Hey guys, sorry this took so long. I had this great opportunity to possibly study abroad and the paper work that I had to fill out, the papers I had to write, along with keeping up with my other school work left little to no time for writing this. Though it is delayed, it is a bit of a longer chapter so I hope that you deem this worthy. I don't want to say this is a filler chapter because some significant stuff does happen but at the same time, there is always something larger in the horizon. Also, just a quick fyi, anything you recognize is not mine and is the sole property of the author in question.

I do want to say one thing though. On a different story of this series someone commented that they thought that I hadn't read the books and that I was completely misrepresenting the Hufflepuffs. I want to clarify/explain (if you want the full explanation, go to chapter 5 of book 2) some things. I am actually very prp Hufflepuff. The reason why Hufflepuff kind of gets a bad rep in the beginning is because I want people to see the stupid stereotype that we as a fandom have apparently placed on that House. I personally find it ridiculous. So I planned on kind of establishing what is stereotyped and then completely destroying that and showing what a true Hufflepuff is. There is a big section of that in this chapter. It has been slowly building the last book or so, with more and more comments about the great attributes that are associated with the Hufflepuff house. Take for example the Quidditch Captain openly siding herself with James and therefore Gryffindor on which side they are going to take on the war. It is subtle. Unfortunately, I already have a bunch of characters that are already in Gryffindor so I really can't throw any more into the mix. However, in World's Apart (a spin-off) one of the main characters is a Hufflepuff. I am truly sorry if someone has been offended. That was never my intention. If you have been offended, please accept my apology and know that I personally think that your House is possibly THE best House in Hogwarts. I can admit that as a Gryffindor since we have a great deal of shortcomings that no one seems to acknowledge (no offense to fellow Gryffindors)

Enough with the long author's note. If you have any more comments/questions/suggestions/concerns, feel free to message me or leave a review. I will try to get back to you if I am able or I will give my response in the next chapter in the author's note.

Thank you to everyone who has read/reviewed/alerted/ and the like. I greatly appreciate it. Without further delay, please enjoy this next chapter.

"Hey, Wormy, walk with me," Sirius demanded as he walked past Peter, who previously had been sitting peacefully near the fire trying to get homework done since tonight was the full moon. Sirius oddly stopped and didn't yank the boy from his spot and waited for him to put his stuff away.

"What's wrong, Padfoot?" Peter asked nervously. He thought about the meeting he had with Snape and Mulciber late the previous night.

Sirius just shook his head and scanned the room with suspicious eyes, "Not here."

Soon they were heading off and found themselves in the kitchen.

Mitzi ran over to them as soon as they stepped in. "Master Peter and Master Sirius! Mitzi is happy to see you! Mitzi can get you food!"

"Just some chips for me," Sirius answered.

Peter nodded, "The same. Oh, a biscuit or two?"

"Mitzi will get it right away!" she scrambled away quickly back to the kitchen to get the food.

Sirius motioned for Peter to follow him to the table near the fire.

"What is all this, Sirius? Why isn't anyone else with us?" Peter questioned with obvious unease.

Sirius sighed loudly, his agitation plain on his face, "James is off studying with Lily," he said studying like it was a curse. "Elyse is writing some letters to her family and friends, Remus is in the hospital wing, and Ben and Ursula are off together doing Merlin knows what. Probably planning their wedding or something lovey-dovey like that."

Peter bristled at the mention of Ursula and Ben alone together. Sirius thankfully didn't notice since the food arrived. As Sirius dug into his chips, his face morphed into an uncharacteristically serious expression. "Peter, I need to talk to you because no matter how much of an arse I am when I mess with you over grades and stuff like that, you're my friend and I trust you indisputably."

Guilt rose in Peter's chest, "This is about what happened two weeks ago, isn't it?"

Sirius nodded gravelly, "This is about Hogsmeade. You know what Ben said Voldemort said about him knowing about all of us and about Elyse being a seer. We need to figure out how he knows. We need to know who the traitor is."

Traitor.

The word rang over and over in Peter's head. He was the traitor. He had betrayed all their trust just because he felt ignored by them yet there was Sirius saying he trusted him without question. If there was one thing he knew about Sirius after spending six years with him was that it was difficult to earn his loyalty and trust but once you had it, there was almost no way to lose it.

"Do you have any theories?" Peter asked meekly as he munched on his cookies.

Sirius growled and ran his hands through his hair frantically, making him almost resemble James for a moment, "The answer staring me in the face," Peter swallowed nervously, "but I can't accept it. It has to be one of the seven of us."

That stopped Peter's train of thought. He wasn't sure who it was, "Why do you say that?"

