Sixth year had proved to be even harder than fifth year. Even though
they still had more than a year to prepare for their N.E.W.T.s, the
teachers were holding class as though the testing started tomorrow, and
giving out homework accordingly. For the first few weeks of the year,
the sixth years were exceedingly busy, trying to adjust to the new
schedules of lots of work and very little free time. After they had all
grown a bit more accustomed to their busy schedules and were working
better at getting their assignments done as early as possible, it
allowed for more free time with each other.
Peter was only taking six classes. He had managed for Divination, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy, Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures. The other Marauders had Transfiguration, History of Magic, and Potions to worry about in addition to all of Peter's classes save Divination, which they had all, except Peter, deemed worthless. Even though Peter had less classes than the rest of them, he still managed to get behind and it was only by copying Remus's Defense and Charms homework almost nightly that he managed.
Remus looked at Peter as he hurriedly copied down an essay on the history of vampires. "What are you thinking of doing when you get out of Hogwarts, Peter?" he asked.
Peter had given that a lot of thought, and the truth was, he still didn't have a clear idea. When he was little, he'd often fantasized of being a Quidditch player for England, but he knew that was out of the question.
"I was thinking of maybe reporting," Peter said, hoping Remus wouldn't poke too much fun. "The Quibbler seems like a very interesting magazine; I'd like to report or edit or something."
Remus nodded thoughtfully. "What else?" he asked.
Peter furrowed his brow in thought. He didn't really want to work on The Quibbler. That wasn't enough fame and glory for his taste. But there wasn't anything at which Peter knew he could have a clear and easy path to success. He wanted to join a powerful organisation, something where he could be part of a group. It seemed the only chance he had at being well known. He didn't have to be the head of it all, but to have a part in it would definitely bring him some status, if only by association to the people that did all the leading. Peter was a very good follower.
The only problem was, Peter was having trouble finding an organisation that suited his needs: Something powerful, something world-changing, something in to which he wouldn't have to put large amounts of effort, and something which he could be part of without having to have achieved ten N.E.W.T.s. One thing was certain: The Ministry of Magic didn't fit those qualifications.
"I guess I'm just going to have to see what opportunities come up," he said, hoping that was good enough for Remus. Evidently, it was, because Remus nodded and went back to his Transfiguration homework, leaving Peter to finish copying the essay down.
As it was the beginning of October, the Marauders were in deep deliberation as to what their Halloween prank was going to be. As their years at Hogwarts had progressed, the pranks had gotten steadily more large and magnificent, and they were determined not to let this one ruin the pattern. By the second weekend in October, they'd come up with what they had decided would be a brilliant prank, and they were rather surprised they hadn't thought of it before.
The Gryffindor sixth years who were girls had seen them gathered in the common room planning, and were very curious and also very wary to know what was being planned. Secrecy, however, was one of the statutes the Marauders abided by rigidly, and therefore Lily and Vesta were extremely surprised when they got pulled into one of these planning sessions.
"You're Muggleborn," Sirius said as they sat down.
"That we are," Lily replied, exchanging a bewildered look with Vesta.
"So we need your help..." Remus said, and proceeded to fill them in on the plan.
Lily and Vesta went along willingly enough, part of the reason for their doing so probably being that James was not at this meeting. The other Marauders had forbade him because they didn't want his presence to influence Lily's decision as to whether or not she would go along.
The next morning, Lily and the rest of the Gryffindor sixth year girls traveled down for breakfast. Lily and Vesta were especially tired after the long talk with the Marauders (minus James) the night previous.
Lily looked up for Juno as the post came, but he didn't appear. However, Alice got her normal Daily Prophet delivery, and proceeded to look it over. What she saw on the front cover made her spill her pumpkin juice all over her toast.
"Oh my God!" she gasped.
"What?" Renee said, leaning over to have a look. Her eyes widened in shock, and she quickly scooted closer so that Vesta and Lily could have a better look at the paper.
The front headline was telling enough: "Possible Connection Between Recent Muggle Attack and Larson Family."
Reading the article, Lily found that there had been a large attack on Muggles the day previous. It read:
"In London there was a large commotion yesterday as a whole neighborhood of Muggles was ransacked by what appears to be the Dark Lord, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. At least one Muggles was murdered in each house, and above each was a peculiar green symbol floating. The symbol was a skull wait a snake protruding from its mouth. This Dark Mark leaves no doubt He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named instigated this attack.
As for the Larsons, no Ministry Wizard dispatched to clean up the attack saw a member of the family at the sight. However, above one of the houses where an entire family had been killed was the Larson family crest had been set on the door using what looked like a variation of the Flagrate Charm.
Cornelius Fudge, a member of the Department of Magical Catastrophes, was at the scene and commented for the Prophet. 'The Ministry is looking into why the Larson family crest is here and efforts to find them have been doubled,' he said somewhat distractedly. 'We have no proof that there is a connection between You-Know-Who and the Larsons; however, we must examine every bit of evidence found at the scene and, as I said before, redouble our efforts to find out what happened to the family. Thank you.'"
Lily had read more than enough. "Ridiculous," she pronounced it. "It's almost laughable." The other girls nodded in unison.
