Chapter 41
For Ginny, the next several days passed in a depression filled haze. She had decided not to tell anyone else about her fight with Harry, and only she and Colin had known that he had come to the castle at all since she had not told anyone else, including her brother, Hermione, and Draco. She had tried repeatedly to come up with some way to convince the headmaster or Remus to tell her exactly where Harry was, but both had flat out refused to tell her so she had been left with no hope in contacting him. She had tried to send Hedwig to him with a letter, but she had returned the next morning, obviously unable to find him since the letter still remained tied to her leg. She had run out of options and ideas on how to contact her boyfriend, and so she had resigned to the fact that she would have to wait for several months until she could see him again, and preyed that he would be willing to forgive her when he did return.
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Harry was not feeling much better than Ginny. After four days of sitting through classes with the sixth year students, he was no closer to finding their mystery girl than they had been when they arrived, and his thoughts often wandered to the red headed girl he had left behind in the Gryffindor common room in tears. He had briefly entertained the thought to contact her, but his only possible way of doing so would be to write her a letter and leave it with someone to give to her in the future, but Sirius had immediately shot down that idea. If he were to give anyone a letter now and tell them to keep it for over two decades before delivering it to a girl who wasn't even bon yet, their cover would be blown and that person at least would know that they were from the future, and they would be forced to tell at least them why they were in the past, and that would reveal more of their story than they wanted to be known by anyone in this time, namely that the future Voldemort was in the castle. Because of this, Harry was also forced to wait until he returned to his own time before he could set things straight with Ginny and hope she would forgive his cold and judgmental attitude toward her.
Right now, he was sitting in front of the fire in he and Sirius' rooms and reading a book on the dark arts he had found in the library earlier that morning, waiting for Sirius to return from a meeting the headmaster was having with all the staff in which he demanded the aurors presence to go over his ideas on how to strengthen the wards protecting the school. Since it was Saturday, Harry had decided to remain in the rooms rather than go to the great hall to eat in order to escape the looks that were constantly directed toward him, and he was in the process of eating a sandwich one of the house elves had delivered for him, and as he finished it, the door swung open to reveal a very weary looking Sirius Black.
"Hey, Sirius, how was the meeting?" asked Harry as he put his book down and turned to face his godfather
"Terrible" said Sirius as he collapsed into the chair beside Harry "Do you have any more food? I'm starving" he said as he eyed the remains of Harry's sandwich hungrily
Chuckling, Harry waved his hand and the plate between them became piled high with the delicious lunch, and Sirius wasted no time in attacking it.
"So, did you find out anything interesting?" asked Harry once the other man finished eating
"Not much, but we need to get to work this afternoon with the wards, from what Albus told me they couldn't withstand any kind of attack for long and I could defiantly use your help if you wouldn't mind"
"Fine by me, I need something to distract me for a little while" said Harry as he got to his feet "Just let me get my cloak and I'll be ready" he said as he walked into his bedroom, returning a few moments later wearing his scarlet cloak, staff in hand, but that was not what surprised Sirius, tucked into Harry's robe belt were his sword and dagger. Both were effectively concealed beneath his cloak unless you knew they were there, but why Harry felt he needed to carry them at all worried Sirius.
"Why are you taking your weapons, Harry?" he asked as he pulled his own cloak on
"I just have a feeling that something is going to happen soon and I would rather not be caught unprepared" he said with a shrug of his shoulders "Besides, if we get done early enough, I might try to get some practice in"
"Would like some competition?" asked Sirius with a small smile on his face
"You know how to use a sword?" asked Harry in shock
"Of course!" exclaimed Sirius, sounding slightly offended "My father started teaching me when I was a child, and I was quite good, if I do say so myself" he said proudly
"We will just have to wait and see if you are as good as you say you are now won't we?" Harry said with a smirk as he led the way out of the room
Sirius just raised his eyebrows at this but decided not to comment further as they walked through the halls of the castle, Harry walking beside him in silence. They walked out to the borders of the school grounds before they talked again.
"So, what wards does Dumbledore want you to strengthen?" asked Harry
"All of them, if possible, as well as add some new ones" replied Sirius
"Well, we had better start with the most important, the anti apparition field" said Harry as he raised his staff and instantly a beam of gold light erupted from the red stone and Sirius could see the magic trail along the invisible dome that covered the school for several seconds before he raised his wand and said an incantation under his breath, his golden light mixing with Harry's, though not nearly as strong, and engulfing the entire castle and grounds for several minutes. Once they were done there, they continued walking along the perimeter of the grounds and cast the same spell every couple of meters, effectively strengthening the ward that would keep death eaters from being able to apparate directly onto the grounds. Three hours later, they had decided to call it quits for the day and headed over toward the shore of the lake.
"Now what?" asked Sirius
"Well, I was wondering if you were still up for a friendly competition" said Harry with a closed expression on his face
"Right now?" he asked and was met with a smirk from his godson that caused him to suddenly worry
"Well, of course now, I see nothing else to do" he answered innocently, and before Sirius could answer, Harry had conjured a sword and tossed it to him before withdrawing his own and standing ready, both oblivious to the eyes that were watching them from the top of the astronomy tower.
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James Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew had just arrived atop the astronomy tower, planning their next prank away from prying classmates and annoying professors. They had been distracted from their plotting, though, when a gold light had surrounded the entire school grounds.
"What was that?" asked James in amazement
"I don't know" replied Remus, his voice quiet as he looked over the grounds as well
"Do you think it is you-know-who?" asked Peter hesitantly
"No, I don't think so, it doesn't feel evil" said Sirius
Just then, the light pulsed again before it began to fade away, but not two minutes later, it had returned. The pattern continued for quite some time before the light faded for good, the entire time the four marauders could only watch in amazement and anxiety, waiting to see who came from the boundaries of the school so they could see who had been casting such powerful magic. Once the gold light faded for good, they got their wish as two figures emerged from the forest directly across from the lake. One was wearing a dark blue cloak and had dark brown hair and he was carrying his wand. They were not surprised by his presence and immediately recognized him as the man named Joseph from the ministry. The one walking beside him, though, was more of a surprise. He was wearing a scarlet and gold cloak and had jet black hair that reached the middle of his back and was carrying a dark wood and golden staff in his hand. They were headed toward the lake so James turned toward his friends.
