The Marauders' Memories

The Marauders' Memories

Chapter One:

Memories of the Hogwarts Express

It was Christmas Eve at the Potter household, and snow swirled against a setting sun-shot navy sky. Lily's amazing magical cooking scent wafted in from the kitchens: the scent of gingerbread cookies and an overstuffed turkey. James was in the living room, finishing the decorations on his prized Christmas tree while his young son, Harry, was giggling on a soft, yellow blanket next to him.

"You see those boxes underneath the tree?" he asked his son, bending so he was level to the little baby, "This one's for Uncle Remus, this one's for Uncle Sirius, and the last one's for you!" Baby Harry smiled and grabbed the soft blanket under him, examining it with an expression of complete fascination.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Lily's voice came from the steamy kitchen. "James, dear, could you get the door?"

"I'm on my way," he answered. He turned back to his little son and picked him up. "Alright Harry, let's see who's at the door!" he said with mock excitement. Harry giggled again, putting his arms around his father's neck as he was lifted into the air.

James pulled open the door, and a handsome, smiling, black-haired man was standing on the other side with a bright red box in each arm. Little Harry got excited, and from James' arms, he shouted, "Pa'foot! Pa'foot!" His tiny finger was pointing in the man's direction.

"Sirius! How are you? Come inside! Oh, look, Harry's positively glad to see you," James said happily. Sirius stepped inside and brushed snow flurries off his black leather jacket. James pulled him into a one-armed hug, and little Harry reached over and grabbed his face. Sirius was laughing heartily.

"Hey James! Hey Harry!" he said, pinching the little boy's cheek and ruffling his messy, black hair (which greatly resembled James' own). Then he held out the boxes he was carrying. "I brought along some Christmas cheer. Where should I set it?"

"Hello, Sirius! I'll take them off your hands for you," Lily said, walking into view wearing an emerald green apron. She took the boxes from Sirius and placed them neatly under the Christmas tree in the corner. She came back and addressed him again as he took off his black boots. "How are things going? Still riding that silly motorbike around, aren't you?"

"It's in your driveway," he said, laughing.

"Well why don't we come into the living room and sit by the...oh...." James's smile faded. "I forgot to light the fire...." Lily rolled her eyes, took out her wand, pointed it in the direction of the fireplace, and merry flames exploded and began to dance on the logs. Harry's bright, green eyes widened at the sight of the roaring fire, and he began to look somewhat hypnotized.

They walked into the living room and sat about three feet in front of the fireplace. The Christmas tree twinkled five feet away. James and Lily sat across from Sirius who was angled towards the fire. James placed the yellow baby blanket in the middle, and then Harry on top of it. Harry began to preoccupy himself with the blanket again as Sirius walked over to the tree and took one of the red boxes. Then he sat back down, placing the box in front of him.

"I was in Hogsmeade the other day, and I picked this up," he said excitedly.

"What's in it?" asked Lily.

"Check this out!" Sirius responded, lifting off the lid and putting it by his knee. He reached inside the box and pulled out a photo album a shade darker than the box itself. "It's a photo album. I thought you might want to save some baby pictures of this little guy."

"Oh, Sirius! It's perfect!" Lily gasped.

"D'you think we could go through a few old pictures and fill some of it up right now?" James asked. Lily smiled at him in return.

"That would be wonderful! Bringing back all of those memories...."

The doorbell rang again. James took Harry to the door once more, opened it, and found a handsome, smiling, sandy-haired man standing on the other side. He was holding a blue box in his right arm.

"Remus! Come on in! We were just about to crack open a few photo albums," James said happily.

"Hi, James. Happy Christmas!" he said merrily. James hugged him with one arm, then took the box and put it under the tree.

"Lupin! Get in here, you old coot!" Sirius called. Lupin smiled and sat next to Sirius. James sat back down next to Lily and replaced Harry on his blanket. When the baby finally noticed that Lupin was sitting right in front of him, he got excited again.

