Chapter 11

Hogsmeade

The Marauders, Lily, Chloe, Marietta, and Peter's new friend from Hufflepuff, Andrea Johnson walked down to Hogsmeade together. Sirius, Marietta, Andrea, and Peter were at the front of the group, talking about the game the previous day. Remus, Chloe, Lily, and James, were talking about something that, apparently, was rather fascinating from the previous Charms class. James did not find it quite as enthralling as he knew he was likely to find the Quidditch conversation.

Lily sensed this, and whispered to James, "You know, I wouldn't mind if you talked with your Quidditch folk. One more person in the conversation might distract from how little Peter knows about the game." James rather liked it when Lily whispered to him. He liked how close it made her lips get to his ear.

James whispered back. "Yeah, you'd think he'd have picked up more of the game from being around me and Sirius all these years."

Lily hissed back, still only inches from his ear, "Yeah, well, you'd think he'd've picked up some transfiguration from so many years around Professor McGonagall."

"Right-oh," said James lightly, choosing to assume that Lily was joking, given that otherwise she had just insulted one of his best friends. Lily was, it turns out, only half-joking. Sure, Peter was loyal to his friends, but as far as Lily was concerned, there was no point arguing that he might have fit in in Ravenclaw. It wasn't that he was stupid, it was just that he wasn't bright either.

James kissed Lily on the cheek as he took a few steps forward to talk to his friends about Quiddtich. The conversation became twice as loud as soon as James joined the conversation. Basically, anytime James and Sirius were involved in the same conversation, it was a party. Which gave the other three a chance to step back a couple steps and have their own, quieter conversation without a chance of being overheard.

"So, only a cheek-kiss, eh? Haven't you two been dating for almost two months?" asked Remus, eyebrows cocked.

"Technically this is our first date," said Lily.

"You've eaten breakfast alone together for the past... month and a half. I don't mean to quibble over semantics, but... that's awfully close to dating," said Remus. He paused. "I mean, I know it's none of my business, I'm just a bit curious."

"Me too," chimed in Chloe.

"Well... Remus, you're my friend, too, right?" asked Lily.

"Of course!" said Remus. "Ever since 5th year when you stopped seeing me as just one of those filthy Marauders and started looking at me like an actual person in my own right."

"Yeah," said Lily," sorry about those first four years," said Lily.

"All forgiven. Besides, we were rather despicable, at the time," admitted Remus.

"Fine. So if I tell you both some things about me and James, I can trust that neither of you will tell him?" asked Lily.

Chloe nodded fervently. Remus said, "Of course, Lily. Every person in a relationship needs people to vent to. No other way for the relationship to be healthy. If I'm one of the people you vent to, you have my word, I will not breathe a word of it to James."

"Thanks Remus. Thanks Chloe. Well, so here's the thing. I gave him our first kiss, as a 'reward' for reaching a hundred points, like, half a month ago. It was mostly more of a way to tell him it was okay for him to kiss me now. But all he's been trying to do is get me alone in a broom closet or something. And that's not romantic at all. I mean, I understand he's the incredible James Potter and all that rubbish, so he's never had to work hard to impress girls, but honestly! Why not wait up with me one night in the common room and kiss me in the dying fire-light? Or invite me to a Quidditch practice and at the end we could walk by ourselves and have a couple of starlit kisses in the dark? Is that really too much to ask?"

The five teens talking about Quidditch had just decided that the way the Quidditch season would shake out would be that Slytherin would come in last, Ravenclaw in third (after losing to Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw), Hufflepuff in second, and Gryffindor in 1st. Even Andrea, the Hufflepuff, was unable to argue that with Marietta's recently proved seeking skills a Hufflepuff win in that game was quite unlikely. The Gryffindors in the group didn't really believe that Hufflepuff had a shot at winning second, but as Andrea was there, and since they had quite the grudge against Ravenclaw from last year, they conceded the point.

Soon they were down at Hogsmeade, and separated.

