"I love you," he whispered softly. His lips pressed into her cheek and Marlene giggled infectiously.

"Okay, okay, I have to go," she informed him reluctantly. Despite wanting to spend the rest of her life lying in bed next to him, she had a full day's schedule.

"Why don't you just move in?" he grumbled, rolling onto his back. Marlene paused in the middle of hiking her jeans up.

"Sorry? Are you feeling okay this morning?" He laughed gruffly.

"I'm serious. Move in."

Marlene was struggling to keep her cool and push aside the grin, which threatened to spill across her face. "You know there are no take backs once I move in," she informed him. He rolled over to face her, grinning from ear to ear.

"Exactly."


The room was deadly quiet. Marlene hated quiet. It made her feel still and unnerved. She tapped her foot rapidly against the leg of her chair, attempting to fill the room with the tiniest bit of noise.

"So," Ms. Armstrong began once more, her quill jumping up from where it'd been resting on her pad of paper. "Tell me something about yourself."

"Tell you something?" Marlene questioned her.

The healer smiled – if not a little exasperatedly – and ran a hand through her long black hair. "You've been visiting me for a week and I barely know a thing about you."

Marlene hadn't exactly willfully attended their meetings. McGonagall had called her down to her office one afternoon and informed the Gryffindor that she was required to spend an hour with the Healer a day to try and help her cope with the loss she had experienced.

"I don't know," Marlene answered stubbornly. "I'm not very interesting."

Ms. Armstrong smirked. "Oh, I doubt that."

The blonde licked her lips, rubbing them together in contemplation. She was never going to escape these painful meetings if she didn't just start talking. "If you asked me a month ago what I wanted I'd tell you to be happy," Marlene finally sighed, giving in.

"And now?" Ms. Armstrong asked, her quill scribbling on its own at a rapid speed.

"I just hope I'm going to make it to the next day."

"How long were you and Henry together?" she asked curiously.

"I don't want to talk about him." Marlene's walls had shot up. She crossed her arms protectively, her gaze shifting towards the wide window on her right. An owl flew by as the sun shone bright upon the cheery May afternoon.

"I know it's painful…"

"No," Marlene stopped her. The subject felt much too sensitive to get into with a complete stranger – she was barely speaking to her friends about Henry.

"Your friend, James, he told me that you won't speak with him. Why's that?" Marlene's eyes widened with indignation as she turned her gaze back towards Ms. Armstrong.

"You spoke to James?"

"I've gotten the chance to chat with all your friends," she informed her with a curt nod.

Marlene's face grew hard and stern as she stared down the Healer across from her. "James is incredibly funny and charismatic," Marlene informed Ms. Armstrong curtly. "He's also a horrible person to have for a best friend."

The Healer's well manicured eyebrows rose with interest. "Really? He seems very caring to me. He cared quite a lot about how you were doing."

"That's because he wants to control everyone," Marlene snapped furiously. "It's like everyone is just a pawn in his game and he gets to decide where we go next." Marlene scowled with dislike. "I just finally came to my senses with him."

"Is that all that happened?" Armstrong pushed.

Marlene gave her a cold staredown. "What is that supposed to mean?"

The Healer shrugged. "Just that, well, from everyone I've spoken to it seems as though what's bugging you right now might not really be that James was trying to control you…"

Marlene clenched her teeth tensely. "What's the point of these sessions if you already know everything about me?"

"The point is that you need to get some of those feelings you've spent months bottling up out. Your family, your professors, your friends, they all want to see you succeed Marlene. They all love you."

"Did you speak to him?" Marlene demanded. Ms. Armstrong ran her hand through her long dark hair.

"Yes."

"And?"

The healer exhaled deeply. "He's as stubborn as you."

Marlene scoffed. "He's just as bad as James."

"Is that what you think?"

Marlene met her counter with a murderous glare. "He slept with me for a whole year and never once did he think to tell me the truth…"

"Perhaps it felt more complicated than that to him."

"He made a joke out of me," Marlene spat, "in front of everyone. It would have felt better to know he just didn't care."

"But he does—"

"You think he started shagging me because he cared?" Marlene huffed. "He started sleeping with me because it felt dangerous. It was this big secret between only the two of us. How would you feel if you had actually had feelings for someone like that?" The bell on the desk beside Ms. Armstrong rung, signaling the end of their session.

Marlene jumped up immediately, gathering her things.

"I'll see you tomorrow then?" The Healer posed it as though it were a choice.

"I suppose," Marlene replied, rushing from the room.


The boys' dormitory was empty, as everyone was either in class or completing work down in the Common Room. Both Frank and Alice had spares third period and had decided their free time was best spent in bed together.

The pair were both half naked, shagging, and Alice had never felt so good in her life.

"Right there, right - there," she breathed heavily, clutching onto Frank's shoulders with all her might. She could feel herself right on the verge of an orgasm, as though she were holding her breath and about to exhale—

"Guys," an urgent voice spoke from behind the dormitory door, knocking. They tried to fiddle with the handle but luckily Frank had locked it on their way in.

