Lily waved goodbye to her parents before she nonchalantly slid through the wall to platform nine and three quarters. She had already hugged them goodbye and wished Petunia good luck in her new job. The rest of her summer had passed without anything exciting or alarming happening. Her parents had panicked when they'd heard on BBC news that a huge gas explosion had destroyed the town nearest to where they knew Lily was and they had been very alarmed when she had returned from the World Cup with a split open head due to fighting the equivalent of a wizarding militia group in Italy. Lily had recovered well and her parents, although they were worried, after a long conversation with Lily where she reluctantly told them about the anti-muggleborm sentiment they had grudgingly sent her back into the wizarding world after extracting several promises from her and getting her to send three letters to the Hogwarts board, asking what was to be done to protect muggle borns.
Her thoughts then turned to her sister, it seemed like Petunia had definitely made an effort this summer and they'd got along better than they had in years. The thought made Lily happy, it seemed like things were going to be okay now her sister wasn't spending all her time hating her. Of course they'd had their fights but they had resolved most of them quickly. Petunia had even told Lily that she'd write to her and keep her updated on how her job was going. They'd also agreed that Petunia would introduce her to Vernon come the winter holidays. During the remainder of Lily's summer she had worked at the local post office to earn a few more pounds which she had exchanged at Gringotts for galleons. Lily had been to London several times to meet up with the girls and see how Cassian was doing. He still hadn't woken up and although he was stable, the unknown spell had obviously done some serious unseen damage. The healers were carrying out dozens of tests to see if they could figure out what was wrong with him. She'd also run into the Marauders briefly a few times visiting him too. She'd been surprised, she'd never really got the impression that their two friendship groups ever really mixed, but evidently Potter and Black knew Cas pretty well due to playing Quidditch with her and it seemed that Potter was actually rather close with Dorcas' older brothers. Remus visited because Remus was nice to everyone and always had an encouraging word for Dorcas and Peter came along because that's where his friends were. Although he always made a point to bring some baked goods from his family's bakery when he came to visit and he never failed to provide Dorcas with her favourite- a Bakewell Tart. A gesture Lily found very sweet. Dorcas had been quiet and reserved since the attack, she hadn't been eating very much apart from the tarts and she had lost weight. She seemed to think it was her fault. That if she'd just stayed put Bellatrix wouldn't have used that spell and her dad wouldn't be comatose. Alice, Marlene and Lily had been trying to talk her out of that, but it didn't seem like they were making much progress.
Lily carefully manoeuvred her trunk through the crowd of Hogwarts students, ensuring that her empty owl cage didn't topple off her teetering luggage trolley, dodging excited first years and teary parents. She sincerely hoped that the intake of first years and the return of the older students won't have suffered much due to increased death eater presence. She saw out of the corner of her eye Potter and Black standing with Mr and Mrs Potter. Mr Potter looked better than he had when she'd last seen him but he still didn't look as healthy as he had before the World Cup. He seemed older and he was holding tightly to a walking stick in one hand and his wife's hand in the other. Black was resolutely looking anywhere but at the whispering Slytherins that were gesturing towards him. He held his head high, and Lily was grudgingly impressed at his self control, but the shaking fists clenched at his sides showed what it was costing him. Lily looked at Potter, he was standing in profile with his side facing Lily. The angles of his face were thrown into higher definition by the September sun and she couldn't help noticing how much more mature he looked. Her experiences with Potter this summer had thrown her off balance when it came to how she regarded him. He had been... Normal towards her during the Quidditch final and he had even joked with her and she had laughed! And then he had come charging after them into a battlefield which whilst being incredibly reckless was also rather brave, he had then taken down a death eater single handedly using the stupidest choice of spells. And although she would probably never admit it to him she remembered very clearly how when she had been hit in the head he had dragged her out of the way of one spell and then pushed her away from another, towards relative safety whilst taking some of the brunt of the second spell himself, Potter had saved her life. Merlin, how had that happened? Suddenly, she was knocked off balance by an over enthusiastic hug from Alice.
"Lily! Hey! I know it hasn't been long since we last saw each other but it's good to see you!" Lily laughed, it had only been a week since she had seen Al last.
"Hey Alice. Where is everyone?" Lily asked squeezing her friend tightly.
"I haven't seen Marlene but Dorcas is saving us a compartment."
"How is she?" Lily asked, frowning sadly at the mention of her friend alone on the train.
Alice sighed, "in all honesty Lils, I just don't know. She can seem fine sometimes but then the next second she suddenly just goes quiet and withdraws. I want to help her but I don't bloody know how," Alice finished sadly. Lily squeezed her again.
"I think we just need to be there for her. I'll go find her now and see if I can find Mar while I'm at it." Alice nodded and turned away before suddenly turning back to Lily, a panicked look on her face.
"Oh Merlin!" She said.
