Chapter Six

Georgie Valentine, Secret Marauder

3 September 1976

It's the third day of school and I have resorted to writing in this tacky journal that my darling mother somehow managed to sneak into my trunk before I left. I'd been trying to get rid of it all summer, but the woman must have Charmed it to return every time I chucked it in the bin, the loon.

Why am I writing in this, you may ask? Because James Potter has driven me to the point of insanity, and I barely know the bloke. I mean, the first time we ever spoke was because I was taking points off him for torturing Severus Snape! And now he wants to be friends. Like, actual friends. Unless Black was lying to me and pulling some prank (which I wouldn't put past him). But James Potter, wanting to be friends with me? Next thing I know he'll be trying to befriend the giant squid, too.

What am I going to do? I want my life to stay normal, and allowing James Potter (and, let's face it, the rest of the Marauders by default) into it is going to wreck it completely. I'm not one of them, no matter what Potter thinks, and I never want to be. But I don't want to be rude to him again. Do I just ignore him? Tell him I'm not interested in being his friend?

Okay, Georgie, slow down. No one said you had to be friends with him. Just apologize for yesterday and walk away. That's it. That's all you have to do. In a few weeks, he and Black will forget all about you and go back to living their normal lives and not knowing that you exist. Perfect.

I sighed, setting down my quill and snapping the journal shut. It was small, thank Merlin, but decorated with a lurid pink cover and stars that were spelled to twinkle so brightly that I risked blinding everyone in a room were I to whip it out unexpectedly. Squinting, I threw the thing back into my trunk and placed a pile of neatly folded clothes over it before shutting the heavy lid and sitting down on it.

It was still early in the morning, the light outside our dormitory window rosy and flushed. Hestia was in the washroom showering, and Sera had already gone down to breakfast, citing some vague reason for ditching us so early. Come to think of it, I'd hardly seen her at all since we'd been back from holiday, but I figured once the chaos of the first week died down she would be back. Florence was still sleeping, and I was surprised my journal hadn't woken her up, considering it had been like shining a spotlight in the small room.

I was already dressed in my uniform and ready to start the day. I had been cursed as an early riser when I was young, and I had never grown out of it, no matter how tired I was or how late I had gone to sleep the night before. I tugged on the end of my ponytail, chewing my lower lip and waiting on my friends so we could go down to breakfast, my thoughts whirling inside my head.

I had lain awake half the night tossing and turning, wondering what I was going to do about my current predicament. The occasional times I did doze off, I dreamed about Sirius Black leaning close to me and twirling my hair, whispering sweet promises about revenge. I had awoken from those with my heart pounding and my chest flushed, an odd, pulsating heat covering my body, and went right back to fretting.

Why would James Potter want to be my friend? Black had said it was because I had given him advice about how to approach Lily Evans, but was that really it? And was giving some basic advice really worthy of a friendship to Potter? I had watched people for years attempting to be his friend, but he always stuck exclusively with the Marauders. He had plenty of acquaintances and admirers, but Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew had been the only ones he would ever call friends.

No, Black must have made a mistake and heard his best mate wrong, or was just pranking me, I decided. There was no way Potter would want me as a friend. Still, I had to apologize for snapping at him in Potions yesterday, or else the guilt would eat me alive for the rest of my life.

"I'll be back," I told Florence's sleeping form, unable to sit still any longer. She merely grunted as I grabbed my bag and headed out the door.

I exited the common room, descending the winding staircase and emerging into the seventh-floor corridor. The castle was still quiet, but students were trickling into the Great Hall when I came down the marble staircase. I followed them in, spotting a head of platinum blonde hair moving in the opposite direction toward me.

"Sera, hey!" I said, waving to get her attention. Her head snapped up at my voice, a look I couldn't identify flitting across her features before it was gone.

"Georgie," she replied, her voice stiff, and my smile faltered. I peered closer at her, but she looked away when my eyes met hers. I frowned.

"What's wrong, S?" I asked. "You've been avoiding us since the Express."

"Have I?" She raised a brow coolly, and something took root in my gut then, a niggling sense that something was very off about my friend. "I'm sorry; I hadn't noticed."

