Friday, 13th April 1973
As the campaign period comes to an end, support for the current Minister for Magic, Eugenia Jenkins, is dwindling. Lord Voldemort looks set to make a sweeping victory across the country. The final rally of his campaign will be held in Diagon Alley on Tuesday 17th April, beginning at 11 am. Arrive early if you want a good spot, as organisers say they anticipate quite a crowd.
Poppy closed the paper with disgust and pulled out her wand to vanish it. While the newspaper disappeared, the sense of foreboding she'd felt reading the article lingered. If that man became Minister for Magic, nothing good would come of it. She huffed out an annoyed breath and checked her watch. Bugger, she was going to be late for the assembly if she didn't get a move on. Grabbing her wand off the desk, she downed the last of her tea and hurried out of the room.
Utilising a couple of shortcuts through secret passageways, she managed to make it to the Great Hall in time and slipped in through the faculty entrance to avoid the groups of second-year students lingering by the doors as they waited to be let in. She was the last to arrive, and she shot Minerva an apologetic look as she took her seat. The Transfiguration professor might be her friend, but she was a stickler for punctuality and got quite annoyed when her timetable was delayed because of someone else's tardiness.
Minerva only nodded in response before striding over to the double doors to allow the students to file in and take seats on the benches facing the stage. The House tables had been removed for the event, considering the small size of the audience, and replaced with three long benches stretching the width of the Hall. It never ceased to amuse her that, despite the removal of anything to segregate Houses, the students still automatically split themselves that way, and this year was no different. The second-year Slytherins all sat at one end of the three benches with the Hufflepuffs beside them. The Ravenclaws took up the next third, and the second-year Gryffindors filled in the space at the other end. But Poppy's eyes lingered on eight of the Gryffindors in particular.
When the four boys had arrived in the Hospital Wing covered in fur that turned out to be impervious to any form of magical removal and then refused to say how it had happened, she hadn't thought much of it. Mysterious magical ailments were something she dealt with on a daily basis, and students were often reluctant to tell her what had caused their problems for fear of reprisal. A little over a week later, Filius had brought the four girls in and asked her to check them over after a precipitation charm had been cast on them. They, too, had refused to name a culprit, but she hadn't linked the two events initially.
It wasn't until the day after Mister Black had awoken from his coma when the four boys had again arrived at the Hospital Wing—this time with a mysterious, but colourful, skin condition—that she'd begun to think something might be happening between the two groups of children. She still wasn't certain, however, but she'd heard about the girls being banned from the library for "loud and unseemly behaviour" the previous week, and the boys had arrived on her ward once again on Monday with some rather amusing alterations having been made to their appearances, so she was fairly sure.
The question was, did the suspected competition between the two groups present sufficient risk to themselves or others for her to waive patient-mediwitch confidentially and report it? So far, none of the magic had been dangerous, just embarrassing or designed to get them into trouble, so she thought not. But then again, it did seem to be escalating rather rapidly. How long might it take for them to go too far? One more incident, she'd decided, and she would have a word with them herself. And that decision had nothing to do with the fact that, by her count, the boys were one attack behind.
She might have a soft spot for them. Just a small one.
Little Remus had been so tiny when he'd arrived at Hogwarts, and his eyes had been so haunted by his suffering, but she'd had the joy of watching him blossom over the past two years, and much of his improvement could be credited to his friends. The three boys had accepted him so completely, not changing their behaviour towards him at all when they found out he was a werewolf, and it warmed her heart every time she heard them call him 'Moony' with their voices full of affection. But having a soft spot for them didn't mean she was waiting because she wanted them to win. She just wanted to be sure before she accused anyone of anything.
Minerva had made her way back to the stage by the time all the children had taken their seats, and she was waiting patiently for them to settle down. With her strict gaze upon them, it didn't take long.
'Welcome to the annual presentation of electives,' she said once all were silent. 'I hope you all remembered to bring your notebooks, as you may want to jot down a few details. The choices you make here will affect the rest of your school careers and potentially your lives thereafter, so please pay attention.
'In addition to your current classes, you have the option to study either two or three new subjects for your OWLs. Later, during your fifth year, you will be asked to choose which subjects you wish to continue studying at NEWT level, at which point there will again be some new options, all of which will be outlined to you today. The NEWT subjects have requirements, and the subjects you study at OWL level as well as the grades you earn in them will determine your acceptance into NEWT classes. For example, if you wish to study Ritual Magic at NEWT level, you will need to earn nothing less than an E in Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Potions, and Astronomy.
'The professors of each new subject have prepared a short presentation to give you an idea of what you might expect from their class, so please do them the courtesy of paying attention. Professor Lightfoot, if you're ready?'
'Thank you, Professor,' Meridia Lightfoot said, rising to her feet as Minerva turned to leave the stage. But Poppy's eyes were still on the Gryffindors and she watched as Mister Black leant in to whisper something to Miss McKinnon. As he moved away, he plucked something off her back and tucked it into his pocket. More than likely, it was a few loose hairs needed for a potion.
While Meridia was giving her presentation on Ancient Runes, Poppy witnessed each of the other three boys collect something from each of the remaining girls. She would definitely have to speak with them when the assembly was over. If they were brewing a potion that required body parts, then she could no longer justify waiting.
Following Meridia, Tabitha Gawkroger gave her (rather dull) presentation on Arithmancy, the study of using numbers to divine potential outcomes. It wasn't a subject Poppy had ever had an interest in and her eyes glazed over during the demonstration of how one might use the subject to choose between two courses of action. She woke back up quickly, though, when Tabitha handed the floor to Tif, the professor of Artismancy.
The young, and rather attractive, wixen strode onto the stage, draped in several layers of sheer fabrics in an array of colours which vaguely resembled robes, and gave a theatrical bow. Poppy noticed several students in the audience perking up, Mister Black among them.
'Good morning, wonderful people. My name is Tif, and I'm here to tell you all about the fabulous subject of Artismancy, the study of using magic in creative endeavours of all kinds. Over the course of our three years together, we will study the use of magic in several areas: The theatre, including costumes and special effects; art, including drawing, painting, sculpture, clothing design, and interior decorating; music, including both singing and the playing of instruments; and lastly, game design.
'As you can see, Artismancy is an extremely varied subject, and if you choose to study it, I expect you to be open-minded and ready to try anything. You'll probably find you have a high skill in one area but are completely hopeless at something else. That's to be expected. Just like with magic, no one can be brilliant at every form of art. That's why the examination is a little different from the usual. Rather than being tested and graded on a range of things covered, the class is asked to stage a play for their final exam. You will have the choice of which roles you perform and will be graded on how well you perform those roles.
'The class is responsible for everything, from writing the script, to costume design, including set design and creation, music, lighting, and props, so everyone will have the opportunity to show off their best skills. The performance will be watched by the faculty, and you may invite your parents and a small number of friends.'
The Artismancy OWL was the highlight of the faculty's year. Last year's cohort had staged a thriller, depicting a grisly murder and the subsequent investigation, and the performance had been flawless. Tif was an excellent teacher, really getting to know their students and helping them find their niche. There were rumours that this year's OWL students were planning some kind of variety show rather than a play. Poppy was looking forward to it.
