#peter was always described as trailing after james and sirius

[theicarusconstellation]

i’m just gonna come out and say it: i. love. unrequited prongstail.

[loonyloopylupin96]

omg guys did Ron take his rat to Hogsmeade that time?

did Peter - poor 'omg killed by his friend' peter - actually hear McGonagall just describe him as a little lump of a boy always trailing after Sirius and James?

i can't

[omgrachwrites]

The Princess and The Duke - Chapter Eighteen

Pairing: Sirius Black x Reader

Summary: As the Princess of Spain, you were always supposed to marry King James of England to make an alliance between Spain and England. When he marries a woman at his court for love, you are married off to his best friend, Sirius Black the Duke of Bedford to keep the alliance. However, the court is riddled with secrets and a rebel in the North starts to rise against the Throne. Royal AU.

Warnings: fluff, angst, The Potters being adorable

Words: 2370

A/N: Sorry this is late guys, I’m back full time in work so updates may be a little funky! There’s only gonna be two parts and maybe an epilogue, after this one?? Thank you guys for all your support, it means the world to me! Hope you guys enjoy this one and please let me know what you think, let me know if you would like to be tagged! I love you all! xxx

Part Eighteen - Fighting Fire With Fire

Today was a strange day, it was like a blast from your past but you vaguely wondered how things had gotten this bad in a mere three years, everyone was now fighting for their lives. You and Sirius were about to leave for the council chamber so you could try and work out just who the traitor among you was.

One of your favourite memories was when Sirius had suggested that you should be at the private council meeting when you first arrived at English court. But now, your entire body felt cold with dread. You looked at your children who were still sleeping and you were glad that they were both blissfully unaware of the dangers.

Warm strong arms wrapped around your waist and you smiled as you leaned back into your husband’s firm chest. You giggled lightly as he pressed his lips to the back of your neck, “are you alright, nearly ready to go?” he asked, whispering against your skin.

You sighed as you tilted your head so you could press a kiss to his stubbled cheek, “I know this council meeting is a necessity but the traitor could be one of our friends,” you couldn’t believe that someone that you had trusted with your children could really be the traitor, “I just wish that Voldemort was actually dead but he’s a sorcerer, it’s not really a surprise that he had a trick up his sleeve.”

Sirius nodded, “I know, it’s awful,” he hesitated, “you know that I’m not the traitor, don’t you? I would never do anything to hurt us or our friends,” his voice broke slightly and your heart melted at his tone.

You turned around so you were facing him and took his cheeks in your hands, “oh, darling, I know, I know that you’re not the traitor. You would give your life for any one of us, I love you.”

Sirius smiled and kissed you gently, twirling his fingers through your locks, “I love you too, so much. We should probably go,” he sighed and tugged at your hand gently.

With one last look at Andromeda and your children, you followed Sirius out of your chambers. The birds were chirping and the cheerfully but it didn’t warm you or soften your heart like it usually did. In fact, it left you filled with coldness and longing. How could the birds be singing so beautifully? How could the sun be shining so brightly on a day when you had to figure out which of your friends was unfaithful?

The atmosphere was tense and heavy as you and Sirius walked into the council chamber and sat down. Lily smiled warmly at you as she rocked Harry in her arms. James turned away from the window that he was sadly gazing out of and he wandered over to sit at the head of the table. He sighed heavily as he folded his fingers on the table, leaning back in his chair, looking at those that he called friends.

You felt so sorry for him; to carry this great responsibility must be a huge burden. You felt eternally grateful that you hadn’t had to marry James after all and become Queen. In these troubled times, you would have made a poor Queen. Lily was the perfect Queen for an unsettled England with her grace and composure.

“You all know why you’re here, there’s a traitor among us and they’re in this room, now I can’t believe that any of you would betray me and my family. But, there is no other explanation if Voldemort knows about the contents of the prophecy. If you speak up now, I will grant you mercy which will be more than you deserve,” he cleared his throat and sat back again, looking at those who were supposed to be his best friends.

Remus and Sirius looked down at the table, trying to blink back tears; Peter on the other hand, was staring straight ahead at the opposite wall with a blank look on his face. You thought it was odd and out of character. No one said anything and you bit your lip, feeling nervous. You had already told James about the man who was lurking outside the door but he had dismissed it.

Swallowing back your nerves, you glanced up at James who was on the verge of tears as a mixture of anger and hurt flickered across his young face, “Your Majesty,” you started, your voice sounded too loud in the deathly quiet room.

“Y/N,” Sirius mumbled in a warning tone but you ignored him.

James gave you such a sharp look that made you shrink back in your seat, he was no longer the carefree benevolent ruler, he had been forced into growing up and it was so sad, “yes, do you have something to say?”

His tone of voice made your anger flare up, yes you did have something to say, and he couldn’t dismiss it again. You clenched your teeth to stop yourself from saying something that you would regret, “yes, Your Majesty. I made you both aware that I spied a man outside of the room when we all heard the prophecy, but my worries were dismissed,” you smiled weakly at him to soften the blow of your harsh words.

James shook his head as Sirius tensed, out of the corner of your eye you saw Sirius shoot you a worried look but you kept quiet as you stared at the King, “we’ve discussed this already, there was no way that your mystery man could have heard us!” his voice was hard as he narrowed his eyes at you. Lily placed her hand on her husband’s forearm and he sighed as he seemed to remember where he was, “I’m sorry, Y/N.”

You shook your head, “you don’t have to apologise to me, Your Majesty,” if the King suddenly started apologising to everyone that he offended then he wouldn’t be King for very long. He would soon be overthrown if he was to be seen as weak.

“Who did you see outside of the room, Y/N?” Lily asked kindly, “we didn’t give you much of a chance to make your case before,” she shot you an apologetic look.

Sirius took your hand and squeezed it comfortingly as he smiled lovingly at you, and you could have sworn that you saw a flicker of pride in his light grey eyes. You cast your mind back to the day when you’d heard the prophecy for the first time.

“Uh, I didn’t see him very well but he had long dark greasy hair that hung over his face like a curtain and sallow skin, just like a vampire…” you trailed off as you looked up at your friends and they were all looking at you with their mouths wide open, “what?” you asked, feeling rather confused.

James sighed as he rubbed his temples, “did he have a hooked nose and black eyes?”

“Yes,” you gasped, “how did you know that?”

Sirius clenched his jaw and banged his hand on the table, “Snivellus! The rat!” before you could ask, your husband looked at you, “he was our nemesis growing up.”

Everyone looked angry apart from Lily who just looked sad, “I can’t believe that it was Severus, I just can’t believe it.”

James’ angry look vanished at once as he looked at his wife, he gently took her hand in his and pressed a kiss to the top of it, “Y/N has never seen Snape before and yet she was able to describe him perfectly, there’s no other alternative here, my love. He needs to be arrested,” Lily nodded with a sad sigh and James looked back over to you, “Y/N, I’ve already discussed it with the men but do you believe that Voldemort is a sorcerer?”

You nodded, grateful that he was willing to listen to you this time, “yes, Your Majesty, I don’t think there’s any other explanation for his survival.”

James sat back, looking pensive and he nodded, “we’re all in agreement then, we need to fight fire with fire.”

“What if the news of Voldemort’s survival turns out to be false?” Peter squeaked.

“We can’t afford to take that risk,” James sighed, “you’re all dismissed, I’ll have Snape thrown in the Tower. But I’ll be keeping an eye on all of you, this isn’t over yet.”

Once you were out in the hallway, Sirius turned to you with a grin and wrapped his arms around your waist, “I’m so proud of you for speaking up like that,” he leaned in to press a sweet kiss against your mouth.

You scoffed as you ran your hands up Sirius’ chest and wrapped your arms around his neck, gazing at his handsome face, “I don’t think that James agreed with you,” you giggled but it was nice to hear him say so. Though, you couldn’t get rid of the feeling of dread, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this Sirius.”

“About what?” Sirius cupped your cheeks and looked at you with concern.

“I’m not sure,” you shook your head, thinking of Peter and how he reacted, “I can’t put my finger on it,” but you felt that something was horribly wrong.

----------------------------------------------------

11 Months Later

On Prince Harry’s first birthday it was a gloriously sunny day, James and Lily were going to make a spectacle of Harry’s birthday and Sirius thought that it was a good idea. The court needed a reason to celebrate; news on Voldemort had been quiet for a while. Magic was still outlawed with the exception of the sorcerer, Dumbledore. It turned out that Dumbledore was an extremely skilled sorcerer; his power was the only thing keeping Voldemort at bay.

Y/N sighed as she adjusted her silk dress as the twins ran outside to where James and Lily were throwing the party. Sirius smiled and looked over at his wife as he kissed her warm cheek, “are you feeling alright sweetheart?”

Y/N offered him a small smile and Sirius could tell that she was uncomfortable in the great heat, “yes, it’s just this little one,” she giggled as she rested her hands on her stomach, “he or she is feeling very restless, I hope it’s not another set of twins.”

Sirius reached out as they walked out onto the grounds and he placed his hand on Y/N’s stomach, grinning when he felt his child kick beneath his hand, “I’m just so happy, Y/N.”

Y/N beamed as she placed her hand over his, linking their fingers together, “I’m happy too, more happy than I ever thought I could be.”

A boyish giggle filled Sirius’ ears and he grinned as he saw Harry toddling towards them on unsteady legs. Lily trailed behind him with her arms outstretched in case he toppled over, “Happy Birthday, little Prince!” Y/N giggled.

Sirius lifted Harry into his arms, spinning him round, Harry’s little laugh was so infectious and Sirius chuckled, pressing a kiss to the top of Harry’s messy black hair. Sirius placed Harry back on the ground and Y/N presented Harry’s wrapped gift that she was hiding behind her back with a flourish, “this is for you, angel.”

When she gave him the gift, Harry gasped happily, his little face lighting up as he ran back to his father, “what do you say Harry?” Lily shouted after the Prince.

“Famk you!”

Lily laughed as she shook her head and took Y/N by the hand, “I’m stealing your pregnant wife, Sirius.”

Y/N laughed and kissed Sirius sweetly, “goodbye, sweetheart.”

“Bye, my darling,” Sirius chuckled as he watched Lily pull Y/N over to the stream where she could dip her feet and Lily offered her a silver goblet.

Sirius walked over to where James, Remus and Peter were basking in the shade of the trees as the children played together. James beamed at him as he offered Sirius a tankard of spiced honeyed mead, “you really didn’t have to,” he nodded over at Harry who had ripped the colourful paper off his new toy and held it up with glee.

Sirius laughed as he took a sip of his mead, wincing at the strong taste, “he’s my godson, of course Y/N and I had to, and it was our pleasure to spoil him.”

Remus grinned as he looked over at his wife, Mary, “how are you feeling about being a father again?”

Sirius smiled as excitement bubbled up in his chest, “I’m excited, I wasn’t sure about having another child too soon but I think now is the right time, we all need some joy in our lives. Are you and Lily planning on having anymore little ones James?”

James shrugged as he sat down on the grass with his back against the willow tree, “Lily wants a huge family, and so do I but we’re not trying to have another as of yet. Harry is all we need for now,” he grinned over at his son who was now playing in the water with Elena and Johnathan.

When the day grew cooler, the women joined the men under the shade of the trees, Y/N smiled lazily up at Sirius as she kissed him and Sirius wrapped his arms around her, his hands resting on her stomach. All afternoon Harry couldn’t stop staring at Y/N’s stomach with wide, almost scared eyes. In the end, Lily had to explain.

“Y/N has got a baby boy or girl in her tummy, just like she did before she had Elena and Johnathan, you were in Mama’s tummy,” she tickled Harry’s tummy making him giggle loudly.

Harry waddled over to Sirius and Y/N and climbed into Y/N’s arms; Y/N smiled as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek. Harry put his tiny hands on her stomach almost protectively and Sirius smiled as he felt sadness grow in his chest, he wished that it could always be like this. He wished that they could have long summer days in fields of flowers without a care in the world. He wished that Harry didn’t have to live up to his destiny; he was the only one who could save England. England’s future rested on a little boy.

----------------------------------------------------

@smiithys @elayneblack @amelie-black @siriuslyjanhvi @pregnant-piggy @lindatreb @mabelle-cherie @hxrgreeves @britishspidey @mads-bri @classicrocketqueen​ @sxtansqueen​ @hufflepuffzutara​ @potters-heart​ @bruxa0007​ @ourstarsailor​ @fific7​ @galwithbluethoughts​ @2410slb​ @sunles​ @krismeunicornbaobei​ @theincredibledeadlyviper​ @deathkat657​ @lonegryffindor2005​ @writing-your-heart-out​ @fandomxreaders

[j-amespotter]

★ this is me trying - r. l.

“i had the shiniest wheels, now they’re rusting.”

Pairing: Remus Lupin x Reader

x. x. x. 

Summary: After the life-altering events of 1981, Remus begins to heal. Sometimes, the smallest gestures make the biggest difference.

Genre/Warnings: angst/kinda fluffy at the end, alcoholism, depression, mentions of war & death

Word Count: 1.2k

A/N: let me know if you would like to be added to my taglist. feedback is always appreciated :) reader is gender neutral. 

masterlist

You wrapped your fingers around a cup of tea, sipping it slowly, staring out of your window with a blank expression. It was easy to ignore the searing pain of the scalding heat on your hand. You clutched the mug tighter in an attempt to feel something. Lately, it hardly made a difference.

Numb. That was the only word you could use to describe your life now. Your modest flat now felt like a hollow cave, symbolic of very bitter reality.

You wished you appreciated how fine everything was before. Sure, you lived every day in fear of your life, but you knew you were fighting for the right cause. The darkest wizard to walk the earth targeted your best friends and their innocent child, but you knew they were safe. You lived every day without the love of your life, but you knew he was yours. It wasn’t perfect, but it was fine. It was enough. 

There was a soft knock on your door. Closing your eyes, you sighed. It was easier to pretend you didn’t hear it. It was easier to keep the door closed. 

You couldn’t ignore it for too long. The knocker was persistent. The taps on the door echoed your racing heart. Instinctively, you eyed your wand on the coffee table. Only a few months had passed since the Dark Lord’s downfall, but Death Eaters still wandered the streets. You were urged to remain vigilant, but not a single part of you cared anymore. There was nothing left to live for. Besides, without James, Lily, Sirius, Peter, or Remus, why would they come after you? 

Regardless, a small part of you sustained a sense of self-preservation. Your wand dangled noncommittally from your fingers as you approached the door, dreading to see whoever was on the other side. 

You gasped. Your boyfriend looked almost exactly as you remembered him. His robes were torn at the edges and he was sporting a full beard. His eyes were wide, flowing with emotion. “(Y/N)...” he croaked. 

Moments passed between the both of you, the silence weighing heavier as time went on. “Hello, Remus,” you said softly, meeting his eyes for barely a second before having to turn away. 

“Can I come in?” asked Remus weakly. He peered over your shoulder at the home that was once his. 

Wordlessly, you stepped aside. Remus took tentative steps forward, scanning the room almost out of habit. “It looks as if nothing’s changed.” 

“But everything has,” you countered. 

You heard his sharp intake of breath. Perhaps he was surprised by your directness, but you weren’t in the mood for small talk. With Remus Lupin, nothing ever happened without a reason. You were itching to find out why he returned. Why, after everything that happened last time, did he come back? 

“I just wanted to talk,” he whispered. “There is so much to say.”

“Not on my end,” you responded cuttingly. “I would offer you something to drink, but I’m afraid I don’t have anything that fits your tastes.” 

Remus swallowed thickly, pausing before answering. “I haven’t… I haven’t been drinking these days.” 

You raised your eyebrows in genuine surprise. “Oh. That’s…” Good? Strange? You settled with “different.”

He looked down in shame. “Water is fine.” 

Feeling slightly guilty at your lack of hospitality, you forced a smile. “How about some tea?” 

With all the strength he could muster, Remus returned your smile. “If it’s not an inconvenience.”

“Not at all.”

☆

It was odd, seeing him sitting on his sofa, sipping his tea, from his mug, in his flat. You never thought nostalgia could hurt so much. You and Remus sat ten feet apart, in the same room but worlds away. It was as if you were old acquaintances, not lovers. 

“So, where have you been staying?” you asked, unsure if you wanted to know the answer. 

His hesitation was so readable. “Here and there,” he answered vaguely. 

“Meaning nowhere,” you deciphered. “Why?” 

Remus sighed. “There is no place in our world for someone like me.” 

“That’s not true,” you argued. “Your place was here. With me.” 

He stared at you with a dazed, innocent expression. “Was?” asked Remus, instantly widening his eyes regretfully. 

You could tell that he lost his grip over his words. A part of you didn’t want to interrupt him. You wanted to hear the truth for once but decided to spare him the trouble. “Was,” you repeated firmly. “You told me I wasn’t worth staying. How can I forgive that?” 

Remus looked pained. “You shouldn’t, I know… but I came here to apologize anyway. I was a fool… I was drunk, stupid. You name it.”

“Remus, I don’t know what to say,” you whispered, voice cracking. “I was here for you. I wanted to help. But that night, you said all those things. Look at me, Remus. It killed me.” 

Tears were streaming down his face. “I am so sorry. So, so sorry. You have no idea. It was more hurt than I have ever felt. It was more than I have ever suffered, losing them…” he trailed off, fists clenched, gazing resolutely at his feet. “I’m angry with myself. I was the one living with the pack. Dumbledore sent me away to stop something like this from happening. I should have seen it coming… and I should have been here. I should have saved them all… James, Lily, Peter… from him.” 

You didn’t ask who he was referring to. Tentatively, you touched his shoulder. He winced, but thankfully, did not pull away. You pressed a gentle kiss on his temple. “None of us saw it coming,” you said softly. 

Remus shook in your arms. “Please forgive me,” he breathed between sobs. “I shouldn’t have left you. I know that now. I was horrible to you… I know I have no right, but–”

Clutching his trembling body, you hushed him. “It’s alright, Remus. I forgive you. I love you and… and you’re supposed to forgive the people you love.” 

He gasped in mangled surprise and relief. “God, I love you. You are more than I deserve, angel.” His fingers trailed up your arm, almost as if he was asking your permission. With the receipt of an almost imperceptible nod, he leaned in closer, pressing his lips against yours. 

You practically melted into him, surprised at the way your utter delight trumped the conflicting emotions swimming in your mind. He left… but he was here. He came back! His kiss felt like patching a deep wound, and slowly, you felt a floating feeling of recovery in your heart. Still, there was a lot left to discuss. You tore yourself away from him before succumbing to primal instinct. “Remus, things have to change. You can’t just walk away. I won’t be able to take it.” 

“There is not much I can do for you. I doubt I will ever be able to do enough. But I am here, my love, that is all I can do. Never again,” he pledged, and with one look in his eyes, you knew it was true.  

“That’s more than enough, darling.”

He came back.

Taglist: @iwritesiriusly @mads-bri @she-seeks-magic @sarcasticallywitty15 @thesimpforfredweasleyclub​

[turning-dreams-into-chaos]

The Jimmy Jab Games

Chapter 3: Blind Team Quidditch

~The Jimmy Jab Games Master~

Paring: Sirius Black x Reader

Word Count: 3.8K

~Master~

Yesterday’s challenge was interesting. Seeing a Thestral was already fascinating, but adding Lily’s revelation afterwards?

Yeah, yesterday was something else.

Like every morning, Lily woke you up for classes and the pair of you headed down with Marlene to breakfast, seeing the boys already there. Your normal spot next to Sirius was empty as you fell into it, hitting his shoulder with yours on the way down. 

“Well good morning to you too.” Sirius mumbled through his food as you sent him a playful glare and took a piece of his bacon off his plate. He chuckled as you bit into it. “You know you could get a plate of your own.” He told you but you shrugged.

“Nah, not really hungry. I just wanted a piece.” You told him, hearing him scoff and shake his head. Your moment was broken as you saw Lily slapping James’ shoulder and point to you. You knew that Lily was convinced about your secret love for Sirius, but you didn’t know she told James about it. Hoping that Lily didn’t share her wrong theories with her boyfriend, you turned away from Sirius, looking at Marlene instead. “Round 3, huh? How on earth are you going to top yesterday?”

“Well, I have a plan.” She whispered to you, tapping her fingers against the table. “Can everyone meet at the Quidditch Pitch an hour after classes?” You nodded as did everyone else and Marlene turned to Remus. “Can you meet earlier? I might need some help.” He furrowed his brows but agreed to help her.

“These games were pretty fun right?” you asked, casually trying to brag about your great idea to your friends.

“Yeah.” James said and you were ready for his stamp of approval. “The first good idea you had in a while.” He let out a laugh as did Sirius and Remus, Lily and Marlene’s eyes widening as they hide their giggles. Your jaw dropped open, not prepared for friendly bullying from James today.

“Oh, sod off.” You mumbled and slouched in your seat. Sirius put a hand on your back, not at all trying to stop his laughs as you fake pouted.

“He’s not wrong Y/N.” He chuckled, only making you more shocked. The look on your face only made Sirius laugh more as he doubled over. “Last week you tried to your spell potions book to read itself to you and it ended up screaming for hour.”

“I almost had it! And It was a good idea!” Your own laughs pulled through and you couldn’t stop them. You shook your head stealing another one of Sirius’ bacon’s and sticking your tongue out at him. “All of you. I hate all of you.” You stuck your nose in the air, refusing to look at them as you finished your- well, Sirius’ piece of bacon.

“Oh no you don’t.” Sirius said, slinging his arm over your shoulder. You looked at him, seeing him stick out his lip in a pout as you reached for another piece. “Y/N!” he groaned out but didn’t stop you from stealing his food. “Honestly!” You just smirked at him and ate the third piece.

“Ok! Enough you two.” Lily pulled your attentions away as you sent both of you a knowing glare. “We have classes and we don’t want to be late.” She started up, grabbing her bag and throwing it over her shoulder.

“Ah, Lily Evans. Ever the timekeeper.” You joked as you stood as well, grabbing your bag and pulling Sirius out of his seat. “Up you go. If you’re late to class again, McGonagall will have your head.”

“Minnie wouldn’t dare.” He smirked as he joined you and the rest of your friends went as well, no one wanting to be late.

As much as you loved your classes, you were excited for the school day to be over so you could get back to the games. Meeting on the Quidditch Pitch gave you an idea of what Marlene had plan. Well, it let you know it was Quidditch related at the least. You were in the library reading up on Thestrals after yesterday’s adventure when it was time to head down, checking your watch to see you were running out of time. You groaned and shoved as much of your belongings into your pack, throwing it over your shoulder. You picked up the rest of the books and rushed out of the library.

You barely made it down the hall before hearing your name called behind you and you spun around slightly irritated, not wanting to talk to someone when you had to get going. Your face softened when you saw Sirius jogging to catch up to you. “Why am I not surprised you’re running late?” You asked as he walked next to you.

He gave you a grin, taking your books from your arms. “You’re one to talk.” He said as you agreed with him and opened up your bag, rearranging the books inside to fit the outliers in while you walked.

“Thanks Pads.” You said as Sirius took your bag from you and wore it over his. “Oh you don’t have to-“

“I’m carrying your bag. Get over it.” He smirked as you sighed, shaking your head at him. You didn’t argue with him, knowing he wasn’t going to give up. Sirius kept glancing at you while you walked together, enjoying the sun as you stepped outside. “How’s your mum?” Sirius asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

You smiled, thinking about your mother. “She’s getting better. Since my father…” your voice trailed off and Sirius regretted bringing it up. You bit your lip and your smile turned bittersweet as you took a deep breath. “Not having me there is kind of hard on her, but she’s strong.”

“Like her daughter?” He quipped, making you laugh.

“She uh, she keeps asking when you’re coming back around.” Sirius hid the blush on his face. All these years you’ve known each other and the rest of your friends, your mom was always adamant Sirius was her favorite. Sirius had spent most of the summer at yours, going between James place and it, but always making sure to spend more time with you. Your mother smothered Sirius, always treating him like her own son. Sirius would always assure you it was alright whenever you would get embarrassed.

“Ah. Still asking if we’re together yet?” He tried not to sound so awkward when Lily’s words filtered through his head again and he hoped you hadn’t caught on. Little did he know at that moment, what Lily had told you was pushing its way through your thoughts as well.

“Only every time she sends an owl.”

“So, every week?”

“Pretty much.” Your walk ended after that, having arrived at the Pitch.

“You’re late!” James shouted as he cupped his hands over his mouth, yelling at you and Sirius across the grass. You rolled your eyes and Sirius and you shared a look before jogging to the rest of your friends. “Oh I get it, you snuck away for a little-“ He wiggled his eyebrows for his statement as your eyes widened, looking to the ground as Sirius shoved James in embarrassment and you heard James cackle. “I’m joking! It’s a joke!” He cried out.

You looked up at Lily, seeing her hold her head in annoyance at James antics. She grabbed onto him, giving him the Lily Evans glare of death as James quickly stopped laughing, realizing he was in trouble. You looked away from your friends, seeing how the Quidditch Pitch looked. It looked to be a giant obstacle course, obstacles high in the air and some lower to the ground. You tapped Sirius’ arm, getting him to look at you before catching what he hadn’t noticed before either.

“Wow Marlene, you really went for it.” Sirius muttered, turning to the blonde who shrugged.

“Didn’t do it alone.” She pointed at Remus who stood off to the side with Peter who was feeling much better.

“She made us work!” Peter complained, crossing his arms. Remus patted his back, knowing how Peter was feeling you chuckled.

“Since Sirius and Y/N finally decided to show up, can we get started?” Lily sent you a wink.

