The first few days of official summer break were amazing, what with the high Fae was riding on. She'd met Remus, another werewolf, and now she was going to Hogwarts thanks to him. Things could not get any better in her book. Her mind was racing with all these thoughts and ideas she could talk to Remus about, all the tricks she'd learned that could help him.
But first, Fae did truly want to catch up with James. His stories of Hogwarts were the best, and he had pulled off some truly amazing pranks that term. Having the fountains gushing oatmeal, causing an obnoxious song-based alarm to go off in the school every time a Slytherin used the word 'mudblood', setting loose a pack of pixies to name a few, and that last one happened a few times to her understanding.
James ran with her every morning, barged into her homeschooling after Euphemia had finished lecture for the day, talked all the way through her self-study and updated magical tests, and even sometimes followed her to the library. He didn't like the library because Mr. Hammy, kind as he looked, was quick to cast Silencio lest James disrupt the quiet for the other patrons. Lucrecia was a little more welcoming of James, often casting amused looks at his wild hand gestures and occasionally asking him to watch the level of his voice.
Fae wasn't a whole lot better, filling him in on everything she'd written in her letters, but to about 10 times the amount of detail. Evenings before dinner were spent running around in the woods or the town just for fun, climbing trees and stealing aconite from Mrs. Delores' yard and taking in all the new sights and smells Fae had discovered since unlocking her senses.
At the end of a third, consecutive glorious day, the Potter family was relaxing in the living room and going through the post. Fae was extremely pleased to see that both Peter and Remus had written her back. Sirius hadn't yet, but she hadn't expected him to with his attention span. Peter was completely content to be sleeping all day and eating as much as he liked again. He took an indulgent 3 hour nap every afternoon while his gran knitted and the wireless played daytime shows. He promised to visit again soon though, there was only so much napping he could do before he got bored and began to miss them.
Remus on the other hand, unfortunately wasn't optimistic about being able to visit again that summer. His parents didn't like him running around all that much and preferred to keep him close. They were the hovering and almost smothering-with-love type, he'd written and Fae laughed at that, practically hearing the dryness in his imaginary voice. That, and they lived in a town about two hours away by car. His father, Lyall, was the only one who drove and he worked something like 60 hours a week. His mother, Hope, was a muggle and didn't trust magical transportation. Remus wrote a lot about his parents and about his own home away from home in town, the little corner bookstore that he visited almost every other day. He wrote about the wooden arch in his mother's garden that he would bend himself into and spend the day, lazing about the sun and getting lost in new, exciting places. Milan, Venice, New York, Bangkok, Tokyo. Fae had started a list in a new notebook, remembering each and every one he mentioned.
Fae wrote back immediately while James watched the telly with Fleamont. Euphemia let out a little gasp when she got to a particular letter. She opened it, scanned it quickly, and then passed it to Fleamont.
"Oh darling, they've written back so fast! And they've set an exam date already," Euphemia said.
"Already? Very good," Fleamont agreed.
"An exam? What exam?" James asked.
"Fae's entrance exam. We wrote to Dumbledore the day you came home and let him know we'd decided to accept his offer to have Fae attend Hogwarts. Her entrance exam, if she passes an adequate level of knowledge, will also serve as a placement exam for her, deciding which year she would be best suited to begin at. Oh, this so exciting!"
"No kidding? When's the exam?" Fae asked, reaching for the letter. James got their first and they fought over it a bit, James holding it high into the air. Fae got on the coffee table and jumped to reach it, ignoring Euphemia's outcry of 'not on the furniture'. James grinned and kept waving it around, holding it high and reading it while Fae started grasping shoulders, climbing, and stretching out his shirt terribly.
"Give it here!"
"Reach for the stars!"
All said and done, the test was on July 31st, about three weeks from then. Fae was relieved - it was a week after the full moon, well out of reach of any emotional upheaval. She couldn't lie, she was fairly nervous. Euphemia had always told her she was exceptionally intelligent, but that was her adoptive mom. Still, she had a whole three weeks. No problem. And from what it sounded like, it was more for placement than entrance anyways. She didn't exactly want to go in as a first year, but it would still beat not going at all.
The next morning, James was missing from the morning run and Fae shrugged it off. He'd make his reappearance eventually. Which he did - standing next to an amused looking Euphemia and massive piles of books when Fae walked into her makeshift classroom for homeschooling.
"What's all this?"
"James has-"
"Decided that we need to get going on preparing you for exams! You've only got three weeks and we've got a lot to cover if we want to get you into fifth year with me and the Marauders!" James declared.
Fae shrugged and grinned. "Alright, cool."
It was so fucking not cool. The combination of James' frenzy-ranting and energy-bursts with Euphemia's tactical-planning and educational-driven mind was the most unholy and annoying thing that Fae had ever encountered in any of her lives, surely. James was harsh and sure, at first, she was grateful for it. If she was going to get in and make fifth year, she would have to do some considerable studying. But this? What the actual fuck.
She had spent eight hours. EIGHT hours on the first day, just going through a summary of each and every text book for each and every year James had attended at Hogwarts. That was four years, seven classes, and at least one, sometimes three, textbook per class. Nearly 100 books. And that was just to gauge how much she knew.
Surely you've worked with mandrakes by now? And don't forget the fluxweed, super important for Polyjuice Potion, which I'm sure you've learned the recipe of by now, right? And how's your color-changing charm? Is it still wonky like over winter hols? Oh and that water purifying potion, you must've gotten it right by now. How's your knowledge of the Goblin War of 1644?
