Fall passed quickly into early winter at Hogwarts. The huge purple-green peaks of the North West Highlands of Scotland were snow-capped by November and completely whitened by the first day of December. For the first time in more than a decade, Gryffindor beat two Houses – Slytherin and Hufflepuff respectively – consecutively, and with a staggering score of 150-30 and 210-15, respectively. This was due, according to the school papers, the newest additions to the Gryffindor Quidditch team: James Potter and Sirius Black.

"Their teamwork is absolutely incredible." Peter gushed the day before Christmas holiday. "I mean, I just can't believe it. Sirius guards James like a dog, and makes sure that he's covered constantly. And James is so talented… he just is so incredible!"

"Oh, get over yourself, Peter." I said in disgust, buttering a biscuit with strawberry jam. I felt a little guilty when the glow vanished from his face and he looked as if I'd slapped him.

"Come off it, Harkstone." Sirius laughed. "Just because we made the Quidditch teams and you didn't doesn't mean that you get to lash out at Peter."

"I'm not lashing out." I said hotly, worrying the opal pendant on my neck. Lily clucked her tongue, flanking my other side, as far as from Sirius and James as she could get while still in my vicinity.

"You are." Lily said lightly. "Even McGonagall said that Flitwick should have a training program for hopefuls, so that they have a chance to practice before they try out. She said you could be a good Chaser."

James spat out his pumpkin juice. "Harkstone? A good Chaser?" He and Sirius howled with laughter.

Lily looked supremely irritated. "McGonagall said that Potter and Black were practicing every morning and night in September before tryouts. So I guess without it, they would've crashed and burned."

That shut them up.

"I totally bombed it." I mumbled, tearing a hunk of biscuit off and chewing quickly. "They'll never let me try out again."

"Oh, don't be so negative." Lily chastised. "You just need practice. Did you like being in the air?"

I shrugged. "I guess so."
Lily raised her brows. "You guess?"

I sighed. "I did."

"Just keep her away from all others." James commented.

"Better yet, just stay out of the air while Harkstone's up there." Sirius added.

Lily stood up and tossed her long red hair behind her shoulder. "Come on, Amber. I'm tired of hearing these two mosquitoes buzzing in my ear."

"Ouch." Remus said, sipping tea, nose-deep in a book.

"I agree completely, Lily." I said coldly, throwing the chortling boys my darkest gaze.

"Hey, hey!" James called. "Before you run off, don't forget about our meeting later. Gryffindor Common Room."

"You know she's not allowed in there." Lily reminded them. "Even if she was a Hatstall."

"She's a future Head Girl, I swear." Sirius muttered.

"Were we talking to you, Tomato?" James asked, frowning dramatically.

"No, I don't think we were." Sirius said loftily, yawning.

Lily's mouth dropped open. "You two are disgusting, rude pigs, and I swear, once I get-"

"Shush, McGonagall's staring." Remus chimed in.

Sure enough, the Head of their House was glaring in our direction, her eyes narrowed to small slits.

"Right." James said. "Well, still. Meet us there. Lily, let her borrow some of your school robes."

"I will not endorse this!" Lily said hotly.

But the truth was, I was curious. And I had never seen the inside of the Gryffindor Common Room. After all, wasn't Ravenclaw all about knowledge?

"Please, Lily?" I said, softening my eyes. "For me? For Christmas?"

Lily looked shocked. "You want to break the rules?"

"Just once. Please? I might never get this chance again."

Lily hesitated. Then she let out a gusty sigh, and I knew I'd won. "Fine. But I can't believe you want to do this." She shot a nasty look at the boys, particularly James and Sirius. "I told you they'd be a bad influence."

They made pouty faces at her. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Let's go." Lily said. "I'll give you my second set of clothes to borrow. But I need them back by tomorrow morning so I can pack. I need to catch the Hogwarts Express home."

Home. My heart constricted painfully in my chest. I hadn't been 'home' for almost four months, and I saw no reason to return. Not only was the favorite member of our family missing permanently, but I wasn't sure how stable Mum was. Or how pleased Dad would be to see me. And Naomi… was she even home? Or was she with Grandma and Grandpa, as she usually was these days?

I remembered the last time I had been home with my parents, alone, for weeks on end. Images flashed in my mind. Dad's absence as he worked even harder and longer hours at the Ministry. Mum's complete convalescence in her bedroom. Virginia's void that she had left behind. The silence of the old house without Naomi's chatter and running feet. Mum tearing out the flowers I had planted over Virginia's grave. Dad's drunken outburst. My own grief and fault.

