The effect of defeat of James and Lily in the previous duel can be seen the next day during breakfast .

When Lily arrived the Great hall with two Ms , see saw the marauders were already having breakfast , except for James . The girls sat next to them. Peter was scribbling very fast with right hand ,while eating with his left hand.

" What are you writing ?" asked Mary.

" Essay on Summoning charm " said Pete.

"You should have not left it for last minute . " suggested Lily.

" You and James don't have to do the homework , so you dont know about pressure I am under " cried Pete . Lily rolled her eyes and started putting food on her plate .

Breakfast was about to end in 20 minutes.

" Where is that Potter ? " shouted Mulciber .

" Probably crying in his bed for loosing yesterday ." Avery followed

" Ashamed to face the crowd after defeat , huh ? " Mulciber said and all the slytherins burst into laughter.

" He should be more ashamed of the dirty company he keeps ."Avery said.

" SHUT UP ! Or do I have to remind you of last year ." shouted Sirius.

Whatever that was but it succeded in silenting them.

" Anyways , where is James ? he wasn't at dinner yesterday and now he missed breakfast. " asked Marlene.

" Don't know he said he had work to do , he came late last night and in morning he was gone very early, said he will meet us afterwards , haven't seen him since then . " said Remus.

"You all are always together , dont you know where he is now ?" asked Marlene.

" We are together but not all time , and I think he might be recovering from yesterdays defeat , you know ... his ego..." Sirius replied.

" Dont worry he will be back soon ." said Peter finishing his essay.

But James didn't shown up until Lunch . When the group arrived in the great hall for lunch worried about James , they saw him looking happy and eating .

" Prongsie , where were you the girls were all missing you . " said Sirius sitting beside him.

" Oh , is it so . " he winked and at Lily who rolled her eyes and sat opposite to him.

" Where were you ?" asked Marlene sitting beside Lily.

" Oh I was doing some work for tomorrows duel. " replied James.

" Without me , we are partners we have to work together, this attitude of you is going to take us down." said Lily angrily .

" Chill Evans I will tell you about it and would you have accompanied me in bunking classes ? " asked James with a mischievous grin.

" Um...no .. or Maybe I would have ., because I also want to win you know . " Lily replied .

" Ok , next time we will bunk classes together and go to date . " said Ja,es with a grin.

" Can you ever be serious ?"

" No, he cant be , because I am serious ? " sirius laughed and others joined except for Lily.

" Shut up Black or I will hex you ." Sirius immediately became silent having been hexed by Lily previously .

" And you Potter , we have to duel alongside and if you do anything that can damage our chance be prepared to receive a pretty strongful hex." said Lily looking at him angrily .

" Relax Lily , you are overreacting ." said Mary putting a hand on her shoulder.

" Yeah I know ... its just yesterday we lost and everyone is talking to me with pity or giving consoling , and those slytherins gits are driving me crazy with their comments AND EVERYONE IS ASKING ME WHERE IS POTTER '" Lily replied .

" Potter is planning to win the championship " grinned James running his hand through his hair. " Come Lily lets go and practice , I have searched some good spells that will help us ." and with that they both left behind their friends who began to talk of whom to take to ball.

" I was going to ask Victoire but she said she is already going together with her partner ." said Sirius

" Maybe you can find her alone after the ball " Pete winked and both Remus and Sirius laughed.

" Hey Moony what about you , eh , you know I am real good kisser , and I can dance .We can go together " grinned Sirius and Pete fell down laughing and clutching his stomach , few people turned to look at him.

" What does that mean , ... oh ... Remus are you .. um ...you and ...Sirius ..together ? " asked Mary suddenly turning pale .

"In second year they kissed " said Peter sitting back still laughing .

" Shut up Pete ... it was a dare ... stupid James gave me the dare " said Remus .

" So are you ... um ...means ...ga..?" Mary asked but was cut .

" Whaaat , NO , I am not , I dont have that feelings ... means I have those feelings , but I dont have for others...shit , no I mean , I have it for girls only." said Remus , Sirius and Peter were laughing shamelessly .

