Chapter 29 Team Good

(Glad Girls)


He loved his family. Jason Gastor put his family before anything and everything. Even when they were dead he'd do anything to keep their legacy alive. Even when Pericles abandoned him and Lily, he still cared about his brother.

" That's enough."

The statement rang in the room and Bellatrix Lestrange whirled around to him. Behind her, Pericles was barely able to stand. Shackles held him to the wall and Jason knew for a fact that the death eaters holding him by the arms were nothing in comparison to those shackles.

" Want to say something Jacie?" she asked in a high tone. Pericles' blood dripped down her arms but Jason could still see the dark mark beneath the crimson liquid.

" I'm the head of my family- not Pericles. If you're going to interrogate anyone it should be me," Jason explained. He wasn't courageous. His friends were brave. His mum was brave. Lily was the epitome of fearless. But Jason Gastor was afraid of a lot of things.

He was afraid of being alone and he was afraid of failing his family. He was afraid of not being loved and ending up like James and the Dark Lord. He was absolutely petrified of the dark.

When Jason was a kid his mum used to sneak into his room every night and place a candle by his bed or Lily's. Even now, he still lit a candle before falling asleep. Being in the dark in any sense scared him. There was something horrible to being blind- it seemed like the most hellish torment in the entire world.

Bellatrix Lestrange once used a spell to permanently blind a muggle right in front of Jason. He still had nightmares about it.

There was a smirk on Bellatrix's face as she strolled over to him. Her dark robes were smeared in blood and Jason knew that some of those marks were her own blood- Andromeda's…

" I never took you for a lion," she declared. Her cold fingers trailed down Jason's jaw. " You've always been a lamb to me."

Jason scowled and swallowed down bile. It seemed that those in charge of this mission were a bit too curious about Lily. Jason hadn't stopped fighting to come down her until he saw Remus place her on a bed in the hospital wing.

Death Eaters pulled her out of his hands and grabbed him. Jason had no idea how Lily managed to get past the wards and barriers the death eaters set up. But she did. And if she was back then he knew she'd want the truth out.

" As I said before, Pericles and I have a sister," Jason answered. There was sweat on his neck as Bellatrix's wand found his pulse.

" Yes we heard that part," she commented coldly. " Enlighten me, is she a bastard or a half blood?"

" She's fully our sister," Jason hissed. " Do a blood test spell or when she wakes put a Gastor ring on her. I guarantee she'll be able to wear it without suffering from the consequences of not being a Gastor."

Bellatrix rolled her eyes at his statement. " We have to question her too and if the ring permanently damages her mind then she's useless."

" It won't," Jason protested.

" Secrets come out Jason," Bellatrix mused. Her eyes hardened. " I doubt your family could have a secret child for seventeen years and no one knew about it."

Jason's eyes darted to Pericles's figure. His gold eyes seemed tired as he watched him.

" Charlus Potter and my dad were excellent wizards," Jason explained.

" Everyone knows that," Bellatrix snapped. Jason nodded and grinned at her statement.

" Now imagine the pair working with Dumbledore on a confundus charm combined with a veiling charm. Remember that fire at the Rosier's Christmas party eight years ago? Well Lily did that. My parents sent her away and I don't know why but they chose to erase her memory out of everyone's mind who wasn't in our family."

Jason swallowed and looked back to Pericles. There was a ghost of a smile on his face.

" Continue," Bellatrix ordered. Her wand bit into Jason's neck painfully.

" They didn't let us talk about her and people forgot to ask question with time," Jason stated. " There are records of her going to school in Greece and in Beauxbatons until my fifth year. After my parents… died, Lily came back. She got expelled from Beauxbatons and decided to well she-"

" Is a blood traitor," Pericles interrupted. His right eye was swollen but he managed a tight smile. " Our sister is a blood traitor Bellatrix. She came back and pretended to be a muggleborn to make a bloody statement. But both of us know that lies catch up to people. So she left again, right after what happened last December. And now she's back."

Bellatrix looked at them incredulously and Jason bit down a grin as he met Pericles's eyes.

" She's stubborn you see," Jason drawled.

" By the time Lily dearest rolled around my parents sort of gave up on raising their kids," Pericles offered." Let the little buggers roam around the Manor. If anything that's testimony to Jason's lack of ambition..."

Pericles was struggling to maintain a straight face and Lucius growled.

Bellatrix slapped Jason across the face and grabbed him by the face.

" You expect me to believe that none of you told anyone? You expect me to believe that your father didn't tell the Dark Lord he had a daughter?" she demanded.

" Oh he knew," Jason clarified. " I guess you just weren't important enough for him to tell."

He looked over at the blonde man holding his left arm. " Pretty sure your dad figured it out Malfoy. It's a shame he died- he could have saved all of us this conversation," Jason revealed with a shake of the head.

Pericles coughed and Malfoy gave Jason a disgusted look.

" Who else knows?" Bellatrix suddenly demanded. Jason felt a flash of panic come over his mind as he struggled to find an answer.

" That's irrelevant," Pericles quickly exclaimed. " Most of the people who know about Lily are dead."

" You said most," Malfoy observed. Jason glared at him and Bellatrix's wand dug into his throat.

" Lestrange I'd prefer to stay scar-free- I'm afraid I can't pull off scars," Jason admitted with a regretful shake of his head. He bit on his tongue when Bellatrix sent a slicing jinx at his cheek.

" Bitch."

Bellatrix smirked at this.

" Answer the question and I'll refrain from ruining that pretty face," she declared.

Jason raised an eyebrow and looked down at her with a shrug. " Honestly I'm not really sure who Lily decided to tell. It was her secret so none of us told anyone, except for…"

Jason shut his mouth and Pericles threw his a scowl as Bellatrix smiled slyly.

" Except for who?"

Her wand skirted over Jason's forehead and he leaned back.

" Well sometimes I'd tell myself. It's hard to believe that our family's so bloody good looking. I mean have you seen Lily and me?" Jason answered.

He couldn't stop the groan that slipped through his teeth when Lucius punched him in the face. Jason hunched over and felt blood fall from his nose but Rodolphus Lestrange shoved him up.