Silvanus Kettleburn took to the stage after Tif, telling the students about the Care of Magical Creatures class, and then it was Bandy's turn. Poppy gave her a smile as she passed on her way to the stage. She was a tiny lady, not much taller than Filius, with tightly curled grey hair, and she always wore an apron over her robes which she kept her wand in.
'Hello children, my name is Bandobras Brockhouse, but you may call me Professor Brockhouse, or Bandy if you prefer, and I teach the Casamancy class. As many of you probably know, Casamancy is the name given to the branch of spells dedicated to the keeping of the home. It's not the most glamorous or exciting of subjects, but it will be useful no matter what you go on to do with your lives.
'We will cover all the basics, including cooking, cleaning, laundry, and tidying spells, and will touch on interior decorating and home renovations, including fixing things that break. By the time you take your exam at the end of your fifth year, you will know everything you need to know to be able to keep your own home to a very high standard, as well as how to throw a successful dinner party or host Christmas celebrations for your extended family.'
Bandy was followed by the divination professor, Eustacia Beldama, and then the Muggle Studies teacher Hanna Goldworthy. Finally, the last of the OWL professors took the stage to tell the students about the subject of Spell Etymology, a class Etuma Fairbairn told the students sounded dry and tedious but was vital to anyone who wanted a career in medicine or law enforcement. Which segued nicely into the NEWT level classes.
'Pre-med,' Poppy said, taking the stage. 'Is a subject for only the most dedicated of students. It's composed of ninety per cent self-directed study, for which you will be allocated four class periods a week. Once a month, you will meet with me for one hour to discuss your progress, and each month, you will receive a new assignment to be completed over the next month.
'Pre-med is not required to gain an internship with St Mungo's when you leave Hogwarts, but it certainly helps. Both Pre-med and a St Mungo's internship require an O grade in Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Herbology, and Spell Etymology at OWL level. If pre-med is not taken, St Mungo's will require no less than an E in Transfiguration, Charms, Potions and Herbology at NEWT level, however, these are not necessary if one has an O in Pre-med. So, you can see how it would be an advantage.
'I do also offer first aid lessons, on Saturday afternoons, to students in third-year and above. So, if you're interested in learning some basic healing magic, but don't wish to take the subject on as a career, or you just want to get a head-start, you might want to consider coming along.' As she'd expected, three of the four Gryffindor boys looked interested at that announcement. No doubt, Misters Black, Potter, and Pettigrew would be joining her first aid class in September, and they'd probably bring Lupin along too.
There was no shortage of noise when the presentations were over as the students eagerly discussed what subjects they wanted to take next year and three years in the future, but Poppy was only interested in eight of the Gryffindors and she made a beeline for them, reaching them before they had a chance to collect their things and escape.
'You four,' she said, pointing to the boys, 'and you four,' pointing to the girls. 'Come with me.'
They all glanced at each other but obeyed, falling in to step behind her as she swiftly marched through the corridors to the Hospital Wing. She contemplated taking them into her office, but it would be a tight squeeze to fit all of them in the space, so instead, she cast a quick silencing charm on the curtains of the only occupied bed in the room and turned to face the group.
'Would you like to explain why I saw you four,' she indicated the boys, 'taking what I assume to be hair from those four,' she waved her hand towards the girls, 'during the assembly this morning?'
Her question was met with carefully blank expressions, not only from the boys, which was to be expected, but from the girls too, which was decidedly odd. Most people would have some kind of reaction to learning someone had been stealing their hair. Body parts were used in all sorts of potions, but none of them had benign applications.
'Nothing? Alright, perhaps if I tell you what I know, and what I suspect, you'll be more forthcoming. I know that over the past two months, you four,' she waved at the boys, 'have been involved in four incidents of mass magical injury. And you four,' she waved at the girls, 'have been involved in three such incidents. I know that the victims alternate with each incident, and I know that none of you will even so much as suggest who might be responsible.
'All of this leads me to believe that the eight of you are involved in some kind of competition to see who can humiliate or inconvenience the others the most using magical means. Am I close?'
Glances of various types were exchanged amongst the group until, finally, Mister Black shrugged. 'Pretty spot on, actually.'
'Yeah,' Miss McKinnon agreed. 'I'm kind of impressed at how accurate that was.'
Poppy sighed. 'And your plan for the hair?'
'Do we have to tell you?' Mister Potter asked. 'It's just, it was pretty inspired and—'
'Yes, you have to tell me, Mister Potter.'
He groaned dramatically. 'Fine, we were planning to make a pet affection potion linked to them,' he pointed at the girls, 'and put it in the school pet food supply. It would have made all the school pets start following them around everywhere.'
'Quality entertainment,' Mister Black agreed with a grin.
'As entertaining as it may have been, Mister Black, did you consider what might have happened had one of them tripped on these pets at the top of a staircase?' She paused to let that sink in before she continued. 'I'm afraid I cannot allow this competition to continue, and if I suspect you are still participating, I will be forced to inform your Head of House. Do you understand?'
They all nodded, and she dismissed them, retreating to her office for a cup of tea. It was a shame. They were obviously enjoying themselves and learning a lot in the process, but it was too dangerous to allow it to continue. The constant need to one-up each other would eventually drive them to do something risky, even if they believed themselves to be being safe. And she couldn't let them spend the rest of their lives regretting a childish joke that went too far.
'Can't believe we got caught,' James said as they left the Hospital Wing. 'I was watching for McGonagall, but I never even thought about Pomfrey.'
'Is it weird that I feel betrayed?' Sirius asked, falling into step beside him. 'She's always seemed like one of us, but all this time she's been secretly one of them.'
'She never asked questions,' Marlene agreed from behind them. 'Just made you better and sent you on your way.'
Sirius whirled around, continuing to walk backwards as he grinned at Marlene like he'd just had the best idea ever. 'Marls! You'll do Artismancy with me, won't you? I don't want to do it by myself, but none of these wankers will do it with me.'
'Yeah, definitely. My parents are making me do Casamancy,' she said, sounding like she was very much against the idea, 'but they said I can pick what I want for the others. I was thinking Artismancy and Divination sound the most fun.'
'Are you really going to pick your classes based on what's the most fun?' Remus asked, stopping dead at the entrance to the Grand Staircase and staring at her.
'Yeah. Why? What are you basing it on?'
'What I want to do in the future,' Remus replied as he resumed walking. The rest of the group followed him onto the staircase and James had managed, through no small amount of manoeuvring, to position himself next to Evans.
'I want to do Ritual Magic for NEWTs, so I'm going to pick Runes and Arithmancy. And I might do a third one too. I haven't decided yet,' Remus finished.
'I was thinking about going for the pre-med,' Sirius said, catching up to Remus. 'Which means I'd need to take spell etymology. You could do that with me?'
'I don't know,' Remus said, shrugging. 'That sounds like a really heavy class on top of Runes and Arithmancy.'
'That's the three I'm going to do,' Evans said. 'We could help each other.'
'Oh, really, Lils? You're not going to do Casamancy with me?' Marlene asked. 'I don't want to be alone in there. It'll be bad enough as it is.'
'Not a chance,' Lily said, laughing. 'I'll be getting myself a partner that knows how to do all that so I can work. No way am I staying home all day with the kids.'
