Author's Note: Chapter 8! I'm very excited by the amount of reviews and support I've been getting. I love you all!! SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CHAPTER, SO READ IT PLEASE!! Oh, and I should also mention that I do not own Harry Potter. So before you sue me, let me just make that clear. I OWN NOTHING!!

The score-board was now reading:

Marauders: 127

Marauderesses: 126

The entire school checked it every Saturday, and they were now in their fourth week of pranking. Last week had been quite the week, the Marauderesses playing a tape of Sirius' singing over the entire intercom and the Marauders stealing all of the teacher's underwear and hanging them on the chandelier in front of the Great Hall.

Quidditch had started and on top of Head's duties, James had to Captain his team, driving Lily absolutely nuts because there was never any time to sit and talk to him anymore. They tried to make times on weekends to hang out and do homework, but that was when prank planning was necessary.

Angelina was still a he/she, and berated everyone to tears with supreme bitchiness. Lily had a haunch that she would crack eventually, but for now, she was still as hairy as could be.

She actually did crack eventually. It happened on the morning of the first Hogsmeade trip, just as the older students of the school were starting to line up outside.

Lily and James were at the front of the crowd, ushering excited third years through the security proceedings as Filch jammed the security sensor into every ones stomachs.

Suddenly, there was a commotion up ahead. Lily gave James an exhausted roll of the eyes and started to the front of the crowd, which was not moving.

"Oi! You!" Lily shouted to the person screaming and ranting, "Start walking!"

She blinked when she saw Angelina raise a mega-phone to her mouth and yell, "The Marauderesses are the coolest and are sure to win the prankwar! They have my vote!"

Suddenly, Angie's body began to convulse and the hair on her body began to fall to the ground. The crowd stepped back as she molted not just her hair, but her clothes as well. Screams of horror erupted from the back of her throat as she ran; the only bit remaining on her was the "souvenir", a uni-brow.

The crowd burst into laughter as the prep ran, bare naked. Lily could have sworn she heard Sirius yell, "Wow, dinner and entertainment! What a party!"

James grinned at Lily and she beamed back and they told the students they were free to go to Hogsmeade. Lily began to make her way through the hoard of third years towards her fellow Head, but her friends linked their arms through hers, steering her in the opposite direction of James.

"But, I need to be with him!" Lily cried, much to her own surprise. She had been avoiding her friends lately, after the closet incident, but it was impossible to stay mad at the only girls who made her feel happy.

"No Jamesie today. No Marauders. We have a mission to carry out Miss Evans." Gracie said in an "as a matter of fact" voice.

"What's the mission?" Lily asked fearfully, hoping her friends weren't going to make her do something drastic.

"Well, let's see. Besides pranks, what have you been planning in the last couple weeks?"

"The ball?" Lily guessed uneasily.

"And what, dare I ask, is coming up in exactly two weeks?" Gracie said, tucking her scarf around her neck tighter. (It was getting chilly out.)

"The ball." Lily said, sure of herself this time.

"And what do you not have a formal dress for?"

"I am not wearing a formal dress to the ball." Lily said flatly, walking ahead of her friends and dislodging their arms from hers.

"Oh yes you are. What else would you wear?"

"Well, Professor Dumbledore said that I only have to be there to supervise, meaning I can show up in slacks and a blouse."

"Are you crazy?" Emma exploded, eyes bulging in disbelief.

"The first dance that can be formal and you are not going to dress up?" Gracie said, both her and Emma catching up to Lily's power-stride.

"I just don't want to. Besides, what's the point of going to a dance without a date?"

"Might I remind you, Lily, we are the Marauderesses. Men are below us. We don't have to worry about dates, because boys should beg to go with us." Gracie said, her brown eyes distant and filled with something that almost looked like regret for saying that.

"We'll go as friends. Plus, it's a dance in which we are paired up with someone to dance with. How could it be so bad? Maybe your beloved James will sweep you off your feet." Emma prompted.