" Thank God " said Mary with a sigh of relief.

" What does it matter to you Mary , what his orientation is , Why are you so interested ?" Marlene asked with narrowed eyes.

" I ... am not , I was just asking you know " Mary replied.

"Anyways , who are you going with Pete . " asked Remus in attempt to divert the topic.

Peter suddenly turned red " I am going with Sarah Dalton " he said sheepishly , Sirius and Remus patted his back .

" The Fourth year Hufflepuff , oh she is cute , you two will be great. " said Marlene.

" What about you Marls ?" asked Mary .

" Dawid Williams , ravenclaw , he asked me yesterday " said Marlene

" He is an idiot , he seems lost in other world most of the time " said Sirius .

" At leat he is better than Lucy Bronze , who seems to be ready to snog anyone ." snapped Marlene.

" Hey , how do you know I am going with her and also she is good looking " replied Sirius .

" He will probably leave her after one or two nights " muttered Peter to Remus and Mary.

" What about you Remus " asked Marlene ignoring Sirius .

" No luck , as of now " said Remus.

" Good , because Mary here also hasnt find a partner yet , so you boyh will go together ." Marls said , though it sounded like command.

" So will you go with me " asked Remus shyly to Mary , both turning red.

Mary nodded.

" What about Lily and James ?" She asked.

"What about them?" asked Marlene.

"With whom they are going?"

"They will have to go together, I think as they are one of the pair . Mostly pairs go together or if they are both girls or boys then they can have another one with them ." Marlene replied.

In Gryffindor common rooom James showed Lily some new spells he had found out and when she asked from where , he muttered something about resticted section.

" I asked Flitwick if we can skip lessons but he denied so we cant practice in charms class as there is class . And other free rooms which used to be empty are occupied with visitors, we need big , empty space to practice." Lily said .

James knew a place which fitted the desription , but wasnt sure about telling about it to Lily , but neverthless .

" Well there's a pretty roomy secret passageway on fourth floor we can practice there , but voices might echo and it will draw attention , though its good for brewing potions. " shrugged James .

"Why would anyone want to brew potion there and no we cant risk there , fourth floor has classes and student might hear , they will send us back to classes. And I dont want to lose." said Lily.

"Hmm , well in that case one place is there where we can practice." said James anxiously running finger through his hair .

" So, what are we waiting for ? " asked Lily .

" Um its actually involves breaking rule , but more importantly you can never tell anyone about it ." whispered James .

Lily looked at him curiously , " Is it dangerous ? " she asked.

" No ... well yes it is ,but not for now."

" What do you mean ? " Lily asked .

James looked around the room only few people were there , but he couldnt risk it , so he took Lily in the farthest corner and brought his face very close to hers , Lily panicked , her heartbeat increased( was he going to kiss her ?) " Wh .. What are... "she was trying to speak , but James moved his mouth near to her ears and whispered almost inaudible " Well you know about Remus' conditions ?" , she nodded relieved slightly but , her heart still thumping fast against her chest , this was closest she has been to her , James continued "So he goes to a place where he transforms , we will go there but you cant tell any other soul , promise ?" he moved his face to look at her eyes , she nodded and whispered " I promise ." James looked at her for few seconds still unsure but then looked in her eyes and got the confirmation , he wanted to kiss her , he was very close to her , but he took a step back.

Lily relaxed ," So how are we going there ? We cant go in grounds at this time " she asked

"Come " he said grabbing his bag and moved out of the portrait hole . Lily followed her , he looked around to make sure no one was there , most people were in classes . Then he took out a silvery substance from his bag.

"What ...Is this an Invisibility cloak ? " gasped Lily , she had only seen pictures of them but never a real one .

" Yes , and please dont tell anyone about it . " he said , Lily nodded . He threw the cloak over both of them . "Come closer " , Lily raised her eyebrow .

"Our feet are not covered due to the gap." he said . Lily moved closer to him , her back almost touching his front.

" Well this is a dream come true " he chuckled.

