Summary: The Marauders bet on everything. They make silly bets and difficult bets and big, life-changing bets. But when James makes a certain bet, he doesn't think about what the consequences could be. They turn out to be life-changing indeed. This is just what Peter was afraid of. And Lily Evans is involved in a way she'd rather not be.
As they finish Hogwarts and grow up a little, these teenagers discover that not all gambling is fun and games. As the war against Lord Voldemort escalates, they find themselves gambling with their very lives, and some of them would do anything for the ones they love, even if it means sacrificing their own lives.
Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize as belonging to the world of Harry Potter, created by JK Rowling.
A Quick Note: This is a reboot/rewrite of an old story of mine with the same name. So if you recognize anything in particular from this story, it's probably from that. That story has since been taken down from this site.
Chapter One: In which Sirius Black's dramatics prevail.
James Potter stood at the window, watching as a brown owl swooped away into the early morning sun. He had only started to vaguely wonder where it had come from and where it was going, when his bedroom door slammed open.
"PRONGS!"
James jumped, and a lanky, shaggy-haired seventeen-year-old barged into the room. With a huge grin on his face he bounded across the room in three strides, tackled James, and sent him sprawling to the ground, glasses flying.
"Padfoot," James wheezed, stunned. "What're you doing?"
"Prongs, you'll never guess!" Sirius Black said loudly, hauling James into a sitting position and forcibly returning the latter's glasses to his face. James winced as the earpiece poked him in the eye.
"Ow," he said, reaching up and adjusting the glasses.
"Prongs!" Sirius half-shouted, shaking his best mate. "Are you even listening to me?!"
James blinked. "Sirius," he said slowly, and at his tone, Sirius immediately let go of James's shoulders, scrambling back several feet. "If you do not explain immediately why you're screaming in my face at eight in the morning, I will rip out your tongue, stuff it in a shoe box, bury it in the garden, take out an axe, chop down a tree, lay it over your buried tongue, set loose a starved beaver on said tree, watch him eat it, and then spit on whatever's left of that tree over the remains of your tongue."
Sirius raised one eyebrow skeptically. "Beavers don't eat trees, Prongs. They just chew them up to make their dams. Everyone knows that. And besides, even if you tore out my tongue, I could still make noise. You'd be better off ripping out my voice box. Really, are you sure you got ten O.W.L.s?"
"Arrgh!" James launched himself at his friend, sending them both rolling across the hardwood floor in a tangle of arms, legs, and extremely good hair.
A light knock on the door went unnoticed by both as they battled for the upper hand.
"James? Is Sirius in– What the…?" A baffled-looking boy stood in the doorway. He watched as his two closest friends rolled past, snarling incoherently at each other. After a moment of confused blinking, he shook his head and rolled his eyes. Idiots, the both of them.
Sighing, Remus Lupin picked his way around them and went to sit on the edge of James's bed to await the end of the madness.
Down on the floor, James was still attempting to throttle his best mate with little success. Being taller and stronger than James, Sirius was beginning to overpower him.
"You can't – win." Sirius grunted, rolling to the top and pinning James's arms down.
"Yes. I can," James growled back, breathing heavily through his nose. Sirius grinned in a rather dog-like way, baring his teeth and showing his canines.
Remus decided to intervene before someone got bit. "Knock it off. I have something for you both." He pulled two parchment envelopes from his pocket, and the two boys on the floor glanced at him. For just a moment, Sirius's grip on James's arms loosened, and James took his opening.
With a sound somewhere between a roar and a grunt, James heaved and toppled Sirius. He scrambled up and dropped down on Sirius's chest, pinning his arms. James grinned menacingly.
"Told you I'd win," he boasted, crossing his arms in victory. Then, remembering the third occupant of the room, he inclined his head toward Remus. "Now what were you saying, Moony?"
"I have something for you," Remus repeated patiently.
"What?" Sirius asked, struggling to raise his head. James put his palm on Sirius's forehead and shoved his head back to the floor. A low, threatening growl escaped Sirius's throat, which James ignored.
"Your Hogwarts letters," Remus answered.
James jumped up, victory forgotten, and snatched the envelope from Remus's outstretched hand. Sirius got up more slowly, rubbing his head where it had hit the floor. With a grimace he sank down on the bed next to Remus and took his letter.
"What're you so eager for?" he grumbled at James, who was tearing into his letter with rather unwarranted excitement.
