Two updates in less than a week? I know I can't believe it either. I'm really pushing myself to stay consistent with this fic and make sure I give everyone reading a proper ending. We've got a long way to go until we get there, but until then I hope you stick with me on this journey. I'm going to try to make up for lost time by updating as much as I can in the coming weeks.
Please leave a comment to let me know what you think and if there's something you'd like to see more of going forward!
Following the heartbreaking result of the Gryffindor quidditch match, James found himself moping around a lot more than usual. He was so obviously miserable, brooding over his eggs in the great hall, that Lily Evans of all people checked in on him. However, when he responded with his usual flirtatious demeanor, she rolled her eyes and moved on. The fact was James had lost not only the Quidditch cup for Gryffindor but potentially the House cup as well. He and Sirius were always losing points, slacking off, destroying their house's chances with the expectation that James' quidditch winnings would make up for their losses. However, without that to fall back on, James and Sirius found themselves at odds with their very nature in every class: sitting perfectly still and listening obediently.
The castle hadn't seen such good behavior from the Marauders since their animagus days, and that was much easier because at least they had something forcing them to keep their mouths shut. McGonagall, fortunately, wanted Gryffindor to win as much as anyone, so she did her very best to help the boys along in their quest for good behavior.
In transfiguration class, the group was working on turning puffskeins into paper weights. James stared at the creature in deep concentration, and with a wave of his wand he managed a perfect transition. The class, the best of whom had only managed a rather furry paperweight that would hardly hold down a single sheet, all glanced at him with begrudgingly impressed expressions. Lily even found herself giving him a thumbs up, blushing as she realized who she was complementing.
"Wonderful technique, fifteen points to Gryffindor, Potter." McGonagall said after examining the object and finding it flawlessly transfigured.
Some shouted protests were ended with a stern glare from McGonagall. "Efforts deserve to be rewarded," she said to the disgruntled Ravenclaws in the back.
The fact is fifteen points was a small price to say for an entire month of peace from the havoc that came with the typical marauders. The other professors shared the sentiment, and this is how the Gryffindors found themselves catching up to Ravenclaw even with two quidditch losses holding them back.
By his and Remus' Thursday meeting with Dumbledore, James was already exhausted. He had no idea how he was going to keep this up for another month.
"You ready to go Prongs?" Remus asked, patting him on the shoulder in a show of solidarity.
The other boy knew how hard he and Sirius in particular had been holding back, especially given that Snape still had James' broom in his possession. Sirius, for his part, was chain-smoking endlessly and for once James was not scolding him, understanding that without this habit Sirius would go completely off the rails. The aforementioned boy was tapping his foot incessantly, spinning his wand in his hand as he stared at their defense against the dark arts textbook, not taking in a single word in his effort to write his essay nearly three days ahead of time, very unlike Padfoot.
"Where are you off to?" He called out, James and Remus glancing at each other, unsure of how to respond.
They had hoped Sirius would be too caught up in avoiding mischief to notice their secrecy, but the boy was as observant as he was clever, and very little slipped past him as a result. Peter looked up as well, although he hadn't noticed anything odd, being far duller than Sirius.
"Moony and I are going to try to get my broom back," James said gesturing to the cloak in his hand, "I'm sorry Padfoot, but I think a more subtle approach is required for this one. That alright?" James asked, and Sirius grunted.
He wasn't happy, but he also didn't disagree that it was probably for the best that he stayed in.
With that lie convincing their roommates, James and Remus were off, approaching the gargoyle that guarded the staircase to the headmaster's office. They weren't wearing the cloak, no point given the early hour, but James' thin lie had got him thinking, maybe using it this evening wasn't the worst idea, so he had brought it along.
They revealed the staircase with the password, still "Chocolate Frogs" as it was just a few weeks prior. Remus had been to this office quite a few times with his history, having to meet with Dumbledore on a number of occasions to make arrangements for his affliction. He breathed in the familiar scent of pine, listening to the whirring sound of the various silver instruments with a sense of comfort that he had always associated with the headmaster. The man himself sat behind his desk, writing on a piece of parchment, not looking up as James and Remus hovered in the doorway.
"You may come in," he said in his calming voice, rushing over Remus like a familiar river.
"Professor Dumbledore, we want to talk to you about the missions you've been sending us on, Lily as well." Remus began.
Dumbledore finished his sentence with a tap of the quill, creating a period in black ink. With a wave of his wand, the parchment disappeared in a puff of smoke. He then turned his full attention to Remus and James, the latter of whom was growing impatient.
