A Currency of Secrets

Longer Summary:

It's Term Three of Lily and the Marauder's sixth year at Hogwarts.

Lily has a host of secrets and no one to share them with. And she has a semi-stalker in James Potter, who everyone else seems to love. When these two things collide, will Lily's life be ruined? Or is it possible Potter might just surprise her?

Andromeda Black has no need for anyone. Will a brave cheerful Hufflepuff boy be able to crack her ice veneer before she hexes him into tiny little pieces? Even if he could, is it worth keeping such a dangerous secret from her Black-hearted family?

Remus Lupin carries the weight of a huge secret, and all of the lies it takes to keep it. What will happen when he finds someone who might be willing to share some of his burdens, in exchange for offloading some of their own?

Sirius Black is a ladies' man extraordinaire. What will happen when Sirius gets a taste of his own medicine?

And just what are the Slytherins up to? The Marauders have a mystery on their hands. How will they find time to solve it, in between dealing with their tangled love lives?

Term officially begins on Tuesday April 19, 1977. Chapter Two of our story will be posted on Tuesday April 16, 2019, followed by Wednesday 20 on Wednesday 17 etc. I'll be posting a chapter a day for the first few weeks of the story, with posts at least three times a week until the end of sixth year. Week One's chapters are about twice as long as the rest.

At the end of this chapter is a list of the characters in the fifth to seventh years. Optional reading, for those who like that sort of thing. I also explain the inclusion of the Black sisters.

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Monday April 18, 1977

- Sirius -

Sirius Black thumped shut the lid of his trunk, glancing around the guest room to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. He shoved his longish black hair out of his eyes with a practiced swipe of his hand, revealing grey eyes and high well-bred cheekbones.

The room, like most of the manor house, was panelled in warm rich honeywood, offset with the white linen curtains and bed covers. So different from the cold dark green and black of Sirius' house. Old house. And the guest room was now his room. Seven months and it still hadn't sunk in.

Sirius grabbed his trunk, heaving it off the bed, ready to be back at Hogwarts, where he could pretend nothing had changed. Or, more, that the Blacks weren't his family at all.

Rounding the bottom of the stairs, Sirius walked in on Mrs Potter – Euphemia he reminded himself – wrapping James in a farewell bearhug. Catching sight of Sirius, James quickly disentangled himself.

James' father, Fleamont Potter, strode back in through the front door. James and his father really were remarkably alike. They both had the same black hair that stood up at the back, the same thin face and hazel eyes. The same energy that led to constant motion.

"Car's ready," Mr Potter announced proudly, jingling the keys. Fleamont had bought a black muggle Cadillac during the term, enjoying the novelty and (muggle) heritage – as he'd said nearly every night at dinner during the Easter holidays. James and Sirius had taken turns tearing around in the car over the flatter parts of the Potter's sprawling estate. But only when they weren't out on their broomsticks, stuffing their faces in the kitchen, or playing pranks on the Potter's pair of young house elves, Bernie and Ernie (or occasionally on James' good natured parents themselves). However Mr Potter would be the one to drive them to Kings Cross for the start of their final term of sixth year.

"I'll just grab my purse," Euphemia said, ducking into the kitchen. Both of James' parents would be seeing him off, as though he were a tiny ickle first year. Sirius grit his teeth at the narky thought. Just because his parents hadn't set foot on Platform 9 ¾ since their own school days, didn't mean he should begrudge James his happy family. Especially not when they'd extended the same warmth to him.

Fleamont loaded the trunks and they all piled in, pulling out of the long gravel drive onto the wide semi-rural lanes. Euphemia had taken out a gossip magazine and was soon tutting in her familiar way.

"Can you believe this, Fleamont? A mother who abandoned her little girls to join Voldemort?"

"Eh?" said Fleamont, who was arguing with the gear-shift.

"Poor little Emma and Anna," Euphemia sniffed, reading their names out of the magazine. "I remember when you were little Jimmy," she added, turning back to smile affectionately at James. "You were such a gorgeous round-faced little cherub. And such a good boy too, always eating everything you were given."

James flushed and Sirius stuffed a fist in his mouth to prevent himself howling with amusement. When his mother turned around again, James punched Sirius hard in the arm.

"And then this mother just walks out, after stealing classified ministry information, and goes over to the dark side. Who could imagine it?" Euphemia's outrage was spoiled by the fact that she checked her hair in the mirror, patting a stray grey curl back into place.

"Classified ministry secrets, you say? Let me see that." Fleamont leaned over to read the article and Euphemia gave a little scream.

"Flea, the road!"

The car lurched to a squealing halt and narrowly avoided an angry old lady with a shopping cart and slashing floral umbrella. Fleamont backed the car off the footpath and drove more sedately under his wife's angry gaze.

"I read something about that in the Defence Annual," Fleamont said a few frosty minutes later. "But the story was a bit different. Who wrote that article?"

Euphemia checked coldly. "Rita Skeeter."

"Hmm, never heard of her."

"She's new," Sirius said. "Got her start at Witch Weekly."

"How do you know?" James raised his eyebrows.

"Well, she's a bit of a looker," Sirius whispered back, wiggling his eyebrows.

James huffed a laugh. "Bet she's blonde, pretty, big round… eyes," he amended as he noticed his mother watching him in the rear view mirror.

Sirius shrugged. "Can I help it if I have a type?"

