Disclaimer: Obsequecy does not own any rights to use these characters and makes no money off this story. This is purely for your entertainment.
Alright I know I promised you guys some action in this chapter. As you can see... well, there isn't any. I forgot that there's a lot of information still needed to be written down before the spells start flying. So stay tuned! Read and review!
Lion's Puppy
Chapter Two
James Sirius Potter took his normal seat at the Gryffindor table, the same as he had done for the past six years. This year however he was a lot more tired than he had been the previous years. He barely paid attention to the Sorting of the first years, though in the back of his mind he counted each new member to Gryffindor. Each one of them was becoming a new member to what James wanted to consider his extended family. "Twenty newbie's?" He mumbled, more to himself than to anyone else. They all looked so young, and scared. Gryffindor received twenty new students, Ravenclaw gained 17, Hufflepuff had their biggest year yet with an astounding 25 new students, and Slytherin gained only 12 new students. Though the war was over, Slytherin remained the taboo house. It seemed like no one wanted to be in the house of the serpent.
Before everyone was allowed to eat, Headmistress McGonagall stood up to give the opening speech. "Welcome students, new and old! Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!" This statement was met by cheers. "The first years should be warned, and a few of the older students should be reminded, that the Forbidden Forest at the edge of the grounds is just that – forbidden! Tryouts for the Quidditch House teams will begin in two weeks. This year, the top players of each team will compete to be placed on the Hogwarts Team; this summer we have been challenged by Durmstrang to see who has the best team!"
Her announcement was met with even louder cheers. What an excellent way to unite the houses! Most of the students believed her to be finished talking, and began chattering excitedly amongst them. James glanced down the Gryffindor table. He was a chaser for the Gryffindor team. They would need to find a new Seeker and a new Beater.
Headmistress McGonagall tapped her glass. "Attention, students! Attention please! We have had to place certain safety procedures on Hogwarts this year." She sounded serious; everyone in the hall went quiet almost immediately. "A pack of werewolves have made the Forbidden Forest their home. Due to this we MUST insist that no student leave the castle after nightfall. Werewolves are not only dangerous during the full moon, and this pack is particularly violent. The ministry is working on trying to relocate them but until it happens we ask that no one leave the castle after dark." McGonagall looked around the hall, at each of the faces gazing at her; mixed expressions of fear and disgust. "Now, enjoy your feast!"
And with those words, the dining tables were suddenly filled with food. James couldn't help but laugh at the sight of it. He would miss being able to eat whatever he wanted each night. Amongst his closest friends and family at the table, James allowed his worries and fears to evaporate, at least for a little while. He could relax and enjoy his meal with those he cared the most about.
When the hearty meal was over with, James accompanied the rest of his house to Gryffindor tower. However, he wanted to make a quick detour first and got the password off Rose. "I just need to talk to Professor McGonagall first," James lied to his cousin, an innocent smile on his face. "I'm just wondering about the werewolf pack, I want to make sure they're being dealt with legally."
"Well, alright then," Rose was definitely suspicious, but it was hard to say no to her cousin. "The password is Salamander Toes. Just don't be too late!" Rose had to yell after him; once James had the password he ran off.
His path took him down eight floors. The Gryffindor Tower entrance was on the seventh floor, and the Slytherin common room was in the dungeons. In all of his years at the school, James had never felt curious enough to explore the full extent of the dungeons. He knew that the Slytherin common room was on the first dungeon floor and to the south, but the potions room was on the floor beneath that. He was sure that the school extended much further downward.
James had no fear of being caught. The reason being, Harry Potter had gifted each of his children with something different. James was lucky and had his father's invisibility cloak. He knew that Albus had received the Marauders Map. Little Lily had not inherited an item, specifically, but rather an ability. Lily Potter was a parselmouth. Only their immediate family knew about it, not even Rose and Hugo. It was not an ability that anyone wanted the press to find out about. It would just spell disaster for the family.
James was much like his father in that he enjoyed snooping. Safely concealed by the invisibility cloak, the eldest Potter child snuck down into the basement, just managing to catch the tail end of the Slytherins entering the common room. He joined them, keeping his back to the wall once inside. The room was large and seemed to glow green; the windows held only a view of deep water. It was eerie and difficult to look at. The first years were marched off to bed right away by the prefects. The second third and fourth year students were quick to follow. James searched each of the remaining students, and was rather disappointed that he didn't see Malfoy right away.
"So, werewolves in the forest eh? I didn't see that coming." A girl said, in a rather nasally voice. She was probably a sixth year; her dark hair was pulled up into a pony tail. She had an arrogant face. "Are they your daddies fan club, Scorp?" She directed her question to a bundle of blankets curled up on the couch. James crept closer, so that he could hear better.
