Author's Notes: Oh my goodness,100 reviews? I love you guys! But I do have a question: would you like to see more chapters or moments in James's POV? This is still going to be mainly Lily's, but if you guys want it I'll throw in James moments, too. Let me know somehow!

I need more stories to read. I like Lily/James, Harry/Ginny, Remus/Tonks, and Scorpius/Rose best, but I also like Hermione/Ron. I'd rather it be cannon and not too OOC. I don't care about ratings or anything like that. I'm a big girl, I can handle reading about sex or whatever.

EDIT 4/27/12: Noticed a piece missing... drove me nuts. And yes, I'm working on Chapter 32... I'm really sorry! Life be crazy! I'm also working harder on my grammar and spelling. Spelling as NEVER been my strong suit.

Chapter 30: No Time to Celebrate

Saturday, December 10, 1977 - Hogsmeade

"Butterbeer tastes better when you don't have to pay for it."

"Especially when you win it."

"Victory tastes so sweet."

"I request another round!"

"You want another round? Buy your own. We agreed to one round for the winners," Sirius stated.

We were sitting quite smugly. Me, Emmeline, Marlene, and Dorcas were taking turns making our quips at the Marauders, not letting the "we're just teasing" smiles off our faces.

Although I have a gut feeling that Dorcas wasn't just teasing.

"To our landslide victory!" she said, holding up her mug of hot Butterbeer.

"Landslide victory? It was two points," Sirius groaned.

"I don't think she meant it like that," James said, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly. He wanted to look somber because of the loss, but I couldn't help but notice he thought Sirius's behavior was amusing.

"I think she meant 'victory by landslide,'" Remus said, smirking, his arm around Marlene's shoulders.

"That's because she used a Tripping Jinx on Wormtail!" he exclaimed. "He fell into the barricade!" Peter looked guilty sitting between him and Dorcas in the round booth.

"You used a Tripping Jinx on me two years ago," Remus reminded him flatly.

"Not next to the barricade!" he retorted.

"To be fair, we didn't say they couldn't," James told him, putting his arm around me.

"Two bloody points, though," Sirius mumbled, sipping his steaming Butterbeer.

"Get over it, Black," Dorcas said, holding the mug to warm her hands.

"You're so adorable when you're brooding, though," Emmeline said to Sirius, kissing his cheek.

"I demand a-"

"We are not having a rematch, Padfoot," Remus cut him off. "You're just bitter that this is the first time in four years that you've lost. By your girlfriend, no less."

Sirius blushed at the use of the term "girlfriend," but neither him or Emmeline denied anything. I couldn't help but smile at this, and I noticed James look at me with a similar grin. He was thinking the same thing.

"So are you, or aren't you?" Dorcas asked, gesturing at the (very pink) couple.

"I was wondering the same thing," Peter said, looking confused.

Sirius turned to Emmeline. "Well, what do you think?"

"Is that you asking me?" she replied, laughing a little.

She was about to answer when she was interrupted by a figure next to the table. "Have any of you seen Mary?" We all looked over to see Thomas Griffon, sixth-year Gryffindor prefect, standing next to our table.

"Macdonald?" James asked. Mary Macdonald was the other sixth-year Gryffindor prefect. "We haven't seen her." The rest of us nodded in agreement.

"Really? Merlin," he trailed off, looking around, worried.

"What?" Marlene asked, sounding concerned. Ever since she started Hogwarts the year after we did, she was something of a little sister to the four of us. We haven't heard much from her this year, but she's been dating Thomas here since the end of last year (you spend a lot of time with your prefect partner, and some happen to hit it off), so it didn't bother us. In fact we were happy for her.

In my fifth year, she was the one to alert me to Severus sitting by the Fat Lady, threatening to spend the night there. Her and I got along great, both being-

"Oh, shite," I mumbled at my thoughts.

They all turned and stared at me.

"What the matter, Lils? You look like you've seen a ghost," James asked me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and giving me a reassuring squeeze.

"Care to enlighten us, Lily?" Emmeline asked, looking on edge.

Remus stared at me, then the realization hit him, too, his eyes growing large. "Fuck," he mumbled. I noticed James's face suddenly matched mine and Remus's.

He got it.

Everyone else's eyes switched to Remus. "Merlin, Moony. Watch your bloody language," Sirius joked. Remus just glared at him.

"Now not the time!" James snapped at Sirius.

"Get to the point!" was chorused around the table.

