Chapter Four

Meaningless Scrawl

The next morning, Harry woke up bright and early for their lessons, pausing to dimly reflect all that had happened the night before. Turning to his side, he spotted the bed beside him oddly empty.

Usually every morning when he woke up, Harry would find some half-naked girl curled up in Sirius arms. But now, it seemed as if Sirius's Invitation Bed had been canceled the previous night.

Sighing loudly, a little voice said, feeling perky son?

"Oh shut up," mumbled Harry and the bed across him gave a huge grunt.

"Who are you telling to shut up Prongs?" muttered Remus sleepily. "Shut up yourself."

Harry hastily shoved on some clothes and went downstairs to the Gryffindor common room, out the portrait hole, down the Entrance Hall stairs and into the Great Hall for the morning breakfast.

At the Gryffindor table, Harry spotted Sirius shoving eggs and toast into his mouth at an alarming rate. He seemed to be eating quickly as if to escape as soon as he was done.

"Sirius!" called Harry.

Sirius looked up and his face began to take many expressions all at once. Anger, confusion, disgust and a number of others that Harry couldn't take the time to read. All he cared about was making a truce between him and his godfather.

"Bugger off Potter," snapped Sirius as Harry approached him.

"Give me a chance to explain Sirius," said Harry calmly.

"I said 'bugger off' and your answer is no, so get your ass out of here before I hex you, big head boy," retorted Sirius and he went back to shoving bacon into his mouth, chewing and swallowing hastily without pause.

At these words, Harry suppressed a slight chuckle and remembered Fred and George's name for Percy in third year. But unfortunately for him, he appeared to have made the wrong move.

"Are you laughing at me?" growled Sirius. He stood up to his full height, making a threatening power of contact between him and Harry now.

People who were starting to make entrance into the Great Hall were staring at them curiously.

"No—just lower you voice!" said Harry urgently.

"WHY SHOULD I POTTER?" thundered Sirius and he swiped at his porridge bowl, sending it crashing into pieces on the floor, where soup spilled everywhere. "YOU DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO LOWER YOUR OWN VOICE DOWN! WHY SHOULD I?"

Harry was now beginning to feel his own temper bubbling through the surface and yet he kept his voice as calm as he should.

"Because we've been best friends since forever Sirius," replied Harry simply. "And if your going to throw all these years away just because of a stupid fight, then your throwing away The Marauders."

Sirius suddenly looked as if he had been punched in the face. For a moment, for just one brief moment, Harry thought that he saw shamefulness come across the young man's handsome features, but it was gone as quick as it came.

"Mr. Potter and Mr. Black! What is the meaning of all this shouting?" snapped a brisk irritated voice.

Harry jumped slightly and turned around. He saw that it was Professor McGonagall; her face was furious and highly annoyed all at once.

"Sorry, Professor," said Harry. "It was nothing, it won't happen again."

"Be that as it may Potter, and yet I forgot to mention," said Professor McGonagall. "You have patrol duty with Ms. Evans tonight at twelve o'clock midnight."

"What?" said Harry in shock. "But I thought that the Head students patrol by themselves."

"Change of rules Potter," said Professor McGonagall smartly. "The Headmaster believed it was unsafe for one Head to patrol alone. So it is now two Head's. Oh and by the way Potter, excellent idea about the ball," she added and walked off.

Harry shook his head and turned back around quickly to talk to Sirius, but found yet again that he had been abandoned, but this time left with an a shattered bowl of spilled porridge lying at his feet.

Don't worry, said James calmly inside him. Sirius will come around and anyways the day is going to brighten. Trust me.

"Bugger it all," Harry mumbled, feeling a little disappointed that his plead with Sirius hadn't been taken into forgiveness as he hoped it would.

"Good morning James," greeted a voice warmly.

Harry turned and saw that it was his mother walking past him with a group of her friends, all who gawked and gaped at her.

Smiling widely, Harry said in return, "Morning Lily."

