It was the final Quidditch game of James's final Quidditch season at Hogwarts, Gryffindor versus Slytherin, and he had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to do.

"We're starting in ten minutes," he said, pacing around the changing room in anxious circles. "Where the bloody hell is Macdonald?"

"I just saw her this morning," said Lena Winchester, one of James's Beaters. "She didn't look ill or anything—I don't know what could've happened."

James was about ready to start tearing out his hair when the solution finally came to him. "Nneka," he said, turning to face the team's third Chaser. "Go up into the stands and fetch Remus for me, would you?"

"Remus?" asked Davis Wyners, the Seeker. "I thought he played Keeper."

"He's a decent Chaser, too," James muttered. "Decent enough that going out there with him would be better than going out a person short."

"Fair enough." With a nod, Nneka set down her broom and ducked out of the changing room to find Remus. She returned with him only a few minutes later; he looked utterly confused, blinking around like he wasn't quite sure where he was.

"Have you seen Mary, Re?" James asked him. "Has Lily?"

Remus shook his head. "Peter can't find Fiona, either—she was supposed to meet us at the stadium." He narrowed his eyes. "Wait; Mary? Shouldn't she be in here with you?"

"Yeah, well, she's not, as you can see. So we're down a Chaser five minutes before our last-ever match—"

"Your last-ever," Lena said quietly.

"—and I've got no time to find ourselves a new one. So would you like to play? Please, Remus?" They were far from the full moon this time; Remus would be fine, if a bit out of practice.

Remus chewed on his lip. "Er…this is all a bit sudden. I don't even have a broom with me, James."

"Mary left hers here; it's a Cleansweep, one model down from the one I bought you. Maybe not the best, but it flies well."

"I've got some extra robes that would fit you, I think," Davis offered. James shot him a grateful look.

Remus closed his eyes, muttering something under his breath. Then he nodded. "All right; I'll do it." He clenched his fists. "I suppose I can't embarrass myself any more than I did last time, after all."

"Remus!" Nneka cried, the Quaffle raised in her grasp as one of the Slytherins flew upwards to intercept. Remus dove forward an instant before she threw it, catching the ball cleanly between his palms and dodging a speeding Bludger on his way to the Slytherin goal posts. James hung back a bit, braced for the Slytherins to take possession, but Remus swerved successfully around each of them and threw a goal through the left post after a quick feint to the right.

The Gryffindors in the stands broke out into cheers; James swore he could hear Peter and Sirius yelling "Moony!" above the rest. Grinning, James swung around to give his friend a high-five. Remus most certainly was not embarrassing himself—this was his fifth goal of the game.

"Gryffindor is now leading one-twenty to ninety," Marlene McKinnon announced from the commentary box. "Slytherin's got to be raring for a comeback—oh, but it looks like Black has spotted the Snitch!"

Stomach dropping, James glanced down to find Regulus Black tearing after a shimmering golden streak, with Davis Wyners lagging far behind him. Shit. Out of the corner of his eye, James spotted a Bludger hurtling towards him; thinking quickly, he adjusted his position and caught it against his chest, feeling the ball vibrate angrily against his arms. "Lena!" he yelled; the Beater glanced up, and James thrusted the Bludger in her direction, hoping she'd understand what he wanted her to do with it. She did; she swung her bat downwards in the direction of the Seekers, sending the Bludger towards Regulus with a ferocious crack. The Bludger slammed into the side of his broom and sent him spinning in disorienting circles, allowing Davis to soar past him in pursuit of the Snitch. Mulciber sent the second Bludger to stop him, but James's other Beater, Anthony Frasier, swooped in to bat it away. Davis leaned forward as far as he could, his broom gripped tenuously between his knees, and with a well-timed lunge, he caught the Snitch by the wing and plucked it from the sky.

More cheers, deafeningly loud. "Merlin's pants—after a bit of Bludger trickery, Wyners has caught the Snitch, bringing Gryffindor's score up to two hundred and seventy! Gryffindor wins the game—and, if I'm not mistaken, the Quidditch Cup!"

