A Time to Change

The air that night was thick with fog, and all you could see for miles was the darkness that enveloped Hogwarts Grounds. For most of the night, it had been silent. The castle towered high in the air. Only a few of the torches on the side of the main entrance were lit. But then again, things were never as they seemed at Hogwarts

No one could know that four young fifth year boys were stealthily sneaking around the grounds near Hagrid’s hut. Even if they heard a noise, they wouldn’t see them. They, too, were hidden by darkness. All you could hear was the sound of four pairs of feet, sloshing around in the dewey grass.

“Peter, will you quiet down already! I can hear you sniffling in my ear!” Remus Lupin whispered as loudly as he possibly could.

Peter Pettigrew took a deep breath and scowled at his friend, “Well I’m quite sorry, Remus, but I’ve got a cold, and you’ve all dragged me out here in the middle of the bloody night, so it’s your fault! And for what? A stupid dare.”

“Quiet down,” said James Potter, who was pulling them all ahead at quite a fast pace, being that he was in front. “Sirius, have you got your wand with you?”

“Of course, James,” said Sirius, silently pulling his wand out from the belt loop on his waist. “Listen, I still don’t understand what exactly we’re going to do once we get there.”

“Didn’t you hear what Marks said? We’ve got to charm the pitch!” James motioned for them to follow him around the base of the nearest stand, and slid the cloak off them. “Bugger, we’re getting too big for that damn thing.”

Remus looked around nervously. He rubbed his hands together, smiling at his friends. “So, tomorrow, at the match, all we have to do is say a quick charm and the hoops will start sparkling gold and red?”

“That is so boring,” began James, he rolled his eyes, while obviously concocting some other plan in his head, “we can do better then that, can’t we, boys?”

“Oh yes,” Sirius grinned, “yes, we can.”

Peter leaned against the stands and scowled. “Why am I here, again?”
“We need moral support,” Remus began. “Look, I don’t see what you’re complaining about! You wanted to help, and now all you’re doing is whining, so shut up or leave.”

“Yes,” Sirius patted Peter on the shoulder, “this is what you wanted.”

None of them were paying attention to James, whose face had lit up like he’d just been given a brand new racing broom. He started walking out to the centre of the pitch, an
incredulous grin on his beaming face. Sirius, Remus, and Peter abruptly stopped quarreling when they heard James shout.

“Cor! I’ve got a good one!”

Sirius looked at his friend with great concern. “All right, James?”

The three boys approached him with caution. Sometimes, when James got ideas, it was best to stand back. James shrugged, and attempted to push down some of the hairs flying
up at the back of his head, while looking around the pitch in a mad frenzy.

“Right, I’ve got a really brilliant idea, but I’m going to need some real charm and curse work done.” James glanced at Remus, a serious look dawning on his face. “Can you think of a good charm to lay down a word or two on the pitch? Full scale? Color the hoops, as well?”

“Probably, James. I suppose I could try and think up something,” said Remus, nodding along.

“What’s this all about, then?” Peter inquired, his watery eyes full of mischief.

“Well, at first, I was thinking we should just curse the hoops so that the Slytherin Team can’t get the Quaffle through, but that seems as if it’s just not enough,” James explained, everyone nodding in agreement. “We’ll follow the dare as well, and cheer up the crowd while we’re at it?”

Sirius began to catch on, and in a wave of brilliance, he walked towards his best friend, and caught him around the neck in a good arm-lock. “James, that’s a good one, all right.”

“I’m really sorry to say that the rest of us just haven’t got your telepathic abilities. So could you please enlighten us?” Peter looked very annoyed. Sirius and James had always been close, but recently, they had begun to finish each other’s sentences, and had some odd connection that kept them thinking along the same lines constantly.

Sirius looked to James, and then back to Peter and Remus. “What James is thinking of is to charm the pitch so that every time Gryffindor scores, the hoops will change colors and the pitch will flash the word ‘Gryffindor.’”

“Oooh boy, real sneaky. Got me there. Okay, what now?”

“Your sarcasm never fails to annoy the hell out of me,” James began. He was quickly cut off by Remus, who looked anxious to begin.