"Professor, we think you're making a mistake with Sirius and Peter." James said, throwing their carefully crafted plan out the window.
Remus, slightly mortified, tried to cover for his brashness.
"Well, not a mistake exactly, sir. What James means is…"
"No, I mean exactly what I said. Don't put words in my mouth, Remus." James scolded, and Remus shrugged allowing James to continue at his own risk. "Sirius and Peter are Gryffindors, same as us, same as Evans. They will fight for you if you say the word, so why aren't you utilizing every resource at your disposal?"
Dumbledore didn't reply to James' impassioned speech, choosing instead to fall back into his ever-familiar pose: two fingers steepled at the tip of his crooked nose.
"And you both think that your friends are up to the task?"
"Yes sir." James and Remus said at the same time, without hesitation.
"Ok. I will take your faith in them into consideration." James was surprised that it had been that easy, yet mildly discouraged because they hadn't received a definitive yes. The boys waited for a few moments after this statement, wondering if they should turn to leave, when Dumbledore spoke again.
"I need you boys to understand something about what I have asked of both of you and Miss Evans as well." He paused again, standing up in order to pace as he spoke, making sure that his words were delivered exactly as he intended. "Entering into this contract is not something I want you to do lightly. Take the summer, think about it." He turned to them as he said this last piece, rather intimidating when seen standing at his full height.
Nevertheless, James tried to speak up at that, prove he was ready for the task.
"Mr. Potter, I am not finished," Dumbledore cut him off and James shrunk down under the old man's grave expression. "You will make friends in this endeavor, just as you have done here at school, and just as quickly they will be ripped from you. You will face your old rivals on a battlefield, watch your classmates fall one by one." James and Remus didn't speak, taking in Dumbledore's words, having never considered the severity of what they were taking on in joining this fight.
"You may all survive, you may not, and the deaths of those you love may come in the first week or the first year or not at all. You cannot make this decision lightly. I've seen similar ideals tear people apart, and I fear history is repeating itself."
"You're talking about Grindelwald, sir?" Remus said.
James looked up, somewhat familiar with the name and Dumbledore's part in his defeat, but unaware of how similar Voldemort's rise looked compared to that of the evil wizard from so many years before. Dumbledore's sordid past was finally proving useful, although this did little to assuage his guilt as he replied.
"Yes Mr. Lupin. I waited 20 years to face him out of my own personal cowardice. I will not do so again. We will be prepared this time, as prepared as we can be."
James and Remus were stunned at Albus Dumbledore admitting to being a coward. He was the bravest and most brilliant wizard of their generation, and if anyone else had called him a coward James would have made them eat a dung beetle. The headmaster took a deep breath before he continued.
"With that said, I will think no less of either of you if you change your minds."
James opened his mouth again to protest, but Dumbledore raised a hand.
"Take the summer Mr. Potter. Be 17, kiss a pretty girl, make mischief, consider everything you stand to lose, and I will see you next term with your answer. I ask that you wait until then for mine as well. Good evening."
And just like that, they were dismissed, feeling as though they had hardly accomplished their task, heads swirling with more questions than answers. The boys prepared to leave, but before they left, James turned to the headmaster one more time.
"Any chance our loyalty to our fellow Gryffindors is worth a few house points professor?"
Maybe it was the desperation in his voice or simple nostalgia, but Dumbledore chuckled and threw out a: "ten points to Gryffindor" for James' benefit.
"Ten more down, ninety-five to go." James whispered to Remus who shook his head at his ambitious friend.
"So, how are we going to take the Slytherins down a peg Potter?" William asked, joined by the rest of the Gryffindor quidditch team eager to hear James' plans for revenge.
After the meeting with Dumbledore, he had told Remus he'd meet him upstairs, and slinked off to the dungeons wearing his cloak. He had snuck in this time, waiting by the Slytherin door for someone to say the password and followed close after them before they could close the door. He had checked the map, and Snape and his cronies were trolling the Hogwarts halls for new victims, so he knew it was safe to sneak into their dormitory. He combed the entire sixth year dormitory, even checking the common room best he could while remaining discreet, but he had found nothing. He had just received a nasty burn on his hand for his trouble from another one of Snape's traps, no broom in sight. It seemed Snape wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.
Thus, the Gryffindors were gathered around the fire in their common room, James more determined than ever for vengeance. They didn't dare have this conversation in the great hall so close to nosy ears.
"We've got to go deep into enemy territory, and above all we can't get caught. We can't afford to lose any more points especially if Hufflepuff wins their next match." James replied.