At this, she earned a withering glare from Lily.

"Despite that glare, we are going to buy dresses. And for once in this whole Goddamn year, we are not going to care about how fat it makes us look." Gracie joked, giving Lily a one armed hug.

The red-head laughed, thoughts of being a single dateless dweeb vanished from her mind.

"How about this one?" Gracie asked teasingly, holding up a pink dress with extremely puffy sleeves.

"Pink looks awful with my hair! Are you kidding me Gracie?" Lily shouted, leaning over the rack and knocking the dress out of her friend's hands.

"C'mon Lily, we've all bought a dress except you. It's not that big of a deal!"

"Oh yes it is! I have to look absolutely perfect, no ifs ands or buts." Lily said sniffily, poking Emma.

"Why do you have to look so perfect?"

"Because I... I don't know." Lily said, sitting confusedly on the dress shop floor, "I just do."

"Is it a boy?" Gracie asked slyly, looking as innocent as possible.

"Like I would tell you if it was." Lily scoffed jokingly.

"We, may I add, are your best friends. We would never tell anyone who you liked!" Emma said, slipping her arm comfortingly around Lily's shoulders.

Lily actually thought about it, and then shook her head. "I don't even know if I like this guy myself."

"Well when you do, will you promise to tell us who it is?"

Lily looked up at her friends, the only two girls who believed her theory that men are the lowest form of life, the only people who ever cared whether her socks were purple or not (apart from James).

"I promise." She whispered, standing up and sifting through the dress rack again.

Suddenly, she felt a thump to the floor.

Crap, she thought, I knocked a dress off.

She stood and held the dress up.

"Oh my God." Gracie said, dropping the dress that was currently in her hands.

"That's the one." Emma said, nodding approvingly.

"I haven't even tried it on yet." Lily protested.

"Then why not now?" Gracie said, shoving Lily into the dressing room.

Lily looked the dress over, her eyebrow quirking slightly as her hands ran over the fabric. She took a deep breath and pulled it over her nearly naked body.

She dared herself to look in the mirror and gasped.

She didn't look that incredibly bad.

This will definitely draw James' attention, if not everyone else's.

What if I don't want him to notice me?

Shut up and go show your friends.

"Lily! We're waiting Missy!" Gracie called form outside the door, rapping her knuckles sharply on it.

Lily walked out to two shocked-as-hell faces.

"Lily, you are..." Emma said, lost for words.

"It's really not that different." Lily said, placing a well practiced hand on her hip.

"You are a sex-goddess my friend. Wait till those boys see you. Screw Angelina, you, my dear, are in for a treat." Gracie said, circling Lily like a vulture.

Lily blushed and looked down.

"I feel girly for once in my life." She said, twisting a piece of hair around her finger.

"You have a right to. Just wait till we do your makeup and hair." Emma said.

"But...but our policy!" Lily spluttered, eyes widening.

"We'll be doing it as well. If it's a group effort it doesn't count. Plus, wouldn't you like to surprise people by actually wearing makeup and looking like a girl?" Gracie said, taking the dress up to the counter.

Lily had nothing to say to that.

"Well Prongs, now that we've bought our dress robes, I say that we deserve a butter-beer." Sirius said, flexing his fingers as he pushed open the door to Madame Rosemerta's.

"Or two."

"Or three."

"Or four." James finished after Peter and Remus.

"Excellent. Now, on a further note, we would like to turn our attention to one Lily Evans." Sirius said easily as the four boys sat their signature table in the corner of the Three Broomsticks.

"Um... on a further note, let's don't and say we did." James said, shifting in his seat uncomfortably.

"You're not gonna get off easy, mate. Plus, you haven't said anything about her since the closet incident." Sirius replied.

James groaned and banged his head on the table, just as the curvy Rosmerta came over to the table.

"What can I do ya for, gents?" She said, winking at Sirius as he smiled sexily at her.