"We're a little busy!" Frank snapped. Alice wanted to murder whoever had interrupted. She was seconds, SECONDS, away from the best bloody orgasm of her life.

"Yeah, figured," it was Mary's voice. "Um…you might want to get dressed and come downstairs, though."

"Why?" Alice demanded exasperatedly, her legs still wrapped around Frank's bare hips.

"Just come downstairs," Mary insisted before heading off. Alice stared up at her husband, rolling her eyes.

"I cannot wait till we have our own place," she professed. Frank chortled, pressing his lips to her neck.

"We're never going to make it out of bed then," he assured her. Alice giggled as his lips traveled the length of her body. She wanted so badly to stay like that but Mary had sounded urgent.

"Okay, okay," she sighed with disappointment. "Let's get dressed and see what the hell is so important."

Alice threw on nothing more than a pair of jeans and Frank's sweater. Her hair was disheveled and her cheeks rosy as her and Frank made their way down the stairs.

"What's the rush, then?" she asked Mary and Emmeline with an air of annoyance. Both shared rather amused expressions.

"She's waiting outside," Emmeline told them, pointing towards the portrait hole.

"She?" Frank asked in confusion. Alice's stomach sank.

"No," she exclaimed fearfully.

"Oh, yes," Mary promised. Frank rushed towards the portrait hole first – Alice right behind him – both hoping their fears were wrong.

Waiting outside, with her usual look of stern disapproval, was Augusta, dressed in her best fur coat and cashmere scarf. "Took you two long enough," she commented, Frank and Alice both appearing horrified. Of all the moments for his mother to appear…

"Mum," Frank began, stepping forward to press a kiss to her cheek. "What are you doing here?"

"Frank," she began very seriously. "I raised you to be many things and stupid is not one of them."

Alice had to press her lips together till they went white to stop herself from laughing. Despite her current status as a married woman, she had never felt more like a child than she did in Augusta's presence.

"I very well hope this is a joke," Augusta proclaimed, pulling a crumpled letter from the pocket of her coat. She shoved it in the direction of Alice and Frank. It was Frank's poorly scrawled handwriting, which Alice had always struggled to read, but a few words popped out easily to her. Married. Alice. Wedding.

"Four months ago you two seemed to be hanging on by a thread," Augusta stated. Alice bowed her head guiltily. That was putting it lightly… "Nowyou're…married?" It was as though the word physically pain her to say. "You went ahead and just did it without me there? Without your father there," Augusta exclaimed, turning her furious gaze towards Alice. "Alfred will be so hurt..."

Alice exhaled deeply feeling as though the wind had been kicked right out of her. She didn't know how her father would feel about her getting married; she supposed she'd never find out. Not now that he was buried six feet under in a grave shared with her mother.

"Mom," Frank scolded his mother, who appeared as confused as ever.

"What?" she demanded, never one to go quietly. Alice licked her lips, gulping back her feelings. "Oh," Augusta gasped suddenly. "Alice, I—"

"The thing is," Alice began, meeting Augusta's sympathetic gaze. "I don't really have any family left." Both of the Longbottoms' faces fell with dismay. "Frank is…well, he's all I've got Ms. Longbottom. After I told him about my father we thought the right thing to do was to rush the whole event, just elope together and finally be married, but you're right." Frank was staring at her completely aghast. "It wasn't right for us to do it without you – which is why we called the whole thing off last minute, too late for Frank to take back the letter, though. With everything that's happened since then there hasn't been much time to write back correcting it."

"So…you aren't married?" Augusta asked in disbelief, staring between the two. Frank looked just as shocked as his mother. The truth was, it was selfish of Alice to have pushed them to elope. His mother was all he'd ever had and it was so important to her to see her only boy get married. Frank had put aside his own feelings to give Alice the wedding she wanted, now it was her turn to do the same.

"No," Alice answered for the two of them. "Not yet. We'd still like to be, though." Augusta clutched her chest with relief.

"Oh, thank heavens!" She looked as though she'd just narrowly avoided death. "So I can resume the plans? The wedding at the house? Oh Alice, I'm so glad you two have figured everything out." Augusta looked so pleased as she reached her hands out for Alice's. "You're the only girl I'd ever feel right lending my dress to." Now it was Frank's turn to hold back laughter.

Alice nodded with faux enthusiasm. "I'm so excited to wear it," she assured his mother. A little white lie wouldn't kill anybody?

"A June wedding then? When you two finish up your studies. Oh, it'll be wonderful." She gave them both big hugs and kisses – very unlike her. Alice supposed she must have really been horrified at the prospect of them eloping. "Get back to studying now you two," she instructed them, sticking her leather gloves on once more. "I'll be going."

Alice and Frank remained on the landing, watching Augusta disappear down the staircase and out of sight. Once alone Alice turned to her husband with hesitation.

"I'm sorry," she admitted. "I thought on my feet and I just…" Before she could get another word out his lips were pressed against hers, kissing Alice passionately.