"What?" Lily asked, alarmed, attempting to look around her before Alice jerked her back to face her.
"Frank's over there. I think he saw me."
"Frank?" Lily queried, "oh yeah, he's making his way over now." Alice gasped and clutched Lily's arm.
"Crap! What do I do?" Lily pried her fingers from her arm.
"Relax! Just be yourself." Alice huffed and tried to fix her hair. "Or on second thought whoever you were when you were with him in the summer," Lily added with a grin, Alice slapped her arm.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Lily shrugged and grinned, "as long as you didn't trick him into thinking you were someone you're not?" Alice finally laughed.
"No, you moron."
"You'll be fine then," Lily said with a wink. "Hi Frank!" She said brightly as he appeared behind her friend. Alice squeaked and whirled around.
"Oh, hi Frank," she said breathlessly.
"Hi Alice," Frank replied looking a little pink. "Hi Lily," he said looking at Lily's beaming smile a little confused. He turned to Alice, "How was the rest of your summer? I hope you healed alright, your owls had me worried," Frank continued. While they continued chatting, Lily took in his appearance, she honestly hadn't properly seen or spoken to Frank in ages. She made a mental note to rectify that this year. He had grown a lot and probably had seven or eight inches over Alice's short stature. His brown hair curled slightly at the ends and his once chubby cheeks in his kind face had also thinned out making him look a lot more mature, and also making some rather adorable dimples more visible as he laughed at something Alice said. He was no James Potter but he was by no means ugly- Lily cut herself off mid-internal monologue. Had she seriously just used James Potter as a standard by which to measure Frank's attractiveness? She mentally slapped herself, she was obviously suffering from a severe case of misplaced gratitude when it came to Potter. Obviously she was grateful he had probably saved her life but she hadn't gotten around to thanking him so her brain was thinking she had to big him up in some way, hence the increasing amount of references to his looks. She needed to just tell him thanks so her brain could stop overcompensating. She would find him on the train she decided but first she needed to find Dorcas and see if Marlene was here.
"I'm going to see if I can find the girls," she said quietly to Alice, who nodded at her before resuming her conversation. She unloaded her luggage onto the train and got rid of her trolley so she could move around a bit easier. She scanned the crowd for Marlene first and quickly saw a familiar head of blonde hair. She moved towards it but faltered when she saw Marlene in a lip lock with her arse of a boyfriend. She paused for a moment before charging forward again.
"Marlene," she shouted, Marlene pulled away from her boyfriend who looked sourly at Lily. "Oh sorry," Lily lied, "I didn't mean to interrupt."
"No worries Evans," Rhys said breezily, "Marlene's a bit out of practice." Lily glared at him, Marlene didn't seem to know if she should look offended or not so just laughed it off and slapped him playfully on the arm. "We'll have to rectify that," Rhys added, kissing her on the side of he mouth, Marlene grinned. Lily was considering slapping him but then she met one of Rhys' friends' eyes. He was a tall, good looking seventh year with dark blonde hair and blue eyes, Lily thought he was called Brendan but couldn't really remember. He met her eyes and rolled his before nodding to Rhys and mouthing "not worth it." Lily smiled briefly at him, before turning back to Marlene.
"I think Dorcas is saving us a compartment. Alice is over there talking to someone, so I'm going to go find Cas. Will you be joining us?" She asked, glancing at Rhys who was currently looking at the other dorm of Gryffindor sixth year girls who were chatting in a group off to the side, one of them, a tall model-esque girl who Lily didn't particularly like called Tess, caught Rhys' eye and winked, he grinned back, Lily's jaw clenched tightly as she refrained herself from swearing at him. He turned back just before Marlene turned to him.
"I'm going to find Dorcas with Lily," She said to him, he looked displeased. "But I shall find you-" she dug a finger into his chest before grabbing his shirt collar, "later on." She kissed him again, before following Lily. Lily forced herself to be light as they walked towards the train which was going to be leaving in about 5 minutes.
"You found him then?" Lily asked. Marlene nodded, "how was his summer?" Lily carried on making herself be civil.
Marlene frowned, "I don't actually know I'd only found him not long before you came up. I'll talk to him later." They carried on chatting as they walked to the train. Marlene climbed in first but a flash of silver caught Lily's attention. It was a Patronus in the form of an albatross and it landed on Mrs Potter's shoulder and whispered in her ear. Euphemia frowned and said something to James, Sirius and Mr Potter. Sirius looked angrily at the near by Slytherins before speaking earnestly to her. Mr Potter simply frowned and said something to her. But James, he had gone stark white and was clutching at her arm, shaking his head as he spoke. Euphemia was replying to him when a conductor somewhere called out.
"Two minutes until departure folks!" Lily was still watching them when Marlene startled her.