"Yeah, it's not as though you'll get passed up for Quidditch Captain," Remus added. "You've been Captain since fifth year, mate. They're not going to replace you now." Sirius snorted in agreement.
Sirius opened his letter and gave the booklist a cursory glance before tossing it aside. "Boring," he declared. Remus was watching James, however, and didn't answer.
"What?" Sirius asked, not enjoying being ignored. "What is it?"
"This must be a mistake," James muttered. Curiosity piqued, Sirius crossed the room to see what all the fuss was. When he glanced into James's cupped hand, his eyes widened.
"No way."
"Spit it out," Remus demanded, standing as well.
"I-I… I'm Head Boy," James sputtered, a whole new level of shock taking over his face as he uttered the words. Remus laughed.
"Yeah, and I'm the Minister for Magic. C'mon, what is it really?"
"No, really, Moony," Sirius said. "I don't believe it either, but… There it is."
"This is a joke, right?" Remus asked. "You two are both in on it? Had it all planned out before I woke up and everything, right? Very funny."
"Looks real to me, Moony," James whispered, holding out his hand. Still skeptical, Remus leaned in.
There, sitting perfectly innocently in James's palm, was a tiny silver badge with the initials 'HB' engraved on it. Remus picked it up, examined it closely, held it away from his face a bit, and then promptly broke out laughing.
"What's so funny?" demanded James, grabbing the badge back.
Remus snorted. "You? You? Head Boy? Oh, Merlin, Dumbledore really has gone round the bend."
For approximately three and a half seconds James looked rather offended, but then a grin slowly spread across his face. A moment later he started chuckling as well.
"Good point, Moony," he agreed. "Dumbledore must be a complete nutter if he thinks I'm Head Boy material."
"Does it say something about our year if Prongs is the best choice we have?" Sirius added, laughing.
"Better me than you, mate," James shot back. Sirius shrugged in agreement.
"Wormtail is going to laugh himself silly when he hears," said Remus, seating himself on the old couch in the corner, still shaking his head in disbelief.
"Yeah, when's he getting home? I miss the little bugger. 'S not as fun going on our full moon romps without him," Sirius said.
"His mum took him to Greece since he turns of age next week," answered Remus, choosing to ignore that Sirius considered his lycanthropy an excuse for monthly adventures. "He better bring me a present," he added as an afterthought. James nodded in agreement.
"Wish I could go to Greece," Sirius sighed wistfully. "I hear they have some excellent-looking girls there."
"I've heard it has beautiful scenery," Remus said.
"Who cares about scenery?" Sirius scoffed.
"I do," Remus replied, looking insulted.
"Of course you do," James chortled from his seat on his bed. He shook his head in amusement.
"Are you telling me you would go to Greece just to look at girls?" Remus asked.
"Yes," Sirius and James answered in unison without hesitation.
"What about Evans?" asked Remus pointedly, raising his eyebrows at James.
"Aw, what about her? She doesn't even like Prongs. And anyway, she was still dating Ian Tywin, last I heard," Sirius said, waving his hand dismissively. James turned to glare at him.
"What?" Sirius asked defensively, seeing his expression. "It's true!"
"Yeah, thanks for reminding me," muttered James darkly. Sirius smiled.
"Any time, mate!"
James opened his mouth to retort but seemed to think better of it. Wouldn't do any good anyway.
"So anyway, you got Quidditch Captain, right?" Remus asked suddenly. James glanced at the envelope from Hogwarts lying forgotten on the floor.
"Yeah of course," James answered, picking up the envelope and shaking it. A small scarlet Captain's badge fell into his hand. He held it up for his friends to see.
"Ha. I knew it," Sirius exclaimed triumphantly. "You owe me nine sickles, Moony."
"What? No, I don't! I bet that James would make Captain," argued Remus.
"So did I!" Sirius argued back.
"You bet on the one thing that matters most to me in the entire world? You bet on my Quidditch Captainship?" James asked, looking hurt. The other two glanced at each other, then back at James, looking apologetic.
"And then you both bet on the same side? That's just unprofessional," he added, grinning. "Idiots," he muttered under his breath.
"Hey!" they shouted simultaneously. James shrugged, unaffected.
"Just speaking the truth."
Sirius and Remus sulked, but neither had much time to reflect on their soreness before James spoke again. "So I guess I should go find out when Mum wants to go to Diagon Alley," he suggested, pulling the supply list out of his Hogwarts envelope. Remus and Sirius jumped on the subject immediately.
