Thanks to Jettepettet for your review! Posting today as thanks : ) Next week is the second last week of the story, and the most action-packed. It's not all written yet, but hopefully I can return to posting daily from Monday.
Saturday May 29
- Sirius -
As per the plan, Sirius waited with Remus and Peter in their dorm until quarter to eleven Saturday morning. James had taken the rest of the quidditch team down to the pitch earlier, but Sirius had a special role in this event, one that only a Prince of Hogwarts could play.
At 10:45 Sirius headed for the common room. As usual, there were a few scholarly types, a few misfits, and a geek or two, left behind. Sirius couldn't imagine anyone not wanting to see a quidditch match, but he tried to keep his derision to himself. He needed to clear the room so the others could conduct their search in peace – judgement would not be helpful here, no matter how warranted.
It took only a few joking inquiries, a noble platitude, and a final triumphant House warcry to get the stragglers on board. Sirius Black was nothing if not charming, and these lowly plebs were certainly not immune to that charm. Sirius was sweeping all of the students out of the portrait hole, from a gawking second year to a pair of studious seniors, when he noticed Lily Evans was still sitting by the fire.
"Hey Evans," he called, giving her a cheeky wink. The look Evans gave Sirius in return was nothing short of glacial. It appeared Evans had decided not to come to this quidditch match – just for something different. Sirius shrugged. Let Remus deal with her. Sirius had almost emptied the common room, and he was due at the pitch.
Sirius' stomach clenched at the prospect of playing beater in front of the whole school, but he shoved his nerves aside. He was Sirius Black, Prince of Hogwarts. He would be amazing. Hopefully.
The team was gathered in the changing rooms in their scarlet quidditch robes. This was normally when James would give a stirring speech, punctuated by humour from Sirius, and supported by the occasional cheer from the Prewett twins. One look at James' face told Sirius none of that would be happening today.
Mercifully, they were called out onto the pitch a minute later. James led the way, the team trailing him. The Hufflepuff team were arranged in front of them, in their canary yellow robes. Sirius let his eyes trail over the team without really seeing them.
Until a blond braid and a square jaw caught his eye. Amelia Bones was standing beside the other beater, a bat in her hand, tapping it casually against her leg. How had Sirius not known this? He nudged Fabian.
"Bones?" he whispered, pointing with a jerk of his head.
Fabian grinned back rather evilly. "Try not to let her distract you, Black. She's been playing beater since before she started at Hogwarts."
"Maybe I should take Diggory," Sirius said, gesturing to the other beater and trying to sound offhand. Fabian snorted.
"Not likely. Bones might be able to hit a bludger through a fairy ring, but Diggory can fly. He'd do rings around you. No offence," Fabian added, not entirely sincere.
Sirius had no time to dwell on this new development. He was still struggling with how he hadn't known Amelia Bones was a Hufflepuff beater – maybe he really didn't pay enough attention – when the whistle blew and the team all shot into the air around him. Sirius swore, tried to kick off before he was properly seated, nearly fell off his broom, and had to try again, ignoring the hacking laughs from the Slytherin seats.
Sirius was barely at the same height as the other players when a bludger came streaking straight at him. Sirius swerved wildly, missing the bludger and nearly hitting an angry Greta Catchlove – who was almost as fierce in the sky as her white hippogriff. Sirius reversed into a patch of empty sky and looked around. He caught sight of Amelia Bones, who saluted him was a wave of her beater's bat, before flying off after another bludger.
Sirius scowled deeply. He spent the next ten minutes chasing down the other bludger, hoping to get Amelia back, before James shouted at him, furious that Sirius had allowed a bludger to pelt overhead, causing Damian Catchlove to drop the quaffle. James pointed to the far side of the pitch, opposite Fabian, who was flying wide arcs to protect their chasers.
Frowning, Sirius followed James' order. Now flying more sedately, Sirius was able to hear the commentary. It was done by Lance Jordan. Jordan, while a little unpopular, possessed a fun wit that the spectators appreciated, even if McGonagall wasn't always impressed.
"So it's thirty - ten to Gryffindor, two of those goals belonging to Potter – and MacMillan and Catchlove circling the pitch for the snitch: the younger MacMillan and the prettier Catchlove that is – though you'd think with a name like Catchlove she'd play keeper not seeker, wouldn't you? And the thug of a Catchlove, Damian that is, intercepts the quaffle and is streaking down the pitch – No, dropped the quaffle but saved his head from a bludger, a good trade even if Potter doesn't think so. Either way, well placed bludger from Bones, and isn't she flying with a vengeance today? If she doesn't take someone's head off by the end of the match, some of us are going to lose money. My bet's on Black-"
"Jordan," growled Professor McGonagall over the shouts of the crowd. "Hufflepuff's just scored. Maybe you'd like to commentate on that?"
