Chapter 1
Through the events of their lives, the Marauders had never been a group known for amnesty. They mainly kept to themselves, only going out of their way to bully Severus or bother Lily when they felt like it while multitasking and playing pranks in their free time between classes. Even during the war they were mainly to themselves. A tight knit group full of talented wizards, only made even more dangerous when Lily Evans married Potter and joined their band of misfits. In some ways, she made them better, more responsible. It was almost like they were destined to be together. Now here they were, nearly two decades after the First Wizarding War, thrown into another problem that shouldn’t have been theirs to fix, Dumbledore calling the shots again. James and Sirius hate that, but they weren’t cut out for the leader role such as this.
Sure, Potter tells the Marauders what to do but he was never cut out for the big cheese title, something that Dumbledore just fell into naturally. They were keeping an eye on him though. They refused to be duped twice, hindering most of what the old wizard does. This is due to the untrust that settles between them since finding out what he did leading up to Voldemort’s defeat at the hands of the Boy Who Lived, much deserved if you asked anyone other than him. It isn’t helping that since fixing the Fracture in Three Broomsticks Inn their group has appeared more on edge than ever before. Sirius jumped on the opportunity to bicker with Peter every chance he got and this only pissed off the easily agitated Remus more the closer the full moon got. James and Lily tried their best to rally the group but they were falling just short, getting things under control for a short while before the bickering started again. They’d had enough.
“We need to give them an opportunity to talk with one another again, maybe rekindle that bond that had been left to smoulder after all these years,” Lily suggested, gently grabbing onto James’ arm. He was watching Remus and Tonks-- he learned her name was-- off in the distance. He obviously became much more calm and reasonable around her, less irritable too, but that didn’t help them when she wasn’t around, like when they’re out dealing with Fractures. Of course the full moon was approaching, only twelve days away now from what Moody tells them, so Remus was going to get progressively worse the closer they got to that event.
“I agree. The less we have to hear Sirius tear Peter a new one for simply not talking loud enough the better. It’s giving me a headache,” James admitted. Lily gave a small laugh, circling around to the front of him.
“What, too much chaos, even for you?” She asked and only received a snort in return. Walking over to Remus, James gave the werewolf a sharp slap on the back, causing him to wince a little as Lily separated to find Peter and Sirius. The amount of change Remus has gone through since the last time James had seen him almost left him unaware of who he was when Prongs first saw him. The sheer stress lines on his face made him look well into his fifties-- even though he was only 36-- almost causing James to give snarky remarks about how well his beauty makeup was working.
“What can I do for you, James?” Remus asked, a tiredness echoing the edge of his voice. The animagus threw an arm around his friend’s neck, pulling him closer.
“I need you for a moment, thought about rekindling some of the old flames, tell some stories, y’know?” Remus raised an eyebrow, taking a quick glance at his wife before letting out a long sigh. The last thing he wanted to do at this point was go down memory lane, but what else has he got to do at this moment? Tonks was nice to talk to, but they don’t have much around here.
“Alright, I’ll bite. Come on,” Remus told him, being dragged off by his oldest friend, giving a small apologetic look Tonks’ way. She only shook her head laughing, walking over to speak with Marlene and Dorcas who were sitting on the other side of the room. She was more than happy to leave them to deal with their stuff. Once they sat back down, it took only a few minutes before Lily arrived with Peter and Sirius, each with a look of concern and boredom on their faces. The two men scooched over, allowing the other three to sit down on the futon and sofa, therefore beginning to chat between friends that they had been waiting for.
“So, how are we gonna do this?” Sirius asked, fiddling with his moustache-- which somehow remained in pristine condition throughout everything. James smiled, nudging Remus on the shoulder.
“How about you start with your lady friend. Married now, are you?” Prongs joked, much to Moony’s chagrin.
“Tonks and I have been together for a while now. After you got yourselves into trouble and left me alone, I wasn’t in the greatest place. She consoled me, helped me see that not everyone in this world saw people like me as monsters. I kept telling her that she deserved better but Tonks was stubborn,” Remus explained, leaning back against the sofa. It wasn’t the full truth but it was enough for it to pass as it. Opening up wasn’t his strong suit.
