"Did you ever think we'd see this day, Lil?" asked Sirius as they all
gathered in the Common Room before graduation.
She grinned at him. "I knew I would, but I certainly didn't think you would, Padfoot."
"Very funny." Each boy had a girl on his arm, of course... except Peter. This past year they really hadn't seen Peter at all... he, by some weird stretch of the imagination, was around Snape a lot. Snape always told him to go away, but he never did. Finally Snape had given up and just let Peter be... especially when Peter volunteered to give him info about the Marauders.
James looked down at Lily, angelic in her white graduation robes.
"I love you, Lil."
"I love you, too. What brought that on?"
"I honestly don't know," he lied. Suddenly at the thought 'angel' a chill had run down his spine; he had to say it.
She smiled up at him, meeting his sky blue eyes that were brightened by his dark robes. Just then, a camera snapped, and they turned, startled.
"I just thought you'd want a pic of graduation to show your kids one day," joked Ally.
"Yeah, maybe," said Lily, laughing.
James, however was staring at her again. ~What would she say if I asked her? Would she laugh in my face?~
He didn't get the chance, however.
"Ally, can I talk to you for a minute?" asked Remus.
She said, "Sure, Remus," and pulled him out of the room.
Five minutes later they heard an overexcited voice shriek, "YES, YOU IDIOT!!!"
At this, the other four Marauders exchanged puzzled looks... that is, until Ally bounced back into the room.... wearing a diamond ring.
"Oh. My. GOD!" screeched Ally. The boys still hadn't noticed the ring, but the girls had, and practically tackled her in a huge hug.
"May I ask what this momentary lapse in sanity is all about?" asked Sirius.
Ally's muffled voice came out from under her two friends, "I'm getting married, you twit!!!"
Sirius stared at the pile-up blankly for a moment, then heard James whisper to a newly arrived Remus,
" Just had to beat me to it, didn't you, Moony?"
Remus was blushing, but grinned madly. Sirius clapped a hand to his forehead in mock disgust.
"Thanks, you two, now I'll just HAVE to ask Jessi to marry me... eventually."
They laughed as their girlfriends disentangled themselves and fixed all smudges on their robes.
"Are you girls ready to graduate?" asked Sirius with a grin.
"Sure, why not?" shrugged Jessi.
Remus suddenly remembered something, muttered, "Hold on," and raced up the stairs. He came back holding a large , flat package.
"What's that?"
"You'll see."
"As I call your name, please step forward for your diploma!" roared Dumbledore cheerfully.
"Bates, Alison!"
She stepped forward and threw a dazzling smile at the audience. She took her diploma, shook Dumbledore's hand, and bowed, throwing her arm out so the light caught her ring.
"Black, Sirius!"
Sirius, ever confident, swaggering up to shake Dumbledore's hand.
"Evans, Lily!"
Lily, crying but smiling, taking her diploma with trembling hands.
"Lupin, Remus!"
Remus, still ecstatic about his engagement and smiling so hard his face almost seemed to be split in half.
"Pettigrew, Peter!"
Peter, practically stalking up to the platform and running back.
"Potter, James!"
James, eyes shining with unshed tears, but smiling happily while thinking about the question he was going to ask Lily later.
"Varen, Jessica!"
Jessi, laughing mischievously at the thought of Sirius' last prank: Bewitching the Slytherin trunks so they weighed twice as much.
Then Professor Dumbledore grinned. He picked up the package Remus had been carrying earlier and unwrapped it.
"Through special request, will James Potter and Sirius Black please step forward?"
They did so.
"Now, although you shouldn't be, I must admit you will be proud to realize that between the two of you, you have had the most detentions in the history of Hogwarts."
They grinned at each other. A little applause broke out, but Dumbledore motioned for silence.
"I hope I don't end up making a habit of this, but your friends decided to make this for you. So, I present it to you... and hope that if your respective children come here, they won't come at the same time."
A roar of laughter followed that statement; even McGonagall was grinning. James and Sirius accepted the plaque, then Sirius shouted,
"Remus, Jessi, Lily, Ally... get up here right now! Half of our pranks wouldn't have been successful without you!"
