Fifteen minutes later they were dressed and heading towards the Great Hall for breakfast. The room was filled with students excitedly discussing their summer plans. Auria and Sirius took seats opposite to Lily and James and began loading their plates with eggs and bacon.
"Hurry up!" James said to them, despite the fact that they were already jamming food into their mouths.
"Wur eating as fasht as we can!" Sirius said through a mouthful of food.
"Why do they have to eat so fast? What do you have planned James Potter?" asked Lily sharply.
"Nothing" he replied, giving her his most charming smile.
"Right" she said sarcastically. "Jade and I are going swimming in the," she lowered her voice, "room" Are you going to come or are you too busy planning?"
"I'm not too busy" James said defensively. "I'll be there later."
"Ok" Lily said getting up and walking out of the hall.
"Alright, are you guys ready?"
Auria nodded. She, James and Sirius got up and walked towards the entrance hall, Sirius grabbing a piece of toast from someone's plate on the way.
James looked at his watch.
"The others should be here soon."
Just as he finished speaking Remus and Peter walked down the steps towards them.
"Good, everyone's here" Remus said.
"Where have you two been?" Auria asked.
"Preparing" Peter replied looking proud.
"We only have two hours to finish getting it ready" James continued. "Everyone knows their jobs right?"
The group nodded.
"This is going to be the ultimate prank" Sirius said excitedly.
"Then let's get to it" James replied.
The Marauders and Auria broke off into separate groups to finish setting up.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thirty minutes later Auria and Sirius left the dungeons and headed back towards Gryffindor tower.
"Are you sure I can't come?" Sirius asked for the fiftieth time.
"Yes I'm sure" Auria replied exasperated. She stopped on a landing and turned to face him. She looked into his eyes, lovingly put a hand on his chest and leaned forwards. "Look, it's not that I don't want you to come, it's just that James and I are the only ones with invisibility cloaks. We're going to have to move around very fast, we won't have a lot of time. If we're caught we're dead."
"Fine" Sirius replied giving her the puppy face.
Auria rolled her eyes, gave him a peck on the lips and continued walking up the stairs. As soon as they reached the common room Auria ran upstairs to get her cloak. James was waiting for her when she came back down.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Yup" she replied.
"Ok" he said addressing the rest of the Marauders. "We'll meet you in the Great Hall."
"Bye" Peter said.
"Good luck" Remus added.
Sirius just stood there sulking.
"Oh don't worry mate" James said patting him on the back. "I'll bring her back in one piece."
Sirius continued to sulk.
"Oh come on" Auria said getting annoyed. "I think you can survive me doing one part of one prank without you."
"Fine" Sirius said. "But you better not get caught. I couldn't handle it if you got in trouble without me."
Auria laughed. Sirius gave her a kiss and then she and James headed out the portrait hole.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!
A few moments later most of the Hogwarts students had arrived at the Great Hall for their last school meal and to see the presentation of the house cup. Auria and James ran through the school and caught up with the last students just as they entered the room. Out of breath they took their seats at the Gryffindor table.
"Good view" James panted.
"I know" Remus said with a grin.
"In a better mood now?" Auria asked Sirius.
He nodded and put his arm around her.
"Good."
Dumbledore then stood up and made a short speech which no one listened to. Everyone was too excited to find out which house had won the cup. Finally he listed the points for each house. Hufflepuff had 346, Slytherin 435, Ravenclaw 456 and Gryffindor 459. As soon as the points were finished all the Gryffindors jumped up and began to cheer. Students began to hug, pat and congratulate every Gryffindor in sight. Dumbledore clapped his hands and all the decorations changed from Hogwarts banners to red and gold Gryffindor banners.
"Congratulation" James said sarcastically to Remus.
"Same to you" he replied.
"It's amazing that we won" Lily said, "considering how many points you boys lost us this year."
The Marauders all grinned at her in unison.
Just then a dull ringing could be heard. Dumbledore was tapping his glass for silence. All the Gryffindors sat back down and a hush fell over the room.
"It has been another wonderful year. Congratulations to all. Now, let the feast begin."
The plates magically filled with steak, chicken, corn, mashed potatoes, peas, salad and a variety of other food. For a few minutes everyone was silent, too busy eating to talk. Then a whisper began, and it grew until the entire hall echoed with a thousand voices. Half the students were laughing while the other half looked slightly frightened. The Marauders and Auria looked up towards the front of the room and grinned. Each teacher had turned a rather unnatural color depending on their emotions. Those that were confused were yellow, while those that were angry where red. McGonagall who was a mixture of confused and angry was orange, while Verge was a flaming red. The only professor who wasn't red, orange or yellow was Dumbledore. He was light blue and pink signifying amusement and humour. As he stood up the room fell silent.
"Well" he said. "I was expecting a prank." He winked at the Maraudes. "But this far exceeds my expectations. This prank required a great deal of planning, knowledge and skill."
The Marauders and Auria grinned at each other.
"So in that case, I believe that applause is in order for the anonymous students who pulled this prank."
