Chapter 17: Don't. Change. Anything.
The beaming sunlight poured into the Hospital Wing, but Remus Lupin did not see it. His closed eyes and the heavy curtains that hung limply around his bed frame blocked off the entire beautiful scene set outside. Madam Pomfrey had forbidden any visitors before noon for the lonely werewolf, so the only thing Remus had for company was his stinging and itching scars and, of course, his thoughts.
Remus had been twiddling his thumbs, trying to guess what time it was and how far away from the end of lunch it was when he heard yelling from the entrance of the Hospital Wing. He sat up straight, straining his ears to catch everything. Thankfully, the familiar voices were at a high volume, so he could look easily relaxed.
"I did not set anything on fire, Poppy!"
"Mr. Black, one, how else could young Mr. Black's bed catch on fire? And two, how many times have I asked you not to call me by my first name?"
"I'll tell you a secret about Regulus, Madam Pomfrey," came Sirius's voice. "You know how some kids wet the beds? Well, he sets fire to them in his sleep… Been doing that ever since he was five-years-old… We really hoped he'd have stopped by now…" Sirius managed to sound disappointed in his brother, which infuriated the young nurse even more.
"Oh, just go visit Mr. Lupin and be gone!" Madam Pomfrey said frustratingly.
Remus heard footsteps coming closer and closer to his bed.
"Good morning, Moony!" Sirius bellowed as he violently tore open the curtains. He strode to the edge of Remus's bed in a buoyant fashion and plopped down on the space where Remus's legs didn't occupy, his head bobbing up and down.
"Good morning," said Remus cautiously. He looked at James and Peter, who had just entered. "Okay, why are you so cheerful?"
"It's just a great day outside, no prospect of homework in the near future, and I'm not fighting with my friends," Sirius said, still bouncing on the bed. "Is there any other reason I should consider?"
Remus turned to his other two friends.
"Don't ask me," James said, holding up his hands. "He's been like this ever since we left the Whomping Willow."
"And he won't shut up," Peter whined.
"We've tried nearly everything," James said.
"Food."
"Sleep."
"Girls."
"He just won't stop!"
Remus chuckled. "I'm glad you've started annoying your friends already, Padfoot."
"Eh, just doing my job," Sirius said. He looked back and forth between his friends. "So… how are you feeling?" he asked, resting his eyes on Remus.
"Well, all right for being a werewolf," Remus said quietly, the sarcasm so prominent that even James could sense it.
"Hermione asked where you were," Peter said abruptly. Everyone turned to look at him. "We said you weren't feeling well."
"Er, thanks for telling me, Wormtail," said Remus uncertainly. He paused, his features growing fearsome. "What about Harry? What did he say? He was left alone, in our dormitory room, and all you guys weren't there all night! He's going to suspect something!"
"Remus, calm down," Sirius said.
"We told him that we spent the night setting up a prank on the Slytherins," James said.
"And he believed you?" Remus said, laughing.
"Well, it seemed as if he did," Peter said indecisively.
"What do you mean by that?" Remus asked suddenly, sitting up from the gigantic amount of pillows behind him. He ignored the smarting in his back from a cut he suspected James had given him the previous night and continued to look between his three friends. "Well?"
"Harry, when we told him, looked as if he was worried, but relaxed and asked how you were doing."
"Excuse me, coming in," rang Madam Pomfrey's voice. She opened the curtains. "Oh, you all are still here, eh? I need to check on how young Mr. Lupin is doing."
"Is it all right, Madam Pomfrey, if they stay here?" Remus asked politely. "I don't feel that bad, actually."
"Fine, yes, whatever you wish," she said absently. James, Sirius, and Peter beamed from their spots. "But you, Black," she said sharply, pointing at the bobbing Sirius. "Get off the bed." Sirius obliged with bow. Madam Pomfrey started to unwrap the bandage that was previously wound right around Remus's arm. "Well I'm surprised, Mr. Lupin. Last night, apparently you didn't beat yourself up too badly… In fact, hardly at all… Curious…"
Remus smiled at his friends. "So does this mean I can leave earlier?" he asked hopefully.
"Take this potion, rest for a few minutes, and then you can leave." Madam Pomfrey handed him a slightly smoking purple drink and shuffled off, giving Sirius a glare.
"Why does she hate me?" Sirius asked innocently as Remus shot the potion down his throat in one go.
