The Enlargement Jinx

During the following weeks, James watched their boycott gain more and more traction with the rest of the student body, prompting a mass skiving of Pollux's class. Sirius led this movement with James, Peter joining them more often than not, and a few of their classmates began to follow suit after a few days. For the other professors, this display of disobedience was viewed with a range of reactions—Binns, of course, had not the first clue about the happenings of Hogwarts, but even the usually scatterbrained Kettleburn had something to say about the treatment of his fellow staff member.

"I've heard of the . . . controversy surrounding recent additions to this school's faculty over the last few weeks," he told the class as James and Sirius snickered in the back, "and of certain actions that have followed these events, which is leading some of the professors to wonder about future implications . . ."

Whirling around, he stared down the students with his one good eye, and James briefly wondered if he was going to threaten them with repercussions when he burst, "But if any of you are thinking of skipping class, we start studying hippogriffs next week! You wouldn't want to miss that, would you?"

Even with the class' anti-climatic dismissal, James was grateful for Kettleburn's relatively mild reaction when compared to those of his other professors. Vector and Sinistra gave James, Sirius, and Peter repeated glares from the front of their classrooms, although they never said anything to interfere with their protest. Slughorn seemed the most uncomfortable with the boycott, and he refused to acknowledge the subject at all during his lectures, making the most absurd attempts to act like he could not see the shrunken chalkboards covering half of the Potions classroom. This involved scooting around the desks in a complicated two-step pattern with his back to James, Sirius, and Peter, as well as an obscene amount of time spent talking to the blackboard instead of the class. During one period, James was barely able to spot his golden hair on the other end of the room, and he guessed that Slughorn had enchanted the dungeon fog to be a bit heavier than usual.

Surprisingly, Flitwick hardly seemed concerned with the recent events plaguing the castle, even though Charms frequently required verbal components. In fact, the small wizard displayed an even cheerier disposition than usual when looking over his students' progress.

"Oh well, just add the Scourging Spell to your out-of-class assignments!" he advised James after coming by to check on his silent and unsuccessful attempts to clean the filthy cauldron on his desk. "You'll get it soon enough! And how much longer until you can speak again? Twelve? Twelve days?" he inferred from James' upheld fingers. "Wonderful! Don't forget to give Hagrid my congratulations on his new harvest of lingonberries if you see him. I've seen them from my office window, and they look positively scrumptious!"

Although nowhere near as carefree as Flitwick, Professor McGonagall kept her opinion behind tightly-pressed lips, and James suspected that her frustration mostly revolved around their new handicap in her class. At the end of a period, she stopped between James, Sirius, and Peter and dropped an armful of scrolls in front of them.

"If you can't bother to speak in my class, you can at least start learning how to cast non-verbal spells. It'll give you an advantage for next year's syllabi, and you might as well put your minds to work instead of dawdling about."

Sure thing, Professor, Sirius wrote to her, and she gave him a final glare before marching off. Considering his past experiences with McGonagall, James was glad she had not given them detention on top of Pollux.

"You know why you're not being punished worse for skipping Pollux's class, don't you?" Remus asked him after class. "You could be expelled for this sort of thing if you kept it up long enough. It's because Dumbledore hates Pollux, and so do most of the staff. And since Pollux already has you and half the school in detention, the professors feel like they can turn a blind eye to it. It's a wonder that McGonagall and Flitwick aren't cross with you for refusing to say incantations, but I suspect that Dumbledore told the staff not to bother him about the boycott. You remember the start-of-term feast, don't you? He never cared for Pollux, even then."

Then why did he hire him? James questioned.

"I still can't figure it out," Remus admitted. "And to be perfectly honest, I don't know why Pollux applied. It seems like he's always in a foul mood. He knows his subject well enough, but I never would have pegged him as the professor type."

As much as James enjoyed riling Pollux in class, the month was swiftly drawing to a close, and Remus soon left to the secret passage under the Whomping Willow to wait out the full moon. When he had gone, the others grabbed their potion vials and left their chalkboards behind to sneak out, knowing that they would not need them for much longer.

Underneath James' Invisibility Cloak, they snuck through the corridors until reaching the courtyard where James had spent his first detentions of the school year, still dotted with splashes of color from Peeves' vandalism. Satisfied that they were alone, he removed the Cloak and stood under the sky. The moon's beams were shining through a thin layer of dark clouds, but James raised his hands to stop the others from spitting out their Mandrake leaves. They had to make absolutely sure.

