Chapter 5: The Betrayal

Little by little, Lily began to feel that things were returning to normal. She met her friends for breakfast every morning, completed her homework in the library, met with Prefects after lunch (there was a first year student found unconscious during rounds the previous night), practiced dueling with Professor Doge after dinner, and even slept through the night...mostly. Though Lily assumed that was mostly due to what Sirius deemed "The After Party."

After Lily and James' first night dueling with Professor Doge, they returned to their Head Dorms to find the Marauders waiting inside. "How did you guys get in this time?" Lily asked incredulously. "I just changed the password last night! Please don't say the wall told you! I already gave it a piece of my mind last time."

"Lily, relax." Remus said placatingly. He raised his hands peacefully in front of him.

"I told them the password." James answered. Laughter danced in his eyes. Or was that from the light from the fire?

Lily's eyes darted between James and the marauders. Peter apparently found it comical for he giggled and rocked on the desk he was sitting on. Lily ignored Peter and said to James, "When did you do that? How did you do that? I was with you practically all day!"

Both James and Sirius winked at her. "The perks of being a marauder." Sirius said while twirling his wand between his fingers.

"Gr!" Lily fisted her hands in her hair.

"Lily, this way!" Sirius abruptly leapt up from his seat and shot a jinx her way.

Lily dropped and rolled to dodge Sirius' jinx then leaped up and lunged at Sirius, her wand shoved into his chest. "Sirius, what the hell!" Lily yelled, her breathing heavy, "What d'you think you're playing at?"

Sirius barked a laugh, reached into his pocket and tossed two sickles towards Peter. "I was expecting you would hex me back!" Sirius said, still laughing.

Peter shook his head. "Of course she wouldn't! She always sees the best in people."

"Sirius did the same to James the other night, only James tossed him across the room." Remus filled Lily in.

Lily crossed her arms and frowned. "Of course he would. We just came back from our lesson! Our guard is still up."

"Which is why we are here for the after party." Sirius beamed at Lily who was totally nonplussed by the wand still pressing into his chest.

"The what?" Lily asked.

"We want to take full advantage of your being on full alert. Just like every party has an after party, now every dueling session will have an after party! So you can practice with us!"

"You're not being serious." Lily dropped her wand and took a step back.

"Afraid he is." Remus said with a smile. "In more ways than one."

"Can we get started then?" Peter asked anxiously as he hopped down from the desk.

"Right." James said and rolled up his sleeves. With a mischievous glint in his eye (Lily was sure it was not from the fire this time) he turned towards Remus and fired hexes.

At first Lily flinched away and tried to sneak off to her room, but her path was always conveniently blocked with some magical obstruction. With a stomp of her foot and a toss of her hair, she marched back into the fray.

And so it continued, this dueling after party. After each session, Lily was so exhausted that she could just barely crawl into bed before she fell fast asleep.

The following Tuesday evening was just as calm and quiet. The Marauders, including James, had filed out only an hour ago, leaving Lily to relax in the peace and quiet of the common room. Lily was taking her time changing into her night clothes, daydreaming about the latest book she was reading, when she heard a voice shout, "Lily? Lily are you there?" The voice sounded as if it was just outside her bedroom door. Though when she peeked her head outside of her room she realized it was the mirror in their portrait hole. Standing just outside was Amos Diggory, rocking nervously onto his heels.

Lily hopped down the stairs and opened up the portrait hole. "Amos, hi. Did you need something?"

Amos rocked backwards. "Er- no. I'm patrolling with Patricia Higgins this evening and I'm a little early. Is Potter here?"

"No, he has Quidditch practice tonight." Lily paused as Amos still stood awkwardly in place. "Are you sure you don't need anything?" Lily asked.

"Well," Amos took a deep breath and blurted, "Since our first Hogsmeade weekend is next week before the Halloween Feast, I was wondering if you would go with me to Hogsmeade?"

Lily stopped listening as soon as she heard the words 'Hogsmeade' and 'Halloween Feast.' "Oh Merlin is it really next weekend?" Lily cried, smacking her palm against her face. "Why I haven't even collected permission forms and I didn't even think to ask Professor Flitwick about decorations in Charms this morning! What was I thinking?" Without a backward glance she slammed the portrait hole closed and rushed inside to the desk. Lily hastily pulled a parchment and quill and began to scribble a few notes asking Prefects to collect Hogsmeade permission forms the next morning. She was just addressing the Hufflepuff note when she said out loud, "Oh, Amos is in Hufflepuff!" She grabbed the note and rushed back to the portrait hole but when she peeked outside, Amos was gone.