“You had a kid, or so I heard,” Sirius blabbered. Oh great, opened that can of worms. Before Lily could get something off, Remus interrupted with a confirming sound.
“Teddy was born shortly before the Battle of Hogwarts. I tried to get Dora to stay with him but she refused. She shouldn’t have been there, or felt the need to come and help me. She died because of me,” Remus revealed. Peter bowed his head.
“Off to a good start…” He muttered, anxiously playing with his fingers.
“No no, this is good, nice getting things off our chests. We have about twenty or so years worth of trauma to get through, it’s good that we’re talking about this stuff,” Lily told them. Remus ran a hand through his hair.
“We ended up backed into a corner. Dolohov and Bellatrix separated us from the Weasley family after Fred died, caught us at a point where we were weakest. She went first, then I followed shortly after. Didn’t get to see Harry’s battle with Voldemort,” Moony finished, nonchalantly turning to his fellow Marauders seated beside him.
“Harry sounds like an amazing kid… I am so sad we never got to meet him,” Lily smiled, linking her hands together. Remus nodded, staring longingly into the palms of his own hands.
“I do have one question, though… who raised him?” James asked. Sirius and Lupin shared a look, one of understanding, but neither wanted to come forth and tell the truth. Padfoot finally cracked, shifting anxiously in his seat.
“Vernon and Petunia did. Spent a long while unaware of his birthright as a wizard and was treated quite poorly, by both them and their children. Thankfully he managed to get away from things and found his way to Hogwarts, but still… it left its mark on the poor boy,” Sirius explained, not looking at either Lily or James knowing full well how they would react. Disbelief was the first thing that came to mind and then rage, in James’ case. Flicking his eyes over to where Dumbledore was standing before the strange table, the one that had apparently mentioned when the Fractures were getting too unstable. They can only be collapsed at that point in time, so the old bat says.
“That was his idea too?” Questioned James and Remus nodded.
“He purposely let Sirius go to prison so his uprising would warrant some turbulence in his personality. Dumbledore raised him so he could die, Snape found that out before any of us did,” He said. James was liable to leap off his seat and go strangle Dumbledore himself if not for Lily’s strong grip on his forearm. The old wizard said that he had everything planned out decades before their upcoming as aurors and students at Hogwarts but they never thought he would stoop this low. Even more fuel to add to the fire of slander towards the ‘great’ Albus Dumbledore. There’s so much they thought they knew, and yet… it seemed as if they never even scratched the surface with him.
“He did so well near the end of things, kept his composure and kept his friends close. Hermoine Granger and Ron Weasley stood by his side til the end, even when the Horcruxes tried to pull them apart. In the end, Harry arose victorious,” Remus said, giving his friends a small smile before taking note of Dumbledore staring their way. James only nodded, staring down at his feet, attempting to quench the anger that was quickly bubbling up inside of him. Lily smiled.
“I’m glad. I’m so very glad…” she muttered. Peter was silently looking on. The guilt that still rang with him resonated after every word the two Marauders said. He knew and understood that he was not in control of his actions, but the things that he did helped Harry get to the way he was. He took his mother and father from him, his godfather, his life… Why was he still here?
“If you do not mind the intrusion,” Dumbledore’s voice cut in, and it was just then that they realised he had approached them. Pettigrew jumped slightly, knocking into the shoulder of Sirius, causing the Black to let out a small growl. The Animagus backed down, however, when Dumbledore cleared his throat. “You all need to be at the top of your game when dealing with these threats so I have improvised a sparring match for you all to take part in, if you wish to, that is.” The glare James gave told them all they needed to know about how this could go, but to turn down a perfectly good match to help hone in their skills would be stupid, conscidering they now know Bellatrix, Dolohov, and Greyback are also out there searching for these Fractures. Remus stood first, rubbing down the tan coat which had only one button done up at the front.
