Onto the next one! I'm hoping to keep up with posting weekly, but I can't promise anything. The next two months will be crazy rl-wise.

Anyway... Enjoy!

Chapter 11 – Butterflies

Lily stared at him, not sure what to think. She tried her best to stay calm and collected. It was no use to freak out; that wouldn't help anybody and least of all her. But what could she do if not freak out? Someone was out there, someone who called himself Lord Voldemort, who had openly announced his goal to attack the Muggle world and find like-minded people who'd join him. Taken together with the disappearances of Muggle-borns that were being covered up by the Prophet, she knew that it would only get worse. She was a Muggle-born and the entire student body knew that. She didn't want to fall back on prejudices, but she couldn't help but think about Severus and his gang of so-called friends. Thinking back to her fifth year hurt, but she needed to remember that even back then, he'd shown signs of thinking like Lord Voldemort. She didn't have one ounce of doubt in her mind that they and their parents would follow this Lord and would make sure that she, as well as every Muggle-born in Hogwarts, would know where they were at.

"Nothing will happen to you, Lily. I swear to Merlin!"

Lily slowly turned around to see James now standing right in front of her. His calloused hands came up to gently hold her face and make sure she'd see the earnest look in his beautiful hazel eyes. She swallowed as she felt a telling burn in her eyes.

"You will be just fine. I will do everything in my power to make sure that you will be safe. And so will Sirius. They can't do anything to us. We're pure-bloods and belong to two Ancient and Most Noble Houses. Trust me, everything will be okay." He brushed his thumbs over her cheeks, wiping away the tears that had escaped her eyes, and smiled softly at her.

"Thank you," she breathed, a wobbly smile tugging at her lips. "Thank you, James."

His smile was sweet and loving and small lines appeared around his hazel eyes as he looked at her. "We'll find a solution to this mess. And if that means joining the Order and actively going against those insane people getting marked, so be it."

Her heart swelled at his words and the butterflies in her stomach were going haywire. She closed her eyes and allowed James to lean his forehead against hers. A soft sigh escaped her as she basked in his presence – his breath was warm on her face and his palms gentle on her cheeks. She reached up and held onto his wrists, keeping his hands in place. Despite the turmoil still raging on in the back of her mind, she felt oddly peaceful. The scent of his body wash numbed her panicked thoughts and turned her entire body into a tingling mess.

She blinked open her eyes to see hazel ones staring right back at her. There were golden specks littered throughout the warm brown and dark green swirls curled beautifully around the jet-black pupils. Lily bit her lip. And swallowed. He was so close; she could feel his body heat radiate off of him and straight into her soul. Slowly, painfully slowly, he inched forward. Her breath hitched and her eyes fluttered shut as the door to their compartment slid open and hit the frame with a loud bang.

"Are we interrupting something?" Lily whirled around and saw a small group of students – Prefects, her lagging brain supplied – all standing in the door frame, looks of varying degrees of shock on their faces. Apart from Remus, who was the one asking the question. He just smirked wickedly.

An intense heat crept up her neck and lit up her face like a beacon. In that moment, she wouldn't actually have minded if the floor underneath her were to open up and swallow her whole. Who needed an education anyway? Not her! She'd figure things out! James, on the other hand, had a better idea.

Worried, she watched him stand up to his full height and grin back at Remus, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Ah, if you must know, Moony-boo, something similar comes to my mind with a certain brunette, whose name escaped me, for some rea—"

"I get it, I get it! Shut it, Prongs."

James smirked knowingly and winked at Lily, whose belly spun almost uncomfortably. "Knew it. Well, what are you guys waiting for loitering in the hallway? That's a safety hazard! Get your butts inside this compartment at once."

And just like that, Lily watched in awe as the Prefects all collectively shuffled into their compartment and took their seats in an orderly fashion. She turned to look at James, who reached for her hand and gave it a soft squeeze. "Do you want to start the meeting, Evans?" he asked softy, his voice taking on a strange and startingly attractive husky tone, and Lily nodded quickly before she did something she would regret.

