Chapter 1: Hope Comes Home

September 1st, 1975

Evening

Great Hall

Alice Emerson picked absentmindedly at the chocolate éclair on her plate for a good two minutes before she noticed that it was, in fact, a chocolate éclair, not the crust of the pie she'd been eating moments before. She was so engrossed in conversation that the food had changed from main course to dessert without her realising it. She felt momentarily disappointed - she'd wanted to finish that pie - before she turned her attention back to the animated discussion across the dessert-laden table.

James Potter and Sirius Black, fellow fifth-year Gryffindors, were going on about their summer adventures; it seemed Sirius had spent a great deal of time at James' house, which was unusual since Sirius' parents usually kept him under lock and key over the summer (according to his lamentations from Welcome Feasts of previous years.)

"Right, so Sirius said to her, he said 'Have you confessed your sins, my child?' And of course, she said 'Who said that?!'" James snorted with laughter and threw his voice into a squeaky falsetto, a terrible imitation of a woman's voice in Alice's opinion. James and Sirius were notorious for using the Invisibility Cloak James had inherited from his father to play silly pranks on poor, unsuspecting victims. His unruly black hair flopped over his forehead as he flung himself forward, clutching his stomach. Floating overhead, Sir Nicholas, the Gryffindor house ghost, looked concerned before James sat back up to push his glasses back onto his nose, wheezing as he continued, "Then I said..." A snort. "I said..."

A small cult gathering had formed around the two pragmatic boys as usual. Their talent for capturing people's interests often made them the topic of discussion whether or not they were physically present themselves. Sixth-year Emmeline Vance in particular was especially enraptured.

Sirius took up the anecdote. "He said, 'I have come baring penitence...'" He clamped onto the shoulder of James' robe and bellowed, "'... and you've been a naughty, naughty girl!'" They exploded with riotous laughter, gulping for air, oblivious to the ruffled glares from several Ravenclaws at the table behind them. The Gryffindor table broke out into cheers and whistles. "She looked like she was going to cry or slap someone but couldn't decide where to aim!"

Alice's eyes crinkled with a smile as she took a sip from a stein of chilled butterbeer. Remus Lupin, one of Sirius' and James' best mates, stood up from his seat for Prefect call, raised an eyebrow at the two chortling boys, and shook his head.

"Prongs, that makes no sense. It's not even funny... and it's terribly rude, I might add, to say those sorts of things to women you don't even know..." His scolding faded as Sirius cast him an irritated, disapproving glance. James lifted a spoonful of his favourite strawberry ice cream with a smirk. "Well, anyway, I'm off for Prefect call. Lily?"

Lily Evans, Alice's closest friend, threw one more blackberry into her mouth and sucked the black juice off her fingertips as she stood up. "Yeah, I'm coming." Her dark red hair was wavy and pulled into a hasty ponytail, a loose tendril curled over one of her bright green eyes. She grinned mischievously at Alice, mouthed "Good luck," eyes flicking pointedly toward the two rowdy boys across the table, and turned to follow Remus toward the Head Boy and Girl, Hufflepuff Matthew Campbell and Slytherin Isabella Pearson, at the top of the Hall.

Alice turned to fellow fifth-year Gryffindor Sam Trent, a tall, friendly boy with thick tousled gold hair. Her mouth grew into a fabulous grin and Sam smiled back, locking his green-hazel eyes onto hers. They engaged in a staring contest for a brief moment and then broke their stares with defeated laughter. Rubbing her dry, itchy eyes, Alice opened her mouth to say "How was your summer?" but was cut off by a silence that fell across the Hall.

Headmaster Professor Dumbledore stood up to make his Welcoming Speech, and Alice twisted around to face the Head table, aiming her attention at the stately grey-bearded man at the podium. Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor House, sat just right of Dumbledore's empty seat and shot discreet glances toward the Gryffindor table, taking mental notes of which students whispered to one another during Dumbledore's welcome. They would be given detention later if they weren't first years, who were understandably excited and couldn't help but to commiserate with wide-eyed observations, or seventh years, who had sat through enough Welcoming speeches to earn a stray comment or two.

"Welcome to a fresh new year..." Dumbledore's voice reverberated off the stone walls and everyone's attention was on him. A young Hufflepuff giggled and was promptly shushed by the students around her. "... at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. I'd like to extend a special welcome to our new first years; I trust you will find Hogwarts to be a comfortable and enriching home-away-from-home. As for the rest of you, I hope your stomachs are full and fear that your summer brains may quite possibly be empty, yearning to be filled with knowledge and wizardry."