"Are you getting on or what?" Lily turned to her and climbed on, she looked back once more to see Potter being dragged away by Sirius and Remus who had joined them. He broke free of them, grabbed his mum into a hug before whispering something to her and then he hugged his dad, who gave him a smile and an affectionate ruffle of his constantly messy hair before turning to his wife who kissed him on the mouth, wrapping him in a hug while she spoke to him. Their obvious affection for each other made Lily's heart swell. Their joined hands lingered for a second before Euphemia strode away, glancing back to his lopsided smile as she left the platform. A smile that soon faded as he turned to the train. Marlene was already halfway down the train and Lily hastened to follow. Wondering what had happened and hoping Mrs Potter was ok.
James stood up and then sat down again, he rested an ankle on his knee, before shifting and swapping legs. He ran a hand through his hair.
"Oh for god's sake James!" Exclaimed Remus, snapping his book shut, "get up." James looked at him blankly. "Get up, you're coming with me to walk this off."
"No it's fine I'll just-" Remus looked at him thunderously. "Right, ok," James quickly said standing up and following him out of the compartment. James leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets.
"I'm sorry. I'm just worried about my mum." Remus nodded.
"I get it, it sounded pretty serious when the patronus just arrived and demanded she come to the ministry and prepare for a raid." James nodded miserably. It had been a good morning until then. James' dad had made his speciality pancakes and they had left in good time and only had to turn around and retrieve some forgotten things twice. They'd even had time for an ice cream before arriving at King's Cross. Everything has been going great until that bloody patronus arrived saying his mum had to go to the Auror HQ immediately because they had just been tipped off that an attack was about to happen in Reading and they were going to try and stop it before it began. James had even asked her not to go. But she'd just said she had to.
"Come on Prongs," Remus said softly, "lets go and see if we can find the trolley lady and charm some snacks out of her." James attempted to smile.
"So," Remus began, making another stab at conversation. "Is this the year, you and Lily finally become friends?" That got James talking.
"I dunno Moony, I'd like to try it and see if that helps me... get over her or whatever. I just want to stop acting like a prat basically." He laughed, "we'll see how that works out." They chatted a bit more as they walked, the compartment they had been in was down the opposite end of the train to the trolley lady, so they were walking for a while. They were roughly at the middle of the train when suddenly a group of four Slytherins stepped out in front of them, blocking their way and forcing them to stop. Avery was at the front with Snape next to him. Mulciber and Sirius' brother flanked them. Avery crossed his arms, he was about James' height with straight brown hair and olive skin. His features were delicate, like most of the old pure blooded families, very aristocratic.
"Well if it isn't Potter and Lupin." He regarded the two Marauders, looking down his nose at them. James rolled his eyes.
"Out of the way Avery," James said flatly, Avery sneered at him, before turning to Remus.
"You don't look so well Lupin. I suppose your filthy muggle mother's probably given you some disease hasn't she." Remus tensed but smiled politely.
"The only reason I don't look so well is because I'm within a metre of you. You repulse me." James grinned, Avery's jaw clenched.
"And what about you Potter. It looked like quite the emotional farewell between you and your ugly mother. Was she going somewhere?" The grin left James' face.
"How about you get out of my way," he growled. Then Snape stepped out.
"Ah yes, I heard there was a bit of an altercation in Reading she was needed at," he said thoughtfully. James froze.
"Shut it Snape," he snapped. Remus was watching the Slytherins, making sure none of them went for their wands, he had his up his sleeve, ready to drop into his hand at any minute. He'd taken it out of his pocket as soon as he realised they were getting near the Slytherins. But he was also glancing at James in his periphery. James had miraculously kept his cool so far and he was, with great effort, restraining his hand from twitching to his wand. Snape looked around at his friends who were grinning maliciously at the Gryffindors.
"Yes," Snape continued, "you see, we have reliable sources too. In fact, we knew there was going to be an attack there weeks ago." James was gritting his teeth, his hazel eyes burning against Snape's menacing gaze. Snape took a step forward. "It's a bit of a shame your precious aurors are walking straight into a trap." James clenched his fists and could have sworn the temperature dropped a few degrees at his words.
"You're a greasy liar Snape," he spat out. Snape laughed along with the three others.
"Oh I'm not Potter. You wish I was. But the fact of the matter is that your grandma- sorry your mother will probably be dead by tonight." And that was the exact moment James snapped. Snape was focused on his apparent victory so much so that he didn't even see James' fist smash into his nose sending his skull careening into Avery's with a crack. Remus had seen James move and with his fast reflexes had neatly kicked Mulciber in the groin, giving him a helpful shove to the floor as he fell to his knees and stepped over him, raising his wand as he did so. James had pushed past a stunned Snape and Avery, ripped Regulus' wand out of his hand, throwing it to the floor, before putting him in a headlock. Using him as a shield against any potential spells. They were on he opposite side to where they started and James stared venomously at Snape and Avery as they straightened and pointed their wands at the marauders. Snape with blood trickling from his nose.
