Alice's day began normally. She woke early in the morning (before the rising sun) with the typical pit in the bottom of her stomach and turned about for quite a while, trying to fall back asleep before finally giving up. The sun was only just peeking over the horizon when she crawled out of bed and changed into more comfortable clothing so that she might go for a morning jog around the castle grounds before most students woke up.
During the summer, Alice had run nearly every day – keeping herself in good shape for her internship at the Aurors' office. Sometimes, in the past, she had gone out on runs with Frank while at school, the pair racing each other around the castle. Now, Alice ran along their old routes alone, nothing but the sound of her heavy breathing to keep her company. Perhaps Frank went out on runs with Cecily now - Alice was sure she looked much sexier in her jogging attire - her perfect skin probably sparkling with sweat while Alice looked like a hot mess. She was blotchy faced and panting by the time she made her way back into the castle – desperate to get upstairs without being seen by anyone she knew.
Alice took a shortcut to Gryffindor Tower, drawing back the tapestry which hung from the wall of the main staircase's second-floor landing. Behind the tapestry was a hidden corridor which led on to a tight, spiral staircase up to the sixth floor - a faster and less busy route back to the tower. Alice stepped into the dimly lit corridor, letting the tapestry fall back down behind her. She gasped in surprise, shocked when she spotted two, tall figures at the other end of the hall, both turning to face her in horror.
"Alice…" It was Fabian Prewett who she recognized first, stepping forward with his familiar auburn hair. He looked towards her sheepishly, Alice struggling to understand why until the figure behind him emerged and she realized that it was Everett Jenkins. Her jaw dropped.
"I didn't even know that you two were acquainted…"
"We weren't," Fabian explained, "not until recently…"
"We met at a mutual friend's New Year's party," Everett jumped in.
Alice could hardly believe her eyes. What the hell were Everett and Fabian doing in a deserted corridor, embraced like lovers? Alice looked between the two of them suspiciously, stomach in knots as she tried to make sense of the whole thing.
"So…you two are… friends?"
Fabian's cheeks turned bright pink. "Yeah," he shrugged, "something like that." Something like that.
"Are you…more than friends?"
"Yes," Everett admitted freely as Fabian shook his head in denial. "Alice, as you obviously know, we do like girls," he explained, "but we also like boys."
It took a second before everything clicked, Alice's brown eyes bulging. "So, you two are like…dating?" Never in a million years could she have predicted Everett and Fabian ending up together.
"Please Alice, you can't tell anyone," Fabian begged her, voice filled with panic. "Gideon, he has no clue, and we only just started hanging out. I've never done anything like this before—"
"You don't have to explain yourself to me," Alice interjected to assure him. "Your secret is safe. Besides, I don't think anyone would even believe me if I told them…" slowly, her gaze shifted towards Everett, standing just behind Fabian's shoulder. He could hardly meet her glance.
"There's no ill will between us," Alice finally said to him. "Not from my end at least." She had never blamed Everett for what had happened. The demise of her relationship was Alice's responsibility to bear, not his – Everett had not cheated on anyone.
"Same," Everett agreed with a half-smile.
"I do have a question for you though," Alice confessed, slightly embarrassed.
"Oh?"
"Did you know? Even when we were…flirting?" Everett knew exactly what she meant.
"Yes," he admitted. Slowly, his expression changed, the warmth draining from it. "Do you remember the rumours about me pantsing Stevie Anderson?" Alice nodded, vaguely recalling an old rumour and an argument which had transpired between Frank and Everett in a carriage ride to the castle. "Someone walked in on us together and I…" Everett looked towards the ground, his face full of shame, Alice thought he might burst into tears. "I panicked…" his voice cracked, Fabian's arm wrapping around him instinctively. "I did it so that no one would know."
"I had no clue…" Alice admitted, swallowing back a lump in her throat. "All this time you were keeping this huge secret to yourself."
"Everyone has secrets," Fabian reminded her.
"For what it's worth, I'm glad to see you both happy."
"You don't have to say that," Everett told her.