Marlene agreed with Lily, beginning to explain today’s challenge. “We all know how to play Quidditch. Some of us more than others. But this is different! I call today’s challenge… Blind Team Quidditch!” No one cheered, instead a few sounds of confusion went around.

“Sorry. You said Blind Team Quidditch?” you tried clarifying, stressing each word in hopes it’d make more sense.

“That is correct my Thestral Queen.” She joked. She reached into her pocket, pulling out 2 blindfolds and holding them up. “The 4 of you left will be spilt into teams and one person will be blindfolded and the other will be the team’s eyes. The goal is to get through the obstacle course and if both teams make it through, then whoever does it faster wins. Understood?”

Sirius raised his hand. “How are the teams decided?” He glanced to you out of the corner of his eye, lucky you hadn’t caught him.

Marlene reached into her other pocket, pulling out 4 pieces of paper. “James, care to choose first?” James nodded, raising a brow as he picked one of the papers in his hands.

A smile appeared on his face as he turned it for the rest of you to see. “My Lilyflower.” Lily grinned, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

Sirius didn’t know whether to feel relieved or worried as he turned to you. “Guess that leaves me and you, Y/N.” He moved behind you and threw his arms around your shoulders.

James was blindfolded as Lily sat behind him on his broom, her hands on his shoulders as Marlene described the tasks. There were three of them positioned around the pitch. The first task was rather simple, 3 rings at various heights in which the unblindfolded directed the blindfolded through. Since James was wearing the covering, Lily was shouting commands at him. It took longer than they wanted, but they made it through without crashing.

The second task was slightly harder. There were several Quaffles someone charmed to float in the air and Lily was supposed to grab one. When she had it, she was to direct James into a position where she could throw the Quaffle at an apple floating in the air a ways away.

“Why’d you choose an apple?” Sirius asked Marlene, finding the item completely bizarre.

“It was the smallest thing we could find that still let you see it.” She admitted, turning to Peter and Remus who shrugged, finding no problem with the choice. It did work.

It took Lily several tries to hit the apple, James constantly teasing her when they had had to grab another Quaffle, but soon they finally made it and got to move on to the third task.

This task, although sounding simple, was the hardest. The goal was for the blind person to use the bat to hit the bludger through the goal hoop.

It was easier said than done.

After a few minutes of dodging the bludger and almost getting hit, the bludger struck the front of the broom, knocking both of them to the ground. As soon as your friends started falling you all ran over, checking them over.

“This is why we stay close to the ground.” Remus said and you all agreed, thankful they’d stayed low enough where if they fell, the worst thing they’d do was break a bone, something Madam Pomfrey could fix easily. James pulled off his blindfold, checking up on his girlfriend and groaning when Sirius helped him up and you pulled Lily off the ground.

“Well that was fun.” Lily giggled, wiping the grass off her clothes with a smile. Despite falling, she enjoyed her time with James in the air completing the challenge. “I guess that makes it your turn.” She told you as you swallowed, a little worry passing though your mind. Lily saw it, grabbing your hand and squeezing. “Don’t worry. It’s not as bad as it seems.

You smiled at her before turning to your game’s host. “No pressure, but in order to win you and Sirius have to complete the challenge in total. You know, get farther than James and Lily did.

“Right. Thanks Marls.” You took the blindfold from Marlene as she wished you luck. Sirius smirked as you came over to him. “Turn around.” You ordered him, using your finger to demonstrate.

Sirius obeyed and hopped on his broom and you moved the blindfold over his eyes. “You know this isn’t how I usually like to be blindfolded.” He whispered loud enough for you to hear. You felt your cheeks heat up as you tightened the tie, hearing Sirius snicker under his breath.

“I wish I had a blindfold for your mouth.” You mumbled into his ear as Sirius turned his head, despite not being able to see you.

“You mean a gag, love? Even better.”

“Sirius!”

“Stop flirting and get going!” Lily called out to you both as you pressed your forehead against Sirius. You climbed onto Sirius’ broom, your hands instantly going around his stomach as Sirius smiled at your touch. He, like you, wasn’t going to admit he really liked this feeling.

“Try not to kill us Y/L/N.” He joked as he started moving, making you grip him tighter and putting your head on his shoulder to peer in front of him. “This is feeling kind of familiar.”

“Yeah but this time you aren’t falling to your death.” Your voice was smooth in Sirius’ ear, causing him to smile as he enjoyed the feeling.

“The challenge is still young. You’re my eyes, got it?”

“Just listen to my voice Siri.” Sirius knew he wouldn’t have any trouble there, he’s been listening to your voice for years. “Pull up slightly and slow down.” You told him as Sirius listened and pulled up on the handle, waiting for your next instruction. “Okay, the first ring is just in front of you, head straight and when I tell you to pull up, go slow until I say stop. Sirius nodded, settling into the feeling of your arms around his waist as he flew straight for the ring. The moment you told him to, he pulled up before he was able to pass the second ring, and for the third ring he aimed the handle to the ground, relying on you to tell him when it was clear.

“That’s the first task!” you told him, and he felt your grip tighten for a hug he wished he could return. “Okay next task, knocking over the apples.”

“You better be a good thrower Y/N.” He laughed, hearing your laugh in his ear. His heartbeat sped up and he didn’t know what was happening or why it was happening at this particular moment.

You directed Sirius to where the floating Quaffles were as you reached out to grab one. “Got it!” you held the ball against you, adjusting your grip. “Okay, turn around completely, don’t move, and bend over.” Sirius smirked, turning his head slightly and you didn’t need him to say anything to know he was going to make a joke. “Pads, I swear if you say anything right now.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything!” You tried not to smile, but you couldn’t help it when Sirius was like this. He followed your direction, turning and stopping. You lined up your shot, taking a deep breath. Sirius could feel your nerves without needing to look. He removed one hand from the broom, using it to hold your wrapped around his waist. “You can do this, Y/N. Just take a deep breath and don’t miss.”

You laughed again, the sound bringing a smile to Sirius’ lips far faster than he’d wished. “Thanks Sirius.” You whispered and felt him thread his fingers with yours. You threw the Quaffle at the small apple Marlene decided to use and you thought you missed, but it wasn’t until you saw the apple fall to the ground before you realized you hadn’t. “First shot! That’s how it’s done Evans!” you pointed to your red headed friend who shook her head at you, watching you and Sirius have as much fun as she and James had. She still couldn’t believe neither of you would admit your feelings weren’t platonic.

Sirius cheered as he squeezed your hand, feeling elated as he spoke. “One more challenge, love. We’ve got this.” You nodded your head and he felt it against his shoulder as he pressed his head against yours, much like you had done yesterday on the Thestral. The third challenge was the hardest and that was proven when James and Lily both fell off the broom together as the bludger hit the front of their broom. You grabbed the bat and handed it to Sirius, loosing the contact of his hand and you hated the way your heart felt heavier. Like usual you directed Sirius to the next to challenge only this time you kept an eye out for the bludger. “Just remember Y/N, this time we don’t have anyone to catch us.”

“Thanks for the support Sirius.” You mumbled, slapping his chest. “Oh! I see it! Okay, when I say dive, do for 3 seconds then pull up. Got it?”

“Yes, Ma’am” he fakes salute you.

You waited until the Bludger was close enough. “Dive!” Sirius dove right away, both of you staring at the ground. “Up!” you shouted as you finished counting to 3, clearing the bludger. You watch the ball turn around, as Sirius straightened out. You were lined up almost perfectly with the goal hoop. “Siri, turn to your right just a little. When I tell you, swing the bat.”

“Okay, But Y/N? Hang on tight.” If this didn’t work out, Sirius wanted to make sure you were protected. He took a deep breath, turning until you said stop and waiting. He wasn’t sure how long he floated there for, but when you spoke in his ear to swing, he didn’t with no hesitation. His hand stung as the bat hit the Quaffle, sending the ball flying in the other direction, right into the goal hoop. You were silent, your mouth hung open and Sirius was terrified as he had no clue if you were alright. “Y/N?”

“You did it.” You breathed out and Sirius could feel your excitement increasing. “Sirius, you did it!” This time you cheered as Sirius felt you hug him. “We beat them!”

“We did it!” He joined and pressed against you, lowering you both to the ground. He jumped off first, ripping off his blindfold in the blink of an eye. Luckily, he did because not a moment later you threw yourself at him. Your arms went around his neck as Sirius wrapped his arms around your waist, keeping you in the air as you both laughed happiness, not believing you actually beat the real couple.

It was amazing how you got lost in him. Just the feeling of having Sirius’ arms wrapped around you and his head burying itself between your hair and neck. Everyone was watching you, but you and Sirius didn’t even realize, too focused on each other to care and never wanting to separate from each other.

Lily didn’t know how much longer she could take watching you and Sirius. You’d been dancing around your feelings for years. You and Sirius deserved to be happy, together.

“I guess we have our winners.” Marlene broke your hug apart as Sirius put you down, goofy smiles adorning both of your faces. “Moving onto the final round are the only two people who have managed to win any rounds so far! Y/N and Sirius!” Hoots and hollers came from all of you, Sirius and you both excited as you turned to look at him.

It wasn’t until your eyes met before you both realized you’d be in the finales, against each other.

Your face fell, Sirius’ doing so as well. “Well then, I guess we’ll see who’s better.” You whispered as Sirius nodded and bit his lip.

“Yeah. I uh, I guess we will.” It was weird at least, you knew you were always competing against Sirius, but something about being his direct competition just felt absurd. Sirius was feeling the same way. “Wait, about the third person?” He motioned towards Lily and James. “I mean, one of them moves on, right?”

“Well, technically they both lost, so they’re both eliminated. That’s the rules.” Marlene explained, James and Lily reluctantly agreeing it was fair as they didn’t want to decide who was truly eliminated. Sirius and your spirits fell slightly as everyone started to clean up, pulling out their wands as the occasional spell is heard.

You stepped closer to Sirius, laying your head on his shoulder as you watched them. “It’s just a game, right? No matter who wins?”

Sirius furrowed his brows. “Of course. No matter what happens you’re still my best friend.”

Best Friend.

That shouldn’t have hurt so much, but after everything you’ve felt the last few days and your conversation with Lily. That hurt.

“Thanks for the help guys!” James yelled sarcastically over to you and Sirius as you pulled your head away, missing the way Sirius’ face fell.

“Sorry Prongs! Sorry everyone!” you told them as they started your way, heading to the Pitch exit behind you. You turned around to see Sirius stood in place his brows drawn so close together, it scared you. “Siri? Are you coming?”

“What?” He looked over his shoulder, his face turning back to normal. “Oh, yeah. Uh, you know, I’ll catch up.”

“You sure?” He was sure, telling you to go on ahead. He just needed a minute. He watched you leave before closing his eyes, trying to remember the feeling of your arms wrapped tight around him.

“You need to tell her.” His eyes snapped open to see Lily in front of him.

He sighed but it sounded more of a groan. “Let it go Evans.”

“Not until you admit it!”

“There’s nothing to admit! I don’t see her like that!”

“Fine! You don’t think you’re in love with her?” Sirius rolled his eyes, annoyed with Lily’s persistence that he felt something for you beside friendship. “Then tomorrow during whatever challenge Marlene comes up with, don’t flirt with her. In fact, go the whole day without flirting with her.”

“No problem.” Sirius cocked before thinking. The realization of what Lily was telling didn’t set in in time.

“Great. Then we’ll see who’s telling the truth and who’s too daft to see he’s in love!”

“Sounds great. Can’t wait.” Sirius watched the red head storm off, her brows drawn together as she pursed her lips with crossed arms. He stood alone on the Quidditch pitch, staring off to where Lily disappeared.

What did he just get himself into?

A/N: Did I forget to post this earlier? Yup. Please leave feedback because I thrive on it! Last chapter out tomorrow!

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[cosmic-affinities]

Loathing....Right? Ch3

The two scenarios in this chapter are meant to be happening at the same time so hopefully, it isn’t too confusing!

Read on AO3 Here

The next weeks flew by quickly the six 8th years seemingly always in Harry and Draco’s room, to the chagrin of the latter. Although it was always the end of the night where things become stretched thin. Harry had seen Malfoy (they were still Malfoy and Potter to the disappointment of the two women) swipe the hair off of his forehead at least eight times in the last ten minutes they had been working. The platinum colour was distracting, especially since it was slightly grown out and not under the weight of a tub of gel.

Draco had to resist the urge to magically stick Potter’s glasses to his face at any given moment. He couldn’t even begin to describe the way Potter moved around, graceless one moment and using his Seeker reflexes the next, it caught him off guard. The way Potter’s face scrunched when he was too concentrated, it was positively annoying, and he wouldn’t even start on the ill-fitting muggle clothing.

The icing on the cake for Harry was how thrown off he was by Malfoy’s voice, in the morning it was unrecognizable next to his usual drawl, after being quiet too long his voice would be scratchy. It made Harry’s head reel.

Everything about the other seemed to make their flesh begin to crawl, the driving force behind the crawl though, was still unknown.

“Oh, Prongslet! How are you? I feel like I haven't heard your voice in ages! Tell me everything, like who your roommate is and how your classes are. Tell. Us. Everything.”

“Sirius, breathe let him talk. Go ahead Harry, we’re listening.”

“Alright, I guess. You want to hear about my roommate,” Harry started slowly but at the mention of his roommate his words came out faster. “Well let me tell you, I can never focus with him around, he has some of the most annoying tendencies. Ok like his hair, it's unnaturally blonde and he pushes it around every two seconds making it absolutely impossible to do anything. Oh! And his voice, Merlin you guys I don’t know how people do it when he wakes up his voice doesn’t sound normal, hearing him talk like that makes my head reel. Or! When he hasn’t spoken for a little while his voice gets all scratchy. Even. Worse.”

“Oh, wow ok. Harry? Who is this mystery man? I think we need to talk about this a bit more.”

“That’s the thing, Remus! McGonagall put me with Malfoy!”

Both Sirius and Remus thanked Merlin that Harry couldn’t see their faces, both were sitting, mouths wide open trying not to laugh. Sirius decided to speak up, he wanted to help Harry figure this out.

“Wow, McG has not lost her touch. Let me tell ya Moons; she has a way with Potter’s and Evan’s remember your prefect to his head boy stunt? That was good, but I think this might just be better!”

Sirius couldn’t help but think back to his own time at Hogwarts, very similar to Harry’s time.

“Love, let's talk to Harry now then we can reminisce, ok?”

“Yes yes! Of course! You were always the smart one moons! Harry? Are you listening? Good, I think you may have some strong feelings for Malfoy,” Sirius wanted to try and soften the blow a little bit “-L-word feelings.”

Remus shot him a look, it seemed to say ‘Really L-word was the best you could do?’

“You know what Padfoot, I think you’re right!”

Shock radiated off of the older pair, they were not expecting him to agree so quickly, they had just suggested that he loves someone he is convinced he hates. They seemed to have jumped to a conclusion too soon.

“I absolutely loathe him.”

“Prongslet, I don’t think the L-word Sirius was talking about was loathing.” Remus trailed off, he could only do so much to help Harry.

“Well, either way, that's what it is. Loathing….. Right? It has to be. Yes! Ok, wow I feel better.”

The couple only gaped, they had just witnessed Harry flit through three emotions in about three seconds.

“Padfoot?”

“Yes, my moonbeam?”

“Remind me to never let you lead this kind of conversation, ever again.”

“Of course, my moony. I don’t think I would ever let myself either way.”

“Good. Ok, now Harry?”

“Yeah, Remus?”

“Why don’t you keep telling us about Malfoy? I know it must be nice to vent I remember you saying no one else understood because they were all happy with their roommates, so let it out while you can.”

“Moony what are you doing?”

“Just listen ok? I’m trying to help him.”

Their whispers stopped as soon as Harry began again, blissfully unaware of the pair’s internal battle.

“Where was I? Right, everything he does just gets under my skin! Ugh, he, he- I don’t know.”

“Drives you crazy?” Remus supplied helpfully.

“Yes! Remus exactly! How’d you know that?”

“‘Cause I had a very similar experience at Hogwarts, in my 5th year.” He glanced at Sirius wistfully, thinking back to that time, seemed so long ago but still fresh in their minds.

“Well then, who was your Malfoy?”

“Your Godfather.”

He said it so matter of factly as if the statement wouldn’t make Harry’s walls come crashing down around him. The silence loomed on, Remus thought Harry would fill it, eventually, he did, but only briefly.

“How’d you know it was the good kind of crazy?” Compared to a moment ago, Harry seemed subdued, maybe thoughtful. Definitely introspective.

“Oh, um. I guess it was when I realized the only reason his hair bothered me was because I wanted to run my fingers through it, and I wanted to kiss the smug look off of his face every time he teased me instead of wanting to punch him. Oh, and when he woke up saying my name, I never wanted him to stop.”

Everyone was quiet for a moment when Harry broke through the tension by speaking.

“Well, fuck.”

Sirius was so surprised, he couldn’t help but let out a bark of laughter but he quickly covered his mouth. His plan would have worked too, but when he heard Remus start to giggle he could no longer hold it together. Soon the three were all laughing like madmen.

“Wow, now I just feel really dense, like it was so obvious to everyone but me. OH NO! IT WAS SO OBVIOUS TO EVERYONE BUT ME! Shit shit shit! Merlin and Godric! Hermione probably knows! Hell, half of Hogwarts probably knows! McGonagall probably knows! Ah! How will I ever be able to face these people?! You guys! This sucks! OH NO WHAT IF MALFOY KNOWS!?! Ok, now I need help finding a hole to throw myself into!”

“Harry! Calm down, you are acting as if this is your first crush. Wait, is this your first crush?”

“Well yeah! Look, Remus, when a mass murderer is trying to well, Mass Murder you, crushes aren’t really at the top of your priorities! I didn’t have time for crushes!      Well, maybe I had more time than I thought! OH MY GODRIC I basically stalked him in sixth year! This is Bad!”

“Prongslet, calm down! We can help you through this, Moony and I danced around each other at Hogwarts and look at how we ended up!”

“Padfoot, I was not lucky enough to fall in love with my best friend. This would be like Peter falling in love with Snivellus!” The two remaining marauders shuddered, but he did have a point.

“Wait, Harry did you say love?”

“Well yeah. It’s not every day you realize you've had a big ole crush on your archnemesis for half of your life, I think at this point it would be silly to not call it as it is, it's been so long it wouldn’t be right to call it anything but love I guess.” A certain sadness radiated from his voice, he sounded like he had given up on something he never even started.

“Oh Harry, I wish I could wrap you in a hug. Don’t sound so sad though, I can tell with utmost confidence that you Potter’s have a certain knack for making people go from hating you to loving you. I know you’ve heard your parents’ story, asking her out every day, the infamous ‘toerag incident’ but I happen to know another one. You see your grandparents took me in when my family didn’t, gay was the topper of the disappointment cake for old Walburga. Anyway one day your grandmother, Euphemia, sat James and I down to tell us the story of how she and your grandfather got together. It was a long and heartwarming story that started with the two of them a year apart at Hogwarts, severely hating each other due to an unfortunate quidditch mishap. But towards the end you grandfather, Fleamont, walked in and all he said was ‘despite the anger I would give everything up for her, nothing is worth losing her.’ which for him was a lot, he was rich and popular but would have given everything away in a heartbeat if it meant he could be with your grandmother. Look, Harry, you can do this, anyone would be a fool to let you move on without them.”

“Thanks, Padfoot, no one has ever told me that story, maybe I can do this. Hell, I'm more scared to face him than I was to face Voldemort, I think I just need time for him to become Draco, and not Malfoy before I go professing my love, not loathing. I still can’t believe it took me this long.”

The three spent the rest of their call joking and enjoying each other's company. Harry went to bed that night feeling better than he thought he could.

“Pansy! Why did you have to befriend all of the Gryffindors?!”

“Draco, by ‘all the Gryffindors’ do you mean my roommate and the roommates of my two best friends? If you do, then I’m not going to answer your question because its stupid.” Pansy didn’t look up from her nails, she was focused on painting them to perfection.

“Yes, Pansy! I would have been more than happy to ignore my roommate and gotten this year over with quickly, it has been two weeks and they have lasted about a month! Salazar Potter is absolutely the worst!” Draco was walking back and forth, flailing his arms, Pansy seemed disinterested as if she knew what was bound to happen.

“Tell me how awful he is Draco, maybe hearing it out loud will help you realize how mental you are to try and hate the golden boy.” Pansy’s mock encouragement only spurred Draco on.

“Well, first of all, I can’t believe McGonagall would even out us as roommates, it's as if she is asking for a situation! And Potter, ugh I can’t even describe how annoying he is all the time. His mannerisms are so peculiar it's just impossible!”

“So, basically he is a person who has habits. Like everyone.” Pansy deadpanned.

“No! Not like everyone, does everyone rub their face every three seconds? He acts as if someone is flicking him constantly, it's so distracting that, in potions, I put in the wrong ingredient and ruined the brew! And on top of that! He always wears ratty muggle clothes that hang off of him as if it was made for a giant! How am I meant to focus when there is a fashion crisis constantly near me?!”

“Draco, why are you so bothered by him? You aren’t nearly this bothered by Ron and Hermione.”

“You don’t understand what it is like to room with him! Are you even listening to me? His face, his clothing, everything about him! He, he just makes me ugh I don’t even know! My skin starts to crawl when he is close to me!”

“Tell me something Draco, when Harry is around you-”

“I also hate that you and Blaise call him that!”

“Draco, don’t interrupt me! Does Harry make your pulse rush? How about: make you turn red in the face?”

Draco paused mulling over the question.

“You know what, yeah he does! It's awful, it’s as if he's about to attack me! But here’s the worst part! He isn’t about to attack me, which is even weirder.”

“Draco, you know I feel the same way around Hermione, my heart won’t relax and she consumes my focus.”

“Then how can you stand to be around her?!”

Pansy looked aside, her expression showing how done she was with Draco’s impression of the situation.

“Because darling, I don’t hate her. I have a crush on her.”

“How is that similar to Potter and I at all? I absolutely loathe him. And Pansy, you should tell me these things when I'm Not in the middle of a rant.”

“Draco, it is exactly the same, except you are being too dense to realize it! I really don't think you loathe him at all, in fact, I’m pretty sure you have had a crush on him for years!”

As Pansy finished her sentence the pair heard an indistinct yell from down the hall, from the direction of Draco’s room.

“I’m not going to entertain your crazy fantasy, just because I am gay and ranting about a guy doesn’t mean I have a crush on him, someone I dislike! And what is going on over there? Who is yelling, I'm pretty sure Potter is in there on a firecall!”

“Draco this isn’t a gay thing! This is a you and Harry thing! I have listened to you go on and on about him for years, as children I didn’t know any better but now you just sound stubborn and unaware of your own feelings!”

“Pansy, look I don’t like him I barely tolerate him! Right? Of course, he is a menace! Look, you are making me question my own judgment!”

“You should be questioning yourself! At this rate, you are more blind than Harry and his glasses are nearly an inch thick!”

“Pansy! Honestly what makes you think I like him?”

“Look Draco, I'm sure if asked you could tell me the little details of his face, or his normal nighttime schedule, but I ask you the same thing about Blaise, who you roomed with for years, you wouldn’t be able to tell me the first thing about it. And I can see the way you perk up when someone says his name, I just hoped you would come to the conclusion on your own.” The pair sat quietly, only hearing general distress coming from Draco’s dorm but Draco finally spoke up.

“Damn it Pans, why couldn't you have said something sooner? Now I just feel like a hopeless idiot.”

“Well darling, most people don’t need to be made aware of their own feelings. And you are an idiot, not hopeless but an idiot all the same.”

“Does everyone know but me?! No, they can't. We have hated each other for years, no one other than you and maybe Blaise could know, right? Ugh having a crush is stressful, that's why i don’t get them.”

“Draco, you act as if having a crush is like catching a disease.”

“It basically is, like I said, that's why I don't get them.”

“Darling I hate to break it to you,” Pansy’s focus shifted back to her nails “But you do realize that the only reason you don't have crushes is because you have had the same one for years right?”

“Whatever Pansy! You need to help me figure out how to fix this! How am I supposed to room with someone I have a crush on?!”

“The same way you have been since we came back, the only difference is you will be 100% more shirtless at any given opportunity, that should be enough to get his attention!”

“Pansy, we don’t even know if he is gay! I don’t want to embarrass myself, I do have to live with him for the rest of the year!”

“Well i happen to know that he is gay, and Hermione and I are pretty sure he has a crush on you!’

“How could you possibly know that he is gay? And of course, I’ll trust a Gryffindor telling you that Harry Freakin Potter has a crush on me, that doesn’t sound suspicious or anything!”

“Well, Draco unlike you, I actually talk to Harry and he told me himself that he is gay, And please do cut back on the sarcasm, people across the castle can hear it I’m sure.”

“Pansy! Why didn’t you tell me?! Well, not that I would’ve listened before this but either way a casual mention, while we were talking, would have been great!”

“I assumed you knew! Whatever that is beside the point, you need a plan to seduce him!”

“Pansy he hates me, there’s no way I could ‘seduce’ him without getting seriously injured first.”

Some more indistinct yelling came from Draco’s dorm, Draco thought it sounded like Harry, not that he would ever admit to being able to pick his voice out so easily.

“What is that noise? Who is yelling?” Pansy asked she seemed irritated at being interrupted again, no matter how indirect it was.

“Potter is in there on a firecall, probably just excited about something, just ignore him.”

“Draco, how did you manage to get all of that from two yells? He sounds crazy, you can’t even tell what he’s saying!”

