Chapter Ten:
Black & Blue
"What the hell were you thinking?" James yelled, the moment he and Harry were free of the Death Eater meeting.
"Shut up!" Harry exclaimed, looking back up at the crumbling apartment building they had left, then pushed James into a dirty alleyway. He turned to look at James, his face blank, almost as if he knew what was coming.
"What the bloody hell were you thinking!" James yelled again. His mind a mess, five words kept repeating themselves over and over, 'Harry was a Death Eater.' It didn't make any since; Harry was as against the Dark Arts as James was. Even though he pretended to hate his father, Harry knew the Dark Arts had led to their father's death and had vowed never to get involved in them. So, what the bloody hell was he doing becoming a Death Eater?
"Look, you wouldn't understand," Harry, told him, shacking his head, "I was so stupid to bring you here. I knew you wouldn't get it."
"What wouldn't I get? Killing innocent people?" James ranted, "Torture, and all those other horrible things Death Eaters do?"
"It's the only way." Harry said darkly, turning to look down the dirty alleyway, "the only way to keep this family safe. You don't understand, you're always away at that fancy school of yours. But the rest of us have to live here James, and it's not easy."
"What dose any of this have to do with being a Death Eater?" James exclaimed, wondering why Harry was telling him this. Did he want James to feel guilty? It wasn't his fault he got and they didn't, right?
"Everything. Look, one of my mates, he didn't join. They tracked him down got him and his family. James this is the real world, it's dangerous if you don't follow the rules. Around here one of the rules is you have to be down with this. Look I'm sorry I got you into this, but they've been asking about you. Tom's already in and he's only a year older then you. So what'd you say?"
"I don't see why I have to say anything," James argued, even though he knew in his heart Harry was right. "Like you said I'm always gone at school."
"James," Harry said; putting his hand on James's shoulder, "you're thirteen years old now. You have at least four more summers here; I'm going to tell you the truth. If you don't join them, I don't think you're going to survive those summers. Lord gaining power, hell he's bloody taken over. So what if you have to spy a little, at least you'll be safe."
James looked up at his brother, knowing he was right.
"What would I have to do?" James asked, hating himself the whole time.
"So how was your summer?" Peter asked. It was the first of September and the Marauders were sitting in an empty compartment on the Hogwarts express, trying to think of someway to spend the next five hours.
"Horrible," Sirius exclaimed, "the old bat was hell. Though I do miss the hours of mindless boredom locked in my room."
"Sirius you're such a ray of happiness," James commented. "Mine was okay, a little to short though. Oh I forgot, I've been working on something all summer that I think will help Remus with his furry little problem."
"What?" Remus asked wearily, then added, "and is it legal."
"Remus!" James exclaimed, "do you not trust me at all?"
"No," Remus responded, making the others laugh.
"Okay, it's not really legal, but I think if we do it right we wouldn't get in any trouble. Have any of you ever heard of Animagi."
"What like those people who can turn into animals?" Sirius asked, his interest sparked. "Oh, can I become a grim? That would be cool!"
"You don't get to choose what animal you turn into Sirius," Remus remarked, "James, I don't know if this is the safest idea. Becoming Animagi is really dangerous, the ministry has to keep tabs on everyone attempting it because looks of people mess up the spell and spend the rest of their lives as a fruit bat or something."
"Their w-whole lives?" Peter squeaked, looking panicked.
"Chill Remus, you're scaring Pete," James said lazily, pulling out a thick book from his bag. "Look, Albus gave this to me a while ago, it explains everything all we have to do is follow the instructions."
"I don't know about this," Peter butted in, still looking slightly green.
"Oh come on Pete, I'll be fun," James said, his eyes bright with excitement. "Besides we'll be helping Remus, you know how much his transfigurations hurt him, with us there he wouldn't be able to hurt himself."
"Thanks," Remus replied dryly.
"What's the worst that could happen?" James asked, lying back, "it's not liked we'd use our abilities to spy on people, like that fifth year, what's her name, Rita something, would."
"Hey, I like Rita," Sirius interjected, "she gave me the best scope on Princess Lily the other day, apparently Lily's family is thinking of arrange a marriage with her and you-know-who."
"WHAT!" James exclaimed, "That's… that's just gross."
"Yeah, that's what Lily said," Remus said.
"Hey, how'd you-" Sirius started, before Remus interrupted him to say quickly, "Um… a friend told him."
"Oh, okay," Sirius, muttered.