I shut my eyes briefly, biting my lower lip. "I won't be going home this holiday. I'm staying here."

Five pairs of eyes stared up at me.

"Why not?" James pried immediately.

"I understand family problems, mate." Sirius put in. "I'm staying with James and his family this Christmas."

I raised my brows. "Is it that bad?"

James rolled his eyes. "My company isn't as terrible as you make it out to be, Harkstone."

"I don't know, I think she's pretty spot on." Lily said coolly, earning a laugh from Sirius and a quiet chuckle from Remus.

"You can come home with me, Amber." Lily said as we walked away from the boys. "We have a spare room. You're always welcome."

But I thought of Petunia, her sister, who despised Lily in her childish, petulant jealousy. I thought of how she took her for granted. What would Petunia do if Lily suddenly died? Would that haunt her for the rest of her life, regardless of whether or not it was her fault?

I already knew the answer in my heart. The death of a sister was something you simply never completely recovered from.

And I didn't want to be reminded of Virginia every time I interacted with the Evans sisters.

"No, thanks, Lily." I said as we walked up the changing staircases. "I really just want to be alone this holiday."

Lily looked concerned. "Are you sure?"
I nodded once. "Yeah. It's just… going to be really hard to be home without Virginia. I'd rather just stay here where I'm comfortable."

Lily didn't look convinced, but she didn't argue. "I understand. Sort of. I'm really sorry, Amber. I can't even imagine."

I tugged at the pendant absently. "It's okay."

Lily ascended with me to the portrait of a fat lady in a pink gossamer gown. "This is the entrance to our Common Room. Just wait here for a minute while I get the clothes."

"Thanks, Lily." I said as she walked towards the portrait. "For breaking the rules for me."

Lily smiled, green eyes sparkling. "Amber, I'd do anything for my best friend. Even die."

Being reminded of death and having it connected back to me made my stomach clench tightly. But I forced a small smile instead.

Lily faced the fat lady, smiling. "Expecto Patronum."

But the Fat Lady was staring at me. Her eyes narrowed in a very McGonagall-style way. "What's she doing here? Listening in on the password?"
Heat burned my face. "Um, no. I'm just waiting for her."

The Fat Lady looked annoyed. "I won't let in anyone but Gryffindors."

"That's fine." I said immediately. "I'm not trying to sneak in." Not yet.

The Fat Lady didn't looked convinced. But she swung open to reveal a stone tunnel. Lily disappeared into it. As soon as she was inside, the Fat Lady slammed shut. She looked down at me reproachfully.

"Was that really necessary?" I muttered, hugging my arms to my chest, suddenly cold.

"It's part of my job description." She replied very matter-of-factly.

Two minutes later, the portrait swung open again, and Lily emerged, carrying a set of school robes. "Here you go. We're about the same size, so-"

I cut her off by coughing loudly, giving her a warning look. Her eyes widened as she realized her near-fatal mistake.

"So I'm sure that you can help me with shopping for new ones when I'm home this holiday." She amended hastily. The Fat Lady didn't seem to pick up on the ulterior motive, but she watched us carefully as we left for the library.

"That was close." Lily said in a hushed voice behind a tall stack of books. Madam Pince was reading dutifully at the front desk.

"I know." I took the clothes from her gratefully. "Thanks again, Lily. I owe you a big one."
"Whatever." Lily said lightly. "Just try and get me a date with Sean Locke."

My mouth dropped open. "What?"

Lily winked. "Well, if you get Remus, then I want Sean. It's only fair. You can't have two suitors."

Fire raged in my face. I stomped away, shaking my head hard. "You can have both. I'm not interested."

"Your face says something different." Lily sang as I sprinted out of the library and away from her teasing. Which, as much as I didn't want to admit, wasn't far from the truth.

Most of the classes were easy enough that day. Most professors were looking forward to leaving just as much as we were. No one assigned homework, except for Folsom.

"I expect a full ten pages on the dangers of yetis and reindeer." He said in his high, haughty voice among the groans. "Small writing. Points will be deducted for letters larger than the size of a pea."

"What an arse." James muttered as we left the class. "I should do something about him."

"As if sending a dragon after him wasn't enough?" I reminded him as Sirius flanked us.

"It wasn't actually a dragon. It was a candle." Sirius clarified.

"Whatever. If you two ever get caught for that…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." James said loudly. "We know. We'll be expelled."

"The horror!" Sirius moaned. Both boys burst out laughing.

I rolled my eyes. "Are we still meeting tonight?"

