The classroom smelled faintly of chalk dust, old wood, and the kind of boredom that made time stretch like melted toffee.
Desks had been shoved unceremoniously to the edges of the room—James’s idea, loudly declared and immediately followed by everyone else agreeing it was better than sitting “like prisoners in rows.” Now they were all gathered in a loose, uneven circle on the floor, backs against chair legs, table edges, each other.
It had been—Remus checked his watch for the fifth time—exactly twelve minutes.
“Right,” Sirius announced, flinging his head back dramatically against a desk leg. “I’m going to die.”
“You say that every five minutes,” Lily said without looking up, flipping a quill between her fingers.
“Yes, Evans, and one of these times I’ll be correct.”
“You’re not dying,” Marlene muttered. “You’re just bored.”
“Boredom is a slow death.”
“Then perish quietly,” Dorcas said, not even bothering to look at him.
Barty snorted. “Please don’t. He’ll monologue.”
“I do not monologue—”
“You monologue,” James said immediately.
“You monologue,” Peter echoed.
“You monologue,” Mary added, grinning.
Sirius stared at them all, betrayed. “You’re all deeply unpleasant people.”
“Still not dead though,” Fabian pointed out cheerfully.
“Tragic,” Gideon agreed.
A beat of silence fell again.
Pandora was lying on her back, staring at the ceiling like she might find something interesting in the cracks. Evan was stretched beside her, one arm flung lazily across his face. Regulus sat cross-legged, spine straight, expression neutral, fingers idly tracing patterns into the worn wooden floor.
Frank yawned. Alice elbowed him lightly in the ribs.
“This is unbearable,” James declared suddenly. “We need entertainment.”
“Do a dance,” Mary suggested.
“I will not—”
“Do a dance,” Sirius echoed, immediately switching sides.
James pointed at him. “Traitor.”
“Always.”
“No,” Remus cut in, calm but firm. “We’re not encouraging James.”
“Rude,” James said.
“Accurate,” Lily replied.
Another pause. Longer this time. Heavier.
Then Peter, surprisingly, spoke up. “We could… I don’t know. Talk?”
Everyone looked at him.
Peter shifted slightly under the attention. “Like—stories? Childhood stuff?”
Marlene perked up. “Oh. That could actually be fun.”
Dorcas sat up a little. “Depends how embarrassing we’re willing to get.”
“Very,” Barty said instantly.
“Deeply,” Evan added.
Pandora tilted her head. “I have at least six stories that would ruin all of your reputations.”
“That’s promising,” Fabian said.
“Alright,” James clapped once. “Stories. We go around. No lying, no chickening out.”
“No murder confessions,” Remus added.
Barty looked personally offended.
“Fine,” James amended. “No serious murder confessions.”
“Define serious,” Barty said.
“Barty—”
“I’m kidding,” he said, grinning.
“Mostly,” Evan murmured.
“Right,” Lily said, cutting through before it could spiral. “I’ll start, since you’re all incapable of organisation.”
“Leader,” Sirius said.
“Obviously,” she shot back.
She shifted slightly, tucking her legs beneath her, expression softening in a way that made the circle quiet almost instinctively.
“My family’s Catholic,” she began.
That got a few reactions—small nods, a couple raised brows.
“Properly Catholic,” she continued. “Mass every Sunday, holidays taken very seriously, the whole thing.”
“Confession?” Mary asked.
“Yeah.”
“Did you lie?”
“Constantly.”
Mary grinned. “Same.”
Lily smiled faintly, then continued, “When I was about eight, we went on this trip—some countryside place, old church, loads of walking paths. I got separated.”
“Of course you did,” Sirius muttered.
“I was eight,” Lily said sharply.
“Fair,” he conceded.
“I wandered off too far,” she went on, “and I ended up near this cliff edge. Didn’t realise how close I was until the ground started… crumbling, I guess.”
A few people leaned in slightly.
“I slipped,” she said simply. “Properly. I should’ve fallen.”
James’s expression shifted, something sharper underneath the humour.
“But I didn’t,” Lily said. “Something—someone—grabbed me. Pulled me back.”
“Like—physically?” Alice asked.
Lily nodded slowly. “Yeah. I remember hands. And light. And this voice telling me to be more careful.”
“Bloody hell,” Fabian breathed.
“When I turned around,” Lily said, “there was no one there.”
Silence settled, heavier this time.
“My mum always said it was an angel,” Lily finished with a small shrug. “And honestly? I don’t have a better explanation.”
There was a pause.
“That’s… actually quite nice,” Remus said quietly.
“Yeah,” Mary agreed. “That’s—sweet, in a terrifying near-death way.”
“Very on-brand for you,” James added, softer now.
Lily rolled her eyes, but there was a faint smile there.
Across the circle, Regulus had gone still.
It was subtle, the way his head tilted, the way his gaze sharpened slightly.
“Catholic,” he echoed.
Lily glanced over. “Yeah?”
“My family is too,” he said.
Sirius, immediately, went rigid.
It was almost imperceptible to anyone who didn’t know him—but Regulus saw it. Of course he did.
“Oh,” Lily said. “Right. That makes sense, I suppose.”
“Yeah,” Regulus said lightly, though there was something else threading through his tone now. “You said you were… touched by an angel?”
There was a beat.
“Yes,” Lily said slowly.
Regulus nodded once.
Then, with the same casual tone one might use to comment on the weather, he said:
“Oh. I was touched by a priest.”
The room—
Exploded.
“WHAT—”
“WHAT—”
“EXCUSE ME—?!”
“REGULUS—?!”
