Disclaimer - I do not own Harry Potter
Lily wakes up with a groan, looking around and realising she is on the floor of the Potions classroom. After a moment, she remembers what happened and looks to the side of her. She finds Remus and shakes him. "Babe, wake up," She says as she shakes him.
"Five more min'es," He complains, but nevertheless opens his eyes. He smiles up at her, "You really are beautiful."
Lily blushes, "You aren't so bad yourself, you know."
Remus ignores the comment as he pushes himself up right. He too then remembers what happened and looks over the floor. "Where's the ball?"
"I…don't know," Lily says as she notices it's nowhere around, "Maybe we should just head back to the others. I think it's time to call it a night."
"Agreed."
The two head back to the common room and find it empty. "Guess they got tired of waiting. Must've been out for a while," Remus suggests, rubbing at his head.
"Riiiiight…well this has been an odd night."
"Yeah. See you in the morning?" Remus asks, Lily nods and leans up. Remus grins before he leans down and kisses her sweetly. They rest their foreheads together for a moment before going their separate ways.
Remus climbs the stairs to his dorm and goes in. He's sat on his bed taking his shoes off before he notices the absence of Peter's snoring. With a frown, he takes a closer look at the beds in the room. The empty beds.
On a hunch, he checks the other boys' dorms. All of them are empty.
Remus runs down to the common room just as Lily gets there too, they look to each other in panic.
"Why didn't you pick the donkey, you idiot?!"
"What if Dumbledore isn't there?" Lily asks as she and Remus head towards the Headmaster's office.
"Then we'll find McGonagall."
"Remus, there is no one here. The castle is empty."
"We don't know that, not until we speak to Dumbledore. We only know that Gryffindor Tower is empty." Lily looks at him, fear clear on her face. "If we can't find Dumbledore, we'll go to Hogsmeade. There's got to be people there."
Lily nods, "Okay. Okay."
Remus and Lily make it to Dumbledore's office and open the door to find it empty. As the two look around for clues, Lily gasps. "Babe?"
Remus looks over, following her arm as it points until he sees what she's looking at.
She's pointing at a portrait.
An empty portrait.
The two look at each other in horror.
"What the actual fuck?"
James and Marlene burst into the Headmaster's office, finding him sitting at his desk.
"Headmaster! I'm sorry, I know we shouldn't have been doing it, we shouldn't even be awake, but now they're gone and there was a weird ball thing, and who knows what's happened to them, they could be dead for all we know!" Marlene all but shouts.
Dumbledore blinks at her, "Mr Potter?"
"Evans and Remus were doing a dare and never came back. We went looking for them but all we found was a crystal ball on the floor. They've been missing for over an hour."
"Where were they last you knew?"
"They were heading to the potions classroom," Marlene tells him.
The headmaster's eyes widen, "And that's where you found this Crystal Ball?" He asks forcefully.
"Yes, Sir," James replies.
"Miss McKinnon go and wake Professor McGonagall. Mr Potter, wake Professor Slughorn. I shall meet all four of you in the classroom."
"Yes, Sir," Both students say before they rush off to do as they were told.
"Sounds like trouble, big trouble, if that ball is what I think it is."
Dumbledore frowns, "Yes, Phineas. Big trouble indeed."
Remus and Lily walk to the front entrance of the castle in silence, holding hands for comfort.
Lily opens the door, both stepping out.
Remus' eyes widen, "I-I know where we are."
"What are you talking about?" Lily asks. Remus just nods ahead. Lily turns and sees nothing but fog and an odd horizon that seemed quite dome-shaped. Then it clicks, "WE'RE IN THE CRYSTAL BALL?!" She screams.
Remus sees something moving out of the corner of his eye and turns to look. He sees a dark cloud moving throughout the sky, only it's not a cloud. Remus catches sight of some kind of shrouded claw and suddenly remembers the face he'd seen in the crystal orb. "Lily, Lily inside. NOW!" He screams as the face comes into view, spots them, and starts swooping towards them at high speed.