“Give us a moment and we will be there, to regain composure. Cannot have a duel under emotional circumstances,” He told him, motioning for the others to join him in standing. Dumbledore seemed to get the point Remus was making, giving a small nod before returning to the table. He spared no look back. Moony turned to everyone else, linking his hands in front of him. “I think it would be best to get ourselves together and at least do this for him. It would do us some good as well, seeing how we do appear to be a little rusty in our duelling abilities. I don’t need anything changed but if you wish to adjust your appearances in any way, do it now or forever hold your peace.” Sirius rolled his eyes, giving him a playful nudge to his shoulders before looking at James, a coy smile on his face. James brightened up, nodding as he and Padfoot rushed off to do… whatever it is they were going to do.
“Might as well make sure they don’t do anything stupid,” Lily added in, rushing off to join them. Peter stayed seated for a moment, his eyes stuck trained on the direction where they rushed off to. Remus almost pitied the man. After so many years of having no thought that was his own, suddenly he had consciousness again, and no one really liked having him around. It was made clear that those actions weren’t ones that Peter would ever make while his head was clear but it didn’t make a difference in the end of things. James and Lily still died, Sirius still went to prison, Remus was still left alone, however, for some reason, Lupin was not angry. Not anymore. The ex-teacher wanted to say something but Pettigrew got up before he got the chance to, skittering off without even a look at him-- almost as if he were a student who committed a grievous crime. In a way, he kinda was.
It was twenty minutes before James and Lily returned, this time without Sirius. While there were no grave changes to their appearance it was still noticeable enough. Lily still sported her long sweater, the colours ranging from black to blue to even a dark green! Definitely less of a sore thumb to look at. James, on the other hand, fixed himself up quite nicely. His hair seemed neatly brushed again and his glasses no longer had that small crack in one of their lenses, he even went as far as to fix his old wand holster that had broken during one of their missions for the Order. Said he was going to get it mended but never got the chance to, Godric's Hollow and all that. It was moments later that Sirius trailed behind them, in a similar state to that of the other three Marauders. His hair and moustache didn’t need fixing because for some reason they remained impeccable, even through death. He did, however, grab a clean coat from the back room, a suave black with tiny red etchings in the collar and sleeves, a fine corset underneath. Nothing less than what they would expect from Sirius Black.
Peter Pettigrew though, when he emerged, nearly stunned the rest of his friends. Where his hair had been patchy and unkempt was now nearly complete and firmly brushed, unlike that of what they had known of him from the last two or three decades. His torn up clothes had been replaced with more put together casual wear with a trench coat fit for winter, pockets to stash all the things he likes to collect along the way. He wore something similar to this during the First Wizarding War, though he quickly adjusted that shortly after that mission gone wrong, likely thanks to Voldemort’s suggestions. He was a rat, the Dark Lord had told him, so act like it. Peter even smelled better, not that he was unbearable to be around before. James gave a nod, admiring his old friend for his change in style, but said nothing as the five approached Dumbledore again.
“You all look good, but now the time for fun and games has momentarily ended. Remus--” The werewolf turned to the wizard. “--as you know, the full moon is approaching. We are working to create a suitable solution to your temporary one night a month problem, so until it is necessary to worry, I want you to not even think about it. You are talented even without the help of the wolf behind you, but you cannot allow it to control you. Understood?” Remus glowered a little at Albus’ words but nodded, restraining his animosity for the one who was going to duel him.
“Maybe try and make your words seem a little less apathetic, Dumbledore, your inner Voldemort is showing,” Sirius growled under his breath. If the old wizard heard him he spared no energy making it known, simply turning to acknowledge Marlene approaching them from where she was conversing with Dorcas and Tonks, almost like she was expecting him to look at her.
“She will be the sixth member of this duel, to prevent any unfair advantages one might have if we were playing a three way street match. She will be duelling you Potter. Evans and Lupin will be the second pairing while Black and Pettigrew will be the third, the first person to get the wand of their opponent wins the match. Any objections?” Sirius had a lot. For starters, why Peter? Albus knew that he was still a little hostile towards the rat and tried his best to not converse or interact with him unless it was necessary, so why did he pair him with Peter? Also, not having the married couple duelling was probably not the best thing considering they know each other the best but that wasn’t the main problem with this. It apparently took him too long to answer because next thing Sirius knew he was standing in front of Pettigrew with his wand out, waiting patiently for Dumbledore’s signal to start. This was going to go poorly, and Wormtail knew that he was about to get his ass handed to him.
