The Other Uncle (a sequel)

Always a Marauder

AN: I'M SOOOOOO SORRRY! I got really busy with school! Also, I'm sorry this chapter is so short! Hope you don't hate me!

*Marauder era*

Anna shifted impatiently in her seat as she waited for transfigurations to end. Her eyes darted to James, who sat a few seats down her row. He had become so impatient and bored that he had began plucking the fluffy strands out of the feathered quill he was meant to be writing notes with. By the time Anna noticed this, a small pile had formed on his desk and the feather was nearly bare.

Sirius wasn't doing much better. He was seated across the room, far away from his friends. Professor McGonagall was no fool and had wisely separated the troublesome Gryffindor to avoid him from becoming a distraction. The hyperactive wizard looked as of he might actually break a sweat from the effort it took to behave until the end of class so he wouldn't get detention. Today was a very exciting day for them and he really didn't want to miss it. In an effort to distract himself, he had begun doodling random objects on his parchment paper.

Remus' eyes stayed trained on the teacher as he calmly took his notes beside Anna. Lily was on the other side of the fox, taking her notes in a much more rapid fashion. Peter on the other hand was fast asleep.

As soon as they were dismissed the marauders shot up from their seats and hurried over to one another to discuss tonight's plans in hushed tones. Lily had stared at them curiously but reluctantly left it alone when Severus prompted her to walk with him in the halls.

Sirius groaned dramatically, "Finally! I was about ready to tear my hair out in anticipation. And you know how much I love my hair. It's one of my best features. I'm was so ready for class to be over. Transfigurations is so boring! I don't know how you and Moony manage to pay attention, Foxy."

She rolled her eyes as they made their way to the Gryffindor common room, "First of all, it's Red. R. E. D. Not Foxy. Second of all, if you knew how boring the subjects were in the muggle world, you wouldn't be complaining. That's my reason, anyways."

Sirius looked doubtful, "I seriously doubt anything could be more boring than history of magic."

The redhead smirked, "Trust me, you don't know the meaning of the word 'boring' until you've heard Mrs. Snore teach history."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, "You really had a teacher called Mrs. Snore when you were little?"

The redhead laughed, "No, we just called her that behind her back. I can't even remember her real name."

James slung an arm around each shoulder of the bickering pair, "Who cares? We've got more urgent matters to deal with remember? Me and Anna found an abandoned secret room last night. We could use it as a hideout!"

Remus grinned, "Brilliant! I read about a spell we could use to charm the door so it will only open for those who know the password."

Peter frowned, "What do we need a hideout for? We have a dorm room all to ourselves!"

Anna crossed her arms defiantly, "No way! I'm so sick of having to use James' cloak every time we need to have a meeting. And what if the cloak falls off and someone sees me? Merlin knows what kind of rumors will spread about me. I've already got enough troubles without people spreading lies about me sneaking into your dorm to snog with Sirius or something!"

The said marauder waggled his eyebrow suggestively, "Who says it has to be lies?"

Prongs elbowed him before turning his attention to the rest of the group, "It doesn't matter because we're going to meet in the room Red and I found. It's located in the Gryffindor tower."

Wormtail sighed, "Fine, we'll check it out."

*Time skip*

"This hideout better be bloody worth missing dinner for, James! I'm starving." Grumbled Sirius irritably as he and his friends made their way to the Gryffindor common room.

The only female marauder rolled her eyes, "Do you always have to be so dramatic about everything?"

The curly haired Gryffindor glared playfully, "You try being around theatrical people like Belatrix and my parents all summer and the first eleven years of your life and see how you turn out!"

She scrunched up her nose comically, "Ewww no thanks. Your family hates me!"

Sirius shrugged his shoulders and shot her a rueful smile, "Yeah, well, they never were spectacular judges of character." She heard the sincerity behind his joking and returned his smile.

"Would you two just snog and get it over with so we can focus on what we're doing?!" Complained Peter, only partly teasing.

Anna looked at how close she and Sirius had gotten to one another and jumped away from him with a blush. Sirius snorted, "Oh relax, Annabelle. I was only joking about snogging earlier. You're like a sister to me."

She sighed in relief, "Thank goodness."

"We're here!" James called with an excited grin. He said the password to the painting and they walked in side. Then, James went over to the a large portrait of a lion resting on a rock and slid his hand down the side of the gold frame until a soft click was heard. Finally, he opened the portrait like a door to reveal a set of stone stairs. He stepped inside with Anna close behind him.

The redhead looked back at the other three stunned marauders with a smug grin, "Well? Are you guys coming or what?" Remus shrugged at Padfoot and moved to follow his friends up the darkened stairwell.

Each marauder took out their wands and recited the spell "Lumos" and instantly the hidden staircase was lit with a dim glow. Peter closed the painting behind him, since he was the last inside, and hurried to keep up with his peers.

When they finally made it to the top, Remus frowned, "This wasn't on the map. We would've noticed!"

Anna smiled, "That's what makes it extraordinary! This is the attic of the Gryffindor tower! We think it was used as a hidden storage space that students couldn't find but it was forgotten about. According to the map, this room doesn't exist! It only appears on the Maruader's map when we're inside the room. Otherwise, it's invisible. It's perfect for a secret hideout!"

Peter sneezed and scowled at the room, "You're mad! Look how filthy this place is!"

Remus smiled, "I can fix that!" He waved his wand and used the scourgify spell to clean the circular room instantly. Sirius clapped Remus on the back, "It's settled then. For now on, this will be the Maruader's headquarters!"

They went down stairs after their decision since it would only be a matter of time before students would be start filing in the Gryffindor common room. Once they were all outside of the portrait, Anna waved her wand over the door of their hideout. Then, she softly whispered a password so no one else would use it:

"I solemnly swear I'm up to no good."

*Present day*

Anna watched with a nostalgic twinkle in her eye as black ink began to flutter onto the parchment to embody the layout of the castle. She rested her head on her husband's shoulder, "This brings back so many memories." In that moment, she was content to scan the map for hour after hour reminiscing about their marauder days. But once it had occurred to her that Sirius' name may be on the map, the thought was instantly discarded. She had to protect Sirius.

So the witch pointed her wand to the map with a soft smile as she spoke the familiar words, "Mischief managed."