The topic quickly shifted to what girls Sirius would like to date that year. A little to quick a shift for James's liking. Something was off, something about how Remus had answered that question and James was going to find out what it was. But for now he pushed it from his mind and turned his mind to more important things, like if he should send this bit of gossip to his brother. Would he be helping the Dark Lord by passing on gossip? Well, James knew the answer to that question, but he had to protect his family didn't he? James sighted, wishing he could be a normal thirteen year old, whose only worries were grades and what to say to cute girls. But James Potter was not a normal boy, it seemed fate had given him a harder life them most people and he'd just have to square his shoulders a deal with it.
So pushing away his self-pity, James joined in with Remus in teasing Sirius about his detention record. Before he knew it the train was pulling into Hogsmead station and they were pilling into the carriage pushed by the strange horse like creatures, one their way back to Hogwarts.
The sorting passed very slowly, but the feast was a blur of food, well more food, teenage boys. That night, James lay down on his pillow, surrounded red curtains, very glad to be back
The first day of school started with double potions, down in the dungeons with the Slytherins. James was beginning to think Dumbledore had a sick since of humor, pairing these two rival houses together every year. Not that James really minded, it gave him another opportunity to torture Snivellus or Severus Snape, as he was known my most. This year, James had the perfect idea to torture good old Snivellus. He decided to get Professor Slughorn to make him Lily Evan's potion partner. James knew for a fact that Snape had a crush on the Princess. He also knew that he was one of Slughorn's favorite students, if not more then Snape, who was a half-blood. Slughorn could say a million times he wasn't prejudice against muggle-borns and half-bloods for all the truth there was to it. The fact was James was a pureblood, it didn't matter that his family was considered trash in most wizard's minds, they were still pureblood going back thousands of years. Snape might be a genius at potions, but his father was a muggle, thus making him dirty. It didn't hurt that James also happened to be good at potions, if not a natural like Snivellus.
"I don't see why you hate him so much," Remus said, as the four boys made their way down to potions early.
"Come on, you've seen the way he looks at us," James exclaimed, "Like we're dirt or something. It's just so annoying, the way he's always sucking up to the nobles and the princess, and you know he's deep into the dark arts."
"I know," Sirius chimed in, "he's probably already gotten the Dark Mark! Oh, what I'd like to do to all those stupid Death Eaters, do you know my parents wanted me to go to one of those meetings this summer? Like I'd ever be caught dead at a place like that, do I look like someone who kills and tortures for fun?"
James squirmed uncomfortably here; he had still to tell his friends about agreeing to spy for the Death Eaters. In his heart he knew he hadn't had any choice, but he didn't know if his friends, especially Sirius would understand. Sirius Black came from a family full of dark wizards, and hated it with ever fiber of his being. Remus would understand, he was from the same place James was, but Sirius, well, that was a matter for another time. He was only thirteen and his biggest problem right now was making Lily Evans his potions partner.
To James's great surprise, his plan worked perfectly. He just had to go up to Slughorn and tell him working with Sirius was "very distractive to my learning process," and he wanted a new partner. He didn't even have to suggest working with Lily, Slughorn himself thought of it. The look on Snape's face as James walked over to Lily was priceless.
"Hello," James announced, standing next to the princess, she looked at him with a look of surprise, which turned to scorn immediately.
"Well, are you going to sit?" Lily asked rudely. James, figuring she was having a bad day or something, complied imminently, then said in a friendly way.
"I'm James by the way, I don't think we've officially met."
"Lily," Lily said, abruptly, which made James think there was something to her rudeness besides having a bad day. "So, can you chap the beetles and I'll skin the pufferfish."
"Sure," James muttered, confused at why his great plan was going down the drain.
James sat down for lunch, slightly dejected, after potions that day.
"So, how'd thinks go with the princess?" Sirius teased, slumping down next to him, grinning.
"Shut-up," James muttered, sinking low over his tomato soup.
Just then a barn owl flew into the hall, carrying a red envelope. It circled, as the entire hall held its breath, wordlessly wondering who it was looking for. Then it spotted its victim and flew down towards the Gryffindor table. The students at the other houses seemed to let out a collective breath as the Gryffindors started growing very nervous. Finally, what seemed like years later, the owl landed between two second year girls who both burst into tears. A boy across from them gently removed the letter and looking at the address, handed it to the smaller of the two. The girl took it, sobbing hysterically, and tore it open. She took one look at the letter inside and ran out of the hall, screaming.