"Well, we have," I said. "Seriously, Sera, what's up? Did something happen over the summer?"

I dropped my voice at this last part. The Selwyns were a staunchly pure-blood family, and I wouldn't be surprised if they had tried to convert Sera to their anti-Muggle and -Muggle-born views. It wouldn't be the first time.

"No," she snapped, her blue eyes flashing, and I blinked at the vehemence in her voice. She seemed to realize her tone, for she took a deep breath and smiled at me. "Sorry, G. Nothing's wrong; I didn't mean for you and the others to worry. We can all sit together for dinner tonight, all right?" She didn't give me a chance to answer. "Perfect. See you tonight."

And with that, she sashayed away, leaving me standing and gaping after her like an idiot.

Shaking my head, I entered the Great Hall, sweeping my eyes over the Gryffindor table. The Marauders weren't there, but that was no surprise; they were always late to everything. Even Lupin couldn't control his mates and often stumbled in with them at the last minute, though he never seemed to mind.

I took my customary seat at the Ravenclaw table, grabbing a bowl of porridge and taking out The Catcher in the Rye to continue my annotations. I worked steadily through breakfast, hardly looking up even when Hestia and Florence finally joined me. I knew I should tell them about my awkward conversation with Sera earlier, but a part of me didn't want to. It had all been so unsettling, and I needed to get over the weirdness first before confiding in them. And even then, things could go back to normal tonight when Sera joined us for dinner.

Somehow, I doubted it.

"Look, G, it's your new best friend," Hestia said.

I looked up, following her gaze to the Gryffindor table, where James Potter and his mates had just taken seats.

"Wait, who?" Florence demanded. "You're my best friend."

I sighed, marking my place in my book and replacing it in my bag. "Hestia, kindly explain to Flo that James Potter is not my new best mate while I go apologize to him for being a bint yesterday."

Hestia winked, beginning to fill in Flo on all that had happened yesterday while I slung my bag over my shoulder, steeling myself before making my way over to the Gryffindor table. I came up behind Potter and Black, catching Lupin's eye from the bench across from theirs and grimacing when he gave me a questioning look. Ignoring him, however, I tapped Potter on the shoulder.

He turned around, half a bagel stuffed into his mouth and a spot of cream cheese smeared on his chin. I tried not to look as disgusted as I felt as I said, "I'm sorry for how rude I was to you in Potions yesterday. I hope we can put it behind us."

I held out my hand. Potter looked from me to it, swallowing his bagel with an audible gulp before raising his eyebrows.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"Er, pardon?"

"I believe what you mean to say is, 'Oh, James, however did I live with myself being such a boring Ravenclaw all the time? Of course, I'll let you teach me how to have fun!'" He grinned widely at me, and I had the sudden urge to smear more cream cheese on his face.

"Nope, I think I said all I needed to say," I said. "Bye, Potter."

I turned to leave but ran into something solid, and I groaned aloud when I realized that Nic was standing behind me.

"Morning, George," he greeted, moving in front of me when I tried to sidestep him. He looked from me to Potter. "James, was Georgie bothering you?"

"I was apologizing to him," I said, crossing my arms. "Now get out of my way."

"Apologizing for what?" Nic said. "Being a stuck-up prefect? Did you take more points from us?"

"Bugger off," I snapped. "It's none of your business."

"'Course it is, when it involves one of my teammates," he said with a smirk. He turned back to Potter. "What'd she say to you?"

Potter glanced between us for a long moment before shrugging. "No offense, Nic, but I think that's between myself and Georgie."

Nic frowned, but I let out a sigh of relief. I caught Potter's eye, and he shot me a wink.

"Whatever," Nic said after a long moment, reaching the conclusion that he couldn't be bothered. He smirked, pulling on my ponytail and ignoring my curse. "Later, George."

He left, sauntering up the table to join the seventh-year Gryffindors. I glared at his back, trying to keep my face from burning, but it was useless.

"Prick," I muttered before turning back to Potter. "So, do you accept my apology?"

But he didn't answer, instead only scrutinizing me intently. In fact, all the Marauders were now looking at me, analyzing. Black only smirked when I caught his gaze, which served to freak me out more.

