A/N: And there we have it ladies and gentlemen, chapter twenty two, for your enjoyment!

Review responses:

splatteredpaint: Yay! That's good to hear :) Oh wow, that sounds so amazing! I'd love to be able to do have something like that happen near where I live. :D I like writing about first bits of magic, you can be as imaginative as you want! There I go with my ruddy spelling! I'm really not on form right now, am I. Sorry :( I'll go and change it :) Thanks for telling me! Yeah it was a little depressing, but really, I think Andromeda was a lot happier without her family, and she has the Tonks', of course :D Thank you very much for reading and reviewing, and please enjoy the next chapter :)

CwamBeta: Welcome to the story, and thank you very much. Oh it's fine, I know it won't be everybody's cup of tea, I for one aren't too fond of Harry/Hermione fics, yet I know they're are a lot out there. Anywhoo, thank you very much for reading and reviewing, and I hope you enjoy this chapter too :)

MissWendyBird: Oh, the seeds are definitely growing...I can't wait till they bloom :D (urgh, my jokes are terrible haha). Well, we're nearing fourth year, so only three year to go really, I promise it'll be worth the wait :D (I've already written a first kiss between two of the characters...though I won't say who ;) ). I know, it would be awful. But she has Ted, who I think is brilliant, and I wish we'd seen more of him in HP (I was devastated when he died :( ). Glad you like the idea, mind, it'll be awhile before that story is written, but I just thought I'd run it by you guys. Thank you very much for reading and reviewing, and please enjoy this next chapter!

MissCanada: The Black's are awful, aren't they! But Andromeda is moving on to better things, so that's a consolation at least. :D glad you like the idea too! It'll be awhile, but I know I'll enjoy writing it. Thank you, I love the language, it's my favourite out of them all! I'm really happy that you like Holly too, the Knight's are personal favourites of mine. Thank you for once again reading and reviewing, and I very much hope you enjoy this chapter too!

genjutsumaster: Thank you XD Haha, drama is brilliant though, eh? Oh, I hope you feel better, maybe this chapter will cheer you up a little :) Thank you for reading and reviewing, and I hope you like this chapter just as much :)

Fairywolf: Haha, don't worry about it! I'm always thinking about it at work, I actually called one of my workmates James the other day (he's called Jonathan, now you know where I stole the name haha). Clearly he now thinks I'm crazy...oh well :). Glad you liked Remus' part, he deserves all the happiness he can get. Ahh I love your ideas, they always make me grin, and they're really good! It's in your file (entitled Fairywolf's plot lines I've decided to steal :D). Thank you very much for reading and reviewing, and I really hope you like this chapter too!

000kayko000: Thank you! You know, I never actually checked. I get all my information from the HP wiki, so I think I'll pop over and have a look. I have no idea if she's younger, I just always assumed she'd be older. I'll let you know, anyway :) Thank you very much for reading and reviewing, and please enjoy this next chapter!

Geniia: Thank you! Yeah, Andromeda was Sirius' favourite cousin, so I can imagine he would have helped Andromeda as much as he could. Yeah, sorry I didn't make it clearer, but yeah that's basically the premise. Peter's descent into the Death Eaters will be a major plotline of the sequel! I'm so excited to write about it. I have a few ideas of what could have set it off, but I think that because Sirius and Remus felt so betrayed by him was maybe because they actually never saw it coming, so maybe Peter was a lovely person at Hogwarts. Who knows, eh? It'll be so interesting to write about, I think. Thank you, as always, for taking the time to read and review, and please enjoy the next chapter :)

VampireWithTheGoldenEyes: Thank you :D Yes, Christmas is just the best time of year! Well, I think in the end Andromeda and Sirius ended up the happiest out of all of the Blacks, so at least we know that. Thank you very much for reading and reviewing, and please enjoy the next chapter :)

To everyone who read this, thank you so very much, and I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this...save for my OC's and the plotlines. It's not going to make me millions, so don't worry, I'm not going to even try!

On with the show...