Alice and Sam began to play a silent game of "I Spy" using hand gestures, nods, and facial expressions while Dumbledore reminded the students of important and commonly-broken school rules. Afterward, everyone stood to sing the school song; Alice and Sam applauded as Sirius and James loudly bellowed their own lively and terribly off-key version of the song. Dumbledore delivered a brief set of announcements and concluded with, "This is going to be a positively delightful year, but like all good things, we must wait. Classes commence tomorrow; be awake early to receive your schedules from your Heads of House. For now, goodnight!"

Dumbledore stepped down from the podium and threw the entire Hall into chaos. Prefects, who had been gathered in a patient group near the main door, attempted to corral students toward the exits, herding first years who were still staring at the table in wonderment, confused that the food disappeared during Dumbledore's welcome. Alice distinctly heard Remus shout, "No, no! This way - no, those are Ravenclaws. We have separate dormitories." She chuckled and turned toward the table again, noting that Peter Pettigrew - the fourth of James, Sirius, and Remus' group - had skilfully snatched some last bits of food to squirrel away into the pockets of his robe, now bulging with cake slices and peppermints, before the food disappeared from the table.

The rest of her fifth-year house-mates were still conversing; none showed any signs of moving from their seats. Only students from lower years were heading out of the Hall. James and Sirius whispered conspiratorially with Dorcas Meadowes - probably about the yearly Quidditch tryouts that were to take place later that month; Sam chatted with Mary MacDonald and Amba Bhatti, gesturing wildly to punctuate each climax within his story, his eyes expressive and bright.

"Ready to go?" Alice asked Peter, her elbows crossed and rested nonchalantly on the table.

Peter glanced at the friends around him and shrugged. "Sure," he said, rising gingerly after Alice, careful not to crush the delicacies in his pockets. Once the other Gryffindors noticed the two standing, they lazily followed suit.

It was late and the weariness Alice had accumulated throughout the busy day of travelling was catching up to her; her bones seemed to harden and become heavy, weighing her down as she trudged down hallways, up staircases, and through the portrait of the Fat Lady, and later, pulling her into the soft, familiar comfort of her bed in the 5th year girls' dorm in the Gryffindor Tower.

---

September 2nd, 1975

Early morning

Gryffindor Tower

Alice turned over, pretending to be asleep. She ignored Lily's rough whispers and tried as hard as she could to ignore Lily's rough shaking. Her shoulder felt as though it was halfway out of its socket, but she kept her eyes closed. The morning sun spilled through the thick glass windows, reflecting off the lake and rippling over the soft folds in Alice's bedspread. After a few moments, Lily started shouting.

"Alice, I know you're awake! You're a horrible actress. Quit being a prat and get up - McGonagall's downstairs with our schedules." With that, Lily left Alice's bedside and disappeared into the stairwell, presumably to visit the loo to change into her school robes. Alice mumbled and pulled her comforter to her chin. The morning air was uncomfortably chilly, licking at her cheeks and ears. For a moment, Alice slipped back into sleep until a stern voice travelled up the stairs and through the open door.

"Ladies, if you're not up yet, I suggest you get out of bed this instant before you miss breakfast," McGonagall shouted from the common room. Alice's eyes crept open, and with tremendous effort she ambled out of bed, wincing as her bare feet shuffled over the cold stone floor to the end of her bed where her trunk sat waiting. Flipping open the lid, Alice rummaged through her belongings for a reasonably unwrinkled outfit, and pulling off her nightgown, changed in the room; Lily returned with her night clothes neatly folded in her hands just as Alice yanked her robe over her shoulders.

"Where are the other girls?" Alice gestured to the three other empty beds. She pulled her hair into what she hoped would be a semi-passable up-do.

"Already downstairs. Dorcas woke up early to go out to the pitch, Amba went to breakfast early because she figured she'd have a class the first shift, and Mary - well, you know." In their third year, Mary, a notoriously light sleeper, once spent an entire night pacing the Gryffindor common room just because the moonlight was hitting her face the wrong way. Every morning, she woke ahead of the rest of the girls. Lily tucked a curled strand of hair behind her ear and dusted off her robe, which - Alice noted - was lint free. "Ready to go?" Lily's voice was stiff; she sounded anxious and Alice knew she was making herself nervous about Prefect duties, which were piled onto a prospectively stressful class schedule.