"Understood." William said.
"But what are we going to do once we're there?" Jane asked, glancing at Ellie whose gears were turning behind her eyes.
Susan was growing increasingly nervous over the whole thing, and she threw out a timid, "Maybe we shouldn't risk it."
This was shot down by the rest of the team to great offense, and Susan remained silent for the rest of the meeting as the group began to throw out ideas.
"Put bulbadox powder in their beds?" William tossed out.
"No, it's too simple," James replied, fiddling with the snitch in his hand as he still often did when thinking.
"Toenail growing hex?" Ellie suggested.
"Too easily traced. We don't want to get caught." James said.
After about a half hour of similarly tame or unrealistic revenge plots, the group was growing discouraged.
"Maybe we should call in your mates, when you lot get together, you're pretty brilliant." Jane had brought up the best point of the evening in James' opinion.
"Alright, I'll pull Pads down here." James said, wandering upstairs where Sirius was still staring at his defense against the dark arts essay, only a few words scrawled across the page.
After their meeting with Dumbledore, Peter and Remus had wandered off to the library to do some studying.
"Padfoot, how would you like to take a break from homework to put together a bit of mischief?"
James asked and Sirius practically tumbled out of his chair in his enthusiasm to join them.
Sirius' ideas were predictably too aggressive, although that was better than the too tame suggestions from the inexperienced Gryffindor team. Sirius was a master of destruction, and when he and James got together, they were like Lennon and McCartney but for pranking of course.
"I've got something," Sirius said after another half hour of narrowing down his more unsavory plans to something more manageable, and above all, untraceable. "Permanent sticking charm, far too easy to accomplish well if you ask me. Even Wormy could do it."
"And what exactly would we be sticking Black, and where?" Jane spoke up, intrigued.
"Screaming yoyos, as many as we can buy all over the Slytherin common room and the dorms too if we can manage it," Sirius said, grinning wickedly at his brilliant plan.
"We would have to do it after the Hogsmeade trip. I could buy a boatload of them from Zonko's." James said, beaming with pride at his best friend's magnificent mind.
"Won't that be traceable?" Susan said, playing the role of Moony for that evening's pranking endeavor.
"Not bad Zeller," Sirius complimented her, to which Susan blushed, "that would indeed be traceable. What do you think Prongs?"
"What if a bunch of different students bought them?" Ellie said before James could speak up. "Random houses, random points throughout the day, who could have possibly obtained this many screaming yoyos?" She finished, a wicked grin crossing Sirius' face at the idea.
"Brilliant."
"So, who buys them?" Susan asked.
"Let me take care of that." James said.
Between himself and the quidditch team's personal connections (friendships, acquaintances and the like), along with weaseling some help out of Lily with much persuasion from Susan, the group managed to assemble 15 willing participants. They were all set to purchase one screaming yoyo each, staggered at random times throughout the day. They were from a variety of houses, Susan even managing to convince her Ravenclaw friend, Katie Llywelen, to get a hold of two Slytherins she knew who agreed to purchase them, not being fully informed of what it was for. They were told that they were buying the yoyos for Katie's younger sister because Katie was, unfortunately, unable to go to Hogsmeade that day having a massive exam to study for.
The plan was all set for that weekend, and as the time grew increasingly closer, James found himself uncharacteristically moody and quiet despite the prospect of the coming revenge.
"What's got you moping Prongs? It's Hogsmeade this weekend," Sirius said.
"Yeah," James said thinking about Lily attending once again with another guy on her arm and growing increasingly bitter.
Bertram had been approaching her nervously throughout the week, but now it was like every time James glanced at her (as he was wont to do) there he was. The poor bloke was tripping over himself, drooling over Lily, losing his train of thought in the middle of his sentence; it was embarrassing. He was a skinny bloke, with light blue eyes that were nearly translucent and a mop of brown hair that sat flat on his head.
Speaking of, "Oi Bartram, head doing alright?" James called out and the poor bastard skittered away like a cockroach.
Sirius chuckled, and Lily tried her best to hide her smile, turning it quickly into a scowl, but James had seen, and the joy of that knowledge carried him through to the Hogsmeade trip. The truth was Bertram Aubrey was even more boring than George was in his worst moments, which Lily didn't think was possible. The boy was constantly divulging into tangents about some subject or another, and he was far too self-conscious for Lily to have any interest beyond that rare show of bravado when he'd first asked her out. She still had no idea how he'd managed even that.
