Summary: Peter Pettigrew never became a Death Eater and Voldemort continued to live. Inside Hogwarts, the world seems like a peaceful place, but outside of it, the Wizarding World is in chaos. The Marauders' offspring, Harry Potter, Polaris Black, Sasha Pettigrew, and Rosalyn Lupin, go to Hogwarts expecting seven peaceful years full of pranks and spells. What they receive, however, is an ongoing adventure they'll never forget. It follows the books closely.
It Could Have Been Like This
Chapter Two: Halloween, Quidditch, and Christmas
It was a surprise to all of them when they woke up Halloween morning and realized that they had already been at school for two months. Harry's dad had long since bought him a Nimbus Two Thousand and it was easily the best broom on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
In Charms that morning, Professor Flitwick put them into pairs and told them that they would be learning the Levitation Charm. Harry's partner was Seamus Finnigan, Rory and Polaris were lucky enough to be paired together, and Sasha got stuck with Neville though she looked exceptionally thrilled by this.
"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too—never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."
Seamus ended up setting fire to his feather, though Harry didn't do much better. Sasha at the next table was having much better luck and a moment later her feather went sailing into the air.
"Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Pettigrew's done it!"
Harry smiled and looked behind him where Rory and Polaris sat. He was surprised to see that they were glaring at each other.
"Fine," said Rory impatiently. "Figure it out yourself, but I'm telling you—you are going to get nowhere doing it the way you are!"
"If you're such a bloody genius, then you do it," Polaris snarled.
Rory looked like she wanted to retort, but instead rolled up her sleeves, flicked her wand, and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"
Their feather raised off the desk the same time that Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley's did and hovered about four feet above their heads.
Polaris was in a very bad mood by the end of the class.
"It's no wonder the only people she hangs out with is us," he said to Harry and Sasha as they pushed their way into a crowded corridor, having been told to go ahead by Rory who wanted to stay behind and ask Flitwick a question, "she's completely horrible, honestly."
Someone knocked into Harry as they hurried past them, someone with loads of dark brown hair—Rosalyn Lupin. Harry caught a glimpse of her face—and was startled to see that she was in tears.
"I think she heard you."
"So?" said Polaris, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. "Not like I care."
"Oh!" shrieked Sasha. "You are an insensitive git, you know that!"
She began to march off, but Harry caught her by the arm. "You can't! We have Herbology next—you don't have time you find her in this mess."
Sasha opened her mouth to argue, but finally agreed. Rory didn't turn up for the next class and wasn't seen all afternoon. They were just sitting down at the Halloween feast when they heard Parvati Patil telling Lavender Brown that Rory was crying in the girls' bathroom and wanted to be left alone. Sasha glared at Polaris who looked even more uncomfortable at this news, but the moment the food arrived, the awkwardness seemed to have past.
"I'm going to stock up on candy to give to Rory after the feast," Sasha told the two boys across from her. "You two better as well, because you are apologizing, Polaris."
Polaris didn't object and obediently began to stuff candy into his pockets as well. They were just starting to serve themselves when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, terror on his face. He slumped against the table in front of the headmaster and gasped, "Troll—in the dungeons—thought you ought to know." He then sank to the floor in a dead faint.
There was uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.
"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"
"How could a troll get in?" Sasha asked as they followed Percy Weasley up the stairs.
"Not on its own; trolls are supposed to be really stupid," said Harry.
"Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke?" suggested Polaris.
"Some joke," muttered Sasha.
They were just manoeuvring their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs when Harry stuck out both of his arms and grabbed Sasha and Polaris by their sleeves. They turned to face him confused and saw that he had gone a sickly green.
"I just thought—Rory!"
Sasha's eyes went wide. "She doesn't know!"
"Oh, all right," sighed Polaris. "Come on."
He ducked into a crowd of Hufflepuffs going the opposite direction. They had just taken refuge into a deserted corridor that led to the girls' bathroom when they heard quick footsteps behind them. They ducked behind a large stone griffin. Peering around it, they saw Snape as he crossed the corridor and disappeared from view.
"What's he doing?" Harry whispered. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?"
"I don't know," said Polaris just as curious.
They followed him.
"He's heading for the third floor," Harry said, but Polaris held up his hand.
"Can you smell something?"
"Doesn't matter, come on!"
They began to follow Snape again until they looked behind them and noticed that Sasha hadn't moved.
"Sasha!" hissed Polaris. "Come on."
"The troll's left the dungeon…" she said faintly.
Both boys stared at her as she slowly turned to face them; she was as pale as death.
"…and has taken refuge in the girls' bathroom."
Right on a cue they heard something that made their hearts stop—a high, petrified scream. Harry and Polaris looked at each other.
"Rory!" they said together.
They sprinted to the room that they easily knew held the troll because of the banging and clanging that was coming from it. They took the fact that they could still here Rory's screams every so often as a good sign though it made them shudder at the thought of them stopping for reasons they couldn't bear to think of.
Harry pulled the door open and ran inside only to duck just in time to avoid being hit by a flying faucet. Rosalyn Lupin was ducking under a bathroom sink, moving every time the troll tried to hit her. The troll was destroying every place to hide, however, and she was becoming an easier and easier target.
"Confuse it!" Harry said desperately to Polaris and Sasha, and, seizing a tap, he threw it as hard as he could against the wall.
The troll stopped in mid swing and turned its beady eyes toward Harry. It hesitated, and then made for him instead, lifting its club back up as it went.
"Oi, Mr. Troll-dude!" yelled Sasha lamely from the other side of the chamber as Polaris threw a metal pipe at it a little ways away. The troll didn't even seem to notice the pipe hitting its back, but it heard the yell and paused again, turning its ugly snout toward Sasha instead, giving Polaris time to run around it while Harry got into another position to confuse it.
"Come on, run, run!" Polaris yelled at Rory, forcefully pulling her to her feet and trying to move toward the door, but she made a desperate attempt to get to the opposite side of the chamber. "Are you mad? We have to get out of here!"
"My books!" she shrieked and Polaris looked up to see Rory's book bag already beaten pretty bad by the opposite wand. "My wand!" she moaned.
The troll roared again and started toward Sasha, who was nearest and had no way to escape.
Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid: He took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the troll's neck from behind and without even meaning too, stuffed his wand up his nose.
The troll howled in pain. Sasha pulled out her wand to do a spell that would help perhaps, but the troll's club-less hand hit her wand while it was flailing about and threw it against the other wall. Sasha gave an odd sort of noise between a gasp and sob as she ducked the still flailing troll arms and shrunk back against the wall.
"Polaris, do something!" Rory shrieked as Harry was nearly clipped in the head by the club.
"What?"
"Who the bloody well cares? Anything! You're the only one with a wand, now do something!"
Polaris pulled out his wand—not knowing what he was going to do until he heard himself cry the first spell that came into his head: "Wingardium Leviosa!"
The club flew suddenly out of the troll's hand, rose higher and higher up into the air, turned slowly over—and dropped, with a sickening crack, onto its owner's head, and the troll fell on his face.
Harry got to his feet. Sasha gave a small sort of whimper. Rory slowly backed up into the closest corner and fell into a sitting position with a sigh. Polaris was standing there with his wand still raised, staring at what he had done.
It was Sasha who spoke first.
"Please tell me it is dead."
"I don't think it is," said Harry apologetically. "I think it's just been knocked out."
He bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose and found it covered in troll boogers. He grimaced as he bent down again and picked up Sasha's wand. He was just about to hand it to her when a sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the four of them look up. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell took one look at the troll, clutched his heart, and sat down slowly on a broken toilet seat.
Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Polaris, Harry, and Sasha. They had never seen her look so angry.
"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"
Harry and Sasha looked at each other and glanced at Polaris. Harry wished he would put his wand down.
Then a small voice came out of the shadows.
"Please, Professor McGonagall—they were looking for me."
"Miss Lupin!"
Rory was back on her feet again.
"I've read all about trolls—and I thought I could handle it—so I went looking for it myself."
Polaris dropped his wand. Rosalyn Lupin, telling a downright lie to a teacher?
"They saved my life—I know I was acting foolhardy and stuff, but—Sasha distracted the troll—Harry stuck his wand up its nose—and Polaris knocked it out with its own club. It was about to finish me off when they arrived—they didn't have time to fetch anyone, honest."
Harry, Sasha, and Polaris tried to look as though this story wasn't new to them.
"Well—in that case…" said Professor McGonagall, staring at the four of them, "Miss Lupin, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"
Rory hung her head.
"Miss Lupin, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said Professor McGonagall. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better be off to the Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses."
Rory hesitated.
"I believe she said now, Miss Lupin," barked Snape.
