A/N:

Hi all! I hope you're all well and that my rather long absence hasn't scared too many of you away.

I just realised that this story is a little over a year old, which is amazing as I really didn't think any of you would read it let alone keep reading it. So thank you very much.

It's just a lot chapter today because I wanted to finally post something again.

I hope you continue to enjoy.

The first days after the funeral passed quickly. Petunia immediately stepped up the preparations for her wedding (now rapidly approaching something akin to Royal wedding preparations even though most people in Cokeworth didn't even give a flobberworm, or wouldn't if they knew what a flobberworm was), growing crazier by the hour. As a consequence (and with the wholehearted and somewhat envious blessing of Jim Evans), the Marauders all but moved into their flat for the remainder of their absence from school. James and Sirius left often before dawn, and were out often until long after midnight - conducting so far unfruitful surveillance of Knockturn Alley and The Cursed Dagger. Peter helped out where he could, running necessities like lunch and dinner out to their hideout, before coming back with reports of the same no news they'd had since the day of the funeral. Yes, Slytherins entered the establishment, yes most of them did look shiftier than vampires at a blood drive, but they hadn't been able to overhear anything of use. At least (and Rose wasn't alone in her suspicions of this, Remus felt the same way), James and Sirius had overheard nothing that they were ready to bring to the attention of the rest of the group.

Their days weren't all serious though. They had managed to celebrate Remus' birthday - a celebration which (as Sirius put it) had involved entirely too much chocolate and too little firewhiskey. Remus had managed a good haul of chocolate, books, and jumpers (answering the age-old question of what you got your resident bookworm werewolf for his of-age birthday, or really any celebration involving necessary gift-giving). The Marauders had all chipped in to buy Remus his watch, complete with the same inscription as all their watches would bear - Mischief Managed. Remus insisted that he must have got some wrapping paper in his eyes, they had looked suspiciously misty after he'd opened his present. That was then, though, presently, James and Sirius were back on watch and probably back to keeping secrets from them. The equally shifty bastards probably thought they were doing them a favor by not telling them if they had found anything, but for now Rose, Remus and Peter were content to let James and Sirius think they believed them.

Rose was seated at the kitchen table, absently flicking through that morning's edition of the Daily Prophet. As it had been for the last week, there wasn't so much as a peep about the war, or of anything suspicious or murdery going on in the wizarding world. It was odd. Like the Death Eaters were biding their time. Unfortunately, for all their psychopathy, Slytherins could be patient bastards - but only if they felt that the wait was worth it. So if they were waiting, Rose didn't like the thought of what would be bad enough to justify it. She wrinkled her nose at the photo of Orion and Walburga Black at some wizarding function or other, both scowling into the lens as if just knowing that there was a muggle-born like Rose unfortunate enough to turn the page onto their picture. Remus came in, yawning wide enough his hand barely covered his mouth. He squeezed Rose's shoulder in absent affection, reaching up to check the state of their cereal cupboard. "Padfoot ate the last of the Frosties again" Remus groaned, shifting the boxes in vain hope of finding his beloved sugary cereal.

"Yeah, but James bought a couple of boxes of Coco Quaffles" Rose replied, smiling at the reluctant hour-chiming of their perpetually misbehaving clock. They never could tell exactly what time it was, but it was nice to know that it had just turned the hour. Sirius was now banned from buying any household objects. Ever.

"He only buys those for the quidditch cards" Peter chimed, popping up from over the couch. Remus looked like he couldn't care less. He was in chocolate breakfast heaven, even going as far as to pour actual chocolate milk (made by the long-suffering Hogsmeade chocolatiers) over the unfortunate quaffle-shaped cereal.

"So" Rose offered, wrapping her hands around her mug. "What's on the agenda for today chaps?"

Remus glanced up from his breakfast and swallowed the mouthful he'd taken. "We could - and hear me out here - actually make a head start on the homework that Alice, Caradoc and Hestia sent us over the weekend." Peter groaned into a pillow, clearly not trusting his aim to throw it at Remus. Rose imagined that it happened, on behalf of the missing Marauders who would have felt it was their duty to do so.

"Oh, Rem" Rose chided fondly. "You really can be such a terrible bore. Should we do homework? Probably. Do our professors actually expect us to do it? No, of course they don't." She grinned slightly. "We are still the Marauders even when two of us are faffing off into parts unknown every day."

"This is what it's going to be like once we've graduated" Peter stated, shuffling back into the kitchen to pour himself another cup of coffee. "Spying on suspected Death Eaters, not necessarily knowing what's going on, having to wait around, maybe not always being together all the time." He shrugged, back turned to them. "Maybe it's a good thing we're getting a little taste of it now. To prepare us." Rose stood up and kissed his cheek, giving him a fleeting hug.

"None of us are ever going to be alone, Pete. We're family, even with diminished numbers."

"I know that, Astra" Peter smiled, rummaging through the cupboards for a packet of chocolate hobnobs liberated from Rose's parents. "I may be the dumb one, but I'm not stupid."

