Chapter Two: Prologue

James entered the doors of the great hall for the first time as a sixth year with one goal in mind: apologize to Lily. He had had time to reflect over the summer, time he had used well. Lily's words washed over him once more, and he closed his eyes...

"You think you're funny, but you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter."

He inwardly cringed at himself. He hated to admit it, but it was those very words that had gotten to him, and it was Snape's insult at Lily that had shocked reality back into him: that no one was safe from Voldemort, and his influence had reached the school.

He surveyed the scene before him – Dumbledore was smiling serenely at them, students were just beginning to get seated. He grabbed Sirius' and Peter's arms and led them over to the Gryffindor table. There they waited for the first years.

Once the other students had seated themselves, the first years came barging in with Hagrid in front, soaking wet. One by one they were sorted, but James wasn't really listening. His mind wandered off– towards a fantasy land with the girl seated a few feet to the right of him...

Dumbledore said his usual welcome speech once Wanton, Corvac had been sorted into Ravenclaw, and the food started to appear. James dug in.

After an hour of eating and talking, Dumbledore once again stood up. "Now that our bellies are full," he began, "I'm afraid that it is time to go to bed. As fun and exhilarating as I'm sure your summers were, it is time to put it in the past and focus on school. Off to bed with you!"

The wooden seats groaned as the weight of hundreds of students was suddenly lifted off it. James, Sirius, and Peter followed the Gryffindors, as Remus and Lily headed off to fulfil their duties as prefects.

They entered the common room, packed to the brim with students of all years. Sirius shooed a third-year from an armchair who had fallen asleep in front of the fireplace and bid James and Peter sit down with him.

"That was downright mean of you, Padfoot," said James as he sat down on a comfy couch to the left of Sirius, and he watched the third year scramble up to the dormitories. Sirius shrugged easily and smiled.

"Had it not been for that act of selflessness, we wouldn't be sitting here, my dear James," Sirius's voice was dripping with pompousness and sarcasm, "Besides, why didn't he just go to the dormitories if he wanted to sleep? Doesn't make sense, really – Moony! Man of the hour."

Remus Lupin entered the common room, scanned the mass of students, and finally spotted them in front of the fire. He ambled over to them.

"Or should Sirius say, wolf of the hour instead, seeing as tomorrow's a full moon?" said James, a smirk playing on his lips. Remus snorted at him and sat down at their feet, closing his eyes as he listened to Sirius ramble on about the chaos they were going to cause.

James watched Sirius without really listening. His mind flitted back to the middle of the summer, to a miserable night that had been peppered with rain. He remembered hearing a knock on the door and he remembered answering it. He remembered how terrified Sirius had looked when he'd embraced him.

I've run away, stated Sirius bluntly. I was hoping you'd give me a place to stay.

It hadn't been much of a shock to either James or his parents. They knew what the 'Noble and Most Ancient House of Black' was like.

It had been the most vulnerable that James had ever seen Sirius. James had spent many a summer night trying to calm Sirius down as he experienced his constant nightmares– he had held him, had consoled him, he had done his best to treat him like a brother.

But was it enough? James knew Sirius was impulsive to the highest degree, and he had hoped that by showing him real familial love would, at the very least, shake him out of his old habits. Caring for Sirius, a Sirius that needed guidance from a person willing to give their love had certainly done that for James. He had, in the words of his father, become a better man.

One day, he had sworn to himself, the people that had done this to Sirius, those stuck-up maniacs – they would pay.

One day...

Shaking his head, he focused on Sirius, who was still talking.

They chatted well into the night, and by that time only 5 other people were left in the common room. Three of those happened to be Lily and his sort-of cousin Marlene, as well as Alice Fortescue, a nice, round-faced girl that was in a relationship with James's senior, Frank Longbottom. James had half a mind to go up to Lily and apologize right in front of her friends. Before he could muster the courage to even walk up to her, however, they abruptly got up and went to their dorms. This seemed to wake Remus up from his stupor.

"Reckon we should go up too, don't you think?" said Remus, struggling to keep his eyes open. The three boys agreed silently, and they too followed the girls up the dorms. They entered their room, where they found their usual four-poster beds with their trunks already underneath them.

"'Night, guys, see you in the morning." James waved his wand, and darkness fell on them as they lay on their beds to sleep.

The next morning, James was the first to wake up. He glanced at Sirius sleeping on the bed next to him, and at Remus, who had fallen to the floor and was snoring soundly.

James checked his wristwatch and decided that for once he was going to be early for a change. He showered quickly and went straight down to breakfast.