On the day of the Hogsmeade trip, he waited for her at the front entrance, sweating heavily through his shirt and trembling as he handed her a lily…"how original", she thought.
For the first half of the date, which they spent choking on smoke in Madame Puddifoot's, he kept repeating how he couldn't believe his luck at having landed a date with THE Lily Evans. If that wasn't enough, he spent the rest of their time together trying far too hard to be gentlemanly tripping over himself as he opened every door and smiling so wide Lily was sure he would pull a muscle. She felt herself longing for a butter beer by the end of the first hour, and she suggested far too perkily that they pop into the three broomsticks to get one.
Upon catching sight of Marlene and the others sitting across the way, Lily felt herself thanking whatever deity was watching over her for her good fortune. However, she put her faith in a God without a sense of humor far too soon, as she tried her best to catch Marlene's eye and the other girl conveniently remained engulfed in a conversation with Sirius, James, and Mary.
"Oh, let's go sit with my mates, is that alright?" Lily said, and Bertram, spineless as he was, just nodded and followed along like a lost puppy.
Lily grabbed his sweaty palm in hers and dragged him towards the table, but other than a quick hello Marlene was completely ignoring her, smirking more and more by the minute. Mary, for her part, said hello to both of them, but she didn't seem to notice anything was off with Lily and continued listening to whatever the others had been talking about before. Marlene knew though, being Lily's best friend and just generally observant when it came to peoples' dating habits.
"Damn it, McKinnon," Lily thought to herself as she was forced to listen to Bertram's ramblings about how the Giants tried to rebel in the 16th century but were cast out, sent to live in the mountains in Eastern Europe. He had a remarkable talent, not unlike that of Professor Binns, for making a rather fascinating subject dreadfully boring.
Lily tried her best to blink an SOS at Marlene in morse code, but she was pointedly ignored, James and Sirius quickly catching on and bringing their voices down so Lily couldn't even try to listen in on their conversation. It was most certainly about her and Bertram based on the giggling coming from Marlene, and Mary began to catch on to the joke trying her best to participate, although it was against her nature. Alice and Susan were no help either, sitting across the pub with a couple of their Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff friends that they didn't get to see very often. Remus was absent, and even Peter would have been preferable to Bertram, but it seemed he was elsewhere with the other marauder. Lily's saving grace finally came in Mary, her unceasing kindness eating at her until she had to throw the drowning girl a bone.
"Bertram, nice of you to join us." She said, mercifully interrupting his latest lecture.
"Yea, alright Mary, James, Sirius, Marlene?" He said each of their names in turn, prompting a rude remark from under James' breath and barking laughter from Sirius.
"Alright. So, what have you guys been up to?" Mary said, ignoring Sirius and James.
"Just been to Madame Puddifoot's. It was quite nice. And we were thinking about going up to the shrieking shack."
Sirius let out an unconscious howl, and James actually elbowed him to Lily's surprise.
"Sorry Prongs," he muttered.
That was something to unpack later, Lily thought, but right now she had bigger problems on her plate.
"Is that right? I've never actually been up there. They say some dark spirits have moved in over the last few years. I don't think I'd like to test that."
"Oh, it's all rubbish, my dear." Bertram began.
"Here we go," Lily thought, as the boy went on another one of his tangents.
Interestingly enough, Mary didn't seem to mind, listening with fascination as Bertram lectured about the absurdity of spiritual hauntings especially given all they know about the nature of ghosts. With his newly enraptured audience, Lily was finally able to shift her focus to Marlene without appearing rude.
"You are pure evil, McKinnon." She said, although smiling, as James and Sirius laughed out loud at her misfortune.
"Not our fault you decided to go on a date with the most boring bloke at Hogwarts," Sirius said rather loudly to which Lily shushed him, but Bertram and Mary were so engrossed in their own world they may as well have had a muffliato charm between them. That only made Sirius laugh harder.
"Honestly Lily where do you find these guys? Do they have a club or something?" James said with a twinkle in his eye.
She respected that at the very least he hadn't turned this into an opportunity to hit on her, and so, for the first time, she found herself laughing along with James Potter about her dating life.
"I didn't want to say no. I felt bad." She said.
James and Sirius mocked being stabbed in the heart.
"Agh, pity date,"
"The worst,"
They said.
"Looks like it worked out for him, though." Marlene said, gesturing to Mary who was actually giggling at Bertram's jokes about wizarding folklore.
"It takes all kinds, doesn't it?" Sirius said, baffled by this new development.
"I suppose so." Lily said.
