Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The song "Free Bird" is by Lynyrd Skynyrd and I do not own it in any way.

Let Me Be Your Downfall
Chapter Twenty-six: Free Bird

If I leave here tomorrow
Would you still remember me?
For I must be travelling on now
There's too many places I haven't seen

The four boys who called themselves the Marauders awoke with quite a start their last day at Hogwarts.

"Bloody hell!" James shouted, stumbling out of four-poster as someone continued slamming on the door to their dormitories.

"Wazzappenin'?" Peter asked sleepily, pulling the hangings open from around his bed as Sirius and Remus did the same.

"Make it stop," Remus grumbled, putting his pillow over his head in an effort to block out the noise.

"What?" James snapped, yanking the heavy oak door open to reveal a very disgruntled Mani Patil. James squinted at him, as he wasn't wearing his glasses, and called, "Padfoot, it's for you."

Sirius managed to get out of his bed and strode across the room as he stretched lazily. "Oh, hello, Mani."

"What in Merlin's name did you do to me, Black?" Mani asked, his eyes narrowed into near slits.

Sirius couldn't help but let out a barking laugh, which caused his friends to close in for a better look, James with his glasses on. Before them stood whom they knew as Mani, but with some special added features - mainly two breasts and a curvaceous lower body.

"You are blaming this on me?" Sirius asked, not bothering to stop smiling. "Are you sure that you didn't do this to yourself?"

"Is there something you want to tell us, Patil?" James goaded, obviously having helped Sirius in this endeavour.

"Just tell me how to make it right," Mani said slowly, obviously on the verge of attacking the four.

"Mani, that would mean we did it to you and we definitely didn't," Sirius shrugged as Remus rolled his eyes and retreated into the bedroom to finish his packing.

"Don't play stupid, Black," Mani spat, extending a warning finger at him. "Everyone knows that you did this exact same thing to Snape in the fifth year."

"What?" James feigned surprise. "That wasn't us! Why would you blame such a scandalous deed on an innocent group of friends as us?"

"Let's see - you call yourself 'marauders,'" Mani gave him an 'are-you-stupid' look.

"In my own defence, I warned them when they first took that name that it would give the wrong impression," Remus spoke up, folding a pair of socks. "You know, that's the second time in a few months I've had to explain myself. Perhaps we should change the name now."

Suddenly, a wolf whistle escaped the now open door across the hallway. Gideon and Fabian Prewett were standing next to one another, both laughing.

"Looking hot, Mani," Fabian joked.

"Nice work, guys," Gideon saluted the Marauders before they hurried down the stairs.

"I'll ask you one more time," Mani started again, but was interrupted by yet another wolf whistle - this one from a girl.

"Oh, Mani, nice boobs," Jamie smirked, coming up behind him with an armful of robes and pushing him and the other boys out of the way to go into the dormitory. "Although, I'd say that with your size you probably need better support."

"Jamie," Mani pleaded, his eyes wide, "you're good at charms - will you put me straight?"

"Uh, er, no," Jamie replied. "Love, can you put these in your trunk? I've engorged my trunk to its full capacity."

"Yeah, put them on my bed," Remus nodded.

"Please?" Mani tried again, James, Sirius, and Peter retreating from the doorway.

"No, Mani," Jamie shook her head, making a face at him.

"Why not?" Mani asked angrily.

"Let's see," Jamie furrowed her brow and ticked the reasons off on her fingers. "One, you tried to force my cousin into doing something she didn't want to do. Two, you always tried to cheat off me in History of Magic second year. Three, you grabbed my arse in the fifth year and then claimed not to have done it. Four, Benjy Fenwick told me that you were trying to spread rumours around that I was pregnant with Lucius Malfoy's child - who, I might add, I haven't seen since he finished school nor even fathomed shagging. Need I go on?"

"No, I think that's good," Mani replied, looking defeated and allowed the door to the dormitory to swing shut.

"So, is he stuck like that forever?" Jamie asked hopefully.

"It'll wear off tonight some time," James grinned. "I'm sure he'll think twice before being a git, though."

"No, guys like him never learn," Jamie sighed, helping Remus put his clothes into his trunk.

After a few silent moments of packing and exchanging of items that had found their way into other parts of the room, Jamie let out a shriek of laughter as Remus carefully tackled and pinned her onto his bed.

"Oh, please," James complained loudly, throwing a rolled up pair of socks at the two of them.

"Honestly," Sirius rolled his eyes. "It's our last day here."

"Exactly," Jamie said before bursting into laughter as Remus began to tickle her sides. "Stop it!"

"Hey, where is the map?" James asked, searching around in his trunk worriedly.

