A/N: Firstly, I want to apologize for not updating sooner. It was honestly something I had no control over at the time, but I still feel bad. I don't want people thinking that I discontinued this story again, when I didn't. What happened was caused by family health issues and school work and in the end I was so busy and rarely got online. Now, I've decided that even if I don't get online I'll use any spare time I can to work on this story as well as my other stories so that I can always have the chapters ready and you might get two or three out at once if I haven't updated in awhile, so all the chapters you will get eventually even if it takes time until I start updating again.

Also, I realize that this story got off of its main topic, and I want to apologize for that to those who may have been discouraged. This chapter will have more of the mystery and the prophecy, it is the last dance chapter, as this chapter is actually the dance. I was trying to just establish some basic ground for other storylines mixed in but I agree that I focused a tad too much time on it and so here's the chapter which I promise to make as long as I can. Even longer than the chapters of my other stories I just recently updated.

Disclaimer: I probably don't have to keep repeatedly telling you this, but Harry Potter isn't mine. gasp! My what a shocker that was.

A Marauder's Tale

EilayAdnayVolieay

Chapter Eight: Dance, Dance: Part 3

That night it was finally the dance. James had attempted many times to tell Remus that Ali didn't hate him but in fact liked him, but every time James brought up Ali, Remus would either change the subject, ignore it, or leave the room. James, finally growing frustrated, decided that he'd let Remus think what he wanted, and that would be that. If Remus got mad at him later for not telling him, well, so be it.

Tonight, James thought to himself, is going to be perfect. No pranks, no reasons to act immature. Maybe Lily will—

"JAMESIE! You will save me the first dance, won't you?" Sirius asked, running over to James and hugging him. James rolled his eyes.

"Sirius, if you act like this at the dance, you won't GET a first dance with anyone, I'll make sure of it. Now shove off and change into your dress robes already, Remus and I have been ready for some time now and your still in your school robes." James stood up and opened the boys dorm door. "When you're ready, we'll meet you in the Common Room. Try and hurry up, will you? I want to get to the dance sometime tonight," James added. He and Remus headed out and Sirius pouted.

"Oh, woe is me!" he cried out. James had left the door open, and Sirius' fan club walked by as he said that and giggled at the sight of him changing. Sirius hurried to cover himself. "All right, all right you've had your laughs, now shoo!" he said, slamming the door.

—

As James and Remus headed down the stairs to the Common Room, James saw Lily. She was the most beautiful girl at the moment that he had ever seen. She had her hair pinned up with delicate red curls falling out, in just the perfect arrangement. Her dress was a glittering white, flowing at her ankles. But what made James notice her the most was that she was wearing something very familiar— the necklace James had given her for Christmas the year that she was forced to stay at the school, without her friends. He wondered if she remembered that time... he knew he did, because it was the best Christmas he had ever had.

—

James that year would be remaining at the school for the Christmas holidays, with Remus and Sirius. Peter had to go home, but the boys knew they would have fun anyways. Most Gryffindor's had gone home for the holidays, except for James, Sirius, Remus and Lily Evans. Lily was by herself, with none of her friends there with her.

"James... there's been a slight change of plans," Sirius started, as he came back from the owlery. James looked up at him, confused.

"What?"

"My mother wants me back home for the holidays. Well, not really," Sirius added. "You know how my parents think of me. But... they do want me to be there, even if I am just a disappointment to them, because they're having a family dinner with all these relatives. I would have flat out refused to go, except Tonks is going to be there, and even Andromeda. My parents long ago disowned them, but for some reason they want the whole family together. I'm sorry, but Remus will still be here." Sirius replied. Remus looked up from his book that he was reading.

"Actually, I'll be in the hospital wing. The full moon's fast approaching, and soon I'll be put there until I have to go to the Shrieking Shack. I'll be at the Shrieking Shack over Christmas... I'm sorry," Remus added to James. "I wish I didn't have to, but I can't control it."