*~*Take Me Home*~*

As the Prefects made their way out of the Heads' compartment and back to their friends, Lily let out a silent sigh of relief. Their first-ever Prefects meeting as Head students had gone really well. After the initial shock, Lily had quickly pulled herself together and switched to, what James called, her 'lecturing mode.' James had filled in the gaps, called the Slytherins to attention, and added one or two jokes for comic relief.

Her heart was still beating faster than usual and a tingle was nearly constantly running up and down her spine as she sat next to James on a seat farthest from the door. She sneaked a glance down towards the cushioned space between them and saw James' hand resting there, palm facing down. Her right hand twitched at the thought of reaching out and grabbing it just like she had done before the Prefects had interrupted them, but she forced her gaze back up to Remus, who was sitting across from James, talking happily about what the boys had been up to up until Remus had had to leave for the meeting.

"I told him he should wait, but he didn't listen. Peter, of course, just sat there snickering, and merely watched Sirius get up and stride out of the compartment. I honestly don't know what his issue is with just waiting an hour for the trolley witch to come by on her own, but I guess it's just his humongous belly demanding to be fed. He came back after like twenty minutes with an arm full of pumpkin pasties, which he dumped on one of the seats. He looked rather dishevelled but only smirked when I asked him what happened. I guess I should've asked him who happened, now that I'm thinking about it…"

James just sighed, exaggerated, and shook his head as the door to their compartment slid open and none other than the before-mentioned Black Heir and Peter came into view.

"Well, well, well, if that isn't our beloved Head couple," he exclaimed cheerfully as he pulled Peter through the door. Lily went beet-red and one sideways glance at James showed a similar reaction to Sirius' choice of words. "What's it like to be the chief teacher pets, eh?"

"We wouldn't know, Padfoot, as there is no teacher on board of this train, which makes it all just the more exciting for me to take off points if you keep on annoying us like that." The smile that James gave Sirius was so innocent and sweet that it made Lily laugh.

"And before you even ask, Padfoot," Remus chimed in, "I doubt they'll help you get any fewer detentions."

Sirius gasped loudly, his hand jumping up to cover his heart, while the other reached out for Peter. "Wormy, help me stay sane as Prongs and Moony have just abandoned me!" he cried out dramatically. Peter, ever the trusting one, grabbed Sirius' elbow and actually held him upright as the latter slowly slid off the seat. Lily laughed at their antics.

"I can't believe you." Remus shook his head, grabbed Sirius' collar, and pulled with all his might, nearly strangling the Black Heir. He made an odd choking sound, which everyone but Peter ignored.

"So, James," Remus said cheerfully as Sirius retched beside him, "did you find out more about the Lord Voldemort thing you told me about?"

Sirius immediately froze and looked at James with big eyes. Apparently, James hadn't talked about his conversation with his father to anyone.

Before he'd told her.

She'd been the first one to find out, even before Sirius! And James told him everything; they were inseparable, practically grown together at the hip. And brain, a nasty voice whispered in the back of her mind. They were brothers in multiple ways, which Lily had slowly started to see during their last year at Hogwarts when she'd gotten to know the Marauders.

The by now familiar feeling of free-falling took hold of her again as she looked at James. He'd felt the need to tell her before he'd tell anyone else. He'd wanted her to find out first. Warmth crept up and darkened her cheeks slightly as she quickly looked down before anyone could notice.

James leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table in front of them. His hands were dangling down the sides, Lily's eyes fixed to them, as he quickly and efficiently summarised what he had already told Lily.

"And to top it all off," he continued, hands gesturing wildly, "McGonagall told us that people have started pulling their kids out of Hogwarts."

"What?" Remus frowned at them. "Why would they do that?"

"We don't know and neither do Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall," Lily said quietly, and all eyes trained on her. "All she could tell us was that those who have been taken out are mostly Muggle-borns."

"But wouldn't it be safer at Hogwarts than in the Muggle world?" Peter asked as he wrung his hands in his lap. "Wouldn't it be more dangerous surrounded by Muggles who don't have magic?"

"That's exactly what we wondered," James chimed in before looking at Lily.

