A/N: I AM SO SORRY!
Chapter Five- Work and Work
Remus walked down the hall lazily, dragging his feet to one of the employee break rooms. It had been a harsh transformation without the Marauders, but he was finally back to work. Opening the door, he half-dragged his body to the permanently chilled cups of pumpkin juice provided.
"Remus?" a quiet voice in the corner asked. He spun around and felt his heartbeat speed up in his chest.
"Roselyn," he replied, smiling as he walked toward her on the stuffed furniture in the room, plopping down beside her on the couch. He winced as he caught her gaze, that of a dog kicked too many times and moved right beside her, reaching out a tentative arm around her shoulders.
"You look sickly," she commented, as though talking about the weather.
"You look worse for wear, too, you know." Remus smiled as she curled up against his side, knowing that finally the Marauders had won over both of the young women. "How long a break do you have?"
"Just started my 30 minutes."
"Good," Remus smiled, rubbing the girl's arm. "Heard from Lily yet?"
"No," Roselyn sighed. "And my own is on vacation for the summer it seems."
"What do you mean?"
"No sending out mail," she replied, looking up at him. "Got into a spot of trouble here."
"What'd you do?" Remus asked, grinning while Rose looked sheepish.
"Curiousity," she shrugged. "Went through some family files while working at the Ministry."
"Which department are you working in anyway?" Remus asked, his own curiousity winning over.
"Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures," she replied, an odd glint in her eyes as she watched Remus cough and sputter as he took a sip of pumpkin juice.
"O-oh, really?" he asked, his voice shaking slightly.
"Yeah," she replied, curling up against him again and sighing contentedly.
Remus decided then and there that she didn't know.
"Diagon Alley!" Sirius shouted, trying to jump over James and Peter, who were in front of him, to get through.
"Calm down," Remus said, holding up one of his hands.
"But, but...joke shops!" Sirius said, pointing down the row of buildings.
"Ah, just let him go, Rem-" but James was cut off as Sirius hustled all of them through the crowd.
"For someone named Sirius, you're a dope," Remus concluded.
"Just now figure that out?" a feminine voice said from behind them. Turning around they caught sight of a ruffled looking Lily.
"Lily, darling!" Sirius drawled, "it's been ages!"
Sirius swept forward and hugged Lily until she signalled that she needed to breathe. One by one, the Marauders hugged the redhead.
"So where's that biting, icy little friend of yours?" Sirius asked fondly.
"She should be here soon," Lily replied, picking up the bags full of supplies she'd already purchased. "It's good to see all of you. Working as a receptionist has been awful." They all let out a hearty laugh at the grimace on her face. "Thanks for your support, boys."
"Only poking fun," Remus grinned.
"How were all your jobs?" Lily asked. James and Sirius groaned in unison at the reminder of their boring summer. "I take it not well. What about you two?"
"It was fine, I suppose," Peter shrugged.
"I got fired a few weeks through," Remus replied.
"Fired?! For what?"
"I guess for being sick so much," he replied nervously.
"And for falling asleep in the break room once," Sirius gasped through laughter.
"That's funny," Lily started, "Roselyn got fired for-"
"Let's go check out some shops now, hm?" Remus asked, twirling Lily around and following her quickly while the other three Marauders were laughing to the point near tears.
"Oh, really now," a stern voice said, a shadow covering them as a shadow stopped above them.
"Rosie!" Sirius cried, jumping up and crushing the petite girl in a hug.
"Not as small as Lily," she gasped, "but small enough!" Sirius laughed and released her. One by one, she too hugged the Marauders, blushing slightly when she came to a flustered looking Remus.
The six friends spent the day in Diagon Alley, talking, laughing, and shopping for school supplies, and prank supplies in the Marauder's case.
"Well, now we know what to look out for," Lily pointed out to Roselyn, who only laughed as James' glasses got squirted by a foul-smelling liquid coming from a smalll rubber ball.
"I have news," Lily said in a sing-song voice as she skipped a few steps in front of them once them left the joke shop.
"What?" they asked in unison. From her coat pocket, Lily extracted a shining badge, the words Head Girl in large letters.
"Congratulations," Roselyn said, the first to get over the shock.
"I can't believe it," Sirius sighed.
"Like you expected anyone else to get it?" Remus asked, after congratulating the redhead.