"Four butter-beers, please." Remus said, looking sick as he watched Sirius' blatant flirting techniques.

"Alright. They'll be right up." She said lazily, giving a floozy smile and sauntering away.

"So, what about Evans?" Peter asked casually, causing James to glare at him.

"There is nothing I can say about Lily." James replied, as if the current topic was actually boring him.

"Oh yes there is. You could tell us what you whispered in her ear in the closet."

"Padfoot, I wouldn't tell you if your good looks depended on it." James spat, placing his head on the table again.

"I am very offended." Said Sirius, dramatically placing a hand on his heart.

While James had his head on the table and his eyes closed, Sirius mouthed to Remus, 'What now?'

'I'll take it from here.' Remus mouthed back, nodding his head in thanks as Rosmerta laid the drinks on the table.

"So, James. Could you answer one question? And it has nothing to do with the closet incident."Remus said, patting James on the shoulder.

"What?" James asked, raising his head from the table groggily.

"What do you feel around Lily as a friend? And answer honestly."

James looked at his friends, downed his butter-beer in one gulp and said, "Lily is one of those people who make it impossible to feel only one emotion at once when around them."

"And?" Sirius prodded, as James chugged some more butter-beer.

"Sh-She'd drive anyone so crazy they wouldn't know whether to hug her or arm wrestle her. She's real and lively and full of some kind of puissance that keeps me wanting more and more the further I go with her in this friendship. I just...can't seem to let go of her."

"You mean you still love her?" Peter whispered excitedly/

"No, but I am reconsidering it." James said with a twisted and strained smile.

"YEAH BABY!!" Screamed Sirius, doing a victory dance in his seat.

"What is so good about this?" James asked, paying for another butter-beer.

"Nothing. Just, uhhh, we thought you were actually giving up on Evans for a minute or so."

"When that happens Padfoot, I give you permission to sell me as a personal slave to any girl in the school." James replied, dipping his head in laughter.

"I could use a personal slave." Gracie said as she walked over to the table with Lily and Emma in tow, all of them carrying bulky bags.

"I would be happy to be your personal slave. Especially if I'm allowed to sleep in your dorm, Gracie." Sirius said, fluttering his eyelashes at Gracie who rolled her eyes at him and said, "You are pathetic, Black. Absolutely pathetic."

Lily sidled in next to James, giving him a humorous wink as he grinned at her.

"What's in the bags, girls?" Remus asked, picking up Emma's bag and looking at it quizzically.

"Nothing, just girl stuff." Lily said, whacking the bag out of his hand and into Emma's lap.

"Oh...that stuff. Lily, is it that time of month again for you?" James asked, as Lily took a sip of his butter-beer as if it were her own.

"You guys are on your periods?!" Sirius yelled, looking at Gracie as if she had leprosy or something.

Gracie looked blankly at him for a moment, before taking his drink and dumping its contents on his head.

"Nice one, Grae." Emma said, leaning over and giving her friend a high-five over the table.

"Thank you. I rather liked doing it, you know." She said, looking over pitifully at Sirius, who was spluttering through his drenched body.

Lily, who was cracking up at a joke James whispered in her ear about Gracie and Sirius, turned and said, "Sirius darling, you should go clean up with that. I'm sure they are done with the repairs in the prefect's bathroom. The password's 'Puddle muddle'."

As Sirius sauntered out of the bar, Emma suddenly nodded at Gracie, Peter and Remus and said, "Well, I've got a lot of work to catch up on. See ya back up at the castle."

Lily thought that odd, because she remembered Emma saying she had finished all of the work on Friday, but before she could say anything about it, her friend had left.

"Well, I'll just have to go help her." Gracie said, walking off with a single meaningful (though not understood) glance in a bewildered Lil's direction.

Remus and Peter left shortly after, complaining about the too-smoky air in the pub. Before they had realized it, Lily and James were stuck alone. Again.

