A/N: It has been way too long since I last updated. I could go into a long list of excuses, but instead I'm just going to say I'm genuinely sorry, I dropped a lot of my stories for awhile, I hope anyone reading this will forgive me to some extent for the enormous delay, and here's the newest chapter of A Marauder's Tale (which shall be updated at a more regular basis once again as will my other stories.)

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K Rowling and seens how I'm not her, that means I own nothing but the odd original character thrown in this story. It's a fanfiction for a reason, you know.

A Marauder's Tale

EilayAdnayVolieay

Chapter Fourteen: The Christmas Holidays Part 4

James and Lily arrived at the library rather quickly, and, once sure that Madam Pince was nowhere nearby, James lead her to one of the more private sections of the library. He had brought his bag with him, and he pulled out the book on Godric Gryffindor that he had signed out — again.

"Okay, so let's go through these books," James replied, indicating the pile of books Lily had gathered as he set up their research area, "And write down anything that seems to be the slightest bit useful. And — Lily, is something wrong?" James asked suddenly, noticing that she was staring at him strangely. She appeared startled that he had noticed, and shook her head wildly.

"N-no! Nothing!" She exclaimed rather quickly. James raised his eyebrows but didn't push the subject any further. He grabbed a quill and handed it to her, and she muttered a quiet 'thank-you' and set to reading. James was a few chapters in when he suddenly got the urge to look at her, and he did — until she realized this.

"Erm, sorry, Lily," James replied feebly, looking back at his book. "I just..." he stopped when he realized that Dumbledore was standing in front of them now, looking very gravely at them through his half-moon spectacles. "Professor!" James breathed. "What brings you here to the library?" James asked.

"Miss Evans, I must speak with you in private. I'm sorry Mr Potter, this is not a matter of the prophecy, but a personal matter to Miss Evans specifically. She may tell you when she returns if she wishes, but for now I think it best if — yes, very well then." Dumbledore stopped speaking as Lily stood up to follow him. She looked suddenly very pale, and James felt a pain in his chest — she was worried. Scared. And he'd have to stay here...

"It's alright, Professor." James replied finally. "I... I can keep doing this research while you're gone." James picked up the book to prove his point and continued reading it. Once he was sure that they were no longer watching him, James looked up over his book and saw they were gone.

—

Lily heard Professor Dumbledore mutter his password to the gargoyle, and the magical stairs appeared to take her up to his office. Dumbledore threw open the double doors and sat at the chair behind his desk. He indicated the chairs set out and Lily sat down.

"Professor, why is it that you've called me here?" Lily asked him finally. Professor Dumbledore looked off to the window at the far side of his office, and remained silent. He handed her a copy of the muggle newspaper that would be printed and released the next day.

"I am very sorry, Lillian Evans." Professor Dumbledore replied quietly. Confused, terrified and worried, Lily threw the newspaper open and began looking through it for anything significant. Bridge collapsing, fund raising going on – there was nothing. She looked up at Professor Dumbledore, confused.

"But sir, there's nothing —"

"Bridge collapsing, Miss Evans. Do you truly believe this is the cause of it not being built properly, of it rusting? No. It is, I believe very strongly, the Dark Lord — the one known as Lord Voldemort. He is a known muggle killer. He, I believe, knows of this prophecy — he knows who it involves. And, Miss Evans," He looked away this time, and Lily felt a weight drop in her stomach. "Tonight, he went to find your parents. And — I'm very sorry," he added again, "But... your parents have been murdered."

Lily sat there, very still, very quiet. This knowledge had not yet registered to her — her parents couldn't be dead. They were on their way to Peru, for the holidays! Their flight would leave the next day, and... and... they weren't dead. They couldn't be.

And yet, as Lily looked back at Dumbledore's grave expression, she knew he was not lying. This was not a nightmare she was having — she would not wake up from it. It was reality. Her parents were dead — gone, forever.

"Miss Evans, if I —" Dumbledore began, but Lily shook her head furiously. Tears began flowing down her face, and finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She needed out, she couldn't stay inside his office any longer. The more she sat in the arm chair, the more the walls seemed to be closing in, taking away all of the oxygen, taking away her ability to breathe. And all over again, she remembered things she regretted so much — getting mad at them for treating Petunia differently, getting mad at them for allowing Petunia to have over friends, but never, ever her. She regretted telling them that she hated them, in her third year, when they had lied and said they were going on a second honey-moon. She regretted, most of all, not telling them how much she loved them.

Lily ran out of Dumbledore's office, through the halls, she didn't even have a clue as to where she was going, but all she knew was that if she ran, if she ran as fast as her legs could carry her, maybe she'd forget everything Dumbledore had just told her. Maybe she could run forward in time, past the pain she felt now. Or maybe, she could run back in time, to stop her parents from being killed.