They also came on stage... the roar was even louder now. Everyone (except the Slytherins) was cheering, and the six Marauders took a bow. Peter looked at them bitterly, then slipped out of the room.
A/N: Ok, guys! This is turning out to be one hell of a ride, and aren't you glad to be riding it? (Grins)
~*~*Sorry about the choppiness of the past few chapters... PAY ATTENTION!!! Many references to this series will be made after I finish it, in later chapters of HSL. Shocks, deceptions, things you THOUGHT you knew... it all comes apart at the seams RIGHT HERE! Warning: Some of the material to come will be adult style... no smut, I don't write that stuff. You know, kidnappings and the like.*~*~
Now, where did we leave off? Oh, yea.... it's about six months after graduation. For the moment the girls are living in one flat; the guys in another... (Watch for a *stupid* series about their respective engagements... *When the Marauders 'Pop the Question'* Evilness!)
Lily made her way down the stairs in the pre-dawn gloom, yawning. She was always the first one up... her work at the Daily Prophet demanded it, so that even on Saturdays like this, when she had off, she couldn't sleep. As she entered the kitchen, she saw with a shock there were two people already in it.
"Hey, Lil, what's up?" asked Remus, eating the last of their eggs.
"Made you guys breakfast," added James with a grin, looking up from his pancakes.
"You made us breakfast, or there just happens to be leftovers?" Lily asked her fiancé with a hug and kiss hello.
"You always could see right through me... even when I wasn't wearing that Invisibility Cloak."
"Where's Sirius?"
"That prat? Still asleep, and I dare say he will be for a while yet. God, I hope that if those two do ever get around to getting married, they'll learn the use of an alarm clock."
"Yeah, right," snorted Remus.
Lily stepped back and regarded them. "Just exactly how did you two get in here?"
"The magic...literally... of a duplication charm," said James, holding up two identical keys.
Lily groaned as she recognized one as Ally's house key.
"Now where did you get the key in the first place?"
James shot a look at Remus, who blushed. Lily understood the look immediately; it was a:
'We know exactly WHO that key belongs to and WHAT she was doing in OUR flat' look.
Lily said hurriedly before James could open his mouth, "Never mind, I already know. I'll take that... Accio Key!"
She calmly snatched it out of the air. "Geez, what do you do, Lil, sleep with that thing?"
"My wand? Of course, when I sleep it's next to my bed, but otherwise I always have it!"
"Lil, you'd make a perfect Auror."
She snorted. "Me? No thanks. I'll leave that to you and your soon to be wife, dear Moony."
He grinned.
"That reminds me... gonna set a date anytime soon, Prongs?"
"For our wedding? Don't ask James. If I left the wedding plans up to him we wouldn't be married until we were Dumbledore's age!"
"And exactly how old is that?" asked Ally, yawning, as she entered the kitchen. She didn't even blink at the small gathering in her kitchen. "Morning, all."
"What are YOU doing up so early?" asked Lily.
"Who, me? Well, considering you three are making the same amount of noise as a small herd of ELEPHANTS, it was no trouble sleeping, really," she said sarcastically.
"Glad to hear it," said Remus cheerfully, rising to give his seat to Ally.
"Thanks, hon," she said, yawning as she poured herself a cup of coffee.
Three cups later, Ally was her cheerful self again.
"What in Merlin are you two doing over here, besides eating all our food?"
James grinned. "Returning your house key," he said mischievously, holding it up.
Remus went red again, but Ally calmly said, "Why, I've been looking everywhere for that. Thank you." She plucked it from James' grasp.
Remus hurriedly added with a straight face, "Besides that, absolutely nothing. It's all the food."
Ally's face was perfectly calm; her voice as soft... and cool... as snow when she replied, "Ok, then, boys, have a nice breakfast."
She and Lily bolted up the stairs. Lily got up first, but stopped short in front of Jessi's room. A grin spread across her face.
"Oh, Lil, I know that smile. What?"
