AN:
So I'm back. Hope everyone is feeling okay.
As promised, Rose and Lily's birthday. A good day in Hogsmeade. And I might have borrowed characters from a British comedy. I still own absolutely nothing.
For the majority of the wizarding world, the thirtieth of January was a fairly ordinary day, all things considered. This was not the case for the Marauders, or Lily Evans. In fact, this day in 1977 was considered quite special. For this was the day that Lily and Rose Evans turned seventeen and came of age. It was also, through the shameless bribery of the Marauders, an impromptu Hogsmeade weekend. Bright and early that Sunday morning, the Marauders (who frankly would have gone to Hogsmeade with or without permission, which was why the entire school was allowed) joined the throng of students shivering in the cold but sunny winter air. Lily and the Girls (Marlene, Mary, Dorcas, Hestia, Emmeline and Alice) walked a few yards ahead of them, their laughter carrying in the air. Sirius sarcastically imitated them, grey eyes rolling in direct contravention of the established laws of physics. Today, he had chosen to commemorate the occasion by donning his typical black jeans/black leather jacket combo paired with a Queen concert t-shirt. James was similarly attired in his favourite Beatles shirt, brown leather jacket and stonewashed jeans. Peter was wrapped up like an Eskimo, huddled deep into his cloak, teeth chattering helplessly. Remus looked warm and toasty in his sky blue jumper (cashmere, his sixteenth birthday present from Rose) and black trousers, Gryffindor scarf around his neck and a beanie on his head. And Rose strolled along in her favourite purple cords, Aladdin Sane t-shirt, and a slightly large snow white jumper. Sirius wrapped his arm around her waist, smiling warmly. "You'll love being of age, Rosebud" he bubbled cheerfully. "You can do whatever you like and not be worried about age restriction." James glowered half-heartedly.
"Yeah, yeah. Rub it in why don't you, Padfoot?" Sirius' smirk could've driven saints to sin.
"I thought I was."
"No bickering on my birthday, chaps" Rose grinned, bouncing ahead a little in her excitement. Most of the day was theirs to enjoy alone. And they planned to erase their horrible luck with seventeenth birthday Hogsmeade days with today's outing. The Marauders were going to meet up with the Girls around fourish at the Three Broomsticks' private room to have a birthday party for Lily and Rose - something Rose only knew about because Peter couldn't keep a secret and Marlene needed someone who could actually make Sirius promise to behave himself. Luckily, it was a Marauder rule that anyone who ruined a Marauder's birthday was subjected to horrible punishments. So, Rose knew that Sirius would at least try and behave - for her sake if nothing else. It was one of the many things she loved about him, infuriating as he was. Remus shook his head fondly at the renewed bickering between James and Sirius, pulling out his new copy of Bedlam and Broomsticks: A Study of Quidditch Hooliganism in Medieval Europe. Only Remus Lupin could walk into Hogsmeade with his head buried in a dry book, and actually enjoy it. He was unique that way. Unique here having the meaning of totally weird. But, then again, they were the Marauders, so how could they judge?
Not a moment too soon, the Marauders reached Hogsmeade, the village looking exactly as it had before the Death Eaters had descended upon it. It was comforting and eerie at the same time. Fortunately, that was comforting to the Marauders, who were more than used to eerie feelings; being the top students of the school, and knowing about a wizarding war tended to have that effect, even on pranksters. In typical Marauder fashion, they ignored everyone who was staring at them, and waltzed right up to the doors of Honeydukes, Remus rubbing his hands together eagerly. That werewolf did love his chocolate. Several fourth year Slytherins shuffled away from them as they entered, casting wary looks at the students who had caused them literal hell for the past few weeks. Remus spent a good ten minutes selecting his next stash of chocolate, his basket overflowing with dozens of bars of Honeydukes Best, boxes of Chocolate Frogs, chocolate truffles, Chocolate Snitches, and anything else that promised a high enough chocolate content to appease a hungry werewolf. Peter, by contrast, was lightning fast; gathering his Fudge Flies and Jelly Slugs with an ease born of repetition and selective taste. James and Sirius loitered by the specialty section, smirks on their faces as they appraised Acid Pops, Cockroach Clusters, Snotbert Fountains, and Trickle Tarts. To be fair, they did also have a respectable amount of chocolate, liquorice wands, Ice Mice and Pepper Imps in their baskets, so nobody was really complaining. Rose just smiled and stocked up on her Chocoballs and Sugar Quills, content to leave it at that. A path miraculously cleared to the counter, James grinning superiorly as the crowd parted.
