Disclaimer: Anything that I didn't write doesn't belong to me. Unfortunately, that includes Harry Potter…
A/N: This is my first one-shot, a rather cute story, I think, of James and Sirius's adventures before Hogwarts. It's sort of a companion to 'Sick Cycle Carousel'; this is a side story that I couldn't work into it, explaining why the two seem to know each other so well in the fic. Did you ever wonder how James came into possession of the invisibility cloak? Read on…
*
Early morning sunlight slanted into a sterile white room through partially open blinds, making patterns with shadows on the Orphanage for Magically Gifted Children floor.
The noise of shopkeepers heading to work on Diagon alley pierced the rare quiet of the room. Slowly, a dark head rose from its bed.
"Jamsie," it hissed excitedly after a minute or two of furious blinking. "James! Wake up!"
"Unn…" came the answer from the only other bed in the room.
Sirius Black, dressed in old, loose-fitting pajamas stood and ran across the room to land on top of the other boy. "Aw, come on, you have to get up this morning. We're going on that trip, remember?"
"Get off me, would you?" hissed James.
"Not unless you promise to get up," said Sirius merrily, jumping up and down on James's bed. James, Sirius had learned after five years of living with him, was decidedly not a morning person. You learn a lot about a person when you live with them more than half your life.
"And besides," said Sirius, "you're forgetting what day it is."
"What day is it?" murmured James sleepily, finally relenting to Sirius's persistence.
Sirius stopped jumping and stared at James with puppy- dog eyes.
"Oh," said James as he slipped on his glasses. "Oh! I'm sorry, Sirius. Happy ninth birthday!"
Sirius went back to his normal impish self. "Thanks," he said. "Two more years!"
He was referring to the count he and James had going of the time left until Hogwarts. It was currently June first, Sirius's birthday. James's birthday wasn't until July thirty-first. Sirius had always prided himself on being the older one.
James scrambled out of his bed and dug in his small chest of drawers.
"Here," he said, handing Sirius a small package wrapped in newspaper.
Sirius took it and ripped it open eagerly. The wizards in the pictures scrambled to get out of the way.
"Oh wow- thanks!" said Sirius, revealing a box of Bertie Bott's Every-Flavor Beans.
He and James couldn't afford much at all living in the Orphanage, so just getting candy was a rare treat. James, Sirius decided, must have saved forever for this.
The boys got dressed quickly and grabbed their small suitcases, heading down to meet the others in the foyer.
Everyone else was already there- about fifty children in all.
"Now, as you know," began Mrs. Brown, the Head Caretaker, "this trip was funded by the Ministry of Magic, so I must stress even before we leave that you all be on your very best behavior."
Mrs. Brown's eyes rested for more than a few seconds on James and Sirius. She was an older woman, with graying hair pulled back into a severe bun. She could look *really* scary when she wanted to.
"Yes, Miss Brown," they chorused with the rest of the children.
"We will be taking the Floo network to Italy," she continued. "Be sure to get off at the correct spot. Now then, Jamie…"
A small girl with brown hair threw a handful of powder into the Orphanage fireplace, stepped in, called out "Castello Sforzesco, Milan, Italy," and disappeared.
"I can't believe we're actually going to a *real* castle," whispered Sirius to James as the others went before them.
"Yeah, it should be interesting," agreed James. "I hear that castles have all sorts of great stuff- maybe we can go off on a *real* adventure this time."
"Secret passages and all that," said Sirius. He stepped forward, threw the floo powder onto the fire and called out the castle's name, careful not to stumble over the Italian word.
He clutched his suitcase tightly against him as the world flashed by in a rush of light and wind. Just as he felt he was about to get sick, his feet hit something solid and he stumbled out onto the cold stone floor of the castle. James stumbled out on top of him, and Mrs. Brown was the last to arrive. She took role, and then the castle's caretaker came out to speak with them.