Sighing heavily, Alice nodded and grabbed her eleven-inch willow wand from her trunk. She really needed something like an alarm clock. Not being able to wake herself did not bode well for Alice's resolution to be more responsible this year in preparation for an apprenticeship with the Ministry once she graduated Hogwarts.

---

Same day

6:47 am

Gryffindor common room

"Now that we're all gathered - late, as usual - let me begin by welcoming, again, our newest Gryffindors." McGonagall beamed through her glasses at the ten first years who looked sheepishly around the room at their upperclassmen. The common room was packed; all seventy Gryffindors, ten for each of seven years, crammed into the circular room. They sat on the arms of couches and armchairs, gathered in seated bunches on the floor, and stood on the staircases to the dorms. McGonagall stood on the small table in front of the fireplace, clutching a thick stack of papers in her hands. "We're going to have a great year, and I want to start us off with a few announcements and reminders. Firstly, tryouts for Quidditch will be posted no later than..."

James yawned, clipping off the end of McGonagall's sentence. He was sitting on the back of the largest couch closest to McGonagall's table. His hazel eyes fought to stay open under his glasses. With a tired effort, James ran his fingers through his unruly black hair, a gesture that seemed a feeble attempt to rally himself awake. Next to him, Sirius' head drooped forward. James silently nudged him and Sirius straightened back up, looking a bit like a robot being charged to life.

Celebrating the commencement of their fifth year, they'd spent the entire night partying with their dorm-mates. Earlier the previous day, capitalising on Peter's singular talents for hoarding confections and repelling suspicion, James convinced the small, plump boy to sneak treats from the Hogwarts Express trolley into his trunk while Sirius created a diversion to distract the matronly women peddling overpriced sweets to the students. It was lucky for them that Remus was on Prefect patrol during this particular moment of mischief. He did not approve of theft, even in the name of a good time.

Once again in the tower for another splendid year, the boys enjoyed a bottle of Firewhiskey with their contraband - Sirius and James discovered their second year how perfunctorily Filch checked incoming trunks. Since then, they'd used this handy piece of information to bring loads of forbidden stuff into the school. Over the summer, they devised a way to smuggle alcoholic beverages into their dorm by pouring the contents of the bottle into several glass phials and placing them into Sirius' otherwise unused Potions set. Upon inspection, Filch simply assumed the phials were full of purified slug bile or a similar amber-red substance.

Throughout the night, Remus, perfect little Prefect he was, had tried to persuade the boys into their beds. "Classes start tomorrow," he reminded them. "You might have an early morning class." Moony was always puncturing the fun mood with practicality. Wormtail, finishing off his spoils from the Welcome Feast, was perfectly content to stay up all night. The Firewhiskey proved a sufficient amount to intoxicate James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus, once he ditched his efforts at a good nights' sleep and joined the celebration.

Sam Trent, the "fifth wheel" as he put it, spent a large portion of the night in the common room with a group of sixth year girls; the quartet left upstairs might have been jealous except for the fact that Sam had yet to win a girlfriend in the four previous years they'd been at Hogwarts. Later in the night, Sam finished up the untouched phials after the other four boys were satisfactorily drunk.

As McGonagall began handing out class schedules, Remus moaned. His head felt as though it were being beaten open with a very dense and solid rock. What had he been thinking of, drinking himself into a stupor the night before first classes? Taking his schedule from McGonagall, he noted that Gryffindor had History of Magic first shift after breakfast with Ravenclaw. As miserable as Binns' droning would make his hangover feel, the class could - at the least - provide an opportunity to take a rare nap. It was permissible, Remus reasoned, just this once. And Binns probably wouldn't notice.

Remus glanced over the rest of his schedule, warm brown eyes skipping thoroughly across class names, times, and shifts. He heard a groan to his left, a disgusted sigh laced with disappointment.

Alice Emerson, dark auburn hair pulled into a loose floppy bun, frowned at her schedule. Her nose wrinkled in contempt - Remus remembered how vehemently she detested History of Magic. He smiled and noted, with a small twinge of surprise, how cute she looked.

He had never noticed that before; she was, after all, the same girl who had hexed him blind in their third year for not joining the Muggle Club, condemned him to the Hospital Wing for a week, and then refused to apologise. Last year, she voted for Peter of all people as Prefect instead of him. Retribution, she stated, for his lack of support of the Muggle Club in her time of need.

