Prolog
In July of 1976, according to the Gregorian calendar commonly used, a whole bunch of peculiar, equal parts amazing and horrendous, things had already come to pass.
Even Dorcas Meadows mother had agreed miniskrits were an acceptable item of clothing (under the circumstance there were no boys present). Punk rock were a reality thanks to the likes of Sex Pistols and the Clash, something Sirius Black reveled in (and his parents most certainly did not). Peter Pettigrew had baked an excellent french chocolate tart for Remus Lupin's birthday party. No one had gotten to eat said chocolate tart since Gilbert Merrythought had gotten drunk on firewhiskey and fell into it head first. Jane Saint-Selwyn gifted Sirius Black a copy of Simone de Beauvoir's Le Deuxième Sexe after learning he knew french; Sirius read it in a week and a half. Head boy Frank Logbottom had uncovered that not only the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Carmichael Macnair, but also the Herbology professor, Travis Abbott, were in fact recruiting Death Eaters. The revelation caused two weeks of canceled classes, this following their immediate dismissal, and a vast increase of student devilment (mainly lead by the Marauders). Sirius Black kissed both Marlene McKinnon and Remus Lupin (with in a week of each other).
Atticus Mulciber viciously attacked Mary MacDonald with an unforgivable curse. Urning him a one way ticket out of Hogwarts and into Azkaban, and putting Mary on strict bedrest until mid August. Sirius Black told Severus Snape a secret. A secret which caused James Potter a painful visit to the hospital wing, and the remaining Marauders to not speak to Sirius in a month. Lily Evans ended her friendship with Severus Snape. Emmeline Vance slept with the captains of both the Ravenclaw and Slytherin quidditch teams (she regretted the first but not the lather). James Potter broke three ribs and a finger, while playing the quidditch final against Ravenclaw, after being hit by a bludger from the Ravenclaw captain. Michel Foucault's History of Sexuality was published and promptly read by Marlene McKinnon, but how she gotten ahold of it remained a mystery. Dorcas Meadows had a brief pregnancy scare, resulting in an existential crisis and half a bottle cherry wine being past around the girls dormitory. A two day temporary truce was implemented in order for James Potter and Lily Evans to skive off school to go see David Bowie play in London, on the whole, a successful venture.
The last term of their fifth year ended, and they enjoyed two hours of freedom before the Hogwarts express was attacked by Death Eaters. Three students died. Fifteen were transported to St. Mungos for varying injuries, and among those Emmeline Vance, Gilbert Merrythought and James Potter. Lily Evans visited James Potter at St. Mungos (after first visiting Emmeline of course). Mary MacDonald persuaded her friends to smuggle her out for a party, and they managed to do so with help of the Marauders. Sirius Black moved in with, and was consequently adopted by, the Potters.
And, even though the it wasn't even half way through, the summer of 1976 was already considered to be the hottest in a hundred years.
a/n: Et voilá