The rest of his N.E.W.T. exams passed in a blur. James lost count of all the hours of revising he did. It was utter chaos, but it helped keep his mind off Lily's request to finally get told their precious secret. However, his anxiety about telling her returned in full force about an hour after his final exam. It was a hot, but cloudy day and James quickly organized a Marauder meeting out on the deserted Quidditch pitch.

'What is it, Prongs?' asked Sirius. 'I was supposed to meet Marlene ten minutes ago. What are we doing here of all places? We have already won the Quidditch cup, you don't need to run any more drills.'

'I know that you git,' said James. 'Besides, if I were to run Quidditch drills with you, I wouldn't have asked Moony and Wormtail here and I probably would have brought a broom. I figured the Quidditch pitch was a good place to talk in private.'

'Hang on than,' said Remus. He whipped out his wand and cast a quick Muffliato. 'There, that should prevent anyone from listening in. What's going on, James? Is it because of the exam? Are you afraid that you might have failed?'

'Don't be ridiculous, I am a prodigy in transfiguration,' said James. 'No, it is about Lily. As you might remember, some time ago, she started to get rather pushy about knowing what we do over the full moon. I managed to stave off telling her until the end of the year. Time is running out and I think I want to tell her.'

'That's not wise, James,' said Sirius. 'Evans is a stickler for rules, she is not going to be pleased when she learns what we are doing. Can't you stave her off some more? Just work your way from one deadline to the next and you will be fine.'

'That's not going to work on Lily, Sirius,' said Remus. 'She is too smart. Are you sure you want to tell her, Prongs? It is a very serious secret to share.'

'Yes,' said James, surprised at the sudden conviction in his voice. 'I think it is the next step. We are closer than we ever were and I feel that we have to share this secret before we can take any further steps.'

'Like what?' asked Peter. 'Don't tell me you are about to marry her?'

James pressed his lips together in thought. That was a rather loaded question and he wasn't sure how to answer it correctly. His feelings were a bit complicated in that regard.

'I have thought about it,' he said eventually.

'Oh, for Merlin's sake,' said Sirius. 'Prongs, there is a war going on out there. You should focus on getting ready to fight and spend what little time you have enjoying yourself. You might be dead tomorrow, why on earth would you want to get married now?'

'The war is the whole point why I have to hurry up,' said James. 'I am about to become an auror and will end up on the front line of this conflict. I just don't have any time to waste. Under normal circumstances, I would be fine with dating Lily for a while before deciding on something that serious, but that is not an option. Waiting is not going to do me any good if there is a chance that I will die before having the chance to ask her.'

'And being married for the rest of your life does not mean much if you are going to die young anyway,' said Remus cynically. 'It makes sense, in a rather twisted kind of way. I still think it is a horrible idea to even consider getting married now, but I can understand the reasoning. Have you asked her already?'

'Not yet, I want to see how things are going with the animagus secret first,' said James. 'If she reacts well to it and I have settled into auror training, I am going to ask her. Maybe she will even say yes.'

'That is going to paint an even bigger target on your chest,' warned Peter. 'The Death Eaters are not going to react kindly to such a marriage. They will see it as a provocation.'

'I don't give a fuck what these bastards think,' said James hotly. 'But I don't plan to broadcast my marriage anyway, so it is just as well. But the first step is telling Lily our secret. I want to ask for your blessings. I am not going to tell her if anyone of you doesn't want me to.'

'You know the solution for this problem already,' said Remus. 'The Unbreakable Vow. We have talked about this months ago. I am fine as long as you make her take it.'

'I see,' said James. 'Do you think she will agree to this?'

Remus shrugged.

'I guess it depends on how much she really wants to know,' he said. 'I doubt that she is going to take it well when you bring up the vow, though.'

Sirius snorted.

'She is going to go ballistic,' he said gleefully. 'You probably shouldn't expect getting into her knickers anytime soon after that conversation.'

'Thanks for the support, Sirius,' said James dryly. 'I am always eager for your relationship advice.'

'You're welcome,' said Sirius. 'Anyway, I still think that this is a mistake, but you if get her to take the vow, I am fine with it. I don't believe that she is going to do it, though. Evans doesn't have the balls to do anything as risky as this.'

'Don't underestimate her,' said Remus. 'Lily is one of the most headstrong people I know and I know a lot of stubborn old mules. If she really wants to know, she is going to take the vow.'

'We will see,' said James. 'Peter, what do you think? Do I have your permission to tell her as well?'

Peter looked conflicted for a moment, before sighing.

'Alright,' he said. 'I guess it is safe enough with the vow in place, but I still agree with Padfoot. It is not a good idea.'

