A/N:

Okay, so apparently I lied.

Turns out that this (or possibly the next one) is the last chapter for a while. Because your resident moronic author forgot completely about the sixth year apparition exams - *headdesk*

So, while I'm writing that, it might be a bit of a wait.

But enough with that.

Please enjoy!

In true Gryffindor style, the party was in full swing by the time Rose made it through the castle. James and Sirius were, naturally, holding court, regaling their housemates with the daring tales of their escapades on the quidditch pitch. Frank and Alice were in an intimate little corner, laughing with a few fifth years brave enough to dare move away from the Quidditch Captain. The rest of the house (and a few invited guests from the other houses, including Caradoc Dearborn and Edgar Bones) were spread across the rest of the common room, laughing and joking, drinking their butterbeer and helping themselves to the assortment of food spread out across any and every table not burdened by drinks. Marlene rolled her eyes at James and Sirius, marching herself over to them to correct their tales of derring-do. Rose left her friends to enjoy themselves, desperately wanting to change out of her robes. They weren't the most comfortable garments in the world, especially not for enjoying a party.

James and Sirius were nearly finished their (first of many) play by play recounts of the game when Rose descended the stairs from the girls dormitory. Gone were the bulky quidditch robes, in their place her usual purple cords and a cable knit white jumper, hair drying loose about her shoulders. Most of their audience were mingling around, shooting the breeze, allowing Rose to slip in with minimal fuss. She dropped down into an armchair by Remus, her best friend predictably having his head buried in a book. He set it aside, offering her a smile. "Not in a party mood?"

"Nah" Rose shrugged, sinking further into the cushions. "Adrenaline wore off a few minutes ago. I'm happy to sit here and relax. Let that lot have their party."

"As you wish" Remus smiled, saluting her with a bar of chocolate. "I think you're right though. Look" he nodded over her shoulder. "Caradoc just cracked a smile."

Stretching to see what Remus had noticed, she found Caradoc immediately. The Ravenclaw was standing with James and Sirius, Benjy laughing, and a smile of almost rueful amusement on his angular face. "Probably wondering what he did wrong in a past life to get lumbered with us lot for his current existence" Rose grinned, Remus throwing his head back with laughter. "Honestly, Rem" Rose said, widening her eyes in a (quite passable) excuse for innocence. "I don't know why. We're wonderful people. Warm and fuzzy, kind, considerate."

"We're peaches" Remus agreed dryly, eyes rolling heavenwards. "Pete's taken Dorcas to the kitchens to get more grub. Apparently Prongs wants this to be an all day kind of thing."

"If he doesn't get his adoration he just fades away" Rose mourned, watching James playfully push Sirius onto the floor. Her position staring at them gave Rose the perfect view of her sister coming over to join the two of them.

"You know" Lily began, flopping on to the chair beside Rose's. "Quidditch really isn't so bad when you get used to it."

Rose's eyebrows skyrocketed. Lily had vociferously refused to see any good points about something James could be so talented at - even going as far as to refuse (the horror) to support a quidditch team outside of Hogwarts. She reached over and felt her sister's forehead, Lily pushing her hand away in annoyance. "Are you feeling alright? What have you done with my sister?"

Lily scowled, crossing her arms crossly. "Shut up."

"Ah!" Remus hummed the hum of a man who had just realised something. "I know what this is about" he said, smirking smugly at Rose's obvious confusion. At her silent demand for him to just bloody spit it out already (a glare and a well placed kick) the bookish Marauder outright laughed. "Lily has finally been able to enjoy a quidditch match without James dedicating his win to her and asking her out for the millionth time."

"Prongs really has matured, hasn't he?" Rose realised proudly. It was a bit weird him constantly getting rejected by her sister. Honestly, her life was much quieter without James constantly badgering her about why Lily didn't like him, wouldn't go out with him, et cetera.

"Like unwashed socks" Lily retorted, but there was no denying the tiny little smile that loitered about her mouth. If Rose didn't know better (and didn't have going on seven years worth of experience that said otherwise) she might almost think that Lily was starting to like him.

