Dumbledore couldn't help the confusion and panic that overswept him when he didn't even think to check later. When he was witnessing all this he knew there might be problems when Regulus came to Hogwarts and things weren't shaking out smoothly but it went back father then this? How did he not notice all of these faults. Dumbledor didn't even think that it might be going to plan until Regulus was in his 7th year! How far did this go? How wrong was he? For the first time he thought to check on the first time James, Sirius, Lily, Remus, and Severus got on the train. That was the big set up to hope that his plan would work. He thought that he did an exclent job at it and he didn't need to worry but now that does not seem the case.
Severus Snape was more nervous to go to Hogwarts then he dared let on to Lily. Sure he knew a thing or two about the Wizarding world and anything he could get out of his parnets whenever they were not fighting which was very little of the time. Severus had to seem calm and collected because if they were both in a panic frenzie that would not be good. So they are saying bye to Lily's parnets and getting on the train.
Neither was sure where to go and Lily reached out and grabbed Severus hand and squeezed it. They were going to figure this out together. As they always have done, wheather it be sneaking Severus out of his home to sleep in Lily's room when his parnets get to voilent to trying to figure out how much a piece of candy costs. They were going to have to find it out together.
Lily took the lead stopping at some random comparments asking if there was room for 2. She was always the one that handled the social situations when they had to work through situations like this, Severus was not to good in this deparment. He was much better of the smiling on command since he was not sure when to do it. They got to the last compartment hoping that they had room for 2. And there was James, Sirius, and Remus sitting and chatting.
"Here is where everything should go bady. If everything is supposed to go to plan then it should be a complete shit show that starts inter-generational hatred." Dumbledore says to himself as he watches impaitently. The stress of it was getting to him even though now it didn't have any physical effect on him.
"Hey it seems that you have room for me and my friend do you mind letting us sit with you?" Lily asks smiling then subtly elbowing Severus in the stomach so that he too would smile. To say that his social knowledge is little to nonexistent was the understatement of the century. But this seemed to be the appropriate thing to do and it worked.
"Sure! That is not a problem?" The one with jet black hair and glasses asks his maybe friends who nodded. The sigh of relief that came from both Lily and Severus was the most relaxed they felt all day. They would not have to be separated going into an unknown place. The three boys were sitting on one side of the train compartment, which adds to the comfort. They wouldn't have to sit next to unknown boys so if they were rude they would not do anything to rash easily.
"So are you guys in your first year?" The one with shoulder-length black hair. "If it isn't what house are you in? What is it like? Or what house do you want to be in? Oh what about-"
"Sirius maybe we should introduce ourselves before we question them senseless?" The one with jet black hair and glasses tell the boy with shoulder-length hair named Sirius apparently. The Sirius boy pouted a bit but then turned to us with a big grin on his face.
"My name is Sirius Black, this over here is my best mate James Potter, and that is Remus Lupin. We met him today." Sirius says pointing to himself then, the James boy that had jet-black hair smiled and waved when Sirius said his name. When Sirius got to Remus he just looked up and gave a kinda pained smile. "What about you guys?"
"My name is Lily Evans and this is Severus Snape. And to answer your first question yes we are first years. And what are houses?" Lily asks them and the boys look surprised at the question.
"You don't know about the Hogwarts houses?" They all ask at the same time that made Lily and Severus feel like they did something wrong. "Not that it is bad that you don't know." James says quickly seeing their reaction.
"They are basically where you are going to be living and surrendered by. Like they have the years that split the students on where they live and what classes they go to. But the houses are basically another dividing factor. It splits the year into 4 different ways again." James explains and it is clear on his face that he was trying to make sure they understood. "There is Gryffindor which takes the brave, Ravenclaw takes the ones that desire knowledge, Slytherin takes the cunning and ambition, and Hufflepuff takes the loyal." James explains in a way that one would tell Greek myths over the fire. Or maybe Lily has worn off on Severus a bit too much.