"I mean it. Someone in this castle should be." Alice smiled at them, strangely warmed by the sight of Fabian with his arm wrapped protectively around Everett's shoulders. "I won't say a word," Alice promised once again, "not to anyone."
"Thank you," Fabian seemed to breathe a sigh of relief then, Everett nodding with appreciation, his eyes glistening.
Alice said her goodbyes and continued on her way, back up towards Gryffindor Tower, setting off the series of strange events which would mark that day forever.
Lily arrived in the Great Hall for breakfast at half-past seven, Marlene by her side, trudging along grumpily (as always, early in the morning). Halfway down Gryffindor table, they spotted the four Marauders and squeezed their way onto the bench with them, Lily settling beside James while Marlene went over to the other side of the table, sitting next to Remus.
"Good morning," Lily greeted the group, giving James' already messy hair a playful ruffle before planting a wet kiss on his cheek.
"Hey Moony," Sirius said from the other side of the table, nudging Remus in the side. "Remember when Prongs used to mess up his hair anytime Lily came within a ten-foot radius?"
Remus smiled at the sight of the couple. "Now he has Lily to mess his hair up for him. How romantic."
"What can I say? I love the look of a guy who has never seen a comb in his life," Lily teased, looking up at a scowling James.
"It's genetic! I can't help it."
"Messy hair is not a genetic trait," Marlene corrected him, piling roasted potatoes onto her plate.
"That's alright, I like you just the way you are," Lily assured her boyfriend, leaning in for a kiss. They had spent a rare night apart, Lily opting instead to spend her evening studying and going to bed early, and she was drawn to James that morning – like two magnets unable to keep apart – she missed him. What a loser she was – unable to keep away from her boyfriend for one night.
"Can we stop with all the flirting at this hour in the morning?" Peter complained from beside them.
"I second that request," Marlene grumbled, taking a bite from the pile of scrambled eggs on her plate.
"Feeling jealous Wormtail?" Sirius quipped.
"Not in the slightest. I have a girlfriend."
"You do?" Lily's eyebrows rose.
"Since when?" James inquired – none the wiser.
"Since Christmas! Don't you remember? we met at the cottage? Her name is Aldora…"
"Right," James nodded along, though the look in his eyes assured Lily he still had no clue what Peter was talking about.
"Well, when are we going to get to meet this mystery gal?" Sirius inquired, smothering his toast with strawberry jam.
"Soon," Peter insisted, the colour rising in his neck. "Very soon in fact…she said she wanted to stop by the next time we go to Hogsmeade."
"She's not in school?"
"No, she's a year older than us," Peter told them, Lily trying her hardest to envision the older, sophisticated woman that Peter claimed to be in a relationship with. Truth be told, it was difficult to fully believe it…
"How about you and Leila?" Lily changed the subject, green eyes locking on Remus across the table from her. "Have things between you two settled yet?"
"We're…working through things," Remus shrugged dismissively.
"If you ask me, this bird sounds like a lot more trouble than she's worth," Sirius offered his two cents, Remus glaring at him from the corner of his eye.
"Do you realize how sexist half the things that come out of your mouth sound?" Marlene sneered at him.
Lily was pouring herself a bowl of Frosted Flakes when she heard the swooshing sound of wings, accompanied by the occasional hoot of an owl. She looked up to find the mail arriving, her own white and brown barn owl coming right towards her.
"Hello girl," Lily greeted Apollo, the same owl she'd had since she was eleven years old. She stroked Apollo's neck as she carefully removed the letter her owl had brought from home. Lily poured Cheerios into her hand, offering them to Apollo as a treat as the rest of the group received their own mail – Remus untying his copy of the morning's Daily Prophet.
"You're a good girl, aren't you?" Lily cooed as Apollo ate carefully out of her hand. The owl gave a final, satisfactory hoot before flapping her wings and flying back up towards the top of the Great Hall.
