The Marauding Five : Year Seven
Chapter 7: Mages
Professor Melissa Black, Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher of the current term wore a black scowl on her lips. Steam is literally being emitted from her nostrils and ears, her black eyes dancing mad in anger. There were tell tale traces of tears and she looked like the under world freezing all over.
She marched into the boys' dorms – every single one of every single house – stripping everything down and demanding for the Marauders.
Then she ransacked the girls' dorms, too, stripping every single hiding place she can think of that'll prove sufficient to the Marauders's hiding place.
Finally, Tally Chapman stammered that Lily and James were last seen fainting in front of her before vanishing.
To which Professor Black screamed 'JUST LIKE THOSE IDIOTS TO MAKE A DRAMATIC EXIT!' before turning Madam Pomfrey's neat beds over.
'What's wrong with her?' Tally gulped, joining Dan at the common room.
'I don't know. She came in and yelled for "those five monkeys",' Dan replied casually, just as anowl dropped him his Daily Prophet paper. He absent-mindedly tucked it under his arm. Then he stopped, unfurled it, and gasped loudly.
'What?'
'Tally, look at this!!!'
Feeling that this has got to do with the Marauders ('whenever do these kind of things don't have to do with them…'), Tally took a look at where Dan's index finger was pointing at.
Wizard
Villages & Towns Destroyed
Loopy Village Struck By You-Know-Who
Directly under the bolded headline, were pictures. Five faces peered out cheerfully, all smiles and beams and grins that heaven can manage. Very familiar. Too familiar, in fact.
'WHAT ON ATLANTIS IS THIS?!?!' Tally shrieked, grabbing the paper. 'These are the Marauders!!!'
Five teenage wizards under the Dark Lord
—Searched for to be placed for testament.
'You've got to be kidding,' Tally muttered, sinking in disbelief. Her eyes scanned the text. '…attacked the village with You-Know-Who… approximately hundred of the villagers killed… ninety-five survivors…'
Dan hugged her comfortingly. The blonde girl stared stiffly at the names of those that didn't survive.
…William & Rose Evans… Milicent Turner… Emily Potter… Orion Black… Romulus & Anne Lupin… Adam & Celine Varens…
She dropped the paper. 'Only… only the Potters?' Tally murmured blankly, head suddenly feeling very empty. 'Of the Marauders… only James's parents and Sirius's mum…? Then- then there's Petunia and Adele's twin…' Dan hugged her tighter.
'Did anyone see the Marauders???' Melissa cried, bursting into Gryffindor Tower again.
Tally and Dan both retracted self-consciously.
'Um, no,' Dan blurted. Melissa caught sight of the Daily Prophet on the floor. She raised her eyes.
'Don't owl the reporters,' she said grimly.
'We won't,' Tally promised dimly.
**
They coughed heavily. 'Great transportation skills,' Adele said sarcastically. 'We're weak already, and you're still making us travel all over!'
'I'll bet you anything that the Ministry is after our hides and things,' James replied firmly, trying to stand a very sleepy Lily up. 'They'll hoard EVERYTHING, and my house's library isn't just a mere collection of books!!! It's PRICE—'
'—PRICELESS. Yeah, yeah, we know. It's not as if we don't have nothing in our place,' Remus muttered.
'But transporting FIVE HOUSES???' Sirius wailed demandingly. 'You realize your parents aren't dead yet?'
'I don't care,' James said stubbornly. 'They'll come to Hogwarts, eventually, and I'll tell them!'
'I wonder how, being at Godric's Hollow. We all know that place is a literal jungle.'
'Good thing Lily's a white mage,' Remus said. 'She can transfer some of her magic to you for strength.'
'Well… ye-es…' James stared at the ceiling.
'At least Godric's Hollow is useful, even if it's pretty early stage for them to find out,' Adele sighed. 'Now we can get out well-deserved sleep!!!'
'Fire Flames,' Lily muttered to the Fat Lady.
The Marauders wandered into the common room tiredly, only to find Dan hugging Tally intimately. The two glanced up at the Marauders. The five laughed sheepishly.
'Oops, sorry we interrupted you,' Lily laughed. 'We'll go!' They turned to leave.
'No, no, no! Wait!' Tally said at once. 'Where were you guys?'
'Being controlled by a psychomaniac,' Sirius muttered. 'I don't believe that I can't fight off Imperio…'
'… you… probably know that, um, your family…'
'What?' Adele and Sirius said in unison. 'They're alive?? Really???' Faint hopes, of course.
'Yes,' Lily murmured quietly, her green eyes dimming slightly. 'But that can't be helped. The problem with puppets… it's a puppet,' she said with a sad smile, sighing deeply.
And Lily left for the dormitory.
'Is she okay?' Tally asked anxiously.
'Well…'
'Li's gonna cry. I remember that Look,' Remus whispered.
'As if I don't,' James snorted. The was a pause among James, Remus and Sirius.
