***The Marauder Chronicles is a fan fiction. Events taking place shouldn't be taken as true to the events leading up to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Characters and locations belong to J.K. Rowling; no copyright infringement is intended. This story isn't to be duplicated or sold.***



Author's Note: After learning the very happy news that the Order of the Phoenix is coming on June 21, I have decided to write as fast as it is possible for me to do. I will probably discontinue writing my story after this June, since I'll be reading her new book for the tenth time. And I doubt that anyone else will be reading this as they will also have the new novel. So, I will try my hardest to get this story finished in a timely fashion. If I don't I leave it wherever and write an epilouge, which I planed on already, but it would be really, really long. I still have one more chapter of the seventh year, then on to the real world. Spring Semester is coming and I'll have 15 units so I'll be fairly busy, but I'll write as often as I can. I would also like to say how much I love all of my readers! I mean not the deep down love, but "God I love those guys!" type of love. I know you're not all guys, I don't know if I even have guys...I just say it that way. Thank you so much for your encouragement and support, I really appricate it.



Note #2: Yeah, I know, not another note. This will be short. This story concerns mostly Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and doesn't really cover any other books. If you haven't read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, this is a warning. This chapter contains plot revealing information to Chamber of Secrets and hopefully beyond book four, if I theorized correctly.



Part Nine: Predictions and Prophecies

"The Dark Lord will come knocking at your door..."



"Lily Evans?" a tall good-looking man with thick sandy, blonde hair said. Lily got up and smiled warmly at him, which he politely returned, and followed him into an empty classroom. He motioned for her to sit down in front of a desk.

"Hello Lily. I'm Doctor Hugo. This is my fellow Alumni, Doctor Brown," the handsome man said. His partner was a rather unfriendly looking woman with small glasses and had her heavily gelled hair in a tight bun. She didn't smile at Lily. Doctor Hugo, however, was nothing short of sexy. He was tall and strapping with a well-chiseled face and a great tan. He did smile when Lily grinned at him. "Please sit down," he said, motioning to the chair for a second time.

Lily sat and folded her shaking hands in her lap. Doctors Hugo and Brown started to look at what she assumed to be her file.

"I see you get excellent grades," he said, fingering through various papers. "Got top marks on you wizard assessment tests last year, well done. Head Girl, prefect, and a very clean record. Only one detention?"

Lily turned the shade of a cherry and prayed that he wasn't going to ask why she was issued that detention.

"Not a bad mark in your seven years at this school, and you come highly recommended by all of your professors and the Headmaster. You're the perfect student," he said putting her file aside. He continued to smile at her. Doctor Brown stared. "So why do you want to be a doctor?" he asked.

Lily took a deep, relaxing breath and collected her thoughts. "Well," she started, trying to ignore the unpleasant aura surrounding Doctor Brown, "my wish is to help people. Since I was very young I've always wanted to help those who couldn't help themselves, and the best thing I can think of is to heal. My father is a doctor, you see, a vascular surgeon to be precise, and I was always keen on hearing his stories about his patients and how he cured them. Blood never bothered me, nor did talk of it."

"Your parents are Muggles, is that right?" Doctor Brown asked.

Lily smiled, but not with happiness. "Yes."

Doctor Brown raised her brows suspiciously. Lily dearly wanted to say something inappropriate but held her tongue.

"Do you realize that Wizard doctors are very different than Muggle ones? And that our Medical Schools are nothing like Muggle schools?" she asked again.

"Yes, I know that," she said politely, though it proved difficult.

"Well," she insisted, "what do you know about our school?"

Lily hated her. She was reminded of Petunia as she looked at those cold blue eyes which looked as if they had been frozen.

"I won't be able to see a patient for a long while, years actually. Since I haven't learned anything of biology here, I have to take courses at your school. I would start off with the study of the human cells and gradually move to more complicated systems of the human body. In my second semester I will focus on anatomy, bones, muscles, the organs, and so forth. In my second year I would learn about the more complicated aspects of the body, such as genetics, the brain, and so forth. Finally in my second semester of my second year, I would learn various spells, materials, and techniques used to cure injures. In my first semester of my third year I'll learn how to recognize and treat diseases. After an intensive commutative test, which I must pass with a ninety percent, I can start seeing patients as an apprentice to a doctor. Should I go on?" she asked.

Doctor Brown looked thoroughly disappointed, but Doctor Hugo smiled at her.

"No, Lily. You probably know that we can only select a small number of people to attend our school, as we want the student- teacher ratio to be very small. If we did accept you, you'd be studying with us half the day and then go home and study there. Lectures can be held on weekends, usually Sundays, so that all can attend no matter what their schedule. Once you reach your third year, and pass the exam, you'd be traveling to hospitals, usually within Britain, to see different cases."

Lily nodded.

"Now, before we dismiss you, is there anything you would like to add?"

She thought. Should she tell them about healing James? That would certainly impress them, give her an extra edge, but how could she say it without landing him in trouble. She could lie...that isn't right though. She'd just have to rely on her record.

"Just that I really want into your school. I know it's the best out there, and I promise you wouldn't regret accepting me."

He smiled. "We'll let you know in a few weeks." He stood up, held out his hand, and shook hers. Lily moved to Doctor Brown and shook her limp hand, then left. As soon as the door closed she exhaled, walked a few feet, and slumped onto the ground.



Not too far from Lily, an elderly wizard, who was bald and very jittery, was examining James's record. He sat in a chair across from the man, and held his hand to his mouth.