It wasn't until that moment Lily remembered the rest of Amos' question. Amos had asked her to Hogsmeade! Lily's face flushed scarlet, her body teetering in shock so that she now leaned heavily against the opened portrait. Of course Amos and Lily had gone out a few times in sixth year, it was nothing serious, but had immediately stopped once Remus had come across the two of them snogging in the corridor. It also happened to be the day before James kissed- er, accosted her. Lily was sure Amos had been avoiding her because of that incident. No wonder Amos was concerned about James being around!

Once the shock had worn off, Lily felt relieved that she did not have to answer Amos' question right away. She was glad she had spent the weekend with her friends because now she knew she wouldn't say yes out of loneliness. Though the thought of spending Hogsmeade weekend with a boy was appealing, Lily wasn't confident that she would enjoy it as much if the boy was Amos. Lily decided to file those thoughts away and returned to the task at hand; sending instructions to each Prefect and a quick note to Professor Flitwick.

An hour later Lily was curled up in an armchair reading an article from Witch Weekly and wondering where James was. She hadn't been around on Saturday but she was positive James did not return to their dormitory until 3:00 AM Monday morning. Lily was curious if James would be out that late again. She wanted to speak with him about Hogsmeade permission forms before bed.

Loud footsteps from outside the portrait hole had Lily jumping from her seat. She turned to the portrait hole and saw the reflection of Amos Diggory bent over wheezing. Lily's heart jumped to her throat. Had he come back demanding an answer to his Hogsmeade question? She wasn't ready to give an answer! Lily stepped through the portrait hole to confront Amos.

"Amos, I'm sorry about earlier. About your question, I-"

"Nevermind that!" Amos briskly waved her words away. He was breathing very heavily. "There was - an attack! Downstairs - entrance hall. Patricia - she's hurt."

Lily frowned. Her whole demeanor changed as she straightened authoritatively. In a voice that was rigid and more confident than before she said, "Go get the Headmaster. Then run straight to Madame Pomfrey. Do not stop for anyone. Go, run!" Amos took off down the corridor. Without wasting another second, Lily dashed in the opposite direction towards the Great Hall. She was hurtling down the steps when she spotted Remus bending over a whimpering fifth year that Lily recognized to be Patricia Higgins.

"Remus, what happened?"

Remus leaned back and Lily could see Patricia's skin writhing as if there were bugs crawling underneath. Lily shivered. "They just ran out the doors. You need to go after them."

"But Patricia-"

"Sirius went to fetch Madame Pomfrey."

"How did he-"

"You need to go now, Lily."

"Where did they-"

"You'll need this." Remus offered a piece of parchment.

"What is it?"

"It's a map, Lily. Please don't ask me anything else about it now. You need to go outside and find where they went." Remus pushed the map into Lily's hands.

"Ok. If you see James-"

"He's right over there, Lily." Remus gestured towards the front doors. James was sprawled on his back, a wicked cut graced his knuckles, a bruise was blooming on his cheek, and his smoking robes smelled strongly of burnt hair.

"Why is he-"

"We can answer your questions later. Right now you need to go!"

Lily was filled with empathy and rage. She sprinted out of the castle, pulling open the map and lighting her wand to see where she was going. The names "Snape," "Black," and "Black" were headed around the lake straight towards the woods where two more names were waiting for them: "Mulciber" and "Avery." The sight of Severus' name in correlation to Mulciber's and the attacks had Lily running even faster. Without warning, Lily's foot caught on something and she smacked face first into the ground. Scrambling back onto her feet, she raised her wand to find the still form of Ainsley Trapson, Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch team, still dressed in her robes and laying face down in the ground. Lily pushed Ainsley onto her back and Ainsley groaned in pain. Relief flooded Lily- seeing Ainsley's still body had Lily recalling the still body she saw on her first Order Mission. Rising back up, Lily raised her lit wand in the air. The silhouettes of the rest of the Quidditch team were strewn about the grounds. Lily panicked, should she go back inside? But if she would do that, she would not be able to catch up with the Slytherins and find out what they were up to. Besides, Lily thought, Sirius is already on his way with Madame Pomfrey. With a renewed sense of determination Lily marched onward to see what the 5 Slytherins were up to.

According to the map, the Slytherins were gathering just inside the Forbidden Forest. Lily extinguished her wand so they could not see her approaching. Just as she rounded the lake Lily could make out the faint sound of voices from the treeline. A loud scream suddenly pierced the air. Lily froze and consulted the map once more. Were they torturing someone from the Gryffindor Quidditch team? Was the person labeled 'Black' really Sirius? The mental picture of Sirius being tortured did not sit well with Lily. She quickly skirted forward, ducking in the shadow of the trees until she could see the form of someone dressed in Slytherin robes curled up on the ground clutching their arm. The sound of a girl with a gravelly, excited voice shouted, "Me next, me next!"