She didn't need to be told twice. Within a second, she had gathered up her torn book bag along with her strewn and ripped books, found her wand among the debris, and was gone. Professor McGonagall turned to Harry, Polaris, and Sasha.
"Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go."
The three of them hurried out of the chamber.
"We should have gotten more than fifteen points," Polaris grumbled.
"Ten, you mean, once she's taken off Rory's," reminded Sasha, her voice still shaking slightly.
"Good of her to get us out of trouble like that," Polaris admitted. "Mind you, we did save her."
"She might not have needed saving if you hadn't made her cry," scolded Harry. He was too tired to lecture him at the moment, however, and Polaris looked too tired to feel guilty.
Once they entered the common room, they found Rory waiting by the portrait hole, her ruined supplies still in her arms. Very quickly, as she always seemed to be, she dropped all of her supplies and her arms around the three of them while muttering, "Thanks."
Only Sasha seemed used to this sign of affection and quickly said, "What are friends for?" She kicked the back of Polaris's heal lightly and he sighed.
They pulled away from the hug and he said, "Look—Rory—I'm sorry—"
"No—I was being stupid—you didn't do anything wrong—"
It looked like Polaris was about to contradict her, but Harry jumped in and said loudly, "As long as we're all friends again." The four of them smiled before rushing off to get plates; Rory's ruined supplies momentarily forgotten.
The weekend after Halloween, Rory sent her supplies to Lily Potter, Harry's mother, who was very good at Charms. Monday morning, she got all of them back except her Transfiguration book which Lily had said, in the letter that she had sent along with it, was beyond repair. She had also offered to buy her a new one, but Rory was quick in replying that there was no need—she would just share with Polaris.
Everybody knew that this was just a Lupin trait. The Lupins weren't a very wealthy family. Remus Lupin, Rory's father, had a hard time getting work because he was a werewolf. Rue Lupin, Rory's mother, worked really well with children, but there weren't many jobs available for teachers, babysitters, or anything of that sort. Both parents were very proud, however, of what they did have and would never accept "charity" from any of their friends and they had passed on this trait to Rory who was very generous but also very self-conscious.
On Saturday, Harry would be playing in his first match after weeks of training: Gryffindor versus Slytherin. Even though Wood had insisted on keeping Harry a secret, people found out about it and either said that he would be brilliant or said that they would be running around with a mattress under him for when he fell.
It was very lucky that Rory was his friend again; he didn't know how he would get through his homework without her. She got her father's old copy of Quidditch Through the Ages and lent it to him, which turned out to be a very interesting read. Sasha and Rory were more lenient on breaking rules now that breaking them had saved a life. They still thought the only reason to break the rules intentionally was to save a life while Harry and Polaris insisted that all rules were made to be broken.
Snape seemed to be limping a lot lately, Harry noticed. During one particular cool morning, Rory created a magical fire in her hand to keep them warm (one of the only spells she learned before coming to Hogwarts) and the four of them quickly crowded close together when they saw the Potions Master coming toward them. He immediately noticed their guilty faces and asked what they were hiding. Instead of Rory pulling her hands out from behind her back, Harry did and showed him the Quidditch book.
He took the book away and took five points form Gryffindor insisting that non-School books from home were to be kept in the dormitory. Polaris cursed him as he limped away and prayed aloud that he hoped whatever was wrong with his leg was really hurting him.
The Quidditch Match was the next day, and that evening Harry was feeling particularly restless. After a few moments of inner-debate, he finally stood up and told Sasha, Polaris, and Rory that he was going to get it.
They looked at him as if he was crazy, but chorused together, "Good luck."
He went down to the staffroom and knocked. There was no answer. He knocked again. Nothing. He pushed the door ajar and peered inside. Snape and Filch were inside, alone. Snape was holding his robes above his knees. One of his legs was bloody and mangled. Filch was handing Snape bandages.
"Blasted thing," Snape was saying. "How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?"
Harry tried to shut the door without being noticed, but—
"POTTER!"
Harry gulped.
"I just wondered if I could have my book back."
"GET OUT! OUT!"
Harry left and sprinted back upstairs. Once he was back in the Gryffindor tower, he told the other three, in a low whisper, what he'd seen.
"You know what this means?" he finished breathlessly. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog at Halloween! That's where he was going when we saw him—he's after whatever it's guarding! And I'd bet my broomstick he let the troll in, to make a diversion!"
Rory's eyes widened.
"I don't believe it," she said briskly. "Snape may be horribly foul, but he is not evil. Dumbledore seems to trust him and that's good enough for me until I get more proof otherwise."
"I'm with Rory," said Sasha in an apologetic tone. "Sorry guys, but I'm going to need more proof before I believe that any teacher is an evil madman."
"Honestly, you two, teacher's are not saints," snapped Polaris. "At least I'm with Harry. I wouldn't put anything past that greasy git. But what in the wizarding world is he after? I wonder what the dog is guarding."
Harry was wondering the same thing.
By eleven o'clock the next day the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the Quidditch pitch. Rory had a death grip on Polaris's arm, terrified of falling out of the stands no matter where they sat. As they sat down, Sasha squealed and pointed toward the opposite stands where Marauders' fathers sat conversing among each other.
"They must be here to watch Harry!" said Polaris.
In the locker room, Harry and the rest of the team were changing into their scarlet Quidditch robes. Wood cleared his throat for silence.
"Okay, men," he said.
"And women," said Chaser Angelina Johnson.
"And women," Wood agreed. "This is it."
"The big one," said Fred Weasley.
"The one we've all been waiting for," said George.
"We know Oliver's speech by heart," Fred told Harry, "we were on the team last year."
"Shut up, you two," said Wood. "This is the best team Gryffindor's had in years. We're going to win. I know it."
He glared at them all as if to say, "Or else."
"Right. It's time. Good luck, all of you."
Harry followed Fred and George out of the locker room and, hoping his knees weren't going to give way, walked onto the field to loud cheers. Madam Hooch was refereeing. She stood in the middle of the field waiting for the two teams, her broom in her hand.
"Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you," she said.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw his dad and his three surrogate uncles sitting in the stands. His heart skipped. He felt braver.
"Mount your brooms, please." Madam Hooch gave a loud blast of her silver whistle. Fifteen brooms rose up, high, high into the air. They were off.
The game was going as planned with Lee Jordan, the Weasley twins' friend, doing the commentary. Harry was watching from high above everyone else, keeping out of trouble and searching for the Snitch as was part of Wood's game plan. When Angelina Johnson first scored, Hagrid made his way into the stands to sit with the other three Marauders who were watching enthusiastically. Even Rory, who turned a little greener every time she glanced down and saw how high up she was, seemed to be enjoying the match.
"Slytherin in possession," Lee Jordan was saying, "Chaser Pucey ducks two Bludgers, two Weasleys, and Chaser Bell, and speeds toward the—wait a moment—was that the Snitch?"
Harry saw it. In a great rush of excitement he dived downward after the streak of gold. Slytherin Seeker Terence Higgs had seen it, too. Neck and neck they hurtled toward the Snitch. Harry was faster than Higgs—he could see the little round ball, wings fluttering, darting up ahead—he put on an extra spurt of speed—
WHAM! Marcus Flint had blocked Harry on purpose, and Harry's broom spun off course as he held on for dear life. The Golden Snitch had disappeared again.
It was a moment after, as Harry dodged another Bludger, that it happened. His broom gave a sudden frightening lurch and he nearly fell off. It happened again. It was as though the broom was trying to buck him off. He tried to turn back toward the Gryffindor goal posts and then he realised that his broom was completely out of his control. It was zigzagging through the air, and every now and then making violent swishing movements that almost unseated.
No one seemed to have noticed that Harry's broom was behaving strangely. It was carrying him slowly higher, away from the game, jerking and twitching as it went.
Hagrid watched Harry though his binoculars. Suddenly people were gasping and pointing at Harry. His broom had started to roll over and over, with him only just managing to hold on. Then the whole crowd gasped. Harry's broom had given a wild jerk and Harry swung off it. He was now dangling from it, holding on with only one hand.
"Something could have happened when Flint blocked him, couldn't it have?" Sasha whispered.
"Can't have," Hagrid said, his voice shaking. "Can't nothing interfere with a broomstick except powerful Dark magic—no kid could do that to a Nimbus Two Thousand."
At these words, Rory seized Hagrid's binoculars, but instead of looking up at Harry, she stared frantically at the crowd.
"What do you think you're doing?" moaned Polaris, who was the one with the death grip now instead of Rory.
"I knew it," Rory gasped, "Snape—look."
Polaris grabbed the binoculars. Snape was in the middle of the stands right to their fathers. He had his eyes fixed on Harry and was muttering non-stop under his breath.