Professor McGonagall, who had been sitting at the staff table, took of after her, looking worried. Slowly noise returned to the hall, as the boy and the other girl left the hall, after their friend.
"That's so sad," Rosa said, taking a seat next to Sirius. "I hope she at least has some family left."
The boys nodded, suddenly not as hungry as they thought they were. No one needed to explain what was in the red envelope. All the students it had been from the Ministry, telling to poor student who received it that her family had been murdered by Death Eaters. The students had learned to include the red envelopes in their nightmare, their worst fears. The sight of one of those barn owls usually left the population shaken, knowing that they could be next. For the attacks were random, unplanned, almost as if Voldemort and his Death Eaters were killing for fun, not to gain anything.
"Um… I'll be in the library," Sirius announced, and without another word, left the hall, followed by many glares. He was soon followed by most of Slytherin house, who felt the library was a safer option then the hate stares of students who knew full well that it was their families who had caused the murder of the second year's family.
"Hey guys, I think I'm going to go hang out in the dance room for a while," James said, looking around at the stares he was also attracting.
"Go idea," Rosa muttered, getting up with him and Remus, as the three of them set off, leaving Peter all alone, looking confused.
"Hey guys, why are you going?" He called after them.
'Peter's really doesn't get it,' James thought to himself, slightly annoyed at his friend. Didn't he realize there was a reason the other students avoided him and Remus so much? Why did he think Rosa's roommates ignored her and James could never have a chance of being friends with Princess Lily Evans? It was because they were the dirt of the magical world, all of them coming from the poorest families and the worst parts of town. Sure they might live at Hogwarts and get the same education as everyone else, but they were different.
The Slytherins might get hate stares from the other students, but the scholarship students knew they would get more then just stares. For they had no rich Death Eater fathers or Ministry connections, they were all alone. Most of them had one parent, or like Remus, less then that. This was their only chance of getting anywhere in life, and yet they would always be held back by their family. Their families who worked seven days a week just to make ends meat, their families who were threatened and blackmailed into joining the Dark Arts. Their families who had never really had a chance of another life.
'It wasn't fair,' James thought savagely, as he looked sadly around the room at some of the best and brightest witches and wizards of his time. All of them, the 'dirt' of the magical world worked so hard; to get the best grades, to be prefects and Head Boy and Girl, to please, everyone. But, the truth was they would never please anyone, no matter what they did. Their families didn't care, they were to drunk or dead or gone to notice, and the magical world just saw them as trash.
Yes, Peter could never truly understand. For no matter how much smarter, or nicer, or more qualified James and Remus were, Peter and Sirius would always be better in the world's eyes, for the simple reason that they had money and James didn't.
It was eleven o'clockthat night, not that James was counting, and it was just one of those times. Everyone gets them, when they get these horrible flashbacks on their lives and think about how much life sucks. The other Marauders had already gone to bed, along with most of Gryffindor house. To their blissful sleep, thinking about their perfect lives, James though savagely. He let out a noise somewhere between a grunt and a snort, then crumpled up the parchment he had been doodling on and threw it into the fire.
A sudden rush of recklessness gripped him and he stole silently from the common room. Hogwarts was so peaceful at night, the only sounds being the snoring of a painting or the rush of the wind.
"Out for a nighttime stroll," a quite voice said from behind him, making James jump. There standing behind him was the kind face and warm eyes of Albus Dumbledore. He was wearing a purple robe dotted with silver and gold stars that seemed to glow in the candlelight, like their companions in the sky.
"Alb-" James started, then changed his mind mid word, "I mean professor."
"Oh please, continue calling me Albus," Dumbledore said, that former twinkle in his eyes, "I do tire of the formalities of this school sometimes. Now tell me James, what are you doing out of bed so late. I do believe I set a curfew that ended a few hours ago."
"Sorry," James started, trying to come up with a reason for being out so late, then realized there was none.
"I quite understand," Dumbledore cut in, "it might be hard to believe, but I too was once young and restless. I assume you just felt the need to wonder."
James nodded, not knowing how to respond.
"I wonder then if I could join you on your midnight stroll?"
"Of course," James said, and the two of them set off in a peaceful silence. James lapsed back into his thoughts involving a promise and a red haired princess. On the last day of the summer, Harry had approached him on his own and passed on James's first assignment from the Death Eaters. He was to keep an 'eye' on Princess Lily and report if she did anything out of the ordinary.
"Albus, can I ask you something?" James said after a while.
