A/N: This is very different for me. I challenged myself to post something every day for Jily Tropefest (over on tumblr) and that each submission would need to be in a style I'd never tried before, so this isn't the type of fic I'd normally write. It's written from a child's perspective and in a report format. That said, it kind of tickles with how pure everyone involved is, and I hope everyone enjoys.
Mission Log: 661597800213
Date: 04/24/71
Participants: Professor McGonagall, Lily Evans, Mary MacDonald and Amos Diggory
Goal: Scout out one of Voldemort's abandoned bases for clues on his future plans
Location: Powys, Wales
Hi Professor D!
This is my first ever mission log, so if I write too much, I'm sorry. Amos Diggory told me that his are usually only two pages long tops, but I told him that's just silly. I mean, what's the point of filling these out if we're going to leave out what happened. You're going to make important decisions about the fight against Voldemort using what we tell you, and it would be a catastrophe if we left something out. That's what Professor McGonagall always says. You have to follow the rules because omitting the teensiest detail could be disastrous.
So, I don't know how much you already know about our mission because you're a busy man, and I doubt you have time to sit around plotting out training missions for all your students. I mean, I'm eleven but that doesn't mean I'm stupid. I know I'm not important. Not yet, anyway.
Since the start of term, I've been looking forward to our first combat field trip. I know a lot of students choose not to take combat because they're not comfortable learning to weaponized their powers, and I know that those who do usually wait until they're at least fourteen, but I couldn't wait. My parents and my sister are muggles, and the idea that there are mutants out there that want to hurt them makes me super mad. Mary, the only other eleven-year-old in our combat class, says we should pray for them. I say we should punch them in the face.
Anyways, with me and Mary being so young, the mission was supposed to be super straightforward. The super dangerous stuff, like facing off against Voldemort's supporters, is saved for the graduated students who keep attending even after they've aged out.
The goal (as I stated above) was to scope out one of Voldemort's abandoned bases. We were told to look for clues to answer four questions:
1. Who was using this base?
2. What were they using it for?
3. Where have they gone now?
4. What are they planning next?
On the jet ride to the base, Professor McGonagall had us come up with these questions as a kind of surprise quiz before the mission. Mary and I both came up with questions three and four, but question two was all my idea. Professor McGonagall said she was really impressed, that most of her students are always thinking so far ahead that they forget about the past, which is funny because obviously I'm not the one who forgets things! (The joke, in case you don't know, is that my power is removing people's most recent memories.)
The base was approximately 300 meters in size. The back rested against a cliff face, while the northern side was covered by a really big forest (I'm sorry I don't know the exact size. If you want, I can look it up later). The southern and western sides were exposed to a field that stretched three miles in either direction before connecting with the A483 motorway.
My very first observation was that the landscape was going to work in our favor in terms of detecting surprise attacks but that we'd have to be extra-vigilant for mutants with flying or long-distance offensive powers because they could launch an attack from atop the mountain behind us. From all our practice simulations, I know that people are always least prepared for an attack from above or below.
The big downside of the terrain was that it meant there was no good place to land the jet. It would be too visible what with the open field, and the forest was too dense for a safe landing. Professor McGonagall let Amos land the plane six miles away behind an abandoned barn and then we rode our bicycles the rest of the way.
When we got there, Amos was put on watch duty because he's fifteen and has some control over his powers. He took a south-looking position hidden behind some bushes at the edge of the base. His back was covered by the forest and he had a good view of the base in front of him. From a tactical standpoint, this was a good position because only a really dedicated mutant would have been able to cut through the forest and surprise him from behind (the trees were rooted really close together with a lot of crunchy leaves that would alert Amos to an intruder) and the base was on flat land so he'd see anything coming from the front.
First thing, Professor McGonagall instructed Mary to go invisible. I didn't really understand why at first since the base was supposed to be empty, but Professor McGonagall said it was always smart to have a few aces up your sleeve in case your enemy has a surprise planned. Then she told me that gambling was all well and good in metaphors but should be avoided in real life.
Inside the base we formed a triage with McGonagall taking the front and me flanking on the left. We'd discussed on the jet that there were no time constraints on this mission so it would be better to play it safe. When we're older and have better control over how to use our powers defensively, Professor McGonagall said we'd be paired up with other students and trusted to scout out sectors of the base alone, but for now we were going to have to stay by her side at all times.
