Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter or Harry Potter related copyrights.

A/N. So here are the results of the poll from the last chapter:

Lily's side: 4

James' side: 8

Sirius' side: 1

Couldn't decide: 2

Wow! I find it fascinating that James has twice the support Lily does. Anyways, here is the result of reviewing! I updated literally minutes after I received the 20th review. Enjoy!

"Do you think Lily has come back yet?" Marlene whispered to Alice the following morning. They were friends with the other girls in their dorm, but this was none of their business.

"Look," Alice whispered back. "Her bed has been slept in."

"Crap, her runners are gone. This could be worse than we thought. What do you think she's hiding? It must be bad."

At that moment Lily entered their dormitory very sweaty.

"Have a good run?" asked Alice cautiously.

"Not really. I need to talk to you guys," said Lily very softly.

"What's up?" asked Alice as she took a seat on the edge of Lily's bed.

Marlene followed suit and Lily took a seat in between her two friends.

Lily took a deep breath, rallied her courage, and began, "I came up with seven different lies to tell you guys why I became… what you just found out I became. But, in the end I decided that I didn't want to lie to you, so I'm just going to tell you that I can't tell you why. Please believe me when I say that I would tell you if I could."

Alice and Marlene exchanged a glance behind Lily's back.

"Okay," said Alice unsurely. "If you're positive."

"I am," said Lily confidently.

"What else is up?" asked Marlene. "You look really upset."

"That was it," Lily lied plastering a small smile on her face. "I don't know why I was so nervous about talking to you guys. I guess I just exaggerated everything as usual."

"Why don't you go shower Lily; you're all gross!" said Alice.

"Okay, will you guys wait for me?" Lily questioned them as she gathered her things.

It took a minute for Alice to answer because she was very surprised by the question. "Of course we'll wait for you Lily; we always do."

Lily just nodded gratefully and walked into the loo.

"So obviously something else is going on," Marlene whispered excitedly to Alice.

"She seems so insecure; just like she used to be," mused Alice.

"How are we going to get her to tell us what's up?"

"She'll tell us in her own time; there's no sense in trying to force it out of her."

Marlene grinned wickedly, "We could always force it out of James. I'm sure he knows whatever it is and he's much easier to crack."

"I think I'll just wait until Lily tells me herself," stated Alice sensibly.

"Tomato tomato," said Marlene pronouncing the word two different ways.

-----

Lily tried her absolute best to act normal as she and her friends walked down to breakfast together, but when you've lived for someone for nearly seven years it's obvious when a person is faking. With Lily it was harder to discern, but Alice and Marlene were already clued into her mood.

However, they weren't expecting her to take the seat across from James when they walked over to their usual spot at the table. No matter what petty argument they were having they always sat next to each other whenever possible.

All of the friends looked from James to Lily and back again multiple times with very shocked expressions. James and Lily both just stared at their food, refusing to look at anyone or anything else. Needless to say, breakfast was a silent affair.

Class was not different. Lily explained about not being able to explain to Sirius, Remus and Peter right after breakfast, but didn't say much else for the rest of the day.

She smiled when other people did and laughed at jokes; she took notes and ran the Prefect meeting efficiently, but all her friends could see that she was just going through the motions without her usual passion.

James was very different. He just sulked wherever he went. He doodled on his parchment during half of his classes and slept through the rest. All of his comments had a very caustic undertone. During the Prefect meeting he just balanced on the two legs of his chair the whole time looking bored.

After the meeting Lily gathered her things and left without a backwards glance.

After he got over the shock that Lily broke up with him, he became angry. What right did she have to break up with him? He should have been the one breaking up with her. He hadn't done anything wrong; he was the perfect boyfriend!

Still thinking these angry thoughts James let his chair fall back to the ground with a satisfying thunk. Then he left and returned to his dormitory, stomping the whole way.

"What's up with you mate?" asked Sirius as he paused in searching through his trunk to watch James throw himself onto his bed and stare at his canopy moodily. "You've been acting weird all day."

"No I haven't," snapped James defensively.

Shrugging it off Sirius said, "Do you know where I stashed my mirror? I can't find it anywhere and I wanted to see where you were."

"Why?"