At the end of the day and hours and hours of James talking and talking and talking and talking, he gave her a score on a scale of 1-10, 10 being ready for 5th year, and 1 being not passable for Hogwarts whatsoever. For Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, and Charms, she had a solid 7. A 6 for Transfiguration and History of Magic. And she was pretty damn offended and ticked off that he'd written a 5 for Astronomy and a 4 for Potions. How could she possibly have such a low score in Astronomy when her entire life revolved around the goddamn moon cycles? He was determined to have her at 10s for every major class. Intensive studying was to begin tomorrow.
So Fae took a deep breath, nodded, and went for a very long run. She ran for hours, well into night fall. And when she'd gotten home, she'd gone straight to her room, grabbed up her notebooks, and went to write and vent her frustrations to Peter and Remus, nevermind that they hadn't written back yet. The rage subsided and then disappeared completely when, on the way to her room for the night, she passed by the classroom and saw James bent over all his textbooks like he'd been there for hours. Her chest twinged. He was working so hard to help her and make sure she was prepared, all so they could be in the same year together. And after all, she had wanted to know where she was in the grand scheme of things regarding magic and her older brother was very smart, as she'd found out. It would work out great, she was sure. Like studying for finals.
It was disturbingly like studying for finals, and in some cases worse. Usually, around finals, teachers let up on lecturing and left it more to working and studying on your own, offering class time to answer questions and explain things more clearly as needed. Fae was eager to prove herself and so she completed her morning run early and met James at 8 o'clock sharp to begin classes. She'd always been a good student, great memory and handy at note-taking, not to mention her luck with tests. Lectures, on the other hand, were not so great when it was all talking and no visuals, no demonstrations, no practicals.
An hour of Charms went by, then an hour on Defense Against the Dark Arts, and then as an hour on Transfiguration went by, it dawned on Fae with horror, that he meant to dedicate an entire hour to every subject every day, from the looks of things. Euphemia came in with lunch halfway through Herbology. James just kept right on talking, food crammed grossly in his mouth.
Bless her godsend of an adoptive mother when she insisted James bow out for a while and go de-gnome the garden while Euphemia took over for History of Magic. It was the least she could do.
"Oh alright," James agreed. Then handed Euphemia a stack of books with a few sheets of parchment on top. "Make sure you cover everything on those first few sheets and get through all the pages, alright?"
"Yes dear."
The second he was gone, Euphemia dumped the books off to the side and clapped the dust and muck off her hands. "Right then," she said. "I imagine you need a bit of a break."
"Please."
"Off you go then, don't let James catch you. I'll look over his notes and then in 15 minutes, you can do the readings, or I can summarize, alright?"
"I love you so much," Fae groaned, giving her mother a massive hug. Then she bolted out the window and sucked in the air like a drowning man. Fae collapsed on the grass, well out of sight of the house, and breathed deeply and slowly. Oh, she could fall asleep right here. But she could already imagine the kicked-puppy look on James' face. It was just that his lectures were so dry and really, you couldn't learn that way for hours on end. But he was trying so hard. Fae resolved to suck it up and hang in there. It was just two weeks.
Euphemia took care of History of Magic at lunch, giving the two a break every day. Unfortunately, James refused to relinquish any other time. At least, not to Euphemia. Fleamont, prompted by his wife, stepped in for charms. And on Thursday, Sirius showed up and truly tested James' patience and focus.
"Come on, mate! Let's go for a bite or do something. It's a gorgeous sunny day and I hear Fae found an excellent creek while out on her last run," Sirius whined.
Fae grinned at the wavy-haired boy. "That I did. It was a rather unpleasant experience in the middle of the night and covered in fur, but today that sounds amazing!" And good lord, did it. She'd give anything to strip down in this heat and lounge in some water, maybe play some chicken if they could get Peter over too.
James looked awfully tempted, but alas, their hopes and dreams were crushed when he strictly shook his head and pushed his glasses up his nose with 'authority'. "No can do Sirius. We've got to chart out the Andromeda Galaxy today. Can't expect Fae to get into our year without knowing that, right?"
"Yeah. Absolutely."
So Sirius, loyal mate that he was, sat beside Fae and played tricks while James lectured. They played a game sort of like Jenga whenever James' back turned, moving a book in the pile just so, enough to make the tower wobble but not fall. It left them snickering and certainly brought some excitement to the lessons for the day.
Sirius showed up again on Saturday, to Fae's delight, and slight confusion.
"So how is it you're able to come over so often? I thought you said your family had you on a tighter lockdown lately?" she asked.
Sirius grinned cockily and tossed his hair. "Told them I was taking an O.W.L Prep class on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays."
Which certainly explained why he showed up exactly at 1:30 and was gone at 4:30, never staying for dinner despite how much he loved Fleamont's cooking.
"Nice," Fae said, giving him a knuckle bump.
"Yeah well, I hadn't actually meant it, you know? But here we are with Professor Potter. I think his lectures may be even more boring than Professor Binns," he joked.
James tossed a book at him. "Sirius! If you don't have something constructive or helpful to say, then do shut up."
Fae choked on a laugh as Sirius casually dodged the book and then flicked his wand, causing her and Sirius' latest jenga stack to collapse on James. "As it so happens, I do have something to say! Your Astronomy lessons are shite, my friend."
James erupted from the pile of books. "Excuse me?!"
Fae was full-out laughing now. "It is what it is. T'was never your gift," Sirius said, sighing dramatically and patting his friend on the shoulder.
"Then you do it if you're so smart!"
"Thought you'd never ask," Sirius said with a wicked grin and a wink at Fae. Fae beamed and leaned in close, just knowing Sirius would make this Astronomy lesson more fun than all of James' combined.
She was right, of course. Sirius was a dramatic, theatrical story-teller. And despite his clear aversion to his family, this was one part of the Black Family traditions that he knew and loved, telling the stories and sorrows and joys of the stars, especially the one for which he was named. Even James was sitting on the edge of his seat beside her and laughing at all his best friend' next level performances.