From there, it was on to Zonko's, Sirius buying a foul-mouthed, back-talking cauldron, while Remus and Peter stocked up on the classics (dungbombs, stink pellets, itching powder, that sort of thing), and James browsed the aisles of prank potions, looking for inspiration. Rose went and picked up a few gag wands and biting teacups (her father thought they were hilarious), and laughed aloud at a new magical wall plate. It seemed to pick up on whatever you were thinking negatively of (Slytherins, for example) and then insulted it a bit like the Marauders Map would if someone tried to read it without the proper password. James took one look and gleefully added it to the expanding pile in his arms, his most mischievous smirk dominating his face. Several impressionable third years backed slowly out of the shop, wary of that look anywhere on James Potter's face. Experience had taught Hogwarts not to interrupt the Marauders in Zonko's, or anywhere really. It just led to wishing you'd never done it in the first place. James just looked smug and carried on browsing. Sirius levitated a cart full of purchases, giving James a smirk that clearly said he was winning whatever game they were playing. Rose was just happy that they were able to have fun here without the Death Eaters ruining it. "Padfoot?" Peter called hopefully, his voice echoing through the shop. Sirius rolled his eyes but went to see what he wanted; occasionally he found a hidden treasure for pranking. James threw an arm around Rose's shoulders, grinning broadly.
"So, Rosie, what do you want for your birthday?"
"Voldemort's head stuffed and mounted on a wall like the Black family House Elves?" James choked on thin air and then burst into laughter.
"Oh, we should be so lucky."
"But we have to applaud your inventiveness, Rosie" Remus added, rolling his eyes at James.
"And I'm sure Walburga is touched that you wish to emulate her favourite pastime" Sirius smirked, leaning casually against the wall.
"When there's flair, there's flair" Rose shrugged elegantly, her eyes twinkling with mischief.
"Psychotic flair, Rosebud." She smirked innocently.
"I never challenged that assertion, love."
"True" Remus inclined his head thoughtfully. "She didn't." Sirius rolled his eyes fondly.
"Shut up, Moony." Remus smirked like the little shit he certainly was.
"Your wish is not my command, Padfoot."
"How about a heartfelt plea?"
"Marauders don't really go in for that sort of thing, mate" James offered, clapping his shoulder in commiseration.
"Brilliant" Sirius muttered sarcastically.
They left Zonko's and strolled down the lane, grinning at their fellow students, many of whom looked worried for their safety. Honestly, it was as if they had learned that the Marauders and prank shops meant trouble. It was a horrible allegation. And completely true. Remus dragged them into Gladrags Wizarding Wear, insisting that James finally buy more dress robes (his old ones having been sacrificed during the course of an epic upcoming prank on Slughorn. James, naturally, grumbled throughout the entire process, Peter submitting quietly nearby. Sirius kept up a running commentary about how much of a berk each of them looked, while Remus ducked out to Tomes and Scrolls (the only time he actually had to do so), and Rose pretended not to know any of them. That worked until one of the saleswitches tried flirting with Sirius, James and Peter all pointed cheerfully at her. For her part, Rose didn't so much as blink. She was far too used to people flirting with Sirius to really notice anymore (come on, he was gorgeous), and while Sirius flirted as naturally as breathing, she knew that he was far too loyal and faithful to ever make anything out of it. Harmless flirting, thy name was Sirius Black. As Remus came back in, burdened by the weight of several new books, James and Peter paid for their robes, and they all tottered back out into the bitter wind. "Where next?" James asked overly innocently. Rose caught his look and smirked wickedly.
"Madame Puddifoot's?" Sirius stopped dead in the middle of the road.
"Over my dead body" the dog animagus bit out, tone flat and unrelenting. James slung an arm over his shoulder, grinning consolingly.
"What's wrong with Puddifoot's?" Peter asked, subtly winking at Rose behind Sirius' back. "I thought it was supposed to be very romantic there."