" Where'd you learn to punch?" he asked while the world spun slightly. " I doubt they teach it in the institution for ponces and gits."

Bellatrix turned to Pericles and raised her wand.

" Crucio."

Pericles's body thrashed against the chains and Jason fought against Malfoy and Rodolphus.

" Stop it," he ordered. Bellatrix ignored him and Pericles screamed. Jason cursed and shut his eyes, unable to watch this.

A wand prodded at his throat.

" Eyes open," Malfoy growled. Jason reluctantly opened them and could see tears streaming down Pericles's face and spasms rocking his body. His eyes rolled back and Bellatrix smirked as he slumped against the wall.

She turned to Jason with a wide wild smile. There was pleasure behind Bellatrix's stormy eyes.

" If you don't tell me who else knows I will kill him. Then you'll really be the last Gastor," threatened Bellatrix.

" No there won't- Lily is my sister," Jason spat. But he knew Bellatrix would live up to her words.

" Why do you want to know?"

" You're a pureblood and in a decade you're going to have a lot of power. I'm just making sure you're not bringing covering for a mudblood. The Dark Lord would be so disappointed," Bellatrix explained.

Jason didn't tell her that he couldn't care less for the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord's bloody war lost him everything. But the war made him strong enough to do what was right. The war gave him a new family and a second chance- Jason would rather die that out anyone he screwed over before.

But he wasn't willing to let Pericles die.

" James Potter knows."

Deep down inside he knew there wasn't a choice in this. But on the surface all Jason knew was that he lived up to his Patronus.

He was a rat…


" It's been four days," Willow Weasley sobbed into Marlene's arms. Her red hair fell down Marlene's arm like fire.

" Hey," Marlene said softly. She pulled Willow's face up from her chest gently and wiped the tears streaming from the girl's eyes away.

" You're right. It's been four days of hell. We've survived this long and that makes us invincible. We're not going to die now," Marlene assured. But she didn't know if that was true.

On Wednesday morning, a death eater announced to the Gryffindors that all the houses were on lockdown due to a security breach. When a fifth year demanded to know what was happening the death eater hit him with the cruciatus.

Gideon and Alice were taking care of the boy while Marlene was comforting one of the scared students.

On the inside she was terrified. Ever since her conversation with McGonagall, Marlene decided to try and do something right. So she'd taken to helping out younger students and doing her best to keep her friends going.

But slowly everyone was losing hope that they were going to ever be rescued. More and more students started to vow their alliance to Voldemort every evening when the death eaters asked those who said no if they changed their mind.

" I want my brother," Willow sobbed. Her brother was a Hufflepuff, meaning there was no chance of Marlene getting him for her. She squeezed Willow's shoulder and wiped Willow's cheeks gently with a tissue.

" I know," Marlene murmured. But a bitter feeling filled her as she looked over to where Emmeline sat staring out the window at the storm. Emmeline was a husk of the girl who started to chase danger and laughed and lived so brilliantly.

And it was all Adam's fault. Marlene had seen the dark mark on her brother's arm and as much as it crushed her, it seemed to destroy Emmeline.

The regal girl, whom Marlene expected to one day call sister, did everything right. She ate and slept and did whatever the death eaters requested save for swearing her alliance to their leader.

But Emmeline was empty. She was a thousand miles away and Marlene needed her. Hogwarts needed the old Emmeline back.

Willow's sobs grew louder and Marlene's thoughts broke when she looked back to Willow. She tucked a red curl behind Willow's ear and smiled at her.

" I've got a big brother too," she admitted. Willow sniffed and Marlene handed her a tissue.

" They're supposed to protect us," Marlene mused. " But I think we're a lot stronger than people give us credit for. Little sisters can sometimes save the world."

Willow blew her nose and nodded with a watery smile. Freckles lined Willow's face like the sky and her brown eyes sought Marlene's.

" McKinnon."

Marlene turned from Willow and could see Fabian standing behind them with a stiff expression. He hadn't forgiven her and Marlene couldn't blame him.

" Is there any news?" Marlene asked. Fabian shook his head and looked exhausted.

She dated him because he was happy and Marlene simply leached his happiness away. She used him and left a husk of a boy behind. Caught up in her own troubles, Marlene never noticed that Fabian became a man while she remained a girl.

" Carrow and Mulciber were outside," Fabian revealed. He had a conflicted expression as Willow stood to go to her friends.

" Marlene can I ask you something?"

" Of course," replied Marlene.

Fabian's expression looked utterly lost as he sat next to her and met her gaze. She never loved him; Marlene spent too much time pining after Jason and sleeping with Sirius.

" Mulciber said something rather strange," Fabian explained. He let out a breath and frowned. " He said that Lily- our Lily- was in the hospital wing."

Marlene bolted up at this statement and Fabian grabbed her wrist.

" She died Marlene," Fabian whispered in a pained voice. Marlene shook his hand off and took a step away from him.

" Thanks for telling me," Marlene answered. " But there's more to that story than you know."

She turned from Fabian and walked towards Emmeline. The nail polish on Marlene's fingers was chipped horribly as she shook Emmeline and forced her to turn.

Emmeline's cold ice eyes met hers dully and Marlene narrowed her gaze.

" Lily's back."

" According to who? Gossiping death eaters?" Emmeline scoffed. Marlene frowned and cleared her throat.

" Look I don't know if she's really back, but there's one way to be sure," Marlene revealed. All she needed was Sirius and that map that he and his friends created years ago.

" If Lily's really back then they're not going to let anyone near her. But I don't need to be near her to know if she's back. I need to get to Sirius."

Emmeline raised an eyebrow and glanced towards Alice.

" There's a passage from the Heads Dorms that goes straight to the Kitchens. With a good invisibility charm you could make it from there to the Slytherin Common Room," Emmeline offered in a thoughtful voice.

" How do I get to the Heads Dorms?" Marlene asked. Emmeline's eyes flashed and she shook her head.

" It's too risky. First off I don't know the password to the Heads Dorm or where the passageway is. Rick told me about it when I was a kid- it could be made up for all I know. There's death eaters stationed outside the portrait hole. You'll need an epic distraction. Something that will require all three of them to come inside," Emmeline stated.

