9 Years with the Marauders: 1972-1981. Beginning in 2nd year, the trials and tribulations of the Marauders right up until the deaths of James and Lily Potter. Remus/Sirius relationship-centric. James/Lily. Warning SLASH! Contains m/m content in later chapters.

DISCLAIMER: All characters, locations, and bits (with a few exceptions) are property of J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. Studios.

NOTES ON THIS CHAPTER: February, 1979. WARNING: This chapter contains strong language and scenes inappropriate for younger audiences.

[][][][][][]

Peter stared at the amber liquid in the mug. He always ordered the same thing, because Adrian always ordered the same thing. He looked back up. Adrian seemed antsy. And he wasn't drinking as much as he usually did.

"Are you... doing something later?" Peter asked casually.

"Yeah, I might have plans." Adrian said, chuckling.

"Oh... anything special?"

"You aren't invited if that's what you're asking. It's a pretty small group. Exclusive-like. Sorry."

But he didn't sound sorry at all. Peter released his mug and curled his hands in his lap. Adrian had been distant for ages now. Just as Peter had thought him a real friend. Not a friend like the Marauders. But someone who actually liked him and liked to listen to him speak and cared about what he had to say.

"Peter."

"Yes?"

"What do you think of this whole war?"

"What?"

"Your opinion. Honestly. You must have thoughts on it. Anything in that brain of yours?"

"Well I... James never-"

"Not what James thinks. For Merlin's sake Peter, I want to know what you think. You. Peter Pettigrew. I know you must have your own brain in that colossal skull of yours. Some tiny portion of your underused cranium must have some opinions and thoughts within it not guided by everyone else."

Peter froze, racking his brain. "Well... Lily is a Muggle-born and she... she's one of the smartest people I know, really good at magic and clever and all. And she's super nice..."

"Uh huh. So you don't mind them? Using our magic? Taking our jobs?"

"Taking our jobs?"

"The ratio of Muggle-borns to normal wizards has been going up. They have the Ministry positions, the Healer positions, the teaching positions. They could kill the Minister, they could refuse to heal sick or injured Purebloods, they mold the minds of our children. They are poised to try and take over our entire society."

"Well I never thought about it that way."

"Hmph." Adrian jerked upright. His arm trembled, and Peter watched him hide it under the table. "I've got to go. I'll talk to you later."

He stood, and Disapparated. The waitress came by and looked at Peter darkly. "That'll be two Sickles."

Peter fished the money reluctantly out of his pocket and set it on the table. With that, he left, Apparating back home. His mother wasn't home, thankfully. He collapsed into the living room, frowning as he gazed at the fireplace. Muggle-borns were stealing jobs? Well they could have his. He didn't want it.

A little while later he tossed a bit of Floo powder into the fireplace. "James?"

No answer. He tried Sirius and Remus. Nothing there either. He sat cross-legged in front of the fireplace, gazing at the flames changing back to red and yellow.

[][][][][][]

"Finally, an easy assignment." Lily leaned against the front desk and sighed softly. Directing people where to go, calling down the emergency team, handling difficult patients, those were all extremely simple assignments compared to her usual schedule. She was still on call, but at least she could sit down every so often. The hospital was always understaffed. Too many patients and too few Healers was a bad combination these days.

For a few hours she was in somewhat of a blissful state. It seemed her day was twice-over lucky, because the usual volume of patients had decreased significantly. She was even slightly bored, and very grateful for that boredness.

"Peekaboo." She jerked as a voice came from her left. Turning, she gasped.

"James!"

"Hello love." He said cheerily, leaning against the counter. "I came to visit. You said you were assigned to the front desk and I am here to brighten your day."

"Oh, that's so nice of you." She stood to give him a kiss, and then glanced at the door. "Welcome to St. Mungo's, what can I do for you?"

After she had pointed the young man with a pair of extra arms growing out of his torso into the waiting room, she returned her attention to her husband. He raised an eyebrow and smiled. "You look tired. But very official."

"Er... thank you?" She said, unsure if that was a compliment or not. He chuckled.

"Tired but beautiful, how's that?"

"Much better darling." She said, squeezing his fingers. "Why aren't you making your usual visit to Moody?"

"I'm sick of him asking when I'll be joining up with the Aurors." He said with a roll of his eyes.

"I'm surprised he hasn't roped you and Sirius in."

