Pay my respects to grace and virtue
Send my condolences to good
Give my regards to soul and romance
They always did the best they could
And so long to devotion
You taught me everything I know
Wave goodbye, wish me well

-Human, the Killers

...

The next few days swirled with busyness as James moved from one thing to another with increasing pressure. He spent every evening hovering over textbooks and was still behind the next morning, despite Peter's best efforts to keep him on top of things. The first (second, now, he supposed) Quidditch practice was coming up quickly, and he still had to make a plan for their first game against Slytherin two weeks from now.

But what bothered him perhaps more than the rest, was that despite his efforts to push back his shame and embarrassment from that night in the Common Room, Lily was still angry with him.

Why was a mystery to him. He was sorry for how he fought with her in front of the Prefects, but it had done little to quell the deep ache of what? Love? Lust? Longing? God knows, he thought, but it was something, and it ached all the more when she was around. He had done nothing but be a gentleman, and thinking back on it; she would've had her way with him had he let her. He could've shagged Lily Evans that night, and he was the noble prat who had turned her away.

James banged his head against his desk as Sirius measured out the infusion of wormwood with a steady hand. Slughorn was somewhere on the other end of the classroom, and he knew he had another minute or so of self-loathing left before he came waddling by again. James didn't care much for Slughorn, he was a fair professor, but he couldn't abide by people who used connections to make their way to the top. People should advance by merit, who cares what other people think of you?

Lily was in the potions N.E.W.T class too, and she and Marlene McKinnon hovered over their cauldrons some distance away. By just looking at his best mate, James knew that Sirius knew that he was avoiding her, but James hadn't told any of them the full story, only bits and pieces where it was relevant. James knew Sirius too well to believe that he hadn't pieced it together. James had been chasing Lily for too long for a sudden switch in tone to escape Sirius' notice, hell, half the school probably knew something had happened. James had never been particularly good at hiding his emotions.

"Fuck," Sirius said under his breath, his bottle of wormwood dripping down the side of his cauldron. "That didn't go well,"

"Gross," James said, grimacing at the scent of it. Wormwood always turned his stomach. "That shite's disgusting. I'll get some more."

Remus snorted at Sirius' clumsiness as James turned around, and he smiled. He was lucky indeed to have friends as he did. Not many others could say the same. James turned about, intending to go to the ingredients cupboard when Lily turned the corner, holding a half-melted wooden spoon in her hand. James smiled at the look of disgust on her face and smothered it into a cough when he caught her eye. They stared at one another for what felt like a small eternity when she moved closer to him. Did she, could she—

"You're blocking my way,"

"What?" James said.

"To the cupboard, I need more root of Asphodel,"

"Oh,"

"Yes, oh," Lily said, tossing the spoon in the rubbish bin. James mussed up his hair just for something to do as if it could pull some of the tension away. He wished that things could go back to the way they were, back before that, back before he somehow put his tongue down her throat and his foot in his mouth simultaneously. Everything had been so easy, full of playful touches and meaningful glances. He knew that he had fucked up, but he was unsure as to what she was angry about. The snogging? The touching? The way he had stopped her?

Lily took a step forward, and James pulled to the side to let her pass, but he couldn't help looking at her. She was wearing pearl earrings, and the curl of her ear reminded him of when he kissed her just there. From his vantage point, James could see some sort of abrasion, a red mark just below her collar that looked suspiciously like, like—

"What, exactly, are you staring at me for?"

"Nothing,"

"Well, shove over then, will you?"

James leaned forward, trying his damndest to keep his hands from shaking but not succeeding. It was Evans, just another bird in a long string of girlfriends. She was no different than any of the others. But it was, and he couldn't seem to get his head and his heart on the same page.

"Can we talk? Please? In private?"

"No," Lily said a little quickly, and James' heart sank to his feet. "You've made your position on the matter clear."

