LILY POV
Everyone in the school was sitting in the Great Hall. No one was making a sound. Not even the Marauders, and you could always count on them to be making noise of some kind. But today, they were just as silent and calm as everyone else. In fact, James Potter looked more upset than anyone else in that group.
Professor Dumbledore was standing at the center of the staff table like he did during the start of term feast. Everyone was looking at him in sad silence. It was the kind of silence Lily suffocated in. Or maybe that was the tears building in her eyes and the constriction in her throat. It was just so hard to breathe.
"Demetrius Steinbach was an excellent student and a wonderful friend. He was an extraordinary example of Hufflepuff House, and he was an extraordinary model for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It is a shame that his life was ended so soon. Demetrius had been working towards becoming a Healer at St. Mungo's Hospital. It is unfortunate that he never had the chance to reach his goal. We can only hope that no more devastation comes to his family. As for how he died..."
Lily noticed James straighten up a little at this.
"We have found that it was a killing curse. I warn everyone here: the Unforgivable Curses are not silly charms for harmless pranks. They are dangerous weapons, and they do more harm than anyone can imagine. And so, I would like to stress how very important it is for everyone to take great caution. As with any curse, spell, charm, or jinx, its producer is not always easy to see. Anyone can cast these curses. This is no light matter, and the death of Demetrius Steinback should not be overlooked or forgotten. This should stand as a warning to each and every one of you for what is yet to come. Dark times are looming before us, and it would do us all well to remember who the real enemy is. Remember, we are all one and the same. We need to unite as one school, one community, and stand together. Forget differences as silly as houses and blood. If we are divided, we are weak. Only together can we overcome the dangers we impose on each other."
There was a heavy silence. Lily couldn't tell if it was from sorrow or worry or just the sheer message of the headmaster's words. She looked away from Dumbledore and down at the table in front of her. Who would kill a student? And on school grounds...
"I think it best that everyone go to bed now. Think about this, and learn from it." Dumbledore finished.
Everyone slowly stood and made their way towards the door. Lily got up and pulled Alice into a hug. Alice was crying harder than anyone else in her group. Mary had silent tears dripping down her cheeks every once in a while, and Marlene just looked tired and miserable. A few feet away, James was whispering furiously to his friends.
"It's okay, Alice." Lily whispered.
"Who would do that?" She whimpered.
"I don't know, but he didn't deserve it."
"His killer's still walking around. What if they go after someone else? What if they go after one of us?"
"They're not going to come after us, Alice."
"How do you know?"
"We're always around people, aren't we? There's no way anyone would be able to kill us with so many people around. We're safe, Alice."
"But what if-"
"Don't worry, Alice. They won't come after us." Frank said, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm so scared, Frank." Alice turned and hugged Frank. He was shocked at the sudden contact, but he managed to awkwardly pat her back and mutter to her. Lily turned away from them and wiped her eyes.
"Cheer up, Lily. At least it wasn't one of us, yeah?" Marlene nudged Lily's arm as they started walking to the dormitories.
"You know that Demetrius was a muggleborn. And he...he was probably killed because he's a muggleborn. What if..." Lily trailed off and glanced at Alice for half a second before leaning closer to Marlene," What if whoever did it comes after all the muggleborns?"
Marlene sighed and shook her head," You're as bad as Alice. Honestly, do you think someone would bother trying to off a bunch of second years? Makes no sense, does it, Lily?"
"Well, they could want to get rid of the muggleborns now so they don't have to deal with us later."
Marlene just scowled," Really, Lily? You think they'd be smart enough to think of that?"
"Well, they were smart enough to do it without any witnesses, yeah? Who's to say they haven't thought that far ahead?"
James Potter jumped in at this point," They were also dumb enough to kill someone, so why would they think that far ahead? Plus, if they only go after muggleborns, someone- probably Dumbledore- is bound to notice and will add special protection to people in the targeted group."
Lily frowned," Well, if they were smart about anything, they wouldn't make it obvious."
Sirius sucked in a breath and slapped his hand hard over Lily's mouth," Shhh! The killer's still walking around, yeah? We don't know who it is, and so they could be anyone. We don't want them to get any ideas just because we're talking about what they could and couldn't do to be smart about their targets."
Lily shoved his hand away and glared at him," Don't ever put your hand in my face again. You smell like month old sausage and taste even worse."
"That's what you're worried about? My scent and taste? We've got a killer on the loose!" Sirius said dramatically.
