Title: Glass Hearts

Rating: PG-13

Summary (of chapter): Valentine's Day, Patroni, and getting ready for James' birthday.

Marlene burst into her room and threw her broom up against the wall. Tori jumped, looking at Marlene with wide eyes. "Sorry," Marlene said grudgingly. She had told Lily her boyfriend was dueling as she passed her in the common room, and she sort of hoped they all mysteriously wound up dead.

Marlene sighed. She didn't want that, of course. She liked James and Sirius, and Regulus wasn't always an ass. What had he been trying to say about Remus?

Remus was gone nearly every month . . . just a week ago, he had been sick in the infirmary for a few days. When Marlene tried to visit him, Madam Pompfrey told her he had to go home for the night. Then Remus had tried to tell her he had been in the infirmary. Maybe he had some extreme illness . . .

Marlene looked at the calendar by her bed. He had been gone around the seventh. There was a small dark circle in the corner, which indicated it was a full moon that night.

Her eyes widening, it all made sense to Marlene in a flash. Remus was a werewolf. He was gone every month - he Transformed at the full moon. But what did the Shrieking Shack . . . she remembered rumors of a prank played on Snape at the Whomping Willow . . . but no. They wouldn't.

The world began to spin around Marlene. She put her head in her hands, feeling dizzy. That was it. That was all of it.

Ruddy Regulus Black - couldn't he keep his mouth shut?

Valentine's Day was hardly as exciting as it had been last year. James and Sirius had talked about a prank, but never put it into action. There was still plenty of kissing, hand-holding, and tears.

Marlene skipped breakfast. She was still in shock from her revelation from the previous night. She lay in bed, reading her journal. She had written about when Remus had been sick in November, and, at another time, how she felt like Lily knew Remus better than she. She sighed. Why did it have to be Valentine's Day?

Marlene sat up with a yawn. Her roommates were gone; Tori said she would bring Marlene breakfast. What would she do without such good friends? She reached into her trunk and brought out something wrapped up in a piece of cloth. She had been making Remus a bracelet. It had an ornate design with braids and a bunch of other things with his favorite colors: blue and brown. It had been stupid, anyway. What would he do with a bracelet? She tossed it on her nightstand and plopped back down unto her bed.

When Lily walked into her Transfiguration class, a high-pitched voice started singing. she looked around, a bit alarmed, and saw a dozen roses on her desk. They were singing to her.

"Lily, my dearest, I'll never love another!" they sang in a high-pitched voice. There was a few giggles throughout the room.

Lily walked to her desk, blushing. She shot James a look, who was smirking at her. "Make them stop," she said quietly.

"After you kiss me," James said in a loud voice.

All eyes were on them, including Professor McGonagall's and the Slytherins. She shook her head, kissing him on the forehead. "Oh, come on!" James exclaimed as some students laughed.

"Make them stop," Lily repeated.

James caved in, taking out his wand. He flicked it and the flowers stopped singing. "Thank you very much for the flowers," Lily said, grinning.

"Anytime," James said, grinning back at her.

On her way to lunch, Jewel pulled Sirius aside outside of the Great Hall. "Happy Valentine's Day," she said, giving him a hug.

"Happy Valentine's Day," Sirius said, wrapping his arms around her. "I got you something."

"Oh, really?" Jewel asked, smiling.

Sirius pulled a pair of socks out of his robes. They were red with dragons on them. Jewel started laughing. She took the socks from him, but then brought out another pair from inside of her robes. This pair was white and had phoenixes flying around.

"Are those for me?" Sirius asked, his eyes widening.

Jewel nodded her head, laughing harder.

Sirius took them, chuckling with her.

"Kingsley Shacklebolt?" Mary said keenly. "Candace, I thought you liked Carlyle Bickey."

Candace gasped, scandalized. She gave Mary a dirty look. "That's disgusting," she said. "Take it back, Mary."

"No way!" Mary exclaimed, laughing. "Maybe if you admit Alan Saunders likes me."