"What do you think they were doing out there?" he asked
"I bet the ministry sent Joseph to strengthen the wards around the school" said Remus
"But why was that transfer student, what's his name, with him, it's not like a sixth year could be any help with this, it's really advanced magic" said Sirius
"His name is Harry, I think" said James "And he was probably just keeping his godfather company or something" he said with a shrug of his shoulders "There is no way he could have been casting any of those spells" he said confidently
"Oh" said Sirius as he turned his attention back to the pair directly below them who appeared to be talking. An instant later though, Harry tossed what looked like a sword to Joseph before he pulled another out from his robes. After a short bow by both, they began to fight, the sound of metal hitting metal cutting through the still spring air.
"Whoa, look at that!" said Peter in awe as they fought back and forth, both appearing equally matched and very talented at the skill.
"They're good" said James "They could probably even beat you, Padfoot"
Sirius just nodded mutely at this. He had always known how to use a sword, his father had taught him from a young age, but he doubted that he could ever be as good as the two he was watching. After nearly twenty minutes of the 'battle' in which both opponents twisted and struck, Harry quit playing around and ended it. With a quick jump to the side to avoid the other's sword, he went on the offence and with several faster than light maneuvers had the other man on the ground and both swords in his hand pointed at his chest. From the tower, they could see both of them laughing as Harry reached down and helped his godfather to his feet before tucking his sword into his belt and picking up his staff from the ground beside them, the other sword vanishing from his hand and the pair made their way to the castle.
"Well, that was defiantly interesting" said Sirius as they finally descended the tower and set off toward the Gryffindor common room
"I'll say" agreed James
"I thought he was just a sixth year, how can he fight like that?" mused Remus
"Maybe they taught sword fighting at his other school" suggested Peter
"No, one of the Ravenclaw girls asked him where he went to school before and he said his godfather had always taught him on his own, until now he has never been to school" said Sirius
"How do you know that?" asked James in amazement
"I overheard her telling one of her friends in the hall a couple days ago" he answered with a shrug
"Well, that explains why he's so quiet I guess, if he's never been to school before" said Peter
"What do you say we try to talk to him after dinner tonight" suggested James as they reached the fat lady "See if we can find out anything else about him and maybe get him to help Padfoot here with his fighting. He must be pretty bored, I mean, have you ever seen him talk to anyone other than his godfather?" he asked
"Ha ha Prongs, very funny" said Sirius "but maybe we could use it as an excuse to talk to him" he agreed
"Good, it's settled then, tonight after dinner we approach Harry and see if we can convince him to help Sirius with his fight and hopefully find out a little more about him, and if nothing else, maybe he could help us decide what to do to the greasy Slytherin" said James as they entered the common room
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After their quick fight beside the lake, Harry and Sirius went to their rooms to change for dinner, Harry taunting Sirius on his defeat the entire way through the castle.
"Will you be able to help me out again next weekend, Harry? Albus wants me to set up some protection for the village as well" asked Sirius as they walked
"Why wouldn't I be able to go?" asked Harry in curiosity
"Next weekend is a Hogsmeade weekend, I just thought you may want to go to the village with some of the other students" said Sirius without meeting Harry's gaze
"What are you getting at, Sirius?" asked Harry "You know that my time has been spent looking for this girl, I haven't quite had any time or desire to make friends here"
"Harry, you need to take advantage of this situation, you will never get another opportunity like this" said Sirius as he looked at his godson
"Sirius, I can't" said Harry quietly
"Why not?"
"Sirius, if I talked to my parents, I don't know if I would be able to keep it a secret that Peter will betray them" said Harry honestly "not to mention, I don't think I'll be able to look at that rat without doing something I would rather not do" he finished
"Harry, your mum and dad were wonderful people, and I think it would do you good to meet them and get to know them while you're here" he said finally, and looked to Harry, and saw shock and longing on his face
"I really want to speak with them Sirius, but what if I end up telling them something I shouldn't?" he asked hesitantly
"Harry, don't worry about that" began Sirius "if you do say something, we can always use a selective memory charm on them so that they only remember that you were here, and nothing else about you"
"Do you really think that would work?" asked Harry, almost hopeful
"I think it already has" said Sirius with a small smile on his face "All I remember about the end of my sixth year was that we had a transfer student, and obviously, I should remember more since I had lessons with him"
Harry gave him a hesitant smile "I'll try to talk to them, but give me a couple of days to figure out what to say, ok"
"Sure, Harry, I'm glad you decided to do this, I don't think you are going to regret it all" said Sirius as he put an arm around Harry's shoulders and gave him a gentle squeeze
"Thanks Sirius" said Harry "I'm going to change for dinner, I'll be ready in a couple of minutes" he said as they parted in the living room and went to their own rooms.
The pair arrived at the great hall just as dinner was beginning, and made their way up toward the head table, but half way there, Harry felt someone grab a hold of his cloak and he spun around and came face to face with his sixteen year old father.
Harry didn't know what to say, so he just stood there and looked dumbly into the face he had been staring at from a distance for four days. After several moments, Harry turned to try and plead with Sirius to help him, but the older man was already at the staff table, oblivious to the fact that he was now walking alone.
Finally, James spoke up "Hi there, I'm James Potter and I was wondering if you would like to eat here with my friends and I instead of with all of the professors" he said with a kind smile on his face, but upon seeing Harry's almost terrified expression, it disappeared to be replaced by concern "Don't worry, we won't bite, well most of us won't anyway" Harry remained silent for another couple of moments, and James, afraid that he had offended the other boy released his grasp on the cloak and spoke again "If you don't want to, it's all right, we just thought you would want some company your age"" he said with a shrug of his shoulders, but Harry had finally found his voice.
"Um, well, um, sure" he sputtered out, and James' face lit up
"Great!" he exclaimed with a wide smile as he shifted closer to the person next to him to make room for Harry on his right, between himself and the younger Sirius.
"Just a minute, though, let me tell my godfather where I am" said Harry as he turned around and walked toward the staff table, Sirius looking at him curiously as he approached.
"Where did you go, Harry? I thought you were right behind me" said the man when Harry stopped directly in front of him.
"I got stopped be a certain group of Gryffindor sixth years who want me to eat with them" said Harry, and Sirius could tell that he was very nervous about something.
"Are you going to eat with them?" asked Sirius
"Yes" answered Harry hesitantly
"Don't worry, Harry, right now you are the same age as them, just treat them like you do Ron, or Dean, or Seamus, just have fun" said Sirius with a reassuring smile on his face.
