Chapter-4: Tempers and solutions

Lily P.O.V

The Marauders, famous and popular as they were, were prone to arguments. It was a very common occurrence, especially since the four teenage boys had such contrasting personalities. So, it wasn't a surprise when Lily heard the screaming match. In fact, the entire Gryffindor common room could hear their argument. Sure, no one could hear the words or know what the argument was about, but the volume ensured that everyone knew about their little… disagreement, for lack of better words.

The marauders were known to have explosive tempers (well… Potter and Black were known to have explosive tempers, Remus was more controlled but could be very sharp and cruel if necessary, and Peter was… well, never angry in front of others.), so the entire common room was waiting with baited breath for them to storm off. It was expected from them by now, even if some of the first years looked slightly off put. This was surprisingly the marauders first major argument this year. There was something different about this argument though, at least for Lily, because Lily actually had an idea about what this argument was about.

A week ago, James had explained magical theory to her. And oh, did it all make sense to her now.

"If an adult cannot wield magic, then the magic is passed down to their child. So, if a child is born with a big enough magical core and enough magic collected, then they can wield magic. Hence… muggleborns. On the other hand if a child is born with a small magical core, and they can't wield magic, then they are declared squibs. Of course, squibs can still do stuff like potions, herbology, ancient runes and arithmancy, and sometimes even basic magic wielding as a conductor, channeling magic from another source." Jam - Potter had explained to her.

"So why are squibs regarded in such a bad light? Why are they cast out of their families and the wizarding world?" Lily had asked, curious to understand more of this peculiar world.

James had grinned, a twisted thing more like a grimace. "Like all foreign things, the squibs were curious about the limits of their magic in relation to how much they could channel and use. And sources for their magic of course. They resorted to using some darker rituals and that, well that led to some very dangerous experiments. Then, some over ambitious and vengeance-fuelled squibs attacked the Ministry. Despite everything, all their experiments and rituals, wizards and witches were much more powerful in general and the Ministry is filled with such powerful people. The squibs were defeated and sentenced to execution. Since, then having a squib in the house is not just dangerous but also very… well disreputable. Regardless of whether the squib is a beloved child or not. I know many families," here his grimace was definitely seen, "including the Potters, who have banished squibs, even when the squib was the firstborn and heir. The squibs in most families have been disinherited and in some cases, killed."

So, yeah. Lily had been wary and it had taken her the previous week to come to terms with it. Not just with the 'murder my young child who is a squib' part, but also the fact that purebloods who accused muggleborns of stealing magic were technically true, in the sense that it wasn't actually stealing in the literal way. Obviously, given the source of the information, she had spent majority of that past week reading, researching, analysing and dissecting all the information she had been able to find from the Hogwarts library, books Remus had provided and of course, books that she had found in Flourish and Blotts, in their owl delivery catalogue.

Back to today's disastrous debate, which is probably what it started as. After the week of processing, in her own way, she had asked the marauders what they were supposed to do now. A perfectly reasonable question in her mind, which had led to absolutely flabbergasted (Jam- Potter), smug (Black), considering (Peter) and unreadable (Remus) looks from the four of them. After which, they had asked her to leave it to them, their exact words being, "That's a good question, Evans. Give us a day to think about it." And then, they had turned and fled.

Speaking of, she heard the dorm door bang open and less than a minute later Black stormed through - his magic was wild and unrestrained, with a darkness that sent shivers through most of the assembled students. He barely paid them any attention as he slammed the portrait hole shut behind him. Less than a minute later, Remus stalked down the stairs and through the common room. He would have looked normal - with his book bag over a shoulder and muggle clothing - if his magic wasn't swirling around him in a rage and his eyes weren't flashing with barely suppressed fury and exasperation and a hint of gold was flickering over his normal green. (Honestly, the only reason most of the school didn't know that Remus was a werewolf was because they were either very unobservant, which is highly unlikely; moronic, very likely; extremely afraid or in awe of him, must be practically the entire school; or a mixture of the three).

Jam - Potter was the last marauder to storm through. Unlike Remus, with his highly controlled magic, and Sirius, with his cold, wild magic, Potter's magic was blazing hot, practically burning the room, even the fire flared higher. Potter glanced around the room with a barely concealed sneer, before he too was gone. And the storm was calmed for an instance, the common room breathed a sigh of relief.

Peter wouldn't leave the common room until he had calmed down sufficiently, upon which time he would leave to the kitchens, Lily knew. She had gone with him more than once, to keep him company and also because that was likely the only time he would listen to her when she was trying to explain something to him. Potions seemed to stick in his head best when he was eating something, for some odd reason. Unlikely to find the other marauders, and a solution to their problems tonight, Lily closed her Arithmancy book and headed up to the girl's fifth year dorm. 'I might as well get them tomorrow morning when they have calmed down sufficiently and are willing to get along with each other!'

"You have got to be kidding me!" Marlene announced as they arrived at the Gryffindor table, the next morning. "They're still angry? After that extremely flashy and dramatic exit?"

Lily almost groaned out loud as well. The marauders rarely ever fought so badly, it never lasted longer than a few hours. Potter and Peter were sitting together at the table, in their usual places. Remus was sitting in between a group of Ravenclaw sixth years, with whom he was friends. (Somehow, he was the most outgoing marauder, in the sense that he had the most friends excluding their little boy group!) Black was sitting on the opposite side of the table from Potter, as far away as he could get and the cold, dangerous aura he was emitting could be felt from the entrance.

"Merlin! The three of them are some of the most powerful wizards in our generation." Juliette cursed, as we sat down. "And now look at what they're doing… pouting!"

Christina and Alice laughed at that. It was true that they were acting like pouting children, but Lily needed their solution.

"So, Lily. What do you need from the marauders that has you so upset?" Alice asked, easily picking up on her disappointment. The five of them had been best friends since their first year, even before the great marauders were formed, and sometimes they knew Lily better than she knew herself. She shouldn't have been surprised that they picked up on her disappointment and recent fixation on the boys.

Now, the important question was whether or not she should tell them the truth. She could always pull a 'no questions asked, I'll tell you when I'm sure', and they would accept it, but she had already been pulling away from them and this would just make everything worse. She sighed as she made her decision.

"I'll tell you guys later. It's important, but I need to speak with our esteemed fellow fifth-year Gryffindors." Marlene laughed at that, and they nodded in agreement.

Seeing Remus heading out of the Great Hall alone, Lily quickly grabbed something to eat and followed him out.

"Remus! Wait up, we need to talk!" She watched as he literally froze and cursed at himself. By the time she caught up to him, he had plastered a smile on his face.

"Lily! I'd love to talk, but I have an important class to get to." He paused, and frowned before a truly evil and mischievous glint appeared in his eyes. "If you're wondering about our solution, we've decided to start a group meeting where we can help others to improve as well as practice any and all spells, curses, potions and even theories. First meeting is first Friday of November, just get a few other students to be the lead co-organisers. Perhaps the wonderful Marlene, Alice, Juliette and Christina?"

Lily just stood and stared at the usually most sane marauder, wondering about his common sense. He barely stayed for a second after that, grinning a very smug grin as he practically skipped to the library, leaving Lily wondering what on earth had just happened.

So, Remus has decided to form something similar to the DA in the marauders era. Of course, there will be differences, but the story will pick up after the next few chapters.