Candace rolled her eyes. "He hasn't talked to you for a week," she said.

"Today he gave me flowers," Mary said indignantly.

"Because he wants another snog," Candace said.

"Shut up!"

There was a frustrated look on her face, and her hand gripped her wand. She made an exasperated noise, running a hand through her red hair. She had had it up all day, only tendrils falling before her eyes during class. Now it fell over her shoulders, down over her button-up white shirt, curls and waves, the color of blood and wine, adorning her. Her freckled legs moved underneath her skirt as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

She raised her wand again, a look of concentration on her face. She muttered the incantation, moving her wand up and down. There was a small puff of silver smoke from the tip of her wand that took an indistinguishable form, then vanished. She let out a cry of frustration, sitting down in the desk on which her book sat. She started muttering to herself, and James smiled despite himself.

He paused before pushing the door to the empty classroom all the way open. He reveled in stolen moments when he could watch her. He did it often, when she was in class, during meals, in the common room. He had done it for years before, but now he could. They were together – an official couple. He still tried not to do it all the time, even though he could watch her for the rest of his life and die happy. There were rare times when he could watch her knowing she didn't know of it.

Lily looked up from her book when the door creaked. "Hey," she said, a tired and slightly embarrassed look on her face.

"Hey," James said. He came in, shutting the door behind him. "What are you working on?" Of course, he already knew, not only from watching her through the crack of the door, but also from the Defense book lying on the desk in front of her.

"Defense class," Lily said, looking up at James. "Have you been able to do a Patronus yet?"

James nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Sirius and I were playing around with them last week."

"Playing around with them," Lily said, an indistinguishable look on her face. "You make it sound so easy."

"Well . . . how have your practices gone?" James asked.

Lily shrugged. "I'm not that great at Defense Against the Dark Arts," she said.

"Come on," James said, standing up. "Let's try it together."

"I've already tried it a thousand times," Lily said.

"Come on," James said, pulling her to her feet.

"James, I don't want to do it anymore," Lily said, looking away from him.

"Why not?" James asked.

"I just don't," Lily said. "I've had enough practice. Let's do something else."

James tilted his head. "You haven't been in here that long," he said. "You only left dinner an hour ago."

"An hour is long enough," Lily said.

"Come on, why not?" he said. He got on his knees and folded his hands, begging her to practice the Patronus with him. She crossed her arms, looking down at him, not amused. He bent down and kissed her feet.

Laughing, she stepped away. "Stop it," she said, "and keep your mouth away from my toes."

He grinned up at her. "All right, all right, fine," Lily said. "You always get your way."

James stood up, smiling. "Okay," he said. He picked up her book, even though he knew the spell. "Think of a happy memory."

"Right," Lily said. "I've got one."

James paused. "Which one are you using?"

Lily put her hands on her hips. "Don't push it."

"Okay," James said, smiling. "So, Expecto Patronum."

"Expecto Patronum," Lily said.

"Expecto Patronum," James said. He put the book down. "It's a normal wave of the wand, no swishing or flicking. You've got to concentrate on your memory with everything in your being."

"Right, that's what the book said," Lily said in an irritable voice.

"Close your eyes and imagine the memory," James said. "Remember the smells, the feels, the details of what you saw."

Lily's face screwed up in thought. "Okay," she said.

"And think of how it is to be around a dementor," James said.

Lily paused, blinking. "I've never . . ." she trailed off.

"You've never been around a dementor?" James asked, his shoulders sagging.

"No," Lily said hesitantly. Her ears grew red, and she shifted her weight again. "I'm Muggleborn, you know."

"Yeah, I know," James said, waving his hand. "It doesn't matter. It's just a dementor. You're lucky if you haven't seen one."

"Where did you see one?" Lily asked.

"My dad took me to visit Azkaban once," James said. He paused. "It's a horrible place. Dementors are . . . well, they make you feel like you'll never be happy again. Everything gets horribly cold when they're around, and they suck every good thing out of you so you only have horrible memories left in your head."