On the way down to the common room, James looked around to find Lily and Marlene in front of the entrance with their bags, apparently about to go down to breakfast as well. Lily seemed to sense James' eyes on her and glanced back. She frowned at him, and with a disapproving look, exited first.

Marlene looked at him pitifully and followed Lily out.

Great start, James, he thought dejectedly, just get down to breakfast before anything else happens.

And so he did. He found a seat at the Gryffindor table and loaded his plate with the usual breakfast: toast, eggs, and sausages.

Half an hour in he glanced at his watch. 8:17. They should be coming in a few minutes.

By 8:25 they still hadn't shown up, and James was starting to feel rather lonely when Marlene suddenly sat down next to him.

"Hey James," she said to him, "Any reason why you have a mismatched pair of shoes on?"

"What –," James glanced at his feet under the table. He had, indeed, mistaken his left shoe for Sirius's. "Oh, er – I dunno how that happened."

Marlene's loud giggle passed through his ears. "I have your schedule. And everyone else's. Professor McGonagall gave them to me, don't forget to give them to the boys.

"You know," she continued, "I don't think waking up early suits you. Are you that desperate?"

James stared at her.

"Oh, don't go around playing dumb, James," said Marlene impatiently, "It doesn't really suit you either. I know why you're down here without your usual cavemen. Or at least come up with an accurate guess."

"Oh yeah?" said James, not about to let that deter him. "Guess away, then. I really couldn't care less, Marls." Marlene paused for a moment and looked at him incredulously.

"But you do care, James," said Marlene, "I'm not stupid, and she's not either, so why don't you get over it and talk to her?"

"What are you yapping –"

"You want to apologize, don't you?" interjected Marlene. "Lily appears to be under the delusion that you are incapable of feeling remorse, but I know you better. Prove her wrong. And might I advise," she added, as she stood up, "that you do it quickly before your little friends get here. Au revoir, James, love."

And she left, leaving a very confused James behind her.

Realizing he had about 5 more minutes before Lily would go to class (she was always early, that girl), he steeled his nerves and ambled over to where Marlene and Lily were. From what he could gather, they were about to leave the Great Hall. James summoned his inner Gryffindor and called out to her as she began walking to the doors.

"Evans! Hey – Evans!" James said, loud enough for her to glance back, but she kept on walking, "Lily! Please, I need to talk to you."

That made her stop. James glanced at Marlene standing next to her, and she gave him a small smile. She murmured something to Lily and went off to wait for her a few feet from the door.

Slowly, Lily turned around, and her eyes met James's.

"What is it, Potter?" she asked flatly. James decided that it was now or never. He took a deep breath before spewing out his thoughts.

"I just – I mean, I know how you must feel about me now, and I don't blame you. I've realized how much of an idiot I've been, and – "

"Just get to the point, Potter."

"I wanted to apologize," stated James quickly. "For everything – what I've put you through, especially last year, and all the years before that... on behalf of my friends, mainly Sirius." He took another deep breath before continuing, "I'm sorry for picking on you, and I'm sorry for what Snape said. If I hadn't riled him up... well, I guess you'd still be friends. I was immature, and a bully, and... well, an arrogant toerag."

James waited for Lily – who seemed a little surprised – to speak. At last, she opened her mouth.

"I – well... thanks, Potter," she said quietly and averted her eyes. "You don't have to apologize for what Snape said, though. You didn't force him."

"It didn't sound like that when you were chewing me out in the lake," said James softly, but his stomach was swooping now.

"Yeah, well... it was one of those 'heat of the moment' sort of things, you know?" said Lily. "I blamed you for a long time. I'm sorry about that."

An awkward silence followed, punctuated by James, who had noticed his fellow friends near the doors. Marlene greeted them enthusiastically, especially Sirius.

"Well, I'll see you around, then, Evans," said James, who had been spotted by Remus.

Lily glanced behind her, at Marlene who was talking animatedly with Sirius, at Alice, who was talking with Mary Macdonald and Emmeline Vance, at all of their friends.

"Yeah. I'll see you around, Potter." Lily strode over to Marlene and pulled her by the hand towards the direction of the Transfiguration classroom, their first class of the day.

"Oi, Prongs, have you seen my left shoe?" called Sirius as they made their way over to him.

"No!" James answered back, and subtly waved his wand and transfigured his shoes to match.

Sirius looked disappointed once he and the rest of the Marauders had joined James. "Oh. I was hoping you'd seen them. Well, you don't mind me taking one of yours, right?"