Remus gave a loud choking sound, made a horrible face, but answered Sirius's question all the same. "Maybe it's because you send half of the kids here all the time? Or maybe it's because you set fire to your brother's bed, who is here because of you and your pranks? Just a guess…"
"Eh, maybe," Sirius said, giving a smirk. He looked around anxiously. "So, can we go now?"
"Impatient much?" Remus asked with a laugh. "Nah, I gotta wait a minute or two for the potion to settle down."
"Aw, come on," Sirius whined. "Do we really need to wait? Why don't you just get into your clothes and we can be off? That'll give you some 'resting time'."
Remus sighed, but looked down at his pajamas. "Fine, you rash little bugger. Hand me my clothes?"
Sirius gave a little "Yippee!" and tossed a pair of pants and a sweater into Remus's surprised face.
Minutes later, they all walked out of the Hospital Wing.
"So what homework shall we start on now?" Remus asked his friends. He asked them just to hear them groan. He wasn't disappointed. After the collective moan, they all stopped in mid-step and looked at Remus as though they had never seen anyone quite like him before.
"How about the one on invisibility?" Sirius suggested, recovering quickly.
"We have homework on invisibility?" Remus asked, confused.
"Yeah, but, oh darn… we misplaced it, being invisible and all," Sirius said. "Oh well, now we can't do it any more."
Harry and Hermione were walking down the hall while the Marauders gave a wave of hearty laughter. The twosome had been talking in hushed voices, but Harry yelled down the corridor at the sight (and sound) of all four Marauders.
"Hey mates!" Harry and Hermione walked quickly to meet them.
"Are you feeling better?" Hermione asked.
"Much," Remus said convincingly, giving a bright smile.
Harry was not looking at Remus, but was staring James's left hand. "James, could I see that newspaper for a moment please?" he asked worriedly.
He looked at Harry strangely but handed over the Daily Prophet.
Brothers Linus and Pietro Zwinkowski Brutally Murdered was the head title. Harry gasped out loud but swore inside his head. Ignoring the inquiring looks from his other friends, he continued to read. The two brothers had been killed by a total of seven Death Eaters. They had, from the eyes of viewer Alastor Moody, gone down fighting a brave fight.
"What is it, Harry?" Hermione asked finally when she noticed Harry's eyes had stopped moving from line to line on the paper.
"Er, nothing," he lied. "I just remember, Professor—Aylward wanted to talk to us," he said, looking at Hermione. She was about to ask what Harry was talking about, but noticed the urgency in his eyes.
"Oh, right," Hermione said, understanding immediately. She turned to the other four boys, who each had completely puzzled expressions. "We'll see you four later."
Harry and Hermione rushed speedily off to their left, not looking at each other until they disappeared around another corner.
"They do know that Aylward's office is the other way, right?" Peter asked the Marauders. They shrugged and continued walking straight down the hall. But not without the thought of Harry and Hermione. What had been in the newspaper to spark this certain oddity?
"What is it, Harry?" Hermione asked. They were finally out of the Marauder's eye sight.
Harry looked up and down the corridor. He spotted Mundungus Fletcher and Saumya Kim walking down the hall, not acting quite so sober.
"An' then, if ye believe it, I get kicked out!" hiccuped Mundungus, leaning on Saumya's unsteady shoulder. "A life-time ban from Hogs Head…"
Harry pulled Hermione into an empty classroom off to his left by her elbow. He shoved the newspaper into her hands as they leaned against one of tall desks in the spare classroom. She looked questionably at him for a moment, but read the paper.
"Why did I read this?" Hermione asked as she laid down the article on a nearby desk, having read the entire article.
"More than a year ago, while staying at Grimmauld Place for the summer, I over heard Moody and another Order member," said Harry, sounding very uneasy and his voice quivering. Hermione nodded, patiently waiting for Harry to explain. "Well, Moody was listing off the losses the Order had had, to prove a point, I think, of an argument they were having. He kept on going about these two great Aurors, the Zwinkowski brothers. They were great in their field, until seven Death Eaters picked both of them off."
"Oh," Hermione said.
"Hermione, I knew they were going to die!" Harry yelled.
"Shh!" Hermione hissed. She turned around and put a silencing charm on the door and locked it, just incase Harry wouldn't be able to hold in his anger again.
"I knew they were going to die a horrible death," he said again. Hermione was right; he couldn't suppress his anxiety and frustration… or his volume. "And I did nothing," he finished in a hollow tone. He looked up at Hermione. "We could save so many people. We could stop some of the pain that's happening here. Why can't we just warn Dumbledore and—"
"No," Hermione intervened sharply.