“Remember, this is just a duel. Don’t kill him,” Remus reminded Sirius as he walked past him, giving a sharp pat on the shoulder before he took his place in front of Lily, anxiously glancing over to where Peter was shaking in his boots. Of all the times to be a coward, Peter Pettigrew chose the worst one in this moment.
“No forbidden curses, no attempting to gravely harm your opponent, and no interfering with other matches unless you believe there to be someone in danger. Ready your wands,” Dumbledore ordered, and suddenly all those who were still within the Sanctuary focused on their practice matches. Tonks kept a careful eye on Remus, observing the way he stood calm and collected, wand resting in his hand off to the side. “Accept the duel,” Each of the six brought their wand up in front of their foreheads-- touching the button of their noses-- before thrusting them back down to their hip. “And… begin!”
“Go get ‘em!” Cheered Fabian as he crossed the room, seeming to not stick around long due to the probable chance that Dumbledore had him and his brother running tasks for him. James shifted into a defensive stance immediately, however it was only to deflect the initial attack from Marlene that he knew was coming. Just from watching the witch fight over the years, Potter knew him and Marlene were similar in their fighting styles, although she would never care to admit that. A flick of the wrist sent a retaliation shot Marlene’s way, however she quickly put up a protego spell, ducking off to the side as the eyes of the spectators panned to Remus and Lily. Neither had put off a shot yet, both apparently perfectly fine with playing the waiting game, however it seemed like Lily had less of a fuse than Moony did.
“Avis, Oppugno!” He shouted, a flock of birds erupting from the end of his wand before shooting out towards his opponent. Lily, having been momentarily caught off guard, blindly pointed her wand forth.
“Glacius,” She casted, the birds becoming engulfed in a cone of ice and snow, falling helplessly to the ground and shattering into pieces. Thank god they weren’t real birds, otherwise Lily would probably feel awful about what she had just done. She still does, just less so. A casual flick of small spells were exchanged between the two talented casters, one just barely skimming by Remus’ chest. He may be good at protecting himself but he wasn’t any younger by his standards. Sure, maybe the werewolf wasn’t Dumbledore’s age but he was still inflicted with a curse that forced his body to drastically change every month. That kind of strain does terrible things to a person.
“Heavy on your feet, eh Remus?” Lily asked. Lupin laughed, flicking his hair to one side.
“Perhaps a little rusty after all. Although, I can't say the same for you.” Lily chuckled.
“Flattery will get you everywhere.” While their duel seemed to be going well, Alastor Moody paid no attention to them. His eyes were trained on Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew, and oh boy were things going off the deep end already. The dejected member of House Black did nothing but attack, sending spell after spell Wormtail’s way while all Peter could do was defend himself. It was normal to put all you can into a duel, masking rage for putting a strong push on your opponent, but concern filled Moody the longer he watched their battle. When Pettigrew finally managed to get a spell off, it was a measly Incendio, one that Sirius was able to get out of the way of easily. That only seemed to upset him more.
“Incendio!” Sirius shouted, a blur of orange and red streaking past Peter’s face and smashing into the concrete behind him, leaving a well defined scorch mark on the wall. Pettigrew’s heart raced, suddenly afraid for his own safety.
“Stupefy,” Peter cast rather weakly, but it was enough to temporarily stun Sirius in his assault. “Maybe calm things down a little bit, eh Sirius?” He asked, taking a step back as the man in question slowly got out of the spell that was put upon him. He rolled his head, a small cracking sound erupting from his neck, glowering towards his opponent in a way that suggested he was going to kill him. Moody took note of that, but did not intervene. It wasn’t to that point yet.