"No," Sirius replied slowly. "I meant I can't believe I'm associating with the head girl. My brilliant reputation as a prankster is ruined!"
They all parted ways in the Leaky Cauldron, hardly able to wait for September 1st.
"Excuse me, pardon me!" Lily said as she maneuvered through the crowd of Muggles to get to platform 9 3/4. She ran to catch up as she saw Peter walking towards the wall, gently nudging him straight through and making the pudgy boy jump in alarm.
"Don't do that!" he shrilled in an unnaturally high-pitched voice, making Lily chuckle.
"You're limping," the voice sighed in frustration from behind her. Roselyn spun around and came face to face with Remus.
"I had an-"
"Accident," Remus finished. "I'm not buying it, Rose." He gently lifted the black wall of her hair away from the side of her face, revealing a horrible bruise. "Roselyn," he whispered, letting his fingers dance lightly across it.
"It's nothing, Remus," she stated, leaning into his cool touch. She jumped as thunder from outside the station rumbled loudly, causing Remus to withdraw his hand. A sound much like a whimper escaped her at the loss, making him wish to take it back. However, Sirius and James had already boarded the train.
"Oi! What's with the block?" James asked, pushing into the compartment, pushing Remus into Roselyn, who immediately flinched. Another crash of thunder was heard as the students outside began to rush to the scarlet train. Peter and Lily soon entered as well, making James glare and Peter simply shrug apolegetically.
James practically glowed as Lily sat on his left. Sirius sat on his other side smirking constantly. Needless to say, James was preoccupied throughout the ride.
"So what about pranks on Slytherins?" Sirius asked, before letting his eyes drop at a sharp look Remus shot at him. Lily and Roselyn watched this exchange carefully.
"Alright, what happened?" Lily asked, crossing her arms.
"Sirius pulled a 'prank' last year that was....slightly dangerous," James told them carefully. "It kind of got us into a spot of trouble."
"A spot," Remus snorted sarcastically.
"How could we not notice this?" Roselyn asked incredulously.
"It was a very private matter," Peter added knowingly.
"Yes, and a bit before you two were being civil," Sirius commented.
"Oh."
"Anything off the cart?" the witch asked as she walked past their compartment. The hungry Gryffindors bought their share of treats as James continued to sneak glances at Lily. Both of them blushed and looked down as they caught one another glancing at the other.
Sirius and Peter were quickly picking up on the tension on the train between their peers. Roselyn had carefully placed Peter between herself and Remus, while James and Lily continued with their "peek and blush" routine.
As the train ride began to near its end, Josie popped her head into the compartment. "Hello," she greeted. "Haven't seen most of you all summer."
"Hello, Josie!" Sirius said, waving energetically until he knocked James in the side of the head.
"Watch it. Hey, Josie," James smiled warmly at the girl.
"Did you all hear the news?" she whispered in a mysterious voice.
"What news?" they asked as one, fear evident in their voices.
"Your cousin's getting married," she said, pointing to Sirius as Roselyn threw a cauldron cake at her.
"Here we were thinking there'd been an attack and you give us a wedding announcement!" Roselyn said with a roll of her eyes.
"Aw, Rosie. This is just about as bad. Imagine the kids," Sirius said sincerely. "Which cousin of mine?"
"Trixie? Beatrice? Something...." Josie said in frustration.
"Bellatrix?" Sirius asked slowly.
"That's the one!"
"To who?" Sirius asked, face contorting in disgust.
"Lestrange." Sirius' eyes grew wide at her words.
"I ate too much food to get this sick," Sirius muttered.
"She's not even out of school yet, is she?" James asked.
"No," Jocelyn said thoughtfully. "I think they said the wedding is Christmas Break."
"What a perfectly good way to ruin the holidays," James mumbled.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts," Dumbledore said, standing in the front of the Great Hall. "Our head girl and boy for this year are Lily Evans and Severus Snape!"
Lily's mouth dropped open in horrified shock. Looking at the Slytherin table, Snape was in no better shape.
"And now that we've finished with our meals," Dumbledore continued, oblivious to the horror he'd just caused, "off to bed!"
"I think...I'm going....to be sick," Lily said as they trudged up the many staircases to Gryffindor tower.
"It could be worse," Peter said consolingly.