"Thanks again, Sirius. I'd better go" said Harry as he returned the smile and left his godfather to join the awaiting marauders.
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After Harry had left the table to go speak with his godfather, James turned to his friends with a victorious grin on his face.
"Told you I could convince him to sit with us" he said smugly, but much to his surprise, none of his friends looked as happy.
"What do you think that scar on his face came from?" asked Remus
"What scar?" asked Peter but before he got an answer, James spoke up
"What are you guys worried about?" asked James, sensing the unease of his friends
"Doesn't he seem kind of strange to you Prongs?" asked Sirius
"What do you mean, Padfoot?"
"He just seems so distant, like there is much more to him than meets the eye" said Remus "And what about that staff he is always carrying around?" he asked as he risked a glance at Harry who was standing in front of the staff table, speaking quietly to his godfather, clutching the staff tightly in his right hand
"Well, he doesn't seem dangerous with it, and maybe he's just quiet" said a voice from beside James, and they all turned to see Lily taking her seat.
"Hi Lily" said James as he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek
"Well, I don't know about you, but I can't wait until next week to see how good he is a magic, we are doing practical lessons in charms, defense, and transfiguration all week, no more theory or book lessons" said Sirius anxiously
"Just give him a chance guys, he seems perfectly nice to me" said James in a loud whisper as he noticed Harry was making his way back toward them.
The boy gave them all a hesitant smile as he took his seat between James and Sirius and lowered the cowl of his cloak. This was the first opportunity any of them had gotten to see his features up close since he always sat at the back of classes and they sat at the front, and anytime he was seen walking through the halls, his hood was up. Until now, all they knew about him was that he had long black hair and Remus had been the only one to spot the scars on his face until now. They all just surveyed his face curiously for several moments, noticing the bright green eyes immediately, but their attention was soon drawn to the lightning bolt scar on his forehead and the jagged one on his cheek and the smaller one over his left eye. Finally though, Harry began to shift uncomfortably under their intense scrutiny and directed his gaze toward his plate while his hands twisted around the hem of his cloak.
James noticed what he had been doing and hastily smiled at the boy next to him "Allow me to introduce you to my friends, the bloke you are sitting next to is Sirius Black" he began, and then directed his gaze across the table to the other two boys "Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, and this beautiful girl is my girl friend, Lily Evans" he said with a affectionate look toward the girl. Harry looked toward her as well and felt a rush of warmth well up in side of him as he saw how much in love his parents already were.
"Nice to meet you all" he finally said when he was able to tear his eyes from his parents
"Same here" said Sirius
"So, Harry, why don't you tell up a little about yourself" said James as he began dishing food onto his plate, and he didn't notice Harry falter with his own dishing of food.
'Well boy, are you going to tell them the truth and save their lives?' asked the voice, suddenly making an appearance
'No' replied Harry
'Just think of what could happen if you just told them the truth now, you could grow up with your parents and never have to live with your aunt and uncle. Think of how much happier you would be, or you could just kill the rat now and he wouldn't be able to betray them and Sirius would never have to go to Azkaban'
'Would you just leave me alone already!' shouted Harry in his mind
'I am a part of you now, and until you surrender yourself to me, I will never leave you alone' replied the voice smugly 'Well, are you going to tell your parents the truth or not?'
'No, because if I told them the truth, then you would never have been stopped when I was a baby and you would have succeeded in destroying everything' replied Harry 'Now, would you please just leave me so that I can enjoy my meal in peace, since you are obviously still too weak to do anything else' said Harry in a taunting tone
'You will regret saying that to me boy, nobody calls the dark lord weak and lives'
'But I only speak the truth, and all of your previous threats to kill me have obviously failed, why should this one be any different?'
'Rest assured that I will destroy you Potter, and when I am done with you, your friends will follow as well as your little girlfriend. They will all perish by your hand and you will be able to do nothing to stop me. You will never be able to do the spell because you will never figure out the identity of my daughter. It is only a matter of time until I over power you' he said as the voice faded away.
During the entire conversation, no one had noticed that Harry's hands had begun to shake slightly or that his face had gone several shades paler than normal. Voldemort's words frightened him, what if they never did find his daughter and could never perform the spell to kill him for good? He knew that he could not keep the evil wizard at bay for ever, one day he would take control of Harry and his powers, and he dreaded what he knew would happen when that day came, his confident attitude toward the voice was just a cover for how scared he truly was. The sound of his name being spoken brought him out of his thoughts.
"Harry? Are you all right?" asked James
"Sorry, my mind just drifted off for a moment, what were you saying?" he asked
"Where are you from originally?" asked Sirius
"Great Britain, but I've spent the past several years in London with my godfather" he replied, again impressed with his ability to lie
"Oh, how long will you be at Hogwarts?" asked James
"Just till the end of term, then we will be moving on again" he replied
"Well, the real reason we wanted to talk to you was to ask you where you learned to fight so well" said Remus, and Harry's brow furrowed in confusion
"What are you talking about?" he asked the four students who looked to each other before James answered
"Well, we were sitting in the astronomy tower this afternoon and saw you and your godfather fighting and we were just wondering where you learned how to fight so well" he said innocently
"Oh, well my godfather taught me some of it, and one of his old school mates taught me the rest. Why do you ask?"
"Well, Sirius here has always been the best at the school when it comes to sword fighting, and we were wondering if you would be willing to give him some pointers, and maybe the rest of us as well" said James as he studied the other boy intently
"Sure, but I don't know how much time I'm going to have, Joseph needs me to help him out with his work nearly every day after classes, but maybe next weekend?" he suggested
"Great! Do you want to go with us to Hogsmeade first, then we can come back here and work" said Sirius
"Sounds good to me" replied Harry with a smile on his face, becoming more at ease with his parents and their friends, well all but Peter who he was all but ignoring
They ate in silence for several minutes more before Lily spoke up "Harry, where did you get that staff?" she asked hesitantly
Harry unconsciously reached out to touch the intricate wooden handle that was propped up between himself and James before he answered her, but it wasn't the same answer he had given the headmaster when he had asked the same question "I'm not entirely sure where it came from" he began "One day, my mentor handed me my wand, but when I touched it, it changed into this, and I've had it ever since. He said it had something to do with my magical powers coming into their full strength" he finished as he looked back into the eyes that were so like his own.