"Exactly!" Sirius shuddered dramatically. "The infernal place looks like Valentine's Day vomited there and everyone thought it would be a brilliant idea to let it fester for millennia." Remus coughed, amused.
"I thought that you had got over your crippling fear of relationships, Padfoot?" Remus asked dryly. Sirius nodded agreeably.
"Oh, I did" he assured their resident werewolf. "But it's so sickeningly sweet in there, I keep half expecting Cary Grant to pop in, or James to use the place for inspiration for getting Evans to go out with him." James's head snapped up hopefully. Yet another idea of how to woo Rose's sister popping into his head.
"Do you think that would work?" Sirius growled and slapped the back of his head.
"No!"
"Besides" Remus added thoughtfully. "Haven't you given up on getting Lily to go out with you?"
"It's been years, she still hates your toerag guts" Rose smirked, consciously echoing his words from over the summer. James shot her a deadly glare.
"If it wasn't your birthday, Astra-"
"But it is" Remus and Sirius replied in unison. James threw his hands up in annoyance.
"I just bloody give up" he muttered tiredly. "You're both arseholes."
"Marauders, mate" Sirius corrected cheerfully, loping along with his usual grace. "Marauders."
"We've been to Honeydukes and Zonko's and Gladrags" Rose said eventually, hoping to get James out of his sulk. "The Broomsticks is later, Siri won't set foot in Puddifoot's-"
"Very amusing, Rosebud" Sirius smirked, winking at his reflection in the glass of Schrivenschaft's.
"Thank you" Rose smiled, happily continuing. "Where to next?"
"We haven't been up by the shack for a while" James suggested, Remus cutting him a glare.
"And we won't in this frigid weather."
"Rem has a point" Rose admitted, shivering a little. It was cold out. "We could go and see Abe."
"I love the way you think" James grinned, the sparkle coming back to his hazel eyes. "All in favour of the Hogs Head?"
"Motion carried and passed" Sirius decided, clapping his hands quickly. "Let's go."
"The Marauders coming to see him when we're actually allowed to" Remus stated mischeviously. "He'll never know what to do with himself." James narrowed his eyes playfully.
"I know what you can go do with yourself, Moony." Remus heaved a regretful sigh and pushed a laughing James into the nearest snowdrift, Peter falling in after him as he lost control of his giggles. Rose rolled her eyes at the idiots she called her friends.
"Remember boys, we're supposed to be here celebrating my birthday" she chided gently. "Try not to ruin it for me."
"We know" James sighed, put upon. "If we upset you today, or really any day really, Padfoot and/or Moony are/is entitled to make our lives living miseries, and can generally do their very best to incentivise us never to do so again." He smirked at Sirius, who gave new meaning to playfully unamused. "Did I get that right, Pads?"
"Actually" Remus interrupted cheerily. "I do believe Padfoot said that if we upset Rosie today, our lives won't even be worth doxy droppings."
"So I embellished a little bit" James grumbled, hazel eyes dancing. "Jinx me."
"Don't tempt us" Peter called, grinning at the shock that came from James.
"Why you impudent little git" James glared, shaking his head at him.
"Marauder" Peter sang cheerfully, dancing ahead with a sort of casual ease. He had rarely looked so comfortable with himself, and the sight made Rose beam brilliantly. Everything was coming up Marauder for a change.
For the first time in Marauder memory, the Hogs Head was closed. The door was bolted, the windows were shut, and the grouchy landlord was nowhere to be seen. James was immediately on guard. His hazel eyes flickered suspiciously around the pub, wordlessly conversing with Sirius. At a nod from the dog animagus, James removed his invisibility cloak and slipped underneath it, Peter following in his Wormtail rat body. There was a mere flicker of movement, then Sirius disappeared as well, Remus and Rose alone in the snow. The werewolf huffed a breath, fogging the air in front of him. "Isn't that just bloody typical?" Remus demanded, irritation hiding in his voice. "They get to faff off into the warmth, while we freeze our knackers off in his bloody cold!"
"I hate to break it to you, Rem" Rose giggled, shaking her head fondly. "But I don't have any knackers to freeze."