"You're amazing," Frank told her once they'd pulled apart. "You know that?" It was impossible for Alice not to feel her cheeks go warm with a blush.

"Oh, shut up," she teased him, Frank's arm wrapping around her waist as they headed back for the Common Room.


The girls had all gathered in their favourite springtime spot down by the lake. They'd eaten quickly and rushed out to be able to watch the sunset. It was the most beautiful sight as the sun dipped below the lake's horizon.

Lily and Marlene had their feet dipped into the still-chilly water while Emmeline, Alice, and Mary were sprawled out on the blanket they'd carried down, giggling at an article in Witch's Weekly.

"Top Ten Tips to Score Your Perfect Wizard," Mary scoffed as she stared down at the magazine in disbelief.

"Let us hear them, then," Lily encouraged her.

"Feeling low? Need some love to brighten up your life? These tips will come in handy better than any love potion."

"I beg to differ," Emmeline quipped confidently. She was stretched out, her hands behind her head, watching the large, glorious sun reflecting its orange light off the surface of the lake.

"Don't tell me you've tried a love potion before, Em!" Alice cried in shock.

"Oh yes she did," Marlene piped in. "Third year, Valentine's Day." The three girls who'd been in the dark gasped in absolute amazement.

"Who!?"

"I'm not saying." In fact, it was a rather embarrassing tale. Thirteen-year-old Emmeline had known even then that boys desired little more than her looks. For one night she thought she might try being appreciated for a little more.

"Freddie Stebbins," Marlene blurted out with boisterous laughter. Suddenly everyone around her was rolling over in giggles, Emmeline sitting up to shoot Marlene an incredulous glare.

"Mar!"

"I'm sorry," the blonde apologized between her hoots of laughter. "But…it was pretty funny."

"How did you guys never tell us about this?" Lily demanded. Emmeline crossed her arms, pouting the slightest.

"Go on," she prompted a red-faced Marlene. "Tell them." Now it was her turn to look embarrassed.

"Well…Emmeline was too embarrassed to give it to him alone…"

"NO!" Alice shrieked in horror, her eyes filled with amusement as her hand cupped her mouth. "You didn't!"

"We sent it to him in a box of chocolates…from both of us…"

Emmeline couldn't help but join in on the laughter as well this time. It had been traumatizing at the time but hilarious to look back on. Marlene had been just as interested in the potion as her friend and in the middle of their curiosity had completely forgotten the importance of defining the sender.

"I remember this!" Mary exclaimed. "When you guys were taking the weirdest routes to class?" The two girls nodded enthusiastically. "Because he was following both of you!?"

"Why do you think we used to eat dinner in about five minutes for a whole week," Emmeline sighed.

"A week? Merlin, you two must be pretty good," Alice complimented them. Emmeline smiled proudly, winking at Marlene down by the water's edge.

"I'm proud to say we were quite a team as Potions partners."

"Which is why I find it positively offensive that Slughorn has never let us into his stupid club," Marlene commented bitterly.

"You must meet a very specific quota of intelligence," Lily informed them sympathetically. "One neither of you quite has."

"OI!" Emmeline chucked the Witch's Weekly at Lily's head. It grazed the redhead before landing on the lake with a sad plop.

Mary sighed dejectedly. "Well, I suppose there goes the chances of any of us landing a perfect wizard."

There was suddenly a large splash as the giant squid flicked a tentacle from beneath the water, scooped up the magazine, and disappeared once more. A quietness came over the girls as they looked at one another in shock before breaking into laughter.

The sun was just about to disappear, an orange glaze falling over the Hogwarts grounds as the light began to dim.

"Am I interrupting something?" an amused voice asked, interrupting the round of laughter. Emmeline was still grinning as she looked up to see Gideon leaning over them. Her smile dropped immediately. She hadn't seen much of Gideon since he'd stopped sleeping in Marlene's bed, which happened the night after she abruptly halted things between them.

"Can I speak to you for a moment?" he asked hopefully, his gaze meeting Emmeline. She anxiously rubbed her hands along the surface of her jeans, leaping up a little too quickly.

"Be safe you two!" Mary teased them as they began to walk away, Emmeline turning to shoot her friend a nasty scowl. She tucked her hands into the front of her jean pockets awkwardly, the pair making a quiet trip along the grounds.

"I figured I owed you a conversation," Gideon explained. Emmeline took a strained breath.

"Look, you don't owe me anything," she assured him. Emmeline hated the image it gave her when someone said they "owed" her something. She saw herself as some clingy magnet of a girl, suffocating whoever stood before her. "It's not like we're dating or anything."

"You were right," Gideon admitted to her, Emmeline pausing in her tracks. She stared at him unsurely.

"Sorry?"

"I was being a dick about the whole Fabian thing." Emmeline stared at him in amazement. "What you did…calling me out like that…" Gideon watched her admirably. "That took courage." It was challenging for Emmeline not to wear a proud smirk.

