Author's Note: This is for the Planetary Prose challenge on the HPFFC forum. There are nine 400 word scenes, set during the course of the Marauders' seventh year, of Divination class. The class is Gryffindor/Slytherin, and each scene has different characters and relationships.

Disclaimer: Characters belong to JKR. Title and lyrics belong to Snow Patrol.

The Planets Bend Between Us

------

the planets bend between us

and a hundred million suns and stars.

the sea filled in the silence

before you said those words.

and now even in the darkness

i can see how happy you are.

--Snow Patrol

------

Mercury (medicine, trickery)

"This is stupid," grumbles Sirius. "What are we supposed to be doing?"

James grins. "Aw, Pads, I know it's hard to listen and comprehend, but you'll get there!"

"Shove it," Sirius mumbles, as Remus and Peter laugh. "I can't help it if Trelawney's voice puts me to sleep." He gives Remus an imploring stare. "What did she say, Moony? Translate."

Remus rolls his eyes. "It's an ongoing project to find all the planets and study them. Except she's going to be picking our partners for us, after today. Letting the planets decide, or something idiotic like that."

James looks around at the Slytherins scattered throughout the room, and groans.

"I don't know why you don't believe in all this Divination stuff," Peter muses, "considering that you and the moon and well, you know."

"Yes, Pete, why not make it so blaringly obvious that everyone in this room knows as well?" Sirius snaps.

Peter blushes and Remus sighs. "It's okay, Pete. I don't know, I obviously think the sky has some power, but I think Trelawney doesn't know half of what she's talking about."

"'Course she doesn't, she's an idiot," James says briskly, before picking up the planetary chart. "What are we supposed to be looking for today?"

"Mercury," says Remus, grabbing the chart. "It symbolizes message, sandal, medicine, trickery, and travel."

They look at each other blankly.

"Oh," says Peter faintly, his brow furrowed in confusion.

Sirius slams his fist on the table, causing the other three to jump. "Trickery!" he exclaims, giving them a pointed look.

"What?" James asks after a brief pause.

"It symbolizes trickery, and we're the Marauders, and we trick people!"

There was another pause. "What are you nattering on about?" Remus asks finally.

Sirius sighs, as if it should be clear to them. "It fits that we're the ones to be looking at Mercury, since we love trickery and Mercury symbolizes trickery!"

"There are seven other groups looking at Mercury," Peter points out.

"Don't tell me you've started believing all this rubbish," James sighs.

"Don't be a prat, Padfoot, it also symbolizes medicine, and we're not exactly Healers, are we?" Remus asks smugly.

Sirius shakes his head stubbornly. "We sort of heal you after a full moon, don't we?"

Remus swallows, hard, and looks at Sirius more closely. His gray eyes are warm and knowing, and Remus manages to nod. "Yeah. I guess you do."

Venus (love, beauty)

"I'm glad Trelawney put us together."

"Mmm," Lily murmurs.

"This is fitting," James continues. "Isn't Venus the goddess of beauty?"

"And love."

"Even more fitting," James says happily. "You're beautiful, and I'm in love with you. And who said this Divination stuff was crap?" He seems pleased with himself, and Lily blushes.

"You're so full of it," she mutters.

"I'm telling the truth, Lily. I know you think that I'm an obnoxious prat…." Lily smiles slightly, and James, encouraged, continues. "But do you ever wonder if there is a future for us?"

"A future?"

"I'm not like that anymore, Lily. I've grown up from that first year git who annoyed you constantly. Promise."

"I know," Lily says suddenly. "I know you have, but James…"

"This is our last year at Hogwarts, and I would kick myself if I didn't try one more time to ask you out," James says earnestly.

She smirks. "One more time? I've heard that before."

James laughs. "But I guess if you reject me now, you'll never want to be with me. I can't promise that I'll accept that, but I'll try."

She nods for a moment, and then smiles. "Okay."

"Okay, what?"

"Okay, I'll give you a chance. One date."