Mary physically fell sideways, clutching her stomach as she shrieked. Fabian choked so violently Gideon had to thump him on the back. James made a noise that could only be described as a bark of disbelief.
“YOU CAN’T JUST—” Marlene wheezed, pointing at him.
“YOU CANNOT DROP THAT INTO A CONVERSATION LIKE THAT—” Dorcas added, half-laughing, half-horrified.
Barty had folded in on himself, laughing so hard he couldn’t breathe. Evan was outright on the floor, kicking his feet like it was the funniest thing he’d ever heard.
Pandora was clapping. Actually clapping.
“OH MY GOD,” Peter was saying, over and over.
Lily had both hands over her mouth, eyes wide. “Regulus—oh my God—”
Remus looked like he didn’t know whether to laugh or intervene, which was somehow worse.
And Sirius—
Sirius had gone completely, utterly still.
“Regulus,” he said, sharply.
But Regulus just shrugged, expression almost bored now, like he’d commented on the time.
“It’s fine,” he said. “We changed churches.”
That—
That made it worse.
“WE CHANGED CHURCHES—?!” James repeated, incredulous.
“OH, WELL, THAT’S ALRIGHT THEN—” Mary gasped.
“PROBLEM SOLVED—” Fabian wheezed.
“I’M LOSING MY MIND—” Gideon declared.
“REGULUS—” Lily started again, somewhere between concern and absolute disbelief.
“It was years ago,” Regulus said, still maddeningly calm.
“THAT IS NOT—” Dorcas began, then stopped, laughing again despite herself.
Barty wiped tears from his eyes. “That’s—oh my God—that’s the worst possible timing for that statement.”
Evan sat up, grinning like a man possessed. “You heard ‘angel’ and thought, my time has come.”
“I contributed,” Regulus said.
“YOU CONTRIBUTED—?!” Marlene shrieked.
“That’s not contributing, that’s—weaponised conversation,” Pandora said delightedly.
“Reg—” Sirius said again, quieter this time, something tight under his voice.
Regulus glanced at him.
For a split second, something flickered—something real, something that didn’t match the easy detachment.
Then it was gone.
“I’m fine,” he said, flat.
Sirius held his gaze for a moment longer.
Then, slowly, he exhaled.
“Yeah,” he said. “I know.”
The room, meanwhile, had not recovered.
“I cannot believe this is happening,” Alice was saying, half-laughing into her hands.
“This is the worst detention I’ve ever had,” Frank added.
“The best detention,” Fabian corrected.
“Speak for yourself,” Remus muttered.
“NO, BECAUSE WHAT DO WE EVEN SAY AFTER THAT—” Mary demanded.
“Nothing,” Evan said, still grinning. “You say nothing. You sit with it.”
“I refuse,” James said. “We’re moving on. Next story. Immediately. Before this gets worse.”
“It’s already the worst,” Peter said.
“It can always get worse,” Barty said cheerfully.
“Don’t encourage him,” Remus warned.
Pandora rolled onto her side, propping her head up on her hand. “I have a story about accidentally setting a shed on fire.”
“YES,” Marlene said instantly.
“Thank God,” Lily added, exhaling.
“Please,” James said. “Something normal.”
Pandora smiled, bright and slightly unhinged.
“It was not normal.”
“Of course it wasn’t,” Sirius muttered.
Across the circle, Regulus leaned back slightly, resting his weight against the desk behind him.
The chaos surged back into motion—voices overlapping, laughter breaking through the lingering shock, the moment dissolving into noise again.
Sirius glanced at him once more.
Regulus didn’t look back.
But he was smiling.
Just a little.
They did not move on.
They could not move on.
Pandora had opened her mouth—fully ready to launch into her shed-fire story—when Mary grabbed her arm mid-sentence.
“No—no, no, no,” Mary said, shaking her head violently. “Absolutely not. We are not skipping past that.”
“Seconded,” Marlene said immediately, pointing at Regulus like he’d personally offended her. “You don’t get to drop something like that and then sit there like you’ve just commented on the weather.”
“Thirded,” Fabian added.
“Fourthed,” Gideon said.
“Everyone-th’d,” Barty finished, still grinning like this was the best thing that had ever happened to him.
Remus pinched the bridge of his nose. “I really think we should—”
“No,” Lily said.
It was sharp. Immediate.
Everyone looked at her.
She was still pale, still visibly shaken, her hands clasped tightly together in her lap like she was holding herself in place.
“No,” she repeated, quieter but firmer. “He doesn’t get to just—say that—and then we pretend it didn’t happen.”
Across from her, Regulus raised an eyebrow.
“Oh?” he said lightly.
“Yes, oh,” James cut in, staring at him. “Regulus—what the hell?”
Peter nodded frantically. “Yeah—what—what do you mean?”
if you’re taking art requests then maybe trans Remus wearing a suit for the first time? 👉👈
here you go!!! I imagine teen Lily totally helping Remus pick out clothes at her place in the summer break bc she has a collection of outfits and they end up spending hours combining outfits and just gets lost in how fun it is, this is the first time he tries out a suit that isn't sirius school uniform
Darlings!! I need your opinions on something!! AU that the Marauders lived, what do you headcanon their families and/or children and/or homes to look like?? I really want to know and I can't find ANYONE'S opinion on any of this.
The only things I headcanon are that James and Lily have a big family because they had Hari at 19 and apparently Lily was pregnant when they died. Also that all of the kids are besties. And wreck havoc on Hogwarts. But yeah that's it.
I have a headcanon that when McGonagal said she really wanted to use that spell in Deathly Hallows, she only really wanted to because the Marauders once used it in a prank and she secretly loved it and every other one they did but she'll never admit it.
