AN:
I'm back! Hello. I hope everyone is doing well, in isolation or not as the case may be.
In true style, as soon as I finally have some time to write, I lose all inspiration, but I forced this out and I hope it'll turn out okay.
Please enjoy!
Life at Hogwarts fell into normal patterns, as it always did. There were pranks and illicit parties, quidditch practices and midnight raids on the unsuspecting kitchens. But, there was also something else, hiding away underneath all the fun and merriment. By the beginning of February, the war had invaded the halls and corridors of Hogwarts. It started innocently enough, the day that Mulciber returned to Hogwarts after serving his lengthy suspension for suspected use of the imperius curse on a fellow student (AKA Mary MacDonald). Bright and early on February 1, he stepped into the Great Hall to a heroes welcome from the Slytherin Table. Mary turned paler than Nearly Headless Nick and all but ran from the Hall with her friends surrounding her. In a normal world, that would be that. However, the wizarding world was anything but normal, and the wizarding world at war was another thing entirely. By some curious quirk of fate, the Marauders had decided to join the student population for breakfast for once, rather than grabbing snacks from the kitchens between classes. That meant they had virtually front row seats to the worrisome inaugural gathering of the Slytherin Snakes Acting Suspiciously Society. Mulciber, Avery, Nott, Goyle, Rowle, Narcissa Black, Regulus Black, Aubrey, and of course Snivellus, all were in attendance, among others. James muttered that they might as well call them the Future Death Eaters Society and have done with it. Sirius was less sanguine about it, but agreed that the principle was correct. Remus suggested bringing their concerns to McGonagall, but quickly dismissed his own point. "She'll just say that saying they're Slytherins that are acting suspiciously is not enough to go on."
"Which is incredibly unfair and hypocritical, if you think about it" James observed, still watching the SSASS. "I mean, whenever there's mischief, mayhem, and general up to no good things going on, who's the ones she always blames?"
"Us!" Peter piped up, nodding his agreement.
"Dashed unfair, it really is" James sighed, running his hands through his hair. "There's nothing for it. Give it a week, then we'll hit 'em where it hurts."
"Meaning we don't know quite what they're up to, but we're going to find out" Sirius smirked wickedly. Rose shared a concerned glance with Remus. When it came to the Slytherins, neither James nor Sirius could ever be accused of acting rationally. To top it all off, they were still going ahead with the highly potentially dangerous Snape prank on the next Full Moon. Rose wondered how much more trouble they were going to get themselves into before they got expelled. Sure, James was going to make sure that Snivellius didn't get hurt, and Sirius was on Moony wrangling duty that night, but adding risking their secret on top of whatever this new thing with the slimy Snakes was? Rose was no longer sure that this petty revenge against Snape was worth it. Remus looked at his watch and sighed.
"We're going to be late for Potions."
"As if you care" Sirius scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You hate Potions."
"No, Padfoot, I'm rubbish at it, there's a difference" Remus said with all the carefulness of someone explaining something very simple to a very small child. "When you know you're rubbish at something, you do actually want to get better at it."
"Wouldn't know" Sirius shrugged arrogantly. "I'm not rubbish at anything."
"History of Magic?" Rose suggested, grinning at Remus in solidarity. Best friends stuck together, after all. "Or turning up to class on time?" Sirius narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously.
"I see how it is" he huffed, nudging into James a little. "I am hurt that you would side with Moony instead of me, Rosebud. Prongs, back me up here."
"Marauders are not rubbish at anything, Moony" James sniffed superiorly. "We are the Marauders, my Godric man! To be a Marauder is to not be rubbish at things. As a unit, there is nothing that we could ever possibly even contrive to be rubbish at." James grinned at his Marauder cheerleading. "I will admit, you are total pants at Potions, Moony, but Pads makes up for that. And yes, Lady Astra, Padfoot is a useless arse when it comes to History of Magic, which is why anyone with common sense dumped the class as soon as was wizardingly possible." Rose narrowed her eyes dangerously. "And, it's also why you - who clearly have more common sense than any of us (despite the idiocy of willingly dating my best mate), are brilliant at it. And maybe we're not the most mature of students, but Moony more than makes up for that." Sirius snorted around a piece of jam and toast, rolling his eyes at James.