"I think there's been a misunderstanding—,"

"The only thing I've misunderstood was how you felt about me, and I think that it's time we both moved on,"

He watched as she pushed past him, walking towards the cupboard, and when she walked past him again, there was no mistaking the little tears in her eyes.

...

Potions class ended a few minutes early, Helen Grimsby's draught of living death caught fire and promptly exploded a sticky lavender goo all over the classroom. So the class, slightly giddy with their good fortune, left en masse towards their respective Common Rooms.

Much as she regretted it, Lily watched out of the corner of her eyes as James, Remus and Sirius tided their things and walked down the hall, laughing at one thing or another. Even from where she stood, she could feel James' eyes on her as he turned the corner. Lily shut down any emotions she had towards him, to no avail. So instead, she watched as he walked away.

He was angry at her, indignant, and with good reason. She had been an idiot to think that he would consent to how she had behaved some days ago, so she hadn't asked. So she had abandoned reason and dove deep into repressed desires, and it wasn't until she woke the next morning that she regretted, deeply regretted what she had done. She had used and abused him, tapped into the love she knew was there, deep in his heart, and exploited it. She must've been crazy for thinking it would end like that, one snogging session to bind her over until her insecurities about her sister had passed for good.

They wouldn't; she knew that now. She would always love her sister, foolhardy as that may be, and James Potter would most likely still fancy her. She wasn't some aloof flirt, at least she didn't think she was. No, she was a creature of habit, and her practice as of late was one of avoiding uncomfortable situations altogether.

Classes continued with increasing intensity, and the workload had only increased since the year had begun. Lily's .T.'s hovered somewhere in the distance, frightening and imposing over the day-to-day. Even Charms, her old tried and true, was especially tricky, the nuances of the complicated spells expected of a seven-year course increased her workload significantly. She hadn't called a Prefect meeting since the first rather disastrous one at the end of September and didn't intend to plan the next one. If James Potter designed to serve as Head Boy, it was up to him to step up to the plate, as it were. She knew he was busy, too; he was captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team in addition to his seven N.E.W.T. courses, two more than what she was taking.

But this was her last year at Hogwarts, and that fact stared her straight in the face as she walked through the hallway. She only had nine more months of school, and then what? Get a job? Get married? What was waiting for her at the end of her Hogwarts school days? She knew many of her friends intended to lie low until the war ended, perhaps go abroad, to Australia or America, but Lily couldn't think of a place she would be happier than in England, in a world she knew and understood. Perhaps she could get a cottage somewhere, write that novel she had dreamed about, drink tea and paint landscapes and what? Wait until the war was over? No, that wasn't an option either. If it came down to it, she'd do what she could to protect her friends and family from You Know Who and the Death Eaters.

The halls were crowded between periods, and Lily slipped through a throng of third-years with relative ease on her way to the Common Room. She had a free period (thank Merlin) and intended to use it to finish a particularly bothersome Potions essay she had meant to finish the night before. As Lily settled herself into her favourite squashy armchair before the hearth, she tried to push past the thought that this was the same essay that James had been working on before the event. That's how she was classifying it in her brain, the event as if to distance it from any emotional ties or romantic inklings. And what an event it was, she thought, sucking the tip of her quill thoughtfully, the way his back tensed beneath her fingers, the way his hands fiddled and reached, the way that they lingered, damn it, hovering over her skin before kissing her. She wasn't drunk, but the way she behaved might make it look that way. He had been rather enthusiastic, now that she thought about it, and the way his body moved against her own had left for some pretty daydreams.

"Want some company, Evans?"

She looked up, slightly startled, at the lovely and familiar face of Remus Lupin staring up at her; his bookbag tossed over a shoulder.

"You're not taking Divination, either?" she said, trying to compose herself, tugging the end of the quill out of her mouth.

