Author's Note: Hello, I'm sure this is the chapter that everyone's waiting for....oh, well, I don't wish to spoil your fun so just read on...and I hope you would all leave a review. Thanks! ;-)

Chapter 17 - The Minister's Interference

After successfully burning Draco's letter, Jeric returned to Lupin's chamber wondering if what Draco had mentioned about them being long-time nemesis was true...and if so, what could possibly have been the reason for that. The boy seemed nice enough and careful with his choice of words though a little rascal too when provoked...but who wasn't? Evidently, Ron did not like him too though Hermione seemed to be more open-minded...Maybe it would be better to have a talk with Draco and settle their differences once and for all... Maybe, their rivalry was just a simple misunderstanding that had blown out of proportion.

With that resolution, he joined the others into reading the journal once more... The entries were getting a little interesting and he didn't wish to miss any juicy detail. He smiled at his own curiousity.

"Hey, where have you been?" asked Billy, playfully throwing a pillow at him.

"Just talked to someone." he answered vaguely. "Come on, let's continue reading..."

"Fine. You read it aloud, then." said Chuck, placing the journal firmly on his hands and lay comfortably on his bed. Billy and Matt quickly did the same, leaving Jeric staring at them in annoyance.

"Why me?" Jeric complained, staring in dismay at the journal in front of him.

"Cause you're the youngest, dimwit. Besides, you're late that's why it's your turn now." Matt replied matter-of-factly.

"Hmp! Whatever...Did I miss much?"

"Not really. That part is more interesting."

Jeric grumpily settled on Lupin's chair and read loud enough to be heard by everyone.

March 15, 1976

Dear MJ,

I really hate Lily Evans! Nope, I am not anymore interested in that stuck-up, snobbish, know-it-all muggle-born brat who acts like she is too superior to sink to my level...Imagine?!? For Merlin's sake, I am James Potter and she has just turned me down again! How thick could a girl get?

Mr. Prongs

Dear MJ,

Just ignore the infantile rantings of Mr. Prongs. He's still smitten with the girl and his ego has just been incurably punctured.

Mr. Padfoot

Mr. Prongs states his utmost annoyance at Mr. Padfoot's unsupportive comment. Therefore, the dog is now officially included at Mr. Prongs' Hate List too, right next to Ms. Obnoxious-Evans.

Mr. Padfoot laughes at Mr. Prongs sad attempt at humor and over-confidence at female student population's attraction towards him. However, if he really wants to prove that he is over Ms. Obnoxious-Evans, then I dare him to pursue another beautiful girl from the Slytherin House and make her fall to his charms within a week.

Mr. Prongs accepts the challenge and is quite astounded that Mr. Padfoot, as lame-brained as he is, has actually managed to come up with a superb idea that would not only show that Ms. Evans is no longer worthy of my time, but is also a perfect plan to wreak havoc towards the Slytherin House once more. There's just one condition, though. Mr. Padfoot must also subject himself to the same dare to make it more interesting.

Mr. Padfoot grins like a maniac and is fully amenable to that idea as long as Mr. Moony also goes along with it. This is another prank that the Marauders must accomplish as one.

Mr. Prongs heartily agrees though a little confused at how Mr. Padfoot could forget that there are four Marauders.

Mr. Padfoot apologizes for that mistake and wishes to inform his friends that he did not intentionally forget Mr. Wormtail. It's just that he is always off to somewhere...

March 16, 1976

Dear MJ,

I can't believe the new scheme that those two idiots had concocted! I can't believe that I had let them convince me to agree!
And I can't believe we even made a bet on who would succeed first....

Mr. Moony


The room was suddenly filled with tensed silence as the impact of the entries hit them mercilessly. The three nearly fell from their beds while Jeric could only stare at the journal in agonized disbelief.

"WHAT?!? DID IT MEAN WHAT I THINK IT MEANS???" yelled Billy in barely concealed anger.

"I can't believe that our whole existence was just based on one ridiculous bet..." murmured Chuck, clearly disgusted at the idea.

