October 30th, 1973

Being a Marauder, you must follow The Marauder''s code. In any dispute between Marauders, the code rules above all. If a Marauder breaks three of these rules within the same month, then he must accept the Marauder punishment. If the Marauder in question has done something to offend another Marauder, that Marauder may choose to create a punishment for the Marauder under trial. If not, the Marauder being trialed must do the default punishment. A trial must always be held, no matter the circumstances. If the Marauder being trialed has a strong enough case, they may be allowed to escape without punishment. Failure to adhere to the punishment means the default. Before being allowed to be a Marauder, you must swear on your brother's graves that you will follow the code as best as possible.

The Marauder's Code

1. As a Marauder, you must always, always be up to no good whenever you can. (That includes our voice of reason, and yes, we mean you, Moony.)

2. Friendship above all. Should a Marauder be in need, it is your duty to aid them in any way you can.

3. One Marauder must not hurt another about something he cannot control. (i.e. Furry little problems, horrible families, etc. Note: Teasing does not count. We can make fun of each other all we like. Ex: You can call Padfoot a twat, but you must NEVER blame him for some another Black did.)

4. A Marauder should never use the code as an excuse to be evil. (You may not say that you are just "up to no good" when you are truly hurting someone.)

5. A Marauder should never miss full moon without a very important reason.

6. A Marauder must never keep secrets from the others unless the circumstances leave people in danger.

7. No girl is ever allowed to come between the Marauders, no matter how beautiful, amazing, how in love you are with her, etc. No exceptions. (Yes, not even Lily Evans, Prongs.)

8. If a Marauder asks you to keep a secret to yourself, no one must know without the consent of that Marauder.

9. A Marauder must never use any of his exceptional talents, charms, and other such things to critically harm another being. (Not even Snivellus, because unfortunately, he is considered to be a being. Although: Poking fun and using Levicorpus does not count.)

10. If someone does something to offend/hurt a Marauder in any way, then, with the permission of the offendee (Hey Moony, do you know if that's a word?) all Marauders will participate in the Marauder's Revenge. (The Marauder's Revenge is different depending on the subject of the prank, but generally it involves a lot of Transfiguration.)

11. A Marauder does not show pain to the general public. We mourn in silence.

12. A Marauder must always stay true to the traits of Godric Gryffindor: loyalty, chivalry and bravery.

13. Finally, in accepting that you are a Marauder, you give your solemn oath that you would die for your brother should the occasion come.

James Potter

Sirius Black

Remus Lupin

Peter Pettigrew

The Code Part 1 - James

7. No girl is ever allowed to come between the Marauders, no matter how beautiful, amazing, how in love with her you are, etc.

June 1977.

He wasn't the first to break the code, nor would he be the last.

"Prongs," said Sirius Black in an unusually subdued manner, "We need to talk."

Seventeen-year-old wizard James Potter sat upon a squishy scarlet sofa in the Gryffindor Common Room, his legs stretched out onto the table in front of him. The warmth of the fire added a nice touch to the evening, and James didn't fancy moving, so he gestured to the place next to him. "Then have a seat and let's talk, Padfoot," responded James with a shrug. He was curious about his friend's unusually serious demeanour. It was very unlike his carefree friend to approach him like this.

"Not us, James." Sirius shook his head, for once using his friend's given name, "Us. The Marauders, us," He finished with a meaningful look. This confused James even more. They never called a meeting unless absolutely necessary. Most of what they talked about was just mentioned quietly wherever they were at the time.

"Now?" asked James with a furrowed brow. He really wanted to know what had affected the other boy's manner so drastically. Was it to do the Black family? James hated those people for how they had treated Sirius. He had only met the Blacks a handful of times, and was glad for it. The four friends had spent an evening there when cousins of Sirius's were visiting, and had left forever disgusted by the type of people some wizards became. James left his comfortable position, standing and examining his mate's face carefully.

Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew entered the Common Room to stroll up right behind Sirius. "Yes, James. Now," replied Remus, looking rather grave. The boy suffering from lycanthropy always had a drawn look about him, but on this evening it was more prominent than others. Though he was the same age as the others, younger even, by months, he looked as though he was a man several years his senior on some days. His shadowed eyes looked upon his friend wearily.

Beside Remus, Peter nodded, not meeting James's eyes. The black-haired Marauder's eyes narrowed slightly at this gesture. The others turned, and James knew that he must follow. As they walked up the stairs, James could not help but feel suspicious. By their attitude, it seemed he had been discussed in length outside his presence. Perhaps this had been building for days, weeks maybe. And he had a feeling that whatever topic awaited him was not one he would like.

As they reached the door to their dormitory, Sirius paused with his hand on the handle. He met eyes with his best friend, looking apologetic. Then, he turned and opened the door.

The four boys filed into the room, and James lingering by the door, if only to prolong this most ominous gathering. A chair was already in place at the centre of the dorm. As the apparent subject of this meeting, James inferred he was to sit in it. He took his place on the uncomfortable seat, looking at his mates, silently asking questions. It seemed no one wanted to be the one to answer. Finally, it was Sirius who spoke first.

"Marauder Meeting in session," he muttered, as was the formality. Sirius sighed and began to speak reluctantly. "Prongs, the lads and I have been talking. About you, and Evans."

Lily Evans, in their year and house, a prefect along with Remus, was the object of James's affection. He took it upon himself to spend the first few years of their time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry infuriating her to no end. Whether it was by tripping her as she walked to her desk, mocking the way she was so eager to answer questions, or teasing her about her brilliantly red hair, he was a constant source of annoyance. But a thirteen-year-old James soon grew love-struck, and began to pester her about something else: going to Hogsmeade with him.

After a first failed attempt of blurting it out after hexing her then friend, Severus Snape, James did not give up. In fact, he still asked her for the time of day, four years later. While it may have been a game of sorts in childhood, he'd grown to truly care for her, having genuine feelings. He remembered his realization at the end of the previous year, after she'd called him an 'Arrogant Toerag', thereby truly making him hate who he was at that moment. Sodding hell, I'm in love with her, aren't I, he'd thought. It was a most horrific realization, but one he had taken to heart, and pursued her with renewed vigor.

And so, at the other Sixth Year's declaration, he grew even more wary. "What about me and Evans?" he asked carefully.

"We think it's about time you considered... moving on," Sirius responded in the same manner.

James was in disbelief. "You're joking," he said, shaking his head. "You have to be joking. Because I know that you, you three, of all people, are not making me sit here to tell me I should be deciding what to feel or not. You know as bloody well as I do that I've tried. Merlin, I caused a good amount of nice girls to hate me in fifth year because of trying. It's not exactly something thing I have a choice or not,"

Peter sighed, hesitantly speaking as well. "We know, Prongs, but-"

"No, that's the thing, I don't think you do!" interjected the Gryffindor, incensed. He felt ambushed. He stood, knocking the chair over as he did. "If you knew for a single second a fraction of how much I've tried, then you wouldn't even have thought of doing this. You think I want to feel what I do? To constantly be thinking of someone who's disgusted by me? Someone who is so... opposite of me, and everything I'm supposed to want? Believe me, if I had a fucking choice in who I wanted, it wouldn't be her."

Sirius slammed his fist against his bed post. "Then try harder! You're not the one who has to see your face every time she says no. For the first bit, it was alright. You would ask her to Hogsmeade to tease her, she'd get hacked off at you, you'd laugh and that would be it. But looking at you now, when you two get into it, there's rarely a time I've seen you as... destroyed, as she can make you. You can take shit better than almost anyone I know, but when it comes to her, it kills you, and we're sick of watching it!"

"Then look away, damn it!" responded James furiously. "Who are you to tell me that I haven't tried hard enough?"

"I'm supposed to be your best mate," Sirius countered with narrowed eyes.

