Throughout the day the Marauders got quite a few distrustful glances, amused smirks, and callouts.

The teachers, who had slowly begun to relax around the four now kept their eyes peeled, ready for a single hint that the Wrong Name Prank was their doing.

Peter almost had a few slip ups, especially when Professor McGonagall called him out for messing up the definition of the Partial Vanishing, and ended up saying.

“S-s-sorry P-professor Mc-mc-McNugget,” which caused Lily to burst out laughing, cute little snorts coming from her as she tried to stifle them.

They were later called in by Madam Pomfrey and Professor Slughorn to the Hospital Wing. The two of them had eventually found out that they or “someone” put in a Falsivity Potion, the training potion healers used.

While Madam Pomfrey said this she stared hard at Remus, who blinked in confusion and asked The GingerBread Man if she was okay. Of course Remus had been the one to brew the potion, learning it from Madam Pomfrey a few years ago when they had made idle conversation after one of his worse transformations.

They were unable to prove it, as the Falsivity Potion, while rare for a student to know, wasn’t impossible. And also because the charm affected everyone, staff and students (it had been very difficult to sneakily put in the charmed runes into the teacher’s clothing.) there was not an odd man out to point to.

So the four of them gave the Matron and Professor wide puppy dog eyes, dripping with so much sincerity it was sickening and they knew, oh they just knew, that the Marauders were the perpetrators.

But by the end of the night the charms in their clothes had worn through and failed. There were still quite runes woven into the rest of the students ties, but as the year went on they would get more and more worn down by everyday wear and tear, and without Remus using the activating charm they would never activate.

The next day the Marauders joked around about the prank, but never said they were the culprits.

“Say Orion, could you pass me the twig shears?” James asked, his smock covered in dirt.

“I will indeed. Whatever could you need it for Fleamont?” Sirius replied, sniffing distastefully.

“Oh mine and Grace’s Wiggen sprout needs a bit of a trim wouldn’t you say,” James replied to Sirius, passing the shears to Peter.

“Hmm, well I will say that its fro is a bit wild this morning, Lyall, care to give your opinion?” Sirius replied gravely.

“Ah ever so much indeed it does! Look at that, how will little Wiggen ever find a nice lady if his leaves are so untamed,” Remus said, shaking his head in disappointment.

Peter expertly twirled his shears, pursed lips and eyes full of a mothers wrath.

“Tsk tsk tsk Wiggen. How will you ever expect me to be a grandmother if you keep acting like a complete slob? And you need to be watered properly, you are beginning to stink,” Peter scolded, his fingers moving in a flash to take off a few ripe leaves before handing the shears to Remus. “You need to listen to your uncle Lyall and stop hanging around those ruffians.”

They laughed, Remus guffawing so loudly he started to sneeze, taking a step outside to clear his nose. gaining glares from the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs around them. Professor Sprout, a new professor that came to Hogwarts two years ago, moved to them.

“If only you four had the work ethics of your fathers. Sorry Mister Pettigrew I didn’t know your mother so I can’t comment.”

“You knew my dad?” James asked.

His mother and father had him rather late compared to his two other friends, Fleamont and Euphemia were in their seventh year when Tom Riddle was in his first, meanwhile Orion was two years after Riddle and Lyall three.

“Oh yes, I worked with him quite a bit while getting my Herbology Mastery. While his knowledge of plants is not as widespread as some others, he makes up for it in depth. I wish you had gotten a bit more of his green thumb.”

James smirked.

“Sorry to say other colors have dibs on my thumb Professor.”

The professor walked away, and Remus slipped back through a door into the greenhouse. He gave the three of them a wink and they all hid their own smiles.

Peter confirmed that he was ready for the Animagus Ritual, which meant they needed to have all the ingredients ready. A few of the more obscure ones had already been gathered over the summer, but thanks to Harry kidnapping him James had missed a few from his family’s gardens and dads laboratory.

Thankfully Mandrakes were kept in the school year round. Not only for education, but also it was one of the ways Hogwarts paid for things.

The exited the class, heading for the Gryffindor Tower to deposit the Mandrake Leaves when Remus stopped them. He held a finger to his lips then tapped his ear. James nodded then waved his wand at their feet.

“Lead on,” James breathed so that only Remus could hear him.

They started forward following behind Remus. Remuys looked back at their feet with raised eyebrows, but didn’t comment. He stopped behind a corner leading to a long hall next to the bathrooms. He pointed his thumb around the corner.

Sirius pointed to Remus then to his ear, Remus tilted his hand back and forth. James once again waved his wand only this time murmuring the words as quietly as possible. This spell was much more complicated and had very intricate wand movements. In his mind James focused on a halfway point in the hallway that he remembered.

“Mi Slysheo.”

From the tip of his wand the soft sound of two voices speaking echoed out.

“‘Re good at it. I’ve peeked in your notebook mate,” a familiar voice said.

The other three looked at James’s wand in surprise and he winked at them.

“Graves, I am already on thin ice with Slughorn,” Snape’s voice said.

