Words: 2439

Description: The Marauders and Lily are offered the chance to know their futures.

Story:

It's the Spring of the Marauder's seventh year at Hogwarts. A Hogsmeade weekend, to be exact. The five of them sit in a booth in the Three Broomsticks, a Butterbeer in front of them all. They're all laughing, pretending if just for a moment that there isn't a war going on around them. That people aren't dying. 

It was nice, to pretend. 

James sat next to Lily, his arm around her shoulders as she leaned into his side. They'd started to date (finally ) that summer. Sirius and Remus sat across from them, holding hands under the table. They'd been together since fifth year. 

Peter had a chair pulled up at the end of the booth.

They sat for not much longer when a strange man approached their table. He wore many draping scarves and cloaks, beads braided into his thick dreads. 

He cleared his throat. "Can we help you?" Peter asked, unsure of what the man wanted. 

"Excuse me, but I was drawn to you five. Your aura...it's very strong. I am a seer, known in many places as The Oracle. Would you like to know your future?"

Sirius and James shared a look. One the one hand, it sounded a little bit sketchy. Was it really a good idea to find out their futures? And was this 'Oracle' even the real deal? Could he see their futures at all?

On the other hand, in the midst of a war, knowing their futures could be very handy. They could find out if they win (they had better win, Sirius thought) and if they find out bad things, they could just do things differently and change it. 

Sirius shrugged. "Sure, Mr. Oracle. Tell us about the future."

"Not here," Oracle said under his breath. He gestured for them to follow him and they stood, wands out. They were still unsure about this man and his claims. 

They followed him to another room in the back of the Three Broomsticks where the five of them sat around a big round table and the Oracle sat across from them. He closed his eyes and joined his hands in front of him. 

"As I have said before, your aura is very strong. Big things are in your futures."

James elbowed Sirius with a grin, always so optimistic. 

"You can start by asking me questions you would like to know. That way, as I answer, it will give me a clearer picture and I will be able to give more details."

The five Marauders nodded. Lily was a little nervous. She wasn't so sure about this, but the boys seemed fine with it. Well, everyone except for Remus, maybe. 

"There is one more thing," the Oracle said, opening his eyes. "The spoiling of your futures is not something to be taken lightly. No one can mess with fate. Everything will continue to happen just as I tell it. There will be no changing the future. For these purposes, I will obliviate the five of you after this encounter. You will not know of it until the events have come to pass. It will be like a déjà vu sensation. Do you all agree to these terms?"

The five of them exchanged a look. "Yeah, I guess so," Lily said. 

"Good. Now ask away. One at a time please."

They thought about some questions to ask. "Ooh! Do Lily and I get married?" James asked excitedly. 

The Oracle thought about it, then nodded. "Yes. The Fall of 1979."

James looked absolutely elated and he turned to kiss Lily full on the lips. Lily's face was red and she was happy too. Who'd have thought she'd be marrying Potter?

Sirius was beaming at them. "That's next year. That's crazy."

"Oh! Oh, do we have kids?" James asked. 

Lily hit his arm, though she was quite excited to know as well. 

The answer came easier from the seer. "Yes. One. It will be a boy. His name will be Harry James Potter."

"Oh Merlin," Lily whispered, feeling suddenly emotional. They were discussing her future baby. James couldn't have been happier. He was just imagining all the times he would have with his son. First steps, loose teeth, teaching him how to ride one of those muggle bicycles, teaching him how to fly on a broomstick. He couldn't wait to be a father. 

"Mate, I better be the godfather," Sirius joked. 

The seer grimaced. "You are."

The group was too elated to noticed the Oracle's discomfort. 

"Wait, so does the war end soon? Do we win?" Remus asked. 

"Yeah, do I kill Voldemort?" James added, brandishing his wand in a joking manner. 

"The war will not end for a great many years. And no, James Potter, you will not be the one to kill Voldemort. But a Potter will do it."

