A/N: This was the very first fanfiction I started when I joined the site ten years ago, but has since been altered to such an extent that really only the underlying plot remains. Yes, it's the dreaded 'ordinary girl pulled into Hogwarts', but give it a chance! The story will follow the Marauders seventh year and feature the fateful day in Godric's Hollow, Hallowe'en 1981.
JK Rowling rules all, obviously.
Marauding Reality
Chapter 1
Who's Been Sleeping In My Bed?
"Blithering Balderdash."
Seventeen year old Sirius Black muttered the Gryffindor Common Room password. The portrait of the Fat Lady frowned in irritation at being woken up after hours, but swung open begrudgingly.
Ignoring her grumblings, he slipped silently past her into the barely lit Common Room. He closed the portrait shut deftly, cutting her off before she could give his position away.
He had been exploring the castle after hours again. His favourite pastime.
Pulling his cloak closer to his body he made sure his latest discovery from The Room was properly concealed in the inner pocket. He had originally spotted it stashed between a discoloured old tiara and an ugly old pock-marked stone warlock.
His find had looked like an ordinary glass dome at first, initially attracting him only for a quick glimpse of his own reflection. But the touch of his warm flesh had seemed to trigger something in it, a hazy image of a young woman swimming briefly inside.
Without a second thought he had snatched it up and stalked out of The Room.
.o.
He made his way back into the dark, deserted Common Room, momentarily surprised by the sight of two lone figures lolling on the sofas near the fireplace. He released his caught breath in relief when he realised who it was. Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew were visibly dozing, their limbs flung in every direction.
The side of Remus's sleeping head rested precariously on his hand with tufts of his fine sandy hair poking out from between his fingers.
Padding silently over to them, Sirius dropped down heavily onto the seat next to him, causing Remus's elbow to slip dramatically from the arm of the chair. His head plummeted and he startled awake with a loud snorting noise.
"Waa-?" Peter cried out, his eyes flinging open at the sudden commotion.
Remus peered up and saw Sirius smirking at him. He rubbed his tired eyes with the back of his hand and double took at his watch.
"What're you laughing about at this time of night?" he asked groggily.
"Nothing," Sirius answered, the ghost of his amusement still on his face. "Flattered you stayed up for me though, boys."
"We must've fallen asleep playing Wizard's chess," Peter mumbled.
"You don't say?" Sirius said, glancing over at the chess figures now fighting amongst themselves on the chequered board.
He removed the strange dome object he had found from his pocket. "Since you're here-"
Remus was forced to bolt immediately upright to catch the heavy glass item that was hurtled towards his face. He grabbed at it clumsily, his expression irritated.
"What's this?" he demanded, feeling like the early hours was no proper time to put up with this nonsense.
"I was rather hoping you might be able to tell me that," Sirius replied, prodding lazily at one of the arguing chess pieces with his finger. It shook its tiny fist up at him.
Remus looked down at the apparently lifeless glass item. He shrugged. "No idea. I've never seen anything like it before."
Sirius glanced hopefully up at Peter before thinking better of it. "Where's James?" he asked, hoping his other friend might have more luck.
"Bed," Remus answered simply.
"Ah, you are mistaken my dear Moony!" James's voice called majestically from the entrance to the Head of Years' Dormitory. "James Potter is never asleep if there is adventure to be had!"
"For Merlin's sake, keep your voice down," Remus warned him. "If McGonagall catches us up at this time again she'll have our guts for garters."
Sirius shuddered, "Please don't mention McGonagall and garters in the same sentence again."
James chuckled appreciatively. "What you got?" he asked, catching sight of the glass object still clutched in Remus's hand and grabbing for it.
He pulled it right up to his face, frowning behind his black round-rimmed glasses.
"Huh."
"Huh?" Sirius enquired.
"Huh," James repeated. "You've got to stop bringing back rubbish from The Room." He tossed the glass carelessly back to Sirius.
Sirius grunted at the weight. "I saw something in it."
"To think I got out of bed for a paper weight," James muttered, dropping theatrically into a chair.
"I saw a face in it," Sirius murmured, looking into the glass. "A girl's face."
Remus raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure it wasn't just a reflection?" he asked, unconvinced.
"Unless I was being followed around the Room of Requirement by a girl, Moony, I'm fairly sure it wasn't a reflection." Sirius looked back into the glass and rubbed it like a genie's lamp.
There was a second's pause before the glass let out an almost imperceptible roll of vibration. It flung itself high from his grasp and fell heavily to the floor with a loud clunk.