"Hold out your non-wand arm." Instructed a voice Lily knew to be Mulciber's. A sick sizzling sound came from Lily what assumed was the girl's arm. The girl herself seemed to be grunting in pain. Lily's curiosity grew as the sizzling continued and the grunting intensified. "There you are." Mulciber said once the sizzling stopped.

"Isn't it magnificent?" The girl said in awe.

"It's rather morbid." Drawled a familiar voice that had Lily's heart clenching.

"Shut up, Severus. What have you done to deserve the Mark? I didn't see you chasing down any mudbloods." Snapped the girl.

"Is that so." Mulciber said disapprovingly. "You were given three chances to prove yourself and you've fallen flat so far."

Lily could feel the tension rising. There was a threat in Mulciber's words that had Lily's hair standing on end.

"I hardly believe that attacking a tired, out of shape Quidditch team would warrant the Mark. Nor would attacking a first year muggleborn who couldn't even achieve a simple disarming spell. It's pathetic if you ask me." Severus said evenly and condescendingly.

So they were responsible for that poor first year the Prefects found, Lily thought angrily. Her blood began to boil and before Lily could think twice, she was illuminating her wand. Five startled faces turned up to her and Lily froze to find a shocking resemblance between the boy crouched on the ground and Sirius Black. The two of them had to be brothers! The Slytherins came to their senses quickly and started sending jinxes in Lily's direction. She ducked and dodged and sent her fair share back, charming who must have been Avery up a tree and transfiguring the robes of Sirius' brother to weights that had him pinned to the ground. Even with two Slytherins out of the way Lily was greatly outnumbered. With a well aimed "expeliarmus" from Snape, Lily lost her wand in the dark. Mulciber laughed. "Well here's your chance, Severus. Surely the Head Girl is worthy enough."

Lily looked into Snape's eyes. They were full of regret. He was going to hex her and it was going to hurt. But Lily knew that whatever Snape was going to do to her, it would be nothing compared to what Mulciber would do if given the chance. With a discreet nod towards Severus, Lily braced herself.

"Sectumsempra!"

Lily cried out as she was overcome with the feeling of knives dragging across her skin. She could feel her robes seep with hot blood. Her body was feeling heavy as she lost the strength to stand. Her head became cloudy and she could not think past the menacing laughs coming from the Slytherins. Was Lily imagining it or was there some distant shouting? Who was touching her arm just now? They were muttering quickly and Lily could feel some relief in her arms. But her thoughts grew distant as the blackness absorbed her.

When Lily woke up, it was to the cheery face of Madame Pomfrey who was spooning amber-tinted goop onto the cuts across her body. The instant relief had Lily sighing into her bed pillows. "Essence of murlap," Madame Pomfrey explained as she applied bandages to her arms. "It was a nasty bit of magic that boy used on you." She tutted angrily, "But nothing we can't fix. Here darling, this will help with the healing. Down it quickly, that's a good girl."

Lily allowed Madame Pomfrey to tip the goblet to her lips as she hastily drank the bitter concoction and did her best not to cough it back up.

"You had some visitors earlier this morning but you were in no shape to socialize. They were quite insistent so I wouldn't be surprised if they turned up again. Oh! Speak of the devil…" Madame Pomfrey turned around and Lily could see Amos Diggory shyly peeking his head through the Hospital Wing doors.

Lily felt her heart sink and immediately felt guilty. Who else would you be expecting to see, hm? Lily chastised herself. She pushed herself upright and straightened her bed clothes as Amos shuffled to her side.

"Hey Lily." Amos was rocking again.

"Er, hey Amos. Won't you sit down?" Lily gestured to the seat next to her bed. She felt something akin to seasickness when watching him rock back and forth like that.

"Yeah, thanks." He said and Lily watched with horror as his legs bounced up and down the instant he sat in his chair.

"So, um, thanks for visiting me?" Lily began, unsure why he was there in the first place.

Amos smiled up at her. "You know, just making sure you were okay." His face was shiny and reflecting the light by her bed.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Lily questioned uncertainly.

"Me? I'm quite fine, thanks for asking." Amos answer in a squeaky voice. "Did exactly as you asked, ran and got Professor Dumbledore. Came just in time to save you, it seems." Amos seemed quite proud of that fact. "But I really wanted to see if you thought any more of that Hogsmeade trip?"

