Thursday night, Dumbledore made the announcement.
"A few of our second years thought it would be enlightening for us to learn about some of the muggle customs. On Monday, we will be having a 'Muggle Awareness Day,' as they phrased it," Dumbledore said. "This means that you will be allowed and encouraged to wear what muggles wear rather than the school uniform. A movie will be taking place in here in the Great Hall at eight that night. Non-magical foods will be here for you if you choose to go to the movie. Directly after classes, there will be a game of football on the grounds. I have heard it is quite fun, and I recommend trying it."
The Marauders spent the weekend informing people of the rebellion and trying to find the jackets for themselves.
Finally, it was Monday.
"Am I supposed to zip it?" Peter asked.
"Only if you're cold, it looks fine unzipped," James replied.
The Marauders headed down to breakfast.
In the Great Hall, the rest of the school was wearing muggle clothes, minus a few exceptions.
Umbridge sat at the head table, wearing her normal pink attire. She did not appear to like the fashion statements of her students.
There were jeans, sweatshirts, dresses, skirts, and tee shirts. The most popular item, however, were leather jackets.
At least a fourth of the school wore them, regardless of house.
"It worked," James said with a grin.
"Good, she'll have someone with one in every class," Remus said, smirking.
"Bloody hell," Sirius said.
"What?" Peter asked.
Sirius pointed.
In the headmaster's chair sat Dumbledore, who was wearing a neon orange golf shirt, which was barely visible beneath his beard. Instead of his usual wizards hat, he wore a matching visor.
"Bloody hell is right," James said, shocked.
At the Gryffindor Table, Lily, Alice, and Marlene also sported jackets, though Lily's was tied around her waist.
"Did you see Dumbledore?" James asked them.
"No…." Lily looked up towards the head table and then blinked several times as she processed Dumbledore the golfer. "Yes. That's… colorful."
"If that's Dumbledore, what do you think McGonagall will be wearing?" Alice asked.
McGonagall showed up in Transfiguration in a white blouse, a long black skirt, and emerald green heels. Her spectacles were the same green, and Sirius took it upon himself to shower her in complements.
"Minnie, you look absolutely gorgeous today! The green is a beautiful touch, you should use it as an accent more often. The white also makes you look as though you're glowing, Minnie, it's absolutely marvelous," Sirius said.
"Thank you, Mr. Black," McGonagall said. "Now, if you'd allow us to begin the lesson-"
"Of course, Minnie, dear," Sirius said cheerfully.
"'Minnie, dear?'" Remus asked.
"Yes, do you think I should have called her 'darling'? Would she prefer that?"
"Probably not."
"Alright. I trust your judgment."
In Defense Against the Dark Arts, Umbridge had decided to get back at them.
"Today we will be doing a review on half breeds," Umbridge said, emphasizing the last term. She gave a smug look towards the Marauders.
"Oh no," James said, scarcely a whisper. "She wouldn't."
"She would," Sirius said, just as quiet. "If she does, I'm going to murder her."
"I'll be lookout," Peter offered grimly.
Beside them, Remus had paled considerably.
"It's going to be fine," Sirius muttered to Remus. "We promise."
"Half breeds," Umbridge began, "are creatures that are half human and half beast. They have near-human intelligence and are vicious monsters. Can anyone name a half breed for me? Ms. Evans."
"Vampire," Lily said.
"Yes, Mr. Hennings."
"Centaur."
"Very good. Ms. McKinnon."
"Merpeople."
"Yes. Ah, Mr. Lupin. Can you give us one?" Umbridge smiled sweetly.
Remus was chalk white by now.
"You don't have to answer," James whispered.
Remus answered. "Werewolves," he said, surprisingly steadily.
"The most savage of them all," Umbridge said, dangerously quiet.
Sirius cursed. "That son of a-"
"I wonder what you could tell us about them, Mr. Black."
"They're misunderstood, for starters," Sirius said, "I mean, what about the people who got stuck with that fate but didn't ask for it? They don't deserve all the-"
"Mr. Black, mind your language. That's quite enough," Umbridge said calmly.
"-they get for it. Yes, there are the people who suck, who like being like that. The thing is, to hell with them, because they shouldn't define the rest of the people who share their characteristics but aren't pure evil. If there's anyone here who thinks that werewolves all bad, think again." Sirius looked around the classroom for a moment then continued. "If I said that anyone who wore pink was obsessed with torture and kittens, you would complain. I don't blame you. I wouldn't want to be associated with that idiotic professor either. If you don't want that for yourselves, don't do it to them, because werewolves are as human as you and me. And even if you think that aren't, they still deserve the benefit of the doubt like we give each other." Sirius finished with a fiery look towards Umbridge.
