Rap. Rap.

Lily moaned, and with an effort, managed to pull her heavy down pillow over her face, preventing the air from being breathed in. She could feel her face flushing from the lack of oxygen, and the air under the pillow was hot and steamy.

Lily was at her new flat in London, and she liked it very much. However, the subtle disturbances such as neighbors welcoming you to the vicinity with assortments of sweets and pies at seven o'clock in the morning was not exactly coded into the kind gesture which the people were trying to produce, by Lily.

Rap. Rap. Rap.

Lily lifted her head from under the pillow. She didn't even open her eyes, which she knew would be bloodshot. Instead of getting up, she dove headfirst under the covers, shivering in her pyjamas.

Rap. Rap. Rap. Rap. Rap.

"Oh, piss off!" She heard herself growl.

RAP. RAP. RAP. RAP. RAP. RAP. RAP. RAP. RAP.

"FINE!" Lily yelled. She pulled off her blankets. Her eyes still stung when she opened them, and when her focus became clear, she saw an owl at her windowpane.

She opened the window slowly, mustering all of her strength. The owl flocked in towards Lily's owl's cage.
 
Lily opened her own owl's cage and let the two birds mingle, drink from the water dish, and eat some of Lily's owl's pellets.

"Wait! I need my letter first!" she realized.

Lily pulled the letter off the brown owl's leg. It looked like a school owl, and it came with a package and a letter.

Lily sat down on her bed. She opened the Hogwarts package, and out fell two envelopes. Enclosed in one envelope was two pieces of paper - just the list of necessary appliances and another sheet of paper.

Dear Miss Evans,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been chosen
as the Head Girl for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and
Wizardry.

Congratulations!

However, with this privilege you have a great responsibility. Any foolishness and more than three detentions will automatically forfeit your badge unless you have an arrangement with the Headmaster or Head of House.

If you feel unable to accept this responsibility, please let the Deputy Headmistress know.

Enclosed is a badge for your position. Please wear it over your school robes.

You will be working alongside James Potter and will be patrolling the corridors weekly. Please act respectively.

You will receive a list of passwords when you get to school.

Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall

"James Potter," Lily snarled.

xOx

Lily threw away the envelope for the letter and poured more food into Agrippa's dish.

There was a clank and a swear word coming from the other room, and Lily peeked her head out of the door to see who it was. There, sitting at her counter,
making himself a cup of coffee was…

"Potter," Lily muttered.

What in Merlin's name is James Potter doing in my home? Is he stalking me?

Remain calm, Lily. Brace yourself, she thought.

Lily opened her wardrobe and pulled out a pair of Muggle jeans, some undergarments and a green shirt.

Pocketing the other envelope, she thundered into the kitchen.

"Lily," James Potter greeted warmly as Lily came in.

"Pot - James," she acknowledged with a stale tone, still utterly confused on what he was doing in her kitchen.

James was sitting at Lily's kitchen counter, drinking some coffee. "I had a spare key - I didn't break in," he assured her.

James was in a red jumper and his hair didn't look as messy as it normally did. His glasses looked new, and his eyes were sparkling. His lips - was Lily looking
at Potter's lips?!

Oh God, what has gotten into me?! Lily wondered.

She grabbed a bowl and box of corn flakes and poured the cereal absent-mindedly into the bowl.

"So - er - what are you doing here?" Lily asked James uncertainly.

James looked confused. "Didn't you get your letter?"

Lily frowned. "What letter?"

"With your Head Girl badge? Wasn't there another letter?" James asked skeptically.

"Oh!" Lily said immediately, everything clicking into place. "Right!"

She pulled the envelope from her pocket. She opened it on the counter, as it felt a lot heavier than she had recollected. Out fell a letter and a silvery chain necklace with some words in a language she didn't understand on the back.

Dear Lily,

Do not lose this locket.

I need your assistance with something very serious. What we will be doing is very risky, however it is crucial to your entire life.

I believe you passed your Apparition test. You will Apparate to the Muggle record shop, right next to that large pub in the middle of London with your school supplies today at twelve o'clock in the afternoon.

Bring your owl.

Mr. Potter will accompany you. Expect him at your residence at ten thirty in the morning.

I will explain everything later.

See you this evening.

"This doesn't make any sense!" Lily exclaimed.

"I know, mine doesn’t either," James said, frowning.

Lily put the box of corn flakes away and grabbed the milk. "And it doesn't say who it's from! Who is it From?"

"Dumbledore." James smiled as he put the milk back into the fridge.

Lily poured herself a cup of coffee and grabbed a spoon.

"Anyway, Lily," James said, watching Lily eat with a look of sheer amusement on his face, "how has your summer been?"

An hour passed quickly with James. He had ended up to be funny, smart, kind and very empathetic beneath his evident layers of arrogance.

James caught sight of the large plastic clock behind Lily. "Oh, crap! Lily - we have to leave in a half hour," he told her.

Lily stood up abruptly. "I'll be right back!"

xOx

Thanks to the fact that Lily was of the proper age now and could do magic outside of school, she was packed up and ready to go in ten minutes. She took a quick shower and changed into some other clothes, with still five minutes to go.

She came back downstairs to see James watching the Muggle television with a look of utter fascination. She giggled as James turned to look at her and unsuccessfully tried to turn the set off. Lily grabbed the remote and turned pressed the power button.

Magically drying her hair, Lily conjured her trunk into the room. She ran back to her room, grabbed Agrippa's cage, and brought it into the living room.

James met her there and gave her the necklace that she had left on the counter.

"Ready?"

"Ready," Lily said.

James grabbed his and Lily's things and the trunks and owl cages vanished.

And with a crack, Lily and James Apparated to the Muggle store.

"Ah, Lily! James! Pleasure seeing you again."

Albus Dumbledore was standing in front of the record shop. He was standing there with waist-length hair, magenta robes and long leather boots, looking gleeful, and he was smiling warmly, looking at Lily and James with intense liking.

Behind him was a man with elegant black hair and grey eyes. He was grinning and looking confused at the same time.

Dumbledore ushered Lily, James and the other man into the record shop. In the back was a door that Lily, who had been there before, had never seen.

They stepped into the door and found themselves in some sort of garden.

"You are wondering what you all are doing here?" Dumbledore asked finally.

The three others nodded.

"Let me explain."
_________________________

A/N: Dun dun dun! And the plot thickens!

This was just a little plot bunny that hopped into my head.

While you're waiting for updates, please go check out my other story, An Unclear Past - updates are coming soon to that one too.

Also, please review with some positive feedback - even a little "great job - update soon" would be nice.

"Do sit down," Dumbledore told the three. He quickly clambered up a tree to the highest branch. "I've had a bit too much coffee," he explained from up above.

Refraining from laughing, Lily sat down on a clean rock, as the grey-eyed man and James argued over who got to sit on what looked like a large mushroom.

"Get a grip, will you?" Lily barked.

James blushed and sat down as the other man sat on his lap.

"Ooh, Prongsie, Evans is angry!" The man said playfully.

"Sirius!" James said sharply. Then he added, "She's just finding a different way to express her feelings. I read about it. In a book."

"I can't believe I'll have to co-Head with you this year! I can't stand you!" Lily spat.

James grinned. "I like 'em feisty." Sirius giggled.

"Anyway," said Dumbledore, sliding down from the tree and looking very amused, "Lily, you have your locket, I presume?"

Lily looked at Dumbledore, her expression puzzled. "What? Oh," she said quickly, reaching into her pocket. She pulled out the brilliant chain and handed it to Dumbledore.