"Maybe their parents don't have enough knowledge about the situation to fully contemplate the consequences of their decisions." Remus worried his lip. "I mean, let's be real here. I doubt that the school board really bothers by explaining everything about the Wizarding world to the parents of Muggle-borns. They probably only just tell them about how magic exists and what Hogwarts is."

Lily nodded. "That's pretty much it, yes. It's honestly sad to witness. I mean, I knew what was wrong with me because Severus had made sure I understood, so I was somewhat prepared for what it would be like entering a world I had never even dreamt of before. But when Professor McGonagall visited us to give me my Hogwarts letter, she only really explained what being a witch would mean for my education. There was no word uttered about politics or traditions or cultures, or whatnot."

"Nothing is wrong with you," James muttered next to her before reaching out and gently squeezing her hand. The butterflies in Lily's stomach went berserk and all she could do was smile shyly at him.

"They're probably overreacting then, aren't they? I mean, if they don't know what it's like in the Wizarding world, they'll probably just hear one thing or read one article in the Prophet and think we're in a war or something." Peter looked from one person to the next. "Right?"

James' jaw muscles were clenching and unclenching, but it was Sirius who said what everyone in the compartment was thinking. "We are at war, Wormtail." The glare that Sirius gave Peter almost rivalled the one Severus was sporting on a day-to-day basis. "Not an active war, but this Lord Voldipants is certainly trying to escalate the current situation; that is if he hasn't already succeeded. Did you not listen to what James told us just now? The Families have been persuaded by that self-acclaimed Lord – because I would've remembered a name as stupid as Voldemort if a family with that name actually existed – and are trying to openly campaign against Muggles, Muggle-borns, and certainly everyone and everything connected to them. This isn't normal, Peter, and even you must see that."

Peter folded in on himself and Lily could see him deflating right in front of her eyes. "He's not that wrong, though, is he?" he said quietly and before Sirius or James could do anything more than shoot their best death glares at him, he hurriedly added, "No, no, don't get me wrong; I don't agree with his proposed war of attacking the Muggles! But Muggle technology is constantly evolving and the Wizarding world isn't, so it's only a matter of time until the Muggles find out about us and—"

"And what?" Sirius interrupted him rudely. "Attack us?"

"Well, we wouldn't know!" Peter exclaimed loudly, shocking himself more than anyone else. "I mean, what would you do if you'd find a whole world that exists outside of what you've grown up knowing? It could very well be a threat!"

"And that is exactly what Lord Greengrass said in the Wizengamot meeting," James answered calmly, yet Lily could see a slight frown appear on his face. "That is exactly the analogy he used to convince the Light Families to agree to Voldemort's agenda. You have to see, though, that randomly attacking a peaceful community isn't the way to go."

"But if it could keep us from facing a more prominent danger in the future?"

"Not even then! Especially not then. Peter, Muggle-borns are disappearing and the Prophet is trying to cover it up. This has happened before when Grindelwald was gaining power. Dad says it feels the exact same way as it had back then, and if there's one person I trust more than anyone, it's my dad. He knows what he's talking about."

"But he doesn't have proof, does he?"

James' frown deepened as Peter did something very un-Peter-like and argued. "He doesn't know for sure that those disappearances are connected to You-Know-Who or whether they're just normal disappearances."

"Normal disappearances? Since when is people disappearing normal to you?" Remus asked him and Lily could only silently nod along. Since when indeed.

"People disappearing isn't normal," Peter quickly backtracked as everyone's gaze was fixed on the small boy. "Of course not! But what I meant was that there's no direct connection between those disappearances and You-Know-Who. So we can't say that his agenda is causing them. That's what I wanted to say," he trailed off, leaving the compartment silent.

That's not what he said, Lily thought to herself but refrained from saying it out loud. She was sure that, judging by the worried looks on everyone's faces, they were all thinking along the same lines.

"It's good to be cautious, though," Remus said after a few uncomfortable seconds. "We don't know how this situation will develop and until we do know, it's best to stay calm and continue as we always do."

