A/N: I've decided to change the Potions teacher's name. I ran across another MWPP story, and their character's name was very similar to mine, just by coincidence. So, I thought that it would just be easier to change it, since I've only mentioned it once. This chapter doesn't have as much action as the first three, but I hope it's all right. Thanks again to Ciria and to Nev for reviewing! Ciria – Sirius reads because he enjoys it, and his book is just a regular fiction book. By the end of chapter three, Sirius was the only one to receive any detentions, so only one for the four, but that will change very quickly. : )
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Months went by, and Remus's absences continued without much notice from the other boys. They would take his brief spells of sickness as if he were just a sickly boy suffering temporarily from the winter cold. James also caught a cold and had to spend some time in the hospital wing. Classes were also starting to get harder, and the homework seemed to be getting heavier, which took up more of the boys' time. But in the spare time that they still had, they thought of pranks, and they pulled off one on Snape and a couple other Slytherins a few weeks after the confrontation in the Great Hall.
Sirius had discovered that detentions weren't so bad, and he soon found that spending them with his friends was even better. After Sirius's first detention, he and James, and sometimes Remus and Peter, would often find themselves in detention for many things, but mostly for pranks. James and Sirius seemed to hold a mind made for thinking of pranks, and they were usually the ones to pull them off on an unfortunate victim. At first they targeted people who had for some reason made them mad, or had gotten on their bad side. This usually meant Snape and some other Slytherins, but after a while, their targets changed, and they would pull pranks on anyone. Soon they gained a reputation, and everybody in the school made sure to check their food before they ate it, watched where they stepped, or what they were wearing.
James and Sirius were practically brothers, and it was rare to find one without the other. Remus had participated in their pranks at first, but when the three boys had been assigned detention on a full moon, Remus, in a slight panic, went to Professor Dumbledore, and had the detention changed to a different night. Ever since then, Remus would watch but not participate. Peter always seemed to be left in the cold when it came to their fun. He once made a mistake that could've had drastically different, and more dangerous, results than that of a simple prank. Ever since then, he, like Remus, would watch.
The four boys, though, remained a group of good friends, and when one was insulted, or in trouble, the other three would be there to help or get revenge. Peter was usually the one who was being protected the most, and he clung to the other three for protection. Sirius eventually accepted Peter after the smaller boy finally stopped being nervous around him, but Sirius couldn't help but become annoyed at him from time to time.
In class, James excelled the most in Transfiguration, and he won many points for Gryffindor, but those would usually be lost later on. Remus did the best in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and he would sometimes have to help the others with their homework. While they, in turn, would help him with his other subjects. Sirius was the best out of the four in Charms, but he wasn't the best in the class. The best in class was another Gryffindor named Lily Evens. Sirius was always trying to do better than her in the class, which entertained Professor Flitwick immensely. Sirius would always leave Charms a little put out, but he was never mean to the little, red headed, first year, but that didn't mean that she wasn't the victim of a few pranks either. After a few weeks of their constant competition, Sirius formally met Lily one day, and they became friends. The competition became a friendly one, and it turned into a joke between the two.
Quidditch practices had been going on for a few weeks, and the first match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw was approaching. The school was buzzing with excitement the morning of the match, and the four boys went to breakfast to see the Gryffindor team leaving. They wished them luck as they passed them at the door, and the four boys sat down.
"This should be a good match, I've heard that Gryffindor and Ravenclaw are the best teams in the school." James said, taking a bit out of his toast.
"I think Ravenclaw is a little better, but that doesn't mean we can't win." Sirius said, and James frowned.
"What do you mean 'Ravenclaw is better'? What kind of a Gryffindor are you?" James said, and Sirius chucked some eggs at him.
"I'm just saying that it should be a good match."
"That's what I said!"
Both of the boys got pieces of toast thrown at them, and they looked at Remus, scandalized.
"Traitor." James said in a hurt tone. "You sided with him."
"No," Remus said, "I didn't side with anyone, I just want you two to shut up."
The boys laughed and quickly finished their breakfast after seeing everyone get up and leave the Great Hall for the Qudditich pitch. They ran down to the pitch, caught up in the excitement, Peter struggling to keep up with the other three. They reached the stands and ran up the stairs to get a good spot.
"Are you going to try to get on the team next year?" James asked Sirius, who shook his head.
"I've always been a Beater, and both of ours are sixth years." Sirius said, a little sadly.
"What about you Remus?" James asked. Remus shrugged.
"I don't know, probably not. I like to play Quidditch, but I don't think I'd be good enough."
"How about you, James?" Sirius asked, and the other boy looked at him wide eyed.
"Of course! One of our Chasers will be leaving this year, so I'm definitely going to try next year." James replied, enthusiastically. James opened his mouth to say something else, but his words were drowned out by the announcer.
"Welcome, everybody, to the first Quidditch match this year!" the voice of a sixth year boomed throughout the stadium. The crowed roared in excitement, the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors sporting flags for their house. The teams came out on the field, the captains shook hands, and the game began. The excitement and thrill of the game was almost intoxicating. Gryffindor and Ravenclaw were both excellent teams, and the game went on for five minutes, neither team scoring.