See, the day has brightened! exclaimed James happily. My destined love has called to me at last!

Just shut up dad, thought Harry as he sat down and began to have some breakfast. You talk way too bloody damn much.

Foolish is the man who keeps his mouth shut, but wise is the man who feigns not silence, retorted James in a very self-satisfied voice.

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Lily Evans strolled cheerfully into Transfiguration with the whole lot of her friends jumping excitedly at her, clearly shocked at what had just happened previously.

"Lils, I can't believe you!" exclaimed Alice. "Did the name 'James' finally escape your lips after all or have I simply gone mad?"

Lily just snorted and said rather off-handedly, "It was really nothing. I think he deserves the first name calling, in fact."

"Nothing?" squeaked Linda, her eyes bulging very faintly. "And what the hell do you mean that he deserves it?"

Su on the other hand was oddly quiet, and was not looking the least bit curious. However, she smiled slyly at Lily. Her very pretty Chinese features appeared to be taking in Lily's words quite thoughtfully.

"Yes, tell us why don't you!" jumped in Alice curiously. "Honestly Lily, what happen? Why the sudden change in you two?"

"Well…" Lily began, smiling slightly, as she took her seat in the back of the room. "Bit of a long story really..."

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Harry walked slowly into Transfiguration with both Remus and Wormtail behind him. He was feeling highly gloomy and not in any mood to talk or listen to both of their constant babbles.

He took a seat a few rows away from Lily and her friends. Harry did not want to pursue his father's sudden change too fast in front her. If he did, it might annoy her…

"Welcome class," said Professor McGonagall briskly, bringing Harry sharply back to earth. "Today we will be practicing the vanishing spell—"

Harry nearly toppled out of his seat in laughter. From the future, they had learned the vanishing spell in fifth year. Obviously, in the past, they were studying a little too late for his standards.

What so funny son? His father asked in a serious snappish tone. I take Transfiguration very seriously even if we do start later than you do!

Yeah, sure dad, thought Harry. You know why I think it's funny, you would too if you started earlier from where I came from.

Oh yeah, began James. Well….

Lily continued to scrawl all over her parchment, hardly taking in a word Professor McGonagall was saying.

Love was what she wrote all over the edges of her parchment. She was decorating it with little hearts and cupids, preparing for the grand finale of it. In the middle of the hearts and cupids along with the little scrawls on the edges, she would write in bold large letters: Amos and Lily.

But before she could even start the grand finale, Lily looked up from her parchment and stared briefly at Professor McGonagall to pretend that she was listening before going back to finish what she was preparing on her parchment. However, just as she was about to lean forward with her quill posed ready in her hand, she happened to half glance at James Potter who looked highly annoyed.

"What the?" mumbled Lily as the tip of her quill hit the middle of the parchment. Lily stared at him curiously as his face began to change into many expressions in a few quick seconds. For a moment, while Professor McGonagall continued to lecture them, James began to mess angrily with his hair, grind his teeth and mumble something to himself.

Lily watched in amusement as he slowly dropped his head onto his desk to give it a few quick quiet bangs. For a second, Lily could have sworn that James had just quietly mumbled, "Shut the bloody hell up."

It was almost as if … James was … arguing with himself…?

"How absurd," muttered Lily as James shook his head and turned his attention back to the Professor.

Lily then went back to focusing on her parchment, but nearly gave a scream as soon as she had glanced down

Written in large bold letters on the middle of the parchment already, while she had been watching James was: James and Lily.

Quickly, she scrunched up the parchment and unfolded it to scrunch it up again before ripping it hastily into pieces and shoving it all into her bag. Lily knew as soon as she got into the Gryffindor common room that she was going to burn those pieces of ripped up parchment.

"I didn't mean to write it," mumbled Lily frantically as she clutched at the edges of her desk so hard, that her knuckles turned white. "I didn't mean to at all. It was just a meaningless scrawl…"

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