"Nice save, Prongs."
"Ta."
"It was actually a rather pathetic save, Prongs" Remus informed him brightly. "Really quite awful."
"Should we perhaps proceed to the Potions classroom?" Peter asked, grinning at his abnormal verbosity.
"It's not like we've actually got anything better to do" James brightly confirmed, pushing himself to his feet. "Come on, you lot, time to go torment Slughorn again."
"Joy." Sirius rolled his eyes but followed James out of the Hall.
Sirius loped down the corridor, humming Bohemian Rhapsody and smirking at the Slytherin students assembled outside the door to the Slugs dungeon. It was pretty much Marauder SOP; divert, distract and discombobulate. Not that they ever really needed to try; they had that confusion lark down pat. The line of Slytherin students waiting outside the dungeons glared as the Marauders joined their fellow Gryffindors on the other side of the corridor. "Morning dipshits" Sirius smirked, leaning casually against the wall.
"Ready to have your scaly arses handed to you at quidditch?" James added brightly.
"James, don't mock" Rose chided, maintaining a solemn expression only through years of practice. "They already know they're useless and don't stand a snowballs chance in hell; you shouldn't upset their fragile-" Rose frowned. "What's that word I'm looking for, Moony?" Remus made a show of thinking.
"Sanities?"
"They lost those a long time ago, Moony" Sirius smirked, fury spreading over the Slytherin faces. "Along with dignity, self-respect, morals, humanity - I could go on."
"We are going to beat them at quidditch" Benjy muttered to Frank in a rather carrying whisper. "The last time Slytherin beat us was 1971, then we joined the team." A proud grin. "Slytherin haven't beaten us since."
"How can you defeat us if you cannot play?" Rowle, never the sharpest tool in the box, managed to look faintly menacing. Or at least he would have, if the Marauders hadn't been survivors of facing actual Death Eaters. After that, Rowle was about as menacing as Wormtail.
"Threat" Peter piped up, half hidden behind a livid James. Rose inwardly sighed, feeling her internal point more than made. James peered thoughtfully at the assembled Slytherin goons.
"I don't know, Wormtail. Was that a threat? Do you feel threatened, Pads?"
"By that lot?" Sirius scoffed, looking so disgusted at the very idea that Hestia and Emmeline laughed. "Never." Mulciber sneered cruelly (some people never learned), and drew his wand. The unfortunate stick flew out of his hand at a mere flick of James's. The stag copied Sirius' almost careless pose.
"Didn't your mother ever tell you; it's rude to draw your wand on your betters." Mulciber growled at the implication that the Marauders (containing Rose, the mudblood) were his betters. The Marauders cared about that about as much as they cared about the well-being of fungal infections. In fact, if pressed they would undoubtedly be more concerned about the fungal infection than Mulciber.
"Not to mention that it's illegal to duel in the corridors" Remus added like the rule-abiding prefect he was. Some of the time. Five maybe ten percent. When it suited them. "As a Gryffindor prefect, it is my sworn duty to punish any attempts at any such transgressions so against the meticulous rules painstakingly crafted by this illustrious institution." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, mischief dancing in his eyes. "Therefore, that will be ten points from you, Rowle, for threatening a fellow student-"
"Tut, tut." James wagged his finger in mock disappointment. Remus visibly fought to retain his composure, but managed to continue in the face of it.
"And, I think another ten points taken and a detention, Mulciber, for the attempted duelling in the corridors." He glanced innocently across at Lily. "Do you concur?"
"Sounds lenient to me" Lily glowered, James looking glad to see the expression directed at someone else for a change. "But I wouldn't dream of correcting your judgement, Remus." Mulciber charged forward, Sirius lazily erecting a shield that caused him to bounce off.
"Temper, temper" Sirius chided, looking quietly gleeful about the entire situation. "Only just back from suspension, what will your parents have to say?"
"I don't think they'll care as long as I take the mudblood with me" Mulciber sneered, James restraining Sirius from punching the bastard as he clearly wanted to.
"I'm sorry" Rose smiled sweetly - never a good sign to someone who knew her. "To which of us were you referring?" Luckily, for the future of Mulciber's ability to contribute to the inbred pure blood gene pool, the dungeon door chose that moment to open, Slughorn calling them in.
