The wind was harsh against the collective faces of the mob on Margaret Avenue, somewhere in the south of London. Mothers held tight to their children, and the taller men hunched their backs to avoid the worst of it. Woven throughout the average British citizen were groups of oddly dressed men, women, and children, darting in and out of the crowds before disappearing entirely.
James Potter happened to be one such person, a young man with messy black hair that for once in his life didn't look out of place, large glasses and hard brown eyes. He was walking so quickly it might have been a jog, and his eyes swept back and fourth over the people next to him as if looking for someone- or something. A few men gave him sidelong glares as he brushed past them in his haste, and more than a few women looked longingly at his back. In that moment, he didn't care. He was oblivious to it all.
Only a few moments later James stopped abruptly, nearly causing the middle aged lady behind him to crash into his back, turned to his right, and screamed.
"Sirius! Where the hell-"
"Shut up and walk." He was cut off by the gruff undertone of none other than his best friend, Sirius Black. A best friend with whom he was becoming increasingly annoyed with.
"What do you mean-"
"I mean shut up." James might have continued arguing, if it weren't for the look in his friends gray eyes. It wasn't angry, or sad, or even pleading- it was the desperate look of a person who had seen too much too soon. While he nodded, James gave Sirius a quick once over, and found his friend to be in deplorable condition. His hair, usually perfected, was messier than a leaf strewn lawn, his shirt was buttoned incorrectly, and he was wearing pajama bottoms. If James wasn't so shocked, he would have laughed.
The two walked in time with the crowd, pushing when pushed, dodging when possible. They passed a myriad of strange places and stranger faces, some of which James thought might be familiar- until they turned a corner and into a shabby alley.
"You brought the cloak, right?" Sirius muttered to James, who was busy pulling out said object.
"Course I did. The map too- but why? What are you-"
"Theres no time for questions we need to go NOW. Give me that-" And so saying, Sirius grabbed the invisibility cloak and chucked it over both their heads. James sputtered a bit, but managed to choke down his protests in the interest of not sending Black into one of his infamous tempers. And perhaps a little bit because he was worried this wasn't just some prank.
The two now invisible teens made their way down the rest of the alley in complete silence, one pondering why they were doing so, the other focused on the task ahead. They took enough turns that James was completely and utterly lost, and had bumped into a homeless man who was probably going to begin questioning his sanity, before Sirius finally came to a standstill in front of a house on Grimauld Street. Unable to keep quiet for another instant, James began his tirade.
"Where are we? Why are you doing this? What happened? If this is just some prank-"
"Its my house." James looked at Sirius askance as he said it, for Sirius's voice was bereft of the usual Marauder tone. It had fallen into a soft, defeated voice that made James' want to jump around and cheer him up, or else go and punch the person who'd done... Whatever it was that happened, to his friend.
"Why?" James asked, looking up at the bleak building in front of him.
"Its about Alice's friend, Julie. The Ravenclaw girl who sat across from us in transfiguration last year?" Sirius whispered, while staring at the floor.
"You brought me here to tell me about some girl?" James whisper-yelled, recalling Sirius's all too frequent complaints about his mother and deciding not to risk discovery quite yet. He was in no mood to listen to another of Sirius's tales about how he'd charmed the pants off some girl. It was the last week of winter vacation, and he'd been awoken at seven in the morning by an owl that refused to stop pecking him. He'd grudgingly got up and taken the note off it's leg and had been about to fall back to bed when it had started scratching him. Annoyed, he'd opened the note and read it under the baleful eyes of the owl.
"James, it's Sirius. Meet me on Margaret's Street as soon as you can. Bring the cloak. Its urgent."
It had been another hour before he'd managed to sneak out of the house with his fathers extra muggle money, followed by an uncomfortable half hour in a taxi cab, and then he'd wandered the street trying to find Sirius- all for some story about a girl that would have fit just fine on paper.
"Well, yes, but-"
"Sirius! Do you know... My parents will be worried out of their minds if they find I'm not in bed- I thought something must have happened-"
"Keep your voice down, alright? Something did happen-"
"I meant something serious! Not you meeting up with some girl! You could have just put that in the damn letter and let me sleep!"
"James. Shut. Up," Sirius stated, and James felt as though he were trying to sew his lips closed with the force of his words. "Of course thats not what this is about. Weren't you listening? We are at my house. My house. Where my Pureblood loving mother, power hungry father, and death eater brother live. And in..." He paused to check his watch "Ten minutes, its where Voldemort himself will be. Voldemort, and Julie Concord."
"Voldemort?" James inquired, not having heard the name before.
"Voldemort- the leader of the Deatheaters? You must have heard of him, its been all over the daily prophet!"
"You know I don't read that mush, not after that anti-werewolf edition. How was I supposed to know he lead them? And what would he want with Concord anyway? She's not into muggle slaying- is she?"