The base was thoroughly cleaned out. Here are a few observations though:
One room had fourteen hanging cots. This suggests that Voldemort's supporters were spending the night (or day depending on their sleep schedule!) in the base. That they were all in one room, however, suggests that this was not a long term arrangement as they probably wouldn't want to all sleep that close together night after night.
There was no food in the refrigerator but there was also no trash. Either they weren't eating at the base, they'd left a long time ago, or they had taken the trash bags with them. I think they most likely haven't been using the base for some time or they hadn't moved into it yet. Think about it, maybe they were planning to use all those cots but they hadn't gotten to go grocery shopping yet. Then, something unexpected happened, and they had to clear out ahead of schedule.
Mary found a piece of glass from an unidentified broken object under a counter in a room that didn't have a clear purpose. It's in the lab now so hopefully we'll have a definitive answer once the tests are run.
The room in which we found the piece of glass was much colder than all the other rooms. My theory (and I know speculation without facts is a bad habit, but I also think I have pretty good instincts) is that it's from a broken beaker that they were using to perform science experiments. I don't know much about chemistry because we don't get to that at Hogwarts until year three, but I do know that some chemicals have to be kept cold or they have bad reactions.
So, I don't have a clear answer to questions one, two, or four. I do have an answer to question three, or at least a partial one anyway. Where did the enemy go? Answer: they were still there.
Well, since exaggeration is practically like lying, I guess I should clarify that two of them were there. And I can't say for sure they were still there. It's possible they had tracked our jet and followed us there and that they were completely different death eaters altogether. I think that sounds kind of like a coincidence though, and like Professor Moody always says, there's no such thing as coincidences where mutants are involved.
A quick rundown on what I observed from the bad guys:
The man was tall with a beard and a scar on his right temple. He wore a grey sweatshirt and loose black trousers. When his female counterpart talked to him, she referred to him as Nitrodash. Throughout the course of my observation, I tried to get a read on what his power was, but it was kind of hard to tell. It definitely had something to do with his feet, where it almost seemed like he was wearing roller skates. It allowed him to move quickly and slide across the ground in a way that provided an advantage in maneuverability during the fight. I could not see how his feet looked while he used his power because of his baggy trousers.
The woman had blonde hair and a muscular build. Much more muscular than is common in a woman. It made sense because her power was super-strength. I didn't see her struggle to lift anything in the compound so I can't speculate on what her weight restriction is, but I saw her throw a rock that was easily one-hundred kilos, so I think it's safe to say it's a pretty big number.
They came in through the front entrance of the compound. I'm sure Amos's report will have a better account of what happened with him, but he told me that the woman threw a rock at his head from a far distance and managed to knock him unconscious. When he first saw them, he tried to radio us a warning, but his walkie-talkie didn't have reception since we were deep inside the bunker. Professor McGonagall said it was a rookie mistake on her part not to test the walkies as we moved deeper into the base and apologized to us a lot on the ride back to school.
The woman tried to throw a rock at Professor McGonagall while they still had the element of surprise, but luckily, she missed. It smashed through the refrigerator Professor McGonagall was standing beside, sending the swinging door flying in Mary's direction. The door slammed into her shoulder, knocking her into the ground, but the bad guys didn't hear the sound of the impact, and she kept her advantage of invisibility, because it was drowned out by the rest of the debris crashing into the walls. One of the pieces of debris hit the wall with enough force to blast a hole into, opening out into the hallway.
Judging the woman to be the greater threat, Professor McGonagall sent a wave of acidic slime towards her. The woman managed to dodge out of the way, and Professor McGonagall told us to run. Since the enemy was blocking the door, I crawled out through the hole in the hallway and sprinted towards the exit. Mary being invisible and all, I could only tell she was following (at a slower pace due to her injury) from the sound of her footsteps.
Nitrodsah was sent to chase after us. We were very lucky in that the hole in the wall was too small for a man to climb through, more suitable for our eleven-year-old bodies, so he had to take the longer route through the kitchen entrance, giving us enough time to make it outside.
In the few moments we had to strategize, we decided that Mary should gather up projectiles and lob them at him once he left the compound. She would move about to different positions for each throw so he didn't get a chance to pinpoint her position. I would hide along the outskirts of the woods and use my power to confuse him.