Lily gulped audibly but was saved from answering when Madame Pomfrey shouted, "No use sneaking around, boys! Come over now, she's wide awake." Madame Pomfrey came out from behind someone's bed curtains, bustling forward none other than the four Marauders. Lily laughed at the sheepish expression on James's face for being caught.

"Er- hello," Amos said weakly as the marauders crowded around him. Lily watched as the little confidence Amos had suddenly deflated faster than a balloon.

"Diggory," James greeted coolly, "Just on your way out, were you?"

"Um, yes, that's right." Amos quickly stood up from the chair and edged his way around the four marauders. "Well, I'll see you later Lily."

"See you." Lily tried her hardest not to giggle as Amos hurried out of the room. Once the doors shut she looked expectantly up at the Marauders.

"So, you found out what those bastard Slytherins were up to, did you?" Sirius praised Lily.

"Er-Sirius. About that, do you know exactly who I found?" Lily felt anxious. She didn't want to be the one to accuse Sirius' brother of getting mixed up with Slytherins like Avery and Mulciber.

"You mean my stupid prat of a brother Regulus? Or are you referring to my lovely cousin, Bellatrix?" Sirius said bitterly from his chair.

Lily bit her lip. Remus reached out and patted Lily's hand. "It's alright, once Sirius came back with Madame Pomfrey we ran out to find you. We found you bleeding out by the forest-"

"I didn't need the bloody map to recognize the cowards that were running away from the forest." Sirius said moodily.

Lily gasped, "The map! Oh Remus I am so sorry, I must have dropped it when they hexed me!"

"I've got it right here," Remus pulled out the parchment and laid it out on the table. "Mischief managed." He said as he waved his wand over the map. The ink was wiped clean and Remus folded it back into his pocket.

Lily looked between Remus and the parchment in bewilderment. "So that's why you are so good at tracking charms! That's a tricky bit of magic you had to use to do that. You did create the map, didn't you?"

"With the help of the others, yes." Remus said, gesturing to the other three marauders.

Lily noticed then just how quiet both James and Peter were in that moment. James was looking steadfastly down at his shoes while Peter picked at his nails. The last time Lily saw James he was unconscious on the ground with smoking robes. Overwhelmed with concern, Lily leaned forwards and tugged James closer by his robes. With a surprised yelp, James yielded to her and let Lily cup his face where it was bruised the night before. Her hand only lingered a moment before she slid her fingers down his arm to brush across his knuckles. Lily found it amazing that the only thing left of his gash was just the faintest of scars. An awkward cough from Sirius had Lily quickly releasing James and blushing in embarrassment. "Well, it's good to know you don't smell as bad as you did last night." She said in order to save face.

James rubbed the back of his head. "Er- yeah, Madame Pomfrey patched me up pretty quick."

"How is the rest of the team?" Lily asked.

"Just fine. Didn't even have to spend the night in the Hospital Wing." James said.

"Good." Lily said. "So about last night, what do you think happened?"

The Marauders launched into a detailed account of what happened the night before. As the team was heading for the locker rooms, they were ambushed by Regulus and Bellatrix. James told the team to mount their brooms and fly to the castle, but with it being so dark and the team not having time to pull out their wands, they were easily stunned off their brooms. James managed to get all the way to the front doors and send a warning off with Sirius ("But how did you send a warning?" - "Sh, Lily, we're trying to tell the story!"), when Avery and Mulciber joined them. Apparently the noise was so loud that it attracted the Prefects on duty ("That explains Remus, but how did Sirius know?" - "Lily, shut up, I'm not done!"), and the group began to fight. The Slytherins wanted to get away quickly so they punched James out of the way ("They resorted to muggle fighting, how beastly!) and dashed off to the forest. That's when Lily came by.

Lily then explained her side of the story, including the bit with the marks being made on their arms. "It was like some kind of initiation."

"Into what?" Peter asked meekly.

"Death Eaters, most likely. We all know Mulciber is recruiting here at school." Lily replied. "We'll need to keep a close eye on him to see who he is targeting to join him next."

"And keep a close eye on you as well." James said.

"Me? Why?"

"Because they were targeting you!" James said angrily. "We'll make sure that you don't go to any of your classes alone."

"Um, excuse me, but I wasn't the only one who was targeted last night!" Lily said hotly, "Or did you forget that your entire Quidditch team was attacked!"

James was about to shout a reply when Remus held him back, "It's no use arguing. You both were targeted. But I don't think that means we should be escorting each other from place to place. We just need to be a bit more cautious."

"So what next?" Sirius rubbed his hands eagerly together.

