Still my favorite chapter of this book, and I regret nothing.

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Remus knocked a tin of biscuits to the ground, which opened with a clatter and sent gingersnaps in all directions. The Gryffindor banner behind the straight back chair that Regulus accidentally tore down during his fall, the Quidditch Cup sitting proudly in a nook to the left of her desk that fell on Frank's head, and the transfiguration essays that went scattering around into everyone's faces at their arrival left no one in doubt for this to be McGonagall's office, though the four Marauders had memorized this place before the first semester was up, and even Lily had been in here a handful of times to know as much.

The book sat propped up in the windowsill, looking out at the Quidditch pitch beyond, but nobody made a move towards it, as everyone was still eyeing Lily warily like they thought she was going to try exploding the castle next. She did get to her feet, but much more calmly again, going for the door and trying it. Sadly, it did not open, and she closed her eyes instead, willing herself to have enough patience to get through the rest of this.

"Lily, hun," Alice began cautiously, while Frank belatedly wondered if he should bother using the Episkey charm before trying the same again. "Are you-"

"I don't care," she enunciated clearly, also not caring that everyone in the room was now eyeing her, she'd say this in front of Snape herself if she had to. "I'm done, I quit, I'm never speaking to him again!" She was shouting by the end again, and seemed to realize it. Taking a long, deep breath she went on in a deadly calm voice that was somehow even scarier. "This doesn't happen to me in, in six years when Pettigrew gets us killed," she'd feel bad later for him flinching and Potter giving her the filthiest look for insulting him again. "This is in days! I'm glad it's his worst memory, if that part even is! He should feel bad for doing it! But he did, he's just like those other Death Eaters, and I am done."

Alice and Frank exchanged a heartbroken look as her voice cracked again, but they certainly weren't going to try and help mend this one if she really didn't want to.

"I think you should still see if he'll say it again," Regulus Black of all people said. His eyes were flickering from Peter, to his brother, and back to her critically. "If you maybe stop it from happening exactly that way-"

"No," she said flatly, there was no room for argument in her voice even as she whirled to glare him down, her skirt flaring dramatically an unintended side effect. "I'll always know he said it, I'll remember it every bloody time he tries to talk to me, why put myself through that again?"

Regulus didn't back down though, he was starting to look a little angry himself. "He could change, if he regrets it enough."

"I've been waiting for a year now for him to change!" Lily sneered, "years, even, I'm sick of waiting around!" She felt like a fool, them all standing around watching her, when there had been so many signs in her past this was coming.

It had started with him skipping out on some of their study sessions because some of the cool Slytherins noted how good he was at potions and asking for his help right after their first class, and he began trying to equally split his time while keeping both sides separate, because Snape knew both sides. He knew those cool, all pure-blood Slytherins would mock him for having a Muggleborn best friend, but he'd never wanted her to feel either obligated to go hang out with him to change their mind or feel left out, so he kept the two groups as separate as he could for as long as he could. It had almost worked, until last year, where finally the prejudices began getting so much worse as the whispers of You-Know-Who grew and sides were being picked even before the students realized that's what they were doing when they looked a moment too long at a known Muggleborn, wondering if they weren't coming back from holiday like the last one.

Finally, he'd begun having to pick, he couldn't just go see her or his Slytherin friends and pretend the other side didn't notice, so he tried sneaking around doing it instead as if she wouldn't notice, but that didn't work any better, and they'd both begun demanding he pick a side. He'd tried to convince Lily it was her, even while he stuck with them, because she was safe from the nastier spells they liked to practice on other Muggleborns and he could deter them with his point of view knowing and slowly change them, he kept promising, but she didn't think that was a good enough excuse because she could take care of herself and it certainly didn't seem to be working thus far. Still, so long as he kept being her friend, so long as it was just the two of them, she let it go for just a bit longer, until finally he heard a nasty Muggleborn joke a row over in the library last month, and laughed under his breath. He apologized at once, promising it's just what he had to do around the others and he didn't mean it, but from then on she could never shake the feeling of who he was being real around anymore. Now she knew.

Lily's balled up fists were still shaking as she kept eyeing Regulus though, already a little niggle in her brain as she wondered if maybe she should still give him one last chance, a test. It's not like it would take any effort to get Potter involved in this scenario again, and Regulus was right about one thing, people could change, he was... but should she really put herself through all this again on a chance? She'd still always wonder if he was really just thinking it in the back of his mind, if instead he'd be the reason to get her killed in the future instead of Pettigrew next time around.