“If we’re going to do this, we’ve got to do it now. It’s late, Filch will be about soon.” Remus strode past Peter and pulled out his wand with one grand movement. “Come on, James, let’s go fix up those hoops.”

James looked as though he might just burst with happiness, and with those words, he followed Remus off towards the opposing side of the pitch, leaving Sirius and Peter to the actual wording on the ground.

-- --- -- ---

The next morning, the only one capable of functioning at such an early hour just happened to be Peter, who had found his way to the Great Hall around seven A.M. and was stuffing his face in a very rude manner, while everyone else bold enough to be awake watched in horror.

When James and Sirius finally sat down to eat, Peter was going through his fourth cup of pumpkin juice, and his fifth serving of eggs. Remus sauntered into the hall only seconds
behind the two, sitting down next to Peter with a look of great disgust.

“Care to keep your food inside your mouth, Peter?”

“I, uh, dfsf Fdidl mufjdkf,” mumbled Peter, his mouth still full. Remus rolled his eyes. When Peter had sufficiently swallowed the great lot of food on his fork, he smiled broadly, “I meant, good morning to you, too.”

“Good morning indeed,” Remus muttered, angrily. He began pouring pumpkin juice into his glass, and serving himself a little food at a time. “James, pass me that plate of toast, will
you?”

James wasn’t paying attention, though. His eyes were locked in on someone who was quite far away from him. Remus rolled his eyes, “Oh no, not this again!” He could follow James’ line of vision all the way down to the end of the Gryffindor table, where Lily Evans was talking to another Gryffindor girl, laughing loudly. He waved his hand in front of James’ eyes.

“Come now, snap out of it!”

Sirius slapped away Remus’s hand, and looked at him sternly. “Leave him alone! Let him bathe in her beauty,” said Sirius, laughing, “he’s going to look, anyway!”

With those words, Remus reached around James and grabbed the plate. Then, he schlepped back down and began eating his food.

James looked at his plate, hesitant to eat. He had begun to feel quite sick in the past few moments. Whether it was nerves or just the sight of Lily, he didn’t know. All he knew at that moment was that his bacon had begun to form the shape of a lopsided broomstick. He began to smile to himself, until he heard a voice behind him, and a small hand on his
shoulder.

“James,” her soft voice gave her away immediately.

He turned around to look at her, smiling, “All right, Lily?”

She put her hands on her hips, and smiled brilliantly. “All right. You?”

“Well, I’m good now,” James jumped up and awkwardly. He wasn’t usually this nervous.

Lily looked perfect, as always. Her hair was always just right, a smile always on her face, and her green eyes were always bright and warm. She was talking and he was not even
listening, he was too taken by her lips.

“James? Is that okay with you?” Lily waved her hand in front of his face.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” said James, his cheeks turning pink, “I’m just a little tired, I was up late last night.”

“I know,” said Lily, a mischievous grin crossing her lips. “Anyway, I was wondering if you’d like to study with me tonight, in the library. I could use a little help on that last Arithmancy equation...I know it’s one of your best subjects.”

“How did you...uhm, well, great, when shall I meet you tonight?”

James found himself stuttering a little, and he could hear Sirius chuckling behind him. What are friends for, after all? He gave him a swift kick in the back of his knee. Sirius abruptly
stopped.

“Around seven?”

“Great, I’ll see you then,” he said, as Lily nodded and walked away. He watched her until she was sitting down with her friend again, feeling as if he was about to fall over.

It didn’t often happen with James. He had his share of girlfriends through the past few years, but he had never felt so strongly towards any girl as he probably did for Lily Evans. He turned back towards his friends and sat down, glancing in his glass of pumpkin juice introspectively.

Sirius leaned in towards James and patted him on the back, “I think she fancies you, mate.”

“You know what I think,” began Peter, looking very smug, “I think you fancy her!”

“I think you need to pipe down,” James shot a piece of bacon at Peter. “I don’t think you have any room to talk, Mr. I’ve-Been-Watching-Matilda-Smith-Since-First-Year.”

Peter scoffed, jumped out of his seat, and stalked out of the Great Hall.

“I guess he was full,” Remus remarked, laughing to himself.

