Epilogue

A.N.: I will probably not write a sequel thus this Epilogue is filled with snippets of the following years.

oOo

"Harry, wakey wakey!" A voice said loudly as Harry burrowed his face deeper into his pillow.

"Come on, Birthday boy! Your presents are waiting!" Another voice said as calloused fingers brushed his hair out of his face.

"Padfoot! Stop it! You are not going to throw water on poor Harry!" A voice protested from somewhere. Harry let out a vague grumbling noise.

"Aww come on, Moony! A tiny spout of water never hurt anyone!" There was a definite wine accompanying those words.

"My son is not going to wake up wet on his birthday!" A woman protested. All the racket made it impossible for Harry to continue sleeping. Blearily his eyes blinked open.

"Good morning, Harry" James said softly as he gently trailed his fingers through his son's hair again. Before Harry could even reach blindly for his glasses, Remus already pressed them into his hands. His grinning Family came into sharp focus.

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Harry! Happy Birthday to you!" All four of them sang at once, broad smiles stretched across their features. James was sitting next to him on the bed singing loudly, Lily was floating above his feet and Sirius and Remus were standing beside his bed. In Sirius' hands there was cake decorated in Gryffindor colours with 14 lit candles on top.

Harry felt tears gather in his eyes and he ducked his head to hide them. James roughly grabbed him and pulled him into his arms. Harry hid his face in his father's shoulder.

"Thank you for being born. Happy Birthday, son." James whispered.

oOo

"Grab him! Don't let him get away!" The shouts rang out across the dark and damp hallway as a tiny rat scurried out of the wizards clutches and into freedom.

Still fear clung to the rodent like a second skin. A little puppet attached to the strings controlled by its master. A pitiful creature shrouded in darkness led by fear into the pit of torture and pain. Though its master was feared by many, feared so much that no one dared to say his name his one true master was not a living breathing being but plain and simple fear. Fear of death, Fear of pain and Fear of fear itself.

What had once been a proud human being had become something else entirely. A pitiful creature indeed. A Betrayer whose Betrayal had come back to haunt him from beyond the grave.

He could run but in the end he would never be able to outrun what he has shut away. His heart was still beating though chained by fear. It might save or break him.

oOo

"Have a wonderful year, don't forget to write us!" Lily said as she fussed over Harry. He nearly glowed under the attention of his mother.

"If there are any problems, you know how to reach us." James said as he hugged his son tightly.

"And don't forget the secret fireplace connected to the floo network in the Shrieking Shack in case of an emergency!" Remus added with a small smile as he too stepped forward and hugged him. They had hooked up the badly destroyed fireplace in the Shrieking Shack with the floo network. They hadn't hooked up a fireplace inside Potter manor but rather a fireplace in an empty house in Godric's Hollow. Just a small safety precaution just as the password before one could activate the connection.

"Come here, pup!" Sirius exclaimed with a broad grin as he nearly crushed Harry in his hug. Harry laughed and tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach. He was leaving his dearly beloved family behind when he had only gotten them.

"Ah Ah, now don't look so glum!" James said with a smirk as the tapped Harry's nose. "After all we are not far away at all"

"We will come whenever you need us" Lily added with a smile. She kissed his forehead before stepping back.

"I will miss you guys" Harry said with a small wobbly smile.

"Bloody hell, stop turning us all girly!" Sirius complained as he tried to hide the fact that he was discreetly rubbing his eyes. Remus rolled his eyes in fond amusement as the others laughed.

They watched as Harry threw the floo powder into the fireplace and clearly stated leaky cauldron. He would reach Kings Cross via the Knightbus from there on out. He looked back towards them one last time before stepping into the fire.

oOo

"WHY WAS MY SON'S NAME INSIDE THE GOBLET OF FIRE?! HE IS BLOODY UNDERAGED!" Lily screamed at the top of her lungs. The portraits on the wall rattled with the force of her anger. The former Headmasters winced and some even covered their ears with their hands. "HOW COULD YOU?! HOW DARE YOU MAKE HIM PARTICIPATE IN THIS... THIS DEATHTRAP OF A TOURNAMENT!"

