant notes and a puff of dust. "I can't cancel! D'you know how long it took me to convince her she needed my help?"

"Ages?" offered James.

"You have no idea," said Peter. "I had to sabotage her tea leaves twice and pay Remus to talk loudly about how good I am at Divs."

Sirius turned to Remus, intrigued. "How much did he give you?"

Remus merely closed his eyes and smiled serenely, his hands clasped over his stomach.

Sirius huffed. "Fine. Keep your secrets." He pointed at Peter. "Since you've suddenly found yourself free for the evening, you can accompany us on a mission."

"I've already got a mission for you," said Peter, making a rude hand gesture at Sirius.

"Fine by me," said Sirius. "I've only figured out how to finish the Map, after all. It involves breaking into a forbidden tower and tampering with artefacts created by the Founders themselves, but if you're not keen…"

"I never said I wasn't keen," said Peter, jumping up from behind the piano. "I'll owl Priyanka now and tell her something unavoidable's come up. That'll probably make her like me more, actually — makes me seem mysterious."

"That's the first word that comes to mind when I think about Peter Pettigrew," said Remus, his eyes still closed. "Mysterious."

"You know what, Moony?" said Peter. "You can do the same as Sirius."

"Don't mind if I do," said Remus. Sirius laughed.

They waited until midnight that evening to sneak out of the common room under the Invisibility Cloak. It was their first time breaking curfew in months; the increased security at Hogwarts made going out at night risky, even for them. Especially since they were getting far too tall for the Cloak to hide all four of them: even crouching, their ankles were clearly exposed as they crept down the corridor.

"No good, Pete," whispered James once they reached the seventh-floor landing. "You have to transform. Otherwise we'll be caught."

Peter pouted. "But I can't talk when I'm a rat. And since you refuse to learn M.S.L. —"

"Magical Sign Language?" asked Remus. "I know the basics, you should have said —"

"Mouse Sign Language," corrected Peter. "I spent ages teaching myself, and you lot won't even consider —"

James groaned. "It's not because we don't love you, Pete. How would it look if someone saw a rat doing sign language with its creepy little paws?"

"My paws are not creepy, they're —"

"It's too risky," said James firmly. Peter grumbled a little, but after a moment a plump brown rat had scurried into Remus' pocket, making a gesture with its paws that even James could understand.

"That's better," said Sirius. "At least my arse isn't sticking out of the Cloak anymore."

"Thank Merlin," said James. "Now, where's this forbidden tower, Pads?"

"No idea."

James was about to say something incredulous, but Peter gave a warning squeak from Remus' pocket, and they pressed themselves against the wall. A minute later, a worn-looking Auror climbed the stairs, passing right by them as he plodded down the corridor.

"Close one," whispered James once the Auror was out of earshot. "Thanks, Wormtail. Now, Pads, what do you mean by 'no idea'?!"

"Well, that's the thing," said Sirius. "Apparently no student has ever been to the tower. And we never found it when making the Map. But I've got a theory."

James pushed his glasses up his nose. "Do tell."

"It's a funny story," said Sirius, "There I was, thinking that wouldn't it be nice if there was some sort of secret passage that could take you anywhere you want to go in the castle? When I realized —"

"Oh," said Remus, as if it was obvious. "The Wandering Stairs."

"Exactly," said Sirius. "Think the Founders planned for that little loophole?"

"We'll find out," said James. "Have we mapped the Stairs?"

"I did," said Remus. "Tricky bit of magic, but I was quite bored in the hospital wing at the time. If you get out the Map…"

According to the Map, the Wandering Stairs were near the Muggle Studies classroom on the first floor. As soon as they spotted the familiar brass doorknob jutting out from the wall, James pulled the door open and ushered the others inside. Sirius was out from under the Cloak and dashing up the steps before James had even told the staircase their destination.

Remus beat James to it. "We'd like to go to the tower where the Book of Admittance is kept," he said, as if making a polite request to a waiter.

A sound like the heavy scraping of stone on stone filled the narrow staircase. The floor beneath their feet rumbled, and the torches on the walls flared brightly. James held his breath.

From the top of the staircase, Sirius whooped.

"It worked!"