After several cold minutes of waiting, the full moon peeked out from behind the film of clouds, and the boys waited with bated breath until the entire sphere had appeared, shining white over the stone cobblestones. Taking a rapid breath of the crisp night air, James grabbed his vial and leaned over it, spitting the Mandrake leaf into the bottle. For the first time in a month, he was able to rid of the leaf's fuzzy texture against his tongue, although its herby taste still lingered. Grabbing a strand of hair from the back of his head, James ripped it out and placed it in the potion before holding the bottle over his head. As he rotated it back and forth, he saw the vial shimmering with a silvery hue.

"Let's put the dew in next," he suggested once the others had copied him. He found it hard to speak after a month's silence, and he had to force the air out of his lungs. "One at a time."

In another moment, they had gathered the bottle of dew that Ms. Xu had given them, a silver measuring set, and a locked box. James took the dew first, measuring out a teaspoon of the liquid before adding it to his vial. Sirius and Peter did the same, making sure not to spill a single drop, and James opened the box with a tap of his wand. Inside sat three deceivingly identical Death's-Head Hawkmoth chrysalises, undamaged by their careful delivery, and James passed the box to his roommates after taking out a chrysalis for his own.

"Let's put them in at the same time," Sirius suggested, his voice raspier than usual, and the others waited for a nod from James before setting their chrysalises in the separate vials and closing them.

"Do you think it worked?" Peter coughed out after a moment's pause, and James and Sirius looked at each other.

"Ms. Xu said that they'll turn blood-red at the next lightning storm," James said. "That's when we'll know."

"You're sure it's blood-red?" Peter asked. "Not crimson, or apple-red, or a sort of dark orange?"

"Blood-red," James confirmed with a nod. "But it'll have to work. We did everything correctly, didn't we?"

"All but one thing," Sirius pointed out. "We need to store the potions somewhere dark until we can drink them."

"How about the secret passage behind the mirror?" Peter suggested.

"That ought to work," Sirius agreed, and Peter rubbed his arms after tucking away his vial.

"Can we get back to our room? I'm freezing."

Grabbing his Invisibility Cloak, James allowed the others underneath before shuffling back into the castle. Every few minutes, Peter would tread on the back of his foot, but James kept his hissed threats to a minimum after reaching the inner levels of the castle. After pausing briefly at an echoing meow some distance above their heads, they kept a close watch for Argus Filch on the way through the corridors.

"Get back!"

Unprepared for Sirius' hiss, James stumbled a bit before pressing against the stone wall. They cleared the hallway just in time for two figures to prowl through the doorway, slightly crouched. Both figures had lit their wands, and James recognized Bertram Aubrey and Sebastian Wilkes when they walked closer.

Once the unlikely duo had passed, Sirius nudged James in the side. "What do you say we lay a little prank on them?" he suggested. "We're all out here by ourselves. It's the perfect time."

"I'm right behind you, Sirius," James whispered back. "Let's follow them a while and see where they go."

"But what if—" Peter started.

"Shh!" the others warned, and Aubrey looked over his shoulder at the noise. After frowning, he followed after Wilkes, and James and Sirius dragged Peter forward as quietly as they could.

By the time they caught up to the patrolling prefects, Aubrey and Wilkes had already crossed into a new corridor on the second floor, where the Ravenclaw stopped in front of a portrait of a snoozing witch.

"You haven't noticed anything odd about the portraits recently, have you?"

"Which ones?" Wilkes asked.

"In general, I mean. I've heard some first-years complain that they were being watched."

"First-years are often paranoid," Wilkes snorted. "If they aren't used to moving portraits—"

"It's more than that," Aubrey interrupted. "I keep seeing one wizard in particular show up in paintings that aren't his—even in places he shouldn't get to, like the common rooms."

"Don't tell me you're seeing things, too. I've heard you take Divination."

"The castle feels different sometimes. Like we're being watched."

"You're right about that," Sirius spoke up with little warning to his roommates, slinging off the Cloak. When Aubrey and Wilkes whirled around, he smirked slightly and twirled his drawn wand. "Fancy meeting you two together. I've been meaning to catch up with my least favorite people at Hogwarts."

