Chapter 7: Investigation

Lily could tell by the empty chair that had been saved between Mary and Dorcas inside the Transfiguration classroom that her friends were not satisfied with her vague re-telling of her date with James the night before. Marlene, who was hovering just inside the door, took Lily by the arm and steered her to the table. "Lily, we want the whole story." Marlene spoke sternly while planting Lily firmly in her seat.

"And in excruciating detail." Dorcas crossed her arms and huffed. The boy in question was just a few tables ahead, his body shaking in laughter as Sirius charmed a Hufflepuff's bag to scurry away every time the boy reached under his chair for his books. Unwittingly, Lily's lips twitched in a small smile.

Just as Mary leaned in with a skeptical look, everyone's backs straightened at the sound of the door snapping open and Professor McGonagall calling the class to order. Professor McGonagall strode down the center aisle, her wand swishing as she laid the Hufflepuff's bag to rest and with an extra curious flick of her wand, transfigured Sirius Black's nose into the snout of a pig.

"Today's lesson," Professor McGonagall began with a terse voice punctuated by the clip of her shoes, "Will be transfiguring human appendages. We'll begin by using the narecenseri incantation for the nose. Nonverbally, of course. You may begin."

"Alright, out with it." Marlene waved her wand at Lily as the class divided into pairs.

With a deep breath, Lily breezed through the events of that day, mentioning how they followed the Slytherins into the Three Broomsticks and James ending the date by leaving it up to Lily to make the first move. She winced at the end of her story and waited for her friends to poke fun at not following through with the kiss.

"Smart man." Dorcas hummed appreciatively.

"Figures you two would scout for clues instead of actually enjoying your date." Marlene scoffed. "How romantic."

Her friend's nonchalance took the wind out of her and she gave a halfhearted attempt in transfiguring Mary's nose. "Well I didn't see you doing anything romantic!" Lily grumbled.

Dorcas fell suspiciously silent and Mary, her nose slightly pinker and rounder, sniggered while Marlene's face glowed with self satisfaction. "Well of course you didn't see us. We didn't make it past the greenhouses!"

Lily gaped like a codfish as she flashbacked to Marlene shouting across the Great Hall to Amos Diggory that he could take her out anytime. Apparently he did that very day. After getting over the shock, Lily fell into a fit of uncontrollable giggles. It was contagious for soon all four girls were doubled over with laughter.

"5 points from Gryffindor." Professor McGonagall's voice interrupted their laughing. Lily froze and looked over to where Professor McGonagall stood disapprovingly over the Marauders. The girls gave a collective sigh of relief after realizing their professor had not taken 5 points away on their account.

"Minnie, how could you!" James Potter had quite the nerve calling her by that name. It was quite clear, however, why he was upset, for Peter Pettigrew's head was a brilliantly colored tucan. James Potter thought that he should be rewarded for his transfiguration, not punished. A couple Slytherins, Snape included, snickered at James' misfortune.

"I said just the nose, Potter." McGonagall reiterated, but as she walked away Lily could find the barest hint of a smile. That smile was short lived however as McGonagall's gaze landed on Mary, whose nose was only faintly pink in color with barely perceptible slits for nostrils. "That will be practice for you then, I think." Professor McGonagall said to Lily.

Lily could hear the Marauders sniggering this time from behind McGonagall's back and she slumped back in her seat. "Don't worry about it, Lily." Mary had said, her voice slightly nasally. She picked up her wand and transfigured her nose back to normal. "Ask James for help, I'm sure he'd be more than happy to tutor you."

Lily scowled.

"Off again?" Remus speculated from his seat in the Great Hall. Both Sirius and James were shoveling food into their mouths as quickly as possible. "I thought Quidditch practice didn't start until later?" Remus, on account of his "furry little problem" rapidly approaching, had been missing Sirius and James at meals to take one of Madame Pomfrey's potions that would ease his transition.

James nodded in reply, which in turn caused him to choke on his potatoes. He managed to say between large hacking coughs, "Following-" cough "Slytherins-" cough "dungeons."

Sirius patted James roughly on the back. "I've got the map, James has his cloak, and Petey here is going to keep a look out for us."

Peter Pettigrew beamed down at his full plate, his beady eyes already swallowing the mountain of treacle tart in front of him. "Tha's right!" He tore his eyes away from his dessert at the mention of his name, eager to be a part of the plan. "I've got Sirius' mirror here to tip them off in case the rest of Avery's cronies decide to leave the hall."