The rat leapt out of Remus' pocket and scampered up the stairs. James followed close behind. Last to the top was Remus, whose back was ramrod straight as he ascended each step stiffly.

James and Sirius exchanged a look. They knew better than to offer Remus help, or to insinuate in any way that he might be in pain.

"Full disclosure," amended Sirius. "I think the Stairs worked. Just stuck my arm through the wall, so it goes somewhere."

"Only one way to find out," said James, and he stepped through the wall.

He emerged into a small, circular room which was completely devoid of furniture, save for a stone lectern in the middle. Atop the lectern lay an ancient-looking book bound in black dragonhide leather. Beside the book was a small silver ink pot containing a long quill. The quill's feathers were nearly translucent, as if its colour had been leached away.

"Shit," said Sirius, stopping short. "We really found it."

Peter was eyeing the book and quill nervously. "Shouldn't we… I mean… we really shouldn't touch anything here, right?"

Sirius shrugged. "It's not like the Founders are here to stop us."

"This is going to surprise you," said Remus, "but I advise we proceed with caution."

"Well, there's no rush," said James. "Why don't we just… sit here a bit, and see if the Book does anything?"

Sirius checked his watch. "How long's a bit? There's no door to this stuffy old tower, and I don't fancy getting trapped up here if the Wandering Stairs move to some other part of the castle. What'll we do if one of us needs the loo?"

"We could always use the inkpot, I suppose," said Peter. "Though we'd have some explaining to do to Dumbledore…"

Something on the lectern thumped. The book had flown open, and its pages were turning rapidly, as if someone was rifling through them. James inched closer, amazed; each page was covered in rows and rows of names. Finally, the book stopped at a page that was partially blank: the list of names only extended halfway down the page.

"Shafiq," muttered James, reading the surnames on the list. "Carrow… Yaxley... ooh, two Weasleys, good show..."

"There's one that says 'Johnson'," observed Remus, joining James at the lectern. "A Muggle-born child, do you reckon?"

The large, nearly-translucent quill jumped out of its inkpot. James stepped back quickly, watching the quill as it hovered above the book.

"That's an Augury quill," said Sirius. "Augury feathers don't hold ink."

"The inkpot's empty, in any case," said Remus, peering into the inkwell. "Peter, where's your black quill? I want to try something."

While Peter rummaged in his bag, James and Sirius watched the Augury quill. The nib of the quill touched the pages of the book, then drew back as if it was hesitating about something. The book quivered, but didn't shut.

The quill began to write, adding a new name to the list. The room was silent, save for the scratching of the quill. Aside from the Sorting Hat, James had never encountered an artefact enchanted by the Founders; he felt like he was watching a holy ritual.

The quill finished its inscription, and the book slammed shut. Remus dipped Peter's black quill into the empty inkpot just before the Augury quill settled gracefully into the inkwell.

Sirius looked at James, his face white. "Did you see the name it wrote?"

"Yeah," said James. "Nymph-something. Didn't recognize the surname, though. A Half-Blood child, d'you reckon?"

"Nymphadora Tonks," said Sirius, who seemed like he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I — I think we're related?" He looked about somewhat wildly. "If she's Andromeda's daughter, does that make her my cousin or my niece? Does anyone know, I've never — I haven't got —"

"Andromeda's pregnant?" asked Peter. "But I didn't hear anything about a betrothal, usually my mum —"

"She's already married," said Sirius. "To a Muggle-born. Ted Tonks."

Remus frowned. "Andromeda's child can't be older than a month or so. To already show signs of magic would be highly unusual. There aren't any blood curses that run in your family, are there?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Moony," said Sirius, who began to smile, looking relieved. "'Dromeda's daughter must be precocious, that's all. Not to mention, if the book's writing her name — that means she's alive."

James clapped Sirius on the back. "Congratulations on your new cousin, Pads."

"She's actually your niece, I think," said Peter.

James shook his head. "She's Sirius' niece, not mine, Wormtail."

"That's not what I —"

"Didn't you say she was Sirius' cousin, Prongs?" asked Remus.

"Sirius hasn't got a cousin named Prongs," said James. "He's only got me."

"I hate all of you," said Peter.