"Look, I know in our third year, you said we can't be seen while time-traveling, but it's too late for that!" Harry said exasperatedly. "So why not help out?"
"Because everything is supposed to happen for a reason," she said, her voice steely and cold. "Everyone was meant to do what they do. The death of one could lead to the living of another. And we're going to have to bear with the fact that we know of all these deaths happening and can't do a thing…. We can't save the old Order members. We can't save their families." Her eyes started to red and puffy; she gave a sniff. She was starting to realize how painful, indeed, this trip was going to get for her. "We can't even save your parents or Sirius! God, do you know how much we're putting at risk by just being here?"
Harry was alarmed at this sudden outburst. But he knew just what to do. Harry put a comforting arm around Hermione, pushing her back so they both sat on top of a desk. He let her cry lightly into his shoulder. "Shh, it's okay. We just have to make it through this year, and then we'll be back in our own time," he said soothing. But he found no comfort in his words, and Hermione spoke up what he was thinking next.
"Back to a time where Voldemort is out to kill you? Where half of these people we've met are set to die? Where such injustice is in the air that it chokes us?" Hermione gave a hollow, mirthless laugh. "Oh, yes. What a wonderful world that is."
"What other choice do we have?" Harry said.
"None," Hermione said. She sat up. She wiped away those rebellious tears and took a deep breath. "But aren't you going to miss them?" Hermione asked softly.
Harry gazed deeply into her toffee eyes. He knew she had meant the Marauders and Lily. "Of course I'm going to miss them… I finally found my family, the one thing I yearn for deep inside my heart, and I know I have to leave them. It's more painful than anyone can imagine." He looked away.
Hermione straightened her skirt and stood up. "Well Harry, we'll get through this together, one day at a time."
Harry hopped to his feet, hitching that smile back onto his face. "Thanks, Hermione." He held out his arm. "Together?"
She smiled and looped her own into his. "Together."
And they walked out the door, ready for anything that was thrown their way.
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}
"Remus, any teachers yet?"
"All clear down here… Hey, that rhymed!"
"Focus Moony!" James yelled into the two-way mirror. (A/N: Remember those things?) "Okay, Harry, Sirius, and I are ready to go… Is there anyone coming down this corridor?" James asked again.
"The corridor is completely empty," said Remus, his voice sounding crystal clear through the mirror. "Peter's warning must've worked."
"Good," James said. He looked sideways to Harry and Sirius, who were anxiously standing at the beginning of the hallway. "We're going to do the spell now, okay? So don't interrupt."
The four Marauders and Harry spent all of Sunday devising a new "cause of mischief, but in no way a prank" as Remus put it. Remus was standing guard, ready to alert James, Sirius, and Harry if anyone was coming their way. Peter was busy telling any student that wandered near the hallway that it had been closed off until further notice. James, Sirius, and Harry were performing the actual spell itself.
It was Remus who had thought up of the idea, and Harry and James fine-tuned it to perfection. They were going to bewitch that corridor where Remus was guarding so that when ever anyone walked through it, a spell would trigger. That spell was a complex Color-Change Charm. The skin of the person would change to the color best reflecting their mood, and it would keep changing from color to color for the next two days.
"Wait…" Remus said from the mirror.
"What?" James asked exasperatedly, holding it up to his face again.
"What are the colors again?"
"I don't know. Here's Sirius. He knows."
"Well, that's a first," mused Remus.
"Shut it," Sirius said after James handed over his mirror. "And get your fingers off of my mirror!" he growled, sounding outraged. "You'll get finger smears all over it!" Remus sighed, but slid his finger to the brim. "Now, about the colors…
"Red is energetic, bold, or adventurous. Pink is perky, flirty, or prissy. Orange is annoyed, embarrassed, or troubled. Yellow is happy, joking, or cautious. Green is envious, egotistical, or greedy. Blue is mellow, thoughtful, shy, or sad. Purple is deep, creative, or sleepy. And black is reckless, rebellious, or angry." (A/N: You'd do well to remember these feelings and colors, because it is useful later on.)
"Er… I only wanted to know which colors we were using," Remus said timidly. "Not a full description."
"Why didn't you tell me that before I started?!" Sirius asked, sounding rather miffed.
"Can we carry on with the spell? Peter can't give us too much more time," James said, standing beside Sirius.
