AN:
I'm back at uni again (graduate study, yay) which means I'm having more fun writing this as procrastination! Good for you, not so good for me, but oh well.
Have the first chapter of my procrastination induced writing binge!
I hope you enjoy!
The new year came and went with typical fanfare and jollity - a word Remus was subsequently banned from ever using again - and soon it was time for the return to Hogwarts. Lily took the Hogwarts Express back up to Scotland, while the Marauders had another idea of transportation. It was big, it was purple, and it nobody in their right mind would use it; that's right, it was the Knight Bus. Frank and Benjy grinned at the Marauders, both clearly having had the idea of getting to Hogwarts as quickly as possible. "New digs?" Frank guessed, glancing out of the window at the abandoned Villebourne chocolate shop.
"Belated Christmas present" James shrugged, eyes twinkling. "We're probably going again at Easter, you're welcome to visit." Remus ate a mouthful of floor as the Bus careened off again, dark hair lifting off his forehead with the force of his sigh.
"I hate you" the werewolf announced, glaring petulantly at James. "Remember the last time we rode the Knight Bus? Didn't we say never again?"
"Expedience, Moony" Sirius smirked, waving his wand. Five more chairs squeezed in on Benjy and Frank's row. "It was the quickest way of getting where we want. In this case, Hogwarts." Remus glared up at the unrepentant dog animagus.
"It's not very bloody expedient if we die, now is it Padfoot?"
"Don't be such a girl, Moony" Sirius grinned playfully, pulling Remus up onto his seat. "You don't see Rosebud complaining."
"And I should automatically be complaining because I'm a girl?" Rose demanded, arching an eyebrow in irritation. Sirius raised his hands in a futile gesture of innocence.
"The Girls complain a lot, Rosebud, that's all I'm saying."
"I might be a girl, Siri, but I'm not a bloody Girl." Although if she were one, maybe he might show more interest.
"Working that one out is going to give me a headache" Benjy decided, running his temples. "Do you lot ever understand each other?"
"Of course" James rolled his eyes. "We're the sodding Marauders, you pillock." Frank inclined his head, looking thoughtful.
"That is a good point."
"See my previous comment" James replied, mischievousness radiating from him.
"Piss off, James" Benjy requested politely, Sirius giving a bark of laughter.
Luckily for Frank and Benjy, the Knight Bus chose that moment to squeal to a stop, catapulting all seven of them down the aisle towards the front. James won the award for best creative swear words yelled while sliding on his face, while both Remus and Sirius favoured quantity over quality, turning the air rather spectacularly blue in front of themselves. Rose picked herself up from the floor, her elbow smarting from banging into the floor - twice. Frank and Benjy were still in a pile on the ground, and none of the Marauders seemed inclined to help their fellow Gryffindors up. Rose stepped gingerly over them, grimacing at the sight of the snow outside. Sirius followed her gaze and smirked. "Baby it's cold outside."
"But you really can't stay." Remus shoved him outside the bus, laughing like a Marauder.
"That really wasn't nice, Moony" Sirius said, a glint in his eyes promising imminent and dire retribution. James tapped them both on the noses.
"Behave."
"Naughty dog" Peter snickered, shrieking like a little girl when Sirius pushed him into the snow. Rose looked pityingly down at him.
"Oh, Pete. Shouldn't you know better by know than to upset Sirius?"
"Prongs does it all the time" Peter protested, quite rightly.
"Yes" Rose agreed cheerfully. "But Prongs is Prongs, and you're not, Wormtail." She offered him a hand up, smiling as he muttered about rat discrimination. "I'd sue if I were you" Rose grinned, Peter looking confused as to what exactly suing was.
"Nice of the Bus to drop us right outside the gates" Frank offered, looking up at Hogwarts looming above them. "I thought we'd have to walk from Hogsmeade."
"Dumbledore was never going to risk that" James dismissed, avoiding looking back at the village. "Not after Death Eaters attacked there."
