James had just finished dinner, and was walking back to the common room with Jackson and Bella.
"Darren was unusually quiet this afternoon" said Jackson. "How long do you think it'll be before he loses it again?"
"Next Monday's Transfiguration class" replied Bella. "Professor Thicknesse will make him flip somehow."
They were about to take the stairs to the next floor, when they found Silverstone McLaren waiting for them at the top.
"Hello James" she greeted.
"What do you want?" demanded James.
"I just wanted to go for a walk with all of you" answered McLaren. "Catch up on what we've all been doing during the holidays."
"No need" said Jackson. "I saw the news, we already know what you've been doing over the summer."
"I presume you're talking about those bikini shoots" McLaren grinned. "I don't know why you're acting like I should be ashamed of all that."
She walked down the stairs to join the three as a group. All of them got their wands out ready in case she tried anything.
"Please join me" McLaren said nicely.
James really didn't want to, but if he refused, there was a strong possibility that his morning tea would be spiked with a Chest-Boil Potion.
"I'll go with you alone" he declared.
"Yeah, we have better things to do than to hang out with you" said Bella.
"Fine" shrugged McLaren. "Shall we go then James?"
James let McLaren choose the direction of their walk, which appeared to be merely through various Hogwarts corridors. James had no problems with this, as it meant that McLaren probably wasn't going to harm him. She wouldn't cast spells where there'd be plenty of witnesses.
"What are you up to McLaren?" James demanded again.
"Why does there have to be a reason for everything?" asked McLaren. "Why can't a boy and girl just enjoy their first date?"
"We are not dating" James protested, his face going scarlet.
"We shared our first kiss on the quiditch pitch" argued McLaren.
"That was no kiss, that…" James bellowed, before composing himself.
McLaren was doing this deliberately; him getting angry about it was just fuelling her on.
"If you have no reason for me to be here, then I might as well just go" he said.
"We're here now" said McLaren, more sincerely.
James stopped where he was. They were both standing outside one of the boys' bathrooms.
"What time is it?" asked McLaren.
"Ten to six" James answered, after looking at his watch.
"Ah yes" McLaren grinned. "Let me tell you something about me James. Can you believe that before last year, I wasn't feared or hated as I am today."
"I can actually" replied James. "If you were so foul from day one, people would have suspected you of being behind the Traitor of Gryffindor long before you confessed."
"Deduced like a true Ravenclaw" McLaren grinned. "The Sorting Hat made a mistake; you should have been with me instead."
James ignored her attempts to provoke him.
"What point are you trying to make?"
"The point is that breaking rules, hurting people, and being hated was all very new to me" replied McLaren. "And if I'm being completely honest with you James, I really enjoyed it."
"You like being scared and despised by everyone?" gasped James.
"Breaking rules does give me a thrill" McLaren admitted. "The same type I'm sure your daddy had, when he broke the rules."
"Leave dad out of this" shouted James.
"Speaking of family though, there is the small matter of that annoying brother of mine" McLaren continued. "I haven't seen him since he was still a baby, yet he has already annoyed me so much."
"He hasn't done anything to you" James condemned.
"We both know how irritating younger siblings can be" said McLaren. "Admit it. We both constantly wish that they would just disappear."
"I never think that about Albus or Lily" replied James. "Sure, they annoy me every once in a while, but I would never want them to get hurt."
"It's six o'clock now" McLaren noted. "You do smell a bit James, maybe you should take a shower."
"I think you're mistaking the stench that's coming from you" James retorted.
"No, I definitely think you should take a shower" McLaren beamed.
James eyed her suspiciously. Why was she focussed on what the time was? Eventually the penny dropped, and realised she was telling him to go inside the boys' bathroom, without actually saying it. After one more suspicious glare, he obliged.
James wondered what he was expected to find here. Most of the bathrooms were fitted with anti-gender charms, which prevented people of the opposite sex to enter the wrong bathrooms. Since this was neither the Prefects' Bathroom, nor the one occupied by Moaning Myrtle, McLaren couldn't have accessed it. As he opened his ears, James could hear one of the showers already running.
"Strange time to have a shower" he muttered.
He walked over to investigate, taking it slowly, in case he started to look like he was eagerly wanting to watch someone taking a shower. He crept up to the shower cubicles, and eventually saw which one was active. The cubicle's curtain was drawn, but James could see a pair of shoes poking out from underneath.
