Back on schedule! And I even had time to look through it! Now I need to go back through the chapters to correct those too...

Thanks tons to my reviewers: lizy2000, Blue Luver5000, creelluka, 19irene96, NamesAreImportant, Guest, Cae-Leigh Anne and meowzac!

As promised, a chapter from James's perspective. About time.

James was still mulling over it at breakfast. For once, he had ignored Lily's offer of having a private breakfast in the Head's dorm – their Saturday morning tradition. He had almost caved at her pouting expression, but resolved to make it up to her later. She never stayed mad for long.

Not anymore, he thought with a grin, remembering the tantrums she would fly into during their earlier years.

Had he been spending too much time with Lily recently? He remembered the argument he had with Padfoot the night before.

'Why would you do this, Padfoot?' James asked, raising his hands to his head.

Of course, the odd prank on Snivellus was still fun, but this? This was something much deeper, much darker, than their childhood rivalry.

'I don't know, okay?' Sirius cried, wringing his hands. Sirius always acted on impulse. He never stopped to think about the consequences. 'I was angry, Snivellus was just there. Besides, he's a Death Eater! He's one of them! He deserves it!'

Sirius had a scary streak when it came to the Slytherin populace. He believed each and every one of them was inherently evil, that none were beyond redemption. Even Emma was blamed for their parents' death, something James found abhorrent. But James forgave Sirius, because of his past. Lily didn't understand, because Lily didn't know what Sirius had endured for his beliefs. As Dumbledore had warned them, the war was forcing them into a choice: between what was right, and what was easy.

James took a deep, calming breath, counting to three in his head. It helped him prevent most of his most rash actions.

'Sirius,' he replied. 'Just because you don't like Snape doesn't mean that you have the right to kill him!'

'Kill him?' Sirius went white. 'I didn't... I just wanted to scare him, shake him up a bit.'

'Sirius,' the frustration leaked through despite James's best efforts. He spoke slowly. 'What did you think would happen if you sent a boy into a werewolf den with only one, small exit?'

The rest of the blood drained from Sirius's skin, before his defensive reflexes kicked in. His face took on a haughty expression that wouldn't have been amiss on Regulus or Narcissa Black. Sirius looked more like his family than he realised.

'Now you're even starting to sound like her!' he said accusingly, pointing a finger at his fellow Gryffindor. 'What's happened to the Prongs I knew? He was always up for some adventure, some risk-taking.'

'That Prongs died along with both of his parents!' James had yelled back, finally losing control. He was glad he had put the Muffliato charm up before initiating the conversation. 'In case you hadn't remembered, I don't find the risk of death very appealing anymore!'

Sirius deflated a little, consternation making its way back to his face. He dropped into an armchair, his lower lip trembling like a child's. Eventually his eyes darted back to James, dropped in humility.

'I just wanted it to be like the old days, you know?' he said quietly, a quaver in his voice. James had never seen Padfoot look so vulnerable. 'I wanted us to be happy and carefree... I thought maybe... one final prank. One that would make us forget about this war.'

James let out a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding. So Sirius wasn't going dark. He was just trying – in his own way – to fix the scars that had been left on the both of them. James had used his relationship with Lily as a crutch – she was much more interested in him when he wasn't making the effort to impress her – but had he left Padfoot to wallow in his sorrow by himself?

And had Sirius, in turn, started to abandon Wormtail and Moony? After all, none of them had decided to accompany Remus on his nightly transformation this time. James should have known that it would come back to haunt them. Moony would never say a word, but they all knew that he needed them as much as he needed the Shrieking Shack. They had all let the Marauders down, some way or another.

As for Wormtail, they had ignored his struggles at the N.E.W.T. level homework. James had been too occupied, Sirius too morose, Remus too tired. James had never had any problems with magic. Had he also underestimated the toll their broken friendship would take on Peter? What could be worse than sending someone to certain death?

