Previously: The Marauders break into McGonagall's office. While there, Sirius tries to convince James that dating Lily would only end in disaster. They succeed in getting McGonagall's notes on the Animagus transformation, but Peter loses James's Invisibility Cloak.


Chapter 37: Hogsmeade

"You know, the first Hogsmeade visit is coming up," said Peter, nervously chewing his nails as he watched the other three Marauders glumly eat their breakfast. Peter's own plate was already mostly gone, but James in particular was eating more slowly than he usually ate.

"We know," said Sirius shortly through a mouthful of kippers. "The flyer's been up on the common room bulletin board all week."

James said nothing as he speared his eggs with much more force than what was required. He had not yet forgiven Peter for losing such a priceless family heirloom, but he also did not outright snub the boy because for the time being, James was too preoccupied with what his father would say when he found out that the Invisibility Cloak was missing, and he also worried about who had gotten their hands on his cloak – James shuddered to think of who might have been holding such a valuable item at that very moment.

"I think Hogsmeade will do us some good," said Remus after several minutes of tense silence. "I mean, we still haven't seen it, and it's been a week. There'll be plenty of things to distract us from the cloak when we –"

"Somebody has to have taken it!" snapped James, finally entering the conversation and cutting Remus off from whatever he was going to say. "It's just … I don't know who."

Remus put on his thoughtful face as he started to say, "Well, considering that we –"

"By we, you mean Peter," interrupted Sirius, shooting a brief glare at Peter who mumbled another apology.

"– considering that the cloak went missing during the night," continued Remus, giving Sirius a very pointed look that he ignored, "Either somebody on patrol found it or it was another person who was out of bed, and since it's obviously very valuable, they would have made at least some kind of vague announcement that something was found last night because they have no evidence that it wasn't lost some time during the daytime – which means that somebody who was also out of bounds last night found it, and that is a very short list."

"Yeah, but it's a very short list that we don't have. Mate, it's not exactly like students advertise when they sneak around the school in the dead of night," reminded James.

"We can narrow it down," explained Remus. "Firstly, I find it highly unlikely that of all the nights for people to be out of bed, it would be the night that we needed to get into McGonagall's office. We chose Monday night because there would be less of a chance that we would run in to people. Secondly, not a lot of people would be in the Entrance Hall since it's so easy to be spotted, so we can assume that only people with common rooms down there would actually be anywhere near Peter."

"So … we've narrowed it down to anybody in Hufflepuff or Slytherin? Great, that should make it easy," said Sirius with a cynical edge to his voice.

"But how many Hufflepuffs do we know who sneak out at night and actually go farther than the kitchen?" asked Remus.

"That's makes me feel so much better, Remus," said James, not bothering to cover up his sarcasm. "A Slytherin has their snaky hands all over my father's cloak – just what I need to know so I can sleep at night."

Peter mumbled yet another apology, but the Marauders went silent after that, focusing more on their food than on the problem at hand, though James was far from forgetting about the missing Invisibility Cloak. Everybody else in the Great Hall was excited for the upcoming Hogsmeade trip later in the day, but James had a hard time pushing past his own anxiety to enjoy the moment. Several people gave the Marauders weird looks since it was very uncommon for the four of them to be so … hushed. But James did not care that they worried the Marauders were planning an enormous prank. That was their problem – James had his own to worry about.

After a while, a tinkering giggle drew James's attention, and he glanced up to see that Lily was enjoying breakfast with her friends. When she threw her head back to laugh at something Prewett said, his stomach did flip-flops. McKinnon noticed James staring at the redhead, and she leaned over to whisper something in Lily's ear, whose smile instantly transformed into a frown as she glanced at James – she must not have forgotten their conversation during their first Care of Magical Creatures class since she firmly turned back to Macdonald.

"You really sure you want to snog that, mate?" asked Sirius.

The exchange had not gone unnoticed by his friends.

"Merlin, yes," muttered James, still not taking his eyes off Lily. "Do you think I should ask her to Hogsmeade now or wait?"

"Wait," suggested Remus.