'When has that ever stopped us?' asked James. 'Thanks to all of you. I know it is a lot to ask.'

'I just hope it is worth it,' said Sirius. 'You should be careful, though, James. If you start treating Evans like she is the most wonderful thing on the planet, like you did back in fifth year, she is bound to slip into her old behaviour. The most important thing I have learned during my years as Hogwarts most notorious heart breaker is that is always better to be too mean to a girl than to be too nice to her.'

Remus scoffed at him.

'Your series of one-night stands and one month relationships hardly qualify you as an expert in dating,' said Remus. 'Besides, you are not in the position to lecture James in this regard. You were quite vocal about your disdain for relationships in general in the past and now you are dating Marlene and swoon over her every day.'

'I don't swoon over her!'

'Yes, you do and you have been dating her for much longer than you are prepared to admit,' continued Remus. 'So, you are hardly the only one breaking his habits because of a girl.'

'Maybe, but I don't have to convince her to take an unbreakable vow in the process,' said Sirius.

'Not yet at least,' muttered James under his breath. 'Alright then. I will talk to Lily and see how she feels about this. Moony, will you be our witness for the vow?'

'Why do you ask him and not me?' said Sirius, looking affronted. 'Using the vow was my idea in the first place!'

'Because you are not taking this as seriously as you should and Lily actually likes me,' said Remus dryly. 'And don't even think about making that lame old joke again.'

Sirius huffed in annoyance, but didn't argue.

'Of course, I will be the witness, James,' said Remus. 'I have read quite a bit about the vow in the meantime and I am prepared.'

'Good,' said James. 'I will find you as soon as I have got an answer from Lily.'

He found Lily about half an hour later on the top of the astronomy tower, looking over the grounds. It was still hot and humid, but wind breezing around the spire brought some relief.

'Enjoying the view?' asked James when he took his place next to her on the edge of the platform.

'Yes,' she said. 'Where you looking for me for a long time? I didn't tell anyone that I would be here.'

'No, I am actually quite good at finding people.'

'Sometimes, you have to tell how you do that.'

'I can't,' said James. 'It is a Marauder secret.'

'Of course it is,' said Lily. 'Speaking of secrets: When are you going to tell me your big secret? The year is almost over.'

'That depends on how badly you want to know it,' said James. 'I am going to tell you under one condition: I need a guarantee that you don't tell anyone.'

'Of course I am not going to tell anyone,' said Lily. 'You know that I can keep a secret.'

'Sadly, that's not good enough in this case,' said James. He was going to make one more attempt to talk her out of it. While some part of him wanted to tell her, he still thought it better to keep her in the dark. 'This secret is dangerous and I think it would be better for everyone if you just let this go. Not knowing about it is going to protect you in the long run, Lily.'

'No,' said Lily immediately. 'I need to know, especially if it is as dangerous as you say.'

'Then, I have to ask you to take an Unbreakable Vow that you don't reveal the secret to anyone,' said James, trying to sound as calmly as possible. He was not sure how well he had managed it, but Lily looked at him as though he had grown a second head.

'What?' she asked.

'If you want to know our secret, you have to take an Unbreakable Vow,' repeated James. 'You know what this is, don't you?'

'Of course I know what an Unbreakable Vow is,' she snapped. 'It is not exactly hard to figure out, is it? Blimey, James you can't be serious!'

'Why not?'

'Because using an Unbreakable Vow is completely insane,' she said. 'Breaking such a vow means death!'

'That is the whole point of these vows,' said James. 'They exist to secure very dangerous secrets and our secret falls in that category. It is only reasonable that we use whatever means necessary to protect it.'

'I can't believe you have that little trust in me,' said Lily, sounding hurt. 'I can understand that this a big secret, but you treat me like I am your enemy and not your girlfriend.'

'Not true,' said James. 'I would never ever tell one of my enemies about this. I have never even considered telling anyone else about this. Not even Marlene knows and she is my oldest friend. This offer is a symbol of my trust in you.'

'Funnily, it doesn't feel this way,' said Lily.

'Look, I know that it is a lot to take in,' said James, clamping down on the sparks of irritation rising in him. It was not his fault they were having this discussion after all. He would have been fine without ever telling her, but she had to stick her nose into his business and then was irritated about him protecting himself. It was hard not to get angry about that.

'You should take your time to think it through carefully. There is no way to remove the oath after it has been cast after all. It is a binding magical contract. If you are not sure about it, you shouldn't take it. It would be better for you to stay out this anyway.'

'I can figure out what's good for me quite fine on my own,' she said sharply. 'I just don't understand what you could have possibly done to warrant this kind of secrecy. I already know about Remus and your secret cannot be bigger than that.'