'Stay here,' he said aloud. Perhaps it wasn't too late to fix one of their mistakes.

Remus was in hospital, as usual. Sirius was nowhere to be found, probably sleeping. Peter was probably off cramming some last-minute homework in before classes, though they started the day with Herbology. James was sitting in the centre of the Gyffindor table as usual, eating toast with peanut butter.

James let his eyes drift over to the Slytherin table. By now, Emma had found her way to the Great Hall. At first, James wondered how she had managed to get changed so fast. He himself had "borrowed" one of the school's old brooms to fly up to the Tower. Then he remembered that the Slytherin common room was in the dungeons.

Duh, James, he felt like knocking his thick head on his goblet of pumpkin juice. Ouch, he thought, rubbing his head. Who knew copper could hurt so much? He returned to his spying.

Emma still had the exhausted look of this morning, but she had found an energy James would have thought impossible. Actually, it reminded him of when she had caught the Firebug Flu. She seemed too wired up, her movements feverishly fast. He slid his gaze to either side of her. Surely her friends must have noticed something?

But James realised that Alecto Carrow – her closest friend throughout Hogwarts – had the same sunken gaze, eyes glittering with some sort of resolve. She had put on a bit of weight since he had last noticed her – stress from exams? Lestrange was also exuberant, though from what James had gathered, he was always like that.

Actually, come to think of it, Lestrange had also been acting odd lately. He had been overly courteous, almost gentlemanly, towards Lily, who had accepted the change of behaviour with delight, taking it as a sign that some of the Slytherins had changed their minds about Muggleborns, in light of recent events. But James knew better.

The Slytherin had always been friendly to James, and whilst the Gryffindor could appreciate some of his pranks, he knew that something was up. Lestrange was still at the centre of many rumours of Dark Magic being performed on students, and more than a few Hufflepuffs went out of their way to avoid him. Obviously, Hestia hadn't forgotten his treatment of her in their sixth year.

So what made Lily different now? Were they planning something, or was it because she was now associated with James himself? He was under no illusion that he influenced the Slytherins' opinions, but he could hazard a guess that Emma kept them under strict instructions when it came to her brother.

If Sirius was here now, he would scoff at James's naivety. He would go back to their hashed-out argument about Halloween. They had both been there along with the Order, though not even Dumbledore knew about their Animagus forms. At some point, Sirius had gotten stuck in some rubble in dog form, unable to get out or send a Patronus.

According to Padfoot, a girl their age had tried to finish him off, though he had never seen her face. He was adamant that it was Emma, on the side of the Death Eaters. She knew that they were Animagi, though she didn't know anyone's form save her brother's. James was adamant that it wasn't. His sister wasn't so deranged as to murder a random dog, even if there was a possibility of it being Sirius.

Especially if there was a possibility of it being Sirius.

James knew his sister had many faults, but "murderer" was not among her foremost traits. Another voice, deep down, told him that if it had been his sister, she would have taken the opportunity to make Sirius suffer, as much as she believed Padfoot had made her suffer. Either way, she wasn't guilty.

Going back to the Slytherin table, the only one who seemed to keep a semblance of normalcy was Regulus Black. Of course it would be, James thought discontentedly. He didn't know exactly why he didn't like the younger Black sibling, only that he was sure that anyone that calm would be hiding something.

That, and Sirius's treatment, though even James couldn't blame an eleven year old for not standing up to Walburga. After all, James himself hadn't noticed Charles's behaviour towards his sister until it was too late.

'Hello, Black,' James said, sidling up to Regulus in Herbology.

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, he cursed himself. Calling Regulus "Black" is a great way to start an intimate conversation, a voice said in his head snarkily. Well done, James.

'Potter,' Regulus replied shortly, as expected.

In Herbology, you could pretty much have a private conversation as loudly as you wanted. It was like Potions – everyone was so concentrated on the dangerous object in front of them that no one cared what the others were doing. Rabastan also took Herbology, but James thought he'd have less of a chance at getting information out of him.