" Em, it's Lily," Marlene said in a choked tone. " She's my best friend."

Emmeline met her gaze and shook her head.

" Marlene if they catch you not even Sirius will be able to protect you. One of them raped Marcy," hissed Emmeline. " We're not safe here in the common room with fifty other Gryffindors- it'll be worse alone."

Marlene's eye flashed with fury and she raised her chin at Emmeline, looking positively fierce.

" For my entire life I've been forced into the position of a damsel in distress," Marlene declared. " I'm done letting dragons trap me and knights save me. Emmeline I'm going to find out if Lily's here with or without your help. And even if she's not here we've got to fight. I'm done waiting around for someone to save me."

Emmeline's blank expression wiped off her face and a thoughtful one overtook her queenly features. Marlene bit her tongue and waited for Emmeline's verdict.

" Give me a moment," murmured Emmeline as she stood and walked over to Alice. They broke into a conversation and Marlene could see a reassuring expression rush over Alice's face as Emmeline smiled and returned to her.

" What did you say?" Marlene asked. Emmeline shrugged but her eyes glistened like glaciers.

" The password's Mugwomp," Emmeline stated. She glanced over to Alice with a smile. " Sometimes girls have to stick together Marlene."

Marlene nodded and pulled her hair up into a ponytail. Emmeline's eyes followed her fingers and Marlene glanced towards Emmeline's full and beautiful caramel and auburn curls.

" As for your distraction…"

Emmeline's eyes flew to the window of the Common Room and she looked around quickly.

" Confringo," Emmeline muttered. She tucked her wand into her sleeve as the glass shattered and exploded. Students cried out in shock and Emmeline shot Marlene an urgent look.

" If you make it to the Slytherin Common Room can you find out if Jason's safe?" requested Emmeline. Marlene nodded and smiled. She hoped Emmeline could see the acceptance in her gaze.

She loved Jason even though she knew that Sirius was beyond perfect for her. A part of Marlene's heart ached knowing that Emmeline was in love with Jason, even if she couldn't see it.

" Thanks Emmy," Marlene answered as the three death eaters entered the common room with raised wands. The rain and wind from outside hit them viciously and Emmeline smirked.

" Little sisters have to stick together," she called as Marlene moved through the pandemonium towards the Portrait hole. There was a smile on Marlene's perfect face as she headed straight for danger.


" Heard you're a dad," James recalled as he leaned against the wall of the dungeon. They'd been here for days. Death eaters came at intervals to give them food or escort them to the loo but they also came to torture them.

James was healing a rather nasty bruise on Michael's shoulder while blood fell from his broken nose.

" Yeah," Michael answered with a soft smile. " I'm going to Beauxbatons next year to be closer to my kid."

" Boy or girl?"

Michael hissed as James shot him with another spell and the bruise lightened.

" Boy- Oliver Wood's his name," grunted Michael. But there was a look of peace in his eyes. James had seen that look on Molly Weasley's face every time she spoke about her kids.

He wondered if he'd ever get the chance to have that look of complete peace. Growing up an only child meant that James hadn't experienced much with children his age. As both his parents did not have families, he never interacted much with people younger than himself until his later years.

He liked kids. James liked going with his mum to visit the Weasley family and playing with their babies and toddlers. After she died, he still visited but not as often. Even a year later there was a missing piece in his life that no one could fill…

" Makes a lot of sense why the Lestrange's got you down here," James mused. " How's Abilene?"

Michael's expression changed and he shrugged.

" Willing to let me be closer to Oliver but not really forgiving… She heard about Lily."

James nodded and raised the blood-splattered wand to his own face.

" Episkey."

He winced as his nose snapped into place painfully.

" If you don't mind me asking," James started as he scanned his body for more injuries. " What exactly happened between you and Lily?"

Michael's expression softened and he smiled slightly.

" She rejected me," Michael admitted. " Over and over again she kept rejecting me. And I was hurt- Merlin knows how much that hit my pride. But then I realized why she was doing it. Sometimes friendship is more important than trying a romance doomed to fail. We're dueling partners Potter. She's still my best friend."

James nodded and wiped the blood from the wand they were sharing.

" So instead of love you two chose companionship," he assessed.

" There are people out there who are meant to fall in love with each other… Lily and I weren't those people. We were meant to be friends."

James understood this completely. The way he felt about Lily wasn't based on lust or devotion- his love for her was based on how she could be everyone's best friend. Simply Lily brought out the good in people.

" So have you got any other ideas for getting out of here?" Michael asked.

" There's at least five death eaters escorting us to the loo and they're smart," James explained. He scowled when he identified the group in charge of him and Wood. " Lestrange isn't stupid. He knows exactly what I'm capable of."

" Well there's one thing he hasn't thought of," explained Michael. James raised an eyebrow as Michael grinned and jutted his chin towards James's abdomen.

" They might be good at magic but they're scrawny. Some muggle dueling might come in handy..."

James mulled this over and knew it would be easy to knock out Selwyn or Bulstrode. Between himself and Michael they might be able to knock out all of the death eaters before they called for help.

The door opened with a creak before James could answer Michael and he looked over to see Cygnus Black and Steven Flint standing in the doorway. Flint came over to him and smirked.

" If you think what Rodolphus is doing is painful then wait till Bellatrix gets to you," Flint explained as he pulled the shackles down with a flick of his wand. Before James could move, Flint stunned him and the wand in his hand fell to the ground. He looked to Michael as Cygnus and Steven levitated his prone form from the room.

James studied the hall they were going down and winced when Flint slammed his body into a doorframe and shot him a smirk. This may have had something to do with the fact that James slept with Flint's girlfriend last year…

They dropped him to the ground and pulled him up to shackle him again. James met a pair of gold eyes and frowned. Why would they torture Jason?

There was a cut across his jaw and Jason's nose was broken. Blood stained his clothing and somehow Jason managed to look vibrant.

The room was filled with death eaters. James could make out familiar faces in the clumps they stood in. Why would so many of them want this? They had siblings or family here.

Bellatrix Lestrange stood by Jason speaking to Lucius Malfoy and eyed James with a smirk.