This worked at first. Mary's first stone throw managed to hit him in the head hard enough to make him take a step back. I was able to make him forget the impact, giving Mary enough time to dart to another position towards the east and make another throw. The main problem was that he was really fast, and he started skating around the open space in a way that made it impossible for Mary to hit him.
Me making him forget only worked for so long too because after about a minute of confusion, he pulled out a gun and started shooting blindly towards the woods where I was hiding. Since he wasn't aiming, making him forget his last twenty seconds of memories didn't make much of a difference.
I have to pause my account of what happened here to let you know that I was really, really frightened. I had to crouch low to the ground and cover my mouth so that he wouldn't hear my loud breathing. Obviously I knew that Voldemort's death eaters were the bad guys and what makes them bad guys is their willingness to do bad things. I mean, we wouldn't call them bad if they only ever helped old ladies carry their groceries, now would we? But still, I guess I thought they wouldn't want to kill me or Mary. We're only kids. And Voldemort's supporters are supposed to be all about mutant supremacy, right? How is trying to kill the two of us pro-mutant?
Most of all, I'm kind of angry at myself for being so scared. I've practiced so hard at school, and I thought I was ready. Heroes don't get scared. They face the bad guys with a smile on their face. I didn't do much smiling, so I guess I'm not much of a hero.
Yet, at least. I'm going to work harder from now on. That's a promise!
Anyways, probably scariest of all was that I didn't know where Mary was hiding and whether or not he had hit her. I assumed she'd turn visible again if she took a bullet, but I've (thankfully!) never seen that tested so I couldn't be sure.
Amos was also still unconscious on the ground and completely vulnerable to anything Nitrodash decided to do to him. So, I knew I had to do something and fast.
Before I got the chance, something really weird happened. I know Professor Moody says we're supposed to expect the unexpected, but this was completely out of nowhere.
A stag burst out of the woods and rammed straight into Nitrodash. It came at a pretty solid gallop and its antlers were pretty big, so it was able to knock him to the ground. The stag stomped on his chest once, but Nitrodash was able to roll away before its hooves could do anymore damage. Clutching at his ribs like they might be broken, Nitrodash reached for his dropped gun. The sight of the weapon was enough to make the stag back up, which was the first real clue that this was a mutant and not a rampaging animal.
Before he was able to grab the gun, the world suddenly flipped upside down, or at least, our perceptions were altered so everything seemed upside down. It was disorienting enough that Nitrodash hesitated in grabbing his gun.
Then, two boys came running out of the woods. They were both short distance fighters. The one, who I would later learn was named Remus, had animal imitation abilities where he could take on the characteristics of a wolf. Right then, he had the claws of one. The other boy, Sirius, was able to make his hands into fiery torches. Neither was thrown off by the world having flipped upside down, which suggests to me that they'd trained with the mutant who caused the shift and knew how to reorient themselves.
They were able to put Nitrodash on the defensive, having to skate around the open space to avoid the two who were trying to burn/claw him with their deadly hands. A fourth boy, the one responsible for flipping the world upside down, Peter, ran out of the woods only long enough to carefully steal the gun abandoned on the floor, and then he ran back into the safety of the trees. The stag would charge forward and try to block the path of Nitrodash wherever he skated and helped to herd him towards the other mutants.
Now that he was no longer firing a gun at me, I was able to start using my power to make Nitrodash forget crucial moments of the fight. This added confusion was enough to make him turn in the wrong direction and allowed the one with fiery hands to grab ahold of his arm. He yelled really loudly and the smell of burning flesh filled my nose â bad guy or not, it was pretty horrifying. Then, the stag reared up on its hind legs and kicked him solidly in the chest. The combined pain from the burn and the impact on his already fractured ribs caused him to lose consciousness.
During the fight, Mary had taken her bicycle and pedaled back to the jet so that she could radio our position like we were trained. She told me on the jet ride back that it hurt something terrible because her shoulder was all bruised from having the door hit it, but she hadn't been sure whether these new boys were friend or foe.
I decided it was my responsibility to stay with Amos in case these other mutants turned out to be a new kind of enemy or something. While I really wanted to go and help Professor McGonagall, I knew that rule number one on these missions was that we weren't allowed to interfere with any adult fighting because it was too dangerous, so I didn't reenter the compound.