Dumbledore seemed unfazed by the angry maelstrom of fire that was currently raging in his office. James would have thought he was completely unaffected were it not for the minimal winces and twitches when his dear wife uttered a bloody scary threat. James though did nothing to discourage her. Dumbledore deserved it, though Harry looked paler by the minute as he watched his mother scream at Dumbledore.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" James said as he nudged a petrified Harry out of the portrait hole. He pulled the invincibility cloak over both of them and pulled his son into the nearest empty classroom. He only took the cloak off after he had made sure that really no one was inside.

"Harry, I know you didn't put your name inside but do you have any idea who could have done it?" James asked. Harry only shook his head and James decided that his son needed another hug. He embraced him and he could feel how the tension slowly bleed out of Harry's frame.

oOo

"Ron hates me" Harry muttered dejectedly.

"He doesn't." Lily answered as she sat down next to Harry on the destroyed couch inside the Shrieking Shack. Moony had chewed on it repeatedly. "He has issues with himself. He is the youngest boy in his family. He feels like he is in the shadows all the time. Whatever he does feels as if his brothers had already done it before him. The spotlight had been turned on you and now suddenly he is in the shadow of his best friend and he hates that, not you." Lily explained softly.

"I never wanted any of this fame, nor the bloody spotlight!" Harry protested.

"I know, sweetheart. I know" Lily hugged Harry as tightly as she could.

oOo

"Dragons, bloody Dragons!" Lily seethed as she watched her son soar through the sky. She was clutching James' hand so tightly that he would be afraid that some of his bones would break if he wasn't at least as worried as she was. Sirius was muttering darkly under his breath next to him. He was once again disguised as female just as James had donned the appearance of Professor Petterson. Remus was watching the proceedings with increasing worry.

James took a deep breath trying to calm down but it seemed impossible, it was his son up there flying away from an angry Hungarian horntail. Oh why did he have to get the most violent dragon of the lot?

Another part of him was ridiculously proud of his sons flying skills. The Marauders erupted into the wildest cheers when he snatched the golden egg.

oOo

"Oh ho, it seems our dear Harry has his first crush!" Sirius exclaimed gleefully as he leaned over Remus shoulder to skim over Harry's newest letter.

"Is she a red head?" James asked. His interest was immediately perked and he stood up from where he had been studying a spell book.

"Nope, black hair." Remus answered.

"Ha! You own me 5 galleons!" Sirius exclaimed gleefully.

"Bugger!" James grumbled.

oOo

"Why did they disappear?!" Sirius snapped angrily. They weren't supposed to disappear when touching the cup. The Marauders were standing in the last row, farthest in the back so that they could see as much of the arena as possible.

"I don't like this, not at all" Remus ground out between gritted teeth. The hairs in the back of his neck were standing up and in his stomach a feeling of dread was coiling like a snake made of acid.

"Lily," James whispered as he watched the spot where his son had been moments before. He was pale and even before he had finished whispering his wife's name she disappeared. She was on her way to Harry's side. James continued to stare blankly at the spot where his son and Cedric had disappeared. Sirius and Remus were becoming more and more agitated whereas James' world seemed to slow down. Everything became muddy and murky till he only saw darkness.

Sirius had been so into his ranting and raving that he was surprised when deadweight dropped onto his side.

"Prongs?" Sirius said alarmed as he caught James before he could hit the ground. James had passed out which was frankly terribly unusual. Remus looked at him in alarm. Gently they lowered him to the ground.

"Jamsie, buddy. This is a horrible moment to pass out" Sirius said as he patted James' cheek. Remus' eyes travelled over his unconscious form making sure that he was all right.

"Siri...us" Remus was rapidly paling and Sirius felt a growing sense of alarm spread through.

"H-He is not breathing!" Panic was filling his voice as he stared at Sirius with wide eyes.

"No!" Sirius shouted as his fingers fumbled to find a pulse. There was nothing.

"No, no, no" Sirius began to mutter as the tears welled up in his eyes. He couldn't go through this again. He couldn't.

"DAMN IT!" Remus growled as moved forward and started to try and bring him back. Sirius was lost, the only thing he could hear was litany of no's spiralling in his head. Remus was begging under his breath as he tried to restart his heart.

A roar went through the masses but Sirius and Remus had no eyes nor ears for that.

All of a sudden James' eyes snapped open and he took large gulp of air. The relief and joy they felt was short lived however because of James' next words.

"Voldemort is back"

oOo

"Come on, Harry! Try again!" Sirius barked with a mad glint in his eyes. Harry took a deep breath and raised his wand to fire the spell once more.