"What's that?" Sirius asked, eyeing it intently.

"The key to Harry Potter's future," Dumbledore said, reaching for something else in his pocket.

"Who's that? I don't know anyone in my family named Harry. Or wait-- my great-uncle's name was Harry. I loved that uncle. He bought me-- " James ranted.

Three pairs of eyes turned to look at him. "What? He bought me my first broomstick. I owe my life to that man, if only he hadn't died."

"No, James. By Harry Potter, I mean your son," Dumbledore said calmly, still searching in his pocket.

James yelped and jumped off the mushroom, Sirius tumbling off his lap. "My son? Who did I - I swear, I've never - what are you suggesting?"

Dumbledore pulled a piece of paper and a tiny jar out of his pocket. "Oh, no. No, your future son."

"How do you…?"

"I received a Patronus from myself from the future," Dumbledore said. "But let's not get into that now."

Sirius, Lily, and James looked very befuddled. Sirius sat back down and James squeezed next to him.

"Anyway," Dumbledore said. "Your son, Harry James Potter, son to Lily and James Potter - "

"I had a son with Potter? You've got to be joking!" Lily screamed.

Sirius nudged James with a wink and James suddenly looked very delighted.

"Yes, well, people change," Dumbledore said calmly. "In any case," he went on, flicking his wand at the three of them, "I am putting Silencing Charms on all of
you as to not be interrupted again."

Sirius opened his mouth to protest, but nothing came out. Slumping back into the mushroom, he scowled at the professor.

Dumbledore folded his hands neatly. "Now, we do not have time for me to tell you the details of your future."

"However," he continued, "I will tell you all you need to know right now, which is all that my future self has told me."

"Lily and James, your son, Harry, is in grave danger. He needs his parents' and godfather's help --yes, Sirius, you are his godfather --to hunt down the clues
on defeating Voldemort.

"However," Dumbledore resumed, "you are all apparently deceased. I'm sorry to have to tell you all that the three of you die very young. Harry has no guidance, as I cannot help him on his mission, and he has no one else to assist him, other than his friends.

"So Harry needs your help," he said. "I have arranged simple way of transportation by means of this locket. If any of you cannot or will not go to the future to help Harry Potter, raise your hand," Dumbledore said.

No one stirred.

"Very well, then," Dumbledore said, a smile on his face. "I will give you false names and disguises in the future, as Harry knows what you all looked like.”

"Also, you will not remember any of this. I will take it out of your memories because it affects your entire future. So do not get too used to living in the
future. I will ask again, are you sure you are willing to do this?"

Everyone nodded.

"Excellent. Lily, put this necklace on," Dumbledore instructed. Lily took the chain back and placed it on her neck quickly.

"Sirius, take this vial." Sirius took the tiny bottle out of the professor's hand.

"And James, take this paper."

Dumbledore smiled. "James, take two sips of the potion. Lily, take three. Sirius take one. Make sure there is enough."

The three did as instructed. "Now, James, I have taken the Silencing Charm off of you. I want you to read that out loud.

James read a group of words that no one could understand off the piece of paper.

"Good. Lily, give the necklace to James. James, put it on. Now, take it off. Sirius, put it on. That's right. Now, it has expanded," Dumbledore instructed. He removed the silencing charm. "Place it around all of your necks. Now, I want you each to take one last sip of the potion and say 'one nine nine seven.'"

"One nine nine seven," the three chorused, very confused.

"Your things have already been transported. Good luck," Dumbledore said. "See you in twenty years."

Everything began swirling in front of Lily. For what seemed like hours, she swam through an orange tunnel. Finally, there was a flicker of blue flames, and they landed in a more up-to-date version of Dumbledore's office.

"Ah! James! Lily! Sirius! What a pleasure. I have missed you over the past few years."

In front of them was Dumbledore, however he was a bit older and had a kind expression on his face and looked a bit more wrinkled.

"Professor," Lily said, taking the necklace off.

"Mrs. Potter-- I mean, Miss Evans," Dumbledore said to Lily happily. "You are now in the year 1997, your son's seventh year here at Hogwarts. You have been moved nineteen years and three hundred sixty three days into the future. Harry and I have been searching for Horcruxes, which are fragments of Voldemort's soul hidden in objects.

"Harry and I have found and destroyed a few of them, however we are still searching for more. You are here to help his friends and him in their search.

"Harry is aware of what the four of you look like. A dear friend of mine, Nymphadora Lupin, has - "

"Nymphadora Lupin, did you say? Remus' wife?" James blurted.

"Yes, Nymphadora Tonks married Remus Lupin last--"

"Wait, Andromeda's daughter? Whoa, never saw that one coming!" Sirius blabbed.

"Yes, indeed. Anyway, Nymphadora is a Metamorphagus, and she willingly gave me three drops of blood to enable you three to change your appearances. I made a simple concoction for you three that very few are aware exist."

Dumbledore charmed three goblets to whiz over to each of them.

They each drank in turn. Sirius’s hair changed to a chestnut brown and his eyes to a light blue. James turned blonde with deep green eyes like Lily's, and Lily’s hair changed to black and her eyes to brown.

"Good. You have each been given false names. Lily, you are Vivian Taylor. James, you are Terrance Smith, and Sirius, you are Garrett White. Any problems?"

"Erm, I'm not too fond of Terrance," James admitted.

"And I don't fancy Vivian."

"Very well. Erin and Colin? No, wait, there is a Colin here. How about Conner?"

James shrugged. "I guess."

"Alright," Lily said.

"Good. You will be in Gryffindor, presumably. Do not tell anyone your real identities. Come up with false ones. Now, I have to get together with the Minister to tell him about a recent brand of candy I've found I'm rather fond of."

And with a wave, the trio walked down the stairs.

oXo

As they made way from Dumbledore's office, James saw a brown-haired girl and a redheaded boy about their age walking along the corridor, chatting softly.

"Oh, er, excuse me!" James called to them.

The redhead whipped around as the girl turned slowly.

"Er, hi, er, what're your names?" James asked the two of them slowly.

"Oh, I'm Ron. Ron Weasley," the boy said.

"I'm Hermione Granger."

"Do you know a Harry Potter?" Sirius asked roughly.

"I think you should be asking if we know the Harry Potter," Hermione said playfully.

James and Sirius exchanged glances.

"Do you happen to be friends of Harry Potter, then?" Lily asked carefully.

Hermione giggled as Ron clamped his hand over his mouth.

James frowned. "Oh, er, sorry, don't mean to put you on the spot or anything, it's just -"

"No, no. It's not that. We're not his friends. We're his best friends," Ron
boasted.

Hermione slapped him. "Sorry about him, he's quite thick," she apologized. "Did you need to see Harry about something? We were just on our way back to the Common Room...Wait, you don't look familiar. Are you lost? I'm Head Girl. Where do you need to be?" Hermione pointed at a shimmering badge on her chest.

"Oh, erm, we're transfer students," Lily lied. "We're seventh years. Dumbledore had a special, er relationship with our old Headm - "

"They had a thing, you know?" Sirius said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Er - right," Ron said. "Where are you coming from?"

"It's a very private school in Spain," James said quickly. "But it's a British school - although we did speak a bit of Spanish there, too."

"Si, Señor," added Sirius for a fuller effect.

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "I see, then. What house have you been sorted into?"

"Gryffindor," Lily said immediately. "We've been sorted into Gryffindor."     