"How soundly do you think Sirius sleeps?" asked Lily thoughtfully.
"Pretty soundly," said James as he and Remus came up the stairs. "Why?"
Lily gave no answer, but Disapparated. In a moment she was back, a weightless and sleeping Sirius in tow.
"Brilliant, Lil!" said Remus between muffled laughter.
They put Sirius in Jessi's bed and ran downstairs. About a half hour later, they heard laughter coming from the upstairs.
Soon, Sirius and Jessi came down the stairs, laughing.
"Great joke, you guys. I almost had a heart attack," laughed Jessi.
"Almost? Man, Ally, we're losing our touch," said Lily.
"Touch? What touch?" asked Remus, but before the girls could retort, an owl swept in and landed in front of Remus.
He tore it open; it was from Dumbledore. He groaned.
"Dumbledore wants the four of us," he pointed to Jessi, Sirius, and Ally, "up at Hogwarts... for an Aurors meeting. By... 10:00! That's in fifteen minutes!"
The two girls flew upstairs. Lily waved her wand, and the dishes were clean and put away. James shook his head at the efficiency of his fiancee.
"Lil, what are we going to do today?"
"We could plan the wedding, you know."
"Oh, yeah. I..."
"If you say you forgot, I... I won't marry you!"
He pulled her into a hug. "Aw, come on, Lil. Don't you want to get married?"
"Don't you?"
"Yes, but... I just want to BE married. The actual wedding means nothing more to me besides the fact that it makes you my wife."
Lily smiled up at him, forgiving him. Just then Jessi and Sirius came flying down the stairs.
"I won!" cried Jessi.
"You cheated."
"Did not."
"Did too."
"Did not."
"Did..."
"Children, please, be nice," mocked Lily. They bowed to her and were suddenly gone. Remus and Ally came down, gave them a jaunty wave, and also disappeared.
Lily sighed and said, "Come on, James, let's go to Diagon Alley for the day. Better than sitting around here."
He nodded and took her hand before they, too, Disapparated, leaving the flat empty... or so they thought.
Minerva McGonagall was waiting for the four as they appeared by the Hogwarts Gates.
"Hello, Minerva," they said in unison. She shook her head and smiled, although her eyes were dark.
"Will you four ever grow up?"
Sirius looked offended. "Who, us? Why, whatever gave you that idea?"
She shook her head and sighed. "Never mind. Just come in, you must be freezing."
They gladly passed her to come in from the November weather. Ally shook the snow out of her cloak and hung it up, taking Remus' in the process. Then Minerva led them downstairs, past the dungeons where they had Potions class only six months before, and into a small room.
Dumbledore was there at the head of a large oval table, with seven or eight others they didn't know.
"Ah, hello. Our newest Aurors."
The other seven rose. Dumbledore said, "Ally Bates, engaged to the man on her left, Remus Lupin, Jessica Varen, and Sirius Black. These are Arabella Figg, Mundugus Fletcher, Arianna Seward, Frank Longbottom, his wife Sarah Longbottom, Howard Patil, and Jonathan Kain. And, of course, Minerva. Now then, would you all please sit down?"
They obeyed.
"Now there are twelve of you. Understandably, James Potter refused our offer, due to the death of his father. His fiancee, Lily Evans, does not trust herself enough... her loyalty to her friends, she insists, may overshadow her loyalty to us. Quite normal. Now, for those of you with reports to make..." He motioned with his hand.
Arabella rose. A woman of about forty, she, too, seemed to radiate power and authority.
"Last week, Voldemort was spotted in a remote countryside area north of London. He's coming closer and closer. Gornal, of course, won't hear of taking precautions. (( A/N/: He's the Minister of Magic))I swear, that man..."
Dumbledore cleared his throat. Arabella looked up and said hurriedly, "I think stricter precautions should be made around the school. The students are fine, for now. But if the track of sightings continues the way they have, he is headed right here."
Dumbledore nodded, and Arianna Steward stood.
