That afternoon, Lily walked out of the Hospital Wing to join Emma and Katy in Advanced Potions. She was extremely happy to be going back to her normal life, or as normal as it could ever get. She just wanted to sit next to Emma and Katy and learn Potions… or make fun of Snape. But she soon realized that was not going to possible. As soon as she walked into the classroom, all the meaningless talking that was taking place before class began abruptly stopped. All eyes were now looking at Lily. She stood still for a second, looked for Emma and Katy, saw that neither one of them was there yet, and bolted out of the room.

James saw the whole thing. He sat motionless, not knowing what to do. Should he run after her? Or would she just hate him even more? But before James could even make a decision, Remus rushed out of the room to follow Lily.

"Lily?" he questioned when he saw her slumped against the wall, sitting on the floor.

"What?" she harshly retorted before looking up. "Oh, Remus, it's only you. Sorry," she corrected herself once she had seen who was talking to her.

"What's wrong?" he asked, sitting next to her.

"Didn't you see that? Was I just imagining that everyone was talking about me?" she sighed.

"I wish I could tell you that you had gone crazy and that you were imagining it, but em… they were. Sorry," he answered.

"Sorry?" she looked at him. "Why should you be sorry? You didn't do anything."

This time it was Remus who sighed. He had been thinking about it for a long time and had decided what he had to do. It was the right thing to do, but also the hardest.

"Yes, I did. Actually this whole thing is my fault."

Lily looked at him with interest and tacitly urged him on. Remus, encouraged by her interest and not instant anger, continued.

"When I was little, I got bitten by a werewolf. And… well, you know what happens. You happened to catch me at a particularly bad time of the month. I am so sorry, Lily. I understand if you never want to be friends with me again." And with that closing statement, Remus stood up and left without a word from Lily.

Lily sat on the ground trying to comprehend what Remus had just told her. At first, she was angry. She was angry that Dumbledore would allow such a dangerous creature to be at Hogwarts. Lily suddenly gasped at what she had just thought. Remus was not a creature. He was a human being, an extremely talented wizard, a young man with a tiny problem. He was the Remus she had always known, just a little different. Lily was a well-read witch and she knew the effects of being a werewolf. She knew that once he became a… well a beast, he had no control. She was suddenly embarrassed for her ignorant, stupid actions. Her potions professor suddenly appeared outside the classroom.

"Miss Evans, will you be joining us?" he asked. To Lily he sounded reprimanding, but he was really just concerned.

"Of course, Professor," Lily responded, jumping up and following him into the classroom.

As she entered the classroom for the second time, Lily walked with her head held high. Emma and Katy were still not in the room and Lily was starting to wonder where they were. She sat at one of the only three available seats at a table by herself. And soon she couldn't even hear the constant whispering around her. Suddenly, to classroom door swung open and Katy and Emma burst in.

"Sorry, we're late, Professor!" apologized Emma.

"Yeah, we ran into a bit of a problem on the way to class," muttered Katy while shooting a glare at Sirius. Sirius looked back at her with a look of complete shock.

"Why, LeCompte! What on earth do you mean?" he exclaimed in a loud voice.

"BLACK, YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN!" Katy yelled in frustration.

"Miss LeCompte, Mr. Black, silence or I will give you detention," interfered their potions professor.

Katy and Emma plopped down in the two empty seats next to Lily.

Lily wrote a quick note Emma, who was sitting next to her.

What did he do?

Emma wrote a long response.

Well, we wanted to go see you in the Hospital Wing after lunch but we knew that we would be late so Black told us a short cut. Oddly enough when we took the short cut through a hallway we had never been down before we ended up in front of the kitchens, so we started to run to Potions when we slipped in a HUGE puddle of water and got soaking wet. We dried ourselves with a spell but no sooner had we dried ourselves than the puddle came off the floor and dumped itself on us. So we had to dry ourselves again and NOW we are late.