The streets gradually became more clogged as they entered the city. Fleamont parked across the road from the station. Well trained by James now, his parents said their good byes by the car, rather than anywhere someone from school might see James being patted on his cheek by his mother or side-hugged by his father. Mrs Potter lingered near the boot, knowing Sirius was not a hugger. Fleamont ignored this, clapped him on the back and shook his hand with a grin.

"We'll see you in June, Sirius."

"Thank you, Mr P- Fleamont."

"I've made you brownies and some toffees," Mrs Potter said, stacking two tins on top of the trunks already loaded onto the trolley, "we'll send on your new dress robes when they arrive, and if you need anything else, send us a letter with Hedwig."

The big golden owl hooted morosely from his locked cage.

"I got you both a present," Fleamont added, pulling two hardcover books out of the car. 'Quidditch Through the Ages, First Edition' they both read. Sirius took his with a muttered thank you. James grinned and clapped his father on the back.

Fleamont sobered and shook James' hand too.

"Bring home that quidditch cup, Son," he said by way of farewell.

"You got it, Pops."

A shared identical grin. Then (finally) James and Sirius were crossing the street, weaving their way through the train station, and gliding through the barrier onto platform nine and three quarters. Sirius heaved a silent sigh of relief as the crush of Hogwarts students appeared before them. This was home. And Hogwarts was pleased to have them back too.

They were greeted with a string of welcoming shouts, most too difficult to decipher over the general mumble of reuniting students, but a few were discernible.

"Hey Black!" A grin.

"Hey, Captain," aimed at James with a cheery wave.

"What's up Princes?" A sarcastic bow but a friendly laugh. Sirius Black and James Potter were known as the Princes of Hogwarts by their adoring subjects.

Seventh year Frank Longbottom came up and clapped James on the back. "That cup's ours this year, right Potter?"

"No contest," James grinned back. Only Sirius saw his jaw tighten ever so slightly. Sirius wondered what everyone would say if Gryffindor didn't win the quidditch cup, especially since they had won it the last two years under captain Marcus Catchlove.

The Prewett twins ambled past, calling back,

"Prank it up this term, Princes. We'll go mad with all this OWL study otherwise."

Sirius grinned and gave them a thumbs up. Yep. The Princes of Hogwarts were back.

A group of Hufflepuff sixth years, no, fifth years, glided past, giggling and eying Sirius. He winked at them and they dissolved into further giggles, stumbling away. And yep, the Huffpleuff love was still there for Sirius Black, too.

Head girl Prisha Patil and Gryffindor fourth year Verona Vane both passed, giving James clear flirtatious looks, but he was busy scanning the platform and Sirius could guess who he was looking for.

Sighing, (it was too early in the term for this), Sirius tugged James towards their usual compartment. But something snagged their attention before they reached the open door. Sirius and James exchanged evil grins and set off in pursuit.

- Remus -

Remus Lupin sighed contentedly as he leaned back in his seat on the Hogwarts Express. The large compartment, meant for eight people, had belonged to the Marauders from their first train ride. Now it meant 'home' to Remus as much as the castle itself. It was good to be back.

The full moon had fallen on the first Monday of the holidays. Full moons at home were very different from those at Hogwarts. Remus shivered as he remembered the cellar, the chains, nothing to distract the wolf once he emerged. He rubbed a deeper bite on his arm that hadn't fully healed.

Across from him, Peter Pettigrew ripped open a chocolate frog and beheaded it with enthusiasm. Remus glanced at the pile of a dozen or so other frogs awaiting consumption.

"Hungry, are you?"

Peter shrugged then glanced a bit more keenly at Remus.

"Would you like one?" he asked nervously. Remus was tempted to say yes just because Peter so clearly wanted him to say no. But at that moment they were both distracted by the entrance of James Potter and Sirius Black.

"Did you see his face?" Sirius chortled as he slid open the compartment door.

"You, you, you can't do this," James mimicked cruelly in a high-pitched voice.

"Bet he wet himself," Sirius added with satisfaction, throwing himself down across the four seats opposite Remus, Peter just jumping up in time. Peter took the seat beside Remus instead.

"Who'd you hex this time?" Remus asked mildly, though he had his suspicions.

"Who else," James said, plopping down on Sirius' feet, forcing him to budge up a bit. "Snivellus."

"Caught him loitering by the barrier-"

"Probably hoping for a private word with Evans," James inserted with a growl. Sirius rolled his eyes

"So we nabbed him and locked him in a muggle toilet," Sirius finished.

"Hope the train leaves without him," James added viciously.

"Speaking of Evans," Peter piped up, and Sirius groaned loudly.

"Can we not? All I've heard all holidays is, 'When I get back to Hogwarts the first thing I'm going to do is-"

Sirius' falsetto impression was cut off by James' shoe hitting him in the face. Sirius chucked it back hard, narrowly missing James' ear.

"What are you going to do?" Remus asked a bit apprehensively.

"Talk to her, of course. I spent all of last term 'giving her space', so now she's supposed to want to talk to me right?"

"Are you sure that's what she said?" Remus insisted.

"Geez, Moony, you worry too much," Sirius said with a yawn. "Either Evans talks to Prongs or she hexes his balls off. Don't see why it's such a big deal."

James glared at Sirius but Sirius just smirked back.

"You know I love you man."