The Marauders Tale: The Hogwarts Years

Chapter Twenty Two

Lilyflower

Lily glanced back down at the note in her hand. She hadn't spoken to Severus much lately; they'd both been busy with their own friends and the schoolwork. They didn't even work together in Potions anymore, Slughorn having paired them off at the beginning of the year. Lily now worked with Christina, Holly worked with Remus, James (much to his utter joy) still worked with Sirius, though they knew Slughorn was losing patience with the behaviour of the boys, and was probably regretting the decision, and Peter worked with Bridget. So you can imagine her surprise to find a note from said Slytherin at the end of their potions lesson, asking her to meet him.

She spotted him standing alone in a small alcove near the entrance to dungeons; beady eyes watched the students as they passed.

"Lily, I really think we should stay with you," said Holly worriedly, "I don't trust him."

"Holly, we're friends; he wouldn't do anything like that."

"I'm with Holly," piped up Chris, "He's a Slytherin! They're all the same."

Lily sighed, "You've never even given him a chance. He's not like the others."

"What, those idiots he calls friends?" muttered Bridget, "They're horrible Lily, Rosier...Avery...Mulciber...they're evil, pure evil! Have you seen some of the curses they use on the first years!?"

"And every time they've argued with the Marauders, one of them has ended up bleeding," exclaimed Chris.

"Don't tell me you're calling them 'Marauders' too," chuckled Lily.

Chris shrugged, "It's catchy, but seriously Lils, don't do this."

They reached the end of the corridor, and Lily turned to her friends.

"I'll see you at dinner, don't worry". She quickly hugged them, and hurried over to Snape. Holly, Bridget and Chris hesitated for a moment, then left. However they'd be coming back – with reinforcements!

"Hi Sev!"

"Hey Lily, Merlin, it feels like ages since we spoke."

"I know," smiled Lily sadly, "We'll have to do this more often."

In all honesty, the only reason they hadn't seen as much of each other was his other friends, but she wasn't ready to tell him that...yet.

"What did you want to talk about?" asked Lily as they slowly walked towards the great hall.

Snape remained silent for a moment, then answered.

"Lupin."

"Remus?"

Snape nodded.

Lily frowned, "What about him?"

Snape sighed, and glanced around.

"He's been...disappearing lately...haven't you noticed?"

"His mum's sick," Lily scowled, "He goes to visit her."

"Every month?" Snape quirked an eyebrow, "Don't you think it's a little...strange?"

Lily studied him for a moment. There was a gleam in his eye; a gleam that unnerved her.

"Why are you so obsessed with them?" she mumbled.

Snape blinked, then scowled, "I am not obsessed with them."

Lily sighed, "Whenever we talk, which isn't that often I might add, you always manage to bring one of them up...why?"

"Potter likes you," mumbled Snape, "He's no good for you Lily, everyone thinks he's so brilliant, with his stupid broomstick, and his stupid friends..." he trailed off, not daring to look at Lily.

The red head watched him for a moment, torn between anger that he was assuming she'd ever go after Potter, and pity that he seemed so...jealous.

"Sev, I've told you already, me and Potter...it's not going to happen...we're not even friends really, I mean, we haven't argued much this year, but –"

"See!" cried Snape, "It's the first step! You don't know what he's really like! He's arrogant...self centred –"

Lily held up her hand, her eyes flashing dangerously, "DON'T....tell me what I do and do not know Sev, I know perfectly well what Potter's like, but you're making him out to be...well...evil! And he's not, he may be immature and conceited, but he's certainly not as bad as...as some of those people you hang around with."

Snape frowned, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Lily rolled her eyes, "I think you know Sev," she glanced over to the entrance to the great hall. Holly, Bridget and Chris had apparently informed the boys of her little 'meeting' and were watching her like a hawk.

"I have to go," her expression softened, "Sev, please just drop this whole thing with the Marauders," Snape pulled a disgusted face, but Lily merely shrugged, "It's shorter than calling them all by name."

Snape shrugged, "Alright, I'll see you later Lily."

Lily nodded, and waved goodbye. The girls hurried over to her, eager to hear what had been said.