“Incendio,” Padfoot casted again, but Peter ducked out of the way. “Confringo!” A new one, a little more potent than the Bombarda but still not effective if the person manages to get away from it-- which Peter did. Sirius growled. “Petrificus Totalus!” That is a spell Pettigrew would rather get hit by than the latter spell. While this binding spell prevents one from really using their arms and legs, defending oneself is still possible. With Stupefy, there is no course for protection. Protego thankfully helped him avoid becoming affected by that spell. Sirius’ onslaught seemed endless, but it was expected in a match. No one saw anything other than two wizards making sure they were still in their fighting prime, no one saw the antagonistic tendencies begin to surface. No one except for Alastor Moody. James and Marlene were getting along, in the laments sense. A casual back and forth had taken over their duel, James at this point just wanting to get on with the day and possibly get onto the next mission. Marlene was the same. Seemed she really wanted to be back on that couch relaxing, not having to really worry about the threat of the world breaking apart at the seams.
“Expelliarmus!” James said, that brilliant blue light streaking across the battlefield and towards his opponent. Marlene managed to get a Locomotor Mortis off before she was disarmed, Potter having her wand in his hand just long enough for victory to be declared before his legs locked up on him. He flung his arms about wildly in a panic, grimacing at the muscles tensing up in a way which not even an Avada Kedavra could penetrate, but it served its purpose as he tumbled roughly to the ground. Marlene laughed playfully, hovering over the man as Potter struggled to get his legs working again, the woman simply asking for her wand back silently, putting her hand out towards him.
“I still won,” He conceded as he returned Marlene’s wand to her. She rolled her eyes, allowing normality to return to his legs again as she walked off to the side wordlessly. James looked over to Remus and Lily, frowning slightly at seeing Moony holding victory over his wife. His friend, however, appeared unphased by his winning the duel. His gaze was locked on Sirius and Peter, going at each other, Padfoot more aggressively the further along the battle went. James saw this now too, concern bubbling up in him as he walked over to Remus.
“What do we do?” James asked in a hushed tone. Lupin didn’t look towards him, too afraid that things would become dangerous if left alone for even a split second. Sirius has a habit of taking his anger out on those he thought wronged him, even if the people weren’t the main cause of the issue. In this case, placing Sirius against Peter allows him to wrongfully take his anger out on his friend and it puts Pettigrew in danger. Remus knows Padfoot would never intentionally hurt Peter but sometimes anger is blinding, and this battle was going too far.
“We have to stop him,” Was all Moony said before he began to approach the only battle that was left. Sirius was unaware of this, too busy backing Peter into a corner, forcing the man to face him for the first time since the Dark Lord imperio’d him all those years ago. Sirius Black would show people just how much of a coward Peter Pettigrew is.
“Stupefy!” Peter had no chance of getting out of the way of this one, the spell slamming into his chest and locking his body in place, putting him completely at the mercy of the animagus in front of him. Sirius smiled, a small gleam in his eyes. This is it, this is where he wins, this is where he gets revenge on the person who cost him so much of his life. Sirius raised his wand to end it, but Remus was faster.
“Expelliarmus,” He casted calmly. Rage bellowed out of the bearded Marauder, angry that his victory was taken from him, fully expecting to turn around and lash out at Lupin. How dare him take this from him, how dare him prevent him from getting back at this rat.
“Why Remus, I had him where I wanted him!” Black bellowed, the Potters shadowing the werewolf as Remus’ expression darkened. No one really understood how easily aggravated Lupin got the closer to a full moon but they did, which is why they mainly left him to his own for the first few years before turning themselves into Animagi. The wolf inside of him seemed to like that they were similar now, so his attitude towards them changed for the better during the time when the full moon was right around the corner. An angry Remus was a scary Remus, and that dastardly day was only twelve days away: August 4th. They didn’t know the year ‘cause time is a little messed up at the moment, but they at least could tell the day and month. What a shitty thing it would be having to only go off of Lupin’s attitude to determine when that time of the month was coming up.
“You were going too far and you know it. The point of this wasn’t to kill each other or to get make-belief revenge for an event that already happened a long time ago. You were being selfish, Black,” Growled Remus. The use of his last name finally snapped Sirius out of his blind aggression, just in time for him to dispel the Stupefy holding Peter. The man exhaled, placing his hands on his knees, taking a moment to calm himself over what just happened. Sirius bowed his head.