" Let's hope you weren't lying Jason," Bellatrix Lestrange drawled as she pulled her wand from Jason's throat. She slinked over to James and he struggled not to move.

Bellatrix Lestrange enjoyed this. He wondered what she would do in a world after the war. She was built to fight like him, but she enjoyed seeing others in pain. She could play someone's vocal cords like no other.

" Little baby Potter's all grown up now," Bellatrix cackled.

Her blood-covered hands slid over James's scarred torso. He held his breath and met her eyes evenly.

" Why am I in here?"

Bellatrix stepped back and cocked her head at him with a curious look.

" Rumor has it that you were involved with a mudblood last year," noted Bellatrix. She looked back at Jason and rubbed her bloody fingers together before lurching forward and slamming her wand into James's jugular.

" Did you know?" hissed Bellatrix.

" What."

Bellatrix narrowed her eyes and dragged her wand down James's throat.

" The truth."

" About what?" James drawled. Bellatrix frowned at him and grabbed his neck.

" Don't be an arse Potter," she spat. " Tell me the truth about that so-called mudblood you pranced around with."

James glanced towards Jason who was watching them with imploring eyes.

" What did she tell you?" he asked Jason.

There was something complete in Jason's eyes. They'd been at war for eight years of friendship. But now James could see that all the battles and plotting no longer matter. For once he and Jason wanted the same exact thing.

" It's okay Prongs," Jason answered. " Tell her the truth."

James looked down to Bellatrix with a firm expression. Her eyes were wild in a way so different than Sirius's but he could see the same emotion in every death eater's eyes in this room. They were scared. They were terrified that he wasn't at fault. Every man in this room had been led to believe that he was a traitor and he was a traitor.

In James's mind he knew that even if Lily were muggleborn- even if she was a muggle he would still be so hopelessly in love with her. A year ago the idea of being around muggles repulsed him and now a part of him wished that Lily were a muggle. Maybe if she were a muggle or muggleborn she wouldn't have left. If she were anything but the person she was then she wouldn't have left him.

But she was Lily Gastor and James loved her. She changed him for the better and he was the one person that didn't think she needed the sun or the moon or the stars. All Lily needed was someone to tell her that she was loved with every single flaw she had. She didn't need someone to say she was perfect or to try and fix her. She needed James simply because throughout this past crazy year, he loved her and his love never wavered.

" Why does this matter now?" James asked in a thoughtful tone. " Why do you want to know the truth now and not days ago?"

Bellatrix slashed her wand in a gesture to him and James hissed as the skin of his neck ripped open.

" I'm the one asking questions Potter," announced Bellatrix. James could see a hint of panic in her eyes and met Jason's gaze once again. There was a fire burning in his gold eyes- a fire called hope.

There was only one reason Jason Gastor could possibly have hope and James knew exactly what it was, even if it seemed impossible in a situation like this. Lily was back.

" You won't like my answer," James started.

" You're not going to like it because the Dark Lord's going to kill you. He'll kill you for this. If you remember, Jason and I are somewhat important. And you just spent three days torturing me."

" Answer the question Potter," Bellatrix ordered. But her hand shook and James grinned knowing that he won.

" Lestrange you've forgotten something… I don't take well to orders."

Jason met his eyes with a grin and James brought his unshackled legs up to the wall and pivoted off it. Bellatrix stumbled back and two death eaters moved forward, giving Jason the opportunity to punch Malfoy in the gut and snap Rodolphus arm back.

" Get a wand!" James barked.

They were using Michael's plan but he wasn't here. James sent Michael Wood a silent thank you as he watched Jason pummel death eater after death eater. A wand was thrown in his direction and James sloppily caught it and repeated the spell Flint did in front of him.

His hands pulsated from pain as he lowered them from the chains and brought his fist down to Greengrass's face. Spells flew in the air and James used Greengrass's body as a shield before grabbing another wand from the ground and sending stunners out.

" You're out of practice," Jason called as he sent a disarming spell into the fray. James found his back and leaned down. Spells shot from their wands like a hurricane. Although he was better with Sirius, Jason knew enough dark spells to keep the death eaters down.

" You can't even do a bloody bat bogey," James answered. A peal of rich laughter rose from Jason's chest and it felt so bloody sunny in that room. Jason had that effect on people. With his glowing disposition and smiles, Jason Gastor blinded James so badly he didn't see why what they did was wrong.

But five months without the sun and in a world that felt cold made James see the truth. Jason was still the same vicious person.

" No Unforgivables," James hissed as a green light flew out of Jason's wand and into the darkened room. Jason looked over his shoulder and met his gaze. There was something wild and hungry in his eyes. James wondered how long it had been since Jason even showed up to a lesson. He looked starved- starved for battle.

" They crucioed Pericles for hours," Jason answered.

Both of them knew what that meant. There was a limp body shackled to the wall and it was covered in blood. Those gold eyes wouldn't open again, not likely. And if they did then the man that came back wouldn't be the same one that taught James how to fix a pair of broken glasses or gave him his first healing book.

" Expelliarmus."

A man shot back into the wall and his wand was on the ground. The remaining death eaters were retreating. James could make out the cowardly form of Severus Snape in the mix.

Jason's wand was directed to the retreating men and James gave him a warning look. A spell nicked his leg and it was bruised horribly.

" Don't… They're going to get backup- enough people to get us with at least one killing curse," James ordered. Jason nodded and the battle lust was dying from his eyes.

There was fire in his lungs and James leaned down, catching his breath. His head spun as he filtered the situation.

" Lily's back," he concluded.

Jason looked up from a bruise on his side and jutted his head in agreement.

" Pomfrey and Slughorn are with her… It's bad Prongs."

James knew the nickname slipped out. But even the term of endearment did little to stop the pain in his chest. Lily was here. His Lily was home. She was home and they could live happily ever after.

Yet that wasn't true and James wanted to scream and pull his hair out in frustration. Within five minutes, enough death eaters to get one lucky hit at him and Jason would be here. More would be stationed around the Hospital Wing. She was so close, but there were cages of hate and titanium keeping her from James.

" They'll make sure she's safe?"