"Nah," he said, settling himself on the chair opposite, pulling his things out. "Sirius and James are taking it for the laughs, I suppose. It's an easy enough course if you see it that way, but I'll take a free period where I can,"

"I'm much the same," Lily said, letting out a sort of nervous laugh. "I'm rubbish at seeing the future."

Remus toed off his shoes and wiggling his toes in front of the fire, leaning over to see what she was working on. "Ah, that's better. So Potions? Care to help a fellow out?"

"I suppose I could be persuaded,"

"Well, if nothing else, you should pity me," Remus said, dipping his quill in an inkpot. "And lately, I've been finding that pity can reach farther than most things,"

"I don't mind helping," Lily said, and Remus smiled.

"Excellent, because I don't mind being helped, so we're perfect partners,"

Lily pulled out a stack of parchment that Slughorn had loaned her, and for the next hour, they had pieced together two fairly convincing essays about the dangers of a misbrewed Draught of Living Death.

"Thank Merlin for these notes," Remus said as he flipped a page appreciatively. "What'd you do? Flutter your eyes, and he emptied his cupboard?

Lily rolled her eyes. "He likes me, is all,"

"And it helps, I think, that he thinks you're the most talented witch he's ever come into contact with."

Lily waved her hand dismissively and flipped open her new Potions textbook. "The only reason I succeeded before was because Sev helped me. Now it just comes from practice."

"Practice and a good deal of skill," Remus said. "I think good ole' Slug thought you were pulling his leg when you told him you were Muggleborn."

"I'd like to think he doesn't care about things like that,"

"It's like you don't know him at all, Lils!" Remus said with a laugh. "The man only gives a leg up if he thinks you've got something for him in return."

"There's something to that, I suppose," Lily said evenly. "Sometimes, I wish...I wish that everyone was equal, and we didn't have to base our opinions on something that nobody can control. It's unfair,"

"It's reality," Remus said, shrugging.

"You don't choose your parentage."

"No," Remus said. "I wish that had been the case; it would make life less complicated."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, her eyebrows furrowed. "I thought you had a good relationship with your family."

"My father taunted a werewolf, Lils; it's the only reason that I am what I am.

"Oh,"

"Yeah," he said, and then looked at her strangely.

"What?"

"Oh, it's just, I had supposed that James had told you. Now that the two of you are so cozy,"

"No, we're not," Lily said, feeling her face flush in embarrassment. God, did he know?

"Families are complicated, and Slughorn is a pushover," Remus said, watching her out of the corner of his eye. "And hey, look at it this way. You'll always have a family in us; we can be a family together once this mess is over with."

An odd swoop fell over her. While Lupin had meant well, a family with the Marauders had never been one she had contemplated before. She was good friends with Remus, and congenial with the others, but a notion of a family with James sent her nerves fluttering in quite a different way than it had with the others. Being friends after Hogwarts, maybe even closer than friends.

Lily shook her head as if to clear her thoughts, and looked over at Remus, his fingers absentmindedly tracing a new scar from his most recent transformation.

"Does it hurt terribly?" Lily said quietly.

"Beyond comprehension," he said. "They make it better, though. Better than I thought it ever could be."

Lily sat up, dipping her quill with more force than perhaps necessary. "I can't believe that they're illegal Animagi—,"

Remus covered her mouth with his hand, and Lily wiggled out of his grip. "Wanna maybe keep your voice down?"

"Remus!"

"Evans!" He said, with equal vigour. "It's a secret! A secret that has to stay secret! God even knows why James told you,"

"He didn't tell me," she said, trying to calm the rapid beating of her heart. "I saw you remember? Middle of the night in fifth year, a stag, dog, and rat transforming back into boys in front of my eyes, laughing and yelling. I didn't see you at first."

"Thank God for that,"

"You know what I mean," Lily said, leaning back into the cushions. "It was brave, I mean it's complicated magic, bloody easy to get wrong,"

"They started the process in second year, did I ever tell you that?"

"No!" Lily said, looking aghast. "That's one of the most complicated spells you can do, and they were learning about it at twelve?"