"Holy shit," Remus cursed suddenly – the whole rooming seeming to go still. "Death Eaters attack the Ministry of Magic's Auror Department," he read out loud, Lily's breath catching in her throat as she took in the gravity of the statement. For a moment no one said a word, their eyes dashing between James and Marlene – both of whom had parents within the department – the pair still as statues. As the news moved through the rest of the Hall, a hush came over the students, time itself coming to a halt.
"When?" Marlene demanded. "What time?"
Remus scanned the article quickly before replying, "Five in the morning, during shift change over…"
"How many casualties?"
"It doesn't say…"
"Give it to me," Marlene snatched the newspaper out of Remus' hands before he even had a chance to object, reading every word in great detail. Lily looked to her left, where James sat, facing forward, expression blank, hands cold as ice. What could she say? What small words of comfort could somehow ease the panic which no doubt overcame him now? Lily was helpless.
"There are no details," Marlene panicked, flipping through the pages. "How the bloody hell are we supposed to know what's happening?"
Slowly, Sirius reached out, leaning over Remus, and tugged the paper out of Marlene's hands before the news story could work her up any more than it already had.
"They would have been there," James spoke up suddenly, voice filled with certainty. "They always work on weekdays—"
"We have no idea what's going on. For all we know, they were out on duty or scheduled for later in the day," Remus insisted, trying to provide some calm. James was persistent though, shaking his head in denial.
"I know it," he told them, "there's no chance they'd let something happen in that department without being there…" Lily watched as James' skin grew pale, a thin sheet of sweat forming across his brow. He was panicking, thoughts spiralling into the worst-case scenario, and there was nothing Lily could do to help him.
"Excuse me…" James jumped up suddenly, striding quickly from the Great Hall before anyone could try and stop him. Lily did not wait long before following. She raced to keep up, stepping out to find James in the Entry Hall, leaning against the wall in the furthest corner as he threw up.
Lily was at his side in seconds, making sure no passing students caught sight of the school's Head Boy being sick in the castle's public space. James stood up slowly, eyes clenched shut.
"Here," Lily said, removing the grey cardigan she'd been wearing. She used her sleeve to wipe the sick from James' face, cleaning him up before she took her boyfriend's hand and slowly began to lead him back upstairs towards their dorms.
"They were so upset with me, the last time we were together…" James' voice cracked, tears rolling slowly down his cheeks. "I'll never forgive myself."
"You can't think like that," Lily had never seen James so distraught. He was her anchor – ready to catch Lily whenever she fell – and yet now he was the one in need of saving. It was Lily's turn to be the strong one, whether or not she was up to it. "We have to think positive thoughts," Lily said to the both of them. "We have to."
Marlene had been six years old the first time her mother took her to work with her and explained what exactly it meant to be an Auror. She's too young, her father had protested, watching as her mother zipped up Marlene's little, pink coat. Sooner or later she will have to learn about the world. Marlene had always resented her mother for that – throwing her into the deep end too soon and failing to nurture her enough. Now, she could not help wondering who she would be today if her mother had not instilled such stoicism in her from a young age. With her mother's life hanging in the balance, she wished that she had been more appreciative of that time together...
What followed the arrival of The Daily Prophet that morning was chaos. Students from all houses and years worried about their loved ones and the Professors decided before eight that morning that classes would be cancelled for the day – allowing everyone in the castle time to grieve and process.
"I have to find my brother," Marlene announced to her friends at some point – the hours of the morning blurring together. She wandered over towards Ravenclaw table, searching the benches for her little brother. Marlene found Danny sitting with two of his friends, ashen-faced. He looked so small, hunched over between two other boys on the bench. Marlene placed a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up, blue eyes glossy.
"She'll be okay," Marlene promised him, saying what she would want someone to say to her. "If she was there, she'll be one of the survivors."
"You can't know that for certain," Danny protested, looking near tears. Marlene motioned for her brother to stand up, drawing him away from the prying eyes and ears of his friends.
"Mum's a fighter." Marlene drew her brother in for a hug, squeezing him tight, thankful to have at least one member of her family close by today. "Besides, there's not a chance she'll leave this Earth before her first grandchild is born."