"Fine," Sirius said huffily. "Warn us, Lupin," he said strictly. And he pocketed the mirror before Remus could reply. "Ready?" he asked, turning to his other friends.
"Ready," James and Harry answered, whipping out their wands.
First they had to add a trigger the entrance of the corridor, which was a complex spell, but James and Sirius had mastered it two years previous. Then, they had to add a Color-Change Charm to the trigger. The most difficult aspect of this spell was the mood changes. Remus had taught them the incantation. All they had to do was hope for the best. Lastly, they had to make sure these different charms that were molded into one spell would only lasted for so long, and after a time, they would wear off.
They had spent minutes of framing the spells into the corridor.
"Finally," Sirius breathed.
"How will we know if it works?" Harry asked.
"Test trial?" James suggested.
"Well thanks for volunteering, James," Sirius said, patting his friend on the back. "We appreciate it."
"Ooo, I hate you guys," James joked as he strode forward towards the entrance. He stood on the edge, shut his eyes tightly closed, and stepped through the invisible barrier.
Sirius and Harry both keeled over from laughter. Right before their very eyes was a fire-engine red James. He looked down at his hands and joined in with the laughing. It was a strange sight indeed.
James raced to Sirius and took the mirror out of his pocket. "Remus! It works!" James yelled into the mirror, sounding like a five-year-old who had just earned a cookie.
Remus looked in the mirror and a hearty guffaw. "So I see," Remus managed to say. "Okay, I'll find Peter and start spreading the news that the corridor is back to normal. Make yourselves scarce!"
"Right-o!" James saluted his friend off and stored his mirror safely in his pocket. He turned to his friends. "Let's go!"
"Er, don't we have to extend the spell to the entire corridor?" Harry asked.
"We will once we get to the end of it," Sirius said. He started to run with James, joined by Harry.
"And it's no fun to do a brilliant prank, and then get caught right afterwards," James said.
"Eh, right."
They raced to the end where it met an intersection of another corridor.
"Ready?" James asked. The other two nodded. "One… two… three!" They held out their wands, focused on the faraway entrance they were just at, and yelled "Extendius!"
There came a whoosh of air as the spell came towards them. It ended a foot away form them. The air through the entire corridor had a slight shimmer to it, but nothing too noticeable. Sirius and Harry turned to leave, but James grabbed the back of their cloaks, spun them around, and pushed them into the corridor. "You're turn!" he yelled.
Harry and Sirius stumbled into the spell barrier. Instantly, their skin tones changed color. Sirius had turned a deep, rich black, while Harry had turned yellow.
James was laughing so hard that tears were forming on his bright red skin. "You two… are so…funny looking!"
"Yeah, yeah," Sirius said moodily. "You know, the original plan was to watch everyone else looked like a rainbow, not ourselves!"
They started towards another corridor.
"But it's more fun this way!" James said, laughing still while running.
They wound up on the floor above their spell.
"And the best part is," Harry said when they finally stopped in front of a statue of Eris the Impish, "that we put it on the same floor as the main Transfiguration room. Almost everyone has that class today."
"Yeah, and the fact that many people use that way to get to the Great Hall," James added, his grin widening on his red face.
Seconds later, a black Remus and Peter came walking up.
"You didn't tell us that the entire corridor was jinxed," Remus growled.
"Oh, Moony," James said with his cocky grin, "I forgot to tell you, the entire corridor was jinxed."
"Thanks," Remus said sarcastically.
All of a sudden, James was turning from red to yellow.
"HA!" Sirius burst out. "That looks so funny on you, Prongs!" And he continued to laugh and had to lean on the statue for support.
James looked down at his hands, then at Sirius. "Oh Padfoot, look at yourself."
Sirius's black skin was fading into a sunshine-yellow. "Oh, today is going to be an interesting day indeed."
"Pay attention, Black, Potter, Thewler!" snapped Professor McGonagall, her skin glowing a bright orange. It was the end of Transfiguration class, and Sirius, James, and Harry were discussing (and making fun of) everyone's skin tone at the back of the classroom. "Just try to focus for the last minutes of class," she said, sounding exasperated.
"Yes, Professor," James, Sirius, and Harry said at once, managing to keep a straight face.
Professor McGonagall, however, remained orange for the rest of the class time.
"Oh, did you see Stebbin's face when McGonagall called on him?" James laughed. All five Gryffindor boys walked out of Transfiguration with smiles on and their faces shining yellow.
