Chapter 7: Confrontation

When I woke up the next morning, I just stared up at the canopy of my four poster bed, thinking about the fact that I was going back home. I was going back to Petunia, back to my parents…but this time, without Severus. What would I tell them? That we were no longer friends because he'd called me a 'mudblood'? My parents would give me sympathy, but Petunia…oh, I'd never hear the end of it from Petunia. She'd go on all summer, telling me something along the lines of: 'I told you so! I knew he was too slimy for his own good!' And then, how was I going to tackle the bigger news, the news of a boyfriend. My dad was going to freak! And the thought of having to sit through a dinner with him and James in the same room, possibly with James' parents…it would be utterly humiliating!

"Lil, the train leaves at noon," Mary reminded me, rushing around packing last minute things. "Time to get up."

"Yeah," I mumbled. I got up off my bed, grabbed my clothes and went to take a shower. When I came out, Mary was just finishing her packing.

"Have you packed already?" she asked me.

"Yeah, last night, when you were asleep," I told her. I really didn't like doing things last minute. My dad and I had that in common; we were the two in our family who only did things after careful thought and planning. My mum and sister were different; spontaneous. They seemed to do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. One time, my dad had been away on business, and when he came home a couple of days later my mum had completely refurnished the living room. Had my dad been there they would've looked at different shops and furniture for months before deciding on something.

"We should go for breakfast," Mary glanced at her watch. "It's almost nine." She closed her trunk, ready to go.

"Alright, let's go," I agreed.

We found seats in the Great Hall next to the Marauders. "Hi guys," Mary and I said in unison as we sat down next to James and Sirius, who were whispering to each other quietly. "So," I asked them, "What's the big prank this year?

"Lilyflower, that's for us to know, and you to find out!" Sirius cheekily told me.

"Guys, I think it's time," Peter murmured, his eyes on the staff table. "Dumbledore's just about to drink his pumpkin juice, which means he's going to start the speech in exactly a minute." I wondered how many years of watching Dumbledore's habits it had taken to figure that out.

"Alright, let's go. Moony, Wormtail, you take the back," James instructed. "Sirius and I will go for the front." he grinned. He cast a disillusionment charm on himself, and then on Sirius. They weren't brilliant,- of course I could have done better -, but they were decent, especially considering we'd only just learnt them that year, right before our OWLs. Remus and Peter got up after counting slowly to ten, both casting disillusionment charms on themselves.

"I wonder what they're doing to do," Mary speculated, trying to track their movements, which soon turned out to be impossible.

"Whatever it is, Remus had better not be playing a big part," I said sternly. "He's a Prefect! He's supposed to stop these types of things, not take part in them!" I huffed. I knew I could be uptight at times; it was just that I worked so hard for that spot, and I didn't like to see someone else just glide in not to take it seriously. I wanted to be a Prefect since my first day at Hogwarts, when they directed us to the common rooms. I liked to think of myself as a leader, someone who could be responsible, and so I worked towards being a prefect ever since. I worked towards that, and now I was working towards being Head Girl, and hopefully one day, to being an Auror.

"What's up with the ceiling?" Mary asked, pointing towards it. I followed her gaze, and sure enough, the bright blue, cloudless sky the ceiling was charmed to replicate, was now starting to darken. Grey thunder clouds starting rolling in. More and more people started to notice, and eventually the teachers looked up questioningly.

"Is it going to rain?" I asked curiously. I thought probably not – this was the Marauders after all, they would hardly go for anything so simple.

Just as I was contemplating this, the weirdest thing happened. A grey cloud started drifting down - no longer just an image – and moved closer and closer to the tables of students. I peeked at Dumbledore out of the corner of my eye. He was just watching this strange occurrence in a way that only Dumbledore could. His half moon spectacles were rested comfortably on his crooked nose, behind which his eyes twinkled in amusement, his expression completely calm. The students seemed unsure what to make of the situation. It didn't look as though the cloud was causing any harm.