The marauders just looked at him in slight confusion and amazement for a few moments before James took the initiative once again and spoke up for all of them "Wow" he said "So you can do magic without a wand if you have that staff"
"Pretty much" answered Harry, preferring not to tell them that he could do magic without the staff as well, seeing as Pettigrew was here.
"Why do you travel with Joseph, Harry?" asked Peter
"He's my legal guardian" answered Harry in an expressionless tone, and though the others could sense that this was a delicate topic, Peter didn't and pressed on
"Where are your parents?" he asked
"Dead" replied Harry in the same cold tone
"How did they die?" asked Peter, and the others all tensed when they say the hard expression on Harry's face and the cold fury radiating from his eyes as his hand reached out and took a hold of his staff tightly, his knuckles turning white.
"They were betrayed by one of their best friends whom they trusted and it turns out that he was a death eater and sold them out to Voldemort at the first opportunity and he killed them" Harry replied in a level voice and they could practically feel the anger radiating from him, and Peter finally got the picture and let the subject drop.
"So," said Sirius, sensing the tension in the air surrounding this topic "Do you play quidditch?"
Harry's expression softened immediately and his face broke into a small smile "Yes" he answered
"What position?" asked James
"Seeker" replied Harry
"Maybe we could have a friendly game sometime" said Sirius "James and Lily play chasers on the house team, Remus and I are beaters, and Peter could play as keeper. We could challenge some of the other students from other houses" he said excitedly
Before Harry could reply though, a hissing sound could be heard coming from under his cloak on his arm.
"What was that?" asked Lily nervously
"It sounded like a snake" said Remus
Harry decided not to lie to them about his ability to speak to snakes, so he lifted his sleeve to show them Sherlock "It was a snake, my pet snake, Sherlock" he said as the emerald serpent lifted his head to survey the other students.
"Harry, those are very poisonous" said Lily "The only cure for their bite is to drink a potion with a drop of their blood in it as well as a drop of a parseltongues blood in it" she said as she looked at the snake wearily
"He's harmless" reassured Harry
"How do you know?" asked Peter
"Because he promised me that he wouldn't harm anyone unless they tried to hurt him or me" he replied as he rolled his sleeve back over the snake who had settled back down
"What do you mean 'he promised you'" asked Peter in disbelief "You can't talk to snakes, only very evil wizards can" he said with certainty
"Yes I can" replied Harry, getting tired of the rat faced boy very quickly
The other marauders and Lily just looked at him with apprehension before he gave them a reassuring grin "Don't worry, I'm not a death eater or anything, I got the ability to talk to snakes from a dark curse that an evil wizard tried to cast on me that went wrong" he explained
"Well, if you're sure he won't bite us" said Sirius hesitantly
"Don't worry, he won't bite unless he is provoked" answered Harry as he went back to his dinner, and the others soon followed suite
The topic of conversation soon turned to classes and the rest of the meal passed pleasantly enough for Harry, with Peter not causing anymore awkward moments or demanding any answers Harry wasn't willing to give. Before long, the other students began to rise and make their way to their respective common rooms for the night, and the marauders and Lily and Harry rose as well and left the hall together.
"Where are you staying, Harry?" asked Lily as they walked up the stairs
"I have my own room in the staff quarters with Joseph" he replied
"The staff quarters! You know where they are?" asked Sirius in awe
"Of course, I am living there" replied Harry with a smile
"Would you be willing to let your new friends in on their location?" he asked with a mischievous gleam in his eye
Harry decided not to let Sirius miss out on the opportunity to see and speak to James and Lily again, so he agreed "Sure, why don't we go there now? I could introduce you to Joseph, I'm sure he would like to meet you" he said with a smile
"Great!" exclaimed the younger Sirius as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation and eagerness
Harry laughed "So, are all of you coming?" he asked of James, Lily, Remus, and Peter
"I need to go do some homework, maybe next time" said Peter, much to Harry's relief, but the others all nodded eagerly
Harry led them up the stairs and toward the corridor on the fourth floor that housed the professors' rooms "Here we are" he said as they stopped in front of a painting of an old witch in purple robes
"Hello Harry" she said pleasantly "Bringing friends by?" she asked
"Yes Judy, has my godfather come up yet?" he asked
"Yes, just a few minutes ago" she replied
"Thanks, witchhazle" he said and the portrait swung open to admit them "Wait out here for just a minute, let me make sure that Joseph doesn't mind company tonight" he said as he entered the room and closed the door behind him.
"Well, he is defiantly not all that meets the eye is he?" asked Remus once the portrait closed in front of them
"Defiantly not" replied James "But he doesn't seem too bad"
"I agree, he's really nice" said Lily
"I can't believe that he has a poisonous snake for a pet" said Sirius "But I guess he's not worried that it will bite him since he can talk to it"
Just then, the portrait swung open again and Harry motioned them to enter, and when they walked into the room, they saw Joseph sitting on the back of the couch looking at them with a warm smile on his face "Hello, I'm Joseph, Harry's godfather" he said as he stood
"Joseph, this is Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter, and Lily Evans" said Harry with a smile on his face as well
"Nice to meet all of you" he said "Make yourselves at home, but be warned, I have heard of your reputation, and if I find any prank items in my rooms, you will regret it" he said with a twinkle in his dark blue eyes
"We swear, we won't pull any pranks on you" assured James "But could you help us pull some on a certain group of Slytherins, Harry?"
"If one of them is Severus Snape, count me in" he said with a smile
"Oh, have you met the greasy git?" asked Sirius
"Only by reputation" replied Harry "But that is enough to make me not like him much"
"I think you'll fit right in with us, Harry" said Remus with a grin
They spent the next several hours talking about general topics ranging from the various pranks the marauders had pulled to the reactions of the rest of the school, and what they were planning for the future attacks on the Slytherin students, causing both Harry and the older Sirius to laugh constantly, one hearing the pranks for the first time, the other reliving happier times with his best friends. At ten o'clock, the marauders said their good nights to Harry and Joseph before going back to Gryffindor tower, exhausted. Harry and Sirius stayed up for another hour, talking about James and Lily before they too retired to their rooms for a night of well deserved sleep, both content after speaking to two people they had longed to see for far too long.
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A/N: All right, I know this chapter was kind of slow, but it was long at least, thanks for your reviews of the last one, and please let me know what you thought of this one as well! As I said last time, since I am in the middle of finals, I'm not positive when the next chapter will be posted, but hopefully by Monday, Tuesday morning at the latest. Enjoy and Review!