The two get inside, shutting the door as something comes into contact with it.
They look at each other. Lily gives a terrified smile, "Guess we aren't alone in here after all."
McGonagall and Marlene enter the Potions Classroom to find Slughorn, James, and Dumbledore already inside along with the other students who had played the game.
"Albus?" McGonagall asks.
"It's the Orb, Minerva. Miss Evans and Mr Lupin were pulled in."
"Oh…oh, no…" McGonagall says, looking at the Crystal Ball in question.
"Professors, please, what is it?" Frank asks nervously.
"It is…" Dumbledore trails off, looking them over. "A pocket universe, of sorts. Within the orb is an alternate Hogwarts. The Orb…is history. All we know of it are from papers written in the time of the Founders. It is said to be…inescapable."
"But then, how do we get them out?" James asks with a frown that he won't admit is not concern but fright.
Dumbledore shares a look with his fellow Professors. "We can't."
"Wait, why would someone make a crystal ball – orb – whatever – that sucks people in and traps them for the rest of their lives?" Mary asks, trying to sort everything out in her head.
"We do not know. Rowena Ravenclaw herself left explicit instructions that the Orb was never to be touched, and for over a thousand years, no one did."
"We can't just leave them in there!" Marlene shouts.
"Calm yourself, Miss McKinnon. Of course, we will not," McGonagall tells her sharply.
"Yes, of course. We will begin searching for an answer immediately," Slughorn adds. He and McGonagall leave, presumably to the library.
"Professor, they will find something, won't they?" Mary asks, the sixteen-year-old asks fearfully.
Dumbledore has a grave look on his face before he calmly replies, "I have attempted my own research into this orb many years ago. If there are any books that reference it, they are not within the castle." He leaves the room in a sweep of his robes, levitating the Orb out with him.
"They may not be in the castle, but I know where those books might be," Sirius tells the others.
"Where?" Mary asks.
"The library at m-…at Regulus' house."
"Sirius, you only escaped from that place a year ago. Are you sure you want to go back?" James asks him in concern.
"I've not got a choice. We have to get Moony back."
"How are you even going to get in?" Peter questions, unsure if he should be trying to talk his friend out of this or in to it."
"I spent sixteen years of my life sneaking out of that place. How hard can it be to sneak in?"
The others seem far more dubious than he.
"AHHHHHH!" Lily screams as she and Remus run down a corridor, windows shattering and showering them in glass. The thing outside continues its howling that sounds something like wind yet also like some supersonic noise. It shatters more windows trying to get to Lily and Remus. Remus grabs Lily, pulling her down at a wall that breaks up the windows.
"We need a plan," Remus tells her, eyes frantically wide as they dart back and forth trying to formulate a plan.
"We have to get to the library," Lily tells him.
"The library? Why? It's got more windows than anywhere else!"
"Not in the restricted section it doesn't." Remus looks at her in shock, she sighs, "We need to find out what this thing is, what the Orb is, or we've no chance of getting out."
Remus looks anxious, peering around the wall only to be assaulted by the creatures cry once more. "ARRGHH," He groans, clutching at his years.
"Remus?!" Lily calls.
Remus groans again, "I'm all right. I mean, my ears are ringing. But otherwise, I'm fine."
"All right, you see that doorway there, we're going to make a break for it," Lily tells him, pointing across the hall.
"Lily that's right within the windows line of sight, how are we going to get there without being fucking vaporised?"
"We'll move quickly and stay low to the ground."
"Do you even know where that door goes?" Remus asks her.
She sighs, "No, but it'll be connected to something. In this castle, eventually, everything is connected."
Remus can't really deny that, so he nods. "Count of three then," He suggests, she nods. "One."
"Two," Lily says.
They look to each other and nod. "Three!"
A quick dash later, Remus gets the door open, only for both to be pushed inside by some kind of shock wave.