Matt was also wearing the same dejected expression but he tried to rationalize the entries. "Maybe it's not... I mean, we have only read up to this part. Maybe, something happened along the way. You heard what Mr. Lupin had said. They would have shouldered the responsibility if they had known." he stated calmly though his whole thoughts was in turmoil.

Chuck glared at Matt. "That's easy for him to say now but we don't know what had really happened then, do we? And remember what the enlightened Marauder said, ...The Marauders are not the perfect little Gryffindors that everyone has portrayed them to be. The Marauders are hypocritical and egoistic bullies who would have gone to the dark side if they did not revel in the adulation so much..."

Jeric watched the heated exchange wondering what he could say to diffuse their anger. As he climbed on his bed, a familiar conversation filled his head.

"I wouldn't like you to judge your father on what you saw there, Harry. He was only fifteen --" said Professor Lupin.

"I'm fifteen!" A younger version of Jeric said heatedly.

"Look, Harry, James and Snape hated each other from the moment they set eyes on each other, it was just one of those things....James, whatever else he may have appeared to you, Harry -- always hated the Dark Arts."

"Yeah....but he attacked Snapes just because you were bored." said Harry to a dark-haired man that he could not recognize.

"I'm not proud of it." said the man quickly.

"Look," said Lupin, "your father was the best friend I ever had, and he was a good person. A lot of people are idiots at the fifteen. He grew out of it... We all grew out of it."

"Okay," said Harry. "I just never thought I'd feel sorry for Snape."


Jeric sighed heavily. He was really hoping that he would manage not to remember anything. The pieces were already coming together and sometimes it manifests itself at the oddest times. Perhaps it would be best if he just recall everything and be done with it... He couldn't escape anyway...

"Hey, stop that!" he suddenly called out. "They were young and foolish adolescents. They grew out of it though their animosity with Snape remained. Let's not add to that hatred. We should not dwell too much on the past. The future has enough problems in store for us." he said wearily to the three young men. They immediately stopped arguing upon hearing his words and they all went to bed, each lost in his own thoughts.

The hours passed by quickly and before they knew it, Lupin was already handling them their schedule. Their first lesson was Defense Against the Dark Arts with him.

And so the rigorous training began...

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After a week, Dumbledore rounded up all the instructors to discuss the progress of the trainees.

"Professor, Potter is performing quite satisfactorily though it seemed that his mind tends to wander a lot..." commented McGonagall.

"I agree, Professor. While the other three are seriously re-educating themselves, Potter is sometimes caught staring into space for an indefinite period of time." said Flitwick, concerned at Harry's lack of focus.

Dumbledore only smiled at them. "Is that so? Then that is good news, indeed. He must have been remembering something during those trance-like states." He then turned to Snape who did not appear pleased at all. "What about your Potions lessons with them, Severus? Did you encounter any problem with them?"

Snape shook his head. "Actually, they are performing quite admirably, even Potter much as I hate to admit it. However, I seem to have this disturbing sense of foreboding whenever I am in their presence. I just couldn't place it."

Dumbledore did not give the impression of being surprised upon hearing this. He merely sighed and smiled sadly at them. "Indeed. I am beginning to think that there is more to S.S.P.E.W. than what the young lads have told us but we'll find out soon enough. By the way, Severus, Remus, have you talked to them about their parentage?"

The two quickly shook their heads and sent an apologetic glance at the Headmaster who appeared disappointed at their lack of initiative.

"Please talk to them about it. Trust me, it would help."

"What about Potter's memory problem, professor? Can't we just hasten the process by letting him use your pensieve or perhaps, Snape's?" asked Lupin hesitantly.

"It is possible, yes, but doing so will provide him with memories from someone else's perspective. It may or may not clash with his own and he may or may not react violently towards it, especially with regards to Severus' pensieve. The outcome is very unpredictable and I don't wish to risk Mr. Potter's sanity with something so volatile." Dumbledore eyed the professors carefully. "I hope you understand. Besides, the anti-obliviating spell is still in his system. As soon as he decides that he wants his memory back, then the barrier would be broken and everything would gradually come back to him. From your observations, I believe it is happening already. We just have to be patient or else, the pressure might just push him away once more."