"Anyway," said Remus, "I have to get to a prefect meeting."

"Oooh," Sirius chimed in, predictably, "a prefect meeting."

"So high and mighty," James said, making a mock bow from his seat.

"Must you?" Remus asked wearily. "Every time?"

"Yes," said James.

"Of course," said Peter.

"Couldn't have you getting a big head," said Sirius.

Remus shook his head. "And out of all of us, you thinks it's me you have to worry about?"

"You're the one with the badge."

"The shiny prefect badge."

"Oh, sod off," Remus said mildly, heading for the door.

"Wait," James said. "How was your furry little incident over the holidays?"

Frowning, Remus slid the door shut again with a snap, glancing through the window to make sure no one had been in earshot. James, Sirius and Peter were all watching him, strangely still. Remus shifted his weight.

"It was… fine."

"Yeah, meaning it was crap," Sirius said.

Remus didn't say anything.

"Well, next time we'll be there," James said heartily. "And we'll plan something epic."

Remus tried to return James' enthusiastic grin.

"Anyway, I've got to go."

Remus slid the door shut behind him, stomach still feeling a bit hollow with guilt and worry. What they did every month was dangerous, not to mention betraying Dumbledore's trust and endangering lives, but it was so much better than transforming alone. Plus his friends enjoyed it so much – the risk, the adrenaline, the adventure. And Remus had never been able to say no to his friends. He sighed and headed for the prefect compartment at the front of the train.

- Lily -

"Red! Hey, Red! Evans!"

Lily Evans scowled at the familiar shout. She was on her way back from the start of term prefect meeting, and had been looking forward to an uneventful train ride. It seemed that was not to be.

Lily's long red ponytail swung wide as she turned to face James Potter, her striking green eyes narrowed, her arms crossed over her chest.

To be fair, Lily hadn't from Potter all of last term. James Potter, Prince of Hogwarts, had promised her a full term of peace, a reprieve from his constant attempts to win her affections. And to Lily's amazement (and gratitude), he'd stuck to that promise. But, she realised with a sinking heart, this was a new term and the promise was over.

Potter was his usual cheerful self as he strode up to Lily, brown eyes just waiting for a reason to laugh, his black hair playfully messy. Nothing about him serious. For a moment, Lily envied him. What did James Potter have to worry about? Wealth, smarts, quidditch talent, popularity, even girls and supposed good looks – the world handed to him on a platter.

"Hey Evans, how were your holidays?" he grinned, his hand jumping to further mess the back of his hair.

"Fine." Lily didn't feel like discussing her family messes with James Potter of all people. Potter was unphased by her tone.

"How was the prefect meeting?"

Lily recalled the Slytherin near-mutiny and Black's piercing stare focused on her, promising future retribution. Lily didn't feel like getting into all of that with Potter either.

"Fine."

"Not much of a conversationalist today, are we?" Potter joked, bouncing a little on his feet. James Potter, the boy unable to be still.

"I didn't realise we were talking again," Lily said. A twinge of guilt went through her at the way Potter's face fell, but Lily quickly squashed it. It was just disappointment – his conquest wasn't going his way. Potter needed to grow up and see people as people.

"Well," said Potter, re-hitching his jocular grin. "It is third term. I proved my love by leaving you alone, now we get to talk, right?"

"That wasn't the deal. I said, 'we'll see'."

"Okay… so, do you hate me less?"

Lily hesitated. To be truthful, she hadn't thought about Potter at all last term. She'd enjoyed his absence, but there had been nothing beyond that.

"I see," said Potter when she had been silent too long. His mouth turned downwards for the first time. "It seems like you got more out of our deal than I did."

"Seems that way," Lily said, unable to think of anything better to say, but disliking the petulant way it came out.

"And… did you have a good term?" Potter asked, his eyes focused intensely on her own, as though trying to calculate the honesty of her answer.

Lily swallowed. With all the issues with her parents, and her sister, and the Slytherins, and the worry around Voldemort, and no one to really talk to…

Potter read the answer on her face.

"Right. Well then, new plan. I'll be the one cheering you up this term."

"Potter, no," Lily said, exasperated. "Your idea of cheering up is just aggravating. I don't want-"

"What you need, Evans, is some fun in your life," Potter announced, his winning smile back in place. Lily's heart sank. The last thing she needed right now was more James Potter.

"Potter if you don't leave me alone this term, I swear I will hex you every time I see you."

Potter studied her closely again. "Lily Evans the prefect? Hex me? I doubt it. At least not where there are witnesses. Besides, you forget who you're dealing with. Hogwarts duelling champion two years running." Potter puffed out his chest, eying her with amusement.

"Yeah, first and second years," Lily muttered.

"Hey, if I could beat you then (and everyone else in our year, I might add), I can beat you now."

"Not if you don't know when I'll get you," Lily countered. "You forget, I know where you sleep."

"I assure you, Red, I never forget that," he told her sincerely.

Lily faltered for a moment, shocked he'd actually said it. Then not shocked at all – this was James Potter, and apparently Potter wasn't on his best behaviour around her anymore.

Lily didn't have the words for her fury, so (after momentarily debating punching him) she pulled out her wand.

Potter's eyes widened, but he managed to keep that cheeky grin in place.