The group continued making light conversation, Mary becoming more and more infatuated with Bertram Aubrey, for what reason the group couldn't say. That's the thing about love; you can't choose who it happens with, and sometimes there's just an irrefutable spark. As James teased Lily and they discussed the plans for next year's quidditch season, Sirius and Marlene shared a knowing look. The same joy in Mary and Bertram's eyes was flitting in emerald and hazel as their two best friends talked without any baggage between them. James was finally learning to watch his mouth and Lily, for the first time, was really listening to what he had to say, taking in everything that made up James Potter besides the quidditch prowess and arrogance. Not for the first time, she found herself considering the minute possibility that maybe he wasn't such a toerag after all.
It was over a week later when James, Sirius, Remus and Peter all sat in the great hall, eating dinner quite innocently as they kept glancing at their watches. Any minute now, the news would hit. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, a couple of Slytherins who had returned to their common room early from dinner ran right back in. They walked up to the professor's table muttering something about "it started with a dungbomb and now the noise…we've tried everything…they just won't come down."
The marauders watched with great joy as McGonagall, Slughorn, and Flitwick all scrambled off their perches, hurrying towards the dungeons. No one knew who had done it. There were always a handful of students from each house missing from dinner, but the marauders were there the entire evening. Everyone had seen them, and the Slytherins swore that someone had set off the dungbomb around 5:30. The boys had walked into the Great Hall at 5:15, and they hadn't left until after the yoyos had been placed. Besides, antimuggleborn sentiment had been at an all-time high; the marauders didn't own the right to prank Slytherins, as Sirius continually pointed out in their multiple interrogations.
Unable to remove the yoyos from the wall, the Slytherins were forced to sleep in the great hall that night and the next, the professors finally managing to undo the screaming charm on the yoyos with some help from Zonko who made a special trip up to the castle. He found the whole thing quite amusing, much to McGonagall and Slughorn's chagrin, and in an even more wonderful twist of fate, he claimed to have not sold a single screaming yoyo on the last Hogsmeade visit.
"I wondered why they weren't selling. I suppose whoever pulled this off already had them."
The boys were homefree, no points lost in the endeavor, Slytherin having been properly pranked.
Unfortunately, it wasn't a well-kept secret that the marauders had been behind the act, and Slughorn was glaring at James and Sirius the entirety of their potions class the morning after the incident. He was head of Slytherin, after all, and he was quite flustered at the prospect of the boys escaping their rightful punishment. He took ten points from Gryffindor when Sirius sneezed, and he gave him and James both P's for the day after their shared cauldron was "a burgundy color when it should have been maroon."
"Lousy git," Sirius muttered to James as they were walking out.
"I heard that Mr. Black, and I'll see you in detention."
"Yeah, bite me Slughorn!" Sirius called back, wincing as James shot him a furious glare.
"That'll be twenty points from Gryffindor, Mr. Black, and a week's detention. Do you feel the need to press the matter?"
Sirius was about to do just that when James grabbed him by the arm and said, "Leave it alone, Padfoot."
Sirius didn't respond but forced himself to walk calmly from the potions classroom before storming onto the Hogwarts grounds. James followed, and the two of them blew off some steam before dinner as Padfoot and Prongs, wrestling a bit and taking some time for mischief after so many days of being painfully good.
That evening at dinner, James regrettably swallowed his pride, in an effort to protect Gryffindor from any more lost points and approached the Slytherin table directly. The group of them shot him a litany of dirty looks, but he ignored them, walking right up to the boy he needed to speak to.
"Snape, I want my broom back." He said, not wasting time with minced words.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Potter." Snape said to great laughter from his mates beside him.
"Look, Snivellus, you and I both know that I could hex you into oblivion until you gave it back to me, but here I am asking you quite nicely to return my property."
Snape shrugged, nonchalant and thoroughly enjoying his seat of power. James knew it was an empty threat; he had no leverage with Gryffindor in such dire straits.
"Potter, if you lost your broom, it sounds like maybe you should have taken better care of it. You have a nasty tendency of damaging expensive items, product of being a rich prat I suppose." Snape said.
James leaned forward, nose nearly touching Snape's as he said in his most threatening tone, "Give it back, Snivelly."
"Mr. Potter," James winced as he turned around to see Professor Slughorn frowning at the two of them.
Unlike Lily, the man had never taken much of a shine to James. He did, however, have a soft spot for Snape who was an excellent potions student as well as a Slytherin.
"Don't tell me I'm going to have to take more points from Gryffindor this afternoon."