"I see. What are you doing out of bed?" Hermione prompted.

Sirius handed Hermione a sheet of paper. "We've got an excuse."

I, Albus Dumbledore, permit Conner Smith, Erin Taylor and Garrett White to be wandering the corridors on the 1st of September, 1997. If my Head Boy or Girl see this note, please take them to the Gryffindor Common Room and give them the password.                 
                                                     
"Ah. Well, follow me, then," Hermione said. She walked quickly down the corridor. The four others practically ran to catch up.

"Password?" The Fat Lady asked, a cup full of brandy in her hand.

"Clabbert," Hermione said loudly.

With that, the portrait hole swung open to reveal a whole new side of the magical world that James, Sirius, and Lily had yet to discover.
_______________________

A/N: I did like this chapter, but it was slow writing. The next ones I'm going to run through really quickly.

But please check out my other fic, An Unclear Past! Perrrrty please?

And REVIEW!

Seven reviews got me psyched and able to write this in a day and a half. For those who added me but didn't review...I would love to know the five w's and one h - WHY you added this to your favorites, WHERE you want to see this going, WHAT you want to happen, WHO you want to meet, WHEN did you start really enjoying the story and HOW did you find out about MTC?

Please take the time to fill out those questions. Not thoroughly, if you don't want.

Thanks! Keep reading, I'll keep writing!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Lily, James, or Sirius. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this. I would be interviewing them in my bedroom with my official-looking clipboard and business suit, treating them like little bunny rabbits and giving them carrots every time their answers interest me.
_________________________________

"Hermione! Ron? Where were you?"

Hermione, Ron, James, Lily, and Sirius turned around when they heard someone's voice.

There stood a boy with black, messy hair and glasses who looked remarkably like James. He was within an inch of James’s height, and his eyes looked remarkably like Lily's.

"Harry," Lily muttered, gawking at her son.

Harry noticed the three standing there. "Er, hi."

"Hello," Lily greeted him.

"I'm Harry. Harry Potter," he introduced himself, shaking Lily, Sirius and James' hands in turn.

He has a nice, firm grip, James thought proudly, grinning.

"Sorry, er, who are you?" Harry asked politely, eyeing Ron and Hermione with confusion.

"I'm J - Conner. Conner Smith," James said. "And this is Erin Taylor, and that's Garrett White."

"They're transfer students from a private school in Spain," Ron told Harry.

Harry nodded slowly. "Pleasure meeting you all."

There was an awkward silence.

Harry said finally, "Well, Ron, Hermione, we have to talk about the....horses. You know. Horses," he said, raising his eyebrows. With a wave, he walked over to the fire and slumped into a chair.

"Right! Well, if you need anything, I'll be right over there. Your stuff should be up in the seventh year girls' and boys' dormitory which are right up the
stairs. You should be able to figure out which is which," Hermione said helpfully. With that, she departed to sit next to Harry by the dancing flames in the fireplace.

"Yeah, listen," Ron said. "You lot haven't eaten dinner, right?" The three shook their heads. "Erm, Hermione, Harry, and I can take you down to the kitchens," he offered.

"Thank you," Lily said.

Ron went to talk to Hermione and Harry. Harry and the two others started talking quickly, occasionally glancing at Lily, James, and Sirius.

"They were nice," Lily said.

"Uh-huh." James hadn't been listening.

Lily rolled her eyes. There was no point in talking to James.

The trio explored all around the room, seeing what had changed and stayed the same until Lily announced she had to use the toilet.

Watching Lily walk away, James went back to inspecting his son. Harry was looking upset. In anger, he grabbed his hair and pulled up his fringe, revealing his forehead.

And it was then that James noticed it.

"Sirius - look! Harry has a scar on his forehead," he whispered.

Sirius peeked over at the fireplace casually. There, on Harry's forehead was a clearly marked lightning-shaped scar.

"Wicked!" Sirius whispered, clearly in awe.

James was proud. "I know!"

"I wonder how he got that?"

"I dunno. We should ask," James said slyly.

"Po - Conner! Garrett!" Lily was rushing to them. "I found a bunch of writing in a cubicle in the bathroom. Some of it said things about Harry - and Voldemort!'"

"Well that's no surprise. Maybe he's as popular as I was," James said earnestly.

"He is a bit good-looking," Sirius said. “But not as much as me, of course.”

"You idiots! That's not the point! Voldemort, you idiots! That powerful dark wizard!"

"Oh yeah," James said stupidly.

Sirius frowned. "I still think he’s a bit of a looker."

"Oh, shut up! You're so conceited!" Lily snapped.

"What's wrong, Eva- Erin? Need to talk about it?" Sirius snarled.

"I'm not feeling well, that’s all!" Lily grunted. "I just went - " She realized she had raised her voice. "I just went about twenty years forward in time. You think I'd be in proper health?"

"Awwww, come on, Erin, you know you can talk about it with us," Sirius cooed.

Lily raised an eyebrow, becoming thoroughly annoyed. "What are you going on about?"

"You know - the time of the month thing. But it's okay! We're big boys, remember? We can talk about it if you need us to - "

"When it's Remus' 'time of the month', we're always quite supportive," James added.

"Excuse me?"

Sirius nudged James in the ribs.

"Anyway," Sirius continued, "We're here if you need to talk about your... er... bodily -"

"Shut UP!" Lily barked.

Slapping Sirius with all the strength she could muster, Lily turned and ran towards the girls' dormitories.

"Oi, er - Erin!"

Lily turned around to see Harry standing there. "Oh, hello, Harry!" she said.

"I was, er, just wondering what was wrong," he asked kindly.

Lily smiled. Her son was so sweet. "I'm fine dar - er, Harry," she said quickly. "Those guys - Conner and, er, Garrett - are insolent blokes."

"I figured," Harry teased. He laughed. "Listen, I dunno if Ron and Hermione told you, but we're getting hungry - we skipped dinner, and in about twenty minutes, my friends and I will take you down to the kitchens for dinner - if you want."

"Thank you! That'd be nice," Lily said, smiling at her son's offer.

Harry grinned. "I've got to go talk to those first years over there."

"Alright. I'll see you in a bit, then."

"Bye." Harry smiled warmly.

Lily sighed. Why couldn't Harry's father be more like that?

oXo

Twenty minutes later, Lily was ready to go to the kitchens in a some Muggle jeans and a pink top she hadn't been able to wear before due to her previously fiery red hair. She pulled on some black school robes and made her way down stairs.

"Hello, Erin."

Harry was looking at Lily with the same smile that he had flashed her earlier dancing on his lips.

"Harry," Lily said tenderly, tucking a strand of unfamiliar jet black hair behind her ear.

"Oh, this is Ginny," Harry said, gesturing to a pretty girl with red hair and light brown eyes. "She's Ron's sister, and she's also one of my best friends. Gin, this is Erin Taylor. She's an exchange student from... Spain, did you say?"

Lily nodded. "It's a pleasure, Ginny."

Ginny smiled. "You too."

"Hey Erin!"

Lily groaned. "What, Smith?"

"Merlin, I was just trying to be nice!" James exclaimed, very annoyed.

"For once," Lily snorted, grinning at the dismayed look on James' face. She stood nervously for a few minutes, waiting for the other three to come into the Common Room.

oXo

Hermione and Ron were holding hands as they came into the room, and Lily waved at them.

A few minutes later, Sirius walked into the room.

"Ready then?" The six others nodded as they made their way out of the portrait hole.