" Shut up or I will tell the teachers about it." Lily snapped .

" I thought you were enjoying it " grinned James as they moved towards the whomping willow.

" I am not , I just want to practice and win. And why do you carry the cloak in your bag? " she replied .

" You never know when it can come to use." he replied .

They reached the Willow Lily saw as James as he levitated a branch and when the branch hit the tree at a spot the tree became still.

" Come lets go " he said , once inside the passage he removed the branch and the willow become voilent again. They moved through the tunnel , he could have removed the cloak , but he was enjoying the moment .

" Why are you so happy ? You are grinning like an idiot" Lily said as the tunnel began to rise.

" Nothing ... Just thinking that the Prefect is breaking rules " his grin widened , she rolled her eyes and was about to reply when she saw a patch of dim light through a small opening .

It was a room , avery disordered , dusty room. Paper was peeling from the walls ; there were stains not so old all over the floor ; every piece of furniture was broken. James motioned her to follow him up the crumbling staircase. James opened the door and moved inside , Lily followed him . It was a quite big room with dirty windows , there was a magnificient four poster bed on which James had put his bag and was sitting looking at her with a curious look , a grin on his face .

" So is it a good place ? " he asked her running his finger through his hair .

" Yes , but it looks like a haunted place " she said then gasped " Is it the Shrieking shack ? "

"Yes"

" And it isn't haunted ? " she asked

" No , all the voices they here were of .." but before he could finish Lily cut him.

"Remus " she gasped looking at scratches all around the room. She moved and sat beside James.

" Oh, I never knew it was this horrible for him , being alone all by himself , oh it must be very painful." she said sadly.

" Yes it is " he shrugged , he wanted to tell her that remus was not alone , but he cant.

" How did you know about this place ? "

" Remus showed us when we forced him , we all were very said when we saw the condition and understood what would have happened ."

" It was great of you all to not abandon him."

" Are you kidding ? If it was in my control I could have done anything to cure his illness. I feel bad for him , he didnt deserved this . We could not just abandon him , he was all very anxious when we found out , he even said that he will leave hogwarts next day he was feeling all guilty , but we stopped him and assured him it doent matter to us , we consoled him and asked himto enjoy with us and not to feel different . I care about him , I dont want him to feel guilty about all this. He hides it but he still feels different due to his condition , I just want to make sure he doesnt feel so." James voice was soft , there was sadness in his voice . Lily couldnt help but feel respect towards him .

"He told me that you and the other two help him in every possible way , I asked if I could do anything to help he said there was nothing . Is there anything I could do to help him?" Lily asked.

" No,there's nothing you could do beside just not telling about him to anyone , beause if it spread he could be expelled ."

" I know , I will not tell " she said .

" I trust you , you are a great girl ." replied James , he took out the book and started suffling the pages and stopping on a particular one . " Let us begin our practice "

It had been five hours , the sky has turned dark as the last rays of sun left the sky. James and Lily had earlier heard distant commentary as Uganda duel againgst Shamrock and Durmstrang against Beauxbatons, they were thankful to have a day's break after two continuous duel. Lily wanted to be there to see there tactics , but James had assured that Remus will tell them detailed analysis , as Remus has taken up the job to do the analyasis of each duel so James and Lily could have more time to prepare .

Now both were tired . Lily was lying on the bed , her hand paining from continuous wand movemements , James had drawn the dirty cutains on window to prevent light escaping the house from the fire he had conjured and he was now sitting on a broken chair as he took out a book which looked atleast more than 100 year old and was reading it thoroughly .

Lily sat up and looked at him , he was looking tired , purple bags had formed under his eyes , but somehow he looked energetic as always . " Do you always read this much or are you just doing it for the Championship ?"

James chuckled " Both .I have gotten in habit of self learning and have dragged Sirius with me too , so yes , I do read this much but try to avoide if I can."

" Then why are you reading , you can avoid them , its not that important ." suggested Lily.

" It is important to me because it is important to you and also it would be cool to be called Duel Champion."

