In hindsight, it seemed incredibly convenient that Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall were both away on business the same weekend. McGonagall was only gone for the day, after all - some "teachers' conference", which in hindsight was incredibly fishy, and yet James nodded merrily and let her go. Dumbledore, he traveled quite a bit lately. James knew exactly why, he read the papers like everyone else. His parents had told him a little bit about what Dumbledore was doing, and it was enough to know that Dumbledore was probably needed in a thousand places at once. James had stopped wondering where he disappeared to long ago.
It was, however, incredibly convenient timing.
~
James said, "maybe a few Frog Pellets," to Sirius. They were trying to decide what to get Remus for his birthday - at least James was trying to decide. Sirius had already bought him a new broomstick with the money he'd saved over the last holidays. James had been astounded, and shocked, and a little pleased. Expensive presents might not be as important to casual blokes like Sirius and Remus, but the fact that Sirius spent the money he'd saved for weeks on Remus maybe meant that they'd settled down for good.
"He won't want Frog Pellets, half-wit," Sirius replied. "But some Invisible Ink, maybe." James and Sirius both grinned.
In third year, before they'd mastered the fine art of higher prank-pulling, one of their favorite tricks was to write over school assignments in Invisible Ink, ink that was visible, then disappeared, then reappeared. It wore off completely in enough time that the more lenient teachers just graded their papers last, and the less lenient ones just gave them zero. The poor substitute Herbology teacher, however, spent almost a month trying to figure out how she erased their assignments, and would apologize over and over. Sirius and James, especially, hammed it up - telling her that they'd find it, she probably just misplaced them. They'd ransack her office trying to find them, and in the course of it the ink would reappear.
"He never used that unless we tricked him into it, though," James answered. "He was always scared she'd catch on and give him a zero."
"He just didn't like the idea of getting caught out in a prank so simple," Sirius answered promptly. He looked in the window of Zonko's, staring at the display of dancing something-or-others. The frost was a little too thick to rightly tell. "I don't know, James," Sirius said. "We're in a spot of trouble there, for sure."
"Maybe I should give it up and just buy him a crate of Butterbeer."
"He prefers Old Speckled Hen."
"Do you see anywhere to buy that here?"
The two of them had already taken a few steps away from Zonko's when an incredible force threw them off their feet. It was actually a girl, a fourth year, who'd run right over both of them, they just hadn't seen her because of the snow. Her face was white and terrified. Students poured out of Zonko's, and James grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the mass.
He said, "what's," but didn't get to finish asking. A rush of burning hot air went past him, then a, a chant, low voices - then a loud bang, and James was thrown off his feet into a snowdrift at the edge of the road. Everywhere, he could hear the yelling of students. Feet nearly trampled his hands twice.
James managed to raise his head, and looked at Zonko's. The shop was bright red with fire.
~
Remus ended up walking to Hogsmeade with Peter. "And they're still not speaking, even if I think Lily's stopped pondering killing him," Peter said, munching on a pineapple jelly sandwich. "Though she might be justified in some courts. James and Sirius have always been like that, true, but it's right obnoxious of them to keep whatever to themselves. Especially from you and Lily."
Remus cringed. "Well, at least we'll get a break from all this fighting today," he replied, gesturing to all the snow. There were several inches of snow on the ground already, and more was coming down swiftly. If it got any thicker they'd have a near impossible time trying to see in it. As it was, if the roadway hadn't been lined with festive decorations that also happened to glow brightly, they may have easily got lost simply on their way from the castle to the road. "No one will be able to see each other."
"Should minimize the damage, it's true," Peter said pragmatically. "Plus our hands will be shaking too much from cold to point a wand steady." He finished his sandwich and rewrapped his scarf, covering his mouth up.
"Our?" Remus asked. "Who are you angry at?"
Peter made a face, curling his shoulders, but the gesture was barely visible under the orange scarf wrapped around his neck tightly. Yards of wool protected his throat from the cold and made it appear as if his neck was horribly swollen. Peter said, albeit muffled, "Maybe I'll start a row with Lily," and readjusted the thing so he could speak a little clearer. "Just to be different."
"Or me," Remus said, sighing. "Since James and Lily are currently on the outs, I reckon I'm the only one not presently locked in a blood feud."
"That's it," Peter answered lazily. He groped around, pulling open the door to Honeydukes. "I hate you. You no good, slimy--"
"Pettigrew," Snape said, pushing his hair out of his face. "Good for you, finally telling that--"
"You'd better watch it, or you'll find out what you're made of--" Remus snapped, and immediately shoved his way back out the door. Peter trotted after him. "I didn't know he even ate candy. Would think it was too sweet for his nasty temper."