"Well, looks like I'll be seeing you round, Red," he said, giving her a regimental salute before turning and strutting away down the corridor. It was several moments after he was out of sight before Lily put her wand away. She was still running through appropriate hexes as she walked back to her compartment.

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Lily's friends were much as she had left them. Alice Fortescue, slender with a sheet of silvery blonde hair, was calmly reading a potions magazine. Greta Catchlove, a half-Indian girl with a long black plait and almost as much energy as Potter, was talking to Mary about quidditch, gesturing enthusiastically with her hands. Mary Macdonald was a plain girl with a brown bob and brown eyes, which were currently a bit glazed. Greta didn't seem to have noticed her audience wasn't rivetted by her descriptions.

"Lily," Greta said as she entered. Alice put down her magazine. "We got you some pumpkin pasties," Greta began, but then caught sight of her face.

"Lily?" said Alice, concern clear in her voice. "Are you okay?"

Lily hated that her anger was so easy to read – stupid Potter.

"Fine," she said, trying to rearrange her features and attempting a vague airy tone. "Just Potter again."

"I thought he was leaving you alone? You know, to prove his 'love'," Greta said, making air quotes and grabbing a cauldron cake from the pile.

"Apparently that was only for last term. Anyone know any good hexes?" Lily said, only half joking, as she sat across from Alice.

Alice, ever the peacekeeper, said, "Be careful Lily, don't let Potter get you into trouble."

"Potter is trouble. I don't see how I'll avoid trouble if he's following me around."

"That's going a bit far," Greta protested, swallowing her cake. "He's never got you into any real trouble before. He's a pain in the ass, but he likes you."

Lily snorted. It was just like Greta to stand up for her quidditch teammate. "He doesn't like me," Lily said firmly. "He just wants to have me. I'm a trophy to him."

"You know I don't believe that," Greta said. Lily rolled her eyes. "No, really," Greta insisted, "he's gone to way too much trouble for it just to be about that."

"How much trouble has he gone to, Greta? He's asked me out constantly, got the odd present I didn't want, paid me a string of generic compliments. He's done nothing to get to know me at all."

"He puts more effort into wooing you than he does for other girls," Greta said stubbornly.

"He doesn't have to put effort into other girls," Lily said crossly. "They all just fall at his feet."

Greta shrugged as though this proved her point.

"He did try stalking you for a term in fifth year," Mary put in helpfully. Lily scowled.

"Fine then, he's the devil," Greta said impatiently. "So what are you going to do?" She tore a pumpkin pasty in half and inhaled one piece, staring intently at Lily.

Lily swallowed. How to defeat James Potter at his own game?

"I'm going to crush him," Lily said, a bit pleased by the gravel in her own voice. Mary's and Alice's eyes widened, but Greta just laughed, crumbs of pumpkin pasty jettisoning across the compartment. Lily glared at her but Greta, now choking a bit, didn't notice.

"Tell me, how are you going to crush James Potter?" Greta wheezed, mirth still in her eyes, even as she beat her chest to calm her coughs.

"Whatever he gives me, I'm going to give back to him," Lily said, feeling more determined as the plan solidified in her mind.

"So what, he asks you out, you ask him out?" Greta rolled her eyes.

"No, I'm going to ignore him entirely – that might discourage him somewhat-"

"Doubt it," Greta put in, "you did that all last term."

"And if he goes too far," Lily continued stonily, "I'll hex him."

"Be careful Lily," Alice warned again, worry in her blue eyes, "you don't want to start a pranking war with James Potter."

"That's true," Greta said, serious for a moment. "James Potter will prank the pants off you. And enjoy every minute of it."

Lily frowned. "Then I'll just have to make sure he doesn't enjoy anything I do to him."

Alice looked deeply concerned but didn't say anymore. Greta was looking at Lily with a new respect.

"I guess we really will need to look up some good hexes," Greta said.

Lily gave a weak smile. Maybe, with Greta's help, this might not be too bad.

- Sirius -

Sirius Black, despite his attempts at nonchalance, was concerned about the outcome of James' talk with Evans. His best friend liked this chick too much for his own good, and it was clear she didn't give a rat's posterior about him. Sirius had distracted himself with a game of gobstones with Peter. Peter was quite bad at gobstones at the best of times, even without the movement of the train, and Sirius was always surprised when Peter agreed to play a game against him, seeing as Sirius was clearly master of the marbles, and never lost.

Today was no different. Peter was dripping with stinksap from halfway through the game, while Sirius was bone dry and smelling like a rose. He let out a loud guffaw as a gobstone got Peter in the eye. It was at that moment that James re-entered the compartment.

Sirius looked up, Remus put down his book, and Peter turned to squint at James, one eye dripping. His best mate was wearing the wide fixed grin that didn't reach his eyes – a façade that fooled most of the Princes' loyal subjects, but not the Marauders.

"It went well, I take it?" Sirius drawled lazily, trying to diffuse the situation.

"Oh, very well," James said sarcastically, dropping himself into a chair, leaning his head back and closing his eyes with a sigh.

"Does she hate you less?" Peter asked without tact.

"Doesn't seem like it."

"Did she talk to you at least?" Remus asked. James gave a hollow laugh.

"Reluctantly at first, then we argued."

"So… nothing's changed then?" Sirius summed up. James banged his head on the wall behind him.

"So, what?" Sirius said bracingly. "So you'll win her over. She can't resist the Potter charm forever."