"I guess we go to Dumbledore and see what he says." James shrugged.

Sirius leaned back into his seat and pouted. "I think we should get those Slytherins back."

"Vengeance is not always wise." Remus said smartly.

Lily let out a long yawn. Madame Pomfrey came swooping in as if a siren had gone off. "Alright boys, that's enough? Can't you tell our dear is tired? Let her be to get some sleep so she can be back by dinner. Now off you go!"

The Marauders reluctantly stood up from their chairs and left Lily's side. "We'll see you at the after party!" Sirius called out.

Lily rolled her eyes.

The chat with Dumbledore came sooner than expected. After dinner that night, when Lily would normally go to the dorm and James would go to Quidditch practice, Professor Dumbledore summoned them both to his office.

"Lily, how are you feeling?" Dumbledore asked as he ushered them inside.

Lily traced the thin cuts down her arm, "A little light-headed I suppose. But otherwise no pain."

Dumbledore smiled and turned to James. "And you, James? How are you feeling?"

James smirked, "I've had worse, Professor."

Dumbledore chortled. "Yes, I do believe you have. Now, let's discuss all that transpired last night."

Lily and James shared a look before recounting all that happened in the forbidden forest, taking care to leave out the bit with the map. "And that's when I heard him touch her arm with his wand. It was almost like he was branding her."

"A brand, you say?" Dumbledore paused to think. "A brand it may be, but I feel it has more than just one purpose. I must ask another favor of you two."

"Anything." James said instantly. Lily admired James' loyalty, but the twist in her stomach warned her this may not be the safest decision.

"Go and discover more about this mark. What it looks like. What it does."

"Absolutely, Professor." James sounded excited and Lily turned to find the mischievous glint back in his eye. James looked out the window to where the full moon was peeking past the clouds. "I expect we better get going. We'll let you know Professor in the next two hours."

"That soon?" Lily asked, eyes wide.

James winked and stood up from his chair. "C'mon, Lily. We better get a move on."

"Very well then. Best of luck." Dumbledore said and opened the door for them to leave.

"Er- right." Lily said uncertainly and followed James down the staircase.

They hadn't gone very far before James was stopping to bend over and reach into his shoe. It was such an abrupt stop that Lily bounced right into him.

"Oy, watch it!" James said as he straightened up, revealing a small mirror. "This is glass, you know! Don't want to cut myself!"

"Then what are you doing with it in your shoe? Doesn't seem like a very smart place to keep it if you ask me." Lily countered.

"Good thing I didn't ask you." James mumbled. He raised the glass so that it was reflecting his face and then spoke, "Padfoot!"

"Yes, Prongsie?" Lily gasped for Sirius' voice spoke from the mirror. Lily stood up on tiptoe to peek her head over James' shoulder and gasped again. Instead of James' face reflected in the mirror, it was Sirius'! "Oh, hello Lovely Lily." Sirius smirked. "Fancy seeing you." Lily wasn't sure if she wanted to blush or hide.

"Listen," interrupted James, "I need the map. Does Remus have it? Oh and my cloak!"

"Spilling all of our little secrets now, aren't you?" Sirius said bitterly.

James ignored Sirius' comment and hissed, "Meet us at the kitchen in five minutes!"

"Don't forget what tonight is!" Sirius hissed back.

"Sh!" James shot a worried look towards Lily, who was staring wide eyed and completely clueless.

"Well at least we have one secret still…" Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Five minutes!" James hissed again before returning the glass mirror to his shoe.

"James, what are we doing?" Lily tried to ask, but James had whisked her away down the staircase, past the great hall, and through the door that lead towards the Hufflepuff common room. They did not stop running until they reached a rather large portrait of a bowl of fruit. The air in front of the portrait seemed to ripple as Sirius' head suddenly appeared, followed closely by the rest of his body.

"The cloak," Sirius said while holding the cloak stiffly in front of him, "and your map."

"Great, thanks." James said before handing Lily the cloak and opening up the map, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

"You better." Sirius huffed and looked expectantly at Lily.

"I have no idea what's going on." Lily said frantically.

Lily assumed that Sirius found her doe-eyed face amusing for he barked out a laugh. "Well take good care of him, whatever it is. I still need my best friend back in two hours."

"What's in two hours?" Lily asked.

"Found them!" James shouted, "Quick- put the cloak on and we'll head to the dungeons. And Sirius," James looked imploringly at Sirius, "Don't do anything stupid."

"'Course not." Sirius said pompously while waving them away. "Better get going. Two hours! Tick tock!"

"James," Lily hissed as James clambered under the invisibility cloak, tugging at it so their feet were completely covered. "What are we doing? And what is going on in two hours?"