After reading the note, Lily gave Katy and Emma a pitying look and realized that their hair was still wet. She sighed and glanced over at Sirius. He kept looking over at Katy and Emma and LAUGHING!!! Ok…. Now she was mad! No one messes with her best friends and gets away with it. Her thoughts were interrupted when she got another note.

By the way, WE'RE SO GLAD YOU'RE BACK!!!!!!!!

Love, em and katy

Lily smiled. She really did have great friends. And Black had screwed them over. She was definitely going to do something. But what?

Lily sat in the commons staring into the fire after classes were over. It was now three days before the Ball. Lily was worried Potter hadn't prepared everything that he said he had. But she wasn't really in the mood to talk to him. She remembered that she was really angry with him but for some odd reason, she couldn't remember why. And that made her feel really stupid and immature. So it was better to just not talk to him at all.

"Hey, Lils," she heard a murmur behind her.

Suddenly, Danny's arms were around her. Lily smiled.

"Hey," she whispered. She was surprised. Usually when Danny was being at all seductive she got butterflies in her stomach, now she wasn't. Maybe it was just an after affect of a "life altering event" or something.

"So did you hear what happened to Katy and Emma? It was funny, but not cool cuz they're your friends and all," Danny said, pulling out of seductive mode.

Lily almost fell over in surprise. She had just gotten out of the Hospital Wing after nearly DIEING! And all he could talk about was Emma and Katy? He couldn't ask how she was feeling? Tell her that he had missed her? That he was glad she was back? That he was scared when he almost lost her? This was too much insensitivity to take.

"EMMA AND KATY? You're not going to ask me how I am? Not going to even mention that I almost died?" she exclaimed, pushing him off her.

"What? But, Lily, I know you're okay. You're out of the Hospital Wing, aren't you? And you know I love you. You don't need me to tell you that. When did you become one of those girls?" he questioned.

"What kind of 'girls' are you talking about?" Lily countered.

"You know, the kind that always need their boyfriend to tell them they love them, that their pretty, that they are the most important person in their boyfriend's life. The needy, desperate girls who are too self-centered to be in a real, loving relationship. When did you become one of them?" he explained, his voice continually raising.

"MOST of those girls haven't almost died. MOST of those girls actually heard their boyfriend tell her he loves her more than once a month. MOST of those girls aren't me. And don't you EVER call me needy, desperate or self-centered again. Because not even a boyfriend has that right. And you're not even my boyfriend anymore," Lily hissed. And with that final statement, Lily turned on her heel and walked back to the Commons, leaving Danny in the dust.

As Lily entered the Commons, she couldn't quite figure out how she felt. She was disappointed that Danny hadn't cared more, which led her to be angry. And those words he had said stayed with her. Was she really becoming a clingy, needy, dependent person? That was definitely not who she wanted to be. And as she sat in front of the fire and looked inside herself, she realized that she was not completely dependent on anyone. She was Lily Evans, independent Head Girl of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Was that really it? Was that all she was?

That little spat she had had with Danny led to way to many questions about who she was and who she wanted to be. It was almost too much to handle. Lily sighed in exasperation. Then she realized, with a start, that she was single. Or was she? Was that just a meaningless fight? Or were she and Danny officially over? Well, whatever they were, Lily still didn't want to see him right away. She couldn't really prove him wrong unless she knew that he was. And she wouldn't know that until she knew who she was. Lily sighed again. She just wanted to stop thinking about this. She looked around the Commons, hoping to find something to divert her from her thoughts. No one was in the Commons except the Marauders. Realizing she would rather fake a smile with them then sit alone with her thoughts, Lily got up and sat next to Remus.

"Hey, Lily," Remus greeted.

"Hi, guys," Lily answered. "So what are you up to? It's a little too quite over here."

"Oh, so that's why you came over…" mumbled James.

"What did you just say, Potter?" Lily snapped.

"Chill out, guys. Let's not start a fight," Remus intervened.

"Fine. I didn't say anything, Evans," James coolly replied.

