Previously...
"Oh come on Lils. Who cares…?"
"I care…" Lily began, but the niffler was looking up at her. "Fine… I guess I could keep him."
The niffler nipped her finger affectionately, "what are you going to call him?" Marlene asked.
"Potty," Lily replied.
"You're going to name him after Potter?" Marlene asked, suddenly shocked.
"Well… he probably got him for me… and everyone knows Nifflers make terrible pets… so I'll probably get annoyed with him a lot…"
"Makes sense," Marlene giggled.
James grinned happily in the corner completely unseen by the two girls.
Chapter 27:
The Writing on the Wall
Things remained difficult between the Gryffindor boys and girls. The once large group of friends quickly fell apart into two smaller groups. The boys focussed on their animagus training whilst the girls joined Lily in the library. Both groups missed the other but neither were willing to bridge the gap. Alice and Frank were the only ones not to be affected by the sudden breach in the group. They had formed their own island so to speak somewhere in the middle of the two groups. Alice remained very good friends with James and the other boys whilst still spending the majority of her time with the other girls or Frank. Frank seemed to be able to drift between the two groups happily, completely unaware of any disagreements or attitudes. James found himself staring at Lily in class, the common room and in the Great Hall. He tried desperately to stop himself but it seemed impossible. Lily was completely oblivious to James. She was just grateful that she wasn't having to put up with his silly jokes and horrible pranks. Things between Sirius and Marlene hadn't improved. They had tried being friends again but they seemed unable to put the past behind them. They were both single but neither had the guts to ask the other out. Sirius had managed to go without a girlfriend for the entire spring semester, a fact that Marlene had not failed to notice. Mary and Peter had been sneaking around as if they were worried their friends would be angry that they were still together when the group of friends had fallen apart. They would lie to their friends saying that they were just going to the kitchen for a snack. The Gryffindor fourth years were not stupid and saw right through it but they weren't bothered at all. If anything they were offended that their friends would think that they could ever be that mean. As if they would expect them to break up.
The months had passed quickly and it seemed that every day the rift between the two groups got bigger until they all wondered if it would ever recover. Each of the Gryffindors were hurt by it, all except Lily that is. Lily had noticed the boys absence but didn't really mind. In fact she was relishing the peace and quiet that was the result of an absent Potter.
By Easter time there was a new rumour circulating the school. The war had so far been very uneventful with very few attacks and the students had almost become complacent. They had felt safe. That was changing now as this new rumour surfaced. Voldemort had chosen a leader amongst the deatheater contingent at Hogwarts. There was a lot of uncertainty about who this new leader was. James and Sirius had an idea but they weren't sure. James quickly found himself intrigued and a new plan was formulating in his mind. He didn't feel the need to share his plan with anyone else. He'd not been able to sleep properly in months. He was worried – very worried. His father had been working constantly and had been injured more than once. James had long given up on sleep and so he decided to use his time "wisely" and break into the Slytherin common room in an attempt to determine who the new head deatheater at Hogwarts was. He had spied on some of the younger Slytherins in an attempt to learn the password and was now spending his evenings going up to the 7th year dorm to search for some sign or clue that might answer his question. He had almost been caught on several occasions but had after about a month of sneaking into the Slytherin dungeons, finally found out that he had been right all along. He had overheard some 7th year Slytherin girls talking one night, "Oh isn't he gorgeous!" One girl with a particularly large nose said.
"Who are you talking about now?" a girl with long flowing hair replied. James couldn't help but think that if he wasn't completely against going out with a Slytherin, he would gladly take her out on a date. "You better not be talking about Buchholz again. I already told you, just because he's lost some weight does not make him fit."
"No. I know. I didn't mean him," the other girl blushed.
"Right. So, who are you one about?" The pretty girl was getting impatient.
"Alderete," she replied quietly.
"Hum… he has got that whole new bad boy image going for him, what with him being in charge if you know what I mean," the pretty girl grinned, "but he's a bit young being in sixth year and all."
James sighed, Larmon Alderete. I knew it.
As James made his way out of the Slytherin dungeons he tried to consider what he was going to do with the new information he had found. In his distraction, he was completely unaware of Snape passing him. James accidentally banged into him. "Who goes there?" Snape asked loudly.
James couldn't help himself, "the ghost of your ugly mother."
"You! POTTER! I'm going to kill you. Show yourself… I'll hex you, I will," Snape shouted angrily.
James quickly hexed Snape before the other boy even had time to take out his wand.
James shared his new information with both his friends and his father. On the way back from dinner the Gryffindor boys tried to determine what they would do with the new information they had when they ran across a strange scene. Someone had written on the corridor wall, "The time has come to purge this school once again. Mudbloods and Bloodtraitors beware – your time has come. This is the end."
James and Remus frowned. Frank looked angry whilst Peter merely looked confused. Sirius laughed out loud, "Well there's your answer guys, we better protect the muggle-borns from the evil Slytherin deatheaters."
Merry Christmas everyone. So sorry you have had to wait so long. Please review - and I will update almost immediately.
Coming up next...
- Attacks on muggleborns...
- A new group forms...
- Professor Mincey has a moment or two...