"I think Pads was thirteen,"

"You're on crack,"

"Nah, just pot. But you'd know all about that, wouldn't you Evans?"

Lily scoffed, purposefully ignoring Lupin as he smirked at her. "Schoolwork, though," Lily said.

"Schoolwork it is,"

...

The sun had long since set as the seventh year Gryffindor girls got ready for bed. Lily's cat Grimm jumped off the windowsill as Alice lit another cigarette, shooing the cat away from the treacle tarts Marlene had snuck in from the kitchen. It was half-eleven, and although all the girls except Amelia had abandoned books for the night. Lily scooted over on her bed, and Grimm leaped up beside her, purring loudly under her ministrations.

Marlene ran a brush through her hair, the curls getting tangled about the bristles as Lily slipped a jumper over her shoulders. It was getting late, and a storm raged outside their windows, rain pelting the windows. The wind cut through the cracks in the window frames, but a month prior, Amelia had cast a clever little charm to keep the cold out and away.

"We should leave a note for the elves to fix that, y' know," Lily said, sitting cross-legged on her bed. Grimm, bored of the fuss, wiggled himself out of her arms and scurried under her bed.

"It has to be said, Lils," Mary said, perched on her bed. "And I love you, don't get me wrong, but that is the ugliest cat to walk the face of the earth,"

Marlene laughed, and the rest of the girls followed suit as Lily scowled. "He was alone; nobody wanted to buy him! Maybe if you didn't lock him in wardrobes quite so much, he'd like you more."

"It's late, ladies," Amelia said, fluffing her pillow and toeing off her slippers. "And unless you have something important worth saying, perhaps it can wait until morning?"

"Well, I don't know about you lot, but wanna hear the full juicy tale of how Lily snogged James Potter Saturday last in the Common Room under our very noses!" Marlene said conspiratorially, to the gasps of her dorm mates.

Lily's heart dropped, people had seen? Did people know?

"Well," Amelia said sensibly. "Did you?"

"I most certainly did not!"

"Did too! Mary's mate Eileen saw you, and couldn't keep her little mouth shut, nosy."

"I just can't believe it!" Alice exclaimed.

"I did not snog James!"

"Since when is he, James, Lils? He was nothing but a bullying toe-rag last I heard," Amelia said, her eyes glittering overtop of her novel.

"I just cannot believe it," Alice said, clearly amid an existential crisis.

"Potter, I mean,"

"Nah, too late, mate, your cards are on the table," Marlene said. "You fancy the pretty sod! You! Miss, I won't date anyone this year!"

"Miss, I have too much on my plate as it is," Amelia added.

"Is he a good kisser?" Alice asked. "Cause Florence, y' know his old flame, told me she taught him everything he knows."

"Well, he's dated half of the Quidditch players and all the blondes in Gryffindor, so God knows he'd need to buck up a bit with this one over here," Mary said. "Before she's taken up, as it were,"

"Taken up! I am not!"

"Speaking as one who's kissed Potter before—,"

"What?" Alice exclaimed. "Marlene!"

Marlene waved her hand, and the girls scooted closer to hear, while Lily pressed a pillow to her face in humiliation. "It was that party last year, in the Common Room. Everyone was there, Black and Longbottom brought firewhiskey, and I was the closest bird, so he planted one on me and then swaggered away with Sirius arm in arm. I doubt he even remembers it."

"So, what was he like?" Alice asked, and Marlene made a face.

"What? Too much tongue?"

The girls giggled, and Lily's eyebrows shot into her hairline.

Alice wagged her finger, "Or not enough?"

The girls burst into laughter, and Lily covered her face with her hands. "I don't want to talk about it,"

"Since when do you kiss and not tell? I thought we were honest about everything!"

Lily's anger bubbled up to the surface, and she felt her face turn red as she fairly exploded with indignation.