"Hmph. That's what I thought. Anyway, no one told me what you guys are up to," Lily continued, trying her best to be nice.

"We can't really tell you. It's a SECRET!!" said Sirius in a stage whisper. He grinned as he put his finger up to his lips.

Lily suddenly felt very left out and looked down into her lap. She almost slapped herself on the arm for feeling that way. Feeling left out meant you relied on someone else to make you happy. And Lily relied on no one else for her emotions. That was normal, independent Lily. Not this weird "new" Lily, Lily didn't understand. She suddenly looked up, for no other reason than she felt awkward. James met her gaze immediately. It was obvious he had been looking at her and he had an odd look on his face, his head was slightly cocked to one side and he had a small smile playing at the corners of his lips. But his eyes conveyed something of concern.

The awkward trance the two were in was slowly being recognized by the other Marauders. Luckily, before anyone was tactless enough to ask what was going on (it would have been Sirius) Emma and Katy came bursting through the door to the Commons. This was enough to break Lily from her trance and she looked up at her two friends.

"Hey, guys," Lily greeted.

"Um, Lils, what are you thinking? You're fraternizing with the enemy," Katy whispered in Lily's ear.

"Well, if they don't think we're mad at them, it will be a much better prank," Lily improvised.

"Brilliant!" Emma remarked. "Hey, boys! How are you?" Emma said, very kindly.

"You're not um… mad at us?" Sirius asked. And although he sounded ashamed, the twinkle in his eye revealed something else.

"Of COURSE not," Katy cooed.

"Why would we be mad at you?" Emma continued, looking directly at Remus. She didn't realize any possible reason that anyone (a.k.a. Lily) might be angry at Remus. But Remus did, and he immediately looked at Lily. She smiled at him as a reply.

"There's no one in the world who could be mad at you," she said looking at Remus, "… no matter how stupid you are," she added looking at Sirius and James. Remus sighed gratefully as Lily sat next to him.

"Thanks, Lily, I'm so glad…" Remus began under his breath.

"I understand, Remus. Everyone has their problems," Lily interrupted.

For the millionth time that week, Remus felt so lucky to be surrounded by such loving, understanding friends.

"So, Potter, how's the Ball going to be?" Lily asked, changing the subject. She was sure he was going to ruin her…. er Emma and Katy's brilliant plan.

"Bloody fantastic! I'm sure it will all be great," James replied with a huge grin. "And, Sirius, because I'm Head Boy and planned this Ball… NO SPIKING THE PUNCH!!"

"And by 'no' you really mean do it, right? Don't worry, mate. I'm on it!" replied Sirius as he sided next to Emma on the couch. "Speaking of the Ball, Miss Rogers, I haven't yet picked the lovely lady who gets to accompany me. Would you like to be that lucky lady?" he asked her in a low voice with a suave grin that never failed to win him a girl's heart. No one heard him except Emma.

At first she was angry. This was two nights before the Ball. How did he know that she didn't already have a date? Then she felt desperate and happy because she actually DIDN'T have a date. Then, the most important emotion, she felt suspicious. This was Sirius Black. How could she ever take him seriously?

"Ha. Ha. Black, you amaze me with your humor. Why don't you go ask a slutty, brainless girl? I hear Rachel Starp is still available," Emma finally answered, with sarcasm in her dry humor.

Sirius just looked at her blankly. Finally he gave a little chuckle, but his eyes didn't seem to be as merry as usual. Well, maybe she was the first to ever reject him. Or maybe she caught his bluff and he felt upset. Whatever the reason, Emma decided it must not be too pertinent because a minute later, Sirius was laughing with Peter at the chess board. Emma just sighed and rolled her eyes. That boy was never going to grow up.

After chatting with the boys a little bit more, Lily, Katy and Emma decided to go up to bed. As they lie in their beds, the room was silent. Lily didn't tell her friends that she was possibly single. Emma didn't tell her friends that Sirius has asked her out. And Katy didn't tell her friends about the weird feeling she got in her stomach every time she looked at Remus.