"Did you really have to bring them?" she sighed, nodding towards the boys who were whispering to each other, "If they do anything to Sev I swear they'll regret it."

"We just wanted to make sure you were alright, and those four are more familiar with duelling than we are," said Holly.

"Not that we couldn't handle them," grinned Chris, "But I don't fancy facing the likes of Avery until I've had a little more practice."

The girls laughed, and headed back into the hall, Lily eyeing the boys warily as she passed.

~**~

Sirius was in a rather happy mood, despite the Christmas he'd had. That morning, Andromeda had told him she was going to have a baby with Ted. The news had been a shock, so soon after confessing her relationship with Ted to her family (perhaps that was why), but it also seemed to put him in a rather mischievous mood.

"You know, we haven't pulled off a full scale prank since we got back."

James and Remus glanced away from the Bowtruckle sketches and looked to Sirius.

"Have something in mind?" asked James.

Sirius shrugged, "A few things, nothing definite, but I was kind of hoping...maybe we could get Snape?"

As much as James was tempted, something held him back. Lily. He didn't want another reason for her to hate him, they were doing so well!

"Come on, Lily doesn't have to know," grinned Sirius, "Plus we need to get him back for following us around, and, it can be our first prank in honour of our latest addition to the Black family, may he or she continue to anger those lot for many years to come!"

James chuckled, but was still a little apprehensive. They'd just have to make sure Lily didn't get wind.

Nearby, Holly and Chris watched the boys with great interest.

"Think they're planning something?" asked Chris, scribbling down a few notes on her parchment.

"When are they not?" chuckled Holly, "James wants to hope Lily doesn't find out, I kind of like them not at each other's throats all of the time."

"The silence is golden," laughed Chris.

~**~

The silence ended at around eight thirty the following morning. Despite careful planning so Lily wouldn't find out James' involvement in the prank, it was pretty obvious the prank was that of the Marauders. After all, who else caused such disruption on a regular basis?

It started simply. The Marauders were on pleasant terms with the Hogwarts house-elves down in the kitchens, and persuading them to aid them in their trickery was easier than they thought.

Using the invisibility cloak, the boys snuck down to the kitchens late at night, planted the seeds of their plot, then hurried back, eager to see the results. Even Remus, who normally was a little apprehensive still when it came to deliberate troublemaking, was becoming more and more mischievous. Sirius said they had finally released his inner 'beast'.

The girls entered the Great Hall the following morning, tiredly taking seats at the Gryffindor table and pulling whatever was in reach towards them. Lily yawned loudly, toying with her porridge, and looked up as the flurry of owls delivering the morning post began.

"Anything?" Bridget asked, nodding to Holly who had just collected her copy of the Prophet from Vespa. The black owl hooted, and began dipping into Holly's cornflakes, whilst the brunette read.

"Nope, all's quiet," Holly handed Bridget the paper after scanning the front page, "Vespa, shoo!"

"Leave her alone, Knight. That owl's a ruddy star," sounded a gruff (and thankfully, squeak free voice) from behind her. Sirius' voice had settled nicely into a rather deep, rumbling tenor; whilst James' still varied and Peter and Remus' remained unchanged for the time being.

"What are you on about?" inquired Holly tiredly, shuffling up so the boys could take seats next to them. Lily didn't look all too happy about it, but didn't say anything.

"Vespa. I love that owl," he smiled fondly at the large bird, who merely hooted in response, nipped Holly's finger, then took off into the rafters and out of a window.

"We have double Gero," James groaned, checking his timetable, "Somebody hex me."

The friends were amused to see Lily's hand twitch for a moment, whilst James flinched.

"I wouldn't offer," Chris chuckled, piling more bacon onto her plate, "I'm sure –"

A loud scream cut Chris off. The Gryffindors whirled around in their seats to see almost half the Slytherin table swiping furiously at their tongues, spraying food all over and knocking plates to the floor. The girls craned their necks to see what was the problem, and couldn't find it, until a particularly nasty smell wafted their way.