"Get the door!" Remus shouts from where he's skid across the floor. Lily gets up from where she had landed and almost trips getting up before she throws herself at the door, shutting it and sliding to the ground.
"You all right?" She asks him.
"Yeah, peachy," Remus replies.
"Ineptus!" Remus and Lily jump around in fright, Remus yelping when they come face to face with an old man. "ABSOLUTA INSULSI, UT NIHIL SIBI MANDATUM STULTI?!"
"Err, Lily, dear, do you happen to speak Latin?" Remus asks her.
"I know how to insult people, which means I understood quite a bit of that," Lily replies. Remus nods, unsurprised. "Quid fatuus?" Lily tries. He looks incredibly offended, "No, not you. Us, us," She says, gesturing between them.
The man huffs impatiently and pulls a wand out of his robes. "Locutus sum lingua interpretari," he casts. "Now," He says to the shock of the other two, "What do you fools think you are doing?!" He shouts angrily. "I did not sacrifice my freedom for you imbeciles to render yourselves trapped here with me!"
"Erm, listen, Sir. This was an accident. We just found this Crystal Ball in Hogwarts and –"
"Decided to touch a magical object with which you were unfamiliar?"
"Well…yes," Remus replies awkwardly. The old man seethes.
"Who are you? What did you mean sacrifice your freedom?" Lily asks, intervening the man can continue shouting.
"This Orb, it is a prison. There was a great evil, one none could defeat. The others and I managed to imprison it within the Orb, but a sentry must remain to ensure the evil in ensnared," He explains, suddenly stumbling. Remus and Lily both move forth and catch him by the arms, lowering him onto a chair in the room. "Ah, so that is why you are here," He says, "My time as sentry has come to an end. I suppose even the orb can only maintain my life for so long."
"Please, Sir. Who are you?" Remus presses.
The man smiles, tears in his eyes. "A man with a burden, a dreadful burden. One I have no choice but to pass on to the two of you." The two students exchange anxious looks before they look back to the man who is staring at Remus intently. "I can pass the knowledge into you when I pass the veil, should you so desire. But with it would be my memories of a life lived long ago. The choice is yours, my Lad."
"You mean you are going to die?" Lily asks, "No, we must be able to save you somehow."
"My time is long over, Child. Tell me, what became of Hogwarts?"
Remus frowns in confusion, "It's still there. We're students there, in Gryffindor."
The man chuckles, "That would explain the recklessness that landed you both here." Neither are sure whether it's worth being insulted or not. "But then, perhaps the courage you must possess will serve you better than the cunning that trapped me in this room." The man's eyes begin falling shut despite his attempts to keep them open.
"Sir?" Lily asks in concern.
"It is time to make your decision, Lad," The man tells Remus.
He looks to Lily for a moment before turning back and nodding. "We need to know."
"Good luck," He says in all but a whisper. Then his eyes close, and he's gone.
A sudden light comes from his third eye and attaches itself to Remus. Remus gasps, then the light fades, and Remus collapses onto the ground.
"Remus!"
Hope, Lyall, Michelle, and Daniel walk into Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts.
"Ah, thank you for coming Mr Lupin, Mrs Lupin, Mr Evans, Mrs Evans."
"What's going on, are Lily and Remus all right?" Michelle asks frantically as she clutches her husband's arm.
Dumbledore looks at them all with sadness in his eyes. "I'm afraid the two of them have gotten themselves trapped within an ancient artefact, one we do not yet understand. Of course, Professors McGonagall and Slughorn are working tirelessly to find a way of freeing them but, I have no guarantee that there is a way. Only that we will do our best to find one."
"And if you can't? If you can't find this mysterious way that may or may not exist?" Hope demands angrily.
"Then your children will remain trapped," Dumbledore replies sagely.
"That is not good enough, Headmaster," Lyall tells him aggressively.
"Oh, don't pretend you care any," Daniel snaps at the man, "You won't even allow your Son home for Christmas."
