Lily

"Professor Flitwick?" Lily raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Evans?"

"How long does our essay on Summoning Charms have to be?"

Professor Flitwick smiled warmly. He always had a soft spot for her—most teachers did. "One and a half feet will do," he replied. Lily smiled back and began copying the prompt.

From the next desk, James scoffed under his breath.

"Lily dear, would you like to demonstrate this particular charm, seeing as we've got a few minutes left in class?" Flitwick offered.

She nodded, brimming with confidence. She'd been practicing this one nonstop in the Common Room.

"What should I summon, Professor?" she asked. He leaned in and whispered a suggestion. Her eyes lit up.

"Ready?" he asked.

Lily glanced at James and gave him a wide grin. He, unaware of what was coming, grinned back.

"Accio James Potter's diary," she called out.

The classroom erupted in laughter. She had her doubts—his diary was all the way up in the boys' dormitory—but when she heard a soft buzzing sound, her grin grew. James' face turned ashen.

Within seconds, the diary slapped into her hands. She flipped through it, mostly for show. Just a tease.

But what she saw made her pause.

One page titled "Full Moon Schedule" had scribbled notes like "furry little problem" and "the beast." Another had potion recipes beyond NEWT level. Ingredients she didn't even recognize, annotations like "try mouse tail?" or "test on canine." A page dated back to third year. Another one referenced tracking charms and disillusionment spells.

Before she could look further, James shouted, "Accio journal!" The book flew from her hands and back into his. He shot her a furious look as her brain kicked into overdrive, piecing together the puzzle.

"Potter! James, slow down. I'm sorry!" Lily called after him, but he was already storming out, slamming the door so hard she nearly got clocked in the nose.

She chased after him, but Sirius stepped into her path.

"You shouldn't have done that, Evans."

"None of what I saw made sense. What have you all been up to?" Lily begged, breathless, eyes locked on Sirius. He stood firm, arms crossed, face hard. Gone was the scruffy, boyish Sirius of first year. He was taller now. Sharper.

"You better bet I'm not explaining anything to you," he said coolly.

"Just tell him I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt him," she said. And for a moment, she thought she saw a ghost of a smile twitch at the corner of his mouth before he turned and followed James.

She didn't mean to. Stupid, she thought. What a dumb idea.

Things had finally been good between them. James wasn't being a prat. They were getting along. And she ruined it. She hadn't known he even kept a diary. She thought it'd be funny—a harmless little tease, especially since Professor Flitwick had whispered the suggestion with a grin. But that diary… it wasn't just personal. It was dangerous.

She searched for James the moment she stepped into Defense Against the Dark Arts, but he wasn't there. Neither were Sirius, Remus, or Peter. She thought she'd heard someone mention a family emergency for Remus, but now she wondered.

This wasn't about pranks. It wasn't just mischief. It was bigger. It was advanced. And while part of her knew it was probably reckless or even illegal, she felt something else too: jealousy. They were doing things far beyond the curriculum. Brilliant things.

"Tell me, Miss Evans, what is a counter-jinx?" Professor Shaw's voice jolted her out of her thoughts.

"A counter-jinx is a spell which reverses the effects of a jinx," Lily answered automatically. She felt her cheeks heat as she straightened her spine.

"Very good. Five points to Gryffindor," Shaw said. Lily barely noticed. Her thoughts were with James. What was he up to? Some type of transformation, a potion based one, clearly.

"You don't have any homework tonight. You all should be grateful I have to leave town," Shaw added. Mary raised her hand.

"Why are you leaving, Professor?"

Shaw's face darkened. "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's followers recently attacked my parents' town. I haven't heard from them yet."

A hush fell over the class. The air grew heavy. Lily could see Shaw holding herself together by sheer will. What was becoming of the world?

JAMES

James paced furiously. "Who does she think she is? Summoning my journal?!"

It had been hours of this. Variations of "what right did she have" and "stick up her arse." Sirius, Remus, and Peter were thoroughly done.