"Oh – my – God," Bridget pinched her nose, her face scrunching in disgust, "What is that?!"

Lily whipped around to face James, her school jumper up over her nose and mouth.

"Dungbombs! Potter!" her muffled voice managed to shout over the kerfuffle in the hall. James seemed neither to notice, nor care, his eyes streaming and bent double with laughter.

"POTTER! BLACK! LUPIN! PETTIGREW!"

The boys immediately stood up, not bothering to argue, and started for McGonagall's office before she even reached them. As the Gryffindor head passed, she shot the girls an apologetic look, and hurried out of the hall.

The hall was starting to calm down, Professor Slughorn and Dumbledore ushering the affected students out of the hall and up to the hospital wing.

"I can't believe them! What was that for?" cried Lily. Chris merely shrugged, having managed to control her laughter.

"Do they ever need a reason?"

"MR BLACK! FOR THE LAST TIME! MY NAME IS PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL!"

Lily, of course, was refusing to speak to James after the incident, and had even went as far as to ignore the other Marauders too. For James, he was now back to square one.

James trudged back to the Gryffindor common after a night spent polishing the trophies in the trophy room, aching from head to toe. He spotted Lily and the girls in the corner, and winced at the glare he received from the red head. Their argument had been different that time, James had actually argued back, questioning her loyalty to Gryffindor and shouting at her for taking things too seriously. It wasn't as if the Dungbombs were dangerous, the Slytherins affected merely had severely bad breath for the next week or so.

He greeted his friends sleepily as he entered the boy's dormitory, all three of them tired from their various detentions, and flopped straight into bed. Lily was out of line, she'd see Snape's true colours someday; and the day couldn't come any sooner for James.

~**~

"....anything?"

"Nope."

"How long is this going to take?!"

"Guy's I really don't think I can do this."

"Course you can Pete, just concentrate."

"Nothing's happening!"

Remus sighed in exasperation and put his notes down. So far, all his friends had managed to do was prove they were the most impatient bunch of boys he'd ever met.

"This isn't going to happen overnight you know, what we're doing...most wizards never even achieve it!"

Sirius snorted, and opened his eyes, "Well most wizards aren't Sirius Black."

James chuckled, and chucked a book at Sirius, "Arrogant prat."

Sirius grinned and tossed a book back. Before it could turn into a full scale war, Remus waved his wand and froze the books in mid air.

"Listen, I understand if this is too hard," he sighed, "I'm not expecting you to do this, just..."

He stopped as James held up his hand, "Remus...we're just messing around, we know this is gonna be hard, we knew from day one".

"Exactly," added Sirius, "Which is why it'll be so much better when we do accomplish it."

"If I can do it, there's hope for us all," chuckled Peter. Sirius let out a bark like laugh and clapped Peter on the back.

"See, even Pete thinks we can do it, now come on, let's try this again."

Remus shook his head and smiled, and picked up his notes.

"Ready...now...concentrate...."

After a few more hours of 'meditation', the Marauders headed down to one of their favourite haunts; the kitchens, where they had become a big hit with the hardworking house-elves, (Sirius was adamant a rather squeaky house-elf named Pokey had a thing for him...until little Pokey was in fact revealed to be male).

James helped himself to another cake whilst he and the boys spent another Sunday night in the kitchens.

"So, have you talked to Andromeda lately?" asked Remus.

Sirius nodded, "Yeah, she sent me a letter, she's doing great. She really likes it at the Tonks'."

"Has she heard from your family?" asked Peter quietly.

Sirius shook his head glumly, "They've completely cut her out. She said she's sent owls, but no one's replied. Bellatrix and Narcissa won't even talk to her anymore."

"Just because she's marrying a Muggle-born," muttered James darkly, "its sick...I don't get how it makes a difference."

"Neither do I," spat Sirius.

"At least she's happy. She must really love him to accept leaving her family like that," said Remus soothingly. Sirius smiled a little.

"Yeah, she does. I can't wait to meet him; Dromeda said she'll have me over at her place as soon as she gets settled, she said it might be awhile, what with the kid on the way, and all."