"James washes his socks occasionally" Remus teased, neglecting to mention that he was the one who folded his socks and arranged them according to an index nobody but him could even begin to comprehend. "Sirius probably would if he didn't think that buying more was a better solution than having to actually do something tedious."

"Oi" Rose laughed, mock outraged on Sirius' behalf. "Sirius is a revolutionary thinker. Out of the box. You can't deny that his solutions aren't creative."

"Creative is one word for it."

Lily rolled her eyes. "All the muggle and wizard men on the planet - and all the women too, if that's the way your taste goes - and that is what you go for." Her twin reinforced her point by flapping her hand in Sirius' general direction.

"It wasn't so much of a choice as a lack of options" Remus smirked, winking to show he didn't mean a word of it.

"An ashwinder in both your pants" Rose replied with as much dignity as she could manage. It didn't last long until all three of them were in gales.

"Just what in Merlin's name is going on in here?!" McGonagall barked, voice echoing in the pindrop silence of the common room. At the back of the room one of the drunker Gryffindors hummed a few bars of Kiss' Rock and Roll All Nite, McGonagall's lips thinning dangerously. Peter squeaked inaudibly, eyes darting from Sirius to James in the hope that they would diffuse the situation. Unfortunately for Peter, both Marauders seemed utterly oblivious to the pleading stare he was sending them. In fact, they were still exactly as they had been before McGonagall had made her grand entrance.

Only five minutes before, the Gryffindor Tower had been a hive of activity. Music (not Kiss) blasted at volumes loud enough to nearly rattle the windows (to say nothing of the audibility outside the Tower or down by the Black Lake), butterbeer flowed freely, as did the laughter, good-natured insults, and of course the snogging that inevitably accompanied any party of any great duration. In a secluded corner, a bottle of firewhiskey was shared around (only for a select few, the Marauders were rule breakers but they weren't in the habit of supplying firewhiskey to anyone under sixth year), the Marauders taking a breather from the chaos that was the makeshift dancefloor. Lily had gone up to the dormitory about half an hour before, frowning until she was joined by most of the house under fourth year. Everyone else was having too much fun cutting loose to care about Lily's glare. Fortunately, Rose and Sirius weren't too keen on public displays of affection (read: snogging in public) so they were able to enjoy the party in a relatively low key manner. That was until Sirius took exception to a comment James made about trolls and beaters (Rose couldn't really hear it) and tackled him into the crowd of tipsy Gryffindors in the middle of the room. The scuffle that followed wasn't quite in barroom brawl territory (it fell short by a whisker), but the resulting flail of various arms and legs managed to do two things - one, unofficially draw the party to an end; and two, to make enough noise that it drew a certain thin-lipped professor to the portrait hole. That brought them back to where they were; being glared at by an irate McGonagall, hoping that someone might avert the ire of their beloved Head of House.

Remus elbowed James in the ribs, casually brushing past him to smile apologetically at McGonagall. "I apologise, Professor" he said, voice solemn and slow. It lent an extra gravity to his words while helping to try and mask the fact that he too was a touch incapacitated by the firewhiskey.

Rose took her cue to step around Sirius (now casually lounging on the floor as if he intended to be caught wrestling with his best friend at the end of a party by McGonagall) and stood solidly by Remus' side. "It's a long story, Professor" she began, waving her hand to encompass the mess that laid before them. "You see" Rose took a moment to hope that James or Sirius (really either of them) might grow a set and explain, but it was in vain. "We won the quidditch match today. And, er, the thing is that, you know, we - that is the Marauders, not necessarily the rest of the house; although they were involved too - like to celebrate our wins. Because frankly we get precious few outside of quidditch and academics. And so, er, we felt that it might behoove us to embrace the, er, moment and have a small, informal soiree to, er, make the most of the opportunity."

Sirius vaulted to his feet, wobbling only a little thanks to James's ever so helpful attempt to try and trip him up. He strutted towards them, the most unrepentant smirk on his face. "We won. We were happy. We wanted to party. We did." Grey eyes scanned around the overturned common room, amusement dancing in their depths. "As you'd expect, things got a bit out of hand. Big deal."