"I haven't seen it since the full moon before last," Sirius shrugged. "I wasn't in charge of it then, though."

"Oops," Peter looked nervous, biting his lip. "I - uh - might have lost it."

"Wormtail," James gasped in a tone that made it sound as though Peter had committed a murder. "How could you lose something as sacred as the Marauder's Map?"

"Sorry?" Peter offered lamely, his face turning bright red. "I didn't mean to."

"Now, Prongs, think about it," Sirius stuck up for Peter, trying to ease his best mate's mind. "Think about it - what are we going to need with a map of Hogwarts when we aren't at Hogwarts?"

"I guess," James nodded. "Hopefully it will land in the right people's hands and they will continue the proud legacy of troublemakers that are the Marauders. Well done, Wormtail."

"Beautifully said," Sirius nodded. "You know, Moony's probably going to confiscate it or something when he's a teacher."

"I am not going to be a teacher," Remus spoke up, looking up from where he was with Jamie. "Will you stop saying I'm going to be?"

Jamie took the opportunity to roll out from underneath him and got to her feet daintily. She gave Remus a defiant look and then said, "You know, I think you'd be a good teacher. You're the only reason I got through Defence with passing marks."

"I think I'd be an awful teacher," Remus shook his head.

"You know what, Remus, you're probably right," Jamie rolled her eyes. "In fact, you'd probably be ruddy awful at anything you do, so you might as well keel right now."

"Might as well," Remus nodded his head forcefully.

"Glad we had this talk."

"As am I."

"Well, now we know whose fault it will be when Moony kicks the bucket," Sirius shot a cheeky look at Jamie.

"You'll never take me alive," Jamie joked, then leaned forward to accept a kiss from Remus. "I want a picture of all of us in the common room before we leave."

"You act as though you're never going to see us again," James pointed out, pulling a lumpy looking sock out from his drawer.

"One can only wish," Jamie smirked as James emptied the contents of the sock onto his four-poster, revealing a half a dozen Snitches, which he had charmed not to move.

"Bloody hell, Prongs," Peter gasped, glancing over at the sight.

"You nicked all of those?" Sirius grinned, looking rather impressed.

"Yeah," James nodded, grinning back. "I retired them when I realized Lily wasn't terribly impressed with my massive Quidditch skills."

"She obviously doesn't mind the size of your head, though," Jamie rolled her eyes, and then wrenched the door open. "I'll see you lot later."

After she left, James ran his hand through his hair and said, "There's nothing wrong with the size of my head, is there?"

"That's now what she - " Remus started, then thought better of it. "Nevermind, Prongs. Your head is fine."

"She's ruddy crazy," James shook his head, putting the Snitches back in his sock and placing it in his trunk.

"Now, what are you going to do with them?" Remus asked logically.

"I'll think of a good use eventually," James shrugged, going back to the rest of his packing.

"That's what I was afraid of," Remus sighed, not able to conceal a smile playing on his lips.

After Jamie had taken what seemed like dozens of pictures (the boys kept managing to mess them up in some fashion), the eight friends retreated down to the carriages that would carry them to the train waiting to take them to London. Remus and Jamie would be Apparating straight from Platform 9 and ¾ to their house where Jamie's parents had already taken some of their furniture. Sirius, James, and Peter would go to Sirius's flat, while Lily, Lauren, and Jaclyn were going to return to their parents' homes until they found a flat of their own.

Once on the Hogwarts Express, the eight friends crammed themselves into their usual compartment. Throughout the years, despite whoever might have been dating and hating whom, they managed to always end up in the compartment.

"I don't think it's really hit me yet," Lauren said quietly, seated between Peter's legs on the floor of the compartment, Peter's back rested against the compartment door.

"Can you believe we're never going to ride this train again?" Lily implored, an astonished look upon her face.

"I, for one, am more than happy to be getting out of Hogwarts," Sirius sighed, raising his arms to rest his hands behind his head leisurely.

"Oh, come off it, Padfoot," James raised an eyebrow at him. "You're not the least bit sad about leaving?"

"Well, of course I feel a bit morose about it - it's the first place I actually felt as though I was at home," Sirius shrugged. "But, honestly, I'm ready to move onto the next chapter of my life."

"It is rather exciting," Jamie agreed, nodding her head. "It's as though our lives are actually beginning."

"I don't think they're beginning so much as continuing," Remus corrected her, his hand firmly planted on her belly, her own hand on top of his.

"This is probably the heaviest conversation I ever heard in this compartment," Lily let out a laugh.