Sirius marveled at the castle. They were obviously in the main hall- tables were set up in the medieval horseshoe style, and a kitchen opened off to the side of them. The most impressive, though, were the high arched ceiling above them, and the ancient stonework.
"Welcome to castle Sforzesco," said the caretaker in slightly accented English. He was a short, burly man, with dark hair plastered against his skull and a mustache. He was dressed as a medieval Lord, which caused a few titters among the children. Mrs. Brown quickly shushed them. "You may leave your suitcases here, and we will begin our tour," he continued.
The castle was said to be the largest in all of Italy. It was built by a man named 'Francesco Sforza' in 1412 on the site of a Visconti fortress of 1368, with curtain walls 12 feet thick, a gatehouse, and two great round towers at the front corners; the interior was divided into one large and two small courtyards, and the smallest, the 'rochetta,' which compromises the inner fortress, was guarded by a square tower with machicolations. (1)
Paintings and artifacts of war decorated the halls of the castle; when you walked its great, worn stone floor, you got a sense of age.
All in all, it was pretty damned cool.
"We are nearly at the end of the tour now," spoke up the caretaker a few hours later, his ancient blue robes swishing about him as he lumbered along the hall, "which is also, in my opinion, the most interesting. It was said, years ago, that a man named Dominique brought to the castle an artifact of great importance. It was the crown, of one of the three wise men."
"Honestly," sighed James in a whisper to Sirius, "why does everything have to be about religion with the medieval people?"
"They were loons, that's why," confided Sirius. "Going around, killing perfectly innocent people in other lands during their mad crusades…"
"Shh!" hissed Mrs. Brown at them.
"It was said that it was kept on the dais of this room we are about to enter right now," continued the guide, who had not heard them. The group entered into a small chamber, empty except for an elaborate stone table in the center, which a single ray of sunlight filtered on to. "Many people used to come and visit the castle just to see the crown. But when Dominique died, it disappeared. A guard was always posted to watch it, and he claimed that one moment it was there, and the next it was gone. Of course, they searched the man's home, along with the entire castle and the surrounding lands, but they could never find it."
"Wait a second," spoke up James, "isn't it possible that he stole it, and just passed it off to someone else?"
"It is indeed entirely possible," said the guide. "In fact, they thought of that. But the containment charm put up around the castle was never broken, and neither was the charm instituted to protect the crown. It just simply vanished. Nobody knows where it went."
"Wicked," murmured Sirius.
"This concludes our tour," smiled the caretaker (an act that made his cheeks look like two overgrown tomatoes). "Let us go and have some lunch!"
As the children exited the room, they whispered excitedly among each other.
"He doesn't look like he needs any lunch," commented James, and the two laughed all the way down to the main hall.
*
"Hey James," said Sirius later on that night, as they lay in the bed they were assigned to share, "what do you suppose really did happen to that crown?"
"Dunno," yawned James, snuggling deeper under the covers. "Who cares? It probably never even existed. You know how tales get, after you pass them down for a while. Besides, it's just a stupid crown."
"Yeah," said Sirius, turning to prop himself up on his elbow, "but what if it did exist? And we find it? We could be rich."
The only response he got was an 'unnnnn'.
"Besides," persisted Sirius, "it's an adventure, you know? We always wanted to go on one."
"Even if we try it," said James, "where would we even start? If people have been searching for it for years, what makes you think that we'll find it?"
"Because," answered Sirius, "we're brilliant. C'mon then…"
Quietly, the two snuck out of bed and threw on warmer clothes, then proceeded out into the hall.
"We should probably start out by searching around the chamber," whispered James, who was quickly 'shushed' by Sirius.
"Mrs. Brown's room is right down the hall."
They crept past the open door, barely daring to breathe as they watched her bed.
Suddenly, she snorted and turned towards them. James felt his heart literally leap out of his chest, as Sirius froze beside him and squeezed the life out of his hand.
But Mrs. Brown didn't open her eyes. She had merely stirred in her sleep.