"He looks like he's muttering a curse under his breath—a jinx, perhaps?" said Rory.
"What do we do?"
"Leave that to me."
Before Polaris could say another word, Rory had disappeared. Polaris turned the binoculars back on Harry. It looked like he couldn't hold on much longer to the vibrating broomstick. The Weasley twins flew up to try and pull Harry safely onto one of their brooms, but every time they got near him, the broom would jump higher still. They began to circle below him, hoping to catch him if he fell.
"Rory, you can do it," Polaris muttered desperately.
Rory had fought her way across to the stand where Snape now stood, and was racing along the row behind; she didn't even stop to say sorry as she knocked Professor Quirrell headfirst into the row in front. Reaching Snape, she crouched down, pulled out her wand, and whispered a few, well-chosen words. Bright blue flames (her specialty) shot from her wand onto the hem of Snape's robes.
A sudden yelp thirty seconds later told her she had done her job. Scooping the fire off him into a little jar in her pocket, she scrambled back along the row.
It was enough. Up in the air, Harry was suddenly able to clamber back on to his broom.
Harry was speeding toward the ground when the crowd saw him clap his hand to his mouth as though he was about to be sick—he hit the field on all fours—cough—and something fold fell into his hand.
"I've got the Snitch!" he shouted, waving it above his head, and the game ended in complete confusion.
Gryffindor had won by one hundred and seventy points to sixty. Harry was instantly brought to Hagrid's cabin where his father and three surrogate uncles waited for him along with his three best friends. Hagrid made them all a cup of strong tea.
"It was Snape," Polaris was explaining to them all, "He was trying to knock you off your broom—muttering under his breath, not taking his eyes off of you—Rory, Sasha, and I saw him."
"Rubbish," said Hagrid, who hadn't heard a word of what had gone on next to him in the stands. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"
"I don't know," said Sasha smartly, "why was he trying to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween."
All four of their father's choked. Hagrid dropped his teapot.
"How do you know about Fluffy?" he said.
"Fluffy?" asked Harry.
"That thing has a name?" said Sasha in disgust.
"Yeah—he's mine—bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year—I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the—"
James Potter coughed loudly. The four children glared at him.
"Don't asked Hagrid anymore," said Peter Pettigrew setting down his teacup. "That's top secret."
"You know what it is!" said Sasha accusingly. Her father didn't answer.
"Snape's trying to steal it," said Polaris, trying a different approach.
"Rubbish," said Hagrid again. "Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort."
"Why did he just try and kill Harry then?" cried Rory suddenly. The afternoon's events certainly seemed to have changed her mind about Snape. "I'm not stupid; I know I spell when I see one. You have to keep eye contact and Snape wasn't blinking. I've read all about them—I know I'm not wrong about this."
"I don't know why Harry's broom acted like that," said Sirius Black slowly and calmly, "but, as much as I hate to admit it, Snape would not try to kill a student—no matter who it is."
"What do you mean by that?" asked Harry accusingly.
Remus Lupin shook his head. "Listen to me, all four of you, you are interfering with things that aren't supposed to be interfered—especially by four first years. It's dangerous."
"That's right." Hagrid nodded. "You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel—"
"Aha!" said Harry, "so there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?"
Their fathers looked rather upset and Hagrid looked furious with himself.
Christmas was coming. One morning in mid-December Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. All four of the Marauders were planning on going home for Christmas—like every year, they would be spending it together at Godric's Hollow which was the biggest house out of all of theirs.
They had been searching books for Flamel's name ever since Hagrid had let it slip, because how else were they going to find out what Snape was trying to steal? The trouble was, it was very hard to know where to begin, not knowing what Flamel might have done to get himself into a book. Must easier to find, however, was what Sirius's comment about Snape had meant. On the second day of searching the library, Rory had come across a Year Book from 1977—the year their fathers had graduated from Hogwarts and apparently, Snape as well. They planned to wheedle the whole story out of their fathers when they went home.
On the train ride home, they talked and played games; Flamel and Snape were washed out of their minds. It stayed like this most of the holiday. The four young Marauders only had themselves and their parents for company all winter break as they stayed at Godric's Hollow the whole time. They roasted marshmallows and plotted on ways to get Snape sacked and Malfoy expelled which were all fun to think of even if they wouldn't work.
Christmas morning dawned on them and Harry and Polaris, who were sharing a room, woke at around the same time. They threw on their bathrobes and raced downstairs where the famous Potter tree, which stood from floor to ceiling, was decorated in tinsel and glowing candles.
Rory and Sasha were already sitting at the base of the tree picking up gifts and shaking it near their ears hoping to be able to hear what was inside. Their fathers were sitting on the floor around the coffee table conversing quietly and their mothers were in quite the similar position in front of the fireplace.
As Harry and Polaris entered the room, Rory looked up and sighed happily, "Finally! We'd thought you two would never get up. Come along—it's present time!"
They scrambled over toward the tree not having realized how late they had slept and sat down across from the two girls. They looked up at their parents expectantly as all eight of them stood and joined them around the tree. The four young Marauders waited patiently. It was tradition that every Christmas the first gifts to be given out are the ones from their fathers to their mothers, one by one, in alphabetical order.
Sirius Black was a handsome man with floppy black hair a lot like his son's. He was tall and well built. He and his son had matching grey eyes. Polaris was nearly a replica of his father except for the fact that he had his mother's sense of justice and her round chin. Sirius insisted that he would grow out of that, though. Sirius learned to be an Animagus when he was fifteen and turned into a big black dog which was why he was called Padfoot.
Haya Black was a pretty Asian woman with straight black hair and matching black eyes. She had peachy-white skin with a few freckles on her neck. She was the tallest woman in the house. When she was twenty—three years after she married Sirius, he was twenty-two at the time—she learned to be an Animagus as well with Rue, Lily, and Kyria and turned into a black and white border collie which was why she was called Collie.
Sirius bought her a new black dress robe ("It says that one size fits all—see?") and Haya bought him a new leather jacket ("You needed a new one, darling. The one you have now has holes all in it!")
Remus Lupin was a mysterious character. He had thick dark brown hair to match his daughter's. He was already sprouting a few grey hairs, though nobody really cared about that. He and his daughter had bright amber eyes. Rory was nearly a replica of her father except she had the wisdom and fire in her eyes of her mother. Remus was four years old when he was bitten and had been a werewolf ever since which was why he was called Moony.
Rue Lupin was a very pale woman with chin-length dirty-blond hair and matching hazel eyes. She had a very freckles scattered about her body. Her temper was legendary as to be the only thing that made the Marauders (both young and old) feel guilty for what they did. She did not shout like most, but instead talked in a very low demanding tone that made you feel very disappointed. Rue learned to be an Animagus three years after her marriage with Remus when she was twenty-one and became a sand-coloured fox which was why she was called Vixen.
Remus bought her a gold chain bracelet ("You can add Muggle charms whenever the occasion calls for it.") and Rue bought him a fox and wolf the size of their fist made entirely out of chocolate ("Just to feed the Lupin addiction, love.")
Peter Pettigrew was the shortest of the men. He had the same white-blond hair as his daughter and watery blue eyes. He even has the chubby cheeks exactly like Sasha. Unlike his daughter, however, he was plump and a bit jittery. He said constantly that he was very blessed to have two angels in his life and he didn't know what he'd do without them. Peter, when he was fifteen years old, took on the Animagus form of the rat which was why he was called Wormtail.
Kyria Pettigrew was the oddball out of the group being the shortest out of the woman (where her daughter got her size) and being the only Squib in the group. Kyria grew up knowing about magic from her cousin and so knew everything there was to know. When she met Peter, she didn't tell him she was a Squib for fear that he would turn away from her, but she decided that she better tell him when they got engaged and he had been surprised but hadn't cared. Kyria was a woman freckled from head to toe with long, curly, brown hair. Three years after she was married, twenty-three years old, they were told that Squibs have their own magic and she was able to become an Animagus in the form of a chinchilla (much to the amusement of the rest of them) and is called Chinta.
Peter bought her a pair of birthstone earrings ("Peridot—August, correct? I was afraid I had forgotten.") and Kyria had given him a new wallet with a Muggle picture of her, Sasha, and all three of them in it already ("For when you go away on business trips, so that you don't forget us.")
James Potter was the leader of the group. He was the exact replica of his son except for the eyes. James had hazel eyes behind his black rimmed glasses. He was slightly more muscular than the other men because of all of the Quidditch that he played. It had been him who had found out about Animagi when he was twelve and suggested that the three of them become animals for Remus's sake. He had also been the first to accomplish it when he was fifteen becoming a stag every time that he transformed earning the name Prongs.
