Marauders Chapter 27
Hello everybody! Thanks to anyone who's stuck around this long, and for any new readers welcome!
I'm really excited to get more into the order mission stuff, as I personally Headcanon that Dumbledore was recruiting out of Hogwarts just like Voldemort. I also love having the opportunity to put Lily and James in a room together and see how that relationship might have developed.
Anyway, I will see you all in the next chapter!
"Wake up Prongs!" James, uncharacteristically still asleep, was woken on his birthday morning by the enthusiastic screams of his best friend.
"Wha' happened?" He grunted, looking up blearily at the face of Sirius Black, shoving his glasses on to better see what was happening.
"It's your birthday idiot, and we are going to have a proper celebration if it kills Moony."
Remus looked up at that, rubbing the sleep from his own eyes. Peter was still snoring softly in the corner, although his grunts were becoming steadily more awake as Sirius' loud voice pulled him out of his slumber.
"Sirius, I figured we would just do something quiet. We have classes tomorrow anyway." James said, glancing still worriedly at Peter. It had only been a few days, after all, and James didn't want to push him too far.
Sirius just scoffed. "Come on Prongs, it's the perfect time to test out our day party theory." He said.
"Padfoot, I thought we agreed Minny would not enjoy that." James replied, though there was a twinkle of mischief in his eye.
"Which is why we called it a theory, and all good theories need testing. Come on Prongs." Sirius said, putting on a little pout.
"Doesn't it seem a little unfair that all three of us get a big party and Moony doesn't get one?" James asked, but he smirked as he knew that Sirius would have been expecting this argument.
"That's the best part. A joint party is on the agenda today, so Moony put on your party pants and get ready." Sirius said, tossing a pair of trousers Remus' way.
Remus shook his head good-naturedly at Sirius but moved to the bathroom to get changed. Peter was awake now, yawning widely as he pulled himself from the comfort of his bed.
"What's all the racket about?"
"We're having a Sunday afternoon bash Wormtail, to celebrate our two best friends finally becoming men." He smirked at James who gave him a light shove.
"Last I checked I'm not the one who only needs to shave once a week." He teased, but Sirius brushed him off, scratching endearingly at the patchy bit of stubble he'd managed to grow so far.
"Yes, but as your elder, whatever I say goes. Now come on Wormy, we have some work to do." Sirius grabbed Peter by the arm before he could even change out of his pajamas, dragging him towards the common room.
"How many people did you invite to this thing Padfoot?" James called after him.
"Just a few." Sirius said turning around with a wide grin before moving downstairs, a nervous Peter in tow.
James waited for Remus to finish in the shower; he was a little tired with another full moon rapidly approaching, but it hadn't become bad enough yet that he couldn't enjoy the day. When James got out of the shower the Potter family owl, Ash, was outside pecking on Gryffindor tower's window.
James let the familiar bird in, stroking its feathers as he untied the package from his leg. Ash twittered at him affectionately before taking off, and James opened the gift, smiling at the watch nearly identical to Sirius', although his had a JP engraved into the front. A note from his mother and father accompanied it.
James,
Seventeen years old. Wow. We are both so proud of the man you are steadily becoming. We can't wait to see you grow and flourish beyond Hogwarts, but you've still got one more year to take in as much knowledge as you can. Make it count. You are going to accomplish such great things. Happy birthday son. We love you.
Mom and Dad.
James wiped what was totally not a tear from his eye and made his way downstairs where a number of Gryffindor house members were setting up banners and streamers and various other party decorations.
"It's 8 in the morning." James said, "What's got everyone so chipper?"
"Lily whipped up a pepperup potion." Susan answered as she used her wand to raise some balloons into the air.
James looked over to see Lily among the early rising party-goers aiming to set up before the main guests began to arrive.
"Evans?" James said, approaching her with a raised eyebrow.
"It's a joint party if you recall. I'm doing it for Remus. He didn't get a proper celebration, and you guys did so much for me and Marlene, I just wanted to return the favor."
