"What the bloody hell have we done this time?" Remus groaned, knowing that 'we' did not - could not possibly - include himself, yet at the same time, it would.
"Read it again," Sirius urged, and Peter nodded. The Marauders were en route back to the castle after their slack class of the day, Herbology. In the middle of a demonstration by Professor Sprout, a first year had come scurrying in and handed the note to James.
"To Messrs. Black, Lupin, Pettigrew, and Potter," said James, his gaze on the parchment in his hands, save for a few upward glances every now and then. "If your busy schedule allows, I should very much like to have an hour of your time tonight in my office at seven o'clock. The password is 'stringmint.' (I am certain you know the location of my office very well by now.) Until then, Professor Dumbledore."
He pocketed the letter and looked to each of his friends in turn.
Sirius looked relatively unconcerned, though it was always a bit hard to tell with him. Remus was staring at the ground, biting his lip. Peter just shrugged.
"It doesn't sound that serious," Peter began. "He's pretty up front, usually, right? He'd say something if it was about our... what was it, 'blatant disregard for any regulation, law, command, or rule'?" They all smirked a bit, remembering the last time McGonagall had yelled at them.
Remus looked pale, but James couldn't tell if that was from their current situation, or just the after-effects of his transformation the previous weekend. It was a Tuesday afternoon, so he had had a few days to recuperate, but the year end stress was starting to add up, as well. Studying for NEWTs and whatnot. James for one was unconcerned; his OWLs had been a breeze.
"And any ways, there's no chance of us being in trouble. We haven't done anything... just planned," Sirius noted, but as he said it, a realization dawned on him. "Damn it, Wormtail, you did it again, didn't you?"
"Did what!" Peter said in a hurried squeak of a voice.
"You've gone and told someone about our plan!"
"What plan?" This time it was Remus, looking suspicious.
"It's nothing," James said quickly, "we were going to tell you about it tonight."
"I don't remember any plans!" Peter said, still looking slightly terrified.
"Maybe he really did forget," James admitted to Sirius, who looked unconvinced.
"Well, Peter, if this little rendez-vous with Dumbledore has anything to do with a certain underground portion of the castle being underwater in the near future..." he said, frowning, "I will personally see to it that you don't have to transform in order to have a tail."
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At two minutes to seven, most of the Gryffindors, Marauders included, were lingering in the Great Hall, reluctant to leave and start their homework. Remus finally sighed loudly, looking at his watch. "I guess it's time."
They moved slowly, perhaps hoping that if they were late enough, Dumbledore would just forget and go on with his other plans. Speaking of Dumbledore, he hadn't been at dinner. That in itself wasn't too abnormal, but on this night, they did think it was a bit odd.
"Wait up," James said, looking down the table. The slight smile on his face faded. They followed his gaze and saw that the bench was empty where Lily normally sat. "Where is she?" James asked to no one in particular.
"You just missed her," said a sixth-year that James didn't know too well. Charlotte was her name, maybe? Lily had told him at one point, but he had been a bit distracted. "She said she had something to go to, maybe a Slug Club meeting? I'm not sure."
James frowned. "Thanks." He turned back to his friends. "Well, I'll see her tonight, anyway. Shall we?" He picked up his things and slid back into his robe, feeling the Head Boy badge on his chest. He sincerely hoped he wasn't about to lose it.
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"Sir, your note did say seven o'clock, correct?"
"Yes, Miss Evans, you're on time. I'm afraid the other invitees are running behind..."
Lily raised an eyebrow. "Who else is coming?"
"You'll see," Dumbledore replied with a twinkle in his eye.
The red haired Head Girl sat back in her chair, too curious to be annoyed. Four empty chairs were around her, two on each side.
Unlike most other professors, Dumbledore didn't let the next few minutes float by in silence. He questioned her about nearly everything - her classes, her homework, her NEWTs, her family, what she would like to do later on, if she was enjoying her role as Head Girl, if the accommodations were working out. (She couldn't stop herself from blushing when she answered that particular one.)
