Lily and Peter made it back to the dormitories rather quickly after Peter's impromptu performance.

"Well, here we are." stated the blonde boy as he and his companion entered the boys' dormitory.

The glassy-eyed girl on his arm gave a tight nod. "Could I sit down?" she asked in a rather weak voice.

Peter nodded in a panic, fussing around trying to find a spot in the disorganized room. James put a hand on the frantic boy's arm, silently pointing to the bed he'd been sitting on.

"Over here, Lily." said Remus with a smile, as he steered her around the piles on the floor. "Bed at your two," he said quietly.

"Two?" Sirius asked, cocking his head as Lily sat down.

"It's a way of communicating position," Peter said. "For muggles."

Sirius and James looked at Peter incredulously. He gave a choked laugh. "My mom was a half blood, remember?"

"Oh. Right." said Sirius.

"So," James began eagerly. "How do you do it?"

Remus gave him a wary look, but responded. "It's like a clock. Twelve is directly in front. Six is behind. Three and nine are right and left, respectively."

James puzzled it over for a moment before grinning. "Sod at your 4, Moony."

"Hey! I'm not a sod!" Peter exclaimed indignantly.

Sirius and James snickered at each other, Remus rolled his eyes.

James looked at Lily, trying to decide what to do. He turned to Remus, shrugging at him. Remus shrugged back. 'Christmas?' he mouthed to the other boys.

Peter perked up at this."Oh yeah! Lily said she'd come with us for Christmas!" he exclaimed happily.

"Excellent!" Remus said with a grin, aiming a satisfactory wink at Sirius and James.

"I'll owl mum and let her know." James said, smiling tentatively.

"Are..." Lily paused uncertainly. "Are you sure you don't mind? That your parents don't mind?"

"Of course they don't!" Both James an Sirius exclaimed at the same time. They grinned at each other as Sirius' stomach growled.

"Excellent, then." said Sirius, running his hands together. "Now, would we like to go to the kitchens or the hall for lunch?" Lily cringed, hugging her knees more tightly from her position in the corner.

"I think Lily'd probably like to go to lunch with her friends, guys." Remus said as he stood and helped her to her feet.

Relieved, Lily grabbed Remus' arm. "Thanks." She said quietly. He nodded.

"This way, Lily. Watch out for Pete's sock pile."

The other marauders watched them walk out of the room.

James turned to Peter. "So Wormtail, what did you do to get her to agree?" His eyes sparkled mischievously behind his glasses.

"Well, I tried talking to her, like you said. But she didn't like that much. So I did what he told me to." He jerked his head at Sirius.

"Yes!" Sirius said happily.

"Yeah, yeah." James said, digging through his pocket. He flicked a few gold coins at Sirius.

"You bet five galleons on it?" cried Peter, amazed.

"Of course!" Sirius exclaimed happily, rubbing the galleon shaped welt on his cheek. "Why wouldn't we?"

Peter shook his head, not giving a response.

"So, she's really coming." James said in wonder.

Sirius clapped him on the shoulder. "She is."

"What am I gonna do?" James looked sick. "She hates me."

Sirius sighed, plopping himself next to his friend. "You'll be fine. She'll warm up to you."

"What happened to 'Evans is a right prat who deserves nothing better than being fed to the giant squid'?" Peter asked in amusement. Sirius waved a hand, scoffing at him.

"No... Really, Paddy." James said. "What happened?"

"Stuff." Sirius said, his face going cloudy and unreadable. Then he gave his signature grin, bounding towards the door. "Lunch!" He leaped out the door before they could stop him.

James shook his head. "He's too good at keeping secrets, Pete."

Peter shrugged. "He'll tell us if he needs to. He's a smart guy."

"He's never been wrong about a person before." James grudgingly agreed. "We should probably go after him. Merlin knows he'll go after the Hufflepuffs again if we don't stop him."

Peter groaned. "You think he'd learn after being doused in vinegar the first time!"

"Must be a dog thing." James shrugged as he stood up. "Ready to go take care of a pickled furball?

Peter wrinkled his nose. "As ready as I'll ever be. Think the 'Puffs'll hex him this time?"

