Never Cursed

𝔉𝔩𝔞𝔰𝔥𝔟𝔞𝔠𝔨

Hogwarts

June 1976

"Attention everyone!" Dumbledore's voice crashed against the walls of the Great Hall. The whispers died away bit by bit until each student was aware of their waiting director. "I have a special announcement for you tonight, that I'm sure will please the majority." The mage paused for a second, managing his effect. "It recently came to my attention that some of you were – rather tired of our Scottish castle," Dumbledore declared, his blue eyes scanning the faces looking at him as background laughter broke out from the tables. "In this regard, I have entered into negotiations with foreign schools to enable the sixth and seventh years, only, to leave—"

Murmuring rose from the crowd of excited students, cutting him off. The director waited patiently, a shadow of a smile on his thin lips. When he felt the quiet fall again, he resumed calmly.

"The Merlin Exchange Program, or the MEP, as you may also refer to, is, of course, optional. You will receive from your Head of House at the end of dinner, a flyer to inform you further on the modalities to follow. Following the system of the Sorting Ceremony, each houses have been twinned with a foreign school. After deliberations, it had been decided that Gryffindor would be twinned with Nevermore Academy, United States; Hufflepuff with Castelobruxo, Brazil; Ravenclaw with Nostradamus, France; and as for the Slytherin, with Apophis, Egypt." The man paused again, letting the information sink in. "I'll let you now discuss it with your friends," he finished, clapping his hands to make the loaded plates appear on the tables.

At Dumbledore's speech, James's head turned instinctively towards Sirius, who was already grinning at him. Behind them, at the Slytherin table, Snape's smile as large as the Cheshire cat's. Of course, the little bastard would be selected if he decided to try his chance. Although, sending him to Egypt seemed like a good riddance.

***

"I can't believe our prank is at the origin of this!" Sirius sniggered as they stepped into their dorms. "Writing on this wall was honestly the best decision we ever made!"

"This is brilliant! We must apply!" James exclaimed. He was beaming, eyes lit with excitement. "This is an amazing opportunity, guys. How could we miss it?" He kept going, pacing back and forth from one bed to another, looking at Sirius for support.

"I don't know, Prongs. This is a big deal– leaving Hogwarts for an entire year. What about the exams?" Remus said, sceptical as he read the flyer McGonagall had passed around earlier. The school was said to be one of the most heterogeneous of all. There were vampires, sirens, gorgons, and – werewolves. It would be a first to be around others. But was it such a good idea? "And what about our parents?"

"Come on, Moony! For once, just go with the flow. I'm sure you don't want to spend a year without your best mates, do you? Plus, parents are not supposed to keep their children all their life. We're more at Hogwarts than at home anyway, it's not going to change them too much. See? Everything is okay and settled!"

"Ah, but neither Pads nor Wormtail agreed yet," Remus retorted, staring at the two boys.

"I'm sure applying Moony, sorry to disappoint you."

"Of course, you are. What a stupid question," The blond boy replied, rolling his eyes as a knowing smile bloomed on his lips. Of course, Sirius would do it. He would do anything for James – they would do anything for James.

"So?" James jumped on Remus's bed, towering over his friend, Sirius watching on one side, struggling to keep his laugh.

"Yeah – yeah, of course I'm applying. Do I even have a choice?" The marauder asked, his tone overly dramatic. James laughed heartily, jumping off the bed to face Peter, his gaze pressuring the smaller boy.

"M– Me too!" Peter squeaked. He stood up and looked right into James's eye, a small smile lighting up his pale face.

"This is all settled then! Nevermore is never going to survive the Marauders, I'm telling you!" James said as he raised his fist in victory, dancing around the room.

"Yeah, that's what we thought too," Lily interjected, entering the room. "You know that Nevermore is the only school to be so generic? Like, Apophis is specialised in medicine and Nostradamus in astronomy. I don't even talk about Castelobruxo – their magic weeds are widely known," She explained while sitting down on James's bed.

Mary and Marlene followed, the three of them smiling as brightly as James, maybe more if that was possible. But the boy was staring at the ginger girl, unable to look away as Mary crashed on Sirius's bed, laughing her heart out, incapable of restraining her enthusiasm.

"I heard Americans are quite the catch!"

"Why do you need an American when you have me, Mary darling?" he said, taking her chin between his fingers.

"I obviously need some fresh blood, Sirius darling," she looked at him through her lashes, the corner of her full mouth twitching upward.

"Okay, stop guys! We don't have time for shagging!" James interrupted them abruptly. "We have to form our files! No time to lose in distractions, however pretty they are!" He said playfully as he winked at Lily.

***

Hogwarts

Mid-September 1976

"This is the moment of truth, people," James whispered, eyes on the letter he gripped in his hand. "Today, we shall learn what the future holds for us."

"Okay, that's enough Prongs. Let's open them and put an end to this torture at once."

"James, Sirius. For Merlin's sake, we got it, okay!" Lily glared at them. Everyone could see the tension running through her body as she clasped her shaking hands on her knees.

They had all gathered in the boys' dorm to open the MEP letters they had received this morning; Sirius and Remus on the latter's bed, James on the floor, his back against his trunk, the three girls next to him and Peter on his own bed. They were all staring at one another, waiting for a sign – for someone to go first.

"Right, right," James pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes, exhaling in an attempt to focus. "Now guys, let's open them now."

Quiet fell on the room, only disturbed by the tense breathing and the rustle of the paper being torn apart to reveal the long-attended letter. The silence became even more crushing as they nervously read the content of the message.

After a tensed moment, cheers broke out in the dorm.

"I got in!" Peter was the first to talk, eyes big with astonishment. "I can't believe it, I thought I would be left alone," he stuttered, a tear sliding down his reddened cheek.

"Us too!" Sirius exclaimed, "Okay Buddy?" He asked Remus. "I know you weren't expecting a positive answer, but your reaction is a bit over the top," he went on, putting a reassuring hand on Remus's shoulder. The other boy looked back, smiling broadly. "Ah! Moony, that's the kind of smile I want to see you every day with!" Sirius teased him while his eyes darted to James, who was looking at everyone, glowing with pride and grinning as much as the others.

"Oh Merlin, we're all in!" Mary screamed, jumping to her feet, and grasping Marlene and Lily in a tight embrace, "Nevermore, here we come!"