"You know nothing of our family, or my relationship with my Son," Lyall bites back.
"We are well aware of your Son's illness, and the coldness and cruelness you have treated him with since he was infected," Michelle tells him, "Do not think for a moment you have gotten away with it. But for now, it does not matter."
"Actually," Hope speaks up timidly, "I think it may matter an awful lot." Everyone looks to her in confusion. "This artefact, is there a way Remus will be able to lock himself away from Lily if they are still in there when the full moon rises?" The parents look around in mild horror. "It is only four days away, Headmaster Dumbledore. Please, Remus would never forgive himself if he harmed her. You have to find a way."
"I will do everything I can, Mrs Lupin, to ensure the safety of my students."
Hope isn't convinced he meant that at face value.
Remus groans as he rolls over, pushing himself upright. "Lily?" He calls.
"I'm here," She replies from where she sits on the wall across from where she has laid the body of the man.
"How long was I unconscious?"
"I don't know. Maybe fifteen minutes?" Remus nods, leaning back against the wall adjacent to the one Lily's is sitting at. Lily continues staring at the man. "Who was he? You have his memories, right? You must know who he was."
Remus nods, "That man, who insulted our Gryffindorness," He says with a slight chuckle, "Was Salazar Slytherin."
"What?!" Lily asks incredulously.
Remus nods, "The 'others' that he was referring to, they were the other founders."
"You have the memories of Salazar Slytherin inside your mind?" Lily asks him.
"Yep," He replies, popping the 'p'.
"You aren't going to start hating Muggle-borns, are you?"
"He didn't hate Muggle-borns. He just didn't think they should be taught at Hogwarts. Why am I defending that? No, no I am not going to start hating Muggle-borns," Remus tells her, pressing the heel of his palm to his forehead. "Everything's just…moving fast, right now."
"How do we get out of here?" Lily questions quietly.
Remus frowns, looking at her and then to the ground. "He spent over a year of his life trying to make this Orb inescapable by what he considered pure evil. He never looked for a way out. Never planned to leave."
Lily nods, seeming rather shell-shocked if the blank look on her face and far away gaze as she stares at Salazar is any indication. "It's been quiet outside for a while. I think the creature, whatever it is, moved on."
"Then we should get out of here while we can," He suggests, standing and holding a hand out to his girlfriend. Lily looks at it, then at him. She stares intently for a moment before nodding and taking his hand.
Sirius creeps into the Gryffindor Common Room and finds the others waiting anxiously. He pulls off James' cloak and drops the book he brought back with him onto the coffee table. "I found something, and it's not good."
The group go to Dumbledore's office where they find he and McGonagall.
"Professors, we ignored you when you said to leave this to you. But, before you get annoyed, we did find something," James declares as they walk into the room.
McGonagall narrows her eyes at them all but nods for them to go on.
Sirius opens the book to the page he dog-eared and puts it on the desk in front of them. "Tempus dilatatio extremitates. It took me a while to translate but, it means –"
"Time dilation," Dumbledore interrupts.
"I still don't understand what that means," Marlene complains.
"It means," Bob begins, "That time passes differently within the Orb."
"In this case, faster," Sirius adds.
"Right so, they've been gone a day, here. But for them, it's been much longer," Mary concludes.
"How much longer?" Frank asks.
Sirius sighs, "I don't know. The passage doesn't say what the time differential is, only that there is one."
"So, they could've been in there for days already, or even weeks?" James asks incredulously.
"Prongs, they could've been in there for months."
The two trapped teenagers scour through books in the library.
"This is hopeless," Lily complains, "We've been searching this bloody library for two months and we've found nothing. Let's just face it, we're going to be stuck here for the rest of our lives which, if Salazar is any indication, could literally be centuries."
Remus sighs, dropping his head into the book open on his bent knees. "I know."
Lily looks over in surprise, "I was expecting you to break into some uplifting speech."
