Wrong Place, Wrong Time
Timeline: This story is meant to take place in MWPP's fifth year. I began writing it a very long time ago, before the fifth book even came out. I think I've changed everything so it's cannon friendly, but I'm sorry if I missed anything…
Summary: "They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Naturally, they became heroes." MWPP get mixed up in a dangerous business...
Characters: MWPP
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Chapter Two
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Having spent the previous days eating and drinking and playing and thoroughly enjoying themselves, all the while innocently insisting that they had no idea where Albert got the idea that they had a secret way to get to Hogsmeade, the foursome set out to spend the Sunday after Christmas down at the caves.
"I didn't think about it in time," James said. "But we should have done this Christmas morning."
Even Sirius looked at him askance. "And miss Christmas?" he blurted out, horrified.
James rolled his eyes. "Of course not. But they might not have had guards out then, or maybe fewer. It's too late to worry about it now."
They went down the stairs.
Remus slowed down towards the end of the stairs, looking down at the map.
He glanced back at them, his frown telling them to be quiet, and the other three peered over his shoulder to look at the map, where he was pointing.
"Professor Ascott?" James said, surprised.
"Maybe he needs a broom," Peter said uncertainly.
But as they watched, the dot representing their new Defense Against Dark Arts teacher passed through the wall and entered the tunnel.
There was a long, awkward silence.
James took a seat on the steps, resting his chin in one hand and frowning in thought. "I don't know what to say," he said finally.
Sirius mirrored his pose. "I'm flummoxed."
"Befuddled," James agreed.
"Nonplussed."
"Bewildered."
"Discombobulated."
"Good one. Perplexed."
"Mystified."
"Stumped-"
"Enough," Remus groaned, scowling at them.
The two shot him matching grins before they grew serious again. "What do we do?" Peter asked, glancing nervously at the corridor that led to the closet.
Sirius and James looked at each other, then stood up. "We follow him," said James, and led the way.
James and Remus held their breath and Sirius and Peter sat still at their legs as Ascott walked by, carrying a pair of bags, one in each hand.
Their map had shown enough to let them trail behind him, but the lights in the occupied cavern were much brighter than they'd encountered on their first trip, and they'd stayed back out of fear of getting caught. Peter had dared to try to follow him, but had returned with the news that there were four wizards there, not including the professor, and they'd used a spell to keep anyone from understanding.
All he'd seen was the professor handing over a sack, which had been opened to reveal several potions in different bottles, and then he'd seen the professor receive two more bags in return.
No sooner had that been revealed that the professor had emerged from the cavern, heading in their direction. They'd scrambled for cover under James's cloak, and Peter had shrunk down into his rat form. Sirius had changed too and had ducked back under the cloak to hide at their feet.
James made a mental note to look into acquiring a larger cloak, because quite honestly, this one was just too small for the four of them, since he wasn't really into snuggling with Remus.
His mind darted off as he pondered snuggling with someone else, but Sirius shifting at his feet brought him back to the present.
They waited a few minutes for the professor to get by, and Remus lit his wand to check the map to see his progress. Once he was halfway down the tunnel, they followed him.
"I want to look into what he's got there," Sirius said once they were safely back in Gryffindor tower.
James tugged off his robes, which had gotten dirty, and replaced them with fresh ones. "I do too. I can't figure out what they could be doing down there, but it can't be good. I want to know what they're hiding. Wormtail's not exactly very good at reconnaissance."
Peter flushed. "I couldn't see," he said defensively. "And they were using a spell so I couldn't hear them."
Unless he'd poked his rat head into the bubble, James thought, but didn't say. Wormtail got so defensive sometimes, it wasn't worth bothering with. He frowned at Sirius when his friend started to, and Sirius rolled his eyes but shut up.
"Tonight, let's try to find out what Ascott's got going on," James said.
"It'd be easier if we just waited until classes started again," Remus said.
"Maybe he's taking advantage of that and doing it now, so it's harder," James said. "We can handle it. Sirius, you're on curses that they might be using to protect his office. I'll do hexes and jinxes. Padfoot, Wormtail you're on guard tonight. Lupin, you and I will do the dirty work. We'll go at oh-one-hundred."