" Show off " Lily muttered and James chuckled .

"Do you want to go have dinner , if you are hungry or do you want to practice ?" asked James .

" I am not hungry , I want to practice , we cant afford to lose another duel. But if you want to eaat than we can head back ." Lily suggested.

" No I am not hungry and I have this ." he pulled out a large piece of chocolate and split in two and gave one half to Lily .

"Its okay , I dont want , you can eat ." she protested.

"Take and eat it , it will give you energy . And dont tell Remus I have nicked it from him , he always carry it ." James grinned , Lily smiled and took it , she really felt energetic after eating it.

"Thanks or Thanks to Remus , which one ?" Lily asked. James laughed .

"Both will work ." he finished his own piece , took out his wand and moved it two glasses materialiazed in front of him , he tapped them with his wand and they both were filled with water , he gave one glass to Lily who thanked him.

" Now let's begin again , this time focusing on defense rather than offense ." said Lily standing up.

They practiced for another two to three hours before calling it night . They followed the same path to get back to the castle under the Cloak.

They were near the entrance when James stopped and pulled out a parchment and muttered " I solemnly swear that I am up to no good " and examine it .

" What is it ? It looks like a map." Lily asked .

" Yeah it is sort of , come we should keep moving , the way is clear ." he said putting the map in his pocket.

Lily was about to ask him about the map when her stomach growled.

" Hungry , huh , me too ." James said .

" Yeah but dinner is already over , you should have nicked more chocolates from Remus " Lily said.

James chuckled " He will kill me for that , anyway dont worry we are going to eat dinner "

" How ?" Lily asked.

" Kitchen" James replied.

James lead her to the kitchens , where the house elves served them food and they both ate more than usual out of tiredness and hunger ,

As they left the kitchen James again put the cloak around them . They were halfway when James heard footsteps ( thanks to his stag power ) , he immediately stopped and Lily walked into him , he took out the map opened it , four Slytherins : Amycus and Alecto Carrow , Adrian Synde and Scabior Nott , were coming in their direction.

" Why have you stopped and what is this..." Lily was saying but James put his hand in her mouth and moved out of the way , pressing against the wall , to prevent colision from the slytherins .
" Slytherins are coming this way , stay silent " he said in a very low whisper , Lily nodded , he removed his handfrom her mouth, her heart rate increased again by the close contact of James , who was looking at the direction from which they were coming listening hard.

" ...he was dissapointed ." a male voice said.

"But what can we do , that fucking professors lessons against has made it hard to convince other students to join." a girl's voice said as they approached closer.

" If you want to be in his inner circle , remove that bloody jerk out of way and impress him ." said another one .

"Malfoy suggested the same ."

" What Malfoy got to do with anything ?"

" He is in his inner circle with Lestrange and Bellatrix . And if we want to be in that circle than we have to prove ourself." said one of them as they crossed the spot where James and Lily were standing , James pushed into Lily more as he barely avoided the contact with the one walking on extreme left .

" So what you suggest ? We can make it look like an accident ." asked the girl.

" Yes , and the ball will be best opportunity to do so "

" We have to plan soon " said another as they turn the corner and got out of range.

James moved away and released the breath he was holding back.

" What was that ?" asked Lily looking at the place where slytherins had turned .

" Dunno , but it didnt sounded good , come lets go , we will talk about that later ." he said . Lily nodded and they both made their way to the common room .

" Thanks , it was a long day and tiring day but I enjoyed ." Lily said .

" Thanks to you too , and I am sure we will win tommorow."

" Yeah I hope so . Good night "

" Good night"

And they both departed to their dorms . Lily fell asleep the moment she touched the bed , but James was awake while his friends snore around him. He was wondering whether to tell a professor or not about the slytherins, he was himself not very clear , but was convinced that they were planning something bad . He took out a parchment and quill and wrote about the incident in detail to his Uncle Ben hoping he might be able to give his views. He finished the letter and put it on the table to be delievered tomorrow morning .

He laid on his bed doing some reading about great duels of history and fell asleep.