Disclaimer: JKR owns these characters…but we all knew that.
Chapter 2: Beans for Breakfast
James was eating breakfast in the Great Hall. The enchanted ceiling gave off a warm mist that mimicked the actual weather outside. Sirius was nowhere in sight, but Remus was quietly chomping on toast, reading the Daily Prophet at the table. With each bite of his cereal, James smiled. He was utterly thrilled that he had mastered that Striking Spell. Or, he had to admit, that Lily had, for she was the only one who has succeeded in not blowing something up. Nevertheless, all James had to do was to show old Flit-Wicky this dazzling display of N.E.W.T.-level material, and he was sure to be off probation. He was planning to continue plotting his ingenious plan when Peter came up the run and plopped haphazardly down next to Remus.
"Morning. Has the post…?" But even before the boy could finish, owls swooped in low and dropped letters and parcels on the heads of the awaiting students. Peter must have been expecting something, because he squeaked when a small barn owl dropped a parcel in his eggs.
"Ooh," James cooed. "What has Wormtail gotten himself?"
Peter pulled off the package's brown paper and twine to reveal a brand new book, thick and utterly boring-looking.
Remus finally put down his paper. "Is that the new book by that author who writes about dark wizards?"
"Yes!" Pettigrew squeaked. "I told my mum I was writing a N.E.W.T. written account on Grindelwald and comparing his rise to power and that of this new guy the Prophet has been going on about." All three boys eyed the front cover of the Prophet, which told in big black letters:
New Dark Wizard Arises
Should we be concerned? Interview with Albus Dumbledore, pages 5-7
"So…" Peter continued. "I had to send away for the latest book because the library has almost nothing on the subject." He pointed idly to the Prophet.
James sat back in his chair. "All the more reason for us to become Aurors: to save the world, marry the girls of our dreams and live the sweet lives." He took a swig of pumpkin juice, and watched Peter pull something else out of his package. "Ooh, look!"
Peter had received a large box of Bertie Botts Every Flavored Beans. He quickly tore the plastic and opened the box. He looked at Remus hopefully.
"Sorry, it's way too early for those."
"Give me one here." James smirked, and Peter threw a rosy, orange-colored one to him, who threw it casually into his month and bit down once. Hard.
The others looked at him, waiting for him to hurl.
But nothing happened. James smiled and spoke, through the gummy substance he chewed. "Got lucky this time: Tropical fruit." Remus looked relieved, but Peter looked cheated.
"My turn. Give me one here, Moony."
With a tortured sigh, Remus took an innocent-looking bean from the box and handed it to Peter, who held the greenish-brown bean aloft. Remus checked the box and made an odd, strangled noise, loosening his collar as if it were constricting him.
"Ooh, that one is apple—" and Peter ate the bean, chewing feverishly with a great grin on his face.
Not waiting for Remus to finish the name.
"Apple snail, Peter." But by now, Peter knew it too, and went sprinting down the tables and out of the hall, retching as James laughed wildly behind, holding up his goblet of pumpkin juice with a cheer.
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Sirius was alone in the common room. He has lodged himself in a comfortable chair and was feverishly copying notes from Remus's notebook into his own. Suddenly, something made him look up.
"You know, that's technically cheating." The redhead had her hands on her hips, making her looking ever so pouty. Sirius closed both notebooks and smiled condescendingly.
"Remus has the utmost idea of what cheating is, so this," he pointed to the two books, "is not dishonest."
Lily didn't look fooled at all. "It is, because I saw you steal that from Mr. Lupin's bag and although I know he probably wouldn't mind because,"—she rolled her eyes—"he always puts up with you and your antics, I, on the other hand, will not." And she snatched away Remus's book and jammed it in her bag. "You're lucky I don't take points from you guys because then Gryffindor would have negative points and we'd never win house cup."
Sirius, never fazed, jammed his own book in his bag and pried himself from the lounge chair, towering over Lily. "That's our prefect Lily, always standing up for the…oh wait, nobody." He dodged a look from Lily, gathering his things. "Come off it, Evans, we'd better get down to breakfast before James eats it all." And in silence, the two left the common room.
Sirius had been wrong. James had not eaten all the breakfast, but was still sipping his pumpkin juice between snickers, and sneaking glances at Peter's abandoned Every Flavored Beans, as the poor boy had yet to return. Remus was first to notice the two Gryffindor additions, as Lily thumped him over the head with his own notebook.
"Oh, there it is," Remus commented as he slid over to allow Lily and Sirius to sit. "Where did you find it?"
"Sirius had it…" And Lily shot daggers at him as he feigned shame. But apparently the worst of his punishment was over, because she slightly edited the truth on her part. "He found it in your dormitory this morning."
Sirius choked on his pumpkin juice and looked at James in amazement, then quickly turned the focus away from himself.
"Yeah, I found Lily hanging back in the common room. Trying to get a glance at James in the morning, I suppose."
Lily made a face that clearly betrayed her intentions. She did not appreciate Sirius's return of her kindness.
James, draining the last of his juice smiled in triumph, rolling his eyes with false-disdain. "Merlin, Evans, you're such a Potter-phile."
Sirius turned from James to Lily, holding some eggs and a bit of sausage in his fork.
"Yeah, and it's disgusting…" he swallowed his forkful, pointing his fork into the negative space between James and Lily. "Disgustingly delicious."
Sirius and James both had to duck as Lily pulled Peter's abandoned book from it's wrappings and swung wildly.
Haha, these guys are a riot: that's why I love them so much. Please read and review…what do YOU want to see in the next chapters?
And special thanks to alicecullengirl for her awesome editing skills. Check out her stories, they be wicked. –PoM
