Gwen wanted to kick herself.

     She wanted to go back in time seven years to her very first year at Hogwarts and tell eleven-year-old Gwendolyn that she needed to begin revising and preparing for N.E.W.T.s that very second.

     No matter how much work Gwen had put in to prepare herself for them, the Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests had much more in store than anything she could've imagined. And while she was naturally proficient in most of her subjects and beyond competent in the rest, she still felt rather barren when she faced the actual exams.

     The Great Hall had been set up in the now-familiar manner of an examination room, ready to house the seventh-years as they ground their last wits together to determine their future. After all, it was the N.E.W.T.s that formed whether or not Gwen would ever carry on her path to becoming an Auror, and she needed no less than five exemplary marks on exams to do so. No pressure, or anything, of course!

Every N.E.W.T.-level professor was on duty to patrol the Hall during examination, acting a second boundary to resist against any cheating tactics. Gwen thought the anti-cheat quills, anti-cheat desks, and anti-cheat parchments would have been proficient enough, but you can never be too safe, with Hogwarts, she supposed. Even though she was sat next to Lily, and her parchment was just in Gwen's line of view... Still, she managed to keep her eyes on her own exam, and finished each test feeling better about the last one.

     Finally, at the end of a long week—perhaps the longest of Gwen's life, one that felt as though it would never end—the examinations were through, and the seventh years had the rest of their term to themselves whilst their younger predecessors had to finish up their own exams.

"We've got the whole castle to ourselves," sighed Sirius, as he kicked his feet up onto an emerald green couch arm and leaned back into his plush seat. "Feels nice, don't you think?"

     A nearby portrait of a knight in black armor hung on the dingy walls spoke up almost immediately, sounding quite peeved: "I do say, young man, take your feet off of my lounge at once! What appalling manners, these days, I dare—"

Sirius made a show of whirling his feet back down to the ground, glaring in the direction of the portrait. He had asked at least four times why the group had settled on the Slytherin common room, of all places, to reconvene, and Gwen could sense another inquisition arising on the tongue of the young Black.

"Ask again, Sirius, and I'll hex you sideways," she said, as he opened his mouth. "We're here because all the Slytherins are still taking their N.E.W.T.s, and Dorcas Meadowes owed Mary a favour. This is the most private place in the castle, at the moment. We've it all to ourselves."

"Muffliato," James added hastily, shooting a glance to portrait—though the knight didn't look like the muffling charm affected him whatsoever, instead focussed greatly on brushing the white stallion he emblazoned. And Gwen couldn't say she was a fan of the merpeople that kept peeking into the looming windows on each wall of the common room...

"So," said Marlene, folding her hands neatly and setting them on the table before them all, "I think we ought to address the Hippogriff in the room."

Nobody spoke up. It was clear this Hippogriff wasn't as widely-known as Marlene had assumed.

She sighed. "Mary and I are official."

The room broke into exclamations of admiration and joy, and Remus, who was on the couch next to Mary, pat her nicely on the shoulder. Her face was a deep crimson, but Marlene looked simply joyous.

"Mad-eye will be thrilled to hear," Peter said, quite sincerely.

"I'm sure of it," James agreed. "Now, to the real reason we're here..."

There were a few glances thrown in the direction of Lily's plush armchair, which she pretended to ignore, instead fidgeting in her lap with her wand. She twirled it around her fingers, mindless.

"Lily," Gwen said, awkwardly, sharing a short glance with James for reassurance. "Erm.. have you... have you had the chance to—?"

"No," Lily said, her voice level, face unreadable as she refused to meet Gwen's eye. "I haven't spoken to Walker about it, if that's what you're asking. Though I hope you lot are happy; I can't look at him the same, either way, Mark or no Mark."

      Nobody said anything for a moment. It had become an unspoken agreement, since the first mention of Walker's possibly being a Death Eater, that nobody was to bring it up around Lily until it was confirmed or denied for final. Gwen hadn't been around to see the relationship grow, and she hadn't seen them together much over the year, but she'd never seen Lily so lovestruck, nor Walker so happy—though, the harder she thought about it, the more Gwen could recall a sheen over his smiles, hear an uncertainty in his laughter as though he didn't think it was real.

