"The Ministry is in a panic, Albus," Moody growled, throwing a copy of the Daily Prophet down onto the headmaster's desk. The photograph of Fenrir Greyback glowered hungrily at them on the front page, flashing viciously sharp teeth and laughing. "He's building up his support where he knows we can't even get a word in edgewise."

Dumbledore frowned thoughtfully, picking up the newspaper with a heavy sigh. "Can't we?" He asked. "Have we tried? If you ask me, the Ministry is making it easier and easier for him to look like a savior in comparison with all of these legislations and restrictions they are trying to pass against non-humans. Have we even tried to reason with them or gain their trust?"

Both of Moody's eyes rolled and he laughed sharply. "Hardly. You know the Ministry isn't going to send anyone out to play nice with that sort, and they aren't anymore willing to listen to us if we did. They have no reason to trust Wizard-Kind."

Dumbledore nodded solemnly. "No, you're certainly right. They don't." He folded the paper and placed it back down on his desk. He peered at the Auror over the rim of his glasses, his eyes holding a very specific glint that usually meant a seed of an idea had been planted. "However, they may be more receptive to one of their own."

—-

"Remus…psst, Remus! Wake up!"

Remus jolted awake with a start when Sirius elbowed him in the ribs, his head on his arms and drooling on his History of Magic notes.

"Huh?" He blinked as Sirius, James, and Peter all snickered. Binns' class was hard enough to stay awake in on any given day, let alone so soon after the full moon when he was still exhausted, and his mind was still clouded. "Shit, did I miss anything? Will it be on our N.E.W.T.s?" He scrambled to sit up, straightening out his robes and craning his neck to peek at his boyfriend's parchment. "Let me see what you've written." He grabbed the parchment and frowned. There was nothing 'noteworthy' about what the other boy had written at all. Just crudely drawn doodles. Sirius and James' giggling grew louder, and Remus scowled and shoved the parchment back in front of Sirius. "Honestly Padfoot, with all the time you spend up close and personal with that particular male organ, you'd think your art skills would at least reflect as much."

James and Peter both whistled teasingly and Sirius shrugged, leaning back and tilting his chair on its hind legs. "Guess you'll need to refresh my memory, Moony."

Normally Remus would have laughed. He may have even shut his boyfriend up with a carefully placed hand roaming up the other boy's thigh and promise of "later" whispered in his ear. However, now was not the time. Their N.E.W.T exams were just around the corner and Remus needed nearly perfect scores in all of his subjects if he was ever going to stand a chance outside the castle walls. "Pete, let me see your notes." He muttered hurriedly. There was a tap on his shoulder, and he turned, grateful to see Lily smiling at him.

"Here, have mine," She whispered, and he felt his whole body relax as he took the offered scroll from her.

"Thanks, Lily."

It was only early April and already Remus was in full study mode. Any time not spent in classes or sleeping – and even then, Sirius, James, and Peter had to practically drag him up to the dorm to bed – he was in the library with his nose in a book, revising his notes and quizzing himself. He had even managed to convince some Professors to give him extra assignments and allow him to sit in on remedial classes.

"Alight, that's it. Emergency Marauder Meeting." James announced one evening when he walked into the common room and found the werewolf surrounded by what looked like a fortress of books. He picked up one heavy, leather-bound book from one of the piles, his brow furrowing. "Moony… they don't even have a Xylomancy class, what on earth do you need this for?"

Remus frowned indignantly and made a grab for the book, but James held it out of reach. "It's just in case! There could be useful information that I may need on a test–!"

Sirius shook his head. "No one uses Xylomancy, prat. It's a dying art. And I use the term 'art' loosely." He sighed and carefully stepped over a smaller stack of books, bending down and grabbing Remus under his arms to haul him up ignoring his protests. "Remus, love, that's quite enough studying for today. Come on now, Marauder meeting up in the dorm–"

"Sirius, stop!" Remus practically whined, squirming to break free of his boyfriend's grasp. "I have to study! Exams are –"

"A month and a half away, Moony." Sirius said sternly, holding Remus' gaze. Stop.

