Chapter 9: Dark Times

After his meeting with Theo, Derek's day didn't get much better.

Despite the fact that his parents were completely convinced of his attempts to research all of the things on the list that his father had given him (They had taken to testing him of incantations and the basic theory of all he was looking at), they still got angry with him when he came home that night. He ended up in bed very sore and very bruised. Even the House-Elf wouldn't heal him. He didn't get very good sleep that night, though he really hadn't expected to. Of course, he really didn't want it to be Friday right after his parents decided to keep the fear of the Dark in him. The Marauders would see him on one of his worst days.

But when the Marauders arrived in the Leaky Cauldron that evening, Derek decided that Remus must have had a similar evening. He looked about as tired as Derek felt, and there were a few visible bruises, just like Derek. The four Marauders walked to the bar where Derek had stood up to wave them over, and Sarah walked up right at that moment. The Marauders were taking in Derek's state, Derek was taking in Remus's, and Sarah was trying to take them both in at the same time.

"Dear Merlin! Remus! Derek! On the same day!" She finally squeaked.

"You know why I'm like this, Sarah," Derek mumbled, though he didn't hear what Remus had mumbled in reply.

James coughed. "Shall we sit down? I imagine everyone wants to talk about something other than the state that they're in at the moment." Derek and Remus both nodded emphatically, while Sirius and Peter exchanged glances. Sarah still simply looked shocked, and only followed them to the table that they were going to talk at when Derek pushed her gently towards it.

James and Sirius were the first to sit down, and Peter quickly followed suit, sitting next to Sirius on the other side of James. Remus and Derek slowly settled into their chairs, trying not to hurt anything on the way down, and Sarah had to be pointed into the chair beside Derek. It ended up that the four Marauders were sitting across from Sarah and Derek, as if they both represented a different party's interest.

Sirius was looking at Derek during the first silence, and it was he who spoke first. "Thank you for your part in… a few days ago. You didn't have to… and I think I can agree to a fresh start with you, see if you have changed any and such," he ended lamely, though his face was set determinedly.

You have no idea. Outwardly, Derek merely smiled. "Thanks."

James and Sirius then looked pointedly at Remus. He looked at both of them in turn, and said calmly, "He began to change in third year. He's been my friend most of fifth. That's not going to change now." James and Sirius seemed slightly surprised, though they were definitely satisfied. Now five heads turned to regard Peter, who seemed to be struggling with something.

James frowned, his look becoming more intense. "Peter…?"

Peter swallowed, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them, he said "Fine. We can try it."

James and Sirius grinned and high-fived, while Remus seemed to be studying Peter. The moment didn't last long, however, and James and Sirius had turned back to Derek and Sarah. Derek and Sarah didn't have time to react to the different reactions, and the talk began with Peter looking petulant, Remus looking intrigued, and James and Sirius excited.

Sarah started it off this time. "I heard that they are finding out more about You-Know-Who…" When she noticed that James and Sirius were giving her blank looks, she said, "The new Dark Lord…" James and Sirius looked at each other, then realization flickered across both faces.

"Ah, you mean Voldemort." Sirius said, and the reactions at the table were immediate. Sarah paled and sank lower into her chair, while Derek put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed reassuringly. Remus coughed, and Peter seethed.

"Don't say his name!" Peter spat.

James and Sirius looked confusedly at Peter, while Sarah recovered and cleared her throat. Remus shot the rest of the Marauders a look that clearly said that they'd be talking about this later. "They're connecting many things that used to be unsolved to… him… and his Death Eaters. The whole country is up in arms and facing the ministry about the apparent lack in security… And a new muggle or muggle-born family is attacked every day."

Everyone around the table shared the same grave face. James was a little paler than the rest of them, but Derek thought nothing of it. "This is the kind of thing we are dealing with. I have sufficient proof to convict my own parents… but I can't prove anything about them without putting my life wholly in their hands; I don't think I could burden anyone with the problem of keeping me on when I am a target of convicted Death Eaters. The others would not hesitate to kill me."