Remus was leaning against the wall watching the duel with keen interest. He would have to correct Harry's stance after it was finished.

"How is the training coming along?" James asked as he stepped through the door and made his way to Remus' side.

"Good, he knows almost all of the basic defence spells now. We will try to bring in the trickier and more complicated ones soon but firstly he will have to become more secure with the ones he already knows." Remus said as he watched Harry throw an expelliamus in Sirius' direction.

"Good. Ron and Hermione will come tomorrow for his birthday." James stated as he watched his son and his best friend.

"That should hopefully cheer him up" Remus said. After witnessing the death of Cedric Harry had become quieter and more withdrawn. James wanted to strangle Wormtail for putting him through that.

"I hope so. Also Dumbledore is calling in a meeting this Friday" James added.

"Are there any news on Voldemort?" Remus asked with a sober expression.

"No not yet but we should better be prepared for the worst." James stated grimly.

"Has Lily found anything yet?" Remus asked while Harry barely managed to avoid the spell that Sirius had fired at him. The wall the spell hit turned into a nice turquoise colour.

"She is still shadowing Malfoy. She should be back tonight." James added with a grim smile. Lily was the perfect spy. Invisible at will and spells couldn't touch her.

oOo

"Harry, Ron, Hermione, we kind of a preposition for you guys." Remus said with a small smile as he looked at the three friends.

"We the marauders offer you the assistance and help..." Sirius started with a large grin.

"... in becoming Animagi!" James finished with flourish.

oOo

"Didn't I swear never to set foot into this place again?" Sirius asked with a dark scowl.

"I know, but we need it" Remus said as he clapped Sirius onto the shoulder.

"Well there is one good side to all of this, your mother would hate what we are going to use the house of the esteemed Black family for." James said from his other side.

"True. I doubt that she would be happy. Grimmauld Place as the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. She is probably cursing me from beyond the grave." Sirius said with a mad cackle.

oOo

A sharp ringing sound jolted Remus out of his extensive reading on wards against dark magic. Something had started the alarm. He jumped up and grabbed his wand.

"What happened?!" He exclaimed wide-eyed as he rushed into the sitting room. Harry stumbled into the room after him.

"Something happened in Privet Drive!" James said as he slipped on his coat. Harry stared wide-eyed at his father.

"Who's on duty there tonight?" Sirius growled as pulled out his wand.

"Tonks." Remus breathed softly.

"She can handle herself, but her mother would flay me if anything were to happen to her." Sirius grumbled.

"Can I help?" Harry asked with growing concern.

"Inform Dumbledore" Remus instructed and with a flash the three of them disappeared.

oOo

"I think it is about time we help a pair of certain twins make the life of a certain pink toad much more horrible", James' voice was blank and his expression seemed murderous. Nobody hurt his son. Nobody.

"Agreed." Sirius snarled as he fletched his teeth.

"We need a plan." Remus stated darkly as he watched Lily fuss over Harry and his friends as they sat on the couch in the Shrieking Shack.

"A nasty and horrible one" Sirius added with a ruthless shark like smile.

oOo

"Mum, I'm scared", Harry whispered. "He is in my head" The arm Ron had thrown over his best friends shoulder tightened.

"What makes you say that?" Lily asked alarmed as she crouched down in front of her son.

"I saw Mr. Weasley be attacked" Harry admitted. Ron was sitting rigidly next to him. His face was paler than usual.

"When did you see it?" Lily asked as she gently cupped his face in her hands.

"Nightmare" Harry admitted softly.

"Oh sweetheart." Lily sighed and leaned forward to kiss him on the forehead.

"When he attacked you, he formed a connection with you," her fingers softly brushed over his scar and Harry blanched. "He is using that connection to send you images"

"H-How can I get him to stop?" Harry asked with pale face. Ron's fingers were digging almost painfully into his shoulder.

"Occlumency, the art of defending your mind." Lily answered after she had gone through ideas and concepts inside her mind.

"Can you teach me?" Harry asked hopefully.

"I can't. I don't know Occlumency, none of us do. Though Sirius had been taught the basics by his family. Dumbledore is proficient in it though. I will ask him." Lily said with a reassuring smile.

"I told you your mum would know." Ron said with a grin that was not nearly as broad as usual.