"Right you are, Professor, just giving some background info for the folks who missed the whole story. Some of us might remember a certain Ball last weekend…"
Sirius groaned. This was going to be one of the longest matches of his life.
.
.
- Lily -
Lily sighed deeply and scowled at her Transfiguration homework. She still wasn't finished it. Not that it would have mattered. As Lily had told Greta repeatedly, she wasn't going to the quidditch match. Only James Potter knew the real reason: her fear of watching people fly around on overgrown matchsticks. But eventually Greta had had to give in and go down to the match alone. Lily had also had to fend off Sirius and, oddly, even Remus. But now she had the common room to herself.
Or, nearly to herself. Lily could hear the cheers of the crowd even from Gryffindor Tower. Normally it didn't bother her – after years of missing quidditch matches, Lily was usually able to block out the noise – but today it was different. Every time the student body screamed or booed or made a general ruckus, Lily glanced out of the window. She was too far away to see anything, of course, but that didn't stop her wondering if Gryffindor had scored. If Greta had come close to getting the snitch, or if her brother Damian had scored. If Potter had scored…
Lily frowned at herself and tried, yet again, to return to her homework. She felt like Potter was a bad cold she just couldn't quite recover from. Like a persistent cough, he would break into Lily's thoughts at the most inopportune moments, and sometimes he would refuse to leave. Lily would catch herself daydreaming about the Ball, about dancing, about swapping secrets, or even stupid things, like the time he'd sat with her after the flying prank in the third floor corridor, or what it might be like if she let James teach her to ride a horse. Or the way his eyes looked at her after that last dance.
The portrait hole opened and Lily wrenched her thoughts back to reality, her cheeks red. If anyone was a skilled Legilimens, Lily shuddered to think what they'd make of her thoughts.
At first Lily thought it was just Remus, but then Emmeline Vance followed him in. They were holding hands and whispering. Lily realised at once why Remus was been trying to hint that Lily leave the common room earlier. Lily, having no desire to stick around while Remus and Vance got to know each other better, had to make a split second decision – dorm or library? Lily found herself standing, scooping her books and parchment into her bag, and heading for the portrait hole. Remus and Vance didn't seem to even notice her leave.
As Lily made her way towards the library, she found herself lingering by windows that overlooked the quidditch pitch. This is silly, Lily told herself. She didn't care what happened in the quidditch match, and she had an essay to write. Still, almost of their own accord, Lily's feet took her down staircase after staircase, right past the library, through the entrance hall, and out into the grounds. Lily refused to think of the quidditch pitch as her destination, even once she'd sat in one of the empty middle rows of seats. Nothing would make Lily climb up to the fiftieth row with the rest of the school – she could see well enough from here.
Black was doing slow laps almost level with Lily's vantage point. He wasn't as hard to watch as the chasers, who zoomed about like angry hornets, weaving in and out of each other's paths. James was easily the fastest flier, and he turned on a dime, too. The part of Lily that wasn't queasy watching him admired the way the broom was almost an extension of himself, responding smoothly to one silent command after another. After a few minutes, Lily was feeling shivery, having been unable to keep herself from looking at the huge drop between the players and the ground. She closed her eyes instead, and just listened to the commentary.
"And that's another bludger from Bones, and yes, Bell's dropped the quaffle – caught by a well-placed Potter," (here Lily's eyes shot open again, in time to see James streaking past her) "and he's speeding for the goal, blocked by Diggory, passes backward to Catchlove. And he makes a move on Keeper MacMillan and it looks like its wide – but no! Potter grabs it out of the sky and aims himself… And goal!"
Above Lily, there was a deafening roar of cheers and stamping feet. Several of the red-clad players let off a show of aerobatics. Lily watched James do two loop-de-loops and wave his fist in the air. He was met with a further volley of cheers. Lily, scowling at Potter's showy antics, closed her eyes again.
"Go Potter!" Jordan was shouting, drowning out the boos of the Slytherins. "An expert display there, good enough to play for England. Could Potter's extra show of talent be because his new girlfriend, Lily Evans, is in the crowd?"
Lily started at the sound of her name, her eyes flying open again.
"Rumours say that they kissed after the ball, and with all that dancing, I wouldn't be surprised."
Lily felt the weight of hundreds of stares boring down on her from above. She wished she could just vanish into her seat.
"Jordan!" warned Professor McGonagall.