James dashed towards it, and pulled the curtain. Isaac McLaggen was stiff as a board, hit by the Body Binding Curse. He was fully clothed, but his face was left right underneath the flowing water; the temperature set to the hottest it could possibly get. James quickly turned the water off; upon a second examination, Isaac's face looked horrifically burnt.
"You bitch Silverstone McLaren" James declared.
He quickly grabbed Isaac, and carried him out of the bathroom. McLaren was waiting for him outside.
"Oh my goodness, what has happened to Isaac?" she asked sarcastically.
"You did this to him" accused James, putting Isaac back on the ground.
"I can assure you that I haven't" chuckled McLaren. "Even if I did put a Body Binding Curse on him, which I didn't; I can't walk into that bathroom."
"You told someone to do it" reckoned James.
"We call that hearsay James" said McLaren. "But it does make me happy." She walked over to Isaac, and placed her right foot on his stomach. "People are treating Isaac the way he is now" said McLaren. "Like a disgusting thing underneath my shoe."
She twisted her heel on Isaac's flesh, hoping to hurt his defenceless self even more.
"You can't get away with this" threatened James.
"I already told you James, it wasn't me" said McLaren, after finally getting off her brother. "You better send him over to the Hospital Wing."
James couldn't believe what McLaren has done. Every time he thought that she had reached her peak in wickedness, she somehow finds a way to surprise him. Torturing her brother in his first week of Hogwarts was nothing short of vile.
"You will be found out for this" declared James.
"Before you go; when you get back to Gryffindor Tower, congratulate Benedict for me."
"For what?" James demanded.
"His brother just made the Ravenclaw team."
Isaac McLaggen was taken to the Hospital Wing immediately. Madame Pomfrey instantly recovered his movement, and tended to his brunt face. Isaac was crying in pain the moment he could move again, but amongst the tears, a name could easily be heard. Floyd Falcon. Floyd was quickly tracked down, and was given a detention every week until Christmas.
"How the hell did he not get expelled?" asked Bella, the following breakfast. "He could have killed Isaac."
"Because Floyd was being used by someone else, and everyone knows it" replied James.
James had not doubt that Floyd was pressured into giving up McLaren's part in what he did, but he refused to say anything. That afternoon, Gryffindor quiditch captain Patricia Muggs held a meeting with all remaining team members from the previous year. James was the second to arrive, with Benedict Falcon already at the quiditch pitch, looking quite upset.
"You heard about Floyd?" he asked.
"How could he do such a thing?" Benedict replied. "I just don't get it."
"I think I know" said James. "Before I took Isaac to the Hospital Wing, she told me to tell you that Floyd just made her team."
"Of course" said Benedict in a moment of realisation. "Floyd always wanted to play for his house; he was practising quiditch for most of the summer holidays. McLaren must have taken advantage of his desires."
A few minutes later, the rest of the Gryffindor team arrived, with Patricia Muggs coming last. She was followed by at least thirty other students behind her, including Jackson and Aoiffe.
"What are all these people doing here?" asked Cameron Corner, the Gryffindor keeper.
"Look around you Corner, and including yourself, count everyone who was on the team last year" ordered Patricia.
"Ok" Corner muttered. "James, Benedict, me, you and Tulip. That's five people."
"And how many people does it take to form a quiditch team?" Patricia asked irritably.
"Oh" Corner murmured, now realising what Patricia's intention is.
"Collins has left Hogwarts now, and is on trial for the Devonshire Doves" explained Patricia. "I don't know exactly where Sebastian Gorren is, but hopefully he's sharing a dinner table with some Death Eaters."
"It's what he deserves" agreed Tulip.
"Meaning that we need a new beater and chaser to fill our ranks" continued Patricia. "Today, we will be testing out new recruits. By tonight, we will have our new and improved Gryffindor team."
"Benedict, you don't look too good" noticed Tulip. "I heard about Floyd, you should probably…"
"I'm staying here and practise" decided Benedict. "If I show devastation towards Floyd, McLaren could hurt him to get to us."
"If you want to get your own back on McLaren, then there's only one way we can do it" declared James.
"Spiking her drinks with a Manure Smell Potion?" guessed Corner.
"Thrash the Ravenclaws at quiditch" corrected James.
"Exactly" roared Patricia. "Now let's go and form the best Gryffindor team ever."