"If you ever have another dream like that, tell us." Lily requested warmly but there was certain steel in her eyes and Harry couldn't refuse. He nodded.

oOo

"Why am I going to teach again?" Sirius asked with grumble.

"Because they need some help with the D.A." Lily repeated for the millionth time.

"But Remus and James would be so much better for the job!" Sirius protested again.

"But they do not know you ...or rather your female version" Lily added with a smirk. Sirius harrumphed. He would have to burn the pictures Remus and James had taken of him in a dress once again.

oOo

"Mum, why was dad so horrible to Snape?" Harry asked. He had known of it of course but seeing it was something else.

"Ah, you saw his memories?" Lily asked softly and Harry nodded. They were once again in the Shrieking Shack, the perfect hide-out where no one ever looked for him and his friends.

"Well, your father was jealous of him for his friendship with me and your father hates the dark arts with a passion. Snape was always interested in them. Also he was hanging out with future Death Eaters and Muggle haters, doing and saying the same as they did. Things your father couldn't stand." Lily answered. "Though Snape hated James even before the pranking and bullying started. Snape was envious of your father for different reasons. Also he was not solely the victim, not by far. He always sent quite a few nasty spells, most times than not even before your father did anything to him." Lily said as she leaned into her son's side.

oOo

"Apparently the Weasley twins took off" Remus exclaimed with no small amount of horror.

"What do you mean took off?" Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow.

"As in the dropped out of Hogwarts because of the toad" Remus said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, okay" Sirius said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"What do you guys think about helping to finance a shop?" James asked with a gleeful grin.

"Only after we made a pink toad's day horrible" Sirius added with a smirk.

oOo

"It is starting" Lily stated grimly as she skimmed over the paper, the words mass break-out of Azkaban written in undeniable black ink. "The war has returned"

oOo

"Dad, where is Sirius?!" James looked up startled as his son and his friends burst through the fireplace. His son was dishevelled and dirty. Dried leaves were stuck in his hair making it even messier. Ron and Hermione didn't look much better.

"Oy Padfoot! Get your ass down here!" James shouted up the stairs before he turned back to his son. At his shout Harry's tight wound posture relaxed and he let out a loud breath of relief.

"And just what happened to you guys?" James asked as he raised an eyebrow in question.

"Ah ... well ..." Harry shared a look with his friends.

"We might have managed to get rid of the toad?" Ron added as he scratched the back of his head.

"Oh ho do tell?" James said with a delighted smile.

"Harry had another nightmare," Hermione started and ignored the betrayed look Harry sent her when James' worried eyes landed on Harry. When Harry apparently refused to go into details Ron decided to continue.

"He dreamt of Sirius being tortured by… Him in a place with rows upon rows of eerie crystal balls." Ron looked disturbed and James felt something cold settle in the bottom of his stomach.

"I tried to contact you guys via the fireplace but it didn't work. So I tried to get outside to the Shack but Umbridge kind of found us. Though she didn't notice the cloak." Harry added quickly at seeing his father's alarmed expression.

"I don't care about the cloak. Did she hurt any of you?" James asked with a feeling of dread sitting heavily in his stomach.

"She had us at wand point but Hermione was brilliant again" Ron added. Hermione flushed under the praise.

"I told her Dumbledore had a secret weapon hidden in the forbidden forest. We came across a herd of centaurs and she insulted them. They dragged her off." Hermione concluded with a small shrug.

"Don't forget Grawp crashing onto the scene and giving us the chance to sneak away undetected." Harry said with a small grin. James sighed. There was never a year where his son didn't somehow end up in some kind of trouble.

"You called Prongs?!" Sirius exclaimed as he jumped down the stairs.

"Sirius!" Harry shouted and threw himself at his godfather. He wrapped his arms around his middle and hid his face in his chest. Sirius blinked in confusion at the top of Harry's head.

"Eh what on earth did I miss?"

oOo

"There is a prophecy regarding Voldemort and me?" Harry asked with alarm. Hermione and Ron looked slightly sick at the words.

"Yes, there is." Lily looked as if it caused her pain to say those words.

"You are supposed to vanquish the Dark Lord." Lily continued. She couldn't say the rest. She couldn't even think about it.

"Neither can live while the other survives. You must kill Voldemort… or be killed by him", James said with a painful grimace.

"B-But couldn't it be someone else?" Harry asked.

"No. Born to those that thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies and marked by the dark lord as equal." James looked grim.