Remus stopped struggling and stood upright on his own, looking at Sirius, James, and Peter apologetically. "Sorry…" He muttered. "It's just–"

"We know, Moony." James said with an understanding smile. "But cramming like this so early on is going to drive you insane."

Remus chewed on his bottom lip for a moment before he nodded. He knew they were right, of course, but he couldn't help it. Every minute spent not revising, reviewing, or rereading felt like a waste, like he was flushing any possible future down the toilet. Regardless, he allowed himself to be led up the stairs to the dorm room where he sat, cross legged on the edge of his bed while James closed and locked the door behind them.

Before anyone could speak, Remus sighed heavily and raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, I get it, I've gone overboard with the studying. I'll return the books on Xylomancy and ghoul studies–"

"Ghoul Studies?" Peter repeated, raising a questioning eyebrow at Sirius, who just shrugged.

"-and I'll try to cut it down to just two hours a night in the library." Remus continued. "But I don't need an intervention or anything, so–"

James snorted. "This isn't an intervention, Moony. Don't worry."

"Is it not?" Sirius asked, looking disappointed. "I wrote a whole concerned letter, though. Here," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a neatly folded piece of parchment which he then opened and cleared his throat. "My Dearest Moonbeam–"

James rolled his eyes, but he chose to ignore Sirius. "It's not an intervention. I wanted to talk about graduation–"

"It hurts me to see your pretty face buried in those books all day when it could be buried in my–"

"And about the Legacy of the Marauders that we have, admittedly, allowed to fall to the wayside this past year," James went on.

"It makes me feel neglected, my sweet moonpie, that you would rather spend your time studying the anatomy of a grindylow when I have a perfectly lovely anatomy you could study all night long–"

"A prank, then?" Remus said, and he couldn't deny that the idea of planning a good prank made him perk up a bit. Maybe he really was working too hard.

"Exactly, Messer Moony!" James confirmed with a bright grin. "Our time here is almost up and we have to leave our mark."

"–I know your grades are important, my most darling Moonikins, but you must remember that I'm important too, and as much as you need that great big O on your transcript, I need your great big–"

"Sirius that is enough!" Remus scolded, ripping the parchment from his boyfriend's hand.

Sirius pouted. "What? I was going to say I needed your great big heart, Moony! I need your heart to be focused more on me." Remus raised an eyebrow at him, and he smirked. "Alright, and there was something in there about your–"

Peter flicked his wand towards Sirius. "Silencio." He looked back at James. "You were saying?"

James snickered as Sirius threw a rude gesture in Peter's direction. "Good one, Pete. Anyway, so I was thinking that we can't just leave Hogwarts letting people believe that we, The Greatest Pranksters to ever grace these corridors, had somehow reformed and become swotty, well behaved and exemplary–"

"Says the Headboy to the Prefect," Peter mumbled smartly smirking at both James and Remus.

James waved his hand dismissively. "Those titles are unimportant. Forgettable. We," he gestured to the four of them. "Aren't going to be forgotten, lads. We're the Marauders. That's what this school is going to remember." He glanced over at Sirius and rolled his eyes at the silently pleading look on his best friend's face. "For fuck's sake… Finite Incantatem."

Sirius gasped dramatically, as if the silencing charm had been preventing him oxygen. "James Potter, you're a hero!"

Remus snorted. "Arguable."

Sirius ignored his comment. "So, you're saying we should start planning our grand finale?" He surmised, grinning wickedly as the gears in his head began to turn, ideas already rushing in and out of his mind.

"Well, yes." James said. "But not just that. I'm saying we plan a whole bunch of little things leading up to it from now until Graduation. Like once a week, if we can manage."

Sirius beamed at him. "Brilliant."

"Once a week?!" Remus repeated, looking between James and Sirius with a pained expression. "But exams–"

"Remus John Lupin, if you talk about studying during this, our sacred Marauders Meeting, so help me I will let Sirius continue his intervention letter." James threatened, his eyes narrowed and quite serious.

Remus huffed. "I'm only saying that between plotting, preparing, and execution, not to mention the possibility of being caught and getting detention, it's very time consuming and I–" He stopped himself, catching the death glares from all three of his friends and he sighed. "Alright. Fine."