That, at least, Gwen could understand. She wasn't sure whether her own joy was true, either.

     "Lils," said Mary, soothingly, reaching out to touch her on the arm. "I know this is awful. I wish there was anything I—or any of us—could do—" she cast a glance around the rest of the group, and they all nodded along "—but you know there's only a... slim chance it's not true. I'm so sorry, love—"

     Lily had shut up entirely and was not meeting Mary's comforting gaze, nor was she looking at any of the rest of them. Her captivating green eyes were transfixed on the cold stone ground of the Slytherin common room. She had said what she needed to say, and that was all they would get out of her.

     "Alright," said Sirius, quite awkwardly, shifting in his seat. He cleared his throat. "Anyone got anything to give Mad-eye at the next meeting?"

     The response was a loaded pause, in which each of them made eye contact with another, waiting for somebody else to speak up. Gwen thought the whole ordeal reminded her of a family dinner at her mum's.

     "This is ridiculous," Peter decided. "We've only just finished our N.E.W.T.s. Shouldn't we be out there with the rest of the seventh-years, celebrating? What are we doing here?"

     "A brilliant point by Wormtail," Remus concurred. He was draped lousily in his own armchair, looking as though his gangly limbs were a bit too long for any of the Slytherin's measurements. His legs hung off one side of the chair, his head hanging limply off the other. "I vote we culminate. Anyone else? Aye."

     "Aye," said Sirius, raising a loose hand.

     "Aye," agreed Gwen, shooting an apologetic look to James.

     "Aye," came Lily's voice.

     "And aye," Marlene drawled, bored. "Majority wins. We're off."

     "Wait, wait," said James, as everyone began to reach out to their bags and pack up their wands. "We can't go, yet. You lot know Mad-eye will want to hear something, we've got to have something prepared to tell him—"

     "That's just it, love; we tell him we haven't got anything," Gwen said, placing a quick kiss on James's cheek as she passed him to leave. "See you."

     Marlene, Lily, Sirius, Gwen, Remus, and Peter began for the door to the common room—which, Gwen had been unpleasantly surprised to find, was not placated with a riddle, unlike her own common room, and instead a measly password. Mary was close in tow, shoving her books into her bag, calling to Marlene to wait up.

     James stood in the middle of the common room, staring after them all, bewildered. At the door, Gwen turned to him; he looked quite haunting, bathed in the murky light of the sun shooting through the Black Lake and into the windows. Gwen shivered—she'd never been a fan of large bodies of water, and she hated the thought of being in an aquarium, unable to see what was looking at her... And there was, there was something looking at her... A gaggle of something inching closer and closer, something quite sinister looking....

     "James," she gasped, suddenly, pointing behind him and out the window that viewed into the deepest portion of the lake. "James, behind you!"

     The muttering of Peter, Remus, and Sirius slowed to a stop at the urgency in Gwen's voice. Slowly, everyone followed where she was pointing—they all had to squint against the darkness and fight the waves out of their vision, but there was, in fact, a looming pack of what looked like wizards and witches, donned threateningly in dark cloaks and robes, storming towards the window at incredible speed through the depths of the lake.

Lily's brow furrowed, and she leaned forward, trying to get a better view. "What in the—?"

"Get to Dumbledore!" James yelled, suddenly, and the students stormed the exit as the figure at the very front of the approaching crowd raised its wand and shot a spell to the window.

It shattered open with a deafening smash, small bits of glass flying all about, rubble cascading down from the ceiling. Chaos ensued. Surprisingly, no water rushed in—Gwen thought it was the wrong time to wonder what enchantments Hogwarts had placed over the castle to stop water from flooding in but weren't strong enough to shield a simple Bombarda.

"Everyone alright?" James called as they poured into the dungeon, everyone rushing the stairs in a flurry of panic. "Gwen, where are you?"

