Harry Potter and a Marauder Revival
Chapter 6: The Minutes are Numbered
Harry had thought that classes were dragging on particularly slowly after Charms; he was secretly excited about his father telling him and Hermione about the Marauder's Map.
After lunch, the Gryffindors and Slytherins had Defense Against the Dark Arts. Seeing as Harry and Hermione had arrived a few days after term had started, this would be the first Defense Against the Dark Arts class they would have.
"Don't worry, Professor Elliot is a good teacher," Lily told both Harry and Hermione as they walked to class together. "I'm sure the both of you will be fine."
Harry merely nodded while Hermione smiled over at Lily. Just as Hermione opened her mouth to speak, however, Harry saw a student with shoulder-length, greasy black hair appear suddenly on Lily's other side.
"Hey Lily, how've you been," Severus asked, eyeing Harry with mistrust.
"Hello, Severus," Lily said. "I don't believe you've met Hermione, have you?"
Severus looked over at Hermione who was staring wide-eyed at him. "No, I don't believe I've met anyone who stared at me so ridiculously," he said, his mouth setting into a grim line.
"Don't talk about her like that," Harry said suddenly, furious that even young Snape possessed qualities his older self with become in conjunction with.
"Well excuse me, Harry, if I don't like being stared at like some caged hippogriff," Snape retorted, his face flushing red with suppressed rage.
"I reckon a one-eyed hippogriff is right site better than Snivellus," came a voice from behind them.
Harry, Hermione, Lily, and Severus all turned their heads in unison to see Sirius staring a Snape with a nefarious look in his eyes.
"Please, Black, is that the best you can come up with? I guess you can't teach a dog new tricks," Snape said, smiling, his eyes now alight with mirth.
Harry noticed Sirius' smirk slip off of his face. He then reached inside his robes and whipped out his wand, saying, "Why I 'ought to teach you some manners, Snivellus, though I'm not sure that brain under your greasy little head knows what they are in the first place!"
Severus had now took out his own wand and directed it at Sirius as Hermione and Lily stood in between the two of them, trying to prevent an all-out duel taking place in the corridors.
"What's going on here," shouted a voice, causing Harry to turn his head and see his father, Peter, and a pale-looking Remus come up to the scene of Sirius and Snape trying to point their wands at each other while Hermione and Lily stood in between them, waving their arms frantically in order to block their targets.
"I am about to teach Snivellus over here what happens when he crosses my path," Sirius said, his voice shaking with fury.
"I wonder how it feels, Sirius, to besmirch your family's name by being placed in Gryffindor. Even your own brother seems to have disowned you and your blood-traitor status," Snape spat out.
This was the last straw for Sirius for he shoved both Hermione and Lily sideways as he screamed out, "INCARCEROUS!"Thick ropes flew out of Sirius' wand and over to Snape who dove out of the way.
Snape pointed his wand at Sirius and said, "LEVICORPUS!" Before his spell could hit Sirius however, James tackled him to the ground.
Sirius then said, "STUPEFY," as Snape yelled, "LOCOMOTOR MORTIS." The two spells collided in mid-air and ricocheted off of each other, crashing into the stone walls of the corridor, raining down sandstone debris on them all.
"Stop it, both of you!" Hermione had positioned herself in between the two students, both of their eyes filled with hate. "You are both acting like foolish children!"
Harry made his way and stood next to Hermione, noticing that both Sirius and Snape still had their wands pointed at one another.
"Hermione's right…there's no need to act like the way you two are," Lily said, her voice quavering slightly. "But now, we all need to get to class." With that, Lily, shooting a loathing look over at Sirius, walked away from the scene, followed by Hermione.
Harry stayed where he was, not knowing what would happen if he too walked away, leaving the charged air between Sirius and Snape empty.
Severus, giving Sirius a look of pure detestation, turned on his heel and stalked away. Harry turned around and saw James, Remus, and Peter go up to Sirius, demanding he explain to them how everything had started.
Harry then turned his back on them and walked to his Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
Upon entering the room, he noticed Lily and Snape were sharing a table but something seemed odd between the two of them: Snape seemed as if he was talking to Lily but it was clear she was ignoring him with her arms folded across her chest, her head turned in the opposite direction.
Harry took an empty seat next to Hermione. "What's going between the two of them," Harry asked her, nodding his head to Snape and Lily.
"Lily's upset that Snape insulted Sirius by calling him a 'blood-traitor'," Hermione responded, "With her being a Muggleborn and all, she places no value in blood purity."