"Can you believe McGonagall wants us to buy another Transfiguration book? As if I don't already have five stacked up collecting dust at Grimmauld Place and another one in the bottom of my wardrobe here," Sirius complained as they made their way downstairs.
"Oh I can believe that," James replied. "What I can't believe is that Flitwick wants another Charms book. Last year's was supposed to last for all of N.E.W.T. level, not just sixth year."
"It's ridiculous," said Remus. "But at least we don't have to get new Arithmancy books. I heard Flourish and Blotts raised the prices on them again."
"Glad I'm not taking that useless class," said Sirius.
"I like Arithmancy," argued James.
"Yeah," Sirius snorted. "Because Evans is in it."
"No!" James sounded rather offended, though Sirius, who was in front of him on the staircase, couldn't see his face. A moment later however – "Well, I mean, yes, but…but…That's not the only reason!" he insisted.
"Sure, sure," Remus said soothingly. "We believe you." When Sirius glanced back at him, he shook his head.
James grumbled as they stepped into the kitchen where his mum was getting breakfast ready.
"Morning, Mrs. Potter! What are you cooking up today?" asked Sirius loudly, bounding to Mrs. Potter's side and placing a kiss on her cheek. She swatted at him with her spatula, smiling fondly as he leapt out of the way.
"Bacon and eggs, Sirius," she answered. "And before you ask, yes, I put extra butter and salt on them this time. Though it will surely send you to an early grave."
"It's like you can read my mind!" Sirius exclaimed joyfully.
"Sirius, must you shout?"
He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Yes," he answered decisively. "Yes, I must." He grinned at her, and she smiled back, shaking her head as she handed him a plate. It was piled so high with scrambled eggs, the bacon nearly slid off the top of the mountain in the middle and landed on the floor. Sirius caught three slices of bacon just as they hit the edge of the plate.
"Close call, mate," said James, clapping him on the back. Sirius lurched forward, sending a handful of eggs tumbling to the floor.
"James!" Sirius yelped, kneeling beside the fallen eggs. "Look what you've done! Perfectly good food, SOILED!"
"Stop being dramatic," Remus scolded, sitting down at the kitchen table with his own plate and a glass of orange juice.
"But the eggs!" said Sirius, pretending to weep. "They were so young. They don't deserve this!"
"Shut up and eat your breakfast," James ordered, whacking him upside the head as he passed. "I want to get to Diagon Alley before I'm ninety."
"Are we going to Diagon Alley today?" asked Mrs. Potter in surprise, settling herself at the table beside Remus.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you," James said.
"We got our Hogwarts letters," Remus said as Sirius finally came to sit down with the rest of them, still muttering about the wasted eggs. "James is Quidditch Captain again, obviously."
"And Head Boy," Sirius piped up, suddenly forgetting the eggs. Mrs. Potter choked on her milk.
"Very funny, Sirius," she coughed.
"I'm serious," said Sirius seriously.
"I know you are dear," said Mrs. Potter gently, reaching over and patting his arm. "We've been through this."
"No, Mum," James said, chuckling at the taken aback look on Sirius's face, "He's telling the truth."
Mrs. Potter looked at the three solemn faces at her breakfast table, and her expression switched to shock.
"You must be joking," she insisted.
"Nope."
"Sorry."
"Here, look at the badge!" Sirius offered, producing it from his pocket. James stared. He'd been sure he'd put that in his own pocket… He shook his head, deciding to ignore it. Though he had a suspicion he was in for a long year of having that badge stolen from him by his mischievous best mate.
Sirius handed the badge to James's mother, who took it gently as if afraid it might disappear if she gripped it too tightly.
"Well look at that," she said in disbelief. She looked at her son again, who was watching anxiously for her reaction. "I guess congratulations are in order. And perhaps a little something special when we go to Diagon Alley today? Quidditch Captain and Head Boy you know, that's not something that happens every day."
"I'd be an absolute prat to disagree," James agreed. His mother laughed.
"Good. You three finish up and get dressed then. I'll start cleaning up and we'll leave in about half an hour, okay?" she said, getting up and clearing her plate.
The three boys started shoveling their food into their mouths double-time and were gone from the table in two minutes flat. Mrs. Potter nodded approvingly at this new record as she waved her wand and set the dishes to washing.