"Surely Hogsmeade is safe now, James" Rose sighed, ignoring the dubious glares her friends sent her.
"You lot know better than we do" Benjy spoke up tentatively. "But nowhere is really safe these days, is it?"
"Hogwarts is" Remus said definitely. "Dumbledore is still the only wizard Voldemort ever feared, and I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of some of our professors in a duel."
"And then there's us" James added simply, no trace of bragging. "We're fairly good at duelling, and we're only getting better. You both are welcome to join us - a little informal duelling club."
"When and where?" Frank asked, a determined glint in his eyes. James glanced at Sirius, the two having one of their frequent wordless discussions.
"Tonight, the attics."
"Can we bring people?" Benjy wondered, shuffling his feet.
"Nobody from Slytherin" Sirius stated firmly. "Other than that, if they're trustworthy and don't mind listening to Marauders, bring 'em along." Remus blinked at the dog animagus in surprise.
"How very open-minded of you, Padfoot."
"Piss off, Moony."
"Girls" James interrupted gleefully. "Oughtn't we be making our way actually into the castle instead of freezing our arses off in the snow?"
"I don't know, Prongs" Rose replied thoughtfully. "That sounds awfully like the sensible thing to do. We have a reputation to uphold, after all."
"Merlin forbid the Marauders ever be sensible" Frank teased, dragging his trunk forward. "First sign of the apocalypse, that."
"Longbottom's found a sense of humour at last" Sirius praised, clapping sarcastically.
"Yeah" Remus agreed, a mournful tone to his voice. "Pity it's only a sense."
"Alright, you two" James cut in, smothering his chuckles. "Enough mocking the afflicted." Remus looked horrified that James was actually being responsible for once, while Sirius just flipped James the V's and carried on walking. Rose threaded her arms through Remus', towing him along up to the castle.
"C'mon, Rem" she grinned, seeing Sirius easily fall into conversation with James. "I'll get you a hot chocolate inside." Remus glanced down and bumped his shoulder gently into hers.
"Oi, Prongs! We're stopping off in the kitchens."
"Excellent" James rubbed his hands together. "I was just getting a bit peckish."
"I don't want to know" Benjy announced immediately, shaking his blonde head. "We need plausible deniability." Rose looked mock-sadly at Remus.
"Why does everyone always assume that we're up to no good?"
"Because we are the Marauders" James cheered, ruffling his hair proudly. "Mischief, mayhem, that's what we do." Frank cast his gaze up into the sky.
"Merlin help us all."
The Hogwarts attics were large, cavernous, and - for the most part - unofficially completely off limits for students. Luckily the Marauders never payed much attention to stupid rules like that. They did what they wanted, and went where they wanted because they wanted. Seated on a squishy red armchair by a brazier of magical blue fire was Remus. He had his head buried in a book entitled 'Curses and Counter-Curses: What To Do When One Hits You', and was scribbling notes in the margins with a look of intense concentration on his face. Peter was curled up in a nest of pillows and blankets in one of the alcoves, nervously eating Fudge Flies and frantically trying to complete the homework he should have done over the break. James was double-checking the supplies he had secreted away during the course of the day, while Sirius leaned on the wall nearby and heckled him like this was just another day with the Marauders. Rose stretched across an old blue chaise lounge, flipping through an ancient copy of Transfiguration Today before tossing it aside. "I don't think they're going to be coming" Rose announced not long afterwards, dropping her head back onto the armrest. James looked up from his cushion counting and said.
"Give them time, it's still dinner down in the Hall."
"And the attics aren't the easiest places to find on full stomachs" Peter piped up, speaking from experience. Rose inclined her head, conceding the point. Merlin knew, climbing to the top of the Astronomy Tower after dinner wasn't easy. James abandoned his preparations and flopped to the floor near the brazier, picking up the discarded, ancient copy of Transfiguration Today.
"Any new developments in the world of Transfiguration, Prongs?" Sirius asked dryly, well aware that it was an ancient copy.