Harry nodded once, seeing the marauder's enter the classroom, Sirius still seething with fury.
"Hermione, I forgot to tell you that James wants to meet the two of us after dinner in the Hogwart's kitchen," Harry said.
Hermione turned to face Harry with a questioning look on her face as she asked, "Why would James want to meet us in there?"
"He wants to tell us about sneaking out of the castle."
"What?"
"Oh, right, you didn't hear. I made up a story about a notice being put up in the Gryffindor common room about a Hogesmade visit. I told him we didn't have any signed permission forms and asked him if there was any other way to go into Hogesmade. He then told me he wanted to meet the two of us to tell us about the Marauder's Map," Harry explained.
"But why would he want to meet us in the kitchens," Hermione asked Harry who shrugged his shoulders in response.
"I don't know…that's just what he told me," Harry answered.
"Well, I must say, that is a pretty good story you came up with, Harry," Hermione said, smiling over at him.
He nodded in return, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He looked up and saw Lily looking at the two of them giving each other small smiles as she herself was grinning; Harry turned a deep crimson as the door of the classroom opened.
Harry turned his head and saw a younger looking man trudge up to the front of the classroom.
"Good afternoon, class," he called out. As the class returned his greeting, Harry assumed this was Professor Elliot.
Professor Elliot was a smaller man, no taller than Harry himself. He had dark brown hair that was combed to one side, as his pale skin was a stark contrast to his black robes.
"Now, today, I want to continue our lesson on non-verbal magic however this time, we will now put it into practice," Professor Elliot said, eyeing the students in turn. "I want each of you to pair up. One of you will try to jinx your partner while the other will in turn repel it without speaking. Now, everyone stand up!" The class did as they were told as Professor Elliot waved his wand and the desks disappeared. "Carry on!"
Before Harry and Hermione could practice their non-verbal spells, Professor Elliot approached the two of them.
"Miss Granger and Mr. Harry? My name is Professor Elliot and I assume the two of you have figured out that I am your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this term," he told the two of them, a warm smile stretching across his face.
"As the two of you have heard already, we are practicing non-verbal magic. Last lesson, I gave a lecture on the uses and advantages one has when using non-verbal magic in a duel," he continued on. "Do either of you know why that might be useful?"
"Because your opponent will have no idea what your next mode of attack will be," Hermione said at once.
Professor Elliot looked over at her and nodded his head. "Excellent! Now, I want the two of you to practice together. Carry on."
Harry and Hermione turned, facing each other. Harry was then suddenly aware of how quiet the room was. He quickly scanned the other students, noticing how many of his classmates' faces were contorted to keep from saying a spell aloud.
Harry turned his attention back to Hermione and nodded his head at her, indicating she should try first.
Hermione nodded and closed her eyes, her wand trained on him. She opened her eyes and moved her wand in one fluid motion though nothing had happened.
Harry smiled, seeing Hermione's face screw up in disappointment. He shook off his laughter and directed his wand once again at Hermione.
In his head, Harry was repeating a silent mantra over and over, thinking 'EXPELLIARMUS, EXPELLIARMUS, EXPELLIARMUS.' Harry waved his wand but nothing happened again.
Harry looked over at Hermione who was already concentrating on her spell. Suddenly, Harry's wand flew out of his hand and over to Hermione who caught it in mid-air.
"Excellent work, Miss Granger," Professor Elliot called out, diverting everyone's attention to her and Harry. "Miss Granger is the first student to successfully disarm her partner using non-verbal magic! Ten points to Gryffindor."
Professor Elliot than stalked away over to James and Sirius who had pointed their wands over at Snape as Hermione walked over to Harry to give him back his wand.
"Um, great job," Harry said, not knowing what to say to Hermione.
She smiled at him and replied, "Thanks."
Throughout the rest of the lesson, Harry tried to disarm Hermione but to no avail; in the meantime, she had successfully disarmed him four different times.
"Okay, everyone, I think that is enough for today. For those of you unable to successfully cast a spell non-verbally, be warned, we will do this again next week. Off you go, then!"
The Gryffindors and Slytherins collected their bags and walked out of the classroom. Harry and Hermione were walking behind the marauders as they heard Sirius say, "I think I'll be getting plenty of practice on Snivellus!"
Harry could practically feel the air suddenly tense around him as he looked over at Hermione who was staring daggers at the back of Sirius' head. Before she could say anything, however, Harry placed his hand on her shoulder. As she looked up at him, he shook his head from side to side, willing for her to keep silent.