"Because tonight's the full moon," said Sirius as though it should be obvious. "We were supposed to leave an hour ago."

"I had a Prefect meeting."

"Why didn't you just tell Lily? I'm sure she could have run the meeting without you," said Sirius.

"I doubt it," lied James huffily.

"Whatever," murmured Sirius. "Let's just go."

"Where's Wormtail?" asked James.

"He'll meet us at the willow; he just ran down to the library to return a late book before ol' Pincey castrates him," said Sirius with a laugh as he imagined the scene. "But seriously, where's my mirror? I can't find it anywhere."

"I have it," muttered James darkly.

"You have it?" asked Sirius suspiciously. "Why do you have it?"

"Couldn't find mine," lied James.

"What good would it do to have one if the other was lost? Who would you call?" asked Sirius, seeing through the lie.

"No one obviously!" shouted James. "Let's just go already!"

Sirius just followed his surrogate brother out of the dormitory under the invisibility cloak.

"Aren't you going to say good-bye to Lily?" asked Sirius as he stopped in the common room.

"No," hissed James violently. He didn't even glance towards Lily as she sat doing her homework in an armchair near the fire. "Come on."

Out of the corner of her eye Lily saw the portrait hole open without anyone coming in or out. While the rest of the house had just accepted the oddity as magic, Lily knew better.

"Very clumsy," mumbled Lily under her breath. She was hoping Sirius would be careless like that so she would know when he had left.

She waited one minute more and then went up to her dormitory.

She arranged her features into a look of panic and shouted, "Oh my gosh! I forgot that I was supposed to tutor that kid in astronomy tonight! I'll see you guys later!" she called to the girls as she ran out.

"She works too much," muttered Dorcas. The rest murmured in agreement and continued on with their activities.

After Lily cleared the common room she slowed down so that she wouldn't run into Sirius or… him. By the time she got outside she saw the three of them in their animal forms go into the passage beneath the Whomping Willow. She quickly ran into the Forbidden Forest and transformed herself. She sighed as she stretched her arms out into wings. When she was a bird everything was perfect; every feather was aligned. Being human was harder; sometimes things just didn't work out.

Lily flapped her wings and slowly rose out of the forest. Once she had cleared the trees and their branches, she beat her wings faster and gained altitude quickly. Then she coasted the whole way to the Shrieking Shack. With her acute hearing she could hear the four boys horsing around. She settled herself on a branch not far from the haunted house and watched as she did every full moon. If anything happened she was ready to intervene at once.

As they usually did, the four animals soon grew tired of the confined space of the shack and ran into the forest. Lily silently followed them, making sure that she kept her distance. She had learned from her first experience in the forest and since then made sure that she didn't get too close to Padfoot.

The night progressed without any problems whatsoever. Around one, confident that the boys would be fine, Lily flew back to the castle. Seeing the no one was in the common room she let herself in through the window that had been thrown open in the hopes of a nice spring breeze.

She put her pajamas on and drifted off into sleep. She was plagued by nightmares the whole night.

-----

The next day passed the same way; James sulked, and Lily tried too hard to act normal. For a long time their friends tolerated their strange behavior because they didn't want to get in the middle of whatever silent argument James and Lily were having. However, they all ultimately got fed up. After dinner the Marauders cornered James in their dormitory without knowing that Alice and Marlene were doing the exact same thing to Lily.

"What's up with you and James?" Marlene demanded to know.

Across the common room and up a few flights of stairs Sirius demanded the same information from James saying, "Mate, what's going on between you and Lily?"

"Nothing," muttered James as he played with the snitch he had pocketed after Quidditch practice that day.

"Nothing's up," said Lily simply. "In fact, we broke up."

Lily calmly continued doing her essay as Marlene and Alice stared at her as if she was the Giant Squid.

"Why are you ignoring each other then?" asked Remus tiredly.

"Just are," said James curtly.

"He broke up with you?!" screeched Marlene. "I'll wring his neck!"

"I broke up with him," clarified Lily.

"Whatever it is you're fighting about, you might as well go apologize and make up. It's not like you don't know that you'll cave in eventually anyway," reasoned Peter.

"She's the one who's wrong; not me," said James childishly.