Scorpius lifted one hand from the blanket and lifted his middle finger. "I don't want this. Just leave me alone." He groaned, slightly muffled by the blankets around him.
The girl spoke up again. "It's the prophecy Scorpius. You can't deny it!"
The Malfoy heir grew angry at her words; the look of pure rage on his face actually scared James for a moment. Scorpius looked ready to kill. "There is no prophecy! It's a load of bullshit and you know it, Zabini!"
James couldn't stick around any longer. Though he had not stayed long, he knew he had learned far too much. Besides, he was tired and was looking forward to his comfortable bed in Gryffindor tower. He silently made his way towards the door, before he realized something. If he opened the door, everyone would notice the door opening and closing seemingly of its own accord. However if he stayed he also ran a risk of being found out. Without realizing it, James had put himself into a very tricky position.
The girl stood up very quickly from her seat. "It is NOT bullshit! When the wolves get their hands on you, you will know!"
Scorpius also stood, and got right into the girls face. For a moment, James thought he was going to punch her, or kiss her. He couldn't tell by Scorpius' expression. Disappointingly, the Malfoy heir did nothing to her. Instead he turned and stormed out of the common room. This action also allowed James a quick exit of the snake den.
James followed at a safe distance. He had no idea what the snakes had been talking about, but he knew he was going to find out one way or another. Scorpius went down to the kitchens; James was too tired to bother following and returned to Gryffindor tower.
He settled into his dorm room with the six other seventh year Gryffindor boys. He had missed his bed at school. Despite all the thoughts whirling around in his head, James fell asleep very quickly.
James was woken by his best friend at Hogwarts, a boy in his year named Tomas River. The guy was an absolute freak, but in a good way. He was very short, about 5'2", with sand brown hair that always hung over his mismatched eyes. His left eye was green while his right eye was blue. Tomas and James had been friends ever since they met on the train in their first year. "JAMES!" He woke to find skinny arms wrapped around him in a tight hug. When they retreated he had a pillow thrown in his face.
"Pfah! Urgh. Uhm. What?" James yawned, rubbing his eyes sleepily. He grinned when he saw the cause of his assault. "Tomas! It's great to see you buddy but really, did you need to attack me?" James laughed and jumped out of bed to give his long time friend a proper hug.
"Get dressed, quick! We get our class schedules today! I hope we're in all the same classes!" Even though Tomas had gone to the school for seven years now, he still found magic to be awe-inspiring and strived to learn as much as he could about it. He was muggle-born, it was to be expected. He reminded James of his aunt Hermione.
"If we have any of the same classes we HAVE to be in the same class, Tomas! You know that!" James laughed, getting dressed quickly.
Once they took their seats in the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall handed out their schedules. For the first time, James was actually pleased with what he saw. He had Advanced Charms with Professor Flitwick first thing in the morning, followed by Advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts with Professor Wurnstrom. After DADA, was lunch which was followed by a spare block for studying. What James would actually use it for, was sleeping. After his spare block was Potions. His spare was only every other day; on opposite days he was taking Transfigurations. James thought his schedule was pretty decent.
Tomas leaned over him excitedly and compared schedules. "YES!" He cried gleefully. "Same Defence class! And the same potions!" His cheerfulness was highly contagious.
James piled all of his favourites onto his plate for breakfast. The morning was proceeding normally, and without any mishap. He reconnected with friends he hadn't seen in years. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, though something did happen that reminded James of something else. The very first owl post arrived, and he watched the hundreds of owls swarm into the great hall all at once.
Despite his best interests, James found himself watching the Slytherin table. More specifically, Scorpius Malfoy. He had received a letter from a black eagle owl and whatever the letter said left Scorpius looking pale and shaken. James was intrigued.
Over at the Slytherin table, Scorpius quickly and quietly incinerated the letter with a muttered spell. He wiped away the ashes with the back of his hand and assumed that no one had noticed. On either side of him were his two best friends, Monica Zabini (Nicknamed Demonica by friends) and Adrian Douglas. Monica was the one who had been speaking about a prophecy the night before; she was even uglier than James had imagined. Adrian on the other hand was ridiculously handsome, with tanned skin and shiny black hair and dark, mysterious eyes. They both showed concern when their friend set his mail on fire. Instead of an actual answer, Malfoy just growled and stormed off.
James thought about what he had over-heard the previous night; something about werewolves and something about a prophecy. His dad knew lots about prophecies; maybe he would send a letter.
"Yoo-hoo, are you in there?" Tomas poked James' neck. It was a creepy place to poke and excellent at immediately getting someone's attention. "Come on class is about to start! You were off in la-la land somewhere." His cheerful grin and childish antics made James laugh.
"Let's go earn our house some points!" James cheered, throwing one fist into the air excitedly. With a cheerful smile plastered onto his face, James ran off for the first class of his last year of school.