James grins so hard that Lily thinks it must hurt. "One date?"

"One date," Lily promises, laughing despite herself.

James whoops, loudly, and sweetly kisses the top of Lily's head. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me," she says briskly. "Remember, if this one date doesn't work out…."

"Then I'll leave you alone," James promises. "But Lily, it will work out."

Lily smirks. "We'll see." She turns back to the telescope and peers into it. "I see Venus. Wanna look?"

James shakes his head. "I already know what the goddess of love and beauty looks like."

Lily turns to look at him, the boy she used to hate and curse on a regular basis. She feels her heart beat a little faster, and tells herself firmly that it's because of the heat of the classroom, not his sloppy black hair or his winning smile. And she tells herself that those butterflies in her stomach are from not eating enough at lunch, not James' hand brushing her hair back. And she decides that the fireworks she sees must be because Sirius had done something destructive, not because James is kissing her, and she is kissing back.

Earth (simplicity)

Frank gives her a nervous grin. "I don't really understand how we're supposed to find Earth. Aren't we on it?" He immediately blushes, wondering why he has to sound like an idiot in front of the girl he can't stop thinking about.

Alice laughs, drawing a pleased and slightly surprised smile from Frank. "Who knows? I guess we can look for the moon…"

"Right," Frank says eagerly, grabbing for the telescope. "Here, you go first." He hands her the telescope and she reaches for it, her fingers brushing against his. Frank almost drops the telescope in his nervousness, and she grabs it, smiling softly.

He watches her as she expertly points the telescope into the night sky, and gasps with delight when she finds it.

"Do you want to look?" she asks, grinning at him. He nods, heart pounding, as she guides his hands on the telescope. "Do you see it?"

"Yes," he whispers, feeling the warmth of her hands on his. She's so open and friendly and wonderful, unlike the other girls in his year, complicated and hard to understand. He can envision spending the rest of his life with her, and his eyes widen at the thought.

Alice doesn't seem to notice. "Isn't it pretty?" she asks wistfully, staring up at the sky.

"I've seen prettier," he says softly, drawing back from the telescope and looking at her.

She blushes, but smiles, and Frank is again amazed at the simplicity of being with her. There's nothing hidden about Alice, it's all sweetness and light and everything Frank loves. She touches his hand again, but instead of guiding it back to the telescope, she lets her fingers rest in his. He can't contain his grin, and instead of worrying about whether or not his hands are sweaty, or if things are going to quickly turn awkward, Frank takes his free hand and pushes a strand of hair from her face. "You're beautiful," he says without thinking, bluntly and honestly. Instead of wondering how she will react, he just looks at her, amazed all over again at how perfect she is.

She blushes again, and looks into his eyes. "So are you," she whispers.

He leans forward, surprised at his own boldness, and gently kisses her. He can feel her smile, and can't help smiling himself, as the kiss drags on. It's uncomplicated, and it's simple, and it's absolutely perfect.

Mars (war, lust, blood)

"I used to love Mars," Sirius says dreamily, leaning against Remus.

Remus tries to keep his breathing regular, aware that Sirius is only this close because of his need for affection, and that it doesn't actually mean anything. "Why's that?"

He feels Sirius shrug. "It's angry."

"It's a planet," Remus says wryly.

"It symbolizes war, Moony," Sirius explains patiently. "The sky was always a big thing in my family, because of the whole star thing. My star's the brightest in the sky. I used to tease Bellatrix about that. She hated it, always cursed me and then told my parents."

Remus waits patiently; Sirius always comes back to the point in the end.

"Anyway, we'd all go on a demented family trip outside to stare at the stars, while my father droned about the importance of being pure and mighty like the stars. And instead of staring at my star, I'd find Mars. And it would be there, all red and angry, and it would remind me of how much I hated my family."

Remus frowns. "And this is why you loved it?"

"Well, yeah. This sounds corny and Trelawney-like, but it kind of kept me going, you know? It made me think of staging a war on my family- obviously not literally, they would slaughter me in two seconds- but I don't know. It made me think of getting out of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black."