'Dorcas? Mary?' Marlene pleaded, turning to her other friends, but they both shook their heads.
'I can do all that the Muggle way,' Mary said. 'I want to do Care of Magical Creatures, and I thought Arithmancy sounded interesting.'
'I'm doing Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures,' Dorcas said. 'I decided that three years ago.'
'I'll do Casamancy with you, McKinnon,' James called. 'I'm definitely taking Ancient Runes, but I don't care what else I do.'
Marlene turned her head to grin at him. 'Really? Thanks, Potter.'
'No problem, and call me James, yeah?'
'Only if you call me Marls.'
'Deal.'
'You haven't said what you're doing, Pete,' Mary said. The two were walking together at the back, and James turned his head to look at Peter over his shoulder.
'Oh, probably Care of Magical Creatures and Divination,' Peter said. 'They seem like the easiest. I want to be able to concentrate on my Potions apprenticeship.'
'My dad will be pleased you're taking it so seriously,' James said. 'He keeps telling me how great you are in his letters.'
'Are you only taking two classes then, Potter?' Evans asked, and James looked at her, surprised that she was speaking to him directly.
'Oh, no. Definitely three. I was thinking of doing Muggle Studies or Divination for the third one.'
She raised an eyebrow at him. 'You'd never pass Muggle Studies.'
'What makes you say that? I'm pretty smart, you know?'
'Oh, I know you are,' she said, 'with magic. But you grew up solely in the magical world. Have you ever even met a muggle?'
'Yes,' James said, a little offended. 'We went shopping in muggle London last summer, actually. I've met loads of muggles.'
'And don't forget Andy's wedding. You danced with muggles,' Sirius said.
'Yeah. see?'
Evans shrugged. 'Prove me wrong, then.'
'What do I get if I pass?' James asked, smirking at her.
'The knowledge that you were right.'
James hummed as if considering the suggestion. 'I'd prefer to get to take you out, but I'll accept the bet, anyway. Looks like I'm doing Muggle Studies.'
'You'll never get to take me anywhere,' Evans said.
Already did, James thought, grinning at her, and you enjoyed yourself quite a lot. 'Three years is a long time, Evans. Anything could happen.'
'Not that.'
'Well, there's no need to sound so disgusted by the idea.'
'Ah, you've gone and hurt his feelings,' Sirius said. 'Now we'll have to listen to him whine for an hour.'
'It's not my fault you chose to be friends with him.'
'I'm standing right here, you know?' James said, shooting Sirius his best glare.
'How could we forget?' Evans asked. 'You're not exactly quiet.'
'Don't worry, Sirius,' Marlene said as they finally reached the top of the Grand Staircase and approached the portrait of the Fat Lady. 'While you're listening to James whine about Lily, we'll be listening to Lily complain about James.'
'True,' Dorcas said. Then, louder, 'Periwinkle.'
The Fat Lady peered at them curiously. 'Never seen you lot together before. In you go then,' she commented before swinging open so they could enter the Tower.
They all climbed inside and then stood around awkwardly for a moment before, finally, Sirius waved, 'Alright, then. Bye losers.'
'Wait,' Lily said. 'Are we really stopping, or..?'
'We probably should,' Remus said. 'We won't be able to go to the Hospital Wing for treatment, so…'
'You're probably right,' Lily said with a sigh. 'Well, it was fun while it lasted.'
'Yeah,' Marlene agreed, shaking her head sadly, but then she grinned. 'Same time next year?'
James laughed. 'I like you, Marls. So what are we saying? First of February until the first of April?'
'Sounds good to me,' Marlene said. 'Girls?'
Everyone agreed to the plan, and they went their separate ways. The boys were collecting up their belongings to head to Charms when a now-familiar owl pecked at the window.
To our awesomely-sparkly-and-frequently-embarrassed opponents,
We felt it was only fair to grade your failed attempt before we count up the final score.
For creativity, we give you a ten. Making all the school pets follow us around would have been hilarious. We're a little disappointed you didn't get to carry out your plan.
For skilled use of magic, we award you another ten. We looked up the potion you were planning to make, and it's a tricky one. Although these points should probably go to Peter.
For impact, we award you another ten. Having a crowd of animals following us would have been extremely inconvenient, not least because it would make secret activities impossible.
For execution, however, you get a zero. You got caught. Disappointing. Better luck next time.
So, we believe that puts us at one hundred and two points, and you at ninety. Do you agree?
Your patiently-waiting-to-celebrate competitors.
'I can't believe this,' Sirius said when James finished reading the letter out.
James chuckled. 'They won fair and square. Don't be a sore loser, Twinkles. Anyway, we'll beat them next year. And we have ten whole months to plan.'
'Yeah, but so do they,' Remus pointed out.
There wasn't time to write back straight away. They needed to get to class. But they sent off a reply with Rieka later that evening.
To our patiently-waiting-to-celebrate competitors,
Our record of the running scores matches yours, so you may go ahead and celebrate. Congratulations, and we hope you have a great time.
Now that the competition is over, Sirius would like to know the spell to change the colour of your nails. He says he wants to experiment.
Your disappointed-and-thoroughly-defeated… friends?
The reply came less than five minutes later.
To our disappointed-but-gracious-in-defeat friends,
We'd like to extend an invitation to join us for a joint celebration-commiseration party. Meet us in the common room at two am, and we'll take you to a place we know of that's good for after-hours gatherings. If you're not too scared…
And Marlene would be delighted to teach Sirius how to paint his nails.
Your victorious-but-not-bitchy-about-it friends.
'Shame we have plans tonight,' Sirius said.
James looked up from the letter to frown at him. 'Plans? What plans?'
'Copying the animagus book?' Sirius grabbed James' notebook from his bedside table and flicked through it before turning it around so James could see the page. 'See, right here. Copy animagus book: Easter holidays. The holidays start tonight.'
James fluttered his hands at him in a go-away motion. 'That can wait for one night.'
'Yeah, I know. I was just winding you up.'
'So, we're going then?' Remus asked.
'Of course we're going, Moony. Don't ask stupid questions,' James said absently, his mind already occupied with thoughts about what he would wear. The red silk shirt looked good on him. Maybe with the gold flared trousers? Or was that too much?
A few hours later, it had been decided (by Sirius) that it was definitely too much, and James had been forced to tone it down to the red silk shirt paired with jeans. Everyone was ready, but before they left, James wanted to check something.
'You said Marls knows about you guys,' he said, looking at Sirius and Remus. 'But are we keeping it quiet with the other three, or..?'
Sirius looked at Remus and shrugged. 'I don't mind them knowing. None of them are likely to tell my family.'
'You think they'll be okay with it?' Remus asked.
'Mary will,' Peter said. 'She's got nothing bad to say about anyone, really.'
Sirius nodded. 'Lily will probably be cool, too. She was flirting with Sunshine when she thought he was a girl.'
'Yeah,' James agreed. 'She still doesn't know if Sunshine is a boy or a girl, and it doesn't seem to matter to her.'
'And Dorcas is a pureblood, isn't she?' Sirius asked. 'Meadowes is a wizarding name. So she'll be fine.'
'Guess it's decided, then. There's no need to hide it from them,' Remus said.
