𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑦 𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑒.

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The aftermath of the Marauders successful mission for the Order broke apart as quickly as the process had begun, with Peter leaving the manor once more to go back to his home in the suburbs and the remaining four teenagers barely being able to sleep.

Even though Hollis, James, Sirius, and Remus were exhausted both mentally and physically after the few hours of the morning, they found themselves unable to get rest.

They had learned and done too many things in the Ministry with effects they weren't sure would ever go away. 

First, they were all thoroughly shaken at how Hollis had been able to identify that the men were under the influence of the Imperius Curse as she had been in a matter of minutes, while they had never known. It made the boys question everything they knew, who was acting of their own accord and who had that control exerted over them.

Second, Dumbledore's words had started to ring in their ears about that balance within them tipping from light to dark, and how much control they had to exercise over their emotions when the Rosiers had stepped out of that Vanishing Cabinet. They had strong morals, but sometimes those were questioned when it came to those monsters.

Third, they were all in awe of Moody's offer to Hollis.

The auror had a notorious yet respected reputation of filling dozens of cells in Azkaban, meaning not much either scared or impressed him. So for him to see this young witch in front of him and offer something like that was monumental whether Hollis had realized what she had turned down in declining him or not.

Fourth, there was the fact they had been very clearly seen by a dozen Ministry officials doing something very illegal. 

Even though the government itself was crawling with plots and double lives that did horrible things under the servants of Voldemort behind its glamorous exterior, they were still the law enforcement to an extent, even if they turned a blind eye to some of their own more messy activities.

And finally, just the brief yet intense combat had shaken them to the core.

Granted, they had been the ones to attack first, yet something about the way the wizards had so unquestioningly attacked the teenagers without a shred of mercy, or the person controlling them was, made a shiver go down the friend's spines whenever they thought about the disturbing notion.

Then there was their own response to the violence and acting right back.

While fighting, the Marauders had one another's backs, and that was for sure. Even during the brief duel, they had all saved one another from injury at least two times, leaving them unscathed except for the cut on Hollis's cheek from Mulstone later on. No matter what it came to, they were protecting one another and not just fighting for themselves.

Yet, James still couldn't shake how mad he had gotten when Hollis had stopped him from hurting one of the so called Ministry workers. The Potter had just felt so angry because of all the pain they had caused that he had just seen red for a few moments, like an amplified version of how he had felt when Snape was with Lily.

All of this stress building up was physically piled on his bed.

Hollis and James were both under the sheets halfway sitting up on the dozen pillows, neither of them actually having the idea of sleeping in their mind. Next to her, Remus had his head resting on her stomach as he read aloud to her in a clear voice.

They were both used to staying awake for days at a time.

At the foot of the bed, Lily and Sirius were entertaining themselves with a game of muggle cards called Gin, which he was already surprisingly good at and had beaten her twice.

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