Chapter 6: Marauder Encounter

June crept into July, and the passing of the months could only be told by the ripping pages of calendars, as each day was identical in weather. Each a balmy 25 to 28 degrees, each one beginning with Derek's leaving Fugue Manor in pursuit of knowledge, and each evening coming back to cross off items on the grand list that hung on his wall. Some days there were several items to cross off, other days Derek came back frustrated and did not cross off anything at all. Helena Fugue had noticed the list in her son's room, and checked it on a daily basis. Strangely, she did not berate him, and his father was no different in their treatment of him.

It made it all the easier to keep everything up. On some days, Derek went to see Sarah, and the Knight Bus was getting used to his excursions. Fred had taken an interest in Derek's affairs, but Derek had thus far avoided any major glitch in his system. On especially good days, Derek would be able to go to Knockturn or Diagon Alley and be able to cross off an item or two after talking with Sarah, and discussing their first talk together. The routine was so set that Derek was very surprised when his owl came back through his window on the night of July 5th.

The night was warm, and Derek's window was open as he was reading through one of the materials recommended for those going into NEWT Arithmancy. He was hoping for his OWL scores by post, so when Hendrik came in the window, he jumped up, but when he saw Hendrik, he was confused for a moment. "What do you have there…" but he never finished his question. Hendrik had dropped the letter on his book, directly on the passage that he was just reading.

Derek Fugue, Fugue Manor, 2 Ravine Boulevard, Old Ravine

Derek blinked for a moment, then comprehension dawned within his mind, and with it dawned a smile that rivaled the one that he had been able to muster when Sarah and he had come to terms. He tore the letter open to get at the inside of the letter.

Dear Brother,

It is never good to talk about one's problems over post. Especially over post. So instead, I recommend that we meet somewhere neutral, such as the only place that I ever liked in London.

Meet me there on July 8th, and pardon the delay. I do not live in Britain anymore, and it takes a while for post to reach me, and will take me a bit to get over there. Don't worry about me, and be there at noon.

Theo

Derek frowned. Why was he being so secretive about it? Not that he didn't know where Theo had liked it in London. Well, if he wanted to be secretive, that was the way to be. There was a small pub just down the street from the Leaky Cauldren that Theo had found a little before his tenth birthday. From then on, visits to Diagon Alley always included an expedition to find Theo. Derek had always liked the game because he always knew where his brother was. Theo would tell him just before he went off. It took a while for their parents to figure it out.

On the night of July 19th, when Theo was slated to go to Hogwarts the following September, he had taken his brother out to the enormous backyard of Fugue Manor, and they had laid down on a particular patch of grass and had talked most of the night about how life would be different with him in school. How they wouldn't be able to play that trick on their parents anymore. The one thing that Theo had told Derek that night that had stuck with him was

"No matter where I am, or what I am doing, I will always be your brother"

Then he was disowned by the family for being a Squib, and Derek had never seen him again. So he had been nervous, finally getting the nerve and the reason to disobey his parents to contact his brother. He wasn't sure whether his brother would hold himself to the tenet that he had set to himself that night. But it seemed that he had, and no matter what their parents did, they would still be brothers. Well, that made things a little easier to take. Derek's journey would be a little easier for him.

But there was a project that had to be done, and as Derek fell asleep that night, he felt the stress of that decision on him heavily. After all, he didn't have a very good track record with the Marauders.

The next morning began as any other. Derek took the same breakfast as usual, took a little bit of gold for his excursion, and summoned the Knight Bus. This time, however, he asked that the Knight Bus take him to a different address on the slip of paper that he carried in his pocket.

"4 Main Street, Delany, North Wales."

Fred seemed a little surprised by this turn of events. "Well," he reasoned, "you are paying for it. Ern'! You heard 'em!" And with a BANG, the Knight Bus was off to its destination, and Derek's stomach was off to the races. It was not every day that one approached someone they considered a tireless enemy of theirs with the olive branch waving. Derek could only hope that James remembered the good times.

There was one place that the entirety of Gryffindor accepted Derek into their fold. He was another chaser for the team. James Potter was the star of the team, and got most of the attention, but there was no denying who Derek was. There wasn't a person rooting for Gryffindor who did not respect that Derek was Potter's support in the scoring department. Within the confines of the Quidditch pitch, the two were inseparable; always thinking of ways to better fool the opposition and give Gryffindor a significant lead before they caught the Snitch.