"Some bloke from France was the youngest ever to successfully attempt the animagus transformation" James smirked, mischief twinkling in his eyes. "37, turned himself into a condor."
"Imagine that" Sirius echoed James's tone. "Only 37."
"I can feel the smugness from here, you two" Remus sighed, pretending to be annoyed.
"Are we smug, Prongs?" Sirius asked, blinking innocently. James tilted his head, clearly mulling it over.
"I think we are, Pads."
"No thought necessary, mate" Remus called. "You lot never bother with it anyway."
"That is a scandalous smear" James huffed, pointedly turning his attention back to the magazine.
"Denial clearly isn't just a river in Egypt" Remus grinned broadly, the other four Marauders facepalmed in reply.
"You're a plonker" Sirius told him seriously, grinning at the finger the werewolf happily displayed.
"Did we come at a bad time?" Rose felt her heart jolt in her chest, then it raced as she met the ground solidly.
"Ouch" she muttered, feeling a burning glare pass over her head. Sirius pulled her to her feet, scanning her critically for injuries. She didn't understand him sometimes. He cared about her and he wanted her, but he didn't. Slow was so boring, the opposite of what he normally went for. Maybe it was just her. "I'm fine, Siri."
"Fenwick won't be in a minute" Sirius growled, Benjy audibly swallowing. James rolled his eyes.
"Honestly, Pads. Relax, would ya?" Rose rested her head on Sirius' shoulder, smiling at the train of people emerging into the attic. Of bloody course Marlene McKinnon would be there; the universe hated her. Rose, that is, not Marlene. The universe loved Marlene - she'd won the bloody genetics lottery.
"Honestly, Frank" Rose sighed. "How many people did you invite?"
"Only people I implicitly trust, Rose" Benjy replied earnestly. Yep, always earnest that was Benjy.
"Fortescue, McKinnon, Evans, MacDonald, Meadowes" James greeted dubiously, waving them in. "Vance, Frank, Lovegood. Who're the other swots?"
"Caradoc Dearborn and Edgar Bones" Remus reported cheerfully. "Caradoc takes Ancient Runes with me, and Edgar's in History of Magic with Rosie."
"At long last, the faces behind the textbooks" James quipped, sharing a smirk with Sirius. "I take it you both know who we are?"
"The morons who willingly faced down Death Eaters in Hogsmeade?" Edgar offered, shaking his blonde hair into place.
"Not our official title, but close enough" Remus smiled, getting to his feet. He looked directly at the Gryffindor Girls and sighed. "Are you sure you really want to be here, Lily?"
"Regrettably, there's no one better to learn Defence from" Lily replied, leaving them in no doubt that if there was, she wouldn't be there.
"Don't let us keep you, Evans" Sirius smirked, leaning against the wall. Rose felt the newly familiar weight in her heart. Since Christmas, it seemed the chasm between the Marauders and Lily had only grown. She hated being stuck in the middle of it all. And in the middle of that, why wouldn't Sirius show more of a bloody interest in her?!
"Sirius." He glanced down at her and sighed, something that might have been regret in his grey eyes.
"Prongs" Sirius invited calmly, ignoring the disbelieving looks from the Girls. "It's your show, mate." James nodded thoughtfully, running his hand through his hair.
"Okay" he announced eventually, startling Benjy and Caradoc from their conversation. "How many of you can summon a real patronus?"
"We're not supposed to look at that until seventh year" Mary said hesitantly, as if afraid of upsetting them.
"So that's five of us" James grinned, not an inconsiserabli trace of smugness in his eyes. "Okay. I can work with that."
"You five can summon corporeal patroni" Edgar stated disbelievingly. "Since when?" James, Sirius and Remus shared a shrug.
"It was, er, third year?"
"Yeah" James nodded wistfully. "Old McGonagall turning into a cat, animagi registry's and patroni."
"Not to mention the, er..." Sirius trailed off, nodding significantly. James grinned widely, a hint of a blush colouring his cheeks.
"Of course, mate. That goes without saying."