"Hey - I've been meaning to ask," Peter spoke up, his eyes rooted on Remus and Jamie's hands. "Have you come up with any names yet?"

Remus and Jamie exchanged looks before Jamie ventured, "It's a bit of a sore subject at the moment, actually."

"No, you just have terrible taste in names," Remus took his hand off Jamie's and gave her a look.

"Well, excuse me if I don't take that to heart come from someone named 'Remus Lupin,'" Jamie countered, raising an eyebrow warningly.

"My name happens to have a lot of history behind it," Remus retorted, straightening up. "In fact, the etymology is quite - "

"Whatever you say, Wolfy McWerewolf," Jamie rolled her eyes and put a hand up.

"Last time I checked, you seemed pretty interested in sharing that name in a few months time," Remus snapped angrily, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well - "

"Wait, wait, wait," Lauren interrupted, raising her voice to cut off Jamie's. "'Wolfy McWerewolf'? Werewolf?"

The compartment fell completely silent, everyone's eyes on either Lauren, who was either very confused of very angry, and Remus, who was either still red from the argument or the growing embarrassment in the situation.

"Er," Remus began, swallowing hard.

"You are a werewolf?" Lauren asked, her tone not harsh, but more questioning.

"What?" Remus asked, surprised.

"Well, it's just I'd mentioned something to Peter a few months back about the possibility and he completely denied it," Lauren replied, turning and giving Peter an angry look.

"Lauren, I was sworn to secrecy," Peter said quickly, looking at his friends for support.

"I did make them promise not to say anything," Remus came to Peter's rescue.

"But the rest of you knew?" Lauren asked, looking quite annoyed as she glanced around the compartment at her other friends.

"We figured it out," James said hastily, glancing at Sirius and Peter.

"As did I," Lily piped up.

"He'd have to be daft not to tell me," Jamie shrugged.

"I asked," Jaclyn managed a small smile.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lauren asked, meeting Remus's eyes.

"Well, for starters, we haven't been the best of friends at Hogwarts, have we?" Remus asked, obviously still a bit short from his transformation. "And second, I would've told you had you asked."

"Oh, well," Lauren replied, quite speechless. "I see."

"At least you know now," Sirius shrugged, giving her an irritated look.

"I guess," Lauren said quietly, looking thoughtful.

"Anyways, names," Lily tried to take the subject off Remus's lycanthropy.

"I happen to love 'Sirius,'" Sirius said, recovering from Lauren's outburst. "Just putting it out there, you know."

"Yeah, we'll definitely consider that one," Jamie rolled her eyes.

"Hey," James interrupted suddenly, jumping to his feet and climbing on top of the seat and pulling himself to his compartment.

"Hey," Sirius replied, saluting to James.

"No, I've got an idea," James's muffled voice came out. He jumped back down, almost landing on top of Peter and Lauren. "Lily and Jaclyn, get off of the seat for a moment."

"All right," Lily said as she and Jaclyn both got up, causing the small compartment to become much more cramped than normal.

"What are you doing, Prongs?" Peter asked, sitting up higher to watch as James pulled the cushions off the seat, leaving only the wooden bottom frame that the cushions normally sat upon.

With a grin at his friends, James pulled a pocket-knife out of his sleeve and bent over the seat. The other seven friends crowded around him.

"'The Marauders and Company,'" Lily read aloud after he hastily scrawled it into the wood and moved on to write his full name.

James straightened up and held the knife up. "Who's next?"

"Isn't this kind of, er, vandalism?" Jaclyn asked.

"Oh please," James rolled his eyes. "They'll never know and if they do find out, it's not like they can't just wave their wands and make it go away."

"Good point," Jamie nodded, taking the knife and hurrying to carve her name into the wood next.

One by one, the others followed in suit, adding things like hearts around two names, paw prints, and the years they attended school. Once they were finished, they sat back down as though they expected someone to burst in.

"I think that we have now officially left our mark on Hogwarts," James grinned, looking quite happy with himself for coming up with the idea.

"Like we hadn't already," Sirius flashed a smile.

Author's Note: I'm sorry that this not only took forever, but is dreadfully short. As you may or may not know, I just started another story and I know myself well enough that if I don't start it while running, I'll lose interest, so I've been devoting a lot of time to it. If you want to read it, it's called "Desperado" and is in my information, obviously. I'm writing another fic with my cousin, La Mariposa, called "Whisper of a Thrill" that you should check out sometime as well. It is submitted under the pen name Kamers of Carp and you can find it in my favourite authors.

Anyways, enough shameless plugging. Things are going to start moving faster here in "LMBYD," yet there is still quite a long time before it will come to an end, don't you worry.