"Think about it, only so many people know about all the things Voldemort knew about. Sure, the entire school knows about Ben and Ursula and how Sissy and I live with James. But how does anyone know about Ben's mum writing him in code? Or better yet, who told that Elyse is a seer?! That information just put her at undesirable number one! She has a price on her head and she's going to be hunted until she is either killed or until we win. And damn me if she dies."

"You really think it was one of us?" Peter asked in shock.

Sirius nodded grimly, "We were the only seven that knew about their plans to get out of the castle to get the firewhiskey. I'm going to rule out King and Lucky since I highly doubt that either of them wants to be murdered by Voldemort so it wasn't them. It obviously wasn't James, Ursula, or me. Then there are you and Remus."

Peter's heart was beating so fast in his chest, he was sure it was about the climb right up his throat and make a run for it, "Y-y-you think it w-w-was me?"

Sirius rolled his eyes exasperatedly, "Shit, Peter, you caught me. Just going to accuse you of being in league with Voldemort while eating some bloody crisps."

"Sorry," Peter muttered, resentment building back up in him. This was why he couldn't stand it anymore; this was how he would always end up being treated. It was horrible.

"Nah," Sirius said, "I'm sorry. I'm just a little freaked out that Voldemort knows about where I live and my sister's personal life. Then the cherry on top of the Sunday is that he knows about Elyse. No one was ever supposed to find out about Elyse besides us."

Peter nodded, though he didn't really accept the apology. Then a thought hit Peter, "Wait, so you think it's Remus?"

Sirius sighed again, "I really don't think so but so far he's the last one on my list. Why would he betray us? We've become animagi for him and stood by him even with his condition. There's nothing that says he would do it and there is no reason to suggest that it was him. But it had to be one of us."

"It is possible that someone heard in the hallways or is another Gryffindor or maybe we're being followed and listened to."

"Possible but extremely unlikely." Sirius responded. "For someone to overhear all that would be next to impossible."

"Oi, yeh started witout me?" Elyse questioned as she joined them in them.

"Done writing your letters?" Peter asked.

She nodded, "yeah. I've been makin' plan fer teh holidays."

"Oh?" Sirius questioned, leaning back in his chair.

She nodded and stole one of his chips, "Wit Pat movin' ter Dublin 'n yeh, Muse, 'n teh Potters goin ter America fer vacation, I've got ter figure out how I'm splittin' me time."

"You are going to Peter's the day after Christmas, right?" Sirius asked tersely.

Elyse nodded, "Of course. I wouldn't miss it fer teh world. So woot were yeh discussin' when I got here. It looked tense."

Before Sirius could stop him, Peter said, "Just about Hogsmeade."

Elyse immediately stiffened. "Why're yeh talkin' about that?" she questioned in a deadpanned voice.

"Elyse—"

"NO!" She shouted cutting Sirius off from whatever he was going to say. " she took a deep breath and became impossibly calm. "There's nothin' ter discuss."

"Like hell there isn't!" Sirius shot back. "You almost died. Ben almost died. Voldemort was halfway through saying the killing curse with his wand at Ben's throat!"

"I'm aware. I was there," Elyse said tersely.

"You have to wonder how he knew," Sirius argued.

"No. I don't."

Peter shook his head, "But what are you going to do now?"

"I don't want ter know."

"You know everything, Lucky. With your ability, you're able to know the future. That's something that no one else in the Wizarding world can accurately do right now, at least, that we know of." Sirius told her. "Do you know how valuable that makes you to Lord Voldemort? There are people being killed out there for knowing simply who one of the Death Eaters are; can you imagine what they would do to someone who knows the future?"

He certainly thought about it. The thought constantly assaulted his mind every time he saw her, every time he thought about Christmas break when he would be in America with the Potters, thousands of miles away from her. The stress weighed on his mind. With people dropping dead seemingly left and right, people disappearing just as often, it was impossible to escape the fear.

Elyse didn't say anything further. Her eyes became glassy and she cleared her throat, "Sirius, Peter, I swear ter both o' yeh. I'm gonna be around as long as I possibly can. Lord Voldemort isn't going ter kill me."

"Promise?"

She looked Sirius in the eye. They were practically overflowing with trust, hope, honesty, and something else that sent Sirius's heart to his stomach: pain and heartbreak. She knew something. Something so horrible that she looked like the knowledge was going to break her.

"Promise."

On the other side of the castle, out near the Clock Tower, Ursula and Ben were simply sitting in one of the arches. Ursula's back was the Ben's chest and she was holding a book that rested on top of her bended knees. Ben's chin rested on her shoulder as he too read the book softly to her, "…in a hurried manner he immediately began an enquiry after her health, imputing his visit to a wish of hearing that she were better. She answered him with civility. He sat down for a few moments and then getting up walked about the room. Elizabeth was surprised, but then not a word. After a silence of several minutes he came towards her in an agitated manner and thus began, "In vain—"

"Ben," Ursula cut off suddenly, her voice soft as his embrace.

