Down the Rabbit Hole | J. POTTER

22 | pictures or conversations

tw: panic attack

To describe the remaining days of break as chaotic would be an understatement. There were people in and out of the Potter's house at different times of the day. While Val wanted to stay as far away from the people as she could, Sirius and James wanted nothing more than to know exactly what was going on.

It wasn't until New Years Eve that she finally snapped. She left a wide eyed James and Sirius behind as she locked herself away in her room. A short while later, they retrieved her and brought her to the roof where they watched some of the muggle fireworks as midnight approached and the new year was made official.

After some argument from his parents, the Potter's eventually agreed to allow Sirius and James to return to Hogwarts and finish out the term. The trip to King's Cross was rather awkward but thankfully it was short. As soon as they stepped through the wall, the Marauders immediately started looking for their third counterpart.

Remus found the three before they found him and relief washed over him. His father had told him about what had happened in Diagon Alley and while he had been writing with them and they assured him that they were fine, he hadn't believed it till now. Then there was the matter of what happened to Val's parents.

He threw his arms around Sirius's shoulders causing the latter to stumble back slightly. Sirius wrapped his arms around the boy's waist almost immediately. It seemed to register to the both of them that they were in a public setting and they both jumped away from each other.

Sirius straightened out his shirt as he cleared his throat, looking around at those who were watching them. Remus turned to Val and pulled her into a bone crushing hug. She wasn't sure if it was to cover up the fact that he had just tackled Sirius or what but apparently she needed it more than she knew.

"Are you okay?" he asked and she nodded.

"I will be," she answered and they pulled away from each other.

"Hey, where's my hug?" James asked and Remus rolled his eyes. He moved toward the boy and pulled him into a hug. "Now," he stated as they released each other. "While this love fest was thoroughly enjoyable," he informed them, shooting his friends a knowing look, "We have some mischief to cause."

"Huzzah!" Sirius exclaimed in response before the four of them made their way to a compartment.

The ride back consisted of a recanting of what had happened in Diagon Alley (including a wild over exaggeration on Sirius's part), a brief discussion of what happened to Val's parents and then ideas for possible pranks. All in all, the train ride could have been worse.

"I'm going to go to my room," Val informed them as soon as they entered the Gryffindor common room. "To unpack and such. I'll see you guys later." James squeezed her hand and she sent him a smile before they parted ways.

"We have less than six months to reek as much havoc as we can," James explained as they ascended the stairs. "We have been sorely lacking in the prank department this year and that just can't be allowed."

Remus opened the door to the room but stopped before he entered. Sirius walked right into his back, "Oi!" He moved so that he could look over the boy's shoulder and his eyes narrowed, "Well this is just bloody wonderful."

"What is it?" James asked as he tried to look as well but the two boys were too big for him to see through the door. "Would you two move?" he requested before he managed to squeeze past them after a struggle. He stumbled into the room and straightened himself up, "Thank you."

He looked around the room and it took him a moment to realize what the issue was. Standing by his bed, unpacking his things was Peter. James moved to go after him but Sirius quickly grabbed his arm and Remus grabbed the other. "Let's just go to dinner," the former suggested, "We can sort this out later."