A/N I know it's been a long time, but I'm not going to apologize. I've had the chapter written, but I didn't feel like taking the time to post it. Or to improve it too much. After all, you can't seem to take the time to write me a review. 52 people read the last chapter. 3 reviewed. That's pathetic. If you've bothered to read this far, then why don't you care enough to give me a couple of words? It really makes no sense to me: it only takes a few seconds. So, I'm not going to threaten to withhold chapters, I'm just saying that reviews motivate me to take a few seconds of MY time to post.

Mac nibbled the end of her quill, trying to decide what to write. She had woken up early that morning and hadn't wanted to head up to breakfast without Sev, so she had decided to write to Jamie. She never wanted to tell Jamie about the bad things that happened to her at Hogwarts sometimes: he would want to protect her, but he was a muggle. There was nothing he could do.

Dear Jamie,

School's been going well. Or, as well as school ever goes. Defense is still my favorite class, and we're learning a lot about dueling at the moment, which is fun. It means that we have permission to fight in class. I've been getting a lot of work though, since it's NEWT year. Especially with quidditch taking up a lot of my time… Had I told you I made the quidditch team? I'm a beater (I hit the bludgers [attacking balls] at people on the other team with a bat). Yes, I do enjoy it. We won our first match against Ravenclaw. I hit the other team's seeker(trying to catch the snitch, which is worth 150 points and ends the game) when he went after the snitch, so our seeker got it and we won. Yes, that is violent (but he was OK), which reminds me…

I got in a fight with Narcissa Black, another girl in my year and house, a little while back. She slapped me, but I punched her in the nose. I think I won that one, don't you? Just like I always beat you. Admit it, I'm tougher. Come on, you know it's true. And I know you'd prefer to hear about a magical fight, but that's all I've got for you at the moment. Also, I got a tattoo. It's of a dragon, and, yes it is a magical tattoo, so it moves. I'll have to cover it up around muggles.

No, there haven't been any explosions. At least not that I've seen. I heard that a first year Hufflepuff caught his partners eyebrows on fire in transfiguration, and then McGonagall made him cry. He had to go to the hospital for a calming draught.

How have you been doing? Enjoying school? You had better owl back! Especially since you don't have an owl…send this one back with your letter. Which I will be expecting to be more than a sentence or two long. Or the owl will peck you to death. Tell your parents that I say hello.

Miss you,

Mac

PS There are some chocolate frogs in the package. I know you like those- it's bribery to get a letter back.

After the letter was finished, Mac sealed it with a lump of green wax and got up from her seat on the plush emerald couch in the Slytherin common room to bring it to the Owlery. She didn't own an owl, so she would have to borrow one of the school's.

It was a long walk from the Slytherin dorms in the dungeon to the tower that the Owlery was in. She sighed as she walked up yet another flight of stairs: wasn't quidditch practice enough exercise? It was too early in the morning for this. One of the only things she missed from muggle life was elevators. Those were nice. They had them at the mall, at apartment buildings, at any large structure really. But, no, Hogwarts had to force its students to walk. And this staircase was facing the wrong direction, so this was going to take even longer. She groaned and kept walking.

Stupid letter. She finally reached the Owlery, panting slightly by that point. Now she just had to find a school owl. But there was already someone in the room. Lupin was standing by the window, all the owls scattered away from him. He looked up as he saw Mac enter. Gesturing around him, he said, sounding tired and letdown, "They don't like me."

Looking at the owls, Mac had to admit that it appeared to be true. She chose an owl and, taking it from its perch, tied the letter to its leg. She walked over to where Lupin was standing and tossed the bird out the window. Then she turned to him and held her hand out expectantly. He stared at it for a minute, and then asked, "What?"

Mac sighed, "Well, give it to me. I'll do it for you."

She had no idea why she was doing this, being nice to a Gryffindor, a Marauder, no less. But there was no one else here, so it wouldn't do any harm. She didn't think that Lupin would tell anyone that he needed, or accepted, help from a Slytherin. He appeared to consider for a moment. "You can't look at it."

"Merlin, Lupin, how paranoid can you be? I don't care about your mail. Now give it here," Mac ordered. Lupin stared at her for a moment, then slowly put the letter in her hand. As he did, his sleeve pulled up a bit. Merlin, that boy had a lot of scars. Mac couldn't help staring for a moment. Lupin snatched his hand back quickly, looking a combination of nervous and ashamed.

There was nothing Mac could say to him. Still facing him, she reached up to get an owl off of a higher perch, knowing that her shirt pulled up as she did so.

Sirius lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He had already taken a shower and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, his weekend clothes, and he was bored. James wasn't awake yet, nor was Peter, and Remus was out sending a letter to his parents. They worried about him. Although, Sirius wasn't really sure how he was going to get an owl to send it with: owls tended to mistrust Moony. He thought it was because they could sense what he was.