"Just keeping people up to date, Professor," said Jordan, his grin audible in his words. "The crowd has a right to know why their favourite player is playing above and beyond even his usual standard-"
"This isn't a Potter-fest!" bellowed a Slytherin, and his Housemates booed their agreement.
"Well, anyone can see that the Gryffindor chasers are a cut above Hufflepuff's," Jordan said, by way of compromise. "But," he added quickly, as Professor McGonagall advanced on him, "it seems the Hufflepuff beaters are the superior ones. Gryffindor is missing Gideon Prewett, and Bones and Diggory seem to be magnetically attracting bludgers to themselves…"
Lily was distracted as James Potter flew directly past her line of sight, grinning. Lily scowled. Potter seemed to miss this, looking purely delighted that she'd showed up. Five minutes later he scored again, to tumultuous applause and this time, to let off steam, he flew past Lily again and blew her a kiss. Apparently he'd taken her presence, and the assumption of stupid Lance Jordan, to mean something far more than reality.
Lily saw red. She shot to her feet and started jogging down the steps. But she couldn't outrun Jordan's commentary.
"Oh it looks like we spoke too soon, folks. Lily Evans is not impressed when the Gryffindor captain blows her a kiss. Looks like Potter blew his chances instead."
"If you can't focus on the match, Jordan," McGonagall said threateningly. Jordan swerved as quickly as Potter.
"And the real question is, will this rejection affect Potter's flying? Only time will tell. But another excellent bludger from Bones, looks like it broke Catchlove's fat nose. No extra points for that though, I'm afraid. Don't worry Damian, the girls weren't after you for your looks, anyway."
.
.
- Remus -
Emma's plan had worked. Lily had been embarrassed by Remus and Emma's entrance – though not as embarrassed as Remus had been – and, as they'd hoped, left Gryffindor Tower entirely. Andy and Peter joined Remus and Emma a few minutes later and they stood looking up the girls' staircase.
"Well, are you going up?" Peter asked the girls. Andy and Emma exchanged unfriendly looks.
"I'm not sure it will be that easy," Remus said, eying off the steps.
"They're just charmed against boys, right?" Peter said, unconcerned.
But this turned out not to be the case. It seemed that only Gryffindor girls could use the staircase, as Emma found out when she tried to climb them and the steps turned into a slide. (Andy had waited for Emma to go first).
So they tried to trick the stairs. Andy summoned a broom, but met with a barrier before the first dormitory doorway. Remus tried confounding the stairs with a spell. Emma tried a clever charm that attached her feet to the ceiling, but met the same barrier Andy had.
Stymied, the four of them collapsed into chairs in front of the fireplace and stared around the room for inspiration.
Inspiration appeared ten minutes later in the form of an angry Lily Evans. She stomped through the portrait hole, in what Remus was sure was a James-induced temper (most of the Hogwarts student body could recognise the signs by now, though how James had managed to enrage Lily during a quidditch match Remus couldn't figure out).
Lily stopped abruptly when she saw Remus and Emma, blushing suddenly and glancing back to the portrait hole. But their lack of kissing, and the presence of Peter and Andy, made Lily suspicious. She narrowed her eyes and advanced on them. She noted the broomstick by the girls' staircase and frowned deeply.
"What are you doing, Remus?" Lily asked, as though expecting the most honest answer from him out of the gathered students.
Remus exchanged a glance with Emma, Peter shook his head nervously, and Andy answered Lily with a haughty,
"None of your business, Evans."
Lily ignored her.
"Remus," Lily said, crossing her arms and pinning Remus with a look.
"I say we tell her," Emma said unexpectedly.
"You would," Andy sighed, unconcerned. "But it's not up to you, is it?" Andy's smile was far from sweet.
"We could use her help," Emma said to Remus, without looking at Andy.
"My help for what?" Lily demanded. Her toe was tapping now.
"As if Little Miss Prefect would help," Andy scoffed. Both Lily and Emma turned on her and said,
"I beg your pardon?" in the same indignant tone. Andy snorted a laugh at the prefects.
But Remus had made his decision. He could see no other way forward and, as the third note had reminded them, they were running out time.
"We're looking for a riddle," Remus told Lily, ignoring the way Peter's head was shaking furiously and Andy rolled her eyes in disdain.
"Why?" Lily said bluntly. Clearly she wasn't about to be pulled into some stupid prank.
"To stop the Dark Lord getting his hands on Gryffindor treasure," Andy said, partly sarcastic, entirely scathing.
Lily looked to Remus to interpret Andy's outburst. Remus shrugged.
"It's a possibility."
Lily's brows lowered. "And how likely is that, Remus?" Her tone asked for Remus to be logical.