"Is that why he killed you?" Harry asked as he grew paler.

"Yes and no. It was not only to get to you but also because we were a thorn in his side." Lily said with a small smile hoping to stop Harry from feeling undeserved guilt.

"I don't know how I am supposed to do that!" Harry protested. Why was it always him?

"Don't worry. We will be there every step of the way."

oOo

"He is after the prophecy." Remus concluded with a wary sigh. "The place he saw Sirius be tortured was the Department of Mysteries. To be exact, the Hall of Prophecy."

"We need to destroy it" Sirius stated with a frown.

"I will do it" Lily stated grimly.

"But-" James tried to protest but Lily silenced him with a hand.

"I can be undetected and if the Death Eaters are already there their spells would hardly affect me" Lily stated grimly. "And thanks to your little present I am quite capable of touching parts of the living world"

oOo

The Hall of Prophecy was deserted and empty. There was no sign of Harry Potter anywhere. The twelve Death Eaters lying in wait were slowly starting to get nervous. They couldn't fail, the Dark Lord would punish them were it to fail.

"Come out, come out!" A voice suddenly echoed through the hall. "Dear Death Eaters I know you are there! Noseless will not be pleased with you" It was female voice.

"Do not call our Dark Lord by such a name!" Bellatrix thundered and stormed out of her hiding place. A laugh like a tinkering bell was her answer.

"I will call him by whatever name I damn well please!" The voice sounded again but Bellatrix was unable to see a thing. She let out a shriek that would have shattered glass.

Before she could react, though, a rattle went through the rows of prophecies. They started floating. It was at that moment she saw somebody standing in front of the prophecy her master wanted.

"Hands off! That is our master's!" The angry shout resounded along the hall. Another laugh was her answer.

"No it is not and soon it will be no one's!" The woman standing in front of the prophecy said. Bellatrix froze when she saw that the person was a ghost. With flick of her fingers the prophecies flew out of the shelves around her and rushed towards her.

"NO!" Bellatrix shrieked but it was too late and not even Malfoy's stunning spell managed to stop the prophecies from crashing into the prophecy of the dark lord and the stupid boy.

"Oops, so sorry Bella!" The voice said with a laugh before the ghost disappeared. Bellatrix stared in shock at the remains of the prophecies no littering the floor. The wraith's mad reciting filled the air becoming one undistinguishable mess of words.

"Seems like your luck ran out, dear cousin!" A voice drawled from behind her.

oOo

"Promise me that you will stay away from deadly curtains!" James said with a growl as he bandaged the wound on the side of Sirius' face. Sirius winced.

"If Lily hadn't been there you would have fallen through! You could have ended up like Avery!" Remus added with a dark scowl. The Death Eater had fallen through the veil after being hit by one of Tonks slightly meaner stunners.

"I solemnly swear to never get near any deadly curtains ever again!" Sirius swore.

oOo

"Once more, Harry!" James barked and his son followed his order. The curse jumped out of the tip of his wand and the dummy exploded into a thousand pieces.

"Enough! It's my turn now!" Lily declared with a huff. Her husband had been training their son since 8 am. It was now half past eleven. Harry groaned. He hated potion training.

"No complaining!" Lily admonished with a wave of her finger. James snickered at his son.

oOo

"Ha! He did it! He is the bloody Quidditch Captain!" James exclaimed gleefully. He was proud, so very damn proud of his son.

"Oh Merlin not another Potter Dictator as captain!" Sirius groaned from the coach ignoring James' protests. Remus laughed.

Lily was staring out the window into the dark garden. She was so lost in thought that she hardly heard James step up behind him.

"Do you think he is prepared enough?" Lily asked as she gnawed at her lip.

"He is, especially with his lessons with Dumbledore. He needs to know all he can about his enemy." James said softly. He hugged his wife from behind and rested his head on the top of hers.

oOo

"Apparently Harry needs the textbooks for potions on N.E.W.T level with Slughorn", James read out aloud. Lily frowned.

"I think I should still have my old books somewhere. I don't want him to use one of the ones in the school. Who knows what has been written in there," Lily said with a frown.

"With his bad luck it would end up being Voldemort's old textbook." Sirius muttered under his breath.

"I know that we didn't have it in our old home." James said with a shrug.

"Ah, I know they should be in the attic of my parents' home!" Lily exclaimed.

