'I still can't believe that they attacked Hogsmeade of all places,' said Marlene on the evening of the same day. She took another drag of her cigarette and exhaled angrily. 'It is so close to the school and most of them even got away! They are growing bolder every day.'

James made a noncommittal noise and took a drag of his own cigarette. They were sitting on a broad windowsill on the third floor. Now, after dinner, they corridors were deserted and no one was around to tell them off for smoking in the castle. The cold autumn air was drifting in from the open window and James shivered a little as he was only wearing a shirt. He was exhausted, but jittery at the same time. He longed to just go to bed and sleep for a week, but he knew that he would never be able to fall asleep. The nicotine was not helping: He should have gotten himself some weed to smoke instead. It would calm him down at least.

'Are you alright?' asked Marlene, sounding concerned. 'You have been off all day.'

'I am fine,' said James automatically.

'Bullocks,' said Marlene. 'What's going on with you? Did something happen to you in Hogsmeade? You told me that the Death Eaters did not even realize that you were there!'

'They didn't,' said James. 'I just feel on edge and I am not even sure why. Maybe it is because of the body.'

'What body?' asked Marlene sharply.

'Sirius and I found a dead bloke in the street,' said James. 'He was killed by a killing curse. I did not think much of it back then, with all the excitement going on, but now I am not sure what to think. I have no idea who he was or why the Death Eaters killed him, but I feel like it could have been me lying there instead if I had been a little less lucky. It is not exactly an uplifting thought.'

'Oh James,' said Marlene. 'You must not think like that. You are save here in the castle! The Death Eaters are not going to get in here.'

'Yes, but what after school?' asked James. 'We will be here for another few months and then we are out in the real world. They are not going to go away, Marlene! Things are only going to get worse with every passing day! And we are going to become a part of this war whether we want it or not.'

'You don't know that,' said Marlene. 'The Ministry could catch You-Know-Who tomorrow and everything would be over. The aurors caught one of the Death Eaters, haven't they? They will probably get some valuable information out of him and will use that to catch even more of them. Things are getting better, James! I know that will be over soon. You are just tired and wound up. Things will look better tomorrow. I promise.'

Despite his much bleaker look on the future, James was soothed by her encouraging words. He had been on his feet for close to forty-eight hours by now after all. Maybe he would feel better after a full night of sleep.

'You are probably right,' said James, finishing his cigarette with a last drag and throwing the butt out of the window.

'You have not told me yet what exactly happened to you in Hogsmeade,' said Marlene. 'Sirius made some cryptic remarks about being there to help, but refused to say anything more precise. I heard that McGonagall docked you points for reckless and foolish behaviour, though. What were you up to?'

James's mood darkened at the reminder of his head-of-houses fury. He had been dragged away from the Hospital Wing shortly after arriving there with Lily by his rather irate transfiguration teacher. Apparently, Moody had already informed her about Sirius's and James's actions in Hogsmeade. Also, Flitwick must have told her that the Marauders knew that something was going to happen. She had not been pleased. She had told James that she had expected him to stay in the castle after informing the teachers and that he should know better than to rush into danger like that. She had made it very clear that she expected him to stay in line for the rest of the school year or she would be forced to take away his Head-boy badge. Furthermore, she would inform his parents about his reckless behaviour. James had not said anything to defend himself. He knew that she was not going to listen to him anyway and at the moment he found it very hard to care about something as mundane as the head-boy position.

He wondered what Moody had written her, though. Had the old auror been angry with Sirius and him for getting underfoot during the fight? Baker had probably been not too pleased with James's actions. In hindsight, James knew that he had acted impulsively and foolishly. He should have let the aurors do their job. Lily probably would have been in good hands with Baker and Marlene had never been in danger. James felt tried, cranky and a little useless. Had it been worth blowing his cover with Rosier for this? Probably not. How much about his actions in Hogsmeade was known to Rosier anyway? How would he react if he learned that James had spilled the attack plan to the teachers? Well, he would just have to see what was about to happen. He had not been too big a fan of his father's plan anyway.