"Lily," Mary said dubiously, "I've got a bad feeling about this." She fidgeted nervously as the cloud continued to sink lower. All of a sudden, it separated into five individual clouds, each one drifting to cover one of the tables. I stared up, intrigued, at the cloud hovering above the Gryffindor table. After a moment, it seemed as though people were wondering whether anything was going to happen at all.

Suddenly, the Slytherin table's cloud began to darken even further, and everyone in the Hall jumped as thunder clapped. Of all of us, the Slytherins appeared to be the most scared. One of the first years looked as if he was about to cry.

"What d'you think's going to happen?" I whispered to Mary.

Mary squinted, "Lily, look! Things are falling from the clouds!"

I narrowed my eyes, "Are they hats?" I asked incredulously. Mary nodded, looking perplexed. Black, pointed wizard hats were falling fast from the cloud, and as I looked closely I saw that there was a band of red writing on each of their rims. "I wonder what they say!"

When the hats reached the students, they seemed to latch onto their heads like magnets. The younger students tried pulling them off with brute force, while some of the sixth and seventh years tried using magic. I heard them try the spells reducto and relashio, neither of which appeared to work. Several Gryffindors got up from the table, grinning, and ran over to the Slytherin table, presumably to see what was written on the hats. There was a chorus of laughter and some returned to our table to pull their friends up, saying they 'had to see this'.

"Want to go and see what they say?" I grinned, pulling Mary up. I caught Lucius Malfoy's eye as he struggled with his hat, and smirked. Edging closer to a group of first years, I caught sight of what was written. On each hat, written in block capitals, was the word DUNCE.

Mary and I burst into laughter and made our way back to Gryffindor table. As we resumed our seats, the same thunderous sounds the Slytherins' cloud had made came from the cloud above the staff table.

I looked up excitedly, wondering what would happen next. "What d'you reckon they'll do to the teachers?" I asked Mary.

She shrugged her shoulders, "you never know with those boys."

The entire Hall fell silent in anticipation. Blue dust began to fall from the cloud, which soon turned into a thick fog, causing the teachers to break into coughing fits. A few moments later the fog had cleared slightly; revealing the teachers, who were all wearing each other's clothes. The students burst into laughter appreciatively. The teachers were all fuming, with the exception of Dumbledore and Slughorn, who ironically had been the two to end up in women's clothing. Dumbledore was chuckling heartily as he inspected his lilac colored robes, previously Madam Pomfrey's.

"Moony, Wormtail, I think it's time to switch 'em back, eh? They seemed to have had a good laugh." I jumped at the sound of James' voice next to me. I looked around, seeing no one.

"James? Is that you? Where are you?" I asked. I started as I felt James' hand entwine with mine.

"I'm right next to you," his voice whispered in my ear. Remus' voice came from the other side of me.

"Yeah, I think that's enough," he agreed with James.

"Where's Padfoot?" Peter's voice asked from directly in front of me. A shriek came from Mary and I looked over to her to see her being tickled by a seemingly invisible force.

"Well that answers that," James laughed. "Moony, Wormtail, ready?" he asked. Four wands swished through in the air, accompanied by incantations I didn't recognize. With a faint pop the hats disappeared, the Professors' clothes returned to normal, and the five clouds began to drift back towards the enchanted ceiling. Everyone watched as they seemed to merge once again with the sky above, which slowly changed in colour back to the bright blue it had originally been. There was no denying that it was beautiful magic. The wands then changed direction, pointing towards their owners, who one by one reappeared as the disillusionment charms were lifted. They sat back down, looking up expectantly as they waited for Dumbledore to say something.