-- --- -- ---

The fog had lifted, and the bright sun was blazing high above them as they all approached the Quidditch Pitch. Remus glanced at his friends nervously. Everyone was in their normal state of being; James striding forward in a bold manner, Sirius lagging beside him, sniggering over some private joke, Peter sloshing along at the back, holding the same nervous glare he always had. Sometimes, Remus wondered if Peter was afraid of being blamed for all their silly pranks and games. But they were the best of friends, and with that friendship came a sort of secret oath, that nothing left the group, and that if one should be punished for the actions of all, they would find a way to endure it together.

Peter was always strange like that, though, and his lack of talent was made up for by the rest of the group. James alone was a very strong wizard, and Sirius could knock someone over with barely a flick of his wand and a quiet curse. Remus was intuitive and intelligent, and very good in his own right at reflecting curses and understanding complicated spells.Of course, even Peter had a strength, but his mainly came in small random spurts. He was very good at History of Magic, and could really do wonders in Charms. He lacked
everywhere else.

Remus finally let go of his thoughts as they had arrived to the Gryffindor entrance, and James was flourishing about with his broom, explaining to the three of them how exactly the final details of the plan were to be worked out. And with a few small words (“Don’t mess this up.”), he was off to join the rest of their team.

“I have a very bad feeling about this,” said Peter, as he followed Sirius and Remus into the stands to put their plans into action.

Above them, the stands were full of cheering crowds. Most of the school usually showed up for the good matches, particularly Slytherin versus Gryffindor. This being the first match of the season, even the not-so-avid Quidditch fans were out to support either team.

Inside the changing room, the Gryffindor captain was giving his team a few good words while they changed. James, already dressed in his scarlet Quidditch robes, was leaning back against a wall, his chair wobbling on it’s hind feet, while he happily taunted their keeper, Colin Marks, on the completion of a dare.

“Right, then, I did everything you asked, and more,” began James, very quietly. “I do hope you know that you won’t be doing anything today but pretending. Remus cursed the hoops until we were sure nothing would make it through...”

“Okay, Potter, I get it, thanks.” Marks looked at James with curious eyes. “How’d you do it?”

“That,” said James, “is my little secret. Only I know. Well, Remus knows, as well. Sirius and Peter, too.”

“Right then,” boomed their captain, Lance Lyman. He had a severe look about his face. “This is war, Slytherin will not win this time. Let’s go out there at show them what we can
do!”

With those words, they all stood up and began to follow Lance out through to the pitch, and screams erupted in the stands as they found their way to the middle. James scanned
the lot of people above him, finally making eye contact with Sirius. He was nodding, and pointing to Remus, whose wand was hiding underneath his cloak, along his arm.

His eyes fell upon Lily Evans, who was seated just to the left of Sirius, a very calm look upon her face. He could see her eyes sparkling even from that far away, and, as she realised he was looking at her, her cheeks turned a soft pink color, and she waved, with a smile on her face.

When he came back down to earth, their flying instructor, Mr. Saylor, was telling them to mount their brooms and lift off. Within seconds they were far above the ground, and the Quaffle was already in Slytherin possession.

James sped off with great determination, ducking to just miss a Bludger from one of the Slytherin Beaters. This provoked him even more, and only seconds later, he was up to speed with the Slytherin Chasers, easily knocking the Quaffle out of Brian Baghop’s hands. James swooped below Baghop’s broom and took hold of the Quaffle with great ease, and headed down to the other end of the pitch.

The entire Slytherin team was shocked, and slow at reacting. James had practically reached the hoops before anyone realised he was about to score. Luckily, Gryffindor was up to speed, and as a Bludger came flying towards him at an alarming rate, Benjamin Parks knocked it back with an equal amount of velocity, knocking the original Slytherin Beater almost off his broom.

And two seconds later, James scored. He came back to focus once he turned around again, seeing everyone cheering, all his friends and even the professors.

“...GRYFFINDOR SCORES! That’s ten points for Gryffindor, thanks to Chaser James Potter!” That was all James heard before the game headed back into gear. As he flew in the other direction, he heard more screams erupt as the ground flashed red and gold, with the word “Gryffindor” boldly standing out off the ground. James did a little loop in front of the stands where Sirius, Peter, and Remus sat, winking at Lily as he zoomed off.