'So??' Sirius said impatiently.
'So?' James repeated with a questioning tone. 'What's the point?'
'Go up and comfort her, you dolt!!!' Sirius hissed.
'Watch who you're calling a dolt,' James glared. Sirius backed away.
'Okay, fine. Sorry. Just go up. And comfort her. Get it?' Remus said. 'All her family members died but Petunia, and you KNOW what her sister's like, after living with her for 16 years.'
'All of yours died, too,' James retorted.
'I'm a grown up! Geez! And I'm a man!'
'Adele?' James said helpfully.
'Her sister's a treasure box compared to Petty Petunia,' Sirius said dismissively. 'Look, just go, okay?? Don't be so shy!' James glared at the word shy. 'Well?? Go! She's your fiancée! Aren't you gonna say SOMETHING?'
James hesitated. His two friends glared at him – ordering – him to go up and make Lily feel better, however they expect him to do it. After a couple of seconds of silent exchanges, James reluctantly obliged their wish.
Sirius and Remus congratulated themselves on a job well done.
'Where's he going? That's the girls' dorms!' Tally said sharply, noticing James dragging his feet up the stairs half-heartedly.
'Ssh,' Adele hushed. She turned to make sure the boys were not looking, then quietly sneaked up the stairs. Tally stared after her curiously, before impishness took over her worried-anxious-side. She proceeded towards the stairs.
Suddenly, she felt a hot glare behind her neck. Tally looked up, only to see Adele emitting daggers from her eyes, ordering her to not come near the door.
Tally shivered and quailed under the intense glare before retreating.
Adele can be really scary. At least she's not like Lily, whose expression of glaring daggers is… truly, dangerously heart-stopping.
**
James hesitated again at the door. Sheesh, what's he going to say to Lily? "Sorry, Li, can't save your parents 'cause I was busy saving mine"? Or maybe a more casual one, like "hey Lily, know you're going to cry, so Sirius and Remus sent me here to see you pour buckets"? Haha, that's really funny. He could also try saying "you know, I think it's okay if your parents die now, because they'll have to die someday, somehow, so why not now?"
That is too cruel for a James-like answer. Very rhymy, too, at the end part.
James slumped.
Adele was hiding behind a pillar, Remus's birthday present (camera) carefully positioned in her hand. She tapped her foot impatiently.
James paced in front of the door, still wondering what to say.
'If you're practicing your march to be a bodyguard, get to the gates!' Lily snapped irritably, opening the door. James was startled. 'Adele, get out. I know you're there.' Adele jumped.
'Ah, how'd you know?' the raven haired girl smiled innocently, hiding the camera from sight.
'I told you my senses are good…'
Adele grumbled under her breath. 'C'mon, get on in, she won't eat you,' Adele grunted unhappily, dragging James after her.
'No!' James said at once. 'I'm going to my dorm, kay? I remembered something I had to do for Minnie! You know, HeadBoy and stuff…' he trailed, backing away at a steady pace. Once he decided that he was at a safe distance from Adele's arms, his feet sprinted.
'What's with him?' Lily asked. Adele just shrugged, following Lily in.
The girl watched Lily carefully as she pulled out a few tins of biscuits and magicked a cup of hot chocolate with her wand. Lily then proceeded to tie her long hair in a high ponytail. Then she wrapped a white ribbon around her rubber band and pulled it into a bow.
Adele's violet eyes trailed to her own reflection in the mirror. Funny. Her pale skin got even whiter (sooner or later, she'll be Snow White in the muggle cartoon) and she had rosy cheeks. For once. Not that it complimented much to her dark hair and purple eyes, anyway. It made her look scarier, in her opinion.
'How come I look different?' Adele blurted.
'I told you, metamorphosis,' Lily said simply, biting a biscuit. She handed one to Adele. 'Want one?' Adele ignored the offer.
'And what happened last night? I don't quite remember.'
'Our parents died,' Lily said with a shrug, biting into her chocolate chip cookie.
'…how?' It was a question she knew she wouldn't want an answer to.
Lily paused. 'Voldemort made you, Sirius and Remus do it.'
Adele gulped. 'Does that- does that mean that I – I, Adele Varens – killed my own parents?' Adele asked weakly. 'And a hundred others? Did I kill yours, and Remus, and Sirius, and James's, too?
'James's family is safe, but his grandma Emily,' Lily said shortly. 'Don't worry, she's evil.' Lily felt guilty saying about James's grandmother that way, but what's out is out.
'Oh.' Adele stared at her reflection again. 'You said we were out old selves before the meta-whatever-it-is-thing. So is it Adele Varens or Adele Green that did all these?' Adele asked in a small voice.
Lily calmly drank her milk.
'What'll you do?'
'Well…'
'What would you do?' the other girl asked, looking into Adele's eyes.
Adele bit her lip. She knew what she'd do. Perfectly well. She avoided Lily's intense knowing green eyes that urged her to tell the truth. 'I won't do anything.'
