"Thank you for your help, Professor! Without you, I definitely wouldn't have gotten the hang of such spells," I sincerely thanked Flitwick, realizing that the Christmas holidays were coming to an end, which meant the extra classes with the no longer young half-goblin had come to a close.
"Nonsense, Mr. Lupin. To be honest, I enjoyed our classes myself... It turns out that even among the main gang of hooligans in all of Hogwarts, there are students interested in their studies," the teacher easily brushed me off, seemingly still not having forgotten that little joke Lupin and the guys pulled back in their first year, before the older Gryffindors explained to us that laughing at the height of a half-goblin was a fatal mistake...
Well, now at least I understand why the professor was dissatisfied with my presence at his extra classes from the very beginning... Obviously, he was afraid that even without the Marauders I would manage to pull off some stunt, interfering with the studies of my senior comrades who are taking their Ministry exams this year. And even though nothing of the sort happened, and I really practiced charms in the miniature professor's class, but...
"I need to take my own reputation among the teachers into account in the future, or even better, level it out somehow. Because, as practice has shown, independent study of spells is far from always the most effective of the available ways to improve one's own skills in magic," I reasoned to myself, promising to think properly about this problem in the future.
But for now, I was facing my last day in the quiet and half-empty castle, where the only unpleasant things to remember were the drafts and the angry face of Severus Snape.
"I didn't think the company of Gryffindors weighed on me so much... So much so that I frankly don't want this idyll of a half-empty castle to end," I smiled ironically, somewhere deep inside truly not wanting Sirius, James, and Peter to return so soon.
I didn't even enjoy the Christmas presents they sent me. It was too hard for me to stay on the same wavelength with a group of restless teenagers. And among the Marauders, even Peter can hardly be called a calm guy. Even if he remains in the background, he loves all sorts of jokes, pranks, and adventures no less than the rest of my buddies.
Which in the moment was quite tolerable and even fun, but as soon as the guys disappeared from the horizon for a while, I felt that it was much easier for me to live without them. Measured training and quiet study of magic, from which you are not distracted by a group of teenagers who have once again plotted something, were quite to my taste.
Which is why I, like almost any schoolboy, met the end of the holidays with some regret and sadness... However, I still managed to miss my group in the end, which made the return of three-quarters of the Marauders to Hogwarts not seem like a definitely negative event to me. I still needed some minimum of communication with someone who isn't a Hogwarts professor anyway.
Besides, Sirius and James brought back a really lot of fresh news from the holidays... So much that at first I didn't even fully understand what exactly they were talking about.
"Rumor has it, the Travers are also involved in all this. And the Notts most likely didn't stand aside!" James reasoned enthusiastically, catching quick nods from Sirius in response.
"The Notts have been on his side for a long time, don't even doubt it. And my old folks have been hobnobbing with the Lord for a long time now. He's even visited us a couple of times," the eldest heir of the House of Black drawled his words with dissatisfaction and anger.
"What are you guys talking about? Did something already manage to happen out there while I was exchanging greeting curses with Snape here?" finally tearing myself away from the potions textbook, I carefully examined the pair of brunettes, making them stretch their faces in sincere surprise almost synchronously.
"Moony, buddy, don't you read the newspapers at all?!" James pounced on me, forcing me to admit the obvious.
"I don't read them," I shrugged. "I'm not subscribed to the Prophet, and I didn't have time for it, to be honest. McGonagall harnessed me to work off the fight with Snape for almost the entire Christmas holidays... They also signed me up for extra classes with Flitwick there, which also ate up a lot of time."
"Ooh, tough luck, buddy," Sirius nodded sympathetically, acknowledging my "great sorrow." "Although I'm still surprised that at least the rumors about the recent attack on Diagon Alley haven't reached you. The whole magical community is talking about nothing else right now!" Black surprised me, making me think really hard for a few moments.
"Some madman decided to declare himself an enemy to the entire magical world?" I asked skeptically, immediately drawing a portrait in my head of who this madman could be. Fortunately, until recently, "Lord Voldemort" didn't even think of hiding. On the contrary, in his election campaign for the post of Minister of Magic, this mage tried to flash in the newspapers and at social events as often as possible.
"Not just some madman! Voldemort himself declared himself the Dark Lord, took the sub-title of Lord of Destinies, and issued an ultimatum to the current authorities... And when Jenkins refused to step down from her post, he immediately attacked Diagon Alley," Sirius broadcasted quite emotionally, literally bouncing on his own bed and grimacing in displeasure at the mention of Eugenia Jenkins—the woman who currently holds the post of Minister of Magic.
"Woooow," I drawled, mentally adding "it has begun!". "What's going on in the outside world anyway while I'm vegetating here in Hogwarts?"