The old man didn't speak at all but did made funny noises like, "Hmmm..." and "Umm Hmmm..." and the occasional "HA!" which made James jump. James thought he was looking and talking to people that weren't there, and then he wondered if that was part of the interview. The man flipped through James's grades and made a funny sound with his teeth, then tapped his feet.

"Are there any questions you'd like to ask me, sir?" James asked.

"Questions?" he said loudly. "Questions? Questions? No, no, no, no. Questions? No. No questions. No questions." He went back to making funny sounds, and James started to sweat.

James began tapping his heel when the man stood up suddenly and yelled, "Done! Done! Done!" James almost had a heart attack and was now convinced that the man was a total loon. "We're done. You may go. GO! We're done. You may go. Go now! Go now!" James was only too happy to and ran from the room.

"How did it go?" Sirius asked.

James caught his breath and raised his eyebrows meaningfully.

"That man is a nut. I mean it. He's a real case. Never met someone as mental as that character. Good luck in there."

James started to leave when the man came bursting from the room looking paranoid. "Next! Next! Next!" He looked at his clipboard and yelled, "Syrus Bla! Syrus Bla! Don't have all day. Don't have all day, Syrus Bla! Hurry. Hurry!"

Sirius ran to him. "Here I am, and it's Sirius Black, sir," he said calmly and politely.

"Who? Who? What? Syrus Bla?"

Sirius nodded his head slowly, "Yeah, that's me." He followed the man into the room and made a desperate face at James, who winked.



"I'm afraid, Mr. Lupin, that we cannot accept you for this position. I'm sorry," the plump witch in pink robes said.

"But I meet all of your criteria for this job. Why won't you give it to me?" he asked.

"Well," she started, "we're looking for someone very specific."

"I can be specific; please tell me what you want. I can do this job," he pleaded with her.

She shook her head and sighed. "No, Mr. Lupin. We know what we want for this, and you don't have it. I'm sorry."

"I get good marks. I have great recommendations. I'm hard working. I'll do anything."

"Perhaps you don't understand. We don't want your kind."

Remus stared at her with agony. He was hoping she wouldn't care about that, hoping she might over look it.

"I've never hurt anyone, Mrs. Robinson. It's not like I choose to be this way. It happened to me when I was a toddler; it's not my fault. Just give me a chance to prove to you that I can do this."

She looked sympathetic with him, but shook her head. "We have a policy. We can only hire humans. No werewolves, vampires, veela, or other sorts. Just humans. I'm sure you'll find work elsewhere. Good day to you."

Remus sat there staring at her for several seconds before pulling himself up and walking out. He closed the door behind him and started back to Gryffindor tower, looking at his feet all the way there.

* * * * *

At twelve everyone congregated in the Great Hall for lunch. James, Sirius, and Lily were relieved that their interviews were over, but now they had to wait for offers. Remus hardly touched his food; he watched the others talk about their nerves, which were now gone, and wondered if they would get their positions. It was like he was seeing it all in a blur, like he was standing in the snow and looking at a family at Christmas dinner through a glass window.

"I wonder what it's like," he thought, 'to be them. Anxious about their future, not fearful. I wonder if I'll ever be in that place. I only wish that someone would hire me. There must be some job I can do, there must be."

"How did your interview go, Remus?" Lily asked.

"Oh fine. I'll hear from them in a few weeks," he lied. James and Sirius seemed to be on to him; they smiled sadly at him. "But it sounds like the three of you did great. I'm sure you'll all get in."

"Yeah, Syrus Bla and I will be terrific," James said with a grin.

"Who?" Remus asked, trying to forget his troubles and woes.

"Our interviewer was a little..." Sirius started, "crazy."

"Crazy is a nice way of saying it. The man was a full blown nutter in desperate need of psychological study," James mused.

"At least you didn't have the ice queen," Lily stated. "This woman looked as though she was sitting on nails. It's a good thing there was another doctor there. He was much better." Lily went slightly pink.

Jade walked up to them and blew air out her mouth so that her hair swished up.

"What damage did you cause?" Sirius asked her as he scooted over for her to sit next to him.

"No bloody idea. I memorized all these historical facts because I thought they would ask me, right? Yeah, they didn't. I think I probably sounded like a blithering idiot." She picked up her fork and started carving shapes into her mashed potatoes.

"I'm sure you did fine. We were all nervous, and they understood that," Sirius said.

"Yeah, but I can't help but focus on my mess ups rather than my good sequences. What about you guys, how did you fair?"

Sirius told her in great detail about his interview, and she laughed so hard she cried. James described a similar experience, and Lily talked about hers.

"Hey, did you have that tall good-looking blonde?" Jade asked.

"Oh, Doctor Hugo," Lily said blushing yet again.

James looked at her with curiosity. "Doctor Hugo, dear?" he said putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah. So you saw him, Jade?"

"I almost faked a coronary," she said going red. Lily giggled. "He's gorgeous. And he seemed so nice, too. Was he nice?"

"Yes, he was really nice. And I couldn't tell through his robes, but I think he has a really good body," Lily said with a strong grin.

"He does, I can tell," Jade said with the same evil grin.

"It's like we're not even here," Sirius said to James.

"No kidding. It's like they don't appreciate us."

Jade and Lily looked astounded at what they heard.

"Don't even make me go over the beginning of the year when both your eyes fell out over Professor Gellar, and you didn't notice us," Jade said. James and Sirius went pink and ceased all discussion of that matter.



Sirius and James were walking down the Charms corridor by themselves. No girlfriends, no Remus or Peter, and no thoughts of exams. It was a time for them to spend together in a comfortable silence, alone with their thoughts about a great many things, mostly concerning the future.