Remus and Chloe went to the bookstore first. Chloe had not, in the four previous years that they'd been eligible to go to Hogsmeade, ever been able to convince her friends to go with her to the book store. They said looking around at a bunch of wizarding books would be too close to what they did all week. Chloe knew what they meant, and agreed. She was simply content walking around Hogsmeade with her friends. It really was a beautiful place. But she was also grateful, even ecstatic, that Remus had suggested it as the first stop on her date. She was grateful because it meant she would get to go, and ecstatic because it meant she was going on a date with someone who would go to bookstores with her. And this was supposed to be the largest wizarding bookstore in Britain.

Remus politely opened the door for Chloe. Chloe gasped as she stepped inside. The bookstore seemed to have even more books than the Hogwarts library. There was only one floor, but the ceiling was 20 feet in the air and the bookshelves rose all the way up to it.

"How do we get up there?" asked Chloe in an awed whisper.

An old man walked over. There was a small wooden board hovering at waist length in front of him, wide enough for two people to sit on. As he walked toward them, the board made its way behind them and lowered itself so that it was at the perfect height for the two teens to sit on. They looked at the old man questioningly.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Mr. Potiphar," said the old man. "I am the owner of this rather fabulous establishment, and the magical wooden board that is hovering behind you hoping to be sat on. Once you sit on it, you mention a subject of the type of book you'd like to see or a direction that you'd like the board to take you, or stop or go, or any basic command, and it will comply, getting you where-ever you need to go. Since one or two people have had trouble working the boards, just shoot up red sparks with your wand and I'll be over in a snap if you need it. Are you two on a date?" asked Potiphar with a wink and a smile.

"Yes, sir," said Remus politely.

"Good. Well, if you find something that you want to buy, let me know. You'll find my prices very reasonable. If you do not, that's fine, too. I think of this place more as museum or as a library than as a bookstore, anyway. All the books were bought with money that I inherited from my late wife. Used to be her name was Mary Maycomb. She was the heiress of Gryffindor. And as she and I were able to have children, there are no more heirs now. But alas, that Voldemort chap is rumored to be the heir of Slytherin, so maybe we're better off not having heirs of the founders around after all. Of course, she ended up in Ravenclaw, just like me. So some heiress she turned out to be, depending on how you look at it, I suppose," said Potiphar.

"I'm sure she was a great heiress," said Chloe.

"Well, I'm glad you think so," said Potiphar kindly. "What house are you two in, then? We get mostly Ravenclaws in here, I find."
"Gryffindor, sir" answered Remus proudly.

"Good to hear it, now I'm doing something for the Gryffindor line again. It's funny that you call me sir," said Potiphar. "Not how I think of myself. Anyway, any questions?"

For some reason that she would not be able to understand for the rest of her life, Chloe felt the urge to bond with this man somehow. To figure him out, to get to know him. So she said, "I'm sorry to hear about your wife. It's very sad when people die, even of old age."

"What makes you think she died of old age dear?" asked Potiphar kindly but curiously. Suddenly he seemed to remember his own age. "Oh yes. Well. She wasn't nearly this old when she died. Over 30 years ago now. Back during the war with Grindelwald, before Dumbledore could fix the problem."

"I, I'm... I'm sorry, sir, I didn't know," said Chloe.

"Not many people bother to ask," said Potiphar. "Died in bed right beside me. We still don't know who did it. We didn't know enough to charm our houses with magical alarms so early in that war. Only know it was magic because the Avada Kedavra curse burned a hole in the sheets and the mattress but didn't touch her. It must have been Grindelwald or one of his cronies, though. Probably Grindelwald himself, though, since his prey was the heir of Gryffindor. Funny, almost, how he felt the need to kill her even though he himself was not the heir to Slytherin or any such thing. But he left me alive there, in bed, to wake up the next morning without her. To remind me that I wasn't worth killing, that I couldn't save her. I hated that man from then on. Still do. Hope he can feel my hate for him in that prison they've got him rotting in right now. But I was one of the ones who helped lure Grindelwald and his cronies into that last duel. Killed a couple of his friends, I did. I wonder if one of those Death-Eaters will come kill me this time. It'd be almost anticlimactic for a man like me to die of old age. But I'm sorry to have put a damper on your date."