"I suppose it did…"

"I know everybody tells you that you're beautiful Emmeline, and you are, but I want you to know that that's not why I'm standing here right now." Emmeline felt like she were falling rather quickly through the sky. "I want to try and go for it," Gideon explained, "the two of us."

Emmeline could feel all of her insecurities creeping to the surface at once. She watched him apprehensively. "What if you find out I'm not what you thought? What if you discover all I am is a pretty face?"

"Doubt it," Gideon assured her, inching forward. Emmeline swallowed anxiously.

"You really want this?"

Gideon grinned widely. "Will you just shut up already?" he requested. He leaned in, Emmeline unable to resist the feeling of his lips against hers.


Marlene had headed back up to the castle before the rest of her friends in search of a washroom. She'd promised to meet them in the Common Room as they'd all be heading up soon anyway, dusk creeping upon them.

Few students roamed the hallways as evening approached. Marlene wandered slowly along, corridor after corridor. The truth was she hadn't had to go to the bathroom at all, she'd just needed a little time alone. It was hard to explain that to her friends without them all freaking out about whether or not she was okay. Everyone had been on edge since the attack…for more than a few reasons.

It did go over Marlene's head that none of the girls had yet asked her about her big revelation with Sirius. She could see that when around her everyone walked on eggshells – afraid Marlene was about to crack at any given moment. They were wrong, of course. She was a McKinnon. A little tragedy couldn't break her.

Marlene was about to turn a corner when she heard giggles from around it. She peaked over to find Emmeline and Gideon, her friend pressed up against a wall as Gideon's lips traced down along her neck. Marlene pulled away quickly, the air knocked right out of her. Just because she wasn't going to break didn't mean the reminders of what she'd lost didn't hurt.

She wrapped her arms around herself, rushing off at a quickened pace. All she could see were images of Henry, his goofy grin, his strong hands. Holding her. Pressing her down into his mattress that night. Tears pricked at Marlene's blue eyes. She ached to go back to that room. To get that whiff of Henry the place was filled with. It didn't exist anymore…

"Merlin!" she screamed in shock, startled by the opening of a broom closet door right in front of her face. Marlene jumped backward. Sirius Black stepped out, his dress shirt untucked, his shaggy hair disheveled. Marlene had only a second to meet his glance before a petite Ravenclaw – Pippa – followed him.

"Oh," she exclaimed with embarrassment. "Hi, Marlene…"

Marlene wiped away the tears from her eyes embarrassedly. "Sorry," she apologized, rushing off passed the two. She was struggling to steady her breaths and calm down. God, she hated crying. She hated feeling vulnerable. She hated love. That was definitely something she was more than a little over.

"Marlene!" a voice cried after her as she hurried along the corridor as fast as her feet would carry her. "Hey, wait!"

"Just leave me alone!" He didn't, of course. Sirius clutched onto her arm, jerking Marlene backward.

"Why are you crying?" he asked with concern, Marlene sniffling back tears.

"I don't want to talk about it okay? Just go back to Pippa, please."

"Did someone do something to you?" Marlene stared at him in disbelief. Was he just trying to ask stupid questions?

"Just go back to your girlfriend, Sirius," she told him bitingly, turning to leave.

"Are you mad at me?" he demanded after her. Marlene paused, clenching her teeth.

"No, I just…" she felt as though a strong and dangerous storm were brewing inside of her. "Yeah," she finally snapped, turning back to face him. "Do you expect me not to be angry with you after catching you screwing some girl in a broom closet?"

"Sorry, missed the part where we were in any way committed to each other?"

Marlene stormed towards him with an incredulous look in her eyes. "You're a coward," she proclaimed, Sirius' eyes widening with indignation.

"I'm sorry?" he bellowed furiously.

"Yeah, you're a coward. You are a coward for standing in front of me time after time and never admitting the truth!" Sirius' eyes were burning with fury.

"What the bloody hell are you talking about, McKinnon? Spit it out."

"I've always been honest with you, ALWAYS! Is that why you started fucking me?" she demanded harshly. "To prove you could? Because it felt dangerous?"

"NO!"

"Oh, I bet it felt so good," she punished him. "When you got to go to bed every night knowing you'd managed to shag Marlene McKinnon behind James Potter's back…"

"You're pushing it, Marlene—"

"TELL THE TRUTH!" she shouted at him, her chest rising and falling quickly. "For once, just tell me the truth."

"The truth?" Sirius asked in disbelief, his voice calming. Marlene watched him with a blazing look in her eyes. "The truth is that for the first time that summer you weren't just James' Marlene anymore – you were mine too. You took care of me after I ran away from home. You gave a shit for longer than you had to." She hadn't quite prepared herself for what he might say.

"Marlene…"

"Please don't say anymore," she begged him, her voice on the verge of tears. She shouldn't have forced him into the corner she had. Some naïve part of her had believed she was ready…she couldn't hear it yet. She wasn't strong enough. "I'm sorry," she apologized, turning her head away. "I shouldn't have done this…"

"Marls…" She rushed off down the hall, holding back tears. She felt horrible for leaving him like that but she couldn't stand there any longer. She felt nauseous and woozy. She turned for the passageway by the library before gasping with surprise. She'd walked straight into the center of a fight.