He was the only one who felt it would be prudent to answer – Sirius still looked skeptical and Peter would never be the person to ask about relationship advice.

"There's nothing to lose if you ask her earlier rather than later, and I don't really care either way – but once you find a girl who's actually good for you, I'll probably have something different to say," explained Sirius. "Though if – and this is a big 'if' – you do get her to accept a date at Three Broomsticks, think you can put in a good word for me with McKinnon?"

Here, he gave McKinnon, who at that moment had just glanced their way, a heavily suggestive wink, but the girl just rolled her eyes – though James did notice that she was smiling, unlike Lily who had only frowned with she made eye contact with James.

"But," said Remus, drawing the two of them back to their own conversation, "You could lose the Invisibility Cloak if you wait later to solve that problem."

James sighed.

"You're right, Remus – though if there's an opening, I'm taking it."

~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ 1973 ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~

Lily shivered from the cool October air brushing her skin as she and Severus exited the carriage that had delivered them to the village of Hogsmeade, and she pulled the cream-colored knit cap further down so that it covered her ears completely before tying the matching scarf snugly around her neck. Beside her, Severus's only clothing that was not a threadbare hand-me-down were the dark green mittens and hat that Lily's mother had, at Lily's request, sent Severus for his birthday the winter after they had first met on the playground all those years ago.

Just as Severus closed the door to their carriage, the black winged horses that had nearly given Lily a heart attack when she first spotted them after departing the Hogwarts Express at the start of term shook their heads unexpectedly, and she jumped at the sudden movement, keen to put some distance between those creepy creatures and herself.

"Sorry," said Severus, apparently under the impression that the door he just slammed shut was responsible for her little start. His eyes swept over the horses as if they did not exist. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"No, no, it wasn't you," answered Lily absentmindedly, glancing down at her boots nervously to keep from making eye contact with the horses. She glanced back at the carriage before turning to her friend and probing in a low voice, "Severus, what do you think makes the carriages go?"

Severus stared at her as if he was unsure whether or not Lily was playing a joke on him. When her serious expression did not change, he gave a snort and replied, "Isn't it obvious, Lils? Magic."

"So you don't see anything pulling the carriages either?" Lily clarified hesitantly.

Severus gave her a cautious look as he answered, "Don't you?"

"Well – yeah," stuttered Lily, momentarily stumbling over her words, "'Course I don't see anything – horseless carriages, just as they've always been. I'm just double-checking that my best friend's eyes work, Sev." Here, she teasingly elbowed Severus. "Don't want to get to Hogsmeade and realize that we can't enjoy the sights together – now c'mon! You promised that the first time we visited the village, we would get to explore it. Hogsmeade is calling us, Sev!"

She tugged on his cloak-covered arm. Her friend gave her an amused grin but nonetheless allowed himself to be dragged along with hardly any resistance.

"Sometimes you are quite the puzzle, Lils."

Though not much of the settlement was visible from the train station where the Hogwarts Express both dropped off and picked up students, now Lily was able to experience Hogsmeade in all its beauty. The picturesque little village was what she imagined a postcard picture of a town to look like, with the shop windows absolutely bursting with the strange and unexpected. She and Severus wandered through the High Street, staring through the glass to displays such as Dervish and Banges, which sold and repaired magical instruments, as well as the weirdly named Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop.

"Look, Three Broomsticks is right up there," said Severus, pointing out a cheerful pub a short ways away. "That'll be a good place to start."

Lily could not decline the warm and cozy pub, and she quickly followed Severus through the door and into the slightly smoky room. Three Broomsticks was full to the brim with people, students and non-students alike, but after a little sleuthing around, the two of them managed to claim a corner booth next to the table which Elena and Elizabeth Smith, twin Hufflepuffs who were friends with Marlene and who Lily got along well with, occupied while they poured over the latest crossword in the Daily Prophet.

"Uh, I'll go get drinks, shall I?" asked Severus, suddenly tense as he glanced around at the other people. "Do you want a Butterbeer?"

"Sure," answered Lily, and Severus quickly left the seat.

