Hogwarts was decorated in the most beautiful, magical way possible for the evening of the Yule Ball. It was due to be a white Christmas but Dumbledore made sure that the snow was a lot more prominent. Every inch of Hogwarts grounds was buried in five feet worth of snow. There was 100 metre red carpet lacing the ground, starting from the gates of the castle and ending at the top of the great hall. There were at least six Christmas trees on every floor and the biggest of course belonged at the top right hand corner of the great hall. It stood the height of the great hall and was shimmering with fake snow, tinsel and several other decorations and at the very top sat a silver star which Professor Filtwick placed himself with a little help from Hagrid. The ceiling in the great hall gave the impression of a light yet continuous snow shower. Of course mistletoe could be found on almost every corridor and within the great hall also.
All the students were excited about tonight's event, even the boys, although many were still daunted by having to dance in public. Harry however, did not have this fear and being the gentleman that he was taught to be, passed his knowledge onto his friends who were extremely grateful, especially Dean and Neville who were secretly hoping to win the hearts of their dates. The one thing though that these boys were forbidden from seeing was their girls dresses. They of course thought it was utterly ridiculous but the girls insisted that they would not be disappointed. They of course had their own little secret too. All but Hermione were also secretly hoping to win the hearts of their own crushes and this did not necessarily mean that he was the person they were going to the ball with.
Back on the marauder lands there was some movement going on which Harry, Arielle and Ryan were excluded from. They did know of Robs return and had written to him individually and had received letters back. They were looking forward to seeing him at the ball tonight but there was another surprise in store for them.
Sirius and James were in their bedrooms with their wives packing away into boxes some valuables.
"I cannot believe this is really the end." Sirius said glumly to his wife.
"Hey Sirius now you know that is not true. It's just a temporary fixture." Shari said re-assumingly as she rubbed his back.
"It just feels like we are running away. Do you think that too?" James asked Lily also in need of some re-assurance that they were doing the right thing.
"James....we are doing the right thing ok? Dumbledore wants us all to be ready and close by for when Voldemort returns. Besides we would be in a much better position for Harry`s sake if nothing else because nobody absolutely nobody can find Grimauld Place." She said as she swung her arms around his neck.
"Nobody can find this place either Shari." Sirius replied defiantly.
"This has been our home for the last thirteen years. We always had fun you know and now....now it just feels like everything is changing and that we are taking the cowards' way out." Sirius sat on the bed and sighed. Shari stared at him silently not too sure how to convince him otherwise.
"Sirius we are not being cowards. We are merely being...."
".....careful. Harry has always been our priority James. We moved here in order to protect him. When we came here Voldemort was gone. He was gone but James if Dumbledore feels that the time is coming close to when he can return then I would rather us not be in a vulnerable position like we were thirteen years ago. I don't feel we are safe here as we could be in Grimauld Place."
"We can always return here when it's all over." Shari said soothingly.
Sirius stared at his wife angrily. He was sick of running.
He stood up and walked towards the window as he said aimlessly....
"Nothing has started Shari. Yes, maybe he will come back sooner than we like but I have spent my whole life running. I am sick of it. I ran away from home when I was sixteen because my parents were abusive, I ran twice from Voldemort because I was l likely to be in danger and now we must do it again. One thing is for sure Shari....he is not going to get away with ruining our lives this time. So if he wants to return he had best be ready to die."
At 7:30 Harry and his friends gathered around the common room as they awaited their lovely ladies. One by one people flocked out of Gryffindor tower and headed towards the great hall.
"What do you think is taking them so long?" Ron asked leaning against the back of the couch and gazing up at the girl's dormitories.
"You can head down if you like Ron. Luna is possibly waiting." Harry said.
"No she won't be. I told her Id meet her at 7:45. What about the marauders?"
"What about them?" Harry asked quizzically.
"Well what time are they due to arrive?"
"I have no idea. I haven't seen them for a couple days. They are busy with order stuff."