'Really? That's impressive, Adele.'
Adele felt squirmish about lying to her best friend. The only friend that really cared about her, though Lily's idea of caring were really… outrageously indirect.
'Yeah, well, you know how noble I am! So, are you telling me or not?'
'I trust you,' Lily murmured, as if sighing. It was heavily veiled, though, so Adele couldn't read much out of it. She squirmed again. 'It's both of you. You know how stubborn Green is. You seem to just pick up the same murderous streak. Besides, you two are the same person. It's not use saying who did what.'
'…oh. Why're you so undisturbed? Your… um…'
'I told you, I'm a puppeteer,' Lily smiled. Adele gave her a confused look. 'Nah! I'm just kidding! Secret, secret! It's a secret!'
'You won't tell me?' Adele pouted. She wanted to know it so much. Sometimes, she wondered what kept the other four Marauders ticking; something that she'd never experienced before?
'Nope! Now, cookie?' Lily offered cheerfully.
**
He panted. Obviously, he wasn't trained to run for long distance. At least, from the girls' dorm to the boys'. It's far enough to be counted as long distance. James slumped into the third years' bed, perfectly aware that he's not in his own dorm. He wanted to avoid Sirius, Remus and Dan.
'Eeeps, that was creepy,' he breathed finally, to the empty room. Lily had been a wrong – wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, WRONG! – choice for a psychic.
He dug into his robes to produce a red and gold book he got from Lily's bag the other day. He stared at it curiously.
Hm. Could it be her diary? Photo album? Future sightings? Couldn't be. She's not that kind of sentimental person who'd care about all those enough to keep track of them in a book.
James turned the hard cover over.
He blinked. And blink, and blink, and blink.
It's certainly not Lily's, this book…? She couldn't come up with anything as, uh, creative as this. James stared a few times at the scrawled name of the owner: Lily Rose Evans.
It's just… hard to grasp the fact that Lily could even…!
On the first page, and the many many pages after it, decorated repeatedly with a grin and certain affectionate thoughts, were the words: I Hate James Potter.
In all sorts of artistic graffiti, too, complimenting the written facts.
James smiled weakly when he turned to another page, now reading James Is An Idiot.
Honestly… Lily??? There must be some mistake somewhere.
James missed the small note on the lower left corner of the hard cover, a small print of black ink.
Everything in this book is meant to burst James Potter's ego, my –cough- fiancé. The fact that he won't read this note is plenty of proof to his impatience. Mwahaha!!!!! Everything written in this book is opposite of what's true. I'm not a dunce. I know that the busybody would open this—Lily.
**
'Well,' Melissa said, observing the Marauders with an icy stare. 'So what is the real story behind those uses of magic? What happened,' she pressed on in a more demanding tone, 'in Loopy Village three days ago?'
Three days. The Marauders had all managed to avoid Melissa for three solid days, equals 24 multiplied by 3, 76 hours. Oh, and plus the suddenly unexpected early breakfast of Melissa's, it would be around 84 hours. Quite an accomplishment.
'Well, see, first, we kinda… uh…' Sirius's mind couldn't find the right word. 'Er, KIND OF kidnapped, but not kidnapped.'
His mother raised her eyes, but gaze expectantly for them to continue.
'Got placed in some- some- some- some Brainwashing & Controlling Machine which resembles… what does it look like?' Adele asked, turning to her friends pleadingly. Melissa just went on staring in the way which demanded, silently, for the full account. The Marauders had never felt so intimidated or helpless before. Usually they're the ones manipulating others that way.
'It looks like a – like the – antique vase at home. You know, that Ming Dynasty one in your house, Sirius,' Remus offered helpfully. 'Well, we got exactly what the machine described itself—'
'What?' Lily blurted stupidly.
'Brainwashing, controlling, looks like an old Chinese vase. As I was going to say, our highly capable minds didn't get brainwashed, and we didn't get controlled,' Remus beamed.
'Yes, sure,' Melissa noted dryly, dripping with coarse sarcasm.
'Yup! Instead, we got extra knowledge and out of control!' Sirius declared.
'That explains a lot now, what happened,' Melissa commented wryly.
'So we don't have to go on?' James asked hopefully, 'cause we've got Quidditch practice.'
'Oh, with only five people on the team,' Lily muttered quietly. 'Since Pattempt Thore and Amanda Witt left for Christmas holidays.'
'Fine,' Melissa said. 'Go on and fly like elephants.'
'Birds,' Remus corrected. 'Or butterflies.' The five seventeen-year-olds turned around and marched out in unison.
Melissa Black gazed after them. Then she sighed, and smiled to see that they handle deaths well ('oh, those darling toddlers are all grown up…!' Sniff sniff) before going back to marking the seventh years' essays.
She frowned at the one before her. It was on Kappas (she gave it as revision).
