~ROAC~ (incomplete)

"Love, you're not alone, 'cause I'm gonna stand by you.
Even if we can't find heaven, I'm gonna stand by you."

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The plan was laid out the same night Lily was whisked away to St. Mungo's. To say one of the group was the leader in this would be a lie- each contributed well. James and Marlene did, though, take a brief command when it came to finalizing the last few pieces, and by two am the next morning, the grim faces of the seven conspirators bore just a glimmer of determination. None of them slept well that night, even Peter, who was usually asleep the moment his head hit the pillow, yet their professors were understanding of each's struggle during the last day. Professor McGonagall kept an especially careful eye on Remus and James- one more because the full moon was recently and the other more to make sure he wouldn't storm out of the classroom all of a sudden in a quest to murder Severus Snape.

Bell could hardly focus on her schoolwork. All day, she kept an eye out for the Slytherin boy who'd caused Lily so much pain, but he did not appear anywhere, not even when she, Peter, and Marlene had Double Potions with Slytherin. Slughorn seemed antsy all class and when Peter raised his hand to ask a question about the Veritaserum potion (Remus had deigned him the least likely to arouse suspicion with such an inquiry) the tenured professor's hands shook so much that he dropped the vial of Wideye potion in his grasp. Luckily, the information wished for was given and Bell was glad to know they were one step closer to carrying out the plot.

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Meanwhile, Remus had a free period and was with Persephone in the library, searching through the available texts for one more piece of information deemed too suspicious to ask Slughorn outright: the effectiveness of the Veritaserum potion. When they might usually steal a kiss or two behind the shelves, the couple focused instead on their research; when Madame Pince, in a moment of rare sympathy, offered the right location for the information they sought, they thanked her and, slipping off, promised (albeit half-heartedly) to keep their moments of romance out of her library from now on; when Sirius dropped in at the end of the period and learned what they had learned, neither teased him about his and Bell's uncertain relationship. 

When Remus crumpled up the note on which he'd copied the meager yet essential info, reluctant to leave the library but needing to get to the next location of the plan, Persephone reached to him and gently laid her hand over his. His chin dropped and he stared at the floor for a moment, blinking back tears. She wrapped her arms around him, drawing him into a hug, and they stayed there for a long moment. Remus could tell she needed the embrace just as much as he did. They were there for each other when each needed a shoulder to lean on most, and that meant more to Remus than he thought he could ever express in words. As Persephone stepped back, she slipped the piece of parchment out of his grasp, smoothed it out, and folded it neatly. He offered a slight smile at that, and somehow, he felt quite a bit better about this whole affair than he had all day.

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By now, Sirius had descended further into the castle and met up with Peter (Marlene and Bell had parted from them right after Potions to carry out a vital piece of the plan), and both continued on, silent, as if they were heading for the Grand Staircase, but instead, they ducked into an empty classroom. James' invisibility cloak was tucked into the bottom of Sirius' bag, so he drew it out then and draped it over himself and Peter, and then the pair proceeded back into the hall and then toward the Slytherin dorms. If they had timed this right- and Sirius was certain they had, as no one wanted to mess this up -Snape was either ferreted away in his House's dorm or on his way to the Great Hall for lunch. Sirius and Peter were on their way to draw him out, if he was in his dorm, and they missed the fifty-fifty shot, James was waiting surreptitiously by the entrance to the Great Hall.