The Marauders: Year 2

Before James even had a chance to get off the field, Sirius, Peter and Remus were down there.

"It could've been worse," Remus offered.

"You were reading the whole time," James offered dejectedly.

"Yes, but I was listening to Agatha. The Chasers did very well, and Slytherin played a nasty game."

"Nasty game?" Sirius raged. "Those bloody slimey gits. Every one of them is a son of a sea dragon-"

"With scale rot," Peter interjected.

"Yes, with scale rot," Sirius continued to rage as the four made their way to the castle.

"I should go with the rest of the team to visit Vance and Beamish," James told the others. "I'll catch up with you later."

"Alright, James," Remus replied as they headed their separate ways. "See you at dinner then."

~~*~~

Several days later, Remus had just trudged through the portrait hole when he noticed James sitting in an armchair staring blankly out the window.

"Sweet Merlin, mate, you do realize it's not yet eight in the morning? I thought you finished that bloody Potions essay while the three of us were in detention..." Remus glanced carefully at his friend and suddenly realized that something was wrong. Very wrong.

"James? What... what happened?"

Remus sat down next to him and watched, amazed, as James took a deep hitching breath as though steadying himself and then looked at his friend. James noticed the Daily Prophet sitting in his lap.

"McGonagall is looking for you, Remus," James said in a voice below a whisper.

"I haven't done anything lately. Why's she looking for me?" Remus asked, confused.

He saw James wince and then avert his gaze back out the window. James took another deep breath and turned to look at Remus. He opened his mouth, looking as though the words were trying to gag him.

Abruptly Remus's insides began to churn and the room began to feel to warm and cold at the same time. "What, James? It can't be that bad, can it?" He pleaded, begging his friend to tell him something stupid and mundane, for his expression of sadness to be part of some terrible joke that they would laugh about in years to come.

James shook his head apologetically and handed the Daily Prophet to Remus.

Remus held the paper, trying to stop his hands from unfolding it but failing.

Bizarre Circumstances Surrounding the Voldemort Case

Laurence Lupin and Wife Found Dead

A Dark Mark Found in the Air

Early this morning, Laurence and Loretta Lupin were found

dead in their home. Floating above the house was a dark mark

similar to the one seen last June above the McGonagall residence.

A neighbor reports seeing six men dressed in dark hooded robes

around the town pub earlier that night, discussing Laurence Lupin.

It has recently come to light that Mr. Lupin replaced Consus

McGonagall as head of the Voldemort project following his death.

Remus didn't even recall dropping the paper, or hearing it flutter to the ground, but he could clearly remember James bending down to fold it correctly and place it on the table across from them.

Remus eyes slid out of focus and he stared blindly at the wall.

"So... they're dead, then?" Remus repeated aloud, more to himself than to James. Somehow, this was still not sinking in. They'd been alive yesterday. Remus's eyes cleared a bit and he gazed pleadingly at James.

A barely perceptible nod from James shattered his hopes. Somehow, the newspaper had been unsuccessful in conveying the horrid truth; James small acknowledgement slammed it home.

Remus shook violently for a long moment and then stood up and headed for the portrait hole so quickly he caught James off guard. Before the brown haired boy even had a chance to blink, his friend was gone.

~~*~~

"Get up, oh get up, Black!" James moaned, poking at his friend roughly.

Something about the raw sound of James's voice quickly jolted Sirius from his slumber.

"WazzitJamesy?" He mumbled as he sat up as quickly as his sleep befuddled body would allow.

"It's Remus. Get up," James said, poking him one last time before heading over to Peter's bed. "Pete, Peter, get up now." He jostled his other friend.

"I'm up, I'm up. What's wrong with Remus?" Peter yawned and stretched.

"His parents were killed last night, he ran out of the Common Room. We need to find him," James said.

"Excuse me?" Peter mumbled groggily.

"Wait a second," Sirius said, jumping out of bed now. "Mr. and Mrs. Lupin are... dead? That's impossible."

James laughed bitterly. It would've been so much funnier if he hadn't been having similar thoughts all morning.

Without another word, James ran from the room, Peter and Sirius quick on his heels. The two boys followed the one in the lead as he shot through the corridors until he reached the library and even then he continued to weave through the stacks with a manic sort of determination. He reached the Healing Potions section and the other two boys caught on. Sure enough, as soon as they slipped into the hidden passageway, they heard Remus's voice talking to himself from farther down the dark corridor.