Remus sighed, "You've been up to this all week, haven't you?"

James, who had just recovered thanks to a long gulp of pumpkin juice, smiled winningly at Remus. "Don't worry, we won't let it interfere with helping you with your furry little problem."

Remus shrugged. "I was never concerned about that. But I am concerned about you being late for your Quidditch practice. Avery just left his table and you have practice in an hour."

Both Sirius and James leapt to their feet and scrambled out of the hall. Peter sighed happily, rested his chin on one hand and lazily watched the goings-on at the Slytherin table while absentmindedly scooping spoonfuls of treacle tart into his mouth.

"Just how long are we going to be hanging around outside their common room?" Sirius whined as he and James huddled underneath the invisibility cloak in the drafty dungeon corridor.

"Until someone comes by so we can sneak in." James hissed back. He glared down at Avery's name on the Marauders Map, lounging just on the other side of the dungeon wall, willing it to open so they could sneak inside and hear what the Slytherins were conspiring about. After spotting Rookwood in Hogsmeade while James was on his date with Lily, James made it his job to figure out just what kind of information Rookwood was trying to glean from the Slytherins. The best way he could think of was to sneak into their dormitory to hear what they said behind closed doors.

Sirius shifted restlessly behind him. James sighed in defeat. Sirius did have a point; if they did somehow manage to sneak inside the Slytherin common room, they would not be able to stay long or risk missing Quidditch practice. Sirius, not having sensed James' change in thinking, continued to pout. "I don't understand why you and Lily seem to have all the fun. You two get all the action. While whenever I'm around we're just squatting in corners."

"Funny, because I'm sure Lily would argue the opposite." James said and smiled at a memory of Lily pouting just like Sirius was now. "But you're prolly right. C'mon, let's head down to the pitch. We'll be early enough that we can play a little one-on-one before everyone arrives."

The sound of rock grinding against rock had the boys ducking back into the corner. The dungeon wall across from James and Sirius slid back and two 4th year students emerged from their common room. With a quick glance at each other the boys decided unanimously to leap into action. With agility that only years of flying on a broom could grace them with, James and Sirius dived towards the now closing door and somersaulted into the Slytherin common room.

For a split moment, Sirius was free of the invisibility cloak. Any Slytherins looking in the direction of the wall would have been able to see a wide-eyed Sirius pressed up against the wall behind a spindly fern and then disappearing underneath a swish of invisible fabric. Fortunately for them, the attention of the Slytherins in the common room was not focused on the wall, but instead on the overbearing 7th year sitting in a high backed arm chair by the grated fire.

"Shut up about what your father says, we all know your father is a suck up, MacNair." The boy in the chair sneered, his bushy eyebrows cast flickering shadows over his eyes that made him appear quite unstable.

Next to James, Sirius straightened best he could underneath the shared cloak and inched forward to stroll around the room. James rolled his eyes. Sirius loved the freedom the cloak granted them and could never stay in one spot too long, not while he was able to roam without anyone watching. James carefully mirrored Sirius' movements and together they circled the group sitting in front of the fire.

The boy named MacNair stood scowling at the one in the chair. "Well as I see it Avery your father was a filthy blood traitor for marrying a muggle, which makes you nothing more than a half-blood, no matter how much your father pays the ministry to think otherwise."

Avery with his bushy eyebrows launched out of the chair with a fist raised high ready to strike MacNair. Sirius and James exchanged looks of excitement. "How dare you-" The boy ground out and the circle of Slytherins pressed closer together in anticipation. James and Sirius positioned themselves just outside the circle behind Avery to get a good view of MacNair.

"Go on, hit me." Egged MacNair whose fists were now raised. "Just see what happens when you attack me. If you're lucky to even land a hit, your father will be dragged off to Azkaban faster than you say 'Hogwarts.' Come on now, let me see it."

There was a tense moment when no one moved or spoke, but then what sounded like sniffling broke the silence. Was Avery crying? Other people seemed to notice it too as their heads turned to identify the sound. Even the people who were standing just in front of them were turning their heads.

James froze and he felt Sirius stiffen next to him as well. The sniffing was coming from something much closer than Avery. And the other Slytherins noticed as well for their heads had turned to look in James and Sirius' direction.

"Psst! Psst!" The sound came again. The sound was coming directly from James' shoe.

"Peter!" James mouthed to Sirius.

Before the two boys could even attempt to make a dash for the dungeon wall, Peter's voice rang loud and clear from the mirror tucked away in James' shoe. "Oi! Get out! They're coming!"