"Believe me, buddy, maybe it's not a bad thing that you stayed in the castle for the holidays. The terrorist attack on Diagon Alley caused quite a stir. There were plenty of dead and injured in this mess, and the Dark Lord's speeches, calling on the magical world to completely abandon Muggle-borns and curtail the rights of half-bloods, only exacerbate the situation," James gently tried to encourage me, apparently somewhat misunderstanding my suddenly darkened face.
"Well yes, maybe so... Although I doubt that half-bloods will become Voldemort's main target," I sighed, recalling that I am actually not a pureblood wizard. My mother was an ordinary woman without a drop of magical talent, which made me the very half-blood whose rights the Dark Lord preaches about abolishing.
True, I myself had somehow already forgotten about my own "blood status" in magical society. Anyway, such trifles are completely overshadowed by my lycanthropy, because of which I am not in a hurry to worry about all the other nuances associated with my origin. Besides, almost every fourth person in the magical world is a half-blood, so such a status is nothing special either.
"That's true too, but it's gotten really restless in Britain right now. It wasn't for nothing that my father advised me to be careful even at Hogwarts," James grumbled gloomily, seemingly not sharing his parent's fears. "The old man says it might get restless at Hogwarts now too. But he's most likely just being paranoid for nothing. No Lord is going to attack the ancient castle while Dumbledore is sitting here!"
"Yeah, exactly, your father is definitely crazy if he thinks Voldemort will be able to pull off a terrorist attack similar to the one in Diagon Alley," Sirius immediately chimed in, being well acquainted with our friend's parents.
"And here you guys might be wrong..." I decided to speak up, having managed to quickly think over the statement of Potter Sr.
"What? Are you seriously thinking that the Dark Lord will have the balls to attack Hogwarts?" Black looked at me incredulously. However, James threw similar glances in my direction, frankly not believing that it was me who said such stupidity.
"No, I'm not talking about that. The Lord himself will indeed hardly dare to take such a step, especially since the children of his supporters also study here... But it really might become restless and even dangerous in Hogwarts very soon," I frowned in displeasure, completely unhappy with my own conclusions.
"Why is that?" Sirius was in no hurry to turn on his brain, which made me even shake my head, continuing to watch out of the corner of my eye as James gradually began to understand something.
"For the same reason the Dark Lord won't attack Hogwarts," Potter brought his eyebrows together at the bridge of his nose, nodding quickly to me, confirming that he had come to the same conclusions and was grateful for the hint. "There are too many students in the school whose parents support Voldemort."
"Oh, I didn't think about that... Do you think they might start riots on the orders of their parents? Or will they start recruiting ordinary students into the ranks of the Death Eaters?" Black puzzled us with questions, seemingly ready right now to go and beat the faces of those smartasses who would dare to do something like that.
"It's unlikely the Dark Lord will order those same slugs to directly brawl in the castle. But recruiting supporters among the senior students... that is quite possible," the only bespectacled guy in our group answered thoughtfully, still frowning heavily.
"You're right, James, but it's unlikely to end with just recruitment. Don't forget, the castle is full of those who really didn't like the actions of this Lord of Destinies... Which means a conflict will start anyway. At first, most likely, among the upper years. But then all this rigmarole will reach us too," I reasoned confidently, having practically no doubt that this is how everything will actually be.
With which the guys were forced to agree very quickly, perfectly understanding how life inside the castle works... It takes only a spark to flare up, and the flame of inter-house enmity will immediately fill every corridor of Hogwarts.
Because no matter how you look at it, a banal calculation showed that most of the children of the Dark Lord's well-known supporters study either in Slytherin or in Ravenclaw... The Gryffs mostly adhere to the strictly opposite camp, and the Hufflepuffs are predominantly the children of those same Ministry workers and various magical guilds who suffered from Voldemort's antics in the first place...
I wouldn't be surprised if in such a scenario tomorrow the entire hospital wing is packed with senior students who decided to arrange a magical brawl somewhere in the remote corridors of the castle. After all, teenagers are hot-tempered people, quite straightforward, who like to act first and think later...
Which is why, in general, after a short discussion, I persuaded the guys to try to stick together for the next few days and not wander around the castle without an unnecessary need. Because I really don't want to become an accidental victim in a battle between senior students... I, of course, will be able to more or less defend myself from a stray spell if necessary, but there is still little pleasure in becoming a participant in someone else's skirmish.
"And I don't care how much Black disagrees with my opinion. He, of course, gets run ragged pretty well at home. And in general, his family has quite a reputation... But even to him it should be obvious that third-years have nothing much to do in a battle of already more or less adult and established wizards," I sighed mentally, realizing from Sirius's speeches that he himself wouldn't mind getting involved in a magical battle of senior students if the opportunity arose.
An overconfident boy, what else can you expect from him?