"It's as likely as any other explanation," Emma said, her tone one of reasoned logic. Lily abandoned Remus is favour of Emma.
"Explain," Lily said, sitting on the low table in front of Emma's seat.
So Emma, ignoring the other three, told Lily the story as she knew it. Lily listened in silence. Emma's clipped rational summary was succinct and done in a matter of minutes. At the end, Lily sat, considering what she'd heard. After a minute's deliberation, Lily stood up.
"Fine," she said, surprising Remus entirely. "I'll help you."
"But you'd be breaking school rules," Remus said in disbelief.
"Shut up, Lupin," Andy said mildly. "I'd prefer Evans didn't lose the backbone she's suddenly grown."
Lily turned an angry stare on Andy, who pretended to balk.
"Oh, make it stop. I'm shaking in my boots."
"Black, shut up," Remus said, more sternly than she had. Andy rolled her eyes at him but subsided.
"I'm doing it in case there really is something to this whole riddle-investigation thing," Lily said, as though she needed the justification herself. "But," she added, "I'm not getting involved beyond this."
"Thank heavens," Andy muttered.
Lily pretended she hadn't heard. She grabbed parchment and a quill from her bookbag and headed for the staircase. When she'd disappeared, Remus turned to Andy.
"Are you trying to turn our only lead against us?"
"Soon we won't need secret places to meet," Andy shot back, giving Emma a cold stare. "The whole school will know what we're up to."
"Except without me," Emma replied, her voice dry but her eyes like steel, "you wouldn't know what you were up to."
"We'd have figured it out."
"I see no evidence of that."
Remus rubbed his temples and hoped Lily would be back soon.
.
Thankfully Lily wasn't gone more than fifteen minutes. Long enough for Emma and Andy to give Remus a headache and drive Peter to the other side of the room, but not long enough for them to start cursing each other.
Lily was grinning when she entered the common room.
"I found them all," she said, clutching the parchment in excitement.
"Do they make any more sense than the boys' set?" Andy asked drily. Andromeda Black had never been moved to excitement, as far as Remus was aware.
"Er, well, not yet, I suppose," Lily said, her grin wavering.
"May we see them?" Emma asked, trying to hide her impatience. Lily laid her list on the low table between them. Peter scurried over to see.
"Enter my lying seek Gryffindor pause at I." Andy's voice was unimpressed.
"A Gryffindor wrote this riddle," Andy said, rolling her eyes.
"Without a doubt," Emma added, eyes still on the page. "But perhaps we can make sense of it anyway. Where are the words from the boys' dorms?"
They laid that list beside the other one.
Lie. The. Of. Tower. The. Speak. Name.
And then they stared the words until they swam before their eyes.
Emma was scrawling without stopping on a piece of parchment, trying different combinations of words. Andy was scowling at the lists, as though trying to intimidate the words into the correct order. Remus was rearranging verbs in his head, hoping the other words would cooperate if the basic sentence structure became clear. Peter was staring hopelessly around at the others.
But it was Lily who said,
"Where did you start, Remus?"
"Start?"
"When you found the code words? Emma said you started in your dorm. What floor are you on?"
Remus shuddered to think what James would say if he knew Lily wanted to know where his dorm was.
"The top floor," Remus said, not sure where this was going.
As though this confirmed a thought Lily had been having, she took out her wand and with a wave, she rearranged the words on her own list, reversing their order.
"I started at the bottom," she said simply. And Remus gaped as the riddle became clear.
The first word in Lily's list was I. The first word in Peter's list was lie. And so it went.
"I lie at the pause of Gryffindor Tower. Seek the lying. Speak my name. Enter."
As Emma read out the riddle, Remus got chills.
"Seek the lying?" Peter said, confused.
"Seek the lion," Lily said quietly.
"A simple word play," Emma said, unimpressed.
"The paws of Gryffindor Tower," Andy said. "That makes no sense at all, even with the lion metaphor."
"Paws – like the base?" Remus suggested.
"Or the foundations, holding up the tower," Emma said, thinking aloud.
"Maybe we should just search for every lion in the castle," Andy said, sarcastic once again.
"Who's 'I'?" Peter said nervously.
"Personification," Emma said smoothly. "It means the treasure."
"Treasure?" said Peter, his eyes lighting up.
"The treasure of Gryffindor," Andy said, sarcastically. "I wonder what that could be."
"The sword of Gryffindor, obviously," Lily said.
"Obviously," Andy replied, rolling her eyes.
"Listen," Remus said suddenly. They stilled for a moment.
"Cheers," Emma said. "The match is over."