"What love?" He questioned.

"That's Cassidy Roman, right? Across by the tree over there?" She questioned, gesturing towards the Hufflepuff in thier year who was curled up into herself, crying in the worst manner: silently as though sound couldn't relinquish her pain.

Ben nodded sadly, "Her older brother died a few months back. Dad knew him; said that he was a good man."

Ursula silently watched the girl, her entire posture becoming stiff and tense as she watched the small girl silently cry for her mother with no hope of comfort or reprieve. There was nothing that could be said to ease the pain of losing a family member, let alone a sibling. Ursula couldn't even fathom losing either of her brothers.

A thought struck Ursula, remembering a day in Transfiguration a year or so ago. She had Ursula had been assigned the same plot of ground to prepare to plant their seeds. Cassidy had made a comment about this going twice as fast if her dog was there…

"Ben, dogs make people happy right?"

"I would certainly say so," he said and kissed her cheek. "Though I'm slightly biased."

She didn't respond. What she did was disentangle herself from his arms and stand. After a quick check to make sure no one would see, she morphed before Ben's eyes into Muse. She nodded her head towards Cassidy and then trotted over towards her.

Muse silently walked over, the only sound was when her claws softly clicked against the stone. When she got close enough to Cassidy, she whined. Cassidy jumped, caught completely off guard. When she was the dog sitting in front of her, she sniffled, "A dog? Where did you come from?"

Though she certainly wasn't expecting an answer, Muse titled her head to the side and made a low whine sound, the universal sign of generalization. Deciding not to question it, Cassidy slowly uncurled herself and simply looked at the dog in front of her. She (she assumed it was a female dog) looked at her with intelligent grey eyes and then jumped up next to her to half lie on her lap. She placed her head on the dog's head and began petting from the top of her head down her back.

"You know, you're not supposed to be here," Cassidy admitted. "But I won't tell. I'm a dog person and seeing all these cats all the time is driving me up a wall."

To her absolute amazement, the dog barked and it almost sounded like…laughter? "You know, you're a beautiful dog," Cassidy absentmindedly said. "You almost look like…well, my brother has—had grey eyes."

Ursula picked her head up and seemed to glare at her. She moved forward rubbed her nose against Cassidy's cheek. When Cassidy tried to fight it, Muse continued to mess with her, playfully nudging her and barking at her. Ben watched from the side as Ursula raced around the courtyard, an impromptu game of tag starting between the two girls. He watched in amazement as the girl that had just been sobbing now laugh joyously as she played with Muse.

He had been so enraptured with Ursula that he didn't notice that Cassidy had spotted him. "Ben!" she exclaimed in surprise. "I can explain this—"

Ben laughed easily and walked closer to the pair, "It's fine. You don't need to explain Muse to me."

"Muse? She's yours?"

Ben nodded but yelped when Ursula nipped his hand, "Oi! I would say that we have more of a…partnership if anything. "

"She's a really sweet dog," she complimented. "Very intelligent too."

"You don't know the half of it," he said with a half-smile.

Cassidy reached down and petted Muse's head. Muse whined happily. Her tail thumped loudly against the ground and she tilted her head up so Cassidy could scratch more of her head. It was weird, admittedly, but it felt too good so Ursula let her.

Ben saw that Cassidy's eyes were still bloodshot and he saw her becoming more and more despondent as the seconds passed. He motioned towards one of the benched under one of the trees, "Want to sit down? Muse probably ran you ragged with that game of tag."

Once she was sitting, Ben joined her and the pair sat in silence, watching as Muse ran around chasing some leaves that were scattered across the stone. Cassidy laughed when Ursula triumphantly barked when she leaped into a small pile. Ben couldn't help but laugh as well. It had been far too long since he had seen Ursula this carefree and…happy. Sure she was "happy" but he could tell that there was something going on under her façade. It had been brewing all semester but after his uncomfortably close brush with death two weeks ago, it had become blatantly obvious. She looked at him as he was going to disappear any second forever, that all of them were going to go away and leave her.

Rationally, he knew that wasn't that unreasonable a fear. The girl next to him was proof that family was not exempt from the War. Hell, he was proof that family wasn't exempt from the War.

"How are you holding up?" He questioned somberly.

The smile slipped from her face. She sniffled and chuckled humorlessly, "I'm not, honestly. I'm a mess."

"You're doing better than I did," he told her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She shook her head, "I don't believe you. You're one of the strongest people I know of. You've lost your sister and you've been able to function like a normal human being," she said bitterly, "and here I am a blubbering mess unable to function properly."