For Ginny, the next several days passed in a depression filled haze. She had decided not to tell anyone else about her fight with Harry, and only she and Colin had known that he had come to the castle at all since she had not told anyone else, including her brother, Hermione, and Draco. She had tried repeatedly to come up with some way to convince the headmaster or Remus to tell her exactly where Harry was, but both had flat out refused to tell her so she had been left with no hope in contacting him. She had tried to send Hedwig to him with a letter, but she had returned the next morning, obviously unable to find him since the letter still remained tied to her leg. She had run out of options and ideas on how to contact her boyfriend, and so she had resigned to the fact that she would have to wait for several months until she could see him again, and preyed that he would be willing to forgive her when he did return.
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Harry was not feeling much better than Ginny. After four days of sitting through classes with the sixth year students, he was no closer to finding their mystery girl than they had been when they arrived, and his thoughts often wandered to the red headed girl he had left behind in the Gryffindor common room in tears. He had briefly entertained the thought to contact her, but his only possible way of doing so would be to write her a letter and leave it with someone to give to her in the future, but Sirius had immediately shot down that idea. If he were to give anyone a letter now and tell them to keep it for over two decades before delivering it to a girl who wasn't even bon yet, their cover would be blown and that person at least would know that they were from the future, and they would be forced to tell at least them why they were in the past, and that would reveal more of their story than they wanted to be known by anyone in this time, namely that the future Voldemort was in the castle. Because of this, Harry was also forced to wait until he returned to his own time before he could set things straight with Ginny and hope she would forgive his cold and judgmental attitude toward her.
Right now, he was sitting in front of the fire in he and Sirius' rooms and reading a book on the dark arts he had found in the library earlier that morning, waiting for Sirius to return from a meeting the headmaster was having with all the staff in which he demanded the aurors presence to go over his ideas on how to strengthen the wards protecting the school. Since it was Saturday, Harry had decided to remain in the rooms rather than go to the great hall to eat in order to escape the looks that were constantly directed toward him, and he was in the process of eating a sandwich one of the house elves had delivered for him, and as he finished it, the door swung open to reveal a very weary looking Sirius Black.
"Hey, Sirius, how was the meeting?" asked Harry as he put his book down and turned to face his godfather
"Terrible" said Sirius as he collapsed into the chair beside Harry "Do you have any more food? I'm starving" he said as he eyed the remains of Harry's sandwich hungrily
Chuckling, Harry waved his hand and the plate between them became piled high with the delicious lunch, and Sirius wasted no time in attacking it.
"So, did you find out anything interesting?" asked Harry once the other man finished eating
"Not much, but we need to get to work this afternoon with the wards, from what Albus told me they couldn't withstand any kind of attack for long and I could defiantly use your help if you wouldn't mind"
"Fine by me, I need something to distract me for a little while" said Harry as he got to his feet "Just let me get my cloak and I'll be ready" he said as he walked into his bedroom, returning a few moments later wearing his scarlet cloak, staff in hand, but that was not what surprised Sirius, tucked into Harry's robe belt were his sword and dagger. Both were effectively concealed beneath his cloak unless you knew they were there, but why Harry felt he needed to carry them at all worried Sirius.
"Why are you taking your weapons, Harry?" he asked as he pulled his own cloak on
"I just have a feeling that something is going to happen soon and I would rather not be caught unprepared" he said with a shrug of his shoulders "Besides, if we get done early enough, I might try to get some practice in"
"Would like some competition?" asked Sirius with a small smile on his face
"You know how to use a sword?" asked Harry in shock
"Of course!" exclaimed Sirius, sounding slightly offended "My father started teaching me when I was a child, and I was quite good, if I do say so myself" he said proudly
"We will just have to wait and see if you are as good as you say you are now won't we?" Harry said with a smirk as he led the way out of the room
Sirius just raised his eyebrows at this but decided not to comment further as they walked through the halls of the castle, Harry walking beside him in silence. They walked out to the borders of the school grounds before they talked again.
"So, what wards does Dumbledore want you to strengthen?" asked Harry
"All of them, if possible, as well as add some new ones" replied Sirius
"Well, we had better start with the most important, the anti apparition field" said Harry as he raised his staff and instantly a beam of gold light erupted from the red stone and Sirius could see the magic trail along the invisible dome that covered the school for several seconds before he raised his wand and said an incantation under his breath, his golden light mixing with Harry's, though not nearly as strong, and engulfing the entire castle and grounds for several minutes. Once they were done there, they continued walking along the perimeter of the grounds and cast the same spell every couple of meters, effectively strengthening the ward that would keep death eaters from being able to apparate directly onto the grounds. Three hours later, they had decided to call it quits for the day and headed over toward the shore of the lake.
"Now what?" asked Sirius
"Well, I was wondering if you were still up for a friendly competition" said Harry with a closed expression on his face
"Right now?" he asked and was met with a smirk from his godson that caused him to suddenly worry
"Well, of course now, I see nothing else to do" he answered innocently, and before Sirius could answer, Harry had conjured a sword and tossed it to him before withdrawing his own and standing ready, both oblivious to the eyes that were watching them from the top of the astronomy tower.
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James Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew had just arrived atop the astronomy tower, planning their next prank away from prying classmates and annoying professors. They had been distracted from their plotting, though, when a gold light had surrounded the entire school grounds.
"What was that?" asked James in amazement
"I don't know" replied Remus, his voice quiet as he looked over the grounds as well
"Do you think it is you-know-who?" asked Peter hesitantly
"No, I don't think so, it doesn't feel evil" said Sirius
Just then, the light pulsed again before it began to fade away, but not two minutes later, it had returned. The pattern continued for quite some time before the light faded for good, the entire time the four marauders could only watch in amazement and anxiety, waiting to see who came from the boundaries of the school so they could see who had been casting such powerful magic. Once the gold light faded for good, they got their wish as two figures emerged from the forest directly across from the lake. One was wearing a dark blue cloak and had dark brown hair and he was carrying his wand. They were not surprised by his presence and immediately recognized him as the man named Joseph from the ministry. The one walking beside him, though, was more of a surprise. He was wearing a scarlet and gold cloak and had jet black hair that reached the middle of his back and was carrying a dark wood and golden staff in his hand. They were headed toward the lake so James turned toward his friends.