"This is personal!" Lily exclaimed, her fists landing with force on the bedsheets. "It's my life, not yours! What I do in my time is no concern of yours or anyone else's! We kissed, and then we fought, and I haven't spoken more than two words to him since the last Prefect meeting, and I'm perfectly happy with that!'

"Well, sorry for asking," Marlene said with raised eyebrows.

"Don't be sticking your nose in other people's business! We thought that we were alone!"

"And how far exactly was his hand up your skirt when you came to that conclusion?"

Lily tugged at the curtains lining her bunk and collapsed onto her sheets. She cast a quick silencing charm and tried to ignore the quiet murmuring of her dorm mates. Who else had seen them? Gossip spread like wildfire in the castle, and if some sixth-year trollop knew, God knew who else did.

She flipped over her pillow and sighed. Even if no one had seen, someone would've guessed, the air between her and James had been thick ever since he broke up with his girlfriend last spring. She had fancied him forever; it seemed. Since sixth year at least, and in her heart of hearts, she had hoped that this day would come. But then she went and spoiled it! Spoiled everything, who brings up their sister when they're kissing somebody?

Even with the silencing charm, she could still hear the whispers of her dorm mates, so she threw her pillow over her head and wished for a sleep that could take away all her problems.

...

The next morning dawned clear and bright, and James smiled as he made his way out of the castle doors. He sighed in satisfaction as the sun peaked its eyes over the horizon, its fingers reaching and pulling and spilling light over the mountains and across the loch. He pulled his broom back up onto his shoulder, his hair already mussed in the wind and slid his hand back over it subconsciously, trying his best to keep it messy.

Sirius was already in the air— eighty feet straight up, spinning a Quaffle on his palm before tossing it in the opposing teams' left hoop with ease, a feat considering the wind speed that high.

James mounted his broom, tossing his apple core behind him, and kicked off hard, shooting high into the morning air. He straightened his glasses unconsciously as he levelled out, and let out a surprised oof as Sirius threw him the Quaffle, hitting him solidly in the stomach.

James grunted and laughed before punching the ball into the air, letting it fall a considerable distance before chasing after it, seventy feet straight down, catching the Quaffle with the tips of his fingers just as his feet brushed the dewy grass of the pitch. He lived for this— the adrenaline rush, the feeling of life flashing before his eyes. He shot back into the air like a rocket and levelled out below Sirius, drop-kicking the Quaffle twenty yards away for him to recover. Sirius laughed and flew after it, his broom catching the light.

"Hurry up, princess," Sirius yelled from across the pitch, cupping his hands around his mouth. "I'm not waiting forever,"

"You weren't saying that last night," James said, wiggling his eyebrows, racing forward towards him.

"Nobody could say that much of you, Prongs,"

James laughed, a deep belly laugh, and Sirius grinned. "Bet you can't catch this one," he said, spinning the ball in his hands and dropping it a few feet in front of him. The wind was strong, and James corrected his broom as it swerved to the side. Sirius flew like a shot, never terribly concerned for his welfare. The Quaffle fell quickly, but Sirius was a good flier, and evened out, circling far below James.

The sun was nearly risen, casting deep shadows over the surrounding mountains, the lake was the deepest blue and completely calm, the great white castle red with the sunrise.

James pulled a struggling Golden Snitch out of his trouser pocket, letting it flutter around his fingers. His father had been a Seeker, but James never wanted to be one, as much as he liked being the centre of attention, the Gryffindor Quidditch hero who snagged every girl he fancied, he'd rather be part of a whole as a fellow Chaser with his best mate.

"We should practice that pass again before Charles and Mars get here."

"What?"

James flew over Sirius in a loop and hovered above him upside-down, ruffling his mate's hair, pulling it out of the bun James had fixed for him. "I said, we should practice that reverse pass before the others get here."