"Well, whatever she is, we'll have to celebrate," said Sirius. He spread the Marauder's Map on the floor of the tower and gestured for Peter to hand him the black quill. Although the inkpot had appeared empty, the nib of the black quill was full of a strange, silvery fluid.

Sirius sat cross-legged on the floor and touched the black quill to the Map. He recoiled as the quill jumped out of his hand and began to write of its own accord, skimming over the parchment.

James swore, peering over Sirius' shoulder. "I can't believe it. It's working."

The quill was poised over the Headmaster's study, sketching a pair of dots labelled 'Albus Dumbledore' and 'Minerva McGonagall'. From there, the quill moved to the seventh floor, where a dot labelled 'Chester Fernsby' was patrolling the corridors.

In less than five minutes, the quill had added the dots of every student and professor in Hogwarts and had started on the Aurors.

Sirius nudged James. "We should charm so it'll do ghosts and animals, too, yeah? And non-magic people, like Filch?"

"I don't know if we'll have to," said James. The quill had just added 'Mrs. Norris' to the fifth-floor corridor.

Remus cast an impressed look at the Book of Admittance. "And here I thought we were clever. The Founders make us look like a bunch of Squibs."

"Have a little faith, will you?" said James. "I doubt Rowena created her diadem during her year seven N.E.W.T.s. Give us a few decades and we'll blow those old dotards out of the water."

At last, the black quill finished writing its last dot: 'Rubeus Hagrid', who was currently in his cabin, accompanied by Fang. It laid itself beside the Map, and the last of the silvery ink leaked out of it.

"Wow," said James, examining the Map. He'd thought of adding the dots as something of a side project compared to drawing a map of Hogwarts itself, but he saw now that he'd had it backwards. The hundreds of dots, all moving of their own accord, had transformed the Marauder's Map into something truly magical. Hogwarts was a living, breathing organism, and they'd captured its essence perfectly.

Sirius grinned. "We are never getting caught after curfew again."

The Wandering Stairs began to rumble, as if it had heard him. James scrambled to his feet, stuffing the map into his bag, and pushed the others towards the Wandering Stairs. "Don't jinx it, Pads. Let's go!"

The four of them together barely fit on the landing at the top of the staircase. The torches on the wall flickered, and the rumbling noise sounded again, much louder this time.

James' heart began to pound. They didn't have much time until the Wandering Stairs moved to a different part of the castle. If he could reach the bottom of the staircase in time, though… He might be able to hold open the door to the first floor before they ended up Merlin knows where.

James pulled the Invisibility Cloak from his bag and tossed it at Sirius. "You lot can hide under this. I'll go on ahead."

While the others disappeared under the Cloak, James dashed down the stairs. The whole staircase was shaking like it was caught in an earthquake, causing him to trip — He only just caught himself, but then the torches flickered out, plunging the staircase into darkness — He couldn't see, but he couldn't slow down —

He collided with someone on the stairs. Whoever it was cried out in alarm and tumbled backwards. Instinct took over, and James lunged forward blindly, as if reaching for the Quaffle. He just barely managed to grab the newcomer by the forearm and catch them mid-fall.

Whoever it was, they were shorter than him by a good margin, and their arms felt… soft, somehow. A girl? He pulled her onto the step he was standing on and put his hands around her waist to steady her, lest she lose her footing again. "Alright?" he asked.

The girl was breathing heavily. "James?"

He jumped back as if he'd been burned. "Lily?"

The rumbling stopped as the staircase ground to a halt, and the torches on the walls flared brightly. Lily looked down, adjusting her robes self-consciously. "I — er — thanks."

"Sorry," said James automatically, holding up his hands. The same hands that had just been around her waist. Hopefully she wouldn't hex him. "Didn't mean to — I would never —"

Lily blinked, looking a little dazed. "What time is it?"

"Er, half twelve, I think," said James. A soft breeze tickled the back of his neck, and he glanced up the stairs; his mates were nowhere to be seen, but he was certain they were close by, watching him with interest.

"Half twelve?" repeated Lily. She groaned and rubbed at her eyes. "You — you're breaking curfew…"

"Only technically," said James. "What time does curfew start, anyway, midnight? I'm practically —"

"Ten o'clock."

