A/N: Sorry for the time gap but I need to pick up the pace and I couldn't resist having the Halloween chapter be the thirteenth.

Disclaimer: Alright, we are on FanFiction(dot)net. Why would you think I own anything?
Review Responses:

Varvara- Right well… I can't read that but I'll assume you said only good things, k?

Whitelight72- Welcome new reviewer! Thanx!

mediator girl- hi again! and you are very welcome! and thanx for your comment on Sirius I was worried that it was way too girly… and I love the other side of James too… and to answer your question… Lily is going to be very clueless for awhile… the reason she seems to hate James is she really doesn't understand what's going on all the time. BUT she is starting to like James as a person… she'll start to like like James soon!

Poizon- another faithful reviewer! thanx for the James and Sirius comment. I really wanted you to feel the brotherly bond in that chapter.

fath8252- I always try to respond to my reviewers no matter how many or how few. Sorry but Lily isn't going to help James… yet. James'… errr… situation will be ongoing for a little while.

GiddyGirlie- thanx and I understand your position. When I read books and find a error I actually correct it with a pencil but I HATE editing my own work! And I have no BETA so…. meh! I'll try harder…

DEDICATION:

AHHHHH…….. I am so sorry EastCoastHPgrl! I somehow just got your review for chapter 10! I'm so sorry! So this chapter's for you!

Everything fails
Everything runs it's course
A time and a place, for all of this loving war
Everyone buys, everyone's gotta price, and nothing is new
When will all the failures rise
When will all the failures rise, rise!

Happy is a yuppie word
Nothing in the world could fail me now
It's empty as an argument
I'm running down a life that won't cash out

Happy is a yuppie word
Blessed is the man who's lost it all
Happy is a yuppie word (word)

Looking for an orphanage
I'm looking for a bridge I can't burn down
I don't believe the emptiness
I'm looking for the kingdom coming down

Happy is a Yuppie Word by: Switchfoot

Chapter 13: Happy in a Word

After nearly two months of careful deliberation Charlie Porter came to a very important conclusion. Adults were weird. Teenagers were weirder.

Charlie was sitting at the Gryffindor table on Halloween morning gazing down at James and his friends. Matt sat across from her engrossed in his food. At first she had been offended when he practically ignored her at breakfast then she realized he did it to everyone and that he seemed to eat his elephant sized serving in five minutes anyways so it didn't really matter.

Charlie continued to eye the group oddly then shook her head in exasperation. Sirius had completely ignored the issue after Cassie's breakdown over a month ago. And of course no one ever brought it up.

James looked better; not so horribly exhausted. Nearly two weeks ago he came down shouting about what a beautiful day it was, how he was looking forward to relaxing and asked Lily out three times in a row. Paige pointed out it was raining. Sirius pointed out it was a Tuesday and Lily pointed out she would never go out with him in a million years.

Lily however did look relived as hard as she tried to hide her concern. She also seemed to be warming up to James but blatantly refused to admit it.

Cassie seemed as bubbly as usual only occasionally looking worriedly in one of her friends' direction.

Paige, Charlie assumed, still refused to share any information on her family. Matt had told Charlie their mom was sick but that Paige didn't want anyone to know.

Remus was hiding something. And as sure as Charlie was that James had asked about it she was sure he refused to say anything.

Peter was- where was he? Charlie looked around finally spotting him at the Hufflepuff table sitting next to a girl who was bright red in the face.

Shaking her head she turned back to look at the group. Alice was either the most normal one of the group or she was actually able to hide something.

Forget weird. Teenagers were insane.

'And just think,' Mat commented looking up from his empty plate finally. 'we get to turn into them someday.'

Charlie started slightly surprised she had spoken aloud. 'They are so sure everything that's in their head is so dark and scary they won't even tell each other and realize they are all going through the same thing!'

Matt just shrugged and smiled at the girl sitting down next to Charlie.

'Hi Charlie, Hi Matt. Can I sit here today?'

'Sure, Amy,' Charlie said easily turning to the small blond girl by her side all annoyance gone from her voice.

'Everyone in my house is just so annoying. They are too smart. It's not natural,' Amy said annoyed glaring back at her Ravenclaw table. 'I don't understand why I'm in Ravenclaw!'

'Because you read every time you possibly can?' Matt suggested with another shrug.

'Your sister reads a lot too and she's in Gryffindor.' Amy made a face and continued. 'I think I bring down my house average down a couple points.'

'Yeah from above average to… still above average,' Charlie said with a small laugh pouring herself some pumpkin juice. 'You've beat me in every subject.'

'Not every subject. You beat me in the DADA quiz on Friday.'

'Yeah well if you had James Potter to teach you over the summer you'd be that good too,' Charlie stated dismissively. Suddenly a mass of brown filled the hall and everyone looked up.

'We already had the post!' Matt said not understanding then he noticed the look of horror on Amy and Charlie's faces. 'What?'

Charlie was too horrified to speak so Amy filled in being a half-blood. 'They're black letters! Letters from the ministry to people whose family was killed by death eaters.'

'But there are so many of them,' Matt protested watching as the owls landed in front of horror-struck students.

'There must have been another mass attack,' Charlie said her voice cracking. As she stared at hall blankly, cries starting to erupt from the tables. 'Can't we just have ONE day!'

----------------------

James pulled Charlie in close as she sobbed into his shoulder at dinner. Matt sat across from Charlie next to his sister, who had a book open on the table trying to block out the cries of student's with her hands. Next to Charlie was a girl he had met a couple times from Ravenclaw. Amy, he thought.