Remus looked at Chloe, whose date did indeed appear to have been dampened. She looked very sad. It wasn't that Remus wasn't touched by the man's story, it was just that he was looking at it as a puzzle. Why kill one spouse and not the other? But he didn't know the man enough to feel sad for him, especially when Potiphar himself was talking so nonchalantly.

"Let's get on the board, honey," said Remus, tripping over the last word. He had never been exactly smooth with the ladies, and he liked Chloe more than he liked anyone before.

Chloe smiled slightly at his near-failure at calling her honey. She also, however, looked to be near tears as she said, "Pick a section to tell the board to go to."

Potiphar was already hobbling off as if he had dozens of other customers to wait on, even though the bookstore was deserted. This left Remus sitting on a wooden board with a nearly crying girl. This was not within Remus' comfort zone.

"Er... Happy ending love-stories!" Remus practically shouted, unsure of how loud he needed to talk for the board to hear him. He heard Potiphar guffaw and Chloe giggled. The board jolted up and began whizzing to the left. This gave Remus an opportunity to squeeze Chloe tight around the shoulders and Chloe was appreciative that he took it. She liked the way his arm felt wrapped around her.

"Remus?" asked Chloe, as they arrived at a shelf, about sixteen feet in the air, with pink and light blue colored books with titles including, "Huffing and Puffing: Hufflepuffs in Love," "A Charming Gryffindor at the Door," and "When Two Wands Become One."

"Yes, Chloe?" said Lupin.

"Do you think there will be another war, and if there is will you fight in it?" asked Chloe.

"Of course there's going to be another war. The Death-Eaters have been gearing up for one for years, and Dumbledore is starting to organize a resistance, although don't tell anyone, because that might be information that only James is supposed to know. But of course he tells us everything. And yes. I'll fight," said Remus.

"What if you... What if you..." Chloe kept hesitating.

"I won't die," said Remus, knowing perfectly well that there was no way he could know that.

"What if you have to kill someone?" asked Chloe.

Remus was shocked that that had been the question she was trying to get out. "I'd sooner kill someone than let them kill my friend," said Remus, without hesitation.

"But... that's some one's kid, some one's father, some one's wife..." said Chloe.

"So is my friend I'm trying to save," said Remus.

"I'm not even saying for you," said Chloe. "You're a great guy, Remus, I've known that for years. I know we didn't talk too much, because we were both hanging out with our own friends, but... we've been partners in classes sometimes, and now I really do know you. You're a good man. I just don't think I could do it. I'd have to want to. And I don't know if I could ever want to kill someone."

"You won't have to today, Chloe," said Remus. "You don't even know how. And maybe you'll never learn. But for now we've got what appear to be lewd romances with happy endings to browse through."

Chloe giggled. "I want to have a lewd romance with a happy ending."

The next thing that Remus and Chloe knew, they were snogging 8 feet up in the air. And here Remus had always thought Chloe was such a shy girl.

"I am not much of a fire-whiskey girl, apparently," said Marietta, shyly.

"You've still gotta play the game, though," said Sirius.

"What, you're saying that me not being a fire-whiskey girl isn't something that no one knows?" asked Marietta.

"That's what I'm saying. I bet if you took a survey of the school, three quarters would say you're not a fire-whiskey girl," said Sirius.

"Fine, then. You go first," said Marietta.

"Fine," said Sirius, downing the rest of his first fire-whiskey. Fire-whiskey came in six ounce cups, but one cup was worth about a shot of hard muggle-liquor, as far as alcohol goes. The other stuff in it was what made it taste so hot, and also gave the drinker a higher sense of boldness than the equivalent amount of alcohol would do. Legend had it that it was Godric Gryffindor's drink of choice. Sirius was able to get through two without noticing much except a pleasant sense of increased courage. That's what he planned to do today, since he had to go back to school in the evening. "Something that nothing else knows about me is that I stole a thousand galleons from my family before I left the house. Snuck it out in small chunks over about a week, since I couldn't carry out a treasure chest. I hid it in a place no one will think to look for it. It's not much of a crime, since they won't notice it's gone. They're probably using half their wealth right now to fund Voldemort and recruit death eaters. Whereas I'll use what I stole to buy a flying motorcycle as soon as I get out of Hogwarts. Quite the better cause"

"Wow," said Marietta. "Well. Family story for a family story. You know how I'm supposed to be from this 'wealthy' wizarding family?"