"Yes, I know. And we've also got four idiots on the loose. What are you planning now? Prank the killer? Or maybe just capture him and get all the glory."
Peter went pale. Remus missed a step and remained silent. Sirius sighed and shook his head, but it was James that spoke.
"We don't want anything to do with this person. They're dangerous, yeah? It's like Marlene said. We're only second years. We may be wicked talented, but they're probably much older and much more experienced. We weren't planning on doing anything."
Peter, quivering and pale, stepped forward with a little frown," I thought we were-"
Remus shoved his elbow into Peter's ribs.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"We're not going after them, remember?" Remus said slowly.
"Wha- oh. Oh right."
Lily rolled her eyes," You four aren't going to live to see third year if you go after whoever did this."
At this, Sirius grinned mischievously," You underestimate us, Evans."
"No. I don't think I do. You're so eager for all that attention that you'll do anything to get it. Even if it means going after a ruthless murderer."
"You don't know that they're ruthless."
"But we're not doing it for attention. Someone shouldn't be parading around killing people. We've got a plan to draw them out and expose them for who they are." James explained.
"And if you happen to gain a few more mindless girls for your fan club, even better." Lily retorted.
"I don't see why that's a bad thing. People want to be our friends. Who wouldn't?"
"You're unbelievable."
"Come on, Evans. We're not doing anything really dangerous."
"Just going after a murderer."
"Are you worried about us?"
"I don't know. I don't really know what I'm feeling right now. It's kind of a big shock what with a student turning up dead. Maybe I'm just tired."
"You're blaming being worried about us on being tired?" Remus asked.
"Yes. Good night."
And Lily walked upstairs with her friends.
JAMES POV
As soon as Lily and the girls went upstairs, James and his friends ran up to their room. Frank had been busy talking to a prefect, so they knew they had about ten minutes to talk before Frank would walk in.
"I think we need to be a little more blear next time we make a plan that we can't tell anyone." Sirius said, looking at Peter with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm sorry! I forgot that we were keeping it quiet." Peter blubbered.
"How did you forget something like that? Especially when James and I were telling Evans that we weren't going after them?"
"Because-"
"It doesn't matter. What's done is done." Remus said.
"Yeah. That's right. It doesn't matter." James nodded," Sirius, stop giving Peter a hard time. Pete, it's okay. But don't mention anything unless you know it's okay to talk about it, yeah? Just easier to keep things quiet that way."
"Sorry." Peter's watery blue eyes were really turning watery. He sniffled and wiped under his nose.
"It's okay, Pete. No harm done. Only the girls know, and I don't think they're going to try and stop us. They don't want to get in trouble in case we get caught."
"Can we...can we go over it one more time? I'm still confused." Peter suddenly looked much smaller.
James gave him a kind smile and nodded," 'Course we can. So tonight, after Frank's gone to sleep, we're going to get under the cloak and slip out of the tower. We decided to go down to the dungeons and wait for a Slytherin to appear, right?"
Sirius nodded," One of those little snakes probably did it. I reckon they're all angry since we beat them in quidditch. Someone probably just took it out on that Hufflepuff bloke."
"And it'll probably be someone older. A sixth or seventh year. No one younger than that would really know about Unforgivable curses unless they were Dark Wizards. So that's who we're on the look out for."
"What if we find them?" Peter asked.
"This is just a recon mission. If we find out who did it, then we'll figure out a plan from there, but I think we should just take turns watching out for whoever it is we catch." James answered quickly.
Just as he finished talking, the door opened, and Frank walked in.
"Can't believe what just happened. Who would kill him? He's was a nice guy, right?" Frank said.
The other four boys just shrugged.
"Dunno, mate. Never spoke to him. Kind of blended into the walls, if you ask me." Sirius said.
LILY POV
She watched the boys the next day, but they were just planning another prank to make Mr. Filch's life harder.
"Why are you watching them?" Mary asked.
"D'you like one of them? Is it James?" Marlene asked with a little too much excitement.
Lily scrunched up her nose," Ew. No. It's just...weren't they planning on doing something to find...you know."
"Oh. Yeah, but they might have gone through with it." Marlene shrugged.
"How? They just started planning it last night."
"Yeah but it's the Marauders. They've probably already come up with a plan and gone through with it without anyway even knowing what happened."
"I dunno, Lily. They can be pretty sneaky. No one ever caught them for the laugh attack on the Ravenclaws last year."
"Or the flying incident last year that banned first years from having brooms anymore." Mary added.