"I'm well aware of how fruitless this search has been. It's been two months, if anyone from the outside world were gonna find a way to help us, they would have already. They're as lost as we are and at some point, probably soon if they haven't already, they'll give it up as a lost cause."
"…Remus, it's been two months," Lily says suddenly.
"Yes…we just went over this."
"No, I mean, I mean it's been two months, as is two lunar cycles. You haven't transformed."
Remus looks up in shock, "The moon must not affect me in here." He seems to digest this for a moment, "If we do spend the rest of our lives in here, that means I'll spend the rest of my life never needing to worry abut my condition ever again." Then he grins, "You're right Lils. This research is hopeless."
"Why do you look excited by that?"
"Because, we've got the run of the castle. No rules, no Professors, no consequences. So, why are we holed up here trying to find information that is nowhere to be found? We could be doing anything. If this is going to be our lives for the foreseeable future, let's not spend it here."
Lily looks at him, a grin slowly spreading across her face. She jumps up, holding her hand out. "Let's go."
"I hate to tell you this, but we skipped like seven steps. I don't think this cake is going to turn out how we wanted," Remus says, staring at the cake baking in the fire oven.
"What's the worst that can happen, really?" Lily asks.
The cake explodes over both of them and the rest of the room, bright purple goop covers everything, and the oven is in pieces.
"Why would you say that?!"
"Yeah, that – uh – that's on me."
"Right, so then Bob unstuck himself from the ceiling and shook his hand, 'Pleasure to finally meet you'."
Lily laughs, "If that's how he and Lyall first met, I'm surprised he was ever allowed back."
Lily and Remus lay on Dumbledore's desk, nothing but a blanket covering them. "I still can't believe you've always wanted to do that."
"What?" Lily asks, "Who wouldn't want to secretly have sex in the Headmaster's office? It just seemed like the ultimate rule break."
Remus chuckles, "Well since it's apparently everyone's fantasy, and as a Marauder I have to take the chance to do the ultimate rule break, I think that now we've fulfilled your dream of it, we should now fulfil my dream of it."
Lily grins, pushing herself up to look down at him, "Oh do you now?"
"So," Lily says as the two sit on top of the Gryffindor table eating ice-cream out of a tub with two spoons, "Seeing as we're stuck in here forever, you might as well tell me what secret you're keeping for Bob that saved our hides."
Remus snickers, "It's the real reason I let him stay around so much. He and Peter aren't friends."
"What?" Lily asks in confusion.
"They're dating."
Lily's eyes widen, "Peter's a…a homosexual?"
"Oh, please tell me that doesn't offend your delicate Christian sensibilities."
"It's not exactly natural, is it?" She replies snippily.
"What could possibly be more natural than love?" Remus challenges gently.
Lily holds his gaze for a moment, then she nods slowly. "No, you're right. I mean, if you hadn't told me I'd have never even known or questioned it."
"Exactly, still the same Pete you knew yester…day…" Remus trails off, looking into the tub.
"We can't stay here forever," Lily voices what they are both thinking.
"Back to the library?"
Lily smirks, "Let's take the ice-cream. No food in the library can be the next rule we break.
"Lily Evans, you are a proper delinquent."
They laugh as they go to the library.
"I'm so sorry," Marlene says as the group sits in Greenhouse Three, skipping class for the day though they doubt any teacher's will question their absence.
"Sorry?" Sirius asks her.
"It was my stupid dare. They're stuck in that stupid Orb and it's all my fault."
"Hey, hey, no. Marls look at me," Sirius requests, kneeling in front of her. Marlene looks up at him. "It's not your fault. It could have been any of us, any dare. There was nothing in it that suggested that touch that Orb. It's not your fault."
Marlene looks unconvinced but nods before she drops her head onto Sirius' shoulder. He wraps his arms around her, holding her close as the others remain in depressed silence.
Lily and Remus walk through the halls of Hogwarts, no real rush.
"I think it's in here," Remus says, leading her into the staffroom.