Remus hadn't been able to keep his head straight for weeks. It was an incredibly unnerving feeling for a usually very composed person. All he could seem to do was think of Dorcas Meadowes. The more he told himself the thoughts were wrong the more frequent they came.

He couldn't eat out of guilt; he couldn't fall asleep because all he did was see her. He was an absolute mess. The worst part of all? Well, besides cheating on his absolutely wonderful girlfriend, it was that he hadn't told another living soul. For weeks Remus had been bottling up all of his anxieties and he felt just about ready to explode. It helped little that the full moon was a mere week away.

"Moony," James whispered aggressively from across the table. The two boys had come to the library to do some homework, which James appeared dead bent on distracting Remus from.

"Prongs," Remus grumbled in response, not bothering to look up from his notes.

"Is it just me or have we fallen into a rut?" This was not the moment Remus wanted to begin analyzing their friendship. "We never pull pranks anymore!"

"You mean you and Sirius mercilessly harassing students? Yeah, been a while…"

"Oh come on, there were some good ones!" James persisted.

Of course there were. Remus remembered tons of their pranks fondly; he just wanted to focus more of his attention on getting homework done at the moment. Especially when it was the only good distraction he'd found recently.

"Considering you're not even talking to Sirius right now—"

"Are you going to start lecturing me again," James groaned. Remus raised his eyes to reach his friend pointedly. It'd been weeks since the two boys had talked and the whole thing was growing a little ridiculous to Remus and Peter.

"No," Remus promised him. "I'm just going to remind you that you're acting completely childish..."

"Bloody hell," James cursed with annoyance.

"Oh come on, James. It was a stupid promise and you know it. Besides, how could you not see it?"

James glared at him from across the table. "See what?"

"They've been crazy about each other this whole time. It's been right under all of our noses." Remus couldn't count the number of times he'd felt like something might be going on between the two yet brushed it under the rug. It hurt him to think that they'd been hiding things, Sirius more than anyone, just to try and preserve James' friendship. It was unfair.

"When was the last time you saw Sirius hold down a long-term relationship?" James pressed. Remus was empty handed there. "When was the last time you saw him healthily manage any relationship? Lets not forget about what he did to you…" Remus winced. That was an event he tried hard to put behind him. It had taken a very long time for him to consider Sirius a friend again after he'd nearly let Remus kill Severus Snape out of spite.

"He isn't a bad guy," James shrugged. "He's my best friend, but I know that he hasn't the first clue how to love someone – he was never taught how to properly love or be loved. It's not his fault. Now tell me, knowing Marlene, isn't that the perfect recipe for disaster?"

Remus sighed heavily. He got it. Marlene was programmed for disaster – it was her calling. She fixed things. Sirius was like the project of a lifetime. He was broken and damaged and James was afraid she would get lost in the mess of solving all his problems. Remus didn't agree, though. James gave Marlene's strength such little credit. Remus didn't think that she took on anything she wasn't prepared to carry the weight of.

"Not that she recognizes what I was trying to do," James noted with frustration. Remus stared down at his half-finished notes in agony. Would he ever get to let his mind focus again? "She hasn't spoken to me in weeks."

"She does have justified reasons, James," Remus reminded him.

"Whose side are you on?" his friend snapped from across the table, earning them an insistent shush from Madam Pince.

"Logic's. Just because you think something is right doesn't mean it is." Remus was sure he was being a little harsh but it was impossible for him to hold anything back. He was an anxious, confused, and exhausted wreck. It was impossible for him to keep neutral. "You need to take some responsibility here. That promise was ill-guided…"

"I can't believe you," James hissed furiously. "So that's it, huh? You just think I'm some out of line arrogant prick?"

Remus rolled his eyes. James Potter couldn't help but be a little dramatic every now and then. "No, I just don't think you're in the right in this situation James—"

"I haven't agreed with your actions loads of times but I've never abandoned you," James slammed his textbook shut. Remus looked over his shoulder to see Madam Pince glaring at them from behind her desk. She would kick them out at any moment

"James," Remus tried to begin reasonably.

"Piss off." James gathered up his things in a hurry, heading for the exit.

On a better day, Remus might have chased after him, not this evening, though. Instead, he dug his nose back into his textbook. "Moody bastard," he muttered beneath his breath.


James was literally brimming with anger as he stormed from the library. Some kind of friends he had...

He didn't care whether or not Remus agreed with him – it was his job as a friend to take James' side. Maybe that was silly. In the moment, he hardly cared.