—

James looked up from his book as he heard voices, immediately expecting to see Lily returning — but it wasn't her. Megan and Sirius sat down in the seats that were surrounding the table, and James couldn't hide his disappointment from his ever so observant friend.

"Gee, lovely to see you too," Sirius replied sarcastically. "Oi! Where's Evans?" He asked suddenly, and James didn't say anything.

"James?" Megan prodded gently.

"Dumbledore came. He said there... there was something personal he had to talk to her about. Insisted it wasn't prophecy-related. But... that was when we first got here. She's been gone ever since. I... I'm sure she should have been back by now. I tried to... to write down some notes, from these books," James added suddenly, "But... I can't write anymore until I find out what's taking her so long. You two... please, stay here and go through these, and I'll be back soon." With that, James stood up and left the library — Sirius groaned looking at the huge pile of books, and Megan tossed a quill at him.

"Start writing," She told him crossly. He glared at her and stuck his tongue out, which she immediately reached to draw on. Sirius got up and walked over to the other side of the table, so that he was far enough from her that he could bug her without suffering any real kind of consequences — at least, unless she decided to use her wand, which Madam Pince would kill her for.

They looked through the books silently, trying to find anything relevant to the prophecy or places the Gryffindor founder may have went. Megan closed her book and set it back on the table, and began staring at Sirius. He tried to ignore it, but after awhile it got quite annoying and he looked up.

"What?" he asked her.

"Sirius... do you think Lily's okay?" Megan asked quietly, looking towards the door. It had been awhile now since James had left, and neither he nor Lily had since returned. Sirius seemed to notice that she was concerned about her friend, and forced a smile.

"Sure she is! I bet she just remembered to add something to that Essay Binns set for us — or got some brilliant brainwave on the way back from Dumbledore's Office of where to look for the Prophecy. I'm sure she's alright." Sirius added. Megan seemed somewhat comforted by this, though she still continued casting glances at the empty hallway outside of the library.

"You're... you're probably right. I... thank-you, Sirius." Megan said finally. Sirius looked up at her, surprised, and opened his mouth to say something — say that he wasn't trying to make her feel better, just trying to get her to stop moping so she'd actually read the books so he didn't have to do it alone — but he shut it instead.

"You're welcome." He replied after a few moments, and Megan looked at him oddly. Sirius pretended not to notice this and opened the book he had been reading again. Never, in his life, had he done so much reading — it seemed unfair that he had to start now, in his last year at Hogwarts.

"Hey, wait a second!" Sirius exclaimed, and Megan looked up startled.

"What is it?" She asked, surprised at his sudden outburst.

"Why did Pete get to go home for the holidays!?" Sirius demanded. Megan groaned and felt like smacking herself for thinking he was even remotely different.

"Because in all reality he wouldn't have been much help anyway, and because his parents refused to let him stay. I thought he told all of that to you?" Megan asked.

"Yeah, but... I just realized he wasn't here." Megan gaped at him.

"He's one of your best friends," She replied coolly. "How do you not notice that sooner?"

"It's not like that," Sirirus replied, his voice suddenly softer. "It's strange. He hasn't been around as much, and when he is... he's been acting him weird. Before everyone left for the holidays, he even skipped dinner." Megan stared at him — Peter Pettigrew, skip a meal?

"Oh." Was all she could say.

—

"Lily!"

Lily heard James calling her, but she knew she had to try to ignore him. She didn't want to — she felt terrible even considering it — but she couldn't let him, or anyone else, see her this way. The little bit of makeup she wore smudged, down her face. Her nose was a bright red, her eyes bloodshot and puffy. No, she definitely did not want to be seen like this. She started to run again, but James caught up to her and grabbed her arm.

"Let me go!" Lily shouted, trying to pull away. James seemed surprised, and loosened his grip, but suddenly grabbed her with his other arm. Lily struggled to get away from him, shouting at him, trying to hit him, until finally she broke down and started to cry. She fell to her knees and covered her face with her hands, just crying. James knelt down next to her, shocked, and put an arm around her. He let her cry for awhile, before putting his hand on hers.

"Lily... what's wrong?" He asked finally. Lily didn't say anything at first, just stared straight ahead, seemingly at nothing. She seemed to be lost in her thoughts. Finally, she threw her arms around James who immediately helped her to her feet and hugged her back.

"My... Dumbledore, he said... the Dark Lord... he..." Lily stopped and started crying again, and James held her, whispering the only soothing words he could think of without knowing what had happened. Finally, Lily took a deep breath and tried again. "He killed my parents," She managed, before bursting into tears again.