The boys nodded, knowing that it would still be a while before completely Sirius opened up. But they were willing to wait; it was what friends were for.

~**~

The second Quidditch match of the season dawned bright and warm, a stark contrast to the previous match. Having an early winter meant an early spring, and Jonny was working the team harder than ever. This was his last chance to win the cup, winning it once didn't seem good enough. He wanted to do something that hadn't happened to the Gryffindors in years, win the cup two years in a row.

Remus and Peter spotted Lily, Bridget and Chris leaving the school on their way to the pitch. The two boys hurried over to join them.

"Hey guys, excited for the match?" asked Chris jovially.

"As long as it isn't a repeat of the last one," chuckled Remus.

Chris nodded in agreement, "Hufflepuff are good, but I reckon we stand a fair chance."

"Jonny's had them practicing every night," said Remus with a tired smile, "I should bloody well hope so!"

The five Gryffindors laughed heartily, the excitement of the match beginning to take hold as they travelled through the sea of scarlet and canary supporters (Slytherins generally took whichever side were playing Gryffindor), and hurried down to the large pitch.

Down in the changing rooms, steely eyed and staring straight ahead of him in an almost trance like focus, Jonathan Ian Knight waited patiently for Madam Hooch to signal the team to go out onto the pitch. Behind him, his Quidditch team watched with a mixture of amusement and worry for their captain – he looked almost a different person.

"Reckon if I set this off, he'd notice?" whispered Sirius, holding up a brightly coloured firework. James snorted, the twinkle of an idea sparkling in his hazel eyes.

"Why in the name of Quidditch do you have a firework?" said Holly incredulously, eyeing the firework with distaste.

Sirius shrugged, "Desperate times. I reckon Jonny might fly into the Whomping Willow if we lose, not that we're going to," he added quickly, never one to back down that oh-so-charming arrogance of his. Holly rolled her eyes, ignoring the pleasurable squirm she had been accustomed to feeling around a certain grey eyed Marauder, and stepped up behind her brother.

"Jonny? Yoo hoo, Jonnykins?"

The team sniggered, Jonny barely moved.

"Make sure we win this, Holly," Holly was shocked by the sheer desperation in his voice, "Sis, I can't lose."

"We won't," assured Holly, reaching a hand behind her to grab James or Sirius' arm and bring in reinforcements. Really, their arrogance came in handy now and then.

Whilst two quarters of the Marauders ensured Jonathan they would indeed 'run Hufflepuff into the ground', as James so eloquently put it, Madam Hooch blew a whistle that signalled the teams to come out onto the field.

With deadly silence, and barely more than a good luck, Jonny led his team onto the pitch, looking as though he wasn't even aware of the screaming supporters all around him.

"AND FOR THE MIGHTY LIONS, WE HAVE BOY KNIGHT, POTTER, BROWN, GIRL KNIGHT, BLACK, MICHAELS AAAANNNDDDD FREDRICS!"

Fabian Prewett's deep, joyful voice good just be heard over the tumultuous applause rippling through the stadium. James and Sirius waved and winked at the crowed, along with Geoffrey. Jonny would've joined in; had he not looked like his toad Friar Tuck had just pegged it. As usual, the female members of the team rolled their eyes, but waved to the crowd none the less.

The Hufflepuff team were already waiting patiently in the middle of the field. Their captain, the 'ever smarmy Amos Diggory' as Jonny had dubbed him, shook hands cheerfully with his fellow seventh year, Jonny looking very much like he wanted to punch the rather handsome Hufflepuff.

"Perks of the game," Holly nudged Kelly and pointed to Amos, eliciting a lot of giggles from the girls. Sirius, who had heard, scowled and turned to Holly.

"Please, Knight. That idiot has nothing on the likes of me," he winked suggestively, Holly rolling her eyes. She was getting good at the whole nonchalant act, she thought.

"On my whistle," Madam Hooch began. The bludgers were released, followed by the tiny golden snitch. Hooch plucked the scarlet Quaffle out of the chest, casting glances to both teams, before tossing it into the air.