All the students began to clap and cheer, except for the Slytherins who were looking very annoyed.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!
As soon as lunch was over and the teachers had returned to normal all the students began to head for the carriages that would take them to the Hogwarts Express.
"I'm going to miss you so much" Auria said as she and Sirius walked hand and hand through the entrance hall.
"I know, I'm going to miss you too" he said reassuringly as they stepped out into the bright sunshine. "But I'll come to visit you all the time." "Auria, Auria?" Sirius said when she didn't answer.
He looked over at her to find her staring intently into space. Sirius tapped her shoulder but she didn't seem to notice.
"Auria!" he cried loud.
Auria shook her head and looked up at him.
"What were you looking at?"
"Did you ever notice those weird horse things before?" she asked.
"What weird horse things?" he replied confused.
"The ones right down there, the ones that pull the carriages."
"Um Auria nothing pulls the carriages."
"Yes it does. Those creepy flying horses do" she said.
"Flying horses? Are you sure James didn't put anything in your food?" he asked playfully.
"I'm sure lots of people can see them."
"What are you guys looking at?" asked Lily who had just come up behind them. "If we don't hurry we won't be able to get a carriage together."
"Hey Lily" Auria asked, determined to prove to Sirius that she was not crazy. "Can you see those horses down there?"
"Horses?" she asked following Auria's gaze. "Do you see any James?"
He shook his head.
"What is everyone looking at" Remus asked.
"The invisible flying horses" Sirius said.
"Can you see them Remus?" Auria asked sternly.
He gave her a funny look.
"Oh, you can see them too" Peter explained running up the stairs. "They're really scary up close."
"Is that were you've been?" James asked. "Looking at invisible horses?"
"They're not invisible and they're not horses" Peter replied. "They're thestrals."
Everyone stared at him. It was very rare when Peter knew something the others didn't.
"So how come only we can see them?" Auria asked him.
"Only those who have seen death can see them" he replied.
Auria gazed at them for a while.
"Then how come I didn't see them when we came to school in the fall?"
"Because you probably hadn't accepted the death yet, you were probably still in denial" Peter said proudly.
"Oh, I see" Auria said slowly. "Then who have you seen die?"
"Um" Peter stammered.
"If you don't want to talk about it it's ok, we understand" she said kindly.
"Alright, enough about death and horses, let's go get a carriage" Remus said heading down the stairs.
Everyone else followed. Upon reaching the train the Marauders, Auria, Lily and Jade raced inside to find one of the extra large compartments. After kicking some grumpy first years out of the last one they put their things away and settled down for a long train ride.
"Hurry up!" James said to them, despite the fact that they were already jamming food into their mouths.
"Wur eating as fasht as we can!" Sirius said through a mouthful of food.
"Why do they have to eat so fast? What do you have planned James Potter?" asked Lily sharply.
"Nothing" he replied, giving her his most charming smile.
"Right" she said sarcastically. "Jade and I are going swimming in the," she lowered her voice, "room" Are you going to come or are you too busy planning?"
"I'm not too busy" James said defensively. "I'll be there later."
"Ok" Lily said getting up and walking out of the hall.
"Alright, are you guys ready?"
Auria nodded. She, James and Sirius got up and walked towards the entrance hall, Sirius grabbing a piece of toast from someone's plate on the way.
James looked at his watch.
"The others should be here soon."
Just as he finished speaking Remus and Peter walked down the steps towards them.
"Good, everyone's here" Remus said.
"Where have you two been?" Auria asked.
"Preparing" Peter replied looking proud.
"We only have two hours to finish getting it ready" James continued. "Everyone knows their jobs right?"
The group nodded.
"This is going to be the ultimate prank" Sirius said excitedly.
"Then let's get to it" James replied.
The Marauders and Auria broke off into separate groups to finish setting up.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thirty minutes later Auria and Sirius left the dungeons and headed back towards Gryffindor tower.
"Are you sure I can't come?" Sirius asked for the fiftieth time.
"Yes I'm sure" Auria replied exasperated. She stopped on a landing and turned to face him. She looked into his eyes, lovingly put a hand on his chest and leaned forwards. "Look, it's not that I don't want you to come, it's just that James and I are the only ones with invisibility cloaks. We're going to have to move around very fast, we won't have a lot of time. If we're caught we're dead."
"Fine" Sirius replied giving her the puppy face.
Auria rolled her eyes, gave him a peck on the lips and continued walking up the stairs. As soon as they reached the common room Auria ran upstairs to get her cloak. James was waiting for her when she came back down.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Yup" she replied.
"Ok" he said addressing the rest of the Marauders. "We'll meet you in the Great Hall."
"Bye" Peter said.
"Good luck" Remus added.
Sirius just stood there sulking.
"Oh don't worry mate" James said patting him on the back. "I'll bring her back in one piece."
Sirius continued to sulk.
"Oh come on" Auria said getting annoyed. "I think you can survive me doing one part of one prank without you."