Lily Potter had a temper to match her fiery red hair. Unlike Rue who could make the Marauders (both young and old) feel guilty for what they did, Lily had the gift of just intimidating them, but that didn't stop them from doing it again. Her son, Harry, had her same emerald green, but that was the only thing that he inherited from her in look. In personality, he had the same sense of curiosity that she had and even sometimes had a temper to match hers. When Lily was twenty-two, she learned with the girls how to become an Animagus and transformed into a Caspian Mare earning the name Hooves.
James bought her an emerald green cloak with a scarlet lily clasp ("It reminded me so much of you, I just couldn't pass it up.") and Lily bought him a brand new pair of Quidditch gloves with his name engraved on the wrist ("I saw your face when you heard that Harry had made the team; now you two can play Quidditch together without the splinters.")
Once the parents had gotten the mushy gifts out of the way, the four young Marauders dived into their gifts. After years of doing this, they learned that they each had a way about going about things.
Rory would gather all of her presents in front of her and then open the smallest first before getting to the bigger ones. Sasha would just find the one closest to her and open it without much of a system. Polaris would open the ones from his parents first and then turn to the gifts from his surrogated aunts and uncles and open the gifts from his friends last. Harry would gather all of his presents in front of him, much like Rory, but he wouldn't care which one he opened first.
Harry got a large box of Cauldron Cakes from Sasha, his own copy of Quidditch Through the Ages from Rory, and a Snitch watch from Polaris. Sasha received a stuffed hippogriff from Polaris, a magical mood ring from Harry, and a brand new set of chess pieces from Rory. Polaris got a wand holder for your belt from Rory, a large box of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum from Sasha, and a plastic Quidditch figure of Marquise Wellington (a Chaser for Caerphilly Catapults) that flew around the room from Harry. Rory received a magical mood ring identical to Sasha's from Harry, a poster of Kirley McCormack from the Weird Sisters from Sasha, and large box of Chocolate Frogs along with a renewed copy of her Transfiguration book from Polaris.
Sasha was just looking for her next gift when she sat down sort of sullenly and looked at her father. "Did I do something wrong?" she asked in her innocent voice.
Her father blinked at her and said, "N-no, why?"
"Well, not to be greedy or anything, but I don't have a gift from you—even on mum's present it only says 'From Mum' not 'From Mum and Dad'."
Peter chuckled. He turned toward Remus and said, "You may have the g-genius daughter, Moony, b-but I have the observant one."
Remus laughed and Rory blushed.
Peter turned back toward his daughter and said, "Y-you don't have a gift from m-me, my little Marauder, b-because I am going to give it to you l-later."
"We all are to each of you," said James. "You might have noticed that you didn't get ones from us as well. Before that, though, breakfast!"
The four young Marauders were so curious as to what their fathers could be waiting to give them that they inhaled the food without much thought. Their mothers scolded them for eating so quickly insisting that they were likely to get a stomach ache. Once the last of their fathers were full and satisfied, they were seated on the couch in the living room.
The four men looked at each other before James stepped and held out a very light parcel to his son. On top of it was a letter. Harry picked up the letter first and read aloud:
"My father gave this to me for Christmas when I was eleven and his father gave it to him. Now I give it to you. Use it well. A Very Merry Christmas to you."
He looked up at his father curiously before unwrapping the package. Something fluid and silvery grey went slithering to the floor where it lay in gleaming folds. All four of the children gasped.
"That's not—that can't be—" breathed Polaris, unable to get a sentence out.
"That's an invisibility cloak, isn't it?" asked Rory bouncing in her seat in excitement.
"Harry!" cried Sasha, "What are you waiting for? Try it on!"
Harry jumped off the sofa and threw the cloak around his shoulders. The other three Marauders gave a yell.
"It is!" they cried. "It is an invisibility cloak! Look down!"
Harry looked down at his feet, but they were gone. He dashed to the mirror and sure enough only his head suspended in midair stared back at him. He pulled the cloak over his head and his reflection vanished completely.
"Your turn," said Remus and he held out a rectangular shaped box to his daughter. There was a letter on top of this one as well. Rory picked up the letter and saw that it was slightly longer than the other one as she read it aloud:
"The four of us created this when we were in school together. It helped us out of a lot of tight situations. It took some good detective skills to track it down to where it was now. Just tap it with your wand and say 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good' to activate it. To clear it again, tap it and say, 'Mischief Managed.' Use it well and Happy Christmas."
She opened the box and found a lone piece of parchment in there. She gave her father a sceptical look, but he nodded his head. Pulling her wand from her pocket, she pointed it at the map and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Polaris snorted. Rory turned to glare at him but stopped halfway as writing suddenly began to spill across the page. It was like a spider web as the lines crisscrossed, joined each other, and fanned about all across the parchment. At the top of the page, in bright green letters, was a set words that Rory read aloud.
"Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs—Purveyors of Aids of Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present The Marauder's Map." Her mouth was hanging open as she traced the lines. "Ron stayed for the holidays," she said faintly. She looked up at her father, her eyes shining with glee, and said, "This is… this is… you made this?"
"We all did," corrected her father.
"It was quite hard work too," said Sirius.
"What with m-mapping out Hogwarts," continued Peter.
"And finding the correct spells," James added.
"It took us a whole year to finish," said Remus.
"And a whole year to track down," Sirius said.
"B-but here it is," Peter added.
"As good as new!" concluded James.
"This is brilliant," breathed Rory. "All of the possibilities… they're endless!"
"Which l-leads us to the next g-gift," said Peter, grinning. "Now that we know that you w-won't get caught, whatever sh-shall you do with this f-freedom?" He reached into his pocket and brought out a tiny block in his chubby hand. He tapped it with his wand and it grew to the size of a telly. He grinned at his daughter as she slowly stood and walked toward the huge box. There was a letter on top of this one as well.
"It took us years to get our collection this large and now we pass it down to you. Add other 'useful' information that you may find to it, and when you think they're ready, pass it down to your children. Use it well. Happy Christmas!"
She ripped off the tape and opened the box to find several books and bits of parchment inside. Sasha shifted through the contents in the box.
There were books such as Politely Poisoning for the Prankster's Mind and Hextor's Hexing Library. Then there were more silly titles such as Duelling for Dummies and Jelly-Leg Jinx, Tickling Charm, Dancing Hex and so much more!
The parchments were covered in notes of different types of handwriting. The notes held things such as 'Coloro Commutatus – The colour changing charm; works up to fifteen feet away.' and 'Gario – The gibberish jinx; counter-clockwise swish and flick.' It also held other things such as 'Stalker Solution – slip some into the drinker's goblet and they become obsessed with the first person they see. Ingredients: two caterpillars, one sliced newt, powdered willow…'
Sasha giggled and looked up at her father. "We'll definitely put this to good use." She grinned wickedly and wiggled her eyebrows happily.
Sirius laughed. "I'm sure you will, but just in case you get caught—Merlin forbid—and get stuck in detention you'll have this." He handed a messily wrapped package to his son. There was a letter with this package just like the others. Polaris read:
"Detentions were always boring for us when we were in school, so we used these to communicate with each other. Just say the name of one of the other people with a mirror (there are four) and then you can talk just as easy as that! Use it well. Have a jolly holiday."
"Only you would say jolly," muttered Polaris as he opened the package. Four square mirrors fell out of the wrapping paper and Polaris had to move swiftly to stop one of them from falling to the floor. He looked at them curiously.
He handed one of them to Harry and said, "Go to the other side of the room, will you?"
Harry shrugged, took the mirror, and went to the opposite corner of the room. Polaris looked into the mirror, hesitated, and looked up at his father. His father gave him a look that said 'Would I lie to you?'
Yes, yes you would, Polaris thought to himself. He looked back into the mirror, however, and said, "Harry Potter."
Both boys gave a small shout as the opposite's face appeared in the mirror. Rory and Sasha scrambled to their feet and looked over Polaris's shoulder. They both grinned and grabbed up the other two mirrors as well.
"Well, that's all that we have," said Remus cheerfully.
"Use it w-well," said a grinning Peter.
"Happy Christmas," James said happily.
"And jolly pranks," Sirius said in a sing-song voice.
Rory caught their eye and the four young Marauders gathered up the new presents. They scuttled up the stairs and took refuge in the boys' room. As they sat the stuff down, they turned toward the brown-headed girl who was grinning at them all.
"You have something up your sleeve, Rory," said Polaris smartly. "Spit it out already."
"I know exactly what we can do with this stuff," Rory said.
"Pull pranks, of course," said Harry.
"No!"
"Then what?" asked Sasha.
"Have you all forgotten already? When we get back to Hogwarts, we're going to the library and we're going to research in the Restricted Section for Nicolas Flamel."