Kappas are what muggles and everyone who don't know a nought about them Nessie from the Loch Ness in Scotland. To know one, you'll have to visit Scotland. Mum, I suggest you take me there someday, so I can answer your question better.
She glanced at the name: Sirius Black, from G-R-Y-F-F-I-N-D-O-R—R-U-L-E-S-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!
...Melissa gave it 1 out of ten.
She'll bring him there someday, alright. Nessie would probably appreciate extra food.
**
'It's the Wronski Feint! Not wring-the-broom-and-pretend-to-faint!!!' James yelled to Jeremiah Jones. The seeker had been trying his best to learn something James just discovered would be helpful, but obviously, he wasn't living up to James's expectations.
Wronski Feint involves pretending to see the Snitch somewhere near the ground—easy peasy job; the practice Snitch was indeed near the ground—pulling out of the dive before hitting the pitch and trying to make the other Seeker crash.
Jeremiah had somehow squeezed his broom, so hard that the new Shooting Star CRASHED onto the pitch, break the other Seeker's fall (Craig Keys, the reserve seeker) and knocking the poor broomstick into daze. The broom flew rather wobbly afterwards.
So wobbly it seemed like it just downed a whole barrel of beer.
'Sorry!' Jeremiah yelled, just as his broom hurled him through the Quidditch hoops. He knocked his jaw sharplu. 'Ar-ow…!'
'It's Hufflepuff we're against this time! And if we win, we'll be on Slytherin, so buck up!!!' Sirius yelled. 'We're gonna GET THAT QUIDDITCH CUP THIS YEAR!!!!!!'
'His family's death certainly hasn't affected his spirit, eh,' Amanda Witt commented dryly to Pattempt Thore. 'I'd've expected all the Marauders to mope around, depressed and all, y'know?'
'No way!!! It's GREAT!!! They're simply cool!' Pattempt gibbered happily, the ever faithful Marauders Worshipper. 'They've got the bravery! They're awesome, Amanda! Besides, it's already January!'
'I expect them to be upset,' Amanda said firmly.
WHAM!! A bludger shot past the two third years, jolting them to see who sent it. Lily grinned broadly; in her hand was a Beater's club. Pattempt had left it on the ground.
'Break up, if this is some lovey-dovey thing! It's Quidditch time!' Remus laughed.
'Yes!!! WORK HARD! GET THAT CUP!!!' Sirius yelled. 'We'd beat those Slytherins and if we beat Hufflepuff, we'll be facing those slimy snakes again! After that, we'll GET THE CUP!!!!!!'
'Team spirit!' Lily cheered happily, swinging the Beater's club as Pattempt tried to get it off her.
'Death never affect them,' Amanda sighed.
WHAM! Another Bludger whizzed by. Lily laughed as Remus pushed it off with his broom, sending it towards Jeremiah, whose unlucky – very sadly unlucky – broom received full blow of the Bludger. The broom "fainted" in spirals.
'And… hey, Jeremy! Did you head what I was telling you about Wronski Feint?' James demanded hotly, breaking out of his… sermon.
'My broom isn't up to working conditions, Potter!'
'That's fortunate! You can use the school brooms, then!' the captain said brightly. 'if you can jerk them from the ground, I bet you can pull yours in time from crashing!'
'The school brooms?? James, do you want me to DIE??? They're mad!'
'Easier, don't you think, to pull the Feint?' James concluded with a beaming face.
**
'SCORE!!! Extra points! Come on Lily!!! JAMES, LILY IS SENDING IT TO YOU!!!' Adele shrieked madly, jumping up and down, thumping her fists on the seats in front of her. Dan and Tally were trying to calm her down, since she's practically hopping on her seat.
Thump, thump, thump; her fist sounded rhythmically against the wood, just as Lily scored another 10 points for Gryffindor.
'YEEEEEES!!!!' Adele cried, doing some sort of dance jig now. Her hands flew around and knocked Tally and Dan from holding her back. Her legs kicked the students in front of her. Literally.
'Ouch! Adele!!!' Nina yelled. Adele didn't let her rant on further, though. She just caught sight of Jeremiah Jones dashing for the snitch and got excited. So excited that she lurched forward, grabbed Nina by the neck, choke her with the elbow and screamed like a banshee in Nina's ears.
'Adele!' Thomas called, trying to grab her to a more balanced position. Adele's wild arm thumped on him, too, as she choked both Nina and Thomas in her excitement.
'…and Jones caught the Snitch! 170-90, Gryffindor wins the game!!!' Solan Thrift's voice echoed around the Quidditch pitch.
And Adele toppled from the stands, landing heavily on the pitch.
Bzzt! Bz…zt! Bzzt…!
There was a faint buzzing sound from… somewhere near. For a moment, Adele had an impression that there's a huge mosquito after her.
'Well, well, well. If it isn't Miss Varens paying me a visit.'