Once her friend was gone, Lily did not have much to do but wait, so she examined the new surroundings with interest. Three Broomsticks and its barmaid, Madam Rosmerta, had many times been a topic of conversation amongst the older Hogwarts students, and considering that she already recognized several faces besides the Smith twins and Gryffindors such as Emmie Vance with some of her other seventh year friends and – to Lily's displeasure – Belvina Travers sitting at a table surrounded by many third and fourth year Slytherin girls.

"Evans?" asked a voice, and Potter suddenly appeared at her shoulder. He looked startled to see her there, but he quickly covered up the surprise with a smooth grin that Lily felt a strong urge to smack when he added, "I see that you're sitting by yourself – how about I join you?"

Potter moved to sit in Severus's seat, but Lily raced to put her feet up on the cushion first just as she spluttered out, "Wha – I don't think so, Potter!"

Potter grumbled as he returned to a standing position, earning a triumphant grin from Lily, and by the time he accepted that he had lost the seat, the other Marauders had arrived. Black, who did not look pleased with the reason why Potter had stopped, held a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans while Remus and Pettigrew both had chocolate in their hands – she assumed that they must have stopped by the famous candy shop, Honeydukes, before entering the Three Broomsticks. All their pockets were full of items that Lily had no wish to find out what exactly they were, and they were also staring at her and Potter silently, not daring to intrude.

"Why not?" Potter challenged. "You're already sitting by yourself."

"Maybe because the less memories a Dementor such as yourself can use against me, the better," snapped Lily, glaring up at him.

A brief flash of hurt sparked in Potter's expression, and Lily felt a pang of remorse at her uncharacteristically harsh words, though that quickly disappeared when he covered it up with a grin and said, "Well, if you were a Dementor, I'd be a criminal just to get your kiss."

"Go away, Potter," she said waspishly, rolling her eyes and distracting herself by staring out the window.

"Come on, Evans," teased Potter. "Maybe –"

"What are you doing here, Potter?" demanded Severus in a cutting voice.

He had finally returned, holding to mugs of a foamy liquid, one in each hand, and Lily gratefully accepted hers just as Severus sat down – never once did he take his glaring eyes off Potter.

"I could ask you the same thing, Snivellus," sneered Potter, his tone suddenly much colder than it had been with Lily.

"I'm enjoying a nice afternoon with my friend," replied Severus, narrowing his eyes while Lily added her own silent glare into the mix. "Now leave before this place explodes from that overinflated ego of yours."

"Well, that'll be pretty hard to do, Snivellus," retorted Black, now stepping in to back up Potter, just like he always did whenever the Marauders and Severus squabbled. "You know, considering your grease has already coated this entire place. Merlin only knows how many times poor Madam Rosmerta will have to perform some heavy-duty cleaning charms after you leave."

"Oh, shut up, Black," snapped Lily after taking a sip of her Butterbeer, which would have been quite tasty if she was not so absorbed with the fight between the boys. "Honestly, why can't you just let Severus be?"

Potter drew himself up arrogantly before he said in a sarcastically pompous voice, "Because I see it as an honor to rescue lionesses from sneaky, greasy little snakes – and because it is quite fun to mess with him."

The last part was added in afterthought with his normal voice.

Lily raised her eyebrow, flatly unimpressed.

"Please, Potter, don't tell me you really just said 'rescuing lionesses' – did he really just say that, Sev?" she snorted, looking over at her friend.

She had meant for Severus to play along so that they could just get rid of those infuriating boys, but Severus was still scowling at Potter with a spiteful gleam in his black eyes.

"Potter, you won't get around to rescuing anybody when I'm the one who can sneak up on you, so you need to be careful because next time you won't be able to hide under any fancy cloaks."

Potter took a step closer, his eyes full of loathing.

"And what is that supposed to mean, Snape?" he asked, his voice suddenly very quiet and very, very dangerous – Lily had never seen him come so close to losing his temper.