Pretending that she was not absolutely terrified was the hardest thing Marlene had to do all day. She left her little brother with a kiss on the cheek and reassurances that they would hear news about their mother's safety before the end of the day. What Danny did not see was the expression Marlene wore as she exited the Great Hall, dashing outside speedily – desperate to get as far away as possible from everybody inside of the castle. If there was one thing Marlene hated more than crying it was being caught in the act itself.
She wore a chunky sweater - her school robes over top - and despite the cold weather, trudged down towards the lake, far from spying distance. Marlene settled on one of the large rocks which sat near the frozen lake's edge. All she could do, waiting there, was recall every harsh word, every crappy argument and terrible fight ever shared between her and her mother. How many times had she wished to swap parents with James? How ungrateful she had been. Today, Marlene would have taken the world's longest lecture just to know that her mother was okay – to fall into her arms once more and inhale her familiar, sweet, scent.
Fat tears dripped slowly down Marlene's cheeks, clinging to her jaw as she did her best to choke back the lump in her throat.
"Please don't get mad at me for following you…" came a familiar, deep voice. Marlene looked over her shoulder in shock, horrified at being caught in her most vulnerable state, and found Sirius approaching, removing his own robe to drape around Marlene's shoulders. He barely acknowledged the tears she quickly wiped from her cheeks.
"I wanted to make sure you were okay," he told her, averted Marlene's gaze. I know everyone's caught up with James and I didn't want you to be alone..."
"Thank you," Marlene interjected, her voice cracking. Sirius nodded slowly, grey eyes finally lifting from the ground.
"Do you want company?"
She didn't - it was the reason why she had decided to sit outside, alone, in the dead of winter. Still, Marlene had never done very well at saying no to Sirius. She gulped, still embarrassed by her overflow of emotion, but nodded none the less. Shifting over so that he might sit beside her on top of the rock she had discovered.
"She's going to be okay you know," Sirius told her, exhaling a cloud of white smoke.
"You can't know that."
"I do. She's probably the bravest person I know, and the most stubborn," Sirius added, Marlene nearly crackling a smile. "Like her daughter."
"Her best years are behind her, she's said it herself…" Marlene shuttered to imagine her mother as one of the lifeless bodies lying on the floor in the Aurors' office, lost. Her name would be read off a list of victims when the time came, memorialized forever, though everyone else in the Wizarding World would forget Maureen McKinnon's name within a few days. The very thought of it was haunting, but the possibility that it might come true…
"She won't be one of them," Sirius stated with absolute certainty. "No way Maureen McKinnon dies like that," he shook his head. "She's too good for it."
"She can't stand you, you know," Marlene reminded Sirius, making light of the situation. "Most especially because she thinks your pants are too tight."
"They are not!"
"They're kind of tight," Marlene conceded, forgetting for a second about the horror which marred that day. For a second it felt as though she might be a year back in time, teasing Sirius as they hid from the others, just the two of them.
"She'll be okay," Sirius promised her as if he had the power to control such things. "I know it."
It was the same, blind comfort which Marlene had provided her brother with not even an hour before and while she knew that it was empty – Sirius could not possibly know for certain that her mother was safe – Marlene was calmed by it none the less. It was somehow, exactly what she had needed to hear.
"Thank you," Marlene said to Sirius once more, their eyes catching this time. He nodded, shrugging the whole thing off, as he did everything.
Peter was sitting in the big red armchair that James had in his bedroom, knees pulled up to his chest. There was a yellow radio sitting on the bedside table, volume at full blast, everyone in the room listening closely as Oscar Finch from Wizarding Wireless Network News interviewed the Minister of Magic – Harold Minchum. Peter was struggling to pay attention - his anxiety growing the more dire news became.
James was sitting on the side of his bed, closest to the radio, still, as a statue, his elbows rested on his knees, forehead in his hands. Sirius and Remus sat on the couch opposite Peter. No one dared to say a word in fear they might miss precious information.
"Minister, can you tell us how it is we know for certain that this attack was orchestrated by the Death Eaters?"