"So, er," Lily said nervously, "who's teaching each subject?"

"Well, we have McGonagall - she's that really stone-faced woman, Head of Gryffindor - for Transfiguration; Sprout, the short, fat, one - sorry, Hermione - on Herbology; Flitwick, that really tiny man, for Charms; Slughorn  for Potions - " Ron said, counting on his fingers.

"Slughorn's still teaching?" Sirius asked.

Hermione looked questioned. "What do you mean? How did you know he taught here?"

"His dad was a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of Slughorn's," James said quickly.

"Right..." Ron murmured, looking addled.

"Anyway," Hermione said, trying to change the subject, "Why were you transferred?"

"Well, our old school decided we were all too advanced for their classes," Sirius told them.

Ginny nodded. "So, er, how - "

"Ah! Miss Taylor! Mr. White! Mr. Smith! I'm glad to see that you can manage yourselves."

The seven students turned their heads in unison.

A bald man with whisps of blonde hair and rough skin was smiling at them, his papery face and sullen eyes contorted into a plastic smile.

"Sir," James acknowledged.

"Good, good. I'm Professor Horace Slughorn. I heard about your situation from Dumbledore. Welcome," the professor greeted.

"Thank you." Sirius' words were bitter.

Hermione was interested in why the professor was introducing himself if Garrett claimed he already knew him. She was going to say something when Slughorn said cheerily, "In with the prominent sort of crowd again then, eh?"

"Sorry?"

"I heard that at your old school, you were friends with Celestina Warbeck's niece, Sophia - " Slughorn started.

"Oh, er, yes?" James said bewilderedly.

"- and here you are with the famous Harry Potter! Must have a knack, like I do!"

"We try," Lily commented, not knowing what she was talking about.

Slughorn laughed. "Cheeky. Very cheeky, Miss Taylor. Two points to Gryffindor for your audacity."

"Why, thank you, Professor," Lily said uncertainly.

Hermione leaped at the chance to ask Garrett and Erin of their strange behavior, but once again was interrupted by Slughorn, who was changing subjects very quickly.

"Oh, I need some brilliant Potions students to help me. You see, my pet rat swallowed some poison. What should I give him?"

The youths were not surprised at the teacher's pretend situations to quiz the students on what they had learned.

"A bezoar," Lily blurted. "If he could digest it - a bezoar is about the same size as a rat, actually."

"Take five points."

Ron thought that Hermione would be very upset that Lily answered before her, yet Hermione was looking at the other girl admiringly.

"Well, I must be off to go feed my rat," Slughorn said, a twinkle of dishonesty in his eyes. The seven friends could have sworn they heard him mutter, "Cheeky, cheeky."

xOx

"This is it," Harry announced, pointing to a large portrait of a bowl of fruit.

"We know," Sirius said in a bored voice. Lily elbowed him in the stomach.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "You did?"

Sirius coughed, massaging his rib cage. "Well, we figured. I mean, as we're standing in front of it." Lily sent Sirius a cold glare.

Harry laughed nervously. "Right." He ticked the pear and the door swung open.

"Harry Potter!"

There was a shriek from somewhere in the room, and, as if on cue, a vast amount of House Elves bowed their heads in unison.

"No - please! Stand up! Don't bow! It doesn't matter!" Hermione said, looking twitchy.

"What's up with her?" James asked Ron calmly.

"She's obsessed with House Elf rights. She even made a club called spew for the Society of something for the Elvish Warfare," Ron said dully.

"War - ?" Lily began, as Sirius said, "Spew?"

"What can we get you?" a house elf asked eagerly.

"I'll take three steaks and a plate of pork chops," Sirius told the surrounding creatures. "For that matter, just get a few plates. We'll order in bulk."

"Can you really eat that much food, P - Garrett?" James asked, grinning slyly.

Sirius smirked. "Oh, yes I can. I'll bet you ten galleons."

"Can I play?" Ron asked eagerly. "Though I don't have ten galleons. . ."

Lily looked pitifully at Ron. "It's okay. If you win, you can have the money, but if you lose you have to..."

"Spend the night in the Forbidden Forest?" Sirius suggested.

"Sirius!" Lily snapped. She was very upset with Sirius for suggesting such a thing.

That is, until she realized she had totally blown her cover.

Hermione stopped the round order of sautéed chicken breast abruptly and looked shocked. Ron was eyeing the House Elves and didn't even hear a thing, but Harry and Ginny looked at the three intently.

"I'm... er... serious. That's not a cool idea. Yeah. I'm serious!" Lily said nervously.

There was an awkward silence.

"What can I get you, miss?" a House Elf tugged on Lily's robes.

Lily sighed, grateful for the disturbance. "Oh, yes, well, seeing as we're ordering for all of us, I'll just say some mashed potatoes with the extra gravy the way you make them."

Lily clenched her fists. And I've done it again! Lily scolded herself mentally. We've barely been here an hour, and I've almost given us away twice!

Luckily, only Ron heard her, as Hermione, Ginny, and Harry were chatting with a house elf wearing a jumble of various articles of clothing, and James and Sirius were pouring each other tea. Ron frowned, looking at Lily in confusion.

"How did you - ?"

"Miss Buttercup, would you like some more tea?"

Lily and Ron whipped around to see James and Sirius dishing each other spoons of sugar.

James giggled. "Yes, Miss Daisy, I would! More sugar?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Will you two sodding grow up?"

"Oh, Miss Erin! Would you fancy some tea with cream and sugar?" Sirius asked, batting his eyelashes.

Lily couldn't keep a straight face. "Oh, alright."

"Tea, anyone?" James asked, motioning to the five empty teacups.

"Sure." Ron grabbed a cup and let Sirius pour him some tea. Harry and Ginny sat down, too.

Hermione sat down next to Ron. "I'll have some, please," she told the boys.

Ron stole the sugar and began putting little bits of sugar in his tea at a time.

"Harry? Ginny? Tea?" Lily asked. She sat down and laughed when James seized the kettle and became increasingly determined to pour Lily tea without spilling water everywhere.

Harry took the pot from James and politely poured Ginny a cup.

"Have enough tea with your sugar, Ron?" Hermione asked sharply, as Ron dumped a sixth tablespoon in his tea.

Ron shrugged. "It isn't tea without sugar," he said.

"I believe the phrase is -"

"Your food is ready!" a House Elf said.

Rows of ill-dressed creatures circled the table, laying out assortments of sweets and beverages. Shining silver platters greased with butter were lined with rich foods, consisting of assortments of vegetables and slabs of meat.

Sirius almost drooled.

"Look good?" Ginny asked, helping herself to some lemon garlic chicken.

All Sirius could do was nod. And I thought Mrs. Potter's food was good... the House Elves must have improved their cooking style...

"Thank you, elves," Hermione said graciously. She smiled at the nearest elf, and with a wave of dismissal, the crowd shuffled over to a desolate corner.

"Potatoes?" Ginny asked Lily, holding a bowl of mashed potatoes in front of the other girl.

"Yes, please!" Lily said graciously, loading heaps of fluffy potatoes onto her dish.

Sirius, Ron, and James were piling their plates with various foods. Ron beckoned over a House Elf and ordered thirty-two butterbeers.

The very confused elf, along with several others, brought back thirty-two drinks. Ron directed them to give one to Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Lily, and seven each to the three contestants.

"Ready?" James asked the other two, fork and knife in hand.

"Whenever you are, bro!" Sirius said loudly.

Ron licked his lips. "Go!"