"I suppose you five are to be blamed for my skin condition?" drawled a voice from behind them. They all looked over their shoulders to meet a glowing-orange Lily Evans.
"And who else is brilliant enough to complete such a feat?" Sirius asked, turning egotistical-green.
"You don't like it, Lily?" James asked.
"Does it look as if I like it?" Lily snapped back, but it had less venom that usual. "My skin is a billboard for my inner feelings!"
"What's a billboard?" Sirius asked.
"But you can't say your not impressed by our skills," Remus asked.
Lily gazed at him coldly. "You're turning green," she said distastefully.
"You don't think it's an improvement to the student body?" asked James. He was starting to fade into a pink tone when he looked at Lily. "I mean, people won't be able to mask their feelings anymore. Everything will be out in the open."
"Like the fact that you're feeling flirty right now?" Lily asked, stifling a sudden burst of laughter.
"What?" James asked, confused.
"I saw that list of colors and feelings that Peter had put up on most of the boards around the school and read them," Lily said. James continued to stare at her. "James, you're pink right now."
"What?!" James hurriedly looked at his hands. In his worry, his skin turned to an orange.
"I'm especially glad of that color," Harry said as if talking about the weather.
"Yeah, pink has great feelings to show," agreed Remus in a casual voice.
"Shut it, you two," James said.
Lily giggled and left to her other friends. The five boys continued to walk to the Great Hall for dinner. They were enjoying watching McFly turning green when he was giving a play-by-play of a Quidditch match he had played last year to a seventh year girl, when something else caught the Marauder's eyes. Snape was leaning against the wall, absorbed into an article from a magazine.
"Hey, look at Snivellus," James whispered excitedly to his other four friends.
Snape continued to read his magazine, his skin blue, but someone, a certain someone caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. He looked up from his magazine to find Professor Smirch walking past, talking to a seventh year Slytherin. Snape's blue skin instantly turned to a tickle-me-pink color as he watched Smirch walk down the rest of the corridor. Snape sighed, but felt someone's gaze upon him. He shifted his attention and looked straight at the Marauders. He instantaneously changed color to a worried-orange and rested on a fury-filled black.
Before Snape could curse them, Harry dragged James and Sirius into the Great Hall. Remus and Peter followed, Peter shooting Snape an evil look.
"Harry, what are you doing?" Sirius growled through a choke. Harry had him by the collar.
"You don't need another trip to the Hospital Wing today," Harry said. He continued to pull them to their regular spot at the Gryffindor table.
"You don't think we're a match for Snivellus?" Sirius asked, outraged.
"No, but I don't want him sent to the Hospital Wing either," Harry said, his skin growing black.
"Why not?!" James and Sirius asked loudly. They sat down on the bench huffily, folding their arms.
"Does he really deserve it?" Harry asked. His skin was wavering between a black and blue. "Does he really deserve to be ridiculed?"
"Yes!" James and Sirius answered.
"You're not going to change their minds," Remus told Harry. "They've got it set to make sure Snape has a bad stay at Hogwarts."
"You've never had a problem with it before," Sirius said hotly.
"But this spell is torment enough for him," Remus said. James and Sirius were silent against their will; they wanted to know what Remus was talking about. "Snape can harbor feelings and hide them away, but this spell will show his true colors. Isn't that enough embarrassment? He'll probably turn pink every time during Defense class. That's got to be torture."
James sighed. "I guess you're right."
"Of course I am."
"You know Remus," said a girl as she walked towards them, "I expected James and Sirius to turn green, but never you."
Hermione sat down opposite of Harry, her skin shimmering pink.
"Feeling perky, Mione?" James asked.
"Why, yes, James, I am," Hermione said, her grin widening.
"And why exactly?" Harry asked.
"I just talked to Professor Proudfoot, and he said I passed the test with flying colors!" Hermione said, bouncing up and down in her seat. She grabbed the potatoes and piled them on her plate.
"Good for you," Harry said.
'Yeah, that test was hard," Remus said. "I wonder how I did on it…"
"Oh, I asked if I got the highest score, and he said it was tied… between me and you!" Hermione said happily.
"Oh good," Remus sighed.
"But I wanted to congratulate you four boys on this spell—"
"Five," interrupted Harry.
"What?" Hermione asked.
"Five boys," Harry corrected her. "I helped."