"Yep. 2 am. The Common Room. Oh, and take this," James said, handing me a small vial of poop-colored liquid. It smelled and looked like it as well.

I felt my stomach clench. "What the hell is this?"

Sirius grinned devilishly. "What do you think, Miss Ravenclaw? Come on, you're supposed to be smart."

"Supposed to be, key phrase." James sneered.

I shot him a black look and held up the vial to the light. It was certainly disgusting-looking. But as I examined it closer, I let out a soft gasp.

"Yep." James said, grinning. "Knew she'd be impressed."

"How on earth-" I hissed as we moved farther away from the classroom, "did you manage to get your hands on polyjuice potion?"

"Family recipe." Sirius said, winking. "Had my brother request it from home. We added the final ingredient, of course."

"Which is?" I said suspiciously, not entirely believing them.

"A hair from the person you'll be transforming into." James said. "It was too cold to meet outside, and Folsom's teamed up with Filch. The entire castle is covered right now. I think they're onto us."

"Probably." I agreed, disgruntled. "Who exactly did you get this hair from?"

"Take a wild guess." Sirius said. "Come on, anyway."

"McGonagall?" I hedged. Both boys erupted in laughter.

"What?" I snarled. "You're always calling me McGonagall Junior!"

"Yeah, we know!" Sirius laughed. "But come on. How would we get a hair from her?"

"Well, I assumed that was possible, considering you got this into Hogwarts illegally." I retorted.

"So grumpy." James teased. "Just drink it ten minutes before two a.m. and get to the portrait as fast as you can. It only works for an hour."
"I know how Polyjuice potion works." I snapped.

"Sorry, sorry." James said, but he was smirking. "Just drink it and meet us there. Got it?"

"Got it." I said, stuffing the glass vial into my book bag. "I'll see you two toerags later."

"Aw, and here I was, thinking we were almost her friends." Sirius said, mockingly wounded.

"Almost is still completely not." I said coolly, sweeping away up into the Ravenclaw Common Room to complete Folsom's assignment before the meeting tonight.

I finished the parchment roll before midnight. When the clock notched half-past one, I closed Hogwarts, a History and left it on the coffee table in front of me. I rose the sighing couch and changed into the robes that Lily had let me borrow. I clutched the glass vial of Polyjuice potion in one hand, my wand stuffed into my belt.

"I'm an idiot for doing this." I mumbled, but twisted off the cork and held it up, staring at the mud-like substance. It looked repulsive as it smelled.

"Okay… here goes." I brought the vial to my lips. The glass was cold. My intestines were already writhing in protest.

Just do it. Don't even think about it. I swallowed hard, my mouth already filling with saliva like it would before I threw up. I shut my eyes tightly and pictured myself sitting on the beach somewhere tropical, about to drink refreshing, sweet pink lemonade.

I tipped back the vial and emptied the contents into my mouth.

I cringed, expecting to taste extreme sourness or bitterness, but to my complete shock, I tasted… pink lemonade.

My eyes popped open in total surprise. I swallowed the potion, which had the texture of mud, but flavor of a smooth, sweet drink. I swallowed hard after it, waiting for the nausea to overwhelm me, but none came.

Instead, I felt a warm tingling across my skin. My mouth – which was turned-down so often these days – curved up in a smile. My skin tightened and pulled. When I opened my eyes again, I hurried to the nearest mirror I could find and clapped my hand over my mouth.

Staring back at me was my best friend. Lily Evans.

Heart pounding, I reached out and touched the cold surface of the mirror. Her hand – my hand – reflected the movement. Head spinning on a high of adrenaline, I grabbed a hank of my now-red hair and pulled lightly.

I felt it in my scalp in the precise location.

I burst out giggling, halfway between crazy and thrilled. It had worked. Toerags or not, Sirius and James were brilliant. They had truly outdone themselves this time.

I hurried out of the Ravenclaw Common Room, feeling like I was floating under the leve pondus charm. My hands slid down the new spiraling railings along the staircase. I set off for the Gryffindor Common Room, completely oblivious to any possible dangers. Recklessly running as fast I could to the Fat Lady's portrait, fully aware of the time limit to my transformation.

The Fat Lady was deeply asleep, snoring loudly when I skidded to a stop in front of her. "Expecto Patronum."

She startled awake. "Who… who goes there?"

I lifted my head a notch, forcing a big smile, something Lily would do. "Lily Evans. Second year."

The Fat Lady stared down. "What are you…" She broke off into a huge yawn, revealing her double chin. "what are you doing out so late?"

Thinking quickly, I said, "I needed to see McGonagall. I'm okay now."