'Remus's condition is a different kind of secret,' said James. 'It is known the Ministry and he is in no danger to get punished for it anytime soon. Peter, Sirius and I have a different secret, something which could hurt us if it was more well-known. Therefore, we have to be more careful.'

'Yes, but there is a difference between being careful and being paranoid,' said Lily. 'Who came up with this ridiculous idea in the first place?'

'Remus and Sirius,' said James. 'I asked them for advice.'

'Remus agrees with this?' said Lily incredulously. 'I thought he was the responsible one.'

'He is and he does,' said James. 'He is going to be our witness should you decide to take the vow.'

'Unbelievable,' she said. She felt quiet for a moment, obviously deep in thought. It was not difficult to figure out what she was thinking about. She obviously wanted to know their secret, but the thought of taking an Unbreakable Vow was too troubling for her just to agree outright. Someone more reckless than she would probably have agreed by now. James hoped that she would listen to reason and decide to forget all about their secret. It would be better for everyone involved.

'Alright, let's do it,' she said after a moment. 'Let's get Remus and get this over with. We have danced around this for far too long already.'

'Really?' asked James, surprised at how quickly she had come up with a decision. 'Are you sure? You know that there is no way back after this, do you?'

'Of course,' she snapped. 'It isn't exactly difficult to figure out.'

'And you still want to do it?'

'Yes,' she said. 'I still think that it is an idiotic idea, but if you consider it necessary, I trust your judgement enough to do it. Besides, taking the vow should not have that much of an impact. I hadn't plan to tell anybody about your secret after all.'

James exhaled loudly for a moment and then sighed.

'Alright,' he said. It didn't feel right to make Lily take the vow just because there was a miniscule chance that she would betray him eventually. However, he knew that it was the rational thing to do and that the stakes he was playing with were too high to take any chances.

'Let's find Remus and do it.'

Half an hour later, Lily and the rest of the Marauders had gathered within the boy's dormitory. They were just about to begin after having cast a barrage of spells to ensure their privacy. It wouldn't do to be overheard or interrupted. After all, it would be highly ironic if they made Lily take an Unbreakable Vow before telling her about their animagus powers, only to reveal them to a fortunate observer in the process.

'Alright,' said Remus. 'Let's begin. Lily, James, take the positions we have discussed. Kneel down and clasp each other's hands.'

James did as he was told immediately. Lily hesitated for a split-second before moving into position. James could tell by the set of her jaw that she was determined to see this through. He smiled a little: One could always count on her being too stubborn for her own good. He took her hand in his and turned his head to Remus.

'Are you sure about our planned wording, Moony?' he asked. 'It is quite important that we get it right the first time. There is no room for errors.'

'Yes, I am,' said Remus. 'This variant of the vow is often used to protect sensitive information. It is exactly what we have been looking for. Remember: You must not let go of her hand before telling her the secret. Otherwise, it will not be protected properly. And you should keep it short and sweet.'

'Alright,' said James. 'Get over here so we can start. It is bloody uncomfortable to kneel on the floor.'

Remus smiled briefly and walked over to where Lily and James were located. He pulled out his wand and placed it on their joined hands, acting as bonder in the ritual.

'Ready,' he said.

James took a deep breath and steadied himself. This was it. Just a few more minutes and the vow would be in place.

'Will you, Lily, keep the secret you are about to learn strictly to yourself?' he said.

'I will,' said Lily.

A string of fire emerged from Remus's wand and wrapped itself around their clasped hands. Lily flinched slightly and Peter gasped in surprise. James knew that this was part of the ritual and signalled that it was working correctly. He was not sure whether he was overly happy about it, though.

'Will keep it hidden under any circumstances?' he asked.

'I will.'

Another tendril of fire appeared.

'And will you, to the best of your ability, prevent others from learning the secret?'

'I will.'

A third flash of fire filled the room.

'I will now reveal to you the secret you have sworn to protect,' said James. 'Sirius, Peter and I are animagi. We spend time with Remus during the full moons in our animal forms.'

The final strand of fire appeared, just as Lily's mouth fell open. The tendril disappeared almost immediately and James felt a wave of magical power wash over him. The gravity of what he had just done disoriented him for a moment. He barely registered that Lily was equally effected. It passed as quickly as it had begun. James blinked and glanced over at Remus, who was looking at him in concern.

'Are you alright?' he asked.

'Fine,' said James. 'I think it worked.'

'I think so too,' said Remus. 'What about you Lily? Do you feel alright as well?'

'Yes,' she said. 'But I think that all of you are bloody mental.'