"Alright. How can I help?"
Lily shrugged, handing James a roll of spellotape as she hung up the p in happy, taking little pieces of tape from James as she went along. Finally, the sign was complete, and James couldn't help but regard Lily with a curious expression.
"Why didn't you just hang it up with magic?" He asked.
Lily paused, and James was confused by the look on her face. She almost looked nervous, an emotion he was not used to seeing from the unflappable Lily Evans.
"Sometimes I like doing things the more traditional way you know? It's just, more rewarding or something."
James looked at her sheepish expression and couldn't help but smile.
"That makes sense. You were a muggle for eleven years, after all." He said, handing her the tape, and moving over to Sirius who had called his name.
"Yeah, what is it Pads?"
"I need you to go down to the kitchens. Roxie has a lot of stuff prepared, but I need you to pick up the order so to speak."
James nodded. "You got it." He checked his watch. "I should have time to grab a bite to eat before practice too."
"Come on Prongs it's your birthday. You can't be serious."
"Of course not, that's you."
"Prongs," Sirius protested, shooting James an apprehensive look.
"I'm not going to lose the house cup because my team wasn't prepared Padfoot." James replied. "Practice is on. We'll come to the party after."
"Yeah whatever." Sirius said turning back to Marlene who was shooting him an impatient glare.
James left through the portrait hole, heading downstairs, when he heard clumsy feet chasing after him.
"Prongs, can I go with you?"
He saw Peter following behind him and nodded.
"Yeah, whatever." He said. "Padfoot getting under your skin?" He asked, noticing that Peter was still in his pajamas.
"Yeah, I couldn't even change."
"Here," with a wave of his wand Peter's pajamas were replaced with his robes from upstairs.
"Thanks Prongs," Peter muttered.
They walked the rest of the way in silence, Peter fidgeting and cracking his knuckles, while James' mind was elsewhere. He had never put much stock into his birthday. It was just another day of the year, as far as he was concerned, and although he was excited to get his apparition license and be able to use magic outside of school, he had much bigger concerns on his mind. The upcoming quidditch match, for one; he felt a lot of pressure as captain to get his team up to scratch.
The boys arrived at the great hall first where they scarfed down some breakfast, stopping at the kitchens on the way back to the common room.
"Happy birthday Mr. Potter. Please wish Mr. Lupin a happy birthday from us as well." Roxie said, James smiling at the little elf affectionately. They had grown close with the elves in the kitchens over so many years sneaking down there to nick food and he was blown away when he saw the spread they had prepared for his and Remus' birthdays. There were the usual pastries and other sweets, a large number of chocolate frogs and other wizarding candies, and a three-tiered birthday cake with their names written on top in clumsy script. But James' eyes went wide at the full turkey the elves had roasted for them, along with a charcuterie board, various chips and homemade dips, and a row of sandwiches stacked three levels high like the cake, all cut in the shape of quaffles and snitches.
"Wow, you guys have really outdone yourselves." James said, the elves in the kitchens beaming with pride as he and Peter muttered wingardium leviosa carrying the food up to Gryffindor tower, two curious Hufflepuff girls catching sight of them as they walked past their common room.
"Big party?" One of the students, a beautiful fifth-year with sleek black hair and a olive-skinned complexion, asked. James believed her name was Mia.
"What else?" James replied, smacking Peter upside the head as he got distracted by the girl, the tiered cake teetering dangerously in midair. "We'll see you there then?" He said, the girls giggling as he and Peter made their way up to the common room, James taking over the cake as Peter nearly bungled the spell again, tripping over his own two feet and losing a couple of sandwiches along the way.
They moved the food into the common room to great cheers and James basked in the glory of it all, his pride nearly getting the better of him as he considered the prospect of cancelling practice to engage in revelry with his admirers. But he had a duty to his house, and so when Sirius conjured a table out of thin air James simply set the food on top, reluctantly moving upstairs while the party began. He tossed an apple at Remus, who was dressed but lying in bed. He caught it without looking up, a cold washcloth draped over his eyes.