Sirius is silent for a moment, and Remus aches for him. He wraps his arms around him, and sighs. "And then you did get out."

"Yeah," Sirius says slowly. "And it's funny, but now I hate the sight of Mars."

"So don't look at it," Remus says protectively. "Look at me instead."

Sirius turns his head, his eyes wide. Remus feels his heart pound with something like desire, and desperately tries to contain his emotions. Sirius slowly smiles, taking in Remus' sweaty nervousness. And then he kisses Remus, and Remus feels as if every nerve in his body is exploding, and he kisses back, all lust and sweaty hands and passion. Sirius bites Remus' lip, hard, and Remus tastes the metallic tang of blood, but there's no pain, only bliss. And at that moment, Remus thinks of Mars and feels a strange sort of affection for the planet, before giving into Sirius Black and letting his mind cloud over completely.

Jupiter (justice)

"I can't bloody find Jupiter," Peter whines.

James grabs the telescope. "I'm sure it's not that hard, you git."

Peter gives him a sulky look. "Can you find it?"

"If you'd shut up for two minutes…..yeah, just found it."

"Where?" Peter demands. "Let me see!"

James hands him the telescope. "Don't touch the dial," he growls.

"I don't- oh. There it is. What are we supposed to do now?"

"Fill out this chart, I suppose," James says, sighing as he scrawls something illegible in the chart.

"Oh. Er. James?"

"What?"

"Do you ever think…" Peter stops and hesitates. "You know how there's a war going on?"

James rolls his eyes. "Yeah, Pete, I think I heard about it once or twice."

"There's something I really don't understand," Peter says, ignoring James' sarcasm.

"What?"

"Well…why's it necessary?"

James just looks at him. "Are you serious?"

"No, he's over there," Peter cracks, but James doesn't smile.

"Think of how You-Know-Who and his mates are murdering all those Muggle-borns and people who don't fit the Wizarding norm. Innocent people like Lily and Remus. That's why it's necessary, Peter."

"I know," Peter says, wishing he didn't bring it up. "But we're murdering them; doesn't that seem a little hypocritical?"

"No," James says simply. "It's justice."

"You believe in justice?"

"Of course," James says, surprised. "Doesn't everybody?"

Peter shrugs. "I guess. But they're people like Sirius' family. Don't you think they should be given some mercy?"

"He doesn't think that," James points out. "And we're his family, anyway. But no, I don't think that. I think that if you believe and act on those horrible beliefs, you deserve to die, no matter if you used to be family, or friends, or whatever."

Peter nods. "Okay."

James glances at him. "Why do you ask?" he says curiously. "Having second thoughts about joining the Order?"

Peter shrugs miserably. "I don't like war."

James gives him a sad look. "I know. And I don't either. But Pete, it's necessary. For people like Remus, and Lily, and all our friends, it's necessary."

"But what if we die?" Peter whispers.

"Then we die for the right cause. For our friends," James says proudly.

Peter looks into his eyes and sees the absence of doubt. He knows James would gladly die for what he believed in and for his friends, and he can't help but wish he had the same courage.

Saturn (time, age, youth, fear)

"I found Saturn," Sirius says smugly.

James shoves Sirius aside, looking into the telescope. "You idiot, that's the moon." He pauses, and grins. "But I understand why the moon is your main focus nowadays."

"Shut up," Sirius mutters, smacking James on the head.

James just laughs, shaking his head. He fiddles with the telescope. "There it is," he says, gesturing Sirius to the telescope.

Sirius looks. "Nice," he says, bored. "I liked the moon better."

"I'm sure you do," James smirks, dodging another blow from Sirius.

Sirius sighs. "Do you ever think about how we're graduating this year?"

James shrugs, glancing at him. "'Course."

"I guess it doesn't matter to you," Sirius mutters. "You're going to marry Lily, become an Auror, have a couple babies, and live happily ever after."