Several things happened all at once; some Slytherins took Peter's voice to be a warning and dashed away to their rooms, others rushed to the dungeon wall posed to attack as if an intruder would appear, but MacNair stared curiously at the spot that James and Sirius silently stood. MacNair rocked his head from side to side, his neck cracking louder than someone apparating. He cracked the knuckles of his left hand and then his right. Then he took one, two, three menacing steps forward. Avery quickly dived away from MacNair's path, whose momentum gathered into something of a gallop. In a panic, Sirius' hands grabbed ahold of James' robes to push him out of MacNair's way. James, unlike Sirius, hadn't momentarily forgotten he was a wizard and performed the first spell that came to mind. MacNair's head shrunk to the size of a snitch, ears elongating into big hoops, whiskers sprouting from his nose. His arms and legs shrank into his robes until they simply collapsed in a heap onto the floor and out came a squeaky mouse.

The Slytherins all turned their heads towards the squeaking rodent just as the wall slid open to admit more students coming back from dinner. James and Sirius seized their opportunity and dashed through the wall once more, hurrying up the corridor to put as much distance between them and the whole of Slytherin.

"Well that may have been about the most brilliant bit of magic you've ever done, mate!" Sirius said excitedly while pulling the cloak off and slapping James on the back. "Too bad no one will believe us." James and Sirius laughed all the way down to the pitch.

Later that evening at the Order meeting, Lily and James sat in the Headmaster's crowded office to hear about their latest mission. "And so we must send out two of our own to sweep the neighborhood for any dark magic and establish protective enchantments before these Hogwarts students leave for holiday." Dumbledore continued in their Order meeting.

James looked over at Lily. She joined the Order for this very reason; to protect muggle-born students at home. "When?" James asked from the back of the room. Lily turned her head to look at James with a small smile, silently offering to go with him if he were to volunteer. After all, they made a great team together.

Dumbledore sighed and looked James square in the eye. "The full moon this Friday evening."

Lily's small smile immediately disappeared. She watched James' brow furrow as he was torn between his loyalty to his friends, and more importantly Remus, and his duty to protect the magical community from Voldemort. Not to mention he had a Quidditch match the following morning. If prancing around the school grounds wasn't enough, going on a mission that evening would definitely over do it. "I'll go." Lily volunteered quietly and winced as she saw James bow his head in frustration.

"I'll go, too." Frank Longbottom spoke up from the other end of the room. Frank and Lily nodded at each other in acceptance.

"Alright, Mr. Longbottom, Ms Evans, may I please have a quick word with you about the details? For everyone else, our meeting has adjourned. Enjoy your evening." Dumbledore bowed his head in dismissal before beckoning Frank and Lily to his desk. James exited the Headmaster's office and waited next to the gargoyle for Lily to come out.

As soon as he heard her footsteps echo off of the stairwell he jumped away from the wall and looked imploringly at Lily. She was having none of that though. Instead of making eye contact with James, she turned to face Frank and gave him a hug. "Keep Alice safe for me." She whispered to Frank before walking away.

"Lily," James started but Lily shook her head.

"No, James, I am not hearing any of it." Lily said stubbornly, chin pointed high as she marched off towards the dorm. "Don't you dare second guess your loyalties with your friends. They need you James. Your team needs you. We can handle everything on our own."

James kept his eyes down as he followed Lily through the portrait hole and into their common room. Very quietly he said, "I just don't want anything to happen to you. I'd rather be there to make sure you're safe."

Lily sighed, her chin dropping as she turned to face James. Her green eyes were no longer hard and stubborn, but soft. "Frank knows what he's doing. He's a trained auror. I'll be safe." With a knowing grin Lily took a step towards James and said softly, "And you will see me at your game on Saturday."

James' eyes shot up. "You will? You'll come to the game?"

Lily smiled and nodded shyly. "Good night, James."

Beaming, James stared after Lily as she entered her bedroom. "Good night, Lily."

Friday night rolled around and James' insecurities about leaving Lily with Frank still did not ebb away. He tried to make Lily understand in the spare moments that they had between classes and on rounds, but Lily was hearing nothing of it. She was adamant that he stay behind and keep a close eye on his friends. But the idea that Lily was out there with someone other than him made James especially queasy. Soon it was time for Lily to meet Frank in Dumbledore's office and James walked her to the door.