With Nitrodash defeated, the stag transformed back into a boy, James I would learn, and they all started to celebrate. This involved a lot of singing and banging on their chests like they'd just won the World Cup or something. Also, and this is so embarrassing to have to write, James wasn't dressed because his transformation doesn't come with trousers, so he had to put on a pair of trousers that Peter kept in a bag for him, and I may have seen his bum!
I deemed that they weren't much of a threat because of their age and immature antics and decided to come out of the woods. I've transcribed the conversation that followed to the best of my abilities.
Me: Thank you for helping, but who are you and what do you want?
James: We are the Marauders!
[I'm not entirely sure what this means. I think marauders are related to pirates or thieves in the desert. Certainly nothing good, so I'm withholding judgment on their motives for now.]
Me: Umm, what?
James: Our superhero team name.
Me: But you're not superheroes.
James: [gasping dramatically] What are you talking about? Of course we're superheroes. We fight crime with our powers. We have superhero names!
[I did not ask what these names are, which was an oversight on my part. I'm sorry.]
Me: You have to be a grownup to be a superhero. You're just an eleven-year-old child.
James: I'm twelve!
A few quick notes: 1) I'm pretty skeptical at this whole "I'm twelve" claim. Truthfully, he looks ten with his knobby knees and glasses sliding to the crook of his nose. I think he's lying. 2) As you see here, it's James doing all of the talking. I think he's the leader of the so-called Marauders but the others were also busy poking at the unconscious body of Nitrodash and celebrating their victory, so they weren't really interested in talking to me.
Anyway, I continued to ask him questions about what they were doing here and learned that James' family lives only a few kilos away. He and his friends have suspected for some time that the base out here, which they discovered exploring the area, was being used for nefarious purposes and have been investigating it ever since. They come out to observe the base at least three times a week, hoping to find clues about what the death eaters are up to. When they saw our plight, they decided to help.
Me: So, you're a shapeshifter?
James: That's right! I can turn into a stag. Pretty cool, huh?
Me: And?
James: And what?
Me: Well, what else can you turn into?
James: Just a stag.
Me: That's not much of a power. Not much a deer is going to do in a fight. Your friends' powers are much cooler.
[I know this wasn't exactly a nice thing to say, but you should have heard how proud he was of being able to shapeshift into a deer. There are kids at Hogwarts who can make the earth quake when they're angry, make the sky rain fire, or the blood boil underneath a person's skin. Limited shapeshifting is kind of low tier.]
James: Shows how much you know! What's your power, then?
Me: âĶI can make people forget things.
James: Ha! And you act like my power is lame. That's totally useless!
Then, James called out to his friends to loudly tell them about my "totally useless" power and laugh about it with them.
Now, I didn't tell Professor McGonagall this part because I didn't want to get a detention, but I used my powers inappropriately then in a way that Professor McGonagall would have called "malicious and juvenile." I made James forget he'd already told his friends over and over again so that he'd repeat it on an obnoxious loop. Sirius finally had to clunk him over the head to make him stop.
This next part's kind of embarrassing, but as I already said, who knows what you might find important? If it seems like it's not, maybe you could read through it really fast?
Anyways, after James realized I'd made him forget his bullying words over and over again, he was actually pretty impressed with my power. It's kind of weird because not many kids are. I mean, I'm not even a fan of my power. It doesn't do me much good in a fight. Just look at what happened with Nitrodash. Mary and I are both too specialized in defense. Neither of us are much good at actually stopping an enemy, only protecting ourselves. It's why real mutants like Remus and Sirius are so important.
It made me like this James boy a little bit more. Not much more (and not that kind of like!) but a teensy, tiny, microscopic, can't even see it without a magnifying glass little bit.
James: Wow! That's super cool. You should join our group!
Sirius: She can't just join our group. You have to earn your way into the Marauders.
Me: Well, I don't want to be a stupid Marauder. I'm in school. Where you should be, might I add.
Remus: It doesn't look like you're in school.
James: Yeah! You're just fighting death eaters like us!
[I know it looks like I'm using a lot of exclamation points whenever James speaks, but that's just how he talks. I swear. There was a lot of arm waving and shouting.]