Their shoes scuffed the ground occasionally, as they were just moseying along, not in any hurry to be someplace. It was a calm Saturday afternoon. They sky was a periwinkle blue, the grass was bright green, and the lake was as smooth as glass. It was a relief to have a relaxing period where there was no discussion of tests, Quidditch, or their jobs, which they had yet had word. It took quite some time before their silence was interrupted.

"So, I had some thoughts a little bit ago," Sirius started. James looked sideways at him, giving him his full attention.

"Yeah? 'Bout what?"

"Jade. I was thinking about her."

"Good," James said. "You should be. It's a very good sign."

"Yeah, I know," he said but wasn't confident in his answer. "You ever have arguments inside your head? Like there are two voices in there telling you what to do?"

"Sometimes," James said. "What did they tell you?"

He made his lips thin and furrowed his brow. "I had this funny feeling when I looked at a picture she drew of me. A feeling I never had before. Then this voice told me she was the one, the one I should be with. Then the other voice told me to browse some more."

James smirked. "And what did you tell them?"

"To shut up, basically. Is this strange? Am I losing my sanity?"

"No. I think you like her a lot. But there must still be a part of you that wants to be with other women as well."

Sirius grinned. "Thanks for all the help. I kinda figured that out on my own."

"Well I'm not a mind reader or a shrink. What did you expect me to say?" James said.

"Which voice should I listen to? The one that tells me to go all over the world and be with as many women I can, or stay with Jade and see what happens?"

"If it were me, I'd stay with her and see what happens. But that's me. I'm a one-girl guy; you're not and never have been. Which do you want?"

"James, you aren't helping me, man. If I knew which I wanted, then I would do it. But I don't. I mean, what if there is another girl out there who I like more, but I have to find her? Or what if Jade is the one, but I go looking for this mystery woman, and I end up alone in my old age? I don't want to be alone."

"Then you've answered your own question," James said wisely.

"But I'm seventeen. Who finds the right person at seventeen, besides you?"

James chuckled. "Well, my parents did, as did yours. Remus's, and others. It's not uncommon."

"So I'm the weirdo in this case?"

"No," James said. "I don't think you really know what you want. Just think about it for a while. No one says you have to decide now what you want to do."

Sirius nodded and continued walking around the school in silence, with James by his side.



Owls flew into the Great Hall later that April, as they did every day of each year, but today was different. Today they would find out about their future.

Jade was the first to get her letter. It was small and official looking. It had the Intelligence seal stamped on the back in wax. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she ripped it open.

"Read it out loud," Sirius said.

She opened her eyes, looked down at the note, and read: "Dear Miss Yang, We are very pleased to inform you that your qualifications and recommendations are perfect for this department, and we offering you a job starting July 1, 1978," she said with wide eyes. "I made it!" she cried. "I'm in!" She threw her arms around Sirius, then Lily and James. "I'm so happy!" she said with tears in her eyes.

Then the second letter dropped.

James reached out for it and examined the addressee: S. Black.

"It's yours," James said, handing him the envelope. Then another letter with the same envelope fell on the table. It was addressed to James.

"Well," he said to Sirius, "the moment of truth. Will our school record number of detentions finally catch up with us?"

"God I hope not. Let's open it together," he said.

"Okay," James said nervously. "If one of us doesn't get in..." he trailed.

"Let's not worry about that just yet," Sirius said. "On three?"

"Don't open on two, Sirius," James said. "I hate it when you do that."

"Right. You count."

James took a deep cleansing breath. "One...two...three," he said opening his letter.

"'Dear Mr. Potter," James started as Sirius nodded signifying that he was doing the same. "The International Wizard Bureau of Investigation," he stopped and looked at Sirius who nodded, "requests," looked at Sirius again and saw him nod, "your presence for the second phase of the interview process." Sirius nodded and sighed with relief.

"Next phase?" Lily said.

"Yeah. Now we have to go through the background checks and the second interview with the Director. If we make it through that- "

"We're in," Sirius finished. They sighed a breath of relief and threw their letters on the table and started on breakfast.

Fifteen minutes later, a very handsome owl flew into Hall and dropped a very heavy and large envelope in front of Lily.

She opened it in a flurry.

"Dear Miss Evans, bla bla bla..." she started then her face broke into a grin. "Congratulations!" she yelled. "I'm in!"

James embraced and kissed her. "I knew you would," he said. "When do you start?"

She skimmed the letter. "September 21. Oh that's perfect. We'll be back from Rome by then."

"Rome?" James and Sirius said.

"Yes."

"Why are we going to Rome?" James asked.

"The honeymoon," she said like it was perfectly obvious. "When I asked you where you wanted to go, you said you didn't care."

"Right," James said nodding his head in understanding.

"You don't care where you're going?" Sirius asked.

"Nope," James said casually.

"Why not, you're going to be there for over a week," he said.

James grinned and leaned over to Sirius. "We won't be spending much time outside," he said with a wink.

"Ah," Sirius said. "Have the invitations been sent out, 'cause I didn't get one," he said.

Lily shook her head. "No. My father's trying to get this beautiful garden setting in London for us. I can't send them out until I know the location."

"Where are you going to live?" Remus finally said. He had been desperately quiet when the mail arrived, so Lily was taken aback when she heard his voice.

"We don't actually know yet. We've looked at houses in three different towns, but they're too expensive for us right now."

"I can't really buy anything until I sell my old house," James said. "And we can't get a loan until we're married and I have a job."

"So what are you going to do?" Remus asked.

"It'll have to be a small flat until we get a loan or sell the house in Godric's Hollow."

"How long has that house been up for sale, James?" Sirius asked.