“Isn’t it obvious? The yells have been far enough apart that you can tell no one is in distress, we already knew he was on a firecall, presumably with people he enjoys talking to since the year just started and he's already talking to whoever it is, and plus the yell did sound suspiciously like ‘oh my Godric’ something only a true Gryffindor would say. It's simple really”

“Darling none of that was simple, you sound like Sherlock Holmes, it's kind of scary how well you know him.”

“Oh whatever, at least Sherlock is well respected, Doyle was able to make a truly good character for wizards and muggles surprisingly.”

“Can we not talk about ancient wizard authors? We have something much more important on hand!”

“I’m sure Hermione wouldn’t mind discussing wizard authors with you.” Draco shot her a suggestive eyebrow raise and enjoyed the blush that rose to her cheeks. “Oh did you think i had forgotten that I am not the only one with a crush on their roommate?”

“Draco I do not need your help seducing Hermione, I already have a plan and you seem to be getting nowhere with your roommate so I suggest you stop teasing me or else I won't help you with Harry anymore!”

“Alright alright, I'm only kidding, do keep me updated on how everything goes with her, you are still my best friend and I do like to know these things.”

“Yes yes, of course, I will, you know that. Now I think you should just start throwing small hints, maybe sit a little closer to him and start conversations when you two are alone just so we can see how he reacts.”

Draco pondered the information for a moment and nodded his head. “Starting slow sounds good, I don’t necessarily fancy getting myself hexed because I hit on Potter.”

“He said nearly the same thing about getting you out of bed that first morning here, you two really are oblivious when it comes to each other, and you should really call him Harry, be friendly.”

“Calling him anything other than Potter or Scarhead would be weird so unless he asks me specifically to call him by his first name I will stick to Potter.”

“Fine fine, I knew I was pushing it a little, would you call him Harry if he called you Draco?”

“Probably not, unless he asks me to in the same breath as he says my name, I’m going to go with no.”

“Alright fine, I’ll see what I can do.”

The pair sat and talked for a while longer, straying away from their conversation about their respective Gryffindor crushes, they hadn’t been able to talk alone for quite a while, school was already beginning to get tough.

[teenremus]

dog days i

sirius black x reader

word count: 2760

warning: too cliché probably

a/n: my time-jump thing isnt working im highkey confused because its still on my other fics but not,,, this one? im so confused tumblr give me my lines back i have to use a screenshot

part two

[...]

The Whomping Willow had always been your spot, a place where you could go, unbothered, even by the swinging branches themselves. To the amazement of other students, the tree didn't make an effort to throw you out of range when getting too close, you were even allowed to lean up against it.

When others came into the picture, attempting the same as you, they didn't have quite your luck. They were slapped around and pushed away, falling on their arses each time and you just watched from your place underneath it. It was said that you'd bewitched the Willow, forcing it to let you lie there almost every day, but the reality was you hadn't done a single thing. You weren't sure why it let you get so close while you worked on your homework, but it did.

You had figured it out accidentally, running around the grounds away from Lily as you held her newest love letter from James Potter. She was ready to throw it away without giving it a second thought, but you knew just how pure his intentions were, and believed he was right for her.

You were too busy laughing and looking behind you to notice where you were going, and paid no attention to Lily's screams telling you to stop, she'd been doing exactly so for the past two minutes but only jokingly. They were getting louder and less playful, and you didn't realize where you were until you tripped over the root of a tree.

Laughter had died out and you pushed yourself onto your hands and knees, you had dropped the letter below you. You turned your head looked up to see the Whomping Willow giving you what you could only describe as a menacing glare, or that's what you had interpreted it's details as, as fear took over your body and you froze.

It was quiet, as you waited for it to make a move to remove you from it's bark. It's branches waved back and forth in the air as the wind shoved past, pushing your hair out of your face. You took small and slow movements as you stood, holding the letter again. You didn't break the contact your eyes held with the branches.

Lily still stood a safe distance away, one hand reaching beneath her robes and gripping her wand for precaution. She took one step towards the tree, and after her second step the air became stiff. The branches had their own control and stopped swaying peacefully, and stood straight mimicking the hairs on the back of your neck.

She hesitated, but stepped again. One branch swung down and pushed her aside, not too harshly but enough to knock her down with a groan.

"Lily!" You called, watching as the wood retracted to it's usual place. You ran forward without care if the Willow was going to hit you or not.

At her side, you asked if she was okay. However, it was as if the world had gone entirely mute and she had forgotten about you as she just stared into the hole of the Willow tree.

You followed her gaze, shaking your head and extending your hand as you stood to pull her up with you. "Let's not worry about it, Lily, we got lucky."

Lily shoved her wand back in her pocket. "Strange..."

After that incident you had taken it upon yourself to study the Whomping Willow, and much to your surprise you seemed to be the only one that could get so close. It had become your own little tradition to seek out the tree when you wanted to be alone, and never came a time where you weren't welcomed.

You sat on a particularly large root now, legs crossed out in front of you with your charms book resting on top, you used it's hard cover as a surface for the paper you scribbled on.

Boisterous laughter broke your train of thought and disrupted your writing, the letter you were writing became smudged by the sudden flinch in your hand mid stroke. You looked up and saw two boys, one Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff jumping around and pushing each other as they arrived to the grass area.

"Oi! You looking to get slapped around? How'd you get up there?"

You glanced up with hooded eyes as you lifted your parchment and shoved it between two pages of your textbook. It was time to go, you had been compromised, and Potions would be starting soon.

It was your belief that you could only get so close because of intent, that's what the Whomping Willow saw in each student. It was magical after all, and you were sure that it wasn't only here to threaten student's lives, but protect them as well. It hadn't been your intent to hurt the tree when you ran towards it unknowingly, you didn't come to mock or prove your strength as a challenge with it, it was a mistake. The Willow must've seen that, or else you wouldn't be there.

"You think it broke?"

"A tree can't just break, you git."

A clock began to methodically chime and your eyes were drawn to the castle of a school. Lunch was over now and passing period was just beginning.

The boys began to turn around and walk, just as a branch extended and pushed the Ravenclaw down before retracting. It left a hint of a smile on your face as you collected your books thrown to the side and followed their trail to the school, listening to the Ravenclaw's complaints.

When reaching the school the two had turned down their own hall and you continued towards the dungeons, regretting not dropping off your charms book in your dorm before the class had started. It was feeling heavy and you were already late, you could tell as an owl squawked at you from the side of the hall and a sneer from an old painting.

Slipping through the wooden doors, the class turned and stared for a short time before realizing it was only you. Slughorn met your eyes but continued to teach his lesson at the front, prepping the class for their potions. You scanned the room quickly for an empty seat, to which you only found one at the front of the room next to Sirius Black.

He had been moved there from almost the second that first term started, too much noise was made in the back with his mates, Peter and James, and now they were all scattered throughout the room permanently. James was also in the first row, just on the complete opposite side, and Peter sat in the back.

You really had nothing against Sirius, but you didn't know what to expect when you slid into the stool next to him. He looked at you silently, eyes dropping down to your robes almost immediately. Making assumptions, you were sure. Not only because of your y/h colors, but from the small dirt stains from the tree and ground you had been up against a few minutes prior.

Slughorn's speech ended and you caught on to what he was saying, enough to know what precautions to take. You knew what to do with the help of your textbook, flipping to the right page slowly but surely as the other students grabbed their ingredients. Sirius stayed and scrubbed his cauldron without a word.

There was a tall figure shadowing you slightly, and you turned to see the disappointing expression on your Professor's face.

"This isn't the first time you've been late to my class, miss y/l/n," He chastised, "This calls for another detention."

"I know, Professor. See you on Friday," You gave him a thin-lipped smile. It annoyed him, his only response was a sigh and a shake of his head as he walked off.

Sirius raised an eyebrow as he set his scrub brush down on the table, "You know, if you stopped being so late, I reckon you could get out of these detentions."

You looked at him in slight disbelief, you really had expected him to ignore it, and now here he was giving you advice just to poke fun? "Pardon me?"

"Where do you run off to anyway?" He leaned forward, resting his head in the palm of his hand. "Shrieking Shack? Black Lake?"

What you had mistaken for arrogance was him trying to be funny, you realized, and it worked as you smiled and shook your head. "I would reckon so if I had gone mad. You realize none of this is your business, yeah?"

"I want it to be."

You rolled your eyes and stood up from your stool, off to grab the ingredients. "Only in your dreams, Black."

He continued to stare down the back of your head as you tucked glass jars in the space between your arms and your chest, clutching them. Until his head was pushed forward, he was so unprepared he almost hit the rim of the cauldron. He turned behind him to see Peter and James giggling as they rushed to their seats, and just as he rose from his seat with a determined and mischievous glare he was shot down.

"Mr. Black!"

The school hours had ended not long ago, and instead of books and quills in your possession, now all that you had was a letter stuffed in it's envelope. As you looked down at it, weaving it between your fingers, you realized just how bad your hands were shaking with nerves.

Your quest was to the Owlrey, the time it took to get there was tiring, especially with the steep path once you got to the rocky hill the tower was on. Trips were taken before and at first you had believed they would get easier, but they never did, the path only became memorized.

On your way you stepped past a pile of well-past brown leaves absentmindedly as you flipped over the letter and looked at it's dedication. The y/l/n's.

Behind you, you heard the crunch of fallen leaves and a few sticks tucked under the pile and you froze where you stood, looking behind you but you could see nothing past the curve on the spiral trail. Holding your breath, you could hear the sounds of heavy footsteps getting closer.

You slinked behind a boulder on the side of the hill, keeping your back pressed up against it as you waited for the student to pass. It was more than likely they didn't know you were here, either, and just on their way to deliver a letter of some sort. You remained curious, nevertheless.

Their steps became clearer and you waited, becoming more nervous than you knew you needed to be. A building anticipation as you began to pray to dear Merlin it wasn't Malfoy or Snape, but then you figured Malfoy was far too stuck up to get his hands dirty with a mere owl. He'd have one of his followers do the work for him, which was much less threatening.

A figure passed and for a second you swore it was Snape, first recognizing the long, jet black hair. But this student's was more free rather than slicked back and looking like it was glued to his head. Their hands were stuck in their pockets and they kept their eyes up, looking at the sky. You were able to catch their features, as well as the Gryffindor house colors on his tie.

An overdramatic, but playful sigh left your lips and your arms fell to your sides, "Are you serious?"

You surprised him, you could tell as he turned around and had his eyebrows pulled together in confusion for a short second, just before it turned into one of pride as a cheeky smirk took over, hoping you wouldn't notice that you caught him off guard. You knew you did.

"'Fraid so, darling. You waiting up for me?" Sirius cocked an eyebrow and walked down to where you were, still up against a rock. The steepness of the hill only made him taller than he already was, towering over you.

"More of catching my stalker," You corrected.

"You're hiding behind a boulder."

"You're following me up a mountain."

His mouth fell open as he failed to come up with a rebuttal to defend his actions, and it was your turn to smirk as you bumped your shoulder with his and continued on the trail. He was quick to turn around and follow your actions once again, slowing down when he reached your side.

Sirius kept his eyes on you, and then they fell to the letter in your hands that you kept on the opposite side of you, almost as if you were hiding it from him.

"Don't see why you're suddenly so curious to know of my whereabouts outside of class," You told him, enough courage filling your chest to ask such a question outright.

He cocked his head, "We've developed a rapport, wouldn't you say? Enough for me to feel free to irritate you as much as I please."

Scoffing, you shook your head and looked down at the yellowing grass. It was pushed down from all the times students, like yourself, had walked on it. At one point in time you had questioned why Hogwarts hadn't replaced it with stones, and then you realized the steepness of the hill was enough of a trek, rocks would just act as marbles.

"And I'm interested in you."

"Interested?" You echoed, you hadn't spoken much with Sirius, and told yourself there was no way he could catch feelings this soon. That day marked the first time you had spoken to him in class as well as out of it.

"Of course, it's not a everyday you meet someone as mysterious and secretive as you, love."

You exhaled relief. He was just curious. The two of you finally met the Owlrey structure, stepping on to the smooth concrete with scattered feathers all around, some still falling from the birds in the sky.

"I wouldn't say I'm mysterious, but I do like my privacy," You playfully glared at him as you walked backwards through the open doorway just to face him.

It was much darker inside even with the open spaces for the owls to get in and out, there was no definite life source other than the sun which was currently covered by dull clouds. Unlike outside, feathers here were grouped together and piled high, but swept out of the way for some space to walk. Owls sat in their respective spaces and watched the two look up and marvel at the building.

You searched for your own, Jives. He had a particular brown spot covering his left wing and a white line that swirled on his stomach. It was hard to miss.

Silence took over the two of you, only listening to the flutter and hoots of the owls around you. Sirius watched as you looked up and brought two fingers to your lips, a loud whistle echoing off the concrete.

Jives peeked his head out of where he was perched in one of the compartments, swooping down and landing on one of the sills at eye level. His head tilted as he watched you step over a pile of feathers and approached him, you stroked his feathers as you whispered the address to him.

Sirius waited patiently, body up against a pillar next to an owl that he shared a glance with, and then a shrug. When he looked at you again, your owl had taken off and you rested your head in your arms as you watched him go.

"Pen pal?" He questioned as he sauntered up beside you, mimicking your stance as he looked up at the sky. The birds circled and perched themselves on the roof of the Owlrey, their feathers floating down slowly but surely just out of your reach.

"Parents," You corrected him.

He hummed. For a second he didn't say anything. "What's it about?"

You whipped your head to him with raised eyebrows, "You saying it's not normal to write your parents?"

"Not for me." You rolled your eyes, turning around and beginning to leave the building. He followed you out the doors, stepping over the feathers. "Why so secretive? Planning to take over the school? You a death eater? Madly in love with Inverse Pinocchio?"

You couldn't stop the laughter that bubbles in your throat as you shook your head. "All of the above."

He laughed as well, catching up beside you. "I don't suppose you'll be letting up any time soon."

"You're getting better at this."

[cottonpadenthusiast]

Remus yawned, dropping the book in his hands to the blanket as he turned over onto his back. The dorm was empty, the warm glow of the lamp illuminating its barrenness and the soft tick of the clock echoing in the room.

The whole of Gryffindor tower was like this. Remus supposed both the Ravenclaw tower and Slytherin dorms were like this too. The Hufflepuffs were holding a Valentine’s party and everyone was attending. Everyone except him.

Remus didn’t mind really. James was going with Lily and Peter had managed to persuade the Hufflepuff, Suzie Graham, to go as his date. That left Sirius. All Remus knew about him was that he was going. And probably with the hottest guy in the school, second to Pads himself. Because he was Sirius Black and could get anyone he wanted.

As Remus stared at the ceiling, the distant sound of music coming from the open window, it was becoming harder and harder to ignore the growing, piercing ache in his heart.

Stupid bloody holiday, Remus thought, moving up from the bed. It was his own fault that he was wracked with loneliness. He should have just went to the party and grumbled to somebody else who had no date and watched as all the couples danced to the love songs and stared as Sirius kissed his partner and wished it was him whose Sirius’ arm wrapped around and whose lips trailed his neck and...

Yeah. Remus was much better off here. Alone. Heartache is much easier to handle in solitude.

Remus pushed open the door and began walking down the stairs. The common room was likely empty but it was warm and Sirius’ clothes weren’t strewn across the floor, as in the dorm. 

Remus used to try them on when everyone was away. He would slip the soft material over his arms, the smell of parchment, grass and broom polish surrounding him, and dream. He would dream that this feeling of warmth and safety wasn’t foreign to him. That the feeling came as Sirius would gently kiss his forehead and pull their bodies close. He would dream that this smell would wrap around him every night and wake up him every morning. He would dream that the collar that tickled his neck was Sirius pressing his lips to his body, over and over again.

Remus would dream of Sirius Black.

He learned the danger of that all too soon. Dreams do not bode well with those whose hearts cannot tell the difference between fantasy and reality.

Remus had stopped wearing Sirius’ clothes.

As Remus reached the last few steps, he promised himself that he would not dream of Sirius tonight, that his imagination would not run away from him.

However, when he glanced up and saw Sirius standing in the middle of the common room, hundreds of pink and red heart-shaped balloons floating in the air and a banner saying “Be my valentine?” hanging from the ceiling, Remus thought he had just broken his promise.

“Who the fuck is this for?” Remus asked.

Sirius’ head whipped up from where he had been arranging flowers. “What are you doing here?”

Remus moved further into the room, eyes scanning the pink explosion within. “I was just up in the dorm. Why are you here? I thought you were at the party.”

“I was going to come up and get you when I was finished...”

“What? Why would you...?” Remus trailed off as his gaze fell onto the card sitting behind Sirius. On the front were the words “To Remus, my heart belongs to you. Love, Sirius.”

My heart belongs to you.

Remus turned slowly to face Sirius, who was staring intently at the floor, a deep blush spreading across his cheeks.

“Is this... for me?”

Sirius swallowed before glancing up. “Umm... yes? I’ve kinda been wanting to ask you out for months now.”

“You have?”

“Yeah. Wasn’t it obvious?”

“No!”

Sirius frowned. “Oh.”

A silence ensued as Remus continued to stare, his mind trying to come to grips with what was before him while his heart grew and grew within his chest.

“Look, Rem,” Sirius said after minutes of silence. His gaze was sorrowful and guilty and his hands fidgeted at his sides. “Just go back upstairs and forget this ever happened. I’m sorry. “

“What? No. I’m not... Oh, Merlin’s saggy balls, fuck it,” Remus muttered before bounding across the room and kissing Sirius Black.

Remus had never understood why it was impossible to describe what it felt like to be in love. Words nor actions could encapsulate the feeling. Yet, when his lips met Sirius’, his dreams and reality becoming one, somehow he could describe the burning feeling in his chest.

It was the long-awaited summer rain that washed away the dirt and heat, leaving only the soft glow of the wet pavements. It was the soft sheets and warm bed that you fell into after a hard day’s work, limbs aching but heart full. It was the sun setting as the stars twinkled above, two worlds, day and night, colliding into each other and whispering goodbyes until the sun rose again. 

It was Sirius pulling Remus close, so close, against his chest that Remus was sure that their hearts were now one, a single heart for the both of them.

Remus didn’t mind. His heart had belonged to Sirius a long time ago.

“So...” Sirius said, pulling back from Remus to rest their heads together. His grey eyes were warm and heavy. “Will you be my valentine?”

Remus groaned as Sirius laughed. “Oh my god. I hate you.”

“You can’t hate me after I blew up all those balloons just for you.”

“Didn’t you use magic?”

“Yes but that still took effort!”

Remus chuckled, dropping his head to Sirius’ shoulder and pressing a kiss there. He was wearing the sweater that Remus used to always steal. “If you have a box of chocolate, I’ll accept your offer.”

“They’re by the sofa.”

Remus scrambled away from Sirius, swiftly stumbling across the room to the chocolates. They were his favourite type, all placed in a heart-shaped box. As he bit into one, a pink, sticky goo spilt out of the hollow brown shell.

Remus was impressed at how well Sirius had stayed on theme.

“Mmm,” Remus moaned, licking his fingers as he turned to face Sirius. “These are so good.”

When Sirius didn’t reply, Remus turned and saw Sirius staring at his mouth, eyes wide, as Remus licked the chocolate from his lips.

Remus’ heart sped up.

A slow blush crawled up Remus’ neck as he watched Sirius watch him, Sirius’ gaze travelling down his neck as he swallowed. Suddenly, Sirius was across the room and pushing him against the sofa, his lips were crashing against Remus’.

Sirius tasted so much better than the chocolate.

The kiss didn’t last long as the propelling force of Sirius slamming into Remus pushed them both over the back and onto the sofa. Laughter filled the room as they reached for each other again, small kisses being pressed into each other’s skin and hands intertwining between the mess of limbs and two hearts beating in sync.

Love bloomed like a flower across the castle that night. Lovers and friends and families found each other’s arms and the soft magic that they all shared glowed even brighter than before. But the brightest light came from a red and gold common room, filled to the brim with pink balloons, where two boys fell asleep in each other’s arms, their heads pressed together and the quiet whispers of love, love, love filling their hearts.

[halothenthehorns]

THROUGH THE TRAPDOOR

  Harry hesitated before answering him though, asking, "What's the Order? You guys have mentioned it a few times now."

"Oh," they all said, blinking in surprise. Sirius said, "it's an anti-Voldemort group."

Remus gave him a light pop on the head before going into far more detail than that.

Harry nodded along, wondering very much why he had such a sense of Deja vu' of Sirius and Remus telling him these things. He shook it off and thanked them when they had answered all of his questions, and then read on eagerly.

Years later, Harry would never quite understand how he sat through his exams when he kept expecting Voldemort to come charging through the doors at any moment.

"Well, since we managed it every year, I don't think the teachers would accept that," James said lightly, trying to force a joke into a deadly awful moment.

Yet the days kept on, and the exams did come. Before they started, each student was given an Anti-Cheating quill.

"Which work far too well," Sirius laughed.

"Sirius did you-" Lily began, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Oh not me," he said at once, "but I knew this seventh year kid who had written a bunch of

answer's down in invisible ink on his arm, and he got them to come back for his eyes alone during the exam right? Well the Anti-Cheating charm made it so that the ink he used was then invisible to anybody but him on his test to. So he basically turned in a blank paper and made a zero." He trailed off in bits of laughter.

"Is that what happens to all the cheaters?" Harry asked.

"No," Remus responded, his eyes twinkling with mirth, "it's a bit specialized for maximum karma on each cheating student. Thankfully, not that many students are stupid enough to try, so I can't think of many more examples."

Harry smiled and decided to keep going.

They had practical exams first. In Charms they were supposed to make a pineapple dance across a table, and in transfiguration they were to turn a mouse into a snuffbox.

"You're not saying how you did," Lily said, wanting to hear her son's results.

Harry thought a moment and said, "I did alright on the tap dancing pineapple, but it fell off in the end, so I didn't get full marks for it. My snuff box still had whiskers on it, but I got ninety percent of it, so again I didn't get full marks, but I passed." He paused, puzzling for a moment and thinking about his other exams he said, "err, I didn't do that well in astronomy, did awful in potions, did really good on my DADA course, despite Quirrell being an awful teacher really."

"What about Herbology?" Remus prompted.

Harry nodded, saying, "that one I did pretty well in."

"Let's keep going then, since I think that was all of them," Sirius said brightly.

In potions they were set to make a Forgetfulness potion.

"Points for irony," Lily chuckled.

Harry tried his hardest in all of these, despite the near constant prickling of his scar, which had been happening ever since his trip into the forest.

"It's not bothering you now though, right?" James demanded at once, still stuck on the oddity of it paining him at all but since they still had no idea of who or why he'd rather ask this question then one he knew Harry couldn't answer.

"No," Harry said, "and I promise I'll tell you if it does."

They all relaxed at once at that.

Harry had been having nightmares again as well, now accompanied by a hooded figure dripping blood.

"Did not want that mental image," Sirius groaned.

Ron and Hermione didn't seem as worried over the Stone as Harry seemed to,

"They have more confidence I suppose," James offered, having noted several times how little confidence his son seemed to have. Another thing he blamed those Dursley's for.

though Voldemort scared them plenty, but they were both too busy studying to worry about much else.

"And there's that," Remus agreed, those exams were enough to make anyone study, even this lot of trouble makers.

Their last exam was History of Magic.

"Oh yeah," they all said brightly, but it was so easy to forget about this class.

"I did alright on that one," Harry said, shrugging, "not that good, but better than I thought."

"That's all anyone can hope for on that test," Sirius chuckled.

Harry smiled over at him, then felt an odd wincing pain. What was it about a History of Magic exam and Sirius that would cause that? Brushing it off, he quickly hurried on, not really liking the aching feeling that was growing inside of him.

After they left Hermione said this one was easier then she'd been expecting,

"I bet she said that about all of her exams," Lily laughed.

and how she hadn't needed to learn about the Werewolf Code of Conduct from 1637

"That's second year material," Remus rolled his eyes.

or the uprising of Elfric the Eager.

"And so is that," James laughed.

"I'm impressed you guys remember anything from that class," Sirius said, a bit dumbfounded.

She did this a lot, went back through and examined every exam, which only annoyed Ron. The three of them had made it out into the sun by now, and laid out under a tree.

The three friends smiled nostalgically at this, wondering if this happened to be the same tree they always sat under. The odd's made it seem unlikely, but it would still be something if he did.

Fred, George, and Lee Jordan could be seen in the distance tickling the giant squid.

"Be careful with that," James said at once, "that thing pulled Peter in the lake once for doing that."

"He spit him out though," Sirius said, laughing loudly at the memory.

It was a warm and sunny day without a care in the world. Ron was praising that they didn't have to do anymore studying, and that Harry should cheer up more, they wouldn't find out how badly they did for months.

"Now that's the right attitude," James laughed, having told Remus that more than once.

Harry was rubbing at his forehead, his mind not on exams as he told them his scar was still hurting. He claimed he felt it was some sort of warning, that danger was near.

Lily quirked a brow at this, saying slowly, "the last time it happened though, was at the start of term feast. What was dangerous about that?"

Their minds scattered, but they all came back to one idea. They hadn't discussed it yet, but since Harry had told them Snape definitely wasn't the culprit, then the only other person who might be was a stuttering fool who clearly couldn't stand up to anyone.

Easy pickings for Voldemort to control sure, but how? To many questions, not enough patience to wait around and speculate, Harry was already going on.

Ron still didn't seem too concerned, saying that they still had no proof Snape knew how to get past Fluffy, that Hagrid surely wouldn't tell anyone.

"Well, Ron's gotten better at reassuring people," Remus agreed.