"How?!"
Chapter Five- Work and Work
Remus walked down the hall lazily, dragging his feet to one of the employee break rooms. It had been a harsh transformation without the Marauders, but he was finally back to work. Opening the door, he half-dragged his body to the permanently chilled cups of pumpkin juice provided.
"Remus?" a quiet voice in the corner asked. He spun around and felt his heartbeat speed up in his chest.
"Roselyn," he replied, smiling as he walked toward her on the stuffed furniture in the room, plopping down beside her on the couch. He winced as he caught her gaze, that of a dog kicked too many times and moved right beside her, reaching out a tentative arm around her shoulders.
"You look sickly," she commented, as though talking about the weather.
"You look worse for wear, too, you know." Remus smiled as she curled up against his side, knowing that finally the Marauders had won over both of the young women. "How long a break do you have?"
"Just started my 30 minutes."
"Good," Remus smiled, rubbing the girl's arm. "Heard from Lily yet?"
"No," Roselyn sighed. "And my own is on vacation for the summer it seems."
"What do you mean?"
"No sending out mail," she replied, looking up at him. "Got into a spot of trouble here."
"What'd you do?" Remus asked, grinning while Rose looked sheepish.
"Curiousity," she shrugged. "Went through some family files while working at the Ministry."
"Which department are you working in anyway?" Remus asked, his own curiousity winning over.
"Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures," she replied, an odd glint in her eyes as she watched Remus cough and sputter as he took a sip of pumpkin juice.
"O-oh, really?" he asked, his voice shaking slightly.
"Yeah," she replied, curling up against him again and sighing contentedly.
Remus decided then and there that she didn't know.
"Diagon Alley!" Sirius shouted, trying to jump over James and Peter, who were in front of him, to get through.
"Calm down," Remus said, holding up one of his hands.
"But, but...joke shops!" Sirius said, pointing down the row of buildings.
"Ah, just let him go, Rem-" but James was cut off as Sirius hustled all of them through the crowd.
"For someone named Sirius, you're a dope," Remus concluded.
"Just now figure that out?" a feminine voice said from behind them. Turning around they caught sight of a ruffled looking Lily.
"Lily, darling!" Sirius drawled, "it's been ages!"
Sirius swept forward and hugged Lily until she signalled that she needed to breathe. One by one, the Marauders hugged the redhead.
"So where's that biting, icy little friend of yours?" Sirius asked fondly.
"She should be here soon," Lily replied, picking up the bags full of supplies she'd already purchased. "It's good to see all of you. Working as a receptionist has been awful." They all let out a hearty laugh at the grimace on her face. "Thanks for your support, boys."
"Only poking fun," Remus grinned.
"How were all your jobs?" Lily asked. James and Sirius groaned in unison at the reminder of their boring summer. "I take it not well. What about you two?"
"It was fine, I suppose," Peter shrugged.
"I got fired a few weeks through," Remus replied.
"Fired?! For what?"
"I guess for being sick so much," he replied nervously.
"And for falling asleep in the break room once," Sirius gasped through laughter.
"That's funny," Lily started, "Roselyn got fired for-"
"Let's go check out some shops now, hm?" Remus asked, twirling Lily around and following her quickly while the other three Marauders were laughing to the point near tears.
"Oh, really now," a stern voice said, a shadow covering them as a shadow stopped above them.
"Rosie!" Sirius cried, jumping up and crushing the petite girl in a hug.
"Not as small as Lily," she gasped, "but small enough!" Sirius laughed and released her. One by one, she too hugged the Marauders, blushing slightly when she came to a flustered looking Remus.
The six friends spent the day in Diagon Alley, talking, laughing, and shopping for school supplies, and prank supplies in the Marauder's case.
"Well, now we know what to look out for," Lily pointed out to Roselyn, who only laughed as James' glasses got squirted by a foul-smelling liquid coming from a smalll rubber ball.
"I have news," Lily said in a sing-song voice as she skipped a few steps in front of them once them left the joke shop.
"What?" they asked in unison. From her coat pocket, Lily extracted a shining badge, the words Head Girl in large letters.
"Congratulations," Roselyn said, the first to get over the shock.
"I can't believe it," Sirius sighed.
"Like you expected anyone else to get it?" Remus asked, after congratulating the redhead.