James frowns. "And you're going to be an Auror with me, and be with Remus, and we'll still be best friends forever."

Sirius smiles absently. "I guess. It's just…I don't know. I don't like change."

James nods. "Yeah. I think it's natural to be scared-"

"-I didn't say I was scared-"

"-but time changes things, and it's just a part of life, but it doesn't mean that it's going to change for the worst."

"But we're not going to be the Marauders anymore," Sirius whispers, not meeting James' eyes.

He snorts. "Sure we are. We're still going to turn into animals every full moon for Moony, and we're still going to wreck havoc on the town when we go out for drinks, and we're still going to be best friends. We're just going to grow up a little bit."

"I guess. But I like being young and stupid," Sirius says stubbornly.

James laughs, albeit sympathetically. "I know."

"And we're not going to be able to be young and stupid," Sirius insists. "Because of the war, and all."

"You're right. We're going to have to grow up," James says calmly.

Sirius nods, thinking that how even though James is his best friend, he's already grown up, and Sirius has been left behind, clinging to his youth and immaturity. The thought scares him, and he sighs. "Just promise that no matter how everything changes, our friendship won't change."

James shakes his head vigorously. "Of course it won't. Never."

Sirius grins in relief. "Sorry for acting like such a girl."

"I'm used to it by now," he winks, laughing and dodging Sirius' hand.

Uranus (father, over-bearing, begin)

Narcissa eyes the telescope in distaste, wondering how many Gryffindors had touched it. Lucius sighs. "I hate this class."

"I know," Narcissa agrees, wondering for the millionth time who was the genius who thought it would be a smart idea to pair the Gryffindors with the Slytherins.

"What are we supposed to be looking for today?" he asks.

Narcissa blushes. "Uranus."

Lucius doesn't comment, making Narcissa smile at his maturity, and scans the sky. "At least we're partners this time."

"I'm glad." She looks at Lucius and feels a rush of love for her betrothed. "We only have three more months until we graduate."

"And then we marry," Lucius says, giving her a small smile.

"I can't wait to begin our life together," Narcissa sighs, twirling her quill between her fingers.

He plucks it from her, and uses it to write something on their planetary chart, in his perfect script. "Nor can I."

"It's odd," she murmurs. "If you think about it."

He gives her a look. "Why?"

She shrugs. "Getting married so soon. Bella says-" She stops, confused. Bella had said that she was going from one controlling man to another, but Narcissa doesn't think Lucius wants to hear that.

Lucius rolls his eyes. "I wouldn't listen to Bellatrix, Cissa. She's hardly the expert on how proper pure-blooded witches should behave."

"Well, she's not like Andromeda was," Narcissa says defensively.

"No, but she's a Death Eater. She's loud and coarse and is the opposite of how pure-blooded witches should be," Lucius says, somewhat patronizingly. "You're nothing like either of your sisters, thank Merlin, or I wouldn't be marrying you."

"So if I wanted to join the Dark Lord…"

"I would forbid it," Lucius says simply. "But that's an irrelevant question, because you would never want to do that."

Narcissa isn't sure of how to react. No, she would not want to join the Dark Lord, but she wasn't sure how she liked the idea of Lucius controlling her for the rest of their lives. Still, she muses, it was natural for him to want to be in charge. Just look at her father! She takes a deep breath and smiles. "You're right."

"Of course I am," Lucius says smugly. "Narcissa, I am looking forward to starting our life together. You're the perfect wife."

Narcissa smiles and nods and pretends she doesn't have any doubts, like the perfect wife would.

Neptune (temper)

Severus glares at her. "I can't believe you're dating Potter."

She sighs uncomfortably. "I can't believe you're becoming a Death-Eater."

He looks pained. "How do you know that?"

Lily smiles sadly. "I'm not an idiot, Sev, no matter my blood."

He blushes. "I didn't say you were."

Lily shakes her head. "Neptune is over here."