"I don't want to know" Edgar decided, shaking his head swiftly. Lily, on the other hand, looked curious.
"You want to see, Lil?" Rose guessed, glad she could still read her twin so easily. Lily nodded slowly, keeping her gaze only on Rose.
"Marauders" James began, tone oddly excited. "Wands at the ready. One, two, three; Expecto Patronum!"
Silence, shocked and a little bit insulting, filled the Attic, Lily's jaw not the only one hanging gormlessly open. Marlene recovered first, head cocked thoughtfully. "Which one's which?"
"Think about it, it'll come to you" James replied, sounding a little irked that it wasn't obvious. Sirius couldn't resist the chance to tease the stag.
"Oh very sharp, Prongs. Be careful you don't cut yourself."
"And a cutting retort there from Padfoot" Remus smirked, for once looking every inch the Marauder.
"Piss off, Moony." All five patroni kept patrolling the Attic, seven pairs of eyes watching every move they made.
"Remus is the wolf" Lily said with certainty.
"And Black's is the dog" Marlene added, Sirius inclining his head in confirmation. Frank looked piercingly at the patroni.
"James, you're the stag?"
"What makes you say that, Frank?" James wondered, giving nothing away.
"They call you Prongs" Frank replied, pointing at the other Marauders. "Antlers, prongs. Makes sense."
"Yes" Sirius agreed, proud.
"I can't see Rosie being a rat" Dorcas mused, glancing at Peter instead. "That's yours, Peter?"
"Canny like a rat, that's me" Peter agreed cheerfully. Lily nodded slowly, almost as if she wasn't quite sure how to react at this further proof of how ahead of their times the Marauders were. Hestia squinted curiously at the fading patroni.
"So, Rosie, you're the horse then?" Rose's patronus popped out of existence in time with her surge of indignation. And she'd been doing so well ignoring the Sirius/Marlene manticore in the room.
"Horse? It's not a horse, Hestia Jones" Rose glared, drawing her wand menacingly. James swore under his breath while Sirius just looked amused. Remus glared pointedly at the dog animagus.
"Padfoot." Sirius rolled his eyes, heaving a sigh that said exactly how put upon he was.
"Rosebud" he said tiredly. "As tempting as it doubtlessly is, you don't want to blow off Jones's head." Rose spun on him, eyes flashing. Normal people would back away, Sirius just raised an amused eyebrow. Bastard.
"A horse? Do I look like my patronus would be a bloody horse to you, Sirius Black?!"
"No love" Sirius replied easily, lounging back as if this was normal. Smug bastard. Smug, bloody gorgeous bastard. "You look like it would be exactly what it is, Rosebud. But you can hardly blame that lot for mistaking your patronus."
"Can and will" Rose sniffed, crossing her arms. Sirius shrugged at Remus, as if saying that that pathetic, half arsed attempt was his only go at this.
"Sirius" Remus growled, a warning note in his voice.
"What do you expect me to do, Moony?" Sirius asked innocently. "I really haven't the foggiest."
"Don't start on him, Remus Lupin" Rose warned, pointing a finger severely at him. "It's those halfwits who clearly don't know their arse from their elbows." She refolded her arms, muttering petulantly. "A bloody horse, Godric."
"It did look like a horse" Marlene piped up, eyes widening at the glare Rose shot her. She was really not in the mood for Miss Perfect Marlene McKinnon. Seeing Marlene again, coupled with the patronus thing had not been the best thing for her fragile temper. Bloody Sirius and the female population of Hogwarts. What did she not have that they did?
"Maybe if you showed them again, Lady Astra?" James suggested peaceably.
"Maybe if you shoved your head up your arse, you could see where they're coming from. Sirius too" Rose added sweetly, not missing Sirius' wince. Excellent, he wasn't playing stupid.
"Rosebud, this really isn't the time or place" Sirius uttered through gritted teeth. "Do we really need to have this conversation again?"
"If we had it at all, I would agree, Sirius" Rose muttered, feeling her irritation abate somewhat.