"You'd better clear out," Andy said to Emma, leaning back in her own seat, clearly at home. "It'll be odd if the Gryffindors find you here when they return."
"Since when are you a Gryffindor?" Emma shot back. "I at least have a reason to be here." Emma glanced at Remus.
Remus sighed. "I think you should both go," he said quietly, meeting neither of their eyes. "We want as little suspicion as possible, especially now that we're so close."
Emma left with good grace, duplicating herself a copy of the riddle before she left. Andy waited until she was gone, then refused to leave, draping an arm over the back of the couch.
"I'm always here," she said, her face in its usual mask of boredom. "What's suspicious about that?"
"Apart from the fact we should have all been watching the match?" Remus said pointedly, but it was too late. The sound of a hundred Gryffindors could be heard in the corridor outside.
.
.
.
- Sirius -
Sirius had not been enjoying the match. Apart from Jordan's cheeky comments about Sirius' and James' love lives (Sirius would make sure Jordan paid for it all later), Sirius was clearly not a match for either of the Hufflepuff beaters. Diggory often beat Sirius to a bludger he was aiming for, and Bones had nearly unseated him twice with a well-placed bludger of her own. James' face was furious as he tried to make up for missed goals by refusing to allow the Hufflepuff chasers near the quaffle. But a trio of excellent chasers does not make an entire quidditch team. Even Fabian Prewett was having trouble keeping up with Diggory, hindered by his desire to keep Bones off the bludgers as well.
During the last timeout James had called on Greta for a quick catch of the snitch, to which she had rolled her eyes.
"I've hardly seen it all game, the sun's a beast today."
Which was true. It was a bright clear day, and glary to top it off.
"Well make sure you see it before the little MacMillan does," James had growled.
"Yeah, 'cause I control both the snitch and MacMillan's eyes," Greta huffed. But at the end of the timeout Greta had taken to zooming overhead every which way, clearly hoping to spot the snitch before he Hufflepuff seeker. Sirius just hoped she didn't tire herself out so when the time came to race MacMillan for he snitch, she failed.
Twice MacMillan had pretended to see the snitch, but Greta, with her sharp eyes, hadn't been fooled. The second time Sirius had taken a bludger from Bones, straight in his knee. James, unsympathetic, told him to keep his eyes off Greta and on the game. If Sirius had his wand, he would have considered hexing his best friend.
And then it happened again, not ten minutes later. MacMillan dived, Jordan commentating his sudden movement to the crowd. But this time, Greta dived, too. She was trailing but diving at a steeper angle. Sirius, ignoring James' shout, dove as well. His bruised knee objected to how hard he gripped his broom handle but Sirius didn't let up – it was that or fall off. Sirius saw Amelia out of the corner of his eye. She was heading for the same bludger Sirius was. He couldn't let her get it.
Sirius swerved, blocking Amelia with his body. She swore and careened off to one side. Sirius, both hands on his bat, dived for the bludger, realising too late that with his inferior aim he might just as well hit Greta as MacMillan…
But, for the first time in his quidditch career, Sirius surprised himself with his accuracy. The bludger hit the tail of MacMillan's broom, causing him to roll dangerously, but the second year hung on for dear life. Greta shot ahead and grabbed the snitch uncontested.
The stands erupted with noise, Jordan screeching the final score into his microphone, "Gryffindor win 210 to 80!" The team descended on both Sirius and Greta, driving them to the ground. There were hugs and cheers and lifting them both onto shoulders. James accepted the Quidditch cup to ringing applause – even the Hufflepuffs weren't too put out – they were never going to get the cup after their defeat by Slytherin last match. Everyone else was pleased for a Gryffindor victory rather than a Slytherin one – and even better that both their Hogwarts Princes had won it for them.
James, Cup in one hand, clapped Sirius on the back and grinned. It was though any barrier between them melted away.
"Fantastic bludger, Padfoot," James said, his grin unquashable.
"Back at you, Prongs," Sirius said, smirking proudly.
And that was that. No apologies needed. They both raised the Cup above their heads, basked in the cheers, and lead the school (Slytherins didn't count) back up the castle for an epic party in the Gryffindor common room.
.
.
.
SUNDAY May 30
- Sirius -
"Piss off, Prongs," Sirius groaned, as James prodded him the arm. They'd partied hard last night and Sirius was in no mood to be awake.
"Padfoot, wake up," James hissed, now prodding him sharply in the ribs.
"Quidditch is over, Prongs. We won. Now go back to sleep."
The only reason James would dare wake Sirius early on a weekend was for quidditch practice.