"Its okay, mate, its not your fault what happened to you. And its not yours either, Sirius. I guess I'll just have to occupy myself somehow. Maybe I'll do my holiday work," James added. He waited a moment and then he and Sirius burst out laughing.

"Yeah, right, as if I'd do that."

"You mean you're not done it yet? But James, we have three essays to do and—" Remus was cut off by James.

"I'll do it eventually, just... not right now. You're the abnormal one, not me, Remus, when it comes to homework. You actually ENJOY it; I don't."

Finally the Christmas holidays had begun, but as Remus had said, he was forced to stay in the Hospital Wing. James promised to visit him every day until he was back, and true to his word, he did. On Christmas Eve, James went in the Hospital Wing and saw Lily Evans sitting there with Remus. James cleared his throat to make his presence known, and felt an odd leap in his chest when Lily smiled briefly, slightly forced, at him.

"Potter," she acknowledged. James nodded at her and sat next to Remus.

"Hey Rem, how are you feeling?" James asked. Remus shrugged.

"Lousy, as usual. I'm really sorry again James that I'm—"

"Remus, its not your fault. Stop apologizing, its okay, really. Just... feel better. Sorry I got here late, I took your advice and finished up that homework. Boring, but its finished." James turned and saw Madame Pomfrey coming his way. "Merry Christmas, Remus, I'll come by in the morning and drop off whatever gifts come for you alright?" James said. Remus nodded.

"Thanks."

Lily said good bye to Remus as well and placed a package next to him. He looked at her confused.

"It's a gift," she said. "I thought you might get bored so I thought I'd give it to you early." Remus thanked her and found it was a book. After, as James and Lily were leaving the hospital wing, James turned to her.

"That was really nice of you," he said.

"What was?" Lily asked absentmindedly, still walking along.

"The gift. When Remus gets sick, he gets really... sad. I don't know why," he said hurriedly, although Lily was sure that he knew perfectly well about Remus being a werewolf, "but he does. It was nice of you to visit him, as well. I know your friends, but its still nice. Remus... he has a hard time believing anyone could want to be friends with him, so I know he appreciates it."

"The two of you are close, aren't you?" Lily asked as they reached the Common Room. James nodded.

The next morning, James awoke and immediately took Remus' gifts to him.

"Wish I could hang around, mate, but I wouldn't want to miss breakfast. I'll sneak you some," James added, winking. Remus laughed.

"Thanks. Anything's better than constantly having the same thing every night here," Remus added. James saw that he was looking a bit better, not as pale as he was before.

"Think you'll be out of here soon?" James asked.

"Knowing Madame Pomfrey, not likely." Remus replied. James laughed and headed back to the Common Room, where he intended to write a quick thank you note to his parents for the Quidditch book they had given him. When he arrived there, he thought he heard quiet sobbing. He knew that it was only him and Lily there, because the sixth years who had stayed were already eating in the Great Hall and no other third years had stayed.

"Lily?" James called softly. He saw her then, sitting in a corner staring out the window, tears streaming down her face. He sat down next to her, concerned. "What's wrong?" he asked her.

"Nothing," she said, wiping the tears away.

"Its more than nothing, Lily," he said. He was shocked when Lily threw her arms around him and began crying again. He didn't ask her what was wrong again, but instead comforted her and allowed her to cry until she was ready to tell him.

"Its... my sister. My parents told me they were going on a second honeymoon, a vacation for just the two of them, and that Petunia would be staying at school. But then... my sister never gets me anything for Christmas and when she does its some cruel joke. She sent this picture with the date in the bottom corner, from home." Lily handed the picture to James who turned it over.

"Dearest Witch of a sister, I do hope you're enjoying your time at school. I'm at home, with my friends over, baking right now with mom. Dad's out getting the Christmas tree. You see, I told mother that I was embarrassed to have friends over when you were, so she made up the entire story of the honeymoon. Merry Christmas, love, Petunia." James read. Lily burst out crying again and he hugged her close to him. So this was why she was upset...