He was accepted or not accepted due to his ability. Nothing more and nothing less. It didn't matter that off the pitch the rest of the team abhorred him, it didn't matter that James was a prat, it just didn't matter. Nothing did. Just how well you could play. And Derek was not in denial; James Potter can play Quidditch. Nor was Potter in denial; Derek Fugue could play Quidditch. They would both readily admit it, without comparing themselves to each other in any way. It didn't matter.

But Quidditch would have to wait until September. Until then, there was this list that Derek had to complete for his parents… for himself. And there was today, where Derek was trying to deal with James without the Quidditch shield protecting him. Armed only with his wits, Derek was going to try to talk to James Potter about the decision he was going to make. In the past few weeks, he had realized that he had not yet thought of anyone who was affiliated with the other side of his choice to talk to. He realized that he already knew what they would say, and all of this research was to determine what it felt like to be on the other side.

And whether it would be worth it.

It was far too soon when the Bus stopped, and Fred announced that they had arrived at Derek's intended destination. He got off, making sure that Fred and Ernie both were kept in the dark as to his attitude about where he was going. When the Bus had disappeared with yet another BANG, Derek stepped up to the entrance of Potter Manor with a sigh. He stood there for much longer than he had stood at the entrance to Sarah's house. He had been sure about Sarah, sure that she would help him and that he could help her. But this was different. There was little in common that Derek could count on to help him like Sarah's plight had.

With a deep breath… and then another… Derek opened the gate and stepped inside the property. With a crack, a House Elf appeared directly in front of him.

Big eyes looked up at him. "Billy must enquire as to your name and purpose to your visit to Potter Manor!" He squeaked, somehow perturbed.

Derek stalled a moment. "Uh…" He realized that this was the first test, long before he was face to face with James. "Derek Fugue here to see James Potter."

The Elf bowed. "I shall tell him you have arrived, please proceed up the path." With another crack, he was gone. Derek was used to Ula doing such things to guests, but it sure was different having it happen to himself. So this is what it was like for those people who came up to the house, only to be yelled at once they got there, and forcibly removed. Wow, it was not easy to approach a rich wizard's house.

After trudging up the path and enjoying the view, Derek reached the Manor. It was definitely similar to his own home, though not exactly. It didn't look quite as… foreboding as his own. Perhaps it was… more homey? No, that would be too weird.

"Derek?" A female voice said.

Derek looked at the door, startled both that he had gotten that far, and that it was already open. "Yes, ma'am," he said automatically.

"You're on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team with James, aren't you?"

"Yes, ma'am." It's a good thing she didn't ask if we were friends.

"Come on in, James will be down to see you soon. He just woke up."

"Thank you, ma'am." Well, that made things easier. A nice parent and a sleeping James. Mrs. Potter (or so Derek assumed that's who she was) led him into a sitting room. When she left him, Derek noticed that she had the hazel eyes of her son, and he seemed to have inherited her facial shape. A quick glance of his father revealed the famous messy black hair and glasses, but the eyes were a dull brown, and the face was much sharper than his wife and son's. They both disappeared, and Derek was left without anyone in sight or earshot, and waiting for what could turn out to be the most humiliating moment of his life.

And that was saying something.

The Marauders had formed themselves very early in their Hogwarts career. They had picked on two particular people with almost no exception in the first year, and there was no question as to why. Derek Fugue, and Severus Snape. Derek had been impossible that year, especially at the beginning, when he still mistakenly thought that Slytherins would back him up. Even his partner in misery at the hands of the Marauders was never willing to join forces against them. Snape and Derek had their own cursing matches and had to watch for attacks on two fronts.

There had been many embarrassing moments for Derek, but the one that smarted the most was the one that afterward he realized that there would be no redemption for him in the way that he was.

The rain could be heard through the Great Hall's roof, and the ceiling reflected the dismal weather that was outside. Derek watched it, unaware that there were two different mischiefs that were about to occur to him. He had just finished his dinner, and stood up to leave the Great Hall. At that moment, Snape, Bellatrix Black, Sirius Black, Potter and Pettigrew also stood. Remus was not at the table to eat. Derek walked out into the Foyer of the Castle only to be met by a laughing hex. Snape had an evil grin on his face when Derek looked at him, and Derek proceeded, still laughing up the stairs in the direction of the Hospital Wing.

