After the meeting, the Order members who were not staying at
headquarters left. Almost everyone else went to sleep, except for 2
people: Rupert Giles and Severus Snape. They sat at the kitchen table
drinking tea.
"How long has it been, Ripper?"
"About 25 years, Sev. How have you been?"
"As you know, I left the Dark Lord's service long ago."
"Why was that? You were so obsessed with the dark arts back then. That is why we let a first year hang out with us."
"It is too painful to talk about. Dumbledore helped me through a tough time, and since then I learned it is better to serve a just cause."
"I understand, Sev."
"Have you heard from Ethan?"
"Too many times I am sad to say. He has caused much trouble for Buffy and her friends over the years. If she ran into him again, I am certain that he would be in excruciating pain."
"Same old Rayne. I never understood the whole chaos thing with him."
"Nor I. How do you like teaching?"
"I get to make young people fear and loathe me, I love it. Though, I would rather be teaching your position than potions with my background. However, I am confident that with your recent experience you shall do fine."
"What else can you tell me about Harry and his friends?"
"Inseparable, similar to Potter, Black, Lupin and Pettigrew back in the day. I cannot look at the boy without my feelings about his father. He has his mother's personality, and his father's habit for breaking rules."
"Buffy will protect him and his friends. We all will. Willow is the most powerful Wiccan witch on the planet. And with her learning her latent Wizarding skills, her power may exceed Dumbledore's."
"We shall see my old friend, we shall see."
*********************************************************************
The next day, Harry awoke and began to search the house for Lupin. There was something still bothering him. He found Lupin in the library reading.
"Remus, I was wondering if you could do a favor for me."
"Of course, Harry. You know I would do anything."
"Last year, in the pensieve, the memory of Snape's I saw made me ashamed to be related to my father. You said he and Sirius were the best friends you ever had. I was wondering if you could share some of your good memories with me."
"Nothing would make me happier, Harry. I will get the pensieve from Dumbledore so that we can experience them first hand."
"Great, I can't wait."
Lupin flooed to Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts, and returned with the pensieve. After he had found Harry, he took his wand to his temple and removed a few memories.
"Let's go shall we."
Lupin and Harry entered the pensieve as Harry had done several times before. They were on the Hogwarts Express. The train had already begun on its way. In front of them was a little boy, a first year, looking for an empty cabin. The boy was Remus Lupin. His face was scared. It was evident that he did not know anybody. He finally came to a cabin where 2 boys were sitting.
As soon as Harry saw the boys, he knew who they were: his father, James, and Sirius. They were sitting there laughing and talking. The young Remus stood outside the door, unsure or whether to enter.
"This is where the marauders first met," said the older Remus. "I was so scared being a werewolf in this school; I knew I wouldn't have any friends. I just stood there, waiting for a chance to enter."
"If you want to come in, come in. We won't bite," said Sirius loudly
"Nice pun, Sirius," Harry said.
"Hi, my name is Remus Lupin. I could not find anywhere else to sit, is it alright if I join you two?"
"Of course, we just met about 5 minutes ago, and decided that we're best friends. My name is James Potter, and this here is Sirius Black."
"You're a Black? Wow, I never met someone from such a prominent family."
"Please, my family is nothing but a bunch of pureblood muggle hating fools. I prefer to have nothing in common with them except for my name. Plus I can't stand the Malfoys and we are always at functions with them."
A smile came to the young Remus' face.
"As soon as I met them, I knew we'd be friends. My biggest fear was that they would find out my secret. But, that would not happen for a few years."
As soon as Remus finished his sentence there was a loud rapping at the cabin door. Harry turned around and saw a frantic young fat boy trying to open the cabin door. He immediately knew the boy to be Pettigrew.
Pettigrew threw the door open and ran inside the cabin, and turned around. He was looking out the cabin door with fear.
"Can we help you?" asked Sirius.
"Oh, I didn't realize anyone was in here. There are a bunch of first years thinking that they are in charge of the world. And they started chasing me. I'm trying to hide from them."
When Peter had finished, 2 young boys whom Harry recognized as a young Snape and Lucius Malfoy entered their cabin.
"Black, I thought you would choose your cabin mates more carefully. If you hang out with this trash, you may not make Slytherin."
"Malfoy, how many times do I have to tell you? I want to be the first Black to be in a different house. If I have to spend 7 years dealing with you in the same house, I may have to 'Avada Kedavra' myself."
"And be stuck with mudbloods and halfbloods in your house? What kind of trash are you?" asked Snape.
"He's Sirius Black, and he's been my best friend for half an hour. If you don't keep your mouth shut, I may have to force it."
"Who do you think you are, hot shot?"
"The name is Potter, James Potter. In my opinion, all wizards are equal, regardless of their heritage. If you two so-called self-appointed bullies don't leave, you may regret it."