James turned his head away from Charlie slightly and looked at the others. Sirius was clutching his fork and knife in shaking hands breathing hard. Next to him Cassie had a sad look on her face and she rubbed her eyes half heartedly, wiping the tears away. Finally she turned to Lily who was crying softly as Remus tried to comfort her while quelling his own sadness.

Charlie's sobs increased and James tilted his head down again and started to rub her back comfortingly. It's not fair… James thought in vain tears jumping to his eyes. Charlie should be enjoying her first Halloween at Hogwarts. She should be laughing and stuffing her face with candy. She shouldn't have to be reminded of what she didn't have left to lose.

The usual black decorations of the hall seemed different. Like the Great Hall was set for a funeral. The floating candles in the pumpkins were like a memorial for people lost. Not enough James thought to himself as he pulled Charlie onto his lap blinking back his tears forcing his sadness down.

'It's not fair…' Charlie mumbled quietly into his shirt. 'I want them back…'

'I'm sorry, Charlie,' James whispered back at the crying girl but she shook her head wiping her last tears from her face.

'It's not fair…' James thought she was still talking about her parents but she continued. 'The only people who are sorry are the ones that had nothing to do with it. Just once I want the people responsible to apologize.'

James just stared at her. Could he have said that when he was eleven? Would a thought like that occur to him? Probably not…

As the night went on Charlie still stayed close to James and Sirius, clinging to each of the alternatively but the morbid feeling in the hall started to dissipate. Still there were no laughs that weren't followed by a horribly guilty look. And there was no Marauder prank, that year. So instead half way through dinner James stood up.

'Come on, I have an idea.' Charlie lightly slipped her hand into James as he led her out of the hall followed by everyone. Even Amy. Finally they arrived in front of a painting of a bowl of fruit and realization dawned on the other Marauders faces.

'Tickle the pear,' James suggested looking down at the girl at his side while Charlie look back up at him like he was insane.

'I'll do it,' Amy said after a minute and leaped forward eagerly and tickle it. Amy started laughing as it turned it to a handle and opened it with a great show. Inside were the kitchens with a dozen subdued looking house elves until one looked up and saw the group. The house elf smiled happily at them, 'Master James, Master Sirius, Master Remus! Hello!'

Charlie grinned slightly at the squeaky house elf as James released her hand to bend down and speak to the elf. 'Hi, Aisly. Can you get us some hot chocolate and some candy?'

'Of course, Master James,' Aisly squeaked happily and bustled off as the others found a place at a table. Matt meanwhile wondered around looking in wonder at everything in sight. 'So THIS is the kitchens!'

'Of course,' James said grinning at the boy as Paige impatiently dragged him to the table by the back of his shirt. 'I'm disappointed you haven't found it.'

'They're eleven Potter,' Lily reminded him.

'We were eleven once. Just look how we turned out,' Sirius joked easily as he excepted the tray from Aisly.

Lily rolled her eyes and the group sat in silence as they started to sip their drinks. The awkward feeling that happiness was a crime was starting to creep its way back into the night so James cleared his throat making everyone on turn to him.

'Everyone needs to cheer up,' he stated easily, pushing away his drink and reaching into his back pocket. 'So, I'm going to let you in on a Marauder secret. Technically Peter should be here but he's comforting his girlfriend so…' James trailed off as he placed a blank piece of parchment on the table. Most of the group stared at it confused but Cassie's and Paige's eyes lit up in recognition and Remus and Sirius gaped at James openly.

'Prongs!' Sirius shouted shocked 'That's a Marauder secret. Marauders only.'

'And honourary Marauders,' James pointed out before turning to the first years. 'You have to swear to keep this to yourselves.'

'Sure,' Charlie replied easily while Matt stared oddly at the object. 'It's a piece of paper.'

'Parchment,' Amy corrected smacking him in the back of the head.

'It is not just a piece of parchment,' Sirius jumped in, more for the idea now that he saw how happy it was making them. 'It is the secret to the Marauder legacy!'

Amy picked up the parchment turning it over in her hands before looking up at them with raised eyebrows. 'Some legacy.'

Cassie snatched the parchment back with a grin the pressed the tip of her wand to it lightly. 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.'

Everyone gaped as the ink lines filled the page creating a map of Howarts. Alice gasped then grabbed it from Cassie's hands, a slow grin spreading across her face. 'This is so cool! How did you do it?'

'Moony did most of the charms,' Sirius admitted. 'But we all had to map out Hogwarts.

'This part was my specialty,' James said happily as he took the map from and whipped it blank with a wave of his wand. He handed it to Charlie grinning. 'Press your wand to it and say you're Snape.'

Charlie stared at him for a good minute then pulled out her wand with a shrug and complied. 'Er.. I am Sniv… I mean Severus Snape.'

Amy and Matt leaned in on either side as words began to form on the page:

Mr. Moony would like to ask how Snape was even intelligent enough to attempt a charm on this paper.

Mr. Prongs would, also, like to remind Snape to mind his own business and get his grubby hands of other peoples' parchment.

Mr. Padfoot would like to agree with Mr. Prongs and add that if Snape speant less time stealing peoples things that his hair would be cleaner and he might get a girl.

Mr. Wormtail would like bid Snape good day and add that he still seriously doubts Snape could get a girl.

Charlie let a very slow grin spread across her face before she looked up, 'This is bloody brilliant!'

A/N: I'm sorry it took so long! I'm sorry! cowers behind large cut out of hot Sirius Black I'll try to update more often!

Anyways check out my AU fic thta just got posted: Fall To The Dusk. It's going to have an awesome plot! Anyways review please!