// SONG: I'll Be There, The Jackon 5 \\
-//-
31st of January, Saturday, 1976
It was like one of their limbs were missing.
Ever since James and Andrea had returned from the bathroom, Andrea had locked herself in her dorm and not come out since. And it was eating every single Marauder alive.
When James returned, instead of being the murderous one, he had to help Peter and Sirius in holding Remus back before he went off and ripped Avery's head off his body.
Not to say the others didn't want to inflict pain on him. They just didn't want Remus to go to Azkaban for his murder.
But they never got their chance to make Avery suffer. because the next day, McGonagall, with help from Mad-Eye Moody, had Avery expelled on the spot.
James returned to Andrea's door, knocking gently. "I don't know if you've heard but he's been expelled," he spoke through the door, hoping she was listening. He didn't get a response, but he hadn't heard a response from her since they got off of the bathroom floor.
James sighed heavily and leaned his forehead against the door. "I know it doesn't fix anything or change what happened, but at least you'll never have to see his stupid face again," he spoke gently yet clearly.
No response. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, resisting the urge to knock his head against the door repeatedly. "I have to go to Quidditch practice, but I'll be back after that. Try to eat something in the meantime."
He pulled away and rested his hand against the door, whispering, "I love you," before heading off.
-//-
2nd of February, Monday, 1976
All the boys tried to help in their own way. Sirius magicked records onto her record player through the door to try and lift her spirits with the music Sirius never let her play when they were all sat together.
But he never heard her sing to Bob Marley or get up and dance to Jackson 5.
As a last hail Mary, he transported one of his Bowie records through the door, but still, she didn't scream bloody murder or curse him to the depths of hell.
Which broke Sirius more than he'd ever admit.
Remus tried to open her up to their shared love of DADA, CoMC and chocolate. He'd read the required reading to her, sliding bits of chocolate under the doorjamb every once in a while.
But he struck out as well. Not once did Andrea respond, correcting Remus when he purposefully said the wrong thing. Not once did he hear her cheer for him as she usually did when he managed to read the hard words. No sign of life.
Not knowing what to do, Peter tried to make it better with food. It was the one thing that always made him feel better and on previous occasions, it usually helped Andrea too.
But not this time.
He'd leave snacks, full dinners, sweets, desserts, anything and everything. But every time he returned, the food was still left there, untouched.
The girls down the hall had started questioning the meals left outside her door, but Peter quickly lied that she was still throwing up.
McGonagall had been quick to help them all out and made the excuse that Andrea was sick and very contagious, which was why she was quarantined to her dorm, no one was allowed to visit her.
And even though no one was questioning it at the time, the mood of the Marauders had changed forever.
-//-
3rd of February, Tuesday, 1976
On the fourth day of not hearing anything from Andrea, James was going off the walls. Sirius had to stop him multiple times from storming up there and busting her door down.
But that wouldn't fix anything. That would only help his own peace of mind and that wouldn't be fair.
So, James did the only thing he thought would help, the only thing he could do to help her. He wrote to her mother.
Sparing the gruesome details, James kept it short yet urgent. He didn't know if Dumbledore had already written the Russo's but now he could try to calm down, knowing Aisha and Marco were going to do something to help. She might hate him for it, for bringing her parents into this, but he knew in the long run, this was what was going to help her the best.
And they did.
The next morning, as James got ready for class, Marco knocked on their dorm door. Clearing his throat, James joined him out in the hallway, the short Italian looking much scarier than on a regular day.
"Mister Russo, I'm sorry I didn't tell you before I figured the teachers had already contacted you, but I just didn't know what to do to help her and I know it was late but I -"
James stopped his rambling as Marco ignored him and pulled him into a tight, caring hug. "I don't know what's going on, but I know my daughter is very lucky to have friends who care as much about her as you and those boys do," he said, still hugging him tightly.
Slowly, James raised his hands, hugging the man who had been like a second father to him his entire childhood with as much emotion as he had ever hugged anyone other than his mother.
"I couldn't help her," he croaked out, feeling tears threaten to appear. Marco patted him gently on the back. "Not all things can be fixed overnight, figlio. But hopefully, together as a team, we can help her in any way possible." Marco pulled away and quickly brushed away the tears that had fallen from James' eyes.