He'd had the best intentions telling Sirius to stay away from Marlene. How had things become such a mess? All he'd wanted was to keep both of his friends safe from harm. He didn't want to find either of them hurt. Most of all – he didn't want their summers ruined. The ones in which Marlene, Sirius, and James would spend their free months running off from one adventure to the next, being total idiots and enjoying each others company endlessly. It seemed despite his best efforts it had already been destroyed…

"Get out of my way," James heard a familiar voice order from around the corner. He paused, his thoughts taking a backseat for a moment, before poking his head around.

Severus Snape had shoved his way through a group of third year Hufflepuff girls, who now looked quite startled. He had a scolding expression upon his face as he made his way towards the library. A sinister smirk spread across James' face as he felt for his wand in his robe pocket.

"You need to learn some manner Snivellus," he informed the Slytherin, stepping out from his hiding spot. Severus paused in his tracks, staring at James with a mixture of shock and disgust.

"Hiding were you Potter?" He seethed. "Just like the coward you are."

James scoffed. "Oh no, that title is surely reserved for you." Severus began stomping forward, attempting to get by James, who kept blocking his way.

"Move, Potter," he told the latter in a warning tone. James couldn't help himself. He knew it was wrong. He knew he was supposed to be past these things but his head wasn't straight right now and it was impossible for him to keep back the immature thoughts tempting him.

"I don't think I will," James shrugged. "Not until I see you apologize to those girls."

The three Hufflepuffs, watching James with their mouths hanging open, looking about ready to run away.

"Who do you think you are?" Severus stared up at James, his eyes in slits.

"I'm Head Boy, and as my inferior I'm telling you to apologize," James demanded in a very authoritarian tone of voice.

"I'm warning you Potter…"

"Do you need me to count to three Snivellus?" He'd really done out now. Severus reached for his wand but James had beat him to it.

"Locomotor Mortis!" James shouted. Severus yelped as his legs locked and he toppled to the ground before James. "Are you going to apologize yet?" James asked, standing over Severus with a victorious look upon his face.

The Slytherin managed to grab hold of his wand, pointing it at James before he had a chance to react, "stupefy!" The Gryffindor went flying across the hall, sliding into the wall behind him. The hex binding Severus' legs broke, letting him stagger to his feet, wiping himself off.

The three Hufflepuff girls looked horrified by the events taking place and all ran off down the hallway together quickly. That was fine. They hadn't been the point of the whole thing anyway.

With measured steps, Severus approached James on the ground. "You're like a bug who refuses to be squashed."

James sat up, glaring at the student above him. "Oh, you mean how you and your goonies tried and failed to have my friends and I killed?" James demanded with sure accusation. He knew Severus had been involved. It was impossible the guy hadn't encouraged the attack. "How do you sleep at night?"

"Quite well actually," Severus assured him. "Knowing people like your parents are no longer able to mess with the working of things." That hit a nerve. Snape could insult James all he liked but his parents were not up for grabs. He leaped to his feet with no warning, throwing Severus backwards.

"You're scum!" The two boys rolled around on the ground, wrestling to get in a good hit on the other.

"They should've died!" Severus proclaimed. "You all should have!"

James had never felt such rage pulse through his veins. He felt angry enough to kill the greasy haired boy who lay below him. The thought startled James, causing him to pause for the briefest of moments. What the hell was he doing? This was wrong. This was something his arrogant fifteen-year-old self might have done. This wasn't him.

James pulled away from Severus, getting to his feet. There was just a few seconds of pause before the Slytherin took his opening. "Sectumsempra!" he cried, his wand pointed at James' chest. James paused, a searing pain radiating from his abdomen. He stared down to see dark crimson liquid soaking his dress shirt, his hands reaching out to clutch his chest as he staggered backwards.

Severus hovered above him, smiling with pride. "Not so confident now are you, Potter?"

"You bloody bastard!" James heard a familiar voice shriek from a distance. He would look over if he felt as though he could move. His whole body had gone numb, his hearing and vision blurring in and out of focus as he felt blood slowly leaking from his body, surrounding him in a large puddle of it's content.


Sirius could hear Marlene howling at someone from down the hall and knew immediately something was wrong. If she wasn't yelling at him there was a problem. Despite the way their conversation had ended he went off at a sprint after her, turning towards the library to find a sight that knocked the wind out of him.

James Potter lay on the floor, soaking in a pool of his own blood while Marlene had Severus Snape pinned up against the wall – her wand to his throat.

"FIX IT!" she hollered at him. Snape grinned devilishly.

"Sorry," he responded with little sympathy. "I can't."

"What the hell is going on?" Sirius demanded, inching towards James.

"He's hexed him!" Marlene shot furiously. "I've tried everything Sirius, healing spells don't fix it."

"James?!" Sirius cried out fearfully, his friend looking terrifyingly pale. "Can you hear me?" James opened his eyes, his gaze distant and glossy.

"We have to get him to the Hospital Wing-"

"THERE ISN'T TIME!" Marlene explained with exasperation. "He's bleeding out and this prick knows how to help him." Sirius stood up straight, looking towards Snape with pure hatred.