" Yes- Pomfrey promised me," Jason replied. James nodded and moved to his old friend. They both grew up in different ways this year. Jason seemed to fall into the shadows and James was jumping out of them.

All of this was because of one girl who went away. One girl made the difference- she gave James the courage to rip shadows from his skin. And she gave Jason the chance to change.

" I've got a plan," James said as an old memory hit his mind. Soft music resounded in his empty mind and he knew what they were going to do. " It's dangerous and we'll probably die, but if it works then we can fix this."

Jason was quiet for a moment. A few months later, one would look back and know that while he thought about fighting for a better tomorrow, the other just wanted to survive today. And it killed him to know that his fight killed the better of the two.

" Yes."

" If I'm going to die, I'd rather do it in flame of glory than old and drooling on a pillow."

It didn't matter who said it- simply both meant those words.

" Okay. First thing's first. We'll need to swing by my old torture cell and bust Michael out," James declared. ' Then we're going to make these bastards wish they were never born."

Friendship is a fickle thing. But brotherhood is eternal.


In the January of 1978, Michael Wood would raise a toast to Team Good and their fallen member. They were six for only days, and they were going to be five for the rest of their lives. He supposed the death haunted them all equally, save for Marlene…

Team Good- the group that saved the Wizarding World. They started off as a group of seventeen-year-old teenagers who didn't know a shit about what it meant to be an adult.

It started in the dungeons of Hogwarts from a blood-loss rambling of two lost boys. Those two boys became men when they decided to put the past aside in order to do what was right. They grew up.

If Sirius Black were questioned about the origins of the Team, he'd say it started in the dormitory he shared with Remus Lyall Lupin, James Charlus Potter, and Jason Edward Gastor, for six years. And really, the team started long before.

Team Good started when Jason Gastor hated killing but did it anyways. It started when James Potter saved a muggle family two weeks after kissing Lily Evans for the first time. Team Good started when Marlene McKinnon and Michael Wood joined the Order of the Phoenix. It started when Sirius Black became the Order's most valued spy. And it was assembled the day Remus Lupin decided that there were some things more important than duty.

On the first day of June, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were tucked away in their dorm. Both had the same set of bags under their eyes and their heads spun even though food was delivered an hour ago.

" Did your dad say anything about this mission at the last meeting?" Remus questioned. Sirius eyed the Marauder's Map with distaste.

" No. If you've forgotten there was a full moon when they took volunteers for this mission."

Sirius's eyes were glued to the dot of James Potter. It was moving and nearly on top of it was Jason Gastor's dot. Behind them, death eaters pooled like ants.

" Of course they managed to create mischief," scoffed Remus as the dots seemed to sprint on the paper Sirius could see them stopping in front of another room, but his eyes went to the Gryffindor Common Room. It was filled with people, enough people that he couldn't see Marlene's dot.

Sometimes at night, he'd stay up with the map and watch her. She never moved much at night, but Vance did. Their dorm was empty enough and Sirius felt a pang of sympathy for the love of his life. Marlene was alone.

" Uncle Alphard is in the Hospital Wing," Sirius noted. He scanned the people in the Hospital Wing and his eyes widened when he caught a name.

" Merlin's underpants."

" What?"

Sirius grabbed one of Remus's long fingers and jabbed it at a dot with a decent space around it.

When they made the map, Remus had been in charge of mapping out the hospital wing. He spent the most time in it so it seemed practical.

As of now, Remus's curled script spelled out a name that Sirius had said and heard, he thought about it so much. But he never saw it written out before now.

Next to Remus's blunt fingernail were the inked words, Lily Gastor.

Remus looked at the paper with simply a shrug.

" They found her yesterday- that's the reason we're not allowed to leave," he explained.

" You didn't tell me?" Sirius demanded. Remus shrugged and stretched his legs out on the ground of their dormitory.

" Malfoy threatened to kill my dad. Besides, you wouldn't want to see her," Remus explained. His face greened slightly at the last statement.

" Why?"

" She's not the Lily that left. There was blood everywhere and there's this scar on her arm- something bit her and the veins around it are black."

" Does Jason know? Wait-" Sirius started. " James needs to know."

He dropped the map and moved to the door, unaware that the two dots of the other Marauders were with another dot, one of a Gryffindor. Sirius was unaware that Marlene McKinnon's dot was moving quickly down the dungeon hallway leading to the Slytherin Common Room.

" Sirius don't," Remus hissed. His face was contorted in a look of pain- the full moon was coming too soon.

" Why? James needs to know- it's high time that he stops moping around and gives that bitch a word or two."

Remus shook his head and guilt shown in his eyes. For a while Sirius didn't understand why he and Remus managed so well while Jason and James competed for the spotlight.

This year he learned that there were more things to life than trying to get his parents to be proud of him and flirting with Marlene. He learned a lot, but he still hadn't figured out why Remus of all people was so dull in their sky.

Remus was damn spectacular. He was a bloody supernova that was going to stay that way for ages. He was grand and Sirius supposed he'd do anything for him. It killed him to watch Remus's eyes settled in relief when his long pale fingers found the cool metal of his tankard.

" He's in love Padfoot," choked Remus. " And we're shite friends for wanting Prongs to hurt her."

Guilt crushed Sirius. He wasn't like Remus who considered all sides of a situation. He wasn't like James who could be blindfolded and know the way out of a labyrinth. He certainly wasn't like Jason who let fate decide everything. For Sirius, his decisions were made before he had time to consider having another option.

" This person he's become… It's not because Lily left is it?"

Remus smiled sadly and shook his head.

" He's changed and so have we. But the old Prongs who competed with you in shag competitions and had the firewhiskey stand record is gone."

Mulling this over, Sirius leaned against the wall next to the door and shut his eyes. He wished things could be different. He wished they could just go back to fifth year before Lily showed up and before the Potters got sick. Ultimately, it was impossible to go back.

They were growing up. If James growing up meant that he was going to stop wanting revenge so be it. Yet there was an awful emptiness in Sirius's chest. The Marauders were breaking, and the knife they fought on was being scraped clean of all the blood and tears they were the reason for.

" It's fucked up," Sirius settled. " This war and growing up."