"Excellent!" James exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "Good man, Moony. Way to be a team player. Now, does anyone have any ideas?"

It did feel good, Remus decided as they all sat in a circle on the floor with the map laid out in the middle, laughing and throwing ideas back and forth as they had done so many times over the last seven years, to forget that soon there would be no dorm room, no pranks to pull and no school to pull them on. It felt good to pretend this moment would go on forever with all of them sharing a pile of Honeydukes' sweets and predicting what Snivellus' face would look like when he was covered in red and gold glitter. They could stay like this forever and never join the outside world and the war that would force them to grow up too soon.

And in the morning when red and gold glitter rained down on everyone but the four students sitting with charmed umbrellas coming from the tip of their wands and Lily narrowed her eyes accusingly at them, Remus felt good when he feigned his well-practiced look of innocence, shrugged and said, "Don't look at me, I'm a Prefect."

—-

The following weeks were filled with what they all had to admit was some of The Marauders' best work. They had charmed the main staircase to play musical notes when stepped on, unless it was a Slytherin, in which case they emitted loud fart noises. They charmed the chairs at the teacher's table in the Great Hall to gradually rise and fall at random, which was exceptionally hilarious when Professor Flitwick all but disappeared from view and Slughorn rose so high he nearly toppled over. For Easter, they exchanged the candy eggs that were normally passed around to students for ones that made everyone burp out insults whenever they were called on in class. James, with help from the others, charmed an entire corridor full of lilies that bloomed when Lily Evans walked through but shot out a sticky substance at anyone who used the term 'Mudblood.'

James and Remus had both taken advantage of their posts as Headboy and Prefect, being able to keep a lookout without seeming suspicious, as well as having permitted access to certain parts of the castle while Sirius and Peter executed most of the finer details. Even so, there were just some things that couldn't be avoided even with magical maps and positions of authority.

Occasionally having to run for your life from the caretaker was one of those simply unavoidable things.

"I cannot afford detention! I will bloody kill all of you and make it look like an accident!" Remus hissed as they sprinted around the corner and dove into a small dark alcove that was just barely deep enough to fit the four of them.

Sirius leaned back against the wall, panting heavily. "Shit, I'm out of shape. I haven't run like that in ages…"

"Well, the weather's nicer. We can find a nice stick out by the forest and have a good game of fetch, eh? Get your exercise in." James chuckled.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Har Har. Very funny." He paused. "...Wait, like, you promise? What's the weather tomorrow? I've got a free period-"

"Shh!" Remus' eyes were bright even in the dark and he was glaring threateningly at them. "I'm trying to listen!" They were all silent, straining their ears to see if they could hear Filch's footsteps approaching. "We may have lost him… someone check the map."

Peter fumbled around in his pockets. "Um…" The fumbling became more frantic and James, Sirius, and Remus all turned to stare at Peter, fear starting to rise in all of them.

"Peter…" Sirius said slowly, his voice tense and gritting his teeth. "Where's the map?"

Peter let out a panicked sort of squeak, backing up against the wall. "I…I had it! I had it while were in the Divination classroom transfiguring the crystal balls into balloons! I h-had it on the stairs, I even ch-checked after I almost tripped on the disappearing step! I d-don't–!"

Sirius rounded on him angrily. "Bloody hell, Wormtail! You had one job!"

"Sirius!" Remus snapped. He grabbed Sirius by the arm and pulled him away from Peter. "You're not helping. It's not Peter's fault."

"I-I'll get it back! I'll find it!" Peter insisted quickly despite Sirius' obvious irritation, or perhaps because of it.

"And risk getting caught? Moony will literally eat you during the next full moon, Wormtail!"

Remus frowned. "Okay, that's not what I said…"

James bit his lip, peeking out from behind the wall. "I don't know, Pete. We left the cloak up in the dorm. This was supposed to be a real quick run. If you go out there–"

But Peter shook his head, a tiny knowing smile on his face. "You're forgetting, I don't need the cloak to go unseen, mate." And without another word he transformed and scurried out into the hall.