"Mary's muggle-born," I stated, quietly. If I spoke louder, I would probably lose control.

More obscenities were muttered around the table as it hit everyone.

"Bloody Slytherins," Sirius mumbled. Emmeline squeezed his hand, calming him a little. We needed him to have a clear head in order to find (and possible help) Mary.

Remus turned to Thomas and spoke calmly, "When was the last time you saw her?"

"When I left the castle. We were suppose to meet at Honeydukes, but she needed to grab something from the Common Room before we headed down," he said, looking flustered. "I looked all over High Street, in all the shops, and over by the Shrieking Shack." He grabbed his hair in his frustration.

"Right," James said, turning to us. "I say we split up. Some go to the castle, the rest stay here and double, no, triple check everywhere."

"Why not send some into the woody areas around here? There's a lot of areas to hide," Peter recommended.

"I could do that," Sirius said. "I know the area well and can cover enough ground." He raised an eyebrow at James, as if silently talking.

I knew what he meant. He could cover a lot of groundquickly as a dog.

James nodded. "Agreed. Lily, Dorcas, and I will head to the castle. Moony, you take Marlene, Peter, and Em-"

"No. I am going with Sirius," Emmeline said, sternly.

"Um, I don't know about that," Peter started, looking from James to Remus to Sirius.

"I'll take her along," Sirius said with a small nod to the guys. "It's okay." His face was nervous, but his eyes were sure. He turned to Emmeline. "You better be quick on your feet, Em."

"I've outrun you, before, Sirius," she replied, smiling proudly.

Yeah, on two legs, I thought to myself. Looking at the expression on Sirius's face, I'm sure he was thinking the same thing. Going to have to talk to Em, later.

"Anyway," James continued, "Em can go with Padfoot, while Moony, Wormtail, and Marlene can search in and around High Street and the Shrieking Shack."

"What about me?" Thomas asked.

"Come with us," I told him. "We may need an extra set of hands. The castle is quite large." He nodded to agree with me.

"Sounds good," Remus agreed, standing. We all followed suit, gave each other encouraging looks, and went off on our separate ways.

When we got outside the Three Broomsticks, James stopped our group while the others left. "Dorcas, you and Thomas go up the normal way, maybe she's somewhere en route. Lily and I know of another way up, and we're going to use that. Just in case. Keep us updated through the pendants."

Dorcas and Thomas looked confused, but nodded and darted up towards Hogwarts.

"James, isn't there more than one secret passage between Hogwarts and Hogsmeade?"

"Yeah, but I know Remus. He'll be sure to check the one between the Shrieking Shack and Hogwarts. The other ones, besides the one in Honeydukes's cellar, haven't been touched in years by anyone besides the four of us."

"How are you so sure?"

"Because getting into them is a major hassle, they creak a lot, are stiff to open, and the dust inside is never disturbed," he said, matter-of-factly. "The one behind the crone is the most known by students, too. It's also the only one that Filch isn't aware of."

The final bit about Filch is what finally convinced me fully. "Do you have the map?"

"I plan to acquire it. We left it in the dorm. I think it's in Padfoot's trunk... either that or Moony's. I know I don't have it, and Wormtail never has it. We don't let him, since he always loses it. If Padfoot found out it was in his trunk, he wouldn't survive to see graduation."

I laughed as he pulled out his cloak. He covered us, and we waited for the perfect moment to duck in the door. A couple of kids flung the door open and ran in, so we took our chance and followed carefully. We did the same for the stockroom and entered the package as quickly as possible. It was dark, and there weren't any fresh footprints, so chances Mary was here were slim.

"I hope she's okay..." I said under my breath.

"Me, too," James replied. I was surprised he heard me.

We made it back to the castle in record time and rushed up to the Gryffindor Common Room, James stopping so quickly I ended up running face-first into his back.

"Sorry, Lils, but do you remember the new password? Figures the new passwords go into effect the week something like this happens."

I rubbed my nose that was smarting from plowing into James's back. "Yeah, I remember," I said, sounding a little nasal. "It's Antipodean Opaleye."

"Sorry about your nose," he said, kissing the tip quickly before jumping through the portrait hole. I jumped through after him.

He ran straight up to the seventh-year boys' dormitory, while I stayed in the common room. Looking around, I noticed that Mary wasn't there. Telling a second-year to let James know I went to check the girls' dorms, I ran up the stairs, looking in each dorm room. No Mary in any of them. I turned and ran back downstairs where I saw James pacing in front of the fire. He turned to me as I entered, shaking my head.