"I have the feeling that I don't want to know" Frank stated flatly, his hands up in the universally recognised gesture of surrender. Sirius pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing heavily.
"Rose, please." Godric, he sounded exhausted. It was for her ears alone, so the others didn't know how far she'd pushed him. In all their years, he'd only called her that twice before; both when he was furious with her. She sighed to herself but raised her wand, performing the charm one final time. Sirius' eyes twinkled as he watched her patronus gallop around the room, smugness oozing off him at the gobsmacked expressions on the non-Marauders faces.
"That's not a horse" Marlene acknowledged eventually.
"Nope" Rose agreed smugly, feeling an absurd sense of one-upsmanship. Eat that, Marlene.
"What is that?" Alice asked, peering forward curiously.
"That would be a unicorn" Remus grinned, enjoying the jaw-dropping silence that followed. The Marauders all shared a look that said the previous business was forgotten. Sirius murmured his affections in Rose's ear before smirking widely at the group.
"I thought we were here for an informally formal dueling club."
"Huh, and I thought we were here for a formally informal dueling club" James smirked, Sirius cheerfully giving him the finger. Remus caught Rose's eye and smiled, his eyes twinkling as merrily as any mischief-making Marauders.
"If we could get on with it, chaps?" Rose suggested, smiling cheekily at the two best friends. Sirius regarded her a bit like a curious dog, and smirked widely. Whatever he saw clearly made him realise she was no longer mad at him (an impossible feat anyway), and the tension melted off his frame.
"Of course, love" he replied easily, not caring who heard the endearment. "Prongs, are you going to start or should we pencil you in for after we've all come of age."
The dog animagus placed an unusually heavy emphasis on those last three words, Rose probably the only one to understand the annoying but understandable double meaning. She made a face at him but smiled, letting James take over the control of the evening.
"Ha bloody ha, Pads" James sighed, feigning offense. "As I was saying, corporeal patroni are some of the more useful charms you can learn."
"Just get on with it, Prongs" Sirius rolled his eyes. "Before we all die of extreme boredom." James looked at the ceiling, as if praying for patience. It was a look Remus wore often.
"I'm getting there, mate" James assured him. He returned his attention to his not-so-rapt audience. "Now, as I was saying, there are two benefits to having the knowledge of how to cast a corporeal patronus. Any takers?"
"Protection from Dementors" Lily announced immediately, as always the teachers pet.
"Very good, Evans" Sirius drawled, clapping sarcastically. "And the other bonus?" Caradoc tore himself away from whatever riveting conversation he was having with Benjy (Rose remembered now that those two were virtually inseparable despite their different houses), and smiled.
"Communication."
"Excellent" James beamed. "Give the swot a chocolate frog, Moony."
"Piss off, James" Remus replied pleasantly, having no intention of so doing. James shrugged as if he had expected that outcome. Wild hippogriffs couldn't separate that werewolf from his chocolate.
"Now, students, casting a patronus is actually fairly simple-"
"Especially if Wormtail can do it" Sirius interrupted, smirking mischievously.
"Shut it" James said, sliding back into Teacher Mode™ as perfected by Remus Lupin. "Now, as I was saying last year when we started this discussion, all you need to do is find an incandescently happy memory and keep it in the forefront of your mind while you say the incantation."
"Oh" Remus added helpfully. "And it's actually bloody difficult, so don't be surprised if you don't get anything for a while." Dorcas stepped forward, already visibly forming a question.
"The sodding point, as you were about to ask, Dor," Rose continued, smiling at her dormmate. "Is that while bloody difficult, it's also bloody useful. Believe me, you never know when you might need to call for help. Patroni are more than just the means to the end we thought they were."
"What do you mean, means to an end?" Hestia questioned sharply.
"We got tired of debating what our forms would be" Sirius explained calmly, sounding like he was telling the truth. "We learned just to shut Prongs up. Thus, the means to an end." James waved his hand, ending the discussion swiftly.