Harry agreed, though insisted he felt like he was forgetting something. Hermione told him that was just exam nerves, that she'd woken up last night and gone over her Transfiguration notes, before remembering they'd already done that one.

"I don't think so," Harry muttered to himself, churning everything he had learned so far over in his mind, but then deciding to let the book continue, rather than strain himself again. He really didn't want another memory blast like the last one.

Harry still couldn't make his mind agree, turning everything over as he thought of Hagrid. Hagrid would never let Dumbledore down, would never tell anyone about Fluffy...except- Harry lunged to his feet.

"What did you figure out?" James asked.

Harry wasn't listening, he had figured it out at the same time he had in the book, and he was too panicked to explain so he read on.

Ron startled and demanded to know where Harry was going, and Harry said they had to go see Hagrid, now! Hermione tried to ask why while keeping up with a now running Harry, who explained that it was a bit of a coincidence that Hagrid had just happen to win a dragon egg, when it was illegal to carry them around in pockets.

All four adults sat there like they'd just been smacked in the face.

"Oh bloody hell," Sirius cried.

"How on earth did I miss that," Remus hissed in self-disgust.

"Well we were a bit preoccupied with the dragon itself," James muttered, rubbing his temple in agitation.

"Oh, I really hope Hagrid didn't..." Lily trailed off, looking worriedly at her son who was still

going paler as he kept going.

How it must have been lucky for that wizard to run into Hagrid who wanted a dragon more than anything else.

"I'm confounded, really I am," all three boys were muttering something similar to this, how could they have missed a detail like that?

They reached Hagrid's hut, who was outside sitting in the sun, and Harry began asking about the night Hagrid won Norbert. Asking if perhaps he recognized the stranger who had his egg? Hagrid said he never even saw the face, how he wouldn't take his cloak off,

"And he didn't find that the least bit odd?" James demanded.

but that wasn't so unusual in a place like the Hog's Head.

"Okay, fair point that," Lily agreed, they had all been in there at some point.

It wasn't to out there that he could have been a dragon dealer.

Remus muttered something to himself, yes that's what they had thought at the time, but the timing! It was just too perfect that a dragon dealer would show up when Hagrid had information like that.

Harry wasn't giving them much time for self-pity, he was reading on in too much of a rush.

Harry asked what they talked about, and Hagrid described his job here on the grounds, and the creatures he looked after. Fluffy might have come up at some point, the stranger kept buying Hagrid drinks.

"Oh no," Sirius moaned, wanting to smash his head against the wall.

"Of all the bloody," James trailed off in frustration.

"Did Hagrid not recognize the voice though?" Lily asked.

Remus snorted, saying, "oh please Miss Potion Master, you're telling me you don't know a way to disguise your voice and throw on a hood."

Lily nodded in acceptance of that.

Harry asked if the stranger was interested in Fluffy, and Hagrid agreed he was, three headed dogs were a rarity, but Fluffy was easy enough to handle if you knew what to do with him. Just play him a bit of music and he'd go straight off to sleep-

All four adults face palmed at that.

"It's official," James mumbled, "we are idiots."

"Apparently all you have to do to get information out of Hagrid is just keep him talking for more than five minutes," Sirius agreed.

"Yeah great," Remus said, a bit of anxiety colouring his tone, "now we know you can put the three headed dog to sleep by singing it a lullaby, but Harry you better wipe that look off of your face right now."

They all whipped around to look at their boy, and Harry tried to fix his features, but it was too late.

"Harry, no," Lily begged, "you didn't."

Harry was gnawing his lip to pieces as he struggled to remember, saying slowly, "something happens, I can't for the life of me remember, but something bad happens. So yeah, I'm going to say we did."

All four of them leaned back into their seats, looking on at him in stunned disbelief.

An eleven year old boy went to get past that dog, and probably fifty more enchantments, after a fully grown wizard, possibly Voldemort himself. How on earth was this kid still alive?

Harry decided to keep reading now while they were all still stunned.

Hagrid stopped himself, but it was too late. The three friends tore off again, heading back to the castle, now looking for Dumbledore's office.

The boys were still too stunned to make a mention of where they knew the office to be, not that it would have made a difference then.

They reached the entrance hall before realizing they had no idea where to go, and didn't know anyone to ask.

Sirius opened his mouth, his mind actually starting to turn on again, and said weakly, "if those Weasley twins are anything like I think, they would know."

"You're encouraging this!" Lily blew up at him at once.

"I'm encouraging them to go find Dumbledore's office," he snapped right back. "Jeez, keep your hair on woman."

Lily deflated and apologized at once.

This argument finally shook Remus and James out of there stupors as well. None of them were happy about what Harry said was fixing to happen, but it had already happened. So they would just try to make the best of it as they went, and try to remember to breathe in the process.

Harry began to say they would just have to- but was cut off by a voice calling out to them.

"What were you going to say?" James asked curiously.

"Go to McGonagall," Harry replied, a small smile twitching his lips as he actually did remember who was about to come down the stairs.

It was McGonagall,

"Speak of the teacher," Lily said, trying to make a joke.

who asked what they were up to. Hermione said that they wanted to see Dumbledore, and she asked them why.

"Well I can't blame her for that," Remus agreed, forcing a smile onto his face, "not many students actually want to go see the Headmaster, since it normally means they're in trouble."

Harry hesitated before saying it was a secret,

The three boys snorted in real amusement at this, James saying, "Harry, you really shouldn't have said that."

Professor McGonagall was not pleased, telling them that Dumbledore left ten minutes ago.

Harry fidgeted hard, while the four people around him cried out in a panic. Before they could really start to freak out, the sensory charm went off, and Lily made a beeline for her baby's room.

She came back down cradling her son, but then noticing how devastated the two boys on the other couch looked, decided to take pity on them and said, "one of you want to hold him while I get his bottle?"

"I'll hold him," Sirius said brightly, forcing the rising panic very far down and focusing on the task at hand.

"I'll get the bottle," Remus said, getting up and making his way into the kitchen before Lily could.

Lily sighed as she sat back down next to her son, and then asked sadly, "is this the bad thing you mentioned?"

Harry nodded, saying, "yeah, sorry I didn't remember that."

"Not your fault," James sighed, running his hand through his hair in agitation.

Remus came back in, and the two boys had a brief squabble who was going to get to feed the baby. Remus won, and Harry decided to keep reading.

He had received a note from the Ministry telling him to go off to London.

"Timing," Sirius muttered snidely, none of them in any way thinking this was a coincidence.

Harry exclaimed his surprise, and McGonagall reminded Harry that Dumbledore was a very important wizard who had many obligations besides Hogwarts.

"True," Lily sighed, "but now? On the day of exams, when all the teachers are the busiest? Perfect opportunity much?"

"To bad McGonagall doesn't agree," Harry said sadly.

Harry tried to reason with her, going all out and admitting this was about the Philosopher's

Stone.

"That'll toss her," Remus said, surprised Harry would admit something like that so quickly, though it only emphasized how much of a panic he was in.

McGonagall began spluttering in surprise about how could they know about that,

"I'll give her that," James agreed, "it would be a shock for a couple of first years to have figured that out."

but Harry cut her off and says that he thinks someone was going to try and steal the Stone. She continued eyeing them with suspicion,

"Suspicious of what?" Lily asked.

"Probably thought this was an elaborate prank," Sirius offered, this being his usual fall back excuse.

but then repeated that Dumbledore wouldn't be back until tomorrow.

"Why?" All of the adults asked in shock.

"He can just go to the edge of the school grounds and apparte," Remus said like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "he'd get there and they would wonder why he was there, then he'd rush back realizing he'd been duped."

"Or the flew network, or a portkey, or bloody anything," James added on.

Harry shrugged, saying weakly, "I've no idea."

All of them sighed in defeat, admitting there was nothing else for it.

She assures them that the Stone is too well protected to be stolen, and tells them to go back outside.

"This is awful," Lily groaned, "I can't even blame her for not believing you, this is pretty out

there, but now you're going to..." she trailed off, too horrified to even say it aloud, and none of them needed her to.

Harry turned unhappily to his friends, telling them that Snape was going to do it tonight, and speak of the teacher, he chose that moment to come up from the dungeons and sneer good afternoon at them.

"Not anymore now that you're here," Sirius said hotly.

"Sirius," Lily snapped, "you're saying you don't believe Harry."

"Of course I believe him," he scoffed, "and I'll admit I was wrong about him wanting to steal the Stone and all that, but it doesn't mean I suddenly like him. He's still been an arse to Harry all year for no good reason."

Lily sighed as she looked up at the ceiling, taking that victory for what it was.

Snape then made a snide comment that they really shouldn't be sneaking around, because Gryffindor really couldn't lose any more points.

"Git," James agreed with Sirius, did he really need to go rubbing that in right now?

Harry waits until he leaves before turning back to his friends and coming up with a plan, saying someone needed to keep an eye on Snape, and asks Hermione if she will.

"That sounds like a horrible idea," Remus said in disbelief, "I can't imagine any of you could follow him without his noticing."

"Hopefully she goes to fetch the cloak, that will make it a bit easier," Sirius offered.

"But Snape didn't do it," James sighed, "so following him is pointless."

"There's that to," Lily chuckled.

Harry was blushing slightly, it's not like he'd known that at the time, so he was just trying to cover all of his bases.

He and Ron would wait outside of Fluffy's door.

"Why?" James demanded this time, "What good would it do you two to hang around out there."

Harry hesitated a moment before answering, "we were hoping if Snape ran into us before he went into the dog, we could stall him long enough someone would arrive. Either that, or go get McGonagall again and force her to come up to see Snape doing something, you know once he'd told us to go away."

"And it's too much to hope none of that happens?" Lily asked without any real hope.

The shake of Harry's head was all the answer she needed, she had already resigned her fate to what Harry had said they were going to do earlier.

That didn't work out so well because McGonagall came around again,

"Maybe she did believe you, and was checking on the Stone herself," Sirius asked.

Harry shrugged, pausing a moment to rub his ears at the telling off he and Ron were about to get.

and told them that if she caught them up in this corridor again she'd take another hundred points away from Gryffindor. Harry and Ron went back to their common room, dejected but at least semi assured Hermione was watching Snape when she came into the portrait hole herself.

"So, that didn't work," James said sadly, wincing when he saw how down trodden Harry looked.

"Cheer up pup," Sirius said bracingly when he noticed this too, "you survive at least."

Harry sighed miserably and said what he had been thinking for a while now, "It's just, looking back, I feel like an idiot. I was wrong about it being Snape, no one believed us even though something really wrong was going on, and nothing we did seemed to have made any difference. For all I know, Voldemort really does get the Stone, and him coming back is all my fault."

"That's nonsense," Remus spoke up first before any of the others could protest, "you were eleven Harry. Think about that for a moment. Yes you were wrong about who was trying to steal it, but three first years figured it out when no one else did. Through a bit of luck yeah, but still, that's more than impressive. As for if," he stressed that word out, "Voldemort did come back, it has nothing to do with it being your fault. I'd blame the bloody school and Dumbledore himself before blaming you for that."

Harry smiled at him, but still didn't look totally convinced, until Lily said, "Harry dear think about all you've done in this year alone. All those things that gave us panic attacks, you got through them on your own, with the help of your friends. You're clearly a very smart, capable boy, who's doing everything he can to do the right thing. We are all more than proud of you, no matter what comes of this."

It seemed to take a while for this to sink in, but then Harry really did begin to smile, until he was beaming around at all of them.

Baby Harry burped in Remus' arms, and the timing of that was so unexpected, they all couldn't help but laugh for a few minutes, just enjoying each other's company.

Sucking in a deep breath, Harry read on with confidence.

She explained that she got caught out there as well, and that they were out of options now. Harry however, said that they were done going around, it was time they go get the Stone themselves. Ron told Harry he was mad.

"Kind of want to agree with him," Sirius rolled his eyes, when he caught sight of Harry's face he quickly added on, "in the best way possible of course."

Harry snorted in amusement at that before reading.

That he refused to sit around and just wait for Voldemort to come back to full power, and possibly turn Hogwarts into a school for the Dark Arts.

"Now there's a horrifying thought," Remus agreed.

Or worse be sent back to live with the Dursleys full time while waiting for Voldemort to come find him.

"No," James said in fear, "that is a horrifying thought."

All five of them shivered in disgust at that idea.

Finishing with the reminder that Voldemort killed his parents.

Then the four adults sighed, unable to argue with him after this little speech.

"Did I mention how proud we are of you?" James asked in a conversational tone.

"It never gets old to hear it," Harry said, smiling around at them all.

"Then we'll just have to say it more often," Lily said, running a hand lovingly through his hair again.

Harry leaned into the touch, feeling relaxed and ready to take on the world, quite the opposite of how he'd been feeling then. Upset and angry at the world for leaving him in a no win situation, or at least that's how it had felt.

Ron and Hermione exchange a small look before Ron voiced whether the cloak would cover all three of them.

"It should," Sirius said brightly, "it covered all four of us, at least our first year. Starting second year, we had to crouch, and after that, it never covered more than two of us at a time."

"Good to know," Lily snorted at this random input.

Harry repeated all three of them in confusion.

"Come off it," Remus chuckled, "you didn't really think your friends would let you go alone after that little speech."

"I didn't want them to be in danger," Harry said sadly.

"Well, if they're anything like my friends, you couldn't stop them if you wanted to," James

laughed.

Hermione pointed out that Harry certainly wasn't going alone. Harry pointed out to them that if they got caught, they were likely to be kicked out of school as well. Hermione chose that moment to say that she'd already heard from Professor Flitwick that she had gotten a perfect score on her exam.

They were all pulled out of the dark path Harry was about to jump down, once again stunned in the face of Hermione Granger.

"Has anyone ever made a perfect score?" Lily asked.

"Guess they have now," Sirius laughed.

Declaring no one was throwing her out for that.

"Going to have to agree with her on that one," Remus chuckled.

The three of them were quite for the rest of the night, to wound up for what they were going to do to talk much. Hermione kept herself apart, trying to read up and hopefully come across a spell they were going to have to get past.

"I would like to repeat that, the teachers of this school set up those enchantments. Unless she's reading past a seventh year level, then I will be truly astounded if she comes across them," Sirius said.

Harry merely shrugged, he had a good feeling that it was only because of Hermione that he had survived this night at all.

When Harry went upstairs to get his cloak, he came across the flute Hagrid had sent him for Christmas and pocketed it.

"Convenient," Lily muttered.

Just as they were leaving for the trapdoor, a voice called out what they were doing.

"Not Percy, anyone but Percy," Sirius was saying to himself. He too had already resigned his fate to hearing about more death threats to his little pup, he really didn't want it to be delayed by a Prefect.

It was Neville, and Harry was quick to try and reassure him they weren't up to anything, and that Neville should go back up to bed.

"You clearly weren't any better at lying then, then you are now," Remus wanted to laugh, but he was still a bit too wound up to really.

Neville doesn't believe them, and instead guesses right that they were going out again. He insists that they shouldn't, that Gryffindor would just get in trouble again.

"Kids got a point," James said.

"Don't suppose you explain everything and he comes along?" Sirius asked.

"No," Harry said, wincing as he did vaguely remember feeling guilty for what was about to

happen.

Harry tries to tell him otherwise, but Neville stands his ground and says he'd fight them not to leave.

"Wow," they all said in surprise, not having seen this coming at all.

Ron snaps that Neville was being an idiot,

"And here Ron was the one telling him not to let people call him an idiot," Lily said, finding even more irony as this went on.

but Neville snaps back that Ron was the one telling him that he should stand up to people.

"I don't think he meant them," Remus said lightly, still very glad Neville had taken those words to heart.

Then he puts his fists up and repeats he wouldn't let them leave, didn't want to see them get into more trouble.

"This is the best Gryffindor student yet," James laughed, then looked at Harry and said, "except for you and your friends of course."

Harry snorted, but still felt feelings of guilt as he kept going.

Hermione apologizes for what she's about to do, then cries out the spell Petrificus Totalus.

"Ouch," all five of them winced in sympathy.

"I suppose, since you were really desperate to get around him, that was the best way to go," Remus said sadly.

"Snape did that to me once," Sirius said in regret, "bastard left me stuffed behind the broom shed for an hour before James found me."

Lily had her lips pursed, forcing herself not to say anything.

Harry still felt really guilty for doing this, but then for some odd reason he pondered why he had this feeling like Neville was going to be rewarded for it?

They felt guilty for it, but still turned and left while slipping the invisibility cloak on.

"Poor kid," they all said one more time before coming back to the ugly realization of where Harry and his friends were off to so fast, and suddenly wishing Neville had really stopped them.

They travelled through the mostly deserted hallways, only coming across Mrs. Norris whostood there for several moments just staring at them.

"Always hated it when she did that," Remus said.

Just before they made it to the door, they also ran into Peeves. He recognized someone was there, even if he couldn't see them,

"I always loved the way he talked to himself," James chuckled.

and muttered to himself that he should call for Filch if someone was creeping around the castle.

"You see Lily," Remus said, bringing up an argument from much earlier, when their biggest fear in the world was Harry getting caught by Filch. "Peeves' first instinct when he doesn't know what's going on is to call Filch. He does want to keep this castle safe as anyone else."

Lily nodded, accepting this logic.

Harry got the sudden idea to try and imitate the Bloody Baron, telling Peeves he had his reasons for being invisible.

"Wow," James said with glee, "I didn't think to do that until the end of my first year to."

"Yeah, but you did a horrible impression of him, and you still got caught," Sirius laughed.

"Peter was the best at faking it," Remus added, laughing at his two friends as they made faces at each other.

Peeves instantly bought it, nearly falling out of the air in his surprise.

"Well he clearly bought Harry's," Sirius said in surprise.

Harry then instructed Peeves to stay away from this area for the rest of the night, which Peeves agrees to at once.

"Bloody brilliant son," James said, clapping Harry on the back, then wincing when he had to remind himself where Harry was sneaking off to.

They finally made it to the door, to find it already left cracked open.

"It's rude not to close the door behind you," Lily rolled her eyes, wishing that was the worst thing about this situation.

Harry offered his friends one more chance to go back, but they both refused.

Harry sighed, missing his two friends more and more the longer this went on. He hoped they were alright, whenever they were.

They entered Fluffy's room to find a harp sitting off to the side, deciding Snape must have

left it there.

Sirius couldn't help it, he cracked up laughing at that. "Sorry," he gasped, getting the stank eye from Lily, "I just couldn't help myself. Picturing that slime ball in a dress, playing the harp," he trailed off, giggling like a child, and even Harry, James and Remus joined in.

Fluffy was not happy to see them, beginning to growl at once, but Harry quickly put the flute to his lips and began playing, putting the dog to sleep instantly.

"Well that was easy enough," Lily said in surprise.

"Wish that was all it took to put all dogs to sleep," James said, throwing a smirk at Sirius.

Sirius put his nose in the air, ignoring that comment.

Ron and Hermione slip around the dog to the trapdoor, Ron offers Hermione if she'd like to go first.

"Chivalry is flattery," Remus chuckled.

She snaps not, so it's Ron who pulls on the ring,

"Guess it would be a bad thing if I said they were lucky the dog didn't just land on the stupid door," James sighed.

which swings the door open.

"Still can't believe these two doors are so easy to get past," Remus sighed.

"Speak for yourself," Harry grumbled, finding being in the room with Fluffy not a very pleasant memory no matter what state he was in.

Hermione asks if Ron can see anything, which he denies, saying it's just a black drop.

"And break your necks cause you're not old enough to know about cushioning charms," Lily muttered.

Harry waved his arm around and then pointed at himself.

"You are getting far too noble for your own good," Lily sighed. If she thought it out logically, she was kind of happy Harry went first, because she knew he was safe and sound. If one of his friends had gone first, she might be afraid they would get really hurt, or worse. It still didn't have to make her happy though.

Harry passes the flute on to Hermione so she can continue playing and then goes around to where Ron is, lowering himself down a bit, before turning to Ron and instructing that if he didn't hear from Harry, to go to the owlery and send an owl to Dumbledore, telling him what was going on.

All four adults balked at this, Sirius demanding, "you couldn't have thought of that hours ago?"

"It was too late by then," Harry defended, though really he hadn't thought of it until that moment. At their still disbelieving looks, Harry half shouted, "You didn't think of it either."

That cooled them all down.

Ron agreed, and Harry muttered that he'd see him in a minute then, he hoped.

Remus snorted slightly, not really wanting to think 'famous last words' but the thought flitted across his mind anyways.

Then Harry let go and fell through the air before landing with a flump.

"Better then squish I suppose," Sirius muttered, keeping a protective eye on the Harry reading for any sign of injury he might remember.

He seemed to have landed on something soft.

"Soft?" Remus asked, "Why would you go past a three headed dog, down a long drop, just to land on something soft?"

All of them noticed the edge of unease going into Harry's voice as he shrugged before continuing.

He felt around a bit, though his eyes weren't properly adjusting, and decided he must have landed on a plant.

"Not good, very not good," Sirius said at once, going slightly bug eyed.

"I'm agreeing with you on that," Harry said, readjusting himself, "I don't like this plant, it-" he

broke off in agitation, letting out a huff of frustration before going.

He called back up to his friends, who were quick to jump down next to him. Ron landed first, noting it was lucky the plant was there, but as Hermione landed she screamed in fear that they should take a look at themselves.

All four of the graduates were going over every deadly plant they had learned while in school, and the longer this dragged on, the worse it was getting.

She tried to get to her feet and struggled toward the far wall,

"Struggled?" James asked weakly.

because the moment she landed the plant came to life and began trying to wrap itself around her.

"Devil's Snare," Lily groaned.

"That'll suffocate you unless you light it on fire!" Remus yelped.

"Still not helping," Sirius snapped at them, then he turned to Harry and said, "keep going, I want to see which one of you remembers that."

Harry and Ron had been still too long, and were now wrapped up tightly.

"How do you not notice that?" Lily winced in disgust.

Hermione was quick to recognize what it was, Devil's Snare,

Lily was genuinely shocked that she knew that, it wasn't a common plant and wouldn't normally be learned until much later in life because of just how dangerous but inconspicuous it looked. She wondered how Hermione had come across this, but couldn't work up the nerve to ask Harry if he even knew.

and Ron's response was to say that he was so glad that he now knew the name of what was killing him.

The boys couldn't help it, they all released a weak laugh. All of them could appreciate sarcasm in the face of danger.

Hermione told them to shut up so she could remember how to kill it, which Harry asked her to hurry up with as he was having problems breathing.

"While I understand the need for urgency," Lily muttered, suddenly wishing Harry wasn't the one reading so she could clutch his hand again, "when does yelling ever help?"

Harry just gave her an exasperated look.

All Hermione could seem to remember was that this plant liked living in the dark and damp, and Harry told her to light a fire then.

"The Bluebell Fire she conjures all the time should work," Remus said swiftly, then winced when James and Sirius glared at him for that interruption.

Hermione agreed this was a good idea, then wailed that there wasn't any wood!

"No wood," Sirius said, looking faint, "bloody hell I suppose we should just be grateful she didn't shrink against the wall and freeze up again."

Ron lost it and shouted at her that she was a bloody witch! Hermione came to her senses and conjured the Bluebell Flame again, which the plant began cringing away from at once. When they were free, Harry praised that it was lucky Hermione payed attention in Herbology.

"Lucky that girl reads more than any other human," James huffed, Merlin were they only past two obstacles? "Devil's Snare is advanced that is. Easy enough if you have its weakness around, but still a hassle."

While Ron said it was lucky they didn't lose their heads in a crisis, then repeated back mocking Hermione that there was no wood around.

"I only hope her freezing doesn't become a habit," Sirius said sadly.

"I hope they don't keep getting into situations where she has to freeze up," Lily snapped.

Harry convinced them to press on then, and they began heading down a dark passageway. Harry couldn't help but be reminded of the underground of Gingtott's, and then his mind leapt to what would happen if they found a dragon down here.

"Don't," Sirius said at once, going almost white, "don't you dare say there's a fully grown dragon hanging around down there."

Harry paused for a moment, before shaking his head slowly, no he felt like he wouldn't run into another dragon that soon, before reading.

He was listening hard, and instead heard something rustling and clinking ahead.

Sirius shivered, remembering the clankers, this wasn't getting any better.

They reached the end of the passage and instead saw the chamber was full of jewel bright birds.

"Not dragons then," Remus said bracingly to Sirius.

"What are they then?" Lily asked, "jewel birds? I've never heard of anything like that."

None of them could think of what they could be, so didn't stop Harry as he read.

Harry watched them for a moment, but they didn't seem to harmful, so he put his hands above his head and decided to sprint across and try to get to the next door.

All four of them held their breath slightly through this, not wanting to mention how dangerous that could have been.

Nothing happened, he reached the opposite side untouched.

"I'm going to have grey hair by the end of your first year," James said miserably, for some reason hearing his son make it through all of these horrible problems weren't getting easier the more he heard about them.

Ron and Hermione were quick to join him, but all three pulling together couldn't open the door, not even Hermione with her Alohomora charm.

"They couldn't have used that spell on Fluffy's door," Lily huffed to herself.

Harry turned his attention back to the birds, knowing they couldn't just be there for

decoration, before he took a closer look at them individually and realized they were keys.

"Charmed keys, of course," Remus said, rolling his eyes.

Looking around the rest of the room more properly, he also noticed some brooms off to the side. He realized they would have to catch the key to the door.

"And they're all going be identical, and you've got to know a seventh year charm to figure out which key goes to the lock," Lily said, not really able to hide the hope in her voice that even Hermione wouldn't know that spell.

Ron looked from the keys to the door handle and decided that the one they were looking for was probably silver like the door handle.