"One question at a time, Lily." James said, holding the map out in front of him as they headed towards the dungeon.

"Alright, then start with the first one. What is your plan?"

"I saw Avery and Bellatrix's name down in the dungeons. If we hurry, we may be able to catch what they are saying before they go back inside the common room! But be careful, even though they won't be able to see us, they will still be able to hear us!" James explained as they jogged down the hallway.

Once they passed the potions classroom, their jog slowed to a tip toe. The corridor was damp and dark. With the full moon, Lily could bet that the darkness outside the castle was brighter than this dungeon corridor. With no windows and no portraits the only sound was the flickering of flames from the torches. James pointed ahead to indicate they were close. Lily fought to keep her breath steady and slow. Soon noises started drifting up from the corridor. The noises were not at all what Lily expected. In fact it didn't sound like talking at all.

Hidden in the shadows of the torch light, Lily and James could see two shapes writhing against the wall. The one whose back was closest to them had unmistakable long black hair: Bellatrix. Lily even recognized her grunting from when Mulciber burned the mark into her arm.

"Come on, Bella." Moaned the second form pressed against the wall. That must have been Avery. "Let me see. Let me touch."

Bellatrix hissed and pulled back. "It's mine! You know it's only meant for the Dark Lord to see."

Avery huffed and bodily picked up Bellatrix to slam her against the wall. Bellatrix cried out, though Lily couldn't tell if it was from pleasure or pain. With one hand Avery pinned Bellatrix's hands above her head, while the other hand was moving in directions Lily couldn't see but the intensified grunting confirmed her suspicions.

"Closer, Lily." James breathed into Lily's ear. Lily jumped. She almost forgot James was with her and now he was standing directly behind her. Did his breath have to be so hot in her ear? Was it just her or was his breathing faster than normal? Or was it just Lily who was now suddenly panting? With a hot hand pressed into her back, James urged Lily uncomfortably closer to the coupled couple.

Lily immediately saw what James was getting at. Bellatrix's sleeve had rolled down to reveal her wrist. On her wrist was the ugliest tattoo Lily had ever seen of a black snake that was sliding out of the mouth of a black skull. Avery seemed interested in it, too, as his finger started to trace the mark.

Bellatrix hissed, though this time did not pull away. "Don't touch it, it will summon him."

"That's probably what you want, isn't it Bella?" Avery said as he fumbled with his trousers. "You'd want him here-" Avery hitched one of Bellatrix's legs over his hips, "-in my place-" Avery lifted the other onto his shoulder, "-doing this to you." He then thrust himself forward as Bellatrix cried out, her voice echoing down the corridor.

"What the hell is going on!" Shouted a voice just feet behind them. James reacted first by curving his arm around Lily and slamming her against the back wall. Lily looked up into James' face, both arms pinned Lily to the wall on either side of her head, and his neck was straining back to see what was going on behind them. Their position seemed to mirror Bellatrix and Avery's intimate position. But James seemed completely oblivious to the fact that all of her was crushed against all of him.

"Rhodolphus!" Bellatrix shouted in shock. "What are you doing out here?"

"Trying to find my girlfriend is what! Only to find her being shagged against the wall!" Rhodolphus roared.

"What if I wanted to be shagged against the wall?" Bellatrix screamed back.

"Then you should've had asked me, your boyfriend, to be the one doing the shagging!" Rhodolphus roared.

"We better get out of here." James whispered to Lily. She nodded meekly but couldn't turn away. It was as if her gaze was glued to James', and every breath he took, every little movement he made, made her body tingle. Lily tilted her head up ever so slightly, her mouth parting open in anticipation, his eyes started to close as he leaned closer, and-

"And what exactly is going on out here?" A voice drawled behind them that had Lily's heart freezing. She tilted her head to the side and saw Severus Snape standing coolly in the middle of the corridor.

"Let's go." Lily whispered and tugged James past the arguing Slytherins. As they passed, Lily could have sworn Severus turned and stared after them.

James and Lily did not stop running until they ended back at the entrance to the Headmaster's office. James hesitated and checked his watch. They had made it to the dungeons and back in just over an hour. "Lily, I-"

"Go." Lily sighed and waved him away. "Trust me, I can handle it from here. Just get going to wherever it is you need to be."

James beamed at Lily. "Thank you." He said tucking the map and the cloak away, then marched off. James only made it a couple of steps before he paused, turned on the spot, and jogged back to Lily. "I owe you one." His voice whispered in her ear, and as he pulled away Lily could feel the lightest touch of his lips on her cheek. Lily closed her eyes and smiled. When she opened them, he was gone.