"Oh… well… that's wonderful." She mumbled drowsily. She swung open.

My heart jumped into my throat. Was it really that easy?

"Thanks." I said, wanting to tear down through the tunnel and burst into the Common Room, but knowing that Lily wouldn't behave in such a way. I forced myself to be calm and precise. I walked gracefully through, hearing the portrait sigh shut behind me.

The Gryffindor Common Room was different than the Ravenclaw's. Ours, which was high up in a spiraling tower, with tall, wall-length windows and curtains, this one was cozier, with a roaring fireplace and overstuffed red couches and armchairs. Tapestries and portraits hung on the walls, instead of bookshelves. Seated before the merry fire were four boys.

The other Marauders.

Legs still shaky from the adrenaline rush, I stepped forward. Two of them were watching me. Peter was asleep in an armchair. Sirius was staring deeply into the fire with an unusual grim look on his face. James and Remus were watching me enter with keen interest in their eyes.

"Hello." I said cautiously.

Remus raised his brows. James swallowed hard, adjusting his glasses on his nose.

"Hi." He said back.

"Uh… nice place." I said, Lily's voice instead of mine. I blinked several times, still disoriented.

"We should test her." James said quietly. "Just to make sure it's really Harkstone in there."

I frowned at him. "Of course it's me, you idiot. You gave me this potion and made me come here, of all places, at two in the morning. Thanks for making me lose sleep."

"That's definitely Amber." Remus said, amused.

James looked half-irritated, half-impressed. "You showed up."

"Of course I did. I don't blow things off." I chose an armchair closer to the fire. Sirius just now noticed me and did a double-take.

"It's Harkstone." James informed him. "Don't freak out."

"Right." Sirius said, sounding disconcerted. "You sure?"

I slapped a palm to my forehead. "Unbelievable. I can't believe I ever agreed to an Unbreakable Vow with you two."

Sirius grinned. "Welcome, Tomato."

I rolled my eyes. "I think I prefer 'Harkstone', thanks."

Both boys looked gleeful.

"Let's get on with it." Remus advised. "She doesn't have much time."
"Good point." James said swiftly. "Lily, I need you-"

"Harkstone." I snapped.

"Right, right." James cleared his throat. "Harkstone, while we're away and the school is empty, we think it's the perfect opportunity for you to do some exploring."

"Oh, goody." I sat back in the chair, stretching my legs. "And what exactly does that entail?"

"Lily definitely isn't this waspish." Sirius agreed as Peter snored.

"Remember that map we're working on?" James pressed. He pushed the folded-up parchment towards me, his hazel eyes serious for once. "I need you to work on it while the rest of us are away. It's a great opportunity, and it would be huge if we could flesh out more of what this school is hiding."

"I thought you wanted to do this." I said, frowning. "This was supposed to be your thing, remember?"

"Yes, but being on a Quidditch team has taught me a lot about how important teamwork is." James said earnestly. "And you've got those brains that we need. And eyes and ears on the other side."

"What James means is that we need you." Sirius interpreted. "Like, way more than we thought we did. And we'd really, really appreciate it if you took pity on us and helped us out. You're a Marauder, aren't you?"

I could feel my frown deepening. "You've been learning from Peter how to beg, haven't you?"

Sirius winked.

"Please, Amber." Remus said, interjecting. "I know we don't say it enough… but you're a really brilliant witch. The brightest in our year. Maybe even our whole school."

"It's too bad you've got that mouth on you." James said. "It kind of takes away from that."

I rolled my eyes. "Maybe if you two didn't provoke me so much…"
"But that's no fun." Sirius finished. "I won't be home until summer, and even then, I hope I don't have to be there long. I heard from Regulus that me Mum is going to send me away to camp or something so that I don't have be home."
I thought of my own distant mother, emotionally destroyed and then miraculously pieced back together. Still incredibly fragile and unpredictable. But that had been due to her grief. What would it be like to have a mother who hated you just for being in the wrong House? For being who you were?

I understand only a little. And it didn't make me like Sirius any more than I already did, but it did give me a flutter of sympathy.

"But the point of this potion was for practice." Sirius went on. "To see if you could handle the potion. And you did."

"Fantastically well." Remus said proudly.

"Thanks for that, lover boy." James teased. "So… we've decided that we want you to take another dose of Polyjuice this summer."

"Where are you going with this?" I said suspiciously.

"It's nothing that you can't handle." James assured.

"What is it?" I pressed, feeling the first warning pangs of dread.

Sirius grinned. "We want you to impersonate my brother."