"The Daily Prophet has been laying off for some time, but the more Voldemort is mentioned, the more articles will appear. I will try to hold them off as much as possible, but with Rita Skeeter in their employ..." She shrugged.
Dumbledore smiled. The rest of them got on with the meeting. As it drew to a close, Dumbledore announced that new members would get assignments next meeting, and then they were free to go.
While Lily and James were preparing for married life and the other two couples were at the Aurors meeting, a solitary figure snuck up to the back door of the girls' flat. Hidden in the shadows of the forest that crept up to the house, the figure seemed VERY nervous. However, witches and wizards just out of Hogwarts mostly occupied this part of town, and they weren't home on such a lovely Saturday afternoon. The person's beady eyes flickered around for a moment. Then he pulled out a wand and tapped the doorknob. The door sprung open without a sound. He slid inside and closed the door behind him.
At the top of the stairs he reached Ally's room. He opened the door and peeked in. He snorted.
~Nothing's changed, ~ he thought spitefully.
Clothes were thrown all over the room, and papers strewn all over her desk. The man was about to leave when a pink piece of parchment sticking out of her desk drawer caught his eye.
On the front it read:
Guest List:
Lily
James
Sirius
Jessi
Minerva
Dumbledore
Mother
Father
Mr. Lupin
Mrs. Lupin
On the other side it read:
Things to do:
Order Flowers
Buy Dress
Buy Rings
Get Remus dress robes (He'll never buy them on his own, even for his own wedding)
A little further down, he read, "Date: March 12...
He read no further, but smiled to himself. The Master would be pleased with this. He duplicated the list and put the original back. He closed the door carefully and moved to the next room. Neat as a pin... this must be Lily's room. A few scented candles burned on the dresser, and the room was bright and airy. He started to leave, but then paused. Why not have a little fun?
About a half-hour later he went into the living room, where he stopped in his tracks. There was a picture of the six of them, all waving merrily. And on a chain around Jessi's neck was...a wizard promise ring. The man chuckled sardonically.
~And I thought we couldn't use her against you, Padfoot. ~
He moved quickly, back up the stairs, and this time turned right. Jessi's room.
Under her old schoolbooks he found a parchment with 'Jessi Black' written over and over. He then found a half-written letter to Dumbledore hidden behind her mirror.
Dear Dumbledore,
Sirius and I wish to get married, but we don't want to endanger our friends... or each other. So, Professor, we wish to be married in secret. Sirius feels, and I agree, that Voldemort could find some way to use the infor
There the letter stopped.
"Oh, how right you are, Jessi," the man whispered.
Suddenly a rage came over him at the six, so happy, living perfect lives. He ran down the stairs, pointing his wand at everything. When he was finished, he Apparated.
As Lily and James came up the walk, James was looking at Lily, and didn't see what she saw. He did see her face drain of all color, however.
"Lily?"
"Oh. My. God."
He turned around and gasped. The girls' flat was ruined. Windows smashed, door destroyed. They grabbed hands and ran together up the walk. Lily called out desperately,
"Ally? Jessi? Remus, Sirius?"
No answer. She looked up and saw relief on her fiancé's face, and she sagged into his arms.
"Oh, thank God, they're not..."
James nodded, hugging Lily. "No, they're not. They're still out."
They walked together into the front hall, stepping gingerly.
"I'll check out the upstairs," said James.
Lily nodded and moved into the living room. She gently picked up their group picture, slashed viciously.
"Who did this?" she whispered to the picture, as if expecting it to answer her, like the portraits of Hogwarts.
No answer came, but Lily was jerked into reality by the cries of dismay from outside. She ran into James in the front hall, and together they ran outside.
"Oh, God, Lily, James, you ok?" cried Remus.
"Yeah... we just got here," said James. Lily was being hugged by the other two girls.
Together, the six of them went inside. In the kitchen, all the plates and glasses were smashed, and all the furniture was destroyed. The same could be said about the rest of the flat.
"Dumbledore," said Ally flatly.
"I'll go," said Jessi immediately.
"And I'm coming with you," Sirius said.