"O-kay…" I said slowly, beginning to back away. "Er, I'm gonna go now."

Before I could turn tail and flee, Potter spoke.

"Nine o'clock, Gryffindor Tower. Be there."

I stared at him blankly. "What?"

He gave me a dry look. "Do I need to write it down for you?"

"No," I said, confused. From everyone else's looks, they were as bewildered as I was too. "Just…why, though?"

He only winked, giving me a mischievous grin. "You'll find out."

And with that cryptic message, he turned back to his mates, clearly dismissing me like I was some common peasant.

Georgie Valentine, what on earth have you gotten yourself into?

I lived in fear for the rest of the day.

This was it, I decided. The moment of retribution. The Marauders were finally going to get me back for the points I took from them last term, and Black was going to get his revenge. That stunt he had pulled yesterday in Potions was to make me paranoid, and it had worked. I was so dead.

"You're being overdramatic, G," Florence said, rolling her eyes and removing the large pods from the snargaluff we were working with in Herbology. "They're not going to kill you or anything."

"They're going to dangle me in the air and show off my knickers to the whole school like they did Snape," I moaned, watching her struggle with the pods.

"Wear some cute ones, then," was her only reply, and I blanched.

Arithmancy was worse. Lupin was in the same class, and he sat only two rows away from me. He didn't look at me once during the entirety of the lesson, and when the bell rang to dismiss us, he had bolted for the door, his long legs leaving me in the dust when I tried to corner him and demand what was going on.

What am I even freaking out over? I thought to myself as I followed the stream of students heading to the Great Hall for dinner. If I don't show up, they can't do anything to me. Right?

Slightly cheered by the thought, I made my way to the Ravenclaw table, where Hestia, Florence, and Sera were already sitting in our usual spots. It looked normal, having Sera there, but there was an unspoken tension in the air that gave it a weird atmosphere.

"Georgie," Sera said, smiling, but it wasn't a full smile that reached her eyes. I grinned back nervously.

"Sera was just telling us about her summer," Hestia said, meeting my eyes, and I knew instantly that she was sensing whatever I was. "She went on vacation to Germany with her family."

"Oh," I said, blinking, "well, that sounds neat."

"It was," Sera said, pouring some dressing onto her salad. Every movement of hers was dainty and proper, and though I knew she had gone through etiquette training when she was younger, she never tended to use her manners at Hogwarts. "There's such a rich history there, both magical and nonmagical. I learned so much." She smiled, her gaze sliding over to Florence. "Florence, darling, was one serving of mashed potatoes not enough?"

Florence paused in the midst of dolloping another helping of potatoes on her plate, her cheeks turning pink. I stared at Sera, appalled. We all knew that Florence had some self-esteem issues, beginning in our second year when Davey Gudgeon had called her "Porky" and squealed like a pig any time she came around, and watching Sera so blatantly throw it back in her face rubbed me the wrong way.

"What has gotten into you?" I demanded, my anger rising when Florence ever so subtly pushed her plate away from her. Sera looked back at me coolly, and I only got angrier. "You come back from holiday and suddenly it's like you're an entirely different person! You act like you're better than us, and now you're being a—a bitch!"

Hestia's eyes widened; I was never one for extreme profanity, but I was so upset I didn't care. I was the one who had taken care of Flo when I walked in on her trying to make herself sick after dinner one night, and I was her best mate. And once, I would have said the same about Sera, but the girl sitting in front of me was not the friend I used to know.

Sera took a bite from her salad, calm as ever. "I learned a few things this summer, Georgie, darling," she said, her eyes glittering. "I was so naïve when I was a child, but now I see why I was so wrong to believe blood purity was something to be ashamed of."

Hestia scowled darkly. "Careful, S. You're beginning to sound like a Slytherin."

She smiled serenely back. "Hestia, I know you're a smart girl. Do you really think all Slytherins are so bad?"

"Only the blood supremacist ones," she snapped, and Sera's smile faltered.