Marlene waved a hand in front of his face and James suddenly realized that he still had to give her an answer.

'We got a tip-off that there was going to be trouble in Hogsmeade,' explained James. 'Nothing specific and we were not sure whether we were just getting played. Still, we decided to see if we can help and rushed to Hogsmeade. The Death Eaters appeared as we approached the village. We decided not to turn around. Instead, we put Disillusionment Charms on ourselves and darted into the fray.'

'That is probably the dumbest thing you have ever done,' said Marlene, with her mouth agape. 'You could have been killed! You should have alerted someone and left it to the authorities.'

'Oh, right, we did tell Peter to tell Flitwick,' said James, realizing that he had omitted that information. 'Still, we had to do something. Sirius and I wanted to make sure that Lily and you were safe. And I doubt that it is the dumbest thing I have ever done to be honest.'

'I don't want to know,' said Marlene. 'And you don't have to play knight in shining armour for Lily and me. We can take care of ourselves.'

'Not against Death Eaters, you can't,' snapped James. 'We just wanted to warn you and make sure that you got out of the village in one piece. We could not know that the aurors were going to be there so quickly.'

'Well, it does not matter know anyway,' said Marlene. 'We are all safe and the Death Eaters are gone. We have all been very lucky.'

'Yeah, I guess we were,' said James, though he did not feel lucky at all.

'Who tipped you off that the Death Eaters were coming?' asked Marlene.

'Rosier,' said James. 'He seems to think that there is a chance that I am going to join them. He told me to stay out of Hogsmeade today, so I would be safe. Looks like he wanted to do me a favour.'

'How on earth did he know about that and why would he ever do you a favour?' asked Marlene. James had not told her about his previous encounters with the Death Eater or his plans of appearing neutral in the conflict.

'He either is a Death Eater himself or very close with some of them,' said James.

'Rosier? I have always thought that he was all bark,' said Marlene, obviously surprised at that piece of news. 'I would have suspected Avery and Mulciber but not him. I thought he did not have the nerve.'

'I guess he is smarter when we thought,' said James. 'And he is such a smug little git about it too. Always veiling his alliance in small allusions, making sure that there is nothing tangible to tie him to Voldemort. I think he is going to be a very dangerous Death Eater as soon as he is done with school.'

'And why did he want to do you any favours?' asked Marlene. 'You are not exactly mates.'

James briefly outlined his father's plan and why Rosier had tipped him off.

'But I guess that is all water on the bridge by now,' he sighed after he was done explaining. 'Rosier is going to know that I was the one tipping off the teachers. There is no way he is going to trust us now.'

'What do you think your father is going to do now?' asked Marlene. 'I have to agree that the plan was rather smart, but I don't see it working in the long run.'

'No idea,' said James. 'But I think, I am going to see soon. McGonagall has written to my parents to let them know about my little adventure in Hogsmeade. I don't expect that they are going to be pleased.'

'Oh please,' said Marlene. 'You parents have always known that you are trouble-maker. I can't imagine them being overly upset about you trying to save people.'

'Yeah, well, it was a rather stupid idea to go to Hogsmeade in the first place,' said James grudgingly. 'But I had to do something! I can't stand sitting around while good people get murdered, just because their blood is not pure enough! But I can't really do anything, can I? The Death Eaters are way too dangerous for me to duel. I need more training if I am ever going to do something to stop them.'

'Don't be so hard on yourself,' said Marlene. 'You were only trying to help.'

'Yeah, but trying to help is not actually helping, is it?' said James, running a hand through his hair tiredly. 'I should probably shut up now, I am only bringing you down with me.'

'You should probably go to bed,' said Marlene. 'Sirius went to sleep an hour ago and he hates going to bed early. Tomorrow you will see that even a rather slapdash rescue attempt is worth something.'

'Maybe you are right,' said James. 'But there is something I must do first. I am going to pay the hospital wing a visit. I need to know that Lily is alright.'