Lily looked up at James as she was about to step through the portrait hole and froze. "James." She said, her Head Girl voice steeling her tone. James tried to raise his eyebrows innocently. Lily shook her head. "I know that look. Do not wait up for me. You will see me at the game tomorrow." And without another glance she stepped out of the portrait hole and away from him.

Several hours later, James was being helped back up to his dorms with a beaten Sirius under his arm. "Blimey Prongs, you were really out of it tonight. Everything okay?"

James grunted as Sirius shouldered his weight to make it up the stairs to his bed. "Not that way, Sirius." James protested as Sirius led him towards his room. Sirius looked at him questioningly. "Take me to Lily's room, please."

"Uh, Prongsie, wouldn't she be upset about you storming into her room bloody and bruised in the middle of the night?" Sirius asked matter-of-factly.

James shook his head. "She's not here, mate."

Sirius gave James a strange look. "That's not creepy or anything."

"Listen Padfoot, she's away." James emphasized signifying that he was speaking about the Order. "I just want to make sure she got back safe."

"By camping out in her bed and getting blood all over her sheets?"

"That's why you're here to patch me up." James smiled winningly at his best friend. Sirius rolled his eyes but helped James clean himself up and lay down in Lily's bed, muttering "this is so wrong, mate" several times.

The next morning, James woke up to an empty bed in a foreign room. Automatically, his brain thought of a million and one worst-case scenarios for where Lily was at the moment and his heart sank into his stomach. However he could only let himself dwell over the fact that she was still gone for just a moment longer before he forced himself out of bed and pulled on his Quidditch gear. The walk down to the Entrance Hall was unusually quiet as James wrestled with his thoughts, to keep a rational head even though Lily had not returned the night before. He had to worry about Quidditch and only Quidditch.

The Gryffindor table erupted in applause the moment James entered the hall. Despite all of the attention directed at him, James felt terribly alone. His eyes immediately landed on his two friends at the end of the Gryffindor table. Peter was too busy shoveling food into his mouth to look up, but Sirius did. Sirius raised his eyebrows in question and James shook his head. That was all that would be said on the subject for the rest of the morning.

The game against Huffelpuff was a messy one. James was surprised that his team managed to keep the lead due to all of his missed drops and failed plays. The Gryffindor fans were becoming restless in the stands, shouting his name from every which angle. He wearily lifted his head up after a missed toss and his eyes connected with steely green. She was glaring at him, as usual, and James thought it was the most beautiful glare in the world. For in Lily's eyes was a determination and a willingness for James to not only finish the game, but to win it as well.

With a whoop and a cheeky grin in Lily's direction, he sailed up into the air and pulled a play together. With 10 goals and a caught snitch later, Gryffindor had won the game and the fans swarmed the pitch. James remained aloft in the air, circling the crowd despite the cheers looking for that fiery redhead that pulled him together. Within a few minutes James spotted a red head walking in the opposite direction of the fans and quickly flew after her.

Lily pulled her jacket closer to her body as she braved the chilliness of the air. Unexpectedly she felt a tap on her shoulder. Still slightly on edge from her mission, Lily swung around with her wand out to face whoever dared touch her. But there was nothing. Lily raised an eyebrow and lowered her wand. When she turned back around, there was James standing in front of her. She let out a surprised little squeak before rushing into his open arms. James always gave the best hugs.

"Congratulations," Lily said softly, breathing in the scent of leather and wind that was purely James.

"You're alive," James breathed in response. Whether it was a sob or a choke, James wasn't sure which, but Lily buried her head against his neck. "How are you?" He asked quietly, dipping his head so that he could look Lily in the eye.

With a deep sigh and a soft smile, Lily's gaze met his steadfast one. "I'm good." She said confidently. "Everything went fine. I just wanted to be sure that everything would be safe for when they returned."

James smiled warmly down at Lily, imagining her fretting around the neighborhood making sure she could cast as many protective charms as possible. "You were brave."

"So were you, for letting me go." Lily and James stood there staring at each other for who knows how long. The moment was broken too soon when a group of 6th year Gryffindors shouted to James on their way back to the castle. "Hey James! See you at the party!"

James turned away from Lily and waved while groaning. "I guess I should go, then." James looked back at Lily and Lily could tell that if she said that she would rather keep James to herself that night, then he wouldn't hesitate to comply.

"No." Lily said in answer to the question in his eyes. "No, you go have fun. You owe it to your team. I need to unwind."

James knew that she would not be able to sleep without him there that night. He understood and bowed down to kiss her forehead. "I will see you later." WIth that he kicked off the ground with his broom and returned to the locker rooms to change.