James and Sirius both nodded. "I'm not in a much better situation," Sirius added. "Cissy just got married to Lucius Malfoy a couple weeks ago. They both were hailed by my mother in their roles in one of the latest attacks…" he trailed off, as Tom came by with six butterbeers. Derek tried to pay him discreetly, but James insisted on taking the Marauder's part of the bill. Derek was forced to relent.

When Tom was gone, Sirius slammed his fist on the table, making the rest of them jump. "Damn it!" he scowled, "It's so maddening when you know who's doing it and there's nothing you can do about it!"

"I heard that Dumbledore has started a group to combat the Death Eaters, and it is through them that they have found so much out in such little time this summer," Remus said quietly.

James looked thoughtful. "That would definitely explain the recent progress. Dumbledore's quite the find when it comes to dealing with the Dark Arts. After all, he's famous for defeating one in 1945… And that one caused all sorts of problems."

Derek nodded. "The muggle World War was not a direct result of Grindlewald's influence, but it would have been impossible for the muggle world to not be affected. Both wars ended near the same time too."

Sarah also nodded. "If that's what we're dealing with this time…" she trailed off.

Remus finished for her, "we are living in dark times." There were murmurs of agreement all the way around the table. Silence reigned for a few minutes as the teens took sips of their butterbeer and thought on what they had just concluded.

Derek was the one who broke the silence first. "And to imagine… We're a bunch of teenagers… normal, magical teenagers… and yet our experiences place us here talking about a war that we are a part of."

James frowned into his cup. "Too much a part of. Pranking and hexing are one thing… but killing and torturing? War is not something to be happy about… much less fun to participate in."

Remus blinked. "What a mature thing to say."

"Oh, shut up, Moony."

"Besides," Sirius added, "There's not much we can do about being a part of this. When you're the son of two Death Eater-type Purebloods," he indicated himself and Derek, "And you have a conscience, then you are caught in the middle, and are forced to act on one side or the other."

Remus smiled, "I think we know which side both of you chose."

Derek smiled, blushing slightly, while Sirius simply beamed. "But, speaking of acting," Sarah cut in, "what can Derek do? He can't exactly pull the same trick as Sirius did… there isn't anywhere for him to go."

Remus nodded. "A fair point. In addition, Sirius's stunt has probably alerted other pureblood families to the possibility of it happening."

Derek shuddered. "Only too right." Derek and Remus shared a look, and Remus achieved a look of pure comprehension. James and Sirius looked confused, while Sarah bungled around under the table to find Derek's hand, and when she found it, she squeezed it once.

"So we have to decide some other course of action for me to get out of the clutches of my parents," Derek said, holding up his free hand and counting off on his fingers. "Sirius's way is out, ratting on my parents is out for similar reasons, staying in the same situation is not good because I could basically be found out any day, no matter how good I am at acting…"

"You must be pretty good though," James said, leaning in. "You haven't been found out yet, and you were able to convince this dunce's mother," he cocked his head at Sirius, who smacked James upside the head. James didn't even falter. "that you didn't know where Sirius was when she confronted you on the Knight Bus. If you are such a good actor, I imagine that there is probably something you can do…" Sirius and Remus both realized something at the same time.

"That's brilliant!" "No! He couldn't possibly…"

James cut them both off. "But in order for it to be useful or anything beyond risky and dangerous," he inclined his head to Remus, "We would need to talk to Dumbledore. In order to do that without attracting the attention of anyone, we will have to wait until school starts up again. Derek, can you continue as you have and make it into the beginning of sixth year before we do anything?"

Derek blinked. "I think so, but what are you playing at?"

James shook his head. "I don't want to communicate it out loud… not yet. Not until I can prove to myself that it's even a good idea in the first place. But even if it isn't a good idea, the one I have anyway, I still think it's a good idea for you to go to Dumbledore with it. After all, if you are making the decision to stand against V-" James cut off abruptly, looking apologetically at Sarah. "Against You-Know-Who, then he's definitely someone you should tell about your predicament."