Adele recognized that voice. 'Voldemort,' she acknowledged, turning around and cautiously drew her wand. 'I didn't pay you a visit. Rather, I think I fell off the stands, on to the pitch, and happen to stop by at your place before I hit.'
Voldemort was silent, unsure of what to make of this.
'Of course, had a bump thanks to your bare floor,' Adele added spitefully. 'So, what do you want, calling me here? I don't take special orders, you know,' she said sarcastically.
'Well then. Tell me, what did you use… the magic, to de—'
'Why would I tell you?' Adele retorted sharply.
'Crucio!'
Adele crumbled to her knees.
'Now tell me, girl! What was it that you used?'
She wondered blindly why didn't he just kill her. Well, of course not! Info first, then the torture, then it's wings and a halo for Adele Varens! Silly her. Or maybe he won't even kill her at all.
'HURRY, GIRL.' Her limbs twisted painfully.
'YAAAA!' Adele shrieked in pain.
'Speak, you foolish girl!'
'M-MAGIC! IYAAAAAAA!'
Voldemort leaned forward. 'Yes, fool! What magic?!'
Adele cringed, wondering what'll she do. Voldemort flicked his wrist.
'I- I use—' she squeezed her eyes shut, doing a quick thinking—'YAAAAA! HIDDEN WANDS!'
Voldemort stopped the spell, staring at her. Adele breathed heavily, body curled in ache.
'Hidden wands?' he echoed questioningly. That was new.
'We hid our wands in our sleeves,' Adele gasped before losing consciousness.
He laid back in his armchair, satisfied that he got an answer out of her. He was right, after all. This Varens girl is the easiest – the weakest – of the five Marauders. Adele's form sprawled on the floor flickered.
Adele jolted, her fingers clutching the blankets tightly. She stared around her. The seventh year Gryffindors stared at her worriedly. Her pupils focused on the background. It was the Infirmary. Her friends waited for her to look at them.
'You okay?' Lily asked, looking up at Adele, her head on the bed.
'I think I've still got the bloody bruise…' Adele muttered, feeling the 'bump' from Voldemort's floor. From a Dark Lord, she expected more lavish furnishings.
'Bruise? You got your whole skull knocked on the ground, you ditz!' Sirius snapped.
'And several broken bones, too,' Remus added. 'What were you thinking?'
'How to counter Voldemort,' Adele said bluntly. 'I saw him just now. My body still hurts, from the crucio…'
'Wh…at?' Sita asked.
'He asked things about Loopy Village,' Adele muttered. 'Mad guy, I tell you. Believe such a stupid excuse of hidden wands under the sleeves…'
'What exactly are you talking about?' Nina demanded. 'You choked Thomas and I, fell down to the pitch when Gryffindor won, and nearly DIED, for goodness's sake!'
'Must've knocked her memories off, too,' Dan sighed. 'Well, I'm glad you're okay. We thought you lapsed into what Lily called a "coma".'
'Seriously, you scare us!' Tally said honestly.
'Sorry…?' Adele offered.
'Yeah, apologize to your body PROPERLY. You're going to be here for a few more weeks, Adele Varens,' Pertsy said. 'You just get madder and madder. We told Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore that you were cursed by some random spirit, so you'd better cook up a tale about how you keep seeing caveman and whatnots. You'll do just fine with that.'
'Thanks.'
'We'll go get you some food,' Thomas offered, leaving with Dan, Tally, Nina, Pertsy and Sita.
'Thanks.' The door shut quietly after the retreating six. Adele turned to the Marauders.
'So… what happened?' James questioned, taking lead instinctively. 'Or do you want Lily to heal you first?'
'Lily, do your job,' Adele sighed.
'You all think me as your nurse or something,' Lily muttered, rolling her eyes. 'But Adele'd better stay in bed for a week first and claim it as fast recovery, or it'll seem too fake. You broke a whole lot of things, I'm surprised your internal organs weren't injured.'
'Adele had been putting on weight lately…' Sirius trailed innocently. 'So, the lesson is that we have to put on weight to save a lot of organs and bones, right? Adele?'
Adele glared at him as Remus fixed her bones' position so Lily could magic them in place.
'Ignore him. He's been putting on weight himself, so he wants to push the mystery of Remus's missing chocolate chips to someone else,' James waved.
'Aah. Chocolate chips,' Lily grinned, aware that she was the one who had taken them. 'Any left, Re? I could do with some, after Quidditch!'
'The culprit finished them,' Remus scowled.
**
Five eighteen year old teenagers sat uncomfortably under the gaze of four pairs of eyes, staring at the ground in forced interest. The Marauders daren't look up. Only silence had spoken since they had entered the room, with only Fawkes's occasional whisper of comfort, of which only James alone could understand.
Then the door opened.
'What is this, Albus, calling me at such short notice!' a man cried angrily, striding into the room. He glared notedly at Melissa Black, Yvonne and Edward Potter.