"You know Flitwick told her to do it," Sirius said at last. "She didn't know what was in it. And more importantly—weren't you just head over heels for her?"

"Remus, back me up here. She could've found out… everything!" James argued, ignoring Sirius.

"And she will anyway, if you keep shouting," Remus muttered. "Besides, she didn't mean harm. You've done worse to her than summoning a diary."

"It's a journal," James mumbled as he placed anti-summoning charms on the leather-bound book. It has every experiment, every spell and charm and recipe they've ever tried for whatever project. It was evidence, history, and deeply personal. They'd be halfway to Askaban if anyone got a hold on this.

Really he was mad that he hadn't thought to spell-proof this damn book long ago. Stupid.

"Prongs, answer me properly," Sirius said.

"Wasn't aware you asked a question."

"Are you in love with Evans or not?" Sirius asked. His eyes locked on James, intense and searching. James couldn't lie under that look.

"I'm not in love with her. I just fancy her… a bit," James muttered, slumping onto his bed.

"Then relax. She's not about to run to the Prophet," Sirius said. "You know what she told me? She said to tell you she's sorry. That she didn't mean to hurt you. Sounds like she cares to me."

James looked up, surprised. He pictured Lily, looking remorseful, eyes wide and sincere. Maybe even in that dress from Slughorn's party. Running back down those stairs, back to him.

"Really?" he asked.

"I bet if I play it right," James said, suddenly animated, "I could get her to like me."

"How, exactly?" Remus asked, warily.

James knew that Remus was the closest to Lily out of the Marauders because they studied together and were Prefects together and all. Still James felt confident in the plan that had sprung.

"She clearly hates feeling guilty. So I'll guilt-trip her into being my friend."

"Great idea!" Peter said enthusiastically.

"No," Remus said immediately. "It won't work on her."

"As an only child, I've mastered the art of persuasion. Muggles call it… reverse psychology," James said.

He shook his head, skeptical. "I'm telling you. It won't work."

"Have faith, Moony!" James said. Then, changing gears, he added, "Now come on—we've got to get you to the Shack. It's going to be a long night."

"I still don't think you should come," Remus said, as always.

"You're not changing our minds," Sirius grinned.

The next morning, James got up early and headed to breakfast, hoping to bump into Lily. He was stiff, sore, and exhausted from the night before, but mostly just waiting.

At least everything went well last night. James had been practicing his transformation every moment he got, which helped it be less exhausting. The best part was that it worked. Remus had remarkably fewer injuries, leaving Madam Pomfrey baffled when she released Remus early. Her head tilted as if it were weighed down by hope. Was he getting better? No that couldn't be. But maybe it could get easier?

He spotted Lily as she descended the stairs.

"Morning," she said, spotting him. His silence was pointed.

"What is it, Evans?" he asked, playing his part. He sat on the steps dramatically. "Let's get it over with."

"I wasn't going to apologize again," she said, slightly taken aback. "I just wanted to talk."

"About what, exactly? My private journal?"

"I only saw a bit," Lily said quickly. "But it looked like seriously advanced magic, James. I'd never tell anyone about it."

"Look, if I told you anything, I'd be betraying my friends. And that's something I won't do."

"I know you wouldn't. But you can trust me."

"Based on what? You've hated me since first year." James went on. This was no longer part of his script that he'd rehearsed in his head. These were his real feelings, his pent up frustration at their enemy-like relationship. What would it take for her to let him in?

"You say that like you've been an angel yourself."

"I don't see what I've done wrong. Being a class clown isn't a crime, no matter how much you wish it were."

"You've always been foul to me. Skipping class, hexing people, making fun, strutting around like the castle belongs to you. I thought you'd matured. Slug Club gave me hope. Clearly I was wrong."

He should have expected their usual argument to resurface. One that he never really had a good way to win.

"And you know what your problem is? You're too perfect, Evans. Too bloody perfect."

She blinked. "I don't really see the issue with that one."

"I need to go," James muttered, brushing past her.

"I'm going to figure it out, Potter," she called after him. "And when I do, I won't tell a soul."