"No professor," James said; he was furious, but although he was sure Snape had stolen his broom, he was no snitch.
"Good, good, now run along please. I do believe I see some of your friends across the way, best return to them."
James nodded, moving back to the Gryffindor table in defeat as the Slytherins laughed at his retreating back, whispering insults amongst each other. His ears grew red, and it took every ounce of Gryffindor pride to keep himself from blowing the few points he'd managed to earn back in the past week.
"Any luck?" Sirius asked, noting the expression on James' face and patting him on the back. "That's alright mate, we'll get you a new broom, yeah?"
James wasn't so sure. The Potters were generous with their wealth, but they had always had a policy of not replacing items that were lost and broken due to James' own carelessness. Maybe he could weasel another broom out of his father, but there was no way it would compare to the brand-new Nimbus, even if they could afford it.
The morning after Zonko's visit was also conveniently the final match of the Interhouse Quidditch Cup. The marauders had planned it that way, smirking at the yawning Slytherins rubbing their tired eyes on the pitch, having spent two sleepless nights on the floor of the great hall. They and the other Gryffindors arrived in spades, all screaming at the top of their lungs less in support of Hufflepuff and more in hatred of their rival. Sirius commentated as usual, not-so-innocently distracting Slytherin who was playing poorly anyway.
"Ooh and the snake house strikes again with another dirty foul. Any more blood on that pitch and we'll have to put out an alert for red caps." Sirius said, winking dangerously at the Slytherin beater who sent a pointed bludger at the announcer's box.
Sirius ducked underneath it, cool as can be, as another whistle from Madame Hooch stopped play. She pulled McNair aside to scream at him once more.
"One more foul McNair and you're off my pitch do you understand me?" Hooch asked, furious as the dark-eyed boy nodded glaring at Sirius who shot him a carefree grin.
It had been a low-scoring match, both keepers playing well, keeping almost any quaffle from getting through. With Hufflepuff leading 50-40, Whitticker zoomed across the pitch, Regulus just behind as the two seekers caught sight of the snitch dancing above, ironically, Sirius' head.
"Oi, Reggie!" Sirius shouted, but Regulus ignored his brother's words.
He was gaining on Whitticker, and Sirius felt a surge of pride at the determination in his eyes. They were grey, just like his.
"Come on Reg," Sirius whispered, but his voice was drowned out by the stadium's roar.
"WHITTICKER, WHITTICKER, WHITTICKER, WHITTICKER," the cheers were more than enough to spur the older boy forward, the glory of Hufflepuff house resting on his 17-year old shoulders. He gave Regulus a well-placed shove, and Sirius couldn't be sure, but he knew the boy would require more than any mild push to knock him off course. And yet Regulus fumbled, pulling back to steady himself as Whitticker's gloved hand closed around the golden ball for the second time in as many weeks.
The sound in the stadium was deafening, Regulus further confirming Sirius' suspicions when he shrugged, doing a lap around the stadium as if he couldn't care less that he had lost the cup for Slytherin, both Quidditch and House. His captain berated him, slapping him upside the head, and Sirius sent a well-aimed confundus charm the boy's way, nearly knocking him from his broom.
"And that's the game folks, Hufflepuff come forward to claim your prize."
The Hufflepuff quidditch team converged in the middle of the pitch, still in the sky as Madame Hooch rose up with the quidditch cup in hand. They all took a turn carving their names onto it with their wands, joining the signatures of thousands of previous Hogwarts students who were cycled through in an endless slideshow upon the enchanted trophy.
"A sincere congratulations to you all, see you next year where hopefully our team will whoop your arses." Sirius managed to dodge out of McGonagall's furious hands trying to grab the microphone from him. "Until next season then! I have been Sirius Black," he finished, mercifully, as the Hufflepuffs were still whooping with joy.
James approached Sirius, a resigned sort of smile on his face.
"Better them than Slytherin, eh?" Sirius spoke up, glancing at the Hufflepuffs and recalling the feeling of being in their place just one year before.
Still, he nodded: better indeed.
That evening, the marauders were hanging in their dorm room, James not feeling like going to the Hufflepuff celebration and Sirius agreeing that he would drag Peter there a little later. James wanted to try and come up with a solution to retrieve his broom, and Sirius was more than happy to pregame with some firewhiskey and a brainstorming session. He also may have had an ulterior motive in agreeing to help James with his predicament.
"James, I know you want your broom back, but we've also got to consider how we're going to top last year. No detentions, no points lost, and we have to create something as epic as an indoor beach party." Sirius said.