Remus's hand came to his shoulder and Sirius could feel the heat of Remus's body seep through his thin shirt.

" The war's fucked up but growing up, well I think it's a little relieving- I mean look at Prongs."

" How so?"

Remus moved from him to James's bed and lifted the pillow. His hand disappeared under the case and he pulled out a glinting ring. Sirius's mouth dried at the sight of it and Remus leaned against the bedpost of the bed.

" When we were fourteen he vowed never to settle down," chuckled Remus. " And he's had this ring under his pillow for five months."

" Bloody hell- he was going to propose? I'm not proposing to Marlene for ages!" Sirius exclaimed.

Remus swallowed and pushed the ring back into the pillow.

" It's ebb and flow with you and McKinnon. With James and Lily- well they're the kind of people to put everything they have into something or nothing at all."

The door to the dorm was ripped open and Sirius turned to berate whoever was interrupting this moment. But his voice seemed to escape him as he watched four people stumble into the room and the love of his life shut the door.

There was a moment of silence as they stared at each other. Remus and Sirius were clean but the others in the room were covered in dirt and two of them were shirtless.

Sirius struggled not to stare at the scars that sat proudly on Michael Wood's bare chest and abdomen.

" Sirius," Marlene choked. Anger flared in his mind as he realized that Marlene must have traveled through Hogwarts while they were on lockdown.

" It's like a bad joke," he finally said. " Two Gryffindors and two Slytherins stumble into the Slytherin dorms without a mob rioting…"

Marlene's blood streaked face tore down into a frown and she and Jason led a limping James to his bed. He fell down and groaned. Sirius could see blood seeping from his side.

" Malfoy got him when we were freeing Michael," Jason explained. His gold eyes averted both Remus's and Sirius's. He was looking at the wall with a tight expression.

" Three days?" Remus asked. There was an uneasy smile on his face as he tried to bring some form of humor to this screwed up situation. " I mean you two should have saved the bloody school by now."

Jason's lips twitched as Marlene hovered over James and prodded his wound. Sirius bit his tongue as an ungodly groan of pain came out of James's mouth.

" We don't have much time," Michael interjected. Jason nodded and Marlene looked over at them with a strained expression.

" Sirius, we need the map, one of the mirrors, and the cloak," Jason explained. His eyes darted to James's form and he bit his lower lip. " They're hunting us and Lily's back and we don't have time."

Remus met Sirius's eyes and gave him a warning look. Both of them were damned by Jason, but they were growing up and it was time to put aside the past in order to have a future.

" Tell me one thing," whispered Sirius. Jason's eyes glowed like two stars as Sirius looked over at Marlene's ashen form.

" Were you in love with her?"

" I thought I was," admitted Jason. There was an anxious expression on his face and he kept looking down to the watch on his wrist. " I really thought I was."

" What changed?" Sirius hissed. " What changed that let you sleep with her but not fight for her?"

" Sirius…"

Marlene's soft voice cut through the tension and layered on an entirely different feeling. Sirius could feel pain he suppressed for months enter the room. All of them were seeing a side of him that Sirius fought for his whole life to hide. Blacks could not afford to be vulnerable but his heart was open for the world to see.

" Do you want to know why I'm so against James forgiving Lily?" he asked Remus. " It's because I forgave Marlene for something that's been eating at my heart for five hellish months. I made the mistake of burying what happened and it kills me everyday. I had questions- I still do. James is going to ruin himself if he decides he wants a fucking happily ever after. They're overrated."

" Whatever I decide to do about Lily is between me and her," James croaked from his blood-covered bed. " Padfoot, we're not you and Marlene. We're so different and I know that you lot talk about us. But that's the thing we're different. Has either of us ever done anything expected?"

Sirius nodded and there was a sharp moment of silence when he met James's gaze. Surely this was what it meant to grow up. Growing up meant knowing that there was no choice between friends and love- friends always stood by one's decision.

Remus and James stood by him when he fell in love with Marlene so he owed it to James to let whatever was going to happen, happen.

" Where are you going?"

" I don't know," Jason answered with a glance to James. He met Sirius's gaze once again and there was something set in his eyes.

" But I do know that we're going to fight this Padfoot- kill the monster from the inside."

Remus gathered the cloak and map while Sirius grabbed some of James's and Jason's clothing. He tossed a shirt to Michael while Marlene helped James up.

" So it's you three then," Remus settled. Jason shook his head and coughed.

" No. I screwed up Sirius. I screwed up with all of you but we need to fight. I'm done being Voldemort's puppet," he declared. Jason faced the group and looked like a leader. It seemed that he and James figured out how to coexist.

" For my entire life I fought a war that wasn't mine. I know that's true for everybody here. It's ending- it's finally ending… We just have to make sure that good wins it," he mused.

Michael stepped forward and grabbed one of the bags Remus set up for them.

" I overhead Carrow talking with Greengrass," he started. " There are forces gathering in Hogsmeade. The Order, the Ministry, and everybody who left, well they're here to fight. We just need to figure out how to get them inside."

" The passages," Sirius offered. " They're on the map."

James shook his head with a guilty expression.

" That's how most death eaters got inside."

Marlene frowned and looked around the group with a heavy expression.

" So everything you lot knows about Hogwarts…"

" They know," Remus finished.

" So we need something that not even the Marauders know about," Michael concluded.

It would be hard. They spent six years discovering secret passages and hidden rooms. Hope still sat in Sirius's chest- Hogwarts always had a way of surprising people. He knew they could do this.

" We can't stay here," Marlene interrupted. She was studying the map; the same one Sirius spent hours explaining to her over their Easter Holidays. " They're checking the common rooms. There's a group going to Gryffindor and one is coming here."

" I know a place," James muttered. " But it's a gamble… Seventh floor hallway where the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy is teaching trolls how to dance. There's a room across from it called the Come and Go room. Walk in front of the wall of the corridor three times and say in your head that you need a safe room that only we can access. It'll appear."

A sense of shock rippled in Sirius's mind- James had kept a secret about the castle. Yet from the tight stare he was giving the group and the clenched state of his hands, Sirius knew that he had a reason for this.