"I can't believe this. You want to be an auror, and you don't read the Prophet?" Sirius questioned disbelievingly.
"Thats not the bloody point!" James yelled, gesturing furiously with his arms as if to shove the irrelevant question away from them.
"I don't know whats up with Concord. I just know she's going to be in the meeting..."
"But she's not a pure blood! And she's not in Slytherin. What would he want with her?"
"And that, Prongs, is why you're here. Something big happened yesterday, big enough to force a death eater meeting involving a sixth year, Ravenclaw half-blood."
"You don't think she's joining them, do you?" James wondered, eyes wide behind his thick glasses.
"I know how to find out." Sirius answered, a bit smugly.
At that, both boys gave what could only be called 'mischievous grins', though they were tempered slightly by worry about their classmate.
"Sirius... What do we do if she is? Do we tell someone? Dumbledore?"
"I... I guess we would have to... But..." Sirius trailed off, a somber look on his pale features.
"But what?"
"She knows about Reg. I'm his brother- I can't just-"
"I get it, mate. Lets not worry about it until we know, yeah?"
Sirius lead the way into the house, carefully sliding over the creaky floorboards and loose tiles until he and James were safely sequestered in the dining room, hidden under the invisibility cloak and squished between a china cabinet and the wall.
"Prongs," began Sirius, "No matter what they say, you can't make a sound, okay? They wouldn't hesitate to... Well, you can guess. Just don't say anything, don't move, and try not to breathe loudly, alright?"
Despite the gravity of the speech, James couldn't help but smile as he announced his agreement. It was far too similar to one he had received when Sirius and himself were hiding under McGonagalls desk. However, once the room fell into silence, James turned his mind to other matters. Chiefly, Sirius's house, Voldemort, and the Ravenclaw girl.
He could understand, in an entirely new light, why Sirius hated coming here. There were books simply laying about entitled "Tortures Moste Successful" and "The Darkest Arts and How to Master Them", the heads of various house elves were mounted on the wall, and though the place was clean, it felt slimy. As if, thought James, there was danger creeping up on you and no way to stop it.
It was a place that dark, dangerous, evil people lived. He understood why the leader of the death eaters would deem this a meeting place for all the other mentally unstable evildoers. At this thought, James blanched a moment, remembering that Sirius had been brought up here, and sent out a mental apology. His best friend wasn't evil, he had managed to escape the black mark of the Blacks. Perhaps Julie wasn't so lucky. But before James had time to ponder Julie's circumstances, there were footsteps creaking their way towards the dining hall, and James needed all of his attention to eavesdrop.
"My Lord," Came a warbling, sugar coated voice, and James felt Sirius stiffen beside him. "The dining room is just this way..."
"Yes, Walburga. You and your husband have done well, to have it ready on such short notice." Hissed the man who could only be Voldemort.
"It was no trouble, my Lord, anything for you, my Lord."
"The others will be here momentarily. Bring me the girl."
"Yes, my Lord."
James heard her footsteps retreating back down the hallway, and peeked anxiously out into the room, hoping to catch a glimpse of the 'Dark Lord' before all the other death eaters came in. He was unsuccessful, however, as the Dark Lord still stood by the door, and had begun conversing with a young boy whom James presumed was Regulus.
"Tell me what you know of her, Black."
"She is a half-blood, and in her sixth year. She is quiet, and few speak of or to her. As she is not in my year, I have little knowledge beyond hearsay. I wish I could do more for you, Lord Voldemort."
"Wishing does not do anything, Black. Working, trying, succeeding, does. Understood?"
"Yes, sir. I will do better in future."
"See that you do." There was a finality in his tone that sent light footsteps pitter pattering out the door, and James and Sirius were alone with the Dark Lord. Both of them, without realizing it, held their breath, and watched as he made his way to the head of the table, and sat down. The movement was not graceful, and the chair scraped at the floor as he pulled it back sounding akin to fingernails on a chalkboard. The great Dark Lord cursed under his breath, and the two Marauders held back an inappropriate giggle as they began to breathe again. The Dark Lord was just another human- darker, and scarier, and lordlier- but human all the same.
A few minutes later, Walburga walked into the room, holding tight to Concord's arm. Julia Concord was far from a pixie, despite the blonde hair she wore cropped to just below her ears and her high cheekbones. No, she was too tall, and the fat that extended over her jeans was too noticeable, for her to be anything like one- but when James saw her, that was the first word that came to his mind.
"Ah, Julie. We meet again." Spoke Voldemort, warm enticement thrumming through his words. "I trust you've enjoyed your stay?" The marauders looked on in awe as Julie released her wrist from Walburga's grip and smiled icily at the man seated before her.
"I can't say I have." She said, her voice lacking any inflection whatsoever. She was, however, tugging ceaselessly at her sleeve in what must have been a nervous habit, and Voldemort's eyes were drawn to the movement.