'Calm down,' Dumbledore said, waving the man's words away. 'Have a seat.'
James recognized him as Barty Crouch, one of the active members in the Magical Law Enforcement Department. He wondered vaguely why this guy was called when Crouch noticed the Marauders for the first time.
'Yo,' Sirius greeted casually.
Surprise filled his eyes to the brim; then fear took over, with shaky determination.
'You- you- you--!!!!!'
'Marauders,' Lily offered politely. Crouch began to spat nonsense in his fright.
'I think Cornelius would be here now,' Dumbledore mused. As if responding to Dumbledore's thoughts, the door opened again, revealing a faintly smiling bumbling man.
'Hello,' Cornelius Fudge greeted, raising his bowler's hat.
'You-Know-Who's—bloody kids that destroy!—hell!—Loopy Village!—these vermins!' Crouch sputtered senselessly, pointing at the Marauders. Adele began to sniff a little; Remus stared at the floor again, a look of dread veiling his calm features; Sirius was gulping and sweaty; Lily and James just frowned in displease.
'Ah.' Fudge turned to the Marauders uncertainly. 'Er. How do you do.'
'These are the Marauders,' Dumbledore introduced, 'as they would want you to call them.'
'MARAUDERS!' Crouch cried in disgust. 'Marauding the nights, murdering people!!!'
'We don't kill,' Lily said smoothly. 'We didn't, at least. Voldemort did.' The two members of the Ministry flinched. They decided to take her word for it. After all, she had that sort of air—the air of authority, leadership—around her.
'So. Why are we called, Albus?' Fudge asked, after a lengthy silence.
'Have a seat, please,' Dumbledore implored. 'This might take a long time.' He glanced at the Marauders shortly.
'Obviously,' Sirius muttered under his breath. 'Why else would we be called on a Sunday morning, a time when crows are still sleeping?' His friends sniggered at the remark.
Both Fudge and Crouch kept glancing at the Marauders, not daring to near them.
'We don't bite,' James said pleasantly. He didn't give them a chance to be relieved: 'We snap. You know, eat.'
'Ignore them,' Edward Potter sighed.
'Well, the Ministry wants to ask some questions, and I was told to contact the two of you,' Dumbledore said, getting to the point. 'These are the ones. James Potter'—James stood and bowed—'Lily Evans'—Lily bowed—'Sirius Black'—Sirius bowed—'Remus Lupin'—Remus bowed—'and Adele Varens'—Adele bowed.
'We know. We read the papers! Get on with it,' Crouch snapped impatiently.
'As you know, they killed a hundred—'
'We didn't kill! It was an accident,' Adele interrupted.
'Moreover, Mr-Great-Dark-Lord had us in… in…' Sirius couldn't find a right word besides "out-of-control" and "ruled by a kid's mind—our subconscious mind".
'In trance,' Lily finished. 'Yep. Nice mecha he has. Very high-tech, very antique.'
'You mean controlled,' Yvonne Potter suggested.
'No, cause we went out of—OW!! That hurts!' Sirius yelled. Remus looked away innocently. He had trodden on Sirius's foot.
'Trance,' the fair-headed boy confirmed. 'Can't do anything our mind asks us to, cause it's kind of… frozen, in a way.'
'Oh? Mr. Allan Rittardo said that you ended up saving the village,' Fudge said in a most business-like tone.
'Well, we woke out of it!' James said brightly. 'We're that great, you know.'
'Stop your ego's growth,' Yvonne muttered coldly.
'I was not! The moonlight woke us up!' James retorted truthfully. 'It got out from behind the clouds! I know exactly what I'm talking about, mum, thank you very much.'
'And what has the moonlight got to do with the trance?' Dumbledore asked in interest.
'It wakes us out of it! I said it already.'
'How?'
'Ask Lily. She did that research. Sorta. I do something else.'
'Er…' Lily knew she couldn't explain without revealing their inner magic to the public. And the Maggles, the connections and… and… well, EVERYTHING. It all risks the exposure of the few Mages.
Lily would bet her whole Gringotts bank account that these Ministry representatives are bound to expose whatever the Marauders had said to the public. They might even be sent to be experimented and when they die, their corpse might be preserved in some sort of museum for safe-keeping.
'I won't tell,' she said resolutely.
'Why not?' Crouch demanded impatiently. He hadn't had his morning coffee yet. He wanted at least a cup of tea to start his day, not meeting with five teenagers who has cold attitude, splendid academic results and a very stained name in Caretaker Filch's files.
'Why must I?' Lily said, echoing his tone, flashing her green eyes at him. It was most nerve-wrecking for the poor man.
'Very well. Explain why are you with You-Know-Who.'
'Don't know anyone with that name,' Lily snapped. This is trying her patience. And her mood isn't exactly good these past days.
'You very well know, Evans,' Crouch growled.
'I'm with you now ONLY because I was summoned here, happy???'
'Lily!' Yvonne said. Lily just turned away stubbornly.