"Can't she?" James' glum voice was shocking. James, perpetually cheerful, didn't know the meaning of the word 'morose'.

"Well, none of the other chicks at Hogwarts are immune to our charms," Sirius said encouragingly. "She's got to come round some time, right?"

"I dunno, Padfoot," Remus said slowly, eying James warily. "How long does James go on like this for? Maybe it's time to let this rest."

James raised his head, his eyes serious, questioning.

"Do you think I have a chance Moony? You know her best – being prefects together." There was the usual trace of resentment in James' voice when he said this – not about being prefects, but about the time Remus and Lily spent together. Lily and Remus were even on a first-name basis, while she refused to let James call her anything but 'Evans'. Remus pursed his lips.

"I don't know, James," Remus said.

"Bright ray of sunshine you are," Sirius growled, appalled by Moony's negativity. This wasn't what Prongs needed to hear right now. Remus shrugged unapologetically.

"Just being honest."

"Okay, look," Sirius said, taking over. "Here's what we do. Give it one more term. Turn up the Potter charm. Write her poetry and give her flowers and all that other crap chicks love. Romance the hell out of her."

"And if that doesn't work?" James said.

"Then… well then maybe it's time to let her go," Sirius admitted reluctantly.

James frowned. So did Remus.

"If that 'charming her' stuff hasn't worked in the past, why do you think it will work now?" Remus said.

"Because Prongs hasn't been intense enough," Sirius answered, his eyes twinkling. "This time we'll help him out."

"Help him out?" Remus said with a laugh. "What, are we poets now? Florists? Matchmakers?"

"No, Sirius is right," James added, now sitting up straighter, his brain clearly whirring. "It's time to get serious about this. Really make her feel special."

"You could try not dating other girls," Peter muttered.

"Wormtail, you're a genius!" Sirius declared. Peter blinked at this praise and then grinned.

"Oh, now that's a genius idea," James groaned. "Who's been the one on at me about putting myself out there all year?"

"What, you wanted to go completely snog-free last term just because you were avoiding Evans?" Sirius said. "Where's the sense in that?"

"I didn't go snog free," James retorted.

"Tutoring sessions don't count."

"A snog's a snog," James fired back.

"Well, apart from the odd peck on the lips between Transfiguration homework," Sirius said, rolling his eyes, "you were completely snog-free." Sirius' disgust was clear in his voice.

"That's because when I go on dates with other girls all I can think about is Lily."

"Don't," said Sirius sternly, "ever say that again. It's embarrassing."

"It's a bit romantic though," Peter admitted.

"Yeah, we might be able to work it into a poem or something," Sirius conceded.

"I doubt Lily will like a poem where James talks about dating other girls," Remus said drily.

"Yeah, well, it's only early days," Sirius said defensively. "We'll have better ideas as we get rolling."

James, however, seemed invigorated by their chat. He was sitting forward, forearms on his knees, eyes bright.

"We'll need a decent plan," he said, using the same marshalling tone he used as quidditch captain.

"Yeah, Remus, you look up love poems," Sirius said, ignoring Remus' raised eyebrow.

"And Peter can learn flower arranging," James added, deaf to Peter's protests.

"And I'll give you lessons in charming the ladies," Sirius declared with a wink.

"As long as you're not trying to give me snogging lessons," James shot back, laughing at Sirius' look of disgust.

But then James pulled a snitch out of his pocket Sirius knew he'd succeeded. James Potter, Prince of Hogwarts, had his head back in the game.

What followed was a good poetry writing session – the session was good, not the poetry – riddled with laughter and thrown shoes. Most of the poetry was varied versions of James' old classic from fifth year -
Her hair is red
Her eyes are green
She's the prettiest girl
I've ever seen.

The variations ranged from bad to worse. But the morose James did not return, Remus was helpful, and Sirius managed to eat a decent number of Mrs Potter's brownies before Peter scoffed the lot. A success, Sirius decided.

- Lily -

Lily was grateful when the conversation finally moved off her plan to deal with Potter. Greta was an enthusiastic best friend, but there was only so much of her undivided attention Lily could handle. They'd discussed possible hexes, jinxes, and even a few curses for nearly an hour, until Lily's head was whirring and Alice, hiding behind her Potions magazine again, was wearing a permanent worried frown.

Now that they'd settled into a conversation about their holidays, the mood was descending to calm once more. Greta had begun with a long account of the quidditch moves her brother, Marcus Catchlove, former captain of the Gryffindor team, had taught her. As seeker, Greta benefitted more than other players from some one-on-one coaching. And as a pureblood her family had owned an acreage in Godric's Hollow for generations.

Alice had spent her holidays in France with her cousins and Mary had played tourist at home, showing her German penpal the sights.

"So, how were your holidays, Lily?" Alice said. All eyes turned to her.

"Oh, you know, nothing special," Lily said vaguely. She hadn't told her friends about her father's cancer or Petunia's… Petunia-ness. Lily had only become friends with the Gryffindor girls at the end of fifth year, after her falling out with Snape. Trust wasn't something Lily Evans gave away lightly.

Greta looked like she was going to press the issue, but was interrupted when a basket in the overhead shelving gave an ominous tremble and a growl.

"Lily," Mary asked, trying to sound offhand, "what's in there?"

"Yeah," said Greta, actually sounding offhand, "its been moaning and rocking all morning."

