Lily scampered out of the Gryffindor Common Room clutching a stack of papers in her hands. She was so busy thinking that she didn't notice who was near her until she ran directly into them, tossing both of them on the ground like rag dolls.

"Bit of a hurry?" James Potter asked with laughter in his voice as he pulled her to her feet.

Lily laughed as she allowed him to pull her up. "Just a twidget."

"Twidget?" He echoed with a confused look.

"Twidget." Lily smiled up at him as she bent down to pick up their papers. He had been carrying a stack of notes that had been spilt upon the collision.

He leaned over beside her, helping her collect them. After a few seconds, she walked off towards the owlery to mail a letter and he walked into his bedroom to plan a very delightful prank.

James spread the papers out in front of him with a gleeful smile. There were so many things to think, so many plans to be laid. His letter to the Marauders was somewhere in the stack. The letter he'd written in desperation earlier but he didn't think of it now. He shuffled through his papers trying to find a list for the prank when he noticed a page he hadn't seen before.

He pulled it out of the stack, giving it a cursory glance. It wasn't his signature but it was familiar. He didn't recognize it until at the very end he read the name Lily Evans. He gasped as he looked it over again. With a somewhat guilty feeling, he settled down to read it.

Dear Petunia,

I know it's silly, me writing these letters that never get delivered but it's therapeutic. Years ago I would have sent them and waited eagerly for your reply. Now I send them to a room in the Leaky Cauldron. An empty room I've had reserved for ages. I send them and watch them add up over the years, all the letters I've written but never truly sent. I suppose I could just burn them, toss them into the fire after they're written but I don't want to. I read them and keep them like a diary. The room's rather well organized, in fact. Someday I'll burn them. Someday when I've graduated and living on my own (or married), I'll burn them all.

But until then I'll keep writing.

James Potter and I talked about Severus Snape. It was hard to see our friendship end. We were good friends until Hogwarts happened. But I'm glad it did. If I hadn't gone here, I'd never have met my friends.

Mary Macdonald's the most cunningly charming girl I've ever met. She's such a brilliantly hysterical girl. She's a Chaser for Gryffindor and nearly dating Sirius Black. Of course she's not sure if she wants to date him. Half of her does but the other half, that holds back.

I understand where she's coming from. Sirius and James are the heartbreakers of Hogwarts. They've broken the heart of every girl, nearly, here. It'd be hard to date one of them. They're so tight knit that dating one would mean dating nearly all of them and how silly would that be? Of course it could be kind of fun, having them around. They have loads of laughs and adventures. It could be fun. Who knows what it'd be like to date James Potter?

Speaking of James Potter, I think I've gone soft. I no longer dislike him. Au contraire, we're even friends. We had a nice long talk yesterday as I mentioned. He's a good listener and he even tried to reconcile me with Severus Snape, his sworn enemy. But of course James's is like that. He saved Sev's life. Did I tell you that? Severus can never get over that fact; he hates being in debt to James Potter. Of course I haven't the slightest idea what James saved him from but I'm sure someday he'll tell me.

According to Neala Waters, he's gone off me. I'm not quite sure why but he no longer fancies me. In theory these are words I've been longing to hear since, oh say, fourth year. But now that I've heard them… I can't decide if it's the idea of being fancied or him actually fancying me I'll miss. Now don't get me wrong, I haven't begun to fancy him or anything. It's just a bit awkward to think of him not fancying me. Come to think of it, he hasn't asked me out in ages. Not once since last year. I wonder why. Maybe I'm no longer as good-looking as I used to be? Or maybe I'm not what he thought I was. I'm sure he must have had a confused idea of me for such a long time, the unattainable Lily Evans. I must have only been a prize. I suppose since he and I are friends now he won it, almost. Seems like that's enough for him.

He's a good guy, really Tuney. I thought he was a lot worse than he is. We still bicker like children but it's amicable, happy bickering. We laugh when we do it. It's great fun. I can't believe I used to think he was foolish. Well I can but I mean, he's good foolish. He makes me laugh so much, Tuney. It's marvelous.

God, here I am going on and on about James Potter! I guess this letter's long enough. I'll send it to my empty room to wait for the day that flames will feast upon my words.

All my love,

Lily

James looked at the letter in his hand in shock while Lily, in the owlery, sat with a similar look upon her face.

