It was late afternoon by the time the students returned to Hogwarts. Sirius and Remus had helped James and Lily and the prefects round up the younger students in Hogsmeade as soon as the Dark Mark had appeared in the sky. "Make sure the Muggleborns are all accounted for," James had whispered, glancing up at the enormous serpent. The students, sensing the danger at hand, had been surprisingly compliant, trampling quietly and nervously back to Hogwarts behind the Head Boy and Girl.
Back in the safety of the Great Hall, however, the students struggled to settle down at their house tables. The air was full of nervous energy, and students wandered from table to table, looking for their friends and shouting accounts of what they saw or didn't see back at the village.
"What happened at the apothecary?"
"I heard someone died—"
"I heard it was the vampires from the Shrieking Shack!"
"Idiots," Sirius said, sitting down between Remus and Peter. "It was the Dark Mark! We all saw it. I hope Dumbledore tells us what really happened."
Remus elbowed Sirius in the side. "Look who's coming," he muttered under his breath. Snape was approaching the Gryffindor table. He was headed right for the end where Lily was seated beside Marlene, their heads bent together in conversation. Remus glanced around; James was nowhere in sight.
"Should we stop him from bothering her?" Sirius asked almost eagerly, his hand on his wand. Peter looked nervous.
"No, I don't think so," Remus said, watching Snape. His usual angry expression had softened into something that looked more like worry and fear. "They were friends before all this. I think he wants to make sure she's okay."
"Well he should," Sirius scowled. "It's probably his friends that set off the Dark Mark."
Just as Snape near the table, however, James jogged up quickly from the other direction. He put a hand on Lily's shoulder. "Is this seat taken?" he asked. She shook her head, smiling up at him. James sat, draping his arm around her shoulders. Marlene gave a little giggle.
"All right, Lily?" he asked, and she nodded, resting her head on his shoulder. Remus looked quickly up at Snape, who was standing only a few feet from the table. His concerned expression turned to one of fury, and he stalked back to the Slytherin table.
"Did you see that?" Sirius whispered. "James had better watch his back."
Remus nodded, watching Lily smile up at his friend. "Looks like their date must have gone well today though." He was happy for James, but he wondered what it would be like to show affection so openly with Sirius. Sirius flashed him a knowing smile and squeezed his leg under the table.
Up at the Head Table, Dumbledore rose from his seat, his face tired and grim. "Thank you for gathering here tonight," he said, his voice amplified throughout the Great Hall. "Thank you to our prefects and to our Head Girl and Boy for their quick thinking and care for their fellow students." There was a smattering of applause, and Lily lifted her head from James' shoulder, looking rather embarrassed.
Dumbledore cleared his throat again. "It is true that the Dark Mark was cast over Hogsmeade today. Many of you are already aware that this is the symbol of the Death Eaters, the followers of the individual calling himself Lord Voldemort." Nervous whispering broke out among the House tables, and several students flinched. Remus saw Sirius look over at the Slytherins. His brother Regulus's face was expressionless. Snape, Remus noticed, was staring at Lily and James as though he had not heard the Headmaster speak at all, his dark eyes full of anger and hurt.
Dumbledore rose a hand to silence the crowd and continued speaking. "It is also true that there were casualties tonight." The students fell silent. "Agnes and Gerald Smelter, Hogsmeade residents and owners of the Hogsmeade Apothecary, were both killed tonight in an attack on their home." He bowed his head. "As many of you know, the Smelters were parents to Hogwarts student Tenley Smelter of Hufflepuff."
Several students gasped and broke out in whispers. Remus looked over at the Hufflepuff table. Tenley was absent, and many of her housemates had tear-streaked faces. He shivered, cold fear spreading throughout his body. Hogsmeade was one of the first wizarding communities most Muggleborns experienced, and for the Smelters to be killed there, in their own shop because they were Muggleborn was beyond disturbing. Across the table, Lily let out a choked sob, and James pulled her closer, whispering something in her ear. Sirius reached under the table and took Remus's hand.
"I hope you will all join me in offering your support and condolences to Tenley and to Hufflepuff house," Dumbledore continued somberly. "And while today's attack should not be taken lightly, I can assure you that Hogwarts students remain safe within these walls."
Dumbledore looked out at the House tables, his gaze lingering last and longest over Slytherin. "I fear that there will be much more darkness ahead," he said finally. "If you find yourselves tempted by the empty promises of this man and his followers, know that it is never too late to choose light."
That night, the Gryffindor common room buzzed with hushed, fearful conversation. For the first time, the war felt real. Hogsmeade would never feel the same again. Tenley Smelter's life would never be the same again.
"I want to fight," James said fiercely to the other Marauders, running a frustrated hand through his hair. "I've heard there's a secret society fighting the Death Eaters and I want in." He glanced over at Lily, who was comforting a distraught fourth year girl on the other side of the common room. "Muggleborns shouldn't have to be afraid."
"What could you do?" Peter asked, looking frightened.
"I don't know," James said. "But I'm going to find out. I bet Dumbledore's involved."
"I bet they need people to infiltrate the Death Eaters, find out what they're up to," Sirius said, stretching out on the carpet with his feet on the hearth. "Shame my family disowned me. They'd never believe it if I went back and started snooping around now."
"What about you, Remus?" James asked, looking at him.
Remus looked quickly away from Sirius. "I don't know." He lowered his voice. "I don't know what somebody like me could do. Who would trust me? With my...problem?"
"Dumbledore would," James said. "We would. We do."
"People should trust you," Sirius said, suddenly angry. "I'm sorry, Moony, but whatever the Death Eaters are planning, I doubt it's going to be good for anyone who's not—"
"Not human." Remus finished.
They all fell silent, staring into the fire. The chatter died down around them as exhausted students trickled off to bed. Marlene and Lily joined them briefly on their way up to the girls' dormitory. Lily perched on the arm of James' chair, and Marlene gave Peter a quick kiss on the cheek. "I had a nice time today," she told him, though she shot a rather reproachful look at Sirius.
"Goodnight, boys," Lily said, putting her hand on James' shoulder. "Thanks for the date, James." They looked hesitantly at one another.
"Just snog already, would you?" Sirius called exasperatedly from his spot on the floor. James turned a bright shade of Gryffindor red and glared at him.
Lily turned rather pink, but much to their surprise, she bent down and gave James a kiss on the lips. His eyes opened wide in shock, and he took her hands and pulled her down onto his lap, kissing her back enthusiastically. The other three Marauders looked at one another and grinned.
"It doesn't feel right to be so happy when everything else is so horrible," James said later, when they were all laying in bed.
"I think it's good," Remus said quietly. "You have to have something worth fighting for."
"Yeah," James agreed. "That's true."
"That's all well and good," Sirius said loudly, "but can we talk about how bloody long it took this kiss to happen? Six, nearly seven years, it's pathetic, really—" There was a crashing sound as James threw his pillow at Sirius and hit his bedside lamp instead. "Terrible aim," Sirius said. "Now, what would the Head Girl say if she knew you were throwing pillows at your roommates?"
"She'd say you deserve it, you git," James retorted.
"Shut up, both of you," Remus chided, but he smiled into the darkness. There was a lot to fight for, he thought sleepily. Tenley Smelter and the Dark Mark loomed heavily in this thoughts, but as he drifted off to sleep, he was thinking primarily of how it had felt to sit with his arm slung around Sirius, sharing a cigarette in the autumn leaves behind the Shrieking Shack.