"Hello, Harry!" Lupin said fondly, as if he were addressing a favorite nephew. "James, he looks just like you, I swear."

"He's got Lily's eyes," James said, blushing slightly.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Lily said, rising to her feet. "I'll go get the album." She took off her apron and placed it on a chair in the kitchen. Thirty seconds later, she arrived in the living room again with a large, white, somewhat frayed photo album with innumerable, yellowing pages. She sat back down and cracked it open in her lap. She looked at a picture on the first page and a glazed smile approached her face.

"Set it in the middle there, Lily," Lupin said, picking up Harry and putting him in his lap. The baby cooed softly as he grabbed handfuls of Lupin's sweater with his pudgy little fingers. Lily put it in the middle as she was asked, and smiled fondly at the first page.

A black-and-white photograph of a steaming train was magically puffing smoke through its stack. Since it was a magical picture, little people were actually moving around, trying to get on the train before it left the station. A sign hung in the distance reading "Platform 9 ¾."

The other three gazed at it fondly also. "Ah, yes," sighed Sirius. "The Hogwarts Express...."

"That brings back so many memories," Lupin said with a hint of wonder in his voice. "It would be nice to ride it one last time." He bounced baby Harry in his arms slightly. "Someday, you'll be riding it to Hogwarts. Let's hope you don't take after us and destroy half the school by your seventh year!" He said with a laugh. Baby Harry poked his thumb in his mouth and rested in Lupin's arms.

"Lily, what year was it taken?" asked Sirius.

Lily smiled at James. "Do you remember the day we met?" James' ears turned pink.

"Yeah, I do...."

Sirius started to laugh. "So young, so carefree--"

"That hasn't changed a bit!" Lily giggled. The rest joined in.

"It was first year, on this exact same train. I remember being terrified out of my mind that day! And in came you three. I remember it like it was just last week...."

***Flashback***

Memories of the Hogwarts Express

A small, eleven-year-old girl with reddish-brown hair looked up at the scarlet train with an expression of hidden terror. Her father had his arm around her shoulders.

"Lily, don't be afraid," said her father. "Send one of those owls whenever you want to talk. I'm sure you'll be fine. You're a smart girl." Her father hugged her tightly and bended so he was eye level with her. "Make me proud."

Lily's mother was standing close by, occasionally dabbing her pretty face with a tissue. Lily looked back at her mother, now obviously frightened. A girl about a year older than her stepped forward and gave her a quick squeeze.

"I'll miss you a lot Lily," she said.

"It's okay, Petunia," Lily said calmly. "I'll write to you, I promise."

"Don't forget to put your trunks on the train properly," said her father. "Ready?"

Lily sighed and nodded her head. The train's whistle sang loudly, and the conductors in their blue uniforms began to close the compartment doors. Lily waved once more to her family, her mother now sobbing openly. She turned and ran with a book bag on her arm and a small suitcase in each hand into one of the open doors.

Luckily, the next compartment was empty except for one person. A girl with curly auburn hair and a round face was sitting nervously with her hands on her lap.

"Um...do you mind if I sit here?" Lily asked quietly. The girl shook her head, and Lily stowed her belongings in the compartments above the seat. She sat across from the girl and held out her hand.

"I'm Lily Evans," she said with a pretty, freckly smile. The girl shook her hand.

"Katie Mitchell," replied the girl. "You're a first year?"

"Yes," Lily said, blushing.

"Me too. Are you Muggle-born or do you have magical parents?"

"Oh...a Muggle...oh yes, I'm Muggle-born," replied Lily. Katie giggled.

"I'm not. My mum's a witch and my dad's a wizard," she said, returning Lily's smile. "Do you have any siblings in the school?"

"I have an older sister. We're like best friends. She's not in the school though. She never got the letter," Lily paused for a moment. "She's kind of been avoiding me ever since I got mine."

Katie raised an eyebrow. "Odd...."

"Yeah, well, I think she was just sad I was leaving. Do you know anyone at the school?"