Sirius checked the map and could see at least ten death eaters moving to the dungeons. They were too close to the Slytherin common room.

" We'll take it," Sirius decided stuffing belongings into a bag. He grabbed the two mirrors he and James used to communicate with during detention and handed one to Remus.

" We'll need to split up and meet somewhere so Prongs can take us to his safe room," Remus explained.

" Wood and I'll take Marlene back to Gryffindor and meet you lot somewhere," Sirius continued.

" I'm not going back Sirius."

Sirius whirled around to meet Marlene's gaze and laughed bitterly.

" Yes you are- you're going to stay safely in that tower until this is over," he answered. Marlene narrowed her eyes and Sirius could feel the swirling emotions in her mind.

" Sirius this is bigger than you and me. At the rate things are going at least one of us are going to die. And I'll hate you forever if you make me stay out of the battle, because I can make a difference."

" It's too dangerous Lene," Sirius protested.

" If you love me then you know that I'm meant to fight. I gave up too much- I need this," Marlene pleaded.

The clock was ticking and Sirius knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself if something happened to Marlene. In his heart he knew that Marlene wouldn't be able to look at him if he stopped her.

She wouldn't be able to love him. She was in the Order. She spent a year dodging death and Sirius's veins felt like they were going to explode when he thought about how close she came to it.

But she was Marlene McKinnon and they lived in a war.

" Wormtail," Sirius said to Jason. He met those gold eyes and for the first time in months didn't feel the need to punch Jason or shout and scream.

" You and Remus are going to take her to the left corridor of the seventh floor where that room's located. Prongs, Wood, and I'll go after you," Sirius announced.

Marlene's eyes filled with hope and he stepped forward to Jason.

" You failed all of us," Sirius stated. " If anything happens to her on the way up there, I'll never be able to look at you again."

" I'll protect her," Jason vowed. His eyes gleamed and he shook his head before sending Marlene a soft smile. " I'll put her life before mine."

Sirius would too.

" We'll take the cloak for Jason and I'll take one of the mirrors," Remus added. " You three should take the map. Both Michael and Prongs are being hunted- you'll need it."

Sirius nodded in agreement and reached for the map. Remus handed a mirror to James who was sliding into a shirt with slight winces.

" You alright Prongs?"

James nodded but Sirius could see dim pain in his eyes. He had no idea what James went through, but it must have been hell.

" Yeah, I'll be alright once this is all over and I can see Lily," James replied. His finger ran along the length of a wand that Sirius remembered vividly from his childhood. That was Bellatrix's wand, the same wand used to test curses and jinxes on him.

" Let's go," Marlene declared, strapping a bag over her shoulders and turning to the door. Her chin was raised, making Marlene look like a goddess ready for war.

Jason and Remus walked beside her and Sirius threw an illusioning charm over Marlene and Jason while Remus opened the door. There was a handful of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powders in Remus's left hand.

" Always a Marauder," James noted, seeing the black powder. Sirius nodded and turned to his group.

" We're not really going to meet up with them are we?" Michael asked after a minute or so. James shook his head and moved to his trunk. He pulled out a handful of Filibusters Fireworks and had a wide grin when he stood.

" We're going to make some mischief Wood, enough to distract the death eaters from following them," James explained. " And enough for me to get into the hospital wing."

Sirius reached for the map and met James's gaze.

" I solemnly swear I'm up to no good," he stated. Before his eyes, ink appeared and James looked at the map with something akin to pride.

" Looks like Team Good's expanded," he called to Michael while studying the map.

" Team Good?" Sirius asked while he pulled dungbombs from his trunk. He threw some to Michael who pocketed them in a set of robes that were Jason's.

" James isn't too creative when he's blood deprived," Michael answered. Sirius's lips twitched and he eyed Wood. They weren't friends. But they were going to work together and save this damned world.

" Hospital Wing's guarded," Sirius noted. James nodded and reached into his trunk, pulling out a box. Sirius recognized it and James leaned down. He pulled a long black strand of hair from his pants.

" Not for Bellatrix Lestrange, who's currently locked in a dungeon room unconscious," responded James.

" That's vile- I think I'd rather die than become Bellatrix," Sirius uttered as James slipped the strand into a large vial from the box. Sirius eyed the Polyjuice potion and shuddered when James swirled the container.

" I've waited five months to see Lily- I'm not going to let a death eater invasion stop me. Once the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder wares off downstairs, we'll set off one of the fireworks and make a break for it. When we reach the first floor, I'll take the potion and you two will go to the seventh floor. Don't wait for me," James explained.

" It wears off after an hour," Sirius pointed out.

" It'll be more than enough time," James said.

They met each other's gaze for a silent moment and Sirius knew that if he were in James's shoes and Marlene in Lily's, he'd do the same exact thing.

" I'm sorry but what in Godric's name are you two going off about?" Michael asked, breaking the silence. " Lily's dead."

Sirius had forgotten that in this mess Lily created, she forgot to tell Wood.

" I'm sorry," James said with a guilt-ridden expression. " She didn't want a lot of people to know."

" Lily's dead," Michael argued. His face was ripped with pain and James could see that deep down Michael must have always known the truth.

" She left," James clarified. " She left… Michael if you knew she was alive you would have gone after her- that's why she faked her own death."

" Why didn't you?" Michael demanded. " Why didn't you bring her home?"

Sirius watched as James's expression crumpled. He checked his watch and looked up with an anxious expression; they were running out of time.

" I tried but Lily's stubborn. In the end it pushed her away more," admitted James.

Michael's face didn't seem to want to settle and they were running out of time.

" Marlene and I'll explain everything to him when we get to the Come and Go room," Sirius suddenly declared. " We're running out of time and that puts Marlene and Remus in danger."

James nodded while Michael swallowed and trailed his hand along the scar to the side of his face.

" Marlene knows?"

" Wood we don't have time for you to have a meltdown," Sirius exclaimed. " Marlene needs a distraction and James and I will leave right now. You can sit here like a bloody duck and they'll kill you. But I'm not letting Marlene die because you put Lily on a damn pedestal and she fell!"