"Aisha's waiting downstairs. You ready to take us to our daughter?" James sniffled and dried his face before nodding and leading the way down to the Common Room.
"And never call me Mister Russo again," Marco chuckled behind James. James smiled to himself; thankful Marco couldn't see his face.
He was going to change his mind on that very quickly when he realized James was dating his daughter.
-//-
"Cocca?"
Andrea pulled her head up from under her pillow. Had she imagined that?
"Sweetheart, it's mum. Can you open the door please?" Andrea pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, biting hard on her lip. Her parents were her.
It wasn't a Quidditch day or anything special, and yet, her parents were here.
It must've been one of the boys. She made it very clear to McGonagall not to write them and instead let Andrea tell them properly when she saw them at Easter.
But she hadn't given the boys the same instructions, and now her parents were here. Andrea squared her shoulders and hardened her features. She didn't want the first time her parents saw her since Christmas to be tear-stained and broken.
"Cocca, knock three times if you're still alive in there!" her dad called loudly through the door. Andrea rolled her eyes for what felt like the first time in months.
She pulled the collar of her hoodie closer to her, ever so slowly opening the door.
But as soon as she lay on her mother, her composure fell. "Mama?" she whimpered, her voice thick with the tears that were gathering in her eyes.
Aisha's own eyes turned glassy as she embraced her daughter. "Oh, Cocca," Marco sighed, his voice full of emotion too as he hugged around both of them.
Letting her tears fall into her mother's vibrant pink blazer, Andrea looked up between her parent's shoulders, noticing someone lingering at the end of the corridor.
Pulling her lips into a small smile, Andrea shot James a thankful look, mouthing a 'thank you'. James nodded in return with his own forced smile, subtly wiping the tears from his face.
This was just the first step to getting back on track.
-//-
2nd of March, Tuesday, 1976
James never noticed how much he would touch Andrea during a school day until he had to actively restrain himself from having a stolen touch every so often because Andrea would tense up every time a hand even hovered close to her.
That made him even angrier. That Avery was the one who had done something wrong, yet she was the one suffering for it.
The change in the Marauders didn't go unnoticed by anyone. Everyone was whispering about why they weren't pulling pranks or talking back in class with their usual chilled out demeanour.
There was quickly a rumour going that they were planning a big prank, just laying low until they jumped out and hit everyone with their ultimate joke. But there was no joke. No big prank in the works. Just five friends, trying to get each other through the day. After the visit from the Russo's Andrea had finally returned to society, attending classes and even returning to Quidditch practice.
There was another rumour Andrea was sure Sirius had started to lift her spirits, about her being pregnant and Remus being the father.
This explained why all the guys followed her like guard dogs, never leaving her side longer than a bathroom break, and why Remus had a constant scowl on his face and looked like he wanted to kill every person who came too close to her.
Some bought this rumour and thrived off of the gossip. While others saw it for what it was. A bullshit distraction.
"Something's wrong," Lily whispered to the girls as they sat in the library. It was currently week four of the Marauders own living hell and the school was not the same.
Marlene didn't even look up from her paper. "What? You found a fault in the book again?" she snorted back.
Lucretia, who had looked up, saw the worried expression on Lily's face so she swiftly went to kick Marlene under the table, only to hit Mary instead.
"Oy!" Mary exclaimed, elbowing Dorcas who she thought had kicked her. Dorcas' head shot up with a warning look, raising her wand at Mary. "Watch it, fifth-year," she grumbled, annoyed she got distracted from her studies.
Today was one of the rare days where Dorcas held her attention on her homework for more than thirty seconds.
But she had overcorrected, quickly getting stuck in her book for nearly five hours without a word. It was always one way or the other with her. Never anything in between.
At least now everyone was alert and paying attention. Lucretia turned to Lily. "What do you mean 'something's wrong?" she asked her. Lily looked around as if she was about to tell a secret. "The Marauder's," she whispered, using their nickname.
Understanding dawned on all the girls and they all thought back to things they had noticed the last few weeks. "Yeah. They've been extra quiet lately," Lucretia thought it over.
"I mean, we all know Andrea isn't pregnant with Remus' baby, so there's got to be something else," she said, sharing a knowing look with Dorcas. They were the only two out of all their friends who knew Andrea and James were together, and therefore knew how stupid the idea of Andrea and Remus was.