As James was saying this, he was looking at Sirius slyly. It was evident the chemistry these two boys had with each other. Harry picked up on what they were going to do.
"And what are you going to do? It is not like you know any spells to cast."
"Who needs spells." started James.
"When you have brains," finished Sirius.
James and Sirius pulled on the carpet that Malfoy and Snape were standing on; they fell backward out of the cabin, making a loud noise. All the other cabins opened up, and people began laughing at the 2 on the ground.
"You'll regret the day you made an enemy of Severus Snape."
"Yeah, maybe when I start a grease company and won't have your hair nearby as my sole source," replied James.
Sirius closed the door, and the four boys inside laughed.
"That was when we first met. Let's advance to our fifth year now."
The memory dissolved, and was replaced with a classroom. The boys were sitting in history of magic, all looking half dead. Professor Binns was lecturing. Harry looked up and noticed that he was not a ghost.
"Binns didn't die till about 5 years before you started Hogwarts, Harry."
Sirius passed Remus a note.
"Marauder's meeting in the usual spot after class."
The class ended and the four boys walked to a stretch of blank wall opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. Harry knew where they were going. James walked past the wall 3 times, and a door appeared. The boys entered the room, and closed the door behind them.
The room looked different than the DA meetings. It was a lounge. It had a mural on the wall that read Marauders Forever! They each sat in a chair, while Sirius stood up.
"Well, Remus, you had us fooled for so long but we figured it out."
"What are you talking about Sirius?"
"The trips once a month, the weakened state you return in. We knew something was up, but we couldn't put our finger on it. Until, James thought of using his favorite toy."
James held up his new invisibility cloak for Remus to see. The young Remus took a gulp.
"Peter was the one who realized that you are always gone during the full moon. We followed you out of the castle this time with Madam Pomfrey. We know that you are a werewolf."
"I'm sorry I never told you guys. We swore that we would never have secrets from each other, but I was afraid I would lose you guys as friends."
"Don't worry about it, Remus. We've actually known for 2 years. It is just recently that we've decided to let you know," said James.
"I don't understand."
"Well, Sirius and I started researching werewolves in the library. It appears that they only will attack humans, and we want to be with our best friend during these painful times. So, we decided to become Animagi."
"You've what?"
"Let's show him," said Sirius.
In the blink of an eye, James transformed into a stag, Sirius into a dog, and Peter into a rat. They each then turned back into their human forms.
"It took Sirius and I a few months to transform, Peter took a little longer. We will be with you when you transform. You are our best friend, our brother; we don't want you to have to go through this alone."
"I don't know what to say. You guys are the best friends I can ever ask for."
"I was also thinking that it would be fun if we each had a nickname representing our 'animal state'," said Sirius. "So, we came up with them. James will be Prongs, Peter shall be known as Wormtail, and I shall forever be called Padfoot. We decided to call you Moony."
"Moony, it works, I like it."
Tears were in the older Remus' eyes. Harry could not believe how close these four boys had been. He could not comprehend how Peter could betray them.
"I have one more memory to show you, Harry."
The memory vanished and this time they were in Hogwarts Great Hall. Instead of the usual meals there, it seemed to be a celebration. Sitting at the head table was not the staff, but his parents. He immediately knew this was their wedding celebration. James and Lily sat in the middle of the table. Sirius, Remus, and Peter to the left of James, and 3 girls that Harry did not know sitting next to his mother.
Sirius stood up with a glass, and began to speak.
"Wow, I can't believe James and Lily are married. Be honest, Lily, how much was the bribe?"
The entire room laughed, and Sirius continued.
"James, you and I decided that we would be best friends 30 seconds after we met, and we have stayed that way for 12 years now. You, Remus, Peter and I caused more trouble in this school in 1 week than most people did in 7 years. It is how we became brothers. Lily, now that you've married him, you are our sister. We will love and protect you with our lives."
James and Lily were holding hands. It was the first time that Harry could tell how much in love his parents were. He began to cry. Lupin put his arm around Harry, as Sirius finished his toast.
"Since you have now gotten married, I now am giving this to you. We made a bet in our fifth year that you would marry Lily Evans, and I said no way. Now, since you are married to Lily, I would like to pay my debt to you. Maestro."
The band began playing and Sirius began to sing. The problem was that Sirius was tone deaf. The song was one that Harry was unfamiliar with, but nobody was paying attention to it. They were too busy laughing at Sirius' bad singing. After he had finished, and the crowd settled down he said one last thing.
"To Lily and James, may you live a long life together and have lots of babies!"
Everyone else in the room lifted their glass and said, "To Lily and James."
The memory then vanished, and Harry and Remus were back in the library.
"Are you alright, Harry?"
"Yeah, it was just Sirius' toast that got to me. It was as if he was jinxing them."
"I know, but I felt you needed to see how in love your parents were and how great of a man James was."