Oh my...." Dean exclaimed as he stared up at the top of the stairs and saw the three girls, one more beautiful than the other.
They smiled down at the boys who grinned back at them.
Hermione walked down the steps first. Harry couldn't keep his eyes off her but he wasn't the only thinking she looked radiant.
She wore a royal blue knee length halter neck dress with a blue lace at the hem. Her hair was tied back in a low bun and she had some lairs falling loosely around her face and she had placed a few small blue clips around the top of her head, giving the impression of a tiara. She wore royal blue stilettos, half an inch in height with a diamante effect across the toes. Harry stood at the foot of the stairs in his brand new dress robes. They were quite similar to a tuxedo; a white shirt and bow tie with a black pants and tail coats. They both smiled warmly at the other as Harry took her hand and kissed it while looking into her eyes. She smiled as he said...
"You look beautiful babes."
"You don't look so bad yourself."
They both smirked as they walked over to the couch and waited for Arielle and Ginny to arrive down.
Arielle came next so Dean like Harry walked over to the foot of stairs and waited for her to descend. He was mesmerised by her natural beauty yet maturity for someone so young.
Her dress was a deep gold shade which enhanced her deep brown eyes and now golden blonde hair. The dress was full length and strapless with a low back to it. Her hair, which Hermione helped her dye, flowed loosely around her face, reaching a little below her shoulder blades. Her stilettos were three inches high, ensuring that Dean was still head and shoulders above her, were golden with a diamante effect across the toe. She blew Dean out of the water as she smiled broadly back at him. He stood at the foot of the stairs dressed in a tuxedo, white shirt with black pants and jacket that reached just below his waist. His bow tie was golden and he wore a golden coloured waist coat too. He held out his hand for Arielle who had reached the last step as he guided her down to the ground. Once she had Dean laced his fingers through hers as he looked deep into her eyes and said...
"You are absolutely beautiful Arielle."
She smirked and said...
"Well you look quite Handsome Dean....as always. We match" She said pointing at his bow tie and waist coat.
They both smiled a little at each other before heading over to the others as Ginny descended the stairs.
Neville smiled nervously at his friends who smiled at him encouragingly before he took his place at the foot of the stairs.
Ginny walked slowly down the stairs wearing a ¾ length, strapless, emerald green dress. She wore her hair loose with emerald green clips tying back some pieces at the sides. Around her neck hung a silver chain with an emerald green diamond hanging from it. Her stilettos were similar to her friends since they bought them together; emerald green, two inches high with a diamante front.
Neville smiled as she came down the stairs and reciprocated his smile. He was wearing similar dress robes to Harry; white shirt, with a black pants and bow tie and ¾ length tail coats. The only difference between his and Harry`s was that Neville`s looked two sizes too big for him. He reached out for her hand as she reached the last step. She smiled appreciatively at him.
"I....I....I like your dress Ginny. It....it matches your eyes." Neville muttered nervously. Ginny smiled sweetly at him and said...
"Thank you Neville. You look lovely too."
He smiled bashfully at her as she reciprocated a sweet smile before walking over to the couch with him to the others.
"Looking good Gins." Ron said smirking.
"Thank you Ron. I see you got new dress robes." She said feeling his jacket.
"Well I asked mom if it would be possible so she saw the ones Harry had but she couldn't afford it but the she managed to get me ones like Deans so....I can't complain." They smiled at one another.
"Hey Ron why don't you head down with Ginny and Neville. Dean and I will be there in five minutes."
All three looked at them and one another quizzically but agreed to do as Harry asked. After they had left the girls turned to them and asked what was going on. Harry and Dean smirked at one another before Dean said.....
"Harry and I were in Hogsmeade recently doing some Christmas shopping and we saw something in a shop that reminded us of you."
Hermione and Arielle smiled softly at one another, realising how lucky they were to have Harry and Dean in their lives.
Harry smiled mischievously at them before saying.....
"So......we want you both to turn around for a moment and close your eyes."
