CHAPTER 3
5 YEARS LATER
Madelyn had finally turned 11 and was sitting on the train with James, Sirius, Remus and Peter when Lucius Malfoy showed up.
"Got yourself a little girlfriend Potter." Lucius said laughing along with the other Slytherin's.
"Back off Malfoy." Sirius said moving Madelyn behind him.
"Oh so she your girlfriend." Lucius said "I want her even more now." He added and moved towards Madelyn.
"I said back off." Sirius said pushing him up against the wall "Stay away from her or you'll be sorry." He added.
"Come on Maddie." James said and they headed towards the empty carriage at the end. Madelyn looked at Sirius and smiled, she felt very special to be protected by him.
"You ok Mads?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah I'm fine." Madelyn said "Will they leave me alone?" she asked nervously but trying to sound calm.
"If not, he'll have to answer to us." Sirius said. The train eventually pulled into the station and they all hoped off.
"Alright Maddie, we'll see you soon." James said as they headed to the carriages and she headed towards the boats with the other first years.
"Hi I'm Lara." A girl said who she was standing next to.
"Hi I'm Madelyn." Madelyn replied.
"Are you nervous?" Lara asked.
"Not really, my brother said that it isn't anything major." Madelyn replied. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?" she asked.
"Younger twins, boy and girl." Lara replied.
"You'll be alright, if you get into Gryffindor, that's where my brother is." Madelyn told her.
"So you'll be in that house?" Lara asked.
"Maybe, it doesn't always follow family." Madelyn told her. McGonagall then came over and ushered them into the Great Hall for the sorting. She went thru all the names and finally reached Madelyn.
"Potter, Madelyn." McGonagall said and James and Sirius cheered loudly.
"That is enough thank you Black and Potter." McGonagall told them as she placed the hat on her head.
"Ah another Potter." The hat said "Well I will put you in Gryffindor." It went on and Sirius, James and Remus all cheered loudly along with the other Gryffindors.
"I knew you'd be here." James said as she sat down.
"Glad you're in this house with me." Lara said sitting down next to her.
"Lara, this is my brother James and this is Remus, Sirius and Peter." Madelyn said "This is Lara." She added.
"Nice to meet you." Lara said.
"Nice to meet you too, welcome to Gryffindor." James said "Oh hey Lily, this is my sister Maddie." James said as Lily walked past them when the sorting was over.
"Hey Maddie, It's nice to finally meet you." Lily said.
"It's nice to finally meet you too, I've heard heaps about you." Madelyn replied smiling to her than to James.
"Well I'll see you around." Lily said and with a quick kiss on James' cheek, she left.
"She's pretty Jamie." Madelyn said as some Slytherin's came over.
"Not as pretty as you." Alecto Carrow said as he played with her hair. Sirius grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back.
"Don't push it losers." Sirius said "You touch her or come near her, I'll break it off." He added and then threw him up against the other Slytherin's.
"I hope there are no problems boys." Professor Slughorn said as he came up to them.
"Not at all Professor." Sirius said looking at the Slytherin's as they walked off.
"Is this Madelyn?" Professor Slughorn asked James.
"Yes it is Sir." James replied.
"Well it is nice to meet you young lady, I am looking forward to having you in my class." Slughorn said to her.
"It's nice to meet you too." Madelyn replied.
"Well let's hope you haven't inherited your brother's mischievous traits." Slughorn said, and then with a nod of the head and a smile, he walked away.
"They aren't going to leave me alone are they?" Madelyn asked looking at the snickering Slytherin's.
"Don't worry Mads, we'll look after you." Sirius said hugging her close, causing her to blush.
It was getting close to the end of the year and Sirius and James kept their word about protecting her but she found herself alone in a corridor, with Severus, Lucius, Alecto and Amycus.
"Knew they couldn't always be around you." Lucius said. Madelyn looked around trying to find a way out, but Alecto and Amycus grabbed her arms before she could even reach for her wand and held her against the wall.
"Oh you're not going anywhere." Alecto said to her. Lucius walked up to her and twirled her hair around his finger, smiling at her. Madelyn had managed to get a hand free and smacked him across the face, then tried to reach for her wand.
