James sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, his hand clenched tightly around his fork. Remus and Peter watched him warily. Neither of them really knew what had happened between the two when Sirius had left them alone but it was clear that something had happened and it was something bad.

"So I was thinking about our upcoming prank..." Remus trailed off. Normally he wasn't the one to suggest it but with Sirius and James so distracted lately, Peter and him had to step up. "And-"

"What?" James interrupted and the two looked up at him. He had a frown on his face. "Sorry, what did you say?"

Remus let out a sigh of defeat, "Nevermind."

"Hey," Sirius muttered as he placed his tray down on the table. "What did I miss?"

James looked up at the boy and quickly looked away, focusing on his food. He had been avoiding his friend ever since the day after they returned to Hogwarts and no one knew why. Well, it was clear that it had to do with Del but what specifically, no one knew.

Del, on the other hand, had been avoiding all of the Marauder's. She kept her distance in class and whenever they were heading the same direction in the hall, she mysteriously vanished.

After that night and with James finding out what had happened while she was at home, she couldn't face any of them. The worst part was she had no idea if the boy had told anyone or not.

She had managed to convince Snape to swap partners to avoid any possible awkward confrontations. James could have told Lily and that would have been beyond unbearable.

"Do you really think it's a good idea?" Snape asked with a slight frown. Prior to him speaking, they had been silent during their patrol. Snape was the only other person Del had voluntarily told seeing as Dumbledore had offered him the same position as her.

It wasn't as though the two were friends but they were acquaintances of sorts and cared at least a little bit about each other. After all, she had put the boy on her protection list.

"Do I have any other choice?" she countered.

He pressed his lips together but nodded in agreement. She didn't have another choice, not when it was a choice between herself and the people she cares about.

They walked through the hall when there was a noise from up ahead.

"Lily, go get a teacher," a familiar voice suggested.

"She's not going anywhere," someone replied.

Del and Snape shared a look before they both took off. They came to a halt upon seeing Bellatrix with her wand drawn on Lily and James.

"What the hell is going on?" Del demanded, her own wand drawn within seconds.

Bellatrix's gaze flickered over to her and her face dropped momentarily. She recovered swiftly, "Only having fun. Care to join?"

Lily's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she glanced back at Del. Del sucked in a breath before stepping forward, "You aren't supposed to be here."

"You're not in charge of what I do."

Del's lip quirked up slightly, "Would you rather he be here to talk to you right now?"

Her eyes widened slightly and Del's grip tightened on her wand. She glanced back at the three behind her.

"Get her out of here, Severus," Del requested, her wand still pointed at Bellatrix as she spoke. Snape nodded before guiding the reluctant Lily away.

"Get out of here, Potter," she suggested.

"No," he protested and she glanced back at him, her wand still aimed at her cousin.

"Go," she told him, her sights now trained on the antsy girl in front of her. "We don't need any repeats of what happened last time, do we?"

James faltered at this. She knew bringing it up would give him pause, "We can just get Dumbledore."

"I can't let you do that," she replied, still not looking back at him. "Just go so I don't have to do anything I regret." She hated how complicated things had gotten but she knew it was only going to get worse.

He remained silent for a moment but she eventually heard his footsteps as he made his way down the hall.

"Expelliarmus!" Del shouted and the woman's wand flew from her hand. "What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded as soon as she knew he was gone.

"Just some fun," Bellatrix replied with a grin. She stepped forward, "They were here and-"

"Watch yourself," she warned, "Need I remind you, I have the upper hand here."

"Look at me when I'm talking to you," Del ordered and Bellatrix narrowed her eyes but obeyed. "The Dark Lord and I came to an agreement," she pointed out, she used her wand to tilt her cousin's head back up. "What did I just say?"

"The Dark Lord and I came to an agreement," Del repeated. "I pledge my loyalty to him and the people I care about are safe."

"But-"

"That includes the muggle-born and the blood traitor."

"The mudblood-"

"Her name is Lily," Del informed her. "Say it."

"No."

"Do you want me to tell your master about your venturing tonight?" Del inquired, sticking her wand a little deeper into her cousin's throat. "About you disobeying his direct orders not to return here? You two may have some creepy special bond but I think it's safe to assume that won't protect you from his wrath when he finds out."

She muttered something and Del raised an eyebrow, "I can't hear you."

"Her name is Lily," she repeated and Del smiled, satisfied with the response.

She pushed Bellatrix away and tossed her wand back, "Get the hell out of here. If you show up again, I won't hesitate to hurt you."

Bellatrix eyed the girl for a moment before taking off. How the hell had she gotten in this time?

Del had been grateful that Bellatrix hadn't put up a fight. While she probably could have taken her, she certainly wouldn't have gotten out unscathed.

The following day, she didn't even attend classes. After that, seeing Lily or James would have been unbearable.

If he didn't hate her before, there was no way he didn't now. But at least he walked away as she requested.

Del made her way to the kitchens while she knew everyone was in class. She needed to eat something. She had her head down as she walked, not expecting anyone to be out and about.

She came to a halt as she heard footsteps from up ahead. She looked up and her eyes widened when she saw James across from her.

His eyebrows furrowed for a moment in thought before he walked toward her. She cursed herself internally but didn't run as she so desired to.

"I thought you were supposed to be in class," she stated.

"Couldn't I say the same for you?" he countered.

"Look-" she began but he cut her off.

"She was afraid of you," James blurted out. "And not just because she had no wand."

"You didn't leave like I asked you to," Del concluded, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why?"

"I wanted to make sure you were okay," he explained simply. "Although I soon realized that your cousin was in more trouble than you were."

"I asked you to leave for a reason."

"Which is what exactly?" he inquired, shaking his head. "Because I already knew about you being involved with them."

She looked around for a moment, debating on how to respond. "I didn't want the way you saw me to change," she answered honestly.

"The way I saw you changed the moment you got that mark on your arm." She felt her heart drop as he ran a hand through his hair, "I have to get to class."

She watched as he walked away from her, her heart hammering in her chest. It was probably better this way. If he saw her as a bad person, the person she really was, then he would be safe. And that's all that matters.