Clearing her throat, Lily turned around to face the gargoyle. "Lemon Drop." The gargoyle sprung to life and stepped aside for Lily to report her findings to the Head Master.

Lily was up in the Headmaster's office for an hour and a half. Describing the mark to Dumbledore only took a few minutes. But it was discussions afterwards that took most of their time. Dumbledore moved with a purpose around his office, asking portraits to visit their counterparts and report what they saw, sending correspondences to other Order members, and pulling memories into his pensieve. Lily was not an audience member to Dumbledore's movements, she was an active participant, answering his questions and confirming accounts from the portraits. When Dumbledore finally sat down at his desk, Lily took her leave to go.

"Lily, thank you." Dumbledore said tiredly. "We have learned a great deal tonight."

Lily bowed her head. "You're welcome, Headmaster." She ducked out of the office without another word, but feeling immensely proud of herself. She felt like she was finally making a difference.

As Lily walked towards her dorm, she could feel rather than hear the footsteps that were tailing her. Wishing James had left her with the invisibility cloak or the map, she quickened her stride. This time she could hear the footsteps echo off the walls as the person behind her accelerated into a jog. With a huff, Lily stomped her foot and abruptly turned around. "For Merlin's sake, what is it you want?"

Severus Snape stood frozen in place, his left hand reached out longingly towards Lily. "I just wanted to say I was sorry." He whispered.

"How dare you." Lily said, her hands fisting at her sides. So many conflicting thoughts were running through her head at the sight of him. He was her first connection to the wizarding world. Her appreciation for him would never fade. All those years of friendship could not be forgotten; he really was her best friend. But then he had called her mudblood and used that filthy curse on her just the day before. How dare he confront her like this, after all he had done to her.

"How dare me?" Snape's vulnerable face transformed into a snarl. "How dare you! You're the one who is running around with cowards, runaways, and werewolves!" Lily frowned, who was he talking about? "They tried to kill me tonight! And you call them your friends. Can't you see they're poison? I thought you could forgive me. That you would see I had no choice. That you would still love me, for everything I've done has been for you. But I know now that will never be true."

Lily could feel her heart breaking. When she looked at Severus, she saw the same little boy who was abused by his father, wearing the same look he had worn when protecting his mother. In that moment, Lily could forgive Severus for all he had done. Forgive, but not forget. "Can't you see, Sev?" Lily calling Severus by his old nickname caused Severus' throat to clench and his eyes to burn. "Can't you see that I will always have love for you?"

"How can you say that?" Severus accused Lily with a shaky arm, "How can you say that you have love for me when you go out and hang out with that git ... Potter!" Severus sputtered the name out, phlegm flying off his lips with such aggression as if saying James' name alone could bring about the apocalypse.

The wheels in Lily's head were turning quickly. Severus was associating her with Potter and the rest of the Marauders. One of which who Severus accused was a werewolf. There was a full moon out that night. James is an animagus. James also told Sirius to not do anything stupid. Lily was beginning to think Sirius had done something stupid indeed.

"I will always be grateful to you for introducing me to the magical world." Lily continued calmly. "You were my first true friend. You were there for me even when my sister deserted me. I love you like a mother loves their child. Even when children throw their tantrums and make their mistakes, their mother will still love them."

Anger burned through Severus' veins, causing his voice to come out in a slow methodic hiss. "Is that what I am doing? Throwing a tantrum?"

"Actions speak louder than words." Lily leveled back just as evenly.

"I came to you after I called you a mudblood. I apologized. I begged you to forgive me. I come to you now to warn you. To keep you safe. Do those actions mean nothing?" Severus tried his best to keep his words slow and drawn out, but he felt like Lily was slipping away from him and he could do nothing to stop it. Because of that his speech came out more rushed and haggard than he had intended. How could she not see how dangerous Potter was?

"Severus," Lily's voice caught in her throat, "They mean everything." Her voice came out in just a whisper but with a tonality that was final. Lily deliberately directed her gaze to his left arm, to the very spot where his skull tattoo initiating him into the Death Eaters was hidden under his sleeve. How did she know? "You made your choice, and I have made mine. My love was not enough for you, Severus. Now we must walk our separate paths." Severus found himself lost for words, his lips gaping open like a fish out of water. Lily turned on her heel and walked away and Severus' heart tore apart, never to be repaired again.

James returned that night somewhere around 3 in the morning. His body was sore and bore multiple scratches and bites. It was nothing worse than usual, but it still wasn't pleasant. He longed to lay down on his bed, apply some dittany, and then fall into a deep sleep. Unfortunately for him, that was not to be. As soon as he stepped into the portrait hole James found Lily sitting expectantly in the armchair by the fire.