Sirius smirked. 'Could have some fun with it, though. Pretend like we're just really affectionate, but get cosier and cosier. See how long it takes them to call us out?'
'Do it!' James said. 'It'll be so funny.'
Remus sighed. 'Fine. Never let it be said that I spoiled the fun.'
Sirius kissed him soundly, and James rolled his eyes. 'We're going to be late, guys.'
'Oh, right? We were going to a party, weren't we?' Sirius said, pulling away from Remus with a smirk. 'Let's go.'
The girls were waiting for them when they reached the common room, each of them carrying a backpack on their shoulders that clinked when they moved, and the boys approached them quietly, whispering greetings when they got close enough to be heard.
'Where are we going?' James asked once they'd all climbed through the portrait hole and ignored the Fat Lady's disapproving comments.
'A secret room we found when we were helping kill those plants the Marauders grew to declare war on us,' Marlene said, walking straight past the entrance to the Grand Staircase. 'Found quite a few hidden places because of those plants.'
James nodded. 'Yeah, so did we. Handy wasn't it?'
'Very.' Marlene smirked at him and she looked so much like Sirius when she did that he had to double-check who he was looking at.
'Where is it?' James asked.
'Third floor,' Evans told him.
'Then why—'
'There's a shortcut just… here.' She stopped in front of a portrait of a man with a severe-looking face who was currently snoozing in his armchair. Evans poked him with the end of her wand. 'Hey, wakey-wakey.'
The man opened one eye and peered at them. 'You again?' he asked, opening the other eye. 'And some extras this time, too.'
'Yes, it's us, Harold. Open the door, would you? We don't have all night.'
The man chuckled. 'As rude as ever. Go on then.'
The portrait swung open, revealing a gaping hole in the floor with a long shiny metal pole in the middle, which was attached to the ceiling. James leaned forward to look, and the pole reached all the way to the ground, which looked to be a long way away. He swallowed and looked at Evans. 'What's the plan here, exactly?'
Evans rolled her eyes. 'Purebloods. Marls had never done it before, either.'
Marlene grinned. 'Don't worry, it's easy. Just wrap your arms and legs around the pole and slide down. I'll show you.'
She did what she'd described and disappeared from view with a quiet whoop. James leant over the hole again and Marlene was at the bottom, waving at him. It seemed safe enough.
'You're telling me you'd done this before?'
Evans rolled her eyes. 'Yeah, muggle kids play on them in parks.'
'Little kids?'
Evans nodded. 'Don't tell me you're scared to do something muggle kids do for fun at five years old.'
'I'm not scared,' James said, peering into the hole again. 'It's just a really long way.'
'I'll go,' Peter said. 'You can use your hands to slow yourself down. I'll show you.'
'You've done this before?'
'Sure,' Peter said, stepping up to the pole with a shrug. 'Dad's a muggle, remember?'
'Right,' James said with a nod as Peter vanished into the hole, quickly followed by Mary. Well, if the two most timid of the group could do it, so could he. How hard could it be?
Stepping up to the edge of the hole, he gripped the pole with both hands. 'Now what?'
Evans giggled. 'Just sort of lean into it, and then lift your legs and wrap them around the pole, quickly.'
'Sure. That sounds easy,' James said, giving her a sideways look before taking a deep breath and jumping off, quickly wrapping his legs around the pole.
James had expected to fall, but he didn't. He just hung there above the (extremely) deep hole, hugging the pole for dear life.
Evans laughed. 'You have to let go a bit or you won't go anywhere. Just don't squeeze so hard.'
Wondering if this was all some elaborate trick, and he was about to fall to his death, James did as instructed, releasing some of the pressure he was gripping the pole with and he slid down a few inches before he squeezed hard again and stopped.
'There you go,' Evans said.
James nodded. 'Yeah, I think I've got the hang of this now. See you at the bottom.'
It took him several stops and starts to make it all the way to the ground, but he made it, and it was surprisingly fun.
'That was brilliant!' Sirius said a minute later when he landed at the bottom. 'Can we go again?'
'Not tonight,' Marlene said. 'We've got other things planned.'
'Sounds exciting,' Sirius said as Dorcas slid down the pole. When she hit the ground, she moved to the side quickly and a moment later, Evans slid into the space she'd vacated.
'Remus decided to take the stairs. He's going to meet us there.'
Sirius laughed. 'I knew he was lying when he said he'd go after me.'
'Does he know where to go?' James asked.
'Yeah, I told him. It's this way,' Evans said, leading them out into the corridor and to the left. The secret room was only a few rooms away, behind another portrait.
'Are you going to be rude to this one, too?' James asked.
'No, this one has a password,' she told him. 'You have to be rude to the one up there. He finds it funny and lets you in. If you're polite, he tells you to bugger off.'
'And you found out he responds well to rudeness, how?'
Evans shrugged. 'The first time he told me to bugger off, I told him to take his wand and shove it up his ass.'
James' shoulders shook under the pressure of suppressing his laughter, and Evans hurriedly opened the door to the room and shoved him inside. 'Quiet, Potter. You'll get us caught.'
'Sorry,' he gasped. 'But, Merlin, that's funny.' Once he'd regained some composure, he wiped his eyes with the ends of his shirt sleeves and looked around. The room was small by Hogwarts' standards, but more than big enough for the eight of them. There were a few desks and chairs littered around and a blackboard hanging on one wall, but otherwise, it was empty.
With seven of them, it didn't take long to move the desks to the side of the room and gather enough chairs in the centre for all of them. With a grin, James pulled out his wand and transfigured the chairs into giant, squishy floor cushions. Red and gold, obviously.
'Nice,' Marlene said, immediately flinging herself down onto one. 'Come, sit with me, Cas.'
Dorcas didn't seem inclined to argue with Marlene's request, joining her without hesitation, and Evans and Mary took seats on either side of them—all of them removing their backpacks and placing them on the floor in front of them. Peter sat next to Mary, and Sirius beside him, leaving James with a choice. Sit next to Evans, or separate Sirius and Remus for the evening. Thankfully, he was saved from making the decision by Remus' timely arrival. He took one look at the configuration of the room and made a beeline for Sirius, providing James with the perfect excuse to take the remaining space beside Evans without it looking intentional.
'So,' Sirius said. 'What's in the bags?'
'Drinks,' Marlene said, grinning. She unzipped the bag and pulled out two bottles of butterbeer, handing one each to Peter and Sirius, before delving back in for another two. Once everyone had a drink in hand, Marlene held her bottle aloft. 'To hard-won victories!'
'And to painful losses,' Sirius said.
'And to many more competitions to come,' Lily added.
'And to new friendships,' James said.
They all drank before breaking into giggles.
'Alright, so what's the plan, then?' James asked.
'I thought we could play truth or dare,' Lily said, smirking at him.
Mary groaned. 'God, do we have to?'
'What's truth or dare?' Sirius asked.
'When it's your turn, you pick a person and ask them truth or dare? If they pick truth, you ask them a question and they have to answer it honestly. If they pick dare, you tell them to do something and they have to do it.'
Remus frowned. 'I'm not sure I want to play.'
'Can we refuse to answer?' James asked. 'Or refuse to do the dare?'