"We can't afford to take 3 years to become certified when at any moment we might end up having to go on a mission for Dumbledore." James said, his voice low. "Sirius wants to join the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, but it takes too long. It's better for us to wait until things quiet down and we can take the time away from... things." He leaned back and raised his voice slightly. "Besides, I'm not going into Law Enforcement, I'll tell you that right now. I'm going to accept that Scotland contract that was offered. They said no time limit."

"Yes well, I'm not moving all over the place to follow your career." She said pointedly.

"Not to worry. Oh, and I do have an ulterior motive for coming."

"Oh?"

"Dorcas is being released today, Dumbledore wanted to make sure she wouldn't need any help getting out of here." James smiled calmly, but there was a knowing look in his eyes that she understood. After all, there was a very good reason Dorcas had been in here as long as she did. Her wounds had healed up more quickly than they had let slip, so she'd have the safety of St. Mungo's for as long as possible.

"It's a good plan. She'll be coming down pretty soon I expect." Lily said, turning towards the stairs to check. "Ah, I can see her down the stairs."

When she turned back around, James was gazing at a window, looking confused. The window showed the street, approaching wizards and the Muggles that walked by without even glancing at the abandoned storefront. He flicked his wrist in that familiar way that indicated he was sliding his wand down into his hand. Most people wouldn't notice it, but Lily did, and she immediately scanned the window.

She didn't see anything. "James?"

"Sh." He pressed a finger to his lips. "I thought I saw something." He turned around to face the table and smiled. "Keep talking to me."

"Er... about what?"

"Anything. Anything normal."

"Um, okay. I was going to ask you to pick up a few things from the grocery on your way home. We need more milk, especially for Lancelot, he's a growing kitten. Oh, and some chicken for tomorrow's dinner."

"You know I'm not a big fan of all this chicken." James said casually, but his eyes were still darting around.

"It's healthier than red meat. I'm trying to keep you fit." Lily taunted, but more fear was in her voice than normal.

"Don't be alarmed." He said in a low voice. "But I had that Cloak for ten years and I know how it feels. And I'm sure I can feel that right now."

She stiffened, then forced herself to relax. "How do you know?"

"I can't explain it. It's like some kind of special magic surrounding a Cloak, and I just... I just know. It's instinct I suppose." James frowned and glanced over his shoulder.

In one fluid movement, he whirled, his wand sliding into his palm. He pointed it at the entrance. "Accio Cloak!"

[][][][][][]

There was a flutter from the doorway, and then a tall dark figure in a robe was revealed for a moment. He or she – impossible to tell under those robes – gasped and then threw off the remaining portion of an Invisibility Cloak. James threw a Shield Charm over himself and the desk which Lily was still behind, just as a brilliant red Stunner came from the wand of the mysterious Death Eater.

Lily shrieked – in anger, not in fear – and whipped out her own wand. "You are most certainly not welcome!"

"Dorcas!" James turned slightly to see her coming up the stairs. "Get back!"

The laugh that issued from the robes was a male's laugh, and he reached under his sleeve. James blinked, not knowing what he was going for, since his wand was already in his other hand, but when he pulled his hand back out it was empty. James shook off his confusion and pointed his wand steadily at the man.

"Lily, you get Dorcas back downstairs." He called over his shoulder.

"It's too late!" The Death Eater exclaimed.

Outside the window, at least eight more Death Eaters Apparated directly into the middle of the street. It was mid-morning on a weekday so the street was less crowded than it could have been, and they did a good job of clearing it, shooting spells into the innocents. James watched with growing horror and anger as five Muggles collapsed after killing spells were shot their way, faces frozen.

"Expecto Patronum!" James hissed into his wand. The tall, imposing stag appeared and gazed at him calmly. "Go to Dumbledore! Tell him there's an attack on St. Mungo's, they're trying to get at Dorcas. Tell him to get everyone!"

As the stag vanished he turned back around, just in time to see a spell crash through his shield. He dived for the floor. He'd always had fast reflexes thanks to Quidditch, and training with Frank and Alice hadn't hurt either. He spun, looking for Lily as he got up.

The Death Eaters poured in, but Healers were appearing. One particularly large woman was whipping her wand hand through the air like it was a sword. "There is no fighting within this building! St. Mungo's is a place for Healing!"

They all managed to push the Death Eaters back toward the door. On the street, James spotted Order members appearing on the abandoned road. Kingsley, dueling two though he only just arrived. Remus, strangely enough without Sirius. No wait, Sirius was there as well, shooting spells at a group of Death Eaters.

"We have to get Dorcas into the street so we can Disapparate!" Lily said as James got closer to her.

He nodded. "I'll lead the way, you keep hexing."

