CHAPTER ONE
OFF THE STAIRS
I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints-Sinners are much more fun
Billy Joel
Part One
"Talia-Rose."
"Sir?"
"Be quiet."
The rest of the great hall laughed as the young teen grinned, while trying to look abashed, at the aged headmaster who gave a characteristic nod and cleared his throat for silence.
"Yeah, shut up Talia!" James mock whispered, and Sirius snorted laughter. Remus just rolled his eyes, but even those four had soon hushed, for it wasn't often that assemblies were called for the whole school, mere weeks after they'd all arrived back from holiday.
"Firstly, I must start off by addressing the student body as a whole to say that a congratulation is most certainly in order. What fine young students you are, to keep such concentration leading up to your most important exams, whilst you have other things of which I dare say distract you." Another laugh rippled through the hall as his eyes rested on the four marauders at the centre of Gryffindor table over his half moon spectacles for, of course, he was referring to the incident which involved several unknown persons hauling in twenty-nine chickens from behind Hagrids hut and enchanting them to breath-fire. All 29 were found, and all 29 were numbered, 1 to 15 and 17 to 30, leaving only one number missing. The chickens were all accounted for. Of course, the chickens lay siege to the castle in minutes, but were also rounded up by professor Mcgonagall and professor Flitwick in less time, as was to be expected. Still, search for the 16th chicken successfully cancelled lessons for the remainder of the day (all of three and a half lessons), until Minerva Mcgonagall suddenly had the strangest notion to count the chickens left in Hagrids coop.
"27, I'm sure," he said gruffly, when she asked. "there're 27 lef', ma'am."
"And how many, may I ask, did you have yesterday?" she whispered, getting a sinking feeling in her stomach.
"Oh, hem, 56, for sure, professor."
"Ah. I see. Thank you, Hagrid." And with that, she turned on her heel, and the students of Hogwarts School did everything they could to keep in her good graces for at least a solid fortnight.
"However," Professor Dumbledore continued, "I must present a unique and, no doubt, thrilling adventure for you all." The students began murmuring at this: Talia, James Sirius and Remus just looked at each other, seeds of waywardness spreading their roots ever so quickly in their mischievous minds. "It is my honour to invite you all to the most time honoured event in schooling History, into which you will no doubt fling one of our bravest and brightest to face dangers unknown to any who sit before me " he raised his hand dramatically at this point to dispel the clamour that had arisen, the excitement exploding from those who evidently knew what was about to be revealed-two of which were James Potter and Sirius Black.
"Oh, Merlin." They both whispered in unison, as Talia, hating as always to ever not know something that two of her best friends did, shot looks at them. They caught her and Remus' eyes and whispered at the same time as Dumbledore announced:
"The Triwizard Tournament." Talia, being muggle rose, had only an inkling of what this meant-the same thing that anything meant to the four best friends: Fun.
Part Two
"Bloody hell, and I thought he was announcing his engagement to Mcgonagall at last." James commented as the Four Friends scaled the moving stairs discussing the previous events. Talia saw James glancing down below him more than once, as the entire school thronged around them to get back to their dorms, and was about to ask just what he was planning when they reached the top of one staircase, still on the move. Talia and Remus stopped short, but to their complete astonishment, James gave Sirius a shove off of the end quite unexpectedly into mid-air. The closest floor was two stair cases below, where a group of excited first years were babbling, thinking about anything but a raven haired boy falling out of the sky.
"Levicorpus!" James shouted, aiming his wand directly at Sirius, as Sirius' skull was about to crack behind and unfortunate girl. His ankle jerked him upwards, his shirt untucked, and he was left suspended there with his long hair waving around and his flat stomach uncovered, his bag and robes pooled beneath him, as he cursed the thunderous laughter coming two stories above him: the three, and, of course, rest of the school, had stopped to stare. The kids he'd almost fell on backed away uncertainly; the girls stared at his exposed flesh and giggled; but worst of all were the boys from the older years and Talia, all screaming with laughter.
"James, you bloody git-I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" He roared, flicking his wand with the counter curse and thumping to the floor.
Through the multitude of laughter, he could clearly hear his roommates in hale of breath.
"Uh-oh..." was all that escaped James Potter before racing up the stairs, shoving whoever it took to get to the porthole before dying a very gruesome death. He'd raced all of two staircases shy of the Gryffindor porthole before Sirius caught him up: after all, James was designed to be fast on a broom, not on his feet. They both tumbled down the entire flight of stairs before landing in a group of students who scattered, laughing good heartedly, to let the pair brawl, as both Remus and Talia collapsed with laughter at the poor boy being beaten up by-
"BLACK. POTTER. Get up off of the floor this instant."
"Uh-professor-I, huh, didn't mean-"
"To accidentally fall a flight of stairs and repeatedly connect your fist with Mr Potters ribs? Yes, I do fin that I re-occurring problem myself, Mr Black. Be that as it may, I think a week's worth of detention would do you both good."
"Yes, professor." They both chorused, hanging their heads to professor Mcgonagall like two chastised little boys, waiting till her emerald green robes had disappeared through a door three flights below to continue chasing each other back into the common room.