Their eyes widened as they suddenly remembered the mysterious name.
"Oh, but Rory, you know we're not allowed in the Restricted Section without a note!" hissed Sasha.
Rory pulled out the old parchment from her robes and said, "I have my note right here."
Chapter Two: Halloween, Quidditch, and Christmas
It was a surprise to all of them when they woke up Halloween morning and realized that they had already been at school for two months. Harry's dad had long since bought him a Nimbus Two Thousand and it was easily the best broom on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
In Charms that morning, Professor Flitwick put them into pairs and told them that they would be learning the Levitation Charm. Harry's partner was Seamus Finnigan, Rory and Polaris were lucky enough to be paired together, and Sasha got stuck with Neville though she looked exceptionally thrilled by this.
"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too—never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."
Seamus ended up setting fire to his feather, though Harry didn't do much better. Sasha at the next table was having much better luck and a moment later her feather went sailing into the air.
"Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Pettigrew's done it!"
Harry smiled and looked behind him where Rory and Polaris sat. He was surprised to see that they were glaring at each other.
"Fine," said Rory impatiently. "Figure it out yourself, but I'm telling you—you are going to get nowhere doing it the way you are!"
"If you're such a bloody genius, then you do it," Polaris snarled.
Rory looked like she wanted to retort, but instead rolled up her sleeves, flicked her wand, and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"
Their feather raised off the desk the same time that Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley's did and hovered about four feet above their heads.
Polaris was in a very bad mood by the end of the class.
"It's no wonder the only people she hangs out with is us," he said to Harry and Sasha as they pushed their way into a crowded corridor, having been told to go ahead by Rory who wanted to stay behind and ask Flitwick a question, "she's completely horrible, honestly."
Someone knocked into Harry as they hurried past them, someone with loads of dark brown hair—Rosalyn Lupin. Harry caught a glimpse of her face—and was startled to see that she was in tears.
"I think she heard you."
"So?" said Polaris, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. "Not like I care."
"Oh!" shrieked Sasha. "You are an insensitive git, you know that!"
She began to march off, but Harry caught her by the arm. "You can't! We have Herbology next—you don't have time you find her in this mess."
Sasha opened her mouth to argue, but finally agreed. Rory didn't turn up for the next class and wasn't seen all afternoon. They were just sitting down at the Halloween feast when they heard Parvati Patil telling Lavender Brown that Rory was crying in the girls' bathroom and wanted to be left alone. Sasha glared at Polaris who looked even more uncomfortable at this news, but the moment the food arrived, the awkwardness seemed to have past.
"I'm going to stock up on candy to give to Rory after the feast," Sasha told the two boys across from her. "You two better as well, because you are apologizing, Polaris."
Polaris didn't object and obediently began to stuff candy into his pockets as well. They were just starting to serve themselves when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, terror on his face. He slumped against the table in front of the headmaster and gasped, "Troll—in the dungeons—thought you ought to know." He then sank to the floor in a dead faint.
There was uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.
"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"
"How could a troll get in?" Sasha asked as they followed Percy Weasley up the stairs.
"Not on its own; trolls are supposed to be really stupid," said Harry.
"Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke?" suggested Polaris.
"Some joke," muttered Sasha.
They were just manoeuvring their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs when Harry stuck out both of his arms and grabbed Sasha and Polaris by their sleeves. They turned to face him confused and saw that he had gone a sickly green.
"I just thought—Rory!"
Sasha's eyes went wide. "She doesn't know!"
"Oh, all right," sighed Polaris. "Come on."
He ducked into a crowd of Hufflepuffs going the opposite direction. They had just taken refuge into a deserted corridor that led to the girls' bathroom when they heard quick footsteps behind them. They ducked behind a large stone griffin. Peering around it, they saw Snape as he crossed the corridor and disappeared from view.
"What's he doing?" Harry whispered. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?"
"I don't know," said Polaris just as curious.
They followed him.
"He's heading for the third floor," Harry said, but Polaris held up his hand.
"Can you smell something?"
"Doesn't matter, come on!"
They began to follow Snape again until they looked behind them and noticed that Sasha hadn't moved.
"Sasha!" hissed Polaris. "Come on."
"The troll's left the dungeon…" she said faintly.
Both boys stared at her as she slowly turned to face them; she was as pale as death.
"…and has taken refuge in the girls' bathroom."
Right on a cue they heard something that made their hearts stop—a high, petrified scream. Harry and Polaris looked at each other.
"Rory!" they said together.
They sprinted to the room that they easily knew held the troll because of the banging and clanging that was coming from it. They took the fact that they could still here Rory's screams every so often as a good sign though it made them shudder at the thought of them stopping for reasons they couldn't bear to think of.
Harry pulled the door open and ran inside only to duck just in time to avoid being hit by a flying faucet. Rosalyn Lupin was ducking under a bathroom sink, moving every time the troll tried to hit her. The troll was destroying every place to hide, however, and she was becoming an easier and easier target.
"Confuse it!" Harry said desperately to Polaris and Sasha, and, seizing a tap, he threw it as hard as he could against the wall.
The troll stopped in mid swing and turned its beady eyes toward Harry. It hesitated, and then made for him instead, lifting its club back up as it went.
"Oi, Mr. Troll-dude!" yelled Sasha lamely from the other side of the chamber as Polaris threw a metal pipe at it a little ways away. The troll didn't even seem to notice the pipe hitting its back, but it heard the yell and paused again, turning its ugly snout toward Sasha instead, giving Polaris time to run around it while Harry got into another position to confuse it.
"Come on, run, run!" Polaris yelled at Rory, forcefully pulling her to her feet and trying to move toward the door, but she made a desperate attempt to get to the opposite side of the chamber. "Are you mad? We have to get out of here!"
"My books!" she shrieked and Polaris looked up to see Rory's book bag already beaten pretty bad by the opposite wand. "My wand!" she moaned.
The troll roared again and started toward Sasha, who was nearest and had no way to escape.
Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid: He took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the troll's neck from behind and without even meaning too, stuffed his wand up his nose.
The troll howled in pain. Sasha pulled out her wand to do a spell that would help perhaps, but the troll's club-less hand hit her wand while it was flailing about and threw it against the other wall. Sasha gave an odd sort of noise between a gasp and sob as she ducked the still flailing troll arms and shrunk back against the wall.
"Polaris, do something!" Rory shrieked as Harry was nearly clipped in the head by the club.
"What?"
"Who the bloody well cares? Anything! You're the only one with a wand, now do something!"
Polaris pulled out his wand—not knowing what he was going to do until he heard himself cry the first spell that came into his head: "Wingardium Leviosa!"
The club flew suddenly out of the troll's hand, rose higher and higher up into the air, turned slowly over—and dropped, with a sickening crack, onto its owner's head, and the troll fell on his face.
Harry got to his feet. Sasha gave a small sort of whimper. Rory slowly backed up into the closest corner and fell into a sitting position with a sigh. Polaris was standing there with his wand still raised, staring at what he had done.
It was Sasha who spoke first.
"Please tell me it is dead."
"I don't think it is," said Harry apologetically. "I think it's just been knocked out."
He bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose and found it covered in troll boogers. He grimaced as he bent down again and picked up Sasha's wand. He was just about to hand it to her when a sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the four of them look up. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell took one look at the troll, clutched his heart, and sat down slowly on a broken toilet seat.
Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Polaris, Harry, and Sasha. They had never seen her look so angry.
"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"
Harry and Sasha looked at each other and glanced at Polaris. Harry wished he would put his wand down.
Then a small voice came out of the shadows.
"Please, Professor McGonagall—they were looking for me."
"Miss Lupin!"
Rory was back on her feet again.
"I've read all about trolls—and I thought I could handle it—so I went looking for it myself."
Polaris dropped his wand. Rosalyn Lupin, telling a downright lie to a teacher?
"They saved my life—I know I was acting foolhardy and stuff, but—Sasha distracted the troll—Harry stuck his wand up its nose—and Polaris knocked it out with its own club. It was about to finish me off when they arrived—they didn't have time to fetch anyone, honest."
Harry, Sasha, and Polaris tried to look as though this story wasn't new to them.
"Well—in that case…" said Professor McGonagall, staring at the four of them, "Miss Lupin, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"
Rory hung her head.
"Miss Lupin, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said Professor McGonagall. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better be off to the Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses."
Rory hesitated.
"I believe she said now, Miss Lupin," barked Snape.
She didn't need to be told twice. Within a second, she had gathered up her torn book bag along with her strewn and ripped books, found her wand among the debris, and was gone. Professor McGonagall turned to Harry, Polaris, and Sasha.
"Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go."
The three of them hurried out of the chamber.