"Anatomically, you're correct, Rosie" Remus sniffed, going from one foot to the next in an effort to stay warm. "But, that doesn't change the fact that it's bloody freezing!"
"Come on then" Rose offered, feeling the cold herself. "Let's go to round to Sid's. The boys'll find us there when they're finished being nosy, and you know it's always nice and warm in there."
"And we could murder a cup of tea?" Remus suggested, rubbing his gloved hands together. "Yes, let's." His eyes lit up at a thought. "Maybe Ivy'll be tempted to put out some chips for us. Favourite customers that we are." Rose liked what he was thinking.
"Maybe" she grinned, the two leaving the Hogs Head in their wake.
Once safely inside Sid's Cafe, the two Marauders sank into their usual chairs, grateful for the warmth. Remus had not been exaggerating when he said it was freezing outside. Rose actually loved the cold, but more for cuddling up and getting warm than any real preference. Wrapping her hands around the absurdly large deep purple mug, Rose hummed contently. Across from her, Remus did much the same, his eyes twinkling as he eagerly started their usual conversation topic; the finer plot points of Sherlock Holmes. Suddenly, he pinned her with his sharpest look. "How're your parents taking everything?" Rose smiled sadly. If only she really knew.
"Mum's throwing herself into helping Tuney plan her wedding to the Walrus" Rose made a face at the thought of being legally related to that. "Dad's worried. Worried about Lil and me, and you lot. But he hides it well; his letters are so light and optimistic, complaining about why he should have to have any input on the most boring wedding ever."
"He trusts us" Remus murmured, leaning forward with his hands on his knees. Rose scoffed lightly.
"He trusts you and James and Siri to be ridiculously overprotective of me, as you have been ever since that unfortunate incident on Sirius' birthday." Remus had the decency to wince.
"To be fair, Rosie, we all feel guilty about the Hogsmeade Incident." Rose rolled her eyes.
"When you say it, Rem, it sounds like a bloody tabloid headline."
"Front page of the Daily Prophet" Sid's distinctive Yorkshire accent informed them playfully. "Eye-catching but total bollocks. They barely got a single detail right." He nodded at them, eyes crinkling proudly. "You did bloody well defending us all, despite the damage to public property."
"What can we say" Remus shrugged, grinning widely. "We're the Marauders. We live to make an impression."
"And it was the mask-wearing murdering maniacs that actually destroyed the public property" Rose added innocently, neglecting to remember her own incendio spell and when she sent Bellatrix flying into the wall of the Broomsticks. That was fun though.
"We wouldn't worry about what the Prophet thinks to print, Sid" Remus grinned easily. "Half the time they wouldn't know their arse from their elbows without printing the retractions in their next issue."
"In my forty years in the wizarding world, I've never known a reputable journalist" Sid agreed, shuddering at his wife's yell. "Coming Dearest!"
"Poor Sid" Rose sympathised, watching the broad departing back. Remus shook his head at her, his eyes laughing, even as Sid groaned. It was clearly that time of the day again, the cheerful bell tingling with the arrival of three aging wizards in varying states of shabbiness. First in was the well-dressed owner of Tomes and Scrolls, a Mr Norman Clegg. He was followed in by the severe and absent minded owner of Schrivenschafts, Foggy Dewhurst, and the self-professed 'tatty little Herbert' Compo Seminite (aka, the shadow owner of Zonkos, though very few people knew that). The trio were also something of a fond legend in certain corners of Hogwarts portraiture.
"Three cups of your weasel pee tea, and three sticky buns, ta Sid" Compo requested, leaning on the countertop. As usual, the trio continued whatever it was they were bickering about today, laughter erupting from their usual table. Rose privately hoped that the Marauders would be something like that when they got old - if they lived to see old age.
"Don't worry, Astra" Remus smiled fondly, setting aside his book. "We'll be worse than that lot. You can guarantee it, Padfoot and Prongs wouldn't have it any other way."
"We'll probably end up shuffling along Diagon Alley in our bathrobes or something" Rose grinned, Remus' lips twitching as he clearly imagined it. Poor Rem.
"We'll be the best pranksters of the Sunny Spells Wizarding Care Home" the werewolf chuckled, cheeks ruddy. "Prongs'll hide all the walking sticks, Pads'll run off with the medication, Wormy'll nick all the slippers while they're asleep, I'll probably be in charge of enchanting all the bedpans to insult people, and you'll be stuck conning people that we're not even remotely to blame."