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As expected, the novelty of the band's arrival with an obliviated Harry soon wore out. Students have begun to treat them in a relatively ordinary way and girls have stopped drooling over the handsome band members after they had made it painfully clear that they were not interested. Besides, their schedules were in conflict with the other students since they could only have their lessons after everyone had finished.

The band's daily activity had soon became a boring routine though they had to admit that they were advancing rapidly. With Dumbledore's help, Billy has more control over the Earth element, Chuck could finally summon the water element without much effort and Matt could command the air without fear of being hurtled upwards. Surprisingly, Jeric discovered that he could summon the element of fire but he was not that proficient yet since he was only a beginner at that. Casting spells wandlessly was an entirely different thing though. For some reason, they were all having problems with that and had almost given up until they had managed to levitate a feather after several hours of trying.

Transfiguration had been too easy but the lessons with Lupin and Snape were a little awkward. Lupin was a very inspiring instructor and he always encouraged them to do their best but whenever the subject of the Marauder's Journal come up in the conversation, he became evasive and advised them to read everything first. On the other hand, Professor Snape seemed to regard them at a slightly more antagonistic note. They could understand his hostility but they could not fathom why he kept on stealing surreptitious glances at their wrists, particularly at the tribal tattoo which they all bear on their right hands (Jeric insisted that they give him one too). It was making them highly uncomfortable.

It was almost a month since the group's arrival when something unexpected occurred. Everyone was peacefully having dinner at the Great Hall when the door opened with a loud bang. Everyone turned to watch as a pompous looking man entered the hall and haughtily addressed the Headmaster. Five grim-looking men were with him. Two stayed near the entrance while the other three followed their leader inside.

"Cornelius, what a surprise! What can I do for you?" said Dumbledore politely but there was no hint of humor in his kind face.

The arrogant man scanned the house tables before returning his gaze to the staff table. "Albus, it has come to my attention that you have been allowing dark wizards to stay in this castle. As Minister of Magic, I have the authority to arrest those young scalawags with or without your consent. They are not Hogwarts students therefore, they are not under your protection." said Cornelius Fudge, slightly panting from the effort of brisk walking. Then he pointed to the young men at the Gryffindor who were not wearing Hogwarts uniforms. The three ministry aurors behind him quickly approached the table and manually hoisted the accused from their seats and brought them in front of the minister.

Dumbledore's expression immediately turned somber at the situation. "Yes, I quite agree that they are not students of this school. However, I have taken them as my new apprentices, thus earning them the right of immunity from warrantless arrest based on unfounded accusations." he replied.

"But, Albus, surely you are aware of the fact that they are dark wizards!" The minister insisted rather haughtily.

"Do you have any tangible proof to support your claim, Cornelius?"
This time it was a seething Lupin who spoke.

The minister turned purple with rage and embarrassment but firmly stood his ground. "No, but they came from S.S.P.E.W. and that is proof enough!"

"Really? How interesting! I wonder where you got that particular piece of information..." commented Snape darkly.

The minister turned a shade darker than before, if that was possible, and regarded the Headmaster with barely concealed irritation. "I have my sources and I'm under no obligation to divulge that classified information to you."

"I see. So you are implying that I would purposely endanger the lives of the students by doing that?" The minister was speechless. "Sometimes, I really doubt where your loyalties lie." added Dumbledore enigmatically.

"Just what do you mean by that?" asked Fudge heatedly.

"Need I explain it in great detail? I believe it was self-explanatory. Anyway, I think I have just made it clear that I would never let those boys be taken by the ministry." replied Dumbledore, his exasperation at the Minister's approach quickly rising to the surface.