"Oh," said Lily, hopping up to get the basket down. She opened the lid and out sprung a large scruffy ginger tomcat, his green eyes glaring angrily at them all, growling deep in his fluffy orange throat.

Mary blinked and froze, as though the cat might sense her fear. Greta reached subtly for her wand as though worried it might spring at her. Alice however bent down and cooed at him.

"Oh hello there Ginger, who's a handsome little man?"

The cat slowly turned its bright stare on Alice. Mary held her breath. But the cat, like most creatures, was charmed by the gentle peacefulness that surrounded Alice, and merely hopped up and curled up on her lap.

Mary inched a bit further away from his tail, which was still slashing the air. Greta reluctantly took her hand off her wand, returning glare for glare. The cat, still watching Greta, stole a cauldron cake from the pile in front of his nose and ate it slowly.

"His name's Tiger," Lily said, breaking the tense spell the cat had spun over them all. "He's the best thing that happened to me all holidays, so I kept him."

She glared fiercely around at the others, as though they'd suggested Tiger was too wild for a pet.

"That's great, Lily," said Alice, stroking Tiger's back a bit too absent-mindedly for Mary's liking. Mary's eyes kept darting to Alice's unprotected hand and Tiger's slashing tail. A rumble started in Tiger's throat, something which might have been mistaken for a purr, if the warning in his eyes hadn't been so clear. He was onto something good here, and he was claiming it.

"Yeah, great," Greta added, sounding far less convincing.

"He was a stray," Lily admitted, "and I don't think he's lived indoors before. It took some training and," she glanced into his basket, wrinkled her nose and vanished something with her wand, "he's not entirely house-broken yet. But we'll make it work."

"Sure thing," Alice smiled. "I'll help, Lily."

Mary nodded dutifully though she looked worried. Greta surveyed the cat, weighing him up.

"Well, if all else fails, we can always set him on Potter."

Lily looked outraged.

"You can't subject poor Tiger to that buffoon!"

"I'd be more worried about Tiger finishing Potter off," Mary said, eyes still on his slashing tail. "Though maybe that wouldn't be a tragedy."

Alice hid a smile behind her hand. Lily offered Mary a high-five and Greta rolled her eyes.

- Remus -

Remus felt uneasy about this new 'Evans plan.' As her friend (or friendly acquaintance, or patrol partner who was sometimes confided in, a bit) Remus felt compelled to protect Lily from the attentions of his robust friend. At the same time, Remus knew that nothing he said to James would make any difference whatsoever. So Remus sat around eating toffees, laughing with the rest, and supplying words that rhymed with 'green'. Their poetic concoctions ranged from strange to useless to downright crass, but the cheesy poems were fun to bandy about, if nothing else.

Halfway through the journey, Sirius and James headed out to the food trolley and returned with an armfuls of sweets and the short sharp figure of Andromeda Black.

Sirius' younger cousin looked a lot like her older sister Bellatrix. Her hair was dark, her eyes piercing, and she was all corners – from her distinct cheekbones to the cut of her hair: cropped short at a severe angle from chin to neck, longer at the front. Unlike her sisters, Andy had a slight tan and a sense of humour – dry and sarcastic as it might be. She still retained the haughty air and regal grace of the Black clan, and she owned every inch of the angular beauty she'd been born with.

Andy's views on a range of subjects differed from those of her family, though she preferred not to advertise this – Andy placed a bit more weight on family ties than Sirius did. Last year, when the pressure of this balancing act had become too much, Andy had taken to hanging out with the Marauders and avoiding the Slytherin common room as much as possible.

"Thank the stars," Andy said, flopping into Sirius' empty seat by the window. "If I had to spend one more minute in that Slytherin compartment, I would have been forced to stun myself."

Sirius gave her a sympathetic grunt and tipped all his sweets onto the chair beside her. Sirius positioned himself between the pile and Peter. Remus suspected a great deal of strategy in this placement.

"So the Slytherins are still holding the back of the train hostage?" James said, dumping his own pile of food next to Remus and shoving Peter over with his butt as he backed into the seat.

"They're becoming deranged with all this exclusivity nonsense," Andy said, tossing her hair back from her face with a shake of her head that conveyed both superiority and disdain – a familiar sight from Andy Black. "You'd think Voldemort was coming to Hogwarts to hold auditions."

"The Slytherins tried to throw out our theme for the ball," Remus said, suddenly remembering. "Because it has muggle ties. Bellatrix all but called Lily's existence a disgrace when she took her on about it."

James growled in his throat, sounding more like Sirius than himself. "If she lays a wand on Evans, I'll kill her."

Andy shot James a piercing look – not protective exactly, just a reminder that it was her sister he was talking about. James, who normally got on very well with Andy, glared defiantly back.

Remus cleared his throat and offered Andy the brownie tin. After a moment more of staring James down, Andy deigned to take a brownie, giving Remus a small nod, the equivalent of a smile from the Black sister.

"So, Cuz, how was your incarceration?" Sirius asked, draping his arms over the back of his seat and hers.

Andy shrugged, returning to the picture of nonchalance.

"I survived yet another bout of my parents. Mother sends her love," she added sarcastically to Sirius. "Father sends his disapproval. Though I'm surprised he had any to spare for you, with the amount he's sent my way."