He covered the three in a Shield Charm. Dorcas wasn't completely useless, her wand was out as well, despite her arm still in a sling, and she shot a yellow beam of light at a Death Eater that caused a his clothing to turn into hundreds of vines that wrapped around him and completely incapacitated him.

"I was always best in Herbology." She said lightly as they got to the entrance.

"Alright, get ready to Disapparate." James shot over his shoulder as they left the building. Two Stunners ricocheted off his Shield and it wavered.

Dorcas spun, but nothing happened. "I can't Disapparate!"

Lily's eyes widened as she looked at the crowd. The Death Eaters were all using their spells defensively. They weren't actively trying to kill any of the Order members. "They're waiting!" She called, motioning to the group. James seemed to comprehend.

"Shit. We've got to get back inside." He turned, but it was too late.

There, in the middle of the crowd suddenly, the tall figure in black robes they all recognized. Lord Voldemort, and Lily felt the chill in the air. The Death Eaters all moved closer to him, surrounding him with Shield Charms and spells that made him impossible to get to.

He pointed his wand at Dorcas. No words came, but none were needed.

James stretched out his wand. "Protego!"

The shimmering light was valiant and strong, but nothing could protect against the jet of green light that issued from the wand of the Dark Lord. Lily would later on feel coursing guilt for not moving faster, for not protecting Dorcas better, for not doing something more. Now she only felt horror and shock as Dorcas crumpled into James' arms.

As soon as Dorcas was dead Voldemort cackled, a laugh that Lily felt sure she would never forget. She raised her wand. "You monster!"

The spell she shot was blocked by another Death Eater. For a moment Voldemort gazed at her, upper lip curling just slightly. "Until you've the courage to try a real spell, you're not even worth the effort. Keep fighting until I call you!"

He twirled and vanished after the last order to his cronies. Lily's nostrils flared and her chest felt as though it might burst. When she turned to check on James, he was on his feet again, Dorcas laid carefully on the ground.

[][][][][][]

At least he wasn't unable to fight this time around. Sirius flicked his wand disdainfully at a figure in front of him and watched them go flying backwards. His eyes scanned the chaos. After Voldemort had vanished, movement had begun again, this time faster than ever. They had been outnumbered before, but the Death Eaters weren't actively attacking while they were waiting for their Lord to arrive. Now they were bent on killing.

Sirius barely dodged the killing spell which went whizzing over his head. With an angry hiss he flicked his wand at a hunk of twisted metal that must have been blasted off a building. It flew at a nearby Death Eater, who barely avoided it and still got clipped in the shoulder. The figure fell to the side, and a mask fell off with a clatter. Sirius stared.

"Regulus?" He breathed.

Dark eyes flashed at him as his little brother stood up straight and squared his shoulders. Sirius felt his mouth go dry.

His family had always been a sore point. And Regulus had been the image of the perfect son. Loyal, obedient, and not to mention gullible. He swallowed the load that the Blacks had handed to him without the slightest protest. He was the son they always wanted. Sirius watched him raise his wand and held up a hand.

"Regulus, we don't have to fight!"

A disdainful smirk was all he received in answer at first. Then Regulus rolled his eyes. "You are no prodigal son, Sirius. You will not be welcomed back with open arms. And unlike you, I am not a coward. Avada kedavra!"

Sirius' eyes widened in horror, and he moved, fast. The spell whizzed past him, but far too close. He looked back to see Regulus picking up his mask and affixing it back onto his face. Then the once-again anonymous Death Eater turned back to the man who was once his brother.

"Reducto!"

James' voice caused Sirius to look over, as Regulus went flying off into the crowd. Their eyes met for a moment, determined hazel and emotionally torn grey. James' narrowed his gaze and gave a curt shake of his head, before turning back around. Dismissal and anger at Sirius. It would be brought up again later, he knew.

"Sirius, are you okay?" Remus appeared. He looked haggard. The full moon was tonight and he deserved to be sleeping, not traipsing through death and destruction.

"I'm fine." He said, his voice dead of the emotions that he was feeling.

Death Eater had never been people before. Now he was struck by the fact that they were all people. And most of them were probably people he knew. People he might even be related to. Bellatrix. Lucius. Regulus. Hell, his own father might have joined up with the Dark Lord after Sirius had left home. He had never spoken to them again, never heard any news from them. Andromeda was the only Black that he had ever seen again after that summer. He'd spotted Regulus in the halls at school, but despite his love for pranking Slytherins his little brother had been strangely untouched. As if pranking him meant recognizing that he existed.