"We're in with a shot at the quidditch cup, Minnie dearest" James practically shouted, wobbling over to join them, Peter silently trudging in his wake. "That's what's going on here. And" he drew himself up proudly. "I turned seventeen last week. It was a bad time, so I wanted a party now. Although" he mused, going off track. "I do love this watch I got. This lot got it for me." James turned to them, grinning as widely as Rose had ever seen (with a few notable exceptions). "Now, if you will excuse us, Professor, we have a common room to put to rights and some sleep to get? It's been a long day." McGonagall could only watch in astonishment as the Marauders waved their wands (and swished and flicked and other usual wand motions), the mess clearing, chairs resettling, stains vanishing, bottles marching themselves into bins that appeared conveniently where they were needed.

Another ten minutes later the Marauders stood proudly in front of the Transfiguration professor. McGonagall shook her head at them, disbelief shining through her eyes. "Try not to destroy the common room next time you want to celebrate something" she chided, a little more relaxed now that the rest of the house had fled for their dormitories. "And, Mr Potter? Congratulations on the win."

"Thank you" James chirped, spine straightening at the deserved praise. "And we'll try our best, but no promises, Professor."

Remus looked as though he wanted nothing more than to hide his head in his hands, a quiet groan of despair slipping through his lips. McGonagall just twitched a smile. "Considering it is you four, I wouldn't expect anything less."

Before they really knew it, the runup to exam season was upon them. Or as the people outside of the castle would call it, April. The mayhem had arrived. Everyone was caught up in the chaos. Despite the warm sunshine carpeting the grounds, hardly a student was out enjoying it. Most of the population were holed up in the library or in one of the many study rooms that sprung up virtually overnight. Sadly, this was even true for the sixth year Gryffindor students.

In a feat of what could only be described as study organisational genius, Lily had all but planned out the entire run-up to the exams - for the entire group of them. There wasn't a day that went by without the inhabitants of the castle seeing Lily Evans leading the majority of Gryffindor's sixth year into one of the previously unused classrooms on the ground floor; each student burdened under the weight of enough books that Lily couldn't tsk at them any longer. It was a well-guarded secret (so of course the entire castle knew) that while the Marauders could (and often did) inspire people to mischief and rule breaking, Lily could inspire people to knuckle down and study in a way that only Remus and the professors ever really appreciated.

Even the Marauders could sometimes be seen trudging wearily into the study room, eyes rolling behind Lily's back. But they were the Marauders - even if they were there, they didn't stay for long. Studying was boring, and they tended to be even more obnoxious than usual when they weren't having fun.

Rose sat amongst the roots of the beech tree, chin resting on her knees. It was a beautiful day to be outside, a few wispy clouds dotting the forget-me-not blue sky, silent and still. Well, almost still. A few feet away, Peter was skimming stones on the surface of the lake, muttering to himself about the essay they still had to write for potions class. Remus was sitting on one of the lower branches of the tree, legs swinging, practicing a piece of complicated charm work that seventh years would probably find a bit tricky. As for James and Sirius, well, they were stuck inside one of the greenhouses with Professor Sprout, repotting some Venomous Tentacula sproutlings with Benjy and Caradoc. It was punishment for distrupting the latest lesson with bickering about quidditch (and when Rose said bickering, she meant a full-on wrestling match with Caradoc, poor Benjy having to come over and get involved just to back up his brave but ultimately ill-advised friend). As Rose stared out across the lake at the Forbidden Forest, she tried to feel sorry for them - but it was just so peaceful without their antics interrupting the sound of nature. Birds sang, stones sploshed, Remus sighed and muttered under his breath - it was paradise.