Severus stood up from his seat so that he could look Potter directly in the eye, leaving only about half a foot between the two boys as they stared at each other – people would have a hard time deciding which face showed more hatred of the other. The boys had both grown, but for the moment, Snape had a couple of inches on Potter, though they were so close in height that she had to really look to see the difference, and Lily did not really fancy placing bets on who would come out on top if it came down to a fight.

"It means, Potter, that you better watch your back – because you won't even be able to see me coming," drawled Severus.

"Come on, Sev. Just let it go," interrupted Lily, getting up from her own seat to separate the boys.

She was not all that thrilled to get between Severus Snape and James Potter, but their little group was starting to draw attention and it would not be long until one of them snapped and started a duel – she had to do something.

Potter, who had not even noticed that Lily was out of her seat, smirked as he said, "Is that right? Why? Are you too scared to fight me face-to-face?"

"Guys, you're starting to make a scene…" said Lily nervously, glancing back at the other patrons who were starting to stare – she may have well been invisible, though, for all the impact she made.

"And miss the chance to see your face when I win?" simpered Severus, "No, Potter, I just prefer to conserve my energy for things that are actually worth my time and … y'know, important. Besides, you'll find that I'm much more capable of subtlety when it comes to getting rid of people I don't like."

"That's enough," ordered Lily, but the boys did not so much as glance her way.

"Is that a threat, Snape?" questioned Potter.

Lily shivered at the softness in his voice. Despite everything that had happened between them, she found that she heavily preferred Potter's annoying bravado to the side that she was witnessing at the moment. It just was not Potter. Even though she still had plenty to say about his infuriatingly boastful side, she at least knew what to expect. This new side … Lily had no idea what to think about this Potter.

"Why, yes," said Severus, seemingly relishing in the moment. "I'm so glad that –"

"I said – ENOUGH!"

Lily had bravely put herself between the two and trying to push them away from each other, one hand on each of them. They were both reluctant to move, still engaged in their glaring contest, but while Black did nothing to help, Remus must have realized what Lily was trying to accomplish and stepped forward to help. He pulled Potter away while Lily kept her hand up to prevent Severus from moving towards Potter and doing something that would definitely land him in detention – or worse.

When Severus and Potter finally seemed to realize that they were not the only people in the pub, they both glanced down at Lily, who gave them each the harshest glare she could muster.

"Honestly, Potter, is it that hard to leave people alone? You can't strut around and start fights with anybody you happen to dislike – now go away!"

Lily caught Black whisper something along the lines of "… thought you said she could wait?", but Remus was already pushing Potter towards the back exit on the far side of the room, but that did not stop Potter from shooting one last look at Lily and Severus, one full of anger and frustration – along with a hint of suspicion, though she was not quite sure what exactly that was about. Black and Pettigrew followed after giving her and Severus a final glare, and only when all four of the Marauders were out of sight and the pub's noisy background chatter started up again did Lily relax and drop her restraining hand from Severus's chest.

"Thanks for backing –" began Severus, but Lily cut across him.

"Don't say it, Sev!" she snapped, clambering back into the booth and grabbing her Butterbeer that was already cooling no thanks to the recent distraction. "You're not innocent in all of this either."

~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ 1973 ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~

"I'm fine, mate! You can let me go now," snapped James furiously as the door to the Three Broomsticks closed behind him, leading them into an alley behind the pub. He may have been able to hold his cool in front of Lily, but the sudden burst of cold air against his face had quickly brought him back down.

He roughly tugged his arm free of Remus's hold, and the werewolf quickly held up his hands to show that he did not mean to do anything other than help. Of course, it was not really Remus who James was angry at, but considering that his friend was the only one of the four Marauders who helped to drag James away from the target of his hatred, Snape, it was Remus that received the unfortunate backlash – because James was pissed off at somebody alright, and while people always considered Lily and Sirius the Gryffindors to watch out for when in a temper, that by no means meant that James was mellow.

"James, calm down –" started Remus, but he did not get very far.