It wasn't very long after waiting anxiously for Peter's return that a loud, feline MEOW rang through the silent corridor and they watched in frozen terror as tiny little Wormtail, holding the map in his mouth, zipped past the alcove with Mrs. Norris chasing after him.

"Fuck!"

"Peter!"

"Shit! What do we do?"

"I could… chase the cat."

"Siris, NO!"

"Please let me fucking chase the cat. It's all I've ever wanted."

"SIRIUS, NO!"

"Immobulus!" A familiar voice echoed from nearby.

"Shit." James swore. "That's Lily."

—-

In her experience as both a Prefect and Headgirl, as well as just everyday life at Hogwarts, Lily had grown rather accustomed to unusual happening around the castle. It was hard to be taken off guard when your day was full of ghosts drifting through the walls at random, a poltergeist causing general disarray, portraits that stopped you to ask about the weather, and of course the probability of walking right into one of the Marauder's pranks.

So, when Lily heard the screech of a cat from down the corridor and spun around to witness Mrs. Norris' frenzied pursuit of what appeared to be a small rodent, she wouldn't have thought it very odd at all. What made her think twice, and quickly at that, was the fact that the rodent was carrying a rather large bit of parchment in its mouth.

Purely on instinct, Lily raised her wand and pointed it at the animals. "Immobulus!" and it was as if time had been paused completely as both the cat and the rat were frozen, suspended in mid-run. Slowly approaching the pair, Lily knelt down and gave Mrs. Norris a disapproving look.

"Spoilt as you are, you don't need to be torturing the poor little thing. It's not as if you are starving. The castle's big enough for both of you, you know." She glanced down at the rat and sighed. "And you," She shook her head. "I don't know what's so important about this thing, but it would be much easier to escape if you weren't being weighed down by some parchment that's three times your size." She carefully removed said parchment from the rat's mouth and stood up, brushing the dust off her knees before taking another look to inspect it.

Lily frowned, turning it over in her hands and unfolding a few of the flaps. It was very intricately folded for a seemingly blank bit of parchment. Perhaps there was something written in invisible ink? She tapped her wand to it.

"Aparecieum."

As she had expected, black inky letters began to surface across the parchment.

Who it is that wishes to behold our most prized and brilliant – and top secret – possession?

Lily blinked down at the words for a moment, considering. It didn't seem hexed or dangerous, but was it really safe to give her name?

"Er…Lily." She said, deciding she was more curious than apprehensive. "Lily Evans."

There was a long pause in which letters and words seemed to appear and then disappear before they became fully legible. As if the parchment was trying to communicate and then stopping itself before it could. Finally, it settled.

Mr. Prongs presents his utmost compliments to the lovely Miss Evans and would like to add that she looks quite beautiful this fine day.

Mr. Padfoot thinks that Mr. Prongs is thinking with the wrong head and isn't taking into consideration the seriousness of our Greatest Achievement, out Legacy per se, being in the hands of a swot!

Mr. Moony apologizes for both Mr. Prongs and Mr. Padfoot. Really. He is so, so sorry.

Mr. Padfoot begrudgingly apologizes even though it's bloody true, even if the swot happens to be a lovely and kind person.

Mr. Wormtail would like to thank Miss Evans for finding our map, and wonders if she would be so kind as to help return it to its owners?

Mr. Padfoot bets his left nut that Mr. Wormtail was the one to lose it in the first place.

Mr. Prongs wished Mr. Padfoot wouldn't speak like that in front of such a beautiful and wonderful person as Miss Evans.

Mr. Padfoot thinks Mr. Prongs should check to make sure he isn't wearing girls' knickers because he's acting like a bitch.

Mr. Moony is so, so very sorry.

Lily stared, wide eyes and mouth agape as the map argued with itself.

Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs…

"Lily!"

Lily turned at the sound of her name and frowned, folding her arms and narrowing her eyes at her boyfriend who had just sprinted around the corner and come to a skidding stop. She held up the parchment with one hand and saw the look of horror settle on James' face.

"Looking for something?" She quirked an eyebrow at him, then glanced back down at the writing. "...Mr. Prongs?"