"I still don't know how they managed to convince every Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw first year to fly straight at each other ten feet in the air." Lily frowned.
"Pure talent, Evans. People love us. They'll do anything we ask." James grinned, sitting down next to Lily.
She scoffed and rolled her eyes," Thank you for that. You can leave now."
"No can do, Evans. Four growing boys need to eat."
"So eat somewhere else."
"But this is my favorite spot."
"Make that your favorite spot."
"There? No way. Lance always sits over there, and I think he only bathes on the full moon."
"That's not very nice, Potter."
"But it's true."
"It's still mean."
"The truth can hurt. For example, it pains me to say that you have crumbs on the corner of your mouth."
Lily spun her head away from James and wiped her mouth. James and his friends laughed. When Lily realized that there wasn't anything on her face, she felt her cheeks grow warm in anger. She turned and glared at James for a few seconds, stood up, smacked the back of James' head, and marched out of the Great Hall. Her friends joined her in class a few minutes later.
"Well, that was dramatic." Alice said.
"James was so smug down there. They must have gone through with their plan already."
"Probably." Marlene shrugged and pulled out her book.
"But what could they have done? They're second years. Barely." Mary said.
"Oh trust me, they would have found something to do." Lily said in a low voice. The Slytherins were starting to walk in.
"But it's impossible to find a murderer in a night, especially if they're just a bunch of twelve year olds." Mary whispered.
"But they probably have a bunch of different phases. I bet they were just sitting outside a door or something." Lily rolled her eyes, now calm.
"Doesn't really seem like something they'd do."
"That's the point though. They wouldn't do something that would seem like something they'd do. Where would their fun be if everyone knew what they were up to?"
Marlene leaned a little closer as the boys in question paraded in the room with shouts of laughter," Besides, wouldn't want McGonagall to catch them out after hours. Remember Sanders last week? Out of bed after hours to get a ruddy snack from the kitchens and got caught."
Lily nodded," Took fifty points from Gryffindor. Potter wouldn't risk losing fifty points each. He's too competitive. Wants to win the house cup too much to lose that many points at once."
The girls nodded to each other as class started.
JAMES POV
"It's been three weeks, James. I don't think it was a Slytherin." Remus sighed.
"It is. I know it is. It couldn't have been anyone else."
"Why not? A ravenclaw is just as likely to look up dark spells as a Slytherin."
"Look up, yes. Use, no."
"James, this is ridiculous. No student did this."
"Yes they did, Remus. I know they did."
"How do you know?"
"Because no one else would."
Remus sighed in defeat," I have a transfiguration essay to write. And so do you."
"Fine. I'll start it in an hour. I just want to stay here for a bit longer."
"I need to start on it now."
"Then go. Take the cloak. I'll stay here a little longer and watch for-"
"If anyone comes, they'll curse you for being near the common room, not to mention you'll get loads of points taken from Gryffindor."
"So I'll hide behind a tapestry."
"You really think they're thick enough not to see a giant lump behind a thin tapestry?"
"It's not that thin."
"James."
"Fine. Let's go."
Not at all happy at the turn of events, James straightened up to walk back to Gryffindor Tower when the door to the Slytherin common room slid open. Remus and James flattened themselves against the wall as Lucius Malfoy peaked around, slid into the corridor, and quickly made his way through the dungeons. Remus and James glanced at each other and followed him through the castle.
Lucius led them up to the now abandoned library. For a moment, James thought Malfoy was just going to knick a book and be on his way, but then he heard other voices. Malfoy had placed himself just outside the Restricted Section, and the voices were getting closer. In just a few seconds, the half of the sixth and seventh year Slytherins were in the library.
"What are we doing here, Malfoy?" One voice hissed.
"Yeah. It better be good. I need my sleep. Wouldn't want me to become unpleasant now, would we?" A second sneered.
"You're already unpleasant. No amount of sleep would make you better." A girl said.
"Quiet. All of you. I wouldn't have called you here if I didn't think you would be interested in what I have to say." Malfoy drawled.
James and Remus looked at each other in confused worry. James's heart was thumping in his chest harder than ever before.
"Then get on with it, yeah? I want to go to bed. Why'd it have to be so late?" The girl asked.
"And why in the library?" The first voice asked.
"Because no one can overhear us, and no one will this late in the library. That nosy librarian leaves at ten after she makes sure no one is hiding in the stacks." Malfoy hissed at them all," Now shut it before I obliviate you and send you to bed."