Rose herself was feeling almost optimistic. Things at Hogwarts were going about as well as they ever did; the Marauders pranked indiscriminately as usual, the Slytherins were still shifty but they were being kept tabs on, even Lily and James weren't having so many screaming matches in the middle of the entrance hall - not that they weren't amusing, but James was far happier when he thought he might possibly have a shot with Lily, even if he didn't actually get to ask her out. Hogwarts wasn't perfect, homework was being piled upon them, causing several students to have near breakdowns at the task ahead of them. But, well, the Marauders were still casually excelling in the classes they could be bothered turning up to, so really all was good on the Hogwarts front. News from Cokeworth was better too. Petunia was happily ensconced in her brand new house in Little Whinging, Surrey (thank Merlin for Vernon's promotion in Grunnings), and Jim's last letter had said he had finally managed to schedule an appointment with one of the specialists he had been referred to by his Harley Street doctor. They wouldn't have any news on that for at least a few weeks, but something in Rose had settled at the promise that things might not be quite as dire as her father had told them. At the very least, James and Sirius had been optimistic that Jim wasn't giving up (one of the worries Lily had shared quietly with them one night in the common room), telling the twins to just keep being positive for him.

A while later, Rose laid on her front on her cloak, legs kicking in the air. Her copy of A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration rested open in front of her. She paid it little mind, distracted by what was going on around her. Peter was splashing about in the shallow waters nearest the lake shore, still more or less fully clothed, straw-coloured hair plastered to his forehead. Remus sat on the shoreline, jeans rolled up to his knees, feet dipping now and then into the refreshingly cool water. James and Sirius were two splotches somewhere in the middle of the lake, good-natured insults drifting on the spring breeze. About five minutes earlier, they had come sprinting away from the greenhouses. Without so much as a 'hello', James had cannonballed into the Black Lake, making a noise that sounded halfway between a whoop and a yelp of shock. Never one to be outdone, Sirius had done the same, sans yelp, splashed James and Peter with a tidal wave, and had swam out to the middle of the lake with James in hot pursuit.

It was a peaceful interlude that ended all too soon.

Dorcas emerged from the grounds nearest the entrance to the castle, long brown hair swinging behind her in a ponytail. Rose immediately jumped to her feet, bringing her fingers to her lips in her best London cab whistle. She jerked her thumb over her shoulder, silent demand for James and Sirius to get their arses back pronto. Confident the splashing coming from the lake meant her message was received, Rose turned to share a worried frown with Remus. The green eyed Marauder was staring back at the castle with a contemplating wrinkle to his forehead, something tense about his shoulders. Dorcas reached them just as James and Sirius hauled themselves out of the lake. All three were breathing heavier than normal, Dorcas flushed with exertion while the boys (and Peter) dripped steadily onto the ground.

"Just what" James panted, irritation offset by the dripping of his hair on to his sodden t-shirt. "Is so bloody important?"

"Dumbledore wants to see you lot" Dorcas gasped, still trying to get her breath back. "McGonagall didn't say much. Just something about the Ministry and a sudden burst of conscience." Big brown eyes peered from James to Sirius. "Do you know what's going on?"

James sighed regretfully, hazel eyes staring at some unidentifiable spot on the horizon. "I got a letter from Uncle Charlus yesterday" he murmured, Sirius briefly looking taken aback. James moved his shoulders in an infinitesimal shrug of apology. "I didn't think Dumbledore would really let it happen."

"Let what happen, Prongs?" Remus demanded, drying the two of them with a frustrated twitch of his wand.

James tilted his head, squinting a little in the afternoon sunlight. "According to Uncle Charlus, the Ministry have realised they made a few mistakes after Hogsmeade. He said they might want to ask us a few questions, see how to proceed."

Rose could barely believe her ears. She'd thought things were going well. She'd thought they'd finally been able to set Hogsmeade and everything that happened on Sirius' birthday firmly in the past. But now... "They want us to relive Hogsmeade? Now? Why? What good could it possibly do?!"

Sirius sneered, some of his old anger burning in his eyes. "Because a group of sixteen year olds were somewhere they had no place being, while a group of psychopaths tried to destroy it" he announced bitterly. "Someone must be held accountable, otherwise it's just the Ministry at fault."

James laughed bitterly. "We can't have that."

As ever thank you for reading!

Reviews are always appreciated!

Until next time!