I glared at the girl who once used to be one of my closest friends, but was now a complete stranger to me. "Sera, darling, I'm only going to say this once, so I suggest you listen closely: We do not associate with people who think that someone is superior or inferior to others based on their blood status. And if you're going to count yourself among them, then I suggest you get a new group of friends." I waved my wand, and she yelped when her salad bowl shot halfway down the table, coming to a halt at the emptiest section. I mimicked her falsely sweet smile. "Bye, bye, now."

The other girl stood up in a huff, her blue eyes narrowed as she glared at me.

"I'd watch yourself if I were you, Georgie," she warned. "Not everyone is okay with bowing down to the Ravenclaw Queen—especially a half-blood."

She spat out this last part before turning on her heel and marching down to where her salad bowl now sat. I watched her go, anger and disbelief churning in my gut. I turned to Hestia and Flo, who were both white-faced and shell-shocked.

"I can't believe that just happened," Hestia said, shaking her head. "Of all people, Sera…"

"It's gotten bad," Florence murmured, dazed. "It's gotten really bad if someone like Sera could just flip like that."

I nodded, grim. It was no secret that the wizarding world was being torn apart by opinions of blood status—Merlin, there was even a war going on because of it. Hogwarts seemed to be a neutral zone, but we all knew that some of the Slytherins with ties to the new regime and You-Know-Who were quietly campaigning for blood supremacy. But having one of our own turn on us, so swiftly and so dramatically, made me a lot more uncomfortable than I thought initially.

We ate the rest of our dinner in silence and sat for a long while afterward, not saying anything. What could we say? We had just lost one of our closest friends. There was nothing to say.

Only a handful of students remained when we finally left the Great Hall, the torches burning low and the sky dark with clouds in the enchanted ceiling. We walked slowly back to Ravenclaw Tower, emerging onto the seventh-floor corridor and heading toward our common room.

I trailed behind Hestia and Florence, brooding when suddenly a veil was pulled over my eyes and a hand clamped down on my mouth when I tried to scream.

"Relax, Ravenclaw," Sirius Black whispered in my ear, and chills erupted on my arms when I felt his breath on the hollow between my ear and neck.

I waited, heart hammering, watching Hestia and Florence disappear down the corridor as Black kept his hand over my mouth. I was acutely aware that I was standing with my back against his chest, his warmth seeping through my robes, and I severely hoped he couldn't feel the erratic beating of my heart.

He finally dropped his hand once my friends were out of sight, and I immediately whirled on him.

"If you're here for whatever twisted revenge plot you have going on in your head, save it," I snapped. "I'm not in the mood for your sick little games, Black."

He only gave me an easy grin, the bastard.

"Not here for revenge, Ravenclaw," he said, and I tried to keep myself from staring at his impeccable features. We were still pretty close, and it pained me to see how much more attractive he was now than simply viewing him from afar. "James sent me."

"To kidnap me?"

He barked out a laugh, and I jumped at the sound.

"Something like that," he said, gesturing over his shoulder to the opposite corridor, where Gryffindor Tower was. "It's a quarter past nine. You're late."

Oh, sweet Merlin. I had forgotten about Potter's stupid meeting.

"I'm not going," I said. "You and Potter are nothing but trouble, and I want no part in whatever it is he has planned for me."

Black sighed, a lock of dark hair blowing off his forehead when he did. "Just hear him out. If you don't do it tonight, then he'll keep trying, and in more embarrassing and persistent ways than this."

He gestured to the veil above us, and I started when I realized that I was still under it too. I guess that explained our proximity then.

"What is this?" I asked, my fingers grazing the soft material.

"Invisibility Cloak," he said casually.

I gaped.

"But—those are incredibly rare!" I said. "How did you get one?"

"It's not mine," he said, "it's James's. And I'm sure he would love to tell you all about it if you just came with me."

"Oh, fine," I said, my curiosity winning out over my better judgment. I flapped my hand at him impatiently. "Take me to your bloody common room, then."

"Certainly," Black said in an amused tone, leading me down the opposite end of the corridor while keeping the Invisibility Cloak over us.

"Expecting trouble?" I asked, gesturing to the cloak, and he grinned.

