Chapter Text
It was one of those evenings you never forget. At least, that’s how the marauders felt as they relaxed by the Black Lake at dusk. The moon waned in the sky as the long, nearly summer day floated into the evening. Even the air seemed welcoming and buzzed with life. Summer was approaching, with it, vast opportunities despite the darkness infringing on the outskirts of their lives.
James tossed a rock toward the lapping waves and tilted his head. “Not long now, eh?”
“Not really. Well, wait, what are we talking about?” Peter huffed as he pocketed his sweets.
Sirius snorted, and his lips curled. “He’s talking about graduation, dunderhead. Not long, Prongs. Are you and Lily settled on tying the knot?”
James nodded and smiled. “Yeah. Before Fall.”
“Good,” Sirius sighed.
“Life is about to grow complicated,” Remus grumbled as he relaxed against Sirius’s lap. “Plenty will change.”
“Not complicated, Moony. Just life. We got this,” Sirius nodded and patted his chest. “I’ll make sure of it.”
“Your only option isn’t working for a particular organization, Pads,” Remus mumbled.
“That’s not your only option, Moony. We’ll figure it out, alright?” Peter asked as he bowed his head.
James exhaled and frowned over at his three friends. He had options, wealth, and a great future. A lovely witch he worshiped and was in agreement to tie her life to his. Possibilities. Between the other three, well, Sirius was at the better end of the spectrum. Peter next, but no better than maybe a clerk or ministry worker. Remus… James internally winced at the prospect that his friend would suffer in stubborn agony.
A brightness appeared in the sky before he could rally his troops with vigor. He admired it for a moment as maybe a flaring comet or shooting star that would signal fortune, and he could bolster them.
“Look,” James smirked and pointed. “See, Moony, not everything is grim. What’s that muggle thing you always suggest?”
“Oh, a shooting star?” Sirius mused as the light grew.
“That’s rather odd for a shooting star,” A feminine voice declared. “Make a wish then.”
A new occupant sat down next to James and followed his sight. Brilliant fiery hair and green eyes highlighted Lily Evans’ presence. James grinned and leaned into her as their hands joined. It was sweet and tender.
“I wish we didn’t have to leave Hogwarts,” Peter sighed.
“You can’t say it out loud, or it won’t come true,” Lily smiled.
“Shouldn’t it have disappeared?” Sirius asked.
Lily frowned just as Remus sat up. Both were mirrored with suspicion as their eyes traced the light. No, it certainly was an oddity and not a typical falling star.
“That’s not a shooting star…” Remus hissed as the light from it changed colors and brightened.
“What is the state of magic is it?” Lily gasped as her eyes grew. “Is it a meteor?”
Sirius snorted. “It would be our luck that it would hit the forbidden forest.”
“Or Hogsmeade,” Peter groaned.
“Imagine us being the last students to go to Hogsmeade,” Sirius snickered.
The starlight grew, and suddenly, with a silvery trail that burnt normal eyesight, it brightened the proximity as it grew closer. Remus scrambled to his feet and yanked Sirius and Peter to theirs as James pulled Lily from the grass. Wands all appeared, and other students around them hollered in alarm at the growing projectile.
“What if it’s—” James stopped his tongue as he glared at the object.
“No… it’s not. It can’t be,” Lily whispered.
With a roaring announcement, the bright light filled the area before dousing in the Black Lake, sending out a rolling sonic boom that caused Remus to groan and cover his ears. The whispering and crying that followed the sonic boom echoed over the space like an aftershock.
An eerie super sonic layering of voices speaking all at once. Joy, anguish, pain, anger. All different tones whipped around suddenly before finally settling.
“I tried…” bounced through the beach and then silence aside from the lapping of the waves.
“What the f-” Sirius stopped as Remus shoved him and paced toward the sand.
“Moony, you can’t go swimming in the lake for a meteorite,” James complained and followed him.
“That was frightening!” Lily gasped and reached for Remus. “Wait! What if something is going to come from it? What if it was a signal?”
Sirius nodded and pointed to Lily. “She has a point. We best wait for a professor. That meteor, or whatever it was, could be a danger. I’m all for risk but not for a rock.”
“It wasn’t a meteorite. It was a person!” Remus huffed and skipped toward the edge.