And with that, the feasting began.

Sirius didn't bother cutting his food - he just shove it in his mouth. James chopped everything into squares, and ate them by the hundreds. Ron cut everything in half and chewed ravenously.

"Steak, Erin?" Harry asked, sending a plate with strips of crisp red meat on it her way.

Lily shook her head. "Thanks, but no thanks," she said. "I'm a vegetarian."
 
Hermione shrugged. "Suit yourself," she said plainly, serving herself some chicken and green beans.

Lily gripped her chair tight with one hand, and with the other, she ran her fingers through her black hair.

"So, Harry," Lily said, looking at the three boys with thorough disgust as they feasted away. ”How was your summer?"

xOx

"... So, that's about it. I wasn't planning on coming back, but Hermione and, er, certain other persons..." Harry said, shrugging.

"The Dursleys!" Ron burst, hysterical after his sixth butterbeer.

Lily nearly dropped her glass. "D-dursley, you say?"

"Yeah, Hawwy's aunt and uncle - ftupid Muggles - 'e lived with them 'is 'ole life. 'Pill 'e came to 'Ogwarts, of couwse," Ron blurted through a mouthful of food.

Lily's face contorted itself into horror. "You mean... Vernon and Petunia Dursley?"

"And Dudley!" Ron practically yelled. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and belched.

"Ron!" Hermione scolded sharply.

Harry grinned. "Oh no, Hermione, I think Ron was just demonstrating what my oaf of a cousin does best."
______

A/N: And now - who will win the 10 galleons?

Also, the whole Sirius-and-the-PMS-thing was my idea, but my rad Beta, Schmergo, (who has willingly Beta'd this chapter) suggested the idea for James' comment.

I put "Got enough tea with your sugar?" in there, because my sister says that to me so frequently - I add WAY too much sugar in my tea - so I had to put that in here.

Oh, and I have decided - Snape will overall not be appearing in this story. I've come to face the fact that I can't write Snape for BEANS.

Please R & R - wait... you are reading! Haha. So just be a dear old chap and leave review, eh? I respond to all reviews. I swear. Well, I mean, we all swear anyways, but... okay, you get the point.

Chapter Four - Dudley?
Lily dropped her butterbeer. The crash echoed through the room, as the liquid splashed all over the floor.

A House Elf ran over to the shattered bottle, and with a snap of his fingers, the mess disappeared.

As the elf shuffled over to the others, everyone turned their eyes to Lily.

Lily's heart pounded. Her pulse twitched, and her breathing quickened. Her mouth absorbed the stale taste of saliva, and the room became silent, all except the thrashing sound of chewing coming from James, Sirius, and Ron.

"How did you know their names? Petunia and Vernon?" Hermione prodded, eyeing Lily intently.

Lily blushed. "I'm Muggle-born," she rasped, her tongue dry. "And my parents knew the Dursleys. They’re not ones of… particular interest to me, atleast."

Hermione's arms were folded, her eyebrows raised. "Sure. And you didn't know Harry, then?"

Lily bit her lip. "I'm Muggle-born," she repeated.

"Yes, but then how did you not know Harry?" Ginny asked, as she gathered skepticism. Her brown eyes narrowed.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Lily's eyes flickered to her butterbeer, and she took a hasty sip.

"Harry lives with them."

Lily's heart pounded.

Her son - the son that she had never met, she had never know she would have - lived with her sister and her raving lunatic of a husband.

And who was Dudley? A cat? A dog, possibly? No. That wasn't an option. Petunia would never own a pet.

What else could it be? A child? No. Petunia could never stand a child.

Besides - who named a kid Dudley, anyway?

But who was Dudley? Lily wasn't related to anyone named Dudley...

Oh, yes! Vernon was always blabbing about his father, Dudley. But would old Dudley Dursley have lasted that long?

"He does? How strange," Lily said finally, in regards to Ginny's remark.

Harry shrugged. "You may have come when I was at school, possibly. Was Dudley there?"

Why would it matter if Dudley Dursley was there? Wouldn't he be home always? Maybe he only came over in the mornings on weekdays or something.

Lily frowned to herself. "Uhm, yes, Dudley was there."

"Then where was I?" Harry frowned in thought.

Ginny suggested, "Taking a walk, maybe?"

"Well, Harry they used to send you to your room when they had company. Maybe they would have done it then, too?" Hermione said.

"Oh." Harry sighed. "Of course. How could I forget? They probably didn't want me 'ruining their chances of a proper life with their stunning little Dudders!'"

Odd.

Would big, fat old Dudley Dursley be considered "little"? Maybe he had gone on a diet?

"Little? He was huge!" Lily found herself say out loud.

Hermione, Ginny, and Harry began laughing hysterically. Ron's began choking, and James and Sirius weren't sure how to react.

Lily forced a laugh. James and Sirius just kept on eating.

"Uhm, so, Harry," Lily said slyly after Hermione had helped Ron regain oxygen, and the chorus of laughter had calmed down, "Maybe we should get to know each other." James looked up at Lily.

Harry stiffened. "Like what?"

"Well, what kind of stuff do you enjoy?" Lily asked.

"Well, I play Quidditch..."

James looked up from his half-empty plate. "Quibbift?"

Harry nodded. "I play seeker."

Ginny added, "He's Gryffindor Captain."

James looked impressed. He looked as if he was going to ask Harry something, but he heard Sirius and Ron's loud gnawing, which reminded him of his bet. He began consuming his food hurriedly.

"Oh!" Lily said. "That's wonderful! At my school, I was sort of a behind-the-scene manager. I cleaned up before and after the games, and sort of... redid the locker rooms. Do they st - do that here?"

Pleased that she didn't slip up again, Lily gave a quiet sigh.

Harry shook his head. "Nah, just me and the team."

"Oh, who's on the team?" Lily pressed. She looked at him with an interested smile.

"So far, only me, Ron, and Ginny. We haven't held tryouts yet," Harry explained.

"Oh, when - " Lily began.

"I'M FINISHED!"

Six heads whipped around. Ron's eyes were wide and his plate was licked clean. His six butterbeers were drained, and his mouth was covered in grease.

James spit out a chicken bone in his mouth. "Damn!" His eyes wandered to the chicken wing laying innocently on his plate.

Sirius was flustered. His quarter bottle of butterbeer was sitting absently on the table and a tiny pile of mashed potatoes was thrown in the corner of his bowl.

"Great job, Ron!" Hermione shrieked. She leaned over for a kiss, pressing her lips against his. When she pulled back, her mouth was covered in grease.

"Ick! How absolutely revolting!"

Everyone began laughing.

Hermione wiped off her mouth with a napkin and threw it at Ron.

Ron shrugged and tossed it on his plate. He grabbed another and began cleaning himself off.

"So are we going to spend a night in the Forbidden Forest anyway?" Sirius asked. Everyone's eyes strayed from Ron's vigorous cleaning to the brown-haired boy.

"Not tonight, Garrett," Lily snapped. "We haven't even been here one night and you're already scheming."

"Yes, Mum." Sirius snorted. He laid his head on the table.

"Don't mind him," James said, handing his plate to the elves, "he's just upset that he didn't win the food race."

Sirius snapped his head up. "I am not!"

"Is everyone finished eating?"

A band of House Elves were standing at the table, their eager eyes dancing with a need to please.

As a murmur of "yes" spread through the table, the dishes disappeared.

"Dessert?"

"No, thank you," Lily said. The rest all agreed; James, Sirius, and Ron were too full to have dessert, and the three others were simply exhausted.