Simultaneously, the two let out a breath. James caught Sirius's eye, and they continued onward.
Ten minutes later, they stood in the same chamber from earlier, lit by moonlight.
"Well, this is great. You can barely see anything!" sighed Sirius.
"You have a match?" prompted James.
"Oh, yeah," answered Sirius, and began to dig in his pockets.
James, however, continued on to the dais as Sirius lit candles behind him, stumbling forward with his arms out in front of him.
"ACK!" he cried out suddenly, as he jammed his arm painfully into something solid.
"Oh, bugger," he murmured, sticking his wounded fingers into his mouth and sucking. "I can't even see what I hit it on."
"What's wrong?" asked Sirius, wandering forward with a candle in hand.
"I smacked my arm into something," answered James, pointing towards the top of the dais.
"Ummm…hate to break it to you, mate, but there's nothing there."
"There isn't, is there?" said James vaguely.
He reached forward again with his hand. Sure enough, it again struck something solid. Carefully, he traced his hands down it, until he reached the tabletop. Then, the solid thing gave way into a type of material, which still appeared not to be present. He got a grip on it, and then gave one, swift pull.
An ancient, deep golden embroidered cloak came fluttering away in his grasp, shimmering in the dim light.
"Bloody hell!" gasped Sirius, nearly dropping the candle.
For even more amazing than the cloak was the object that had been revealed. It was an aged crown, and even though the gold had begun to tarnish, it still gleamed when the light struck it. Rubies and sapphires, the size of James's thumb, glittered upon its base, and four paths of gold arched up to meet in a star at its apex. Red velvet domed the spaces in between.
"What is that?" cried Sirius, finally awakening from his stupor.
"It's the Wise man's crown…"
"No, no, no…what is that you're holding?"
"This?" asked James, raising the cloak in his hand and lifting an eyebrow. "This…is an invisibility cloak."
"It's a what?" asked a perplexed Sirius.
"An invisibility cloak. My Father told me about them…before…he…"
James trailed off. Sirius felt pity begin to fill him. Sirius had never known his parents- they abandoned him as a baby. But apparently, before James came to the orphanage, he had been very close with his parents. They used to travel the world together, as his parents had been relic hunters. But (and this was the story as close as Sirius could get it) one day in Egypt they left James behind asleep in a hotel to go off and retrieve an artifact that was protected by very complex and dangerous charms. They knew it would be risky, and they apparently hadn't wanted to endanger him. They were right- they had been killed during the adventure, leaving a five-year-old James alone and scared in the world.
James had been sent to the orphanage, and refused to talk to anyone for a long time. But then, one day during breakfast, James spilled his cereal and was refused another serving. Sirius, however, came up and sat next to him silently, then poured half of his cereal into James's bowl.
James apparently hadn't known how to respond, and after a long silence managed to stutter 'Thank you'
'It's fine,' Sirius had replied. 'My name is Sirius.'
'Mine's James,' the other boy had answered.
Since then, the two had been inseparable.
"Hey," said Sirius half-jokingly "let's not go into any relapses here."
"Oh," blinked James. "Anyway, they're really rare- there's only a few of them in the world. They make the wearer invisible. In this case, the wearer was the crown."
"Do you mean to tell me," said Sirius disbelievingly, "that this crown has been sitting here, on top of the dais, under the invisibility cloak, for *ages*, and no one's ever *found* it?"
The two stood in silence for a few moments, marveling at the sheer, simple, stupidity of it all.
"Maybe we don't even have to be brilliant…we only have to have half of a brain to figure this stuff out…" said Sirius slowly.
James grinned. "They were too busy going on mad crusades to look properly for things."
Sirius laughed. "But you'd think that the first place you'd look for something would be where it *was* don't you?"
