A/N: Okay, guys, this is my first fanfic and therefore first author’s note, so it may be kinda long. First I want to dedicate this fic to all my friends and family, God, and of course all you readers and reviewers- especially reviewers! (To read is human, to review is divine.- I read that somewhere and liked it.) Anyway, hope you enjoy the fic!
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters except Professors Diggle and Splatnik- the rest belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling and her horde of publishers. I’m pretty sure I own the plot, ‘cause I’ve never seen anything quite like it before- ATTENTION- if you did this first, I’m sorry, but I haven’t read it yet. Anyway, no profits are being made and no infringement is intended.
"To Remember…" "I can’t believe it’s almost over." Lily said sadly, looking up from her dinner plate. "I know. It’s gone by so quickly." James replied, draping an arm over the back of her chair, which was next to his own.
"By this time tomorrow we’ll all be Hogwarts graduates." Peter piped up from across the table.
Next to him, Remus gazed around at their little group, "So many memories…" "So many pranks!" added Sirius, with a gleam in his eye as he clapped James on the back. "Remember the time Snape tried to get Peter in trouble by saying he’d cheated on that charms exam?"
"And Professor Diggle told him that no one could be that bad at cheating, because Peter got the worst mark in the whole class!" James laughed and Peter flushed, but Remus interrupted, "And Snape got detention for spreading lies!" All five of them burst out laughing at this. "Or the time we conveniently let Snape overhear our ‘plan’ to break into the laundry room…" James began. "And the idiot decided to catch us single-handed. He didn’t even think it was a trap until we had dumped all of Madam Hooch’s —er- undergarments on him!" Sirius finished.
"I’ve still got the pictures." Remus said, shaking with silent laughter.
"Yes," said Lily with a smile, "You four certainly were entertaining, but I’m talking about all of it- the whole Hogwarts experience- the pranks, the classes, the teachers, the quidditch matches, the dances, the Hogsmeade visits, the fights and the friendships. The whole deal. I’m going to miss it so much. This place has really become my home."
"Yeah." Said Remus, and the others were nodding in agreement.
Suddenly Lily jumped up impulsively, "I’m going to have one last look around, I can’t bear the thought of forgetting it- any of it." Tears were welling up in her eyes and James, though surprised, nodded and squeezed her hand before she hurried off.
"We’ve been through so much here." Remus said, "I mean you guys were the first to ever accept me for what I am- besides Dumbledore, of course- and when you became animagi…" He trailed off.
"Forget it, Moony." Sirius said, gripping his shoulder.
"I’ll never forget it. Never." Said Remus firmly.
"And for the record," James put in, "we accepted you for who you are, not what."
Remus smiled weakly and got to his feet- "I’m going to visit the whomping willow. See you." The three remaining nodded.
As Remus walked out of the Great Hall, Peter got to his feet and said, " I’m going up to the common room, guys. I’m really not hungry anymore." Sirius and James looked at each other in astonishment- Peter, not hungry?! What was the world coming to?
"So it looks like it’s just you and me, Prongs." Sirius said. James nodded. "Has Hogwarts most illustrious Head Boy written his speech for tomorrow yet?" James rolled his eyes.
"No, but I really should go think about it- I’d better get going." He replied.
"Yeah, me too." Sirius answered, and upon seeing James’ raised eyebrows he elaborated- "I may not have important speeches to write, but I do have classrooms to dungbomb- beloved professors to bid ‘Adieu’ to…" the gleam was back in his eye and James grinned. "After all, I do have a reputation to leave behind."
"Between the two of us in the last seven years, I think we’ve probably left enough of a reputation behind to last this school a lifetime." James said, but his blue eyes were twinkling, "Give the teachers my regards."
"Will do." Said Sirius and he quickly headed out of the Great Hall.