"What are you doing out of bed?" Wilkes demanded, almost spitting. "This will land you in detention for wandering the corridors after hou—"

"Sing me a ballad, Wilkes," Sirius interjected, rolling his eyes. "Or perhaps you'd like your mouth sealed shut like Thompson?"

Taking a step forward, Aubrey hissed, "Now hold on a min—"

"Or what? You'll call the professors on me?"

Straightening, Aubrey took a deep breath as if trying to keep his voice level. "There are rules about interactions between prefects and other students. If you have a complaint, you can take it up with one of our Heads of House."

"But we're already here!" Sirius pointed out, grinning. "Why don't we hash out the details ourselves?"

"You're not scared, are you?" James goaded, and Wilkes bristled.

"Scared of you two and your bed-wetting mate?" he barked. "You've got to be joking!"

"I—I'm not involved in this," Peter said quietly while Aubrey glowered at them.

"If you're trying to prove something, don't bother. There are dozens of other cats you could chase up a tree."

"You know," Sirius said, "when we first met, the thing I disliked the most about you was your attitude."

"If I could only choose one trait of yours, I'd stand here for days trying to decide."

"You'd better be ready to back those words," James threatened, taking out his wand.

"You can't be serious," Aubrey protested, but he readied his hand at his side while Wilkes grabbed his wand.

"I am," Sirius replied, and the hallway was suddenly filled with the clashing of spells.

Yelping, Peter leaped away as Wilkes charged forward and aimed his wand for James. Stepping aside to avoid his hex, James stuck out his wand at Wilkes in passing.

"Levicorpus!"

Yanked upwards by his ankles, the Slytherin let out a yelp as he let go of his wand and hung upside-down. Having evaporated Aubrey's first Shield Charm, Sirius kept blasting the Ravenclaw with Stunning Spells. Aubrey barely had time to protect himself from Sirius' attacks, so James stepped in from the side.

"Engorgio Skullus!"

Aubrey spotted the incoming blast of light, but he could not raise his wand fast enough to conjure another Shield Charm in time. He tried to leap out of the way, but Wilkes' fallen body stalled him long enough for James' spell to reach him.

"How does it feel to know that you've got more up there than the rest of us?" Sirius laughed when Aubrey fell to the floor, unbalanced by his rapidly-swelling head. Much less smug, Peter gaped at the scene with his back pressed against the wall.

"Will it stop?" he squealed, turning a sickly green at the sight of Aubrey's deformed skull. Ignoring him, James and Sirius cackled as Wilkes struggled to right himself.

"I don't reckon anyone will pass this way for another few hours at least," Sirius told James over his shoulder. "We could string Aubrey up with Wilkes and let all the blood rush to his—"

Just then, a ferocious meow cut him off, and everyone turned towards the cat rushing their way with a vengeful gleam in its eyes.

"Why does Mrs. Norris always have to show up at the worst possible moment?" James complained, but he clapped his mouth shut when the cat shot upwards and towered over them.

"I don't think that's Mrs. Norris," Peter managed to whimper just before Professor McGonagall reached them. Flicking out her wand, she cut Wilkes' invisible bonds and rolled Aubrey over to a more practical position before leaning over the Ravenclaw and examining his condition.

"Get him to Madam Pomfrey!" she ordered Wilkes, and James knew by her tone that they were in serious trouble. Wilkes seemed to know better than stall and wait for his attackers' fate, and he levitated Aubrey down the hallway as quickly as he could.

"Professor," Sirius spoke first, "it's not our fau—"

"Quiet!" McGonagall hissed, cutting off his objections. "You're in grave trouble, all of you!"

"We didn't—" James protested.

"I said quiet!" she snapped. "What prompted you to use an illegal hex on a prefect?"

"If you're talking about Wilkes," James defended, "we didn't know that the school had made a rule against hanging people up by their ankles."

"I am most certainly not talking about whatever foolish spell you students are flashing about—I'm talking about the Enlargement Jinx you placed on Mr. Aubrey," McGonagall spat. "That spell is steeped in the Dark Arts, and it could take weeks for Poppy to deal with all the side effects! The Ministry has jailed wizards for less! If I hadn't come when I did, Aubrey could have faced permanent damage or worse."