Ben smiled slightly at the compliment but shook his head, "I'm not strong, Cassidy. I'm probably one of the weakest, to be honest. When Annabelle died, I…It didn't feel real. Like something inside of me broke into a thousand pieces. It wasn't possible that Annabelle was dead. But she was and I hated it. I hated everyone and everything and all I remember is pure hot rage. It's all a haze but I remember I ran. I ran through the castle, just trying to get away. My friends found me destroying furniture in an old classroom. Ursula put her hand on my shoulder to try to comfort me."

He paused the story; regret swallowing him up as he remembered what happened. He turned to look at Muse who had long given up the leaves and was now on a quest to chase some of the birds there were hopping around on the ground. He gulped as he remembered what happened…what he did.

"I hit her." He admitted softly. Cassidy gasped in shock. He understood why she reacted that way. From what the school saw all the time was that he treated her like she was made of glass, never once even jokingly raising a hand at her. Even if she would swat at his arm, he would never retaliate. "I hit her and I didn't even think about it. I never forgave myself for doing that. I loved her then just as I love her now and she just wanted to comfort me. But I didn't understand. I was too lost to my rage and loss. At the funeral I said some horrible, horrible things to her."

"What happened?" Cassidy asked when he paused, lost in his thoughts of all the terrible things he said and did.

"There was an accident last year."

She nodded, "I remember that. People said that James and Ursula almost died or something like that. Something to do with Snape?"

Ben waved off the details, "She and James were at death's door and the thought of losing someone else…it snapped me back into reality. And by some miracle, Ursula decided to forgive me for what I did and said."

"But you haven't forgiven yourself," Cassidy noted.

Ben smiled ruefully, "You 'puffs are perceptive. No, I never forgave myself and I don't think I ever will. I just spend every day trying to be good enough for her. I know I'll fail and I'll always be the one trying to be good enough to deserve her."

"Ben, why are you telling me this? We're classmates and we've talked before but…"

"Because you understand. None of my friends have lost someone they loved. They've been mostly untouched by the War, or at least, not how you and I have."

"Does it get better?" she asked meekly.

He stopped to think about that. Did it? He could easily give the simple answer that everyone wanted to hear or—

"No. Honestly it doesn't. You just learn how to go on with life. Not a day will go by when there isn't a painful pull in your chest when you realize that your sibling isn't at home when the holidays come around. You'll think about how you're an only child now. Occasionally you'll realize that no one will call you Uncle Ben, or in your case Aunt Cassidy. Then you'll realize that your kids won't have and aunt or uncle to spoil them rotten and it is a horrible feeling. You won't get letters from them and one day…one day you'll be older than them."

Cassidy had tears streaming down her face and Ben felt a painful lump in the back of his throat that burned.

"How do you keep going? How do you not just give up?"

He grabbed her hands and squeezed tightly, anchoring down, "I go on because I have to for my mom and dad, for Ursula and my friends. I fight it because I know Annabelle's ghost would come back and kick my arse if I gave up. But you're strong Cassidy, so strong," he emphasized. "I know people give a lot of crap to your House but to be a Hufflepuff you have to be incredible strong. You're in the House known for its perseverance, faith, compassion and strength."

"I don't feel all any of that right now," she whispered.

"Cassidy Roman, if I was half the person you are that'd be enough."

New tears feel down her face, "Do you truly mean that?"

He nodded, "Every word."

She nodded and took a moment to pull herself together. At that moment, Muse bounded back over, yipping happily and hopped up onto Ben's lap. She moved so she was rolled over on her back across both teens' laps and swatted at Cassidy's face gently with her paws, trying to wipe away the tears.

Cassidy laughed and wiped away her tears, "Stop it, silly," she mock scolded.

Muse just continued to play with her. That is, until she underestimated the force of one of her mini shoves and lost her balance. She toppled off their laps with a surprised yelp. Ben instantly jumped up to help her get back on her paws. While he rationally knew that she had 'played' with a werewolf once a month and often got thrown into trees and walls on a much regular basis, he still couldn't help the panic that would overcome him the second she might be hurt.

To no one's surprise, Muse simply got right back up and sat looking at the pair of them. Before anyone could say anything, a loud, booming, and familiar voice came from the corridor, "Oi! There you two are!" Sirius cheered. He placed his hand on one of the ledges of the framework and lithely hopped over.

He had an easy, devil may care smile on his face. His hands were stuffed into his pockets and his tie was undone with the first two buttons of his shirt undone. He was the picture of elegant dischelvment and Ben had to make a conscious effort not to role his eyes at his friend's antics.

When Sirius recognized Cassidy sitting there next to Ben, he amicably greeted her, "'ello Cassidy. Fancy seeing you out here with this git."