"Not joining the party Moony?" James asked, concern lacing his voice.
"I'll be down in a bit. You've got practice anyway, figure the two of us can arrive fashionably late."
James smiled, looking Remus up and down, concerned about his pallor and sickly countenance.
"Have some of that apple and if you show up before me, I won't be too bothered alright?"
"Alright," Remus said, his brow still furrowed in pain as he prepared to attend a party despite his impending transformation.
James quickly threw his quidditch robes on, collecting the rest of the team from the common room who reluctantly abandoned the festivities to follow their captain.
"Come on Potter we can take one day off." Marlene's younger brother William whined, glancing back up the stairs where his friends were all celebrating without the two boys for whom the party was being thrown.
"McKinnon, if you'd rather be partying feel free; I've got plenty of first years who would love the opportunity to be lead beater."
William had a sour look on his face for the rest of the walk, the group arriving at the pitch and taking off one by one. James remained on the ground, eyes on the sky.
The sun was high, and there weren't any clouds, which would allow for a slight glare. Still, it was near perfect quidditch conditions, and James' grin grew fit to bursting as he kicked off, the rush of wind tussling his already disastrous hair.
"Alright, let's try Red 45."
James called out the familiar play, and the team followed orders, Jane blocking 5 out of 6 of James' shots, much to his annoyance. Susan, on the other hand, hit 5 of hers, and Olivia for her part hit 3. James wished that he could blame the conditions or the desire to get back to the Gryffindor common room as quickly as possible, but his mind was distracted by the shock of red hair sitting in the stands who he supposed had followed them at a distance. He landed roughly after running their first play, tussling his hair as he approached Lily, his broom over his shoulders. The rest of the team had stopped play to watch the drama unfold intently.
"Evans, what brings you onto the pitch this fine morning?" James asked, glancing nervously at his teammates, Susan whispering something to Jane, the two girls giggling as James shot them an irritated look.
"Dumbledore." Lily replied, without much pretense. James grew serious.
"What does he need?" He asked.
"He wanted me to ask you to meet with him tonight, and to bring me with you under your cloak. I don't know anything else."
James nodded, focused now only on Lily, and the secret meeting that Dumbledore was inviting the both of them to.
"Of course, we can sneak away from the party if it's still going on."
"Knowing Sirius it will be." Lily replied, and James smiled at that, before turning back to his team, Jane having landed behind him to see if they would continue.
"Well, I better get back. I guess I'll see you tonight." James said, mounting his broom and preparing for take-off before Lily grabbed his arm.
"Just a bit of advice, Jane is weak on her left hoop; that's how Susan scored so much on her. If I can notice it the other teams can, so maybe try and work on that?"
James watched as Lily sauntered off the pitch admiring her more than ever, before he kicked off and scored the next 6 goals on Jane's left, leading to an intense practice session ending with her saving near 50% up from 10. The group was pleasantly surprised at James' leadership skills, and he cursed himself knowing that now he owed Lily Evans for the tip.
The group returned to a horde of drunken Gryffindors, joining in the uproar immediately, Sirius feeding the birthday boys shot after shot, Remus' cheeks glowing red, an uncommon smile plastered across his face. James finally had to cut himself off, anticipating his meeting with Dumbledore later that evening, but that didn't stop him from joining in the games and general merrymaking. He laughed as the group hoisted himself and Remus on their shoulders singing "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" with such enthusiasm, encouraged by Sirius, that McGonagall made her way into the common room, an unusual occurrence for the middle of the day.
"Detention for all of you and 70 points from Gryffindor! Honestly, not even trying to hide and in the middle of the day!" She shouted, noting the bottles of empty firewhiskey and butterbeers littered throughout the common room, along with a handful of third years who had snuck in puking in a corner. Some of the older Gryffindors had managed to avoid the onslaught of detention slips that day, having sprinted upstairs at the sound of the portrait hole opening, but the majority of the 5th through 7th years received detention, including all 6 Gryffindor prefects. This was quite the record, and the Marauders prided themselves on it for the rest of their time at Hogwarts.
