Semper

14

"We've got Double Potions Pads. We need to go now or else Sluggy will have our heads." A groggy Sirius heard as he lifted his head from his soft pillow –more known as Aurora's shoulder – and gave James a glare.

"I blame you for making me take potions. I already suck at it, Christ knows how I got an E in it." He mumbled as he pulled his head over, and slowly got up.

It was the night after the full moon, and all five of the Marauders were feeling the fatigue. Since becoming Animagi last year, they've been accompanying their young werewolf friend in the Shrieking Shack – a tattered down building made for Remus back in first year. It was a relief to poor Aurora, as she had been siphoning Remus' fatigue and pain everytime he came back battered in the Hospital Wing, and only in the fourth year was it revealed to the boys that she was suffering through the pain alone. Till then all four of the lads thought that once she siphoned the pain, it would have vanished, but when she had fallen down , writhing in agony one day, did all the boys piece it together.

To say Remus felt ashamed and guilty would be an understatement.

But Aurora being Aurora, point blank refused to stop siphoning until another solution came up. And after months of researching, keeping a bitter Mandrake leaf inside their mouth for a month, the four Marauders became Animagi.

James was a stag, hence the name Prongs.

Sirius was a dog, hence named Padfoot.

Peter was a rat, thus named Wormtail.

And Aurora was a midnight Black owl, hence named Ibis.

You can guess who had the 'liberty' of naming everyone.

"How's Moony?" Aurora mumbled as she rubbed her eyes, trying to dispel the yawn threatening to come out of her mouth as the three ventured to the dungeons where Professor Slughorn taught them Potions.

"Resting in the Hospital Wing, was ready to move out but you know Poppy." James said – the only chirpy one out of the five, and that irritated the hell out of Aurora. How can someone be so happy with only three hours of sleep and no coffee?

"Good. Now if only I too could rest there instead of suffer the torture of Potions." Sirius sighed as Aurora smacked his arm.

"Potions is amazing Paddy, you're just ignorant. " She huffed as she moved forward, reaching the door to the class first and swinging it open. As usual, the three were late, as the whole class and Slughorn looked at them.

"Sorry." She smiled unapologetically as she sat down beside her twin right in the front row. This was the only class where she sat with her sister and also in the front row. She gave a quick snall smile to Lily, ignoring her questioned abd apologetic glance and started working on making notes for herself and Remus.

To say Aurora loved potions would be an understatement. She was like the Golden Child, the prodigy in Potions, and Slughorn never failed to mention this in his Slug Parties he hosted every year. So much so, that she had stopped attending them. Besides Lily was there to cover her arse so she was golden to go and prank Snivellus or some other unsuspecting muggleborn haters.

Everyone said that Lily was the golden child, the prodigy. But that's all because Aurora didn't want to be in the spotlight. Not that Lily wanted to, but the only difference between the identical twins was the fact that 1) Aurora wore glasses and 2) Aurora wasn't a suck up.

Granted Lily didn't want to suck up to teachers deliberately, it just came naturally to her. Or she says.

Or Snivellus says, She thought. That was the main reason why she targetted Snape, because according to Aurora, he was trying to brainwash her into becoming him. And she did not like it.

Her views about him solidified when he called her a mudblood last year – the same year he started hanging out with the likes of Avery and Mulciber and Malfoy – and even though it hurt, all Aurora could think about was Lily's safety. She tried to tell Lily, but Lily got confused and torn on who to believe, her bestfriend or her sister?

When Lily refused to give an answer or do anything about her sister being called such a derogatory word, Aurora grew distant from her. She couldn't believe that her twin wasn't trusting her to be true, and that she was doing nothing for her own safety as well. Since the fight, the relationship had been rocky between the twins, so much so that Aurora spent the entire summer with a newly shifted Sirius in James' house, and Lily spend the days with Alice and Marlene.

Marlene was the new girl in the girl's gang, a muggleborn a year younger than them. Yet with the girl's smarts and sassy attitude, she fit right in with the other girls.

"Today's assignment is to make notes and strategies about the different mistakes that may happen while making Draught of the living death. You have a week for this assignment, and can experiment this all in this class, but only under my guidance. You may all go now." Slughorn said just as the bell rung, and all the children starts running out.

No one had any patience to greet the professor, as everyone tumbled out of the room. James and Sirius impatiently waited as Aurora diligently set everything in her pouch, knowing by her smirk that she was doing it deliberately. They soon grinned when she looked to be done. But their cheer soon turned into a groan as Slughorn called her and Lily back.

"Merlin if she doesn't come out in the next five minutes, I'll hex someone." James muttered as he checked his watch on his wrist. It was a muggle watch, given by Aurora, who said it was a joint gift from her and Lily. Nothing made the boy's sixteenth birthday more special than being given a gift from the girl he'd fancied since first year.

Although Aurora would never say it, she did think James and Lily would look cute. On the outside though, she always fake-gagged when anyone mentioned them together.

Finally the said girl got out of the room, and if the boys could have cheered, they would have.

Actually scratch that, they cheered. Loudly.

"What took you so long young lady?! Do you know how many girls were deprived of this in the past five minutes!" Sirius said as he dramatically motioned to himself as James and Aurora laughed.

"Hey Lilyflower wanna come with me to the Astronomy Tower?" James sweetly asked as Aurora saw Lily roll her eyes.

"In your dreams toerag." Lily said as she stomped off to the opposite side, all the while Aurora looked at her sadly, an expression not missed by the boys as they looped their arms along hers.

"Come on Ibis! Your Moony is waiting!" Sirius said as he dreamily rolled his eyes as all three laughed.

"I thought it was Padfoot and Moony against the whole world?" Aurora nonchalantly asked James who sniggered.

"You can be the side mistress, don't worry we won't exclude you." Sirius answered, "All the time." He added as an afterthought as Aurora smacked his arm jokingly.

"Sure, whatever you say Snuffles." She teased back as James guffawed.

"Take that back Evans, or I'll tell everyone what happened when we went to the kitchen and –" Sirius was stopped with a hand on his mouth which was too big to be Aurora's, even though she was a Chaser.

"Remember mate I was there too." James said as his laughter died down and Aurora's started, knowing they had Sirius in a tight spot.

"What will you do now Snuffles?" She teased as she ran off, Sirius chasing her as James laughed but followed the too. Even after so many years , the five haven't stopped being immature. It has grown if anything. And James loved it.