Selenophile // Marauders

|69| Speech, Sixth Year

1st of September, 1976

"I have an idea!" James said way too loudly in the compartment. They were going back to Hogwarts. 

Riley didn't really talk much, she just sat there in silence. 

"What kind of idiotic idea?" Remus asked as he rolled his eyes. 

"We should carve our names in this compartment!" he said excitedly. 

"YES!" Sirius screamed and Riley winced as his voice echoed in the compartment. 

"But with what? It's not like I carry a knife with me..." Peter said. 

"We can do magic, remember?" James said. 

"I carry a knife with me," Remus said. "Here," he said and took out a knife from his bag and showed it casually. Sirius, James, Peter, and Riley just looked at him with shocked expressions on their faces. 

"What?" Remus asked. "I always carry this, just in case."

"In case you have to kill someone?" Peter asked. Remus just rolled his eyes. He then turned to the wall right next to the window and held the knife in his hand. He slowly carved 'Moony' on the wall and gave the knife to James. 

James was sitting on the other side of the window and carved his name there. Sirius was next to him, he carved it above the seat. Peter carved it on the side of the door while Riley's was next to the other side of the door. 

"Maybe we should've carved them next to each other..." Peter said as he looked at the names scattered around the compartment. 

"It looks unique!" Sirius said. 

"Since when did we become such nerds?" Riley asked under her breath.

"Since forever!" James said. "Thanks to Moony!"

Remus looked at him with the knife in his hand. 

"Fine! Because of me!" James shouted. 

***

Riley sat in the Great Hall along with everyone else. The feast hadn't started yet, and Dumbledore was about to give a speech. Something didn't feel right, some seats were empty, there were fewer first years, fewer seventh years...

Dumbledore finally stood up and started talking. 

"Welcome, to another year at Hogwarts!" he started. "The Hall may be looking strange to some of you, and unfortunately, it will stay looking like this."

Riley bit her lip and looked down. Some parents were scared to send their children to school, some were already dead or off to fighting against death eaters as soon as they were of age. 

"I sure you're all aware of the terrible news we are reading every day. To prevent further unwanted events, from now on enhancing our protection and safety rules. I'm sure nobody here wants Voldemort in our castle..."

People started whispering and chattering as Dumbledore mentioned Voldemort's name. Riley gulped as she heard the name. 

"As soon as the classes are complete, you will be going to your common rooms. The curfew is now seven in the evening, as we don't want anyone out in the grounds in the dark." 

Everyone started to complain and shout to this new rule. Riley didn't really react, she didn't plan on taking a long night trip in the Forbidden Forest after last year anyways. 

"Now, let the feast begin," Dumbledore said. Food appeared on the table. Everyone started to eat, but everyone seemed quieter. 

"We have a prefect's meeting tomorrow," Lily said to Remus. "You know, right?"

"Uh— actually, I quit," Remus said. Everyone looked at him with concerned expressions.

"What— but, why?" Lily said. 

"Come on, Lily. Admit it, I wasn't the best prefect ever, and I already have a lot of things to take care of," Remus said. Lily gave a small smile. She never brought up the issue of Remus being a werewolf. They weren't planning on telling her in the first place, she heard it by accident when they were shouting in the dormitory, fighting. 

"Which classes are you taking this year?" Sirius asked. "I'm gonna take Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, Astronomy, and Divination—"

"Divination?" Riley asked. 

"Yeah," said Sirius, "I enjoy Divination."

"Weird."

"I'm taking Ancient Runes, History of Magic, Potions, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, and Care of Magical Creatures," Remus said. 

"That's so fucking much!" Peter said. "I'm only taking Charms, Astronomy, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and that's it."

"I'm pretty much taking the same ones as Pads, but not Divination and Astronomy, but I'm also taking History of Magic, Potions, and Herbology."

"I'm just gonna rest while you study, the best year ever!" Peter said. 

"I don't know which ones I'm taking, I had it written somewhere but I might've lost the paper," Marlene said. 

"I'm taking the same ones as Remus, but not Astronomy, instead I'm taking Arithmancy."

"What about you?" Lily asked Riley. "I bet you're taking a lot of classes."

"Well, I'm taking Defense Against the Dark Arts, Arithmancy, Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, History of Magic... I think that's it," Riley said flatly. 

"Wait— you're not taking Potions?" Lily asked. "You're top of the class in Potions."

"I was. But you have to get either an 'E' or an 'O' to take an advanced class from Potions, and I didn't get either of those, so I'm not allowed to take it..." she said with a wry smile at the end. Everyone looked shocked.

"What do you mean? You literally tutored us in Potions," Sirius said. 

"That was before they cursed me and also before my mind was a blur through the whole exam..."

"Well— you can still talk to Slughorn about it, maybe he takes students with 'A's—" Lily suggested. 

"But I didn't get a passing grade... I got a 'P'," Riley then said quietly. "I've already talked to McGonagall about retaking the exam but she said it wouldn't be fair to the other students, then I said that it isn't fair for me because I couldn't even stand upright and had trouble writing my name but I couldn't convince her."

"But that's not fair, and those bastards who kept on cursing everyone are still here—" James said.

"Nothing is fair here..."