"Nah," he said with a touch of arrogance. "Just a precaution. Curfew's soon, and I don't want to run into Filch."

"Since when do you care about curfew?" Dear Rowena, I was talking a lot. Dinner must have emboldened me somehow, for normally at this point I was a stuttering mess around the bloke.

His grin widened until it looked almost wolfish. "I don't. But James insisted I take it, so I didn't get you into trouble with me."

"Merlin, is he that desperate to be with Evans?" I said, rolling my eyes. "Can't he get his girl advice from someone other than me?"

Black shrugged. "Honestly, I dunno what's going on in his head at the moment, and he's my best mate." He looked thoughtful. "Clearly he sees something in you, though. I'm not sure what, but there's no telling with that one."

I frowned, noting how he said Potter saw something in me, and not him. I quickly shrugged that thought off, however; Black's approval was not something I needed.

"Here," Black said suddenly, slipping off the cloak until it covered just me. "I have to give the password; just follow me through when the portrait hole opens."

I watched, puzzled, as he approached a gilded portrait of a fat lady. He said something that caused the portrait to then swing open, allowing him access to a short tunnel beyond. He beckoned me after him, and I hurried through the tunnel, careful not to trip on the tunnel ledge or the hem of the cloak before emerging into a violently scarlet-and-gold room.

The Gryffindor common room was cozy enough, with plush couches and a roaring fireplace, but it lacked the charm of the Ravenclaws. I followed Black to the fireplace where Lupin sat reading a book in one of the armchairs, while Potter and Pettigrew played a game of wizard's chess on the floor beside him. They all looked up at Black's arrival.

"Well?" Potter demanded. "Did you find her?"

Black gestured to me, still invisible. "You can take it off now. No one's paying any attention."

I still checked to make sure before removing the cloak, glancing around warily in case anyone had noticed a girl wearing a Ravenclaw uniform suddenly materialize in the wrong common room, but no one had seen. I took a seat next to Lupin, straightening my skirt and looking at Potter imperiously.

"I'm here," I said. "What is it that you want from me, Potter?"

Potter straightened his back and pushed his glasses up his nose in a comically professional manner. "I propose a partnership."

"A partnership," I repeated flatly. "Why?"

"We both have things we could learn from one another, Ravenclaw," he said. "You teach me how to get Evans, and I'll teach you how to have fun."

"And if I say no?" I countered.

At this, Potter exchanged a mischievous glance with his friends; Lupin, at least, had the decency to look indifferent, but their shared look made me wary. Potter turned back to me with a devilish grin.

"There's still hell to pay for ruining our fun last term and almost costing us the House Cup."

I rolled my eyes, suddenly irritated. "Yes, I'm aware, since Black was so kind as to inform me of that yesterday."

Potter looked to Black accusingly, but Black only held up his hands in a gesture of sheepish innocence. "I may or may not have mentioned something about revenge."

Potter sighed, running a hand through his messy hair.

"You're hopeless, Padfoot," he muttered before he turned back to me. "So, what? What can I do to get you to help me with Evans? Blackmail won't work, obviously, and you're not entirely willing, so what's your price, Ravenclaw?"

"Firstly, stop calling me Ravenclaw," I said snidely. "I have a name, you know."

"Done," he said. "What else, Georgie?"

I paused, my retort of "Stop bothering me" dying on my tongue as I realized something.

Potter was utterly at my will here. I could see it in his eyes that he was serious about wanting this partnership. He had always been in love with Lily Evans, and he was entirely too desperate if he was coming to someone like me for help in his love life. It was creepy, but oddly endearing, to know that he was willing to ask a virtual stranger for assistance in such a private (all right, not completely private, considering the whole school knew the sap liked her) part of his life—and the Marauders, as I had learned, were nothing but privacy.

Okay, fine, I'll admit; I wanted to help. Blame the good nature of my heart, but I also saw this as an opportunity for myself. Getting close to Potter would get me close to Black, and wasn't that all I had wanted the last five years? To study him, to see what made him so enigmatic and magnetic? I was a scholar, a researcher; my thirst for knowledge and understanding was what made me a Ravenclaw. And now I finally had a chance to conduct my research.