James looked thoughtful. "They did warn him. And if the state he's in is anything to go by... Yes. I'd say that he's going to be a sorry mess. He really doesn't know when to quit."

"It's been a while since he looked like that." Peter looked thoughtful. "Tonight will be fun, won't it?"

"Merlin," James sighed. "I hope he won't get wasted in front of Lily."

"Eh, don't worry about it, Prongs." Peter headed for the door. "We'd better get him before something really bad happens."

"Right. " James said, his mind a million miles away as he headed through the door.

"You're going to spend christmas with him?" Alice shrieked, jumping up and down in the corridor leading to the great hall. "I can't believe it! How did you get your parents to agree? What are you going to do? Will all of the marauders be there? You're not going to get married without me there, are you?!"

"ALICE" Lily yelled. She tugged on Alice's arm, making her walk calmly. "Calm down! I'm not bloody marrying anyone!"

Alice blinked owlishly. "But you're in love with James."

"But I'm NOT BLOODY IN LOVE WITH HIM!"

Alice shrugged. "Matter of opinion. I can't help it that you're blind."

Lily stopped walking.

"Oh, shoot!" Alice exclaimed. "I'm sorry... I, I forgot." she said miserably.

Lily shrugged, frowning. "That's okay. I'm glad someone can forget about it." she sighed bitterly. "I'd kill for some independence, though."

"I know." Alice said sympathetically. "Think about what I said, okay?"

Lily tried to roll her foggy eyes, but gave up. "You can't be serious!"

"Nope!" exclaimed a joyful male voice from the end of the hall. "I am!"

"He is," James offered in agreement.

The marauders grinned as they approached the two girls. James and Remus had one of Sirius' arms slung over each of their shoulders. Sirius himself was dripping, wet hair hanging in his face. Peter trailed behind them, plugging his nose.

"Dear Merlin." Lily said distastefully. "What is that awful smell?"

"Vinegar." Remus said dryly. "An awful lot of it, at that."

"Fantastic." Alice giggled. Lily just glared into space.

"Rem. Peter. Rem's idiots." Lily greeted stiffly. "Obviously the rescue went alright."

"Oi! I didn't need rescuing! I NEVER need rescuing! Say it's not so, Moony!" Sirius pleaded dramatically, flinging wet hair everywhere.

"If you'd stop doing this, you wouldn't need help." Remus reminded.

"I'm only trying to say hello to the Hufflepuffs!" Sirius exclaimed "They need my fantastic presence more often in their lives." He winked at Alice, who giggled again.

"Don't you have a boyfriend?" Lily observed, listening to the flirting and looking blankly and irritatedly into space.

Alice blushed, but Sirius cut off her retort. "Jealous, Red?" he leaped over to her, throwing an arm around her shoulders. She jumped at the sudden contact, biting back a yelp.

"In your dreams, Black." She exclaimed, though her voice shook. Sirius dropped his arm, grin gone. "Right, then." he said, voice somber. He turned to Alice. "Uh, Frank was looking for you. Said he had a surprise for you. I reckon it's a picnic, considering he had us filch some some food for him."

"Really?" her eyes lit up, full of excitement. She looked at Lily, then back at the group, torn. Remus gave her a smile, then made a shooing motion with his hands.

"You don't mind, do you, Lily?" she asked the blind girl.

Lily bit her lip. "Let her have this one, Red. Please." Sirius' voice was low and quiet next to her ear.

She smiled at Alice, hoping it didn't look forced. "Go ahead. Have fun!"

Alice looked unsure, but Remus walked over to Lily. "She'll be fine." He assured, whispering "Just me," in her ear as he put an arm around her shoulders.

Alice smiled gratefully, "Thank you! Have fun, Lily!"

Lily smiled and waved, listening as her friend's footsteps faded. As soon as they were gone, she dropped her smile.

"Sorry for scaring you." Sirius said.

"You didn't." her voice was monotone. "So, what are we doing for the next..." she sighed. "Anyone know how long until the train leaves?

"Two hours." Peter said, looking up from his pocket watch.

"Two hours." Lily repeated numbly. "Brilliant. Don't let me spoil your fun."

