"I plan to" Harry agreed, very relieved that the duo were taking it well.
It was only a few moments later that the three were joined by Peter and Remus who both seemed happy to be back in the company of their friends.
"How was your holiday?" Peter asked.
James shook his head.
"Messed up" he surmised.
Remus frowned.
"What do you mean?" "Well Harry and I were allowed to learn our family magic" James informed them.
It was then that Remus looked at Harry properly for the first time, his eyebrows shooting up to his hairline.
"Shit, did you drink a gallon of growth potion?" he questioned incredulously. "You look so different, like you're not even twins anymore" he added, glancing between the two Potters.
"Part of the magic" James answered dismissively. "But that's not the worst of it" he sighed.
"What happened?" Peter broke in nervously.
"Harry went to our Grandparent's for Boxing Day and now finds himself in a real wizards duel" James whispered frantically.
"How did that happen?" Remus asked urgently. "I know the Blacks are bad but wanting to kill their own Grandson" he finished, shaking his head in disbelief.
"It's not like that" Harry chuckled.
"He's only bloody fighting because my prick of an uncle tried to put Bellatrix and her sisters in a marriage contract" Sirius cut in disbelievingly. "He tried to do it so my Grandfather had to sign it but Harry put a stop to it".
"How?" Remus asked with a frown.
"By buying the damn contracts and having to fight a champion of their choice" Sirius answered. "I just don't get why you would do it".
"Because it is the right thing to do, no one should be married to a Lestrange or a Malfoy even by choice" Harry replied. "Just imagine, if I would do that for them, what do you think I'd be willing to do to protect all of you".
Sirius shook his head. "Do you know who you have to fight?" Peter asked worriedly.
"Only Antonin Dolohov" James cut in, his voice oozing with sarcasm.
Remus laughed.
"You almost had me going" he chuckled. "Moony, we are not joking" Sirius assured him. The werewolf blanched.
"The man is a bloody world champion duelist" he hissed frantically.
"Exactly, he's a duelist and I don't duel" Harry stated flatly.
"What rules are there?" Remus demanded. "None, we both walk in only one of us walks out" Harry shrugged.
He was nervous about the duel but he knew Dolohov could not beat him. He had been trained by the best people from twenty years in front of them and he had experience of the man before. Yes, he was very skilled and rather powerful but he was not on Harry's level.
"Shit" Remus cursed simply.
"I'll be fine Remus" Harry assured the boy.
Remus swallowed deeply and nodded.
He knew that Harry was a very gifted wizard but he could not comprehend how he could hope to defeat a duelist of such calibre.
"Does that mean you have to kill him?" Peter questioned.
Harry just nodded.
Seeing that the two boys were looking nervously at each other he sighed before speaking again.
"I've been taught to fight and fight to kill" he explained bluntly. "I don't enjoy it but in the world we live in it is a necessity" he added. "And even more so now with that moron Voldemort around" he finished, shaking his head irritably.
Both Peter and Remus flinched and gasped at the casual use of the name.
"Trust me, he's not that scary" he assured them. "I met him on Boxing Day when he was trying to recruit my uncle and he's just an insane idiot who is trying to bite off way more than he could handle" he informed them.
"You met him?" Remus asked, clearly surprised.
"Yeah" Harry confirmed. "He even tried to recruit me to his stupid cause and I told him I wasn't interested at all" he shrugged.
Peter looked very thoughtful and Remus simply shook his head. "Harry?" Sirius broke in after the compartment had been silent for a while. "Could you train us?" he requested nervously.
The other three boys in the compartment wore expressions of apprehension and eagerness, causing Harry to frown.
"Ok" he agreed. "How about you all come and watch me train after transfiguration tomorrow and see if you still want to afterwards" he offered.
The other four nodded readily.
"I am warning you though, I do not take my training lightly and I use magic that most of you won't approve of" he continued seriously. "But I would never use the magic against people who don't deserve it" he added sincerely. "And I guess it is about time that I shared one of my secrets with you" he finished with a grin.
"You mean where you train?" Peter asked hopefully. "Yeah, but it stays between us and only us, believe me, this is something you will all enjoy".
The other boys were clearly intrigued and eager to see the room. They knew it must be rather special to get Harry excited.
The rest of the journey passed peacefully enough with the group discussing the more enjoyable parts of their respective holidays. Peter talked about his trip to Sweden and how much he had fallen in love with the place and Remus spoke about the enjoyable and quiet Christmas he had with his parents.
It was not long after the train pulled that the Marauders found themselves sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall waiting for Dumbledore to start the feast.
"Welcome, welcome back" the headmaster greeted the students jovially. "I am pleased to see you all in such good health and well rested but I must begin the start of this year with some very sad news" he informed them gravely. "Over the course of the holidays three of our own were tragically taken from us at the hands of those that wish to create an atmosphere of unrest and forced changes through the use of violence so it is a time of mourning for us".
A smattering of furious whispers could be heard throughout the hall and the man raised his hands to garner silence once more.
"We sadly lost Mr. Epstein of Hufflepuff, Miss Caruthers of Ravenclaw and Miss Fawcett of Gryffindor house" he reeled off morosely. "Now more than ever it is up to us to be united against what is now plaguing our world" declared passionately. "I am sure you are all aware that the Dementors also attempted an attack on Diagon Alley that was thankfully prevented by an anonymous individual who bravely stepped up when he was needed" he continued, shooting a knowing glance towards Harry. "We however will continue as we always have and Hogsmeade weekends will go ahead as usual but I implore each and every one of you to come forward with any concerns or if you see anything at all suspicious, no matter how insignificant they may seem" he advised seriously. "But for now, we have a feast to enjoy" he concluded, sweeping a hand across the breadth of the room and causing the plates to be filled with food.
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