"They weren't all the same colour?" Lily asked in disbelief.

"No," Harry said, "they were every colour you could think of, and they all had different wing

colours to."

The three of them went over to brooms and began swooping through the storm of keys, Harry managing to spot the one they were looking for.

James couldn't help but give a slow clap in applause for his son noticing something like that, the other two Quidditch nuts in agreement.

Lily wanted to smack them all again.

Harry pointed it out to the others, and Ron went speeding in that direction, nearly crashing into the ceiling in the process.

Sirius couldn't help the snort that came when he heard that. He was so stressed, any small amount of humour was welcome.

Harry changed tactics and instead told them to stay where they were, block of the key's path while he chased after it.

"You're really taking charge of them," James said in surprise.

"I can recall more than one occasion where you gave us the game plan on the spot," Remus told him.

Harry managed to catch it and quickly went back to the ground, stuffing the key in its whole and letting it fly off again.

"What if the door locked behind you?" Lily yelped, "you should have kept that key."

Harry shrugged, for some odd reason he had no feelings whatsoever about going back through all of this. He had no idea why that was, perhaps there was another exit where the Stone was being kept?

"How come Quirrell didn't keep it," James pointed out.

"Maybe there's some charm, preventing it from leaving that room," Remus offered. "After all, they weren't traveling along the open passage either."

They were able to pull that door open now and went through into the next chamber.

"Anyone want to take a guess?" James offered weakly, his knee bouncing in both fear and

anticipation, he couldn't help it. Despite the real danger Harry was walking towards, he and his friends had made it pretty far, farther than anyone would have given them credit for.

When no one answered him, Harry just read on.

They had come across a humongous board squared off with black and white sections, with huge chess pieces taller than they were stationed in their correct locations.

"And guess who's the excellent chess player," Remus said in disbelief.

Lily blinked, then blinked again, before whispering, "no way."

"Something wrong Lily?" James asked her.

She pursed her lips for a moment, before shaking her head saying, "Just anxious for this to be over." Privately she was thinking about coincidences, and how she didn't believe in them...

Harry and Hermione were stunned, but Ron pointed out it was obvious, they had to win the game to get across.

"Glad that's so obvious," Sirius snorted.

Then he deduced that they would have to be chess pieces.

"Be the chessmen," Remus demanded, "you just said they were how big? No offense Harry, but I don't really think just because you take the places of the pieces, you get their ability to break apart don't really think just because you take the places of the pieces, you get their ability to break apart the other pieces."

Harry was suddenly looking very nervous, fidgeting all over, and Sirius smacked Remus lightly for worrying the kid. Harry was feeling odd for a different reason though, he wasn't worried about himself. Ron, something to do with Ron here, he huffed and kept going.

"Did you at least try to walk past them," Lily asked with almost a hint at sarcasm, as she knew as well as anyone that wouldn't work.

"Yes," Harry shrugged, "but they blocked us. Don't know why that wouldn't be mentioned."

Ron walked up to the knight piece and touched the rider's horse, which came to life with a stamp of its hoof and looked expectantly at Ron.

"They're transfigured then," James sighed, running his hand through his hair.

Ron quickly came to the decision of what pieces they should be, Harry a bishop and Hermione next to him as a castle,

"The castle and bishop aren't next to each other," Lily pointed out.

"He meant on the same side of the king, not on opposite ends," Harry smirked.

and Ron would be a knight.

"I think he seems to rather be enjoying this too much," Remus said a little weakly.

The three pieces Ron had indicated walked off the board.

"Oh good," James said, brightening at Remus' earlier words, "I'm hoping that means the white pieces will just walk off as well."

They got into position and waited for the white to move first, while Harry couldn't help but fear, what if they lost?

"Not helping Harry," Lily muttered. She wanted them to lose, to be stuck in this chamber until a teacher came down for them, or preferably Dumbledore.

The bad part came when Ron sacrificed a piece which the queen demolished, slamming it to the floor as hard as it could, and dragging it off the board.

"Great," Sirius muttered, trying to stop a shaking feeling beginning in his legs, "just what I wanted to hear."

Ron was an excellent chess player though, and managed to take as many pieces as he lost, still managing to keep Harry and Hermione out of the game as much as possible.

"That's got to be the most complicated game of chess ever," James breathed, "having to go the whole game without losing three particular pieces."

The end of the game came near, and the Queen's piece turned a blank, expectant look on Ron.

All five of them shuttered at this, not liking that mental image one bit.

Ron whispered to himself that he would have to let himself be taken.

"NO!" Harry yelped so loudly, baby Harry began crying again.

Harry shuddered, then apologized, James ignored that and said quickly, "but he's alright yeah? I mean..." he trailed off, Harry looked pretty frightened, and none of them could stand it if Harry's best friend was killed like this.

"I-" Harry began weakly, looking around at all of them miserably, "I want to say yes, but I can't remember and-"

Lily leaned forward, smoothing the hair down on his head for a brief moment, then his hair sprang back up again and Lily forced a smile onto her face saying, "don't push for the memory. Just trust your gut, it's been right so far yeah?"

Harry sucked in a deep breath before he concentrated, not on his pounding head, but exactly where his mother had said. After a moment, Harry opened his eyes again, and they could all see that he had calmed down. He nodded, whispered, "yeah, he's going to be fine," and then read on quickly wanting to get past this, what he felt, was the worst part of the book so far.

Hermione and Harry tried to protest, but Ron convinced them it was the only way to get forward and keep the Stone safe. It took some persuading, but he did convince them, and then stepped forward to let the queen pounce on him.

Harry's voice was stuttering worse than he remembered Quirrell's voice, so hoping to distract him and calm him back down Remus asked, "one step? He didn't mean that literally? Knights can only move three paces?"

Harry was instantly distracted, his thoughts breaking away from that horrid mental image of his best friend falling to the ground without getting back up, and answered, "err, yeah when I say he stepped, I meant he stepped two forward, and once to the left. Right into the Queen's sight," he finished in a mutter.

They all exchanged upset looks, but it had worked. Harry was marginally calmer, enough that as he read his voice was intelligible.

She came forward and knocked Ron to the ground, where he stayed, clearly knocked out.

Harry was shaking by the end of this, he could have done without that memory being restored, but it was over now, and he trusted his gut. Ron had to be fine, otherwise any permanent injuries he had would be all his fault.

Harry still took three steps forward to the left,

"I thought Hermione was the castle," James blurted.

"Three spaces diagonally to the left," Harry corrected himself, feeling out of sorts, and not

knowing why the book wouldn't have mentioned that detail.

and claimed checkmate. Harry and Hermione were free to pass, though they hesitated and

continued staring at Ron for a moment longer before Harry comforted the both of them

that he would be fine.

"Did it work then?" Remus asked.

Harry shrugged, he had to believe it then as he had to now, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to live with himself.

They forced themselves to go on, trying to figure out what could be next as they went down the list of teachers, realizing all that was left was Snape and Quirrell. They reached the next door, and Harry pushed it open.

"Please be potions," Lily muttered, "I can deal with a potions test." She had remained quiet

throughout most of this, fearing she might throw up if she thought to hard about where her son was.

They came into a room with a troll in it,

"Another troll?" James said in surprise.

"That must have been Quirrell's thing," Sirius pointed out.

"Well, at least now you have practice taking that out," Remus said brightly.

Lily was frowning, puzzling over it, before saying slowly, "if that troll's been down there since the beginning of the year, and put down there by Quirrell most likely, why on earth wouldn't that troll on Halloween make anyone suspicious of him."

"Furthermore," Remus agreed, going wide eyed at what he realized Lily was saying, "none of them would have found it the least bit off he fainted at it? It's clearly what he put down there, since there's no other subject except potions, and for some reason I don't see Snape doing this."

"I think Dumbledore did know," Harry muttered, speaking without thinking, "he just didn't have any proof, so he put Snape on him to watch him, ouch!" he finished, pressing his hand to his temple.

All four of them gave him upset looks, but Harry came back quickly enough. Blinking and

rubbing his temple still, he huffed, "anyways, yeah, I've no idea why he didn't get sacked, cause you guys make an excellent point."

The four of them gave each other agitated looks, but didn't stop Harry as he kept going.

which was already unconscious.

"Well that made it easier," Sirius muttered.

Harry muttered how happy he was they didn't have to deal with that one as well,

"Yeah, wouldn't want more troll boogies on your wand," James agreed.

as they finally made it to the last room which seemed the barest of all. It only held a single table, with seven different vials on it.

"Snape's," Remus sighed, this might not be good.

The moment they stepped into the room, a purple fire sprang up behind them,

"Oh," Lily said at once, "that's a really difficult potion you have to make. If you get one thing

wrong, you'll be poisoned before you finish swallowing," ignoring the agitated looks the boys were giving her, and she said they freaked her out, she continued, "but it takes weeks to prep that potion correctly. How on earth..." she trailed off when she saw Harry giving her a small smile, then she blushed when she realized she'd done it again.

Almost laughing at the look on his mom's face, Harry kept going, feeling very calm all of a

sudden.

at the same time that a black flame went up in front of them, blocking the next doorway.

"That's a completely different potion," Lily said, unable to stop herself, "but very similar to the purple flame, only one ingredient is different, so this just got even more difficult."

James snorted, he loved his wife.

Hermione noticed a slip of paper that held a riddle on it, detailing how to find the correct potions bottles to get through each fire.

"Oh I get it," Lily said brightly, "the potions are already brewed in the different bottles, and you've got to use logic to figure out which ones. Very clever."

"I'm rather insulted you're so impressed with this," Sirius told her honestly.

Lily sniffed, suddenly wishing she were in the room with Harry then so that she could have a proper look at this riddle herself. If she really wanted to, she might even be able to figure it out right now just from these clues, but she allowed Harry to go on.

Harry felt stumped, but Hermione exclaimed she could do this. Claiming that a lot of the greatest wizards couldn't because this was purely logic.

"Sirius," Lily coughed under her breath.

"Aw," Sirius cooed at her, "you just called me one of the greatest wizards."

Lily twisted her face in annoyance at him, while the other three boys laughed at the exchange.

Harry asked if they'd be stuck as well,

"Nah," Remus said, the happy feeling gone at once as a knot began forming in this throat when he remembered what was behind that door, he pressed on anyways, "Hermione's the most logical witch at that school. You're in safe hands."

and Hermione promised she could work it out. After reading over the riddle several more times, she came up with the solution, saying that the smallest bottle was the one that would lead them forward, towards the Stone. Harry looks in it and sees that it is hardly one swallow's worth.

"Why wouldn't Quirrell have just drank it all?" James asked.

"It probably magically refills itself after you go through," Remus suggested.

Then Harry asked which would take her backwards.

"You're sending her back?" Sirius demanded.

"Yes," Harry said stoutly, he didn't regret this decision one bit.

"You think she'll go?" Remus asked, Harry's friends seemed very loyal to him, something they all

"You think she'll go?" Remus asked, Harry's friends seemed very loyal to him, something they all treasured deeply.

"Oh, she left," Harry said quietly, though he read for them.

Hermione pointed out the correct bottle, and Harry convinced her that she should go back. Get Ron, and go get a message to Dumbledore, while Harry admitted that he couldn't hold Snape off for long, recognizing he wasn't really a match for him.

"You recognize this now?" James asked, feeling faint, "after all that?"

Harry shrugged, he really didn't have a plan when he had walked into this, and yeah he had to admit he felt rather lucky to be alive right now.

Instead of letting all of them get a comment in about how stupid he felt right now, he kept reading loudly.

Hermione pointed out that what if You-Know-Who was in there with them?

They all shuddered in disgust at the idea of that, while Harry fought off the impulse to agree Hermione wasn't too far off.

Harry reminded that he'd gotten lucky the first time, while pointing at the lightning scar on his forehead, and hopefully he'd get lucky again.

"Luck?" Lily muttered, looking faint, "I very much doubt what happened then was luck."

Harry gave her a puzzled look, wondering if his mother might have an idea what did happen that night, but he was too eager to hear about Ron being okay.

Hermione was getting teary by this point, telling Harry that he was such a good person and that he should be careful as she gave him a hug.

"You two are adorable," Remus said weakly.

"I almost burst into tears at that little speech," Sirius snickered, he agreed with Hermione, but it made it easier on him if he just picked on his little Harry. It was how he coped.

Harry told Hermione to drink her potion first, asking if she was positive of which it was?

"I wouldn't lose faith in her now," James said, he had full confidence in the girl.

Hermione took her drink and shuddered, saying it felt like drinking ice.

Lily nodded, she had faith in the girl to, but the description of the correct potion felt reassuring.

Harry watched her go back through the purple flames before drinking his own and going into the final chamber. What he found inside was not Snape, it wasn't even Voldemort.

"Well the no Voldemort part was reassuring," Remus muttered as Harry passed him the book.

[plotbunny-hutch]

Hermione Granger and the Firebird 4/4

Part 1 here

Part 2 here

Part 3 here

Nagini. 

Nagini is . . . oh, boy. 

So, previously on Hermione Granger and the Firebird: the Giving Cup, Helga Hufflepuff’s sacred goblet, once used to bind alliances and give strength to the weary, is dead. Before that, it did its damnedest to tear apart Hermione and her Hunt–and it nearly did. Viktor and Ron came close to killing each other. Mila, Darina, and Aleksi aren’t talking to each other. Tihomir is . . . well, he’s being Tihomir about it, which means that everyone keeps an eye on him when it’s his turn to cook. Tiho’s dad thinks a little baneberry in the tea adds variety to family meals and keeps the kids on their toes. Sirius won’t leave dog form. 

Oh, and everybody has Horcrux nightmares. 

So, running low on sleep and patience and general sanity, the Hunt makes a stopover in Godric’s Hollow. There’s an old Order safehouse there. And Harry has never seen his parents’ grave, or the place where he was born. 

Okay, and Hermione wants to meet Bathilda Bagshot and maybe gloat a little about the Wiltshire Smythe/Devonshire Smith thing. Wouldn’t you?

Now, in their youth and excitement to be done with this damn Hunt and finally get some sleep in a proper bed and never talk to their fellow Hunters again at least until they get really bored, our brave heroes make an elementary mistake. They split up. 

Harry doesn’t really feel like visiting his parents’ grave and having a lot of feelings in front of a bunch of Bulgarians, even if he did kind of save their lives and even if they do feel indignation on his behalf both loudly and frequently. They’re proving to be awfully handy in a scrap–but they’re still Hermione’s friends, really, not his and Ron’s. Viktor, meanwhile, has some serious shit to say to Ron, and Mila, Darina, and Aleksi have some serious shit to say to each other. 

So, with Hermione and Sirius in tow, Harry heads for the graveyard. Viktor takes Ron out to the safehouse’s broom shed to see if they can salvage enough brooms for the Hunt. Viktor and Tiho are the only ones old enough to Apparate, and Tiho isn’t great at Side-Along. Only a few hastily-enchanted Portkeys and some serious cardio have kept them ahead of the Death Eaters. The remaining Bulgarians set about fixing dinner and checking wizarding radio for news. 

(The news, by the way, is not great. There seems to be a roving band of young radical terrorists on the loose, staging Death Eater attacks through the countryside in order to continue their lawless spree: three ex-Hogwarts students, expelled by order of the Minister, and a gaggle of foreigners, one of whom rather eerily matches the description of international Quidditch sensation Viktor Krum. If you happen to see any of these hooligans, seek cover and report your sighting to the Ministry at once.)

“I know you care very deeply for Hermione, and you are very good at apologizing,” Viktor says over a pot of old broom polish, “But between apologies, I do not think you are very good at being her friend.” 

“James and Lily were family,” Sirius says, barefoot in a snowy graveyard, holding Harry while he cries and Hermione looks awkward. “I shouldn’t have left you. Not with Hagrid, not with anyone, I never should have left you.” 

“I hate what I said to you, and I know I can’t ever make up for it,” Mila says to Darina and Aleksi. “But it’s killing me to see it drive you two apart. Please don’t let me being stupid wreck this. It’s good for you. And I want you to be happy more than I want you.” 

“Hm,” Tiho says to the stewpot. 

“I’m . . . going to give you two a moment,” says Hermione, inching off stage left as Harry and Sirius weep on each other. 

The Hunt is changing her. It’s happening faster all the time. She used to be able to spend all day in the library; just the thought of it makes her itch now. The others complain and pick at blisters around the evening campfire, and get distracted in mid-conversation, and slug about in the morning. Hermione has walked across half of England in the last three weeks, and she feels like she could run forever. 

But she can’t, because her Hunt needs her to stay close. So she doubles back and forth along the trail. She does her hand stretches and picks idly at the hilt of her sword. Hermione can be patient. 

Well, she tries, anyway. 

Bagshot House is close, so close, and she knows that the boys will only be bored if they come with her. She spares a guilty thought for Aleksi–but no, he’ll forgive her, if she takes lots of notes for his capstone paper and maybe writes him an introduction letter. 

So she goes to Bathilda Bagshot’s house, which is obviously a terrible idea. She has a lovely time over tea, gloats only a little bit about the Smythes, and takes lots of notes for Aleksi’s capstone paper. She says her goodbyes to Bathilda Bagshot, a sweet old witch who doesn’t seem to get out much, and sets off down the street. 

Which is when the Aurors pop in and Stupefy her. 

Hermione wakes up wandless and, more horribly, swordless in one of the Ministry’s charming detention cells. It might even be the same one she was held in after the Tottenham Court Road attack. 

“Seriously?” She shouts at the ceiling. “It takes you thirty bloody minutes to respond to a Death Eater attack in the middle of London and two seconds to pick up a delinquent student in the arse-end of the West Country?” 

Which is how she discovers that she is officially no longer a student. 

Oh, she thinks, in a distant floaty sort of way, this is what being dead must feel like. 

“Focus on your studies, dear,” her mum had always said, sternly, and “Don’t you ever jeopardize your future,” her dad had always said. They worked so damn hard to give her a good life, and this had always been the deal: you work hard enough to make opportunities possible, and we will make them happen for you. 

Mum, dad, I’ve been expelled. Hermione could die of shame. 

She reaches – stops – drops her hand into her lap, empty. No sword. Right. 

She looks at her hands for a minute: gloved in scars from fingertip nearly to elbow. Callused from sword drills. Dirty under the fingernails. A splinter, dug into a callus where she can’t feel it or reach it with her teeth. Empty. 

She keeps her eyes on her hands when the Aurors come in, when they manacle her hands and walk her down the hall towards the trial room. 

She’d stopped studying Muggle maths in primary school; she’d kept up her science reading, because it was interesting and because it helped her spellwork, but she hadn’t taken proper Muggle exams in ages, and would Hogwarts even give a transcript as proof of enrollment? What are her options? Does Hermione even have options anymore? Or has she thrown them all away like an idiot, waving a wand and toting a sword and swanning about like a hero when there are no heroes––

It is at this point that a minor hell breaks loose. Historians would later sit down and agree that, more or less, this is what happened on the thirtieth of October, 1995: 

In Godric’s Hollow, Hermione’s Hunt became aware that they had lost their Huntswitch. A panicked wizarding househusband (Reginald Cattermole, age 47) shouted at Harry and Sirius as they crossed the street in front of his house that he was calling the Aurors. The two sprinted back to the safehouse, where a brief consultation with the radio-operating group clarified that they were all wanted fugitives, at which point Ronald Weasley, age 15, said “Where’s Hermione?”

At approximately 2:10 p.m., the Hunt mounted their hastily-repaired brooms and began the long flight from Godric’s Hollow to London with all haste. 

At approximately 2:30 p.m., an alleged Death Eater (Amycus Carrow, age 52) spotted the Hunt in situ and loosed spellfire, shooting down Darina Dimitarova, age 16. 

Alexi Nikolov, age 16, and Mila Ganina, age 17, immediately dove to render aid; on finding Dimitarova badly injured, Alexi cast a yet-unidentified Dark curse; Carrow’s dismembered body was later found by Muggles in Dunkeswell, Yarcombe, and Chard. 

After a brief argument, Ganina remounted her broom and rejoined the Hunt while Nikolov stayed to administer emergency healing. 

At approximately 3:30 p.m., while flying over Salisbury, another Death Eater sighted the Hunt, heading towards London; after consulting with Peter Pettigrew (age 35, widely believed to have been possessed by You-Know-Who, age indeterminate due to spectral status), Bellatrix Lestrange, age 44, gave chase by broom with a squad of junior Death Eaters. 

At approximately 4:00 p.m., Sirius Black, age 36, peeled off from the Hunt to engage the pursuing Death Eaters, shooting down three before a third struck him with an artritoma curse, forcing him to make an emergency landing. 

At approximately 4:15 p.m., while flying over Epsom, a small force of wizards and witches formerly associated with the vigilante group known as the Order of the Phoenix rose to engage with the remaining Death Eaters; one, with a hex later described as a repurposed cooking charm, dispatched Lestrange. 

The leader of the nominal Order force (Kingsley Shacklebolt, age 42) made it known to the remaining Hunters that Voldemort had announced his intent to attack the Ministry of Magic. Spurred on, the now united force (numbering about thirty) made for the Ministry to oppose him. 

At 4:36 p.m., a blasting hex brought down the gates of the Ministry, opening the way for a large force of Death Eaters, as well as a small pack of werewolves. 

In the ensuing combat, another blasting hex caved in the passage between the Ministry detention cells and Trial Room 3, nearly killing Hermione Granger, age 15, and her escorting Aurors. 

At 4:41 p.m., the Hunt and the Order descended on the scene, pincering the Death Eaters between the broom-mounted force and a small band of Aurors rallied by Percival Weasley, age nineteen. 

At 4:53 p.m., Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter, age 15, found Granger half-trapped beneath rubble (and by all reports extremely cross) and levitated her free. Weasley and Potter attempted to dissuade her from joining the battle while unarmed; in reportedly strong language, she insisted on finding her weaponry, then. 

At 4:59 p.m., probably guided by some arcane Hunt magic, Granger discovered the Sword of Gryffindor (bonded to her some eleven months previous) bound with gleipknots in a Ministry holding cell; reunited with her primary weapon and with little hope of recovering her wand in a timely manner, she then joined battle. 

At 5:07 p.m., Death Eater reinforcements arrived on the scene with a Peruvian darkness hex cast simultaneous to a choking, noxious fog. 

With the majority of the defending force struggling to breathe and outlook grim, Granger did something extremely inadvisable with the Sword of Gryffindor which cleared the fog, resulting in distinctive scarring and hair loss patterns on survivors of the First Battle for the Ministry, as well as a permanent scorch mark on all the walls of the Ministry Atrium at a height of roughly seven and a half feet. 

Fog cleared, it became obvious that Pettigrew, clearly possessed by You-Know-Who, had taken the field. 

At 5:15 p.m., Gryffindor’s Sword in hand, Granger rallied the defending force for a charge at the remaining Death Eaters. Both sides took heavy casualties; the defending force retreated deeper into the Ministry

At 5:28 p.m., defending morale, faltering at the failure to completely repel the Death Eaters, was bolstered by the arrival of reinforcements from Hogwarts: the full complement of teaching staff (less one Severus Snape, age 34, who as a double agent was at the time embedded in the invading force) as well as several students who had begged, borrowed, or stolen their way into combat. Rubeus Hagrid, 65, was accompanied by a number of magical creatures which later proved instrumental in defeating the Death Eaters during the three-day Siege of the Ministry. 

At 7:34 p.m., another large-scale blasting hex caused a number of internal collapses in the Ministry, killing some dozen members of both forces and dividing the defending force in two. By strange accident, much of one defending force was of an age to have fought the first war against Voldemort; the other was primarily at or below the age of adulthood and included Granger and what remained of the Hunt. 

Injured but still mobile, Ronald Weasley assumed the role of strategist to the Young Defenders, orchestrating a series of guerrilla attacks on the invading force throughout the remainder of the night. Meanwhile, Granger determined by Hunt magic that the remaining Horcrux was mobile and within the Ministry but mainly stayed in the Atrium with the bulk of the invading force. 

(“Bets that he’s wearing it?” 

“Ugh.”)

At sunrise on the 31st of October, the latest strike force is returning from their predawn raid. 

“Bagged a werewolf!” One of the Gryffindor upper-years brags. Hermione thinks of Professor Lupin with a shudder. 

“Did you sleep at all?” Viktor’s hand is warm on her shoulder, only a faint tremble showing the strain of the last three weeks. Had it only been three weeks? It felt like an eternity since she sat across from him in his uncle’s library and said I’m doing it with or without you, but please let me do it with you. 

“A proper Huntswitch doesn’t need sleep.” 

“Hah. After year and a day of training, maybe. You have been Huntswitch three weeks.” 

Cheeks burning, Hermione looked up at him. “Well, I don’t have the luxury of time. I’d better be a proper Huntswitch now or we’re all doomed.” 

“Doomed? Now I know you have not slept.” Viktor grinned at her fondly. “Hermione Granger is never doomed.” 

“Pff.” 

Light down here in the shattered Ministry has gone strange, blue witchlights clashing with cheery mock-electric fixtures on the blink. Cormac McLaggen and Katie Bell have broom-lamps for night flight pinned to their robes, casting dark orange beams in whatever direction they face. Shadows are confusing and colors are wrong. 

“Go ahead, Ron,” Hermione says, when everyone has assembled and for some reason is looking at her. Ron’s the one running this meeting. What are they looking at her for?

“Er, right. So this is us, near as we can figure,” Ron marked their rough map of the Ministry, “And most of the Death Eaters are still in the Entry Hall, with You-Know-Who. There are two exploratory forces here,” the holding cells, probably freeing or killing prisoners, “and here.” The Department of Mysteries. “We think the Order are fighting them there, Angelina saw spellfire before she doubled back.” 