"Good idea, Prongs," Sirius said, tossing the Quaffle up to James, who caught it, holding the snitch between his teeth as he turned about and flew beside Sirius. "Smashing, in fact, but given that it's not even half-eight, I would imagine we have a moment or two to see, just for comparison, of course, how fast your new racing broom is."

James patted his broom handle affectionately. "She's fast, mate,"

"Flashy though, I'm not sure if its better than the 1000,"

"Faster than Charles' Cleansweep,"

"Everything's faster than a Cleansweep, mate,'

"Then, go!"

Sirius raced after James as they barrelled to the other end of the pitch, where the small scarlet and gold players were making their way out of the changing rooms. James leaned forward and pushed for more speed, hearing Sirius coming up close behind him. Faster! He thought, his heart thumping in excitement. Flying was the one place where nothing mattered but the moment. His parents had bought him his first racing broom at two, and he had been addicted to the speed of it ever since. Nothing existed except for the wind and the blinding sun and the smell of grass a hundred feet below him. Here he could succeed without trying; here, he could find glory, bring his team to victory. Here there were clear rules, and an understanding about fair play, the grey area that seemed to cast a shadow over the rest of his life found no footing on the Quidditch pitch. Lily's actions stung, and the way that she ignored him was almost worse. He wished that she would take the initiative and clear the air, or he might say something he'd regret.

"Head's up, mate!"

James pulled up into a neat stop and let his broom hovered as he bumped Sirius with his shoulder, having beat him by nearly a full length.

"Good race, Potter!" Robin said, tossing her braid over her shoulder as she hovered on her broom. "Gave him a what for, didn't you!"

"It's the broom, Rob, I'm sure he had nothing to do with it," Marlene said, hefting up one end of the box of game balls while Charles held the other handle. They dropped it in the middle of the circle, and James took a deep breath, rubbing his hands together to keep warm.

"Alright," he said, "The first game is next week. Our odds are already looking pretty good with Genrick not playing this year."

"I thought she went into hiding," Charles said from behind him, and James turned. "Isn't she a Muggleborn?"

"What does that matter?" Robin said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"It doesn't," Charles said, stuttering slightly. "Just conversation is all,"

"Prongs," Sirius said, giving him a little nod, and James cleared his throat.

"Anyway, Slytherin is always a tough player, we have to be ready for all contingencies," he turned to one side, their newest prospect, a small fifth-year girl. She had been impressive in all of their trials, and James was looking forward to seeing her play. "If you haven't met, this is Evelyn Roberts; she'll be our Seeker this season,"

There was a small chorus of hellos, and Evelyn smiled, a rather battered-looking Shooting Star clenched in her fist. James had no doubt that she could fly; he had seen her do it.

"What's this rumour that I heard about Quidditch being cancelled?" Frank Longbottom said, pulling on his Keeper helmet.

"it's just a rumour, Frank," Marlene said, looking at James, who sighed. "Right? They can't cancel Quidditch,"

"There is a war going on, Mars," Sirius said tentatively. "God knows what'll happen."

"I also heard that you and Evans were screwing around," Robin said with a steely tone, and James' eyes went wide. "And that's why you skipped last practice,"

"I was not, am not, screwing anybody!"

"That's not what I heard. Lara Simpson saw it all,"

"Since when are you friends with her?" Marlene said, facing Robin with her hands on her hips. "And what the hell do you know? You're a fourth year!"

"Hold on, since when was this about me?"

"I'm sorry, isn't everything?"

James' head was spinning; people had seen them? It was past midnight; the Common Room was empty! So far as he knew, the only person alive with a functional Invisibility Cloak was his father, and a Disillusionment charm is easy enough to see past if you know what to look for. And, he supposed, if he had been cognizant enough to see anything but Lily in front of him. Gods, he was so stupid. James rested his forehead on the handle of his broom as his team argued around him.

"For fuck's sake, James missed one practice!" Sirius said, and James turned to watch. "One! He's been captain of this team for three years, longer than most of you have been on the team. He was co-hosting a Prefect meeting and lost track of time, give the sod a bleeding break, yeah?"