"What do you think they were doing out there?" he asked
"I bet the ministry sent Joseph to strengthen the wards around the school" said Remus
"But why was that transfer student, what's his name, with him, it's not like a sixth year could be any help with this, it's really advanced magic" said Sirius
"His name is Harry, I think" said James "And he was probably just keeping his godfather company or something" he said with a shrug of his shoulders "There is no way he could have been casting any of those spells" he said confidently
"Oh" said Sirius as he turned his attention back to the pair directly below them who appeared to be talking. An instant later though, Harry tossed what looked like a sword to Joseph before he pulled another out from his robes. After a short bow by both, they began to fight, the sound of metal hitting metal cutting through the still spring air.
"Whoa, look at that!" said Peter in awe as they fought back and forth, both appearing equally matched and very talented at the skill.
"They're good" said James "They could probably even beat you, Padfoot"
Sirius just nodded mutely at this. He had always known how to use a sword, his father had taught him from a young age, but he doubted that he could ever be as good as the two he was watching. After nearly twenty minutes of the 'battle' in which both opponents twisted and struck, Harry quit playing around and ended it. With a quick jump to the side to avoid the other's sword, he went on the offence and with several faster than light maneuvers had the other man on the ground and both swords in his hand pointed at his chest. From the tower, they could see both of them laughing as Harry reached down and helped his godfather to his feet before tucking his sword into his belt and picking up his staff from the ground beside them, the other sword vanishing from his hand and the pair made their way to the castle.
"Well, that was defiantly interesting" said Sirius as they finally descended the tower and set off toward the Gryffindor common room
"I'll say" agreed James
"I thought he was just a sixth year, how can he fight like that?" mused Remus
"Maybe they taught sword fighting at his other school" suggested Peter
"No, one of the Ravenclaw girls asked him where he went to school before and he said his godfather had always taught him on his own, until now he has never been to school" said Sirius
"How do you know that?" asked James in amazement
"I overheard her telling one of her friends in the hall a couple days ago" he answered with a shrug
"Well, that explains why he's so quiet I guess, if he's never been to school before" said Peter
"What do you say we try to talk to him after dinner tonight" suggested James as they reached the fat lady "See if we can find out anything else about him and maybe get him to help Padfoot here with his fighting. He must be pretty bored, I mean, have you ever seen him talk to anyone other than his godfather?" he asked
"Ha ha Prongs, very funny" said Sirius "but maybe we could use it as an excuse to talk to him" he agreed
"Good, it's settled then, tonight after dinner we approach Harry and see if we can convince him to help Sirius with his fight and hopefully find out a little more about him, and if nothing else, maybe he could help us decide what to do to the greasy Slytherin" said James as they entered the common room
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After their quick fight beside the lake, Harry and Sirius went to their rooms to change for dinner, Harry taunting Sirius on his defeat the entire way through the castle.
"Will you be able to help me out again next weekend, Harry? Albus wants me to set up some protection for the village as well" asked Sirius as they walked
"Why wouldn't I be able to go?" asked Harry in curiosity
"Next weekend is a Hogsmeade weekend, I just thought you may want to go to the village with some of the other students" said Sirius without meeting Harry's gaze
"What are you getting at, Sirius?" asked Harry "You know that my time has been spent looking for this girl, I haven't quite had any time or desire to make friends here"
"Harry, you need to take advantage of this situation, you will never get another opportunity like this" said Sirius as he looked at his godson
"Sirius, I can't" said Harry quietly
"Why not?"
"Sirius, if I talked to my parents, I don't know if I would be able to keep it a secret that Peter will betray them" said Harry honestly "not to mention, I don't think I'll be able to look at that rat without doing something I would rather not do" he finished
"Harry, your mum and dad were wonderful people, and I think it would do you good to meet them and get to know them while you're here" he said finally, and looked to Harry, and saw shock and longing on his face
"I really want to speak with them Sirius, but what if I end up telling them something I shouldn't?" he asked hesitantly
"Harry, don't worry about that" began Sirius "if you do say something, we can always use a selective memory charm on them so that they only remember that you were here, and nothing else about you"
"Do you really think that would work?" asked Harry, almost hopeful
"I think it already has" said Sirius with a small smile on his face "All I remember about the end of my sixth year was that we had a transfer student, and obviously, I should remember more since I had lessons with him"
Harry gave him a hesitant smile "I'll try to talk to them, but give me a couple of days to figure out what to say, ok"
"Sure, Harry, I'm glad you decided to do this, I don't think you are going to regret it all" said Sirius as he put an arm around Harry's shoulders and gave him a gentle squeeze
"Thanks Sirius" said Harry "I'm going to change for dinner, I'll be ready in a couple of minutes" he said as they parted in the living room and went to their own rooms.
The pair arrived at the great hall just as dinner was beginning, and made their way up toward the head table, but half way there, Harry felt someone grab a hold of his cloak and he spun around and came face to face with his sixteen year old father.
Harry didn't know what to say, so he just stood there and looked dumbly into the face he had been staring at from a distance for four days. After several moments, Harry turned to try and plead with Sirius to help him, but the older man was already at the staff table, oblivious to the fact that he was now walking alone.
Finally, James spoke up "Hi there, I'm James Potter and I was wondering if you would like to eat here with my friends and I instead of with all of the professors" he said with a kind smile on his face, but upon seeing Harry's almost terrified expression, it disappeared to be replaced by concern "Don't worry, we won't bite, well most of us won't anyway" Harry remained silent for another couple of moments, and James, afraid that he had offended the other boy released his grasp on the cloak and spoke again "If you don't want to, it's all right, we just thought you would want some company your age"" he said with a shrug of his shoulders, but Harry had finally found his voice.
"Um, well, um, sure" he sputtered out, and James' face lit up
"Great!" he exclaimed with a wide smile as he shifted closer to the person next to him to make room for Harry on his right, between himself and the younger Sirius.
"Just a minute, though, let me tell my godfather where I am" said Harry as he turned around and walked toward the staff table, Sirius looking at him curiously as he approached.
"Where did you go, Harry? I thought you were right behind me" said the man when Harry stopped directly in front of him.
"I got stopped be a certain group of Gryffindor sixth years who want me to eat with them" said Harry, and Sirius could tell that he was very nervous about something.
"Are you going to eat with them?" asked Sirius
"Yes" answered Harry hesitantly
"Don't worry, Harry, right now you are the same age as them, just treat them like you do Ron, or Dean, or Seamus, just have fun" said Sirius with a reassuring smile on his face.