The girls did as they asked but what they received they did not expect. Harry and Dean nodded to one another as they reached back over the couch and pulled up two rectangular shaped boxes. They then opened them and mouthed one, two, three, before removing its contents and tied them around the girls' necks. The boys smirked together as they said.....
"You can open your eyes and face each other now."
The girls did as they were told but they were shocked when they looked at each other. Both pointed at one another and screamed excitedly.
"You have a diamond necklace that matches your dress Hermi."
"You have one too Airs."
They screamed again as they hugged each other and turned to face the boys with quizzical expressions.
"How did you know what dresses we were buying?" Hermione asked.
"Oh well.....we followed you one day and then Ginny confirmed what the colour was." Harry said.
"We then guessed that ye wouldn't be wearing any jewellery since ye rarely do." Dean concluded with a broad grin.
Arielle and Hermione laced their fingers through their boys' hands as they looked lovingly into their eyes and said.....
"Thank you."
"You`re welcome." Dean and Harry replied.
Harry then kissed Hermione lightly on the lips as Dean kissed Arielle on her hand. He secretly wanted to kiss her properly and she secretly wanted him to kiss her the same way. The night was long so it could still come true of course, they hoped anyway.
"Are we ready to go so?" Arielle asked.
"Yes. Come on Harry because Mc Gonagall said you must be there ten minutes early."
Ok. Let's go." He said as the four of them headed for the great hall.
There was a huge gathering outside the great hall. All the students from the four houses were scattered around the place as well as the guests from the three other schools. The marauders stood at the entrance of the castle with their wives. Rob stood by Sirius with Shari behind him talking to Lily and Tonks.
"Does anyone see Harry?" James asked."
"No Prongs but I'm sure he will be here soon. He and the other contestants must get things rolling after all." Sirius stated matter of factly.
"I can't wait to see Hermione and Arielle's dresses though."
"I know me too Lily. I'll bet Hermione looks beautiful." Shari said as she smiled at her friends.
"I still can't believe she and Harry are together."
"Why is that Rob?"
"Well Sirius I never suspected anything but friendship was between them."
"Yes well you did close your eyes to a lot of things Harry related Rob." Sirius said aimlessly.
"It's all in the past Sirius. I want to make things right."
"Cool. Oh hey look isn't that them over there?" Sirius asked.
"Has Arielle gone blonde?" Tonks, Lily and Shari asked.
"Why would she do that?" Rob asked.
"Because she is a woman Rob." James said flatly which earned him a thump from Lily.
Sirius wolf whistled to get her attention so she waved excitedly as she ran over with Dean.
"Hey dad, Hey Sirius
Hey Airs." They chimed.
"Mom, Shars I love your dresses."
"Thank you Arielle." They replied.
"How long have you gone blonde may I ask?"
"Oh mom it's just for tonight so it would blend in with my dress. How are you Tonks and Remus?"
"I'm good thank you Ari. You look lovely by the way." Remus said. Arielle blushed a little as she started flattening down the front of it.
"Thank you Remus."
"You look like a knock out. Dean you are one lucky fella. I hope he bought you that necklace Airs." Tonks said jokingly.
"Yes he did actually. Mom, dad, Sirius, Shari have you met Dean?"
"We have seen him around. You are a friend of Harry`s right?"
"Yes Mr. Potter." Dean said holding out his hand.
"Oh Dean please don't be so formal mate. Call me James and turn that palm upside down and lay it on me." James smiled warningly at him as Dean half laughed feeling happy that Arielle`s father didn't hate him. He slapped James on the palm and then Sirius as requested.
"Oh Arielle we have a surprise for you." Sirius said winking before stepping aside to allow Rob to step forward. Arielle gasped as she clasped her hands over her mouth and said.....
"Oh my god....ROB!" She threw her arms around him as he laughed and hugged her back and twirled her around in his arms once before setting her back down on the ground.
"It's great to see you Airs. You look good blonde and you have grown something fierce. I hardly recognise you with the blonde hair."