"If you would like to get started trying to conjure yours, we'll be over there practicing our normal routine."
"Or we could keep an eye on them, make sure they don't overdo it like you and Siri did" Rose hinted, nodding pointedly at Lily. This was a perfect opportunity to mend whatever bridges had been demolished that Christmas. If James didn't cock it up, that is. For once in his life, James seemed to be totally oblivious to the concept of hints. He turned to Rose with a scandalised expression.
"We did not overdo anything, Lady Astra." Rose put her hands on her hips and cocked her head.
"Oh? I beg to differ." She put her hand to her chin in an exaggerated expression of thoughtfulness. "How did thee overdo it? Let me count the ways?"
"Please don't" Benjy muttered, looking torn between amusement and exasperation. Rose spun to face him, pointing severely at the blonde.
"Why aren't you practicing? Didn't Prongs just say to?" Emmeline whistled through her teeth.
"Yeah, you're an Evans" she laughed. "That's Lily's temper there." Sirius chuckled, low and approving. He did appreciate her redheaded temper.
"Just remember; happy thoughts and expecto patronum" Remus counselled, demonstrating one final time. James clapped his hands, shooing them out into the clear space.
"Come on, chop-chop." Sirius rolled his eyes at his pathetic attempt.
"Marvellous teacher you make, Prongs." James manfully ignored him, waving for the students to begin.
Ninety minutes later, frustration was the preeminent emotion in the Attics. Nobody had managed so much as a bit of silver mist, and Edgar ended up punching James in the face after the tenth time he suggested trying for a happier memory. Then, as Rose recalled, Sirius had tapped Egdar on the shoulder and laid him out cold. Once Remus had deigned to renervate him, James complimented Edgar on his form, and told him to try again. That led to an almost wisp of silver, but Sirius said that if it didn't linger, it didn't count. Edgar wasn't best pleased but there was really nothing he could do about it either way. It wasn't corporeal, so it didn't count. "You have to believe that you can do it" Remus taught patiently. "Hold on to your happiest memory, let it fill you, and believe." Marlene ran a hand through her rapidly dishevelling blonde hair and glowered at the werewolf.
"It's easy for you to say. You've been doing this for years!"
"Okay, okay!" James interrupted, hands up defensively. "New plan. Pair up and practice basic duelling. We'll wander around and advise." Sirius glanced at his watch, a frown pulling at his features.
"We've only got an hour, Prongs, before Dearborn has to go on patrol."
"Then we'll make the most of it" James replied, as easily as if they were having a quidditch practice - which was actually tomorrow night. "Dearborn, Benjy, you're over there. Frank, Bones, the other side. McKinnon, Meadows to that side. Fortescue, Evans, you know where to go. Vance, Jones, way over there. And Lovegood, MacDonald to their right."
The duelling practice went better than the patroni experiment. Frank had chosen what looked to be the cream of their year - all of whom could handle themselves. By the end of the hour, bruises were fairly distributed, and James had admitted his reluctant approval. They made plans to meet again on Saturday night, quidditch and homework allowing (the latter only by Lily's glare and Remus' persuasion), and James dismissed the newcomers. It was then that James pulled out the big guns, referring to their meticulously compiled list of auror grade defensive and offensive spells. Sirius pulled out their range of magically protected practice dummies, smirking at the makeover James had given them while bored. All five of them looked like Snivelly, and each was wearing a variation on Augusta Longbottom's usual wardrobe. Sirius' dummy was in bright pink, Peter's in lime green polka dots, Remus' was in a rather fetching shade of Paisley, James's was vomit-coloured, and Roses was in the most awful tie-dye she had ever seen. The awfulness of their dummies helped greatly in their desire to inflict them with horrible spells, and by the time James called the night to a close, they were all rather proud of their efforts. Remus waved his wand and the dummies went back to normal, the Attics tidying themselves so that nobody would know that the Marauders had even been there at all.
Thank you for reading! And for being patient with me.
Next up... The war casts a shadow over Hogwarts. The Marauders have had enough.