There was a deafening silence in the room. The two Gryffindors were holding their breath under the invisibility cloak.
"Now..." Lucius looked at the group of seven people," I assume you all know of what's happening outside the castle at this very moment."
"You talkin' 'bout that dark wizard that's runnin' round and offin' all those muggles and mudbloods?" A new, gruff voice asked.
"Yes, Avery. The Dark Lord. And he has tasked me with recruiting more people to aid him in his quest to purify the wizarding world."
"Purify? You me killing all those people?" A small voice came.
Lucius looked at him slowly," Is that a problem?"
James's heart stopped beating right there. This was it. This was when he would get his confession.
"Why would we go around killing people? They didn't do anything."
"They're dragging the title of wizards through the dirt. With muggles around, we have to hide what we are, and with mudbloods around, wizards who actually deserve jobs are getting shoved to a side to make room for them in civilized society. Those mudbloods don't know how to function in the civilized society that is the wizarding world."
Remus was holding onto James's arms by now, and James was silently fighting to get over to the Slytherins. He wanted to tear their limbs from their bodies.
"Muggles are just as civilized as we are. It's not fair to them that you're essentially calling them savages."
Lucius raised an eyebrow," Aren't they? Don't we deserve better than to be shoved to a side while all those mudbloods take our jobs. Don't we deserve to live in an untainted world. A world without mudbloods and muggles?"
The boy took a small step back," Are you...were you the one that killed that Hufflepuff?"
Lucius drew himself up proudly," And if I was?"
"You're a murderer! You should be in Azkaban!"
Quicker than James thought possible, Lucius whipped out his wand and hissed," Stupify! Obliviate!"
The boy slumped and didn't move. There was a silence that rang through the library. Remus and James were frozen in an awkward fighting position.
"I don't get it, Malfoy. If you offed that Hufflepuff mudblood a few weeks ago, why didn't you just kill Baxter here?" Avery asked.
"Because I have witnesses and because I can't just go around killing people."
"But you did with the Puffer."
"And you just admitted to it." The girl added.
"I killed him because that was a second task the Dark Lord set to me, and I'm not worried about letting you lot know. You'll forget soon enough." Lucius said softly.
"We will, will we?" The girl challenged.
There was another pause, during which James saw the girl freeze and shake her head slightly," What were we just talking about?"
There were several gasps, followed by outraged voices," Did you just-"
But they all quieted down quickly as Lucius, silent as ever, shot quick hexes at each other the gathered students. All of them fell silent and stiff as boards. Most of them fell over. Lucius slowly walked from one to another, muttering obliviate under his breath at each person. Then he took off all the charms, and everyone stood up.
"What just happened?" Most muttered in annoyance.
"It seems you all took a nap. Now are you interested in joining forces with the Dark Lord or not?" Lucius asked.
Everyone nodded except for the stupified boy.
Not fifteen minutes later, Remus and James burst into the common room, gasping for air.
"James? Remus? What's going on?" Sirius asked.
"Marauders. Meeting. Now. Upstairs." James panted and sprinted for the staircase. Remus was on his tail.
When James got to their room, Frank was just about to climb into bed. James kicked him out and locked the door behind Peter (who was the last one to come in).
"What happened?" Sirius demanded again.
"It was Malfoy. Malfoy killed that boy a few weeks ago." James said.
Peter gasped and toppled off his bed. Sirius gaped," I knew it!"
Remus nodded," We were about to leave, but then Malfoy left the Slytherin common room and went to the library. And a bunch of sixth and seventh year Slytherins came. He said Voldemort recruited him to get more followers. This one Slytherin said that everything was wrong and that they shouldn't be killing people, so Malfoy admitted he was the one that offed Demetrius."
Remus stopped to take a breath, so James took over," That one Slytherin didn't like it and said that it was messed up. Malfoy knocked him out and erased his memory. Then he used petrificus totalus on everyone and erased their memories about killing Demetrius. And then he recruited everyone. They decided on sneaking out to Hogsmeade during the next quidditch match to meet with some Death Eaters."
"Except for the one he stunned. He didn't want anything to do with it. They told him that he fell asleep while they were studying and that someone took his things back to the common room." Remus finished.
Sirius looked pale with fury," I'm going to kill that bloody snake. And all those others that actually agreed to following Voldemort."
James was shaking with anger," So what are we going to do about this?"
There was a knock on the door. Frank's muffled voice came," Can I come in now?"