James followed him, more slowly, looking around at his fellow students, aware that several were gazing back at him- as quidditch captain for Gryffindor, Head Boy, and Sirius’ frequent ‘partner in crime’, he had acquired quite a reputation- and saving Severus Snape last year hadn’t hurt either. But James was well suited to the admiration of his peers: he was kind and patient with the younger students, easy-going and friendly with the older ones, and because he was totally oblivious to why everyone liked him so much, no one (except possibly Snape) thought he was arrogant- because he wasn’t. But as James walked into the Entrance Hall he wasn’t thinking about any of this; he was remembering his first day at Hogwarts. He had been so young, and yet it seemed like only yesterday… he and Sirius (whom he’d met on the train) had stood nervously in line, waiting to be sorted- they had not met Remus until later that week, he had arrived separately from the rest of the students, three days late. James could still remember waiting his turn and gazing up at the enchanted ceiling, which was lit up by the full moon. Then, "Potter, James!" and he had hurried up to where young Professor McGonagall stood next to a stool, holding an old hat. He climbed onto the stool and gave a start as the hat slid over his ears and spoke into one of them- "Hmmm. Brave, very brave; but a fair amount of loyalty, too. Of course you’re smart, very clever: and rather ambitious as well. Wouldn’t be surprised if you were Head Boy one day"- as James looked back he smiled at these words- "but that bravery, it’s almost overwhelming. You’ll do well in GRYFFINDOR!" He had pulled off the hat and headed over to the cheering table, pleased to have been sorted into the same house as Sirius and sat down next to him. Sirius was talking to the plump boy who’d been sorted right before James- Peter Pettigrew. The conversation seemed to be rather one-sided, though as Pettigrew gave James a small, nervous smile and turned back to his plate. Sirius, unperturbed, had turned to James and began talking about how many dungbombs he’d been able to cram into his trunk. The present day James smiled to himself- some things never changed- and headed out for one last look at the quidditch pitch.
** Meanwhile **
Lily stood at the top of the astronomy tower looking out over the grounds- she’d already visited the Potions, Charms, and Transfiguration classrooms, the kitchens, the library, and Professor Dumbledore’s office. She had been surprised and pleased to find him there, as dinner was still being served. They had had a nice chat about graduation, her speech, her previous years, and her future. After she had left Dumbledore she had just wandered around and somehow found herself at the astronomy tower- she knew why, though- it was here that James had first kissed her- at the beginning of their sixth year. She remembered it vividly. It had been after a Gryffindor quidditch victory against Slytherin and they had both felt that the common room was too crowded and stuffy, so when she had said she was going up to the astronomy tower to get some air, he had offered to join her… Lily smiled and pressed her fingers to her lips at the memory. She gazed out at the grounds and saw lights in Hagrid’s windows, a figure sitting just out of reach of the Whomping Willow, and another figure, strolling around the edge of the quidditch field. She recognized the walk immediately and headed downstairs to see him.
** Meanwhile **
Remus turned around at the sound of feet behind him. He saw a girl running across the lawn, towards the quidditch pitch. Seeing the long, red hair streaming behind her, he knew who it was, and, judging from the direction she was headed, and her haste, he could guess whom she was going to see. He smiled as he watched her race past Hagrid’s hut, a pair of high-heeled shoes dangling from one hand. They were made for each other, Lily and James, he though as he turned back to the tree. Always had been- he and Sirius had known it even before they themselves had realized… only Peter had been surprised when they announced they were going out last year- but then that wasn’t surprising. Peter always had been a bit slow. Like during the animagus transformation- he’d needed all the help he could get- Remus remembered it so clearly…
"No Peter!" Sirius had said exasperatedly when Peter had finally returned with his parcel. "Powdered Boomslang horn, not shredded Boomslang skin!"
"They’re… they’re different?" Peter had squeaked.
Sirius let out a tremendous groan and turned towards the center of the room where a cauldron stood. "You’ll have to go, James. We can’t send Peter again- we might end up with powdered Australian boomerang or something." James shot him a look that clearly said ‘drop it’ and squeezed Peter’s shoulder on his way out. Thirty minutes later he returned with the powdered Boomslang horn and added it to the already frothing potion in the cauldron while Sirius reviewed the incantation with Peter.
"Remember, it’s ‘Convertium mi corpus animagus ratus’."
"Converti…" Peter trailed off looking confused.
This time even James looked up from the cauldron, patience exhausted.
"Convertium mi corpus animagus ratus!" He and Sirius yelled together.
"Got it, got it!" Peter had said hastily, "Convertium mi corpus animagus ratus!"
" About time." Remus had muttered from his seat on Sirius’ bed.
Sirius turned to him and grinned, "Won’t be long now, Moony, pal."
And it wasn’t. They all finally managed it- all for him. Over the two years between then and now they enjoyed some wonderful adventures, and more importantly, Remus learned to trust again. At the beginning of seventh year he sat down and told Lily that he was a werewolf. She was the first person he had voluntarily told, and it had felt so good. She, like Sirius, James and even Peter, was wonderful. She had hugged him and asked why he’d never told her before. He could hardly believe he had four such good friends- sometimes he still couldn’t.