“You know he deserved it,” Padfoot tried defending himself, but he knew it was a fool's errand. Lily shook her head.
“He deserved nothing, not after death took him via his own hand. We can’t stoop to their levels, Sirius, just because we want to pin what happened onto someone, especially if it hurts our friends,” Evans told him. Sirius laughed. Friends? They weren’t friends. Peter Pettigrew is a coward and a murderer, someone who deserved everything he got and more. Padfoot accepted the fact that they would have to work together again, but he made it very clear that it would take a long time-- possibly even never-- for him to forgive him for what he did. Voldemort might have had him under the Imperius, however some crimes cannot be pardoned.
“When he proves that he is more than a sniveling rat, I might give him a second chance,” Sirius grumbled, getting into Remus’ face before taking his wand back, stuffing it into his pocket before walking away. James approached Peter.
“You alright mate?” He asked, calmly putting a comforting hand on his friend’s back. Peter nodded, staring longingly at the ground.
“Yeah… yeah, I’m good,” Pettigrew whispered. Remus and Lily were going to join when Dumbledore cleared his throat. Oh great, just what they needed, another unstable person prying into their lives. Everything was fine before they decided to work for this man, but that was a grudge for another day.
“While that got further out of hand than I’d have liked, it still proved just how important relying on those around you is. You were out of turn, Sirius, I hope this won’t affect you during your missions.” The wizard in question didn’t respond, only crossing his arms off to the side. Right now he can’t be reasoned with, only making the situation worse by ignoring those around him. Black can be petty at times, though would you believe it’s gotten better since he was at Hogwarts?
“We’re all a little tense right now, it can be expected,” James pointed out as he rubbed his hair aggressively. Prongs tended to do this when he needed to be calmed down, finding it comforting so long as he knew the person that was doing it. Lily and Sirius have done it the most due to Remus not really liking a lot of physical contact, Peter simply lacking the right technique needed in order to get the proper effect. He did it to himself, though it didn’t have the same impact.
“Then I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it seems we have a problem,” Moody cut in. He was staring at the globe of the Wizarding World, all of the important places being marked by a different marker. However, in one part of the world, a flashing red dot gained the attention of every person in the Sanctuary. They recognized that this usually meant a Fracture was becoming unstable, thus being in the perfect ripeness for a healing or binding spell.
“Oh good, just what we needed,” Remus groaned, bowing his head out of annoyance.
“Can you get the location? I would rather not have to go into things blind if necessary,” Sirius asked. Moody and Dumbledore approached the table, pressing a few things as everyone watched the globe twist and zoom in, an error notice popping up just beside the red dot. Moody shook his head.
“Too much interference, but it seems like that feature is at least available. Can’t get a reading on this one, though,” He revealed, leaning against the table to get some weight off his bad leg. Dumbledore turned to face the Marauders as Tonks came up to Remus.
“This is no coincidence. The world seems to react as we do and you all will have to learn to work as a team again if we want the universe to continue existing past tomorrow. Whatever grievances you have needs to go on the sidelines so we can healthily continue to protect those who cannot protect themselves,” The wizard told them, sparing a small look to both Sirius and Peter. To be fair it wasn’t really Pettigrew’s fault that everything was crashing down on him again, Black was just terrible at dealing with his issues.
“We’ll do our best. Remember Dumbledore, you’re not our leader. You might act like it and think you are but you’re not, not even close,” James said, fixing his glasses as he and the others began walking over to the gateway. Tonks did what she did before, kissing her husband on the lips before wishing him luck, threatening him that if he did not return she would kill him. Remus gave a lighthearted chuckle and promised to come back, rejoining the other Marauders as the gateway activated fully. Lupin could positively smell the tension radiating off their group, but it would be nothing compared to what they were going to face on the other side of that portal. Marlene and the friends that were present gave them one last bid of good luck before the five stepped into the gateway, off to do the next mission on their growing list of headaches. This one was going to be fun .