Lily stared at James, her green eyes wide and face pale so that the freckles across her nose stood out twice as much as usual. 

They were sitting on the couch in the Trophy Room Passageway, facing one another, their legs tangled up around each other, leaning against opposite arms of the couch. James had just finished telling Lily everything that had happened during the full moon at the Shrieking Shack, including the story about the watch, and Peter's Unbreakable Vow - or as much as they'd been able to extract from him for information, that is. 

"Sirius was ready to kill him," James said with a sigh, "You know Sirius, how dramatic he can be, he was instantly holding his wand to Peter's throat."

Lily shook her head. "Poor Peter. I told you lot there was something going on with him, I could just feel it..." She was near to tears. "I wish Sirius wouldn't be so harsh with him, he needs to be loved, that's all he needs..."

"Yeah," James murmured. He looked down. "I don't know what to do. I mean, obviously we have to figure out a way to rescue Peter from You Know Who, but I don't know how."

Lily pursed her lips. "Maybe it's something that needs to be brought to Dumbledore."

"Maybe," James replied. Then, "But last year if the rescuing had been left up to Dumbledore and the Resistance then I'd still be in Voldemort's clutches, wouldn't I? Still be being tortured..." his eyes got sort of faraway, "Or else mercifully dead."

"Don't say that," Lily shivered.

James looked at her. "It's true, though. I get it Dumbledore's the most powerful wizard in the world and that he's the only one Voldemort is afraid of and all of that but I feel like maybe Dumbledore sort of... doesn't act when he should."

Lily raised an eyebrow.

"Like maybe the academics of it sort of distracts him from just doing what he ought to do. He gets too caught up in having to know every facet of things," James went on, "When all he needs to do is ruddy kill the son of a bitch."

Lily nodded slowly, "Maybe."

James looked back down at his hands again, picking at a loose thread on the couch.

"What is it that you think needs to be done, then?" Lily asked, "About Peter?"

"We need to get my watch back from Voldemort so he doesn't have control over Peter," James replied, "And we need to fulfill his Unbreakable Vow so that he isn't bound to Voldemort by it any longer, so that the magical contract is nulled and Peter's freed."

Lily nodded slowly, "And what is it that the Unbreakable Vow is for that would need fulfilling?"

James's eyes very carefully stayed trained on that loose thread. "From what we could get from him, Voldemort wants him to bring me to him. Because for some reason Voldemort thinks that I know about Mopsus and his life clock."

Lily's eyes had widened. "Absolutely not." Her voice was sharp and a bit shaky. She shook her head violently, and drew her legs up, standing up and pacing about the room, "No - no - no." She turned and looked at James, wagging her finger, "Don't you even think about it."

He looked up at her.

"You are not allowing Peter to bring you to him," Lily said, "I know that's what you're thinking you have to do and I -- NO. Abso-fucking-lutely not."

James smirked at this.

"I mean it, James Charlus Potter," Lily said.  She crossed her arms over her chest sternly and set her jaw as straight as she could, although it quivered just a wee, and stared down her nose at him.

He stood up, too, then, and took her in his arms. She remained stiff, staring at him with a stern expression. "Don't think you can hug your way out of this, you need to swear to me that you won't go letting him bring you back to - to -" Lily broke, then, as James's warm arms were encircling her, and she wrapped her arms around him, pressing her face against his chest. "You don't understand how afraid I was for you when you were gone."

He kissed the top of her head.

"I was mad with worry, James, I thought - I thought I'd never get to tell you how I really feel, and I thought - I thought it was my fault, and --"

"Shh," he whispered, and his chin rested in her ginger hair and he took a deep breath of it, closing his eyes and relishing the fact that he could hold her like this, after all those years of wanting to so desperately.

Lily sunk her fingers into his jumper, clutching onto him. "You're never going back there to him."

James was quiet for a long moment.

Lily drew back, looking up at him, "Promise me..."

"Evans," James said quietly, "What about Peter, then? What am I do to? Just let him be killed by Voldemort? Eventually, that's what would happen, you know."

Lily's voice was thick, "What about Peter, you ask, but... James -- what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Who rescues you after you're done rescuing Peter?"

James smiled, "That's where you come in, my love."

Lily was shaking. "But --"

"There's got to be a way that we can do it without actually doing it," James said, "I just have to figure out the logistics of it, that's all. It's something we need to plan how to do. And I need your help at it."

Lily's eyes were glistening with tears.

"You're the brightest witch, Evans, and I can't do this without you. I need your strength and your smarts to help us figure out how." James reached up and gently wiped away her tears with his thumb. "I think we need to get the whole Order to help."

Lily nodded. "It's just if anything happens to you, I couldn't stand it, I haven't had long enough with you and --"

James reached down and cupped her chin gently with his fingers. "Hey... Evans?" He tilted her face to look up at him and she stared into his eyes, the tears still falling down her cheeks. James smiled into her gaze, "I love you. And nothing on this earth could take me from you."

"Death can take you from me," she snapped, hating how relaxed he was being about this. It was clear in his eyes he'd been thinking about this and she hated how level he was, how willing to sacrifice himself he was, she hated that he had to be the one to do it, that he was the one with the opportunity. Well guess what James Potter, I'd sacrifice myself for you, you toerag, she thought bitterly. And there isn't a blasted thing you could do to stop me from it.

"It can't even," he answered, "Because I'd haunt you, love, and blow you raspberries like Peeves."

She blinked up at him, her hot tempered thoughts freezing at this ridiculous sentence. "What?" she asked.

