A/N: So I hopped onto my computer this morning and decided to simply start typing. Six hours later, I bring you four new chapters. The end is nearing…
Chapter Nine: Valentine's Day Massacre
The Marauders now spent most of their free-time in Hogsmeade. They strolled the streets, without anyone standing in their way.
James and Sirius laughed at their ingeniousness, as they crawled through the statue, their arms filled with joke products.
"What the…?"
With a crash, James and Sirius's hearts fell into the pit of their stomachs. Ted Tonks had been walking by the statue, and had seen them crawling out.
"Where on earth did you come from?" Ted asked, flabbergasted..
"That's classified," Sirius replied, calmly.
"But, what are you doing here?" Ted cried.
"What are you doing here?" James asked, unable to keep a straight face.
"I asked you first," Ted said, crossing his arms.
"I asked you second," James grinned.
Ted peered at him suspiciously, before smiling, "Hang on! I know you. You're the bloke who saved my life at that Quidditch match."
James puffed out his chest, "Yeah, well, all in a day's work."
"Well, at least you caught the prat who was doing it," Ted grimaced, "I would've gotten him myself if I hadn't been so worried about Andromeda."
He stopped, flushing.
He then smirked, "You're the lot who's been sneaking around, causing us Prefects a hell of a time!"
"At your service," Sirius bowed, "You mentioned my cousin. How is she?"
"You're her cousin?" Ted repeated, "You're a Gryffindor?"
"Well spotted," Sirius said, "How is she?"
"She's fine," Ted sighed, "Back to her old self."
His tone fell at this.
"Is that a good thing?" Sirius asked slowly.
Ted hesitated, debating whether or not he wanted to say anything, "Well, she and I have been kind of dating."
To his relief, the two took the news with excitement, "Nice one, mate."
Ted smiled weakly, "Thanks. Well, anyway, we were dating. Then your other cousins, Narcissa and Bellatrix, found out."
Sirius groaned, "Ah no, that can't be good."
Ted shrugged, "Well, I'm a Muggle-born. Naturally, as soon as they found out, they whisked Andromeda away. Anyway, it's probably for the best."
"It most certainly is not for the best," Sirius said, angrily, "Don't worry, Ted, I'll talk to my cousin."
Sirius did much more than talking. Several nights later, he and James snuck under the invisibility cloak to the Slytherin Common Room. There, they waited, until Andromeda came back from Prefect Duties.
She screamed, upon seeing the two sitting on the couch, nonchalantly.
"Sirius, what are you doing here?" she finally hissed, "You're not a Slytherin."
"You're right, I'm not," Sirius said, coolly, "I actually have a heart."
"Get out of here!" Andromeda whispered, "If you get caught, I won't be able to protect you!"
"I can protect myself," Sirius snapped, "You see, I'm not afraid of my cousins."
Andromeda's eyes darkened, "You think that I am?"
"What I think," Sirius said quietly, "Is that you would rather follow our family's footsteps. You would rather pretend to believe in something so horrendous, instead of standing up for yourself in order to live your life."
"What are you talking about?" Andromeda asked.
"We ran into Ted Tonks," Sirius said, folding his arms, "Nice guy. He happened to mention that you two were dating."
"Keep your voice down!" Andromeda hissed.
"No!" Sirius stomped his foot, "You don't believe in that pureblood mania! I know you better than that, Andi! This is your chance to break free of our family. Don't give into them, just because you're afraid."
"I can't date him!" Andromeda sighed.
"Then admit the reason!" Sirius cried, "Admit that you're afraid!"
"I'm not…"
"Admit it!" Sirius roared.
"Fine!" Andromeda shrieked, "I can't date Ted, because I'm afraid of my sisters!"
"That's why you weren't put in Gryffindor," Sirius said, harshly, "You're a coward."
James spoke up, "My dad once said that bravery is not the same as fearlessness. A brave person admits his fears, and then seeks to conquer them."
"There you go!" Sirius said, smiling, "You still have a chance to redeem yourself. Otherwise, you're life is going to be nothing more than one big regret."