James stood there, shocked. Her parents — her parents were dead? But... he couldn't even let it register, and all he could think was how he'd feel if it were his parents instead. He remembered, briefly, the few things he had learned about Lily's sister Petunia. The most freshest memory in his mind was when she had sent that picture to Lily, intentionally to emotionally torture her. She's the only direct family Lily has at home now... James realized, feeling rather nauseated at the thought.

"I'm sorry Lily," He whispered.

—

"So, James went off to find her?" Remus asked. He and Ali had just arrived to the library where they were all supposed to meet, where he saw James and Lily were absent. Megan nodded.

"Yeah, he insisted. I... he sounded really worried. And that makes me worried. Do you think she's alright?" Megan asked.

"Ahh, they're probably just off snogging in the broom closet —" Sirius told her, and she couldn't help but smile a little.

"Gross as this will sound — I hope so. But... you'd think they'd have said something, or come back and made up an excuse to leave, or..." Megan stopped when she saw James come into the library, alone. "James! Where's Lily? Did you find her?" She asked quickly, getting up out of her seat and rushing over to him.

"She... she's in the Common Room, she's going to lie down," James replied after awhile, not looking at any of them.

"Oh, is she sick?" Sirius asked him, noticing his friend was seeming a little odd.

"She's... you're going to find out eventually anyway," James replied suddenly. "Dumbledore... he had wanted to talk to her about her parents. They've been murdered," The other's seemed shocked, and Ali gasped.

"Murdered? They're... they're dead? But — who would do this?" Ali sank into the chair she was in even further, and Remus, shy though he was, put his hand on hers reassuringly. Even Sirius seemed to not believe this.

"Who do you think?" Sirius replied, bitter suddenly. "The Dark Lord. You-know-who, he-who-must-not-be-named." The others were surprised at the bitterness he seemed to show specifically — though none of them particularly cared for the cold-blooded murderer, Sirius spoke as though he had some personal grudge. After a few moments silence, James spoke up.

"She asked me if I'd tell you and Megan to just kind of... leave her alone, for awhile. In the dormitory, I mean. Like if she's awake and just sitting there, she wanted left alone." James told them, and they nodded understandingly.

"Of course," They murmured. The reality of everything was setting in. The Dark Lord wasn't someone who was just a bad, horrible and evil person abusing their magic. He wasn't just another person that would be talked about for centuries and shipped off to Azkaban. He was worse than Grindelwald — and he had been the biggest threat to the Wizarding World for ages. This Voldemort was not just a threat — he was like a sickness. Speak his name, and fear was instantly placed in the hearts of those who heard it. These killings were no longer something that just happened to other people — it was hitting closer and closer home. Lily was the first to be affected in their number... who would be next?

"Do you think this is what the prophecy has to do with?" Remus asked, sitting up in his chair. "This..." he took a deep breath. "Dark Lord," he replied instead. He had tried to say the name — after all, it was only a name — but he saw the fear instantly placed on Ali's face sitting next to him and stopped himself.

"It must. And we have to find it — there's no other choice. We're going to find it, tonight." James replied firmly, a new determination consuming him entirely. This was no longer a joke — it never had been before, but the seriousness of everything seemed so much clearer now. Even school seemed to pale in comparison for what was and wasn't important in his life. The prophecy, Lily, his friends... they were important to him, they were the things he would be focusing on. Everything else didn't matter anymore.

"We can't just find it like that, James!" Remus exclaimed. "Look, I know we all feel bad for Lily, and I know that we're all frustrated and sad right now, but that doesn't change the fact that we have no idea where this prophecy could be."

"I think we do, Remus." James replied slowly, and everyone turned to look at him, shocked. "I know Lily said she didn't want to be bothered, but we have to get her for this. We're going to talk to Dumbledore — and he's not keeping anything from us anymore. We're going to make him tell us everything — everything! — he knows. Sirius, you said ages ago when he told us about this prophecy, that you saw him put his wand to his head and a silvery like substance came out of his head into the end of his wand — I just realized what that meant! He was bottling his memories!"

"Of course!" Remus breathed. "But what was so important then — was he bottling the memory of talking to us, or something else?"

"I don't know, but we're going to make him tell us. And if he refuses... there's no other way. We'll have to break into his office when he leaves."

A/N: So finally things are becoming a little more clearer, next chapter or the one after that (depending on how it progresses) should hold the prophecy and the discovery of the prophecy. Again so sorry for the long, long, wait in an update. There's no reason for it, none that is at all acceptable, so I hope you'll R&R and tune in to the next chapter.