It was Sirius, too, who reminded her of electives, wondering what she'd take. Reminding James that he only could stay for a few hours, the tall boy forced his way into the middle of James' Potions lesson and outlined all of the elective options for Fae with hilarious commentary and, somehow, vague description about what the class actually was. As he swept out the door, Fae commanded him to write back for once and tell her more. He stepped into the floo and shook his head sadly.
"Sorry. I didn't even know you had written. My parents- they intercept owls- and you know, it's. Yeah."
Fae was suddenly very happy that his parents had bought his lie about O.W.L. classes and that education actually was happening so he'd have believable information to tell them when he returned, should they ask.
That being said, Sirius' explanations left her excited, albeit confused due to lack of information. So she wrote to Peter and Remus, as usual, asking for their input and descriptions and suggestions on what she should take. Seven classes already sounded like an awful lot to balance, but she figured they were probably the equivalent to 1 or 2-credit hour classes in college. That and there were some really interesting options, more than just what the Harry Potter books had described for sure. Although, maybe it was a generational, time-difference thing.
Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Arithmancy, and Alchemy were all options, but Muggle Studies was missing which was a shame since she did kind of miss muggle technology. Study of Ancient Runes was missing too, but she didn't mind that much. Fae decided Care of Magical Creatures was a given, if only for required proximity to the outdoors a few times a week. She figured Divination would be good too. It might help her later on if she decided to use her knowledge of future events to her advantage and someone questioned how.
As for the third, and possibly fourth, there were a few really interesting options, on which she consulted her friends. History of Magical Sports, Magical Woodworking, Foreign Studies, and a class called Hearth, Home, and Cauldron were her other options.
Peter warned her to stay away from Care of Magical Creatures, the Forbidden Forest was no joke. At that Fae grinned toothily and made a mental note that the forest was one of the first places she would go, if only to frighten him and make him nervous. Peter also said Arithmancy was really hard, Alchemy was even harder, History of Magical Sports was one of his favorites, he didn't know much about Foreign Studies, Magical Woodworking was supposedly a fun and easy A, and Hearth, Home, and Cauldron was all about building structures, cooking, and learning about magical domestic stuff. Basically, magical home ec. To her surprise, Peter had good things to say about Divination. He said Madame Johannes always had a way of explaining things or helping things be more clear. Fae figured Peter just liked guidance and reasoning.
In contrast, Remus said Divination was a crock of shit and a waste of time. Arithmancy was artful and precise, definitely worth taking. As was Alchemy, which was challenging, but rewarding. He didn't have much to say on History of Magical Sports, Hearth and Home, or Magical Woodworking. Care of Magical Creatures, he'd admitted, had made him nervous because he didn't know how most creatures reacted to werewolves. That made Fae think - she'd planned to run through the forest and explore it thoroughly, but she probably should at least talk to Hagrid so she didn't piss anyone or anybody off with her nature. As far as she knew, most regular animals didn't react to her werewolf form beyond acknowledging it as a predator. Magical creatures on the other hand? Good food for thought. His description of Foreign Studies did end up selling the class for her. He was in it and absolutely loved it, which should've been no surprise to her considering how often he read about far away adventures. Foreign Studies was all about learning the cultures of other magical communities around the world and how the same spells would be said and performed completely differently.
It was fascinating and Fae wasn't sure how she'd pick, assuming she got in and got in as higher than second year. She wanted the aforementioned two for sure, and there were at least three others she was seriously considering, but time. Time was the issue. And then Peter went and made it even more complicated by talking about clubs. Turns out, Hogwarts had a million clubs.
Peter came over one day to talk about them all and that had been pretty fun, if adding a little more stress and confusion to her plate. Charms club, Astronomy, Choir, Art, Muggle and Magical Intersection, Film, Theater, and so on. Fae was sure she wouldn't join any in her first term at least. It was going to be busy enough. After an overview, Fae asked about Peter and if he was in any clubs. She knew he took History of Magical Sports and Divination as electives, but she was curious if he had any hobbies or club activities. While not as bad as Remus, Peter didn't talk about himself all that much, usually deferring conversation to his friends. It made Fae's heart break a little. She remembered what that felt like keenly - being the friend who would move back when the sidewalk became too narrow for everybody to walk in one line together.
It was great then, when Peter opened up and started babbling away about the two clubs he was in. He was in Quidditch Club, no surprise there, and helped organize chants and cheers and flyers for matches and such. They played a fantasy league too and talked about all the teams in the national league. They also managed visits from professional players and scouts. It was pretty cool.
The even cooler club, which was a complete surprise to Fae, was Yearbook Club. Photos and stories and collected news from the year. Peter was one of the photographers, particularly for sports. As it turned out though, he had netted and written his fair share of stories too, he'd explained proudly. Fae could see that - Peter was unassuming and easy to talk to and despite his growing height and broadening shoulders, he had the air of someone small and subtle.
It made Fae's heart twinge when he excitedly suggested she join him. She almost said yes. It wouldn't have been the same, a yearbook in the 70s, but it was the closest to design she'd been since before she woke up bitten by a werewolf in a fictional, now non-ficitonal, world. She missed graphic design. The decision of joining or not so soon after starting Hogwarts, if she started, weighed heavily on her mind. It made her think of her future in general. She'd graduated college as a graphic designer and gotten the job and everything had been going as she'd always imagined. She had seen her future so clearly then. And now? Now she hadn't even thought beyond Hogwarts and the war.
James, with his relentless insistence on getting Fae up to 'his level', was not helping whatsoever, and neither was the full moon, only a few days out. Fae had been doing so well. She'd been patient and kept a good attitude and took notes, because frankly his handwriting was illegible. She showed up to every lesson, even if it meant she couldn't go to the library or down to Lucrecia's. But then that still wasn't enough for him and he had the gall to tell her that she couldn't go for her evening run.