She had been searching for her letter to Petunia. All of her papers lay scattered around her as she leaned against the brick wall. She had found a letter that didn't belong to her and it surprised her when she read it.

Padfoot, Wormtail, and Moony,

I know you'll kill me for going on about her, again, but I can't help it. She's always on my mind, even during our moonlight monkeyshines.

Now before I go down the long and depressing road that is love, I'll take a few moments to highlight the wonders of the word monkeyshines. Isn't it a great word? The synonyms are mischief, trouble, pranks, high jinks, shenanigans, and tom-foolery. Tom-foolery would be most apt at describing us because what we do, in essence, prepares us for fooling Lord Voldemort, the devil formerly known as Tom Riddle. See why tom-foolery is apposite? Look at all my big words, Moony! Aren't you quite proud of me? But I digress (another big word!). Monkeyshines is the best word because it just sounds so Marauder-esque.

So I spoke with her the other day. I was trying to be serious like you recommended, Moony. It was okay but then we got interrupted. She's a very busy girl. And no Padfoot, do NOT interpret that.

She's beautiful but it's not just her pretty face. No, there's more to Neci than meets the eye. She's intelligent, witty, and throws whatever I give her back in my face. I'm not sure the last is a typically good quality but I like it. It give her edge and makes her live up to the nickname we gave her. Because, of course, "Neci" means "fiery". And Merlin knows I'm not idiotic enough to refer to her by her real name in a letter that could so easily be intercepted by the wrong slimy hands.

Mates, what are we doing on our next monkeyshine? What area of the castle haven't we explored? I'm feeling restless. I need some new areas. I think we should go to the cliffs. We definitely haven't been there much and we could go check out that cave we saw earlier. We're doing it on the eighth of November, right?

Okay, I'm going back to my lovesickness, as Paddy calls it so wisely. I'm smitten. I'm lost. I need some help. How do I get her to even notice me?!?

Lost in translation and fascination,

Prongs

So that was it. It was true. James Potter had taken a fancy to a different girl, one he cared enough about to make a nickname for! Lily felt sick with disgust, for both the realization and the fact that she had snooped and read his letter. However, the eighth of November was this coming Friday. Perhaps she could finally find out what these nighttime excursions were?

She breathed in deeply as she trotted through the shadows behind them. She had already decided to hide in the cave before they showed up. She had heard them confirming that the cave was where they were headed on their monkeyshine. She sighed as she waited.

She sat in the darkness for nearly an hour, waiting. The moon was full and lit the lake. She could hear their voices before she could see them.

"Come on Wormtail, it's not too far." Lily heard James say.

"I'm tired." Wormtail whimpered.

With a sigh of disgust mixed with pity, Lily listened to James tell Peter to climb aboard his back. What was that to mean?

She gasped when she saw their reflections in the lake. There were four of them. One was a magnificent silver stag upon which rested a small common garden rat. There was a huge black dog and beside him stood something Lily had never seen before her. It was a werewolf.

She felt something tugging on the ribbon in her hair but she wasted no time in finding out what it was stuck upon. She pulled it out before quickly summoning up all of her powers and transforming. She wasted no time. In her studies she had heard what danger werewolves posed to humans. Animals were immune to them.

She stood quietly in the shadows, watching them come in.

"Someone's here," Sirius said quietly. "Someone or something."

The werewolf, when it spoke, had a pleasant voice. "Someone. But they never left."

"You're right, Moony." Sirius-the-dog sniffed around.

Lily watched the stag set the rat onto the ground gently. The stag then walked back toward the center of the cave, to the shadows to where she stood.

"I think we've found our someone." The stag said. Lily almost gasped with the realization that the voice coming from it was James Potter's.

Sirius-the-dog ran over to the stag called James quickly. "What are you talking about, mate?"

James looked at Lily, hidden in the shadows. Only he didn't know it was her. She was, in their eyes, a doe.

"Who are you?" He asked coldly.

Lily didn't reply. She galloped past him, past the werewolf and the rat. She ran as fast as her four hooves could carry her. The moment she reached the castle she transformed back, running upstairs into her bedroom. She watched from her window as the stag walked out to the edge of the cliffs. In its mouth it held her ribbon.