James nodded, mirroring the other's expression. "Yeah, Padfoot, you're supposed to be. That's why it's ridiculous to be hearing this from you. I have been told what to do with my life ever since the day I was born. How to speak, how to stand, how to walk, how to breathe. I've had it drilled into my head that I am not responsible enough to make my own decisions. Well, I'm going to. What I do regarding Lily Evans is my decision."

"It's your mistake," cut in Sirius, balling his fists as if preparing to strike.

"Let it be my mistake then!" James shouted.

Remus took a less agressive approach. He spoke in a low voice. "Have you ever looked at yourself after one of your arguments with her? Not over something stupid, but when she truly tells you something that strikes a chord with you. The day after OWLs in fifth year, I know you had another argument after the one by the lake... You came back to the dorm in the middle of the night, looking absolutely exhausted. You don't know how little you talked that week. You blew it off at first, but whenever people weren't asking you direct questions, or you thought no one was paying attention... It was like someone had died. And while it may not be as bad as then, when something happens between you two, we can still see that."

James could not meet eyes with the werewolf, because it was much easier to be angry than to face the boy across from him, who'd dealt with too much in his life already. He tried to bring back the resentment he had previously held. "Contrary to the belief of you and my parents, I am not a child. I can handle some girl telling me she doesn't fancy me. I don't need to be looked after like a toddler, and I would appreciate you not treating me as such." he said coldly.

"For Merlin's sake, we're not treating you like a child!" Sirius burst out. He was angry, but no more so than the person to whom he spoke. "And we all know bloody well she's more than just 'some girl saying she doesn't fancy you' to you. Stop attacking him for trying to get you to see why she's not good for you anymore."

James laughed mirthlessly. "Attacking him?" he echoed. "Irony clearly isn't your strong suit, Sirius. And as for not her not being good for me anymore, when was she ever good for me? We're completely wrong for each other, and I should probably hate her. I want to. But I don't, and I can't stop feeling, and I'm absolutely sick of the words 'You shouldn't.' Because I don't give a damn whether I shouldn't or not, because what I feel for her is not going to change, no matter how much I try."

Sirius snorted in disbelief. "You're seventeen, Prongs, you're hardly at the last stretch of your life. There's plenty of time to meet other people outside the walls of Hogwarts."

James pulled at his hair, wanting to tear it out in frustration. He wanted to punch something, preferably Sirius. It seemed at this point that they would not understand, no matter how much he repeated the same words, over and over. They would not believe in this, because they could not see why he cared. Why he could not let go of his stupid schoolboy crush. Why he felt so much for a girl, at seventeen. Why he could not look at another female and feel anything, because who he was, it was already connected so much to who she was. Though these friends were as much brothers as those bonded by blood, they were, for once, blind when it came to his heart.

"Yes, Padfoot I am seventeen. And next year will be eighteen, then nineteen, then twenty. I will leave Hogwarts, and get a job, fight in this war and meet people outside of this... home, we've come to know. But this... whatever it is, is a part of me, and as much as you doubt it I think it will stay with me for a long while. If I can't get her to see who I am now, here, what chance to do I have out there, where she will meet others as well, and have the same opinion of me? As much as you think my feelings hurt me, her feelings can hurt me a thousand times more."

"What if she does meet someone, James?" Sirius asked calculatingly. "What if she meets another bloke and falls in love with him, hm? She very well might. She could date him, and marry him, have kids with him. Then what will have been the point of all this? If you keep going at it the way you two are, you'll just end up bloody angry at the world for the rest of your life, hung up over a bird who couldn't give a shit about you!"

James sneered. "Really, Sirius? Angry at the world? That's a bit rich coming from you, someone who seems hell-bent on hating anything that reminds him slightly of his family because he's afraid that everyone thinks he's going to turn out like them." He knew he was hitting below the belt, but at this point, so was Sirius and he was too enraged to care.

"You shut up." Sirius growled, moving forward. "You need to let her go, because at this point I think she'd rather fuck Snivellus than even look twice at-"

James swung at him, but he dodged it. James grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the wall. "The point is her," he hissed, before pushing Sirius away. He stalked towards the door.