Fae had ended the lesson early that day by just straight up walking out and going for her run, although it really ended up more of an angry sprint. Later, after an awkward and chilly dinner between the two teens, Fleamont listened to her rant. Again.
"He's just….excited is all. You know how he gets. One-track mind, that boy," the inventor said, attempting to mediate.
She rolled her eyes and huffed. "Well yeah, clearly. But I need to exercise and keep to my schedule too! His isn't the only one that matters." And Gods, did she hate it when her routines were interrupted. It said a lot to her love for James that she'd let it go this long at all.
"I know darling, you're absolutely right. Maybe try and meet him halfway? Or have Sirius or Remus talk to him? They've always been good at distracting him," Fleamont suggested.
"Yeah okay. I'll give that a go."
Sirius and Peter were useless. Sirius would just get into a shouting match so Fae quit asking him because she wanted to make sure Sirius still had a place here, to escape and what not. And Peter? He wasn't the confronting type, especially not against James. And unfortunately, the subtle and manipulative approach didn't work either as James was far too bullheaded to even notice.
That left Remus. Remus was bullheaded too, but far more considerate and thoughtful and cunning. He could be stern and fiery when he felt like it, and Fae had a lot of hope that he'd be able to convince James to tone it back. And if she was lucky, Remus might offer some different educational methods. After all, he was the one destined to be a professor one day, and a brilliant one at that.
Remus' letter came back a day before the full moon which was cutting it close, but better late than never. It was only by sheer stubbornness and refusal to give up or concede defeat that she stayed for most of James' continued lessons. That, and Euphemia's mid-day breaks. That being said, Fae was spending all her time either running like crazy or pulling her hair out in the classroom. She was only getting three or four hours of sleep at night because she refused to slack off on physical strength training and miss out on any improvements, let alone slip back.
All her hoping came to a screeching halt as she read through Remus' letter. Read it quickly, read it again, read it a third time because surely that couldn't be right. Sat still and staring into the void for a minute, processing the information.
"Oi, earth to Fae? What's up with you?" Sirius asked, waving a hand in front of her face.
"Did you guys run tests on Remus without telling him?"
"Er-"
"Did you guys bother him and fight with him and force him into revealing his secret?"
"Oh shit. Jaaameees!"
That's fucking it.
"JAMES FUCKING POTTER DID YOU ANTAGONIZE REMUS ABOUT HIS LYCANTHROPY ALL FUCKING BLOODY SEMESTER?!" Fae screeched.
Sirius, wisely, understood the gravity of the situation and had backed away from the siblings altogether, knowing James was the primary target of Fae's rage. James, unwisely, did not react appropriately.
"Yes, but that's old news by now and it all worked out, didn't it? Now pay attention, this is important here. This-"
"I don't give a fuck about your goddamn lessons! Who the hell do you think you are?"
James gaped for a minute, blinking in shock. Then his eyes narrowed.
"I think I'm your brother and I'm helping you get what you wanted!"
"Wanted? I never wanted this! I never wanted you to get mad at Remus and run tests on him and break him down into revealing his worst secret to people he cares about! And I certainly never wanted to spend 10 hours a day listening to your fucking droning voice going on and on about every academic consideration Hogwarts has had in centuries!"
"You wanted to come to school with us! You wanted to come to school with us and I made it happen! How are you going to be a fifth year if you don't pass your exams high enough!"
"It doesn't even fucking matter any more! Fuck this shit, I don't care about Potions or History or any of this shit! And I don't care what year I am, let alone if I even get there at this point!"
"You don't mean that!"
"No, I do! Magic is supposed to be fun and exciting, but you are such a slave driver. If this is what learning is like at Hogwarts, then I'd rather stay homeschooled!"
The force of her voice was bellowing and she had to stop and take a gulping breath.
"And fuck you for doing that to Remus! It doesn't matter what I wanted, that kind of shit is inexcusable! He's your friend! How the fuck could you think any of that was okay?!"
"Yeah well FUCK YOU for being so ungrateful!"
"GO FUCK YOURSELF!"
"YOU GO FUCK YOURSELF! GET OUT OF HERE AND GO LIVE IN THE WOODS YOU LOVE SO MUCH LIKE THE CREATURE YOU ARE!"
Fae took off. It was a hard choice of a dramatic exit, but she chose to stomp out and shoulder-check James harshly rather than dropping out of the window. She dumped the books out of her backpack, shoved some clothes in, and took off, barely hearing Fleamont's, "What in the world is going on up here? You're going to wake your mother!"
Fae ran for a good hour or two, growling and huffing in frustration whenever anything got too close to her - a twig, a rabbit, a puff of air. She surely broke all her records with how fast she was sprinting, spurred by rage. But she didn't think to log it or check her stopwatch for numbers. When her legs and lungs were sufficiently on fire and the anger started to subside, she went to Lucrecia's. It had been a week since she'd last been in and the familiar window, her window, in the front of the cafe made her get embarrassingly choked up all of a sudden.
It was ten minutes to close and she felt bad about that for a second, but stomped in the door anyways. Lucrecia herself was in the back, likely tallying up sales and filling out paperwork and such. Fae dropped her backpack with a loud thud, alerting Lucrecia to her presence. Then she hopped the counter, opened the pastry case, took a seat on the floor, and started eating everything while big, fat tears rolled down her face. It was like that scene in Spirited Away, and she was not a fan.
"Rough day?" Lucrecia asked, head peeking out from the swinging door.