Severus doesn't move towards the telescope. "He's bad for you."

"What?" she asks, startled.

"Potter. He's horrible. I thought you said you'd never go out with him."

"Things have changed. He's changed."

"His friend just hexed me yesterday!"

"Yes, his friend," shoots Lily. "James has moved on from that."

Severus rolls his eyes. "But I bet you spend more time with his filthy friend than you do with me."

"I like Sirius," Lily says cautiously. "I disagree with his bullying, but he's a good guy at heart."

"He's a pansy," Severus says dismissively.

Lily's eyes flash. "He's a better man than you could ever be."

Severus rolls his eyes. "Sure, stick up for him. Stick up for Potter, and all the people you used to hate, and don't stick up for the guy who used to be your best friend." His eyes narrow and he spits the words out. "You're a bitch."

Lily looks stricken. "Leave me alone."

"That's what you said to Potter, and now you're shagging him," Severus smirks. "So excuse me if I don't take you seriously."

Lily looks furious now and she stands up, shaking. "I hate you, Severus. You act like you're a victim, but you're the one who called me, your best friend, a Mudblood. You're the one who's a Death-Eater, who's going to murder innocent people. And I know you're the one who tried to expose Remus and get him expelled."

"And his little boyfriend almost had me killed! But no, he's a wonderful person," Severus spits.

"People change," Lily says angrily. "And you've changed too, but not for the better. I don't even recognize the person you used to be."

"I miss you," Severus says quietly. "I'm sorry that I hurt you. I…can't we try to be friends again?"

Lily doesn't look mad anymore, just sad. "I don't think so, Severus. I think it's too late for that."

Severus blinks, looking as if he is about to cry, and the bell rings, and Lily looks at him one more time, before walking out of his life forever.

Pluto (dark, over-looked)

"Why are you even in this class?" Sirius snarls.

Regulus looks nervous. "I'm quite good at this subject. They moved me up a couple years." He pauses, continuing with a trace of bitterness. "Sorry, I know you're not used to having your younger brother beat you at anything."

"You're not my brother anymore," Sirius mumbles. "You've all made it perfectly clear that I'm not a part of your family anymore."

"Right. Well. You didn't want to be part of our family anyway."

Sirius snorts. "No, I didn't want to be a part of all the evilness of the Blacks."

Regulus shrugs. "Well, you made your choice, and we made ours."

"You made the choice that Mum and Father and Bellatrix and everyone expected you to make," Sirius snaps. "What, are you a Death-Eater now?"

Regulus laughs humorlessly. "Not yet."

Sirius shakes his head, disgusted. "Whatever."

The silence builds between them as Sirius looks fixedly at the telescope and Regulus coughs. "I heard that you're dating a bloke now."

Sirius glares furiously. "That's none of your business," he snaps. Regulus doesn't say anything, and after a moment, Sirius looks at him. "I suppose you told them though?"

Regulus shakes his head. "Narcissa did."

"Of course she did," Sirius mutters darkly. "What was her reaction?"

Regulus shifts uncomfortably. "She screamed a lot. 'Bout the same as when she found out you were a Gryffindor. Said that she couldn't believe she had birthed you, because you were-" He pauses, and looks apprehensive. "Well. She said a lot."

Sirius' eyes turn from gray to smoldering black. "And I suppose you stood there and agreed with her?"

Regulus flushes but answers honestly. "I stood there and said nothing."

Sirius smirks. "As always. You always were such a coward, Regulus. I don't know how you expect to become a Death-Eater."

"I know," Regulus whispers miserably. "Bella tells me all the time that as much of a disgusting blood-traitor you were, at least you were braver and stronger and smarter and better than me."

Sirius glances at him, and for a second, his gaze softens. Then he remembers it all, and the cold look in his eyes comes back. "I guess even Bellatrix can be right."

Regulus looks as if he's been slapped, and grabs the telescope. He stares at Pluto intently and pretends he doesn't even notice when Sirius walks away, leaving him to the darkness.