Though he was usually very adamant about getting the Quaffle back immediately, this time, he was too slow. One of the Slytherin Chasers had found his way back to the Slytherin hoops, looking as if he’d just won something large as he tossed the Quaffle past Marks.

An astonished gasp escaped from the crowd as the Quaffle bounced off the edge of the tallest hoop and fell right into Marks’ hands. He looked just as amazed as the entire Slytherin team, who had all resorted to cursing and giving death-glares to each and all Gryffindor players.

This occurred three more times, and no one could even tell that there was anything wrong with the hoops.

Of course, the charming of the pitch and Gryffindor hoops was obvious. Though no one ever mentioned it.

-- --- -- ---

Sirius, Remus, and Peter were practically falling down the stairs in laughter. By the time the Gryffindor Seeker, Timothy Brown, had caught the Snitch, the Gryffindor hoops were practically stuck sparkling gold and red, and most of the Slytherin Team in the stands were screaming very loudly indeed.

“Did you see the look on Snape? He was practically boiling the whole time!”

“That was hilarious!”

“Wonder what’s taken James so long?”

Just as Sirius began to speak, around the corner came James, smiling smugly, and holding his broom triumphantly. “Well done,” he began, laughing along.

Severus Snape suddenly appeared behind James, fuming with anger. “You! I know you had something to do with OUR LOSS!”

James frowned at Severus, “I don’t know what you’re on about.”

“Let’s go, then,” said Remus, patting James on the back. They started to walk away, but Severus did not stop.

“It’s always got something to do with you, Potter! If I ever catch you, I’ll hand you over to Dumbledore before you can say ‘snitch,’” Severus pushed a clomp of his ugly, greasy hair back behind his ear, and continued, “you’re all a bunch of good-for-nothing prats. I’d watch out if I were you.”

At those words, James paused and spun around. “Was that a threat?”

“Oh yes, very much so,” said Severus, who then started to find his way back to a group of Slytherin Team, still whining over their loss by the pitch.

James was furious. He threw his broom down and pointed at Severus with great anger, “What is his problem??”

“Don’t worry, James, if he even so much as tries to lay a hand on any one of us, he’ll regret it,” Sirius reassured his friend. “Come on, then, let’s go get something to eat, and after that I’ll walk you to the Library.”

“I don’t see what he’s on about,” began Peter, “at least you have friends, James.”

James picked up his broom and followed his friends back up to the castle, every moment wishing he could hex Severus Snape until there was nothing left.

-- --- -- ---

“How do I look?” James asked his friend honestly.

Sirius observed him slowly. James didn’t really look any different then usual. He had his Hogwarts robes on. He had, however, been picking at his hair for long enough to get the back to go down, so now it just looked a little messy.

“Fine, you look fine,” said Sirius. He jumped off the end of his bed and walked towards James, joining him beside the tall mirror. “What are you all jumpy about, anyway?”

“Jumpy?” James scrunched up his face, “I’m not all jumpy! I just want to look nice, is all.”

“You see her every day, you’re wearing the same thing...every day. Why is tonight different?”

“Not different at all!” James shook his head, glancing back at the mirror. “I don’t care what you say, anyway, I look great. Leave me alone!” James waved his hands around in the air, and fell back onto his bed, paying great attention to the little stars he had charmed to hang over his head at night.

Sirius came over and fell back next to him. “You know what I think?”

“Do I want to know?

Sirius grinned widely, and sang, “James and Lily sitting in a tree, K-”

“What are you, TEN?”

“I-S-S-I-N-G...” Sirius looked offended. “I’m not ten! I’m twelve, thank you very much.”

“Better to be twelve and oblivious than fifteen or sixteen and starting to fall for someone.”

“Is that really how it is, then?” Sirius sat up, shoving James in the rib. “Come on, you can tell me!”

James smiled happily. “I do like her.”

“Well then, let’s get you to her!”

-- --- -- ---

By the time James and Sirius found their way to the library, Lily was already hard at work. They could see her, hunched over her huge Arithmancy book, reading diligently, at a table by a window. She glanced up once, and then again when she realised they were looking at her apprehensively. A grin found its way to her face.

“Hi boys,” said Lily. She pushed the book to the side and pulled out a piece of scrap parchment. “So, ready for some work?”