"....spectacular save there by Boy Knight, this is his last year folks! Let's hope he goes out with a bang!"

James watched Jess score for the third time, and punched the air. The game was going brilliantly. The team was on top form and they were already 30-0 up. James sped after the Hufflepuff chasers who were now in possession of the Quaffle. He spotted Sirius at the other end of the pitch, whacking a bludger towards the opposing team. He looked back and saw Holly was already positioned near the goal. He and Jess took the distraction of Sirius' bludger and took the Quaffle.

"GIRL KNIGHT SCORES! 40-0 TO GRYFFINDOR!"

James high fived Sirius as he passed, grinning madly. He sped up, chasing 'smarmy Diggory' down the pitch, the screams of supporters almost deafening.

"Smarmy Diggory to Abbott," Fabian clearly didn't notice McGonagall shouting at him, "Dodges Black's bludger, nice one there Sirius, passes back to Smarmy Diggory, and Smarmy Diggory is speeding down that pitch...how long before Boy Knight clocks him on in the eye do you reckon? My bet is five – alright Minnie, alright. Lovely robes by the way – and Potter steals the Quaffle! Boy Knight looks ready to kiss his cousin, not sure that's allowed, but whatever. Potter passes to Brown, who dips a little, passes to Girl Knight, who races up that pitch...too bad she's Jonny's sis eh? I'm joking Jonny-boy, I'm joking! Passes to Potter, whom, I might add, used to run round Boy Knight's back garden at age two, naked with his nappy on his head, thought I might share that...POTTER SCORES!!! 50-0 TO OUR MIGHTY LIONS!"

James, far too elated to retaliate for Fabians comment, hugged Holly and several members of his team while they celebrated. Jonny looked close to tears, but refused to move from his position as the game continued. James scanned the crowd quickly, and spotted his fellow Gryffindor third years hugging each other and cheering. A flash of red hair was enough to lift his spirits higher than the heavens.

"Smarmy Diggory takes the Quaffle, passes to Vincent, who drops it...shame, caught by Jess, who is looking particularly nice in that – sorry Minerva dear, just getting caught up in the excitement – oh, real mature!"

James spun around wildly to see what Fabian was on about, and rolled his eyes to see the Slytherins making quite a display of chucking stuffed lions in the air, only to blast them apart in some sort of weird threat...thing.

"Idiots. You know, I do believe the gits are trying to scare us," Fabian sneered, "My questions is, how many of those lions belong to Wybock Grover, he seems the type to be a collector," loud snorts of laughter could be heard from the three other houses, one face in particular going ruby red with anger. James shook his head, and was about to return to the game, when –

"BLIMEY! WELL, SOMEONE DECIDED TO CHUCK A FIREWORK, WHOEVER IT IS, NICE ONE MATE!"

Whilst the sparks and hisses of a rather loud Filibuster firework worked its way through the Slytherin crowd, James passed a smirking Fabian Prewett and one set of dumbfounded teachers, chasing Diggory towards the goal.

Nobody really noticed Kelly's dive, as most people attention were on the Slytherins, who were now dashing in a panic away from the firework. Only the two teams seemed to have realised, and watched with avid fascination as Kelly Fredrics and Annie Kirkland raced neck and neck towards the tiny golden ball fluttering near the base of the commentator's booth.

"RUDDY HELL! THEY'VE SEEN THE SNITCH!" Fabian seemed to have caught on, and gazes were torn from the Slytherins to the two seekers plummeting towards the ground.

Breaths were held. The Quaffle was dropped, and Sirius narrowly avoided a bludger to the head as all was stopped to watch the outcome.

They were so close. So close...

"FREDRICS CATCHES THE SNITCH! THAT'S ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY POINTS, FOLKS!! GRYFFINDOR RUDDY WELL WIN!!!"