"No, I don't mind," said James quickly, "look, let's all go to class. I'm not feeling all that well."

"What was that all about, Prongs?" asked Remus as they walked towards Transfiguration, "She didn't even look annoyed. I'd daresay that she looked slightly happy!"

"It wasn't anything, Moony," said James, who was looking at Lily's dark red hair swinging side to side as she vanished from his view. "I just apologized, is all..."

James endured the relentless teasing that followed, mostly from Sirius and Peter. It still hadn't stopped when they entered Professor McGonagall's classroom. Ignoring his friends, he took a quick look at Lily, who was seated to the right of the class.

There was a slight blush appearing on her cheeks as she was conversing with Marlene and Alice, who had entered right after James had. He couldn't hear their conversation, and he surprised himself when he found that he had no desire to. Once or twice he felt as though he had heard his name coming out of one of their mouths, but then Professor McGonagall entered, and everyone quieted.

"Good morning, my fellow Gryffindors," the stern Professor McGonagall said. "Now, might I remind you that you have your NEWT tests next year, so be sure..."

In the following months, James and Lily had started to become acquainted, more friendly. Sometimes, James felt as though he could feel Lily looking at him when he wasn't looking back, but when he swivelled his head around to her direction, she quickly looked away. James smiled inwardly whenever this happened. He and Lily had been on a first-name basis ever since the first week of the school year had ended. He knew that she was beginning to see him as a friend, but he didn't let that discourage him. On the contrary, James was elated to have finally conversed with her in a friendly, civil way.

James's sixth year proved to be one of his most enjoyable years, what with winning the Quidditch Cup and excelling at school, not to mention executing a prank of enormous proportions involving Professor Dumbledore and the hundreds of House Elves stationed in the kitchens, as well as a giant dragon made of hundreds of fireworks. To top it all off, the Marauders had finally finished the Marauder's Map early on in the first term. It was to be, in Sirius's words, The greatest legacy we will ever have left.

November came quickly, and with it, so did everybody's favourite sport: Quidditch.

Even though McGonagall had told them – in her cat-patterned nightgown, no less – to quiet down over 45 minutes ago, the party in the Gryffindor common room didn't seem like it was slowing down, and rightly so: Gryffindor had smashed Slytherin in the first match of the season with a score of 330-20. James Potter, the house had decided, was the hero of the Quidditch pitch, having scored nearly half of their goals. Lily Evans sat on one of the sofas close to the fire with Mary MacDonald, as her other housemates were busy either getting drunk or flirting with the Quidditch players.

The wireless played a slow, melancholy song that Lily found much too appropriate in regards to her current mood. She sat, dejected, trying to ignore her feelings as she watched James get kissed by 5th year Penny Pendleton. Mary made noises of disapproval next to her, though she knew better than to talk to an angry, jealous Lily.

At that exact moment a boy wearing a Gryffindor jacket as well as scarlet-and-gold face paint plopped down next to her, two bottles of firewhisky in one hand and a shot glass in the other. Mary glanced at him, and, with a last forlorn look at Lily, departed from the sofa.

Lily sighed. "What do you want, Black?"

Sirius Black gave a bark of laughter as she acknowledged him. "To get absolutely pissed, of course. That, and to get you hammered."

Lily turned her head to look at him, her eyebrows raised. "And why in Merlin's grey beard would I try to get hammered?"

Sirius shook his head. "Unbelievable, Evans," he said, "I thought your parents were Scottish? Don't Scots have a reputation for being drunkards?"

"Most Scots do," admitted Lily, "but not this one."

Sirius shoved a bottle of alcohol under her nose. "Get started, then."

Lily pushed it back with a disapproving humph. "I told you, Black, I'm not in the mood to get drunk. You know the lies I told McGonagall so as to avoid getting that confiscated?" Her eyes wandered over to James, who was now attempting to dance with Marlene.

"Pretty please, Evans?" asked Sirius in a sing-song voice, "do it for your best mate, Sirius Black?"

When Lily stayed silent, Sirius looked over to where she was glaring. He chuckled slightly, realizing what the problem was now. Lily's knuckles whitened as she gripped the sofa tighter.

"He's having fun, isn't he?"

Sirius looked at the redhead. "I guess."

Lily dropped her gaze and turned to Sirius instead.

"James Potter," she said the name like it was an incantation. "When this party's over give him a real smack upside the head, will you, Black?"

Sirius shook his head in exasperation. "Are you actually jealous, Evans?"