"Just my brothers' friends."

"Do they like it?"

"They all seem to."

Lily noticed several other suitcases. "Are all of those yours?" she asked, pointing up at them.

"No, they were here when I walked in. I'm sure the owners will come back soon."

And they did. At that moment, three boys burst into the compartment short of breath, slumping into the remaining seats. One of them had black hair that covered the tops of his ears, the other had glasses and black hair that stuck up in every conceivable direction, and the third had neat, sandy hair and looked more tired than the other two.

"I can't believe you had the nerve to do that, guys!" said the sandy-haired boy. The other two doubled over with laughter.

"Did you see the look on his face when we levitated that toad onto his head?" asked the first black-haired boy, nearly falling out of his seat.

"That 'big, scary, Mr. Macho Prefect' screamed like a three-year-old girl!" said the messy-haired boy. He was shaking so hard with laughter that his glasses fell off. He bent over to put them on, dusted them off with his robes, and placed them carefully back on the bridge of his nose. When his eyes focused, he saw a pretty girl with a frightened expression on her face sitting in the corner. The other black-haired boy eventually found out what his accomplice was staring at, and smirked widely. The sandy-haired boy discovered the other passengers too, and he immediately straightened up.

"Sorry 'bout that. We forgot our manners," he said to the girls. "My name's Remus Lupin."

"Sirius Black," said the black-haired boy.

"James P-Potter," stuttered the boy with the glasses. Lily noticed that all three of them were extraordinarily good-looking for their age, but she also couldn't help but think that the black-haired boys were complete and total jerks.

"I'm Lily Evans," replied Lily, acknowledging Remus. "And this is my new friend, Katie Mitchell."

"Pleased to meet you Lily, Katie," he said, politely nodding to each one in turn. Lupin glanced at his smirking companions.

"Yes...pleased...." They said faintly. Then they turned towards each other again, smirking oddly. James went over to Sirius' side of the compartment and whispered in his ear.

"D'you think the freckly one's cute?" he asked quietly.

"Ew! Girls? James, that's gross!" Sirius whispered back.

"Yeah...." He whispered, growing redder and redder. He slouched back into the seat across from Sirius and gave occasional sideways glances to Lily. Both of the girls glanced awkwardly at each other and began to stare at the passing countryside from the glowing windows. Lupin's head rolled onto his shoulder and he began to sleep quite soundly. After ten seconds, he was completely knocked out. Sirius noticed.

"Lupin's done nothing today but sleep," Sirius complained. "It's starting to get annoying." He prodded Lupin sharply in the arm, but all he did was grunt and roll his head. "It's like he contracted a weird disease overnight."

After a few moments of awkward silence, Sirius decided to...well "ease" the tension. He pulled a safety pin out of his pocket and placed it carefully on the ground. Since he was the only moving object in the compartment, everyone watched him with inquisitive faces...everyone except for James.

To James, everything on this train was an opportunity for disaster. Sirius looked at the safety pin with frustration, then he looked up at James, as if for an answer. James stared at it for a second, putting ideas together in his head. After a short moment, he pulled out his wand, and a mass of silver sparks flew at the pin.

The pin started to grow as if it were on a fast-forwarded tape. First, it turned round, brown, and prickly. Then it started getting larger and larger, and before anyone knew it, it was growing eight long, spiny legs. They stopped at about six inches each, and then eight beady, black eyes sprouted, and so did two deadly looking pincers. Sirius laughed, the girls screamed, and the giant tarantula crawled on the tips of its scary legs. It ran in circles as the girls shrieked and pressed themselves against the window, farthest away from the spider as possible. It began to crawl closer and closer to Lily, and she attempted to climb up the wall with fright.

James pointed his wand at the spider, and it froze just as it was about to crawl all over Lily too. He wrenched it off the wall and turned towards Sirius who was laughing so hard that he was clutching his sides and squirming all over the floor.

"Sirius, this calls for a round of 'Dodge the Prefect!'" James said.