"That's worryingly well thought out, Rem" Rose teased, hiding her smile behind her tea cup. Remus poked his tongue out at her, unashamedly opening a bar of Honeydukes Best to snack on. Rose was proud he'd lasted as long as he had with that much temptation around. Speaking of temptation. "What do you think they're up to?" Remus didn't even pretend not to know what she was talking about.
"Probably either searching for whatever they think has gone wrong, or they're shamelessly eavesdropping on whatever Abe is up to in there." Remus shrugged easily. "I wouldn't worry, Rosie. They'll be back when they're ready."
"That's what's worrying me, Rem." Remus smiled gently at her, eyes understanding.
"Pete might actually have the spine of a flobberworm, but he won't let them do anything too spectacularly moronic."
"Moony" Rose sighed pityingly. Poor naïve soul. "Even I couldn't stop Sirius Black from doing something spectacularly stupid. Only James could, and he's his sodding enabler."
"I resent that implication" James announced, Remus jumping violently in his chair. The stag animagus grinned and flopped down into a free armchair. "Pads is as much of a bad influence as I am."
"And if you don't want me to do something, my darling Rosebud, all you have to do is ask" Sirius added, lounging casually on his own chair.
"And risk you resenting me for ruining your fun?" Rose shook her head sadly. "We both know that I couldn't live with that."
"Just as we both know that I'm incapable of ever resenting you, my darling Rosebud" Sirius murmured softly. She smiled just a little, eyes twinkling at him.
"So what was Abe up to?" Remus wondered curiously, neither Sirius nor Rose missing the nauseated look that the other Marauders had shared beforehand. Tough titties, as James was wont to say.
"I promise we'll tell you later" James swore solemnly. "It's nothing bad necessarily, but it's definitely not something that we need overshadowing your birthday, Astra."
"We don't want to take anything away from your seventeenth, love" Sirius clarified, smiling warmly. "Is that Ivy's chips I smell?" Rose smiled innocently.
"Fancy some lunch, boys?"
"I could eat" Peter grinned, rubbing his hands together.
"You could always eat, Pete" James groaned, looking eager at the thought of food himself.
"I'm a growing lad, Mum says" Peter shrugged, his eyes twinkling. "It's normal for me to always be hungry."
"Yeah, it has nothing to do with the fact you're a rat, eh Peter?" Peter offered him a look that was dripping with offended disdain.
"No, Padfoot, it doesn't."
Four o'clock came far too soon, the Marauders having whiled away the afternoon in Sid's Cafe. Nonetheless, they still braved the bitter wind of Hogsmeade's high street, running for the Three Broomsticks. It was a scene that had been repeated many times; the Marauders falling into the Broomsticks, James and Sirius flirting with Rosmerta, then the quintet retiring to a warm private room where they plotted all kinds of mischief and mayhem. Rose watched the two of them, both clearly chuffed that they had neatly avoided explaining where in the name of Merlin's newts they had been. Dorcas met them at the bar, butterbeers already waiting on the bar top. Remus gallantly led the way into the private room, where Lily was talking happily with Marlene, while the rest of the girls sat around and did whatever it was that they actually did. Lily noticed them first and smiled. "Since we don't want to miss curfew, shall we get started?"
"Missing curfew can be fun, Lil" Rose grinned, but she took her seat anyway. It took a matter of seconds to gather the presents from wherever they'd been hidden. From the Girls, Rose received a large collection of sweets, while Lily got the same but from the Marauders. Alice gave Lily a new quill she'd been wanting for months (yet never actually bought for herself), while Marlene gifted her a delicate bracelet. Mary and Dorcas' gift was a collection of photographs spanning the seventeen years of Lily's life up until now, while Emmeline and Hestia offered a huge pile of books Rose couldn't even make the titles out on. Seeing the collection of gifts, Lily looked touched, while Rose felt relieved that a) her sister's day was going well, and b) nobody had thought to give her what Rose had. With that, Rose handed over a small box wrapped in bright gold (Gryffindor colours, of course). "Jamie says it's tradition for the family of a witch or wizard to give them a watch for their seventeenth" Rose explained, grinning at her stunned sister. "So, happy birthday, Lil."