Remus remembered this with concern as he studied her again, standing on the girls' staircase and exchanging schedules with Lily and Sam, laughing at Sam's exaggerated dismay for an unsolicited scheduling tragedy. Her blue eyes shone with amusement, but Remus was relieved when James shook his shoulder, breaking him out of his unusual reverie.

"Alright, Moony?" he asked, stretching.

"Just a bit tired from last night, is all." James nodded conspiratorially and helped Remus up from his chair. The four boys tucked their schedules into their robe pockets, and after a brief conference, in which James and Sirius pointed out their free time until History of Magic, they agreed to skip breakfast.

The four eagerly pushed each other up the stairs and back into bed for a few more minutes of dreamless sleep. After a few minutes, James, Sirius, and Peter drifted into a deep sleep, chorused by a symphony of snores, grunts, and whimpers.

Remus lie awake for another few before pulling back his sheets, grabbing his wand from his nightstand, and stealing down the stairs on his way to the Great Hall for coffee.

---

Same day

7:05 am

Great Hall

"Remus, the mail just arrived a few minutes ago. There's a letter for you here - I think it's from your mum." Alice tossed Remus a small envelope covered in coffee stains. She ripped open the grease-blotched letter that her own tawny owl, Beatrice, dropped onto her plate of bacon.

Lily swallowed a bite of jam-covered toast and asked, "Who's it from? Home?"

Alice shook her head. "No, it's from Alice... Longbottom?!" Her voice jumped in surprise. Mary, a rather large girl with frizzy yellow hair and a wide nose, let out a delighted squeal. "She did marry Frank! Might have told me sooner!" Alice couldn't keep a grin off her face. Sam, Remus, Lily and Emory Greminger, the stocky sixth-year Gryffindor seeker, seemed happy with the news. Alice Longbottom, until recently known as Alice Burbank, had graduated two years before in the same class as Alice's brother, Michael Emerson. The two Alices became friends through association, the older fulfilling a mentoring elder-sister role to the younger. Michael, Alice Burbank, and Frank Longbottom were inseparable during their Hogwarts years and famously outgoing, accepting people. Everyone who knew them liked them almost instantly.

"What does she say?" Mary urged.

"Er... wishes everyone well... says to congratulate Remus and Lily on getting prefect... says to keep her updated on the Quidditch rankings. Oh... " Alice's grin twisted into a concerned frown. Brows knit, she scanned the letter.

Mirroring Alice's worried expression, Lily asked, "Nothing's wrong, is it?" The rest of the table waited impatiently for Alice to finish reading.

"You remember how I told you about Michael's new job? Well, she and Frank got jobs at the Ministry, too. They're Aurors-in-training. She says they're already requiring them to duel dark wizards, ones on Voldemort's side. They're called..." Alice retraced the letter, "Death Eaters. She says to work hard in Defence Against the Dark Arts."

Lily and Sam exchanged glances; Remus sat in silent contemplation as Mary blurted, "They're alright, though, aren't they? They haven't been hurt?" Alice shook her head.

"Not yet," Emory sighed, fiddling with his glass of pumpkin juice. Mary inhaled sharply, eyes wide with fright. Noticing her fearful expression, Emory conceded, "But they're a powerful set, aren't they? I'm sure they'll be fine. The Death Eaters won't know what hit them." He attempted a brave smile for Mary's sake.

Having recovered from her initial worry, Lily changed the subject. "History of Magic first shift. Should be fun, eh?" She smiled playfully at Alice.

"BLOODY HELL." Alice moaned, dropping her head onto the table.

"I find History of Magic fascinating," Lily goaded, a mischievous gleam in her eye.

Alice glared at her, then continued, "Just our luck, isn't it? And Potions with bleeding Slytherin after that. I have an absolutely impossible schedule." She pulled her schedule from her pocket and displayed it to the table.

Monday

History of Magic with Ravenclaw (7:30-8:30)

Potions with Slytherin (8:40-10:40)

Herbology with Ravenclaw (10:50-11:50)

Lunch (12:00-1:00)

Charms with Hufflepuff (1:10-2:10)

Transfiguration (2:20-3:20)

Defence Against the Dark Arts with Hufflepuff (3:30-4:30)

Ancient Runes (4:40-6:40)

Dinner (6:50-7:50)

Muggle Studies (8:00-8:45)

Divination (8:55-9:40)

Astronomy (12:00-12:50)

"Tuesdays and Thursdays aren't bad," Alice admitted. "I've got class until 5:30. Then on Wednesdays and Fridays I've only got class until 2:30, then astronomy at night. But what I thought was interesting," she began.