She huffed in response, but did not retort. The pair walked up to Gryffindor tower and they sat in two armchairs by the empty grate.
"Harry, do you think we should go visit Professor Dumbledore and ask him if he's found out any sort of clue as to why we're here," Hermione asked suddenly.
Harry looked over at her and replied, "I'm sure that if he did find something out, he would let us know right away." However, he noticed an anxious expression on Hermione's face. "Are you okay?"
"Well, yes, but I can't stand the thought of thinking that the longer we're here, something in our time is bound to change," she whispered, looking over her shoulder to see if anyone was listening in on their conversation. "We could go back and not recognize anything anymore…not who we are, not Hogwarts, not even each other."
"I know you miss it, Hermione, our own time. But we have got to make the best of where we are right now. But I'm positive we will be returning to our own time soon enough." As Harry spoke those words aloud, he was hit with an uncomfortable thought: going back to his own time meant that his moments he would be spending with his parents were numbered.
Trying to take his mind off of the fact, he said, "Let's get started on our Transfiguration essay." Nodding her head, Hermione pulled out her book Professor McGonagall had loaned her and some parchment to start writing about Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration.
Some time later, Lily came into the common room and walked over to Harry and Hermione.
"Hermione, I have something for you," Lily said, holding out a small piece of parchment for Hermione to take.
She skeptically looked at it but took it nonetheless. She read the words on the piece of parchment, as Harry saw her eyes dart from left to right, left to right.
"What is it," Harry asked.
"Oh, it's just some invitation to that silly little Slug Club," she replied. "Why he even bothers, I don't even know. Anyway, do you guys fancy some dinner. I'm famished."
Lily and Harry agreed and after he and Hermione had put their things away in their dormitories, the trio walked down to the Great Hall for a spot of dinner.
"So what did you guys think of Professor Elliot," Lily asked them, piling food on her plate.
"He's good, I guess; I mean, all we did was practice non-verbal spells," Hermione said, looking at Lily across the table.
"Yeah, you two missed his first class where he lectured us on why using non-verbal magic is advantageous in a duel. He also talked about You-Know-Who," Lily replied, after she swallowed a piece of meat.
Harry instantly jerked his head towards Lily and asked, "What did he say about him?"
"Professor Elliot said that there will come a time when You-Know-Who's reign of terror will end. But until that time comes, we had all be best prepared to fight the unknown and undiscovered depths of the dark arts."
Suddenly, loud laughter could be heard from the marauders, jolting Harry, Hermione, and Lily out of their reprieve.
"They always think they're so cool," Lily scoffed as Harry noticed that she was particularly staring at James. "They're all ignorant prats."
"I don't think they're that bad, actually," Harry piped in.
"Oh, please, just take one look at that precious Potter; his head gets bigger and bigger everyday from all of his self-pride and arrogance," Lily sneered.
As another loud bout of laughter filled their ears, Lily said, "I can't take them anymore. I'm going back to the common room."
"Harry, are you sure Lily and James end up together? It seems as if she can't stand the sight of him," Hermione said jokingly as Lily walked away.
"I know what you mean; it's like she thinks he's some sort of walking toxic waste," Harry said, shaking his head in wonder. "Remus and Sirius told me that my mum started dating my dad in their seventh year. But they didn't tell me what prompted her to suddenly start dating him."
As Harry and Hermione started debating on how James coerced Lily into dating him, the Great Hall slowly emptied.
A while later, Harry and Hermione were joined by James, ceasing their conversation about him. "So are the two of you ready," he asked, looking at the two of them in turn.
Hermione let out a small laugh as she and Harry had been conversing about James mere moments before he came up to them.
"What are you laughing for, Granger," he asked her, one of his eyebrows quirked upward.
"Oh, are we on a last name basis now, Potter," she shot back.
"Please, whenever have we been on a first name basis, Hermione?" She rolled her eyes in exasperation as he waved for them to get up so they could go to the Hogwart's kitchen.
As the three students made their way over to the Hogwart's kitchen, Hermione asked, "James, why are we meeting in the Hogwart's kitchen? Surely you could've chosen a better spot, couldn't you?"
"Well, Hermione, I find the best deserts are kept in the kitchens of Hogwarts," he replied.
"And why aren't the deserts sent up to the students and staff," Harry asked.