"You had a fight," Remus said sympathetically, trying to wave away James' insistent offering of a pumpkin pasty without looking at him. Remus had sandwiches from home.

"Remus, you're implying there is ever peace in my house. I had a holiday. At home."

Sirius was frowning at his cousin thoughtfully, with what might have been concern.

"Your name is still banned," Andy added to Sirius, "but I think that's mostly because my father is worried you'll be a bad influence on me. That you'll convince me to run away too."

"I didn't run away," Sirius said hotly. But he cooled quickly and said, "Wish you would though. You don't belong in that house."

"You mean with my family?" Andy challenged.

"We can't choose our family." Sirius looked like he had more to say, but closed his mouth instead.

"Was your sister okay this time?" James asked to fill the silence. He'd given up on Remus and left the pumpkin pasty on his friend's knee. James was now systematically fitting an entire cauldron cake into his mouth. If Andy heard the trace of pity in his voice, she did James the favour of ignoring it.

"Bella?" Andy said impatiently. "Bella is Bella. Sooner or later one of us will leave home and both our lives will improve immeasurably. What I want to know," she turned to face Sirius square on, and he flinched back from her, crossing his arms in defence pre-emptively, "is it true you haven't answered a single one of your mother's letters?"

Sirius snorted, relaxing his posture. "I haven't opened a single one of my mother's letters. Would you if you were me?"

Andy frowned. "Well, if you had opened one, I wouldn't have to be the bearer of bad news."

"Uh oh, what now?" Sirius said, his tone light and playful, but Remus had seen him tense at her words.

"Aunt Walburga says she'll disown you if you don't come home over the Summer."

There was a beat of silence, then Sirius barked a loud laugh.

"Seriously? That's it? Geez, you made me think there was an actual problem for a minute."

He went to grab a pumpkin pasty, caught Peter going for the last cinnamon cauldron cake, and slapped his hand away. Peter recoiled as if stung. Sirius rolled his eyes and tossed him a raisin cake instead. Peter caught it like a delighted puppy.

"You're pleased?" Andy was giving Sirius a hard stare, and he didn't quite meet her eye as he said airily,

"Pleased? I'm ecstatic. My mother wants to remove herself from my life? Let her do me the favour. Makes things easier for me."

"And how will you live without your inheritance?" Andy demanded.

Remus gave a small cough. Andy's piercing gaze sliced to him. "He could try getting a job."

James laughed at this, breaking the tension. "This mutt? Can you imagine Sirius Black working a day in his life?"

Sirius took on a saintly, offended expression. "I resent that. What are all those pranks we pull, if not work?"

"Pranks."

"Oh. Well," Sirius shrugged dramatically, "I'll work something out. I always do." He gave a wily grin and wiggled his eyebrows. Andy rolled her eyes skyward, as though praying for patience.

"Hey Wormtail, want to be beaten at gobstones again?" Sirius said, stuffing the cinnamon cake into his mouth.

"Bet you a galleon I can beat you at chess," James said to Andy, messing up the back of his hair, eyebrows raised invitingly.

"I don't know why you offer up your money so freely, Potter," Andy replied, but her smirk was amused. "Make it two galleons and a snitch, and you're on."

James' face fell in mock disappointment. "I worked hard to nick that."

"Are you scared you'll lose?"

James gave her his cocky grin. "Bring it on, Black."

Remus settled in to watch the two competitive pairs bluff and banter their way through the rest of the train ride.

- Lily -

Lily stepped out of the horseless carriage and got her first glimpse of Hogwarts, looming tall and solid against the starry sky, windows glowing gold. Her heart settled for the first time in weeks. No matter what was going on with her family, Lily always felt at home here.

Greta pulled Lily up the grassy slope, followed by Alice and Mary. They were early enough to get seats right in the middle of the Gryffindor table – desirable for a start of term feast.

"This way, we can reach a bit of everything," Greta reminded them all, plonking herself down on the bench and pulling Lily down beside her. Alice and Mary took seats opposite them.

The Great Hall filled up quickly, some students chattering and laughing, others looking glum at the prospect of the start of final term and end of year exams.

Soon the platters were filled with roast chicken and pork, dumplings, mashed potatoes, minted peas and honeyed carrots, chipolatas and gravy. The food seemed to fill an empty place inside Lily that was unrelated to her stomach, warming her like a loving hug. Content to listen to Greta banter with seventh years Frank Longbottom and Chen Chang, swapping jokes (Longbottom) and crude riddles (Chang) as Alice and Mary looked on, Lily passed a happy hour.

Dessert – a range of steaming fruit pies, custard and ice cream – saw a fight break out at the Ravenclaw table. Some of the seventh years had been shouting at each other and, surprisingly, fourth year Annabelle Vance of Hufflepuff strode into the fray. A moment later she'd thrown a scoop of ice-cream at the sixth year Ravenclaw prefect. There was a beat of silent shock, before a full on food fight began.

"You've got to be kidding me," Greta said, staring open-mouthed as the usually serious Ravenclaws shrieked and squealed indignantly, ice cream running down faces, stewed fruit sticking in hair. Howls of laughter from further down the Gryffindor table indicated that, predictably, Potter and Black had begun a food fight of their own, lobbing spoonfuls of custard at everyone within range, and using Pettigrew as a human shield.