Remus snorted with amusement and pocketed his wand again.

'That is probably true,' he said calmly. 'I tried to talk them out of it for days, but they wouldn't listen. In the end, I decided to help with the transformation, so that they wouldn't hurt themselves.'

'And you are all unregistered, aren't you?' said Lily. 'Of course you are. It is the only explanation for all the secrecy and no one would give you permission to become animagi while you are underage. I am not sure whether I should be impressed or curse you all until you can't stand!'

'Oh please, Evans, don't be so melodramatic,' said Sirius. 'Becoming animagi was harder than we first thought, but it was quite manageable in the end. Frankly, I don't see why the Ministry makes such a big deal out of it. Besides, we only did it to help Moony, so taking the risk was justified.'

'Right, you only took the risk, so you can do something even more dangerous,' said Lily, rolling her eyes. 'Do you really think that is going to calm me down?'

'Look, I can understand that it is a bit of a shock,' said James. 'And you are completely right, we are taking risks to help Remus. However, we think it is worth it, because it helps him deal with his condition. The full moons are better when he has company and while it can get a bit rough at times, we are save in our animal forms. Werewolves are only dangerous to humans after all.'

'That's commendable, but it is still mental,' said Lily. 'And if you had any sense, you would stop doing it immediately. But I have a feeling that you are going to keep doing it no matter what I say.'

'You are damn right we will,' said Sirius. 'Remus is our friend and he needs us.'

'Alright, I recognize a lost cause if I see one. But that doesn't mean that I like it,' said Lily.

'Fortunately, your opinion hardly matters in that regard,' said Sirius coldly.

'Sirius, be nice,' chided James. 'She is only trying to help.'

Sirius opened his mouth to argue, but Remus threw him a look which shut him up. Instead, he huffed and crossed his arms in defiance.

'Alright, now get going,' said Lily. 'Now that I know what you are, I want to see your forms.'

'It is a bit crowded in here,' said James. 'We need to make some space so I can transform.'

'Absolutely not,' said Remus. 'The last time you transformed in here, you and Sirius managed to trash the room. We should head outside for a show. There you will have ample room to show off, James.'

'I am not going to show off,' protested James, but Remus just gave him a disbelieving look.

'A trip to the forest is an excellent idea,' said Sirius. 'I need some fresh air. But are you up for it, Evans? The forest is a dark and dangerous place after all.'

'I am not easily scared,' said Lily, rolling his eyes at Sirius. 'What got your wand in a knot anyway? You have been acting like a total git all evening.'

'Maybe I am not happy with you worming your way into our secrets,' said Sirius. 'Maybe I want you to keep out of our business and leave James the space he needs rather than watching him a like a hawk. Just because I have agreed for James's sake doesn't mean that I have to like it.'

James groaned. He had thought that Sirius was alright with him telling Lily, but apparently, he had underestimated his best mate's dislike for his girlfriend. It hardly was surprising that the two of them clashed: Their personalities were very different after all, but he would have appreciated it if Sirius had at least tried to get along with Lily.

'Very well, then,' said Lily primly. 'Be that way. I don't think there is any merit in arguing about it further. You and I clearly not agree on the role I am supposed to play in James's life. You want me to be just a casual hook-up, while I actually want to be part of a serious relationship. There hardly seems any room for an agreement here.'

'If you say so,' said Sirius dismissively. 'Just don't forget that he is my mate first and your boyfriend second.'

'Padfoot, stop being a cunt,' said James sharply. 'I am not some toy you two have to fight over.'

Lily looked rather shocked by his language, but didn't comment on it. Peter and Remus, however, had both cracked a smile at the jab. Sirius looked affronted.

'But, Prongs,' he protested. 'She is the one pushing the boundaries! I am only trying to keep things as they always were. We have never shared so many of our secrets and I think it is a mistake.'

'I know,' said James. 'But you don't have to be such a git about it. Maybe you are right and all this was a mistake. Only time will tell. But, I have a feeling that you might find yourself in a very similar situation soon if things with Marlene progress as they have in the past.'

Sirius scowled at that, but he kept his mouth shut. James was sure that his lone wolf of a friend was slowly starting to like being in a proper relationship for once. Not that he would ever admit it.

'Right,' said Remus. 'If we are done ripping each other's throats out, let's get to the exiting part. Down to the forest! Sirius, after you.'

They clambered out of the dorm and made their way to the Hogwarts grounds. Lessons were over by now and students used the opportunity to spend a few moments in the evening sun before dinner. That made it easy for them to blend in. They headed straight to the forest behind Hagrid's hut and Sirius led them to a small clearing not too far in the Forbidding Forest. It was remote enough so that students almost never visited it, but also close enough to open ground to discourage the more dangerous inhabitants of the forest to show themselves.