James approached the table and seated him(self) across from her, smiling. “Definitely. But, Sirius isn’t staying. He was just leaving...” James said this with emphasis on the words “just”
and “leaving.”

Sirius laughed heartily and found his way around the table, sitting himself next to Lily. “What are you studying?”

“Arithmancy,” said Lily. She giggled silently as James took Sirius by the sleeve of his robes and pushed him off the chair.

Lily shook her head, “Oh, dear, are you all right?” She bent down to help Sirius up, who winked at James. He was looking incredibly angry.

“Okay, okay, I’m fine, that’s okay. Thanks Lily. I’ll just be on my way, then.”

As he walked away, he gave Lily a pat on the head, and James a pat on the shoulder. “Now, be good, children,” Sirius shouted over his shoulder as he walked away.

James shook his head and found his Arithmancy book. “I’m sorry about him.”

“James Potter, don’t you dare apologise to me for that,” Lily reached over to him and patted his hand. “Sirius was just joking.”

James felt incredibly silly. Here he was, with her right in front of him, and he was acting like an idiot. She just sat there and gazed at him curiously with her large green eyes. He let out a great sigh, figuring someone had to talk.

“What is it you needed help with?” James leaned towards Lily, an honest smile dawning on his face.

Lily seemed preoccupied. She had begun tapping the tip of her quill on the scrap parchment, until she looked up at James. “Right, I’ve just been having some trouble with this
one...”

She searched around the page in her huge Arithmancy book, and then spun it towards James to look at. He observed the equation for a few minutes. Eventually, she offered the parchment and her quill, and he began to madly scribble on the parchment.

“You know, James,” she began slowly, “I saw you, Peter, Remus, and Sirius on the Pitch the other night.”

“Mmmhmm?” James mumbled, still scribbling away.

“Was it you?”

“Was what me?”

She grabbed the quill away, a look of severity on her face. “Was it you who cursed the hoops?”

“Hey! How did you-” James abruptly paused, then, realising there was no need to hide it, he nodded reluctantly. “Remus cursed the hoops, Sirius charmed them, and Peter laid out the words on the ground.”

She was silent for a short while, and then she nodded knowingly. “I thought so.”

“And what have you got to say about it?” James asked, grasping for the quill.

She pulled it back towards herself, and grinned. “Oh, nothing, nothing.”

“Do you want me to help you or not?”

“Sure I do!” She playfully offered the quill up, but as he went to take it, she pulled it away again. “I just think it was brilliant, that’s all. You really are good.”

James blushed a great shade of pink and looked at her book quietly. “It wasn’t me, honestly. It was them.”

With those words, she offered him the quill once more, and he grabbed it with ease. “That is very modest of you.”

“I think I figured out where you went wrong,” said James. He turned the book back to her, pointed to her parchment and a spot in the book, and looked at her happily. “You just forgot that figure.”

“Oh, wow,” sighed Lily, grasping for her quill. She took out her roll of parchment and her wand, and muttered a charm to erase some of the numbers on the page, quickly rewriting them all down. “I don’t see how I missed that. How about, right here, this one. I could really use your genius on this one.”

James leaned over the table a little, and turned the book around to get it closer to him. “That? Why? That’s so simple!”

“Oh, is it? I hadn’t noticed,” she replied grimly. “Care to explain?”

James gave her a wide grin, nodding. “That’s what I’m here for!”

He jumped up and came around the table to sit next to Lily. She watched, amused, as he sat down and happily began explaining the complexities of her favorite subject. Within only
minutes he had scooted closer to her somehow, and they were practically head-to-head, examining the book and looking over her notes.

“There you are, Miss Evans, that is exactly how it works. You did it!” James gave her shoulder a quick squeeze as she closed her book.

“Thank God that’s over!” She mused, smiling at him. “Honestly, James, thank you. I couldn’t have figured it out without you. My brain is not what it should be when it comes to these things...”

“I thought Arithmancy was your best subject as well?” He inquired.

“I thought so, too, until this past week. It’s just hard enough to give me trouble,” Lily told him.

“You’ve done well,” admitted James.

Lily beamed, her green eyes sparkling in the dim light. “Thanks.”

“Care to head back to the common room?” James asked as he stood up slowly, not wanting to move any further from her. “I’ll carry those.”