"Calm down? Calm down?" snarled James, hardly daring to believe what he was hearing. Whirling around to face the other three Marauders who seemed unsure of how to react to his fury, James was not even aware that he was unconsciously raising his voice. "That dirty, slime-covered … snake all but admitted he had the cloak – my father's cloak, Remus! 'Hiding under fancy cloaks', he said – he all but admitted it! And you expect me to calm down? Snape has one of the most treasured Potter heirlooms, and I'm just supposed to do nothing – are you out of your bloody mind?!"

"Put a lid on it, mate," said Remus impatiently. "We know who has the Invisibility Cloak now, and that means we can find a way to get it back."

That was about the only thing that could have halted James mid-rant, and once he had reigned in some of his earlier fury, he asked in as controlled voice as he could manage, "And just how are we supposed to get something back from somebody who's invisible?"

"How else, Jamie-Boy?" asked Sirius, finally joining in the conversation now it resembled a … well, a conversation. "We prank old Snivellus of course. That should make his Halloween one to remember – and the best part is that we already have everything planned. We'll just have to move up the timeline a little bit."

"Oh," said James, finally catching on, "That prank."

"Yes," said Sirius with a devilish grin, "That prank."

~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ 1973 ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~

Lily did not talk much as she sat at the dinner table, barely enjoying the feast as she absentmindedly traced Bellatrix's scar on her wrist, thinking back to the near fistfight that had nearly erupted between Potter and Severus when they were at the Three Broomsticks earlier in the day. However, while her own Hogsmeade visit had been marred towards the end by the confrontation between the two boys, her three girlfriends had a much more pleasant experience, and Alice was still chattering about their trip long after it had ended.

"I mean, did you see the size of those lollipops?" she asked after swallowing a bite her mashed potatoes. "They were as big as your head, Mary! I'm pretty sure I'm in love."

"We've noticed that, dear," said Marlene dryly, popping a meatball into her mouth – how she managed to eat spaghetti so neatly, Lily hadn't the faintest idea. Not even Petunia could have accomplished such a feat, no matter how hard she might try. "Though the question is who truly holds your heart: those giant lollipops or that boy we ran into outside Zonko's Joke Shop, Frank … what's his surname again?"

"Longbottom," piped up Mary helpfully after swallowing a bite of her steak. "Frank Longbottom."

Alice's face instantly blushed a furious scarlet, and she muttered, "I don't think Lily wants to know the details, Marlene." Glancing from side to side to ensure that nobody was listening in on the conversation, she added in a low voice, "Besides, I thought you said that you wouldn't talk about that."

"No, I said that I wouldn't shout it out for the world to hear, Al, but I think Lily would find the incident to be most interesting," corrected Marlene teasingly.

Lily leaned forward, no longer so preoccupied on the fight between Severus and the Marauders and much more interested in this latest development. She had briefly talked to Frank Longbottom when she had been comforting Alice for not making the Quidditch team during their second year, losing the position of Seeker to Alexandra Hopkirk, a girl who was now in her seventh and final year at Hogwarts. Alice had been sitting on Frank's bag at the time.

"I am interested in hearing more about this incident," said Lily eagerly. She could not even remember the last time she and her friends had simply relaxed and gossiped about things so trivial. "What happened?"

Alice flushed an even deeper shade of scarlet and mumbled something unintelligible, so Marlene took it upon herself to describe the resulting scenario to Lily: "You see, we were just coming out of Zonko's Joke Shop when we ran into Frank – well, Alice was actually the one whoran into Frank – she literally ran right into him. It would have been good and all except that Alice dropped her bag in shock. Frank tried to help her, but when he leaned down to pick some of Alice's things, but he didn't realize that she had several Fanged Frisbees in her bag, so naturally …"

"They bit Frank," finished Lily.

"That's not the best part though," sang Mary, very amused at Alice's steadily redder face.

Marlene continued after waiting a moment to ensure that her friends were done talking, and she said, "Alice tried to help Frank, but she ended up slipping on her bag. Unfortunately for Frank, he was near enough that Alice also ended up sending Frank sprawling as well, which only gave the Fanged Frisbees more opportunities to bite him."

"You're right, Marlene," sniggered Lily, "That is interesting."

