The Marauders sat in a study room, but they were not studying. They were just talking.
"I had fun at the game night," Remus stated. "I think it was a huge success!"
"But will it make a difference?" Mary asked.
"I don't think we'll know the answer to that question for a while," Sirius said thoughtfully. "After all, Game Night was just last night, so it will take some time to see what the outcome is."
"That's true," Severus agreed.
"Hey, what did you three do while we were playing chess?" James asked, looking at Regulus, Capella, and Lily.
"Oh, yeah, we were talking about how stupid Sirius and Regulus' parents are," Lily informed James.
"Grandfather would say to use the word foolish, not stupid," Sirius corrected her.
"Stupid, foolish, who cares what word you use?" James asked.
Sirius shrugged. "It's the grown-up way of saying stuff, I suppose," he said.
"And how would you know how grown-ups think?" Alice teased.
"I probably hang out with adults more than people my own age," Sirius tried to explain.
"Now that I think about it, Sirius, you often talk like an adult," Remus stated.
"Oh, you know Siri," Regulus jumped in. "He's the Heir, so he spends a lot of time talking to Grandfather, so Sirius is like a mini adult."
Sirius playfully hit Regulus on the head. "You're one to talk, Reg," he teased him. "You spend a lot of time with Grandmother and Grandfather as well."
Everyone burst out laughing.
"Besides," Regulus added, ignoring his older brother's remarks. "Severus, you are like a mini adult as well."
"I am not!" Severus snapped. He glared at Regulus.
"Sorry," Regulus apologized, looking down. "Didn't mean to…"
Sirius put a hand on Regulus' shoulder. "Severus is not angry with you, Reg. He's just a bit grumpy," Sirius reassured him. Regulus still had some social anxiety due to not being around many children for the majority of his life.
"I am not grumpy," Severus muttered.
"You're not helping!" Capella hissed. Severus glared at her. "Don't listen to him, Regulus. He seems to have woken up on the wrong side of the bed."
Regulus cracked a smile. Severus opened his Potions textbook and started reading the chapter that had been assigned to them for homework.
Lily's eyes lit up. "I know!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Me and Sev used to play hide and seek before we came to Hogwarts whenever one of us was in a bad mood. Let's play hide and seek!"
"Lily, that game is for children," Severus told her, not looking up from his book.
"But we are technically still children! Besides, there are so many places we can hide in Hogwarts!" Lily said, taking the book from him and closing it.
"What's hide and seek?" Regulus asked.
"Yes, what is it?" Sirius asked.
"I've never heard of it either," James said. "What is it?"
"I cannot believe you don't know what that is!" Capella exclaimed. "Is it just a Muggle thing or something? Anyway, we may not be five years old anymore, but everyone has to play it at least once! So, I agree with Lily! Let's play hide and seek!"
"Alright, tell us how to play," Alice said.
"So, one person counts to ten, and everyone else hides. The person counting must then go find everyone," Capella explained. "But since we're in a huge school, we should count to fifty, just to give everyone time to hide."
"And how long do we hide for?" James asked.
"For as long as it takes for the seeker to find you," Lily explained.
"Wait, so can you fly around to look for people?" James asked.
"No James, not a seeker as in Quidditch," Capella said irritably.
"Darn," James muttered.
"Here, I'll be the seeker first," Capella said. "Ready?"
"Yes!" they exclaimed.
"Alright," Capella said. "When I start counting, start hiding. One…"
The Marauders started heading out of the library in search of a place to hide. Severus and Lily saw that everyone was going to try to find a place to hide together.
"You're not supposed to be all in the same place," Severus explained. "You're supposed to hide in different places."
"If you hide in the same place, it will make it too easy for Capella to find you," Lily explained. "Now, hurry!"
Sirius broke from the rest of the group, finding a statue to hide behind.
"Sirius, what are you doing?" a familiar voice asked. It was his grandmother. She walked over to him. "Why are you hiding behind a statue?"
"Shhh!" Sirius shushed her. "We're playing hide and seek," he whispered.
"Hide and seek?" Melania whispered back. "What's that?"
"A Muggle game, apparently," Sirius replied.
Capella came over to him. "Found you!" she exclaimed. "You're not supposed to talk, Sirius. I can find you when you're talking!"
"Well, it's not my fault!" Sirius exclaimed. "Grandmother was the one to ask me what I was doing, and I couldn't just ignore her!"
"Sorry, it was my fault," Melania said. "I didn't realize Sirius was playing a game. So, do you just hide and someone finds you?"
"Basically," Capella confirmed. "Usually, little kids play this game, but since some of the Marauders have never played it, we just had to play it! Every child has to play it at some point in their childhood!"
"Oh, I see," Melania said with a laugh. "Well Sirius, I'll let you get back to your game. Just remember, don't let others distract you from your task. Have fun!" With that, Melania walked away.
"Come on," Capella encouraged. "Let's try again. Lily will be seeker this time."
The rest of the afternoon was spent playing hide and seek. Everyone finally got the hang of it, and everyone had a fun time. By the end of the afternoon, everyone was tired, but happy. Even Severus, who had been in a grumpy mood just a little while ago, was now happy. They would all remember to play this game with any children they encountered in the future.