Andromeda didn't know what to say. A light flickered overhead. Sirius gave her one, last, pitying look before throwing the cloak over himself and James, disappearing.
James woke up on Valentine's Day, determined.
He glanced around. The others were still in their beds; their curtains drawn. James quietly got up and slipped into his robes.
He then snuck to his bedside table and took out the pink, frilly, card. James grinned at it. He had gotten it in Hogsmede several days ago, after much debating.
There was a commotion behind him, and before James knew it, someone had whisked the card out of his hand.
"What's this?" Sirius asked, smirking.
"Give it back to him mate," Lupin scolded, trying to hide a grin.
"'To Lily, With Love: James,'" Sirius read.
"Sod off!" James growled, reddening.
"That's so sweet," Peter squeaked, reading the card.
"Lily Evans?" Lupin asked, amused.
"I knew it!" Sirius roared, triumphantly. He turned to Lupin and Peter, "Pay up!"
"We all knew it," Lupin corrected.
"Yeah, but you two had the audacity to bet me," Sirius grinned.
"Give it here!" James cried, wrestling Sirius to the ground and snatching the card.
"Are you going to give it to her?" Lupin asked.
"Well I was, until you guys intervened!"
"Don't let us stop you," Sirius smiled, "Go on, then!"
James took a deep breath, then marched down to the Common Room. He took another breath, opened the door to the Girl's Dormitory, and started up the stairs.
There was a loud, wailing, noise and the stairs suddenly fell out from beneath him. With a yell, James found himself falling backwards, sliding on a magnificent slide back down to the Common Room.
There was a loud commotion and people flooded into the Common Room to see what happened. Sirius. The other Marauders gaped at James in a mixture of shock and humor.
"What happened?" Sirius asked, trying not to laugh.
"The stairs turned into a bloody slide!" James groaned, rubbing his neck.
"POTTER!"
Lily had descended down the slide, looking enraged.
"Alright then, Evans?" James grinned.
"What are you doing down there?" Lily shrieked.
"Evidently, making a fool of myself," James muttered, before brightening, "So Evans, do you have a Valentine?"
Lily's cheeks reddened, "Of course not. Valentine's Day is nothing more than an excuse for corporations to sell excess candy and flowers."
She then broke off, when James looked crushed. She gave him an odd look as she said, "Why? Were you…were you going to give me a Valentine?"
"Of course not," James snorted, "Like I'd give you a Valentine."
Peter gasped, Sirius snorted, and Lupin whispered, "James, no!"
Lily seemed to swell with anger.
Sirius grabbed James's shoulder and the four ran for it. They finally burst out onto the snowy grounds, collapsing in a heap of laughter.
"Best Valentine's Day, ever!" Sirius roared.
"James, you bloody idiot!" Lupin chortled, "Why did you tell her that?"
"What was I supposed to say?" James snapped, "Everyone was staring."
He sighed, falling backwards. He barely even noticed Sirius throwing multiple snowballs at him.
"What's wrong with him?" Peter asked, concerned.
"He's in love," Lupin said, with a small smile, "He'll be distracted for days. I doubt he'll even mention that bloody tomb."
"Hey Sirius," James said, suddenly, "Isn't that your cousin?"
Sirius chuckled, "Well, that lasted all of two minutes."
James glared at him, "Your other cousin: Andromeda."
He pointed to the slope by the lake. Andromeda had her cloak pulled up and was shuffling through the snow.
Sirius groaned, "Ah no."
He motioned for the others to follow. They slid down the slope, silently, getting wet and soaked.
They saw Andromeda disappear into a thicket of trees. They snuck after her, and were shocked to see that Andromeda wasn't alone.
She was with Ted Tonks. They were sitting on a stump, smiling and laughing.
Before James could stop, Sirius let out a cheer.
The two looked up, before seeing who it was.
"Say it!" Sirius roared.
"You were right," Andromeda sighed.
"To right, I was," Sirius grinned, "Good for you, Andi!"
Andromeda gave him an appreciative smile, but it instantly faded.
"Oh no," she whispered.
James and Sirius turned to find that another group was heading towards them. Bellatrix was in the lead, followed by Lucius and Narcissa.