"Selene wouldn't. None of them would. They just couldn't," Alice said, shaking her head.
Renee was frowning. "I don't know what to think," she admitted. "I mean, I know Selene would never help in the murders of all those Muggles, but...what was their crest doing there?"
Vesta shrugged. "It could be an elaborate hoax," she said hopefully. "I just wish the Ministry figures out where they went sometime soon."
A final chorus of nods, and then they were all silent again for the remainder of breakfast, each drowning in their own thoughts and worries about Selene and her family.
The news about the Larsons spread quickly, and by the time the Great Hall was filled with students there for dinner the entire school was convinced that Selene was a bloodthirsty killer and that her entire family was right in there with You-Know-Who and had been all along. The sixth year Gryffindors, however, remained unconvinced of this and sat down to dinner to discuss matters some more.
"Look," Vesta said suddenly, pointing at the Slytherin table. Lily saw that most of the Slytherins were looking quite pleased. There were a couple of sixth and seventh years who were conversing what looked to be privately and quickly. Bellatrix Black had an uncharacteristically serious face on and was talking to Severus Snape, who was looking looking just as seriously back at her.
"Figures," Renee said darkly.
"The older ones have probably known about the attack for ages," Alice said, staring at Bellatrix and Snape.
Lily and Vesta nodded, and Lily was quiet for the remainder of the meal. She was again worrying about Selene.
As soon as they were done, they got up to return to the Gryffindor Common Room and work on the mountain of homework that was waiting for them. They were quite aware of the curious looks they were receiving from many of the other students--after all, they had had roomed with Selene and had known her best out of all the students at the school. They were determined, however, to ignore these looks.
"Hey, guys!" a voice called from close behind them. The four girls turned around to see Terri Swann hurrying to catch them. Terri was a close friend of all of them, and Lily in particular.
"I just want you guys to know," Terri said calmly and clearly with a pointed look around at all the people watching, "that I don't believe a word of all that crap they're saying about Selene. And don't worry, I don't really think most of the other people do either. I think they're just starved for rumors and the Prophet is a good provider."
"Thanks, Terri," Lily said, smiling. "I'll see you at the prefect meeting tomorrow, then." Terri nodded. "Bye, you guys!" she said. With a wave and a slight smile she turned around to join her Ravenclaw friends again.
Feeling considerably more lighthearted, Vesta, Lily, Alice, and Renee went up to the Tower.
A/N: This chapter felt a little weird writing. I don't know why. It was mainly written while listening to Dark Side of the Moon over and over, but I doubt that has anything to do with it, other than take away from my concentration. Thanks to the lovely musical Miss Saigon for the title of this chapter. Anyway, much thanks to Miss Lady Padfoot for the first ever review of this fic =) Next chapter I'm quite comfortable with, so it shouldn't take any time at all to get up.
Peter was only taking six classes. He had managed for Divination, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy, Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures. The other Marauders had Transfiguration, History of Magic, and Potions to worry about in addition to all of Peter's classes save Divination, which they had all, except Peter, deemed worthless. Even though Peter had less classes than the rest of them, he still managed to get behind and it was only by copying Remus's Defense and Charms homework almost nightly that he managed.
Remus looked at Peter as he hurriedly copied down an essay on the history of vampires. "What are you thinking of doing when you get out of Hogwarts, Peter?" he asked.
Peter had given that a lot of thought, and the truth was, he still didn't have a clear idea. When he was little, he'd often fantasized of being a Quidditch player for England, but he knew that was out of the question.
"I was thinking of maybe reporting," Peter said, hoping Remus wouldn't poke too much fun. "The Quibbler seems like a very interesting magazine; I'd like to report or edit or something."
Remus nodded thoughtfully. "What else?" he asked.
Peter furrowed his brow in thought. He didn't really want to work on The Quibbler. That wasn't enough fame and glory for his taste. But there wasn't anything at which Peter knew he could have a clear and easy path to success. He wanted to join a powerful organisation, something where he could be part of a group. It seemed the only chance he had at being well known. He didn't have to be the head of it all, but to have a part in it would definitely bring him some status, if only by association to the people that did all the leading. Peter was a very good follower.
The only problem was, Peter was having trouble finding an organisation that suited his needs: Something powerful, something world-changing, something in to which he wouldn't have to put large amounts of effort, and something which he could be part of without having to have achieved ten N.E.W.T.s. One thing was certain: The Ministry of Magic didn't fit those qualifications.
"I guess I'm just going to have to see what opportunities come up," he said, hoping that was good enough for Remus. Evidently, it was, because Remus nodded and went back to his Transfiguration homework, leaving Peter to finish copying the essay down.
As it was the beginning of October, the Marauders were in deep deliberation as to what their Halloween prank was going to be. As their years at Hogwarts had progressed, the pranks had gotten steadily more large and magnificent, and they were determined not to let this one ruin the pattern. By the second weekend in October, they'd come up with what they had decided would be a brilliant prank, and they were rather surprised they hadn't thought of it before.
The Gryffindor sixth years who were girls had seen them gathered in the common room planning, and were very curious and also very wary to know what was being planned. Secrecy, however, was one of the statutes the Marauders abided by rigidly, and therefore Lily and Vesta were extremely surprised when they got pulled into one of these planning sessions.