"Did you find it?" I asked.

He waved the piece of old parchment in reply. "Any word from anyone else?"

I shook my head. "Lets head to our dorm to check it. Maybe we'll hear something."

He took my head and we darted through the portrait of the Fat Lady and came to a stop in front of our familiar portrait of the woman in the library. He peered down at me, smirking innocently.

Bloody hell, what am I going to do with this boy? "Cornish Pixie," I said with a sigh. The portrait swung open and we ran straight for the low coffee table, opening up the parchment.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he said, pointing his wand at the parchment. The map appeared and we both started searching frantically. "Looks like Dorcas and Thomas started in the dungeons," he said, his eyes following the two dots marked "D. Meadowes" and "T. Griffon."

"The others haven't come back, yet," I observed. "Merlin's pants, where is that girl?"

The longer I have to search, the more worried I become. The more worried I become, the more short I get with everyone.

"Either she's not in the castle, or she's somewhere Unplottable," he said, trying to stay calm for me. This is one of the reasons I love this man.

"I know where she is..." I whispered, my eyes wide. James stared at me for a few seconds before it hit him.

"The Room of Requirement!" we said in unison, jumping to our feet.

As we were running through the corridors (ignoring those blasted paintings telling us to stop running, no I will not stop running, you gits!), I clumsily tapped my pendant to send word to the girls.

Meet us at the Room of Requirement!

We skidded to a stop, again, in front of the blank wall we all knew well. I stood to the side, holding my pendant and praying for a response quickly while James paced the wall.

"We need to be where Mary is... We need to be where Mary is... We need to be where Mary is!" he said urgently.

As the door appeared, Dorcas and Thomas came around the corner. Dorcas didn't look relieved.

"Mulciber... that slimy git!" she exclaimed loudly, her voice echoing down the corridor. "He's bragging that we'll never find her. He knows. He probably did it, the prick! We never said what we were looking for down there. He fucking knew!"

"Calm down, Dorcas," I said to her, my eyes on Thomas. He was very pale.

James turned the doorknob as Sirius and Emmeline were running up to us, looking a little worse for wear. They had leaves and twigs stuck in their hair, rips and tears in their clothing, and dirt smudges on various areas of their exposed skin. Em came straight up to me, leaning close to my face and looking right in my eyes. "You, me, talking. Later." The look on her face was the same look a kid has when they got a new puppy for Christmas.

Oh, right. I know exactly what she wanted to talk about. I nodded to her and turned to James. "Well?" I said forcefully, gesturing towards the door. "We've waited long enough, the rest of them will be here eventually. Open the damn door!"

"Breathe, Flower," Sirius said, wrapping me in a hug while Em patted my back. I didn't notice I had starting crying.

James took a deep breath and opened the door. The room itself was dark, so he lit is wand and went in first. We all followed his actions. The room was full of random items, some in various stages of disrepair, others covered in a dusty sheet. "We'll split up," he told us.

I gasped, and Emmeline and Dorcas did the same. We all fumbled for our pendants at the same time. "Damn things," I said. Easier to blame the pendant than my shaking hands.

Emmeline was able to get to hers, first. "Marlene says they're close," she said, sighing in relief. "We'll need the extra hands. This room is huge and there is a lot of stuff in here."

As if on cue, Remus and Marlene ran in. Marlene held a rat out, her hands around its middle. Peter looked embarrassed as he hung there, limply, his ears hanging lower than your standard rat. Dorcas raised her eyebrow at the sight and Emmeline had a knowing smirk on her face. "Don't ask," Marlene said. "Just trust us, okay?"

"Why does it look embarrassed?" Dorcas asked, not taking her eyes off Peter.

"We heard something about splitting up?" Remus said, ignoring Dorcas. "If you really think she's here, that would be the best bet."

"Okay, Marlene? Release Wor-... er... the rat. Go off with Moony. Sirius and Em, Dorcas and Thomas, me and Lily. We all go in different directions. Keep your wands ready," James instructed.

"Lumos Maxima," I mumbled, making the light at the tip of my wand much brighter than the dim light that was there before. We all split up into different directions, walking quietly. I walked close to James. I felt safer there.

"Bet you anything Moony forced Wormtail to transform," James told me quietly. "He's not a fast runner, and it's easier to just carry him in a hurry. But it works out better like this."

"Bloodhound in a rat suit?" I offered, my eyes still sweeping the room.