"Do you ever realize that this happens quite often? That our friends become suddenly busy or ill and we are alone?" James said, looking at Lily with a playful smile.

"Don't ask me why, but they've got this weird idea that we are supposed to fall in love someday. As if that could ever happen." Lily said with a laughing scoff.

"Yeah, that would never happen. I mean, not that you aren't like-able, but you're my best friend Lils. If we went out it would be t-too...strange."

"Tell me about it." Lily said, the color of embarrassment rising in her freckly cheeks.

They sat there for a few seconds, just laughing at the absurdity of the idea.

"Hey, do you wanna go visit Harry?" James asked, standing up and stretching.

"Harry?" Lily asked, wondering who the bloody hell he was talking about.

"Remember? The moose we adopted! You named him!"

Lily's eyes widened as she remembered that day, which had also the day of the closet incident.

"Yeah, let's go." Lily said, standing up and putting a few galleons on the table.

James put his arm around Lily's shoulder.

It's almost like a date...He thought as they walked down the streets of Hogsmeade.

Except you can't bloody snog the girl senseless. The voice in his head replied saucily.

"Okay, so tell me...milk or dark chocolate?" James asked, opening the gate to Hagrid's front yard.

"Dark, because it is more deep and brings forth more pleasure, in my opinion." Lily said, pulling her hat around her ears, which were freezing from the chilly winds.

For reasons unknown to either of them, it had taken Lily and James forty-five minutes to walk a short distance. They had talked a lot, but had it really been all that distracting?

"Hi Hagrid!" James called to the extremely tall man, who was bending over some garden sprouts.

"Ah, Lily 'n James! How'ya been, you two!" The man called, giving them a gruff and painfully received hug.

"Fine Hagrid. Um, can we go see Harry please?" James begged, making a puppy dog face at which Lily laughed.

"Alrigh', alrigh', he's in the back. But beware; we got some nasty little Cabbage demons in the patch to the left o' the corral."

Lily followed James through the house and out the backdoor into the garden.

When they got to the corral, a smile spread across Lily's face that made James' heart flutter. The moose was just standing there, its big brown eyes innocent and curious.

"Hey there Harry. This is Lily, your mother. She named you, you know." James said, reaching out and stroking the moose's muzzle.

Lily stood there, smile remaining but her eyes betraying a hint of fear.

"C'mon Lily. He's your son and neglect is illegal." James said.

When she remained still, he reached out and grabbed her right, ungloved hand, guiding it to Harry's nose. When the moose rubbed against the hand in an affectionate way, she began to pet in confidently.

After a moment's content silence, she asked, "Who is the father?"

"I am." James said, as if being the father of an adopted moose was a major accomplishment in life.

"So, technically, in Harry's eyes I mean, we're a couple." Lily said, closing her eyes in a wince.

James stopped petting Harry and looked over at Lily softly, "I guess we are."

It was awkward then, neither of them knowing what to say.

"Well, for the sake of Harry, we have to keep this marriage strong." James said, releasing the tension by dramatically placing a hand on Lily's.

They stood petting him for a minute, and then James said, "I need to run to the bathroom. I'll be right back, darling wife." And with a flip of his messy hair, he was gone. Lily already missed him inside.

"Hi Harry." Lily said, offering the moose a carrot from the food bin on the outside of the corral. The big brown eyes blinked back at her in thanks.

"I'm not sure why I'm telling you this, but you know daddy? I think you are actually lucky to have him as a father, Harry."

Another blink.

"I'm not sure what it is about him. But...being with him is like forever and I never want it to end."

The moose nuzzled her out-stretched palm for another carrot.

She gave him one, and while he chewed it, leaned her head against his.

"Your daddy is a very amazing man, let me tell you." Lily said, dipping her head in acknowledgement.

