Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and events from J.K. Rowling's wonderful Harry Potter books. I am writing this for my own enjoyment and hopefully for the enjoyment of readers. Anything you recognize belongs to JKR. The rest belongs to me.
Chapter 37: The Permanent Sticking Charm
After Peter transformed back to his human form there was much excitement as the Marauders anticipated the next step in becoming Animagi. Sirius, James, and Peter all attempted to talk Remus into trying out the potion, but Remus insisted that transforming into one type of creature was enough for him.
Although everyone was eager to work on the next step, the school year was nearly finished and they had exams lurking. They all decided to wait until the fall when they returned to school to work on the transfiguration. Over the summer they were to study up on the creatures they had become so they could be more prepared that fall. Remus chuckled to himself, realizing that he had never seen Sirius and James so enthusiastic about their studies.
There was a lot of tension among the students as they prepared for their end of year exams. There was a bit of comic relief, though, as a group of second years watched with laughter as two seventh year Ravenclaw boys walked out of their Transfiguration NEWT wearing only their skivvies, their bodies painted in the Gryffindor colors.
As promised, Marlene took several pictures although she was not able to take one of McGonagall yelling at the boys. Surprisingly, the professor did not throw the boys into detention. She seemed rather amused seeing the Gryffindor colors on two of her biggest troublemakers (that is, biggest troublemakers second only to the Marauders). Gideon and Fabian, though embarrassed, were quite relieved that they had not blown their chance at becoming aurors.
A few days later as the Marauders were headed to the Great Hall for breakfast they saw a group of students in the corridor, laughing and crowding around something on the wall. When they pushed their way to the front Sirius let out an enormous bark of laughter. There, on the wall, was a photograph of James' cousins as they were coming out of the Transfiguration NEWT. The images of the boys kept trying to hide behind each other. To their (the boys in the photograph) relief they saw the real Gideon and Fabian pushing their way toward the photograph. The boys tried to rip the photo off the wall but it would not budge. They turned to James with a nasty glare.
"Take this down, now!" ordered Fabian.
"I can't believe you did this!" said Gideon.
James shook his head and shrugged his shoulders innocently. "I didn't put that up, I swear." He turned to Sirius and muttered, "Though I wish I'd been the one to think of it."
"Well if it wasn't you, then who did it?" asked Gideon.
"I took the picture, not them," said Marlene. She had just appeared behind the twins.
They turned and looked at her incredulously. "YOU did this?" asked Fabian.
"Yes," said Marlene, matter-of-factly.
"Well…take it down, now!" demanded Fabian.
Marlene smirked and shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry," she said sweetly. "Permanent sticking charm…nothing I can do about it."
Just as the twins were considering casting the furunculous hex on her, James decided it was an opportune time to usher Marlene away from danger. He and the Marauders guided her away from Gideon and Fabian, who were now trying in vain to charm the photograph off the wall. After they made it to the Great Hall, they turned and gawked at Marlene.
"What?" she asked.
"I can't believe you did that," said Peter.
Marlene smirked and said, "You asked for pictures and I took pictures. What's the big deal?"
James shook his head and with wide eyes said, "I just can't believe how you displayed it like that. Not that I mind but I just didn't expect that from you."
Sirius was watching Marlene thoughtfully. He finally spoke up, saying, "I hate to agree with James in this case but I have to say that was impressive, McKinnon." She turned to him, surprised to hear a compliment. He added, "A permanent sticking charm. Bloody brilliant, but where did you learn to do that?"
Marlene raised an eyebrow and with a half-grin said, "What makes you think that I'm the one who performed the charm?" The Marauders stared at her in confusion as her gaze led to the table where Lily was sitting eating her breakfast. Before the boys had time to register what Marlene had said, she said, "See you later boys," and walked to the table to join Lily.
Remus was the first to speak. "You don't suppose that Lily-"
"What…Evans?" said Sirius. "You think that Evans performed the charm?"
