***I would like Danielle to please be the moderator for this chapter. ***
A/N: All of the characters contained herein are the property of Ms. Rowling
The day after the altercation in Diagon Alley, a very excited Hermione, Ron, and Ginny burst into Harry's room of requirement where he was having his weekly session with Dumbledore and Lupin.
"Harry! You are never going to believe this mate!" said Ron waving a copy of the Daily Prophet around.
"Believe what?" said a slightly annoyed Harry. He had been deep into the occlumency and his friends' sudden entrance had snapped his concentration, leaving him with a slight headache.
"Look at this... They have the whole story of the battle in Diagon Alley, Pettigrew's capture, and how HE betrayed your Mum and Dad. They're calling for Sirius' name to be cleared. They also want the Ministry to award him a posthumous Order of Merlin for his 'many sacrifices in the fight against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named'," said Hermione.
"They also make Fudge look REALLY bad. Apparently someone told them that Fudge knew three years ago that Sirius was innocent and ignored the evidence and you," said Ginny grinning.
"Someone?" said Remus raising an eyebrow. Hermione blushed.
"I might have mentioned it to an aquaintance of mine. She just sort of ran with it," Hermione murmured.
"Professor, do you think this means that Sirus will be cleared?" Harry asked Dumbledore.
"One never knows with Cornelius Fudge Harry. It certainly seems to be a possibility however," Dumbledore said, his blue eyes twinkling.
It was not until two days later, however, that Harry and the members of the Order received the news that they had been waiting for. Cornelius Fudge, under intense public pressure, had resigned. Upon being sworn in, the very first act the new acting Minister of Magic, Amelia Bones, had done was to clear Sirius of all charges and issue a formal apology from the Ministry. Moreover, she awarded him a posthumous Order of Merlin, First Class. Harry privately felt that it was too little, too late, but at least Sirius would be remembered as the man he truly was, and not the criminal he had been perceived as for so long.
The Daily Prophet, of course, had a field day with the story. On the front page, was a large picture of James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter from school. While the article painted a truly wonderful picture of Sirius and the friendship he and James had shared, it also contained interviews with anyone who could claim even a remote connection with Sirius. All of them claimed to have never once doubted Sirius' innocence, much to the annoyance of his real friends, not one of whom would grant the Prophet an interview.
"Oh please! Samantha Edgecomb was never Padfoot's girlfriend. Although, I think he did snog her once or twice in the third floor broom closet," Remus said almost to himself as he scanned the paper. He was frowning, his eyes flashed in anger.
"Remus?" Harry said tentatively. Lupin jumped, he had not realized that Harry was standing there. "Are you... ok?"
Lupin sighed. "I will be. I just need to quit reading this rag. They did not interview one person who really knew him. They did seem to get every single girl in his fan club though."
"Fan club?" Harry asked puzzled.
Remus grinned. "Your dad and Sirius were quite popular in school Harry. There was always horde of giggling girls following them around. Your dad mostly ignored them. He only really ever had eyes for Lily. Sirius, on the other hand, seemed to feel that it was his solemn duty to...err... spend some quality time with each one of them. James and I used to tease him about it. We called them his fan club."
Harry laughed. He could quite easily picture the Sirius he had seen in the pensieve surrounded by his "adoring fans".
"Harry, thank you," said Remus. "I was sitting here getting angry and feeling bitter about, well, a number of things. I needed to be reminded of how Sirius would have felt about it. He and James are probably laughing their arses off about the whole thing, wherever they are."
Mrs. Weasley bustled into the room just then, so Harry was unable to do more than nod and smile in acknowledgement.
The rest of the day passed in a fairly uneventful fashion. Hary had played some chess with Ron and, taking a page from his godfather, had spent some 'quality time' wth Ginny, whom he was rapidly coming to care for more than he had ever thought possible. He and the others retired fairly early that night, as Mrs. Weasley had mentioned cleaning out the attic the next day.
Harry was awoken in the middle of the night by someone shaking him gently.
"Ron! Get off! Are you crazy it's still dark outside," he said groggily.
"Of course, it's the middle of the night. That is the best time to do one's Marauding."
Harry's eyes snapped open. "Remus? What's going on?"