'James, no,' said Marlene. 'Pomfrey is not going to let you visit Lily. It is nine o'clock in the evening: Visiting hours ended an hour ago! And Lily should probably rest, anyway.'

'I am going to get in there without Pomfrey even noticing me,' said James dismissively. 'But I have to hurry or Lily will be asleep when I get there.'

'She is fine, James,' said Marlene as though she was talking to a very small child. 'You delivered her straight to Pomfrey, did you not? Lily only had a concussion and I am sure that Pomfrey put her right with minutes. She is probably only keeping her for the night to make sure that she gets some rest.'

'I got her to the hospital wing and as soon as I had lowered her to a bed, Pomfrey told me to get lost so that she could work in peace,' said James darkly. 'I wanted to stay, naturally. Lily was very confused at the time and I wanted to make sure that she got proper care. But Pomfrey did not budge and before I could convince her, McGonagall showed up and asked me to accompany her to her office. I had no other choice than to leave. But I am not going to get deterred twice. I am only going to take a peek at her, maybe share a few words and then I will go to bed. It will be fine Marlene, I promise.'

'Somehow that does not calm me at all,' said Marlene. 'But I recognize a lost cause when I see one. Fine, go and get yourself in trouble. Give Lily my regards if you speak to her. And see that you are in bed soon, you look dead on your feet.'

'Sure thing,' said James. He bade her good night and made his way over to the hospital wing. Even though it was not that late yet, the corridors were deserted. James was not worried about getting discovered. He was head-boy after all and therefore allowed to walk the corridors even after curfew. Even Filch would not be able to get him into trouble for a brief trip to the hospital wing. When he got to the large door leading to Madam Pomfrey's realm, he fumbled around in his pockets for the invisibility cloak. Startled, he realized that it was not there. Then he remembered that he had left in his dorm before having a smoke with Marlene. He cursed softly under his breath. The cloak would have been very useful now. Still, he was confident that he would be able to avoid Pomfrey without it. Maybe it was for the best. He relied on the cloak way too much anyway. Following a sudden brain wave, he cast another disillusionment charm on himself. That ought to be more than enough.

Gently, he opened the door, trying not to make any sound. The hospital wing was only dimly lit. Pomfrey was nowhere to be seen, but the flicking light of candles could be seen in her office. She probably was doing some paper work. Good, then she would not get in the way. James glanced around the room, trying to see where Lily was. One of the beds was hidden behind a thin curtain. This had to be hers as the other beds was empty. James was surprised that she was the only patient in the room. Given the trouble in Hogsmeade he had expected the room to be packed. He wondered whether this was a good or a bad sign. Maybe the other injuries had been fixed very quickly or they had been too serious of Pomfrey to treat at all. At least that he had enough privacy to have a proper chat with Lily. He made his was over to the curtain and pushed it away after having removed the disillusionment charm again. Lily was awake. She looked up at him as he opened the curtain and James saw a smile take over her tired face. She looked a bit under the weather but otherwise unharmed. Her eyes were sharp and alert again and not clouded with confusion as they had been before.

'Well, if it isn't my knight in a shining armour,' she said as she spotted him. 'Does Pomfrey know you are here?'

'No, and I think it is better if we keep is that way,' said James. 'She is not going to be pleased to see me if you can believe that.'

'That's really strange given how likable you are,' said Lily, her eyes dancing merrily. 'What have you ever done to her?'

'She has the impression that I am stubborn and don't care for rules,' said James. 'Completely unfounded suspicions, naturally.'

'Naturally,' she said. 'You look horrible by the way. Are you sure you should be up and about?'

'I am not the one in the infirmary,' said James. 'How are you feeling?'

'I am fine. My head still feels a bit sore, but I am loads better than I have been,' said Lily. 'Pomfrey cleaned me up with a few spells, but she stills insists that I stay for the night. I would much rather sleep in my bed, though. I have never cared for the hospital wing.'

'We could sneak you out and get you into your own dorm,' said James. 'But Pomfrey will not be pleased.'