"Well, Marlene implied it," said Remus.
The four boys all stared at Lily disbelievingly as she chatted with Marlene. Finally, James shook his head and said, "No way. She wouldn't have participated in that prank. She's made it clear all year how she hates the pranks we've pulled."
"Not the pranks we've pulled," said Remus. "She's hated the pranks you've pulled."
"He's right, mate," said Sirius. "She looks more aggravated whenever you hex Snape than when I hex Marlene, and she's her best mate."
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A few days later and after several conversations with the headmaster, the Prewitt boys had convinced him to move a portrait to cover their picture. Even though the picture was a permanent fixture of Hogwarts it was no longer displayed for all to see. By this time the NEWTs were finished and the seventh year students were eagerly anticipating graduation.
The younger students looked forward to the upcoming summer holiday, that is, all the students except a handful. Once again James was not looking forward to spending another awkward holiday at home with his mum. He had written to her before the Christmas and Easter holidays making excuses for not coming home, saying that he needed to study or that he didn't want Sirius to be alone for the holiday.
Now he was faced with a few months in the large house that would be occupied by only him, his mum, and their house elf. Even though it had been a year since Joseph Potter's death, James felt that going home was going to open up some wounds that were just starting to mend. As James packed his trunk he smiled seeing the mirror that was the twin to the one he had given Sirius for Christmas. At least he would be able to keep in contact with his best mate during the holiday, he thought.
Sirius was also not looking forward to the holiday. Last summer had been truly horrible for him. During the first eleven years of his life he had been surrounded by his family, being made to feel like an outcast. Then he had started at Hogwarts and made 3 wonderful friends in a house that had nothing to do with his family or their pureblood beliefs. He had had a taste of that for a year before being forced to return to Grimmauld Place for a few months of forced isolation. Not only had he been trapped in his room, he had been extremely worried about James and felt guilty at not being there for him after his father's death.
Just as his hope had built at the idea of returning to Hogwarts for a second year he had been tricked into attending Durmstrang. After getting himself expelled his transfer back to Hogwarts had been quick. He hadn't had time to endure the wrath of his parents for bringing shame to the noble family of Black. He knew that his parents' memories were long and that he would be forced to endure some form of punishment during the summer holiday. He scowled as he thought about his family, and went to bed dreaming of the day he could escape their madness.
Remus looked especially pale as he packed his trunk. The full moon had already passed so his weariness was not related to his lycanthropy. He had grown to feel at home at Hogwarts during the past few years. His family, though they claimed to love him despite his condition, still treated Remus as though he were a stranger. They had never gotten over the loss of Remus' brother, Romulus. Remus went for years not knowing true compassion or friendship.
Then he had arrived at Hogwarts and was befriended by James, Sirius, and Peter. After learning that Remus was a werewolf, Sirius and James accepted him and treated him like a brother. Even Peter accepted Remus as a friend after getting over the initial shock of learning the truth. The three boys were willing to risk expulsion and even their health by attempting the Animagus transformation. They wanted to do that for Remus so that he would not have to bear his painful monthly transformation alone. Remus was thankful every day for that kind of friendship and knew he would miss them that summer.
Remus also thought about Lily and Emm, his study partners. Even though Lily had chosen to stay distant from James she had once again developed a friendship with Remus during their study sessions. It puzzled Remus why she was so adamant about staying away from James.
Lily had mixed feelings about returning home. Even though she missed her family and longed to see them, she felt an internal dilemma occurring. At the beginning of the school year she had her mind made up that she would finish the year and then accept her dad's deal to stay home for the rest of her education. She had had no intention of returning to Hogwarts for a third year. Throughout the year she focused on her studies and put aside her thoughts of the upcoming year. She never discussed her father's deal with any of her friends. She did not want to upset them.