"Please tell me you are back for good. I really missed you."
"Yes of course. I hope to enrol here again with Dumbledore tonight if he will have me."
"Of course he will." Arielle said beaming at him. He reciprocated.
"Dean....long time kid." Rob said as he hugged his friend who happily returned it.
"How have you been? The place hasn't been the same since you left."
"Well I'm back now. I did miss this place though."
"Attention everyone. The Yule Ball is about to commence. I need the four contestants to come forward please with their dates and to proceed into the great hall. The rest may follow after them." Mc Gonagall said as she headed inside the door of the hall. Some of the students began to head in to the great hall but the marauders remained behind in the hope of catching a glimpse of Harry and Hermione. After a short time they saw the four contestants walking towards the great hall. Cedric was first in line with Cho Chang on his arm, following them was Krum with Lavender Brown, then came Fleur with George Weasley and finally Harry and Hermione who were laughing together and oblivious to anyone around them.
"Awww don't they make a lovely couple Shars?" Lily said to her friend beside her.
They somewhat remind me of you and James when you finally accepted a date from him."
"Okay lets go you lot." James ushered as he caught Lily by the hand and led the way inside. Sirius and Remus mimicked James` actions as they followed them inside. As they reached the great hall the first dance was about to begin so they ensured they had a good view of Harry and Hermione. The music for the waltz began within a few seconds. Harry, Cedric, Krum and Fleur stood at the top of the great hall with their dates; one hand resting lightly on their waist whilst the other was clutching their hand lightly. As soon as it started the boys began waltzing across the floor with the girls, spinning them around mid air and down again. This went on for about a minute before they were joined by other couples. There were two more sets before Dumbledore stood up at the podium and made an announcement about the evening.
"Attention please everyone. I would like to thank everyone who is here tonight for joining us on this special evening and I sincerely hope that our special guests will enjoy their evening. There will be plenty of opportunities for you all to dance the night away but for now I think we should take a break and enjoy our Christmas Eve feast so please take your seats and tuck in."
There were a dozen plates of food which appeared on each table; all of which were reserved for certain individuals. The Triwizard Champions had a table to themselves along with their partners. Ron, Arielle, Ginny and Ryan joined the marauder table on request. The other thirty tables were taken up by students and teachers alike. There was someone there though that nobody expected to see.
"Hey isn't that Slughorn up there James?" Lily asked her husband discreetly.
James looked up towards the main staff table and was shocked to see his former teacher speaking with Dumbledore.
"I think that you are right Lils. Hey Sirius, Remus old Sluggy is back."
"What?" They asked incredulously.
"What do you suppose he is doing here?" Sirius asked turning round in his seat and looking up at the staff table.
"I guess Dumbledore asked him Sirius."
"Yes Lily but why?"
"I will let you know when I find out."
"Ya never lost it love." Sirius said with a wink. Lily smirked as she continued with her meal.
"So Harry have you figured out what the egg is about?" Cedric asked.
"No I haven't actually Cedric have you?"
"No because every time I open it, it starts wailing."
Harry laughed lightly and said….
"Same here. Hermione though keeps banging on at me to talk to Moody or Remus."
"Well maybe they could help Harry. It's got to be worth a try."
"Yeah Cho maybe. Ill try after the holidays. I don't know about you guys but Snape and Mc Gonagall have really been laying on the homework thick lately."
"Oh we know all about it Harry." Cedric said glumly.
"I imagine that it's worse for you being in your final year though."
"Yeah Harry it is but….we manage."
"Hey ya guys!" Arielle exclaimed brightly with Dean by her side.
"Hey Airs, Dean. Do you guys know Cho and Cedric?"
"No I don't believe we have been introduced properly. Hi, I'm Arielle. I am Harry's sister." She said holding out her hand to them. They both shook it and greeted her amiably.
"Harry where is Hermione?" Arielle asked.
"Oh…she and Fleur have gone to the bathroom. Do you need her?"
