"They're what?" Hermione said.
"They're forcing all of us to teach all of you how to become Animagi." James pointed out. Hermione, who was still in shock from her sister's disappearance, looked at the other girls in the room. Heather, decided that she better explain.
"We heard Remus last night, and when I said something, Lily kind of had to be told. Then she had confiscated the Marauder's Map, and she politely asked it what it was, and my brother's personality responded and told her how to work it. We caught them as they were on their way down." Hermione looked at the boys and shook her head with disdain.
"That's what you were doing with that parchment you had me enchant!" she burst out at the boys. They cowered in fear, in response to the angry girl. "You were making a map!"
"A map of Hogwarts that shows everyone that is on the grounds at anytime, and I mean everyone." Remus said, "I'll show you." He pulled out his wand, and pointed at the blank parchment. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The writing appeared just as it did the night before, and soon the map was displayed to its fullest.
"This . . . this is highly illegal, Tracking Charms, that's how you managed to keep track of everyone on this map isn't it." James and Sirius began to whistle innocently, but Remus nodded.
"Remus, you could go to jail for this, you had better hope this doesn't ever get out to the wrong people. If it does . . ."
"The only person it might end up with is Filch, he's been trying to find an excuse to get this away from us ever since he just happened to catch James with it one night, but James managed to see him on the map and was putting it away. So James just got dentention, and . . ." Black said.
"Filch got a warning from the Headmaster." James finished with a smile on his face.
"So, Snape in fifth year, the reason you went to get him from beneath the Willow, is because . . ."
"He knew Snape would see me, and he got there too late, but the Headmaster swore him to secrecy and so far he has kept my secret." Remus said looking angrily at Sirius. Sirius, however, didn't seem to take notice, and walked towards the door again.
"Did any of you see where Peter went?" he said.
"No, he didn't come with us, and I thought he'd follow us." James said.
"Maybe he thought you were going to Dumbledore, so he headed there." Lily said.
"What the hell went wrong Pettigrew?" Snape said.
"I . . . don't know, I stole James' cloak, and gave it to Bellatrix. She left it in the common room, just like I told her to . . ."
"The Dark Lord does not accept mistakes . . ."
"One of them is gone, the others ducked. She didn't see it and was hit. I don't know what happened to her; I fled as soon as we got out of the common room, to report. . ."
"Pettigrew . . ." Snape was interrupted by footsteps, and gave him once last look before turning and heading down the opposite corridor. Peter waited for the footsteps to approach, and when he saw it was Filch, he hid. As a Marauder he didn't want to be caught out of bounds by the caretaker. He quickly transformed into a rat, and returned to Gryffindor Tower.
By the time they left the room, and returned to the Tower, everyone had gotten up from dinner. As they joined the crowd, they saw Professor Dumbledore talking to Professor McGonagall.
". . . Albus, whoever did this could still be on Hogwarts grounds." McGonagall was saying.
"I assure you, the wards would have alerted us if a Death Eater had entered the grounds."
"Then it could have been someone on the staff, or even a student."
"I do not think it was a student." Dumbledore said, "But I am not about to say it wasn't." James and Lily pushed their way through to the two staff members.
"Ah, Mr. Potter, and Miss Evans, would you please escort the students to the great hall, they will stay there until we get Gryffindor Tower fixed up." Dumbledore said.
"Yes, sir." They said, before a fleeting glance to each other.
"Sir, we were in the tower when this happened and we think you should know something." He eyed them with concern.
"What is it?"
"Whoever was behind this, hit Haley Granger with whatever spell it was, we didn't see anyone, but when the dust had cleared, all that was left was some robes."
"We must assume the worst then." McGonagall said, "What will we tell the students?"
"The truth, as far as we know." Only James seemed to catch the emphasis on the word we, as he could see no notice.
"So we tell them that Haley Granger is . . ."
"Dead." Dumbledore said. James looked over at Hermione who had her head buried in Remus' shoulder. He looked back at Dumbledore, who then dismissed them, and walked away.
"Gryffindors, to the Great Hall." James finally said. Lily noted the seriousness in his voice. No one moved, as all had grown used to the Marauder's antics. She gave them a stern look.
"That was an order from the Head Boy, now to the Great Hall, Remus, please help to keep them calm, Dumbledore, I'm sure will want the other houses there."
"Yes Lily." Remus said, "Gryffindors, follow me, and the other prefects to the Great Hall, the Head Boy and Girl are to inform the other houses to go to the Great Hall." Everyone noticed the seriousness in his voice and moved to follow him to the Great Hall. James and Lily headed off to Hufflepuff, as it was the closest. Heather made to follow them but was restrained by Sirius. The entirety of Gryffindor House entered the Great Hall a few minutes later, and sat at the house table. Moments later the other houses began filing in. As soon as the staff had joined them, Dumbledore rose and the school quieted.
"Earlier today, Gryffindor Tower was attacked, at first glance, it seemed no one had been in the tower, but the Head Boy and Girl brought forward that they and their friends had been in the tower at the time of the attack." Gasps were heard round the hall, and everyone looked at the group. "One student was found to be missing, and as far as we know, dead. I must press on you the seriousness of this."