"Sweet," James whispered, kissing Lily on the nose. He was less happy about the war lasting a long time, but at least Voldemort dies and by the hand of a Potter, no less.

It was all fun and games until Sirius asked the fateful question. "So do we live to be old like Dumbledore? How do I look as an old man? I better not have wrinkles!"

"No," the seer said simply. 

"What do you mean, no?" Sirius asked. "No I don't look good, or that I have wrinkles?" He said this with a laugh, elbowing James who was sitting next to him. 

"No you don't live to be old. None of you do."

That got them all quiet. 

"Wait, y-you mean we die...young?" Peter asked frightfully.

The seer nodded simply. Remus and Sirius shared a look. The happy air in the room had faded rather quickly and they no longer were enjoying this meeting with the seer. 

"So...which one of us dies first, huh?" James joked, a poor attempt at lightening the mood. 

The seer, with his hand slightly shaking, pointed directly at James.

Sirius sucked in a gasp, eyes flying to his best mate who was trying hard to not let the information overwhelm him. In all honestly, James was shaken, but glad it was at least him and not someone else.

"Ah yes, I see how it happens. You are betrayed by one you call a friend."

No one was quite willing to believe what he was saying. They couldn't believe it that James was to be the first to die. 

"When?" James asked, voice trembling. "How old will I be?"

"It will happen October the 31st, 1981. You will be 21 years of age."

Everyone gasped. That was only three years away. James couldn't die at only 21!

The seer turned to Lily. "And then you will die as well. Mere minutes later."

They were all shocked into silence. "James, your last words will be 'Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! I'll hold him off!' Lily's will be 'Not Harry! Please...have mercy...have mercy...Not Harry! Not Harry! Please--I'll do anything!'" 

There was a deathly silence as they all absorbed the terrible, very emotional last words. They could only imagine the environment in the house on October 31, 1981.

"Who is it?" Sirius asks menacingly, squeezing Remus's hand tightly at the same time that Lily worriedly asks, "What about Harry?"

"It is Pettigrew that will betray everyone. He will be the secret keeper of the Fidelius charm on the Potter home in Godric's Hollow. On Halloween, he will divulge the secret to You Know Who and he will come and he will kill you both. He will try to kill your one year old son, but he will fail."

Sirius went into a rage and lunged at Peter, who squeaked in fear. The Oracle simply waved his wand and Sirius was seated again. He put up a shield between Peter and the rest of them. "You filthy fucking rat," Sirius growled at him.

James gulped and Lily grabbed his hand tightly. "But Harry's safe, right?" She asked frightfully. 

The seer offered a smile. "Yes. You will do your job in the end. You will ultimately keep him safe."

Lily sighed in relief and turned to Sirius and Remus. "At least he has you two."

The Oracle winced. "That's where you are wrong, Lily Potter-" Lily blushed at the use of James's last name that wasn't yet hers "-Harry will not live with his godfather as he rightfully should. Sirius will find your bodies and give Harry to Hagrid as Dumbledore will request and he will go after Pettigrew."

Remus's anxiety was climbing fast and a deep feeling of dread settled in his bones. He was mortified by the news they were receiving. He couldn't believe that this is what was in store for them in the future. 

"Sirius Black will track Peter Pettigrew down, who will cast an explosion that will kill twelve muggles. He will then proceed to cut off his finger in an attempt to fake his death. He will transform into a rat and get away. Sirius Black will be framed for it all and he won't receive even a trial. He will spend the next twelve years in Azkaban."

Sirius froze as everyone around him sucked in a breath. This was it. This was his worst fear. First and foremost, losing the people he loved. He couldn't stand to think that in three short years James and Lily will be dead. And secondly, he'd always been terrified of the wizarding prison. Terrified of the dementors that guarded it. He had worked so hard all of these years to denounce his family and their beliefs. He wasn't one of them. And for all of that to be taken away, for him to not even receive a trial and have his whole life ruined...to leave Remus...