"Well," said James thoughtfully, "why look for it on the dais? I mean, you couldn't see it, so…"
"That explains why the containment charm was never broken," said Sirius, reaching out to touch the crown. Energy crackled about his fingers for a moment, then dissipated, no longer potent because of the extended time period it had been acting. Gently, Sirius lifted the crown from its spot, admiring the way it gleamed in the candlelight.
Suddenly, the star on the top of the crown began to glow with a white light, lighting the entire chamber in bright luminescence.
"Maybe those medieval chaps weren't so far off," said James, awed.
"You know what, Jamsie?" said Sirius with a wry grin, "I think this is the best birthday present that I've ever gotten."
*
They managed to smuggle the crown (and themselves) under the invisibility cloak back to their room. That way, they wouldn't have to hand in the cloak as well as the crown. They could just make it look as if they found the artifact somewhere else in the castle, and keep the cloak safely hidden in their suitcase.
Sirius had insisted that James keep the cloak for himself, even when James had tried to hand it to him as a better birthday present. 'After all,' Sirius had said, 'you were the one who found it. And besides, I happen to like Every Flavor Beans just fine.'
The next morning, Sirius came down to breakfast with the crown tucked under his arm and a broad smile on his face.
As soon as the caretaker saw what he was holding, he went into a virtual cardiac arrest. It was all the boys could do to keep from laughing.
"Where did you find it?" he gasped once he came back to himself.
Uh-oh. Hadn't planned for that question. "We…uh…" stammered Sirius, but then James cut in smoothly.
"It's a secret," he said with a small smile.
The caretaker smiled back. "Well, boys, I'll just take that and…"
He reached and tried to pry it from Sirius's grip, but to no avail.
"Hey, just 'cause we're kids, doesn't mean you can just take it from us. We found it fair and square," said Sirius, wrenching it away.
"That's right," said James, stepping in front of Sirius. "It's ours, to do what we please with."
"It most certainly is not yours," roared the caretaker. "It's belonged to the castle for centuries now…"
"What *is* all this about?" cried Mrs. Brown, walking up to the three.
James and Sirius exchanged a glance. Now that Ms. Brown was here, they would definitely not win this fight.
Quickly, James explained.
Mrs. Brown turned, looked the caretaker square in the face, and said; "I believe these boys are right. You had no idea this artifact existed until now, and you would not have it if it weren't for them. It is theirs to do what they please with, and if you will not compensate them for it, then I'm sure we can find a museum that will."
James and Sirius gaped. Mrs. Brown was on their side?
"Very well," said the caretaker, "let's go to my room and we can negotiate further…"
Thanks to Mrs. Brown, in the end James and Sirius ended up with quite a large sum of money on their hands, more than they had ever imagined. Later on, both of them managed to fill their own Gringott's vaults to the maximum with wizard gold (and also managed to spend a lot of it on a shopping spree at Diagon Alley).
The group returned to the Orphanage that night, and stumbled wearily up to their beds.
"I suspect," said James as he inspected the invisibility cloak, "we are going to have a lot more fun at Hogwarts than we first thought."
"I think you might be right," said Sirius with a grin, coming over and settling down next to James on the bed.
"But no matter what happens- best friends forever, right?" Sirius continued, holding out his hand.
"Yes- best friends forever," answered James, taking Sirius's hand firmly in his grip.
"Imagine the possibilities; best friends forever- and an invisibility cloak."
*
(1) Castello Sforzesco is a real place, got it out of 'Life in a Medieval Castle' book, and it doesn't belong to me *snigger*
A/N: Well, didja like it? Short and sweet, and don't forget to review! Please-it'll make me happy. =P
*Picturing an eight year old James and Sirius cursing* *Laughing head off*
If you liked my story, and like stories along the lines of secret hidden treasures and invisibility cloaks, I suggest you check out my chappy Lady Akiko's fic, which looks promising. ( It's called 'A Castle's Secret, and probably won't be out for a few weeks.)
I also suggest you check out Carousel, my other story, since this is really a companion to it! Well, until next time….
~ Lady Evenstar