"Who was it?" someone from Ravenclaw called out.
"The student was Haley Granger." Dumbledore said. Hermione burst into tears, and Remus began to comfort her. Whispers began to go throughout the hall.
"Gryffindor Tower was in shambles, and until it can be repaired, will be off limits. I do hope it won't take long. Until then, Gryffindor, and for tonight everyone, so that we can make a clean search of the school, will be staying in the Hall." Dumbledore said. People began to whisper that it had been Death Eaters. Dumbledore and the teachers swept out of the room, leaving James in charge.
"Malfoy, come here." The high-cold voice of Voldemort said. The addressed man approached his leader, and knelt on the cold floor.
"Yes, my Lord."
"How did our inside job on Hogwarts go?" Malfoy gulped, as he knew the punishment he was about to receive.
"According to your supporters inside, the plan failed. Bellatrix missed the target and hit someone else."
"Crucio!" Voldemort said. Malfoy fell to the ground twitching. The curse was lifted moments later. Malfoy knelt back before his master.
"Pettigrew, your newest supporter, gave certain equipment to Bellatrix, Snape wasn't very informative."
"My Lord." A voice said from the door. Severus Snape, approached and knelt before Voldemort.
"What is so important that you must come here?"
"Dumbledore is suspicious of our activities, Pettigrew told me that he gave the signal to go, as he saw something that might give Bellatrix away, and she told me that she took it as the attack order."
"So it is Bellatrix's fault." Voldemort said.
"Yes, my Lord." Snape said.
"You are to go back to the school, Snape, keep me informed of Dumbledore's doings."
"Yes, my Lord."
"And as a reminder for anymore failures . . ."
"My Lord, you can't, if you send him back to the school with post-Cruciatus effects, Dumbledore will find out." Malfoy said. Voldemort lowered his wand, and looked sternly at the student.
"Malfoy is right, this time you shall be spared, do not expect any different from any other treatment upon interrupting a meeting."
"Yes, My lord." Snape said before taking his leave. Voldemort watched the boy leave, and then turned to his followers.
"This meeting is over; now get out of my sight." No one stayed put, as they knew all too well of their lords temper.
"James, what if whoever did do it is still in the castle?" Lily asked. She knew James wanted to go check out the Tower make sure no one's possessions had been destroyed especially his own.
"Lils, I think it was one of the Junior Death Eaters, the ones who haven't taken the mark, but none of them know our password."
"James, do you have your Invisibility Cloak?" Lily asked. He shook his head, and she looked down.
"It went missing this morning after I went to put it away."
"So, what if they were hiding by the portrait hole, and they waited for us to use the password, but that would mean they had help from the inside."
"So . . . they could have gotten in there earlier."
"Exactly, and with your Cloak having gone missing, I . . ." The Hall doors opened, to Filch dragging an unconscious Peter Pettigrew in from the Entrance Hall. He brought him over to James and Lily, before turning and muttering that it should have been someone else. James quickly pulled out his wand, revived him. Peter moaned, and then his eyes flickered open, before looking to his side.
"James, I . . . I don't remember what happened, I think I must have fainted, but I went back up to the Tower and saw something on the ground."
"Yes . . ." Peter pulled out the Invisibility Cloak. James took it and put it in a pocket.
"As I was coming back down here, I ran into Mrs. Norris, and she attacked me, as I was . . ."
"In your rat form?" Lily asked quietly.
"Yes, I swear that cat has got something against me." Peter said.
"Hmm, could be the pranks we pulled on her in all the rest of our years." James said, Lily suppressed a laugh, and looked at James.
"James, I really think someone stole your cloak and then used it to attack us, if they had wanted to destroy the Tower, they would have done it with no one in there, and with a lot worse spells, I think they were after someone." Lily said, and as she looked down at Peter saw his face look at her, as though she had figured something out. She gave it a thought, but shut it out.
"Lily, I'm going to go talk to Professor Dumbledore, I think he knows more than he's letting on." James said, "As he was saying something earlier I caught a hint of emphasis on a certain word, the students will listen to you the best."
"James, be careful," Lily said.
"Don't worry about me, worry about the students, I can get through this castle without being seen." James pulled out his Cloak, swung it over him, and Lily listened to his footsteps leaving the hall.
"You're in love with him aren't you?" Peter asked. Tears welled up in her eyes, before she nodded.
"Please don't tell him, I don't want him to treat me like every other girl he's dated." Lily said, "I want to be able to have him learn on his own, or at least have me tell him." Peter nodded, before heading to the empty sleeping bag near the other Marauders.
"Please, let him be okay." said Lily.
James made his way, invisible, to the gargoyle outside Dumbledore's Office. He had to step out of the way of a lot of teachers, and about 20 minutes later stood outside the door. He knocked on the door, and heard the Headmaster answering someone else.
". . . Minerva, I'm sorry, but I don't know what happened to her, I truly wish I did, but I don't, we'll inform her parents tomorrow." He said, James moved out of the way, and moments later Professor McGonagall left Dumbledore's room. He took off the cloak, and knocked once again.