“How many are left in the Entry Hall?” 

“Forty-odd, last count. Could be more coming any moment. And we’re thirty-two.” 

“Thirty-one; I don’t want Tiho fighting with that concussion.” 

“Thirty-one.” Ron rubs his nose, lost in the map. Then he looked up. “How do you feel about brooms?” 

“Not great.” 

“Oh, then you’ll love this.” 

Hermione does not love this. Whatever wizarding storybooks say, wielding a sword from broomback is an absolutely terrible idea; even more so when you have someone else riding sloth grip underneath you. 

“It’ll slow us down, but it’s the only way to get everyone in the fight,” Ron had said, glowering at his figures as he scratched in the earth exposed by shattered cobblestones. “And with our shock troops, you won’t need to be fast.” 

Now, Ron is fifteen, and his grasp of Muggle combat theory is shaky at best. When he says shock troops, he literally means shocking troops; students of apparating age who show up in the middle of the invading force, grab whatever elbow is handy, and apparate across the room, deliberately splinching their passenger along the way. Which is a pretty shocking experience. The twins are experts and manage to teach the trick to a handful of others; the remainder are picking it up as they go. 

Meanwhile, the broom riders are providing cover fire and targeting the werewolves, who the shock troops don’t dare apparate close enough to bite. And Hermione, with Viktor on sloth grip steering because he’s probably the only one who can manage it, is near the end of her Hunt. 

“I think he is wearing it,” she shouted down to her pilot, “Every time he moves, it–,” and then she claps eyes on Nagini. And she knows. 

“Bloody fuck, another living one.” 

Here’s the thing about living Horcruxes: being one is pretty damn miserable. Harry describes the first fourteen years of his life as one long low-grade migraine, blurring his vision and making things like sports nearly impossible. He doesn’t wear glasses anymore. And that’s not considering the emotional and spiritual feedback, the constant internal struggle of a self against another self. Hermione can’t imagine how strong he is to have survived that and still come out, at the bottom of it, a really decent person.

But other things can happen to a living Horcrux, stranger and darker things: Parseltongue in a boy who has no blood link to any known Parselmouth, a well of power stronger than any fifteen-year-old wizard really ought to be, the willpower to survive even a partial Dementor’s Kiss. 

Harry was a Horcrux for fourteen years. Nagini has been for going on eighteen, though Hermione has no way of knowing that. She does know, as she knows it is her prey, that something is very wrong with this snake.

It’s big, for one, bigger than any natural venomous snake; it moves with a near-human intelligence across the field, striking at shock troops and occasionally catching one. 

(Hermione can’t look at the falling troops, can’t look, can’t let herself watch)

“Okay,” she shouts at Viktor, “New plan. Kill the snake.” 

But of course, she’s a Horcrux, nearly indestructible; no spellfire on earth will kill her. Maybe Fiendfyre could, but Hermione can’t make Viktor burn her friends along with her enemies. She just can’t. 

Her hand goes to the sword. Right. End this like it began; the old-fashioned way. 

In a maneuver that will define wizarding warfare for the next century, the two barrel down from the air. Viktor casts a binding hex, trapping Nagini for a few crucial seconds as he pulls up and Hermione falls from above like a star, like a dying phoenix, sword burning in hand. 

When she wakes, there is ash. Flakes of charred cloth and broomtwig float down around her; indistinct twitches and moans happen at the edges of her vision. She can’t seem to make her hands let go of the sword, awkwardly angled half-under her. 

Oh. And there’s Harry. And Voldemort. 

Voldemort wearing Peter Pettigrew is a horrible sight. He moves wrong, and breathes wrong, and looks awful around the edges, like bits of him are fading in and out of existence. He looks – bubbling, like a cauldron about to blow. Hermione should know, she’s been Neville’s potions partner for years. 

And when he speaks, everything in Hermione twitches to end him. 

She has been hunting pieces of this man’s soul for sixteen months; now he stands before her, fatally weakened by blow after blow, harried as by hounds, torn as by arrows. The Hunt burns in her. It wants blood. It will not be denied. 

She is not sure how Neville is there, but he is, scrabbling through ash and rubble to pull her from the blast zone that was Nagini. He practically shoves a potion down her throat, and then another, and then he dumps another one over her head when she can sit up. She’s vibrating now. She needs to kill it. Her throat’s not working right, but she looks at Neville and the sword and Voldemort, who is still taunting Harry, and he understands. Neville has always been good at reading people. 

They stand, boy and girl and sword, and they walk: slow, painful shuffle-steps muffled by ash. The twitches and moans are clearer now; they are people, or what’s left of them. Hermione doesn’t look. She just walks, firmer with every step, leaning on Neville whenever she wobbles and still gripping her sword. 

Never drop your sword, Gyorgi says, though your hands bleed. He would be proud. 

And now Voldemort has cast a spell, and Harry another, and the two meet in the middle. 

Your wand has a brother, Ollivander says. Once there was a phoenix that gave two feathers, only two in all the world. 

This is Voldemort: he has never, not once in his life, looked aside from his goal. He has not wavered; he has not strayed. When fled, he chases. When pushed, he pushes. Hermione sees him, the horrible twisted bubbling back of him as he throws every inch of strength into pushing against the brother-bond, and she sees what he could have been. Sometimes you just get a wizard born for the Hunt. 

But he’s wrong, twisted in every way, barely even a person anymore; the Hunt is all that’s left of him, hungering endlessly, ravening without cease. And Hermione is a Hunter too. 

Together, Neville and Hermione lift the sword. Almost gently, they thread it between the third and fourth ribs of a man who was once Wormtail and is now the eighth Horcrux of Tom Marvolo Riddle. Harry’s brother-bond holds the man who tried to kill him once and failed. Harry’s brother-bond holds him until his bones are all that’s left. It’s almost gentle. No blowback. No death-throes of a divided soul fighting to live. Only the end. 

Hermione is very tired. She would like to sleep now. 

She startles awake in the Hospital Wing. 

“Hush now, dearie, it’s over. It’s over.” Cool hands on her forehead and where is her sword–

Hermione is very tired. She would like to sleep now. 

She startles awake in the Hospital Wing. 

“Hey, easy. Easy. Hermione? It’s me, it’s Ron. You’re all right. We’re all okay.” And then, yes, her sword is there, hilt familiar as her own skin. “Here, Madam Pomfrey said not to let you have this, but I think she’s bonkers, who wouldn’t want a sword in your shoes. Or, er, hospital gown.” The words are helping; she focuses on them, pins all her attention to that voice. “So, er, it’s been a few days. More like a week, I reckon. Er. You did it. Personally, I mean. You killed Voldemort.” There’s a pause, and a wet sniff. “Congratulations?”

And then, oh no, he’s crying. Ron’s crying. “I–I thought I killed you, I thought I sent you off to die, Hermione, and you’re – you’re –,” 

“‘m l rt.” 

Sobs. Well, honestly. Hermione clears her throat and tries again. “‘m ull-rht. Ron.” And it hurts, but she grabs his hand anyway, because that’s what being a friend is. 

It takes a few more weeks before she can even walk far enough to visit Viktor in the next bed. Ron had insisted that they be installed next to each other, apparently, which Fred or maybe George had whispered to her with a wink at the end of a big group visit. Most of the shock troops had come through all right. The broom troops had actually been worse off, at least those still in the air when Nagini had gone up like a dying star. Muggles were calling it a sewer explosion. 

Viktor is alive. That’s probably the best that can be said about his condition. He might walk without a cane someday, one of the nurses from St. Mungo’s had told her with a sympathetic look. He isn’t quite up to speaking yet, but on a nice overcast afternoon when the sun isn’t too bright, he likes to sit with her and hold hands. Hermione sees many more awkward letters full of Feelings in her future, but right now, she can’t quite bring herself to care. 

Oh, Fudge is dead, by the way. Some Undersecretary defected to the Death Eaters and killed him during the siege. She’s still at large, and so are at least two high-profile Death Eaters. But most of them are dead. 

Hermione doesn’t let herself know any more than that. She’s going to be at least half a year healing from these last three weeks, Madam Pomfrey has told her in no uncertain terms. She’s made her first kill (has in fact killed her first kill several times, depending on how you count it) and the Hunt is sated for now, but it still lingers in her. It would be so easy to choose this prey, to say yes and run what’s left of her feet to rags after them. So she doesn’t. 

There are letters for her. A devoted throng of second-years headed by Colin Creevey are screening out howlers, but that leaves so much silent mail. Strangers thanking her for saving the Wizarding World. Foreign governments (oh, that’s Mila’s mum’s handwriting) offering her sanctuary (she did sort of technically invade the Ministry, didn’t she?). Hunters in the Americas congratulating her on her first kill and welcoming her to the Hunt. All sorts of people. Oh, and a letter from her mum. 

Viktor thumbs a tear off her cheek and gently takes the letter out of her hands. 

There are funerals. Lots of funerals. They never get easier. 

“They want to give us Orders of Merlin,” Harry says, standing awkwardly at the foot of her bed, not really sure what to do with his hands. “For killing Voldemort, you know. You, me, and Neville. I made sure they knew who did it,” he says, defiant. Harry has never wanted to be a hero. Heroes do too much standing alone for his liking. Harry would much rather stand with his friends. 

“Okay,” Hermione says, kind of at a loss. “Do you think they’ll still make us take our OWLs?” 

Harry blinks at her and then starts to laugh. Then she does, too. 

“Seriously, I haven’t studied at all.”

“Well, if they won’t give us an extension for saving the world, I bet we can retake them next year.” 

Next year. And the next, and the next. Hermione has a sword on her hospital nightstand and scars on her fingers. She’s still not quite sure where her wand is. She’s been absent from school for two entire months and might still technically be expelled. But with all those years stretching out before her, free from Voldemort and Death Eaters and fucking Horcruxes, Hermione feels rich. 

They talk about prophecies at the Order of Merlin ceremony, and when Dumbledore finally recites the damn thing even though she warned him not to, Hermione could just scream. 

Divination. Ugh. 

But the medal looks nice enough on her chest, opposite the strap of her baldric, and she’s finally healed enough to stand and walk around for a few hours without aching, so she even mingles a little. But then Viktor waves to her from a nice corner seat, Mila and Aleksi and even Darina beside him. Hermione tows her boys over to sit with her Hunt and gossip and tease each other about Mila’s dashing new facial scar and Viktor’s wheelchair biceps. Between that and the finger food, it’s not a bad evening all round. 

So long as they don’t replace that ugly fountain with a statue of her, Hermione thinks she might even chalk this one up as a win. 

There’s so much that Voldemort does not know, so many powers beyond his comprehension. He knows nothing of love, or friendship, or compassion. He doesn’t really know very much about Dementors and brother wands. The power of a good sharp murder stick is also foreign to him. 

But above all else, he does not know the power of Hermione Granger. 

THE END

[emdop]

Wise Men Say Only Fools Rush In

Remus Lupin flicks through The Daily Prophet, pretending to read the words while mentally reviewing the possible exits out of the Crooked House Café. The quiet hum of people and steaming milk usually soothe his soul, but today his heart rate speeds and Moony’s voice rattles louder. All these people make too much noise. You know what to do.            

Remus shoves the paper aside, gripping the table while he concentrates on slowing his heart rate. He listens to white noise, cataloging to Moony their origins and their threat-levels to him. He repeats to him how they’re so very safe, but Moony only screams about the number of people.THEY’RE EXPENDABLE, WEAK. Remus takes a deep breath, praying that after tomorrow’s full moon, it’ll be better. Maybe if he grips his humanity a little tighter, he’ll get to keep it. The front door creaks and Remus’ eyes dart to the noise, seeing familiar wavy black hair enter the café.      

Padfoot, Moony whispers and Remus lets out a breath, finally a normal volume.

 Sirius shakes out the October chill and unzips his leather jacket to adjust to the inside heat. He weaves to the table where Remus now relaxes.            

“This place is so… lopsided,” Sirius says, his grey eyes traveling up to the ceiling then down to the floor. He pulls back a chair and throws a leg up on the table, making himself at home.            

Remus chuckles, “Some would say that’s the point.”            

Crooked House Café is a small place one village over from Hogsmeade that serves both muggles and wizards. The walls line with shelves of old books and vintage art posters hang below. The posters have a subtle charm on them that allows the subjects to move ever so slightly. Seven table and chair sets dot the interior and offer the only seating. Above each table a bright bare light bulb hangs from the ceiling, so it permanently looks like late afternoon in the café. Remus has always been comforted by the way time pauses in here and stays at the perfect hour.            

“Have you done the potions essay yet?” Remus asks Sirius even though he knows the answer. Sirius’ eyebrow twitches and a slow smile forms on his face. 

“James is writing ours,” he says.            

“Ours?” Remus leans back in his chair, “I’m confident the essay shouldn‘t be co-authored.”            

“Well, there’s only one author: James,” he says, studying the chalk board menu. Remus remembers the upcoming Quidditch match and sees the reality.            

“So, Lily’s writing three essays?” Remus corrects. “That’s a serious amount of work.” He tenses, realizing he walked straight into it.            

“You sound like my mother,” he says off-handed, then gets up to order a drink.            

The front door squeaks again and Moony smells Prongs and Wormtail. Remus smiles at the two and waves them over. They commandeer two chairs from an empty neighboring table, squeezing in on opposite sides to fit under the small square table. James adjusts his glasses, then pulls a knee to his chest to get comfortable.            

“Is this your secret hideaway?” Peter asks, unraveling his scarf. His eyes circling the off- kilter place much the way Sirius’ did.            

“I suppose,” Remus says. He digs into his jean pocket to unearthing folded bills and spare change to find the correct amount for a chocolate muffin.            

Sirius returns, knocking into James’ chair and James shoves back, but Sirius’ evasive maneuvers dissolve James’ hard push into a light tap.            

“Whoa, there, carrying the goods here,” Sirius says. Remus eyes flutter upward in a disguised eye roll he does when Sirius makes a narcissistic comment. “I saw that,” Sirius’ voice sounds beside Remus, “I wasn’t referring to myself, but I’m glad to know you think of me as the goods.” His braceleted hand places a chocolate muffin in front of Remus before he takes his seat beside James. Remus lets a real eyeroll go this time, but thanks him for the muffin too.            

James pulls out our unfinished map from his robe, unfolding it on the table. “Fellow Marauders, we have a new edit to make,” he says.            

“Yeah?” Remus raises an eyebrow.            

“James and I found a new passage way,” Sirius says, sipping his latte.            

“No way!” Peter exclaims, “Where’s this one go?”            

James flips through the folds of the map, then points at a blank space outside the castle. “Here,” he says. James’ finger trails along the paper, “And it leads to a little field just outside  Hogsmeade.”            

“So, it’s underground?” Peter asks. Remus leans closer to the map, assessing the new discovery. They don’t have anything marking the area James traces            

“Yeah,” James says, nodding, “It’s a tunnel. Made of stone, flickering lights, and musty water. Bloody creepy.”            

“We already have the one-eyed witch passage to go to Hogsmeade. Why use this one?” Peter says.            

“This one, I assume by the isolated location, isn’t monitored by anyone,” Remus starts, then continues as Sirius throws him a proud smirk, “And say, if we needed to smuggle something into the castle, it‘s a better passage.”            

“This is why we keep you around,” Sirius says with a wink. With the full moon near, Remus’ emotion amplify, so a pink blush dusts his cheeks. Remus clears his throat and pulls at the neck of his sweater.            

“Bit warm in here,” he mumbles.            

“No kidding,” James agrees, “I’ve sweat through my jumper.” He lifts an arm, pointing to the slight darkening around his pit.            

“James, you’ll make the whole place stink,” Sirius says.            

“Piss off,” he says, thrusting his foot into the bottom of Sirius’ chair. Remus smiles at their antics, but the joy doesn’t quite reach him. Perhaps, another time will let him feel the happiness. He sighs.            

James and Sirius’ mini-fight cause enough ruckus to garner the attention of the owner, a balding man whose frame matches the house: a touch off center. He throws a disapproving look at the group of misfit boys crowded around a small table.            

“Our welcome is waning,” Remus says, then checks his watch, “We should get back to the castle, anyway.”  

REMUS STARES INTO the narrow tunnel. It’s exactly as James described. The walls and floor are made of stacked stone and the ceiling curves overhead. A set of stairs leads down to a flat floor and every meter a light shines with the help of magic, creating patches of dark and light. We’re not going underground, Moony says. Three Marauders file down the stairs, but Remus stays planted in the grass outside.            

“C’mon,” Peter waves a hand, beckoning Remus forward.            

He shakes his head, “Moony says no.” Remus chews on his lip as his heart thumps in his chest and his hands sweat, so he sticks them in his pockets.    

Peter tugs James’ jumper, then turns his attention to Remus, “We can explore another time.”            

The boys climb out of the secret passageway and walk along the gravel path toward the castle. It towers ahead and blocks out the sun’s rays, leaving them in chilly shadows. Sirius zips up his jacket and Peter wraps his scarf around his neck once again while James tucks his hands under his elbows to keep them warm. Remus feels too warm.            

“I hate this,” Remus mumbles under his breath. James catches his muttering and gives him a reassuring smile that tells him not to worry. Remus manages to return the expression, but Moony complains about the confining space of Remus’ body. A bead of sweat trickles down his back, adding to his skin’s uncomfortable status. He entertains taking off his layers of clothes, but revealing the scars etched into his body to the world keeps him from enacting this impulse. Remus doesn’t need the extra attention or the stares today, especially today. He glances at his watch again, counting down the hours. They whittle faster than Remus wishes.            

James bets Sirius he can run faster, arguing that a stag’s long legs make them better at running than a dog’s short ones. They appoint Remus to be the judge, but before anyone speeds off into the distance, they’re interrupted by the sound of someone else’s footsteps on the gravel path.

“Snivellus,” Sirius say, his upper lip curling back.

“Taking the dog out for a walk, are we?” Severus sneers, narrowing his eyes on Remus. “Woof,” Sirius says. Peter holds in his laughter, but clutches his wand tighter, whether out of fear or anger, Remus doesn’t know.            

James squares his shoulders, “Don’t you have a chemistry set to play with or something?”            

Severus glares at them then stalks off, his black robes billowing in the wind. They shake off the encounter with Snape and continue with the race, and even Peter places a bet on who will win.  

THE FOUR MARAUDERS stuff themselves under James’ invisibility cloak while the sneak through the castle the next night. Remus stoops to match the height of the other boys and they each tug on the edges of the cloak to keep it in place. Remus smells Peter’s fear sweat and the remainders Lily’s perfume on James, but what he really smells is Sirius. His peppermint gum and his favorite cologne swirl in the tight space under the cloak.

“Guys, my feet are sticking out,” Peter whispers.            

“I’m pretty sure all of our feet are sticking out,” Sirius says, shifting the surrounding cloak.            

“Well, Peter,” Remus chuckles, “if you get caught, we all get caught.”            

“So, the usual stakes,” James says. Remus hears the smile in his voice and cracks a smile despite the circumstances and impending trouble.            

They make it out of the castle and once they get far enough outside, they ditch the cloak. Remus breathes in the fresh air and watches his friends scatter in front of him, running toward the Whomping Willow to access the passageway to the Shrieking Shack.            

The night sky domes above the Marauders, sprinkled with stars and in the sky’s corner, the full moon shines. Remus stares at it while Moony stirs, desperate to claw his way out. Remus sighs, thinking he should admit that he and Moony are one in the same. They are both monstrous and they are both dangerous.            

Sirius stops and walks back to where Remus stands.            

“You think you’ll make it to the shack?” he asks, “The forest is close if you can’t.”                

“Do you ever feel like you won’t ever have enough time?” Remus says, not answering his question, “There’s this idea that at some future time, the pain won’t hurt so much and if we hold on long enough, we’ll get there,” Silence lingers between them as Sirius listens to Remus’ words, both the ones said aloud and those kept inside. “Perhaps that time is only rewarded to the good ones,” Remus says, staring at the ground and shoving his hands into his sweater’s pockets. Sirius’ warm hand grips his shoulder.            

“I’ve seen evil and you, Remus John Lupin, don’t compare. You have so much good inside,” Sirius says.            

“And so much bad,” Remus whispers.            

“I’ve yet to see it.”            

“Do you think if I wait long enough, I’ll find the time?” Remus hesitantly peaks up at the familiar grey eyes and shaggy brown hair, fearing both a positive and a negative answer.            

Sirius shrugs, “Why wait, Moony?” He points with his head to Whomping Willow, “C’mon, we’ll have to rush to catch up with them.”            

Remus follows Sirius, hurrying to meet his best friends. Sirius grabs Remus’ hand to move him along faster, which makes him want to feel this entire moment: the pain of facing his worst fears, the hope of a better future, the knowledge of how dangerous that hope is, and the love of his friends. Remus accepts it all if only for a second to experience a slice of that better time.

[amarauder]

chapter nineteen ❥ original

it’s a hate-love thing original version.

james potter x reader.

The Wizarding world has now become increasingly edgy and frightened as Voldemort slowly gained power. His way of gaining power wasn't as quick as Grindelwald's rise; in fact, it was so slow that it almost went unnoticed. But Millicent Bagnold, who was quite a capable Minister of Magic, had the top Aurors on alert at all times. The world was steadily growing darker, with the Marauders and the girls in the midst of it all, waiting anxiously for the day that Voldemort would strike Hogwarts and murder them all.

"Why is everyone so touchy whenever I say Voldemort's name?" said James irritably, as one Hufflepuff shot him a terrified look before scurrying to his common room.

"They're cowards, that's why," replied Sirius matter-of-factly, as they started to head off to Gryffindor Tower. "But then again, even some of the bold Gryffindors say that You-Know-Who rubbish."

"They're afraid the evil git might strike at any second," put in Y/N. "Of course, I don't know how Voldemort could hear you from wherever he is—"

"But that's the point," squeaked Peter. "You don't know where You-Know-Who is, so you must be wary and careful."

"Oh, don't tell me you're saying that stupid You-Know-Who stuff too, Wormtail." Sirius sighed impatiently.

"That's not the problem right now, Padfoot," said Remus hurriedly. "The problem is, Voldemort is after Y/N and James. He can strike at any second. So we can't let y/n and James out of sight until his reign weakens a bit."

"Wait a minute," said y/n. "You want to be our watchdogs? Are you mad, Remus?"

"What's wrong with the idea?"

"Well, first of all, you can't watch us every minute. It's absurdly impossible and stupid. And second of all, Voldemort is going to be after us for the rest of our lives! We can't all share a house until he dies, can we? I mean, he won't stop stalking us and trying to kill us, since he's a very persistent man."

"l/n is right," said James, shaking his head. "We can't have you all watching us and sticking to us like glue. We can take care of ourselves."

"But really, if Voldemort strikes..." Violet trailed off, her eyes widening. "You may as well say good-bye to your lives right now if that's how you're going to be."

"Really," agreed Jennifer. "Vi's right. You guys definitely need protection."

"We don't need you guys bothering with us, though," argued y/n. "We'll have Dumbledore think of something; he always does."

Arabella chewed her lip thoughtfully. "I guess y/n and James are right. I mean, we can't be their protectors forever. I mean, Voldemort might murder us in one curse, and then what'll they do? I call for another plan."

"Don't say You-Know-Who's name!" hissed Peter, looking around with frightened eyes. But no one paid any attention to him.

"Look, mate," said Sirius, sighing with resignation. "What can we do to help, then? I'm not going to sit here and let you face the music on your own!"

"We can handle it, we don't want you to get yourself killed—" began James, but Sirius shook his head vigorously.

"That's the last thing I'll ever think of doing, Prongs. You're my best friend and my best mate. I have to help you, or I'll kill myself thinking about how I let down my best friend."

No one had ever heard Sirius speak so emotionally and beautifully before. They all knew that Sirius was smart and brave, of course, but none of his friends ever knew that strong bond of loyalty inside him that would never break, especially in a time like this.

Arabella grasped y/n's hand tightly. "I'll never let you down either, n/n. If you go down, then I go down."

y/n and James both smiled at their best friends. Arabella and Sirius had no idea how much those words meant to their best friends, whose lives were about to be cut short by a madman. But the warm moment was interrupted when a greasy-haired boy started running toward them.

"POTTER! SET ME RIGHT!"

The Marauders sniggered loudly. James smiled at Snape like he was an old friend.

"Why, Severus, when did you ever have boils all over your face?"

Snape seethed in anger. "Potter, take—these—stupid—boils—off—me."

"Why should I? You're loads better looking now."

y/n felt pity for the poor Slytherin and removed the boils from his face with a flick of her wand.

"Thank you, y/n," said Snape, nodding.

"Why did you do that?" demanded James, after they entered the common room.

"I felt bad for Snape," she replied simply. "Besides, why do you guys bully him anyway? Sure he's a slimy git and I hate him as well, but why must you bother him? Leave him alone!"

"l/n, Snivellus has always had his little beady eyes on the Dark Arts ever since he came to Hogwarts. I'm surprised you don't know this. His family has always been supportive of the Dark Arts."

"Still...that's no reason to bully him," said y/n defensively, though she already knew she was losing the verbal battle.

"No reason? l/n, he's likely to be a Death Eater, for Merlin's sake!"

"He is a Death Eater," corrected Sirius.

Remus and Peter remained silently, staring at their shoes.

"y/n, it's true," said Violet quietly. "Snape's parents used to be my mum's friends, and she used to date Mr. Snape. They've always been on the Dark Side as far as anyone knows; that's why Mum left him for Dad."

"Wait a minute," said Sirius, frowning. "Your mum almost married a Snape?"