"Thank you very much to the four gentlemen who have just reappeared at the Gryffindor table, for that wonderful and entertaining display of magic!" Dumbledore eyed the Marauders in amusement over the rim of his glasses. "This has been a magnificent term, and I would like to wish our seventh year leavers the very best of luck, with a special thank you to Alice Prewett and Frank Longbottom on behalf of the school for their excellent work as Head students!" Applause broke out from the Gryffindor table. I cheered especially loud; Alice was a good friend of mine. "And of course, a congratulations to Gryffindor House for winning the Quidditch Cup-" The applause from our table grew louder, "—and to Ravenclaw for winning the House Cup!" Cheering erupted from the Ravenclaw table. Dumbledore waited patiently for this to die down before continuing. His expression became suddenly somber and the atmosphere abruptly shifted. "On a rather morose note, I should like to warn, no, request, that everyone be very cautious during the summer away from Hogwarts. The wizarding world is changing, evil is rising, and war approaches…and any one of you sitting here could be in grave danger. Be on your guard, be cautious…be safe," he finished. His warning seemed to linger in the air around us as a short silence ensued. "But for now at least," he added, sighing, "let us enjoy our departing feast." He sat down, and scattered conversation began to break out around the Hall. No one clapped as they usually did.

As food appeared on the golden plates as usual, Sirius, Peter and James immediately dug in. Remus, however, sitting on the other side of me, was looking pale and only picking at his food.

"Remus, is something wrong?" I asked him. He just smiled at me, and then looked meaningfully at James.

James leant close to me and murmured; "It's that time of the month again, tomorrow. He usually gets like this around this time; it doesn't help that he dreads it so much. He always seems depressed around about now."

I thought back to when I realized Remus was a werewolf in the beginning of the year, to when I researched the condition in the library. Some books had mentioned that there were side effects, like a lack of appetite, around the full moon. I thought that the emotional effect it had on Remus made the physical effects worse. Remus must have overheard James' explanation, because his eyes widened and he was looking at James and me in disbelief. I guessed James didn't told him I knew. He cleared his throat, looking at me; "Lily, can I talk to you in private for a minute?"

"Sure," I told him. He led me out of the Great Hall and into an empty corridor.

"How did you find out?" he rounded on me. "Did James tell you?"

"No," I rushed, so he wouldn't get mad and jump to conclusions. "I worked it out in the beginning of the year, when we became friends. James would never have told me anything, even if I hadn't found out on my own. He just told me that he, Sirius and Peter were animagi," I explained.

Remus' brow was furrowed. "I hope it doesn't make you think of me differently, Lily. We're good friends, and now that you're going out with one of my best mates, we'll be a lot closer." I'd had a feeling Remus would come to this conclusion.

"It's alright Remus," I reassured him. "I've known for a year now, and I definitely don't think any less of you."

"Can I trust you not to tell Mary?" he asked me. "I don't know her very well, and I wouldn't want her to know until I can trust her."

"Of course," I smiled. "As James put it, 'it's not my secret to tell.'"

Remus sighed in relief, "thanks."

There was a short pause. I bit my lip, "Remus, I've been wondering…" I trailed off. The question had been nagging me for a while now, and I guessed that if anyone knew the answer, it would be Remus.

"Yes?" he prompted.

"I was just wondering…why did James tell me about him, Sirius and Peter being animagi?" I asked. "I was just really surprised, that he could trust me so easily, and so quickly… Especially after how I've treated him in the last five years, you know what I mean?."

"James knows you're too perceptive for your own good," Remus grinned. "We expected you to figure out what I am eventually, with or without our help. He was worried that if he kept disappearing, you would stop trusting him, and he loves you too much to allow that to happen." My heart skipped a beat. "Now, we really need to get back to breakfast before James sends out a search party for us."

I nodded, dazed, still thinking about what Remus had said. Everyone joked about how James 'loved' me, but coming from Remus, it was different. He honestly meant it. Only James and Peter were at the table when we arrived back in the Hall, and they were engaged in a conversation.

"Where are Sirius and Mary?" Remus asked, interrupting.

