Secretly

Lily Evans and James Potter have been best friends since their first year at Hogwarts. What happens when Lily discovers the one thing that has the potential to ruin their friendship? (Starts mid 6th year.)

Disclaimer: So, as it is time for another update to my lovely story, it is also time for another disclaimer. You know, sometimes I stop and wonder if anybody actually reads these? And if they do, is it out of sheer boredom, or is it merely because they have not yet recognized the fact that there is only one J.K. Rowling who is the author of the Harry Potter series, and that even if I changed my name to J.K. Rowling, I still would not be her? Yes, even though it is chapter six, I have still not managed to achieve ownership of the ever popular Harry Potter series.

Chapter Six: Hogsmeade, Private Party

"So, what are we doing this weekend?" Sirius asked his friends as they walked into the Great Hall. "It's already Friday at lunchtime and we don't have plans." He pulled out a chair and sat at the Gryffindor table.

"Well, I don't have any special plans," hinted Remus. "No full moon this weekend."

"Why don't we wait for the girls to get here?" James suggested. "Maybe we could let them in on our little secret." He smirked.

"You mean tell them that we're Animagi?" squealed Peter through his mouthful of treacle pudding.

"James smacked him on the head. "No, you prat! And keep it down. We don't have to tell the whole school. What I meant was maybe we could take the map for a spin. Have ourselves a private Hogsmeade weekend, eh?"

"What do you mean, Hogsmeade weekend?" Laci cut in. "Next one isn't until next month." She sat down in one of the saved seats, quickly joined by Vita and Lily.

"Yeah," Bella said, after giving Sirius a kiss on the cheek. "What are you guys up to?"

"You'll see…" said Sirius.

"Can you girls keep a secret?" James asked.

"Of course!" Vita said, looking offended.

"Okay, okay. We have something to tell you…"

"Yes?" prompted Lily.

"After lunch," James finished with a satisfied smile.

"Fine," huffed Vita.

"Calm down, Vi. We can wait. Just what are you guys up to?" asked Bella, who was quickly silenced by a kiss from Sirius.

"Now, if I talk to much will I get one of those too?" James batted his eyelashes with a playful smirk.

"Um," Sirius looked James up and down, "no way in hell."

"Ha, James, something that Boy Wonder doesn't get." Bella looked triumphant.

"You're pushing it, lady…" warned James jokingly.

"Okay, why don't we just eat now and we can all bicker later," Remus suggested, ever the voice of reason. "That is, after we tell them our little secret."

"Yeah, they probably won't disagree then," winked Sirius. Peter, who had been stuffing his face with a complete lack of decorum, nodded his own agreement through a mouthful of food.

After eating all they could handle, everyone went back up to the common room. James and Sirius set up a circle of eight chairs in a quiet corner. When everyone had sat down, James reminded them of the importance of the secret. "You can't tell anyone. Ever," he warned.

"We get it, James," Lily cut in.

"Okay." James pulled a rolled up piece of parchment from behind his back. "This is the Marauders Map. It's a magical map that we perfected a little while ago. This map shows all of the building's secrets that we've discovered over the past six and a half years."

"What's so special about it then?" Bella asked.

"Bella, my dear, sweet, sweet Bella." Sirius shook his head with overdramatic disappointment. "Let the man finish, and you shall see. Continue, James."

"Not only does this map show the most secret and obscurely hidden passages of Hogwarts Castle, it also shows where all of the teachers are. You can see where anyone in the castle is."

"Wow," breathed Laci.

"Exactly." James was satisfied with the effect his performance had.

"So, here's the game plan. We are going to have our own private Hogsmeade weekend…"

"I'm not so sure about this," whispered Laci as they neared the statue guarding the passageway. "It's just that it's so risky… What happens if we get caught?"

"Laci, who do you think you're dealing with here? We are the masters of this school," Sirius exaggerated haughtily.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Well, in about six and a half years of breaking the rules, we've yet to be caught."

"Yeah, have a little faith, eh girls?" James smiled as he tapped the statue and it moved out of the way, revealing a dark hole in the stone wall. "Come on!" He led the way down into the long hall that would lead them to the storage room in the Three Broomsticks.

"Can we eat when we get there?" Peter piped up.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Perhaps."

After about ten minutes of walking, Bella asked, "How long is this thing, anyway? It looks like it goes on forever."

"Not much longer, love. I'll carry you if you like," Sirius hinted with a complete lack of subtlety."

"Relax, Bella. It's only a bit longer," Remus offered.

"Hey, who ever said I didn't want to be carried?" Bella pouted.