"Huh," Hermione said, her voice carrying worry (her skin turned orange for just a second before returning to a cheerful pink). "Well, that was pretty advanced magic to bewitch an entire corridor with spells that you molded together."
"Don't praise them!" Lily said, scandalized. "That's just encouraging them!"
"I guess you're right," Hermione said with a sigh. "But you must admit it was impressive magic."
"All right, so many seventh years could not do that, but still—can't you use your powers for good?" Lily asked them.
"Don't you know the slogan of the Marauders?" James asked her as if asking a child.
"'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!" Sirius said. "It speaks for itself."
"And anyways," Harry said, "they use their 'powers' to pass school, so they're not all that bad."
"Thanks, Harry… I think," James said. The other Marauders laughed.
Lily said nothing more that meal.
Harry lay in front of the fire that night with Hermione and Lily in the chairs next to him, all trying to complete their potions essay. James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were up in their dormitory, and Harry got the impression they wanted to talk alone.
"Harry," Lily said, looking over his shoulder from her perch. "You mixed the order of the potion. First it's the moonstones, and then the newt eyes."
"Thanks," Harry said, scratching out his mistake.
Upstairs, the Marauders were having a "serious" discussion.
"What do you mates think about Harry?" James asked. He had been thinking for quite some time, his skin a deep purple.
Remus looked up from folding his clothes. Peter stopped eating sugar quill from his bed to think about James's question. Sirius just lay down on his bed, leaning his back against on of the bedposts.
"What about him?" Sirius asked.
"Well, do you think he's cool?"
"Duh, he's our friend, isn't he?" Sirius said haughtily.
"Good friend?" James asked.
"What are you getting at, Prongs," Remus asked slowly, taking a seat on his bed.
"Well, I've been thinking about Thewler… and how's he's been a really good friend to us all…"
"Get on with it," Sirius growled.
James shot him a glare that obviously said 'Shut up, you impatient little blighter'. "Well, I was thinking about… inviting him to be a Marauder."
Everyone in the room was silent.
"You sure he's Marauder material?" Sirius asked at last.
"Yeah, there's just something about him that I like," James said.
"But… You don't feel as if he is hiding something from us?" Peter asked.
"Sometimes," James agreed. "But it's not like we have been entirely truthful about ourselves either."
"Yes we have," Peter said indignantly.
"Wormtail, when are you going to get it through your head that we run with a werewolf every month?" Sirius asked in a weary tone, his skin glowing orange.
Wormtail shimmered orange, too, out of embarrassment. "Oh yeah…"
"So you are proposing that we ask this boy, who we've only know for less than three months, to join the most elite group at Hogwarts that breaks more rules than any kid knows?" Sirius asked, rubbing his temples. "You want him to know about Remus's lycanthropy? About us as Animagi? About the Marauder's Map (which we're still working on)? About everything we've worked hard to keep a secret for the past six years?"
James looked thoughtful. "Yep, that's about it."
"Wow," Peter whispered. "You really trust this guy, don't you James?"
"Yeah, I really do…"
"Well, it wouldn't hurt to ask, would it?" Peter asked.
"I guess so… That is, unless you two don't want to," James said to Sirius and Remus.
"I trust your judgment, James," Sirius said sincerely.
"Do you really think he'll accept… us?" Remus asked.
"You mean your werewolf-iness?" Peter asked.
"Yes, to put it in simple terms," Remus said. He looked at James and Sirius, expecting an answer.
"Harry seems like a guy who wouldn't leave his friends just because of their background," James said.
"All right, if you say so," Remus said, still a trace of worry in his voice.
"Great. I'll call him up," James said excitedly. He ran out of the room and down the staircase. "Harry!" He called out, looking wildly around the common room. "Ah, Harry," James said, running over to the fireplace. "Oh, hello Lily, Hermione. Sorry, but could I borrow Harry?" He flashed a grin at Lily before turning to Harry, who had just sat up from his comfortable position.
"Yeah, James?" he asked, sounding tired. Potions took a lot out of him.
"Could we see you upstairs for a moment?" he asked, suddenly sounding very businesslike.
"Yeah, sure," he said through a yawn. Harry scrambled up and followed James out of the common room.
"Sit down, young Harry," James said as they entered their dormitory.
"What's this all about?" Harry asked through a grin he couldn't suppress.
"We've been having a talk, the Marauders," James said, still sounding professional. "Talking about you."
"Any good stuff?" Harry asked.
"Quite." A blue James sat on his bed. "We wanted to know if you were interested in being a Marauder."