"No," Sirius replied slowly. "I meant I can't believe I'm associating with the head girl. My brilliant reputation as a prankster is ruined!"
They all parted ways in the Leaky Cauldron, hardly able to wait for September 1st.
"Excuse me, pardon me!" Lily said as she maneuvered through the crowd of Muggles to get to platform 9 3/4. She ran to catch up as she saw Peter walking towards the wall, gently nudging him straight through and making the pudgy boy jump in alarm.
"Don't do that!" he shrilled in an unnaturally high-pitched voice, making Lily chuckle.
"You're limping," the voice sighed in frustration from behind her. Roselyn spun around and came face to face with Remus.
"I had an-"
"Accident," Remus finished. "I'm not buying it, Rose." He gently lifted the black wall of her hair away from the side of her face, revealing a horrible bruise. "Roselyn," he whispered, letting his fingers dance lightly across it.
"It's nothing, Remus," she stated, leaning into his cool touch. She jumped as thunder from outside the station rumbled loudly, causing Remus to withdraw his hand. A sound much like a whimper escaped her at the loss, making him wish to take it back. However, Sirius and James had already boarded the train.
"Oi! What's with the block?" James asked, pushing into the compartment, pushing Remus into Roselyn, who immediately flinched. Another crash of thunder was heard as the students outside began to rush to the scarlet train. Peter and Lily soon entered as well, making James glare and Peter simply shrug apolegetically.
James practically glowed as Lily sat on his left. Sirius sat on his other side smirking constantly. Needless to say, James was preoccupied throughout the ride.
"So what about pranks on Slytherins?" Sirius asked, before letting his eyes drop at a sharp look Remus shot at him. Lily and Roselyn watched this exchange carefully.
"Alright, what happened?" Lily asked, crossing her arms.
"Sirius pulled a 'prank' last year that was....slightly dangerous," James told them carefully. "It kind of got us into a spot of trouble."
"A spot," Remus snorted sarcastically.
"How could we not notice this?" Roselyn asked incredulously.
"It was a very private matter," Peter added knowingly.
"Yes, and a bit before you two were being civil," Sirius commented.
"Oh."
"Anything off the cart?" the witch asked as she walked past their compartment. The hungry Gryffindors bought their share of treats as James continued to sneak glances at Lily. Both of them blushed and looked down as they caught one another glancing at the other.
Sirius and Peter were quickly picking up on the tension on the train between their peers. Roselyn had carefully placed Peter between herself and Remus, while James and Lily continued with their "peek and blush" routine.
As the train ride began to near its end, Josie popped her head into the compartment. "Hello," she greeted. "Haven't seen most of you all summer."
"Hello, Josie!" Sirius said, waving energetically until he knocked James in the side of the head.
"Watch it. Hey, Josie," James smiled warmly at the girl.
"Did you all hear the news?" she whispered in a mysterious voice.
"What news?" they asked as one, fear evident in their voices.
"Your cousin's getting married," she said, pointing to Sirius as Roselyn threw a cauldron cake at her.
"Here we were thinking there'd been an attack and you give us a wedding announcement!" Roselyn said with a roll of her eyes.
"Aw, Rosie. This is just about as bad. Imagine the kids," Sirius said sincerely. "Which cousin of mine?"
"Trixie? Beatrice? Something...." Josie said in frustration.
"Bellatrix?" Sirius asked slowly.
"That's the one!"
"To who?" Sirius asked, face contorting in disgust.
"Lestrange." Sirius' eyes grew wide at her words.
"I ate too much food to get this sick," Sirius muttered.
"She's not even out of school yet, is she?" James asked.
"No," Jocelyn said thoughtfully. "I think they said the wedding is Christmas Break."
"What a perfectly good way to ruin the holidays," James mumbled.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts," Dumbledore said, standing in the front of the Great Hall. "Our head girl and boy for this year are Lily Evans and Severus Snape!"
Lily's mouth dropped open in horrified shock. Looking at the Slytherin table, Snape was in no better shape.
"And now that we've finished with our meals," Dumbledore continued, oblivious to the horror he'd just caused, "off to bed!"
"I think...I'm going....to be sick," Lily said as they trudged up the many staircases to Gryffindor tower.
"It could be worse," Peter said consolingly.
"How?!"