"I wouldn't say married..." Violet turned bright pink.

"Oh, Sirius, sod off," snapped Jennifer, coming to her friend's aid. "Mrs. Walker didn't marry Mr. Snape, so what're you complaining about?"

"Can't you leave him alone, though?" asked Y/n. "I mean, he hasn't done anything to you...You don't have to like him, can't you just stop hexing him and playing pranks on him?"

"L/n, that would ruin our reputation!" exclaimed James in horror.

"We are the Marauders, after all," added Sirius.

"Remus? Aren't you going to say something witty about this?"

"I—I don't think hexing Snape is right, but—what can I do?" stammered Remus.

y/n let out a frustrated sigh. "What can you do? Well, you can tell these two immature pricks to stop hexing Snape!"

"Hey, we can still hear you, you know," said Sirius.

"I know. That's why I want you to hear this."

"Oh..." Sirius gasped. "You don't think we're arrogant twits, do you?"

"Sirius, you just described yourself and Potter very well, I must say."

"Flower—you're our friend! Or, at least, my friend."

"Am I?" Y/n pretended to look surprised.

"n/n," scolded Arabella, exasperated.

"Oh, all right, I'm joshing. Still, promise me that you won't jinx or hex Snape unless if it's a life-or-death situation. Or if he hexes you first."

The Marauders looked at each other and shrugged.

"Look, Flower, Prongs is the one who hexes Snivelly," said Sirius, raising an eyebrow. "We don't do anything."

y/n stared at James with an icy gaze. "Well, then, I'll just have to have you promise me."

James stared at her as well, undaunted. "I'm afraid no promise is made, l/n," he replied coldly.

"Ugh! You snobbish git! All you do is bully innocent bystanders around just because you're bored. Do you know how stupid that is?"

"Nope."

"JAMES HENRY POTTER, YOU ARE THE MOST INSUFFERABLE GIT IN THIS WHOLE ENTIRE SCHOOL! CAN YOU JUST STOP HEXING PEOPLE FOR THE FUN OF IT AND BE MATURE FOR ONCE IN YOUR MISERABLE LIFE?"

The whole common room became deadly silent. Not even a scratching of a quill was heard, as every head turned to where y/n was standing, and breathing harshly. The first years looked absolutely terrified, while the older students grinned at each other, knowing James Potter's fate for getting y/n into her famous redhead temper again.

"Bad luck, Prongs," whispered Sirius.

He didn't respond. Instead, his hazel eyes became glazed as he looked into y/n's eyes. They were flashing dangerously at him and sparkling furiously. For the first time, James realized that y/n l/n was very beautiful. He noticed her long, h/c red hair and her stunning e/c eyes. Why hadn't he noticed her beauty before? That was probably what made him not make a witty or biting comment after Y/n's explosion. He simply stayed silent and continued to gaze at y/n like he had never seen her before.

After a while, y/n felt quite unnerved at James was staring at her intently. What did that stupid prat want from her, staring at her like she was a whole new person? She scowled fiercely at him and frowned, but he continued to look into her brilliant e/c eyes. What was wrong with Potter?

"Potter, stop staring at me," she hissed venomously, as this continued on for quite some time.

Unable to control themselves, their six friends snickered rather loudly. Sirius and Arabella were looking hopefully at the couple, perhaps wishing that they would start pouncing all over each other at any moment. Remus and Jennifer just looked at each other and gave knowing looks, as if they understood exactly what was going on. Violet and Peter just looked at them, waiting for James' answer. It came a few seconds later.

"Why should I?"

She narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean, why should you? I told you to!"

"Yes, l/n, you did. But it's a free country, isn't it?"

"Not quite. It is in the States, however."

"Have you ever been there? I have. It's quite a delightful place, you know."

Their friends (as well as everyone else in the common room) were staring at them, dumbstruck. y/n had just yelled at James for being a prat, James had provoked her by staring at her incessantly, and now they were both having a cool conversation about the States. It was a bit too much for some of the watching Gryffindors.

"Oh, yes, Potter, I have been to the States. I've been to Ellis Island before. Very enjoyable, especially that Statue of Liberty."

"Really? I've been to Hollywood in California. And you should see how huge those Muggle actors' mansions are!"

"Even larger than yours?"

"Considerably larger, I suppose, though it is a difficult comparison."

"Hello?" Sirius was ready to explode as y/n had done. "Why are you guys just having a normal conversation here? You're supposed to yell at each other or something!"

The couple looked at Sirius like he was crazy, which he was, of course.

"Why should we yell at each other?" asked Lily icily.

"Why? Because—because—"

"Oh, Sirius, shut up and let them have their conversation," snapped Arabella, rolling her eyes at her boyfriend. "It's quieter this way. Now come ON, you have to help me on my Astronomy homework; you know how hopeless I am at the subject."

"But Bella..."

"NOW, Sirius."

Pouting, he followed his girlfriend to a table where a handful of Gryffindors were studying, though still watching the whole situation in the corner of their eyes.

"What was that about?" wondered y/n aloud.

James shrugged. "Hey, we have weird best friends."

"True."

"Are we actually agreeing on something, l/n, or is it my imagination?"

y/n smiled. "I think, Potter, that we are agreeing on something. Rare occasion, I must admit. This calls for a celebration."

"Unless if you have a prefect's meeting tonight." He raised his eyebrows.

She swore. "Or maybe not."

"Ooh, you have a dirty mouth, l/n." He tutted rather loudly. "No, no, ickle prefects don't say bad words, l/n."

"Oh, sod off."

Y/n sighed, staring at the situation in front of them. James and Snape were glaring menacingly at each other, looking like they were wishing the other nothing but ill will. Snape had hexed James while he was heading for the school grounds, and now the two prats were dueling. Or, at least hexing each other until a teacher was in sight.

"Rictusempra!"

"Tarantallegra!"

"Furnunculus!"

"Petrificus Totalus!"

James' whole body stood stiff as a board and fell onto the ground with a painful crash. Many of the bystanders gasped, and some of the girls started to whimper and cry. They obviously belonged to the James Potter Fan Club.

"Git," muttered Sirius, clenching his knuckles. He quickly went next to James and took his wand out, about to say the counter-curse, but a shriek from the end of the corridor stopped him.

McGonagall was shaking with fury as she glared at the students crowding around the stiff body of James Potter.

"Who—did—this?" she managed to say.

Everyone looked at each other and than pointed accusing fingers at Snape, who was now completely white.

"Mr. Snape, what is the meaning of this?"

"Potter hexed me, Professor, so I returned the favor—"

"No, he didn't, Professor McGonagall!" cried Kevin Sharpe. "Snape hexed Potter first; I saw it myself."

"I see." McGonagall's lips thinned as she glared at everyone in sight. "Well, I suppose you're not lying, Sharpe, since you are the Head Boy, but I do assure you, Mr. Snape, Mr. Potter"—she looked at the two boys—"you will be sent straight to the Headmaster if this ever happens again. Black, put Potter to order again. Good day to you all."

Sirius hurried to James and muttered the counter-curse. James quickly scrambled to his feet and stood up right in front of Snape.

"We'll continue this later, Snivellus," he muttered.

"Do you see, Potter?" nagged y/n, as they headed to the school grounds for a bit of air. "Hexing Snape only causes more trouble; why don't you guys just leave each other alone?"

"I don't know l/n," said James bitterly. "Snape was the one who started it this time. Even you saw what happened. Funny really, though. You never seem to stick up for me, but you stick up for Snape plenty of times."

"Well, that's because—" y/n stopped and realized that James was right; she never did give him a single good word about it and spent the whole time on Snape's side—a Slytherin! How could she be so despicable?

"Yes?" he said icily.

"It's because—because I like you, all right?" she yelled. What am I doing, telling Potter that I like him? I must be out of my mind!

James' eyes widened, and he gaped at her, unable to say anything. The Marauders and girls exchanged knowing looks with each other and surveyed the scene with relish. But Y/n had already run off to the direction of Gryffindor Tower, tears running down her cheeks. He took action at once.

"Y/N!" he cried. "WAIT!"

But she paid no mind to him.

He was running after her, dodging trick staircases and the disapproving tittering from the portraits ("Really, the boy can show some consideration for us!" said one ancient maiden impatiently.)

"Pixie Dust," gasped James, as he reached the portrait hole.

The Fat Lady swung open, admitting entrance. He rushed to the direction of the fifth year girls' dormitory, but found himself slipping to the ground as he tried to climb the staircase. Several girls giggled and pointed at him from the fireplace.

"Potter?" y/n wiped the last of her tears and looked at James apprehensively. "What're you doing here?"

"Looking for you, of course. Look, I think we need to talk—"

A burst of sniggering followed as the girls by the fire started to blush and poke one another. James raised an eyebrow.

"Just what is so funny?" he retorted.

"You just said the four words that any girl or guy is afraid of," supplied one, who was exceptionally calmer than all the rest.

"Oh, sod off," he muttered viciously, and went over to y/n.

"Potter, just forget about what I said, all right?" snapped Y/n.

"But—"

"Forget it."

"I won't! L/n, just listen to me..."

"Look, Potter, I don't like you, all right? I don't know why I ever said I did—"

"But—wait, you don't like me?"

"Of course not! Why else are we arguing here in the common room with other girls as spectators?"

"Then why did you say you liked me back there?"

The girls near them burst into a fit of giggles again. Both fifth years ignored them accordingly and continued their verbal attack.

"I wasn't thinking, Potter, when I said it. All right? Will you just leave me alone?"

"No!"

"And why ever not? I told you I don't like you—what else do you have to say, Potter? Huh? Come on, spit it out!"

"I—" James stopped himself just in time. "Nothing. You're right, l/n, we've nothing to talk about."

Y/n nodded and went back to the dormitory, while James sank into an armchair away from the chattering girls by the fire. He had just realized something very important, and he needed to tell Sirius, Remus, and Peter—wherever they were.

His wish came true when the Marauders and girls bounded into the common room. They gave him questioning looks when Y/n wasn't in sight. James nodded to the direction of their dormitory, and the girls nodded, going up one by one.

"Prongs, you all right, mate?" asked Sirius anxiously.

James looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping on their conversation. "Look, I have something really important to tell you."

"What is it?" said Remus nervously.

"I"—he lowered his tone—"I like Y/n."

The three Marauders' jaws dropped open.

"Are you serious?" whispered Sirius hoarsely.

"No, you are," joked James.

"Really, Prongs."

"I'm dead serious."

Suddenly, Sirius broke into a grin. "See, didn't I tell you? I was right, wasn't I?"

"Padfoot, you really aren't helping," chided Remus. "Prongs, did you realize this just now?"

"Yes, Moony."

"After being so obvious since our first year?"

"Hey, and you told me I wasn't helping!" exclaimed Sirius, pouting.

James grimaced. "Was I that obvious throughout our past years here?"

"Definitely."

"Moony, what am I going to do? Y/n hates me now!"

"She's always hated you," piped up Peter.

"Wormtail, don't try to help either," warned Remus.

"Look, Prongsies"—James twitched at Sirius' nickname—"I've got a plan that will work perfectly. It's called Operation Matchmaker. What'd you think?"

"What's it supposed to do?"

"Get you and Y/n together of course! Or, at least have Y/n like you."

"Which is saying that this Operation Matchmaker is a miracle-maker."

"Exactly, Prongs. Exactly."

"And Sirius, you're not exactly what I would call a 'miracle-worker', so I really doubt this is going to work."

"Look, Prongs, Padfoot may have a point," said Remus earnestly. "I mean, with a little help from the girls...we may just able to get Y/n to soften up to you. After all, you have your moments when she does soften up to you."

James shook his head, staring at his friend. "Moony, I think that Padfoot is corrupting you—really."

He grinned. "Prongs, just listen to us, and we'll think of something, all right?"

"If you can think of something, I'll jump off the London Bridge if you ask me to."

"Really?" squealed Sirius, his face shining. "Would you, Prongsies?"

"Padfoot," said Remus, closing his eyes, "I told you NOT to help. Now go back to sleep. You too, Wormtail. This is a talk between professionals, so no amateurs are allowed."

Sirius pouted again, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Don't do that, Padfoot, you look like a girl," said James, smirking.

"Hey, I'm not the one who likes Y/n L/n!" he shot back, rather loudly.

"You like Y/N L/N, James?" asked Frank Longbottom, looking up from his Herbology homework.

His girlfriend, Alice, broke into a huge grin. "I knew you had it in you, James. Now all you have to do is admit it to her."

"No way in hell am I ever going to do that," insisted James stubbornly.

Frank snorted, and Alice raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Well, why not?" she asked.

"Alice, you don't know L/n very well. She'll think I'm joking, for one thing, and then she'll hex me for trying to trick her. Really, you should've known that already."

"We've seen you and L/n together, James, and we know that you two are meant to be together. She likes you, too."

"Er—Alice? D'you maybe think you can help us solve their problem?" said Remus tentatively.

Alice's smile, if possible, became even wider and more sinister. "Of course, Remus. Anything for my boyfriend's kid friend."

"Hey, I'm fifteen!" said James defensively. "I'm not a little kid!"

"Well, you're sure acting like it," said Frank, now smiling as well. "We'll help, of course. Dad told me to take care of little Jamie for the Potters, anyway. Matchmaking is our professional job."

"Oh?" Remus sounded absolutely delighted. "You're professionals? Excellent!" There was a strange and wild gleam in his eyes, that reminded James and Sirius painfully of Wood and his tyrannical Quidditch practices.

"What happened to that quiet Moony we knew from our first year?" the latter demanded. "You were such a small and innocent creature, Moony. Now you're as sinister and demanding as Wood."

Remus rolled his eyes. "Hey, I really want Y/n and James both to be happy and fulfill their destinies, so I may as well join the Insanity Club."

"Wonderful," said Alice, with that same gleam in her eyes as Remus. "Now...where shall we start?"

"Wait a minute, you want me to WHAT?"

"I want you to compliment her; you know, the usual."

"No, Alice, I don't know."

Alice sighed. "Tell her that her hair is nice or something, or that her eyes look spectacular today. Say something that'll make her day. And don't call her 'l/n', either; call her by her real, given name."

"You're asking for too much, Al," groaned James.

"What's the problem, then?"

"First of all, l/n—"

"Y/n."

"Right, l/n. Anyway, she'll know I'm lying for sure since I've called her  for quite some time a/h/n—"

"You've what?"

"Called her a/h/n," replied James casually.

"James." Alice moaned. "Why did you have to ruin my plan?"

"What did I do?"

"I thought that you and y/n had that sort of love and hate relationship..."

"Al, we don't HAVE a relationship."

"Right, but you get what I mean, don't you? Oh, never mind." She frowned at James' puzzled expression. "My point is, I thought that you and y/n were hesitant friends, and that with a few compliments and bit of flirting, you two would become a couple and live happily ever after. Now that I see it's not the case"—Alice sighed fretfully—"I don't know what to do."

"So l/n and I will be enemies forever?"

"Oh, James, her name is Y/n. Y/n, not L/n. You won't be getting anywhere if you can't at least call her by her first name, not her surname."

"But L/n sounds so much better."

"Oy, Frankie!" called Alice across the common room. "C'mere!"

"Don't call me that, Lisa," mumbled Frank, turning red, as he strolled over to the pair. "It's embarrassing."

"Never mind you. We're having difficulties with my brilliant plan. And don't call me 'Lisa', it's so...ditzy."

"All right, what's wrong?" He completely ignored the last comment.

"Potter doesn't have the—er—healthy relationship I thought he had, with Y/n."

Frank's eyes widened. "You don't mean they—did you-know-what?" he said weakly.

"Oh, no, nothing like that!" exclaimed Alice hastily. "It's just that—ah."

"Ah? That's all you can say?"

"Did you two lovebirds forget about me?" demanded James. "I'm still here, you know."

"James, shut up," ordered Alice. Then she turned to Frank again. "They're natural enemies; they hate each other like Gryffindors hate Slytherins."

"You got that right," muttered James. Alice paid no attention to his comment.

"Look, Frankie, we have to think of a better plan for them to at least be friends."

"You're not friends?" asked Frank curiously.

"Where did you get an idea that we were friends?" asked James incredulously. "L/n loathes me."

"Well, obviously, since you're acting like a total prat right now, James," snapped Alice. "Look, at least call her Y/n. Why do you even like her if you can't call her by her given name?"

Frank sniggered loudly and Alice shot him death daggers.

"Frank, shut up, before I am forced to hex you into oblivion. Then you won't know your own name, and I'll go find another boyfriend that's smarter and hotter than you are!"

Frank shut up immediately, his eyes darting away from Alice and James.

"Oh, but is there another boy that's smarter and hotter than Frank?" queried James innocently.

"James, we've no time to ponder my love life. We're talking about your love life now, unless if you want L/n to hate you for the rest of your life. Now, if the hair compliment doesn't work, try the eye one. She has beautiful eyes; you have to admit that."

"Whatever."

"Bad answer."

"I s'pose. For Merlin's sake, this is even harder than trying to dodge the Killing Curse from Voldemort! Girls are so complicated, I've just realized."

"Aren't they, though?" said Frank heavily. "I share your pain, James. I've had a steady girlfriend for three years, and she's a pain in the—ouch!" Alice swatted him painfully. "What in the name of Merlin was that for?"

"You're talking ill of me, Frankie. I won't have it."

"I thought we were talking about my love life," interrupted James sourly. "Now you guys are having a lover's quarrel again. Sometimes I'm grateful that I'm single, seeing what you couples go through."

Frank and Alice both turned crimson and gave him death glares.

"Well, I s'pose we should be helping little Jamie, Al," agreed Frank, after a while of thought. "But what should we do?"

"Becoming friends first is key," said Alice briskly. "You must be nice to Y/n. I mean, really, what's there to not like about you? Just don't act like a prat, and nothing will go wrong with Operation Matchmaker."

"You took Pad—Sirius' stupid name for this?"

"He did insist, and I must say, even if I am a year older than the brat, his puppy face pout is very irresistible, even with a girl more superior than he."

"All right, Jamie, I will show you professional charm and flirting that Y/n will not be able to resist." Frank grinned.

"Hey, I happen to have very high marks in that area. That's why you find most of the female population at Hogwarts chasing after me with lovesick faces."

"See, James, that's the first thing you have to change," said Alice, rolling her eyes. "Stop with that damn cocky attitude; it aggravates girls that way. Now I see why Y/n can't stand you. You're such a—"

"All right, all right! I'll stop being cocky, or whatever. But mind you, don't kill me or hex me if I let something slip once in a while."

"I won't do anything if your cockiness is occasional, but it better not be often, or else you'll never get Y/n. Number two: you must be polite to her at all times. And change that stupid hexing attitude of yours! I don't like it."

"What hexing attitude?"

"You always hex innocent bystanders—mainly Snape—in the corridors for no particular reason. Care to elaborate on that?"

"They bother me."

"How so?"

"They exist, don't they? That really ticks me off."

Frank laughed, but hastily turned it into a cough just in time.

"James Potter, I now realize why Y/n hates your guts. You're incorrigible, you are. Can't you at least try to change yourself?"

"How, Alice?"

"Oh...I don't know. Be like Frank."

James raised an inquiry eyebrow. "And how will that help?"

"Well, look at it this way, Potter. Frank is every girl's dream boyfriend. He's cute, nice, intelligent, a sweetheart, and a dreamy romantic. Get him to teach you a few of his—er—charms, as he calls it."

"Aww...you really do love me, don't you, Al?" said Frank, wiping imaginary tears from his eyes.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Frank, you will do this job and do this job well. Or I will curse you into oblivion and get a new boyfriend. I'm serious."

"No, you're Alice."

"FRANK!"

"All right, all right, I'll do the job good." Frank smiled and clapped James' back. "Well, James, let's get to work on Operation Matchmaker: Step One."

"Why, Y/n," said James in a sickly sweet tone, "you look absolutely beautiful today! And your eyes are e/c-er than a (Something that is the color of your eyes)—hey!"

Frank snickered. "Hey, I had to put in something humorous!"

"Frank, if you don't give me good stuff, I'll tell on you."

"Oh yeah? How?"

"I'll tell your dad that you've been treating me very badly, and tell Alice that you're not doing your job properly." He grinned smugly.

"Listen, Potter, you don't have that much authority over my father and my girlfriend."

"Oh, don't I? Would you like to find out?"

"NO! All right, I'll give you a good script. But first of all, you have to apologize to Y/n."

"For what? I haven't done a thing to her."

Frank stared at him. "Let's see, Potter, what have you done to Ms. L/n's? Oh, yes; you've called her 'L/n', played pranks on her, and disrespect her as a person and taunt and tease her. That enough?"

"Aww...c'mon, Frankie!"

"Now, James, or you've got no script from me."

"All right, I'm going!"

James walked up to Y/n, who was chatting with Arabella, Jennifer, and Violet by the fire. Halloween had already passed, and winter had come, nearly freezing the Gryffindors.

He took a deep breath. "Look, L/n—y/n, I'm sorry about all those bad things I've ever done to you."

Y/n raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And why the sudden apology?"

"I've just realized that I'm a conceited jerk and that I should improve more," said James quickly.

"Whatever, Potter. I accept your apology. Happy now?"

"Very. Oh, truce?"

"In your dreams, Potter. As if I'm that thick to fall for your stupid pranks."

James sighed and went back to where Frank was patiently awaiting him.

"Well, how'd it go, James?"

"She accepted my apology, but I think L/n only wanted to get me out of her hair. I tried to call a truce, but she told me, 'In your dreams, Potter'."

"Look, James, I think that L/n is right. You should stop hexing people around just for the fun of it. It's low, and it's definitely not what us Gryffindors are known for. Gryffindors are known for their nobility, bravery, and sacrifice—not hexing people around. That's Slytherin stuff. James—listen to me. If you don't stop this ridiculous hexing random people who annoy you, then you'll be going down into Slytherins' level. And they have a bad reputation in this school, if you know what I mean."

"Frank...you know I can never be a Slytherin. That's against my whole family! We Potters have been Gryffindors for as long as Hogwarts has been around. Not a single person has been in another other House."

"Well, I do hope you can keep it that way. I quit, though."

"WHAT? You can't do that!"

"I can, and I will. You're going to have to learn how to respect L/n on your own, buddy. Treat her like you'd treat your own friends...I know how close you four Marauders are. You four are like brothers."

"But she's a girl."

"Then treat 'er like a boy, for Merlin's sake! Don't be so narrow-minded, James."

"Fine! Let's see how you can handle L/n. Go on, then!"

"Potter, I have a girlfriend and I'm not going to lose her," said Frank firmly, glaring at the younger boy.

"Ah, well, that's your loss, then, eh?"

"What loss?" asked Alice, coming toward them. "How's the lesson going, Frankie?"

"I quit."

"You WHAT?"

"I quit, Lisa. Potter should figure this problem out for himself. 'Sides, he won't listen to me at all. Arrogant and proud git."

"Hey!" exclaimed James, pouting.

"Well, James, I'm 'fraid to say that Frank's right; you need to handle this yourself. Maybe your dear friends might give you a hand once in a while, but I think that you need to get Y/n to like you without any help."

"How?"

"First of all, deflate your oversized head!"

"Very clever, Lise," agreed Frank.

"Second of all, stop hexing people for the fun of it!"

"Definitely one to remember, Potter."

"And lastly, respect the girl like who she is, not what other girls are."

"Huh?" said James stupidly, perplexed.

"James, you think of Y/n as just any girl at Hogwarts. Those types of girls are flirty and bi—er—well, you know what I mean. Y/n's not like that. The girls you know may be all over guys, but Y/n's an independent individual who can think for herself and who's strong and free-willed. She doesn't flirt or try to lure guys into bed. So treat her like an individual, and not just a—an idiot girl like Deanna Jackson." She made a face at the very name.

"Well, I treat every girl the same," said James, frowning. "What're you going on about?"

"Treat Y/n differently than how you'd treat other girls. You treat other girls by flirting and complimenting them and receiving giggles and batting eyelashes in return. Well, Y/n and her friends aren't like that, thank Merlin. They're much more mature, and I'm sure that there are many topics that you and her share interest in. Take the issue of Voldemort, for example. You two share that common bond, knowing that Voldemort's after your future child...maybe discuss about the Dark Arts and how to get rid of it in our world."

"How'd you know—?"

"That's beyond the point, James. Discuss Charms with her. Y/n loves Charms, as I hear of from other students. Have her tutor you in the subject. And in return, do the same for her in Transfiguration, as I've also heard that Y/n isn't the greatest at that branch of magic."

"I've tried that before, Alice; L/n refused, since her pride was at stake."

"Ah." Alice smiled widely, her blue eyes lighting up. James and Frank both stared at her, wondering vaguely if she had lost her mind completely.

"What?" the two boys simultaneously asked.

"Ah, I know exactly what this problem is about, James. The problem lies with you...and Y/n. She needs to thaw up to boys, I think. Y/n's definitely dating material, but she hasn't gotten a date before, has she? So you have to know that she feels uncomfortable around boys."

"What're you talking about? She goes fine around Sirius and Remus and Peter—"

"Well, obviously, James, they're her friends! But you see, she does act differently around you, doesn't she?"

"Yeah," said James bitterly, "she hates me."

"She really doesn't. Give her time. Meanwhile, you have to listen to those three things I told you about: deflate, stop hexing, and treat her individually. Got that?"

"Yes, thank you very much, Alice—and Frank."

When the couple left, James sighed and buried his face into his arms. This wasn't going to be easy, for someone as hardheaded as Y/n L/n. But he'd try.