Back upstairs in Sirius's bedroom, Sirius was pacing. James and Remus were sitting on the bed, watching his progress as though following a tennis match. Back and forth, back and forth. Their heads followed him as he paced up and down the room, looking deep in thought.
Finally, after seventeen seconds according to Remus's watch, he stopped mid-stride, spun on his foot, and faced them. Throwing his hands in the air, he sighed dramatically. "I don't know what to wear."
"What are you, a girl?" asked James, raising an eyebrow.
"Well if we just got our Hogwarts letters, then it's likely that the rest of Hogwarts just got theirs as well, which means, since it's so close to the end of the summer, there will likely be other students doing their shopping in Diagon Alley today as well." James and Remus exchanged blank looks, which earned them an exasperated sigh from Sirius.
"Which means there will be members of the opposite sex there! Which means girls. Which means I have to look irresistibly amazing!" he exclaimed matter-of-factly.
"Oh," said Remus and James. "Sure."
"So what should I wear?"
"Erm. Clothes?" suggested Remus. Sirius growled in frustration, a sound so surprisingly dog-like that James jumped and looked around.
"I'll leave you ladies to your dilemma," he said, recovering quickly and standing. "I must prepare myself." And he left, leaving Remus to deal with it.
As he dressed, James took into consideration that there would indeed likely be, as Sirius had so delicately put it, 'members of the opposite sex' in Diagon Alley. Although he was primarily concerned with one particular member of the opposite sex at the moment, namely one who happened to have beautifully flowing long red hair and brilliant green eyes.
Looking at himself in the mirror, James wished, not for the first time, that his hair was more like Sirius's. Where Sirius's hair lay flat on top and fell gracefully into his face, James's stuck up in odd places all over his head, perpetually messy. He ran a hand through it, trying to give it a more windswept look. Good enough.
Meanwhile, two doors down, Remus was trying to convince Sirius that he looked absolutely fine in the clothes he had chosen. Sirius was standing in front of the mirror, scrutinizing his reflection so painstakingly that Remus was sure it was just going to walk out of the mirror in terror. While he was distracted, Remus stole silently toward the door.
Two inches from freedom, Sirius's voice called out to him.
"Moony? Are you sure orange is a good color for me?"
"Erm, yeah Padfoot. It accents your … er … hair really well," Remus invented quickly, still creeping toward the hall.
"And the trousers aren't too girly?"
"No, of course not!" Remus exclaimed enthusiastically. "Girly? Those trousers scream 'alpha male'!"
"Really?" asked Sirius. "You think so?"
"I know so," Remus answered on his way out the door.
"Yeah," agreed Sirius. "I'm pretty foxy, huh, Moony?"
No one answered.
"Moony?"
Sirius glanced around curiously. He was greeted with an empty bedroom.
"Where'd Moony go?" he asked.
No reply, other than the slight fluttering of a page from a book left lying open on the bed. Sirius looked at the book suspiciously.
"Did you eat Moony?" he asked.
No answer.
"I said," Sirius growled, picking up the book and shaking it roughly, "Did. You. Eat. Moony?!"
The book made no reply.
"No! It's finally happened! Moony's been swallowed by the books he's claimed are harmless! Oh, the horror!" Sirius moaned, flinging the book away and collapsing on his bed.
"What in Merlin's name are you shouting about?" James asked, pushing the door open.
"The book ate Moony!" Sirius groaned, pointing at the offending object in horror.
"Right. And Evans just agreed to marry me," said James, rolling his eyes. He took Sirius's arm and dragged him into the hall.
"Oh, I love weddings," Sirius said enthusiastically. "Can I be best man?"
"Sure," laughed James. "If Evans ever falls off the Astronomy Tower and survives but suffers extremely severe brain damage and in her confusion agrees to marry me, then yes, you can be best man."
Sirius gazed at him levelly. "I'll hold you to that."
Author's Note: The first few chapters of this are going to be pretty similar to those of the original, simply because I'm rather fond of them. As we get further into the story, however, more things will change and the plot will diverge rather a lot in some places from the old story. But I think all of the changes I have made are for the better. I'll let you be the judges of that though. Please let me know what you think!
I'm hoping to update once a week. Possibly twice a week, depending on how far I get in editing in the next couple weeks (I'm about halfway through the story right now). Guess we'll just start off slow and see how it goes. Cheers!
-Megan