Finally, at five minutes past the hour, the sound of a stampede of footsteps could be heard in the stairwell. Lily turned slightly in her chair, and almost before they had even knocked, Dumbledore called out, "Enter."
James, Remus, Sirius and Peter edged into the room, each one wearing a similar yet unique expression on their face. A bit of guilt, a pinch of curiosity, a handful of worry.
Lily looked from the boys to Dumbledore, utterly confused.
"I'm quite glad you were able to make it," the headmaster said with a smile. He motioned to the chairs. "Please, have a seat."
James seemed to register this request first, and he quickly moved forward and sat down to Lily's left. Remus followed and sat on the opposite side. Sirius and Peter took the remaining seats, watching as Dumbledore held up his wand, pointing towards the door, mumbling a few incantations under his breath. At the students' questioning looks, he smiled and said, "This is for your ears only." He then looked back to his desk, shuffling a few sheets of parchment around.
"Um, sir," James said with a breath. "We're not in trouble, are we?"
"Should you be?"
Sirius, looking irritated, quickly jumped in. "No, of course not."
"Good, good. In any case, McGonnagall seems to have all your punishment needs covered, judging by the amount of detentions you four have racked up in the past month."
Lily raised an eyebrow. So this was where their sudden newfound interest in 'studying at the library' came from. James glanced over at her and grinned.
Dumbledore pushed his glasses a bit further down on his nose, looking over them at the five Gryffindors. "Well, then, if you have no further questions for the moment, I'd like to ask some for myself."
He steepled his fingers together, still watching them intently as he continued. "What do you know of the Order of the Phoenix?"
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Two hours passed without a single glance to the clock or a bored sigh. On the contrary, in fact. Each student had numerous questions, which they asked as the others sat up, listening intently. But Dumbledore knew he could not keep them much longer without risking a teacher stopping them in the halls and probing questions.
He cleared his throat when they had lulled into silence. "I'm afraid that for tonight, we should stop here. However, there is one thing I forgot to bring up. Remus?"
Everyone turned to look at Remus, who caught Dumbledore's eye and frowned resignedly.
"I think it's time to come clean with your friends for what you really are."
Before she looked away, Lily saw a glint in the headmaster's eye again. On either side of her, the Marauders were trying to hide knowing grins.
Remus sighed, trying to look at his friends as much as Lily. "I... I've got a furry little problem," he said with a nervous laugh.
Lily raised an eyebrow, and beyond the desk, Dumbledore was wearing a knowing smile as he watched James, Sirius, and Peter try to stifle their grins.
"Don't think of me any differently," he continued. "Well, I mean, if you really wanted to, I guess, you know, you could, but it's... controlled and I'm still Remus Lupin." Another nervous laugh. Lily was a good person, he knew, but he really just wasn't up to facing the shock. He had never had to tell his friends - they had figured it out themselves. In that case, he was the one who was shocked.
"I'm a werewolf," he breathed.
A hand flew to Lily's mouth, and for an instant, they all waited for a gasp, a scream, a sound of surprise. Instead: "Oh, Remus." She looked nothing but sympathetic as she sat back in her chair. The other boys reluctantly looked up to Dumbledore, realizing that they should have expressed some faked surprise or something. The headmaster just winked.
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A/N: Sorry for the lame chapter. All I had in mind for it was A) meeting and B) Remus. And that's pretty much all that came out. I would dedicate this to Lora-Lai, for being president of my one-member fan club, but this was so pathetic, that I'm going to wait until I come up with something much more brilliant. Like the next chapter of Caught Dead, which you should read. (And seriously, stop with the AGHHHH NO SIRIUS/LILY! It makes me laugh every time and tempts me that much more just to do it.) Anyways. Please let me know how bad this sucked, on a scale of 1 to 10, via reviews. And go read "The Girl in the Looking Glass," and THANK YOU VERY MUCH to everyone who has reviewed so far!
Edited to add: I couldn't figure out why I hadn't gotten any reviews. Then it hit me: I forgot to add the document to the story. Go Erin!