"Here," she responded, slipping her arm into his, breathless. She glanced over her shoulder. "Are those Death Eaters?"

"This must be what Mad-eye's been expecting," Sirius said, sounding bitter. "Loony old sod was right, for once."

"They Apparated into the lake," Gwen said, almost to herself, in wonder. "That's ingenious, don't you think? The wards don't reach through the water—"

"You're talking about wards at a time like this?" Peter demanded, looking as though he were just on the brink of soiling himself. He clutched his wand like a security blanket and glanced around at the portraits in the halls as though they were going to attack next. "We've got to get out of here before they get in!"

"Peter, lad," said James, "I think they're already in."

"Why is this corridor so fucking long?" Sirius panted, glaring at the end. He stumbled over his own feet and almost flew forward. "Merlin's—"

     "This is awful!" Mary glanced back over her shoulder worriedly. "Dumbledore's got to be aware by now, hasn't he? Wouldn't he have some sort of alarm system on the castle for something like this?"

     "He can't have done," Gwen responded, between gasps of air. "If any of you would have read Hogwarts: A History, then—"

     "Not the time, Gwen!" Marlene and Remus exclaimed together, exasperated.

     Shouts of alarm and panic began to register, and with quick glances around herself, Gwen recognised that her fellow classmates were beginning to understand that if the Marauders and Co. were running in fear, then something must have been horribly wrong. Spells and hexes snapped from behind them, and Gwen knew—the Death Eaters had caught up to them.

"No time to get to Dumbledore's office," she said, trying to stifle the fright that had crawled up her throat. She coughed, and, her wand outstretched over her shoulder, shot a feeble Disarming spell behind her. "They're on our tails."

"They know we're with the Order," Lily reasoned. She ducked just in time as a red burst of light shot over her head. Remus pulled her to the side. "We've got to split up, if we want any chance of making it out of here—"

"Crucio!"

     The manic voice from behind brought a wince to each of their faces, and they only stuck together for a moment longer—to make sure it was none of them who had been cursed—before heeding Lily's warning into effect and bounding off into different directions. 

     The Death Eaters must've known their way around Hogwarts. They were everywhere, in every corridor, exploding walls and shattering windows and cackling as they cursed innocent students. With a start, Gwen thought, of course they knew their way through these corridors—they were former students, some having graduated the year prior. These were people she had gone to school with. And they were cursing first and second years like heartless monsters.

     "Petrificus Totalus!" she shouted, wand armed against a pair of Death Eaters tormenting a Hufflepuff third-year. The duo's laughter came to an abrupt halt, as did their movements, and they both hit the ground like wooden planks.

     Gwen rushed to the Hufflepuff's side. He had tear marks streaming down his cheeks and his mouth was still hanging open in a silent scream. Gwen knelt before him, repressing her panic—she had trained for this, she needed to keep her head. She knew what she was doing.

     "Alright?" she asked him, her own voice shaking. "You're okay, get to your common room, everything will be fine—"

     An explosion from just behind the boy sent them both rolling away, and she lost sight of him—her ears were ringing, dust was flying everywhere, rubble hit the ground and cascaded around her. She cursed and tried to reassure herself that he would be alright.

     "Stupefy!" she yelled, wand aimed listlessly in the direction of the explosion—she heard a grunt and a thud. She could only hope she'd hit a foe and not a friend.

     "Gwen, down!" came a voice from her left, and she wasted no time before hitting the ground. A stream of red sparks flew from both sides of the corridor and met just above her head. She turned to her right—a Death Eater had his wand aimed at Gwen's saviour.

     She lifted her own weapon and said the first spell that came to mind: "Rictumsempra!". The Death Eater curled up in laughter, clutching his stomach, unable to quit giggling at the tickling sensation from Gwen's curse.

     "Gwen!" someone said again, and she turned to see Sirius rushing to her side. "You alright?"

     "Dandy," she replied, breathless, as he took her arm and guided her down the corridor. "Has Dumbledore—?"