Harry's skin turned from yellow to red and yellow again. "Really?" he asked, sounding quite thrilled.
The four Marauders looked at each other.
"Yep."
It was not James who had answered, but Remus.
"But you must know that we all harbor some deadly secretive secrets," Sirius said seriously. "For one, you should know that—"
"Wait!" Harry cried out. He stepped back in his mind and thought about the situation. He was being asked join the Marauders. What would this lead to? He would learn everything about all of them, Animagi and werewolf that they are. He really wasn't good at deciphering what would change time and what would not. He needed to talk to someone who would understand things like that… "Can I—not to sound rude or anything, but can I think about it before you tell me everything?"
"S—sure," James said, taken aback.
"Er, good. Can I—can I go now?" Harry asked. James raised his eyebrows. "I—er, need to finish that Potions essay." Harry avoided all eye contact as he left the room.
Sirius gave a guffaw. "Oh, that went well."
Harry flew down the stairs, taking four steps at a time. He entered the common room to find it empty once again, save two people by the fire. He ran over to the two girls.
"Hey Lily, do you think Hermione and I could have a minute alone?" Harry asked politely.
"Sure Harry, of course," Lily said courteously. "As you can tell," speaking disdainfully as she held out her purple hand, "I am quite tired. Good night."
Hermione watched her exit the common room, and then turned to Harry. "What is it?"
"Hermione, what would happen if I joined the Marauders?" Harry asked, trying to sound hypothetical, but his skin glowed an anxious orange.
"Well, first, you could disrupt the friendship between the Marauders in the future. They might trust you to do something that someone else was supposed to do. Of course, they'll tell you everything about themselves, and you could never tell them the truth, or they might find out the truth by what you tell them, and we want to avoid that at all costs. Also, it'll get uncomfortable lying all the time. You could also get too comfortable in this time that you'll never want to leave, not that you don't want to right now. Oh, this list could go on. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I was just asked to join the Marauders," Harry groaned. He fell back into the chair opposite Hermione. "And I don't know what to do."
"What did you say to them?" Hermione asked at once.
"I said I had to think about it."
"You have to say no, Harry."
"But what's the difference between being their great friends and a Marauder?" Harry asked. He desperately wanted to join his father and be around him all the time, and being a Marauder would be a perfect way to spend time with him… make up for the fifteen years he had missed.
"Not much now, but it could well change the future more than we know." She sighed, shoving her parchment and quill into her bag by her feet. "We can't risk doing something that big. We just can't get too involved with people here, and they can't get too close to us. I know, we've been hanging around all the Gryffindors as if they were our regular classmates. But I just recalled Dumbledore's meeting at the end of September we had, remember? He said we 'cannot become attached to anything or anyone'.
"Well, I'm finding that actually hard at the moment, seeing as I'm starting to be friends with people in this time," Harry snapped back hotly. How come everything had to be taken away from him? Couldn't he just forget the rules for once and be with his father?
"You can be friends, yes, but you can't become so close—"
"Oh, that sounds funny coming from you," Harry interrupted. He couldn't hold it back. "You, who has been flirting with Sirius and Remus." He spat the last two names. They were cool friends, yes, but when your best friend fancies them… He shuddered at the thought.
"I was not," Hermione said at once, though she didn't convince Harry, let alone herself.
"Sure you weren't," Harry said, not sounding persuaded at the least.
"Look, you just can't be a Marauder," Hermione said strictly, sounding uncannily like Professor McGonagall.
Harry glared at her for a moment, but realized it wasn't her fault. It was his own mistake he was back in this time. His and the Weasley twins, but he could hardly blame two boys that weren't even born yet. He sighed. "All right."
"What are you going to tell them?" Hermione asked as she stood up.
"Er, that I don't want to be a Marauder?" he answered, more of a question. "I dunno. I'll think of something."
Hermione looked at him skeptically as they walked up to bed. He must have passed because she said, "All right. Just don't make it sound too suspicious. Good night!" She turned towards the girls' dormitories.
"Good night," Harry replied. He took a deep breath, and entered his dormitory.
"'Arry!" James cried out through a mouthful of what looked like several Chocolate Frogs. He chewed for a moment or two, and then swallowed, which looked difficult. "So… have you thought about us yet?"
"More like 'talked to Hermione yet'," Sirius muttered to himself, shifting through a bag of Beartie Botts.
James shot him a glare, but returned to look at Harry anxiously.