After a few minutes, Sirius couldn't stand the silence anymore. So he went over to James to wake him up, jumping onto his bed. James looked up groggily, his black hair even messier than usual, sticking out from his head in all direction. "What do you want, Padfoot?"

"I'm bored," he complained. "And hungry. Let's go to breakfast."

"Paddy, I want to sleep. Stop whining. You can go by yourself if you want," James mumbled. "Or take Moony. He's always up early."

"He's sending his parents a letter. He said he'd meet us at breakfast. Come on, Prongs!" whined Sirius. James sighed and rolled out of bed, calling back as he went into the bathroom, "Wake up Wormtail. He'll be upset if we leave him here when we go eat."

"Fine," replied Sirius. He went over and shook Pete awake. He would follow James and Sirius anywhere, so he was fairly easy to convince to get up. The added incentive of food didn't hurt, either.

To pass the time while the other two got ready, Sirius stood in front of his mirror with his comb. It wasn't as if he got his hair to look as perfect as it did by accident…

Half an hour later, Sirius and Peter had finally gotten James out of their dorm, where he had been trying to make sure he looked perfect for his "Lily blossom." Sirius sighed. He was probably planning to try asking her to go to Hogsmeade with him this weekend… for the fifth time this week. It got quite tiring, really. James just had to be difficult and fall for the one girl who wouldn't kill for a chance to date a Marauder. Well, perhaps not a Marauder. Just James and Sirius, as the girls who liked Remus were different and, to be honest, girls weren't that big on Pete.

At breakfast, all of the boys began piling food onto their plates. Remus joined them a moment later. Once they got through plate number one, the conversation began. Remus couldn't hold it in any longer. "You remember that Slytherin, Rush? I saw her in the owlery."

"What, Moony?" asked James. "Was she giving you a hard time?"

"No, no. It's just… have you ever seen her stomach?" he burst out.

"Um, no, Moony," spluttered James. "Why would I have? For that matter, why would you have?"

"Her shirt pulled up when she was reaching for an owl," retorted Remus. "But that isn't the point. It's covered in scars."

"Well, a lot of people have scars," commented Peter.

"No, Pete, they don't," sighed Remus. "They looked… they looked almost like my scars."

When everyone else looked up in shock, he shook his head. "Not like I think she's got a… furry little problem. I just mean they were big, and there were several of them."

Sirius looked down at his food, relieved. He didn't relish being forced to explain how he knew the scars weren't because she was a werewolf, but because she had been attacked by her own house mates.

They lapsed into silence again for a while. But finally, they could remain quiet no longer, and Peter said the first thing that came to mind. "I'm planning on asking Mary to Hogsmeade this weekend."

"That's nice, Pete," said James, completely distracted by Lily's entrance.

"Which one is she?" Sirius asked. There were so many girls around here, he couldn't remember.

"She's in Hufflepuff," Pete replied. "Are any of you going with anyone?"

"No. You know I can't do that," muttered Remus, glaring around as if daring anyone to contradict his statement.

"I finally broke up with the last girl," said Sirius, "I'm looking forward to not being cooed over by another bimbo."

Remus rolled his eyes, knowing that this was not the time that all girls weren't bimbos, just the ones that Sirius chose to date. Then they all looked at James, dreading his annoying, although expected, answer.

"Of course I am," exclaimed James, "I'm asking my darling Lily flower!"

He got up and practically bounded away down the table towards Lily. Remus sighed, "You had to bring that up, didn't you Pete."

Sirius groaned, thinking, here we go again.

Also at breakfast, although at the Slytherin table at the other side of the Great Hall, Mac was trying to get Sev to talk.

"Hogsmeade is next weekend, Sev," Mac prodded. Sev just nodded.

"So, are you going with anyone?" Apparently, bluntness was best in this case. Sev turned to stare at Mac, one eyebrow raised, quite obviously, albeit wordlessly, asking why she wanted to know. She punched him lightly on the arm, saying, "What? I want to know!"

"No. Why, are you?" He returned. She shook her head, but then got distracted by s commotion over at the Gryffindor table.

Poking Sev in the side, she said, "Hey look, the Potter and Evans show is starting."

Those two got in a fight over breakfast at least a few times a week, and the fights were usually started by Potter declaring his undying love in more and more spectacular ways. Today it was a serenade. Evans stared at the singing Potter, who was now standing on the table in front of her, got up, and exited the Great Hall. Mac snorted as Potter leapt off of the table to chase after her. Those two would never change. "Come on, Sev. We have to get to Transfiguration."

Over the next few weeks, it turned out that a few girls had invited Sev to Hogsmeade, but he had turned them all down, holding up his statement that he didn't want a fan club. These girls had ignored him until he had changed his appearance, so they obviously didn't care about him. And all of the guys in the school were much too afraid to ask Mac out, either because she was a supposedly evil Slytherin or because they knew that the other Slytherins would beat them if they asked out the "mudblood." So, in the end, they were both going alone, so they decided to hang out.

A/N Now review, darn it!