The two disappeared. As the friends picked through the wreckage of their home, a rat far away was being rewarded by his Master...
She grinned at him. "I knew I would, but I certainly didn't think you would, Padfoot."
"Very funny." Each boy had a girl on his arm, of course... except Peter. This past year they really hadn't seen Peter at all... he, by some weird stretch of the imagination, was around Snape a lot. Snape always told him to go away, but he never did. Finally Snape had given up and just let Peter be... especially when Peter volunteered to give him info about the Marauders.
James looked down at Lily, angelic in her white graduation robes.
"I love you, Lil."
"I love you, too. What brought that on?"
"I honestly don't know," he lied. Suddenly at the thought 'angel' a chill had run down his spine; he had to say it.
She smiled up at him, meeting his sky blue eyes that were brightened by his dark robes. Just then, a camera snapped, and they turned, startled.
"I just thought you'd want a pic of graduation to show your kids one day," joked Ally.
"Yeah, maybe," said Lily, laughing.
James, however was staring at her again. ~What would she say if I asked her? Would she laugh in my face?~
He didn't get the chance, however.
"Ally, can I talk to you for a minute?" asked Remus.
She said, "Sure, Remus," and pulled him out of the room.
Five minutes later they heard an overexcited voice shriek, "YES, YOU IDIOT!!!"
At this, the other four Marauders exchanged puzzled looks... that is, until Ally bounced back into the room.... wearing a diamond ring.
"Oh. My. GOD!" screeched Ally. The boys still hadn't noticed the ring, but the girls had, and practically tackled her in a huge hug.
"May I ask what this momentary lapse in sanity is all about?" asked Sirius.
Ally's muffled voice came out from under her two friends, "I'm getting married, you twit!!!"
Sirius stared at the pile-up blankly for a moment, then heard James whisper to a newly arrived Remus,
" Just had to beat me to it, didn't you, Moony?"
Remus was blushing, but grinned madly. Sirius clapped a hand to his forehead in mock disgust.
"Thanks, you two, now I'll just HAVE to ask Jessi to marry me... eventually."
They laughed as their girlfriends disentangled themselves and fixed all smudges on their robes.
"Are you girls ready to graduate?" asked Sirius with a grin.
"Sure, why not?" shrugged Jessi.
Remus suddenly remembered something, muttered, "Hold on," and raced up the stairs. He came back holding a large , flat package.
"What's that?"
"You'll see."
"As I call your name, please step forward for your diploma!" roared Dumbledore cheerfully.
"Bates, Alison!"
She stepped forward and threw a dazzling smile at the audience. She took her diploma, shook Dumbledore's hand, and bowed, throwing her arm out so the light caught her ring.
"Black, Sirius!"
Sirius, ever confident, swaggering up to shake Dumbledore's hand.
"Evans, Lily!"
Lily, crying but smiling, taking her diploma with trembling hands.
"Lupin, Remus!"
Remus, still ecstatic about his engagement and smiling so hard his face almost seemed to be split in half.
"Pettigrew, Peter!"
Peter, practically stalking up to the platform and running back.
"Potter, James!"
James, eyes shining with unshed tears, but smiling happily while thinking about the question he was going to ask Lily later.
"Varen, Jessica!"
Jessi, laughing mischievously at the thought of Sirius' last prank: Bewitching the Slytherin trunks so they weighed twice as much.
Then Professor Dumbledore grinned. He picked up the package Remus had been carrying earlier and unwrapped it.
"Through special request, will James Potter and Sirius Black please step forward?"
They did so.
"Now, although you shouldn't be, I must admit you will be proud to realize that between the two of you, you have had the most detentions in the history of Hogwarts."
They grinned at each other. A little applause broke out, but Dumbledore motioned for silence.
"I hope I don't end up making a habit of this, but your friends decided to make this for you. So, I present it to you... and hope that if your respective children come here, they won't come at the same time."
A roar of laughter followed that statement; even McGonagall was grinning. James and Sirius accepted the plaque, then Sirius shouted,
"Remus, Jessi, Lily, Ally... get up here right now! Half of our pranks wouldn't have been successful without you!"