“There were voices,” Lily nodded and jumped down to meet Remus at the water’s edge. “Where did they land, Remus?”
It was as if it was answered when there was splashing and shouting a distance out into the water. Shrill cries for help. Remus gasped and launched into the lake, racing toward the point where he had to swim and dove into the water. Sirius slid down to the shore just as James held Lily back from joining Remus.
“Wait! He doesn’t know what he’s even doing!” James shouted with panic in his tone.
“James, we’re Head Boy and Girl!” Lily snapped before throwing off her robes. “We need to help!”
“That thing fell out of the sky!” James argued and shook his head. “You’re not going out there with him.”
“I’ll do it, Prongs. Keep everyone away from the water,” Sirius agreed.
Sirius tossed off his robes and shirt before racing into the lake to catch up to the werewolf. Peter frowned and shook his head as he watched them swim to the splashing in the distance. It was utter chaos, and other students began lining up near them.
Lily directed the students to stay away from the water’s edge, and James sent up a red flare into the air before turning to his friends in the distance. Something was terrifying about a person falling from the sky around Hogwarts. Too many questions. What if it wasn’t a person? What if it was something worse?
“Bloody hell…” James gasped as it appeared as if one of them had transfigured a raft. A body, an actual human body, was slid onto it in the distant waters.
Sirius and Remus were tugging the raft back toward shore. Lily jerked past James and Peter and raced to meet them in the water, causing James to follow behind. Sirius groaned loudly as they reached closer to the edge of the lake.
“She’s starks!” Sirius shouted. “Get her a robe!”
Lily fumbled and hobbled through the waves toward the shore for her abandoned robe, only to return to James in time for their approach. Lily gripped the tiny raft and gasped. It really was a young woman on the raft. Her hair looked singed, and her body was in poor shape, but she was alive. Lily slid the robe around her before assisting the raft to shore.
“Is she conscious? Did she say anything?” James asked.
The stranger coughed and slumped on the wood before falling limp. Lily bent to her and checked her as swiftly as she could. Nothing was familiar about the woman nor the unexplainable concept that she literally fell from the sky.
“She said— my name,” Remus puffed and slumped onto the dirt, bundling his wet sweater to his body.
Sirius huffed and nodded. “She did. She said his name.”
“Lil, we have to get her to the hospital wing,” James stated.
Lily frowned and glanced at the stranger’s tightened fist. She bent and peeled it open to reveal a vial with glowing liquid. “It’s a memory…” she breathed and held it.
“What the hell is this moon girl playing at?” Sirius frowned.
James ducked down next to Lily and examined the vial. “Why would she be holding onto a memory?”
“What did you find? Oh… Albus, what could have happened?”
The group glanced up to see Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore going down to them at the shore. It was appropriate, considering red sparks were only used for emergencies. You would have had to have been blind not to see the light the fallen stranger produced in the sky as well.
“Professor, she fell from the sky and into the Black Lake,” Lily declared as she stood up.
“Potter, bring her up to the Hospital Wing. All of you, come with us,” McGonagall ordered and beckoned them.
James carefully picked up the unconscious girl and bundled her in the robe. Lily held onto the vial, and Remus clamored from the dirt, dusting off his pants. They were following McGonagall, but Professor Dumbledore fell in step with the group.
“She fell from the sky? How amusing,” Dumbledore murmured as he directed his attention to Remus.
Remus exhaled and nodded. “Right into the lake. There was an odd ripple of sound and voices when she landed.”
“Not to mention the sobbing,” Peter winced.
“Sobbing? How odd? Did anyone catch what the voices were saying?” Dumbledore asked.
Each of them shook their heads. It was too distorted to make out much, and it was clear that none recalled anything significant. The rest of the walk to the Hospital Wing was quiet, and it wasn’t until the stranger was tucked into a bed that Professor McGonagall turned to them.
“Do any of you recall anything of significance?” She asked with a deep-set frown.
Poppy was working behind the summoned curtain as the students and professors crowded toward the wing’s center. Sirius and Remus glanced at each other before turning to the professors.
“She said my name, but I’m certain we’ve never met,” Remus confessed.
“She didn’t just say your name. She cried when she saw you while struggling to swim,” Sirius added.
Lily exhaled and offered the vial. “She was holding this when they brought her to shore.”