"Oh," said James. That was earlier than he'd thought.

"I'm going to have to give you detention, you know."

"Ah," said James, "but it's a weekend. If you give me detention, you'll be in charge of overseeing it. You don't want that, do you?"

Lily cocked her head at him. For a moment, she looked like she really didn't mind the prospect of watching him write lines. "I'll survive somehow," she said at last. "See you next weekend, James." And she began to climb the staircase, yawning.

James watched her go. "That's it?" he asked. "No threats? No lighthearted banter?"

Lily shrugged. "I'm too tired. Just got done in the hospital wing — had to help Pomfrey with an Un-Transfiguration case that took hours." She turned to look at him, smiling a little. "If banter's what you're after, talk to me tomorrow and you might have more luck."

"Oh," said James. He felt oddly shy. Was she flirting with him? "Alright, then. Where're the Stairs leading to, now, by the way?"

"The common room, of course," said Lily. "Are you coming?"

After an extremely disappointing Potions lesson, Severus retreated to his secret room in the library, muttering to himself. His Amortentia had failed to achieve its characteristic mother-of-pearl sheen — likely Avery's fault for adding the rose petals too early. But the worst insult was that Lily had refused to look at him. She'd crushed her nettles and stirred her nauseatingly perfect Amortentia without so much as glancing his way.

That's not to say he didn't notice her, though — whatever perfume she was wearing had been so strong it had given him a headache.

He'd decided beforehand that this Potions lesson would be her last chance to change her mind. If she had acknowledged his presence in any way — even the smallest of eye contact would have done — he would have postponed his investigation of Sally Dearborn's disappearance. At least until he and Lily were back on speaking terms. Then he would have suggested they investigate together. It would have been just like old times: he and Lily against the world.

That hadn't happened, though. Lily had ignored him as completely as she had the entire school year. As if she'd never gone to his house during the Easter holidays at all.

He tried to tell himself that was her loss, not his. But he didn't really believe it.

There was only one course of action left, then: he would have to continue his investigation without Lily.

Without Lily, and without the mirror.

In his secret room, he glared at the mirror for several minutes, daring it to test his Occlumency barriers. His own snarling face stared back at him, lips curled. Satisfied, he shrunk the mirror until it could fit in his pocket and carried it out of the library.

He wasn't entirely certain where he ought to hide the mirror; he only knew that he couldn't keep using it. He'd mastered Occlumency so completely he could control which fantasy the mirror plucked from his mind. He had no further use for it.

There was another reason to hide the mirror, too, though. And this one went somewhat deeper.

The mirror lied, over and over, and he was always worse off for it.

He would have destroyed the mirror entirely, but the thought caused his chest to twinge with discomfort. It would be a shame to destroy such a powerfully enchanted artefact. So he decided to put the mirror somewhere nobody would ever find it, and let the knowledge of the mirror die with him.

The only problem was finding a good hiding place.

Severus paced back and forth on the seventh floor. He'd scoured the entire castle, and none of his usual hiding places seemed secure enough for the mirror. He needed a better solution.

Severus stopped pacing abruptly. Across the corridor, a door had appeared that he was certain hadn't been there a moment ago. The Wandering Stairs, perhaps? But no — this doorknob was different. He tried the handle, which was unlocked, and stepped inside.

The room was enormous, filled to the brim with piles and piles of rubbish. Towers of old furniture and broken statues stretched towards the cavernous ceiling, forming makeshift passageways. It was perfect.

"Point Me," he whispered to his wand, and he began to explore the stacks of junk.

After nearly half an hour of wandering through the maze of forgotten objects, he found a spot that he thought was obscure enough. He restored the mirror to its usual size and left it nestled between a wardrobe that looked like it had been set on fire and a cage large enough to contain a human.

Satisfied, he swivelled on his heel, but something nagged at his conscience. This room was dizzyingly full of harmless knickknacks, but there were clearly contraband items, here, too. That shrivelled hand lying delicately atop a moth-eaten pouffe, for example — it was certainly cursed.

Severus might have been a lot of things, but even he wasn't arrogant enough to believe that he was the first student to ever make use of this hiding spot. If someone else were to stumble upon this mirror, by chance…

He ought to leave them a warning.

