Not a Monster (Marauder fanfic)

9- The Marauders

When the Marauders finally left the tunnel, they found themselves outside, on the school grounds, not very far away from the school exit.
"We're outside" commented Peter, as he stepped onto the grass.
Sirius rolled his eyes.
"Well observed" he muttered.
"That's one more secret tunnel to add to the list" announced James, pacing his hands on his hips, triumphantly.
"How many is that now?" Quizzed Remus.
"3. The one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy, the one under the hump of the one eyed witch, and this one" James answered.
"Have you got your fathers cloak with you, so we can explore the grounds, now that we're here?" Sirus asked.
James shook his head.
"No, it's back in the dorm. I hadn't thought to bring it to the feast with me".
"Never mind".

Sirius patted Sara's back and smiled.
"Nice find though, Sara. If we ever want to get in and out of the castle, in secret. We've got our own little way. I expect we are going to know the castle, better than Filch soon" he praised.
Sara nodded.
"Yep. And we can use the room, behind the mirror, as a secret hide-out, just for the 5 of us... Once we've stocked it full of furniture, for his Lordship of course".
James frowned as the others giggled.
"I don't act like a Lord" he said defiantly.
"Whatever you say, my Lord" mocked Sara, bowing her head.
"Sirius is just a rich as me, and you don't call him a Lord"
"That's because Sirius doesn't act so entitled and spoiled all the time. And if I'm being honest, I don't think anyone is as rich as you are James"
"...I'm going back inside... It's cold out here"
"Oo. I think I hurt his feelings".
Sirius smiled and followed James back into the tunnel.

"He'll get over it" Sirius muttered, winking at Sara as he passed.
Not wanting to be the last one outside, Peter pushed past Sara, and went in behind Sirius.
Sara rolled her eyes at Peter's cowardice and looked over at Remus, who was staring up at the sky.
"You alright?" She questioned.
Remus lowered his head and nodded.
"Yeah... Just admiring the view".
"It is a beautiful night. Would have been even better with a full moon though, then we could've seen more".
Remus shivered and nodded, though his smile did not quite reach his eyes.
"After you, my Lady" he said, gesturing to the tunnel.
Sara giggled, and entered the tunnel, taking one last look at the sky, before heading into the dark. With Remus on her tail.
Remus frowned at the moon, before sighing deeply, and closing the tunnel exit.

From then on, James never went anywhere without his fathers invisibilty cloak. Just in case theu needed.
Although it was a bit of squeeze, trying to fit them all under a cloak, designed for one person. They managed to find a way of walking, so that the majority of everyone's bodies were covered.Even if their ankles did stick out a bit at the bottom.
As the weeks turned into months, the Marauders gained quite a reputation for themselves.
Even the older students seemed to admire their bravado, and thrill for adventure.
Before coming to Hogwarts, Sara had been afraid of getting into trouble with the teachers.
But this was a fear that she soon overcame, as her and the others were almost always in trouble. Though Sara and Remus, were in detention a lot less than Sirius and James, they were still there a lot.
But these detentions didn't deter the Marauders, from doing as they pleased. In fact, it encouraged them to try harder with their mischief making.

With Sara having so much fun at school, it got to the point, where she would loathe her weekly visits, to see her mother. As that would mean a few hours away, from her friends.
She also hated lying to them about her and her mothers condition.
The group didn't keep secrets from each other. That's what made them so close.
James admitted to them, that his parents spoiled him, and gave him everything that wanted. Which is why he acts the way he does.
And Sirius admitted that his parents were strict pure-bloods, who had pretty much disowned him, when he became a Gryffindor.
Although Sara got on with everyone in the group, she found herself getting closest to Remus. Because, like her, his parents didn't have much money.
And every month, he would leave them all, to go home and visit a sick relative. Which made Sara feel better about her weekly visits to see her mother.

As Sara friendship with the Marauders grew, so did Lily's hatred towards her. Which did make their dorm, a very awkward place at times.
There was an even split in the room, as Sara's best friends were Dorcas and Marlene, and Lily's were Mary and Alice.
Although Sara had no problem with Alice, or Mary, as they were always around Lily, it made it difficult for Sara to hang out with them.
Despite her close friendship with the Gryffindor boys, Sara made sure that she spent enough time with Marlene and Dorcas, so that they didn't start to forget about her.