"Help me get Ron up. All will be explained shortly," Remus said. They then woke up a cranky Ron, who, it seemed, was even less excited then Harry about being awoken in the middle of the night.
"I think he's gone mental," Ron whispered to Harry a short while later as the crept quietly down the hallway in Lupin's wake. They stopped in front of the room Sirius had been staying in before his death.
"Remus, what are we doing here? What is going on?" Harry asked again. Remus just smiled mysteriously and ushered them in. A small table had been set up in the middle of the room. Directly on it's center stood a scarred and singed looking wooden case. A bracket of candles on a nearby dresser provided a dim flickering light.
Harry turned to Remus a puzzled frown on his face. "What are we doing Remus? What is all of this?"
"Well," said Lupin, unsure quite how to begin. "As you know, James, Sirius, the rat, and I formed the Marauders back in school. It was our secret founded, in many ways, to protect MY secret. For us, it was about more than just frendship, it was about brotherhood. They were my family. I am the last one left now. I've brought you here now because it is time for you to follow in your father's footsteps Harry, to join the family as it were. It's time for you to receive the heritage James meant for you to have. It is time for you to become a Marauder."
Harry's eyes widened in shock. He wasn't sure what he had expected, but he knew it wasn't this. He saw Ron shift uncomfortably beside him.
"Well that explains what Harry is doing here. What I am doing here though? My dad was never a Marauder," said Ron.
Lupin smiled. "No Ron you're right. Your father was not a Marauder. Sirius was however. This was actually his idea. We had discussed it before he died. He had wanted to do this on Harry's next birthday but... Anyway, I think he saw you and Harry's relationship much like his and James'. Sirius knew that Harry thought of you as a brother, so we both felt it appropriate for you to become a Marauder as well."
Ron blushed his trademark Weasley red and then looked up. "He really thought that? He really thought I was good enough to be a Marauder?"
Lupin nodded. A rather pleased smile spread across Ron's face then and he seemed to stand a little taller.
"Now then," said Lupin walking over to the table and opening the box. "I took this from the ruins of the house in Godric's Hollow. In it are kept the most secret of our treasures. I don't believe that even Lily knew it's contents." That said, Remus removed four golden chalices from the box. One bore the image of a wolf, another a huge dog, another a magnificent stag, and the last a rat. He also removed a scroll of parchment, and a bottle. He then closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and began to mumble an incantation which neither Harry nor Ron could quite discern. It soon became apparent, however, that whatever Remus was doing it took a great deal of magic.
The air around Lupin seemed to wave and shimmer like ripples upon water, he sank to his knees, his face pale, his eyes blazing. As he finished the spell, Harry saw the shimmer on either side of Lupin begin to coalesce. Two distinct outlines began to form. Harry's eyes widened in shock.
"Bloody hell!" gasped Ron. There on either side of Lupin stood the opalescent forms of James Potter and Sirius Black.
"You actually did it Moony! " Sirius beamed enthusiatically.
"Thank you Moony. You have no idea..." James said hugging his friend.
"A promise is a promise Prongs. Padfoot and I swore we'd do whatever it took to get you here for this. Little did I know I'd have to do it myself and get both of you here."
"Dad? Sirius? Are you... alive?" said Harry pale and trembling.
James turned to his son, smiling sadly. "No Harry. I'm afraid not. In fact, we're not even technically here. Moony just allowed for our spirits to manifest. I don't know how long before this wears off, but I had to be here. I've had to stand by and watch so much of your life unfold and not be able to be there for you. I couldn't miss this too."
Harry's eyes filled with tears. He reached out his hand and before he knew it was wrapped in his father's embrace for the first time that he could remember.
"Prongs, Harry," said Sirius gently. "We don't know how much time we have."
"Right," said James breaking away from his son. "Before we start I have a message from your Mum. She says to tell you how very proud she is of you and how much she loves you. She also wanted me to let you know that she, both of us actually, quite approve of young Miss Weasley. I also have a message for you Ron."
"Me, Mr. Potter?" stuttered Ron awkwardly.
"Yes you," James grinned. "She said to tell you thank you for being Harry's friend and for allowing him to share your family. She also wants you to tell your mum that she could not have picked a better person to fill in for her than Molly. Thank you. "
"Now that that is taken care of," said James. "On to the reason we are here. Mr. Padfoot?"
