The year seemed to be flying by and before I knew it Halloween had arrived. With it came a drastic change in my friendships. Harry, Ron and I had always gotten along and it was never dull. After Halloween Hermione joined out fold and the four of us were inseparable. Though I never voiced it to the others I felt like a new generation of Marauders had invaded Hogwarts. Even if I had said something they wouldn't have known what I was talking about.
One morning a couple of weeks after Halloween we were talking over breakfast when the owl post arrived. I was elated when a letter dropped into my lap. Even though we wrote regularly I still missed my godfather terribly. I opened it quickly and began to read, pleased as ever to see our code on paper.
Dear Celeste,
Padfoot would indeed be proud of a new generation of Marauders. It does indeed seem that Harry is Prongs all over again. Not for the first time I wish you could remember him though from your letter it seems as though your friend is the mirror image of the man I knew. It's times like these that make me glad Filch confiscated the map as I know you would not hesitate to make as much if not more trouble than we did.
As for your grades, I am glad to hear that they are holding steady. I am concerned however that you are following in your father's educational footsteps. It seems you friend Miss Granger is indeed your Moony though without the 'furry, little problem'. There also appears to be a need for you to invent a new place for your friend Ron as he is by far no Wormtail.
Keep up your studies and I look forward to your next letter.
Love always,
Moony
"Moony?" This was from Hermione.
"Yes, that's my godfather's nickname. It's always been our game to talk in codes and such. I've been living with him since I was three and my mother left me."
Ron looked confused, "Where's your dad?"
I hadn't thought of that when I had shared the letter. "He's, well, he's not around." It was the only thing I could think of to say that didn't give away information I preferred to keep to myself.
"Who are the Marauders and who's this Prongs I'm like?" Harry seemed confused.
"Well, The Marauders were my father, godfather and their two best friends. Truth be told they behaved much like Ron's brothers, Fred and George. The four of them definitely made Hogwarts interesting in their day. Prongs and Padfoot were sort of their leaders and Prongs was actually really nice though there was one boy they had trouble with. Moony, my godfather, was the quiet one and he kept really good grade just like Hermione."
Hermione took her name as a cue to interrupt with a question. "What does he mean by 'furry, little problem'?"
I started to panic. What could I say? I couldn't tell them the truth, I just couldn't. What was it he always told me? Furry, little problem, damn why couldn't I remember? Wait, "Rabbit! He had a rabbit that was an absolutely horrible creature."
Hermione didn't really seem satisfied with this but Ron jumped in before she could ask anymore questions. "What about this Wormtail character? He says I'm not like him but if you three are like the others in their group than what does that make me?"
I laughed, relieved beyond words at Ron's confusion. "Ron, I promise you are nothing like Wormtail. According to my godfather Wormtail was the one who was just sort of there. He wanted to be a part of something and latched himself on to them. He was this really short almost invisible kind of guy."
Ron looked a little skeptical almost as if he thought he was invisible. I was shocked and a little angry at that. "Ron, you are not invisible! Believe me when I tell you that compared to Wormtail you look like the most popular boy in school. Besides I've seen pictures of them and you're a lot better looking than he was."
Ron and I both blushed as the words left my mouth which made Harry and Hermione laugh. After that the subject changed and we left for our first class of the day.
Christmas came and went in the blink of an eye. I had enjoyed my visit home so much that I hadn't wanted to get back on the train. When I got back to Hogwarts though my reluctance seemed to fly away as I saw my friends. We all talked about our Christmas and the things that had happened. I told the others how much I had loved their presents and showed them the necklace my godfather had gotten me. Hermione actually seemed concerned because I had confided in her about our financial situation. As I had expected she pulled me aside to ask about it.
"Aren't you worried Celeste? I mean that looks really expensive."
I shook my head and smiled. "My mum set up a trust for him to use at birthdays and Christmas to get me something special. He said that she knew we'd have a hard time so she did what she could. Normally we don't even use that much so that I have plenty for school supplies but he said that this Christmas was special."
"Just curious but why would this Christmas be so special?"
"Easy, it's the first year we've been apart since my mum left. It's been months and he knows how much I miss him. Honestly it's hard being here because I worry so much. He wanted me to have something special so I wouldn't worry so much about him."
She looked confused so I pushed on. "The stone changes colors if something happens. It's enchanted so I'll know he's ok. See how it's blue now? Well, if something were really wrong it would turn red and if something minor happens it turns pale purple. He even said that he'd arranged with the headmaster so that if it turns red I can go to Dumbledore and find out what's happened."
Hermione looked thrilled with the concept and began asking me all sorts of questions about the enchantments that caused the effect. I laughed as I explained it on the way to potions. It was nice knowing I had friends who cared and I felt a lot safer at Hogwarts now that I had a way to keep tabs on the only family I had.
The year continued rather uneventfully at first. But just before school ended everything went wrong. Harry had worried all year about what Fluffy, the three-headed dog, was guarding on the third-floor corridor. He was sure Snape was after it and the closer it got to the end of the school year the worse he got.
We'd finished the last of our exams and took the time to go down to the lake. It was hot out but the shade from the tree by the lake was nice. Harry seemed distracted but the rest of us were just glad to be done with exams. Unfortunately there wasn't really time to bask in the euphoria of classes ending because Harry was spurred into a flurry of activity. His scar had been hurting and Hermione was suggesting he go see Madam Pomfrey. I was too busy lying back in the grass thinking about summer to pay any attention until Harry jumped to his feet.