"Hi Sirius. How are you?" she greeted, rolling her eyes at Sirius's teasing of his friend.

He shrugged nonchalantly, "I'm fine. Just looking for Ben and his little pup. We had some plans tonight."

Muse growled at being called Ben's pup but Sirius just ignored her.

Cassidy nodded and stood up, Ben doing the same.

"I'll let you get to it then. Thanks for talking to me Ben." She said, reaching up and giving Ben a hug.

He returned it and when he pulled away, he said, "Don't be a stranger, alright. Gryffindor's Common Room is welcome to all friends so if you need to talk to someone…"

"Just find one of us and we'll let you in. No questions asked," Sirius interrupted.

Cassidy's eyebrows shot up at that, "You mean that?"

All three of them – even Ursula – nodded,

"Of course. Annabelle would let Benjy in all the time." Ben told her.

"I might just take you up on that offer." She said. "Well, I have to get back for dinner. A few of us are meeting up. If you would like to join us, you are more than welcome." She offered.

Sirius and Ben looked at each other, silently communicating if it would be a good idea with the full moon that night.

"Sorry, Cassidy, we have plans tonight." Ben finally said.

She nodded, "Some other time then?"

"Definitely," Sirius agreed.

She turned to walk away but at the last minute turned back around, "You should be careful tonight. It's a full moon; weird things happen then."

Smiling slightly, both of them knowing full well what their plans entailed, Ben simply nodded, "We'll be careful. Don't worry about us."

With a final wave, she was gone. Muse waited another couple of seconds before she morphed back into being human. She adjusted her shirt and ran her hand through her hair.

"What were you doing like that?" Sirius questioned as they made their way back to the common room.

"She lost her brother and was crying. She has a dog so I thought it would make her happy."

Sirius nodded and decided not to tease. He knew that if he had been there he probably would have done the same thing. "Animals do make people quite happy don't they?" he noted. Then, light a lightning bolt, a brilliant thought struck him, "OH! I'm a bloody genius! See you guys later, I have to talk to Prongs!" he shouted as he took off running down the hallway.

The pair actually stopped walking at Sirius's oddity. Ursula shook her head, "My brother is bloody weird."

"I concur. Good thing I got the sane twin," he said as he grabbed her hand.

She nodded and looked down at their intertwined hands. His were larger than hers; not surprising since he was a bloke. His fingers were long and thin, conducive to playing the violin and piano. She had played or held them often enough to know that he had seven freckles on his left hand and nine on his right. She also knew that his right pinky was bent slightly to the right at the first joint because when he was a kid he stole Annabelle's broom and flew into a tree and broke it. Since he would get in trouble for being on the broom, he didn't tell his mom right away it never healed properly. On the back of his hand there was a scar that had been there for a few years now. In ran from right under his forefinger across his hand two inches.

She had placed so much into those hands. It killed her to hear his hushed confession to Cassidy earlier. How on Earth he thought he wasn't deserving of her was so incredibly stupid in her opinion. She was too good for him? He thought she deserved better? Didn't he realize he was the one that made her a better person? That he was the only person in the world that she trusted inexplicably and without hesitation? It broke her heart to know that he had such a low opinion of himself when in actuality, it was her who should count herself lucky that he even gave her the time of day. He was pure and good and brilliant. She came from darkness and hate and revenge. Their last names said it all.

"I just realized that I haven't said I love you today," Ben said. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Think you can forgive me for such a grievance?

That talk would have to wait.

She nodded and kissed him chastely, "There is nothing to forgive. I know."

He smiled brightly. It took her breath away. She thanked whatever she did in a past life to have such a beautiful human being love her.

Later that night, well past the rise of the moon, Lily sat on the window ledge. Her knees were bent up to her chest and she leaned against the back wall, looking out the window. She grabbed her blanket to protect her from the cold. She had her Defense book next to her. To be honest, she had said that she would read it while she waited up for Ursula and Elyse but she had yet to even open it. A particularly loud and close howl haunted the grounds followed by a ferocious roar.

"Wazza goin' on?" Alice sat up in bed, blearily looking around the room. Lily sat ramrod straight, praying that Alice would simply fall right back asleep. Luck was not on her side it seemed since Alice's eyes started to focus when she saw Lily awake and two of her roommates beds empty. She rubbed her eyes, "What's going on, Lils?" Alice questioned much more conscious and aware.

"Nothing, just go back to sleep," Lily assured her.

Alice shook her head and sat up completely, "No. Why are you up? Where's Ursula and Elyse?"

"It's—"

An even louder and closer howl cut her off. Alice's eyes widened when she seemed to put something together, "Are they out there? Are they out there?!"

Her shout woke up Marlene who used a crude gesture to let Alice know just how much she appreciated being woken up at two in the morning. "What the bloody—"

"Elyse and Ursula are outside."