"They ran off, last minute snogging, apparently," Peter explained. "Those two disgust me sometimes."

They certainly moved fast. They'd got together at the same time as me and James – and we weren't off snogging at every opportunity. The closest we'd come to that was a small kiss two days ago! I finished my food and got to my feet; "I'll meet you on the train," I said to James. He nodded, giving me a wink, before going back to his conversation with Remus and Peter.

"Well, exciting year, don't you think?" James whispered to me. We were on the Hogwarts Express back to Kings Cross, and the other occupants of our compartment, Sirius, Mary, Remus and Peter, were fast asleep.

I nodded, "Yeah, it was definitely a year I'll remember forever…" I trailed off, thinking. "And you owe me a few explanations, by the way," I told him.

"Yes?" He smiled. I had a feeling that he knew it was coming.

"I'll start with the easiest one: Does Sirius have a permanent sonorous charm on him?" I asked him, only half joking. James gave a soft chuckle.

"No, he just has a ridiculously loud voice," he explained. I nodded.

There was a moment's silence.

"Anything else?" he prompted.

"Well," I began, "you said your parents had to lay low – why is that?" I hoped the question wasn't too personal.

"Well, my parents are pretty good Aurors. They rounded up a lot of the Death Eaters, and You-Know-Who has tried to kill them more than once. The Ministry's decided it'd be unsafe for them to go on anymore missions, so they've got to lay low, for now at least," he explained. I nodded again, digesting this for a moment. There was one other thing I had been wondering about.

"Just one more thing," I said.

"Just the one?" James grinned.

"What was the map Remus mentioned when we met up with them just after we were attacked?" I asked, my voice burning with curiosity. "I know it must somehow enable you to find people, because Remus said he couldn't find us since Sirius had the map – which would also explain why Sirius was able to find us in the first place."

James looked at me, clearly surprised by my quickness. "Nothing gets past you, does it?" he grumbled, while fumbling in the pockets of his robes.

He retrieved a piece of blank parchment, and pointed his wand at it, murmuring; "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

As I watched, words began forming on the parchment. I leant over to read aloud:

"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs…are proud to present the Marauder's Map." I stared at it. "You made this? What does it do?"

As James opened it up, black lines appeared and swirled around one another to form the plan of a very familiar building. And on it, were small black dots, each labeled with a Professor's name. "Is this Hogwarts?" I asked, looking up at James. He simply nodded, looking slightly amused. I returned my gaze to the map; Dumbledore seemed to be pacing in his office. Filch was patrolling the fifth floor corridors. If this was happening now, then the four of them could see where anyone was, anywhere in the castle! So that was how they always got away with everything! "When did you make it?" I asked James.

"We just finished perfecting it after Christmas," he told me. "It shows everyone in Hogwarts – useful if you want to avoid Filch or any of the Professors."

I stared down at the map, amazed. It was such extraordinary magic! I wouldn't have even been able to imagine creating something like this.

"You guys really are amazing at this stuff," I said earnestly. "Why don't you actually concentrate on studying?" I asked him. With talent like this, they could easily be top in our year.

"We believe that school is a hindrance," he explained. "If we'd concentrated on studying, we wouldn't have been able to put so much work into becoming Animagi, we wouldn't have been able to make the map…and of course, we would have had far less time for pranks," he grinned. "Hogwarts gives us the resources to bring out what we can really do – we only need the classes for the grades."

I considered this. I supposed it did make sense; their creativity shone through in the pranks they did.

"Maybe I could help you with that!" I said brightly. "With your abilities, and my teaching, you would still be able to prank and everything, but I can make sure you guys study to get your grades! Especially at NEWT level, 'cause they're supposed to be impossible."

There was plenty I could learn from them too. They were all so talented. The map was just remarkable, and from fifth years! James pocketed it, grinning at my enthusiasm. Then there was a groan from my right, and I looked over to see Peter stretch and open his eyes. He looked around blearily to see only James and I were awake.