Derek slowly nodded. "I think you're right. There's no way I will be joining the insanity that my parents are now practicing… I don't think I have the stomach for it, beyond my recent realizations about myself." Derek cast a look over at the clock that sat over the mantle in the small room. "Alright, I guess we'll continue to meet every Friday, to discuss any recent occurrences with our friendly-neighborhood murderers? We need to know many things in order to figure out what I need to do to get out of this mess.

"You said it, Derek. See you all later," James said, and he and Sirius rose and walked over to the fireplace. Derek was the next to rise, and he was going to be the second one out of the fireplace when Sarah caught a hold of his robes. Derek turned around to regard her.

"Be careful, Derek…" she said, looking at him pleadingly. "You have friends now… more than just me and Helga. You can be a great help to us… you're resourceful and you've been able to survive in hostile conditions for this long. I don't think you have much more to worry about than the…" she trailed off, tracing a particularly nasty bruise that was on Derek's cheek. "But I don't want you to do anything rash."

Derek nodded, and squeezed her shoulder once. "I know… it feels different, in a way, to have even so many people to talk to about something. It hasn't been this way since before I went off to Hogwarts that first time." He turned around and grabbed a pinch of Floo powder. "Don't forget about yourself, Sarah. Take care. Fugue Manor!"

On that day, there had been nearly two months left before Derek would have the chance to go back to school and do the many things there that he was not able to do while he was at home. But after that day, something happened that Derek was not expecting, something that had not happened in a very long time. It hadn't happened since he was eleven years old, and waiting through that last peaceful summer until he was accepted into Hogwarts.

The days melted into a mildly pleasant routine.

Each day, Derek would take his breakfast in Fugue Manor, dealing with the taunts and jeers of the House Elf if a parent was not there to do it instead. It was becoming easier and easier to ignore the pure crap that was coming out of their mouths. None of it meant anything to him anymore. Just that he was making progress each day towards the ultimate goal of being a normal, good person. Regardless of the blood that ran through him, and the lineage he had. He was going to be the person he wanted to be; not the person that he thought he had to be.

After breakfast, Derek went to Diagon Alley by floo, and went to Flourish and Blotts if he had something not-so-dark to study that day, or into Knockturn Alley and the small library that was just off the main alley that was called Aisles of Death. It was only visible to those who knew the password, and it was one of the few things that Derek had gained as a result of the "agreement" that he had struck with his parents. He still could not practice any of the magic that he had learned over the summer until he got back to school, but he was pretty sure that he could cross off many things on the list that he was given relatively quickly once he got there.

After the studying of the day, Derek took lunch somewhere on Diagon Alley (he never really trusted anything that even remotely resembled food sold in Knockturn), and generally ended up flooing to Potter Manor to have some Quidditch practice, or at least hanging around Quality Quidditch Supplies for at least two hours. As the afternoon wore on, Sarah would join him, having found an excuse to get away from the house, and they would talk, eat ice cream and otherwise visit until it came time that one of them had to go. On Fridays, they would meet the Marauders in the Leaky Cauldron and discuss the latest attacks or discoveries.

As the summer wore into August, the talk sometimes was of arrests, which were extremely heartening. Bartemous Crouch had rallied the Ministry, and had begun taking in people in connection with the attacks that were made by Death Eaters. But there still weren't many arrests, and when there were arrests, they often got off because of a lack of evidence. But that was not, apparently, from a lack of trying on Crouch's part.

"Dad had this latest bit of news for the dinner table a couple nights ago," James shared on one Friday evening in mid-August, "Crouch had to let off another one today. Apparently the wand that he had procured from the scene was the victim's, so it didn't tell them anything about who had cast the curse. Naturally, Crouch is furious, and everyone is ducking him in the hallways."

Crouch was not the only one who was furious, however, as Sirius had shared. "Dumbledore showed up last night, and you should have seen him! I don't think I have ever seen him so angry in my life!"

James had chuckled and added, "Nor have any of us, and we've seen him after some pretty… dumb… pranks in our lifetime. He almost never frowned at us… probably because he knows us backwards and forwards… how we never really mean anyone any true harm… and when he did frown, it was because of a particularly nasty one we did to Snivellus or Fu-" He then stopped, sitting up. "Or you, Derek."