“Minerva. Have a look,” Poppy murmured from behind the curtain.
Professor McGonagall skirted behind the screen as Professor Dumbledore collected the memory. “This is growing rather curious, isn’t it?” He smiled at Lily.
“Merlin… how can this be? This is horrible…” Professor McGonagall gasped.
James frowned and thinned his lips as he adjusted his glasses. “Professor, is she a… you know?”
“A Death Eater? No. If she was, she certainly isn’t a good one now, is she?” Dumbledore chuckled and waved the vial. “I do wonder what was so important.”
Peter grimaced and shuffled his feet. “How can she survive what she did?”
“We certainly plan to find out. How about all of you head back to your dormitories and come visit her tomorrow?” McGonagall declared as she came around the screen.
“What about the memory?” Lily frowned.
“We’ll review it in my office. In fact, I plan to keep it safe there until we have the information to contact the ministry,” Dumbledore nodded. “Have a good evening, all of you.”
James and Lily nodded, escorting the others from the wing. It was down the hallway that Sirius huffed and stopped the group. “Listen, we need to talk,” he hissed.
Remus winced and agreed. “We weren’t completely truthful.”
“How so? Remus, why not?” Lily glared as she crossed her arms.
“Because this is important. That witch called Remus by his marauder name. We’ve never met her before, and she definitely doesn’t go to school with us,” Sirius scrunched his nose.
“Are you sure? What else did she say?” James asked.
Sirius exhaled and gestured to the werewolf. Remus untucked his damp sweater and pulled out a wand and a small bag. “She was holding onto this while trying to swim. I know it likely would have been important to turn in… but…” he trailed off.
“But if she knows you, then she knows us, and you’re worried?” James inquired.
“We really need to turn these items into Professor Dumbledore,” Lily groaned.
“Evans, it can’t be a coincidence that she landed in the very lake we were sitting around only a handful of days before the end of school,” Sirius grumbled and waved his hand.
“Did she say anything else?” Lily glared.
Remus nodded and gazed at Sirius. “She said his name. With relief. Like we said, she knows us.”
“Let’s get back to the common room and go through the bag. We’ll say we found her wand later if it comes to it,” James replied.
“James, we can’t just go against what Professor Dumbledore wants. We have to turn this in,” Lily huffed.
“Then we will, tomorrow. I want to know why she fell from the sky and knows us,” Sirius mumbled and leaned against the wall.
Peter twitched his nose. “It’s not normal, that’s for sure.”
“Come on, we’ll go through it and decide how we question her tomorrow,” James declared.
Lily groaned and followed the four marauders down the hallway. It appeared that this stranger gave them more questions than answers. Hopefully, they could get some answers to keep the four young wizards at bay. Lily was already annoyed that they found a new mystery to rummage through before school’s end.
Remus scowled as he stared at the stacks of shrunken books, the tent, potions, and supplies. It was clear this witch was methodical. The spare clothing was odd, but the house scarf was telling; Gryffindor. Nothing was in the bag that genuinely gave the stranger an identity.
“This book collection is absolutely shocking,” Lily whispered as she organized the several stacks. “Most of this is on my wishlist.”
Remus nodded. “Not just a casual reader.”
“I thought Remus’s trunk was boring…” James grumbled.
“I don’t understand. I’ve never seen her face at Hogwarts, let alone in our common room. She can’t be much older than us,” Lily scowled.
James adjusted his glasses and frowned at Sirius. Sirius, in turn, tilted his head from side to side before glancing at Remus. The silent conversation continued the wild theories that the imagination can ignite. Peter frowned and shook his head.
“Impossible,” Peter huffed.
“Not entirely. I mean, the flaming entrance isn’t normal,” Sirius chuckled.
“What are you four debating?” Lily asked.
James waved his fingers and sighed. “Time travel, Merlin, oh, and materialization.”
Lily groaned and glanced over at Remus. “Do you support this chaotic theorizing?”
Remus plucked a book off the table and increased its size. He hummed and opened it to read the title page. A picture fell from the folds and to the table. Sirius picked it up and whistled.
“What a mess of hair,” Sirius chuckled and revealed the picture.
The photograph showed a young girl surrounded by red-headed boys and a little red-headed girl. The young girl had dark wild curly hair and probably was in her third or fourth year at Hogwarts. Each of the children in the photograph was in Gryffindor scarves and in the common room.