"Thanks again, Sirius. I'd better go" said Harry as he returned the smile and left his godfather to join the awaiting marauders.
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After Harry had left the table to go speak with his godfather, James turned to his friends with a victorious grin on his face.
"Told you I could convince him to sit with us" he said smugly, but much to his surprise, none of his friends looked as happy.
"What do you think that scar on his face came from?" asked Remus
"What scar?" asked Peter but before he got an answer, James spoke up
"What are you guys worried about?" asked James, sensing the unease of his friends
"Doesn't he seem kind of strange to you Prongs?" asked Sirius
"What do you mean, Padfoot?"
"He just seems so distant, like there is much more to him than meets the eye" said Remus "And what about that staff he is always carrying around?" he asked as he risked a glance at Harry who was standing in front of the staff table, speaking quietly to his godfather, clutching the staff tightly in his right hand
"Well, he doesn't seem dangerous with it, and maybe he's just quiet" said a voice from beside James, and they all turned to see Lily taking her seat.
"Hi Lily" said James as he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek
"Well, I don't know about you, but I can't wait until next week to see how good he is a magic, we are doing practical lessons in charms, defense, and transfiguration all week, no more theory or book lessons" said Sirius anxiously
"Just give him a chance guys, he seems perfectly nice to me" said James in a loud whisper as he noticed Harry was making his way back toward them.
The boy gave them all a hesitant smile as he took his seat between James and Sirius and lowered the cowl of his cloak. This was the first opportunity any of them had gotten to see his features up close since he always sat at the back of classes and they sat at the front, and anytime he was seen walking through the halls, his hood was up. Until now, all they knew about him was that he had long black hair and Remus had been the only one to spot the scars on his face until now. They all just surveyed his face curiously for several moments, noticing the bright green eyes immediately, but their attention was soon drawn to the lightning bolt scar on his forehead and the jagged one on his cheek and the smaller one over his left eye. Finally though, Harry began to shift uncomfortably under their intense scrutiny and directed his gaze toward his plate while his hands twisted around the hem of his cloak.
James noticed what he had been doing and hastily smiled at the boy next to him "Allow me to introduce you to my friends, the bloke you are sitting next to is Sirius Black" he began, and then directed his gaze across the table to the other two boys "Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, and this beautiful girl is my girl friend, Lily Evans" he said with a affectionate look toward the girl. Harry looked toward her as well and felt a rush of warmth well up in side of him as he saw how much in love his parents already were.
"Nice to meet you all" he finally said when he was able to tear his eyes from his parents
"Same here" said Sirius
"So, Harry, why don't you tell up a little about yourself" said James as he began dishing food onto his plate, and he didn't notice Harry falter with his own dishing of food.
'Well boy, are you going to tell them the truth and save their lives?' asked the voice, suddenly making an appearance
'No' replied Harry
'Just think of what could happen if you just told them the truth now, you could grow up with your parents and never have to live with your aunt and uncle. Think of how much happier you would be, or you could just kill the rat now and he wouldn't be able to betray them and Sirius would never have to go to Azkaban'
'Would you just leave me alone already!' shouted Harry in his mind
'I am a part of you now, and until you surrender yourself to me, I will never leave you alone' replied the voice smugly 'Well, are you going to tell your parents the truth or not?'
'No, because if I told them the truth, then you would never have been stopped when I was a baby and you would have succeeded in destroying everything' replied Harry 'Now, would you please just leave me so that I can enjoy my meal in peace, since you are obviously still too weak to do anything else' said Harry in a taunting tone
'You will regret saying that to me boy, nobody calls the dark lord weak and lives'
'But I only speak the truth, and all of your previous threats to kill me have obviously failed, why should this one be any different?'
'Rest assured that I will destroy you Potter, and when I am done with you, your friends will follow as well as your little girlfriend. They will all perish by your hand and you will be able to do nothing to stop me. You will never be able to do the spell because you will never figure out the identity of my daughter. It is only a matter of time until I over power you' he said as the voice faded away.
During the entire conversation, no one had noticed that Harry's hands had begun to shake slightly or that his face had gone several shades paler than normal. Voldemort's words frightened him, what if they never did find his daughter and could never perform the spell to kill him for good? He knew that he could not keep the evil wizard at bay for ever, one day he would take control of Harry and his powers, and he dreaded what he knew would happen when that day came, his confident attitude toward the voice was just a cover for how scared he truly was. The sound of his name being spoken brought him out of his thoughts.
"Harry? Are you all right?" asked James
"Sorry, my mind just drifted off for a moment, what were you saying?" he asked
"Where are you from originally?" asked Sirius
"Great Britain, but I've spent the past several years in London with my godfather" he replied, again impressed with his ability to lie
"Oh, how long will you be at Hogwarts?" asked James
"Just till the end of term, then we will be moving on again" he replied
"Well, the real reason we wanted to talk to you was to ask you where you learned to fight so well" said Remus, and Harry's brow furrowed in confusion
"What are you talking about?" he asked the four students who looked to each other before James answered
"Well, we were sitting in the astronomy tower this afternoon and saw you and your godfather fighting and we were just wondering where you learned how to fight so well" he said innocently
"Oh, well my godfather taught me some of it, and one of his old school mates taught me the rest. Why do you ask?"
"Well, Sirius here has always been the best at the school when it comes to sword fighting, and we were wondering if you would be willing to give him some pointers, and maybe the rest of us as well" said James as he studied the other boy intently
"Sure, but I don't know how much time I'm going to have, Joseph needs me to help him out with his work nearly every day after classes, but maybe next weekend?" he suggested
"Great! Do you want to go with us to Hogsmeade first, then we can come back here and work" said Sirius
"Sounds good to me" replied Harry with a smile on his face, becoming more at ease with his parents and their friends, well all but Peter who he was all but ignoring
They ate in silence for several minutes more before Lily spoke up "Harry, where did you get that staff?" she asked hesitantly
Harry unconsciously reached out to touch the intricate wooden handle that was propped up between himself and James before he answered her, but it wasn't the same answer he had given the headmaster when he had asked the same question "I'm not entirely sure where it came from" he began "One day, my mentor handed me my wand, but when I touched it, it changed into this, and I've had it ever since. He said it had something to do with my magical powers coming into their full strength" he finished as he looked back into the eyes that were so like his own.