"We know that, Mr E on every OWL" Rose grinned, pinching one of his biscuits.

"Oi, don't ruin my reputation by saying that at Hogwarts" Peter laughed, jumping up onto the counter. "I'm a D-average student, and don't forget it."

Rose and Remus raised their fingers in vague approximations of the scout sign. "Marauders honour."

"There's nothing on at the pictures, Diagon Alley's getting dull, we're not suicidal enough to go down Knockturn," Rose flopped pathetically onto the couch. "We're going to have to do homework, aren't we?"

"Yes" Remus grinned sunnily. "But on the bright side, we won't be getting in trouble after the Easter break."

"Poor, naive fool" Peter muttered, rolling his eyes at Rose. She blew the hair out of her face and smirked back at him.

Remus frowed at them over the top of his book. "What?"

"Moony" Peter began, a very Marauderish air around him. "Has there ever been a holiday we haven't gotten in trouble at the end of?"

"Where's your sense of optimism, Peter?" Remus groaned, sparing a glance for the owl that flew past their window. "Think positively."

"When it comes to Padfoot and Prongs, I prefer to think realistically" Peter replied cheerfully. "Now I suppose we should get a head start on that Arithmancy homework."

Remus looked up from his book, a troubled frown on his face. They hadn't even started working yet, and already Rose just knew that they weren't going to do any work today. "Doesn't it feel like we're betraying the name of Marauder?" Remus asked, smirking at the utter incredulity his words garnered. "Well it does" he protested, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "We should be, I don't know, out making mischief or causing havoc or destroying something."

"You mean, being up to no good?" Peter checked, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "You do know you're supposed to be the rule abiding one, right?"

"So I've been informed" Remus replied dryly, shaking his head. "It's just, well- It's no fun being sensible and mature without being able to mock those two for being the polar opposite."

"Aww" James drew out, leaning casually against the door. "Does ickle Moonikins miss us?"

"No. And where the bloody hell have you been?!" Remus demanded, ignoring the redness in his cheeks from being caught out.

"Surveiling" Sirius shrugged, elbowing past James and making a beeline for the teapot.

"Oh really?" Rose crossed her arms and cocked her hip. "And what, pray tell, did you and Felix Leiter over there find out?"

"Ha ha" James drawled, eyes rolling like disco balls. "We were just about to tell you, since we didn't come back here expecting the Spanish Inquisition-"

"Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!" Peter yelled, jumping out from the door leading to the bedrooms.

"Merlin's underpants!" James clapped a hand to his heart, scowling at the rat animagus. "That startled me, you little shit."

Peter chuckled and sprawled on to the nearest chair in a move very reminiscent of Sirius. "Aww. Poor ickle Jamesie."

"You've been teaching him bad habits" Sirius smirked, pointing his ginger newt approvingly.

"Marauder" Rose sang, nodding to Remus who went and leaned against the front door. "Now, tell us what you've been up to." Her twinkling violet gaze darted towards Peter. "On pain of the comfy chair."

"Not the comfy chair" James deadpanned, feigning a suitably horrified expression. "Now, if you'll all sit comfortably, we have some things to say." One look at the troubled expression both Marauders wore sobered the others instantly.

Peter leaned forward, elbows on his knees, serious expression light years away from the fool he presented himself as at Hogwarts. "You got in."

Rose jolted towards Peter, unable to believe the fact that he seemed to have more clue as to what was going on than he'd admitted. Peter twisted his mouth in apology, shrugging a shoulder as if to say that it wasn't his fault.

"We got in" James admitted, perching on the end of the coffee table. It gave him, as he preferred, all the attention with none of the hazard of being punched - looking at Remus' dark expression, Rose doubted that the distance would save him.

"You got in where?" Remus asked, tone deceptively light and conversational. If Rose was pressed to describe it, syrupy would do quite well.

Sirius took a deep breath, as if preparing to rip off a band-aid. "The Cursed Dagger." He held his finger up immediately. "And before you ask: no, we weren't seen. We waited for Stoaty to go in and we snuck in after him, under the Cloak."

"Oh, it was a doddle, then" Rose snarked, turning her attention to James in the vain hope he might actually be less insane. "What in Godric's name were you gits thinking?!"

"We were thinking that it was about time we found out what was going on in there, Rose" James replied, serious as McGonagall. "Did you know we're famous?"

"Er, we are the greatest pranksters at Hogwarts, Prongs" Peter replied, puzzled at the non sequitur.

"Yeah, it's not for our pranking ability" Sirius sighed, eyes flinty. "Apparently not every sixteen year old witch and wizard tends to fight off Death Eaters when they attack Hogsmeade."

"I don't understand" Rose said slowly, sharing a frown with Remus.

"I think I understand, but I truly hope that I don't" Remus replied, digging his nails into the fabric of his jeans.

Sirius grinned miserably at James, utterly failing at levity. "He understands."

Rose scowled at the both of them, channeling her inner Lily. "Share with the class."

"In layman's terms?" James visibly searched for the right words. "Dumbledore has us, Voldemort wants his minions too."

Thank you for reading (still)!

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