Let's tell a story.
We'll tell a wonderful story filled with love, adventure, and tragedy. There won't be a happy ending though. You see there are no heroes here. There will be a castle, magic, an evil curse, and true love's first kiss; but it must be understood that this is no fairy tale. This is a story not of happy endings but of hopeful beginnings. It is to be read with the knowledge that while good may not always triumph in the first battle, it most certainly will win the war.
The villain in our tale is neither a fire breathing dragon nor an evil king. Our villain began as nothing more than an intelligent and lonely teenage boy. His story is not our concern. How and why someone goes bad isn't always clear until after they are adequately destroyed and unfortunately Lord Voldemort would not face his final demise for a very long time. He had gained so much support that he created an army of hate and oppression that would collectively serve as a fire breathing dragon. This story begins in an age of uncertainty and fear, the prequel to war. It's that period of time just before the dragon emerges from the cave, a fog is creeping in, and the woods have gone silent. The only sign of life is from the Knight in shining armor, who has prepared most valiantly for battle. Although, for our purposes there is no Knight in shining armor, there's only Sirius Black. Sirius Black had not valiantly prepared for anything in his life. He was more like Peter Pan than Sir Lancelot, not to impugn his masculinity, but simply because deep down he wanted nothing more than to always be a boy and to have fun.
He is the singular point at which our story revolves. Sirius Black found himself an intelligent and lonely teenage boy, much like our villain once was (although most would say far more attractive). Mr. Black had the upbringing that Lord Voldemort had always desired. He was pureblood, which in certain social circles was equated to royalty. Sirius was intended to become a prince, not a heroic one but a charming one at least. Unfortunately for his rather foul mother and his four hundred year old father Sirius Black never quite understood the mentalities of a "well to do pureblood" in fact he thought they were quite stupid. Instead of becoming a cold hearted Prince charming Sirius Black escaped into the darkness of London just as the lost boys had, only he didn't go to Neverland. The existence of Neverland would make our story pointless. This is a tale of growing up in the most difficult of ways. A tale of taking sides and losing loved ones. This is what happens to youth when it ages in war, what happens when lost boys like Sirius Black have to choose between fighting the fire breathing dragon and disappearing into the night sky.
But before we talk of lost boys and tainted youth, we must first specify exactly who we are talking about and how they fit into this story of ours. We know of course that the story rises and sets with Mr. Sirius Black. He is the first seat on Hogwarts' not so Knight-like round table (as I said before there are no heroes here, just marauders).
James Potter, the seat directly next to Sirius', was more of a brother than a mate. When Sirius couldn't run away to Neverland he decided to head to Potter Manor, which ended up working out just as well. James was a very complicated, paradoxical fellow. He had a legendary arrogance that was paired with an incredible sense of selflessness. He was impulsively calculating and foolishly clever. He was charming but ironically unable to charm the one girl he really cared for. He wore his heart on his sleeve where it could be admired or crushed. Lily Evans had done both (but more about her later). When James met Sirius he was determined to draw the boy out of whatever pureblood mania he had been raised in. In a strange way Sirius was an apprentice to James; he learned how to be a fundamentally good wizard in addition to a complicated, paradoxical fellow. James and Sirius had a bond that very few people could understand. They did not need words to communicate nor did they ever need to say "I'm sorry". Whenever Lily shot James down, Sirius felt the blow in his own gut and when Sirius showed up on his door step with bruises and his trunk, James hung his head right alongside his friend. Their friendship was enviable. It embodied the marauder spirit and the qualities of the great Godric Gryffindor. James acts as the side kick to our hero so to speak , although the phrase sidekick has a very demeaning connotation when one considers just how important Mr. Potter is to our story, but that will be left up to the reader to decide.
Perhaps equally as important (again completely up to the reader) is a young man wise and scarred beyond his years. Remus Lupin. Remus didn't have the traditional struggles of a protagonist. He wasn't a victim of unrequited love or a family that didn't want him, instead he was forced to deal with one of two curses that will be important here. Once a month Remus Lupin was transformed from a quiet studious young wizard to a bloodthirsty werewolf. It was a fact that mortified him and kept him isolated from the rest of the Wizarding world (with the exception of the marauders). The remarkable thing about Remus Lupin was that he never even considered giving up (Albus Dumbledore would one day compliment him on his ability to manage the seemingly unmanageable). Remus' quest (or so we'll call it for now) was always to find a balance between who he is and what he is forced to become. He raises into question the power of loyalty and above all the strength of hope.
The final member of the famed marauders doesn't have an overall importance in this story, however he is detrimental to the bigger picture and I do mean detrimental in every negative sense of the word. Peter Pettigrew was nothing special. He was friendly enough, but he was weak. He clung to Sirius, James, and Remus because he feared being on his own. Pettigrew scared easily. He wasn't the kind of bloke a Knight wanted with him when he was about to battle a dragon. He'd probably end up running the other way (or maybe even stabbing the Knight directly in the back just to gain the Dragon's favor). Peter Pettigrew is neither here nor there (although he will be present for most of the story simply because he was very good at always being around).