Me: No. I'm on a field trip. I take perfectly normal classes too. Like algebra and French.
Remus: What kind of school do you go to?
I realized I'd made a mistake then because we're not supposed to talk about Hogwarts with strangers. Our anonymity is what keeps us safe. But they were also mutants, and you always say that the school is open to any mutant â no matter what age â if they so wish it. So I don't think you'll be too upset with me for breaking the statute of secrecy.
I'm pretty sure these boys are maniacs, but they're not evil maniacs.
Before I had to try to change the subject, James started looking at me funny, like really intensely through his specs with his head all cocked to the side. (And this is where things get embarrassing).
James: You're kind of pretty.
[I know it sounds like I must be making this up, but I'm not! He really, just out of the blue, started talking about how pretty I was. We're just children. We're not supposed to notice that kind of stuff yet. I know Marlene has a boyfriend, but she's just playing at it. Mummy always says that children can't really date. You can call every boy you meet your boyfriend, but it won't count until you're sixteen. So what this boy was trying to do, I have no idea!]
Me: What?
James: Yeah, like really pretty. Want to be my girlfriend?
Me: Ew! No!
It's in times like these where I wish I could erase my own memories, because that was just too gross to handle. Yuck, I want to wash my hands just thinking about it.
So, that's what I told him.
Then he got all mad and started saying that he thought I had a stupid face just like my stupid power. And, I said something mean back, and it kind of went on for a while.
Long story short, I think I've found my arch-nemesis.
Like, really, he may not be evil yet, but that boy is clearly going nowhere good. He has no adult supervision and a big ego and he's rude. Someday, I'm going to fight him, and I'm going to win. I'm sure of it.
A few minutes into our battle (of words), Professor McGonagall finally came out of the compound. She totally kicked that strong woman's bum! I'm sure she'll tell you all about it herself. I know that if I was powerful enough to beat up a woman with super-strength, I'd be bragging about it to all my fellow professors for months, so I'm sure she'll do the same.
The boys all ran off once they saw her, and I had to fill Professor McGonagall in on everything I've told you here. She decided that dealing with the unconscious death eaters and tending to Amos was more important, so we didn't chase after them after they made their escape into the woods.
Professor McGonagall was able to revive Amos and we all went back to the jet for our debriefing.
I know I skimmed over some points even though I said I wasn't going to, so just let me know if you want me to go back and add any additional information. I'm hoping this covers all the really relevant stuff.
I want you to know that even though the whole thing was kind of scary, I am really happy you let me go on my first mission. I'll work super hard, and next time around, I'll be ready for anything!
Thank you so much!
Lily Evans
Response to Mission Log: 661597800213
Date: 04/24/71
Participants: Professor McGonagall, Lily Evans, Mary MacDonald and Amos Diggory
Goal: Scout out one of Voldemort's abandoned bases for clues on his future plans
Location: Powys, Wales
Dear Miss Evans,
I wanted to write you a personal note, thanking you for providing me with one of the most thorough, entertaining mission reports I have ever had the pleasure to receive. Reading essentially the same report over and over again from all involved mission participants can become tedious, but reading yours was like walking outside after a storm to be greeted with the sun. Nay, a rainbow.
There is nothing wrong with feeling fear on a dangerous mission. I, in fact, frequently become all but petrified in the face of my enemies. To fear only shows that we know what there is to lose. Bravery is what comes when we carry on in spite of our fear, and I think your report shows that you do not have a deficiency of such courage.
Due to the information included in your report, I recently took my own trip to Wales in order to find the four boys who call themselves the Marauders. As it turns out, they are not suffering from lack of parental supervision as you speculated in your log. I spent a great deal of time speaking with all of their parents, explaining to them the history of Hogwarts, the curriculum, and the safety we provide our students.
As you can see, you were not wrong to share information about our school with your fellow mutants, though it is correct that you should show circumspection in doing so in the future.
I'm happy to be able to inform you that all four boys are enrolled for the coming term at Hogwarts and will be joining you in the second-year class. (James Potter is indeed twelve-years-old, despite the youth his knobby knees and drooping glasses afford him). It is my sincerest hope that having your arch-nemesis alongside you in classes will foster a healthy sense of competition and help you grow as a mutant and as a person.
Wishing you the best!
Professor D