"No I was just wondering. But I think you should go up to Rob."
"Is he here?" Harry asked looking around the room.
"Yeah he came with dad and company. We just had dinner with him. He is a little bit anxious though so maybe set his mind at rest that things are cool."
"Okay I'll go up in a minute."
"Okay. Well Dean and I are just going for a walk. Does anyone want to join us?"
"Not just yet Airs. You two go on ahead." Harry said smiling at them.
"Okay. See you guys later." She smiled and waved at them.
Harry excused himself from the table as he approached Rob who was still seated at his table talking to Neville. He smiled at James who reciprocated and Sirius who winked at him. He then tapped Rob on the shoulder. Rob turned around and smiled a little at him standing up.
"How are you Harry?"
"I'm….yeah I'm doing ok thanks Rob. What about you?"
He shrugged and said…."I'm good thanks. It feels weird being back here but nice at the same time. You know what I mean?"
Harry nodded and said…."Yeah. I know what you mean Rob."
They both smiled again not really sure what to say so finally Harry walked closer to him and hugged him lightly. Rob returned it willingly.
"Are we cool now?"
"We`re cool Rob."
"Ok. I better head over and see Hermione. I am happy that you guys are doing well. It's nice to see that you have finally settled down." He smirked at Harry who laughed and said…."Thank you. It means a lot. I`ll talk to you later."
They smiled again and went their own way.
"Well don't just stand there Champ. Take a seat."
Harry reciprocated his father's smile as he took a seat beside Sirius who poured him some butter beer from the jug on the table.
"Thank you for doing that Prongslet. It meant a lot to Rob and to me."
"That's why I did it Sirius. I knew it's what you wanted from me. I didn't want to be the reason this family was in turmoil. We have enough going on."
"I'm proud of ya son. Cheers." James held up his glass of fire whiskey as he leaned over and clanked it with his son's. They both took a slug out of it and set it down with a bang.
"Hey Harry there is someone I would like you to meet." Harry turned around to face his mom and the mysterious guest.
"Harry this is Professor Slughorn. He taught the marauders and me potions at school."
"Oh nice to meet you Professor." Harry said politely as he stood up and offered his hand to Slughorn who shook it immediately.
"It is hard to believe Harry that you are the son of James Potter. So polite, so grounded….you are reeking of Lily Evans genes lad."
Harry smirked slightly and looked at his mom stumped. She merely shrugged and smiled at him. The marauders got up from the table individually and approached their former teacher.
"All right there Sluggy. How is retirement treating ya mate?" Sirius asked throwing an arm around his shoulder and hugging him lightly.
"Oh my….Sirius Black. Well….you haven't changed…..you look a bit older of course. James…." James smiled at Slughorn warmly as he offered him his hand which was received immediately.
"It is a pity that you were too focused on wooing my star pupil in class James because you really did have a great deal of potential."
James nodded and said…."Thank you sir but potions never were my thing. I much preferred defence against the dark arts like Harry here."
Slughorn looked at Harry and smiled which was reciprocated.
"And of course Remus. The marauders would not be the same without you. How are you doing these days?" He asked as he shook his former students hand fervently.
"I'm good thank you Professor. I'm teaching dada here and Tonks and I are married and expecting our first child together…."
"Remus….twins. Have you forgotten already babe?" She asked humorously.
"Oh yes….Nymphadora….sorry….Tonks. Sirius`young cousin. You were as bad as any marauder to me." They all laughed heartedly.
"Oh well come on now Professor did you really expect me to be any other way having Sirius for a cousin?" They sniggered as Sirius gave her a playful scowl and Tonks stuck her tongue out at him in return.
"I am very proud that all of you have turned out the way you have. Albus has filled me in on you and it seems like you are living like the Brady bunch….minus one or two things of course."
"Does that mean you are going to join the order?" Sirius whispered to him.
"If there is something that I can do I certainly will Sirius."
"We need all the help we can get if we are to defeat that low life."