Instantly Marlene was alert. "What? I must still be dreaming. Did you just say they are outside? Tonight? They are outside tonight?!" she harshly demanded.

The pair turned to Lil who, seeing no way out of this, simply asked a different question, "What's so wrong about tonight. It's just a regular night…a beautiful night..a perfectly normal—"

"Full moon when Remus turns into a werewolf?" Marlene asked in an incredibly sarcastic voice.

Lily froze. She remembered how Ursula had responded to her finding out about Remus's condition. How would she respond if her other roommate found out and it was Lily that sort of told them?

Alice seemed to notice the internal struggle and explained, "Lily, we figured it out years ago. It wasn't that hard to realize that he missed class every day there was a full moon. Not to mention he looked like death warmed over a few days before and after."

"What we need to know is where our two other roommates currently are since they apparently think it's a grand idea to run around with a werewolf!"

"I don't know what they do," Lily admitted. "All I know is that since third year they've been planning something and they finally got it last year. Since then, they sneak out after we all go to bed and they don't usually come back until five or six in the morning."

"What?"

Lily shrugged, "All I know is that it is something that would get them into a lot of trouble if they got caught."

"How much trouble?" Marlene inquired.

Lily gulped, "Azkaban-trouble."

Alice whistled, impressed and worried at the same time, "What did they manage to do? How are they not dead yet?"

Instantly Lily's mind when back to last year when James's and Ursula's broken, bloody, and beaten bodies were rushed to the hospital wing and (for a while) St. Mungo's.

"Wait a moment," Marlene said. "You said they started this a year ago…"

Alice seemed to be on the same train of thought and gasped, "Oh my God, their accident was last year! Was this…did…?"

"Snape went to the Whomping Willow on a full moon because Sirius told him to after Snape said something about Ursula. When James and Ursula found out, they ran to stop him and well, you saw what happened."

"Merlin," Marlene breathed. "I can't imagine what the hell is going through their minds right now. I wouldn't face Remus when he's like that again if he almost killed me."

Lily immediately jumped to the defense of Remus, "He's not a monster. It wasn't him!"

Marlene put her hands up in defense, "I'm not saying he is!"

"And don't worry about us telling anyone about this," Alice assured her to try to stop to the possible fight. "We don't have an issue with Remus being a werewolf. As long as he takes care of it, we aren't running to anyone about this. His secret is safe with us."

"Thank you," Lily said with gratitude. And she truly did mean it. She knew how insecure with his condition he was. Often times when they were going on their rounds, they would get talking and sometimes it ended up with his issue. He confessed to her that he had fully expected to never make any friends at Hogwarts and that the education would have been enough for him. But then James, Ben, Sirius, Ursula, Elyse, and Peter grabbed him up and became his friend and when they found out about it, they accepted him. They amazingly didn't care and even went as far as breaking the law for him. But he still felt like he was waiting for the penny to drop and they would leave him behind when they realize how dangerous he truly is. The incident a year ago had almost broken him. He viewed himself solely as a monster masquerading as a man. It had taken a long time on all their parts to convince him otherwise, even if he still had his moments.

From then on the conversation died. Alice and Marlene eventually went back to sleep and soon Lily was all alone again. She heard a loud rustling noise and barking. Looking out the window, Lily watched in awe as a lion ran out of the Forbidden Forest, a sickly looking werewolf following him. Two dogs ran out as well and made circles around the werewolf as if they were playing with it. The lion got in on the action too and seemingly playfully tackled the werewolf.

Then a majestic stag walked to the forest's edge with two small bundles of fur resting in one of his antlers each. He tilted his head down at the animals scattered out and soon the stag had joined in on the game. Lily didn't know what to make of it. Remus had made friends with those animals in the Forest? Had his friends somehow enchanted the animals or maybe transfigured some simple rocks into playmates for Remus?

Before she could get a good look at them, they disappeared back into the forest, the noise fading away. The silence was everywhere and the blanket was amazingly warm. Against her will, Lily nodded off to sleep, her last thought was of the stag that she had just seen.

They was planning something. Lily was sure of it.

It had been almost a month of sly smirks and aggravatingly vague comments. It didn't help her that he had recruited Ursula and Elyse into his scheme. Almost every night she would see one of them sneaking something up to the boys' room. It was a bit of wood, maybe some spare cloth, once it was the fire poker from the fire. It didn't make sense. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to investigate further. Whenever she asked James, all he would ever say, with his incredibly infuriating and charming smile,

"Don't worry Lily. We're just going to bring some Christmas Spirit."

She had then tried to get Sirius to explain James's comment. She cornered him one night after he was getting out of detention for making someone's feet grow three times in size.