"A couple months after. I don't think too many people are interested in a house where someone died." He got real quiet and looked back at his food. The rest of them exchanged uneasy glances.

"A flat will be fine. Kinda fun actually. It'll be just me and James, and a puppy," she said with a smile trying to change the subject.

"Puppy? Who said anything about puppies?" James asked.

"Oh, come on, James? Didn't you ever have a dog?"

"No," he said.

"So now's your chance! I've always wanted a cute little puppy, who wags his tail when you come home, snuggles up to you by the fire, brings your slippers to you."

"You don't need a dog," Sirius said smiling. "James already does all of that." They all laughed.

"Have you thought of a name for this animal?" James asked. "Not that I'm encouraging the idea, because I really don't want a dog."

"Bubba," she said.

James snorted into his drink.

"Bubba?" he laughed.

"Uh huh," she said. "What, you don't like that name?"

"I think it's stupid," he said candidly. She looked humored with his statement.

"Oh is that right?" she said.

"Yes, that's right. Bubba is a stupid name."

"Uh huh. So, what would you name it?" she asked, folding her arms and smirking at him.

He took a sip of his orange juice, thought, then nodded. "I don't want to encourage this idea because we aren't getting a dog, but if we were, then I think a good name would be Hercules or something."

Sirius and Remus nodded. "Good name for a dog," Sirius said.

"I hate that name. And why can't we have a dog?" she asked.

"A number of reasons. One, we'll be living in a flat which means the landlord won't allow it. Two, who's going to take care of it? I'll be working so we can move out, and you'll be studying all day long. And three, they smell."

"They do not smell," she said laughing.

"They do when they get wet," James said. "Then you have to house break them, and walk them so they can take a dump, and you'd probably make me do it when the weather isn't favorable."

"I must be such a horrible person," she said grinning.

"Yeah, but you're pretty so I'll make an exception," he joked. She smiled brightly and kissed him. "Didn't you want kids?"

"Yeah," she said taking his hand and squeezing it.

"Well why do you want both? As soon as you have the kid, you'll ignore the dog. I saw you with that Trevor kid over Christmas."

"It's 'Tyler,' and the dog would be like a starting kit before we have our first baby girl," she said.

"We're not having a girl," James said flatly.

"What, you don't like little girls?" she asked drawing her hand back.

"It's not that I don't like girls; we're just not having one," he said.

"How do you know?" she said shortly.

"I just know. We're having a boy," he said calmly.

"No," she said shaking her head and waving her hands around. "No. We're having a girl."

"No, we're not," he said.

"Yes we are," she answered back raising her eyebrows and widening her eyes.

"Are not," he insisted.

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes!"

"No!"

"STOP IT!" Sirius yelled. Half the hall turned to look at him. "I can't believe this conversation is being held. We have yet to graduate, and you're both discussing the sex of your not even conceived child. Doesn't that seem a little odd?"

"James," Lily said ignoring Sirius's last statement. "How do you know?"

"How do you know?" he asked back.

"I don't," she admitted.

"And I do. Problem solved," he said. Sirius started to snicker.

"James," she said in a tone not unlike an adult explaining something to a small child, "how do you know? No one can see into the future."

"I can't tell you that, Lily. I just know. Can't you live with that answer?" he looked around at his group of friends and saw they were all grinning, as if thoroughly entertained.

"No. There has to be something, or you're just making it up; a more likely answer."

"Fine, there is something. But even if I did tell you, you wouldn't believe me."

"Try me," she said. Everyone leaned in closer to hear what James had to say.

"Fine. Remember last year, after I held tryouts for Seeker? I said that I had a strange dream. Then you got that letter from your mom about your sister marrying tubby," he said trying to make her remember.

A look of realization hit her, "Yes," she said. "Go on."

"Well I saw him in that dream," he said then took a bite of eggs.

"You saw our child, who has yet been conceived, in a dream?" she asked as if he wasn't mentally stable.

"Yep," he answered. "And I'm sorry to say he looks nothing like you."

"Huh," she said sitting back with a grin. "So what's his name?" she asked.

"I don't know. But he looked like a Merlin to me."

This time Lily snorted. "Merlin?" she said. "Now that's a stupid name."

"Oh is it? Well just so you know, I think it would be cool. I mean it's meant to be. He'll get the Order of Merlin, first class, so it'll be 'Merlin gets Order of Merlin.'" Sirius, Remus, and Peter thought it was funny, Jade and Lily didn't.

"Merlin is a horrible name for a child."

"Oh. What would you name him?"

"Julius," she said proudly. The boys shrunk in horror.

"Yuk!" James said. "I hate it!" he said with an expression like he had tasted gasoline.

"That is my favorite boy's name, I'll have you know."

"A person named Julius puts lotion on his hands, cries all the time, and doesn't play Quidditch like Merlin does."

Lily rolled her eyes and cracked a smile. "This is ridiculous. I'll bet you we're not having a boy as our first child."

"No? What will you bet?"

"You sincerely believe that our first child will be a boy? You truly think this?" she asked.

"Yes," he said.

"Care to make it interesting?" she asked smiling evilly.

"Why not? I know I'm right."

"Fine. If our first child is a girl, you have to..." she trailed off in her thoughts.

"Let's make it really interesting. If we have a girl, I'll streak through this very castle."

They all laughed at the randomness of the statement and the image it caused them to think about.

"You'll streak?" Lily asked, blushing.

"Yep," he said with a grin.

"You'll run through this castle, when student's are at lunch, into this Hall, naked?" she asked again.

"Buck naked. I'll do it, if we have a girl."

The rest of them couldn't stop laughing.