"Sirius, focus!" Remus said, shooting a shield around them as three Stunners converged at once.

Now was not the time to be having an existential crisis. He turned around, pointing his wand at someone in black robes. No faces, no names. Focus on the mask. The anonymity. They weren't real people. They weren't. His hand shook as he shot the jinx, he watched as the long black robes suddenly came to life and tried to attack their wearer. Strangely enough, it made him feel better. He pointed his wand again, and again, and the tremors ceased.

[][][][][][]

Lily looked back at the storefront that hid St. Mungo's from sight. To her shock, the window had been broken, and the mannequin that let everyone inside was falling out of it, her arm missing. The twisting in Lily's gut over a broken doll was no less severe than it had been for Dorcas.

"Filthy mudblood!" She jerked her head back to see a wand pointed at her. The voice sounded familiar. One of Severus' friends?

She slashed her wand at him. "Levicorpus!"

The spell was said with such ferocity that as the Death Eater was hoisted up in the air he flew backwards, and slammed into a brick wall. As he slid down, he didn't move. The twisting again, and she hurried closer, needing to see him breathing, moving, something. A twitch of his fingers sent relief through her, and she turned around again.

"Lily!" Alice and Marlene were standing there, and Alice gripped her shoulder.

"Marlene, you shouldn't be here, if they see you..."

"I'm not staying in hiding during one of the biggest battles we've had yet." There was a mix of triumph and anger in the blond, she was wearing a thick blue cloak with the hood pulled up over her head. "They won't recognize me."

Lily adjusted her footing and shivered. It was the middle of February after all, and as the battle continued and her adrenaline waned she felt the cold bitterly through her thin robes.

Off to the side, she heard a siren. "The Muggle police are arriving, what are we supposed to do?"

"I'll get Frank and we'll handle it." Alice said curtly. "They've got to be delayed until the Death Eaters are gone and we've gathered up our injured."

She vanished into the rubble and reappeared with Frank at her side. They scrambled to where the red and blue lights were flashing in the distance. Lily watched them until a crack beside her made her turn and put up a Shield Charm, just in time for about half the wall of a nearby building to collapse downward.

Marlene screamed, and Lily whirled as dust and debris showered her. The shield had protected her from the largest hunks of brick and wood, but a rather large hunk of stone smacked her in the arm on the way down, and she yelped. "Marlene!"

The word made her cough, and she stopped, covering her mouth with one sleeve and breathing through it. Struggling for clean air she listened hard, trying to discern where the blond had gotten to. She heard a coughing, gagging noise and went to it.

"Marlene!" The petite Order member was laying pinned under a four foot section of brick and stone. Lily levitated the wall, and it went up only an inch or two, but enough for her to shove it out of the way. "Marlene, say something."

Marlene only coughed lightly, and Lily saw crimson spatter the sidewalk. She very gently rolled Marlene onto her back, feeling broken ribs and hips and a collarbone beneath her fingers. Too much internal damage. Lily didn't know what to do. This wasn't some unknown man in the waiting room who needed someone to stop the bleeding. This was a friend, a colleague, a fellow warrior. Marlene's bright blue eyes looked at her pleadingly, and Lily's courage faded.

[][][][][][]

The fight seemed to go on forever. The Order was vastly outnumbered, especially as their number dropped. Dumbledore never arrived, and so they began to falter. Even as Moody continued to shout out orders, there was clearly a desire to flee. Disapparition was still impossible, some spell still hung over the street. Remus glanced at his wristwatch and was startled to see it had only been twenty minutes.

When life was a series of desperate moments of survival it tended to feel like it was going on too long. He felt exhaustion, the pull of the moon, everything was piling into him until he could barely move. Reactions were sluggish at best.

He wanted this to be over. The thought of continuing this fight made untamed rage and frustration build in his system. Something inside him demanded blood. It was almost like he could hear the wolf in his mind, there at the surface. An animal who's cage door was rusted, and would break after darkness fell that night.

A spell came at him and he put up a feeble Shield Charm that shattered on contact with the yellow bolt of light. He drew himself up, frustration growing. The Death Eater rushed at him, wand out, and Remus actually snarled.

Instead of a spell or even a wand motion, Remus stretched out a hand and slashed across the masked figure's face with his bare fingers. The mask went flying and he felt his nails dig into flesh, and something in his muscles screamed. Instead of tired and achy for a split second he felt an awesome, terrible power course into his chest and down to his hands, and he grabbed the unmasked Death Eater by the throat. His fingernails dug in. Something about the face was familiar to him. Another student from Hogwarts?