Lily nodded. 'Yeah, but then you have to do a forfeit, and the winner is the person with the least amount of forfeits.'
'What's the forfeit?'
'We'd decide on something beforehand. Ideally, it would be something really boring or uncomfortable, so you'd have to really want to forfeit to take that option.'
James nodded. 'Okay, how about the forfeit is everyone gets to shoot a stinging hex at you.' Remus wouldn't be bothered by that in the slightest, so he'd be able to avoid any awkward questions easily enough.
Evans smiled. 'That sounds perfect. Is everyone alright with the rules?'
Remus nodded along with everyone else, and James mentally patted himself on the back for finding the perfect solution.
'Great, who wants to start?'
'Here,' Marlene said. 'I'll spin my wand on the floor and whoever it lands on gets to start.'
The wand landed on Peter.
'Oh, it's me. Okay. Um, Mary, truth or dare?'
Mary's eyes widened a little, but her voice was strong when she said, 'Truth.'
'Um,' he bit his lip as he thought, and then his eyes lit up. 'What name did your parents call when you were little?'
'Oh my god, Peter,' she cried, shoving him. 'I told you that in confidence!'
Peter laughed. 'It's not that bad.'
She covered her face with her hands and muttered something.
'What was that?' James asked, cupping his ear. 'I couldn't hear you.'
'Ditzy Mitzy,' Mary said. 'Because I was always daydreaming.'
Sirius shrugged. 'Honestly, thought it was going to be worse. My mum called me "you little shit" mostly, so I think it's kind of cute.'
'So, it's your turn now, Mary, ' Evans said. But when everyone's attention had turned to Mary, Evans gave Sirius a sympathetic glance. She was so kind-hearted.
'Alright, Remus, truth or dare?'
'Truth,' Remus said, taking a big swig from his bottle.
'Why didn't you want to play?'
Remus raised his eyebrows. 'Same reason as you, I'm sure. I have things I don't want to share, and I'm scared of what you might make me do. James, truth or dare?'
'Dare,' James said, grinning at Remus.
Remus took a few moments to think before he grinned with a distinctly evil glint in his eyes. 'I dare you to let the girls give you a makeover and then stay like that for the rest of the party.'
Plastering a smile on his face, James shrugged to give the impression that he didn't care, but he did. The girls would make him look ridiculous, and how was he supposed to impress Evans when he looked ridiculous? Remus was an evil genius, and he knew exactly what he was doing.
'Trying to embarrass me? You'll have to do better than that,' he said out loud, accepting the dare and prompting the girls to pull out their wands. James took a swig of his butterbeer, before handing the bottle to Remus and crawling into the centre of the circle. 'Do your worst, ladies.'
And, Merlin, did they take him at his word. Marlene had taken charge of his nails, first lengthening them and then shaping them into what could only be described as talons before colouring them a bright Slytherin green. Dorcas and Mary had worked together on his hair, and he never would have suspected the two quiet girls to be capable of such deviousness. They'd started by growing his hair until it reached just below his shoulders, then they'd styled it into high pigtails and dyed it green to match his nails. His make-up, though, had been Evans' responsibility, and she hadn't held back.
'What exactly is this look called?' James asked, staring at his reflection in the little hand mirror Marls had handed him.
'I call it The Clown,' Evans said, smiling at him.
She'd painted his entire face white apart from his nose and the outline of a smile around his mouth, which were both red, and she'd added a bright green star around each of his eyes. 'I don't get it?'
'It's a muggle thing,' Peter said. 'Clowns are children's entertainers.'
'Oh.' James grinned and handed the mirror back to Marls. 'Cool. I guess it's my turn, then?'
'It is,' Evans said, not meeting his eyes as she tucked her wand away. She was clearly nervous he was going to pick her.
'I pick…' James started, drawing it out as he retook his place in the circle. 'Hmm. Let's see. I think I'll pick… Dorcas. Truth or dare?'
Dorcas looked startled, and out of the corner of his eye, James saw Evans relax.
'Um, truth, I think.'
James looked her over. She was sitting with her legs crossed and her back straight with her hands in her lap, completely motionless but for the thumb of her left hand, which was vigorously rubbing the back of her right hand. Anxious. Really anxious. She didn't want to play this game, but for some reason, hadn't felt able to refuse.
'Alright, let's see…' He didn't want to make this hard on her, but he didn't want it to be obvious that he was going easy on her, either. That would be embarrassing in itself. Maybe if he made the question less about her? He smiled. 'Name the thing you dislike the most about each person here.'
It would be hard to say bad things about her friends, but at the same time, it seemed like communication might be something she struggled with, so really, he was doing her a favour by giving her the opportunity to say things she might otherwise keep bottled up.
Her posture relaxed a little, and she took a deep breath. 'Alright, I'll start with you. I don't like how loud you get when you're excited. It hurts my ears.'
James nodded. 'Not the first time I've heard that complaint. I honestly don't realise how loud I'm being, so feel free to tell me to shut the fuck up, yeah? Remus does it all the time.'
She smiled. 'I'll do that. Sirius,' she paused, thinking, then, 'am I allowed to use the same one twice?'
'I don't see why not,' James said, shrugging.
'Cool, same thing, then. You're too loud sometimes.'
'Noted,' Sirius said. 'I'll try to keep it down when you're in the room. But you can tell me to shut the fuck up, too. I won't mind.'
'Remus… God, this is hard. I don't know you very well, but you seemed nice when we were skating, and you didn't do anything that annoyed me. I can't think of anything. I suppose it's kind of annoying that you always have the answers in class, but not really.'
Remus smiled. 'Well, thank you, Dorcas. I don't find you annoying, either.'
'And Peter… You're just as hard. You're quiet, and you're always nice to Mary… I guess sometimes you smell of potions, but really, it doesn't bother me that much.'
Peter nodded. 'Yeah… sorry about that.'
'Like I said, it doesn't bother me that much, but I have to say something, don't I? Alright, Mary, it annoys me that you give in when you disagree with someone. You need to stand up for yourself more.'
Mary laughed. 'Yeah, that's fair.'
'Lily, I don't like how stubborn you can be when you think you're right. I don't think you even hear what the other person is saying sometimes.'
Lily wrinkled her nose. 'Okay, that hurts, but I'll try to work on it.' She smiled at Dorcas. 'Thanks for telling me.'
'Marlene.' Dorcas paused for a moment, then, 'You seriously need to stop taking food off my plate without asking.'
'Really?' Marlene said, looking at her with wide eyes. 'Shit, I'm sorry, Cas. I thought you were just pretending to be mad.'
'I wasn't. It really upsets me.'
'Alright, I'm sorry. I won't do it again.'
Dorcas let out a heavy breath. 'Am I done?'
'Yeah,' James said. 'It's your turn.'
'Sirius, truth or dare?'
Sirius grinned and sat up straight, rubbing his hands together. 'Dare. Do your worst, Cas.'
Dorcas grinned right back at him. 'I dare you to shave your head, and leave it that way for twenty-four hours.'
Sirius gasped. 'What the fuck, Cas?'
She shrugged. 'Just trying to win. Gotta get rid of the competition.'
'Ruthless,' he said, shaking his head in disbelief. 'Nope, I'm not doing it. I'll take the forfeit.'