"Yeah. You've mentioned it enough times," said Sirius.

"Well, my Dad's a Muggle."

"What's so bad about that?" asked Sirius.

"Well, nothing, except that when my mum told him about it, he said he was fine with it, as long as she didn't use it around him. So the house is totally muggle. When I go home for summers, it's totally like being in the Muggle world, except that I'm allowed to have an owl. Still, it's weird. That's why I spend so much time at Chloe's house, and always invite Lily and Chloe to go out when we hang out over the summer, but never invite them over. I'm embarrassed that my mother's a witch and my house is muggle."

"Huh. That is kind of weird. And by the rules of the game, neither of us can tell a soul," said Sirius. "Well. Mind sitting here and talking to me while I drink another fire-whiskey?"

"I'd sit here talking to you for a dozen fire-whiskeys," said Marietta, with a smile that showed that she knew how corny she sounded but didn't care.

"So what do you want to do?" asked Lily in a way that frustratingly suggested that James had not in fact been offering up suggestions on that very topic for the past hour as they'd wandered through the streets of Hogsmeade.

"How about we go to the pet-store? I'll buy you an owl," suggested James, without much hope that his suggestion would meet a warm reception.

Lily giggled, "No, no James. No need for a bribe. This is an actual date." She looked at James with polite concern. "Aren't you having a good time?"

"We've been walking around for an hour, we haven't actually done anything, we're just-" James sputtered, his helplessness with the situation showing through. Lily had rejected every idea he'd had, calling it too normal or too predictable.

"Relaxed and walked around together. I've had worse dates. Haven't you?" asked Lily.

"I suppose so," said James. They'd had some pleasant conversations in between his failed attempts to suggest a place to go, and that was certainly nice.

"If you're really unable to come up with an original idea, we can just walk around like this all day for all I care," said Lily. "There will be other Hogsmeade trips. Probably even other Hogsmeade trips where we're on a date."

James laughed. "Your bluntness is refreshing," he joked. Then, he finally had an idea. "You see that tree over there?"

"What, the one on the hill? Beside the one that looks all mangled like it got struck by lightning?" asked Lily.

"It did get struck by lightning," said James.

"And how would you know that, James," asked Lily.

Shit thought James. The way he knew was that he had seen the tree get struck by lightning while he was in his stag form. At the time he had been running like hell toward the shrieking shack, uncomfortably aware that among the four friends in animal form, he was by far the tallest, and his antlers were practically lightning rods.

He decided to change the subject, in a way that he hoped against hope would come off as subtle. "Yeah, but that tree on the hill, look how beautiful and shady it is," said James.

"I'm more interested in the one to the left of the hill," countered Lily. "The one that you somehow know for a fact was struck by lightning. The mysterious James Potter strikes again! What, do you have another map that shows you when lightning strikes?" She began flirtatiously tickling James in the ribs.

James laughed involuntarily. "No tickling!" he gasped. "Seriously... I... Hate it!"

He took Lily's arms and pinned them against her body. Lily couldn't move her arms, but managed to force herself to the ground, bringing James with her. So there they were, just on the periphery of Hogsmeade, by the path to the hill with the tree, James pinning Lily down on the grass.

"Wow James," she said. "You're strong. It's sexy."

James debated whether this would be the right moment to kiss her.

But he was cut off. "What were you saying about the tree on the hill?" asked Lily.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go lie underneath it?" said James.

"Sure," said Lily, "if you let me up."

Half an hour later, once they had reached the tree and were far from prying eyes, Lily tried to tickle James again. He pinned her arms to the ground and positioned his body above hers. James waited for a moment, loving the longing he saw in her eyes. Finally, he kissed her. Lily had never dated a better kisser.

"Want to go to Honedukes?" asked Peter of Andrea.

"Sure," said Andrea, pleasantly. Then she giggled. "Ooooh, I know why you want to get me candy! You want to fatten me up so I don't fly as well! Then Gryffindor will beat Hufflepuff."