They also came on stage... the roar was even louder now. Everyone (except the Slytherins) was cheering, and the six Marauders took a bow. Peter looked at them bitterly, then slipped out of the room.
A/N: Ok, guys! This is turning out to be one hell of a ride, and aren't you glad to be riding it? (Grins)
~*~*Sorry about the choppiness of the past few chapters... PAY ATTENTION!!! Many references to this series will be made after I finish it, in later chapters of HSL. Shocks, deceptions, things you THOUGHT you knew... it all comes apart at the seams RIGHT HERE! Warning: Some of the material to come will be adult style... no smut, I don't write that stuff. You know, kidnappings and the like.*~*~
Now, where did we leave off? Oh, yea.... it's about six months after graduation. For the moment the girls are living in one flat; the guys in another... (Watch for a *stupid* series about their respective engagements... *When the Marauders 'Pop the Question'* Evilness!)
Lily made her way down the stairs in the pre-dawn gloom, yawning. She was always the first one up... her work at the Daily Prophet demanded it, so that even on Saturdays like this, when she had off, she couldn't sleep. As she entered the kitchen, she saw with a shock there were two people already in it.
"Hey, Lil, what's up?" asked Remus, eating the last of their eggs.
"Made you guys breakfast," added James with a grin, looking up from his pancakes.
"You made us breakfast, or there just happens to be leftovers?" Lily asked her fiancé with a hug and kiss hello.
"You always could see right through me... even when I wasn't wearing that Invisibility Cloak."
"Where's Sirius?"
"That prat? Still asleep, and I dare say he will be for a while yet. God, I hope that if those two do ever get around to getting married, they'll learn the use of an alarm clock."
"Yeah, right," snorted Remus.
Lily stepped back and regarded them. "Just exactly how did you two get in here?"
"The magic...literally... of a duplication charm," said James, holding up two identical keys.
Lily groaned as she recognized one as Ally's house key.
"Now where did you get the key in the first place?"
James shot a look at Remus, who blushed. Lily understood the look immediately; it was a:
'We know exactly WHO that key belongs to and WHAT she was doing in OUR flat' look.
Lily said hurriedly before James could open his mouth, "Never mind, I already know. I'll take that... Accio Key!"
She calmly snatched it out of the air. "Geez, what do you do, Lil, sleep with that thing?"
"My wand? Of course, when I sleep it's next to my bed, but otherwise I always have it!"
"Lil, you'd make a perfect Auror."
She snorted. "Me? No thanks. I'll leave that to you and your soon to be wife, dear Moony."
He grinned.
"That reminds me... gonna set a date anytime soon, Prongs?"
"For our wedding? Don't ask James. If I left the wedding plans up to him we wouldn't be married until we were Dumbledore's age!"
"And exactly how old is that?" asked Ally, yawning, as she entered the kitchen. She didn't even blink at the small gathering in her kitchen. "Morning, all."
"What are YOU doing up so early?" asked Lily.
"Who, me? Well, considering you three are making the same amount of noise as a small herd of ELEPHANTS, it was no trouble sleeping, really," she said sarcastically.
"Glad to hear it," said Remus cheerfully, rising to give his seat to Ally.
"Thanks, hon," she said, yawning as she poured herself a cup of coffee.
Three cups later, Ally was her cheerful self again.
"What in Merlin are you two doing over here, besides eating all our food?"
James grinned. "Returning your house key," he said mischievously, holding it up.
Remus went red again, but Ally calmly said, "Why, I've been looking everywhere for that. Thank you." She plucked it from James' grasp.
Remus hurriedly added with a straight face, "Besides that, absolutely nothing. It's all the food."
Ally's face was perfectly calm; her voice as soft... and cool... as snow when she replied, "Ok, then, boys, have a nice breakfast."
She and Lily bolted up the stairs. Lily got up first, but stopped short in front of Jessi's room. A grin spread across her face.
"Oh, Lil, I know that smile. What?"
"How soundly do you think Sirius sleeps?" asked Lily thoughtfully.