And for the next few days, James tried. But his tries failed one by one, and soon, he forgot all about trying to respect and gain Y/n's friendship and trust, and went back to his own arrogant self. Remus often wondered when James would finally "deflate his head a bit" and stop being the cocky and self-assuring boy that he was.

However, something as big as deflating James' precious ego wasn't too easy. Remus knew that James' bold and cocky personality would change, but he often wondered if it was impossible. His ego was extremely large, yes, but that was what he stood for. He stood for cockiness, boldness, and arrogance. That's what Remus has always known him for best. But under that ego, Remus could also see a frightened, lonely, and uncertain teen, facing the tragedies of dying at the young age of twenty-one years old from a Dark wizard.

The Marauders were certain that James would change. They knew that James really needed someone to guide and love him throughout his days: not them, not his family, but Y/n. Y/n would do the very thing—but only if she'd have him.

Y/n was quite an extraordinary girl. She stood up for other students' rights, even Slytherins like Snape, and did whatever she could to make Hogwarts an enjoyable place for the younger students. However, Little Miss Perfect did have one flaw, and it was being blind when something was there right in front of her. She didn't even blink when James Potter desperately ruffled his hair and played with his Snitch to make her impressed; instead, she started to yell at him for being an egotist. When academics were involved, Y/n understood everything. But when love was involved, Y/n didn't understand a thing and didn't have a clue as to where to start. So whenever love was in front of Y/n, she avoided as far as possible.

Both Y/n and James' friends knew that they had to settle the whole dispute by themselves. They tried every matchmaking method possible, but none seemed to work for this couple. In fact, Arabella suggested to offer someone a handful of Galleons if they could actually get them together. For both were brilliant students; both stubborn; and both blind to love. It really made a horrible collaboration as one, but somehow, fate would allow them to be together and to die together.

Both have had their share of conversations, of course.

"Hey, Moony?" said Sirius one December day. "D'you think it's possible that Y/n and Prongs won't get together and will go their separate ways. And when it does happen—"

"Padfoot, they're going to get together. Prongs just has to work out some priorities."

"I don't know if he can do it by himself."

"Trust me, Padfoot, Prongs is capable. Even though he's not progressing now, I know he will. With the rise of Voldemort terrifying our world, he'll go through such a dramatic change that Y/n will be shocked to see the change in him. Really, it'll happen."

"Oh? And how do you know this, O Prophetic One?"

"Because I know. Listen, Padfoot. Y/n and James are two different people. Y/n's smart, studious, and wise beyond her years. James is arrogant, self-centered, smart, and loving sometimes. As they say, opposites attract. Those two stubborn prats are meant for each other."

And so they were.

tags; @theredheadedwinchester

masterlist

[queatleharririus-blog]

How James and Lily fell in love

“Ugh, James, stop acting like you are so cool,” Lily said, rolling her eyes at James. James just stood there with a surprised look on his face as Sirius and Remus made heart shapes behind Lily’s back. “I am not!” James stuttered out as Lily rolled her eyes again. “Sure,” she said as she walked off with Marlene. It was 7th year and James’ crush on Lily was bigger than ever. Everybody thought that James was finally growing on Lily, but she seemed to dislike him more than ever. James had been working on one of his latest attempts to impress Lily, however it hadn’t exactly ended as planned…

“Lily is never going to like me!” James complained to Peter, Sirius and Remus. “Hey Prongs, have you tried professing your love for her in front of the whole school? Oh, wait you already have!” Sirius said as the rest of the Marauders exploded with laughter. “Shut up Padfoot, lets just focus on our homework so we can work on that big prank we are going to play on the Slytherins!” The Marauders were planning on turning everything any of the Slytherins owned, and all of the walls in their dormitories, the color pink. It was going to be the prank of the century! And the best part was Peeves was in on it. Anyways, let’s get back to James and Lily.

It sort of became a tradition for all of the 7th year Gryffindors to stay up studying. Of course, this was mainly for them to bond instead of study but that’s beside the point. James and Lily always ended up being the last ones left in the common room (the rest of the 7th years Gryffindors had nothing to do with this *wink, wink*). Whenever Lily would fall asleep while studying James would cover her with a blanket, and then when he finished studying (or done wondering how anyone could possibly be so beautiful or done falling deeper in love with Lily) he would wake her up and help her get back to her dormitory. Lily always thought no one knew about this, but come on do you really think the others weren’t making sure they knew what happened while they weren’t down in the common room? Little did anyone know, however, Lily was starting to have feelings for James…

It was a couple of days before Halloween and as usual Lily and James were the last ones left in the common room. However, the conversation had turned to the topic of love. James had asked Lily to describe the perfect person for her. She started to describe every little aspect of James, “He would be goofy, and funny, but he would also be the sweetest person ever, who always looked after me before himself. He would always go out of his way to make sure I know I am loved. He would run all the way across the world just to talk to me.  I have also always been found of messy brown hair, and brown eyes, and glasses, and…” Lily started to trail off and looked at the floor. “Lily-“ James started. “James, I know you have liked me for a while and… and I think I may…. I may have feelings for you...” She looked up and saw James with a surprised expression. Before James could say another word, Lily said “You are so adorable!” and kissed him.

The next morning, they met down in the common room and walked down to the Great Hall hand in hand. The rest of the 7th year Gryffindors were already eating breakfast and let’s just say they were very, very, very happy. “I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!” Sirius shouted. “Took you two long enough, eggs?” Remus said. “I told you all it was going to happen before Halloween!” Peter said excitedly. “You two are so cute together! We all knew it was going to happen sooner or later,” Marlene said as James and Lily sat down. And basically, that’s what the conversations were like throughout the school because everyone knew that James and Lily were made for each other (even the teachers).

[golemqueen]

One-shot: The Tragedy of it All

When Sirius Black broke into Hogwarts castle on Halloween, twelve years after James and Lily were murdered, he went to find Remus Lupin. Canon compliant (I hope!).

ff.net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12553035/1/The-Tragedy-of-it-All

ao3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/11361594

Full text under the cut. 

Remus couldn’t bring himself to attend the Halloween feast.

Every fiber in him was exhausted from last night’s transformation, every inch of him wanting nothing more than to turn in early, perhaps with a cup of tea and an old book. At least, that’s what he told himself the reasoning was. If he was honest, it was because of the last Halloween feast he’d attended.

Sirius and Peter had bewitched the floating jack-o-lanterns to sing Christmas carols; James had transfigured the Great Hall’s ceiling so fog hung low over the tables, the occasional flash of lightning illuminating the room. He and Lily had sat shoulder to shoulder, squinting through the fog to try and make out what they were putting onto their plates.

“What part did you have in all this?” he remembered her asking, holding a dinner roll up to eye level for inspection.

He had responded, something along the lines of “Don’t drink the pumpkin juice”. She, of course, having no sense of self-preservation and an infuriating about of curiosity, proceeded to down her glass, and for the rest of the feast joined the majority of Hogwarts students in emitting black and orange bubbles from her mouth.

Something fell over in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, jolting Remus out of his memories. Pressing his hands to his face briefly, he stood and went to investigate. The door to his office opened onto a small balcony overlooking the room, dimly lit at this late hour, and initially nothing seemed amiss.

Until he noticed the shadow at the bottom of the stairs.

“So,” said a voice from Remus’ dreams. “You did finally become a teacher, Moony.” For a split second, nothing but blank shock registered in Remus’ mind. When he saw who it was, gazing up at him from the classroom floor, his first instinct was to fling himself down the stairs, sore joints be damned, and crush Sirius Black in a hug.

But that was no longer possible.

Remembering where he was, when he was, Remus raised his wand. It was a half-hearted gesture, more out of requirement than real fear of threat. Because if he were to be attacked by Sirius Black, Remus didn’t think he would be able to defend himself. Would be able to hurt the man—for there was no denying he was a man now—whose face was submerged in shadow, whose voice was full of regret and tired humor.

He didn’t know what to say first. He should send a Patronus to Dumbledore, alert the school. He should stun Sirius, kill Sirius, but he didn’t. Remus just stood there, staring.

“Why are you here?” Remus heard himself say. His voice was hoarse, like it usually was after his vocal chords were bent out of shape by transformation, but there was something more. Something that sounded a little too much like heartbreak.

“Would you believe me if I said it was to see you?”

“No,” Remus whispered. A lie.

Sirius took a step forward, into the light. His hair, once so carefully groomed, was lank and matted, hanging to his elbows. Torn, frayed, graying robes. His once-handsome face sallow and thin. Sirius’ bedraggled and broken appearance was what struck Remus the most. Sirius was a ghost of himself, and it was entirely plausible that this ghoulish man had indeed killed his best friend, because this ghoulish man could not be Sirius Black.

“Don’t move,” Remus said, pointing his wand again insistently. He hadn’t noticed his arm falling, the shock of Azkaban’s effect weakening his limbs. “Don’t take another step towards me.”

Sirius held up his hands. “Remus. You need to listen to me—”

“I don’t need to hear anything,” Remus spat, his despair and shock melting into pure rage. Maybe it was the proximity to the full moon, but his usually calm disposition was giving way to an anger that was as foreign as it was invigorating. “You killed them. You killed them! James—Lily—Peter—did we mean so little—did we mean nothing?” His voice was a hiss, his normally eloquent manner of speech reduced to shards of words and fragments of phrases. Remus’ lungs felt on the verge of collapse, fury shaking his limbs, and he fell to his knees, drowning in confusion. He wanted to kill Sirius, he wanted to throttle him, he wanted Sirius to embrace him, he wanted Sirius to reveal that it was all a joke, James and Lily and Peter were alive, he wanted Sirius to attack him, he wanted Sirius to kill him, he wanted to let it happen.

Sirius had somehow ended up in front of him, hands tentatively outstretched. “Please, Remus. Let me explain—”

Remus was on his feet again in a heartbeat, the anger in his veins surging forward. His wand was pressed between Sirius’ eyebrows. “Get out,” he said. “Before I call Dumbledore. I don’t know how you got in here, unless...” Remus’ eyes widened as comprehension dawned, and he wondered how he continued to underestimate Sirius’ genius, even after all this time. “The Grim. Harry mentioned he saw a great black dog—Merlin, Sirius, that was you?”

“You can’t tell,” Sirius said quickly. “If you tell them I’m an Animagus, they’ll know you had something to do with it.”

Footsteps outside the doorway, shouts out in the corridor.

Remus made a decision. It was instinct, years of playing lookout, years of trust and laughter and love that he could not, would not forget. No matter how hard he tried.

“Get in.” He grabbed Sirius’ shoulder, roughly shoving him into his office and shutting the door. “Muffliato.” He turned back to Sirius, who was gazing around the interior as though he’d never seen anything like it before. “Give me your wand,” Remus said.

Sirius didn’t argue, passing it over. “Thank you,” he said.

“What’s going on out there? Did someone see you?”

“I...guess you could say that.”

Remus pressed a hand to his forehead, and it was like they were sixteen again, arguing about some stupid prank Sirius had pulled. He didn’t let himself think about what could happen, the consequences of his actions. Just for this moment, he let himself pretend. “What did you do?”

“The Fat Lady wouldn’t let me in.”

“You’re not a student. You don’t have the password.”

“Usually she loves me.”

“Sirius, you’re a wanted murderer.”

“You had to remind me?”

Remus found himself smiling, and that was the worst part of it. He turned towards the tank with the grindylow, watching the creature to hide the tears springing to his eyes. “You said you would explain.”

Sirius cleared his throat. “Of course. It might be...a little hard. So bear...bear with me, please, Moony—”

A harsh knock at the door. Remus and Sirius stared at each other, eyes so wide it seemed the world was reflected in them.

“Remus? Remus, are you in there?”

“McGonagall,” Sirius said, wistfulness creeping into his voice. That voice...the regret...it was intense guilt, but the kind of guilt only the innocent have. Guilt for factors outside their control. Guilt for what they could have done.

Remus yanked open his wardrobe, shoving Sirius unceremoniously into it and shutting the door. After casting the most impenetrable protection spells he could think of (self-preservation, he rationalized), Remus quickly refilled and reheated his teapot, just in case of Priori Incantatem.

He was always covering James’ and Sirius’ asses, even now.

Remus flung the door open to reveal a harried McGonagall. “Sorry,” he said, trying to hide how flustered he was. “I think I fell asleep. It’s been a rough few nights...” he tried to add a wry twist to his lips, like he didn’t know what was coming. Like he didn’t know the turmoil with which the castle must be boiling over.

“Black is in the castle,” she said. Her face betrayed no emotion, no fear. But there was a flicker in her eyes Remus could only describe as pain. “He attacked the portrait of the Fat Lady, we’re moving all the students to the Great Hall. All the teachers are supposed to patrol...” Professor McGonagall trailed off as she took in his haggard appearance. “Remus,” she said, but it sounded like a sigh. “Go back to sleep. Dumbledore won’t mind.”

“It’s quite all right,” Remus said quickly. “Of course I’ll be right down.”

“No,” McGonagall said forcefully. “You will take care of yourself, Mr Lupin. Besides...” she lowered her voice. “Severus is trying to convince Albus that you’re somehow helping Black into the castle, given your...history.” She had the grace to look apologetic. But Remus knew it was genuine.

His heart gave a lurch at the semi-truth. “All the more reason for me to help in the search.”

“My answer is final. You will go to bed. You may not be my student anymore Remus, but you’ll listen to me, if you know what’s good for you.” With that, she turned and left, back down the stairs and out of his classroom.

Remus shut the door to his office. “Well,” he said to the seemingly empty room. “It would appear you’ve been spotted.”

“I don’t have much time,” Sirius said, tripping his way out of the wardrobe. “I don’t have time to tell you everything, Remus, but you have to believe I’m innocent. You know I would die before betraying any of you.” He peered into Remus’ face, and it pained Remus to see how much of his youth had been sapped from him by the dementors. “You do know that, right?”

“I don’t know what to believe,” Remus said heavily. “Why are you here, Sirius?”

Sirius’ face darkened. “I’m looking for someone.”

“Harry?”

Sirius’ head jerked up. “No. Yes. I’ve been watching. Not in a creepy way—though, I guess, everything I do now is creepy.” He gave a humorless laugh, more of a croak. It clanged around Remus’ chest like a physical thing, battering his heart. “Harry...is he happy? Does he have friends?”

Remus didn’t want to answer, but something tugged the words out of him. “Sometimes,” he said. “The dementors affect him more than most, but given his past...” he saw a flicker of pain on Sirius’ face. “He has friends. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.”

It was like someone had lit a fire behind Sirius’ face, and the light shone through his eyes. It was the only part of him that truly looked alive. “Weasley? Molly and Arthur’s youngest?”

“Second youngest, now. They have a girl, named Ginny.”

“A girl,” he said, marveling. “They’re all in Gryffindor?”

Remus found himself smiling again. “Naturally. Ron and Hermione argue all the time, about his rat and her cat...it makes me miss school.”

“His rat,” Sirius whispered, and Remus had lost him. “Of course.”

“Sirius?”

“I have to go,” he said. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you more. I have to go.”

Remus’ eyes narrowed. “You owe me more than that.”

“I don’t know if I can see you again,” Sirius said, but his mind was a million miles away, Remus could tell. He had that faraway look, like he always had when planning something. “But I swear to you on—I swear to you on Harry. I will tell you everything that happened. I promise.” He stepped forward, and the intensity in his gaze was back. “Thank you,” he said hoarsely.

Remus nodded, closing his eyes and swallowing. He heard Sirius transform, heard heavy paws padding across the room to bat at the door handle. Remus opened the door for him, waiting until he was out of the classroom to shut the door again.

His room looked exactly as it had not ten minutes ago, before Sirius entered his classroom and turned his life upside down. Remus eyed his wand. Could he Obliviate himself? Could he bring himself to do it?

The answer, it turned out, was no. How could he make himself forget, if there was even the slightest possibility that Sirius was innocent?

If Sirius was innocent. That glimmer of hope, that ray of possibility Remus had never allowed himself to see. It now seemed more feasible than ever, because why would a guilty man act as Sirius had acted? If Sirius was innocent, then what happened on Halloween twelve years ago?

Halloween.

Sirius had broken into Hogwarts to find him on the anniversary of James and Lily’s deaths.

It could have been a cruel joke.

But Remus suspected—no, hoped—that it was because, like Remus himself, Sirius didn’t want to be alone on the anniversary of the night their worlds were blown apart.

[whoisleft-rp]

P E T E R    P E T T I G R E W

AGE [ EIGHTEEN ] ; ALLIANCE [ ORDER OF THE PHOENIX - FUTURE TRAITOR ] ; BLOOD [ HALFBLOOD ] ; HOUSE [ FORMER GRYFFINDOR ] ; STATUS [ OPEN ]

WHO THEY ARE

Peter Pettigrew is a Marauder, even if half the school seems to forget his name, usually in favor of the two apparent ringleaders of the group. He’s fine with that, though, happy with staying the same old unassuming Peter he’s always been, happy to be one of the gang as always even if it doesn’t bring quite the same amount of infamy. 

Peter suffers from being the best friend of three absolutely brilliant students – not to say he isn’t smart himself, because he most certainly is (you don’t become an underage animagus for your best friend without being smart), but he’d describe himself as far more street smart than book smart. His grades are fine, nothing extraordinary, and he doesn’t stand out much in the grand scheme of things when it comes to school and classwork, and studying is never much of a pressing matter for him until the last minute when he realizes something’s coming up that he’s not prepared for. 

 He’s an excellent listener, however, able to retain plenty of information during lectures as long as he has the good sense to pay attention to them instead of passing notes back and forth or daydreaming with his eyes toward the windows. He’s often the shoulder that the other Marauders come to both metaphorically and literally lean on, as well as a marvelous story teller. In fact, Peter’s never more popular than he is during the quieter of Gryffindor tower’s parties, weaving words together to paint clear, often hilarious pictures of the Marauders’ various adventures to keep the masses entertained.

WHO THEY’VE BEEN

Born just outside London to two working class magical parents (and plenty of muggle blood tracing back both lines), Peter grew up decently happy and loved, if not a little on his own as his parents worked. Making casual friends was never terribly hard for him, but making close friends seemed a more daunting task as he grew up - until he came to Hogwarts and met James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin, and it seemed like he’d never have to worry about that ever again. Despite that there’s no denying that Peter feels a little left behind by his friends sometimes, although they never seem to notice that it’s happening. James is a Quidditch star, Sirius has been dealing with his family life, and Remus of course has his furry little problem to live with – he gets it. 

 Peter doesn’t have any great pressing responsibilities or worries, really, besides making sure he doesn’t fail his classes, so he usually finds himself embroiled in his friends’ drama or problems, not making many waves of his own. He prefers it that way, really, used to his fair share of teasing and mocking from the other Houses (and even a few snide comments he’s picked up on from his professors) for being the tag-along friend of the group, so the less attention on him the better. That doesn’t mean he’s not worried about his friends getting too far ahead without him, though, or the nagging fear that he’s annoying them with what he considers his utter normalcy. He’s been working extra hard to come up with pranks, planning out their next full moon well in advance, and cheering on James harder than anyone else in the Quidditch stands. 

 He’s well aware that they only have a couple years left at school and he’s already waking up at night wondering where he’ll be once it’s time to leave the castle, and if his friends will notice whether he’s trailing behind them still or not.

It’s no secret that Peter was a bonafide Hatstall during their Sorting Ceremony, as everyone in the years above him and in his own year had to watch him sit on that stool for an agonizing five minutes (a little more than five for anyone who was actually checking their pocket watches) before the Sorting Hat bellowed out “Gryffindor!” with no trace of further hesitation. Peter, not quite best friends with the other Marauders yet, didn’t think much of the fact that the other House he was almost placed in was Slytherin – and no one asked him about it until the boys became close, and after he had spent a while listening to James and Sirius both talking up the negative qualities of Slytherin in disdain. 

When asked about his infamous Hatstall finally Peter found it in him to lie easily, shrugging and telling them that the hat really just had trouble in general deciding which House he should be in – definitely not that he had many of the apparently defining traits of a Slytherin: resourcefulness, self-preservation, and even a little ambition stowed away. As the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin grew at an alarming rate throughout their school years, and with the way so many Slytherin students seem to be propping up the dangerous ideals that his best friends so strongly oppose, Peter still hasn’t told anyone what the Hat really saw in him.

WHO IS LEFT?

The Hatstall still haunts Peter, even as graduation came and went. The most shocking thing of all was sitting in Albus Dumbledore’s office for his exit interview and being extended an invitation to join the secret vigilante group the Order of the Phoenix. Peter had never thought of himself as the hero, certainly not compared to James, Sirius, or Remus... maybe it’s finally time to prove one and all that he deserved to be placed into Gryffindor. 

Or that the Sorting Hat made a mistake when it came to his bravery and nerve in the face of utter devastation and terror.

PLAYED BY [ XXX ] ; FACECLAIM [ HARVEY GUILLÉN ] ;

[captainlesbian-blog1]

-·Scream·-

Snap!

James winced as he heard another bone break.

Pow!

That was an even bigger bone giving out, like a femur or a humerus. A whimper escaped the figure on the floor and he clutched his arm—a humerus, then—but he wouldn’t allow any greater noises to escape him.

James knelt down next to his suffering friend, unable to help himself, and reached for the other boy’s hand, balled into a fist and pressing into the splintery wooden floor.

“Remus,” James said.

Remus Lupin looked up and glared at him.

“James, back away,” he gasped. “Back away or transform now.”

“It can wait,” James said quietly. “I’m safe for the next few minutes.” He glanced out the window. The sun had already gone down on the far side of the Shrieking Shack and even as he looked, he saw that damned silvery-white orb peek over the edge of distant trees. Remus was again taken with another spasm, more snaps and cracks accompanying the seizure, as he pressed his forehead into the ground and bit his lip so hard he drew blood. Each of those bones had to break before they could regrow into the wolf’s anatomy—a fact that James cursed every single month. Was there nothing that could make this easier for his friend?

Pow!

There was the femur.

“Remus, you can scream,” James insisted. “Don’t bottle it all up, mate.”

“Oh, I’ll be letting it all out momentarily,” Remus said bitterly. “Just wait for that moon to rise all the way. Now will you hurry up and turn into Prongs?”

James adamantly ignored him, taking more permanent seated position on the floor. Remus groaned with frustration.

“Where’s Peter when you need him?” he grumbled. “He could convince you to transform.”

“I told you before, Peter’s in detention with Sirius since the big idiot got them caught setting off Dungbombs. And the only reason Peter transforms so early is because he’s a bloody coward.”

“Gee thanks,” Remus said drily, his right hand twitching as the wrist gave a sickening pop. “Good to know he’s afraid of me.”

“You know what I mean,” said James briskly, his tone leaving his friend no room for self-deprecation. “The wolf is not you, it’s something else, it's—”

“Quite the monster, yes, I know.”

“Will you stop that!”

A resounding pop—probably a rib, from the way Remus flinched—was all that answered him. After a few seconds,

“James?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.” Remus’ voice caught and he ducked his head again, this time with embarrassment; James pretended not to have heard it.

“Remus, you can scream.”

The other boy just shook his head. A shoulder popped out place as the transformation continued to wreak its havoc but only a whimper escaped.

“Remus, scream.”

Another head shake, this one traveling down his spine in another spasm as thick, brown hair sprouted along his arms and multiple bones popped throughout his body.

“Remus, scream!” James shouted.

“No!” Remus shouted back. “Not yet! Not yet! You have to save it for the end!”

That took James aback for a moment as Remus arched his body and his spine gave off a series of nauseatingly high-pitched pops. Save the scream for the end?

“The wolf screams,” Remus muttered, by way of explanation. “The wolf is the one who screams. Howling, always howling. You’ve got to save the screams for the animal. I am a man. I have a will power. And at the end, that’s the only way I can exercise it. I won’t scream, I won’t break—I’ll leave that for the thing I become.”

“Remus,” said James, still kneeling beside him. “I…Remus…”

But he trailed off because, really, what else was there to be said?

“Transform already, you know I won’t hurt Prongs.” Remus growled. “I can feel it. It’s getting into my head now.”

It’s getting into my head now.

James swallowed. He knew that this was the worst part. Remus had once described it to them and none of the Marauders had ever asked again. Remus’ thoughts, consciousness, instincts and desires, memories and abilities, everything that made him him would be violently and swiftly ripped from his mind, only to be replaced with a monster whose one thought was to hunt and one desire was to kill. In short, the transformation of the mind was far worse than whatever excruciating physical changes occurred (Snap!) and James wouldn’t wish it on his worst enemy.

But as he watched Remus—good Remus, kind Remus, clever Remus, incredibly brave Remus—curled up on the ground, nails digging into the rough floorboards, blood dripping down his chin from where he’d bitten his lip so many times, James couldn’t help but say quietly,

“I’d take it.”

“Hm?” Remus grunted, turning his face to James. His nose was bleeding after it had broken and even as James watched, the familiar face was starting to elongate into a terrible snout, the teeth were sharp, and the forehead sloped. By now, only the warm, brown eyes remained the same.

“I’d take it,” James said, his voice stronger now. “I’d take it for you, I’d go through the whole thing, every month, I’d switch our places if I could…” he trailed off in his rambling as he saw water gather under Remus’ eyes, restrained tears of horrible pain and fierce gratitude. Remus opened his mouth, as if to comment or thank, but a feral growl came out instead.

“Remus…?”

The brown eyes darkened to near-black.

“I’d take it,” James murmured again, stepping back away from the werewolf and guiltily transforming, pain-free, into Prongs.

He could only watch as the wolf raised its head, lifting his nose up high towards the rising moon, and howled; screaming out the frustrations of Remus Lupin.