Now who I have saved for last, and who you must be wondering about, are the two very important young women that somehow influence the regrettably easily influenced Mr. Black. The first was never a romantic interest for Sirius simply because James was always destined to end up with her. Lily Evans was a beautiful composition of everything that made a girl wonderful. She was unique, studious, friendly, and fiercely loyal. An embodiment of Gryffindor all in herself some would say. Lily is not the damsel in distress type. She would gladly take the sword straight from the knight's hand and fight the dragon herself, but there is a certain humility that prevents her from being willing to battle. Lily Evans doesn't need to be saved. This story isn't about rescuing it's about realizing. Lily only ever needed guidance. We must always remember, when we read about Ms. Evans, that in times of war people don't always get their happy endings, even if they deserve it.
Acting as a foil to the lovely Snow White-like (unless provoked) Lily Evans, is a girl who suffers from the second of the two important curses that I mentioned. This curse, unlike many curses in fairy tales, promises death. It began with a very powerful auror who targeted and arrested a few members of a very dangerous family. The oldest of the men placed a "curse" on the auror's family. The curse was ancient, out dated magic so the auror didn't really consider it until members of his family started to die off. Now all that is left of that family is our heroine of sorts Adelaide Deveo and her older brother Jack. Adelaide, if she must be compared to a princess that needed rescuing, can arguably be likened to Rapunzel. Her hair of course is short and brown rather than long and golden, but Ms. Deveo found herself locked in her own psychological tower, imprisoned by fear and a foolish acceptance of her own inevitable, untimely death. The trouble with Adelaide Deveo ( as compared to Rapunzel) is that she is utterly unrescuable. She has experienced hardships that no other character in our story can understand and for this reason she creates an alternate persona. She pretends to be carefree. It is this coldness (in addition to her sheer nerve and audacity) that initially attracts the pointed glares of Sirius Black. I must say, without giving too much away, that this story definitely does not begin as a love story. Adelaide Deveo, in Sirius's mind, is nothing more than a personification of weakness; and Sirius Black, in Adelaide's mind is the pompous product of the society that ruined her life. Of course by the end of our tale it is safe to say that Adelaide Deveo is the only person that Sirius Black would ever attempt to be a Knight in Shining armor for ….although I can't say that that will change the fact that Ms. Deveo is utterly unrescuable.
I supposed the traditional way to begin this story would be with "Once upon a time", which is true this did happen once upon a time …..but I feel it would give you the wrong impression. In case I haven't stressed it enough this is no fairy tale, it is simply the story of growing up. In honor of the absurdity that is adolescence we shall open with a party: a welcome back celebration that was an annual event in the Gryffindor common room during the first week of term. In September 1976, the marauder's sixth year at Hogwarts, they found themselves walking straight into the very first Gryffindor party that they had not planned themselves.
"What the bloody hell is going on here?!" Sirius Black demanded as he rushed through the portrait hole.
They stared in astonishment. Everyone knew that they were the ones that planned all of Gryffindor's parties. The marauders were essentially the kings of Gryffindor tower. No one could possibly have the same access to Honeydukes and the Three Broomsticks that they had. No one knew even half of what they knew about Hogwarts and its many secret passage ways.
It was blasphemy. Cleary someone was trying to one-up them (not to mention the fact that no one had even mentioned it to them). There were balloons and firewhiskey and sweets and even the occasional firework. The common room was alive with laughter and inebriation that had not been directly caused by the marauders. Something wasn't right.
James Potter's eyes narrowed behind his glasses "Oi, You!" he yelled cornering a third year "what is going on here?"
"It's the Welcome Back party."
"No! The Welcome Back party isn't until next weekend , WE are the ones that planned it. This is an imposter party!"
"I don't really know_"
"Just tell us who did this!" Peter demanded in that horrible wheezy voice of his.
The boy pointed across the room where two girls were dancing on top of a table with Lily Evans hovering near their feet as if prepared to catch them if they fell. They looked incredibly out of place. First off because one of the girls didn't even belong to their house and second, this was school not a disco. It was still daylight outside, the sun was just barely beginning to set. Who would ever find themselves so intoxicated that they were willing to dance on tables that early into a party? Someone who wasn't nearly as experienced at the marauders that's who.
"Who is that?" Sirius asked.
James looked confused as he stared up at the dark haired girl he had known most of his life "That Padfoot, is Adelaide Deveo. Her Dad is _ was a friend of my parents. I didn't even think she would come to school this year let alone dance on tables."
"Moony, you're a prefect shut this party down!" Sirius demanded.
Remus rolled his eyes "If it were your party you wouldn't want me to shut it down. I don't see why it's such a big deal she's done all the work for us_"
"But that's not the point is it?! If you're not going over there then I will! This has got to be stopped!"