"She sang to me the song about Nifty Nifflers to put me to bed every night for four years and then when I was five she burst into tears when I told her I was all grown up and didn't want her to sing me to sleep anymore..."

"He took me to the Ministry with him and I actually got to look in the Department of Mysteries. He looked so proud when he took me around..." A bitter laugh. "Only time he pretended to be proud of me..."

"They baked me a cake when I got my Hogwarts letter. They did it. He was even proud of me that day..."

There was a moment of silence as the three boys looked from one face to another, each showing clear signs of heartbreak for their friend. Even Remus stopped talking for a moment and they could hear his ragged breaths, as though fighting back tears.

"I'm an orphan." There was a distinct sound of someone hitting or kicking the wall very hard and the boys rounded the final corner separating them from Remus as the tall boy with his normally neat brown hair in disarray, looking younger than any of them had ever seen him, burst into tears.

Without a single word, James walked over, slumped down next to his friend and pulled him into a hug. Sirius quickly followed, sitting down on the other side of Remus and putting his arms around both Remus and James, sniffling slightly himself. Peter stayed where he was for a long moment and then slid over beside Sirius, stretching out his arm to pat Remus on the back and the three boys sat for a very long time, comforting their friend as he cried tears that seemed as though they would never end.

~~*~~

Later that evening, a very tired Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew stumbled into the Great Hall. James was up in the Tower helping Remus pack and get out to the carriage that would bring him to Hogsmeade.

Sirius nearly jumped out of his skin as he felt a finger tap at his shoulder, trying to get his attention. When he turned around his eyes widened.

"Is... Is Remus okay?" Lily Evans asked in a very subdued voice.

"No..." Sirius trailed off, shaking his head. After the three boys had found Remus crying in the morning, he'd nearly stopped talking entirely. When Professor McGonagall had shown up and said she needed to speak with him privately, the only thing he'd managed to say was 'you might as well speak in front of them, they're the only family I've really got now, aren't they?'. The older woman had winced but told Remus what he already knew in front of all four of them. Remus hadn't cried again since that breakdown, instead he'd lapsed into that strange silence. "He's going home now, to his grandparent's house. He's going to stay with them through the Easter holiday and then come back."

"Oh..." her voice trailed away. "Well, I hope that... he'll be okay eventually." She had already begun to walk away when Peter called out to her quietly.

"Eventually, he will be."

He saw her pause as her head nodded slightly in acknowledgement of his statement and then she walked back down to her friends.

~~*~~

"Hey Tessa, what are you doing?"

The five girls looked up as they two boys came into the Common Room. Easter holiday had begun three days ago and things had been unusually quiet from the Marauder front, primarily owing to the fact that Remus was still with his grandparents and a last minute decision by Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore had resulted in James going with him.

The arrangement had slightly upset Peter and Sirius, but Peter was able to see that it was a good thing that any of them had been permitted to go with Remus.

"Er... nothing. Nevermind."

Sirius saw her slip a deck of cards that looked suspiciously like a Veritaserum deck behind her back. This was confirmed by Melissa's roll of her eyes and Becca's grin of relief.

"So how are you lot? Lily-" She stopped to glare at the person in question. "-never lets us talk to you anymore."

"No fraternizing with the enemy, isn't that it, Lil?" Alice asked sweetly.

"We're the enemy?" Peter asked, slightly puzzled.

"Uh, well... no," Lily stammered, slightly red. "It's just that, well... you're Potter's friends and well, he is the enemy."

"But we're not James," Peter said.

"I know that," she replied crossly and then hesitated. "Fine, fine. You're right. Want to sit down?" She gestured at two open chairs.

"So what were you guys doing?" Peter asked, settling himself in the chair next to Lily.

Sirius sat down next to Melissa.

"Veritaserum," Rebecca volunteered. "But there is absolutely no way we're going to play that now."

"Agreed," Tessa said, glancing over at both of the boys. "I can read your palms though." Melissa and Rebecca groaned while Alice and Lily laughed.

"Read our palms?" Peter asked, looking down blankly at his own.