"Scared, child? We will not hurt you, so long as you do as I ask." Voldemort was still trying the honey over vinegar approach, noted James. In response, Julie stopped pulling at the sleeve and cast her eyes downward as she answered.
"I won't join you."
"That isn't necessary," Voldemort stated, as his hands waved the very notion of it away."No, Ms. Concord, what I require of you is simple information. I dare say that if you are cooperative, we won't ever need to meet again."
Julie Concord raised her eyes to meet the red ones burning into her. "What information?"
"Give me the equation." James' eyes rose in shock. Why would Voldemort want an equation? And why would his classmate have it?
"I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific. What equation?" Something in her voice told James she did, in fact, know exactly what he was talking about. Voldemort appeared to have gotten the same impression.
"Come now, child. We both know which equation I speak of. Only give it to me, and all of this," he gestured expansively at the room as a whole, "will disappear, and you can go back to your books."
"I'm sorry. But I really don't know-" The dark lord rose from his seat, and the rooms temperature dropped enough that James felt goosebumps on the back of his neck.
"Do not play games with me, child." Voldemort hissed, his wand held casually in his hand as he stared down at Concord, whose face had paled dramatically. "This is your last chance. Give. Me. The equation."
"I-I don't-" Whatever her answer would have been was swallowed in a scream as she collapsed onto the ground, her limbs moving spastically.
James had to close his eyes until the last echoes of his classmates scream had faded into the past. When he dared to glance at the scene in front of him again, he found a smiling dark lord standing over Concord who was visibly shaking.
Ever so cautiously, he turned so he was facing Sirius and gently prodded him with his finger. With his other hand, he grabbed his wand from his pocket and pointed it towards Voldemort. Sirius turned towards him equally slowly and James saw the moment of recognition in his friends face- one quick blink followed by a slower one- and nearly sighed in relief when his Sirius, too, raised his wand. He mouthed "On three."
Then slowly raised one finger at a time. Then they waved their wands at Voldemort's back.
"Stupefy."
"Stupefy."
Both of them had spoken quietly enough that Voldemort didn't have the time to turn and block the spells. He fell to the floor with a thump that James fervently hoped Sirius' family would assume was Concord. He didn't want to think about what would happen if they came down to investigate.
In a flash he'd whipped off the invisibility cloak and moved to Julie's side, Sirius in step with him. "Julie? Concord? Are you alright? Do you recognize us? Can you move?"
Four nods, one shake.
"Alright, Sirius you take her left side I'll get on her right," Then he moved to speak to Julie. "I'm really sorry but we don't have a choice- we have to move you and it has to be fast."
Sirius put his arm under Julie's and with him as her support she managed to get to her feet, wobbling slightly. "Don't worry, we've got you." He told her as James put his arm under her as well.
Then they began a slow shuffle to the front door. Only a few steps away, James flinched as he heard footsteps on the staircase. More than one set of footsteps. He raised his wand, and out of the corner of his eye, saw Sirius do the same.
"Sirius? What in Merlins name-" Regulus protested hesitantly. Then he and his mother behind him climbed down the last two stairs, and James saw a light in Regulus's eyes go out. "How could you?" He asked brokenly, over and over as James and Sirius slowly backed toward the door.
"I'm sorry, Reg-" Was all Sirius had time to say before his mother was cursing them. Literally.
"You foul, dirty excuse for a wizard -stupefy- this is the last -incendio- straw!" James cast a hurried protego but he knew it wouldn't stand up long against her curses. Sirius had stopped moving all together, frozen with something James couldn't decipher.
"Sirius!" James roared in an effort to both snap him out of it and be heard over the sounds of his mother's screams. "Move it padfoot!" James gave a tug on Julie that did nothing except to cause her to cry out in pain. Even this wasn't enough.
"You worthless- crucio- piece of scum! You are no -diffindo- son of mine!" James could do nothing as his shield failed under the Unforgivable and Sirius fell under the weight of both spells.
"Expelliarmus!" He cried out in desperation, hoping the spell would distract her enough for him to get his shield back up. "Sirius! Get! Up!"
To James' immense relief, his best friend stood and put his arm back under Julie's. But he still wouldn't back towards the door. It wasn't until Regulus raised his eyes to Sirius and mouthed the word "traitor" that Sirius snapped back to himself.
"I couldn't watch her die, Reg!" He burst out, eyes aflame. And in a flurry of motion he had cast a shield, opened the door, and tugged James and Julie through it.
Through the heavy oak of the front door, James heard one final sentence.
"Never come back here, blood traitor. You are not a Black and no son of mine." Sirius's mother uttered, and the finality of her tone was worse than her screams could have ever been.
Then there was quiet, interspersed with his and Sirius's footsteps as they carried their classmate away as quickly as their feet would carry them.