'I think that would be pushing it, but thanks for offering,' she said. 'How are you? My memory is a bit fuzzy, but I remember you leading me up here to the hospital wing. When did you get to Hogsmeade? I did not see you during breakfast.'

'Has no one told you what happened?' asked James. 'You remember the Death Eaters attack, though?'

'Bits and pieces of it,' said Lily. 'I was in the Three Broomsticks when it happened. Marlene and I were about to have a butterbeer, but she suddenly remember that she had to buy some sugar-quills and ran off to Honeydukes. She wanted to do it right away because she was afraid that she would forget about it again. I went inside to get us a table as I did not expect her to be away long and the pub was rather crowded. Then the Death Eaters came and almost immediately afterwards the aurors appeared as well. We stayed inside to keep out of harm's way. I remember that I took cover behind a table close to the door, so I could get a few hexes off on any Death Eater coming into the pub. The last thing I can remember clearly is a load bang. Everything goes fuzzy afterwards.'

'That's not surprising,' said James. 'You received a rather nasty hit on the head after all. I am just glad that you are alright. When I realized that it was you who had been trapped under the rubble, I feared for the worst.'

'Yes, both of Pomfrey and McGonagall told me that I had been lucky,' said Lily. 'Funny, it does not feel like that. Is having a house collapse over your head getting lucky?'

'Probably not,' said James. 'But it could have been worse. Two people died today and I think it could have been much worse if the aurors had not reacted that quickly.'

'Or if you had not been there to save me,' said Lily, her eyes oddly bright as she looked at him. 'I remember your face. It is one of the few things I remember clearly after the collapse. You were white as a sheet. Thank you for coming for me. It was a very brave thing to do.'

'I did not save you, Lily,' said James. 'I was with an auror. He probably would have got you out fine on his own. He allowed me to come because I had insisted. In the end, I am not sure if it was a good idea for me to come at all. I transfigured most of the rubble on top of you and thereby almost got Baker and I covered with rubble as well. Fortunately, Baker saved the day and then took care of you. All I did was get you back to the castle in one piece. If you want to thank someone, you should go and track down Baker. He is a real hero. I am just a well-intention bystander who managed to get in the way. It may have been brave, but it also was terribly foolish.'

'You are overly harsh with yourself,' she said, echoing Marlene's word from earlier. James could see a bit of surprise in her eyes, but she did not seem particularly shocked by his revelation. James wondered how much she had already known about what he had done in Hogsmeade. 'Come, sit down. I'll budge over a bit. You look like you will fall asleep on your feet any moment.'

'I am fine,' said James automatically, but he set down next to her nevertheless. The bed was much softer than he remembered. He had never liked sleeping in the Hospital Wing, but today he could just picture falling asleep in this warm and comfy bed. He really should get to the dorm soon.

'Sure you are,' said Lily, eyeing him critically. 'What have you been doing that you are that tired?'

'I have been up all night,' said James. 'Only got a few hours of sleep this morning. Things like that take their toll.'

'Why have you been up all night? Do I even want to know?'

'Just Marauder stuff,' said James vaguely. 'And no, I didn't prank anybody at all. It was all harmless fun.'

'And I suppose there is no point asking you what you were actually doing?'

'None at all,' said James, smiling weakly at her. He could see that she was intrigued. She always had the rather annoying habit of sticking her nose into their affairs. It was something Snape and she had in common as much as James loathed to compare the two of them. In the past, he had been annoyed about her curiosity, but today he did not mind too much. As long as she did not pester him about it, he would be fine. 'There are some secrets you just don't share.'

'Yes, I thought as much,' said Lily. 'You know I would not tell on you, don't you? I may stick to the rules, but I am no snitch.'

'I like to think so,' said James. 'But this is not about trust. It is just not my secret to tell. But let's move on: Do you know whether visiting Hogsmeade will still be allowed after today?'

'I don't know,' said Lily. 'McGonagall visited me early today and she mentioned something about having to talk the issue through with the school governors. Naturally, people are very upset about such an attack. The Daily Prophet will already have spread the word. I think we are going to get some extra protection at least.'