Derek took it in stride. After all, just a few scant months before, he would have never associated himself with James Potter. But things were changing. The times were getting darker, he himself had changed his entire outlook on other people, and it even seemed that the Marauders were changing, though it was sometimes hard to see.

Remus seemed to not be changing so much as learning about everyone else's changes. Of course, this only reminded Derek of the agreement he had made with the girls at the end of the previous year, and he groaned in spite of himself. He didn't know what he was going to do about it; he only knew that Remus still did deserve something in the way of companionship… but he wasn't entirely Derek's problem. But would Remus actually make a move on his own behalf? Derek watched Remus carefully to see if he ever spotted a hint or something that would help him.

Peter was as nervous as he always was. Shy, pale and nervous. Sometimes he would not make the meetings that were on Fridays, but he seemed to have come to an acceptance of all the things that were going on around him. He seemed to be affecting more than the rest of them about the attacks, especially the ones that were on half-bloods or those who were simply getting in the way of the Death Eaters recently. He became more and more skittish as the summer wore on, but he still took comfort in his friends, and slowly began to count Derek and Sarah as part of his group.

Sirius was the one who didn't seem to be changing at all. He still would lean back in his chair and strike a pose he thought was particularly alluring every time anyone of the female persuasion between the ages of 13 and 18 walked by. The worst part is that they giggled almost every time. He was being encouraged to act like a prat! James did the "make my hair more messy" thing each time someone of those ages walked by, and again, almost every single one giggled on their way by.

There was only one exception to this rule.

But besides the dealing with girls, James was becoming more and more serious as the summer came to a close. He was thinking almost solely about the predicament that Derek had found himself in, and was constantly thinking up ways that he could get out of it. He still maintained that his first idea, which he had never deigned to clarify, was the best one he had, but Derek had yet to be proven to that effect.

On the last Friday of the month, August 27th, the Marauders and Derek and Sarah all went together to get their school supplies. Derek's parents just expected him to do it himself, Sarah's father promptly forgot about the fact that his daughter needed school supplies, and the Marauders were all escorted by just Mr. and Mrs. Potter. When coming out of Flourish and Blotts with their new school books, they found Lily Evans and her parents going in.

Naturally, James's hand went to his hair, while Sirius aimed a beaming smile at the pretty young redhead. Remus rolled his eyes, Peter squeaked when he saw her, and Derek and Sarah just simply looked happy to see her. Unlike the other girls that had so far giggled and played along with the boys' antics, Lily scowled at both of them in turn. When she went into the shop, Derek separated from the group, telling them that he would meet them at their normal rendezvous. He then dashed into the shop.

Lily was looking through the shelf that had a small bronze plaque on it that read "Arithmancy", and she was obviously looking for the sixth year coursebook. Derek grabbed one on his way by and handed it to her by way of greeting. She took the book, and looked up at him smiling. "Thank you, Derek…"

"I think I need to talk to you, Lily," Derek said without preamble. Lily looked taken aback, so Derek pressed on, "It's about what I told you and Remus and Sarah on the train…"

Lily had a small intake of breath, her smile fading to the barest hint. "Oh Derek…" She cast a look to both sides. "I could meet you again on the train back to Hogwarts if you'd like…"

But Derek shook his head. "It is a more private thing and includes an explanation of myself."

This time it was Lily's turn to shake her head, her smile completely gone and a concerned expression had taken its place. "I don't want you to think you have anything to explain yourself for… we both know the true nature of each other…" she trailed off, finally unable to say any more about it, and Derek simply nodded.

After a few moments of silence, Derek ventured, "I still need to talk to you later. We'll find some way to do it once we're back at school… okay?"

At this Lily smiled a little and placed her free hand on Derek's shoulder in a comforting way for a moment. "Okay. I have to go, Derek." Derek nodded, and they parted without any more words.

And it was in that situation that Derek was driven to London to board the Hogwarts Express for what could be the last time…