"I would have expected better from you Miss Evans and Mr. Lupin, drunken fools the lot of you," McGonagall kept up her rampage, Remus' unfocused eyes hardly taking in her words as Sirius tried to hide his laughter. "Take these students to the hospital wing, Miss Evans and Mr. Roberts." McGonagall said, pointing at the seventh year prefect who, like Lily, was not showing any overt signs of intoxication. The third years who had lost the contents of their stomach were guided swiftly to the hospital wing while McGonagall continued reaming out the group, James and Sirius finally faced with their discontent when she informed them that as the ringleaders they would be spending the next month scrubbing the bathrooms for Filch while their wands sat safely locked in her office. Finally, it seemed McGonagall had screamed herself hoarse, still muttering about "irresponsible hooligans" and "don't know what you were thinking" as she waved her wand, vanishing the remaining alcohol bottles, leaving the group in silence. The Gryffindors stayed still for a minute, letting everything sink in before they all began to laugh, still tipsy and caught off guard, filled with a giddiness that only rulebreaking can bring, finding themselves falling apart at the seams with the joy of a party well-done. They clapped James and Sirius on the back, the boys unable to feel any guilt for the joy that they created.
"I think our day party theory still needs a little work Pads." James said.
"I disagree; I think it went perfectly." Sirius said, grinning at the chaos of the Gryffindor common room still covered in food wrappers, streamers and ash from the fireworks the boys had set off earlier.
"Jury's still out." James replied.
"Anyway, happy birthday Prongs." Sirius said, handing him a neatly wrapped package which James ripped open curiously.
He smiled brightly as Sirius fidgeted, uncharacteristically nervous.
"Don't go soft on me now Padfoot." James said pulling Sirius into a hug, the enchanted photo album full of pictures of their adventures throughout their years together held tight in his hand.
There were moving pictures from pranks, parties, Quidditch matches, Christmas parties, and even an entire spread dedicated to pictures of the two boys in their Animagus forms, taken diligently by Peter. James squeezed Sirius tightly before pulling back, smiling at the boy who had become his brother. Sirius shrugged it off, flipping hair out of his eyes, before catching Marlene's eye across the room and moving to join her. James chuckled, walking upstairs to sleep off the remaining alcohol's effects before meeting up with Lily that evening.
James caught Lily in the common room at 8 PM sharp. They exchanged awkward greetings before James gestured for Lily to proceed through the portrait hole. When they were sure they were alone in the hall James whipped out his cloak, draping it over the two of them as they moved slowly and silently across the castle, only the sound of their breathing and shuffling of feet breaking the quiet.
"I am sorry for the whole detention thing." James said, as they moved through a particularly tight corridor to try to break up the awkwardness. Lily looked at James with mild surprise at the apology, but she shrugged indifferently.
"We all knew what we were getting into, and you and Sirius got the worst of it. Besides, it was fun." She said, smiling wryly up at him.
James nodded, grinning as well, nearly tripping when Lily came to an abrupt stop in front of the gargoyle that opened to reveal Dumbledore's office.
"Chocolate Frogs" Lily said, the statue moving back to reveal a staircase which led upstairs to Dumbledore's office.
"Mr. Potter, I heard you had quite the birthday celebration."
James felt his face turn crimson at the knowing look in the Headmaster's eye, and he gulped fumbling over himself as he tried to conjure up an explanation.
"Well, you see Professor, I was…"
Dumbledore put up a hand.
"As I understand, Professor McGonagall has adequately handled your discipline. I hope that this time you might learn a lesson on overindulgence?" James nodded, smiling sheepishly at the familiar twinkle in the headmaster's eye. "On to business, I understand you are both staying for the Easter holidays."
"Yes sir," Lily replied, James glancing at her before nodding as well.