"We know that this Voldemort," he spat out the name with disdain, "has begun to leave behind a mark, breadcrumbs if you will, something to claim the work of he and his followers. We call this sigil the dark mark, most especially because it is a dark stain on our history."
"What can you tell us today about the damage done to the Ministry of Magic?"
There was a long pause, the Minister taking a deep breath before he so much as dared to breach the topic. Peter's stomach was in knots, his gaze trained on James.
"The Auror Department was targeted this morning, at half-past five, just as there was a shift change over in the department. We have reason to believe that this attack was coordinated by someone who works within the Auror Department."
"A spy?" Peter gasped in horror, shocked that traitors could be so deeply embedded within their midst.
"Do we have an estimate on casualties?"
"We lost two Aurors this morning," Minchum announced. "We have ten others receiving urgent care at St. Mungo's Hospital as we speak. I can confirm now that one of those individuals in the hospital is the head of the department, Alastor Moody."
Peter's eyes flickered around the room in a panic, taking in the dour expressions of his friends as they all tried to digest the news. Alastor Moody was injured. Two were dead. Could it be the Potters?
"We will not be releasing names until all family members have been informed."
"Fucks sake," James sighed in frustration.
"That's good news, James. If Dumbledore knew anything you would have heard by now," Remus tried to reassure him, though James said nothing. Instead, he simply reached out, grabbing the radio and chucking it at the wall, the sound of the Minister of Magic's voice tapering out.
"I can't just sit here and do nothing," he complained, beginning to pace the width of the room.
"You have no choice," Remus reminded him. "We're stuck in this castle."
"Technically we know every exit available in this castle," Sirius piped in, James nodding along.
"Exactly. We're more equipped than anyone not to make a mistake—"
"And what are we going to do once we do escape? What plans do you have James? We don't even know if they were there."
"We go to the house," James suggested, making it up as he went along. "If they're not home, we go to the hospital, demand information…"
"I think Moony might be right," Peter put in his two cents. "If there's any news they'll tell you."
"That could take hours," Sirius objected, taking James' side - as always. "We could have our answers in a matter of minutes if we do it this way."
"Yeah, we could also get expelled!" Remus reminded them sharply, always the voice of reason. Peter was anxious not to get in trouble – especially not when he was so close to graduating. It seemed silly to run out into a danger zone when they could wait, safely, within the castle until news arrived.
James stopped in place, arms crossing against his chest defiantly. "I am going whether or not you lot choose to join me," he finally stated.
"Come on, Prongs, at least talk to Lily first—"
"I'll be back in the castle before she even knows I'm gone," James insisted, grabbing his coat from the back of his closet door. Sirius stood up now too, joining him.
"I'll get my things, I'm coming with you," he rushed out the door, towards their dorm room. Peter was frozen, terrified, beady eyes shifting towards Remus for rescue.
"I won't be able to live with myself if I let you two go alone," he confessed, rising now as well, a sombre look upon his face. "Though I still don't think it's a good idea—"
"Yeah, yeah, we'll argue about it on the way," James agreed, all eyes suddenly on Peter - who still sat, curled up in the armchair, trying to make himself as small as possible.
Peter hated the idea of leaving the safety of Hogwarts and heading out into the eye of the storm. They had no guarantee of their safety beyond the castle walls and Peter was not brave enough to put aside such protection so easily.
"I'm coming too," he nodded, swallowing hard, "obviously." Peter rose slowly, his stomach sinking anxiously as he followed Remus from the room. He reached into the back pocket of his jeans when they were in their dorm room, a coat draped over one arm, retrieving the letter he had received from Aldora that morning.
I can't wait until I see you, Petey. Just one more week, until I'll be visiting you in Hogsmeade, (how wonderful!) and meeting all your mates. I may not have another chance to write to you before then as this next week is going to be quite busy. There's a big surprise coming… you'll hear about it soon enough. Love Deeply, Aldora
There's a big surprise coming…you'll hear about it soon enough. Aldora's words had made no sense to Peter that morning and they made even less now as he stood at the end of his bed, scanning her words over and over, desperate to understand whether or not her surprise could have anything to do with the tragic event of that day. It was madness, wasn't it? To believe that his girlfriend – sweet, beautiful Aldora, whose laughter sounded like a symphony – might be evil enough to support Voldemort.