"Don't make me Wormtail you," James warned. This made Sirius sit up, though he was scowling deeply. How dare James threaten to hex Sirius out of bed? How could he be so cruel?
"What?" Sirius growled, eyes still foggy, head a bit light.
"We've got the riddle."
Sirius blinked. The words took a moment to mean anything.
"What ri-… Oh."
James waited. Squinting, Sirius could just make out the other Marauders in the background. Sirius yawned hugely.
"Has anyone got breakfast?"
"Breakfast?" Remus said, appalled. Peter, whose head had perked up at the suggestion, sighed and sat back on his bed. "We're close to uncovering what at least one death eater wants at Hogwarts, and you want food?"
"Yes," Sirius said petulantly, flopping back onto his bed. "And there'd better be bacon."
.
Sirius must have dozed off. He woke a few hours later, glanced at the clock, and swore. It was nearly lunchtime. And lunch never had bacon. A shower cleared his head, and a hearty lunch filled his stomach. The Marauders were nowhere to be found. Glowering, Sirius pulled out his mirror. James answered at once.
"Awake now, are you?" James said, grinning. Sirius scowled.
"Where are you?"
"Poker room," James said. "Are you finally joining us?"
Sirius didn't bother to answer, slipping the mirror back into his pocket and slouching off in the direction of the Divination tower.
They were all there, the Marauders plus an impatient Andy, and an absorbed Vance with her head buried in a book.
"So," Sirius said, stretching out between Andy and James. "Solved the riddle yet?"
"Nope," James said, but he seemed unconcerned. Remus shot him a glare but James ignored him, stretching out on the floor to do some push ups. "Show him, Moony," James added, gesturing with one hand while he continued his push ups with the other.
With a sigh, Remus handed Sirius a slip of paper. Sirius read it aloud.
"I lie at the paws of Gryffindor Tower. Seek the Lion. Speak my name. Enter."
Sirius looked around at them all. "Yeah. So, what's it mean?"
"We think 'paws' must refer to the base of Gryffindor Tower," Emma said, beginning a succinct summary. "We need to find a lion carving or statue and speak a codeword."
"Speak my name," Sirius repeated. "Whose name?"
"The name of the treasure, dimwit," Andy said. She was reclined elegantly but seemed to be offering no help to the investigation.
"Gryffindor's treasure?" Sirius said slowly. "Surely not – you mean the sword of Gryffindor?" Then, after a moment, "But why would Voldemort want that?"
"Why indeed," sighed Remus, rubbing his nose.
"The most important thing," James interrupted, "is that we find it first."
"Yeah, how do we do that?" Sirius said.
"Well, we've searched a number of locations already," Emma said, looking up from her book again.
"While you were asleep, lazy bones," James added, but without heat.
Emma ticked them off on her fingers. Andy, watching her, rolled her eyes.
"The common room – which is the base of Gryffindor Tower itself. The lawns beneath it. And a number of lion statues-" Here Vance paused to consult a list, but Sirius interrupted.
"The lawns?" Sirius said sceptically. "Because there are so many lions out there."
"Did you have something better?" Remus said mildly, glancing between Emma's stern look and Sirius' mocking smirk.
"Sure, what about the castle wall below the Tower?"
"You mean the outside wall?"
"Why not?" Sirius said with a shrug. "Prongs and I will check it on brooms. Be a pretty neat hiding place."
"Good idea, Padfoot," James said, springing to his feet. "Let's go."
"Now?" Sirius said in mild surprise.
"Why not? We're running out of time, according to the third note."
"Would you rather stay here listening to ever increasingly mad theories?" Andy said, her eyes mockingly innocent.
"Or be sent off to say ' the sword of Gryffindor' to every lion statue in the castle?" Peter said, rather grumpily. It was obvious who'd had that task this morning.
"Nope," Sirius said quickly, heading out after James. "But good luck with that."
.
.
- Andy -
"It'll take ages to search all these statues," Peter whined when Vance and Remus had finally finished their list.
"That's if our password is even right," Andy drawled, bored. Who said hunting for treasure was exciting? It was nearly dinner time and they'd made no real progress. "And what about tapestries? And pictures of lions?"
Vance blinked and Remus sighed.
"I think we need to get out for a bit," Remus said, stretching stiff muscles. "We've been here for hours."
"We should search the lawns again, while it's still light," Vance said, getting to her feet. "We can do the statues and everything else at night."
"Count me out," Andy said, also getting up. "I'm not wandering around like a fool muttering 'Gryffindor' all over the place."
"Why does that not surprise me," Vance said, in a good impersonation of Andy's usual drawl. Andy raised an eyebrow, both irked and impressed.
