A/N:

Hi everyone! Just a quick chapter.

As ever, I hope you enjoy!

McGonagall stood just in front of her desk, glaring out across the classroom. There were five conspicuously empty seats in the middle of the room, and the little hourglass on her desk informed the students that the bell was just about to ring to signal the start of the lesson. Just as the bell began to sound, the Marauders strolled into the room, tossed their bags down by their desks, and sent near identical innocent smiles up at McGonagall as they took their seats.

"So kind of you five to finally join us" McGonagall announced, her tone the parchment dry disapproval that all professors appeared to have perfected.

"We're on time, Professor" James grinned, conveying an almost angelic sense of innocence and goodness.

"Only just" McGonagall replied, frowning at the smirk Sirius shot him. "It's not too late for me to transfigure one of you into a pocket watch."

"No need, Minnie dearest" Sirius drawled, holding up his left wrist so that his watch was visible. "We always know what time it is, most of the time we just don't care."

"That is comforting to know" McGonagall uttered dryly. "Now, might we return to our lesson for today. Or shall we discuss the events of this morning?"

"This morning was eventful?" James turned in perfect surprise to Sirius. "How could we have missed that?"

"Forgive them, Professor" Rose spoke up, ignoring the snickering coming from Peter. "They're idiots. Please continue with the lesson."

"Teacher's pet" Remus teased, as if he hadn't been about to say the exact same thing.

"Takes one to know one" was all she said in reply. Remus inclined his head, giving McGonagall all the attention she deserved, even for a topic they already had taught themselves.

As before, McGonagall instructed the class to practice their human to animal transfiguration, warning them once again of the difficulty and importance of this branch of Transfiguration before she let them get back to it. Astonishingly, exactly as last time, the Marauders put their feet up on their desks and kicked back to enjoy the light comedy that came with their classmates failing spectacularly at pretty much everything they attempted for the lesson. Some people might accuse them of being particularly cruel, enjoying the failures of their friends, but there wasn't much else they could do. If their friends/classmates were to learn this branch of magic, then they had to learn it for themselves. The Marauders couldn't do it for them, just as James and Sirius couldn't perform the animagus transformation for Peter. They had had to learn it for themselves, or it would never have worked.

Remus was the only one of them not enjoying the show. He preferred to use the otherwise wasted time for finishing McGonagall's monster essay on the subject due in a few weeks. Rose ignored the urge to stare at the suspicious Slytherins, instead watching her dormmates in case one of them managed what they hadn't before. Namely, an actual transformation of some kind. Marlene looked like she was coming close for a second, but she growled and slumped down in her chair, exhausted by their late night. Rose knew it wouldn't faze her for long. Marlene was too brilliant a witch to be defeated by tiredness and a few failed attempts. Lily would get it soon as well, Rose could already tell. They had the mental image right, and the determination to get the transformation done; the only thing they required (and were missing) was the concentration to accomplish the spell. They'd do it - maybe this lesson, maybe the next, but they'd get it done.

Remus turned to see Sirius watching the Slytherin students with what could only be described as an evil grin. "What are you doing?"

"Contemplating" Sirius replied easily, as if nothing at all was amiss.

Remus cast a look at the ceiling, praying for patience. "Might I ask what exactly you are contemplating?"

"Various important things."

Remus nodded, that had confirmed it. "Don't prank the Slytherins. Merlin knows that they deserve it, but perhaps resist the temptation. Be the bigger person, remember?"

"Sod being the bigger person, Remus" Sirius announced crisply. "I'm tired of watching those scumbags acting as if nothing is wrong."

"Well, for them nothing is wrong, Siri" Rose offered quietly, turning her gaze from Marlene and Lily. "It's scumbaggery as usual for that lot."

"Which is precisely what we want" James added pointedly. "If they were acting squirrelly or suspiciously of us, then we'd know that they were on to us. Them acting normally is precisely the action we need. All the better for catching them in the act."

"Cursing them to smithereens would make me feel better though" Sirius pointed out, conceding their point. "It would be very therapeutic."

"I can imagine so" James agreed apologetically. "But we can't curse them at all. Not unless we happen to come across one or two in the corridors and hex them a little to keep up our image."

"Or you could stop randomly hexing them, and make Lily think you've matured" Rose suggested, knowing she wasn't going to be listened to.

"Matured?" James tasted the word like it was rotten on his tongue. "I am neither a cheese nor a fine wine or firewhiskey. I don't mature."

"Pity" Remus sighed, rolling up the last of his essay. "Until you mature, you'll be too immature for her."

"A vicious circle" Rose confirmed, nodding.

"Evans is never going to go out with me" James said quietly, resigned and sad. "I've just got upgraded from her rather kissing the giant squid than me to her rather kissing a basilisk than me." He ruffled his hair, unconsciously staring at Lily. "I've gone from worse than the friendly squid in the Black Lake to being worse than a snake that will literally kill you as soon as look at you. My prospects are not improving."

"She was only teasing this morning, James" Rose grinned. "Trust me, if she meant it, it would have been accompanied by that glare she gives you. You know, the one that says you're an arrogant toerag."

"Really?" James brightened up, sending a smile over towards Lily. Lily saw him and smiled back, although she looked a little confused as to why James was grinning so brightly at her. "You think so, Rosie?"

"She just smiled at you, Prongs" Sirius informed him, as if James could ever have missed it. "At the very least, I'd say she doesn't hate your arrogant guts anymore."