"I'm going to go change," he informed us, taking out his muggle clothes from his trunk. "Coming, James?" The disturbance woke Remus and Sirius, who also began searching for their muggle clothes to change into.

As he retrieved his trunk, Remus commented; "Can't believe Mary's still asleep with all this noise."

"Oh, she'll sleep through a dementor attack," I told him dismissively. Sharing a dorm with Mary for five years had taught me that when Mary slept, she slept like a baby.

The boys left the compartment, and I was left alone with a sleeping Mary. Several minutes passed where I stared out of the window, and then the compartment door slid open. I looked up and groaned internally; Malfoy was standing in the doorway, accompanied by Avery.

"Well, well, well," he said silkily, "If it isn't the mudblood. Where's your boyfriend, Evans? Has he tired of your filthy smell?" Avery sneered appreciatively at the comment.

"Sod off, Malfoy," I snarled. Why did they feel the need to do this every single day?

"Malfoy, would you kindly stop insulting my girlfriend," James said quietly from behind him, anger in his voice. His, Sirius', Remus' and Peter's wands were all pointed at the Slytherins. Malfoy scowled at James and Avery threw me a dirty look, but they recognized a defeat, and left.

There was a noise from the corner of the compartment; "Aaaaauuuuuuughhhh!" We looked over in alarm to see Mary waking up and stretching.

"Very ladylike, Mary," Sirius joked.

"Ha ha, Sirius," she said dryly. "Oh, look, we're almost there!" she pointed out the window at the increasing number of houses and buildings, signifying we were coming into London. I glanced nervously at James. He was going to have to meet my dad, something I had been dreading since he first suggested it. The train began to slow to a stop, pulling into the familiar platform nine and three quarters. I looked out of the window for my parents, but I couldn't find them in the crowd.

"We're here!" Peter exclaimed.

Remus rolled his eyes; "I think we realized that, Pete."

"Let me help you with your trunk, Lily," James said, pulling it down from the luggage rack, and then his.

"Thanks," I smiled. "Nervous to meet my mum and dad?"

"Not so concerned about your mum…I can use the Potter charm," he flashed me a smile and I blushed. "It's your dad I'm worried about," he told me.

"Well, we'll see," I said, trying to sound casual as we stepped off the train together. On the platform, I stood on my tiptoes to search the crowd, until finally my eyes landed on Dad's very vibrant red hair. "There they are, come on!" I said happily, pulling James along with me.

"Slow down, Evans, I'm dragging two trunks here," he grumbled.

"Daddy!" I screamed as I ran into my dad's arms. I grinned into his chest before breaking away from him to kiss my mum on the cheek. "I've missed you both so much!" I told them.

"We're happy to have you back at home, Lils," Dad told me with a wide smile. Then his attention was caught by James, standing behind me, and his smile faded slightly. "Lily," he said slowly, "Who's your friend?"

I took a deep breath. "Mum, Dad," I said, equally slowly, "This is James. He's my boyfriend." I held my breath, grimacing.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Evans," James stepped forward, holding his hand out to my father.

My father hesitated for a moment, looking at James' outstretched hand, before slowly shaking it.

"I'm sorry my parents aren't here," James continued. "I told you about their situation, right?" I nodded. "Anyway, I need to go and find Sirius. I'll owl you later…Bye, Lily," he smiled at me. He then turned to my parents, "Bye Mr. and Mrs. Evans, nice to meet you."

I watched him go, sighing. It occurred to me that I hadn't seen Mary since she'd left the train with Sirius, and I hadn't said goodbye. I looked around the platform and saw her standing with her mum and dad, about to go through the barrier. I waved to her, and mouthed 'I'll owl you later!' She smiled at me and nodded in return.

I turned back to my mum and dad. The summer would definitely be interesting. I would have to explain why Snape had left my life, and why James had entered it.

A/N: Review please!

Love,

SAM :)