Remus interrupted her. "Transfiguration? I thought so too. Usually we have it with Slytherin, but this year it isn't noted." Lily and Mary nodded in agreement, cross-referencing their own schedules.

"Maybe McGonagall finally realised they're all hopeless," Sam offered, taking a muffin from a bowl in front of Remus. The table laughed, then launched a tirade about the likely misery of Potions class.

"It's not too bad," Lily chirped, sitting straighter in her seat.

Alice scoffed as Sam playfully tossed a muffin bit at the side of Lily's head. "Not too bad." Alice rolled her eyes. "Not too bad because Slughorn worships the ground at your feet. That's what's not too bad."

---

Same day

7:22 am

History of Magic classroom

James, Sirius, and Peter sat alone staring at the empty desks around them. They were disoriented, befuddled, and perturbed. "I think I'm going to be sick," Sirius choked, eyes darting wildly about the room.

James sat catatonic in the second desk from the far wall in the second row. Sirius was four chairs to his right and back a row. Peter sat diagonally behind James against the wall. This had never occurred before. They were the first ones in the classroom. The only other being in the room was Binns, humming pleasantly to himself as he copied the class seating roster onto the chalk board, and he didn't seem to realise the boys were there. Where was Moony when they needed him?

James nearly jumped from his desk as Remus entered the room, Lily, Alice, and Mary behind him. Remus raised an eyebrow, fixing James with a sceptical stare. Realising his manners, James stammered, "Er, yes, Remus. Lovely to see you." If anything, this only resulted in Moony's becoming even more suspicious. "You're sitting here." He gestured limply to the seat behind him and sat down.

Alice and Lily exchanged amused, though incredibly confused, glances. Checking the board, Alice noted with some annoyance that she was seated two seats in front of Peter, and thus, diagonally in front of James. Lily smirked triumphantly; she was two seats directly to his left. Nowhere near his direct line of sight.

"Damn," Alice muttered under her breath. Lily continued to smile as she sat down, waiting for Ravenclaw Jeanine Keila to arrive and sit next to her. They adored James in the way most everyone else did; he was an entertaining boy and relatively smart. However, once he turned his attention solely on one person, it tended to be rather irritating. During long stretches of time, especially in a class as dull as History of Magic, it was best to be out of his reach.

As the rest of the class filtered in, James grew uncontrollably impatient. He stood up once to let Hannah Wilson, a pretty girl with honey blond curls and a pierced bottom lip, into her seat near the wall. He turned to Sirius, who winked with a wolfish grin on his face. Clearly, he was referring to Hannah's reputation as a wild child and an exotic, indiscriminate lover, but James shrugged. For one, the girl had little by way of an upper lip - perhaps the cause of overcompensation in piercing the lower one - and two, her twin brother was a Slytherin.

Class started and James' restlessness built. He tapped his fingers on his desk. He sighed, a lot, and cleared his throat a few times. He even transfigured his textbook, A History of Magic, into several infinitely more interesting things, including a pillow - which he napped on. They'd been using the same textbook since first year, and it seemed impossible to get through the entire thing. By this year, they were just reaching the midway point. James sighed again, unable to sleep, and let his eyes wander, continuing to rest his head on the pillow.

He skipped naturally over the males in the room, as if they simply weren't there. Even Sirius was unworthy of his absentminded ogling. James watched Alice sensuously push her straight auburn hair over her shoulder, exposing her soft creamy neck. Jeanine, whose thick brown hair reminded James of sweet hot cocoa, curled her long wanton legs under her, her skirt draping suggestively over her warm thigh.

Beside her, innocent Lily Evans stared wide-eyed at the board, her bright green eyes noting every stroke of Binns' chalk. Her face twitched and she sniffed. James cocked an eyebrow. A second later, after several more rapid sniffles, she sneezed a high, timid "shooo." James shot up, gaping openmouthed at her. Her sneeze was the exact same pitch and volume as a golden snitch whisking past his ear.

Sirius noticed James' attention to Lily. Sure, she made a cute face when she sneezed, but Prongs looked like he'd just seen the most adorable ghost pop out of his showerhead; his face was in turmoil between admiration and fear. Sirius shook his head and returned to flicking parchment bits at Natalie Buchanan.