"Go on." James taunted. "Curse me." He resisted Regulus' struggles fairly easily seeing as he was taller and stronger. The marauders began backing away. Avery was saying something in reply but James wasn't paying attention. Remus had tapped him lightly on the back and tilted his head towards the compartments nearest to him. The prefect's compartment. James nodded, he had seen it too, hence the backing away. The train jolted slightly and Remus stumbled in to the door, hitting his elbow hard on the glass sneakily drawing the attention of any Prefects inside. James inwardly grinned at his theatrics, Remus had the best balance out of all the Marauders. Which he knew because they'd had a competition between the marauders one time. Snape was now speaking to James.
"You'll get what's coming to you one day Potter, you and your family." He managed to choke out nasally, James sneered.
"Sorry, I can't really understand you through that nose bleed. But you should be thanking me Snape, I probably just straightened that abnormally large nose of yours. I did you a favour really." Snape raised his wand again. James and Remus waited until the silhouette of a person in the Pefect's carriage came into view before James shoved Regulus back towards them, sending him sprawling as he tripped over Mulciber attempting to get to his feet. The Marauders then dodged the spells that instantly came their way and the head boy let out a shout of surprise as he narrowly avoided one.
"Oi!" Shouted Owen Redgrave, the burly Hufflepuff that was this years head boy. "Snape, Avery! No wands on the train!" Remus' wand of course was nowhere in sight. "Back to your compartment now! I'll be speaking with your head of house when we arrive." The Slytherins reluctantly dropped their wands. He then turned to Remus and James, "you two ok?"
"Yeah we're good." Remus replied.
"Fan-bloody- tastic." James muttered. Owen looked at him concerned. Remus grabbed James' arm.
"Don't worry about it Owen, Snape just gets under his skin is all. Thanks for your help."
"If you're sure." Owen said before ushering the Slytherins away before making his way back to his compartment, leaving his door open so he could keep an eye on them. James shrugged out of Remus' grasp and started storming down the corridor.
"James!" Remus called, he didn't look back. "Prongs!"
"What?" James snapped, eyes blazing.
"Where are you going?" Remus asked hurrying after him as he continued walking shaking his hand out as he went. He whirled back around.
"To get some fucking snacks Remus!" He shouted back, spinning back around just in time to collide with a smaller figure as they exited their compartment. The smaller figure turned out to be Lily Evans who hit the wall with a bang. James grunted an apology but didn't turn. Lily clutched her arm, affronted.
"Potter!" She shouted indignantly. James turned on her.
"Not right now Evans!" He yelled before storming off again. Remus sighed, stopping Lily from retaliating.
"Lily!" He said, catching her attention. "Just let him go this time ok? He's just had a rough time from some Slytherins."
Lily snorted, "James Potter, damaging his ego? Not likely. And to think I was about to thank him for helping me at the World Cup!"
Remus frowned. "He still has feelings Lily," he said quietly, she looked away, down the corridor to where she saw Snape briefly looking her way, his nose bloody.
"He punched Snape?" She said angrily.
"Trust me," Remus said, "he had it coming, I'm surprised James didn't do worse." Part of Lily felt angry and indignant on Severus' behalf but another part of her could still see their last encounters fresh in her mind and could feel the hurt of it all, as vivid as if it just happened. Remus looked after James' retreating figure. "Listen I need to catch him up, but... just don't burn that branch of friendship just yet, ok? I have high hopes for this year." Lily rolled her eyes, still rubbing her shoulder but she reluctantly nodded.
"Fine, but only because I'm trying to relax this year and not be as tightly strung as last year." Remus smiled and hurried after his friend. "Oh and Remus?" Remus turned, walking backwards. "Get the man some fucking snacks ok?" Lily said mock seriously. Remus laughed and gave her a thumbs up before shouting James again.
James stuttered to a halt as he beheld the Hogwarts carriages, his eyes wide as he looked at the skeletal winged horses pulling them that he'd never seen before.
"Prongs, what're you-" Sirius broke off as he stood next to his friend, realising what it was that he was staring at.
"What the fuck are those things?" Came Marlene's hiss from a few carriages down and for a second the two groups' gazes met with pale-faced understanding.
"What are you staring at?" Demanded Peter, frowning at his friends.
"You- you don't see them?" Remus asked him faintly, his eyes still fixed on the animals- he knew what they were, they were thestrals and he'd read about them, he just didn't realise that he could now see them, or that they had been pulling the Hogwarts carriages all this time.
"See what?" Peter scowled, convinced they were pranking him. James stared meaningfully at him as he used both hands to gesture to the huge animals mere feet from them.