'I suppose that can't hurt,' said James. He felt a wave of tiredness spread over him and in a spur of moment decision leaned backwards, so that he was lying on the bed rather than sitting on it. Lily, who was sitting, looked down at him with an amused look on her face.

'You really should get in bed,' she said. 'You look like a small boy who missed his nap.'

'There are a lot of things I should do,' said James evasively. 'And I decided that I had to see you before I want to bed. After all, I would not be much of knight in shining armour if I did not make sure that the princess actually survives my attempts to rescue you.'

'Well, that is certainly true, but I feel like you should raise your standards a bit,' said Lily with a smile on her face. 'You know, actually rescue the princess the next time you plunge yourself into danger.'

'Sounds like plan,' said James, looking up at her through half open eyes. He was not sure whether it was the dim light or his tiredness, but she appeared even more beautiful tonight than she usually was. His gaze lingered on her, unabashedly drinking in her face. She raised an eyebrow at him, but did not break eye contact. James suddenly remembered Sirius's words from this morning. His best mate had been so sure that Lily had feelings for him that James had dared to believe it himself if only for a brief moment. He had not thought about this all day. The excitement of the attack on Hogsmeade had blown Lily Evan's feelings straight from his mind. Now, however, the thought was back in full force. James wanted it to be true, but he was afraid from finding out that his thin hope was in vain. So he just lay there, starting at her.

'Do I have something on my face?' asked Lily. Despite her light comment, her eyes were dark with something James could not name. Then she licked her lips slowly and James made a decision.

'I feel like I am about to make a horrible mistake,' he said quietly. Before Lily had the chance to speak, he lifted himself up from the bed, cupped her face gently with his hands and kissed her. It was a harmless, almost chase kiss, but James felt his heart beat fast as he felt her soft lips beneath his. He expected her to push him away and to scream at him, but she did not react at all. Disheartened at her lack of enthusiasm, he pulled back, feeling as though a chunk of ice had replaced his heart. That was it. He had blown his chance again, like he had so many times in the past. Apparently, he was doomed to fail every attempt him made with Lily. He had been a fool. Why had he every listened to Sirius in the first place? What was he going to do now?

Before James could find an answer to this question, Lily sprang to life. One of her hands buried itself in the particularly untidy hair at the back of his head and with surprising strength she pulled him close again. Their mouths met again and this time it was she who led the kiss. For a moment, James was stunned, but he recovered much quicker than she had mere moments ago. He kissed her back enthusiastically, trying to savour the experience as much as he could. He slipped his tongue into her mouth and could taste the minty toothpaste she must have used not too long ago. Groaning slightly, he buried on of his hand into her lush red hair. It was even softer than he had always suspected. Far too soon in his opinion, she pulled away, her cheeks flushed prettily and her hair messed up. Feeling a bit dazed, James did not say anything. It was probably wiser to leave the talking to her. He was only going to make a fool out of himself anyway.

'Looks like you were wrong about this mistake,' she said loftily, after a minute of silence had trickled by.

'Yeah, I guess so,' said James, finding it hard to look at her at the moment. He felt triumphant, but also slightly confused. The situation seemed rather unreal to him. He was afraid that it would turn out to be a dream any moment. 'What do we do know?'

'We go to sleep,' said Lily firmly. 'You look dead on your feet and I am tired as well. We will deal with this tomorrow.'

'Alright,' said James, starting to get up. 'I will go back to the dormitory then. Will I see you at breakfast tomorrow?'

'Yes, if Pomfrey lets me out on time,' said Lily.

'Good night, Lily,' said James, giving her a soft kiss on the lips.

'Good night, James,' she said, after he had pulled away. She was blushing again. James found it endearing how easily she was flustered. Silently, he crept out of the hospital wing and made his way up to his dorm. His friends had already gone to bed, so he could get ready to bed without being interrogated about his whereabouts. When he finally went to bed, he fell asleep with a grin on his face.