"If, however, I'm right, and we have a boy, you'll have to pay," James said.

"You mean other than carrying him around for nine months and going through a painful delivery?" she asked.

"Of course. I mean it won't be right after. You can recover some. I got it. You change all of his diapers for...three months."

Lily looked at Jade, who smiled and shrugged. Sirius, Remus, and Peter were still sniggering but nodding to her.

"You're on. We have a girl, you streak. We have a boy, I get the diaper duty for three months." She put out her hand, and he shook it, never remembering a time he was so sure about the future.

* * * * *

And then on a warm sunny day in June, final exams commenced. Remus had drawn the shortest straw so it was his duty to awake the others with cheeriness. He stretched in his warm bed and reached for his watch; it was six, the time he was to wake his classmates.

"Oh bother," he yawned. He got up and dressed, went to Peter first, and threw back the curtains.

"It's time, Pete," he said. Peter stirred but didn't wake. "Peter," Remus said, shaking him, "time to get up, Peter," he said. Finally he yawned and waved Remus back.

He moved to James's bed next, figuring it was the lesser of two evils when it came to opening the eyes. "Prongs," he said, shaking James. "Time to rise and shine."

He opened one eye and looked up.

"Just five more minutes," he said. "Five more minutes," and he trailed off.

"Rumor has it," Remus began to say, "that the seventh year girls are having a pillow fight across the way."

James sat up quickly, as did Sirius in the bed next to him.

"Really!" Sirius yelled.

Remus started to chuckle. "No, but it sure motivated the two of you, didn't it?" he said. "It's six. Time to get ready for the last time we ever take end of the year exams."

"Don't you sound sentimental," Sirius said, ruffling his hair and heading for the bathroom.

Charms and Herbology were the first tests. Little Professor Flitwick gave them a written exam as well as practical. When it came to choosing partners for the second part of the exam, everyone went to Lily, but she declined them all and chose Jade.

They had to destroy various objects and then reassemble them. Though the idea was simple, the spells were complicated. Lily shattered her vase into powder and then returned it back to normal without the movement of her lips. James and Sirius did a fairly good job, not as well as Lily had, but enough to get good marks.

Herbology was comprised of questions of different plants, obviously, and even the snapdragons made a debut. They had to know how to use the pollen and root fluids of the South Western lilac to make a simple aging creme, which most of them didn't know.

"Two down," Sirius said as they walked to dinner.

"And far too many left," James said. "Tomorrow it's Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts followed by good old History of Magic and Potions. After those, the hardest ones, Care for Magical creatures and Divination will be a cinch," James said.

"Six more bloody exams," Sirius said. "Then we have N.E.W.T.s to look forward to. God I love the end of the year," he said with a clear note of sarcasm.

"And after this we hit the real world," Remus said. The corners of his lips sank as he thought about his future. Lily and James were getting married, Sirius was bound for something awesome, he thought, Jade going away to the Intelligence department, and his own Liz to Research. Even Peter could get a job somewhere, have a home, and not worry about the next day.

He'd be lucky if he could get a job as a cashier in Madam Malkin's Robe shop. He tried to shake off his thoughts as he sat down and ate with his friends.

"So," Sirius began, "what does Professor Gellar have up her sleeve?"

No one answered. They all pulled out books and began studying. That was the attitude for the rest of the week, actually. They had time to eat, sleep, and study; that was it. The rest of the time they tested.

Professor Gellar also had a practical exam. She tested them on various body shields, but Lily did the best job. The others gave weak protection, but the professor said she wouldn't grade too harshly.

McGonnagal's test was a breeze for James and Sirius. They transformed one another into teacups and back again earning them full marks. McGonnagal had tears in her eyes as they left, though she tried covering them.

"She loves us deep down," Sirius said. "We added flavor."

History of Magic was the same as every year. A written exam about all the mundane facts no one cared about or listened to, which Binns lectured on twice a week. They all scoured their tired minds for facts relevant to history and poured them out onto the parchment.

Then "Potions," Sirius groaned as he sat at lunch and didn't touch any of his food. "This could well be my last meal," he whined on.

"They're not going to kill you, Sirius," James said.

"That's easy for you to say. Are you being poisoned by Snape? Huh? Are you? I think not."

James shook his head but laughed. "The entire class will be there, as well as Wicks. Snape's a lot of things, but he's not stupid. If something goes wrong, the professor will set you straight."

"Are you nervous, Lily?" Sirius asked her. She was the one in her group to be poisoned. But before she could answer, Sirius did for her. "Well why would you be? James is in your group, and he wouldn't let anything bad happen."

The bell rang.

"Oh my God," he said hitting his head on the table. "Can you tell my mother that I never meant to burn her favorite table? And tell Dad that I'll miss joking around with him, will you James?"

James smirked, but went along with it. "Sure, Sirius. I'll tell 'em that."

"I don't know what I'd do without you," he said. "And say something nice about me at my funeral, will you?"

"I'll tell them the truth," he replied with a smirk.

"No don't tell them that," Sirius laughed.

The dungeon where Potions was held was full of anticipation and nerves about the exam. It was by far the worst that they had had so far. Sirius went over to the Slytherin side and sat next to Snape, though he would have rather eaten rotten fish.

"This is going to be interesting," Snape said with a grin. Robert Lestrange and Eva Clancy came and sat next to Sirius and grinned with malice.

"You try anything funny, Snape, and you'll be singing soprano," Sirius said. Eva pulled out her book and opened it, never actually reading from it but staring into Sirius's eyes.