"Well?" Potter said when my silence stretched on. He was looking at me expectantly, and I knew he had seen the gears turning in my head.

"If I agreed to help you," I stressed, "what would you do for me in return? How would you teach me how to have fun?"

"Ah, can't tell you that yet." Potter grinned, tapping his temple. "Trade secret, that. We'll get to it at a later time."

I stifled a sigh. "Okay, fine." I paused, sincerely hoping I wouldn't come to regret this. "I'll help you."

Potter punched a fist in the air, whooping, and I cringed, ducking my head when half the common room looked over. Lupin stared at me, something like sympathy written on his face.

"I hope you know what you're getting into," he said quietly.

I didn't, not at all, but I only shrugged. "Guess I'll find out."

"We'll need to set up meeting times," Potter was saying when I faced him again. "And we'll need a codename for you, and ways to communicate outside of classes—"

"A codename?" I echoed, raising my brows. "Why do I need a codename?"

Potter pointed to himself. "Prongs." He pointed to Black. "Padfoot." Then Pettigrew. "Wormtail." And then Lupin. "Moony."

"Those are ridiculous," I said. Pettigrew looked at me as if I had insulted his mum, but he didn't say anything. "If you're going to give me a codename, at least make it a good one."

"Fine," Potter said, waving his hand. "We'll get back to it. Anyway, we need meeting times and methods of communication, along with places to meet. You're not a Gryffindor, so it'll be tricky. We can't have people asking too many questions."

"So, I'm like a secret Marauder?" I said sarcastically, and Potter grinned.

"Georgie Valentine, Secret Marauder," he said. "It has a nice ring to it."

"I'm glad," I said drily, but a thrill went through me all the same when he said it. It did have a nice ring to it…

"We should probably start wrapping this up," Lupin said suddenly, glancing at the clock over the mantelpiece. I followed his gaze and saw that it was ten o'clock—curfew. I leaped to my feet with a curse.

"Lupin's right," I said. "I have to get back to my common room before anyone notices I'm missing."

"Sirius will take you," Potter said, thrusting the cloak at me. "We'll get back to you later this week to set up our next meeting."

"Right." I watched Black stand up and stretch but averted my eyes when the hem of his shirt came up a little bit. I hoped nobody had noticed me blush. "'Night, then."

Potter and Lupin bid me farewell, but Pettigrew ignored me, which I didn't really count as a loss. Black walked over to me languidly and gestured at the cloak.

"You should put that back on," he said, and I obeyed, still awed when my feet disappeared beneath the cloak. I followed him out of the common room and into the corridor.

"Mr. Black!" the portrait of the Fat Lady exclaimed when he clambered out in front of me. "I should have known. Only you and those other boys you're always with think it's a smart idea to sneak out past curfew."

"Just me tonight," Black said, giving the Fat Lady a jaunty wave before starting down the corridor, leaving her spluttering behind him while I quickly fell into place with him.

"Here," I said when she was out of earshot, holding out some of the cloak. He felt around a bit before finding the fabric and throwing it over his head.

I didn't have much to say, and it seemed he didn't, either, for the walk to Ravenclaw Tower was silent. I found I didn't mind it much, though, content with not speaking, though my heart annoyingly skipped a beat every time his arm brushed mine.

We came to the staircase at the bottom of the tower, and I shimmied out from beneath the cloak as Black momentarily stowed it away.

"Er, thanks for walking me back," I said.

He smirked, that one he used on all the girls to make them do what he wanted, but I looked away quickly, clearing my throat.

"You're welcome," he said, his voice low and husky.

"You can tell Potter I'm free on Saturday night for a meeting," I said, ignoring his tone and the way it made my toes curl. "Goodnight, Black."

I turned to leave, but his voice held me back. "Sirius."

"What?" I said, and he smirked at me again.

"My name's Sirius," he said.

I blinked. "Oh. Right. Er, goodnight, then, Sirius."

His smirk grew wider, and just before he pulled the cloak back on, vanishing from view, he said, "Goodnight, Georgie."

I spent the rest of the night trying to forget how good my name sounded on his tongue.