"Didn't Petunia rent that out as soon as your parents died?" Remus asked with a small wince. He still remembered how angry Lily had been at Petunia.

"Yes, she did. But my old stuff is still in the attic." Lily said with a grin. She might have enchanted it to be unnoticeable and not easily destroyed. She had suspected that her sister would try and get rid of her old stuff.

"I can go and get it for Harry" Remus offered.

oOo

"I don't understand her!" Ron fumed as he marched up and down in front of the fireplace in Potter manor. "Why can't she just trust me?!"

"Eh, you do realize that I might not be the best person to talk to about relationships? After all she hated me for the most part!" James exclaimed with raised hands. Ron had been ranting and raving about Hermione for the last half an hour at least. Remus and Sirius had already sneaked away but because he was the only Marauder with a healthy relationship he couldn't escape as easily.

"And now I have to go on a date with bloody Lavender!"

"You know taking a girl on a date though you don't want to will only bite you in the ass later on." James commented helpfully. He knew that form first-hand experience

"ARGH! What am I supposed to do?!" Ron turned towards James with pleading eyes and James wanted nothing more than run away.

Especially when later that same evening Hermione landed in their sitting room through the fireplace to rant about Ron. James wondered when he had become the consultant for love problems. If this was what Harry had to put up with daily he felt seriously sorry for his poor son.

oOo

"The Malfoy brat is up to something!" Sirius exclaimed as he read over Harry's newest letter.

"And it has to do with Snape, that cannot be good." James said with a scowl. Lily simply rolled her eyes. She had long ago given up on that argument.

"Did he say anything else about Slughorn's Christmas party?" Remus asked.

"No not really. Only that he felt very uncomfortable and that Slughorn is weird," Sirius said.

"Oh well, at least he didn't attack the party with dung bombs like certain people," Lily semi-glared at James and Sirius.

"Oy! We were pissed on Remus' behalf back then!" James protested darkly. Remus smiled. His friends had taken it personally when he hadn't been invited because his future chances as a werewolf were very bleak.

oOo

"It is really bloody cold." Sirius complained.

"Well it is December," James answered with a shrug as he skimmed over the backs of the books filling the bookshelf.

"Also can we please leave the bloody bookstore soon?" Sirius complained.

"Not before I found Remus and Hermione's present." James answered. Sirius grumbled under his breath but didn't voice any more complaints.

"Who is going to pick up Harry from Kings Cross next week?" Sirius asked with a small frown.

"Remus is going to meet him. Molly Weasley invited him but he turned her down. He wanted to spend time with us" James said with a soft smile. He was very pleased that his son wanted to spend time with his family.

"Harry is going to have one of the best Christmases ever"

oOo

"He split is soul apart. Into six bloody pieces!" Sirius voice was laced with disgust and horror. The other Marauders shared the sentiment and Lily looked lost deep in thought.

"How can someone do something like this just to become immortal?" Lily frowned.

"He is scared. Afraid of death." Remus concluded from where he was lounging on the couch in true Sirius fashion. He still looked sickly and pale from the last full moon.

"Scared enough to rip his own soul apart." James said with a snort.

"Death is natural just like life is", Lily said with a shrug.

oOo

"Someone tried to poison Dumbledore?" James asked for what felt like the millionth time.

"Yes, but instead Ron drank it. Don't worry he is all right. Harry saved him" Lily said as she noticed her husband's alarmed look.

"Damn, they are becoming bolder." Remus observed with a dark expression.

oOo

"They were supposed to be back already!" James exclaimed as he ran a hand through his hair. He had been pacing up and down the rug in the sitting room. Sirius was trailing after him like a little duckling. Remus was tapping his foot in agitation and Lily was glaring holes into the wall and floor as she floated above them.

The blaring of an alarm interrupted whatever else he had wanted to say.

"Shit, an attack on Hogwarts is just what we do not need!" Sirius snarled. Remus growled low in his throat.

"I am going back to Harry's side" Lily disappeared like dissolving fog and the other three apparated out of Potter Manor as quickly as possible.

They reappeared in the middle of Hogsmeade. Even from there they could see the dark mark glow on top of the astronomy tower.

"Voldemort" James snarled. The three of them rushed towards Honeydukes. They ignored the protests of the owners and crashed into the basement to disappear beneath the trapdoor.