James grimaced and took one cautious step forward. "Er…Look, whatever it said to you, it doesn't… heh," he laughed nervously and ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it. "It's just a joke. It doesn't mean–"

Lily tilted her head. "Oh," she said lightly. "Then I'm not looking quite beautiful this fine day?" She smirked as James' face went red. "James, what the hell is this and why did I have to take it from a rat?"

James chewed anxiously on his bottom lip. "Look, Lily, I can explain." He took out his wand, tapping it against the parchment in Lily's hand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Lily couldn't contain the gasp that escaped her as words appeared across the front of it.

Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present: THE MARAUDER'S MAP

It was a map after all. A complete and intricately drawn map of the entire castle with moving staircases and disappearing rooms and tunnels that Lily never knew existed and…

"It…it knows where we are!" She said, completely dumbfounded as she pointed to two small flags that read Lily Evans and James Potter.

James sighed and nodded. "Mischief Managed." He muttered, and it was wiped clean, as if nothing had been there at all. "It knows where everyone is. All the time. And it–" He stopped dead as if he were listening carefully for something and then swore under his breath and dove to the ground, picking up the still immobilized rat and placing the animal in his robe pocket along with the map.

"I've got you rotten, good for nothing miscreants this time!" Filch grumbled as he too came around the corner. Lily quickly flicked her wand at the frozen cat which proceeded to run as if it had never been stopped in the first place and she and James both flinched as the feline collided quite heavily with the wall.

Their attention snapped back to the caretaker. Filch's face split into a triumphant, crooked grin. "Now I've got you!" He chuckled darkly. "I always knew it. You lot could only run and hide for so long, but I knew I'd catch you one day, Potter!"

Lily frowned. "Potter and I are Head boy and girl, Mr. Filch. He hasn't done anything wrong. We're both making our rounds–"

"I don't care if you're the bloody Minister for Magic!" Filch spat, his eyes narrowing. "I've seen you and your sneaky little friends with that parchment, Potter!" James' hand clutched his robes tighter. "I know it's full of magic for your stupid jokes-"

"Argus, what is this?" Came the voice of Professor McGonagall. "Is everything quite alright?"

"I know when you are up to something!" Filch continued at James.

"We've already told Mr. Filch we were on duty," James explained to McGonagall, silently pleading that they really were supposed to be doing their rounds.

"Don't lie to me, Potter!" Filch growled. "I know this is some trick you use in your little games–"

"Argus," McGonagall sighed. "Mr. Potter and Miss Evans are our head students. They are simply patrolling the corridors as instructed."

"But–"

"That is quite enough," she continued. "Now, Argus off you go. It seems your cat could use some assistance."

James and Lily both let out a breath as the caretaker grumbled but took off down the hall. Once he had turned a corner, McGonagall cleared her throat.

"Now, I have no desire to know what you two were doing in the halls when it is indeed not your scheduled rounds, but I suggest you get back to your common room with your friends." Professor McGonagall gave them a knowing look and they quickly thanked her and started back towards Gryffindor Tower.

—-

When James and Lily stepped into the common room, James let out a sigh of relief to find Sirius and Remus, quite preoccupied and attached at the lips, but safely back in the tower as well. He snorted. "Well, it's good to see you weren't worried at all."

The two boys jumped apart, blushing and looking mildly ashamed.

"We were worried." Remus insisted, straightening his shirt out.

Sirius nodded. "Yeah mate. We thought for sure Filch was finally going to chain you up in the dungeons like he always said…" he smirked. "But then I started thinking about being chained up and well… all that excitement had to be let out somehow."

Remus smacked Sirius on the back of the head. "Prat."

Lily's brow furrowed as she looked around the room. "Where's Peter?"

Remus and Sirius exchanged anxious looked.

"He's not with you?" Remus asked, finally seeming appropriately concerned.

James cleared his throat. "Er… that's something we need to talk to you about, Lily. Up in the dorm, maybe…"

The three boys shared a meaningful look, communicating silently between them and then together they all went upstairs to the boys' dormitory.