Unfortunately, he was also heading in the direction of Gryffindor Tower, and that meant that the Marauder's prank would also hit him. He was clutching his chest, laughing and barely able to walk, when he walked directly into the line of sight of both Black and Potter. They both shot curses at him and he fell to the ground, laughing, spouting hives and something else that he couldn't tell what it was. Potter and Black ran away, leaving Derek there, laughing, breaking out in hives, and trying desperately to stop the tears. It was not over yet.

Bellatrix Black's face suddenly swam into view above his head. Her smirk only dwarfed by the evil glint in her eyes. "It looks like no one likes a blood traitor, hmm? Stop pretending that you are pureblooded. You do not deserve such a title."

Derek was brought back to the present by the presence of a tear on his cheek. He quickly wiped it away, blinking rapidly to dissuade other tears from joining the first. That night he had sat in the Hospital Wing, crying and desperately trying not to. The old Mediwitch there let him stay because of his distress. After that night, Derek had grown quiet and introverted. The Marauders stopped bothering him as much as they used to, and even Snape didn't really attack him so much anymore. The war became more of a fight between Snape and the Marauders.

Suddenly, James was in the room, but nothing about the first sight of the encounter was going as expected. James's eyes were drawn, and the circles underneath were purple and very easy to see. He yawned as he reached the room, giving Derek a moment to see him before James saw him back. When the yawn was done, James didn't even have the reaction that Derek was expecting. Dreading. Instead, he walked over and sat on another chair. "Come to tell me bad news?" James asked.

Derek was flabbergasted. "I… I have no idea about any bad news. I just wanted to talk." He had a whole thing prepared, to get him to listen to him… but it had all flown out the window with this strange turn of events.

It was James's turn to be confused. "You mean… there's nothing wrong with Sirius?"

Derek gave James a blank look. "No, I know of nothing wrong with Sirius Black. Should I know something?"

James stood up, busy in his thoughts. "I only figured… because you'd be inside of all of the pureblood circles…"

"That's what I want to talk to you about."

James's eyes snapped to Derek's. "What?"

"That's what I am here to talk about. Being pureblooded."

James sat down heavily, a guarded look on his face. "I don't know why you came to talk to me… I don't think I'm the right one to talk to."

Derek narrowed his eyes. "But you are pureblooded." It was a statement, not a question.

James nodded, not changing his position. "Yes, I am a member of a pureblood family, though we're considered blood traitors to a lot of the pureblood families, which is why I'm surprised that you're here at all…" A look of comprehension appeared on James's face, "unless you aren't accepted either." Derek was silent. "Of course you aren't," James continued, not looking at Derek. "You and Sirius are Gryffindors, and yet from families that are not generally in that House. I see it now…"

James sat down close to Derek and directly opposite him. He took on such a concentrated look that Derek leaned back into the chair he was sitting in. "Come to your senses, have you?"

"What…?"

"Realize that you can't believe in that rubbish when nobody believes that you are worth any of it?" Derek was shocked, and therefore remained silent. "If not that, then why are you here?"

Derek opened his mouth, but nothing came out. James had gotten down to the business at hand way too fast. Derek hadn't even mentioned the details of why he was there, and yet James was pressing him about the very subject that he wanted to talk about. He opened his mouth for another try, and when he closed it the second time, James shook his head. Derek blushed and finally managed "Where…did that come from?"

James stopped snickering and his face became deadly serious. He leaned in. "I'm right?"

Derek took a deep breath. "I need to know who I am… Gryffindor, pureblood notwithstanding. I need to know who I am."

James nodded, thoughtfully. "Alright. I'll make you a deal."

Derek was confused. What in Merlin's name would James want from him? "State your terms."

"You help me help Sirius, and I will help you."

Derek blinked. "Will he like that much?"

James smiled for the first time. It was a wistful a smile, a smile of nostalgia. "No… No. I don't imagine he will." He returned to a serious face. "Regardless of that, I think I need help. And not help that Remus or Peter could provide, not tonight." Derek was confused by that, but he let it go.

"Alright then, tell me what's going on."