Before James could protest, insisting that his broom was the priority at the moment, Peter spoke up, eyes downcast:
"I don't think it's even possible."
"Wormtail, I'm surprised at you! I said it would be difficult, but impossible? We don't know the meaning of the word. Moony, what do you think?"
Remus had been sitting on his bed in quiet contemplation during the discussion. He quickly diverted his attention from James' broom dilemma to Sirius' new query.
"Last year we made a beach, this year we do something similar but on a grander scale. A circus?"
"Now there's an idea," Sirius said, picturing himself in a ring leader's suit. He painted the picture for the others: "Gryffindor lions roaming about, and a badger or two for the Hufflepuffs, throw them a bone for taking down Slytherin."
"We'll have to get started right away if we're going to get all that Pads." James said, perking up for the first time all evening.
"We still have finals to study for," Peter piped up and was immediately shut down at the audacity of the suggestion.
"We plan into the night, make it an event of epic proportions. Nothing like an end of school bash to bring everyone together." Sirius said, eyes shining, forgetting completely about the Hufflepuff party in anticipation of the glory to come.
Unfortunately, the boys' lofty dreams were about to be dashed. There was no need to bring the school together in joy when the sharp sting of tragedy had already done so, for the morning after the birth of the marauders' next grand plan, the wizarding world was faced with the worst death eater attack since the group revealed itself. The mood in the Great Hall was more subdued than the Marauders had ever seen it. The teachers were conversing in hushed tones, and Professor Dumbledore was sitting at the head of the table with deep frown lines carved into a face of stone.
"What's happened," James asked, approaching Lily whose eyes were red and swollen from tears.
She slid the copy of the prophet across the table, James glancing at the cover and feeling as if a well-aimed bludger had hit him in the gut.
"Who did this?" He asked, reading the headline: "15 Wizards and Witches Killed in an Effort to Protect Muggle Fair: 30 Muggles Found Dead, 50 More Injured"
He passed it to Remus who allowed Peter and Sirius to look at it over his shoulder, nauseated even further as they read beyond the already horrific headline.
"The ministry says they don't know." Lily said, answering James' question with a crack in her voice. "They weren't able to catch the attackers even with over a hundred witnesses. It was a massive festival, and everyone said the same thing. They were wearing black robes and silver masks." James exchanged a knowing look with the girl, an understanding reached that they would forever be connected by what they saw the evening of their secret mission.
"Who was killed from our side?" James almost didn't dare to ask, but he had to know.
"Mostly aurors, not Frank thank God," James nodded, familiar with the older Gryffindor and glad to hear that he was safe; he noticed that Alice was absent from the breakfast table, "But…" Lily paused, knowing that what she was about to say would alter James' life forever.
"Who was there?" James said, preparing himself for the worst.
"Leo was one of the wizards who stepped in. He was there with his mother. They were both killed."
Remus put a hand on James' shoulder, and Sirius clenched his fists as if looking for the nearest surface to punch. Peter sat on the bench, grabbing a piece of toast, nervous eater as he was. He was the palest of all of them, his father at the forefront of his mind.
Leo Byrne, muggleborn, beater on the Gryffindor quidditch team since his third year. James had coached him, played with him, laughed and won with him, and in an instant, he was gone. James glanced over at Jane and Ellie, both staring in disbelief at the paper, tears filling their eyes. Alex and Roger hadn't known Leo that well, being a few years younger, but they remained stoic, comforting William who was trying not to cry and failing miserably. Leo had taken William under his wing as a sort of big brother figure and losing him was quite a blow.
"We have to do something," James said joining the others in their disbelief, sitting heavily on the bench at the Gryffindor table.
Remus joined him, switching his comfort to Lily, putting an arm around her; Sirius remained standing.
James grabbed the paper from where Remus had left it on the table, and he read further. Multiple children were among the victims, the entire event dripping with such cruel injustice that James couldn't fathom the group's motivation.
"How could someone do this?" He said aloud.
No one answered. The hall was silent for the first time in its history, broken only by a few muttered words and the opening of the door as the occasional late arrival drifted in, immediately picking up on the strange atmosphere and receiving the news. The somber feeling was broken by a cleared throat as Professor Dumbledore stood, having taken some time to gather his thoughts.