"Ahem," Sirius began. "The oath of a Marauder is a sacred thing. It is bond of brotherhood, loyalty, and trust. If you take the vow your are bound to it. If you break it, your life is forfeit. Those who remain true will hunt you down, no matter the cost to themselves. Do you agree to take the oath?"
Harry and Ron exchanged a look, both of them remembering just how high a price Sirius had payed to fufill his oath. Nevertheless, both boys nodded determinedly and said, "We do."
James now took over. "Boys, please repeat after me."
I, as a Marauder, pledge my loyalty to these my brothers.
I shall stand by them, fight by them, keep their secrets for them, and, if necessary die for them.
I shall do my best to uphold what is right and stand for the cause that is just.
I shall wreak havoc upon those who oppose us in this endeavor and create mischief wherever I go.
I pledge this as my solemn vow...
I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
James paused between each line to allow Ron and Harry to repeat what he said. When they were done, he nodded to Moony who presented the boys wth a quill.
"Sign here," said Remus unrolling the parchment and showing them where four other signatures had been scrawled long ago. He then took the bottle and uncorked it pouring a little of whatever it contained into three of the four goblets. He then handed Harry the stag goblet and Ron the dog one.
"Each of these chalices were made by me to toast the foundation of the Marauders. Since then, it became our tradition to use them to celebrate any significant event in our lives," said James.
"We toasted the day Prongsie finally wore down Lils and she agreed to go out with him He only had to ask 378 times. We counted," said Sirius confidentially.
"We also toasted the day Padfoot got VERY friendly with Marilyn Podmore in the prefect's bath," said a grinning James.
"And let's not forget our thousandth detention," said Sirius, his eyes twinkling.
"We also celebrated James and Lily's wedding and your birth and christening Harry," added Remus.
"Anyway," said James. "Padfoot and I now pass ours on to you."
"Umm.." said Ron, who had been unusually quiet. "Don't we get nicknames or something I mean... Moony, Padfoot, Prongs... Ron and Harry. It just doesn't sound right."
Sirius laughed his familiar bark-like laugh. "Patience Ron. Our names are based on our animagus forms. We can't give you two names until we know what your forms will be."
"But, we're not animagus Sirius," Harry reminded him.
James and Sirius just exchanghed a look and smiled knowingly.
"What?" said Harry.
"Sorry son, we cannot reveal that. Just trust us. The appropriate name will come to you. Now drink up," said James.
Harry took a cautious sip and felt his throat burn and his eyes water. "What is this stuff?" he said coughing, noticing Ron was doing the same.
"Firewhisky," said Sirius. "Jamsie and I knicked it from your grandad's personal store the summer between our fifth and sixth year. We charmed the bottle so it would never empty."
Harry noticed then that his father and Sirius seemed to be getting fainter. "Dad!" he said, not ready to let go yet.
"I know son. I'm sorry we can't stay, but know we are always with you, watching. When the time comes for you to face Voldemort, we'll be there fighting beside you." He hugged Harry one last time, as did Sirius, tears in all of their eyes. Padfoot and Prongs then faded once more from the mortal realm.
Harry fought back tears. He refused to think of them as gone, they were there. They were watching. Harry felt Ron's hand on his shoulder, offering silent comfort.
"Harry," said Remus. "There is one last thing that we need to do, if you are up to it."
"What is it Moony?" said Harry. Remus looked startled at Harry's use of that name for a moment, and then smiled.
"We, my young Marauders, need to deal with the traitor," Moony said picking up the chalice with the image of the rat and sitting it in the middle of the floor.
"I've put wards around this room so that the Ministry didn't detect the spell I did to get James and Sirius here, so you should be ok to help with this Ron. Reducto on three... ready? One... two... three."
"Reducto," the three Marauders cried simultaneously, as the chalice was blasted into dust.
Somewhere in the bowels of the Ministry, a rat faced little man awoke in his cell screaming, shaking, and feeling as if some vital part of himself had been stripped away in the night.
A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long guys. It's been a busy, busy week. Hope you enjoyed it. Please read and review.