They worked in silence for a few minutes, taking care to not get the Angel's Trumpet on their skin. The plant was highly poisonous, which was why they treated it in seventh year despite its relatively calm disposition. Today, they were transferring them into bigger pots, wearing their pointy hats in case the pollen shook out of the flowers. James would have found the scene comical, if he wasn't trying so hard to be tactful.

The problem was... James wasn't known for his tact.

'So, you're close to my sister, right?' he asked awkwardly.

Regulus froze, digging his fingers into the pile of dragon dung. His face – neutral up until this point – became as still as one of the Hogwarts suits of armour. For half a second, James wondered if somebody had cast Petrificus Totalus on the younger boy.

'Yes,' the Slytherin replied hesitantly, as though not sure that it was the correct answer.

'Did... did something happen?'James asked, wrapping the flowers in film, so as to not damage them during the transplant.

Regulus looked as though he had seen a ghost. In fact, he looked the way Sirius had when James had wrung out his confession about Snape the night before.

'You might want to be a little more specific,' was all he said, fertilizing the plant pot. He glanced back at James. 'A lot has happened recently.'

James felt his face heat up. Regulus was obviously referring to their father's death. James had been so wrapped up in his grief that he hadn't wondered what it felt like for Emma, to know that Charles had gone to his grave denying her heritage. Ironically, Sirius couldn't have been happier at the fate that had met Orion.

Suddenly, James realised that Orion was also Regulus's father. Emma had spent a lot of time there in her fifth and sixth years; was it possible that Orion was to her what Charles was to Sirius?

He shook his head, casting the thought from his mind. James knew that Emma bottled up grief, the way she had the previous year with their mother. The Potters were old hats at family deaths. This was something else, something strange. He corrected his earlier question.

'Has she got the Firebug Flu again?' he asked instead, holding the top of the plant whilst Regulus covered the base in soil. 'I know her; she won't admit something's wrong until it's too late.'

'The Firebug Flu,' Regulus repeated slowly, and to James's disbelief a smile spread along the Slytherin's face.

Well, maybe "smile" isn't the right word. It was more like a cross between a smirk and a sneer, as though James had no idea what he was talking about. It was the most patronising thing James had ever seen... with the exception of Dumbledore's eye-twinkle. Before the Gryffindor could express his outrage though, Regulus continued.

'In a way, I suppose it is,' the Slytherin mused, a hint of amusement in his voice. James felt like throttling the little twerp. 'I guess you don't know her as well as you think you do.'

'Look, Regulus, I don't know what your problem is, but if you find my sister's illness funny, I will hex your face into this plant,' James said in a low voice. His wand found its way to Regulus's throat, hidden by the leaves of the Angel's Trumpet.

'She's not ill,' Regulus said, unperturbed. 'But I'm sure she'd find it hilarious if her brother hexed one of her friends just because he wasn't paying enough attention himself.'

James withdrew his wand, keeping back a Sirius-like snarl with some effort. He pursed his lips, silently counting to three.

'So what is it, if she's not ill?' he asked, his tone measured.

The smirk was wiped from Regulus's face in an instant. His eyes fixed on a point to the left of James's head. The latter turned around grudgingly to see Lestrange and Evans lowering their plant into the pot. There was nothing suspicious in their behaviour in the least. He turned back to the Slytherin with a questioning look.

'Something you wouldn't understand,' Regulus said evenly, his face back to the infuriating Black mask.

'How do you know I wouldn't understand?' James demanded, releasing the plant with a little more force than necessary.

The leaves came flying free and the two boys ducked, narrowly missing the drooping flowers. The pointy hats flew off and they took cover under their arms from the pollen. Even bound, they flowers could cause damage if there was an uncovered corner of the petals. James nearly missed Regulus's response, so low he thought he had imagined it.

'Because I don't understand anymore either.'