"Erm… sorry about the mess," James muttered awkwardly, gesturing towards the laundry and empty sweets wrappers thrown around the room. He nodded to one of the beds, which had a poster of the Puddlemere United team hanging above it and Gryffindor quidditch robes flung carelessly on one of the banisters. "Have a seat, Lily."

Lily sat on the edge of James' bed and watched the three boys all climb on to the one next to it, which Lily assumed was Sirius' as it had a Bowie poster hanging above it and the cartons of cigarettes piled on the table beside it. James glanced over at her sheepishly. "Just… umm… give us a second?"

Lily nodded slowly, confused but willing to let them do what they had to do as they quickly closed the curtains around Sirius' bed.

They hadn't bothered with a silencing charm, and she could hear them whispering but she couldn't make out what they were saying except when she briefly heard Sirius' interjection of:

"Look what happened to the Beatles when they let Yoko Ono get too involved, James!"

Remus scoffed. "That isn't even what happened, you git! And it's a totally different situation. Besides, she already knows about… well… me."

There were some more whispers and hissed arguments and then finally they all seemed to come to an agreement and the curtain swung back open.

Sirius was giving Lily a heated, skeptical look. "Alright Evans. You are about to be entrusted with top secret, sacred Marauder information that has been carefully and meticulously guard between only the four of us, which means if anyone else were to find out, we would have no choice but to kill you–"

"Padfoot!"

Lily blinked slowly. "Er… I can keep a secret." She looked at Remus. "I've kept yours."

Remus made an uneasy face. "It's a bit different than mine, you see…. Because if anyone were to find out… well, we could all get in loads of trouble. Legally."

"We?" Sirius snorted, quirking an eyebrow at his boyfriend. "You haven't down anything illegal."

Remus sighed and shook his head. "No, but you lot did it to help me and–"

"It's not like you forced us–"

James cleared his throat and stopped the argument before it happened. "Anyway, like this numpty was trying to say," James continued, throwing a dirty look at Sirius. "Is that it's really, really important that this stays between you and the four of us."

"Which is why I have to ask you first," Sirius said, standing and crossing the small space between the beds so abruptly that Lily jumped and leaned back as he towered over her, his eyes narrowed and his gaze hard. "What exactly are your intentions with my brother?"

"Sirius–" James protested, but Sirius spoke over him.

"No!" He insisted, glaring over his shoulder at James and then looking back at Lily. "It's important, because if this is just some little fling she's having with you, she shouldn't be trusted with our lives! We can obliviate her memory of what she saw tonight, and we can all move on like it didn't happen!"

Lily knew that Sirius meant every word of what he was saying. Sirius could be dramatic, that was a fact everyone knew. He was a ticking time bomb when it came to his emotions and there wasn't a soul inside the walls of Hogwarts who had not witnessed one of Sirius' Blacks infamous fits of unwarranted anger, or been a target of his hostile attitude that seemingly came from nowhere. This wasn't like that. Sirius was serious. He was fiercely protecting his friends – all of them, not just James – and he would go to any lengths to do so.

"I understand, Sirius," Lily said quietly, meeting his eyes and hoping he could sense how much she meant it. She saw him soften just a bit, the muscle in his jaw twitching. "You can trust me. I'm not going to hurt James, I promise, this…this isn't just some fling, I–... whatever this is. I swear to you Sirius, I'll keep this secret just as well as you all do. Just like I keep Remus' as well."

Sirius' eyes flickered and he finally looked away for a second and licked his lips. "You swear?"

Lily caught James' eye over Sirius' shoulder, and she nodded. "I solemnly swear."

Sirius' lips twitched up just a bit and he backed away from her to sit on the bed next to Remus. James reached into his shirt pocket where Lily had completely forgotten he had put the rat from before. It was no longer under Lily's immobilizing spell, and its whiskers were twitching as it looked up at the boy who was holding him. James sighed heavily and placed the rat on the floor.

"Alright, Wormtail. You can change back."

The rat appeared to hesitate, looking up at the three boys on the bed all of whom nodded their approval and then, right before her eyes, the rat shifted into the form of none other than Peter Pettigrew.