"Sirius, you don't happen to know what James is up to?"

The corner of his mouth turned up in a wicked grin, one that didn't look that unlike his twin's, and said, "Why, Lily Evans, James Potter is a very dear friend of mine. I would never betray his secret."

"He said it was something about Christmas. I just want to make sure that you guys are actually going to bring cheer and not turn all the first years into Christmas trees."

Sirius dropped the smirk, "Honestly, Lily, we're just going to have some innocent fun. I solemnly swear."

"Doesn't 'I'm up to no good' usually follow that?" she retorted.

He froze and stared at her moment like he was seeing her for the first time. After a moment, he just nodded to himself and said softly, "Either you know something you shouldn't or you are the absolute perfect woman for James. I can't decide."

Before she could even formulate a response to that comment, Sirius was off. All she had to show for her questioning was that they were honestly just doing something good for the school.

If that is what they were truly doing, Lily wasn't going to stop them. There had been a series of deaths and attacks on magical and muggle folks alike. The death toll climbed astronomically and instead of the joy that usually brought around during the Christmas season, it was more likely to see someone sobbing in the hallway because someone they know died instead of seeing people laughing or having fun.

They were leaving for holiday break later that day. By lunch time, Lily hadn't seen any of the seven all morning.

"Hey Alice, have you seen Elyse or Ursula lately?"

Alice paused eating for a moment and looked thoughtful and then shook her head, "Not since this morning. They ran over to the boys' dorm this morning. No idea why; we have the day off. I thought they would have wanted to sleep in."

"Same I thought—"

Lily was cut off when a sudden explosion of red and green fireworks cut her off. The Great Hall doors opened with a bang and in came in…a one stag open sleigh? Lily watched in amazement as the stag that she had seen the last full moon trot into the Great Hall pulling a sled with tinsel and ornaments hanging from his antlers. Out of the sleigh, Sirius Black popped up transfigured to look like Santa Clause while the other five all were wearing horrific Christmas jumpers that were certainly cringe worthy.

"HO HO HO!" Sirius chortled. "WHO'S READY FOR SOME CHRISTMAS CHEER!?" he shouted loudly. He grabbed a first year Gryffindor under her arms and, ignoring her yelp or mixed terror and surprise, lifted her into the sleigh and motioned for her friends to get in. "COME ON EVERYONE! THIS OLD REINDEER'S GETTING FAT!"

The 'reindeer' in question turned so quickly that tinsel fell from his head. He nickered at Sirius and once the sleigh had about ten first years in it, the stag took off racing down the aisle, showing just how 'fat' he was. On the other aisles, the other four were passing around different candies and little firecrackers. Ben was away from the rest of them stood in front of the head table. He pulled out his wand and in a grand gesture, it seemed like he started to conduct a band. Out of seemingly nowhere, beautiful Christmas music filled the room.

Lily walked through the mayhem and couldn't help the smile that stretched so widely across her face that it actually hurt. There had been so much worry and anxiety filling this hall not even ten minutes ago and now it was like a Christmas carnival. Ben was still in control of the music while Ursula was going around giving out House Themed Ornaments (they surprisingly made some for Slytherin) and hand out small Christmas trees. Remus was running a small snowman making contest after making the ceiling snow heavily for a few minutes. Peter was passing out food that they had undoubtedly got from the kitchen. Sirius was controlling the lines for who would get to go next in the sleigh for a run around the hall.

But there was someone missing: James.

There was no way that even Lord Volemort himself could have made James miss this. He had to be around here somewhere. This was partially his own scheme so he had to be involved in some way…

She heard the sleighbells first and then the clip-clop of the hooves. The stag came to a stop in the middle of the hall and drank some water out of a pail Sirius had brought out. As the kids got off, Lily walked a little closer. There was something about the stag, something that was staring her right in the face. She walked up behind Sirius, fully intent on asking how he got a stag into the castle. He was talking to the stag, "—go another few rounds, Prongsie?"

"Prongsie?" Lily said to herself and then sudden realization washed over her.

"Nice job Prongsie-boy!" Sirius cheered, pulling James into a headlock and giving him a noogie.

~5~

Severus snorted, "Black? She deserved worse. Her and her friends are hiding something big— something illegal. They deserve to all go to Azkaban from the sound of it. What you said is nothing compared to what she deserves."

"Illegal? Sev, what did you hear?" Lily asked shocked.

He stopped and looked up and down the hallway to make sure no one was there. He leaned forward and spoke in a hushed voice, "It's something involving Lupin and where he goes every month. They mentioned joining him on his 'trips'.

