On the other side of the grey monoliths lies a quiet and quaint village. The village was not large. It did not have more than 100 homes. It had some shops, on a main road. There were candy shops, clothes shops, a broom shop, a pub, and a grubby little bar that most of the town's people avoided. The little village had a shack at the far end of it. It was a place that no one entered. There were legends about the shack. Parents warned their children to never go there on a full moon night. The village was currently covered in a thick white blanket of snow. Icicles hung to roofs and frost coated every window pain.

James Potter wrapped an arm around his girlfriend. Lily Evans leaned into him. He kissed her head. They walked to the three broomsticks and looked around the pub. In one corner they saw Lucius Malfoy's gang sitting around and laughing over butterbeer. Severus Snape was sitting next to Lucius. James took a step forward. Lily put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head. James nodded and took a step back. They saw several tables pushed together on the other side of the pub. Alice and Frank were sitting together. Peter was sitting at the end with Pandora. Sirius was sitting on the other side, already several butter beers in, Remus was trying to comfort him. James and Lily took two of the open seats.

"Hey," James said. They all gave non-verbal responses. James sighed. He looked over worriedly to Sirius, his head was down on the table. James opened his mouth to speak, but Remus shook his head. Lily squeezed his hand. He gave her a weak smile. James saw something out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see it.

"Guys, Malfoy's gang, 10 o'clock" he said

"They aren't coming over here, are they?" Peter asks

"Can't tell from here" Frank said

"I sure hope they do" Sirius said growled

"I wouldn't mind that either," Lily said. They grabbed their wands, just in case.

"He's looking at his watch" Alice said

"Look, Malfoy's telling the others something" Remus said "I can't hear what he's saying"

"Sirius," James said. Sirius looked up at him with his biggest puppy dog eyes. "Please"

"Ugh, fine. They're late for a depth eater meeting with lord, sorry I don't know the last word"

"I always forget your fluent in lip reading" Remus said

"Wait, did you say Lord?" Pandora asked

"Yeah, why?" Sirius asked

"Remember that rumor going around? The one about Lucius Malfoy?"

"That he was recruiting for that dark wizard?" Remus asked

"Yes. His name was Lord Voldemort wasn't it?" Pandora said. Sirius's eyes went wide

"The first letter of name was definitely a V" Sirius said

"Do you think they are going to go meet him?" Peter asked

"No way they would be stupid enough to with all of the Professors around" Remus said. They watched Malfoy's gang leave.

"There's only one way to find out," James said. Remus, Alice, and Frank's eyes went wide

"No"

"Absolutely not"

"That's insane"

"James is right, it's the only way to know" Sirius said "I'm going with him"

"Wait, really?" James asked, suddenly a little pale. Sirius pulled his cloak on

"I'm going, you guys can come with me if you want"

"Sirius, I wasn't really serious," James said. Sirius ignored him

"Well, I am. I'm going to expose them and their little cult" Sirius said.

"I'm not letting you go alone" James said, grabbing his own cloak

"If you are going, I'm going to" Lily said

"Are you sure?" James asked

"Yes, I am," Lily said. Remus stood up and grabbed his own cloak. Alice and Frank followed.

"Looks like we are all going," Pandora said

"Do I have to, too?" Peter asked

"Yes" they all said in unison. They left the pub. Alice Falwey was the one to spot Lucius and his gang first. The rest of the Marauders followed them into the woods surrounding the village. Unlike the village, the woods were dark and drab. The branches sprang out as arms trying to trap naive travelers. There was no clear path through the trees. They seemed to sprout out of the , every which way. There was a path through the woods, once, but it had since been overtaken by the trees. The Marauders were glad for the cover, though. They could hide behind them when any member of Lucius's gang turned around. It seemed that Severus and Regulus were looking behind themselves the most. They came across a clearing in the trees. It was large, with a light covering of snow covering the ground. It had almost no overgrowth within it. It was new. Lily marveled at how close it was from the school. She could almost see Hagrid's hut from there. James saw something in front of them. He pulled her behind a tree. She looked past it. There was a man in the clearing. He had dark hair, bright brown eyes that had a ring of red around them. His features seemed slightly blurred, as though they had been painted with a wet paintbrush. Lily looked curiously at him, he had never seen anyone who looked like that before.

"We are gathered here once again, my brothers and sisters. We gather under a glorious purpose, one you all understand. You have gathered here because of your own worthiness. The mark on your arm is proof of that. We may currently be small in numbers, but we will grow. For we represent the true power of the wizarding world. We will rise and take back our place." He turned towards the trees." Lily closed her eyes, but she could feel his stare through the trees. He chuckled, "Alas, it appears we have some unplanned guests." He cast a spell. the very trees began to shake. They were pushed to the side, almost as if an invisible hand had parted the forest, leaving the Marauders no longer had the cover of them for protection. James swiftly moved in front of her, his wand aimed. Lily took out her own. The others were by her side, wands aimed. The man, Voldemort, laughed. He took a step forward, towards James. Lily gripped Jame's arm. James' eyes narrowed

"James Potter, correct?" Voldemort asked

"Yeah, that's me," James growled

"Tell me James, what do you wish to achieve?" Voldemort asked

"Quidditch cup would be nice, definitely an internship at st. Mangos, oh, and marrying my Muggle born girlfriend" He smiled. Lily blushed. Sirius chuckled. Voldemort faced him

"I do not need to ask you what you wish to achieve, Sirius Black"

"Why? Am I not good enough for your ranks?" Sirius said sarcastically. Voldemort chuckled

"You never have been." The woman on Voldemort's side sneered. She looked rather like Sirius, with dark black hair and stone grey eyes. Bellatrix Lestrange, Lily realized. Sirius pointed his wand at Bellatrix's throat.

"You aren't worthy, Siri. Your friends over there? Maybe a different story" Bellatrix said

"It's not different," James said. Alice and Frank nodded. They were hand in hand

"Truly?" Voldemort said. A ghost of a smile appeared on his face.

"You heard him," Lily said. The other people in attendance sneered and jeered. She stood tall, with James at her side. Voldemort laughed

"You are his mudblood aren't you? I may need to teach you a lesson for your insubordination, girl, after all, respect is a virtue" he raised his wand at her. It was bone white. It was not like any wand Lily had ever seen before

"You won't lay a finger on her," James growled, his wand pointed directly at Voldemort. Voldemort flicked his wrist and a jet of red light was fired at her. Next thing she knew, her entire body exploded in pain. She was sent flying backwards. The pain subsided for a moment. James had managed to cast some curse at Voldemort. He was now approaching James.

Lily found her own wand several feet away. She grabbed it and cast a spell on Voldemort, she had not thought, she just cast it. A beam of red fire flew at Voldemort. 5 other beams of different spells were heading to Voldemort. Just as Lily cast her charm, so had Alice, Frank, Sirius, Remus and James cast their own. Lily's spell missed and hit a tree behind him. He was able to block the other spells, but another one was aiming for him. It hit its mark. It sent Voldemort flying backwards. Lily looked towards the caster. Albus Dumbledore was standing behind them. His wand raised. His eyes were blue steel. Lily, for the first time in her life, felt fearful of the old headmaster. She turned to face Voldemort and his followers. Voldemort disapperated with a pop. His followers quickly followed

"All of you, my office now" Dumbledore said