"Remus Lupin, you will have your worst fears realized. You will lose all of your friends, everything you care about and love, all in one night. You will be alone."

Remus choked on a breath as the tears that had been welling since the news of James and Lily finally started to fall. 

Sirius pulled Remus into his side and they held each other. 

"That is not all," the Seer said. 

"Of course it isn't," Sirius said, trying to sound menacing, but his voice wavered pathetically in the middle. 

"Harry Potter will be sent to live with Petunia and Vernon Dursley and he will spend the next ten years of his life living in a cupboard under the stairs."

Lily gasped, betrayed by the future acts of her sister. James couldn't quite wrap his head around the implications of the statement. He was very much aware what an abusive household was like with his experience with Sirius and his family, but never in his worst nightmares would he have imagined that his own son would have to live through something like that. 

The lot of them were quite distressed and distraught as they sat there trying to process all of the information. Peter sat silently, numbly staring down at the table, cut off from the rest of them. 

"Sirius Black will be the next to die. It will be at the hands of his cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange. It will be a duel, to save Harry and his friends. Harry Potter will be fifteen years old, Sirius will be thirty-six. He will die laughing, his last words being 'Come on, you can do better than that!' Harry Potter and Remus Lupin will both be there to witness it."

Instead of fretting over the fact that he's going to die, Sirius instead focuses on the fact that he is out of Azkaban. "So wait, I escape?"

"Yes, but that's a story for another time."

The room was quiet save for the sniffling cries. "Peter Pettigrew will be the next to die. He will die by his own hand. 'Stand back. Stand away from the door. I am coming in,' he will say. The hand he received from the Dark Lord will turn on him and strangle him as he lets Harry Potter and his friends go free. He will be thirty-eight."

Peter shivered violently, but the rest of them couldn't find it in themselves to care. 

"Remus Lupin, you will be the last to die at thirty-eight as well. Devastated by the death of Sirius Black, you will become more lonely than ever and allow yourself to be comforted by another. You will marry Nymphadora Tonks, but not out of love as you will try to convince yourself. You will sire a child, Edward 'Teddy' Lupin, and you will orphan him soon after in the Battle of Hogwarts. You will be killed by Antonin Dolohov and your last words are the utterance of an ineffective spell. All five of you, in some shape or form, will die to protect Harry Potter, the Chosen One. Your wife, Remus, will also be killed by Bellatrix Lestrange shortly after you are killed. Your son will be a metamorphmagus like his mother and will be left in the care of his grandmother, Andromeda Tonks and his godfather, Harry James Potter.

"Harry Potter will be the one to kill Voldemort in the end. He will grow to marry Ginevra Weasley. He will have three children. The first, James Sirius Potter."

James and Sirius couldn't help but smile through their tears. 

"The second, Albus Severus Potter. "

Their smiles immediately slipped. "What the fuck?" Sirius muttered indignantly. 

"And the third, Lily Luna Potter."

Lily smiled a tremulous smiled, wiping her tears with a fist. "Wow," she murmured. 

"Harry Potter will be sorted Gryffindor, and Teddy Lupin will be a Hufflepuff. James Sirius and Lily Luna will be Gryffindors as well, while Albus Severus will be sorted Gryffindor."

They were all very proud of the housing of their children and grandchildren, even if one of them will grow up to be a Slytherin.

The Oracle closed his eyes, imagining a time in the past. "I see the five of you, riding in the boats across the lake to the castle." He smiled warmly. "A group of eleven year olds, so full of hope for the future." His smile left his face and he shook his head sadly. "But you were doomed from the start."

All of the information sat heavily in their hearts. They all joined together, forming a secret pact amonsgt themselves to enjoy the time they had together, to make the very most of it. 

"Are you ready?" The Oracle asked and they all sighed and nodded, wiping their eyes a final time. Peter looked up for the first time in awhile, nodding his head slowly. 

The seer raised his wand as the five seventh years closed their eyes.

"Obliviate."

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