Peter's eyes darted towards the candy shop. "Are you sure you should have yelled at him?" he asked. "He has that pack of friends, and who knows where James and Sirius are if we need them."
Remus tucked his hands under his cloak, shivering under the awning. Snow drifts were already piling up on the sidewalk, and the bare cobblestones of the actual street looked icy and dangerous.
He was contemplating which was the lesser of two evils: the snow drifts - wet and soggy, but much less likely to try and pitch him forward onto the ground - or the bare street - dry shoes, granted, but also an imminent danger of having his feet fly out from under him. He was about to step out into the snow drifts, accepting his fate to have soaking wet socks until tea time, when, from down by Zonko's, there came a loud bang.
He and Peter glanced at each other, and then tore off down the street. Neither of them fell.
~
Sirius knew what this was. He shook himself off, dazed, and remembered last month in the newspaper about an enchanted fire that took out a Muggle school. Children had died. He knew exactly what this was.
Kids and villagers were running everywhere, but not a green scarf to be seen.
Sirius took off, heading straight into the trees, wand drawn. He stared back once at all the chaos, and then heard the whizzing of broomsticks overhead.
Broomsticks meant students. Students that were going to be back up at the castle any minute. He pulled the Map out of his pocket.
"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," Sirius muttered, and stared at the Map. It might not show people in the village, but he could definitely see students inside the school. Students that weren't in the lower school. Students marked with little green dots.
His cousin's name was on the outskirts of a large group of sixth and seventh years whose dots were making fast headway towards the castle.
"How long," Sirius said to himself, taking off in a run, "do you think it would take," and he ducked into the woods at the edge of the path, "to go from outside Zonko's to the castle?" He could hear yelling and shouting - James' voice rang out with commands - but the snow was so thick, no one would notice that he wasn't around until he was well gone.
In amongst the trees, the snow was falling gently. Sirius looked around, then transformed rapidly, taking off through the trees. If they could take off on broomsticks and already be on the grounds, he could catch up to them before they got to their Common Room.
He collided with someone, just off the path, and stood, dazed. Peter was peering through the trees, trembling. Sirius transformed back. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Peter jumped a mile into the air. "What are you doing here?" he asked stupidly.
Sirius glanced at his watch. "I have a date with some family members," he said, looking behind him. "Go help James."
Peter blinked, then obediently trotted back to the village. Sirius transformed again, tearing off. Peter, hiding. Sirius mentally snorted, paws making tracks in the fresh snow. Poor boy.
His cousin was just opening the door to the castle when Sirius wandered up. "Hello there."
She didn't even turn around. The half a dozen students with her - Sirius was amazed to see that Snape wasn't one of them, for once - did, however. Lestrange looked down at him from his vantage point at the top of the steps. "If you have any sense of blood," he said, "you'll get inside right quick."
"If I have any sense of what--"
"Thank goodness!" Professor Flitwick squeaked, scurrying out of the castle. "I was about to go down to Hogsmeade - Lily Evans sent an owl saying there was an explosion!" He looked at them expectantly. "Are you the first students back?" Sirius opened his mouth, and Flitwick continued, "Nevermind, just make sure that any students going past you gives you their name so you can take them down."
Lestrange looked at the Professor for a moment. Bella looked at him, and he said, "I think, we're going to go to our Common Room." Bella opened the castle doors. "We'd best go count our students," he added, "being Prefects and all."
And with that, the group of them filed into the castle, casually taking their cloaks off as they went.
Sirius stood on the bottom step, fuming for all he was worth. The snow wasn't cold anymore, he couldn't even feel the wind. He was burning, shame and anger warring inside him, and his fingers were clenched so tightly he could feel his fingernails digging into his knuckles. Sirius could feel the blood boiling in his arms, his legs, his chest, all of it, and yet he couldn't do anything.
"Sirius?" Flitwick squeaked. "Will you please take names down at the door?" He was fastening his robe and pulling his wand out.
Sirius gritted his teeth, cheeks burning. One day. But he said, "of course."
~
James yelled again, "PREFECTS!"
Martha pulled the two Hufflepuff sixth years and a Ravenclaw sixth prefect up by the arms, panting and out of breath. "Oh, James," she moaned. "Oh my word." Martha looked at the building, then back at James. "We were in the post office, oh my word--"
"We have to get the kids out of here," James said urgently, feeling a hard knot of panic settle in his chest. "Right the fuck now."