"You miss your family," he said softly. Lily nodded.

"I just want to be at home... I know Petunia exaggerates and that there's some other reason why I had to stay at school, but still. Knowing that Petunia gets to spend Christmas with them and not me is torture, especially when none of my friends are here. What's worse, is in the picture, she's wearing the necklace my grandmother gave me before she... before she died. My mother said she'd keep it until I was older, so I could wear it then."

"Wait here," James said. He ran up to his dorm and threw his trunk open. He knew that his mother had hidden it somewhere in his trunk. When he found what he was looking for, he remembered what his mother told him.

"Your grandmother gave this to your father, and told him to give it to someone special when the time was right. He gave it to me, before we had ever dated, and now we're married. You're old enough that you're bound to have girlfriends. Give this necklace to someone really special, she'll cherish it forever just as I have." she had said. The necklace was made purely of emerald and was a family heirloom of its own. Although James would never tell anyone this, he liked Lily a lot, even if he did tease her often. To him, she was someone who was special. And right now she needed something to cheer her up. He ran down the stairs and handed it to her.

"Here," he said. "I want you to have this. It's a family heirloom that's been passed down... my mother never had a daughter, only me, and she told me to give it to someone who— well give it to someone. I know its not the same," he added, "but its something you're sister will never have." Lily shook her head.

"I can't take that," she replied. "It's a family heirloom, YOUR family." James offered her a hand to help her up.

"Yes, and its my necklace, meaning I can give it to who I want. And I want to give it to you," he said. "Lift up your hair," he added. Lily did so and James fastened the necklace on. It looked beautiful on Lily, and the green stones matched her eyes perfectly, down to the brilliant glitter her eyes had when she was happy or excited.

"Thank you," Lily said softly. "I'll... I'll cherish it forever," she said finally. She hugged James, and for that Christmas, they allowed themselves to forget how much they were supposed to dislike each other. Lily forgot about the pranks, James forgot about the oath he had made with himself to hate Lily.

—

The memory slowly faded from James' mind and he walked over to Lily who was standing by herself. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the side.

"You wore it," he said softly. Lily knew he was talking about the necklace.

"Just because I hate you doesn't mean I should hate this gorgeous gift," she teased.

"Do you hate me, Lily?" James asked. Lily was about to joke again but saw that he was asking a serious question. He truly wanted to know.

"James..." she started, "I... you can be horribly immature, arrogant and so full of yourself. At times you act like such a jerk that I can't believe you're the same person who gave me this necklace. You break the rules of this school without any remorse, you're just so stuck up at times. But..." James had been looking rather sad until she added the 'but'. "I don't hate you," she said quietly. "I don't know why, but I just can't bring myself to hate you. Maybe its because I know that you can be sweet, funny, and really nice." she walked away back over to Megan, and James smiled. She doesn't hate me! he thought excitedly. It was definitely a step up from before, when she had loudly told everyone willing to listen how much she hated James.

"What was that all about?" Megan asked. Lily turned and saw James sitting with Remus, smiling and talking quietly.

"Nothing, James was just glad to see that I wore this," she said, lifting up the necklace. Megan raised her eyebrow questioningly.

"Why?" she asked. Lily sat down on the couch and motioned for Megan to do the same.

"James gave it to me for Christmas in our third year. You see..." Lily told the story to Megan quickly, glancing at James from time to time. He pretended not to notice, but when it came to Lily there was few things he didn't notice. Sirius finally came down the stairs, so Remus and James stood up and started for the dance, which was being held in the Great Hall.

—

The dance was going great. James hadn't danced with anyone, because he was too focused on Lily, but he was enjoying himself anyways. Remus was looking sad every now and then, but if he thought that James or Sirius noticed, he quickly would perk up and say some joke or other to seem as if he was perfectly fine. They weren't fooled— James considered mentioning to Remus that Ali liked him, but decided against it when Ali came over. She turned to Remus shyly.

