32
Mischievous Men
Just like every other year, It didn't take long for them all to get into their routines.
The classes were getting harder and the subject matter more gruesome. Even in Herbology, they were dealing with plants that could rip your arm off in a single snap. It started to become evident that the only time that we seventh years had to themselves was the evenings and a few hours on the weekend.
One of the first few weekends of the year, Doe was in the library working on a composition for Potions when she was joined by Severus.
It was strange, Severus' friends hated her, and hers hated him, so the library was almost even ground. It was one of the few places in Hogwarts where it didn't matter what your house was.
" So how has seventh year been treating you, Sev?" Doe asked, scribbling another line on her parchment.
Severus didn't look up, " Oh just joyous, really" he said sarcastically.
Sometimes he was just plain cynical.
" You don't have too sound too cheery" Doe said with a laugh.
" I can't wait to leave this place" Severus said.
She raised an eyebrow at him. Most Hogwarts students didn't even want to think about their time at Hogwarts ending, and very few had any idea of what they wanted to when it did.
" What do you want to do when you leave?" Doe asked.
Severus shrugged, " I don't know".
" Well you must have some idea" she pressed.
" I don't." Severus said, " all I like is the dark arts"
" How reassuring" Doe commented sarcastically.
He rolled his eyes, " Studying them, Doe" he clarified.
Doe turned back to the stack of books she had accumulated, putting them all back on their proper spots on the shelf.
She had been here for a few hours and figured it was probably time for her to make an appearance in the common room.
She headed out of the library and towards Gryffindor tower, when she noticed a group of some of the Slytherins that she despised most sitting together on the grounds, a cluster of emerald and black robes.
She turned away, they had such a strange effect on her. Pure hatred coursed through her when she saw them.
Doe walked over to the Fat Lady.
" Password?" She asked quickly.
" Prancing Pixies" Doe told her.
She grinned and shook her head, " It's been changed"
" But that's what it was this morning!" she demanded.
She smile again, " Our new Heads changed it"
Doe crossed my arms in frustration. This had never happened to her in seven years at Hogwarts.
" Can't you just let me in?" Doe asked, " you've known me for seven years. You know I'm a Gryffindor"
She shook her head quickly, " It's a rule. You know that"
Doe sighed and sat down. Frustrated, she leaned against the wall next to the Fat Lady.
" So are you just going to let me sit here until someone rounds the corner?" Doe asked her angrily.
The Fat Lady didn't answer her.
" Doe?" Frank Longbottom said as he rounded a corner, " why are you sitting outside?"
" Passwords been changed" she told him.
Frank smiled, " I know the new one".
He turned to the Fat Lady, " Wisteria Lagdon"
She swung open and Doe climbed through the portrait hole gratefully.
" Thank you" she told Frank, " I'd of had to sit there if you hadn't come"
Frank shook his head, " It was no problem. Don't worry about it".
She watched him walk over to the couch on the right side of the room where Alice and Molly were sitting.
Doe scanned the room and saw the Marauders sitting around the large armchairs. Lily and Marlene were nowhere in sight, so she walked over and sat down on the edge of the chair Remus was sitting in.
" Hello there" he said when she sat down.
" Hey kid" she told him, " what are you doing?"
" Planning" James said with a wide grin.
Remus sighed and Peter made a strange face.
" Did I miss something?"she asked Remus. He shook his head.
" It's a full moon" Sirius told her, " so we're planning tonight's festivities"
Doe shivered involuntarily, she know they had been doing it for two years now, but the idea of them all running around and risking their safety scared her.
" Be careful" she told Remus sternly.
He smiled, " I always am"
" I'm serious" she told him.
" Actually," Sirius interjected, " I am"
Peter stifled his laughter. Doe grabbed a pillow from the empty armchair next to her and tossed it at Sirius.
" It's not funny when you've done it a hundred times" she told him.
He shook his head, " It's still funny, love. Don't deny it"
She rolled my eyes at him.
" I think it's best to just ignore him sometimes. That's what I do" Remus told her with a laugh.
Sirius leaned back against the armchair, " You know. I think we need to do another prank. The backlash from the Pumpkin Juice Prank is wearing off"
" I agree, and something big too" James said.
Remus sighed again. Though he always participated in the marauder pranks, he didn't embody the spirit of them quite like James and Sirius did.
" What about the color-" Peter began.