"I have a task for the two of you, similar to one Mr. Potter performed for me last term."
James recalled the mysterious letter that he had hand-delivered to Professor McGonagall under Dumbledore's instruction.
"Professor, what exactly did James do for you…"
"Never mind that, Miss Evans. This new task, much like the first, is not a dangerous one nor is it difficult, but it is no less important."
Dumbledore looked at the both of them over the tips of his long fingers, his piercing blue eyes seeming to gaze into James' very soul. His silvery beard glittered in the candlelight, and on anyone else it might have looked menacing, but this was Dumbledore and James trusted him.
"Whatever it is I'll do it." Dumbledore's smile quirked up at James' response. "Sir," He added on rather hastily.
"Yeah, me as well, whatever you need Professor," Lily answered, more curious than anything.
"Wonderful, I will give you both more details at the start of the holiday." Dumbledore replied, eyes focused it seemed permanently on James, almost overlooking Lily completely as she nodded, standing up in order to take her leave.
She glanced at James, needing his cloak to get back through the castle to the common room, but he stayed, seeming conflicted about something.
"I'll wait outside," Lily said, leaving James alone with the Headmaster for the first time…in all his years as far as he could remember.
"What is it Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore said in that way that suggested he already knew the answer.
"Sir can I ask you something?" James said, realizing afterward that the question was rather redundant.
As if reading his mind again, Dumbledore said, "I figured that is why you remained behind. What is it you'd like to know?"
"It's just," James paused, picking at his fingernails, while trying to come up with an explanation that didn't sound rude. "I know I'm not bad in school, but with everything that happened today-"
"You were wondering why I picked you?" Dumbledore said, mind-reading again.
"Pretty much." James said, almost relieved that he didn't have to spell it out to the old man. "Remus would be excellent for this sort of thing, sir, and he's prefect and everything."
"Mr. Lupin is not who I need for this particular mission." Dumbledore replied. "And as for why I picked you I think you know that you are talented, well situated, and not lacking in courage."
James felt his ego inflate under the praise of a man considered to be the greatest wizard of all time.
"But no, you are not the best man for this job."
And just like that his ego was popped like a cheap, party balloon.
"Why then have I picked you?" Dumbledore asked.
James blinked back at him blankly, not having the faintest idea anymore why Albus Dumbledore would have possibly selected him if he truly wasn't the best option.
"I see a great potential in you James Potter that I think can be fostered and grown." Dumbledore said, James catching on immediately to his meaning.
"So, this is like a test then?" He said, and Dumbledore wore a look of great discomfort, but he soldiered on.
"I don't intend to lie to you Mr. Potter. I am concerned, given your history, that you don't exactly play well with others. I have paired you with Miss Evans in the hopes that I might be wrong. It has been known to happen."
James found that very hard to believe, but he wasn't about to prove himself as the idiot who disappointed Albus Dumbledore.
"I won't let you down sir." He replied, all his Gryffindor bravado showing in that one statement, chest puffed out with pride.
"I should hope not." Dumbledore responded, that same twinkle in his eye. "Now, I believe Miss Evans is waiting for you so that she might get some sleep after today's merriment."
James blushed again at that, taking the dismissal, and heading out after Lily who was leaning against the wall at the bottom of the staircase. The gargoyle closed the office's passageway behind them as James joined Lily against the wall.
"What was all that about?" Lily asked, James approaching her and draping his cloak over the two of them again.
"Nothing," James said.
He then fell into the confines of his mind, and Lily shrugged, understanding more than anyone how it felt to want to just disappear inside oneself. For his part, James was thinking about what Dumbledore had said, implying that he didn't quite have faith in him. He understood it; James Potter had never been one to inspire the faith of an authority figure, but for the first time in his life he wanted to prove that he wasn't just a troublemaker. He wanted to be someone better because he had a feeling in his chest that what Dumbledore had them doing was more than just passing notes. This was something important, or else Dumbledore wouldn't have requested it, and James did not intend to let Dumbledore down.