"Come in." came Dumbledore's voice. James opened the door, and approached the Headmaster.
"Sorry for intruding this late."
"It's nothing Mr. Potter, so how are things in the Great Hall?"
"Fine, I left Lily in charge, so that I could go look at something. You see, earlier today, a valuable item of mine, that has been in my family for centuries, had been stolen, and I didn't know who had done it. But I think our culprit was the one who stole it, or at least had someone steal it for them."
"What is this item, might I ask?"
"It's this." James said pulling out his cloak.
"Hmm, an Invisibility Cloak? So you think the culprit used this to sneak in, and then attacked the tower?"
"Lily and I also came to the conclusion that they weren't trying to go for the Tower, I think they were after someone in particular, and I don't think it was Haley Granger." James said.
"So you think it was someone else?"
"Yes. We never figured out who they were after though." He put his Cloak away, and then turned away from the older wizard. Before he left, he said one last thing, "Mr. Filch caught Peter sneaking around, and brought him to us, Peter said he found my Cloak in the Tower, as though it had been cast away by the culprit. Do you want to talk to him in the morning, or . . ."
"Let him rest for tonight, I think we've had enough excitement for now, don't you think?" James left the room, and Dumbledore watched his retreating back. He leaned back in the chair he was sitting in, before looking to his phoenix familiar.
"Fawkes, what am I to do if they start questioning me?" he asked. The phoenix trilled, and tucked its head under its wing to sleep for the night. Dumbledore seeing that stood up, and looked at the door through which James Potter had disappeared moments before, and silently chuckled to himself.
Heather awoke the next morning with a stiff back, before she realized where she was.
"Ouch," she said quietly, "I guess I'll have to get used to that." She sat up, and looked around before seeing Lily asleep leaning against her brother, who was sitting in a chair that had been conjured. She giggled, and then saw Hermione and Remus out in the Entrance Hall. She got out of the sleeping bag that Dumbledore had conjured, and went out to join them.
". . . Remus, it's just so hard to admit she's gone." Hermione was saying. Remus leaned over and hugged her.
"That's why you have us to lean on when the going gets tough, I should know, I think I would have gone insane if not for my parents or you and the others." Remus answered her. Heather chose this time to approach them.
"Good morning lovebirds." She said. They jumped at the sound of her voice, and she sat down next to them.
"Good morning Heather."
"So,how long have you been up?"
"About 10 minutes." They answered.
"Did you happen to see the way that James and Lily are sleeping?" Hermione asked. Heather nodded and Hermione continued, "Well, are they going out?"
"Not that I know of, but I did hear Peter ask her last night if she did love him, but didn't get a reply."
"Peter? When did he get there?" Remus asked, "Please don't tell me he was caught by . . ."
"He was found unconscious upstairs by Filch, apparently Mrs. Norris attacked him, and he ran with some injuries, and got them healed, and then passed out."
"Blunt luck I guess."
"He found James' cloak in the common room." Heather added, "Lily and James think whoever did this used the cloak, and snuck in when we entered the common room."
"Well it did go missing, so that's probable and some first-years could have stolen it, and then someone could have found it."
"They think someone meant to attack someone specific." Heather finished, and then said, "But that it wasn't Haley."
"So another unnecessary casualty of You-Know-Who." Remus said.
"I'm not afraid of him, and this You-Know-Who stuff is nonsense. Fear of a name increases fear of a thing itself. Haven't you ever heard of that saying?"
"Dumbledore keeps saying that, but no one believes him."
"I do. I look back, and every time I was afraid of something, I was afraid to put a name to it, but I overcame it." A voice said. They looked up to see James walking towards them.
"How did you get out from underneath Lily?" Hermione asked. James pointed over his shoulder and they saw Lily walking towards them.
"You woke us up, or rather you woke me up and when I jumped I woke Lily up." James said, as Lily sat down next to Heather. She yawned, and looked at the small group.
"So, Peter turned up late last night did he?"Remus asked. James nodded, and then Lily spoke up.
"Remus, animagus forms are based off of the person's personality, aren't they?" He nodded and it was like gears were working in her head.
"Why did you bring that up?" James asked.
"James, Peter's form is a rat, right?"
"Yeah . . ."
"Well what are . . ." There were footsteps, and then James fell to the floor under a black lump.
"Padfoot, what are you doing, change back." James said. The dog looked at him, and then it changed into the form of Sirius Black.
"Sorry, forgot." He said, "Did it unconsciously, as I've done that for the past two years."
"Well, we don't have classes today, so let's start on the theory for you. We've got some useful spells that will only allow those that know about this to see the books as they actually are, that's how we didn't get caught. We made them look like transfiguration books." The group chuckled, and then they all helped each other to their feet.
"Left a note for Wormtail, told him not to worry, and that he wouldn't be able to get in where we're going, and that we would be down for lunch, and then he could join us."
"Sounds good, now can we get going?" Lily asked, and they quietly made their way up the stairs, so they could start training the girls to be Animagi.