"Alright class," Professor Wicks began, "I see you've all gotten into your groups, excellent. I'm going to hand out the potions to the lucky ones who get to drink it, and then I'll tell you to get to work. Each group will have a different potion, and I encourage all four of you to work together to find the cure." He put a small vial filled with clear potion in front of Sirius who stared at is as though it were alive.

"I do hope you studied up on your potions, Black," Snape said. "I'd hate it if something went wrong."

"You'll be the one who regrets it Snape," Sirius said back.

Snape leaned in closer to him and whispered, "I'll never forget what you tried to do to me last year. Don't think I won't get revenge."

"Take your vials, everyone," the Professor said. Lily gave a final glance of reassurance to Sirius and drank her urine yellow potion. Sirius looked sadly at his vial then drank it in one go.

At first he felt nothing, then he began to see double of Snape; one was bad enough, but now he saw two. He started to talk then, but his speech sounded really slow and deep, as did everyone else's.

"Wh," he started, but it took forever to get "at," out of his mouth. "Wh-at is -th-is?" he asked slowly, his head swimming in molasses. He saw Snape grin slowly and turn to Lestrange who was also smiling. He could hear the professor telling the class to start thinking of what the potion might be, which is what he was trying to do. The thing was his thinking, talking, and even breathing had slowed down considerably. He could actually hear the beating of his heart inside his mind.

On the other end of the room, Lily was writing away frantically with her quill all over everything, even her own body. She didn't listen to anyone or do anything productive. It wasn't until she started to write her name on Douglas Lacy's face that James tried holding her down. Even then she was so anxious to move that he couldn't keep hold of her.

"Summer!" James said, looking to his fellow Gryffindor to help him out.

Back with Sirius, Snape scanned his book for a potion that made the drinker painfully lethargic. Sirius tried looking through his book as well, but it took him three minutes to open it.

"Try to find out what the potion is!" Wicks yelled out to his class. It was pandemonium. Lily was writing nonsense all over the desks and other people, Sue Warner of Gryffindor was running around the class like a marathon runner while her group chased after her, and Michael Collins of Slytherin was laughing a deep hollow laugh while pointing his hand at Sue and Lily; his group was working on the antidote. "Come on class, it's not that difficult," Wicks said as, Lily wrote those very words on James's cheek.

"I'm really sorry about this, Lily," James said as he tied her to the chair. "Now, she's over active, and wants to write on everything. So what the hell kind of potion is that?" James said, as he wiped his face of all the words Lily had managed to write.

"Found it," Eva said, as she turned the book around for Snape to read.

"Stolier Potion," he said, as he read the description and symptoms. "It's not life threatening," he said with regret. They started brewing the antidote.

"Okay James, I think she's got the Expeditiosity Potion which causes the drinker to go into a hyper mode."

"What about the writing thing?" James asked, as Lily started moving in her chair, trying to wriggle her way out.

"Well it just says that they usually take whatever they have and go nuts with it. I know this is it."

"Why don't the two of you go and get the ingredients while I hold her down," James told Summer and Douglas who nodded and left, figuring their job was easier than his.

In less than a half and hour, Sirius was speaking normally and happy that he wasn't dead. Lily was no longer itching to write all over the place. Sue stopped running, and Michael was back to his sulky self.

"Glad that's over with," Sirius said, splashing his face with water in the bathroom.

"Told you it would be fine," James said, as he cleared his face of black ink.

"It's down to Care for Magical Creatures, which should be a snap, and off to the bug woman. Do you think she'll make us look into that damn crystal orb again?"

"I have no idea. I just know that we are done studying for final exams. Now all we have to worry about are those godforsaken N.E.W.T.s," James replied with a grin full of relief.



Care for Magical Creatures was just as easy as they thought it would be. They had to care for a Unicorn family, so the boys got to watch and throw in advice.

At lunch they started studying for the N.E.W.T.s but not much; most of the classes would take care of that.

"Ten galleons says she'll tell me I'm going to bite the big one," Sirius said as the bell rang and they headed for Divination.

"You still owe me ten galleons from the duel outcome," Remus pointed out.

"I didn't think we were actually betting, to tell you the truth, Moony," Sirius said.

"No, I heard you say you bet for me, Sirius," James interrupted. "You do owe him."

"Thanks James. I'll be waiting for your money, Sirius. I can use ten galleons."

There was the traditional gathering of Gryffindors waiting at the bottom of the rope ladder; she'd call them up separately, as usual. They dropped their bags and leaned on the wall, watching other students ascend the ladder when their name was called.

"I am not going to miss this old bat," Sirius commented as he pointed upwards. "She needs to be committed, if you ask me. She doesn't even call people up in alphabetical order."

"Well Sirius," James said straight faced, "her Inner Eye tells her who to call next, you know. It doesn't come to her alphabetically."

"Remus Lupin!" they heard.

"Oh boy," he said. "Wish me luck."

"Luck!" they said.

"Wonder what she's going to have us do," James said. He slumped down to the ground and stared out the window. This was his last final exam at Hogwarts. He was on his own from here on out.

Sirius sat beside him. "I was thinking that I want to move out of my parent's house this summer."

"Oh?" James said.

"Yeah. As soon as I get a job I'm going to live in a small apartment. You want to room with me?"

James smiled. "Absolutely. Of course it won't be very long."

"Well you can't live at my parent's house then move in with Lily. You have to live with me so we can have fun, party, and do all that good single stuff."

"I suppose," James mused with a chuckle. Moments later Remus slid down the ladder. James and Sirius stood up, and Peter came to him from the distant window.

"What's the damage?" Sirius asked.

"Astrological Divination my friends. She had me look at so many charts I'm still seeing stars. I just made everything up of course, as usual. She is predictable, you have to give her that."