Fae just nodded, sniffed, and continued filling her cheeks with chocolate-filled donuts. After the case had been severely demolished, Lucrecia kindly wrapped up the survivors, declined Fae's money, and sent the girl on her way. She'd offered to let Fae come upstairs for a while to talk, but it was getting dark and Fae had other places to be.
It was a good thing that push-ups, sit-ups, and jumping jacks didn't need equipment to execute. Fae returned to the woods with her backpack full of goodies, dropped it in a nook somewhere, and began wearing down her body and energy as fast and as hard as she could. The full moon was in a few hours and she was way behind schedule. She put all of her body, soul, and focus into frantic exercise, glad for the reprieve from thinking.
When the sun began to set in earnest, she hightailed it to the designated ward area. She could hear James, Fleamont, Euphemia, and Ms. Artemisia calling for her desperately. Ignoring them, she instead conjured a bird and sent it with instructions to find Moody. She knew he'd get it. He arrived a few moments later and gave her a sharp glare.
"And where have you been? The moon is rising soon and your family said you'd taken off-"
"I don't want to talk about it. Let's just call it domestic issues."
"Domestic issues?" he asked dryly.
"Seriously, Moody, I can't deal with this right now. Just, please. Get them out and ward the area. I have a lot of steam to let off tonight and we can't risk anybody getting hurt," Fae said.
Moody just nodded and disapparated, leaving Fae feeling relieved. She started running again, letting the sounds and smells of the forest envelope her completely. The smell of burnt sugar rattled her subconscious and she listened in closer - no human was around for miles. She smiled. When the pain came, she didn't stop running, she just let the wolf burst from her skin. Everything went black, but faded back into focus much later. She didn't try to count the time accurately, and instead just indulged wildly in the hunt, doing her best to chase down the foolish rabbits in her territory. She caught two before they fled the barrier. She guestimated 25 minutes had passed when her awareness began to fade. It was a hard fight, trying to cling onto it and howling her piercing emotion. It was a fight she lost, but she'd get her chance again soon.
Fae woke up warm, satisfied, and sore on the bare ground of the woods, wrapped up in her usual silk gown. As she fingered the cherry blossoms on the hem, she mentally catalogued her hurts, what was a bruise, what was bleeding. There were three nasty gouges on her side - the worse injury she'd had in a while. But she didn't even feel the pain when she heard James calling her name. He was a mile away, racing through the trees. He sounded so worried.
"Here, Jay!" she called back when he was within shouting distance. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and braced herself.
"FAE!" James yelled, appearing in her little clearing, falling to his knees, and sliding the last few inches to wrap her up in his arms. He held on so tight, lungs heaving and body shaking, voice already going a mile a minute, saying 'sorry, sorry, sorry, I didn't even think, I totally forgot about the moon, I'm sorry, I'm the worst brother ever, I'm so sorry'.
Fae dug her face into his neck and cried a little, feeling so damn relieved. Hindsight was 20/20 and she knew now that she could've handled that much better. Approached the problem ahead of time, watched her temper better, been more willing to listen. James said sorry until he was crying too hard to speak and only then did Fae pull back and give him a small smile, wiping away his tears.
"I-I-I didn't m-m-mean it, any of it. I s-swear! I should never have called you a-" his sobs overtook him again and Fae pulled him close.
"I'm so sorry," he said.
"Me too."
They held on for a while, but eventually pulled apart and laughed at their sorry states. James removed his glasses, rubbed his eyes fiercely, put his glasses back on, and gave Fae a fierce look of determination.
"If I ruined Hogwarts for you, then I don't want it any more. I'll even homeschool with you and I'll leave the teaching to mom," he said passionately.
Fae laughed loudly and nearly started crying again, this time out of mirth. "I do want to go to Hogwarts and I do want to be in your year."
He nodded. "I know you do, I'm sorry I took it too far."
Fae shrugged. "I forgive you. Remus forgives you too - he said that it was his choice in the end after all. And maybe I was just a little mad that you got to help him with the werewolf stuff before I could," she admitted. And it was true - she had wanted to be the first one to show him what he could do and how he could make his lycanthropy and his life better. It was a silly, possessive feeling.
James nodded heatedly once more. "I know, it wasn't right of me and I messed it up too. I hope he's still willing to listen to you. He's so stubborn, that one."
Scoffing, she poked him in the forehead. "Hey Pot, it's kettle, you're black."
"No, Sirius is Black."
They snickered.
But then Fae's face became more stern. "Alright joker. But seriously, James, I want to be a fifth year with you, but it was just too much. Can we dial it back a bit?" she asked.
This time, he nodded so hard his glasses nearly fell off. "Yeah, yeah we can. We can make this work," he promised.
They took the day off from studying. James gave her a piggyback ride home and complained about the bloodstains on his shirt, but only jokingly. Fae was patched up, given love and kisses and 'don't you ever worry us again, young lady's' from her parents. Moody gave her a stern glare and an unsaid warning not to disappear again so close to the moon. Ms. Artemisia wished her luck on her exam.
James and Fae spent the day on the couch, not saying particularly much, just munching on treats, watching movies, and spending some well-missed quality time together.
They took it easier on studying, as agreed, and Fae got to pace it and decide what she felt she needed to study more. And, where they studied it. James was helpful at the library - finding materials and explaining things quickly in hushed whispers so as not to ire Mr. Hammy. It was a much better way to learn for Fae, reading it on her own and having him there to answer her questions. Not to mention, the significantly increased cafe visits and treats gave her the energy to keep going. Oh she missed coffee and Lucrecia's signature tiramisu.
The week before the exam flew by and Fae forgave Sirius too, for his role in harrassing Remus. Remus felt bad that Fae and James had fought on his behalf, but she assured him it was long coming for much more than just that. Peter, she forgave easily since it was his idea in the end that fixed things between the Marauders. Clever one, he was.