He gritted his teeth and turned back around, angry at his own conscience. This mirror had surely made him as soft as Regulus Black. What did he care if some idiot lost their mind by staring into the mirror for too long?

Scowling, he used his wand to carve an inscription into the mirror's golden frame. Nothing too obvious: spelling out exactly what the mirror was capable of might do more harm than good. But, to the discerning mind — which was the only mind worth saving — the warning would be plainly obvious.

During his free period the following day, Severus returned to the seventh floor. It had been a mistake to get rid of the only thing that brought him comfort. He wanted the mirror back.

But he couldn't find the room. He spent hours scouring the corridors of the seventh floor, even returning after dinner, but to no avail. Apparently the room full of rubbish had been a better hiding spot than he'd known.

Furious, mostly with himself, Severus stalked through the library. He'd smash some beakers in his secret room; that always made him feel better.

In the library, Avery was sitting alone at a table, staring at a piece of parchment. As Severus swept past, Avery raised his head, looking annoyingly eager. "Sev? D'you have a minute?"

Severus resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "What is it now, Edmund?"

"I was just wondering if you'd finished McGonagall's essay on Conjured beings," said Avery, looking miserable. "I've got no idea where to even start."

Severus peered over Avery's shoulder. Avery hadn't been lying; his parchment was blank except for his name in the corner.

"If you're incapable of understanding the theory of Conjured beings, you'll have no chance when we start animal Conjuration next month —"

"That's why I need your help!" said Avery in a panicked voice. "I have to at least pass Transfiguration! I'm already going to fail Potions and Charms."

Severus blinked. Avery might not be a genius, but he wasn't stupid. And he'd certainly never failed a subject before. "N.E.W.T.-level Transfiguration isn't for everyone," he said slowly.

"I know not everyone is cut out for N.E.W.T.s, but — I got six O.W.L.s!" said Avery. "I know I'm capable. Everything just seems so much harder this year. I get so confused. Does that ever happen to you?" he added a little hopefully.

Severus' eyes narrowed. Lily had been suspicious of Avery. Now he could practically hear her whispering in his ear. What about Obliviation? If someone had Obliviated Avery, but done a shoddy job of it… That could certainly explain his academic struggles.

"Come with me," said Severus briskly, and he strode towards his secret room. Behind him, Avery struggled to keep up.

Once they were inside the room, Avery looked around, wide-eyed. "Is this where you go when you're avoiding us?"

"I do not avoid you," said Severus scathingly. He dragged the chair from his potions bench into the middle of the room, where the mirror had once stood. "Sit," he commanded Avery.

Avery sat. "So, about Conjured beings —"

"Forget Conjuration for a moment," said Severus. "I need to check something."

He pulled out his wand, intending to cast Legilimency on Avery, but something stopped him. Lily had been so angry when he'd tried the spell on her. She said he had invaded her privacy. Severus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Avery was watching him, concerned. "Sev —"

Severus spoke over him. "I will need your… permission."

"For what?"

Severus fought the urge to throw something. He couldn't afford to spend all day explaining things to imbeciles. "I think someone has tampered with your mind. I need your permission to check if this is true."

Severus had been expecting Avery to protest, or call him crazy, but Avery did nothing of the sort. Instead, he seemed to deflate, as if Severus' words didn't come as a surprise. "Go ahead, then."

This surprised Severus more than anything else so far. "Are you certain?"

Avery nodded glumly. "I've been… I've been having issues for a while. I thought I was just getting stupider, but… there are things I can't remember. Maybe it would be good to get those memories back."

"Indeed," said Severus slowly. Merlin, he'd been so prepared to fight Avery over this. He didn't know how to handle this sudden vulnerability.

Avery was looking imploringly at Severus. "Just — just promise that whatever you find, you won't let them send me to Azkaban. Right?"

"Azkaban," repeated Severus. "Why would anyone send you to Azkaban?"

"I don't know," said Avery, wringing his hands. "That's the trouble of it. I don't know. But I can't remember anything that happened on Halloween, and that's when Sally vanished, isn't it? I could have done anything. I could have killed her."