"Pretty soundly," said James as he and Remus came up the stairs. "Why?"
Lily gave no answer, but Disapparated. In a moment she was back, a weightless and sleeping Sirius in tow.
"Brilliant, Lil!" said Remus between muffled laughter.
They put Sirius in Jessi's bed and ran downstairs. About a half hour later, they heard laughter coming from the upstairs.
Soon, Sirius and Jessi came down the stairs, laughing.
"Great joke, you guys. I almost had a heart attack," laughed Jessi.
"Almost? Man, Ally, we're losing our touch," said Lily.
"Touch? What touch?" asked Remus, but before the girls could retort, an owl swept in and landed in front of Remus.
He tore it open; it was from Dumbledore. He groaned.
"Dumbledore wants the four of us," he pointed to Jessi, Sirius, and Ally, "up at Hogwarts... for an Aurors meeting. By... 10:00! That's in fifteen minutes!"
The two girls flew upstairs. Lily waved her wand, and the dishes were clean and put away. James shook his head at the efficiency of his fiancee.
"Lil, what are we going to do today?"
"We could plan the wedding, you know."
"Oh, yeah. I..."
"If you say you forgot, I... I won't marry you!"
He pulled her into a hug. "Aw, come on, Lil. Don't you want to get married?"
"Don't you?"
"Yes, but... I just want to BE married. The actual wedding means nothing more to me besides the fact that it makes you my wife."
Lily smiled up at him, forgiving him. Just then Jessi and Sirius came flying down the stairs.
"I won!" cried Jessi.
"You cheated."
"Did not."
"Did too."
"Did not."
"Did..."
"Children, please, be nice," mocked Lily. They bowed to her and were suddenly gone. Remus and Ally came down, gave them a jaunty wave, and also disappeared.
Lily sighed and said, "Come on, James, let's go to Diagon Alley for the day. Better than sitting around here."
He nodded and took her hand before they, too, Disapparated, leaving the flat empty... or so they thought.
Minerva McGonagall was waiting for the four as they appeared by the Hogwarts Gates.
"Hello, Minerva," they said in unison. She shook her head and smiled, although her eyes were dark.
"Will you four ever grow up?"
Sirius looked offended. "Who, us? Why, whatever gave you that idea?"
She shook her head and sighed. "Never mind. Just come in, you must be freezing."
They gladly passed her to come in from the November weather. Ally shook the snow out of her cloak and hung it up, taking Remus' in the process. Then Minerva led them downstairs, past the dungeons where they had Potions class only six months before, and into a small room.
Dumbledore was there at the head of a large oval table, with seven or eight others they didn't know.
"Ah, hello. Our newest Aurors."
The other seven rose. Dumbledore said, "Ally Bates, engaged to the man on her left, Remus Lupin, Jessica Varen, and Sirius Black. These are Arabella Figg, Mundugus Fletcher, Arianna Seward, Frank Longbottom, his wife Sarah Longbottom, Howard Patil, and Jonathan Kain. And, of course, Minerva. Now then, would you all please sit down?"
They obeyed.
"Now there are twelve of you. Understandably, James Potter refused our offer, due to the death of his father. His fiancee, Lily Evans, does not trust herself enough... her loyalty to her friends, she insists, may overshadow her loyalty to us. Quite normal. Now, for those of you with reports to make..." He motioned with his hand.
Arabella rose. A woman of about forty, she, too, seemed to radiate power and authority.
"Last week, Voldemort was spotted in a remote countryside area north of London. He's coming closer and closer. Gornal, of course, won't hear of taking precautions. (( A/N/: He's the Minister of Magic))I swear, that man..."
Dumbledore cleared his throat. Arabella looked up and said hurriedly, "I think stricter precautions should be made around the school. The students are fine, for now. But if the track of sightings continues the way they have, he is headed right here."
Dumbledore nodded, and Arianna Steward stood.
"The Daily Prophet has been laying off for some time, but the more Voldemort is mentioned, the more articles will appear. I will try to hold them off as much as possible, but with Rita Skeeter in their employ..." She shrugged.