Barely aware that his mouth was hanging open, James felt his cheeks start to heat up. "We didn't know!"

"Why on earth would you cast a spell you knew nothing about?"

"But Pollux taught it to us!" Sirius blurted out, his fists clenching. "He never mentioned that it was illegal!"

Pressing her lips together, McGonagall peered at him through her spectacles. "You must be mistaken. Professor Black would have made sure to warn his students about the jinx's status."

"No, he didn't!" James insisted, now trembling with fury. "He was going to teach it to our class when—"

"When what, Mr. Potter?" McGonagall insisted when he came to an abrupt stop.

"When he canceled class to bring Sirius and me to his office," he finished in a mumble.

"You didn't finish the lesson? Then how can you accuse Professor Black of willfully misleading you?"

They said nothing, but James knew they were stuck. After seeing their resignation, Professor McGonagall turned to Peter.

"Mr. Pettigrew?"

"Our class was let go after they left," he confirmed, taking a rest from nibbling his nails. "We went right on to Vanishing Spells in the next lesson."

At this, Professor McGonagall turned a steely gaze on James and Sirius. "And neither of you read of the jinx's illegality in your textbook? Or do you consider reading a waste of your time better spent hexing your classmates?"

Looking at the floor, James studied the cracks in the stone before McGonagall spoke again. "I believe your story, but even if Professor Black failed to cover the jinx's illegality, there's no excuse for your ignorance. And on top of that, you're breaking curfew and attacking prefects—" Breaking off, she emitted a long sigh and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "What am I ever to do with you two? Professor Black has called for your expulsion, you know, and it's only by Albus' continued intervention that—"

McGonagall shook her head and broke off, but she faced the boys again with a glare. "I find your behavior most reprehensible. Not only your actions tonight, but your perpetual disrespect for your new professor. It's growing increasingly difficult to defend your actions and keep you enrolled, and I'm beginning to doubt my stance. If you don't shape yourselves up by the time your new round of detentions are over, I'll have no choice but to curb my vote of keeping you at Hogwarts. There's more than your immediate future riding on this one, do you understand?"

Nodding silently, James and Sirius kept their eyes on the floor while McGonagall turned to Peter. "Choose your mates wisely, Mr. Pettigrew," she advised before addressing all of them. "And get yourselves down to the hospital wing. You're going to make sure that Mr. Aubrey is situated properly before returning to Gryffindor Tower. Meet me in my office tomorrow for details on your detention, all three of you."

McGonagall's piercing gaze followed them all the way down the hall, and James made sure to keep his trembling fists at his sides until they had walked halfway to the hospital wing, certain that McGonagall had Mrs. Norris' ability to see through walls. As soon as felt able, he let out a loud hiss.

"How were we supposed to know about the Enlargement Jinx?" he burst. "It's all thanks to that good-for-nothing, scheming—"

"Hey mates," Sirius spoke up suddenly, "you don't think they'll actually kick us out of Hogwarts, do you?"

Surprised, James turned to him and saw that his eyebrows were knitted together. "What?"

"It's just . . . I didn't know my grandfather was trying to get us expelled, that's all," he explained.

"But we're in the right, aren't we?" James pointed out, frowning.

"Yeah . . . yeah, we are," Sirius said, and he straightened with a smile. "Nothing about it, then."

"Do you think you might have hurt Aubrey for good?" Peter questioned, biting his nails. "What if he doesn't recover?"

"I'm sure he'll be fine," James brushed off, though the thought sent a jitter up his spine. After another moment of silence that James could not stand, he threw his hands into the air and turned in the other direction. "I'm not going to the hospital wing. I'll meet you two in our dormitory."

"I'm coming, too," Sirius seconded, and he started after James only to have Peter jump after them with a squeak.

"But McGonagall said—"

"McGonagall isn't here," James reminded him. "If she really wanted us to check on Aubrey, she'd have followed us there. Whatever she's prowling around the corridors for, it's important enough to keep her busy."

"Are you sure?"

"Look, it's on us, all right? You weren't a part of the duel, so I don't think it matters if you skive off."

After his explanation, Peter looked almost relieved, and they continued to Gryffindor Tower in the overhanging dark. Nobody was in the common room, so no one was there to question them about their disappointing night.