There was a general murmur of consensus, and James cleared his throat, trying to ignore how red his ears were. "Right," he said, opening the notebook he had used as a playbook for six years, and the practice began.

...

Breakfast was a rather tense affair, and sensing the discord between herself and her dorm mates, Lily sat with Remus and Peter instead, nursing a cup of strong, sweet coffee. To compensate, Remus struck up a rather on the surface conversation about Gryffindor's first Quidditch game of the year.

"Well, that explains where Potter and Black are," Lily said absentmindedly, buttering a slice of toast. "Or else they're sleeping the day away,"

Lily looked up to see Remus' reaction and surprised to see him looking slack-jawed at something over her left shoulder. The Great Hall quieted, and Lily turned around to see what he was happening.

Her boyfriend, Arthur Cauterwal, stood five feet away from her with an expression of deadly calm in his eyes. Her face paled with the knowledge that he knew what she had done with James, God, had she cheated on her boyfriend?

"Are you shagging James Potter?" he said quietly, and Lily shook her head vigorously.

"No, of course not!"

"Are you," he said and swallowed. "Are you seeing another bloke?"

"No, I promise I'm not!"

"Then why, do I hear rumours about you and James Potter snogging in the Gryffindor Common Room?"

Lily stood up and put a hand on his chest, trying her hardest to steel her resolve and to keep secrets secret. "Can we take this somewhere else, Art?"

"Seems to me that everyone in this damn school knows my girlfriend's fickle," Arthur said, a touch louder, and Lily took a step back. "So, it makes no difference to me where we talk."

"I haven't done anything wrong!"

"So, you just happen to fall into his arms and sit there quietly while he shags you?"

The doors of the Great Hall opened, and seven hundred heads turned as the Gryffindor Quidditch team entered. Their laughter died as the silence fell, and the once carefree expression on James Potter's face disappeared. She caught James' eyes, and his expression darkened and begun walking towards them.

"Look," Lily said, trying to catch Arthur's eyes. "Look. There's been a misunderstanding, and I understand your anger. I do. But it's misguided; you need to calm down—,"

"Oh, now I need to calm down?" Arthur said, his voice rising to a crescendo. "Fat chance of that, sweetheart. And look who it is, James fucking Potter,"

The sound of clicking heels interrupted her thoughts as Professor McGonagall walked towards them from the head table.

"Now that is quite enough," she said with a steely expression. "Miss Evans, Mr. Cauterwal, you are demonstrating unacceptable behaviour. I expect better from my Head Girl. This conversation can take place elsewhere."

James stood his ground as Arthur trembled with fury in front of him, and McGonagall took hold of Lily's arm to pull her behind her while Professor Sprout turned to talk to Arthur.

"Like hell, it can," Arthur said, and with a powerful swing knocked James' glasses off of his nose, and he doubled over in pain to loud gasps from the rest of the student body.

"Mr. Cauterwal!" McGonagall said, and Sirius and Lupin reached to grab one of James' arms, holding him back from retaliating. Both of their eyes could've spit fire.

"Keep your hands off of her!" Arthur said, lunging towards James but held back by Sprout. "Keep your goddamn hands off of her, you hear me?"

James' eyes followed Arthur's as he was escorted out of the Great Hall by Sprout, and a rising tide of voices almost hid what McGonagall said. "This is completely and utterly unacceptable! Both of you follow me to my office."

"She didn't do anything!" Sirius said, standing beside James. "All she did was get shouted at for a bit, and now she's in shit? And what did James do but get punched?"

"Black, you as well. Ten points from Gryffindor for your vile language. Follow me,"

Lily slipped free and followed McGonagall with her head down. She knew James and Sirius were walking beside her but didn't dare look. Now she was the gossip of the entire student body, and everything, absolutely everything was her fault.