"The thestrals?" He said, it should be obvious really, he was there too-
"He was unconscious," Sirius said quietly, finishing James' non-verbalised thought, "in the pub, he didn't see-" Sirius winced at the memory of the wizard the table over from him in Italy who'd had a splinter of wood exploded through his throat, "and his concussion, he barely remembers…" James' hands dropped in realisation, oh, you had to see death and understand it for thestrals to reveal themselves to you. Pete had been concussed when they fought through the town, even now he could only remember snatches of what had happened. James looked at the ground, thinking of the muggles Bellatrix had used to intercept curses while she fought off his parents, a shiver ran through him at the memory.
"Wait, there's thestrals?" Peter asked, whirling around as he looked, as though they had snuck up on him, he began a babble of questions for his friends trying to shrug off the feeling that this was just something else they had that he didn't, twisted and perverse though it might be. Remus didn't answer him, preferring instead to take Peter's wrist and place his hand on the leathery flank of the animal, who snorted, tossing its head at his touch.
Lily glanced back to the shellshocked marauders, they were clearly in a similar situation to the girls, she glanced between her friends, was the person she had seen die the same for them? The lady in the pub with the shard of glass through her eye? Was it someone else? One of the muggles that had been under whatever compulsion spell the death eaters had used that day?
"They've been here this whole time?" Dorcas asked feebly, staring at the thestrals. Frank Longbottom appeared nearby, confused at the hold up, and Alice unknowingly clutched his arm as soon as he was in touching distance.
"The thestrals?" He asked them quietly, to their muted nods.
"You can see them too?" Alice asked, her eyes watery at the unexpected turn their evening had taken.
Frank nodded, raising a hand to pat the thestral, "since second year- my aunt, she had died suddenly that summer." He glanced around them to the delayed group that was starting to crane their heads and shout questions, "c'mon," he jerked his head towards the carriage, "for skeleton horses they're actually very well-mannered." The girls haltingly followed his lead as they murmured amongst themselves and climbed in to the carriage.
"That's not what we're worried about," Lily muttered, and sparing one final glance towards the pale-faced marauders, she let herself be transported to the school.
Lily politely clapped the sorting hat as it finished its song along with the rest of the school. She was sat between Marlene and Alice with Black across from her, with Dorcas next to him. Her and her friends had ended up sat with the Marauders much to Lily's annoyance. Despite getting off to a slightly more stilted start than usual, thestral-inspired Lily was certain, they were as rowdy as ever. Although Lily had noticed that Potter seemed quite withdrawn and wasn't making a ruckus with as much gusto as usual. The other Marauders were shooting him sideways glances and Lily reluctantly thought it quite nice that they were obviously keeping an eye on their friend. The sorting then began.
"Did you punch something?" Alice asked Potter quietly. She hadn't been in their compartment when Lily had come in complaining about him as she had popped to the loo. So the dark bruise blossoming across his fist was new to her. James met her eyes.
"More like someone." He muttered. Then Marlene interjected.
"Ah, so you're the reason Snape's nose is now pointing the other way." The Marauders chuckled although Potter's smile was rather forced and even Dorcas cracked a smile. Lily was about to smile but forced it down on principle. Black looked over at the Slytherin table thoughtfully before saying to Potter.
"You know what? I think it looks better that way." They laughed again. But Lily stared hard at the table. Snape may not be her favourite person at the minute but she wasn't about to start making fun of him for no reason. She was grateful when some seventh years down the table shushed their group.
When the sorting had finished Dumbledore stood up to welcome the school. He was wearing silky lime green robes with a matching pair of velvet shoes and a tall hat. He smiled at the school, his eyes as twinkly as ever. Lily looked fondly at her headmaster. She had always liked Dumbledore, she hadn't had much one on one time with him. He had been at a few Prefects meetings and she had spoken to him briefly when they had decorated the great hall for a few events. But he had always been friendly to her, he was eccentric but brilliant.
"I shan't keep you long before we eat as I'm sure you're all ferociously hungry after your travels today. I shall inform you of a few notices however. The Forbidden forest as it is now known is out of bounds to students unless accompanied by a member of staff." He looked rather directly at the Marauders as he said this and they nudged each other and grinned. "Our new head boy and head girl this year are Mr Owen Redgrave of Hufflepuff and Miss Melissa Edgecombe of Ravenclaw." The mentioned people stood and waved to the students but mainly the first years. "Our Quidditch captains are, Bruno Flint for Slytherin." Flint, a hulking seventh year, stood and grunted in the direction of the first years. "Owen Redgrave for Hufflepuff." Owen stood and grinned sheepishly, waving again. "Diana Rivers for Ravenclaw." Diana, a kind, funny and pretty raven haired girl stood and waved shyly down the table. Lily had ended up sat with her in Ancient Runes last year and they'd gotten on very well, she hoped she would be carrying it on this year so they could continue their little chats. "And James Potter for Gryffindor." At this Sirius stood up proudly and swept his hat off in a flourishing bow, Potter grinned good naturedly and dragged Sirius back to his seat by the back of his robes. He then stood himself to the laughter of the crowd. Lily hadn't noticed before but he was indeed sporting a gleaming captain's badge, she rolled her eyes, another thing to inflate his oversized head.
