Somewhere Along The Line: Part I

By: SilverDrama

Chapter One – Slipped Away

"Sirius," James Potter said to his friend as he walked into the fifth year boy's dormitory, "Why aren't you out with our furry little problem?"

Sirius Black looked up. "Because ol' Snivelly is." Sirius grinned.

James stared at his friend.

"No need to thank me." Sirius said.

James stared at his friend, appalled. "Sirius, what the hell were you thinking?" James spat at his friend.

Sirius snorted. "What was I thinking? I was thinking 'hey, I'll get rid of the main threat to my best mate dating the girl he wants.' What do you care anyhow? It's just a greasy, Slytherin, Dark git we're talking about." Sirius proudly finished as though this would make James approve of murder.

"What about Lily? You think she'd be happy to hear what my best mate did to her best mate? Or what about our mate, you know Remus? You think he'd be happy to bite or kill someone, even if it is Snape." James yelled.

Sirius gulped. "I didn't think of that."

"You don't think at all, do you." It wasn't a question and Sirius knew this.

James slammed the door as he left the dormitory to go find Snape, hopefully before Snape found Remus.

As soon as James went to leave the common room, a certain red-head yelled at him. "James, you can't leave the Gryffindor common room. No one's allowed to leave the common rooms." Lily Evans said.

"Why not?" James asked turning around and ruffling his hair.

"I don't know." Lily said before grabbing her books and walking up the girls' dormitory, her walk, however, was cut short by McGonagall bursting in and demanding that every Gryffindor in the Tower come.

By the time the prefects (minus one Messr Moony) had gathered every kids in Gryffindor tower, the first years were half-falling asleep. (Though James did note one kid who was sporting blonde hair, a smile, and a wide sense of being awake.)

"Now, this is a very hard thing to say, but it seems as though a student has been killed." McGonagall said.

James whipped his head to a pale and wide eyed Sirius. Several of the younger kids gasped, (one began crying), during which a few arrogant seventh years were taking bets over who it was.

"Who was it?" Lily Evans asked. "Was it Peter," She sounded worried for her fellow classmate,

"'Cause he isn't here."

James looked around and realized that in the midst of his anger at Sirius and worry for Remus and Snape, he's forgotten Peter. This now made him wonder just where Peter was.

McGonagall shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I am not to reveal the student tonight." McGonagall walked off after that last statement, as she left, a small figure no one but James noticed entered. The reason no one noticed was because it was a rat, a familiar, rat.

James glanced from Peter to Lily for a split second to see hr crying, apparently because she thought it was Peter.

James quickly sped up the stairs and into the dormitory as the rat followed him. Once inside, Peter transformed back into a human and began coughing and wheezing a bit (His asthma). "Snape," Peter coughed some more which made James wish Peter took his medicine. "I saw him come down the tunnel, but I'm not big enough, I couldn't find you or Sirius anywhere, so no one could stop it," James paled and began shaking his head while Peter's voice dropped. "Snape's dead."

James growled.

"I mean, I don't even know how he knew to get down there, but he did, I turned into a human to try and save him, but Moony, he went after me, and let's face it, I'm a cowardly rat like in the Wizard of Goz." Peter said as he began rummaging through his trunk to find his inhaler.

"First of all," A small voice said, "It's was the Wizard of Oz, and second of all, it was the cowardly lion." Frank Longbottom finished and then stopped. "What's wrong? Do you guys know who died? Was it Remus?" Frank asked quickly since he didn't know about Remus's condition.

James and Peter looked at each other and it was James who spoke since Peter was wheezing his medicine.

"Remus is sick and in the Hospital Wing, the only thing that could kill him is a really pissed off Madam Pomphrey." James said in a voice that did it's best to hold back a longing to murder his best friend for basically murdering (more of, having the conscientious friend murder) the girl he fancies' best friend.

"I wonder who it is then." Frank muttered. "Oh I hope it isn't Alice, she's so nice, but I can't find her." Frank worried.

Peter rolled his eyes a bit. "Alice went to the library, not a place where you can get killed."

"This is Hogwarts," Frank said in a bit of an angrier voice than either Peter or James had ever heard, "Yesterday we thought that no one could ever die here. Anywhere is susceptible if someone can die." Frank rambled.

"Don't worry," James and Peter stiffened as Sirius spoke while entering the room, "It wasn't your dear Alice," Sirius laughed a bit, "It was Snivellus." Sirius barked a laugh but soon stopped when he saw James and Peter glaring ferociously and Frank looking at him with anger, rage, and confusement."

"Sirius, are you out-of-your-mind?" Frank asked. "I mean I know that you don't like him, but happiness over a fifteen year old boy dead?" Frank looked disgusted and awed with his roommate. "And how do you even know this?"

"Who cares?" Sirius said. "Snivellus is gone, one less Death Eater we have to fight when we're all Aurors."

"Presuming you actually become an Auror and aren't sent to Azkaban." James said.

"Why would he go to Azkaban?" Frank said and then his eyes widened. "Did you kill Snape"

Sirius shook his head, and then added. "Well, I didn't kill him, I just gave him a way to die." Sirius sat down on the edge of his bed, relaxing.

"How?" Frank asked.

"Well," Sirius began but was immediately shut up by Peter and James knocking him off of his bed, silencing the voice the three were annoyed with.

"Huh?" Frank asked.

"Nothing." Peter and James answered Frank's question.