Sirius laughed in a bark-like fashion and said, "You say that every time the two of you fight, but then ultimately you realize you were wrong, admit to it, and then the two of you are back in happy couple land."

"Happy couple land?" asked Remus questioningly as he turned to Sirius.

"I'll bet you can't even tell that I just made that up on the spot," said Sirius with a toothy grin.

"Why would you break up with him?! You're so bloody in love with him the rest of us can't stand it!" shrilled Marlene. She didn't like this revelation; she saw James and Lily as the perfect couple and if they could break up then what chance did her relationship with Sirius have?

"He couldn't take it anymore," said Lily as she struggled to focus on the words in front of her. "Deep down I always knew that I'd drive him away at some point; it was only a matter of time really."

James glared at his friends and stubbornly said, "I can't take it anymore. I'm not going to go crawling back to her this time."

"Right Prongs," said Remus with an eye-roll.

"No I'm serious; Padfoot I swear if you bring up that pun I will throw you out the window!"

"Would it make you feel better if you threw Lily out of a window? You could get your anger out and she would be perfectly fine… me on the other hand, well I would just splat on the ground," joked Sirius.

"Oh Lily, don't say that," said Alice in a motherly way as she awkwardly hugged her seated friend. "You are beautiful, smart, witty, kind and loving."

"Funny how you didn't list any of my overbearing flaws," said Lily dryly.

"You could get him back if you wanted to," said Marlene with a scheming look on her face.

James grimaced at the sound of his ex-girlfriends name and the reminder of what had launched the break-up. "I wish she would go splat on the ground."

"What?" asked Sirius in disgust.

James moaned; after he had let the words out of his mouth he realized how dramatic and how wrong they were.

"What the hell are you fighting about?" asked Remus in horror. "And if you tell me it is something stupid like Quidditch or patrolling schedules or which professor would win a wrestling match, I swear I will hex you to Hogsmeade and back."

"I broke up with him," said Lily slowly and emphatically, hoping she could finally get the message across to Marlene. "He is insufferable, meaning that I can no longer suffer to be around him."

"What happened though Lily? Two days ago you were blissfully in love with him, waiting for him to come back to you," said Alice soothingly as she pulled up a chair next to Lily.

"I don't know Alice," said Lily, her sadness finally seeping through her words. She continued as Marlene perched on the edge of Alice's chair. "We're just too different I guess. He really doesn't understand me."

His eyes flashing with anger, James yelled, "Don't take her side! She was the one who broke up with me!"

"You broke up?" asked Sirius disbelievingly.

"As in you aren't dating anymore?" asked Peter with the same shock.

Sardonically James replied, "No, as in we broke each other's arms!"

"Why?" asked Remus.

"But you tell him everything!" said Alice who was very surprised.

"Not enough apparently," said Lily. "He said that he was the only one who ever gave anything to our relationship."

Marlene released a spew of curses. She ended her long tirade by saying, "That jerk! And I was beginning to actually like him!"

"She's just too difficult. I thought I could handle it, but I couldn't take it anymore," said James vehemently.

"But you love how she was a puzzle, so complex. And you love being there for her when she needs help," said Remus.

"I did; but that's over now," said James without any remorse.

"Just because we're not dating anymore doesn't mean that you have to go back to hating him. I don't want it to be awkward for you to hang out with Sirius around him," said Lily.

"Sirius, smirious," said Marlene brightly. "My first loyalty is always to you girlies; you came first!"

"Boys will never come between us," declared Alice lovingly.

"You're being stupid Prongs," Sirius said bluntly. "Don't throw away the best thing that ever happened to you."

James laughed mirthlessly. "The best thing that ever happened to me? Not even close! All she's done since I met her seven years ago is drive me crazy!"

"That's not true," said Peter resolutely. "She's been a good friend to all of us. Don't forget all that she's done for you and us."

"Oh shut up Wormtail," said James harshly.

"No you shut up Prongs!" retorted Sirius when he saw the hurt look on Peter's face. "Stop being such a bloody prick! We're just trying to make you see reason; don't take your anger out on us!"

"How about some wallowing?" asked Alice. "Tomorrow is Saturday so you don't have to do any work tonight; don't even try to use that as an excuse."

"I broke up with him," repeated Lily. "Wallowing is for the dumpee not the dumper."