"Which means we'll wait and see what Dumbledore has to say at the feast," Lily said cheerfully. She was still rather worried about Peter's point of view but tried to convince herself that he just didn't know the entire picture of it. He hadn't been at their Diagon Alley outing two months ago, so he wouldn't know about how worried everyone of Muggle descent really was. In fact, James had told her in one of his letters that Peter had stayed pretty much out of their way for the entirety of the summer break, claiming that his mother needed his help. She did her best to not think about how, even if he wasn't a Muggle-born, Peter did have access to the Daily Prophet. He was subscribed to it, in fact, which – in her mind – meant that he had stayed up to date with what was happening during the summer holidays.

So, as the conversation slowly shifted to the next year and what classes they were most looking forward to, Lily couldn't help but keep a closer eye on Peter, who had gone back to his usual quiet self. He was a nice guy, Lily thought, but she couldn't quite shake the feeling that there was something going on inside his head that he wasn't telling anyone.

*~*Take Me Home*~*

Later that night, as Lily was sitting on her bed in the seventh-year dormitory, she had still not managed to shake off the odd feeling of foreboding. And it was bothering her more than she liked to admit.

"Maybe it's just because you haven't really interacted with him all that much?" Alice Prewett said thoughtfully and bit off a small piece off the gummy worm she'd snuck out of the Great Hall after dessert. "I mean, Peter's always been the odd one out of the Marauders."

Alice was shy, but once you knew her surprisingly wicked and fun witch with gold-brown hair – that she had cut into a pixie-style haircut on a whim when she had lost all of her hair ties just one week before their sixth year had come to an end – and warm, light brown eyes. She had a gentle soul, did not possess one bad bone in her body, and always liked to think the best of people.

"But you have to admit that his behaviour on the train was pretty peculiar, even for Peter's standard," Marlene said before reaching over to Dorcas' bed and picking up another chocolate bar off her blanket. "To be honest, I've never quite liked that guy."

"Yeah, we've noticed," Dorcas deadpanned, causing Lily and Alice to snicker. "You've mentioned that quite often during the last year."

"Well, it's true! You weren't the ones to see him just linger in front of the girls' changing room before running off as everyone had exited it."

"That's hardly behaviour that would warrant your dislike towards him," Dorcas objected. "He could've just waited for one of you to ask her out and then he lost his nerve and just let the lucky one walk straight past him without asking her."

"Who would want to go out with Pettigrew? Ew!"

"Now, that's just rude, Marlene!" Lily said, indignant. "He's a really nice guy once you take the time to get to know him."

"Is that why you're worried that he might be up to something?" Marlene smirked at Lily. "Because you got to know him?"

Lily scowled, which sent Marlene into hysterics. "You need to give him a chance."

"Alright, alright. I promise not to openly talk negatively about him," Marlene gave in, "but I can't promise that when we're alone."

"You don't have to. I just don't want him to feel left out."

"Do you think that's why he's been keeping to himself over the summer?" Dorcas asked quietly, absent-mindedly nibbling on the gummy worm. "Because he feels not welcome?"

Lily sighed and shook her head. "I really don't think so. James told me that they've been owling him and only rarely received an answer. Apparently, Peter's mother is very sick and it only got worse over the break."

"That's horrible!" Alice gasped. "I hope he's alright!"

"So do I."

"It's still unsettling what he said, though." Worry flickered over the other girls' faces at Dorcas' words. "It's exactly what Dumbledore warned us about at the feast. We can't start to relativise what's happening because once we do, the thresholds that are holding us back will get smaller and easier to overcome with each new revelation."

"And he really said that?" Alice asked softly. "That maybe Lord Voldemort is right and we should start going against the Muggles?"

"He didn't say it directly, but he definitely sympathises with the idea of doing it."

"Damn, that's messed up." Marlene scowled at her blanket. "No one with a sane mind would believe the rubbish Lord Greengrass said in that Wizengamot meeting."