~**~

James and Sirius returned to the common room hours later laden down with food from their trip to the kitchens (and Honeydukes, of course). Whilst Sirius dished out the food and butterbeer, James scanned the room. He spotted Lily and the girls chatting away with Kelly and her friends Mary MacDonald, Marlene McKinnon and Dorcas Meadowes about the match. He sighed, wondering if he and Lily would ever sort things out. It was really quite ridiculous, Lily could be perfectly polite one moment, then a complete...well...bitch! He'd never say that to her face though, he doubted he'd get out of it alive if he did. He looked around again, and saw Remus and Peter talking with Jonny, Simon, Fabian and Gideon. He headed over, grabbing a butterbeer as he did so.

"There's my star chaser!" cried Jonny, clapping James on the back. James grinned and took a seat next to the boys.

"Don't let Holly hear you say that, she's already convinced she'll beat me to Quidditch captaincy when it's our turn," laughed James.

Jonny rolled his eyes, "It's all I hear about, she reckons once she's captain, you lot will have a winning streak."

"I'm sure we will," chuckled Remus, "She's pretty formidable."

Sirius bounded over to his friends after receiving many compliments from several Gryffindor third years as he did.

"Flirting again Black?" laughed Gideon.

"Of course, I'm here to please."

The boys laughed and shook their heads. James' gaze wandered once again over to Lily. She was laughing at something Chris had said. She looked so pretty when she laughed.

"Oi, James!"

James' snapped from his musings and saw Jonny waving a hand in front of his face.

"What?"

"You spaced out for a minute there, you alright?"

James' nodded, looking at his friends as though daring them to voice their thoughts. Sirius, Remus and Peter merely exchanged knowing glances, and thankfully, kept their mouths shut.

The partygoers quietened down as Professor McGonagall entered the common room. They all groaned collectively and began heading towards their dorms. McGonagall however, ignored the party and headed straight over to the girls. James and the others watched in interest as the professor spoke to Chris. Chris frowned, then got up and left the room with the professor. Once she had left, Sirius shouted over to the girls.

"What's up with Chris!"

Lily, Bridget and Holly looked over, and shrugged.

"No idea, sounds serious though."

Their faces fell, and they glanced at each other fearfully. The boys seemed to understand, and hurried over.

"You don't think..." said Remus in a hushed whisper.

"No...no...she's a pureblood....it can't be," said a teary eyed Bridget.

"Half her family are married to Muggles or Muggle borns," grimaced Holly. She ran her hand through her hair, perfectly mimicking her cousin, "Oh god."

Lily ignored the fact that she hated when people – well, James – had that annoying habit, and wrapped her arm around Holly.

"We'll wait for her," she looked at the boys, "I think it'd be better if it was just us."

James and the boys nodded, and slowly got up, all praying what they supposed was wrong.

~**~

They were right. The night of the Quidditch party, Christina's Aunt Maggie, Uncle Greg and two cousins, Jake and Jennifer, were attacked and killed by Death Eaters. Chris' dad was an Auror, and therefore a target already, but her uncle Greg was a Muggle-born, and one of the top on the list, it seemed.

Chris didn't return until a week later, upset but hanging in there. What devastated her most, was that mere weeks ago, little Jake and Jennifer had performed their first bits of magic. Their lives had barely begun. The wizarding world was left reeling. At three years old, the Harper twins had become the youngest victims of the war so far. James watched as his fellow Gryffindors, even those who didn't know Chris rallying around to support her. Fifth years Kelly, Mary, Marlene and Dorcas, who had gotten quite friendly with the third year Gryffindors over the past week, made a point of ensuring Chris never crossed paths with any Slytherins, whilst Jonny and his friends (with some help from the Marauders) felt that hexing was the only way to keep them away. Lily didn't even protest, but to see the lengths the Gryffindors were going to, to protect Chris...well, it made him so proud to be part of that house.

"Hi."

Lily, Holly and Bridget jumped to their feet as they spotted Chris standing in the doorway to their dorm room. She looked pale, very pale, and the normal sparkle in her azure blue eyes was dimmed. She smiled weakly, and allowed her friends to envelope her in a tight embrace.

"How are you?" asked Lily softly, as the four girls sat down on Bridget's bed.