From the Gryffindor table, Jeric was watching the scene before him with a mixture of anxiety and fascination. As he stared, a different scenario seemed to project itself into his view. It was as if he was witnessing an altogether different scene, overlapping with the current one. One second, he was witnessing the infuriating minister pointing his finger accusingly at his three friends. Then, the next minute, he was nervously watching his friends being attacked by dark-cloaked figures that Hermione called dementors. He saw friends kneeling helplessly on the ground, their wands raised defensively but nothing seemed to come out.

"Mr. Potter must be sent to St. Mungo's for treatment. I heard he has some mental problems..."

"Don't be ridiculous, Cornelius! Harry does not have any mental problem." said McGonagall angrily, her wand prepared to attack if necessary.

Jeric vaguely heard the antagonistic exchange. He tried to focus on the images that was interchanging so fast that soon things became a blur, befuddling him but there was something else. What was it? He felt it was something important... It had something to do with his friends... What was it again? He must remember....He must remember everything....Then a thin, hazy cloud seemed to gradually vanish in his mind, unveiling his memories. He envisioned his friends once more....and just before the dementors could lean forward to feed, he recalled the strange feeling of relief and exhilaration as he succeeded in conjuring a corporeal Patronus to drive the monsters away...wandlessly...

'I am not Jeric...never has been. I am Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived...the boy destined to vanquish the dark lord...and I am going to help my friends from these people who were just making things harder for everyone...' thought Harry remorsefully as the memories started to flow freely into his system once more.

"I am the Minister and you cannot stop me from bringing those rascals to Azkaban." said the Minister with a cruel smile then he turned to his minions. "Men, get them! Do whatever you have to do to bring them to my office!" he commanded, his irrational behaviour causing people to react violently.

The ministry aurors raised their wands to threaten the three young men who appeared not in the least bit afraid of their presence, merely annoyed. The young men held their wands tightly at the sides and glared daggers at the offenders, daring them to make the first move.

The aurors became hesitant. They had no desire to anger the Headmaster so much. Things could become really ugly... 'Damn the minister.' But the fear of losing their jobs won and they simultaneously raised their wands to cast a spell...

'I did it before....I could do it now...' and Harry raised his hand surreptitiously...just as he did before and whispered, "Expelliarmus!"

Before the aurors could do anything, their wands including that of the minister's mysteriously flew out of their hands, much to the surprise of the onlookers. No one had cast the spell so how come they were disarmed?

'It worked!' Harry thought elatedly.

"Who did that?" The minister demanded angrily, manually retrieving his wand on the ground. He noticed the disdainful smirks of the three young men and immediately ordered one of the aurors to inspect their wands but they couldn't find any trace of the spell from their wands.

At the corner of his eyes, Harry noticed Draco's amusement at the scene but when the Draco saw him, the Slytherin quickly averted his gaze. 'Note to self: Must have that Talk with Draco soon...It has already been too long.'

"I told you, Albus. These young lads are filled with Dark ---" The minister immediately stopped as he noticed several wands pointed at his direction.

"You're being blinded by your prejudice. What happened was just a part of their parents' proctection over them. Now, if you don't have any valid reason for coming here..." The headmaster stared meaningfully at the minister who was now cowering at his penetrating gaze.

"All right, we shall leave for now." said Fudge and he and his lackeys walked out of the castle defeatedly.

It was at that point that Harry felt the horrible throbbing of his scar. The painstaking process of memory retrieval had activated his connection to Voldemort's mind once more. He gripped the table tightly and willed himself not to collapse.

"Wormtail, are you sure you have fulfilled your task to perfection?"

"Yes, my Lord." came the terrified mumble from a rat-looking man, bowing his head so low that it almost touched the ground.

"Very well. It will not be long now. The boys shall come to me. And what a pleasant coincidence that Potter had met the other three...and that he was obliviated. Things are really progressing quite to my liking." stated the evil-looking man, apparently very pleased at the turn of events.


The vision ended and Harry realized that no one must know that the memory charm was already broken. It was something that he could use against Voldemort when the time comes...

Then Harry became suddenly aware of someone's arms wrapped protectively around him and that he was leaning against something that was too soft to be a chair or wall. Slowly, he turned his head and saw the concerned face of Hermione...