"He loves and lives like it's his last day on earth. He cares about everything and everyone. He's lovely and never cruel like I once thought he was. He has this knowing sense about him of when to shut up and when to continue. He's one of the best friends I've ever had, and I haven't even just begun to get to know him."

Harry looked at her, undoubting and understanding. Suddenly, it was like she couldn't control keeping it in any longer. The emotions of weeks and weeks had built up and now were starting to descend in a land-slide.

Lily's green eyes watered and her lip wobbled slightly.

"Harry...I-I know that I've only known your father truly for about three months now, but...I-I just can't control myself when I'm around him. What I want is to be with him. W-...What I need is to be with him...but I...I can't just lay it all on him. He'd say I was too late, that I lost my chance. But...what I'm t-trying to day is..." She took a moment to gulp as the tears began to slide elegantly down her face.

"I...I love James Potter." Lily said, her voice barely a choked whisper as she scratched behind Harry's ears.

"I am completely and irrevocably in love with your dad, Harry." She said, her voice stronger as she brushed her tears aside hurriedly.

The moose let out low sort of grumble, which she took as a way of saying 'You didn't have to tell me. It was written all over your sappy little face, mum.'

She let out a gentle laugh at the thought of a talking moose, continuing to try and wipe away her tears, which were coming down spontaneously, with no reason at all.

"Harry dear, when you fall in love, make sure you don't do so with your best friend." She said, wiping a wet face on her sleeve.

"Who the bloody hell are you talking too?"

Lily's head snapped around to the end of the garden, where Angelina White stood, uni-brow plucked and thankfully, fully-clothed.

"No one. Myself." Lily said, trying to keep her eyes from narrowing instantly.

"Well," said Angelina with a flip of her hair, "I came here to talk to James. Is he here or not?"

Lily knew that it would be awful if she snapped back, oh but it was so tempting.

So she didn't say anything, and this time she did glare.

"You think you are so cool, Evans." Angelina spat, hopping over the fence rather ungracefully in her mini-skirt.

"I don't think, I know." Said Lily, mentally slapping herself when she realized that she had just used one of Sirius' comebacks.

"You slaggy bitch. You'll never be anything, you know that? Hanging with that purple-eyes freak Emma and the feminist transvestite Gracie. Lily, with those friends in tow, you'll never have James the way you want."

Lily felt a pang in her heart at each insult. She could usually take this kind of crap pretty well, but now that it involved James, she was reaching boiling point.

"Shut up." She growled, reaching inside her pocket for her wand.

"No, you shut up." The blonde mocked back, groping for her wand as well.

But before either of them could mutter a spell, James came out of the cottage.

"Hey ladies, what's all the fuss about?"

"JAAAMMMESIIEEE!!" Angie squealed, throwing herself around him and squeezing him to death, glaring at Lily as he turned away from the red-head.

"Um, I'll just go." Lily said loudly, shoving past James, who was still holding Angelina in his arms.

"Lily are you sure you don't want to stay with us and Harry?" James asked with a pleading look, though Lily thought it was just her imagination.

She almost did consider staying, but then she saw that James' arms were still around Angelina's waist. Jealousy filled her up and she clenched her fists.

"Yeah I don't mind! I've got a life to live! Bye Harry!" Lily yelled sarcastically, stalking up the path back to the castle.

What was that Evans? Go back and let that slut know that James is your man! The evil voice in her head screamed.

I can't. The submissive voice said back, I have to get out of here before I lose it completely and explode. Plus, I don't think Harry could bear seeing his mother have another break-down.

Yeah, speaking of break-downs, what was that back there?

God knows...Just PMS or something. The feeling will go away soon...

Sure it will.

By the time Lily had finished arguing with her internal self, she realized that she was sitting on the steps of the castle, hugging her knees to herself. Nothing seemed to make any sense. She used to be in control and now, she was in shambles. The desire to break her personal vow and finally fall in love was almost overpowering. But she just couldn't do it.