The boys watched as the Gryffindor Chasers flew toward the Ravenclaw goal posts, Sarah Gooden flew in front, holding the Quaffle. When they reached the goal posts, Sarah threw the Quaffle, and everyone held their breath. The Ravenclaw Keeper reached for the Quaffle, but he couldn't grab it, instead, his fingers brushed the side of the ball, knocking it enough off course to miss the goal. Simultaneously, the Ravenclaws cheered, while the Gryffindors groaned. The game continued, fast paced, and hard fought. But Sirius was right that Ravenclaw was a little better than Gryffindor, and the game ended when the Ravenclaw Seeker caught the snitch. Although disappointed about the loss, the boys couldn't help but talk about the exciting game.
"That had to of been the best game of Quidditch I've ever seen!" James said as they sat in the Common Room.
"Did you see that save that Art made? That was incredible! I thought that they were going to score for sure." Sirius said, and the boys talked about the game for the rest of the day.
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The excitement over the Qudditich match faded over the next couple days, and the Gryffindor students once again talked to the Ravenclaws. Everything was fine with the four Gryffindor boys, until one night, they found themselves sitting alone in the Common Room, suffering from a terrible case of boredom.
"There's nothing to do!" James said, as he lay in his favorite chair, legs draped over one of the arms. Sirius looked down at his book that was on the table, and he sighed.
"I wish I hadn't finished my book." He said.
"Read it again." Remus suggested. Peter was counting all of the tiles that were on the ceiling, and he had to start over when he lost his count.
"There's nothing to do!" James whined again.
"Shut up, James." Remus said, who was watching the fire. Sirius sighed and looked at one of the castle's many towers through the window.
"I wonder what's in that tower." Sirius said, mostly to himself. James looked up at the window, but, at his angle, he couldn't see it.
"What tower?" He asked, and Sirius pointed.
"That one." James tried again to see it, but he gave up and slumped back into his chair. They sat in silence for a few more minutes, before Remus started humming. He soon received a pillow to the face, and he looked at James.
"What?"
"Stop humming." James said, trying to fall asleep.
"You could've asked." Remus mumbled, and Sirius snorted.
"Maybe we could think of more pranks?" Sirius offered after a few more minutes of silence.
"No." Remus said, starting to close his eyes. Sirius sighed, and he laid his head back and stared at the ceiling.
"I wish we could go somewhere." Peter said, quietly.
"Yeah." Remus agreed. James stretched and yawned, giving up on going to sleep.
"Then let's go somewhere." He said, and the other three boys just looked at him.
"Where? We're not supposed to go out." Sirius reminded James, but the other boy just shrugged.
"So? Why should we care? It's not like we haven't broken the school rules before." Sirius looked at Remus and Peter as if James were crazy.
"But James," Remus said, as if he was talking to a five year old, "Filch is out there, he'll catch us." James just grinned and got out of the chair.
"I'll be right back." James said and went up the stairs. The other three boys waited for what seemed to be a year, before Sirius stood up.
"That's it, I'm tired. He probably just went to sleep, which is what I'm going to do." He said and started to leave, but he ran into something very solid that he didn't see. Sirius stumbled back a little, Remus and Peter giving him an odd look.
"Whoa, what was that?" Sirius asked, poking into what looked like thin air.
"It's me." They heard James say, and the small boy appeared out of nowhere in front of the other boys. Sirius, was now poking James in the chest. James started laughing, and he sat back into his favorite chair.
"Sirius, you should've seen your face." James said, but Sirius was more interested in what James was now holding.
"You have an invisibility cloak? And you didn't tell me?" Sirius said, amazed and slightly offended. James shrugged and tossed it to Sirius.
"Well, we never needed it until now, did we?" James said, and Remus stood up to get a closer look at it.
"What do you mean, needed until now?" Remus asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
"Think about it, we can go out exploring, and now get caught!" James said, standing up. "Filch won't be able to see us."
"I don't know, James." Peter said, eyeing the cloak. "Will we all fit under that?"
"We should." James said. Sirius held the cloak up and looked at the size.
"You sure? I think three could fit, but I don't know about four." Sirius said.
"Well, let's try it and see." James said. All of the boys stood up, and James took the cloak, throwing it over them. It fit, but it was a tight fit, and when James took the cloak off, the other three looked unsure.
"Look, we'll manage." James said, trying to convince them. Sirius looked at the other two boys and then back at the cloak. He saw the look on his best friend's face, and he nodded.
"Alright, let's give it a go." Sirius said, and James smiled wide.
"Remus? Peter?" Remus hesitated a moment before finally agreeing, leaving Peter left to decide.
"Are you sure we can fit?" He asked, cautiously.
"Oh come on, Pete!" James said, and the short boy finally agreed.
"Excellent, let's go." James threw the cloak over them, and they headed toward the portrait hole.
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The invisibility cloak has finally made its appearance. What do you guys think? Please review and let me know!