"The Code," he heard Peter mutter. "Number seven in the Code: No girl is ever allowed to come between the Marauders," he said quietly. It was not the time or place to bring up old traditions, but it was clearly the small boy's last resort to restore some peace.

James moved slowly to glance at Peter, and then asked him, "Do I look like I give a fuck about the Code right now? Meeting adjourned." James turned and left the dormitory without looking back. He heard a faint call of, 'Prongs!' but he ignored it.

He practically flew down the steps in his haste to get away. The Common Room was quite full, many students having returned from dinner, and the desire to get out of there overwhelmed James. He made no eye contact with anyone who sat amongst the crowd and climbed out of the portrait hole.

He went through corridor after corridor, until he found at last one that was empty of both people and classrooms. The anger that had flowed through him when talking to Sirius had not dissipated. He swung at the wall, seeing no other outlet for his rage. Pain seared through his hand, but at least it was a distraction from what he had just experienced. He turned his back to the wall and let himself slide against it until he was on the ground. He cradled the hand that was throbbing soundly with his other one.

James banged his head against the wall behind him, hoping to silence the sound of his friends' words echoing through his head. To silence the sound of his parents and their constant acts, pretending everything was fine when James could hear them screaming just seconds before. To silence Lily Evans and her much too easily uttered insults.

Just then, he heard the voice he wanted to hear least. "What are you doing, Potter?" asked a voice that was unmistakably, Lily Evans.

"Practicing Divination," James answered sardonically, repeating his actions over again. "I'm hoping if I beat my head against the wall enough, I'll develop The Sight."

She did not laugh. He did not expect her to. Though he wouldn't make eye contact, he assumed by the lack of footsteps that she wasn't leaving. "Are you- are you bleeding?" she questioned incredulously. She crouched down by the spot where he sat.

James paused at her question. He watched blood drip down his knuckles, presumably because of his hit to the wall. He saw several drops hit the floor, vaguely fascinated. He laughed hollowly. "I suppose I am," he replied, making no movement to do anything about the fact.

"What the hell happened to you? It looks broken. Really Potter, throwing punches isn't the way to deal with problems." Lily reprimanded sharply. She reached out to examine his hand. Even her light touch caused the already twinging appendage to throb anew. Her fingers had blood on them as they continued to prod away.

He looked at her then. Seeing her at that moment, after all that had gone on between him and his friends, he swore he hated her. Oh, he still loved her, undeniably so, but right then he hated her just as much. "Because you're such an expert on conflict resolution," James said with contempt. He jerked his hand out her reach, his hand stinging more as he did so.

"Don't take whatever fight you had out on me, Potter. I've got nothing to do with it." she said irritably. "You've gone and broken it. You ought to to see Madame Pomfrey."

James disregarded her last words. He'd had much worse from full moons; he knew how to heal broken bones by now. What really caused his temper to flare was her other statement. She thought she had nothing to do with it? It was because of her, this stupid girl with so much power over him, that the wall he had broken his hand on was almost his dorm-mate's face. He looked at her scathingly. "I am not in the mood to deal with you, Evans."

Lily drew her wand. Momentarily he thought she planned to hex him, and in reaction drew his with his left hand, due his right's incapacitation. She did not, and instead set to work about healing his hand. Evidently, she thought he was too livid to heed her advice. Her act did not improve her demeanour, or mean she felt any sympathy towards him however, because she continued to argue with him either way. "Not in the mood to deal with me? Bit hypocritical to say that to me when you yourself never accept it from others,"

"Piss off," he snarled, once again moving his hand out her reach. As she spoke, she was performing a spell to numb his hand, and so as he changed his position, her spell went off course and hit his leg. He lost all feeling in his limb. "What's wrong with my leg?" demanded James.

"Now look what you've done!" Lily said.

James was in disbelief. "What I've done? You're the one who was healing me without asking, and then sent a spell at my leg!" Wand stowed away, he prodded his leg, but felt nothing.