"There are enough who believe in and follow that agenda, Marly," Dorcas said. "This Lord managed to convince half of the Families by now and we only know about those because they're public figures. Those disappearances show very clearly that more wizards and witches are following him already and buy into his insane crap. This has been going on for at least a few months. These disappearances… I doubt they just happen spontaneously. They need to be planned to come off as disappearances instead of kidnappings."

Marlene blinked at Dorcas after her outburst and nodded approvingly. "Woah, Dorcas. Getting emotional, aren't we?"

"What? It's true."

"That it is."

Nobody said anything for a few minutes before Marlene broke the silence with a complete one-eighty turn. "So, what's that I've been hearing from Sirius?" she asked with false bravado and just by looking at her, Lily knew what was heading her way. "You and James, eh?"

"Oh, sod off, Marlene!"

"No, no, I really want to know! You seemed cosy enough at Diagon Alley and at the Potters' summer party. I really regretted telling my parents that I wouldn't come. I would've loved witnessing you guys' awkward attempts at flirting." She grinned wickedly and Lily threw a pillow in her direction. It missed her head by a foot.

"We weren't flirting! We're just friends!"

Marlene smirked. "Uh-huh, sure."

"We're not—"

"Honey, keep telling yourself that until you realise what a great guy he is and how lucky you are that he hasn't moved on yet, and then we can talk again."

"I already know he's a great guy."

Marlene just looked at her.

"Let's just… let's just… not… talk about this, okay? This is all very confusing still and I— ugh, I don't know."

"I know what you mean," Alice said as she slowly sat up. Her cheeks darkened slightly, but she kept her gaze fixed on Lily and a shy smile on her lips. "I felt the same when I got closer to Frank. I really enjoyed my time with him. He became my best friend after a while, but sometimes there were those moments of confusion. I get it."

Alice had started to go out with Frank Longbottom, Ravenclaw Prefect, who had graduated last year and had instantly joined the Ministry's Auror programme.

"It just means that something is changing."

Lily frowned at her blanket. "What does that mean, though?" she asked almost desperately. "What is changing?"

"The way you see James", Dorcas stated as if it was the most logical thing in the world.

"Just because your relationship with James is changing doesn't mean it's a bad thing," Alice said calmly.

"And I'm very certain that James goes through the same exact changes that you are currently trying to wrap your pretty head around."

Lily turned to face Marlene, who was looking at her with a soft smile. "How do you know?"

"Because I know James." She shrugged. "I've basically grown up with him. I know how the boy's brain works and I know how to read him, and let me tell you one thing – and if you decide to not believe anything I tell you, then please believe this: He has changed a lot since you have accepted him into your life. He honours that decision and he wants to prove to you that he's worth it. And believe me, if there's one thing James Potter is, then it is being stubborn. He will continue to work on himself until you are happy with him. And after that, I'm sure he will just continue to work on himself because why stop if there's still potential to get even better?"

"He really likes you, Lily," said Alice softly. "He deserves a chance."

It wasn't as if Lily hadn't already known all of that. She had experienced him before their sixth year; he had been a bully, he had been arrogant, and he had thought he was better than everyone else. But after that fateful incident with Severus, Lily had also noticed that James was trying to better himself. He had stopped with the bullying, or at least the bullying that wasn't a reaction to a Slytherin taunting him. He had stopped asking her out; he had even stopped openly declaring his love for her, something that she had probably hated the most about him. She hadn't cared that he was constantly embarrassing himself, but she drew the line when it came to embarrassing other people on purpose.

During their sixth year, she had really started to see the changes he had made to his behaviour and, in turn, to that of the Marauders as a group. He had grown up, he'd gotten calmer and more controlled, and he had stopped attacking and taunting students – even Slytherins. He had helped her with one particularly difficult transfiguration spell and in doing so, Lily had come to see what James was really like – kind, gentle, patient, and an incredibly good tutor.

So, yes. Her brain already knew what her friends had just told her. It was her heart that was struggling to forget the first five years of their interactions. But, Lily mused as she pulled up her blanket later that night, she could tell that sooner rather than later, her heart would come around if the butterflies in her stomach were anything to go by.

Eeek! Let's all hope Merlin and Morgana are on their side!

Until next time - see ya! :D