Of Deer and Flowers

Chapter twenty three

After Hours

October 27,

Dear Ann,

Every one is extremely excited about Halloween this year. There have been rumors of the Magical Trio coming to sing at the feast, and while I do like their music, Christy has begun to drive every one insane by playing all of their songs over and over again on the radio!

Speaking of Christy Rosier's asker her to spend the Hogsmead weekend with him, I honestly didn't mind, because Sean Farley asked me (he's a year above me in Ravenclaw) . . .but then Christy decided it'd be a good idea to double date. While spending the day with Sean would be absolutely wonderful, having to share that time with Rosier is . . .well . . .less than perfect . . .

It was late Saturday morning and the Marauders, minus Peter, were sitting around a table in the common room when the portrait hole burst open. Peter hopped into the room, legs bound together by an obvious leg-locking curse with horns sprouting out of his forehead, blotchy blue skin, and a mop of grass green hair.

"Bloody hell, what happened!" James cried leaping up. Sirius and Remus immediately started working on the counter hexes.

"Slytherins," Peter gasped when he could breathe again. "I left my potions book in the dungeon so I went to get it, on the way back up I heard voices. I didn't hear anything, but they though I'd been listening the entire time . . . they did this."

"Who," Sirius asked, "who Peter?"

"Your brother and your cozen Bellatrix." Sirius looked as though he meant to burst in to the Slytherin common room and hex those two on the spot. "The Lestrang brothers, Severus Snape, Even Rosier, that Wilks kid, and Walden Macnair."

"But he's a Seventh year," Remus said eyes widening, "If anyone, he would be the one to think hexing you would be a waist of time."

"Don't try to fathom the mind of a Slytherin," Sirius muttered

"Is that all?" James asked.

Peter nodded. "What're you going to do?"

"Make sure they know that if the mess with one Marauder, they mess with us all."

"So what exactly are we going to do again?" Remus asked later still unsure over what he was hearing.

"Humiliate them like they humiliated Peter!" Sirius answered holding the door to the Great Hall open.

"That wasn't exactly what I meant," Remus muttered. "Alright, who do we start with?"

"I say Macnair," James put in. "As he is the oldest and the most experienced, it's probably better to catch him by surprise."

"True," Sirius agreed, "but right now let's eat. I'm starving."

"And I could use some time to study," Remus added. "I can't believe I missed Hawk's lesson on truth serums."

"Hey Moony," Peter asked, "will you help me with my Transfiguration homework?"

"Sure."

"Awe come on you guys, it's not as if O.W.L.S. aren't until the end of the year or anything."

"Yeah Padfoot, just keep tellen' your self that. Hey Prongs where're you going?"

"You guys go ahead there's something I've got to do."

"Awe come on, you're not going to ask Evens to go out with you again. She's already turned you down twice!"

"Not to mention she's going out with that Ravenclaw fellow."

James only shrugged and walked over to where Lily was sitting with a group of girls.

"Hey Lily, what do you say I buy you a butterbeer at . . ."

"Go jump in the lake," Lily cut him off.

"Well I would, but you see, the giant squid doesn't like me very much."

"I wonder why." The girls at the table sniggered and James scrubbed a hand through his hair thoroughly confused.

~*~

Sirius wandered down in to the common room and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. It was late, past midnight, but he'd woken up hungry and decided it'd be worth the risk to sneak down and nick a little something from the kitchens.

He stopped as soon as he reached the bottom of the stares. Someone else was up, and it sounded as if they were crying. All he could see was the back of a girl's head. She was sitting curled up in the corner of the sofa.

She was crying, Sirius realized with a jolt. He hated to see people upset, even people he didn't know. "Hey," he murmured coming around the couch to stand beside her, "what's wrong?" The girl only looked at him tears streaming down her cheeks.

"My names Sirius," he added after a moment of silence.

"Mara," she muttered, "and I know who you are. Your always pulling pranks and stuff, and you helped those others hex that Slytherin, Macnair?"

Sirius sighed and sat down beside her. "I had good reason . . ." he muttered.

"I don't mind." Wiping the tears from her face she added, "he deserved it. The other day I saw him threatening a first year . . .saying that only purebloods deserved to learn magic . . .Sarah and I, we told him off . . . .he got mad, very mad . . .now we don't know what's . . . It's good that you hexed him!"

Sirius fought down the anger that was welling up inside him. Picking on a younger student was bad enough, but he had threatened a first year, and now a third year (at least he though Mara was third year) was apparently scared for her and her friends lives.

"Is that why your so upset?" he asked, "cause your afraid you and . . . and Sarah 'll be attacked?"

Mara shook her head. "It's my grandfather," she muttered beginning to cry again, "he's an Auror and something when wrong on a raid, he's in St. Mungo's . . . He's all I got left. My parent are dead, and I don't have any other family . . .he's all I got left," she whispered. Sirius frowned, a sneaking suspicion tugging at his mind.

"Mara, what's your sir name?"

"Gryil," she sobbed. Sirius nodded, he'd thought so. Her story had seemed extremely familiar. If his guess was right Mara'd been the lone survivor of a Death Eater attack some two and a half years ago.

"Don't worry," Sirius said wrapping an arm around her. "Your granddad'll be fine!" Brooding he sat there letting Mara cry herself out on his shoulder.