The slug looked his normal, jolly self, mustache covered with sugar from crystallised pineapple. But that wasn't what caught the class's attention. What did was the glorious smell coming from the cauldron on his desk. They breathed in deeply, unconsciously relaxing into their seats. Rose smelt home and Sirius. She was vaguely confused. As far as she was aware, there was no potion that smelled like that. "Amortentia" Sirius guessed, looking singularly unimpressed. Only Sirius Black could have pulled that off.
"Very good, Mr Black" Slughorn praised, lip ferret wobbling, sugar cascading down like dandruff. "Would you mind sharing with the class how you reached that conclusion?" Sirius rolled his eyes but obliged.
"The smell. As far as I am aware, there is no other potion that smells like the things we most love the scent of."
"Such as?" Now the Slug looked curious, a strange expression to be directed at a Marauder, especially Sirius. The dog animagus glanced at him, then visibly shrugged. Nonchalance appeared in his eyes, his tone reflecting his mood.
"My motorbike, the Forest at night, roses, camomile, rain" Sirius shrugged carelessly. "A few other, unimportant things."
"Books, chocolate, a mix that means family" Remus added, never leaving a Marauder out to dry. One for all and all that French musketeer stuff.
"Sunshine, ink, broomstick polish, flowers, mischief" James listed almost immediately afterwards. His eyes flickered briefly towards Lily, but she was almost certain that only the other Marauders noticed it.
"Cheese, talcum powder, bubble bath, fresh snow" Peter smiled, sighing as he sniffed the air.
"Vinyl, cold night air, freshly washed towels, wood burning in a fireplace, chocoballs, and leather-almond essence-motor oil-beech" Rose finished, raising a shoulder in a half-shrug.
"Exactly" Slughorn clapped his hands. "Amortentia smells different for every single person. There are areas that may overlap for people who are very close, but nothing very significant. Now, today we will not be brewing amortentia-"
"Bad luck, Prongs" Sirius muttered, clapping him on the back in what was evidently supposed to be a conciliatory manner. Slughorn blathered on about some potion or other to cure coughs (apparently the Hospital Wing was running low). Sirius rolled his eyes (personally responsible for keeping the Marauders supplied with Pepper Up Potion for the days after Full Moon) and mimed falling asleep. He even added a pointed snore for effect. Remus reached around Rose and jabbed him in the ribs, smiling innocently at the glare Sirius promptly shot him. Things carried on pretty much in that same manner for the rest of the lesson. In the Defence class that followed, the Marauders gleefully upstaged Professor 'One Niffler Away From Being Sectioned To St. Mungo's' Grimhorn. Their shields, jinx's, curses, counter-curses all proved that he had taught them nothing, and they had taught it all to themselves. Even their 'students' were doing far better than the poor bastards stuck just learning from the Ministry Approved Moron. Grimhorn looked utterly confused as to how they even knew some of the spells, but the Marauders weren't inclined to let him in on the secret. Rose found it a bit insulting really. It was as if Grimhorn had forgotten that they had literally held off Death Eaters from destroying Hogsmeade that previous November; yes, they ended up in the Hospital Wing, but that was a comparatively small price to pay considering the horrible reality of what could have happened. In the face of that insult, the Marauders trooped out of the class twenty minutes early, ignoring the spluttered calls of their criminally inept Professor for them to come back right that instant. As if. They were the Marauders; they had better things to do.