Dumbledore smiled. The rest of them got on with the meeting. As it drew to a close, Dumbledore announced that new members would get assignments next meeting, and then they were free to go.
While Lily and James were preparing for married life and the other two couples were at the Aurors meeting, a solitary figure snuck up to the back door of the girls' flat. Hidden in the shadows of the forest that crept up to the house, the figure seemed VERY nervous. However, witches and wizards just out of Hogwarts mostly occupied this part of town, and they weren't home on such a lovely Saturday afternoon. The person's beady eyes flickered around for a moment. Then he pulled out a wand and tapped the doorknob. The door sprung open without a sound. He slid inside and closed the door behind him.
At the top of the stairs he reached Ally's room. He opened the door and peeked in. He snorted.
~Nothing's changed, ~ he thought spitefully.
Clothes were thrown all over the room, and papers strewn all over her desk. The man was about to leave when a pink piece of parchment sticking out of her desk drawer caught his eye.
On the front it read:
Guest List:
Lily
James
Sirius
Jessi
Minerva
Dumbledore
Mother
Father
Mr. Lupin
Mrs. Lupin
On the other side it read:
Things to do:
Order Flowers
Buy Dress
Buy Rings
Get Remus dress robes (He'll never buy them on his own, even for his own wedding)
A little further down, he read, "Date: March 12...
He read no further, but smiled to himself. The Master would be pleased with this. He duplicated the list and put the original back. He closed the door carefully and moved to the next room. Neat as a pin... this must be Lily's room. A few scented candles burned on the dresser, and the room was bright and airy. He started to leave, but then paused. Why not have a little fun?
About a half-hour later he went into the living room, where he stopped in his tracks. There was a picture of the six of them, all waving merrily. And on a chain around Jessi's neck was...a wizard promise ring. The man chuckled sardonically.
~And I thought we couldn't use her against you, Padfoot. ~
He moved quickly, back up the stairs, and this time turned right. Jessi's room.
Under her old schoolbooks he found a parchment with 'Jessi Black' written over and over. He then found a half-written letter to Dumbledore hidden behind her mirror.
Dear Dumbledore,
Sirius and I wish to get married, but we don't want to endanger our friends... or each other. So, Professor, we wish to be married in secret. Sirius feels, and I agree, that Voldemort could find some way to use the infor
There the letter stopped.
"Oh, how right you are, Jessi," the man whispered.
Suddenly a rage came over him at the six, so happy, living perfect lives. He ran down the stairs, pointing his wand at everything. When he was finished, he Apparated.
As Lily and James came up the walk, James was looking at Lily, and didn't see what she saw. He did see her face drain of all color, however.
"Lily?"
"Oh. My. God."
He turned around and gasped. The girls' flat was ruined. Windows smashed, door destroyed. They grabbed hands and ran together up the walk. Lily called out desperately,
"Ally? Jessi? Remus, Sirius?"
No answer. She looked up and saw relief on her fiancé's face, and she sagged into his arms.
"Oh, thank God, they're not..."
James nodded, hugging Lily. "No, they're not. They're still out."
They walked together into the front hall, stepping gingerly.
"I'll check out the upstairs," said James.
Lily nodded and moved into the living room. She gently picked up their group picture, slashed viciously.
"Who did this?" she whispered to the picture, as if expecting it to answer her, like the portraits of Hogwarts.
No answer came, but Lily was jerked into reality by the cries of dismay from outside. She ran into James in the front hall, and together they ran outside.
"Oh, God, Lily, James, you ok?" cried Remus.
"Yeah... we just got here," said James. Lily was being hugged by the other two girls.
Together, the six of them went inside. In the kitchen, all the plates and glasses were smashed, and all the furniture was destroyed. The same could be said about the rest of the flat.
"Dumbledore," said Ally flatly.
"I'll go," said Jessi immediately.
"And I'm coming with you," Sirius said.
The two disappeared. As the friends picked through the wreckage of their home, a rat far away was being rewarded by his Master...