Lily continued to glare at him. Sirius sighed and took a swig from his bottle of firewhisky. "Look. Whatever's happening between ol' Pendleton and Prongs is most likely one-sided. James hasn't ever mentioned liking her."

"And why would I care about that?"

Sirius winked at her. Lily narrowed her eyes at him and snatched the unopened second bottle of whisky from Sirius's hands.

He gave a whoop of joy and was about to hand her the shot glass when suddenly she uncorked the bottle and took a long drink from it. Sirius stared at her, wide-eyed, as she lowered her drink.

"Blimey, Evans," he said, impressed, "I didn't know you had it in you."

Lily gave him the finger and drank some more, this time emptying the whole bottle. She set it down on the table next to the fire, her hands trembling slightly.

"You don't know a lot of things about me, Black," she mumbled. "Give me more."

"More what?"

"More firewhisky, you stupid git."

Sirius laughed and passed her his own unfinished bottle. She drank a generous amount before she retched, and lowered the drink.

A few minutes later, she was sobbing and muttering gibberish, cursing James and Penny and everyone in the common room, but Sirius held her close, whispering words of encouragement and agreeing with whatever she said. Sirius may have had the reputation for being careless and a bit of a ladies' man, but he was an expert on women.

"Oh, Merlin," she hiccuped, her eyes only half-open, "I think I might like James!"

Sirius snorted. "You think?"

Lily turned her head slowly at him, frowning. "W-what do you – hic – do you mean?"

Sirius couldn't believe how drunk she was. He grabbed her bottle of firewhisky, and, after enduring verbal abuse, tossed it over to Remus, who caught it without a second glance.

"Why'd you – hic – do that?" asked Lily, enraged, "That stuff's actually good, Black!"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Of course it is, love, but I think you've had enough for the night."

Lily then turned her whole body to face him, and she jabbed a finger to his chest.

"Have not!"

"Merlin, Evans, stop acting like a toddler, will you?"

Lily muttered a few more choice words at him, but after a few seconds gave up and instead leaned her head on to his shoulder.

There was nothing romantic in the gesture, decided Sirius, and so he threw an arm around her to support her. Lily was sobbing again, but this time it was much more controlled.

"All those years when James told me he fancied me, and then he figures that he doesn't and starts – hic – kissing every girl in sight," she muttered angrily. Sirius shook his head.

"Evans, Prongs has only ever had eyes for you – yes, you, you overgrown duck. He realized that you didn't like him back, though I know that's not true now –"

"I don't fancy him," hissed Lily.

"You just told me a few moments ago that you did," countered Sirius, a frivolous little smile playing at his lips.

Lily looked away and muttered some more about him. "Maybe I did. Doesn't change the fact that he kissed that wench Pendleton –"

"No, he didn't, flower," said Sirius patiently, "I told you, Pendleton probably cornered him and took her chance while Prongs was drunk."

"Then why did he look so – hic – ecstatic about it?"

"He probably didn't even realize," said Sirius. "Most blokes don't, when they're drunk."

Lily sighed and curled into a ball, snuggling up to Sirius.

"You really think he fancies me?"

Sirius looked down at her. "I know so, love. James fancies you more than ever. The last time he had a serious relationship was –"

"Stop it," chided Lily, "I don't want to know."

They sat in silence, holding on to each other and laughing as they watched James turn his back to Penny as she came in for round two.

"I never really hated him, you know," said Lily quietly, her voice quite steady. Apparently, she wasn't quite as drunk as Sirius had thought. "I always… sort of liked it when he flirted with me. I was disappointed when he stopped."

Sirius gave her a lopsided smile. "If you want, I could tell Prongs to pick up where he left off."

Lily looked mortified. "Merlin, no. I'm sad, but it's something that I can – hic – live without."

Then suddenly Lily rounded on him. She slapped his chest – hard. Sirius doubled over, surprised.

"Ow," muttered Sirius, "that hurt, Evans. What gives?"

Lily held his gaze. "You will not tell anyone of this, least of all James!"

"Yeah, yeah," said Sirius, this time fully intending to keep his promise, "I won't. You probably won't even remember this happened next morning. Firewhisky does that to people."

The radio ended its sad song, then belched out a wild tune that caused the entirety of the Gryffindor common room to cheer and take to the dance floor.

Lily and Sirius laughed and they both stood up. She held a hand out to him.

"Care to dance, Black?"

Sirius gave her his trademark smirk. "Only if you promise to dance with Prongs later."

Lily matched his smile.

"I promise."