" Yes" Sirius said quickly.
" Say no more" James said.
Doe was thoroughly confused. She turned to Remus for him to explain, but he just shrugged.
The portrait hole opened and Lily and Marlene walked in. They spotted Doe and hurried over.
" Doe you will not believe what Marlene did , she's awful" Lily said with huge grin.
" She's exaggerating" Marlene smiled.
" Hey Lily" James said quickly.
Lily turned to him, " Oh Hello, James"
He smiled at her, " You look nice today".
Lily's eyes widened in surprise, " Thank you, James"
He simply nodded and turned back to talk to Sirius. Lily still looked very confused.
Doe followed both Lily and Marlene up to their dormitories and sat down on their beds.
" Wait so what did Marlene do?" Doe asked.
Lily started to giggle, " She kissed both Bagman brothers"
" Marlene!" I scolded.
Marlene smiled slightly and laughed, " What can I say?"
Doe shook my head disapprovingly at her. She just smiled again, amused by her strictness.
Turns out the prank in which the Marauders had been referring to was a mass prank that affected every teacher in the school. Every teacher had been bewitched so that one singular prank affected them. Professor Binns kept turning different colors, Professor McGonagall had sprouted whiskers, Professors Slughorn's hair had turned bright blue, and everything Professor Flitwick needed hovered a few feet above his head, out of reach. It was one of the Marauders most successful pranks. It had obviously required quite a bit of challenging magic. And while the effects only lasted a day, the admiration and appreciation that the Marauders received lasted much longer. Members of all houses were quite impressed that they had been able to pull off such a complex prank. They were congratulated often in the hallways.
" I'm surprised I'm even allowed to walk next to such famous wizards" Doe said in mock shock a few days later on their way to Transfiguration.
" Oh hush" Remus said, blushing slightly.
" You should feel so lucky to spend time with us" Sirius said with a grin, " we are geniuses"
" Let's not take it that far" Peter said.
Sirius waved him off, " It was impressive Wormtail, even you were shocked we managed to pull it off"
" We almost didn't though" Remus pointed out.
" But we did" Sirius added.
Doe turned back to Lily and Marlene who were engaged in a close conversation about whether Marlene should waste her time memorizing the latest charms spell.
They walked into the transfiguration classroom and Doe took her seat next to Lily.
" What are those?" Lily asked her pointing to a stack of parchment packets sitting on McGonagall's desk.
Doe shrugged, unsure. But their questions were answered when McGonagall handed them all out. She handed Doe two. One read ' Auror Application' and the other read ' Application for the Healer Program'. Doe turned to Lily, she was clutching two labeled ' Muggle Liaison Office Application' and ' Department of Magical Cooperation Employee Applications'.
" Oh no" Lily said quietly. Her discomfort was mimicked by others around the room. Applications were a scary thought for most of them. It meant their future was impending.
When Professor McGonagall finished handing them all out she turned to face them all, " As Seventh years it is your responsibility to apply for the programs in which you hope to be accepted. Please take this class to fill them out and I will collect them at the end of class".
She sat down at her desk and they all turned back to the applications in front of them.
Doe opened the auror application and read through it.
Please List Your O.W.L Results Below:
Why Do You Want To Be an Auror?
What Skills do you possess that would help you be successful as an auror?
What benefits would you provide the auror department?
What experience do you have dealing with dark arts and or wizards?
The application had to be nearly ten pages thick. Full of questions. The Healer application was much shorter. Sighing slightly Doe began to work on both of them. Answering them to the best of her ability. It was strange to think that this packet would be transported to the Ministry, where Moody would read through each of her answers, review her test scores and decided if she would be joining the program.
Her future happiness laid in the hands of Alastor Moody.
It took nearly the entire class to finish both applications. She handed them both to McGonagall with a sense of dread as she did. It was now out of her hands.
" That was terrifying" Lily said, practically shaking.
" Tell me about it" Doe told her.
" What if I don't get either?" Lily asked in a panic.
" You're going to get both" she assured her, " You're going to change the wizarding world someday Lil."
She smiled, " And I'll do it with the help of my auror best friend"
Doe smiled at her, " What a power couple we'll be"
She laughed lightly, and they watched as the last of their class turned their applications into McGonagall.
" We really are going to be adults soon" Lily said.
Doe shook my head, " I am not ready for that"