"Oh, Potter, you're right as always. I am the foulest person for trying to heal someone's broken hand. They should have separate cells in Azkaban for people like me," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She reversed the spell, and grabbed his still bleeding hand. "How did you manage to break it this badly anyway?" she inquired disinterestedly as she conjured a rag to wipe off the blood.

"I punched a Slytherin in the noggin. Turns out their skulls really are that thick." James replied smoothly. Having learned his lesson about moving his hand too quickly, he waited until she was done cleaning it to pull away from her. The wounds had not closed, and so he still bled, but he paid it no heed. He stood. "I appreciate the... help, but I'm fine, Evans. I can manage from here."

She stood and folded her arms. "Why don't I believe that?" she asked with raised eyebrows.

"No, really, it's as if you're swinging at a brick wall,"

Lily pursed her lips, not amused. "Not that, Potter. Though come to mention it, I doubt the credibility of that as well. What I mean is, that you're not fine. You're clearly injured, it's your wand arm, and something tells me that you're not going to head to the Hospital Wing after leaving. As lovely as a colour as the floor will be after you bleed out in the corridor, I won't be the one who bears witness to it."

James rolled his eyes. "It barely hurts," he lied. Marauders don't display pain, thought James, gritting his teeth At her doubtful look, he continued. "Nice that you're concerned for the cleanliness of our halls, but it's alright. I can handle healing cuts and broken bones. I've had much worse; this is hardly a scratch on the whole." He started to turn his back to her.

"Liar." the redhead scoffed, stepping in front of him. "You wince every time you move, Potter. Put your pride aside and let me heal you!" Lily insisted, grabbing his hand again.

James hissed as pain shot through him. She looked apologetic, though no words of the sort left her mouth. He yanked his hand out of her reach, ignoring the pain and grabbed her shoulder with his good hand. "This isn't about pride, Evans, this is about getting away from you before I do something I regret. I wasn't joking earlier, I am not in the mood for this so I'd appreciate you leaving me the hell alone." James whispered harshly in her face. He was completely on edge and held on to her shoulder so tightly he must have been hurting her.

If it did indeed hurt, she did not show it. Lily held her ground as she stared him straight in the eyes. "You are the most prideful person I know," she began slowly, gaze not wavering. "So forgive me if I think the fact that you're not taking your yet to be explained broken hand to a Healer might be a matter of your being ashamed you lost a fight. I am not a part of whatever situation you got yourself into, and I refuse to stand here why you take it out on me. Let me go,"

James loosened his grip, but did not remove it from her. "Awfully presumptuous tonight, aren't you, Evans?"

Her green eyes narrowed. "Meaning?" she inquired.

James moved closer and spoke lowly. His face was quite close to hers, it was a feat that she managed not to cross her eyes at the distance. "You keep telling me I lost a fight, and that you had nothing to do with it. Who's to say you didn't, hm? Perhaps your name was mentioned, and perhaps there wasn't any winner to whatever row I got in. Maybe my broken hand has nothing to do with my fight, and came from separate events altogether. Presumptuous," he repeated.

Lily's face was flushed, most likely from anger. "Doubtful," she began, adjusting her position as to put more distance between them. He held back a smirk at this. "It's possible I am presumptuous, but I'm not stupid. You were part of some sort of altercation, anyone can tell that by your face alone. Whether or not I had anything to do with it, I cannot control my name being brought up, and just because I am mentioned does not mean I am the cause. As for your broken hand, I couldn't care less, unless I'll soon have a dead body to explain to Dumbledore." She shrugged unaffectedly, though this contrasted greatly with her previous mannerisms.

"Evans," he whispered with a quiet but unkind laugh, "What would you say if I told you that you have everything to do with it? That you might be the, root of the problem, as they say?" James knew he was leading her down a dangerous path of conversation, but he could not stop himself from continuing. He privately acknowledged he never seemed to have any control of his actions around her.

"How so?" she asked with a raised brow.