** Meanwhile **
Sirius quietly pushed open the door to the potions dungeon. This was his last and most special stop. How many detentions had he and James spent in here? Too many to count. How many dungbombs and other explosive devices had they set off in here? Even more. Sirius grinned at the thought. Well, a few more wouldn’t hurt. He hurried up to Professor Splatnik’s cauldron and carefully covered the bottom with Dr. Filibuster’s no heat, wet-start fireworks. The he took out the strip of paper he had prepared, unrolled it, and secured two dungbombs on the back with liberal amounts of spellotape. Then he flipped it over: *Good-bye Professor Splatnik -Your admiring 7th year students
And taped it to the top of the cauldron, leave plenty of space for the good professor to pour in her potion ingredients. Knowing Splatnik, she would suspect something had been done to the paper and wouldn’t touch it until she was wearing protective gloves, probably after first lessons, during morning break- but by then it would be too late. By then the potions dungeon would be perfumed with ‘eau de dungbomb’. Not to mention a lovely little fireworks display on the side. Sirius couldn’t wait.
** Meanwhile **
Unlike the others, Peter, while he was curled up in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room, was thinking, not of the past, but of the future. He had read the Daily Prophet, he knew Voldemort (even thinking the name made him wince) was gathering power quickly- there were many people who had no qualms about switching to the Dark side if it seemed like a beneficial proposal. He also knew that Sirius and James were bound to be targeted- they were powerful wizards and close allies of Dumbledore’s. He had realized Remus, Lily, and even himself might be in the line of fire. He was sure the others- Sirius, Remus, Lily, and James- would rather die than go over to the dark side, but as for himself, he just wasn’t so sure. He had never been as brave as the others- and God knew he was terrified of dying. Oh well. All he could do was hope Voldemort never thought to come after him…
"Peter? Peter? Earth to Peter!" Sirius was waving a hand in front of his glazed eyes.
"Huh? Oh. What?"
Sirius was no longer in front of him- he had moved over to the window and was looking out over the grounds, "Good, they’re there. And Remus is heading over, too. Come on, Peter. We’re going to the quidditch field."
"Why…?" Peter began, but he followed Sirius out of the portrait hole anyway.
** Meanwhile (yes this is the last one!) **
Down on the quidditch pitch James and Lily stood, staring up at the stars. When she’d reached the field he’d been walking around, deep in thought. She’d strolled across the pitch and put her arm around his waist. "Penny for your thoughts." He’d looked up and smiled, draping an arm over her shoulders.
"I was thinking of my first quidditch match- back in second year, you remember?"
"Sure, against Hufflepuff. We won, but it was close." She said, playfully poking his side.
He grinned, "Give me a break. It was my first match and their seeker was a fifth year."
"Yeah, but you beat him."
He smiled and turned her to him, "Yeah, I beat him." He said and kissed her.
"Hey! Break it up!" Remus called as he crossed the field towards them. Lily and James both looked up and grinned.
"Hey! How was the willow?" James asked.
"Whomping. But it brought back great memories."
"You visited the whomping willow?" Lily asked.
"Yeah. I wanted to remember."
"I know the feeling." She smiled, "I visited some classes, the kitchens, the library, Dumbledore’s office, and then I finally ended up on top of the astronomy tower- to remember." James grinned down at her.
"Hey! Why weren’t we invited to the party?" They all looked up to see Sirius jogging towards them, and Peter hurrying to keep up.
James turned his smile toward Sirius and asked, "How’d the dungbombs go?"
"Wonderful. All of the teachers were most obliging by staying at dinner, or in their offices, or wherever they were. When they get to class tomorrow, they’ll all have lovely mementos to remember me by."
"None of those mementos leave scars, do they?" Lily asked suspiciously, looking up at him.
"Why Lily, you wound me!" Sirius said in mock distress.
" Just as long as you don’t wound anyone else." She shot back, but her eyes were sparkling and she was grinning.
"After tomorrow we have to keep in touch." Remus suddenly said pointedly.
"We will, Moony." James responded, firmly.
"Yeah Remus, friends forever." Lily added, giving him a hug. She did the same to each Sirius and Peter.
As she returned to James, he spoke up, "Whatever happens with the dark arts, and with Voldemort, we all have to stick together."
All nodded, but none could know what the future held.
A/N #2: I know, I know, but I couldn’t help myself! Anyway- I’m not sure if I like this ending, so tell me if you do- now’s your chance- Review! No flames, please, but constructive criticism is always appreciated. Love Ya! ~ Anne