Perhaps going easy on Dorcas had been the wrong move, James thought as he watched Sirius wince as he was hit with seven separate Stinging hexes.
'Ow,' Sirius said, laughing lightly. 'Okay, Lily. This game was your idea, and so far, you've got away without taking part. So, truth or dare?'
'Dare,' Evans said, raising her chin and meeting his eyes. Merlin, she was beautiful. If he just shifted a little closer, their knees would be touching.
'Dare you to kiss James.'
James' head jerked up at Sirius' words. 'What? No. That's not cool, Sirius.'
'Why not?'
'It's just not, okay? You can't force someone to kiss someone else.'
'She can say no,' Sirius said, waving his hand at Evans. 'Take the forfeit.'
'That's not the point.' James sighed and tried to run his hand through his hair, but he couldn't because of the pigtails, so he let it drop back into his lap. 'Just pick another dare, okay?'
'Fine,' Sirius said. 'You just made it a million times harder, though. The only thing I know about Lily is she hates you.'
'I wouldn't say hate,' Evans said. She glanced at Dorcas before looking back at Sirius. 'I've been told I can be too stubborn when I think I'm right about something, and he might be growing on me.'
'Really?' James asked, smiling at her.
She laughed. 'Yeah, but right now, you look ridiculous.'
That just made James smile wider, and he shook his head to make his pigtails bounce around. 'If it makes you laugh, it's worth it.'
'I've thought of one,' Sirius said. 'I dare you to break into the library and bring back a book from the Restricted Section.'
Evans rolled her eyes. 'Easy. Back in a bit.'
'So,' Marlene said when the door closed behind her. 'What are we going to do while we're waiting?'
'Take a nap?' Remus suggested.
'I was thinking more along the lines of booby-trapping Lily's cushion,' Marlene said. 'But I like the way you think.'
'Booby trap it with what?' James asked.
'That bogey hex thing you did to the whole school was pretty funny.'
'Accidentally did to the whole school,' James said. 'Accidentally.'
'Whatever. Can you cast it on her cushion?'
'Yeah.' James pulled his wand out and performed the spell.
Marlene grinned. 'I think we're going to be very good friends, James.'
Evans returned several minutes later, with a book from the Restricted Section as instructed. James took it and tucked it into his bag. 'We'll put this back for you.'
'Oh, yeah? Got business in the Restricted Section, have you?' Evans asked.
'Maybe,' James said. 'Maybe not. It's your turn. Who are you going to pick?'
She opened her mouth as she took her seat, but instead of a name, all that came out was a groan. And she screwed her face up as a giant bogey crawled out of her nose, flying into the air once it was free.
'Really?' she asked, before vanquishing the bogey and performing the counter spell on herself.
'It was Marls' idea,' James said, putting his hands up in defence.
'Wow,' Marlene said. 'Some partner in crime you are. I'm switching back to Sirius. He doesn't tell on me.'
'Well, that makes it easier for me to choose,' Evans said. 'Marlene, truth or dare?'
'Truth,' Marlene said. 'I'm not stupid enough to pick dare with you.'
Lily smirked. 'You might regret that. What's the real reason Sirius dumped you?'
Marlene's already pale skin lightened further, and she glanced at Sirius before returning her gaze to Evans. 'I guess I'm going to have to forfeit.'
'It's alright, Marls,' Sirius said. 'You can answer.'
'You sure?'
'Yeah. All of it. It's fine.'
She nodded and turned back to Evans. 'He dumped me because he's gay and the guy he fancied agreed to go out with him.'
'Oh my god,' Lily said. 'Really? Who is it? Are you still together? I've never seen you with anyone else.'
'It's me,' Remus said. 'And yes, we're still together.'
'No!' she gasped. 'Remus Lupin! I can't believe you didn't tell me!'
'To be fair,' James said. 'They've been together since Christmas, and they only told me and Pete a few weeks ago.'
'Why? Were you worried they'd be weird about it?'
Sirius shook his head. 'No, we knew they'd be cool. We just wanted to see how long it would take them to notice, but we gave up in the end. I mean, at one point, I literally pinned Remus to the bed and kissed him all over his face, and James just shrugged and jumped on my back.'
'Sirius!' Remus hissed, blushing furiously and hiding his face behind his hands.
'What?' Sirius asked. 'It's not like I told them about the time we were snogging and James came back from Quidditch practise early because he fell off his broom.'
'Sirius!' Remus and James both yelled in unison.
'Oops,' Sirius said, grinning widely.
'Wait,' Evans said. 'You walked in on them snogging and you still didn't catch on?'
'They heard us coming,' James said, grateful she decided to focus on that part and not on him falling off his broom one time. 'Sirius was on his way back to his own bed when I walked in. I thought they'd been fighting again.'
'To be fair to us,' Peter said. 'They were always cuddling and stuff before they got together, so nothing seemed that strange.'
'Well, I think it's great, and I'm really happy for you,' Mary said, looking at Sirius and Remus. 'Are you keeping it quiet for a reason?'
'Yeah,' Sirius said. 'My family would not be okay with it. So please, don't tell anyone.'
'Of course,' Mary said.
'I won't tell anyone,' Evans said.
'Me neither,' Dorcas agreed.
Sirius smiled. 'Thanks.'
Tuesday 17th April, 10:58 am
Albus tapped his wand against the correct brick and waited as the archway formed in the dirty brick wall before stepping through into Diagon Alley. The street was quiet, almost empty of shoppers, but despite the lack of people, the distant sound of an excited crowd drifted to his ears on the breeze.
Tugging on the edges of his cloak's hood to ensure his face was concealed, he made his way towards the noise, finding the crowd at the far end of the Alley, congregated at the base of Gringotts' steps. A podium had been mounted at the top of the stairs and the assembled people stared up at it, waiting, their faces eager. They were going to get more of a spectacle than they'd bargained for that morning.
Taking up a position to the left of the crowd, in the shadow cast by the Magical Menagerie, Albus scanned the area for his associates. The Prewett twins were at the front of the crowd, their fiery red hair was unmistakable, and he spotted Dearborn on the other side from himself, the man's height making it possible for them to make eye contact despite the number of people between them. Dearborn offered him the smallest of nods before turning his attention back to the stage, and satisfied that everyone was in place, Albus did the same.
They didn't have to wait long for Riddle to appear, apparating into place behind the podium in a flashy display of magic. The crowd almost deafened him in response, and Albus had to fight the urge to cover his ears. Instead, he joined in with the applause to blend in, though he refrained from cheering his old student. That was a step too far, even for the sake of subterfuge.
Riddle's speech was as tedious and deceitful as all the others Albus had attended during the run-up to the election, and he allowed his mind to drift as he waited for it to end. Finally, when Albus had reached the point of leaning back against the Menagerie's window to ease the strain on his leg muscles, Riddle finally brought his speech to an end and opened the floor to questions from the audience.
'We have a question, don't we, Fab?' Gideon Prewett said, his voice magically amplified to be heard over the noise of the crowd.
'That we do, Gid. That we do. Our question is this…' Fabian said.
Then, in unison, they continued. '… What on earth happened to your face?'