"Anything is an improvement on that" Remus agreed, humming quietly. "And Rose is right. Lily is growing to tolerate you. She'd just appreciate you a whole lot more if you, and pardon my French, pulled your head out of your arse and stopped thinking you are Merlin's gift to the wizarding world."

"I don't think that" James mumbled, not meeting any of their eyes.

"Of course you do" Rose replied cheerily. "You and Sirius both."

James spluttered, his mouth gaping as Sirius nodded his unfazed agreement. "Accurate. But to be fair, I am Merlin's gift to wizarding kind."

"Only as a perfect example of arrogance and self-satisfaction, Padfoot" Remus chided, sweeping his gaze around the room. "I think Marlene's about to get it."

Rose snapped her gaze to the left, feeling her neck crack painfully at the suddenness of the movement. Sure enough, Marlene was staring into the middle distance with a look of such concentration on her face she was either about to succeed in the transformation, or she was trying to make McGonagall's desk spontaneously combust. "Come on, Marley" Rose whispered, mentally pushing all her belief in her friend towards her. There was a nearly inaudible pop and Marlene's ears were replaced by a sleek pair of cats ears. Not a common house cat's ears, like McGonagall might sport when she transformed into her animagi form, but a pair of what Rose thought were a wildcat's ears, with black tufts on the tips.

"Merlin's y-fronts" Marlene swore, staring at herself in the mirror. "I actually did it?"

"You did it, Marls" Lily assured her, grinning bright enough to power London for the night.

"Well done, Ms McKinnon" McGonagall praised, offering her a rare smile. "Ten points for Gryffindor."

"Thank you, Professor" Marlene murmured, blushing a little at the rare praise.

McGonagall cleared her throat, attracting the attention of the entire class. "Ms McKinnon has succeeded in this transformation, the Marauders have succeeded in this area of magic. Gryffindor house is making the other houses look bad." She nodded briefly towards the successful six. "I would suggest concentration. Emulate the model offered to you by Ms McKinnon, Miss Evans, and Messrs Potter, Black, Lupin and Pettigrew."

"Emulate the example of a mudblood and blood traitors" Mulciber sneered at the idea, spitting onto the floor. "I'd rather snap my wand and become a muggle."

"Remind me how far that expectation is from your academic record" McGonagall replied icily. "I won't have that language uttered in my classroom, nor against any students. Detention, Mr Mulciber, and a loss of fifty house points. And" McGonagall swiftly continued, cutting over Mulciber muttering how little he cared about that. "I shall be reporting this incident to Professor Slughorn and Professor Dumbledore." Her gaze snapped back to the class. "The rest of you have an example to follow. I suggest you do so, unless you wish to voice similar complaints as Mr Mulciber?"

Rose half expected someone (maybe Avery, maybe Snape) to agree with Mulciber, but nobody uttered so much as a single syllable against McGonagall's advice. Some of the Slytherins might have shot a few filthy glares to Rose (the usual ones suggesting she drop dead at her earliest convenience) but that was fairly normal. Even the Ravenclaws didn't utter so much as a peep about being left in the dust again - and them, supposedly the most intelligent house at Hogwarts. Speaking of certain Ravenclaws, Rose could have sworn that she saw Remus colour as Raven Lovegood smiled in congratulations over at him. James rolled his eyes at her, he'd seen it too. Remus really was utterly hopeless when it came to the affairs of the heart, and while she understood his unspoken trepidations, she thought it was a bit of a cop out for him never to try in the first place and resign himself to a lifetime of comparative loneliness. And when Rose said comparative, she meant it. There was no way in any scenario she could conceive of that any of them would ever desert another, not while they had breath in their lungs, nor the name Marauder tattooed on to their hearts. Spontaneously, she reached over and wrapped her arms around Remus.

"What was that for?" Remus asked, not angry but mildly confused.

Rose shrugged, smiling tremulously at him. "Nothing" she replied, although it wasn't really nothing. It was a lot of things that she couldn't voice. "Just happy that none of us are ever going to be alone, you know?"

Remus brought his own arms up to return the hug Rose had just pulled away from. She knew he thought it was something to do with the mess of emotions and thoughts related to everything to do with her Dad - and maybe some of it was, something as all encompassing as that affected almost everything she said or did - but it wasn't all of it. It couldn't be all of it. These were the thoughts she had had for years, since finally feeling that sense of total rightness that came from knowing these people were her family and they would never abandon her just as she would never abandon them. "You're weird sometimes, but I love you Rosie."

"Love you too, Remmy" Rose replied quietly.

"Have you had any news from your Dad since we got back?" Remus asked, apparently feeling that the time had come to mention it since the conversation had (in his mind) now come up.

Rose frowned, trying to remember if she had or not. "No" she said slowly, frowning deeper. "I don't think I have." She leaned over towards the black haired Marauders, now making fun of the Slytherins; pointing and laughing and generally being their nuisance selves. "James, Siri - have you heard anything from Dad lately?"

James shared a look with Sirius, both instantly somber. "Not since we left" James replied. "Maybe Lily has?"

Rose shook her head. "No. We agreed we'd keep each other up to date. Apparently she thinks it more likely that Dad will write to me over her."

"Well" Peter began bracingly, trying his best to be supportive. "We've only been back here a week. Maybe he'll write tonight and you'll get it on the weekend?"

"Yeah" Rose agreed dubiously. "Maybe."

Sirius brushed his fingers over her cheek. "It doesn't mean that there's anything wrong, Rosebud."

Rose inclined her head, the heavy pressure of it all settling back on her chest. "But it doesn't mean that there's good news either."

Thank you for reading.

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