"We should have gotten more than fifteen points," Polaris grumbled.
"Ten, you mean, once she's taken off Rory's," reminded Sasha, her voice still shaking slightly.
"Good of her to get us out of trouble like that," Polaris admitted. "Mind you, we did save her."
"She might not have needed saving if you hadn't made her cry," scolded Harry. He was too tired to lecture him at the moment, however, and Polaris looked too tired to feel guilty.
Once they entered the common room, they found Rory waiting by the portrait hole, her ruined supplies still in her arms. Very quickly, as she always seemed to be, she dropped all of her supplies and her arms around the three of them while muttering, "Thanks."
Only Sasha seemed used to this sign of affection and quickly said, "What are friends for?" She kicked the back of Polaris's heal lightly and he sighed.
They pulled away from the hug and he said, "Look—Rory—I'm sorry—"
"No—I was being stupid—you didn't do anything wrong—"
It looked like Polaris was about to contradict her, but Harry jumped in and said loudly, "As long as we're all friends again." The four of them smiled before rushing off to get plates; Rory's ruined supplies momentarily forgotten.
The weekend after Halloween, Rory sent her supplies to Lily Potter, Harry's mother, who was very good at Charms. Monday morning, she got all of them back except her Transfiguration book which Lily had said, in the letter that she had sent along with it, was beyond repair. She had also offered to buy her a new one, but Rory was quick in replying that there was no need—she would just share with Polaris.
Everybody knew that this was just a Lupin trait. The Lupins weren't a very wealthy family. Remus Lupin, Rory's father, had a hard time getting work because he was a werewolf. Rue Lupin, Rory's mother, worked really well with children, but there weren't many jobs available for teachers, babysitters, or anything of that sort. Both parents were very proud, however, of what they did have and would never accept "charity" from any of their friends and they had passed on this trait to Rory who was very generous but also very self-conscious.
On Saturday, Harry would be playing in his first match after weeks of training: Gryffindor versus Slytherin. Even though Wood had insisted on keeping Harry a secret, people found out about it and either said that he would be brilliant or said that they would be running around with a mattress under him for when he fell.
It was very lucky that Rory was his friend again; he didn't know how he would get through his homework without her. She got her father's old copy of Quidditch Through the Ages and lent it to him, which turned out to be a very interesting read. Sasha and Rory were more lenient on breaking rules now that breaking them had saved a life. They still thought the only reason to break the rules intentionally was to save a life while Harry and Polaris insisted that all rules were made to be broken.
Snape seemed to be limping a lot lately, Harry noticed. During one particular cool morning, Rory created a magical fire in her hand to keep them warm (one of the only spells she learned before coming to Hogwarts) and the four of them quickly crowded close together when they saw the Potions Master coming toward them. He immediately noticed their guilty faces and asked what they were hiding. Instead of Rory pulling her hands out from behind her back, Harry did and showed him the Quidditch book.
He took the book away and took five points form Gryffindor insisting that non-School books from home were to be kept in the dormitory. Polaris cursed him as he limped away and prayed aloud that he hoped whatever was wrong with his leg was really hurting him.
The Quidditch Match was the next day, and that evening Harry was feeling particularly restless. After a few moments of inner-debate, he finally stood up and told Sasha, Polaris, and Rory that he was going to get it.
They looked at him as if he was crazy, but chorused together, "Good luck."
He went down to the staffroom and knocked. There was no answer. He knocked again. Nothing. He pushed the door ajar and peered inside. Snape and Filch were inside, alone. Snape was holding his robes above his knees. One of his legs was bloody and mangled. Filch was handing Snape bandages.
"Blasted thing," Snape was saying. "How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?"
Harry tried to shut the door without being noticed, but—
"POTTER!"
Harry gulped.
"I just wondered if I could have my book back."
"GET OUT! OUT!"
Harry left and sprinted back upstairs. Once he was back in the Gryffindor tower, he told the other three, in a low whisper, what he'd seen.
"You know what this means?" he finished breathlessly. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog at Halloween! That's where he was going when we saw him—he's after whatever it's guarding! And I'd bet my broomstick he let the troll in, to make a diversion!"
Rory's eyes widened.
"I don't believe it," she said briskly. "Snape may be horribly foul, but he is not evil. Dumbledore seems to trust him and that's good enough for me until I get more proof otherwise."
"I'm with Rory," said Sasha in an apologetic tone. "Sorry guys, but I'm going to need more proof before I believe that any teacher is an evil madman."
"Honestly, you two, teacher's are not saints," snapped Polaris. "At least I'm with Harry. I wouldn't put anything past that greasy git. But what in the wizarding world is he after? I wonder what the dog is guarding."
Harry was wondering the same thing.
By eleven o'clock the next day the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the Quidditch pitch. Rory had a death grip on Polaris's arm, terrified of falling out of the stands no matter where they sat. As they sat down, Sasha squealed and pointed toward the opposite stands where Marauders' fathers sat conversing among each other.
"They must be here to watch Harry!" said Polaris.
In the locker room, Harry and the rest of the team were changing into their scarlet Quidditch robes. Wood cleared his throat for silence.
"Okay, men," he said.
"And women," said Chaser Angelina Johnson.
"And women," Wood agreed. "This is it."
"The big one," said Fred Weasley.
"The one we've all been waiting for," said George.
"We know Oliver's speech by heart," Fred told Harry, "we were on the team last year."
"Shut up, you two," said Wood. "This is the best team Gryffindor's had in years. We're going to win. I know it."
He glared at them all as if to say, "Or else."
"Right. It's time. Good luck, all of you."
Harry followed Fred and George out of the locker room and, hoping his knees weren't going to give way, walked onto the field to loud cheers. Madam Hooch was refereeing. She stood in the middle of the field waiting for the two teams, her broom in her hand.
"Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you," she said.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw his dad and his three surrogate uncles sitting in the stands. His heart skipped. He felt braver.
"Mount your brooms, please." Madam Hooch gave a loud blast of her silver whistle. Fifteen brooms rose up, high, high into the air. They were off.
The game was going as planned with Lee Jordan, the Weasley twins' friend, doing the commentary. Harry was watching from high above everyone else, keeping out of trouble and searching for the Snitch as was part of Wood's game plan. When Angelina Johnson first scored, Hagrid made his way into the stands to sit with the other three Marauders who were watching enthusiastically. Even Rory, who turned a little greener every time she glanced down and saw how high up she was, seemed to be enjoying the match.
"Slytherin in possession," Lee Jordan was saying, "Chaser Pucey ducks two Bludgers, two Weasleys, and Chaser Bell, and speeds toward the—wait a moment—was that the Snitch?"
Harry saw it. In a great rush of excitement he dived downward after the streak of gold. Slytherin Seeker Terence Higgs had seen it, too. Neck and neck they hurtled toward the Snitch. Harry was faster than Higgs—he could see the little round ball, wings fluttering, darting up ahead—he put on an extra spurt of speed—
WHAM! Marcus Flint had blocked Harry on purpose, and Harry's broom spun off course as he held on for dear life. The Golden Snitch had disappeared again.
It was a moment after, as Harry dodged another Bludger, that it happened. His broom gave a sudden frightening lurch and he nearly fell off. It happened again. It was as though the broom was trying to buck him off. He tried to turn back toward the Gryffindor goal posts and then he realised that his broom was completely out of his control. It was zigzagging through the air, and every now and then making violent swishing movements that almost unseated.
No one seemed to have noticed that Harry's broom was behaving strangely. It was carrying him slowly higher, away from the game, jerking and twitching as it went.
Hagrid watched Harry though his binoculars. Suddenly people were gasping and pointing at Harry. His broom had started to roll over and over, with him only just managing to hold on. Then the whole crowd gasped. Harry's broom had given a wild jerk and Harry swung off it. He was now dangling from it, holding on with only one hand.
"Something could have happened when Flint blocked him, couldn't it have?" Sasha whispered.
"Can't have," Hagrid said, his voice shaking. "Can't nothing interfere with a broomstick except powerful Dark magic—no kid could do that to a Nimbus Two Thousand."
At these words, Rory seized Hagrid's binoculars, but instead of looking up at Harry, she stared frantically at the crowd.
"What do you think you're doing?" moaned Polaris, who was the one with the death grip now instead of Rory.
"I knew it," Rory gasped, "Snape—look."
Polaris grabbed the binoculars. Snape was in the middle of the stands right to their fathers. He had his eyes fixed on Harry and was muttering non-stop under his breath.
"He looks like he's muttering a curse under his breath—a jinx, perhaps?" said Rory.
"What do we do?"
"Leave that to me."
