When the dragon pox outbreak hit, James helped, he helped the students who were loosing family, getting sick and surviving, and having to deal with the side affects of leaving, the people who lost their friends, the people who lost everything
Then one day he got a letter, he just disappeared, he took the map, wasn’t in the dorm and, no one could find him the marauders were seen rushing around hogwarts looking stressed and sad, but mostly confused
The next day he was still missing but now there was a known reason, the news had come to Sirius and the rest of the school through the daily prophet and fact checked with other newspapers
Euphemia potter and Fleamont potter are announced dead due to dragon pox leaving James Fleamont Potter their only heir
The marauders were a mess trying to calm Sirius but they were also trying to find James, although now there was a larger group of students searching, those he had helped, his friends, and even random students who wanted to help
He was missing for three days before he just turned up in bed one morning they were all relieved, the marauders called off the search party and Sirius got his time of to process extended to help James through
James didn’t talk, James didn’t move besides eating and drinking which he was forced to do and helped through by his friends, James was a shell of himself for months and started talking again (only to the marauders) 3 months after his parents passing
The first time he was seen in the great hall was 1.5 months after the passing was announced. The marauders had a special barrier around them meaning no one could upset James by asking questions and anyone with bad intentions couldn’t approach at all. To everyone’s surprise the barrier didn’t stop regulus black from walking over, nor did it stop him from handing over a letter
No one knows what was in that letter but they do know that it brought a little bit of light to the suns eye even if just for a second
Hogwarts wasn’t the same without there sun, the halls were quieter, there was no pranks, there was no smile blessing people in the halls there was non of it and it was noticeable.
He started to return to hogwarts, he eventually returned to his normal routine of classes, quidditch and helping people when he could
He however did it with no smile visible (unless he was helping first years but even they acknowledged how fake it felt from him.. “it didn’t reach his eyes” was the most common answer when asked what they meant)
Then one day the sun shone again And the fog was lifted from hogwarts, no one knew what changed but he started smiling again, he was louder in the corridors and a number of people got caught out by pranks when they first came back
That was the year that hogwarts realised how important the marauders were to not only each other but also the school.. 6 months with no sun and that was the most downcast the school had been.. ever
That was also the year that Minnie learned a very special lesson, never take the pranksters for granted.. that doesn’t mean she stopped punishing them, but the punishments became slightly less harsh than before