Harry yawned. "I'm exhausted."

"Should we go to bed, then?" Hermione suggested.

After everyone agreed, the seven trudged to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Clabbert," Harry said in a bored tone.

After climbing into the portrait hole, Hermione said, "Harry and Ron will show you both to the dormitory. Ginny and I can show you yours, Erin."

After a few bored nods and goodnights, Lily followed Ginny and Hermione up to the dormitory.

Not much has changed, she realised, looking around at the marble staircase.

Lily saw her things at the end of a bed near the window. Hermione motioned to two three other beds.

"Ginny should be in the sixth year dormitory," Hermione explained, "but there were only two of us, because..."

Lily wasn't listening. She was looking around the dormitory, inspecting the new wallpaper and examining the ceiling.

"... and so basically Ginny got bumped out by the five other sixth years. Is something wrong?" Hermione asked.

Lily looked up. "Oh. No. Nothing. I'm fine. Just, tired is all."

"Well, the bathroom is that way if you need to get ready for bed," Ginny said, pointing to a door in the back of the room.

After returning, Lily said goodnight and laid down to sleep. She lay awake for a long time, just thinking about classes, school... and Harry.

She shivered, pulling the covers up closer to her chin. Was he safe? And what happened to James and her?

---

A/N: There you go! So sorry about the major wait, by the way! Also, I hope you all notice that Lily is basically the main character in this. Her, James, and Harry, really. But mainly Lily.

Also, the best freview of this chapter gets a credit, like Sammie did!

WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN? Everyone will get to know eachother -- they will find out how they died, why Harry's so famous, they will get assigned people to watch, Sirius lets out a minor clue that could lead to the other's knowledge, and they might just spend a night in the Forbidden Forest...

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. The end. Zip. Nada.

Alright, here you go...
_________________________________

Lily was awoken the next morning by Hermione, who was tapping Lily on the shoulder.

Lily opened her eyes and looked up at the other girl.

"It's time to wake up. Breakfast is in twenty minutes. You have your own shelf now in the bathroom so please wash up and dress and come down." Hermione's demanding tone gave Lily the impression that she was extremely bossy. "You have a note from the Headmaster. I left it on your bedside table."

With that, Hermione left Lily to wake up on her own. Luckily, Lily was an extremely mature person when it came to waking up. She sighed and stretched out, before pulling on her clothes and robe. She was about to leave when her eye caught sight of the white parchment beside her bed.

She quickly ripped it open.

Meet me in my office right after breakfast. Professor Dumbledore

Lily carelessly threw the letter on her bed and rushed downstairs, her stomach growling. There stood James... although he was extremely hard to recognize.

"Oh! Lily!" He held out his hand. "Shall we go down to breakfast?"

Lily, had she not been so tired and nervous would have spit on his outstretched hand. But now... his sincere smile was too much to resist.

She grasped his large, warm hand. Feeling the calluses on her palm sent tingles all the way down her arm.

Lily! she reminded herself. Get those thoughts OUT of your head!

Somehow, though, she couldn't

oXo

"Who?"

"Them."

"Who are they?"

"Dunno."

"I heard they're new. Exchange students."

"What are they wearing?"

"Does it matter what they're wearing?"

"What a loser, Anise! She doesn't even know how to wear her hair!"

"Look at him! I wish Dean looked like that!"

As Lily and James made their way down the stairs, students whispered. Lily became flustered. James just flashed a sloppy grin at the bystanders. Lily couldn't help but feel jealous, although she told these thoughts to go drown themselves.

As they sat down next to Ginny, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Sirius, whispers arose.

"Friends of Harry Potter already?"

"Wicked cool!"

"Are they always like this?" Lily asked sharply, although she sort of knew the answer already.

"Pretty much," replied Ginny. Both girls laughed.

"When there's anything to know about anyone, really, the school acts like a gossip chamber," Hermione piped in.

Ginny laughed and said, "Honestly, the school should be called Hogwarts School of Gossip and Wizardry."

Lily laughed again. Ginny didn't seem so bad. And although Hermione seemed rather pushy, maybe she wasn't all so uptight.

Lily began talking to Ginny about who was who at Hogwarts, while James, Ron, and Harry discussed Quidditch and Sirius and Hermione were arguing about school rules.

"Really - they don't need to have teachers guard the hallways!" Sirius yelled.

Hermione shook her head. "But now that Voldemort's back, and the Dementors failed, and Cedric Diggory died, and people have been dying left and right, like Snape, I think - "

"Snape?" James asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Our previous Potions - er, Defense Against the Dark Arts - professor."

"How'd he manage that?" James tried to hold back his delight and curiosity.

"His own killing curse backfired," Harry explained.

"Who was he trying to kill?" asked Sirius.

Hermione sighed. "Dumbledore."

"WHAT?" shouted both James and Sirius.

"Well, it's hard to explain, really," Hermione stuttered. "But really, that doesn't have anything to do with this. I'll tell you the details later. But as I was saying - "

Ginny held out her hand. "No, they should know. What do you guys know about anything since the year 1990?"

James shrugged. "Not much, really. Uh, you see, Spain isn't really involved in these kind of things."

"Interesting. Well, Harry, care to explain?"

Harry swallowed his toast and nodded. "Do you know who Voldemort is?"

"Yes," Lily replied.

"In - when was it? When my mum and dad" - James and Lily felt uncomfortable - "had their last year in school.

"1977," blurted James.

Harry turned to look at him. "How'd you know that?"

James blushed as Lily glared at him. "I, er, didn't."

"That's the year both of our parents ended school together. Just a suggestion, I suppose," covered Sirius.

"Ah," Harry remarked uncertainly. "Anyway, during their last year in school - they were Head Boy and Girl, you see, they got to know each other. They had hated each other before. But never mind that - Voldemort grew to his peak that year. He took in a bunch of people, including one of my dad's best friends, and a bunch of Slytherins like the Malfoys, the Crabbes - "

"Which best friend?" It was Sirius who asked.

Harry made a face. "Wormtail - er - "

"Peter," mumbled James. No one heard him except Sirius, who had clenched his fists beneath the table.

"Anyway, my parents married right after school. They never realised it, but Peter was giving secret information to Voldemort, like a secret password to their home. Peter once killed a bunch of Muggles in a street and blamed Sirius, and then cut off his finger and shape-shifted into a rat."

For the first time in his life, Sirius was paying every speck of his attention to something remotely educational. As Harry took a break to gobble up some of his bacon, Lily nudged James to point out Sirius. They shared a knowing smile and turned their attention back to their son.

"Sirius, sent to Azkaban, knew that he was innocent, so he lived there for a long time, until he escaped." No one noticed Sirius as he choked on his orange juice. "Anyway, so when I was one year old, on Halloween, Voldemort came to their home because the password had been given to him by Peter. He killed my dad first, and my mum tried to run with me. She was trying to save me." James squeezed Lily's hand beneath the table. Lily was too interested and sad to pull away.

"Voldemort offered to save my mum first - all he wanted was me. But she died for me. And because of that, when Voldemort came over to kill me - he did nothing, except give me this scar, because my mum had protected me. With that, Voldemort became only a soul, and he fled. Because of that, I've been known as this famous hero, or however you'd like to look at it -- but I'm really not much other than that."

Ginny smiled as if she was annoyed and said, "You did win the Triwizard Tournament, and I mean, you've only fought with Voldemort four times."