Martha bit her lip, nodding. "You two, round up the Hufflepuffs."
James shook his head. "We can't do this by house - we need too many people on the path." He nodded to Gus as Gus ran up, and then continued. "Look at this snow. We have to make sure that there's someone at every corner to make sure no one gets lost." James mentally added, or worse. "Look at this snow."
Gus said, "I'll sent our sevenths to watch the path. Blue sparks for where to go, red for trouble." James nodded. "You had best," and he blanched, "deal with Zonko's."
James nodded again, grim. He was already thinking about that, though the main concern in the front of his mind was the panic being caused by a hundred scared and running children in the village, not to mention the villagers. "Martha and I will do that. Get the rest of the sixth year prefects to grab kids and send them along straight to the castle." He shielded his eyes from the intense glare of the fire. "Go."
Gus set off at a trot, yelling at kids. There was still people running everywhere, and if they didn't act quickly, more kids might run off and make themselves more vulnerable. James sent a blue flare up from where he was standing, and yelled, "HOGWARTS. Follow the blue sparks, and do it now." He was immensely grateful to see that the majority of the students around him had heard, and, scared and panicky as they were, obeyed. "Gus," he yelled after him, "If you take Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, Martha and I will try and get inside!"
"Just make sure you get back yourself," Gus called back, already marshalling those nearest him.
"Don't worry," James called out, peering after Martha. Damnit, where had Remus and Peter gone? And where the hell was Sirius? "I intend to." Gus was already barking orders at the third and fourth year students mulling around outside the destroyed building. Several of them were crying. James saw several orange scarves in the throng. "Gryffindors!" James yelled louder, "stick together and follow Gus back to school! Now!"
Martha said, "I'm going to see if I can get in from the back," She was holding her wand out, and James nodded, feeling a little sick. Flames had already hit the second story of Zonko's, and though the wood wasn't necessarily burning, the heat was unbearable even outside.
Sally and George, the Gryffindor fifth year prefects, came running up. "We have a message from Lily," they said, "she went to the post office to send word to the school."
James sighed in relief. No matter how capable she was, he was still incredibly grateful that Lily wasn't anywhere near. He squinted, then said to the two of them, "go see if any students are left in the pub, then head straight for Gus with whoever you find." They, too, obeyed.
Gus was already shooting blue sparks into the air, bright enough so that students could see their way through the snow and to the path. James could see a little trail of them, off in the distance, though they were fading fast. He waved at Gus, yelling, "Keep shooting them up, they're not lasting in the snow."
Gus was counting heads on the next block, and James saw that the fifth year prefects were already making sure that their kids stuck to the path, cloaks wrapped tightly around themselves to ward off the biting wind. Maybe the wind was another part of the curse? James pulled his wand out, sends another volley of blue sparks up to mark his position as the initial bout were already nearly gone in the thickening snow.
"James! Finally!!" Remus slid up, wand out and cheeks bright pink. He looked around, alert, then stared at Zonko's. "Do they, how many kids were inside?"
James swallowed. "I don't know. Sirius and I were right outside, when." He shook his head.
Remus looked at him sharply. "Where's Sirius now?"
James felt his chest tighten a little bit, but he didn't say anything. The truth was he had no idea. Instead, he told Remus, "Go and find Martha - she's trying to get in through the back entrance. If we act quickly enough, maybe we can get whoever is inside out before the building collapses."
James was incredibly grateful to see that Remus didn't question or hesitate, just ran around the back of the building and disappeared from view. James took another moment to think. Martha and Remus would do their damndest to get inside before the building burnt down; Gus could handle the third and fourth years. James turned to the kids still standing outside. "What the hell is wrong with you? Go back to the school." A few of them looked alarmed. James pointed to the next building. "That might be next." He jerked his arm. "Or that."
Theresa Adams, a sixth year from Gryffindor, spoke up. "We're capable enough to help here, James."
He looked at her. "Fine, gather up some more sixth years and find Remus and Martha." He stared at the crowd. "The rest of you, get out of here. Stick together, and make sure Gus counts you on the way past."
Theresa nodded, and a few students separated themselves, making their way to the building - but it was no good. The wood was too hot, glowing embers, even though it wasn't actually burning up. The spell reminded him of something. It obviously wasn't an ordinary fire.
Martha ran up to him. "We can't get in," she said flatly. "But the owner said that most of the kids ran outside when it happened, that there were maybe a dozen still inside?" She swallowed. "So if we can't, do anything. Then."
James' lips were very thin. "Send someone to find Sirius."