"R... Remus?" she asked softly. He glanced up at her.

"What?" he asked. Ali seemed almost discouraged for a moment, but James smiled at her and mouthed, "Ask him,"

"Can I... talk to you alone for a second?" she asked. Remus began to say no, but James kicked him hard under the table.

"OW! I mean, yeah, I guess." he walked off with Ali.

"Remus... um... would you like to... d-d-d... dance?" she asked finally. She bit her lip, afraid he'd say no. He even started to, but James ran over.

"Sorry Ali, one second, I have to tell him something urgent, be right back." James dragged Remus over to the side. "Listen I don't care if you believe me or not but Ali doesn't hate you, she likes you. A lot. And if you like her, I suggest you stop acting like such an idiot and do something." James shoved Remus back over to Ali and then left.

"I'd love to," Remus said. He was stunned. Ali likes me? he thought. But... that didn't sound right. Maybe James was lying to him... after all, Remus had acted sad when he thought Ali hated him. He grabbed her hand and led her off to the dance floor.

Sirius soon left to dance with some girl, so James sat by himself. At least, until Lily came over.

"Why aren't you dancing?" she asked, taking a drink of her pumpkin juice. James shrugged.

"I'm not one for dancing, I guess. I like walking better, do you want to go for one?" James blurted. He suddenly felt like smacking himself on the head. He could have just sat there and enjoyed talking to Lily, but instead he had to ruin it by asking her to walk around. She was probably going to think that he just wanted her alone. Or that he—

"Sure," Lily said. She got up and led the way outside. It was cool out, so James summoned her coat that she had left inside.

"Thanks," Lily said. It was a matching coat that went with her dress, and she hadn't realized how cold it was outside until she had actually stepped out there.

"So, are you enjoying the dance?" James asked. Lily nodded.

"Yeah, they outdid themselves this year in decorating. Sad, actually... it's the last year we'll be here,"

"Do you like school that much?" James asked.

"Its not so much school as my friends being here, and my sister Petunia... not being here. Its fun here, and I'll miss it. After this, its out in the real world. It's a scary thought." Lily added. James nodded.

"Yeah, it is," he said softly, staring at her. What he would do to spend his time in the real world with her! But she'd never know. She knew he liked her enough to ask her out, but not that he had... as much as James had once hated to admit... fallen for her, head over heels. Regaining his composure before Lily caught him staring, he asked, "What do you plan on doing after this?" he asked.

"After the dance?" Lily said.

"No..."

"Oh... after school. I'm planning to try and be an Auror, actually. Silly, I know, and I'm sure you want to burst out laughing at the sight of me as an Auror, but its really the only thing I've thought of. What about you? I suppose you'll want to be a professional Quidditch player?" she teased. James shook his head.

"Not necessarily. The classes I took... this year, their for being an Auror as well. But Lily, if you want to be an auror, you'll need to do better in Transfiguration. I could... I mean, if you wanted, I could... help you maybe?" James asked. He hoped she said yes, because any time he was able to spend with her would be appreciated. Lily smiled.

"I'd appreciate any help. Goodness knows I need it..." she saw that James was very close to her, and she knew that he was going to try to kiss her. She should turn away, slap him, yell at him, anything! But she didn't. She was going to allow it to happen, but she very much didn't want to. Just as he was only inches from her face, there was shouting inside the Great Hall. He grabbed Lily's hand and dragged her back inside. He saw that there was red stains now all over the walls on one half of the Great Hall... was it blood? It smelled foul, and James was reminded for some reason of the cow slaughters that had been going on over the past while around Hogwarts.