"Excellent!" said Sirius as he pulled himself off the floor. "I have the reflexes of a goldfish! MWAHA!" With that, he leaped gracefully out of the room.

James turned back to Lily, gave her a charismatic wink, and followed Sirius out of the compartment door with a giant spider frozen under his left arm, leaving the stunned faces of the girls and Lupin's still-slumbering silhouette behind him.

* * *

Baby Harry was examining his forefinger closely as he relaxed in Lupin's arms. James and Sirius were laughing as hard as the day they were on the train. Lily smiled and shook her head, and Lupin grinned, still staring at the old photograph.

"Well, James, that wasn't the only thing we levitated on someone's head," Sirius chuckled.

"Oh, no, toads and tarantulas were just the beginning," Lupin said. He held off his fingers and started counting. "We've done it with ice cubes, rotting fruit, syrup, pickled newts, shrinking potions...."

"The list goes on," James sighed. "I don't really think we'll ever change."

"Oh I hope not!" Lupin added.

"Yes, we can be old, wrinkling, prank-pulling seniors at St. Mungo's Retirement Home," Sirius said with a snort. The rest started to giggle at the idea of being told off for spilling a shrinking potion on someone's head at age 85.

"Oh! I just remembered!" Lupin said with a sudden jolt. "I brought something that would go well with this photo album! You'll be surprised." He placed the baby on the yellow blanket and went over to the tree, taking out his blue box. Smiling happily, he sat down again and opened it up. Inside was a plain, glazed cherry wood box that was almost large enough to store Harry in. It had a flip-open top and a drawer on the bottom, and it stood on four tiny brass balls at each corner.

Lupin turned it to face everyone else. Then, he slowly lifted the top, revealing a deep green velvet interior. A detailed collection of the most random trinkets anyone could imagine was piled inside. He opened the drawer, and even more random objects were found lying on top of a stack of old pieces of parchment.

There were old remnants of retired joke shop items, fragments of chess pieces and chunks of stone, a torn square of tattered fabric sown onto a ball of stuffing, lots of little old every day objects, even a disabled Snitch. James, Lily, and Sirius looked at the items with wide eyes, a wave of overwhelming speechlessness numbed their insides and a certain degree of disbelief robbed them of anything to say.

"You--you saved all of this stuff?" gasped Sirius, his mouth hanging open with surprise, finally able to string a few words together. Lupin smiled contentedly.

"All seven years."

"You kept everything?" James asked with the same disbelieving look.

"Well not everything," Lupin said, "But a lot of our Hogwarts days are in here." He tapped the box fondly. "Pranks, relics, love notes...."

"Hang on," said James. "Love notes?"

"Yes, James, mostly your love notes."

"No way! Not every single one, right?"

"Right, but I have most of the good ones."

Sirius punched James in the arm. "HA, HA! Lover-boy's past came back to haunt him!"

"Watch out, Sirius," Lupin warned. "I have a few of yours in here, too."

"Oooo!" James said, punching Sirius back. "Hah! You sure had some--er--interesting 'love poems,' mate!"

"Oh, shut up," Sirius said. Both of them were pink.

"Anyway, I got a bunch of old stuff," he replied. He pulled the box towards him and fingered through the stack of parchment. He finally pulled out a yellowing, rather small piece covered with a fading, untidy scrawl. Lupin cleared his throat and began to read. "To Lily, from James...."

"Wait a second," James interrupted. "Is that really necessary?" Lily started to giggle fiercely, also turning quite pink.

"No, Remus, keep reading, I implore you," she said through her hand. Sirius and Lupin grinned.

"There's a lot more stuff in here. Very interesting things...famous things...." Lupin said. He reached inside the box and pulled out the dead Snitch. James gasped when he saw it.

"That can't be...."

"It is," said Lupin with a glowing face.

"You...you kept this?"

"I sure did."

"It's...it's the last one, right?"

"It's the Snitch that made you famous."