The three of us followed as he ran towards Hagrid's. When he answered everything went from bad to worse. Harry started questioning him about the night he'd gotten Norbert. When Hagrid admitted that he might have told the bloke he won the egg from about how to put Fluffy to sleep Harry took off again. It was a challenge to keep up with him as he raced back to the castle.
We reached the castle and almost ran over Professor McGonagall. Harry started talking in a rush saying that we needed to see Professor Dumbledore immediately. I honestly thought he was going to explode when McGonagall told him that the headmaster had left the castle minutes earlier. Harry began his campaign once again and ran into a brick wall the moment the words 'Sorcerer's Stone' left his mouth.
Professor McGonagall forbade us from doing anything concerning the stone and we had no choice but to leave. The outdoors no longer held any appeal and we returned to the common room.
"We've got to do something," Harry said.
"Professor McGonagall told us to leave it alone Harry."
"And? Hermione we can't just ignore it. Snape's going to try and steal it and we have to stop him."
I didn't know what to say but my mouth seemed to have a mind of it's own as I heard myself say, "Well then how are we going to?"
Hermione looked like I'd just punched her but Harry seemed relieved that someone was with him on this. We sat talking until dinner time and by then we had a plan. After everyone had gone to bed we'd sneak out and stop Snape. Hermione was trying to be the voice of reason but none of us were really listening as stopping Snape had gained too much importance.
After dinner it seemed ages before the common room finally cleared. Harry ran up and grabbed his invisibility cloak and we headed for the portrait hole when we heard a noise. We turned to see Neville standing there.
"You're going to sneak out again aren't you?"
Hermione blurted out, "No."
"Yes you are! You're going out and you're going to get Gryffindor in even more trouble. Well, I won't let you!"
I froze in place not really sure what to do. We had to go but if we left now Neville would go to McGonagall and we'd never stop Snape. Hermione came up with the solution and before I could blink Neville was locked in a full body-bind and we were on our way.
We made it to the third floor corridor in no time only to find that Snape had beaten us there. Harry let loose a string of curses and we all stopped trying to think of what to do. We weren't really given a choice though because just then Fluffy woke up and we had no choice but to jump through the trap door.
The landing was soft but the relief didn't last. Something was wrapping itself around us making it impossible to get away. I heard Hermione say 'devil's snare' and groaned. Ron was completely freaking out and I was on the verge of joining him when Hermione managed to get us all free. I rushed over and hugged her.
We made it past the keys and onto the chessboard. The only thing I could think was that we were now officially doomed. Ron figured out that we had to play our way across and we took up our posts. The game seemed to take forever until Ron suddenly said that the only way for us to win was for him to sacrifice himself. Hermione and I both yelled no but there really was no choice. When he fell it took everything not to rush over. Harry finished the game and we all ran to his side.
Ron was out cold and he was really beat up. I was fairly good with healing spells thanks to a need for them as a kid so I told Harry and Hermione to go ahead and I would take care of Ron. Reluctantly they went and I turned to my fallen friend. The damage wasn't as bad as it looked so I was just left waiting with Ron.
Hermione came back shortly and explained that only Harry had been able to go forward so she and I gathered up Ron and headed to get help. Once we made it out we found that Dumbledore was already back and he told us to take Ron to the hospital wing. With Professor McGonagall's help we managed to get Ron over there. Then we had no choice but to wait.
Professor McGonagall questioned us about what had happened and we explained as best we could. She left us with Madam Pomfrey and went to go release Neville from the full body-bind Hermione had left him in.
After what seemed like hours Dumbledore and a couple of the other professors brought in a very beat-up and unconscious Harry. Madam Pomfrey set to work on him as Hermione and I were asked to explain again. As we had before we left out the fact that Harry thought it was Professor Snape trying to steal the stone. After answering questions for what seemed like hours we were led back to Gryffindor tower. I had never been so grateful to see my bed.
The end of term feast was a welcome sight, even if the Great Hall was decorated in Slytherin colors. Ron, Harry, Hermione and I were all just glad to have made it to the end of our first year. Gryffindor was last in points for the House Cup but after what we had been through it didn't matter. Dumbledore rose to give his end of term speech and everyone fell silent.
The silence didn't last long however because suddenly Dumbledore was awarding point to Gryffindor. Ron got points for 'the best game of wizard's chess this school has seen in years'. Hermione got points for keeping her cool and I was award some for having stayed behind to take care of Ron, though those weren't Dumbledore's exact words. Harry got points for 'nerve and courage' and this tied us with Slytherin. The entire table went crazy. Then came the best part of all, Neville won points for having the courage to stand up to us when we left the common room and thanks to him we won the House Cup. I'd never seen the Slytherins look so angry.
Before I knew it we were on the train headed home. I was glad to be leaving if for no other reason than my first year had been far from boring. The four of laughed and chatted the whole way back though I could tell something was bothering Harry.
"No worries Harry, we'll write loads. You saw how much I wrote my godfather while we were at school so I don't think I'll have all that much trouble with it."
Harry laughed and the others agreed with me. "Yeah but at least you'll enjoy your summer. After what happened this year I think my aunt and uncle will be mad that I didn't manage to die."
I scrunched up my face and said some rather choice words on the subject. We changed the subject and talked about Quidditch the rest of the way home. I told Harry I was jealous that he was on the team because no one else had graduated so they wouldn't need new members. At least I was going to be allowed to have my broom next year.
The train slowed into the station and we all rose to gather our things. To keep the muggles from getting too suspicious the old wizard at the barrier only let a couple of us through at a time. On the other side I bid my friends goodbye and turned to look for my godfather. I smiled when I saw him, standing toward the back of the crowd, and rushed over to great the man that was both my friend and father.