"Is not," muttered Alice quietly, crossing her arms, but her friends were too busy giggling to pay much mind.

~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ 1973 ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~

"Are you ready?" whispered Sirius as he slipped into the seat next to James.

On the outside, the Halloween feast James and the other students were currently enjoying in the Great Hall appeared to be the exact same as any other feast, but the Marauders were the only ones who knew that things would soon take an exciting turn. Several people glanced nervously at the unusually quiet Gryffindor boys. The other students soon brushed it off as nothing when they did not see anything happen at first, but James was anything but relaxed.

"If you ask me that one more time, I'll gag you myself – honestly, some might think that you were stalling," hissed James without letting his glare stray away from Snape and Mulciber, neither of whom realized that they would soon be on the receiving end of their much-deserved prank.

"Alright, alright, Jamesie-Boy," calmed Sirius, looking a little miffed at James's urgency. "It won't be long now – no need to get your wand in a knot."

After days of careful, meticulous preparation, their plan to retrieve the Invisibility Cloak would finally be put into action. James could not actually tell how much of the elaborate prank had to do with recovering his family's heirloom and how much was simply payback for Snape stealing the cloak in the first place – though it was not like James cared how much went to payback so long as he and the Marauders felt a sense of satisfaction and Snape, along with the other guilty Slytherins, felt the exact opposite afterwards.

True to his word, it did not take long for Sirius's spells to take effect – and the effects were hilarious to say the least.

"What the –" yelped Mulciber, flinging his goblet that he had been raising to his lips just then away in complete and utter shock.

Because the goblet was no longer a goblet.

With small pops, the dishes instantaneously transformed into miniature versions of musical instruments and started to play recordings of the most annoying songs Peter could think of, both Muggle and magical – though they were deafening all the same. The instruments wheeled and bounced along the table, rudely honking a strange combination of the Beatles and Celestina Warbeck at any Slytherin within its immediate vicinity while they jumped onto heads and shoulders, and even though many people made attempts to swat them away, the instruments deftly evaded the slapping hands. Though each instrument had a preprogrammed song, they all collided and mashed to form one jarring, harsh cacophony of noises.

It did not take long for the chaos to spread to everywhere in the Great Hall, the sudden discord startling students sitting at all four of the tables even though it was the Slytherin table who received the large majority of the shockwave – Snape's circle of associates were getting the worst part of it of course.

James gave a large snort when a tuba unleashed a thunderous blast of sound right in Snape's face, causing him to fall backwards off the bench from the shock. Several trumpets and French horns took up a blaring melody that could have served as screams from horror movies as they chased the Slytherins all around the Great Hall, tooting distasteful tunes which were eerily close to resembling a ghost's Deathday party orchestra, and a laughing Sirius high-fived James when a horde of piccolos shrieked the shrillest, most unpleasant chord James had ever heard right in Avery's ear; Avery skittered back the wall, his hands clamped tightly over his ears.

Other students had not been spared either, but the melodies surrounding them were far less aggravating when compared to the horrible excuse of a song several out-of-tune accordions were playing at a very confused Wilkes – indeed, Sirius had made sure that McKinnon would get serenaded with a romantic love song some violins played her, and judging by the glare Lily was giving James at the moment, she herself did not appreciate the crooning saxophones James had set on her.

And Lily was not the only one to draw the conclusion that the Marauders were behind the prank.

"You're not getting away this easily, Potter!" yelled Snape from across the Great Hall, pointing an accusatory finger at James.

"Phase one: complete," snickered James quietly to Sirius just as Snape dropped his arm so that he could bat away a gang of clarinets whining loudly in his ear.

Just as was their plan, James and Sirius rose from their seats with hardly any interruption in full view of the crazed students and several of the teachers who had rushed forward to help. Even the dancing skeletons Dumbledore usually booked had joined in with their own creative dance routine. From the venomous glower Snape was throwing their way, it would not be long before the Slytherin sought revenge on the Marauders, but since that would not happen for a while, James simply pulled Sirius along until they had exited the Great Hall and left others to deal with the carnage they had created.