The marauders just looked at him in slight confusion and amazement for a few moments before James took the initiative once again and spoke up for all of them "Wow" he said "So you can do magic without a wand if you have that staff"
"Pretty much" answered Harry, preferring not to tell them that he could do magic without the staff as well, seeing as Pettigrew was here.
"Why do you travel with Joseph, Harry?" asked Peter
"He's my legal guardian" answered Harry in an expressionless tone, and though the others could sense that this was a delicate topic, Peter didn't and pressed on
"Where are your parents?" he asked
"Dead" replied Harry in the same cold tone
"How did they die?" asked Peter, and the others all tensed when they say the hard expression on Harry's face and the cold fury radiating from his eyes as his hand reached out and took a hold of his staff tightly, his knuckles turning white.
"They were betrayed by one of their best friends whom they trusted and it turns out that he was a death eater and sold them out to Voldemort at the first opportunity and he killed them" Harry replied in a level voice and they could practically feel the anger radiating from him, and Peter finally got the picture and let the subject drop.
"So," said Sirius, sensing the tension in the air surrounding this topic "Do you play quidditch?"
Harry's expression softened immediately and his face broke into a small smile "Yes" he answered
"What position?" asked James
"Seeker" replied Harry
"Maybe we could have a friendly game sometime" said Sirius "James and Lily play chasers on the house team, Remus and I are beaters, and Peter could play as keeper. We could challenge some of the other students from other houses" he said excitedly
Before Harry could reply though, a hissing sound could be heard coming from under his cloak on his arm.
"What was that?" asked Lily nervously
"It sounded like a snake" said Remus
Harry decided not to lie to them about his ability to speak to snakes, so he lifted his sleeve to show them Sherlock "It was a snake, my pet snake, Sherlock" he said as the emerald serpent lifted his head to survey the other students.
"Harry, those are very poisonous" said Lily "The only cure for their bite is to drink a potion with a drop of their blood in it as well as a drop of a parseltongues blood in it" she said as she looked at the snake wearily
"He's harmless" reassured Harry
"How do you know?" asked Peter
"Because he promised me that he wouldn't harm anyone unless they tried to hurt him or me" he replied as he rolled his sleeve back over the snake who had settled back down
"What do you mean 'he promised you'" asked Peter in disbelief "You can't talk to snakes, only very evil wizards can" he said with certainty
"Yes I can" replied Harry, getting tired of the rat faced boy very quickly
The other marauders and Lily just looked at him with apprehension before he gave them a reassuring grin "Don't worry, I'm not a death eater or anything, I got the ability to talk to snakes from a dark curse that an evil wizard tried to cast on me that went wrong" he explained
"Well, if you're sure he won't bite us" said Sirius hesitantly
"Don't worry, he won't bite unless he is provoked" answered Harry as he went back to his dinner, and the others soon followed suite
The topic of conversation soon turned to classes and the rest of the meal passed pleasantly enough for Harry, with Peter not causing anymore awkward moments or demanding any answers Harry wasn't willing to give. Before long, the other students began to rise and make their way to their respective common rooms for the night, and the marauders and Lily and Harry rose as well and left the hall together.
"Where are you staying, Harry?" asked Lily as they walked up the stairs
"I have my own room in the staff quarters with Joseph" he replied
"The staff quarters! You know where they are?" asked Sirius in awe
"Of course, I am living there" replied Harry with a smile
"Would you be willing to let your new friends in on their location?" he asked with a mischievous gleam in his eye
Harry decided not to let Sirius miss out on the opportunity to see and speak to James and Lily again, so he agreed "Sure, why don't we go there now? I could introduce you to Joseph, I'm sure he would like to meet you" he said with a smile
"Great!" exclaimed the younger Sirius as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation and eagerness
Harry laughed "So, are all of you coming?" he asked of James, Lily, Remus, and Peter
"I need to go do some homework, maybe next time" said Peter, much to Harry's relief, but the others all nodded eagerly
Harry led them up the stairs and toward the corridor on the fourth floor that housed the professors' rooms "Here we are" he said as they stopped in front of a painting of an old witch in purple robes
"Hello Harry" she said pleasantly "Bringing friends by?" she asked
"Yes Judy, has my godfather come up yet?" he asked
"Yes, just a few minutes ago" she replied
"Thanks, witchhazle" he said and the portrait swung open to admit them "Wait out here for just a minute, let me make sure that Joseph doesn't mind company tonight" he said as he entered the room and closed the door behind him.
"Well, he is defiantly not all that meets the eye is he?" asked Remus once the portrait closed in front of them
"Defiantly not" replied James "But he doesn't seem too bad"
"I agree, he's really nice" said Lily
"I can't believe that he has a poisonous snake for a pet" said Sirius "But I guess he's not worried that it will bite him since he can talk to it"
Just then, the portrait swung open again and Harry motioned them to enter, and when they walked into the room, they saw Joseph sitting on the back of the couch looking at them with a warm smile on his face "Hello, I'm Joseph, Harry's godfather" he said as he stood
"Joseph, this is Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter, and Lily Evans" said Harry with a smile on his face as well
"Nice to meet all of you" he said "Make yourselves at home, but be warned, I have heard of your reputation, and if I find any prank items in my rooms, you will regret it" he said with a twinkle in his dark blue eyes
"We swear, we won't pull any pranks on you" assured James "But could you help us pull some on a certain group of Slytherins, Harry?"
"If one of them is Severus Snape, count me in" he said with a smile
"Oh, have you met the greasy git?" asked Sirius
"Only by reputation" replied Harry "But that is enough to make me not like him much"
"I think you'll fit right in with us, Harry" said Remus with a grin
They spent the next several hours talking about general topics ranging from the various pranks the marauders had pulled to the reactions of the rest of the school, and what they were planning for the future attacks on the Slytherin students, causing both Harry and the older Sirius to laugh constantly, one hearing the pranks for the first time, the other reliving happier times with his best friends. At ten o'clock, the marauders said their good nights to Harry and Joseph before going back to Gryffindor tower, exhausted. Harry and Sirius stayed up for another hour, talking about James and Lily before they too retired to their rooms for a night of well deserved sleep, both content after speaking to two people they had longed to see for far too long.
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A/N: All right, I know this chapter was kind of slow, but it was long at least, thanks for your reviews of the last one, and please let me know what you thought of this one as well! As I said last time, since I am in the middle of finals, I'm not positive when the next chapter will be posted, but hopefully by Monday, Tuesday morning at the latest. Enjoy and Review!