"Damn straight, Remus." Sirius whisked Bella into his arms. "Trust me, Bells, this passage goes on forever…" Bella giggled as Sirius spun her around in his arms.

"Oy, Sirius!" James turned back to address his friend. "You play leader for a bit, okay mate?" Sirius nodded, and James fell to the back to join Lily. "Hey Lily, why so quiet?"

"Oh, hey James. Sorry, I'm just a little distracted."

"Why's that?" James asked with concern.

"Just a dream I had last night. I'm not exactly sure what it was about either," Lily confided.

"Who was in it?" James inquired curiously.

"Well, you were. And me too. But we weren't really ourselves." James looked puzzled. "I mean, we weren't acting like ourselves. All of our friends were happy and talking to each other and laughing, but not us," Lily explained. "I don't know, it's probably nothing. But there was just this feeling of sadness and loneliness that I can't shake off."

"It's okay Lils. We're good. And we're about to have an amazing time at Hogsmeade without the maniacal hordes of students rushing about." James grinned.

Lily laughed. "You sound like Sirius."

Just then, Sirius yelled from the front of the line, "We're here!" Everyone rushed forward to go through the trap door that would lead them to Hogsmeade.

"Wow," Vita spoke up. "How did you guys manage to keep this a secret for so long?"

"We're pretty good at keeping secrets," Remus responded cryptically.

Vita looked confused for a moment, but shook it off. "So, Laci, still unsure about this?"

"No! Now I'm just really excited! Think of all the extra shopping this gives us."

"Just remember, we have to be back by dinner. If all eight of us are missing, Dumbeldore'll get pretty suspicious, and I don't even want to know what kind of ideas Snape will try to put in his head." James grimaced.

"Don't worry, Jimmy. He'll be far too busy itching." Sirius grinned mischeviously.

"Siri, you didn't…" Bella's eyes widened. "I can't believe you! That poor boy… Not that he doesn't deserve it, of course."

"Of course I don't deserve it! You know I hate being called Jimmy!" James shouted.

"Um, James?" Bella rolled her eyes.

"Yeah Belle?"

"I wasn't talking about you, you egotistical prat." Bella smacked him playfully on the back of the head.

"Oh, right." James looked up. "Back to business then. We should go in pairs. Sir, you and Bella first. I don't want the crazy one anywhere near me…" he joked. "Then Peter and Laci, followed by Remus and Vita. Me and Lils will be out last. We can all meet in the Three Broomsticks for Butterbeers in ten minutes. Okay everyone?"

"Yes, fearless leader." Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Just go, Sir," sighed James. "Bella, you keep him in line!"

"Of course." Bella grinned devilishly. "Let's go," she said, grabbing Sirius' hand and pulling him under the trap door.

"Hey, aren't trap doors like mistletoe?" Sirius inquired with a mischievous smile.

"Oh, you'll just do anything-" Bella was cut off by an overly hormonal Sirius. "Sirius!" she shrieked, trying to fight off her much larger boyfriend. "Come on, there's plenty of time for that later. We're holding everyone up." Bella wouldn't say it out loud, but she really wouldn't have minded staying there with Sirius, under the trap door pretending to be mistletoe.

Once everyone had finally gotten into the Three Broomsticks and ordered butterbeers, they discussed their plans for the day. All of the girls wanted to go shopping for new robes for the end of year ball Lily had told them about. Peter wanted to go to Honeydukes, and the other three boys wanted to hit the joke shop, as usual.

"Come on Pete, come to Zonko's with us," Sirius coaxed. "We can go to Honeydukes on the way out. We all have to meet there anyway."

"That's right," James said. "Five o'clock. We have to make sure we're back by dinner. Don't be late. Then we can go down into the passage in pairs again."

"Okay then," Sirius said. "Have fun girls!" He gave Bella a kiss on the cheek. "See you later, love."

After a few hours of shopping, everyone met up at Honeydukes as planned. The boys were each carrying bags bearing the Zonko's store logo.

"Why didn't you girls buy anything?" Remus asked, gesturing towards their empty hands.

"Everything is being held in the shop. We didn't want to carry nice robes through the passage all the way back," Vita explained.

"Right," Bella said.

"Okay, now that we're all here, back to school," James told them

Everyone made their way down to the secret passage to get back to Hogwarts. They made it just in time to hide their purchases in their trunks and get down to join the other students for a nice feast for dinner.

It's been forever, huh? Sorry!!! I feel really bad... I just let time slip away from me. But I promised my good friend Bella that I would update this weekend, so this chapter is dedicated to her, once again. Please review! I'll try to get up another chapter soon!