Harry hated the disappointment that would appear in his father's eyes once he told them no. He released a loaded sigh. "I think it'd be best if I—don't—become a 'Marauder'," he said with great difficulty.
"Why not?" James asked, the disappointment Harry had predicted shining in his eyes. "We don't mind, honestly."
"I know, but it's just that being a Marauder is something that takes years of knowing," Harry said, lying through his teeth. "And I don't want to disturb it. Just being friends with you guys is enough."
James and Sirius exchanged looks. "Well, if you're sure…" James trailed off.
"I'm sure," Harry said quickly. "Don't take it personally. It's just—I need to sort something out inside me and everything…" He gazed at the floor.
"Here, take a licorice wand," Sirius said. He tossed one to Harry, who caught it with ease. "Just don't think this'll get you out of buying Moony a present," he said with a smile.
"Moo—Remus? Is it your b—"
"You can call us by our nicknames, you know," James interrupted. "Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Prongs. You can use them." He seemed determined to make Harry as comfortable as possible with the Marauders.
"Right… So, Moony, when is your birthday?" Harry asked.
Remus looked away from the window, which he had been staring out of ever since James suggested Harry join them. "Oh, November twenty-fourth, next Monday. And you really don't need to buy me a present," he said rather sheepishly.
"Of course I do," Harry said. James beamed. "I completely forgot about birthdays… I didn't miss anyone's, did I?"
"Nah, Sirius's is August fifteenth. Peter's is March first. Mine is January fifteenth," James explained, grabbing another sweet from a pile on his bed. His parents had sent him some candy to share with his friends.
"Isn't it funny that James and Sirius's birthdays are exactly five months apart?" Peter asked, munching on a pumpkin pasty.
Harry looked to Sirius, then James, and couldn't help but laugh. He should have guessed. "When is Lily's?" he asked.
"May twenty-fifth," James answered automatically. He looked oddly at Harry for a second. "You… you don't like her, do you?" he asked uncertainly. Harry opened his mouth to protest. "'Cuz she—she seems to like you."
"Nah. No offense James, but she's not my type," Harry said. "You don't mind, do you?" Harry asked, pointing towards the sweets pile.
"No, go ahead," James said quickly.
"Thanks," Harry said, grabbing a Chocolate Frog (Remus eyed him warily). "And all girls don't have to have a crush on you. They can like you as a friend, you know," he said, giving a chuckle.
"True," James said respectfully. He gazed at Harry for a second. "To friends," he said as a toast, holding up his Cauldron Cake as a wine glass at a fancy dinner party.
"To friends," Sirius, Remus, Harry, and Peter echoed, holding up their own sweets. They all laughed and continued to talk over a pile of candy. As good friends should.
A/N: Ya like? Sorry 'bout not having much RL-HG-SB action in this chapter. I just wanted to get across the fact that it is still really hard to be back in the 70's for Harry and Hermione. But try to guess what the next chapter is going to be about!
To my lovely reviewers:
Thanks to DracosPrincess16, artemisgirl, Mangoes2oo5, mirel216, Roxxie-Hart (have fun in Maine!), khuu-khuu, Flaignhan, sapphire66, the girl at the rockshow, Dawn1, zenia, and Niphredel Black. I love you guys!
Doodler Girl: You're a telepath! Wow! So… care to guess what the next chapter is about, oh all seeing one? There's going to be one more full moon, which is also a major plot line thingy, so wait a few more chapters and it'll be here! (Yes, I actually have a few chapters planned out. Oh my gosh!)
MasteroftheFlame: Sure, of course you're a Pyro… -coughNOTcough- And don't go stealing Pyro's lighter! It's not healthy. Trust me, I know. Thanks!
stargazer starluver: I'm glad you read my story, even if it isn't your usual. Thanks!
Dancerchick314: Yeah, I never thought about Remus and Lily together. But my friend is "an avid believer" of them, and she convinced me. (-cough MASTEROFTHEFLAME cough-) Thanks!
lovely-lily-flower200: Yep, I did. Did you get my review? I hope you update quickly! Thanks.
Pieceocake: As quoting one of my own lines… CALM DOWN! You impatient little bugger! Jeez. You'll just have to wait to find out what I have in store next for all of you readers.
A final note to all your READERS out there. Can you please review? I just love reading them. I don't care if it's criticism, what you found funny or interesting in my new chapters…or anything! I just love hearing from you all! Thanks again!