"Don't even get her started," Rebecca moaned.

"She found some old Divination book in the library. We don't even have Divination here," Lily told the boys.

"Thank Merlin," Melissa added. "She's not very good at it. Kept telling me my life line was split in half and begged me to drink some tea so she could work with the leaves."

"Oh, or we could do that," Tessa said, bouncing excitedly in her seat. "We could all drink tea. Oh, Alice please go nip down to the kitchens and get us some tea and tea cups? Come on Becca... you know you love sneaking down there." She looked pleadingly at her friends, who both sighed but started to get up and head towards the portrait hole. "Thank you sooo much guys. I'll go get the book." She was gone before any of the others could blink, sprinting up the steps.

"Amazing. You just about have to hold a wand to her head to get her to study, but she'll spend hours reading that idiotic Divination book," Lily muttered, shaking her head.

Melissa chuckled, "Do you think we can escape?"

"Escape?" Sirius piped up. "Is it that bad?"

Melissa and Lily spoke in unison. "Yes."

Tessa nearly tumbled over her own legs as she raced back to the couch she was sitting on. "Well, aren't they back yet?"

"Are you mad? They left a minute before you did. It'll probably be another ten minutes before they're back," Melissa said, looking at her best friend as though she were insane.

"Alright then, can I read your palms until then?" Tessa asked Sirius and Peter. Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed Sirius's palm. "Right handed, right?"

"Right," he muttered, pulling back left hand and cautiously offering his left.

"Oh, sorry," Tessa grinned at him. "Let's see..." She peered down at his hand. "Well, your heart line is deep and close to your fingers, that means... something. I'll look it all up at the end. Oh, and it's chained, that's something else. Oh." She looked sadly at him. "It's broken and irregular... I don't think that's good."

Sirius looked around worriedly until he noticed Melissa and Lily both biting back laughter. He relaxed a little.

"Oh, but your head line looks good," Tessa continued on encouragingly. "It's nice and straight, and clear and solid. Hmm, it forks off though." She smiled brightly. "Well, I think that's okay." She paused to write down what she'd just said on a piece of parchment she'd brought down with her. She picked up his hand again. "Your life line is nice and long though, with branched... well, there's one big break, but I think that has a few meanings." She jotted down what she'd just told him and let go of his hand. "Just give me a second to look it all up, alright?"

She quickly busied herself flipping rapidly through the book.

"She's going to tell you that you're going to die in two years after being eaten alive by starving flobberworms," Melissa said sarcastically.

"Or that that your one true love will be killed by angry Quidditch fans," Lily added, shaking her head and fighting off another grin.

"After the Cannons win the Cup," Melissa added to that. "Which we all know is sooo likely."

"Well then I figure my true love and I have probably got at least another eighty or so years together," Lily grinned wryly. "Whoever he may be."

"The poor sap," Melissa commented with a big grin, only to earn herself a pillow to the head.

Tessa rolled her eyes. "Oh, behave. I'm telling you, this book is useful. It's good to be prepared for the future."

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'd rather not know?" Melissa asked.

"You know, I think I agree with Mel on that one," Lily added.

"Shush," Tessa hissed and then turned to Sirius. "You're intelligent and practical and..." She paused and ran her finger along the lines of the book. "You've got a very good memory. You can make and follow plans."

"Well who'd of thought a Marauder could make and follow plans. Amazing, isn't it Lily?" Melissa replied.

"Insane, I know," she said dryly.

Tessa continued on ignoring them, "You're flexible, but sometimes you have problems with relationships, you know, with your friends and all." She flipped through a few pages and then winced. "It says that sometimes you're jealous and you sometimes give in to feelings of sadness or depression... but overall you're generally optimistic." She paused. "That's odd, that seems like two opposite statements."

"So maybe that book doesn't know everything?" Melissa offered.

"Oh hush, Mel," Tessa turned back to the book and shrugged. "Anyway, Sirius... oh, it just says that you're likely to make many changes in the direction of your life because of illnesses. Sounds more like Remus than you, that does." Her face fell for a moment at the thought of Remus. She closed her book and turned towards Peter. "Can I?" she asked him.

"Er..." Peter pulled his hands closer to his body.

Just then, the portrait hole opened and Rebecca and Alice came in, giggling madly.