"YOU!" Professor Kettleburn shouted angrily. "You did this! YOU! Well, well, well... I told you, Mr Potter, that you and your friend Mr Black over there would be on a tight leash. But still, you decided it was fine to play this prank. Well it most CERTAINLY is not. I've had enough of your foolishness. You go and you do things so terrible, so against the rules, and get detention. But after seven years you continue it! Detention has not fazed you in the least. There is only one thing left to do. You are suspended from the Quidditch team, until further notice." he grinned, happy to have finally gotten something on James Potter, the student who had caused him so much trouble over the past few years. James was devastated, but he wasn't the only one.

"Sir?" Remus asked. "If there's no actual proof that James did this, how can you punish him?"

"Because Mr Lupin, everything that goes wrong here is ALWAYS his fault. His, and his friend Black over there. I'm tired of it, and more drastic measures need to be taken."

"But it wasn't James," Lily spoke up. "... I did it," she confessed. A false confession, James knew. But it seemed to have quite an affect on Professor Kettleburn.

"Y-y-you? But... you're the smartest student here! You're Head Girl!"

"And he is Head Boy," Lily reminded him. "Being Head Girl or Head Boy doesn't mean you are incapable of pulling any prank."

"I... one hundred points from Gryffindor! And one week worth of detention. There's nothing to see here, go on!" he shouted at the students. The music started up again, and everyone went back to their dancing and socializing.

"Sir, it wasn't Lil—"

"Mr Potter, Mr Lupin, Mr Black, Miss Winters, Miss Lloyd and Miss Evans, I wish to see you in my office. Follow me," Professor Dumbledore said. James began to protest, after all Lily was getting in trouble over him! But Lily covered his mouth with her hand.

"James," she whispered, "drop it. I'm being nice to you for a change, I know you didn't do that, and I'd rather lose house points than have you lose your position on the team. Quidditch is everything to you," she added. "So please, just drop it." she walked ahead with Ali and Megan, and James felt like pulling her into his arms and telling her that Quidditch wasn't everything to him... she was everything. Instead, he kept quiet, and followed Dumbledore.

—

They were sitting comfortably in Dumbledore's office, waiting for him to speak. He had been pacing for five minutes when finally Dumbledore sat down.

"I should have told you sooner," he started. "It was a mistake to let it go this long, but it seemed unfair— fate has a way of choosing dangerous destinies for us, and we have no control once the destiny begins."

"Excuse me sir, but just what exactly are you talking about?" James asked politely. Dumbledore conjured himself a brandy and pumpkin juice for them. He drank his brandy in barely a gulp. He seemed terribly nervous, which in turn made the six Gryffindors nervous. What could have Dumbledore so wound up? He conjured another brandy before speaking again.

"It seems, I have made a mistake. I allowed myself to believe you needed more time, but you were ready for this knowledge long ago. I was selfish, and didn't wish to tell you. Now I must live with regret and suffer the consequences. I believe this term you have learned about the prophecy that Godric Gryffindor heard? A most famous Seer foretold it, and only Godric heard it. The exact words are unknown to most, as Godric told no one, but instead wrote it down after his murder was foretold. It was hidden in this school, but believed to be a myth. It is not a myth... it is very real, very terrifying, and very dangerous. It involves seven students..." Dumbledore added. They were quiet for a moment, letting all of it sink in.

"Professor, I don't get it. Why did you have to talk to US about that prophecy Bin– I mean, Professor Binns, told us?" Megan asked. Professor Dumbledore lowered his gaze and looked at them all through his half moon spectacles.

"Because the prophecy has yet to be fulfilled... and only those whom the prophecy involves can fulfill it." Dumbledore replied.

A/N: Well this is a nice long chapter for you to enjoy, and I hope you did. More in the next chapter about the prophecy, and remember: the prophecy is hidden. The guest Dumbledore had, the unwanted visitor, knows only that it involves the seven students... Dumbledore, after some research and such, has figured out who it is. But nobody knows exactly what the prophecy says. Its yet to be found, but just as Dumbledore knew of the Horcruxes through investigating, he knows who the prophecy involves. Don't forget to review the story, tell me what you thought about this chapter.