The eight friends walked into Hogwarts leaving their Easter breaks in the past. Forgetting about troubled family lives is much easier than one would expect when you are friends with the Marauders.

This relief from what was happening outside Hogwarts was short-lived because as soon as they walked into the common room there was a cryptic message written in what appeared to be blood. The dark reed blood dripped down the wall and seeped into the wall. When Lily and Mary read "Muggle-borns Beware," they shared a quick look and together communicated for all students to be evacuated from the common room.

It was true that the Gryffindor house had the most Muggle-born students. It was also the that most students standing against Voldemort came from Gryffindor, so the professors weren't surprised when the Gryffindor house was the only one attacked. Yet, the students who had witnessed the blood drip down the wall had nightmares that night, that would haunt them up until the day they all died.

...

Mary woke up, twisted in her bed sheets, sweat running down her forehead, despite the fact that it was rather cold in the girls' dorm room.  She almost whacked her head on the top of her bed when she sat up and only didn't because the bathroom light was on and some of the light escaped its cage.

Silently, she got up and stepped carefully on each floor beam. She had known which ones creaked and which ones didn't because Lily and Marlene marked them in second-year. The former was standing in the bathroom staring at herself in the mirror.

"Why're you up Mar?" The redhead asked, turning the faucet on and splashing water on her face.

"I applaud you Lil, seriously I don't know what I would do without you. You so selflessly put others in front of yourself constantly, without the credit you deserve." She watched as her friend turned around to wipe her face off with a towel and faced the mirror once again.

"You make me sound like a better person than I really am."

"Well, I'm just saying, you don't give yourself enough slack. To answer your original question, I had a nightmare about Julia because she did some accidental magic over break. Her potentially coming to Hogwarts next year gives me bad vibes just thinking about it. Why are you up?"

"You should try not to worry about Julia until she comes here next year, she's safe with your Nan and Pop right now. Although, I do have some Dreamless Sleep Potion if you want some. I am up because Mother Nature has blessed me with terrible cramps and excessive bleeding." She smiled grimly and reached up in the cabinet above the toilet. She grabbed a box of tampons and a bottle of potion.

"I will take the potion gladly. I can take your Saturday night patrol with Lupin tomorrow. Thank Merlin we got here on a Friday."

"Are you sure honey?"

"Yes babe." Lily grinned and Mary sighed. "If you start singing, you will wake up Marlene and she won't be happy."

Babe

I got you babe

I got you babe

They say our love won't pay the rent

"C'mon Mary! Sing along! I know you know this one!"

Before it's earned, our money's spent

I guess that's so, we don't have a plot

But at least I'm sure of all the things we got

...

The next day, the entire school was confined to their dorms. Every student was kept in their dorm specific to them while the professors tried to remove the dried magic paint. Their meals were brought up to them by Hogwarts house elves, who carried the food to each dorm room and made sure that each student was fed properly. The only students that were allowed to leave were the prefects patrolling, so at eight Mary and Remus left the common room together.

Mary was not only patrolling with Remus because Lily was having painful cramps, but she also wanted to learn more about him. She was just curious, it wouldn't hurt anything.

The first ten minutes of the patrol were almost the same amount of awkward as Lily's cramps were painful. They didn't talk and instead just walked quietly down the corridors, which looked more dark and dismal the longer time went on.

"How was your break Remus?" Mary asked, opening the door of another empty broom cupboard.

"It was alright I guess. A little stressful, but going home to my parents usually is. How was yours?" He wished he could've skipped the patrol like Lily had, but that wasn't an option for him. Considering what options he had to fill in for him. Mary was far more responsible than James and Sirius combined.

"It was nice to see my Nan and Pop, we don't write much back and forth. My sister Julia was estastic to have me home though," she smiled at the thought of her younger sister.

"I wish I had siblings, it would make being home a little more bearable, y'know?" She nodded.

"Yeah, I'm not sure what I would do without Julia, sometimes she's all that keeps me sane when I'm home. Without her it would be so much more boring. Do you have a good relationship with your parents?"

They both stopped walking and faced each other. Mary thought Remus looked very deep in thought, like he was trying to articulate the perfect response to her question. She cursed herself for asking because it made her seem nosy.

"Why do you want to talk to me? Why must you ask me questions?"

They started walking again, at a slower pace then before, the slight flicker of the lanterns lighting the way.

"I just want to get to know you, that's all. I'd like to think I know James and Sirius pretty well. It's just that I'm curious." She glanced over at him to see him slightly smirking.

"Curiosity killed the cat, Macdonald."

"But satisfaction brought it back, Lupin."

...

At the end of the patrol the two Gryffindors knew each other way better than they had before. For example, Remus knew that Mary hates Madam Puddifoot's with her entire heart and would rather go to The Three Broomsticks on a date, despite all the loud men that sat at the bar. Mary knew that Remus's first friend was a muggle boy that he only ever saw at a playground, but after he went to Hogwarts for the first time, he never saw him again.

Mary supposed that she could've dialed her grin down like two notches before she entered the room, but she didn't. So, when Alice saw the look on her face and the sparkle in her eyes, she immediately knew something was up.

"What happened with Lupin?"

"What do you mean what happened with Lupin? We just patrolled the corridors like Lily and him usually do." She pulled out her dresser drawer and chose a top pair of plaid pants and an oversized grey t-shirt.

"Yeah, but you have that stupid grin on your face like something happened. The look Lily always gets after James  does something incredibly cute for her." Alice smirked at her friend's wide-eyed expression.

"I do not!" She entered the bathroom and turned on the shower water, finally safe to grin where no one would assess her every move.

Alice, however, knew exactly what she was talking about. She had spent enough time with a crush on Frank to know exactly what face you made when the boy you liked did something special for you. Perhaps, Mary didn't know what her specific face was or maybe she was just in denial.

...

Author's Note:

Every time I post another chapter I can't believe how many there are left. Like the amount just seems to get smaller each time I'm on Wattpad. I guess that's good because I would be concerned if the amount got any bigger.

This is the 30th chapter? It literally feels like yesterday that I was publishing the first chapter and warning you guys that it might not be very good. 😂 It seems like you guys enjoy it regardless.

Also, the song was I Got You Babe, by: Cher and Sonny.

Lmao anyways thanks for reading
-teddy🎨