"There's a window so let's make this quick," Lily tells him, immediately searching for the paper that should tell them what the passwords for the other common rooms are.
Remus searches the cabinet near the broken window first to get it out of the way. "Nothing here," He says. As he stands, his wand knocks against the top of the cabinet and flings out of his hand and straight out of the window. On instinct, he goes to reach it and falls out of the window himself, managing to snag the ledge just in time.
"Remus!"
"I'm here, I'm okay," He yells to her. Then he sees the dark cloud that turns towards him. "Not okay, not okay! LILY RUN!"
"I'M NOT LEAVING YOU!" She shouts, seeing what he saw.
The creature screams at them, Lily ducking behind a wall as she drops to the ground with her hands over her ears.
Remus ducks his head as best he can, glad the danger seems to go over his head. Remus quickly inches along the ledge, making it to the window next to the one he fell out of. Taking a deep breath, Remus lets go with one hand so that he can use his wand. With great difficulty, he points his wand at the window, "Alohomora!" Remus reaches up, shoving the window open, throwing his wand in, and then grabbing the ledge with both hands again.
"REMUS! IT'S COMING THIS WAY!"
"I'M COMING IN THE NEXT ROOM, GET OUT OF THERE!" He yells back. Remus feels his breath coming faster before he tries to pull himself up and into the room, glad for Werewolf strength.
He drops to duck below the window just as the windows above him are shattered. He takes a moment, "Okay. One, two, three," He tells himself before dashing to the door and grabbing his wand on the way…only to find it locked. Before he has a chance to unlock the door, he has to duck out of the way of the creature's cry.
"Remus?!" Lily calls through the door.
An idea presents itself in his mind, "Lily get away from the door!" Remus stands in front of the door, looking the creature in its eye. "Come on then, beastie." He sees it's mouth open grotesquely. He waits until it's just started to scream before he drops to the ground and lifts his wand. "Abducet infixum!" He casts. The creatures scream is diverted to target the door exactly. The door shatters and Remus drags himself across the ground and out of the room, joining Lily in hiding behind a wall.
"How did you know that spell?" She asks him.
"I didn't. Salazar Slytherin did."
Lily lets out a breathless laugh. "Well, there's good news," She says, holding up a clipboard. "Found the passwords. Can't believe it took us a year to think of this."
Remus laughs along with her.
"It's been two days," Mary states despondently. She and the others from the game sit in the Great Hall in the middle of the night, laying on the Gryffindor table and staring at the enchanted ceiling.
"We're all well aware of that, thank you, Mary," James tells her.
"Do you guys think maybe Dumbledore was right?" Frank asks them, "That maybe there really is no way to get them back?"
"What I think, and I mean this completely realistically, so no one jump down my throat," Sirius begins, "What I think, is that it takes months or even years of research to learn new magic in a lot of cases. So, no, I don't think Dumbledore was right. I think it could very well be a long time before the way is found, but there will be one."
"It will have been so long for them by then," Mary whispers.
"The Professors will give up searching by then," Bob tells the others. The others all look at him in disgruntlement. "What? I'm being realistic as well. They aren't going to search for years to find a way to free them, not when Dumbledore says there isn't a way to be found."
"Well what do you suggest then?" James asks.
"That we find a way ourselves," Bob replies.
"McGonagall said we'd done enough damage already," Peter mutters.
"Since when has that ever stopped you?" Bob asks, "Are you, or are you not, the Marauders? Did you, or did you not, spend over a year trying to learn a spell for a prank that was over in about thirty seconds just because you were certain that no one had ever done it before? Are you, or are you not, the same people to constantly claim that the Marauders have each other's backs? That you'll stick together forever?"
Peter looks to the other two and nods, "He's right."
Sirius nods as well, "No man left behind."
"Or woman," Marlene throws in. The three Marauders look at her in surprise. "You aren't the only ones who've got a friend in there."
"Right," Mary says, "We're all in this together. It started with our mistake, we'll be the ones to fix it."