“It’s getting a little late, isn’t it?” Lily observed, agreeing that it was time to go. James picked up her book, and Lily took her three rolls of parchment. They took their time getting back to Gryffindor Tower, talking quietly, walking side-by-side. It was then that James realised that his feelings for Lily were not a passing phase; he could be content just walking with her. Nothing needed to be said. Just the knowledge that she was by his side was almost enough.

-- --- -- ---

Being that it was early autumn, Hogwarts Grounds looked alive and well with decadent colours of orange, red, and light green. It was too gorgeous to take for granted, and on several occasions that year, Sirius, James, Remus and Peter found themselves hanging about by one of the trees nearest to the Forbidden Forest.

This time, Remus had fallen ill and Peter hadn’t been seen since breakfast, so Sirius and James made their way down to their tree anyway, and had been doing some heavy revising and homework. The sky was cloudy, and a very cold breeze swept around them that day, but they stayed regardless of this.

Sirius cast a glance to the sky, using his hand to block his eyes from the sun. He had begun to find shapes in the clouds, and was amusing himself thoroughly by doing so. (“Look, it’s Professor McGonagall!!!”) James was too busy reading a rather thick book called Not So Typical Transfigurations. He had barely let up for most of the afternoon, and was very
intent upon finding what he was looking for.

“I don’t see what we’re missing. We’ve got everything, everything! How is it that it still won’t work?” he asked this aloud, and Sirius scoffed at him.

“Why won’t you just lay off it for a few minutes? You aren’t going to get it figured out today. It’ll take us at least another three months before we get it down.” Sirius lugged the book out of James’ hands and closed it, throwing it to the side. “Take a break, will you?”

“All right, fine. A break,” said James pleasantly. “Look, it’s a snitch.” He pointed to the sky happily.

“No, no, James. I think that you’re mistaken,” Sirius chuckled to himself. “That doesn’t even look remotely like a snitch. Maybe a Quaffle, if it must be a Quidditch-related ball.”

“Hey!” James threw some leaves at Sirius and then leaned back in the grass, laughing.

“So, tell me. How was your ‘study session’ with Lily Evans?” Sirius asked, very honestly.

“Ohhh, yes, my ‘study session,’” grinned James, “went quite well, if I do say so myself.”

“That is exactly what she said!” Sirius had a huge smile on his face now.

James jumped up. “What do you know about it? What did she say?”

“Only that you are the swe-”

James threw his hand up in front of Sirius’ face. “Shh. Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“That - that noise,” murmured James. “Coming from just beyond those trees. Sounds like someone is yelling.”

Sirius quieted down long enough to hear the muffled screams. “Sounds like.....Peter?”

Without any more hesitation, James found his way to his feet, and stalked off towards the trees, Sirius close behind. They crept up to the opening between two trees, and peered
into what seemed to be a rather large clearing. What they saw made James growl with disdain.

Severus Snape was holding up his wand, very nonchalantly, and far above him, just by the treetops, was Peter, floating in the air. A few other Slytherins had gather at the foot of a nearby tree, and were raving on and on about how hilarious the scene was.

Sirius and James had seen enough, and they shoved their way past the Slytherins and into the centre of the clearing.

“Let him go, Snape!” James yelled, very confidently.

Snape just glanced in his direction. He seemed to cackle to himself, while throwing Peter around in the air to the best of his capabilities.

“I don’t think so,” replied Snape, grinning madly. “I’d rather just play around a little.”

He began to flourish his wand, Peter was beginning to look very sick. James had been pushed to the breaking point. He lunged at Snape, shoving him to the ground. When he pulled out his wand, it was shot in the other direction by one of the Slytherins. Peter was still in the air.

“He never did anything to you, Snape. Let him alone, I say!” James struggled with Snape, pounding his chest and face with a fists balled tightly fist. Snape shoved his face away, and consequently knocked him to the ground.

“What’s your problem, Snapey? Looking for some friends?” Sirius bellowed towards him. “It won’t work. Tomorrow you’ll be a big nobody. Just like yesterday.”

Snape fumed with anger, glowering at Sirius. “I told you four to watch out. He got in my way!”