With a deep sigh, Longbottom got up to deal with them, allowing Lily to ignore her own prefect badge and finish her custard and blackberry pie. While she ate, Lily watched two Ravenclaws pull each other's hair. What had gotten into them? Lily wondered.

Professors Sinistra, McGonagall and Flitwick descended to reorder the Ravenclaws and within minutes peace had been restored, albeit with a large number of Ravenclaw points lost, and an only slightly smaller number of Gryffindor ones removed.

"That," said Greta, patting her stomach as she polished off her second helping of apple tart and ice cream, "was the best feast I've been to in a while." She glanced at the Ravenclaw table and winked at Lily. Lily shook her head in return but couldn't help a small smile of her own.

Sinking into her own bed that night, the red hangings black in the gloom, Lily felt a peace that she hadn't in a while. It came from having people around – people who would band together for her, who would share life with her. Greta might be temperamental and a bit wild, and she might stick up for Potter more than she should, but she was a loyal friend. And Alice and Mary might be quiet and a bit boring, but they too had chosen to stick with Lily in the face of Prince Potter.

Lily frowned as she remembered her fight with Potter. But she contented herself that her plan was a good one. If nothing else, if would feel good to vent some of her frustrations on a deserving target. With this satisfying thought, Lily drifted off into a deep dreamless sleep, Tiger deigning to curl up on the foot of her bed.

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Character list

(Optional Reading/Reference Guide)

Note: this is not a complete list of all the characters that would exist. These are the ones I might be mentioning in passing, as of the story so far. I have chosen names that are familiar, and kept them similar to their future counterparts to help them be more memorable. This is statistically unlikely, of course, but hopefully makes for easier/more enjoyable reading.

Any character who needs an explanation if mentioned in the story, will be explained. This is merely background info. I've included it since James and Sirius know everyone and refer to them by name, and Lily knows all the prefects.

See the end for the note on the Black sisters.

Key:

Point of View Characters (Bold underlined)

Other main characters (bold)

Characters of interest (italics)

Gryffindor

Seventh years
Frank Longbottom (Prefect)
Chen Chang
Param Patil
Damian Catchlove (Chaser)

Prisha Patil (Head girl)
Scarlett Brown
Alison Spinnet

Sixth years
James Potter (Quidditch Captain and Chaser – the books say chaser, so I went with that)
Sirius Black (Reserve Beater)
Remus Lupin (Prefect)
Peter Pettigrew

Lily Evans (Prefect)
Greta Catchlove (Seeker)
Alice Fortescue
Mary MacDonald

Fifth years
Gideon Prewett (Beater)
Fabian Prewett (Beater)
Reginald Johnson (Prefect)

Hattie Bell (Chaser and Prefect)
Violet Brown

Fourth years
Lance Jordan
Sean Finnigan

Elisabeth Fortescue (Reserve)
Verona Vane
Olivia Wood (Keeper)

Third years
Timothy Catchlove (Reserve)
Lucian Fortescue

Ashley Spinnet
Jennifer Johnson

Ravenclaw

Seventh years
Dirk Cresswell (prefect)
Mitch Corner

Emmeline Vance (prefect)
Anthea Goldstein
Grace Page
Pamela Clearwater
Fiona Fawcett

Sixth years
Melanie Edgecomb (prefect)
Julia Stretton
Regina Davies

Damocles Belby (prefect)
Matthew Corner

Fifth years
Theresa Boot (prefect)
Pahki Patil
Olivia Ollivander

John Dawlish (prefect)

Hufflepuff

Seventh years
Edgar Bones (Head boy)

Zipporah Smith (Prefect)

Sixth years
Edward (Ted) Tonks
Jay Finch
Max Preece (Prefect)

Susan Summerby (Prefect)
Marissa Macavoy
Dorcas Meadowes

Fifth years
Amelia Bones (Prefect)
Elizalina Smith
Christina Fletchley
Jasmine Applebee
Mara Abbott

Arnie Macmillan (Prefect)
Amos Diggory

Fourth years
Annabelle Vance

Slytherin

Seventh years
Bellatrix Black (Prefect)
Alecto Carrow

Lucius Malfoy (Prefect)
Amycus Carrow

Sixth years
Severus Snape
Artemis Avery
Mason Mulciber
Pontius Pike (Prefect)

Peony Parkinson (Prefect)
Mabel Bulstrode

Fifth years
Andromeda (Andy) Black
Anya Avery
Belladonna (Donna) Zabini (Prefect)
Holly Higgs
Henrietta Harper
Driana Pucey

Evan Rosier
William Wilkes
Peregrine Derrick

Fourth years
Regulus Black
Bartemius Crouch

Third years
Narcissa Black

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A note on the Black sisters and Malfoy:

According to my research, Andromeda Black was five to ten years older than Sirius. So her inclusion in this story, in this way, is not canon. However, I always liked the idea that Sirius, misunderstood in his own family, had a favourite cousin who ran off to marry a muggleborn. So the idea of Andy Black being a semi-Marauder entered my head and wouldn't leave. And if I was including her, it made sense to include Bellatrix (only two years older than her).

And if I was playing with the timeline, why not include a favourite nemesis like Lucius Malfoy, one of the few characters I've seen who could handle a young Bellatrix Black. So, if you can suspend your love of canon here, I feel these characters have much to offer the story.

Andromeda has chosen the nickname 'Andy' at this age, partly to annoy her parents.