Michael Wood's brown eyes met his and Sirius could see tears in those large brown eyes. The same set of eyes he spent years meeting evenly or glaring at. But Sirius couldn't find it in himself to glare at Michael.

" Fine. Let's go so James can get his fucking happily ever after," Michael spat. Looking into those eyes, Sirius could tell that Michael wasn't mad at him or James or even Marlene for keeping this secret. He was mad at Lily for not giving him her trust.

The same expression of hate that Sirius found himself giving Jason for five months, rested on Michael's face. But there was something different to it. Sirius thought he and Marlene stood a chance, but Michael knew. All this time he knew the truth but forced himself to think differently.

" I'm sorry Michael," James said as they walked to the door. Michael placed a disillusionment charm on himself and shrugged.

" No you're not, but thanks for the gesture."

Growing up meant being the bigger person. So Sirius didn't shove Michael on the way out of his dorm. But maybe that was because of the sickening feeling in his gut that he may never return to this room again…


December 27 1976

There was a piano in Potter Manor. It was old and Lily could tell immediately that no one played it in a very long time.

" My parents made me take lessons," James explained when she slid onto the bench. Lily lifted the hood and trailed her fingers along the white keys.

" I was shite," James chuckled. " Tormented my tutor and snuck down at night to destroy it from the inside. But dad wanted me to learn- his dad used to play. Mum finally called the whole thing off when I managed to get a dungbomb to go off inside of it."

Lily dipped her index finger down and a crisp high note echoed deliciously in her ears.

" Do you remember how to play?"

She dipped three fingers in and James watched with a wry expression.

" No," he admitted.

" It's not like learning how to fly," Lily answered while playing a soft melody that she spent long summer days playing over and over again. The delicate notes seemed to dance around James's eyes. " It doesn't stick with you for life."

She was rough from lack of practice.

Looking closer at the piano, Lily could make out faded scuff marks and burns staining the side and top. Somehow this piano, with all its scars and marks and flaws, was better than any piano she'd ever encountered.

There was a question resting in her mind. A question she wanted to ask James ever since he said he loved her. But she was terrified of learning the answer. Lily was scared to learn that their love was only conditional and that it was all based on the reason for this war.

So very un-Gryffindor-like, she stored the question away.

That cold December day when the lilting notes of the piano brushed the shadows around them away, Lily did not ask the question. But a little more than five months later, she would.

And the answer was going to change everything.


June 1 1977

Hogwarts had a certain scent to it. It smelled good and magical. Its smell was the scent Lily would associate with magic for the rest of her life.

When she woke on Wednesday night, that scent engulfed her entirely. Her eyes were slow and the ceiling looked blurry as she took a ragged breath of air, getting some type of bearing.

Lily recognized the white arched ceiling of the Hospital Wing. She could feel bandages around her torso and forehead. When she reached up to feel the one on her forehead, a manacle chaining her to the bedpost caught her wrist.

Lily looked at the gleaming steel of the device and felt the odd urge to laugh. Her chest hurt and everything seemed so unclear. Yet she found it so funny that they'd shackle her up now when Hogwarts let her roam around like a ticking time bomb only five months ago.

She tried sitting up, and managed to in an awkward position. Her arms stretched painfully behind her while Lily surveyed the area around her bed. Thick curtain had been set up around it, allowing for privacy.

Lily could hear voices from beyond the curtains. She didn't remember much of her landing other than a brief flickering memory of seeing Jason's smile- his glowing beautiful smile.

There was a certain amount of fear in her heart. That could have been one of the many memories that whipped around her mind while she was unconscious.

There was suddenly noise coming from outside the curtain, and Lily's lips pulled down as she heard several crashes and explosions. The bed she was on rattled and her arm ached as she waited.

Shouts and yells echoed while a feeling of dread filled her. In normal situations like this, Lily was powerful. Even in her most dire states, she was deadly. Now Lily was nothing but dependent on others. Lily wasn't a hunter- she was a doe.

There was silence outside the curtains and Lily listened closely, hearing footsteps. The curtain was pulled back and standing in all of his beautiful damned glory was James Potter.

There wasn't a whirlpool of emotion or a volcano of butterflies ready to erupt from her mouth. Instead a warm feeling trickled from her eyes to her heart.

Somehow James seemed to become even more handsome in this war. He changed so much. It wasn't the broader shoulders or the sharper jawline. It wasn't the clear shifting muscles beneath his shirt or the pink scar on his arm. It wasn't even the shadows beneath his eyes or the slightly longer hair.

Simply it was how James Potter stood. He was standing as a man, not the boy Lily left behind.

James Potter was a sight to her eyes. She had been blind and stumbling in the dark for five months. Now, there was light, light that didn't blind her like the sun or make her whole like the moon. It was light that didn't change her at all. It was the glow of the sun that she could always see.

Yet now the stars seemed to sing.

His mouth wasn't stretched into a smile of victory or happiness. James merely gaped at her, as though she were an oasis and he was a man who spent his life wandering through a desert.

" James," Lily breathed. His name slipped out her mouth better than any song or music in the world. Those achingly haunted eyes were glued to hers, not the scars staining her body or the bandages on her form. He only needed her eyes.

" Christmas."

He still thought she was Christmas. Through everything they'd been through, he found family and solace in her.

" You're home," James choked. His eyes shone brighter and Lily wanted to never stop looking into the swirling galaxies of green and gold and brown and that incredible rainbow.

She shook her head and James stood in front of her. Her breathing grew louder like the rain as he reaches forward and placed his hand along her cheek.

" No," Lily answered. The dull eyes she'd taken on, the ones that didn't have fire for months were ignited as James took a wand out and broke the chains around her wrists. Immediately, Lily's arms flew up and she clung to him like a fallen star.

" You're my home."


Sorry for the long wait. I wanted to write most of Part three's end together so it delayed the release. Chapter 30 is complete and I'm working through 31.

I hope this chapter was as good as I intended. There's not a lot of action, but it's the chapter where the characters realize how they've changed and that they're a lot closer to adulthood than childhood.

Things to keep in mind for the future:

1. James was going to propose to Lily.

2. Marlene has been to the Heads Dorm.

3. Remus

4. The Marauders, to some extent, have found peace.

R&R

-Rin