"I've read about them," Lily said temperately.

"Just imagine standing outside in rain, sleet, snow, wind, and everyone that you love is dead," James said.

"I thought you said concentrate on my happy memory," she said.

"Right," James said. "Do that when you're casting the spell. I meant imagine that when you're trying to think of a dementor."

Lily paused. "Okay," she shook her head. "Let's just do this."

"Okay," James said. "Think of your memory, hard as you can. Wave your wand and say the incantation."

Lily stood with a look of determination on her face, her back to the door. James wondered what memory she was thinking of for a moment, then she waved her wand and said, "Expecto Patronum."

There was a stream of silver smoke from the tip of her wand that formed something of a shield in front of her. It had no definite shape. James smiled, letting out a cheer as it vanished into Lily's wand again. "That was great," he said.

Lily looked both cheerful and hesitant. "Yeah," she said. "It's the greatest thing I've had so far."

"It'd be great if you could test it on a dementor," James said. "Hell, if we all could. That'd be great." He paused, thinking of their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and Dumbledore allowing dementors on school ground, which would never happen. "But, anyway . . . you think that memory is strong enough?"

"Yeah," Lily said, but her voice sounded uncertain.

James paused, but Lily continued to nod.

"Try it again," James said.

They spent half an hour in the empty classroom, trying the spell over and over again. Lily's Patronus started to take a form towards the end. "What do you think it is?" she asked James.

"Don't ask me," James said, shaking his head.

"What's yours?" Lily asked.

"A stag," James said.

Lily's eyes flickered. "What?" James asked.

"Nothing," Lily said innocently. "Look, this memory must have something wrong with it. Maybe I'll try a new one, just to see . . ."

"Okay," James said, shrugging. "Sirius and I changed our memories every few tries. We had about six by half an hour later."

Lily smiled. She started to concentrate. Her eyes closed a bit, the room becoming still. She moved her arm up and her eyes opened, flashing green and she said in a strong voice, "Expecto Patronum!"

There was a burst of smoke from her wand and a strong and silver doe-shaped Patronus took form. Lily and James stared as the Patronus ran to the wall and vanished. There was a moment of silence as Lily stood, panting in shock.

James jumped up from his seat, cheering. "That was amazing!" he exclaimed. He picked Lily up and spun her around. She laughed, hugging him. "You're amazing. What – how – what was your new memory?"

Lily laughed, blushing. "I can't tell," she said, scandalized.

James smiled. "That was great," he said.

"Thanks," Lily said. "Thanks. I . . . I'm not that great at Defense, but I'm glad you helped me."

"I'm glad, too," James said, kissing her on the forehead. "Come on, do it again. I've got to see your brilliancy again."

Lily laughed, and obliged him.

Remus sat in Defense Against the Dark Arts, his arms crossed. Professor Pierre stood in front of the class, talking about Patroni and dementors. They were going to practice on them today for most of the time. He had practiced a bit over the last week or so, but not as much as Sirius, James and, when talked into it, Peter. It was predictable what their Patroni would be identical to their Animagus Forms, except for Peter's was larger than his form.

"All right, get to work," Professor Pierre said, waving his arms. "I want to see a beautiful Patronus from each of you."

The class set off to work. Remus turned to Peter, Sirius and James. James turned to look at Remus. "Let's see yours, Moony," he said. "You've haven't practiced with us."

Remus only shrugged. "It's nothing," he said.

"Come on, Remus," Sirius cheered. He put his feet up on the desk, grinning. He waved his wand. "Expecto Patronum!" A large silver Patronus shot out of his wand, taking the form of a large dog. James let out long cheers with Sirius and Peter.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Ridiculous," he said shortly. He stood up, brandishing his wand. He thought of spending Christmas at James's house during sixth year, eating and opening presents and having snowball fights. "Expecto Patronum!"

A large Patronus appeared, its shape similar to Sirius's, but obviously a wolf. James, Sirius and Peter cheered again. James started clapping, and Sirius grinned. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" he asked Remus.