"Are you coming, Pete?" Remus asked, lingering in the doorway. Peter nodded, ripping the letter in half before he tossed it into the garbage.
"I'm right behind you."
Lily had left James in his room with the rest of the Marauders to get some lunch with the girls and returned upstairs to find his bedroom empty, no note, nor any sign of the boys anywhere in the castle. She asked students in the Gryffindor common room who claimed they had seen the four boys exiting in their coat's half an hour prior.
"Maybe they went out on a walk, to help clear James' head?" Alice suggested, the girls all gathered with Lily in her dorm room – comforting her.
"They've definitely gone to play a game of Quidditch," Marlene stated surely. "Let's go down to the pitch, I'm certain they're there." So, they did – all five of them – and found the Quidditch Pitch empty, not a student even in the stands. Lily knew then that James had not simply "gone on a walk" rather, he and the rest of the boys had left the castle grounds…
"They're gone…" she was panicked, her heart in her throat.
"They can't be, they can't apparate from the castle grounds," Emmeline protested.
"They know every escape route available in this castle," Marlene corrected her, frowning. Lily saw now that she too had begun to realize that the Marauders had certainly escaped to try and find the Potters. They were gone.
"How could he do this?" Lily clutched at her chest, struggling to breathe. "How?" He could have waited thirty minutes for her to return. Sure, Lily would have tried to convince him to stay, but if she couldn't, she would have wanted to be the one to go with him. Then at least, she would not have to be left worrying, helplessly, about whether or not he was safe.
"He'll be fine," Mary promised, rushing to Lily's side before she strayed into a full-blown freakout. "He's got the rest of the boys there to protect him. They won't let any harm come to James."
"Mary's right," Marlene agreed. "You know they'll keep him out of danger, Remus especially."
"They shouldn't have let him leave in the first place…"
"That's probably why they insisted on going with him," Alice reasoned.
Lily knew that her friends were trying hard to be optimistic for her sake – promising that everything would be okay when they knew just as well as Lily did that there were no guarantees in the world. James had left the safety of Hogwarts and put himself into danger, and for what? There was nothing he could do now to change the fate of his parents, especially not as a seventeen-year-old boy.
"We should go back to the castle, we can wait in the common room," Alice suggested, wrapping her arms around herself as a cold wind blew in from the north.
"Come on," Mary wrapped her arm around Lily, slowly guiding her back up towards the castle. "We'll make a cup of tea and before you know it, all four of them will be back."
"Besides, you'll need some time to formulate your argument for when James returns," Marlene quipped. Lily could not believe her friend's selflessness – comforting her when Marlene's own mother was one of the potential victims of the attack.
"I can't wait until this day is over," Lily sighed, dreaming of falling asleep in James' arms that night, reassured that his parents (at the very least) were okay.
"Dido," the girls agreed. No one knew for certain what would happen in a minute or an hour. The whole world seemed to be hanging in the balance that afternoon, time pausing as everyone waited on edge for news about the victims of the attack. Lily could only hope that James and the rest of the boys returned soon, and with good news. At the very least, she wanted her boyfriend back alive. She wanted to be able to chastise him for running away without telling her and then throw her arms around him and inhale the familiar smell of his cologne.
The girls reentered the castle, no one saying a word as they trudged slowly back upstairs towards Gryffindor Tower. All five of them were hopeful, praying that they would see the boys walking through the portrait hole shortly after they arrived. Not one of them could anticipate how the rest of the day would truly go.
They would sit in the common room and wait for hours until the sunset upon the horizon, and darkness clouded the castle grounds. No one moved, not even for dinner, the hours ticking by slowly, one after the other, as hope faded into fear and the reality of their situation slowly sunk in.