"Wallowing is for any girl that used to be in a relationship and no longer is, no matter the circumstances regarding the split," announced Alice.

Agreeing Marlene said, "That's right! So off to the kitchens we go!"

Lily smiled faintly and allowed herself to be dragged down to the kitchens for some delicious baked goods.

"You're right," said James defeated. "I'm sorry guys. I shouldn't let a girl come between us; friends come first."

"Except when it comes to Lily Evans," Sirius pointed out. He immediately regretted the words.

"Not anymore," James said firmly. "It's finally over."

"So who's up for some night Quidditch?" asked Remus, knowing that flying would boost James' spirits like nothing else.

"Okay," said James softly.

On opposite sides of the Hogwarts grounds Lily and James grieved. Despite his outward anger and her false nonchalance, both mourned the death of their relationship. They may have tried to assuage their sadness in different ways, but they were going through the same process. They were burying their love underneath so many other things, pride… fear… pain… and most of all a loss of faith, faith in themselves, each other, and their love.

-----

"So did Lily tell you about her and James?" Sirius casually questioned Marlene as they stole a few minutes alone in the library. They had coincidently bumped into each other if anyone asked.

Without looking away from the bookshelf in front of her Marlene responded curtly, "Of course and I think Potter is a bloody moron for not going after her."

"You think this is James' fault?!" asked Sirius. He completely abandoned their charade of pretending not to talk to each other out of loyalty to their respective friends.

"Of course it is!" snapped Marlene. She too stopped pretending to look at Astronomy books and turned to look at Sirius. "Lily is emotionally crippled! James knows that and still he lets her push him away? He knows better! He knows that he has to fight for her! I've lost track of the number of times she's pushed Alice and I away, but did we ever give up on her? Of course not!"

"It's different!" protested Sirius. "You're her friends, he is her boyfriend. He shouldn't have to chase her all the time! Once in a while she should fight for him!"

"She does fight for him; every moment of every day," said Marlene in a dangerous whisper. "Do you know how much crap she takes from everyone? Do you remember Lily in first year? She was bright and bubbly, a little shy but everyone loved her because she was so happy all the time, fun to be around. She had more friends than she knew what to do with. Then second year, she hardly spoke, she hardly ate, and she almost never smiled. She pushed everyone away, and they let her, except Alice and me. She's gotten better over the years, but she could never repair those friendships. She's liked and respected by most, but she doesn't have many friends.

"Everyone talks about her behind her back and right in front of her. Most of the time she just tries to ignore it; she doesn't have the strength to fight all of them. They're jealous, so jealous it makes me sick! They wonder when the only muggleborn Head Girl is finally going to cave under pressure and give up; they speculate about why Potter ever wanted to go out with her in the first place, and they gossip about how she could possibly get the grades she does. You don't know how many people have told her that James is too good for her!"

"He obviously is too good for her!" Sirius bellowed. All the students in the library looked up at this disturbance.

After Madame Pince through Sirius and Marlene out of the library they continued their argument in a nearby classroom.

"He's too good for her?" asked Marlene in disbelief. "How can you possibly think that?"

"Because it's true! He worships the ground she walks on and she just likes him."

"She is so bloody in love with him it's pathetic!"

"Well maybe she should tell him that once in a while!"

"It's hard for her! You don't understand!"

"No I don't understand her and I don't understand you!"

"No you never understand me! This might possibly be the longest conversation we've had in a month and we're fighting! Our relationship isn't going anywhere Sirius," Marlene finished sadly.

Sirius sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Maybe not, but why don't we take some time to think about it."

"Okay," said Marlene seriously. "Right now we have to be there for our friends."

"We'll talk again when James and Lily get back together."

"If they get back together."

"Yeah if…" Sirius trailed off. He and Marlene exchanged a worried look and then parted.

A/N. So apparently Cupid's evil twin brother is wreaking havoc at Hogwarts. First Lily and James and then Sirius and Marlene. So question time!

So how do you all feel about Sirius and Marlene's relationship?

Is anyone surprised that James and Lily haven't gotten back together yet?

Has anyone changed sides because of this chapter?

Another 20 reviews will get you the next chapter! It's a really good one so hurry up; I can't wait to post it!