"Uh, right, then." James said awkwardly. He looked at Remus for help. Remus shrugged. "We already ate, so... Back to the dorm, then?"

"Sounds fantastic." Sirius interjected. "I need a shower."

Remus wrinkled his nose. "Trust me. We know."

"Well, come on!" Sirius said as he walked down the hall. "We'll take the creepy stairs by the green knight, yeah?"

"How much of an aversion do you have to narrow spaces?" Remus quietly asked the girl on his arm.

She looked uncertain. "Depends."

"On?"

"Who I'm with."

"Ah," he looked at the marauders, weighing his words carefully. "Do you trust us?"

"No."

"Lil, I'm hurt!" he teased.

She couldn't help a small grin. "Alright. So, maybe you're okay."

"I should certainly hope so!"

She poked him in the ribs. "Hush, you big meanie."

"Alright, alright." He said. "But.. You gotta pick another one of us. It's a single-file kind of passage. I figure you need two guides."

She groaned. "Really?"

"Lily." he said sternly.

She furrowed her brow. "You're trying to make me interact with them, aren't you?"

"Me? Never." he said innocently. "Now pick." his tone was kind, but left no room for argument.

She muttered something under her breath.

"What was that?"

"I said 'Sirius', okay?" she snapped.

"Excellent, because we're here." he grinned, slowly coming to a halt. He and James nodded to each other.

"Wormtail, you open the passage and take lead, alright? Sirius will follow you, with Lily and Remus behind him, in that order. I'll go last, okay?"

"Are you sure?" Peter asked, giving a meaningful look over at Lily.

"Positive." James pointed at her empty eyes. "Go on."

Peter morphed into his animagus, then scurried out of sight, behind the statue's feet. Something clicked, and the knight with the emerald-encrusted sword swung forward.

Lily looked like she wanted to ask how he'd done it, her blind eyes wide. But she continued stubbornly pouting.

"Red," said Sirius. "Follow me, yeah?"

She reached out grudgingly, taking his arm in her right hand, keeping her left on Remus' arm. Sirius led her into the passage, and they began the trek into the heart of the castle.

After a few meters, Peter squeaked, signaling a turn. Lily stopped dead. "Are there rats in here?" she bit her lip nervously.

Sirius chuckled, attempting to control himself. "I'm sure there's one or two." He kept walking, giving the girl no choice but to follow.

Remus let out a half laugh. "Don't worry. They're more afraid of you than you are of them."

A particularly indignant squeak sounded from in front of them.

"I'm not afraid of them!" Lily insisted. "I just.. Prefer to know where they are at all times."

"That sounds rather stalker-ish." observed James.

"They bite!" Lily defended. "And why would you trust a rat out of your sight, anyways? It's an animal. Probably just wants to snack on your flesh..." she shuddered.

"Prongs." Remus rebuked. "Leave her alone."

"Idiotic nickname." Lily muttered, still embarrassed. "Sirius, you smell like wet dog and pickled radishes." She tightened her grip on his arm as she lost her footing in the stairs. He slipped an arm around her waist, catching her before she started a avalanche of people.

"Now you do, too." He gave her a grin, knowing she couldn't see it.

"Gee, thanks." she said, her voice lighter.

"Anytime." he acknowledged. There was a series of squeaks from ahead. "Almost to the portrait. Since you already smell like crap, I suppose you don't mind my carrying you?"

"What?" she asked, confused. "I don't thin- dear Merlin!" this last bit was shrieked as Sirius swept her into his arms, and they began flying upwards.

"BLOODY HELL, SIRIUS!" She screamed, wrapping her arms around his neck. They flew for for a few more seconds before stopping suddenly. Sirius stepped out of the air tube onto the stone flooring. He paused to look down in amusement at the girl clinging to his still-soaked chest.

"All right there, Evans?" Peter asked in amusement as he stepped from the shadows.

Remus stepped out of the chamber, followed closely by James.

"What was that?" Lily hissed, shaking.

"Brilliant, yeah?" Sirius asked, excitedly.

"No!" Lily exclaimed in as strong a voice a she could muster. She continued trembling violently, eyes screwed shut, face pinched.