'There goes your information providers,' Remus sighed, in relief. 'Lily and James both knew the whole situation best. Trust me, you'll have to admire their handwork. Oh well, too bad for you.'
'Only them?' Melissa groaned.
'Yeah. Our "leaders",' Adele declared proudly. 'Intelligence well beyond ours!'
'No! They're just a bit higher!' Sirius argued, not planning to admit it.
'Yeah, in your dreams Sirius.'
'Nope, it's reality.'
'Face it puppy, it's the truth. HAH!'
'Watch who you're calling puppy, china bear.'
'Alright, alright! That's enough already, kids!' Edward called.
'MARAUDERS!!!'
'Okay, okay…'
'GOOD.'
After things had settled down, the question-answer session went on.
'How did you destroy the village? Some villagers mentioned about chanting and singing,' Fudge asked, eager to end this so-called interrogation. These five are beginning to emit a most dangerous sense of impatience.
'That's we don't know. It's for style, I think,' Adele muttered sourly. She felt sick.
'Well, then, why did You-Know-Who took you? Why not someone else, like- like- like—' He fought to think of a high-achieving wizard. 'Like Dumbledore?'
'Obviously, we're the smartest most ingenious group around!' Sirius said irritably. 'He didn't want to be bettered by just 17 year old kiddies; you won't want to. And he can't kill us off either, because we KNOW when he'll try and we'll avoid it! Call it an assassin's instinct. Murderer. Whatever.'
'Which was WHY he thought he'd try to get us to his side,' Remus said, looking intelligent, 'James could tell you more, actually, but… Ah, you know.' They glanced at James, who was conversing with Lily at a very high speed about some complex topic, goodness knows what. The two seemed to radiate anger.
'You know, I've got a suggestion. Maybe you could come over someday else,' Sirius said lazily. 'A day when we're happy, you're happy, we're all happy. It makes things much easier.'
'Yeah. We just got up, very cranky,' Remus added. 'And on James's case, mood swing.'
'Hey, I don't have mood swings!' James called.
'Bye bye!' Adele waved cheerfully, inviting them out before they could even grumble about the teenagers' manners. Still, they were quite happy to leave, since they – indeed – were called over at an unearthly hour.
The Marauders sighed in relief.
'Well!' Dumbledore said finally.
'Pick a starting point,' James offered, knowing well that his parents and Dumbledore are armed with questions. Besides, he felt very much at ease now.
'Why were we sent to a jungle???' Edward yelled.
'It wasn't a jungle! It is our new home!' Sirius protested. 'With a built in artificial rainforest just outside the fences!'
'Yeah, sure. It took us a whole month to pinpoint our location,' Yvonne said dryly 'There wasn't an owl anyway and no way of communication. Even Floo Network was out when we tried to set a fireplace!'
'What is this about?' Dumbledore asked curiously.
'Er, see, we kind of teleported all our houses there,' Lily said sheepishly. 'See, we don't watt Voldemort to come and destroy our house; or let anyone take anything. So that's why James moved everything!'
'Yeah. Tiring,' Remus added, remembering the morning they spent working on that. 'We got pulled in with him. Can't risk getting lost.'
'Wait, please. What teleporting? You're not allowed to Apparate,' Dumbledore frowned. These five aren't those type of stubborn ones that insist on learning those types of magic, right? Right? … there's no telling. They might be. Dumbledore groaned inwardly.
'It's all part of Blue Magic. I'm a Blue Mage. Lily's a Psychic, also a White Mage. Adele's a Black mage, Remus is a Red Mage and Sirius is a Yellow Mage,' James said.
There was a pause. 'And what are they, these… Mage thing?'
'We're users of the Inner Magic. Some texts refer it as Raw Magic,' Adele explained. 'I don't know how we come to possess it, though. You know the way we use our wands? Our magical abilities are flowed by the wand, right? That's why the wand is the one that chooses the wizard.'
'Ah. I have often wondered on that phrase,' Dumbledore smiles. 'Go on.'
'See, our magic's in us. I think it's in everyone, actually,' Adele said, thinking for an easy way of describing it. 'It's only that certain people can conduct and respond to it. This inner magic business… I don't know who can conduct it, the specifications and blah. It reacts from in of us, just like out skin to our wands. So don't ask too much from us.'
'Really good Seers that can properly control their Inner Eye make Psychics,' Lily said. 'That's what my mum told me anyway. Psychics are White Mage, when properly trained. Healers. Blah. Everything that involves "giving" and "pure" and all those goody-two-shoes kinda stuff.' Lily floated into the air gracefully. 'This's one of it.'
'Mine is Black Magic. Black. Not Dark. There's HUGE gap there,' Adele said, nodding firmly. 'It's all on the offensive side. Most are harmless though, when used in small doses.'
'Suits her, eh?' Remus smirked. Adele hit him. 'Ow!'
The rest of them laughed gaily.