"Yeah, that's it," said Peter with a chortle. "As if Gryffindor will need any help getting past Hufflepuff. Marietta, James, and Sirius will beat you no problem."

"See, that's why I like you," said Andrea. "You're really loyal to your friends and your House."

"Thanks Andrea," said Peter, knowing that that wasn't the reason that she had come here with him at all. She didn't like him at all. Just having a date with Peter was almost as good as having a date with one of the Marauders who people actually liked. She'd gotten to walk down to town with them, after all, and would be having ice-cream with them shortly. Not a bad bargain for an afternoon with Peter Pettigrew.

"So Honeydukes and then ice-cream?" asked Andrea.

"Yeah," said Peter.

The Fortescue who owned this sundae shop was the brother of the one who owned the one in Diagon Alley. Both shared a definite likability. Each of the teens smiled at Fortescue as he gave them their orders, and then they went outside to sit. Going outside to sit at a place like this was part of the fun, in most of the teens opinion, even though it was getting chilly in the first place, being almost November, and even though they were eating ice-cream. There were little benches and tables set up outside and they were going to have a picnic out there, damn it, because it was going to be the last one they could have until at least April.

"I don't know why we insist on spoiling our appetites for the Halloween feast," pointed out Andrea.

"It's four thirty now. We've got two and a half hours until the feast. Including the long walk back to the castle," said James.

"Wrong answer," said Andrea, smiling as she took her first bite. "The reason is that it's effing delicious."

All 8 teens laughed. And throughout the twenty minutes it took them to eat their sundaes, wrapped tightly in cloaks to spite the cold that they were insisting on ignoring, they chatted and laughed.

"Time to go to the bathroom," said Marietta, once she was done with her sundae. And like clockwork, all the girls got up and followed Marietta to Fortescue's bathroom.

"Girls are so weird," said Peter.

"Yeah. Figure on heading up after this? The streets are almost deserted," said Remus.

"People are preparing for their Halloween feasts. They've done their shopping already," reasoned James.

"So how did you guys make out?" asked Sirius. "Anyone get snogged?"

Everyone at the table raised their hands.

"You too Petey?" asked Sirius, impressed.

"Yeah. I, er, showed her my Gryffindor courage this afternoon by touching the Shrieking Shack to prove I wasn't afraid of ghosts," he said.

"Brilliant!" said Sirius.

"Er... Padfoot... you invented that move," said James.

"Ooooh, maybe I'm brilliant too," said Sirius.

"Why are you brilliant?" asked Marietta, who was now back from the bathroom.

"Because I'm dating you," said Sirius without a second's hesitation.

"Ooooh," said Lily. "Keep that one around for awhile."

In the next second, Lily was reminded of the sound of a bag of popcorn at the height of popping. She had never heard so many people apparate at once.

The 8 teens turned quickly and saw a dozen people wearing death-eater masks. One spoke.

"The Dark Lord has sent us here to capture you. There is no need for you to die. Come peacefully and the Dark Lord will show mercy to you. Do not draw your wands," he said.

Seven wands, however, were drawn before he had even gotten to that part of his prepared statement. Peter was the only hold-out. The others got up and ran toward the line of death eaters, already shouting spells, making as much noise as the death-eaters who had just begun the battle as well.

Peter had a moment of crisis. Could his friends save him now? Would he-who-must-not-be-named torture him if he was captured after putting up a fight. Was there someone stronger who could save him?

Then Peter had an idea. He knew that they were looking to capture, not kill. And he was the only one among the group that had an animagus form that would allow him to escape. If they started rounding up the others, he would disappear into the grass. He could do it even if he was petrified.

So Peter took out his wand and approached the fray. After all, no one would ever question his loyalty to his friends. No one had even noticed the moment's hesitation, being too busy with their own charge into battle.

A/N: School's back in now. More reviews equals more reason to procrastinate from work. And remember: You are also strongly encouraged to donate rice for this story. You can win it at freerice dot com and then let me know (in a review) how much you've won for this story in particular. This is for the group fanfictioners against world hunger. if you want to join, let me know.