The exam itself was held at the ministry, in a small room with just her and the examiner. It was to the point and Fae was happy to say she could answer at least 85% of the questions confidently. All of the questions had an answer, and she called it good. It lasted a long time, probably a good few hours. After, she and her family went out for dinner where James and Fae ate spaghetti with their hands and nearly started a food fight. At home, Euphemia revealed a giant chocolate cake, which they both demolished before the end of the night.
Then there was the waiting. Sirius was over on his usual 'O.W.L. Prep Class Time' and was massively excited to get up to trouble now that studying was over. Peter was over almost every day. Fae was antsy as hell, dying to know the results. James was surprisingly calm.
"It's out of our hands now and we'll know when we know. For the time being, I've got a lot of summer shenanigans to be making up for."
So Fae did get her chicken fights in the creek and Sirius got his dance offs. James got his quidditch practice and Peter got his snacks and cloud watching. She only wished that Remus could've been there with him. They made do by sending him a care package full of treats, trinkets, letters, and literally every odd thing that wasn't glued down. He was, appropriately, baffled, but happy to know he was being thought of.
On the 8th of August, the letter came. Or to be specific, two letters came. The first was to James, listing the textbooks and materials he would need for his 5th year, along with the standard transportation info and all - Kings Cross on September 1st. Fae's letter was almost identical. Almost. It bore the crest, it read 'we are happy to have you for the 1975-1976 school year' and it listed a ton of textbooks and materials. Personally, Fae was over the moon at just that. She got in. She was actually going to Hogwarts.
Upon reading the finer print, she was a slight bit disappointed. Not a fifth year, no, but a fourth year. And actually? Fae was pretty happy with that. She got a year to settle in before O.W.L.s and she would have a chance to make friends of her own, rather than tagging along with her brother and the Marauders all the time, much as she loved them. It was going to be great.
James took the news well for James. Disappointment clear across his face and slumped shoulders and a distinctly wobbling mouth. He perked up fast though, and shared in Fae's excitement that she'd gotten into Hogwarts - and then quickly launched into everything she should expect in her fourth year, which teachers were cool, when classes were, and etc. In true James style, these were the stories and wild hand gestures she loved about him, not the boring droning.
Unfortunately, with letters came the directions for Fae to go get a check-up and set of standard vaccines before classes started. James only needed a standard physical for Quidditch, lucky bastard, but they didn't know Fae's medical history. Fae didn't let it bother her through dinner and celebrations, but the smile faded from her face when Euphemia had the appointments scheduled a few days out.
James and Sirius laughed at her. Really hard. Fae couldn't stand hospitals. And forget syringes or needles of any kind. The last time she had to get a blood test, she literally cried so hard on the drive there that she nearly got in a car accident and then had an anxiety attack at the office. They had to postpone it and then, well, she disappeared.
It was funny, sure, she could see that objectively. The fearless werewolf who was regularly covered in gashes and bruises being scared of a little needle? But Sirius and James laughed and she tried to laugh, but just couldn't help picturing the syringe going into her skin and instead just got really shaky. At that point, it stopped being funny for the two boys to see her so legitimately shaken. On the day of, Sirius came along because it happened to be Thursday. She sat between both boys in the backseat, shaking like a leaf, and begging them to tell her anything to keep her from thinking too much of it.
They chose to talk about Remus and that did the trick all the way until the nurse showed up with the prepared tray of three syringes. Then Fae started panicking in earnest and crying. James buried her face in his shoulder and Sirius petted her hair, telling her his most interesting stories. It was an awful two minutes, but only two minutes. After, Fae wiped her tears and joked, "That wasn't so bad" with a hilariously weak voice. She did feel better getting it done with and the doctor said she was completely healthy otherwise. Shocker.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of the day. On the way out, they had the severe misfortune to bump into the Black Family. A gruesome and astute woman in far too fancy clothes had her hand settled on the back of a boy who looked so much like Sirius, but with no trace of joy in any of his features and short-cropped, refined hair. Walburga and Regulus, Fae realized. Sirius was definitely not in an O.W.L prep class, they realized.
"Sirius. Come here," Walburga had said icily, and that was the last Fae and James saw of Sirius for a few days, although Euphemia had tried to intervene. Thankfully, he did write and finally get a letter through that night, letting them know he was okay. She'd yelled and thrown things, but that was business as usual. He'd see them on the 24th in Diagon Alley.
To Fae, it sounded like a not-terrible ending. James looked grim, however, and explained that 'yelling and throwing things' was a euphemism for 'screaming verbal abuse and obscenities while performing unusually cruel and harmful curses on him'.
"He's like you Fae, a tough one. Sirius will be okay. It's just-"
"You worry."
"Yeah."
"Me too."
Fae knew Sirius would come to live with the Potter's sometime in the next year, but she wished it was already a thing. Lively, bright, happy Sirius shouldn't have to go through all that before finding the light at the end of the tunnel.
Thankfully, the 24th came fast and it may have helped that not only were they seeing Sirius was okay, but Peter would be there to properly celebrate her acceptance into school. And Remus was going to be able to join them.
They collided in front of Flourish & Blott's, lots of hugs and back slapping and 5 very loud, eager voices all talking over each other. Fleamont and Euphemia, after five years of Diagon Alley duty, shepherded them all excellently through the different stores and such. It was wild, the sheer amount of people and activity and excitement. Even though the moon had been three days ago, it made Fae feel jittery down to her bones.
And then James stopped short in the middle of the walk. His gaze was locked on a pretty, red-haired girl across the way and his ears grew red. Fae looked and saw her. Smiled slyly at the Marauders.
"Who's that?" she asked 'innocently'.
"That's only the love of your idiot brother's life," Sirius answered.
"Oh is she now? Does the love of James' life have a name?"