"I'm holding up...it's just...shock, you know," fresh tears sprung to her eyes, but she managed to keep them from falling. Holly quickly handed her a tissue.

"Thanks," she whispered, blowing her nose.

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Bridget, placing a comforting hand on her friends arm. Chris shook her head.

"Not really, I'd rather just forget it, I mean...at least they're safe now...right?"

"Right," said Lily firmly, her stomach dropping.

The attack had shaken Lily more than she cared to admit. She knew the attacks were bad, but for it to happen to one of her best friends, to happen so close to home, it made Lily wonder whether anyone was safe, anyone at all. What was worse, she herself was a Muggle born...what if they got her family?

"How about we take a little trip to the kitchens," suggested Holly, "I could use some of those éclairs right now."

Chris smiled. She really had the best friends in the world.

"Yeah...I'd like that."

~**~

A few weeks later, spring had fully set in. The air was fresh and the sun bright, but the recent attacks and oppression of Voldemort was casting a shadow over the students. It was hard; everybody was at risk, unless you were a Slytherin; who all seemed rather proud of the attack in Upper Flagely.

Chris seemed to be doing well. Though she was almost back to her usual, cheery self, James had often noticed a shadow of pain flit across her face whenever a new story on Voldemort surfaced. However, Chris was a fighter, and James knew she'd be alright, even if that shadow of pain never did truly leave.

James, Sirius and Peter clambered through the portrait hole after another night of Animagi studying. It was around six when they finally went back to the common room. Thankfully, it was a weekend, but it was also a Hogsmeade weekend, so the boys would still only have a few hours sleep at best. They had promised to wait for Remus to return from the hospital wing before going to the wizarding village, and though they had suggested he get as much rest as possible, Remus had not wanted to miss out.

The Marauders wandered the village for a little while, before heading into the Three Broomsticks to see Madam Rosmerta.

The boys chatted with her for awhile before the customers began piling in and she was forced to go back to work. They moved to their usual table near the back of the bar, and sat down.

They talked for awhile about Gryffindors chances of winning the cup, and wondering whether the Slytherins would turn to 'dirty play' as they were normally accustomed to.

"Hi guys!"

James and the boys chorused a hello to Chris, who was looking substantially better and was back to her bubbly self (even though there was a shadow of pain in her eyes James doubted would ever go away) and the girls, and moved up so they could sit down. James was amazed that Lily was actually allowing the girls to sit with them, but kept his mouth shut, not wanting to ruin it.

"No dates?" asked Remus, taking a sip of butterbeer.

Chris shook her head, "Nope, we're far too young to be worrying about boys."

"What about you?" asked Lily.

Remus shook his head, "You know as well as I do Sirius is the only one out of us lot to ever have a date."

Lily chuckled, "And why don't you have a date, Sirius?"

Sirius frowned, "I see you're talking to me?"

Lily blinked at her slip, and mumbled something. Sirius sniggered.

"Because I've decided a little Marauder time was due Lilyflower...hey, I like that, Lilyflower you are," he grinned. Lily shook her head, but was smiling. When Sirius wasn't hexing people, showing off or snogging girls, he really could be quite charming. And in all honesty, it wasn't Sirius she was angry at, just James. She didn't know why, the prank had been pulled by all of the Marauders. Lily just liked to tell herself it was all James' idea, and that the others had been dragged into it. Yes, that was what happened, she thought.

"What about me? I want a nickname," grinned Chris, never one to be left out. Sirius thought long and hard, then snapped his fingers.

"Collywobble?"

Chris snorted, "It'll do."

"I don't need a nickname," said Bridget quickly as Sirius looked at her with a grin.

Sirius then turned to Holly, "I'd think of one for you Hols, but I reckon James and Jonny wouldn't find them amusing."

James punched his friend in the arm whilst the others laughed. They stayed in the pub for a little while, before the girls decided to head back for some thing's they'd forgotten. James and the boys headed back the school, three of them in good spirits, only one of them still disheartened.


Like it? Loathe it? Let me know, as always :)

Grace ~