"Of course James, however, I can not promise an answer, for something's are better left unsaid. But for now, ask away."
"Um… right," James muttered, then continued, "I was wondering if you could help me with my… friend. See my friend's family has been pressuring him to join the Death Eaters and spy for them. He doesn't want to, but he felts if he doesn't then his family might get hurt."
"And why might your friend think that?" Dumbledore asked, his familiar twinkle gone.
"Because where I live, it's either you join or you're the enemy."
"Well, it seems your friend's got himself into a corner," Dumbledore remarked.
"Yeah," James muttered darkly, "so, what do you think my friend should do?"
"Well, it is never best to do something think is wrong," Albus remarked, "no matter the reason, your friend should stand by the his principles. However, if it is a question of his family in danger, he might need to make certain sacrifices."
"What kind of sacrifices?"
"Well, for example, he might spy for these Death Eaters, yet not feed them any true information. That way he is not full out refusing to help them or going against his principles."
"But, isn't that the same as helping them?" James exclaimed.
"No, it's not, because the Death Eaters are not helped. Yet, your friend must sacrifice his moment to stand up for what is right. That is not to say he wouldn't be very brave, but his braveness will only help his family. James is there anything you wish to tell me?"
"No professor," James said quickly, knowing he was not truly ready to confide completely in Dumbledore yet. Albus gave James a piercing stare, then said.
"James, just because I am now your professor, dose not mean my door is no longer open to you. I know you know how to open a door, so please use that skill once in a while on my office door."
James smiled, not bothering to respond to that.
"On a side note," Albus continued, "your sister, Sarah will be turning eleven this summer I believe. So I have taken the liberty of looking over her school record and it seems she qualifies for one of her scholarship. Would you please inform her of her early acceptance so she will stop owling me twice a week."
"Sorry sir," James said sheepishly, "she's a little persistent."
"Oh I don't mind," Albus, replied, "in fact, she has taken the liberty of trying to 'bribe' me with sweets, and I have to admit I have grown rather fond of her lemon drops."
James grinned at this; Sarah did have a knack for knowing just how to get what she wanted. James just hoped this quality wouldn't lead her into Slytherin.
"Well, I believe the time is growing late James, I think it's about time I retired. I hope you will do the same, for I would hate for Filch to have to throw you in detention," Dumbledore said.
"Yes sir," James replied, taking the hint and after a short farewell, set off back to Gryffindor tower, knowing he would be up all night trying to figure out whether or not to follow Albus's advice. Either way, he would have a lot to think about, that was for sure.
"Hey, Peter what're you doing?" James asked the blond boy one night as the four marauders were lounging around the common room.
"Oh," Peter exclaimed, jumping slightly when he noticed James was watching him. "Well I've been getting really tired of getting lost in this castle, so I've been trying to draw a map. See, it has all the classrooms and stuff; the only problem is everything keeps changing around. I've been trying to find a spell or something to make the map movie with the castle, but I can't seem to find one."
"Hey, Peter, this is a great idea," James said, taking the map from Peter and showing it to the others."
"I bet a simple copycat spell, maybe mixed with a replication spell would do it," Remus said, thoughtfully. "You know, we could use an identifying spell to you know, put people on the map as well as places."
"I know tons more secret passages and stuff to put on here," James added, "I could probably improve the drawing too."
"Do you guys realize how much trouble we could reek with this thing," Sirius exclaimed, looking at the others with a mildly creepy glint in his eyes.
"So you really like it?" Peter asked, still in shock that he had come up with a good idea for once in his life. Unfortunately no one was listening to him, they were to busy planning all the horrible things they could to with 'the map.'
Down in the dungeons, potion lesions with Princess Lily were going nowhere. James didn't know why he didn't just give up on the princess; she was obviously giving him the cold shoulder. But, there was something about her that just drew James in, like they were meant to be together, but apparently Lily did not feel the same way. The only times she bothered to talk to James were to tell him what to do and James couldn't for the life of him think of a way to change this. That was until one Monday, when Slughorn assigned a paper, to be written with your potions partner, ten rolls of parchment, due Monday. James grinned at the thought; finally he would have an excurse to spend time with Lily apart from the dungeons. Maybe give her a chance to warm up to him a bit.
"So, do you want to meet in the library on Saturday to do this," James asked immediately.
"How about Sunday?" Lily asked. James thought, what was that think he did on Sundays? Right, Quidditch practice, how could he forget?