"Her name is Lily! Lily Evans," James sighed.
Fae laughed and punched her brother's arm. "Lily Evans, huh? She's pretty," she said, and it was absolutely true. Lily Evans was a stunner with noble features, blazing eyes and matching hair, and the stride of a badass.
"Pretty? That's all you can think of to say? Lily is bright like the sun and full of fire and life. She's one of the smartest in our year and the wittiest and funniest and the kindest and she does this thing where she tucks her wand behind her ear or sticks it in her hair when it's up and she smells like-"
Not about to let James just rant, Fae threw her arm up and started waving it around. "Hey Lily! Lily Evans!" she called.
"What?! No! What are you doing?!" The sheer panic on James' face was priceless and he looked like he might wet himself when the girl perked up, saw them, and came over with a curious look.
"Yes?" she asked, coming to stand before them with only a slight glance at her frigid brother. She fixed Fae with a kind, small smile. Up close, she was even more gorgeous. And also a few inches taller than Fae, slender, and poised. Fae had never felt more like 'little sister' in her life.
"I just wanted to meet you and introduce myself. I'm Fae Potter," she said cheerfully, offering her hand.
"It's nice to meet you," Lily answered, shaking her hand. Then she glanced at the other boys. "Are you shopping with these hooligans for Hogwarts?"
"And for me!" Fae grinned proudly. "I was accepted this year. I'll be transferring in as a fourth year," she explained, preening.
"That's great, congratulations."
"Thank you. It was all thanks to my brother. I couldn't have done it without him," Fae said, wrapping an arm around James, cuddling in close, and giving him an 'adoring' look. God, his face was so funny.
Lily did not look the least bit convinced. "Uh-huuhhh.."
Poor James. Unrequited love was a bitch. "And that's kind of why I wanted to meet you. He told me all about you and how fiery and passionate and badass you are," Fae said, acting bashful.
"He did, did he?" Lily said, suddenly looking astonished. A pleased smile was quirking her lips and she actually made visual contact with James.
Fae chuckled and shrugged. "Well, I'm paraphrasing. You know how Jay is, I'm sure. And anyways, Remus told me you were going to be a prefect with him. I thought it would be good to know you and recognize you for when I start. I'm a bit nervous you see, coming in so late." Which wasn't untrue. It would do well for her to know someone there that was friendly and reasonable. And not swayed by her brother's antics.
"Oh! Well, in that case. It's very good to meet you Fae and if you need anything or any help, let me know."
"Will do. Thanks!"
And with that, Lily left. Fae fought the urge to blow on her nails or take a bow.
"That was bloody marvelous," Peter said, in awe.
Fae hummed. "Mm. She seems sweet."
Sirius scoffed. "She's a bloody gorgon - always killing all our fun."
"Don't talk about Lily like that," James hollered, finally getting his senses back.
The other three Marauders rolled their eyes and in unison said, "Well it's true."
The day returned to whirlwind speed through the bookstore, lunch, quidditch shop, potions supplies, and Fortescue's Ice-Cream. The boys wanted to make a return to the quidditch shop after that and Euphemia sent them and Fleamont off with a wave while she herded Fae to go get her robes. Her robes. Ah!
Vanilla, books, and sun-fresh laundry filled her senses. She smiled broadly as Remus walked alongside her, deciding to join her rather than head off with the others. He wasn't a fan of quidditch and preferred to keep his feet on the ground, like her. It was great, she had been hoping for a chance to talk to him and see how he was doing. With Euphemia leading the way, Fae hung back with Remus and asked him about home and how his transformations had gone. He said they were 'fine' with a strained smile and she could see all the new scars he had. It was like the equivalent of ears flattening, the way he deflated and got cagey. Deciding not to push it, Fae changed subjects and told him about her cafe and how she'd love to take him there, it's the perfect place for reading and there's always chocolate and coffee and tea.
It was nice, the quiet and peaceful moment amongst the hectic day. Euphemia had the foresight to claim an appointment at Madame Malkins so there were only one or two other students getting fitted in the back rooms when they walked in. Fae set Remus on a nice, winding description of the most interesting book he'd read in the last week while she was put on the stool and poked and prodded and eventually fitted with a set of plain, school robes for Hogwarts. Euphemia then pulled the tailor away to ask about some specialty clothing and Fae took it all in. She stared in the mirror wide-eyed and disbelieving.
Five feet tall, twiggy and lean, tan, long and wild dark hair, almond-shaped brown eyes, new scars on her arms and legs and her collarbone. This was her. Fae Potter. And she was wearing a Hogwarts robe.
This is real. This is a thing that's really happening.
Sensing that she had stopped listening, Remus had paused in his recounting and waited patiently for Fae to say what was on her mind. Her eyes met his in the mirror and he smiled encouragingly.
"You know how you can know about something and get all these ideas in your head of what it's going to be like and then it's… like you actually go through it?" she asked, voice slow as she tried to figure out how to say what was on her mind.
As usual, Remus understood. "It's different than how you thought?"
"Yeah."
"Good different?"
"Yeah. Just. Really different. I never thought-" Fae trailed off. She never thought this could ever be real. And when this world was real, Hogwarts was still just this abstract idea. Her home was the Potters' cozy home and the sprawling woods and the library and Lucrecia's cafe.
She realized it had gone quiet again and she looked up to see a pitying look on Remus' face, a knowing and sympathizing one. It occurred to her that he probably thought she meant the idea of Hogwarts had seemed impossible to her because of her lycanthropy. Like it had been for him.
He stepped closer to her and gave a strand of her hair a light, friendly tug. She pouted at him. It was unfair, he was literally still taller than her and she was on a stool. She felt better though, when he said, "As far as I've learned, there's very little you can't do Fae."