James grinned and stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry at her. Then, in a perfect imitation of Peeve's voice, James said, "Ohhh little Lily-lee-li thinks that she can be rid of me in death does she?" he cackled, "It isn't that easyyyyy!" And he took her up, spinning them about in the best version of Peeves head-over-heels barrel rolls that he could do, given the physics of gravity, and they landed heavily on the couch, laughing loudly, James bracing himself as they landed so that he didn't crush her with his weight, leaning over her, looking down into her eyes, which sparkled with amusement.

"That's a very good impression," she laughed.

James's lip was hung up on his tooth. "Maybe I ought to be Peeves at the Halloween feast tonight."

Lily giggled all the harder, "Oh my gosh, you'd be the most original costume."

"Could get Sirius to levitate me so I could do his air-spins," James honked.

Lily snort-laughed, turning red.

James stared down into her eyes as their laughter slowly died away, and she stared up at him, biting her lower lip. A sort of seriousness fell over them as they stared at one another, becoming hyper-aware of their physical positioning, of the way their bodies were pressed against one another and the quiet of the passageway now that they weren't making all of the racket they'd been. The gravity of the situation at hand was returning, too, and the world seemed a very smell, very scary sort of place suddenly, and the shortness of life - the potential of death looming ever close at hand...

Lily leaned up and kissed James's chin, her hands running down his sides. He was inches away and it felt like miles suddenly. "James," she whispered his name.

His mouth was very, very dry and he licked his lips slowly.

"Come closer," she whispered.

James lowered himself down slowly, the weight of him heavy against her, and she wrapped her arms around his back, up to his shoulders, pulling him into her. Their noses bumped, their foreheads touched. Every curve of her pressed against him and he felt a sweat prickle at the back of his neck. He laughed nervously.

"Alright, Potter?" she asked, mimicking him from all those other times. She stared up into his cyclops eye.

"Better than alright, Evans," he answered, and their mouths met.

"No, we didn't do it!" James threw a handful of Bertie Bott's across the room, several of the beans hitting the intended target -- Sirius. "You blasted idiot, shut up." His face was scarlet red. "But we did get quite a bit of snogging done and... and there was a good deal of touching, if you know what I mean."

"Ooooooooooohhhhhh," Sirius wailed, "OH. Potter, you DOG. You DEER!"

Remus was red for James at this point and he elbowed Sirius to shut up but Sirius was too far gone to stop at this point and he went on ribbing James loudly as the boys were preparing for the Halloween feast.

Peter sat quietly on his bed, hugging his knees, watching the excitement and preparations without moving, his chin resting upon his knees as his eyes swiveled, following his mates as they laughed and pushed one another, shouted and joked. He'd been watching without participating for the last couple days now, ashamed and feeling as though he didn't deserve to be included anymore.

Remus noticed his quietness as James and Sirius continued on with their revelries and shouting. "You alright, Wormtail?"

Peter nodded.

Remus asked, "Aren't you going to come along to the Halloween party?"

Peter shook his head.

"But it's not going to be the same without you, Wormy."

Peter shook his head again, "I don't feel up to it is all."

Remus sighed.

Lily Evans stood in the common room in her costume, having spent the last hour doing her make-up. Ali squealed as she came down the stairs, dressed in a sparkling romper with sequins all over it - a disco ball - and she raced over to Lily. "Oh you look so bloody cute!" she gasped, "Oh my goodness, look at you!" She held Lily out at arm's length, "I just love it. And your flower crown, oh my gods, I love everything about this!"

Lily flushed beneath her make up, "Yeah? You don't think I look silly? I'm so scared I'll smudge my nose."

"You look perfect," Ali replied. "James is going to pass out just looking at you!" She grinned, "Gods alive, I'd kill to be able to pull off a leotard like that."

Lily was wearing a skin-tight leotard of dark brown, and a sheer, flowing white skirt about her middle. She wore the antler-shaped necklace that James had given her long ago, and her face was painted brown and tan with white dots and a black nose, a crown of flowers and ribbons in her hair, and tiny twig antlers... She'd done her eyeliner thick, with trailing bits at the outsides that accentuated her green eyes and made them look bigger and brighter even than usual.

"You're the most precious doe I've ever seen," Ali said and she gave Lily a great big hug... then drew back, a grin spreading over her face, "Oi Potter, you stag, look at your doe." And Ali spun Lily around to see the Marauders coming down the stairs.

James was dressed in brown, too, brown pants, brown button up shirt, a black vest like one of Sirius's over it. He'd painted his face, too, and Sirius had done his eyeliner so that James's eyes, too, were large and wonderful... and a top his head, Lily had to choke back the laugh, he'd partially transformed so that his antlers were sprouting up out of his messy black hair.

"Those antlers are killer," Ali exclaimed, "They look real! Where on earth did you get them?"

James grinned, "I magicked them myself." He winked at Lily.

"Well they're incredible!" Ali said.

Behind James came Sirius and Remus...

Sirius was wearing a black t-shirt (which read "If Lost, Please Return to Remus Lupin" in grey letters) and vest, and ripped black denim jeans covered with holes and safety pins, his boots only half laced about his ankles, and pointed dog ears atop his head, his hair down and shaggy, his eyeliner done dark and his nose painted black, a collar about his neck that read SNUFFLES. Remus wore a shaggy grey sweater and ears similar to Sirius's, and held onto a leash that hung from Sirius's collar. 

Sirius bounded down the stairs and ran over and licked the side of her face. "Aren't you a-doe-rable?" he asked.

Lily giggled, "I canine believe your outfit."

"It's staggering, really," James nodded.

Remus sighed as they all looked at him. "I don't know howl you people talk me into this shite."