'Alright,' said Sirius. 'Should we transform right away?'

'Proximity alarm spells first,' said Remus and cast a variety of spells. 'We must not get sloppy now.'

'Good call,' said James. 'I will go first, give me some space.'

The others backed away and James smoothly transformed into his animal form. He had done it so many times by now that it felt as natural as blinking. Nevertheless, the sudden shift in perspective could be disorienting. Not only was he taller in his animal for and had four legs instead of two, his eyes were placed differently as well. It took some time to get used to the changed field of vision. His hearing and sense of smell were sharper which further increased the difference between his two forms.

Lily gasped when she saw what he had become. She stepped over to him and gently touched his rump as if to reassure himself that he was a solid object rather than an illusion.

'Look at that Moony,' said Sirius. 'She can't take her hands of Prongs even when he is in his animal form.'

James snorted in amusement which sounded rather threatening when he was a stag. Lily jerked back in alarm and James tried to give her a reassuring glance, but given the limited control over this facial features, he was not sure he managed to convey the message.

'It is fine, Lily,' said Remus. 'He always sounds like that when he is amused as a stag.'

'Unbelievable,' she said, stroking his neck gently. Her eyes fell on his antlers and her brows furrowed in thought. 'What did you just call him, Sirius?'

'Prongs,' said Peter helpfully. 'It is his nickname. We all have nicknames matching to our animal form.'

'Prongs,' repeated Lily slowly. 'Because of his antlers, of course. What are your nicknames, Peter and Sirius?'

James took the opportunity to transform back to his human form.

'Sirius is Padfoot, Peter is Wormtail,' he said. 'Come on, show her. We don't have all day.'

Peter went first, transforming into a rat and scrambling over to Lily. To her credit, she didn't flinch or scream like many girls did when they saw a rat. Instead, she rather looked interested.

'Amazing how much the size of your form differ,' she said. 'Peter is much smaller than usual and you are much bigger. Do you think there are animagi with huge animal forms? Like an elephant or a rhino?'

'Probably,' said James. 'In general, you can become any kind of animal. Maybe your animal form is a ladybug, Lily.'

'I highly doubt it is a ladybug,' she replied. 'I don't think that fits me at all. Your form is supposed to say something about your personality, isn't it?'

'In theory, yes,' said James. 'But personally, I think that may just be wishful thinking. I fail to see what I and a stag have in common. I can see a connection in Sirius's case, though.'

'Really?' said Lily, intrigued. 'Come on, Sirius, show us your animal form.'

Sirius threw her a dark look, sighed and transformed. The familiar huge, shaggy dog took his place and barked loudly. He bounded over to James who bent down and scratched his ears.

'Padfoot, of course,' said Lily. 'He is quite big for a dog, isn't he?'

'Yes,' said Remus. 'Last year, he scared a poor third year, because she thought he was a grim. You know, the haunted dog that is supposed to be an omen of death. I have never understood why so many people buy into this divination rubbish.'

'There a lot of Muggles who believe in them too,' said Lily. 'I guess it must be something human then. Some people are not comfortable with the thought that everything is just coincidence. But I still fail to see what you meant James. What do Sirius and dog have in common?'

'The both hump everything in sight,' said James grinning widely. Remus, Peter and Lily laughed while Sirius barked in protest. 'But seriously, dogs are loyal animals and Sirius is fiercely loyal to his friends. I think it fits.'

'Glad to see you endorsement,' said Sirius after having transformed back. 'Well, show is over. Are you happy now, Evans?'

'Quite,' she said coolly. 'Though I would be even happier if you stopped biting my head off all the time. If you only relaxed a little, we might even become friends.'

'I highly doubt that,' muttered Sirius, but he fell silent when James threw him a dark look.

'There you have our dark secret, Lily,' said James. 'We did it to help Remus and I am very glad that we did.'

'Remus, are you glad that they did it, too?' asked Lily.

'Yes,' said Remus immediately. 'I would be even happier if they hadn't broken about a dozen laws in the process, but I cannot deny that my transformation are much less painful now than they were before. Their behaviour might have been incredibly dangerous and foolish, but they meant well.'

'Then, I am happy that they did it too,' said Lily. 'Thanks for sharing all of this with me. I can understand now why you went through all this trouble to protect it. And for the record, I still think that all of you are mental.'

'But you wouldn't have us any other way,' said James and kissed her softly on the forehead.

'Probably,' she said. 'Come on, let's head back to the castle and celebrate the end of our exams.'