"It's beautiful, Rosie" Lily managed, smiling brilliantly with her emerald eyes. With a slightly shaking hand, she put the watch on, and then pulled out a long box decorated with red lighting bolts. Aladdin Sane wrapping paper, Rose couldn't help but peel it off very carefully. She could feel Sirius' amusement in the air.
"Are you actually saving the sodding wrapping paper, Rosebud?" Rose calmly ignored him, her eyes instead locked on the interior of the box.
"Platform shoes, Lil?" Rose was speechless. Lily had always seemed to hate them with a fiery passion. Lily shrugged easily.
"With your David Bowie obsession, I figured it was about time you scandalised Tuney wearing some."
"You do realise that she'll be wearing those around Hogwarts, now?" Marlene shuddered, pretending to be horrified by the thought.
"Thanks for the obvious fact, Marlene" Rose rolled her eyes cheerfully. Peter cleared his throat and handed over a long, thin tube simply wrapped in a purple ribbon.
"I know it's not much, but we were in muggle London and I thought, why not?" Peter explained before Rose even had a chance to open the thing. In Rose's opinion, Peter really needed more confidence in himself, because it was perfect. A full colour poster of Bowie's alien alter-ego from The Man Who Fell To Earth. Words were inadequate, so she hugged him instead. Remus broke from the Bowie-inspired mold and presented her with a box wrapped in soft tissue paper.
"In case you're wondering, I checked with Padfoot first, so you don't have to worry about him killing me for this." It was a beautiful golden star, dusted lightly with diamond dust that caught the light. Remus shrugged self-consciously. "Prongs helped charm it with our Marauder-invented instant apparition spell."
"It's beautiful, Rem" she smiled, getting the werewolf to help her put it on. It was James who, blushing slightly, presented Rose with her Of Age watch. The simple engraving read; Mischief Managed. "Prongs, you really didn't have to."
"Yes, I did" James corrected, nodding once. "Marauders are family, therefore it was my job to do it." His hazel eyes sparkled behind his glasses. "And my pleasure." Rose smiled, leaning forward to kiss him on the cheek.
"All this fluffy crap is going to give me toothache" Sirius grumbled, though his eyes belied his happiness. "Happy birthday, Rosebud." With that, he handed over a familiarly shaped package; square, thin and wrapped in gold and scarlet. She grinned and tore off the paper, and then blinked. Rose was stunned. Gobsmacked. She didn't know what to say. It was perfect. It was wonderful. It was Bowie. Low. The brand new album she forgot had even come out (and seriously how had she managed to do that?). Sirius understood her, and nodded once, eyes glittering. He clapped his hands once and smirked. "I'm thinking, it's time to get good and drunk."
"In your world, maybe, Black" Lily glared. "But not in this one. It's time to get back to the castle."
"Nuts to the castle" Peter protested, waving his bottle in the air. "If we go back, we have to start behaving and learning and doing homework." He shuddered dramatically. "Don't end our freedom so cruelly."
"Don't be so dramatic, Pete" Remus sighed, eyes twinkling. "When do you lot do your homework, anyway?"
"It's the principle of the thing, my dear Moony" James said cheerfully. "If we don't make a stand for the Draconian practices in force at Hogwarts, who will?" Remus raised a dry eyebrow.
"I wasn't aware such a stand needed to be made, Prongs." James gaped at his audacity.
"Such stands always have to be made, my good man. We are the Marauders. It's our calling."
"I thought that was mischief, mayhem, and troublemaking" Rose suggested innocently. James flapped a hand at her.
"Yes, yes" he dismissed. "But what of our true callings? To end homework wherever we find it? To eradicate tedious learning? To boldly refuse to go where morons go to learn?" James looked pointedly around at them all. "What about that, eh?" Sirius sent a patience-seeking gaze at the ceiling, and reached around to slap the back of James's messy head.
"Shut up, Prongs." James's offended squawk sent them into gales of laughter, just as it should have. Rose leaned back in her chair, sharing a rare smile with Lily. For once, oh this glorious once, everything was right in their world. Long may it last.
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