Chapter is dedicated to aaquater, who has not only been my go to person for so long now I don't remember a time without them on anything I have a mind to talk about, but helped in particular nailing down some details of this and future chapters, as well as looks over each of the chapters to make sure they're coherent. Don't know what I'd do without you!

To Stitches: The Patronus' changing is indeed a minor plotpoint in book six, and JK says Tonks's patronus used to be a rabbit before it turned into a wolf, which makes me sad she and Luna never got a scene together. I'm not saying an animagus could ever change too, but I do still think if you became an animagus it would be what your patronus would be at that time, example if Tonks had become an animagus before she fell in love with Remus it would have been a rabbit, but afterwards it would have been a wolf. The animagus would never switch of course, but it would still represent the animal of your soul at that time. That's just my personal theory though.

Judging does indeed go both ways, these guys still have a ways to go before they all accept each other, some faster than others...

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At least this time when Alice face planted something, it was relatively soft, even if she did find herself moments later on the floor instead and whatever she'd hit was now resting on top of her. It was removed moments later, Frank there once more and fighting off yet another sneeze, which she couldn't manage.

Fighting weary limbs to get to her feet with Frank's help, all of them were coughing and sneezing at the musty, sweltering hot room. It was only lit by the fireplace, casting long shadows over the eight of them. The only things of note were the rug in front of the fireplace and the chair she'd toppled over with a tiny table she hadn't managed to disturb, a bottle sitting innocently in place. Yet still no one said a word, they were all covering their mouths and trying to repress the abundance of noise they were making and looking at the lone door. Wherever they were, the very air made them feel as if they didn't belong.

Remus Lupin had landed closest to the window, and he'd been staring out rather than in like the rest of them. Now, eyes still trained outside, he reached over and tugged on the sleeve of his nearest friend. Peter Pettigrew chanced a glance over his shoulder, in the wrong direction it seemed, as he looked up into the sky. It wasn't visible to Alice, but she didn't think it was a full moon, he didn't look particularly worried about it. Then his eyes cast over the rest of the view, and he flinched, nodding his understanding.

The floor moaned in protest as their other two friends finally began to move, making their way over to the window as well. Alice watched their feet carefully to make sure the whole floor wouldn't give out on them. By the time they looked out as well and put it together, Alice didn't think she needed an answer. She was very glad now she hadn't knocked that little bottle over, she didn't want to know what the snake venom that was healing You-Know-Who would do if it had landed on her. Now the real question was, where was the snake?

It stood to reason, as every other animal they'd come across was usually about, shouldn't this one be? Her blood shivered just beneath her skin as if calling to it, she swallowed convulsively and prayed not to vomit as she also remembered the last time that snake had been mentioned, whom it had eaten. Were the bones of poor Frank Bryce somewhere here as well?

A slight tap on her shoulder would have sent a blood-curdling scream from her throat if it hadn't been lodged in place, but it was only Lily, grasping the book tight in her hand, her skin sallow with disgust as she glanced about every corner of the room.

Regulus Black stood alone in the farthest corner, arms crossed and nearly blending into the darkest of shadows. Everyone was accounted for, no-one was currently being attacked by a killer snake, but Alice was beginning to wish they'd landed back in the antechamber of the Chamber of Secrets, the rat bones scattered about and the caved-in ceiling more hospitable than this place.

She gently took the book from Lily, who made no protest, she looked a bit relieved as she more firmly grasped her wand. Flipping along the length of the book, it was quite an achievement they'd made it so far along to her, she finally found where the blank pages ended and their next chapter began. "The Dream," what a seemingly nice notion, for just a silly little dream to be the focus of a fourteen-year-old, rather than this haunted mansion.

Her voice sounded odd in the painfully quiet room, no one had spoken a word but her. The crackling fire set an odd echo to her words, and the topic the trio was discussing was not banishing their ill will by any means. The three fourteen-year-olds, not much younger than them at this rate, were sitting around discussing everything that had happened to Crouch and Krum, throwing about all sorts of possibilities. She grew more grateful with every book her and Frank's original wish did not seem destined to be true, she didn't want Neville involved in this.

Alice glanced up sporadically as she got through their late night, or early morning depending on one's view, to gage the others' reactions. No one was offering their own ideas for these circumstances. The Marauders didn't seem capable of speech at all really, none of them were really looking at each other, but instead looked like they had the lock-jaw curse placed on them. It was no feat to remember who was here in Harry's time, helping You-Know-Who regain his strength, the teenager before her looked more like a ghost every passing second he was forced to remain in this place.

Lily and Frank were no keener of speech it seemed, attention solely fixed on watching her from both sides while she stood the most vulnerable reading in the middle of the room. If they weren't watching the window, door, or shadows about the ground waiting for the telltale hiss of a snake or some other monstrosity to descend on them, they were watching the pages with impatient distress for this to be over.

It was absolutely sad, Alice decided, that as the trio arrived at the owlery for Harry to pass all this along to his godfather and the twins interrupted with talk of blackmail, not one single person could still break the silence on what this could even be about. Regulus Black finally twitched in the corner, but by the time Alice looked up he was still as a statue once more and she had no idea what his inclination for this was. The Marauders were silent as ever, there were no laughs to be had in this place of death.

When Harry and his friends went to talk to Moody and it still housed nothing but speculation and worries, it was almost a relief to switch to Sirius Black sending a letter so quickly, full of worry about his godson. It was honestly quite sweet, and showed him being far more mature and caring in this future than she really thought he was capable of. The only person he'd ever shown concern for here was Regulus, and it was fleeting and intermittent with insults so much it was a mystery how he really felt about anybody.

The trio practicing spells on each other and another divination class kept the pace going in a calm way, though none of them could still manage to relax one bit. Despite how relatively relaxed this chapter had been going, their current environment left nothing of promise. Either Harry was going to have yet another dream about this place, or worse, he was somehow going to wind up here.

An answer came not moments later as Harry dozed off to Trelawney's chat about whatever random planet. A dream then, a nightmare, a waking torment she forced herself through as her heart pounded crazily in her chest.

Peter Pettigrew, being tortured for a blunder, involving Crouch. It was, beyond words, what she was forcing herself to read into the dead air. Alice didn't know what she was expecting from the Marauders as she got it all out, and they didn't seem to either. It was only as his life was spared by You-Know-Who, in favor of feeding Harry Potter to the snake instead because someone else had fixed the Crouch mess, that Peter gasped in almost unintelligible words, "I'm sorry," before he doubled over and vomited. Mostly on Sirius, though due to proximity it managed to land on all four of them.

"Ah Pete," Sirius Black finally spoke to him again in the way he hadn't since before his betrayal had been announced, like an exhausted but overly affectionate brother. He Evanesced the mess away before grabbing his arms and helping him to stay upright, which his shaking knees showed was not an option much longer. James Potter rubbed his back and Remus Lupin was tisking affectionately while doing a much more through job of getting rid of the puddle of sick from the creases of all their clothes. None of them really said anything though, what was there to say?

The sight was somber, like watching ghosts reenact what they were supposed to do. Alice finished in the lingering silence with Harry finally getting into Dumbledore's office and walking in on a scene, feeling less resolved than ever there was a good way out of this.

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For the record, Nagini will never appear in this series, due to her being a maledictus and so technically of human intelligence but trapped in a snake body. It's a mystery they'll never be able to solve but we all know.