"I don't know. There are many secrets of Hogwarts in which I believe are supposed to remain hidden. I'm positive this ancient castle is still harboring hidden opportunities that have yet to be explored."
Harry vaguely wondered if his father or his friends knew of the Chamber of Secrets; in Harry's own time, many professors had believed it was to be a myth…Harry would soon find out in his second year how deadly long-standing myths could actually be.
Reaching a painting of a bowl of fruit, James turned to them and said, "Now, let me show you how to enter into the kitchens of Hogwarts." James turned back around to face the painting, reached up, and tickled the pear. Instantly, the painting swung forward.
He turned back around with a smug expression which almost immediately disappeared as he said, "Usually, people are surprised about this hidden painting leading into the kitchens; you two look like you already knew where it was," his voice was laced with disappointment.
"Well, that's because we overheard Sirius talking about it before," Harry recovered quickly.
"Yes, Sirius can be quite the blabber-mouth," James said, more to himself than to Harry and Hermione. "Well, anyway, let's go in."
The three Gryffindors passed under the threshold of the painting and were instantly swarmed by house-elves.
"Oh, yes, I forgot to mention that house-elves work in the kitchens," James called out, laughing as a house-elf grabbed both of his hands and shook it vigorously.
Harry was pushed against a wall as nearly two dozen house-elves pushed against him, trying to shake his hand. He looked into their wide, tennis-ball shaped eyes, filled with tears of joy from being visited by three students.
"Okay, okay, enough; is Fidus here," James asked the kitchen at large. Suddenly, a house-elf dressed in a forlorn pillowcase came running up to James.
"What can Fidus do for young masters and missus," the house-elves squeaked.
"Um, how about we get a chocolate cake with three glasses of cold milk," James said, looking at both Harry and Hermione. "Sound good?" As the both nodded their heads together, Fidus barreled over three house-elves in order to prepare James' order as quickly as possible.
"So, I believe the main reason we're here is to discuss the two of you sneaking out of the castle in order to go visit Hogesmade," James started.
"Harry said you said something to him about a 'Marauder's Map'," Hermione questioned, looking over at James.
"That is correct: I did briefly mention to Harry about a map. To answer your unasked question, the Marauder's Map is a diagram of Hogwarts in which every student and staff is labeled with their particular dot. This dot shows where they are anywhere inside the castle. The diagram also shows different hidden passageways that lead out of the castle.
"You already know one of them: the passage under the Whomping Willow leads to the Shrieking Shack which sits just on the outskirts of the village. However, there are more of them," James said.
"And you know where all of them are," Harry asked, already knowing the answer.
"Of course, we do; 'we' meaning Sirius, Remus, Peter, and myself."
"And you have this map in your possession," Hermione asked.
Before James could answer, Fidus returned with a tray that seemed entirely too big for him; he placed a plate of chocolate cake in between the three of them as well as three glasses of cold milk.
"Thanks, Fidus, this looks great," James said.
"Anything for masters and missus," replied the house-elf. Fidus struggled with the large tray, seeing as it was nearly as big as the elf itself. After Fidus finally took hold of the tray, he turned around and departed.
"Well, anyway, I do not have the map," James said, answering Hermione's question from before. Harry inwardly let out a massive sigh of relief. He looked over at Hermione and he could tell she also felt immense liberation.
"The caretaker, Filch, nicked it from us last year," James explained. "But it's no matter…I know all of the secret passageways out of the castle anyway. The most common passage we use is one on the third-floor corridor. The passage lies behind a statue of a one-eyed witch which leads you straight into the cellar of Honeydukes."
"If you don't have the map, how do you get around at night at the full moon without being caught by Filch or any other teacher," Hermione asked.
"I have an invisibility cloak that we use when sneaking off at the full moon," James replied. "It's not hard really."
He gave them a small smile as he started to tuck into the chocolate cake. "Mhmm, this cake is so delicious!"
"Delicious as it might be, may I ask the three of you are enjoying a delectable after-dinner treat?"
James, Harry, and Hermione turned and saw Professor Dumbledore framed in the doorway of the kitchen, his blue eyes fixated on their secret meeting.
Well, here is Chapter 6 of "Harry Potter and a Marauder Revival!" In the coming chapters, we will finally see a very special couple come closer together! I want to thank everyone that has reviewed thus far! Chapter 7 is a work in progress and will be posted SUNDAY night. Also, don't forget to review this chapter! Let me know what you think – I welcome both good and bad reviews!