James could tell that she had been schooling her expression to be one of sternness. But the moment she noticed his shredded clothes and bleeding chest, her face melted into one of concern. "Come quick and sit down." Lily said urgently. She gently guided him to the armchair and helped him out of his ruined shirt.

"I have dittany upstairs." James said, attempting to push himself out of the chair to get it.

"Hush now, I've got it." Lily pointed her wand towards his room and said "Accio dittany." A tinkling bottle wedged its way underneath James' door and zoomed into Lily's outstretched hand. She conjured a wet washcloth as well and started dabbing gently at the wounds before applying liberal amounts of dittany, smoothing his hair back and tutting as she went. James felt the whole thing quite relaxing and wished that there was a full moon more often.

"Alright, now out with it." Lily said in a very business-like way. Her waspish tone did not match the soothing circles Lily drew on his arm. "Which one of you is the werewolf."

James coughed. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." Lily looked up directly into his eyes. "You're an animagus because one of you four is a werewolf. I would have said it was Sirius, but since he knowingly tried to get Snape killed, I don't think he's the one."

"How did you know about that?" James was stunned. "It's true Sirius played a bit of a prank on Snape. He was lurking around trying to catch us so Sirius tried to lull him into the shrieking shack. It was a good thing I came late to knock Snape out of the way. He only got a few whacks from the Whomping Willow and scampered away, no harm done."

Lily frowned. "So is Sirius an animagus, too?"

James nodded. "He's a dog. Big black one."

Lily remembered Sirius' barking laugh and smiled despite herself. "And Peter?"

"He's a rat. Good thing he's so small and shifty, he's the only one that can press the knot on the whomping willow to get it to stop thrashing around and give us a chance to get inside."

Lily turned her head to the side to imagine Peter as a rat. It wasn't very hard to imagine with Peter's pinched face and large front teeth. "So that leaves Remus."

James sighed. "Yes, that leaves Remus. We call him Moony. Now you know why. But please don't go telling anyone. I expect nobody would trust him."

Lily looked affronted. "Why not? Remus is the most honest man I know. Very hard working, too."

"Well werewolves don't have the best reputation, do they." James said matter-of-factly. "Why when we found out, he thought that we ought to not talk to him and tried to get Dumbledore to kick him out of school. So in response we became animagus, to prove to him that we really were his friends. By taking on the form of animals, we can still be with him in his darkest moments with no consequences."

"Well I wouldn't say there were no consequences." Lily looked pointedly down at his bites. "But that was a very noble thing you and your friends did."

"Now wait a minute." James straightened up a little in his chair. "How is it that you found out one of us was a werewolf?"

Lily stood up to create some distance between her and James, but he just tugged her closer so that she was sitting on the armrest of his chair. "Severus found me after I left Dumbledore's office."

"That git, I thought he noticed us when we ran away!" James snarled. Suddenly his face softened and he reached out to cup her face and stroke her arm. "He didn't hurt you again, did he? I shouldn't have left you by yourself!"

"Hush James it was nothing like that." Lily soothed, taking his hand from her face and curling it into her lap. "It was a warning against you. He says you're not safe and that I am consorting with all the wrong people."

"Maybe he's right." James said softly. "Maybe it would be safer for you to not be Head Girl and hanging out with us Marauders. We do have a tendency to get into trouble."

Lily smiled down at him. "And that is exactly why I do hang out with you." She winked. "In all seriousness though, I felt like we really made a difference tonight. It was a huge discovery. And it wouldn't have happened if it weren't for you. I think we make a pretty great team together, don't you?"

James' smile was as wide as it was bright. Lily felt that tug again, the same one she felt back in the dungeons. Her eyes locked with James' and she felt herself leaning closer into his chest, one hand reaching up to cup his face.

"Lily," he said so softly and so close that the breath of his words tickled her lips. Lily could do nothing more than moan in response. She felt his hand tighten at her side and the other slide through her hair. "Will you go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?"

Lily felt her stomach flip. There was no hesitation. "Yes, yes I'll go with you."

James' eyes sparkled and Lily giggled. He was still holding her tight and she was still cupping his face, her thumb gliding across his cheekbone. "Good." He said, and he gently tipped her chin down to plant the sweetest of kisses on her forehead.

Lily sighed in contentment. She lingered in that position for just a moment longer before stretching up to go to bed. James silently followed and with a final shared look from their respective doorways, each of them gently closed their doors and fell asleep.