"You stupid bitch." Lucius said smacking her back and then throwing her up against the wall, hard causing her to cry out. As Lucius moved towards her, she heard someone mutter something and then an explosion going off sending Alecto and Amycus running, leaving Lucius and Severus alone. When Madelyn opened her eyes, she saw James and Sirius standing there. The four squared off but the duelling only lasted a few moments, when Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore turned up.
"What is going on here?" McGonagall asked and then she saw Madelyn, "Are you alright?" she asked helping her up seeing the red hand print on her face.
"I'm fine thank you." Madelyn replied.
"I think it best if you all head back to bed, we will discuss this when Professor Slughorn is awake." Dumbledore told them calmly. "Except you Miss Potter, I'd like to have a word if that's alright." He added smiling at her. McGonagall escorted the other students back to their dorms, while Madelyn followed Dumbledore. "Please have a seat." He said as they entered his office.
"Thank you sir." Madelyn said sitting down.
"So, how about you explain what happened?" Dumbledore asked.
"Well the Slytherin's have been harassing me for quite some time now and James and Sirius have been looking after me." Madelyn said "But tonight they had cornered me and then James and Sirius turned up. They weren't really doing anything wrong Sir; they were just looking out for me." She continued.
"Did any of them hurt you?" Dumbledore asked.
"Lucius slapped me and threw me up against the wall but I'm fine, it doesn't hurt anymore." Madelyn replied.
"Very well Miss Potter, thank you." Dumbledore said and he stood up to open the door for her.
"I know it isn't my place, but Jamie and Sirius were just looking after me." Madelyn said.
"I will take everything you have said into consideration, sleep well." Dumbledore replied smiling calmly at her. James and Sirius were waiting in the common room for Madelyn to come back.
"So what happened?" James asked when she entered the room.
"He just asked me what happened." Madelyn replied. Sirius walked over to her and placed his hand under her chin and tilted her head slightly and looked at the red hand print on her cheek. "I'm ok." She said quietly.
"They better hope people keep an eye on us or they'll find themselves without fingers." Sirius muttered.
"I didn't want you guys to get into trouble; I tried to explain that you were just there to help me." Madelyn told them, thankful that Sirius had let go of her chin, she could feel herself beginning to blush.
"Don't worry; we've been in worse trouble before." James said.
"Oh Sirius your bleeding." Madelyn said.
"I'm fine Mads." Sirius replied smiling at her.
"I think you should go to bed Maddie, it's late." James said smiling at Sirius.
"Night guys and thanks." Madelyn said and then headed to bed.
"I think she likes you." James said to Sirius.
"Oh go to bed Jamie." Sirius replied sarcastically.
"And you like her." James said but instead of a reply, Sirius just headed up stairs to bed.
The morning came and Sirius and James were asked to head to Dumbledore's office. When they arrived, they saw Alecto, Amycus, Severus, Lucius, Slughorn and McGonagall were already there.
"Come in boys." Dumbledore said. "I have discussed with Professor McGonagall and Slughorn." He added. "But I would like you to tell us what happened." He finished.
"We realised that Maddie hadn't come back from her detention so we went looking for." James said.
"We came around the corner and there she was on the ground, surrounded by 4 Slytherin's, hardly fair. 4 against 1 first year." Sirius told them.
"Thank you boys." Dumbledore said "Well for being out of bed when you weren't supposed to be and blowing up a near by statue, we are taking 30 points each from Gryffindor." He told them "As for you 4, you will be serving detention with Filch down in the Dungeons and you can think about not harassing any new students ever again." Dumbledore finished.
"You may all leave now." McGonagall told them. James and Sirius headed out the door first, followed by the Slytherin's.
"So what happened?" Madelyn asked when they came back to the Great hall.
"We got some points taken off, they got detention." James replied.
"I knew Dumbledore would be easy on you guys." Madelyn said. "But you do realise we haven't heard the last of it?" she asked.
"They won't even dare to try it again." Sirius told her.
"I should've beaten them myself, I can't believe I froze." Madelyn said to them, shaking her head.
"You shouldn't have to and besides, that's what big brothers and there friends are for." James replied.
"You guys only have 1 more year left." Madelyn said.
"So do they." Sirius told her. "And by then, we'll teach you how to duel properly, yes you have amazing magic but there is a skill to duelling." He went on and Madelyn laughed.
"Thanks." Madelyn said. Being a weekend, they spent the day outside by the lake. Remus was emerged in a book, Peter was fumbling about with magic and James and Sirius were teaching Madelyn how to duel.