"That's me by the way," he said down the table, waving a non bruised hand. "Just look for the dashing, intelligent one." He joked to a laugh from the students and a few wolf whistles from some Hufflepuffs he was friendly with, the headmaster chuckled.
"Thank you Mr Potter, we shall bear that in mind. Now without further ado. Let the feast begin!" Dumbledore boomed and with a clap of his hands the plates were full. When Potter had sat down he leaned over to Sirius.
"Listen Padfoot, I know I've got the badge, but we're co-captains ok?" Sirius clapped him on the back and laughed.
"I know mate, don't sweat it, you look better in it than i would anyway. You deserve it." James grinned back before turning to his food. The students dug in happily chatting to friends new and old, ready for another year at Hogwarts.
The welcoming feast was coming to an end. Dumbledore had already stood up and told the first years to follow their prefects, a duty Lily and Remus didn't have to do this year. Many of the older students were still chatting and finishing their desserts. James was tucking into a treacle tart and suppressed a smile when he saw that Evans was also eating a treacle tart but he didn't draw any attention to it as he suspected she was probably angry with him and didn't want to give her a reason to shout at him. James finished his last bite with a flourish, closing his eyes and exaggerating his enjoyment of his meal, kissing his fingers loudly. Remus rolled his eyes at his antics. Suddenly an arm had snaked its way around his neck.
"Hey James." Came a girls voice as she sat down on the bench in a non existent space, almost pushing Peter to the floor. James leaned away from her.
"Uh... hi Tess." He said awkwardly. Tess was one of the girls James had had a thing with last year, except the difference was that he'd thought he could genuinely like her and then as soon as they'd snogged she had become clingy and possessive and had tried to stop James hanging out with the Marauders. James has tried to let her down easy but that had just made her more determined. She tangled a hand in his hair and puckered up her lips. James dodged and jumped up from the bench.
"Professor Mcgonagall!" He said quickly, "hi."
"Good evening Mr Potter." She said, clasping her hands. She then turned to Tess, "Miss Monette, if you could go to your dormitory please. I wish to speak with these students." The Marauders looked at each other.
"How are we in trouble already?" Muttered Peter. The girls went to stand up but Mcgonagall stopped them.
"This involves you as well ladies." They sat back down, surprised. "If you could follow me please." The deputy headmistress said, striding briskly down the aisle between the two house tables. The Gryffindors followed her quickly. James almost sprinting away from Tess' scowling face.
"You need to talk to her Prongs." Peter said frowning at her. James sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"I tried at the end of last year, but she just goes all touchy and flirty so it never works."
"She looks like she'd be a good shag mate with a body like hers." Sirius interjected unhelpfully as he looked at her appraisingly. James rolled his eyes and turned to his friend.
"Not what I'm looking for Padfoot. I'm not a man whore like you." He said smiling brightly at him. Sirius flicked James off, muttering. James met Remus' expectant eyes and sighed exasperatedly.
"Fine, I'll try and talk to her again at some point." The Gryffindors followed Mcgonagall into a side room where professor Dumbledore was waiting, smiling genially.
"Good Evening you lot." The eight students simply stared at him their faces showing varying degrees of confusion before Evans broke the silence. She cleared her throat.
"Good evening Professor. How can we help you?"
"Well, to start with, I'd just like to commend you all on your bravery at the World Cup. From what I have gathered you all kept your heads remarkably well. It pains me to see that we live in a world where young people like yourselves have to deal with issues like this." He said gravely. "I only wish you did not have to grow up so fast." James shifted, annoyed slightly. Why did older wizards and witches never understand that this was now their fight? It was James' generation that would be stepping out of school into a battlefield and places like Hogwarts should be preparing them for it. Dumbledore continued,
"I have been thinking and-"
"Professor!" James blurted out suddenly, cutting him off. Mcgonagall shot him a stern look and even Sirius looked alarmed at his rudeness. James blushed slightly. "Forgive me Professor, but I can't help but think that even though you don't want this war to be a reality for us. The truth is that it is. For some more so than others." He chanced a glance at Lily as he said this. She was watching him curiously. James gulped and ran a hand through his hair. "I think the school should be teaching us how we can defend ourselves. I can't speak for everyone but I want to fight. I need to know how I can protect those I care about." His thoughts turned unbidden to his mother who may have been fighting to the death today, she might not even still be around if what Snape said was true. "Hogwarts needs to provide us with the tools to do so. Voldemort's dark ideals have already spread into the student population so it makes sense that ideals for the right side also have a chance to make their case." James gulped again, his pulse speeding up. Had he seriously just suggested how Dumbledore should run his school? Merlin, this will never end well... "I hope you'll consider this sir." James finished quietly, stepping back towards his peers. He had stepped towards Dumbledore without noticing. Their small room was silent. James chewed a nail nervously before chancing a glance at Dumbledore who was studying him curiously, his eyes sad. Suddenly a feminine voice broke the silence.