"It's not my fault he finally got what he deserved," Severus shrugged. There was no warning. Marlene flung her fist into Severus' face so hard his head went flying back into the wall behind him. Blood poured from the Slytherin's nose as he stared at her in shock.

"You bitch!"

"Speak to her like that one more time..." Sirius warned him.

"Is it just me or is it a little cold?" James asked weakly from the floor. Sirius looked down to find his barely conscious friend shaking.

"What do you think is going to happen here Severus?" Marlene demanded. "Do you think you'll kill off James and Lily will magically fall in love with you? You kill him and she'll never be yours. She'll despise you." Severus' face grew darker as she spoke. "You won't be able to get within two feet of her."

"You don't know what you're talking about…"

"I know a little more about romance than you buddy," Marlene promised him. "I know Lily Evans. She could never love someone who thought this was the answer to their problems." She pointed behind her at James' weakening body.

Sirius kneeled down beside his friend, his hands soaking in sticky, thick blood as he attempted to help stop the bleeding. The scene was gruesome.

"Vulnera Sanentur," Severus said, his voice barely above a whisper. Marlene turned to stare at Sirius with an urgent look in her eyes. Her grip on Severus loosened and he shoved her aside, rushing off down the hall.

"Prick," Marlene muttered after him as Sirius began to motion his wand above James, slowly stopping the bleeding. Marlene got down to the ground beside him, holding James' head in her lap.

"Hey," she prompted him. "Hey, you've got to keep awake."

James stared up at her with tired eyes. "I was winning you know." It was the most James like thing to say and for the first time in weeks, Sirius looked up to see a genuine grin spread across Marlene's face.

"I've stopped most of it," Sirius informed her, sitting up to wipe a line of sweat from his brow.

"You should get him to the Hospital Wing," she told him. Sirius nodded, watching her for a moment.

"I'll stay and clean this all up," she suggested. "Someone's going to walk by soon. You should go—"

"Marlene, about before…"

"I'm sorry," she apologized with a regretful shake of her head. "I shouldn't have…"

"You were right," he interjected. "All those time you told me I was treating you unfairly. You were right. I should have never forced you to be so confused about being with Henry. I was selfish."

Marlene stared at him with shock in her eyes. James' blood-soaked body lying between them.

"Don't keep waiting," he begged her. "For me to become some kind of reliable guy. It's not me. It'll never be."

Her expression was unreadable as she stared back at him.

"Are you two flirting?" James asked from below them.

"You should get him out of here," Marlene said, directing her attention towards the bloody mess she had to clean up.

Sirius scooped James up into his arms, leaving her behind to put together the pieces – as he always did.


Lily, Alice and Mary were making their way back into the castle from the courtyard. It was teetering on nine thirty and soon it would be time for Alice and Lily to head out on their evening patrols.

"I'm hungry," Mary whined as they walked past the Great Hall. "I hardly ate enough because we had to rush out—"

"Yeah right," Alice snorted. "You just want an excuse to visit your boyfriend."

"I wish my boyfriend lived in the kitchen," Mary grumbled.

"Merlin, I don't," Lily shivered. "That would be incredibly unsanitary."

"Considering McDonald and Cattermole haven't quite sealed the deal yet, I doubt we'd have anything to worry about…" Alice teased her friend. Mary's cheeks went bright red as she smacked Alice hard across the arm.

"Shut it, Griffith!"

"Longbottom—" Alice went to correct her, earning a stern glance.

"Oh really? Because if I recall correctly, you told Augusta quite the opposite this morning…"

"I'm so excited to see you in this wedding dress," Lily enthralled. Alice looked physically pained by the prospect.

"Maybe I can fake my own murder before the wedding…"

"Yeah, I'm sure Frank would love that," Mary laughed.

The girls had reached the fourth floor, Alice leading the way towards the shortcut around the corner. The castle was dimly lit by the candlesticks, which burnt along the walls, illuminating only the slightest details.

It made it so it was nearly impossible to make out a figure rushing towards you from the other end of the corridor.

"Is it just me or does that person look a little funny?" Alice asked uncertainly, the outline of a person growing clearer by the second, approaching them at rapid speed. It was someone carrying another in their arms, they were clearly struggling a little under the weight. Lily squinted, her heart skipping a beat.

"Sirius!?" She cried out in disbelief.

"Lily! He's okay!"

Lily rushed forward, getting a better look at the boy who lay in Sirius' arms. James' white dress shirt was practically dripping in blood, his face pale and coated in sweat.

"James? Oh my god. What the hell happened to him?" Lily exclaimed in horror.

"Snape," Sirius replied with disdain. Lily's stomach dropped. This was horrific. This wasn't just some roughing up, James looked seriously injured.

"James?" Lily prompted her boyfriend, her hand stroking his cold cheek. His eyes fluttered open just the slightest.

"Lil…" he mumbled in his haze.

"You go with Sirius," Alice assured her friend. "I'll get Frank to join me on the patrol."

"Thank you," Lily said with overwhelming gratitude, rushing after Sirius towards the Hospital Wing.