"I just saw him, you won't catch him. He tore off," came a voice from behind him. James nearly jumped out of his skin, and whipped around to see that Peter was standing beside him. Peter added, "I think. He might have gone looking for his cousin and that lot."
"How did--"
Peter said, low, "he had the Map on him. It said they were up at the school."
James frowned, thinking very hard. Obviously he wasn't the only one that was wary this afternoon; still, even with their best efforts, a dozen students might die. He thought rapidly. Wood wasn't alive in the same way animal flesh was alive. Their students, however, were. He suddenly had a splash of ice down his spine, chills running from neck to toes, as he put together what Sirius had obviously already figured out.
"Martha," he asked, strained, "have you seen a single Slytherin student in the last half-hour?"
~
Lily raced along. She knew that getting word to the school was the most important thing, but the terror in her stomach was still there. The school knew, someone would come and help them. Someone would come and help James.
Of course he was inside the shop, she just knew it. He and Sirius always went there first, and she'd heard them talking about shopping for Remus' birthday.
Running along the icy road, Lily prayed with all her might. Her family, Muggles that grew up Anglican only in the faintest sense, had never been much for religious ceremony. It didn't matter; at this point, Lily would become a nun if it would mean that the day didn't get any worse. If James was just all right, if they could just get the students back to the school.
She skidded to a halt in front of the store, nearly knocking someone over. The snow was so thick that she hardly saw who it was until she was scant feet away, and then--
"James," Lily croaked.
He was standing outside the wrecked and smouldering building, a crying Martha beside him and Peter shielding his face from the heat, she nearly fainted. James looked up, and nodded to her. She pressed one shaking hand to her chest. Not inside. Not inside. Not inside. Not--
"Are you all right, Lily?" Martha said, wiping her eyes.
"I." She kept the hand pressed to her chest. "I."
James said, "Gus is head-counting, taking names of all the students returning to school. His prefects are making sure everyone gets back to the castle safely." Lily nodded, breathing shallow. "Remus went to try and get inside, but it doesn't look likely. Sirius is," and he paused. "No one's seen hide or hair of any Slytherin student in ages."
She processed all that he'd said slowly. The students were all right; even if she couldn't take care of the Gryffindors personally, she trusted Gus. Their friends were all right; James would be more upset if Sirius were in the kind of trouble that he didn't bring on himself, or that James thought he couldn't handle. There was a horrible tension in the air, as the snow melted around them in the presence of so much heat. And there were no Slytherin students to be seen.
A kind of horrible anger slowly replaced her fear. "No Slytherins?" James nodded. His face was blotchy, pink and white, flushed from the heat and pinched from the cold. "No Slytherins."
James answered quietly, "I'm sure Sirius will figure out where they went."
It dawned on Lily. That was why James looked tense, even if Sirius was apparently out of harm's way. She said, "Is it wise to let him?"
"I have to figure out how to stop this," James said. Lily dropped the subject, instantly accepting that the chaos in front of them was more important than where Sirius was - however dire the question was of what Sirius might do. "I think I know what to do," James aded, "but." He pulled his wand out. "I guess we have no other options."
Something in Lily's mind was quietly screaming, but she pushed it down, supressing the panic. It was momentary, the paralyzing fear, and then it was gone. She noticed that Peter, however, was standing behind James, a horrified expression on his face, not moving. He didn't seem to be able to supress his fear as easily.
She said to James, "can I help?"
"Just be ready with one fucking enormous counter-curse," he mumbled, starting to walk rapidly around the building. The back of the shop seemed a little less dangerous than the front; perhaps that's where they'd set off the fire from. "Martha," he said, "make sure everyone is standing back."
They turned the corner, and saw Theresa, tears streaming down her cheek, ringed with five other sixth years. "Everyone, they all look alive." She added, "We, we can see in the windows still," she said, and gulped. James nodded grimly. Lily wasn't sure what he was thinking; only that it was desperate.
James said, "move away." He pointed his wand at the door, mentally cycling through his options. A normal dousing charm wouldn't work; Martha tried that. They'd gone through all the magic they knew already, and nothing had worked. He finally said, "non incendatur," quietly.
The door seemed to stop glowing quite as brightly.
James looked at Lily. "You have to want the fire to stop burning," he said. "You're not making it. You're willing it to stop burning itself." Lily looked at him blankly. "It's as if the building wants to burn." Lily nodded slowly. "On the count of three, then," James said, and then, "three."
"non incendatur," and then there was a horrible groaning sound,
and James felt every single nerve cell in his body start to scorch. This was
why no one could counter Agrippina's curses, he realized. If you tried then
the will turned on you.