Severus' mind began to buzz with clarity. Lily's hunch had been right. "You didn't kill Sally Dearborn," he said, though privately he was uncertain. "Allow me to peer into your mind. Let me see if I can find those memories."

Avery nodded. Severus' heart was beating so fast that he could hear it in his ears. He pointed his wand at Avery's chest, maintaining firm eye contact. "Legilimens."

At once, his mind was filled with a flood of thoughts and feelings that weren't his own. The deluge of foreign thoughts was so overwhelming that he nearly ended the spell. He'd only ever performed intentional, verbal Legilimency once, on Bella, and she had been an Occlumens; peering into an unguarded mind was a different experience entirely.

He had merely to think of a question, and Avery's mind offered the answer readily. He was free to peruse hours and hours of memories in which Avery struggled with homework; memories of Avery meeting with Slughorn about his poor marks, of Avery surreptitiously copying off Severus and even Mulciber during lessons.

Severus sifted through Avery's memories, going back further in time. At last, he found a memory of Slughorn knocking on the dormitory door, informing them that Sally Dearborn was missing.

Severus went back slightly further. Avery was in the Great Hall, which was decorated for the Halloween feast, and then — nothing. He went back further, but there were no memories to find.

Further.

Avery was working on a Charms essay in the library, scribbling confidently. Severus took a closer look at the parchment: the essay was on non-verbal spellcasting. That had been their assignment the day before Halloween.

Severus pulled himself out of Avery's mind with some effort. "You were right," he said. "Your memories of Halloween have been erased."

"Merlin's beard," whispered Avery, tears in his eyes. "I knew it."

"I can try to restore those memories, but it will be difficult," said Severus. "Breaking a Memory Charm is notoriously risky, and I've never done it before. It requires a delicate touch, or your mind could be scrambled further. If you'd like, we can go to Madam Pomfrey, and —"

Avery shook his head firmly. "Not Pomfrey," he said. "I don't know what she'd do if — if the memory was damning. I need someone I can trust."

Well, that certainly ruled Severus out. "I shall contact Bella, then. There is surely a Primary who is capable —"

Avery chuckled. "I was talking about you, Sev."

"Pardon?"

"For someone so smart, you can sure be thick sometimes," said Avery with a smile. "We were Intents together, Sev. Now we're Secondaries. I know we quarrel a bit, but in the end it's us against the school, isn't it? If I can't trust you, who can I trust?"

Well. That was certainly one way of looking at it.

"You must be aware of the risks," said Severus. "There could be unforeseen consequences…"

"Worse than missing memories? Worse than failing my exams?"

Yes, thought Severus. Out loud, he said, "It's possible."

Avery thought about it. "I trust you," he said at last.

"Alright," said Severus, before Avery had a chance to change his mind. He tried not to seem too gleeful at the fact that he would be the one to find out what had happened to Sally. Not Dumbledore. Not Lily. Severus Snape, the outcast. "Close your eyes."

Avery obliged. Severus pressed his wand to Avery's temple and began to recite the counter-charm. Normally he'd prefer a bit more practice before attempting something like this, but there was no time. At least he was well-acquainted with the theory of Memory Charms. That would have to be enough.

Breaking the Memory Charm took a while. Severus was cautious at first — too cautious. He made no real progress until he dug a little deeper, ignoring Avery's whimpers. Whoever had Obliviated Avery had done a decent job, though it seemed like they had been rushed. Any competent Obliviator would have known not to leave gaps in memory, to fill in the missing memories with entirely new ones. It wasn't difficult to do —

The image of a staircase flashed in Severus' mind, and his heart leapt. Now he was getting somewhere.

Avery groaned a little bit. Severus dug his wand into his temple, and Avery fell silent.

Severus continued to mutter the counter-charm. Avery' eyes were closed, but his eyelids quivered, as if he was having a bad dream. Severus caught a glimpse of another image — a short girl with plaited blonde hair ascending the stairs. Sally Dearborn.

He needed to see more.

"Open your eyes," said Severus.

"Can't," moaned Avery. "I don't know — let me be, I can't remember —"

"Edmund Avery," growled Severus. "Look at me."

Avery's eyelids fluttered open.