"You're Muggleborn," Sirius said as they sat down.
"That we are," Lily replied, exchanging a bewildered look with Vesta.
"So we need your help..." Remus said, and proceeded to fill them in on the plan.
Lily and Vesta went along willingly enough, part of the reason for their doing so probably being that James was not at this meeting. The other Marauders had forbade him because they didn't want his presence to influence Lily's decision as to whether or not she would go along.
The next morning, Lily and the rest of the Gryffindor sixth year girls traveled down for breakfast. Lily and Vesta were especially tired after the long talk with the Marauders (minus James) the night previous.
Lily looked up for Juno as the post came, but he didn't appear. However, Alice got her normal Daily Prophet delivery, and proceeded to look it over. What she saw on the front cover made her spill her pumpkin juice all over her toast.
"Oh my God!" she gasped.
"What?" Renee said, leaning over to have a look. Her eyes widened in shock, and she quickly scooted closer so that Vesta and Lily could have a better look at the paper.
The front headline was telling enough: "Possible Connection Between Recent Muggle Attack and Larson Family."
Reading the article, Lily found that there had been a large attack on Muggles the day previous. It read:
"In London there was a large commotion yesterday as a whole neighborhood of Muggles was ransacked by what appears to be the Dark Lord, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. At least one Muggles was murdered in each house, and above each was a peculiar green symbol floating. The symbol was a skull wait a snake protruding from its mouth. This Dark Mark leaves no doubt He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named instigated this attack.
As for the Larsons, no Ministry Wizard dispatched to clean up the attack saw a member of the family at the sight. However, above one of the houses where an entire family had been killed was the Larson family crest had been set on the door using what looked like a variation of the Flagrate Charm.
Cornelius Fudge, a member of the Department of Magical Catastrophes, was at the scene and commented for the Prophet. 'The Ministry is looking into why the Larson family crest is here and efforts to find them have been doubled,' he said somewhat distractedly. 'We have no proof that there is a connection between You-Know-Who and the Larsons; however, we must examine every bit of evidence found at the scene and, as I said before, redouble our efforts to find out what happened to the family. Thank you.'"
Lily had read more than enough. "Ridiculous," she pronounced it. "It's almost laughable." The other girls nodded in unison.
"Selene wouldn't. None of them would. They just couldn't," Alice said, shaking her head.
Renee was frowning. "I don't know what to think," she admitted. "I mean, I know Selene would never help in the murders of all those Muggles, but...what was their crest doing there?"
Vesta shrugged. "It could be an elaborate hoax," she said hopefully. "I just wish the Ministry figures out where they went sometime soon."
A final chorus of nods, and then they were all silent again for the remainder of breakfast, each drowning in their own thoughts and worries about Selene and her family.
The news about the Larsons spread quickly, and by the time the Great Hall was filled with students there for dinner the entire school was convinced that Selene was a bloodthirsty killer and that her entire family was right in there with You-Know-Who and had been all along. The sixth year Gryffindors, however, remained unconvinced of this and sat down to dinner to discuss matters some more.
"Look," Vesta said suddenly, pointing at the Slytherin table. Lily saw that most of the Slytherins were looking quite pleased. There were a couple of sixth and seventh years who were conversing what looked to be privately and quickly. Bellatrix Black had an uncharacteristically serious face on and was talking to Severus Snape, who was looking looking just as seriously back at her.
"Figures," Renee said darkly.
"The older ones have probably known about the attack for ages," Alice said, staring at Bellatrix and Snape.
Lily and Vesta nodded, and Lily was quiet for the remainder of the meal. She was again worrying about Selene.
As soon as they were done, they got up to return to the Gryffindor Common Room and work on the mountain of homework that was waiting for them. They were quite aware of the curious looks they were receiving from many of the other students--after all, they had had roomed with Selene and had known her best out of all the students at the school. They were determined, however, to ignore these looks.
"Hey, guys!" a voice called from close behind them. The four girls turned around to see Terri Swann hurrying to catch them. Terri was a close friend of all of them, and Lily in particular.
"I just want you guys to know," Terri said calmly and clearly with a pointed look around at all the people watching, "that I don't believe a word of all that crap they're saying about Selene. And don't worry, I don't really think most of the other people do either. I think they're just starved for rumors and the Prophet is a good provider."
"Thanks, Terri," Lily said, smiling. "I'll see you at the prefect meeting tomorrow, then." Terri nodded. "Bye, you guys!" she said. With a wave and a slight smile she turned around to join her Ravenclaw friends again.
Feeling considerably more lighthearted, Vesta, Lily, Alice, and Renee went up to the Tower.
A/N: This chapter felt a little weird writing. I don't know why. It was mainly written while listening to Dark Side of the Moon over and over, but I doubt that has anything to do with it, other than take away from my concentration. Thanks to the lovely musical Miss Saigon for the title of this chapter. Anyway, much thanks to Miss Lady Padfoot for the first ever review of this fic =) Next chapter I'm quite comfortable with, so it shouldn't take any time at all to get up.