"I have Quidditch practice," James replied, "so can we do it on Saturday."
Lily frowned at him, as if it was his fault Henry Wood was obsessed with all day Sunday practices.
"Sure," Lily said after a moment, "ten o'clock at the back table, think you can be on time?"
James nodded, trying to ignore the fact that she assumed he would be late. He wasn't even late to potions, James shrugged it off, thinking it was just Lily thinking all boys were late to everything. 'Well,' James though to himself, 'I'll just have to make sure to be on time.'
He wasn't. In fact he was five minutes late, running into the quiet library sweating and out of breath.
"S-sorry," he choked out, "Sirius turned of my alarm clock, said it was blasphemy to wake up early on a Saturday."
"You're late," Lily said coolly, then went back to her stack of books. James sighed, knowing this was going to be a long day, and pulled up another chair as Lily continued to talk. "Lets see, we have to write ten rolls on the Memory Potion with specific references to what your partner would see if they were administered this potion. Results will be tested in class, when your partner will be asked to take the potion and write down the memories he/she had. Well, this shouldn't be to hard."
"Yeah," James muttered, pulling out some parchment and his textbook. "So what is the memory potion again?"
"We've been learning about it for two days now!" Lily exclaimed.
"I know, I wasn't listening," James said, "So what is it?"
"It's a potion that makes the victim relive their most vivid memories," Lily recited, obviously very annoyed, "like birthdays or something like that."
"So what would you relive?" James asked, his quill posed over the parchment, eager to know what Lily would say.
"I guess my tenth birthday," Lily said thoughtfully, "my parents throw this huge ball, that was pretty important. Then there was the day my grandmother died and my dad inherited the throne, I was eight, but it was a really big day. So what about you?"
James thought for a while, he didn't have any great balls to say. So what was his best memory?
"The day I got my scholarship," James replied shortly, that one was easy. But what else? He couldn't tell her about the Death Eater meeting, so what else important had happened in his life? Then he remembered his brother's wedding that had been very vivid to say the least. So he said, "and the day my brother Harry got married and the day Bonnie was born."
"Who's Bonnie?" Lily asked, not bothering to look up.
"Harry, and his wife Ginger's, daughter, she was born last year."
"Is that it?" Lily asked, rudely, and James knew she didn't believe that was his best memory. But James would be dammed if he to her about the Death Eater meeting, that was privet.
"I think so," James replied.
"Look, I want a good grade on this and if you're not telling me something that ends up costing me some marks…"
"I'm not holding anything back," James said defensively, 'besides, James didn't even think that was his most vivid memory, it was probably the scholarship one.
"Okay," Lily said, not really believing him. They sat in silence for a while before Lily continued by saying, "well, better get the basics out of the way, so I can describe this stuff. Where do you live?"
"Err… in an apartment in Knockturn alley," James muttered, trying to hide his embarrassment by trying to think up something to ask Lily. Then he resized he knew everything about her anyway, so he could probably just write the basics from memory.
"What?" James said finally, when Lily was still giving him a disgusted look.
"Nothing…" Lily exclaimed almost defensively, "So how many siblings do you have?"
"Five," James replied, "Harry, Elizabeth, Jane, Dean, and Sarah. Look, would you stop looking at me that way."
"What way?" Lily argued, giving James the 'I'm so much better then you' look that he couldn't stand.
"Like you think my family is scum," James exclaimed defensively, "they aren't… they're good people."
"Sure, and how many of them are Death Eaters?" Lily asked rudely. James's eyes widened, how could she possibly know that. Oh right, he was from Knockturn alley, of course she though his family were Death Eaters, that stuck up prat. Lily seemed to know she had stuck on the truth, because she continued with, "They are Death Eaters! I knew you were…"
"We're what?" James said, trying to convince himself this was really happening. Princess Lily had not just accused him of being from a Death Eater family, well, that was sort of true, but there was so much more to it. "Look you don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh yes I do," Lily retorted. "You and your family are all trash and you're coming here spy on us. I see the way you're always looking at me, ruffling your hair, trying to look like you just got off a broomstick or something, trying to impress me. I've got news for you Potter, I'm not impressed, in fact you sicken me. Why don't you just go back were you come from and leave me alone?"
With that Lily stormed out of the library, leaving a speechless James behind, still trying to figure out how things had gone so horribly wrong.
"Stuck up prep!" James exclaimed that night in the common room, throwing another draft of his potions essay into the fire. He watched it as the flames licked the edge of the parchment and then slowly devoured it, wishing he could kick something.