That was his cue, and Dumbledore raised his wand slightly—the one he'd won from Grindelwald all those years ago—keeping it hidden by the sleeves of his robes. Pointing it at Riddle as the man stared at the Prewett twins with confusion, he directed his magic to flow down his arm and into the elder wood as he whispered the incantation. Despite considerable research, they hadn't been able to find a way to achieve their goal without creating visible effects that would pinpoint the origin of their spells, so they would need to move fast if they didn't want Riddle to know who they were.
Two streams of silver light, coming from opposite sides of the crowd, merged in mid-air, combining their strength, before reaching their target a second later. Gasps of surprise rang out from the crowd as Riddle was engulfed in a cloud of silver, which rapidly darkened to black before dissipating, leaving Riddle standing on the stage, looking exactly as he had before apart from his face. The gasps of surprise turned to ones of horror and disgust, and whispers swept through the crowd as Albus turned on his heel, disappearing.
Their job was complete. Now it was up to the people to take the evidence they'd revealed and make the right choice.
Tuesday, 17th April 8:00 pm
The day of the full moon had been tough on Remus. With their new friendship with the girls, and Lily so intent on working out who the werewolf was, it wasn't possible for him to spend it hiding in bed, wrapped in Sirius' arms. It was the holidays. There was no schoolwork to do, and as far as the girls knew, there was no reason for them to stay in their dorm all day.
Thankfully, since they knew about his relationship with Sirius, he could get away with cuddling up to him without it seeming strange. So while he was forced to spend most of the day in the torture of the noisy common room, pretending to be fine, he at least had the comfort of Sirius' scent to ease the pain.
As the time ticked on, and they were still trapped in the common room, Remus began thinking of excuses to retreat to the dorm. He'd have to use James' cloak to sneak out. It would make it harder for the others to come and join him later, but they'd manage. There was that hidden staircase that led all the way outside. Peter probably remembered where it was.
'Right,' Lily said, stretching. 'Think I'm going to go to bed.'
Marlene looked at her watch. 'It's only eight o'clock.'
'I wouldn't mind an early night, actually. You don't mind, do you?' Peter asked, looking at Mary.
'No, an early night sounds nice, actually.'
'I could sleep,' Dorcas said. 'It's been a long day.'
'Well, fine, if you're all going,' Marlene said. 'I've got a book I've been wanting to read.'
Goodnights were exchanged, and a few minutes later, their way was clear.
'Well, that was easier than I thought it was going to be,' James commented.
'Too easy,' Remus said. 'She's up to something.'
'Let's go, quick,' Sirius said.
'Follow me,' Remus agreed.
He led them to where he remembered the staircase to have been, but there was nothing opposite the tapestry of the troll ballerinas but a blank stretch of wall.
'That's weird,' Remus said, frowning. 'I swear there was a door here before.'
'Guess it's hidden in some way,' Sirius said. 'We don't have time to try to figure it out now. We'll have to go another way.'
They took the slide to the ground floor in the end—much to Remus' dismay; he really hated that slide—and used James' cloak to hide them as they crossed the grounds to the Whomping Willow, using a levitated branch to freeze it so they could enter the tunnel.
'I don't think we were followed,' James said once they were safely inside and the tree had resumed its normal activity.
'Me neither,' Sirius said.
'Do you really think she suspects us?' Peter asked.
'I don't know,' Remus said. 'I didn't notice her looking at me funny today or anything. It's just weird how she was so eager to go to bed tonight.'
Peter shrugged. 'Maybe she's just planning to get up early to watch the Hospital Wing again.'
'Won't do her any good,' James said with a chuckle. 'We've got a shiny new secret passage courtesy of McGonagall.'
They rounded the last bend of the passage and paused. 'Talking of presents from Minnie,' Sirius said. 'Isn't she a sweetheart?'
In a pile at the end of the passage, three red beanbags sat in a row, looking completely out-of-place but extremely comfortable.
'You seem sure it was her,' Remus said. 'Might have been Pomfrey.'
'They're Gryffindor red, though,' James pointed out.
'I told McGonagall that red was James' favourite colour,' Peter said.
'Whoever it was,' Sirius said, grinning. 'I'm very grateful to them.'
'I'm glad you'll all be comfortable tonight,' Remus said, checking his watch. 'I need to go.'
Sirius immediately stopped admiring the new seating to give Remus his full attention, pulling him into a hug. 'I'll see you in the morning,' he murmured into his ear. 'It's going to be a good night. Moony's got his ball to play with and we're not going anywhere, okay?' He pulled back and waited for Remus to nod before kissing him softly.
The wolf awoke and opened his eyes, looking around. The fire had stopped burning, and he climbed to his feet, trotting over to inspect it, but something stopped him from getting close enough to properly investigate. Giving up, he turned his attention to the shape on the floor.
His ears pricked up, and his tail started to wag from side to side. They were all there. The Fighter was back, and The Watcher and The Protected were there too. He threw back his head and howled out his happiness, listening for his packmates to answer. When they did, he barked with joy and ran around the space, up the slope and back down again.
After making a few circuits, he spotted the creature he'd spent so much time playing with the day before, and he pounced on it, delighting in the chase. His packmates kept making noises, and he returned to them often, not wanting them to feel left out, but they seemed content enough for him to play with the other creature.
Suddenly, he stopped. There was another presence nearby, and not the same one he'd felt before. That one had felt caring and protective, and not at all afraid. This one felt curious, but also nervous. It wasn't a packmate. His packmates weren't afraid of anything, but he barked anyway, seeing if it would answer.
There was no response, so the wolf moved closer to it, through the opening and into the other space. It was on the other side of the wall, and he barked again several times, and when there was still no response, he tried howling. But the creature didn't answer. It wasn't a new friend after all, and deciding to ignore it, he went back to chasing the creature that did want to play.
It was a little while later that he felt more creatures nearby. These felt different, though. Dangerous. The wolf flattened his ears back against his head and moved into a crouch, growling in the direction the feeling was coming from. He would protect his pack from the threat if it was the last thing he did.
Tuesday, 17th April, 10:15 pm
Lily was getting impatient waiting for Marlene to stop reading about her latest obsession and go to sleep. The full moon had risen over an hour ago, and she was desperate to find out if her theory about the werewolf transforming in the so-called Shrieking Shack was correct. Because, if it was, that brought her one step closer to working out who Sunshine was.
She breathed a sigh of relief when Marlene finally put her book down, padding to the bathroom for one last visit before disappearing behind her bed curtains for the night. It was another half an hour before her breathing evened out and Lily was able to sneak out of the dorm room.
The castle was creepy at night, but that was nothing compared to the passage behind Gregory the Smarmy. She'd never travelled through it alone before, especially not at night, and she hugged herself in an attempt to calm her racing heart. It was just darkness. There was nothing to be afraid of, and she needed to get it together. If she couldn't handle the darkness of a perfectly safe secret passageway, then how was she going to cross the village, which was arguably far more dangerous?
'Stop being a coward,' she whispered. 'There's nothing to be scared of.'
It didn't really help. Her heart was still pounding in her chest and her wand felt slippery in her sweaty hand, but the sound of her own voice was comforting.