X

Madam Pomfrey had promised Lily that James would be perfectly fine by the morning. Sirius had performed a flawless healing charm, closing up all the lacerations James had had along his chest and abdomen. All Madam Pomfrey had needed to do was give him some sleeping draught to help with rest and perform a few charms to prevent the skin from scarring.

"I've never seen anything like this…" she concluded with awe, once she'd finished up her work. "We get all kinds of injuries from dueling in here but this curse is a new one."

Severus was amazing with those kinds of things. Lily knew it. He must have come up with it all on his own. Despite feeling furious with him, a small part of her was impressed. She always knew he had such great potential…he'd just never wanted to use it for the things she'd hoped he would.

Madam Pomfrey had tried mercilessly to get Lily to go back to her dorm but the redhead had refused. Whether he was safe or not, Lily didn't feel right leaving James alone. It didn't matter. In her dorm or in the uncomfortable chair beside his bed, Lily would get no sleep.

Things were changing so fast now. Lily had never wanted to be a kid again so badly. She wanted guidance and support. She wanted someone to tell her what was right and what was wrong. The lines were suddenly becoming she blurred. More than anything she wanted her father. She wanted to know what he would say about what her life had become. Would he be proud?

The uncertainty was terrifying. All her life Lily had marked her decisions by the level of pleasure they would give her dad. Now that he was gone things had become so foggy. It was hard to know what she wanted. More than anything she wished he could see James. She wished she could watch his face for a reaction upon meeting him. Would he like him? Would he be unimpressed?

"He's horrible!" Lily cried furiously. "Absolutely horrible. Honestly, he represents everything I hate in a person."

Her father had offered to drive her to The National Gallery in London. The pair were going to spend the day looking around at art and end it grabbing some dinner together – which usually meant finding the closest Fish and Chips shop they could. Somehow though, Lily had managed to spend the entire drive complaining to her dad about James bloody Potter.

"What did you say his name was again?" Her father asked, his eyes planted on the road.

"James," Lily reminded him exasperatedly.

"Right," he grinned. "This is the same lad you were talking about last time? The one who hexed a boy to go bald?"

"Yes!" Lily exclaimed dramatically, flailing her hands for effect. "That exact jerk." Richard Evans was still smiling largely. Lily's eyes rounded with curiosity.

"What?" She finally asked.

"Nothing," he father shrugged. Lily frowned, crossing her arms with a pout. "Oh, it's nothing really Lil," he chuckled. "just that…well you remind me so much of the way I used to speak of your mother."

Lily's stomach clenched. "What?"

"Oh, I hated her when we were in school together," he admitted. "Thought she was a stuck up piece of work, I did."

Lily's mouth fell open. Fifteen years she'd known her father, how had she never heard about this? "You never told me that…" she admitted.

"Well, it's not the best part of the story. The best part is when she proved me completely wrong. That's my favourite bit," her father smiled proudly. Lily shook her head, following his gaze out the windshield. She doubted James Potter would ever manage that with her.

Lily stared down at her boyfriend, smiling the slightest. Yeah, she thought with tears in her eyes, her father would most definitely approve of him.

Very slowly James' eyes fluttered open, staring up at Lily tiredly.

"Hi," Lily greeted him with a relieved smile. James took a deep breath, his eyes on Lily all the while. She couldn't miss the look upon his face. She couldn't tell what she was reading – guilt or remorse.

"I screwed up," James finally admitted.

"What are you talking about sweetheart?" Lily asked, pulling her chair closer towards his bed. She stroked his messy hair as he spoke.

"I'm afraid…" James paused, clutching his eyes shut. When he opened them once more they were filled with tears. "I'm not him…" James admitted shakily. Lily's brow furrowed, her lips sinking into a deep frown.

"What are you talking about?" She asked anxiously.

"The guy you think I am. The one you waited for me to be."

Lily's gaze softened. "Oh James…"

"You were right," he admitted guiltily. "I'm still the arrogant toerag I always was. I don't want to trap you Lily."

"What are you talking about?" He was beginning to worry her.

"You don't want me," he admitted. "You want this other guy, the better me, I'm not him…"

Lily knew the moment was supposed to be a serious one. Somehow she couldn't help but smile. "Oh babe, if you think I'm turning my back now you're crazy,"

James watched her in shock. "But I-"

"James, I'm not dating some fantasy guy," she told him pointedly. "I'm dating you. The guy who used to hex people for the fun of it and who I occasionally want to murder. Those are your flaws. They used to be what made you the kind of guy I could never imagine myself with…but that was before I saw the whole you." Lily grinned. "The guy who would come help me day or night if I needed it, the one who makes me laugh when he knows I'm sad, the guy who reads me to sleep when I ask." Lily leaned in, pressing her forehead against the side of James' face.

"I love you," she whispered to him. "Okay? Even if you can be a real idiot who nearly gets himself killed sometimes."

James smiled, his hand grasping hers. "So, no second thoughts on the whole wedding thing?"

Lily laughed, shaking her head. "Never."