"I agree," said Lily Evans. James turned to her shock written across his face. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Potter. We have a right to learn to defend ourselves Professor Dumbledore sir. I don't know what is within your power to do but I'm sure we could come to an arrangement somehow. Perhaps even a student led arrangement if necessary," she said looking at Dumbledore meaningfully. A small smile made its way across the headmaster's face and he looked around at the assembled students.
"Do all of you feel this way?" He asked. There was a ripple of nods. "It was a good thing I was already considering something similar then. James blushed slightly, he'd obviously jumped the gun. The headmaster was probably about to mention it when James cut him off.
"Other students would want to fight against Voldemort too Professor." Said Alice, "I'm sure of it." There was a murmur of assent and a pause before the headmaster spoke again.
"Very well. I will see what I can do and a notice will be given out. Miss Evans, Miss Prewett and Mr Potter, Black and Lupin if you could stay behind, the rest of you may leave." Peter looked at James, Sirius and Remus questioningly, they shrugged and Remus told him quietly that they would catch him up. Wormtail reluctantly left, along with Marlene and Dorcas, glancing behind as he shut the door.
Dumbledore smiled at the remaining five, any traces of his previous solemnity gone.
"I would just like to congratulate you five on your excellent OWL results. Last year was a record breaking year in terms of OWL success rate and I hope that you shall continue your hard work into this year and the next. Although some of you find... different ways to express your creativity." He looked pointedly at the three Marauders who grinned sheepishly. "I hope you can achieve similar results in your NEWTs and be able to balance your responsibilities simultaneously." His eyes flicked towards James' captain's badge.
"Professor Mcgonagall will be meeting with you soon to discuss potential career paths again, in hopes to get you talking to the right people." The headmaster clapped his hands. "That is all I have to say this evening. I bid you goodnight." The students took that as their cue to leave. They walked to Gryffindor tower together, the boys slightly ahead as James was anxious to see if an owl he had sent earlier had been returned and Alice and Lily just behind talking quietly together.
James burst into the Common Room briefly shouting a greeting to the many students who said hello to him. He rushed up the stairs to their dormitory and bounded in, looking around. His eyes quickly landed on his owl- Merlin. A beautiful creature with black feathers aptly named due to the grey feathers on his breast that looked like a beard and around his eyes that looked like spectacles. He had a letter attached to his leg and James recognised his Father's small handwriting, similar to his own. James ran a hand down the Owl's feathers quickly, promising him some owl treats later before hastily untying the letter, almost dropping it in his impatience. He tore it open and began to read.
James,
I must admit I was very surprised to see Merlin back so soon after you left and thought you had forgotten something. I was also surprised at the contents of your note and although my first thought was to dismiss your worries as the result of some particularly hurtful remarks from other students. It was the fact that most of the students you mentioned were the spawn of suspected death eaters that worried me. I therefore sent a patronus to your mother and apparated myself to the auror office. I can tell you that your mother is fine. Although the results of the raid weren't as fruitful as hoped. The aurors had received a tip off that there would be an ambush of some kind so had brought reinforcements. There was still a vicious fight which I regretfully could not join in with alongside your mother due to these blasted injuries. The death eaters narrowly escaped and several aurors are now in St Mungo's with one in critical condition. Your mother is unhurt but exhausted. I have a bad feeling that things may be stirring in Hogwarts if it is representative of the outside world so I beg you to be careful. Don't worry yourself about your old parents, we shall be fine. And I'm keeping your mother on a tight leash to ensure she doesn't go charging in to too many duels! Work hard son and keep in touch.
Lots of love to you, Sirius and the boys- I hope you'll look after them this year (especially Sirius after what happened in summer).
Dad x
He read through the letter twice more before letting himself believe that his mother was fine. James then let out a long breath he hadn't been aware he was holding and leant back on his bed. He turned his head and looked at his dorm mates who were waiting anxiously.
"She's fine." James said to his concerned friends, grinning. They let out a collective sigh and began to make their way to their respective beds and beginning to sort out their belongings. "Dad says there actually was an ambush though." Remus paused.
"So Snape was telling the truth?"
"Looks like it."
Sirius joined the conversation now as well, with his shirt half unbuttoned and his tie around his neck. "Well, what else do the slime balls know?"
"Probably not much." Peter chimed in, "if I was part of a terrorist organisation, I wouldn't involve my children in my plans for rape and pillaging."
"But what if the children want to be a part of the rape and pillaging?" Sirius said.
James sat cross legged on the bed, turning to face his friends. "It did sound like some of the Slytherins were going to be planning something or doing something in order to get in Voldemort's good graces."