"Then I accept Sirius." They all smiled appreciatively at him.
"I do believe Lily that Albus has some need for us tonight."
"Yes sir. I think he wants Harry involved also."
"We will come and find you later. Enjoy your night fellas."
"It's a nice night for a walk isn't it Dean?" Arielle asked walking beside him.
"Yes it is." He replied as he smiled down at her.
"Are you cold?" He asked.
"No I'm good thank you."
"Ok. Hey come here. I want to show you something."
She took his offering hand as he led her down by the black lake.
As they reached that area of Hogwarts grounds he asked her to look straight up at the sky where there was a star shining brighter than any other star. He stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders as he spoke gently into her ear.
"Do you see that star shining up in the sky? I remember when I was a kid and if I couldn't sleep or had a nightmare my mom would come into me and hold me for a little while until I had calmed down. Then she would ask me to look up at the sky and focus on the biggest, brightest star that I could see and to make a wish. Now I want you to look at the big, beautiful star and make a wish."
A few moments later he asked….."Did you make a wish?"
"Yeah I did." She said softly. He turned her around gently as he looked deep into her eyes with his arms around her back. She wrapped her arms around his back at the same time as he asked….
"I made a wish too." He smiled softly at her as she reciprocated and asked….
"Well what did you wish for?"
"Ladies first." They both half laughed, Arielle threw her head back and then brought it forward as she said…..
"I wished that…..I would get a Christmas kiss from someone I really like."
"I wished for the same thing." He said as he brought his forehead down to hers and leaned and brushed his lips softly against hers.
"I don't know why I feel so strongly Dean but I just can't stop thinking about you."
"I know how you feel. It feels real but I'm scared that I will hurt you."
"I guess so long as we are honest with each other we will be ok. I want to be with you and nobody else." They looked at each other steadily, smiled and Dean asked….."So are we going to do this?"
"Yes. Yes we are." He leaned in to her again saying…."good" softly before sharing another kiss. This time it was deeper and more passionate than either one of them ever experienced but they liked it.
Back at the school, Lily, on her way back from the bathroom, saw Snape and Karkaroff talking heatedly in the courtyard. She knew that she should just walk away but curiosity got the better of her. As she drew nearer to the sheltered area she overheard Karkaroff mentioning something about the dark mark. Snape caught her eye. Lily started and began to head back to the castle when Karkaroff called out to her….
"You couldn't just mind your own business. You had to come that little bit closer you filthy interfering little mud blood! You're just like your son…..Dumbledore's precious little golden boy…."
"You leave my son out of it!" Lily barked
"Or what? What are you going to do?" Lily stared at him sternly and then at Snape who refused to meet her eyes.
"That's what I thought…." He gave Lily one hard swipe across the face and she fell to the ground on her side. Lily sat up and stroked her face as Karkaroff bared his teeth at her and stormed off. After he was gone Snape offered him her hand but she swatted it away and got up herself.
"You know what Snape? I am beginning to think that the marauders are right about you. You are a coward and a spineless git. Do you enjoy being friends with people who go around hitting women?"
"You should not have eavesdropped Lily."
"So what I deserved that then did I?"
"No of course not…." He tried to touch her face but she backed away.
"Don't you TOUCH ME! You take one step towards me and I promise you that you will wish you had never been born. As for Harry you keep away from him do I make myself clear?"
"Lily…"
"KEEP AWAY FROM MY CHILDREN SEVERUS!"
"What is all the commotion out here? Snape….what are you doing?" James asked.
"I am not doing anything I…." He started but seeing the venomous glare in Lily's eyes he stopped and gazed at her apologetically.
"Come on James. Let's head back inside." Snape again reached out to her and grabbed her wrist. She pulled it out of his hand abruptly as she turned around.
"What the hell is wrong with you? LEAVE ME ALONE!" She stormed back inside leaving James and Snape alone. James stared after her and then turned to Snape for an explanation.
"Are you going to tell me what is going on?"
"We were just talking…."