He froze, stunned by the surge of life. All four boys stared down at it in shock.
"O-kay," James said finally, his attention finally caught.
But the dome wasn't finished. It had started to fill with a black substance pulsating inside it. It rippled throughout the glass. They soon realised that it was black sand. The minute grains moved angrily, whipping themselves up into a miniature tornado.
The sand began to spin furiously inside.
"Fetch it, Pete," Sirius ordered.
Peter hesitated briefly from fright before scrambling to his feet, racing obediently over to fetch it back.
He picked it up between his fingertips touching as little of it as possible before passing it gratefully back to Sirius.
The dark haired boy grasped it fearlessly, watching as the sand cleared and an image finally emerged.
.o.
The three other boys gathered quickly around to peer into the dome.
A vision of a room had now replaced the dense blackness. It was unlike anywhere they had ever seen before.
Long simplistic plastic and metal tables ran the length of the room. A large white board was stuck to one of the equally white walls much like one of their familiar black chalkboards would be.
On each of the chairs surrounding the beige plastic table top sat a collection of boys and girls, most of them slumped in boredom.
At the head of the table a middle aged man placed his hands down firmly on the desk and loomed towards his disinterested subjects.
Remus's eyebrows knitted together, "It looks like a Muggle school."
"It's so, white." James observed.
Suddenly they became aware of a disturbance in the picture.
The older man they had presumed to be the teacher had singled out one of the students. He seemed to be asking her a question, but he did not look at all pleased.
As the object showed them a shimmering close up of the unfortunate girl's face the realisation hit Sirius.
"That's her," he said, unable to believe his eyes. "It's the girl I saw earlier. A reflection, eh Remus?" he shot Remus a look, but Remus ignored him.
The girl's face stared back at her teacher like a deer trapped in headlights and the older man seemed ready to explode from rage at her lack of knowledge in his classroom. His head had started to turn a frightening shade of beetroot pink.
Just like the Marauders the rest of her class were now completely engrossed by the uncomfortable exchange.
James glanced at Sirius. They had both been on the receiving end of a teacher's ire before; Professor Slughorn wasn't too fond of jokes, especially while he was trying to teach.
"We should do something," he stated impulsively.
Remus looked up at James, incredulous, "You are joking? We don't even know when this occurred. If it's little more than a memory."
"Merlin, Moony you can be such a bore," Sirius said, his voice low as he continued to watch the scene play out in the glass.
"We could end up making it worse," he shrugged. "That's all I'm saying."
An audible crack and bump from their upstairs chamber stop them in their tracks.
Sirius let the animated glass slip from his hands onto the table just missing the angry chess pieces. The boys looked up, listening for any further sounds.
All was still now.
"What was that?" Peter breathed finally, his face yet again betraying his fear.
Getting to their feet, they left the now lifeless dome discarded on the table and made their way toward the staircase to investigate the source of the noise.
.o.
The Boys' Dormitory should have been empty. Their only other roommate was stuck in the Hospital Wing with a Quidditch injury.
Sirius knew the bump had to have something to do with the object he had stolen from The Room.
He shook his head as dark silken hair grew rapidly from his face and body. His human feet stretched and twisted until paws now issued imperceptible footfalls on the floor. Whatever had made the crashing noise he was almost certain he would be safer as his canine Animagus, Padfoot.
Setting one soft padded foot onto the Dormitory staircase he began to lead the way up towards the source of the row.
Peter followed quickly in his rodent disguise, inadvertently issuing frightened squeaks as he mounted the stairs.
"Lumos," James murmured, holding his lit wand aloft.
Padfoot reached the large wooden door that separated the staircase from their bedroom. It stood slightly ajar. He paused, steeling himself for what he might find inside. He could sense his friends close behind him waiting for him to take action.
Lifting a heavy paw he pushed the door open.
James shone his wand around the room. There was nothing there. It was a mess, just the way they had left it.
Delving further into the room Sirius strained to unlock his canine instincts to their full potential.
No, the room was definitely empty.
Turning back to his friends he inadvertently let out a whine of confusion. He was surprised to find their faces twisted unnaturally. To his left, Peter let out a sudden burst of screeching squeaks.
Padfoot knew the pitch of that squeak like the back of his paw. He had heard it many times during Remus's monthly transformations. For some unseen reason Peter was terrified.
The large black dog scanned the room again, a sense of foreboding sweeping over him.
Finally he saw it. Running all along the centre of Remus's bed was a large bulging lump. Someone, or worryingly something, was hiding amongst his sheets.
"I take it that doesn't belong to you, Moony?" James whispered.