As the school year drew to a close she was forced to think about the upcoming year. She was still torn about returning for a third year, however she had thrived in all of her classes being one of the top students. When she had started at Hogwarts two years earlier she had felt like magic was something unattainable for her, being Muggleborn. Now she was starting to feel as if magic was a part of her she couldn't part from.
Lily spent most of the train ride home in silence staring out the window, thinking about her dilemma. Marlene and Alice kept trying to make conversation with Lily but she would only give one or two word answers.
Finally, Marlene snapped her fingers in front of Lily's eyes, bringing her out of her reverie. "Hello? Lily?"
Lily turned to Marlene with a questioning look. "What?"
"What's with you?" asked Marlene.
"What did I do?" asked Lily.
"We've been trying to speak with you for the entire trip and you've been in your own world," said Alice. "You didn't even snap out of it when the Marauders set off some Filibuster fireworks in the corridor," she added.
"They WHAT?" asked Lily.
Marlene smirked and said, "You see? That's my point. You've been out of it. What's going on with you?"
Lily stared down at her hands, wondering how to reply. "I guess- I'm just going to miss everyone this summer." She left out the part where she might not ever see them again if she decided to go to school with Petunia.
"It won't be that bad, Lily," said Alice. "It'll only be a few months."
"Right," Lily said quietly.
After the train pulled to a stop at King's Cross, the three girls all said good-bye at the barrier before walking through. Lily promised to write to them that summer. When she made her way through the barrier into the Muggle world she searched around until she heard a squeal. A tall thin girl threw herself at Lily and hugged her tight.
"Lily!" she cried. "Welcome home!"
"Hi 'Tunia!" Lily replied. She pulled back and noticed that her sister was an inch or so taller than when she had seen her at Christmas.
"Mum and Dad are parking the car. I'm so glad you're back," gushed Petunia. "I have all sorts of plans for us this summer. Oh! I ran across Sophie and Carol the other day and told them all about how you'll be returning to our school this fall. They can't wait to see you, again!"
Lily's smile froze. She hadn't even had a chance to speak with her father about what her decision would be. While she had always planned on staying home, hearing Petunia vocalize it put a strange knot in Lily's stomach. Before she had a chance to react she saw her parents approaching her. A few seconds later she was swept up in their embrace.
"Where are your things, sweetie?" asked her father.
Lily turned around and found her trolley. Petunia turned her nose up at seeing Lancelot in his cage.
"You still have that thing?" she asked.
"What?" asked Lily. "You mean Lancelot? Yes, of course I do."
Before Petunia could comment her parents ushered the girls out of the station and to the car.
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As the Evans' were walking out of the station, James and the Marauders were crossing the barrier. He parted with Remus, Sirius, and Peter and made his way over to his mum, who greeted him with a large hug.
"Hi, mum," he said.
"Hi, James." She squeezed him one more time before backing away. "I missed you so much this year. I'm sorry you couldn't come home for the Christmas and Easter holidays."
James shrugged and said, "Oh, erm, you know- lots of homework."
Marianne Potter sadly nodded her head. She was a little disappointed by her son's lack of enthusiasm at coming home. She missed the boy he had been before Joseph's death, full of life and laughter.
They made their way home and James immediately went to his room to unpack. Perchy, the house elf, had offered to unpack for him but James felt the need to escape his mum's sad and probing eyes. He stayed up there until he was summoned downstairs for supper. He slowly made his way down the stairs and into the dining room. He walked in and sat down, staring at the table.
"Hi, James!"
James felt a sudden lurch in his stomach at the familiar voice. His heart skipped a beat and his gaze shot up in the direction of the voice. He stared at the source in disbelief.
"D-Dad?"
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A/N: Hehehehe, another cliffhanger! Do you think you know what's going on?
Thanks to the latest reviewers: Golden Phoenix, tigerfairy, sweetie513, Alicia, A New Reader, and Anonymous. Replies are in the review section.
Next chapter: The answer to the burning question - who is in James' dining room?