Peter shuddered. He now had his pinstripe pyjamas on and was lying on top of his covers, joining the conversation,
"Do you really think the death eaters will do something inside Hogwarts?" He asked quietly.
"I think we'll need to be prepared in case they try," Remus said softly attempting to console his friend. Remus had slipped on some tartan pyjama bottoms and a raggedy T shirt and was now rooting through his trunk for something.
"Well hopefully Dumbledore can help us and arrange some defence training," James said.
"Yeah, then we can really kick some Slytherin death eater ass," Sirius grinned.
"It's not just Slytherins though," James said. "And that's the problem, it's people from other houses too, I know that there's at least a couple of Ravenclaws that think the same way." James rolled his eyes. "And they're meant to be clever."
"That's just how society is James." Said Remus resignedly.
"Don't even get me started on 'society's' rules Remus. I suppose how they treat werewolves is another one of its oh so righteous 'rules'" James said angrily, Remus flinched at the W-word. "I think it's ridiculous the prejudice you encountered that time I ran into you at St Mungo's. And that's only the start of it."
James was referring to the time in the summer of fourth year when he had taken a bad fall off his broomstick. His parents had been concerned his injuries were worse than they appeared so taken him to the hospital just in case. When he'd been discharged- the healers had fixed him up within the hour. The Potters were walking to the exit when they had stopped to speak to someone they knew. James had then seen Remus being wheeled into the 'Dangerous Bites' ward. He'd had a bad moon and brutally injured himself. James went in to see him and witnessed a ward full of werewolves. The room was dark and smelly and Remus had been placed on a dirty threadbare mattress. There was only one healer on duty and they wore a mask, even though it wasn't necessary. The healer had roughly began treating Remus and when Remus hissed in pain the healer told him to "shut your mouth, you dirty beast." James had been stunned and was about to speak his mind when the healer spotted him and ushered him from the room as it was "no place for a respectable wizard." James had told him to F off and began ranting at him as he was being dragged from the ward. His parents then found him and were told he was to be escorted off the premises for harassing a member of staff. He remembered that day very clearly as the day he began to lose faith in the wizarding world.
James carried on his rant to the dorm. "I mean, take even Goblins or Centaurs," James said passionately. "These are sentient beings capable of forming their own culture and society and wizards everywhere look down on them because they look different. That's also the case with muggleborns. What the hell gives 'pure blooded' wizards the right to decide if someone is worth living or dying just because of their fucking blood? It's absolutely ridiculous, and people just sit there and watch it happen!"
"Easy mate," Said Sirius, "you're preaching to the choir here. And Remus what are you looking for? You've been rooting through that trunk for about half an hour!"
"Aha!" Remus announced, all traces of seriousness forgotten in the large grin on his face. He swiped his bangs out of his eyes and brandished the pieces of parchment he had procured. "You know what would help us keep an eye on any potential Slytherin dodginess? This map when we get it working." This caught all the boys attention and they gathered around the trunk at the foot of Remus' bed as he spread out the map. Sirius shoving James playfully off the bed to the floor as he moved to get a better look. James responded in kind by giving him a dead leg.
"Wormtail completed the actual sketching of the school over the summer and it's bloody brilliant." The Marauders echoed Remus' sentiment, James clapping his smaller friend on the back whilst Sirius ruffled his hair.
"Took me ages that did, so I'll be expecting your help on the homework I didn't do because I was working on this." The other three boys agreed as all of them took in the piece of art that would one day be the greatest achievement of their Hogwarts careers. Peter smiled proudly as he watched his friends pour over his drawing of the castle. James traced his fingers over the delicate lines.
"So you've done every floor?" Asked James.
"Yep." Replied Peter, "I used all those maps we found in the library and all of the other files you guys sent to me from your family libraries and the ministry archives along with those preliminary sketches you did James. I laid them all out and compared them all along with the notes we had made. I even discovered there were a few more places we didn't know about. Like did you know that on the fourth floor next to the landscape portrait of the mountains there's an old office that leads onto a private garden that's charmed so you can't see it from above? And there's another secret passageway we didn't know about!" James and Sirius were about to launch into a barrage of enquiries about any other hidden rooms and passages when Remus brought them back on track.
"So now we need to find a way to incorporate all of these pieces of parchment into one?" The werewolf asked.
"Yeah and then we need to find a way for it to show who's in the castle." James said. "I actually found some pretty useful stuff about how we could do that by using the homunculus charm or by tying it into the wards but the headmaster is responsible for the wards so we'll have to find a way to circumvent him being notified but I brought these books..." Their conversation continued and the four boys talked into the early hours of the morning discussing the map, pranks, girls, pranks and anything else that came into their mind. Each excited at the new adventures their sixth year would bring.
A/N: Feel free to leave any feedback or drop a favourite or follow if you're curious where this story is going :)