Dorcas looked down in worry. She was Andrea's best friend out of the girls, and she had quickly noticed the change in her friend. She just didn't know why.
"I think it's more than that though. I think it's about Andrea and the boys are somehow involved. You notice how you haven't seen her on her own once this last month?" Everyone nodded to Mary's statement.
It was true. That first night after the incident, James told everyone how she was not to be alone at any given time in hallways or in between class and meals. It was always either all of them or at least one. Waiting for her in the Common Room, meeting her outside a class they didn't share, waiting outside the bathroom for her. They had become full-on bodyguards. To protect her, sure. But also, for their own peace of mind.
Andrea appreciated their concern, but they were getting on her nerves. She didn't want to be broken. She didn't want her friends to act as if she had a 'handle with care' sign taped to her.
"And, I mean the difference in personality has been shocking to us all," Lily commented. They all nodded again. Gone was the cheerfulness, the carefree constant flirting, the smiles as if they were on top of the world. The only time any of the boys joked around or smiled was with Andrea. And the only reason they put in an effort with her was that they wanted to cheer her up and make her feel as normal as possible.
After her parents had left, Andrea had finally taken a shower, giving James permission to tell the boys what happened as they gathered in her dorm after three days apart.
Simply put, Sirius smashed a mirror and James splintered a bedpost, finally letting out the anger he too felt after hearing it from Andrea and Remus had scared Peter so much, he had changed into Wormtail.
Now they were all pouty, growling messes whose favourite pretence had become glaring at two specific Slytherins, who hadn't been expelled in the aftermath.
"We could maybe ask her. I mean, we are her friends too," Lily finally suggested. She knew Andrea was closer to the boys, and that out of the girls, it was Dorcas, Mary or Lucretia she spoke to the most. But still, she cared for her, and she could tell she was hurting.
"Psst." Lily looked up to see Mary looking at something behind her. Lily turned in her seat and smiled when she saw her fellow prefect about to pass them. "Hey, Remus," she greeted. A little startled, he looked up from the book he had been reading while walking. "Hey guys, what's -"
"What's going on with Andrea?"
"- up..." he finished, eyes wide and face a little paler as he heard Marlene's question. "Subtle, Marls. Real smooth," Dorcas muttered, glaring at her girlfriend.
Remus closed his book, rubbed his arm, crossed his arms across his chest, uncrossed them, and then rested them awkwardly on his hips. "What do - uh - what do you me -um mean, Marlene? Nothing's wrong." His voice was just about a pitch too high to be casual.
Dorcas turned and narrowed her eyes at him instead. "OK, that was even less smooth. Is there actually something going on?" Remus turned paler. He was not a good liar. Why had they chosen him for these questions he couldn't answer.
The biggest secret he'd ever kept was being a werewolf and all his closest friends had found out about that one immediately.
"I - um. Well, you see... um... pass?" Lily took pity on the poor guy. "Guys just leave it. It's none of our business. And if it is about Andie, Remus couldn't tell us anything without being a bad friend so let's leave it shall we?" The others grumbled back in agreement and Remus let out a sigh of relief. Thank Merlin.
He started to leave when a thought struck him. He turned back to the girls and leaned on the edge of their table.
"But... you guys are girls."
"Well done," Marlene said sarcastically, and Remus shot her his own sarcastic smile in return. "I just meant; you guys could probably help her with some stuff that she's not comfortable talking to us guys about. I think she's in the Common Room with James if you wanna join... Maybe she chooses to share, maybe not. But at least now she knows that's an option."
Dorcas was the first one to quickly start packing her things, the others following suit. Marlene was just placing her last book in her bag when the doors to the library burst open, startling everyone as a frantic looking James Potter stormed in.
"SHHH!" the librarian said aggressively. He turned to her with a glare. "YOU SHUSH! This is an emergency!"
Lily looked like she had been slapped, a heart attack fully forming in her chest. He just snapped at a teacher. The librarian when she told him to be quiet. She hoped when she told their Head of House, she would leave her out of it.
"Moony! Please tell me you know where Andrea is."
-//-
A/N
Andrea's missing and I can't handle it. Help!!!
Hope you've enjoyed the last couple of chapters. SHow of love, support or critic is greatly appreciated through votes or comments <3 Just hit that little star, letting me know you're enjoying yourself. Xx
– ACE
♥