You see Sirius had gotten it into his head that his last two years of Hogwarts needed to be absolutely perfect. Part of that perfection was keeping the marauder reputation intact. Imposter parties thrown by insignificant girls were a major threat to that reputation. These were the trivial things that Sirius Black, as the lost boy, found troublesome.
"No mate," James said sticking his arm out to block him (knowing better than anyone his impulsivity and occasional cruelty) "let me say something to her. She's liable to get upset if you rush over there yelling about her being an imposter."
Sirius looked angry but fell instep behind James as the boys made their way over to the table.
"Evening Evans, you're looking divine as usual. Is that a new shade of lipstick you're wearing?"
"Piss off Potter."
"Right, we'll chat later."
Since James was able to bounce back from Lily's rejections so quickly he turned immediately to address the dancers. "Hey Dev!" he said cheerfully, reusing the nickname her brother had claimed.
"Oh James!" the girl exclaimed "It's great you could make it! There's drinks over in the corner and there's tons to eat so don't be shy!" She smiled and turned back to her friend.
James and Remus managed to smile but Sirius was fuming "The nerve!" he mumbled.
"Actually there was something else I wanted to _"
"Jack is fine, thanks for asking!" She said "He should be coming to a couple matches this year_"
"That's great but I'm not asking about your brother!" James yelled up to her as the music seemed to get louder "I was just wondering if you were aware that WE are the ones that usually throw the Welcome Back party."
"Sure, I'm aware. Listen James I really love this song, why don't you boys scurry off and have a good time?"
"Alright listen you!" Sirius said angrily "I haven't a clue who you are but_"
"Shocker." Adelaide's friend said sharply.
"You can't just come in and throw your own parties. That's not the way things work around here."
"You are not the King of this castle Sirius Black." Adelaide said with a laugh "Now go away you're killing my buzz."
"But_"
"Come on Padfoot leave her alone." James said with a sigh "Let's just go get a drink."
Sirius looked outraged and had to be physically pushed over to the makeshift bar where some gangly fifth year poured them some firewhiskey (Sirius would have NEVER allowed a fifth year to be in charge of drinks). "What is with you Prongs?" he demanded after he had thoroughly glared at the "bartender".
"You really don't remember who she is?" Remus asked.
"No." Peter and Sirius said with certainty.
Jams sighed "Adelaide Deveo is that girl whose family keeps dying, her grandparents and aunts and uncles and all of her cousins. In fourth year she left school early because her Mum was killed and then last year her Dad went missing. It's just she and her brother left."
"Shit." Sirius said with a pang of guilt, "Right, everyone says she's cursed."
James' eyes darkened "Yeah, well people can be pretty tactless."
"She's never acted like that before." Remus said gesturing behind him to the table "She was always understandably quiet, now she's lost almost everything and she looks like she doesn't have a care in the world? It's strange."
"Who is the other one?" Peter asked with interest.
"Persephone Creswell, chaser for Hufflepuff." James answered.
"Oh that's just smashing! A Hufflepuff was never invited to one of our parties!" Sirius said "If she wasn't cursed I'd_"
"Shut up with that Sirius!" James snapped.
"Well blow me, I always thought you only had one for Lily."
"It's not that idiot! Dad just asked me to be nice to her, you know if she showed up back at school. He said he was sure she'd be taking it hard."
Across the room Adelaide was having some sort of drinking contest with a skinny Gryffindor boy in the year below them.
"Maybe this is how she's coping with it." Peter said "When my Mum died my Dad drank loads."
"Not exactly a good thing though is it?" Remus asked looking at her with concern. Lily seemed to share the same sentiment as she was trying to pry the cup out of Adelaide's hand.
"Just leave her be." Sirius said "She has Evans to look out for her. This is probably just a phase, none of us have any right to judge her."
"You're right." James said forcing his attention away from Lily and Adelaide "Let's just try to enjoy this."
And although the alcohol supply ran out too fast and a poorly charmed firework nearly ruined an armchair, the boys found that they did indeed enjoy themselves. Eventually they were able to accept Adelaide's behavior, she just seemed to want to move on with her life. Her optimism was especially evident after she and the Skinny boy, whose name was actually Olin, lead a rather inspiring toast.
"Oi!" he said standing on a table next to Adelaide and addressing the room "Quiet, Quiet it's time for a toast. I would just like to thank Merlin for all the beautiful women I have in my life," he wrapped his arm around Adelaide and she beamed "for all the galleons I'm going to make once I get out of this place, and for Gryffindor tower," several people began to cheer, "which is filled with some real fit lasses, a couple decent blokes, and a whole lot of excessive pride!"
"Amen!" Adelaide giggled.
"So here is to riding this broom till the charm wears off!" Olin added to general applause and laughter.
Adelaide seemed to be nothing more than a normal teenager. She was laughing at bad jokes and dancing wildly to slow music, there was no indication that she had experienced any loss or trauma let alone more loss and trauma than anyone else in the school. It was only Remus that noticed the way she was always clinging to one of her friends as if they would disappear if she let go. He was also the only one to notice the scorch mark on the back of her neck.