"What?" asked Lily. "The Triwizard Tournament? Fought with Voldemort - ?"

Harry sighed. "It's really hard to explain. I'll tell you about that later. But anyway, then I was sent to live with my aunt and uncle and my cousin Dudley."

Lily held back from making a face. So that's who Dudley is. Her son? How weird!

"And Hagrid came and picked me up from the Dursleys. And then I fought Voldemort a few times. But that's another story," Harry ended. "But anyway - what are your schedules?"

Lily was human enough to not ask anymore questions about his life. "Well, we're getting those from Dumbledore."

"Hopefully we'll have good classes," James wished. "No Divination or anything."

"Yeah, who teaches Divination?" Lily questioned.

Ron answered, "Well we have two teachers - a centaur, Firenze, and Professor Trelawney. That class is an elective, thank Merlin."

"Trelawney? What's her first name?" Lily enquired.

Ginny frowned. "Sibyll, I think. Why?"

"Oh, I was just wondering. It's a weird name, is all," Lily answered.

Sibyll Trelawney - that freaky girl in the year below! She was extremely weird, to say the least. She was superstitious, too - and rather pessimistic, I recall. She was also the relative of some famous seer, Cassandra Trelawney, or something, Lily realised.

"Well, I did well in Divination at our old school," Sirius told everyone.

James shook his head. "That's just because Professor Janice fancied you and you made up bogus predictions -- "

"No way, my friend," Sirius argued. "She gave me an award. Who gives a student an award just because they fancy them?"

Hermione looked interested, although everyone else seemed dazed. They didn't pay attention. "What was your professor's name?"

James gave himself a mental slap. "Janet. Professor Janet. Carmen Janet. It's kind of a mix between an American and Spanish name."

Hermione's five years of Muggle acting gave herself enough fuel to act as if she believed him. She quickly took out her wand and, without looking up from underneath the table, wrote Professor Janice - Divination.

"Anyway, we need to go see Dumbledore about our schedules," Lily said quickly before Sirius or James gave off anymore revealing clues. "Breakfast was lovely. See you in class."

Ignoring Sirius' moping expression as she grabbed his wrist and peeled him away from the table, she dragged both boys through the oak doors, leaving a confused Harry, a hungry Ron, a waving Ginny, and a detective Hermione.

xOx
"Come in."

James, Sirius, and Lily were called into Dumbledore's office as they arrived.

"You've had a good breakfast, I hope?" Dumbledore questioned. He waved his wand and three chairs were summoned in front of his desk.

The three visitors sat down.

"I have your schedules," Dumbledore handed the three of them each a piece of parchment containing the entire day's activities.

Lily read hers, which contained Potions, Charms, Lunch, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Study Hall, Herbology, History of Magic, Supper, Homework, and Bedtime.

"However, that is not why I called you here."

Dumbledore's voice pulled their minds back into the room.

"I have this for you, too. These papers appear to anyone but you as a piece of scrap parchment. However to you three, it is a list of things you must try to learn from the four students you are staying with."

James felt the paper shove itself into his hands.

"James, you will be learning from Harry. Sirius, you're in charge of Ron. And Lily, I'm leaving you with the two girls. Is that alright?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes" was the reply.

"Excuse me, Professor - how did Sirius die?" James asked.

"Ah, death." Dumbledore smiled. "Death is a curious thing. I had a feeling you would ask. I leave that for you to figure. But don't go arousing suspicion."

James sighed.

"Now, I suppose it's time you all go off to class. I will call you back in a few days to check in on you. Good bye." Dumbledore dismissed the three.

As James and Sirius left, Lily turned back around. "Professor?"

Dumbledore looked up from his desk as he pulled out a butterscotch and popped it into his mouth. "Hmm?"

"Harry told me about how I died," Lily told him.

"Did he?"
Lily nodded. "Yes. He said that dieing for him... saved him. What happened?"

Dumbledore stood up. "Even I cannot answer that. From what I know, I suspect that it was your love. Voldemort has no tolerance for love. He was wounded by it."

Lily's eyes showed that she knew. She turned away. On her third step, she turned back around.

"And Professor?"

"Yes?"

"Why did Snape try to kill you?"

"Another time, Lily."

Lily nodded and turned away. She began down the stairs, stuffing both her schedule and her task list in her pocket.

As the "clink!" sound of the slamming office door sounded, Lily raised her head high, ready to start being Lily Evans-Potter - mother and investigator.
___________________________

A/N: I hope that was worth the wait! I have written almost two pages in Chapter Six, so that'll be coming soon!

I know there wasn't a lot of humor in this, but it was just sort of to start off the day kinda slower.

Please please review! Any suggestions would be appreciated, and reviews get me pumped! =) =)

Lily, James, and Sirius raced to Potions. As Lily walked, she heard a familiar echoing voice through the dungeon walls.

“Now, a bezoar, as many of you know, can prevent any kind of poison. Even in crucial situations, a bezoar may be able to.... Ah, Miss Taylor. Mr. Conner. Mr. White. Care to join us?”

Every head turned to look at the three of them as they entered the room. Lily's pale face flushed. On the other hand, James and Sirius seemed quite used to the attention.

“I'm sorry, Professor,” she apologized. “We were meeting with the headmaster.”

Slughorn nodded accommodatingly. “That's quite alright, Miss Taylor, but I shall have a talk with the headmaster about calling you out at this time. Please take your seats.”

Lily looked around, and saw no seats empty for the three of them, save a table filled with two girls - the first with pimples, zits, and acne splattered all over her face. Lily had heard of splattergroit, and wondered if the girl had succumbed to it. The other girl looked extremely simple - she had plain brown hair and plain blue eyes. Their robes told Lily that they were both in Ravenclaw.

“Come on,” Lily whispered to James.

“I'm not sitting with that,” snapped Sirius. When Lily sent him a cold glare, he added, “What if she's contagious?”

Lily shook her head, although she had been worried herself. “Oh, don't be such a whale.”

Lily felt someone tap her shoulder. She whipped around. Hermione sat there, smiling. She stood up, enabling James and Sirius to sit next to Harry and Ron. After Hermione sat herself down, Lily found herself squeezed between James (Lily could note his sense of delight in being pressed up this close to her) and Hermione.

“Where's Ginny?” Lily asked Hermione quietly as Slughorn began rambling on about poison.

Hermione didn't turn her head. “She's in the year below,” she muttered out of the side of her mouth.

Lily nodded. “Oh, that's right.” She paused. “Hey, Hermione, what - ”

“Miss Taylor,” Slughorn said, interrupting Lily, “please assist me in showing the rest of the class exactly how to remove the juices of a flobberworm.”

oXo

Harry, Ron, Hermione, James, Lily, and Sirius stepped out of their classroom.

“What do you have next?” Hermione asked.

Lily looked at her schedule. “Double Charms,” she replied. “And you?”

“Double Herbology.”

“I'll catch you later, then,” Lily said, as Hermione and the others waved.

“Nice job, Erin,” said James as the three of them stepped up into a much brighter hallway. “That was the first time I've ever had a double Potions where I actually understood anything the teacher, er, student teacher, was trying to say.”

Lily stopped walking and looked at James strangely. “Well... thank you, Conner.” When she resumed walking, she didn't see Sirius send James a thumbs up.

xOx

“So how was Charms?” asked Harry as he, Ron, and Hermione sat down with James, Lily, and Sirius for lunch.

Lily shrugged. “It was fine.” She looked around and saw that there were only the six of them. “Where's Ginny?”