"Padfoot..." Remus began in a low voice. "I think she might be having a panic attack. And, keeping in mind that her other senses are heightened to make up for her vision loss, I'm sure your new vinegar cologne isn't helping." He took a few careful steps forward, reaching out to grab the poor girl. She flinched violently when he touched her, and he reeled back as if stung. Sirius gave him a panicked look, Remus looked unsettled.

James quietly moved over to them. "Sirius, nice and easy, yeah?" he held out his arms. Sirius cautiously maneuvered the terrified girl into his best friend's grasp, wincing as he caught a glimpse of her pallid face. The bags under her eyes made him wonder if she'd slept in a while. She was silent, though she continued shaking furiously. Releasing her grip on Sirius and transferring it to James, she curled into a protective ball. The poor girl looks like death, he thought to himself.

"Lily," James began in a low, assuring tone. "You're okay. You're at Hogwarts. Sirius, Peter, and Remus are here, too. We're leaving for Christmas holidays very, very soon, and you've agreed to come home with us. You're safe. No one can hurt you. Not now, or ever again." He began repeating this over and over. After a few minutes, her trembling finally calmed. She retained her death grip on his shirt.

"Get me out of here." she pleaded in a whisper.

James looked up at his friends, a grin lighting up his face. "You heard the lady."

They followed the passage to the end, exiting through a large, ornate drapery on the wall of the corridor of Gryffindor tower.

"Remus, do you still have the cloak?" James asked as they neared the portrait.

"Yeah. Want some help?" he asked, pulling the cloak from a magicked pocket in his school robes.

"Please." James said, ducking under the offered fabric. "I don't think she'd appreciate anyone seeing her like this."

"True 'nuff." Sirius agreed. "Dibs on the diversion!"

"Do we really need a diversion?" Remus groaned.

"Yes! They're gonna wanna know why we're only three quarters of the Marauders, won't they?" Sirius not-so-patiently explained.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Fine."

Peter grinned. "Me or you?"

Sirius tapped his foot impatiently as Remus groaned. "I really don't think this is necessary," the brown haired boy began.

"Nuh, uh, uh!" Peter said dramatically. "You OWE me one, remember?"

"You can't be serious!"

"Nope, I am!" The still-damp raven haired boy exclaimed. "Now can we please go? Less plan, more action."
And with that, he bounded to the portrait. "Mistletoe," he half snarled at the fat lady, beginning their charade. James hurried in after him, still under the cloak with Lily.

"Padfoot, I swear to Merlin you'd better get back here!" Remus bellowed after he was sure James had gotten through. "This is all your fault!"

"All my fault?" Sirius exclaimed, turning on Remus and Peter as they entered the common room.

"Yes! Your fault that Prongs is in the hospital wing!" Remus got right in Sirius' face as he yelled this, standing toe to toe. At a half inch taller, Remus had no problems staring him down.

"Guys! Come on." Peter began timidly. "It's not anyone's fault."

Remus turned to glare at him. "Not anyone's fault? He," Remus jerked his head back at Sirius, "Thought it would be funny to put POISON in James' lunch! How isn't it his fault!"

"It was for the Slytherins, I swear!" Sirius shouted. "It's not my fault he decided to taste it!"

"You didn't bloody tell him it was poisoned!"

"I was going to!" Sirius exclaimed, his long, curly black hair (which was now full of dried vinegar) covering the wink he gave to both boys. "But HE told me not to!" He pointed accusingly at Peter, who gaped.

Looking around, Sirius saw every eye in the common room was on them. Satisfied that James had had plenty of time, he ran to the stairs.

"I don't have to put up with this!". He darted up to their dorm.

"This isn't over!" Remus shouted, chasing after him.

Peter looked around, flustered. "N-nothing to see here, guys." He hurried away from the curious stares.

"That was brilliant!" Sirius exclaimed, high-fiving Remus.

"Completely unrealistic, though." Remus commented dryly as they walked down the hall to their dorm.

"I thought that raising your voice was a nice touch, Moony." Peter complimented with a smirk.

"Everyone knows that I DON'T raise my voice, Wormtail."