Meanwhile In Hogsmeade
The owners of Hogsmeade Inn cannot remember any visitors staying for as long as their latest customers. The inn is usually only used by people who had to visit Hogwarts for a prolonged period of time, but the three boys who arrived the same day as the Hogwarts Express haven't left Hogsmeade at all; in fact one of them hasn't even left the inn since they got there. The innkeeper knocked on the door, then entered the let room. As he expected, the boy was still there, though he was now holding a pair of binoculars.
"I thought you'd might like a cup of tea" croaked the elderly innkeeper, placing the tea next to his customer.
"I was feeling thirsty" replied Drake Troughton. "Thank you very much."
"If you don't mind me asking son, how were you and your friends able to get so much gold?" asked the innkeeper. "In fact at your age, why aren't you at Hogwarts."
"I'm a squib" replied Drake. "My friend Aaron won a load of money from a muggle contest, and we're using it to travel the wizarding world."
"Oh, so you're squibs" muttered the innkeeper. "I'm very sorry, forget that I asked."
He left without saying a word. It was Aaron Tekkno that came up with the squib excuse.
"People won't bat an eye about us not doing magic then" he explained. "I might be able to pass myself up as an adult, but people will wonder you two aren't at Hogwarts."
"Won't they also ask why we're not in a muggle school?" questioned Ebenezer.
"I'll be surprised if they even knew muggle children went to school" replied Tekkno.
Tekkno was correct. Many people asked why Ebenezer wasn't at Hogwarts, but all of them turned away, once they were told Tekkno's excuse. Drake spent all his time in the inn, reading all the books he could find related to death. After finishing Why did Tom Riddle Die Twice, he decided to see if he could actually spot a real ghost on Hogwarts Grounds. So far he had no luck. What didn't help was that without wearing the crystal ball lensed glasses, he couldn't see past the anti-muggle enchantments; and viewing binoculars with glasses on was highly uncomfortable for him.
"What's this?" asked Drake, when at long last, he saw some movement.
He repositioned his aim towards the quiditch pitch. He was right; several people wearing red quiditch robes were all flying in the air.
"This must be quiditch training" he sighed.
All of Cybersaur were very upset that muggles were unable to ride a broomstick. Even as Drake watched them fly, he secretly wished that the brooms would suddenly stop working. Watching from afar, Drake could tell that the training consisted of new recruits trying to shoot the Quaffle past the keeper.
"Like a penalty shootout" Drake said to himself. "First person's up… and his shot isn't even on target. I guess he won't be making the cut then."
Despite his jealousy towards the wizards, it was rather amusing watching them all try and get one past the keeper; partly because the Gryffindor keeper didn't let a single goal in thus far. After the first sixteen recruits, a boy Drake knew all too well flew to the front.
"Jackson Lestrange" he muttered. "Ok mate, let's see how you mess this one up."
Jackson flew towards the keeper quicker than anyone else, and became the first person to score a goal. Everyone else gave him a massive round of applause, whilst Jackson flew over to the Potter boy who was with him at the orphanage, and gave him a high five.
"Damn you goalie" Drake spat. "You only had one job."
"Actually found something worth watching?"
Drake jumped, and turned around in shock. Aaron Tekkno had returned to the room, and was quietly waiting behind him.
"Gryffindor are doing some quiditch try-outs" Drake explained. "They all had to do poorly, except Jackson Lestrange."
"You really don't like him very much, do you" Tekkno noted.
"I'm tired of Jackson Lestrange, and how good he is" replied Drake. "He gets to be a wizard, gets to know about this place legally and gets to do a load of cool stuff, whilst we are breaking the law just by being here."
"Quiet down" Tekkno hissed. "The innkeeper's only downstairs."
Shortly afterwards, they heard some footsteps coming up the stairs. Drake began to panic, worrying that his outburst may have blown their cover, but it was Ebenezer who opened the door.
"I've heard from Madame Rosmerta that the first Hogwarts trip to the village is next week."
"Next week?" Drake gasped. "That means we can sneak into Hogwarts, disguised as some of the students who left."
"That we can do, but it doesn't solve the problem that we need a wizard on our side" reminded Tekkno.
"Surly there'll be somebody from the Hogsmeade lot that can help us" said Drake.
"That is a possibility" admitted Tekkno.
"Anyway, we can't stay here forever" said Ebenezer. "None of my electronics work here, and now that I've been here for a week, it's starting to get really boring."
"I told you to bring plenty of books" sighed Tekkno. "Oh well; it looks like we'll just have to be more social next Saturday."