"So what did she ask you?" James said.

"Oh stuff like where do I see myself, and she did the 'Hmmm' and 'Interesting,' and all. So if I were you three, I'd start thinking stuff up about the future. I'm going back to the tower to start for the N.E.W.T.s," he said. "Good luck."

"Sirius Black!"

"Oh Lord, here it goes," he said, as he started up the ladder. It was a while before he came down, which was good for them, bad for him, James and Peter figured.

"Future," Peter said to himself, "what's in my future." He started playing nervously with his fingers and watched Sirius come down the ladder.

"Well?" James said standing up.

"I lied," he said.

"About what?"

"All sorts of crap. I even said I saw myself here in fifteen years. Don't ask me why I said that, okay? I could only think of here and fifteen was the first number that popped into my head, so I rolled with it. Don't think she believed me though. Oh well, it's over."

"James Potter!" she yelled.

"I'll wait here for you, James," he said. James nodded and headed up the ladder. It was stifling hot, as it always was, and the perfume was especially strong today.

"In here," she said in her mystical voice. James went to her office, walked through the dangling beads that made up her door, and sat down in front of her desk. She pushed some star charts at him as well as the movements of the planets.

"Tell me what you can deduce from the heavens and celestial bodies of the universe," she said airily. He stared at the countless charts, looked at various constellations, their names, and their paths. He willed himself to see a pattern or some symbols that could tell him about the future, but he just saw a bunch of white dots of various sizes on a black map.

"Well, what do you see?" she asked.

"About me, or the world?"

"You can see both?" she said.

"Well, I can see," he started, then another voice popped up and said, 'nothing. You can't see anything. This is stupid. Do what Sirius did; lie.' He looked at her and saw she was leaning forward waiting for his answer. "I can see that I'm at a Quidditch match. My team is losing. I'm depressed because I bet a lot of money on them," he said but not confidently.

"I see," she said in a not-very-impressed sort of tone. "Anything else?"

"Um," he said, dropping a star chart by accident. "No, not really."

"Well," she said, writing some notes, "at least you tried. Not all have the Inner Eye."

"So, I can go now?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. He picked up the star chart off the floor, put it on her desk and started to get up when he saw her eyes roll back and flicker.

"Professor?" he said waving his hand in front of her. "Are you alright?"

A sudden grin split on her face, and she bent her chin to her chest.

"THE DARK LORD WILL COME KNOCKING AT YOUR DOOR," she began in a dark voice, nothing like her mystical tone. James stood up straight and stared at her. This wasn't real, was it?

"What?" James asked breathlessly. Her face contorted into such a shape that she didn't look like Trelawny at all, but someone possessed by an evil spirit.

"THE DARK LORD WILL COME KNOCKING AT YOUR DOOR. ALL WHO STAND IN HIS WAY WILL FALL TO THEIR DEATHS. NOTHING CAN PREVENT THIS. SO IT HAS BEEN ETCHED IN THE STARS FOR ONE THOUSAND YEARS, AND SO IT WILL BE. NO ONE CAN STOP HIM. NO ONE BUT THE HEIR OF GRYFFINDOR; HE WILL SAVE US ALL...NO ONE BUT THE HEIR OF GRYFFINDOR.... HE WILL SAVE US ALL...HE WILL SAVE US ALL..."

James heard his heart beating out of control.

Trelawny's head rolled back up, and her eyes came back into focus. "Oh, this day seems it will never end. It must be the heat that's making me so tired," she said, as if nothing at all had happened. "You may go, Mr. Potter. I still have students to test."

"You," James started, pointing his index finger at her. "You just told me that-that the Dark Lord will come knocking at my door," he said, his voice shaking.

Trelawny looked almost amused.

"I did nothing of the sort. I said you may leave then I sort of dozed off a bit. Dark Lord knocking on doors indeed," she said haughtily.

"But you did!" James yelled. "And all that stuff about Gryffindor's heir being the only one that could stop him. Who the hell is that?"

"I didn't say any of that, my dear. I don't know what you're talking about. Now leave so I can finish my examinations!"

James started walking backwards, still staring at her. And then it hit him. Trelawny's voice from September swam into his head and said, "I have come to tell you something. I will give my first prediction in June, and I will give it to you." Was that it? Was that her first real prediction? If it was, he didn't like it much- not at all. He stumbled on a chair and nearly fell down the ladder.

"Whoa," Sirius said. "Are you alright?" James didn't say anything, but he was certainly not all right. He ignored Sirius and Peter's stares and ran down the many flights of stairs and corridors. People gave him quizzical looks, but he didn't care. He was breathing so fast and shallow he thought he was going to faint. Then he finally got where he wanted to be; Dumbledore's office entrance.

"Sugar Quill!" he yelled at the stone statue. "Chocolate cluster! Pepper Imp!" The Griffin began to rotate, and James jumped on the staircase that appeared from the ground. "Come on," he urged the steps as they rotated upwards. Finally his office door was in sight, and James ran to it and shoved it open. "Professor!" he yelled around the office, "Professor! I need you now!"

"What is it James?" he asked as he came down his stairs looking puzzled.

"Trelawny-my final-and she told me that the Dark Lord would come to my house-said something about everyone dying that got in his way-only Gryffindor's heir could stop him-she said she would tell me back and September and she knew about the fight I had with Lily- "

"Slow down, slow down, James," Dumbledore said as he took a grip of James's shoulders. "Calm down," he said again.

"Calm down? She freaked me out!" he yelled, trembling with anxiety.

"I can see that, but I need you to take a deep breath and tell me slowly exactly what Sybil told you, alright?"