"Guess what," Katy said to Lily as the three amigos walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast the next morning.

"What?" Lily asked, utterly bored and not expecting anything interesting.

"We figured out our own way to torture Black," announced Emma triumphantly. "We actually didn't need you to be the brains behind our scheme this time."

"Yeah, Emma thought of the idea and I found it in one our books this morning while you were in the shower," Katy added.

Lily acted proud and happy, but on the inside, she was crying. Great! So her boyfriend didn't need her, her friends didn't need her, who did need her?

"So are you going to tell me what it is?" asked Lily, bravely caring on her happy façade.

"Nope! You get to see it with the rest of the school," replied Katy, smugly.

"THE REST OF THE SCHOOL! Awww… come on! I'm your best mate!" Lily whined.

"That's right. And we love you. And we can't wait to see the look on your face when you see our surprise for Black," answered Emma.

"Why Sirius? What about the rest of the Marauders?" asked Lily.

"Black is obviously behind the whole scheme, as usual," replied Emma obviously. "This will get him back for playing with people and toying with their feelings," she added under her breath. No one heard her.

So Lily sat expectantly through the rest of breakfast until it happened. All of the sudden a large bubble appeared over Sirius' head and started depicting… scenes. Obviously scenes of Sirius' worst memories. Being the selfish, self-centered boy he was, most of them were just really embarrassing moments: falling off his broom in first year, losing a duel to a Slytherin, showing up to class without clothes on under his robe besides his boxers, etc. Sirius kept his hands over his eyes but parted his fingers so that he could see.

But then a couple scenes came up that weren't quite that funny. First, Sirius was standing in front of a man that looked extremely like him.

"No! I don't care if you're my father. I will never join him! You can't make me," Sirius was shouting.

"Son, you leave us no option. You are no longer welcome at our home. Pack your belongings and leave. I don't care where you go. Just go," said the man Lily gathered to be Sirius' father. She was amazed at the absence of remorse in his words.

"I don't want anything of yours. I'm gone now. Good-bye, sir. I hope I never see you or your family ever again," Sirius said. "Accio broom!" he whispered. His broom suddenly appearing at his side, Sirius mounted it and took off.

The scene faded out and another scene appeared.

It was late ate night and a very tired Remus, Sirius, James and Peter were walking towards the Potter Mansion.

"It was bloody awesome!" James was yelling.

"When that bludger knocked the seeker off his broom right before he caught the snitch I almost jumped for joy!" Sirius added with a huge grin on his face.

"Traitor," Peter commented. Sirius shot him a deathly glare.

"You know what he meant, Padfoot. It's not natural for an Englishman to be cheering for Bulgaria against England at the Quidditch World Cup," Remus quickly interfered.

Sirius backed down and tried to enjoy the night.

"It was such a perfect night for it, too. No rain. Not a cloud in si…" Sirius suddenly trailed off as he looked up at the sky. The other boys looked up and all of them stopped walking. For in the sky above the boys was the Dark Mark. James broke into a run toward the house.

"Mum? Dad? Sammy? Samantha? Where are you guys?" James was yelling and yelling, not really expecting an answer. He was running through the house tearing apart couches and curtains, pushing aside tables and chairs. Sirius, Remus and Peter were standing in the doorway, watching the whole thing. Finally, they heard an end to James' running upstairs. They could only guess what that meant and they ran upstairs after him.

When they found James, he was kneeling on the ground, staring at the bodies of his dead family. His face was dry and he was silent. Sirius separated himself from the group of friends and walked towards James. And though he was standing, Sirius began crying, because the Potter's had been his family too.

Finally this scene ended. By this time everyone was looking, not at Sirius, but at James, Lily included. James, unable to bear the attention and the memory, left the Great Hall and headed up to the Head Dormitories. Lily watched him and felt really guilty. She knew she hadn't done anything but her friends had. They had gone way too far. Lily looked at Katy and Emma. Katy, always the emotional one, had tears in her eyes. Emma was dry eyed, but both girls had sunk lower in their seats and wear staring at their food.