"Well clearly you have done something to upset her. I have never seen her so eager to get away from you."
"You should be pleased Potter that that is the case. It`s what you always wanted."
James took one step towards Snape so that they were only a few inches separating them.
"Are you going to tell me what happened to my wife or am I going to have to kill you?"
"It wouldn't be the first time…."
James sniggered and shook his head. He looked at Snape with a cynical smile and said….
"We were fifteen Snape. Fifteen. It was meant to be a joke on Sirius's part but I distinctly remember saving your life. Have you forgotten that? I didn't like you but I certainly didn't hate you enough to want you dead. You never stood a chance with Lily. It was nothing to do with your fantastic personality. You were a death eater. To some you still are. I didn't steal her away from you."
"You didn't care about her the way I did. To you she was just some trophy to be won but to me….I would have done anything for her. I still would."
"I was thirteen when I first noticed her. Yes, you are right to a point. At first she was a marauder challenge but as the challenge became bigger I fell deeper. By the time we finally got together I was in love with her. I couldn't think about anything else, I couldn't see myself with anyone else. If I thought she wanted to be with you or anyone else I would have let her go because all I wanted was for her to be happy even if that was never with me. You see Snape when you love someone you are prepared to sacrifice everything for them to be happy. You say that I don't love her the way you do? Yeah, you are right mate. I love her more than life itself. I would give up my life for her, Harry and Arielle because they are my life. I am sorry that you didn't find that and I really mean that and I sincerely apologise for what we did to you at school. We can never be friends I do hope you realise that but I do want us to work together."
"Very well Potter you have said your piece. I understand where you are coming from and I'm pleased that someone cares that much about Lily. I accept your apology but I never said I wanted us to be friends. Dumbledore wants us to work together so….we are just going to have to find some way to do that."
"Right…." James nodded and began to walk back inside when Snape called out.
"If you want to kill anyone then kill Karkaroff. He was the one who hit Lily and that's why she wanted to get away."
"Karkaroff hit my wife and you let him?" James asked angrily storming back.
"She was eves dropping….I didn't know what to do…."
"YOU COULD HAVE STOPPED HIM!"
"I…."
Oh save it for someone who cares Snivelus! The war is still on until you show some sign of respect." He walked away but Snape shouted out….
"What war?"
"Snivelus verses the marauders. All is fair in love and marauder so….watch your back." He winked at him as he headed inside.
Karkaroff was coming out of the great hall as James approached it. James called after him.
"OI! Karkaroff I want a word with you." James bellowed. Karkaroff sighed as he turned around slowly and stared at James carelessly. James punched him so hard in the face that he fell over face down on the ground. His nose was bleeding heavily and his lip had started to trickle blood down to his neck.
James walked over and stood over him, glared at him viciously as he placed one foot on his chest and said…..
"Stay the hell away from my wife. If I catch you so much as breathing near her I will kill you. Do you understand?" Karkaroff nodded fervently as he scooted back and as soon as he was a few metres away from James, stood up and walked quickly out of sight. Lily came out of the great hall with Harry, Slughorn, Remus, Sirius and Dumbledore as Snape approached them. They all acknowledged James either with a smile or a nod of the head. Sirius and Remus stayed outside the great hall as the others followed Dumbledore.
"We are just heading up to Dumbledore's office now ok. I will explain later." Lily whispered to James as she ushered Harry on. James nodded his head and walked down to his friends. Snape passed them by quickly. Sirius waited until Lily was out of sight until he called after Snape.
"Snivelus….I want to chat with you for a minute mate."
Snape stopped dead in his tracks but didn't turn around.
"What is it Black?"
"I want you to look at me you coward."
Snape turned around slowly as he quirked an eyebrow at Sirius to continue.
"The next time you see someone being abused get your head down from your ass and put a stop to it that is of course if you wish to be a part of the order. We don't have time for cowards."
"I am not a coward Black. Tonight….."