"Exactly," he said, smiling down at me. He pulled his eyes up ahead of him. "Hey, Lils? You see that?" he asked, nodding his head forward.

I looked closely, squinting my eyes a little.

It was a foot, clad in Mary's signature penny loafers.

"Oh, Merlin," I gasped, running to her. She was unconscious, but was breathing fine. She had trails on her face from crying and was covered in bruises. I turned around and yelled, "Guys! We found her!" With that I shot red sparks in the air with my wand, signaling our location.

James carefully scooped her up in his arms, her body limp. We started back towards the door, meeting Dorcas and Thomas halfway to the door.

"She's okay," I assured Thomas. "Nothing seems broken, she's just unconscious and a little battered. We're taking her to the Hospital Wing, now."

"Where's the rest of the lot?" James asked, looking around.

"Looking for that damn rat," Dorcas said. "Don't know what the deal is. We live in an old castle, rats are part of the experience."

"Just come on, we'll all go together. They'll be okay by themselves," James assured her. "We have to get Mary to Pomfrey."

"I'll hang back," I told him. "Help them find that, what did you call it, Dorcas? 'That damn rat?' Yes. I'll help look for the rat."

He nodded, then kissed my cheek. "All right, you two. You need to help me with the facts. You guys heard Mulciber and all, so she'll need testimony."

The three of them left quickly without another word. When the door clicked shut I turned back to the room. "They're gone! Where is Wormy?"

"Beats me!" I heard Sirius call back from somewhere in the room. "He can get into areas that we can't because of his size."

I heard a crash and a string of curses. "You okay, Marles?"

"Yeah, I'm good. There's just a lot of junk to get your feet caught on," she replied from the other side of the room.

"Merlin, Em. I've never noticed that you have a nice ass," Sirius said with a laugh.

"Could you not look at my bum and just look for your stupid friend? He probably got lost."

"Don't crawl around in front of me if you don't want me to look at it."

"Guys, as much as I love hearing your disembodied voices in awkward situations, can we just find Wormtail before he gets lost forever amongst all this junk?" Remus stated, his voice near to wear Marlene's was.

I was on all fours, looking for Peter under furniture. I was so engrossed in searching I didn't noticed the door open and close behind me until I had a hand over my mouth. I turned around to see Severus, his finger over his mouth to tell me to stay quiet.

"I promise I won't hurt you," he whispered. He pulled out his wand and whispered "Muffliato," one of the spells he developed over the past few years here at Hogwarts. Comes in handy. He dropped his hand from my mouth.

"What do you want, Sev?" I asked, knowing that the others won't hear us. "We're a little busy."

"I just needed to tell you something..." he said, nervously.

I sighed. "Sev, I don't hate you. I don't necessarily like you, but I can't hate you with our history. Relax and tell me before someone sees you," I told him, placing my hand on his shoulder.

"It was Mulciber," he said quickly.

"What?"

"Mulciber. He did it. He knew she was Muggle-born."

"So Dorcas was right," I mumbled. Sev raised an eyebrow at me. "Dorcas and Thomas ran into him in the dungeon when they were looking for Mary. He was taunting her. He's lucky he wasn't at the receiving end of a nasty hex with the mood she was in."

"Oh, well, um... I also came to warn you..."

"Spit it out, Sev."

"They are determined to hit all the Muggle-borns in some way."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you're Muggle-born."

Brilliant deduction, Sherlock. "No, I mean why do you care?"

"Like you said. We have history. I can't turn a blind eye."

"Thanks for the head's up, Sev, but I'm sure I can handle your 'friends' down there. If anything, I have a handy backup system."

"The ones currently chasing a rat?"

"Those are the ones. Although two of them are currently carrying a limp Mary Macdonald to Hospital." I looked behind me when I heard another bang and a string of curses, this time from Emmeline. "Sev, now get out of here before one of them see you? Em and Marles are quick with the hexes, and Sirius is quick with the fists."

He nodded and lifted the Muffliato spell, then silently slipped out the door. I stood as soon as I heard the door click and glanced around. No one seemed to notice.

"Found him!" Sirius exclaimed, and I saw his hand appear above the clutter, holding a very squirmy rat. Looked like Peter was trying to bite him. Peter neve was one for heights...

Laughing, I waited for them to come back to the front of the room where I was looking, pushing Sev's warning to the back of my mind.

With friends like these, enemies of Lily Evens beware.