James, Sirius, Lupin, and Peter all took out their wands, crouching down into a fighting position.
"Andromeda, what are you doing with that piece of filth?" Bellatrix hissed.
"That 'piece of filth' is my boyfriend," Andromeda drew herself up.
Bellatrix looked as though she had been slapped.
It was Narcissa who finally hissed, "He's just a Mudblood."
"Who are you to judge someone?" Andromeda snapped, "You three are nothing more than bullying leeches!"
Bellatrix strode forward, her wand raised.
"Ted, get out of here," Sirius said, monotonically.
Ted, however, refused to move.
"Fine!" Sirius snapped, "Just do us a favor, okay? Don't expel us."
"Why would I…?"
With a blast, the Marauders unleashed a series of spells, knocking the three enemies backwards. The light from the spells illuminated their faces.
"Blimey," Ted whispered.
The Slytherins, excluding Andromeda, stumbled away.
James and Sirius gave each other high-fives, before immediately groaning.
Professor McGonagall was marching towards them, tight-lipped, "Well, I never…I have had it with you four! As for you, Mister Tonks and Miss Black. Well, I simply expected better from Prefects! You're lucky you aren't dismissed from your duties! As for you four, you will report to Professor Dumbledore's office immediately."
Chins held high, the Marauders stomped back inside.
Professor Dumbledore was waiting for them, in his office.
"What seems to be the problem?" he asked, calmly.
"The problem is that you opened the doors to your school to maniacal, cold-hearted, Pure-blood loving, scum!" Sirius burst out.
"Sirius," James said, calming his friend, before exploding himself, "Professor, you have to do something about them!"
"What do you propose?" Dumbledore asked.
"Expel them," Sirius suggested.
"You would expel your own family?" Dumbledore looked mildly surprised.
Sirius looked outraged. Finally, he hissed, "They are not my family. Do you think that I want to be related to someone who treats my friends so cruelly? Do you think that I want to have my last name? That I want to remember Toujours Pur? If I had wanted all of that, I would've chosen to be in Slytherin, instead asking that blasted hat to put me in Gryffindor."
There was a tense silence.
"You asked the Sorting Hat to put you in Gryffindor?" James repeated, stunned.
"It originally wanted to put me in Slytherin," Sirius spat, distractedly.
James didn't know what to say.
Finally, Dumbledore spoke, "I understand your fury, Sirius. Yet, unless you can provide proof that your cousins are doing anything illegal…"
"They're trying to break into the tomb of Slytherin," James suddenly said.
Besides him, Lupin gave a small groan, "James, no! Don't go bothering Professor Dumbledore with all that!"
Dumbledore, however, looked intrigued, "The tomb of Slytherin?"
"It's filled with all sorts of valuables and weapons," James explained, "We think that they're out to get them."
"Do you have any proof?" Dumbledore asked.
"They were talking about it," Sirius spoke up.
"Did anyone else hear this conversation?"
James didn't believe what he was hearing, "You don't believe us."
"I do," Dumbledore said, calmly.
Yet, his sparkling blue eyes flickered away.
James stared at him, clearly upset, "No you don't! You think that we're just a bunch of raving children."
He looked around wildly, and was slightly relieved to see that the other Marauders looked upset at Dumbledore's lack of support as well.
Dumbledore opened his mouth, but James turned away, finding that his eyes were becoming very painful.
James then swallowed, before saying, "If you won't protect Hogwarts, we'll protect it ourselves."
Sirius crossed his arms, "Are you going to punish us for standing up for Andromeda and Ted, or are you going to allow us to stomp out of here?"
Dumbledore held his hand to the door, politely, "By all means."
Sirius glared at him, putting a hand on James's shoulder. The four trudged out of the office, their heads hung.
They got to the end of the corridor, before James managed to punch the wall.
"Blimey, mate!" Lupin cried, restraining James.
"I always trusted Dumbledore, even before I came to Hogwarts," James said, his eyes stinging once more, "When we got here, I always thought that he'd support us, no matter what."
Sirius sighed, kicking the floor.
Peter grimaced, What are we supposed to do, now?"
"We still fight," James said, firmly.