"That sounds so cool!" Lily practically shouts her green eyes shining with excitement her hair that was braided into two pigtail braids—that were slowly coming apart from her tugging on them with worry about the whole day—were in her face but she did not care and came closer to James who blushed at the closeness. "What house do you want to be in? How are you put into them? Is it some sort of test or–"
"Lily I think you are asking one to many questions for them." Severus cuts off his friend, shocking himself and her that he talked to. But rolling with this weird amount of confidence he spoke on. "Though I am wondering to what house do you want to be in?"
"Here, is were everything should fall apart at the seams." Dumbledore says to himself after he paused it." Though he was confused, how were James and Sirius friends? Yes, the Potter's were just recently outlawed by the Pureblood because of the side of the war that they took. They stayed longer than Dumbledore thought they would if he was being honest. Maybe that is why everything is so different, James didn't get a chance to hear about the hatred of all of them. And knowing Sirius and most likely the situation made him less…egotistical. So this goes back farther than I would have thought.
Dumbledore shook his head. For the first time thinking how on Earth was supposed to predict all of this. It seemed so simple and so easy to do. But now looking back it was mad that he could have done it all. Though hindsight is 20/20 and maybe he was so confident then that he could not see reason.
"I want to be in Gryffindor! Bravery is something I have always admired and wanted to hone more into. Plus the brave ones are the ones that go on the most adventures! And I love adventures." James says, with having thought about this for a long time. "Though I guess Slytherin wouldn't be to bad. My dad was a Slytherin, or maybe even Hufflepuff. They are like the best friends someone can have being all loyal and stuff. I want to be the best friend that I can be to my friends." James finishes smiling ear to ear, his square glasses that were slightly to big for him—based on the amount of times they end up sliding down his face—pushing them back up on the perk of his nose. "Why don't you go next Sirius?"
Sirius looks at his friend and just shrugs, like he didn't really care to say but was going to now that he asked. "Well, my whole family has been in Slytherin so there isn't much of a choice for me."
"Genetics are involved in the sorting process?" Lily asks and Severus comes to answer the question.
"No, more like genology. Like your family values something so you are expected to value that same thing if that makes sense. I am guessing that you are from one of those strict Pureblood families." As saying this Severus narrowing his eyes at Sirius. He knew the things that were said about Muggle-Borns and he would not stand for it for Lily's sake. He didn't care if they were going to call him such a thing based on his parents. Severus was called as much from his mother because of her "lapse of judgment" or in other words her marriage to his father. But Lily was not used to this.
"You know about that stuff but not about the houses?" Sirius asks instead, looking at him curiously like he was some big mystery that he wanted to solve.
"My mother is witch but doesn't talk about it to much." Severus answered simply, these new kids he probably wasn't going to see anytime soon did not need to know the weeds of all of that. "So I am basically as clueless as any Muggle-born would be," Severus said, trying to prod a reaction out of this Sirius boy.
"Huh, okay, I am guessing that you are a Muggle-born then?" Sirius asks Lily who nods oblivious to the contraction that the question could carry to someone like Sirius. "That must suck. You guys have no family there and you are going in practically blind! It must be hard on you guys, I mean it is hard on people who do have relatives there and know other people." This was not the reaction to this that Severus expected to happen and he just blinked words dying before he could speak them.
"Well, you know us, so we can all hang out and be friends. Or at least have someone there you can talk to." Remus finally spoke up looking around the train cart looking like he couldn't believe the words he was saying.
"Yeah that sounds great! Oh should we call it something?" Said James who now looked like he was thinking really hard at this. Everyone agreed—because they are 11-year-olds and who hasn't done that at that age—and that was when Lily spoke up.
"What about the Marauders? That basically means raiders, we are going to raid Hogwarts for knowledge and magic!" Needless to say it was a hit.
"But how on Earth were they able to still be friends when 3 out of the 4 were in different houses?" Dumbledore asked out loud, skipping to the next day to see what happened. There had to be something that was different that he didn't notice. During the Marauders' years at school he was not paying too close attention to meals , mostly just trying to get to his office and plan more. That was probably how he messed all of this up in the first place.