"I will not fall in love." Lily said firmly, jutting out her lower lip in a pout.

She rubbed her palms up and down on her arms to create some friction; it was getting quite freezing out.

The sun sank below the tree-tops of the Forbidden Forest and the little warmth that was left in the air was snuffed out.

"Need some company?" Her favorite voice asked. She hadn't even seen him approach, for she had been so lost in her thoughts.

"Honestly, I would like to be alone." Lily said, massaging her temples and breathing deeply so as to calm her erratic heartbeat.

He sat down anyway.

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but you have no choice in the matter." He said, eyes twinkling as he looked at her through his glasses.

"Please go away." Lily said, trying to lean away from his direction.

He simply hugged her to him and said, "As your best friend, I refuse to leave you alone. Especially in the freezing cold."

She glared at him, but couldn't suppress his contagious smile as it spread across her face. After a moment's contemplation, she gave up and placed her head on his shoulder.

As the sky continued to darken, they sat, either one occasionally shivering from the chilly winds.

"James?" Lily said quietly, not really knowing why she was speaking so softly.

"Mmm?" He asked, opening his peacefully closed eyes.

"Can I tell you a secret? You know, because we're best friends and all."

"Sure Lils, you know you can tell me anything. I promise I'll keep it a secret."

She sat up straight, looking at him with bright eyes despite the starless sky. James felt his chest contract as she shifted close, bringing her pink-with-cold lips to his ear. He felt her breath on his neck and face and closed his eyes. This was all he really needed. Having Lily close to him gave him such a rush of adrenaline that he could probably run a marathon.

"I am deathly afraid of the Giant Squid in the Black Lake." She whispered

A bark of laughter escaped his mouth before he could stop it. He was relieved to know that she was laughing as well. That was one of the things that made Lily so spectacular in his eyes; her rapid change of emotions was the thing that always surprised people about her the most.

"Well guess what my secret is?" He said, taking his hands in hers.

"What?" She questioned, shuddering as he shifted towards her and whispered in her ear.

"I scream like a girl every-time I get caught on a staircase that moves." He said, laughing at her aporetic look.

"Well, I would love to see that for myself." She whispered back, letting out a soft giggle.

Suddenly, he reached forward and tickled her and she screamed in shrill cachinnation. Squirming and trying to crawl away, Lily began to wheeze in silent laughter.

After several minutes of struggle, she managed to rasp, "Please let me go James! Please!"

He did, but kept her sitting on his lap. There noses were barely millimeters apart.

"It's um...nice to know we can count on each other when it comes to embarrassing secrets." James said, his big, rough but gentle hands covering Lily's.

"Yeah it is." She said, touching her forehead to his.

Any minute now...His head chanted.

"LILY! JESUS CHRIST WOMAN! WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!" Gracie screeched as she threw open the doors of the castle.

Lily and James thought it odd that she was solely accompanied by Sirius.

But before the red-head could explain where the hell she had been and why, the brunette had yanked her up off of James and yelled, "They are about to lock the castle bloody up! Are you bloody serious! You could get hypothermia and then we would all commit suicide because we felt so guilty about leaving you and this block head in this arctic weather!"

"I'm sorry Gracie. And I'm coming now, don't worry. But just for the record, I know that I would never get hypothermia because James would keep me warm."

Gracie opened her mouth but James cut her off, "I'm sorry mummy dearest, but I was the one who coaxed Miss Evans to stay out after her curfew. Please don't punish her."

Gracie's eyes barely softened at James' pathetic attempt to make her feel sympathy.

"Absolutely useless." She said, shaking her head with a wry smile, grabbing Lily's hand and leading her inside.

"Is there a reason it was only you and Gracie that came looking for us?" James asked Sirius sneakily.

"She wouldn't have been with me unless you guys were missing." His friend replied, "I don't even get that girl. I try to make light, meaningless conversation and she gives blunt, get-the-hell-away answers. I flirt and get kneed in the groin and slapped in the face."