"You won't believe what we just saw!" Alice huffed, setting down two teacups and the teapot.

"I still can't believe it," Rebecca said, her giggling trailing off. "They're horrors, they really are."

"Who?" Lily asked.

"Port and Zark," Alice said, making a face.

"Slytherins? What were you doing with Slytherins?" Peter asked, pouring himself a cup of tea.

"They were standing in the entrance hall, making fun of Trixie. McGonagall, you know. They're just... well, they are horrors, spot on, Becca," Alice said as she settled on the couch next to Tessa.

"Making fun of her?" Sirius asked, his face beginning to contort.

"About, well... her parents. That part wasn't funny at all," Alice continued. "But then Rob Cage and Rob Davies-"

"-and my brother," Rebecca cut in, taking up the story. "They overheard and, well, you know, Rob Cage is a Ravenclaw too, so I suppose they thought they had to help her out, so the three of them go rushing over-"

"-and it's a right good thing too. I think Trixie was getting ready to hex them into next year. She'd been ignoring them right off the bat, but they just wouldn't give up. It was dreadful. I felt so bad for-"

"Trixie? Hex them into next year? I can't even imagine-" Lily began, but was cut off by Rebecca.

"-but anyway, we only heard at first, we didn't see. But then we heard Frank's voice and we ran over to see then and Port and Zark are hanging upside down and Peeves, get this, Peeves, is tossing water balloons at them singing some nasty limerick about Slytherin girls, how'd that go, Alice? Late at night when we close all the doors-"

"Becca! Don't repeat that! Anyway, then the Nearly Headless Nick and the Bloody Baron float by, they were talking, you see, and they saw what was happening, so Sir Nick, of course, tells the boys to put Port and Zark down. And the Bloody Baron gets rid of Peeves, because of course, that monster will only listen to him-"

"-oh who cares about that part, Becca, the main thing is, the boys flat out dropped Port and Zark and Nick laughed. He laughed. Oh, he tried not to, but he couldn't help it. Trixie looked like she could happily die laughing too. And Port and Zark had looked so scandalized by that limerick of Peeves, but I can see why. Anyway, the Bloody Baron told Nick to get his students to behave and he said it in a very threatening way-"

"-but Nick just says, I believe young Mr. Longbottom here is the only one of my students. You'd have to take it up with the Fat Friar and the Grey Lady involving the other two, according to their uniforms, or something along that line and at that moment, the other two House ghosts showed up-"

"-oh goodness, Sir Nick and the Grey Lady and the Fat Friar all started yelling at the Bloody Baron, and he just started looking scarier and scarier... well, the two of us ran up the stairs at the point. We saw Frank and the Rob's take off towards the library while they were distracted and Trixie headed towards the Ravenclaw Common Room, I think. It was madness-"

"-It was great, Alice! But I'm glad we got out of there. Oh, and here's the tea. The house elves were happy to help," Rebecca grinned and picked up her tea cup.

"Oh my... is Trixie alright, though?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, she's a pretty tough bird," Rebecca replied.

"Becca, don't say bird," Alice chimed, causing Melissa and Rebecca both to laugh, and even Lily to bite back a grin.

"Well, come on everyone, drink up," Tessa said draining her cup of tea.

"It's going to be a long afternoon," Melissa sighed looked into her own empty cup. "I suppose this means that a demented hellhound will chase me down one day and slowly eat me to death while a best friend betrays me and the love of my life is struck down by lightning?"

Tessa leaned over to glance at the brown clumps and put on a thoughtful face. "Quite likely."

"Lovely."

~~*~~

"You know, I always suspected Tessa was a bit loony," Peter said, as he and Sirius were climbing into their beds later that evening.

"Sometimes I wonder why we ever broke up," Sirius chimed quietly.

"You were probably disrupting her Inner Eye or something..." Peter yawned and snuggled down into his sheets. "We never did get the full story on that."

"And you're not going to," Sirius gazed at the curtain pulled in front of him. "How do you suppose Remus is doing?"

"Not too well, I'd wager. I mean... his parents. For Merlin's sake, if that is Voldemort, then he's a bigger madman than any of us thought initially..." Peter turned over.

"Yeah," Sirius said softly. "Yeah, he is."