It was the next day and to say that Severus felt harassed was the understatement of the year. All the of the Slytherins were so mean. It sounded childish but it felt the only way that he could describe what happened. If you weren't like them you were ridiculed. And that was what Severus was. There was nothing to do about it every first-year went through it. He walked to the Slytherin table dragging his feet a bit, noting that the headmaster was not there which meant that it was probably going to be worse than normal. That was when James appeared out of nowhere grabbed his arm and pulled him to the Gryffindor table. Severus was too shocked that he didn't say anything.
He was seated with his friends again and they were laughing and talking. Maybe this wasn't so bad.
"Severus," Lily said with new french braids in her hair. "You have got to try this food, they have pancakes that you are going to love!"
"Okay, okay Doeeyes you can stop giving me your doe eyes." Severus says laughing as he says the nickname which caught James attention, since little do they know now but James's love language is in fact nicknames.
"You didn't tell me y'all had nicknames for each other." James says weirdly exited for something plain but again they didn't know about that yet.
"Yeah, mine is, well you know Doeeyes because Severus used call me my eyes "doe eyes" whenever I would beg him to do something or try to do something stupid. Well at least that is usually the case. I call him Tricky because he is the best at playing tricks on people and well just tricking them." Lily explains and James nods happily along.
"You don't mind if I use those reffering to y'all? I just love nicknames. Which now that I said that out loud sounds really werid um. You know what just pretend that I didn't say anything–" James was now rambling embarssed that he spoke his mind a bit to much which subquently makes him just ramble his thoughts which just makes the embarssment worst and that makes the rambling– I think you get it. Just a never ending ciricle like a snake eating its tail, it will go on for infinty if you let it.
"Its fine you call us that," Severus says looking and feeling panicked about the rambling jet-black-haired boy. "But then I guess that means we need to come up with one for you. What Prongs? Like deers prongs since you kinda gathered us together." Severus asks looking at his guess new friend to see if he liked it.
"Yeah, I like it!" James annouces drawing others attention to them which made Severus look down to be ignored and Lily blush. James didn't care, in fact he seemed to preen under the attention he was getting. Severus stored that tid bit way back in his head. They talk for bit waiting for Sirius and Remus to come down which the eventually did.
"Padfoot come over here!" James calls and the two came over Severus and Lily turned to see them.
"Which one is Padfoot?" Lily asks look between the 2 new comers to the breakfest show.
"Me," Sirius says sitting down and eating with no explation. There probably not one to give because it was just came up with it and it just fitted.
They talked and laughed and then they got their schedules. "Aw, I only have 2 classes with you guys. I guess I am going to have to find some more, though not many in my house seem that great." Severus complains and his friends feel bad about it, they also want more classes all together too. "And there is a full moon one the day we have classes together. Crazy stuff tends to happen on the full moon. Well at least for me and Lily."
"No, it is going to be the day before," Remus imditly replies but then looks like he should not have said anything but no one really noticed.
"Okay Moony," Sirius says as a joke but James snaps his fingers and looks like he was given everything he could have ever wanted or needed.
"That is it! Your, Moony, Padfoot, Tricky, Doeeys, and me Prongs and together we make the Marauders!" James annouces like they were some super hero team like the Avengers or the Justice Leage. But people around them were not looking at them as they would the super heroes, more like "What the hell are these first years doing?" This was going to be a long school year.
So this is were it went completely off the rails? Dumbledore thought to himself. He watched the rest of the school year how they came from some werid first-years to the prankstiers that students and teachers knew well. The fun the bad and everything in between. They grew closer and would write each other over the summer. It was an amazing start of a friendship for the years.
This means that Sirius and Regulus were still close because of the conving of his friends. That was probably who sent him the letter. And Lily and Severus did not start conflict with the "Marauders" so that whole falling in and out would not have happened. Everything is making so much more sense as to how the beging turned out. But Dumbledore was still confused on how the fall was.
How did they go from seemingly illseprateable to not seeing each other for a couple years and barley ecnloging each other. That was what he would have to seek out. Because they did not go to him, or to the Dark Lord but did their own thing. Getting other Wizarding Societys's to help and get rid of the dark lord.
How did things shake out from here? Well Dumbledore knew the ones who did the most of it where James and Regulus but how did they all get like that. The Marauders 7th year should do the trick, Dumbledore thought and turned to that point in time. This is were he will get the most answers.