"Which is why everyone is now certain that Prongs is fatally wounded!" Sirius exclaimed with glee as they entered their room.

"Great. More rumors." James said from behind their door. "Can I set her on your bed, Pads?"

"Uh.. Sure, Mate. But why my bed?" Sirius responded, following him across the room.

"It's against the wall." James responded, setting Lily down gently on Sirius' bed.

"So's Moony's" Peter pointed out.

"But Moony's is covered in books." Sirius explained, realizing what James was doing.

"Oh." Peter said, as he caught on.

Lily wrapped her arms around her knees on the bed, positioning herself in the corner of the bed created by the wall and the headboard. James wrapped the throw at the end of the bed around her, then moved to his bed.

"My neighbor has panic attacks." he explained with a shrug.

Sirius nodded, eying the foot of his bed. He decided against it and plopped himself on the floor.

Peter and Remus sat down on their beds, across from James and Lily, respectively.

"Well, I gotta go shower." Sirius said awkwardly after a moment of playing with his vinegar crusted hair.

The others nodded, then watched him retreat into the bathroom. "Lily?" Remus asked quietly. "Are you alright?"

She nodded, face still pale.

"Sorry for scaring you." Peter interjected.

Lily shrugged, shaking her head.

"Wait, let me guess. We didn't scare you?" James asked with a grin.

She nodded, once.

"Cool." He replied, looking mildly crestfallen at her lack of enthusiasm.

"Why is this bed against the wall?" Lily asked in a thin voice. "They aren't like this in my room."

"Both the beds over there, are." James said, at the same time Peter said "Nightmares."

James glared at Peter as Remus went pale.

"Oh." the girl said, fingering the pillow she'd wrapped around herself like a barrier. "That's smart." she smiled faintly.

"It is?" James asked, dumbstruck.

"Yeah." she nodded. "The walls are a huge help. It's nice to have your back to something solid. Makes you feel less vulnerable."

"Mm-hm." Remus agreed quietly.

She smiled a little more. "Where's Sirius?"

"In the shower, thank Merlin." Remus responded.

She nodded again. "How much longer till the train leaves?"

"An hour and a half." Peter filled in.

"I need to get my trunk." Lily said.

"We can get it!" James volunteered. "Right, Pete?"

"Right." Peter affirmed with a grin.

"For some reason, I don't trust you in my room." Lily stated hurriedly as James ran out of the dorm.

"No worries!" Peter said as he followed James out of the room. "We won't touch anything else! Meet you in the common room!"

"Not comforting." she muttered as Remus chuckled.

"I have returned!" Sirius declared as he waltzed into the room. "Hey, where are Prongs and Wormy going?"

"To get Lily's trunk. Put some clothes on, for Merlin's sake." Remus said, exasperated.

"Oh, come on!" Sirius exclaimed with a grin."I've got nothing to hide!"

"Explains all the rumors," Lily muttered.

"Hey. What'd you just say, Red?" Sirius said, pulling on a pair of muggle jeans.

"I said," she began, still clutching the pillow. "That I get all the rumors now!"

"What rumors?" he asked, sitting on the foot of James' bed. His black hair hung in limp waves, dripping water down his chest.

A shrill scream was heard from the opposite side of the tower, followed by yelling and a loud crash.

"Goddamn." Sirius bit out glaring at Lily, then the door. He looked at Remus, who shrugged, "I'm going go save them from Marley. Sirius, behave." Remus strode out of the room quickly, muttering under his breath.

The bare-chested marauder ran a hand through his still-soaked hair, then turned to the redhead on his bed. "What rumors, Red?" Sirius asked.

"The ones about you and all those girls!" she said in disgust. "Everyone knows you've been around."

"Been... around?" he asked incredulously. "You can't be for real!"

"Oh, we both know that I am!" she snapped at him. "Aggie White? Heather Grund?" he scoffed, and her blind eyes narrowed "What about the girl who told you off after you hurt yourself while interrupting my murder?"

Sirius winced at her bluntness, but continued on his already-begun rant. "Her? Soggy old hag doesn't know squat about me. And I haven't," he drew quotation marks in the air. "'Been around'."