"J-Jeric, are you all right?" asked Hermione tentatively, trying hard to appear unaffected by their current position.

"Yes, Hermione, never been better." he smiled at her warmly and stayed in her soothing embrace, ignoring the odd and furtive glances that the others were sending their way.

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The following week's lessons were more intense for the group. The professors had decided to hasten their training after learning that the ministry was not so broad-minded about the SSPEW students. In fact, Fudge had been constantly harassing Dumbledore for information regarding them and had also been spreading false informations via the Daily Prophet. Even Harry did not escape the minister's wrath. Fudge had been insisting that Harry must be committed to a mental institution and had even went as far as arranging for someone from the St. Mungo's Hospital to check his mental state. To Fudge's absolute annoyance, the mind specialist declared him mentally fit for anything.

The group's last lesson for that day was Defense Against the Dark Arts. As usual, Lupin hastened to leave after the session but Matt stopped him.

"Excuse me, Professor." asked Matt suddenly while motioning the others to just leave him behind.

"Yes, can I help you?" asked Lupin hesitantly.

"Is it true that being a werewolf heightened your senses?" the young man asked.

"Yes, why?"

Matt continued as if he hadn't heard him. "You know I have keen senses, too."

"Really?" asked the professor in a guarded tone.

"Yeah, I also like reading books and among my friends, I'm also the most serious one..."

"That's very enlightening, Matt."

"Yeah...enlightening. We have already finished reading the journal." Matt mumbled softly, as if he was almost afraid to let the words out.

Lupin sighed heavily. "That's good." he lamely stated.

Matt stared at him it frustration. "Damn it! Aren't you going to say anything substantial?" cried Matt exasperatedly. He had been planning that conversation for weeks but it was not going as he had hoped. He had initially entertained the idea of arranging a simple bonding session with him but he decided that the direct approach would be easier and faster. They were both adults, surely they could handle the discussion without any trouble at all...but he was having some doubts...Lupin was purposely being difficult.

"Like what?" asked Lupin, calmly eyeing the younger man. "Like the fact that I'm your father?" he stated in an anguished tone that did not escape Matt's notice.

"Is it that painful to accept me as your son?" asked Matt, hurt at the thought that the father he had longed for did not want him but he struggled not to show it.

"No...I have no other wish than to have you here with me and proclaim to the whole world that you're my son. However, it's been so long and I'm not confident on how to act like one...I don't want to disappoint you." replied Lupin truthfully.

"Are you kidding? From what I've seen and heard about how you treat Harry, I dare say that you'll be terrific at that role..."

"I'm afraid that you won't forgive and accept someone like me as your father." Lupin explained further, not quite believing that Matt actually seemed eager.

"Of course, I will. Nobody's perfect and I'm not expecting a perfect father. I just want someone kindhearted enough ... someone who would treat me as a son. Would you?" Matt asked hesitantly.

Lupin smiled at him warmly. "That could be arranged." he said and with that, he thrust aside all his reservation and hugged his son tightly, washing away his guilt. After a few tearful seconds, they parted with their smiles still plastered on their faces. Then Matt suddenly thought of the thing that was baffling him and the other three members since they had read the journal.

"Err, Dad, can you recall all the charms you used to protect the Journal?"

"Of course! Why? Would you like to learn them?" asked Lupin, his usual somber expression replaced with pure happiness.

"That would be good but it's not what we have in mind..." replied Matt.

"Hmmm....We?"

"We...as in all the band members. We have noticed that the journal entries do not coincide with the letter we got from Wormtail and we need to find out what he had done and why he had done it..." replied Matt and eyed his father wearily. "...we believe it has something to do with Jeric's vision the night the minister came..."

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Author's Note: Well, actually, I was seriously contemplating on NOT giving Harry's memory back so that he could make a fresh start but I figured he could still do it if he just plays his cards right...Besides, the readers as so going to kill me if I do that hehehe. Anyway, did you like this chapter? I sure hope so.

Please Review ;-)