In his mind's eye, Severus saw Sally Dearborn ascend the staircase to the fifth floor, her blonde plaits bouncing against the back of her robes. Avery was several steps behind her, climbing silently. They were alone; it was his chance.

"Need an escort?" Avery said once they had both reached the fifth-floor landing.

Sally froze. She turned slowly on her heel.

"Nice try," she said disdainfully. "Go back to your Death Eater friends, why don't you?"

Avery shrugged. "It's your funeral." He started to descend the staircase, but paused and looked back around. Sally's back was to him as she climbed the stairs to the sixth floor. His hand strayed to his wand.

A girl with olive skin and straight dark hair appeared on the fifth-floor landing and began to descend the stairs; Avery continued slowly down the staircase until the girl passed him and was out of sight.

He turned. Sally had nearly reached the sixth floor. He drew his wand. "Petrificus totalus."

Sally stiffened, then tipped over. Her Petrified body clattered down the staircase, landing facedown on the stone floor.

Avery stowed his wand and raced up the steps, two at a time. He turned her Petrified body over. The hex had wiped the disdainful expression off her face; her eyes were wide with terror.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs behind Avery. "Any luck, Edmund?"

"Regulus," said Avery, pleased. "Look who I found."

Regulus stepped around Avery. His eyes widened at Sally's helpless form. Regulus drew his wand and pointed it at Sally.

"It's alright, Reg," said Avery. "She's Petrified, she can't hurt us."

Regulus nodded curtly. He kept his wand trained on Sally, though his hand was shaking slightly.

Avery grinned, eager to see what Regulus would do. "Go on, then, Reg. Give it to her."

Regulus muttered a spell under his breath. He must have cast a counter-curse, because Sally began to sit up.

The grin slid off Avery's face. "Regulus, what in the name of Merlin's —"

Regulus turned and pressed his wand into Avery's chest. "I can't let you do this, Edmund."

"What — you — I had her! I had her, why did you —"

Regulus looked at Sally over his shoulder. "Hide. Quickly." She scrambled up the staircase.

Avery drew himself up to his full height. "Have you gone mad? Explain yourself, I've half a mind to tell Augustus —"

"I've never done this before," said Regulus. He was staring at the tip of his wand where it pressed into Avery's chest.

"Done what? Get your wand off of me —" Avery tried to push Regulus' wand away, but to no avail.

"I really hope this is as easy as Uncle Alphard makes it seem." Regulus sounded like he was talking to himself.

"Reg? What are you on about?"

"I'm sorry, Edmund," said Regulus, sounding pained. He touched his wand to Avery's forehead. "Obliviate."

With a great effort, Severus pulled himself out of Avery's mind. His heart was pounding in his chest.

"Regulus Black," he said. Of course. That soft-hearted fool — he hadn't wanted Sally Dearborn's death on his conscience. But how…?

Avery made a gurgling sound, snapping Severus out of his thoughts. The Memory Charm was broken, but at what cost? Could he have turned Avery's mind to mush entirely?

He knelt beside Avery, whose head listed to one side as he stared into space.

"Edmund. Can you hear me?"

After a moment, Avery nodded.

"Good," said Severus. "Now. I have some simple questions for you. Indulge me for a minute. Can you tell me your name?"

After a long moment, Avery's eyes met Severus'. "Edmund," he said slowly. "Edmund… Charles… Avery."

"That's right," said Severus, relieved. "Do you know where we are, Edmund?"

Avery looked around at Severus' secret room. "Cupboard?"

Severus winced. "Try again."

"…Hogwarts," said Avery after a moment.

"Correct," said Severus. "What year is it?"

Avery didn't respond for over a minute.

"Give me an answer," said Severus. "Anything. Try."

Finally, Avery shook his head. His eyes were brimming with tears.

Severus closed his eyes, pained. This was his fault. "Last question, Edmund. What were we doing, just now?"

"Don't know," said Avery. He sounded so small, like a child. "We — we're at Hogwarts, right? Does that mean we've been Sorted? Do you know my House?"

Severus berated himself. Stupid — arrogant… He should have taken Avery to Madam Pomfrey. He should have done anything else. "You're in Slytherin."

"Slytherin?!" Avery let out a cry of joy.

Severus turned away, pressing a hand over his face.