She snorted in disbelief. "Sure. All those girls were lying, then, when they came back, bragging about their latest experience with the great Sirius Black."

"Yes, they were!" He shouted. "Not that it's any of your business!"

"Then why do you care what I think?" she asked accusingly.

"Because I think maybe that's why you hate us so much!"

"So what if it is?"

"IT'S NOT TRUE! That's sodding why!" He shouted, standing up. Taking a deep breath, he walked to the bed she was sitting on. "They were all lying." he said in a quiet voice. He sat on the foot of the bed, putting his head in his hands. "Trust me on that one."

"Why should I?" she asked, taken aback by the wounded tone in his voice.

"Come here." he said gruffly.

She didn't move. "Oi. I'm not gonna hurt you, Red. I just have to show you something." he explained, annoyed. "I'll not be the reason you keep breaking Prongs' heart.

"Ever the dramatic one, aren't we, Black?" she commented dryly as she carefully made her way to the end of the bed. "Okay?" she said sarcastically, sitting back on her ankles. "Here I am, oh great one."

He rolled his eyes, appreciating the fact that she couldn't see him (and thus couldn't hex him.) "Let me show you something?"

She paused, then cautiously nodded her head. He reached for her hands, pausing when she jumped as he brushed her fingers. "Jumpy." He commented dryly.

"You didn't scare me." she said quickly.

"Of course." he acknowledged. He changed tactics. "Now, Red, I want you to understand something."

She cocked her head. "Okay..?"

"I don't sleep around. I never have, and I never will. Not only do I think that one night stands are repulsive, I have a reputation to withhold, as untouchable. See, that's the thing about being a Black." he spit the word with disdain, his voice growing bitter. "Blood purists, Slytherins, the 'best of the best'. They don't even look at anyone 'less' than pure-blooded. You have no idea, NO idea, how vicious they are. And then there was me. I refused to torture, I refused the blood purity mania, I refused sodding Voldemort! And then, oh and then, my poor, poor parents had to deal with their first born being a Gryffindor."

He gave an awful choking, bark-like noise.

"They decided that they could beat it out of me. When that didn't work, they figured that they'd break it out of me. They even tried legilimency and the imperius." He paused, taking a deep breath. "Obviously, it didn't work. One night, last year, my mother and father decided that they'd figured out a solution. They would torture me until one of two things happened. I became 'a respectable person', or I died."

Lily let out a small breath at this, appalled.

He gave her a bitter grin. "Obviously didn't work. But.." he paused, grimacing. "I won't be forgetting any of it, due to some lovely scarring. And really, I don't want the whole school knowing what they did." She lay her head on his shoulder, ignoring the fact that it was still wet from his shower.

"I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"For calling you Black all the time."

He barked a laugh, waving her apology away. "Doesn't matter."

After a moment, she raised her head. "Can I see?"

"See?" he responded, puzzled.

"Well, you know." She waved her hand around. "Feel. See. Same thing, now." she looked embarrassed. "Not in a creepy... I mean, like..." she paused her flustered stuttering. "Merlin." she muttered. "You know what I mean."

"Just can't keep your hands off me, can you, Red?" He said with his signature smirk.

"Shut up," she grinned back, eyes blank.

"Whatever you say."

"Can I?" she tilted her head, expectantly.

"Really?"

"Yes, Really."

"Why?" he asked impishly.

"Because.. I don't know. Just 'cause."

"Gotta have a better reason than that, love." he grinned, tapping her nose

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Come on!"

"Nope!"

"Please?"

"Admit you care."

She paused, puzzled. "What?"

"Admit that you, Lily Evans, give a yank about me." He said, roguishly delighted.

"Seriously?" she asked in disbelief.

"Well duh." He said teasingly.

"Fine. I'm curious, okay?"

"Not what I said, Red. Care, not curious." He stood up, striding over to his trunk for a clean shirt.

"Alright!" Lily exclaimed, face red. She continued in a softer voice. "So maybe I care a little."

He grinned triumphantly. "Excellent!" Sirius walked over to the bed she was sitting on. "You realized Remus planned this, right?"

Her blind eyes grew wide. "Oh." She looked suspicious. "How are you so sure?"