"Pads, I absolutely forbid you to give up on Gracie. She may be a tough nut to crack, but I think she'll come around soon enough."

"Well what about you and Lily?"

"What about us?" James asked, checking to make sure the girls were well ahead so they couldn't listen in on the conversation.

"You obviously aren't over her."

James sighed in agreement as they walked into the common room.

"I'm trying to move on though. I'm dating someone." He said, not very surprised when Sirius tripped and fell onto the floor at Gracie's feet.

"Clumsy much?" She said, plopping down beside Lily, whose face had suddenly turned from flushed to ashen grey.

"You're dating, James?" She asked, eyes darting frantically around the room.

"Yeah. I hope its okay with you Lils." James said, looking worriedly down at his friend as Gracie nudged Sirius repeatedly with her foot.

"That depends on who you're dating." Lily said with a joking voice, though inside her heart was breaking with every word he said.

"Oh, it's Angelina White."

There was a silence in the room, minus the noise of Sirius leaping up and tackling Gracie down and tickling her sides as she screamed in both mirth and horror.

"That's fine James. You know your happiness matters to me the most." Lily said, trying her best to plaster a smile on her face.

It must have looked convincing enough, because he embraced her, saying, "Thanks Lils. You are the best friend a guy could ever have."

He pulled Sirius off the floor (Gracie had finally taken control of the situation and given him a well deserved treatment) and walked off to the Great Hall for dinner.

"So, what did I miss?" Gracie asked, cracking her just used knuckles.

Lily scrutinized the floor venomously for a moment before storming off to the dorm, stopping for a long enough time to say, "He found himself a girlfriend."

After the slam of the door, Gracie's face split into a smile as she threw herself back on the couch.

"You look happy. Did Sirius finally give up pursuit?" Emma asked, trotting over with a stack of various books in her arms.

"Even better." Gracie replied, popping a fizzing whizbee from Honeydukes into her mouth, "Lily is jealous of Jamesie's new girl.

"And?" Emma inquired, raising a single eye from her current page to her friend's face.

"Don't you know what this means?" Gracie shouted, sitting up and nearly throwing herself at Emma in exasperation.

"No I don't. What does it mean?"

"Em," the brunette began, her eyes glinting with the same mischievous sparkle that Emma knew was the exact same in Sirius' , "Our dear red-head, hard-ass, tough-as-nails friend, is finally cracking."

A/N: Okay, it's been a while, I know. I suck suck suck. But this is important so read carefully. I have a few things to sort out.

a) I didn't describe the ball gowns for a reason. You may think I'm an awful writer but I like to keep you all on the edge. Major descriptions of their looks will come later in a chapter where it'll count, you'll see.

b) I need at least 20 reviews if you really want me to be happy with you all. If I don't get 20 reviews, I think I'll kill off one of the characters. Maybe Gracie? Emma? No, I'm just kidding, no one will die, but reviews are very much loved and adored, as you already know.

c) Chapter 9 is almost done. I am very excited with this story and how it's turning out. As for pranks, there will be some, but they will be very low-key because I'm really trying to focus on the angst and emotional blockage that many of my characters are having. You saw some of it today in Lily, but next chapter we get some more insight on other characters and their emotions. It's going to be a bumpy ride, ladies and gents.

d) Okay this is the most important. You can now determine who will win the prankwar. All you have to do is leave me a nice lengthy review with a P.S. reading either Marauders or Marauderesses. I'll keep tallies and whoever gets the most will win the prankwar. If you are too lazy to review, then just PM me with the same P.S. If no one participates in this, I'll end the prankwar in a draw, because I love both sides so much. Refer to the consequences of losing in chapter three to help you decide.

Alright, so now that I've just written the longest Author's Note and chapter ever seen in this story, I'd like you to leave a little review. Please? Just press that little button in the corner. C'mon! Click it!