She beamed at him. "Thank you," she said, then turned back to the mirrors and stood taller in the reflection. "You're right. Everything is going to be great."
The tawny-haired boy laughed lightly. "That's the spirit. So what did you select for your electives in the end?"
"Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, and Foreign Studies," she answered, turning this way and that. Where were the pockets in this thing? Where was she supposed to put her wand? They were comfortable, but awfully tricky to maneuver in. And the shoes. Ugh.
"Really?" Remus said, making a face.
She shrugged. "Are you surprised? Care of Magical Creatures is practically a given. In fact, I'm surprised you're not in it."
It was his turn to nonchalantly shrug. "Yes well…" he trailed off. "But divination? Really?"
The teasing whine in his face made her look back at him and flick his nose playfully. "I like to control my own fate and make my own rules, but there's nothing wrong with keeping an open mind to the signs life throws at you, you know? It seems fascinating," she said.
He flinched away and went adorably cross-eyed. "Yeah, if you say so."
"And besides, it's not like we could've taken classes together anyways, being in different years. Even Foreign Studies, which is going to be brilliant."
"Are you disappointed? That you're not with James?" he asked a moment later.
"A little. It would've been amazing to hang out with you guys all day. But, I think it's for the best. If that's where my skill level is and where I'm meant to be, then so be it. And besides, think how much it would've sucked if I'd had my first year at Hogwarts be inundated by OWLs? After James' bootcamp this summer, no thank you. I'll take a less academically-stressful year," Fae explained.
"You've got a point there," Remus said, matching her sly grin.
"Are you disappointed?" Fae asked. She hadn't been lying, classes would've been amazing with Remus. But at least, she figured, they'd study together often enough. She could hardly wait to see the library.
Remus chewed it over and then averted his eyes shyly. "Kind of, yes," he said quietly. "Not more than James though. I swear, he never shuts up sometimes, especially about you," he added, turning sly once more.
"Or Lily." Fae sang.
"Yes, or Lily."
"He'll be fine." Without a doubt. Her brother was annoyingly resilient and bouncy sometimes.
Remus scoffed and crossed his arms. "Yeah, until you're not sorted into Gryffindor and he flips a table."
Fae paused at that and gave a sheepish and wobbly smile to the mirror. "Hm. Good point there. I should.. probably talk to him about it." Before he threw a tantrum, preferably. It made her nervous, being sorted and potentially separated from James. She had no clue where she'd be placed, truly. Best nip that problem in the bud - last thing she needed on top of her nerves were James' nerves.
The group reunited shortly after and stopped for yet more treats because Euphemia and Fae insisted. Remus just had to try this tea and Peter would absolutely love these raspberry chocolate tarts.
Crowded around a table, Fae addressed her brother. "You know, Jay. Ah.. What if I'm not in Gryffindor?"
"Nonsense, what else would you be?" he asked, voice muffled with half a cookie shoved in his mouth.
"A Slytherin, or a Hufflepuff, or a Ravenclaw?" Fae replied in deadpan.
He rolled his eyes and finished his bite before speaking this time. "But I mean, how could you be anything else?"
"I was almost in Slytherin," Peter said.
"Well we all know about you, you were a hatstall," Sirius teased.
"A hatstall?"
"When the hat takes more than five minutes to decide," Remus said, leaning close to her ear and explaining under hushed breath.
"Ah," she said. "Well people are more than just a single label or attribute," she pointed out. She was a lot of everything, after all.
"She's right. And for the matter, I was almost in Ravenclaw," Remus agreed, adding his two cents.
"Me too..the hat actually considered me for Hufflepuff. Slytherin hadn't even been an option, despite my heritage," Sirius claimed proudly. Somehow, Fae could see him in Hufflepuff. Loud and brash, Sirius was still loyal, steadfast, and sweet at his core.
"Score! We've collected a full house!" she cheered.
"You'll be in Gryffindor, I'm sure. You're one of the bravest and most courageous people I know!" James argued.
"Not to mention one of the smartest," said Remus.
"And cunning," Peter added with a grin.
"And adorable." Sirius winked and earned a glare from James.
Fae laughed loudly. "I guess we'll just have to see."
Another blink of an eye and Fae had packed away all her favorite t-shirts that used to be James', her cassette tapes and a smaller cassette player, her favorite books, all her notebooks and pens, her shampoos and conditioners and body washes, her toothbrush, everything. Her room hadn't looked so empty in months and it made her sad, despite the excitement thrumming through her. This feeling was exactly the same as when she moved into her college dorm for the first year. But the difference was - it was only 45 minutes away and she went home every weekend. She wouldn't be back here for months.
Hogwarts was going to be amazing.
"The time will fly by, you'll see," Fae said, holding Fleamont's hand and Euphemia's in both of her's.
"We know," Fleamont said.
"It'll be Christmas before you know it and I'll be home."
"We know," Euphemia said.
"I'll write all the time," Fae promised, chin getting wobbly despite her efforts.
"We know."
She sniffled and launched herself at them for tight hugs. "I'll miss you both so much."
"Oh darling, we know. We'll miss you too," Fleamont and Euphemia answered, tearing up just a little, but smiling softly and proudly.
Fae stepped onto the Hogwarts Express, the Hogwarts Express, followed James to a compartment where Peter, Sirius, and Remus were already waiting, and flung herself to the window so she could wave frantically at the best parents in the world. The train departed and her heart raced.
A/N: Wow! Thank you all so much for the response on the last chapter. I'm glad ya'll are enjoying yourselves. Any guesses on what Fae's Hogwarts House will be?
And out of personal curiosity, which houses are you lot in? I wanna know what house makes up the majority of my readers or if I have a nice variety.
The song in my head for a good chunk of this chapter is Hard Times by Paramore