Hi everyone, really hope you like this chapter...

Previously...

James turned round, "Do you know what I don't get Evans, it's not ok for me to hex them in anger when they attack everything I believe in, when they use foul names for people like you. Yes when your precious Snivellus uses the word Mudblood…" Lily looked slightly shocked, "but it's ok for them to get several older Slytherins to attack me and Sirius… and use unforgiveable curses on us? Wow… you have the most amazing definition of right and wrong… I have no idea where your line is but it sure is slapping me in the face an awful lot." With that he turned and walked away, leaving Lily stuttering, unable to form a reply.

Chapter 27:

Wednesday:

James ignored the stares of the Gryffindors. News of the raid had broken out and he was followed around by the sound of whispering. He tried to ignore it. Instead he put all of his effort into drawing a plan for the map. He sat in deserted corridors alone, with a piece of parchment and a quill, sketching out the different classrooms and secret passageways. He wouldn't let himself think about anything but the map. Harry watched his father go from class to class barely speaking. He could also see Lily watching him slightly – although James would never know. Lily felt slightly guilty for what she had said to him but she had reasoned herself out of apologising; he shouldn't have done it, no matter what had happened, no matter what they had said. She couldn't help wondering if Sev would really say that god awful word… No. Not Sev.

As soon as they were dismissed from Herbology, James packed his things and rushed out into the fresh air, leaving his friends behind. They watched him leave… "Where do you think he's going?" He could hear Sirius ask.

"He's going to fly – it's what he does." Remus answered.

"Should we follow?" Peter asked.

"No. He needs time." Remus smiled sadly.

Thursday:

James hadn't slept since receiving the letter. He hadn't really eaten either. He lay in his bed staring at his curtains. He needed to do something, anything… he needed to help. He thought about the Slytherins and his fists clenched at his sides. That was it – he was going to catch them. A great idea came into his mind, polyjuice potion… He thought the easiest way to find out what they were up to would be to infiltrate their common room. He looked at his clock, 5am. He considered trying to sleep for an hour but he knew sleep wouldn't come so he decided to go for a fly around the Quidditch pitch.

He felt slightly better once he'd flown. Harry was sat at the Gryffindor table next to his mother when his father walked into the Great Hall. Harry noticed her eyes following James. He couldn't work out if she was still angry or sorry for the argument they had had. James didn't look at Lily. He sat a few people away, next to Sirius. He waited. He wasn't here for food. He was waiting for a letter. He was waiting for hope. Pickles wasn't amongst the different feathery birds flying overheard. James sighed before taking a piece of toast and standing up to leave.

James barely paid attention in charms but for once Flitwick didn't seem to mind. Lily on the other hand was getting more and more aggravated. The more he moped, the sorrier she felt but she refused to apologise. James went from charms to transfiguration, from transfiguration to lunch, from lunch back to transfiguration and from transfiguration to the flying lesson.

For the first time all year, McGonagall didn't give James points for being the first to accomplish the new spell they were learning. James didn't eat anything at lunch time, choosing to leave early and flying wasn't anywhere near as much fun with the other students there. He kept disobeying Madam Hooch and zooming off in the other direction flying circuits of the pitch. Flying was the only thing that brought peace to the thoughts inside his head.

In the evening he hid in the library working on his transfiguration homework and researching the polyjuice potion. He knew his friends would never look for him in the library – in fact, he couldn't be sure but he didn't think Sirius even knew where the library was. Lily, however, knew exactly where James Potter was because he was only a few tables away from her. She was reading a book but occasionally she'd look up to check he was still there. She hated him. She hated him but she didn't like that he was suffering so much. When James finally left, Lily followed quickly behind. She saw him turn a corner slightly ahead of her. However, when she turned the corner, he had vanished.

James had decided he didn't want to go back to the Gryffindor tower just yet, so he pulled the invisibility cloak over himself and went in search of the Slytherin common room. If his plan was going to work then the Marauders needed to know where the common room was…

Friday:

James had woken up feeling exactly the same as the days before but he decided to ignore how he felt and focused on the mission ahead. When he entered the Great Hall, he sat with Sirius, Remus and Peter as far away as possible from the other students. "Right, I have an idea. Remus, you're good at potions, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Remus nodded.

"Right, we're going to make some polyjuice potion…"

"We can't do that… There's no way I could make that…" Remus interrupted.

"You can. I've done some research. I know what we need and how to prepare the potion… it'll take about a month…" Sirius was nodding excitedly. "So hear is the plan. Tonight, me and Remus will go break into Slughorn's store cupboard and get the different ingredients that we can't get ourselves." Remus shook his head, frowning slightly.

"Then we will hide the different ingredients inside the room of requirements." James carried on, "Then tomorrow night, I'll take Remus and Peter to the room of requirements to brew the potion and then me and Sirius will head down to the dungeons." The boys looked at James in surprise.

"Why?" Peter asked.

"We need to know where their common room is if they are going to trust us. So we're going searching for the Slytherin's common room. I was wandering around last night and I have a few ideas where we should look."

"Then what?" Sirius asked.

"We keep doing that until we find it. I've started doing some drawings of the castle. We'll work on the map when we're not doing the other stuff. We might have to use some of our free periods."

Sirius moaned, "I never said it would be easy Sirius."

"I know. I know."

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Next chapter... well for once I think I just wont tell you. lol.