'Black Mages are really special,' Lily beamed.
'For example, drinking her blood doubles your life span! By age,' Sirius said excitedly. 'It doesn't offers immortality though. We can dump her at a museum and receive loads of awards, just like that!'
'I was the one that destroyed the village, mostly,' Adele mumbled.
'Hey, you were the one that chased Voldemort off! Else, we'd probably be hovering somewhere in his ugly house, in the goriest state imaginable!' James said comfortingly. 'Well, mine's Blue. It's kinda nice. Deflects Black Magic (how we saved those people), restores things, teleport, blahblahblah. Voldemort sent Shape-Shifter – two years ago – to spy and study us. It discovered that Remus and I have Blue and Red Magic, so it decided to teach us first, then ship us to Voldemort. Perished ('In the dumbest way imaginable' Lily said, rolling her eyes) before it got to send its report, though.' He demonstrated it by shrinking his size and popping back to normal.
'I'm Red,' Remus said slowly. 'Same principles, only I've got more to do with time and nature. Nothing much of a difference, I think.'
'Don't look at me! All I know about mine is that it's lousy!' Sirius said when Dumbledore and his mother turned to him expectantly.
'Oh,' Melissa said flatly, quite disappointed.
'As for our looks,' Lily said, reading James's parents' thoughts, 'it just happens after our metamorphosis. Complicating thing; the Maggles don't exist now, right?'
'Ah. I forgot all about them, actually. You mean they're not here?' Edward asked in surprise.
'They're all sayonara-ed already. I told you, they were memories! They aren't even supposed to be around at all, since we as their reincarnation are here!' James nodded at himself. 'When Voldemort… kidnapped us, we were in a really bad state—from his spell, placed when he attacked, and our "real" selves trying to push away the past ones. Just a question of actions and personality, really, but you know us. We're really picky at things.' He shrugged. 'And no, you're not supposed to understand a thing that I'd said if you don't.'
'Voldemort attacked you?' Dumbledore frowned. It's time that Hogwarts castle have more modern spells added to protect it.
'They got their way, got out, and just as Voldemort's spell worked! Talk about bad timing!' Sirius sniffed daintily. 'Oh, yeah, he did. He's a sneaky one alright.'
'You don't seem any different,' Yvonne commented.
'Well, surprise, surprise! They're quite the same actually, only for a few emotional blitzes here and there, but that's easily fixed,' Adele grinned.
'So anyway, Maggles disappear,' Lily shrugged. 'I think they appeared because they thought we needed help being teenagers.' Lily rolled her eyes sky-ward. '"Oh look! There's our darling little Lily! Hey, your Psychic good enough yet? No!? When I was your age, I reached the highest stage…" blah blah blah!'
The Marauders all nodded in unified agreement.
'Anything else you want to ask?' Remus asked.
'Nope, they don't have anything else important. Hey, look! It's lunch time! We missed breakfast, people! We can't miss lunch!!!' Lily cried in mock horror. 'LET'S GOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, keep it all a secret.'
'Oh yes. Thanks,' Dumbledore said blankly. He blinked. The Marauders had left. 'Well, that answers a lot of funny happenings.'
'Sure. You wish. I have a feeling they hadn't explained everything yet. It must be the details. We still need to get our son to send us back,' Edward commented with a wry smile. 'Who would've thought that the place they pick for residence was a non-apparating zone??? And when did they buy the place anyway? Where'd the money come from???'
'You can catch them later,' Melissa promised.
'How did you get to Hogsmeade, then?' Dumbledore pondered outloud.
'Broomstick. But the brooms are mad now, and we're not confident in finding our way there!' Yvonne whined. 'It's a whole world of wilderness. I swear!'
'You can board here for the time being, until Easter break,' Melissa suggested. 'Is it possible, Professor?'
'Hm? Yes, why not? I believe that there's a free room somewhere in the East Wing.'
'Really? Thank goodness! Thank you so much!' Yvonne said happily. The three left the office, Melissa showing them their temporary room.
Dumbledore laid back in his chair, sighing in content of his new-found knowledge.
He wondered vaguely how the Marauders would react when they found out that Edward and Yvonne Potter would be living in the castle for two months.
Most possibly freak out. It's very Marauder-like.
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AN: okay. I'm back. A writer once said that, to publish your work, the writer must have a huge ego. A REALLY huge one. Mine happened to be very flat the past months. Then last week, my friend happened to pass by FF.N, check if I'd updated, and yelled at me for not doing so… o.O anyway, I doubt you even care what happened to me… ^_^; anyway, just got MSWord, so thought I'd just do a quick type and send thing.
Alright, I've got something to clear with Card Mistress. I can't seem to remember what I'd written, but here's a little clear-up for any other memory-spasm-caused confusion: James is a Blue Mage. Remus is a Red Mage. My memory degrades at a very scary speed… o.O;;;
--blitz---- bunny chan