"James, Sirius, disguise yourselves. Quickly!" Remus insisted between gulping breaths of air. His friends followed his advice. They turned into their animagus forms mid-run in order to jump up the slide. They pulled Remus up before tumbling into the third floor corridor.

"Expelliarmus!" James thundered and the opposing Death Eater's wand was already flying out of his hand. Before he could react Sirius had already put him in a full body bind.

"Like back in the good old days?" Sirius asked with a glint as he knocked out another Death Eater.

"Just like the good old days!" James ducked so that Remus could fire a spell over him.

"Less talking more spells!" Remus instructed with a grim expression.

"Yes, sir!" Sirius saluted as James knocked out the Death Eater trying to sneak up from behind him.

"They have to have gotten in here somehow!" James exclaimed with a frown as they continued to make their way upwards from where the Death Eaters seemed to come. The higher they went the more Death Eaters seemed to appear. They were easy to defeat since they have not expected to meet any kind of resistance on their way.

"The Room of Requirement!" James muttered darkly as he saw another Death Eater step out of the door leading to the room on the seventh floor.

"They somehow got in from there." The three friends nodded at each other.

"Formation three" James instructed with a grim nod. Sirius and Remus stepped in front of him leaving barely half a foot space between them, just enough room for James to raise his wand and raise a powerful shield charm.

They barged into the Room of Requirement just in time to see Death Eeater step out of a vanishing cabinet.

"Stupefy!" Sirius and James shouted at the same time. The death Eather fell down completely bound.

"Bombarda maxima!" Remus thundered and watched in satisfaction as the Cabinet was blown into a thousand wood splinters.

"Our job here isn't done yet. We need to get the astronomy tower!" James barked. He had a very bad feeling about the whole bloody situation.

They stumbled out of the room as quickly as possible.

"Dude, it is going to take forever to get there on foot" Sirius said with a frown.

"Which is why I brought your brooms." James said with a smirk as he pulled out the shrunk brooms out of his ropes pockets. He returned them to their normal size and threw them in his friends' general direction.

"Prongs, you are the best" Sirius answered with a gleeful grin. James opened a window and jumped out. He expertly landed on his broom. He had a lot of practice in this. Not that Lily or his parents ever knew that. Sirius and Remus followed after him, Remus at a slower pace than them.

James froze at what greeted his sight. Someone had fallen from the tower. Someone that seemed awfully familiar.

"No!" James breathed. As much as he didn't want to belief it, the truth was undeniable. Dumbledore was dead.

oOo

The Marauders and Lily stood in the distance as Dumbledore's grave was closed. The white tomb a stark contrast to the grey day.

Tear tracks were trailing down their faces as they watched the person they had considered almost a grandfather be laid to rest. Lily was curled into James' side, her fingers clinging to the fabric of his dark robes. Remus was leaning into James' other side Sirius had wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Out of all of them, Remus had respected and looked up to the headmaster the most. He had enabled him to get an education.

Harry, Hermione and Ron trailed over to them. Harry gratefully fell into the tight hugs of his family.

"So what is going to happen now?" Ron asked as he tightly clutched a crying Hermione's hand.

"Hunt the Horcruxes of course" Harry answer was slightly muffled from where his face was pressed into his father's chest.

"Any clue where to start looking?" Sirius asked. They weren't going to even try and stop Harry. Instead they would be there for him every step of the way.

"The locket was fake. There was a note," Harry said he pulled out the grumbled note and pressed it into Sirius' hands. He still hadn't left his father's arms.

Sirius froze as he skimmed over the letter. The little colour he had left disappeared and he took a huge gulp of air.

"I know who took the locket."

"Who?" Ron asked.

"My little brother. And I know just where to start looking." Sirius answered.

oOo

A.N.: Okay this fanfiction is officaly over. The first story I ever completely finished. I didn't add the seventh year because I couldn't. It was simply not possible for me to write. Any attempt just turned out wrong and thus the Hunt for the Horcruxes together with the marauders is entirely up to your imagination. I also originally only had ideas for the fourth year the rest developed as I wrote the epilogue.

Thank you for reading, for following this story and for every favourite and review. Thank you MSupernatural for being such an awesome Beta 3

Thank you for walking beside me during this journey. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

I hope you enjoyed this story. I had so much fun writing it. Long live the MARAUDERS! I solemnly swear to that I am up to no good and thus expect more stories to follow!

I only have a few words to say at the end:

MISCHIEF MANAGED!