"Thank You, Remus. I would like to see more memories sometime."
"Anytime, Harry. Anytime."
"How long has it been, Ripper?"
"About 25 years, Sev. How have you been?"
"As you know, I left the Dark Lord's service long ago."
"Why was that? You were so obsessed with the dark arts back then. That is why we let a first year hang out with us."
"It is too painful to talk about. Dumbledore helped me through a tough time, and since then I learned it is better to serve a just cause."
"I understand, Sev."
"Have you heard from Ethan?"
"Too many times I am sad to say. He has caused much trouble for Buffy and her friends over the years. If she ran into him again, I am certain that he would be in excruciating pain."
"Same old Rayne. I never understood the whole chaos thing with him."
"Nor I. How do you like teaching?"
"I get to make young people fear and loathe me, I love it. Though, I would rather be teaching your position than potions with my background. However, I am confident that with your recent experience you shall do fine."
"What else can you tell me about Harry and his friends?"
"Inseparable, similar to Potter, Black, Lupin and Pettigrew back in the day. I cannot look at the boy without my feelings about his father. He has his mother's personality, and his father's habit for breaking rules."
"Buffy will protect him and his friends. We all will. Willow is the most powerful Wiccan witch on the planet. And with her learning her latent Wizarding skills, her power may exceed Dumbledore's."
"We shall see my old friend, we shall see."
*********************************************************************
The next day, Harry awoke and began to search the house for Lupin. There was something still bothering him. He found Lupin in the library reading.
"Remus, I was wondering if you could do a favor for me."
"Of course, Harry. You know I would do anything."
"Last year, in the pensieve, the memory of Snape's I saw made me ashamed to be related to my father. You said he and Sirius were the best friends you ever had. I was wondering if you could share some of your good memories with me."
"Nothing would make me happier, Harry. I will get the pensieve from Dumbledore so that we can experience them first hand."
"Great, I can't wait."
Lupin flooed to Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts, and returned with the pensieve. After he had found Harry, he took his wand to his temple and removed a few memories.
"Let's go shall we."
Lupin and Harry entered the pensieve as Harry had done several times before. They were on the Hogwarts Express. The train had already begun on its way. In front of them was a little boy, a first year, looking for an empty cabin. The boy was Remus Lupin. His face was scared. It was evident that he did not know anybody. He finally came to a cabin where 2 boys were sitting.
As soon as Harry saw the boys, he knew who they were: his father, James, and Sirius. They were sitting there laughing and talking. The young Remus stood outside the door, unsure or whether to enter.
"This is where the marauders first met," said the older Remus. "I was so scared being a werewolf in this school; I knew I wouldn't have any friends. I just stood there, waiting for a chance to enter."
"If you want to come in, come in. We won't bite," said Sirius loudly
"Nice pun, Sirius," Harry said.
"Hi, my name is Remus Lupin. I could not find anywhere else to sit, is it alright if I join you two?"
"Of course, we just met about 5 minutes ago, and decided that we're best friends. My name is James Potter, and this here is Sirius Black."
"You're a Black? Wow, I never met someone from such a prominent family."
"Please, my family is nothing but a bunch of pureblood muggle hating fools. I prefer to have nothing in common with them except for my name. Plus I can't stand the Malfoys and we are always at functions with them."
A smile came to the young Remus' face.
"As soon as I met them, I knew we'd be friends. My biggest fear was that they would find out my secret. But, that would not happen for a few years."
As soon as Remus finished his sentence there was a loud rapping at the cabin door. Harry turned around and saw a frantic young fat boy trying to open the cabin door. He immediately knew the boy to be Pettigrew.
Pettigrew threw the door open and ran inside the cabin, and turned around. He was looking out the cabin door with fear.
"Can we help you?" asked Sirius.
"Oh, I didn't realize anyone was in here. There are a bunch of first years thinking that they are in charge of the world. And they started chasing me. I'm trying to hide from them."
When Peter had finished, 2 young boys whom Harry recognized as a young Snape and Lucius Malfoy entered their cabin.
"Black, I thought you would choose your cabin mates more carefully. If you hang out with this trash, you may not make Slytherin."
"Malfoy, how many times do I have to tell you? I want to be the first Black to be in a different house. If I have to spend 7 years dealing with you in the same house, I may have to 'Avada Kedavra' myself."
"And be stuck with mudbloods and halfbloods in your house? What kind of trash are you?" asked Snape.
"He's Sirius Black, and he's been my best friend for half an hour. If you don't keep your mouth shut, I may have to force it."
"Who do you think you are, hot shot?"
"The name is Potter, James Potter. In my opinion, all wizards are equal, regardless of their heritage. If you two so-called self-appointed bullies don't leave, you may regret it."
As James was saying this, he was looking at Sirius slyly. It was evident the chemistry these two boys had with each other. Harry picked up on what they were going to do.