The thought stopped her heart in her chest, surely even if he did hate her now, he'd never do that?

"Would you get on with it, I want out of this cycle already so I can get on with my life!" She shot at Lupin, who was closest to the book.

Remus was too afraid for his life to argue the point, but at least James and Sirius were looking at Regulus in admiration for that, and Peter smiling and still leaning beside him felt like a great omen to them at least.

She forced herself to just breathe for several moments as Lupin stuttered out the chapter title, Career Advice. She didn't want anyone else's advice though, this was her decision!

Harry though, did capture her attention, and she was admittedly distracted from her own woes to recall the fleeting shock she'd felt before landing again had temporarily distracted her. Now she almost had to bite down on her lip to stop herself from laughing. Her worry seemed to be the opposite, Harry found his father just as much an arse as she did. Potter's involvement in that had been the most typical of the whole event. It was the first time she'd really felt close to her son as he saw what she did.

James definitely didn't find it as funny.

He was still half worried she would turn around and start trying to kill him, like she'd blame him for Severus lashing out at the wrong person, but as she kept her lips pressed tight together and just ignored him as much as ever, at least that didn't seem to be coming. He'd wanted to hold her as Longbottom had and promise she wasn't really alone, but he knew better. He'd never really been alone, he couldn't even imagine the pain she was in. Sirius would never call him something like that, and what was more, he'd never had to question such a thing; but then, there wasn't even a derogatory word for purebloods. 

Instead he listened in shocked horror as Harry analyzed the events, and found Snape the victim, like he'd once been to Dudley.

Remus kept trying to shrink away from the book even as he forced himself to read out Harry's side, his hands twitching in disgust like he wanted to throw the book out the window. Sirius kept looking from it to Prongs like he was waiting for a translator to all this. Peter just hung his head and wouldn't look at anyone.

James stamped his foot in frustration and began circling McGonagall's desk, but there was nobody to shout at, nothing to vent towards as Harry's whole idea of him crumbled to nothing apparently because of one instance, and he hadn't even been at fault! Snape had insulted Lily in the worst way possible, all he'd done was try to make him apologize, something he'd do to anyone for the rest of his life, how was that such a bad thing!

Yeah, Sirius had started it that time, but was Harry just forgetting Snape had been showing his true colors the past five years of his school life, belittling and insulting every kid that entered his class? He'd done that in his school years too, nobody had been safe from those terrible pre-Death Eaters and they'd often come out far worse than just being hung upside down in front of a crowd for a few moments! Snape had been a part of those instances, even if nobody had been able to prove it, James knew. Snape had been the one to use a dark curse, no normal spell just made a cut appear on him like that!

He stopped cold at Harry's next implicating thought, that he'd forced Lily Evans into marrying him somehow. It was the most insulting thing he'd ever heard from his life, all directed by his kid. He looked around as if concrete were slowly filling him, but at least everywhere he looked nobody in here seemed to believe that particular aspersion. Even Evans met his eyes, something his heart still thrilled at even as his mind circled desperately to understand.

"That's not Harry's fault," she actually, was, comforting, him? "It's Vol- V-" she had to stop and clear her throat, but finally spat, "Voldemort's," shivering herself for her nerve before flipping her hair over her shoulder and finishing with pure ferocity, "that he doesn't know us, whatever this future is. Whatever the hell happened Potter, I know you're not that kind of awful."

"Thanks," he told her sincerely as Harry turned his perspective to his own mother, calling her the decent one. Well he wasn't going to deny that one, ever since the very first time all she'd ever done was told them to stop, she stepped in whenever things escalated and pulled Snape away to try defusing the situation, which was more than he'd ever done, he'd admit to that. The one time she hadn't, and well, maybe things had gone too far...

It was a challenge, it was fun to push those Death Eaters as far as he could, getting whatever detentions he had to for it to show nobody was just going to bend over and let them do whatever they want. Snape was his personal favorite to target, he'd never appreciated the company Evans gave him! Harry didn't have the whole story, he consoled himself, and as Ginny arrived and Harry came to the brilliant conclusion to talk to Sirius about this, he would. He'd understand, right?