"Not talking about me are you?" A cheery voice said from behind him and James turned to see Sirius Black standing there. When James didn't respond, Sirius plopped down next to him on the couch and turned to look into the fire too.
"Didn't go so well with the Princess," Sirius said after a while, not bothering to make it a question.
"Of course," James replied darkly, "what was I thinking trying to make friends with her, I should have known she was just like all the other stuck up preps in this place."
Sirius was quite for a moment, thinking, then he said thoughtfully. "You know, two years ago I was just like Lily, I thought you and Remus were both Death Eater trash and I wanted nothing to do with you. If I hadn't been sorted into Gryffindor and been forced to get to know you, I'd probably still think that way."
"So?" James said, staring off into the fire.
"I'm just saying, you've got to understand were Lily is coming from. She's use to everything being black and white. You're from Knockturn alley and all her life she's been told everyone from there is scum."
"That's not true!"
"Well of course it's not, but how's Lily suppose to know that?" Sirius exclaimed, "she's never been allowed to know anyone who's not part of her parents perfect world. That's the thing with Lily, she's under a lot of pressure, more then she even realizes. She's the next ruler and if she doesn't act perfectly right now, she'll risk the Ministry depriving her of power when she gets the crown. Don't you see, you scare her, because if you're right, then everything she's been taught is wrong. If you're right, she'll have to risk disrupting the whole magical community by going against her parents. And Lily's would never do that, so why don't you just drop it?"
Sirius faded out, looking sadly at the fire again. For a few minutes James was speechless, then he said the one thing Sirius had been dreading.
"I can't drop it. I don't know why Sirius, but even now when she's been such a prat to me, I can't stop think about her."
"You've got it that bad?" Sirius asked, turning from the fire to look at James.
"Yeah," James replied, "I don't know mate, but there's just something about her… "
"You know this isn't going to be easy right?"
"Of course, but I just can't give up on her Sirius, not yet."
"Well then I wish you luck," Sirius exclaimed, "and make sure I'm the best man at your wedding."
"Hey, who said anything about marriage, I just want to date her," James exclaimed, waking Sirius over the head with a pillow. "Now, if you wouldn't mind, I have a lot of work to do."
"So, about an hour before I should be ready for a midnight raid on the kitchens."
"Make it forty-five minutes, I'm doing potions."
Time passes slowly for some and quickly for others, for James his fifth year seemed to fly by. Gryffindor house managed to come in second place in Quidditch, mainly due to James's excellent chaser skills. As for the princess, aside from one minor fight, they managed to be survive to each other during potions all year. Lily once even asked to borrow a quill, a major step up from the cold shoulder James was use to, For some reason, Lily's refusal to even be pleasant to James just made James want to date her more. Maybe that was the whole, "playing hard to get" think his mother had told him about. Anyway, James tried to focus his mind on other things for the remainder of the school year, like how to prank the Slytherins so badly it went down in Hogwarts history.
James and Sirius had some… unusually ideas, which, with the help of Remus, managed to turn into some pretty funny pranks. They included turning all the Slytherins robes red and gold before the biggest match of the session, so they looked like Gryffindor supporters. Then they unscrewed all the beds in the castles so they all crashed to the floor at 3 am. Oh, and the time James put a permit sticking charm on the Slytherin common room door so they couldn't get out, Dumbledore himself had to come down to take it off. Then on the very last day of term, the Marauders did their most daring prank ever; they turned Profess McGonagall hair pink!
After a very long telling off in front of the school, which kept bursting into laughter at odd moments, because McGonagall looked so funny, the whole group was given two months of Friday detentions starting the next term. After that the Marauders went from nobodies to some of the most popular people in school. Apparently if you were cool enough to turn McGonagall hair pink, the student body would forget about the scholarship student status. So, it was with a heavy heart that James boarded the Hogwarts express, knowing third year was over, and he would never be able to go back, just forward, following the great circle of life.
A/N: IT'S OVER! Third year is over! Sorry, this was like the hardest year ever to write, which is what took me so long. I hope you all liked it, this is my longest chapter ever, fourteen pages. For all of you who want to know, this whole story is now 110 pages long! So congratulations to everyone who's gotten this far, you've basically just read a very short book. Don't worry, we've still got four more year to go and about three years after that. So there will be tons more chapters. Okay, I'm going to go write chapter eleven now! So thanks to all the reviews and everyone else PLEASE REVIEW!