"And what are you going to do? It is not like you know any spells to cast."
"Who needs spells." started James.
"When you have brains," finished Sirius.
James and Sirius pulled on the carpet that Malfoy and Snape were standing on; they fell backward out of the cabin, making a loud noise. All the other cabins opened up, and people began laughing at the 2 on the ground.
"You'll regret the day you made an enemy of Severus Snape."
"Yeah, maybe when I start a grease company and won't have your hair nearby as my sole source," replied James.
Sirius closed the door, and the four boys inside laughed.
"That was when we first met. Let's advance to our fifth year now."
The memory dissolved, and was replaced with a classroom. The boys were sitting in history of magic, all looking half dead. Professor Binns was lecturing. Harry looked up and noticed that he was not a ghost.
"Binns didn't die till about 5 years before you started Hogwarts, Harry."
Sirius passed Remus a note.
"Marauder's meeting in the usual spot after class."
The class ended and the four boys walked to a stretch of blank wall opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. Harry knew where they were going. James walked past the wall 3 times, and a door appeared. The boys entered the room, and closed the door behind them.
The room looked different than the DA meetings. It was a lounge. It had a mural on the wall that read Marauders Forever! They each sat in a chair, while Sirius stood up.
"Well, Remus, you had us fooled for so long but we figured it out."
"What are you talking about Sirius?"
"The trips once a month, the weakened state you return in. We knew something was up, but we couldn't put our finger on it. Until, James thought of using his favorite toy."
James held up his new invisibility cloak for Remus to see. The young Remus took a gulp.
"Peter was the one who realized that you are always gone during the full moon. We followed you out of the castle this time with Madam Pomfrey. We know that you are a werewolf."
"I'm sorry I never told you guys. We swore that we would never have secrets from each other, but I was afraid I would lose you guys as friends."
"Don't worry about it, Remus. We've actually known for 2 years. It is just recently that we've decided to let you know," said James.
"I don't understand."
"Well, Sirius and I started researching werewolves in the library. It appears that they only will attack humans, and we want to be with our best friend during these painful times. So, we decided to become Animagi."
"You've what?"
"Let's show him," said Sirius.
In the blink of an eye, James transformed into a stag, Sirius into a dog, and Peter into a rat. They each then turned back into their human forms.
"It took Sirius and I a few months to transform, Peter took a little longer. We will be with you when you transform. You are our best friend, our brother; we don't want you to have to go through this alone."
"I don't know what to say. You guys are the best friends I can ever ask for."
"I was also thinking that it would be fun if we each had a nickname representing our 'animal state'," said Sirius. "So, we came up with them. James will be Prongs, Peter shall be known as Wormtail, and I shall forever be called Padfoot. We decided to call you Moony."
"Moony, it works, I like it."
Tears were in the older Remus' eyes. Harry could not believe how close these four boys had been. He could not comprehend how Peter could betray them.
"I have one more memory to show you, Harry."
The memory vanished and this time they were in Hogwarts Great Hall. Instead of the usual meals there, it seemed to be a celebration. Sitting at the head table was not the staff, but his parents. He immediately knew this was their wedding celebration. James and Lily sat in the middle of the table. Sirius, Remus, and Peter to the left of James, and 3 girls that Harry did not know sitting next to his mother.
Sirius stood up with a glass, and began to speak.
"Wow, I can't believe James and Lily are married. Be honest, Lily, how much was the bribe?"
The entire room laughed, and Sirius continued.
"James, you and I decided that we would be best friends 30 seconds after we met, and we have stayed that way for 12 years now. You, Remus, Peter and I caused more trouble in this school in 1 week than most people did in 7 years. It is how we became brothers. Lily, now that you've married him, you are our sister. We will love and protect you with our lives."
James and Lily were holding hands. It was the first time that Harry could tell how much in love his parents were. He began to cry. Lupin put his arm around Harry, as Sirius finished his toast.
"Since you have now gotten married, I now am giving this to you. We made a bet in our fifth year that you would marry Lily Evans, and I said no way. Now, since you are married to Lily, I would like to pay my debt to you. Maestro."
The band began playing and Sirius began to sing. The problem was that Sirius was tone deaf. The song was one that Harry was unfamiliar with, but nobody was paying attention to it. They were too busy laughing at Sirius' bad singing. After he had finished, and the crowd settled down he said one last thing.
"To Lily and James, may you live a long life together and have lots of babies!"
Everyone else in the room lifted their glass and said, "To Lily and James."
The memory then vanished, and Harry and Remus were back in the library.
"Are you alright, Harry?"
"Yeah, it was just Sirius' toast that got to me. It was as if he was jinxing them."
"I know, but I felt you needed to see how in love your parents were and how great of a man James was."
"Thank You, Remus. I would like to see more memories sometime."
"Anytime, Harry. Anytime."