"I believe you've all had time to take in the information we've received today. I would first like to acknowledge that one of our own, Leo Byrne, was killed in this most recent attack. Many of you knew him as a brilliant student, a talented quidditch player, a wise and dedicated mentor," he glanced at William who sniffled but raised his head high, "but he was even more than that. Leo embodied the determination and bravery that a Gryffindor strives for. He didn't hesitate to run into the line of fire in the hopes of saving another. He will be missed, and I ask you all to raise your glasses to him."
"To Leo," the hall murmured, although there was some notable silence from the Slytherin side.
Dumbledore continued, with seeming difficulty. "The prophet is afraid to report what we all know; this group known as the death eaters are getting bolder. I regret to say that it seems history is repeating itself, and I wish that were not so." He looked now upon the group of young Slytherins whispering among themselves in mocking tones, two of whom resembled their fathers who sat in those chairs some thirty years before. Dumbledore had taught all of them, had watched as they prepared to graduate the same year that he resigned himself to possibly destroying one of the last people who remained that truly knew him. If he had been less distracted, would he have seen it happening again right before his very eyes?
"I told you all at the beginning of this year to be careful of the people you turn into during your time here. I told you to be careful of the people you surround yourselves with. It would be naïve of me to pretend that every one of you has the same virtue as Leo Byrne, as such strength is so rare and should not be devalued, but I truly believe that you all have the potential for greatness. Don't throw that aside for something simple. If greatness were easy to achieve, we'd all be in the history books, but why not give yourself something to strive for? Leo Byrne was in the paper today, and as the world keeps turning it will likely forget him tomorrow. Don't forget him. Keep Leo's memory in your hearts, and he will never truly be gone. He will be here, always."
Dumbledore turned and walked out of the hall at this final statement, exiting into the back chamber as the Hogwarts student body sat in stunned silence. James felt tears prick his eyes and roughly shoved them away with his fists, feeling Remus' arms embrace him. He looked at Lily who was hugging Marlene beside them, but her eyes were open, meeting James' own. The depths of his grief were reflected in her emeralds, and she mouthed "I'm sorry" to him as he took his first deep breath since the news reached his ears. He was surprised to find that those two little words, coming from Lily Evans, were enough to lighten the load.
In an open field, a week after his sobering speech left one James Potter's mind swirling, fifty miles from the nearest muggle suburb and nearly two hundred from the next wizarding village, Albus Dumbledore waited. He checked his pocket watch, counting down 3…2…1 as a loud crack interrupted the stony silence.
"Alastor," Dumbledore said approaching the scraggly old auror with a rare smile despite the circumstances.
"Albus how are you?" His friend's furious countenance remained, although not nearly as scarred as it would be in the years to come.
Getting a smile out of Alastor Moody was like coaxing a hug out of a blast-ended skrewt, so Dumbledore didn't take offense.
Instead, he matched Moody's stoic countenance as he said: "Could be better my old friend."
"It's never been this bad before, even with..." He left the name unspoken out of respect for Dumbledore's history choosing to continue with his tirade, "The ministry is giving us fuck all for resources." Moody finished, spitting in the grass at his feet.
"I'm looking to remedy that." Dumbledore said, and Moody looked vaguely interested which was about as much as you could get out of him. "You have a number of aurors still in your stead even after last week's tragedy."
"What are you getting at, Albus?" Moody asked, ever the suspicious man.
"I'd like to recruit them, as many as are willing." Dumbledore said without any further circumstance.
Good thing Moody trusted him with more than his life, with the lives of his men, and he was not one to delay with petty discussion.
"I'll compile a list," He said matter-of-factly, "I can't say I trust many of them, but better to have a few loyal men than an army of traitors."
"I trust your judgement, Alastor." Dumbledore said.
"And I yours. Any promising recruits in your brood?"
"A few," Dumbledore replied cryptically, still undecided on the trustworthy nature of his own choices.
Choosing a traitor would be catastrophic for the order Dumbledore was trying to build, and it was for this reason that he had discouraged James from spreading the word even to his closest friends. He would have to perform a similar test for Black and Pettigrew, and unfortunately it would have to wait for the following term. Not the worst thing, though, better to give those boys one last summer just as Dumbledore had said. He didn't want James to change his mind; he was a brilliant, young wizard and would be a powerful ally, but he hadn't lied earlier. If James Potter decided to flee England with his riches and the boy he considered a brother, whose blood they would be forced to confront in the coming war, Dumbledore couldn't blame him. Dumbledore couldn't have known that Leo's death had all but confirmed it as James lied in bed mulling over the headmaster's speech. James would fight in this war, avenge the people who had already died in the fight, and if he died in an effort to take down the worst evil his country had ever faced, then so be it.