The flow of energy waned as quickly as it had waxed. He tossed the man back. There was blood on his fingertips. His stomach curled and he felt bile rising in his throat. He fought it down. He watched the Death Eater stumble up to his feet, covering bleeding wounds on his face and around his throat. Remus' muscles felt like lead as the man's wand rose.

"Remus!" Sirius was still off to his side, and he felt something grab his arm and drag him down.

But not before something pierced his side like a giant hot dagger. Heat was all he felt for a moment, blistering heat and then a strangled cry escaped from his lips. Blood was roaring in his ears, and he squeezed his eyes shut.

"Remus!" Sirius' voice sounded as though it were coming from far away. "Lily! Get over here! Remus got hit!"

Hands were touching him, and he jerked. In his mind's eye the moon taunted him, and like a feral animal he growled and writhed away from the fingers trying to soothe him. He opened his eyes to see a head of red hair and worried green eyes.

"Remus? Remus blink if you can hear me, please."

It took a moment of thought, but he closed his eyes. She sighed in relief. "Okay. I'll give you something for the pain. Relax."

"He's got a giant hole in him! How can he relax?" Sirius' voice was panicked. Remus wanted to say something reassuring, but his lips were wet and he tasted blood and it made him gag slightly. Then Lily muttered something and a beautiful numbness passed over his body. His eyes slipped closed again.

[][][][][][]

James jerked his head as he heard the nearby crack. Two Death Eaters vanished. Apparition was apparently an option once more. "Locomotor Mortis!"

His spell was blocked, and then a short chuckle escaped the mask of the Death Eater he had been dueling as he spun and Disapparated. James cursed, turning to watch as the Death Eaters – once they realized that people were leaving – all turned and were gone. He let out a cry of anger, which was honestly just a roar of desperation, flinging his wand onto the ground.

A gentle hand touched his arm and he turned to see Lily. Her hair was flying in every direction, her green Healer's robes covered in dirt and smudges. She was carrying one arm awkwardly.

"Are we even making a difference?" James whispered breathlessly. His eyes fell away from her and to the prone body of Dorcas Meadows, unmoving.

"Not this time." Lily answered quietly. "But we're still alive to try again."

He suddenly realized she was crying, huge tracks of water on her cheeks. He wrapped an arm around her and held her close, and she pressed her face into his shoulder.

Not this time, maybe not ever. James felt himself choke a bit on the mere thought. He gazed out, watching everyone picking themselves up. Sirius and Remus were gone, he didn't know where. Frank and Alice were gone too, but he suspected they were at the growing wall of police cars. Kingsley, limping and gripping his side, was also headed in that direction.

"Get the wounded up!" Moody was yelling.

Healers appeared from the shattered window of St. Mungo's, they were helping people get the injured inside. There was some kind of irony in the fight having taken place right outside a place of safety and healing. Not safe anymore. That Death Eaters could waltz right inside.

Moody was walking closer. He looked unharmed. "Potter, where's the body."

James froze, then pointed over to where Dorcas was laying. Moody walked over, and Lily finally pulled away from his shirt, still sniffling. He held her still, sighing slowly.

"Can we leave?" She asked him, he nodded.

"I don't suspect they'll need us." He turned and took her with him, one thought in his mind. Home.

[][][][][][]

Gas Explosion Kills 16, Injures 3

Yesterday at approximately 11:30 in the morning in Holborn a large explosion caused mayhem in the street. According to officials, the cause of the explosion was a large gas leak from the construction on local department store Purge and Dowse, Ltd. Of the approximately thirty witnesses, fourteen civilians were killed, and three survived but are in critical condition. Two constables who arrived on the scene after the fact were killed by falling debris. Said Chief Constable Kenneth Bourne, "It truly was an unfortunate situation. Freak accidents like these cause chaos and tragedy. We extend our condolences to the families of those injured by the explosion." The police and fire department are satisfied with their reports, and there will be no investigation into the circumstances of the explosion.

[][][][][][]

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, I'm finally feeling so much better, and so I was able to finish this chapter. It was a monster of a chapter, there was a lot going on and a lot to talk about. Probably one of the hardest chapters I have had to write. Anyway, please enjoy, and the next one will be up on schedule!

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK:

hotpinkfleur: in every single chapter, because she is, as always, my ever-present writing advisor and friend *hug*

My reviewers, new and old: As always I enjoy your reviews so much. Keep it up!