“Let him down this instant, or I’ll curse you into next year, Snape.” Sirius reached around for his wand and pulled it out, occasionally looking up at Peter to see he wasn’t falling.

“Hagrid’s coming, Severus! Let him go!” Yelled a particularly pale Slytherin. The whole lot of them began to slink away, only looking back to laugh.

“Snape....”

“All right, fine. I’ll let him down,” said Snape, a mischievous look still on his face. With that, he dropped his wand, and Peter came hurling toward them at an alarming rate. James bellowed a charm, and a little parachute formed on Peter’s back, snapping into place quickly, and he landed on the ground both feet down, softly, even.

He did, however, look as though he might just fall over that instant, and so he began to, but James caught him. He put his arm around Peter’s back and called out for Sirius to help him.

“Be careful, he might have broken a bone,” said James softly. He suddenly looked very concerned for his friend. “Oh Peter, can you hear me? Peter...”

“Of course I can hear you, you great git,” Peter mumbled. “How about helping an old friend inside? Thanks, by the way.”

”I think he’ll be fine,” laughed Sirius, “just fine.”

Snape snorted loudly, and kicked dirt towards Peter. “You weren’t worth the effort.” Then he began to hobble away.

“I think you hurt him, James. You didn’t have to,” admitted Peter, as they began to help him out of the clearing.

“Don’t you say a word. I did what I had to do,” said James. “Let’s get you to the Hospital Wing.”

-- --- -- ---

James was not very focused that day, as he walked towards the Great Hall for dinner. He was quite intent on staring at the floor the entire time. He was very morose and upset for placing his best friend in danger the way he did.

He stared at the large glass windows to his right, musing over his latest day dream, until he heard small footsteps behind him.

A familiar voice, “So, saving lives and kicking arse, eh, Potter?”

Lily playfully shoved James, smiling at him unfailingly. He laughed a little and looked up at his friend, noting her rather upbeat tones.

“Yes, that’s me. Ever the hero,” said James, bowing gallantly. At that moment, he tripped over the edge of his robes. “Or maybe not...”

Lily laughed along, and put her arm around his shoulders. “Well, I just heard. I thought it was very good of you. Severus Snape is such an evil prat.”

He adjusted his glasses and smiled at her. “Glad you agree.”

They entered the Great Hall and seated themselves closer to the front, James observed Lily as she searched the table.

“Looking for someone?”

“Actually, I was wondering where Remus was. I saw him yesterday, but-”

James cut in, “He’s ill. He’ll be up and about soon enough.”

Lily looked at her plate calmly, grasping for a fork. “At least Peter has some company in the Hospital Wing.”

James glanced at Lily sideways, feeling quite guilty for putting such blatant lies over her. It was a secret, though. He was obligated to keep it. “Yes, quite.”

-- --- -- ---

“Tell me, James, do you intend to sit there and read that book all day? Aren’t you supposed to be visiting with me? Whatever happened to our friendship??” Peter mocked a sob.

“Do shut up!” James protested. He shut the book. A look of guilt in his eyes. “What if we don’t figure out the last piece in time for next month?”

“Well, then, we’ll just have to keep trying,” assured Peter. “We can do this, James. I know we can. We’ve logged the hours, we’ve read till our eyes bled. We’ve practiced like nothing else.” He leaned in towards his friend. “We don’t have a deadline. Moony will be fine for now.

“We swore to him that we would help him. We swore to do whatever we could,” Peter continued. “He’s spent the past five years dealing with this dilemma. He’s strong enough to hold on.”

Somehow, Peter’s words didn’t make James feel any better. He sighed softly to himself and relaxed in his chair. “You’re right,” he lied, “we can do it. He can wait. Just a little extra effort...”

“If it makes you feel any better, I’ll spend extra time in the Library. I need to study some, anyway. Give me a list of possible books and I shall scour them as soon as I get out of this prison.”

“I thought you liked it in here. Good food, good service, always in bed, chocolate whenever you please,” poked James. “This is the life.”

“It’s not life when I’m useless.”

“You aren’t, okay? Don’t worry about it. I’ll bring you some of our notes, and you can look for errors. Heaven knows you have the brain for it.” James patted Peter’s arm, smiling.

“Yes, we’ll figure it out soon enough.”