"I'd like to second that," James said.
"I'll third it," Peter said.
"Me too," Lily said after a short pause.
A few others nodded, but no one spoke.
"Mark my words, half breeds are monsters," Umbridge said, walking towards the Marauders' desks.
James met her gaze with a defiant glare.
Umbridge gave him a small, cruel smile, then turned to Remus and whispered threateningly, "But of course you know that better than anyone, don't you, Mr. Lupin?"
"That bloody toad! Don't listen to her, she's a biased, idiotic git," Sirius said angrily. "If she tries anything like that again, I'm going to murder her."
"Hey, it's alright, no one knows," James said gently. "She didn't tell anyone, you're alright for now."
"Yeah, for now. Until people figure out I'm a monster," Remus said shakily. The forced collectiveness from D.A.D.A was gone.
"She's trying to get us back for getting people to wear the jackets, Umbridge just wants to scare you," Peter said.
"Well, it's working. If anyone finds out about it, I'll have to leave."
"That's not going to happen. If someone figures it out, we'll deal with that then. For now, let's just have lunch, then go to the movie tonight, and get your mind off of it," James said. "Come on."
Lunch passed uneventfully, as did the rest of the day. The Marauders skipped the football in favor of planning their next move in the war against Umbridge. Dinner went smoothly, and then it was time for the movie.
At about quarter to eight, they met Lily, along with Marlene and Alice, by the Great Hall.
"So this is what the movies are?" James asked.
"Yeah. You go with friends, you watch it, you have popcorn," Lily said.
"So I did some research," Sirius said casually, "and I read that muggles go to the movies for a date. Just out of curiosity, Evans, are you taking me, James, Remus, or Peter?"
James blinked. "Are you serious?" he asked.
"Of course, mate. I always am," Sirius answered with a wink. "Got an answer, Evans?"
Lily went pink. "Sod off, Black. You've never seen a movie before, I'm doing you a favor." With that, the group went inside.
"So am I going with Alice?"
"No," Alice said firmly.
The four main tables were pushed up against the wall. Blankets, poufs, and beanbags littered the floor. The head table had been moved close to the large oaken doors and was covered in popcorn and different sweets. Where the head table had been before, a large white screen was hung. Pointed towards the screen was a small projector, which sat in the center of the room.
"I'll grab some spots," Lily told them. "You guys get food, but bring me some popcorn."
Peter grinned. "This is the best part."
Dumbledore stood at the snack table, still wearing his neon golf outfit. "Ms. McKinnon, you should really try these lemon drops, they are quite excellent," he said contently, plucking one from the bowl.
A good portion of Hogwarts arrived at the movie. The seats were quickly filled, and at eight o'clock sharp, the candles extinguished themselves.
Sirius jumped. "Was that supposed to happen?" he asked.
"Yeah," Lily said quietly. "Now, shh, it's starting."
The projector turned on and covered the screen with a blinding light. The music swelled.
With the Great Hall captivated, the movie began.
"That was incredible!" Sirius said when the movie was over. "Why don't wizards do these things?"
"It was pretty funny, too," James commented.
"Muggles have more fun than I thought," Peter said, impressed.
"Well, when you can't magic yourself a good time, you make one," Lily said.
"Even Dumbledore enjoyed that. I think today was a success," Peter said.
"Yeah. The movie was great, and this is a really comfortable jacket," Sirius agreed.
"Three cheers for muggles," James joked.
"Four cheers for muggles, I'm going to buy one of those so we can watch movies in our dorm, it's bloody brilliant," Sirius said happily.
When at last they reached the dormitories, split up, and gotten pajamas on, the boys collapsed on their beds.
"Today," Sirius said, "was eventful."
"Yeah," James agreed.
"Do you think anyone knows?" Remus asked anxiously. "Do you think that they've figured it out?"
"No," Peter said.
"I don't think that they have," James said.
"I just can't get it out of my head, what would happen if they found out. The thing I like about Hogwarts is that here, I'm Remus. I'm not a werewolf, not to everyone. People don't see me as that here. I don't want to lose that," Remus said, looking down.
"You won't," Sirius promised. "Not if we can help it."
"If Umbridge wants to fight you, she's fighting all of us," James assured him.
"I think we need to up our game," Sirius decided. "No holding back. Blackmail, locking her in a room with bludgers. All of it. She's going to get it."
"Which one first?" Peter asked.
"I dunno. We'll figure it out later. For now, I'm going to bed, we have that test in Charms tomorrow," Sirius said. "'Night, guys."
"'Night."