~4~

Lily offered what comfort she could to James as he suffered through his delusions. He was talking about 'hooves' and how he needed his fingers to get his wand. He started muttered something about wishing for a lion and the grim to help him. As time progressed, his delusions devolved more and more to the point of referring to his head as antlers and how much they hurt. It only stopped when Pomfrey got the worst of the fever under control.

~3~

"Prongs is trying to kill us I swear," Lily overheard Sirius complaining to Remus about their Quidditch practice. "He's insane! I think it's the antlers."

~2~

"Oi, Prongs, catch!" Elyse shouted across the common room two weeks ago when she threw the textbook she borrowed back to him.

~1~

Why, Lily Evans, James Potter is a very dear friend of mine.

Dear.

Deer.

Lily gasped loudly as it all came together. It was apparently loud enough that James heard because he picked up his head and there was all the confirmation she needed. The antlers looks like his hair, there was a dark rectangular ring around his eyes where his glasses were, and his eyes were the exact same hazel as they were when he was human.

That was he spent time with Remus on the full moon. And it couldn't have just been him. There were at least five other animals with him and that was when it hit her. It wasn't just him that became an illegal animagus for Moony, all of them did; Sirius, Ursula, Elyse, Ben, and Peter. All of them were animagi and had somehow managed that their fifth year. Awed at their spectacular feat, Lily slowly walked forward and placed her hand on the stag's snout and ran her hand back, essentially petting his face (that was one hell of an uncomfortable thought).

She stood up on her tiptoes looked him right in the eye, "You are the most brilliant, loyal, and kind man I've ever known," she leaned in and kissed his forehead before adding, "James."

If a stag could look like it was shocked, somehow James managed to pull it off. His eyes widened comically and danced in his spot, trying to look for an escape from being caught, even though he had already had been. Instead, Lily just laughed and nodded towards the group of kids that were shoving each other in line, "You might want to get on with the rides. The children are getting rambunctious. We can talk later when you're more…human and able to actually respond to what I've saying."

With that, she turned away from James and saw that Sirius was smirking triumphantly. She walked over towards him and asked lowly, "Which one are you? I saw you all last moon."

"Come to the room later," he compromised. "We'll explain it all then."

And they certainly did. Once the mini celebration concluded in the Hall and everyone went back to their rooms to wait for the train, Lily found herself standing at the bottom of the guy's staircase. They had told her to just walk up whenever she wanted. She had been standing there for a good five minutes.

Eventually, the door opened and Remus popped his head out. When he saw her, he walked down the stairs, "I heard that you know. They're all waiting for you up there."

"Are they mad?" Lily asked. It had only occurred to her in hindsight that they all might not be thrilled with the idea of her knowing their secret, especially one that could land them significant time in Azkaban.

Remus shook his head, "They're fine with it. Let's just say that we've figured this day would come sooner or later."

Lily cocked her head to the side at that, wondering what he meant. But he just motioned for her to follow him up the stairs. When she got into the room she was shocked to see the array of animals up close. James had opted out of changing again. Lily had the suspicion he was tired of being a stag and there was also the fact he would probably break something with his antlers.

"Want to guess or should we tell you?" James asked, gesturing at the others in the room.

"I'm going to figure it out," Lily said as she took another step into the room. The first sight she saw was a Siberian Husky resting on the ground with the same eyes that she had seen for the last six years living in her room and the gold necklace of fur. "Ursula, not surprised you're a dog."

The dog sighed and to Lily's amazement (even though she knew it was something they all could do) Ursula morphed from being a dog to standing up. "Nice, Lils." She complimented as she jumped onto her brother's bed.

The rest of the group was fairly easy to identify. Elyse's green eyes and orange-ish ears gave her away while Peter's water eyes did it for him. Ben's mane was the same color as his hair and Sirius's fur was too similar to his regular curly hair. Once they all transformed back, they told her their story; what they did and why they did it. There was no detail spared and they even answered Lily's questions at the end.

Lily just shook her head in shock, "You guys…third year? You started this third year? Do you know incredibly stupid and brave that was of you?"

"We were aware," Ben responded. "But if this was our way to help our friend, we were going to do it."

"That's amazing," she complimented. "I can't even imagine…do you know how powerful you guys are? Seriously, there are witches and wizards that can't do this and they've been training for years! You guys are underage, doing it under wraps, and you were all on your own? It's a miracle that one of you didn't end up dead! Or worse!"

James just shrugged, "We couldn't sit by and do nothing so it was break the law and risk harming ourselves or leave Remus to suffer alone. None of us picked the second option. In actuality, it never was an option. Remus is our friend. I think I speak for all of us when I say that we would do anything for each other, even if it hurts ourselves."

And in that moment, the moment that would end up shaping the course of Wizarding history and the fate of world, Lily Evans began falling for the messy haired, mischievous, determined, chivalrous, proud, and noble man in front of her.