Before Polaris could say another word, Rory had disappeared. Polaris turned the binoculars back on Harry. It looked like he couldn't hold on much longer to the vibrating broomstick. The Weasley twins flew up to try and pull Harry safely onto one of their brooms, but every time they got near him, the broom would jump higher still. They began to circle below him, hoping to catch him if he fell.
"Rory, you can do it," Polaris muttered desperately.
Rory had fought her way across to the stand where Snape now stood, and was racing along the row behind; she didn't even stop to say sorry as she knocked Professor Quirrell headfirst into the row in front. Reaching Snape, she crouched down, pulled out her wand, and whispered a few, well-chosen words. Bright blue flames (her specialty) shot from her wand onto the hem of Snape's robes.
A sudden yelp thirty seconds later told her she had done her job. Scooping the fire off him into a little jar in her pocket, she scrambled back along the row.
It was enough. Up in the air, Harry was suddenly able to clamber back on to his broom.
Harry was speeding toward the ground when the crowd saw him clap his hand to his mouth as though he was about to be sick—he hit the field on all fours—cough—and something fold fell into his hand.
"I've got the Snitch!" he shouted, waving it above his head, and the game ended in complete confusion.
Gryffindor had won by one hundred and seventy points to sixty. Harry was instantly brought to Hagrid's cabin where his father and three surrogate uncles waited for him along with his three best friends. Hagrid made them all a cup of strong tea.
"It was Snape," Polaris was explaining to them all, "He was trying to knock you off your broom—muttering under his breath, not taking his eyes off of you—Rory, Sasha, and I saw him."
"Rubbish," said Hagrid, who hadn't heard a word of what had gone on next to him in the stands. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"
"I don't know," said Sasha smartly, "why was he trying to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween."
All four of their father's choked. Hagrid dropped his teapot.
"How do you know about Fluffy?" he said.
"Fluffy?" asked Harry.
"That thing has a name?" said Sasha in disgust.
"Yeah—he's mine—bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year—I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the—"
James Potter coughed loudly. The four children glared at him.
"Don't asked Hagrid anymore," said Peter Pettigrew setting down his teacup. "That's top secret."
"You know what it is!" said Sasha accusingly. Her father didn't answer.
"Snape's trying to steal it," said Polaris, trying a different approach.
"Rubbish," said Hagrid again. "Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort."
"Why did he just try and kill Harry then?" cried Rory suddenly. The afternoon's events certainly seemed to have changed her mind about Snape. "I'm not stupid; I know I spell when I see one. You have to keep eye contact and Snape wasn't blinking. I've read all about them—I know I'm not wrong about this."
"I don't know why Harry's broom acted like that," said Sirius Black slowly and calmly, "but, as much as I hate to admit it, Snape would not try to kill a student—no matter who it is."
"What do you mean by that?" asked Harry accusingly.
Remus Lupin shook his head. "Listen to me, all four of you, you are interfering with things that aren't supposed to be interfered—especially by four first years. It's dangerous."
"That's right." Hagrid nodded. "You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel—"
"Aha!" said Harry, "so there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?"
Their fathers looked rather upset and Hagrid looked furious with himself.
Christmas was coming. One morning in mid-December Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. All four of the Marauders were planning on going home for Christmas—like every year, they would be spending it together at Godric's Hollow which was the biggest house out of all of theirs.
They had been searching books for Flamel's name ever since Hagrid had let it slip, because how else were they going to find out what Snape was trying to steal? The trouble was, it was very hard to know where to begin, not knowing what Flamel might have done to get himself into a book. Must easier to find, however, was what Sirius's comment about Snape had meant. On the second day of searching the library, Rory had come across a Year Book from 1977—the year their fathers had graduated from Hogwarts and apparently, Snape as well. They planned to wheedle the whole story out of their fathers when they went home.
On the train ride home, they talked and played games; Flamel and Snape were washed out of their minds. It stayed like this most of the holiday. The four young Marauders only had themselves and their parents for company all winter break as they stayed at Godric's Hollow the whole time. They roasted marshmallows and plotted on ways to get Snape sacked and Malfoy expelled which were all fun to think of even if they wouldn't work.
Christmas morning dawned on them and Harry and Polaris, who were sharing a room, woke at around the same time. They threw on their bathrobes and raced downstairs where the famous Potter tree, which stood from floor to ceiling, was decorated in tinsel and glowing candles.
Rory and Sasha were already sitting at the base of the tree picking up gifts and shaking it near their ears hoping to be able to hear what was inside. Their fathers were sitting on the floor around the coffee table conversing quietly and their mothers were in quite the similar position in front of the fireplace.
As Harry and Polaris entered the room, Rory looked up and sighed happily, "Finally! We'd thought you two would never get up. Come along—it's present time!"
They scrambled over toward the tree not having realized how late they had slept and sat down across from the two girls. They looked up at their parents expectantly as all eight of them stood and joined them around the tree. The four young Marauders waited patiently. It was tradition that every Christmas the first gifts to be given out are the ones from their fathers to their mothers, one by one, in alphabetical order.
Sirius Black was a handsome man with floppy black hair a lot like his son's. He was tall and well built. He and his son had matching grey eyes. Polaris was nearly a replica of his father except for the fact that he had his mother's sense of justice and her round chin. Sirius insisted that he would grow out of that, though. Sirius learned to be an Animagus when he was fifteen and turned into a big black dog which was why he was called Padfoot.
Haya Black was a pretty Asian woman with straight black hair and matching black eyes. She had peachy-white skin with a few freckles on her neck. She was the tallest woman in the house. When she was twenty—three years after she married Sirius, he was twenty-two at the time—she learned to be an Animagus as well with Rue, Lily, and Kyria and turned into a black and white border collie which was why she was called Collie.
Sirius bought her a new black dress robe ("It says that one size fits all—see?") and Haya bought him a new leather jacket ("You needed a new one, darling. The one you have now has holes all in it!")
Remus Lupin was a mysterious character. He had thick dark brown hair to match his daughter's. He was already sprouting a few grey hairs, though nobody really cared about that. He and his daughter had bright amber eyes. Rory was nearly a replica of her father except she had the wisdom and fire in her eyes of her mother. Remus was four years old when he was bitten and had been a werewolf ever since which was why he was called Moony.
Rue Lupin was a very pale woman with chin-length dirty-blond hair and matching hazel eyes. She had a very freckles scattered about her body. Her temper was legendary as to be the only thing that made the Marauders (both young and old) feel guilty for what they did. She did not shout like most, but instead talked in a very low demanding tone that made you feel very disappointed. Rue learned to be an Animagus three years after her marriage with Remus when she was twenty-one and became a sand-coloured fox which was why she was called Vixen.
Remus bought her a gold chain bracelet ("You can add Muggle charms whenever the occasion calls for it.") and Rue bought him a fox and wolf the size of their fist made entirely out of chocolate ("Just to feed the Lupin addiction, love.")
Peter Pettigrew was the shortest of the men. He had the same white-blond hair as his daughter and watery blue eyes. He even has the chubby cheeks exactly like Sasha. Unlike his daughter, however, he was plump and a bit jittery. He said constantly that he was very blessed to have two angels in his life and he didn't know what he'd do without them. Peter, when he was fifteen years old, took on the Animagus form of the rat which was why he was called Wormtail.
Kyria Pettigrew was the oddball out of the group being the shortest out of the woman (where her daughter got her size) and being the only Squib in the group. Kyria grew up knowing about magic from her cousin and so knew everything there was to know. When she met Peter, she didn't tell him she was a Squib for fear that he would turn away from her, but she decided that she better tell him when they got engaged and he had been surprised but hadn't cared. Kyria was a woman freckled from head to toe with long, curly, brown hair. Three years after she was married, twenty-three years old, they were told that Squibs have their own magic and she was able to become an Animagus in the form of a chinchilla (much to the amusement of the rest of them) and is called Chinta.
Peter bought her a pair of birthstone earrings ("Peridot—August, correct? I was afraid I had forgotten.") and Kyria had given him a new wallet with a Muggle picture of her, Sasha, and all three of them in it already ("For when you go away on business trips, so that you don't forget us.")
James Potter was the leader of the group. He was the exact replica of his son except for the eyes. James had hazel eyes behind his black rimmed glasses. He was slightly more muscular than the other men because of all of the Quidditch that he played. It had been him who had found out about Animagi when he was twelve and suggested that the three of them become animals for Remus's sake. He had also been the first to accomplish it when he was fifteen becoming a stag every time that he transformed earning the name Prongs.
Lily Potter had a temper to match her fiery red hair. Unlike Rue who could make the Marauders (both young and old) feel guilty for what they did, Lily had the gift of just intimidating them, but that didn't stop them from doing it again. Her son, Harry, had her same emerald green, but that was the only thing that he inherited from her in look. In personality, he had the same sense of curiosity that she had and even sometimes had a temper to match hers. When Lily was twenty-two, she learned with the girls how to become an Animagus and transformed into a Caspian Mare earning the name Hooves.