The Marauders went their separate ways after lunch; Remus and Peter bound for the Ancient Runes classroom, Sirius and James for Muggle Studies, and Rose for History of Magic. Despite being the only student in their year to actually enjoy the class (and she wasn't lying, she really did), Rose found herself tuning out the particulars of a series of brutally bloody wars between the Goblins and Wizardkind. She had more recent wars occupying her mind, specifically this current wizarding war. Sirius, James and Peter had been acting suspiciously squirrelly ever since they got back from snooping in the closed Hogs Head on her birthday. The bastards had also, cunningly, managed to avoid discussing whatever it was that they had discovered while going in incognito that afternoon. But, Rose and Remus were nothing if not Marauders, and on certain occasions a Marauder could wait until the opportune moment to spring their trap. As she thought she had made abundantly clear in the Hospital Wing, Rose was sick and bloody tired of being mollycoddled. There was something that their fellow Marauders were not telling them - and she and Remus would find out what it was, or there would be hell to pay. It was required that Marauders kept no secrets from one another; Remus said it was something to do with pack unity, but it mostly stemmed from the secrets that had nearly destroyed them. Sirius' blood puritanical family, Remus' lycanthropy, all the tiny little things they'd never said but should have. Little white lies and half truths that all mounted up to potentially destroy their pack's harmony. That was why, that very night, Rose and Remus lured their clueless friends up to their Den.
The sound of a magical lock clicking into place echoed in the Marauders Den. Sirius, hair growing back down towards his jaw thanks to a recent change of mind ("my prerogative, Rosebud"), shook his head and sprawled on the nearest couch. Peter, realising that they were caught red-handed, dashed for the doors, only to be sent flying into a chair thanks to a lazy flick of Remus' wand. James just sighed and ruffled his hair, looking for all the world like this was all going entirely according to whatever half-baked plan those knuckleheads had come up with. Rose glared at the three morons and sighed. Her aim had been to try and make the inconsiderate squirrelly bastards squirm, but frankly both she and Remus were exhausted by all this crap, and honestly just wanted some Godric damned answers. Remus elegantly set his book to the side, his eyes fixing on the others without judgement.
"Time's up, you lot. You're hiding things from us, and we're tired of it." Unlike Rose, who would have been quietly but unsubtly pissed off, Remus delivered his words calmly. Disappointment flickered in the air, heavy and unrelenting in its presence. James and Sirius shared one of their long, wordless conversations, James finally nodding and sitting forward in his chair. It was the only signal Rose needed to take a seat on the arm of Remus' chair. She was pissed off with Sirius the most, and wasn't feeling all that subtle in displaying it. James sent a conciliatory glance at Sirius, then cleared his throat.
"Do the words The Order of the Phoenix mean anything to you?" Remus frowned contemplatively.
"Never heard of it."
"Neither have I" Rose added, narrowing her eyes at James. "Why? What's the Order of the Phoenix?" Another flickering glance between James and Sirius.
"Desperation" Sirius replied, a quiet weight to his words. "A last ditch attempt at warding off the inevitable corruption of the Ministry of Magic."
"A small army of witches and wizards secretly operating to undermine Voldemort and try and stop him" James clarified, glaring at Sirius for his less than enthusiastic or optimistic report. He grinned widely, virtually bouncing in place. "It's led by Dumbledore and it's got McGonagall and Mad Moody, and Fabian and Gideon Prewitt, and-"
"Prongs is obsessed" Sirius rolled his eyes. "He refuses to see how insulting it is that Dumbledore has this army of Wombles, but hasn't invited us to join. Not even after Hogsmeade or our recent request (framed by chaos and helpful pranking) to be allowed to bloody well do something!"
"It's insulting" Remus agreed, quite possibly astounding them all. His normally calm voice was laced with the kind of fury that Sirius' held whenever Death Eaters, the Black family, or the word Mudblood was mentioned. The kind of raw rage that Rose recognised all too well from Hogsmeade. Honestly, it scared her a little. "We risked our lives in Hogsmeade, and we taught Hogwarts to watch its back. We stepped up and realised what was happening before anyone else did." Remus' hands clenched into fists. "What else do we bloody well have to prove?"
"Maybe we have to actually die" Rose muttered morbidly, for once unwilling to be the constant optimistic presence. Sirius clenched his jaw, a muscle jumping under his cheek.
"Over my dead body."
"Not necessarily" Remus demurred, tapping his bottom lip thoughtfully . "If we tweak our Snivellus plan just a little, dial back on the brutal revenge and go for a little more humiliation instead; I think there's a chance we could persuade Dumbledore of our worthiness."
"Messr Moony" James smirked, leaning back in his chair like a Bond villain - all he was missing was the fluffy white cat. "You have us interested." Remus smirked wickedly, his little seen but entirely mischievous Marauder side coming through.
"Trust me, Prongs, I know."
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