There was no one to help her pick the greenery from her hair after she pushed her way through the bushes blocking the end of the passage, so she left it. It wasn't like she was planning to talk to anyone and there would be plenty of time for grooming while she waited for the moon to set. Right then, she needed to get to the Shrieking Shack. And it didn't look like it would be hard. The village was quiet. Most of the residents worked in the shops there and would have early starts the following day, so she wasn't surprised to find the place practically deserted at—she checked her watch—ten past midnight. The only building that still had lights on was the Three Broomsticks and she passed it quickly, keeping to the shadows as much as possible.
She was in luck. No one exited the pub while she was passing and the rest of the journey passed without incident. She paused at the fence surrounding the 'haunted' house and eyed the building for a moment. It wasn't much to look at, reminding her of many of the houses around where she lived—desperately in need of repairs. All the windows were boarded up, but she doubted that was the only thing stopping anyone from getting in. Or out.
A loud bang sounded from the building, making her jump, and she grinned. There was definitely something in there, and she'd never met a ghost capable of banging anything. A poltergeist could, but they didn't hang out in empty buildings, and ghouls preferred inhabited places, too. It could just be a harmless animal that had found its way in but couldn't get out, of course, but Lily didn't think so.
As she climbed over the fence, a series of barks came from inside, followed by a howl a few moments later, and her grin widened. There was no doubt left in her mind; she had definitely found the werewolf. All that was left to do was wait until morning, and see who Madam Pomfrey retrieved. Once she knew who the werewolf was, it should be a simple matter to work out which of their friends was Sunshine.
Rounding the building so she'd be out of sight of the street, she found herself a comfortable place to sit—a little away from the house, leaning back against the fence—and settled in for a long wait. The moon wouldn't set for another five and a half hours.
She'd finished picking the leaves from her hair and beginning to doze off from boredom when she was startled awake by a series of deafening bangs coming from the front of the building.
Wednesday 18th April, 2:13 am
As full moons went, the night was going well. Moony seemed content to play with the ball Sirius had given him—he was feeling more than a little smug about it—and he could be heard running around the small space, barking, and occasionally banging into walls as he chased it. On top of Moony's apparent happiness, the beanbags were extremely comfortable. So much so that they all had to keep getting up and moving around to keep themselves awake.
'You think he's ever going to settle down?' James asked, punctuating his question with a yawn. 'Or are we going to be awake all night?'
They'd put their school work away a few hours ago, fatigue making it impossible for any of them to focus, and had been taking it turns to read aloud from their current book—a muggle detective story (they had bets or who the murderer was).
'It's not looking likely,' Peter said. He'd stopped reading to look up when James had spoken. 'Only a few hours left until moonset.'
Sirius shrugged. 'At least it's the holidays. We can sleep all day if we want.'
'That's true,' James said, grinning. But his smile dropped from his face, and his eyes widened when a thunderous bang sounded from above. 'Was that Moony?'
But the sudden, alien fear filling Sirius' chest suggested otherwise. 'I don't think so. Moony's scared.'
Another bang followed by a third had them standing up and pulling out their wands. Not that there was anything they could actually do, but it seemed appropriate.
'Is someone trying to get into the Shack?' Peter whispered. 'Moony will kill them.'
'They won't get in,' Sirius said. 'Surely?'
There was another bang, and then a deep growl followed a few seconds later by a shrill scream.
'Shit,' Sirius said. 'We have to do something.'
'What can we do?' Peter asked. 'He'll just attack us, too.'
'Maybe not,' James said. 'He knows us.'
They all stared at each other for a moment, but the fear in Sirius' mind was forcing him to act just as insistently as hearing Remus' words did. He stepped closer to the ladder and pointed his wand at the trapdoor. 'Alohomora.'
'What are you doing?' Peter asked, backing away.
'I'll just push it open a little and see if he's there.' With his back to the ladder, Sirius climbed onto the bottom rung and reached up, pushing the heavy door open an inch and peeking through the gap. What he saw sent a chill down his spine. 'The door's been blasted open. He's gone.'
'Shit,' James said.
Sirius pushed the trapdoor open all the way and climbed up. Just beyond the open front door, lying on the ground, there was a body. 'We need to find him.'
James climbed up beside him and chewed his lip as he stared at the prone figure in the doorway. 'He's going to hate himself.'
'We should go and tell Dumbledore,' Peter said, joining them in the Shack. 'We can't control a werewolf.'
Sirius walked over to the body and crouched down beside it. The man, who had a white mask covering his face, was lying on his back, bleeding from his arm and stomach, but Sirius could see his chest rising and falling. 'He's still alive.'
'Thank Merlin,' James said, joining him and looking down at the mauled wizard. 'What's with the mask?'
'I don't know,' Sirius said, gazing out the door into the darkness, straining his ears for anything that could be a wolf experiencing freedom for the first time. All was silent until, in the distance, shouted voices and a high-pitched whine. 'Moony's in trouble,' Sirius said, stepping over the injured man and out into Hogsmeade, following the sounds.
'Wait, I'll come with you,' James said. 'Maybe we can use the spells from our booby trap to contain him.'
They only got as far as the garden gate, Peter reluctantly following them, before James' attention was drawn in the opposite direction to the sounds. 'What's going on in the village? Look.'
He pointed down the path, and Sirius followed the direction of his finger. Huddled together on the street was a small group of adults, and one much shorter person whose bright red hair was illuminated like a beacon in the moonlight.
'Is that Evans?' James asked.
'It looks like they're being guarded,' Sirius said. 'Look, those two are wearing masks like the guy back there. And they've got their wands out.'
'They've all got their hands behind their backs,' Peter said. 'I think they've been tied up.'
Another whine from Moony had Sirius turning away. 'We need to help, Remus,' he said.
'We need to help, Evans,' James said. 'And whoever else is down there. Moony can take care of himself.'
'Yeah, and then he'll be executed tomorrow,' Sirius said. 'Fuck sake, James. Whatever is going on down there, I doubt they're going to kill anyone.'
James stared at him for a moment, looking torn. 'What about if we split up? You go help Moony, I'll see what's going on down there with the Cloak. Pete, you go tell Dumbledore what's happening.'
Peter nodded, turning back to the Shack, and James followed him to fetch the cloak.
'Alright,' Sirius said. 'See you later.' Gripping his wand tightly, he followed the sounds of the fight happening some distance away, and it was a few minutes before he found them. Moony was surrounded by four people, all taking it in turns to fire spells at him. Crouching in the middle of the circle with his ears flat against his head and his tail between his legs, Moony looked terrified.
Rage filled Sirius as the scum torturing his boyfriend laughed at his pain while they continued firing spells at him.
'Stunners aren't working,' One of them said. 'I wonder if it can withstand the Cruciatus Curse.'
A second one laughed. 'Try it.'
Sirius' heartbeat pounded in his ears as he lifted his wand. 'Stupefy. Stupefy. Stupefy. Stupefy.' All four of the attackers dropped to the floor in turn, starting with the one that had threatened to use an Unforgivable, and Moony blinked in surprise before turning his attention to the only other human in the vicinity.
Sirius swallowed as he stared into his boyfriend's golden eyes, wondering if he'd just made the biggest mistake of his life. And the last.
'Hey, Moony,' he said, lowering his wand and attempting to sound friendly despite his fear. 'It's alright. You're safe now.'