The actual point of the chapter cut into his miserable thoughts as Harry was distracted by all the Career Advice, the pamphlets over all the jobs, and then the actual meeting with McGonagall began, again with that toad in the back. He grimaced in disgust, wondering what Harry would have thought of hearing his. McGonagall had listened patiently as he talked of possibly being a professional Quidditch player, and he'd brought one of his drawings to show her which she'd said was very good, but as he'd departed she'd made the comment maybe a little law enforcement would do him more good. Overall his grades had been decent enough and he still had time and options, he didn't have to pin anything down, would Harry still think he was a layabout with nothing to do for his life but follow Snape around pantsing him all day if he heard that?

Lily watched at how absolutely miserable this was making Potter, he didn't even make one snide comment about Umbridge as she kept interrupting McGonagall, and thought this was probably the best thing that could have ever happened to him. To all of them. It wasn't pleasant, by any stretch, to have to be force-fed their life from somebody else's perspective, but she really acknowledged the good this was doing as he just slumped to the floor by Lupin's feet, head tipped towards the book not to miss a word.

Her berating had never penetrated his thick skull, his friends had only ever been an encouragement, even now Lupin and Black still looked more confused than hurt as he did, but Pettigrew and Regulus had their heads together once more and were whispering excitedly about their future goals, and Alice and Frank now had foreknowledge of this travesty of Neville not getting any kind of advice from his parents. She now had a truth forced upon her she'd needed for a long time but never would have accepted until the proof was laid bare.

Despite all that he'd been through, Harry was a good person, and Lily found herself smiling in encouragement, wishing Harry had a memory of her doing this rather than the one he did, he'd make a fantastic Auror, the best there was, all because he'd do the right thing no matter the cost.

She found herself suppressing laughter of all things as Harry went sneaking into a teacher's office once more, planning to use Umbridge's own fireplace to talk to Sirius Black. The amount of times Sev had offered to sneak into Slughorn's office and steal ingredients for their potions rather than Lily just ordering new ones suddenly wasn't so funny anymore, and she felt like she'd been kicked in the heart as she tried to think of anything else.

"Hey, Prongs, relax," Sirius finally sighed as he slumped to the ground beside him, still leaning against Remus's legs but watching him still fidget heavily as even old Professor Lupin happened to be there when Harry popped in. Did he really think the two of them were going to tell Harry to start hating him? "We'll set Harry right, nobody who really knows you can hate you, and Harry won't either when we're done with him."

"Yeah?" James tried to say like he agreed, but it still came out more as a pathetic question. He still didn't feel like he had a good answer for why Peter had done what he did, what had James done to make him fear Voldemort more than stick with them? Sirius and Remus still didn't seem as close as they should be in this future, something had changed between them as well, the lie that had started it all still cascading around. He wasn't sure he really wanted to hear Sirius and Remus try to reminisce about their glory days in school to Harry, had they possibly started hating him in this future too?

The answer very obviously seemed otherwise as his dread watching Moony slowly morphed to a soft smile as he eyed the pair, clearly calming Harry at least somewhat, but couldn't help but scoff at the phrase 'deflated his head.'

"I don't know why I put up with either of you," he laughed.

"We're the only people that bother trying to put up with you," Sirius shrugged without remorse.

His heart felt like singing right out of his chest at the next lovely bit of info, though Evans still rolled her eyes and didn't acknowledge the apparent news they'd started dating in seventh year! His mind spun wildly in every direction, he immediately vowed to look into whatever that head-deflating nonsense was.

Peter found himself wishing he could hide under the desk, even if nobody was really acknowledging him right now, even Regulus was attentive to the book as Harry's conversation was cut short and Filch entered Umbridge's office. He hadn't been mentioned at all of course, and who could blame his friends after what he'd done to them. The more he thought about it though, the more he realized he wasn't exactly relevant to their life at all.

He'd only been used as a ploy, an extra dupe in the future plans to keep James safe, and had done the worst thing imaginable to return that. It had been James's idea to become Animagi, and Padfoot was the best at that by far, keeping up with Moony as a companion, whereas the best he did was a distraction, and not even a very good one at that. Had he ever contributed anything to their life of value? He certainly couldn't come up with anything, and never would think up something so spectacular as the twins flooding a whole corridor with a swamp.

Everybody laughed uproariously at that, and were still chatting freely about it as if they wished they'd been plopped into that mess as Remus finished with the twins leaving the castle with one last hurrah against Umbridge. Would they even notice if he got left behind?