     "He's called the Order, they're already here," Sirius said, grimly. His face told Gwen it was not good news. He wordlessly shot a spell behind Gwen's shoulder, going on like nothing had happened. "They're trying to take over the castle," he explained of the Death Eaters, ducking Gwen down a corridor to the right. "Voldemort's not here, which is about as good of luck as we can have right now. It's just the first wave of attacks."

     "First wave?" Gwen repeated loudly. "What about the Ministry, can't they help—?"

Sirius scoffed harshly. "When have they ever? And anyway, Moody thinks the Ministry's been compromised as of this past week—we've no idea who to trust, and if they're a part of the Ministry, it's likely we cannot. We're the last line of defence for the castle—

     "Furnuculus!" he then bellowed, without warning. Gwen turned to see another pair of Death Eaters down the corridor—they'd made it back to the dungeons, which were by far the most destroyed place of all. It was hardly recognisable beyond the damp atmosphere.

     "Sirius," Gwen whispered. She clutched his arm, eyes widening as she recognised the Death Eater Sirius had not hit with his curse. "Sirius, put your wand down."

     "Are you mental?" he demanded. "Why—"

     Her response was choked, small: "It's him, Sirius."

     Walker stood limply at the other end of the dungeon corridor, his wand arm hanging at his side, his chest heaving with pants. He wasn't moving. He didn't say anything. But even from the distance, Gwen and Sirius could see, branded grimly into his forearm, almost glinting in the light—the Dark Mark.

     "Walker.." gasped Gwen, her eyes suddenly growing glossy. "Walker, you—"

     "Expelliarmus!" Sirius bellowed suddenly, shooting Walker with so much force it sent the other wizard flying backward and hitting the back wall. His wand flew into the air and was caught by Gwen as Sirius advanced, wand raised.

     "You traitor," Sirius spat, now inches from Walker's unarmed body, pressing him into the stone wall behind him. He jammed his wand against Walker's throat. "You filthy traitor!"

"Sirius!" Gwen yelled. There was no stopping him, she knew—Sirius's value of loyalty resided above all else, and when he sensed a rat, there would be no end in sight. Still, she tried, "Sirius, stop it—"

"I didn't have a choice, Black," Walker managed to get out, barely able to move, restrained solely by the tip of Sirius's wand digging into his neck. He splayed his hands back against the wall, defensive, unarmed.

     Gwen's eyes caught on his wrist again. There it was, completely unhidden. That Mark—one of those arms, branded with the very same snake tattoo—it had killed her father; and now, here was Gwen's most time-honoured friend, standing before her, and the same Mark was staring her down as if with a mind of its own. She pictured her father, imagined his last sight to be this snake, and was met with a surge of raw anger like a wave.

     "No choice?" Sirius demanded, and Gwen knew—Sirius had been through the same, but he had come out on the right side of history. His eyes were burning with unbridled fury. "I had no choice, and still I chose my friends over my family! You had plenty a choice, you just took the coward's way out!"

     Walker's voice was raw, and burst forth from his lungs in agony. "I couldn't betray my blood!"

     "You have anyway," Gwen said suddenly. Her own voice was a stark contrast from the screaming of the men before her. Her eyes were glossy with tears. "Leave him, Sirius. He's chosen his side."

     After a moment of harsh deliberation—in which he was deciding whether or not attacking him was worth it, no doubt—Sirius took a step back, still regarding Walker from behind the tip of his wand. "Petrificus Totalus. Just so you don't get any ideas of following us."

     And together, they turned to leave the dungeons. Sirius made a point not to look in Gwen's direction, even though she was sure he heard the sniffs. He merely Transfigured a nearby bit of rubble into a tissue and offered it to her wordlessly.

via speaks!
trying not to think about the fact that gwen and james only have 3 years left sooo also sirius trying to overcome his awkwardness at apologies and trying to make up his hatred to gwen is so desperate to me like u wanna be her friend sooo bad