Remus shrugged, smiling. He looked around and saw Lily, who was watching Remus's Patronus. It vanished, and Lily blinked before turning to Mary.

"I want to see zem strong and clear," the professor said, walking around the room. "Not see zrough or wizzout a shape. I realize zey're difficult, but you're all seven' years and you've gotten zis far into the class wizzout me kicking you out."

He approached James and a look of pride came unto his face. "Potter," he said loudly. "Let's see yours."

"Mine?" James asked.

"Yes," Professor Pierre said, nodding. "Class, quiet down. Potter came to see me a few days ago about his Patronus, and I want you all to see his."

James grinned, standing up. He paused for a moment. Remus was pretty sure that he was doing it for dramatic effect. Sirius bet that his memory was the first time Lily kissed him, but Remus told him his money was on Christmas night after the giant attack.

"Expecto Patronum!" James said in a strong voice, waving his hand.

There was a burst from the end of his wand and a silver stag appeared. The class gasped and awed as the bright animal galloped around the room and then turned into a mist. The students clapped and cheered while some of the girls giggled and whispered to each other.

James and Lily met eyes from across the room, and they smiled at each other. Professor Pierre smiled at James, and put his hand on James's shoulder before continuing around the room.

The sun was finally beginning to resurface. The grounds began to look colorful again as flowers sheepishly came out of the ground. Lily gazed outside during an Arithmancy class. They were given time in class to work on their essays as Professor Flitwick took her Arithmancy professor's place. She had already finished it, so she worked on some other homework. She had managed most of that, as well.

Lily looked down at the list of things she still needed to do for the surprise party she was throwing James over Easter hols.

1. Send out invitations.

2. Drinks & foods - Sirius?

3. Make sure Mr. Potter is going to get him out of the house beforehand.

4. Arrange transportation. Portkey? Floo?

5. Who's coming early to help decorate?

6. Buy present!

She tapped the tip of her quill on her desk. She didn't know what he needed or wanted. He had dropped hints of new Quidditch gloves, but Sirius told Lily he was going to buy those. What would he use? Maybe she should make him something he'd use over the end of the year. Or over the summer. Or in Auror training. He already had a Sneakoscope and other Dark Magic Detectors. That boy had everything.

Lily thought back to her own birthday and the bottle of Felix Felicis James had given her. Her stomach fluttered as she tried to think of when to use it. Maybe she could get him something cool like that.

Half an hour later, Professor Flitwick let them out of class. "Have a great break!" he squeaked. Some students were staying at Hogwarts over break, but others had parents who wanted to see them over the week-long holidays they were given.

Students filed out of the classroom, chatting with each other. In the Gryffindor common room, Lily walked over to Marlene, who sat by the fireplace. "Hey, how's it going?" Lily asked.

"Good," Marlene said. "I only have Potions and Charms to get through tomorrow."

Lily glanced around the common room, making sure James wasn't here. "You're coming to James's party, right?" she asked.

Marlene let out a groan. "Do I have to?" she asked.

Lily knew she didn't want to see Remus, but Lily really wanted Marlene to be there. "Oh, come on," Lily said, nudging her in the shoulder. "If James knew about this, he'd want you to come."

"I'll come," Marlene said with a sigh.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine," Lily said.

"You can stop saying that, you know," Marlene said. Lily had been saying that for about five weeks now whenever the topic of Remus came up, which they both tried to avoid.

"I just . . . I want us all to be friends again," Lily said.

"We are friends," Marlene said. "I mean, most of us are. It's just that Remus and I aren't, even though he said he wanted to be. I'm starting to think they just say that because they feel bad about dumping us."

Lily frowned a little bit. "Maybe," she said.

"Well, I'm going to go upstairs," Marlene said. "I have one last Potions essay to turn in tomorrow."

"I'll see you later," Lily said. "Good luck."

A/N: You know what? I love you guys so much, I'm going to upload another chapter! Three in one day!