James took a deep breath as requested and moved to a chair across from Dumbledore's.

"Now," Dumbledore said, as he sat in his chair and folded his hands on his desk, "what did she say to you?"

"Well, she got kinda weird, I mean more than usual. She sort of slumped her head, and her eyes got all funny, and she told me that, and this is almost a direct quote, that the Dark Lord would come and knock on my door, and that no one could stop him but the heir of Gryffindor who'll save us all. Then she snapped out of it and denied ever saying it. But that's not the strangest part of it, Professor, because this all started back in September after I had that painfully long detention, which I deserved because I let my mouth run away from me, but..." he took another deep breath, "I fell asleep in her class, and she came to me in a dream. I know I sound crazy, but she told me that the reason she was there, in my dream that is, was because she was going to tell me her first true prediction in June."

Dumbledore looked at James through his half moon spectacles with great concentration. James thought maybe he should continue.

"I'm not hallucinating this. Back in September she said I'd have a terrible fight, and I did, with Lily. I mean if it was all in my head, then why didn't I see it coming? Then she said to take Sirius's advice and all would be well again, and I did, and it was. It all fits, and she told me she was going to tell me this. God, sir, she just got so spooky looking it sent a shiver up my spine, I swear."

Dumbledore still surveyed James but didn't speak.

"Professor?" James said. "What does all of this mean?"

"I can honestly say that I don't know, James. Sybil Trelawny, bless her heart, isn't what one would call a most accurate Seer. But I don't think she would do this as a practical joke, either. Perhaps she was up at night studying the past," he said.

"What do you mean?" James asked. Dumbledore got out of his chair and started to pace the room.

"The heir of Gryffindor has been prophesied before, long before your or my time for that matter."

"Oh, yeah, she said that the Dark Lord thing has been...um...etched in the stars for a thousand years."

Dumbledore furrowed his brow. "Well," he said, "this is terribly strange."

"What were you saying about Gryffindor?" James said again.

"Ah, yes. There was a prophecy, one thousand years ago, approximately, which said that the heir of Slytherin would fall to the heir of Gryffindor. It was told by a very reliable Divination master. You see, James, Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor never really got along, much like you and Mr. Snape. Slytherin was convinced that he was a better wizard than Gryffindor, who of course disagreed. But he wasn't bothered by it so much. Then they had a huge disagreement about who should be admitted to this school; all wizards, even Muggle-borns, or just pureblooded wizards. Of course, Gryffindor's perspective won, and all magical children were accepted. Upset with the outcome, Slytherin left the school. But then he heard this prophecy and would be damned if his son was killed by Gryffindor's. Slytherin hunted Gryffindor down and killed him in a duel therefore insuring that his own son would never be harmed."

"But..." James said waiting for the story to continue

"There is no but. Gryffindor was never married; he had no children and therefore had no descendant or heir."

"So what was Trelawny talking about then?"

"Therein lies the mystery."

"Is there even an heir of Slytherin, sir?" James asked.

"Yes, there is; Voldemort. He is Slytherin's heir, on his mother's side."

"Does he know?"

"I'm afraid so," he said he sighed. "I taught him Transfiguration, you know?" he said, sitting back down.

"No I didn't."

"Yes. He was just as bright as you are, perhaps smarter or craftier. He was prefect and then Head Boy, like you, and quite handsome. I believe he found out about who he really was in his sixth year here, and I don't know exactly how. Perhaps he stumbled across a genealogy chart and found his mother was listed as a descendant and he as heir."

"What's the difference between descendant and heir?" James asked.

"Well, there are of course many descendants in the family line, but only one heir. The heir is the most powerful, magically, more so than the beginning of the line, more so than the parents. They are the strongest in all ways and exemplify their grandparent's best qualities. In Voldemort's case, he was very bright and ambitious, and could even talk to snakes, like that of Slytherin. He grew to be very powerful, as you already know, and could persuade people easily, as he still does. Slytherin would have been very proud of his heir; perhaps that is why he is.

"If there was an heir of Gryffindor, he would also be very strong in so many ways. But it would be astounding courage and bravery which would set him apart from the rest of the class, from the rest of the world. And so would the magic, far greater than the parents, and far greater than Gryffindor himself. It is too bad there is no such person, for I believe he could defeat Voldemort."

James looked into Dumbledore's eyes with fascination for this story. "What was his name, before he changed it?"

"Tom Riddle."

James nodded but was still disturbed.

"So everything she said isn't possible?" James said.

"By my knowledge, no."

"It's just that it was so real. And everything about that dream I had fit. You're positively sure that there is no 'Heir of Gryffindor'?"

"We have looked into that, of course. Voldemort is becoming quite dominant in his quest for power. We have been looking everywhere for this so called hero, the heir, to arrive. Extensive research has gone on to find a missing link, but Gryffindor simply had no children. Though her prediction sounded true, so did it one thousand years ago. Perhaps he would have never had a child, so Slytherin would have still been safe. To this we will never know."

James sighed. He looked over at Fawkes the Phoenix and smiled. Fawkes flew over and landed on James's shoulder.

"Ah, he's fond of you, I see. He doesn't take to strangers that well. But let's talk of more cheerful things, now that your final exams are complete. I saw you duel Miss Evans, and I must say you were quite an equal match. You fought very well, James."

James smiled at Fawkes, then turned to look back to Dumbledore. "Yeah, well she still beat me. I wasn't expecting that."

"She is very talented. She might have even beaten me, when I was your age of course," Dumbledore's face split into a friendly smile, and James, whose head wasn't so full of 'what ifs,' laughed.