"Let me know if you find anything," Andy said, sweeping out of the room before the others. Once out in the corridor, she wasn't sure where to go. She set off for the owlery, just to have a destination. It would look stupid if the others found her hesitating out here in the hallway.
Andy heard them wandering off in the other direction behind her. Andy didn't expect them to find anything – not out on the lawns or up on broomsticks anyway. Godric Gryffindor might have been, well, a Gryffindor, but he lived over a thousand years ago, in a time when riddles and secret chambers were not only common, but tradition. Something Blacks understood well was tradition.
The sword of Gryffindor wouldn't be hidden anywhere stupid, nor anywhere obvious (like the common room), nor anywhere just anybody could dig it up (like the lawns). Though she'd scorned the idea, and refused to participate herself, the best bet really was a lion statue or tapestry or something similar. But Andy doubted the password was something as simple as 'Gryffindor' or 'sword of Gryffindor'.
'Say my name,' the riddle said. Well that was a riddle in itself. Surely Godric Gryffindor has some creativity? And how did they know it was even the sword of Gryffindor that the riddle led to?
Andy doubted even more that Voldemort wanted the sword of Gryffindor. What would he use it for? He had magic to steal, to kill, to torture. Even a magical sword would be far less useful than a wand.
No, Andy's real reason for helping the Marauders, and putting up with the know-it-all Vance, was to keep herself busy. Wilkes and the other Slytherins were driving her crazy, but when she spent time alone her thoughts were just as effective at irritating her. Andy knew there was no future for her and Tonks, so why did her mind insist on playing her a highlights reel – both the best and worst of their time together?
Andy made it to the owlery without thinking of a better place to go. She was leaning out of a window, enjoying the breeze and surveying the grounds, when a noise behind her made her turn.
It was Tonks. Andy's heart leapt into her throat and she froze. Tonks was also frozen, his eyes wide, a letter in his hand. Andy swallowed a lump in her throat and tried to ensure her face was at its bored neutral expression. It was hard to be sure, especially with her heart thumping in her ears.
They stood stock still, watching each other for a moment. Andy knew she should lean causally back against the wall and say something dismissive, or brush past him without a word. But her knees had locked into place and she was worried she might stumble if she tried to move.
"Er, I was just…" Tonks said, gesturing with the letter to the owls.
Here Andy would make a derisive comment about muggleborns not having an owl of their own and having to use a school owl. But the words got stuck in her throat. Tonks was watching her closely. Too closely.
"I haven't seen you around much," Tonks said, though he looked like he instantly regretted his words.
"Well I haven't been avoiding you, if that's what you're saying," Andy snapped. Here was where she'd turn on her heel and leave. Or tell him he wasn't worth her time. Again, Andy didn't move.
"Smith says you've been skipping classes," Tonks said, taking a step towards her.
"I always skip classes," Andy said, her voice lacking its usual caustic tone. Tonks took another step, his brown eyes on hers. Softer than she'd seen them since the night of the ball.
"Are you okay, Andy?"
Andy felt her breath catch. Why would he care? After the way she'd treated him. Andy felt her own gaze caught in his. She finally felt a compulsion to move – only this time she wanted to step nearer to Tonks. Andy forced herself to break eye contact.
"It's 'Black'," she said, but her voice was softer than she intended. Tonks didn't look away.
"People who don't see the real you call you 'Black'," he said, even more softly. Tonks was still trying to catch her eye. As though magnetically drawn to him, Andy's face turned back.
Tonks was smiling, ever so slightly, his eyes gentle. Warmth flooded Andy, but it was followed a moment later by panic. Did Tonks suspect, did he know the real story? Andy stumbled back, needing to put distance between them, but Tonks followed a step. Andy was supposed to be protecting him, but her traitorous heart wanted nothing more than to close the space between them.
Andy was still caught in Tonks' gaze when the owlery door swung open. They both turned, the spell broken. William Wilkes stood in the doorway, scowling. Andy's eyes narrowed.
"Andromeda," Wilkes said, his voice rough and possessive. He didn't miss the way Tonks moved half a pace to stand in front of Andy. Nor did Andy. Unsure whether she was flattered or offended, Andy stepped past Tonks to face Wilkes, head high, face full of scorn. Andy would not be belittled or humiliated by a tiny person like Wilkes.
"What do you want, Wilkes?" she demanded.
"I think you mean 'William'," Wilkes said, eyes narrowing, flashing a look at Tonks. Andy realised her error and had to work to keep from glancing over her shoulder at Tonks herself. Of course he'd heard.