Though everyone thought that the morbid scene they had just seen was it, they were wrong. Even Emma and Katy looked up when they realized there was another scene.

Sirius, Remus, James and Peter were just lounging in the Gryffindor Commons in the beginning. Suddenly Lily came in. She greeted them and sat down next to Remus, who seemed surprised. James and Lily began to argue and then Remus settled them down. Lily just sighed. Sirius said something about a secret. Then Lily and James entered in a weird sort of trance. The rest of the Marauders picked up on it and were staring at the two, waiting for them to snap out of it or start making out then and there. Finally Emma and Katy walked in, though a viewer of the scene from Sirius' point of view only saw Emma. Only Lily knew Katy was there. And everyone else figured it out when she finally spoke and the focus moved to her. Eventually, the scene only involved Sirius and Emma. Off to the side, the audience heard someone say something about the upcoming Ball.

"Speaking of the Ball, Miss Rogers, I haven't yet picked the lovely lady who gets to accompany me. Would you like to be that lucky lady?"

There was a pause for a moment before Emma said anything. During that pause,

Any viewer could see that behind Sirius' suave grin was an immense amount of genuine hope.

"Ha. Ha. Black, you amaze me with your humor. Why don't you go ask a slutty, brainless girl? I hear Rachel Starp is still available," Emma finally answered.

Sirius chuckled and fell back into a slump in his seat. He had never felt this way before.

Later the girls had left and Remus and James were playing chess. Peter had disappeared as well, though no one really knew where he was. He said he had a meeting or something. Sirius, feeling so depressed, told his friends, who had kept asking him what was wrong, what had happened between Emma and himself.

"Haha. Well, Sirius, this is what it feels to get turned down," James joked. Remus joined in with a chuckle.

"I don't know guys. This is different. If it was just that I wouldn't be this upset. Honestly, I could find another girl more than willing to go with me in a hearbeat. But the odd this is… I wanted Emma to go with me." Sirius sighed. And the scene faded out.

Emma tried her hardest to disappear. Apparently her hardest wasn't enough because, with her eyes shut tight, she could feel all the stares on her. She quickly got up and ran out of the Great Hall. Lily and Katy rushed after her.

"Uh, way to tell us that Sirius had asked you out last night," Katy said as soon as they had caught up with Emma.

"Yeah! We're your best mates! We should know when you crush a bloke's heart like that," Lily added.

"Yeah, right. Like I actually broke his heart," Emma scoffed.

"Emma, that is B.S and you know it!" Katy replied.

"How do you know?" asked Lily giving Katy a questioning look.

"Because Emma knows as well as I do that the spell we cast on Sirius with showed his worst memories from the least horrific to the most. EMMA'S TURN DOWN WAS HIS WORST MEMORY EVER!!! Even worse then… well, you saw," Katy said, drifting off on the last part.

"Wow, Emma. It seems you've tamed the beast!" exclaimed Lily.

"Don't get your hopes up. Listen, I've got to go think. I'll see you both later," Emma said. They both stood in the spots as she turned and walked away.

"And as much as I don't want to, I should probably go check on Potter," added Lily. And with that she turned and walked in the opposite direction of Emma, towards the Heads Commons, where she guessed James must be.

Katy stood there, alone in the hallway.

"Great," she whined. "What am I supposed to say to Professor McGonagall?"

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AN- A version of the idea of the scene thing above Sirius' head has definitely been used before. If you're reading this and one of your stories or a story you know of has that same sort of thing in it, please tell me the name of the author so I can give them the credit they deserve! AND PLEASE…. R E V I E W!!!! and sorry this took me so long to review… oh an read prongsie.jr… GREAT STORY!!! And thanks to read-on, Super Cara, Her EmeraldEyes, james-s2-lily and of course prongsie.jr for ur reviews! Ur awesome!