James, Sirius and Peter became more serious. Snape talking to Graves Mulciber in a rarely used hall was never a good sign. James had noticed Snape hanging out with Mulciber and his group more and more near the end of last year. Snape had always been a bit of a loner, even in Slytherin. His only real friend there was Lucius Malfoy, but Lucius graduated the year before.

“I’m not asking you to go around casting the spell, just help us figure out how to make it work.”

“I don’t know-” here Snape sounded like the fifteen year old he was. Shy and unsure of himself.

“I’ll make it up to you. Whatever you want from the Three Broomsticks and Honeydukes next Hogsmede weekend. Hector’s been wanting you to come with us for a while now.”

Hector Avery was another of what was sometimes called the Darklings, but was now changing to Junior Death Eaters.

James could hear the surprise and hope in Snape voice.

“Really? Well… sure, yeah I’ll help you guys out. Its the Seeing Stars Jinx you said right?”

“Yeah. We wanted to change it to-”

“What are you guys doing? Stalking the Grey Lady to find her laugh closet? She doesn’t like it when people see her smile,” A soft sweet voice said from behind them.

The voices from the wands cut off as they no doubt heard the voice as well.

The Marauders turned to see a short girl in Ravenclaw colors looking at them curiously. She had bright blue eyes and wispy blonde hair. James thought he recognized her, a seventh year?

“Yes we were,” Sirius lied smoothly, talking in a normal volume. “Though we didn’t know she had a, uh, laughing closet. We thought it was a secret hideaway for the Ravenclaw Study Group.”

“Oh, no that's in a hidden cubby on the Astronomy Tower.”

“What are you doing here?” Graves said seriously, coming around the corner, Severus right behind him.

“They were looking for the Ravenclaw Study Group hideaway. They are quite off the mark there unfortunately.”

Mulciber looked at the blonde behind their group, eyes flashing with annoyance.

“Tripe.”

“Hi!” Tripe said, waving her hand.

Mulciber pursed his lips. James saw that one of his hands was behind his back, Severus in a similar stance.

“Got an issue Potter?” Snape said.

James’s own wand was out, putting the two outnumbered Slytherins on edge. Normally this was where James and Sirius would Hex the two of them, sending them to the Hospital wing to undo whatever spell they cast.

“Not particularly Snape. Got something to share with the class?” James asked, giving Snape a level look.

“Not to your kind.”

James raised an eyebrow.

“My kind? Is that typical House-rivalry talk or something else?”

“Idiots that only care about how many eyes are looking at them,” Snape drawled.

Yeah, James was never going to be Severus’s friend. Seriously, who drawled? James knew that Lily and Snape were childhood friends that grew up near each other, but how could she stand him? Never a nice thing to say, apparently bullied children for a dozen years as a teacher.

James clenched his wand, taking a deep breath to push down the years of habit to Hex the guy.

Snape sneered.

“Playing nice Potter? Did getting kidnapped fix your pathetic need for attention? Or was the blow of not making Prefect knock some sense into you? Finally ready to grow up?”

“Funny that you only have things to say when James decides not to go after you. I wouldn’t get it into your head that he’s gone soft,” Sirius said, his own wand in his hands. “You’re just not worth the effort anymore. Kind of like trying to kick a dying dog you know mate? Go ahead and scamper off to a hole and die. Well? Get get.”

Sirius shooed them away with his hand, a dangerous look in his eyes. James could tell he was rearing up for a fight.

Snape’s gaze darkened to match Sirius’s, and James could see the tell-tell signs of someone about to raise their wand.

Sirius took a step forward, and James saw Snape’s eyebrows twitch as he glanced at Sirius’s feet.

But Mulciber grabbed Snape by the shoulder.

“We’re getting out of here Black, Potter. I’d rather not explain to McGonagall why we were late, would you?” Graves said.

“True enough,” Remus said, breathing steady as he kept his gaze on the two Slytherins in front of them. “See you in class.”

They watched the two skulk off.

“They seemed a bit more… dangerous than usual,” Peter said.

“Yeah, I could practically feel the dark magic coming off them,” Sirius said, rolling his shoulders and still looking down the hall the way the Slytherins went. “You guys know of the mark? Who wants to bet at least Mulciber has one.”

“Oh I’m sure he does,” the girl that was still standing there said. “His presence was masking a second one. Like the indentation of your hand on your face after falling asleep in Binns’s class.

“Uh, Pandora Tripe right?” Remus said.

“Indeed, its nice to meet you all. Though this is hardly the first we’ve spoken.”

Pandora Tripe? Why did that name sound familiar?

“We’ve talked before?” Sirius asked.

“Oh, I’ve talked to you four times Sirius. Three of them you bumped into me and the fourth you said I was a “fit bird.” Thank you for that by the way, I’ve always thought I’d be good with wings.”

A memory of Luna Potter dying in an explosion and the headstone next to Harry’s. Luna Pandora Potter.

This was his son’s wife’s mother. The future Pandora Lovegood.

-

10 more Chapters up on my Pa treon

Pa tre on.c om/BronzeTurtle