His arms raised, James took a delighted lap around the pitch, basking in the chants and screams coming from all around. He'd done it, he and Remus and Nneka and Lena and Anthony and Sarah and Davis—and Mary, when she could be bothered to show up. James was ending his Quidditch career a bona fide champion, bringing the Quidditch Cup home for his House. He supposed it had to partially make up for all the House points he'd lost Gryffindor over the years.

"James!" It was Lily, leaning out of the stands as James zoomed by; James pulled his broom up short and flew to her, lifting her into the air and kissing her fiercely. Behind her, Peter and Sirius were going absolutely mental.

"That was incredible," Lily murmured into his ear as James set her gently down again. "You are absolutely bloody brilliant, James Potter."

Grinning like a maniac, James leaned forward to kiss her again; but then the voice of McGonagall cut suddenly through the din of the crowd, loud and grave and solemn enough to quiet them all. "Students, there has been an incident back at the castle," she said; James turned to see her standing beside Marlene in the commentary box, Filch whispering something into her ear. "I must ask that you all return to your dormitories immediately, and remain there until further notice. No one is to stay on the grounds or leave the premises. We will tell you more once we've had time to investigate." Her voice trembled as she spoke.

James turned back to Lily and his friends; Remus had flown over to join them. "What do you think that's about?" he said quietly. Whatever it was, it was certainly something serious—James had never heard McGonagall sound so distressed before.

Lily shook her head. "Mary," she whispered, going instantly pale. "What if something happened to her? I can't imagine she'd ever miss a Quidditch game unless…." Her words choked her up before she could finish her thought.

"Or Fiona," Peter said. "She promised she'd meet me here…she's never broken a promise before, James."

"Oh, Merlin," Remus murmured. He had a hand covering his mouth.

James swallowed, drawing himself up. "Screw McGonagall," he told the others. His heart was hammering against his chest. "Let's go find out what happened."

Lily and the Marauders ducked away from the stunned crowd filing back into the castle, using a secret side door around the back to get inside instead. Sirius had the Marauder's Map with him; he unfolded it to find Dumbledore, Slughorn, and Byrne all clustered together in the fourth-floor girls' bathroom. "Guess that's where we're going," James said.

They didn't have James's Cloak, but Remus cast a Shadowing Charm over the five of them that made them more difficult to see and hear, allowing them to creep their way upstairs to the bathroom. They tiptoed past the entrance, Sirius peering around the wall to see inside.

Immediately he drew back. "Merlin." He looked like he was going to vomit. "Shit. Shit."

Roughly James pushed past him to see, the breath frozen in his lungs. The professors were gathered around the motionless, lifeless bodies of two girls, both of them bleeding profusely from their foreheads. The first was Mary Macdonald, her mouth open and horror etched across every inch of her skin. SQUIB SPAWN, her forehead said in blood—her blood. Beside her lay Fiona Sakai, her vacant eyes stretched wide and staring up at nothing. Her forehead said MUDBLOOD.

"I will inform their parents myself," Dumbledore said softly, unable to pull his gaze off the two girls. "Vincent, I would like you to lead the investigation into—"

"No!" It was Lily; she'd finally stepped forward to peek. "Mary!" She fell to her knees; James wished he could help her up, but he didn't have the strength to move.

The professors swung around at the sound of her voice—the Shadowing Charm had dissolved as soon as Remus had seen the bodies. "Horace, please escort these five back to their rooms," Dumbledore said. He didn't sound angry; just sad.

"Fiona," Peter was whimpering. "Fiona, no, please, Fiona…."

"Come on, let's go." Slughorn reached out to Lily, but she pushed him away and crawled on hands and knees to the body of her friend. She collapsed onto Mary's chest, balling up the fabric of her shirt in her fists, and let out the most pained, heart-wrenching sob James had ever heard. It struck everyone in the room down to their bones.

James's ears were ringing, and his vision was filled with dark stars. This wasn't supposed to happen—not at Hogwarts. Hogwarts was supposed to be safe. The safest place on Earth, he'd thought, with Dumbledore to watch over them. How stupid he had been.

The Great Wizarding War had infiltrated Hogwarts the moment Voldemort's first Death Eaters had, and now they were ready to let the world know.