I solemnly swear I am up to no good...
hello! I hope you are all enjoying your summer. I celebrated a wonderful birthday here in Ireland, though I had no Wi-fi and was cut off from civilisation. Therefore I am clinging to this scrap of Wi-fi I have found to post Chapter 9 of Potter Patrol! Please enjoy! (I hope this answers a few queries!)
"Impressive, Evans, I didn't think you were capable of such fantastic mischeif," James said approvingly. "You should consider becoming a permanent member."
"In your dreams, Potter," Lily laughed. "Sounds like far too many detentions."
"You haven't yet told me how exactly you found out about us being Animagi," He said as they turned down a corner towards the Divination classroom. "Perhaps it is a snooping technique that we Marauders have yet to use."
"I'll tell you once we get to the Astronomy tower," Lily said, and James whined like a puppy. "Oh, shut up, or I won't tell you at all, and then you shall be very sorry."
James sighed and muttered under his breath, "I knew I should have put Veritaserum in her goblet."
Once they had climbed up into the Divination classroom, Severus Snape emerged from behind a coat of armor, and scanned the hallway. He darted across the corridor, and then silently crept his way towards the Astronomy Tower.
James and Lily stood on the balcony of the astronomy tower, looking out on to the endless stretch of stars. "Lily?"
"Potter?"
"How did you discover our furry little secret?"
"Oh yes." She started pacing in circles as she began her lecture, as she often did when thinking. "It started when, one night every few months, when I come into the boys dormitories to visit you as usual, you weren't there. Due to my foolishness, I failed to recognise the pattern's correspondence to the moon phases. At first I believed that you were setting up your usual silly pranks, but then I noticed the lack of 'Maraudery', or silliness, that was occurring."
James looked dead serious. "A lack of Maraudery? I shall have a word with Padfoot. This is not a laughing matter." He chuckled. Geddit? Not a 'laughing' matter?"
Lilly shook her head. "Just no, Potter. Shall I tell you or not?"
"Of course, I apologise. Continue."
"Thank you. Then my next clue was that when it came to a Patrol night that you were not present at, I went to the Astronomy tower to look at the stars, and maybe get some extra house points from Professor Sinistra. However, my star-gazing was interupted by a group of boys, who I recognised to be none other than the Marauders, wandering out to the Forbidden Forest. Then, before my eyes, I saw three of them, you, Pettigrew and Black, transform into a stag, a dog and a rat. However, Remus did not transform into any animal, and I believed that he was not an Animagus.
"Then, another night, when once again I was star-gazing, I had fallen asleep in the Tower, and I was packing up my equipment when I saw three of you carrying Remus out of that tree, The Whomping Willow. The following Saturday, I went on an expedition to The Whomping Willow."
James was grinning. "The Whomping Willow is amazing, isn't it?"
"It tried to knock my bloody head off! If I hadn't used the Immobulus charm, I wouldn't be standing here right now." She nodded in agreement, and remarked, "but, I have to agree, it is... Fascinating."
She turned back to look at the starry ceiling of the sky, and continued. "I found my self in the Shrieking Shack. It was silent, and after a good while searching for the famous ghosts that supposedly inhabited it, I concluded that the beastly sounds coming from it were you lot. And that, led me to conclude that you are all Animagus."
James was about to speak, when someone started clapping. Severus Snape emerged from his hiding place, a smug look on his face. "Quite a fascinating speech, Evans," he snarled.
James whipped out his wand. "How much did you hear?"
"Every. Single. Word."
Lily's face turned pale. James' expression was similar. "Fifty house points from Slytherin for being out here when you are not on Patrol duty."
Much to James' annoyance, Severus laughed. "You think I care? You have just confirmed the one thing I have suspected for 3 years and now," he said with an evil smile, "I can finally get my revenge on the one person who has made my life here a living hell." He turned to Lily. "Thanks for the help, Mudblood."
As he turned to go down the ladder, Lily felt rage boil in her blood, and drew her wand. "Petrificus Totalus!"
Severus froze, and fell to the floor. Lily ran over and muttered, "Obliviate."
James stood, frozen with awe as he watched Lily Evans do something he had only dreamed of doing. "Why-"
"Don't mutter a word of this to anyone, Potter," she said hastily. "If I get a single detention this year, I'm going to skin myself alive and boil myself into stew."
With that, she jumped down the ladder and marched stiffly back to the common room.
I hope you enjoyed that! I shall be back with another chapter, and better Wi-fi in about 3 weeks when I return to l'Angleterre. Also, me and my friend have crafted a joint account, and we will have some stories up in September. We are called TheChasm, and our profile is looking pretty bleak at the moment, but it shall be much more interesting once I return to civilization! Until then...
...Mischief managed.