"Fine" Sirius said. "But you better not get caught. I couldn't handle it if you got in trouble without me."
Auria laughed. Sirius gave her a kiss and then she and James headed out the portrait hole.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!
A few moments later most of the Hogwarts students had arrived at the Great Hall for their last school meal and to see the presentation of the house cup. Auria and James ran through the school and caught up with the last students just as they entered the room. Out of breath they took their seats at the Gryffindor table.
"Good view" James panted.
"I know" Remus said with a grin.
"In a better mood now?" Auria asked Sirius.
He nodded and put his arm around her.
"Good."
Dumbledore then stood up and made a short speech which no one listened to. Everyone was too excited to find out which house had won the cup. Finally he listed the points for each house. Hufflepuff had 346, Slytherin 435, Ravenclaw 456 and Gryffindor 459. As soon as the points were finished all the Gryffindors jumped up and began to cheer. Students began to hug, pat and congratulate every Gryffindor in sight. Dumbledore clapped his hands and all the decorations changed from Hogwarts banners to red and gold Gryffindor banners.
"Congratulation" James said sarcastically to Remus.
"Same to you" he replied.
"It's amazing that we won" Lily said, "considering how many points you boys lost us this year."
The Marauders all grinned at her in unison.
Just then a dull ringing could be heard. Dumbledore was tapping his glass for silence. All the Gryffindors sat back down and a hush fell over the room.
"It has been another wonderful year. Congratulations to all. Now, let the feast begin."
The plates magically filled with steak, chicken, corn, mashed potatoes, peas, salad and a variety of other food. For a few minutes everyone was silent, too busy eating to talk. Then a whisper began, and it grew until the entire hall echoed with a thousand voices. Half the students were laughing while the other half looked slightly frightened. The Marauders and Auria looked up towards the front of the room and grinned. Each teacher had turned a rather unnatural color depending on their emotions. Those that were confused were yellow, while those that were angry where red. McGonagall who was a mixture of confused and angry was orange, while Verge was a flaming red. The only professor who wasn't red, orange or yellow was Dumbledore. He was light blue and pink signifying amusement and humour. As he stood up the room fell silent.
"Well" he said. "I was expecting a prank." He winked at the Maraudes. "But this far exceeds my expectations. This prank required a great deal of planning, knowledge and skill."
The Marauders and Auria grinned at each other.
"So in that case, I believe that applause is in order for the anonymous students who pulled this prank."
All the students began to clap and cheer, except for the Slytherins who were looking very annoyed.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!
As soon as lunch was over and the teachers had returned to normal all the students began to head for the carriages that would take them to the Hogwarts Express.
"I'm going to miss you so much" Auria said as she and Sirius walked hand and hand through the entrance hall.
"I know, I'm going to miss you too" he said reassuringly as they stepped out into the bright sunshine. "But I'll come to visit you all the time." "Auria, Auria?" Sirius said when she didn't answer.
He looked over at her to find her staring intently into space. Sirius tapped her shoulder but she didn't seem to notice.
"Auria!" he cried loud.
Auria shook her head and looked up at him.
"What were you looking at?"
"Did you ever notice those weird horse things before?" she asked.
"What weird horse things?" he replied confused.
"The ones right down there, the ones that pull the carriages."
"Um Auria nothing pulls the carriages."
"Yes it does. Those creepy flying horses do" she said.
"Flying horses? Are you sure James didn't put anything in your food?" he asked playfully.
"I'm sure lots of people can see them."
"What are you guys looking at?" asked Lily who had just come up behind them. "If we don't hurry we won't be able to get a carriage together."
"Hey Lily" Auria asked, determined to prove to Sirius that she was not crazy. "Can you see those horses down there?"
"Horses?" she asked following Auria's gaze. "Do you see any James?"
He shook his head.
"What is everyone looking at" Remus asked.
"The invisible flying horses" Sirius said.
"Can you see them Remus?" Auria asked sternly.
He gave her a funny look.
"Oh, you can see them too" Peter explained running up the stairs. "They're really scary up close."
"Is that were you've been?" James asked. "Looking at invisible horses?"
"They're not invisible and they're not horses" Peter replied. "They're thestrals."
Everyone stared at him. It was very rare when Peter knew something the others didn't.
"So how come only we can see them?" Auria asked him.
"Only those who have seen death can see them" he replied.
Auria gazed at them for a while.
"Then how come I didn't see them when we came to school in the fall?"
"Because you probably hadn't accepted the death yet, you were probably still in denial" Peter said proudly.
"Oh, I see" Auria said slowly. "Then who have you seen die?"
"Um" Peter stammered.
"If you don't want to talk about it it's ok, we understand" she said kindly.
"Alright, enough about death and horses, let's go get a carriage" Remus said heading down the stairs.
Everyone else followed. Upon reaching the train the Marauders, Auria, Lily and Jade raced inside to find one of the extra large compartments. After kicking some grumpy first years out of the last one they put their things away and settled down for a long train ride.