Irritated with both Wilkes and Tonks, and herself, Andy pushed past Wilkes for the door. "Let's go," she muttered. As soon as they were out in the corridor, Wilkes caught up with Andy and grabbed her arm. Andy turned eyes of pure venom on him and wrenched her arm away.
"Have you been following me?" Andy demanded. Wilkes ignored her question.
"Just what are you playing at, Andromeda?" Wilkes hissed. "Is this how you keep up appearances?"
"Worried about your reputation, Wilkes?" Andy hissed back. "Quite the bump to your reputation, isn't it? Dating a Black."
Indeed, Wilkes had been enjoying increased popularity. More boys wanted to sit with him, more girls wanted a 'private word'. Andy didn't care a jot what he did with his time, as long as this charade protected Tonks. Which, it seemed, Andy was intent on destroying.
"You just keep yourself in line," Wilkes snarled, "or I'll tell Bellatrix."
"Tell her what?" Andy laughed, the sound derisive. "If you think Bellatrix doesn't know everything that goes on in Slytherin House, think again."
"Does she know you've been sneaking up to the owlery to meet your precious mudblood?" Wilkes' voice was cold and dangerous. Andy hesitated. There was no point denying it, despite the fact they'd met by accident. Wilkes wouldn't believe that for a moment. From the look on his face, Wilkes knew he had Andy beaten.
"Let's go back to the common room, darling," Wilkes purred, his eyes flashing with an evil triumph. He went to grab Andy's arm again, but she sidestepped.
"Don't touch me," she growled, "or you'll regret it, darling." Wilkes met her cold stare with a look of challenge, but a moment later he looked away. A boy like Wilkes was never going to intimidate Andromeda Black.
Still, to keep up appearances, as well as their uneasy truce, they walked back side by side. Wilkes was careful not to let his fingers brush against Andy's.
.
.
- Lily -
Lily had had a strange day. She hadn't felt much like company, but being alone filled her head with a useless jumble of thoughts – many of them centred on Potter, on the match yesterday (and his arrogance with that kiss) and, of course, the riddle they had found.
Once the quidditch team and the rest of the Gryffindors had returned to the Tower there was no point trying to discuss anything. James and Sirius were clearly in a mood to party, and she saw them dismiss Remus' attempts to talk to them. Loud music, butterbeer, fireworks and plenty of food and dancing filled up the rest of the evening. Lily had gone to bed and listened to the ruckus from the safety of her hangings. Needless to say, her Transfiguration homework was still unfinished.
This morning Lily had watched Remus and James go over the common room again, this time slowly and deliberately, muttering to themselves. Lily was intrigued, but not enough to get involved, especially not with James present. Lily thought she'd be able to work once they'd gone, but she gave up on that, too. The common room, while still full of Gryffindors, was strangely empty without the Marauders.
Lily had headed down to the barn but been surprised by the Marauders once again on her way back. Remus and Peter and Vance were walking over the lawns between the castle and the Hippogriffs' paddock, staring at the grass as though they'd lost something, muttering to themselves. And, as Lily approached the castle, she saw two figures on brooms flying around the base of Gryffindor Tower. Lily stopped and stared. Even from this distance she could see James gripping the broom with only his knees, as comfortable seven storeys in the air as he was on the Gryffindor sofa. Lily watched them for far longer than she'd intended, and was surprised when Greta appeared and tugged on her arm.
"Earth to Lily!"
"Sorry, Greta," Lily said, attempting a laugh.
"Just a spot of Potter-watching?" Greta said. She was smiling, but her eyes were shrewd.
"Just wondering what they're up to," Lily said, trying not to look guilty.
"As I always say, a pointless exercise. We'll find out when they pull their prank. Dinner?"
"Mmm," Lily said, but she glanced back at the flying figures, then out over the lawn. Then she wished she hadn't. Greta followed her gaze.
"Acting odder than usual, aren't they?"
"Mmm," Lily said, tight-lipped, but Greta wasn't fooled.
"You're keeping secrets again," Greta accused, hands on her hips.
"Nope, just curious," Lily said, her voice light.
"Riiiight," Greta said, clearly not about to drop it. Lily turned her face into a scowl.
"In case you've forgotten, Potter isn't about to confide in me nowadays, nor I in him."
Greta faltered, then rallied.
"Lupin might though-"
"I'm getting dinner," Lily said and, head in the air, stalked up to the castle. Greta humphed and followed her. But despite Greta's curiosity, Lily knew she had to risk finding out more. If this really did involve Voldemort, they might need her help to get some proof.
Later that night, behind the safety of her hangings, Lily sent Remus a note.
I'm in.
.
.