"Marauder, love" Sirius said with a grin. "We're in each other's heads."

Lily shook her head. "Terrifying."

"You have no idea." He smirked, running a hand through his drying hair. He glanced up at the clock. "Bugger!"

"What's wrong?" Lily asked in alarm.

"Train leaves in forty-five minutes." Sirius said, pulling a white undershirt on over his head. He made a mad dash around the room, flicking his wand as he snatched his customary black button-down off the top of the window drapes. Stray belongings flew to his open trunk before it snapped shut of it's accord and magically shrunk. "Sorry, Red. I guess you'll have to feel me up some other time." he teased, offering her his arm after he slipped his mini-trunk into his pocket.

"Shut up, you prat." Lily teased back, embarrassed. "Like I actually want to be anywhere near you." She smiled, amazed at the difference a simple change in tone made to those exact words. The difference a simple change in perspective made.

Sirius led her through the halls, guiding her down the first stair. "Oh, Red?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't say anything to anyone, okay?"

"Okay." she held up her free hand. "Promise." she shook her head. "You know, if someone had told me two weeks ago that I'd be spending Christmas break with you and the other three, I would have laughed in their face. If they'd told me I'd be making promises to you, I would have hexed them silly. Yet here we are." She shrugged, giving him a half laugh. "It's just a bit loony."

"Nah.. I knew you'd come around." Sirius gloated, puffing in dramatic self-importance. "No one can resist my charm!"

"Did you have to get him started on that again, Evans?" Peter asked reproachfully as they walked through the common room.

"Woah! James!" Sirius exclaimed with pride. "What happened to you?"

"Forgot to check the ma-" he trailed off, realizing Lily was there, and that she'd kill them if she knew about the marauder's map. "Kayla and Mary were still in. They lobbed one of those fancy little muggle shoes at me!" he pointed at the black eye he was sporting.

"Are you okay?" Lily asked with a frown from just behind Sirius. The whole group stopped dead and stared at the blind girl, who stared blankly into the corner of the room, attempting to figure out what was going on. Finally, a grin spread across Remus' face. He elbowed James' shoulder.

"Oh, err..." James began, rubbing the back of his neck and looking shocked. "I'm- I'm fine. Walters has a mean throw, though. She should be a chaser, honestly." He gave a wide-eyed look to Sirius, mouthing 'what did you do?'. Sirius shrugged noncommittally.

"Kayla?" Lily asked, taking a step forward. "I tried to stop you." She tilted her head, listening for a moment. "Umm," she began, looking uncomfortable. "Do you want me to heal it? I'd assume it's either a broken nose or a black eye, since she only aims for the head." she rolled her blind eyes, placing a hand on her hips.

"Er, yeah. Black eye. Um, sure?" James asked, taking a few cautious steps towards her. She reached out her right hand, left arm still wrapped around Sirius'. Her probing hand found his shoulder, then carefully and delicately made it's way to his face. She prodded lightly, examining the damage. The marauders were silent as she pulled out her wand, muttering a few spells they hadn't heard of before. James winced, looking terrified with Lily's wand so close to his nose. But the hex never came, and the bruised tissues around his eye dissolved into healthy, uninjured skin. "Thanks," he said thoughtfully, touching the now-healed skin.

Lily shrugged. "I should have warned you." James looked at his friends, bewildered. Sirius and Remus shrugged at him. Peter looked just as shocked as the bespectacled boy himself.

Lily cleared her throat, interrupting their silent conference awkwardly. "I know you guys are having another silent conversation, and I hate to interrupt, but, doesn't the train leave soon?"

"Oh, right!" James said, still looking shocked at her lack of fury. "Er, right then. Everyone set? Let's, uh, go. Right then, Sirius.
Peter, got her trunk okay?"

"I can carry my own trunk." Lily said reproachfully.

"Nonsense." Peter said, brushing off James' cautious look. "I've got it."

Lily rolled her eyes and grumbled, but didn't argue again. "One last request?"

"Yeah?" Remus asked as he held open the portrait for her.

"No more secret passages?"

The marauders laughed at this, assuring her that they'd take the normal route for once.