This is going to be the first fresh, absolutely new chapter in quite some time. Please go back to the previous chapters if you haven't done so already for new tidbits that were missing in the previous publication.

Disclaimer: I am obviously using the term publication loosely, as I am only an amateur writer, practicing on , and not a real writer (yet) like J.K. Rowling.

As James Potter and Lily Evans were in the Gryffindor Tower, both thinking only of the upcoming dance, a lone boy wandered the empty corridors. His prefect badge shown brightly on his chest, signifying his authority and refuting any questions about his late night wanderings. His steps were cautious, a habit of experience, and he gazed suspiciously thru is lanky black hair, apparently suspecting danger at every corner.

This boy, at this particular moment, had no destination, no suspicious motive in his midnight stroll. This boy was, in fact, avoiding just such a motive.

Severus Snape, Slytherin prefect and well-known lover of the Dark Arts, had given his excuses to his fellow Slytherins and evaded a meeting of the Secret Order. His arm, newly marked, ached with the guilt, but he found himself unable to attend to the Dark Lord's wishes this night. His mind was otherwise occupied.

He felt his stomach clench as he remembered Potions class. Black, Potter, and that wolf, huddled together whispering over their cauldrons.

"We've been getting on great! We're really good friends now," Potter had said, "so she can't just turn me down like that anymore. "I have this feeling that she'll actually say yes this time!"

Black laughed. "After so many rejections, she'll probably just say yes out of desperation!"

Potter sat down, potion forgotten, and leaned back in his chair. "Lily Potter does sound grand, doesn't it."

Snape still wore the same robes, a whole burned thru the bottom where the potion he was brewing had spilled as he heard Potter's declaration. He remembered the anger boiling, and a suffocating fear clenching his throat. Potter and Lily. Lily Potter. It was a painful, agonizing thought. But, for the first time since they had first started school, Snape saw this future as a possibility. He remembered, so long ago, believing that there was a chance for him. That Potter, the bully, his antagonizer since first year, would hold his Lily, would laugh and build a family with HIS Lily, tore at his heart.

No, to go to a meeting with a group dedicated to ridding the world of Lily Evans was an impossibility that night. He was just as devoted as any of them to cleansing the world…but not tonight. Not when his mind was filled with her. Not when he could recall those emerald eyes coldly gazing at him, as he begged forgiveness. Not now.

A peck of owls was circling Hogwarts at a surprisingly late hour. Twenty or so letters were flying this way and that, and many windows opened to a feathery flurries. Strangely, every folded sheet of parchment was blank, and, stranger still, every recipient seemed unsurprised to be receiving such a late and pointless delivery.

Severus had only just entered his dormitory and unrobed when he saw the owl at his window. He was vaguely curious, and opened the window for the owl to enter, holding three letters. Each was addressed to one of the dormitory's occupants, and one held his own name. As he opened the envelope, a blank sheet of paper fell out. Severus picked it up, glanced over it, and donned his robes once more, leaving the remaining letters for Avery and Mulciber to find.

He met Lucius as he descended the stairs, nodded a silent greeting, and they walked out of the Slytherin common room together, both heading for the secret passageway. Several other Slytherins and a Ravenclaw joined them, and Lucius hissed at them. They each turned into different corridors, separating, understanding the need for secrecy. It was much simpler for an entire group to be caught after hours, and much more suspicious. Severus and Lucius were the first to reach the snake-eye, and cautiously entered. The others soon trickled in. There were nearly a dozen students standing in the circle, and each raised an arm took their own letter, and touched it to the mark. Scrawling appeared, and they quietly read the words.

"The Dark Lord has given his orders," Lucius drawled, looking up from his reading. "Let us obey his commands."

The circle of Death Eaters cheered. Severus Snape did not.

Lily Evans woke with a start, waking from a dream of an owl pecking her head. The pecking didn't stop with the dream however, and she waved her arms over her head with a squeal.

Marlene and Katie giggled. They were sitting at the foot of her bed, each holding an identical letter. Lily managed to wave the bird out of her hair, and glared balefully at them. She glanced at her watch. It was two o'clock in the morning.

"What in Merlin's name am I being woken for?" she growled. The bird, a tawny barn owl, dropped a letter into her lap. She opened it to find a blank piece of parchment. She glanced at her friends and nodded. Careful not to wake the other girls, who were still slumbering despite Lily's outburst, they crept out of the dormitory, and headed for the empty common room. As they all fell on the couch, three hands reached out to cover their mouths.

Before they could scream, James Potter's voice whispered, "Shhh! We don't mean to scare you." Lily whipped around to see James Potter's head appear out of thin air, right beside the heads of Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew, who looked vastly uncomfortable. The girls gasped. "I said, 'Shh'! It's just an invisibility cloak!" The cloak fell to the floor in a pile of glimmering fabric.

"JUST an invisibility cloak?" Marlene gasped. "Do you realize how rare those are?"

"Do you realize how rich I am?" James grinned. Lily opened her mouth, glaring, and James rushed on. "I'm just kidding, Lils! I inherited it. Dad gave it to me," he grinned, but the grin fell quickly.

Remus, sensing his friends silence as danger, broke in. "Did you girls get the letters?"

"Yes," Katie answered, holding hers out. "We were just about to unveil them." Remus nodded and pulled out a quill from his bag, which he held over his shoulder. He signed his name to the parchment, and handed the quill around. As the letters were signed, the tidy scroll of Albus Dumbledore appeared.

My Dear Order Members:

I have received some most shocking information concerning our efforts against Lord Voldemort. Therefore, I find we must hasten our next meeting. A grave danger threatens Hogwarts, and it is our duty to prevent it. We shall meet this evening, on October 30, at eleven sharp. Have a morning. Much nicer, I am sure, than mine, as I have just consumed a rather peculiar flavor of Bertie-Bott's Every Flavor Bean. I do believe it was a vomit flavored one.

Albus Dumbledore

Each read the letter silently, and each left the common rooms to return to bed. None received much sleep. And one, in particular, had much more to do that night, as he grabbed the Marauder's Map, and tucked a second blank letter beneath his robe.

There we are! A brand new chapter! I particularly felt I should write about Snape. He makes me so sad…. :(

But you can cheer me up by filling my inbox with reviews! My thanks, oh faithful ones!

Hannah