“This is an older photograph,” Remus mused as he took it from Sirius. He turned it around and saw the list of names. Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. The writing was loopy and concise. No year or even last names. It was a personal photograph.
Lily frowned and carefully turned the photograph around in Remus’s fingers. It was definitely done by a wizarding camera, and the people in the picture were close, including their stranger with them.
“A family?” Lily asked.
“Not her. The boys seem less close with her than with the red-headed girl,” James hummed.
“What if there are other pictures in the books?” Peter asked.
“Good show, mate. Let’s check the books,” James agreed.
The group carefully flipped open the small books, but there weren’t any other pictures. However, there was a theme. In specific texts, there were small notes on parchment. Things like ‘Page 145 has a theory to revisit.’ It was fascinating and odd.
“A bit of a brain on this one, eh?” Sirius hummed with a scrunched nose.
Lily smiled and sighed. “She sounds quite intelligent.”
“I’m saying this now. I think we should go see this memory,” Sirius declared.
Lily covered her ears. “I’m not hearing this. I won’t even acknowledge what you’re suggesting, Sirius!”
“Maybe we should go see if she’s awake first?” Remus suggested.
“It’s past curfew. We can see her tomorrow. For now, I have patrols to do. Please behave? I don’t want to explain to Professor McGonagall why you were out of bed after hours… again…” Lily sighed and marched up to the girls’ dormitory.
James tilted his head and smiled. “I have patrols, but if any of you get cold, you can borrow my cloak. Just tell me about it later, alright?”
Sirius saluted and gathered the items, putting them back in the beaded bag. “Sounds like we might get a bit chilly, eh, Moony?”
Remus nodded and flicked his wand at his clothing, drying them thoroughly. “I must have caught a chill when swimming in the lake.”
“It’s in the trunk. I’ll be patrolling the astronomy tower wing. You know where to find me in an emergency,” James declared.
Lily reappeared with a new robe and sighed as she stared at the marauders. “Please, Sirius, I’m asking nicely… Behave? We can’t afford to lose any more house points. Hufflepuff is on our tail, and we only have a handful of days left.”
“Of course, Evans. Cross my heart,” Sirius grinned.
Remus coughed and shivered. “I think we should settle by the fire. I caught a chill.”
Lily eyed them as she approached James. “Right. That means I won’t see any of you?”
“Right,” Peter agreed.
“You’re going to stay here,” Lily pressed.
“You won’t see hide nor hair of us,” Sirius nodded.
Lily shook her head and turned to James. “Let’s go.”
James grinned and bowed dramatically. “My lady.”
“You’re a lying bogart, Potter. I better not have to clean up a mess later,” Lily sighed, and they left the Gryffindor Common Room.
Peter lingered by the sofa as Sirius and Remus sat near the fireplace. “Who’s going?” He whispered.
“We are. You need to play damage control if Lily comes back asking for us. Say that we went to bed due to catching a chill,” Sirius murmured.
“You think she’ll come back?” Peter frowned.
“Oh, yeah,” Sirius snorted.
Remus shifted and exhaled. “We could wait. She may not be awake.”
“No, this can’t,” Sirius frowned.
“Why not?” Peter twitched his nose.
Sirius shook his head. “I don’t know, but I’m gonna find out.”
“I’ll get the cloak. Wormtail, why don’t you dig more into the books? Maybe we can find more information if she isn’t awake when we get there,” Remus sighed and stood up.
“Cheer up, Moony. We’re going to get some answers,” Sirius nodded.
“Possibly… or we might have more questions than answers. She fell from the sky, Padfoot.”
Peter and Sirius watched Remus climb the staircase and then glanced at each other. Peter exhaled and nodded as his blond hair shifted around his eyes. Sirius shrugged and shook his head.
“I know it sounds crazy,” Sirius sighed.
“Yeah, but she fell from the sky and knew your names. That’s all that matters, right?” Peter asked.
“There’s more to the story than what she might tell them; that’s all I’m figuring,” Sirius mused.
“Then you gotta do it, Pads,” Peter agreed.
Sirius nodded and waited. They did have to do it. Coincidences were rare in the world, and this stranger wasn’t a mere accident. They were at that lake for a reason. She knew them for a reason too.