James bought her an emerald green cloak with a scarlet lily clasp ("It reminded me so much of you, I just couldn't pass it up.") and Lily bought him a brand new pair of Quidditch gloves with his name engraved on the wrist ("I saw your face when you heard that Harry had made the team; now you two can play Quidditch together without the splinters.")
Once the parents had gotten the mushy gifts out of the way, the four young Marauders dived into their gifts. After years of doing this, they learned that they each had a way about going about things.
Rory would gather all of her presents in front of her and then open the smallest first before getting to the bigger ones. Sasha would just find the one closest to her and open it without much of a system. Polaris would open the ones from his parents first and then turn to the gifts from his surrogated aunts and uncles and open the gifts from his friends last. Harry would gather all of his presents in front of him, much like Rory, but he wouldn't care which one he opened first.
Harry got a large box of Cauldron Cakes from Sasha, his own copy of Quidditch Through the Ages from Rory, and a Snitch watch from Polaris. Sasha received a stuffed hippogriff from Polaris, a magical mood ring from Harry, and a brand new set of chess pieces from Rory. Polaris got a wand holder for your belt from Rory, a large box of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum from Sasha, and a plastic Quidditch figure of Marquise Wellington (a Chaser for Caerphilly Catapults) that flew around the room from Harry. Rory received a magical mood ring identical to Sasha's from Harry, a poster of Kirley McCormack from the Weird Sisters from Sasha, and large box of Chocolate Frogs along with a renewed copy of her Transfiguration book from Polaris.
Sasha was just looking for her next gift when she sat down sort of sullenly and looked at her father. "Did I do something wrong?" she asked in her innocent voice.
Her father blinked at her and said, "N-no, why?"
"Well, not to be greedy or anything, but I don't have a gift from you—even on mum's present it only says 'From Mum' not 'From Mum and Dad'."
Peter chuckled. He turned toward Remus and said, "You may have the g-genius daughter, Moony, b-but I have the observant one."
Remus laughed and Rory blushed.
Peter turned back toward his daughter and said, "Y-you don't have a gift from m-me, my little Marauder, b-because I am going to give it to you l-later."
"We all are to each of you," said James. "You might have noticed that you didn't get ones from us as well. Before that, though, breakfast!"
The four young Marauders were so curious as to what their fathers could be waiting to give them that they inhaled the food without much thought. Their mothers scolded them for eating so quickly insisting that they were likely to get a stomach ache. Once the last of their fathers were full and satisfied, they were seated on the couch in the living room.
The four men looked at each other before James stepped and held out a very light parcel to his son. On top of it was a letter. Harry picked up the letter first and read aloud:
"My father gave this to me for Christmas when I was eleven and his father gave it to him. Now I give it to you. Use it well. A Very Merry Christmas to you."
He looked up at his father curiously before unwrapping the package. Something fluid and silvery grey went slithering to the floor where it lay in gleaming folds. All four of the children gasped.
"That's not—that can't be—" breathed Polaris, unable to get a sentence out.
"That's an invisibility cloak, isn't it?" asked Rory bouncing in her seat in excitement.
"Harry!" cried Sasha, "What are you waiting for? Try it on!"
Harry jumped off the sofa and threw the cloak around his shoulders. The other three Marauders gave a yell.
"It is!" they cried. "It is an invisibility cloak! Look down!"
Harry looked down at his feet, but they were gone. He dashed to the mirror and sure enough only his head suspended in midair stared back at him. He pulled the cloak over his head and his reflection vanished completely.
"Your turn," said Remus and he held out a rectangular shaped box to his daughter. There was a letter on top of this one as well. Rory picked up the letter and saw that it was slightly longer than the other one as she read it aloud:
"The four of us created this when we were in school together. It helped us out of a lot of tight situations. It took some good detective skills to track it down to where it was now. Just tap it with your wand and say 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good' to activate it. To clear it again, tap it and say, 'Mischief Managed.' Use it well and Happy Christmas."
She opened the box and found a lone piece of parchment in there. She gave her father a sceptical look, but he nodded his head. Pulling her wand from her pocket, she pointed it at the map and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Polaris snorted. Rory turned to glare at him but stopped halfway as writing suddenly began to spill across the page. It was like a spider web as the lines crisscrossed, joined each other, and fanned about all across the parchment. At the top of the page, in bright green letters, was a set words that Rory read aloud.
"Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs—Purveyors of Aids of Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present The Marauder's Map." Her mouth was hanging open as she traced the lines. "Ron stayed for the holidays," she said faintly. She looked up at her father, her eyes shining with glee, and said, "This is… this is… you made this?"
"We all did," corrected her father.
"It was quite hard work too," said Sirius.
"What with m-mapping out Hogwarts," continued Peter.
"And finding the correct spells," James added.
"It took us a whole year to finish," said Remus.
"And a whole year to track down," Sirius said.
"B-but here it is," Peter added.
"As good as new!" concluded James.
"This is brilliant," breathed Rory. "All of the possibilities… they're endless!"
"Which l-leads us to the next g-gift," said Peter, grinning. "Now that we know that you w-won't get caught, whatever sh-shall you do with this f-freedom?" He reached into his pocket and brought out a tiny block in his chubby hand. He tapped it with his wand and it grew to the size of a telly. He grinned at his daughter as she slowly stood and walked toward the huge box. There was a letter on top of this one as well.
"It took us years to get our collection this large and now we pass it down to you. Add other 'useful' information that you may find to it, and when you think they're ready, pass it down to your children. Use it well. Happy Christmas!"
She ripped off the tape and opened the box to find several books and bits of parchment inside. Sasha shifted through the contents in the box.
There were books such as Politely Poisoning for the Prankster's Mind and Hextor's Hexing Library. Then there were more silly titles such as Duelling for Dummies and Jelly-Leg Jinx, Tickling Charm, Dancing Hex and so much more!
The parchments were covered in notes of different types of handwriting. The notes held things such as 'Coloro Commutatus – The colour changing charm; works up to fifteen feet away.' and 'Gario – The gibberish jinx; counter-clockwise swish and flick.' It also held other things such as 'Stalker Solution – slip some into the drinker's goblet and they become obsessed with the first person they see. Ingredients: two caterpillars, one sliced newt, powdered willow…'
Sasha giggled and looked up at her father. "We'll definitely put this to good use." She grinned wickedly and wiggled her eyebrows happily.
Sirius laughed. "I'm sure you will, but just in case you get caught—Merlin forbid—and get stuck in detention you'll have this." He handed a messily wrapped package to his son. There was a letter with this package just like the others. Polaris read:
"Detentions were always boring for us when we were in school, so we used these to communicate with each other. Just say the name of one of the other people with a mirror (there are four) and then you can talk just as easy as that! Use it well. Have a jolly holiday."
"Only you would say jolly," muttered Polaris as he opened the package. Four square mirrors fell out of the wrapping paper and Polaris had to move swiftly to stop one of them from falling to the floor. He looked at them curiously.
He handed one of them to Harry and said, "Go to the other side of the room, will you?"
Harry shrugged, took the mirror, and went to the opposite corner of the room. Polaris looked into the mirror, hesitated, and looked up at his father. His father gave him a look that said 'Would I lie to you?'
Yes, yes you would, Polaris thought to himself. He looked back into the mirror, however, and said, "Harry Potter."
Both boys gave a small shout as the opposite's face appeared in the mirror. Rory and Sasha scrambled to their feet and looked over Polaris's shoulder. They both grinned and grabbed up the other two mirrors as well.
"Well, that's all that we have," said Remus cheerfully.
"Use it w-well," said a grinning Peter.
"Happy Christmas," James said happily.
"And jolly pranks," Sirius said in a sing-song voice.
Rory caught their eye and the four young Marauders gathered up the new presents. They scuttled up the stairs and took refuge in the boys' room. As they sat the stuff down, they turned toward the brown-headed girl who was grinning at them all.
"You have something up your sleeve, Rory," said Polaris smartly. "Spit it out already."
"I know exactly what we can do with this stuff," Rory said.
"Pull pranks, of course," said Harry.
"No!"
"Then what?" asked Sasha.
"Have you all forgotten already? When we get back to Hogwarts, we're going to the library and we're going to research in the Restricted Section for Nicolas Flamel."
Their eyes widened as they suddenly remembered the mysterious name.
"Oh, but Rory, you know we're not allowed in the Restricted Section without a note!" hissed Sasha.
Rory pulled out the old parchment from her robes and said, "I have my note right here."