“She's sitting with her other friends. She eats with them at lunch,” Ron explained.

The rest of the day was pretty boring, James thought, until Defense Against the Dark Arts. The new teacher was Professor Terrance Auben, a squirelly old man, who was also Slughorn's second cousin. James and Sirius decided, had Auben been a teacher during their time, he would be an easy target for pranks.

“Please open your books to page one ninety-seven. Read the chapter, please.”

Those were all of the words he spoke during the entire lesson, save many shrieks and gasps. Many of the other students believed, like Sirius and James that he was an easy target, and so many explosives were set off during his class.

While looking through the room, he found a locked trunk in the back. With many students watching, he pulled out his wand and opened the trunk. A dark vulture stared at Professor Auben. He screamed and threw it back into the trunk, locking it back up

He sat back at his desk afterwards, and opened a drawer, wincing in case additional creatures flew out. Instead, he pulled out a simple grey handkerchief, and patted the wetness off his sweaty forehead. All of a sudden, the handkerchief became a pair of underpants and he looked about to burst.

“C-class dismissed,” he whimpered. Everyone filtered out, but Hermione stayed back. Lily, thinking of her task, stayed back, too.

James looked at her strangely, and she told him to wait outside for her.

“Excuse me, Professor?”

Auben looked up from his papers. He stood up abruptly, knocking his chair over. “Y-yes, how can I help you?”

“I was just wondering if we would have a lesson tomorrow?” Hermione asked calmly.

Auben spluttered. “What do you mean? We had a lesson today?”

Lily stepped in. “Yes, but I didn't learn anything except about Yakvinshe the Grindylow.”

Hermione nodded. “I was wondering if you were going to actually teach us?”

Auben looked appalled.

“I mean, honestly, are we ever really going to need to name the first Grindylow ever to view our world?” Lily asked.

“Well, I....”

“I'd really love to be learning something from one of my favorite subjects,” Hermione said. “I would be happy to help you plan something if you've lost your knack for teaching.”

Auben opened his mouth and then closed it. “Why do you want to help me?”

Honestly, Lily had no idea why they were doing this. She, hiding her confusion, smiled sweetly. “Because we like you!”

Auben said nothing Lily and Hermione exchanged glances. Finally: “What do you suggest I teach?”

Hermione shrugged. “Something N.E.W.T. level. For example, Veritaserum.”

Lily looked at Hermione strangely. Why did she want to learn about Veritaserum?

“You know I can't make that... Potions...”

Hermione shrugged. “What about... Animagi? Anyway, give it some thought, and I'm sure you'll be able to come up with something.”

“Well, thank you, Misses... ?”

Hermione said, “Granger. Hermione Granger. And this - ”

“I'm Erin Taylor,” Lily said, sticking out her hand. “Pleasure.” Auben looked confused but shook her hand anyway.

“Well, thank you,” he said graciously. “Now, you two should be off to your next class.”

Accidentally, Lily and Hermione had forgotten about James and Ron, who were waiting for them at the other entrance. The two boys looked around for them for a few minutes, and couldn't find them.

“Let's try the other entrance,” Ron suggested. Harry and Sirius had gone back to the dormitories to put their things away.

The hallway was crowded with fifth years.

“Coming through,” muttered James, weaving his way through the group of people.

“Sorry, you can't get through there,” one little girl said, with her nose stuck up so high you could see far into her nostrils. “You're cutting the line.”

“What line?” snapped Ron. “Looks like a herd of animals to me!”

The little girl scowled, and then growled. Ron and James exchanged humoured yet worried glances.

James caught sight of Lily and Hermione walking down the corridor. “ERIN!” James yelled over the loud crowd surrounding him.

A girl standing a little bit in front of him whipped around. She looked at James and gasped. “How did you know my name?” She gave a girl next to her a look and they began giggling.

“Not you, my friend - ” James explained.

The real Erin looked at James strangely. “So, you're not going to ask me to Hosmeade?”

“What?”

Erin frowned. “Well, I figured - ”

“Conner! Ron! Over here!”

James had never thought he'd be so relieved to hear Hermione's voice. Stuck Up Nose scowled as they pushed their way out of the crowd.

James panted. “That was awful,” he said.

“Scary's more like it,” Ron admitted. The two looked at each other in silence and then abruptly began laughing.

“What happened?” Lily asked, looking at James. As they walked, James told the two girls what had occurred.

“So basically some fifth years tried to get you to go out with them?” Lily asked, a little confused.

“Basically,” James said.

Hermione looked at James skeptically. She raised an eyebrow. “Odd” was all she said.

Ron picked up the pace so he was standing next to Hermione. He slipped his hand in hers. James looked at Lily, a nervous grin playing on his face. Lily didn't miss it.

xOx

Lily sat down at dinner, simply exhausted. She yawned as she reached for the plate of green beans.

“Lily, could you please pass the carrots?” James asked. Lily nodded impatiently and passed him the bowl.

Ginny looked at Lily curiously. “Is everything all right?”

Lily paused, ensuring that she would not give them away with her next comment. “Well, first of all, I'm extremely exhausted. And I have loads of homework already. Then there's the fact that there is no source of vegetarian protein, which just makes this all twenty times worse!”

“Are you a vegetarian?” Hermione asked.

Lily nodded. “Since I was ten.” In the sixties, she thought with a sigh.

Hermione smiled. “Here's some egg and potatoes. It's quite good.” She passed Lily a lemon-coloured bowl.

“Thanks,” Lily said.

The rest of the meal was in silence, except for James and Sirius and Ron speaking about broomsticks.

“Well, I'm off to the dormitories.”

Lily was surprised when Harry, who seemed to be the least fatigued, spoke these words.

Hermione set down her water abruptly. “I need to use the bathroom.” She set down her glass and walked out into the hall.

Lily, James, Sirius, Ron, and Ginny, got up too and walked to the dormitories. Lily and Ginny walked up to the girls' dormitories as the boys went to their own.

Lily and Ginny prepared themselves for bed and slipped under the covers.

Slowly, Lily turned off the light. As soon as it happened, her mind began to wander. Her thoughts usually kept her up, and her mind scrambled. But because of her extreme exhaustion, she was out by the time her head hit the soft, white pillow.

oXo

“Harry!”

Hermione ran up to Harry, who was walking down the corridor. He turned around.

“What's wrong?”

Hermione sighed. “You know what's wrong, Harry.” Harry looked down at his shoes.

He sighed. “Yes.”

“It's complicated,” Hermione said.

“Yes.”

“They're not who they say they are.”

“Yes.”

“And you know we shouldn't trust them,” she said anxiously.

“Dumbledore said we can.” His answer was simple.

Hermione shrugged. “I know, but...”

“You also know that Dumbledore said not to make it so obvious we know they aren't who they pretend to be.”

“Oh, Harry, I know, but - ”

“What can we do then?” Harry asked, looking up at Hermione.

Hermione sighed in relief. “That's what I need your help with.”
______________

A/N: So there you go!

Hermione will figure it out in Chapter 9-11... I’m not sure which one.

Oh, and Sirius WILL have a girlfriend. I have a whole subplot planned for... something special.... mwhahahahahahaha.

Many thanks to red haired mom for her lovely reviews!

So, again, the 5 W’s and 1 H - WHY you added this to your favorites, WHERE you want to see this going, WHAT you want to happen, WHO you want to meet, WHEN did you start really enjoying the story and HOW did you find out about MTC?

Updates will be here by the end of September!