He bent so he was speaking into her ear. "If it wasn't for you..." he started venomously, and then paused. He tried to calm his tone of voice, breathing for a moment. "If it wasn't for you, things would be different. I would be able to look at other girls and have genuine feelings for them. I would be able to date someone, and just enjoy being with them. I wouldn't get in a row and have to defend my irrational decision of whom to care for, while trying to get it through their skulls that it's not actually my choice. I wouldn't punch a bleeding wall while wishing it was my best mate's face, I wouldn't hate Severus Snape half as much as I do, and most of all I would be able to hate you," James finished, pulling back slightly.

"That is completely unfair," Lily argued, shaking her head. She made sure she could look at him, but as she did, her face held no anger. "I don't have a choice in this, and I can't be blamed for the consequences. There are times when I thought I hated you. After you'd bullied Severus, or asked me out, or pulled some idiotic stunt. But I can't, because while the latter still goes on... I know you're changing. And I can't blame you for who you were, just as you can't blame me for being who I am. I apologize for the trouble any feelings you have might have caused you, but it is not my fault."

James softened, the anger subsiding. He let go of her and sighed, ruffling his hair. "I'm aware that it's not your fault. I just... want people, including you, to be aware that it's not mine either,"

Lily looked him over for a minute, debating something or the other. Finally, she seemed to settle on a decision. "How would you feel... about becoming friends? Not dating, mind you, but would you be alright with being mates with me? I understand if you don't, I just think it would be good... for you and me, if we were to get along somewhat. You don't have to,"

James froze where he stood. They'd had their civil moments, days in which they did not scream and fight with each other. The two shared a circle of friends for the most part, as well as had similar schedules, it was impossible not to interact outside of their altercations. They got on quite decently for who they were on those occasions. But neither attempted to strike up any sort of friendship. He seriously considered this offer of hers. James wondered whether he would be able to handle it, being with her, but not being with her. After thinking about what had gone on, he nodded, because being her mate was so much better than being nothing to her. "I want to," he said breaking the silence that had fallen.

She relaxed, the tension which plagued her during her question leaving her. "Good." she said. Then she turned her attention to his injury. "As your new mate, I demand you take yourself to the hospital wing to get that hand healed. Honestly, punching a wall!"

He let out a small but genuine chuckle. "I meant what I said earlier. I can heal it myself, I swear, I've had worse." With his words, he pulled out his wand, and began to heal his throbbing knuckles. Admittedly, it stung as the bones snapped back into place, but he'd had times when Remus -unknowingly of course- had completely shattered bones and tore ligaments and this feeling wasn't nearly as bad. Though these thoughts comforted him, he could not hold back a grimace and laboured breathing as the pain shot through him.

Lily watched his actions. After the process was completed, she prodded his hand. "You heal very well," she commented with a furrowed brow.

"Thanks. Quidditch, you know," he said, though they were both aware that any injuries on the Quidditch pitch were almost always taken straight to the matron. He cleared his throat, looking at his watch. "We should be heading back to Gryffindor Tower, curfew is soon. Now, I know you're a right troublemaker, Evans, but I would rather not associate myself with nefarious behaviour." claimed James in a haughty tone.

Lily laughed, and looked surprised at herself for doing so. "I'll attempt to keep my nefarious attitude to myself, Potter."

And the two walked to their tower, engrossed in their own thoughts. As they entered the Common Room, James began to ask her questions. About her life, her family, her friends, anything that came to mind. She in turn did the same. They received odd looks from those lingering in the area, but continued to shoot inquires at each other. In the early hours of the morning, the two fell asleep on the warm sofa James had found himself sitting in earlier the very evening.

When he awoke, he found many faces surrounding them. Among those people, were Sirius, Remus and Peter. "You're on trial tomorrow, you know," the former said in a low voice, with a slight grin.

"Bugger," replied James, but he did not take his eyes off the female next to him. She stirred and looked at him with bleary eyes, and though the issues when it came to this girl -this woman- were far from over, he could not bring himself to regret his decisions.

He wasn't the first to break the code, nor would he be the last.