New chapter, people! Sorry I've been taking so long with my updates…I'm just kind of lazy like that. Anyway, here we are!
That night, at 7:00, Neville, Seamus, Sirius, James, and Remus were sitting in the corner of Gryffindor common room, conversing in low tones.
"Okay, guys," Neville muttered, checking his watch. "Now's the time. We'll need to leave separately to avoid suspicion. I'll leave first with Remus."
And with that, Remus and Neville stood up and left through the portrait hall.
"Alright," Seamus glanced down at his watch. "They've been gone for five minutes; I reckon we can go now."
The three boys headed out into the dark, musty hallway. Seamus motioned for them to follow him. He led the two past boys up to the fifth floor, by the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, and Seamus paced in front of the wall three times, his eyes screwed up in concentration. Then a golden door handle appeared. Sirius and James grinned at each other. They had come across this door two years ago, trying to hide from Filch. Seamus motioned them inside.
They were greeted by an uproar of people all standing in a large room with ample space for practicing spells and curses. James could see Neville unsuccessfully trying to calm the people down, but they surrounded James like a moth to a flame.
"Is it Harry?" "Is Harry here?" "Is it really him?" It was worse than the common room. Harry must really be popular, James thought.
"CALM DOWN!" Neville yelled, causing most people to shrink back in fright. "This is Harry's-erm-cousin that's going to Hogwarts this year. His name is James."
"That's Harry's dad's name!" a small boy chirped up from the back of the room.
"Yes, I understand that," Neville said exasperatedly. "James is a family name. Now come on, we've got lots to cover tonight."
The kids all went over to the practice arena and sat down, with Neville standing in front of them, along with two girls James didn't know.
"Our first problem is quite obvious," Neville began.
"The Carrows," One of the girls up front with him interrupted. She had fiery red hair and chocolate brown eyes. She looks a lot like Lily, Sirius realized.
"Yes, the Carrows," Neville nodded in agreement. "Now, what are some suggestions of what we could do to make their time here worse than their time in You-Know-Who's presence?"
"Well," began a boy that looked about their age with sandy blonde hair. "We shouldn't do their assignments, whatever they are."
"Definitely," piped up the boy who had recognized James' name said excitedly. "And we could talk back to them in class like Harry did to Umbridge."
Harry talked back to a teacher? Remus smiled. He was definitely James's son.
"Good ideas, both of you," Neville nodded towards the two boys. "What else?"
"We could attract the Nargles to them," the other girl up front said dreamily. She had blonde hair and sky blue eyes. "Then they're brains would go fuzzy and we could get away with more."
"Er…" No one really knew how to respond to that. Finally, the red haired girl broke the silence.
"You work on that, Luna," she said gently to the other girl, Luna. "Meanwhile, I think we should sneak out at night and write stuff on the walls like 'Dumbledore's Army, still recruiting." The girl smiled. "It would drive them mad."
This girl had spunk, Sirius realized. He would ask her out if she came from his time frame.
"Would about pranking Snape?" James said loudly. Everyone looked at him like he was crazy.
"Are you serious?" A girl with her hair in a plait down her back stared at him.
"No, I am!" Sirius grinned. He loved using his name joke. "I think it's a great idea."
"Do you two have any idea how dangerous that is?" A boy with a head boy badge looked down at them in amazement. "He'd kill you."
"Fine," Sirius said, flopping down onto a chair. "Be like that. But we," he motioned himself, James, and Remus, "will do it, and then you will appreciate our awesomeness."
"Ok then," said the red haired girl. "If you three manage to pull that off and survive, you'll be official members of the DA."
"Ginny," Neville whispered to her urgently.
"No, Neville," she said shaking him off. "If they want to do it, they can. But it better be something useful," she said turning on the three marauders. "Steal something from him or kidnap Dumbledore's portrait. Or," Ginny said, a smile lighting up on her face. "Do something that would drive him insane, like paint his office pink. That," she grinned, a light shining radiantly upon her, "would be amazing."
Everyone nodded in agreement. The Marauders grinned at each other. This was going to be good.