"Tonight should not have happened. If you touch or witness a marauder being abused like that again and do nothing when the three of us are not around….. You are going to be praying for mercy from James and Sirius. Aint that right Padfoot?"
"That is spot on correct Prongs." The three men glared at each other for a few seconds until Snape strode off swiftly towards the dungeons.
"I expect that you are wondering why we brought you up here, away from all of your friends Harry." Dumbledore said calmly.
Harry looked at his mother and Slughorn before sitting forward in his seat so that he was a mere four inches away from Dumbledore.
"Yes sir as a matter of fact I was. I am guessing that this has something to do with the order or else....Voldemort."
Slughorn stared at him aghast as he looked from Lily who nodded and Dumbledore who offered him a small smile.
"You are correct Harry to a point on both counts. Professor Slughorn over here has agreed to come and join the order with us and he has kindly offered to give us another of Voldemort`s horcruxes."
"Oh....I see." Harry replied lamely. He really was not in the mood to deal with this. It was almost Christmas so he wanted to switch off from anything Voldemort related and just have some fun with his family and friends.
"There is of course another matter which needs to be addressed Albus." Lily said also sitting forward in her seat as she bore her eyes into her former headmasters.
"Yes, you are quite right Lily. Has everything been finalised then?"
Harry focused on Dumbledore and Lily as though he were watching a tennis match. He was growing anxious to know what they were talking about.
"Harry there is something that you need to know sweetie."
"What is it mom?" He asked anxiously.
"Well...." she caught his hand in hers and rubbed it gently, looking down at it as she said....
"The marauders and I have been discussing this for quite a while now with Professor Dumbledore and we all feel that it's for the best that we move."
Harry jolted his body in shock as he grabbed his hand from his mother`s grasp.
"Move? Move where? You can't mean that we are going to leave the country."
"Oh of course not Harry. We are just going to move to London. Sirius and Regulus have been working tirelessly in Grimauld Place to have it looking nice for us. Of course we all chipped in whenever we could...."
"We are going to move to Sirius`s old house? Mom....he hated that place. I can`t believe for one second that he would want to go back there."
"Well believe it Harry because it is true. It was Sirius` idea to use it as headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. Now that the threat of Voldemort appears to be increasing....we all felt, including Sirius that we need to be somewhere safer."
"But the Potter Pride lands are safe mom. I mean you all told me that it could not be found unless you knew where it was..."
"That was until we found out that Peter Pettigrew had been living there for twelve years Harry. We can't be certain that he hasn't told anyone."
"But sir...."
"No buts Harry. Albus is right in what he is saying. Your father and I have moved most of our stuff to Grimauld Place. Sirius and Regulus claim that they want to put a few finishing touches to the place before it will inhabitable. So we will be moving shortly after Christmas."
"Well what about the Weaselys? They could be in danger too."
"Well they are also involved in the order so it only seems right that they should move also. Needless to say Molly is slow on doing so because she is worried that all of them with us under the one roof would seem intrusive but Grimauld Place is more than capable of catering for us all as you will soon see. I think you are going to like it."
"I thought Peter was in the original order? Could he not have said something to someone?"
"We have cast different spells on the place Harry and Moody along with Albus is in charge of deciding who comes and goes from there. We are not in any danger I promise."
Harry looked despondently at his mother and headmaster before nodding his head. He did secretly like the idea of living with Ron and his family but he was of course going to miss the place he spent the best thirteen years of his life, the place where he learned to ride a broomstick, the place where he played his first quiddtich match against the marauders, the place where he had learned to love and regard as his home. He had made many memories there both good and bad with his family and friends. The thought of leaving all that behind saddened him deeply but their circumstances had changed now. Since the threat of Voldemort returning was indeed increasing it was time to stop pining for childhood memories. Now it was all about survival.
Again I am so sorry for the delay in updating. I just really wanted to get this chapter right but it's hard to know if I did so it's up to you to decide.
I do hope you liked it. Let me know. Hope all of you are well. Talk to you later.